You bet your ass he will, reports Don Ward over at Sound Politics. A key excerpt: "Gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi watched the aftermath of the lawsuit like many other Sonics fans with a sense of foreboding. His reaction to the settlement announcement was clear. He pins responsibility for the team's expected departure on his opponent in the governor's mansion, Christine Gregoire. To Rossi, the lack of action in Olympia is a microcosm of what he sees is wrong with the state. He said if the governor has '18 different positions' on the Viaduct he wasn't really surprised that she lacked the initiative to save a 41-year old Seattle institution. 'If she wants to be governor, she has to lead every once and awhile. You have to buck up and make a decision. If it's the right thing to do she needed to do it.'"

At the heart of the Rossi's complaint is the $150 million gift by Steve Ballmer to help renovate Key Arena. Nickels had pledged the City would kick in $75 million in matching funds to help renovate the government-owned and operated facility. All that was left was for the State to come up with a funding mechanism to cover the other $75 million. The politically expedient thing would have been to pass the ball back to the King County Council to allow the county to vote whether or not to extend rental car and restaurant taxes. 'We had people who were willing to pay for this in a way that has never been offered for any sporting team before,' Rossi explained. 'All they needed to do in Olympia was allow King County to vote for an extension.'"