The Sonics are gone and it sucks. But that collective groan from the economy may shine some sunlight on Seattle and their decision to let the team walk. Had Seattle rushed into a new arena deal to appease Der Kommisar David Stern and his idiot puppet Clay Bennett, the situation could be much worse. With the stock and real estate market disasters, it’s hard to justify public funding of stadiums at this point in time. It seems the timing actually favored Seattle, who just escaped having to walk that slippery slope. We can look at Seattle's leadership and say they bumbled the whole Sonics situation, and it's true. But from another perspective they nailed it perfectly based on the current economic climate. Hindsight is always 20/20.
The economic crisis is sweeping into sports. The Cowboys, Jets and Giants new stadiums are finding difficulty securing the lucrative naming rights teams demand as quick, easy money. Maybe it is a good thing as some of these stadium names have become absurd. With the average U.S. consumer deciding between necessities and entertainment, I think we know which will win out. This is not about choosing between a movie and a game. This is about putting food on the table and gas in the car. More guns = less butter. It’s economics 101.
The move of the Sonics comes on the eve of the worst economic downturn in decades. OKC fully carries the burden of supporting this team financially while families must decide whether spending $200 to go watch a very bad team is a prudent move. Plenty can afford to, but to many in the middle, that’s a costly expenditure. Even the owners of the team are taking a beating, watching helplessly as their stocks and net worth plunge. Can OKC and its tiny market support a team through this? A much larger market, like Seattle, could likely do it with its large metropolitan area and entrenched fan base. But a new stadium at this time? Huh uh.
Even as Stern announces plans to help fund stadiums in China, the NBA is purging nearly 10% of its employees stateside. Stern's cockeyed dream of global dominance via a world-wide NBA presence fails to recognize there are already well-established leagues in the preferred world markets. Stern seems to ignore the NBA woes here where staff are losing jobs and revenue is down, while he dreams of overseas market share. Shouldn't it be fixed here first? Perhaps the NBA’s braintrust that urged uprooting a team from Seattle's 12th market to OKC's 50 market and also is pushing financial aid for stadiums in China, should be part of that staff purging. Oh, I guess that would include Stern, now wouldn't it?
Maybe Seattle got it right this time.
Last Blunder loss: LA Clippers
Next Blunder loss: Phoenix.
Preseason record: 1-4.
Team outlook: Blunderful.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
ROUND UP: Blunder Bumbled, Sooners Humbled, Tigers Fumbled, Missouri Tumbled, Chesapeake Stock Crumbled
Behind seldom-used Marco Belinelli’s 22 points, Golden State avenged the loss of their mascot to the OKCBlunder, by thrashing them soundly Saturday night in Oakland, 122-102. The Blunder shot 38% from the field in the convincing defeat to keep their perfect preseason record intact at 0-3. The Warriors thoroughly dominated in avenging OKC’s selfish absconding of the Warriors beloved mascot 'Thunder'. On the road, with their best player suspended for 30 games and sans mascot, they overcame crushing adversity to bitchslap the Blunder. Still wearing their Knicks tribute uniforms, OKC were led by soon-to-be ex-Blunder Kevin Durant’s 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Next loss; Monday at Houston.
The top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners were humbled in the Red River War as Texas used a 25-7 run to knock off the Sooners in Dallas, 45-35. LSU fumbled for the first time in 612 rushes and is pummeled by Florida, 51-21 in the Swamp. Missouri tumbles from the ranks of unbeatens, falling to OK State 28-23.
Blunder co-owner and Chesapeake Energy CEO, Aubrey McLendon, purportedly dumped more than 33 million shares of Chesapeake stock after shares tumbled to close at $16.52 on Friday, slightly off from its 52 week high of $74. Chesapeake stock sank so low the company is cashless and could not meet it's margin calls on Wall Street. It's currently classified as a 'don't buy' by analysts. Blunder tickets also will soon be classified as 'don't buy' when it's clear to fans that the team that Bennett decimated so he could move them to OKC, is never going to be competitive under his bumbling regime. With losses mounting and Durant counting his days, tickets to this disaster are an unwise investment. The only way the Blunder could lure superstar talent to Tornado Alley is to overpay them. Now, that's not even an option. You don't need a market analyst to understand that...especially in a recession. Another Blunder Bumble.
Next loss; Monday at Houston.
The top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners were humbled in the Red River War as Texas used a 25-7 run to knock off the Sooners in Dallas, 45-35. LSU fumbled for the first time in 612 rushes and is pummeled by Florida, 51-21 in the Swamp. Missouri tumbles from the ranks of unbeatens, falling to OK State 28-23.
Blunder co-owner and Chesapeake Energy CEO, Aubrey McLendon, purportedly dumped more than 33 million shares of Chesapeake stock after shares tumbled to close at $16.52 on Friday, slightly off from its 52 week high of $74. Chesapeake stock sank so low the company is cashless and could not meet it's margin calls on Wall Street. It's currently classified as a 'don't buy' by analysts. Blunder tickets also will soon be classified as 'don't buy' when it's clear to fans that the team that Bennett decimated so he could move them to OKC, is never going to be competitive under his bumbling regime. With losses mounting and Durant counting his days, tickets to this disaster are an unwise investment. The only way the Blunder could lure superstar talent to Tornado Alley is to overpay them. Now, that's not even an option. You don't need a market analyst to understand that...especially in a recession. Another Blunder Bumble.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Blunder Bumble; Push Streak To Two
The OKCBlunder extended their losing streak and remained a perfect 0-2 in the 2008 NBA preseason with a 94-85 loss to the Sacramento Kings Friday night.
Bobby Brown delighted the Sacramento crowd with a performance to remember. Not Bobby Brown the no-talent crackhead; Bobby Brown the undrafted rookie who played in a total of 11 games last year in Germany. He torched the Blunder’s ‘defense’ for 22 points while hoisting up 12 in the fourth quarter. Blunder coach P.J. Carlisimo had no answer for the unknown rookie but did lead the charge to the locker room at game’s end.
Once again, the Blunder played in their New York Knick tribute jerseys. All except Kevin Durant who sat this one out. Durant was 'given the day off.' Maybe he’s exhausted from the Minnesota loss on Tuesday. Maybe he’s embarrassed to put on the Blunder 'uniform' which have been described as lame, totally unoriginal and bland. Most expect the Blunder to be in their Nuggets tribute jerseys for their first home loss Saturday night in OKC. A sellout is expected.
Blunder minority owner Aubrey McLendon, according to reports, has been very busy involuntarily selling "substantially all'' of his common shares of Chesapeake stock over the past three days to meet margin loan calls. Maybe he'll 'liquidate' his home-opener tickets to some lucky fan.
Kings team officials, keeping a wary eye on the Blunder after OKC's thievery of the Golden State Warriors ‘Thunder’ mascot, confirmed that beloved King's Mascot 'Slamson' was safe in Sacramento. With Golden State playing at OKC Saturday night, speculation was raging as to what the Warriors may steal as payback for the loss of their mascot 'Thunder' to the OKCBlunder. When most realized OKC had nothing worth taking, speculation ceased. Let’s hope Golden State leaves with at least a big win.
Next Blunder loss: Golden State
Bobby Brown delighted the Sacramento crowd with a performance to remember. Not Bobby Brown the no-talent crackhead; Bobby Brown the undrafted rookie who played in a total of 11 games last year in Germany. He torched the Blunder’s ‘defense’ for 22 points while hoisting up 12 in the fourth quarter. Blunder coach P.J. Carlisimo had no answer for the unknown rookie but did lead the charge to the locker room at game’s end.
Once again, the Blunder played in their New York Knick tribute jerseys. All except Kevin Durant who sat this one out. Durant was 'given the day off.' Maybe he’s exhausted from the Minnesota loss on Tuesday. Maybe he’s embarrassed to put on the Blunder 'uniform' which have been described as lame, totally unoriginal and bland. Most expect the Blunder to be in their Nuggets tribute jerseys for their first home loss Saturday night in OKC. A sellout is expected.
Blunder minority owner Aubrey McLendon, according to reports, has been very busy involuntarily selling "substantially all'' of his common shares of Chesapeake stock over the past three days to meet margin loan calls. Maybe he'll 'liquidate' his home-opener tickets to some lucky fan.
Kings team officials, keeping a wary eye on the Blunder after OKC's thievery of the Golden State Warriors ‘Thunder’ mascot, confirmed that beloved King's Mascot 'Slamson' was safe in Sacramento. With Golden State playing at OKC Saturday night, speculation was raging as to what the Warriors may steal as payback for the loss of their mascot 'Thunder' to the OKCBlunder. When most realized OKC had nothing worth taking, speculation ceased. Let’s hope Golden State leaves with at least a big win.
Next Blunder loss: Golden State
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Blunder Bumble in Billings Debut!
Billings, Montana. Big Sky Country. The sight of the first, of what will surely be many, OKC Blunders. The Blunder rallied from a one-point half time lead to lose convincingly in their NBA debut to the God-awful Minnesota Timberwolves Tuesday night, 88-82.
The Blunder, wearing their New York Knicks tribute uniforms, raced out to a 71-62 third quarter lead, only to watch helplessly as the T-wolves (the T is for talentless) overcome OKC's weak coaching, tepid enthusiasm and silly uniforms, for a very rare win. The Blunder, coming off of a 20-win season thanks to the total depletion of talent, stayed close with last year's 21-win T'Wolves, who showed OKC who's the boss.
Soon to be ex-OKCBlunder, Kevin Durant, had ten points and 7 rebounds for this Presti/Bennett-made disaster of a team.
OKC's next loss? Sacramento.
The Blunder, wearing their New York Knicks tribute uniforms, raced out to a 71-62 third quarter lead, only to watch helplessly as the T-wolves (the T is for talentless) overcome OKC's weak coaching, tepid enthusiasm and silly uniforms, for a very rare win. The Blunder, coming off of a 20-win season thanks to the total depletion of talent, stayed close with last year's 21-win T'Wolves, who showed OKC who's the boss.
Soon to be ex-OKCBlunder, Kevin Durant, had ten points and 7 rebounds for this Presti/Bennett-made disaster of a team.
OKC's next loss? Sacramento.
Friday, October 3, 2008
BLUNDERSTRUCK!
I reviewed the unveiling video again. It keeps making me chuckle. All the small town pomp and circumstance and the lightning flashing on the opening video. Lightning? I get that thunder comes after lightning, but can’t they create a thunder visual for the audience? I suppose if you close your eyes and concentrate on the sound, its genius. Maybe the Blunder is actively courting the sight-challenged audience, and kudos to them for that. Few will want to actually witness the disaster on the floor.
The announcing crew, one a former Seattleite and the other a “Pinto”, called the uniforms ‘classic’. Apparently, the logos colors are red for OU, orange for OSU, sky blue for the flag and yellow for the sun. Yet the uniforms are orange and blue. When I think of sun and sky I think of California or Arizona. When I think of thunder I visualize dark, stormy skies. It’s no biggie, I just find the colors to be fundamentally contradictory, like, say a ‘man possessed’. That walk of shame the players were forced to do, you could see the annoyance on their faces and in their body language.
In its newest negative impact on the NBA, OKC is now stealing Golden State’s thunder...literally. According to the AP, Golden State is rethinking their 12 year-old mascot, Thunder, after OKC announced their own Thunder moniker. "We're clearly going to do something to accommodate Oklahoma City and not have our mascot named Thunder," Warrior team President Robert Rowell said. "For the sake of not making things confusing, we're going to do something. We just have to figure out a good exit strategy." Another tacky move by the OKC/NBA Experiment.
OKC thugs a team, blatantly rips off other team’s uniforms and colors, borrow their logo from Doritos, ruin AC/DC and now, as the last great act of defiance, are weaseling in on Golden State’s mascot. Wow. Not a single original idea from these clowns. The OKC/NBA Experiment; Dumming it Down! Thank you, David Stern! May we have another?
Ok, I will finally admit it; the uniforms are definitely classic.
The Knicks and Nuggets have been wearing them for years!
You’ve been BLUNDERSTRUCK!
Here's a link to the youtube video. Warning: watching may cause nausea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC-6smsy_Uk
This just added: Ray Ratto, from the San Francisco Chronicle, had some thoughts on the thugging of the Warriors mascot. Here are some excerpts:
The Warriors learned that, because of the staggering lack of originality displayed by the Oklahoma City franchise (formerly Seattle), they no longer can bring us the mute acrobatic stylings of Thunder.
The Oklahoma City people, who in selecting the nickname Thunder showed the same gift for imagination and creativity one finds in a copying machine.
And now - gone, someone else's property because Clay Bennett, the Oklahoma City owner, considers a grilled-cheese-on-white, iced-tea-with-Splenda for lunch to be out-of-the-box thinking.
But hey, one man's inability to seize opportunity is another man's lotto score.
The entire article is posted here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/03/SPM413AETD.DTL
The announcing crew, one a former Seattleite and the other a “Pinto”, called the uniforms ‘classic’. Apparently, the logos colors are red for OU, orange for OSU, sky blue for the flag and yellow for the sun. Yet the uniforms are orange and blue. When I think of sun and sky I think of California or Arizona. When I think of thunder I visualize dark, stormy skies. It’s no biggie, I just find the colors to be fundamentally contradictory, like, say a ‘man possessed’. That walk of shame the players were forced to do, you could see the annoyance on their faces and in their body language.
In its newest negative impact on the NBA, OKC is now stealing Golden State’s thunder...literally. According to the AP, Golden State is rethinking their 12 year-old mascot, Thunder, after OKC announced their own Thunder moniker. "We're clearly going to do something to accommodate Oklahoma City and not have our mascot named Thunder," Warrior team President Robert Rowell said. "For the sake of not making things confusing, we're going to do something. We just have to figure out a good exit strategy." Another tacky move by the OKC/NBA Experiment.
OKC thugs a team, blatantly rips off other team’s uniforms and colors, borrow their logo from Doritos, ruin AC/DC and now, as the last great act of defiance, are weaseling in on Golden State’s mascot. Wow. Not a single original idea from these clowns. The OKC/NBA Experiment; Dumming it Down! Thank you, David Stern! May we have another?
Ok, I will finally admit it; the uniforms are definitely classic.
The Knicks and Nuggets have been wearing them for years!
You’ve been BLUNDERSTRUCK!
Here's a link to the youtube video. Warning: watching may cause nausea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC-6smsy_Uk
This just added: Ray Ratto, from the San Francisco Chronicle, had some thoughts on the thugging of the Warriors mascot. Here are some excerpts:
The Warriors learned that, because of the staggering lack of originality displayed by the Oklahoma City franchise (formerly Seattle), they no longer can bring us the mute acrobatic stylings of Thunder.
The Oklahoma City people, who in selecting the nickname Thunder showed the same gift for imagination and creativity one finds in a copying machine.
And now - gone, someone else's property because Clay Bennett, the Oklahoma City owner, considers a grilled-cheese-on-white, iced-tea-with-Splenda for lunch to be out-of-the-box thinking.
But hey, one man's inability to seize opportunity is another man's lotto score.
The entire article is posted here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/03/SPM413AETD.DTL
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
OKCBLUNDER Uniforms Unveiled - BLUNDERFUL!
First impressions! We finally get the new uniforms and after all the build-up, this is the result of the collective brain trust in Oklahoma? A color scheme and logo that has nothing to do with Oklahoma or even Thunder?
The NBA in OKC - Where Blunder Happens!
The blue/orange thing is fine, but after all these years of pining for an NBA team in OKC, of all the styles, options and choices they could make...this is the best Bennett and his ilk could do? They look like the Knicks, the Hornets, the Nuggets and half of the NBA. They are furiously devoid of creative uniqueness which seems spot-on apropos for a group that has bumbled this at every turn. Not ugly, not awesome...just simply indifferent.
They took a potentially menacing, albeit generic logo, Thunder, and stuck a yellow smiley face on it. Where's the dark, moody colors or intimidating logo? The sky blue is allegedly an homage to Oklahoma's sky blue flag. Isn't the sky cloudy and black when Thunder is rolling through it?
Merchandising is a huge part of the NBA pyramid scheme. With the Blunder's Dorito logo and generic jerseys, it’s hard to imagine anyone outside of OKC jumping on the bandwagon. They will never maximize profit potential this way. With the economy spiraling downward, you have to fight for the consumer dollar. A killer logo and color scheme would've at least made non-fans consider consuming OKC hats and jerseys, simply out of the novelty of a new team. Consumers will consume. There is nothing unique or awesome about this team's uniform or logo to consume. A missed opportunity. Watching the video of the unveiling, you could just see Durant cringing and asking himself "how much longer do I have to be in this disaster movie?"
The failure to create a logo/uniform that satisfies the fans and the team, while maximizing it's potential in the marketplace, is indicative of an ownership group that has a small market mentality in a big market game. It's further proof that this group is unlikely to take this team to the next level. It's a dagger to the OKC fans who've yearned for an opportunity like this, only to watch it bumbled on several levels.
It's ironic that Bennett and Presti’s agenda in Seattle was to decimate the team to ease to move to OKC. They may never be able to build it back up from the same cellar they created. The team, picked dead last in the NBA power rankings, has a good chance of staying there for a long time because of one blunder after another, CBA uniforms and because NBA superstar talent, like Durant, need and deserve a bigger stage than the 45th market can possibly provide. Durant is likely long gone at his first chance. Just like OKC’s chance for a good first impression is long gone.
The NBA in OKC - Where Blunder Happens!
The blue/orange thing is fine, but after all these years of pining for an NBA team in OKC, of all the styles, options and choices they could make...this is the best Bennett and his ilk could do? They look like the Knicks, the Hornets, the Nuggets and half of the NBA. They are furiously devoid of creative uniqueness which seems spot-on apropos for a group that has bumbled this at every turn. Not ugly, not awesome...just simply indifferent.
They took a potentially menacing, albeit generic logo, Thunder, and stuck a yellow smiley face on it. Where's the dark, moody colors or intimidating logo? The sky blue is allegedly an homage to Oklahoma's sky blue flag. Isn't the sky cloudy and black when Thunder is rolling through it?
Merchandising is a huge part of the NBA pyramid scheme. With the Blunder's Dorito logo and generic jerseys, it’s hard to imagine anyone outside of OKC jumping on the bandwagon. They will never maximize profit potential this way. With the economy spiraling downward, you have to fight for the consumer dollar. A killer logo and color scheme would've at least made non-fans consider consuming OKC hats and jerseys, simply out of the novelty of a new team. Consumers will consume. There is nothing unique or awesome about this team's uniform or logo to consume. A missed opportunity. Watching the video of the unveiling, you could just see Durant cringing and asking himself "how much longer do I have to be in this disaster movie?"
The failure to create a logo/uniform that satisfies the fans and the team, while maximizing it's potential in the marketplace, is indicative of an ownership group that has a small market mentality in a big market game. It's further proof that this group is unlikely to take this team to the next level. It's a dagger to the OKC fans who've yearned for an opportunity like this, only to watch it bumbled on several levels.
It's ironic that Bennett and Presti’s agenda in Seattle was to decimate the team to ease to move to OKC. They may never be able to build it back up from the same cellar they created. The team, picked dead last in the NBA power rankings, has a good chance of staying there for a long time because of one blunder after another, CBA uniforms and because NBA superstar talent, like Durant, need and deserve a bigger stage than the 45th market can possibly provide. Durant is likely long gone at his first chance. Just like OKC’s chance for a good first impression is long gone.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Blunder on Montlake, Part II
Is it time to start rewriting the Husky record books? Will this team set all-time records for yards allowed, points, fewest sacks? Sadly, the worst has yet to come; Arizona will tee off on the Dawgs; USC, I don't want to think about that. They may hang 70 and 700 yards on UW. The worst will be when Neuheisel comes in and hangs 55 on them. Will the humiliation for this team, its fans and this once-proud university ever end? What can Emmert and the gang be thinking and saying behind closed doors? Their complicity is raging.
Getting steamrolled by Stanford used to be an oxymoron. Now the only morons are holding clipboards on the Husky sidelines. This simply goes beyond embarrassment. I've said it before and it's worth repeating; the water is tainted. Saturdays have become a public humiliation offered up by the worst coaching staff in UW history. A total package of incompetence; No athletes. No coaching. No spirit in the players. Another display of fundamental-free football. Ty has to go. For the sake of the future of the program. Even for his own future, coaching at ANY program, which is dimming as the embarrassing losses pile up. At this rate he’ll never get another coaching opportunity. I’m actually starting to feel bad for HIM.
Ok, I am back to my senses.
How many passes were dropped out there today? I watched Georgia/Alabama and those receivers snagged every pass that was even close to them. Countless passes on the numbers were dropped by UW receivers. No effort at all. How many plays does UW have in the play book? Six, tops? How on earth can they not have any imagination on offense? Do they not realize how easy they make it for opposing teams to prepare for them? Stop Jake. Well, that's been done. The new strategy for beating UW: just show up.
Jake Locker could be the best athlete in the Pac 10 and the worst passer. It was like a comedy reel watching his passes repeatedly sail so far off the mark. How is it possible he is not getting better in that department in his second full season? Seems like coaching would address that. Astonishingly, it has not. Had he been properly coached, Locker could be the ultimate weapon. You cannot say enough about his effort.
Once again on display was a team with ZERO in the fundamentals department...cannot pass OR catch, or tackle, or rush the passer or...this is getting tiresome. Tough to win many games that way…simply atrocious coaching.
Fouch looks pretty good for a freshman, have to give him credit, he scored as many points as Jake did and has a far superior accuracy. If Jake comes back, why not have Fouch stay at QB and put Jake in at tailback? The backs they have now don't even look fully grown. Can this team keep it together for the November 22 trip to Pullman for their high school game of the week against WSU? It may be the only win salvageable.
Let’s hope Pinkel is looking north and looking for a new challenge.
Getting steamrolled by Stanford used to be an oxymoron. Now the only morons are holding clipboards on the Husky sidelines. This simply goes beyond embarrassment. I've said it before and it's worth repeating; the water is tainted. Saturdays have become a public humiliation offered up by the worst coaching staff in UW history. A total package of incompetence; No athletes. No coaching. No spirit in the players. Another display of fundamental-free football. Ty has to go. For the sake of the future of the program. Even for his own future, coaching at ANY program, which is dimming as the embarrassing losses pile up. At this rate he’ll never get another coaching opportunity. I’m actually starting to feel bad for HIM.
Ok, I am back to my senses.
How many passes were dropped out there today? I watched Georgia/Alabama and those receivers snagged every pass that was even close to them. Countless passes on the numbers were dropped by UW receivers. No effort at all. How many plays does UW have in the play book? Six, tops? How on earth can they not have any imagination on offense? Do they not realize how easy they make it for opposing teams to prepare for them? Stop Jake. Well, that's been done. The new strategy for beating UW: just show up.
Jake Locker could be the best athlete in the Pac 10 and the worst passer. It was like a comedy reel watching his passes repeatedly sail so far off the mark. How is it possible he is not getting better in that department in his second full season? Seems like coaching would address that. Astonishingly, it has not. Had he been properly coached, Locker could be the ultimate weapon. You cannot say enough about his effort.
Once again on display was a team with ZERO in the fundamentals department...cannot pass OR catch, or tackle, or rush the passer or...this is getting tiresome. Tough to win many games that way…simply atrocious coaching.
Fouch looks pretty good for a freshman, have to give him credit, he scored as many points as Jake did and has a far superior accuracy. If Jake comes back, why not have Fouch stay at QB and put Jake in at tailback? The backs they have now don't even look fully grown. Can this team keep it together for the November 22 trip to Pullman for their high school game of the week against WSU? It may be the only win salvageable.
Let’s hope Pinkel is looking north and looking for a new challenge.
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