Notebook | Sonics fans will take their message to the air

PHOENIX — A dialogue among fans on a Sonicscentral.com message board gained momentum in the past couple of weeks and will result in an aerial demonstration in New Orleans during All-Star weekend.

The group raised more than $1,800 and will use a portion of the funds to hire an airplane pilot who will fly a banner over New Orleans' Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on Feb. 16 between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. The banner will read: Stop Clay Sonics Must Stay.

The message is a reference to Sonics owner Clay Bennett, who has filed a petition with the NBA to move the team to Oklahoma City next season and is engaged in a lawsuit with the city of Seattle, which wants him to honor a KeyArena lease that expires in 2010.

"It really has been surprising to me how quickly this has come together," said Jeremy Ward, who organized the 30 to 40 fans who donated money. "We had $400 within the first couple of minutes and $700 within a few hours."

Plans for the All-Star protest heated up after Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban criticized Sonics fans for being apathetic.

"If the fans wanted them, there would have been a much bigger outcry," Cuban told reporters Jan. 19 before a Mavericks-Sonics game. "There would have been an uprising, as opposed to legal strategy."

Said Ward: "That really galvanized people. Not that we fault him for saying it, it was just something we heard in the national media quite a bit, that we're not doing enough to keep the team here. We really want to make a statement. We want to make a lot of noise and keep this in the public eye."

Ward, a 37-year-old database administrator who lives in Beacon Hill, has been a Sonics fan since 1991.

Ward said his group asked for support from the Save Our Sonics organizers but was rejected.

"A number of people are involved directly with local leadership in negotiations for some kind of local ownership to keep the team here, and they feel our message is confrontational," Ward said. "We, on the contrary, feel that Clay has filed for relocation. There's no more clear message that can be made and we need to call him out.

"There is a crosscurrent of other folks who want to do a more positive message, and we're looking to capture that in our next event."

The group has considered flying a flag atop to the Space Needle that reads: Save Our Sonics.

Notes

• Oklahoma City residents launched a Web site to oppose a $120 million public-financing plan to remodel the Ford Center. The measure will be decided at a March 4 vote of Oklahoma City residents.

• Sonics rookie G Kevin Durant will appear as a guest on ESPN's "Jim Rome Is Burning" at 1:30 p.m. Monday.

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com

SEATTLE
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Green	23:09	4-8	1-1	1-5	1	1	10
Wilcox	34:38	10-18	2-5	5-15	2	3	22
Thomas	19:42	4-10	0-0	1-3	0	5	8
Watson	27:59	3-9	0-0	0-5	5	1	7
Durant	31:12	2-12	5-5	0-1	3	1	9
Szczerbiak	24:46	5-8	2-2	0-2	0	1	13
Collison	23:53	4-6	3-4	5-12	1	2	11
Ridnour	20:01	3-9	0-0	0-1	4	3	6
Petro	17:47	2-12	1-2	5-7	2	2	5
Wilkins	16:53	4-5	0-0	1-3	1	3	8
Totals		41-97	14-19	18-54	19	22	99

Percentages: FG .423, FT .737. Three-point goals: 3-10, .300 (Green 1-2, Szczerbiak 1-2, Watson 1-5, Ridnour 0-1). Team rebounds: 8. Team turnovers: 15 (17 PTS). Blocked shots: 8 (Petro 3, Durant 2, Collison, Green, Wilcox). Turnovers: 14 (Wilkins 3, Collison 2, Durant 2, Ridnour 2, Wilcox 2, Szczerbiak, Thomas, Watson). Steals: 3 (Watson 2, Wilcox). Technical fouls: Bench, 0:15.1, fourth.

PHOENIX
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Hill	38:56	6-13	4-4	1-7	4	3	16
Diaw	29:25	2-7	0-0	5-9	4	4	4
Stoudemire	39:47	9-18	15-15	0-10	1	3	33
Nash	36:41	4-13	3-3	0-4	8	0	13
Bell	36:44	5-14	4-4	1-5	4	3	14
Barbosa	23:29	4-12	6-6	1-2	0	3	15
Skinner	26:18	2-7	0-0	5-10	0	4	4
Strawberry	8:40	2-2	0-0	0-0	0	3	4
Totals		34-86	32-32	13-47	21	23	103

Percentages: FG .395, FT 1.000. Three-point goals: 3-15, .200 (Nash 2-5, Barbosa 1-3, Hill 0-1, Bell 0-6). Team rebounds: 4. Team turnovers: 13 (10 PTS). Blocked shots: 9 (Skinner 4, Bell 2, Diaw, Hill, Stoudemire). Turnovers: 13 (Barbosa 3, Diaw 3, Hill 2, Nash 2, Stoudemire 2, Skinner). Steals: 7 (Diaw 2, Nash 2, Skinner 2, Hill). Technical fouls: None.

Seattle	23	26	25	25 — 99
Phoenix	26	27	25	25 — 103

Attendance: 18,422 (18,422). Time: 2:25. Officials: Dick Bavetta, Violet Palmer, Leroy Richardson.