Schultz to sue Sonics

A few facts to remember: * Bennett asked Seattle to fund a $500 million dollar arena in Renton; that's more than the cost of the Staples Center in LA with less of a private contribution. * Then Bennett refused to sit down with lawmakers to discuss Key Arena rennovations or a new arena at an alternate site with the Muckleshoots. * Aubrey McClendon can't keep his pie hole shut, and already told us that the owners never intended to keep the team in Seattle. If Stern didn't believe McClendon, why was he fined like $250,000??? * Smart men like Mark Cuban say that the numbers for profit in OKC don't add up. What about relocation fees and everything else?? What about playing with a losing team in an undeveloped market? The tide is going to turn, and the team is going to stay in Seattle. I have no problems with OKC getting a team, but, hijacking our team that we've had for 40 years is extremely offensive.

donuteyes, one more thing. ive been told by friends and also read. that there is a amphitheater in the swiss alps that is superior to both the gorge and red rocks. ive never been, so i dont know? im sure its amazing! but superior the gorge and red rocks. i have a hard time believing that. and for the life of me i cant remember the name of it.

donuteyes, the more you write the more i realize, your a displaced seattlite. you'll fit right in.

it must be REALLY awesome then. when i saw ween in 2001, i was in the front row, they were doing the extended intro to 'i can't put my finger on it' when it started to sprinkle and they turned on the smoke machine full blast, and you used the right word, magical...

donut eyes i have been to red rocks! i hate to sound corny, but it was a magical place. but i have to say the gorge is a tad better!

DONUTEYES, SITTING ON TOP OF A 400' CLIFF OVERHANGING THE MIGHTY COLUMBIA RIVER IN 90 DEGREE WEATHER FOR THE GORGE CONCERTS IS TOUGH TO BEAT. IM TALKING LITERALLY OVERHANGING!! IT HAS A SMALL AIRSTRIP AT THE VINEYARD NEXT DOOR, AND, THE BIGTIME SINGERS FLY THEIR PRIVATE JETS IN THERE, AFTER CIRCLING THE STAGE (UNBELIEVABLE SIGHT). SO, AGAIN, POOR PHILLIP IS MIS-INFORMED!! DONUTEYES, AS THE PLOT THICKENS, WE SEE YOU STARTING TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE WHOLE PICTURE! BRAVO! SEE YA'ALL IN JUNE!! MIKE U.

i hate to agree with seattle, but nobody is going to pass up washington state to play tulsa. duh. i've seen some great shows in tulsa, but only at the cain's ballroom, a world-famous venue. (and before anyone says i don't know what i'm talking about, the sex pistols only played eight shows on their 1977 u.s. tour, and the cain's is the only venue still standing.) you're right joey, the gorge is the shiznit, i've never been there, but some friends have, and except for people stealing chairs (?) they loved it. but is it the greatest outdoor ampitheater? have you ever been to red rocks in morrison, colorado? watch U2's 'under a blood red sky,' and you'll see how amazing it is. i saw primus, ween, and tenacious d there, and it was incredible.

phil have you ever heard of the gorge at george. it is quite simply the greatest outdoor amphitheater on earth! we get the best shows, every summer! only two hours away in the desert. and like i said we will have an arena that will make the world envious. private funding is the new way! staples center was private. its these desperate little citys who are willing to bankrupt themselves, to be a BIG LEAGUE CITY!! you have no idea what your getting yourself into. you dont have the size or money to support them, once the original fervor wears off.

I know you guys wanna blame somebody, Joey but I don't think Sterns the right guy. If you could convince me that there is anything he could have done to get the taxpayers to fund an arena, I might see it. It's strange how you guys are so worried that a team owner might turn a profit in a public building. That's where this whole "Let them build their own arena" talk comes from. By the time the owners get the team here, they will have a half a billion dollars invested. The average NBA team made 10 million dollars last year. Nobody is going to buy an NBA hoping to make money based on those numbers. Places like OKC, Tulsa, Wichita, Omaha and Louisville have all decided to build arenas that are nicer than the Key because they want that for there community. The best concerts, the best shows, the best sporting events. Isn't it gonna be wierd when concerts are passing up playing Seattle because they can make more money playing Tulsa. That's nothing compared to losing your NBA team to OKC but that is now happening. It's very hard to understand why a world class city as snooty as Seattle would be happy with anything less than a world class arena. It's because they are so snooty that they feel like someone else should build it and pay for it. Why? Because they're Seattle and they're entitled to it.

stern sucks, and so does his league. "...the NBA version of the game, in which 7-foot-tall monster freaks leap about on trampolines while swinging their massive elbows like cudgels and running four steps without dribbling before taking off from their opponent's foul line to slam dunk." -stephen colbert sounds like pro basketball to me. for a comic, he seems to understand the NBA pretty well.

yeah phil your right. that video clip does not do us any good. but it does show what a snake stern really is. okc, use extreme caution when singing stern's praises!!

unless the privately funded em-city proposal is given a chance, i dont see anything happening. i dont see any reason why there would suddenly be movement in olympia. maybe if they know ballmer will own the club? maybe that will motivate them? gorton has been through this before. with the old seattle pilots. when they wanted to move to milwaukee after only one season, here in seattle. he made major league baseball promise us a franchise. and so we built the kingdome, and in 1977 the MLB gave us the mariners. and gorton almost single handedly saved the mariners in 95. so i like the fact that gorton is on the case!

The ball is still in Seattles court. There can't be an assurance of another team without an answer to the arena issue and Slade appears to realize that. Slade also mentioned wanting to have this settled before the trial starts. It will be interesting to see what he has in mind.

is darnell allright? he has been missing big news.

if they can guarntee us a franchise, then negotiate. anything short of that, piss on them!

"Gorton said any settlement would have to include guarantee of a replacement franchise. He's not inclined to let the current team depart merely on the hope the NBA will then work with Seattle. "I'm not willing to make that assumption, given their attitude toward us," Gorton said. "We need to have something they want. And what they want is to get the Sonics out of here by next season. It's clearly possible for the league to give us a guarantee. How difficult or how badly they want to, I don't know." If that is "conceding" then it's fine by me. If the NBA is willing to guarantee Seattle a team to avoid litigation and move the team I will begrudgingly accept. It would piss me off to see Durant playing in New York after his rookie contract expires, but c'est la vie. Given these options, I'd expect ligitation to continue.

i just noticed your post bobby. what bothers me is you gripe about bashing, then you do it. if you were on this blog a lot, you would know that i despise city-bashing from either side. i would never say anything negative about seattle or it's people. why would anyone from oklahoma hate on seattle? what did they do to us? sure, they're mad about losing their team, wouldn't you be angry? so they talk a little crap about us. unless what they're saying hits home to you, why care? not all the seattle posters are jerks, but don't lower yourself to responding to the ones that are. we may end up with their team, why rub their noses in it? i'm not proud of the way everyone is reacting, on both sides, but i won't play their raindeer games.

Did anyone else happen to notice that this blog is called....."The NBA in OKC......Updates about Oklahoma City's NBA future.... SOS is starting to concede.....This is from Brian Robinson's post this morning, "Personally I’m happy that Slade came out and said “We want to talk.” I think some people will jump off a cliff and hear the “He acknowledges this team is gone.” portion of the interview. Others will be happy to hear that he and the mayor are sticking to their guns regarding a financial settlement. I know we all prefer this team. That said from my perspective this particular organization is really soiled at the moment. I’m not sure how attached I am to this particular group." http://sonicscentral.com/blog/?p=1863

there are some good techno-like groups out there. try MSTRKRFT, it's club/house music done by the former bass player and producer of Death From Above 1979, one of the greatest bands of the 2000's that broke up. look for 'temperature in paris,' it's MSTRKRFT vs. Sean Paul. i hate sean paul, but over these beats anyone sounds good. oh yeah, sonics, bennett, blah blah...

That video is 13 years old. Living in the past doesn't solve any problems. Slade the Blade thinks the Key is inadequate and that the current team is gone..... "All the league has to do to lead to an amicable settlement is see to it that we're assured of a new team," Slade Gorton said. "Whatever David Stern said about me, my principle unhappiness is not directed at David Stern. At this point, we have not given him a plan with an arena adequate for the NBA in the 21st century. If we do and he doesn't respond, my attitude will be different. But at this point, we haven't given him that chance."

http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/blogs/buzzerbeater/2008/04/david_stern_keyarena_was_very.php Thought you'd all be interested in what David Stern thought about Key Arena in 1995. I'm sure that won't happen in OKC though; who needs quality sight lines when the Ford Center probably has a state of the art Fuddruckers.

donut, i couldnt tell you if they have been here or not? i have been out of the music scene for a while. about ten years ago everybody abandoned thier guitars for turntables. i hate techno!! now it seems lounge jazz is very popular through out the city. which is refreshing. but i miss the old days. 07 was a rough year. the legendary crocodile closed its doors. thats where all the great seattle talent got thier start. at one time you would have talent scouts from all over the world in thier on a nightly basis. the crcodile and the supes are gone. the nineties are officially long gone!!

The links provided were if nothing else-entertaining.

Donut I suppose since "people" comprise a city then yes I did engage in bashing them. I meant along the lines of attacking those posting here as we have been attacked by them. The name calling & assumption that we personally as well as the city & state are not only rednecks but illiterate gets old but if my comments on the socioeconomic climate of seattle bothers you then don't read.

it seems to me that if you weren't paying attention, you wouldn't be responding. keep up the good work, phil! with their new album coming out, has death cab played any shows up there yet? i'm interested in what their new stuff sounds like live.

i prefer chimay,duvel,piraat and just about any belgium. that guy, have you ever been to the stumbling monk on the hill? its the best unknown bar in the city. great beer selection.

i think that's the point, i could get wasted off some OE for less than 10 bucks, but i'd rather drink aberlour.

phil, i must admit those prices are attractive. i could afford to own there.

if you go out to the suburbs. the prices become much more affordable. id rather die than live in bellevue,redmond,woodinville,or kirkland. adding to the sprawl!! more traffic more pollution!! no personality,and boring!! and 1000 bucks a month, in freemont!! thats the deal of the century.

Sorry Donut, You're the one that seems to have your panties all bunched up. You should stop looking for approval from me. As I've said I don't agree with much of anything you say and really don't pay much attention to it. Joey, for $1000 a month you could buy a pretty nice 1500sf 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car garage in a nice neighborhood here. http://openhouseok.com/showhome.oht?&city=oklahoma+city&address=7420+NW+32nd&st=ok

wow, the seattle people that you love to hate on seem more hospitable than you, phil. and $1000 is only a couple of hundred more than i'm paying a month now, and i'm sure i'd make a lot more money with the cost of living and all... c'mon phil, chill out! you have to know that some people (me) just like to mess with other, more sensitive people (you) and it's all in fun! i guess we all need to make sure our posts pass the "Phillip is Interested Test" before we make them...

hey donuteyes, i know of a big and nice one bedroom, in freemont! for 1000 a month! you cant beat it.

No, not really. For someone who likes to criticize others, you sure don't take it very well. The part about you moving to Seattle sounds like a pretty good idea though.

was that interesting enough for you phil? (i still don't care.)

maybe i'll move to seattle. at first i didn't like the city-bashing, but the OKC people are doing it too. the difference is that if an oklahoman disagrees with an oklahoman, he gets attacked by his own people (phillip). why is it that you get so defensive about someone being objective? we live in the same town, i have concerns, but you seem to see clay bennett through rose-colored glasses. dude, you can support oklahoma and still be open-minded to the situation from all angles. chill out, love is the drug, OKC. for the record, phil, i hope you're right. but i'm AFRAID i am.

phil, was that not interesting to you? i don't care.

donuteyes....(rolls eyes and shakes head), If your going to make a comment like that, you should at least post something interesting.....

this is dumb. i just wasted a couple of minutes reading these posts to see if anything interesting had been written in the few days i didn't turn my computer on. nope. people here are now arguing over what city is better, Dallas or San Francisco. who cares? this has turned into just a bunch of people trying to be clever and insulting, on both sides. i've said it before, but i'll say it again. if this is what (possibly) having an NBA team is like, i'll pass. oh, and bobby, you said, "I will not engage in the bashing of people." then you said, "We know what our State & City are and we do not overstate its size, culture or significance. Seattle acts as if they are on par with New York, Chicago or Dallas. The reality is they are insignificant and a political & social wasteland." you seem silly when you say you won't bash them, and then you bash them. i'm from oklahoma, so do me a favor and make me look better by being consistent.

Yea ''that guy"......I'm all shook up. Do you realize how stupid it sounds for someone from Seattle to lecture anyone on spending tax dollars on sports venues? Seattle is a billion dollars in debt on "palaces for billionaires" They are still paying on the dangerdome and it's been torn down for years. The lease with Key arenas NBA team ends in 2010 but the payments don't end until 2015. It's easy to understand why people from Seattle are jaded considering the way they've been bent over and dry humped. They're still getting reamed and will be for years to come.

philip= rattled. and robert, i just got back to you. turns out, in cities like seattle and san fran they pay educated people quite well and you don't need to make it off exploiting the local misinformed community or marrying into the gaylord fortune (which also has the perk of controlling the local media). educated people also develop this bad habit called READING. i'd recommend david cay johnston's 'free lunch.' maybe you can delve into the bush--gaylord--bennett--stern connection as well. or maybe you should stay stubborn and proud of your ignorance and let your kids keep running away to far off "liberal" places.

They're irrelevent to the fact that the Sonics are leaving Seattle and moving to OKC, The vast majority of us that live here, love it here and we couldn't care less about Seattle.

So culture, health, livability, education, entertainment, and quality of life are "irrelevent" to Phillip. I guess it's no wonder then that he lives in Oklahoma City.

It's pretty funny that "that guy" went to the trouble of posting a bunch of links that nobody is going to open........because they're irrelevent, just like he's irrelevent.

the cost of living in seattle is outrageous. but we also get paid a lot more. i believe minimum wage is 8 bucks an hour. which is either the highest or second highest behind vermont. there is affordable housing in the city, but you have to be patient and look hard.

bobby take the time to go through that guys links!! just do it!!

I'll tell ya what that guy. Go and purchase a modest 1500 sq. ft home in Seattle or SF and get back to me. In your lifetime you will never earn enough money to do it in SF and I doubt you will ever be able to in Seattle.

I did not address that in earlier post. But I will say this. The cities in Europe were absolute pig sties. Age being the main factor. Here New york & Chicago as well. And New Orleans is by far the filthiest city I have ever been in in my life old or new before & after Katrina. But with all that being said. Dallas is anything but dirty. Huge areas are practically brand new & older areas are being rebuilt to support the huge explosion in growth they have experienced over the past deacde & a half. We have a hatred here in Oklahoma for all things Texas but as I said facts are facts and Dallas is a shiny new Diamond that unless they do something to curb the growth may surpass Chicago in size in my lifetime.

http://www.sustainlane.com/us-city-rankings/

http://www.popsci.com/environment/article/2008-02/americas-50-greenest-cities?page=1

http://www.infoplease.com/us/cities/best-culture.html

http://bwnt.businessweek.com/interactive_reports/livable_cities_worldwide/

http://www.cookinglight.com/cooking/hl/travel/whitepage/0,15829,1579836,00.html

http://www.bestplaces.net/docs/studies/healthy.aspx

http://www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/2006/results.cfm?cat=citiesusca

http://www.citymayors.com/features/quality_survey.html

since DM keeps deleting, this will take several posts. robert, stay and rot in the "heartland" and keep all your simple-minded friends there with you. people stay "conservative" out of fear, ignorance, misinformation, and gullibility. having pride in it is masochistic. joey, don't waste your time, these guys are clowns. http://money.cnn.com/2006/08/29/real_estate/brainiest_cities/

jobs,money,cleanliness and beauty. call me crazy, but ill take sf!

Surely you jest. People from the Heartland do not hold the Left Coast in very high esteem & San Francisco may be the best example I could think of. I would not care if 100 million live there. I would never base a cities worth on how liberal thay can be. Population and growth or lack therof are a good indicator. And as with all things that can be measured even this can be deceiving but a good measuring stick anyway. Jobs & cost of living attract people above all other factors and Dallas has those in Spades.

allright bobby you win. but if you strickly look at a cities size to determine greatness, then surely you would say san francisco is inferior to dallas? if so? i have to question your judgement.