Computer down

My computer has died again, so things will be slow in this space until I get a replacement. I know you'll miss me.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Shoofly!

My friends Kimmy and Zak opened Shoofly Pie Company in West Seattle this summer, and today they got a raving review in the Seattle Times. How awesome is that? The place was also written about in Seattle's The Stranger this week too. Wow, media blitz!

So, needless to say, if you ever find yourself in Seattle needing pie, you know where to go. Having tasted the blackberry-raspberry, the strawberry-rhubarb, and the chicken potpie, I can tell you it's worth it.

By the way, what the hell is a shoofly pie? They (obviously) have those too. Well, apparently it's a molasses pie made famous by the Pennsylvania Dutch. So famous that the official bumper sticker of the state of Pennsylvania is "I Brake for Shoofly Pie." Now there's some good advice.


(Photo from Yelp.com)

No worries, Barry

Barry Bonds was indicted today on federal charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. Sounds like trouble. But I wouldn't be too concerned; President Bush doesn't think perjury and obstruction are punishable crimes, so if Bonds is convicted, his sentence will undoubtedly be commuted.

"The score is quite in proportion to the general superiority of the Eastern men at the game of football."

"It does not, however, tell the story of Stanford's desperate but futile efforts against defeat."

As far as my research can tell, this was the result the first time Michigan played Stanford in football. I was wondering if they had ever played, and indeed, in 1902, Fielding Yost's Michigan team destroyed Stanford 49-0 in the Rose Bowl. (Yost had been Stanford's coach in 1900.)

The New York Times has the entertaining recap, in which we learn that Michigan had outscored its opponents 550-0 that year. I was happy to see that "[o]nce or twice again the Californians held the conquerors, but the arrested progress of the Ann Arbor men was extremely brief." If only today's sportswriters could write like that. (Oh, and Stanford got its revenge in the 1971 Rose Bowl, winning 13-12.)

Hopefully, with Ohio State this weekend, Michigan will remember a thing or two about the Yost days. Go Blue!

Band of Horses

Saw these guys at the Metro last night. They were awesome.

I'm not afraid of David Stern, either (yet)

David Stern says if the Sonics leave, Seattle won't ever get another NBA team. I call shenanigans. I take this to mean that Stern doesn't want the Sonics to leave at all, and he's simply stepping up the rhetoric because he wants a new arena. Why would he be so definitive about leaving the city? It makes no sense to permanently end relations with a big city that will only get bigger in the next decade. So he's trying to scare people into giving him his arena.

So, if anything, I think Stern's overly cantankerous statements have tipped his hand. He really doesn't want the team to move to OKC. He's scared to death of it. That's the only way to read this... unless you think Stern has decided to crush Seattle, simply because he wants to. Which is possible.

But hey, not all is lost. We got ourselves an MLS team! Go Sounders!

I'm not afraid of Clay Bennett

After a big news day concerning the Sonics' future in Seattle, I find myself optimistic that the team is staying. First, there was news of a local group of investors willing to buy the team from Bennett. Next was Bennett's official announcement that he had applied to relocate the team to Oklahoma City.

After reading Bennett's official news release and listening to his interview with The Oklahoman, I'm more convinced than ever that the city, state, and NBA will see that this guy never wanted the team to stay in Seattle. Before he bought the team, he knew the team had financial troubles, he knew the team had a bad lease, and he knew there was a small chance to get an arena deal done. So why did he buy the team? Hint: not to do Sonics fans any favors.

I'm most optimistic after reading this interview with the co-founder of Save Our Sonics. (This group has been amazing, by the way, at working with city and state officials and fighting this potential move through lobbying and litigation. I am really impressed with what they've done so far.)

The interview confirms that there is considerable political support to keep the team; a year ago, before the Aubrey McClendon comments, there was considerable malaise... now, things are better. This political and legal fight is costing Bennett millions. I love the idea of threatening the use of eminent domain -- I had never thought of this. But as the SOS guy says, even if it's unlikely that eminent domain would actually work, the threat is probably enough to get the owners in a room and talk about a deal.

Plus, there are also new efforts to build a new arena, and as I mentioned above, other interested parties who would want to buy the team to keep them in Seattle. Bennett's statement that he has "no choice" but to move the team, therefore, rings hollow; he can always sell. Because there is another option, I refuse to believe that David Stern and the other NBA owners would want the team to leave Seattle -- a big market only getting bigger -- for Oklahoma City. It would take some serious stones to take a team with 41 years of history from its home city just because a rich guy from Oklahoma wants to be a hero in his hometown. I don't think it'll happen. I think we'll have Kevin Durant playing in Seattle for many years to come.

Goodbye, Maggie

After months of debate, Maggie the elephant leaves Alaska today, heading to the Performing Animal Welfare Society in Northern California. The Air Force is flying her in a C-17 air cargo plane, and soon she'll be living with other elephants. Keepers wonder if she'll recognize an African elephant named "71." What kind of name is that?

Good luck, Maggie! Enjoy the warmth.