Sonics leaving Seattle?!

Ho-Shu: "The Key blows!"

According to the Seattle Weekly, Howard Shultz is threatening to sell the team if Key Arena isn't expanded... again:

Are the Sonics leaving Seattle? The team says it won't play that game to get an expanded venue, as the Seahawks and Mariners have. But without another expansion of city-owned KeyArena, owner and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz says he might be forced to sell the team. Then the new owner can move it. It's extortion by another name, and the strategy is to snare $205 million in additional taxpayer money to expand KeyArena and add new profit-making concessions and VIP seating.

Read the rest at the Seattle Weekly (scroll down)

And I don't blame 'em one bit! No sir, I can barely stomach watching a game at that decrepit, almost a decade-old arena. Can you tell I'm being sarcastic? Oh good.

(Thanks to Susan for the story!)

Rank amateurs

According to ESPN.com, the Sonics are the 33rd-best franchise in sports. Their best ranking came in "Bang for the Buck" (i.e., wins per dollar), while the worst ranking came in affordability (i.e., how much it costs to go to a game). Among NBA teams, the Sonics finished 11th.

It's more interesting if you break it down by city. The Sonics easily outdistance the Seahawks and - surprise! - Mariners. The M's were undone by their bloated payroll and last year's craptacular season. In fact, the M's finished 90th in "Bang for the Buck", while notching a #4 spot in the stadium category. Oddly, Paul Allen's Seahawks ranked first in ownership among the 3 teams, with the Sonics 2nd and M's 3rd. I don't think Bob Whitsitt had a vote, though.

Game Night: Pick Up the Pace

Two teams coming off crappy games meet tonight in Indy. The Pacers flopped against the Knicks, while the Sonics got crammed in Milwaukee recently, ending both club's respective winning streaks.

Lucky for the Sonics, Jermaine O'Neal, Jamaal Tinsley, and Jeff Foster are all questionably healthy, while Seattle is relatively injury-free. Here's a look at the matchups:

PF: O'Neal v Evans - The edge goes to INDIANA, naturally, but with Seattle this position isn't truly Evans' alone. With the depth of the Sonics, look for O'Neal to be winded by the 4th.

SF: Lewis v Jackson - Stephen Jackson has come on since his run-in in Detroit earlier this year, and is scoring almost as well as Lewis recently. Still, Shard's the all-star, and the edge goes to SEATTLE.

C: Pollard v James - Neither one of these guys is worth his weight in paper, let alone gold. Obviously, a PUSH.

SG: Allen v Miller - The Ancient Pacer is still capable of lighting it up (witness his 36-point outing 2 weeks ago), but come on, this is ALLEN's world, and Reggie's only living in it.

PG: Ridnour v Johnson - Now in his 8th season, Anthony Johnson is getting more minutes this season than any year since his rookie campaign. I'm sure his family is delighted, but Ridnour is clearly the better shooter, and is equal to AJ in nearly every other category. Edge to SEATTLE.

Bench: Normally, this would be a push, but with Indiana devastated by Artest's insanity, and the plethora of injuries they're enduring, SEATTLE and its' triumverate of Daniels, Radman, and Fortson/Collison/Potato clearly is more powerful off the bench.

Prediction: Sonics 98 - Pacers 90
Spread: Sonics by 1
Record Against the Spread this Year: 14-10