Sternspeak

You know how you can tell when David Stern is filling your ears with B.S.? Okay, it's an old joke, but get a load of this gem from Mr. Stern, courtesy of Frank Hughes' article in the TNT:

“I would say that Howard, we are indebted to him,” Stern said. “People forget that the success of the Storm is an important aspect of his tenure. The (Sonics) team was one of the most competitive teams in terms of his NBA tenure. And he was very much focused on social responsibility as a platform."

Now, put aside the other crapola in the statement, and focus upon this particular claim:

"The (Sonics) team was one of the most competitive teams in terms of his NBA tenure. "

Unbelievable. It's not enough that Stern, Schultz, Bennett, & Co. are attempting to extort the people of Seattle so they can make even more money, but now Stern is going to stand there and tell us that Schultz fielded "one of the most competetive team" during his tenure?

Really? The fact Stern's Sonics went 209-201 during the five years he owned them makes them "competitive?" Compared to what, the Hawks? Or the fact his "competitive" team advanced to the playoffs twice in five years, winning all of one series? That's competitive? What's uncompetitive in Stern's dictionary, suiting up a team of lemurs?

I'm sorry, I promised I wouldn't talk about this crap anymore, but when I read something like that from Stern it makes me want to vomit. Repeatedly.

Waivers Bring Roster to 15

The Sonics announced Thursday that Denham Brown (picked in the 2nd round this year) and Milt Palacio have both been placed on waivers, putting Seattle's roster at 15.

With Swift likely to head for the DL, that leaves Farmer, Rush, and Wilks competing for 1 or 2 spots.

In other news, Rick Brunson - the former Sonic who got practically no time last year in Seattle - got canned by the Sixers. I'm sad to see it happen in one sense, because Brunson was a Temple grad and a seemingly good guy (gotta love the A-10). On the other hand, maybe this puts him closer to being a head coach, if not at Temple, then perhaps as an assistant.

Thus endeth your waiver update.

One To Go

The exhibition season is finally ending, with tonight's game in Spokane against the Warriors the final test. As you've heard by now, Robert Swift is out with a (possible) sprained knee - or worse, meaning that the center by committee situation just got even more messy.

It's likely Johan Petro will start, with Fortson, Collison, Sene, etc. filling in as well. I suppose we could get all depressed about this, but, seriously, Robert Swift wasn't going to be the reason the Sonics made it back to the playoffs this year, and his injury is not going to be the reason why they don't. At this point in time, the Sonics' best lineup doesn't include Swift, Petro or Sene at center - it's with the undersized Collison. If Swift's injury means more minutes for Collison, well, that's not exactly a tragedy, now is it?

Tonight's game should be an interesting one, in that the Warriors are expected to contend for a playoff spot. Plus, there's the opportunity to watch basketball in the hotbed of hoops - Spokane!