Not sure if it’s the summer heat, the post-holiday doldrums, or the unabashed joy that has swept over the masses thanks to our new and improved server, but the email bag is getting lit up today with some thought-provoking questions from readers. Here’s one from a passionate Seattle hoops fan that immediately caught our eye:

.. our team is leaving, and nobody cares. Our team was hijacked and it could happen to any other NBA team whenever a certain owner decides he’s not making enough money in a city, and is willing to commit perjury in a federal trial to move said team. Come on guys don’t drop the ball on this, we need as much support as we can. For christ’s sake The Oklahoma team is taking all of our retired jerseys and our 1979 championship trophy and calling it their city’s championship! Thats like saying Dale Earnhardt won 7 Nextel cups.

[Astute goolgers did the homework we didnt: Nothing historical goes to Oklahoma City. Get your Sonics gear while it lasts!] We’re not entirely sure what the Dale Earnhardt line means, but can Oklahoma really hang a Seattle Championship banner in their arena? That’s something we never even considered, and actually sort of messed up.

Little-known fact: Seattle is one of our favorite cities in the country. Went there over a decade ago and absolutely fell in love with the place. You really can’t beat the picturesque mountains and the Pacific Ocean. And we’ve always considered ourselves fans of the Sonics, a team with neat colors, a history of sweet shooters (Dale Ellis), tantalizing dunkers (Shawn Kemp), and one of our favorite NBA players of all-time, Xavier McDaniel.

(At the risk of rubbing salt in the wound, who’s the asshole that dealt the draft rights of Scottie Pippen for Olden “I’m not a police officer, but I play one in the streets” Polynice? And while we’re twisting the knife, one of the NBA’s landmark moments in the last 15 years came at the expense of the Sonics: When Seattle became the first 1-seed to lose to an 8-seed in 1994, with the lasting memory being Mutombo on his back after the final buzzer, crying and holding the ball aloft in a state of euphoria that will have the same visceral effect in 20 years as it did 14 years ago.)

Problem is, we’re not really sure where to go with this. Is it a travesty that the team was hijacked? Certainly. When we think of Oklahoma and basketball, don’t we think NBDL? Without question. But the move is happening, there doesn’t appear to be anything that can be done, and the only question we’ve got: Are the new owners going to keep the team colors green and white? [No.] That’d be a fantastic start to keeping tradition. Can they keep that Chewbacca figure that pumps up the crowd, too?