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Here’s why Texas Tech can’t decide where between Duncanville and Lewisville it wants to play Oklahoma State in 2009: roots.

Let me explain. OSU says it will play Texas Tech somewhere in the D-FW Metroplex starting in 2009, it just doesn’t know where. Either Dallas’ Cotton Bowl or Arlington’s new Jerry World.

My vote is for Dallas. Jerry Jones is courting college games to play in his new Dallas Cowboys stadium, which opens in 2009 and already has landed an annual Arkansas-Texas A&M series. Now he wants OSU-Tech, and as our Mike Baldwin reported today, Cowboy athletic director Mike Holder is on the same page with Cowboy czar Jones. Arlington.

But Tech can’t seem to say no to the Cotton Bowl. For good reason. John Scovell was a Tech quarterback star in the 1960s who led an historic upset of Texas. Scovell’s three sons all walked-on at Tech, playing for Spike Dykes or Mike Leach, and John Scovell now is on the Cotton Bowl board and the Tech board of regents.

Wait. There’s more. John Scovell’s father was the legendary Field Scovell, known for decades as Mister Cotton Bowl. Field Scovell led the Cotton Bowl’s selection committee for many years and was one of the driving forces that made the New Year’s Day game a college football classic.

Think about those ties. It’s as if Josh Fields had three sons who went on to play at OSU, and Josh Fields’ dad had helped found the Myriad or something, and Josh Fields was on the OSU board of regents and a member of the OKC All Sports Association. And OSU was trying to decide whether to play a game in Tulsa (for more money) or Oklahoma City.

That’s the decision Tech is facing. So you can understand what’s going on.

I sort of like the compromise espoused by State Fair of Texas president Errol McKoy. Play at JerryWorld in 2009 and at the Cotton Bowl in 2010, then let people decide which they liked best.

Here’s how I think the vote would go. Players: Arlington. Fans: Dallas. The new stadium will be world-class (world-best?), and players, many of whom are D-FW products, will get a jolt playing on the home digs of Tony Romo and Marion Barber, rather than the field where Doak Walker trod. The amenities will be fabulous. But the fans, I believe, would vote for the Cotton Bowl, because of the state fair.

The OU-Texas game has shown us that there’s no atmosphere like a bloodsport football game hard by the Midway and the car show and the corny dog stands, with tens of thousands of people milling around. JerryWorld sits in a parking lot. The Cotton Bowl, during the fair, sits in an amusement park.

It’s apparent that Holder wants to go to Arlington, because that’s where the money is and that’s where the players would have the best experience. It’s apparent, too, that Tech AD Gerald Myers wants to go to JerryWorld, too. But he feels a strong pull to the Cotton Bowl.

We’ve spent all season talking about the NBA’s Western Conference and how great would be the Western playoffs. And indeed the West does have the vast majority of the power teams. But the Western playoffs have been a drag; the Eastern Conference has been much more interesting.

Of eight first-round series, only two went 2-2 after four games. Both in the East: Boston-Atlanta and Detroit-Philadelphia, and neither series offered any hope that they might be riveting. The Hawks (37-45) and Sixers (40-42) were the only losing-record teams to make the playoffs, and they went against two absolute bluebloods. Boston had the NBA’s best record, an historic 66-16), and Detroit had the league’s second-best record (59-23) and has been the most consistent franchise in the NBA over this decade, with five straight trips to the Eastern finals.

Out West, the difference between the No. 1-seeded Lakers and 8th-seeded Nuggets was only seven games. LA went 57-25, Denver 50-32. Yet the Lakers swept the Nuggets with ease. Second-seeded New Orleans is up 3-1 on Dallas with nary a close victory. The other two series have been much more competitive, with San Antonio up 3-1 on Phoenix and Utah up 3-1 on Houston, but 3-1 is a far cry from 2-2.

Back East, it’s unlikely Atlanta can win in Boston. The Celtics remain heavy favorites to advance. And the 76ers seem to have run out of gas after taking a big first-half lead in Game 4 up two games to one. Expect the Pistons to advance. But those series are more intriguing than anything we’ve seen out West.

I’m back in the saddle after a week’s vacation, spent mostly in Chicago. My wife had a business conference, so my daughter, granddaughter and I went along, too. Planes, trains, taxis, boats, buses, carriages, we took them all on our adventure to one of my favorite towns. I generally use these wife-working-me-on-vacation trips to do a bunch of work myself. But when you’ve got a 21-month-old in tow, little work gets done. Little work, but a lot more fun.

Chicago ranks with New York and San Francisco as my favorite American cities to visit, and while I don’t make the outrageous claim that Chicago trumps New York, I will say this. Chicago has more personality. Manhattan Island is the world’s melting pot, but that doesn’t mesh into a singular identity. Chicago sort of does; hearty, Midwest toughness, city of broad shoulders. A few thoughts on Chicago.

Baseball Town

America has few baseball cities left. Cities in which baseball rule, in which the daily rhythm of the baseball team(s) is the heartbeat of the city’s sporting landscape. The NFL has taken over most major American cities, and most cities without pro football don’t have a baseball franchise. Think about that. The only three cities with major-league baseball and no NFL are Los Angeles, Toronto and Milwaukee. Milwaukee is a Packer town, because the whole danged state of Wisconsin is eat up the Pack. Toronto is a hockey town. And LA is an NBA town, I suppose, although it’s really a Hollywood town.

The only real baseball cities left are New York, Boston, St. Louis and Chicago. Maybe Cincinnati; I don’t know enough about Cincinnati to pass judgment. But Chicago — though everyone lives and dies with the Bears, and everyone still looks back longingly on the glorious ’90s with Michael Jordan — most definitely is a baseball town, with the Cubs and White Sox providing maybe the best off-field rivalry in pro sports.

The Cubs and White Sox didn’t even play each other until interleague scheduling arrived 10 years ago, but they remained bitter rivals, because of the geographical boundaries in Chicago (Sox south side, Cubs north) and the sociological stereotypes (Cub yuppies, Sox blue collar) and their shared futility (Cubs no World Series title since 1908; Sox none since 1918, until breaking through in 2005).

This summer figures to be a fun time in Chicago. Both the Cubs and Sox are in first place. The city can dream about a Red Line World Series; the Red Line train — mostly elevated — runs just past Wrigley Field’s right field wall and also a short walk from the left-field wall of new Comiskey Park (OK, U.S. Cellular Field).

Newspapers

Not too many two-paper towns left. But Chicago has the stately Tribune and the hard-edged Sun-Times, and both are read on the trains and buses that criss-cross the city. Newspaper competition is a wondrous thing; we lost it in Oklahoma City a quarter century ago, about the time a lot of cities lost it, including metropolises like Houston and Phoenix and Atlanta.

Chicago gives you an option. I read both, of course, while I was in town, and the Sun-Times is my pick. The blazing-guns style of Jay Mariotti works well in a place like Chicago.

Pizza

The best pizza on the planet is Giordano’s, which are dotted all over Chicago and feature stuffed pizza. Takes 35 minutes to bake and is well worth the wait. Sorry, New Yorkers. It’s not even close. Stuffed pizza is not the same as thick crust; Giordano’s crust is reasonably thick, but it’s the good stuff — the cheese, the ingredients — that is really thick.

I’m sure Chicago has all kinds of great restaurants, but I’d eat at Giordano’s every night if it was up to me. Alas, I only made it twice last week.

Wrigleyville

I did something on this trip — I’ve made four extended trips to Chicago — that I’ve always wanted to do. Hang out in Wrigleyville. My nephew now lives in Lakeview, which is adjacent to Wrigleyville, the neighborhood surrounding Wrigley Field, so Saturday we took the train, the Red Line, to Addison Street, the Wrigley Field stop, and my nephew met us. He gave us a walking tour of Wrigleyville and Lakeview. Must have walked a mile or three and really got a taste of what the neighborhood is like.

Wrigley Field, of course, is totally cool, and it starts with the neighborhood itself. Wrigley really does set right in the middle of a neighborhood. No parking lots. No planned economic development (discounting rooftops owned by enterprising landlords). Wrigley Field is surrounded by houses, Addison and Clark Street businesses (which cater, admittedly, to Cubs culture) a fire station, the El, stuff like that. Looks a whole lot like other Chicago neighborhoods, except one of America’s most revered sporting coliseums sits smack dab in the middle.

Traffic, by the way, was miserable. This was early afternoon on a Saturday, and cars were everywhere. I don’t know why anyone in Chicago owns a car, unless it’s to drive somewhere out of town. There are no places to park cars and no room on the streets to drive them. Saturday reminded me of a harrowing day; Mac Bentley and I flew to Chicago in September 1994 to cover Oklahoma State’s football game at Northern Illinois. We rented a car and decided to tour Chicago before heading out to DeKalb. We saw new Comiskey, got to Lakeshore Drive and headed for Wrigley. Traffic was miserable, so we punted and headed out for DeKalb on what the map said was a state highway. We encountered an ocean of stop-and-go traffic. We inched our way west through Chicago and into its suburbs, which were no better. We went 50 miles in four hours and 15 minutes and made it to the stadium with 15 minutes to spare before kickoff. My nephew sold his truck when he moved to Chicago; wise move.

But the Wrigleyville and Lakeview neighborhoods were thoroughly charming. The housing was very interesting, mostly Brownstones. The real-estate prices were steep — we guessed maybe $300 a square foot, but we might have been high — but you can see what attracts people. The businesses were both quaint and chain. A neighborhood pub might be next to a Gap Body. We found a place that sells nothing but cupcakes and each had a $3 cupcake, except for me. I’ve never been big on cupcakes; hard to eat and not evenly distributed. But that’s a different paragraph.

Anyway, a fun day, and a piece of Chicago not everyone gets to see just by going to a Cub game.

Tourist attractions

A few thoughts on tourist attractions you might consider if you go to Chicago.

Navy Pier: The No. 1 tourist stop in Illinois, jutting more than half a mile out into Lake Michigan, includes an excellent Children’s Museum, Chicago’s Shakespearean Theater, a huge Ferris Wheel, a stained-glass window exhibit, tall ships (in the summer), boat tours and all kinds of restaurants and pubs. A fun place to walk around.

Michigan Avenue’s Magnificent Mile: Listen up, all you males. You want to get on your wife’s good side? Suck it up and take her to Chicago for a shopping trip. From the Chicago River going north to Lakeshore Drive (and the historic Drake Hotel), the shopping is spectacular, from what I’m told. Your wife will be so grateful, I’m betting she’ll even be willing to hit both Wrigley and U.S. Cellular on the trip.

Lincoln Park Zoo: Fabulous zoo and it’s free. Of course, it’s better if you’ve got a 21-month-old squealing with glee at the sight of every animal. The highlight — a polar bear tank in which the massive beasts keep diving into the water and swimming right up to you. Who knew polar bears preferred the water?

Lake Michigan: A friend of mine the other day wondered why it’s not called Ocean Michigan. Certainly seems like it, particularly with the sandy beaches and the currents that come washing in. The water’s not as salty as Padre Island, but the people watching and the bike riding and the dog walking and the Frisbee throwing are just as good.

Chicago River: By all means, take a river tour. Downtown Chicago built up along the Chicago River, and dozens of epic skyscrapers and wondrously constructed buildings form the city’s skyline. Chicago’s downtown architecture beat New York’s, although New York’s skyline, particularly at night, is hard to beat. Most tour guides are excellent storytellers, giving you the history of Chicago through many of the buildings, including the Tribune Tower and the Wrigley Building, which sit along the Chicago River and form the gateway to the Magnificent Mile.Museums: Chicago is renowned for its museums, but I’ve got to admit, I’ve toured perhaps the most famous, the Museum of Science & Industry, and thought it overrated.

American Girl Place: Ask your wives and daughters. I’d never heard of it, either, but it’s a big deal. A really big deal.

DePaul softball

Not that anyone cares about this besides me, but riding the El on Saturday afternoon, we stopped right next to DePaul University. I noticed a big softball schedule displayed where commuters could easily read it. The Blue Demons had a doubleheader that day, it said, against Connecticut. Connecticut or Providence. Anyway, I thought if I wasn’t holding my sleeping granddaughter, I’d jump off the train, go find the softball park and catch some innings.

DePaul softball coach Eugene Lenti is my all-time favorite coach, any sport. Excellent coach. Interesting fellow. Wonderfully charming. But I was holding my granddaughter, so no softball for me. The train took off, I looked off to the other side of the tracks, and right there was the DePaul field, with the game under way. So I can tell Eugene, if his Blue Demons make the Women’s College World Series in May, that I caught a little bit of his game.

Hotel problems

Chicago has a thousand downtown hotels, and yes, they’re expensive. We stayed where my wife’s conference was held, the Hyatt Regency, across the street from the Chicago River. The Hyatt is Chicago’s largest hotel, with more than 2,000 rooms. I’ve always loved Hyatt; the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City is my all-time favorite hotel.

But this Hyatt was disappointing. First of all, it was built strictly for traveling businessmen. Which usually would be fine for me. But this time, I had three women, ages 48, 26 and almost 2. So here’s what I needed: vanity space in the bathroom, drawer space in the room and a swimming pool. I got none of the above. They built that hotel for guys like me, traveling alone. So that was disappointing.

Traveling with a pack led to new necessities. We checked five bags, counting a car seat, and two of the suitcases were monsters. Plus we had six carryons, counting my granddaughter. So I did all kinds of things I’d never done before. Rented one of those carts at the airport to transport my luggage out to the taxi stand. Called for a bellman at the Hyatt. Even commissioned one of those baggage-handlers at Will Rogers to help me with the bags to my car.

I’m on vacation this week and won’t be blogging regularly. But I will check in from time to time and will pipe up if anything major happens. I’m going to spend some time with my granddaughter, take a little trip and get some stuff read that has me way behind. Talk to you soon.

This week’s email bag comes courtesy of Seattle. The citizens of Washington state have plenty to say about uprooting the Sonics from their home of 41 years. Ted from Seattle wrote: “u know, u should really do some research. seattle spent more to refurbush key arena than your spending now on ford center, the problem here is the lease sux. but all ur dog and pony show did, was tell the ppl of washington to build a $500 million dollar arena. $500 million, r u serious? thats more than was spent of safeco and qwest field and safeco has a retractable roof! it was a complete sham from the beginning, key arena has abt the best sight lines in the country for basketball. all bennent had to do was change the lease to make money. to say he did everything in good faith is the biggest lie in the world, the guys a complete charlatan and a crook.”

I’ve generally found that people who write in abbreviation tend to think in abbreviation.

Watu writes, “As a transplanted Tulsan and lifetime OU football fan living in Seattle, I enjoyed your balanced article about the Sonics which was printed in the Seattle Times. Certainly you are correct that the message from David Stern to Seattle was ‘drop dead.’ The feeling is mutual. More to the point, Clay Bennett is now considered in the same class as Brian Bosworth and Penn Square Bank, other Okies who have left their marks on Seattle. Like Steve Largent, I identify myself around here as a Tulsan.”

Be careful. Didn’t you hear? OKC and Tulsa are marching arm in arm for the NBA brotherhood.

Another Seattle resident wrote, “While I know every article is limited in what it can cover, more space might have allowed you to mention of the following. 1) To characterize Key Arena as a 60’s bandbox is misleading. Key Arena was taken down to the foundation, enlarged and rebuilt eight years ago in a joint effort with the Sonics ownership. The 10-year lease was the quid pro quo. A new arena every eight years for a team with a declining record? That’s pushing it. 2) Seattle has always agreed to negotiate a remodel of Key Arena for new owners, but Bennett and Stern virtually spat on the site. The Steve Balmer group offered to buy the Sonics and keep it in a remodeled Key Arena which is smack in the center of the city and its world fair grounds. 3) Keep in mind the effort needed to get the Seahawks’ stadium approved was far, far greater than anything Bennett has put into the Sonics. Paul Allen is a revered fixture of this community, and his proposal was turned down twice byKing County voters. Allen had to pay for an 11th-hour, statewide referendum to obtain funding. The Mariners stadium was built on a wave of enthusiasm that followed the best season the team had ever had. That Bennett expected to sail in from OKC, buy a team with a deteriorating record and quickly get funding for a new project of his choosing in a neighboring city while refusing to discuss alternatives in Seattle was either incredibly naïve or designed to fail from the beginning.”

First, it was 13 years ago, not eight, on KeyArena. And everyone keeps acting like Bennett should be committed to Seattle for longer than a year. He gave Seattle a year. He told them he was giving them a year. What we have here is a failure to communicate, and the failure is on the Seattle end.

David wrote, “I am a Seattle resident and lifelong Sonics fan. Congratulations - your boy Clay lied & cheated his way into stealing you a team. I really hope you feel good about that. If you can’t admit that, you are denying reality. The Sonics players see what a dirtbag he is, and no way does Durant re-sign. I think it’s despicable how Oklahoma “sports fans” can cheer on the theft of our team. I would never embrace such sleazy tactics. The fight is not over yet. Fans and sportswriters across the nation all agree this is disgusting. You & your state should be ashamed of yourselves; you have disgraced the game of basketball. To hell with the NBA.”

Interesting. To hell with the NBA is what Seattle leaders have been saying for several years.

Jeff wrote, “I quit watching the NBA when Stern ruined the league years ago. He continues to show his arrogance and disrespect, to spit in the face of the loyal fans of a storied franchise as Seattle takes the cake. Bennett lied to Stern, looked Seattle right in the eye and lied to them and Schultz. Once a liar always a liar. To respect that character says a lot. Seattle will watch from afar while Bennett keeps reaching into your pockets for every dime to help pay for all his losses in the next two years until Oklahomans can’t afford to go to games anymore, and then they’ll just move to another town. Enjoy your heroes!”

We certainly plan to enjoy the NBA, thank you very much.

Todd writes, “The NBA is now dismissing the Key Arena as a facility that is no longer NBA acceptable. I have been to many NBA facilities and can tell you the Key Arena is a good venue. The problem is the NBA model is broken and with the salaries the players get, it will implode. It is interesting that the two owners in the NBA to turn down the move are owners that have more money than other owners and are not greedy over the money that will be made by the relocation. Paul Allen has had his hard times in Portland and in fact one of his companies went bankrupt. Mark Cuban also recognizes the model as broken.”

You’re right. The NBA’s model is broken. But can we please stop with all this talk about what a wonderful venue KeyArena is. No one ever said the seats or the sight lines weren’t good. They said it was too small and underfunded and requires a horrific lease.

Mike writes, “I’m amused at people’s reactions (writers, broadcasters, politicians and ownership types) from both Seattle and OKC. Few people can see the big picture and nearly everyone’s position is about perspective from their own narrow position in their town. Take anyone from either city and switch them to the other, and their opinion will be reversed. This is a story of timing, and Bennett has it on his side. Seattle cares about the Sonics more than Oklahomans think, it just isn’t as big a priority because of other issues we have. As a city that’s much larger than OKC, it comes with the territory that there are additional big issues that must be dealt with first. Example? How about Boeing losing a military contract to a company overseas that might affect 35,000 jobs here. We could have done a better job trying to keep this relocation vote from happening, I can’t deny it. But Bennett could have done a better job making it work in this city. One year and one proposal doesn’t cut it. We’ve all been lied to here, whether it’s Stern, Bennett, our local politicians, etc. If any of them deny it, they’re just lying again. Oklahoma City’s giddiness will turn into periods of disappointment down the road when the team has been in town awhile and players begin getting DUI’s, stiffing fans, ticket prices are raised, the team has several losing seasons and the owner puts out some new demand on the city to help him make more money. That’s not sour grapes from me, that’s the reality of pro sports. It’s a dirty business. Just wait until a bunch of moms from a school put in months organizing a fundraiser for their kids’ school, line up a player to appear and the guy no-shows. We’ve experienced all that here for years, while at the same time enjoying numerous thrilling seasons. Seattle has supported the Sonics very well over 41 years, and to look at the last few as reason to leave town is a shame. If people in OKC don’t believe pro sports is a dirty business, then they clearly don’t see what’s happening here in Seattle and have a lot to learn after the Sonics move there.”

Well, I won’t deny that bad apples are all over pro sports, but the Hornets certainly were solid citizens in their two years here. I’d say pro sports is big business more than dirty business.

Bob writes, “Not everyone in Seattle is pining for the Sonics. I’m a sports nut. Love all sports. Lived in Seattle since 1999 and been to more than a hundred Mariner games, a hundred college basketball games, college football games, even pricey Seahawk games. I’ll even go watch high school basketball. I’ve been to one Sonic game and only because I got the tickets for free. My son and I left early because he thought it was boring. This was with Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. The NBA is a bad product. Not sure what they’re playing but it isn’t basketball and when they do play it’s only with five minutes left in the fourth quarter. Bennett wants Seattle to spend $500 million for that? Forget it. Back the truck up and take the Sonics to OKC. You’ll be in bed with Stern - the man doesn’t have a Napoleon complex, he’s Napoleon with a complex. (Any other reason why he would alienate an entire city with his rhetoric simply because they don’t bow to his wishes?). Good luck and enjoy. The first five years will be a love affair, then it will fizzle as the owners decide the millions you spent on the stadium aren’t enough and want more, and the product continues to deteriorate and the fans realize they have nothing in common with the players and the tickets are outrageously expensive, as is the parking and the food inside the arena in order to pay the outrageous salaries. Then Durant becomes a free agent and signs a maximum deal to play someplace else.”

Funny, I sort of liked the NBA when the Hornets were here.

Todd writes, “Yeah, I agree with you that Howard Schultz is to blame for selling the team to someone as sleazy, duplicitous and smarmy as Clay Bennett. I mean, what’s with the love letter to David Stern? I guess the billionaire Coffee King got snookered by an “aw shucks” Okie who’s apparent claim to fame is marrying well. Can you also verify the ‘millions’ he spent putting together the proposed $500,000,000 NBA palace on ground that wasn’t even his or tied up in Renton? That as compared to the $200,000,000 area that he says will work in OC? Yeah, Howard screwed up and hasn’t been able to show his face in town since he sold the team. But thank God, one way or the other we won’t have to deal with Clay in the future. He is Oklahoma City’s golden child for bringing the team to town. See what you think after he tells you the arena isn’t working in 10 years.”

I’ll think the same thing I think now. Sometimes, I’m glad I’m not Clay Bennett.

Oleg wrote, “Come on, man. Howard Schultz wanted a KeyArena renovation. Then during the last year of his ownership he hinted at the idea of a new arena but that’s not what he fought for previously. David Stern is a former lawyer and what he does is try and scare people. Again, he will say pretty much anything that an owner wants. Do you really think he wants to move a 41-year-old franchise from a big market? Hey, I understand that you guys want an NBA team and all that, and I hope that you’ll get one eventually. But stealing the Sonics is no way to go. Just try and put yourself in Seattle’s shoes. We knew all along that Bennett wanted to move the team, and getting those emails didn’t surprise that many people. It only proved what he intentions were from the beginning.”

No, I don’t think Stern wants to move a 41-year franchise from a big market. Which should tell the people of Seattle something now that Stern is endorsing just such a plan.

Tyler writes, “You are a classic idiot who thinks like David Stern, Clay Bennett is God. Maybe the worst piece of writing, but can I expect anything less from a writer in maybe the worst place I have ever visited, Oklahoma City? Let me be the first to congratulate everyone there for their NBA title in four years when Durant and Green are joined by a third stud when they get a great lottery player in this year’s draft. Mark Cuban is the only one thinking logically at the big picture, a team in Ok City is bad for the NBA. PERIOD! It’s too bad Clay has Stern in his back pocket…two of the most hated people in Washington now.”

I’m very confused. I thought it was Clay Bennett who thought David Stern was God.

NBA commish David Stern guessed that Clay Bennett’s ownership group would be under some “significant incentive and pressure” to make the Sonics an “Oklahoma” franchise” rather than Oklahoma City. Then less than an hour later, Bennett said he was committed to calling the franchise “Oklahoma City.”

I see both sides but agree with only one. Oklahoma City. OKC voters are the heroes in this NBA saga. They’ve three times went to the polls to make their city better — MAPS, MAPS for Kids, and the Ford Center renovation — and it’s Oklahoma City government leaders, moreso than state, who have stood with the business sector to make first the Hornets a success and now the Sonics a reality.

I also think from a marketing standpoint, Oklahoma City is better. Truth is, a lot of people drop the City anyway, from Charles Barkley to less interesting but more cerebral individuals who vaguely are aware that Oklahoma City is the city and Oklahoma is the state but haven’t given it a lot of thought. In other words, call it Oklahoma City, and a lot of people are going to call it Oklahoma anyway. Call it Oklahoma, and no one will call it Oklahoma City.

Calling it Oklahoma would appease the Tulsa crowd that has been very supportive of this effort. T-Town has been a great neighbor. Some from Tulsa might be disappointed if the franchise is called Oklahoma City, but it’s doubtful anyone would decline to participate in ticket-buying if the team is called OKC. Sponsorships from the Tulsa side of the state is another matter. I don’t know if anyone would decline because of it, but it’s another matter.

Of course, there’s always a compromise. Call the team the Oklahoma City Slickers. Those that want the team to be OKC can assume the nickname is the Slickers. Those that want the team to be Oklahoma can assume the nickname is the City Slickers. And those in Seattle who believe Clay Bennett’s group heisted the team will say truth in advertising.

Big, big couple of days in Oklahoma. OSU hires a new basketball coach in Travis Ford on Thursday, then today the NBA votes on relocation to OKC for the Seattle SuperSonics.

I wanted to be in New York City for the big vote, but it’s a good thing I didn’t go. I didn’t want to miss the Ford celebration — thumbs up is my analysis — and without a private jet,. it would have been impossible to make it to downtown Gotham City AND cover the Stillwater press conference, considering I didn’t leave Gallagher-Iba Arena until 9:15 p.m.

Oh well. Our NBA writer, Darnell Mayberry, is in New York and has everything well in hand, and our budget didn’t need to take a two-person hit on a trip to Midtown Manhattan, considering the cans of Sprite are going for $9, as Mayberry RFD reported in today’s Oklahoman.

But here’s what I regret about not making the trip. Guess who else is in New York this weekend? The Boston Red Sox. I believe I could have made it over to Yankee Stadium last night for the most storied rivalry in professional sports. I’ve never seen a Yanks-Red Sox game, and I’m sure I will sometime in my life, but not in the current Yankee Stadium, which will be torn down after this season to make way for a new palace.

Yankee Stadium is the most hallowed venue I’ve ever graced. Rose Bowl, Notre Dame Stadium, Wrigley Field. Nothing matches Yankee Stadium.

I’m glad I was in Oklahoma these couple of days. But I wish I was in New York, too.

Played point guard at a tradition-rich power. Made the Final Four. Son of a fairly prominent basketball man, at least regionally. Grew up in a basketball-crazy state. Got a college head coaching job in his 20s. Did a decent job — not spectacular — at a solid mid-major and it earned him a ticket to the Big 12, our state in particular.

Travis Ford? Yes. Jeff Capel? Yes.

Amazing similarities between the hires at Oklahoma State this week and Oklahoma two Aprils ago.

Ford was the Kentucky point guard in 1993, when the Wildcats made the Final Four and lost to Michigan’s Fab Five when they were sophomores. His dad is Eddie Ford, who runs Kentucky HoopFest, a huge summer tournament in Louisville that is really unlike anything we’ve got here. Kentucky, remember, is basketball country. Ford became a head coach at Campbellsville, an NAIA school in Kentucky, at the age of 28. He grew up in Kentucky bluegrass. He has coached in only one NCAA Tournament game but has Massachusetts up and running on its way back to being a player in the solid Atlantic 10 Conference.

Capel was the Duke point guard in 1994, when the Blue Devils lost the NCAA title game to Arkansas on that great shot by Scotty Thurman. His dad is Jeff Capel II, former head coach at Old Dominion and North Carolina A&T. Capel III became the head coach at Virginia Commonwealth at the age of 27. He grew up on Carolina’s Tobacco Road. Capel had coached in only one NCAA Tournament game but had VCU on solid footing in the underrated Colonial Athletic Conference.

Interesting likenesses. Of course, if you want more, here’s another comparison model. Travis Ford and Sean Sutton, the guy Ford replaces today as OSU’s basketball coach.

Both went to high school in Kentucky. Both have dads named Eddie of varying degrees of popularity in the state — Eddie Ford apparently is known as a bit of an operator around the AAU circuit; Eddie Sutton was the fall guy of the Kentucky U. scandals of the 1980s. Both played point guard at Kentucky. Both rank among the best 3-point shooters in Kentucky history. Both transferred to or from a Big Eight school (Ford from Missouri, Sutton to OSU). Both became OSU’s head coach in their 30s (Ford is 38, Sutton was 37). Both played for coaches who finished with more than 700 wins (Norm Stewart won 738, Eddie Sutton won 804).

Uh-oh. The OSU basketball search appears in trouble. The Cowboys apparently have been turned down by Southern Illinois’ Chris Lowery, who announced Tuesday he was staying at SIU. When a guy pulls out of a job, it means one of two things: he pulled out or the suitor school is ready to hire another. And it sure doesn’t look like OSU is ready to hire another.

Lowery is an excellent young coach, but if you can’t hire away someone from the Missouri Valley, then there are trouble spots in the process. What could be turning off coaches?

Can’t be money, I wouldn’t think. So there are only a few possibilities. The owner/GM management model, which is unorthodox with Boone Pickens and Mike Holder. The Sean Sutton firing backlash. The overall quality of the OSU job.

I would discount the latter two. The OSU job is not an elite job but it’s a very good job and one that should not scare off coaches. It’s not Nebraska, for instance, which never has won an NCAA Tournament game. And as for the Sutton backlash, I don’t put a lot of stock in that one, either. Yes, many coaches were no doubt alarmed that Sean was fired after just 21/2 seasons. But just as many coaches had to feel like Sean’s ascension to the job, bequeathed by his father, was dubious in the first place. Coaches work hard to get where they get and I would assume don’t have a lot of respect for sons whose paths are cleared by a big-name dad.

So that leaves the Pickens/Holder model. Now I believe that the truth is, Pickens doesn’t meddle much in anything, other than wanting to win. I think he just wants to be part of the inner circle, not to throw around weight but so that he can be informed and feel like he’s a part of something for all the money he’s invested. Just like a major-league owner who doesn’t run the day-to-day operations of a franchise. But I think some coaches fear that, because it’s so different from the way college athletic departments have been run for decades. Remember back in the day when regents were heavily involved in athletic departments? Well, Pickens is a one-man regents committee, and that might scare some coaches.

So who’s next? I said yesterday that if I had to guess, I would say Chris Lowery would be the next OSU coach. By dark thirty, Lowery was saying he was staying at Southern Illinois. So my next guess: Travis Ford of UMass, a former Kentucky (and Missouri) point guard. Ford was a Rick Pitino point guard at UK, then became a head coach almost immediately, at Campbellsville (Ky.) in the NAIA, then Eastern Kentucky and finally UMass. He plays uptempo basketball and would be a very good choice. But if the Cowboys don’t get Ford, and can’t even go to the always-stocked Missouri Valley for a coach, I don’t know where Mike Holder turns.

I’ve sat around wondering how Seattle possibly could keep the Sonics, came up with no ideas, and then Mister Coffee provided me an answer. Starbucks czar Howard Schultz, who sold the Sonics to Clay Bennett’s ownership group two years ago, says he is filing a lawsuit to rescind the sale of the Sonics. He wants the franchise back.

Now, it’s possible that Schultz’s declaration is pure publicity stunt, of which there have been quite a few in Seattle lately. When the smoke clears, the Sonics are in Oklahoma City and the good basketball fans of Seattle start looking around at the real guilty parties in the exodus of their team, they will refocus their disgust away from Bennett.

The guilty will remain in Seattle. Schultz suddenly would be fingered as the guy who sold the franchise to the Oklahoma City carpetbaggers. Shouldn’t he have known that Bennett and the boys would pilfer the franchise off to OKC? Well, yes, without a quick resolution to the arena problem. It wouldn’t be a blow to Schultz’s Starbucks empire — he’s got dazed customers addicted to paying $3.95 for a cup of coffee, not just in Seattle but across the globe, including The Oklahoman’s very own sports staff. But it would be a blow to Schultz’s social standing. Long after Kevin Durant is an NBA all-star in OKC, Schultz would become the goat of this story. Can anyone say, uncomfortable cocktail parties?

And NBA commissioner David Stern himself this week pointed the finger — a different finger — back at Seattle, reminding the city that when Schultz put the team up for sale, no one from that corner of the country wanted the Sonics. Not Steve Ballmer, the Microsoft CEO who recently expressed interest in buying the franchise and developing a renovation plan for KeyArena. Not anyone. Hey, said Stern, where was everyone two years ago?

Now that the move of the Sonics seems imminent, the guilty in Seattle — which includes government leaders — are scrambling to save face.

Of course, this could be beyond publicity stunt. The crux of the question revolves around, who owns the team? Without the lease — which expires in 2010 — an owner is free to move wherever the league will let him, so either now or in 2010, the Sonics are doomed for Seattle so long as Bennett owns the franchise. Even if you accept that Bennett ever was interested in working out a Seattle arena deal, we know now that no way would he ever want a business in that city.

So Seattle’s only hope is that someone else owns the team. Seattle already has tried an offer, or at least put together a group that yapped about making an offer. But Bennett and Aubrey McClendon aren’t interested in selling. That seems clear.

The last-ditch hope is that Bennett’s ownership of the team be rendered fraudulent. And Schultz has an argument, thanks to the damning emails in which Bennett’s partners ask, in April 2007, if there’s any way for the team to come to Oklahoma City immediately, and Bennett responds with “I am a man possessed! Will do everything I can…”

Bennett will argue in court that while his partners obviously wanted to move, he did not, that he wanted a Seattle arena deal and that was his reference in the email reference. I don’t know who will believe him in Seattle, including the judge, but I know that Bennett will be the most uncrackable witness you’ve ever seen.

This is Seattle’s best hope, though. Only hope, really. Get ownership back. Try to prove the sale a fraud and start over. I don’t blame Seattle. This is big-stakes stuff, and when negotiations and dialogue don’t work, you start scratching and clawing. And if such an effort saves face for some of the people who created this mess in the first place, all the better for Mister Coffee.