I haven’t written a blog post in over a month. Without being able to see my beloved Mets, I find myself somewhat devoid of things to write about. That combined with work hasn’t lessened my interest in sports, but it has cut into what comes into my head to talk about.

So I find it funny that after all this time, what compels me to write again isn’t something that has to do with my team, but with one of Zach’s.

News came out Monday about the Seattle SuperSonics, who as most people know have been in the midst of a struggle between their owner Clay Bennett and the city of Seattle over a new arena. Bennett, an Oklahoma City businessman had been rumored to be attempting to move the team to his hometown, but had claimed to be using it as an option only if a deal for a new area was not worked out. Of course it was more than just an idle threat; and many who had followed the situation with any degree of interest had begun to believe the move was inevitable.

Then news from the Journal Record in Oklahoma City broke this dandy, an interview with Aubrey McClendon, minority owner of the Sonics. Credits to Jerry Shottenkirk who may not have had any idea of the shitstorm he was about to unleash. This is a nice quote from McClendon:

“I’ve had good seats,” McClendon grinned. “I’ve now been really caught up in the excitement of the (Sonics) because there is a certain stamp of ‘we’ve arrived,’ and the people of Seattle kind of look down their nose at us and think these guys are trying to climb the civic ladder. They take pride in Seattle not needing a NBA team to be considered a world-class city. That’s probably true, they don’t. But I think for Oklahoma City to distance itself from other midsize cities, I think enthusiastic support of a well-run, successful NBA team says a lot about the spirit of this community. We’ve got a can-do spirit and we’ve got a fan base that’s turned out. This is a sports town; nobody ever knew it was a pro sports town. I think it is.”

So… apparently, he thinks Oklahoma City is a pro sports town and Seattle isn’t. His basis for this is… two years when the Sonics stunk? Well damn, I guess that means Oklahoma City is a better sports town than New York! I know those Oklahoma City fans showed more support than Knicks fans did this year! Let’s move the franchise down there based on what a few guys think and have nothing to basis it on.

The joke is that quote would be damning enough but it was followed by this travesty:

"But we didn't buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here," he said. "We know it's a little more difficult financially here in Oklahoma City, but we think it's great for the community and if we could break even we'd be thrilled."

So in essence, he’s saying that Oklahoma City ISN’T as good a town for basketball as Seattle. But all that be damed; they’re going to move the team anyway!

What it equates to ladies and gentlemen is simple; these guys are attempted to screw the city of Seattle out of their basketball team for NOTHING ELSE but a personal desire to see their city get a team.

Excuse my language but Who the FUCK are they?

Now before you say “they own the franchise”, yeah that’s true. But there are lots of things people could do but don’t because it is not right. We have consciences, we have hearts. We try not to, for the most part, to deliberately screw people over to get our way.

No, this is nothing new to sports. Major League Baseball committed similar travesties with the Montreal Expos, and attempted to with the Minnesota Twins. The Expos became especially notable as in the summer of 2003, the team actually had a shot at the postseason on September 1st. As a result, the Expos were drawing crowds in large numbers; but since baseball had closed off most of the stadium, only 20,000 were allowed in. Let me repeat that; baseball intentionally closed off the stadium, then moved the team complaining there was no interest.

Creating self fulfilling prophecies is lots of fun and an easy way to win an argument.

Along those lines, Bennett has continually complained the city of Seattle has not made enough of an effort to get a new arena. This story now throws that line of logic into serious doubt; how could Bennett really be negotiating with the city if he intended to move the team to Oklahoma City all along? Furthermore, if the ownership is willing to take a loss in profits just to fulfill some local agenda, then what chance did the city ever have? And why on earth should they bother to negotiate with someone who does not want to?

It’s a travesty. It’s an embarrassment. It should not happen. And that is why David Stern needs to cut this off now.

It has been an awful summer for the NBA. Anytime the integrity of your league is threatened by questions of point shaving, you’re in for a bad time. By no means is this Seattle situation worse than the Tim Donahay one, but it is just another black eye in a league that is losing credibility fast.

For years there has been a love affair with David Stern, calling him the best commissioner in sports. Now there are serious questions with that tag; starting with his handling of the brawl in Detroit nearly three years ago (amazing it was that long ago, right?), to the Phoenix/San Antonio debacle, right down to this mess with the Sonics. Stern’s credibility is at the lowest point it’s been in years. The NBA’s standing is declining and while basketball itself is too popular and too widely played a sport to fall into the same rut the NHL is in, that does not mean it can’t fall very far from the lofty heights it reached in the late 90’s.

Stern has come across as a commissioner in recent years who has focused too much on trying to dress up young black men than focus on the real problems of the league. The idea of racism has been thrown around a lot in regards to the NBA’s policy towards it’s players. This will do nothing to help dissuade people who want to continue that argument. Stern wants to enforce strict moral character codes on his majority black players, but has no desires to put the same codes on his owners, unless of course, they’re overly outspoken Mavericks.

Even if you don’t think Stern needs to do it for that reason, anyone with business sense can see this is destined for failure. In all this talk about how pro leagues NEED big markets, why on Earth would you leave one of the largest markets in the country to go to one that’s half it’s size? Furthermore if this story is correct, then even the ownership knows it’s a shitty business move. They’re just doing it because they want Oklahoma City to have a team?

Pardon my language again but ,what kind of short sighted horse shit is that?

So that’s great. They’ll lose money for five years and then when their tax incentive deals that owners get from purchasing franchises runs out, they’ll either sell the team or complain about they can’t compete in the market. Remember when the New Jersey Devils threatened to move to Nashville? Well the Devils stayed and even with the lackluster attendance, they still are in better shape financially than the Nashville Predators. The grass is rarely greener on the other side; it just looks that way.

Wait, what am I saying? The owners KNOW the grass is browner. They just don’t care right now. Five, ten years from now be damned. Frankly that’s how a lot of business today works and many workers have lost their life savings as the result. But hey, who cares about the average Joe right, so long as the guy at the top has himself covered?

Maybe David Stern won’t be commissioner of the league in ten years so he doesn’t care what kind of hell Bennett’s dreams of an Oklahoma City team actually does to the Sonics franchise down the road. But if he has any amount of love for the NBA and to see the league prosper, he should stop the move now for obvious reasons. You don’t take teams from large markets and move them to small ones. You just don’t. Not after you watched San Antonio and Cleveland draw terrible ratings because they aren’t big enough cities. And Oklahoma City is smaller than both. That says nothing about the league’s credibility with the fans which is fading faster than Mike Bibby’s career.

Major League Baseball learned the Expos could not work in San Juan because after the intial thrill, the interest gradually waned. With less spending power and fewer people, the situation became worse than Montreal. It’s questionable how the Nationals will fare in DC, since two franchises have already crashed and burned there. Does the NBA really need to try and fail with the Sonics?

This situation needs to change. As basketball fans, we should be united in trying to stop this move. You may not care about the Sonics; I admit I do because Zach is one of my best friends and I know how much he loves the franchise. But even you don’t know anyone from Seattle and weren’t enthralled by Shawn Kemp’s dominance, in video games or real life, you as a basketball fan should care.

Because this disgraceful act by Clay Bennett is a slap in the face of the fans. It shows that the whims of one man can be enough to override the wills of millions. Remember, this isn’t about money. If it were the Sonics would stay in Seattle. It isn’t about fan support; there are far worse supported franchises. It isn’t about city size. It’s about him wanting to make his dream come true, so screw everyone else, even they have been good soldiers for the last forty years.

As a sports fan I'm pissed because in the end, it could happen to my team or your team. If someone is crazy enough in the short term to take “breaking even” as a BEST case scenario, then no franchise is safe. Not the Yankees, the Cowboys, not the Redwings, not the Cubs. It’s a slippery slope. Someone needs to cut this trend off at the knees. And if David Stern won’t do it willingly, then there needs to be so much outrage that he is forced to do it. Lord knows his much maligned former sidekick Gary Bettman has twice done it in the last year and you could argue in those cases the teams could have benefited. (Argued, but not necessarily proven)

In this case you can’t even argue it.

So stop the bullshit. Give the NBA an actual positive story this offseason. Block the move. Save the Sonics in Seattle. It’s where they belong. Because in the end this move is just a bad one. It’s so repugnant that no one can find a way to dress it up to make it look good.

Not even dress code master David Stern.