M’s beat the A’s 7-4, getting their runs on mammoth two-run homers by Gooters, Bill Hall, and Johjima, respectively, and then a very rare bases-loaded suicide squeeze by Gooters in the ninth. Snell was uninspiring (5 IP, 3 ER, and it’s against Oakland) but got the win.

Griffey says he wants to come back. Sort of. Read for yourself. (Hey, I’d like to play for the Mariners next year too–I can tickle really well I promise–but I don’t think they’re going to offer me a contract just to be nice.)

Seahawks demolished the Raiders. Final was 31-21, but only because of two late Raider TDs. The big story was Seahawks QB Mike Teel, the rookie out of Rutgers. Teel’s stats: 11-19, 148 yards, 2 TDs. Have we finally found a third-string QB decent enough to allow Seneca Wallace to play some receiver? If not now, when? Wallace is 29 years old now–he’s not getting any faster.

Storm lost, snapping a six-game winning streak. Lauren Jackson’s still sitting out with her back injury.

High school football started last night–here are scores . Puyallup beat Kennedy 21-19, that seems like a bit of an upset to be, and Kennedy was ranked #7 in 3A. Then again, Puyallup is 4A.

If you turned the Oregon/Boise St. game off in the middle of that dreadful second half, you missed Ducks starting RB LaGarrette Blount’s post-game meltdown. First he sucker punched trash-talking Boise St. DE Byron Hout, sending him to the blue carpet with a right jab. Then he got into a shoving match with a teammate.  Then he nearly went Ron Artest on some Bronco fans in the end zone, but was restrained at the last minute by a phalanx of cops, teammates and UO football staff, who had to bearhug him all the way into the locker room. He’ll surely face a suspension — if not dismissal. Welcome to head coaching, Chip Kelly! Video of the melee is below. 

 

Every Day Should Be Saturday’s take on Blount-sanity is hilarious.

The Oregonian’s John Canzano writes : “Blount must go. And when he does, keep your head up and your eyes on his fists.” Zing.

Blount’s punch will be the big news, but bigger might be that Ducks’ safety T.J. Ward left the game with an apparent ankle injury. Ward, a senior, was first-team preseason All Pac-10, and was the Ducks’ leading tackler last season. He wasn’t putting any weight on that leg as he left.

Also, of course, the fact that Oregon didn’t get a first down until the second half. It looked to me like the Broncos were trying to deceive Ducks QB Masoli into making the wrong reads in the spread option–keeping a DE home so he’d pitch it, but then sending the rest of the defense after the pitchee. I could be completely wrong, of course, it’s probably way more complicated than that.

Enough Oregon football. How about some Husky talk! From Bob Condotta’s blog: “After Thursday’s practice, Sarkisian .. showed off his passing skills during a fun exercise with  … Marques Tuiasosopo. They stood near the 30-yard line and tried to hit the crossbar of the uprights with the football. It took Sark two tries before bouncing a high-arcing, tight spiral off the yellow bar. Tuiasosopo … also hit the bar.” Then Jake Locker tried the same exercise and threw the ball over the scoreboard and into Lake Washington. KIDDING! Jake, I love ya! (Keep those throws DOWN!)

High school football starts tonight. I’m in Montesano, I’m going to catch the big rivalry game between Montesano and Elma. The two towns are about ten miles apart, halfway between Olympia and the coast. It’s the 141st game between the two schools. I was walking around town yesterday afternoon and happened upon Montesano’s practice–it was awesome. Above the field there’s this parking lot, and about five dudes had parked their trucks there and were sitting in the cabs watching practice and talking fuh-ball. Then there were a bunch of dads (I assume) hanging out and watching Pop Warner practice. They are serious about football in Montesano.

If you want to check out some high-school ball, the Emerald City Kickoff Classic at Qwest on Saturday will be pretty good. The schedule with notes on each game, from the ECK website :

9:30 AM

2008 Northwest Conference 2A champion, Lynden will face 2008 Cascade Conference Archbishop Murphy in a 2A state semifinal rematch

12:00 PM

2008 Olympic/Western Cascade 3A champion Capital will face Metro 3A league perennial powerhouse O’Dea

3:00 PM

Big Nine 4A conference Kennewick vs. Narrows 4A league South Kitsap

5:30 PM

2008 Reigning 4A state champions Skyline takes on Oregon’s 2008 class 6A state semifinalist Jesuit

8:00 PM

2008 State 4A runner-up Issaquah will face 2008 Crown Division Bothell in an all KingCo League contest

 

I’d like nothing more than for the Seattle Storm to expand their fan base up to and beyond that of the Sonics’ glory years. But shenanigans like this are not going to help. The putative Storm flagship radio station, 1150-AM KKNW, is bumping our playoff-bound women’s hoopsters off the airwaves Saturday so they can broadcast … Nebraska football? Really?

You can still hear the Storm game, it’ll be on 880-AM KIXI. The Nebraska football broadcasts are sponsored by the Washington chapter of the University of Nebraska alumni association. While I salute them for their fervency, I have to wonder whether a Storm fans might not do just as much to support their team if given the opportunity.

Getting bumped isn’t a huge indignity — the Mariners get bumped off ESPN 710 for Seahawks preseason games. But for a team that’s half-a-continent away?

The Roanoke Park Place. Wednesday. Dollar taco night. On one TV, a scoreless Mariner game. On the other, a scoreless Sounders game. Who would score first?

“I’ll take Seattle over the field,” childhood friend Jason said.

We didn’t lay odds, but he was right. The Mariners did score first, on a seventh-inning Bill Hall double. Two more runs in that inning gave them a 3-0 lead, enough for Felix Hernandez’ 14th win.

Meanwhile the Sounders, who’d squandered chance after chance in their U.S. Open Cup final by aiming shots directly at D.C. United goalie Josh Wicks, finally broke through when Fredy Montero sent a rebound home in the 67th minute.

The goal was not as memorable as its aftermath: Goalie Wicks expressed his frustration by stomping Montero’s chest. When the ref ejected Wicks, he had the audacity to aggressively argue the call.

“Goalies are psychopaths,” Jason said. Right again. The Sounders soon scored another goal, with former USL Sounder Roger Levesque finishing a gorgeous Seba Le Toux cross. 2-0.

We began discussing whether to launch our agreed upon victory ritual, shots of Dewar’s. Why Dewar’s? Well let me push my glasses up the bridge of my nose and tell you.

In the 1910s, the U.S. Open Cup winner was awarded the Dewar Trophy, in what must be one of the earliest corporate sponsorships in American sports history. At some point Dewar’s redirected its advertising dollar–probably at the behest of that dastardly Pete Campbell–and the cup adopted its current generic name. /endboringhistorylesson.

But just as childhood friend David was about to order the shots, DC upped the drama with a goal of their own off a free kick. 2-1.

The Sounders shifted to defense mode, and Jason, David, and I shifted to stare-at-the-clock-as-if-it-were-2pm-on-the-last-day-of-school mode. Finally, after an excruciating six minutes of extra time, the ref whistled the game over.

We ordered our Dewar’s, against our better judgment, ensuring a tipsy trip home that, for me, would be exacerbated by using it to type this recap on my Blackberry. (Note to SPD: I was on foot.)

By winning the U.S. Open Cup, the Sounders become the first MLS expansion team to win a title since the Chicago Fire won the MLS Cup in their first season. The Sounders still have a chance to exceed the Fire’s feat–they could still qualify for the MLS playoffs and win a rare double championship.

The Sounders’ win also clinches them a berth in the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League, a round-robin tournament featuring the top clubs in North and Central America. Draw will be announced next spring. 

The TV showed some Sounders players were holding the cup aloft and posing for pictures. Others were signing autographs for the 150 or so fans who’d made a memorable trip to DC.

We finished our Dewar’s, cashed out, and walked into a warm, colorful Seattle sunset under a nearly full moon. A King Felix win, a Sounders championship, and as nice a night as the Northwest has to offer. Life is good.