When Sonics move, don't let guilt move, too

The guilt trip will come soon, either about 6 o'clock tonight or in a couple of years, depending on how Judge Marsha Pechman rules in the SuperSonics trial.

When the Sonics come to Oklahoma City, most everyone west of Spokane and lots of folks east of there will look at OKC and quote Gomer Pyle.

Shame, shame, shame!

Shame on Oklahoma City for swiping the Sonics from the loving arms of Seattle. Shame on Oklahoma City for not waiting on an expansion team.

Don't buy it. Don't listen to it. Don't let anyone spoil your celebration. Don't let anyone make you feel guilty.

Because here's what major-league ballteams do.

They move. Always have, always will.

Of the 122 major-league franchises in the four historic team sports, 40 have relocated, a total of 52 times. And if you discount the 24 expansion teams that have sprouted since 1992, it's 38 relocations in 98 franchises.

There is no divine right to keeping a franchise. A team is not intellectual property, no matter how attached a populace grows. Sports are big business. They've always been big business, in this century and the previous century and even the century before that.

The original Baltimore Orioles moved to New York in 1903 and eventually became the Yankees. The original Milwaukee Brewers moved to St. Louis in 1902 and became the Browns, then half a century later filled the void in Baltimore.

Eight franchises moved in the '50s, 11 in the '60s, nine in the '70s, seven in the '80s and eight in the '90s