Recent Stories with tag sherman alexie

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....

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(via TBTL, who are in the midst of their TBTL-athon)

Author Sherman Alexie has parlayed his Colbert Report appearance into real fame, as he's booked on TBTL today. With Colbert he discussed his opposition to a digital media that doesn't protect authorial ownership. With Luke Burbank, today at noon, he gets into "the plan he's hatched for monetizing art in the digital age, and how (on a totally unrelated note) pickup basketball is the only way for grown men to express their love to each other." [UPDATE: Twitter just sent me this link to three new poems by Alexie.

"Oh -- Seattle" by Paul Swortz from The SunBreak Flickr pool.

Okay, Seattle, this is it: You have roughly 60 hours in which to complete your shopping before Christmas is all over you. We know there's someone you haven't figured out what to get yet, and there's surely someone who's slipped off your list that you're going to remember Wednesday at 8 p.m. and freak out. So The SunBreak--with the help of some knowledgeable friends--is here to help: this is our desperate, last-minute gift guide of the more or less local variety. Support local businesses and take all that pesky thinking out of holiday shopping!

A Cinematic Gift That Keeps on Giving Plenty of films are made in the Great Northwest these days, and plenty of them suck. The easiest way to become familiar with what's worthwhile and what's best forgotten in terms of local (and non-local) cinema is by becoming a member of the Northwest Film Forum. NWFF is a member driven collective that does more than pretty much anyone else to support film in the Northwest, as well as bringing the best independent films to town. Membership starts at $40 a person (or $70 for a couple), and gets you great discounts to shows, as well as lets you help support the cinematic arts in the region. (Jeremy M. Barker)

Just Plain Nuts Holmquist Hazelnuts are absolutely delicious hazelnuts grown in Lynden, Washington. Available at the Pike Place Market and several Farmers' Markets. (Rachael Coyle)

Mariners Merch After a few years in the wilderness of mediocrity (or worse), the Mariners are looking like contenders again. Hit Safeway or a  Mariners Team Store for Mariner gift cards your M's fan friend can buy tickets and gear with; or go balls out and put a deposit down on a 16-game plan. (Seth Kolloen)

Chocolates Falling in the delicious territory between completely useless and entirely practical (you do need calories, even if they're near-empty), chocolate makes a good gift for just about everyone on your list. An obvious and elegant choice is the Obama-endorsed Fran's, where the gray and smoked salt caramels is a classic minimalist delight. At this point, their website looks overloaded; so last minute purchases will need to be made in person. For the more ecologically conscious sweet tooth, look no further than Theo the country's only organic, fair trade, bean-to-bar chocolate factory. They have single origin bars, inspired artistic truffles, chipotle sipping chocolate, and even a vegan option or two. Order online or sample the goods in their Fremont factory. (Josh C. Bis)

Rock Musics I'd happily recommend any of my favorite albums of 2009: Curse Your Branches by David Bazan (questions about the reason for the season); Listen to the Thunder by The Maldives (best paired with The Moondoggies Don't Be A Stranger and a bottle of whiskey); and a personal favorite, one of the most underrated local albums of 2009: Space Between The Maps by The Ironclads (for fans of complex character-driven pop songs). (Abbey Simmons, SoundontheSound.com)...

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