The Seattle SuperSonics have been playing in the NBA for 41 years. They've been to three NBA finals, won one championship (1979) and have one of the most loyal fan bases in the league.

They boast a star-studded list of former alumni that includes former Celtics star Dennis Johnson, current Celtics star Ray Allen, Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, Lenny Wilkens, Jack Sikma, Spencer Haywood and Dale Ellis.

Maybe they aren't the Boston Celtics or the L.A. Lakers, but they're not the Charlotte Bobcats either.

This is a proud franchise with a rich history, and now its days in Seattle are done. The league announced Wednesday that owner Clay Bennett will pay as much as $75 million to the city in exchange for the immediate termination of the remaining two years on the lease of the Sonics' arena.

The team will move to Oklahoma City --- Bennett's home town --- beginning next season.

And just like that, professional basketball in Seattle is dead. Hey, at least Bennett agreed to leave the team name, colors and logo behind should the city ever get an expansion team. What a great guy. This ball got rolling when Bennett purchased the Sonics from Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz in 2006 for $350 million. Those in Seattle were immediately suspicious that Bennett wanted to move the team to Oklahoma City and they were quick to criticize his sub-par efforts in trying to get a new arena built that could have kept the team in Seattle.

What started as a glorious season has turned into a disaster for fantasy owners who were counting on Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal to provide a spark to their lineups in the second half.

Furcal, out since early May with what was originally diagnosed as simple back spasms, will now miss another two months after undergoing surgery to have a disk in his lower back partially removed.

This is a major blow to fantasy teams, not to mention the Dodgers. Furcal was among the game's hottest hitters at the time of his injury, batting .366 with five homers, 16 RBIs and 34 runs scored in 32 games. His extended absence weakens an already razor-thin crop of shortstops.

Here's hoping that none of you Furcal owners need to turn to Julio Lugo as your stopgap. Good grief.

Covering the bases
* Astros SP Roy Oswalt will have his next start pushed back due to a hip strain, but it doesn't sound like anything serious at this point. Chris Sampson will start in Oswalt's place on Saturday.

* Cubs 3B Aramis Ramirez is expected to rejoin the lineup Thursday after missing three games to attend to family matters in the Dominican Republic. But with Giants star Tim Lincecum on the mound, it might be best to rest A-Ram for another day.

It might have taken longer than expected, but it appears that the Red Sox lineup is finally starting to feel the effects of David Ortiz's wrist injury.

With Big Papi sidelined indefinitely, Boston has scored a total of seven runs in its last three games and has lost four in a row overall. With Scott Kazmir on the mound tonight, the first-place Rays have a good chance of sweeping the Red Sox and pushing them 3½ games back in the AL East.

Ortiz's injury gives the Sox less room for error in their lineup. Outside of Dustin Pedroia and Mike Lowell, who has raised his batting average from .270 to .299 in the last nine games, Boston is getting little from its offense.

* Manny Ramirez is hitting .193 with one homer and four RBIs in his last 17 games, dropping his average to .283. At 36, it does finally appear that Manny's days of 45 homers and 130 RBIs are over.
* Leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury is in a 9-for-51 (.176) slump and has hit .234 in his last 31 games. That speed doesn't do much good if you're not getting on base.
* J.D. Drew, red-hot for most of June, is 3-for-29 (.103) over his last eight games, although he does have two homers and six RBIs over that stretch.
* Jason Varitek had a nightmare of a month in June, batting .122 (9-for-74). He's hitting only .220 for the season. Also 36, Varitek's future with the Sox becomes less certain if he's going to struggle hitting his weight.

Ortiz, who has averaged 44 homers and 135 RBIs over the past four seasons, hopes to return by the end of the month.

Fantasy owners with Red Sox on their teams certainly hope that's the case.

As someone who owns Angels pitcher Jered Weaver in his fantasy baseball league, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry upon seeing the conclusion of Saturday night's interleague game in Los Angeles.

After having a front-row seat for the Weaver roller coaster the entire season, I was finally seeing the former phenom put it all together. He was unhittable in the first four innings, allowing only a couple walks. Then in the fifth, trouble struck.

Still locked in a scoreless duel with the Dodgers' Chad Billingsley, Weaver's own fielding error allowed Matt Kemp to reach first with nobody out. Kemp then stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Jeff Mathis. Following a sacrifice fly by Blake DeWitt, Weaver was suddenly trailing 1-0 without allowing a hit.

And wouldn't you know it, that was the only run of the entire game. Weaver, his pitch count nearing 100, was removed after pitching six no-hit innings. Angels reliever Jose Arredondo threw two no-hit innings of his own, and when the dust settled the Dodgers had won the battle of L.A. 1-0 despite getting no-hit.

Talk about a tough-luck loss. Weaver, allowing just the one unearned run, fell to 7-8. It was the type of game that makes baseball great, but fantasy baseball so frustrating at times. And yet further proof as to why pitching victories are the most overrated statistic in all of sports.

In my points league this season we dropped the value of wins from 20 points to 10, and added five points for every quality start. The results have been terrific, making a heartbreaking loss like Weaver's much easier to swallow. Something to consider for all you commissioners out there.

Here on the Seacoast, we’re blessed with a number of exciting sporting events every year.

The University of New Hampshire hockey and football games always attract big crowds, the Market Square Day 10K in Portsmouth is one of the state’s most popular and successful road races, the Seacoast Basketball Tournament has been around for almost 60 years, and there is never a shortage of big high school playoff games in any number of sports.

But when it comes to picking the best sporting event on the Seacoast, the answer is an easy one.

The Seacoast Amateur Golf Championship never disappoints. This year’s tournament is no exception, with three-time champion Craig Steckowych and defending champion Brett Wilson tied for the lead heading into Sunday’s final round at Portsmouth Country Club.

By the time the 28th annual event wraps up, there is bound to be more drama. If Sunday’s round cannot be completed due to poor weather, Steckowych and Wilson will have a sudden-death playoff to determine the winner.

To me, the charm of the Seacoast Am is centered on the revolving tournament sites. Many golf tournaments change sites every year, but that’s not good enough at the Seacoast Am. Given our cozy geographic area, it’s easy to bounce from course to course for all three rounds. We’ve already seen the effect this year, with Dover’s Cochecho Country Club playing much easier than Greenland’s Breakfast Hill Golf Club did on Saturday.

The NBA champion Boston Celtics have six free agents on their roster, and they might have gotten a little insurance for the possible exit of those players with the selection of New Mexico guard J.R. Giddens with the 30th overall pick in Thursday's draft.

Giddens seems like a good fit in the Tony Allen role for the Celtics, a player who coach Doc Rivers said could contribute on the defensive end right away. Giddens, 6-foot-5 and 208 pounds, played for two seasons at Kansas before transferring to New Mexico. He averaged 16.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists as a senior while shooting 52 percent from the floor.

The knock on Giddens, seen as a player with top-15 talent, is his work ethic and attitude. He was also suspended by New Mexico during his junior season for "not being a good teammate." But you can bet that the Celtics veterans, fresh off the NBA championship, will be quick to put this rookie in his place if he doesn't fall in line.

In the second round, the Celtics selected 7-foot-1 center Semih Erden from Turkey, although the odds of him ever wearing a Celtics uniform are probably slim. Boston also acquired the rights to 47th pick Bill Walker, a forward from Kansas State, from the Washington Wizards. According to ESPN, Walker was being compared to Vince Carter before suffering a pair of ACL injuries, one to each knee.

As an admitted basketball junkie, this has always been one of my favorite sports nights of the year. The NBA draft rarely disappoints, and already we've had several deals go down that will affect the way things play out in New York City.

Among the moves made:

* The New Jersey Nets and Milwaukee Bucks have reportedly agreed to a deal that will send forward Richard Jefferson to the Bucks for forwards Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons.

* The Indiana Pacers, pending medical reviews of players in the deal, will send center Jermaine O'Neal to Toronto in exchange for point guard T.J. Ford, center Rasho Nesterovic and the No. 17 pick in the draft.

* The L.A. Clippers (No. 7) and Seattle SuperSonics (No. 4) have an agreement in place to swap first-round picks as long as the Minnesota Timberwolves take USC guard O.J. Mayo at No. 3. The Clippers would also send a future first-round pick to Seattle.

There have also been rumblings about a deal between the Warriors and Pistons that would send point guard Baron Davis and forward Al Harrington from Golden State to Detroit in exchange for Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace, but that wouldn't necessarily have to get done tonight.

After a week's worth of celebration, it's time for Celtics fans to take a look toward the team's future. The NBA draft is Thursday night, but Boston doesn't figure to make much noise with the last pick in each of the two rounds. Hey, that's the price you pay for having the league's best record.

No, the Celtics' biggest offseason news will come via the free-agent market, most notably their attempts to re-sign a couple key members of their championship team.

Here is a look at Boston's six free-agent players and the chances of each returning to the Celtics:

James Posey, SF/SG
Age: 31
Stats: 7.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 38 percent 3-point shooting
Outlook: Posey is unquestionably the key figure for the Celtics this season. He was Boston's top player off the bench, an outstanding defender who had an incredible knack for knocking down big 3-pointers in key situations. He's one of the team's emotional leaders and has two championship rings to his credit. His value may never be higher, and at 31, this could be his last chance for a big payday. The guess here is that the Celtics bring him back with a decent raise.

Eddie House, PG/SG
Age: 30
Stats: 7.5 points, 2.0 assists, 39 percent 3-point shooting
Outlook: Another key figure off the bench, House's outside shooting and hustle were a spark for the Celtics all season long and made him a fan favorite. Even when Doc Rivers stubbornly left him on the bench in certain games in favor of Sam Cassell, House never lost his cool and drained a number of big 3-pointers in the playoffs. His return may depend on Boston's ability to bring in a true backup point guard for Rajon Rondo. If the Celtics don't view House as that backup, he'll probably leave in favor of more playing time elsewhere.

Condolences are due to any of the fantasy baseball owners out there who were unfortunate enough to have Cincinnati Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo in their starting lineups on Tuesday night.

Arroyo, the former guitar-playing cult hero for the Red Sox, was lit up to the tune of 11 hits and 10 runs in one inning of work against the Toronto Blue Jays. The historically bad performance boosted Bronson's already miserable ERA from 5.55 to 6.52.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Arroyo (4-7) became just the sixth starting pitcher in major-league history to give up at least 10 earned runs while getting no more than three outs.

Wow.

Arroyo, traded for outfielder Wily Mo Pena in spring training of 2006, has gone steadily downhill in recent years. He made Boston GM Theo Epstein look foolish during his first season with the Reds, going 14-11 with a 3.29 ERA. But he slipped to 9-15 (4.23 ERA) last season and has been even worse in 2008.

The lose/lose Arroyo-for-Pena deal is shaping up as the polar opposite of the dynamite Josh Hamilton/Edinson Volquez trade from last offseason.

New England sports fans have seen their teams win six championships in the last seven years, so we ask: Which Boston pro sports team will be the next to win a championship?

Ed Flaherty
Seacoast Media Group sports editor
The Patriots. It’s hard to argue against the Red Sox, whose postseason is the next in line on the calendar, but injuries are already conspiring against the Olde Towne Team. Without a healthy and productive David Ortiz, the Sox will be contenders but the road will be paved with speed bumps. Your New England Patriots, meanwhile, were simply the best team in the NFL last season, no matter what any Giants fan or Arlen Specter has to say. If you thought the Pats played with chips on their collective shoulders in the past, wait till you get a load of them now, to paraphrase Lakers superfan Jack Nicholson in his famous role as The Joker. But who knows, maybe next year at this time we’ll have just enjoyed our fourth straight rolling rally with Sox, Pats and another Celtics title under wraps. When you are living in the golden age of Boston sports as we are now, anything is possible. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Frank Coppola
Seacoast Media Group assistant sports editor
The fact that we can toss around this question and have three legitimate contenders (sorry, Bruins) in the next calendar year speaks volumes about the golden age that Boston sports fans are living in. The pick here is the Celtics. The Red Sox certainly have a shot, but injuries and the fluky nature of the baseball playoffs make you wonder. And although the Patriots will be among the top picks to win it all, history isn’t on their side. The last team to win the Super Bowl the year after losing it was the 1972 Miami Dolphins. Yes, them again. History does favor the Celtics, though. Surprisingly, only six franchises won NBA titles in the 22 years between Celtic championships. Repeats are fairly common in the NBA, and with the Big Three still in their primes, Boston will raise banner No. 18 to the rafters.

Greg Burke, a 6-foot-1 left wing who has committed to the University of New Hampshire, was selected by the Washington Capitals with the 23rd pick in the sixth round of the NHL draft on Saturday.

Burke, 18, was born in Portsmouth, N.H., and now lives in Lee. He played 40 games in 2007-08 for the New Hampshire Junior Monarchs of the Eastern Junior Hockey League, collecting 21 goals and 25 assists for 46 points.

Friday's news that Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling will undergo season-ending surgery didn't really come as a huge surprise. Schilling, 41, seemed like a long shot to return this season after revealing his shoulder injury back in February.

Still, that shouldn't stop us from appreciating what the veteran right-hander accomplished during his 20-year career, which included four seasons and two World Series titles with Boston.

Schilling will have surgery on Monday after the team's rehabilitation program failed to fix the injury. It's quite possible, likely even, that Schilling's career is over. He said as much on Friday.

"My season is over and there is a pretty decent chance I have thrown my last pitch forever," Schilling told sports radio station WEEI.

Schilling put his career on the line during the 2004 playoffs, when he led the Red Sox to their first championship in 86 years despite famously pitching on an injured ankle that was seeping blood. He was never really the same after that, although he did go 15-7 with a 3.97 ERA in 2006.

Last season, Schilling struggled a bit with injuries and still went 9-8 in 24 starts with a 3.87 ERA. More importantly, he was 3-0 in four playoff starts with a 3.00 ERA. It's that big-game ability that could land Schilling a spot in the Hall of Fame five years after he retires.