Petro's Nose Surgery; Sikma Next?

First Robert Swift, now Johan Petro. As hard as it is to believe, both of Seattle's young centers have broken their noses this season, with Petro in line for surgery. Swift, a veteran of the process, told the Seattle Times that "[the doctors] will pop the bone back into place and he'll wear a mask for the rest of the season." Swift refused to comment on rumors that he paid Joel Pryzbilla $20 to break the nose. "That's just a bunch of internet gossip," Swift said. However, when you include Collison's broken nose last spring, you start thinking that something's up.

Whatever the case, Bob Hill may want to wear blinders when he watches the action in the middle tonight. With Petro out, Mikki Moore and Swift are the only guys left to "defend" Yao Ming. Luckily, T-Mac is out, although as Rashard Lewis is out as well, it's pretty much a wash. The Sonics are looking for revenge after getting hammered in Houston a week ago, and, hey, Rick Brunson's back in town! And Kevin Calabro will call another Sonic game! Who needs the playoffs with this intrigue!

Har-Har! Sonics knock Nate, Blazers

Some people might call the Sonics 122-83 blow-out win over the Portland Trailblazers an empty, meaningless game. Those people are retards.

After sticking it to the man (Nate) on Sunday, the Sonics improved to 9-7 since the trade deadline. The Blazers, meanwhile, have gone 2-15 during that time. Sure, the Blazers might have stolen our coach and sewn up the #1 pick in the lottery, but at least, for the moment, we can savor a rare rout of our most hated rival.

Now, bring on the next episode of Danny Fortson: Cyborg Hunter!

Hall Call

Once again, the Hall has no love for A-Train.

On Monday, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame will announce the latest inductees into its hallowed halls. Here's the shortlist of people from which the Hall will be choosing:

Players: Charles Barkley, Adrian Dantley, Joe Dumars, John Isaacs, Ralph Sampson, Chet Walker, Dominique Wilkins.

Coaches: Geno Auriemma, Van Chancellor, Pedro Ferrandiz, Sandro Gamba, Dave Gavitt, Gene Keady, Don Nelson.

Others: Ben Kerner, Dick Vitale.

First off, as I've written before, Artis Gilmore has gotten the shaft, but that's for another day. The pressing question is: Who would you pick?

Put me down for Barkley, AD, and Dominique. I honestly don't know enough about Big-10 basketball to determine if Keady is worthy, although a college coach who never won a national title seems to be an odd consideration. Heck, Frank Furtado was a trainer for 5,000 years, does that mean he gets a nomination as well?

I could be convinced about Dumars as well. A great player, a great GM, put it together and he's a worthy candidate. Plus, he's like a rich man's Nate McMillan, so he's got that going for him. Likewise, Walker was a consistently very good player, making a half-dozen all-star teams. Still, his numbers are on the fringe, and I doubt he gets in unless the voters are just tired of writing 'no' next to his name.