This evening, U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman is expected to render her decision in the case of the City of Seattle vs. Professional Basketball Club LLC, the owners of the SuperSonics. In her judgment, Pechman can either tell Seattle it has no authority to force Clay Bennett to keep his business in Seattle for the next two seasons, or she can tell Bennett's he has to keep Kevin Durant and company in the Pacific Northwest through 2010.
Popular consensus says the city bungled its case a bit in this month's hearings in front of Pechman. SuperSonicSoul's Paul Merrill admits as much, but makes a final plea for compassion.
[T]his decision isn't just for die-hard Sonics fans - it's for every sports fan in the country. If this can happen in Seattle, one of the biggest media markets with some of the most loyal fans in the country, it can happen anywhere. Siding with the Bennett Boys is saying it's OK for David Stern and the NBA to blackmail fans and non-fans alike into paying millions of dollars for needless new arenas. It's telling them it's OK to squeeze out the working class fans to make room for high-priced suites for corporate goons who couldn't care less about basketball. It's telling the fans "You don't matter".We hope so, too.
At 4pm today, when you post your decision, you are either going to side with common, hard-working citizens or spineless, corporate pirates. I hope you make the right decision.
The decision should be available at the court's website at 7 p.m. Eastern.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-02-2008 @ 5:04PM
grapevinesooner said...
Whatever the outcome, good luck getting another team to replace the Sonics.
Because they are leaving, be it this summer or two summers from now.
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7-02-2008 @ 5:26PM
Sean said...
Tom, rumors this afternoon that the city of Seattle and the Sonics have reached a settlement. KJR and the Seattle Times have reported it this afternoon that something is up:
http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/sonicstrial/2008/07/godden_looks_like_a_settlement.html
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7-05-2008 @ 8:44PM
Cruncher said...
Let's examine the phrases "common hard working citizens" and "corporate pirates".
"Common hard working citizens" were abandoned by their elected officials. It is easy to blame owners. Why not? They have money and they are visible. Nobody in the city (or state) made a good faith effort to make owning the Supersonics a profitable venture. That is why Stern approved the sale and the NBA approved the move. The team was sold for a reason.
The people in Oklahoma City had little hope the Supersonics would come their way. Read their news publications and you will see the money and effort the new owners were expending on staying in Seattle, left few Oklahomans expecting this team to be moved. Negotiations stalled for the same reasons previous owners were unable to make agreements. Those powerful enough to make decisions in Seattle did not want the team to stay badly enough to work with either set of owners.
Blame those who abandoned the ship, not those who bought it.
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