Three different events offering some sort of harmonic convergence in a whirling mess of legal mumbo-jumbo, double speak, and abject failure are giving us something to look at and remember just who exactly guys like John McLaren, Clay Bennett, and Kelvin Sampson actually are…
McLaren had one of the best tirades of the year… and rightly so.
Here was a guy coming off an 88-win season and seemed ready to take on the rest of the American League west. But somewhere in the transactions involving Erik Bedard and Richie Sexson the M’s are already 22 games under .500 this year and fading faster than Barry Zito these days. McLaren and GM Bill Bavasi have already been let go. There is talk that Sexson won’t last the weekend or the upcoming road trip.
Jim Riggleman gets to take over now…
So much for the SoDo Mojo…
Look it up…
When is football season again…???
I Guess That’s One Way To Keep Them From Bodily Harm…
Indiana University Athletic Director Rick Greenspan didn’t want to be anywhere close to the Hotel Deca in Seattle. He had a statement drawn up that Senior Associate Athletic Director Tim Fitzpatrick got to hand out like a ditto sheet for an SAT Exam.
While he was doing that to the NCAA Committee on Infractions Milwaukee Bucks Assistant Coach Kelvin Sampson was headed out some side door somewhere on the premises. He didn’t want anything to do with IU, Hotel Deca, the NCAA, or the city of Seattle. Thing was, though, he kinda had to be there to answer questions about what he may or may not have done that the NCAA didn’t like while he was Head Coach at Indiana.
The NCAA is accusing him of “providing false or misleading information to investigators about more than 100 impermissible phone calls.” They also accuse him of knowingly violating recruiting restrictions imposed when he was the Head Coach at Oklahoma. In a month or so, the NCAA should figure out their judgment in the case. And it looks like new IU Head Coach Tom Crean will have an empty cupboard for the 2008-2009 season. There could be a post-season ban thrown in there for good measure…
And Crean still wants the job…
There are thoughts that then-Assistant Rob Senderoff and Sampson went around the ban by having Senderoff punch the digits on the phone, and then hand the phone off to Sampson for all the sweet-talk. After all, Sampson didn’t actually make the phone call then, did he…??? Problem there is that the NCAA thought they took care of that idea when they busted Sampson at OU in 2006.
Nah…
If both Senderoff and Sampson are then given what is called a “show-cause” penalty, they would ((and any future employer would as well)) have to petition the NCAA for reinstatement if anyone is interested in their services. Senderoff is already employed by Kent University. If he’s found guilty, Kent would have to either appeal the decision of fire him.
Sampson doesn’t have to worry about that. He’s escaped to the NBA…
I love this game...
Apparently, Sampson does, too…
The AP’s Gregg Bell reported at the time just as Sampson was found out before he left;
Sampson said the first seven hours of the hearing “went well. It's a process,” he said.
When asked if the initial questioning went as he thought it would, Sampson said:
“About what we expected.”
Good for you…
dot…dot…dot…
What do you do when you have a business in a town, but you as the owner, are lucky to have someone relieve themselves on you if you happened to be on fire standing on a street corner. That’s the question Clay Bennett is trying to answer as the head of Professional Basketball Club, LLC- the current owners of the now-Seattle Supersonics.
His answer is simple- move to Oklahoma City.
Not so simple…
The city thinks Bennett acted in poor faith and wanted to move there all along instead of putting on the public front of “We’d like to stay, but no one is going to help fund a new arena that we all know we need for things to stay successful. So we have to go now…”
The end result is a 6-day, non-jury trial that has their geographic and economic future at their fingertips. The city is bringing up all kinds of witnesses from talk show hosts to rabid fans to economic experts trying to strip the franchise from Bennett’s grasp ((twirl handlebar mustache now)). Bennett claims the Sonics will lose upwards of $60-million if they’re forced to stay through the remaining two years of their lease at Key Arena. He’d like to cut his losses and run.
The city would like to cut his throat.
Bennett has survived on the stand so far, and has even gone so far as to admit that he and the PBC went about the political climate poorly in their attempts to gauge how successful keeping the team around in Seattle might be. So, it was onward to Oklahoma City after a failed attempt to get an arena in the suburbs.
((Transcripts from the Court proceedings Day 3- courtesy: seattlep-i.com))
Q What do you face in the way of -- from a financial standpoint in terms of the next two years? What are you anticipating in terms of the team's financial performance?
A Well, the studies that we have submitted suggest over the two years a $60 million cash loss to the business. I think that is perhaps reasonable, but certainly moving parts within that that we need to focus on and really take a look at it. I think that is probably a conservative estimate.
Q And how does that compare to what you anticipate for the financial performance of the organization if you are permitted to go to Oklahoma City now?
MR. LAWRENCE: I object as to relevance.
THE COURT: Overruled.
THE WITNESS: Our studies indicate and our projections suggest that we would see a 7 million --approximately $7 million cash profit in year one, and approximately a $10 million profit in year two.
BY MR. KELLER:
Q What are the primary drivers of such a significant difference between the two?
A Well, the central driver is the building.
Q Wait a minute. You are still going to have to pay your rent here in Seattle, aren't you?
A We will certainly pay whatever we are required to pay.
Q Have you always stood ready to meet your financial obligations to the City under this lease for the last two years?
A Certainly.
Q I am sorry for interrupting. What are the primary drivers of this swing between a $60 million loss over a two-year period and upward of $15 million profit?
A The primary one that allows them all to happen is the building.
And away we go… just don’t let the courts see any e-mails from the last two years from your e-mail accounts…
Deal...???
Play it safe, everyone… I’ll talk to you soon…
--Jon Nelson
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