A Dark Day in Washington State

Today, Seattle is a little grungier, a little rainier, and just that much more depressing. Kurt Cobain could never have written a song tumultuous enough, nor sang it with enough angst to truly capture the spirit of the Seattle Supersonic fan on July 2nd, 2008. This day will go down in infamy as one of the darkest in American Basketball history.

In a stunning, unbelievable turn of events today, Seattle Mayor, Greg Nickels signed a settlement agreement with Clay "Son of Satan" Bennett in the amount of forty-five million dollars up front with a possible additional 30 million dollars to come. A total of $75,000,000.00 was enough to get the mayor to part with the team that has come to symbolize Seattle culture for almost half a century.

My only question is, how much did Nickel get under the table for this deal? Today, a Seattle area judge was supposed to come out and tell Clay "I Have Too Many Consonants in my name" Bennett "Screw you and the $350,000,000.00 horse you rode in on. You can't have my team!!! Instead, that Judge went home tonight knowing that it was officially out of her hands. The team that she grew up watching, cheering for and eventually loving was going away - hijacked from the city by a billionaire and his buddies (read: David Stern) and delivered, as he originally intended, to his hometown of Oklahoma City.

Let me say that I am not upset with the people of Oklahoma City. It is understandable that you would want an NBA Franchise. Nothing can really compare to the product the NBA offers. I understand it. We Angelinos love it enough for TWO NBA Teams. And after having Chris Paul in your city for most of two season, I certainly feel for you. But this was simply not the right way to do this. If Clay "Middle-aged-Dennis-the-Menace" Bennett really wanted to own an NBA franchise, he should have done one of two things: petition for an expansion team, or buy and move a team that didn't have the kind of support and history that the Seattle Supersonics have - er, had. Toronto is a choice. They've had some good players and currently have a pretty nice roster, but they aren't, historically, what Toronto is about. Honestly, you could have just tried to buy the Hornets when they were already playing in Oklahoma City. Heck, Memphis hasn't even been in Memphis for a decade yet! I'm sure the fans there aren't THAT attached to Darko and Kwame. As much as I would hate to admit it, Los Angeles doesn't treat the Clippers right when they aren't winning... even they - with almost 30 years in Los Angeles - would have been a better choice than Seattle.

Instead, you buy a team and say all the right things, "I want to stay here in Seattle", "We're in WASU for the long haul"... while secretly emailing things like "It might take a year or two, but we'll get them to Oklahoma.

...


...I can't even think about the levels of treachery right now. I'm so upset with my NBA team owners for approving the move! I can't even stand it. So now the Sonics have the option of getting the next expansion team or pulling the Grizzlies to Seattle when they get sold. At least they get to keep the name, colors and logo for the next franchise in the Pacific Northwest. And speaking of the Pacific Northwest, you know what would be cool? If Greg Oden won the Rookie of the Year next year and had a 18 year grudge match with Interstate-5 rival Kevin Durant (this year's winner) and it resuscitated the league like Bird-Magic and the fact that they're so close and naturally rivals played into... oh wait, that will NEVER HAPPEN NOW!!!

I officially renew my vow to never, EVER, acknowledge the existence of the Oklahoma City Dusty Tumbleweeds, or whatever they're going to be called, except to make disparaging remarks about Clay "I Steal Babies From Church" Bennett. And if you didn't read my previous postings on the subject, this includes missing Lakers Games, even in the playoffs, if necessary.

The one, last hope is that Howard Shultz, the Coffee guy, can regain ownership through his lawsuit. Read about it in the first link. I'll keep you all posted as I find out more information.