Wednesday, November 24, 2004
TURKTICIPATION
Holy crap, tomorrow's Thanksgiving. Travel safely if you're traveling at all, everyone. Get to the airport really early, and all that good stuff, or just make sure you've got snow chains and extra jackets if you're going over the Pass, stuff like that.
And for anyone that was wondering over the past two days, the new title tag at the top of the page as well as the tags on the sidebar are still Denmark font as they were before, but now it's a beveled silverish design with a mild soft-edged shadow effect. It was designed thanks to Ulead PhotoImpact 10, currently available for a free 30-day trial download. Of course, if you have Photoshop or anything like that, there's probably no reason to download this, but if you don't (i.e., me), then give it a shot if you've got a bunch of spare time.
Headlines (bonus Tacoma News Tribune headlines since I fell asleep in front of the keyboard)!
MARINERS
No press clippings coming out of the Mariners' camp today.
SEAHAWKS
Time for some Rice pilaf. Less Koren, more Rice. Hopefully this will correlate with a decrease in dropped passes. I know Jerry Rice isn't what he used to be, but man, I liked what I saw on that 56-yard play last Sunday. Of course, in his prime he might have taken that to the house, but I'll settle for 56 yards right now, especially when other receivers seem to have their hands coated with motor oil or something.
If you weren't a fan of the Donnie Jones experience, then get ready for the Ken Walter Thrill Ride. Pending a physical, Walter will be the Seahawks' new punter. He spent most of last year with New England. Jones was waived and will be signed once again to the practice squad if he clears waivers. A weird thing about that article is seeing how many times the words "Walter" and "Jones" appear without any of them actually referring to Walter Jones.
Antonio Cochran is good, and has really stepped it up this season. Good enough, in fact, to earn him a Q&A article with Greg Bishop.
Mike Sando points out that the Seahawks are second-best in the league at recovering their own fumbles. Also, he reminds us of the surprising touchback that Josh Brown had in Sunday's game. I know it surprised the hell out of me.
BASKETBALL
The Marvin Williams Watch
In 11th-ranked North Carolina's 94-81 win over Tennessee in the Maui Invitational, Marvin Williams had 7 points on 2-for-8 shooting from the floor and hit 3 of 4 from the line. He added four rebounds, an assist, and a block in 24 minutes of play off the bench.
Upcoming...
Tonight against Iowa (final of Maui invite)
Sunday vs. Southern California (can't confuse them with South Carolina by saying USC)
Wednesday (1 Dec) at Indiana
Sonics
For my take on the game, scroll down to the post below this one or click here.
How good is Kevin Garnett? He had an off night last night (5-of-16 from the field) and still managed 16 points (though a season low) and 14 rebounds. Danny Fortson even sat on him at one point (think "pancake block"). But the Sonics sent any number of bodies (Collison, James, Fortson, Radmanovic, Evans) at Garnett, and KG had quite a time trying to get good shots. The Sonic D had him settle for fadeaway jumpers from outside the paint a lot of the time; as long as he's not driving to the paint. As Danny O'Neil said, the four players that guarded Garnett totalled 14 points and 21 rebounds. Flip Saunders has another fun quote: "At one point we were shooting 52 percent and outrebounding them and were still down 13."
If Antonio Daniels keeps up his play, could be 6th man of the year. He's perfected the play where he moves off a pick, drives toward the lane, and hits a running jumper from the free-throw line.
It's time for some numbers with David Locke. After a Mariner season sprinkled with number analysis from Locke, he applies his stat geekdom to the world of basketball. Of course, the Sonic blogosphere isn't that big or stat-centered to the point where anyone can or will check his stats to see if they're correct or meaningful, but I digress. He uses the statistic of point differential, as well as other per-game differentials (rebounding, possessions). The Sonics are actually receiving about four less possessions per game than last year, but since they're rebounding like there's no tomorrow, the opposing team is in turn getting less possessions with which to score. Simple, yes, but usually you don't see any stats about it. Now you do.
Oh no. Not alternate tops. Well, it looks the jerseys themselves don't look as bad as I thought they might. I was fearing a full-on Oregon meltdown. Did Luke Ridnour lobby for these jerseys, trying to get a little bit of nostalgia going?
If Ray Allen's shooting is off, it's because of a bad cold, which I think one of the Seattle articles said was a mild case of bronchitis. Anyway, his shooting is a bit off, and he can't get his legs under him as well.
They'd been starting slow. They would eventually pick things up, but this finally caught up to the Sonics in the Boston game, but in last night's game they were scoring right out of the gate. What the Sonics have been able to do against Tim Duncan and now Kevin Garnett is just amazing. Who could have dreamed of this before the season?
Upcoming for the Sonics...
Tonight at Memphis
Friday vs. New Jersey
HOCKEY
No games take place until tonight (so no recaps here yet). In this post, I give you league scoring leaders.
That is, after I link you to a few articles on the Thunderbirds (one on Nate Thompson, one on the team) and the Silvertips.
The article about Nate Thompson focuses on his drive and his diversions to get away from hockey and fill his mind with something else when he gets injured for long periods of time. Time's a-wastin' for him because he's 20 years old, the age limit for WHL players. He's got to get noticed by NHL scouts fast, or else his future in puckdom will be in severe doubt. As a team, the Thunderbirds solid defense and rock-solid goaltending will go up against Calgary and their four NHL first-round draft picks -- Ryan Getzlaf (ANA), Andrew Ladd (CAR), Jeff Schultz (WSH), Andy Rogers (TB) -- tonight at KeyArena.
The 'Tips got much younger since last year's WHL Finals team, and they're even better at this point recordwise than they were last year. Why? Solid backup goaltending and defense defense defense. Below, we see that the 'Tips sure aren't doing it with offense, since leading scorer and captain Torrie Wheat is 37th in the league in scoring and is the only 'Tip in the top 50. Compare that to the Vancouver team who has four of their players in the top 50. Needless to say, the 'Tips are a way better defensive team.
Now, the scorers.
Western Hockey League (rank_player, team, goals-assists-points)
4 Gilbert Brule, Vancouver Giants, 13-20-33
14 Aaron Gagnon, Seattle Thunderbirds, 15-9-24
23 Dan Da Silva, Portland Winter Hawks, 9-12-21
24 Adam Courchaine, Vancouver, 9-12-21
30 Tyler Metcalfe, Seattle, 7-13-20
37 Torrie Wheat, Everett Silvertips, 9-10-19
40 Brian Woolger, Portland, 7-12-19
42 Andrej Meszaros, Vancouver, 6-13-19
45 Garrett Festerling, Portland, 7-11-18
46 Ladislav Scurko, Seattle, 6-12-18
47 Darrell May, Portland, 6-12-18
49 Mitch Bartley, Vancouver, 6-12-18
American Hockey League
3-t Peter Sarno, Manitoba Moose, 5-19-24
5-t Jason King, Manitoba, 15-7-22
19-t Lee Goren, Manitoba, 10-6-16
25-t Nolan Baumgartner, Manitoba, 4-11-15
31-t Ryan Kesler, Manitoba, 6-8-14
44-t Kirill Koltsov, Manitoba Moose, 2-11-13
Northern Pacific Hockey League (point ties given to goal leaders)
1 Mike Truex, Puget Sound, 16-43-59
2 Carl Horten, Puget Sound, 19-24-43
5 Kyle Stoumbaugh, Puget Sound, 18-13-31
8 Jeff Alexander, Puget Sound, 12-16-28
10 Corey Coxon, Puget Sound, 10-18-28
13 Chase Ambuter, Puget Sound, 14-10-24
Upcoming...
Tonight: 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
---
Have a great Wednesday, everyone, and don't go too heavy on the turkey. It's got tryptophan, you know.
[Edit ~8:31a -- Added introductory site design paragraph.]
And for anyone that was wondering over the past two days, the new title tag at the top of the page as well as the tags on the sidebar are still Denmark font as they were before, but now it's a beveled silverish design with a mild soft-edged shadow effect. It was designed thanks to Ulead PhotoImpact 10, currently available for a free 30-day trial download. Of course, if you have Photoshop or anything like that, there's probably no reason to download this, but if you don't (i.e., me), then give it a shot if you've got a bunch of spare time.
Headlines (bonus Tacoma News Tribune headlines since I fell asleep in front of the keyboard)!
MARINERS
No press clippings coming out of the Mariners' camp today.
SEAHAWKS
Time for some Rice pilaf. Less Koren, more Rice. Hopefully this will correlate with a decrease in dropped passes. I know Jerry Rice isn't what he used to be, but man, I liked what I saw on that 56-yard play last Sunday. Of course, in his prime he might have taken that to the house, but I'll settle for 56 yards right now, especially when other receivers seem to have their hands coated with motor oil or something.
If you weren't a fan of the Donnie Jones experience, then get ready for the Ken Walter Thrill Ride. Pending a physical, Walter will be the Seahawks' new punter. He spent most of last year with New England. Jones was waived and will be signed once again to the practice squad if he clears waivers. A weird thing about that article is seeing how many times the words "Walter" and "Jones" appear without any of them actually referring to Walter Jones.
Antonio Cochran is good, and has really stepped it up this season. Good enough, in fact, to earn him a Q&A article with Greg Bishop.
Mike Sando points out that the Seahawks are second-best in the league at recovering their own fumbles. Also, he reminds us of the surprising touchback that Josh Brown had in Sunday's game. I know it surprised the hell out of me.
BASKETBALL
The Marvin Williams Watch
In 11th-ranked North Carolina's 94-81 win over Tennessee in the Maui Invitational, Marvin Williams had 7 points on 2-for-8 shooting from the floor and hit 3 of 4 from the line. He added four rebounds, an assist, and a block in 24 minutes of play off the bench.
Upcoming...
Tonight against Iowa (final of Maui invite)
Sunday vs. Southern California (can't confuse them with South Carolina by saying USC)
Wednesday (1 Dec) at Indiana
Sonics
For my take on the game, scroll down to the post below this one or click here.
How good is Kevin Garnett? He had an off night last night (5-of-16 from the field) and still managed 16 points (though a season low) and 14 rebounds. Danny Fortson even sat on him at one point (think "pancake block"). But the Sonics sent any number of bodies (Collison, James, Fortson, Radmanovic, Evans) at Garnett, and KG had quite a time trying to get good shots. The Sonic D had him settle for fadeaway jumpers from outside the paint a lot of the time; as long as he's not driving to the paint. As Danny O'Neil said, the four players that guarded Garnett totalled 14 points and 21 rebounds. Flip Saunders has another fun quote: "At one point we were shooting 52 percent and outrebounding them and were still down 13."
If Antonio Daniels keeps up his play, could be 6th man of the year. He's perfected the play where he moves off a pick, drives toward the lane, and hits a running jumper from the free-throw line.
It's time for some numbers with David Locke. After a Mariner season sprinkled with number analysis from Locke, he applies his stat geekdom to the world of basketball. Of course, the Sonic blogosphere isn't that big or stat-centered to the point where anyone can or will check his stats to see if they're correct or meaningful, but I digress. He uses the statistic of point differential, as well as other per-game differentials (rebounding, possessions). The Sonics are actually receiving about four less possessions per game than last year, but since they're rebounding like there's no tomorrow, the opposing team is in turn getting less possessions with which to score. Simple, yes, but usually you don't see any stats about it. Now you do.
Oh no. Not alternate tops. Well, it looks the jerseys themselves don't look as bad as I thought they might. I was fearing a full-on Oregon meltdown. Did Luke Ridnour lobby for these jerseys, trying to get a little bit of nostalgia going?
If Ray Allen's shooting is off, it's because of a bad cold, which I think one of the Seattle articles said was a mild case of bronchitis. Anyway, his shooting is a bit off, and he can't get his legs under him as well.
They'd been starting slow. They would eventually pick things up, but this finally caught up to the Sonics in the Boston game, but in last night's game they were scoring right out of the gate. What the Sonics have been able to do against Tim Duncan and now Kevin Garnett is just amazing. Who could have dreamed of this before the season?
Upcoming for the Sonics...
Tonight at Memphis
Friday vs. New Jersey
HOCKEY
No games take place until tonight (so no recaps here yet). In this post, I give you league scoring leaders.
That is, after I link you to a few articles on the Thunderbirds (one on Nate Thompson, one on the team) and the Silvertips.
The article about Nate Thompson focuses on his drive and his diversions to get away from hockey and fill his mind with something else when he gets injured for long periods of time. Time's a-wastin' for him because he's 20 years old, the age limit for WHL players. He's got to get noticed by NHL scouts fast, or else his future in puckdom will be in severe doubt. As a team, the Thunderbirds solid defense and rock-solid goaltending will go up against Calgary and their four NHL first-round draft picks -- Ryan Getzlaf (ANA), Andrew Ladd (CAR), Jeff Schultz (WSH), Andy Rogers (TB) -- tonight at KeyArena.
The 'Tips got much younger since last year's WHL Finals team, and they're even better at this point recordwise than they were last year. Why? Solid backup goaltending and defense defense defense. Below, we see that the 'Tips sure aren't doing it with offense, since leading scorer and captain Torrie Wheat is 37th in the league in scoring and is the only 'Tip in the top 50. Compare that to the Vancouver team who has four of their players in the top 50. Needless to say, the 'Tips are a way better defensive team.
Now, the scorers.
Western Hockey League (rank_player, team, goals-assists-points)
4 Gilbert Brule, Vancouver Giants, 13-20-33
14 Aaron Gagnon, Seattle Thunderbirds, 15-9-24
23 Dan Da Silva, Portland Winter Hawks, 9-12-21
24 Adam Courchaine, Vancouver, 9-12-21
30 Tyler Metcalfe, Seattle, 7-13-20
37 Torrie Wheat, Everett Silvertips, 9-10-19
40 Brian Woolger, Portland, 7-12-19
42 Andrej Meszaros, Vancouver, 6-13-19
45 Garrett Festerling, Portland, 7-11-18
46 Ladislav Scurko, Seattle, 6-12-18
47 Darrell May, Portland, 6-12-18
49 Mitch Bartley, Vancouver, 6-12-18
American Hockey League
3-t Peter Sarno, Manitoba Moose, 5-19-24
5-t Jason King, Manitoba, 15-7-22
19-t Lee Goren, Manitoba, 10-6-16
25-t Nolan Baumgartner, Manitoba, 4-11-15
31-t Ryan Kesler, Manitoba, 6-8-14
44-t Kirill Koltsov, Manitoba Moose, 2-11-13
Northern Pacific Hockey League (point ties given to goal leaders)
1 Mike Truex, Puget Sound, 16-43-59
2 Carl Horten, Puget Sound, 19-24-43
5 Kyle Stoumbaugh, Puget Sound, 18-13-31
8 Jeff Alexander, Puget Sound, 12-16-28
10 Corey Coxon, Puget Sound, 10-18-28
13 Chase Ambuter, Puget Sound, 14-10-24
Upcoming...
Tonight: 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
---
Have a great Wednesday, everyone, and don't go too heavy on the turkey. It's got tryptophan, you know.
[Edit ~8:31a -- Added introductory site design paragraph.]
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