Still rooting for the Sonics, and against stern

After reading Jerry Brewer’s column in the Seattle Times this morning about how the NBA is hard, if not impossible, to follow in Seattle, I realize that it paints a perfect picture of myself as a basketball fan.  The NBA has long been my favorite league to follow, though putting any effort into watching it has felt anti-Seattle, even if all I’m doing is rocking my LeBron jersey.  This has been even more of an internal battle as the Cleveland Cavs have always been my second favorite team.  Just a quick history, I’m not one of those who jumped on the bandwagon when LeBron landed there.  I was rooting for them when guys like Terrell Brandon and Tyrone Hill were the big stars by the Cuyahoga.  Thankfully I was too green to remember Jordan breaking Cleveland’s heart, but I have been there for the lean years.  And just to be clear, I didn’t pick Cleveland at random.  Family ties locked me in to the other saddest sports city in the US.  I mean, which sports fan would CHOOSE to jump on the Cleveland bandwagon, especially if Seattle is your go to city.

Anyway, I find myself in a quandry inside of another quandry.  As hard as it is to watch the NBA and know that all the excitment all the other cities are feeling is something I won’t get to feel for the forseeable future, I face the ugly feeling of not being bummed if the Cavs are knocked out early.  “How can you SAY that?!?” you are asking yourself.  “Cleveland NEVER gets a shot like this!”  While you are right, and mostly I want the Cavs and would be really bummed if their season ended without a championship, the fact that one of the three main D-Bags responsible, david stern, is also rooting for the Cavs hurts.  You know he and every other NBA bigwig wants a LeBron Kobe (note I didn’t say Cleveland Los Angeles.  That is on purpose) Finals and anything less would make for a disappointing Finals.  The Horror!  Denver and Orlando!  stern’s stomach must roll at the thought of what a dud that would be for his league after such an exciting post season.  Meanwhile, any basketball fans in the Emerald City could smile and watch as George Karl and Johan Petro face off against Rashard Lewis for a ring while tens of people across the nation take in the series. 

So GO CAVS!  Delonte, Wally, and LeBron, bring a Championship of any kind  to Cleveland for the first time since 1964.  But, if you don’t, make sure that if you let anyone beat you, let it be Rashard three more times.  I wanna be wearing my LeBron jersey for eight more victories this year, but I do still have a gold Sonics number 7 to wear if necessary…

At Least they aren’t number 1

The back half of the draft is pretty boring.  I guess Reggie Jackson didn’t work. 

Kevin Love does nothing to help Minnesota.  He jinxed himself by mentioning that the T-Wolves hadn’t ever picked first.

Why does Fate hate Seattle basketball?  How is it an owner can destroy a city and gets a top 3 pick the next year.  What should be sheer joy for Seattle right now just reminds us of 2008 some more.  If they pick number 1…

Commercial comment: Could the Indians and Matt Holiday be suffering from the espn.com jinx?  Sizemore’s having a decent year, but it may be something to think about.

Phew!  Still hurts like a thorn in the testicle that they jumped up at all.  It’s the third pick on the team that was picked in the top four.

Congrats to the Clippers.  Now don’t screw this up because I do NOT want Blake Griffen playing pro ball in the same state he played college ball.  It would be interesting to see Clipper jerseys hanging in Just Sports’ and Finish Lines if they do indeed pick him.

That was way too draining.  I’m gonna go buy some old school Sonics posters.

Not so lucky

Lottery day.  Once the NBA regular season mercifully came to an end and I wasn’t anxiously checking the scoreboard every morning to make sure that the OKC team (which from here on out will be refered to as, “They Who Are Owned by a Nincompoop”) had lost, life improved a lot.  I could watch ESPN without seeing hide nor hair of They Who Are Owned by a Nincompoop and the Sonics were actually brought up quite a bit, especially when Ray Allen’s Celtics and Rashard Lewis’ Orlando Magic squared off in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.  Today however, the repreive ends for all Sonics fans.  In an event that is looked forward to as hope for NBA fans (except for Clipper fans) Sonics fans have to hear about how good their former team looks to become, and they know that all those predictions are probably right.  With all the young talent that Sam Presti has already assembled, even if he is handed the seventh pick, which is the worst he could get, we are likely doomed to hear about how great our former team will be.  Within the next half  hour or so we’ll know how much we’ll have to hear about them.

The Bird is the Word…

As in crow.  After my mid-game proclimation that the M’s were continuing to falter, the Seattle nine served me up a fresh platter of the transient bird and Ichiro was the main waiter.  With his first multi homerun game since July 30, 2005, the Mariner right fielder threw the team on his bat and with a little help Franklin the Glove getting an RBI hit, the Mariners played like they had been in April.  Now that the series has come to a thrilling close and Boston limps home dropping two of three from Seattle, the April Mariners can celebrate a good weekend.  Much like the Seattleites who have been rejuvenated by the glorious weekend, it seems the Mariners also used the sun to recharge.  With the Angels returning to Seattle this week the tests continue for the M’s.

M’s Game

I’m sitting here on my burgundy couch that has lasted multiple presidential administrations, taking in the M’s and Red Sox, watching as my hometown nine are being exposed.  Everyone in Seattle was higher than gas prices in April as our men of the sea were tops in the west division and getting pitching and defense that playoff teams are made of in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year.  A lot of fans were pointing to this very series against Beantown, the thinking being that if we could run with the Sox we might be for real.  Unfortunately, our biggest weakness is on display as Red Sox starter Jon Lester holds a shutout lead even though he lacks his best stuff.  The M’s have had multiple opportunities to score against the Washington native, but our inability to get the big hit have us scoreless.  Meahwhile the BoSox have hit three pitches into the outfield gaps and Jacoby Ellsbury is a homerun away from the cycle.  We aren’t even through four innings.  All the early season excitement was deserved, but all too short lived as the cold water of realitycontinues to chill Mariner fans.

Who Am I?

Thanks for stopping by this here blog reader.  Your first question is probably, “Why would this guy attach a team that no longer exists to his blog name?”  It hurts to even type that the Sonics no longer exist in Seattle, their theft ripping a gargantuan hole in my sports heart.  I won’t bore you with the long history I personally have with the organization who wore Green and Gold the best. (sorry Packer fans.  I’m not sorry Athletics and Ore… Oreg… I can’t even bring them up)  It is important to realize that before Griffey was sliding across home to beat the Yanks in ’95, before Paul Allen purchased the Seahawks from Bubba Behring, the Sonics grabbed my attention, taking the Barkley/KJ led Suns to seven games before the NBA officials decided that they wanted to see Barkley versus Jordan in the ’93 Finals.  I will always proudly wear any logo from Seattle’s oldest professional sports franchise, just so that those who see me will never forget.

Having lamented the loss of the Sonics, they are not the only reason I love sports.  Be it football, baseball, basketball, hockey, swimming, soccer, or any other contest one can get emotionally involved in, I will delve into it with a passion that would exhaust most fans.  My ranting has even hit the airwaves as I was part of the Sports Den which can still be heard on 881theburg.com on Monday and Friday mornings.  My yearnings to be heard proved too strong to ignore.  So here I am and here is what I think about sports.  Being a Seattle sports fan I’ve been though hell in 2008, so the blogosphere can’t destroy me as much as last year did.

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