Vincent goes a bit Askew

Remember Vincent Askew? Teammate of the Reignman during the good old days when everything was merry in the world of the Seattle Supersonics? Well, it turns out Mr Askew would like to turn back time as well, way back to when he was 16.

Askew has been arrested on charges of sleeping with a 16-year old girl, according to ESPN.

Askew played for eight NBA teams in nine seasons. Police said he approached the victim three months ago and told her that he was recruiting players for a Miami-Dade County prep school. Authorities said the 43-year-old and the teen later met at a hotel and had sex.

Askew was trying to get a coaching job at the school, police said.

It seems he was trying to get a bit too intimate a knowledge of the players he would be coaching.

It's not known whether he has an attorney.

Sounds like he'll need one...

Oklahoma City : where the team has no name

In Oklahoma City, the wait continues. What will be the name of the team plucked from the grips of the Seattle Sonics fans by Clay Bennett?

From the Canadian Press:

The sports apparel shop where Colby Ousley works was one of the first places to get new NBA T-shirts featuring Oklahoma City on the front.

There's still a big question on the minds of Ousley and others who are eager for the NBA to make its official arrival in the city, though.

"I'm anxious to know what they're finally going to be. The colours, nobody knows anything about that," said Ousley, a 19-year-old who's studying athletic training at the University of Central Oklahoma.

The NBA expects that parts of Oklahoma City's new identity might be announced next month, but the final deadline will be late September - shortly before the start of pre-season games.

The actual names under consideration aren't being revealed, but Bennett has said there are several names being cleared through the league and that the team took in recommendations through letters, naming competitions at schools and a contest run by the local newspaper.

"We've got lots and lots of names, so we feel like we have absorbed much of the flavour of what the citizens have considered and have certainly put that into the equation," Bennett said.

From NewsOK.com:

When it comes to Oklahoma City's yet-to-be-named NBA franchise, a for-sure, can't-miss nickname is difficult to come by. Marketing experts say the easy choices are already taken, long ago gobbled up by the hundreds of professional franchises.

But options remain.

"Now you kind of get down to a name that fits who you are and where you are,” said Vince Orza, dean of the Meinders School of Business at Oklahoma City University.

Good names, Orza said, are terms that are positive, short, easy to spell and easy to pronounce. The best ones also reflect strength and characterize the team's region.

"You kind of want a fun term also,” Orza said. "Four letter names are always the best if you can get them. If you think about it, Ford, Oreo, Coke, the reason those names are so successful is they're easy to say, easy to remember and easy to spell.

"Simple means bigger, and the bigger you can get it on a uniform and cap the easier it is to see the image and the impression of the name.”

Everyone is obsessed with naming the new team:

Nickname fever is sweeping the state, and no one is immune. With the impending arrival of Oklahoma's first major-league sports franchise — one that's leaving its name, colors and history behind — folks from Guymon to Gotebo are talking about what the team should be called.

Who among us hasn't thought about it, talked about it, debated about it?

This has become fodder for the casual observer every bit as much as the hard-core fan. The debate is just as likely to rage in a Sunday school class as at the local watering hole.

Heck, the obsession extends to The Oklahoman. Our fair newspaper conducted a 64-name bracket competition within hours of the relocation vote, and even though we've told all of you that we have no sway in the naming, you still keep calling and writing with your suggestions.

Meanwhile, OKC's (newly) own Kevin Durant will highlight the USA Select roster as one of 10 young players to give Team USA a run for their money in the lead up to the Olympics.

Durant's co-draftee of 2007, Greg Oden is excited about coming back after missing his first NBA season through injury and thinks that the Blazers might have some new fans:

Having Seattle lose its NBA franchise to Oklahoma City, Oden expects to see "a lot more people in Seattle coming down to Portland."

Aaron Bruce on Seattle SuperSonics Summer League Roster

Former Baylor four-year point guard, Aaron Bruce has been announced as part of the Seattle SuperSonics' final ever Summer League roster, before they are whisked off to Oklahoma City.

The 6'3" floor general from Horsham in Australia failed to attract the attention of GMs in the 2008 NBA Draft and hopes to use this opportunity as a stepping stone to an NBA contract.

Bruce should have an opportunity to impress in the next weeks, as the only other pure point announced on the roster is draft standout, Russell Westbrook. Bruce was known as a sharpshooter at Baylor, a talent that the Sonics will be looking for, as they finished last season as the league's third worst three-point shooting team (on percentages) at 33.3% and second last in threes made.

The Sonics, according to this OKC news radio report are expected to "wear Sonics practice gear then switch to practice uniforms that have the NBA OKC logo. We expect the new name of the franchise to be announced either later this week or early next week." They will play their first match today against the Indiana Pacers at 2pm Central, as part of the Orlando Pro Summer League. Other teams involved are the Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, New Jersey Nets and host Orlando Magic.

2007 lottery pick Jeff Green will participate, whilst last season's Rookie of the Year, Kevin Durant will not. With the majority of the team being relative unknowns, Bruce who was named to Baylor's All-Centennial Team as one of its top 17 players of all time, will have plenty of opportunity to display his all-round skills in the backcourt. The recent injury to Earl Watson which potentially puts his start to the season in doubt, would presumably only increase their desire for an additional PG on the roster. Bruce is just one of four players in school history to finish with 1,000 career points and 300 assists, in a tradition that includes NBA greats such as Vinnie the Microwave Johnson and Terry Teagle.

As Bruce said in this recent interview with Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper, he has strong beliefs that he can make it in the NBA. "It seems strange that here I am, that I have a really legitimate chance to make that dream come true. I know once I'm thrown out there I know I can play basketball."

The Sonics Summer League roster, coached by former NBA guard Scott Brooks, is as follows:

SUMMER LEAGUE ROSTER
No Name Pos Ht Wt Birthdate From 2007-08
0 Russell Westbrook G 6-3 190 11/12/88 UCLA UCLA

2 Devin Green F 6-7 210 10/25/82 Hampton D-League/Italy

3 D.J. White F 6-9 250 8/31/86 Indiana Indiana

5 Mykal Riley F 6-6 185 7/14/85 Alabama Alabama

8 Ndudi Ebi F 6-9 200 6/18/84 Westbury Christ. HS Israel

11 Aaron Bruce G 6-3 185 12/19/84 Baylor Baylor

12 Ronald Dupree F 6-7 210 1/26/81 Louisiana State Sonics/Detroit/D-League

22 Jeff Green F 6-10 235 8/28/86 Georgetown Sonics

23 Ronnell Taylor G 6-5 200 7/26/82 UAB Slovenia

30 Justin Williams F/C 6-10 260 5/12/84 Wyoming Sacramento/Houston

42 Brian Randle F 6-8 220 2/8/85 Illinois Illinois

44 Nick Lewis F/C 6-10 235 4/20/83 San Diego D-League

50 DeVon Hardin C 6-11 250 6/3/86 California California

Aaron Bruce : ESPN statistics

Aaron Bruce : Draft Express profile

Seattle SuperSonics--Sydney Kings: we understand

As the saga continued, the fans got more and more edgy. People who had been following this team for as long as they could remember were feeling a tension they had never thought they would feel about a sporting team -- the potential that someone may take that team away from them and that they would never see it again.

Of course, these fans had stomached their fair share of gut-wrenching moments in the past. They had endured countless seasons of disappointments with rosters that promised so much more. They had also experienced their moments in the spotlight with success at the highest level that the league provided.

After pouring so many anxious moments over the years into this team -- their team -- the moment they had dreaded arrived. There were no more lifelines left, no more last-second ditches available to save the beloved sports franchise. That date in mid-2008 had arrived and the Sydney Kings were no longer a basketball team.

As the fans of Seattle tried every avenue possible to cling to their basketball team, the SuperSonics, the fans of a team on the other side of the world felt their pain. The Sydney Kings had been arguably the most successful team in Australia's National Basketball League during the last decade. They were the first team to win three consecutive championships and appeared in the NBL Finals five times in the past ten years.

Ironically enough, these two teams that saw their death knell in the same week once shared a name. The Sydney Supersonics were merged with the West Sydney Westars 20 years ago to form the franchise that has dissolved today. It is hard to think that this same team saw a 2007/08 season where they achieved the most wins ever in an NBL season, with a 27-3 record and a grand final appearance. This proved the sad fact that on-court success does not always match off-court operations.

Whilst the team, led by all-time great coach Brian Goorjian, was working diligently to do the best job possible between the on the hardwood, they hid a financial anguish that they did not deserve to endure. Owner Tim Johnston, whose fuel-additive company Firepower is in a state of disrepair, bought the team under a flurry of big promises. Those promises soon turned into failure to make salary and pension payments to players and tough times for their families.

After serving a series of default notices on the Kings owner, in an attempt to protect the team's players, the NBL was left with no option but to revoke the Sydney Kings' licence.

This news spawned a series of eleventh-hour attempts to bring together ownership syndicates in order to purchase the team and revive it for the upcoming 2008/09 season. Former players from the team's glory days, including former Villanova star Dwayne McClain, came to the fore. The former long-time owner of the Kings, Mike Wrublewski made his attempts to garner support. Even loyal Sydney Kings Fan Club supporters formed their own syndicate to add to the riches available for resurrection of the club. Furthermore there was rumour of the LA Lakers taking interest in purchasing the debt-stricken club.

In the end however, it was all for nought. The two major bids which were evaluated by the NBL were either rejected or fell over due to lack of backing. Anguished fans were left with no option but to vent their frustration on internet message boards and try to imagine a world without their team, the Sydney Kings. The NBL will continue next season. There will be 11 teams, as opposed to 2007/08's 13 teams, as the Brisbane Bullets faced a similar fate to the Kings.

Fans of the Seattle SuperSonics: you will never forget your team. You will never give up supporting them. Sydney Kings fans feel the same way. Your team may be physically gone, but the memories remain. Every time you pull out that Xavier McDaniel jersey, watch highlights of Payton to Kemp on youtube or remember the championship glory days of Sikma, the Sonics will be there with you. Meanwhile, there will be a bunch of your brethren on the other side of the world who will be remembering the Finals 4th-quarter explosion of Ebi Ere, the hangtime of Leon Trimmingham, the throwdowns from James Smith and Kendrick Johnson and the long-range bombs from Shane "the Hammer" Heal.

The Clay Bennetts and Tim Johnstons of this world may take our teams away in one way or another, but whilst there are enough passionate fans, a team will resurface. Public support shows that there is a market for that team to re-exist in its previous market. Hope is not lost -- although it does feel like it at times.

A touching farewell to the Seattle Sonics

One fan's montage of memories of the Seattle Sonics.




Unfortunately for the Sonics fans of Seattle, their team is officially gone now. A court settlement between the new ownership group (fronted by Clay Bennett) and the City of Seattle has named the price of $75m as the quantification of the passion of a loyal following of fans.

NBA : Today's warnings : 17 June 2008

• "Game after game, Celtics fans across Boston face the same, painful decision: basketball or bedtime?" This is the question asked by fans on the East coast who struggle to stay awake for West coast games which push past the midnight barrier. The NBA's response is that the kids know how to use The Internets and that they will find a way to watch it, even if they do have to go to sleep, through YouTube and nba.com. All I can say is, they should try watching from London, England, where start times are usually 1:50am.
• Apparently still-President G W Bush is no Obama when it comes to basketball, as he proved in a visit to a Northern Ireland school on his European "don't-call-it-a-farewell-tour."
• The Seattle Supersonics trial has kicked off and it all sounds pertty messy and thus far, inconclusive. Gary Payton and Xavier McDaniel have been right behind the Save Our Sonics cause.
• Apparently the NBA Finals are up 11% in TV ratings on the last time the Finals went to five games -- the 2006 Dallas v Miami series -- which isn't really earth-shattering news given the teams involved.
• Buy yourself a sweaty Finals-worn jersey from your friends at NBA.com.
• UNC is certainly looking good for next season.
• Are you about to lose your house? Well Superman will save the day!! That's right, Shaq Diesel has offered to help out the many homeowners tied up with mortgages that may make them homeless. "Last week, an attorney working with O'Neal said the Phoenix Suns center wants to buy the mortgages of people whose homes are in foreclosure, then give the homeowner a new mortgage with better terms. Homeowners would stay in their homes with more affordable payments, and O'Neal would turn a small profit."