Stern backs Bennett
Despite revealing e-mails that suggest Sonics Chairman Clay Bennett lied to NBA Commissioner David Stern about his intentions to keep the Sonics in Seattle, Stern said on Monday that he supports Bennett……
By Jeff Latzke
AP Sports Writer
Despite the release of e-mails that SuperSonics owner Clay Bennett exchanged last year with partners about moving the team to Oklahoma City, NBA commissioner David Stern says he is convinced Bennett made a good-faith effort to keep the team in Seattle.
Bennett and ownership partners Aubrey McClendon and Tom Ward exchanged e-mails in April 2007 in which they discussed whether there was any way to avoid further “lame duck” seasons in Seattle before the team could be relocated.
Bennett, who had promised to negotiate with Seattle for a full year before deciding whether to move the Sonics, responded: “I am a man possessed! Will do everything we can. Thanks for hanging with me boys.”
“I haven’t studied them but my sense of it was that Clay, as the managing partner and the driving force of the group, was operating in good faith under the agreement that had been made with (previous owner) Howard Schultz,” Stern said on a conference call Monday. “His straight and narrow path may not have been shared by all of his partners in their views, but Clay was the one that was making policy for the partnership.”
Stern fined McClendon $250,000 last August after he told an Oklahoma City newspaper that “we didn’t buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here.” The e-mails released last week as part of the city of Seattle’s efforts to enforce the SuperSonics’ lease at KeyArena shed further light on the ownership group’s thought process prior to Bennett’s self-enforced Oct. 31 deadline to determine the team’s eventual home.
After purchasing the team from Schultz in July 2006, Bennett promised to spend one full year after the purchase was approved to seek a viable home for the Sonics in Seattle. The NBA approved the sale of the Sonics in October 2006.
Stern repeatedly has said that Seattle’s KeyArena is not a suitable home for the Sonics, and rejected a recent attempt led by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to renovate the arena to keep the team in Seattle. That effort subsequently fell apart when it wasn’t backed by the city or the state legislature.
Stern said it’s too late at this point to seek other owners who would keep the Sonics in the city where they’ve played the past 41 years.
“I think it’s fair to say that extraordinary efforts were made to seek ownership interests when Howard sold the team, including from people who became involved in the effort — the recently unsuccessful effort — to get the state to extend the sales tax for the purposes of retiring the arena debt,” Stern said.
“It happened already. There was no one who was interested in buying the team, including the very people who stepped forward at the last minute.”
NBA owners will vote Friday on Bennett’s proposed relocation to Oklahoma City. A subcommittee of three owners visited Oklahoma City last month and recommended league approval.
During that visit, Stern suggested that Oklahoma City — when combined with the presence of Tulsa less than 100 miles away — could be a viable market even though Seattle has a higher population and television audience. On Monday, he downplayed Seattle’s role as an entry into Asia.
“I would say that we don’t ever like to leave a city,” Stern said. “We don’t like to leave a city as robust as Seattle, but the Asian cities that we’re tending to focus more on have names like Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong and Guangzhou.
“It’s disheartening simply to leave the city, as it would be to leave any city.”
A June trial is scheduled concerning the city of Seattle’s lawsuit to enforce the lease and keep the team at KeyArena through 2010.
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Comments
well said. as shady as bennett is, it’s obvious that he would act in a self-interested manner. what stern gains out of this probably won’t be revealed in the near future, but it’s obvious that something sketchy is afoot. it’s funny that all major players involved in this situation are linked in dc politically. bennett, shultz, stern—neocon, apac, both, respectively. sounds like inevitable self-destruction…
Save Our Sonics Says:
“We now know that Stern is part of the con job and he will have to go.”
Thats really funny. Like you guys carry any weight with anyone. We saw how how impressed your state legislature was with you.
Seattle blew this one. It’s over. Deal with it.
Clay Bennett and David Stern are con artists.They are nothing but two people filled with promises that have and will continue to be broken.Clay Bennett has lied to everyone regarding his intentions from saying he wanted to keep the team in Seattle and to pumping big money into the funding drive in Oklahoma City for improvements to the arena there after saying he needed money in Seattle to make a deal work.
I’m willing to see how this plays out before coming to the conclusion that Stern had a masterplan from the beginning rather than just being a dumb ego-driven fool. Let me see Stern’s email communiques. If this was all a ruse conjured by Stern to give his buddy an NBA franchise in a city that doesn’t qualify for one otherwise, its time for BOG to oust Stern’s regime.
David Stern is the most highly regarded and respected commissioner in professional sports.
The only people that want to get rid of Stern are in Seattle and considering Seattle is about to be an ex-NBA city with zero NBA team owners…..their opinions don’t count for much.
…..but they should look at the bright side, they’re getting a new soccer team.
the NBA is dying.as far as north american commisioners go. david stern is a step ahead of gary bettman, thats about it. and phil, your disgusting tiny city, has nothing yet. in the end, common sense will win the day. crime infested rat hole? or beautiful,large,vibrant,rich city? hmmmm, thats a tough one.
You guys and your hopes about this trial were humorous in the begining, sad for a period of time and now have become quite pathetic. Seattle people constantly point to the history regarding the Seahawks and Mariners and how both those squads ALMOST moved and how the same thing will happen with the Sonics.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but this situation is totally different. The Sonics are owned by Oklahoma residents that are very intent on bringing the team to their hometown. After the BOG approves the move 28-2 this Friday the team WILL move. It doesnt matter what the judge has to say in June. Even if the city wins the court case in June, dont look for the Sonics to be there two more seasons. The city and its leaders are bottom-line oriented and the fact is a lame duck team does the city NO good. All a court victory will do is drive up the buy-out price.
Seattle posters are more than welcome to keep coming here and reading our paper. Your also more than welcome to read about the team when it moves here. For the next few days, while I read ridiculous rhetoric from angry Seattlites, I will have a couple of facts for them to think about while they get their free coffee from Starbucks.
1. The team isnt for sell.
2. Four days until the BOG approves the move 28-2.
DM,
why don’t you man up and offer some commentary on this situation. I don’t think copying and pasting AP reports word for word qualifies this as a “blog”. Your silence speaks volumes. No OKC poster on this site is an actual basketball fan, nor has any respect for the game (except donuteyes). You’re mostly just desperate for attention. “We’re a big league city, guys!”
Also, go watch this: http://www.newsok.tv/?titleID=1498587072. High comedy. I’m a fan of the “Sell Outs” myself. Can’t wait to hear what D-League joke of a name the “fans” come up with.
DM is a homer, as are all the columnists and sports reporters for the Oklahoman. Objective, incisive reporting? Not if it gets in the way of Clay’s wife and her family.
Philip,
You and some of the other posters are butt boys for Clay and his clinch, David Stern. For your information, Stern is an arrogant, pompous jerk.
The e-mail’s do destroy Clay’s credibility but I don’t think they are a big of a deal as people are making it out to me. If the lawmakers in Washington approved a bill to finance a brand new arena and Clay turned THAT down then it would be justified to kill the whole relocation. I live in Seattle and I have to laugh at how the Governor, Gregoire, is handling this. She’s trying to have her cake and eat it too. She’s acting all outraged and demanding the NBA do something (to cover her butt from the wrath of the Sonics fans) yet she did nothing when they got an offer from Ballmer and the other investors to finance half of a refurbishment.
NBA Sucks as it is now. Unfortunately OKC will be the rubes spending countless money lavishing Bennett and repaying him triplicate of what he has spent. Unfortunately like almost all owners, in 3 or 4 years he will cry “It is too hard to make a profit without a up to the minute arena”. He will either sell and make tons of moola (maybe to someone not from OKC, and maybe even break the lease early!?!),or he will rob you blind. Seattle can watch them from Seattle from the comfort of their living rooms, and spend money elsewhere. The quality of the entertainment is so low. It is worse than the mid 70′s when drugs ruled the league. It is somewhat funny how the attendence figures are tallied. Have you looked at the the sold out arena’s? Unfortunately the sold out arena’s have empty seats. It is only corporate sponsorship that supports these owners and it is greed and political muscle that they seek. Maybe a great player like Magic or Bird can come back in the league – but guess what – that magical player will play in NY, Boston, or LA because the league only cares about National attention. OKC, enjoy your time in the sun from a former fan and non NBA spending fan. There are better things to do in San Diego!
Grendel Knight, you do realize that if Seattle wins the court case, that means that they are staying in Seattle for 2 more years to finish the lease. The court case isn’t about how much the buyout offer should be, it’s whether Clay can even buy out of the lease or not. The city would not have gone through as much as it has if it was just trying to increase the buyout.
You also obviously don’t know about our history with the Seahawks and Mariners. The Seahawks were actually holding practices in Los Angeles before the court ordered them to come back to Seattle. The Mariners were selling season tickets in Tampa Bay. Both teams were very intent on moving and both leagues did not like Seattle at the time (we ended up sueing the MLB). Now look at those teams, two of the best stadiums in the country and some of most passionate fans.
If the NBA does not want Seattle to have a team, then so be it. I’m pretty sure the NHL will and by the time 2010 rules I wouldn’t be surprised if the NHL is the more popular winter sport.
One MORE COURT CASE TO DEAL WITH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go STARBUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sonics/2004349361_schultz15.html
darnell, impressive cut/paste hack-job. looks like ‘that guy’ accurately called you out. do you even care anymore? maybe you’re getting closer to realizing your dream of owning a sports bar or co-authoring that book you’ve been kicking around in your head. you know, the one about the intrepid sports journalist with the courage to stand up to corporate thievery. you know, fiction. (side note: most uninteresting bartender ever) good thing you see yourself as an “entrepreneur,” so you don’t have to spend the rest of your life as a shill for corrupt and bigoted men. or maybe thats the goal, your shared curtis jackson mantra sums your/clay/stern’s attitude up well. admit it, you’ve probably referred to yourself as d-unit.
source (good for a laugh):
http://www.nytimes-institute.com/OLD_SITE/2004/mayberry.htm
Phillip, Grendel Knight. et al.-
Oops. Looks like all that red dirt must be blinding your vision. ClayClay has a real legal problem with Howard Schultz and Starbucks. Despite being a big deal in OKC, ClayClay can’t play in the same league as Schultz. He (ClayClay) screwed up by using childish “We got ‘em now” language in his e-mails, which made Schultz look foolish. I respect the people of Oklahoma, you are a State rich in college sports glory, revel in the Sooners, you have nothing else.
Phillip says: “David Stern is the most highly regarded and respected commissioner in professional sports”
And GWB is the greatest world leader of all time. You’re a complete dunce.
Hope you enjoy this: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sonics/2004349361_schultz15.html
but look on the bright side, you still have The OKC Lighting of the National Women’s Football Association. They made the playoffs, yo!
If only Howard Schultz was as diligent about the Sonics as he was about Starbucks three years ago, this would have never happend… Oh yea nevermind…
Seattle is the land of frivolous lawsuits and publicity stunts. No wonder the people there have such a hard time figuring out whats really going on…..kinda like living in an alternate universe.
Let me simplify things for them. This is about to be all over. The BOG will approve the relocation of the Sonics to OKC this weekend and the Sonics will sign a 15 year lease with OKC beginning in 2010 at the latest, next week. The Sonics will move to OKC no later than 2010.
Everything else is smoke and mirrors.
I know you Seattle trolls don’t want to believe me so maybe you’ll list to Jerry Brewer of the Seattle Times….
“Schultz’s dire attempt to right his wrong is the longest of all shots. And though he probably won’t admit it, he’s motivated in part by a desire to suppress fan anger. If Seattle becomes an NBA ghost town, he doesn’t want to walk around fearing for his coffee beans.”
Ultimately, this effort only figures to get Schultz a considerable legal-fees tab and a heap of disappointment.
Later this week, the NBA Board of Governors will vote on Bennett’s request to move the Sonics to Oklahoma City. It’s just a formality. It will pass.
Now, if the Tooth Fairy will testify that Bennett conned her when he was a child, the Sonics might have a real chance to stick around.”
Schultz has finally woken up and is suing Bennett for the team back. While this is likely just to muddy the waters even further, it’s likely enough to guarantee that the judge deciding on the lease has no choice but to force Bennett and his cronies to stay in Seattle for another 2 seasons.
I doubt they’ll be able to stomach $30 million dollar losses two more years in a row, and I doubt that Stern and the NBA will allow the bad pub to continue.
If I were a betting man I’d be placing my money on Seattle keeping the team after all.
Well played, Seattle… well played.
Now how do I go about ensuring that you vulture-like Okies don’t start trolling for my city’s Hornets again???
seriously, now there’s people from new orleans talking trash? hahahaha!! this is good. new orleans? who cares what you think about this? now THAT is a city that doesn’t need a team, if you ask me. so, which of the twenty people that go to watch the hornets are you? how many friends can you bring to hornets games for free? right, we stole the hornets, there wasn’t a HURRICANE that destroyed your city, or anything…
enjoy the playoffs, you do know the playoffs are starting, right? you’re in them this year!
(oh, and by the way, a LOT of cities want your unappreciated team, including seattle if they lose the sonics)
I’m not going to argue with you – if you’re as “NBA knowledgable” as you claim to be, you know that our attendance has picked up as it’s become clear that our owner felt bad about pandering to OKC so badly and has begun marketing the team to New Orleans again. We have a fleur de lis logo, we’re getting new unis next season, and everything Oklahoma will be gone come next year. Sellouts are the new regular.
The fact is that we have two major league sports franchises in New Orleans.
Oklahoma City has none. And it looks like that’s how it will remain. Go eat some more donuts, chief.
donuteyes, finally, your true okie colors. i thought you guys LOVED the hornets, now, your even talking trash to them. just because they called your city OUT. nobody likes a troll!!HAHAHA! well, D.M. still interested in that cup of coffee?? YIKES! now, we have the city of seattle sueing the sonics, howard schulz is drafting a lawsuit against the sonics, the state of washington is sure to join the legal fight, but, phillip, STILL thinks its all smoke and mirrors!!hahaha! someone posted it best awhile back: DO NOT BRING A LASSO TO A GUNFIGHT!!!!! SEE YA’ALL IN JUNE!
MIKE U.
p.s. D.M., im still up for your visit, and, still will show you around if Mama Bennett lets loose with some expense money!! shoot, i got you , even if she does! that’s how we roll, up here!!!!!!
(Mike, just found out that I won’t be the one covering the trial. -DM-)
Phillip…..you said, “I know you Seattle trolls don’t want to believe me so maybe you’ll list to Jerry Brewer of the Seattle Times…”
Stop….that is laughable, even Jerry’s mom doesn’t read his crap.
What’s next…. Are you’re going to tell us how great of a world leader George W is?
George Bush would carry Oklahoma again if he were allowed to run in 2008.
Clay Bennett would probably be leading the charge to re-elect the numbnuts.
Sad, but true.
everyone needs to forgive little philip. in ‘philip world’ lawsuits only exist on television (law and order, perry mason, etc.). after a hard days work of dumping out the extra vegetable oil and wrapping up the last whopper, philip loves to kick back, have an ice cold coors and watch these make-believe shows. he also likes dream of what could have been. he’s that bitter small town guy obama was referencing. no worldview, no perspective, no self-awareness. courts are real, big guy, and in real cities they’re used for more than processing you for your third DUI.
and DM, where’s your insights on this new shultz lawsuit? you’re an hour ahead, bra—did you get smashed at the local watering hole last night, play one too many hands of blackjack?
i’ll just say, as much as i detest howard shultz, this is no joke. y’all okc folk think money is just money and once you break 6 figures everyone’s just rich. but corporate money is a little different. we’re talking starbucks and microsoft. the nba is corrupt, but do you really think they’re that stupid?
Seattle Fans: Meet Your New Best Friend
April 15, 2008 10:33 AM
You know how the Sonic owners have had an obligation to make a “good faith” effort to keep the team in Seattle?
That was not, legally speaking, an obligation to the fans of the team (ultimately the most important stakeholders in any team, yet a group that is almost never represented during a sale). It was not an obligation to the NBA. It was not an obligation to the City of Seattle, nor to the State of Washington.
The obligation to make a good faith effort to stay was to Starbucks honcho Howard Schultz and his group of former Sonic owners.
So, as evidence has mounted that the current owners have not honored that commitment, the question has been — well, does Howard Schultz want to do anything about it? Are those former owners hot under the collar about this, and do they want to go to the trouble of trying get their (newly well-managed low payroll/high draft pick) team back?
It seemed that would be the best possible ray of light for anyone who wanted, and it also seemed like a longshot.
But it is happening.
Percy Allen of the Seattle Times:
Nearly two years after selling Seattle’s NBA franchise to Oklahoma City investors, the Starbucks mogul has hired a lawyer and is preparing to file a lawsuit against Sonics chairman Clay Bennett to rescind the July 2006 sale.
Attorney Richard Yarmuth confirmed Monday that his Seattle-based law firm, Yarmuth Wilsdon Calfo, is representing Schultz and plans to sue Bennett’s Professional Basketball Club in the next two weeks.
“The damages that are being sought is to rescind, unwind the transaction,” Yarmuth said a day after the team played what could have been its final home game in Seattle.
“It’s not money damage. It’s to have the team returned. The theory of the suit is that when the team was sold, the Basketball Club of Seattle, our team here, relied on promises made by Clay Bennett and his ownership that they desired to keep the team in Seattle and intended to make a good-faith effort to accomplish that.”
Also, today we are once again hearing about a “side letter” that was part of the sale. You can hear an archival radio interview with Schultz about that letter from 950 KJR from 2006. According to Schultz in that radio interview, that letter commits Clay Bennett to:
… honor the four-year lease in terms of the 2010 terms, and use his best efforts over the next 12 months. And that word ‘best effort’ is important legal language that really, I think, articulates the fact that not only do they have an obligation but a desire.
What I understand him to have said to me personally, and in the letter, is that they’re going to honor the lease and they’re going to work as hard as they can over the next twelve months to try and get something done with the city and the state.
Through this fiasco, Schultz has become enemy number one of Seattle fans. Jerry Brewer of the Seattle Times thinks this whole suit is such a long shot that it is most likely just an attempt for Schultz to save some face in his hometown, even as the Sonics will inevitably leave.
I think that’s a hasty assessment from a non-lawyer, without access to the full evidence of the case. There are actual lawyers who see a real opening here.
I’ll reserve judgment, and watch with an open mind to see if the legal process can catch up the the changing tone of the public conversation, where things have been shifting mightily in the last few days.
A theory that strained credibility — the fathers of a city starved for an NBA franchise didn’t intend to move their money-losing team to that city? — can now plainly be disproved with information in the public record.
That means there is not a lot of wiggle room to argue for the integrity of the effort to stay. Doing so, in the face of the new evidence, makes you sound a little out of touch.
And with this morning’s news, there are three more pieces of the puzzle:
People who have been approved as NBA owners and are willing to own the team in Seattle right now, even with its current stadium predicament.
A legal theory to seperate the Oklahoma-based ownership from the team without their consent.
Most importantly: a new fire of optimism lit in the hearts of those fighting to keep the team in place.
Philip,
I hope Bennett gets the Time’s Brewer to represent him against the Sonics’ owner in exile, Howard Shultz..
The problem with having such a narrow viewpoint is that you can’t anticipate upcoming events and instead look at the world as though it wasn’t in motion. Those who were claiming that the emails meant nothing and that they were only in support of the case against Bennett to prevent him from breaking the lease were very short-sighted. The events that are occuring on merely steps in the grand scheme of how this will all play out. Don’t make the same mistake twice and think that Schultz retaking the team is the last stage in this battle, we’re still early in this game. Seattle has been through this before and has been telling you all what to expect, but stubborn as all hell you just won’t listen and naively think that this time the bad guys will actually win. Sorry, but welcome to the “Big League.”
wow, new uniforms next year! neat-o! ooh, a fleur-de-lis logo? wow, how long after moving there did they adopt that? when i think hornets, i think new orleans and fleur-de-lis’! way to go on picking up attendance. really, i’m glad it takes the owner feeling bad to market the team in their own city. i think people in seattle and oklahoma are being short-sighted babies, but new orleans? who cares! (but keep writing, you’ve inspired me to start posting here again. i don’t even care about/want the sonics anymore.)
Yea, Seattle is quite the three ring circus right now.
Like I said, Seattle’s the land of publicity stunts and frivolous lawsuits. All the clowns in Washington are running for political cover, trying to deflect blame for when the team leaves.
Keep your eye on the ball, trolls….
1. BOG approves relocation.
2. Sonics sign lease with OKC.
3 Seattle accepts buyout.
The end.
1. BOG approves relocation.
-Certainly possible, but it doesn’t change the fact that there are still two lawsuits pending. You do realize that the NBA BOG doesn’t have authority over a court of law, right? If there was fraud in the negotations, the deal will unwind and Bennett won’t even have a team to move.
2. Sonics sign lease with OKC.
-It wouldn’t mean anything and the franchise would not be bound by the agreement if Bennett no longer owns the team.
3 Seattle accepts buyout.
-Absolutely no way in hell this is going to happen, sorry. There is far too much political pressure up here to prevent this from happening. Stern and Bennett sufficiently insulted the community and the mayor of Seattle (who has sole authority to accept a buyout) that this will never happen.
Sorry you guys got your hopes up, but we Seattleites have been through this twice before, and we haven’t lost yet!
Yoon Says:
“Sorry you guys got your hopes up, but we Seattleites have been through this twice before, and we haven’t lost yet!”
You’ve also never had a team with only two years left on their lease, with out of state owners who have league approval to move the team.
First it was the email stunt and now the Shultz announcement, all orchestrated right before the BOG meeting to try to influence the vote. There was supposed to be one more piece to this with local owners standing by with a Key remodel agreement but Olympia torpedoed that part of the plan,,,,,instead they’ve got a letter from the state “crossing their hearts and hoping to die” that they will come up with funding some day…
None of it is going to matter, None of this has won Seattle any friends with the other NBA owners. Mark Cuban just isn’t enough. The vote will be a landslide and the Sonics will sign a lease with OKC, probably next week.
Shultz’s suit is a publicity stunt. It has no chance. He is just trying to save face and deflect the heat he’s feeling.
i agree to certain extent. schultz is simply trying to get in seattles good graces. but i really dont think he has much interest in influencing the bog( by the phil the bog are the owners).
phillip, back to you rmagazine’s on the rack at your job @ 7-11 (lost the gm job, i heard). bottomline: okie city doesnt understand “Corporate Money”. how can you understand something that has left your city time and again!! clayboy has gotten your little “dustbowl: into a battle that has cost your city bad publicity, not including, all the business lost from seattleites changing summer plans to visit your fine city. im now coordinating with a local fast-pitch softball league to send thier girls to another state for nationals, since, i am a huge sponsor. it will get done!! just little oh me has already canceled room and dining reservations for 3 adult teams that were coming to your fine city in june, and, we will be spending our $3000 per team in dallas this year. as soon as, i get my sponsor money in the right state (not a thieving, accept the actions of a lyer state), i will post the dollar amount that will not be coming for the fastpitch tourney’s. im just 1 guy, but, am going to account for over $30,000 in revenue not coming to your city this summer. does it effect clayboy, no. but, it does put a little dent in ol’ mic’s coffers, and, that is my goal. okie city, you cannot say we didnt give you guys fair warning!!! SEE YA’LL IN JUNE! or at least the few job holders still around since GM moved out. the rest of you could not afford to come for the trial. as far as, friends we have won (shaq, barkley, cuban, gary payton, and, numerous hall-of-famers), they all look at the “BIG” picture, and, that is the NBA will not work in a “dustbowl”!! but go ahead Phillip, and, talk crap about all those people with years of basketball behind them. i suppose they are all blowing hot-air!!! SEE YA’ALL IN JUNE!!!
MIKE U.
DANG D.M., I WAS SAVING ALL THE STARBUCKS GIFTCARDS THE TRUCK LINES REPS BRING INTO ME, JUST FOR OUR COFFEE APPOINTMENT. IT IS A GOOD THING I HELD ONTO THEM!!!! EVEN IF YOUR NOT COVERING THE STORY, AND, MAKE IT UP HERE, SHOOT ME A EMAIL. I WOULD STILL LIKE TO TAKE YOU ON A 2 HOUR TOUR OF A CITY WITH SO MUCH HISTORY THAT EVEN A EDUCATED REPORTER LIKE YOURSELF WILL ENJOY!! BESIDES, SEATTLE CENTER!! I DO BELIEVE WHEN YOU TAKE IT ALL IN, YOU WILL SEE FOR YOURSELF EXACTLY WHY WE DO NOT LET ANY OTHER CITY COME AND TRY AND CHANGE THE WAY WE LIVE AND ENTERTAIN OURSELVES. WE HAVE TRADITIONS, HISTORY, AND, NOT ONLY SPORTS (ALTHOUGH, WE ARE RICH THERE ALSO). I HOPE MY TRUTHFUL BANTERING DIDNT EFFECT MA BENNETT’S PURSE STRINGS ON YOUR EXPENSE ACCOUNT DARRELL, BUT, IF SO, I GOT YOUR BACK IF YOU MAKE IT UP HERE. SEE YA’ALL IN JUNE (EXCEPT D.M.)!!!
MIKE U.
Mike, you seem to have a problem with the caps lock sticking, you might want to suggest that your mom look into getting herself a new keyboard for her computer.
I didn’t work for GM but I wouldn’t feel to bad for them……most of them had over 25 years in and took huge buyouts and went into very comfortable retirement in their late 40′s and early 50′s.
So….. your threatening to bring our city to the brink of economic collapse by not bringing a softball team here? How silly.
I can’t wait to get to Seattle this fall……get some great seats down low on the 50, right in the middle of all the UW donors and watch the Sooners kick the dog**** out of the flea bitten mutts. I LOVE talking **** at football games. This is going to be fun.
phillip i will be there as well! its gonna be the 85 orange bowl all over again!
we should meet up? id love to meet you!
PHILLIP, ITS 3 SOFTBALL TEAMS, AND, IM WORKING ON MY SPONSOR MONEY FOR 2 OTHER FASTPITCH TEAMS NOT BEING AVAILABLE IF THEY CHOOSE TO GO TO OKIE CITY. YES, JUST LIL O’ ME, KNOCKING $30,000 OUT OF YOUR CITIES COFFERS. IVE HAD THE 2 MOTELS WE HAD RENTED AT THE LAST 2 YEARS CALL ME 19 TIMES WITH DISCOUNTS AND OTHER “FREE” OFFERS TO NOT CANCEL MY RESERVATIONS, SO, PHILLIP YOUR MOTHER THE MAID SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR WORK VERY SOON. MY POINT WAS THAT 1 GUY (MYSELF) CAN CAUSE $30,000 NOT TO COME TO YOUR CITY, JUST, THINK ABOUT 2.5 MILLION OTHER PISSED-OFF PEOPLE AT YOUR LIL’ THIEVING, LYING, CANT CREATE THIER OWN SPORTS HISTORY 2 HORSE TOWN!!!! COOL PHILLIP, MY BOY THE COP, MOONLIGHTS AS SECURITY AT HUSKY STADIUM, HE’LL BE LOOKING FOR YOU!!!! AND BESIDES, YOUR NOT WELCOME HERE, YOUR NAME ISNT DARRELL M. IS IT???
MIKE U.
Hey Mike….Your caps lock is still stuck on.
I want to apologize to you guys that I accidentally got the Seattle Times Sonics board shut down today……..
I’m down with meeting up, if your buying the beer, joey.
before every dawg game i meet at gradys. thats about 5 blocks from husky stadium. we start in on libation at about 8 in the morning. its a long day. do you think you can hang?
oh and by the way your gonna meet jake locker! he makes tim tebow look like,,,, well just like every other florida qb!
I wonder what time kickoff will be? Any chance it’s a night game?
I really haven’t checked into hotels yet. Anything really close by you’d recommend? Someplace nice but not stuffy….
Yea, joey I can hang….
Locker’s a stud but check out this guy……
Sam Bradford QB soph.
2007 Honors included freshman All-American from The Sporting News, Rivals and CollegeFootballNews.com, CollegeFootballNews.com’s Big 12 Player of the Year, Sports Illustrated All-America honorable mention, The Sporting News Freshman of the Year, The Sporting News All-Big 12 Freshman, Academic All-Big 12 and honorable mention All-Big 12 by coaches and AP … finalist for the Manning Award as the nation’s top quarterback … set NCAA freshman record for touchdown passes in a season with 36 … led the nation with passing efficiency rating of 176.53 ahead of second-place Tim Tebow, the Heisman winner … completed 22 straight passes (last 18 versus North Texas and first four against Miami), setting an OU record and falling just two shy of the NCAA mark … had another string of 21 … tied a school record with five TD passes in wins over Miami and Texas A&M … threw multiple touchdown passes in 11 of 14 games … had the No. 6 season at OU for completions, No. 5 in total offense, No. 2 for completion percentage, No. 1 for passing efficiency.
http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/bradford_sam00.html
husky stadium is in seattle, the university district to be exact. any hotel you choose is no more than a 10 dollar cab ride away. downtown is a lot stuffy! but the university dist. has several middle of the road hotels. you will have no problem finding an acceptable place to stay.
night games are very very rare at husky stadium. the last one i believe was nebraska 1992 we were pre season no. 2, and they were pre season 10. the dawgs destroyed them. i attended that game. one of the best memories of life.
but, the exact time of kick off, im not sure?
and dude, you seem to think your not talking to sports fan. i am well aware of who sam bradford is! he is special. but he’s no locker!!
i dont know what im thinking. we have played a lot night games since then. a couple of apple cups,and a few others. but having said that, night games are rare.
I hate early kickoffs. We have too many 11am kickoffs dictated by TV. Since your 2 hours behind us, I don’t think it will start before 1 which would make it the 11 o’clock game here.
We normally have at least a couple of night games a year….they’re the most fun.
need I remind you OKCers what you all are called….
SOONERS
why…. cause you all jumped the gun…. and your boy clay…. JUMPED THE GUN YET AGAIN…..
thinking back to an orange bowl…. when your guys jumped the gun and rode your POS “sooner schooner” onto the field…. costing you 15 yards…. and ultimately the game…. to…. oh wait THE WASHINGTON HUSKIES….
NBA leaves Seattle… you all can go to he11….
please READ the sterns email…. that smarmy piece of literary trash…. reeks of KY to me… guess you guys would be familiar with that though wouldnt you….. };-)>
the schooner penalty did not give us the win. we dominated the game. the sooner schooner penalty sort of sealed it.
sorry joey U musta been sleepin
the penalty was after they kicked the fieldgoal in the 4th qtr… putting them ahead 17-14 with 7 minutes to go…..
we came right back put a foot to their throats andJoe kelley then put em away picking off a pass & returning it to their 6…. Finney scored making it 28-17
i looked it up, and mike your right. i was only a kid. my memory of that game is not accurrate. thank you for correcting me. ive been talking to people about that game for years, and no one has ever corrected me. at least i have a good exscuse, i was just a little kid. the sad thing is i know a couple of guys who are 20 yrs. my senior, and claimed to be in attendance that day. they never corrected me either. obviously they are full of sh@#!!!
Thank you David,
The one question mark in this was if David Stern had been scammed by his good friend Clay or if David Stern has been part of the scam of the NBA and the other owners.
We now know that Stern is part of the con job and he will have to go.
He is telling outright lies here:
1) It is NEVER too late to have local ownership. The Seahawks were 100% not for sale until the court case started and suddenly the legal action made them for sale and Paul Allen bought them. By June 16th this same thing can happen so saying it is too late is a lie.
2) The facts are known, there were local owners, including those involved right now, who wanted to buy the team. Howard Schultz (also a New Yorker) refused to let others in his own ownership group buy him out or to consider reasonable local offers for the team.
3) He talks about an unsuccessful attempt to get sales taxes to retire the arena debt. This shows that Stern, who is responsible for knowing what is going on in the league, should be fired. He doesn’t even know what the issues are. Washington State is working on funding via tourist taxes for the Key Arena expansion. There is no sales tax involved nor does it have anything to do with the arena debt.
4) Only an idiot would think that having sales offices in China is as good as having an NBA team playing in Seattle. Stern may have an ego as big as China but someone needs to explain to him that no one pays money to come see him, or a sales office. They pay money to attend NBA GAMES and if he is so stupid that he doesn’t know the value of this market on the international scene then he needs to be fired and someone that can handle the job hired.
We have seen ZERO leadership of problem solving ability from Stern. He works for the owners but in this case it is clear he is not doing his job and instead is acting as P.R. Shill for his buddy Bennett.
A true leader would have stepped up and solved the problem getting teams for both OKC and Seattle and preventing the nightmare that is about to occur.
Come June 16th the NBA is going to find itself in the middle of a legal and public relations nightmare and when it is done the Sonics will still be playing in Seattle next year. ANY Commissioner that would let that happen needs to be fired by the owners NOW.