Latest Anti-McClendon Tool: Books

You might recall earlier stories I ran about how Aubrey McClendon is battling the Saugatuck Township about his proposed redevelopment of a cherished part of Michigan's lakefront.

After buying the property, McClendon anticipated putting up a whack of McMansions, flipping the properties, and walking away with a bundle. (Astute readers will remember that McClendon fell in love with the area whilst jetskiing on vacation).

Anyhow, due to various reasons, the plan has stalled, with one of the major impediments being the assessed value of the land. In response to the township's assessement, McClendon first appealed, then lost, and has since filed multiple lawsuits, with the sole aim of making the township knuckle under to his desires, those desires being the re-zoning of the property in such a way that he would be able to build the mansions he wants.

In the methodology utilized by so many billionaires before him, McClendon has opted to bleed the township until they cave in. With that in mind, the Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Alliance has decided to publish a coffee table book with beautiful photos of the dunes — with all profits going to a legal fund to help battle McClendon (via Publisher's Weekly).

Entitled The Saugatuck Dunes, the book has already sold 500 copies at $35 each, and has drawn the interest of an independent bookseller in Chicago, among others. If you're interested in 1) purchasing a beautifully done book about a unique part of America and 2) striking a blow for regular folks battling an evil billionaire, here's the link at Amazon.

Blazers/Suns in Vancouver

Turns out that Steve Nash & Co. will be making an additional stop on their "Ye Olde Towne That Our League Hath Left" Tour. Various Canadian outlets report today that the Suns will do battle with Portland in Vancouver on October 22, one week after the much-discussed October 14 matchup at KeyArena.

Does this mean that the KeyArena event is a non-starter? Blazer coach Nate "Mr. Not-So-Sonic" McMillan intimated as much in an earlier interview, and this new scheduling lends credence to the thought that perhaps the NBA overestimated Seattle's ability to forgive and forget.

Tickets go on sale for the Vancouver game on August 8th, but I don't know what the story is for the Seattle game.

UPDATE

Looks like my suspicions were correct. Percy Allen from the Seattle Times reports that the Oct. 14 matchup at KeyArena has been ... canceled.

Allen tried, but was unsuccessful in getting Portland's front office to admit they canceled the game because they knew a sizable amount of bitter, twisted old Sonic fans would show up with NSFW banners with various combinations of "Stern," "Bennett," "Sucks," "F$#@," etc., etc.

Instead, Portland President Larry Miller told Allen, "We were looking into it, checking into and thinking that it was going to work out, but at the same time we were looking at some other options for that game." And, as a result, the Blazers will now play Oct. 14 in Portland, at the Memorial Coliseum.

So let me get this straight, the Blazers, who are desperately wooing Seattle fans, and are aiming to broadcast their games on radio and possibily TV in Seattle this season, decided the best possible way to lure ex-Sonics fans into the Blazer fold was to cancel their only visit to Seattle and replace it with a game in ... Portland?

In what universe does playing a early pre-season game in Portland make more sense than Seattle, from a business perspective?

I'll tell what universe: The universe where the NBA refuses to acknowledge that there is anything but unconditional love of their product. The universe where David Stern refuses to admit that he made a colossal PR blunder in removing the Sonics from Seattle. The universe where Mr. Stern loathes any possible hint of negative reflections on his disgraceful conduct.

That's the universe we're talking about, no matter what Larry Miller says.

Kevin Calabro: Still the Best

Kevin Calabro, one of the few people in this town to actually say "no" to Clay Bennett, is profiled in the Seattle Times today. It goes without mentioning that KC was (and is) an inspiration to Supersonicsoul, so it's nice to see him getting some props. Warning: this article will make Sonics fans both nostalgic and incredibly depressed. But it could also make you a Sounders fan (if you aren't already).