Sunday, December 19, 2004
CHANCES
The Seahawks need to win and have three other teams bite it to clinch a playoff berth today. Also, it was the final night of junior hockey and the Manitoba Moose until the 27th.
BASEBALL
For some reason Sports Illustrated keeps sending me issues even though I cancelled the subscription two weeks ago. However, I'm glad I got to read Michael Bamberger's article on Marlin prospect Jeff Allison, who some of you may know as the guy who nearly died of a heroin overdose. It's quite a read. You get the impression that Peabody, Massachusetts is absolutely overrun with drugs like oxycontin, heroin, and methadone. Similarly, some that know Allison are convinced that he might be saying all the right things, but he hasn't owned up to a lot of the stuff that seems to be corroborate in everyone's stories except for his. The part in the article where Allison's minor-league teammate and friend Greg Bartlett dies of a methadone overdose is quite ominous. I'm not sure how far SI dug for info on Bartlett, but if they dug as far as they did with Allison, and if it's true that Bartlett's mom is telling the truth when she says her son had no history of drug use before going to Florida...yikes.
Mariners
My goodness, Brian Holman's been through a lot with his family in the past five years. My goodness. I wouldn't wish any of this on anybody. One big round of applause for Children's Hospital, because I don't think people fully realize how important that place is.
In a remotely related note, I was trying to remember what Brian Holman's jersey number was as a Mariner, without cheating and looking at old baseball cards. It was 36, right?
Go/stay west, young men. Apparently that's what the Mariners got Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre to do. Sexson wanted to come west, and Beltre wanted to stay somewhat close to LA. I'd love to see the findings if anyone could take a completely anonymous poll of front office personnel around Major League Baseball and see what percentage of them were irate over the contracts Arizona gave to Russ Ortiz and Troy Glaus. Also, let's all breathe a sigh of relief that Carl Pavano isn't in a Mariner uniform. Any hopes of adding to the pitching staff will be from within the system or via nontenders, if they don't buck up and sign Odalis Perez or Eric Milton. Dammit, why did they have to offer Ron Villone arbitration? Ugh. Also, I don't want to see Raul Ibanez DHing for this team, because it means Bucky Jacobsen will be getting royally screwed unless he's taking a day off from the DH spot. Trade Randy Winn for pitching. Trade Randy Winn for pitching. Trade Randy Winn for pitching.
FOOTBALL
College
Just a heads-up here to Linfield College of Oregon for winning the D-III national title, 28-21 over Mary Hardin-Baylor. Why do I bring this up? There's somewhat of a Bremertonian tie. One of my old baseball teammates (and a gridiron teammate of Jeremy's) named Jer was on the Linfield football team and would have been celebrating along with them today if not for not one, but two torn labrums (labri?) that forced him out of football. I know that injury sounds familiar to you Mariner fans out there. Brett Elliott finished the season with an NCAA-record 61 touchdown passes.
Seahawks
A couple of components aligned themselves yesterday to keep the possibility alive for the Seahawks to clinch a playoff berth by 4pm today. Yesterday, the Giants and Panthers lost. Today, for the Seahawks to clinch a playoff berth, they have to beat the Jets, and have all of Dallas (at Philadelphia), Detroit (home against Minnesota), and Chicago (home against Houston) lose or tie. If the Seahawks can pull their game out, I think the other three pieces have a decent chance of falling into place. If they win today, they absolutely must take care of business against Arizona.
BASKETBALL
College
FSNNW as well as FSNSW are showing these two games, so it looks like both Jeremy and I will actually have a chance to watch it at the same time...
Today: North Carolina at Virginia Tech (12:30p), NC State at Washington (5p, FSN)
Go Marvin Williams, and hooray Dawgs. Congrats to Gonzaga on a huge win over #3 Georgia Tech last night too.
Sonics
It's a peek into the satellite truck that sat outside the Palace at Auburn Hills on the night of the big brawl. There became a point where they were televising news rather than sports. The crew used all of the cameras to get as much footage as they possibly could, and a lot of it will be instrumental in the court cases related to the incident. Luckily, none of the camerapeople were hurt in the ruckus.
Coach McMillan's got faith in Luke Ridnour. I was irate after Luke Ridnour took the three-point shot with under a minute to go in the game against Phoenix. Though he had been brutal from the field up to that point in the game, McMillan, much wiser than me in basketball knowledge, brings up the point -- what if he would have made the shot? Basically, Ridnour won't get better as a shooter if he's not taking shots. When Luke is hitting a few shots here and there, he gives the team another option that isn't Ray Allen or Rashard Lewis, and that's a good thing. However, although Luke is 4-for-26 from the field in his last three games, he's gotten 24 assists as well, so he's not completely inept out there.
Upcoming...
Wednesday vs. Denver
Monday (27th) at Utah
HOCKEY
It's the final night of junior hockey for over a week. I have no idea what I'm going to put in this space until then. Maybe some Euro stuff? I have no idea.
Everett and Portland skated to a 1-1 overtime tie. Alex Aldred put one in through traffic with 7:46 left in regulation to tie the game for the Winter Hawks, who held on through the overtime as well to come away with the single point, snapping a four-game losing streak. Mike Wall turned away 18 Portland shots as they mounted their offensive in the third period. Mitch Love of Everett also caught the post in the waning minutes of regulation. Torrie Wheat scored Everett's goal in the first period when Dustin Butler stopped a centering pass but lost control of the puck, leaving Wheat to jump on it. Portland nearly had as many shots in the third period as the Silvertips had in the entire game. The Winter Hawks outshot Everett 36-20. Mike Wall stopped 35 for Everett, and Dustin Butler stopped 19 in his 17th straight start in the Portland net.
Tri-City shut out Vancouver, 6-0. Tri-City goalie Carey Price will be a high pick in the next NHL entry draft, and this was his third straight shutout. He shut out Portland the night before and shut out Everett two nights before. Three straight shutouts in four days. Incredible. He stopped 21 against Everett, 48 against Portland, and 20 last night. The Americans jumped ahead with three first-period goals by Clayton Stoner, Ian McDonald, and Andy Thompson. Dylan Stanley scored the next two Tri-City goals, one in the second and one in the third. Matt Schneider scored the sixth goal for the Americans. Brett Festerling had three assists. Tri-City outshot Vancouver 39-20. Price stopped all 20, and Adam Jennings stopped 33 for Vancouver. The Giants are without number-one goalie Marek Schwarz, who is playing for the Czech Republic in the World Junior Championships.
Manitoba beat Hamilton, 4-2. Two first-period goals helped the Moose on their way to the victory over the Bulldogs. Ryan Kesler redirected a Kevin Bieksa point shot into the net, and Josh Green hit the open net to put the Moose up 2-0 after 20 minutes. The second period was scoreless, though Tomas Mojzis shot a puck that almost went off a Hamilton skater and into the net. Hamilton made it 2-1 early in the third period, but Jeff Heerema banged in a loose puck to give the Moose a two-goal lead (3-1) once again, after he leaked a puck past Hamilton goalie Yann Danis, who reached back to smother the puck with his glove before it crossed the goal line. The Bulldogs were able to score another goal to make it 3-2 with 3:37 left. Hamilton had chances to tie the game, but eventually Lee Goren put it away for good with an empty-netter. Hamilton outshot Manitoba 25-21. Wade Flaherty stopped 23 for the Moose. Kesler had two assists along with his goal. Joe DiPenta, Heerema, Kesler, and Goren were all plus-2.
Puget Sound beat Portland, 7-2. The Tomahawks got the split coming out on the winning end on the back end of the weekend set. From what I can get from a linescore, it looks like it was a topsy-turvy first period (not just the two lead changes, but the time intervals between some of the goals), followed by a second period that blew the game wide open for the Tomahawks. Carl Horten's hat trick has him tied for the team lead in goals once again with Mike Truex, though he'd be ahead if the one goal didn't get disallowed on Friday. Of course, Truex's three-assist game further pads his overall points lead. I wish plus-minus totals would get into the Sun so I could milk some more happy totals out of this. Also, Jake O'Neal of Portland had a three-point weekend, whereas Truex had a six-point weekend. Truex has 73 points (22 goals, 51 assists) on the season and is now four points ahead of O'Neal (27 goals, 42 assists, 69 points) to lead NorPac in scoring.
Upcoming...
No games until the 27th
---
Have a wonderful Sunday, everyone.
BASEBALL
For some reason Sports Illustrated keeps sending me issues even though I cancelled the subscription two weeks ago. However, I'm glad I got to read Michael Bamberger's article on Marlin prospect Jeff Allison, who some of you may know as the guy who nearly died of a heroin overdose. It's quite a read. You get the impression that Peabody, Massachusetts is absolutely overrun with drugs like oxycontin, heroin, and methadone. Similarly, some that know Allison are convinced that he might be saying all the right things, but he hasn't owned up to a lot of the stuff that seems to be corroborate in everyone's stories except for his. The part in the article where Allison's minor-league teammate and friend Greg Bartlett dies of a methadone overdose is quite ominous. I'm not sure how far SI dug for info on Bartlett, but if they dug as far as they did with Allison, and if it's true that Bartlett's mom is telling the truth when she says her son had no history of drug use before going to Florida...yikes.
Mariners
My goodness, Brian Holman's been through a lot with his family in the past five years. My goodness. I wouldn't wish any of this on anybody. One big round of applause for Children's Hospital, because I don't think people fully realize how important that place is.
In a remotely related note, I was trying to remember what Brian Holman's jersey number was as a Mariner, without cheating and looking at old baseball cards. It was 36, right?
Go/stay west, young men. Apparently that's what the Mariners got Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre to do. Sexson wanted to come west, and Beltre wanted to stay somewhat close to LA. I'd love to see the findings if anyone could take a completely anonymous poll of front office personnel around Major League Baseball and see what percentage of them were irate over the contracts Arizona gave to Russ Ortiz and Troy Glaus. Also, let's all breathe a sigh of relief that Carl Pavano isn't in a Mariner uniform. Any hopes of adding to the pitching staff will be from within the system or via nontenders, if they don't buck up and sign Odalis Perez or Eric Milton. Dammit, why did they have to offer Ron Villone arbitration? Ugh. Also, I don't want to see Raul Ibanez DHing for this team, because it means Bucky Jacobsen will be getting royally screwed unless he's taking a day off from the DH spot. Trade Randy Winn for pitching. Trade Randy Winn for pitching. Trade Randy Winn for pitching.
FOOTBALL
College
Just a heads-up here to Linfield College of Oregon for winning the D-III national title, 28-21 over Mary Hardin-Baylor. Why do I bring this up? There's somewhat of a Bremertonian tie. One of my old baseball teammates (and a gridiron teammate of Jeremy's) named Jer was on the Linfield football team and would have been celebrating along with them today if not for not one, but two torn labrums (labri?) that forced him out of football. I know that injury sounds familiar to you Mariner fans out there. Brett Elliott finished the season with an NCAA-record 61 touchdown passes.
Seahawks
A couple of components aligned themselves yesterday to keep the possibility alive for the Seahawks to clinch a playoff berth by 4pm today. Yesterday, the Giants and Panthers lost. Today, for the Seahawks to clinch a playoff berth, they have to beat the Jets, and have all of Dallas (at Philadelphia), Detroit (home against Minnesota), and Chicago (home against Houston) lose or tie. If the Seahawks can pull their game out, I think the other three pieces have a decent chance of falling into place. If they win today, they absolutely must take care of business against Arizona.
BASKETBALL
College
FSNNW as well as FSNSW are showing these two games, so it looks like both Jeremy and I will actually have a chance to watch it at the same time...
Today: North Carolina at Virginia Tech (12:30p), NC State at Washington (5p, FSN)
Go Marvin Williams, and hooray Dawgs. Congrats to Gonzaga on a huge win over #3 Georgia Tech last night too.
Sonics
It's a peek into the satellite truck that sat outside the Palace at Auburn Hills on the night of the big brawl. There became a point where they were televising news rather than sports. The crew used all of the cameras to get as much footage as they possibly could, and a lot of it will be instrumental in the court cases related to the incident. Luckily, none of the camerapeople were hurt in the ruckus.
Coach McMillan's got faith in Luke Ridnour. I was irate after Luke Ridnour took the three-point shot with under a minute to go in the game against Phoenix. Though he had been brutal from the field up to that point in the game, McMillan, much wiser than me in basketball knowledge, brings up the point -- what if he would have made the shot? Basically, Ridnour won't get better as a shooter if he's not taking shots. When Luke is hitting a few shots here and there, he gives the team another option that isn't Ray Allen or Rashard Lewis, and that's a good thing. However, although Luke is 4-for-26 from the field in his last three games, he's gotten 24 assists as well, so he's not completely inept out there.
Upcoming...
Wednesday vs. Denver
Monday (27th) at Utah
HOCKEY
It's the final night of junior hockey for over a week. I have no idea what I'm going to put in this space until then. Maybe some Euro stuff? I have no idea.
Everett and Portland skated to a 1-1 overtime tie. Alex Aldred put one in through traffic with 7:46 left in regulation to tie the game for the Winter Hawks, who held on through the overtime as well to come away with the single point, snapping a four-game losing streak. Mike Wall turned away 18 Portland shots as they mounted their offensive in the third period. Mitch Love of Everett also caught the post in the waning minutes of regulation. Torrie Wheat scored Everett's goal in the first period when Dustin Butler stopped a centering pass but lost control of the puck, leaving Wheat to jump on it. Portland nearly had as many shots in the third period as the Silvertips had in the entire game. The Winter Hawks outshot Everett 36-20. Mike Wall stopped 35 for Everett, and Dustin Butler stopped 19 in his 17th straight start in the Portland net.
Tri-City shut out Vancouver, 6-0. Tri-City goalie Carey Price will be a high pick in the next NHL entry draft, and this was his third straight shutout. He shut out Portland the night before and shut out Everett two nights before. Three straight shutouts in four days. Incredible. He stopped 21 against Everett, 48 against Portland, and 20 last night. The Americans jumped ahead with three first-period goals by Clayton Stoner, Ian McDonald, and Andy Thompson. Dylan Stanley scored the next two Tri-City goals, one in the second and one in the third. Matt Schneider scored the sixth goal for the Americans. Brett Festerling had three assists. Tri-City outshot Vancouver 39-20. Price stopped all 20, and Adam Jennings stopped 33 for Vancouver. The Giants are without number-one goalie Marek Schwarz, who is playing for the Czech Republic in the World Junior Championships.
Manitoba beat Hamilton, 4-2. Two first-period goals helped the Moose on their way to the victory over the Bulldogs. Ryan Kesler redirected a Kevin Bieksa point shot into the net, and Josh Green hit the open net to put the Moose up 2-0 after 20 minutes. The second period was scoreless, though Tomas Mojzis shot a puck that almost went off a Hamilton skater and into the net. Hamilton made it 2-1 early in the third period, but Jeff Heerema banged in a loose puck to give the Moose a two-goal lead (3-1) once again, after he leaked a puck past Hamilton goalie Yann Danis, who reached back to smother the puck with his glove before it crossed the goal line. The Bulldogs were able to score another goal to make it 3-2 with 3:37 left. Hamilton had chances to tie the game, but eventually Lee Goren put it away for good with an empty-netter. Hamilton outshot Manitoba 25-21. Wade Flaherty stopped 23 for the Moose. Kesler had two assists along with his goal. Joe DiPenta, Heerema, Kesler, and Goren were all plus-2.
Puget Sound beat Portland, 7-2. The Tomahawks got the split coming out on the winning end on the back end of the weekend set. From what I can get from a linescore, it looks like it was a topsy-turvy first period (not just the two lead changes, but the time intervals between some of the goals), followed by a second period that blew the game wide open for the Tomahawks. Carl Horten's hat trick has him tied for the team lead in goals once again with Mike Truex, though he'd be ahead if the one goal didn't get disallowed on Friday. Of course, Truex's three-assist game further pads his overall points lead. I wish plus-minus totals would get into the Sun so I could milk some more happy totals out of this. Also, Jake O'Neal of Portland had a three-point weekend, whereas Truex had a six-point weekend. Truex has 73 points (22 goals, 51 assists) on the season and is now four points ahead of O'Neal (27 goals, 42 assists, 69 points) to lead NorPac in scoring.
Upcoming...
No games until the 27th
---
Have a wonderful Sunday, everyone.
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