Heat Scorch Zombies, Crush Championship Run

In case you've been living under a rock - there's big news: LeBron James is finally hoisting an NBA championship trophy! The monkey is off his back. King James has justified himself and taking his talents to South Beach.

Even bigger news though, is that Seattle's most hated man, Clay Bennett, is NOT hoisting a trophy...and that brings a satisfying smile to my face. I'm not excited the Zombie Sonics lost, oh no, I am glad Bennett lost. I want him to savor the bitter taste of defeat for a long, long time time. The same bitter taste he left in Sonics fans mouths. It's called just desserts.

In what was to be an epic finals match-up, I was left with no one to root for, so I chose the lesser of the evils and wished a ring for LeBron. The thought of Bennett gaining satisfaction from his thugged team...is too much to bear. As long as he is the owner, I am motivated to root against that team.

After reading this, I feel even better that Presti is tasting defeat. He built a solid nucleus but really screwed Seattle intentionally. I still cannot understand why Presti would want out of Seattle.

Here's the link to the article - http://mynorthwest.com/384/689920/Tom-Savage-understands-Sonics-fans-pain

The greatest part about the Zombies championship run, for Seattle fans, is the media coverage of the loss of the Sonics and the shady way it went down has been played out across the country. With Sonicsgate airing nationally on CNBC fans across the country now understand the shady, deceitful way Bennett took the Sonics from Seattle. The 'Seattle didn't support the team' nonsense that was spouted by ignorant ilk has been proven to be utterly false, and the fans and media now know it. All of this pro-Seattle momentum is part of a wave that'll likely result in a Sonics team returning to Seattle soon. Thank Chris Hansen and the Sonicsgate guys for all their efforts.

The Zombies played well, but not well enough. They came up against a buzz-saw in The Heat, a team that knew they'd never be able to live with the fall out of another loss in the finals. This season was all about the ring, and now they can cross that task off their NBA bucket list. Ther Zombies were the sacrificial lambs....this time.

You could see it in game four; the Heat simply broke the Zombies will, making the game five blowout not so much a surprise, but a foregone conclusion. The Zombies hung around, but somehow you just knew this night was LeBron's night. That game face, that I-won't-be-denied will, that Jordon-esque desire.

Ironically, the Zombies lost four straight games - after the Sonics Rally took place in Seattle. Karma? Hmmmm....

Congratulations King James, today you are a champion and you've earned it, so savor it. As for Clay Bennett; enjoy the taste of defeat. You've earned that as well. Savor it.

OKC Owners: The True Bad Guys in 2012 NBA Finals

This is a re-post of an excellent article By Mike McCall from The Advocate.


As sports fans, we like it when matchups break down along clearly drawn lines: good guys versus bad guys, David versus Goliath, our country versus their country.

At first glance, the NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat fit the bill.

There’s the Heat, aiming to take over the league behind LeBron James, who joined the evil empire after calling a live TV special to betray his home state and leave the Cleveland Cavaliers.

On the other side, you have the white knight Thunder led by Kevin Durant, an unassuming star who was still buying T-shirts at WalMart even after becoming a millionaire, and who announced his contract extension with the Thunder in anti-James fashion, through a simple, gracious tweet.

Essentially, James, Dwyane Wade & Co. are the Monstars from “Space Jam,” while Durant plays the Michael Jordan role as leader of the Tune Squad. As if that line between good and evil wasn’t clear enough, the Heat even suit up in classic bad-guy colors — black and red — and a logo emblazoned with fire.

But look beyond the on-court show, and it’s harder to tell who the good guys are.

After all, the Thunder’s feel-good story is built atop a lie.

If not for a deceitful purchase of the Seattle Sonics, the Thunder wouldn’t exist. In 2006, a group of Oklahoma City businessmen led by Clayton Bennett and backed by the wallet of Aubrey McClendon bought the Sonics. They immediately promised to fight to keep the team in the Pacific Northwest.

But they didn’t. They half-tried to build a new arena in Seattle, but they always planned to move the team. McClendon even said so in a 2007 interview, for which he was fined a whopping $250,000 by the NBA.

Then there was Bennett’s famous e-mail that he was a “man possessed” and would “do everything we can” to accomplish his goals for the franchise.

In court, Bennett made the laughable claim that his goal was to stay in Seattle, even though his e-mail was a response to his partners asking how soon they could move the team, and even though he contacted the NBA about relocation soon afterward.

Perhaps the Sonics never would have left if the city had provided a new arena, or if the mayor hadn’t chosen to settle a lawsuit just hours before a verdict that could have locked the team into its lease in Seattle.

But the bottom line is that Bennett and his gang are low-down, dirty rotten thieves who stole Seattle’s team.

That’s why the Thunder’s owners are the only true villains in the building during the NBA Finals.

Sure, James, Wade and Chris Bosh have done their best at times to be hated, but in reality, LeBron’s televised break-up with Cleveland raised millions for charity, and the trio opted for lower salaries for the chance to play together.

Maybe that doesn’t make them angels, but it shouldn’t make them demons either.

And maybe the Thunder’s owners pilfering a franchise so the NBA could thrive in their town doesn’t make them evil.

But it sure as heck doesn’t make them the good guys.

Epic Finals? Not for Sonics Fans

It's a sad day to be a Super Sonics fan. This years NBA finals is an absolutely epic matchup and has all the makings of a classic series.
The young, hungry Zombie Sonics versus the veteran Heat. The team built around the quite Kevin Durant, the Sonics first-round pick and the face of humbleness, vs LeBron James who not-so-quietly 'took his talents to South Beach" and middle-fingered Cleveland in the process.

As a former Seattleite and permanent Sonics fan, this is an especially tough series. The promise of an instant classic, for which I cannot root for either team. I have no dog in this fight and it looks to be a classic fight. Both these teams are dripping with motivation and talent and it'll be wither Durant coyly raisint the trophy of LaBron finally getting the curse off his back. The winners in all of this will be the fans who will bear witness.

No outcome will be satisfying for us Seattleites. If the Zombies win it's that should be the Sonics celebrating and if the Heat win it'll be I can't root for the Heat. I can't pull for a team and a player that screwed over Cleveland - a place that is already the poster child for hard-luck sports fans. I know too many Clevelanders and I feel their pain: they were so close...just like Seattle should be.

There's no winning in this Finals for Sonics fans, sadly, but the rest of the country is about to be treated to one of the best match-ups in years. I imagine every Clevelander is pulling for a Zombie sweep - and they should. I certainly don't begrudge those that root for the Zombies; they have a great team and vocal fans (just like Seattle, which Charles Barkley called the toughest place to play in the NBA beause of it's notoriously rabid fanbase) and the Heat set themselves up to be perfect foil. They have the sunshine, the beaches, the all start roster and most of a county rooting against them.

As much as my interest in the NBA has waned, this is a Finals matchup that should make any apathetic fan sit up and cheer for someone. It makes it even worse for Sonics fans; we're forced to choose between what was wrongfully ripped away, or those clowns from South Beach, and that's really no choice at all. It's a shame, really.

Good luck to both teams, may the series be injury-free...although I would be fine if Clay Bennett pulled a groin.