Seattle's big blunder<br/><span class='hl2'>Civic leaders, it seems, chose to ignore the wrong sport</span>

The Sonics-Seattle trial has been all about villains. To Seattle fans, Clay Bennett, more dastardly than an off-shore driller on the Puget Sound. Seattle mayor Greg Nickel, who seems bound and determined to go down with the ship. Wally Walker, the ex-Sonic president who was undressed on the witness stand by Bennett's lawyers.

Truth is, Paul Taylor and Brad Keller spent the week kicking butt and taking names. Those saber tooth attorneys didn't exactly restore Bennett's good name in Seattle, but they did get Bennett company in Seattle's scoundrel section.

We still don't know how the trial will fare. We've all seen enough Law & Orders to know anything is possible in court, no matter how far Judge Marsha Pechman seems to lean toward the Sonics.

But as we wait on Pechman's words, which could send the Sonics to Oklahoma City by next weekend, here's another thought to ponder.

What if this impasse over arena quality was simply a miscalculation by the city of Seattle?

What if Seattle leaders didn't read the tea leaves of major-league sport?

What if this isn't about villains, but about an error in judgment?

We know the city and previous Sonic ownership are to blame for the trainwreck of KeyArena, which after a massive 1995 renovation quickly became the NBA's worst building. Lack of vision on all fronts there.

But at the core of the current disagreement is this: The Sonics are suffocating without a viable home, and no one really argues otherwise.

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