I just saw this report yesterday on espn.com..This would be nice for me because I am currently in Oklahoma doing my graduate school thang..lol..but I don't know if the Sonics/Storm will get here before I leave..

Congratulations, Sportzguy82. I live in Louisiana and I am a Hornets fan. I want to personally thank you and the wonderful people of Oklahoma for not trying to steal away the Hornets from New Orleans like the evil people of San Antonio tried to do with the Saints. I hope that one day we can thank you properly and return the favor. Oklahoma residents and fans have adopted the Hornets and taken good care of them. And, you have one more year to enjoy them. Then, they come back to New Orleans, for good. I've never been to Oklahoma City, but I doubt it has the financial resources AND sports infrastructure to support two basketball teams. So, I'm guessing that the earliest the Sonics will be moved is after next season. Then, starting in 2007, you will have your Oklahoma City Sonics. But, now that I see the words in print, that name sounds kinda lame (no alliteration), so I hope you guys can come up with a more sexy name for your new team. Again, congratulations. We will not forget what you guys did for us during our time of crisis. We are thankful, touched, grateful, and eternally indebted to the good people of Oklahoma.

Edited: Sportzguy82: Sorry about the College World series blunder. Hope I didn't offend the good people of Omaha.

[ July 22, 2006, 07:49 AM: Message edited by: Thomas ]

I find it somewhat humorous and appalling that nobody from the Northwest has chimed in about this issue. Myself included. I must admit, though, having lived just south of Seattle for the past 14 years, the Sonics leaving just isn't important enough of a topic to try and provoke emotion from "fans."

When the Seahawks and Mariners threatened to leave in the late 90's due to lack of funding for new stadiums, politics finally intervened and allowed the projects to proceed. But the Sonics? Sorry, Mr. Schultz (having worked for Starbucks for five years, I can honestly say the man is a walking DOLT), but your sniveling won't buy you a new arena. Enter: Oklahoma City.

I'm happy for Oklahoma, actually, because they will adopt this team (even though the owners are saying they're going to work out something in Seattle over the next year. Good luck, that's what Mr. Schultz tried to do for TWO years) and hopefully make it into a lucrative product and run the team in a more successful manner. The front office now SUCKS and is totally incompetent.

Yay for Howard no longer owning the team. Congratulations, Oklahoma, on your new prize.

Jepson, what's the skinny in Seattle? Sports rags and Sonics fan forums are now reporting that the deal is off; that the Sonics will remain in Seattle. Are they right?

Hmmm, I've been working all day and haven't heard those rumors. I just checked the Seattle Post Intelligencer web-site as well as my own Tacoma Tribune and neither have any headlines of the deal-breaker variety.

There are just a LOT of commentaries about what a backstabbing, loyal-less man Howard Schultz is. And they're right!

Honestly, I would be glad to see the Sonics go to a city that actually WANTS them. Both the governor of Washington AND the Seattle mayor have stood neutral on the issue of getting a deal done concerning a new arena. Sad thing is, both the Mariners and Seahawks succeeded in getting new fields. The same WON'T happen for the Sonics; people just don't care about supporting them here. Oddly, however, if and when they leave, the minut amount of fans will be pissed. They already are.

Mostly, though, I want to see Ray Allen treated better than he has been here. He's an outstanding citizen and nice gentleman who recently said he hasn't spoken with "Howie" in many months. Nobody even gave him a CLUE about his team (hello, he IS the captain) possibly leaving the Emerald City. Poor guy.

I haven't heard any news either. Nothing in the Seattle Times, PI or the Everett Herald. And definitely nothing in my paper, the Skagit Valey Herald wink

I keep thinking about this and asking myself do I care? I did about the Mariners and the Seahawks, but do I care about the Sonics. At the moment, no, I don't. Pro basketball has never been my favorite. I much prefer college hoops over the pro game. I just never got into the pro game. I went around asking my co-workers (mix of guys and gals) in kind of an informal poll about this and it's pretty much 80% indifference to the Sonics and the pro game. 90% of my co-workers don't want the city to spend the money to build a new arena. They would be sad if the Sonics leave but they don't want to spend public money on another new arena for a sports team. I think people of Seattle have had enough of funding sports teams and it's a hot button for many Seattle residents.

While they would be sad about the Sonics leaving, they would be sadder if it was the Mariners or Seahawks. I must admit I feel the same way. If this were 10 years ago, I would have been pissed if the Sonics left. Now, not so much. Woudl I feel different if they were winning? Perhaps, but two years ago, the Sonics were a surprise, but there was not as much interest in the team as there should have been, IMHO. I know Sonicstang (or whatever name he is now using) is p/o'd that the team could be moving but he has said that he would travel to OK to watch at least one game. Besides Sonic, I don't know if there are any other Outsports posters who have a passion for this team.

You know the team would do well somewhere like OK City since it would be the only game in town. Maybe the future of many of the "financially strapped" NBA teams will be in smaller cities (except for the NY's, LA's, Chicago's, Dallas) where it can be the only game in town. Look at Spokane. Hockey Tom and the city is all excited over an AFL2 league. Imagine what it would be like if they had one major league sports team.

Maybe it's time for Seattle to let the Sonics go and only have two sports teams. I don't know.

It would be nice if they can work out a deal with Bellevue and move the team 10 miles east and keep the team in the state. It's too bad that Tacoma or Everett doesn't have the resources to adopt the Sonics. Tacoma is about 30 miles south of Seattle and Everett is 30 miles north.

Just rambling at the moment.

Jepson, what do you think? What's the feel in Tacoma?

Guys, here's the story I read. It is dated July 18, 2006.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/stor...nicssold18.html


And thi, from David Locke, dated July 27, 2006:

http://www.nba.com/sonics/news/locked_jul06.html

I will send the forum address in a minute.

OK. Here's the address to the forum I was reading:

http://sports.mylounge.com/showthread.php?...81&page=1&pp=10

[ August 01, 2006, 07:10 PM: Message edited by: Thomas ]

Interestingly, now Paul Allen has decided not to sell the Portland Trailblazers.

Could it be possible that he would move them to Seattle if the Sonics were to move on?

Let the rumors and speculation begin....

Ideally, yes, it would be great if the Sonics could move to Bellevue. I don't feel Renton is a realistic possibility (how can that city house both the Seahawks training camp facilities AND an NBA team?), though it'd be perfect for Bellevue to solidify its place in this state alongside "prominent" cities like Tacoma, Seattle and Spokane.

However, I just don't see the Sonics staying here. Honestly, from a business standpoint, it makes no sense to keep them here. A deal for a new arena is highly unlikely and even if it did happen, I doubt fans would be as supportive as the fans were to the "Oklahoma City Hornets" of last year. Once they go back to New Orleans, OK City is going to be thirsty again and what a better morale booster for the new fans there than to have a big-business guy bring in the city's first professional sports team? I'm sorry, from a fiscal standpoint, relocating the team just makes more sense than keeping them stale here.

As for sentiments in Tacoma, we're too pissed off about our already-failing-year-old-light-rail-system to care about the longshot possibility of having the Sonics shack up in the T-Dome. With the transferring ownership of the Rainiers, that's the extent of interest in local sports. Any and all available resources for any sort of sport are going to be focused on renovating Cheney Stadium or another longshot possibility of building a new stadium down by the Port of Tacoma/downtown.

The core sonic fans are die-hard, not like these bandwagon dumbass seahawk and mariner fans who havent lived in seattle for more than a decade, the sonics are the only team here to win a championship and that dump t-dome and the everett events center isnt big enough, i say fine move. Then let Paul Allen move the jail blazers up here and build a new arena with his pocket change. And tax payers are going to pay for sports facilities for now on like it or not. You expect the 300billionaire asses to pay for their own luxury suites?

Now I have heard that the Sonics won't come and the OKC Group wants to keep them in Seattle. However, I think that might change in a couple of years. OKC really wants a professional sports organization. It would be great for the city with what's going on with Bricktown and such.

It doesn't make much sense to me for the OK group to keep the Sonics here. If the fans don't care enough to work with Golden Boy (Howie Schultz, whose popularity is quickly declining. Yay!) on a new arena, that should be proof enough that people here, overall, just don't care to exert any further effort to keep them here. The core of sports fans have immersed themselves into the Mariners (poor bastards) and Seahawks.

The latest development was the possible construction of a new arena in Renton, on the grounds of a new and expansive/expensive complex built on Boeing property. The mayor of Renton, however, conceded that the chances are so far unlikely that the team will get the proper resources together to build in this area.

So Bellevue seems to be the only likely alternative. And even THAT, as glorious as it would be if it happened, seems highly unlikely.

I say give up already and let OK City have their only professional sports franchise already.