Both the PI and the Times (oh, and the TNT, too) have articles about the court date, from which we can glean the following information:
-The trial is expected to last six days, with another week or two for the judge to reach her verdict, meaning a decision would not be available until July 1 or so.
-The NBA schedule is due out in June (ish), which could conceivably mean that Bennett might be able to move the team, anyways, but the timing would be exceedingly tight.
-That is counterbalanced by the possibility of the loser appealing the decision, which would add another year's worth of waiting.
-The NBA will discuss the Sonics' application for relocation in April at their governor's meeting. Considering that there will be a pending court case involving the team, it would seem unlikely that the league would permit the Sonics to move prior to resolution of the case. Also, according to Greg Johns at the PI, "The city has said it will consider adding the NBA to the lawsuit should the league approve relocation of the Sonics to Oklahoma City while the team is still bound by its current lease." That sound you heard was David Stern frowning as hard as humanly possible.
Tuesday, January 29
Court Date
Showing the wisdom one would expect from a judge of her stature, Judge Marsha Pechman listened to the Sonics asking for a March court date, the city asking for an October date, and split the difference:
June 16.
For those, like me, who wasted their time getting English minors/majors, that date should obviously ring a bell. It's Bloomsday, the date on which James Joyce based his eternally praised (by people who claim to understand it) and cursed (by students who have to slog through it) novel "Ulysses." The entire book, all 20,000 pages, takes place on June 16, 1904.
And now, a century later, the fate of a city's fandom will begin to be decided on June 16th. Let's just hope that 50 years from now that, in addition to being an Irish holiday, June 16th will be a date for Sonic fans to cherish.
[Oh, and on a side note - this screws Clay Bennett's chances of getting out of Seattle. I can't see the league allowing the Sonics to move to OKC after a decision is made in June as it wouldn't be enough time to allow schedules to be revised. I'll allow smarter folks to weigh in, but from my vantagepoint, this guarantees the Sonics in Seattle for at least one more year.]
June 16.
For those, like me, who wasted their time getting English minors/majors, that date should obviously ring a bell. It's Bloomsday, the date on which James Joyce based his eternally praised (by people who claim to understand it) and cursed (by students who have to slog through it) novel "Ulysses." The entire book, all 20,000 pages, takes place on June 16, 1904.
And now, a century later, the fate of a city's fandom will begin to be decided on June 16th. Let's just hope that 50 years from now that, in addition to being an Irish holiday, June 16th will be a date for Sonic fans to cherish.
[Oh, and on a side note - this screws Clay Bennett's chances of getting out of Seattle. I can't see the league allowing the Sonics to move to OKC after a decision is made in June as it wouldn't be enough time to allow schedules to be revised. I'll allow smarter folks to weigh in, but from my vantagepoint, this guarantees the Sonics in Seattle for at least one more year.]
Potential Trial Date Coming Today
As you should be aware, a very important decision may be made today by Judge Marsha Pechman regarding the court case involving the City of Seattle and Clay Bennett et al. From Eric Williams at the TNT:
Ruth Bowman, a spokesperson for the Seattle City Attorney’s office, said Judge Marsha Pechman has called a scheduling conference to bring the two sides together in the court case between the city and the Sonics for a 10 a.m. meeting Tuesday at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Seattle. Bowman said Pechman may set a trial date during the meeting.
The Sonics, obviously, are keen to have the court date set earlier, in March, while the city is looking for a post-summer date. By scheduling the date for March, Judge Pechman would enable the Sonics to move to Oklahoma City for the upcoming season, while an October date would cancel that possibility, regardless of her verdict in the case.
If info becomes available, we'll try to post it as quickly as possible. Basically, if you want to see the Sonics play at KeyArena next season, keep your fingers crossed that Pechman has a couple of weddings to go to in March.
Ruth Bowman, a spokesperson for the Seattle City Attorney’s office, said Judge Marsha Pechman has called a scheduling conference to bring the two sides together in the court case between the city and the Sonics for a 10 a.m. meeting Tuesday at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Seattle. Bowman said Pechman may set a trial date during the meeting.
The Sonics, obviously, are keen to have the court date set earlier, in March, while the city is looking for a post-summer date. By scheduling the date for March, Judge Pechman would enable the Sonics to move to Oklahoma City for the upcoming season, while an October date would cancel that possibility, regardless of her verdict in the case.
If info becomes available, we'll try to post it as quickly as possible. Basically, if you want to see the Sonics play at KeyArena next season, keep your fingers crossed that Pechman has a couple of weddings to go to in March.
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