Student Publications
University of Houston
151C Communications Bldg
Houston, TX 77204-4015
713.743.5350

©1991-2007
Student Publications,
All rights reserved.

Last modified:

Contact:
ktruitt@uh.edu

Sports

Latest buzz in NBA in one place

Sports Guy

Eli Jabbe 

The 2005-06 NBA season ended not too long ago, with the Miami Heat winning it all. 

The win led to the hilarious dance moves of Heat coach Pat Riley at Miami‚Äôs championship parade. 

‚ÄÇ‚ÄÇBut there are still some interesting things going on in the league these days.

Sleepless in Seattle 

Fans in Seattle are preparing for the possibility of no longer having an NBA team. 

The team was recently sold by Howard Schultz, the owner of the ubiquitous Starbucks chain, to an Oklahoma City group. The major issues here are the arena and the lease. Both the team and NBA Commissioner David Stern have let it be known that the lease has to be changed; essentially, there needs to be a new arena built in Seattle in order for the Sonics to stay in town, and it doesn’t look like that will happen.

In addition, the Oklahoma City group is eager to bring the Sonics to their town. 

There will be one more season in Seattle, which could be the last time Seattle fans can watch a professional basketball team play in their city. 

It’ll definitely be strange to no longer have the team that featured stars like Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp.

Rockets making moves 

This year‚Äôs NBA draft left a lot of Houston fans frustrated. Unfortunately, this has become a theme for Houston sports in general: remember the Texans‚Äô latest draft shocker? Everything seemed great when the Rockets drafted Rudy Gay as the eighth pick. Gay had just played at Connecticut and was a solid player with a bright future ahead of him. 

Then the Rockets surprised and angered many fans by trading Gay to the Memphis Grizzlies for Shane Battier. 

Swift was also sent to Memphis after his utterly disappointing first season as a Rocket. 

I guess the Rockets were so desperate to get rid of Swift that they felt giving up Gay was necessary.

Lately, Houston fans have simmered down about the Gay trade. 

The Rockets have made some moves recently, signing swingman Kirk Snyder, who played for the Hornets last season. 

They also signed Greek guard Vassilis Spanoulis to a three-year deal worth $6 million. 

The 6-4 guard who played in the EuroLeague last season is known as ‚ÄúV-Span‚Äù and plays an aggressive style of basketball, driving to the hole instead of settling for outside shots. 

Team USA begins training 

Team USA has recently begun training together. 

The group is trying to redeem America after the embarrassing losses the U.S. suffered in the 2004 Olympics. The 2008 team will feature young stars like Dwayne Wade and Lebron James. 

Kirk Hinrich was also recently added to the Team USA roster. 

The famed Kobe Bryant won’t play because of his recent knee surgery.

Send comments to dcsports@mail.uh.edu