Seth Kolloen

Baseball's winter meetings are over, and the only important local news is this: the Seattle Mariners will pay $36 million over the next four years for the services of longtime Los Angeles Angel infielder Chone (pronounced "Shawn") Figgins.

Figgins brings along a career .363 on-base percentage, speed on the basepaths, and defensive versatility--having played every position except catcher and first base.

The 31-year-old Floridian (full name: Desmond DeChone Figgins) reached base in nearly four out of every ten plate appearances last season. His .395 on base percentage would've led the 2009 Mariners, with only Ichiro even close at .386. Figgins' 42 stolen bases would also have lead the team (Ichiro again, with 26).

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But Figgins is not going to score without assistance. He's hit just 9 home runs in the past 3 seasons, and, fast as he is, stealing home is not a reliable source of run production.

With Russell Branyan and Adrian Beltre now free agents, the Mariners' best slugger is second baseman Jose Lopez. However, it is a not too closely guarded secret that current Mariners management wants Lopez to go away, feeling that his substandard defense and proclivity for strikeouts cost the team more than his 25 home runs are worth.

The late-'90s Mariners did not have this problem. With a younger Ken Griffey Jr., Jay Buhner, Alex Rodriguez and Edgar Martinez, they set a major league record for home runs in a season. They also didn't reach a World Series.

The best Mariner team ever, the 116-win 2001 squad, had a much more balanced attack, leading the AL in on-base percentage and stolen bases. However, they also ranked 4th in slugging.

The 2009 Mariners were 2nd-to-last in the AL in slugging, at just .402. Though the Figgins signing improves their last-in-the-league OPB, the potential losses of Beltre, Lopez and Branyan sink their slugging even more.

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Branyan and Adrian Beltre could still re-sign with the Mariners, though both are clearly at the tail ends of their careers, and Beltre's offense was dismal last season.

GM Jack Zduriencik can't possibly be done filling this roster. The latest rumor is that he's trying to trade for Padres' slugger Adrian Gonzalez. Yes, please.

Power hitters left on the free agent market include Jim Thome, Carlos Delgado, Vladimir Guerrero, and Hideki Matsui. Turn on the power, Jack!

The stars were out for Metro League Tuesday

Before we get to the whys and wherefores of how the spittle of the 14th-richest man in America ended up on my right hand, let me make one thing clear. Underemployed though I am, I did not attend Tuesday's Lakeside/Rainier Beach game with the intention of sitting next to, and eventually shaking hands with, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

First of all, I did not even know Ballmer would be at the game. Only when I had found my seat and noticed a "Sam Ballmer" on the Lakeside roster did I suspect any impending Ballmerness. Furthermore, I did not sit next to Ballmer. He happened to sit next to me. And, to finally get to the expectoration you were expecting: If you sit next to Steve Ballmer at a Lakeside basketball, you are going to get a little wet. And possibly go a little deaf. The man is not shy with the yelling.

I'm okay with that, because Ballmer is the best kind of parent rooter: He encouraged Lakeside's overmatched players from tip to buzzer, all the way through a 47-point loss. He laid off the referees. And he even cheered the (very many) exciting plays by Rainier Beach.

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His high-energy rooting style--at times, his non-stop nervous rocking shook the bleacher bench we were sharing--made me wish heartily that he'd managed to purchase the Sonics. A courtside Ballmer would make notoriously excitable Dallas owner Mark Cuban look phlegmatic.

So, yeah, a few minutes into the game, something moves Ballmer to shout "Boom" (his favorite exclamation), and I suddenly feel a drop of wetness on my hand. Oh. That's Ballmer spit. At halftime, I'd see a Microsoft employee friend of mine who'd come to his first Metro League Tuesday.

"I'm sitting next to your boss," I said.

"I saw that," he exclaimed.

"He spit on my hand!"

"You'd better not wash it."

And I never will. NEVER! I am buying protective gloves tomorrow. AND NO MOM I AM NOT COMING OUT OF MY ROOM!

One Ballmer moment before we move on to the other famous people who were at the game. Ballmer's son Sam had the best Lakeside play of the night. Receiving the ball on the right wing, young Ballmer created space with his off-hand, stepped back and swished a 12-foot jumper. Papa rose as the shot was in the air, and unleashed a thunderous "Boom!" as the ball slid through the net. It was cute--and lest you think I'm being overly sentimental, I said as much to my ex-girlfriend, who was sitting on the other side of me, and she nodded vigorously in agreement.

Also at the game: University of Washington basketball head coach Lorenzo Romar, taking up his preferred spot behind the baseline. Ballmer and Romar had a long talk at halftime. Meanwhile, chatting next to them were Seattle city councilmember Bruce Harrell, whose son is a backup guard for Lakeside, and Husky hoops legend and former NBAer Eldridge Recasner. It was a veritable who's who of Seattle!

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Now, 507 words later, let's get to the putative reason for this post, the basketball game! The Seattle cognoscenti and I saw a hell of a show from Rainier Beach, and a  gritty performance by Lakeside.

Beach, in case you don't know, is one of the top basketball programs in the state. Three former Vikings play on NBA teams. With a plethora of skilled, athletic, hard-nosed players, Beach's second unit could probably compete for a Metro League hoops title. Lakeside, on the other hand, has a really good lacrosse team.

My ex's little brother, a Lakeside senior (and member of said lacrosse team) was not so blinded by school pride that he thought the Lions could beat, or even stay close with, Rainier Beach.

"I'll be happy if we give up less than five dunks," he said just after tip off.

Sadly, he did not get his wish, as Beach sent home seven dunks. The best, and probably the most thrilling dunk I'll see this year, came from 5'9" Beach guard Robert Harris. Harris got the ball in the open floor just before half, drove unimpeded to the basket, rose ludicrously high ("THROW IT HOME," yelled Ballmer) and packed an amazing dunk that had everyone in the seven-row Lakeside stands shouting in amazement.

Also near halftime, I got to shake Ballmer's hand. My ex's little brother, who plays lacrosse with Sam Ballmer, introduced me. Not having brought a resume, I confined my remarks to "Hi." (ZOMG I JUST TOUCHED A BILLIONAIRE! Sorry, I'll calm down now.)

This made me think about the social and professional advantages of going to a school like Lakeside. I have two good friends who went there. One is the daughter of a newspaper columnist, the other is the son of a federal judge.

I went to Garfield. My best high school friends: The son of an ESL teacher and the son of a health inspector. Not so great with the job connections.

On the other hand, I got to see my school win a state boys basketball championship. Unlikely that any Lakeside student will ever be able to say that.

Not through a lack of effort by their players, though. With Ballmer shouting encouragement, the Lions played hard in a hopeless mission. They stuck to the game plan of first-year coach Tavio Hobson (who is "pretty hot," according to my ex), eschewing any attempts at transition buckets against the lighting-quick Vikings. Lakeside didn't shoot particularly well, as they often rushed their shots. Not that you can blame them; Beach's players are so fast to the basketball that you have to speed up just to get your shot off. If Lakeside could improve on anything, it would be making the extra pass and cutting harder off of screens. But you can say that about most college teams. They played tough. I was impressed.

Beach, for their part, played controlled, stifling defense all game. They jumped on Lakeside early, getting two first quarter three-pointers for D1-bound wing Lonnie Pearson, but made their biggest runs after Lakeside's starting guards had tired from Beach's full court pressure and had to rest. Lakeside's back up guards couldn't handle Beach's pressure, and the Vikings scored easy basket after easy basket off of Lions turnovers.

The final score: Rainier Beach 77, Lakeside 30. Next Metro League Tuesday is 12/15, where whoever I can cajole into joining me will be watching Garfield play at Ballard.

Not that I should have to cajole. High school basketball, friends, is the best entertainment value in the city. $6! And it has the power to change minds. As the game approached, I got this text from my ex: "Don't be late. I don't want to be stuck at this thing alone."

But her tune had changed after the game. Came this text: "That was super fun! Thanks!"

After a C-17 flyover at Husky Stadium before the Washington/Cal game on Saturday, Fox Sports Northwest's Angie Mentink was moved to make a urine reference in an attempt to convey the intensity of the plane's sound. Probably more fun if you click through to the video, but I've transcribed it below.

Said Mentink: "If you're here at Husky Stadium you are not just cold anymore but you are now wet--as you probably just wet yourself...."

Gaddy: He's getting better all the time

Husky fans have been waiting all season for Abdul Gaddy to show the talent that made him one of the biggest Lorenzo Romar recruits ever.

Gaddy was the second-best point guard recruit in his class, according to Scout.com. Pro hoops scouting site DraftExpress projects Gaddy as the third-overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

But up until Sunday night, Gaddy looked like your average true freshman point guard. He was tentative on offense, a step slow on defense, not in the flow of the game. He bottomed out against Texas Tech, playing just ten minutes and picking up four fouls. He missed his only shot, going scoreless for the second consecutive game.

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We saw a different Gaddy yesterday in UW's 88-76 win over Cal State Northridge. Gaddy scored eleven points in 21 minutes--his final field goal compelling the fan in front of me to exult: "Double figures! He made double figures!" The offense seemed to flow better with Gaddy in the game, with some creative passes opening opportunities for his teammates.

"You saw a glimpse of his potential," Quincy Pondexter told reporters after the game. "He's going to be a professional basketball player after this level. He played great tonight. He got in the lane. He can go wherever he wants with the ball. He's just a terrific player and he's real young. The sky's the limit for that kid."

One game does not a season make, especially against a minor-conference opponent like the Matadors. (Why the Matadors? Is Northridge, CA, the hub of American bullfighting or something?) I'll be curious to see if Gaddy continues the upward trajectory Saturday, when the Dawgs play Georgetown in the John Wooden Classic.

Butler did what Branch couldn't

Three Seahawks De(i)ons had chances at game-changing plays in the final 63 seconds of the Hawks' last-second win over San Francisco at Qwest Field yesterday (video highlights with local radio calls!). Only rookie Deon Butler was up to the task.

Up first, Deion Branch. With the Seahawks facing third down, only a few yards shy of field goal range, Branch had broken free from his man down the middle of the field. Matt Hasselbeck lofted a perfect pass.

Yet Branch botched the play. He jumped for the ball for no reason and mistimed it. The ball still reached his hands, but bounced off them for an incompletion. Instead of being in position for a game-winning field goal, the Seahawks had to punt.

"I just dropped the ball--I don't have an excuse," Branch told Seattlepi.com's Art Thiel. "I should have made the play, and I didn't make it."

Then it was safety Deon Grant's turn. With the 49ers inexplicably trying to win the game in regulation, Alex Smith threw into double coverage and put the ball right in Grant's hands. Grant dropped a sure interception.

It seemed clear now that the game would go into overtime. But a stellar punt return by Nate Burleson got the Seahawks to midfield. And a third Deon gave the Hawks the play they needed. Matched one-on-one on the sideline against 49er DB Kevin Smith, and with no Niner safety in the area, Butler liked his chances.

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I was really hoping Matt came to me,” Butler told TNT's Ryan Divish after the game. “I really didn’t think about the timing of the game or anything, I just knew it was a great matchup.”

Butler shook Smith and got open. Hasselbeck put a perfect spiral towards Butler. The rookie faced a brief moment of panic. "It kind of looked lost for a second because I lost it in the lights, but it came back to me," Butler told the Times' Jerry Brewer. "I found it as soon as it came off the lights." The ball fell right into Butler's hands, and he kept both feet in bounds before stepping out at the San Francisco 15, stopping the clock and getting Olindo Mare close enough for a game-winning 30-yard field goal.

So it all worked out in the end, with the added benefit of showing just how useless Deion Branch is. Branch's putrid production since being acquired with a first round pick is part of the reason Tim Ruskell lost his job this week. He needs to go away (and take his ugly green gloves with him). Hopefully the last 63 seconds of Sunday's game will hasten that result.

Then we can happily chant: The Deion is Dead! Long Live the Deon!

The Hawks, now 5-7, play next Sunday at Houston.

"Viewpoint" was taken back in November by The SunBreak Flickr poolster joshc. A little Orcas moment for you.

If you live in Seattle, and you do not get to a place where you can see the mountains today, you are fired from life. Yesterday's rain + today's cloudless sky = The mountains being 97 kinds of beautiful. I think I could see individual snowflakes on Mount Olympus.

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If you've never been to the top of the Space Needle, this is the day to do it. (Shit, grab lunch there.) Or check out the Olmstead-designed view of Mount Rainier at the UW campus (though there's a football game at 3:30, so you may want to make haste). I-5 south toward Tukwila gives a tremendous view of Mount Rainer, and any of the crossings over the Ship Canal/Lake Union provide views of both the Olympics and Cascades. Or just park your car on Phinney Ridge and look down a sidestreet.

Other mountain-seeing-places that come to mind: The Volunteer Park Water Tower. The Bremerton Ferry. Kerry Park. ZOMG, Kerry Park (on the south slope of Queen Anne Hill) will be so beautiful today. Am I leaving out something obvious? Assuredly, so please to toss your thoughts in the comments.

A wacky wordsmith had his or her way with the awning of Ballard's Bit Saloon :

Ruskell: GM for the Seahawks' only Super Bowl season

Seahawks president Tod Leiweke: "Quite simply, we didn't win enough games."

Dave Boling, Tacoma News-Tribune: "The scouting report on Ruskell is that he had some big hits on some draft guys, especially Lofa Tatupu, Leroy Hill, Brandon Mebane, Josh Wilson and others. But his first-round picks have been mostly disappointments, as have some of the aging free agents or trades brought on board in the past few seasons. Yes, injuries have been a factor in the recent decline. But it's fairly clear the Seahawks don't have enough talent on the roster to be competitive. That’s on Ruskell."

Jim Mora: "My heart goes out to Tim and his family. Tim's a good man, and a good football man. And I'm disappointed that we couldn't perform better and give him the help that he needed."

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Chris Sullivan, Seahawks Addicts: "[Ruskell] had been so hellbent on 'cleaning out the locker room' and filling it with 'leaders' and "character guys' that we now have a charity softball team playing in the NFL."

Tim Ruskell: "We did turn this culture around, and we got people to believe in themselves. We realized the value of everybody. So that was a great thing. I think that had a profound effect on how the team performed, because of the atmosphere."

Nate Burleson: "We're all family. So when you have a family member leaving it's tough to deal with."

John Morgan, Field Gulls: "Losing Ruskell does not bother me much. If it was my decision to make, I would consider doing the same thing....In business, one must be ruthless. Whether Ruskell could build an offense or not, it was never known to be his strength. Hiring an offensive specialist, just as Ruskell was hired as a defensive specialist, is a practical, considered maneuver."

Steve Kelley, Seattle Times: "We can list all of Ruskell's draft mistakes and free-agent blunders, but the philosophy that mattered most, the belief that sealed his no-deal, was his idea that announcing Holmgren's heir apparent, the season before Holmgren was gone, would lead to a seamless transition....[The Seahawks] changed the offensive and defensive schemes. They changed their approaches to practice. They changed the culture of the team. And it didn't work."

Deion Branch: "I think all this stuff falls back on the players. He's done everything he possibly can to put this team together and to line things up the right way as far as people put all the blame on him, I think that's wrong." (Catches one yard pass, falls out of bounds, jumps up and shouts into camera.)

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Johnny Peel, Dave Krieg's Strike Beard: "Even though [Ruskell's] departure was inevitable and probably necessary, we shouldn't forget that he was part of the brain trust that got us to XL, won three division titles from 05-07 and notched four of the seven postseason wins in franchise history."

Art Thiel, Seattle P-I: "If you saw the wet eyes and heard the quavering voice as Leiweke cut loose a personal friend and respected colleague in the middle of a work week in the middle of an already disappointing season, it wasn't a stretch to imagine he was as irked as he was sad."

Ruskell: "I will leave here with great memories of this place, and the people. It's been the people for me. I'm proud of what we've done and what we did, and I wish the new phase had gone quicker but it didn't. That’s the way that the NFL works."

 

Texas Tech's last-second shot had swished through the net, I had uttered the word "shit," the Huskies were standing in shocked disbelief, TTU students were storming the floor, and my friends and I really wanted to watch the Oregon/Oregon State football game.

So we switched over to that game--the winner of which would go to the Rose Bowl. We saw a few plays when I noticed something odd on the scoreticker at the bottom of the screen: "Washington 90 Texas Tech 90 End 2nd."

"Go back! Go back!" Indeed, back on ESPN2, the officials had ruled after a replay review that Texas Tech's Mike Singletary had released his apparent game-winning shot a split-second after the clock hit zeroes. Students off the court. Game on.

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But we had already moved on, emotionally. It's early. It's tough to win on the road. The Dawgs missed a bunch of free throws. Now we had to reprocess the possibility of a win--or once again deal with the pain of a loss.

As it turned out, it was the latter. In overtime, the Huskies fell behind, then were sunk by a terrible Matthew Bryan-Amaning inbounds pass that Texas Tech converted into a lay-in for a four-point lead.

Texas Tech hit their free throws and won the game without needing a last-second shot. The fans stormed the court yet again. You can watch highlights here.

Seattle's other D1 team, Seattle U, also lost last night. The Redhawks were even worse from the free-throw line, missing 26 out of 48 free throws. Can't win that way. The 85-74 loss came at Cal Poly and their coach, former Seattle U head man Joe Callero. Rough.

The Huskies' next game is Sunday night at Hec Ed against Cal State Northridge, an NCAA tourney team last year (though they lost most of the players off that team). Seattle U plays Saturday at UC Davis.

I don't care about Abdul Gaddy's development, or seeing effort against a hostile crowd, or really whether the Huskies win or lose tonight at Texas Tech (4 p.m., ESPN2), as long as Texas Tech's famed "Go Raiders" fan shows up at the game.

Who's the "Go Raiders fan? You can watch the video below--it's from post-game on-field interviews after a Texas Tech football game in '05. The interviews are unusable because of a drunk fan off-screen who persistently yells "Go Raaaaiddders" despite the pleadings of numerous TV producers, players, and security people. You hear his irrefutable retort to these requests from off-screen. "I paid to get in the game, I can say whatever I want. [pause] Goooooooo Raiders!" Oh Jesus it's funny.