Supersonicsoul - The Sonics Blog!

Hoosiers Revisited

noreply@blogger.com (chunkstyle23) — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:42:00 +0000

Please enjoy this lovely, nostalgic, Hollywood-ending alternative to totally-not-ever-rigged* NBA Playoff basketball.

Via the always-on-point Cosby Sweaters.

*Remind me again why I want anything to do with that crooked operation?

When Is a Free Lunch Not Free?

noreply@blogger.com (PN) — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:44:00 +0000

I know this might run afoul of the prevailing sentiment about the proposed new arena in SoDo, but I'd like to add my two cents about the supposed "tax-free" contributions the public will be making to said arena.

As it stands, all taxes generated by the building - from sales taxes to admission taxes to property taxes - will be redirected away from the city and county general funds and towards paying down the public's debt on the arena. (Going off memory, I think that provision lasts about five years, or at any point, it lasts until the debt is entirely paid). Proponents of the building claim this makes the building "tax-free," in the sense that as those taxes would not exist without the new building, they are, in a sense, found money.

Except that's not really the truth. Yes, there is certainly a large chunk of money that will be generated by the NewSonics that would otherwise not exist, but what percentage is unknowable and, furthermore, there is a very, very large percentage that is being re-routed from other, existing expenditures - expenditures that do contribute taxes to the general revenue.

That's a lot to digest, I know, so let me try to explain it in less complicated terms.

Let’s take a hypothetical casual basketball fan, Xavier McMillan. In the past, Xavier attended five Sonic games a season, buying a total of 15 tickets a season (his friends, Spencer and Detlef, usually went with him). Those 15 tickets cost him an average of $30 each, and let’s say Xavier spent an additional $40 a game on food, drinks, etc (I know, he’s cheap). Add it all up and he has spent, on an annual basis:

Tickets, $450

Other, $200

Total, $650

After the Sonics left town, Xavier had no pro hoops to follow (well, he drove down to Portland once, but, geez, that was a long drive, and Spencer Payton still hasn’t paid him back for gas like he said he would). So, he started going to other games. A few M’s games, a couple UW games, even a Seattle U game that one Thursday when there wasn’t anything good on TV. In the end, he didn’t dole out the entire $650 that he did on Sonic-related spending, but he did spend $400. And all of the money he spent was being taxed and sent to general funds.

Now, a few years later, Xavier is excited about going to Payton’s Place to watch the Sonics, and all that money he spent on the Mariners, the Huskies, etc. will now get spent on the Sonics.

And that’s the key to this whole deal – instead of contributing $650 that would be taxed and used for roads, schools, and so forth, that $650 will now be taxed and used for a basketball arena.

Now, we can get into the argument about whether the government should or shouldn’t spend money on the ridiculous things it spends money on, or whether tax money spent on building new arenas for billionaires is better than tax money spent on the normal bullcrap governments spend money on. But this isn’t the time for that argument.

No, this argument is whether the money Sonic fans contribute in arena tax revenue is money that would not otherwise have been spent anywhere in King County. Ask yourself, as Sonic fans, what did you do with the money you would have spent on tickets, beers, and popcorn at KeyArena in the past few years?

I’m guessing that at least some of that Sonic money has been spent on other things – movie tickets, bar tabs, rent, Sounders tickets, whatever – all things that contribute tax money to the general fund.

However, by putting up a new arena, you will, in essence, be taking the money you would have been contributing to the general fund and, instead, be directing it towards paying down the debt on the new arena. Now, as a Sonic fan, that’s perfectly fine with you. I’m sure you’d much rather see your $100 or whatever in tax revenues spent on a basketball team than on another study of how to get people to take public transit or whatever else it would have been spent on.

But regardless of how you feel about how the money is spent, the argument that general fund revenues won’t be affected by this new arena is, well, not a lie exactly, but not exactly the truth, either.

(UPDATE: For a better, well reasoned take on this subject from someone who knows quite a bit more about it than myself, check out Field of Schemes.)

Arena Announcement; NHL No Longer Required

noreply@blogger.com (PN) — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:19:00 +0000

KING5 has the story. With a memorandum of understanding agreed to between the investors in a new NBA team, the mayor of Seattle, and King County, it now goes to the City Council and the King County Council for approval. If approved, construction on a new arena in the SoDo area could conceivably begin as soon as an NBA team is ~~stolen from another city~~ acquired. Previous speculation had focused on any arena proposal requiring both an NBA and an NHL team for success, but today's MOU seems to indicate that only an NBA team would be necessary, although an NHL team would certainly be nice.

BREAKING NEWS: (Another) Arena Press Conference this morning

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Merrill) — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:10:00 +0000

Invester/Savior Chris Hansen meets Seattle's last three Sonics fans. (Photo: Joshua Trujillo/seattlepi.com)

Only in Seattle could there be this much excitement about a "memorandum of understanding". (And only in Seattle could there BE something called a "memorandum of understanding"--way to commit, guys!)

From the Seattle Times:

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, County Executive Dow Constantine and hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen are scheduled this morning to announce details on two agreements between Seattle, King County and ArenaCo on financing a new, $490 million sports arena in Sodo.

City and county officials met late Tuesday in McGinn's City Hall office to finalize what Sung Yang, Constantine's chief of staff, characterized as a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that would be sent to the councils.

Hansen and city and county leaders initially proposed a memorandum of understanding to detail how the city and county would issue the construction bonds and how the investment group, led by Hansen, would repay them. A MOU would be less binding than an ordinance and potentially less of a guarantee of taxpayer financial commitment.

According to KING 5 the press conference will be at 10:30 this morning.

The Enemy of my Enemy is . . . my Enemy?

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Merrill) — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:19:00 +0000

I hate the Lakers.

Always have, always will. Whenever I see Dyan Cannon and all the other phony-baloney "fans" at the Forum, I get an overwhelming urge to stab them in the sunglasses. And don't get me started on the wanna-be Lakers fans who would show up at Sonics games wearing Kobe jerseys. What kind of sick bastard would do that?!

But here I am, a man without a team, long divorced from the ups and downs of the NBA, slowly getting pulled back into the heat of PLAYOFF FEVER by, of all things, the Lakers.

You see, those filthy, rotten Lakers are playing the only team in all of sports that are even more filthy and rotten than they are: The Team That Shall Not Be Named. The Oklahoma . . . ghuhhhhhhh. I can't even write it. Let's just call them . . . Those Guys.

It was bad enough to steal our team (and recently, our history). Now these villainous cretins are forcing me to root for a team that I've hated since I was a child.

There are probably some old-time Sonics fans that think we should cheer for the You Know Who. After all, we drafted a few of them, and, well, they're playing the LAKERS for God's sake! Well, these people are idiots.

Anyone who would ever root for . . . THEM . . . is not a Sonics fan. A true Sonics fan would root for a team of Hitlers over Those Guys.

Which is exactly what I'm doing. I'm rooting for a bully. I'm cheering for Satan. I'm . . . (shudder) . . . a Lakers fan.

I want the Lakers to win every game by 2000 points. I want . . . that other team . . . to sob openly on the court and then hurl themselves en masse off the nearest bridge which, hopefully, happens to be over a lake of fire. I want them permanently erased from the NBA record books. Then I want the record books to be burned, just to be safe.

I want all of this to happen. And then I want the Lakers to get swept in the next round.

Just When You Thought You Couldn't Hate Howie Any More

noreply@blogger.com (PN) — Thu, 03 May 2012 20:38:00 +0000

Unbelievable article up right now detailing the final despairing days of a Sonic employee. The money quote:

I didn't see how we'd get an arena deal led by men who couldn't conceive of it as anything but a rich man's boondoggle, perpetrated on behalf of other rich people. Average people would shoulder the costs of making sure that the Puget Sound's affluent—suits at Boeing, executives at Microsoft—could be coddled at a sporting event that average people would no longer be able to afford to attend.

See the rest at Deadspin. No, really, see the rest at Deadpin, like, right now. Story by Jeremy Repanich.

Deserve? Deserve's Got Nothing To Do With It

noreply@blogger.com (PN) — Wed, 02 May 2012 21:03:00 +0000

"But [the Maloofs] don't deserve [Anthony] Davis. They don't deserve a team."

-Steve Kelley, Seattle Times, May 2

Let's get one thing straight - deserve's got nothing to do with.

You want to talk about deserve? Does Jerry Buss - a Class A philanderer - deserve Kobe Bryant?

Does Donald Sterling - a racist skinflint - deserve Blake Griffin or Chris Paul?

Does Aubrey McClendon - a top-class con artist who has swindled his own company out of hundreds of millions of dollars - deserve Kevin Durant?

Does James Dolan - a top-notch jerk who seems to flounder from one disaster to the next - deserve Jeremy Lin?

For crying out loud, who does deserve Anthony Davis? As it stands now, Michael Jordan and the Bobcats will get Davis, even though they forced their customers to pay first-class prices for third-class service the entire 2011-12 season. Do they deserve Davis?

The answer, of course, is no. As much as Steve Kelley would like to get free tickets to NBA games again, and as scandalous as the NBA's departure from Seattle was, we don't deserve an NBA team any more than anyone else. And the notion that David Stern will now - after 30 years of being a condescending and selfish twit- suddenly morph into a benevolent dictator and hand us the keys to the Sacramento Kings, well, I'm sorry, but I'm not holding my breath about that happening anytime soon.

David Stern is going to do what David Stern always does: Get the best deal he can for his owners and let the chips fall where they may. If he can keep the Maloofs in Sacramento and get a new arena he will, but if not, it will be up to the Maloofs - not David Stern, not Steve Kelley, not anyone else - where the team will go next.

Because deserve's got nothing to do with it.

Richie Rich Hates Aubrey

noreply@blogger.com (PN) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:02:00 +0000

Aubrey McClendon Must Be Stopped
Shareholders must demand accountability and vote to throw out McClendon. If any pocket of justice exists in our ambivalent world Aubrey McClendon will be forced to exit Chesapeake and walk the long plank of disgrace.

Did I crib this from Mother Jones? Or perhaps Utne Reader? Or Supersonicsoul?

Nope. It's from Forbes, and it's written by an investor from Houston whose most recent piece in the magazine was titled “Some Tips For The Simpletons of Occupy Wall Street.” Worth a read, if only to revel in the coming financial apocalypse headed Aubrey's way.

Good ol' AM, still an a**hole after all these years.

(via Forbes)

Updated Sonicsgate on CNBC; Chunkstyle’s Stern Cameo

noreply@blogger.com (chunkstyle23) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 22:47:00 +0000

As Seen on TV! By Friday, 10pm EDT anyway.

Like every diehard Supes fan, I watched the original Sonicsgate doc with a mixture of pride and heartbreak. I could only watch it in 20-minute segments, if only to keep myself from punching my monitor or sending Tourette’s-like streams of expletives to Howard Schultz’s corporate email account.

It’s been at least two years since I watched the whole thing, so it is easy to recommend, nay, DEMAND a fresh viewing of the documentary in its slim-and-trim-for-2012, 1-hour form on CNBC, Friday April 27 and Sunday April 29, 7pm PDT. What’s new? Oh, just a couple things:

new interviews with Sonics legend Shawn Kemp and Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament
new archival footage, photos and evidence
stunning new graphics and visual effects

Unless they meant some sweet Video Toaster transitions, I should probably mention that the STUNNING! NEW! GRAPHICS! will include my STERNZILLA painting. Which means I will soon be having this conversation on the phone:

"Yes, Mom, the painting will be on TV. No, no, I won't be on TV. Just the painting I did. No, they're not going to talk to me. Because nobody cares what I have to say, I'm an artist. Sigh, yes, I will come over and help you set your VHS."

Anyway, said painting is conveniently ~~now~~ (soon?) available in the all-new SUPERSONICSOULSTORE on the Zazzle. Also, some of my other SSS “Hall of Fame” images are included in the Sonicsgate DVD Bonus Features.

Dammit, did I bury the lede? That’s what I get for being a journalism school dropout.

http://www.sonicsgate.com/

Doesn't Get Old

noreply@blogger.com (PN) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 21:53:00 +0000

The Kings are scheduled to play at Power Balance Pavilion next season. Stern wouldn't speculate where they would play beyond that, and said if they sought to relocate, approval would be left to the relocation committee that is headed by Oklahoma City owner Clay Bennett.

via AP

I could read those last seven words every day for the rest of my life and it'll still get a laugh. God bless you, David Stern, and your horrible, ridiculous league.

Hyperbole, Meet Graph

noreply@blogger.com (PN) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 23:55:00 +0000

"While the Mariners successfully co-exist with the Seahawks and Sounders in the adjacent CenturyLink Field, Lincoln notes that an NBA arena will need to host 200 or more events a year to be financially viable and would thus dramatically change the road and parking situation in an already-congested area."

(via Pravda)

Graph below shows scheduling of hypothetical NBA, NHL, and MLB teams in Seattle. Dates used for NHL are from the Vancouver Canucks in 2010-11, the OKC Ahem in 2010-11, the Seattle Mariners for April 2012 and the Texas Rangers for October 2011 (playoff data for Mariner games is slightly outdated).

Note that in the entire calendar year, there was one date (April 13) where a regular season Mariner game overlapped a regular season NBA game and no cases where a regular season MLB game overlapped a regular season NHL game. Note that there were six instances - in total - where a regular season/post-season MLB game overlapped a regular season/post-season NBA/NHL game.

In other words, in a typical season where the Mariners miss the playoffs and the NBA/NHL teams leave by the second round, we're talking about three or four days a year where a scheduling snafu might arise.

Not exactly 200, but, then, why let the truth get in the way?

SoDo NoMo?

noreply@blogger.com (PN) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:40:00 +0000

As someone who proudly wore a Seattle Mariner starter jacket and cap to the 1985 World Series, I think it’s safe to say I have some credibility when it comes to Mariner history.

Which is why I do not make this comment lightly about the M’s thwarting of the proposed Seattle basketball arena: Incredible.

No, it’s not because the Mariners are hypocrites who have no problem sucking from the public teat while simultaneously blocking their brothers from doing the same. And, no, it’s not because they continue to say that their interference has everything to do with traffic concerns and nothing do with keeping a lid on competition for Seattle’s pocketbooks.

No, the reason I say that this whole affair is incredible is because if 1985 me had flown in via time machine to 2012 and heard that the Mariners were the kingpins of the Seattle sports scene … well, 1985 me would have dropped his Mariner painter’s cap and Alvin Davis rookie cards in utter astonishment.

Regardless of your opinion of the nonsense arising from the professional sports teams in this region, you have to be amazed at how times have completely changed in the span of 25 years. Two decades ago, the Mariners played before crowds that resembled a Ringo Starr tour, were routinely booted to odd AM or FM stations whenever the Seahawks happened to be playing at the same time, and were generally thought of as the stepchild of Seattle sports, below (in order) the Seahawks, the Huskies, and the Sonics.

Now? Well, now it’s different. As Geoff Baker pointed out in the Seattle Times today, the Mariners’ decision to stand in the way of the proposed new arena is such a horribly pad PR move that it can only mean the team’s owners are close to selling, and could care less about the long-term ramifications of their decision.

Will their position hurt the team? Honestly, I have to believe that whatever tomatoes get thrown their way will have a minimal impact on the team’s attendance, and whatever money they forfeit from a hypothetical TV network involving the M’s, Sonics, and NHL would be more than made up for by not having to share King County’s disposable income with two other competitors.

Bottom line? The M’s decision is bad PR-wise, but not so bad that it’s going to kill them. After all, every Sonic fan already knows the true moral of this story, and every story regarding pro sports:

It’s a business.

The Sonic Dance

noreply@blogger.com (PN) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 23:40:00 +0000

If you haven't already figured it out, we've replaced the competitors in this year's NCAA tournament with Sonic players and coaches who were either alums or former coaches or ... well, sometimes I had to fudge a bit. For example:

1) Lamar: Dale Ellis clearly didn't attend Lamar University, but his middle name is Lamar, so, there you go.

2) Murray State: Flip Murray/Murray State. Yes, I know.

3) Kentucky: Real Sonic (or Kentucky) fans will know why.

4) Lehigh: Bob Weiss has no affiliation with the school, but he did grow up in the same area.

5) LIU, BYU: Ditto #4

6) Harvard: He doesn't have an official relationship (yet), but thousands of Sonic fans wish Steve Ballmer's name would appear in a Sonic media guide in some future time.

7) Florida State: Rashard Lewis obviously never played for the Seminoles, but was heavily recruited by them.

Sadly, even my loose rules couldn't enable me to find a Sonic for UNC Asheville, New Mexico, Belmont, or Southern Miss. If any readers can provide some tips, we'll be glad to amend the bracket.

The Midwest bracket (Haywood/Meschery! Perkins/Ellis! Silas/McKey! Cage/McMillan!) has got it all over the West (Snow/Bianchi? Sundvold/Pope?).

50th Anniversary of Wilt's 100

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Merrill) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 20:44:00 +0000

Today marks the 50th anniversary of, as Ed Sullivan called it, "The greatest thing that's ever happened in indoor sports."

I'd argue it's the "greatest thing" that's ever happened in any sport. Unless the NBA lowers the rims or bans teams from playing defense, Wilt's 100 is one of the few records in all of sports that is virtually untouchable.

If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend picking up Wilt, 1962: The Night of 100 Points and the Dawn of a New Era by Gary M. Pomerantz. It's one the best (and quickest!) basketball books I've read in quite a while, breaking down this epic feat quarter by quarter, player by player.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go pay respects to Wilt's other greatest performance.

Zollie Volchok Passes Away

noreply@blogger.com (PN) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 20:15:00 +0000

To those reared on Payton, Kemp, and Karl, the name Zollie Volchok might not ring any bells, but Zollie Volchok, who passed away Sunday night, was an integral part of the early days of Sonic history, and also played an important role in the championship years as well.

Volchok, who was 95 years old and was born Zalmon Marcola Volchok, came to the Sonics in the 1969-70 season as the team's interim Supervisor of Operations and remained with the club in various positions for many years afterwards. He was brought back to the Sonics by owner Sam Schulman for the 1977-78 season as the team's Executive Vice President/General Manager and remained with the club through the 1982-83 season. Ironically, he was named the NBA's Executive of the Year in 1983, the first such award in the franchise's history (he was joined by Bob Whitsitt a decade later as the only two winners in Seattle's history).

Volchok's role was a unique one, and completely different than the one expects from an NBA GM in today's game, as he left the on-court talent business to Bill Russell or Lenny Wilkens while he handled the business side of things. In Wilkens' book "Unguarded," there are numerous stories of trades that didn't happen (Fred Brown for Earl Tatum or Tom Burleson for George Jonson) or draft picks that didn't get picked (Ernie Grunfield instead of Jack Sikma), and Volchok routinely let Wilkens handle that side of the Sonics' affairs, trusting that a former NBA player and coach would no more about basketball talent than a guy who spent his formative years in vaudeville.

Volchok's background was in the entertainment business, everything from roller derbies to Frank Sinatra and few things in between, and he did considerable work for the Variety Club. Despite a lack of basketball knowledge, Schulman trusted that Volchok's ability to get people to attend events would prove useful with the Sonics.

Schulman's trust proved accurate, as Sonic attendance increased and Volchok eventually wound up owning a 5% share of the club. He is survived by his wife of 72 years, Sylvia, and sons Gary, Michael and Tony.

Spencer Haywood and the Hall

noreply@blogger.com (PN) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 17:05:00 +0000

The Basketball Hall of Fame announced its list of candidates for 2012 induction today, and they failed to include a former Sonic who spent quite a bit of time proclaiming that he was going to be inducted this year:

Nope, Spencer won't get hired this year.

Reggie Miller, Rick Pitino, Bill Fitch, Katrina McClain, Maurice Cheeks, Bernard King, Dick Motta, Don Nelson, Hank Nichols, Ralph Sampson, Jamaal Wilkes and All American Red Heads make up the entire list, and no matter what you think of the merits of Ralph Sampson (I know, it's ridiculous, but, hey, that's the Hall), it can't be argued that somewhere along the lines, Spencer Haywood either 1) Got some bad info from someone or 2) Was blowing smoke.

(Also, if you had some bad shrimp yesterday and need to get it to come up, just think about this: Phil Knight is also getting inducted this year.)

What does this all mean? Very little, honestly, except for Spencer Haywood, obviously. It's not as though he can't get elected some time next year or the year after that, and given the Hall's byzantine and, frankly, nonsensical standards it's not beyond the realm of possibility that we could very soon see Haywood's name up there with Jabbar, Jordan, and Johnson.

Just not this year.

Seattle NBA / NHL arena Special on KING-5 tomorrow

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Merrill) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:22:00 +0000

It looks like KING 5 is going full-blown WEATHERBLAST 2012 with the new Seattle sports arena story, dedicating an entire hour of prime-time to a special news report:

Seattle, WA – KING 5 is producing a one-hour 10:00 PM special airing Thursday, February 23rd, titled “Seattle Arena: Billion Dollar Hat Trick.” KING 5’s Jean Enersen and Sports Director Paul Silvi will report on the plans for a world class sports arena to be built in Seattle as home for professional basketball and hockey franchises.

The three-part hat trick Jean and Paul explore:

the financing and building of a state-of-the-art sports arena to be built in Seattle’s Sodo district

what it’s going to take for this billion dollar arena to be the new home for an NBA team

what it’s going to take to bring an NHL team to the Puget Sound.

KING 5 examines details of the arena plan including the private financing proposed and its potential impact on taxpayers as well as the future of Key Arena. Jean and Paul will also report on the personalities involved, from Seattle and King County politicians to the Seattle native and self-made multi-millionaire Chris Hansen who’s behind the mega deal.

KING 5’s Chris Daniels reports from Orlando, where the NBA All-Star game is taking place this weekend. The NBA and Sacramento must make a decision soon about the future of the Sacramento Kings franchise. The special will also feature reports from Phoenix and New Orleans, two areas where sports franchises face uncertain futures.

“Seattle Arena: Billion Dollar Hat Trick” will also be simulcast on 710 ESPN Seattle radio. It replays on NWCN on Friday, February 24th at 8:30 PM.

Damn. If Jean Enersen is involved, you know Shit Just Got Real ™.

Not Being a Douche: Sonics 2.0 Fan Edition

noreply@blogger.com (chunkstyle23) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:37:00 +0000

I won’t speculate on what will be announced later today (or next month, or next year, or… ever) regarding a professional basketball team returning to Seattle. I can say that whatever it is will have to factor in these two certainties:

They aren’t making any new basketball teams.
Meaning if we are going to get a team here, it’s coming from another town.

Better writers than I have examined the dilemma this creates for Supes fans. On the one hand, you’re still mad that your team got took. On the other hand, you know that to have a team again, you have to take one from someone else.
If you’ll forgive another awful sports analogy, it’s like needing a heart transplant. You hope you get one, but it is beyond macabre to actively root for another person to die. But if one does become available, it’s not like you would say “No thanks, I’ll wait until science is able to clone hearts and sell them at Costco.” (note to self: a cartoon might have worked better here)
So what can we do? We are constantly assured that Seattle will get a team back, from somewhere, sometime. What we can do, when/if that day comes, is steer clear of gloating douchebag territory. Having been the recipients of scorn from Other Klassy Citizens these past 4 years, I’ve been mentally compiling a list of tips for avoiding their habits when the situations are reversed.

Don’t leave taunting comments on the aggrieved fanbase’s blogs and forums. Just… don’t be like those guys.
Don’t perpetuate the meme that it was “the fans’ fault” for not supporting the team enough. I don’t know how many times I’ve read an OKC fan parrot the “You guys didn’t support your team” excuse. WE guys absolutely did support our team. The mayor, commissioner, the coffee tycoon—THOSE are the guys that didn’t support US. The same kind of crap likely contributed to the other team’s demise.
Don’t talk about which city “deserves” a team or not. Deserve ain’t got nothing to do with it. It has everything to do with revenue streams and public subsidies.
Don’t tell grieving fans to “stop whining” or “get over it already.” You just come across as classless winners when you get the team AND act like you can lecture the old fans on how to cope with loss.
Don’t boast about how much better your city is than the old city, or how much better off the team is in your town.
Don’t say that it’s okay for us to steal because we were stolen from. It’s still not okay. At minimum, acknowledge the feelings of the other fans. There were a miniscule number of OKC fans who expressed sympathy on comments here and at other Sonics sites who redeemed their fanbase a tiny bit.

Non-douchey additions/suggestions welcome.

Seattle NBA/NHL arena press conference today at 2pm

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Merrill) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:35:00 +0000

Mayor McGinn (looking eerily like John Wayne Gacy in this photo) is reportedly going to have a press conference at 2pm today about a potential new NBA / NHL arena for Seattle. Stay tuned to Supersonicsoul for the latest news and/or handwringing about ARENA GATE 2012!

Anyone have $85 to spare?

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Merrill) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:22:00 +0000

Wow! Either an unpaid intern at the P.I. forgot to add an "M" on that headline, or new arenas are REALLY cheap in Sacramento!

UPDATE: Three hours later and it's still not fixed. I am really the only person that still reads the P.I.?

Hold tight, Sonics fans: New NBA / NHL arena could be announced Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Merrill) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 03:23:00 +0000

Supersonicsoul sources tell us there might be a big announcement on Thursday about a potential new NBA/NHL arena and maybe a little more about plans to bring an NBA and/or NHL team to Seattle:

From the Seattle P.I.:

A news conference is set for Thursday at City Hall to announce details around a potential new NBA arena deal in Seattle, according to reports.

Christopher Hansen, the Seattle-born hedge-fund manager behind the project, is currently in Seattle,King 5 reports — and may be ready to reveal more about the possibility of the NBA returning to Seattle.

Hansen owns property south of Safeco Field, and has reportedly been developing a plan with the city and the NBA for a year. If Seattle were to get the Kings, the team could play at KeyArena — the Sonics’ old home — on a temporary basis, until a new venue is finished. Before the Sonics even left for Oklahoma City, and became the Thunder, the NBA had declared KeyArena an unsuitable venue.

It’s unclear if Thursday’s news conference will answer whether Seattle will soon have a new NBA team, but Hansen and Mayor Mike McGinn have an announcement regarding a new sports complex, according to reports. The news conference is scheduled for 2 p.m.Read the rest here.

Zoinks! Stayed tuned, true believers!

Blake Griffin's Swift Dunk of Justice

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Merrill) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:57:00 +0000

I don't know if Blake Griffin was a Seattle Supersonics fan growing up. Maybe he had a Shawn Kemp poster over his bed or a Jack Sikma growth chart on the back of his door. Maybe he reenacted Terence Stanbury's Statue of Liberty Dunk on his nerf hoop.

I'd like to think all of these things are true, and the bone-crushing, soul-stomping dunk Griffin threw down on Kendrick Perkins of the Oklahoma Atrocities last night was a strike against injustice. A mighty blow against evil. A smack-down against all that is wrong with the NBA.

It wasn't, of course, but for an instant it was nice to imagine. If nothing else, at least I have a new team to root for.

Stern softens on Key Arena?

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Merrill) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:36:00 +0000

According to the Bring Back Our Sonics Facebook page, David Stern may be changing his tune (at least in the short-term) about Key Arena:

Steve Kelley of the Seattle Times was on with Ian Furness during @FurnessShow Kelley said he's heard talks that David Stern has said he's willing to let a team play in Key Arena for 2 years, if a new arena is being built for the future. - Jeff

So what does this mean for our beloved Sonics? Is Stern offering an olive branch to the heartbroken, discarded fans of Seattle or just more smoke and mirrors from The Wizard of Blahs? No one knows for certain, but longtime Sonics fans will recall that not long ago Stern was a big fan of Key Arena, so anything is possible.

Snow Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Merrill) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 04:43:00 +0000

Drive safely out there, knuckleheads!

Worst Owner Ever?

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Merrill) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:19:00 +0000

And you thought Howard Schultz was bad!

From Deadspin:

Last month, we shared with you the bare details of Dan Borislow's brief, messy reign as owner of magicJack, the franchise that Women's Professional Soccer elected to terminate in late October after just a single season of play in Boca Raton, Fla.

Borislow was uncooperative with the league; he refused to set up a front office or a website and he alienated longtime WPS sponsors. But why would someone run a team he'd purchased into the ground? Then, this week, a tipster sent along the WPS's filing against Borislow's motion for temporary injunction (viewable below, along with the accompanying exhibits). It turns out that Dan Borislow might just be a terrible human—or maybe he just comes off that way in his emails.

In summary, this guy was allegedly such a horrible owner that not only did the league banish him, but they got rid of his entire team. Can you imagine if this happened in the NBA? Which team would you erase (I mean, besides the obvious)?