?Voice of the Sonics? Kevin Calabro will call his 1,500th broadcast with the team Tuesday, April 4 when the Sonics take on the Houston Rockets at KeyArena.

The entertainment during Tuesday night?s game at the Key, courtesy of FSN Northwest, will include a ?Top 10 Calabro Calls? ArenaVision video tribute and a ?Call It Like Calabro? segment in which two lucky fans will be chosen to compete for the best mimicking of a vintage Calabro call. FSN Northwest will also provide a collectible rally card as a giveaway to the first 10,000 fans through the KeyArena doors. The rally card will commemorate Calabro?s milestone.

?Kevin Calabro has long been one of the best play-by-play announcers, not just in basketball, but in all of pro sports,? said Sonics & Storm President and CEO Wally Walker. ?It has been a thrill for Sonics fans to hear Kevin?s classic calls over the last 19 seasons, and we congratulate him on reaching this milestone.?

Seattle forward Rashard Lewis sat out the SuperSonics' game in Houston on Wednesday night with a sprained right ankle.

The 6-foot-10 Lewis, Seattle's second-leading scorer, had 14 points when he turned his ankle with 3:12 left in the Sonics' 98-97 win over Memphis on Tuesday night.

"I don't think it's a real bad sprain, but it's very sore, so he's not going to play tonight," Hill said. "I assume it will be a day-to-day situation."

Sonics guard Earl Watson has told the Tacoma News-Tribune that being left off the playoff roster by then-coach Nate McMillan in 2002, he said it was not the deciding factor in his departure to the Memphis Grizzlies as a free agent that summer.

Watson left the Sonics at the end of that season, signing with Memphis as a free agent.

?At the time, I was really upset,? Watson said. ?I wanted to play in the playoffs. Just making it to the (NCAA) tournament at UCLA, I was used to playing in the postseason.

?But I think when it came down to it, it was just that I was already so close to Jerry West because of the whole UCLA connection. He lived like five minutes from campus and he was always up on campus and he was always giving me pointers. So when he got the Memphis (general manager) job, I immediately asked my agent, ?What?s the deal with Memphis?? And then the feeling was mutual.?

The NBA fined Spurs guard Bruce Bowen $10,000 for kicking Seattle's Ray Allen in the back during a 106-102 loss to the SuperSonics on Sunday night, according to the Associated Press.

"It is what it is. I was wrong for what I did," Bowen said before the Spurs played the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night. "The league has a decision on that. I have to deal with the consequences of my actions, and I do. I accept the consequences that come."

Bowen kicked Allen in the back while the two were laying on the floor. Bowen was called for a technical, while Allen had to be restrained by Seattle's Robert Swift and San Antonio's Nazr Mohammed.

"It's just dirty basketball. It's plain, outright, dirty basketball," Allen said following the game. "You guys have chronicled our battles over the last couple of years and I don't mind the competition, someone going at me on both ends of the floor. ... But when guys start throwing elbows and kick you when you're down, that's dirty basketball and I don't respect guys like that."

Afterward, Bowen was apologetic, admitting it was a mistake.

"I did what I did and I'm sorry for that," he said.

The Sonics hold an option on Bob Hill's contract for next season, and management is expected to wait until season's end to make a decision.

"I most definitely would like him back as a head coach," Lewis said. "He gives everybody responsibility and expects everybody to do it. And that's a great way to coach the game. He's making everybody hold accountable to themselves.

"I think we need a coach like that. He told me that I could be 50 percent better and gave me a program for the summer. I am excited at the possibility of playing for him next season."

Even if Seattle SuperSonics power forward Nick Collison is able to return from his foot injury at full strength before the end of the season, coach Bob Hill said Chris Wilcox is likely to remain the starter based on his performance the past two games.

?I would say it is pretty safe right now that Chris Wilcox has the starting big-forward position wrapped up,? Hill said. ?That would be my guess, with 46 points and 33 rebounds in two nights against playoff teams.?

The Seattle Supersonics? Nick Collison is still a few weeks away from making his return to the court after suffering a tear in the planter fascia of his left foot. The injury, suffered during a win over the Utah Jazz on March 5th, was discovered when Collison experienced a sharp pain while scrambling for a loose ball.

Collison said he spoke with his doctor Wednesday, and that he might be cleared to run as soon as this weekend. He went on to say, ?There could be some soreness, so it?s hard to say when I?ll be back. I?d say best case scenario ? two to two-and-a-half weeks.? Collison, who has started 26 games this season for Seattle, is averaging 7.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.

?It?s very tough to tell because the soft tissue has to heal, so I don?t really know (when he?ll return) because everybody?s body heals differently,? said Collison.

The Seattle Sonics have signed Noel Felix to a contract for the remainder of the 2005-2006 season.  Felix was originally signed to a 10-day contract on March 2 and has averaged 1.3 points and 0.7 rebounds in three games with the Sonics.

Early Tuesday morning, Luke Ridnour wanted to talk to Hill about some comments he made to reporters on Monday afternoon questioning his role and his future with the team after getting benched in recent fourth quarters in favor of Earl Watson.

Hill declined to divulge what Ridnour told him, but suffice it to say that Ridnour was contrite.

?He cares,? Hill said. ?Players like that ? they care. They can?t sleep, they want to talk, they want to confess, they want to apologize, they want to be educated. There is a reason they want to talk. In Luke?s case he is scared. He is a baby. He is what ... 23?

?Like I told him, Avery Johnson was cut six times. He was cut Christmas eve once. Sometimes to really make it at that position, you have to persevere, you really do. That position is hard.?

Ridnour said he did not understand why he had been getting benched when he thought he was playing well.

Seattle guard Earl Watson has a neck injury and did not make the trip to Sacramento as the Sonics lost 105-96 to the Kings.

Watson was acquired from Denver in a trade at the deadline.