I was up in Vancouver a couple years ago, covering a Seattle SuperSonics-Vancouver Grizzlies tilt.

	Shareef will Houdini, Abdur some Rahimi down in Atlanta.

Believe it or not, the Grizzlies lost the game. But it was how they lost, and what happened afterward, that will always stay with me.

They had controlled the entire game. I think Big Country went for like 25 or 30 in the first half -- which in itself is something of a miracle.

Vancouver led by seven points in the final minute and a half, and all they had to do was control the ball and hit their foul shots.

Instead, the Sonics pressured them and Shareef Abdur-Rahim, the best player the franchise ever has known, turned over the ball. Then he turned it over again. And again.

By the end, the Sonics hit some wondrous 3-pointers, the Grizzlies wilted and then Sonics coach Paul Westphal told some crazy story about Chick Hearn saying, 'put this game in the refrigerator.'

Just before Westphal had emerged from the locker room, though, the assembled media standing outside heard this loud bang.

Naturally, being as observant as we are, it got our attention.

Then there was another bang, and some loud cussing. And I don't mean just regular cussing, either. I mean stuff that would make a Sicilian's ears wilt.

Pretty soon, after a few more really loud bangs and some rather choice words, we all realized it was Grizzlies general manager Stu Jackson completely losing his marbles, kicking the arena's back bay door as hard as he could and venting some steam.

BANG.

"How in the ??()*&&^%%^ can we lose that (*&)^&^^6 game?"

BANG BANG

"Every *(&&^% night."

BANG BANG BANG

"Every &*x^% game. It's something *&^%^*&^%* else."

You should have seen the media relations folks go sprinting back there to tell Stu -- what an appropriate name, in retrospect -- that we all could hear his rant. Looked like Babe Zaharias.

BANG BANG

"I don't give a &**&&*^^^. This UU(*U(8 *&*&(&( stuff is &^^%$$^&. Every **&&^^ night with these I*Y&* %^&**."

Well, it's good to know that the level-headed Jackson now is the NBA's chief of police, meting punishment for those players who lose their cool.

But that's not the point of that story. The point is, if that's how the GM was feeling in GM Place, imagine how the fans felt. After all, Jackson got in the game for free; they had to pay.

Well, it didn't take long for Brian Hill to be fired soon after that, yet another butterfly band-aid on an organization whose legs were falling off from the beginning.

Of course, firing Hill didn't work. And neither did letting Lionel Hollins go. And neither did changing ownership. And neither did hiring Dick Versace to replace Stu. And neither did hiring Sidney Lowe -- who might as well keep his house in Vancouver, if he has one, because word on the street is Versace is looking to take over Lowe's job, as everybody suspected he would even before he hired him.

No, nothing the Grizzlies have done over the course of the past six years has helped to turn around their moribund franchise, and now they are blaming it on the fans of Vancouver for losing money, for not honoring the commitment they promised to the NBA more than six years ago, for failing to provide an NBA-like atmosphere.

Let me just say this: If the city of Memphis goes through six years of what the city of Vancouver went through, Michael Heisley may not have to apply to move the team -- it will probably just get kicked out.

	Abdur-Rahim

	Anthony

	Benjamin

Consider this: On the opening night of this franchise, the team they actually dared to field was Benoit Benjamin, Chris King, Kenny Gattison, Greg Anthony and Blue Edwards. Strangely, Edwards was named Blue even before he had that experience.

You know what, though: They won that game. And they won the next game. And that was the first and one of the only two-game win streaks the Grizz have experienced since.

Right after that, they went on a 19-game losing streak. Later that year, they lost 23 straight. The next year, a 15-game slide.

How do you lose that many games and then say: We didn't get fan support. That's like advertising the Rockettes, putting a bunch of dwarfs up on stage, and then grousing about the fact that the theatre was empty.

Hell, how about this esoteric stat: Until this season, the Grizzlies had not won one road game in March. Not one. Talk about the Slides of March. You would think, over the course of six years, they would accidentally stumble into one March victory. Nope.

	Reeves

And it primarily is because they have made poor decisions. Here is the biggest one: $65 million to Bryant Reeves over six years.

I've seen bigger mistakes (read: Juwan Howard, Vin Baker), but you'll notice that none of those teams are in the playoffs either.

No, giving that much money to a player, and then allowing him to go home to Oklahoma and balloon up to 453 pounds, is not exactly a great way of doing business.

Neither is drafting Steve Francis and then having him embarrass you on the night where franchises all over rejoice the additions of their newest players. It's like getting a Christmas present and then breaking it while you are taking it out of the box. I don't want to tell the Grizzlies how to do their job, but it's called R-E-S-E-A-R-C-H. Just ask Steve, straight out, if we draft you, do you want to come here? No? OK, we'll take the next guy, rather than trade you for Othella Harrington, who also does not want to be here.

Not that new ownership, or new management, is faring any better.

When the announcement of the Grizzlies' imminent move became public, new GM Versace seemingly tried to deflect some of the attention to his Canadian counterparts by saying that once Vince Carter leaves the Raptors, they are going to have to leave Toronto in the same fashion.

When the league fined Versace $10,000 for his comments, he tried to get his media relations staff to pay the fine for him. Said they didn't tell him that that question was going to be asked. Never mind that they make about $50,000 and he makes probably seven figures. I bet they can't wait to pack up their bags and loyally follow him down to Memphis.

Listen, there are more problems with this organization than fans not showing up. That is just an excuse, a cover. And not even accurate. I go to games in Charlotte, New Jersey, Cleveland, Detroit, Houston and Atlanta, and there are far fewer fans in those arenas then there are in GM Place.

A change of locale is not going to make the Grizzlies better. A change of attitude is what is needed. A change of decision-makers, perhaps. It is not the fans' fault. A move to Memphis will prove that.

But, hey, look at the bright side, in Memphis, at least there is a new door to kick.

Frank Hughes covers the NBA for the Tacoma (Wash.) News-Tribune. He is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.