So with the game so out of hand, I was looking around the arena at some other scenes and I notice this large fellow in the suite above Section 127. Upon closer inspection, it was Bill Russell, dead asleep, with his head on his chest, his wife nudging him a couple times to wake up. A few minutes later, Russell gets a visit from another distinguished gentleman, Sonics owner Clay Bennett, who apparently was the caffeine that Russell required because he didn't doze off while speaking to Bennett as far as I could tell. The season is winding down, folks.

I dont usually blog during a game, but this was too funny. When Bob Hill sent Danny Fortson in the game, Gregg Popovich quickly went to insert Fabricio Oberto because he clearly did not want to get Tim Duncan injured by Fortson. Oberto clearly did not want to go in the game against Fortson, so Pop stood up, looked down the bench at Oberto and asked, What the f---? Oberto slithered to the scorer's table. Fortson, by the way, received a loud ovation from the fans.

I attended the Save our Sonics gathering at Touchdowns Bar and Grill in Renton on Saturday afternoon, and it was a good turnout that included Clay Bennett, Lenny Wilkens and Jim Kneeland, the team's spokesman on the arena issue. Also in attendance was Kathy Keolker, the mayor of Renton, Margarita Prentice, the Chairwomn of the Senate Ways and Means committee, and Alex Pietsch, the head of Renton development. I would guess 100 people showed up, though I would say at least a third were Sonics employees supporting the cause. This was all part of a larger Sonics Pr campaign as the legislature enters the final month of the session and is being asked to make a decision. The other stuff is an info center in the Renton business district that will sell season ticket packages and answer questions for anyon einterested, the opening of a web site devoted to the events center and a "town meeting" on Fox Sports with Bennett in which he will answer qustions about the issue.

Here is the one thing that gives me concerns. Any time I ask Prentice about what is happening, she avoids the question being asked and lapses into this spin doctoring gibberish. Apparently she thinks all reporters just fell off the turnip truck and are her vehicle to disseminate talking points, and every time I try to pin her down on something she says she doesn't know. She said she thinks something will happen soon but didnt know when. She said she thinks she has the Senate votes but doesn't know how many. She said she is confident the House will turn around despite Frank Chopp's negativity but doesn't say why or if she has even guaged where the members of the House stand. It all seems to be nebulous cheerleading with very little substance. Hopefully that will change as we get closer to the decision-making, but I hope she is more forthcoming and substantive with members of the legislature than she is with the media.

Ray finally made the decision most of us were expecting, that he will miss the rest of the season to have surgery to remove the bone spur in his left ankle. The date for surgery has not yet been determined, it depends Ray said on the schedule of Dr. Richard Ferckel, the same guy who scoped Ray's ankle in 2003. Ray said the sooner the better. He said Ferckel looked at his x-rays and MRIs over the weekend, said he didn't like some of the stuff he saw in the pictures and recommended he stop playing and have the surgery. Not that is matters, but Ray said the rehab is six to eight weeks. He will be ready for training camp next season. He said he is not concerned that this will impact the rest of his career because there is not structural damage. Ray also said he will have surgery on his right ankle to clean out some of the scar tissue he has in there. I guess if you were cynical, you could second-guess why Ray is going back to the guy who did the job in 2003 that requires him to go back in now and clean it up. Luckily, I'm not cynical.