Playoffs? PLAYOFFS?
Posted on Saturday, May 17th, 2008 at 9:57 am by Xteve
Utah gave it a good shot but were just completely outclassed … as I’ve said before the addition of Gasol to LA has made them an insanely complete team … even made Radmanovic look good!
Cavs taking Boston to Game 7 … I must admit that I am becoming intrigued by the notion of an LA-Cavs final. LBJ vs Kobe, Radman/Szerb, Zydrunas/Gasol … some interesting matchups there.
Some bad calls down the stretch against Boston but I don’t think Celtics fans can complain too much. Boston may have the big 3 but they are a middling defensive team IMO and are still having some difficulty working Ray Allen into their offense … that’s a lot of money for a 3 pt shooter who’s fluctuating between the 3rd and 4th option on offense.
As a fan I’d like to see the Hornets advance; for my money they remain the most exciting team to watch in these playoffs. One side of me is saying “die Spurs die” as I’m sure many of you are, on the other hand I find myself thinking that another low-rated Finals leaves more opportunity for the media to talk about the Sonics case. An odd position to be in, certainly.
May 17th, 2008 at 10:08 am
I’m going to quicky jump in and go off topic. Your Spokane Chiefs are playing this weekend in the Memorial Cup. It’s an extremely prestigous championship and there’s no bigger honor in Cananda than winning it for junior age players. You should watch it, or at least follow it. It’s the Canada hockey equivalent of winning the NCAA march madness tournament when it’s down to the final four.
May 17th, 2008 at 10:10 am
All four of the team I predicted are left. I wanted to see Cleveland and Detroit in the east and Los Angeles and New Orleans in the west.
May 17th, 2008 at 10:39 am
die Spurs die.
Isn’t that just German for “the Spurs, the”?
May 17th, 2008 at 10:59 am
Ok, after having experienced the second round…Jazz fans are without a doubt an “interesting” group of people…can only take so much before I need a sanity check. Nothing I didn’t know before, just a greater level of knowledge about it now.
I hate the Spurs…without a doubt, but even if they beat the Hornets in game 7….they won’t beat the Lakers. They have had a few hickups against the Jazz, but they are just too dangerous at this point. There is no way they lose to the Spurs.
The question is: Which garbage team comes out of the East to get beat once again by the West?
May 17th, 2008 at 11:36 am
I hate the Lakers with every fiber of my being. Anybody but the Lakers please.
That being said, don’t forget about the Pistons.
Love the Hornets.
May 17th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Everybody is bashing the East but I think that’s foolish. Sure overall the East was awful but the Pistons, Cavs and Celtics are legit imo.
I think it’s going to be a 2004 finals rematch myself. (Lakers vs Pistons) with the Lakers winning it all.
People have been making 2 incorrect assumptions this year.
1) That the Celtics are amazing.
2) That the Cavs and Pistons aren’t contenders.
May 17th, 2008 at 11:53 am
Pistons vs Lakers baby, PLEASE!!!
May 17th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Hard to believe Ray can’t contribute more to Boston. His age of nearly 33 puts him on the downside for most mortal shooting guards but to go from carrying a bad team to a virtual non factor is a pretty steep drop off.
Many thought we didn’t get enough for Ray and although I’m still not entirely sold on Green as a star in making I am glad we won’t be looking at Ray’s 17 million/per contract over the next 2 years.
May 17th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Ray Ray looks like he is kind on a path like Gary. Good team but not good enough to win title-neither were Shaq,Kobe and Gary(Malone was hurt). His year with the Lakers at age 34ish-about 14 ppg. Ray and GP both seemed a little out of sorts or is it the beginning of the end? Cassell has held up very well on the other hand. By this time Gary was a shell of him former self while up until last year Sam could still bring it almost nightly. He has way more at 38 than Gary did.
May 17th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
I’ll start considering Boston serious contenders as soon as they can win a road game. The fact that they went to 7 games against Atlanta, who was like 10 games under .500, is pathetic.
Detroit is the only East team I have serious respect for. They are the Spurs of the East. Boring and every year forgotten, but every year they get it done. Experience counts for a ton this time of year.
May 17th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Boston is just like the NE Patriots , total juggernauts but dentin to fail because they are cheaters.
May 17th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
For anyone going to the Storm Home Opener tonight at Key Arena, maybe I’ll see you there. I’ll be wearing my black S.O.S. T-shirt and black jeans, & maybe my green Sonics windbreaker if it’s not too hot. I know a few of us will be there. It should be a great game. People there are going to be so elated to be out from under the oppressive ownership of Clay Bennett and PBC and their efforts to tank the teams and lose the fans.
Can you imagine how exciting it’s going to be? How happy everyone will be? If you decide to come, they still have about 4,000 tickets left out of 17,000 for tonight’s game starting at 7:00PM. It will be exciting basketball with the 5 All-Stars that the Storm have collected, adding Sheryl Swoopes, Yolanda Griffith, and Swin Cash to our original All-Stars Sue Bird and the WNBA MVP from 2007, Lauren Jackson. We may be able to get some more dirt on Clay there, too, if we’re lucky. I’ll bet there’s more than a few Storm employees there that are probably thrilled NOT to be Sonic-Clay-PBC employees anymore, don’t you think?
May 17th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Here’s a Video of Seattle’s Commando Dave of “We the Fans” speaking about the need for a Sports Fan Union due in part to the “Maniacal Nature” of David Stern. He says something must be done (to stop him and protect out teams):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HYyQIbF6MU&feature=related
.
May 17th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Or if that link doesn’t work, you could try this link:
http://tinyurl.com/5v96un
Gotta go get ready for the Storm game tonight.
May 17th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Hard to believe Ray can’t contribute more to Boston. His age of nearly 33 puts him on the downside for most mortal shooting guards but to go from carrying a bad team to a virtual non factor is a pretty steep drop off.
Many thought we didn’t get enough for Ray and although I’m still not entirely sold on Green as a star in making I am glad we won’t be looking at Ray’s 17 million/per contract over the next 2 years.
- I know based on the message boards that some people disagree. When Ray played here I was a big fan…but he just looks old…honestly, the biggest problem is that despite the fact he may have lost a step both Garnett and Pierce have basicaly said they’d rather have Ray take a game winning shot. That’d be like the 95 Sonics saying they wanted Hersey Hawkins to take game winning shots.
May 17th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
I think that the Hawk took his share of game-winning shots. Who did they have who was a better 3-point shooter? Refresh my memory.
May 17th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Ellis was great before Hershey. When he came back he was at the end.
May 17th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
“Here’s a Video of Seattle’s Commando Dave of “We the Fans” speaking about the need for a Sports Fan Union due in part to the “Maniacal Nature” of David Stern. He says something must be done (to stop him and protect out teams):”
i didn’t want to bring this up guys, because I have been trying to get things done before I make any announcements. However, I have been in a great deal of talks with certain individuals about launching an official sports fan union (non-labor). Right now I am currently getting the server space setup, getting designers for the website, and going over long/short term ad goals. I had no clue that there was a “We the Fans” out there, but I will be registering the International Fan Union soon.
What I am going to be doing is serious. This isn’t a joke. We are going to need something like the Players Union, but for fans. In the coming months I am going to be working on organizing an Execute Board and a Fan Board. So…this kind of sucks for me, but I had to say something, because in all honesty, after 9 years, I have never seen “we the fans” drop a press release or be present for a press conference in response to anything that has happen in sports period.
If any of you are interested in helping out. email me at live4health@gmail.com
May 17th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
“It will be exciting basketball with the 5 All-Stars that the Storm have collected, adding Sheryl Swoopes, Yolanda Griffith, and Swin Cash to our original All-Stars Sue Bird and the WNBA MVP from 2007, Lauren Jackson.”
The next time in this millenium that a WNBA player dunks at a Storm game please let me know. Until then I’d rather watch a WWE rerun. Fundamental basketball is so boooooring.
haha Zendoc, just yanking your chain. Actually the only Storm game I attended they beat the Houston Comets for the first time ever but Swoopes was out for the season with an injury so it didn’t mean squat. Met none other than big James Donaldson down at the end of the row. Poor guy, I’ve never seen anyone more uncomfortable in their seat. Leg room, what’s that? There’s barely enough for us mere mortals.
May 17th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
i have not edited this yet…but if you have time please take a look and give me some feed back.
May 17th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
The city of Seattle is a world class city that has been home to the Seattle Supersonics for 41 years. This rich history of Seattle Sonics basketball is being threatened by the current Oklahoma City based owners who are in the process of moving the team to Oklahoma City. Sonics basketball in Seattle is clinging to court cases, potential local owners and the fact that Seattle is viable for NBA basketball. Despite its two other professional sports teams this city has shown that it can support the Sonics when they are successful on the court. Clay Bennett has tried to alienate the fan base but has failed because loyal fans still show up to games and chant “save our Sonics” whenever the games are televised nationally. Political and economic leaders have begun to realize the importance of the Sonics and have started taking actions in a last effort attempt to save the Seattle Supersonics. The Sonics should stay in Seattle where they have been supported for 41 years.
The Sonics previous ownership group claimed that they were annually loosing money because Key Arena was inadequate. Shultz said, “In the last two years, it has become very obvious that despite all our individual and collective efforts, we were not able to get to a solution,” after his second failed attempt lobbying for a Key Arena renovation (Bishop). Shultz then sold the team. He justified himself for selling the team to an Oklahoma based group by claiming that he believed “the new ownership group, Professional Basketball Club LLC, has a better chance to succeed in negotiations with local government than his ownership group. He called the interests of the Oklahoma City group “genuine” (Shultz). He also claimed that he “turned down higher bids, as in multiple, to buy the teams because he and the rest of The Basketball Club of Seattle believed those ownership groups were interested in moving the Sonics and Storm. He also said the owners would have accepted a lower bid from a local buyer” (Bishop).
The previous owners of the Sonics found it difficult to generate support from political officials for an Arena plan. Washington state officials even actively worked against a Sonics arena solution. Chris van Dyk, cofounder of Citizens for More Important Things, said after the sell that “the group will continue to campaign for Initiative 91, which seeks to restrict tax subsidies for the Sonics at Key Arena” (Bishop). Seattle city council president Nick Licata overlooked the importance of the Sonics to Seattle and said “If they do leave the state, the Key Arena I think has a great future ahead of it as a multipurpose entertainment facility and we need to focus on making that happen” (Bishop). The Sonics faced a huge uphill climb in getting a solution in Seattle, but Bennett knew this when he bought the Sonics and agreed to dedicate himself to work to keep the Sonics in Seattle.
When former Sonic owner Howard Shultz sold the Team to Clay Bennett he was assured by Bennett that the Sonic’s would honor the Key arena lease and that he would act in “good faith” to keep the Sonic’s in Seattle, but recently released e-mails sent between Bennett and his ownership group suggest that they may not have been acting in “good faith” to keep the team in Seattle. Shultz described the “good faith” clause that Bennett agreed to as a deal breaker but just two days before the sale Bennett in a email to his prospective ownership group said that he could sell the team in a “sweet flip” if an arena deal was reached and they were forced to stay in Seattle (Allen). After Bennett bought the team talks about moving it to Oklahoma city intensified, in another email Tom Ward writes “Is there any way to move here [Oklahoma City] for next season or are we doomed to have another lame duck season in Seattle?”. Bennett replied: “I am a man possessed! Will do everything we can. Thanks for hanging with me boys, the game is getting started!” Ward: “That’s the spirit!! I am willing to help any way I can to watch ball here [in Oklahoma City] next year.” McClendon: “Me too, thanks Clay!” (Allen). These emails show that the Oklahoma city based owners were engaging in active talks about moving the team while they were still under the “good faith” clause to keep the team in Seattle. When the team was bought by Bennett, in a live press conference he strongly emphasized that he would be committed to keeping the Sonics in Seattle but the emails that have been released completely undermine his statements and the “good faith” clause.
When Bennett first began to look at solutions to keeping the Sonics in Seattle he immediately ruled out the Key Arena. The Key Arena has been the home of the Sonics for 14 years. He Stated that “Key Arena the Sonics’ current home and the smallest venue in the NBA, is not an option for the team” (Bennett). The Sonics previous ownership had wanted a renovation of the Key arena which would have made it one of the larger NBA arenas. But Bennett refused to talk about renovation and instead asked for a brand new arena which had been already rejected when previous ownership proposed.
After an outrageous arena proposal for a 500 million dollar publicly funded arena was rejected Bennett became unhappy with Washington officials and started escalating his push to move the team to Oklahoma City. “Owners of the Sonics provided almost half the funds in a successful campaign to get Oklahoma City taxpayers to pay to renovate that city’s Ford Center, according to campaign reports released. The project was designed to attract the Sonics to Oklahoma City” (Seattle Times Staff). The campaign reports show that Bennett worked and spent a lot of money on Oklahoma city lobbyist while in Seattle he was completely turned off to negotiating with officials after the arena proposal was denied.
Former Sonics Owner Howard Shultz has filed a law suit against Bennett with the charges of failure of honoring the “good faith” clause and fraud. Richard Yarmuth, Shultz attorney said, “It’s not money damage. It’s to have the team returned. The theory of the suit is that when the team was sold, the Basketball Club of Seattle, our team here, relied on promises made by Clay Bennett and his ownership that they desired to keep the team in Seattle and intended to make a good-faith effort to accomplish that”(Allen). Yarmuth cites McClendon’s comments last August to the (Oklahoma) Business Journal in which the billionaire founder and chief executive of Chesapeake Energy said: “We didn’t buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here [Oklahoma City]” (Allen). The former ownership group of the Sonics felt that selling was their only option of securing the team in Seattle. When the emails between Bennett’s ownership group were made public, former owner Wally Walker said they clashed with the “good faith” pledge Bennett made when he bought the team. “For the people who voted for the deal, the good-faith, best-efforts promise was a significant factor in supporting the deal,” Walker said. “This is not what they signed up for” (Allen).
When Bennett bought the team he entered into a side agreement that said “he would honor the four-year lease in terms of the 2010 terms” (Shultz). Bennett has breached the side agreement that he entered to by continuing to offer Seattle lease buyouts. In a recent offer which the city rejected Bennett offered a “total of $26,571,052 for the rights to move the team to Oklahoma City next season” (Johns). Despite that offer being rejected “Sonics owner Clay Bennett says he hopes to reopen talks with the city of Seattle about buying out the two years remaining on the Key Arena lease so the team can move to Oklahoma City right away. The city previously turned down a $26 million buyout offer” (Johns).
In meetings with the NBA Board of Governors Bennett has argued that the fan base in Seattle is non-existent. Bennett depleted the Sonic fan base by cutting player contracts and getting rid of players that had been popular with Seattle fans. Entering into the 2007 and 2008 season there was huge fan interest surrounding the Sonics because the team had just landed a high draft pick. Seattle fans had hoped that with the high pick joined with two all stars the Sonics could make a deep push in the playoffs. When the team traded all star Ray Allen sports analyst Greg Johns described the impact it would have on the team by saying, “Allen was the anchor, and now the club appears adrift, if it hadn’t already. His departure plays into the notion that next season will be a lame-duck kiddie-fest as Bennett saves most of his resources and interest for the court fight to relocate the team” (Johns). Fan excitement surrounding the Sonics quickly evaporated when the team continued to trade key players, they even booed the Sonics when they were “clobbered 168-116” (Johns). Bennett hired Sonic legend Lenny Wilkens as team president, the move sent overtures to Sonics fans that Bennett intended to stay in Seattle. But shortly after Wilkens was fired Wilkens resigned after “a rapid decline of his role in the organization” (Kelly). The alienation of the Sonics fan base started to become publicized; Steve Kelly stated “Bennett appears to be slowly distancing himself from those who have past history with the Sonics. Wilkens’ resignation is added to the loss of assistant coach and former player Jack Sikma; and the selection P.J. Carlesimo as head coach, instead of Dwayne Casey, a former Sonics’ assistant” (Kelly). The team even restricted player interviews from the media in the continued attempt distance Sonics fans. Even though Bennett attempted to alienate the Sonic fan base the team still managed to not have the worst attendance record in the league because of loyal fans who are dedicated to keeping the Sonics in Seattle.
Treatment towards fans worsened as the season continued. On one occasion “reluctant and irritated players had to be coerced to participate in a prearranged post game event following the 79-66 loss to the Houston Rockets” (Allen). The players claimed that they were not informed that they had to participate in signing autographs for fans after the game. On that night “Earl Watson attempted to exit the arena through a back door, according to a team official, but a marketing staff member instructed him to walk onto the court. An irritated Watson said to the staff member, “Don’t yell at me unless you’re my parent” (Allen). Players have publicly discussed their unhappiness about the situation in Seattle and it has become apparent that they are starting to loose respect for the ownership group.
Fans have reacted to the treatment that they have received from the Sonics by filing a lawsuit against them. The law suit accuses Bennett’s group of “breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation and violation of Washington’s Consumer Protection Act, according to a draft of the complaint filed in King County Superior Court” (Allen). The plaintiffs in the lawsuit claim they were “misled by Bennett and that they wouldn’t have bought season tickets for the coming season if they’d known the teams might leave” (Allen). Loyal Sonics fans have supported the team for 41 years and are prepared to continue fighting to keep the team in Seattle despite Bennett’s attempts to distance the fans.
Clay Bennett sold the Seattle Storm which he also acquired when he bought the Sonics, to local ownership. “A group of Seattle women, led by former Deputy Mayor Anne Levinson, purchased the WNBA Seattle Storm from Supersonics owner Clay Bennett for $10 million. The purchase option for the franchise was finalized in the last few days, ensuring the Storm will remain in Seattle, while Bennett continues his push to move the Super Sonics to his hometown of Oklahoma City” (Associated Press). The ownership group stated that they were motivated to purchase the team because of enthusiasm from the fans.
A Potential ownership group headed by Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer has emerged with the purpose of purchasing the Sonics from Bennett and preserving Sonics basketball in Seattle. Ballmer publicly presented his plan to purchase the Sonics and arena which would be publicly and privately funded. “The plan does have the support of some who were critical of previous plans to keep the team. Anti-stadium activist Chris Van Dyk and Seattle City Council member Nick Licata both support the investors’ plan” (Johns). This plan has gained because “investors initially proposed to pay $75 million of the Key Arena expansion but doubled that to $150 million in the past couple of weeks in an attempt to get something passed this year” (Allen). Unlike the attempt by Bennett to get an arena deal, Ballmer’s deals proposes that “the local investment group would contribute $150 million toward a $300 million overhaul of Key Arena, Existing stadium taxes would be extended to raise another $75 million and the city of Seattle would contribute the remaining $75 million, possibly partially funded by bonding off arena revenues, such as leases and naming rights, according to sources” (Allen).
In another attempt to save Seattle Sonic’s Basketball a group led by Dave Bean has proposed a “plan to build Emerald City Center, a privately financed $1 billion sports and exposition complex that would include a retractable-roof arena capable of housing the Sonics and an NHL team” (Allen). Bean said that this project would also benefit the Seattle economy because it would, “attract partners such as Microsoft and Boeing, who could build exposition centers to promote their businesses and would surround a sports facility capable of hosting outdoor concerts and shows under a unique slide-away roof”(Allen). The project would also, “double Bennett’s unsuccessful proposal for a $500 million multipurpose arena in Renton. The new proposal centers strictly on private financing, however, with the two principals suggesting investors could easily be lured into backing a financially viable development that would put a new face on Seattle’s downtown waterfront” (Allen). This plan is joined with others in a recent uprising to secure the Sonics in Seattle.
Seattle is more adequate than Oklahoma City in supporting a professional sports team. Seattle has already proven that it can support multiple sports franchises. Oklahoma City does not have a professional sports team, but it showed great support when the New Orleans Hornets relocated there for two years. Seattle has supported the Sonics for 41 years, and when the team was successful the arena was always sold out. In comparison Seattle defeats Oklahoma in almost every category. Seattle has a larger market it currently ranks 14th out of 30 Teams, a committee comparing the two cities reported that “Oklahoma City has a market population of 1.7 million and would be the second smallest in the NBA. The Seattle market ranks 14th in the league with a 4.6 million population” (Allen). “The committee also used adjusted numbers to evaluate income levels. Oklahoma City’s average per capita income is $38,000, which would rank 22nd in the NBA and it is $47,000 in Seattle, which ranks fifth” (Allen). Lastly the committee reported that “the television market broadcast and cable is substantially larger in Seattle by a 3-1 ratio, but the committee gave points to Oklahoma City because it has higher NBA ratings. In its report to the relocation committee, DSM said Oklahoma City would be the third-smallest television market in the NBA, less than a third the size of Seattle” (Allen). The committee concluded that “Seattle was a better market than Oklahoma City based on demographic factors, economic outlook and business environment” (Allen).
Despite the conclusion that Seattle is a better market “the owners, who each receive $1.03 million from the Sonics as part of a $30 million relocation fee, chose to ignore some of the data and the recent struggles of teams in small markets — the Vancouver Grizzlies moved to Memphis and the Charlotte Hornets moved to New Orleans” and voted in favor of relocation of the Sonics (Allen). A strong argument that Bennett and David stern have made against Seattle is that Key Arena is inadequate. Supporters of the renovation have replied to that argument by claiming that the size of Key Arena would be “doubled by the proposed $300 million restructuring, which would move the outer walls of the arena out to the edge of the building’s historic roofline to expand the concourse area by 100,000 square feet. An additional 250,000 square feet would be added to the south of the arena where an underground parking garage and practice facility would sit under new retail space” (Allen). Also the renovation would be profitable to Sonics owners because the “Sonics will receive $10.2 million in broadcast fees next season. DSM predicts the local media revenues to rise to $20.2 million for the 2009-10 season if the team is in Seattle, which is double what it predicts the team will receive in its first season in Oklahoma City” (Johns). Hope for Basketball in Seattle still remains alive because “The league’s constitution stipulates the Sonics must move before the 2008-09 season or else the team must re-submit a relocation bid” and strong law suits against the Sonics have a high chance of binding the team to the 2008-2009 season (Munson).
NBA teams in smaller markets are failing and loosing lots of money. Relocated teams such as New Orleans and Memphis have suffered in trying to attract a fan base. “Recent NBA team moves and expansions to smaller markets have unequivocally failed financially (Vancouver to Memphis, Charlotte to New Orleans). “The Hornets held a record of 33-15, good for second best in the tough Western Conference. Yet the team is second to last in the league in attendance, drawing a meager 12,453 fans per game on average, a number that is further inflated by free tickets given away within a business model that relies heavily on subsidies” (Robinson). The situation in Memphis which recently relocated from Vancouver is dire, “Grizzlies are struggling to attract a fan base after having two consecutive losing seasons. They are drawing less than the University of Memphis men’s basketball team, which is averaging 17,404 through 14 home games” (Robinson). The trend is that relocated teams struggle in their new markets, this trend would continue in Oklahoma city which has never fully supported a sports franchise.
The Sonics belong in Seattle where it has had the longest tenure than any other NBA team in their respective cities. The loyal fans of Seattle have supported this team for 41 years and continue to support it even though this team is in danger of relocating. Howard Shultz sold the Sonics for less because Bennett’s ownership group led him to believe that they were willing to do whatever it took and act in “good faith” to preserve the team in Seattle. Bennett’s intentions of working to keep the Sonics in Seattle now appear questionable because of emails that suggest otherwise. The NBA board of Governors should force the Sonics to stay in Seattle where they belong because there is a local ownership ready to purchase the team, and Seattle officials are ready to help build an Arena that will make Seattle an even stronger market. The board of Governors should not overlook the many Sonic fans who chant “Save our Sonics” at the top of their lungs at home games. Sonics basketball belongs in Seattle where it has been an important piece to the culture of this City.
May 17th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
John-the best “Quasi-Chronological” History of the saga I have seen. Maybe a little intro reference to the Teams History i.e. 250,000 in downtown for Championship Parade etc. Last Paragragh, first sentence is inaccurate. Several-New York, Lakers, Pistons, Celtics have longer. Several others Blazers,Suns,Rockets,Hawks,Warriors,Wizards,Bucks are similar lengths(maybe a year or two difference).
May 17th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
I sorry it was 300,000. This is a great article!
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001943978_sonics01m.html
May 17th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
That was also when Seattle was half the size it is now!
May 17th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
thanks RmcD
May 17th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
O.K., I’m no graphic artist but I did have a little fun creating this one. Click on my name to go to my website, go to photos, it’s the first picture under Glen’s graphics. Check out the music playing while your’e looking. Hope you get a chuckle out of it!
May 17th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
John, what is the purpose of your Sonics story/timeline? Is it going to be submitted somewhere for something or just for you?
Just wondering what kind of feedback you want (content, spelling, grammar, etc.).
May 17th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
its for my 11th grade research project
May 17th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
so its basically my senior project
May 17th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
John, can Save Our Sonics use this?
May 17th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Just a reminder for the meeting this Thursday. Looking forward to seeing you all there. There is a ton of new energy and great talent that came aboard at our last meeting. Keep it coming!
Cheers
Speedcat
————–
REMINDER: Save Our Sonics is holding a Volunteer Commitee meeting as follows:
Location:
Mercer Island Library
4400 88th Ave SE
Mercer Island, WA 98040
(206) 236-3537
Date & Time: Thursday May 22 from 7PM to 9PM.
All are invited but we expect anyone who attends to get involved as a volunteer. We had some good progress at the last meeting in setting up committees to address the various initiatives/events/projects that we want to pursue.
If you want to be more involved in SOS, please email saveoursonics[at]gmail.com and Griff will send you information on how you can join a committee to be part of the effort.
May 17th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
yeah sure
May 17th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Can’t believe you were able to get such a large post to actually post here. I think you should get an award or something.
May 17th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
hahah. i would be happy with a A in that class
May 18th, 2008 at 12:15 am
Stern may have cost Mike D’Antoni his gig in Phoenix……In the Titanic clash between the Spurs and Suns last year, Boris Diaw and Amare’ ran onto the court to help Steve Nash who was body slammed intentionally to the ground by cheap shot artist Robert “that’s why I’m still on an NBA roster” Horry. They didn’t go after anyone-but Stern said(think wispy nasal tone)’”They violated a rule.” They were suspended for the next game. If those two aren’t suspended, they may have won the series and maybe the TITLE!! They don’t make the desperation move for Shaq this year or think of saying goodbye to their coach.
In the meantime-scuffles break out in the Boston-Atlanta series in which Garnett put his HANDS ON AN OFFICIAL and Kendrick Perkins and M Williams step onto the court–NO SUSPENTIONS!!! There shouldn’t have been… but what about the Suns???……What about his helping the Kings get an arena??!!??!!
This Commish was so Smug during this whole mess last year and is in the tank for Bennett and he has to GO!!!
May 18th, 2008 at 12:30 am
I picked the Celtics to make it to the Finals when Ainge got Garnett and Allen, but I’d like to see a Lebron and Kobe series. The Lakers are indeed complete with a Gasol, Odom and Kobe trio, along with their role players. Seattle is lead by Durant and Green should grow into an Odom type of compliment. The 2009/2010 season should be a magical ride into the playoffs as Bennett rides into the sunset.
May 18th, 2008 at 12:31 am
Here is a clever video of the play and bashing the Spurs and Stern- just before the two minutes mark..is Stern on Mike and Mike….Dipwit…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slg4vl1SPrc
May 18th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
“When Ray played here I was a big fan…but he just looks old…honestly, the biggest problem is that despite the fact he may have lost a step both Garnett and Pierce have basicaly said they’d rather have Ray take a game winning shot.”
Still unclear as to why you think people deferring to Ray is such a negative. Ray is the best shooter of the 3 and he has hit the most clutch shots in his career. I wouldn’t read into that interview too much. Based on the game so far today……Paul Pierce is clearly their go to guy. Getting Ray shots is not a priority at all.
Its amazing to me that Ray has been shut down for this series. Not sure if he has lost a step, is just off, or is just getting locked down on D. But lets face it…..Wally Z isn’t exactly a lock down defender.
May 18th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Although I’d like the worst ratings/drawing finals to reward the NBA I can still see a good reason to have Boston in the finals. Not just because I like Ray but because you know that every story on the Celtics in the finals will have to mention Ray coming from Seattle which will lead to Seattle stories. You know Ray will be asked about the Sonics situation as well. Too bad he couldn’t speak his mind on it.
So someone find out a way to use Ray in the finals for Seattle pub.
May 18th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
I agree that Ray Allen is already looking old. Either that or he’s lost all his confidence or something. When we traded him to Boston, I didn’t really expect him to be as good as Paul Pierce, but I expected him to be close. He has really tailed off lately. Maybe he’ll turn it around against Detroit. At least he made 2 Free Throws in the last minute.
It was quite a battle between Paul Pierce with 41 points and LeBron James with 45 points. Delonte looked real good - certainly better than Ray. But Paul had a little better support overall, like Kevin Garnett and Eddie House and PJ Brown (!), so the Celtics pulled it out and Wally Z and Delonte are done for the year. A real nice run for them, though. If Ray doesn’t turn it around soon, that trade last year will start looking a lot better.