“SuperSonics 30″ Viewing Party!
Posted on Thursday, May 28th, 2009 at 11:57 am by Brian Robinson
June 1, 2009
1979 NBA Finals Game 5 DVD Replay
@
Jalisco
11am/1pm/3pm/5pm/7pm/9pm
Floyd’s Place
2pm/4pm/6pm/8pm/10pm/12pm
The Spectator
4:30pm/6:30pm/8:30pm/10:30pm
May 28th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Also, espn classic is running a retrospective of the 96 finals on saturday at 8 am.
May 28th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
if someone could get the 96 retrospective and offer it on rapidshare for those of us out of country that would be really appreciated.
thanks.
May 28th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
The answer to the funding problem for the Arena and the new Sonics comes from China.
I have spoken to top leadership in several big Chinese companies that would be willing to come in together with Ballmer and Microsoft to take partial ownership in the new Sonics, just like recently occurred in Cleveland with the Cavaliers. I chinese group just took a 20% stake in the Cavs.
This model would be perfect and would give some Chinese companies a PR win and help our Washington State truly become the US gateway to China, and us to cover costs without a public component.
The City would love it too. Think of all the tourism dollars developed!
May 28th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Son of Spartacus, that sounds awesome but is it feasible and practical?
May 28th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
I hate the Chinese idea. But I am willing to support it due to my “jones” for the Sonics.
I remember going to the Sonics vs the Rockets and there was massive YAO support. Louder then the Soincs fans at times
Do we work with FASCISM (STERN) or Communism (China)
(gulp)
May 28th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Whether or not it would go anywhere Eric….and i think you, as well as most, would agree with this….it would be a great move to further cement how important and integral the Asian community and influence is in Seattle. I think it would be a great move if it could be done. And again, I think it makes a lot of civic sense.
Even though i am 100% white bread, I am more than proud of the Asian communities influence in our state.
May 28th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
The Asian interest might be the only thing that works, I am hoping that some talk about this is going on. I am hoping that this will happen but it is hard to be optimistic about anything with the powers that be in this state.
May 28th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
I believe this would be attractive to both sides. Microsoft is huge in China.
Someone with connections to the City and Ballmer should see if they would be willing to entertain the thought of it. Microsoft may even have a strategic partner that they would like to see take the stake.
I too have lived through the past 3 years. It is hard to be optimistic. I believed we would keep the Sonics in the end.
With that being said, Why not try it. It would be a creative solution
May 29th, 2009 at 6:31 am
Not to mention this also makes Seattle that much more of a global city.
Also, China is coming closer and closer to capitalism every day. So it would be nice to have a piece of that involvement.
May 29th, 2009 at 9:40 am
draftexpress is saying the Thunder like Harden. They also say they are committed to Westbrook and Rubio won’t be there pick.
May 29th, 2009 at 9:40 am
Son of spartacus:
Make it work!
May 29th, 2009 at 10:43 am
“The answer to the funding problem for the Arena and the new Sonics comes from China.
I have spoken to top leadership in several big Chinese companies that would be willing to come in together with Ballmer and Microsoft to take partial ownership in the new Sonics, just like recently occurred in Cleveland with the Cavaliers. I chinese group just took a 20% stake in the Cavs.
This model would be perfect and would give some Chinese companies a PR win and help our Washington State truly become the US gateway to China, and us to cover costs without a public component.
The City would love it too. Think of all the tourism dollars developed!”
You guys are all totally missing the boat.
Finding ownership isn’t and has never been the problem. That’s the easy part.
Getting the City to agree to the new building is the stumbling block. Having Chinese ownership or not changes absolutely no one’s mind in that regard.
Get the building done first and the rest takes care of itself.
May 29th, 2009 at 11:25 am
A building which will never be built, maybe in 20 years when the nostalgia kicks in. Maybe.
May 29th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Building won’t happen without a key figure in Government i.e…Governor or Mayor of Seattle, and a leadership figure from the potential ownership group.
Ballmer and Co. don’t want to lead this thing, they want to be financially involved and be collaberators…nothing more.
I understand what you are saying Xteve, but I think anything at this point is a big help.
May 29th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
I agree with Xteve, I’ll add that the NBA in chime is partnering to build arenas there.
I am thinking many things, and know almost none.
But this is what things look like to me.
I think KeyArena and Seattle city limits has through 12/31/2009 to get a solution.
All bets are off after that, owning a team is not the hard part, planting a new arena outside of the city of Seattle would be on the table competing with Seattle in every way.
I think Bellevue could take this whole thing away, on many levels.
I think there is a lot if pressure to salvage something to avoid blame for a dead KeyArena (city campaign material), and because somebody might actually care (that might be Jeanne Kohl-Welles).
The Chinese might want to be a risk partner in building a new arena and a slice of an NBA team, maybe not.
I think
May 29th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
If the recent election season was any indication is that apathy rules the arena discussion to the point that even the smallest road bump (husky stadium) can derail any chance to help. It has also proven that not only is there no leadership and that the voters dont care enough to install leadership favorable to the cause. The dead key arena issue can and will likely be ignored for a generation (10-20 years) since the current voting block could care less. None of our hard work has done any good due to a lack of popular support.
May 29th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
“Building won’t happen without a key figure in Government i.e…Governor or Mayor of Seattle, and a leadership figure from the potential ownership group. ”
Well let’s review, shall we? The Seattle electorate has already blown off 2 of the 3 wealthiest men in town, why would they pay any attention at all to a Chinese investment group? This town has its head stuck squarely up its rear and always will.
“I think Bellevue could take this whole thing away, on many levels.”
P43 is right again. If there’s ever another arena built in this metro area, it’s not going to be in Seattle. It’ll be in a suburban location. The dithering do nothing idiots in Seattle gov’t and Olympia have ensured that due to their total lack of civic vision and kowtowing to the lowest common denominator, which is just as stupid here as it is anywhere else.
I would love to see Bellevue announce plans for a building built by private funds. Then watch all the Seattle politicos go into full-on revisionist freak-out mode.
May 29th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
We all would like to see that. Sadly it’s all conjecture at this point unless someone here is either a voter in the bloc or has influence with one of the relevant localities, were just suckin each others popsicles here.
Sorry about the negativity but it is what it is.
May 29th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Your dreaming if you think the government, city, or legislature is going to do anything.
I think the only option now is a fully privately funded building. Has that ever been done before?
May 29th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
It is strange that more than a couple of people have acted as if the funding for Key Arena was a lock without Husky Stadium…seems to be a bit of revisionist history.
May 29th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Menace, JA Adande said the Wizards’ arena fully private funding.
May 29th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
i think what the idea is is to try to get the chinese investment group to pay for the rest of the keyarena remodel in exchange for part ownership in the team. am i right, spartacus?
May 29th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
I think Staples in LA is a fully private enture.
It makes sense to me that nothing outside of Seattle will get any movement/action until the end of 2009 - but if nothing is happening by the end of this year - an arena in a suburb os Seattle could certainly happen. If it does - it kills the Key arena which would be 2nd choice for most all of the concerts and special events in the Seattle region when competing against a brand new arena.
May 29th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Beyond 2009 …. the 2 big questions in my mind are…
1. How passionate is Ballmer & Co. to own an NBA team in Seattle? If he wants to do it bad enough - we know he has the $$$ to do it & it will happen one way or another.
2. How much fan interest would there really be to bringing the NBA back? I know on this site there is high interest among some very hard-core NBA fans - but I don’t think that passion is very wide or deep in our area because of how badly the League screwed us - I think lots of fans have a “Screw the NBA” attitude. The NBA may have burned a bridge with a whole generation of fans - there may not be much energy for a return of the NBA for quite a few years while the scars heal - gradually.
May 29th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
Xteve, I never said that a Chinese investment group involvement would be the end-all. I merely said that you are going to need a figure head for both parties that need to be present to make something happen within the confines of public funding.
All I am saying, is that Ballmer and Co. don’t want to lead this thing, they want to be money guys. That’s where a the Chinese group of aggressive investors comes in.
I also said you need the Government leadership as well, we haven’t had that yet. Again, I NEVER said that the Chinese group would the quick fix and the single, missing piece.
I just don’t see how having an investment group that would be willing to invest 20%+ is a negative or something that should not be explored.
May 29th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
I like the Chinese group idea, but am uneducated in this whole thing. The way son of spartacus described it, it sounds good
May 30th, 2009 at 9:03 am
As the East-link of light rail passes from section C to Section D it goes near 36 acres of the old Safeway Distribution site still identified on Heartland LLC’s page as available for sale.
That chunk of land is about half the size of Seattle Center’s 74 acre site.
Even if somebody in Seattle chose to build a new arena with private money they would have the impossible task of getting enough land to make it worth their while. B2 is hoping that the city gives them rights to land in order to get their Powerpoint slideshow to work, NFW does that ever happen.
What did Sabey do with his land?
May 30th, 2009 at 10:16 am
I don’t care who does and where the arena is, I just want a team back now! One year without basketball here was enough. And after watching the playoffs (didn’t watch a game the whole season) I know I still have love for the game. I think if a team came back the fan support would be there.
May 30th, 2009 at 11:01 am
Try telling kids today that 30 years ago the teams that are now the Wizards and Thunder played for the NBA Championship two years in a row, both winning one. It would be as far removed from them as the BAA championship game was to us.
May 30th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Bill Simmons has a great article about the NBA on ESPN.com. I don’t know if anyone has said anything about it yet. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090528&sportCat=nba
May 30th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
“If it does - it kills the Key arena which would be 2nd choice for most all of the concerts and special events in the Seattle region when competing against a brand new arena.”
It’s not even the 2nd choice now. More like the 5th or 6th.
“All I am saying, is that Ballmer and Co. don’t want to lead this thing, they want to be money guys. That’s where a the Chinese group of aggressive investors comes in.
I also said you need the Government leadership as well, we haven’t had that yet. Again, I NEVER said that the Chinese group would the quick fix and the single, missing piece.
I just don’t see how having an investment group that would be willing to invest 20%+ is a negative or something that should not be explored.”
It’s not. I don’t think you fully understand the issues here. Money is not the problem and never was. There’s plenty of money here to get it done. What is needed is someone to drive the political process to get the roads, etc. site done. If the City, County and State didn’t listen to Schultz, didn’t listen to Ballmer, didn’t listen to Boeing, WTF do you do other than throw your hands up and treat them for the useless f*cksticks they are?
An investment group willing to pay 20% is nice, but it won’t get past the primary obstacle. The Muckleshoots could buy that investment group 10 times over at least and they were ignored.
May 30th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Rashard never played this well for Seattle
May 30th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
T- couldn’t agree with you more!!
Go Magic!
May 30th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/stevekelley/2009281429_kelley31.html
May 30th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
“I don’t think you fully understand the issues here. Money is not the problem and never was. There’s plenty of money here to get it done. What is needed is someone to drive the political process to get the roads, etc. site done. If the City, County and State didn’t listen to Schultz, didn’t listen to Ballmer, didn’t listen to Boeing, WTF do you do other than throw your hands up and treat them for the useless f*cksticks they are?”
I actually do fully understand the situation. The whole point is, whatever piece you can get…get it….even if it is just more money. Plus, you will need a face for the money, and Ballmer and Co. don’t want to be that. In fact, noone at this point has stepped up to that role.
I already said that a “Gary Locke” figure will be necessary, that is the missing piece for this whole thing. Had Gary Locke not been in office…or at least someone with his mentality during the Seahawks and the Mariners relo-threats, then they both would have gone the same way that this did.
May 30th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
luvmysupes, thanks for the article.
May 30th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
SpeedCat- no problem. Glad that some sports journalists are still bringing up the Sonics and their history in Seattle. The play-offs are making me miss having a team even more.
May 30th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Does Rashard join John Elway and Michael Jordan in Cleveland’s all-time hall of sports villains?
May 30th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Hey Joshua and Xsteve:
I was wondering what yuse guys think of Rashard Lewis,The orlando Magic and politics in general?
May 30th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Shameless promo:
http://www.reverbnation.com/macrounit
“….huffing glue, at the special school, you’re a tool, hydrocephaly… you’re a government stooge, hydrocephaly…your empty gaze… there’s nothing but water… in your head… doo doo doo doo doo”
May 30th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
“…. you gotta big head… and you’re brain damaged…. you think you’re free…. but they’ll get you too…”
May 30th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/photogalleries/sports2009270590/9.html
whoolly shaiitt!
May 30th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
durant’s facebook fanpage. time to start cheering him on to leave OKC for new york and heckling the okc idiots.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38604921786#/KevinDurant
May 30th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
Thank You Magic!!! Too bad the Nuggets couldn’t pull it off….Magic in 4 please!!
May 31st, 2009 at 5:02 pm
I will never forget the 79 west conf. finals - we were down 3-2 and game 6 was in Phoenix. Waiting for that game was incredibly stressful for me. I worked that day, and I got the starting time mixed up. After my shift ended that Saturday 3 PM, I RAN to my car to haul ass home for the tip off. I turned on the radio and Bob Blackburn was saying: “What an amazing Sonics win…!” I missed it. I cried like a baby.
The previous season started at 5-17. Returning hero Lenny Wilkens takes over and runs the table all the way to game seven of the finals - …so the 79 season was supposed to be destiny (of course destiny isn’t always a guarantee) and Phoenix was all set to spoil it and the Sonics would have been another no title franchise (like Phoenix, Atlanta, Utah, Denver, Cleveland, Dallas, Sacramento, Indiana, New Jersey, Orlando, Minnesota, Toronto, Charlotte, and more.)
That one game in Phoenix could have killed our legacy (and gave Phoenix their only NBA title.) The best game I ever missed. Thirty years pass by like nothing. Looking back, I expected more championships than just that one. And I never expected ever seeing them leave.
http://i646.photobucket.com/albums/uu184/herkinger/banner.jpg
May 31st, 2009 at 7:38 pm
so thats what happens when you offer the don a new building, you make the finals. seattle offers nothing looses team, orlando offers new stadium (which is rediculously oversized and retardadly un-intimate for basketball) and they make the finals.
call me cinical, but thats how i see it.
May 31st, 2009 at 8:58 pm
All of the taxes collected in bill 6116 used for Key Arena’s renovation should be refunded the same amount if a NBA team plays in a remodeled Key Arena for a certain amount of years, before relocating to a new city.
May 31st, 2009 at 10:24 pm
http://www.seattlepi.com/thiel/406736_thiel01.html
May 31st, 2009 at 10:34 pm
It appears 20% of the Thunder ticketholders are not going to renew their seats. “Thunder officials project 80 to 85 percent of fans who purchased season tickets the inaugural season will renew.”
Read the whole spin on the OKC renewal situation here:
http://tinyurl.com/lan9lx
June 1st, 2009 at 7:04 am
Enough Patches. Let it go. PLEASE. If it was 50% renewel that would be news but having a renewel rate at or higher than league average isnt.
You just come across really pathetic looking when you bring stuff like that on here.
June 1st, 2009 at 11:08 am
It was fun to mock Bennett and the Oklahoman Paper..80 to 85% renewal seems realistic for a team that was the 4th worst in the leaugue..the fans in OKC are supporting the team…we shall see in 5 years how it is all working longer term..
June 1st, 2009 at 12:20 pm
“the fans in OKC are supporting the team”
They are going to the games, for the most part, but they are not watching them on TV.
http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/62322
June 1st, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Marco, I look at the NBA in a different light now. Since I no longer have a team to pull for, and am covering it on more of a journalist level now…I like to see great story lines unfold.
Magic/Lakers is not a great story line. The Nuggets had that article on Chauncey done by Tom Friend of ESPN, as well as Melo finally coming into his own this postseason, Birdman coming back from the ashes of drug abuse, and George Karl getting another shot at pursuing a title with a group of “has-been’s” and misfits.
Next you have Cleveland, it’s obvious there.
and of course LA…
While I don’t like this Laker team, this go ’round (no Spurs to hate), they have Kobe back in the hunt to prove that while he didn’t win the MVP, he is still showtime. Of course, also trying to prove that he can get over the hump without the Big Shactus. Not to mention the fact that they have been bi-polar at best and playing beneath their talent level. All of that and a showdown with a tough team in the Nuggets and a tough road schedule in Denver. While the Rockets had toughness, losing as many key figures as they did left a talent gap that toughness just can’t makeup. Denver had the D, the toughness, and the talent, as well as veteran leadership, and a go-to scorer…I thought this was their (Denver) series…I guessed wrong.
That is the general basketball side of things.
June 1st, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Now for Rashard Lewis….
He is a great guy, awesome in the community, and was willing to stay in Seattle…thanks to Howard, he didn’t. Also a very capable shooter.
Having said all that. Not reliable on D, and doesn’t post up as much as he should. Now granted, you have Dwight Howard, and his post game works very effectively with the 3-point offensive they run…it seems to spread teams out very nicely. In the end though, you live and die by the 3. So far they haven’t seemed to struggle all that much with the living by it.
When all is said and done on Rashard, it becomes a money issue. A max player can’t be an incredibly deficient player. When he isn’t getting the looks or not able to drop it from downtown, he needs ot be able to get in the post whether high or low and make something happen. He did that a little earlier in the playoffs and was successful. So it isn’t a matter of his ability, but more so his tendency and desire. Plus, there is the D…he has to be able to bring the versatility of holding down an on the block threat, as well as getting out and blocking the mid-range and 3 point shots…or at least redirecting the shot to another option.
Does Rashard suck? No, I said he is crap…that is probably taking things too far. But he is also doing what he is right now, (not spectacular numbers…role playings stats at best) with the best big man in the game, Turkoglu coming out of nowhere and stepping up his game big time, and Rafer Alston becoming a major shooting threat. So, I can’t give hime that kind of credit.
He’s a number 2 scorer when he is on completely. On an average day, just a 3rd option. Definitely not a max guy.
June 1st, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Joshu@,
I couldn’t agree more. It basically comes down to players’ skill vs contract.
If Jim McIlvaine (sp?) was given the league minimum, we’d all have said he was awesome (ok maybe not but you get the idea).
Orlando will not have enough money to resign Hedo. They put all their money in Rashard and Howard, which puts incredibly high expectations on Rashard - expectations that I do not think he can reach.
June 1st, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Ben, thanks for the Bill Simmons article. That was intense and so true! And based on the other article, even Art Theil seems to agree with him.
June 1st, 2009 at 2:43 pm
“It appears 20% of the Thunder ticketholders are not going to renew their seats. “Thunder officials project 80 to 85 percent of fans who purchased season tickets the inaugural season will renew.”
“They are going to the games, for the most part, but they are not watching them on TV.”
Doesn’t really matter. They aren’t going anywhere and aren’t folding anytime soon. 85% seems pretty high to me considering the economy and the team was terrible.
As for TV ratings…..that really doesn’t matter either. No matter what the NBA and the team gets the same amount of money from their TV contract.
RE: Rashard
His contract isn’t really an issue now. In a couple years it might become an issue……but if they win a championship this year I don’t think any of their fans will care.
June 1st, 2009 at 2:43 pm
I was just reading how the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA have secured a sponsor which will be the primary logo of their uniforms. The Mercury logo itself will just be a small one in the upper corner of the jersey. I hate this more than anything in sports, and it will sicken me if NBA teams start following suit.
With the money problems of the NBA, I can see it happening. It’s bad enough to where our arenas have a corporate name, but sponsors on the uniforms? Can you imagine we get the Sonics back within 5 years or so, and we have to have a Nintendo logo on the jersey with a small Sonics logo in the upper chest. Anyway, just wondering what others think of sponsored jerseys.
June 1st, 2009 at 3:08 pm
James,
Don’t know if you are a soccer fan or not - but can you say AIG?
Personally, I’d rather have jerseys covered with advertisements than TV timeouts and commercials. But that’s just me…
June 1st, 2009 at 3:20 pm
Not a soccer fan, but know how the uniforms are sponsors. I’m just not comfortable wearing a sponsored jersey, it just seems strange to me. Thanks for your opinion though John…
June 1st, 2009 at 3:33 pm
i cannot be a fan of any sport that has logos on the jerseys. completely ruins the game experience and cheapens the fan pride of having the team represent your city. not to mention when you buy a jersey you are advertising the sponsor more than your city/team. sell the arena naming rights, put logos on the court, do giveaways and sponsored stat segments… but some things should be sacred.
luckily, NASCAR, MLS and now WNBA are doing it and i don’t watch those sports anyway.
June 1st, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Adam,
Obviously preference would be to name everything after the City, and not have to see advertisements anywhere. But that’s about as realistic as a team staying in the same City for all of eternity.
If the Sonics came back, and had a big MS logo on the front of their jerseys, that’d keep you from being a fan?
Nascar and Soccer do it due to the nature of the sport, they can’t stop for commercials. I think it’s a pretty safe guess to say the WNBA is doing it because they’re desperate.
June 1st, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Just as long as it doesn’t have a Star*ucks logo on it…
June 1st, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Your already getting advertisements shoved down your throat with the constant signage and arena naming rights. Not much of a difference except a logo on the uniform will probably cost more to the advertiser and be a higher profit for the team.
Not a fan of the idea but it wouldn’t take away from the game at all. I would expect jersey sales to fall.
I would think that the NBA has an agreement with Adidas which says they won’t sell ads on their jerseys anyway.
June 1st, 2009 at 4:15 pm
“Nascar and Soccer do it due to the nature of the sport, they can’t stop for commercials.”
Great point
June 1st, 2009 at 4:48 pm
“If the Sonics came back, and had a big MS logo on the front of their jerseys, that’d keep you from being a fan?”
interesting question. i’d have to say i’d still watch the games and be “a fan,” but i’d never buy a jersey if it had the MS logo on it. i look at NASCAR and MLS merch and think how ridiculous it looks to have the sponsor logo competing with the team logo. just crosses a real line for me in wearing the jersey.
June 1st, 2009 at 5:46 pm
“As for TV ratings…..that really doesn’t matter either. No matter what the NBA and the team gets the same amount of money from their TV contract.”
Yes, but if people aren’t watching, companies won’t want to advertise during games (or at least pay as much for the privilege), which means the stations won’t want to pay the team so much for the broadcast rights, if at all. Here’s what Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley said in October of 2007 about the importance of local television revenue:
“Local television revenue is really the killer,” Heisley says. “There’s just no television revenue in the small-market areas. We get virtually nothing ($4 million, according to Forbes) and New York and Los Angeles can get $50 million to $70 million, from what I understand. There is a huge discrepancy.”
http://www.mbqmemphis.com/?p=27
So I suppose if you want to say TV ratings don’t matter, it is because small-market teams aren’t going to be getting much even if ratings are good. But that means the OKC market isn’t very good to begin with.
What is considered a better overall measure of fan support—attendance or TV ratings? I think you could make an argument for either one, but I am not well-informed on the subject.
June 1st, 2009 at 7:35 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqogMvEdnRE&feature=related
OKC’s Finest. Looking good Jokelahoma. Yeee Haaawww.
June 1st, 2009 at 9:01 pm
“Magic/Lakers is not a great story line”
- I COMPLETELY DISAGREE WITH THAT!
June 1st, 2009 at 9:15 pm
T, completely agree. I think the finals will be good.
June 1st, 2009 at 10:25 pm
“Magic/Lakers is not a great story line”
- I COMPLETELY DISAGREE WITH THAT!”
Let me start off by saying this, I thought that the Lakers were beyond inconsistent before the Nuggets series, and even during at one point. However, they all of the sudden buckled down and shut the door on a team that had everything you need to win a title. The Nuggets were a tough draw, one that I didn’t think LA could overcome….but they did.
IF the Lakers play of the last two games is an indicator that they have come together, toughened up, and got behind Kobe’s leadership, and if he IS in fact the driving force at this point…well…Lakers in 4.
Please tell me how the Magic contribute to the story of this years Finals. Especially considering all that was there for Denver and Cleveland.
June 1st, 2009 at 10:59 pm
“Yes, but if people aren’t watching, companies won’t want to advertise during games (or at least pay as much for the privilege)”
Absolutely. But that hurts the station, not the team. The station pays for the rights to broadcast and sell the advertising. The team gets paid the same no matter how they station is able to monetize the inventory.
Smaller markets are always going to get smaller local tv deals.
June 1st, 2009 at 11:20 pm
ESPN reports that ratings are up this year for the playoffs….
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2009/news/story?id=4222827
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:32 am
Absolutely. But that hurts the station, not the team. The station pays for the rights to broadcast and sell the advertising. The team gets paid the same no matter how they station is able to monetize the inventory.
- That’s true…but when the next contract comes around it will be much lower. Look at how much the Mariners contract dropped when they moved back to KIRO.
- The whole article (as usual for an OKC Article) seems to be sort of strange. They are expecting 20% of their customers to not renew (or consolidate as they say), but then they also project to have a “waiting list” for tickets, which they make a big deal out of them being one of only three teams to have such a thing.
However, logic would make you question if they are losing 20% of their Season Ticketholders and they didn’t have a waiting list last year (or else Im sure it would’ve been mentioned in the article)…where are these new fans coming from? I’m not saying losing 20% of the season ticketholders is a bad thing…I’m not even saying that the article is lying. However, its not hard to look at this as yet another propoganda job…it amazes me how hard the OKC articles always try to compare themselves to different areas and prove they are on par with them. It’s the biggest little brother complex I’ve ever seen.
In the end…we’ll all see how well OKC is doing over the next couple of years. If OKC maintains their $58 - $65 million dollar payroll then good for them….if they suddenly have to be at the cap or below the cap then you can see some cracks in the armor. Its hard to see how a team can survive with the leagues lowest ticket prices and still put up a competitive payroll. At some point they need to pay the piper.
June 2nd, 2009 at 10:25 am
“Magic/Lakers is not a great story line”
- I COMPLETELY DISAGREE WITH THAT!
I don’t agree or disagree… I just don’t care.
So, did anyone go to any of the viewing parties yesterday? Personally, I have a hard time celebrating any Sonics anniversary, although there is an 11-month anniversay that i’m “recognizing” today.
June 2nd, 2009 at 12:51 pm
“- The whole article (as usual for an OKC Article) seems to be sort of strange. They are expecting 20% of their customers to not renew (or consolidate as they say), but then they also project to have a “waiting list” for tickets, which they make a big deal out of them being one of only three teams to have such a thing.
However, logic would make you question if they are losing 20% of their Season Ticketholders and they didn’t have a waiting list last year (or else Im sure it would’ve been mentioned in the article)…where are these new fans coming from?”
I think they did have a season tickets waiting list for last year.
June 2nd, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Are the three fans that have the lawsuit against Bennett considered part of the waiting list?
June 2nd, 2009 at 1:12 pm
“Its hard to see how a team can survive with the leagues lowest ticket prices and still put up a competitive payroll. At some point they need to pay the piper.” I usually just read this blog, but I wasn’t sure if Myk was talking about the Hornets or Thunder here. Thunder’s average ticket price last year was $47.51, just below the league average of $48.83. The Sonics’ average ticket price was $35 in 2007/8. The Hornets had the lowest ticket price in the league at $25.17. I agree, it will be hard for the Hornets to survive with the leagues’ lowest ticket prices and a competitive payroll. The Thunder was one of four teams with a waiting list last year: LA, Phoenix, Boston and Oklahoma City. I agree. Time will tell how well any NBA teams are going to do over the next few years, and, surprise!, teams with losing records usually do worse than teams with winning records.
June 2nd, 2009 at 1:20 pm
I think they did have a season tickets waiting list for last year.
Never mind..>I guess I didn’t read the first sentence. Then of course, seeing a paragraph (yes, paragraph) like this in a meto daily would be easy to miss:
The Thunder was one of only four NBA teams to have a season-ticket waiting list.
How do these guys have jobs? My opinion still stands…reading through and see how desperate they are to compare themselves to the other teams makes me feel like they are so desparate to prove this will work that we will never see a negative article.
June 2nd, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Just wanted to be number ‘79.
Bring ‘em back!
June 2nd, 2009 at 4:55 pm
“Its hard to see how a team can survive with the leagues lowest ticket prices and still put up a competitive payroll. At some point they need to pay the piper.”
That is what i have been saying the whole time. Even if they were to sell out every game, it wouldn’t matter. If Memphis is getting 10+ times in revenue from alternative sources than the New York’s of the league, and OKC was near the bottom of the list, that paints the appropriate picture…IMO.
June 2nd, 2009 at 5:40 pm
“That’s true…but when the next contract comes around it will be much lower. Look at how much the Mariners contract dropped when they moved back to KIRO.”
Only if ratings go down though. If the team and ratings improve the team can demand a bigger contract. I don’t know how long they are locked in for.
The Mariners contract dropped for good reason. I’m sure their TV contract post 1995 was much nicer than the previous deal.
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:31 pm
“That is what i have been saying the whole time. Even if they were to sell out every game, it wouldn’t matter. If Memphis is getting 10+ times in revenue from alternative sources than the New York’s of the league, and OKC was near the bottom of the list, that paints the appropriate picture…IMO.”
10+ times less….
June 4th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
I want the Lakers to win just to make the Kobe vs MJ debate that much closer.
Besides, if the Magic win it’ll just be another Supersonics all star to win a title after leaving. Payton, Allen then Lewis? Makes me too bitter.