Will Special Session Save Sonics?

After being unable to tie up all the loose ends before the end of the regular session of the Washington State Legislature, it appears that Gov. Gregoire will be calling a special session, at which time SB 6116 - to help authorize funding the improvement of KeyArena - could possibly be passed.

Or not.

According to The Seattle Times, the governor is still undecided as to whether a special session will be required. As of this moment, the bill - which would enable King County to utilize an existing sales tax for funding - among other things - the renovation of KeyArena - remained unpassed, leaving Seattle for now without any prospects for professional basketball.

Further, by not passing the bill during this session, it takes Clay Bennett off the hook for a $30 million bonus he was to have paid the city were the legislature to act on improving the Key. However, were the bill to pass during the special session, Bennett would still be obligated to pay up the cash, assuming Seattle were not to receive a basketball team in the near future.

Got all that?

Of note, the governor issued a statement which noted the following (via The Spokesman-Review):

"The 2009 legislative session completed the most difficult regular session in a generation with a balanced budget, very significant transportation improvements, and other important agreements, but work remains to be done with respect to a few items.

“I will meet with legislative leadership shortly to determine when the Legislature will reconvene.”

The big word being WHEN and not IF the legislature reconvenes.

Stay tuned.

Hey, Kid, Wanna Buy an Aubrey McClendon Poster?

You might recall a month or so ago when we told you about Aubrey McClendon's wine-selling venture, which netted him a cool pile of money. However, as expected, that sale did come at a price, as the wine was sold for far less than it had been valued just 12 months previous.

McClendon did, however, find a willing buyer for some of the other crap he had laying around the house another aspect of his wonderful collection: Maps and paintings.

The Times Online reports that McClendon was lucky enough to find a buyer who would pay him $12 million for an assortment of maps, paintings, etc., which turns out to be $8 million more than he paid for them.

The buyer, you ask? Chesapeake Energy. Why a natural gas company that lost $800 million needed to spend $12 million on a bunch of paintings is beyond my grasp, but I'm sure they can come up with a good explanation. (Naturally, CHK would not comment to the Times on the story).

Anyhow, I'm guessing the negotiations between Aubrey and Chesapeake went something like this:

AM: Self, how much will you pay me for these maps and paintings of Native Americans?

AM: I will pay you $5 million.

AM: No, that won't work. Try again.

AM: Okay, self, how about $10 million.

AM: That's not bad, but I can't part with them for that price. Look at the fine texture, the beautiful expression ... no, $10 million is an insult to me.

AM: Fine, $12 million, but that's my final offer to me.

AM: Done. Nice doing business with me.

Tune in tomorrow when Aubrey tries to sell his $20 million estate in Bermuda to Chesapeake as a "Research and Development Facility."

Boozer

After watching the exciting finish to last night's Jazz-Lakers game, I could only help but wonder:

What if Carlos Boozer had stayed in Cleveland?

It's a lot to imagine, certainly, but the thought of Boozer being an option at the 4 instead of Ben Wallace, and thereby allowing LeBron James just a bit more freedom, well, it makes you ponder just how incredible LBJ's stats would be then. It's been five years since the contract shenanigans of the summer of 2004, but as the Cavs get closer and closer to the Finals, having someone with Boozer's skills at the power forward position would certainly be nice to have.