Friday, October 29, 2004
HEADS RINGIN'
There's a couple of national articles that I feel I have to link here before I go local. The first is the much-anticipated reaction of Bill Simmons upon having the Boston Red Sox win the World Series. The other is that Steve Stone has walked as radio analyst for the Chicago Cubs after 20 years in their booth.
And now, a not-exactly-heaping bowl of the usual...
MARINERS
I'd like to thank Mike Hargrove for making me remember the days of my youth. Why? I hadn't seen Ron Hassey's name since I was busting open packs of baseball cards as a youngster. The man I remember as a catcher for the Oakland A's is now the Mariners' bench coach. Dave Andriesen put his name on his article, while the Times ran the wire piece. Also, Ron Villone filed for free agency.
SEAHAWKS
Yes, it's an interesting question -- how do you cut down on the playbook and without giving the vibe that Matt Hasselbeck is too dumb to handle all of the plays? Clare Farnsworth examines this question. Trent Dilfer adds that when he was in Baltimore, they cut down the number of pass plays from 90 down to 70. The media passed off Dilfer's success by saying he could handle the 70 plays, but not the 90. Of course, that team went on to win the Super Bowl. Granted, their defense was leaps and bounds beyond the Seahawk defense of right now.
Shaun Alexander at the very least is saying all the right things when it comes to his drop in the number of carries over the last two games (and end of the Saint Louis game). An interesting stat from the article is that the Seahawks are 17-5 since 2001 when Shaun gets 25 touches (runs or receptions). Free Shaun! It's his contract year, after all, so give him the ball. And yes, Shaun, I don't care about you smelling the end zone. There's 60 yards between the end zones that aren't in the red zone. Just run.
SONICS
The final preseason game is tonight against Portland. The team's out of shape and the top three scorers have missed significant time during the preseason.
The Ray Allen contract extension talks haven't seemed to pick up lately. The article reminds me that the NBA's collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of the season. Of course, I don't think the NBA players' union is anywhere close to as strong as the unions in baseball and hockey. Hence, the NBA will more than likely be playing as scheduled next year. Tacked onto the end of the article are that the Sonics have cut Galen Young and former Michigan State star Mateen Cleaves. Happy trails. Maybe you can catch a spot in the NBA Developmental League or something.
And who could forget Mike Kahn's NBA Northwest Division preview? The verdict: they're crap. Last place.
HOCKEY
Oh my goodness, the Thunderbirds got a writeup in the Times, and it's not a game wrap, either. The T-Birds are 9-3-0-0 right now and are killing penalties at a 95.5% rate of success. Of course, that's a combination of the skaters defending well and blocking shots as well as goalie Bryan Bridges being solid in net. But as well as the PK unit is, it isn't one of those things where they put their skill guys on the ice for prolonged periods of time when they're shorthanded. But those same skill players do have fresh legs when they get back to even strength. It's a nice luxury to have, I'm sure.
Here's your hockey weekend...
Friday: Seattle at Spokane, Vancouver at Brandon, Everett at Tri-City, Manitoba at Rochester, Puget Sound at River City (Beaverton)
Saturday: Kamloops at Seattle, Portland at Everett, Manitoba at Binghamton, Puget Sound at River City (Beaverton)
Sunday: Manitoba at Hamilton
---
You know, every Friday, it's inevitable that I eventually think of the movie Friday, where Chris Tucker (Smokey) tells Ice Cube that it's Friday, and "you ain't got s$*# to do!" That's kind of what I felt like Thursday night, knowing that there were no games played in any of the sports by teams I've been covering, not even with minor-league hockey. But I got something out of it, at least.
Enjoy your Friday, o esteemed Sports and Bremertonians readers!
And now, a not-exactly-heaping bowl of the usual...
MARINERS
I'd like to thank Mike Hargrove for making me remember the days of my youth. Why? I hadn't seen Ron Hassey's name since I was busting open packs of baseball cards as a youngster. The man I remember as a catcher for the Oakland A's is now the Mariners' bench coach. Dave Andriesen put his name on his article, while the Times ran the wire piece. Also, Ron Villone filed for free agency.
SEAHAWKS
Yes, it's an interesting question -- how do you cut down on the playbook and without giving the vibe that Matt Hasselbeck is too dumb to handle all of the plays? Clare Farnsworth examines this question. Trent Dilfer adds that when he was in Baltimore, they cut down the number of pass plays from 90 down to 70. The media passed off Dilfer's success by saying he could handle the 70 plays, but not the 90. Of course, that team went on to win the Super Bowl. Granted, their defense was leaps and bounds beyond the Seahawk defense of right now.
Shaun Alexander at the very least is saying all the right things when it comes to his drop in the number of carries over the last two games (and end of the Saint Louis game). An interesting stat from the article is that the Seahawks are 17-5 since 2001 when Shaun gets 25 touches (runs or receptions). Free Shaun! It's his contract year, after all, so give him the ball. And yes, Shaun, I don't care about you smelling the end zone. There's 60 yards between the end zones that aren't in the red zone. Just run.
SONICS
The final preseason game is tonight against Portland. The team's out of shape and the top three scorers have missed significant time during the preseason.
The Ray Allen contract extension talks haven't seemed to pick up lately. The article reminds me that the NBA's collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of the season. Of course, I don't think the NBA players' union is anywhere close to as strong as the unions in baseball and hockey. Hence, the NBA will more than likely be playing as scheduled next year. Tacked onto the end of the article are that the Sonics have cut Galen Young and former Michigan State star Mateen Cleaves. Happy trails. Maybe you can catch a spot in the NBA Developmental League or something.
And who could forget Mike Kahn's NBA Northwest Division preview? The verdict: they're crap. Last place.
HOCKEY
Oh my goodness, the Thunderbirds got a writeup in the Times, and it's not a game wrap, either. The T-Birds are 9-3-0-0 right now and are killing penalties at a 95.5% rate of success. Of course, that's a combination of the skaters defending well and blocking shots as well as goalie Bryan Bridges being solid in net. But as well as the PK unit is, it isn't one of those things where they put their skill guys on the ice for prolonged periods of time when they're shorthanded. But those same skill players do have fresh legs when they get back to even strength. It's a nice luxury to have, I'm sure.
Here's your hockey weekend...
Friday: Seattle at Spokane, Vancouver at Brandon, Everett at Tri-City, Manitoba at Rochester, Puget Sound at River City (Beaverton)
Saturday: Kamloops at Seattle, Portland at Everett, Manitoba at Binghamton, Puget Sound at River City (Beaverton)
Sunday: Manitoba at Hamilton
---
You know, every Friday, it's inevitable that I eventually think of the movie Friday, where Chris Tucker (Smokey) tells Ice Cube that it's Friday, and "you ain't got s$*# to do!" That's kind of what I felt like Thursday night, knowing that there were no games played in any of the sports by teams I've been covering, not even with minor-league hockey. But I got something out of it, at least.
Enjoy your Friday, o esteemed Sports and Bremertonians readers!
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