Recent Stories with tag basketball

You may have missed it, but last night was the first of NBA season. And though Seattle doesn't have a team, the 206 was represented. Three Seattle high-school grads--of the 12 on NBA rosters--showed their stuff on opening night.

Nate Robinson (Rainier Beach, Boston Celtics) played just 10 minutes in the Celtics' win over the Threet, but he did have a suh-weet play where he pumped-faked a three, drove left around his defender to the baseline, elevated, switched hands in mid-air, twisted, and scooped a shot behind his head off the glass and in. Nate Robinson is an absolute marvel.

Brandon Roy (Garfield, Portland Trail Blazers) led the Blazers with 24 points in their win over Phoenix. The Suns didn't ever find a player who could guard Roy, who made Josh Childress look especially silly. Roy's layup with 5:05 left began a 16-1 Blazers' run to close the game. The Blazers have gotten younger and faster with the additions of guards Wes Matthews and Armon Johnson. Look out.

Aaron Brooks (Franklin, Houston Rockets) had an 18-point first-half from his starting point guard spot, but it's the shot he didn't make in the second-half that's haunting him this morning. Rockets down two, Brooks drove baseline and got to the basket, but Lamar Odom blocked his last-second shot. Rockets lost.

So what's up with the nine other Seattle-area guys? Here's a quick rundown.... (more)

You aren't supposed to win when you're down 18 points at halftime. "I don't know how we did it," Lauren Jackson told an overjoyed KeyArena crowd after the game. Here's how, Lauren: Your offense was your best defense.

In the first half, the Storm couldn't hit a shot. The errant attempts, many by the team's lesser players, resulted in multiple Phoenix fast breaks, letting the Mercury drop 56 points in the first half. In half two, Storm stars got greedy, and their shots began to find the basket. Forced to inbound from the baseline, Phoenix couldn't streak down the court. They went ice cold.

At one point, the Mercury missed 17 consecutive shots. The Storm increased their on-ball pressure and held Phoenix to just eight points in the third quarter, an amazing defensive effort against a team that had broken the league scoring record twice in the past week.

Lauren Jackson finished with a season-high 33 points, on just 23 shots. Sue Bird added 16, including several key fourth-quarter buckets.... (more)

Your local hoops team is off to a 20-2 start and play tonight against Phoenix at Seattle Center. It could be today, or it could be December 23, 1993. Then, the team was the Sonics, the opponent was the Phoenix Suns. Tonight it's the Storm facing the Phoenix Mercury.

The Sonics lost game #23 (Thunder Dan Majerle went off for seven threes). So with a win against Phoenix tonight, the Storm can claim the best start in Seattle pro hoops history. 

Won't be easy. The Mercury come into the game scorching hot on offense. You think I exaggerate? I do not. As Kevin Pelton reports on StormBasketball.com, the Mercury have set the WNBA record for points in a game twice in the last week. The last game between these teams, less than two weeks ago, went to triple-overtime.

Other fun Seattle/Phoenix stuff: The Storm's Sue Bird and the Mercury's Diana Taurasi are close friends and teammates in the Russian SuperLeague.

Storm Lauren Jackson and Mercury Penny Taylor, Aussies born 13 days apart, have played against each other since age 11 and will be teammates at this fall's FIBA World Championships. To me, the most interesting Mercury player is DeWanna Bonner, a bean-pole forward (listed at 6'4", 136 lbs.) (!!!) who is a tough matchup for the Storm. Bonner has 54 points on just 33 shots against Seattle this year.

At worst, this will be a high-scoring game. Stands a chance of being one of the most memorable basketball games in Seattle hoops history.

The legal wrangling over the relocation of the Seattle Sonics to Oklahoma City is finally coming to an end.

This week, 2007-08 Sonic season ticketholders--those enrolled in a marketing program called the Emerald Club--started to receive settlement checks as a result of their participation in a successful class action lawsuit against the Professional Basketball Club LLC, the former owners of the Sonics and the current owners of the OKC Thunder.

To date, and likely forever, these checks are the only direct payment to former fans for the loss of a beloved sports franchise that had been in Seattle for 40 years. (Disclaimer: I was a former Sonics season ticketholder, a member of the Emerald Club, and a member of the class in the lawsuit. My wife and I received our check yesterday.)

When former Seattle Sonics owner Clay Bennett announced that he intended to move the team to his home state of Oklahoma, he and his co-owners were challenged with lawsuits. The City of Seattle sued to enforce a lease that would have held the team here until this year. Howard Schultz claimed that the new owners he'd sold to had lied about their desire to keep the team in Seattle.

The City's case, which seemed like a slam dunk, fell apart at trial when former Mayor Greg Nickels was dismantled on the witness stand. (Sherman Alexie's testimonial that the NBA players were "Greek gods" was of limited legal utility.) The City’s case turned what should have been a perfunctory contract enforcement proceeding into a circus and the city, probably wisely, folded the tent and settled without ever learning the court's decision. Schultz quietly canceled his lawsuit shortly afterward.

That left only a strange little case that resulted in this week's delivery of checks to former ticketholders. Robert Brotherson, Patrick Sheehy, and Carolyn Bechtel, the three Sonics ticketholders named in the suit, had, as it turned out, a legitimate case.... (more)

Former Sonic Nate McMillan was a lock-down defender and capable backup point guard. Overshadowed by Hall-of-Fame teammate Gary Payton, "Mac-10" nonetheless won the affection of Seattle fans and earned the name "Mr. Sonic."

Tanisha Wright

Current Storm Tanisha Wright is a lock-down defender and capable back-up point guard. Overshadowed by Hall-of-Fame teammate Sue Bird, "T-Wright" has been the target of Storm fan emnity since her first year with the team. I hear her called many names by Storm fans, few of them affectionate.

Wright is unpopular because she isn't Sue Bird. When Wright has played the point in previous years, she's struggled to get the offense set up in a timely fashion and made poor decisions. The contrast to Bird, one of the best point guards in league history, is obvious enough to rile up fans.

McMillan suffered in comparison to Payton as well, but only because he didn't possess GP's offensive talents. If you were just looking for a distributor and someone to run your offense, McMillan may have been the better choice.

Wright won't ever match Bird in that department, but she's shown dramatic improvement this season. With Bird out with back spasms for the June 29th game against San Antonio, Wright assumed the point guard duties and had a career-high 12 assists in a Storm win.

McMillan and Wright share a commitment to defense that makes them both coach favorites. Wright is tall for a WNBA guard (5'11") just as McMillan was tall for an NBA one (6'5"). Both Wright (165 lbs.) and McMillan (played at 195 lbs.) have strong frames that allow them to body up defenders, but aren't so bulky that they sacrifice speed.... (more)

The Storm are 14-2. Let's get to know a little more about them, shall we?

I thought about titling this "Sue Bird is the Gary Payton of the Storm," in trying to keep with a Sonics theme, but Sue Bird really isn't like Gary Payton. She doesn't post up as much as Payton and she doesn't trash talk. Then I thought about Steve Nash, but Bird isn't quite as improvisational as the Suns star.

What Bird is is this--among the best point guards in the history of her league. Like Jason Kidd. Like Kidd, Bird is unflappable dribbling one-on-one against defenders. Once she gets up court, like Kidd, she looks to distribute before she looks to score. Bird is second all-time in WNBA career assists; Kidd is second all-time in NBA career assists.

But, like Kidd, Bird will punish you if you sag off of her by making jumpers. And if you press her too tightly, she'll take advantage by driving past you for easy baskets. And, when the situation calls for it, usually late in games, Bird can create her own shot. All facets of Kidd's game. For her career, Bird has averaged 13.5 points per 36 minutes; Kidd 13.2.

Where Bird gets the jump on Kidd is in rings. Both have won two Olympic gold medals, but Bird won two NCAA championships at UConn, her one WNBA title with the '04 Storm, and a Russian SuperLeague championship. Kidd's Olympic golds are his only team championship.

Kidd does have a slight edge on Bird in rapping ability; or maybe not--judge for yourself below via a YouTube (blessed YouTube) video of the 1994 classic "What the Kidd Did."... (more)

More Elston Turner, please

Coach Lorenzo Romar has struggled to determine the right mix of playing time for his team all season. Last night against Oregon State, the struggle continued. With the Huskies in danger of suffering a loss that would sink their NCAA tournament hopes, Romar made starting shooting guard Isaiah Thomas his primary point guard, sitting both members of his point guard rotation. Elston Turner slotted in at shooting guard and played 23 minutes, his most since January 8.

The bigger lineup helped the Huskies dominate the boards. Giving Thomas total control of the offense gave him freedom to find space in the Oregon State zone. And, generally, it let Romar have his best players on the floor longer. The result was a 37-point second half that gave UW the win.

Basketball coaches from the pros down to CYO ball are known to shorten their rotations--that is, give the bench players less playing time--when the playoffs come. Perhaps Romar is moving in that direction. It's time.

With every game do or die, Abdul Gaddy shouldn't see meaningful minutes again this year. The highly-touted freshman has had his chances to make an impact, and has had valuable playing time that will help him develop into the NBA prospect he's supposed to be. But right now, he hurts the team when he's on the floor.

Venoy Overton should keep his role as off-the-bench disrupter. But that only works if he's got the energy, so he can't see more than 20 minutes a night.

That leaves Thomas as the Dawgs' primary ballhandler, spelled when Overton comes on. This is a role that Cal's Jerome Randle rode to a Pac-10 Player of the Year award, with energy guard Jorge Gutierrez in the Overton role.... (more)

First: Let us congratulate the Cleveland High girls' basketball team, which yesterday won their first-ever state tournament game. In the 83-year history of the school! "Eagles! Eagles" chants filled the Tacoma Dome parking lot as Cleveland fans filed out post-game. Pretty cool. Cleveland will play Shorecrest tonight at 8:30 p.m. for a spot in the state semifinals.

You know you'll be rooting for Cleveland in this game, as KIRO right-wing talker Dori Monson is one of Shorecrest's assistants. I'm surprised Monson is in favor of government-funded athletics. Shouldn't the kids pay their own way, like the orphaned children Monson pilloried on his show last week? I digress.

Other Seattle schools shared Cleveland's success. Five Metro league teams advanced to today's quarterfinals, with only one suffering a loss. Franklin was the only loser--but with their three top scorers being underclassmen, I suspect the Quakers will exact some non-violent revenge in next year's tourney.

Why the Metro League success? From watching O'Dea's a dominant win over Mt. Rainier, I will tell you: The speed of the game. Mt. Rainier seemed completely unprepared for the speed of O'Dea's passing, their quickness on defense, and the way they swarmed to rebounds. Irish guard Devante Williams, who may be the best shooter in the tournament, hit 4-7 from three, destroying the Rams' zone defense.

O'Dea will play Spokane's Shadle Park tonight at 8:30 p.m. I suspect the 509ers will give O'Dea a little more trouble; the Irish are susceptible to teams with a good inside game.

Other city teams who'll play in today's quarters...... (more)

The toughest 3A boys basketball tournament in Washington this year won't be the state tourney held in Tacoma. It will be the SeaKing District Tournament, this week and next at the Bellevue College gym. Look! BRACKETS! (March must be imminent.)

The tourney features five of the state's ten top ranked teams--but grants only four places in the state tournament. One of #2 Rainier Beach, #3 Bellevue, #8 Chief Sealth, #9 Mount Si, and #10 Franklin won't get to play in Tacoma. Bummer for them, but fun hoops for us.

Two of those top-ten teams face off today at 4:45 pm: Franklin plays Mount Si. Each team has a star player: Franklin's Anrio Adams, a sophomore point guard, is a possible pro prospect. Mount Si shooting guard Tanner Riley will play for the University of Portland next year. The young Quakers (they start three freshmen) have come on strong as the season's progressed. Adams in particular: he had 41 points Tuesday in the Quakers' win over Ingraham.

At 8:15 p.m., Rainier Beach plays O'Dea--two city schools who'... (more)

When Garfield High grad Will Conroy joined the Houston Rockets last month, he became the ninth player from a Seattle high school to play for an NBA team this season. This from the 25th largest city in America. Started me wondering--where does Seattle rank as far as sending players to the NBA? The answer: second. Only Chicago (13) has had more players go from city high schools to the League. Amazing in itself, but even more striking when you look at the numbers by population. There, 206 fertility becomes even more clear. Graph!

 

That's right--among large cities, Seattle is the best NBA breeding ground in the nation. (I mapped the top 50 U.S. cities by population.) We're well ahead of second-place Miami, and absolutely housing such supposed basketball meccas as Philadelphia, Los Angeles and New York. Some larger cities, like San Francisco, Jacksonville, and Austin, haven't sent a single guy from a city high school to the league.

Now. A word about the data, which comes from Basketball Reference. What's available is high school and city. So this doesn't take into account someone like Carmelo Anthony, a Baltimore kid who went to prep school in Virginia. Also, "city" is narrowly defined by actual city boundaries. So Los Angeles, for example, is only L.A. proper, not cities within L.A. County like Compton and Inglemoor. Metro areas aren't considered, so Seattle doesn't get credit for Jon Brockman of Snohomish High or Marvin Williams of Bremerton High, only those guys who went to in-city high schools. ... (more)

From the group Manther (myspace!), comes this lament about the Sonics. It's true, we do still miss them. Part of the reason I avoid NBA basketball is that watching it makes me miss them more. Even looking at the box scores sends me into a funk, especially when former Sonic Kevin Durant records another 25-point game. Anyhoo, here's what Manther--appearing along with a guy in a replica Squatch costume--has to say.

Via True Hoop

Dollar's Redhawks Must Win Tonight to Reach His Goal

Both Washington and Seattle University's men's basketball teams had lofty goals for the season.

"We can make it to the Final Four," Washington's star guard Isaiah Thomas told reporters in October. "We're that good. That's our goal."

Seattle U coach Cameron Dollar, whose team isn't eligible for the NCAA tournament, set his sights on the finals of the second-tier National Invitational Tournament, held in New York City. "We will be playing and competing at a high level to get to Madison Square Garden," said Dollar when he was hired in April.

But as things stand in January, neither team would even make the field of their targeted tournaments.

So while the "storylines" of this game are rather interesting--an in-city rivalry, Dollar coaching against former boss Lorenzo Romar, Seattle U star Charles Garcia facing the school that rejected his admissions application--the simple truth is that the team that loses this game can forget about reaching their goal once and for all.

For Washington, a home loss to the D1 transitioning Redhawks (ranked #224 in the all-important RPI) would read like a felony conviction on their NCAA tournament resume. All hopes of an at-large bid would be dashed, and even if they made the tourney by winning the Pac-10, they'd have an unattractive seed and a difficult road to the Final Four.... (more)

It's been 20 years since I started high school, and while beepers, baggy sweatshirts and parachute pants are no longer quite as sought after among young people, at least one object retains its allure: Weed!

Walking past the Garfield baseball field on the way to see the basketball team play Bothell, four dudes are hanging out in the dugout, smoking a prodigious amount of marijuana. We're fifteen feet past and my friend blurts out "I can still smell it!"

Mary Jane isn't the only familiar sight. Outside the gym entrance, Joe the security guard still sits in his folding chair, as he did when I was a Bulldog.

Inside the new gym, the Garfield band plays the same songs: Theme from "Peter Gunn," "I'm So Glad," some others I don't know the titles of. Rick, the developmentally disabled fellow who liked to faux-conduct the band when I was a Garfield student, faux-conducts the band.

And the ethnic makeups of the respective teams haven't changed. Garfield predominately black, Bothell...well, as my other friend said: "Bothell doesn't look like a basketball team, they look like a beer pong team."

Bothell didn't play like a beer pong team, not at first. Dominic Ballard drove the lane and scored with a nice lefty finish, a subsequent Garfield turnover led to an Oliver Hardin basket, and the Cougars had an early 6-0 lead.

Some of us weren't watching the game as much as the sidelines, where Garfield's coaches were putting on a fashion show. "Every man over there is very attractive," says friend #1. She preferred the coach in the brown suit with a lavender shirt. "Not everyone can pull off a brown suit," she said, "but he's making it work." She also had high marks for the guy in the gray suit. I have to say, I preferred Garfield head coach Ed Haskins' navy blue jacket, tan pants combo.... (more)

Two months ago when I previewed Seattle University's season, I tried to make the point that SU forward Charles Garcia was among the most athletic players in the country, let alone among D1 independents like Seattle U. In doing so, I made a throwaway joke that has inflamed passions on the Charles River, and even reached ESPN.

My comment was this: Garcia "will be the most talented player on the floor in many of SU's games this year (especially against Harvard)." Because Harvard sucks at basketball. Ha! Mmm, not my best work.

I admit that before I made that comment, I had not actually asked NBA scouts to assess the talent on Harvard's roster, or watched their game tapes, or even bothered to read anything whatsoever about the Harvard basketball program. Instead my joke relied on the fact that HARVARD HAS BEEN SO TERRIBLE AT BASKETBALL THE LAST TIME THEY PLAYED IN AN NCAA TOURNAMENT GAME IT WAS 1946 AND THEY LOST TO NYU. 

Jeremy Lin

Had I been a better blogger, I would've noted that Harvard has a player named Jeremy Lin who is a pretty talented basketball player--and at this moment a better one than Garcia, as he displayed in Saturday's blowout win at KeyArena over Seattle U.

Lin (according to the Harvard site, his "house affiliation" is Leverett, whatever the hell that means) displayed terrific body control around the basket, and was unstoppable in the open court. Garcia struggled to find rhythm on offense, and committed a silly foul on defense that staunched a Seattle U comeback.

Lin probably could be a decent pro somewhere, and he's getting extra notoriety due to the fact that he's Asian-American and even in post-racial ObamAmerica, a stellar Asian-American basketball player is pretty rare. Although if someone could point out the last decent Norwegian-American basketball player I would much appreciate feeling that despite having an 11-inch vertical I might someday get to the League.

I really would like to see Harvard make the tournament, if only to say that my alma mater--yes, I'm an NYU Violet--was their last tourney loss. But if so, will we have to hear whiny, entitled Harvarders (or whatever) complain about a lack of respect for their basketball team? If so, I suggest that the Crimson can stay home.... (more)

Thought it would be fun to mark the high and low points for our local sports teams this decade. Today: Husky basketball! I have a low point, but am not going to do "worst" for college players, that's weak.

Unadulterated High Point: March 13, 2005. The Huskies are awarded a #1-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Hard to understate the amazement that this caused, to see the Dawgs get a designation usually reserved for the Dukes and UConns of the world. Watch the reaction of the fans who gathered at HecEd to view the selection show that day.

Low Point Which Turned into a High Point: January 17, 2004 (second half). In the second year of Lorenzo Romar's tenure, his clearly talented Huskies started the conference season 0-5, and were down 16 points to Oregon State with 6:40 left. It appeared that UW had the wrong coach, that another season was lost, that the program was in ruins. Watching the game on DVR, I began fast-forwarding to the inevitable end. Then, Nate Robinson led an incredible comeback, the team gelled, and the Dawgs reached the NCAA tourney.

High Point Which Turned into a Low Point: March 24, 2006 (second half). Jamaal Williams hits the first three-pointer of his Washington career to give the Huskies a late six-point lead over Connecticut in an NCAA regional semifinal. Sadly, a bad foul by Mike Jensen and a clutch three-pointer by Rashad Anderson tied the game, and UConn beat the Huskies in overtime. The Dawgs were denied their first Elite Eight appearance since the 1950s.

Best Player: Brandon Roy. Something of a secret during his first three years at Washington, Roy broke out his senior season by scoring 20.2 ppg, winning Pac-10 player of the year and making first-team All-American. The school retired Roy's #3 last season, he's only the second Washington hoopster to receive that honor.... (more)

Gaddy: He's getting better all the time

Husky fans have been waiting all season for Abdul Gaddy to show the talent that made him one of the biggest Lorenzo Romar recruits ever.

Gaddy was the second-best point guard recruit in his class, according to Scout.com. Pro hoops scouting site DraftExpress projects Gaddy as the third-overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

But up until Sunday night, Gaddy looked like your average true freshman point guard. He was tentative on offense, a step slow on defense, not in the flow of the game. He bottomed out against Texas Tech, playing just ten minutes and picking up four fouls. He missed his only shot, going scoreless for the second consecutive game.

We saw a different Gaddy yesterday in UW's 88-76 win over Cal State Northridge. Gaddy scored eleven points in 21 minutes--his final field goal compelling the fan in front of me to exult: "Double figures! He made double figures!" The offense seemed to flow better with Gaddy in the game, with some creative passes opening opportunities for his teammates.

"You saw a glimpse of his potential," Quincy Pondexter told reporters after the game. "He's going to be a professional basketball player after this level. He played great tonight. He got in the lane. He can go wherever he wants with the ball. He's just a terrific player and he's real young. The sky's the limit for that kid."

One game does not a season make, especially against a minor-conference opponent like the Matadors. (Why the Matadors? Is Northridge, CA, the hub of American bullfighting or something?) I'll be curious to see if Gaddy continues the upward trajectory Saturday, when the Dawgs play Georgetown in the John Wooden Classic.

Storm mascot Doppler hands Simmons swag

ESPN.com's Bill Simmons, a.k.a. "The Sports Guy," was in Seattle on Tuesday to sign copes of his new bestseller, The Book of Basketball.

Kevin Pelton, who writes for the Seattle Storm (where he explained Doppler's appearance at the signing) and Basketball Prospectus (where he reviewed TBOB last week) was in attendance and shares this report.

Sport Restaurant was a great venue for Bill Simmons' book signing in all respects but one: It turned out to be far too small to hold the masses of Simmons' faithful readers who descended on Sport to get an autograph and share a brief moment with their favorite writer. By the time I arrived, at 5:30 p.m., a line was already forming an hour and a half before Simmons was scheduled to begin. By the time he arrived, people snaked through the lobby of the Fisher Pavilion and the line continued out the door and outside around Sport despite the persistent rain.

Of course, short of KeyArena, I'm not sure where that many people could comfortably fit. By the time I left, around 10, the line was still going strong, though no longer outdoors. I'm told by others who lingered longer that it took nearly four hours before the last book was signed.

The response was fueled in part by the fact that Simmons, as Steve Kelley wrote about for The Seattle Times, has been the major media figure most supportive of Seattle in the wake of the Sonics' departure. In his brief remarks to the lucky handful of people who got spots inside Sport before the signing, Simmons declared that Seattle was a natural stop for his tour because he still considers it an NBA town. Fans demonstrated that by pulling their Sonics jerseys and other memorabilia out of their closets, and Simmons happily took shots at the former ownership group in the books he signed.

With any tour, there's a natural tendency for each stop to become "the favorite one," but Simmons' fondness for Seattle and empathy for Sonics fans is legit. He even talked up Seattle during a video interview he taped at last night's Portland appearance with The Oregonian. (http://bit.ly/1I0SxF) Now, if only Simmons would have ranked Gary Payton a little higher in his Hall of Fame pyramid ...

[ED NOTE: Simmons may be thinking a little less fondly of Seattle after being pulled over for speeding on his way to Portland.]

Jamelle McMillan

The 1996 Sonics have spawned a new generation of college basketball players who are selfishly making me feel old.

We already knew about Jamelle "Son of Nate" McMillan, who is a junior guard at Arizona State. Joining McMillan at ASU next year will be the son of dad's former teammate on the '96 Sonics: Corey "Son of Hersey" Hawkins signed a letter of intent to play for the Sun Devils yesterday. Also in the Pac-10: Alex "Son of Detlef" Schrempf, a walk-on at UCLA.

And another '96 Sonics' son--perhaps the best of this bunch--will play down south next season. Shawn Kemp, Jr., ranked the 35th-best center in his high school class, has signed to play with Auburn. Shawn Sr. was the best of the '96 Sonics, stands to reason that Junior would be the best of the sons. Mendel was right!

Alex Schrempf

Looking to the future, Eric Snow's three sons haven't yet reached teenagehood yet (which you'd know if you watched Real Housewives of Atlanta, in which the Snow family was featured).

Frank Brickowski's son Jack--who I'm sure will someday enjoy reading that he was conceived on a one-night-stand after his parents were separated--has yet to reach double-digits in age.

Gary Payton's son Gary Jr. was playing at Spring Valley High in Las Vegas in 2008, but I can't find any information about him.... (more)

While the music of one Franklin grad only inspires the need for more Valium, another has inspired a dance song. Dallas rapper Trilli Trill invites you to do the Jason Terry:

Terry, who led Franklin to back-to-back state hoops championships in 1994 and '95, was the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year winner last year as a Dallas Maverick.

Bobby Galer (UW Special Collections)

What with it being Veterans' Day and all (thanks, Dad and Grandpa!) I thought I'd search about for a local sports star who was also a veteran. I'd never heard of Robert "Bobby" Galer until this morning, though I should have: He's a member of the Washington Sports Hall of Fame.

Galer, known as "Goose" in his player days, was a forward on the Washington basketball team from 1933-1935. He was the top offensive threat for a fast-paced team (by that day's standards) which sportswriters dubbed "The Greyhounds." 

In Galer's junior year, the 1934 Dawgs won the Pacific Coast Conference Championship. Galer made All-America as a senior 1935, he's one of only 16 Huskies to do so.

But his more valuable distinction is this: Galer won the Congressional Medal of Honor, this nation's highest military award, for his service as a pilot in World War II.

Galer is one of eight University of Washington alums to have won the Medal of Honor; a on-campus memorial to them was dedicated this morning.

Here is the citation for the award Galer received in 1943 from President Roosevelt:

 

For conspicuous heroism and courage above and beyond the call of duty as leader of a marine fighter squadron in aerial combat with enemy Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands area. Leading his squadron repeatedly in daring and aggressive raids against Japanese aerial forces, vastly superior in numbers, Maj. Galer availed himself of every favorable attack opportunity, individually shooting down 11 enemy bomber and fighter aircraft over a period of 29 days. Though suffering the extreme physical strain attendant upon protracted fighter operations at an altitude above 25,000 feet, the squadron under his zealous and inspiring leadership shot down a total of 27 Japanese planes. His superb airmanship, his outstanding skill and personal valor reflect great credit upon Maj. Galer's gallant fighting spirit and upon the U.S. Naval Service.

Bobby Galer flew in both WWII and the Korean War. In World War II he was shot down three times, once having to swim for 90 minutes to reach shore. In Korea, he was shot down again and barely survived after his foot caught in a cockpit strap and he couldn't parachute out until he was 150 feet off the ground.

Galer retired from the Marines in 1959, working in real estate and engineering. He died in 2005; here's an excellent obituary in the Seattle Times. 

The Huskies' exhibition win over Central Washington wasn't televised, so all I'd heard was rumors of some amazing Clarence Trent dunk. Turns out UW's video crew captured it. Here it is. Yowza.

Trent, a freshman who started his high school career at Gig Harbor and finished at Nevada basketball farm Findlay Prep, may not even see much playing time for the Huskies this year. Lorenzo Romar has compiled a wealth of talent.

 

 

H/T: Percy Allen's indispensable Husky Men's Basketball Blog.

Hoops fans, we bring you live to Seattle Center on this, the first night of the NBA season. Let's take a walk around the grounds and get a sense of the excitement.

Here, at Memorial Stadium, we have...a rec league soccer game. How about the EMP? Hmm...two teenage girls sitting on a heating grate. And at Key Arena? Nothing.

Well, maybe Seattle's premier sports bar, the Sport Restaurant and Lounge, at Fisher Plaza, will be packed with hoops aficionados. Let's see.

Okay, walking past the Jamal Crawford, Nate McMillan, and Todd McCullough jerseys to the bar, and here, for tip off of Cavs/Celtics, the first game of the season, we have...me. And my friend Nathaniel, who has to file a story about the game for The Sporting Blog.

(Nathaniel, who under the pen name Bethlehem Shoals is co-author of the mind-alteringly awesome Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac, is one of two nationally-respected NBA writers who, oddly, live in this the largest American metro area without an NBA team. The other, stats whiz Kevin Pelton, has chosen to travel to Portland for opening night (here's his story).)

This can still be a basketball event! First, though, perhaps management wouldn't mind turning up the game audio, and down the Crosby, Stills and Nash song? Thanks.

Midway through the game, we have expanded our numbers almost to double-digits! Four other NBA fans have shown up at Nathaniel's Twitter invitation. Down the bar, a Cavs fan arrives with his (clearly bored) girlfriend just in time to watch his team collapse against the Celtics.... (more)

A 2- to 5-inch tsunami hit the Washington coast, but it was commercial developer Michael Mastro who continued to make waves locally, after a suit filed in federal court alleged Mastro was hiding assets to defraud investors. I hear through the grapevine that, barring the surprise appearance of buckets of money, Mastro's default may bring about the demise of more than one local bank.

CHS reported on the First Hill streetcar progress, which is slated to begin service in 2013, three years before the Link light rail extension from Capitol Hill to the U District. Speaking of transit, we unearthed a way to turn a $5 roundtrip light rail ticket into an all-day transit pass.

In conjunction with the eviction of Nickelsville from its latest refuge (12 people were arrested), a group of homeless activists began camping outside of city officials' houses: so far Mayor Nickels and the city council's Tim Burgess and Richard Conlin have been... (more)

When former Seattle Sonics owner Clay Bennett first announced the he intended to move the team to his home state of Oklahoma, he and his co-owners were met with a slew of lawsuits.

The City of Seattle sued to enforce a lease that would have held the team here until 2010. Howard Schultz sued claiming that the new owners he'd sold to had lied about their intentions for the team.

From the outside, it looked like a sound strategy: hold the team here for two years and bleed the new owners hard enough to force a sale to local owners.

But the plan fell apart when Bennett’s skillful attorney Brad Keller dismantled the Mayor, the City’s experts and, seemingly, the entire case on the witness stand. The City settled with Bennett for a few breadcrumbs and Schultz dropped his suit.

Bennett was gone and so were the Sonics.

But under the radar, off the front pages, three Sonics season ticketholders launched a lawsuit against Bennett and the Professional Basketball Club (PBC) claiming that they had been lied to. And now, just over a year after the Sonics left town, that little lawsuit is working its way to trial and is the last, best hope to finally get some satisfaction and legal leverage against an arrogant ownership group that many feel lied, cheated, and stole from Seattle.

This week, all 2007-08 Sonic season ticketholders received notice about their participation in a class action lawsuit against the Professional Basketball Club LLC. The documents contained in the notice outlined the history of the case and asked ticketholders if they would like to be represented in the class or decline participation.

Behind the legal talk, the documents bear witness to a remarkable case. Robert Brotherson, Patrick Sheehy, and Carolyn Bechtel, the three ticketholders named in the suit, had a compelling complaint.

In early 2007, the Sonics sent out a renewal package to all season ticketholders. In the brochure, which featured a letter signed by Clay Bennett, the Sonics offered all ticketholders a commitment that if they bought tickets for the 2007-08 season, they could buy tickets for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 season at the same price. They called the program the Emerald Club.

It was clear that the club was hoping to salvage at least some business for the season. Some might say they were desperate.

The three plaintiffs took the offer at face value and bought the tickets. They might also have believed that the offer meant the team was staying for the final two years of the lease.

(Disclaimer: The author is a former Sonic season ticketholder and a member of the Emerald Club; as such, he is a member of the class in the lawsuit)

One year later, while the lease fight was heading for court, the Sonics emailed all Emerald Club members and said that, with the lease up in the air, they would not send out renewal packages, but would notify them when the case was settled. The Sonics never called back.

The plaintiffs believe that failure to offer them the right to buy season tickets at the 2007-08 price, even if the team was in Oklahoma, is a breach of contract.

Mark Griffin

“When we first started on the lawsuit, the Professional Basketball Club owners basically laughed at us,” said Mark Griffin, an attorney at Keller Rohrback who was appointed by the court as class council. “They said it was ludicrous to hold them to a contract promise to let the plaintiffs buy tickets at the 2007-08 prices. They asked the court for a summary judgment and probably thought the whole mess would be swept away.”

It didn’t work out that way. The case landed in the court of the Honorable Richard A. Jones in the United States District Court. Jones is a Seattle native, the brother of Quincy Jones and, no doubt, someone who attended Sonics games in the past. Probably a lot of games.

Jones is known as an excellent judge, a keen legal mind and an even keeled jurist who decides cases based on facts. He made a summary judgment in February 2009. The judgment, which can be read online at www.sonicsclassaction.com, dismissed most of the PBC’s claims and threw out the plaintiffs claim that the brochure and subsequent action constituted a violation of the state’s consumer protection act.

But Jones left intact the plaintiffs claim that the Sonics entered into a contract with ticketholders and then broke that contract. He ruled that all season ticketholders in the Emerald Club were a class for the purposes of the suit. He further ruled that the plaintiffs had suffered damages, though he could not rule on what the amount of the damages could be.

He wrote: “These, however, are not issues that the court can resolve as a matter of law. A jury must decide what damages are, and whether those damages were within the reasonable expectation of the parties when they entered the Emerald Club Contract.”

And those words no doubt sent a chill down the backs of the Professional Basketball Club LLC.

Judge Richard A. Jones

“He did a very smart thing,” said Seattle attorney Michael A. Maxwell. “The case appears to be unique, and where there is no precedent to rule on, you turn it over to a jury. In effect, the judge ruled that a Seattle jury would decide the amount of the damages. I doubt that was what Bennett wanted to hear.”

Maxwell believes that Bennett does not want to take the stand on the record in Seattle and does not want to face a jury.

Griffin agrees. “Anything can happen with a jury, and anything is a scary place to be for them.”

Both point to language in the summary judgment that calls out the PBC for “deceptive practices.” Judge Jones clearly spelled out a pattern of deception. If the case goes to jury in January as planned, the jury is going to hear one hell of a lot of information that, frankly, Bennett doesn’t want out. You know, like emails from the NBA telling Bennett that the Emerald Club brochure was a bad idea.

I say ‘if’ because it’s likely Bennett will want to settle.

“I’d bet he’s dialing his phone like crazy right now trying to get a deal done,” said Maxwell.

Cheering the case on from the bleachers is former season ticketholder Eric Tirnauer, a former Emerald Club member.

“It’s great,” said Tirnauer, a rehabilitation therapist in Seattle. “When I got the Emerald Club brochure in 2007, I definitely thought it meant they would ride out the lease. My wife and I purchased the tickets in the belief we could buy the same seats at the same price for the following two years. This lawsuit is proof that we were misled.”

Tirnauer is understandably bitter about the loss of the Sonics. A long time fan who moved to Seattle in part to be closer to the team, he has tried to put the hard feelings behind him, but some pain still bleeds through.

“I still haven’t been back to a Starbucks and never will,” he said. 

But is money enough to heal the wounds?  “No,” he said. “There isn’t enough money to replace the pain of losing the team. But it is a chance to flip Bennett off one last time. I really hope they win the case.”

Tirnauer probably isn’t alone in thinking that every little hurt helps. Nickels lost his job, the Oklahoma Thunder is a pathetic excuse for a team, and Bennett and co-owner Aubrey McClendon have been hurt by the economy (McClendon had to sell his prized wine collection to raise capital, poor fellow). On the other hand, we don’t have the Sonics.

But we have this lawsuit. For now, it’ll do. It’ll do.

You can buy that Sonics pin for $35 at Gasoline Alley Antiques.

They do like to keep busy at Seattle Storm HQ. The Storm secured the #2-seed in the WNBA Western Conference playoffs last week, with a couple of games left to play, which would seem an excellent opportunity to have an office-wide laser tag game and/or prank contest.

Instead, the Storm have made two key signings to set the future of the team. Thursday, they announced that Sue Bird had signed a two-year contract extension. The deal keeps the team's point guard in the fold through the 2011 season.

And yesterday, they announced yet another two-year extension, this one for coach/GM Brian Agler. Agler is now inked through 2011 as well, and the Storm can bring him back in 2012 if they want.

With the future seemingly set, we turn our attention to the present -- an impending best-of-three playoff series against the hated Los Angeles Sparks.

The Sparks knocked the Storm out of the playoffs in the first round last year, though the Storm were without star Lauren Jackson. Unfortunately, it appears that the Storm will... (more)