SEATTLE -- The day had already tested Jeremy Repanichs patience and resolve. And now he was being hounded by a security guard outside the Seattle SuperSonics practice facility because he was unable to produce the credential that proved he worked for the team.The only way Repanich -- a guest relations coordinator -- could get inside the gates on July 18, 2006, was to open the back of his car and show the security guard he was hauling the 1979 NBA and 2004 WNBA championship trophies to a news conference on the Sonics future.I was like, `Oh my gosh, I cant believe I forgot my credential, how am I going to get in? Oh wait a minute, I have the Larry OBrien trophy in the trunk of my car, Repanich said.The day would get stranger and tougher from there.People in Seattle remember July 18, 2006, with bitterness because it was the day the citys first professional sports franchise was sold by Howard Schultz and the Basketball Club of Seattle to Clay Bennett and the Professional Basketball Club LLC based in Oklahoma City. It was the beginning of a process that eventually led two years later to the SuperSonics relocating to Oklahoma City after 41 years in Seattle.This is the story of that 2006 day, as told by some of those involved. Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks and Sonics majority owner at the time of the sale, and Bennett both declined to be interviewed.---Schultz purchased the SuperSonics and Seattle Storm in 2001 and inherited a difficult lease agreement with the city. With the changing economic structure of the NBA, the Sonics financial situation at KeyArena was a problem from the start.After failing to get money from local and state officials for arena upgrades, Schultz decided in early 2006 to explore selling.Sonics president and minority owner Wally Walker: The issue was the arena. That was the unstable part because there was a lease that was expiring in 2010.Walker arrived in France on July 11 for a family vacation. The ownership group was in discussions with Ed Evans, the head of a wireless firm out of Oklahoma City who indicated he wanted to keep the team in Seattle. Less than 24 hours after arriving in Europe, Walker found out an offer was made and Bennett was now at the forefront of the Oklahoma City group.Walker: Our whole ownership group, and some of the management team, had gotten to know Ed over a period of multiple months, but still, we werent anywhere close to a deal. Then, we have a conference call, and now Mr. Bennetts part of the Oklahoma City group.The nine-member executive board of the Basketball Club of Seattle voted 5-4 to sell.I flew back from France on that Sunday, I think it was the 16th, and got together with our management group. We went to a restaurant ... and basically said, `Heres whats going on. I was still in a state of shock.---Kevin Calabro, Sonics play-by-play announcer: We were heading to a tee time ... when I got a phone call and it was from Wally Walker. And Wally said `Weve sold the team. I said, `To who? And he said to Clay Bennett and Oklahoma City. And I knew immediately who Clay Bennett in Oklahoma City was because they had hosted the Hornets during Katrina for a couple of seasons.Mike Gastineau, Seattle radio host: I had just had a meeting at Pearl Jams warehouse about something, and I got this call from Calabro and he told me and it was announced maybe 10 minutes later or something. And I remember Kevin not being overly optimistic but being `Hey, who knows what is going to happen? I remember hanging up with him and I thought `Theyre gone.Repanich: I was someone who was also manning the phones a lot back then, because we had to talk to season ticket-holders and stuff like that. (One of our communications heads) was like `This is going to be a really horrible day. I cant tell you anymore. But he was getting me ready, mentally ready to be on the phones all day.Walker: This was a brutal day. Of course, besides the fact that the announcement was made, we, and specifically I had a bunch of people to get in touch with, a bunch of, you know, Sonic faithful people that are affiliated with the organization. So Ive got this whole list of people that I called, and also there were politicians. I had forgotten this, but heres a note, I called the Governor.---The sale was formally announced at an afternoon news conference. While there were questions about Bennetts future intentions, the lasting memory was the odd celebratory nature -- complete with green and gold balloons -- of a day that felt so gloomy.Jason Reid, director of the documentary `Sonicsgate: Watching the press conference live and hearing the words that were coming out of Clay Bennetts mouth and Howard Schultzs mouth and being so angry because it seemed so disingenuous to say they were selling to a group of out of town investors and that it was going to preserve the history of this great organization.Walker: That was a bad. It just had a bad vibe to it. Again, Im up on a dais, and Im totally uncomfortable with being there. I wrote my own little thing, my goal was to positively reinforce the things they said that was right about Seattle. ... While I respected the people that I was up there with at that time, I didnt want to be there. And, of course, the balloons.---Nearly two years to the day that the sale was announced, after failed arena proposals, lawsuits and a federal court case that never reached its conclusion, the Sonics and the city reached a settlement that allowed the franchise to move.The time since has been filled with starts and stops in the attempt to get the NBA back to Seattle.Sonics assistant coach Jack Sikma: Ten years is a long time. I guess I overrated the importance of Seattle to the NBA.Hall of Fame coach Lenny Wilkens: I miss the opportunity to be at the game, to see the players here, living here, being part of this community. Wholesale Cheap Jordans From China . LUCIE, Fla. Cheap Jordans From China . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. 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The Olympic Games are in her home country of Brazil, golf has returned to the Olympics for the first time since 1904, and she was fortunate enough to qualify.Although the mens tournament is being played this week at the Olympic Golf Course, Lovelady, 29, was on site to practice and play, one of the neat aspects to the event that saw a smattering of the women at the venue Monday.Adding to the experience was the fact that Lovelady was asked to play a practice round with Germanys Martin Kaymer and Spains Rafael Cabrera-Bello.Oh my goodness, Lovelady gushed prior to hitting off the 10th tee. When I found out the Olympics was going to be in Brazil and that golf was coming back, it became part of my daily mental routine. There was not one day I didnt think about the Olympics. I was finishing college at the time.My whole motivation to turn pro after college was based on the Olympics. I was ready to turn pro and pursue my dream of playing in the Olympics. Its been a huge goal for me.Lovelady, who played college golf at USC when she went by her maiden name Victoria Alimonda, is a perfect example of how golfs return to the Olympics has been an inspiration. Lovelady has yet to make the LPGA Tour in two tries and this year is competing on the Ladies European Tour, where travel is difficult and purses are sparse..@RickieFowler and @vic_brasil_golf hammed it up after practice round @Rio2016_en on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/nsz4MKsYxL- USA GOLF (@USAGolf) August 8, 2016But she kept after it because of the Olympics, and scrambled to earn world ranking points when it was coming down to the wire for qualification last month. Only one Brazilian golfer was guaranteed a spot in the field (same for the men), so Lovelady was not a lock. She was running close to the other Brazilian golfer in the womens field, Miriam Nagl, and in the end they both made it.It was a super adventure, said Lovelady, who will begin the competition on Aug. 17. All because of the importance I gave to the Olympics being in Brazil, golf coming back to my country. I dont know what Id be doing with myself right now if I wasnt here.dddddddddddd For the past year, every day somebody asked me, Are you going to the Olympics? I thought, My God, Ive got to be there. Not only for my personal goal but also the whole vibe around me. And being one of the only Brazilians on tour. That topic was a hot question.Lovelady took up golf at age 12 due to the influence of her grandfather and father, who was the rare person in Brazil who was a member of a private club. She earned a scholarship to USC after spending time in California as an exchange student, where I was able to study and play golf at the same time, she said. Brazil has some 200 million people but only about 20,000 golfers. You have to have a golf tradition in your family, she noted, something Lovelady said she hopes the Olympics will help change.The Olympic Golf Course, which she described as one of the best courses Ive played in my life, is the first public course ever in Rio. The course is brand-new and was built especially for then Games. How it is treated, and how the public has access to it after the Olympics, will go a long way toward more people becoming interested in the game.There will be more curiosity, more access, she said. I hope it opens up more opportunities.For now, Lovelady is taking advantage of hers. Monday was the last day she could practice on the course until next Monday, two days prior to the first round of the womens competition.But the women are allowed to use all of the practice facilities here throughout the week. And it will be a time to enjoy everything that comes with it.The opening ceremony was literally the best moment of my life, she said. It was beautiful. To be able to be received by so many people in my country. We were singing the anthem and chanting. And one of the cool things was I saw my dad in the first row. He called out my name and all of a sudden I see him, and hes hugging me. He played such an important role in my athletic life.And that would not have happened if the Olympics were somewhere else. Chiefs Jerseys China Cheap Nike Chargers Jerseys Cheap Nike Raiders Jerseys Wholesale Cowboys Jerseys China Cheap Nike Giants Jerseys Philadelphia Eagles Jerseys For Sale Wholesale Redskins Jerseys China Cheap Nike Lions Jerseys Packers Jerseys China Cheap Vikings Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Panthers Jerseys Hoodies Cheap Saints Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Nike Buccaneers Jerseys Cardinals Jerseys China Cheap Rams Jerseys Hoodies Cheap Nike 49ers Jerseys Seahawks Jerseys China Bears Jerseys China Cheap Nike Bills Jerseys Ravens Jerseys China Wholesale Falcons Jerseys China ' ' '