41 years as a franchise. Players like Lenny Wilkins, Gus Johnson, Doug Johnson, Gary Payton, Rashard Lewis, Shawn Kemp, and countless others have worn SuperSonics green. But, they have just had a first. One of their players has won the NBA Rookie of the Year. And it appears as if no one cares.

Kevin Durant is the best thing to happen to the Sonics since the run in the 90's, but you'd never guess it if you asked the average person walking the streets. He is the kind of kid (he's only 19 for crying out loud!) that can bring a community together around a team that is horrible now, but has such a bright future. And yet, the media isn't allowed to talk to him. or anyone else with the team for that matter, outside of a 30 minute window.

This is what basketball has become in this city. The ownership group and Public Relations department has made it borderline impossible for local media to even talk to anyone on the team, let alone give them and the fans enough time to truely bond with and except Kevin, Jeff Green, or anyone else on this very young team.

And yet, there he was at the final home game, calling on the fans to cheer "Save Our Sonics" louder and prouder. There he was, crying at the end of what may have been his final game in front of the Seattle faithful. The fans that supported him the entire season while teariing down the people who signed his check.

He's known since day 1 that the team wasn't going to stay long, yet he still formed a bond with a group of children that come over to his house to play video games. He took this franchise, the fans, and the people of this community and let them in when all the brass wanted just the opposite.

I hate to keep harping on the Sonics situation, but it just shows how much people like David Stern and Clay Bennett don't care about the average fan. Stern is a money hungery elitest who will bow down to the highest bidder and Clay and his groups saw a golden oppurtunity to be just that.

I love the game, I always have and always will. Where ever KD, Jeff, Nick Collison, and the rest of these guys land, I will continue to follow them. I hope that either Howard Schultz wins the lawsuit he has to get the slae recinded, but I know that the burden of proof that he will have to present may be to difficult to even comprihend.

I hope that the city can win it's suit, but am also hopeful that if they get a deal presented to them that includes an expansion team in the next 5 years that they take it.

Either way, I am amazingly happy as a fan that Kevin Durant won the award and look forward to the Most Valueable Player award that will no doubt be in his future, even if the team doesn't want me to.

UPDATE: Hawks coach Mike Woodson has come out blasting the fact that Al Horford didn't at least a share of the award. Really? I like Al, I really do, but he was on the same team as Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, and Josh Childress, all established vets.

"It's a travesty and it's not right," Woodson moaned. "We haven't had a power forward/center come in our league and do what he's done [average 10.1 points and 9.7 boards] in I don't know how many years."

Um...

Dwight Howard 2004-05: 12 points, 10 boards, 1.7 blocks

Emeka Okafor 2004-05: 15.1 points, 10.9 boards, 1.7 blocks

Al Horford 2007-08: 10.1 points, 9.7 boards, 0.9 blocks

That's two other guys in his division to do just that...but I won't tell Mikey if you won't.