Saturday, March 12, 2005
WASHINGTON WINS PAC-10 TOURNAMENT
Despite Salim Stoudamire's best efforts, it is the Washington Huskies that are your 2005 Pac-10 Tournament champions.
Stoudamire scored 37 points, but it was not enough as the Huskies defeated Arizona in the Pac-10 Tournament championship game 81-72. The Huskies outscored the Wildcats 19-4 in the final 5:12. Nate Robinson scored 6 of his 18 points during that span. Tre Simmons had 16 points and Will Conroy chipped in with 14 points, including 4 3-pointers.
For the Huskies, this is their first-ever Pac-10 Tournament title. They will likely be a #2-#3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, with the brackets being announced tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. Pacific on CBS. Chances are that they are headed to Boise for the first two rounds.
The Huskies are 27-5 going into the NCAA Tournament. Lorenzo Romar has done a great job at Montlake since taking over for Bob Bender in 2002. Instead of football being king at Washington, it is basketball that is taking over Montlake.
Or to be more accurate, Montlake is Romarville these days.
Can the Huskies go far in the tournament? It depends on the draw they get. So, until I see the official brackets, I won't say a single thing. But certainly they have the talent to go a long way.
Congrats to the Washington Huskies, your 2005 Pac-10 Tournament champions. It's always a great day when Lute Olson loses.
Stoudamire scored 37 points, but it was not enough as the Huskies defeated Arizona in the Pac-10 Tournament championship game 81-72. The Huskies outscored the Wildcats 19-4 in the final 5:12. Nate Robinson scored 6 of his 18 points during that span. Tre Simmons had 16 points and Will Conroy chipped in with 14 points, including 4 3-pointers.
For the Huskies, this is their first-ever Pac-10 Tournament title. They will likely be a #2-#3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, with the brackets being announced tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. Pacific on CBS. Chances are that they are headed to Boise for the first two rounds.
The Huskies are 27-5 going into the NCAA Tournament. Lorenzo Romar has done a great job at Montlake since taking over for Bob Bender in 2002. Instead of football being king at Washington, it is basketball that is taking over Montlake.
Or to be more accurate, Montlake is Romarville these days.
Can the Huskies go far in the tournament? It depends on the draw they get. So, until I see the official brackets, I won't say a single thing. But certainly they have the talent to go a long way.
Congrats to the Washington Huskies, your 2005 Pac-10 Tournament champions. It's always a great day when Lute Olson loses.
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PAC-10 TOURNAMENT FINAL 3/12/05
WERRRRD
Welcome to Sunday. Yeah, this is late.
For the random...I hate spiders. They're great outside, just as long as they don't come into the house. I once let out an authoritative primal yell after I squashed a big one while watching Almost Live back in the day. The TV was the only light in the room, and I noticed a spot moving across the floor. I turned on the light, and it was a huge spider, then I reached for a shoe and smacked. I hate spiders.
Also, I forgot which columnist said it (might have been Allen or Thiel), but I agree with whoever it is that wished Michael Jordan was an ambassador for basketball rather than an ambassador for Nike. These Jordan commercials with the kids? I just mute them or change the channel every time. More ads actually make me even less likely to think of buying the overpriced shoes.
To the post!
MARINERS
I think we're all hoping that Felix Hernandez doesn't go all Todd Van Poppel on us. I think I've got cards stashed away somewhere that have ol' TVP dressed in the duds of the Tacoma Tigers. Too bad I didn't sell those cards when they were still worth something. Same with that Classic card I have of Brien Taylor.
Eddie Guardado is out one week, but could be out three weeks, if the hamstring is especially bad. With the injuries to Pineiro and Guardado this year, I haven't felt this queasy about a spring training since last year when Rafael Soriano got hurt in spring training. I think we can all agree that Soriano's injury was certainly a bad omen, especially considering how badly they needed him.
Don't be such a Putz. Yes, it appears they think he's the de facto closer. I don't know how that'd hold up over the course of a season, but at least he's cheap, I guess.
SEAHAWKS
The Seahawks brought in a free agent from another team! Yes, it's Kevin Bentley, former linebacker of the Cleveland Browns. He apparently has quickness and speed, according to a scout in the article, and he might start alongside DD Lewis, with Chad Brown getting more limited time on the field. Farnsworth says they're trying to rework Brown's contract. He's 35 already.
In the visit ruckus, Philadelphia defensive end Derrick Burgess left town without an offer, and Atlanta fullback Fred McCrary never made it into town, re-signing with Atlanta.
BASKETBALL
The Miah Davis Update
The Roanoke Dazzle host Florida today, and Fayetteville the following Saturday and Sunday.
The Marvin Williams Watch
North Carolina beat Clemson 88-81, thanks to Raymond Felton putting the entire Tar Heel squad on his back in the second half. Marvin Williams played 23 minutes off the bench, shooting 1-for-4 from the field and hitting all 8 of his free throws for 10 points along with 6 rebounds (3 offensive) and an assist.
The Tar Heels face Georgia Tech right now as I type this (10:30a, ESPN)
Huskies
The Huskies beat Stanford 66-63 to advance to the Pac-10 tournament's title game. I think it's being resilient when they can still win despite getting only four points from Brandon Roy and a brutal two points from Tre Simmons. The bottom line is still there, though. They're in the title game, and they get a hack at Arizona on a neutral floor.
Blaine Newnham either read Jeremy's mind or read his post before writing his article that ran today about annually rotating the Pac-10 tournament. Any way you slice it it just makes too much sense.
The Huskies play Arizona today (3p, CBS)
Bulldogs
Gonzaga is awaiting the brackets, to be unveiled tomorrow.
Sonics
For my take on last night's game, scroll down two posts or click here if this is the only post on the page.
Three straight losses, all at home. The Sonics have lost five of their last seven home games, and have a better road record than home record. The game was just weird all around, a lot of Sonic players (namely Ray Allen) were ticked off about the officiating, and the game was played with the wrong score on the scoreboard for 22 minutes. Nate McMillan didn't rail away about it, but Scott Skiles said that he was surprised they were still playing, since coaching and substitutions rely on what the score is and how much time is left. Not to mention the crowd would have been a lot more into it, as they were listless most of the night before the middle of the fourth quarter, especially considered there was a three-pointer in one of those articles pointed out that would have given the Sonics a lead, when they were shown as being down by one. Still, the Sonics were hot in the first quarter, and then hit the skids, no matter what the score was.
Also, the Danny Fortson benching was apparently Rick Sund's call. With or without him, the Sonic bench has been dramatically off lately, mostly due to Vladimir Radmanovic's uncooperative shooting wrist.
Upcoming...
Tomorrow at New York (3p, FSNNW)
Tuesday at Chicago (5:30p, FSNNW)
Wednesday at Detroit (4:30p, FSNNW)
Friday vs. Orlando (7:30p, FSNNW)
HOCKEY
Everett beat Seattle 5-1. Seattle is 0-4 in Everett this season. Of course, Seattle has the division locked up, and really didn't have much to play for in this one. The Silvertips jumped out to a 3-0 lead in this one. Brady Calla and Zach Sim scored in the opening period, and Kyle Annesley scored early in the second period on the power play. Tyler Metcalfe then scored the only Seattle goal before Torrie Wheat put the came away with two goals of his own in the second and third periods. Shots were 32-28 for Seattle. Leland Irving stopped 31 for Everett, and Bryan Bridges stopped 23 for Seattle.
Spokane beat Portland 4-1. Sort of like the Everett/Seattle game, Portland was only able to get within one goal after Spokane jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Portland's only goal was on a power play by Dan Da Silva in the second period, but Spokane's two third-period goals did them in. Shots were 32-27 for Portland. Dustin Butler stopped 13 of 15, and Blake Grenier stopped 11 of 12 for Portland after Butler was pulled.
Vancouver beat Prince George 6-3. The Cougars never got closer than two goals. Matt Robinson sandwiched a goal between two Adam Courchaine goals that staked the Giants out to a 3-0 lead. The teams then traded goals three times, with Cody Franson and Mark Fistric scoring in the second period, and Gilbert Brule scoring in the third period. Shots were 34-31 for Prince George, and Marek Schwarz stopped 31 for Vancouver.
Upcoming...
Today: Portland at Everett, Vancouver at Prince George, Manitoba at Chicago, Puget Sound at Queen City (Game 1 of Cascade Cup Finals)
Tomorrow: Spokane at Seattle, Everett at Portland, Manitoba at Chicago, Manitoba at Grand Rapids, Puget Sound at Queen City (Game 2 of Cascade Cup Finals)
Tuesday: Prince George at Vancouver, Manitoba at Milwaukee
Wednesday: Seattle at Everett, Portland at Spokane
Thursday: Manitoba at Milwaukee
Friday: Seattle at Portland, Tri-City at Everett, Vancouver at Kelowna, Queen City at Puget Sound (Game 3 of Cascade Cup finals)
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Have a great Saturday.
For the random...I hate spiders. They're great outside, just as long as they don't come into the house. I once let out an authoritative primal yell after I squashed a big one while watching Almost Live back in the day. The TV was the only light in the room, and I noticed a spot moving across the floor. I turned on the light, and it was a huge spider, then I reached for a shoe and smacked. I hate spiders.
Also, I forgot which columnist said it (might have been Allen or Thiel), but I agree with whoever it is that wished Michael Jordan was an ambassador for basketball rather than an ambassador for Nike. These Jordan commercials with the kids? I just mute them or change the channel every time. More ads actually make me even less likely to think of buying the overpriced shoes.
To the post!
MARINERS
I think we're all hoping that Felix Hernandez doesn't go all Todd Van Poppel on us. I think I've got cards stashed away somewhere that have ol' TVP dressed in the duds of the Tacoma Tigers. Too bad I didn't sell those cards when they were still worth something. Same with that Classic card I have of Brien Taylor.
Eddie Guardado is out one week, but could be out three weeks, if the hamstring is especially bad. With the injuries to Pineiro and Guardado this year, I haven't felt this queasy about a spring training since last year when Rafael Soriano got hurt in spring training. I think we can all agree that Soriano's injury was certainly a bad omen, especially considering how badly they needed him.
Don't be such a Putz. Yes, it appears they think he's the de facto closer. I don't know how that'd hold up over the course of a season, but at least he's cheap, I guess.
SEAHAWKS
The Seahawks brought in a free agent from another team! Yes, it's Kevin Bentley, former linebacker of the Cleveland Browns. He apparently has quickness and speed, according to a scout in the article, and he might start alongside DD Lewis, with Chad Brown getting more limited time on the field. Farnsworth says they're trying to rework Brown's contract. He's 35 already.
In the visit ruckus, Philadelphia defensive end Derrick Burgess left town without an offer, and Atlanta fullback Fred McCrary never made it into town, re-signing with Atlanta.
BASKETBALL
The Miah Davis Update
The Roanoke Dazzle host Florida today, and Fayetteville the following Saturday and Sunday.
The Marvin Williams Watch
North Carolina beat Clemson 88-81, thanks to Raymond Felton putting the entire Tar Heel squad on his back in the second half. Marvin Williams played 23 minutes off the bench, shooting 1-for-4 from the field and hitting all 8 of his free throws for 10 points along with 6 rebounds (3 offensive) and an assist.
The Tar Heels face Georgia Tech right now as I type this (10:30a, ESPN)
Huskies
The Huskies beat Stanford 66-63 to advance to the Pac-10 tournament's title game. I think it's being resilient when they can still win despite getting only four points from Brandon Roy and a brutal two points from Tre Simmons. The bottom line is still there, though. They're in the title game, and they get a hack at Arizona on a neutral floor.
Blaine Newnham either read Jeremy's mind or read his post before writing his article that ran today about annually rotating the Pac-10 tournament. Any way you slice it it just makes too much sense.
The Huskies play Arizona today (3p, CBS)
Bulldogs
Gonzaga is awaiting the brackets, to be unveiled tomorrow.
Sonics
For my take on last night's game, scroll down two posts or click here if this is the only post on the page.
Three straight losses, all at home. The Sonics have lost five of their last seven home games, and have a better road record than home record. The game was just weird all around, a lot of Sonic players (namely Ray Allen) were ticked off about the officiating, and the game was played with the wrong score on the scoreboard for 22 minutes. Nate McMillan didn't rail away about it, but Scott Skiles said that he was surprised they were still playing, since coaching and substitutions rely on what the score is and how much time is left. Not to mention the crowd would have been a lot more into it, as they were listless most of the night before the middle of the fourth quarter, especially considered there was a three-pointer in one of those articles pointed out that would have given the Sonics a lead, when they were shown as being down by one. Still, the Sonics were hot in the first quarter, and then hit the skids, no matter what the score was.
Also, the Danny Fortson benching was apparently Rick Sund's call. With or without him, the Sonic bench has been dramatically off lately, mostly due to Vladimir Radmanovic's uncooperative shooting wrist.
Upcoming...
Tomorrow at New York (3p, FSNNW)
Tuesday at Chicago (5:30p, FSNNW)
Wednesday at Detroit (4:30p, FSNNW)
Friday vs. Orlando (7:30p, FSNNW)
HOCKEY
Everett beat Seattle 5-1. Seattle is 0-4 in Everett this season. Of course, Seattle has the division locked up, and really didn't have much to play for in this one. The Silvertips jumped out to a 3-0 lead in this one. Brady Calla and Zach Sim scored in the opening period, and Kyle Annesley scored early in the second period on the power play. Tyler Metcalfe then scored the only Seattle goal before Torrie Wheat put the came away with two goals of his own in the second and third periods. Shots were 32-28 for Seattle. Leland Irving stopped 31 for Everett, and Bryan Bridges stopped 23 for Seattle.
Spokane beat Portland 4-1. Sort of like the Everett/Seattle game, Portland was only able to get within one goal after Spokane jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Portland's only goal was on a power play by Dan Da Silva in the second period, but Spokane's two third-period goals did them in. Shots were 32-27 for Portland. Dustin Butler stopped 13 of 15, and Blake Grenier stopped 11 of 12 for Portland after Butler was pulled.
Vancouver beat Prince George 6-3. The Cougars never got closer than two goals. Matt Robinson sandwiched a goal between two Adam Courchaine goals that staked the Giants out to a 3-0 lead. The teams then traded goals three times, with Cody Franson and Mark Fistric scoring in the second period, and Gilbert Brule scoring in the third period. Shots were 34-31 for Prince George, and Marek Schwarz stopped 31 for Vancouver.
Upcoming...
Today: Portland at Everett, Vancouver at Prince George, Manitoba at Chicago, Puget Sound at Queen City (Game 1 of Cascade Cup Finals)
Tomorrow: Spokane at Seattle, Everett at Portland, Manitoba at Chicago, Manitoba at Grand Rapids, Puget Sound at Queen City (Game 2 of Cascade Cup Finals)
Tuesday: Prince George at Vancouver, Manitoba at Milwaukee
Wednesday: Seattle at Everett, Portland at Spokane
Thursday: Manitoba at Milwaukee
Friday: Seattle at Portland, Tri-City at Everett, Vancouver at Kelowna, Queen City at Puget Sound (Game 3 of Cascade Cup finals)
---
Have a great Saturday.
/ Click for main page
Friday, March 11, 2005
PAC-10 TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS 3/11/05
updated at 11:15 p.m. Pacific
I'd like to say hey to all of our new readers that are coming from Yoni Cohen's site, College Basketball. Yoni runs a great show over there, so go check it out.
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Arizona 90, Oregon State 59
---Channing Frye and Salim Stoudamire each had 17 points as the Arizona Wildcats advance to the Pac-10 Tournament championship game tomorrow afternoon, defeating Oregon State 90-59.
The Beavers were only down 40-35 at halftime. But the Wildcats went on a 12-0 run to start the second half, killing any chance of Oregon State making a comeback.
Arizona shot 59 percent, while Oregon State shot 39 percent. It was the first time in 3 games that the Beavers didn't outshoot their opponent.
Oregon State is likely headed to the NIT. A first-round matchup against Portland State, perhaps?
Washington 66, Stanford 63
---The Huskies aren't in the NCAA Tournament yet. But an old saying that's used quite often in the Big Dance certainly fits the bill for their 66-63 victory over Stanford tonight.
Survive and advance
Indeed, that's what the Huskies were able to do against a scrappy Stanford ballclub. Nate Robinson, who scored 29 points against Arizona State Thursday night, was held to 14 points and 5 rebounds against the Cardinal. Bobby Jones scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half.
As for Stanford, there is no doubt in my mind that they're going to be in the NCAA Tournament. If they aren't, somebody should give the tournament committee a drug test.
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It's Washington and Arizona in the Pac-10 Tournament championship game.
Both teams each own a victory over one another, so tomorrow is the rubber match. If the first two games between the Huskies and Wildcats are any indication, we're in for a barnburner tomorrow afternoon.
Gametime is 3 p.m. Pacific only on CBS!
OH MY!
I'd like to say hey to all of our new readers that are coming from Yoni Cohen's site, College Basketball. Yoni runs a great show over there, so go check it out.
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Arizona 90, Oregon State 59
---Channing Frye and Salim Stoudamire each had 17 points as the Arizona Wildcats advance to the Pac-10 Tournament championship game tomorrow afternoon, defeating Oregon State 90-59.
The Beavers were only down 40-35 at halftime. But the Wildcats went on a 12-0 run to start the second half, killing any chance of Oregon State making a comeback.
Arizona shot 59 percent, while Oregon State shot 39 percent. It was the first time in 3 games that the Beavers didn't outshoot their opponent.
Oregon State is likely headed to the NIT. A first-round matchup against Portland State, perhaps?
Washington 66, Stanford 63
---The Huskies aren't in the NCAA Tournament yet. But an old saying that's used quite often in the Big Dance certainly fits the bill for their 66-63 victory over Stanford tonight.
Survive and advance
Indeed, that's what the Huskies were able to do against a scrappy Stanford ballclub. Nate Robinson, who scored 29 points against Arizona State Thursday night, was held to 14 points and 5 rebounds against the Cardinal. Bobby Jones scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half.
As for Stanford, there is no doubt in my mind that they're going to be in the NCAA Tournament. If they aren't, somebody should give the tournament committee a drug test.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
It's Washington and Arizona in the Pac-10 Tournament championship game.
Both teams each own a victory over one another, so tomorrow is the rubber match. If the first two games between the Huskies and Wildcats are any indication, we're in for a barnburner tomorrow afternoon.
Gametime is 3 p.m. Pacific only on CBS!
OH MY!
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GAME 60: BULLS 100, SUPERSONICS 97
Bulls 100, SuperSonics 97
Guess what? The Sonics just lost three straight for the first time this year! All three of the losses are home losses! They've lost five of their last seven home games! They're 6-6 in their last 12 home games!
Okay, the fact that it wasn't on TV in Seattle made it rare this year in itself, but the game unfolded in an even weirder fashion. This was even after Danny Fortson was held out of the game, which was apparently GM Rick Sund's call.
The Sonics started out sort of slow in the first quarter, and then reeled off a 14-4 run to get a five-point lead. They nailed 4 of 7 three-pointers in the first quarter, though they went the entire quarter without an offensive rebound.
In the second quarter, the Bulls started out by going on a 13-3 tear, later to be discussed. There was one sequence where the Bulls turned the ball over twice and the Sonics failed to convert on the break; Antonio Daniels blew a layup on which he may have twisted an ankle, and then Luke Ridnour double-dribbled on the way down the floor. The only reason the Bulls didn't pull away was because they turn the ball over like they usually do.
At half, the Bulls were up 56-53. Ray Allen was shooting 2-for-10 at the half, and Vladimir Radmanovic was shooting 1-for-4. The Sonics went 0-for-4 from downtown in the second quarter.
About the Bulls' 13-3 run turned out to be a 10-3 run. Ben Gordon put up a long-range shot which was called a two by the sideline official and a three by the baseline official. Also, Tyson Chandler was shooting a free throw after hitting a basket, and they apparently gave him two more points. Or something like that. From what the broadcast crew was told, NBA rules say that if there is a scoring discrepancy, play can go on until the start of the fourth quarter, which is when the scoring discrepancy absolutely has to be rectified. The scoring people were working on the discrepancy during the second quarter as soon as they noticed it, and a couple of the sportswriters came to the scorers' table and wondered where the extra three points came from. In any event, the game went on with the incorrect score, and it more than likely affected how both teams approached certain situations, but more importantly for the Sonics, the crowd was a lot less into it.
Granted, the Sonics went cold in the third quarter, which didn't give the fans much to cheer about. The Sonics were also preoccupied with the officiating all night, the Bulls were more than likely pushing the envelope and getting away with everything as possible, but it sure was ticking off Ray Allen to the point where he missed a key free throw. Allen was 2-for-13 through three quarters of play.
Before the start of the fourth quarter, the score was changed from Bulls 78-69 to Bulls 75-69.
In the fourth quarter, the Sonics got back to tie on multiple occasions, but never got the lead (CORRECTION Sat ~2:53a -- they actually did lead with 20.7 seconds left after a Collison basket made it 98-97). Ben Gordon scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, like he usually does. As I mentioned, Ray Allen missed one of his two free throws with 4:53 remaining; hitting both would have gotten the Sonics to within two instead of just three, and the Sonics would have led instead of just tied after Vladimir Radmanovic's three off an inbound, which was the next scoring play in the game. That three happened after Luke Ridnour stole the ball after a Chicago offensive rebound. Unfortunately, Reggie Evans went to the floor in a heap on that play, the Sonics called a 20, and Evans had something wrong with his left leg. I don't know if Evans ended up playing any more in the game, but one could say that hurt the Sonics' chances for offensive boards down the stretch, and they really could have used those extra boards to get extra shots. Hopefully those extra shots weren't going to go to Ray Allen.
PEEK AT THE BOXSCORE
starters
Rashard Lewis 27 pts/5 reb (10-20 FG, 3-6 3pt, 4-6 free throws, 29 min), Ray Allen 17 pts/7 reb (5 turnovers, 4-16 FG, 2-6 3pt, 7-9 free throws, 32 min), Luke Ridnour 14 pts/3 reb/7 ast/4 stl (5-9 FG, 1-3 3pt, 3-3 free throws, 29 min), Reggie Evans 9 pts/11 reb (3-5 FG, 3-4 free throws, 25 min)
bench
Antonio Daniels 10 pts (3-8 FG, 1-2 3pt, 3-4 free throws, 19 min), Vladimir Radmanovic 9 pts/3 reb (4-10 FG, 1-5 3pt, 13 min), Nick Collison 9 pts/4 reb (4-7 FG, 8 min), Vitaly Potapenko 0 pts/0 reb (1 min)
Jerome James Watch
2 pts/4 reb/1 ast/1 stl/4 blk (1-4 FG, 2 turnovers, 24 min)
team
shot 34-for-79 (43%) from the field, shot 8-for-22 (36.4%) from downtown, shot 21-for-27 (77.8%) from the line, were outrebounded 43-37 (had 10 offensive boards, Chicago had 15), turned the ball over 16 times
I'm still waiting for the day that Vladimir Radmanovic warms up again. He nailed only the one three-pointer, though it tied the game late in the fourth quarter. Of course, the height advantage that Radmanovic usually has on everyone that's guarding him wasn't there tonight because 7'1" Tyson Chandler was on him like a blanket tonight.
As for Ray Allen, he had nowhere to go all night. Chicago's one of the better defensive teams in the NBA for a reason. There was a point in the game where they would double up on Ray and cover everyone else except for Reggie Evans. Reggie Evans is not a shooter, as we know, and he's definitely not a free-throw shooter.
There's also some questions on the postgame show as to whether the games are getting called differently, and David Locke seems to think that the officials are calling it differently since the All-Star break, as if someone told the refs to call the games like they would in the playoffs. Unfortunately for the Sonics' point guards and other ballhandlers, they've been able to take advantage of the rule changes (which I think include strict calling of hand-checking above the free-throw line) early in the season, and tonight they get Ray Allen getting hammered left and right and getting miffed.
The post-Jordan hangover in Chicago just might officially be over.
I guess I would have asked Jinkies if the Sonics will ever have a home winning streak of more than three games for the rest of the year. I could have asked him about the offensive boards too.
Guess what? The Sonics just lost three straight for the first time this year! All three of the losses are home losses! They've lost five of their last seven home games! They're 6-6 in their last 12 home games!
Okay, the fact that it wasn't on TV in Seattle made it rare this year in itself, but the game unfolded in an even weirder fashion. This was even after Danny Fortson was held out of the game, which was apparently GM Rick Sund's call.
The Sonics started out sort of slow in the first quarter, and then reeled off a 14-4 run to get a five-point lead. They nailed 4 of 7 three-pointers in the first quarter, though they went the entire quarter without an offensive rebound.
In the second quarter, the Bulls started out by going on a 13-3 tear, later to be discussed. There was one sequence where the Bulls turned the ball over twice and the Sonics failed to convert on the break; Antonio Daniels blew a layup on which he may have twisted an ankle, and then Luke Ridnour double-dribbled on the way down the floor. The only reason the Bulls didn't pull away was because they turn the ball over like they usually do.
At half, the Bulls were up 56-53. Ray Allen was shooting 2-for-10 at the half, and Vladimir Radmanovic was shooting 1-for-4. The Sonics went 0-for-4 from downtown in the second quarter.
About the Bulls' 13-3 run turned out to be a 10-3 run. Ben Gordon put up a long-range shot which was called a two by the sideline official and a three by the baseline official. Also, Tyson Chandler was shooting a free throw after hitting a basket, and they apparently gave him two more points. Or something like that. From what the broadcast crew was told, NBA rules say that if there is a scoring discrepancy, play can go on until the start of the fourth quarter, which is when the scoring discrepancy absolutely has to be rectified. The scoring people were working on the discrepancy during the second quarter as soon as they noticed it, and a couple of the sportswriters came to the scorers' table and wondered where the extra three points came from. In any event, the game went on with the incorrect score, and it more than likely affected how both teams approached certain situations, but more importantly for the Sonics, the crowd was a lot less into it.
Granted, the Sonics went cold in the third quarter, which didn't give the fans much to cheer about. The Sonics were also preoccupied with the officiating all night, the Bulls were more than likely pushing the envelope and getting away with everything as possible, but it sure was ticking off Ray Allen to the point where he missed a key free throw. Allen was 2-for-13 through three quarters of play.
Before the start of the fourth quarter, the score was changed from Bulls 78-69 to Bulls 75-69.
In the fourth quarter, the Sonics got back to tie on multiple occasions, but never got the lead (CORRECTION Sat ~2:53a -- they actually did lead with 20.7 seconds left after a Collison basket made it 98-97). Ben Gordon scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, like he usually does. As I mentioned, Ray Allen missed one of his two free throws with 4:53 remaining; hitting both would have gotten the Sonics to within two instead of just three, and the Sonics would have led instead of just tied after Vladimir Radmanovic's three off an inbound, which was the next scoring play in the game. That three happened after Luke Ridnour stole the ball after a Chicago offensive rebound. Unfortunately, Reggie Evans went to the floor in a heap on that play, the Sonics called a 20, and Evans had something wrong with his left leg. I don't know if Evans ended up playing any more in the game, but one could say that hurt the Sonics' chances for offensive boards down the stretch, and they really could have used those extra boards to get extra shots. Hopefully those extra shots weren't going to go to Ray Allen.
PEEK AT THE BOXSCORE
starters
Rashard Lewis 27 pts/5 reb (10-20 FG, 3-6 3pt, 4-6 free throws, 29 min), Ray Allen 17 pts/7 reb (5 turnovers, 4-16 FG, 2-6 3pt, 7-9 free throws, 32 min), Luke Ridnour 14 pts/3 reb/7 ast/4 stl (5-9 FG, 1-3 3pt, 3-3 free throws, 29 min), Reggie Evans 9 pts/11 reb (3-5 FG, 3-4 free throws, 25 min)
bench
Antonio Daniels 10 pts (3-8 FG, 1-2 3pt, 3-4 free throws, 19 min), Vladimir Radmanovic 9 pts/3 reb (4-10 FG, 1-5 3pt, 13 min), Nick Collison 9 pts/4 reb (4-7 FG, 8 min), Vitaly Potapenko 0 pts/0 reb (1 min)
Jerome James Watch
2 pts/4 reb/1 ast/1 stl/4 blk (1-4 FG, 2 turnovers, 24 min)
team
shot 34-for-79 (43%) from the field, shot 8-for-22 (36.4%) from downtown, shot 21-for-27 (77.8%) from the line, were outrebounded 43-37 (had 10 offensive boards, Chicago had 15), turned the ball over 16 times
I'm still waiting for the day that Vladimir Radmanovic warms up again. He nailed only the one three-pointer, though it tied the game late in the fourth quarter. Of course, the height advantage that Radmanovic usually has on everyone that's guarding him wasn't there tonight because 7'1" Tyson Chandler was on him like a blanket tonight.
As for Ray Allen, he had nowhere to go all night. Chicago's one of the better defensive teams in the NBA for a reason. There was a point in the game where they would double up on Ray and cover everyone else except for Reggie Evans. Reggie Evans is not a shooter, as we know, and he's definitely not a free-throw shooter.
There's also some questions on the postgame show as to whether the games are getting called differently, and David Locke seems to think that the officials are calling it differently since the All-Star break, as if someone told the refs to call the games like they would in the playoffs. Unfortunately for the Sonics' point guards and other ballhandlers, they've been able to take advantage of the rule changes (which I think include strict calling of hand-checking above the free-throw line) early in the season, and tonight they get Ray Allen getting hammered left and right and getting miffed.
The post-Jordan hangover in Chicago just might officially be over.
I guess I would have asked Jinkies if the Sonics will ever have a home winning streak of more than three games for the rest of the year. I could have asked him about the offensive boards too.
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CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZY!
There's just one word that comes to mind when describing former Fresno State women's basketball coach Sally Johnson-Klein.
CRAZY!
I hear that the ABA's Nashville Rhythm are looking for a new head coach. Maybe Rhythm owner Sally Anthony needs someone to tag along with her to Goody's in the Music City. Johnson-Klein and Anthony would be perfect for each other.
I'd suggest Ashley McElhiney, the former Rhythm coach, as a candidate for the Fresno State job. She's got the talent to be one of the best head coaches in all of women's basketball. She held her own coaching men in the ABA. Why not give her a chance at Fresno State? Surely she can't be as crazy as Johnson-Klein.
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TWEAK AND SQUEAK
Welcome to Friday.
For today's random...back at campus in Ellensburg last spring, they installed sensor-flush thingies into the urinals in the men's bathrooms at Lind Hall (geology/geography/physics building). Once I got past wondering whether that money should have gone toward buying updated computers or better microscopes or just about anything else, I still couldn't wrap my brain around one thing -- in the lower-floor bathroom, they put in the flushing sensors for the urinals BEFORE they put in a partition between the only two urinals. What's more, there's is a partition present, but it's between the urinal closest to the wall and merely separates the urinal from the steam heater. Since heat might actually be a good thing considering how cold it gets in the winter over there, perhaps campus maintenance could rip out that partition and just put it between the urinals. It'd make too much sense. To me, that's a Bremerton mentality. I like to think of Bremerton as the place where millions of things make sense, but very few of them ever actually get done.
To the post!
MARINERS
Injured Everyday Eddie. The whole team sucks recordwise during Cactus League play so far, which wouldn't be so bad if there weren't serious questions regarding the health of Joel Pineiro and Eddie Guardado. Pineiro won't throw in a game until he's thrown bullpen sessions, and he's not ready for that. Guardado now has hamstring problems in addition to the mechanical issues. I love his quote: "I did it running sprints." Haha, anything to get out of running sprints.
SEAHAWKS
The Seahawks might let Shaun Alexander go for something below a first-round pick. That doesn't necessarily mean he's going. Clare Farnsworth points out that Miami and Arizona both have picks at which they can probably have the running back they want, and for cheaper. Also, just because Arizona signed Chike Okeafor doesn't mean you'll be playing in front of anybody.
The Itula Mili re-signing went officially official, with contract terms coming out -- 4 years, $6M, with a $1.5M signing bonus. Good to have him back.
I heard a snippet of a conversation that John Clayton was having with Mike Gastineau on KJR, and they lambasted Chike Okeafor's quotes a bit; Okeafor said (quotes from yesterday's Farnsworth article) that "there is a different attitude (in Arizona)," and that in Arizona, he'd found himself "surrounded by enough people that thought like me, felt like me, played like me on a day-to-day basis and love the game like me." Clayton's point was that Okeafor hadn't play a single game for Arizona yet, so how does Chike know that? Still, about the Seahawks in general, Clayton echoed the one thing I'd been wondering this whole time, and that's the possibility of the Seahawks operating without a real plan in place. The only plan I've been seeing post-Jones/Hasselbeck/Alexander is to sit back and watch, and that's really not a plan at all.
Finally, we find out that resistance to the Q is indeed futile.
BASKETBALL
The Miah Davis Update
The Roanoke Dazzle host Florida tomorrow, and Fayetteville the following Saturday and Sunday.
The Marvin Williams Watch
The Tar Heels will get Clemson this morning (9a, ESPN2). If the Tar Heels win, they play tomorrow against Virginia Tech or Georgia Tech (1:30p, ESPN).
Huskies
The Huskies beat Arizona State 95-90 in overtime, as Jeremy covered below (jsut scroll down a post if you have the week's worth of posts on the page). The Huskies blew an 18-point lead and allowed the Sun Devils to force overtime before finally putting this one away.
Blaine Newnham notes the contributions of the Seattle-grown players, Will Conroy, Brandon Roy, Nate Robinson, and Tre Simmons.
Also, it appears that Lute Olson is complaining about the Pac-10's TV deal with Fox Sports Net as well. He said some of his possible recruits in Houston couldn't watch Huskies/Wildcats due to women's basketball coverage on Fox Sports (Southwest, I'm guessing). Though I won't argue against any of his points on this, I'm not sure if I'll find bashing the Pac-10 TV deal so cool and gratifying now that I know Lute Olson agrees with me. Aaack.
Also from that Times notebook article, Shelley Smith of ESPN (you may know her from spending way too much time in Eagle, Colorado) will apparently follow the team from Sunday through until the end of their NCAA run.
The Huskies play Stanford tonight (8:45p, FSNNW)
Bulldogs
Gonzaga is awaiting the results from Selection Sunday.
Sonics
About this Fortson thing, I saw Jerome James on KING-5 basically saying that usually he doesn't flop in practice, but he did in this one, and Danny got irate. James seemed like he was almost laughing off the whole incident. There's the school of thought that says Fortson better get his head in gear, but then again, if it's not as serious as James was letting on, then it almost seems like a prank or a practical joke. It's possible Fortson might feel some sense of entitlement, after all; there's a certain swagger that I know I would certainly carry if Lauren Jackson was wearing a jersey with my name on it to watch games at KeyArena.
Also, the Jayhawk connection will be in full tow tonight on radios regionwide, as Kirk Hinrich and his former post presence Nick Collison will be squaring off for the first time. Believe it or not, there was actually a time when you might consider switching away from a school if Tim Floyd was no longer coaching there, and you don't have to go all the way back to the Fred Hoiberg era to find it. You just have to go right up to the point where he decided he'd coach in the NBA.
Upcoming...
Tomorrow vs. Chicago (7:30p, not televised)
Sunday at New York (3p, FSNNW)
Tuesday at Chicago (5:30p, FSNNW)
Wednesday at Detroit (4:30p, FSNNW)
HOCKEY
Not that it'll matter for a while, but more people in the NHL might be willing to take out the red line than originally thought.
Peter Forsberg hadn't played for a month and a half, but then was knocked out and suffered a concussion in a game for MoDo against Farjestad.
Upcoming...
Tonight: Seattle at Everett, Spokane at Portland, Vancouver at Prince George
Tomorrow: Portland at Everett, Vancouver at Prince George, Manitoba at Chicago, Puget Sound at Queen City (Game 1 of Cascade Cup Finals)
Sunday: Spokane at Seattle, Everett at Portland, Manitoba at Chicago, Manitoba at Grand Rapids, Puget Sound at Queen City (Game 2 of Cascade Cup Finals)
Tuesday: Prince George at Vancouver, Manitoba at Milwaukee
Wednesday: Seattle at Everett, Portland at Spokane
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Have a great Friday and a great weekend.
For today's random...back at campus in Ellensburg last spring, they installed sensor-flush thingies into the urinals in the men's bathrooms at Lind Hall (geology/geography/physics building). Once I got past wondering whether that money should have gone toward buying updated computers or better microscopes or just about anything else, I still couldn't wrap my brain around one thing -- in the lower-floor bathroom, they put in the flushing sensors for the urinals BEFORE they put in a partition between the only two urinals. What's more, there's is a partition present, but it's between the urinal closest to the wall and merely separates the urinal from the steam heater. Since heat might actually be a good thing considering how cold it gets in the winter over there, perhaps campus maintenance could rip out that partition and just put it between the urinals. It'd make too much sense. To me, that's a Bremerton mentality. I like to think of Bremerton as the place where millions of things make sense, but very few of them ever actually get done.
To the post!
MARINERS
Injured Everyday Eddie. The whole team sucks recordwise during Cactus League play so far, which wouldn't be so bad if there weren't serious questions regarding the health of Joel Pineiro and Eddie Guardado. Pineiro won't throw in a game until he's thrown bullpen sessions, and he's not ready for that. Guardado now has hamstring problems in addition to the mechanical issues. I love his quote: "I did it running sprints." Haha, anything to get out of running sprints.
SEAHAWKS
The Seahawks might let Shaun Alexander go for something below a first-round pick. That doesn't necessarily mean he's going. Clare Farnsworth points out that Miami and Arizona both have picks at which they can probably have the running back they want, and for cheaper. Also, just because Arizona signed Chike Okeafor doesn't mean you'll be playing in front of anybody.
The Itula Mili re-signing went officially official, with contract terms coming out -- 4 years, $6M, with a $1.5M signing bonus. Good to have him back.
I heard a snippet of a conversation that John Clayton was having with Mike Gastineau on KJR, and they lambasted Chike Okeafor's quotes a bit; Okeafor said (quotes from yesterday's Farnsworth article) that "there is a different attitude (in Arizona)," and that in Arizona, he'd found himself "surrounded by enough people that thought like me, felt like me, played like me on a day-to-day basis and love the game like me." Clayton's point was that Okeafor hadn't play a single game for Arizona yet, so how does Chike know that? Still, about the Seahawks in general, Clayton echoed the one thing I'd been wondering this whole time, and that's the possibility of the Seahawks operating without a real plan in place. The only plan I've been seeing post-Jones/Hasselbeck/Alexander is to sit back and watch, and that's really not a plan at all.
Finally, we find out that resistance to the Q is indeed futile.
BASKETBALL
The Miah Davis Update
The Roanoke Dazzle host Florida tomorrow, and Fayetteville the following Saturday and Sunday.
The Marvin Williams Watch
The Tar Heels will get Clemson this morning (9a, ESPN2). If the Tar Heels win, they play tomorrow against Virginia Tech or Georgia Tech (1:30p, ESPN).
Huskies
The Huskies beat Arizona State 95-90 in overtime, as Jeremy covered below (jsut scroll down a post if you have the week's worth of posts on the page). The Huskies blew an 18-point lead and allowed the Sun Devils to force overtime before finally putting this one away.
Blaine Newnham notes the contributions of the Seattle-grown players, Will Conroy, Brandon Roy, Nate Robinson, and Tre Simmons.
Also, it appears that Lute Olson is complaining about the Pac-10's TV deal with Fox Sports Net as well. He said some of his possible recruits in Houston couldn't watch Huskies/Wildcats due to women's basketball coverage on Fox Sports (Southwest, I'm guessing). Though I won't argue against any of his points on this, I'm not sure if I'll find bashing the Pac-10 TV deal so cool and gratifying now that I know Lute Olson agrees with me. Aaack.
Also from that Times notebook article, Shelley Smith of ESPN (you may know her from spending way too much time in Eagle, Colorado) will apparently follow the team from Sunday through until the end of their NCAA run.
The Huskies play Stanford tonight (8:45p, FSNNW)
Bulldogs
Gonzaga is awaiting the results from Selection Sunday.
Sonics
About this Fortson thing, I saw Jerome James on KING-5 basically saying that usually he doesn't flop in practice, but he did in this one, and Danny got irate. James seemed like he was almost laughing off the whole incident. There's the school of thought that says Fortson better get his head in gear, but then again, if it's not as serious as James was letting on, then it almost seems like a prank or a practical joke. It's possible Fortson might feel some sense of entitlement, after all; there's a certain swagger that I know I would certainly carry if Lauren Jackson was wearing a jersey with my name on it to watch games at KeyArena.
Also, the Jayhawk connection will be in full tow tonight on radios regionwide, as Kirk Hinrich and his former post presence Nick Collison will be squaring off for the first time. Believe it or not, there was actually a time when you might consider switching away from a school if Tim Floyd was no longer coaching there, and you don't have to go all the way back to the Fred Hoiberg era to find it. You just have to go right up to the point where he decided he'd coach in the NBA.
Upcoming...
Tomorrow vs. Chicago (7:30p, not televised)
Sunday at New York (3p, FSNNW)
Tuesday at Chicago (5:30p, FSNNW)
Wednesday at Detroit (4:30p, FSNNW)
HOCKEY
Not that it'll matter for a while, but more people in the NHL might be willing to take out the red line than originally thought.
Peter Forsberg hadn't played for a month and a half, but then was knocked out and suffered a concussion in a game for MoDo against Farjestad.
Upcoming...
Tonight: Seattle at Everett, Spokane at Portland, Vancouver at Prince George
Tomorrow: Portland at Everett, Vancouver at Prince George, Manitoba at Chicago, Puget Sound at Queen City (Game 1 of Cascade Cup Finals)
Sunday: Spokane at Seattle, Everett at Portland, Manitoba at Chicago, Manitoba at Grand Rapids, Puget Sound at Queen City (Game 2 of Cascade Cup Finals)
Tuesday: Prince George at Vancouver, Manitoba at Milwaukee
Wednesday: Seattle at Everett, Portland at Spokane
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Have a great Friday and a great weekend.
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Thursday, March 10, 2005
PAC-10 TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS 3/10/05
final update at 11:40 p.m. Pacific
Arizona 88, California 63
---Channing Frye was 10-for-11 from the field, scoring 22 points as Arizona took care of Cal 88-63.
The Wildcats, the Pac-10 regular season champions, led the Golden Bears 42-23 at halftime. Lute Olson was able to give his starters a rest due to the comfortable lead. The best shooter in the country (just ask Olson) Salim Stoudamire only scored 7 points, but on this day, it didn't matter.
So who will the Wildcats face tomorrow night?
Oregon State 79, UCLA 72
---Oregon State was able to win a game on the road against a Pac-10 foe, albeit a neutral site, but it's a win on the road nontheless, defeating UCLA 79-72.
Chris Stevens led the Beavers with 17 points. Nick DeWitz had 15 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. The Beavers shot 49% from the field (25-51). With the loss, UCLA's NCAA Tournament bubble may have very well burst.
Oregon State head coach Jay John will face his former boss Lute Olson and the Arizona Wildcats tomorrow night at 6 p.m. Pacific (Fox Sports Net) in a semifinal game. As the Bruins found out today, the Beavers are a team that shouldn't be counted out. I'd say they definitely have a chance to beat Arizona. If anything, I think the Beavers are going to be playing after this weekend, either in the NCAA Tournament or in all likelyhood, the NIT. A postseason appearance of either kind would be a great accomplishment for an Oregon State program that hasn't had success on the hardwood since Gary Payton roamed the sidewalks of Corvallis.
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Washington 95, Arizona State 90 (0T)
---Nate Robinson loves playing against Arizona State.
Robinson scored 29 points as the Huskies held off the Sun Devils 95-90 in overtime. In 3 games against the Sun Devils this season, Robinson has averaged 24.3 ppg. He also led the Huskies in rebounding with 7. That's right, little Nate Robinson led the Huskies in rebounding tonight. Against a team that features the Pac-10 Player of the Year Ike Diogu. Speaking of Diogu, he scored 21 points in what could be his last Pac-10 conference game. He has been rumored to forgo his senior season in Tempe to play in the NBA.
Stanford 60, Washington State 58
---Rob Little hit the game-winning shot with 17 seconds left to give the Cardinal their first victory over Washington State this season, 60-58.
Thomas Kelati led all scorers with 20 points. Kelati has really grown in his time in Pullman, especially since the day Dick Bennett first hit the Washington State campus.
If you've watched Washington State, you know all about Bennett's style of coaching. I'm not one to complain about it though, because Bennett has had success using that style. But I tell you what, after watching the fast-paced Arizona State-Washington game, watching Washington State-Stanford was just slow as hell. Yes, it's late.
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Tomorrow is the semifinals. The winners of both games will face each other in the championship game on Saturday (3 p.m. Pacific, CBS)
#5 Oregon State vs #1 Arizona (6 p.m. Pacific, Fox Sports Net)
#3 Stanford vs #2 Washington (8:45 p.m. Pacific, Fox Sports Net)
I'd love to see the Beavers upset Arizona. However, a third Arizona-Washington game is what we need in our lives. The first two games were great. A third game? Oh my!
Arizona 88, California 63
---Channing Frye was 10-for-11 from the field, scoring 22 points as Arizona took care of Cal 88-63.
The Wildcats, the Pac-10 regular season champions, led the Golden Bears 42-23 at halftime. Lute Olson was able to give his starters a rest due to the comfortable lead. The best shooter in the country (just ask Olson) Salim Stoudamire only scored 7 points, but on this day, it didn't matter.
So who will the Wildcats face tomorrow night?
Oregon State 79, UCLA 72
---Oregon State was able to win a game on the road against a Pac-10 foe, albeit a neutral site, but it's a win on the road nontheless, defeating UCLA 79-72.
Chris Stevens led the Beavers with 17 points. Nick DeWitz had 15 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. The Beavers shot 49% from the field (25-51). With the loss, UCLA's NCAA Tournament bubble may have very well burst.
Oregon State head coach Jay John will face his former boss Lute Olson and the Arizona Wildcats tomorrow night at 6 p.m. Pacific (Fox Sports Net) in a semifinal game. As the Bruins found out today, the Beavers are a team that shouldn't be counted out. I'd say they definitely have a chance to beat Arizona. If anything, I think the Beavers are going to be playing after this weekend, either in the NCAA Tournament or in all likelyhood, the NIT. A postseason appearance of either kind would be a great accomplishment for an Oregon State program that hasn't had success on the hardwood since Gary Payton roamed the sidewalks of Corvallis.
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Washington 95, Arizona State 90 (0T)
---Nate Robinson loves playing against Arizona State.
Robinson scored 29 points as the Huskies held off the Sun Devils 95-90 in overtime. In 3 games against the Sun Devils this season, Robinson has averaged 24.3 ppg. He also led the Huskies in rebounding with 7. That's right, little Nate Robinson led the Huskies in rebounding tonight. Against a team that features the Pac-10 Player of the Year Ike Diogu. Speaking of Diogu, he scored 21 points in what could be his last Pac-10 conference game. He has been rumored to forgo his senior season in Tempe to play in the NBA.
Stanford 60, Washington State 58
---Rob Little hit the game-winning shot with 17 seconds left to give the Cardinal their first victory over Washington State this season, 60-58.
Thomas Kelati led all scorers with 20 points. Kelati has really grown in his time in Pullman, especially since the day Dick Bennett first hit the Washington State campus.
If you've watched Washington State, you know all about Bennett's style of coaching. I'm not one to complain about it though, because Bennett has had success using that style. But I tell you what, after watching the fast-paced Arizona State-Washington game, watching Washington State-Stanford was just slow as hell. Yes, it's late.
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Tomorrow is the semifinals. The winners of both games will face each other in the championship game on Saturday (3 p.m. Pacific, CBS)
#5 Oregon State vs #1 Arizona (6 p.m. Pacific, Fox Sports Net)
#3 Stanford vs #2 Washington (8:45 p.m. Pacific, Fox Sports Net)
I'd love to see the Beavers upset Arizona. However, a third Arizona-Washington game is what we need in our lives. The first two games were great. A third game? Oh my!
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TAKE THE PAC-10 TOURNEY ON THE ROAD
One thing that could use some work with the Pac-10 Tournament is the location itself. The Staples Center in Los Angeles is not a bad venue at all, but I feel that this tournament could really be a success in other cities throughout the Pac-10 Conference.
Seattle - Key Arena
Portland - Rose Garden
Oakland - Oakland Coliseum Arena
Los Angeles - Staples Center
Phoenix - America West Arena
I would also improve the student ticket situation as well. As far as I know, the student tickets aren't cheap at all for the tournament. College basketball games need students in the stands. But sometimes, it is all about the corporations. Just watch the next few weeks of college basketball and you'll know exactly what I mean.
The 5 cities that I recommend as hosts for the Pac-10 Tournament makes sense to me. Put the tournament on a 5-year rotation between those cities. The Staples Center deal with the Pac-10 expires after the 2006-2007 season. While Fox wants the tournament in the Staples Center, I have to believe that you can get a better atmosphere for the tournament in Seattle or Portland.
As far as this year's Pac-10 Tournament goes, thank God that I have Fox College Sports. Yes, the Pac-10 TV deal with Fox Sports Net is awful.
Seattle - Key Arena
Portland - Rose Garden
Oakland - Oakland Coliseum Arena
Los Angeles - Staples Center
Phoenix - America West Arena
I would also improve the student ticket situation as well. As far as I know, the student tickets aren't cheap at all for the tournament. College basketball games need students in the stands. But sometimes, it is all about the corporations. Just watch the next few weeks of college basketball and you'll know exactly what I mean.
The 5 cities that I recommend as hosts for the Pac-10 Tournament makes sense to me. Put the tournament on a 5-year rotation between those cities. The Staples Center deal with the Pac-10 expires after the 2006-2007 season. While Fox wants the tournament in the Staples Center, I have to believe that you can get a better atmosphere for the tournament in Seattle or Portland.
As far as this year's Pac-10 Tournament goes, thank God that I have Fox College Sports. Yes, the Pac-10 TV deal with Fox Sports Net is awful.
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POKED BY CACTI
I'd been listening to the end of the today's Cactus League game broadcast involving the Mariners (and Cubs), and basically the big stuff includes this...
-- Though supposedly it's not debilitating or anything, Bryan Price says that Joel Pineiro's behind-the-shoulder soreness renders him as day-to-day
-- Price says Eddie Guardado is apparently day-to-day as well, with one wrinkle: a pulled hamstring. Not good.
-- Five players were sent to the minor-league camp, and I think Shannon Drayer said there might be another cut later today. The cut players were Matt Tuiasosopo, Adam Jones, Ricky Guttormson, Rett Johnson, and Jared Thomas.
I just want Pineiro and Guardado healthy soon, that's all.
-- Though supposedly it's not debilitating or anything, Bryan Price says that Joel Pineiro's behind-the-shoulder soreness renders him as day-to-day
-- Price says Eddie Guardado is apparently day-to-day as well, with one wrinkle: a pulled hamstring. Not good.
-- Five players were sent to the minor-league camp, and I think Shannon Drayer said there might be another cut later today. The cut players were Matt Tuiasosopo, Adam Jones, Ricky Guttormson, Rett Johnson, and Jared Thomas.
I just want Pineiro and Guardado healthy soon, that's all.
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ESCAPE FROM OZ
Welcome to Thursday. Horrendous lateness is due to premature sleep, though it was good sleep. Sleep is great. I learned this in college.
For the random today...I've got to think of something other than the Little Wizard getting the shaft. Back in junior high, and for a couple games in JV ball in high school, we had to use the field at the junior high school, which I use for hitting balls these days. The field's been nowhere near as good as Legion Field (the one with lights), though in the right hands and with a fence, it could someday be a decent field. Right now, though, it's in a better-than-before stage, but still not that great. Why? To all the ballplayers out there, have you ever been on a field where the whole thing looks like a bad hop? One of those fields where even if you were just taking grounders from some friends, you wouldn't think twice about wearing a cup? That's how that field is right now. It's like the grass is growing in bunches, and it's uneven. The only thing I consider worse is if the field is horribly not level.
Two other topics/articles which I thought were half-worthy before I move on here.
I was notified of one by the David Locke show last night regarding a certain coach of Fresno State's women's basketball team. Here's the university's statement as to why she was fired, and here's an article with some incredible details.
The last topic -- it kind of seems like something that's been chapping Pete Prisco's hide, but the topic is intriguing nonetheless. It's on how Parcells and his disciples choke the flow of information to the media, which wouldn't be so bad for Prisco if the fans weren't heavily dependent on the media for information concerning their favorite teams. Worse yet for Prisco, Belichick is using the same philosophies, and it seems to be winning. Prisco likes the media friendliness of Tony Dungy and Brian Billick, but who wouldn't like to be a member of the media at a Brian Billick press conference? I'd have loved to have been at the "instant replay doesn't work" press conference. I guess the most appalling part of the article is that Nick Saban apparently thinks he's God, and he hasn't even coached a game for the Dolphins yet, let alone a game in the NFL.
On TV tonight -- Washington vs. Arizona State (Pac-10 tournament 2/7 game, 6:15p, FSNNW)
MARINERS
Felix got rocked. He later confessed of muscling the ball. In the P-I article, I'd like to know what Mike Hargrove said in place of the replacement word of "futile." I'm hoping it's a curse word, for some reason.
Bret Boone apparently woke up with the sore back that he came out of a game with, and Joel Pineiro will miss one full rotation before getting back out on the mound in game action.
Aaaaaaalso from the P-I article, Shigetoshi Hasegawa elevating his fastball? Great idea! I know I'll feel real confident when he's trying to get Eric Chavez to whiff on an "elevated" fastball coming in at 88-91mph. This idea sounds just as dumb or maybe worse than having Mike Myers throwing three-quarters. Basically, the way I look at it is if this "elevated fastball" thing is going to work, Shig will have to be Moyer, because I don't see how else he's going to deceive anybody into missing that pitch or letting it go.
Tuiasosopo, Matthew P. He caught valley fever last year, which can't be to enjoyable. I love how I've heard from most media that the Mariners' system is stacked at shortstop, and if you go the blogosphere route, you get the impression that most of those guys won't stay at shortstop. As such, I don't think Tuiasosopo should be too afraid about the system being shortstop-heavy. Especially beacuse you can just scratch Michael Garciaparra off the list anyway. He's not competition.
The Weekly Zumsteg focuses on what we might reasonably expect out of Jorge Campillo and Yuniesky Betancourt. I wonder how Castro would react to the news that Cuban baseball might be roughly equivalent to A-ball.
SEAHAWKS
The Seahawks will have a visitor in the form of Philadelphia defensive end Derrick Burgess. The Seahawks may also be interested in New Orleans' Darren Howard, a defensive end, who would fetch a high-round pick. The Seahawks might possibly lose Pork Chop Womack to the Packers.
But the real story here is that Chike Okeafor signed with Arizona because of a "different attitude." Chike says he wasn't surrounded by a lot of people that "love the game like [him]." The sad thing is that he went to ARIZONA and apparently found that. Ruskell?
Okay, I guess the other real story is that Clare Farnsworth does say that Itula Mili re-signed with the Seahawks, though that part of the article seems really tacked onto the end. I'm thinking it must have been a pretty late-breaker, especially if there were conflicting reports. Jeremy encountered such apparently conflicting reports yesterday in his pursuit of the Mili news.
No real other new developments, other than that Chicago running back Anthony Carter left town without signing a contract, much like Andre Dyson.
BASKETBALL
The Miah Davis Update
The Roanoke Dazzle host Florida on Saturday, and Fayetteville the following Saturday and Sunday.
The Marvin Williams Watch
The Tar Heels will get the winner of tonight's ACC tournament 8/9 game (Maryland/Clemson) tomorrow (9a, ESPN2). The winner of that game plays Saturday (1:30p, ESPN).
Huskies
How many Husky articles would you like to read?
Basically, there's one about trying to hold off Ike Diogu, one about the hustle play of Bobby Jones, another which I'll comment on after this, and one hoping the Huskies don't pull a Seahawk and let this loss get to them.
The third article is about the Pac-10 tournament and whether it's working. Attendance has dropped every year since its reinstitution in 2002. Also, teams winning the tournament may suffer from the lack of rest that would come with losing in the earlier rounds. Of course, conference winners from across the country have done the same thing and kicked butt in the NCAAs, so that argument doesn't really hold water with me. But I'll give you the not-so-secret to making this tournament bigger on the national stage. It's called Get the F*%& Off of Fox Sports Net and use ESPN. If there's one thing that Fox Sports Net has had for itself in the years since it switched over from Prime Sports, it's that it had regional programming and the variations of the regional sports report. Where have they failed? Jim Rome, Max Kellerman, and the National Sports Report. It got so bad they threw crap at a wall to see what sticks (put Tom Arnold behind a desk and have him try to talk sports). Basically, if you want better national exposure, stay away from Fox Sports Net at all costs. Unfortunately, Fox has a 40% stake in the Staples Center and co-owns the rights to the Pac-10 tournament. It's a losing battle, and unfortunately we know Lute Olson is never going to shut the hell up about it.
The Huskies face Arizona State in the Pac-10 tournament's 2/7 game tonight (6:15p, FSNNW). The winner goes on to face Stanford or Washington State tomorrow (8:45p, FSNNW).
Bulldogs
Gonzaga is awaiting the results from Selection Sunday.
Sonics
The Sonics' bench? Not doing too well right now. It didn't occur to me that the Houston game was Antonio Daniels' first scoreless game of the year. That and a host of other things would explain the Sonics' deficiency in getting to the free-throw line in the 6-point third quarter game. Still, the bench needs Vladimir Radmanovic needs to be scoring double figures for the bench to be considered anywhere close to top form.
Upcoming...
Tomorrow vs. Chicago (7:30p, not televised)
Sunday at New York (3p, FSNNW)
Tuesday at Chicago (5:30p, FSNNW)
HOCKEY
Seattle beat Tri-City 5-1. This was a beatin'. Seattle scored three times in the first period, chased NHL prospect Carey Price from the net, and the Americans never got closer than 3-1. Aaron Gagnon scored the first and last goals of the game. Ladislav Scurko, Chris Durand, and Bretton Stamler were the other Seattle scorers. Shots were 35-22 for Seattle, and Bryan Bridges stopped 21.
Everett beat Spokane 6-2. Everett also scored three first-period goals. The Chiefs tied the game at 1-1 early, but the Silvertips pulled away. Karel Hromas, Zach Sim, and Randy King scored in the first period. Curtis Billsten scored in the second period. Brady Calla and Torrie Wheat scored in the third period. Shots were 27-24 for Everett, and Mike Wall stopped 22.
Manitoba beat Grand Rapids 4-2. The Moose came back from down 2-1 to win this one in the third period. The teams traded goals in the first two periods, with the Moose never leading in the first 40 minutes. Kent Huskins scored twice, both tying goals, the first coming with 33 seconds left in the period. Josh Green scored the winner on the power play with 1:18 left in regulation. Lee Goren iced the game with an empty-netter with 33 seconds left. Shots were 32-26 for the Griffins, and Alex Auld stopped 30.
Upcoming...
Tomorrow: Seattle at Everett, Spokane at Portland, Vancouver at Prince George, Manitoba at Grand Rapids, Puget Sound at Queen City (Game 1 of Cascade Cup Finals)
Saturday: Portland at Everett, Vancouver at Prince George, Manitoba at Chicago, Puget Sound at Queen City (Game 2 of Cascade Cup Finals)
Sunday: Spokane at Seattle, Everett at Portland, Manitoba at Chicago
Tuesday: Prince George at Vancouver, Manitoba at Milwaukee
Wednesday: Seattle at Everett, Portland at Spokane
---
Have a great rest of the Thursday.
For the random today...I've got to think of something other than the Little Wizard getting the shaft. Back in junior high, and for a couple games in JV ball in high school, we had to use the field at the junior high school, which I use for hitting balls these days. The field's been nowhere near as good as Legion Field (the one with lights), though in the right hands and with a fence, it could someday be a decent field. Right now, though, it's in a better-than-before stage, but still not that great. Why? To all the ballplayers out there, have you ever been on a field where the whole thing looks like a bad hop? One of those fields where even if you were just taking grounders from some friends, you wouldn't think twice about wearing a cup? That's how that field is right now. It's like the grass is growing in bunches, and it's uneven. The only thing I consider worse is if the field is horribly not level.
Two other topics/articles which I thought were half-worthy before I move on here.
I was notified of one by the David Locke show last night regarding a certain coach of Fresno State's women's basketball team. Here's the university's statement as to why she was fired, and here's an article with some incredible details.
The last topic -- it kind of seems like something that's been chapping Pete Prisco's hide, but the topic is intriguing nonetheless. It's on how Parcells and his disciples choke the flow of information to the media, which wouldn't be so bad for Prisco if the fans weren't heavily dependent on the media for information concerning their favorite teams. Worse yet for Prisco, Belichick is using the same philosophies, and it seems to be winning. Prisco likes the media friendliness of Tony Dungy and Brian Billick, but who wouldn't like to be a member of the media at a Brian Billick press conference? I'd have loved to have been at the "instant replay doesn't work" press conference. I guess the most appalling part of the article is that Nick Saban apparently thinks he's God, and he hasn't even coached a game for the Dolphins yet, let alone a game in the NFL.
On TV tonight -- Washington vs. Arizona State (Pac-10 tournament 2/7 game, 6:15p, FSNNW)
MARINERS
Felix got rocked. He later confessed of muscling the ball. In the P-I article, I'd like to know what Mike Hargrove said in place of the replacement word of "futile." I'm hoping it's a curse word, for some reason.
Bret Boone apparently woke up with the sore back that he came out of a game with, and Joel Pineiro will miss one full rotation before getting back out on the mound in game action.
Aaaaaaalso from the P-I article, Shigetoshi Hasegawa elevating his fastball? Great idea! I know I'll feel real confident when he's trying to get Eric Chavez to whiff on an "elevated" fastball coming in at 88-91mph. This idea sounds just as dumb or maybe worse than having Mike Myers throwing three-quarters. Basically, the way I look at it is if this "elevated fastball" thing is going to work, Shig will have to be Moyer, because I don't see how else he's going to deceive anybody into missing that pitch or letting it go.
Tuiasosopo, Matthew P. He caught valley fever last year, which can't be to enjoyable. I love how I've heard from most media that the Mariners' system is stacked at shortstop, and if you go the blogosphere route, you get the impression that most of those guys won't stay at shortstop. As such, I don't think Tuiasosopo should be too afraid about the system being shortstop-heavy. Especially beacuse you can just scratch Michael Garciaparra off the list anyway. He's not competition.
The Weekly Zumsteg focuses on what we might reasonably expect out of Jorge Campillo and Yuniesky Betancourt. I wonder how Castro would react to the news that Cuban baseball might be roughly equivalent to A-ball.
SEAHAWKS
The Seahawks will have a visitor in the form of Philadelphia defensive end Derrick Burgess. The Seahawks may also be interested in New Orleans' Darren Howard, a defensive end, who would fetch a high-round pick. The Seahawks might possibly lose Pork Chop Womack to the Packers.
But the real story here is that Chike Okeafor signed with Arizona because of a "different attitude." Chike says he wasn't surrounded by a lot of people that "love the game like [him]." The sad thing is that he went to ARIZONA and apparently found that. Ruskell?
Okay, I guess the other real story is that Clare Farnsworth does say that Itula Mili re-signed with the Seahawks, though that part of the article seems really tacked onto the end. I'm thinking it must have been a pretty late-breaker, especially if there were conflicting reports. Jeremy encountered such apparently conflicting reports yesterday in his pursuit of the Mili news.
No real other new developments, other than that Chicago running back Anthony Carter left town without signing a contract, much like Andre Dyson.
BASKETBALL
The Miah Davis Update
The Roanoke Dazzle host Florida on Saturday, and Fayetteville the following Saturday and Sunday.
The Marvin Williams Watch
The Tar Heels will get the winner of tonight's ACC tournament 8/9 game (Maryland/Clemson) tomorrow (9a, ESPN2). The winner of that game plays Saturday (1:30p, ESPN).
Huskies
How many Husky articles would you like to read?
Basically, there's one about trying to hold off Ike Diogu, one about the hustle play of Bobby Jones, another which I'll comment on after this, and one hoping the Huskies don't pull a Seahawk and let this loss get to them.
The third article is about the Pac-10 tournament and whether it's working. Attendance has dropped every year since its reinstitution in 2002. Also, teams winning the tournament may suffer from the lack of rest that would come with losing in the earlier rounds. Of course, conference winners from across the country have done the same thing and kicked butt in the NCAAs, so that argument doesn't really hold water with me. But I'll give you the not-so-secret to making this tournament bigger on the national stage. It's called Get the F*%& Off of Fox Sports Net and use ESPN. If there's one thing that Fox Sports Net has had for itself in the years since it switched over from Prime Sports, it's that it had regional programming and the variations of the regional sports report. Where have they failed? Jim Rome, Max Kellerman, and the National Sports Report. It got so bad they threw crap at a wall to see what sticks (put Tom Arnold behind a desk and have him try to talk sports). Basically, if you want better national exposure, stay away from Fox Sports Net at all costs. Unfortunately, Fox has a 40% stake in the Staples Center and co-owns the rights to the Pac-10 tournament. It's a losing battle, and unfortunately we know Lute Olson is never going to shut the hell up about it.
The Huskies face Arizona State in the Pac-10 tournament's 2/7 game tonight (6:15p, FSNNW). The winner goes on to face Stanford or Washington State tomorrow (8:45p, FSNNW).
Bulldogs
Gonzaga is awaiting the results from Selection Sunday.
Sonics
The Sonics' bench? Not doing too well right now. It didn't occur to me that the Houston game was Antonio Daniels' first scoreless game of the year. That and a host of other things would explain the Sonics' deficiency in getting to the free-throw line in the 6-point third quarter game. Still, the bench needs Vladimir Radmanovic needs to be scoring double figures for the bench to be considered anywhere close to top form.
Upcoming...
Tomorrow vs. Chicago (7:30p, not televised)
Sunday at New York (3p, FSNNW)
Tuesday at Chicago (5:30p, FSNNW)
HOCKEY
Seattle beat Tri-City 5-1. This was a beatin'. Seattle scored three times in the first period, chased NHL prospect Carey Price from the net, and the Americans never got closer than 3-1. Aaron Gagnon scored the first and last goals of the game. Ladislav Scurko, Chris Durand, and Bretton Stamler were the other Seattle scorers. Shots were 35-22 for Seattle, and Bryan Bridges stopped 21.
Everett beat Spokane 6-2. Everett also scored three first-period goals. The Chiefs tied the game at 1-1 early, but the Silvertips pulled away. Karel Hromas, Zach Sim, and Randy King scored in the first period. Curtis Billsten scored in the second period. Brady Calla and Torrie Wheat scored in the third period. Shots were 27-24 for Everett, and Mike Wall stopped 22.
Manitoba beat Grand Rapids 4-2. The Moose came back from down 2-1 to win this one in the third period. The teams traded goals in the first two periods, with the Moose never leading in the first 40 minutes. Kent Huskins scored twice, both tying goals, the first coming with 33 seconds left in the period. Josh Green scored the winner on the power play with 1:18 left in regulation. Lee Goren iced the game with an empty-netter with 33 seconds left. Shots were 32-26 for the Griffins, and Alex Auld stopped 30.
Upcoming...
Tomorrow: Seattle at Everett, Spokane at Portland, Vancouver at Prince George, Manitoba at Grand Rapids, Puget Sound at Queen City (Game 1 of Cascade Cup Finals)
Saturday: Portland at Everett, Vancouver at Prince George, Manitoba at Chicago, Puget Sound at Queen City (Game 2 of Cascade Cup Finals)
Sunday: Spokane at Seattle, Everett at Portland, Manitoba at Chicago
Tuesday: Prince George at Vancouver, Manitoba at Milwaukee
Wednesday: Seattle at Everett, Portland at Spokane
---
Have a great rest of the Thursday.
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Wednesday, March 09, 2005
FUNITULA!
Dennis Haskins (Mr. Belding on "Saved By The Bell") is currently on a tour of college campuses across America.
I've lost it.
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KFFL WRONG: MILI SIGNS WITH CARDINALS
I had posted earlier that the Seahawks had re-signed Itula Mili.
Well, it turns out that the KFFL report is false.
ESPN.com reports that Mili has signed with the Arizona Cardinals, becoming the second Seahawk to jet to the Valley of the Sun in the last week. The deal is 4 years, financial terms not disclosed.
In the KFFL report, they had cited Mike Jurecki from KDUS Radio. Here's the deal though: Jurecki doesn't work for KDUS, according to the station's website. In fact, he is a writer for the Cardinals' official web site.
Way to go, KFFL.
Well, it turns out that the KFFL report is false.
ESPN.com reports that Mili has signed with the Arizona Cardinals, becoming the second Seahawk to jet to the Valley of the Sun in the last week. The deal is 4 years, financial terms not disclosed.
In the KFFL report, they had cited Mike Jurecki from KDUS Radio. Here's the deal though: Jurecki doesn't work for KDUS, according to the station's website. In fact, he is a writer for the Cardinals' official web site.
Way to go, KFFL.
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MILI RE-SIGNS WITH 'HAWKS
According to KFFL, the Seahawks have re-signed tight end Itula Mili to a 4-year deal, terms not disclosed.
Mili has spent his entire 8-year career in Seattle. He had 23 receptions for 240 yards and a touchdown in 2004. The Seahawks have been able to count on Mili, while they've yet to receive any meaningful contribution from 2002 first-round pick Jerramy Stevens.
Bringing Mili back to Seattle is a good move. However, I'm waiting for a few moves on the defensive side of the ball. The Seahawks defense was ranked 26th overall in the NFL during the 2004 season. So while the signings on offense have been nice (Matt Hasselbeck and Walter Jones, for example), it's obvious where the Seahawks' focus should be in the next few weeks.
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THERE'S BEAUTY UP ABOVE!
I'll be honest with you, I love his music, I do, I'm a Billy Ocean fan. For my money, it doesn't get any better than when he sings "Loverboy".
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DEBACLE
Welcome to Wednesday. Already. It seems like I was just ticked off about the Sonics' loss on Sunday, but they've given me more to be ticked off about thanks to last night.
For today's random...I've dropped a couple of horribly-out-of-place American Idol references here in the past few weeks, but this won't be the bulk of what I'm about to spew forth. I didn't see either of the first two seasons of Nashville Star, but apparently my parents did, and seemed to find the show somewhat engaging. But even I knew they wouldn't find this third season quite as appealing. Why? I found out a week or two ago that one of the judges this time around was Bret Michaels. After all, if there's anyone out there who knows what it takes to be a country music superstar, look no further than a guy who made his name in the '80s making glam-metal music while using more hair spray and even more makeup than all the female contestants I saw on last night's episode of Nashville Star combined. It'd be one thing if that was the only reason I had a problem with this, but there's more. On American Idol, the judges actually seem to have some pull and seem to know what they're talking about half the time. With Bret Michaels, he'd rather just tell the female singers that he wished they could come back to the bus after the show and party, or just merely say that the singer is "hot." Seriously, I'm not even sure why there are judges at all on that show. Man, this Bret Michaels-judging-country thing would be like me going to P Diddy for constructive criticism on my guitar playing. I was going to insert a P Diddy joke here that had to do with sampling, but it's late and my brain's not firing on all cylinders. I type the rest of the post before I type the random, you know.
Another thing that ticked me off, though was strangely more gratifying...it's called Chasm. As usual, when I mention most weird or random crap here that has some repeat or replay value, it ends up under "miscellaneous links" on the sidebar.
To the post!
MARINERS
Since won-loss records really don't matter in spring training, all the little things matter more. For instance, Wladimir Balentien and Jose Lopez failed to take the sign from third-base coach Jeff Newman, the former on a 3-0 count, when Hargrove was actually going to turn Jose loose, and he took instead. Just for comedic purposes, this is where I wish R. Lee Ermey was the manager of this team, to chew out players in spring training. "ARE YOU TWO MAGGOTS TOO GOOD TO TAKE SIGNS?! DON'T TOUCH ME!! LEAN FORWARD AND CHOKE YOURSELF!!"
In the non-radio split-squad game yesterday, Ryan Franklin threw 56 pitches in two innings (paging Villone), Bret Boone was muffing balls, Masao Kida was lit up (when don't I expect that?), and Rett Johnson was having some Rick Ankiel moments.
Joel Pineiro's start has been pushed back due to stiffness behind the throwing shoulder (i.e., not a flexor bundle). As a result, Felix Hernandez (who's he?) will be starting this afternoon.
Time for the specific non-notebook pieces...
Blaine Newnham gives some ink to Adrian Beltre, and it probably won't be the first time. It is kind of weird after these past few years to think of this team as the team that let Johnson, Griffey, and Rodriguez go, and then realize that now we get to see Adrian Beltre for the next few seasons. This is going to be fun. Former Florida manager and current Bavasi minion John Boles has some glowing quotes in the piece.
Miguel Olivo is surviving Camp Hansen. Olivo likens Roger Hansen to a sort of father figure away from home. I'd sure like to know who it was that told Olivo to hold his hands higher when he's batting. Also, I know the trade happened when I was at field camp, but the kidney stone thing totally slipped by me. I didn't know about it until now.
Don Baylor the motivator? The word "edge" is used a lot in that piece. Baylor beat cancer, and decades before that, he was nearly the first black football player for the Longhorns. He's a disciple of Frank Robinson and wants the hitters to get some swagger and some confidence as a whole. Anyway, that's what I got from that piece. I don't know where else to go with it.
SEAHAWKS
What would you call a football version of a hot stove league? I have no idea. Cold grill conference?
Anyway, that's what's going on at Camp Ruskell.
New names involved in meetings and/or rumors, with named teams as teams the player was last with, if he's not currently attached to a team...
offense
JEFF GARCIA, San Francisco quarterback, is scheduled to meet; the Seahawks are apparently up against the Broncos and Lions...
ANTHONY THOMAS, Chicago running back, in town for a visit...
***ROD GARDNER, Washington wide receiver, who would come via trade, and may spell the end of Koren Robinson in Seattle if he's on board...
[***Edit ~12:35p -- Rod Gardner is now matched with the correct team that he played for last year, instead of the Broncos.
Edit 2:44p -- Rod, not Ron, as I'd listed originally. I'm a wreck.]
defense
BRYCE FISHER, Saint Louis defensive end, in town for a visit...
ANDRE DYSON, Tennessee cornerback, who left Seattle without signing a contract, though everyone's people will apparently keep in touch...
KELLY HERNDON, Denver cornerback, says through his agent that he wants to meet...
PATRICK SURTAIN, Miami cornerback, whose possible arrival in Seattle might be because Shaun Alexander would have gone the other way in a trade...
KEVIN BENTLEY, Cleveland linebacker, says he's planning a visit...
ANTHONY BECHT, New York Jets linebacker, says he's planning a visit...
ED HARTWELL, Baltimore linebacker, says through his agent that he wants to meet...
DONNIE SPRAGAN, Denver linebacker, says he's planning a visit...
JASON TAYLOR, Miami linebacker, supposedly unreceptive to possibly moving to outside linebacker if Miami goes with a 3-4 defense.
From the P-I article, Phil Neri is apparently a consultant helping the Seahawks prepare for the draft. Scot McCloughan left to be VP of player personnel for the 49ers, so the post has been vacant. Neri was the Seahawks' director of college scouting from 1984-1996. In 1984, the Seahawks were 12-4 and won a playoff game (I'm shuddering as I try to imagine that). After that, there's a 10-6 season (they missed the playoffs) two years later, followed by a smattering of 9-7s and 7-9s, followed by the Tom Flores era, and then a return to mediocrity with Dennis Erickson. The 1996 team was 7-9. Not that there's a direct correlation, but the Seahawks were 100-107 when Neri was in the fold.
Also mentioned in the P-I article is Mike Holmgren's upcoming NFL competition committee meetings in Maui. That should be fuuuuuun. I could dig back into last season's game posts to find it, but the first thing that popped into my mind when I read about this was (I think it was the Minnesota game) where Lucas, Hamlin, or Boulware recovered a fumble or something, and would have run it back the other way for a touchdown, but the ball was whistled dead. It was whistled dead even though if they had let the play go, the officials could have easily reversed the call of whether the ball was down, or the other team could have challenged it. All I remember was that somehow the play was not challengeable. I think the plays that are deemed unchallengeable might be just one of the things Mike Holmgren might bring up in an oh-so-nice manner at these meetings.
BASKETBALL
The Miah Davis Update
The Roanoke Dazzle host Florida on Saturday, and Fayetteville the following Saturday and Sunday.
The Marvin Williams Watch
The Tar Heels will get the winner of the ACC tournament's 8/9 game (Maryland/Clemson) on Friday (9a, ESPN2). The winner of that game plays Saturday (1:30p, ESPN).
Huskies
The Huskies face Arizona State in the Pac-10 tournament's 2/7 game tomorrow (6:15p, FSNNW). The winner goes on to face Stanford or Washington State on Friday (8:45p, FSNNW).
Bulldogs
Congrats to Gonzaga, not just because they landed an automatic NCAA tournament berth, but because they've landed next year's WCC men's and women's tournaments at the McCarthey Center. That's right! Them Southern Californians will experience Spocompton, and they will LIKE it! Hopefully they know that Spokane is an apple maggot quarantine area, and they remember not to transport homegrown tree fruit. For me, when I'm near Spokane, those signs are the official reminder to me that I am indeed entering Spokane.
Gonzaga now awaits the results from Selection Sunday.
Sonics
For my take on last night's game, scroll down a post or click here if this is the only post on the page.
Just to clarify, the game wasn't really quite as close at the end as the score would indicate because Ray Allen hit a meaningless three-pointer with 0.01 seconds left. When Jon Barry almost held the ball for too long on the inbound, and hit Tracy McGrady streaking to the basket for a layup, that was what did the game in for me, even though McGrady bricked the free throw and the Sonics still had 14.5 seconds and the ball, down three. But they couldn't get off a really clean shot to tie it.
The Sonics have done many great things this season, but coming back to win after a franchise-low quarter of basketball -- the third quarter in particular, where the Sonics scored a grand total of six points on 3-for-14 shooting -- is not one of them. Grand. Paul Silvi on KING-5 called it "Dennis Bounds-type basketball." Nate McMillan said the ball just wasn't moving that quarter, though the Sonics definitely had less time with which to score after turning the ball over seven times in the quarter.
Man, it's too bad David Locke's column has such horrible timing after a loss like this. Basically, he says that the Sonics' offense is special, incredible, and can even draw comparisons to great teams, if you use some stats. He uses turnovers by possession, shooting effectiveness, and rebounding rankings to see where the Sonics would stack. Basically what he ends up with is that they're the 72-10 Chicago Bulls, except with very spotty defense. I'm not sure how many wins that gets you or how far in the playoffs that will get this team. What I do know is that they lost their 18th game last night, which means that they have to run the table to equal the won-loss record of the Sonic team (64-18) that went to the finals and ran into that 72-10 buzzsaw.
In a related story, Vin Baker was with the Rockets at KeyArena last night and nobody gave a crap.
Upcoming...
Friday vs. Chicago (7:30p, not televised)
Sunday at New York (3p, FSNNW)
Tuesday at Chicago (5:30p, FSNNW)
HOCKEY
There's some buzz in the Times as the games pick up again.
For the Thunderbirds, Zack FitzGerald was being reviewed by league officials for an "intent to injure" penalty (I thought those were called match penalties) stemming from his payback move on Portland's Shane Halifax, who got five games earlier in the year for cross-checking FitzGerald's head. Coach Rob Sumner may also be suspended for throwing a pen onto the ice. In less turbulent news, goalie Bryan Bridges was named WHL player of the week.
For the Silvertips, Mark Kress (broken arm) and Zach Hamill (ankle sprain) are expected to come back to the ice this weekend.
Upcoming...
Tonight: Tri-City at Seattle, Everett at Spokane, Manitoba at Grand Rapids
Friday: Seattle at Everett, Spokane at Portland, Vancouver at Prince George, Manitoba at Grand Rapids, Puget Sound at Queen City (Game 1 of Cascade Cup Finals)
Saturday: Portland at Everett, Vancouver at Prince George, Manitoba at Chicago, Puget Sound at Queen City (Game 2 of Cascade Cup Finals)
Sunday: Spokane at Seattle, Everett at Portland, Manitoba at Chicago
Tuesday: Prince George at Vancouver, Manitoba at Milwaukee
---
Have a grand Wednesday, folks.
For today's random...I've dropped a couple of horribly-out-of-place American Idol references here in the past few weeks, but this won't be the bulk of what I'm about to spew forth. I didn't see either of the first two seasons of Nashville Star, but apparently my parents did, and seemed to find the show somewhat engaging. But even I knew they wouldn't find this third season quite as appealing. Why? I found out a week or two ago that one of the judges this time around was Bret Michaels. After all, if there's anyone out there who knows what it takes to be a country music superstar, look no further than a guy who made his name in the '80s making glam-metal music while using more hair spray and even more makeup than all the female contestants I saw on last night's episode of Nashville Star combined. It'd be one thing if that was the only reason I had a problem with this, but there's more. On American Idol, the judges actually seem to have some pull and seem to know what they're talking about half the time. With Bret Michaels, he'd rather just tell the female singers that he wished they could come back to the bus after the show and party, or just merely say that the singer is "hot." Seriously, I'm not even sure why there are judges at all on that show. Man, this Bret Michaels-judging-country thing would be like me going to P Diddy for constructive criticism on my guitar playing. I was going to insert a P Diddy joke here that had to do with sampling, but it's late and my brain's not firing on all cylinders. I type the rest of the post before I type the random, you know.
Another thing that ticked me off, though was strangely more gratifying...it's called Chasm. As usual, when I mention most weird or random crap here that has some repeat or replay value, it ends up under "miscellaneous links" on the sidebar.
To the post!
MARINERS
Since won-loss records really don't matter in spring training, all the little things matter more. For instance, Wladimir Balentien and Jose Lopez failed to take the sign from third-base coach Jeff Newman, the former on a 3-0 count, when Hargrove was actually going to turn Jose loose, and he took instead. Just for comedic purposes, this is where I wish R. Lee Ermey was the manager of this team, to chew out players in spring training. "ARE YOU TWO MAGGOTS TOO GOOD TO TAKE SIGNS?! DON'T TOUCH ME!! LEAN FORWARD AND CHOKE YOURSELF!!"
In the non-radio split-squad game yesterday, Ryan Franklin threw 56 pitches in two innings (paging Villone), Bret Boone was muffing balls, Masao Kida was lit up (when don't I expect that?), and Rett Johnson was having some Rick Ankiel moments.
Joel Pineiro's start has been pushed back due to stiffness behind the throwing shoulder (i.e., not a flexor bundle). As a result, Felix Hernandez (who's he?) will be starting this afternoon.
Time for the specific non-notebook pieces...
Blaine Newnham gives some ink to Adrian Beltre, and it probably won't be the first time. It is kind of weird after these past few years to think of this team as the team that let Johnson, Griffey, and Rodriguez go, and then realize that now we get to see Adrian Beltre for the next few seasons. This is going to be fun. Former Florida manager and current Bavasi minion John Boles has some glowing quotes in the piece.
Miguel Olivo is surviving Camp Hansen. Olivo likens Roger Hansen to a sort of father figure away from home. I'd sure like to know who it was that told Olivo to hold his hands higher when he's batting. Also, I know the trade happened when I was at field camp, but the kidney stone thing totally slipped by me. I didn't know about it until now.
Don Baylor the motivator? The word "edge" is used a lot in that piece. Baylor beat cancer, and decades before that, he was nearly the first black football player for the Longhorns. He's a disciple of Frank Robinson and wants the hitters to get some swagger and some confidence as a whole. Anyway, that's what I got from that piece. I don't know where else to go with it.
SEAHAWKS
What would you call a football version of a hot stove league? I have no idea. Cold grill conference?
Anyway, that's what's going on at Camp Ruskell.
New names involved in meetings and/or rumors, with named teams as teams the player was last with, if he's not currently attached to a team...
offense
JEFF GARCIA, San Francisco quarterback, is scheduled to meet; the Seahawks are apparently up against the Broncos and Lions...
ANTHONY THOMAS, Chicago running back, in town for a visit...
***ROD GARDNER, Washington wide receiver, who would come via trade, and may spell the end of Koren Robinson in Seattle if he's on board...
[***Edit ~12:35p -- Rod Gardner is now matched with the correct team that he played for last year, instead of the Broncos.
Edit 2:44p -- Rod, not Ron, as I'd listed originally. I'm a wreck.]
defense
BRYCE FISHER, Saint Louis defensive end, in town for a visit...
ANDRE DYSON, Tennessee cornerback, who left Seattle without signing a contract, though everyone's people will apparently keep in touch...
KELLY HERNDON, Denver cornerback, says through his agent that he wants to meet...
PATRICK SURTAIN, Miami cornerback, whose possible arrival in Seattle might be because Shaun Alexander would have gone the other way in a trade...
KEVIN BENTLEY, Cleveland linebacker, says he's planning a visit...
ANTHONY BECHT, New York Jets linebacker, says he's planning a visit...
ED HARTWELL, Baltimore linebacker, says through his agent that he wants to meet...
DONNIE SPRAGAN, Denver linebacker, says he's planning a visit...
JASON TAYLOR, Miami linebacker, supposedly unreceptive to possibly moving to outside linebacker if Miami goes with a 3-4 defense.
From the P-I article, Phil Neri is apparently a consultant helping the Seahawks prepare for the draft. Scot McCloughan left to be VP of player personnel for the 49ers, so the post has been vacant. Neri was the Seahawks' director of college scouting from 1984-1996. In 1984, the Seahawks were 12-4 and won a playoff game (I'm shuddering as I try to imagine that). After that, there's a 10-6 season (they missed the playoffs) two years later, followed by a smattering of 9-7s and 7-9s, followed by the Tom Flores era, and then a return to mediocrity with Dennis Erickson. The 1996 team was 7-9. Not that there's a direct correlation, but the Seahawks were 100-107 when Neri was in the fold.
Also mentioned in the P-I article is Mike Holmgren's upcoming NFL competition committee meetings in Maui. That should be fuuuuuun. I could dig back into last season's game posts to find it, but the first thing that popped into my mind when I read about this was (I think it was the Minnesota game) where Lucas, Hamlin, or Boulware recovered a fumble or something, and would have run it back the other way for a touchdown, but the ball was whistled dead. It was whistled dead even though if they had let the play go, the officials could have easily reversed the call of whether the ball was down, or the other team could have challenged it. All I remember was that somehow the play was not challengeable. I think the plays that are deemed unchallengeable might be just one of the things Mike Holmgren might bring up in an oh-so-nice manner at these meetings.
BASKETBALL
The Miah Davis Update
The Roanoke Dazzle host Florida on Saturday, and Fayetteville the following Saturday and Sunday.
The Marvin Williams Watch
The Tar Heels will get the winner of the ACC tournament's 8/9 game (Maryland/Clemson) on Friday (9a, ESPN2). The winner of that game plays Saturday (1:30p, ESPN).
Huskies
The Huskies face Arizona State in the Pac-10 tournament's 2/7 game tomorrow (6:15p, FSNNW). The winner goes on to face Stanford or Washington State on Friday (8:45p, FSNNW).
Bulldogs
Congrats to Gonzaga, not just because they landed an automatic NCAA tournament berth, but because they've landed next year's WCC men's and women's tournaments at the McCarthey Center. That's right! Them Southern Californians will experience Spocompton, and they will LIKE it! Hopefully they know that Spokane is an apple maggot quarantine area, and they remember not to transport homegrown tree fruit. For me, when I'm near Spokane, those signs are the official reminder to me that I am indeed entering Spokane.
Gonzaga now awaits the results from Selection Sunday.
Sonics
For my take on last night's game, scroll down a post or click here if this is the only post on the page.
Just to clarify, the game wasn't really quite as close at the end as the score would indicate because Ray Allen hit a meaningless three-pointer with 0.01 seconds left. When Jon Barry almost held the ball for too long on the inbound, and hit Tracy McGrady streaking to the basket for a layup, that was what did the game in for me, even though McGrady bricked the free throw and the Sonics still had 14.5 seconds and the ball, down three. But they couldn't get off a really clean shot to tie it.
The Sonics have done many great things this season, but coming back to win after a franchise-low quarter of basketball -- the third quarter in particular, where the Sonics scored a grand total of six points on 3-for-14 shooting -- is not one of them. Grand. Paul Silvi on KING-5 called it "Dennis Bounds-type basketball." Nate McMillan said the ball just wasn't moving that quarter, though the Sonics definitely had less time with which to score after turning the ball over seven times in the quarter.
Man, it's too bad David Locke's column has such horrible timing after a loss like this. Basically, he says that the Sonics' offense is special, incredible, and can even draw comparisons to great teams, if you use some stats. He uses turnovers by possession, shooting effectiveness, and rebounding rankings to see where the Sonics would stack. Basically what he ends up with is that they're the 72-10 Chicago Bulls, except with very spotty defense. I'm not sure how many wins that gets you or how far in the playoffs that will get this team. What I do know is that they lost their 18th game last night, which means that they have to run the table to equal the won-loss record of the Sonic team (64-18) that went to the finals and ran into that 72-10 buzzsaw.
In a related story, Vin Baker was with the Rockets at KeyArena last night and nobody gave a crap.
Upcoming...
Friday vs. Chicago (7:30p, not televised)
Sunday at New York (3p, FSNNW)
Tuesday at Chicago (5:30p, FSNNW)
HOCKEY
There's some buzz in the Times as the games pick up again.
For the Thunderbirds, Zack FitzGerald was being reviewed by league officials for an "intent to injure" penalty (I thought those were called match penalties) stemming from his payback move on Portland's Shane Halifax, who got five games earlier in the year for cross-checking FitzGerald's head. Coach Rob Sumner may also be suspended for throwing a pen onto the ice. In less turbulent news, goalie Bryan Bridges was named WHL player of the week.
For the Silvertips, Mark Kress (broken arm) and Zach Hamill (ankle sprain) are expected to come back to the ice this weekend.
Upcoming...
Tonight: Tri-City at Seattle, Everett at Spokane, Manitoba at Grand Rapids
Friday: Seattle at Everett, Spokane at Portland, Vancouver at Prince George, Manitoba at Grand Rapids, Puget Sound at Queen City (Game 1 of Cascade Cup Finals)
Saturday: Portland at Everett, Vancouver at Prince George, Manitoba at Chicago, Puget Sound at Queen City (Game 2 of Cascade Cup Finals)
Sunday: Spokane at Seattle, Everett at Portland, Manitoba at Chicago
Tuesday: Prince George at Vancouver, Manitoba at Milwaukee
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Have a grand Wednesday, folks.
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Tuesday, March 08, 2005
GAME 59: ROCKETS 97, SUPERSONICS 95
Rockets 97, SuperSonics 95
Here's what I have for tonight's game. Admittedly, it's a little unbalanced, just like the Sonics ended up.
1st qtr
Sonics score first basket at 10:09, Evans fouled and one on Yao, breaking 6-0 Houston run to start game, followed by Lewis three to tie (6-0 Seattle run). Lewis hits another three on the next possession, off a turnover. Evans hook 8:38, SEA 11-6. 7:39 Allen three, SEA 16-10, hit six straight shots. 6:21 Ridnour/Lewis alleyoop SEA 18-10. 5:55 Allen wide-open drive and layup SEA 20-10 (fastbreak weave). 5:02 Ridnour loooong pass to Lewis for slam SEA 22-10. 4:21 Allen three SEA 25-12. 3:48 another Allen three, Sonics perfect from three SEA 28-12. 2:23 Jerome James draws second foul on Yao. 1:58 Allen beats the clock midrange SEA 31-18. 0:00.2 Allen lays up SEA 33-21, HOU ends quarter on 9-5 run.
After one quarter -- Seattle 33, Houston 21
The Sonics drilled 5 of 7 threes in the first quarter, had an 11-0 run to answer Houston's 6-0 run to start the game, and were able to capitalize on a couple turnovers. Of course, shooting 61% really helps. Ray Allen had 15 points in the quarter, Rashard Lewis had 10, Reggie Evans had 7 (with four rebounds), and Luke Ridnour had 8 assists in the quarter.
2nd qtr
9:28 Ridnour wide-open midrange baseline SEA 37-30. 8:53 Fortson hits two SEA 39-32. 7:19 Lewis three off inbound SEA 42-34. 7:02 Radmanovic nearly loses ball on fastbreak, lays in SEA 44-34. 5:43 Lewis three off turnover SEA 47-34. 4:52 Radmanovic to Allen driving to basket, SEA 49-39. 4:21 Another Lewis three (his fifth) SEA 52-42. 2:28 Collison gets pass in key, lays in SEA 54-44. 1:57 Lewis long, but two SEA 56-44. 1:19 Daniels takes Yao's knee to quad. 0:15.2 Ridnour corner three SEA 59-50.
At half -- Seattle 59, Houston 50
Rashard Lewis was on fire, shooting 8-for-10 and having 20 points at halftime. Ray Allen shot 7-for-13 and had 17. Reggie Evans led the team with 4 boards. The Sonics were getting beat 16-15 on the glass. Thanks to Rashard's insane first quarter, Luke Ridnour was able to get the bulk of his 11 first-half assists. Vitaly Potapenko got put into the rotation because Nick Collison had three fouls on him late in the second quarter. Danny Fortson's two fouls were also in pretty quick succession. Jerome James hasn't been shooting as well tonight, as I remember two airballs on jumphooks.
3rd qtr
3:52 Sonics blow lead, HOU 64-63.
After three -- Houston 72, Seattle 65
Seven turnovers in the third quarter for the Sonics, and they scored SIX freakin' points.
4th qtr
9:37 Ridnour on Mutombo crazy reverse HOU 72-70. 6:50 Allen three HOU 78-74. 5:26 Radmanovic three HOU 80-77. 4:53 Sonics force 24-sec violation. 4:36 Ridnour all the way to the glass HOU 80-79. 3:54 Allen midrange left HOU 82-81. 3:26 Houston three-second violation. 3:11 Radmanovic forces Yao foul, Rockets over limit, Vlad hits SEA 83-82. 1:40 Lewis hits two HOU 86-85. 1:27 James called for foul, Yao hits both HOU 88-85. 0:59.8 Lewis THREE off Allen offensive rebound, TIE 88-88. 0:35.8 Ridnour hits both HOU 91-90. 0:26.3 Yao plows James, bullsh**, hits layup HOU 93-90. 0:16.7 Ridnour layup HOU 93-92. 0:14.5 Barry waits on inbound, McGrady streaks to basket, lays in, fouled, bricks HOU 95-92. 0:04.5 foulfest. 0:00.1 meaningless Allen three.
Final -- Houston 97, Seattle 95
You know, I almost don't care that the Sonics nrealy got this one back into the win column in the fourth quarter. Just don't turn the ball over seven times in the third quarter alone, and for the love of God, don't score only six points. Good gracious. No, you didn't deserve to win that game. You can't half-ass it against a team like that, and if you look at the other three quarters (33, 26, and 30 points), you sure as hell can't 3/4-ass it against a team like Houston. For how great the win at Houston was for the Sonics, I'm equally disappointed by this loss. Especially for not just the offensive output of the other three quarters, but how they controlled the game for most of the first half. Disappointing.
Also, I'll have to investigate this more when I realize I have even less of a life than I do now, but it seems to me that the Sonics seem to squander a decent percentage of double-doubles. Just sayin'.
I'm not going to lie to you, I didn't see the third quarter. I'd now like to thank American Idol for diverting me away from the Sonics' franchise-worst single-quarter offensive output. I'm also hoping that Lindsey Cardinale can squeeze through to the next round, but I'm feeling less and less sure about that.
I'm not reeling into freak-out mode with this team, even though they've lost two straight home games to playoff teams (and they did lead by 16 at one point against Houston), but the high hopes I had for them after the great win against Detroit have fallen back to earth.
PEEK AT THE BOXSCORE
starters
Ray Allen 32 pts/7 reb/4 ast (13-25 FG, 5-8 3pt, 1-2 free throws), Rashard Lewis 26 pts/3 reb (9-18 FG, 6-11 3pt, 2-2 free throws), Luke Ridnour 14 pts/2 reb/12 ast (5-12 FG, 1-2 3pt, 3-3 free throws), Reggie Evans 7 pts/8 reb (3-3 FG)
bench
Vladimir Radmanovic 9 pts/5 reb/2 ast/2 stl (3-6 FG, 1-3 3pt, 2-2 free throws, 26 min), Nick Collison 2 pts/3 reb (1-3 FG, 15 min), Danny Fortson 2 pts/1 reb (0-1 FG, 11 min), Antonio Daniels 0 pts/2 reb/2 ast (17 min), Vitaly Potapenko 0 pts/0 reb (1 min)
Jerome James Watch
3 pts/4 reb/2 blk/1 stl (1-5 FG, 1-2 free throws, five fouls, 27 min)
team
shot 35-for-74 (47.3%) from the field, shot 13-for-25 (52%) from downtown, shot 12-for-14 (85.7%) from the line, matched Houston 35-35 on the boards, turned ball over 17 times, bench outscored Houston bench 13-12 (outboarded them 11-7)
What showed up? The three-pointer showed up again for the Sonics, and they shot very well from long distance. What didn't show up? Other than the entire team in the fourth quarter, the Sonics got next to nothing from their bench. Radmanovic did hit a key three, sure, but it's never a good night when Antonio Daniels goes scoreless, charley horse on thigh from Yao's knee right before halftime notwithstanding. As a result of the injury, Daniels saw less minutes, and Allen, Ridnour, and Lewis both were over the 40-minute mark.
As for the warm streak that Jerome James was on, it definitely didn't persist tonight. I guess my only beef with Nate McMillan tonight might be that Vitaly Potapenko didn't see much time, when he did so well in Houston on Yao the last time these two teams met. With James, and actually anyone else out there, it seemed Yao was able to get deep enough into the paint to where all he had to do was turnaround and throw in or bank a hook shot whenever he got the ball. The Rockets would get into a set, and when Yao's within 8 feet of the basket and he gets the ball, there's pretty much nothing you can do, and not even the 7'1" James can do anything about it, other than maybe not letting Yao get that position, but that's never easy to do.
Also, Rashard Lewis wasn't able to get quite as many key stops in on Tracy McGrady in this one. At least not enough to win.
Speaking of defensive stops, the Sonics did get quite a few in that fourth quarter to get within shouting distance of a win. They forced the Rockets into a 24-second violation, and forced them into a three-second violation as well.
I guess one thing that ticks me off now that I look at it is this -- Jerome James got whistled with a minute and a half left on a foul close to the basket while guarding Yao, and the Sonics were down one before Yao hit both free throws. The Sonics were down by one a minute later when Yao was close to the basket one more time, and he bowled James over (no whistle for a charge) and laid it in uncontested. I can see Tracy McGrady getting that no-call, but not Yao. Come on.
I guess my main point of all of this is still that if you're going to win in the NBA, 99% of the time, the opposing team is going to force you to play four quarters of passable basketball to win. SIX POINTS, people.
What would I have asked Jinkies? I would have asked him if he could ask Vladimir Radmanovic when the freakin' hell he's going to be consistent again, and when the wrist is going to heal up. I'm not sure how much longer the Sonics can afford him to have one good game and a couple of okay-to-mediocre games. Heal, Radman, heal!
Here's what I have for tonight's game. Admittedly, it's a little unbalanced, just like the Sonics ended up.
1st qtr
Sonics score first basket at 10:09, Evans fouled and one on Yao, breaking 6-0 Houston run to start game, followed by Lewis three to tie (6-0 Seattle run). Lewis hits another three on the next possession, off a turnover. Evans hook 8:38, SEA 11-6. 7:39 Allen three, SEA 16-10, hit six straight shots. 6:21 Ridnour/Lewis alleyoop SEA 18-10. 5:55 Allen wide-open drive and layup SEA 20-10 (fastbreak weave). 5:02 Ridnour loooong pass to Lewis for slam SEA 22-10. 4:21 Allen three SEA 25-12. 3:48 another Allen three, Sonics perfect from three SEA 28-12. 2:23 Jerome James draws second foul on Yao. 1:58 Allen beats the clock midrange SEA 31-18. 0:00.2 Allen lays up SEA 33-21, HOU ends quarter on 9-5 run.
After one quarter -- Seattle 33, Houston 21
The Sonics drilled 5 of 7 threes in the first quarter, had an 11-0 run to answer Houston's 6-0 run to start the game, and were able to capitalize on a couple turnovers. Of course, shooting 61% really helps. Ray Allen had 15 points in the quarter, Rashard Lewis had 10, Reggie Evans had 7 (with four rebounds), and Luke Ridnour had 8 assists in the quarter.
2nd qtr
9:28 Ridnour wide-open midrange baseline SEA 37-30. 8:53 Fortson hits two SEA 39-32. 7:19 Lewis three off inbound SEA 42-34. 7:02 Radmanovic nearly loses ball on fastbreak, lays in SEA 44-34. 5:43 Lewis three off turnover SEA 47-34. 4:52 Radmanovic to Allen driving to basket, SEA 49-39. 4:21 Another Lewis three (his fifth) SEA 52-42. 2:28 Collison gets pass in key, lays in SEA 54-44. 1:57 Lewis long, but two SEA 56-44. 1:19 Daniels takes Yao's knee to quad. 0:15.2 Ridnour corner three SEA 59-50.
At half -- Seattle 59, Houston 50
Rashard Lewis was on fire, shooting 8-for-10 and having 20 points at halftime. Ray Allen shot 7-for-13 and had 17. Reggie Evans led the team with 4 boards. The Sonics were getting beat 16-15 on the glass. Thanks to Rashard's insane first quarter, Luke Ridnour was able to get the bulk of his 11 first-half assists. Vitaly Potapenko got put into the rotation because Nick Collison had three fouls on him late in the second quarter. Danny Fortson's two fouls were also in pretty quick succession. Jerome James hasn't been shooting as well tonight, as I remember two airballs on jumphooks.
3rd qtr
3:52 Sonics blow lead, HOU 64-63.
After three -- Houston 72, Seattle 65
Seven turnovers in the third quarter for the Sonics, and they scored SIX freakin' points.
4th qtr
9:37 Ridnour on Mutombo crazy reverse HOU 72-70. 6:50 Allen three HOU 78-74. 5:26 Radmanovic three HOU 80-77. 4:53 Sonics force 24-sec violation. 4:36 Ridnour all the way to the glass HOU 80-79. 3:54 Allen midrange left HOU 82-81. 3:26 Houston three-second violation. 3:11 Radmanovic forces Yao foul, Rockets over limit, Vlad hits SEA 83-82. 1:40 Lewis hits two HOU 86-85. 1:27 James called for foul, Yao hits both HOU 88-85. 0:59.8 Lewis THREE off Allen offensive rebound, TIE 88-88. 0:35.8 Ridnour hits both HOU 91-90. 0:26.3 Yao plows James, bullsh**, hits layup HOU 93-90. 0:16.7 Ridnour layup HOU 93-92. 0:14.5 Barry waits on inbound, McGrady streaks to basket, lays in, fouled, bricks HOU 95-92. 0:04.5 foulfest. 0:00.1 meaningless Allen three.
Final -- Houston 97, Seattle 95
You know, I almost don't care that the Sonics nrealy got this one back into the win column in the fourth quarter. Just don't turn the ball over seven times in the third quarter alone, and for the love of God, don't score only six points. Good gracious. No, you didn't deserve to win that game. You can't half-ass it against a team like that, and if you look at the other three quarters (33, 26, and 30 points), you sure as hell can't 3/4-ass it against a team like Houston. For how great the win at Houston was for the Sonics, I'm equally disappointed by this loss. Especially for not just the offensive output of the other three quarters, but how they controlled the game for most of the first half. Disappointing.
Also, I'll have to investigate this more when I realize I have even less of a life than I do now, but it seems to me that the Sonics seem to squander a decent percentage of double-doubles. Just sayin'.
I'm not going to lie to you, I didn't see the third quarter. I'd now like to thank American Idol for diverting me away from the Sonics' franchise-worst single-quarter offensive output. I'm also hoping that Lindsey Cardinale can squeeze through to the next round, but I'm feeling less and less sure about that.
I'm not reeling into freak-out mode with this team, even though they've lost two straight home games to playoff teams (and they did lead by 16 at one point against Houston), but the high hopes I had for them after the great win against Detroit have fallen back to earth.
PEEK AT THE BOXSCORE
starters
Ray Allen 32 pts/7 reb/4 ast (13-25 FG, 5-8 3pt, 1-2 free throws), Rashard Lewis 26 pts/3 reb (9-18 FG, 6-11 3pt, 2-2 free throws), Luke Ridnour 14 pts/2 reb/12 ast (5-12 FG, 1-2 3pt, 3-3 free throws), Reggie Evans 7 pts/8 reb (3-3 FG)
bench
Vladimir Radmanovic 9 pts/5 reb/2 ast/2 stl (3-6 FG, 1-3 3pt, 2-2 free throws, 26 min), Nick Collison 2 pts/3 reb (1-3 FG, 15 min), Danny Fortson 2 pts/1 reb (0-1 FG, 11 min), Antonio Daniels 0 pts/2 reb/2 ast (17 min), Vitaly Potapenko 0 pts/0 reb (1 min)
Jerome James Watch
3 pts/4 reb/2 blk/1 stl (1-5 FG, 1-2 free throws, five fouls, 27 min)
team
shot 35-for-74 (47.3%) from the field, shot 13-for-25 (52%) from downtown, shot 12-for-14 (85.7%) from the line, matched Houston 35-35 on the boards, turned ball over 17 times, bench outscored Houston bench 13-12 (outboarded them 11-7)
What showed up? The three-pointer showed up again for the Sonics, and they shot very well from long distance. What didn't show up? Other than the entire team in the fourth quarter, the Sonics got next to nothing from their bench. Radmanovic did hit a key three, sure, but it's never a good night when Antonio Daniels goes scoreless, charley horse on thigh from Yao's knee right before halftime notwithstanding. As a result of the injury, Daniels saw less minutes, and Allen, Ridnour, and Lewis both were over the 40-minute mark.
As for the warm streak that Jerome James was on, it definitely didn't persist tonight. I guess my only beef with Nate McMillan tonight might be that Vitaly Potapenko didn't see much time, when he did so well in Houston on Yao the last time these two teams met. With James, and actually anyone else out there, it seemed Yao was able to get deep enough into the paint to where all he had to do was turnaround and throw in or bank a hook shot whenever he got the ball. The Rockets would get into a set, and when Yao's within 8 feet of the basket and he gets the ball, there's pretty much nothing you can do, and not even the 7'1" James can do anything about it, other than maybe not letting Yao get that position, but that's never easy to do.
Also, Rashard Lewis wasn't able to get quite as many key stops in on Tracy McGrady in this one. At least not enough to win.
Speaking of defensive stops, the Sonics did get quite a few in that fourth quarter to get within shouting distance of a win. They forced the Rockets into a 24-second violation, and forced them into a three-second violation as well.
I guess one thing that ticks me off now that I look at it is this -- Jerome James got whistled with a minute and a half left on a foul close to the basket while guarding Yao, and the Sonics were down one before Yao hit both free throws. The Sonics were down by one a minute later when Yao was close to the basket one more time, and he bowled James over (no whistle for a charge) and laid it in uncontested. I can see Tracy McGrady getting that no-call, but not Yao. Come on.
I guess my main point of all of this is still that if you're going to win in the NBA, 99% of the time, the opposing team is going to force you to play four quarters of passable basketball to win. SIX POINTS, people.
What would I have asked Jinkies? I would have asked him if he could ask Vladimir Radmanovic when the freakin' hell he's going to be consistent again, and when the wrist is going to heal up. I'm not sure how much longer the Sonics can afford him to have one good game and a couple of okay-to-mediocre games. Heal, Radman, heal!
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FIRE IT UP!
The new album from Black Label Society, "Mafia", is out in stores today.
To spin this into a Mariner-related post, Scott Spiezio is listed in the credits for "Mafia". This is Spiezio's 3rd album credit from BLS. In case you didn't know, Spiezio has a band called Sandfrog. However, Spiezio is not in the class of Mike Piazza, who is a member of BLS's New York chapter.
I would suggest a Seattle chapter, but I don't know if Spiezio will be able to call himself a member of that chapter a month or two from now.
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WIDE DECEIVING
Welcome to Tuesday.
For the random...I don't have a fax machine, so whenever I need to fax a transcript request back to Central so they can fax a transcript to some place that more than likely won't give me a job, I go to the FedEx/Kinko's, with our local one in Silverdale. I'm not sure if it stems from a general mistrust of other people, or if it stems from Dave Chappelle's Popcopy sketch, but I have this weird feeling every time I go to FedEx/Kinko's that they're going to somehow screw up my fax. This is even after they hand me the confirmation slip that says the fax went through. Even still, I get a bit nervous about what the records department at Central then does with my request and my transcripts. One time I'd tried to verify if my fax request had gone through, and they told me they'd already faxed over my transcripts even though I hadn't yet paid for their release (standard protocol is request transcript, verify reception of transcript request by school, pay for transcript, followed by the school actually faxing the transcript). As for what might be a general mistrust of people that I alluded to, I was the type of person in school that hated group projects, and I'm guessing that it probably stems from earlier incident that I can't remember where I'm sure I got stuck with someone who didn't do jack for the group project. It makes me sound like a power-tripper since I preferred individual projects, but I felt better when I alone had complete control. Basically, I felt more secure knowing that if I was going to get a bad grade or screw up, it was because of me and only me, and not because someone else fell asleep the night before the project was due and didn't type up the fake mini-screenplay or cut more magazine clippings for the ridiculously-themed collage or something. Of course, none of this explains why I didn't come back for my senior year of wrestling and the fact that two people (not just me) write for this here weblog.
Enough of the soul-baring though.
To the post...
MARINERS
Well, the pitchers are getting a bit lit up, and the Mariners are 0-4 in Cactus League play. Who cares? As the P-I piece mentions, the Mariners had the identical record in Cactus League play to start, and the 2001 team won quite a few regular season games. My main thing with spring training, though, is that other than the fringe spots of the final 25, I just want everyone to get their work in and not get hurt. Other than that, it's somewhat enriching to hear Niehaus, Rizzs, and Fairly try to sort through all the high-number players during a broadcast. It's spring training for the broadcast crew as well, though they certainly don't have to sort through so many jersey numbers above 60 during the regular season.
As for other stuff in those two articles, Eddie Guardado threw a painless 1-2-3 inning on 7 pitches, and Jorge Campillo is throwing a ton of pitches, but managing to get out of jams. Why does this make me think of a righthanded Ron Villone?
It's an Art Thiel fluff piece on Wladimir Balentien. The organization likes his bat. I hope he's just himself and the numbers compare to the next Manny Ramirez. He's 6'2" and 280*** (huge!), but since he's young, I can't just put him in a long (okay, two people) line of slightly older Mariner minor-league sluggers such as Bucky Jacobsen and...Juan Thomas! When's the last time you thought of Large Human? I'm glad I was able to mention him in this post.
[***Edit 2:12p -- The P-I later edited the article because Wladimir Balentien is actually closer to 180 pounds, not 280. Still, my intentions to mention Large Human are good.]
SEAHAWKS
After the Jones-Hasselbeck-Alexander trifecta was taken care of, the Seahawks' offseason has seemed to be reactive rather than proactive, and they really haven't reacted yet. They had needs to begin with on defense, then Ken Lucas bolted, and now Chike Okeafor has fled the coop to sign with Arizona (5 years and $25M as I heard from Paul Silvi of KING-5), of all teams. Worse yet, the Seahawks apparently were pretty close to the Cardinals' offer in terms of money. Though Tim Ruskell (who I associate with defense) is now in charge, we're still feeling the aftereffects of not only the Whitsitt era, but also of just how bad the defense as a whole was last year. Perhaps Chike just wanted to play for a more confident group, or maybe he hated Ray Rhodes. It could beT anything, though I'd bet more on the former than the latter. The bottom line is that two key cogs of the defense -- not the crappy parts of the defense -- are gone. I really hope this team gets a couple of signings and drafts really well, because I'm a bit worried right now.
The free-agent visit carousel: Tennessee cornerback Andre Dyson visited the Seahawks yesterday. Chicago running back Anthony Thomas, Saint Louis defensive end Bryce Fisher, and Atlanta fullback Fred McCrary are scheduled for visits to Seahawkville. Possible visits are attached to the names of Jets' tight end Anthony Becht, Cleveland linebacker Kevin Bentley, Denver linebacker Donnie Spragan, Denver cornerback Kelly Herndon, and Baltimore linebacker Edgerton Hartwell.
The P-I article also mentions the possibility of Jeff Garcia being the next backup quarterback for your Seattle Seahawks. I liked having Dilfer back there, but I guess Garcia back there wouldn't be Stan Gelbaugh-bad or anything like that.
BASKETBALL
The Miah Davis Update
The Roanoke Dazzle host Florida on Saturday, and Fayetteville the following Saturday and Sunday.
The Marvin Williams Watch
The Tar Heels will get the winner of the 8/9 game (Maryland/Clemson) on Friday (9a, ESPN2). The winner of that game plays Saturday (1:30p, ESPN).
Huskies
Some all-conference recognition for the Huskies' doings this season. Lorenzo Romar was named Pac-10 coach of the year. Nate Robinson and Tre Simmons were voted to the all-conference team. Honorable mentions went to Brandon Roy and Will Conroy to the all-conference team, and to Joel Smith for the freshman all-conference team.
The Huskies face Arizona State in the 2/7 game on Thursday (6:15p, FSNNW). The winner goes on to face Stanford or Washington State on Friday (8:45p, FSNNW).
Bulldogs
The Zags beat the Gaels of Saint Mary's 80-67 for their sixth WCC tournament title in seven years. A big run after halftime put the game away for Gonzaga, and Adam Morrison scored his team's first seven points after the half. Morrison finished with 30, Derek Raivio finished with 16, JP Batista had 9 points and 9 rebounds, and Ronny Turiaf had 18 points, 14 boards, and 4 blocks.
Gonzaga now awaits the results from Selection Sunday.
Sonics
Wolf down a footlong sub in observance of two articles about the Sonics' resurgent big man, Jerome James. I'd advise you to just wolf down one and not try to match James' height, because you'd have to eat a little more than seven footlong subs, and that'd be a lot. James claims that he's set his personal agendas aside, unlike seasons past, and suggests that he didn't work out extra-hard and lose weight in the offseason because it's his contract year. He says he slimmed down so he could keep up with Luke Ridnour bringing the ball up the court. James is part of the adjustment that the Sonics are trying to put onto their opponents, who have made adjustments on the pick-and-rolls that had been freeing up open shooters. You know, I've been doing the Jerome James Watch in the game posts, just keeping track of James and seeing if he would put up any numbers, but the last few games have been pleasantly surprising. Here I was thinking that the save of Danny Fortson's flying chair would be his biggest contribution to the season, and then he comes out with that game against Detroit. I've still got the jumphook off the loose ball replaying in my mind.
Nick Collison is awaiting his mask after having broken his nose, and may or may not play tonight. When the Pistons were in town, both Rip Hamilton and Carlos Arroyo were wearing masks.
Nate McMillan concurs that most (22, given the math in the Times piece) of the 27 three-point attempts the Sonics took against the Suns were good looks. They just weren't hitting them. Shooting can run hot, and shooting can run cold, but it can also get hot at any time, and with the great shooters that are on this team, I'm not sure you can tell a Ray Allen or a Vladimir Radmanovic to not hoist one off an open look even if they're 0-for-5 from downtown in the game up to that point. Who's to say they can't nail the next six straight? With the shooters this team has, it could happen at any time. Still, though, I'm a fan of getting the ball to Fortson down low if nothing else is working. Have him get hacked as he's putting one up, and it's almost a sure two points. Of course, if the officials are spineless and don't call crap down low like they did in the Phoenix game on Sunday, then Fortson and any other Sonic will get mauled when they go into the paint, and the whistles will fall silent.
Upcoming...
Tonight vs. Houston (7p, FSNNW)
Friday vs. Chicago (7:30p, not televised)
Sunday at New York (3p, FSNNW)
HOCKEY
Owners. Players. Labor talks. Later this week. I'm not expecting much, but talking is better than nothing at this point. In a related note, I think my Bizarro Canucks on EA Sports NHL 2005 are 50-7-0-2. Don't worry, I'll crank the difficulty level up once I get done with that particular season.
Also, since Wayne Gretzky's words always matter, here's some of that.
Upcoming...
Tomorrow: Tri-City at Seattle, Everett at Spokane, Manitoba at Grand Rapids
Friday: Seattle at Everett, Spokane at Portland, Vancouver at Prince George, Manitoba at Grand Rapids
Saturday: Portland at Everett, Vancouver at Prince George, Manitoba at Chicago, Puget Sound at Queen City (Game 1 of Cascade Cup Finals)
Sunday: Spokane at Seattle, Everett at Portland, Manitoba at Chicago, Puget Sound at Queen City (Game 2 of Cascade Cup Finals)
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Have a gee-golly fun Tuesday, every single one of you.
For the random...I don't have a fax machine, so whenever I need to fax a transcript request back to Central so they can fax a transcript to some place that more than likely won't give me a job, I go to the FedEx/Kinko's, with our local one in Silverdale. I'm not sure if it stems from a general mistrust of other people, or if it stems from Dave Chappelle's Popcopy sketch, but I have this weird feeling every time I go to FedEx/Kinko's that they're going to somehow screw up my fax. This is even after they hand me the confirmation slip that says the fax went through. Even still, I get a bit nervous about what the records department at Central then does with my request and my transcripts. One time I'd tried to verify if my fax request had gone through, and they told me they'd already faxed over my transcripts even though I hadn't yet paid for their release (standard protocol is request transcript, verify reception of transcript request by school, pay for transcript, followed by the school actually faxing the transcript). As for what might be a general mistrust of people that I alluded to, I was the type of person in school that hated group projects, and I'm guessing that it probably stems from earlier incident that I can't remember where I'm sure I got stuck with someone who didn't do jack for the group project. It makes me sound like a power-tripper since I preferred individual projects, but I felt better when I alone had complete control. Basically, I felt more secure knowing that if I was going to get a bad grade or screw up, it was because of me and only me, and not because someone else fell asleep the night before the project was due and didn't type up the fake mini-screenplay or cut more magazine clippings for the ridiculously-themed collage or something. Of course, none of this explains why I didn't come back for my senior year of wrestling and the fact that two people (not just me) write for this here weblog.
Enough of the soul-baring though.
To the post...
MARINERS
Well, the pitchers are getting a bit lit up, and the Mariners are 0-4 in Cactus League play. Who cares? As the P-I piece mentions, the Mariners had the identical record in Cactus League play to start, and the 2001 team won quite a few regular season games. My main thing with spring training, though, is that other than the fringe spots of the final 25, I just want everyone to get their work in and not get hurt. Other than that, it's somewhat enriching to hear Niehaus, Rizzs, and Fairly try to sort through all the high-number players during a broadcast. It's spring training for the broadcast crew as well, though they certainly don't have to sort through so many jersey numbers above 60 during the regular season.
As for other stuff in those two articles, Eddie Guardado threw a painless 1-2-3 inning on 7 pitches, and Jorge Campillo is throwing a ton of pitches, but managing to get out of jams. Why does this make me think of a righthanded Ron Villone?
It's an Art Thiel fluff piece on Wladimir Balentien. The organization likes his bat. I hope he's just himself and the numbers compare to the next Manny Ramirez. He's 6'2" and 280*** (huge!), but since he's young, I can't just put him in a long (okay, two people) line of slightly older Mariner minor-league sluggers such as Bucky Jacobsen and...Juan Thomas! When's the last time you thought of Large Human? I'm glad I was able to mention him in this post.
[***Edit 2:12p -- The P-I later edited the article because Wladimir Balentien is actually closer to 180 pounds, not 280. Still, my intentions to mention Large Human are good.]
SEAHAWKS
After the Jones-Hasselbeck-Alexander trifecta was taken care of, the Seahawks' offseason has seemed to be reactive rather than proactive, and they really haven't reacted yet. They had needs to begin with on defense, then Ken Lucas bolted, and now Chike Okeafor has fled the coop to sign with Arizona (5 years and $25M as I heard from Paul Silvi of KING-5), of all teams. Worse yet, the Seahawks apparently were pretty close to the Cardinals' offer in terms of money. Though Tim Ruskell (who I associate with defense) is now in charge, we're still feeling the aftereffects of not only the Whitsitt era, but also of just how bad the defense as a whole was last year. Perhaps Chike just wanted to play for a more confident group, or maybe he hated Ray Rhodes. It could beT anything, though I'd bet more on the former than the latter. The bottom line is that two key cogs of the defense -- not the crappy parts of the defense -- are gone. I really hope this team gets a couple of signings and drafts really well, because I'm a bit worried right now.
The free-agent visit carousel: Tennessee cornerback Andre Dyson visited the Seahawks yesterday. Chicago running back Anthony Thomas, Saint Louis defensive end Bryce Fisher, and Atlanta fullback Fred McCrary are scheduled for visits to Seahawkville. Possible visits are attached to the names of Jets' tight end Anthony Becht, Cleveland linebacker Kevin Bentley, Denver linebacker Donnie Spragan, Denver cornerback Kelly Herndon, and Baltimore linebacker Edgerton Hartwell.
The P-I article also mentions the possibility of Jeff Garcia being the next backup quarterback for your Seattle Seahawks. I liked having Dilfer back there, but I guess Garcia back there wouldn't be Stan Gelbaugh-bad or anything like that.
BASKETBALL
The Miah Davis Update
The Roanoke Dazzle host Florida on Saturday, and Fayetteville the following Saturday and Sunday.
The Marvin Williams Watch
The Tar Heels will get the winner of the 8/9 game (Maryland/Clemson) on Friday (9a, ESPN2). The winner of that game plays Saturday (1:30p, ESPN).
Huskies
Some all-conference recognition for the Huskies' doings this season. Lorenzo Romar was named Pac-10 coach of the year. Nate Robinson and Tre Simmons were voted to the all-conference team. Honorable mentions went to Brandon Roy and Will Conroy to the all-conference team, and to Joel Smith for the freshman all-conference team.
The Huskies face Arizona State in the 2/7 game on Thursday (6:15p, FSNNW). The winner goes on to face Stanford or Washington State on Friday (8:45p, FSNNW).
Bulldogs
The Zags beat the Gaels of Saint Mary's 80-67 for their sixth WCC tournament title in seven years. A big run after halftime put the game away for Gonzaga, and Adam Morrison scored his team's first seven points after the half. Morrison finished with 30, Derek Raivio finished with 16, JP Batista had 9 points and 9 rebounds, and Ronny Turiaf had 18 points, 14 boards, and 4 blocks.
Gonzaga now awaits the results from Selection Sunday.
Sonics
Wolf down a footlong sub in observance of two articles about the Sonics' resurgent big man, Jerome James. I'd advise you to just wolf down one and not try to match James' height, because you'd have to eat a little more than seven footlong subs, and that'd be a lot. James claims that he's set his personal agendas aside, unlike seasons past, and suggests that he didn't work out extra-hard and lose weight in the offseason because it's his contract year. He says he slimmed down so he could keep up with Luke Ridnour bringing the ball up the court. James is part of the adjustment that the Sonics are trying to put onto their opponents, who have made adjustments on the pick-and-rolls that had been freeing up open shooters. You know, I've been doing the Jerome James Watch in the game posts, just keeping track of James and seeing if he would put up any numbers, but the last few games have been pleasantly surprising. Here I was thinking that the save of Danny Fortson's flying chair would be his biggest contribution to the season, and then he comes out with that game against Detroit. I've still got the jumphook off the loose ball replaying in my mind.
Nick Collison is awaiting his mask after having broken his nose, and may or may not play tonight. When the Pistons were in town, both Rip Hamilton and Carlos Arroyo were wearing masks.
Nate McMillan concurs that most (22, given the math in the Times piece) of the 27 three-point attempts the Sonics took against the Suns were good looks. They just weren't hitting them. Shooting can run hot, and shooting can run cold, but it can also get hot at any time, and with the great shooters that are on this team, I'm not sure you can tell a Ray Allen or a Vladimir Radmanovic to not hoist one off an open look even if they're 0-for-5 from downtown in the game up to that point. Who's to say they can't nail the next six straight? With the shooters this team has, it could happen at any time. Still, though, I'm a fan of getting the ball to Fortson down low if nothing else is working. Have him get hacked as he's putting one up, and it's almost a sure two points. Of course, if the officials are spineless and don't call crap down low like they did in the Phoenix game on Sunday, then Fortson and any other Sonic will get mauled when they go into the paint, and the whistles will fall silent.
Upcoming...
Tonight vs. Houston (7p, FSNNW)
Friday vs. Chicago (7:30p, not televised)
Sunday at New York (3p, FSNNW)
HOCKEY
Owners. Players. Labor talks. Later this week. I'm not expecting much, but talking is better than nothing at this point. In a related note, I think my Bizarro Canucks on EA Sports NHL 2005 are 50-7-0-2. Don't worry, I'll crank the difficulty level up once I get done with that particular season.
Also, since Wayne Gretzky's words always matter, here's some of that.
Upcoming...
Tomorrow: Tri-City at Seattle, Everett at Spokane, Manitoba at Grand Rapids
Friday: Seattle at Everett, Spokane at Portland, Vancouver at Prince George, Manitoba at Grand Rapids
Saturday: Portland at Everett, Vancouver at Prince George, Manitoba at Chicago, Puget Sound at Queen City (Game 1 of Cascade Cup Finals)
Sunday: Spokane at Seattle, Everett at Portland, Manitoba at Chicago, Puget Sound at Queen City (Game 2 of Cascade Cup Finals)
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Have a gee-golly fun Tuesday, every single one of you.
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Monday, March 07, 2005
OKEAFOR SIGNS WITH ARIZONA
First Ken Lucas, now Chike Okeafor.
The Seahawks have lost another defensive player. This time, it's defensive end Chike Okeafor, who has signed a 5-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Okeafor spent two seasons in Seattle. He had 8.5 sacks in 2004, helping the Seahawks win the NFC West title. There's no doubt that the Seahawks defense just took a hit tonight. And what's really troubling about this news is that Okeafor is with a division rival. Don't laugh folks, the Cardinals are not to be ignored in the NFC West.
More importantly, the Seahawks better get moving. Or else.
The Seahawks have lost another defensive player. This time, it's defensive end Chike Okeafor, who has signed a 5-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Okeafor spent two seasons in Seattle. He had 8.5 sacks in 2004, helping the Seahawks win the NFC West title. There's no doubt that the Seahawks defense just took a hit tonight. And what's really troubling about this news is that Okeafor is with a division rival. Don't laugh folks, the Cardinals are not to be ignored in the NFC West.
More importantly, the Seahawks better get moving. Or else.
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ICHI-JUICE
MARVIN WILLIAMS HONORED BY ACC
North Carolina freshman and Bremerton native Marvin Williams has earned All-ACC Honorable Mention honors.
In 28 games this season, Williams has averaged 11.3 points and 6.5 rebounds a game coming off the bench for the #2 Tar Heels, who clinched the ACC regular season championship yesterday against Duke.
To read more about the Bremerton native, check out Tar Heel Monthly writer Adam Lucas' piece on Marvin. Well worth your time. It's nice to know that the nation is getting to know what we've known for years.
Marvin Williams is damn good.
In 28 games this season, Williams has averaged 11.3 points and 6.5 rebounds a game coming off the bench for the #2 Tar Heels, who clinched the ACC regular season championship yesterday against Duke.
To read more about the Bremerton native, check out Tar Heel Monthly writer Adam Lucas' piece on Marvin. Well worth your time. It's nice to know that the nation is getting to know what we've known for years.
Marvin Williams is damn good.
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THANKS, LES
As most of you have found out already, Les Carpenter is leaving The Seattle Times to accept a new position at The Washington Post.
Yes, the same Washington Post that employs Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon. Good writers like Carpenter deserve success. As good as the The Seattle Times is, let's just say that The Washington Post is more well-known, for obvious reasons.
Now, I don't have a personal Les Carpenter story, but I can talk about the man's work as an avid reader/fan. He's so right about Seattle being "a gentle city". Even in his final column for the Times, Carpenter was money.
Seattle is a gentle city, folks. I like to joke from time to time that I'm an East Coast sports fan who was raised on the West Coast. As a matter of fact, I still can't get the David Justice Game 6 home run out of my head to this day. Yeah, it's been almost 5 years since that happened. But then again, I'm in the category of not-so-gentle Seattle sports fans. The majority of the Mariners blogosphere falls into that category as well, but we're only talking about just a small portion of the Seattle sports fan base.
Mediocrity is never acceptable. Yes, it is only sports. But while we like to have a good time watching sports, we also want our teams to win. I'm happy that the Mariners have made an effort to improve their ballclub, with the signings of Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson. But I wish the M's could have made these type of improvements a few years ago. Does anybody realize how close this team was to the World Series? Here we are in 2005 with the M's coming off of a 99-loss season. Man, just thinking about last season hurts me.
But if you talk to a casual Seattle fan, they will tell you that they are so proud of the M's for getting as far as they did. You would never hear that in New York, Boston, or Chicago. Was the 116-win season of 2001 a good season? Sure it was. But we all know what happened. The echoes of "116 wins, so what?" still ring in my ears.
Do I want Seattle to become like Boston? Yes, I would. Love them or hate them, Boston sports fans have passion. Only a small portion of Seattle fans have that same type of passion. As you can judge by our work here at Sports and Bremertonians, David and I have that type of passion.
Seattle is a relatively young sports town, compared to cities such as New York and Chicago. But that doesn't mean that Seattle has to be a gentle sports town. As much as I love Safeco Field, it is a church-like atmosphere. Hey, it's OK to yell and scream, folks. Nobody is going to hate you for it. Wait, I think that lady who told me to shut the hell up at the White Sox-M's game back in August 2000 still hates me.
Seriously though, I'm going to miss reading Les Carpenter's work in the Times. Thanks to the Internet, I can continue to read his solid material at the Washington Post. I believe they require registration, but I can work around that. If anything, I'll have a better base of knowledge about the Washington Nationals this season, because of Carpenter. Washington Nationals baseball, sponsored by Natural Light! As light as Henry Mateo's on-base percentage!
Best of luck to Les in the District of Columbia. Say hi to Shawn Springs for us.
Yes, the same Washington Post that employs Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon. Good writers like Carpenter deserve success. As good as the The Seattle Times is, let's just say that The Washington Post is more well-known, for obvious reasons.
Now, I don't have a personal Les Carpenter story, but I can talk about the man's work as an avid reader/fan. He's so right about Seattle being "a gentle city". Even in his final column for the Times, Carpenter was money.
Seattle is a gentle city, folks. I like to joke from time to time that I'm an East Coast sports fan who was raised on the West Coast. As a matter of fact, I still can't get the David Justice Game 6 home run out of my head to this day. Yeah, it's been almost 5 years since that happened. But then again, I'm in the category of not-so-gentle Seattle sports fans. The majority of the Mariners blogosphere falls into that category as well, but we're only talking about just a small portion of the Seattle sports fan base.
Mediocrity is never acceptable. Yes, it is only sports. But while we like to have a good time watching sports, we also want our teams to win. I'm happy that the Mariners have made an effort to improve their ballclub, with the signings of Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson. But I wish the M's could have made these type of improvements a few years ago. Does anybody realize how close this team was to the World Series? Here we are in 2005 with the M's coming off of a 99-loss season. Man, just thinking about last season hurts me.
But if you talk to a casual Seattle fan, they will tell you that they are so proud of the M's for getting as far as they did. You would never hear that in New York, Boston, or Chicago. Was the 116-win season of 2001 a good season? Sure it was. But we all know what happened. The echoes of "116 wins, so what?" still ring in my ears.
Do I want Seattle to become like Boston? Yes, I would. Love them or hate them, Boston sports fans have passion. Only a small portion of Seattle fans have that same type of passion. As you can judge by our work here at Sports and Bremertonians, David and I have that type of passion.
Seattle is a relatively young sports town, compared to cities such as New York and Chicago. But that doesn't mean that Seattle has to be a gentle sports town. As much as I love Safeco Field, it is a church-like atmosphere. Hey, it's OK to yell and scream, folks. Nobody is going to hate you for it. Wait, I think that lady who told me to shut the hell up at the White Sox-M's game back in August 2000 still hates me.
Seriously though, I'm going to miss reading Les Carpenter's work in the Times. Thanks to the Internet, I can continue to read his solid material at the Washington Post. I believe they require registration, but I can work around that. If anything, I'll have a better base of knowledge about the Washington Nationals this season, because of Carpenter. Washington Nationals baseball, sponsored by Natural Light! As light as Henry Mateo's on-base percentage!
Best of luck to Les in the District of Columbia. Say hi to Shawn Springs for us.
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MIXED BAG
Welcome to Monday. Yes, it be yet another work week.
For today's random...I have to say I was laughing yesterday when I was hitting baseballs and a Bremerton police car attended to a group of pre-teen looking kids who appeared to be skating on the roof of an elementary school. Kids, that doesn't help the skateboarding movement. Bitching at your parents incessantly about how you wished there was a skate park nearby would be oodles of times more constructive than skating on the roof of a school and attracting the cops. So if you're going to do crazy illegal crap on a skateboard, do it on PS2 with Tony Hawk, but don't piss people off. Hell, they should have known something was going to happen when a car pulled up to the school (a car that pulled up well BEFORE the cops got there). Hmm, who could call the cops? How about the person that was in the car and most likely inside the school? Ne'er-do-wells! Young whippersnappers!
As Jeremy alluded to in the comments the other day, here's Les Carpenter's farewell column, as he's bolting for the Washington Post. His basic message to the fans of Seattle and the northwest: expect more, demand more, and hold your teams accountable. That Eagle anecdote...all too true for Seattle fans. I have enjoyed many of Carpenter's scathing columns, and it's too bad I won't be seeing them a couple times a week anymore. I looked forward to his columns knowing that someone was probably going to get ripped or there was going to be a couple of really nice zingers in there.
To the post...
MARINERS
It sucks to be Bucky right now. He's having second thoughts about having the knee surgery, saying he might not have had it done if he knew the rehab was going to take this long.
Then there's Pokey. Art Thiel does some light lifting in the article in terms of Bloomquist bashing. Thiel suggests that Jeremy Reed might be hitting eighth, when I'd been thinking he was going to hit second. Of course, Thiel's probably thinking Winn is hitting second, and now we'd be getting into almost the same thing as when Cameron was here with Winn, except now with the 2 and 7 spots instead of 2 and 8. Ah, how I remember it well. They wanted Winn to hit second because his bat was better, but then he got really cold, and they had to move him down to 7th, and then he warmed up. However, it took a bit of a punch out of the top of the lineup.
Eddie Guardado will finally get some B-game action today, apparently with his mechanics getting Bryan Price's clearance.
The Mariners are 0-3 in Cactus League play, but I find myself not caring at all. I remember one year where the Mariners had a great spring and an extremely mediocre season, and I remember the Yankees having a few terrible springs recordwise and then winning it all. Spring's not about wins and losses, it's about getting your work in and not getting hurt.
Who can forget the annual budget article? This article has two things going against it, and it's the Mariners' fuzzy math combined with Bob Finnigan. As such, expect at least a couple of other blogs in the Mariner blogosphere to derail some of the numbers in the article.
SEAHAWKS
The P-I doesn't print on Sundays, but that doesn't mean Clare Farnsworth doesn't have something to say about the Seahawks' doings lately. Farnsworth writes about the impending Trent Dilfer trade, and that the Seahawks just might be the leader in the Patrick Surtain sweepstakes, though he definitely won't come cheap.
As for outside free agents expected to visit the Seahawks, they include Saint Louis defensive end Bryce Fisher (he replaced Grant Wistrom after he left) and tight end Anthony Becht of the Jets.
BASKETBALL
The Miah Davis Update
The Roanoke Dazzle host Florida on Saturday, and Fayetteville the following Saturday and Sunday.
The Marvin Williams Watch
What a game that was. North Carolina pulled out the 75-73 victory on a clutch basket-and-one by Marvin Williams (yes, he went to our high school) after he grabbed a missed Raymond Felton free throw. Marvin played 26 minutes off the bench, shot 3-for-9 from the field, and hit all three of his free throws. He scored 9 points, pulled down 7 boards, and threw in a block. We sit here before the ACC tournament, and Marvin is averaging 11.3 points and 6.5 rebounds a game (22.1 minutes). If you drag that out to 30 minutes per game, he'd be averaging 15.3 points and 8.8 boards. It's not Sean May (man, that guy is amazing), but it's damn good. Of course, Marvin next year might be that good.
It really didn't matter if Shelden Williams had "stuffed" Marvin a couple times, though I still refuse to believe some of the blocks were clean. What mattered was that Marvin busted one in Shelden's face to win the game.
So to commemorate what happened yesterday, this is basically it...
Way to go, Marvin. Bremerton has spawned an ACC champion. (Thanks to the photographers too. Just for that, they get mouse-over credits.)
The Tar Heels will get the winner of the 8/9 game (Maryland/Clemson) on Friday (9a, ESPN2). The winner of that game plays Saturday (1:30p, ESPN)
Huskies
Just a little more lamentation over the loss to Stanford and the way that Operation:Shutdown was performed on Tre Simmons.
The Huskies face Arizona State in the 2/7 game on Thursday (6:15p, FSNNW). The winner goes on to the 8:45p game against Stanford or Washington State on Friday, also televised by FSNNW. At least CBS is showing the Pac-10 title game.
Bulldogs
Not surprisingly, Gonzaga is in the WCC tournament title game once again by virtue of a 90-74 win over San Diego. The Toreros got Ronny Turiaf into foul trouble and made him a nonfactor. However, Adam Morrison (25 pts/5 reb/8 ast), JP Batista (24 pts/10 reb), and Derek Raivio (14 pts) weren't about to let that spoil the game. Even P-Mac chipped in with 9 points and 5 assists.
The Zags will face Saint Mary's tonight in the WCC tournament final (9p, ESPN). Since both teams had byes through the first two rounds of the tournament, they won't be totally exhausted.
Sonics
For my take on last night's game, scroll down a post or click here if this is the only post on the page.
Percy Allen suggests that the Sonics should have had a fallback plan when the threes weren't falling, something along the lines of driving to the basket, which finally worked a bit late in the game with Antonio Daniels. I guess there's two things I'd say about this. One is that the Sonics have shooters who are going to take the open looks, and they had a ton of open looks, though they weren't falling. You're not going to tell Vladimir Radmanovic to stop shooting. Two, with the way the referees were calling the game, I'd have to say that if you started driving to the basket earlier, the Suns were going to mug the Sonics down low and there weren't going to be any whistles. Nate McMillan doesn't get tossed very often, and the fact that he got tossed last night surely signifies that someone other than me thought that the Suns were getting away with way too much down low.
Here's some more stuff about taking more emphasis off the threes when they aren't falling. Notice the differing quotes between the post player (James) and the perimeter player (Radmanovic). Also, that failed alley-oop attempt from Daniels to Lewis in the fourth quarter I think was the final nail in the coffin. That basket would have brought the Sonics to within 5 points with four minutes to go, and the crowd would have been going absolutely nuts.
Levesque and Kelley. I think Levesque is a little more dead-on here, and it's mainly because Kelley is still believing the all-out myth that Seattle is a running team, which is far from the truth. If Kelley wants to see this matchup and this pace in the West finals, then I hope he enjoys it when the Sonics lose in five games. These Sonics are great when they're running halfcourt sets and freeing up their shooters off of screens and picks. When it's clicking, it's fun to watch. Is it not fun to know that the other team probably thinks they're guarding real well until the Sonics hit their shot with under 4 seconds remaining on the shot clock? Of course it's fun. When the Sonics are taking this much time with the ball and scoring, it also means that the opposing team does not have the ball in that amount of time. Add that up over the course of 48 minutes, and limiting opposing possessions can be a vital thing.
Upcoming...
Tomorrow vs. Houston (7p, FSNNW)
Friday vs. Chicago (7:30p, not televised)
Sunday at New York (3p, FSNNW)
HOCKEY
Portland beat Seattle 5-3. Seattle clinched the US Division title the night before, so this loss might not rumple their feathers that much, though the fact that Portland won makes it all the more dicey for Everett. Cody McLeod fought Derek Couture just 48 seconds into the game, but also ended up scoring twice in the second period. Dan Da Silva scored late in the second period on the power play, and Seattle coach Rob Sumner was tossed as he believed there was a two-line pass en route to the goal. Garrett Festerling and Martin Bucek scored the first and last goals for Portland. Seattle led after one period on goals by Nate Thompson and Couture. Ladislav Scurko scored to get the T-Birds back within one in the third period, but they got no closer. Shots were 32-30 for Seattle. Gavin McHalen stopped 25 for Seattle, and Blake Grenier stopped 29 for Portland.
Vancouver beat Kamloops 4-1. The Giants finished their season series with Kamloops unbeaten in eight tries. The Giants have nailed down third place in the BC Division going into the playoffs. In this game, the Giants started out by outshooting the Blazers 9-1. They carried some momentum over to the second period when they actually started scoring. Matt Robinson got the Giants on the board just past the halfway point and Andrej Meszaros scored the winner a few minutes later on the power play. Chad Scharff scored an insurance goal just 22 seconds later, and Robinson's second of the night came on the empty net. Shots were 41-25 for Vancouver, and Adam Jennings stopped 24 in net for the Giants.
Rochester beat Manitoba 5-4 in overtime. I think it's safe to say that the Moose won't be sniffing the division lead any more this season, especially since Rochester is leading the division. Scoring literally went back and forth in regulation, with the Moose scoring first and never trailing. Never trailing, that is, until Thomas Vanek ended the game and got the extra point for the Americans. Peter Sarno and Josh Green scored in the first period, and Jason King and Ryan Kesler scored for the Moose in the third period. Shots were 26-19 for Rochester, and Alex Auld stopped 21 for Manitoba.
Upcoming...
Wednesday: Tri-City at Seattle, Everett at Spokane, Manitoba at Grand Rapids
Friday: Seattle at Everett, Spokane at Portland, Vancouver at Prince George, Manitoba at Grand Rapids
Saturday: Portland at Everett, Vancouver at Prince George, Manitoba at Chicago, Puget Sound vs. Queen City (Game 1 of Cascade Cup Finals)
Sunday: Spokane at Seattle, Everett at Portland, Manitoba at Chicago, Puget Sound vs. Queen City (Game 2 of Cascade Cup Finals)
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Have a great Monday and a joyous start to the work week.
For today's random...I have to say I was laughing yesterday when I was hitting baseballs and a Bremerton police car attended to a group of pre-teen looking kids who appeared to be skating on the roof of an elementary school. Kids, that doesn't help the skateboarding movement. Bitching at your parents incessantly about how you wished there was a skate park nearby would be oodles of times more constructive than skating on the roof of a school and attracting the cops. So if you're going to do crazy illegal crap on a skateboard, do it on PS2 with Tony Hawk, but don't piss people off. Hell, they should have known something was going to happen when a car pulled up to the school (a car that pulled up well BEFORE the cops got there). Hmm, who could call the cops? How about the person that was in the car and most likely inside the school? Ne'er-do-wells! Young whippersnappers!
As Jeremy alluded to in the comments the other day, here's Les Carpenter's farewell column, as he's bolting for the Washington Post. His basic message to the fans of Seattle and the northwest: expect more, demand more, and hold your teams accountable. That Eagle anecdote...all too true for Seattle fans. I have enjoyed many of Carpenter's scathing columns, and it's too bad I won't be seeing them a couple times a week anymore. I looked forward to his columns knowing that someone was probably going to get ripped or there was going to be a couple of really nice zingers in there.
To the post...
MARINERS
It sucks to be Bucky right now. He's having second thoughts about having the knee surgery, saying he might not have had it done if he knew the rehab was going to take this long.
Then there's Pokey. Art Thiel does some light lifting in the article in terms of Bloomquist bashing. Thiel suggests that Jeremy Reed might be hitting eighth, when I'd been thinking he was going to hit second. Of course, Thiel's probably thinking Winn is hitting second, and now we'd be getting into almost the same thing as when Cameron was here with Winn, except now with the 2 and 7 spots instead of 2 and 8. Ah, how I remember it well. They wanted Winn to hit second because his bat was better, but then he got really cold, and they had to move him down to 7th, and then he warmed up. However, it took a bit of a punch out of the top of the lineup.
Eddie Guardado will finally get some B-game action today, apparently with his mechanics getting Bryan Price's clearance.
The Mariners are 0-3 in Cactus League play, but I find myself not caring at all. I remember one year where the Mariners had a great spring and an extremely mediocre season, and I remember the Yankees having a few terrible springs recordwise and then winning it all. Spring's not about wins and losses, it's about getting your work in and not getting hurt.
Who can forget the annual budget article? This article has two things going against it, and it's the Mariners' fuzzy math combined with Bob Finnigan. As such, expect at least a couple of other blogs in the Mariner blogosphere to derail some of the numbers in the article.
SEAHAWKS
The P-I doesn't print on Sundays, but that doesn't mean Clare Farnsworth doesn't have something to say about the Seahawks' doings lately. Farnsworth writes about the impending Trent Dilfer trade, and that the Seahawks just might be the leader in the Patrick Surtain sweepstakes, though he definitely won't come cheap.
As for outside free agents expected to visit the Seahawks, they include Saint Louis defensive end Bryce Fisher (he replaced Grant Wistrom after he left) and tight end Anthony Becht of the Jets.
BASKETBALL
The Miah Davis Update
The Roanoke Dazzle host Florida on Saturday, and Fayetteville the following Saturday and Sunday.
The Marvin Williams Watch
What a game that was. North Carolina pulled out the 75-73 victory on a clutch basket-and-one by Marvin Williams (yes, he went to our high school) after he grabbed a missed Raymond Felton free throw. Marvin played 26 minutes off the bench, shot 3-for-9 from the field, and hit all three of his free throws. He scored 9 points, pulled down 7 boards, and threw in a block. We sit here before the ACC tournament, and Marvin is averaging 11.3 points and 6.5 rebounds a game (22.1 minutes). If you drag that out to 30 minutes per game, he'd be averaging 15.3 points and 8.8 boards. It's not Sean May (man, that guy is amazing), but it's damn good. Of course, Marvin next year might be that good.
It really didn't matter if Shelden Williams had "stuffed" Marvin a couple times, though I still refuse to believe some of the blocks were clean. What mattered was that Marvin busted one in Shelden's face to win the game.
So to commemorate what happened yesterday, this is basically it...
Way to go, Marvin. Bremerton has spawned an ACC champion. (Thanks to the photographers too. Just for that, they get mouse-over credits.)
The Tar Heels will get the winner of the 8/9 game (Maryland/Clemson) on Friday (9a, ESPN2). The winner of that game plays Saturday (1:30p, ESPN)
Huskies
Just a little more lamentation over the loss to Stanford and the way that Operation:Shutdown was performed on Tre Simmons.
The Huskies face Arizona State in the 2/7 game on Thursday (6:15p, FSNNW). The winner goes on to the 8:45p game against Stanford or Washington State on Friday, also televised by FSNNW. At least CBS is showing the Pac-10 title game.
Bulldogs
Not surprisingly, Gonzaga is in the WCC tournament title game once again by virtue of a 90-74 win over San Diego. The Toreros got Ronny Turiaf into foul trouble and made him a nonfactor. However, Adam Morrison (25 pts/5 reb/8 ast), JP Batista (24 pts/10 reb), and Derek Raivio (14 pts) weren't about to let that spoil the game. Even P-Mac chipped in with 9 points and 5 assists.
The Zags will face Saint Mary's tonight in the WCC tournament final (9p, ESPN). Since both teams had byes through the first two rounds of the tournament, they won't be totally exhausted.
Sonics
For my take on last night's game, scroll down a post or click here if this is the only post on the page.
Percy Allen suggests that the Sonics should have had a fallback plan when the threes weren't falling, something along the lines of driving to the basket, which finally worked a bit late in the game with Antonio Daniels. I guess there's two things I'd say about this. One is that the Sonics have shooters who are going to take the open looks, and they had a ton of open looks, though they weren't falling. You're not going to tell Vladimir Radmanovic to stop shooting. Two, with the way the referees were calling the game, I'd have to say that if you started driving to the basket earlier, the Suns were going to mug the Sonics down low and there weren't going to be any whistles. Nate McMillan doesn't get tossed very often, and the fact that he got tossed last night surely signifies that someone other than me thought that the Suns were getting away with way too much down low.
Here's some more stuff about taking more emphasis off the threes when they aren't falling. Notice the differing quotes between the post player (James) and the perimeter player (Radmanovic). Also, that failed alley-oop attempt from Daniels to Lewis in the fourth quarter I think was the final nail in the coffin. That basket would have brought the Sonics to within 5 points with four minutes to go, and the crowd would have been going absolutely nuts.
Levesque and Kelley. I think Levesque is a little more dead-on here, and it's mainly because Kelley is still believing the all-out myth that Seattle is a running team, which is far from the truth. If Kelley wants to see this matchup and this pace in the West finals, then I hope he enjoys it when the Sonics lose in five games. These Sonics are great when they're running halfcourt sets and freeing up their shooters off of screens and picks. When it's clicking, it's fun to watch. Is it not fun to know that the other team probably thinks they're guarding real well until the Sonics hit their shot with under 4 seconds remaining on the shot clock? Of course it's fun. When the Sonics are taking this much time with the ball and scoring, it also means that the opposing team does not have the ball in that amount of time. Add that up over the course of 48 minutes, and limiting opposing possessions can be a vital thing.
Upcoming...
Tomorrow vs. Houston (7p, FSNNW)
Friday vs. Chicago (7:30p, not televised)
Sunday at New York (3p, FSNNW)
HOCKEY
Portland beat Seattle 5-3. Seattle clinched the US Division title the night before, so this loss might not rumple their feathers that much, though the fact that Portland won makes it all the more dicey for Everett. Cody McLeod fought Derek Couture just 48 seconds into the game, but also ended up scoring twice in the second period. Dan Da Silva scored late in the second period on the power play, and Seattle coach Rob Sumner was tossed as he believed there was a two-line pass en route to the goal. Garrett Festerling and Martin Bucek scored the first and last goals for Portland. Seattle led after one period on goals by Nate Thompson and Couture. Ladislav Scurko scored to get the T-Birds back within one in the third period, but they got no closer. Shots were 32-30 for Seattle. Gavin McHalen stopped 25 for Seattle, and Blake Grenier stopped 29 for Portland.
Vancouver beat Kamloops 4-1. The Giants finished their season series with Kamloops unbeaten in eight tries. The Giants have nailed down third place in the BC Division going into the playoffs. In this game, the Giants started out by outshooting the Blazers 9-1. They carried some momentum over to the second period when they actually started scoring. Matt Robinson got the Giants on the board just past the halfway point and Andrej Meszaros scored the winner a few minutes later on the power play. Chad Scharff scored an insurance goal just 22 seconds later, and Robinson's second of the night came on the empty net. Shots were 41-25 for Vancouver, and Adam Jennings stopped 24 in net for the Giants.
Rochester beat Manitoba 5-4 in overtime. I think it's safe to say that the Moose won't be sniffing the division lead any more this season, especially since Rochester is leading the division. Scoring literally went back and forth in regulation, with the Moose scoring first and never trailing. Never trailing, that is, until Thomas Vanek ended the game and got the extra point for the Americans. Peter Sarno and Josh Green scored in the first period, and Jason King and Ryan Kesler scored for the Moose in the third period. Shots were 26-19 for Rochester, and Alex Auld stopped 21 for Manitoba.
Upcoming...
Wednesday: Tri-City at Seattle, Everett at Spokane, Manitoba at Grand Rapids
Friday: Seattle at Everett, Spokane at Portland, Vancouver at Prince George, Manitoba at Grand Rapids
Saturday: Portland at Everett, Vancouver at Prince George, Manitoba at Chicago, Puget Sound vs. Queen City (Game 1 of Cascade Cup Finals)
Sunday: Spokane at Seattle, Everett at Portland, Manitoba at Chicago, Puget Sound vs. Queen City (Game 2 of Cascade Cup Finals)
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Have a great Monday and a joyous start to the work week.