I am so sick of Seattle and the SuperSonic name, we should leave it with Seattle!

HOW ABOUT THE OKLAHOMA CITY VILLIANS--WHO STOLE THE TEAM FROM SEATTLE!

Well, I'll tell you what I think... oh wait, I'm not supposed to express my opinion (or "attitude") about Oklahoma City or Oklahoma...

:-X

I am so sick of Seattle and the SuperSonic name, we should leave it with Seattle!

HOW ABOUT THE OKLAHOMA CITY VILLIANS--WHO STOLE THE TEAM FROM SEATTLE!

It's not hard you know.

http://members.cox.net/imawingnut/fs/caps.jpg

Rofl

Okay, I'll take the bait.

But, it's not a done deal... I don't think we should be calling ourselves Villians or anything else just yet.

But, if and when we 'steal' the team (the team that Seattle gave us on a silver platter, imho) and I'm chugging my $7 beer watching the team win at the Ford Center, then I don't care what we call them.

I don't even understand this post. The team was sold and bought - with conditions - said conditions weren't met .. how is that stealing? I don't think very many in Seattle even care if they keep the team or not.

How about The Oklahoma Opportunists?

I'd prefer the Oklahoma Winners.

Why even start this thread?

Why even start this thread?

Because he didn't get the response he was looking for (or any response, for that matter) at the end of this thread (http://www.okctalk.com/hornets-sonics/10904-what-should-okc-sonics-renamed-2.html#post116334), maybe?

I agree, OKC didn't steal anything. The team was up for sale, and it was bought by owners from OKC who want to move it to OKC unless Seattle meets certain conditions.

Im under the opinion that the city doesn't even realize or care what those conditions are, now that they have gone forward with these suits; what a way to divert public attention away from the REAL issue why the team was sold in the first place. ....

I can tell you, that NOBODY here is talking about an arena (which IS the only issue, Seattle could easily keep the team). Nope, we're all broadsided with politicians talking about "enforcing the lease" and "Bennett is this and that."

Like I said, diverting attention away from the Single, Real Issue - NO ARENA worth anything. And that is the condition, which Seattle wont deliver on, why OKC will get the franchise.

that is not stealing, it is called BLINDERS - which Seattle and my whole area has had since at least 2005. We've failed to see the real issue or deal with it - instead blaming all our 'problems' on Bennett and OKC.

What whiny people we have up here, think they DESERVE a team just because it was here for 40 years. ... Please.

Like Ive said before, the Sonics will be in OKC in 2008 and if not, they will be in 2010. No rush!

Following disagreements between the Basketball Club of Seattle and the city of Seattle concerning the need to renovate KeyArena, the Sonics and Seattle Storm were sold on July 18, 2006 to The Professional Basketball Club, LLC led by Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett for US$350 million. The sale was approved by the NBA owners on October 24 of that year.

If a suitable arena project in greater Seattle is not approved by October 31, 2007, Mr. Bennett has said he intends to file for relocation to Oklahoma City to play at the Ford Center and may seek to break the franchise's lease with KeyArena. On August 13, Aubrey McClendon said in referring to Oklahoma City, "We didn’t buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here.” McLendon indicated that finances might not be the prime consideration in a move, stating that the team would likely perform better financially in Seattle. The ownership has also had some discussions with officials from Kansas City's Sprint Center. Clay Bennett has stated that McClendon does not speak for the ownership group. McClendon was fined $250,000.00 by the NBA for his comments.

In response to reports made by the mayor that the City of Seattle could accept a buyout of the KeyArena lease, a grassroots group filed I-93, a citywide initiative, that would prevent the city from accepting a buyout offer from the Professional Basketball LLC. The effort to block the city of Seattle from accepting a buyout of the lease is being led by the grassroots "A Deal is a Deal Committee".

On September 10th, 2007 the Seattle City Council voted 8-0 to approve an ordinance that prevents the early termination of the Key Arena lease preventing the team from leaving prior to October 2010. On September 21, 2007, Bennett applied for arbitration on the issue of whether the team could break its lease with the arena in 2008. Since the lease does not allow for arbitration on the issue of occupancy the City of Seattle filed on September 24th, 2007 for declaratory relief in King County Superior court requesting that the court issue a judgement enforcing the Specific Performance Clause, rejecting the arbitration request, and the awarding of legal fees as spelled out in the agreement.

Seattle SuperSonics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Supersonics)

It is VERY likley we wont get them until 2010, if at all. Here's why:
Seattle fans know the supersonics will be moving, so why attend games and fund the move? It will become a financial burden for Bennett to keep the Sonics and then move them to OKC. If Bennett's arbitration fails (as it looks like it will) he will have a very rough couple of years financially. If he doesn't have some emotional attachment to the Supersonics or see huge profits after moving to OKC, I definately see him selling out. Little or no revenue for three years is a huge deal, especially with the MANY and expensive costs you need make with owning a team.
I'm not holding my breath. Guess we will find out what happens at the end of the month.

Let the firestorm begin...

Its interesting that the wikipedia entry doesn't have any updated information, that the KingCo moved the case to Federal and it sure does have a Seattle slant, which raw apparently bit into. For example, the ordinance you highlighted doesn't do anything except prohibit any Seattle official from settling without a vote, something that is conveniently left out by Seattle politicians.

Oh, and lest we forget the real reason why such ordinance and legal action is even taking place. Its not because politicians want the Sonics, instead it is due to elections we will be having in two weeks. Yes, the truth is in this sentence!! The only reason why they are doing ANYTHING, it to spite Bennett so they can appeal to Sonics fans and their vote.

And, you say the arbitration wont go in favor of Bennett? Name one instance where arbitration forced a business to remain somewhere it didnt want to? Arbitration seeks monitary remuneration for breaks in contracts, which will happen here. Furthermore, even if it all rules against bennett, whose to say he wont just up and leave Seattle anyways? And if nothing else, Bennett surely can just leave in 2010, that is only two additional seasons away. .. No big deal.

well see how it goes, we only have a week left till Oct 31 - let's see if Seattle will get to the REAL issue in all of this (you know, a new arena.. ....) by then.

hold your horses.

HotRod, I'm up for any new updated info on the issue, do you have any articles that support what your saying?
Also, you can easily say it's no big deal to hold a team for two seasons, but it's not your money being lost.

We'll see how this plays out.

Why even start this thread?
I think it's to tee off sports fans or something. Don't we already have a "hey let's remname the team because we have nothing better to do" thread?

I am so sick of Seattle and the SuperSonic name, we should leave it with Seattle!

HOW ABOUT THE OKLAHOMA CITY VILLIANS--WHO STOLE THE TEAM FROM SEATTLE!

Hey Laramie, you started this. Are you now unwilling to defend your own thread?

Drive by.

Well, if the mascot "The Thunderbirds" is available and wouldn't offend people, I'd like that name. It would honor both the Native Americans of Oklahoma without being specifically ethnic, and it would honor the men and the women who have proudly served in the 45th Infantry.

I've always liked Thunderbirds too, although Oklahoma City Thunderbirds is a bit cumbersome. Oklahoma Thunderbirds, or T-birds, sounds better to me, and I like generalizing the team to the entire state, as we will hope for and need fans from the whole state.

Let the firestorm begin...
The OKC Pugs, of course! http://www.okctalk.com/customavatars/avatar1807_27.gif

;)

It's not hard you know.

http://members.cox.net/imawingnut/fs/caps.jpg
Most excellent!

Thunderbirds sound like a very cool name for an NBA Team.

Friends, I think I have a solution to the original concern of the thread, all in good fun of course. Check it out on my blog. www.unitedstatesofmichael.com, or cut and paste the link below into your browser.
Cheers!
Michael

The United States of Michael Heaton (http://www.unitedstatesofmichael.com/Site/Blog/Entries/2008/1/31_The_Sonics_controversy.html)

I like the Oklahoma City Caps Lock.