UPDATE: Kemper Freeman spoke yesterday to the King County Journal
Happy National Punk for a Day Day.
Edit: Steve Kelley is a no-talent retard.
Ok, so that's a total Ron Fairly-ism. But check this out:
What's keeping the SuperSonics from retiring Gary Payton's number before they blow town?
— George M., IndianapolisSeveral factors have been in play. The most obvious are Wally Walker still being president of the Sonics, whom Gary and his agents detest. I believe as long as Wally is associated with the team, Payton's number won't be retired. Another was the ownership of Howard Schultz. His relationship with Payton ended on awful terms, to the extent that in an interview I did with Gary when he went to the Lakers, he called Howard a "punk." I also think that, even with new ownership, even if the team stays in town, his number won't be retired until he retires. I agree with your line of thinking, however, and wish they would do it this year when Miami comes to town, which almost certainly will be his last trip to Seattle as an NBA player. I'm still amazed at the love shown for Gary every time he comes back to town. I believe he is the greatest player ever to wear a Sonic uniform. Check his numbers sometime. And look at the Sonics record with him, and since he left. Thanks for the great question.
First of all Kelley, you nitwit, name one NBA player that has EVER had his number retired while he was still playing -- FOR ANOTHER TEAM.
Nobody would dispute that GP is the greatest Sonic of all time ... but since the Payton trade, the Sonics have gone 142-134. During the final 276 games of the Payton era, they went 140-136. So when you compare apples with apples ... Steve Kelley, thy name is assclown.
Before I go further, thanks to Big Chris for filling in yesterday. I see that everyone was well behaved and didn't leave any tacks in his chair or anything. Very good.
Think we'll punk the Kings in our house tonight?
Thar's a new sherriff in town.
Naw, it's Clayton Bennett.
While many observers expect Bennett to make major changes and bring in his own group of front-office officials, he said that is not necessarily a certainty.
"I am not so sure we are going to (clean house)," he said. "We have lots of talent onboard and lots of potential onboard, and we want to fully evaluate that, and we want to bring our skill set to the business."
What's that sound? I think I hear embolisms popping over at the P-I ...
Ray takes a quasi-shot at parting ownership? Hard to tell ...
"I got the impression that I was talking to someone who was a friend instead of an owner or someone who couldn't relate to me," Allen said. "We have to show him that Seattle is the best place for this team and the people here care about the Sonics. I don't question his motives."
And just in case you thought you might see Bennett raising the roof in the Key this season:
Bennett is expected to be a frequent visitor at KeyArena this season but said he won't be a hands-on type of owner such as Mark Cuban in Dallas or the Maloof brothers in Sacramento, Calif.
And thank Jah for that.
Percy chips in with more Clay stuff.
"I have sort of a sense of optimism," Stern said. "Although Clay and his ownership are based in Oklahoma City, almost from the first day that Clay started looking at Seattle as an investment and as a purchase, he stressed to me the vibrancy of the Seattle market and the revenue streams that could be available there and its jumping-off status to Asia.
"I went from skeptic in a way to getting on line and saying, 'OK, I understand what you see here.' But of course, the larger investment that they're making is going to be dependent on a new building."
Yes of course Stern. We'd expect nothing less.
And don't forget Frank's chock full o'quotes take on the same thing.
I just hope that this whole thing doesn't turn out like my experience this morning. I'm walking downtown behind this blonde girl in a black outfit. From behind, I kid you not, she could have been Miss America. So I'm imagining what her face looks like, right? I'm picturing this mix between Heather Locklear and Mischa Barton and then she turns into the building and Bam!
She's more like the blonde Emeril. Yeesh.
So what I'm saying is, no surprises, okay Clay? I'm still trying not to spit up my coffee thinking about this morning.
What do you all think of the new commercial?
Who likes Rush? Myself, I've always been a fan. Anything pre-Permanent Waves is OK by me.
It is uncertain whether Rush's caution is costing him the opportunity to make the team. But it's apparent that neither Brown nor Farmer has made enough strides to encourage Hill to cut Rush.
And Gary-Dub also says Danny Fortson will log minutes the next two games. Niiiice.
Oh, forgot this: Percy reports (as we suspected all along) that Robert Swift will be the starting center on Opening Night.