Saturday, November 06, 2004
SONIC BOOM
Sure, the Sonics won't be the only thing in this post, but there can never be enough Guile.
Might I actually be able to make a post on time? Don't worry, every time Blogger slows up and doesn't let us post for a while, I get irate at first, and then remember that Blogger has hosted a year's worth of rants from Jeremy and I for free, and then I calm down and wait for the storm to pass.
So here it is, the first daily article sweep post in about three days that's been on time. Read the whole thing, or pick and choose. I do bold the sport/team tags for a reason, you know.
BASEBALL
Well, wouldn't you know it, Bob Melvin is now the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Similar to Mike Price in Alabama, Wally Backman never signed his contract, so he won't be getting a red cent from the Diamondbacks. Scott Miller's got some things to say, including, "the Diamondbacks don't just have egg on their faces today -- they have the entire omelet dripping down their pinstriped sleeves." All in all, considering the events that have happened in the last two years, how ironic is it that the New York Times knew what the Diamondbacks didn't, and more importantly, that the findings are apparently true?
From Backman to Berkman. Lance Berkman participated in a church function, played a little flag football, and tore an ACL. Could you imagine being at any sort of function where any paid athlete tears an ACL? I bet Berkman's injury took the air out of that church function. I would have been mortified. I once saw a woman cut her knee on a rock or shard of glass during a game of mud volleyball (town centennials in the Midwest, you know), and she bled profusely and had to ride the ambulance, but an ACL...yikes.
FOOTBALL
I'm going Huskies before I go Seahawks here. Steve tipped me off to this, a very telling story by former Husky recruit Daniel Borg, who later committed to Arizona. The number one reason why? Stability.
With all the Husky coaching speculation and hype for names such as Urban Meyer, Jeff Tedford, and Steve Spurrier, Ted Miller notes that some of the best coaches in college football are ones that are currently holding their first Division I-A head coaching jobs. Miller's suggestion: grab the best D-I coordinators. Steve Sarkisian is involved.
Now, the Seahawks. The Farnsworth article is a winner to start with simply because he calls Qwest Field "the Q," as I've been doing here for a while now. In somewhat of a gradeless report card, Farnsworth tackles the remaining schedule, expectations, dropped passes ("Just catch the damn ball"), and injuries/depth. Also coming to mind, how long am I going to have to wait for Koren Robinson to be suspended? I'm just saying if it's going to happen, I want it to happen sooner rather than later, i.e., I don't want the Seahawks without Robinson for the last four weeks of the season.
Your latest Seahawk receivers are Jerheme Urban and Taco Wallace, signed from the practice squad. Bobby Engram isn't expected to play, but Steve Hutchinson is expected to start. J-M Romero also tells us that the Seahawks have the fourth-best TV ratings in the NFL.
In extremely dark and morbid former Seahawk receiver news, Tommy Kane will do 18 years in the Graybar Hotel for stabbing his wife to death.
BASKETBALL
Some college hoops notes quickly...Rainier Beach grad Rodrick Stewart has asked out of his contract and will be leaving USC behind, along with twin brother and Trojan starting point guard Lodrick. Also, Sean Mallon and the Gonzaga Bulldogs scored a buttload of (114) points in an exhibition win over Emporia State.
SuperSonics 106, Hawks 85
For my in-game notes with some scattered one-liners, scroll down to the post below this one or click here (if archived).
Bob Bender was in KeyArena last night as an assistant coach for the Hawks. He has the shaved head that he sported during his latter days as Husky head basketball coach. I'm not sure I've said it in this space before, but I think Bender was fired by Barbara Hedges either one year too early or one year too late. Considering the state of the team when he was fired, I don't think it was in a fair enough state upon which a proper assessment of Bender's accomplishments could have been carried out.
The Sonics pulled away in a span of just over seven minutes from the end of the third quarter to the start of the fourth. Their lead over the Hawks went from three to twenty, part of a blistering 23-6 run. Percy Allen brings to my attention the final blocked shot numbers, as Jerome James had four and Rashard Lewis rebuked five. Also, Luke Ridnour had four turnovers, but also had nine points, six assists, and three steals.
Jayda Evans takes a look at the crowd-related happenings and goings-on. Some season-ticket holders aren't too optimistic about the upcoming season, but Big Lo is quoted in the article, noting that Los Angeles and Detroit had their WNBA and NBA teams win titles in close proximity. In that aspect, the Sonics are halfway there.
Jerome James arrived at the arena an hour after the bulk of the players, and will be fined. He had three points, four boards, and four blocks in 17 minutes. Maybe he's better in small doses?
Steve Kelley remembers when the Sonics weren't soft; when they'd play hard every single night and had tenacity and swagger. After seeing last night's game, it's something, but definitely not what it used to be in Seattle. Bonus points to Steve for bringing up Frank Brickowski.
HOCKEY
Just one note before game action...Put Martin St. Louis on the list of NHLers playing in Europe. St. Louis is going Swiss and playing for Lausanne.
Everett shut out Prince Albert, 1-0. Everett came away with the only goal of the game seven minutes after the puck dropped, with Curtis Billsten's power-play goal (3rd goal of the year) holding up for the remaining 53 minutes. Mike Wall stopped 20 for his third shutout of the season in a game that I'll guess (from looking at the boxscore) was a tight-checking defensive battle, as shots favored the 'Tips by a low 20-19 margin. The team site's recap reveals that the Raiders play in the Prince Albert Comuniplex. Have you visited your comuniplex today?
Portland beat Tri-City, 3-2. The Winter Hawks snapped their four-game road losing streak in dramatic fashion, coming down from 2-0 to reel off three unanswered goals, the game-winner being a Cody McLeod power-play goal with 4:16 remaining in the third period. Kyle Bailey's backhand shot got Portland on the board with 7:06 left in the second frame, and Garret Festerling tied the game with 11:18 to go in the third. The power play that led to the game-winning goal came courtesy of Dan Da Silva getting plowed into the boards by Marc Connors of the Americans.
Vancouver beat Red Deer, 5-2. Fresh off their stay at Shane Doan's Circle Square Ranch, the Giants unleashed a new line of Ty Morris, Gilbert Brule, and Tim Kraus on the Rebels to the tune of three points apiece. Marek Schwarz held up his end of the bargain in the Vancouver net, stopping 20 of 22 shots. This helped enable Vancouver's offensive explosion, as they held target practice against Gerry Festa, firing 42 shots in the game. The Giants won in Red Deer for the first time in nine tries, thanks in part to four straight goals coming after the Rebels took the initial 1-0 lead in the first period. Adam Courchaine tied the game at 1-1 in the first, and JD Watt put the Giants up 2-1 in the second period. Kraus had what would be the game-winner in the second period to put Vancouver up 3-1. Morris and Kraus (again) scored in the third period to get the Giants their five goals. The recap on the Giants' website is priceless, featuring words/phrases like "20-year-old veteran" and "troika." I know 20-year-old veterans aren't unheard of in the WHL, I just don't see that phrase a lot.
Puget Sound beat Tri-City, 3-2. In the first of four games in a row at Tri-City, the Tomahawks emerge victorious and run their record to 15-2. Two third-period goals (Chris Gardner and Corey Coxon) helped the Tomahawks come from behind and steal the win from the Titans. Mike Truex assisted on all three of the Puget Sound goals in a game where the Tomahawks outshot the Titans 40-26. Of course, this means Iggy Slepokourev stopped 24 shots, and Nick Boddy was peppered with pucks while manning the Tri-City net.
The rest of the hockey weekend...
Tonight: Everett at Saskatoon, Seattle at Portland, Vancouver at Lethbridge, Utah at Manitoba (final game at Winnipeg Arena), Puget Sound at Tri-City
Sunday: Vancouver at Calgary
---
Readers, enjoy your Saturday. Readers in the Northwest, stay warm.
[Edit 11:21p -- Finally added in an updated Tomahawk blip.]
Might I actually be able to make a post on time? Don't worry, every time Blogger slows up and doesn't let us post for a while, I get irate at first, and then remember that Blogger has hosted a year's worth of rants from Jeremy and I for free, and then I calm down and wait for the storm to pass.
So here it is, the first daily article sweep post in about three days that's been on time. Read the whole thing, or pick and choose. I do bold the sport/team tags for a reason, you know.
BASEBALL
Well, wouldn't you know it, Bob Melvin is now the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Similar to Mike Price in Alabama, Wally Backman never signed his contract, so he won't be getting a red cent from the Diamondbacks. Scott Miller's got some things to say, including, "the Diamondbacks don't just have egg on their faces today -- they have the entire omelet dripping down their pinstriped sleeves." All in all, considering the events that have happened in the last two years, how ironic is it that the New York Times knew what the Diamondbacks didn't, and more importantly, that the findings are apparently true?
From Backman to Berkman. Lance Berkman participated in a church function, played a little flag football, and tore an ACL. Could you imagine being at any sort of function where any paid athlete tears an ACL? I bet Berkman's injury took the air out of that church function. I would have been mortified. I once saw a woman cut her knee on a rock or shard of glass during a game of mud volleyball (town centennials in the Midwest, you know), and she bled profusely and had to ride the ambulance, but an ACL...yikes.
FOOTBALL
I'm going Huskies before I go Seahawks here. Steve tipped me off to this, a very telling story by former Husky recruit Daniel Borg, who later committed to Arizona. The number one reason why? Stability.
With all the Husky coaching speculation and hype for names such as Urban Meyer, Jeff Tedford, and Steve Spurrier, Ted Miller notes that some of the best coaches in college football are ones that are currently holding their first Division I-A head coaching jobs. Miller's suggestion: grab the best D-I coordinators. Steve Sarkisian is involved.
Now, the Seahawks. The Farnsworth article is a winner to start with simply because he calls Qwest Field "the Q," as I've been doing here for a while now. In somewhat of a gradeless report card, Farnsworth tackles the remaining schedule, expectations, dropped passes ("Just catch the damn ball"), and injuries/depth. Also coming to mind, how long am I going to have to wait for Koren Robinson to be suspended? I'm just saying if it's going to happen, I want it to happen sooner rather than later, i.e., I don't want the Seahawks without Robinson for the last four weeks of the season.
Your latest Seahawk receivers are Jerheme Urban and Taco Wallace, signed from the practice squad. Bobby Engram isn't expected to play, but Steve Hutchinson is expected to start. J-M Romero also tells us that the Seahawks have the fourth-best TV ratings in the NFL.
In extremely dark and morbid former Seahawk receiver news, Tommy Kane will do 18 years in the Graybar Hotel for stabbing his wife to death.
BASKETBALL
Some college hoops notes quickly...Rainier Beach grad Rodrick Stewart has asked out of his contract and will be leaving USC behind, along with twin brother and Trojan starting point guard Lodrick. Also, Sean Mallon and the Gonzaga Bulldogs scored a buttload of (114) points in an exhibition win over Emporia State.
SuperSonics 106, Hawks 85
For my in-game notes with some scattered one-liners, scroll down to the post below this one or click here (if archived).
Bob Bender was in KeyArena last night as an assistant coach for the Hawks. He has the shaved head that he sported during his latter days as Husky head basketball coach. I'm not sure I've said it in this space before, but I think Bender was fired by Barbara Hedges either one year too early or one year too late. Considering the state of the team when he was fired, I don't think it was in a fair enough state upon which a proper assessment of Bender's accomplishments could have been carried out.
The Sonics pulled away in a span of just over seven minutes from the end of the third quarter to the start of the fourth. Their lead over the Hawks went from three to twenty, part of a blistering 23-6 run. Percy Allen brings to my attention the final blocked shot numbers, as Jerome James had four and Rashard Lewis rebuked five. Also, Luke Ridnour had four turnovers, but also had nine points, six assists, and three steals.
Jayda Evans takes a look at the crowd-related happenings and goings-on. Some season-ticket holders aren't too optimistic about the upcoming season, but Big Lo is quoted in the article, noting that Los Angeles and Detroit had their WNBA and NBA teams win titles in close proximity. In that aspect, the Sonics are halfway there.
Jerome James arrived at the arena an hour after the bulk of the players, and will be fined. He had three points, four boards, and four blocks in 17 minutes. Maybe he's better in small doses?
Steve Kelley remembers when the Sonics weren't soft; when they'd play hard every single night and had tenacity and swagger. After seeing last night's game, it's something, but definitely not what it used to be in Seattle. Bonus points to Steve for bringing up Frank Brickowski.
HOCKEY
Just one note before game action...Put Martin St. Louis on the list of NHLers playing in Europe. St. Louis is going Swiss and playing for Lausanne.
Everett shut out Prince Albert, 1-0. Everett came away with the only goal of the game seven minutes after the puck dropped, with Curtis Billsten's power-play goal (3rd goal of the year) holding up for the remaining 53 minutes. Mike Wall stopped 20 for his third shutout of the season in a game that I'll guess (from looking at the boxscore) was a tight-checking defensive battle, as shots favored the 'Tips by a low 20-19 margin. The team site's recap reveals that the Raiders play in the Prince Albert Comuniplex. Have you visited your comuniplex today?
Portland beat Tri-City, 3-2. The Winter Hawks snapped their four-game road losing streak in dramatic fashion, coming down from 2-0 to reel off three unanswered goals, the game-winner being a Cody McLeod power-play goal with 4:16 remaining in the third period. Kyle Bailey's backhand shot got Portland on the board with 7:06 left in the second frame, and Garret Festerling tied the game with 11:18 to go in the third. The power play that led to the game-winning goal came courtesy of Dan Da Silva getting plowed into the boards by Marc Connors of the Americans.
Vancouver beat Red Deer, 5-2. Fresh off their stay at Shane Doan's Circle Square Ranch, the Giants unleashed a new line of Ty Morris, Gilbert Brule, and Tim Kraus on the Rebels to the tune of three points apiece. Marek Schwarz held up his end of the bargain in the Vancouver net, stopping 20 of 22 shots. This helped enable Vancouver's offensive explosion, as they held target practice against Gerry Festa, firing 42 shots in the game. The Giants won in Red Deer for the first time in nine tries, thanks in part to four straight goals coming after the Rebels took the initial 1-0 lead in the first period. Adam Courchaine tied the game at 1-1 in the first, and JD Watt put the Giants up 2-1 in the second period. Kraus had what would be the game-winner in the second period to put Vancouver up 3-1. Morris and Kraus (again) scored in the third period to get the Giants their five goals. The recap on the Giants' website is priceless, featuring words/phrases like "20-year-old veteran" and "troika." I know 20-year-old veterans aren't unheard of in the WHL, I just don't see that phrase a lot.
Puget Sound beat Tri-City, 3-2. In the first of four games in a row at Tri-City, the Tomahawks emerge victorious and run their record to 15-2. Two third-period goals (Chris Gardner and Corey Coxon) helped the Tomahawks come from behind and steal the win from the Titans. Mike Truex assisted on all three of the Puget Sound goals in a game where the Tomahawks outshot the Titans 40-26. Of course, this means Iggy Slepokourev stopped 24 shots, and Nick Boddy was peppered with pucks while manning the Tri-City net.
The rest of the hockey weekend...
Tonight: Everett at Saskatoon, Seattle at Portland, Vancouver at Lethbridge, Utah at Manitoba (final game at Winnipeg Arena), Puget Sound at Tri-City
Sunday: Vancouver at Calgary
---
Readers, enjoy your Saturday. Readers in the Northwest, stay warm.
[Edit 11:21p -- Finally added in an updated Tomahawk blip.]
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