Seth Kolloen

Seahawks head coach Jim Mora threatened his players' jobs after Sunday's loss to Dallas. Hoo boy, accountability was going to be a bitch for many underperforming Seahawks.

I wondered which players GM Tim Ruskell would deem responsible for this season's 2-5 start: Deion Branch, the multimillion-dollar receiver with just fifteen catches? Darryl Tapp, the pass-rush specialist who's recorded just one sack? Lofa Tatupu, the supposed team leader whose been outshone by his backup?

Yesterday the axe fell, and the following heads were pulled out of baskets: Two backups and a special teamer.

Um. I feel a rant coming on...

Here's the thing -- if you preach accountability, you need to hold the correct people accountable. Not just a random selection of guys who barely play. On a list of people responsible for the Seahawks' dismal start, the three guys they cut today would be somewhere beneath Ken Behring and Sea Gal Lindsay.

If team management doesn't want to hold anyone accountable for the team's performance, they themselves will soon be looking at the chopping block. We're in the fifth year of Tim Ruskell's stewardship of the team, and what he's built is an aging, rusty machine that's constantly breaking down. As a friend pointed out while watching Sunday's debacle: "This is like watching the 2004 Mariners."

The Mariners organization made a huge mistake not jettisoning the true culprits for that year's team -- after cutting loose some dead player weight, GM Bill Bavasi hung around for four more seasons. Will Ruskell survive that long? If his answer to a 2-5 start is cutting backups, I don't think so.

You can get that photo of Lindsay--8.5x11 and autographed!--for $15 here

Tomorrow night's your first chance to see the University of Washington basketball team play against another team. The game is an exhibition (and, thus, viewable for the bargain price of $10) against Central Washington University, a team of predominately Puget Sound area kids. If you are any kind of high school hoops fan (and if you aren't, what's stopping you?) you will recognize some of the names on the CWU roster.

But let us discuss the Huskies. When we last left them, they had suffered a close loss to Purdue in the NCAA tournament's second round. But I prefer to remember the home win vs. Washington State which clinched the school's first Pac-10 title since the Eisenhower Administration, and watching an exultant Lorenzo Romar cut down the nets. One of my favorite Seattle sports memories.

This year, the Huskies confront life without four-year starter and team captain Jon Brockman. The school's all-time leading rebounder, now playing in the NBA (here he is dunking against the Zombie Sonics!), averaged a double-double last year.

Quincy Pondexter, UW's only senior

The team's only senior, Quincy Pondexter, assumes Brockman's mantle of team leader. Pondexter is playing for more than the Huskies this year, he's playing for an NBA future once thought inevitable. Considered a possible early entrant into the NBA draft, Q-Pon struggled in his first two years as a collegian. But he seemed to arrive last year, finding his identity with an all-around game that emphasized hustle, rebounding, and defense. Now he must build on that improvement.

NBA scouts know Pondexter has the size and athleticism to compete in the NBA, but they want to see an improved offensive game. Writes Kyle Nelson of DraftExpress: "What is holding Pondexter back offensively, at this stage, is a combination of ball handling and basketball IQ. He is still almost exclusively a straight-line dribbler without a left hand, which limits his effectiveness and creativity on the perimeter." 

The team's offense, once predicated on dumping the ball down low to Brockman, will increasingly come from transition baskets and drives by last year's Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, Isaiah Thomas. Last year the 5'8" Thomas, a.k.a. I.T., revolutionized the Husky offense with his ability to penetrate. Thomas' drives drew defenses away from the Dawgs' perimeter shooters, giving them open looks that weren't there before. (Justin Dentmon, who'd his 32% of his three-point attempts in the year pre-Thomas, hit 41% with I.T. as his backcourt mate, and captured the Pac-10 Most Improved Player award).

Though Dentmon is gone, the Dawgs may find their backcourt improved with the arrival of top recruit Abdul Gaddy. And with defensive whiz Venoy Overton and sharpshooters Elston Turner and C.J. Wilcox also in the backcourt mix, you'll likely see Lorenzo Romar deploy three guards during crunchtime, as he did when the Dawgs had future NBAers Brandon Roy, Nate Robinson, and Will Conroy on the roster.

Up front the Huskies lose Brockman's rebounding but will be far more athletic with likely 2012 English Olympic Team leading scorer Matthew Bryan-Amaning at power forward instead. Last year London-born "MBA" played 1/2 of Brockman's minutes, yet had more than ten times as many blocks. (Brockman, for all his hustle, was not changing many shots -- the 5'11" Dentmon actually had more blocked shots last year).

Darnell Gant, the quick, long-armed 6'8" center, will likely start at center. Gant showed a willingness to work and a decent mid-range shot last season. Redshirt freshman Tyrese Breshers, a banger in the Brockman mode, will get minutes once he recovers from a knee injury.

Winning the school's first Pac-10 title in 56 years was nice and all, but you got the feeling that the Huskies wanted more out of the NCAA's than a second-round exit. With traditional powers UCLA, USC and Arizona all suffering from graduations and early departures, Washington's path to the tournament appears wide open. Still, until they surpass the achievements of last year's team, questions about the impact of losing Brockman will remain.

The Huskies play their only exhibition against Central Washington Wednesday at 7 pm. No TV or radio, you'll have to get out to Hec Ed to see it. Their first regular season game is Friday, Nov. 13 vs. Wright St. Here's the full schedule.

I remember being shocked to find out that O'Dea coach Phil Lumpkin played point guard in the NBA. He didn't cut a very athletic figure: His potbelly barely contained by his maroon O'Dea polo, jutting out over his jeans.

But Lumpkin did play two seasons in the League, and a key role in what's widely regarded as the greatest NBA game ever--Game 5 of the 1976 Finals. Lumpkin took over at the point when the starter went down with injury and the Suns down 22 points. 

Said Phoenix coach John MacLeod: "(Lumpkin) was a very deliberate guard, and when we put him in, he slowed everything down. It calmed everybody down, and we made a heck of a run. I think we'd have been blown out if not for Phil Lumpkin."

Lumpkin brought that deliberate style to O'Dea, winning five state basketball titles with it. Lumpkin's teams weren't flashy, and didn't often blow opponents out; instead they'd slowly strangle them with stifling defense and deliberate, careful halfcourt offense.

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When Lumpkin's players played poor defense, or sloppy offense, his verbal eruptions were a sight to behold. I once saw him make a player cry on the court.

But from what his players have told the Seattle Times' Mason Kelley, they appreciated his tough love approach. (Casey McNerthney of Seattlepi.com has also written an excellent obituary of Lumpkin).

Perhaps the best compliment to Lumpkin as a coach is this: He's the guy then-Sonics coach Nate McMillan entrusted his own son to. Jamelle McMillan played on three state title teams playing point guard, his dad's old position.

Lumpkin had been O'Dea's hoops coach since 1991; taking over the same year legendary Garfield coach Al Hairston left the Metro League for Seattle U. Hairston had won five titles at Garfield--Lumpkin matched that feat.

O'Dea hasn't announced when or if any memorial for Lumpkin will be held. Watch their website if you're interested.

There seemed some reason for optimism yesterday as the Seahawks got one of their top players back from injury. Cornerback Marcus Trufant's back was healed enough for him to play against Dallas. He probably wishes he'd taken another week. Trufant picked up three pass interference penalties trying to defend Dallas' receiver Miles "Always Smilin'" Austin, who still ended up with a touchdown catch. The Seahawks lost 38-17.

The only trouble Austin encountered all day was on his attempted "dunk" attempt of the football over the ten-foot-high crossbar after his touchdown catch--Austin didn't quite have the ups to make it and flipped the ball over the bar at the last second.

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By the end of the game, Trufant was getting inside help on Austin, which is not the scenario you envision for a guy with a six-year, $50 million contract.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks offense was fighting itself. T.J. Houshmandzadeh's frustrations at not being more of a focal point in the offense have reached the "openly-second-guessing-his-quarterback" point. At this point, Hasselbeck apparently has to explain after every play why he didn't throw to Housh.

"He needs to get in line," Jim Mora said of Houshmandzadeh.

The bright spot for the Seahawks was the play of middle linebacker David "The Heater" Hawthorne. Taking over for the injured Lofa Tatupu, Hawthorne played like the Tatupu of old, recording five tackles, two sacks, and forcing a fumble. At this rate Tatupu may end up getting Wally Pipped.

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The Hawks host Detroit next week, one of four teams left on their schedule with one win or less. If nothing else, the Seahawks have shown that they can crush inferior teams, with a 28-0 victory over St. Louis and a 41-0 dismantling of Jacksonville as their two wins of the year. So despite the Hawks' 2-5 record, there's hope they can make this season respectable.

That wouldn't fool anyone, though. The Seahawks are a sub-.500 team now, probably headed toward some serious rebuilding.

I have nothing else to say, really--walked out this morning, it's a little windy but not too cold, leaves coating the ground--just feels like a touch football day.

Tonight the Houston Dynamo travel to Seattle as the Sounders' first-ever MLS playoff opponent. This battle will stretch out over the next two weeks, for the MLS quarterfinals are a home-and-home affair. The Sounders face Houston again one week from Sunday. Will this battle be as epic as the three Houston/Seattle postseason matchups that have preceded it?

To wit:

--The 1988 Wild Card Playoff, a.k.a. the Fredd Young phantom interception game.

--The 1993 NBA Western Conference semifinals, which stretched to seven games.

--The 1996 "Houston You Have a Problem" Western Conference semifinals sweep.

Let's take each in turn, shall we? Today's edition...

Houston 23, Seattle 20 (OT), January 3, 1988. [box]

The 9-7 Seahawks finished 2nd in the AFC West, and had to travel to Houston's Astrodome for this Wild Card game. Husky legend Warren Moon led the Oilers' run-and-shoot attack, predicated on short passing. But he heaved a deep one early that the Seahawks' Melvin Jenkins intercepted. Dave Krieg hit Steve Largent with a 20-yard TD pass and the good guys led 7-0. From there, Houston's offense dominated, rolling up 437 yards and four scoring drives. The Seahawks got just two field goals, and the game stood 20-13 with less than two minutes left.

But the Hawks managed an 80-yard, 10-play touchdown drive, with Krieg connecting with Largent on another TD pass with just 26 seconds left. 

The Seahawks got the ball first in overtime, but their drive stalled.

NOTE: The Seahawks have been involved in three sudden death overtime playoff games. They have won the coin toss and received the ball first all three times -- yet they've LOST ALL THREE GAMES! HOW THE HELL IS THAT POSSIBLE! /endrant

Houston got the ball back. On the third play of their drive, Seahawks linebacker Fredd Young dove for a batted pass and appeared to catch it before it hit the ground. The refs said no. Replay, then in its first halting incarnation, did not show conclusive evidence. The Oilers kept the ball and marched down the field for the winning score.

Seahawks coach Chuck Knox told the P-I after the game: ""I was proud the way our players battled. We just weren't good enough to win today. It was that simple."

The Oilers lost to Denver 34-10 one week later, with the Broncos advancing to the Super Bowl. The Seahawks got a rematch with the Oilers the next year at the Kingdome with the Hawks getting the winning field goal this time -- Norm Johnson hit a 46-yarder with one second left for the win.

Hoops fans, we bring you live to Seattle Center on this, the first night of the NBA season. Let's take a walk around the grounds and get a sense of the excitement.

Here, at Memorial Stadium, we have...a rec league soccer game. How about the EMP? Hmm...two teenage girls sitting on a heating grate. And at Key Arena? Nothing.

Well, maybe Seattle's premier sports bar, the Sport Restaurant and Lounge, at Fisher Plaza, will be packed with hoops aficionados. Let's see.

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Okay, walking past the Jamal Crawford, Nate McMillan, and Todd McCullough jerseys to the bar, and here, for tip off of Cavs/Celtics, the first game of the season, we have...me. And my friend Nathaniel, who has to file a story about the game for The Sporting Blog.

(Nathaniel, who under the pen name Bethlehem Shoals is co-author of the mind-alteringly awesome Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac, is one of two nationally-respected NBA writers who, oddly, live in this the largest American metro area without an NBA team. The other, stats whiz Kevin Pelton, has chosen to travel to Portland for opening night (here's his story).)

This can still be a basketball event! First, though, perhaps management wouldn't mind turning up the game audio, and down the Crosby, Stills and Nash song? Thanks.

Midway through the game, we have expanded our numbers almost to double-digits! Four other NBA fans have shown up at Nathaniel's Twitter invitation. Down the bar, a Cavs fan arrives with his (clearly bored) girlfriend just in time to watch his team collapse against the Celtics.

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Let's have some food, shall we? Sport has a pretty sweet happy hour if you don't mind cheap-style food: $3 22-ounce domestic drafts and $3 8-inch pizzas. Their regular menu is fantastic--Nathaniel, who earlier sang the praises of Sport's gumbo, orders a reuben, stacked high with pastrami.

My tomato and cheese pizza comes on...a basketball plate! Thanks, Sport!

Game 2 is tipping off--with the Wizards facing the Mavs and Seattle schoolboy legend Jason Terry. Terry drives into the lane, dishes to Erick Dampier, who is fouled on a dunk attempt. Franklin High grad Terry won't get his 3,902nd assist (6th among active players) on that play, but he should.

Midway through the first half of game 2, I'm off to watch a movie with a friend. I hear from women's hoops writer Quentin McCall later that by 9:30 p.m. only two people remain, though "some Portland fans did show up and make noise for Rudy Fernandez for a while."

Should be a great NBA season here in the nation's 13th-biggest media market!

I'm reposting this one because it's Thursday and extremely topical. If you saw Game 1 of the World Series last night, you'll know what a freaking dilemma tonight's offerings create.--MvB

Thursday is shaping up to be one of those nights that I wish there were three of me. To wit:

At 5 p.m., Game 2 of the World Series will be extra special as the Phillies have chosen 38-year-old future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez to start at Yankee Stadium against his longtime rivals. Martinez was 8-4 in his career at Old Yankee Stadium, including the finest game I have ever seen pitched, a 17-K performance against the Yanks in September 1999. (Wow! I'm getting old!) Game's on FOX.

At 7 p.m., the Sounders play the franchise's first MLS playoff game, against the Houston Dynamo at Qwest Field. The game is the first leg of a home-and-home series, the teams will play again on Sunday the 8th in Houston and whoever's ahead in the combined score of the two games advances. If you don't have tickets, buy some (there are scads on StubHub), or you can watch the game live on ESPN2.

7 p.m. is also kickoff for the the Kingco 4A football championship at Pop Keeney Stadium in Bothell. The contestants: Skyline High, ranked #1 in the state, and Bothell High, ranked #2. This is the game high school football enthusiasts have been waiting for all year, and the atmosphere at Pop Keeney--Bothell's home field--will be second-to-none. If you've ever thought about going to a high school football game, this is the one to see.

My personal pick? The World Series game. Gave up my Sounders tickets, even. But the possibility of a historic Pedro start is simply too tantalizing to risk missing. If I were raised English, I'm sure playoff soccer would get the nod, but...

 

Quantum physicists need not continue to pester me with tales of parallel universes existing in an infinite number of dimensions, for here in the Seattle sports world their theories have taken life.

In one universe, Washington quarterback Jake Locker is the team's best player, a semi-finalist for a national award given to the nation's best college QB, and a possible top five pick in next year's NFL draft.

In another universe, Locker isn't that good.

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How else to explain the wildly different conclusions evident to our area's sports fans? Thousands of Washingtonians buy Jake Locker's #10 jersey. Locker gets the biggest cheers in pre-game introductions. And Seahawk fans (many of whom double as Husky adherents) want our NFL team to make Locker their quarterback after he leaves Washington.

And then there are other fans. Who note that the Huskies have lost 18 of Locker's 24 starts. That Locker throws crippling interceptions. That he makes poor reads. That three freshman Pac-10 QBs have amassed better completion percentages and quarterback ratings than Locker.

Spurred by Locker-crazy visitors to his blog, astute Seahawks blogger John Morgan of the site Field Gulls scouted the Husky quarterback in Washington's game against Oregon this weekend. He did not like what he saw.

(Locker) makes some curious reads and does not show consistent accuracy. Locker has a nice mix of touch and arm-strength, but those are secondary abilities, of little worth before a quarterback has mastered pocket-presence, read and accuracy. ... He exhibits major red flags: pocket presence, decision making and consistent accuracy. ... Locker must first prove he can be a great college quarterback before Seattle fans envision him a great Seahawks quarterback.

To be fair, Locker was struggling with a bruised quadriceps suffered early in the game. Still, a great college quarterback should be able to succeed without much mobility. Marshall University's Byron Leftwich, a future NFLer, once led a 17-point comeback playing on a broken leg.

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While there's no question that Locker is the best athlete to play quarterback at Washington, athleticism is not important for a quarterback in a pro-style system like Steve Sarkisian's.

Look no further than the Seahawks: Backup Seneca Wallace can dunk a basketball, while starter Matt Hasselbeck, with his wrecked back, would probably need a ladder just to touch the net. But Hasselbeck's started the Seahawks' only two wins this season. Wallace is 0 for 3.

Lord knows I'm rooting for Locker; I'm hopelessly addicted to Washington football, have been since I was four years old, and I'd prefer to see wins when I, inevitably, watch the games. (I've seen or heard every Husky game live since '04 save one, and that one was because I was at a Husky basketball game. Yes, ladies, I'm single).

I tend to agree with Morgan, though. Locker may be a terrific, game-changing college player, but he isn't NFL-ready. The Seahawks should be on the lookout for Matt Hasselbeck's replacement, but Locker isn't it.

Rodriguez was the Seattle Mariners #1 overall pick in the 1993 draft; he was at the apex of baseball prospects.

In 1994, Rodriguez made his major league debut.

In 1995, he played in his first postseason game.

In 1996, he made his first All-Star team.

But not until 2009, after a dominating post-season performance, will Alex Rodriguez get his at-bats at the pinnacle of baseball competition: the World Series.

Partially, this is A-Rod's own fault for being hilariously incompetent in postseason baseball as a Yankee.

My childhood friend David and I, confirmed A-Rod haters after he left the Mariners claiming he had a better chance to win in Texas (har!), enjoyed Rodriguez's well-documented postseason struggles. We were remembering them last night, while the Angels pitched around a suddenly clutch Rodriguez for the umpteenth time in the ALCS.

There was 2004, when A-Rod slapped the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's mitt on his way to first base, inspiring the brilliant "A-Rod purse" Photoshop.

There was the time in 2005 when he came up as the tying run in the ninth inning of ALDS game 5 against the Angels--and grounded into a double play.

And 2006, when his postseason slump had gotten so bad, Joe Torre dropped A-Rod to a humiliating eighth in the Yankee batting order.

As David pointed out, "It was a good run."

This new A-Rod is a terrifying demon: In nine postseason games this year, he has 14 hits, 5 homers, and 12 RBI. In Thursday's extra-inning game 5, the Angels gave Rodriguez the Barry Bonds treatment, intentionally walking him even though he was the tying run.

Wednesday, after 9,611 regular season Major League plate appearances, and 212 in the postseason, Rodriguez gets his first crack at baseball's ultimate prize, a World Series ring. Rodriguez' Yankees will play the Philadelphia Phillies. Game 1 is Wednesday.

Somehow, and I'm still not sure how this has happened, part of me is rooting for the A-Rod. Ew.

World Series schedule (all times PST, all games on FOX):

Game 1: Wednesday, Oct. 28, 4:57 p.m. at Yankee Stadium
Game 2: Thursday, Oct. 29, 4:57 p.m. at Yankee Stadium
Game 3: Saturday, Oct. 31, 4:57 p.m. at Citizens Bank Park
Game 4: Sunday, Nov. 1, 5:20 p.m. at Citizens Bank Park
Game 5: Monday, Nov. 2, 4:57 p.m. at Citizens Bank Park*
Game 6: Wednesday, Nov. 4, 4:57 p.m. at Yankee Stadium*
Game 7: Thursday, Nov. 5, 4:57 p.m. at Yankee Stadium*
*if necessary