Thursday, December 16, 2004
CRANK
Well, some things certainly happened yesterday, didn't they? Let's cut to the chase...
MARINERS
You can get my thoughts on the Richie Sexson signing by scrolling down a post or clicking here (if archived), and you can get Jeremy's take about three posts down from this one or clicking here.
In the tease for KING-5 News at 11, I swear Don Porter's line was, "the Mariners talk Sex and get to first base."
Larry Stone proclaims the Mariners are finally proving themselves to be the big-market team to match the high incoming revenue streams the past four years. Like the $50M price tag or not, the Mariners have finally put their money where their mouths are. I'd like to be whoever's batting in front of Sexson next year. You know, as displeased as I am that there are no shoulder clauses in the contract, I almost hope there's a no-basketball clause because this guy likes roundball. He used to be on some select teams back in the day, and I just don't want him pulling an Aaron Boone.
Then comes Finnigan, saying Adrian Beltre could be next. Finnigan says that multiple sources are saying the Mariners are on the verge of getting Beltre. Finnigan even says there are rumblings indicating the Mariners might pull their off to Carlos Delgado off the table. As for Beltre, let's hope that if the Mariners bring him on, he has years closer to last year instead of Adrian Beltre circa 2003 or, heaven forbid, Esteban Beltre, whose rookie card I probably have stashed away somewhere. I've been iffy about the one-year wonder possibility of Beltre, but he is young, and he's a third baseman with some pop. As to why one year doesn't look like the others, Dick Fain of KJR said around 9:15 last night in a line of wrought speculation that just maybe the words "cream" and "clear" were involved. While that is pure off-the-wall speculation, Fain did affirm that the out-of-placeness of Adrian Beltre's 2004 season is "Brady Anderson-esque." Also, I hate injections in general, but Sexson had dye injected into his shoulder as part of the physical...ouch.
SEAHAWKS
The Seahawks are just going to have to put as many points on the scoreboard as they possibly can in the swamp on Sunday. Why? I don't see this depleted defense stopping Curtis Martin. He's averaging 4.5 yards a carry. Damn. Worse yet, the Jets' best play is the draw. Yuck. Chad Brown calls the draw "tough to defend." Basically I can't see the Seahawks winning this game if they score any less than 30 points. Darrell Jackson was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance on Sunday. He is in Florida to attend his dad's funeral and to be with his family, and he won't return to the team until Saturday. At least he'll be physically rested. Not sure about sleep, but he won't have any wear and tear going on this week. Also, Mike Holmgren is having some second thoughts about ushering in instant replay a few years ago, and Antonio Cochran's non-sack is just another thing on the laundry list of calls that even with instant replay have not gone the way of Seattle. In other news, Chad Brown will start, and Tracy White will play.
The uber-playoff scenario this week (thanks to Jeremy for the tipoff on this one) is that the Seahawks can clinch a playoff berth if (1) the Seahawks beat the Jets, (2) Carolina loses in Atlanta, and (3) Dallas (at Philadelphia), the Giants (home against Pittsburgh), Detroit (home against Minnesota), and the Bears (home against Houston) lose or tie. If the Seahawks take care of business, there's a decent chance of all five of those teams losing. The Giants and Panthers play on Saturday, so root for the Steelers in the early game and the Falcons in the night game.
SONICS
What's helped the Sonics and Suns to their records this year? Great perimeter players and a more strict enforcement against hand-checking on defense. Scoring is up and small guys are less likely to get pushed around. The most telling quote was from Boston coach and former Knick Doc Rivers, commenting on his mid-90s Knicks: "Our rule, honest to God, was foul them every single time and they'll stop calling it. And that was our thought, if we fouled enough in the first quarter the refs would just say, 'I can't call them all.' And it made the game almost unbearable for the other team." Thanks to Jeff Van Gundy, it made a lot of basketball on television unbearable to watch as well.
It's the Nash/Ridnour article. Needless to say, there are some similarities and some differences. In something I didn't expect to see in the article, Luke Ridnour and Steve Nash are basically the great white hope when it comes to white starting point guards in the NBA, of which there are exactly five. As for play on the court, I haven't gotten used to when Ridnour drives from the wing, dribbles under the basket, and then comes out the other side. I guess I just haven't seen it in a while, or I've never seen it at all. Of course, if you ask Kobe Bryant, the Sonics' way of play is "unorthodox."
Upcoming...
Friday vs. Phoenix
Wednesday vs. Denver
HOCKEY
In case you haven't picked up on it yet, any hopes of an NHL season have pretty much been dashed. Each side rejected an offer from the other side in the latest round of talks, and no further talks have been scheduled. For a breakdown of the offers which were mutually rebuked, look no further than here.
Seattle beat Saskatoon, 5-1. The Thunderbirds rebounded from their own 5-1 whuppin' from the night before to beat the Blades in the fifth game of their six-game road trip. The Thunderbirds got the early lead late in the opening period on a goal by Zack FitzGerald. Tyler Metcalfe got Seattle a 2-0 lead about halfway through the middle frame, and he scored another with just over two minutes left in the same period. Bretton Stamler and Aaron Gagnon (his 20th goal) scored in the third period to put the game away. Seattle outshot the Blades 35-22. Bryan Bridges stopped 21 for the T-Birds.
Spokane beat Portland, 7-4. Ned Luckacevic had a career night for Spokane, netting a hat trick, three assists, and a plus-4. Portland was a brutal 1-for-9 on the power play and gave up a shorthanded goal to boot. Darrell May staked the Winter Hawks out to the early 1-0 lead just 86 seconds in. Spokane tied the game and took a 2-1 lead before Brandon Dubinsky put in a rebound with just under seven minutes to play in the second period to tie the game at 2-2. But the Chiefs roared back with two more goals in the second period. Spokane eventually got a fifth goal in the third period to make it 5-2 and effectively put the game away. Brandon Dubinsky scored to bring the Winter Hawks to within two before Portland pulled Dustin Butler from the net, which backfired. Portland allowed two more goals and only got one back (Jordie Fike). Butler stopped 31 in his 15th straight start for Portland. The Winter Hawks outshot the Chiefs 38-36.
Tri-City shut out Everett, 3-0. On the night of the annual toque toss, Everett never scored the goal to set off the toss. The Silvertips wound up going 0-for-6 on the power play. Brett Festerling scored with 22 seconds remaining in the first period, and Chris Inglis and Ian McDonald scored late in the second period to give Tri-City their three goals. Carey Price got the shutout for the Americans, while Mike Wall was pulled from the Everett net after the third goal. Wall faced 9 shots and stopped six, while backup Leland Irving stopped all nine of his shots. Everett outshot Tri-City 21-18.
Upcoming...
Friday: Tri-City at Portland, Seattle at Prince Albert, Everett at Vancouver, Hamilton at Manitoba, Puget Sound at Portland
Saturday: Everett at Portland, Vancouver at Tri-City, Hamilton at Manitoba, Puget Sound at Portland
(no WHL or AHL games from the 19th to the 26th, NorPac is off the weekend of the 24th and 25th as well)
---
Have a jolly day, all.
MARINERS
You can get my thoughts on the Richie Sexson signing by scrolling down a post or clicking here (if archived), and you can get Jeremy's take about three posts down from this one or clicking here.
In the tease for KING-5 News at 11, I swear Don Porter's line was, "the Mariners talk Sex and get to first base."
Larry Stone proclaims the Mariners are finally proving themselves to be the big-market team to match the high incoming revenue streams the past four years. Like the $50M price tag or not, the Mariners have finally put their money where their mouths are. I'd like to be whoever's batting in front of Sexson next year. You know, as displeased as I am that there are no shoulder clauses in the contract, I almost hope there's a no-basketball clause because this guy likes roundball. He used to be on some select teams back in the day, and I just don't want him pulling an Aaron Boone.
Then comes Finnigan, saying Adrian Beltre could be next. Finnigan says that multiple sources are saying the Mariners are on the verge of getting Beltre. Finnigan even says there are rumblings indicating the Mariners might pull their off to Carlos Delgado off the table. As for Beltre, let's hope that if the Mariners bring him on, he has years closer to last year instead of Adrian Beltre circa 2003 or, heaven forbid, Esteban Beltre, whose rookie card I probably have stashed away somewhere. I've been iffy about the one-year wonder possibility of Beltre, but he is young, and he's a third baseman with some pop. As to why one year doesn't look like the others, Dick Fain of KJR said around 9:15 last night in a line of wrought speculation that just maybe the words "cream" and "clear" were involved. While that is pure off-the-wall speculation, Fain did affirm that the out-of-placeness of Adrian Beltre's 2004 season is "Brady Anderson-esque." Also, I hate injections in general, but Sexson had dye injected into his shoulder as part of the physical...ouch.
SEAHAWKS
The Seahawks are just going to have to put as many points on the scoreboard as they possibly can in the swamp on Sunday. Why? I don't see this depleted defense stopping Curtis Martin. He's averaging 4.5 yards a carry. Damn. Worse yet, the Jets' best play is the draw. Yuck. Chad Brown calls the draw "tough to defend." Basically I can't see the Seahawks winning this game if they score any less than 30 points. Darrell Jackson was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance on Sunday. He is in Florida to attend his dad's funeral and to be with his family, and he won't return to the team until Saturday. At least he'll be physically rested. Not sure about sleep, but he won't have any wear and tear going on this week. Also, Mike Holmgren is having some second thoughts about ushering in instant replay a few years ago, and Antonio Cochran's non-sack is just another thing on the laundry list of calls that even with instant replay have not gone the way of Seattle. In other news, Chad Brown will start, and Tracy White will play.
The uber-playoff scenario this week (thanks to Jeremy for the tipoff on this one) is that the Seahawks can clinch a playoff berth if (1) the Seahawks beat the Jets, (2) Carolina loses in Atlanta, and (3) Dallas (at Philadelphia), the Giants (home against Pittsburgh), Detroit (home against Minnesota), and the Bears (home against Houston) lose or tie. If the Seahawks take care of business, there's a decent chance of all five of those teams losing. The Giants and Panthers play on Saturday, so root for the Steelers in the early game and the Falcons in the night game.
SONICS
What's helped the Sonics and Suns to their records this year? Great perimeter players and a more strict enforcement against hand-checking on defense. Scoring is up and small guys are less likely to get pushed around. The most telling quote was from Boston coach and former Knick Doc Rivers, commenting on his mid-90s Knicks: "Our rule, honest to God, was foul them every single time and they'll stop calling it. And that was our thought, if we fouled enough in the first quarter the refs would just say, 'I can't call them all.' And it made the game almost unbearable for the other team." Thanks to Jeff Van Gundy, it made a lot of basketball on television unbearable to watch as well.
It's the Nash/Ridnour article. Needless to say, there are some similarities and some differences. In something I didn't expect to see in the article, Luke Ridnour and Steve Nash are basically the great white hope when it comes to white starting point guards in the NBA, of which there are exactly five. As for play on the court, I haven't gotten used to when Ridnour drives from the wing, dribbles under the basket, and then comes out the other side. I guess I just haven't seen it in a while, or I've never seen it at all. Of course, if you ask Kobe Bryant, the Sonics' way of play is "unorthodox."
Upcoming...
Friday vs. Phoenix
Wednesday vs. Denver
HOCKEY
In case you haven't picked up on it yet, any hopes of an NHL season have pretty much been dashed. Each side rejected an offer from the other side in the latest round of talks, and no further talks have been scheduled. For a breakdown of the offers which were mutually rebuked, look no further than here.
Seattle beat Saskatoon, 5-1. The Thunderbirds rebounded from their own 5-1 whuppin' from the night before to beat the Blades in the fifth game of their six-game road trip. The Thunderbirds got the early lead late in the opening period on a goal by Zack FitzGerald. Tyler Metcalfe got Seattle a 2-0 lead about halfway through the middle frame, and he scored another with just over two minutes left in the same period. Bretton Stamler and Aaron Gagnon (his 20th goal) scored in the third period to put the game away. Seattle outshot the Blades 35-22. Bryan Bridges stopped 21 for the T-Birds.
Spokane beat Portland, 7-4. Ned Luckacevic had a career night for Spokane, netting a hat trick, three assists, and a plus-4. Portland was a brutal 1-for-9 on the power play and gave up a shorthanded goal to boot. Darrell May staked the Winter Hawks out to the early 1-0 lead just 86 seconds in. Spokane tied the game and took a 2-1 lead before Brandon Dubinsky put in a rebound with just under seven minutes to play in the second period to tie the game at 2-2. But the Chiefs roared back with two more goals in the second period. Spokane eventually got a fifth goal in the third period to make it 5-2 and effectively put the game away. Brandon Dubinsky scored to bring the Winter Hawks to within two before Portland pulled Dustin Butler from the net, which backfired. Portland allowed two more goals and only got one back (Jordie Fike). Butler stopped 31 in his 15th straight start for Portland. The Winter Hawks outshot the Chiefs 38-36.
Tri-City shut out Everett, 3-0. On the night of the annual toque toss, Everett never scored the goal to set off the toss. The Silvertips wound up going 0-for-6 on the power play. Brett Festerling scored with 22 seconds remaining in the first period, and Chris Inglis and Ian McDonald scored late in the second period to give Tri-City their three goals. Carey Price got the shutout for the Americans, while Mike Wall was pulled from the Everett net after the third goal. Wall faced 9 shots and stopped six, while backup Leland Irving stopped all nine of his shots. Everett outshot Tri-City 21-18.
Upcoming...
Friday: Tri-City at Portland, Seattle at Prince Albert, Everett at Vancouver, Hamilton at Manitoba, Puget Sound at Portland
Saturday: Everett at Portland, Vancouver at Tri-City, Hamilton at Manitoba, Puget Sound at Portland
(no WHL or AHL games from the 19th to the 26th, NorPac is off the weekend of the 24th and 25th as well)
---
Have a jolly day, all.
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