The Seattle Sonics Could Not Be Saved

Sonics Owner Clay Bennett is a jowly-faced bastard. I'm doing him a favor by calling him that because that’ s probably one of the kinder things he'll be called from now on by heartbroken Seattle residents, who after two years of thinking their beloved 41-year-old franchise would stick around if they lobbied hard enough, now get to watch Kevin Durant play in Oklahoma City next season, even though their town wasn't washed away by a hurricane. The WSJ Daily Fix blog , which did a brilliant round-up of the whole ordeal, floats this little life raft out there for the fans:

Former Sonics owner Howard Schultz, of Starbucks fame, is suing Mr. Bennett’s group to strip them of ownership, arguing that Mr. Bennett reneged on a promise to negotiate in good faith for a new arena before trying to relocate. If Mr. Schultz prevails, the Sonics could potentially be forced to return to Seattle — Mr. Schultz and his lawyer aren’t seeking an emergency injunction to stop the move in hopes of building a better case, and that case isn’t expected to go to trial for nearly a year.

But most Seattle Sonics fans are probably too worn out from the last painful legal saga to even get worked up over this slim-to-none possibility. The Sonics story, if anything, should make all sports fans wary of what could happen to their own franchise once new ownership takes over. All of your hard-earned time and investment could be taken away from you with a quick handshake in the night, no matter how hard you root for them. Then you have to watch press conferences like this and just cringe:

"We made it," Bennett said after stepping to an Oklahoma City podium featuring the NBA logo and the letters OKC. "The NBA will be in Oklahoma City next season."

Seattle, Bennet Slam Door On Sonics [WSJ Daily Fix] Basketball Still Has A Future In Seattle? Are You Kidding? [The Seattle Times] A Shot To The Gut Of Seattle Fans [True Hoop] The darkest hours in Seattle sports history [ESPN]