Saturday, October 23, 2004
THE LATE REPORT
Yes, it's me having Almost Live! withdrawals again.
It was kind of a slow day because everyone is caring about the World Series, and rightfully so. This of course means there won't be any Mariner news for a while. The Seahawks hopefully will whoop Arizona on Sunday, and the Sonics aren't good. The Canucks aren't playing, and I'm reaching for junior hockey to give me my hockey fix.
MARINERS
Anyone remember when Woody Williams was a Blue Jay and the Mariners teed off on him? Yes, that was many moons ago for the Game 1 starter in the 2004 World Series.
Not much new on the Mariner front in terms of articles, other than the first comments I've heard from Bret Boone after the passing of his grandfather Ray just a few days ago. There's also a tidbit toward the end of the article about Bret's LASIK eye surgery.
Yes, the Arizona Diamondbacks are having a similar fate of the pre-2003 Seattle Mariners; their managerial finalists are down to three no-names -- Bob Melvin, Manny Acta, and Wally Backman, and they'll probably hire the same guy that the Mariners did.
SEAHAWKS
A familiar problem for the Seahawks: getting beaten by the big-play deep ball. The games against the Patriots and Rams this year echo eerie feelings from last year's games against the Ravens and Vikings. Except those Seahawks had the not-quite-fast and short-by-NFL-standards Willie Williams, who quarterbacks would just throw the ball over and have the tall receivers catch it.
The Seahawks are pretty banged up. Bobby Engram and Chris Terry didn't practice all week, and Jerry Rice and Floyd Womack have been taking their snaps in practice. The Tom Rouen situation is still up in the air (pardon the pun), amd there's a distinct possibility that Josh Brown might do the placekicking as well as the punting. Chad Brown is almost all the way back, but he won't play until next week.
But the clincher from that Times notebook article...
Inked in black on Antonio Cochran's left arm is a tattoo that explains both his personality and his passion. "Sacks," it reads, over a picture of a quarterback getting mauled by a defensive end. Underneath the picture, it says: "Better than sex."
You can't make this stuff up.
Lastly, I hope this Largent/Rice number crap stops. Clare Farnsworth goes on to debunk some "facts" that some irate phone callers and emailers had cited.
SONICS
Luke Ridnour and Brent Barry were close in Ridnour's first year as a Sonic. Though Barry has left for San Antonio, it appears that the two have been performing nearly identically during the preseason as both are shooting poorly so far. In any event, Ridnour is going to have trouble putting up those lines that Bones would put up -- 15 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists. That was a Brent Barry night. It was fun watching Brent making the players around him better. Now, Barry is basically in San Antonio to free up Tim Duncan.
HOCKEY
Spokane beat Portland in overtime, 2-1. The Winter Hawks got 27 stops from Blake Grenier in his Winter Hawk debut along with a game-tying goal with 11 seconds left in regulation (with the goalie pulled) by Shane Halifax. However, Scott Lynch of the Spokane Chiefs had a dagger goal of his own, this one ending the game with 33 seconds left in overtime. Braydon Coburn assisted on the only Portland goal and has a six-game point streak.
Seattle beat Tri City, 2-1. Chris Durand intercepted a cross-ice pass and beat Carey Price for the first Seattle goal, and the rebound of a Durand shot in the third period was banged home by Ladislav Scurko. Thunderbird goalie Bryan Bridges stopped 32 of 33. The win put Seattle into first place in the WHL US Division because...
Prince George beat Everett, 4-1. Barry Horman had the lone Everett goal, and Silvertip goalie Mike Wall (great name for a goalie) stopped 30 of the 34 shots he was peppered with. Everett managed only 16 shots on net in the game. As I mentioned, the loss knocks the 'Tips out of first place because Seattle won.
Edmonton shut out Manitoba, 3-0. Tyler Moss pitched a shutout for the Road Runners, stopping all 26 shots he faced. The biggest applause of the night came when Lee Goren of the Moose dropped the gloves at center ice and took on Dan Baum. Tonight's game was the first of four games to be played at the old Winnipeg Arena before the Moose move downtown to the MTS Centre.
Puget Sound beat Butte, 9-5. This was a crazy game. The Tomahawks came out firing in the first period once again, piling up a 4-1 lead after 20 minutes. Most of Butte's goals came in the third period, when the game was well out of reach. However, the amazing thing about the game was that even with the score out of hand, there were no prolonged fights. I don't have a goal list or anything like that, so it looks like I'll have to wait for the Sun to print it in the morning. [Edit ~11:46a -- And print it they have. Puget Sound had outscored Butte 5-0 in the 2nd period and were outscored 4-0 by Butte in the third period. Mike Truex had two goals and an assist for the T-Hawks.]
Tonight: Portland at Spokane, Vancouver at Seattle, Everett at Prince George, Edmonton at Manitoba, Butte at Puget Sound
Tomorrow: Saskatoon at Vancouver, Tri-City at Seattle
Once again, it's much too late for me to be up. Everybody enjoy Game 1 of the World Series.
[Edit ~11:46a -- Added the Sun link to the Tomahawk blip.]
It was kind of a slow day because everyone is caring about the World Series, and rightfully so. This of course means there won't be any Mariner news for a while. The Seahawks hopefully will whoop Arizona on Sunday, and the Sonics aren't good. The Canucks aren't playing, and I'm reaching for junior hockey to give me my hockey fix.
MARINERS
Anyone remember when Woody Williams was a Blue Jay and the Mariners teed off on him? Yes, that was many moons ago for the Game 1 starter in the 2004 World Series.
Not much new on the Mariner front in terms of articles, other than the first comments I've heard from Bret Boone after the passing of his grandfather Ray just a few days ago. There's also a tidbit toward the end of the article about Bret's LASIK eye surgery.
Yes, the Arizona Diamondbacks are having a similar fate of the pre-2003 Seattle Mariners; their managerial finalists are down to three no-names -- Bob Melvin, Manny Acta, and Wally Backman, and they'll probably hire the same guy that the Mariners did.
SEAHAWKS
A familiar problem for the Seahawks: getting beaten by the big-play deep ball. The games against the Patriots and Rams this year echo eerie feelings from last year's games against the Ravens and Vikings. Except those Seahawks had the not-quite-fast and short-by-NFL-standards Willie Williams, who quarterbacks would just throw the ball over and have the tall receivers catch it.
The Seahawks are pretty banged up. Bobby Engram and Chris Terry didn't practice all week, and Jerry Rice and Floyd Womack have been taking their snaps in practice. The Tom Rouen situation is still up in the air (pardon the pun), amd there's a distinct possibility that Josh Brown might do the placekicking as well as the punting. Chad Brown is almost all the way back, but he won't play until next week.
But the clincher from that Times notebook article...
Inked in black on Antonio Cochran's left arm is a tattoo that explains both his personality and his passion. "Sacks," it reads, over a picture of a quarterback getting mauled by a defensive end. Underneath the picture, it says: "Better than sex."
You can't make this stuff up.
Lastly, I hope this Largent/Rice number crap stops. Clare Farnsworth goes on to debunk some "facts" that some irate phone callers and emailers had cited.
SONICS
Luke Ridnour and Brent Barry were close in Ridnour's first year as a Sonic. Though Barry has left for San Antonio, it appears that the two have been performing nearly identically during the preseason as both are shooting poorly so far. In any event, Ridnour is going to have trouble putting up those lines that Bones would put up -- 15 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists. That was a Brent Barry night. It was fun watching Brent making the players around him better. Now, Barry is basically in San Antonio to free up Tim Duncan.
HOCKEY
Spokane beat Portland in overtime, 2-1. The Winter Hawks got 27 stops from Blake Grenier in his Winter Hawk debut along with a game-tying goal with 11 seconds left in regulation (with the goalie pulled) by Shane Halifax. However, Scott Lynch of the Spokane Chiefs had a dagger goal of his own, this one ending the game with 33 seconds left in overtime. Braydon Coburn assisted on the only Portland goal and has a six-game point streak.
Seattle beat Tri City, 2-1. Chris Durand intercepted a cross-ice pass and beat Carey Price for the first Seattle goal, and the rebound of a Durand shot in the third period was banged home by Ladislav Scurko. Thunderbird goalie Bryan Bridges stopped 32 of 33. The win put Seattle into first place in the WHL US Division because...
Prince George beat Everett, 4-1. Barry Horman had the lone Everett goal, and Silvertip goalie Mike Wall (great name for a goalie) stopped 30 of the 34 shots he was peppered with. Everett managed only 16 shots on net in the game. As I mentioned, the loss knocks the 'Tips out of first place because Seattle won.
Edmonton shut out Manitoba, 3-0. Tyler Moss pitched a shutout for the Road Runners, stopping all 26 shots he faced. The biggest applause of the night came when Lee Goren of the Moose dropped the gloves at center ice and took on Dan Baum. Tonight's game was the first of four games to be played at the old Winnipeg Arena before the Moose move downtown to the MTS Centre.
Puget Sound beat Butte, 9-5. This was a crazy game. The Tomahawks came out firing in the first period once again, piling up a 4-1 lead after 20 minutes. Most of Butte's goals came in the third period, when the game was well out of reach. However, the amazing thing about the game was that even with the score out of hand, there were no prolonged fights. I don't have a goal list or anything like that, so it looks like I'll have to wait for the Sun to print it in the morning. [Edit ~11:46a -- And print it they have. Puget Sound had outscored Butte 5-0 in the 2nd period and were outscored 4-0 by Butte in the third period. Mike Truex had two goals and an assist for the T-Hawks.]
Tonight: Portland at Spokane, Vancouver at Seattle, Everett at Prince George, Edmonton at Manitoba, Butte at Puget Sound
Tomorrow: Saskatoon at Vancouver, Tri-City at Seattle
Once again, it's much too late for me to be up. Everybody enjoy Game 1 of the World Series.
[Edit ~11:46a -- Added the Sun link to the Tomahawk blip.]
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Friday, October 22, 2004
WEEK 7 PICK ME UP
Last week was terrible.
6-8 is not acceptable.
Here's to a better week of the Pick Me Up.
I know a few of you care about my picks. Well, 3 of you.
Here are my Week 7 picks:
WEEK 7
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24
EARLY GAMES
Buffalo at Baltimore
(The Ravens will be without Jamal Lewis. Not good.)
San Diego at Carolina
(The Panthers are reeling. It's basketball season in Carolina.)
Philadelphia at Cleveland (FOX, televised in Arkansas)
(UPSET OF THE WEEK. Jeff Garcia has a big day.)
Jacksonville at Indianapolis
(Expect a lot of points)
Atlanta at Kansas City
(The Falcons are the best team of a very weak NFC South)
St. Louis at Miami
(UPSET OF THE WEEK 1A. The Dolphins won't have a winless 2004.)
Tennessee at Minnesota (CBS, televised in Arkansas)
(Daunte Culpepper is on fire. ON FIRE!!!)
Detroit at New York Giants
(Two of the biggest surprises of the 2004 season)
Chicago at Tampa Bay
(Fans are already wondering whether they can get their money back)
LATE GAMES
Seattle at Arizona
(LOCK OF THE WEEK. Jerry Rice will score a touchdown in the desert.)
New York Jets at New England
(I'm impressed by the Patriots after last week)
Dallas at Green Bay (FOX, televised in Arkansas)
(The Packers are due to win a game at Lambeau Field)
New Orleans at Oakland
(And the Raider Nation chants, "TUI! TUI! TUI!")
No Sunday Night football game this week
MONDAY, OCTOBER 25
MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Denver at Cincinnati
(First MNF appearance by the Bengals since 1992)
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Things will get better this week.
The Seahawks will snap their 2-game losing streak.
I will have a winning record this weekend.
Have a glorious weekend.
6-8 is not acceptable.
Here's to a better week of the Pick Me Up.
I know a few of you care about my picks. Well, 3 of you.
Here are my Week 7 picks:
WEEK 7
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24
EARLY GAMES
Buffalo at Baltimore
(The Ravens will be without Jamal Lewis. Not good.)
San Diego at Carolina
(The Panthers are reeling. It's basketball season in Carolina.)
Philadelphia at Cleveland (FOX, televised in Arkansas)
(UPSET OF THE WEEK. Jeff Garcia has a big day.)
Jacksonville at Indianapolis
(Expect a lot of points)
Atlanta at Kansas City
(The Falcons are the best team of a very weak NFC South)
St. Louis at Miami
(UPSET OF THE WEEK 1A. The Dolphins won't have a winless 2004.)
Tennessee at Minnesota (CBS, televised in Arkansas)
(Daunte Culpepper is on fire. ON FIRE!!!)
Detroit at New York Giants
(Two of the biggest surprises of the 2004 season)
Chicago at Tampa Bay
(Fans are already wondering whether they can get their money back)
LATE GAMES
Seattle at Arizona
(LOCK OF THE WEEK. Jerry Rice will score a touchdown in the desert.)
New York Jets at New England
(I'm impressed by the Patriots after last week)
Dallas at Green Bay (FOX, televised in Arkansas)
(The Packers are due to win a game at Lambeau Field)
New Orleans at Oakland
(And the Raider Nation chants, "TUI! TUI! TUI!")
No Sunday Night football game this week
MONDAY, OCTOBER 25
MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Denver at Cincinnati
(First MNF appearance by the Bengals since 1992)
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Things will get better this week.
The Seahawks will snap their 2-game losing streak.
I will have a winning record this weekend.
Have a glorious weekend.
/ Click for main page
CURMUDGEON
Here's the stuff I was working on when I fell asleep some time around 2am last night.
BASEBALL
Andriesen probably didn't have too much to go on here. It's nothing that past articles haven't already covered. The Mariners have a lot to do, the organization likes Bryan Price (Mike Hargrove and Mark Wiley are close), Sam Perlozzo wouldn't mind being Hargrove's bench coach again, and the spots of Jongewaard, Woodward, Gillick, Slaton, and Moses will be filled by other people.
We've been searched for it here a couple of times, and I now reveal to you what the Sun print edition (but not the online edition) revealed yesterday. A new summer league, the West Coast Collegiate Summer League (a wood-bat league), will begin play in June of 2005, and the Kitsap BlueJackets will play at the county fairgrounds (which has planted some new grass; I drove by there the other day). Rick Smith, a Silverdale attorney, is the GM, and Matt Acker, head coach at Green River CC, has been named the BlueJackets' head coach. The league looks like it will coexist with the Pacific International League (PIL) with teams from Everett, Kirkland, Seattle, Portland, and Langley (BC). Other members in the WCCSL include Aloha, Bellingham, Bend, Kelowna, Spokane, and Wenatchee. I met with one of the guys in the Bend organization at the Bend Fieldhouse last summer when I was taking some hacks at the cage; good guy. Eligible players will be college players coming off their freshman, sophomore, and junior seasons.
The WCCSL becomes the first NCAA-certified summer league west of the Rockies. When it comes to other summer wood-bat leagues, the Cape Cod League and the Alaskan League come to mind.
The Kitsap BlueJackets are holding organizational meetings tonight and tomorrow, location undisclosed. Chuck Stark wrote the article yesterday in the Sun that I pulled the info from. Thanks, coach.
SEAHAWKS
I was only half-joking when I mentioned the injury trifecta of Chad Brown, Anthony Simmons, and Grant Wistrom. Brown got hurt in the preseason. Wistrom was hurt last week. Now, Anthony Simmons is out 2-4 weeks after having surgery to deal with bone spurs in his left shoulder. The defense is now paper-thin, with the only consolation being that Sunday's game is against Arizona. But it's a better Arizona team than in past years. In the Times article, we learn that Jerry Rice dropped two balls in practice.
SONICS
The Sonics are in disarray on the court right now, and preseason time is running out. Also, Damien Wilkins is fighting for a roster spot. He's trying to get by on ability and skills, rather than the fact that he's Gerald Wilkins' son, and Dominique Wilkins' nephew.
HOCKEY
Imagine my surprise when I saw that the top item on the Times online sports page last night was a preview for the Tri City Americans/Seattle Thunderbirds WHL game last night. Of course, the preview has since been banished to the near-bottom of the page.
And yes, there's a full slate of games tonight and tomorrow...
Tonight: Portland at Spokane, Seattle at Tri City, Everett at Prince George, Edmonton at Manitoba, Butte at Puget Sound
Saturday: Portland at Spokane, Vancouver at Seattle, Everett at Prince George, Edmonton at Manitoba, Butte at Puget Sound
Have a wicked fun Friday, everybody.
BASEBALL
Andriesen probably didn't have too much to go on here. It's nothing that past articles haven't already covered. The Mariners have a lot to do, the organization likes Bryan Price (Mike Hargrove and Mark Wiley are close), Sam Perlozzo wouldn't mind being Hargrove's bench coach again, and the spots of Jongewaard, Woodward, Gillick, Slaton, and Moses will be filled by other people.
We've been searched for it here a couple of times, and I now reveal to you what the Sun print edition (but not the online edition) revealed yesterday. A new summer league, the West Coast Collegiate Summer League (a wood-bat league), will begin play in June of 2005, and the Kitsap BlueJackets will play at the county fairgrounds (which has planted some new grass; I drove by there the other day). Rick Smith, a Silverdale attorney, is the GM, and Matt Acker, head coach at Green River CC, has been named the BlueJackets' head coach. The league looks like it will coexist with the Pacific International League (PIL) with teams from Everett, Kirkland, Seattle, Portland, and Langley (BC). Other members in the WCCSL include Aloha, Bellingham, Bend, Kelowna, Spokane, and Wenatchee. I met with one of the guys in the Bend organization at the Bend Fieldhouse last summer when I was taking some hacks at the cage; good guy. Eligible players will be college players coming off their freshman, sophomore, and junior seasons.
The WCCSL becomes the first NCAA-certified summer league west of the Rockies. When it comes to other summer wood-bat leagues, the Cape Cod League and the Alaskan League come to mind.
The Kitsap BlueJackets are holding organizational meetings tonight and tomorrow, location undisclosed. Chuck Stark wrote the article yesterday in the Sun that I pulled the info from. Thanks, coach.
SEAHAWKS
I was only half-joking when I mentioned the injury trifecta of Chad Brown, Anthony Simmons, and Grant Wistrom. Brown got hurt in the preseason. Wistrom was hurt last week. Now, Anthony Simmons is out 2-4 weeks after having surgery to deal with bone spurs in his left shoulder. The defense is now paper-thin, with the only consolation being that Sunday's game is against Arizona. But it's a better Arizona team than in past years. In the Times article, we learn that Jerry Rice dropped two balls in practice.
SONICS
The Sonics are in disarray on the court right now, and preseason time is running out. Also, Damien Wilkins is fighting for a roster spot. He's trying to get by on ability and skills, rather than the fact that he's Gerald Wilkins' son, and Dominique Wilkins' nephew.
HOCKEY
Imagine my surprise when I saw that the top item on the Times online sports page last night was a preview for the Tri City Americans/Seattle Thunderbirds WHL game last night. Of course, the preview has since been banished to the near-bottom of the page.
And yes, there's a full slate of games tonight and tomorrow...
Tonight: Portland at Spokane, Seattle at Tri City, Everett at Prince George, Edmonton at Manitoba, Butte at Puget Sound
Saturday: Portland at Spokane, Vancouver at Seattle, Everett at Prince George, Edmonton at Manitoba, Butte at Puget Sound
Have a wicked fun Friday, everybody.
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Thursday, October 21, 2004
JUST GOT WICKED
And that's a winner!
We have got ourselves one hell of a World Series matchup, folks.
St. Louis Cardinals vs Boston Red Sox
Two great offenses. Two solid pitching staffs.
Two great fanbases.
The two best baseball towns in America.
This series deserves to go 7 games, because I would feel robbed as a baseball fan if it didn't turn out that way.
Game 1, Saturday night at Fenway Park. Holy hell, would I love to be in Boston this weekend? Hell, if I had the time and money, I'd go to St. Louis next week. After all, I'm not too far away from St. Louis.
I hate throwing out cliches and all that stuff, but this has the potential to be the greatest World Series ever. I can't remember seeing a World Series that will feature two evenly matched teams such as the Cardinals and Red Sox.
October baseball is so glorious.
We have got ourselves one hell of a World Series matchup, folks.
St. Louis Cardinals vs Boston Red Sox
Two great offenses. Two solid pitching staffs.
Two great fanbases.
The two best baseball towns in America.
This series deserves to go 7 games, because I would feel robbed as a baseball fan if it didn't turn out that way.
Game 1, Saturday night at Fenway Park. Holy hell, would I love to be in Boston this weekend? Hell, if I had the time and money, I'd go to St. Louis next week. After all, I'm not too far away from St. Louis.
I hate throwing out cliches and all that stuff, but this has the potential to be the greatest World Series ever. I can't remember seeing a World Series that will feature two evenly matched teams such as the Cardinals and Red Sox.
October baseball is so glorious.
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FREE RAMBLE, YANKEES SUCK EDITION
Thanks again, David, for the Hugh Millen Flag Football Challenge shirt. It's already on my "favorite shirts" list. No, I will not list my favorite shirts, because this isn't Fashion and Bremertonians. If you want fashion, well, just Google Elisabeth Hasselbeck.
By the way, I love using the phrase "Google ____________" (insert your favorite woman in the blank space). For the sake of Smallville, I'll just say "Google Kristen Kreuk". And yes, Scotty still doesn't know.
Alright, this is the Yankees Suck edition of the Free Ramble. It's just some stupid name for my ramblings.
---Even though I predicted that the Astros will play the Red Sox in the World Series, I will not shed a tear if the Cardinals go on to win Game 7 tonight in the National League Championship Series. Could you imagine a World Series with both the Red Sox and Cardinals? In my opinion, Boston and St. Louis are the two best baseball towns in America. No, Seattle is not the best baseball town. It's a football town. I will not debate this.
---I love October baseball. I would love it even more if the Mariners were still playing. But I digress.
---Thank God the Mariners didn't hire Jimy Williams. I really don't know what I would have done if that would have happened. But in the end, I would still be a Mariner fan. Why? It's way too late to change teams now.
---Mike Hargrove will wear #21 as Mariners manager. Will there be any public outcry over this, since it was Alvin Davis' number? Somehow, I don't think there will be.
---Browns quarterback Jeff Garcia wishes that his former teammate, Eagles WR Terrell Owens, would shut up. We agree, Jeff. In a sneak preview of the Pick Me Up, I'm picking Cleveland over Philadelphia. The Eagles are ripe for an upset.
---WHEN YOU'RE RIPE, YOU'LL BLEED OUT OF CONTROL, YOU'LL BLEED OUT OF CONTROL!
---Steve Kerr has a few camp stories on the new Northwest Divison at Yahoo. Portland and Seattle will be lucky to reach the upper echelon of this division. But I will not be surprised if the Blazers make the playoffs. They still have a good amount of talent in Rip City. As for the Sonics, they are lottery material, again. At least Nick Collison will be able to play this season for the Sonics.
---My NBA preview will be up soon. I believe the season starts on November 3, so I have some time.
---I'm angry that Chuck Woolery has been reduced to being Stephen A. Smith's bitch on these ESPN "NBA Shootaround" promos. Come on, this was the same guy who hosted "Love Connection".
Love Connection
---Two and two.
---I miss the 1980s for one reason and one reason only. Game shows. I spent a lot of my childhood during the late 1980s watching game shows. I'm still on my one-man campaign to get "Sale of the Century" on Game Show Network. Translation: It will never happen. After all, GSN is too busy airing reruns of "Average Joe".
---Holding on to what's golden: So Paul Hamm gets to keep his all-around gold medal from the Athens Games. Good freaking deal.
---Reason #1 as to why the NHL cannot contract teams from the South. 10,642 fans for an AHL game? Good job, Nashville. I hope to visit your fair city in the next few years, since its within driving distance.
---Morgan Webb. She's a winner.
---The Arkansas Travelers, who are the Angels' Double-A affiliate, will have a new ballpark in North Little Rock that will be ready for the 2007 season. The Travs have played in the legendary Ray Winder Field since the early 1930s. I went to Ray Winder this past summer and I loved my visit there. But a new ballpark will help Little Rock in the long run. Well, North Little Rock, since the ballpark will be located in NLR. (The Arkansas River divides Little Rock and North Little Rock) I don't know if I'll be in Arkansas by the time the new ballpark opens, but if I am, I'll definitely go to a ballgame there.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Big East Football on ESPN. Syracuse vs West Virginia. Fun times.
Yeah. Right. Uh-huh. OK.
We're just over a half-hour away from Game 7 of the National League Championship Series between the Astros and Cardinals. Roger Clemens vs Jeff Suppan. Like I said yesterday, undercard my ass. The NLCS has been a great series, just as good as the ALCS. Don't sleep on the National League now.
SHOW ME YOUR BRIGHT LIGHTS AND YOUR CITY LIGHTS, ALRIGHT
I'M TALKIN' 'BOUT THE YANKEE ROSE!
The Yannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnkees loooooooooooose!
Theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Yankeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees looooooooooose!
By the way, I love using the phrase "Google ____________" (insert your favorite woman in the blank space). For the sake of Smallville, I'll just say "Google Kristen Kreuk". And yes, Scotty still doesn't know.
Alright, this is the Yankees Suck edition of the Free Ramble. It's just some stupid name for my ramblings.
---Even though I predicted that the Astros will play the Red Sox in the World Series, I will not shed a tear if the Cardinals go on to win Game 7 tonight in the National League Championship Series. Could you imagine a World Series with both the Red Sox and Cardinals? In my opinion, Boston and St. Louis are the two best baseball towns in America. No, Seattle is not the best baseball town. It's a football town. I will not debate this.
---I love October baseball. I would love it even more if the Mariners were still playing. But I digress.
---Thank God the Mariners didn't hire Jimy Williams. I really don't know what I would have done if that would have happened. But in the end, I would still be a Mariner fan. Why? It's way too late to change teams now.
---Mike Hargrove will wear #21 as Mariners manager. Will there be any public outcry over this, since it was Alvin Davis' number? Somehow, I don't think there will be.
---Browns quarterback Jeff Garcia wishes that his former teammate, Eagles WR Terrell Owens, would shut up. We agree, Jeff. In a sneak preview of the Pick Me Up, I'm picking Cleveland over Philadelphia. The Eagles are ripe for an upset.
---WHEN YOU'RE RIPE, YOU'LL BLEED OUT OF CONTROL, YOU'LL BLEED OUT OF CONTROL!
---Steve Kerr has a few camp stories on the new Northwest Divison at Yahoo. Portland and Seattle will be lucky to reach the upper echelon of this division. But I will not be surprised if the Blazers make the playoffs. They still have a good amount of talent in Rip City. As for the Sonics, they are lottery material, again. At least Nick Collison will be able to play this season for the Sonics.
---My NBA preview will be up soon. I believe the season starts on November 3, so I have some time.
---I'm angry that Chuck Woolery has been reduced to being Stephen A. Smith's bitch on these ESPN "NBA Shootaround" promos. Come on, this was the same guy who hosted "Love Connection".
Love Connection
---Two and two.
---I miss the 1980s for one reason and one reason only. Game shows. I spent a lot of my childhood during the late 1980s watching game shows. I'm still on my one-man campaign to get "Sale of the Century" on Game Show Network. Translation: It will never happen. After all, GSN is too busy airing reruns of "Average Joe".
---Holding on to what's golden: So Paul Hamm gets to keep his all-around gold medal from the Athens Games. Good freaking deal.
---Reason #1 as to why the NHL cannot contract teams from the South. 10,642 fans for an AHL game? Good job, Nashville. I hope to visit your fair city in the next few years, since its within driving distance.
---Morgan Webb. She's a winner.
---The Arkansas Travelers, who are the Angels' Double-A affiliate, will have a new ballpark in North Little Rock that will be ready for the 2007 season. The Travs have played in the legendary Ray Winder Field since the early 1930s. I went to Ray Winder this past summer and I loved my visit there. But a new ballpark will help Little Rock in the long run. Well, North Little Rock, since the ballpark will be located in NLR. (The Arkansas River divides Little Rock and North Little Rock) I don't know if I'll be in Arkansas by the time the new ballpark opens, but if I am, I'll definitely go to a ballgame there.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Big East Football on ESPN. Syracuse vs West Virginia. Fun times.
Yeah. Right. Uh-huh. OK.
We're just over a half-hour away from Game 7 of the National League Championship Series between the Astros and Cardinals. Roger Clemens vs Jeff Suppan. Like I said yesterday, undercard my ass. The NLCS has been a great series, just as good as the ALCS. Don't sleep on the National League now.
SHOW ME YOUR BRIGHT LIGHTS AND YOUR CITY LIGHTS, ALRIGHT
I'M TALKIN' 'BOUT THE YANKEE ROSE!
The Yannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnkees loooooooooooose!
Theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Yankeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees looooooooooose!
/ Click for main page
ZZZZZZZZZ
You know, when I do these roundup posts, I invariably forget to add an intro and a titloe to the post, so there's a chance that if someone's viewing this at an odd time of the night, you may see no intro at all and just a straight dive into links, something which I hope hasn't scared anyone. Without further adieu...
MARINERS
Mike Hargrove it is.
What came as somewhat of a surprise to me is that Dave Andriesen's article reveals the Mariners' final four managerial choices, one of which was Jerry Manuel. I guess one interesting thing to me is that most of the articles seem to pass off the Orioles' fourth-place finishes under Hargrove as if they weren't his fault in some way. I'm not going to argue that his teams had a chance against the Yankees and Red Sox or anything like that, but I get the feeling that the writers are just letting Hargrove skate by without directing a sliver of blame his way for the crappiness of those Oriole teams.
John Hickey's article reveals some mushy tidbits from the Mariner players. Other than the instances of Randy Winn, Raul Ibanez, and a baseball card, we learn that Bret Boone ran into ex-Angel Doug DeCinces. Perhaps tomorrow, Bret will run into Kirk McCaskill. I think I could locate 1987 Topps cards downstairs with those names in no time. Anyway, Doug told Bret he'd love Hargrove. The article ends on a weird note with what may be known as the Magic Monday Dinner, which sold the brass on Grover.
But what's this from the Finnigan article? It's Hargrove, saying...
"I believe in walks and on-base percentage and being selective to drive up the number of pitches the other guy is throwing — that the deeper in the count you get, the better pitches you'll see. I believe in a firm structure, but one that allows players to be creative within that structure because everyone has their own style, including Ichiro. You can't argue with 262 hits."
I find this refreshing.
And the Steve Kelley article brings up the Ichiro question from 1998. It also talks about his credentials a bit.
SEAHAWKS
Now Mike Holmgren has further defined Jerry Rice's role, saying he will share time at split end with Koren Robinson. Koren might not like this, but you know what, Koren? Tough sh%*. Catch the ball. Of course, he won't have worry about his playing time being taken up if and when the NFL suspends him. Art Thiel's got some other shady stuff in the Koren file. KJR was running a Mitch Levy promo the other day where Mitch was airing his opinion on this thing, and basically said that if this substance abuse suspension goes through (this means there was a third violation), that it would be "the ultimate slap in the face" from Koren to the Seahawk organization and their fans, especially since he knew what the expectations were for this team going into the offseason. As for another wide receiver, Darrell Jackson was on the Softy show the day after the trade was made, and by both my account and Softy's, Darrell didn't sound too excited. Afterward, Softy suggested that maybe Koren and Jackson need some sort of threat -- that they'd been too comfortable in the wide receiving corps. Who knows? What I do know is that I haven't heard a peep out of Koren.
SONICS
The Sonics fouled a lot in their scrimmage Wednesday night at the Royal Brougham Gym (Seattle Pacific University). No brutal injuries were incurred, so that's always good. There's also an article on Nate McMillan's acceptance of a limited role as a player (Gary Payton), and how he'll use the experience from a coaching standpoint.
HOCKEY
Dustin Butler turned away 33 of 35 shots and Braydon Coburn scored twice and drew a helper en route to a 3-2 win over a really good Vancouver Giants team in the Glass Palace. The game featured two defensemen that are probably NHL-bound in Coburn and Vancouver's Andrej Meszaros.
Upcoming
Friday: Portland at Spokane, Seattle at Tri City, Everett at Prince George, Edmonton at Manitoba, Butte at Puget Sound
Saturday: Portland at Spokane, Vancouver at Seattle, Everett at Prince George, Edmonton at Manitoba, Butte at Puget Sound
I've realized that I don't have to be a college student to stay up at ridiculous hours of the night posting on a sports weblog. This realization has ushered in mixed feelings, tempered only by the thought of sleep.
Happy Thursday, all. It's about time the Houston/Saint Louis series gets some attention. I'm hoping for a good game.
MARINERS
Mike Hargrove it is.
What came as somewhat of a surprise to me is that Dave Andriesen's article reveals the Mariners' final four managerial choices, one of which was Jerry Manuel. I guess one interesting thing to me is that most of the articles seem to pass off the Orioles' fourth-place finishes under Hargrove as if they weren't his fault in some way. I'm not going to argue that his teams had a chance against the Yankees and Red Sox or anything like that, but I get the feeling that the writers are just letting Hargrove skate by without directing a sliver of blame his way for the crappiness of those Oriole teams.
John Hickey's article reveals some mushy tidbits from the Mariner players. Other than the instances of Randy Winn, Raul Ibanez, and a baseball card, we learn that Bret Boone ran into ex-Angel Doug DeCinces. Perhaps tomorrow, Bret will run into Kirk McCaskill. I think I could locate 1987 Topps cards downstairs with those names in no time. Anyway, Doug told Bret he'd love Hargrove. The article ends on a weird note with what may be known as the Magic Monday Dinner, which sold the brass on Grover.
But what's this from the Finnigan article? It's Hargrove, saying...
"I believe in walks and on-base percentage and being selective to drive up the number of pitches the other guy is throwing — that the deeper in the count you get, the better pitches you'll see. I believe in a firm structure, but one that allows players to be creative within that structure because everyone has their own style, including Ichiro. You can't argue with 262 hits."
I find this refreshing.
And the Steve Kelley article brings up the Ichiro question from 1998. It also talks about his credentials a bit.
SEAHAWKS
Now Mike Holmgren has further defined Jerry Rice's role, saying he will share time at split end with Koren Robinson. Koren might not like this, but you know what, Koren? Tough sh%*. Catch the ball. Of course, he won't have worry about his playing time being taken up if and when the NFL suspends him. Art Thiel's got some other shady stuff in the Koren file. KJR was running a Mitch Levy promo the other day where Mitch was airing his opinion on this thing, and basically said that if this substance abuse suspension goes through (this means there was a third violation), that it would be "the ultimate slap in the face" from Koren to the Seahawk organization and their fans, especially since he knew what the expectations were for this team going into the offseason. As for another wide receiver, Darrell Jackson was on the Softy show the day after the trade was made, and by both my account and Softy's, Darrell didn't sound too excited. Afterward, Softy suggested that maybe Koren and Jackson need some sort of threat -- that they'd been too comfortable in the wide receiving corps. Who knows? What I do know is that I haven't heard a peep out of Koren.
SONICS
The Sonics fouled a lot in their scrimmage Wednesday night at the Royal Brougham Gym (Seattle Pacific University). No brutal injuries were incurred, so that's always good. There's also an article on Nate McMillan's acceptance of a limited role as a player (Gary Payton), and how he'll use the experience from a coaching standpoint.
HOCKEY
Dustin Butler turned away 33 of 35 shots and Braydon Coburn scored twice and drew a helper en route to a 3-2 win over a really good Vancouver Giants team in the Glass Palace. The game featured two defensemen that are probably NHL-bound in Coburn and Vancouver's Andrej Meszaros.
Upcoming
Friday: Portland at Spokane, Seattle at Tri City, Everett at Prince George, Edmonton at Manitoba, Butte at Puget Sound
Saturday: Portland at Spokane, Vancouver at Seattle, Everett at Prince George, Edmonton at Manitoba, Butte at Puget Sound
I've realized that I don't have to be a college student to stay up at ridiculous hours of the night posting on a sports weblog. This realization has ushered in mixed feelings, tempered only by the thought of sleep.
Happy Thursday, all. It's about time the Houston/Saint Louis series gets some attention. I'm hoping for a good game.
/ Click for main page
ON FUMES
It happened. As Tom Paciorek would say, "Wow."
The Yankees blew a 3-0 series lead and lost. My goodness. After being crap for most of the series, Johnny Damon and Mark Bellhorn pulled a 180 and became sluggers.
Mariano Rivera is vulnerable to someone not named Edgar Martinez or Luis Gonzalez (he didn't quite pull a Byung-Hyun Kim in the process). Derek Jeter and the Yankees go home for the fourth straight year without a World Series title. Alex Rodriguez STILL hasn't played in the World Series, and even joining the Yankees couldn't get him there.
Technically, the "Curse" won't be fully extinguished until the Red Sox come away with a title, but who cares? They beat the Yankees, mounted a comeback heretofore unseen in Major League history, and George Steinbrenner is going to go nuts. Yes, the Red Sox have helped give us both the last great competitive Mariner moment (Raf Soriano whiffing Nomar in August 2003) and the best Yankee-hating moment of recent memory. Thanks, Red Sox.
Well, it turns out I actually got to go to work and make money today, but that means I missed most of the NLCS game. I did, however, get to see the end of it. I'll give it to David Locke, who saw Brad Lidge pitch against the Mariners earlier in the season (with the pre-Beltran Astros) and simply said his stuff was sick. Lidge has some heat, and he kinda steps toward first base when he plants his lead foot; it reminds me of a sped-up Kerry Ligtenberg step mixed with a dash of Brendan Donnelly, except Lidge is better.
But I guess my next point is that it's gotta be all in the mechanics for Jim Edmonds. Visually, his swing doesn't look all that powerful; it just looks smooth as silk. The fact that it's smooth combined with the fact that it's a blatant uppercut swing just leaves me almost mystified when baseballs start flying out of the yard off his bat. Of course, many people thought the same thing when they saw a certain Ken Griffey, Jr. He once said he hadn't lifted a weight in his life. But oh, the swing.
I guess the one thing I've missed about the Astros' run is a good vintage Jeff Bagwell opposite-field smash of a homer. If there's an image of Bagwell that replays in my mind, it's Bagpipes smashing one to the opposite field, and sort of leaning and running toward first base after making contact. I miss that, Bagwell. Make it happen!
The Yankees blew a 3-0 series lead and lost. My goodness. After being crap for most of the series, Johnny Damon and Mark Bellhorn pulled a 180 and became sluggers.
Mariano Rivera is vulnerable to someone not named Edgar Martinez or Luis Gonzalez (he didn't quite pull a Byung-Hyun Kim in the process). Derek Jeter and the Yankees go home for the fourth straight year without a World Series title. Alex Rodriguez STILL hasn't played in the World Series, and even joining the Yankees couldn't get him there.
Technically, the "Curse" won't be fully extinguished until the Red Sox come away with a title, but who cares? They beat the Yankees, mounted a comeback heretofore unseen in Major League history, and George Steinbrenner is going to go nuts. Yes, the Red Sox have helped give us both the last great competitive Mariner moment (Raf Soriano whiffing Nomar in August 2003) and the best Yankee-hating moment of recent memory. Thanks, Red Sox.
Well, it turns out I actually got to go to work and make money today, but that means I missed most of the NLCS game. I did, however, get to see the end of it. I'll give it to David Locke, who saw Brad Lidge pitch against the Mariners earlier in the season (with the pre-Beltran Astros) and simply said his stuff was sick. Lidge has some heat, and he kinda steps toward first base when he plants his lead foot; it reminds me of a sped-up Kerry Ligtenberg step mixed with a dash of Brendan Donnelly, except Lidge is better.
But I guess my next point is that it's gotta be all in the mechanics for Jim Edmonds. Visually, his swing doesn't look all that powerful; it just looks smooth as silk. The fact that it's smooth combined with the fact that it's a blatant uppercut swing just leaves me almost mystified when baseballs start flying out of the yard off his bat. Of course, many people thought the same thing when they saw a certain Ken Griffey, Jr. He once said he hadn't lifted a weight in his life. But oh, the swing.
I guess the one thing I've missed about the Astros' run is a good vintage Jeff Bagwell opposite-field smash of a homer. If there's an image of Bagwell that replays in my mind, it's Bagpipes smashing one to the opposite field, and sort of leaning and running toward first base after making contact. I miss that, Bagwell. Make it happen!
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Wednesday, October 20, 2004
START SPREADING THE NEWS!!!
I'm as excited as can be, even though my team isn't going to the World Series.
Yankee haters, we have some arsenal to use towards Yankee fans.
At least our teams have never blown a 3-0 lead in the postseason.
Way to go, Alex. Way to f**king go.
This is simply unbelievable. And this is only the Red Sox advancing to the World Series. What if they were to win the World Series?
The Red Sox showed tremendous heart coming back from 3-0 deficit. David Ortiz is the man. Curt Schilling is tough as hell. Derek Lowe just earned himself a nice paycheck from somebody in the offseason. Jesus, I mean Johnny Damon, finally showed up in the ALCS.
Congrats, Red Sox fans. Game 1 is on Saturday night in Fenway Park.
Wow.
Yankee haters, we have some arsenal to use towards Yankee fans.
At least our teams have never blown a 3-0 lead in the postseason.
Way to go, Alex. Way to f**king go.
This is simply unbelievable. And this is only the Red Sox advancing to the World Series. What if they were to win the World Series?
The Red Sox showed tremendous heart coming back from 3-0 deficit. David Ortiz is the man. Curt Schilling is tough as hell. Derek Lowe just earned himself a nice paycheck from somebody in the offseason. Jesus, I mean Johnny Damon, finally showed up in the ALCS.
Congrats, Red Sox fans. Game 1 is on Saturday night in Fenway Park.
Wow.
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GO CRAZY FOLKS, GO CRAZY!
I wish Jack Buck were still alive to see this great series between the Astros and Cardinals.
Undercard my ass. This Houston-St. Louis NLCS has been one of the greatest postseason series ever.
And as Buck said after Game 6 of the 1991 World Series, we'll see you tomorrow night!
October baseball is so f**king glorious.
Undercard my ass. This Houston-St. Louis NLCS has been one of the greatest postseason series ever.
And as Buck said after Game 6 of the 1991 World Series, we'll see you tomorrow night!
October baseball is so f**king glorious.
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SEXSON TO REUNITE WITH HARGROVE?
I might as well bring this up.
Richie Sexson knows Mike Hargrove well from his days as a Cleveland Indian. Sure, Sexson was hurt for much of the 2004 season. But I'll take my chances on a guy like Sexson.
The last time I checked, the Mariners need a 1st baseman. Give me Sexson at first base anyday over Raul Ibanez. Oh, and he's local.
Not that being local matters a whole lot here.
Hopefully one of the first moves this offseason, player-wise, would be releasing Willie Bloomquist. That would be very, very good.
I'll have my offseason plan for the M's up in a week or so. Hopefully the M's will at least make one of my suggestions come true.
And as you can tell, Sexson is on my offseason plan. It's on David's as well.
What a great day for baseball.
Richie Sexson knows Mike Hargrove well from his days as a Cleveland Indian. Sure, Sexson was hurt for much of the 2004 season. But I'll take my chances on a guy like Sexson.
The last time I checked, the Mariners need a 1st baseman. Give me Sexson at first base anyday over Raul Ibanez. Oh, and he's local.
Not that being local matters a whole lot here.
Hopefully one of the first moves this offseason, player-wise, would be releasing Willie Bloomquist. That would be very, very good.
I'll have my offseason plan for the M's up in a week or so. Hopefully the M's will at least make one of my suggestions come true.
And as you can tell, Sexson is on my offseason plan. It's on David's as well.
What a great day for baseball.
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THE GROVER ERA BEGINS
Seattle Times
Mike Hargrove has been hired as manager of the Seattle Mariners.
I like it.
Hargrove is the best of the candidates that the Mariners were considering. He's a winner. And his name isn't Jimy Williams.
I'm so relieved right now that the next Mariners manager won't be Jimy Williams.
Welcome to Seattle, Mike. Now win some ballgames.
Of course, Bill Bavasi better give Hargrove some players to work with. That would help matters, of course.
Mike Hargrove has been hired as manager of the Seattle Mariners.
I like it.
Hargrove is the best of the candidates that the Mariners were considering. He's a winner. And his name isn't Jimy Williams.
I'm so relieved right now that the next Mariners manager won't be Jimy Williams.
Welcome to Seattle, Mike. Now win some ballgames.
Of course, Bill Bavasi better give Hargrove some players to work with. That would help matters, of course.
/ Click for main page
GROVEL
Before I start here, a little pronunciation lesson for those familiar with the current Seattle sports scene: Hasselbeck. Stanback. The two names do not end with the same vowel sound, no matter how many times I've heard of someone named Hasselback. I'm probably soapboxing here, but this has eaten at me for years, as did any pronunciation of Lou Piniella's surname without accounting for the second "i." I'll back down on the Piniella thing if someone proves to me that I'm incorrect.
Now, to more relevant and exciting news...
BASEBALL
It's Bob Finnigan, but he cites sources saying that the Mariners have chosen Mike Hargrove as their new manager. Finnigan reports that it is believed Hargrove will get to name most of his coaching staff, which may mean pitching coach Bryan Price has one foot out the door. However, it may mean that Sam Perlozzo might take a second tour of duty in Seattle and a second tour with ol' pal Grover. Of note between the two articles is that Finnigan cited sources to say that Hargrove was hired, whereas Andriesen said it was down to Hargrove and Little with a hire coming in the next two days.
All said, I guess I'm mildly excited about the Hargrove move. I guess I'm not excited because it's a Dusty Baker or a Felipe Alou-calibre top-echelon manager that we were screaming at the Mariners to go and interview two offseasons ago; I'm excited because it appears that for once, the Mariners didn't totally crap the bed, which I'd be saying right now if they'd hired Don Baylor, Jimy Williams, or pretty much anyone that was mentioned in the speculation sans maybe Little and Maddon (Maddon would have raised other types of questions). I guess I just mildly like this move. I'm not ecstatic, but I like the move. Let's see what Bavasi and company give him to work with, though.
I'm sure there's a six degrees game you could play with this Hargrove thing: Grover => Grover Cleveland => Grover Cleveland Alexander => Alexander ____ ; if you can tie Grover Cleveland Alexander to Mike Hargrove (or "Grover") in three "degrees," then...you win the fake contest!! You will be awarded a fake prize!!
FOOTBALL
Yep, Jerry Rice is a Seahawk. Surely Matt Hasselbeck has to feel great knowing that he's got another set of hands that is going to actually hold on to the ball. All Jerry's going to have to do is move the chains. The Seahawks don't need him to put a juke on a cornerback and streak down the field to catch 55-yard passes. They just need someone to catch the ball, and more so if Bobby Engram is hurt and Koren Robinson's got to serve the substance abuse suspension.
BASKETBALL
Rashard Lewis may be following the Grant Wistrom track this year. He's already got the plantar fasciitis, which Wistrom had. I'd have to say it'd be tougher on Lewis, given that he plays on hardwood instead of grass/turf and is on it for 35-42 or so minutes a game, and in however so many hours of practice. If Lewis follows the Wistrom track, he's well on his way to somehow fracturing his left knee in about a month and a half. One thing's for sure: if the Sonics lose Lewis for a few months or something, then they're REALLY screwed. If that happens, there's no chance in hell of them being a .500 team. But you'll still be able to watch them 71 times on FSNNW, except for Portland-area folks when the Blazers are on.
Blaine Newnham has a piece on the wages that the Storm players are getting paid, and the fact that many are playing overseas this offseason because they're paying more. The corporate sponsorship is apparently bigger in Europe. Half-interesting read, anyway.
HOCKEY
The NHL has increased the advance cancellation rollout from 30 days to 45 days. What does this mean? It means basically that the arenas with NHL tenants now get more time to book other events in case there is no hockey. However, all NHL games through December 2 have now been cancelled. Out of a total 1230 regular season games that were scheduled for the 2004-2005 NHL season, 340 have now been lost. It's sad, really.
But now to less depressing news...here's how the locally relevant teams have been doing:
WHL
Vancouver Giants 7-2-0-1, 2nd in BC Division
Everett Silvertips 5-2-2-1, 1st in US Division
Seattle Thunderbirds 6-3-0-0, 2nd in US Division
Portland Winter Hawks 5-5-0-0, 3rd in US Division
AHL
Manitoba Moose 3-1-0-0, 1st in North Division
NorPac Junior B
Puget Sound Tomahawks 10-2-0-0, 1st in Western Division
Upcoming for the teams: Vancouver at Portland (tonight), Seattle at Tri City (Friday), Everett at Prince George (Friday), Edmonton at Manitoba (Friday), Butte at Puget Sound (Friday)
And by the way, current Manitoba Moose and last year's Canuck call-up Jason King (Corner Brook, Newfoundland) was named the AHL Player of the Week for tallying seven goals and two assists in the Moose's first four games. Congrats, Jason.
I guess that's a roundup. Grover, Rice, Rashard, and some pucks. Not bad. Have a wicked Wednesday, and watch playoff baseball. It's good.
Now, to more relevant and exciting news...
BASEBALL
It's Bob Finnigan, but he cites sources saying that the Mariners have chosen Mike Hargrove as their new manager. Finnigan reports that it is believed Hargrove will get to name most of his coaching staff, which may mean pitching coach Bryan Price has one foot out the door. However, it may mean that Sam Perlozzo might take a second tour of duty in Seattle and a second tour with ol' pal Grover. Of note between the two articles is that Finnigan cited sources to say that Hargrove was hired, whereas Andriesen said it was down to Hargrove and Little with a hire coming in the next two days.
All said, I guess I'm mildly excited about the Hargrove move. I guess I'm not excited because it's a Dusty Baker or a Felipe Alou-calibre top-echelon manager that we were screaming at the Mariners to go and interview two offseasons ago; I'm excited because it appears that for once, the Mariners didn't totally crap the bed, which I'd be saying right now if they'd hired Don Baylor, Jimy Williams, or pretty much anyone that was mentioned in the speculation sans maybe Little and Maddon (Maddon would have raised other types of questions). I guess I just mildly like this move. I'm not ecstatic, but I like the move. Let's see what Bavasi and company give him to work with, though.
I'm sure there's a six degrees game you could play with this Hargrove thing: Grover => Grover Cleveland => Grover Cleveland Alexander => Alexander ____ ; if you can tie Grover Cleveland Alexander to Mike Hargrove (or "Grover") in three "degrees," then...you win the fake contest!! You will be awarded a fake prize!!
FOOTBALL
Yep, Jerry Rice is a Seahawk. Surely Matt Hasselbeck has to feel great knowing that he's got another set of hands that is going to actually hold on to the ball. All Jerry's going to have to do is move the chains. The Seahawks don't need him to put a juke on a cornerback and streak down the field to catch 55-yard passes. They just need someone to catch the ball, and more so if Bobby Engram is hurt and Koren Robinson's got to serve the substance abuse suspension.
BASKETBALL
Rashard Lewis may be following the Grant Wistrom track this year. He's already got the plantar fasciitis, which Wistrom had. I'd have to say it'd be tougher on Lewis, given that he plays on hardwood instead of grass/turf and is on it for 35-42 or so minutes a game, and in however so many hours of practice. If Lewis follows the Wistrom track, he's well on his way to somehow fracturing his left knee in about a month and a half. One thing's for sure: if the Sonics lose Lewis for a few months or something, then they're REALLY screwed. If that happens, there's no chance in hell of them being a .500 team. But you'll still be able to watch them 71 times on FSNNW, except for Portland-area folks when the Blazers are on.
Blaine Newnham has a piece on the wages that the Storm players are getting paid, and the fact that many are playing overseas this offseason because they're paying more. The corporate sponsorship is apparently bigger in Europe. Half-interesting read, anyway.
HOCKEY
The NHL has increased the advance cancellation rollout from 30 days to 45 days. What does this mean? It means basically that the arenas with NHL tenants now get more time to book other events in case there is no hockey. However, all NHL games through December 2 have now been cancelled. Out of a total 1230 regular season games that were scheduled for the 2004-2005 NHL season, 340 have now been lost. It's sad, really.
But now to less depressing news...here's how the locally relevant teams have been doing:
WHL
Vancouver Giants 7-2-0-1, 2nd in BC Division
Everett Silvertips 5-2-2-1, 1st in US Division
Seattle Thunderbirds 6-3-0-0, 2nd in US Division
Portland Winter Hawks 5-5-0-0, 3rd in US Division
AHL
Manitoba Moose 3-1-0-0, 1st in North Division
NorPac Junior B
Puget Sound Tomahawks 10-2-0-0, 1st in Western Division
Upcoming for the teams: Vancouver at Portland (tonight), Seattle at Tri City (Friday), Everett at Prince George (Friday), Edmonton at Manitoba (Friday), Butte at Puget Sound (Friday)
And by the way, current Manitoba Moose and last year's Canuck call-up Jason King (Corner Brook, Newfoundland) was named the AHL Player of the Week for tallying seven goals and two assists in the Moose's first four games. Congrats, Jason.
I guess that's a roundup. Grover, Rice, Rashard, and some pucks. Not bad. Have a wicked Wednesday, and watch playoff baseball. It's good.
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Tuesday, October 19, 2004
JUST PLAIN NUTTY
Crap, what a series. Do I think the Red Sox will pull this off? No. But if there's one team to do it, it'd have to be this one. I guess what got me about this game was that both of those umpire calls went the Red Sox way, when I thought, "oh man, it's the Yankees, they're gonna get this call because they always do."
But oh, the calls...
-- Mark Bellhorn, who had struck out a zillion times in the playoffs, took the outside pitch to left field, and I immediately thought it was gone; the ball had a time lag where it hit something other than the wall, which ended up being a 12-year-old girl. Hideki Matsui obviously reacted as if the ball was gone (then wisely played it), but I don't know how the leftfield umpire couldn't have caught this.
-- Alex Rodriguez walks the fine line between having a winning-at-all-costs mentality and making a Bush League move. If that's Alex's natural running motion (which apparently he was trying to argue), then he runs like an idiot. It's Bush League, but on the other hand, he would have been out anyway, and he also didn't touch first base before going to second (I hope the umps would have been alert enough to realize that). Basically, Alex tried to get away with what he could, much like Matt Hasselbeck pointed out that the Patriots stretch the hand-check rule with their receivers to a very long five yards.
I thought both of those calls were going to go the Yankees' way. But it's nice to see that for once, they didn't.
Also...
-- Was anyone else mortified or losing their appetite whenever they saw Curt Schilling's blood-soaked sock? Ugh... But what a job by him tonight. Damn.
-- The best sequence out of the commercials for all the new crappy Fox shows: "Get the hell out of my office. Knock knock." "Who's there?" "Get the hell out of my office." I'm still not going to watch that show though.
-- Jeremy already repeated the most memorable line out of all those promos, and we've basically touted House, M.D. as this year's Skin. "His father is the district attorney!"
-- I should contact local representative Norm Dicks and get him to put a bill on the House floor that would declare a five-year moratorium on all new reality, lawyer, and doctor shows. Can we all agree on this?
-- I knew it couldn't be a true Yankee postseason series without a stoppage in play due to people throwing debris from the stands.
-- I don't know about you, but this is the first game I've seen in person or on TV where they busted out the police in riot gear. That sure put a different spin on the game. It was nothing like the four or five white-shirted security guards that come out at the Safe along the foul lines.
And yes, the Houston/Saint Louis series gets the shaft and has to play in the afternoon tomorrow, when no one (especially on the west coast) can see it. The NLCS is getting massively jobbed, no doubt about it.
Yes, it's another two games tomorrow.
But oh, the calls...
-- Mark Bellhorn, who had struck out a zillion times in the playoffs, took the outside pitch to left field, and I immediately thought it was gone; the ball had a time lag where it hit something other than the wall, which ended up being a 12-year-old girl. Hideki Matsui obviously reacted as if the ball was gone (then wisely played it), but I don't know how the leftfield umpire couldn't have caught this.
-- Alex Rodriguez walks the fine line between having a winning-at-all-costs mentality and making a Bush League move. If that's Alex's natural running motion (which apparently he was trying to argue), then he runs like an idiot. It's Bush League, but on the other hand, he would have been out anyway, and he also didn't touch first base before going to second (I hope the umps would have been alert enough to realize that). Basically, Alex tried to get away with what he could, much like Matt Hasselbeck pointed out that the Patriots stretch the hand-check rule with their receivers to a very long five yards.
I thought both of those calls were going to go the Yankees' way. But it's nice to see that for once, they didn't.
Also...
-- Was anyone else mortified or losing their appetite whenever they saw Curt Schilling's blood-soaked sock? Ugh... But what a job by him tonight. Damn.
-- The best sequence out of the commercials for all the new crappy Fox shows: "Get the hell out of my office. Knock knock." "Who's there?" "Get the hell out of my office." I'm still not going to watch that show though.
-- Jeremy already repeated the most memorable line out of all those promos, and we've basically touted House, M.D. as this year's Skin. "His father is the district attorney!"
-- I should contact local representative Norm Dicks and get him to put a bill on the House floor that would declare a five-year moratorium on all new reality, lawyer, and doctor shows. Can we all agree on this?
-- I knew it couldn't be a true Yankee postseason series without a stoppage in play due to people throwing debris from the stands.
-- I don't know about you, but this is the first game I've seen in person or on TV where they busted out the police in riot gear. That sure put a different spin on the game. It was nothing like the four or five white-shirted security guards that come out at the Safe along the foul lines.
And yes, the Houston/Saint Louis series gets the shaft and has to play in the afternoon tomorrow, when no one (especially on the west coast) can see it. The NLCS is getting massively jobbed, no doubt about it.
Yes, it's another two games tomorrow.
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WICKED
And we have a Game 7 tomorrow night in the Bronx.
If the Red Sox were to win this series, I may just have to do the Mahow Mahow.
YOU'RE RISKING A PATIENT'S LIFE!!!
If the Red Sox were to win this series, I may just have to do the Mahow Mahow.
YOU'RE RISKING A PATIENT'S LIFE!!!
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EIGHTY
For those who are bitching and moaning about Jerry Rice wearing #80 in Seattle, I have got some news for you:
Steve Largent gave Rice permission to wear #80.
I have better things to do than to bitch and moan about player numbers. The only player who would be allowed to wear #80 in Seattle other than Largent would be Jerry Rice. As far as I'm concerned, he could wear #0 as long as he helps the Seahawks win football games.
Rice can still catch the damn ball. At this point, that's all that matters.
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BASEBALL WITH PILAF
Yes, it was another gray day in the northwest...
BASEBALL
Well, those were two crazy games on Monday night, were they not? The Boston/New York game took way too long, as usual, and the NL game was one that was masterfully pitched, as I flipped back and forth. I have to say that I thought both Johnny Damon and David Ortiz were safe on their steal attempts, though I don't think I would have sent either of them, and definitely not Boston's Papi. On the replay, to me it looked like Derek Jeter's glove touched the ground before it touched Damon, who had the bag before the tag was made. So I thought. Of course, Tim McCarver says "he's clearly out," and I'm sitting there thinking, "no he's not, you jackass." It made me want to throw a bucket full of ice water on him or something. I also had problems with Johnny Damon bunting, and Arroyo coming out after one inning. Sure, one might think about bunting in that situation (even though bunting is grossly overrated), but all I thought about was how many times Damon has possibly bunted over the course of the season. I don't care how badly he's sucking, bunting is something I'd expect the eighth or ninth hitters in the lineup to do, but not the leadoff hitter, who's been busy trying to get on base all year. His function is to get on base because the bashers are behind him. What's the use of wasting an out when there's Orlando Cabrera coming up followed by the big huge bats? My other problem was Bronson "Pinchot" Arroyo not coming out for a second inning after whiffing Alex and getting Gary Sheffield, which was incredibly clutch.
As for the NL game, Brandon Backe is this year's Bob Wolcott. Of course, if he follows the Bob Wolcott career track, we won't be hearing much more from him after next year. After Jeff Kent walked off, my first thought was "Barry Bonds has got to be ticked if he's watching this." I saw the Beltran catch live and I just couldn't believe he'd gotten to it. That killer bees sound effect to the tune of the Jaws shark music...that's gotta stop. If Saint Louis wins the final two games, we won't have to hear it anymore. I was sitting there watching this NLCS game and I realized after while that I wasn't hearing some crappy third guy in the booth (ref. Bret Boone ALCS last year). Why? The third guy in the NLCS booth this year is Bob Brenly, who was a broadcaster before he managed the Arizona Diamondbacks. It got to the point where I thought Steve Lyons was the one that sounded out of place in the booth. I guess I'm just glad Bret Boone isn't in the Fox booth this year. That was painful to listen to. At least Al Leiter is half-informative. I know I'd rather have him (or my dad) showing me and telling me what pitches do (even though I know already) than, say, Scooter.
You know what the Red Sox/Yankees series reminds me of? It reminds me of the Sonics/Bulls NBA Finals of lore. If I'm remembering right, the Sonics were down 3-0, losing both games at the United Center and the first game at KeyArena. They won the last two games at KeyArena before losing Game 6 back in Chicago. I see the same thing happening to the Red Sox Tuesday night. But if somehow this series went seven games after the Red Sox were down 3-0...yikes. It'd be something.
-- Hey, there's a Mariner article. I guess the bad thing is that it's Finnigan. Basically, it says that Grady Little and Mike Hargrove are at the top of the list. I guess for me, that's somewhat welcome news because I sure would put those two over Buddy Bell, Don Baylor, Jimy Williams, and Terry Collins. If I hear Jim Riggleman's name come up again, by the way, I may just hurl. Anyway, without knowing anything about his managerial tendencies, I have to say I like Hargrove the most out of this bunch. I think a search through our back pages will show that Jeremy liked Hargrove earlier, though I'm not sure if it was last offseason after he was fired and we'd already decided we hated Melvin. Wait, I guess one thing does come to mind about Hargrove if he managed here -- who would be his Paul Assenmacher? In somewhat related mid-'90s Indians news, Julian Tavarez pulled a Kevin Brown.
FOOTBALL
Rice Rice baby. Like Jeremy said, Jerry Rice isn't what he used to be. But without Koren Robinson (to be determined, but I think he'll be out) and without Bobby Engram, I like this move. Of course, if I told you five years ago that Jerry Rice would one day be traded for a conditional 7th-round draft pick, how would you have reacted? Also, this Koren thing with the substance abuse policy brought some other Seahawk substance abuse memories to mind: Chris Terry (though he violated when he was with Carolina) and Shawn Springs (which really ticked Holmgren off at the time because the whole secondary was leaning on him). And yeah, Grant Wistrom's knee is fractured, as noted by Jeremy earlier. I saw that on the ESPN BottomLine after the baseball games, and I thought, "dammit." If you scroll down to my game post, you can see what I thought of it right after it happened. The thoughts were along the lines of pouring salt on the wound. I know right after Chad Brown broke his leg, there were people noticing that this team is pretty much without either Brown or Anthony Simmons for some length of time over the course of a season. Now I guess we probably just add Wistrom to that mix. Yes, it's an injury trifecta, as opposed to the exacta it was, or duo.
I don't normally say a lot about college football, but when Josh Swogger is out for the rest of the year, it can't be good for the Cougs.
SONICS
Danny O'Neil has some short preseason assessments of the Sonics. Basically some answers and some new questions. He says the rebounding will be better, and that sounds good to me, because I can't remember the last time the Sonics were even decent at rebounding. Hell, even when they were good, I was complaining that they weren't getting enough boards. Also, in pretty simple terms, O'Neil says the defense still sucks.
On to Tuesday. Jerry Rice is a Seahawk. I'll be damned.
BASEBALL
Well, those were two crazy games on Monday night, were they not? The Boston/New York game took way too long, as usual, and the NL game was one that was masterfully pitched, as I flipped back and forth. I have to say that I thought both Johnny Damon and David Ortiz were safe on their steal attempts, though I don't think I would have sent either of them, and definitely not Boston's Papi. On the replay, to me it looked like Derek Jeter's glove touched the ground before it touched Damon, who had the bag before the tag was made. So I thought. Of course, Tim McCarver says "he's clearly out," and I'm sitting there thinking, "no he's not, you jackass." It made me want to throw a bucket full of ice water on him or something. I also had problems with Johnny Damon bunting, and Arroyo coming out after one inning. Sure, one might think about bunting in that situation (even though bunting is grossly overrated), but all I thought about was how many times Damon has possibly bunted over the course of the season. I don't care how badly he's sucking, bunting is something I'd expect the eighth or ninth hitters in the lineup to do, but not the leadoff hitter, who's been busy trying to get on base all year. His function is to get on base because the bashers are behind him. What's the use of wasting an out when there's Orlando Cabrera coming up followed by the big huge bats? My other problem was Bronson "Pinchot" Arroyo not coming out for a second inning after whiffing Alex and getting Gary Sheffield, which was incredibly clutch.
As for the NL game, Brandon Backe is this year's Bob Wolcott. Of course, if he follows the Bob Wolcott career track, we won't be hearing much more from him after next year. After Jeff Kent walked off, my first thought was "Barry Bonds has got to be ticked if he's watching this." I saw the Beltran catch live and I just couldn't believe he'd gotten to it. That killer bees sound effect to the tune of the Jaws shark music...that's gotta stop. If Saint Louis wins the final two games, we won't have to hear it anymore. I was sitting there watching this NLCS game and I realized after while that I wasn't hearing some crappy third guy in the booth (ref. Bret Boone ALCS last year). Why? The third guy in the NLCS booth this year is Bob Brenly, who was a broadcaster before he managed the Arizona Diamondbacks. It got to the point where I thought Steve Lyons was the one that sounded out of place in the booth. I guess I'm just glad Bret Boone isn't in the Fox booth this year. That was painful to listen to. At least Al Leiter is half-informative. I know I'd rather have him (or my dad) showing me and telling me what pitches do (even though I know already) than, say, Scooter.
You know what the Red Sox/Yankees series reminds me of? It reminds me of the Sonics/Bulls NBA Finals of lore. If I'm remembering right, the Sonics were down 3-0, losing both games at the United Center and the first game at KeyArena. They won the last two games at KeyArena before losing Game 6 back in Chicago. I see the same thing happening to the Red Sox Tuesday night. But if somehow this series went seven games after the Red Sox were down 3-0...yikes. It'd be something.
-- Hey, there's a Mariner article. I guess the bad thing is that it's Finnigan. Basically, it says that Grady Little and Mike Hargrove are at the top of the list. I guess for me, that's somewhat welcome news because I sure would put those two over Buddy Bell, Don Baylor, Jimy Williams, and Terry Collins. If I hear Jim Riggleman's name come up again, by the way, I may just hurl. Anyway, without knowing anything about his managerial tendencies, I have to say I like Hargrove the most out of this bunch. I think a search through our back pages will show that Jeremy liked Hargrove earlier, though I'm not sure if it was last offseason after he was fired and we'd already decided we hated Melvin. Wait, I guess one thing does come to mind about Hargrove if he managed here -- who would be his Paul Assenmacher? In somewhat related mid-'90s Indians news, Julian Tavarez pulled a Kevin Brown.
FOOTBALL
Rice Rice baby. Like Jeremy said, Jerry Rice isn't what he used to be. But without Koren Robinson (to be determined, but I think he'll be out) and without Bobby Engram, I like this move. Of course, if I told you five years ago that Jerry Rice would one day be traded for a conditional 7th-round draft pick, how would you have reacted? Also, this Koren thing with the substance abuse policy brought some other Seahawk substance abuse memories to mind: Chris Terry (though he violated when he was with Carolina) and Shawn Springs (which really ticked Holmgren off at the time because the whole secondary was leaning on him). And yeah, Grant Wistrom's knee is fractured, as noted by Jeremy earlier. I saw that on the ESPN BottomLine after the baseball games, and I thought, "dammit." If you scroll down to my game post, you can see what I thought of it right after it happened. The thoughts were along the lines of pouring salt on the wound. I know right after Chad Brown broke his leg, there were people noticing that this team is pretty much without either Brown or Anthony Simmons for some length of time over the course of a season. Now I guess we probably just add Wistrom to that mix. Yes, it's an injury trifecta, as opposed to the exacta it was, or duo.
I don't normally say a lot about college football, but when Josh Swogger is out for the rest of the year, it can't be good for the Cougs.
SONICS
Danny O'Neil has some short preseason assessments of the Sonics. Basically some answers and some new questions. He says the rebounding will be better, and that sounds good to me, because I can't remember the last time the Sonics were even decent at rebounding. Hell, even when they were good, I was complaining that they weren't getting enough boards. Also, in pretty simple terms, O'Neil says the defense still sucks.
On to Tuesday. Jerry Rice is a Seahawk. I'll be damned.
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Monday, October 18, 2004
HE'S OUR TREAT NOW
Jerry Rice, Seattle Seahawk
Well, I'll be damned.
Before I go on about Rice, let's just give credit to the Seahawks for making a deadline move. After all, there's a certain baseball team that doesn't know what a deadline deal is.
Yes, Rice is 42 years old. Yes, he's past his prime. But he's Jerry Rice.
THE BEST RECEIVER IN THE HISTORY OF FOOTBALL.
(1985-, 194 TD rec, 1524 rec, 22,533 rec yards)
This reminds me of the Mariners when they signed Rickey Henderson in May 2000. Like Rice, Henderson spent the majority of his career in the Bay Area. I lived in the Bay Area for over 5 years and was able to watch Henderson and Rice play. It's no coincidence as to why Henderson and Rice are two of my all-time favorite athletes. What I have always liked about those two men is that they have always played their respective games the right way, Henderson in baseball and Rice in football.
The Seahawks need Rice right now. The oft-criticized Koren Robinson will be suspended for 4 games soon due to violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. Bobby Engram may miss Sunday's game in Arizona due to a sprained left ankle suffered in yesterday's loss at New England.
When I first heard rumors of the Seahawks possibly showing interest in Rice, I was excited about it. I mean, why would I scoff at my team acquiring the best receiver in the history of football? If anything, Rice would help out the Seahawks receiving corps tremendously. He will bring pride, class, and leadership to the Seahawks organization. The man has won 3 Super Bowl rings. Two of those rings were won when Mike Holmgren was a 49ers assistant coach.
So for those of you who will criticize the Seahawks for bringing in a 42-year old wide receiver, just remember this:
Jerry Rice will catch the damn ball. And that's what the Seahawks offense needs desparately right now.
I'm fired up about this Seahawks team, despite the fact that they have lost 2 in a row and have lost Grant Wistrom for 4-6 weeks.
I'm anxious to see how Rice and the Seahawks respond in the weeks to come.
Welcome to Seattle, Jerry. He'll catch the damn ball.
Well, I'll be damned.
Before I go on about Rice, let's just give credit to the Seahawks for making a deadline move. After all, there's a certain baseball team that doesn't know what a deadline deal is.
Yes, Rice is 42 years old. Yes, he's past his prime. But he's Jerry Rice.
THE BEST RECEIVER IN THE HISTORY OF FOOTBALL.
(1985-, 194 TD rec, 1524 rec, 22,533 rec yards)
This reminds me of the Mariners when they signed Rickey Henderson in May 2000. Like Rice, Henderson spent the majority of his career in the Bay Area. I lived in the Bay Area for over 5 years and was able to watch Henderson and Rice play. It's no coincidence as to why Henderson and Rice are two of my all-time favorite athletes. What I have always liked about those two men is that they have always played their respective games the right way, Henderson in baseball and Rice in football.
The Seahawks need Rice right now. The oft-criticized Koren Robinson will be suspended for 4 games soon due to violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. Bobby Engram may miss Sunday's game in Arizona due to a sprained left ankle suffered in yesterday's loss at New England.
When I first heard rumors of the Seahawks possibly showing interest in Rice, I was excited about it. I mean, why would I scoff at my team acquiring the best receiver in the history of football? If anything, Rice would help out the Seahawks receiving corps tremendously. He will bring pride, class, and leadership to the Seahawks organization. The man has won 3 Super Bowl rings. Two of those rings were won when Mike Holmgren was a 49ers assistant coach.
So for those of you who will criticize the Seahawks for bringing in a 42-year old wide receiver, just remember this:
Jerry Rice will catch the damn ball. And that's what the Seahawks offense needs desparately right now.
I'm fired up about this Seahawks team, despite the fact that they have lost 2 in a row and have lost Grant Wistrom for 4-6 weeks.
I'm anxious to see how Rice and the Seahawks respond in the weeks to come.
Welcome to Seattle, Jerry. He'll catch the damn ball.
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F**KING HELL!!!
Grant Wistrom will be out 4-6 weeks with a small fracture in his right knee. He injured his knee in yesterday's 30-20 loss to the Patriots.
CAN ANYTHING EVER GO RIGHT FOR MY TEAMS?
EVER?
What a blow to this defense. We'll see how this defense does the next couple of weeks without Wistrom. At least Chad Brown is coming back soon.
Once again, I'd like to say that being a Seattle sports fan is not easy.
Dammit.
CAN ANYTHING EVER GO RIGHT FOR MY TEAMS?
EVER?
What a blow to this defense. We'll see how this defense does the next couple of weeks without Wistrom. At least Chad Brown is coming back soon.
Once again, I'd like to say that being a Seattle sports fan is not easy.
Dammit.
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ATHTERMAF
Yes, the Mariner articles will be few and far between until the World Series is done. It gives me a little less to work with until I slip into a Baseball Reference frenzy and dig up a bunch of stuff, which I'm sure will eventually happen. Until then, we trudge forth...
SEAHAWKS
As you might expect, there's a ton of articles on the yesterday's Seahawks affair. Here's two articles on Koren Robinson, for instance. I like Holmgren's quote on the taunting call, though: "I mean, goodness gracious. I helped write the rule. I didn't agree with (the call) at all. I don't know what would have happened, but we certainly would have been in better field position." Then there's a couple from the beat writers. I could say something more about the game, but I think I'd just be repeating the start of my game post from earlier, which is below. Don't forget Jeremy's post as well.
SONICS
The Jazz whooped the Sonics 100-84 in Spokane, under the watchful eye of John Stockton. I noticed two things visually on the highlight reel. One, Luke Ridnour cut down the mop top. Two, the Jazz "streamlined" their uniforms a bit. Now the colors are just shades of blue; it looks like navy blue with sky blue. As for the on-the-floor stuff, it is the preseason and all, and nobody really gives a crap, but the Sonics got whooped tonight, and they've been whooped a few times this preseason. Of course, Rashard Lewis and Ron Murray were out of the lineup tonight, so there's no way that helps. Given the two injuries, this allowed Vlad Radmanovic to step up and seize the opportunity. He was 2-for-11 from the floor against Utah on Sunday night. Ugh.
HOCKEY
-- Chris Durand of the Seattle Thunderbirds got himself a hat trick and 17-year-old Gavin McHale stopped 19 of 20 shots in his first WHL start, a 5-1 win over Prince George. Seattle is now one point behind Everett for first place in the WHL's US Division.
-- The Hamilton Bulldogs beat the Manitoba Moose 4-3 to snap Manitoba's 3-game season-opening win streak. Jason King scored his 7th goal of the season (four games), which leads the league. He also had one assist. The Moose had killed off six penalties until the Bulldogs got the winner just inside the six-minute mark of the third period.
Next: Vancouver at Portland (Wednesday), Seattle at Tri City (Friday), Everett at Prince George (Friday), Edmonton at Manitoba (Friday), Butte at Puget Sound (Friday)
Have a jolly Monday, o enlightened Sports and B's readers!
SEAHAWKS
As you might expect, there's a ton of articles on the yesterday's Seahawks affair. Here's two articles on Koren Robinson, for instance. I like Holmgren's quote on the taunting call, though: "I mean, goodness gracious. I helped write the rule. I didn't agree with (the call) at all. I don't know what would have happened, but we certainly would have been in better field position." Then there's a couple from the beat writers. I could say something more about the game, but I think I'd just be repeating the start of my game post from earlier, which is below. Don't forget Jeremy's post as well.
SONICS
The Jazz whooped the Sonics 100-84 in Spokane, under the watchful eye of John Stockton. I noticed two things visually on the highlight reel. One, Luke Ridnour cut down the mop top. Two, the Jazz "streamlined" their uniforms a bit. Now the colors are just shades of blue; it looks like navy blue with sky blue. As for the on-the-floor stuff, it is the preseason and all, and nobody really gives a crap, but the Sonics got whooped tonight, and they've been whooped a few times this preseason. Of course, Rashard Lewis and Ron Murray were out of the lineup tonight, so there's no way that helps. Given the two injuries, this allowed Vlad Radmanovic to step up and seize the opportunity. He was 2-for-11 from the floor against Utah on Sunday night. Ugh.
HOCKEY
-- Chris Durand of the Seattle Thunderbirds got himself a hat trick and 17-year-old Gavin McHale stopped 19 of 20 shots in his first WHL start, a 5-1 win over Prince George. Seattle is now one point behind Everett for first place in the WHL's US Division.
-- The Hamilton Bulldogs beat the Manitoba Moose 4-3 to snap Manitoba's 3-game season-opening win streak. Jason King scored his 7th goal of the season (four games), which leads the league. He also had one assist. The Moose had killed off six penalties until the Bulldogs got the winner just inside the six-minute mark of the third period.
Next: Vancouver at Portland (Wednesday), Seattle at Tri City (Friday), Everett at Prince George (Friday), Edmonton at Manitoba (Friday), Butte at Puget Sound (Friday)
Have a jolly Monday, o enlightened Sports and B's readers!
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Sunday, October 17, 2004
ORTIZ!!!
Thank God this game is over.
And in a non-Red Sox related note, Chris Myers is a douchebag.
Thank you and good night.
And in a non-Red Sox related note, Chris Myers is a douchebag.
Thank you and good night.
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HOO BOY, KOREN IS DEAD TO ME...
...if this news is true.
This was originally reported on CBS's pregame show, which I did not watch.
All kidding aside, this could be Koren Robinson's final straw in Seattle...
CBS Sportsline
Breaking News reported by THE NFL TODAY's Host Greg Gumbel:
Seattle wide receiver Koren Robinson is in the process of appealing a four game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy. The talented but inconsistent Robinson has come under criticism for dropping too many passes this season and this could impact the Jerry Rice situation. In fact, Seattle this week had discussions with Oakland concerning Rice. The future Hall of Famer no longer fits in the Raiders' plans. Other possible trades destinations include Atlanta, Detroit and Green Bay.
Wow.
That's all I have to say about this right now.
Wow.
This was originally reported on CBS's pregame show, which I did not watch.
All kidding aside, this could be Koren Robinson's final straw in Seattle...
CBS Sportsline
Breaking News reported by THE NFL TODAY's Host Greg Gumbel:
Seattle wide receiver Koren Robinson is in the process of appealing a four game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy. The talented but inconsistent Robinson has come under criticism for dropping too many passes this season and this could impact the Jerry Rice situation. In fact, Seattle this week had discussions with Oakland concerning Rice. The future Hall of Famer no longer fits in the Raiders' plans. Other possible trades destinations include Atlanta, Detroit and Green Bay.
Wow.
That's all I have to say about this right now.
Wow.
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PATRIOT GAMES
Yeah, I think the New England Patriots are a good football team.
Of course, the Seattle Seahawks made things easier on the Patriots today.
The two Matt Hasselbeck interceptions in the 1st half killed the Seahawks. You can't put your defense on a short field and expect them to dominate. After all, the Seahawks defense is not a great defense. Don't let the #1 ranking before last week's St. Louis game fool you.
The Seahawks outgained the Patriots in total yards, 443-362. But the Patriots made the plays when they had to. There's a reason why they've won 17 consecutive regular season games in a row.
A few things about today's 30-20 loss in Foxboro:
---Koren Robinson is not an elite receiver. Yes, he had 9 receptions for 150 yards. Yes, he made some good catches in the 2nd half. But the fact is, elite receivers don't have 5 drops. Torry Holt doesn't drop the ball 5 times in a game. Marvin Harrison doesn't drop the ball 5 times. Neither does Randy Moss.
---Since when did Rodney Harrison become an official? Why don't they just add an umpire tag to his #37 Patriots jersey? When Robinson made that 31-yard catch in the 3rd quarter, he was called for taunting. He spiked the ball, but didn't spike it in Harrison's face. Harrison then bitches and moans to the officials about it, and Robinson gets flagged for 15 yards. The 'Hawks are backed up to their 26-yard line and go 3-and-out. Go f**k yourself, Rodney Harrison.
---The defense stepped it up in the 2nd half. Michael Boulware is going to be a star in the NFL before too long. He not only caused a Tom Brady fumble, but also intercepted a Brady pass for his 3rd interception of the season. I think the Seahawks made the right decision by moving him from outside linebacker to safety.
---Welcome to the NFL, Donnie Jones. He had 3 punts for an average of 38 yards. Come back soon, Tom Rouen.
---Josh Brown is the best kicker the Seahawks have had since John Kasay. He's money. However, I wish he could improve on his kickoffs.
---Cris Collinsworth is right. You can say that he's a prick, and that's your opinion. But the fact is, the Seattle Seahawks are not in the New England Patriots' class. Hell, nobody is right now. While I didn't mind the 'Hawks kicking a field goal with just over 3 minutes to go in the 4th quarter, I would have loved to have seen a touchdown. You can't piss away opportunities like that, you just can't.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Terry Bradshaw said after the game that this was a "good loss" for the Seahawks, that "this is a good football team."
Bradshaw is right that the Seahawks are a good football team. But a really good football team would have played 60 minutes. It's the same old stuff when it comes to tough losses for the Seahawks. Dropped passes, turnovers, defensive lapses, etc. And no loss is a good loss. The Seahawks are now 3-2 and will most likely be behind the Rams in the NFC West after tomorrow night.
However, there's no need to panic. But if the Seahawks don't beat the Cardinals in Arizona next week, then it's OK to panic.
The New England Patriots are the best team in football. And it's not even close. For the Seahawks to put themselves in that class, they have to play a hell of a lot better than they did today.
One more thing, let's hope that Grant Wistrom will be fine. This defense can't afford to lose Wistrom at this point.
Seahawks at Arizona next week. I think that has to be considered a "must-win".
Of course, the Seattle Seahawks made things easier on the Patriots today.
The two Matt Hasselbeck interceptions in the 1st half killed the Seahawks. You can't put your defense on a short field and expect them to dominate. After all, the Seahawks defense is not a great defense. Don't let the #1 ranking before last week's St. Louis game fool you.
The Seahawks outgained the Patriots in total yards, 443-362. But the Patriots made the plays when they had to. There's a reason why they've won 17 consecutive regular season games in a row.
A few things about today's 30-20 loss in Foxboro:
---Koren Robinson is not an elite receiver. Yes, he had 9 receptions for 150 yards. Yes, he made some good catches in the 2nd half. But the fact is, elite receivers don't have 5 drops. Torry Holt doesn't drop the ball 5 times in a game. Marvin Harrison doesn't drop the ball 5 times. Neither does Randy Moss.
---Since when did Rodney Harrison become an official? Why don't they just add an umpire tag to his #37 Patriots jersey? When Robinson made that 31-yard catch in the 3rd quarter, he was called for taunting. He spiked the ball, but didn't spike it in Harrison's face. Harrison then bitches and moans to the officials about it, and Robinson gets flagged for 15 yards. The 'Hawks are backed up to their 26-yard line and go 3-and-out. Go f**k yourself, Rodney Harrison.
---The defense stepped it up in the 2nd half. Michael Boulware is going to be a star in the NFL before too long. He not only caused a Tom Brady fumble, but also intercepted a Brady pass for his 3rd interception of the season. I think the Seahawks made the right decision by moving him from outside linebacker to safety.
---Welcome to the NFL, Donnie Jones. He had 3 punts for an average of 38 yards. Come back soon, Tom Rouen.
---Josh Brown is the best kicker the Seahawks have had since John Kasay. He's money. However, I wish he could improve on his kickoffs.
---Cris Collinsworth is right. You can say that he's a prick, and that's your opinion. But the fact is, the Seattle Seahawks are not in the New England Patriots' class. Hell, nobody is right now. While I didn't mind the 'Hawks kicking a field goal with just over 3 minutes to go in the 4th quarter, I would have loved to have seen a touchdown. You can't piss away opportunities like that, you just can't.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Terry Bradshaw said after the game that this was a "good loss" for the Seahawks, that "this is a good football team."
Bradshaw is right that the Seahawks are a good football team. But a really good football team would have played 60 minutes. It's the same old stuff when it comes to tough losses for the Seahawks. Dropped passes, turnovers, defensive lapses, etc. And no loss is a good loss. The Seahawks are now 3-2 and will most likely be behind the Rams in the NFC West after tomorrow night.
However, there's no need to panic. But if the Seahawks don't beat the Cardinals in Arizona next week, then it's OK to panic.
The New England Patriots are the best team in football. And it's not even close. For the Seahawks to put themselves in that class, they have to play a hell of a lot better than they did today.
One more thing, let's hope that Grant Wistrom will be fine. This defense can't afford to lose Wistrom at this point.
Seahawks at Arizona next week. I think that has to be considered a "must-win".
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ONGOING SEAHAWKS POST
[final edit ~7:53p]
The Seahawks squandered this one early. Their first two possessions ended in interceptions, and the Patriots scored 10 points in the first half off of the two Seahawk turnovers. Something I noted of on multiple occasions was the rash of missed tackles by the Seattle defense. It was ridiculous.
Another key detriment was the failure of the Seahawks to get to the end zone when they needed to -- in the first half they had the two drives that stalled and ended in field goals; in the second half, a touchdown on their first possession would have brought the score to 20-13. On the possession after a field goal made it 20-9, the Seattle defense stopped the Pats just over midfield. The Seahawks got the ball and went three-and-out. In addition, after the Seahawks recovered the Tom Brady fumble, they went three-and-out on THAT ensuing possession as well. Luckily the Seahawks found the end zone after Brady connected with Michael Boulware.
I guess the other things of note were that New England was 4-for-6 on third downs in the first half (basically four times when the defense failed to stop the Pats). Also, I can fault Koren for one or two definite drops. Some of the other passes to him, though, would have required spectacular catches, though Warren Moon was on the radio the whole time saying that one of the receivers has to step up and make crazy catches against a team like this. I remember Bobby Engram dropped one key pass, and I'm not talking about the one in the end zone.
As for Matt Hasselbeck, I'd have to say it definitely wasn't the sharpest game I've seen him have. I seem to remember quite a few balls being thrown over or behind the receivers. Much like last year at this time, we haven't seen the offense reach anywhere near its full potential.
1ST QUARTER
>> 1st Seattle possession (from SEA 22)
14:50 1st/10: Matt takes sack
13:33 3rd: Koren catch to SEA 36
12:50 illegal motion penalty (two guys moving at same time)
12:43 Strong to SEA 42
11:44 3rd/5: 15 to Stevens NE 43 (3RD DOWN RECEPTION!!)
10:49 Koren short pass NE 40
10:07 3rd/7: Screen pass tipped by Seymour, picked by McGinest
>> 1st New England possession
10:02 Patten catch left 9 yd SEA 17
9:36 Dillon to SEA 8 (for 1st down)
8:58 Dillon to SEA 2
8:17 Dillon inside SEA 1
***7:44 3rd/G: Dillon in (NE 7-0)
>> 2nd Seattle possession (from SEA 26)
7:34 Alexander bounces out for no gain
6:57 pass Strong left flat (1st down yardage)
6:28 Strong left very close to 1st down
5:55 3rd/short: FREAKIN' FALSE START ON ALEXANDER
5:29 ANOTHER FREAKIN' FALSE START (JONES)
5:02 pressure, ball underthrown to the right, Ty Law intercepts
+++Screw it, this team is cooked+++
>> 2nd New England possession (SEA 43)
4:57 1st/10: Dillon bounces out right for minus yardage
4:33 blitz unsuccessful, short pass for about 8 to Graham
3:50 3rd/4: Faulk to SEA 22
3:08 Dillon to SEA 21...LEARN TO FRIGGING TACKLE (3 guys miss)
2:23 Bierria to right knocks pass downfield out of Fauria's hands (FINALLY, a good play)
2:19 3rd/9: ball thrown behind Johnson left
***2:14 Vinatieri from 40 (NE 10-0)
>> 3rd Seattle possession (SEA 29)
2:05 1st/10: thrown behind Koren -- PASS INTERFERENCE ON KOREN?!!
1:50 Alexander to SEA 26
1:18 Koren short catch
0:45 3rd/4: Morris overthrown deep right
(first Donnie Jones career punt...after a Chris Richard false start...fair catch; SOMETHING WENT RIGHT!)
>> 3rd New England possession (NE 34)
0:27 Givens runs away from two tacklers for five extra yards and first down (50yd line)
This first quarter was brought to you exclusively by Murphy's Law. Yes, Murphy's Law. It sucks!(TM)
2ND QUARTER
14:55 Patten bobbles, catches anyway for 1st down (SEA 38)
14:15 Dillon to SEA 23 (1st down yds)
13:33 short pass Faulk over middle for first down yds (SEA 19)
12:54 Dillon to the SEA 6
***12:32 Patten short pass left, stiff-arms Lucas for TD (NE 17-0)
Well, the Seahawks are 3-2 heading into next week's game...
>> 4th Seattle possession (from SEA 25)
12:21 Engram rollout right for first down (SEA 36)
12:00 Koren loses ball as hits ground down left sideline NE 30
11:54 Alexander for 7 to SEA 44
11:10 3rd/3: Jackson right slips, to NE 19 (39 yds)!!
10:32 Koren out of fingertips end zone
10:28 Strong to NE 15
9:39 3rd/6: touched the ground?! DAMMIT! Engram incomplete in end zone (#@$*)&)!!)
***9:35 Brown from 33 (NE 17-3)
>> 4th New England possession (from NE 25)
9:24 Graham left pass to NE 32
8:43 Brady dropped by Okeafor
8:08 big pass to NE 44 Patton right, nullifying the sack
7:45 Dillon short run 3, many tackles being missed
7:09 Dillon to SEA 46 for 1st down
6:25 Faulk run left for 6
5:51 Cochran catches Faulk to force 3rd down
5:10 3rd/3: Klecko catch (FREAKIN' NOSE TACKLE) to SEA 29
4:36 off Fauria's fingertips over middle inside the 10
4:17 Hamlin stops screen pass SEA 29
3:35 3rd/11: Faulk to SEA 22 (NE now 4-for-6 on third down)
***3:07 Vinatieri from 39 (NE 20-3)
How shameful is it that holding the Patriots out of the end zone on that drive was a moral victory? This sucks. Hard. A freakin' nose tackle got first-down yardage, for goodness' sake.
>> 5th Seattle possession (SEA 37, 26 yd return)
2:58 Alexander stuffed
2:19 straight-up Koren drop at NE 45 (bobbled, his 8th)
2:04 Engram to NE 49 leaping catch 1st down (whew)
1:54 Alexander 5 yd gain to NE 45
1:21 Jackson short catch, runs out of bounds
1:11 3rd/2: Stevens to 28 over middle
1:06 pass to Stevens over middle knocked away
1:02 in and out of Ty Law's hands, too far in front of Jackson
0:44 3rd/10: Alexander to the NE 22, short of first down
***0:34 Brown from 40 (NE 20-6)
>> 5th New England possession (NE 28)
0:28 knee
Halftime. You know, it's performances like this week and last week that make me not want to watch football for the rest of the day. If one of my teams has a terrible loss, I don't even watch Baseball Tonight or NFL Primetime or SportsCenter later in the night. I just can't. They spoiled it.
3RD QUARTER
>> 6th New England possession (NE 25)
14:48 Brady to nobody out of bounds left
14:44 Dillon into a wall
13:56 Dillon to 31 short -- IT'S A THREE-AND-OUT!!
>> 6th Seattle possession (SEA 17, terrible blocking)
13:07 underthrown Jackson after pressure
13:03 Alexander to 19 (I smell three-and-out)
12:20 3rd/7: Koren nice catch for 23 to SEA 44
11:48 Shaun for 7 on 1st down
11:15 Koren to NE 31
10:46 Shaun fumbles, recovers (gain of 5)
10:09 Engram for 10 and first down to NE 15
9:48 weird play, forward flip to Shaun incomplete
9:41 Shaun to the NE 10
9:05 3rd/5: Koren TD catch led him out of bounds
***9:02 Brown from 28 (NE 20-9)
Man, they needed seven right there. They would have only been down by a touchdown...
>> 7th New England possession (NE 32, 20 yd return)
8:52 Dillon stuffed for two
8:19 Dillon to the NE 45 (first down)
7:41 Dillon to SEA 49
7:07 Faulk to SEA 48
6:30 Brady sneak moves chains
5:56 double-reverse for five yards
5:08 Dillon to SEA 38, short gain (Simmons down on field)
4:39 3rd/4: first-down pass nullified by trip penalty
4:15 3rd/14: Abdullah to SEA 40 (A DEFENSIVE STOP!!)
>> 7th Seattle possession (SEA 10, fair catch)
3:34 Koren big nice catch, called for taunting?!?! (SEA 26, still first)
3:28 Shaun to SEA 29
2:46 ball left to Jackson tipped
2:40 Hasselbeck dropped (REAL CLUTCH, GUYS)
>> 8th New England possession (NE 38, LEARN TO FREAKIN' TACKLE!!)
2:00 Dillon to NE 44
1:24 Dillon up middle for 1st down (NE 49)
0:43 Dillon SEA 48
0:00 Faulk stuffed
The Seahawks needed seven points on that one possession, dammit!!! ARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!
4TH QUARTER
14:51 Brady runs, Seahawks knock helmet and ball loose, recover
>> 8th Seattle possession (SEA 42)
14:44 Shaun to SEA 45
14:13 Jackson drops pass left on numbers (f$**)
14:09 3rd/7: pressure, Matt hit as throwing, badly incomplete (THIS GAME IS OVER, IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT ALREADY. They got a key turnover, and all they had to show for it was better field position. Ah, the life of a Seattle sports fan.)
>> 9th New England possession (NE 28)
13:55 Dillon screen right for 4
13:18 Kacyvenski drops Dillon in backfield (he MADE THE TACKLE!!) for no gain
12:37 3rd/6: Brady has ALL DAY to throw, and hits Michael Boulware!!
>> 9th Seattle possession (NE 45)
12:29 Matt scramble, Koren left sideline to NE 22 (20 yd)
12:10 Shaun moves the chains! (NE 9)
11:41 Matt pressured, no gain
***11:05 delayed handoff Shaun right touchdown!! (Stevens catch good, Matt roughed on play with shot below knees, NE 20-17)
That...they BADLY needed that. And the two points were clutch.
>> 10th New England possession (touchback)
10:58 Graham pass left for 12 (NE 32)
10:23 Patten midfield drops (dove)
10:17 Faulk to NE 45
9:41 Wistrom pressure
9:37 nice coverage Lucas...incomplete (NO FLAGS, PUNKS!!)
9:30 3rd/10: Graham for 25...SON OF A BITCH!!
8:52 Faulk through middle for 5
8:07 Patten to SEA 13 for ANOTHER freakin' first down
7:30 short NE gain
6:51 Woodard hits Brady, throws ball away
6:47 3rd/8: Huff knocks ball down...Patten down too
***Vinatieri from 30 (NE 23-17)
At least it wasn't a touchdown. I guess. No points on the board would have been a lot better. That two-point conversion looks more and more important.
>> 10th Seattle possession (SEA 26)
6:27 Koren pass to SEA 36 for first down
5:49 Matt pressured, Jackson never looked back (illegal motion penalty declined)
5:42 Alexander for 2
5:03 3rd/7: pass Morris right for first down (SEA 47)
4:32 Shaun to NE 48
3:57 great pass Shaun to NE 26 (first down)
3:57 false start SEA, unnecessary roughness NE...half the distance to the goal (Stevens plowed), auto 1st down at NE 13
3:52 Strong short pass right loss of 1, flags (illegal man downfield, illegal shift SEA...all declined)
3:46 ball thrown away to right (DID THEY WAIT LONG ENOUGH FOR THE GROUNDING FLAG??!!?!!)
3:45 Vrabel jumps on Matt...let's hope it's offsides...IT IS
3:20 3rd/16: Stevens to the SEA 13 short of 1st down
***3:01 Brown from 31 (NE 23-20) (11 plays, 62 yards)
The Seahawks still need a freakin' touchdown, and they badly need a defensive stop. They do have all three of their time outs remaining, though, at least.
>> 11th New England possession (NE 37...dammit. That's good field position)
2:51 incomplete left to Givens
2:47 Dillon stuffed at NE 39, setting up the biggest 3rd down of the year for the Seahawks
2:36 3rd/8: Brady all freakin' day to throw, Johnson into the SEA red zone 12 (red flag out...it'll be a catch...or will it?)
-- Come on, did you really think that call would go the Seahawks' way? I didn't. Why should those calls start going Seattle's way now?
2:06 Dillon to the SEA 9, Wistrom down (what the hell...let it all fall down. This sucks as it is. Damn you, SI Jinx!!)
***1:55 Dillon right to touchdown (NE 30-20). He's over 100 yards rushing.
It's a coronation.
>> 11th Seattle possession (SEA 33, it's pointless, though.)
1:44 pressure on Matt, Morris drops right
1:38 Bannister 8 left to the SEA 41
1:25 Morris to SEA 47 for first down
1:03 Koren catch for 1st down, out of bounds NE 37
0:54 Bannister to NE 38
0:31 Mili to NE 18, timeout called
0:25 Stevens over middle incomplete through defender's hands
0:20 Stevens to NE 5, ball spiked before NE defender gets back, still first down, 0:12 left
0:09 from NE 2, Vrabel bats pass
0:05 Shaun left drops pass behind him
0:00 defensive pass interference, but one play left, the loss is secure
0:00 Strong stuffed, who cares.
Patriots 30, Seahawks 20. Early turnovers made the difference, and the fact that the Seahawks didn't capitalize off their takeaways didn't help either.
Seahawks. Cardinals. Sunday afternoon.
The Seahawks squandered this one early. Their first two possessions ended in interceptions, and the Patriots scored 10 points in the first half off of the two Seahawk turnovers. Something I noted of on multiple occasions was the rash of missed tackles by the Seattle defense. It was ridiculous.
Another key detriment was the failure of the Seahawks to get to the end zone when they needed to -- in the first half they had the two drives that stalled and ended in field goals; in the second half, a touchdown on their first possession would have brought the score to 20-13. On the possession after a field goal made it 20-9, the Seattle defense stopped the Pats just over midfield. The Seahawks got the ball and went three-and-out. In addition, after the Seahawks recovered the Tom Brady fumble, they went three-and-out on THAT ensuing possession as well. Luckily the Seahawks found the end zone after Brady connected with Michael Boulware.
I guess the other things of note were that New England was 4-for-6 on third downs in the first half (basically four times when the defense failed to stop the Pats). Also, I can fault Koren for one or two definite drops. Some of the other passes to him, though, would have required spectacular catches, though Warren Moon was on the radio the whole time saying that one of the receivers has to step up and make crazy catches against a team like this. I remember Bobby Engram dropped one key pass, and I'm not talking about the one in the end zone.
As for Matt Hasselbeck, I'd have to say it definitely wasn't the sharpest game I've seen him have. I seem to remember quite a few balls being thrown over or behind the receivers. Much like last year at this time, we haven't seen the offense reach anywhere near its full potential.
1ST QUARTER
>> 1st Seattle possession (from SEA 22)
14:50 1st/10: Matt takes sack
13:33 3rd: Koren catch to SEA 36
12:50 illegal motion penalty (two guys moving at same time)
12:43 Strong to SEA 42
11:44 3rd/5: 15 to Stevens NE 43 (3RD DOWN RECEPTION!!)
10:49 Koren short pass NE 40
10:07 3rd/7: Screen pass tipped by Seymour, picked by McGinest
>> 1st New England possession
10:02 Patten catch left 9 yd SEA 17
9:36 Dillon to SEA 8 (for 1st down)
8:58 Dillon to SEA 2
8:17 Dillon inside SEA 1
***7:44 3rd/G: Dillon in (NE 7-0)
>> 2nd Seattle possession (from SEA 26)
7:34 Alexander bounces out for no gain
6:57 pass Strong left flat (1st down yardage)
6:28 Strong left very close to 1st down
5:55 3rd/short: FREAKIN' FALSE START ON ALEXANDER
5:29 ANOTHER FREAKIN' FALSE START (JONES)
5:02 pressure, ball underthrown to the right, Ty Law intercepts
+++Screw it, this team is cooked+++
>> 2nd New England possession (SEA 43)
4:57 1st/10: Dillon bounces out right for minus yardage
4:33 blitz unsuccessful, short pass for about 8 to Graham
3:50 3rd/4: Faulk to SEA 22
3:08 Dillon to SEA 21...LEARN TO FRIGGING TACKLE (3 guys miss)
2:23 Bierria to right knocks pass downfield out of Fauria's hands (FINALLY, a good play)
2:19 3rd/9: ball thrown behind Johnson left
***2:14 Vinatieri from 40 (NE 10-0)
>> 3rd Seattle possession (SEA 29)
2:05 1st/10: thrown behind Koren -- PASS INTERFERENCE ON KOREN?!!
1:50 Alexander to SEA 26
1:18 Koren short catch
0:45 3rd/4: Morris overthrown deep right
(first Donnie Jones career punt...after a Chris Richard false start...fair catch; SOMETHING WENT RIGHT!)
>> 3rd New England possession (NE 34)
0:27 Givens runs away from two tacklers for five extra yards and first down (50yd line)
This first quarter was brought to you exclusively by Murphy's Law. Yes, Murphy's Law. It sucks!(TM)
2ND QUARTER
14:55 Patten bobbles, catches anyway for 1st down (SEA 38)
14:15 Dillon to SEA 23 (1st down yds)
13:33 short pass Faulk over middle for first down yds (SEA 19)
12:54 Dillon to the SEA 6
***12:32 Patten short pass left, stiff-arms Lucas for TD (NE 17-0)
Well, the Seahawks are 3-2 heading into next week's game...
>> 4th Seattle possession (from SEA 25)
12:21 Engram rollout right for first down (SEA 36)
12:00 Koren loses ball as hits ground down left sideline NE 30
11:54 Alexander for 7 to SEA 44
11:10 3rd/3: Jackson right slips, to NE 19 (39 yds)!!
10:32 Koren out of fingertips end zone
10:28 Strong to NE 15
9:39 3rd/6: touched the ground?! DAMMIT! Engram incomplete in end zone (#@$*)&)!!)
***9:35 Brown from 33 (NE 17-3)
>> 4th New England possession (from NE 25)
9:24 Graham left pass to NE 32
8:43 Brady dropped by Okeafor
8:08 big pass to NE 44 Patton right, nullifying the sack
7:45 Dillon short run 3, many tackles being missed
7:09 Dillon to SEA 46 for 1st down
6:25 Faulk run left for 6
5:51 Cochran catches Faulk to force 3rd down
5:10 3rd/3: Klecko catch (FREAKIN' NOSE TACKLE) to SEA 29
4:36 off Fauria's fingertips over middle inside the 10
4:17 Hamlin stops screen pass SEA 29
3:35 3rd/11: Faulk to SEA 22 (NE now 4-for-6 on third down)
***3:07 Vinatieri from 39 (NE 20-3)
How shameful is it that holding the Patriots out of the end zone on that drive was a moral victory? This sucks. Hard. A freakin' nose tackle got first-down yardage, for goodness' sake.
>> 5th Seattle possession (SEA 37, 26 yd return)
2:58 Alexander stuffed
2:19 straight-up Koren drop at NE 45 (bobbled, his 8th)
2:04 Engram to NE 49 leaping catch 1st down (whew)
1:54 Alexander 5 yd gain to NE 45
1:21 Jackson short catch, runs out of bounds
1:11 3rd/2: Stevens to 28 over middle
1:06 pass to Stevens over middle knocked away
1:02 in and out of Ty Law's hands, too far in front of Jackson
0:44 3rd/10: Alexander to the NE 22, short of first down
***0:34 Brown from 40 (NE 20-6)
>> 5th New England possession (NE 28)
0:28 knee
Halftime. You know, it's performances like this week and last week that make me not want to watch football for the rest of the day. If one of my teams has a terrible loss, I don't even watch Baseball Tonight or NFL Primetime or SportsCenter later in the night. I just can't. They spoiled it.
3RD QUARTER
>> 6th New England possession (NE 25)
14:48 Brady to nobody out of bounds left
14:44 Dillon into a wall
13:56 Dillon to 31 short -- IT'S A THREE-AND-OUT!!
>> 6th Seattle possession (SEA 17, terrible blocking)
13:07 underthrown Jackson after pressure
13:03 Alexander to 19 (I smell three-and-out)
12:20 3rd/7: Koren nice catch for 23 to SEA 44
11:48 Shaun for 7 on 1st down
11:15 Koren to NE 31
10:46 Shaun fumbles, recovers (gain of 5)
10:09 Engram for 10 and first down to NE 15
9:48 weird play, forward flip to Shaun incomplete
9:41 Shaun to the NE 10
9:05 3rd/5: Koren TD catch led him out of bounds
***9:02 Brown from 28 (NE 20-9)
Man, they needed seven right there. They would have only been down by a touchdown...
>> 7th New England possession (NE 32, 20 yd return)
8:52 Dillon stuffed for two
8:19 Dillon to the NE 45 (first down)
7:41 Dillon to SEA 49
7:07 Faulk to SEA 48
6:30 Brady sneak moves chains
5:56 double-reverse for five yards
5:08 Dillon to SEA 38, short gain (Simmons down on field)
4:39 3rd/4: first-down pass nullified by trip penalty
4:15 3rd/14: Abdullah to SEA 40 (A DEFENSIVE STOP!!)
>> 7th Seattle possession (SEA 10, fair catch)
3:34 Koren big nice catch, called for taunting?!?! (SEA 26, still first)
3:28 Shaun to SEA 29
2:46 ball left to Jackson tipped
2:40 Hasselbeck dropped (REAL CLUTCH, GUYS)
>> 8th New England possession (NE 38, LEARN TO FREAKIN' TACKLE!!)
2:00 Dillon to NE 44
1:24 Dillon up middle for 1st down (NE 49)
0:43 Dillon SEA 48
0:00 Faulk stuffed
The Seahawks needed seven points on that one possession, dammit!!! ARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!
4TH QUARTER
14:51 Brady runs, Seahawks knock helmet and ball loose, recover
>> 8th Seattle possession (SEA 42)
14:44 Shaun to SEA 45
14:13 Jackson drops pass left on numbers (f$**)
14:09 3rd/7: pressure, Matt hit as throwing, badly incomplete (THIS GAME IS OVER, IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT ALREADY. They got a key turnover, and all they had to show for it was better field position. Ah, the life of a Seattle sports fan.)
>> 9th New England possession (NE 28)
13:55 Dillon screen right for 4
13:18 Kacyvenski drops Dillon in backfield (he MADE THE TACKLE!!) for no gain
12:37 3rd/6: Brady has ALL DAY to throw, and hits Michael Boulware!!
>> 9th Seattle possession (NE 45)
12:29 Matt scramble, Koren left sideline to NE 22 (20 yd)
12:10 Shaun moves the chains! (NE 9)
11:41 Matt pressured, no gain
***11:05 delayed handoff Shaun right touchdown!! (Stevens catch good, Matt roughed on play with shot below knees, NE 20-17)
That...they BADLY needed that. And the two points were clutch.
>> 10th New England possession (touchback)
10:58 Graham pass left for 12 (NE 32)
10:23 Patten midfield drops (dove)
10:17 Faulk to NE 45
9:41 Wistrom pressure
9:37 nice coverage Lucas...incomplete (NO FLAGS, PUNKS!!)
9:30 3rd/10: Graham for 25...SON OF A BITCH!!
8:52 Faulk through middle for 5
8:07 Patten to SEA 13 for ANOTHER freakin' first down
7:30 short NE gain
6:51 Woodard hits Brady, throws ball away
6:47 3rd/8: Huff knocks ball down...Patten down too
***Vinatieri from 30 (NE 23-17)
At least it wasn't a touchdown. I guess. No points on the board would have been a lot better. That two-point conversion looks more and more important.
>> 10th Seattle possession (SEA 26)
6:27 Koren pass to SEA 36 for first down
5:49 Matt pressured, Jackson never looked back (illegal motion penalty declined)
5:42 Alexander for 2
5:03 3rd/7: pass Morris right for first down (SEA 47)
4:32 Shaun to NE 48
3:57 great pass Shaun to NE 26 (first down)
3:57 false start SEA, unnecessary roughness NE...half the distance to the goal (Stevens plowed), auto 1st down at NE 13
3:52 Strong short pass right loss of 1, flags (illegal man downfield, illegal shift SEA...all declined)
3:46 ball thrown away to right (DID THEY WAIT LONG ENOUGH FOR THE GROUNDING FLAG??!!?!!)
3:45 Vrabel jumps on Matt...let's hope it's offsides...IT IS
3:20 3rd/16: Stevens to the SEA 13 short of 1st down
***3:01 Brown from 31 (NE 23-20) (11 plays, 62 yards)
The Seahawks still need a freakin' touchdown, and they badly need a defensive stop. They do have all three of their time outs remaining, though, at least.
>> 11th New England possession (NE 37...dammit. That's good field position)
2:51 incomplete left to Givens
2:47 Dillon stuffed at NE 39, setting up the biggest 3rd down of the year for the Seahawks
2:36 3rd/8: Brady all freakin' day to throw, Johnson into the SEA red zone 12 (red flag out...it'll be a catch...or will it?)
-- Come on, did you really think that call would go the Seahawks' way? I didn't. Why should those calls start going Seattle's way now?
2:06 Dillon to the SEA 9, Wistrom down (what the hell...let it all fall down. This sucks as it is. Damn you, SI Jinx!!)
***1:55 Dillon right to touchdown (NE 30-20). He's over 100 yards rushing.
It's a coronation.
>> 11th Seattle possession (SEA 33, it's pointless, though.)
1:44 pressure on Matt, Morris drops right
1:38 Bannister 8 left to the SEA 41
1:25 Morris to SEA 47 for first down
1:03 Koren catch for 1st down, out of bounds NE 37
0:54 Bannister to NE 38
0:31 Mili to NE 18, timeout called
0:25 Stevens over middle incomplete through defender's hands
0:20 Stevens to NE 5, ball spiked before NE defender gets back, still first down, 0:12 left
0:09 from NE 2, Vrabel bats pass
0:05 Shaun left drops pass behind him
0:00 defensive pass interference, but one play left, the loss is secure
0:00 Strong stuffed, who cares.
Patriots 30, Seahawks 20. Early turnovers made the difference, and the fact that the Seahawks didn't capitalize off their takeaways didn't help either.
Seahawks. Cardinals. Sunday afternoon.
/ Click for main page
CRAP, IT'S LATE
I'm not seeing any immediate news on the Mariners on any of the Seattle-area daily websites, so it's on to the other sports... That is, after I mention what an embarrassing loss that was by the Red Sox. My goodness.
SEAHAWKS
Some of you probably won't get to J-M Romero's article until during or after the game, but here it is. Seattle and New England. Man, I want a win out of this.
BASKETBALL
I've been wanting to see Nick Collison play as a Sonic since the moment he was drafted. He sat out last year recuperating from the shoulder surgery, and he's getting playing time during the preseason. He made a few early turnovers (five overall total), but did help fuel a late comeback and had a decent line, as he had 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting and he grabbed eight boards. Oh yeah, the Sonics lost to Phoenix 99-93. But this is exhibition basketball, folks. Who cares what the score is, really?
The Storm had some personal adversities, but the time has come for Anne Donovan and gang to look ahead for next year.
Also, it's time to turn your heads away from Husky football, folks, in case for some reason, you still had your attention there. The Husky basketball team is returning its top seven scorers from last year, and the expectations are high.
HOCKEY
The Kootenay Ice beat the Vancouver Giants 4-3 in overtime on Martin Sagat's goal 4:05 into the extra period. Ty Morris potted his 4th goal of the year for the Giants, who had only two plus skaters.
Leland Irving stopped all 19 shots he faced as the Everett Silvertips shut out the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-0. From that article, "[b]ecause of the [shutout] all fans in attendance, received free batteries as part of the Pacific Power Batteries Lights Out promoton[sic]."
Portland shut out Prince George 5-0 to end their three-game losing funk. In another shutout, Dustin Butler pitched the third of his career to lead the Portland Winter Hawks to over the Cougars.
Multiple-time Canuck call-up Jason King got himself a hat trick in the Manitoba Moose's 5-3 win over the Cleveland Barons to double his goal output to six on the year. Wade Brookbank doubled his output as well, but in terms of fights. His two fights tonight bring him to four in three games. Alex Auld stopped 20 shots and the Moose outshot the Barons 34-24.
The Puget Sound Tomahawks have fallen to 10-2 after a 6-3 loss to the Kootenai Colts. There's no Sun article or immediate recap available at this time of night, so I'm using one of their fan message boards to find out that Mike Truex scored the first goal for the T-Hawks. [Edit Sun AM: Here's the Sun recap.]
Today: Prince George at Seattle, Manitoba at Hamilton
Oh man, just over seven hours until the Seahawks play. Here's to hoping they make us proud...
SEAHAWKS
Some of you probably won't get to J-M Romero's article until during or after the game, but here it is. Seattle and New England. Man, I want a win out of this.
BASKETBALL
I've been wanting to see Nick Collison play as a Sonic since the moment he was drafted. He sat out last year recuperating from the shoulder surgery, and he's getting playing time during the preseason. He made a few early turnovers (five overall total), but did help fuel a late comeback and had a decent line, as he had 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting and he grabbed eight boards. Oh yeah, the Sonics lost to Phoenix 99-93. But this is exhibition basketball, folks. Who cares what the score is, really?
The Storm had some personal adversities, but the time has come for Anne Donovan and gang to look ahead for next year.
Also, it's time to turn your heads away from Husky football, folks, in case for some reason, you still had your attention there. The Husky basketball team is returning its top seven scorers from last year, and the expectations are high.
HOCKEY
The Kootenay Ice beat the Vancouver Giants 4-3 in overtime on Martin Sagat's goal 4:05 into the extra period. Ty Morris potted his 4th goal of the year for the Giants, who had only two plus skaters.
Leland Irving stopped all 19 shots he faced as the Everett Silvertips shut out the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-0. From that article, "[b]ecause of the [shutout] all fans in attendance, received free batteries as part of the Pacific Power Batteries Lights Out promoton[sic]."
Portland shut out Prince George 5-0 to end their three-game losing funk. In another shutout, Dustin Butler pitched the third of his career to lead the Portland Winter Hawks to over the Cougars.
Multiple-time Canuck call-up Jason King got himself a hat trick in the Manitoba Moose's 5-3 win over the Cleveland Barons to double his goal output to six on the year. Wade Brookbank doubled his output as well, but in terms of fights. His two fights tonight bring him to four in three games. Alex Auld stopped 20 shots and the Moose outshot the Barons 34-24.
The Puget Sound Tomahawks have fallen to 10-2 after a 6-3 loss to the Kootenai Colts. There's no Sun article or immediate recap available at this time of night, so I'm using one of their fan message boards to find out that Mike Truex scored the first goal for the T-Hawks. [Edit Sun AM: Here's the Sun recap.]
Today: Prince George at Seattle, Manitoba at Hamilton
Oh man, just over seven hours until the Seahawks play. Here's to hoping they make us proud...