1
At the end of the fight, the old, vindictive NBA commissioner couldn’t announce the winner without first needling the city he was about to make a loser again.
At the end of a polarizing relocation issue that he once described as “wrenching,” the man who always measures his words couldn’t resist one smug remark directed at Seattle.
At the end of another heartbreaking NBA result, David Stern taunted us.
“This is going to be short for me,” he told reporters in Dallas on Wednesday. “I have a game to get to in Oklahoma City.”
Ouch.
It was a sucker punch followed by a gut punch. First, Stern reminded Seattle that its team is now in Oklahoma City. Then, he announced the NBA was rejecting the city’s bid to get a team back.
Seattle lost in the same way that a sparring partner loses to a boxer in training. It wasn’t a real fight, just an exhibition for the benefit of one. Hansen really wasn’t competing for the Kings. Seattle existed solely to be used to make Sacramento better in the NBA’s eyes.
2
Floyd Mayweather, Jr. can back up his “Money Team” moniker.
On Wednesday, the Sports Illustrated Fortunate 50 listed Mayweather as the highest-earning athlete for the second consecutive year.
The magazine projects that Mayweather could make $128 million this year as he leads U.S.-based athletes in “salary, winnings, bonuses and endorsements” — criteria used to project the list. The rest of the top five fills out with LeBron James, Drew Brees, Kobe Bryant and Tiger Woods.
