Because it has to be said: D-Jax wasn't expelled from the NFL, he was released from his team. He got a VERY lucrative contract in another city.

Also, the "gang ties" angle is conjecture (although perhaps not too far from the mark).

That said, yes, the white dude making racist threats should have been fined/suspended. That kind of shit shouldn't be tolerated.

Sherman makes some great points, I'm just correcting some of the details around it.

““Does anybody really think that Seattle is not going to have an NBA team at some point in the future?” Hansen said.

Yes, I think that. We got robbed, but the NBA owners are loathe to expand, water their product down more, and split revenues with another team.

And Seattle doesn't miss Pro Basketball THAT much.

Hansen - yet another wealthy bully in our city. Boy these guys make me sick.

@2 - Seattle doesn't miss basketball that much, but we sure know how to hold a grudge.

Sherman ftw!

@4 is correct

Sherman is my favorite writer in sports right now.

As to Hansen, I hope he's wrong. The economic impact of pro sports teams on their respective localities is a wash at best, and typically negative. Culturally, they don't offer much, IMO, when contrasted with other potential cultural/educational investments. It is irrational to pursue such a team, particularly when the league it would be a part of has shown itself to be a poor and unfaithful partner to our city. Still less sensible to do so with a prospective stadium in an area where it may very well disrupt commerce, and particularly our port. In context, it is stupid for the average Seattleite to support Hansen's endeavor.

@2, I figured that the prospects would improve once Stern fucked off into retirement. He seemed to take real pleasure in dangling Seattle's corpse from a bridge as a warning to NBA cities to pony up arena funding when called upon. Maybe Silver is no better. But Seattle is a solid second-tier media market, and the NBA loves money, so I reckon it is just a matter of time.

@4: yes we do. I had to tell a new co-worker who moved here from OKC not to talk about the Thunder in public. he truly thought we just didn't want them any more.

Seattle misses basketball PLENTY (y'all do realize that the vast majority of Seattle citizens don't comment on this blog, right?). And Chris Hansen is absolutely correct, it IS just a matter of time until we have The Seattle Supersonics back in town, in a big fancy new arena (which they'll no doubt share with the new Seattle hockey team).

I've been saying it for the past six years: it's like the money is standing in the field right now, just waiting to be harvested. THE MONEY IS HERE TO BE HAD (tickets, licensing, jerseys, hats, jackets, pennants, etc etc), it's just a question of who's going to get to harvest that money. Mr. Hansen has wisely positioned himself to be that harvester.

SONICS 4 EVAH

@2, NBA arena talk in Milwaukee is Seattle circa 2005. They have much less than 3 years to go, none of the 3 counties want to participate in paying for a new arena, their mayor has higher priorities, their governor is Scott Walker, and collectively they lack the imagination to contain the costs within the facility's activities to finance it.

It's a familiar train wreck.

@12, all it takes is one particularly wealthy person/their heirs to decide to go all in (worked for the last Bradley Center).

BTW, Hansen is not known to be a billionaire. Not on Forbes' list of Billionaires and his guarantee for the MOU was that he'd maintain a 300 million net worth.

@13 are you forgetting that Steve Balllmer is part of Hansen's ownership group?

@14, not forgetting, but that doesn't make Hansen a billionaire.

Chris Hansen, the billionaire investor whose attempt to bring the Sacremento Kings to Seattle was rejected last year by the NBA

Everyone hates Seattle. The Legislature, the NBA, many others we don't know about, but it's safe to assume they hate us.

@14, or did you think Ballmer was going to be that one wealthy guy to donate the construction costs for a new Bucks arena in Milwaukee ?

http://www.bmoharrisbradleycenter.com/ar…
The BMO Harris Bradley Center (formerly the Bradley Center) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was built through the generosity of the late Jane Bradley Pettit in memory of her father, Harry Lynde Bradley, co-founder and chairman of the Allen-Bradley Company (now Rockwell Automation). The Center is the only major, public assembly facility in North America with construction underwritten through the philanthropy of a single family. Its creation and continuing operation represent a gift to the people of Wisconsin.

Seems to me that the NBA is weak due to bad leadership. If a competitor were to start up, putting teams in cities the NBA will not, Seattle, Kansas City, Las Vegas, your city, then the NBA could soon be the #2 Pro basketball league in America. Why build these huge arenas when Key Arena in Seattle would be fine. Would keep ticket prices down also !