Seattle Supersonics

Can you believe that the Sonics are going to the NBA Finals?

Funny to think just a few years earlier the franchise was on the cusp of leaving town.  Now Sonics tickets are the hottest, not to mention the toughest, to get in town.

The Mariners "quiet" start and the anticipation of a playoff year for the Seahawks has been muted the better part of the spring by the rebirth of the city's oldest franchise.   The Sonics roared through the Western Conference playoffs in this abbreviated season to get the team back to the finals for the first time in over 15 years.

Meanwhile thanks to the other-worldly play of star forward Kevin Durant, the Sonics have a real shot at winning their first title in over 30 years. 

It's like a dream almost come true...except it's actually a nightmare.

With the Zombie Sonics now set to face the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals, it makes watching the series for any red-blooded basketball fan living in Seattle nearly impossible.  

Had the Celtics won the series against Miami, one could have considered supporting former Sonic Ray Allen in his quest for a second ring in Boston.

Instead Seattle fans are basically stuck choosing between rooting for their ex-girlfriend or the school yard bully.

The easy choice would be to simply refuse to partake, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that both teams are wildly entertaining to watch in terms of their play and the drama. 

So what do Sonics fans who can't look away do?

Right now I'm not even sure. 

Seattle Times writer Steve Kelley in his column Friday morning offered his thoughts on the situation with the following...

"We can be victims. We can throw things at the flat screen as we watch in sadness the beaming Bennett bask in the love he feels from his people. We can sink into a deep depression and ignore The Finals.

"Or we can become activists.

"We can employ our anger to lobby the city and county councils, to rally in Occidental Square on June 14, to push for this once-in-a-lifetime arena deal. Chris Hansen's deal is the best privately funded arena deal ever. If it doesn't get passed, Seattle doesn't deserve a team."

Honestly I'm not fond of Option #1 and highly skeptical of Option #2.

The reality of it all is far more gray than the black and white choices Kelley offers.   

Until now for anyone fiercely in denial, the Zombies were somewhat innocent of being an up-and-coming team situated halfway across the country.  With a trip to the Finals, we are left with the harsh truth of potentially seeing this team crowned champions, thus giving Seattle one final and validating kick to the gut.  Like it or not, the Oklahoma City Thunder will be in the record books for all eternity. 

Personally, though, I have nothing against the Zombies actual players.  For those few players who were here at the time, they dealt with an impossible situation in Seattle as best they could while facing an uncertain future.  With the way the world works, you follow the paycheck, especially in an occupation like professional sports.

Most people would argue that the players who were here in Seattle are mostly gone now, which is true except for one not so small exception...Kevin Durant. 

When the Sonics selected him No. 2 in the 2007 draft, there was a shred of hope that in time he would not only save the franchise but take it to the promised land.  Unfortunately the prophecy fell apart for the fans of Seattle, yet it's hard not to admire how far Durant has come in such short time.  It's that odd push and pull that makes what we are seeing now hurt that much more.  

Right now Durant would own Seattle.

Had Greg Oden fallen to the Sonics instead of Durant in 2007 and his career had taken a similar trajectory to how things played out in Portland, I don't think I'd feel the same way I do right now.  Don't get me wrong, it would still be quite awful, but the sting wouldn't be the same.  

Durant by all indications is a once-in-a-lifetime talent who seems destined to do great things.  He was here, he was real, he was ours. 

Instead we are left missing a piece of ourselves and not sure if we will ever get that back or for that matter if we even want it. 

The reality is that we are on the cusp of another summer in Seattle left wondering if the Mariners will ever compete again and who Pete Carroll is going to start at quarterback for the Seahawks come September.  All nice and good, but certainly far from ideal. 

So who do I choose if forced to make a decision?

I suppose I will pull for Durant simply because of the old saying, "If you love something, let it go."

Sorry if that's too cliche, but it's hard not to get a bit sentimental, especially when you consider the alternative that Jay Caspian Kang at Grantland brilliantly penned in his article on Kevin Durant... 

"It's almost impossible to pull for something that feels preordained, especially if the face of the movement seems a bit too entitled, a bit too young, and a bit too threatening. LeBron's haters root against him for the same reason Facebook haters root against Facebook stock."

Impossible indeed and with that I will reluctantly stick with my choice.  The sad truth is that no matter how things shake out, we've already lost.   

An impressive second half and the dazzling play of Kevin Durant fueled the Oklahoma City Thunder to an 107-99 victory Wednesday night against the San Antonio Spurs, which advanced the Thunder to the NBA Finals.

While jubilant Thunder fans swarmed various sporting goods stores to scoop up any remaining Western Conference Championship gear, roughly 2,000 miles northwest there's a city who is in mourning and angry. A city where some people still don a jersey that consists of colors of green, gold and white. A city which holds a life-less, sound-less KeyArena. A city that lost their team. I'm referring to the "Emerald City." Seattle.

The Seattle Super Sonics (also referred to as the Sonics) were the heart and soul of Seattle. Forty-one years, 1,745-1,585 (.524), six Division titles, three Conference titles and an NBA Championship (1979).

In the 90's the Sonics were a powerhouse in the NBA. The Sonics best season came in the 1995-96 season when they had an 64-18 record and made it to the NBA Finals only to lose to the best team in NBA history, the Chicago Bulls, who won an NBA record 72 games and had the most talented roster of all-time.

The Sonics fell off the radar a bit after the 90's as they only made it to the playoffs three times from 2000-2008. Prior to the 2005-06 NBA season, Clayton Bennett, an Oklahoma businessman and head of the Professional Basketball Club LLC (PBC) bought the Super Sonics from Howard Schultz for approximately $350 million. Bennett assured Seattle that his intent was to keep the Super Sonics in Seattle. 

Bennett tried to persuade local governments to help fund a $500 million arena complex that would be the new home of the Super Sonics due to the low capacity of seating in KeyArena. Bennett's feeble attempt failed. After the failure of securing funds from the local government, Bennett's group informed the NBA that they intend to move the franchise to Oklahoma City and wanted arbitration from Seattle to be released from the lease KeyArena had on the Sonics which was valid through 2010.

After a lawsuit, a settlement was made on July 2, 2008. Eventually emails were uncovered that Bennett, as well as some other members, planned all along to relocate the team to Oklahoma City. Despite many protests and rallies, the Super Sonics were relocated leaving the city of Seattle heartbroken. 

Now look, the Super Sonics drafted the talented forward out of Texas and NBA Superstar Kevin Durant, Nick Collison and superstars Serge Ibaka and Russell Westbrook. These guys have put the Thunder on their backs and have made them the next Western Conference powerhouse. I

t must be frustrating waking up today in a gloomy Seattle looking at a poster of a young Durant in green, white and gold and then turn on the tube to see the guys you rooted for all wearing blue surrounded by 19,000+ fans and a Western Conference trophy many miles away.

The fact of the matter is that the Super Sonics deserved to stay in Seattle. I have nothing but sympathy for the City of Seattle today and for the rest of my life. Even if the NBA grants Seattle with another team it won't be the same. If the Thunder win the Championship this year they should all remember where their history began and acknowledge the City of Seattle and the Super Sonics.

All the information provided above is from the award winning sports documentary "Sonicgate" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9Dp20ydm1E 

Call it a biased view, but there is no way Seattle Supersonics fans should find solace in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s new found success. After a magnificent 41 years of basketball in Seattle, fans were shunned and the team was relocated to Oklahoma.

Needless to say, the Sonics uprooting was an extremely shoddy situation.

After basketball was taken from the city of Seattle, some fans felt betrayed and even gave up the NBA altogether. Other, less educated fans—by my estimation—continued cheering for the team after they moved to Oklahoma City.

Regardless of the history of the organization, the Thunder and Sonics are two completely different franchises. The Sonics are dead and the Thunder should not be associated with the Sonics’ history.

Nonetheless, the point remains there is no reason for fans of the now defunct franchise to cheer for the team that was stolen from directly under their noses.

After Howard Schultz, the former owner of the Sonics, sold the team to Clay Bennett for $350 million  the relocation process seemingly began, according to the Seattle Times.

This move basically exonerated Schultz from blame for the hijacking and allowed Bennett free rein to relocate the team.

At the introductory news conference, Bennett even had the audacity to tell every Seattle fan their team would remain at home (via Seattle PI):

"It is our desire to have the Sonics and Storm stay in Seattle," Bennett said.

Terms of the contract Bennett signed included a "good faith best efforts" clause that required him to take 12 months to attempt to secure a new arena deal in Seattle, according to the Seattle Times.

Schultz later claimed Bennett breached his contract when his proposed arena plan would have required “unprecedented amounts in public subsidies,” according to Schultz.

After more than a year had passed and his Arena proposal was shot down, the team announced it was moving to OKC as soon as it could get out of its KeyArena lease, according to the Seattle PI.

The NBA turned their backs on the city of Seattle, including commissioner David Stern.

Stern was concerned about attendance numbers and supported the relocation efforts due to Seattle not anteing up for a new arena, according to the Seattle Times.

"There's not going to be a new arena. There's not going to be a public contribution,” Stern said during the 2008 NBA All-Star game.

Sonics fans were seemingly robbed of professional basketball, so they have every right to be upset when it comes to the Thunder.

After the Sonics selected Kevin Durant second overall in the 2007 NBA draft, it seemed as if the franchise was on its way back to prominence.

The team also hired GM Sam Presti to build the Sonics into the juggernaut that Thunders fans have reaped the benefits of.

Seattle fans should scoff at the notion of supporting the Thunder and should truly cheer for only one NBA team:

Whoever is matched up against the Thunder on any given night.

This week, it’s the San Antonio Spurs. Next week, it could be the Miami Heat or the Boston Celtics.

Regardless, Seattle should take refuge in the fact that the Thunder are not the Sonics, and they never will be.

Because that team is, and will always be, only in Seattle.

Basketball might be making its way back to the Emerald City

On February 16, 2012 a Hedge Fund Manager by the name of Chris Hansen unveiled his proposal to build a brand new stadium in the SoDo district on a plot of land just south of Safeco Field.

This news brought the city of Seattle out of its long winter slumber and ignited a fan base that has had nothing to cheer about since 2008, the last year the Seattle Super Sonics played an NBA game. Fans from all walks of life began to form at City Hall to hopefully celebrate some good news.

It was only a few years back that those same fans were at City Hall to protest Clay Bennett’s decision to move the Sonics to Oklahoma City and rename them the Thunder. Not only did Bennett take the team, he took the 1979 World Championship trophy and, apparently, the history.

That is all in the past, and now there seems to be a light at the end of a long and oppressive tunnel. The one issue that kept the Sonics out of Seattle seems to be resolved, because at long last there is a proposal to build a new stadium.

It seems as if the Sonics have new life and NBA basketball is back in the State of Washington.

The new deal plans to use mostly private money to build the stadium but it will eventually be sold in increments back to the public. The man behind the plan, Chris Hansen, is originally from the Seattle area, having grown up and gone to high school about 5-10 minutes outside of downtown Seattle. He knows how important the Sonics are to their city.

Now that the stadium issue surrounding this city is resolved, the next step is getting a team to Seattle. This can be accomplished in two ways:

First is the difficult way—getting an expansion team. I am not sure how this process works but I can imagine the difficulty behind it. Trying to conjure up a team from nowhere can be a lengthy procedure. It is not like soccer where new teams can select certain players from existing teams to make up their own.

The next option is to vulture a team from another city. Just like Bennett did, Hansen and his partners can try to entice the Sith Lord, er, NBA Commissioner David Stern, to let Seattle take a franchise that is on the ropes and in a bout between the city and the ownership.

This second option brings two teams to mind, the Sacramento Kings and the New Orleans Hornets.

The Hornets were in the forefront of the news in the beginning of the NBA year because of their star point guard Chris Paul’s desire to be traded. There were options on the table, but before any deal could be reached, the NBA (which owns the Hornets) nixed the deal. It appeared that Stern was trying to keep Paul in New Orleans to raise the value of the team so when they sell it to some group, they can get the most money. But why does the NBA even own the Hornets?

They bought the team from George Shinn after he tried to unload the team on the minority owner, but the minority owner did not want it due to money issues. Since both owners were unwilling to continue paying for the team, the NBA stepped in and bought it. Stern told the fans and the team that the priority would be to find a local buyer for the team (something he did not do in Seattle).

Now the NBA is looking to sell the Hornets to the highest bidder and there seem to be no New Orleans businessmen in sight. It is possible for Hansen to buy the Hornets, move them to Seattle, slap the green and gold of the Sonics on to their uniforms and let them play ball in front of a passionate fan base.

The other team that could possibly move to Seattle is the Sacramento Kings. They, like Seattle all those years ago, are in a fight between the city, the ownership and the NBA. It is the same issue—getting a new, modern arena.

Once again, Stern is being kind to the city, allowing them to try and work out a deal (again, something Stern did not do in Seattle). The Kings very nearly moved to Anaheim last year but the NBA gave them more time to solve their issues. However, the deadline for the Kings to strike a deal with the city is near, and so far, no deal has been struck.

It seems like, from this fans perspective, that with a new arena on the way and two teams that are up for relocation, the Sonics are coming back. Stern cannot keep denying Seattle the franchise that it deserves. 

There have been a lot of rumors, reported here by The Sacramento Bee, swirling around that Seattle has a good chance at getting the Sacramento Kings in 2013.

Even if it happens, it won't be enough to make the memories go away.

We, as Seattle fans, know very well what it's like to get "robbed," and we would never want to see another city go through the heartbreak that Seattle fans had to experience.

We would almost feel guilty if we took another city's team, because over the last few years we have been complaining non-stop that Oklahoma City "robbed" us of our team.  It doesn't make a lot of sense.

Even if we did manage to get the Kings to move here, it just wouldn't be easy to root for a team that isn't our old, beloved Sonics.

In order for the fanbase to truly get behind a franchise, it would have to be an expansion franchise.  This way, you can follow the team from the very beginning and feel like you grew up with the team.

Oh sure the first few years might be rough, but when you finally get that NBA championship, you will feel so proud for the team.

If the Kings moved here and won a championship, it wouldn't be the same because it'd be hard to develop an emotional connection with the team.  You can get that emotional connection with an expansion team.

An expansion team is what you want as a Seattle sports fan, even though it probably won't happen because it would make the conferences uneven.

Sadly, basketball will simply never be the same in the Northwest because of the team's move to OKC.  It's that feeling of what could've been that drives us nuts.

Every time you see OKC taking on Miami or Boston in a primetime spot on TV, you get a little bit upset because you know that it could've been Seattle vs. Miami in a primetime spot.

The Seattle Supersonics would be socially relevant in the NBA. 

Basketball in Seattle will never be the same, and we very well may never recover from the day we lost the most historic team in Seattle sports.

This past Saturday the controversial stadium tax that funded Safeco Field and paid off the imploded Kingdome expired, rending King County voters in a situation rarely seen in the State of Washington.

A tax that actually ended, proving that miracles can happen.

The taxes, enacted during the hoopala and excitement of the first real Seattle Mariners playoff run in 1995, funded a new baseball park to replace the dreary confines of roofed concrete on sunny days that made July feel like late November.

Taverns and bars have been collecting an extra half percent sales tax on foot and beverage sales, with car rental agencies pitching in another two percent, which all told generated $26.5 million in 2010 alone.

On July 11th, King County advised the Washington State Department of Revenue that the final payment on those bonds would be made by the end of September, and instructed businesses to stop collecting the tax.

When word of this got to politicians like Tina Orwall, a Democrat from Des Moines, and Representative Hasegowa, the plotting of ways to steal the funding source commenced.

Orwall sponsored a bill designed to divert the funding from the detested and uncouth professional sports camp to the more acceptable and cherished “Arts and Culture” folks, where sophisticated patrons would attend events in something more attractive than the spaghetti stained T-shirts so common at Seahawk games.

It was like having mom shut off the video games while demanding you attend your sister’s piano recital.

An effort to put those funds “to better use.”

Meanwhile, unidentified KJR sports announcers were popping neck veins in outrage, furious that the same group that opposed building the stadiums in the first place were now trying to swipe the funds.

Enter yours truly, with a talent at attentive full creative energy of all things suspect.

I have an idea for these funds that could bridge the two groups, and might actually have a chance at getting all the city council nerds on board.

Remember that wild retractable roof basketball arena that Fred Brown proposed? The one we all forgot about?

Back in 2008 during the failed negotiations to save professional basketball for Seattle, out of the blue came a rather radical vision led by former Sonic Fred Brown and public-relations executive Dave Bean, to build a new privately funded project known as the Emerald City Center.

It would be a $1 billion sports and exposition complex that would include a a retractable roof arena capable of housing both an NBA and NHL franchise. Once fans across Seattle stopped laughing and listened to the proposal, it wasn’t as crazy as it sounded.

In fact, it was sorta cool.

Especially since Seattle had a popular “Summer Nights on the Pier” concert series located at Pier 62/63 along Alaskan Way that was sucking in tourists from across the planet. That was until, the pier deteriorated so badly that the series had to be relocated.

It was a big hit all summer long when it was going, with 18-22 concerts played by well-known artists on warm summer nights with private small craft swaying to soft waves midst the setting sun. Glistening waters of the Puget Sound, seagulls in the night, the Olympics beyond. The works!

A huge tourist draw too, but the venue was too small for the really big acts.

Fred Brown’s group didn’t have the funding for this stadium, nor a secure site, nor even a plan, other than a conceptual plastic model on cardboard. Hardly the kind of fiscal structure necessary to get the project rolling. But it was a nifty idea.

So nifty that Seattle developer and high-end residential consultant Nitze-Stagen & Co. became interested, since they'd been trying to wrest control of the 89 acre Pier 46 site from the Port of Seattle since before 2003. 

Back then the Port leased it to the agency’s largest shipping customer, Hanjin, for 10 years with an option to extend it another five. And with their tight lease deals already signed, the Port has long scoffed at this group of enthusiastic developers, according to Frank Stagen, who claimed back in 2004 that one port official mocked “You don’t own one spoonful of the dirt” when Stagen’s group were probing for planning details and irritating DCLU officials for info.

In fact Nitze-Stagen, the same group that just cut dirt on the new North Lot Development apartment project and is involved with massively redeveloping parts of the Pioneer Square area, has a glitzy website with snazzy schematic drawings bragging about a potential Pier 46 project.

Entitled “Vision46,” the debate for the site was that of Containers vs Condos.

Nitze-Stagen argues the entire cargo area, which was created from backfill during the 1970s, should today be redeveloped with a mix of high-density urban village activities, such as a major hotel, thousands of housing units and offices, a cruise ship terminal, retail, education and even a trolley line.

Included in residential buildings and commercial space is an anchor arena building right there on the water. 

Now imagine this building incorporating what Fred Brown’s group proposed in 2008. A new basketball/hockey arena, perfect for concerts and whatever else might want to retract a roof. It’s the perfect location too.

Located at the south entrance of the new waterfront tunnel project, there’s already existing freeway connections to nearby Safeco Field, the convention center and the football/soccer stadium.

With all the connections already built, what’s not to love? Plus it’s close enough to the ferries for walkers, and light rail already connects the area too!

And with construction gearing up as the viaduct is about to be razed, the timing appears perfect too.

On the water, large crowds of 20,000-25,000 could swoon to summer tunes with a removed roof in the summer. Shows wouldn’t have to worry about the weather, because any formerly rained-out events could still carry on. Especially if the venue was open on the water side, with a “U” shaped arena bowl facing fans towards the Olympic Mountain Range.

Imagine a new Sonics team playing Game 7 of the finals under partly cloudy skies with the water in background. Imagine an NHL team doing the same. Or a national political convention with sunsets and flying fish.

Not so crazy an idea after all, now is it?

But is it enough to get city nimrods on board who still look stupid for their comments about how the Sonics offered no cultural value? Especially now that we have a funding source that might actually bridge the arts and culture folks with the sports crowd.

Everybody wins, the city makes big bucks, the developers make big bucks, taxes are hauled in by the truck loads, and fun is had by studs and nerds alike.

It could be a project that actually does represent many different diverse groups, and the timing is pretty good from both a construction and potential funding standpoint.

Most importantly, with private developers leading the charge, funding might not be as difficult as it otherwise might be, since we just proved it works beautifully.

What are we waiting for?!? Build this project! Do it now!

As I watched the Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder game yesterday, I had a tough time digesting what I saw.

Just four years ago the Thunder were in the city of Seattle, where millions of basketball fans live and still live. Unfortunately the NBA took them away from the fans because of money.

Now this isn't supposed to a piece where I complain non-stop and make you people reading this feel bad for the Seattle population even though some of you guys reading this might not care at all where the basketball team is located. 

But what this article is supposed to detail is how a Seattle SuperSonics feels right now during these exciting playoffs and why the NBA should come back to Seattle.

Through out these intense games of the playoffs we have seen the Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets in the first round in four games and now are playing the Memphis Grizzlies in the second round tied one to one.

While watching the the Thunder play I always have in the back of my mind on how those could be the Sonics. The NBA never gave us enough time to come back from two or three bad seasons. The original team the Sonics drafted Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, Nick Collison and Kevin Durant.

With those players the Sonics could have become something within the next two to three years. I am not against Oklahoma City having a team; I just wish it had not been the Sonics. The city of Seattle has a rich history of basketball and deserves a team.

The Sonics franchise started in 1967. They have been to the playoffs 22 times and won the 1979 championship. Many superstars have been part of the Sonics organization. Some of them are Nate McMillan, Lenny Wilkens, Shawn Kemp, Jack Sikma, Ray Allen and my favorite Gary Payton.

But the city of Seattle has always been part of basketball. Seattle breeds NBA players every year. It rains and kids go in the gym and shoot hoops for days and hours at a time.

The state of Washington has produced one of the best point guards ever John Stockton. Other Washington born players include, Brandon Roy, Jason Terry, Nate Robinson, Jamal Crawford, Doug Christie, and tons of others.

There are also tons of up an coming players from Seattle. The Boston Celtics select Avery Bradley in the first round and this year Isaiah Thomas should be drafted to. Other Seattle natives to keep your eye out for is Louisville's Peyton Siva, UCLA's Josh Smith and soon to be Washington Husky Tony Wroten.

As the people of Seattle sit here watching some of the best playoffs I have seen in years, it just makes us think about what could have been if the Thunder were still here.

The city of Seattle is rich in basketball history. Seattle is a breeding ground for basketball players and people are in love with the sport here, so NBA, give us a team in Seattle and let's make more history.

As much as Sonic fans despised golf-challenged Charles Barkley when he was an 11-time NBA All-star playing for the Phoenix Suns during the mid 1990’s, it’s hard to hate on a guy who just defended jilted Seattle basketball fans on national TV, three years after ethical stalwarts David Stern and Clay Bennett’s embarrassing dog and pony show.

Sir Chuckles took issue with fellow TNT/NBA tv co-host Matt Winer’s claim that Oklahoma City is “7-2 all time at home against the Nuggets in postseason playoff appearances.”

Several moments after dropping that statement to a gasping studio crew, viewers heard a clearly disgusted Barkley break in and say “Hold on a second!  Whadda you mean seven and two all time against the Nuggets?!?”

A surprised and defensive Winer responded “Well they were in Seattle,” at which Barkley barked “That doesn’t count!  You can’t take another city’s stats!” 

Cameras pulled back showing co-host Greg Anthony, nodding with Barkley’s argument.  Anthony calmly asked  “Whose jerseys are hanging in the rafters at Oklahoma City?”

Barkley screamed “Nobody’s,”  and then later scoffed that “You know me and Michael Jordan had about 50,000 points.  You’re going to  count Oklahoma City with Seattle’s stats, so I’m going to count Michael Jordan’s scoring points with mine!  We’re from the same era.  We covered the same ground. You just lumped Oklahoma City with Seattle together!”   

Barkley then went on to claim his best game ever was during the 1994 Western Conference Finals against the Sonics, a game in which the Seattle faithful still refer to as a “thrown game,” due to the disparity in foul calls during the first three quarters, which led to blockbuster NBA Finals television ratings.

Still, it’s difficult not to love the guy for finally injecting some common sense into this Seattle situation.

Charles Barkley has quickly become the most beloved TNT host the network has to offer.  And it’s not only TNT where the "Barkley Effect" has been noticed.

Two years ago the Golf Channel ran a series with golf teaching legend Hank Haney, in which Haney set out to fix Barkley’s stop and go golf swing hitch. 

The series ended inconclusive about whether Haney got anywhere with the famed “Round Mound of Rebound” and five-time First Team All-NBA power forward, but the ratings have never been matched by follow-up pupils Ray Romano and Rush Limbaugh.

Barkley adds a vein of player humor mixed with an everyman’s view on all things political, and Barkley is not known to be one who sits idly by while thoughtless comments are made by otherwise unassuming co-hosts. 

But that’s what we all love about him—the fact that he could go off at any moment, and that he voices opinions that the rest of us are already thinking.

Being a Seattle Supersonic fan since the days of Bob Rule and Spencer Haywood, I’m about ready to send Barkley an invitation to my good-guy Sonic pal club. 

It was refreshing to hear the power forward singe the airwaves with criticisms about what went down in Seattle three years ago. 

Especially since Seattle is still without a team, while a pompous commissioner still pats himself on the back for what many consider the greatest injustice to a city in the NBA’s history. 

Now if we could only get Barkley to deal bad guys Howard Schultz and Clay Bennett a few cheap-shot elbows like he did in the SNL skit where went one-on-one against the fake kid dinosaur Barney!

Read more from the same author at:

Ghost of Supersonics Hovers over NBA, Kings Move  http://bleacherreport.com/articles/667824-seattle-supersonic-situation-haunts-david-stern-clay-bennett-and-the-nba-today