With the Washington Legislative Session within a few days of ending, the pressure is on to find a way to pass state bill 6116, which would help provide funding for an improvement to KeyArena.
And, with that in mind, it was surprising to read Sen. Ed Murray's comments in this morning's Seattle Times. Murray told reporter Jim Brunner, "The bill is dead for the session. Really dead." Seattle officials begged to differ, urging that until the session is officially over, nothing is dead.
At this point, it is painfully obvious that state represenatives and senators are facing a difficult fight to get this bill passed. On the one hand, the KeyArena improvement plan is fiscally sound (or as fiscally sound as this sort of project ever will be, anyways), and in this time of economic disaster, would prove a helping hand to struggling businesses in the area as well as construction companies.
On the other hand, the state is pondering increasing classroom sizes, forcing teachers to take a pay freeze for the foreseeable future, and cutting benefits to thousands of people. With that sort of activity taking place, it becomes politically untenable to support funding for professional sports, regardless of the merits of the project.
Still, I believe Murray's comments came more out of frustration than out of a cold, hard assessment of the facts. Bearing that in mind, if you're in favor of re-doing KeyArena, I suggest you phone the state's hotline at 1-800-562-6000 to express your support for SB 6116. 48 hours from now, all of this may be moot, and Seattle's chances of ever watching NBA basketball again will become even more remote.
Ask yourself: Do the Sonics matter to me? If the answer is yes, I'd suggest you pick up the phone.
Thursday, April 23
Wednesday, April 22
Key Arena Bill: A 30 to 50% Chance of Passing
Jim Brunner of the Seattle Times checks in with odds on SB 6166 passing the state legislature this session.
Quoting Brunner:
"Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, prime sponsor of Substitute Senate Bill 6116, said he gives it a 50-50 chance of passing. But he predicts it will come down to the wire. 'It's a budget bill so it can hang out here til the end.'
"Rep. Ross Hunter, D-Medina, who has worked on a similar proposal in the House, put the odds at just 30 percent."
Perhaps the two gentlemen's lack of faith in the bill's passage could be related to the King of Olympia, Frank Chopp, whose penchant for stalling was seen last year, the year before ... and this year as well. Whether the insertion of funding for low-income housing is the magical ingredient to get Chopp to go along with the bill remains to be seen, but Hunter and Murray's inside information - and their negative assessment of the bill's success - can't be too reassuring.
Quoting Brunner:
"Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, prime sponsor of Substitute Senate Bill 6116, said he gives it a 50-50 chance of passing. But he predicts it will come down to the wire. 'It's a budget bill so it can hang out here til the end.'
"Rep. Ross Hunter, D-Medina, who has worked on a similar proposal in the House, put the odds at just 30 percent."
Perhaps the two gentlemen's lack of faith in the bill's passage could be related to the King of Olympia, Frank Chopp, whose penchant for stalling was seen last year, the year before ... and this year as well. Whether the insertion of funding for low-income housing is the magical ingredient to get Chopp to go along with the bill remains to be seen, but Hunter and Murray's inside information - and their negative assessment of the bill's success - can't be too reassuring.
Dikembe
We may all be Sonic fans, but getting us to agree on something isn't a given. Best player? Some might say Payton, some would choose Kemp, or perhaps Haywood, or even Sikma.
Best coach: Wilkens or Karl? Best team: '95-96 or '78-'79?
We can all agree on this, though: The toughest moment in Sonic history was watching the Sonics lose to the Denver Nuggets in 1994. Up 2-0, the Sonics dropped three straight. And it wasn't just three straight to some random team - it was three straight to the home of the Denver Broncos and their horse-faced quarterback.
If you ask any Sonic fan the most haunting image in team history, it's the image of Dikembe Mutombo lying on his back, squeezing the basketball between his massive palms, a look of sheer joy mixed with exhaustion on his face.
For 15 years, I've hated that moment, but today, with news that Mutombo's career is over after a knee injury last night in Portland, I'm relaxing my attitude a bit.
Mutombo's career - an amazing 18-year journey - is now over. In a few months, maybe I'll go back to hating this moment again, but today, viewed through the prism of watching this giant man seeing his athletic career end, well, I'm filled more with a feeling of happiness for his success than I am with intense disappointment at a Sonic failure.
Congratulations on a remarkable basketball career, Dikembe. If one man had to symbolize the Sonics' most disappointing failure, I'm glad it was you.
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