FanHouse

Something tells me Clay Bennett isn't a big fan of the Muckleshoots' arena plan. Perhaps it's that ol' Clay upped the gamesmanship Friday by filing a demand for arbitration in the franchise's dispute with the city of Seattle over its lease of KeyArena. The city recently strengthened whatever hold it has on the franchise, by adopting a (possibly meaningless symbolic) resolution holding the Sonics to their lease and promising to spend up $1 million to fight early relocation efforts.

But Bennett's move takes some power away from the city by putting it into the hands of an independent panel. The Seattle Times' Jim Brunner says the lease agreement says disputes about the lease's length and termination are not subject to arbitration, which would benefit the city who could tell Bennett and the arbitration panel to buzz off. But I assume Bennett will cite some further dispute (which isn't necessarily exaggerated -- these folks clearly despise each other) to get the situation into a more favorable field of play.

My question: Where the Hades is David Stern? I said months ago he had given up, and that still appears to be the case. But back then, Seattle had given up. Bennett was running roughshod all over the place and seemed unstoppable in his quest to move the Sonics ASAP. But circumstances combined with hard work from Brian Robinson's crew have changed things... and Stern needs to reassert control. In the end, he can decide whether Bennett can move. He can make the Sonics stay another year while new proposals get vetted. He could help broker a sale of the franchise combined with an expansion assurance for OKC. He can do something. Can't he?