Hostages

First, good for the Columbian government for being able to pull this off without getting anyone hurt or killed. Maybe there's hope for that country yet.

Second, am i the only one who noticed the not-so-veiled threat in NBA Commissioner David Stern's statement yesterday after the city of Seattle and their former basketball team reached an agreement allowing the ex-sonics to break their lease?

The settlement could become a victory for Seattle as well. In a statement, NBA commissioner David Stern reversed his previous stance and said that a renovated KeyArena could be a suitable venue for an NBA franchise in Seattle. But the time is short.

"We understand that city, county, and state officials are currently discussing a plan to substantially rebuild KeyArena for the sum of $300 million," Stern said in a statement. "If this funding were authorized, we believe KeyArena could properly be renovated into a facility that meets NBA standards relating to revenue generation, fan amenities, team facilities, and the like."

However, Stern added, "given the lead times associated with any franchise acquisition or relocation and with a construction project as complex as a KeyArena renovation, authorization of the public funding needs to occur by the end of 2009 in order for there to be any chance for the NBA to return to Seattle within the next five years."

In capitalist America, the only socialist enterprise we have is big league sports. And it seems completely normal to us. Until you start paying attention to how things are done in socialist Europe, where the entire concept of league franchises and publically financed arenas is, well, foreign.

Who will rescue the good citizens of Seattle (and almost every other American city) from being held hostage by the socialist hordes of major sports leagues?