Recent Stories in Sports

High Point: January 1, 2001. Marques Tuiasosopo outduels Drew Brees, completing 16 of 22 passes in a 34-24 win. It's the seventh Rose Bowl win for Washington, which finishes the year ranked #3.

Low Point: November 22, 2008. An overtime loss to Washington State all but clinches a winless season for Ty Willingham's Huskies. A 48-yard Wazzu pass play with under a minute left highlighted the Dawgs' season-long incompetence.

Best Player: Marques Tuiasosopo probably had the best season, Jake Locker has the most talent, but I think the best player overall for the Huskies in the 2000s was Daniel Te'o-Nesheim. Despite being double- and often triple-teamed alongside an inferior cohort of defensive linemen, Te'o-Nesheim became Washington's all-time sack leader in his four years as a starter. For all the effort he expended on the field, it's a shame that he never got to a bowl game. WILLINGHAM! Grrr.

Best Recruit: Jake Locker. Locker spurned Michigan and USC to join the Huskies, facing massive expectations of a fan based... (more)

If you want to find out what went wrong at Little Bighorn, you wouldn't ask a cavalryman. If you want to find out what went wrong at WaMu, you wouldn't ask a bank teller. And if you want to know what's wrong with the Seahawks, you wouldn't ask the players.

This could not have been demonstrated more clearly than on KJR yesterday (audio), when Seahawk receivers Deion Branch, Nate Burleson, and T.J. Houshmandzadeh tried to explain why the team is so terrible. And now, ladies and gentlemen, here's the reason why the Seahawks have been outscored 106-24 the last three weeks!

Deion Branch: "We're not executing our plays."

KJR's Dave Mahler: "Why not?"

Branch: "Could be a combination of things."

Ah--well, that clears it up.

The reason the players can't explain this is that they are cogs in a machine, jostled by forces beyond their control. Like Custer's troops and WaMu's tellers, they are doing the best they can. Housmandzadeh and Burleson (I think, voices ran together) revealed that they've both been playing with broken... (more)

Thought it would be fun to mark the high and low points for our local sports teams this decade. Today: Husky basketball! I have a low point, but am not going to do "worst" for college players, that's weak.

Unadulterated High Point: March 13, 2005. The Huskies are awarded a #1-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Hard to understate the amazement that this caused, to see the Dawgs get a designation usually reserved for the Dukes and UConns of the world. Watch the reaction of the fans who gathered at HecEd to view the selection show that day.

Low Point Which Turned into a High Point: January 17, 2004 (second half). In the second year of Lorenzo Romar's tenure, his clearly talented Huskies started the conference season 0-5, and were down 16 points to Oregon State with 6:40 left. It appeared that UW had the wrong coach, that another season was lost, that the program was in ruins. Watching the game on DVR, I began fast-forwarding to the inevitable end. Then, Nate Robinson led an incredible comeback, the team gelled, and the Dawgs reached the NCAA tourney.

High Point Which Turned into a Low Point: March 24, 2006 (second half). Jamaal Williams hits the first three-pointer of his Washington career to give the Huskies a late six-point lead over Connecticut in an NCAA regional semifinal. Sadly, a bad foul by Mike Jensen and a clutch three-pointer by Rashad Anderson tied the game, and UConn beat the Huskies in overtime. The Dawgs were denied their first Elite Eight appearance since the 1950s.

Best Player: Brandon Roy. Something of a secret during his first three years at Washington, Roy broke out his senior season by scoring 20.2 ppg, winning Pac-10 player of the year and making first-team All-American. The school retired Roy's #3 last season, he's only the second Washington hoopster to receive that honor.... (more)

Thought it would be fun to mark the high and low points for our local sports teams this decade. Today: The Mariners!

High point: October 6, 2001. By beating Texas 3-2 for their 116th win, the Mariners match the 1908 Cubs for the winningest season in major league history. Fans look forward to a cakewalk through the playoffs.

Low point: June 4, 2008. After the $100 million Mariners fall to 21-39, manager John McLaren unleashes this nonsensical rant. He was fired later that month, and the M's dropped 101 games.

Best player: Ichiro. Who else? The 2001 MVP, breaker of the all-time hits mark in 2004, he compiled 2030 hits in nine years. And played a little defense.

Worst player: Carlos Silva. Given a four-year, $48-million contract by Bill Bavasi, Silva compiled this line in 34 starts as a Mariner: 5-18, 6.81 ERA, 25 HRs allowed. ICK ICK ICK.

Best trade: Franklin Gutierrez for J.J. Putz. Some other prospects and bit players were involved, but these were the two big pieces in the deal. Jack Zduriencik obtained the best centerfielder I've ever seen (yes, better than Griffey and Cameron). Putz threw only 29 innings with his new team and had a 5.22 ERA.

Worst trade: Ramon Santiago for Carlos Guillen. One of Bavasi's first moves as GM foretold his future mistakes. He threw aside Guillen for a minor prospect so he could play Rich Aurilia at shortstop. Aurilia was released in July after hitting .241. Santiago had just eight hits as a Mariner. Guillen became a cornerstone of the Tigers' revival, going to three All-Star Games in six years.... (more)

Thought it would be fun to mark the high and low points for our local sports teams this decade. Today: The Seahawks!

High point: Sunday, January 22, 2005 2006. The Seahawks defeat Carolina in the NFC championship game, advancing to the franchise's first Super Bowl. I celebrated with my housemates and longtime Seahawks fans with a champagne shower in our basement, then with a (probably ill-advised) drive downtown to revel with fans who'd gone to the game. We ended up at the Triangle, where friend David snapped this photo of a proud Seahawks rooter. 

Low point: Sunday, December 27, 2009. A 38-point loss at Green Bay, one of the four worst in franchise history, comes on the heels of an embarrassing home loss to Houston. Matt Hasselbeck throws four interceptions and Green Bay scores on their first six possessions.

Best player: Walter Jones. Perhaps the NFL's best left tackle in an era defined by the importance of left tackles, Jones will have gone to 8 of a possible 10 Pro Bowls in the decade. People (including me) have tossed out blame left and right for the Hawks' current struggles, but it's worth noting that the team's decline has coincided precisely with Jones' decline.

Worst player: Brock Huard. In four starts as the Hawks' QB in '00, Huard was 0-4 and got sacked on one of every eight pass attempts.

Best trade: Matt Hasselbeck for (basically) a third-round pick. The official trade also had the Hawks and Green Bay swap first round picks, giving the Packers a slightly better one, but essentially Mike Holmgren was able to get the franchise a quarterback for a decade by giving up only a third-rounder. On an otherwise forgettable day yesterday, Hass became the Seahawks all-time leading passer.... (more)

Which pitcher would you rather have?

Pitcher A: 74.2 IP, 76 K, 21 BB, 8 HR allowed. Ground ball/Fly ball: 1.23.
Pitcher B: 69.2 IP, 63 K, 44 BB, 10 HR allowed. Ground ball/Fly ball: 0.57.

Word came last night that former M's first round pick Brandon Morrow was traded to Toronto for reliever Brandon League and a prospect. The general media consensus is that this prospect will be a good one, since Morrow was such a high draft pick.

But I'm not so sure. In that little quiz above, League is pitcher A, and Morrow is pitcher B. Looks to me like League's the better pitcher.

Oh, but Morrow has such great stuff, you say? Well, so does League--he throws a mid 90s fastball and a high 90s sinker. And though League was selected in the 2001 draft, five years before Morrow, he's actually only 16 months older.

One thing I love about Jack Zduriencik is that he doesn't make decisions based on reputation. Russell Branyan was considered a part-time player, but Zduriencik made him a starter and got 31 homers from him. Last year, Zduriencik went into spring training with only one established reliever on the roster, Tyler Miller Walker, then cut the guy before opening day when he pitched poorly in Cactus League play. (Commenter Jon caught my mistake, and also notes that established reliever Miguel Batista was on the roster. Point stands, though.)

Contrast this with Bill Bavasi, who consistently overspent for reputation over performance in his acquisitions of Rich Aurilia, Scott Spezio, Carl Everett, Richie Sexson, Jose Vidro, Miguel Batista, Carlos Silva ... need I go on?

The difference I think is in the upbringing of the two men. Bavasi was the son of a baseball executive, with a leg up on the competition. His dad gave him a front office job with the Angels at age 24.

Zduriencik, on the other hand, was the son of a steel mill worker. He didn't get a job in baseball until he was 30, and that was as an area scout, the lowest possible rung of baseball administration.

No wonder Zduriencik looks at Morrow and sees a pitcher living on reputation, not performance.

Now League has his issues too--with control, primarily. But his walk numbers aren't nearly as high as Morrow's.

Morrow gave us some thrilling moments: His near-no-hitter of the Yankees in 2008 was the most exciting game of that dismal season and effectively knocked the Yanks out of the playoffs that year. But more often, Morrow struggled to do the one thing a pitcher must: throw the ball over the plate.

I hope the Mariners do get a top prospect in addition to League. But if they don't, I'm okay with the trade anyway.

The trials of life are supposed to lead us to greater heights. I like how Scottish crank Thomas Carlyle put it: "Adversity is the diamond dust Heaven polishes its jewels with."

When adversity comes to Seahawks head coach Jim Mora, he reacts by uttering nonsense, blaming others, and, lately, trying to rewrite history. He's no jewel. Unless you're talking about nose gold.

Mora, with his hat pulled low after Sunday's loss. If I were him, I'd try to hide too

After an ugly loss to one-win Tampa Bay on Sunday, in a game even the Bucs coach didn't think his team could win, Mora was in full backtrack mode.

"We were a four-win team last year," Mora said in his post-game media remarks, adding in some finger thrusts for effect. "Let's not lose track of that folks. We were a Four. Win. Team." (Actually he said "four team win," but we know what he meant.)

Funny, I seem to remember thinking that Mora was never going use 2008 as an excuse. I wonder why I would've thought that?

"I'm ready to officially shut the door on 2008 and never talk about it again."--Seahawks CEO Tod Leiweke, January 2009.

Oh right, that's why. Mora's first press conference as Seahawks coach, when he, GM Tim Ruskell, and Leiweke told fans to forget about the '08 debacle and gird up for a run at the playoffs. Said Leiweke: "We believe we're gonna regain our winning ways, the excitement in this building is real, and you're gonna feel it every game next year."

Said Mora in that January press conference: "Every single year is about winning the world championship."

Said Mora after Sunday's game: "We had a chance to double our win total."

Huh?

Mora then: "We're not going to rebuild."

Mora now: "We're in the stages of trying to build something that was broken."

Wha?

Mora then: "We're going to develop a scheme that fits our players."

Mora yesterday: "It takes time to come up with schemes that work for your players."

Zuu?

Hasselbeck: No hat, no blame game

Perhaps Mora was shielding us from the truth (aka, lying) in January. Maybe he knew that the Seahawks didn't have the talent, and that his schemes wouldn't work right away. In that case, why is he blaming his players?

Alternately, maybe Mora really did think that the Seahawks had the talent to win, and that his schemes would work. In fact, the players suck, and the schemes suck. So why hasn't Mora taken responsibility?

To see how a real leader handles adversity, you just had to wait at the presser until Matt Hasselbeck took the podium. Hasselbeck made his share of mistakes in the game: a foolish lateral attempt recovered by the Bucs and four interceptions. But three of those interceptions were on passes to Deion Branch. Branch fell down on the first, leaving the ball for a Bucs defender. Did Hass try to shift blame to the hopelessly inept Branch? Not a chance.

"I just feel like I let a lot of people down today," he said. "It's my fault. It's on me and I'll improve." Now there's a jewel.

I'll leave it to the Bible to sum Mora up: "If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small."

During the waning moments of the Seahawks' atrocious loss Sunday to one-win Tampa Bay--perhaps the worst home defeat in team history--my friends and I proposed possible post-game press conference questions for Jim Mora.

We all hoped someone might ask about the playoffs, in hopes of inspiring a repeat of Jim Mora Sr.'s famed rant. David had a suggestion: "This isn't really a question, but...I hate you? You ruined my fall?"

But for me, this is the one question I really would love to see Mora answer. Verbatim from Office Space:

Someday, you will do it. You won't have a co-worker's birthday party, a seasonal gutter cleaning, or brunch with an ex. Someday, you will watch sports all weekend. If, perchance, this is the weekend, here's how it should go:

FRIDAY

5 p.m. Watch the one Northwest collegiate football team still playing. Well, if you very broadly define "Northwest" to include Montana. The Grizzlies are in Chattanooga to play Villanova for the Division I-AA national championship. Head coach Bobby Hauck was a UW assistant under Rick Neuheisel. Six players from Seattle-area high schools are on the Grizz' roster. So, practically a home team? Game's on ESPN2 or ESPN360.

7:30 p.m. Sure, having Kevin Calabro doing the Sounders was okay, but don't you miss hearing his voice over BASKETBALL? I sure do. Calabro's smooth baritone will guide you through ESPN's coverage of Wizards at Warriors. No Marques Johnson alongside, unfortunately. Calabro's paired with Tim Legler.

SATURDAY

9 a.m. The college basketball gods have granted a wonderful gift: The top two teams, playing back-to-back. First, #1 Kansas hosts Michigan on ESPN. Then...

11 a.m. #2 Texas hosts #10 North Carolina. Tacoma kid Avery Bradley is averaging 11 ppg as a frosh for the Longhorns, he's played in all nine of their games. This game is also on ESPN.

1 p.m. Hey, my two least-favorite college basketball programs play each other! Gonzaga vs. Duke. One of them has to lose! How far Gonzaga's come. Once an unknown, now worthy of playing Duke at Madison Square Garden. Way to go Zags. Game's on CBS.

Last minute Christmas shopping at Walgreen's (everyone loves condoms!), as you drive toward Hec Ed, where you'll camp at a bar until the Husky game.

5 p.m. You are now at a bar near Hec Ed. Martial your confidence and ask that they turn one TV to ESPN2 for the NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship game. No one will regret it, once you explain that you just want to watch Texas outside hitter Destinee Hooker. More than just a person with the most ridiculous name imaginable, Hooker is outrageously fun to watch--a 6'4" volleyball player who is also the NCAA record-holder in the high jump. You do the math.

5:20 p.m. Okay, enough of that, turn it to NFL Network for Dallas at undefeated New Orleans.

6:45 p.m. Walk over to Hec Ed to watch Washington attempt to garner at least one decent non-conference win when they play University of Portland. The Pilots, who were ranked this year for the first time in 50 years, beat UW in last year's season opener behind a barrage of three-pointers. Following with the former Sonic theme--Jack Sikma's son Luke (right) averages seven points and seven boards off the bench for the Pilots. Alternately, if the football game seems promising, stay at the bar and watch the Dawgs on FSN.... (more)

Yesterday the Mariners finalized a trade that sends three lower-tier prospects to Philadelphia in exchange for 2008 Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee. Reaction is bubbly.

"THANK YOU SANTA Z!!!"--Seattle Times commenter

"This is, quite frankly, a heist. The Mariners are getting a Cy Young caliber pitcher for some decent-but-not-great prospects. They aren’t giving up Morrow. They aren’t giving up Saunders. They aren’t even giving up Triunfel. And yet, they walk away with one of the five or six best pitchers in baseball."--Dave Cameron, USS Mariner

"The virtues of acquiring a starting left-handed pitcher in his prime with the resume of Cliff Lee are apparent to any attentive Mariners fan. To summarize: JEEZUSRUKIDDINMEDRINKSALLAROUND!"--Art Thiel, Seattlepi.com (It's worth reading the rest of Thiel's thought-provoking column about the national perception of the Mariner franchise.)

"This is about as good as a right left punch can get. It gives me a boost of energy knowing that this is what the team is doing and that expectations are we will go further."--M's pitcher Ian Snell, via KIRO's Shannon Dreyer

"We've acquired a very, very nice piece to help this organization move forward. It will be exciting to watch him pitch at the top of out rotation – him and Felix Hernandez.... I don't think we're done yet."--Jack Zduriencik

"Lee succeeds in the same way that Ben Sheets used to succeed--by just throwing strikes over and over with sufficiently good stuff to maintain a solid strikeout rate. He doesn't miss a ton of bats--his contact rate is actually below-average--but he's consistently ahead in the count, which puts him at a significant advantage. In a way, he and Felix take remarkably different paths towards a similar end result, and it'll be all kinds of fun to watch them BACK TO BACK OH MY GOD."--Jeff Sullivan, Lookout Landing... (more)

Let's cut the bullpoo and get right to the basketball, shall we? Because the #6-ranked Garfield Bulldogs and unranked Ballard Beavers put on a thrilling show Tuesday night.

Oh the fun! The two student sections, shouting derisive chants at each other. Ballard's Salim Gloyd, a Garfield Bulldog the past two seasons, hitting shot after shot against his former team. Garfield's Glenn Brooks, keeping his young, underachieving Bulldogs in the game. 

We'll start just after halftime, where the best action was between the two student sections. The Ballard rooters, about 100 students who stood for the entire game, felt emboldened enough by their school's seven-point lead over the favored Bulldogs to unleash the ubiquitous "O-VER-RAT-ED! O-VER-RAT-ED!"

Garfield's students retorted with "WE CAN'T HEAR YOU! WE CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

Then things got a little more creative. And bawdy.

Ballard got off a chant of "YOU NEED TON-Y! YOU NEED TON-Y!" It's a reference to Garfield mega-star Tony Wroten, sitting behind the Garfield bench in street clothes while he recovers from a knee injury.

Garfield students, sitting one section to my left, were momentarily confused. The discussed the proper comeback. Then their voices began to ring out: "TRIM YOUR BEA-VERS! TRIM YOUR BEA-VERS!" Yowza!

Back to the game, where Garfield was employing a new strategy against former teammate Salim Gloyd. The muscular Gloyd, who played post for Garfield the past two years, is more of a shooter for the Beavers. He clearly enjoyed facing his old team. In the first half, after drilling a three in the face of former teammate Wilson Platt, Gloyd delivered some trash talk and a chuck on the shoulder.

Garfield coach Ed Haskins switched his defense in half two, taking Platt off Gloyd and sticking guard Glenn Brooks on him. The move paid off immediately, as Brooks grabbed a steal and scored a bucket to bring the Bulldogs closer. Gloyd went to the bench.... (more)

If your sports fan coworker came back beaming yesterday after a long lunch, he or she may have, like me, gotten twin text messages bearing tidings of great joy. 

First, at about 12:24 p.m., friend David: "Locker is coming back!"

Then, at 1:20 p.m., friend Clint: "Holy crap! Cliff Lee to the Mariners?"

True and (apparently) true. Husky star quarterback Jake Locker, on the morning that ESPN projected him as the first overall pick in the NFL draft, walked into the Husky football offices with his chocolate lab Ten and told coach Steve Sarkisian "I'm staying."

Locker's decision to forego the NFL draft and return for his senior season means that the Huskies will have a very potent offense next year. Between Locker, running back Chris Polk, and receiver Jermaine Kearse, the Dawgs could have the best combination of skill players in the league. Locker's decision will also give top QB recruit Nick Montana a year of seasoning before taking over the reigns in 2011.

The supposed acquisition of 2008 Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee, is a little murkier. ESPN's Jayson Stark, who reported the trade in the first place, now writes that the deal is "close" but "not done." Didn't stop me from dreaming last night that the Mariners won the World Series.

(I was watching with friend David and Kyle MacLachlan's character from Twin Peaks. The Mariners won in the fifth game after a series of throwing errors got Matt Stairs--who apparently has signed with the M's in my subconscious--around with the series-winning run.)... (more)

Mora's post-game comments made no sense

Seahawks head coach Jim Mora after yesterday's 34-7 loss to Houston: “We're going to take a microscope and look at everything.”

Huh?

Let's leave aside the fact that looking "at everything" is an utterly insane way to manage an organization. Say you really were going to try it. Is a microscope really the best tool?

Mora's Seahawks are a disaster, and he seems to have no idea why. "We practiced well, we were ready to go, we came out and we got off to a horrible start," he told reporters after the game.

Actually, Mora did single out one possible scapegoat, center Chris Spencer, who is playing with a cast on his right hand, forcing him to snap with his non-dominant left. Spencer caused three muffed exchanges in the game.

"I’m not quite sure why he still has a cast on his hand--but he does," said Mora (video).

You don't know why your starting center has a cast on his hand? Doesn't that seem like important information?

"We're going to find out who deserves to be part of the process going forward," Mora said.

Mora himself is probably not among that group.

"I can't see Jim Mora escaping such an embarrassing loss," writes John Morgan of Field Gulls. "It was always unlikely Mora would stay.... [Mora] has not earned much respect in his short time here. Fiery is fine. I see desperation. The look of a man that thinks he can yell his way out of failure."

"Mora won't fool me anymore," writes the Seattlepi.com's Jim Moore. "I can already hear him after the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay next Sunday. He'll be talking about positive steps that were taken against the Buccaneers--never mind that Tampa Bay is 1-12."

"Even if the Seahawks are playing hard, they're not competing with purpose." writes the Times' Jerry Brewer. "They have neither grasped nor fully embraced the new offensive and defensive schemes. The coach and his staff must accept some blame for that."... (more)

Someday, you will do it. You won't have a co-worker's birthday party, a seasonal gutter cleaning, or brunch with an ex. Someday, you will watch sports all weekend. If, perchance, this is the weekend, here's how it should go:

FRIDAY
5 p.m.: Find a nearby bar with a good happy hour and some decent TVs to watch the Trail Blazers visit Cleveland on ESPN. Can Roy outshine Lebron?

7 p.m.: Start drinking water, you've got to get in your car soon.

7:45 p.m.: The Blazers game ends just in time for you to make your way to a local high school hoops game. Maybe you go see your alma mater, maybe you just go somewhere nearby. Most games start at 8 p.m. on Friday, here's the full schedule of games.

SATURDAY
9 a.m.: Oh boy is this an exciting day of college hoops. Chomp some cereal while watching Kentucky point guard John Wall, sure to be the first-overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft. Haven't seen Wall yet? Here's a taste. The Wildcats play Indiana, the game's on CBS.

 

11 a.m.: Your Washington Huskies face their toughest test of the year, facing undefeated Georgetown in the John Wooden Classic in Anaheim. Georgetown big men Greg Monroe (6'11") and Julian Vaughn (6'9") comprise the best front line the Huskies have seen this year. On the other hand, Isaiah Thomas and Quincy Pondexter are the most talented scorers Georgetown have yet seen. Game's on FSN.

Garcia

1 p.m.: Roll down towards KeyArena, where Gonzaga will play Davidson at 4. (Buy tickets here.) While you drive, flip on ESPN 710 to hear Dave Grosby's call of the Seattle U/Eastern Washington game, live from Cheney. Can Seattle U's Charles Garcia take over the national scoring lead? He's second at 26 ppg right now, one point first-place Aubrey Coleman of Houston.

1:30 p.m.: You've got a few hours before the Gonzaga game, so head over to Winterfest at Seattle Center to see an exhibition by the Hot Dog USA Jump Rope Team. Afterwards you can take a spin on the ice rink for just $5 (plus a $2 skate rental).

4 p.m.: Two seasons ago, Davidson bounced Gonzaga out of the NCAA Tournament behind 40 points from Stephen Curry. Curry's in the NBA now, so the Zags have a good chance of exacting revenge against 2-6 Davidson (one of their wins came against "Fredonia State," which I think is from a Marx Brothers film).

5:30 p.m.: Check your web-enabled phone to see who won the Heisman.

6:30 p.m.: The Zags game is over. I give you two choices:

a) Drive down to Kentridge High to see one of the best high school hoops games of the year. Kentridge and guard Gary Bell, Jr., host defending state champs Federal Way at 7:30 p.m., or,

b) Back to WinterFest to check out the trains and get some dinner. (And maybe an Orange Julius). Kill time until the 9:30 p.m. showing of SonicsGate, the documentary about the Sonics' departure from Seattle. Everyone who comes to the one-week run of the show will get a free DVD of the movie. You want to get there early because Sonics legend Slick Watts will be at tonight's showing.

10:30 p.m.: That was a nice day. Drive home and rest for FOOTBALL SUNDAY.... (more)

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).

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.... (more)

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.

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!... (more)

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.)... (more)

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.

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.

Ruskell: Quitting

News came last night that Tim Ruskell will resign as general manager of the Seattle Seahawks at 10 a.m. news conference.

One reporter has already spoken to Ruskell, ESPN's Mike Sando. Sando reports that Ruskell left because he hadn't had his contract renewed yet, and felt that was affecting his ability to do his job.

"We were getting ready to go into those meetings about free agency and the offseason. If I am not going to spearhead those meetings and it wasn't going to happen no matter what our record was, you become a lame duck. And I did not want that."

Sando says he thinks the Seahawks will promote someone on an interim basis for the rest of the season (as the Mariners did after Bill Bavasi's firing in '08) and commence a wider search in the off-season.

I'll have more tomorrow, once the sports literati weighs in, but a few thoughts:

1) This is bad news for Jim Mora. A new GM will arrive with his own ideas on how to run a team, which may not mesh with Mora's defense-and-running-game philosophy. Mora has three years after this one left on his contract, but another losing season and he'll be gone. Under Ruskell he would've had a longer leash.

2) It's bad news for some Seahawks players, especially small fast ones. Ruskell's defensive philosophy is based on speed; guys like Kelly Jennings and Josh Wilson may not fit in a new GM's scheme.

3) Will the Hawks go for an offensive mind now? It was clear that Ruskell's hiring was an attempt to get a defense-building expert in the fold after so many years of Holmgren's offensive needs dominating the organizational mindset. Now with the defensive-minded Mora as head coach, will the Hawks look for an offense guy? (The most obvious name that comes to mind, of course, is one Mike Holmgren.)

Well, this is awkward.

As Seattle Prep sealed their win at O'Dea last night, I spotted three girls gathered in the hall connecting the gym to the parking lot. They were all wearing t-shirts with two large letters on them. I saw one girl wearing an "NT," next to one with "ER," next to one with "BA." Each held a white card with a question mark on it.

Friend David and I discussed this in confusion until I pieced it together.

"Winter Ball!" I exclaimed. "The t-shirts combine to say 'Winter Ball.' But what do the cards say?"

"Will you go to winter ball with me," said David.

"Yes," I replied. "Yes, David, I will."

And that's how David and I ended up as O'Dea/Holy Names 2009 Winter Ball partners. Not sure what his wife is going to think, but he asked me and how could I say no? Any O'Dea students reading, please let me know where to buy tickets and especially where the afterparty is.

But I've started at the end of the game. Let me get back to the beginning.

This was the first game of O'Dea's season, and thus their first in 18 years without head coach Phil Lumpkin, who died unexpectedly last month at age 57. Commemoration was in order.

Several O'Dea students wore #10 Suns jerseys personalized with Lumpkin's name (Lumpkin played 34 games for the Suns in '75-'76).

Seattle Prep made a nice gesture when they came out for warmups--each player and coach held a white rose, which they deposited on Lumpkin's now-vacant courtside chair.

Among the hundreds of banners in O'Dea's gym, the five state hoops championships Lumpkin won

Fans were asked to observe a moment of silence in Lumpkin's honor before the game. We did so. We were told that the court would soon be named for Lumpkin. We applauded.

No pomp, no ostentation. A few words and then basketball. From what little I knew of the ostentation-less Phil Lumpkin, I think he would've approved.

Then it was time for high-school basketball. HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL!... (more)

Now that the Apple Cup is mercifully behind us, can we just pretend that football doesn't exist? Basketball is where it's at, people. And our state is holding the banner of West Coast hoops for the entire nation.

Only three schools in states that touch the Pacific Ocean are ranked in the AP basketball poll. Two of those schools--the University of Washington (#12) and Gonzaga University (#17)--are right here in the Evergreen State.

UW and Wazzu are the only two undefeated teams in the Pac-10 conference, and have collectively monopolized the conference's player of the week award thus far.

Wazzu's Thompson, the nation's top scorer

Wazzu guard Klay Thompson leads the nation in scoring, averaging 28.3 points per game. Thompson's excellence has won him the past two Pac-10 Player of the Week awards. The previous one, first of the season, when to Washington's Quincy Pondexter.

Seattle U's Charles Garcia isn't far behind Thompson, ranking 4th in the country. Garcia was named Mid-Majority Baller of the Week after a 41-... (more)