From NBA Commissioner David Stern’s perspective, the trip went irretrievably south when State Rep. Frank Chopp, Speaker of the House from Seattle’s 43rd District, failed to treat Stern with the respect Stern believed  he deserved.

The league is finally showing signs of interest in expansion, which will take time. But Chris Hansen has said he is willing to work for years on returning pro basketball to Seattle.

Kevin Johnson announces that the Maloof brothers have agreed to sell the Sacramento Kings and the money for the deal to keep the team there has been sent to them.

"In Sacramento, the bulk of the $258 million arena package involves leveraging revenues from a downtown parking facility the new owners will gain control over. But it also includes a little-discussed handover of some 250 acres to the prospective owners. Local governments often give sports teams land on which to build their arenas, but these 250 acres are nowhere near the proposed site of the proposed building in Sacramento."

The NBA's Board of Governors voted 22-to-8 today to keep the Kings in Sacramento. Commissioner David Stern said the proposed sale to Chris Hansen and a Seattle-based group was "effectively ended."

After the rebuff by owners, sources say Ballmer has taken command of the war room. His effort to embarrass the owners and run roughshod over protocol is creating backlash.

The Scottish-style course will host the 2015 Open, assuming that locals help defray a lot of the costs.

"It was inevitable that cash this brash would change Seattle. I’m proud we are now the global center for charitable giving, for instance, and obviously that’s infinitely more important than pro basketball. But if one of our local billionaires also wants to use a fraction of his stash to make the NBA squirm and go hard for the Sonics, then my feeling is: Go for it. It’s about time we threw our money weight around a little. Still, there’s one thing it’s not, and that’s discreet. Not nice. Not very Seattle."

The current owners of the Sacramento Kings say they won't sell unless the NBA approves a relocation bid to Seattle led by hedge fund manager Chris Hansen.

Hansen's new offer, announced Friday, would bring the total value of the Kings to $625 million. Hansen's total offer has reached a new high of $406 million.