Sonics fans will gather at Occidental Park from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. tonight to build support and awareness of Chris Hansen's arena proposal. Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp and many more local figures will be in attendance. Local musical acts Blue Scholars and Presidents of the United States are scheduled to perform and there will be a couple of food trucks at the park as well. Follow our StoryStream throughout the day for updates on the rally.

In other news regarding the Sonics arena, Hansen announced Microsoft's Steve Ballmer and two members of the Nordstrom family will be joining his investment group.

Read more Seattle sports links and news after the jump.

• San Diego Padres 1, Seattle Mariners 0 [box]: Eight hits, but no runs for the Mariners on Wednesday night. The Mariners lost a guaranteed two of three to the worst team in baseball — so does this make them the worst team in baseball? This is an uncomfortable question. Lookout Landing has your postgame analysis. Next game: Thursday, Seattle (27-37) vs. San Diego (22-41), 7:10 p.m., 10.5 games back.

• Chicago Sky 74, Seattle Storm 58 [box]: Sue Bird struggled, only scoring eight points and turning the ball over a team-high four times, despite dishing out 10 assists. The Storm were also out-rebounded 44 to 21. Next game: Friday, Seattle (1-7) at Tulsa (0-8), 5:00 p.m., 7.5 games back.

• The Sounders FC's David Estrada will be out for 8-12 weeks with a broken left foot.

• The Pac-12 Network launches in two months on August 15th. See the trailer for the new channel at Pacific Takes.

• UW Dawg Pound analyzes the Huskies' safety position. Yay for Shaq Thompson!

• Here's a little video to get you pumped up for the rally: