Basketbawful reader DeWoof01, who sent in the picture of the unhappy younster shown below, wrote in to say: "I was at the Blazers game last night, and as most of you know this was the first game in Portland for the Oklahoma City Thunder. So there were about 15 people in our section as well as hundreds of others around the stadium who were wearing Sonics jerseys. The best thing was they weren't there to cheer on Portland, but rather just to boo the Thunder. I never saw a single one of them react when Portland made a good play...only when the Thunder committed a turnover or made a dumb play."

Thanks again, Clay Bennett! You are the Wicked Destroyer of Dreams and the Icky Bane of Children. I'm very seriously considering adding you to the Mount Rushmore of Basketbawful. I'm thinking four faces, all you...

Labels: bitterness, Clay Bennett, fan submissions, Oklahoma City Thunder, Seattle Supersonics

As Henry Abbott pointed out the other day, the official (though completely unsurprising) announcement of the Oklahoma City franchise name -- which, regrettably, is not Thundercats -- was also the official end of the Seattle SuperSonics...not to mention unequivocal proof that true evil exists.

Seriously, people: The bad guys won this one. It's like Joker shot Batman in the face at the end of The Dark Knight. It's like Darth Vader cut Luke Skywalker in half at the end of Return of the Jedi. It's like General Bethlehem defeated the Postman at the end of The Postman. Uh, forget I mentioned that last one...

Well, enough is enough. The purpose of my life, my raison d'etre if you will, is to make this world a better place. I'd like to think that, had I been on the Titanic, people would have drowned more peacefully. So as of right now, I'm rewriting history. In that spirit, here's a new movie for you. It's called Deadly Revenge of the SuperSonics. In it, the part of Sonics fans everywhere is played by Jean-Claude Van Damme. (Appropriate.) The part of Clay Bennett is played by an ugly woman in a penguin costume. (Even more appropriate.) I think everyone -- with the possible exception of Clay Bennett and Furries -- will be happy with the ending to this story.

Labels: Clay Bennett, evil, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Oklahoma City Thunder, Seattle Supersonics

Today's spoonful of syrupy man love was nominated by Basketbawful reader Jim in KFalls: "My suggestion for 'Thursday afternoon man love' is the caption from the Clay Bennett e-mails directed to David Stern that Henry Abbott quoted on TrueHoop." Good call, Jim. Very good call.

Here's the full text of Clay's e-mail, which shall hereafter be referred to as An Ode To My Big, Stern Man. As love poems go, it's pretty weak. Hardly anything rhymes, he disregarded iambic pentameter, and there isn't a hint of enjambment. He didn't even include any elegiac couplets. But the prose is still sugary enough to give you a cavity. Or make you violently ill. One or the other. (My vote? "Other.")

"I am concerned that you may feel I have betrayed your trust. David you know how I feel about our relationship both personally and professionally. You are among a very few, notwithstanding our relative brief actual physical time together that have significantly affected my life. I view you as a role model as an extraordinarily gifted executive, a deep and compassionate thinker, and a person with a rare and unique charisma that brings out the best in everyone you touch. You are just one of my favorite people on earth and I so cherish our relationship Sonics business aside. I would never breach your trust."

Is it possible to forward somebody a key to your hotel room over e-mail? Because if it is, Clay must have done it with this one. That one paragraph is pretty telling, though. Clay must have led a pretty sheltered life, because when you share a "relative brief actual physical time" with someone, you don't need to write them a Shakespearean sonnet. Cab fare and a smack on the ass will do. Write that down.

Update: The new graphic was the work of Basketbawful reader Stephen, who also designed the new banner. Here's the picture I originally used.

Labels: Clay Bennett, David Stern, fan submissions, man love