OT: Seattle hoops fans order macchiatos in droves Tuesday morning

by Shrug on Apr 15, 2008 10:04 AM PDT

Hold your horses, it's officially become a screwball comedy: Howard Schultz is going to sue Clay Bennett to regain ownership of the Sonics.

This is just flat-out adorable. This is the cutest thing.

It's a Hail Mary, of course, and I don't think it'll work in the end, but it's at least a little more likely the Sonics' impending move to OK City might get delayed for a spell.

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At this point

delays are the best thing Sonics fans can hope for. This is one more thing Seattle can use as leverage to either keep the team in Seattle or get first dibs on the next available NBA franchise.

by BrianL on Apr 15, 2008 10:07 AM PDT reply actions

Yes.

If anything this could be a big leverage booster, if the suit isn't dismissed off-hand.

--Shrug

by Shrug on Apr 15, 2008 10:22 AM PDT up reply actions

In the sale of the team there was a signed agreement that Clay Clay would stay for the duration of the Key Arena lease, which he is currently trying to break in a law suit with the City of Seattle, and that he would make a good faith effort to keep the team in Seattle. It'll all come down to how a judge views "a good faith effort", but those emails that were released are fairly damning.

The question isn't whether the suit has legs but what the result of success on Shultz part would mean. It's unlikely a judge would just hand the Sonics over to Shultz and pretend like the last two years didn't happen. This whole deal should be a lot of fun to watch and is nothing but good news for Sonic fans.

by Nate Dogg on Apr 15, 2008 6:32 PM PDT reply actions

I hope you're right.

But in the meantime, can one of our graphics artists come up with a Brokeback Mountain parody featuring Stern & Bennett?

--Shrug

by Shrug on Apr 15, 2008 6:49 PM PDT up reply actions

Nah, wait:

La Cage Aux Folles. Brokeback's played out, and I would love to see Bennett in a dress.

--Shrug

by Shrug on Apr 15, 2008 6:59 PM PDT up reply actions

Man, I hope that works.

Though I do not especially care for pro basketball, I feel really bad for Sonics fans.

There's also a feeling of "If not for the grace of God..." in me as a fan of the Nashville Predators hockey team. When the former owner decided to sell the team last year, he had bids from potential owners in Kansas City and Hamilton, Ontario, both of whom had expressed desire in the past for a hockey team in their cities. Eventually, he virtually bent over backwards to work out a deal with a partnership group made up of Nashville locals. It was a lot more complicated and took a lot longer for the sale to go through, but the new lease agreement guarantees the team will stay in Nashville through at least 2010-2011, and they can only move after that if average game attendance is under 12,000. So now it's all on the fans: if we go to the games, our team sticks around.

Long-winded, but what I'm trying to say is that you guys are getting screwed by your owner, and if this lawsuit stuff can force the team to stay, you deserve it.

by hartley on Apr 16, 2008 11:29 AM PDT reply actions