Monday, November 29, 2004
SPENT
Can two Seattle teams ever win on the same day? It sure didn't happen yesterday. The Seahawks get drilled, but the Sonics come out on top against a depleted but still solid team of Indiana Pacers. Bremerton grad Marvin Williams and North Carolina also handled the USC Trojans in Chapel Hill. There were also three hockey games on the slate.
MARINERS
Tip to the Mariners: don't buy into Carlpalooza. Yeah, I think Carl Pavano's a fluke. I just have a feeling he's got Kent Bottenfield (he also won 18 games one year...interesting) written all over him. Of course, if someone floors him with an offer before the 7th or 8th, it may not matter anyway, and he may never make the visit. And since this is Larry Stone writing the article and not Bob Finnigan, I'm just that much more scared when I read that Jaret Wright "is believed to be Seattle's top pitching target." If I could tell Mike Hargrove to back off the player recommendations just this once, I'd do it. Jaret Wright, people. Sigh...
SEAHAWKS
I'm not sure why I'm subjecting myself to reading these Seahawk articles, but I'm going to do it anyway. Before I get going, you can read my knee-jerk in-game reactions by scrolling down or clicking on the link for the game post.
First from a national perspective, Clark Judge said that the first loss to the Rams irreparably screwed the Seahawks' season. I could have told you that when the Seahawks were 3-3.
Amidst the carnage, we already knew about the third-down futility, but Clare Farnsworth gives us more to chew on. In the worst loss of Mike Holmgren's coaching career, Drew Bledsoe was 9-for-11 with 95 yards on third down. Sickening. The Seahawks broke Travis Henry's leg early and managed to hold Willis McGahee to very short gains in the early going, but that eventually went to hell as well. Shaun Alexander only rushed for 39 yards, and although the Seahawks need to sign him, he was a complete nonfactor in this game. Farnsworth also astutely notes that the worthless Seattle touchdown drive late in the 4th quarter padded Matt Hasselbeck's stats.
Drops. I trust Farnsworth when I hear something about dropped passes. Darrell Jackson caught four passes and dropped three. Itula Mili and Mack Strong chipped in as well. Farnsworth points at when the drops happened, and it's all the more damning information. And since it's a notebook, there's a bonus tidbit about the sneak-turned-touchdown pitch. Mike Holmgren, you hath been served.
You know it's bad when the P-I is running Molly Yanity and Angelo Bruscas articles on the Seahawks' misfortunes.
Yanity says Shaun Alexander was stuffed. Correct. The Bills stopped Alexander for zero or less yards four times. Hopefully you have a giggle at the end of that article when Shaun tries to spin this one in a positive fashion. No dice, Shaun. No dice.
Bruscas has a piece on the Bills. Bledsoe is indirectly quoted as saying the fourth-down trick play was a backbreaker. I'd say that's accurate. And yes, Takeo Spikes tipped three passes. Matt Hasselbeck LOVES having passes tipped. It happens a lot, anyway.
Time for Art Thiel to rip away. I'd have to say that the inclusion of "Lousy Phone Company Field" got a good giggle out of me. Emphasis, though, is on the fourth-and-one play where Mike Holmgren went for the field goal instead of trying something with Shaun Alexander. Boos hailed down, and deservedly so. Shaun Alexander didn't have a rushing yard until the second quarter, which was unbeknownst to me. And who can forget when the Bills called a timeout that appeared to originally nullify Rian Lindell's field goal? Criqui and Tasker on the CBS telecast said "they're icing their own kicker." Nope, they were just reloading for something bigger. Said Holmgren: "I didn't do enough this week, clearly, to get our team prepared to play." You're fired. Said Hasselbeck: "The team you saw today, you will not see that team again. The players are going to make sure it never happens again. I'm sure the coaches are going to make sure it never happens again. That's over." I've heard this all before. Seeing is believing, and I'm tired of waiting for this turnaround to happen. People just have to realize there's a good chance it may never happen this year.
J-M Romero has his game article. The Seahawks are 1-4 when they don't score first. That's not surprising. The Bills had 154 yards of offense in the first quarter to Seattle's 24. That's brutal. Ah, and the Mo Morris leaping penalty on the missed field goal. That gave Buffalo another set of downs and eventually a touchdown.
Did Darrell Jackson ever shake off the dropped passes from last year? He's on the hook for 10 of the team's 34 drops this year. Way to make good on that new contract. It's sick justice that on the very play after he saluted the crowd for mock cheering him after a catch, he dropped another pass. Also, the Seahawks lead the NFC in interceptions and nobody cares. To top it off, new punter Ken Walter had his first punt go a mere 29 yards.
Remember those old ESPN NFL football commercials for the University of Bristol? Chris Berman was a professor in a nicknames class. I think it went something like the following...Berman: "What's Drew Bledsoe's nickname?" Female student: "Drew Bledsoe Much He Needed A Transfusion?" Male student: "Trick question. Drew Bledsoe doesn't have a nickname."
Does Sam Adams know what's eating at the Seahawks? No, but he did see the Seahawks' energy become nonexistent in the second half. One of my favorite Almost Live! jokes came when John Keister announced that the Seahawks had drafted Sam Adams and that in a later round the Seahawks chose Red Hook. Meanwhile, I'd rather have a Sam Jackson. AIN'T YOU SEEN NONE OF MY MOVIES?!! DEEP BLUE SEA?!! I GOT EATEN BY A SHARK IN THAT MOVIE!! A F$*%ING SHARK ATE ME!! I think Jeremy dug up something saying the second season of Chappelle's Show on DVD is coming out in February, which I'm guessing coincides with the new (third) season.
Steve Kelley has some things to say. They've been making the same mistakes they've been making since the collapse against the Rams. The fans have been waiting for them to bounce back, and they haven't. Even their recent wins were tainted in some way, with the team seeming to find something to scuffle on.
Now it's time for the weekly Les Carpenter explosion. Les has a point here. I had been brimmed with anticipation since last February for this very season for the Seahawks, and I was even more giddy for the Seahawks' hopes after the Mariners went in the tank in April and the Canucks lost their playoff series. I rode out the rest of that horrific baseball season, rode out my field camp, saw the Seahawks win their first three games, and now what I get is THIS?!?!! Where does this fit in with Les Carpenter? The Seahawks had the golden chance to fill the big void the Mariners had left. These Seahawks were supposed to have a chance, and were supposed to get deep into the playoffs. We're left with this. Brad Mathisen of Poulsbo reacted in a similar fashion, as he was irate at the product he was seeing on the field, saying he busts his ass (edited in the Times) all week, and then comes to the Q for a diversion and sees dropped passes.
But really, one picture sums it up.
BASKETBALL
The Marvin Williams Watch
Marvin Williams piled up 14 points, 3 rebounds, an assist, and a block in 17 minutes of play off the bench in North Carolina's 97-65 drubbing of USC. Note that the Tar Heels are still trying to adjust to Eastern time after being in Maui for all that time. The Tar Heels are at Indiana on Wednesday for a battle in Assembly Hall.
Sonics
For my take on the game, scroll to the post below this one or click here.
The Pacers aren't at full strength right now, that's for sure. The Sonics pulled out this win, leaving Rick Carlisle to suggest that Nate McMillan is "doing the best job in the league coaching," which means something coming from Rick Carlisle. The Sonics are also undefeated in seven games at home after a month of play. But overall, the suspensions have left the Pacers thin as a team.
The Sonics did start slow in this game, as the Pacers led 15-4 in the early going. The Sonics reeled off a 20-6 run to pull within three at the end of the first quarter. The Pacers seemed to whittle away at every one of the Sonics' big leads, but they couldn't get closer than five. Six Sonics had double figures in points.
HOCKEY
Everett and Calgary skated to a tie, 4-4 in overtime. Steve Covington scored twice in the final 11:38 of the third period to erase Everett's 4-2 lead. Silvertip defenseman Mitch Love was out with a game misconduct for boarding in the first period, and his absence hurt Everett's chances down the stretch. Coach Kevin Constantine doesn't have the most encouraging words for goalie Mike Wall in the Times article, saying he hasn't been as good at closing games as Jeff Harvey was last year. As for the players, Curtis Billsten had two goals and an assist, while Kyle Annesley and Alex Leavitt accounted for the remainder of Everett's scoring. The 'Tips were outshot 28-15. Mike Wall stopped 24 shots in net for Everett. The tie puts the Silvertips one point back of idle Seattle in the US Division.
Vancouver beat Medicine Hat, 5-2. The Giants from a couple weeks ago would have had no business winning this game. But this win marks their fourth straight, sending the Tigers to their fourth straight defeat in their tumble from the top of the Central Division. The Giants jumped out of the gate quickly, scoring twice in the first 3:06 of play thanks to goals by Matt Robinson and Adam Courchaine (power play). In quite a suspenseful twist, the Tigers turned the tables in the second period, scoring twice in the first 3:56 of the second period to tie the game at 2-2. But just 1:53 later, Courchaine notched his second of the night for what would stand up to be the game-winner. The Giants scored another early goal for insurance in the third period, 3:46 in, off the stick of Triston Grant. Gilbert Brule got his 15th goal of the year into an empty net to ice the game. Backup goalie Adam Jennings stopped 28 shots for the Giants, who were outshot 30-28.
Milwaukee beat Manitoba, 4-3. The Admirals and the Moose were 1:15 away from going to overtime for the second straight night, but Andrew Hutchinson came away with a goal from the point past Wade Flaherty to down Manitoba. Milwaukee scored the first three goals of the game, leading 2-0 after one period and 3-0 after just 1:02 in the second period on a Vern Fiddler goal. But the second period saw the Moose storm back with three straight goals to tie the game at 3-3. Josh Green put a puck through, Tomas Mojzis ripped one through, and Nolan Baumgartner scored the tying goal. A Milwaukee goal early in the third was disallowed to an official's whistle being blown before the goal. The Moose never got the go-ahead goal, and they didn't have enough time to get the tying goal after Hutchinson put the Admirals up with 1:15 to go.
Here's your next week in hockey, and it's a busy one...
Tuesday: Portland at Tri-City, Calgary at Vancouver, Cincinnati at Manitoba
Wednesday: Kelowna at Portland, Kootenay at Everett
Thursday: Cincinnati at Manitoba
Friday: Everett at Portland, Kootenay at Seattle, Kamloops at Vancouver, Kootenai at Puget Sound
Saturday: Vancouver at Kelowna, Kootenay at Portland, Swift Current at Everett, Binghamton at Manitoba, Kootenai at Puget Sound
Sunday: Swift Current at Seattle, Binghamton at Manitoba
---
What better way to recuperate from writing this than to sleep. Somehow I didn't manage to fall asleep in front of the keyboard like I did a couple of times last week. It'll be a night of sleeping straight through tonight. Well, maybe I'll mix myself a glass of chocolate milk before I hit the hay.
Have a Monday, everyone. Just get through it.
MARINERS
Tip to the Mariners: don't buy into Carlpalooza. Yeah, I think Carl Pavano's a fluke. I just have a feeling he's got Kent Bottenfield (he also won 18 games one year...interesting) written all over him. Of course, if someone floors him with an offer before the 7th or 8th, it may not matter anyway, and he may never make the visit. And since this is Larry Stone writing the article and not Bob Finnigan, I'm just that much more scared when I read that Jaret Wright "is believed to be Seattle's top pitching target." If I could tell Mike Hargrove to back off the player recommendations just this once, I'd do it. Jaret Wright, people. Sigh...
SEAHAWKS
I'm not sure why I'm subjecting myself to reading these Seahawk articles, but I'm going to do it anyway. Before I get going, you can read my knee-jerk in-game reactions by scrolling down or clicking on the link for the game post.
First from a national perspective, Clark Judge said that the first loss to the Rams irreparably screwed the Seahawks' season. I could have told you that when the Seahawks were 3-3.
Amidst the carnage, we already knew about the third-down futility, but Clare Farnsworth gives us more to chew on. In the worst loss of Mike Holmgren's coaching career, Drew Bledsoe was 9-for-11 with 95 yards on third down. Sickening. The Seahawks broke Travis Henry's leg early and managed to hold Willis McGahee to very short gains in the early going, but that eventually went to hell as well. Shaun Alexander only rushed for 39 yards, and although the Seahawks need to sign him, he was a complete nonfactor in this game. Farnsworth also astutely notes that the worthless Seattle touchdown drive late in the 4th quarter padded Matt Hasselbeck's stats.
Drops. I trust Farnsworth when I hear something about dropped passes. Darrell Jackson caught four passes and dropped three. Itula Mili and Mack Strong chipped in as well. Farnsworth points at when the drops happened, and it's all the more damning information. And since it's a notebook, there's a bonus tidbit about the sneak-turned-touchdown pitch. Mike Holmgren, you hath been served.
You know it's bad when the P-I is running Molly Yanity and Angelo Bruscas articles on the Seahawks' misfortunes.
Yanity says Shaun Alexander was stuffed. Correct. The Bills stopped Alexander for zero or less yards four times. Hopefully you have a giggle at the end of that article when Shaun tries to spin this one in a positive fashion. No dice, Shaun. No dice.
Bruscas has a piece on the Bills. Bledsoe is indirectly quoted as saying the fourth-down trick play was a backbreaker. I'd say that's accurate. And yes, Takeo Spikes tipped three passes. Matt Hasselbeck LOVES having passes tipped. It happens a lot, anyway.
Time for Art Thiel to rip away. I'd have to say that the inclusion of "Lousy Phone Company Field" got a good giggle out of me. Emphasis, though, is on the fourth-and-one play where Mike Holmgren went for the field goal instead of trying something with Shaun Alexander. Boos hailed down, and deservedly so. Shaun Alexander didn't have a rushing yard until the second quarter, which was unbeknownst to me. And who can forget when the Bills called a timeout that appeared to originally nullify Rian Lindell's field goal? Criqui and Tasker on the CBS telecast said "they're icing their own kicker." Nope, they were just reloading for something bigger. Said Holmgren: "I didn't do enough this week, clearly, to get our team prepared to play." You're fired. Said Hasselbeck: "The team you saw today, you will not see that team again. The players are going to make sure it never happens again. I'm sure the coaches are going to make sure it never happens again. That's over." I've heard this all before. Seeing is believing, and I'm tired of waiting for this turnaround to happen. People just have to realize there's a good chance it may never happen this year.
J-M Romero has his game article. The Seahawks are 1-4 when they don't score first. That's not surprising. The Bills had 154 yards of offense in the first quarter to Seattle's 24. That's brutal. Ah, and the Mo Morris leaping penalty on the missed field goal. That gave Buffalo another set of downs and eventually a touchdown.
Did Darrell Jackson ever shake off the dropped passes from last year? He's on the hook for 10 of the team's 34 drops this year. Way to make good on that new contract. It's sick justice that on the very play after he saluted the crowd for mock cheering him after a catch, he dropped another pass. Also, the Seahawks lead the NFC in interceptions and nobody cares. To top it off, new punter Ken Walter had his first punt go a mere 29 yards.
Remember those old ESPN NFL football commercials for the University of Bristol? Chris Berman was a professor in a nicknames class. I think it went something like the following...Berman: "What's Drew Bledsoe's nickname?" Female student: "Drew Bledsoe Much He Needed A Transfusion?" Male student: "Trick question. Drew Bledsoe doesn't have a nickname."
Does Sam Adams know what's eating at the Seahawks? No, but he did see the Seahawks' energy become nonexistent in the second half. One of my favorite Almost Live! jokes came when John Keister announced that the Seahawks had drafted Sam Adams and that in a later round the Seahawks chose Red Hook. Meanwhile, I'd rather have a Sam Jackson. AIN'T YOU SEEN NONE OF MY MOVIES?!! DEEP BLUE SEA?!! I GOT EATEN BY A SHARK IN THAT MOVIE!! A F$*%ING SHARK ATE ME!! I think Jeremy dug up something saying the second season of Chappelle's Show on DVD is coming out in February, which I'm guessing coincides with the new (third) season.
Steve Kelley has some things to say. They've been making the same mistakes they've been making since the collapse against the Rams. The fans have been waiting for them to bounce back, and they haven't. Even their recent wins were tainted in some way, with the team seeming to find something to scuffle on.
Now it's time for the weekly Les Carpenter explosion. Les has a point here. I had been brimmed with anticipation since last February for this very season for the Seahawks, and I was even more giddy for the Seahawks' hopes after the Mariners went in the tank in April and the Canucks lost their playoff series. I rode out the rest of that horrific baseball season, rode out my field camp, saw the Seahawks win their first three games, and now what I get is THIS?!?!! Where does this fit in with Les Carpenter? The Seahawks had the golden chance to fill the big void the Mariners had left. These Seahawks were supposed to have a chance, and were supposed to get deep into the playoffs. We're left with this. Brad Mathisen of Poulsbo reacted in a similar fashion, as he was irate at the product he was seeing on the field, saying he busts his ass (edited in the Times) all week, and then comes to the Q for a diversion and sees dropped passes.
But really, one picture sums it up.
BASKETBALL
The Marvin Williams Watch
Marvin Williams piled up 14 points, 3 rebounds, an assist, and a block in 17 minutes of play off the bench in North Carolina's 97-65 drubbing of USC. Note that the Tar Heels are still trying to adjust to Eastern time after being in Maui for all that time. The Tar Heels are at Indiana on Wednesday for a battle in Assembly Hall.
Sonics
For my take on the game, scroll to the post below this one or click here.
The Pacers aren't at full strength right now, that's for sure. The Sonics pulled out this win, leaving Rick Carlisle to suggest that Nate McMillan is "doing the best job in the league coaching," which means something coming from Rick Carlisle. The Sonics are also undefeated in seven games at home after a month of play. But overall, the suspensions have left the Pacers thin as a team.
The Sonics did start slow in this game, as the Pacers led 15-4 in the early going. The Sonics reeled off a 20-6 run to pull within three at the end of the first quarter. The Pacers seemed to whittle away at every one of the Sonics' big leads, but they couldn't get closer than five. Six Sonics had double figures in points.
HOCKEY
Everett and Calgary skated to a tie, 4-4 in overtime. Steve Covington scored twice in the final 11:38 of the third period to erase Everett's 4-2 lead. Silvertip defenseman Mitch Love was out with a game misconduct for boarding in the first period, and his absence hurt Everett's chances down the stretch. Coach Kevin Constantine doesn't have the most encouraging words for goalie Mike Wall in the Times article, saying he hasn't been as good at closing games as Jeff Harvey was last year. As for the players, Curtis Billsten had two goals and an assist, while Kyle Annesley and Alex Leavitt accounted for the remainder of Everett's scoring. The 'Tips were outshot 28-15. Mike Wall stopped 24 shots in net for Everett. The tie puts the Silvertips one point back of idle Seattle in the US Division.
Vancouver beat Medicine Hat, 5-2. The Giants from a couple weeks ago would have had no business winning this game. But this win marks their fourth straight, sending the Tigers to their fourth straight defeat in their tumble from the top of the Central Division. The Giants jumped out of the gate quickly, scoring twice in the first 3:06 of play thanks to goals by Matt Robinson and Adam Courchaine (power play). In quite a suspenseful twist, the Tigers turned the tables in the second period, scoring twice in the first 3:56 of the second period to tie the game at 2-2. But just 1:53 later, Courchaine notched his second of the night for what would stand up to be the game-winner. The Giants scored another early goal for insurance in the third period, 3:46 in, off the stick of Triston Grant. Gilbert Brule got his 15th goal of the year into an empty net to ice the game. Backup goalie Adam Jennings stopped 28 shots for the Giants, who were outshot 30-28.
Milwaukee beat Manitoba, 4-3. The Admirals and the Moose were 1:15 away from going to overtime for the second straight night, but Andrew Hutchinson came away with a goal from the point past Wade Flaherty to down Manitoba. Milwaukee scored the first three goals of the game, leading 2-0 after one period and 3-0 after just 1:02 in the second period on a Vern Fiddler goal. But the second period saw the Moose storm back with three straight goals to tie the game at 3-3. Josh Green put a puck through, Tomas Mojzis ripped one through, and Nolan Baumgartner scored the tying goal. A Milwaukee goal early in the third was disallowed to an official's whistle being blown before the goal. The Moose never got the go-ahead goal, and they didn't have enough time to get the tying goal after Hutchinson put the Admirals up with 1:15 to go.
Here's your next week in hockey, and it's a busy one...
Tuesday: Portland at Tri-City, Calgary at Vancouver, Cincinnati at Manitoba
Wednesday: Kelowna at Portland, Kootenay at Everett
Thursday: Cincinnati at Manitoba
Friday: Everett at Portland, Kootenay at Seattle, Kamloops at Vancouver, Kootenai at Puget Sound
Saturday: Vancouver at Kelowna, Kootenay at Portland, Swift Current at Everett, Binghamton at Manitoba, Kootenai at Puget Sound
Sunday: Swift Current at Seattle, Binghamton at Manitoba
---
What better way to recuperate from writing this than to sleep. Somehow I didn't manage to fall asleep in front of the keyboard like I did a couple of times last week. It'll be a night of sleeping straight through tonight. Well, maybe I'll mix myself a glass of chocolate milk before I hit the hay.
Have a Monday, everyone. Just get through it.
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