Sunday, November 21, 2004
MAKE SUNDAY SUNNY
Well, the Times writers took their chance to vent on the Pacers/Pistons events, the Seahawks play today, and I personally got to witness the Puget Sound Tomahawks win a crazy game for their 20th win of the year against two losses. I think I also saw the Clemson/South Carolina brawl earlier in the day as it was happening, and I couldn't believe it was happening. Could you imagine if something like that happened at the Apple Cup? At least this state usually keeps it on the level of petty jokes.
And now, my breeze through the headlines...
BASEBALL
I'm not seeing anything overly worthy tonight in the baseball realm, but that could be me just being lazy.
FOOTBALL
To our Northwest readers with Comcast cable, I'm obligated to remind you that if the Seahawks come out tomorrow and just stink to high heaven, you can flip over to the CBC and watch the Grey Cup since both games (or coverage, at least) start at 1pm. You've got two chances to win this afternoon, and they lie in the hands of the Seattle Seahawks and the British Columbia Lions.
Les Carpenter says this Seahawk mediocrity is not Matt Hasselbeck's fault. I surely wouldn't say it's wholly Hasselbeck's fault. There's a lot of blame to go around when it comes to the Seahawks. You could blame Hasselbeck, sure, but the receivers also drop balls. There's been a lot said about the possibility that Hasselbeck loses confidence in any receiver that isn't the first option after the snap. Who knows if they're going to come down with the ball? Fans and the team can only hope that a healthy Bobby Engram helps matters as he performs his security-blanket duties from the slot. Also, we'll see come Monday or the couple days after if Koren Robinson gets suspended for next week's game, and maybe the next three after that.
Mike Sando also notes two factors contributing to the Seahawks' fall this fall: crappy pass rushing and crappy play by the offense on third down. Of course, the two names that come to mind right away when thinking about those two things are Bobby Engram and Grant Wistrom, both of whom have been out for extended time this season.
Sando also has a great quote to kick off another article, "If statistics meant everything, the Seattle Seahawks would attempt roughly zero passes today at Qwest Field." Brilliant!
I'm also glad someone finally wrote a story about this. Remember the Seahawks' first-round draft pick, Marcus Tubbs from Texas? Non-factor. His mother was sick, so he was allowed to come to camp a bit late, then he showed up out of shape and pulled a hamstring. He's been playing catchup ever since.
BASKETBALL
Steve Kelley and Percy Allen have a few things to say about Friday Night at the Fights. A lot of people are being so quick to come down on Ron Artest that they forget Ben Wallace could have just restrained from shoving Artest and it's possible none of this would have happened. That said, I'm definitely not condoning Artest going into the crowd. Given all the crazy crap he's done, it's almost less surprising. Hell, even the foul that Artest put on Ben Wallace to me seemed like a typical Artest flagrant foul. I (as well as Jeremy) have seen way worse fouls than the one Artest put on Wallace, though the shove that Wallace put on Artest was one of the worst shoves I've seen; pretty violent. Somehow, Artest restrained himself at that moment and lied down on the scorers' table (dude's a kook, remember). Wallace even threw his headband in Artest's direction later. Then came the cup with the beer, Artest couldn't restrain himself a second time, and the fracas ensued.
There's blame all around, there's definitely blame to place on the officials, the security, the Pacers jumping into the crowd, the stupid/disgraceful fans that were a part of this. ESPN even blamed Indiana coach Rick Carlisle for even having his stars on the floor with under a minute left and a sizable lead. But what ticked me off the most when I watched SportsCenter last night was how most of the Pistons were quick to point the finger and not take any blame for what happened, namely Ben Wallace. All he said was that Ron Artest crossed the line when he jumped into the crowd. That's true, sure, but if Wallace doesn't shove Artest, it's very possible that none of this happens. Of course, Big Ben probably knows he's in for one mother of a suspension and fine. In a weird note, ESPN also pointed out that somehow Rasheed Wallace was trying to calm the situation down and didn't get entangled in the ruckus, surely a 180 from his Portland days.
Upcoming for the Sonics...
Today at Boston (3pm)
Tuesday at Minnesota
Thursday at Memphis
HOCKEY
Seattle shut out Portland, 6-0. Things have gotten way out of hand as the Winter Hawks have been shut out in each of their three games (one was a scoreless tie, the other two were losses). They have gone 186:50 without scoring. The Thunderbirds' leading scorer Aaron Gagnon got called for a cross-check 34 seconds in, but Seattle scored 36 seconds later, and that goal (and five others) proved to hold up. Gagnon would score the next two goals, and the T-Birds capitalized twice on a double-minor roughing penalty with goals by Derek Couture and Zack FitzGerald. Nate Thompson scored the final goal. Bryan Bridges stopped all of 18 shots for shutout number six on the season. Justin Butler weathered the storm in net (sort of) for Portland, stopping 28 of 34 shots.
The third period penalty list in the Winter Hawks/Thunderbirds game reads like a rap sheet...
Penalties - May, Por (boarding, unsportsmanlike conduct), 2:30. Halifax Por, (double-minor roughing), 3:35. Fike, Por (roughing, game misconduct), 3:35. Woolger, Por (major-fighting), 3:35. Mikkelson, Por (major-fighting, game misconduct), 3:35. Gibbons, Sea (cross checking), 3:35. Jackson, Sea (major- fighting, game misconduct), 3:35. Tolpeko, Sea (major-fighting, game misconduct), 3:35. Fadden, Sea (major-fighting), 3:35. McLeod, Sea (roughing), 7:46. FitzGerald, Sea (double-minor roughing, 10-minute misconduct), 7:46. McLaren, Por (tripping, major-fighting), 8:30. Barthel, Sea (major-fighting), 8:30. Dubinsky, Por (slashing), 9:43. Dubinsky, Por (roughing), 13:45. Couture, Sea (high-sticking), 16:23. Stamler, Sea (major-fighting), 16:51. Da Silva, Por (major-fighting), 16:51.
Everett beat Tri-City, 4-1. Curtis Billsten scored early goals in the first and third periods. Brady Calla and Tyler Dietrich accounted for the other half of the 'Tips goals. Zach Hamill had two assists. Leland Irving stopped 18 of 19, and Everett got off 24 shots.
Vancouver beat Kamloops, 4-3 in overtime. Adam Courchaine netted his ninth goal of the season for the overtime winner and a win for the Giants. A record crowd of 12231 saw this outing at the Pacific Coliseum, though the pregame ceremony honoring ten Vancouver Canuck netminders of old might have had something to do with it. All the goals except for the overtime winner occurred on special teams (not a lot of effect on plus-minus in this one). The Blazers scored once on a two-man advantage, once with a one-man advantage, and once shorthanded. Moises Gutierrez of the Blazers checked Andrej Meszaros from behind, resulting in a shoulder injury (neither returned). The two teams traded goals in the first part of the penalty (Triston Grant scored Vancouver's first goal), and then the Giants came back from 3-1 to tie it, thanks to goals by Matt Robinson and Ty Morris. Marek Schwarz stopped 18 of 21 for the Giants, and Devan Dubnyk stopped 32 of 35 for Kamloops.
Puget Sound beat River City, 7-6. Twenty wins, two losses. This twentieth win was beyond wild. The Jaguars had an early 1-0 lead for most of the first period before the Tomahawks tied it at 1-1 (Corey Coxon goal) heading into the dressing room. Puget Sound fell behind 4-1 and pulled goalie Travis Cottom (he would later be put back in) before they scored three times while shorthanded (Jeff Alexander, Carl Horten, and Mike Truex) to tie the game, with Truex netting the equalizer. The game was 4-4 after 40 minutes. The Tomahawks opened up a 6-4 lead on goals by Mike Miller and Mike Truex (second of the night) in the third period before pesky River City tied it once again, but Matt Ferris eventually got the gamer for the Tomahawks. Puget Sound outshot the team from Beaverton by a 52-34 margin. Travis Cottom stopped 23 shots for Puget Sound, and Chris Takla turned away 5 shots in his stint before Cottom was put back in.
Next week in hockey (it's a light one)...
Wednesday: Calgary at Seattle, Medicine Hat at Portland
Friday: Medicine Hat at Everett, Tri-City at Portland, Regina at Vancouver
Saturday: Medicine Hat at Seattle, Calgary at Portland, Milwaukee at Manitoba
---
May your Sunday be a pleasant one.
Speaking of the word "pleasant," I have to say that "...and a pleasant good afternoon/evening to you all" out of Dave Niehaus is one of the most welcoming sounds one can hear in the Northwest. We're a little over three months from being able to hear that once again.
And now, my breeze through the headlines...
BASEBALL
I'm not seeing anything overly worthy tonight in the baseball realm, but that could be me just being lazy.
FOOTBALL
To our Northwest readers with Comcast cable, I'm obligated to remind you that if the Seahawks come out tomorrow and just stink to high heaven, you can flip over to the CBC and watch the Grey Cup since both games (or coverage, at least) start at 1pm. You've got two chances to win this afternoon, and they lie in the hands of the Seattle Seahawks and the British Columbia Lions.
Les Carpenter says this Seahawk mediocrity is not Matt Hasselbeck's fault. I surely wouldn't say it's wholly Hasselbeck's fault. There's a lot of blame to go around when it comes to the Seahawks. You could blame Hasselbeck, sure, but the receivers also drop balls. There's been a lot said about the possibility that Hasselbeck loses confidence in any receiver that isn't the first option after the snap. Who knows if they're going to come down with the ball? Fans and the team can only hope that a healthy Bobby Engram helps matters as he performs his security-blanket duties from the slot. Also, we'll see come Monday or the couple days after if Koren Robinson gets suspended for next week's game, and maybe the next three after that.
Mike Sando also notes two factors contributing to the Seahawks' fall this fall: crappy pass rushing and crappy play by the offense on third down. Of course, the two names that come to mind right away when thinking about those two things are Bobby Engram and Grant Wistrom, both of whom have been out for extended time this season.
Sando also has a great quote to kick off another article, "If statistics meant everything, the Seattle Seahawks would attempt roughly zero passes today at Qwest Field." Brilliant!
I'm also glad someone finally wrote a story about this. Remember the Seahawks' first-round draft pick, Marcus Tubbs from Texas? Non-factor. His mother was sick, so he was allowed to come to camp a bit late, then he showed up out of shape and pulled a hamstring. He's been playing catchup ever since.
BASKETBALL
Steve Kelley and Percy Allen have a few things to say about Friday Night at the Fights. A lot of people are being so quick to come down on Ron Artest that they forget Ben Wallace could have just restrained from shoving Artest and it's possible none of this would have happened. That said, I'm definitely not condoning Artest going into the crowd. Given all the crazy crap he's done, it's almost less surprising. Hell, even the foul that Artest put on Ben Wallace to me seemed like a typical Artest flagrant foul. I (as well as Jeremy) have seen way worse fouls than the one Artest put on Wallace, though the shove that Wallace put on Artest was one of the worst shoves I've seen; pretty violent. Somehow, Artest restrained himself at that moment and lied down on the scorers' table (dude's a kook, remember). Wallace even threw his headband in Artest's direction later. Then came the cup with the beer, Artest couldn't restrain himself a second time, and the fracas ensued.
There's blame all around, there's definitely blame to place on the officials, the security, the Pacers jumping into the crowd, the stupid/disgraceful fans that were a part of this. ESPN even blamed Indiana coach Rick Carlisle for even having his stars on the floor with under a minute left and a sizable lead. But what ticked me off the most when I watched SportsCenter last night was how most of the Pistons were quick to point the finger and not take any blame for what happened, namely Ben Wallace. All he said was that Ron Artest crossed the line when he jumped into the crowd. That's true, sure, but if Wallace doesn't shove Artest, it's very possible that none of this happens. Of course, Big Ben probably knows he's in for one mother of a suspension and fine. In a weird note, ESPN also pointed out that somehow Rasheed Wallace was trying to calm the situation down and didn't get entangled in the ruckus, surely a 180 from his Portland days.
Upcoming for the Sonics...
Today at Boston (3pm)
Tuesday at Minnesota
Thursday at Memphis
HOCKEY
Seattle shut out Portland, 6-0. Things have gotten way out of hand as the Winter Hawks have been shut out in each of their three games (one was a scoreless tie, the other two were losses). They have gone 186:50 without scoring. The Thunderbirds' leading scorer Aaron Gagnon got called for a cross-check 34 seconds in, but Seattle scored 36 seconds later, and that goal (and five others) proved to hold up. Gagnon would score the next two goals, and the T-Birds capitalized twice on a double-minor roughing penalty with goals by Derek Couture and Zack FitzGerald. Nate Thompson scored the final goal. Bryan Bridges stopped all of 18 shots for shutout number six on the season. Justin Butler weathered the storm in net (sort of) for Portland, stopping 28 of 34 shots.
The third period penalty list in the Winter Hawks/Thunderbirds game reads like a rap sheet...
Penalties - May, Por (boarding, unsportsmanlike conduct), 2:30. Halifax Por, (double-minor roughing), 3:35. Fike, Por (roughing, game misconduct), 3:35. Woolger, Por (major-fighting), 3:35. Mikkelson, Por (major-fighting, game misconduct), 3:35. Gibbons, Sea (cross checking), 3:35. Jackson, Sea (major- fighting, game misconduct), 3:35. Tolpeko, Sea (major-fighting, game misconduct), 3:35. Fadden, Sea (major-fighting), 3:35. McLeod, Sea (roughing), 7:46. FitzGerald, Sea (double-minor roughing, 10-minute misconduct), 7:46. McLaren, Por (tripping, major-fighting), 8:30. Barthel, Sea (major-fighting), 8:30. Dubinsky, Por (slashing), 9:43. Dubinsky, Por (roughing), 13:45. Couture, Sea (high-sticking), 16:23. Stamler, Sea (major-fighting), 16:51. Da Silva, Por (major-fighting), 16:51.
Everett beat Tri-City, 4-1. Curtis Billsten scored early goals in the first and third periods. Brady Calla and Tyler Dietrich accounted for the other half of the 'Tips goals. Zach Hamill had two assists. Leland Irving stopped 18 of 19, and Everett got off 24 shots.
Vancouver beat Kamloops, 4-3 in overtime. Adam Courchaine netted his ninth goal of the season for the overtime winner and a win for the Giants. A record crowd of 12231 saw this outing at the Pacific Coliseum, though the pregame ceremony honoring ten Vancouver Canuck netminders of old might have had something to do with it. All the goals except for the overtime winner occurred on special teams (not a lot of effect on plus-minus in this one). The Blazers scored once on a two-man advantage, once with a one-man advantage, and once shorthanded. Moises Gutierrez of the Blazers checked Andrej Meszaros from behind, resulting in a shoulder injury (neither returned). The two teams traded goals in the first part of the penalty (Triston Grant scored Vancouver's first goal), and then the Giants came back from 3-1 to tie it, thanks to goals by Matt Robinson and Ty Morris. Marek Schwarz stopped 18 of 21 for the Giants, and Devan Dubnyk stopped 32 of 35 for Kamloops.
Puget Sound beat River City, 7-6. Twenty wins, two losses. This twentieth win was beyond wild. The Jaguars had an early 1-0 lead for most of the first period before the Tomahawks tied it at 1-1 (Corey Coxon goal) heading into the dressing room. Puget Sound fell behind 4-1 and pulled goalie Travis Cottom (he would later be put back in) before they scored three times while shorthanded (Jeff Alexander, Carl Horten, and Mike Truex) to tie the game, with Truex netting the equalizer. The game was 4-4 after 40 minutes. The Tomahawks opened up a 6-4 lead on goals by Mike Miller and Mike Truex (second of the night) in the third period before pesky River City tied it once again, but Matt Ferris eventually got the gamer for the Tomahawks. Puget Sound outshot the team from Beaverton by a 52-34 margin. Travis Cottom stopped 23 shots for Puget Sound, and Chris Takla turned away 5 shots in his stint before Cottom was put back in.
Next week in hockey (it's a light one)...
Wednesday: Calgary at Seattle, Medicine Hat at Portland
Friday: Medicine Hat at Everett, Tri-City at Portland, Regina at Vancouver
Saturday: Medicine Hat at Seattle, Calgary at Portland, Milwaukee at Manitoba
---
May your Sunday be a pleasant one.
Speaking of the word "pleasant," I have to say that "...and a pleasant good afternoon/evening to you all" out of Dave Niehaus is one of the most welcoming sounds one can hear in the Northwest. We're a little over three months from being able to hear that once again.
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