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News & ArtsSunday, January 20, 2013
Sports The Return of the Sonics Looks Like a Done Deal
Posted by Charles Mudede on Sun, Jan 20, 2013 at 9:26 PM
ESPN and The Sacramento Bee reported Sunday night the Maloof family, which owns the Kings, has come to a purchase agreement with a group spearheaded by billionaire Chris Hansen, which would move the team to Seattle. The agreement now requires league approval.The price is rumored to be $525 million.
3
Seeing the NBA in Key Arena is going to be awesome (there's not a bad seat in that house). Once they move to the new palatial arena in SoDo, however, I'll probably just watch on the tube.
4
so for how many years will Seattle get to lease this basketball team before some dancing hedge funder suckers some Shelbyville to snatch this version of the "Sonics" away?
6
I couldn't give a shit less about the Sonics. Or any other professional athletic team. It seems like a drain on resources that could instead be used to improve the quality of life for the citizens. Does chasing a ball over a court or down a field really do anything useful? Why not spend the money on building a decent transportation infrastructure that could alleviate pressures on the environment plus reduce commute times and thereby woo employers who can bring jobs to this area?
We are in a recession, right? Getting people back to work seems like a priority to me. Given the recent catastrophic weather events in NYC and New Orleans, shouldn't reducing carbon emissions be the thing we throw money at rather than building a stadium we're only going to tear down and replace again in another 10 years?
We are in a recession, right? Getting people back to work seems like a priority to me. Given the recent catastrophic weather events in NYC and New Orleans, shouldn't reducing carbon emissions be the thing we throw money at rather than building a stadium we're only going to tear down and replace again in another 10 years?
7
As much as I love watching basketball, and I do love it, it pisses me off to no end that our gain will be Sacramento's loss. The fans down there will be in the same boat we were when the Sonics left. Goddamn the NBA.
9
@6
I'll be at mid-level seating with a Dennis Johnson jersey if you and Paul Constant need me while you guys are trying to enlighten the world. Actually Paul could learn a thing or two from you.
I'll be at mid-level seating with a Dennis Johnson jersey if you and Paul Constant need me while you guys are trying to enlighten the world. Actually Paul could learn a thing or two from you.
10
9,
We'll ask stadium management to send a pageboy to your seat with an engraved invitation to our next public forum on the topic. We're planning on calling it "Kvetchfest 13".
We'll ask stadium management to send a pageboy to your seat with an engraved invitation to our next public forum on the topic. We're planning on calling it "Kvetchfest 13".
11
@6: Does chasing a ball over a court or down a field really do anything useful?
Yes, it does a lot of useful things, not the least of which is satisfying and shaping a set of basic masculine drives in a way that is prosocial (teamwork, creativity, mental toughness, physical fitness, endurance, grit, handling pressure, style, competitiveness) and doesn't hurt people.
I do get that not everyone gets that.
Yes, it does a lot of useful things, not the least of which is satisfying and shaping a set of basic masculine drives in a way that is prosocial (teamwork, creativity, mental toughness, physical fitness, endurance, grit, handling pressure, style, competitiveness) and doesn't hurt people.
I do get that not everyone gets that.
13
I personally don't care about this either way, but if it makes people happy, I am all for it. Just don't tear down the coliseum.
15
If we could do something like Toronto did with Maple Leaf Gardens to the Key, I'd be all for it. They turned it into a much smaller arena ( about 10k ) and converted the rest to gym space, a ice rink, small event spaces and grocery store ( that last wouldnt fit well in the Seattle Center, but a gallery maybe instead ).
I think moving the Burke into space would be a cool thing too.
I think moving the Burke into space would be a cool thing too.
16
@7, I agree wholeheartedly, to the point where the entire NBA disgusts me. There really is no justification for their business model, where teams chase around whatever city is available. What kind of loyalty is that?
18
@7
If it makes you feel any better, Sacramento lured the Kings from Kansas City in the first place, so screw Sacramento (whose mayor is former NBA player Kevin Johnson, current spouse of Michelle Rhee, dirtball charter school advocate).
If it makes you feel any better, Sacramento lured the Kings from Kansas City in the first place, so screw Sacramento (whose mayor is former NBA player Kevin Johnson, current spouse of Michelle Rhee, dirtball charter school advocate).
20
I don't get the thinking of the people (and they are most of Seattle's sports fans) who say "we're getting the Sonics back". The Sonics are now in OKC and called the Thunder. What we are getting is the Kings. I wish we would just keep their names the Kings. After all for you history buffs, Sonics is short for Supersonics which was an airplane Boeing was hoping to make. Which they wound up not making sending Seattle into a major economic slow down. Not really a great namesake.
23
Oh, what great news. Where can I buy overpriced season tickets?
(Fuck the NBA, just fuck it. Love basketball, could not care less that one rich asshole is managing to bring the paid form of it back here by beating another city out of it. It's a cold hard-nosed business, not worth our energy or hard earned funds.)
(Fuck the NBA, just fuck it. Love basketball, could not care less that one rich asshole is managing to bring the paid form of it back here by beating another city out of it. It's a cold hard-nosed business, not worth our energy or hard earned funds.)
25
@20: I disagree. By the time Durant and Westbrook were drafted, it was pretty obvious that Clay Bennett was moving that team to OKC. Nick Collison is probably the only Thunder player who I'd identify as a true Seattle player.
26
11,
Being male, and yet not overly masculine, I often wonder what this macho bullshit is all about. I hear that it's supposed to be natural, something inherent in everyone who has a penis. Something inescapable, something to be celebrated and exhibited constantly and always. It means sports, and SUV's, and guns, and clothing made from leather. Apparently, I'm not really a man because I don't like any of these things.
And normally, your opinion of my "masculinity" doesn't matter so much to me. What do I care if you get drunk on PBR and pass out in a gutter in Pioneer Square?
I guess in this case I care because you're asking me to pay money for it. And it's not something I enjoy or ever am going to enjoy.
You know what? It's not primal. It's not some natural, inherent trait found in everybody with a Y chromosome.
Now, if you get around to funding the shit that I enjoy-sensible transit options, a clean environment, universal healthcare and full employment-and sure, I'll compromise and shell out for your arenas named after corporations that offer shitty internet service and cheap plastic bobbleheads. Personally, I think Sonics themed dildos would at least have some functionality to them, but if you prefer bobbleheads, who am I to impugn your fetish?
But please, don't call it masculine. Don't tell me that this is some natural, hormonally driven urge that Mother Nature has sanctioned. I got a dick too, and I just hate sports.
Being male, and yet not overly masculine, I often wonder what this macho bullshit is all about. I hear that it's supposed to be natural, something inherent in everyone who has a penis. Something inescapable, something to be celebrated and exhibited constantly and always. It means sports, and SUV's, and guns, and clothing made from leather. Apparently, I'm not really a man because I don't like any of these things.
And normally, your opinion of my "masculinity" doesn't matter so much to me. What do I care if you get drunk on PBR and pass out in a gutter in Pioneer Square?
I guess in this case I care because you're asking me to pay money for it. And it's not something I enjoy or ever am going to enjoy.
You know what? It's not primal. It's not some natural, inherent trait found in everybody with a Y chromosome.
Now, if you get around to funding the shit that I enjoy-sensible transit options, a clean environment, universal healthcare and full employment-and sure, I'll compromise and shell out for your arenas named after corporations that offer shitty internet service and cheap plastic bobbleheads. Personally, I think Sonics themed dildos would at least have some functionality to them, but if you prefer bobbleheads, who am I to impugn your fetish?
But please, don't call it masculine. Don't tell me that this is some natural, hormonally driven urge that Mother Nature has sanctioned. I got a dick too, and I just hate sports.
27
@Tacoma Traveler: Basic masculine drives? Isn't that what Club Z is there for?
Yes. The fact that gay men have such an abundance of easily accessible outlets for that particular drive might be part of the reason they aren't such douchebags compared to their straight brothers.
It's not some natural, inherent trait found in everybody with a Y chromosome
I never said that every male shares these masculine traits, or even that males have a monopoly on masculinity.
But whether or not you personally identify as masculine, masculinity exists, and when you're talking about millions of people with a lot testosterone coursing through their bloodstream, it's best for everyone if that masculine energy is harnessed and steered towards prosocial behaviors (e.g. orgies, sports, providing for families). Otherwise, some of us are going to make even more of a nuisance of ourselves than we otherwise would.
Look, if the city of Seattle offered a choice between NBA basketball or some kind of magical plan that would allow straight guys to have the same frequency and quality of sex that gay men enjoy, every male in the city would choose the latter, and you'd see an enormous drop in crime rates of every kind as a result. But alas, the only option on the table at the moment is basketball, which I believe can make a small but positive difference, especially for adolescents and teens.
Yes. The fact that gay men have such an abundance of easily accessible outlets for that particular drive might be part of the reason they aren't such douchebags compared to their straight brothers.
It's not some natural, inherent trait found in everybody with a Y chromosome
I never said that every male shares these masculine traits, or even that males have a monopoly on masculinity.
But whether or not you personally identify as masculine, masculinity exists, and when you're talking about millions of people with a lot testosterone coursing through their bloodstream, it's best for everyone if that masculine energy is harnessed and steered towards prosocial behaviors (e.g. orgies, sports, providing for families). Otherwise, some of us are going to make even more of a nuisance of ourselves than we otherwise would.
Look, if the city of Seattle offered a choice between NBA basketball or some kind of magical plan that would allow straight guys to have the same frequency and quality of sex that gay men enjoy, every male in the city would choose the latter, and you'd see an enormous drop in crime rates of every kind as a result. But alas, the only option on the table at the moment is basketball, which I believe can make a small but positive difference, especially for adolescents and teens.
28
Back when I lived in WA (3 years ago) I didn't care that they were gone/going. Now that I'm gone I still don't care.
Why are 'you' spending a crap load of money to bring them back? I mean, if it was like five bucks, I'd be willing to chip in something just for the heck of it but...um...no.
Why are 'you' spending a crap load of money to bring them back? I mean, if it was like five bucks, I'd be willing to chip in something just for the heck of it but...um...no.
30
"Does chasing a ball over a court or down a field really do anything useful?"
No, but that's also true of a large percentage of human activity, including ones you might not be so dismissive of and pissy about.
Go Sonics!
No, but that's also true of a large percentage of human activity, including ones you might not be so dismissive of and pissy about.
Go Sonics!
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