Supersonicsoultoon: Behind the Scenes at the NBA Owners Meeting

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Sorry, no color this time.

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Wilcox Out for Season

Not that it's the biggest deal; the Sonics are not exactly chasing down any playoff aspirations. If anything, it helps the team's goal of losing as many games as possible down the stretch.

In any event, Chris Wilcox' right pinkie is hurt enough that both he and the team decided to shut operations down for the remaining ten games.

In other news, Gary Washburn details how Earl Watson is not into "moral victories" and misses the playoffs, David Stern also kept talking, but, well, I think you know where we stand on that sort of thing, and Art Thiel says that the city is - again - talking to the state legislature about funding the missing $75 million from the KeyArena deal, having realized that all other options are not going to play out.

Thiel quotes Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis as saying, ""The city can't do this on its own. We need a partnership with the state if we're going to [get a stadium deal done]."

Oh, and the Sonics play the Bobcats tonight at the Key.

You know, if you like watching basketball or something.

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Supersonicsoultoon: Vertical Stripes are Thinning

I'm sure Clay is just giving his buddy Dave a hearty pat on the back.

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Stern

With this medal, I thee wed. You may now kiss my ass.

What can you say about this man?

'His Royal Smugness,' Steve Kelley at the Times calls him, and it's not an inappropriate moniker. David Stern, the man who seemingly revels in every ounce of good publicity for his league, has once again stomped his foot and tried to belittle the efforts of those who are working to keep the Sonics in Seattle.

"There's not going to be a new arena," Stern says. "There's not going to be a public contribution, and that's everyone's right. I mean that sincerely."

Stern went on to comment that he had read "in the newspaper" that Speaker of the House Frank Chopp had offered his support to the University of Washington's plans for a new athletic facility, but that Chopp had denied such support to the Sonics, further illustrating Seattle's ambivalence about losing their NBA team.

Which would make for a great soundbite, if it contained any kernel of truth, which, like most things out of Stern's mouth, it does not.

Reading Stern's comments, it is easy to become riled up and toss out invectives like a drunken fan, but, honestly, he's not worth the effort.

Remember, Stern is the man who publicly admonished Tim Hardaway for his disrespectful comments about homosexuality last year, because, don't you know, the NBA is all about cultural inclusiveness. David Stern, it seemed, would not stand for homophobes, not in his NBA, dammit.

Well, as we all know, that level of understanding doesn't have to extend to the owners. And that should tell you everything need to know about the Commish, a man who never met an idea he couldn't spin, a city he couldn't blackmail, or an emotion he couldn't twist.

You can keep talking, David, but we're done listening.

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