Tuesday, December 28, 2004
LAMBS
Last night marked a Sonic win, the Eagles laying down for the Rams and putting any Seahawks NFC West division champions celebrations on hold, the return of WHL and AHL play, and Day 3 of the World Juniors for hockey.
Today? The Sonics host the 76ers, North Carolina hosts UNC-Wilmington, Gonzaga is on the road against Oklahoma State (HUUUUUUUUGE game), and there's the requisite hockey action.
Here goes me...
BASEBALL
Congratulations to Trevor Hoffman on winning the 2005 Hutch Award. Learn more about Trevor's credentials and event details by reading the article or read what Derek posted.
Most of the people reading this site hate the Yankees, but acknowledge that Yankee Stadium is steeped in the annals of baseball history. Sadly, part of that is now gone as Eddie Layton, Yankee Stadium's organ player for 36 years, died on Sunday. I do remember some of his work, and that organ at Yankee Stadium sounded like a pretty old one. But there's nothing like a cheesy organ playing at a stadium, especially if it's taking the place of crappy top-40 "alternative" music at Safeco Field. Sticking to Yankee Stadium in general, I'd rather hear a cheesy-sounding organ playing anything rather than hearing..."Cotton Eye Joe" by Red Nex at a baseball game. Does anyone remember the video for that song?
In other Yankee news, it's no longer just "the Yankee tax," as play-by-play man John Sterling once called it. The Red Sox and the Angels are now tossing in some money as part of the competitive balance tax. I remember reading an article the first year after the luxury tax came out where the writer (I forgot who it was) applauded George Steinbrenner for not holding back and basically saying "shove it" to the new system, luxury tax be damned. While from one standpoint it might be hilarious to think about it that way, I just like to keep telling myself that George Steinbrenner hasn't won a World Series since 2000.
SEAHAWKS
Let's face it. A win by the Eagles over the Rams last night would have made it way too easy. It's not supposed to be easy with this team, and it won't be on Sunday, either. If that path holds true, the Rams will find some odd way to beat the Jets in the early game and the Seahawks will need to pull off a win over the Falcons, who really shouldn't play Michael Vick for much longer than a couple of opening series, on account of having already clinched a first-round bye and the second seed. Then again, Vick is coming off injury and probably needs some game reps. Of course, if Vick gets injured, Jim Mora Jr. will probably be kicking himself, seeing as to how there's no better seeding or positioning for the Falcons to obtain. However, even if the Jets lose before the Seahawks take the field, the Seahawks still have a winning record to play for, because .500 sucks. I think the Seahawks should be playing full-bore on Sunday, and I think, like Coach Holmgren, that Matt Hasselbeck should play if he's capable. Of course, this flies in the face of what I heard on Sunday's postgame show on the grandpa station, when some caller said the Seahawks should start Seneca Wallace and have him play the whole game. I'd be okay with that if Seneca puts on an Atlanta jersey on Sunday and plays the whole game.
This is just bad news right here. If you swiped a debit card at the Q through October, you might want to keep some tabs on your debit accounts and find a way to throw some money in there if you're low. Aramark apparently had some snafus with their card-reading software, and let's just say that the transactions may be going through all at once. As bad as this is, I don't think this quite ranks with Ogden Entertainment at the Kingdome and their hot dog wizardry. I remember the Almost Live! sketch entitled "Kingdome Kookin'," a sketch where the late Big Jim was asked to reheat hot dogs, which he did by sticking them in his armpits. He was wearing a tank top at the time.
Romero also puts out the playoff scenarios that have come out thanks to the Eagles' all-out failure to look like anything remotely resembling a 13-2 team last night. Steven Jackson ran for 148 yards last night, but left with a bruised knee in the fourth quarter. While I don't see a bruised knee sidelining Jackson for the game against the Jets, if he's hobbled at all, the Rams might be screwed. Why? In the last three games he's played, Marshall Faulk has had 47 carries for a grand total of 89 yards. That's not even two yards a carry, folks. I've got a game plan for the Jets, and it's got something to do with dropping a bunch of guys back into pass coverage.
On the injury front, the injuries to Walter Jones (ankle twist), Mack Strong (thigh bruise), and Michael Boulware (ankle swell) all aren't as serious as originally thought. Matt Hasselbeck and Mike Holmgren both expect the former to start on Sunday. Bobby Engram thankfully will be the full-time punt returner on Sunday -- his long punt return was the best special teams return of the year (my opinion) and it got the ball rolling last Sunday.
BASKETBALL
The Marvin Williams Watch
The North Carolina Tar Heels are home against UNC-Wilmington tonight and Cleveland State on Thursday. Marvin's team averages 89.7 points per game, second in the nation to a certain local team...
Huskies
The Huskies lead the nation in scoring, with 91.6 points per contest. Washington is off until opening Pac-10 play on New Year's Eve against the Cal Bears.
Bulldogs
Gonzaga is on the road with a HUGE game in Oklahoma City tonight against 3rd-ranked Oklahoma State and a game in Columbia on Thursday against Missouri.
Sonics
For my thoughts on the game, scroll down two posts or click here if archived.
The Sonics got their first win in Utah since the 2000-2001 season even with Ray Allen still feeling the effects of his illness that sprung up during the east coast trip. Something I didn't hit with the game post was that the Jazz were held to 6-for-23 shooting in the fourth quarter.
This was also the first time Nate McMillan won in Utah as a coach. I was sitting there yelling at my TV when McMillan called that timeout in the third quarter with the Jazz up by 8. It was amazing how quickly it all turned after that timeout. The Sonics got two quick baskets and started a 13-0 run. Later, 17 of the Sonics' 25 fourth-quarter points came from the bench.
In the Fortson File, he was on the floor for 11 minutes before getting whistled. He's also got a lead of two on Rasheed Wallace in the technical fouls department. Amazing. Of course, I'm thinking the Detroit version of Rasheed is a less T-prone version than the one that was in the Rose City for so long.
Upcoming...
Tonight vs. Philadelphia
Thursday at Atlanta
New Year's Eve at Charlotte
HOCKEY
Lethbridge beat Seattle, 3-2. Lethbridge is missing defenseman Brent Seabrook, who is playing for Canada in the World Junior Championships. It didn't matter tonight. Even with the loss, the T-Birds remain five points up on Everett. The Hurricanes scored the first two goals in this one, one in the first period, and another early in the second period. Aaron Gagnon's 21st of the year cut the Lethbridge lead in half midway through the second period, and Derek Couture got a puck off the boards and tied the game with a goal right out of the dressing room in the third period to tie it. Kris Versteeg put one past Bryan Bridges for the game-winner 10:46 into the final period. The goal was unassisted, which could mean a few things. I'm thinking breakaway or steal. In any event, it went off the crossbar and in. Scott Jackson of Seattle rattled one off a post earlier, but Lethbridge's Aaron Sorochan was able to smother it. Seattle outshot Lethbridge 31-26. Bryan Bridges stopped 23 for Seattle, and Aaron Sorochan stopped 29 for the Hurricanes.
Manitoba shut out Cleveland, 4-0. Wade Flaherty made good on all 30 shots he faced as the Moose blanked the Barons (Sharks' affiliate). The Moose waited for all of 19 seconds to get the lead on a goal by Jeff Heerema. Most of the first-period play took place in the Cleveland zone, with the Moose outshooting the Barons 12-4. Alexandre Burrows tallied for Manitoba's second goal about eight minutes after Heerema's. In the second period, Ryan Kesler scored on a two-man advantage and Jason King scored at the end of the same seven-minute powerplay to get the Moose's final tally. Wade Flaherty earned his shutout bigtime when he stopped all 17 of the Barons' third-period shots. The Moose outshot the Barons 33-30. Flaherty stopped all his shots for Manitoba, while Nolan Schaefer stopped 29 for Cleveland. Kesler had an assist along with his goal, and Tomas Mojzis had two assists; these were the two multipoint players for the Moose.
Upcoming...
Tonight: Lethbridge at Vancouver, Spokane at Everett, Portland at Prince George, Manitoba at Cleveland
Tomorrow: Everett at Seattle, Portland at Prince George
New Year's Eve: Seattle at Portland, Chicago at Manitoba, Tri-City at Puget Sound
New Year's Day: Spokane at Vancouver, Seattle at Everett, Portland at Tri-City, Tri-City at Puget Sound
There's a connection here. Here's Braydon Coburn of the Portland Winter Hawks fishing for the puck off the boards as a member of Team Canada.
United States beat Switzerland, 6-4. Ryan Callahan and Kevin Porter scored in the first and second periods, respectively to get the USA a 2-0 lead going into the third period. In said third period, eight goals were scored in a span of 6:21, four goals per side. The Swiss actually scored the first two goals to tie the game, a tie that lasted for all of 30 seconds, when Drew Stafford of the North Dakota Fighting Sioux made it 3-2 USA on the power play. Team USA never let go of the lead from that point. Six different players scored the goals for the USA, the most heralded of which is probably Patrick O'Sullivan. Switzerland outshot the USA 35-30. Al Montoya stopped 31 for the States, and Michael Tobler turned away 24 for the Swiss.
Canada beat Sweden, 8-1. A couple of big two-man advantage kills helped the Canadians keep the Swedes at bay. Seven different players scored for Canada. Sidney Crosby scored twice on the power play, and he's been in the news for saying some things about possibly playing in the NHL no matter what situation arises when the league comes back (re: replacement players). Ryan Getzlaf and Andrew Ladd of the WHL's Calgary Hitmen both scored goals, as did Nigel Dawes of the Kootenay Ice of the same league. Dawes' Kootenay teammate Jeff Glass stopped 16 of 17 in net for Canada. While Brent Seabrook wasn't with his regular team facing the Thunderbirds tonight, he had two assists for the Canadians. Christopher Heino-Lindberg stopped 24 of 30 for Sweden (and 15 of 16 in the first period) before he was pulled after the sixth Canada goal.
Russia beat Czech Republic, 4-1. Strong play on defense and goalie killing off penalties got this win for the Russians. Of course, a goal and two assists by Evgeni Malkin along with a goal and an assist from Sergei Shirokov didn't hurt either. The Russians led 2-0 after 20 minutes, and got to within 3-1 on a Zbynek Hrdel shot from the point, but the Russians held the Czechs scoreless the rest of the way. Russia outshot the Czech Republic 32-26. Anton Khubodin stopped 25 for Russia, and Marek Schwarz of the Vancouver Giants stopped 28 for the Czechs.
Slovakia shut out Finland, 2-0. If you ask me, this was the surprise of the night. The Finns went scoreless in five tries on the power play and couldn't put anything past Jaroslav Halak. Tomas Bulik scored the first goal of the game 5:25 into the second period, and it held up as the game-winner. For good measure, Andrej Meszaros of the Vancouver Giants punched in an empty-netter to put the game away for the Slovaks. Slovakia outshot Finland 27-19. Tuukka Rask stopped 25 for the Finns, and Halak stopped all 19 for Slovakia.
Upcoming for the World Junior Championships...
Tonight: Germany vs. Canada, Russia vs. Belarus
Tomorrow: Czech Republic vs. Switzerland, Finland vs. Sweden, Belarus vs. United States, Slovakia vs. Germany
Thursday: Canada vs. Finland, Switzerland vs. Russia, United States vs. Czech Republic, Sweden vs. Slovakia
New Year's Day: medal round begins
---
Go have yourself the best derned rootin-tootin' Tuesday you've had in a while. If anyone out there ever actually hears me say that in person, I give you permission to slap me across the face.
Today? The Sonics host the 76ers, North Carolina hosts UNC-Wilmington, Gonzaga is on the road against Oklahoma State (HUUUUUUUUGE game), and there's the requisite hockey action.
Here goes me...
BASEBALL
Congratulations to Trevor Hoffman on winning the 2005 Hutch Award. Learn more about Trevor's credentials and event details by reading the article or read what Derek posted.
Most of the people reading this site hate the Yankees, but acknowledge that Yankee Stadium is steeped in the annals of baseball history. Sadly, part of that is now gone as Eddie Layton, Yankee Stadium's organ player for 36 years, died on Sunday. I do remember some of his work, and that organ at Yankee Stadium sounded like a pretty old one. But there's nothing like a cheesy organ playing at a stadium, especially if it's taking the place of crappy top-40 "alternative" music at Safeco Field. Sticking to Yankee Stadium in general, I'd rather hear a cheesy-sounding organ playing anything rather than hearing..."Cotton Eye Joe" by Red Nex at a baseball game. Does anyone remember the video for that song?
In other Yankee news, it's no longer just "the Yankee tax," as play-by-play man John Sterling once called it. The Red Sox and the Angels are now tossing in some money as part of the competitive balance tax. I remember reading an article the first year after the luxury tax came out where the writer (I forgot who it was) applauded George Steinbrenner for not holding back and basically saying "shove it" to the new system, luxury tax be damned. While from one standpoint it might be hilarious to think about it that way, I just like to keep telling myself that George Steinbrenner hasn't won a World Series since 2000.
SEAHAWKS
Let's face it. A win by the Eagles over the Rams last night would have made it way too easy. It's not supposed to be easy with this team, and it won't be on Sunday, either. If that path holds true, the Rams will find some odd way to beat the Jets in the early game and the Seahawks will need to pull off a win over the Falcons, who really shouldn't play Michael Vick for much longer than a couple of opening series, on account of having already clinched a first-round bye and the second seed. Then again, Vick is coming off injury and probably needs some game reps. Of course, if Vick gets injured, Jim Mora Jr. will probably be kicking himself, seeing as to how there's no better seeding or positioning for the Falcons to obtain. However, even if the Jets lose before the Seahawks take the field, the Seahawks still have a winning record to play for, because .500 sucks. I think the Seahawks should be playing full-bore on Sunday, and I think, like Coach Holmgren, that Matt Hasselbeck should play if he's capable. Of course, this flies in the face of what I heard on Sunday's postgame show on the grandpa station, when some caller said the Seahawks should start Seneca Wallace and have him play the whole game. I'd be okay with that if Seneca puts on an Atlanta jersey on Sunday and plays the whole game.
This is just bad news right here. If you swiped a debit card at the Q through October, you might want to keep some tabs on your debit accounts and find a way to throw some money in there if you're low. Aramark apparently had some snafus with their card-reading software, and let's just say that the transactions may be going through all at once. As bad as this is, I don't think this quite ranks with Ogden Entertainment at the Kingdome and their hot dog wizardry. I remember the Almost Live! sketch entitled "Kingdome Kookin'," a sketch where the late Big Jim was asked to reheat hot dogs, which he did by sticking them in his armpits. He was wearing a tank top at the time.
Romero also puts out the playoff scenarios that have come out thanks to the Eagles' all-out failure to look like anything remotely resembling a 13-2 team last night. Steven Jackson ran for 148 yards last night, but left with a bruised knee in the fourth quarter. While I don't see a bruised knee sidelining Jackson for the game against the Jets, if he's hobbled at all, the Rams might be screwed. Why? In the last three games he's played, Marshall Faulk has had 47 carries for a grand total of 89 yards. That's not even two yards a carry, folks. I've got a game plan for the Jets, and it's got something to do with dropping a bunch of guys back into pass coverage.
On the injury front, the injuries to Walter Jones (ankle twist), Mack Strong (thigh bruise), and Michael Boulware (ankle swell) all aren't as serious as originally thought. Matt Hasselbeck and Mike Holmgren both expect the former to start on Sunday. Bobby Engram thankfully will be the full-time punt returner on Sunday -- his long punt return was the best special teams return of the year (my opinion) and it got the ball rolling last Sunday.
BASKETBALL
The Marvin Williams Watch
The North Carolina Tar Heels are home against UNC-Wilmington tonight and Cleveland State on Thursday. Marvin's team averages 89.7 points per game, second in the nation to a certain local team...
Huskies
The Huskies lead the nation in scoring, with 91.6 points per contest. Washington is off until opening Pac-10 play on New Year's Eve against the Cal Bears.
Bulldogs
Gonzaga is on the road with a HUGE game in Oklahoma City tonight against 3rd-ranked Oklahoma State and a game in Columbia on Thursday against Missouri.
Sonics
For my thoughts on the game, scroll down two posts or click here if archived.
The Sonics got their first win in Utah since the 2000-2001 season even with Ray Allen still feeling the effects of his illness that sprung up during the east coast trip. Something I didn't hit with the game post was that the Jazz were held to 6-for-23 shooting in the fourth quarter.
This was also the first time Nate McMillan won in Utah as a coach. I was sitting there yelling at my TV when McMillan called that timeout in the third quarter with the Jazz up by 8. It was amazing how quickly it all turned after that timeout. The Sonics got two quick baskets and started a 13-0 run. Later, 17 of the Sonics' 25 fourth-quarter points came from the bench.
In the Fortson File, he was on the floor for 11 minutes before getting whistled. He's also got a lead of two on Rasheed Wallace in the technical fouls department. Amazing. Of course, I'm thinking the Detroit version of Rasheed is a less T-prone version than the one that was in the Rose City for so long.
Upcoming...
Tonight vs. Philadelphia
Thursday at Atlanta
New Year's Eve at Charlotte
HOCKEY
Lethbridge beat Seattle, 3-2. Lethbridge is missing defenseman Brent Seabrook, who is playing for Canada in the World Junior Championships. It didn't matter tonight. Even with the loss, the T-Birds remain five points up on Everett. The Hurricanes scored the first two goals in this one, one in the first period, and another early in the second period. Aaron Gagnon's 21st of the year cut the Lethbridge lead in half midway through the second period, and Derek Couture got a puck off the boards and tied the game with a goal right out of the dressing room in the third period to tie it. Kris Versteeg put one past Bryan Bridges for the game-winner 10:46 into the final period. The goal was unassisted, which could mean a few things. I'm thinking breakaway or steal. In any event, it went off the crossbar and in. Scott Jackson of Seattle rattled one off a post earlier, but Lethbridge's Aaron Sorochan was able to smother it. Seattle outshot Lethbridge 31-26. Bryan Bridges stopped 23 for Seattle, and Aaron Sorochan stopped 29 for the Hurricanes.
Manitoba shut out Cleveland, 4-0. Wade Flaherty made good on all 30 shots he faced as the Moose blanked the Barons (Sharks' affiliate). The Moose waited for all of 19 seconds to get the lead on a goal by Jeff Heerema. Most of the first-period play took place in the Cleveland zone, with the Moose outshooting the Barons 12-4. Alexandre Burrows tallied for Manitoba's second goal about eight minutes after Heerema's. In the second period, Ryan Kesler scored on a two-man advantage and Jason King scored at the end of the same seven-minute powerplay to get the Moose's final tally. Wade Flaherty earned his shutout bigtime when he stopped all 17 of the Barons' third-period shots. The Moose outshot the Barons 33-30. Flaherty stopped all his shots for Manitoba, while Nolan Schaefer stopped 29 for Cleveland. Kesler had an assist along with his goal, and Tomas Mojzis had two assists; these were the two multipoint players for the Moose.
Upcoming...
Tonight: Lethbridge at Vancouver, Spokane at Everett, Portland at Prince George, Manitoba at Cleveland
Tomorrow: Everett at Seattle, Portland at Prince George
New Year's Eve: Seattle at Portland, Chicago at Manitoba, Tri-City at Puget Sound
New Year's Day: Spokane at Vancouver, Seattle at Everett, Portland at Tri-City, Tri-City at Puget Sound
There's a connection here. Here's Braydon Coburn of the Portland Winter Hawks fishing for the puck off the boards as a member of Team Canada.
United States beat Switzerland, 6-4. Ryan Callahan and Kevin Porter scored in the first and second periods, respectively to get the USA a 2-0 lead going into the third period. In said third period, eight goals were scored in a span of 6:21, four goals per side. The Swiss actually scored the first two goals to tie the game, a tie that lasted for all of 30 seconds, when Drew Stafford of the North Dakota Fighting Sioux made it 3-2 USA on the power play. Team USA never let go of the lead from that point. Six different players scored the goals for the USA, the most heralded of which is probably Patrick O'Sullivan. Switzerland outshot the USA 35-30. Al Montoya stopped 31 for the States, and Michael Tobler turned away 24 for the Swiss.
Canada beat Sweden, 8-1. A couple of big two-man advantage kills helped the Canadians keep the Swedes at bay. Seven different players scored for Canada. Sidney Crosby scored twice on the power play, and he's been in the news for saying some things about possibly playing in the NHL no matter what situation arises when the league comes back (re: replacement players). Ryan Getzlaf and Andrew Ladd of the WHL's Calgary Hitmen both scored goals, as did Nigel Dawes of the Kootenay Ice of the same league. Dawes' Kootenay teammate Jeff Glass stopped 16 of 17 in net for Canada. While Brent Seabrook wasn't with his regular team facing the Thunderbirds tonight, he had two assists for the Canadians. Christopher Heino-Lindberg stopped 24 of 30 for Sweden (and 15 of 16 in the first period) before he was pulled after the sixth Canada goal.
Russia beat Czech Republic, 4-1. Strong play on defense and goalie killing off penalties got this win for the Russians. Of course, a goal and two assists by Evgeni Malkin along with a goal and an assist from Sergei Shirokov didn't hurt either. The Russians led 2-0 after 20 minutes, and got to within 3-1 on a Zbynek Hrdel shot from the point, but the Russians held the Czechs scoreless the rest of the way. Russia outshot the Czech Republic 32-26. Anton Khubodin stopped 25 for Russia, and Marek Schwarz of the Vancouver Giants stopped 28 for the Czechs.
Slovakia shut out Finland, 2-0. If you ask me, this was the surprise of the night. The Finns went scoreless in five tries on the power play and couldn't put anything past Jaroslav Halak. Tomas Bulik scored the first goal of the game 5:25 into the second period, and it held up as the game-winner. For good measure, Andrej Meszaros of the Vancouver Giants punched in an empty-netter to put the game away for the Slovaks. Slovakia outshot Finland 27-19. Tuukka Rask stopped 25 for the Finns, and Halak stopped all 19 for Slovakia.
Upcoming for the World Junior Championships...
Tonight: Germany vs. Canada, Russia vs. Belarus
Tomorrow: Czech Republic vs. Switzerland, Finland vs. Sweden, Belarus vs. United States, Slovakia vs. Germany
Thursday: Canada vs. Finland, Switzerland vs. Russia, United States vs. Czech Republic, Sweden vs. Slovakia
New Year's Day: medal round begins
---
Go have yourself the best derned rootin-tootin' Tuesday you've had in a while. If anyone out there ever actually hears me say that in person, I give you permission to slap me across the face.
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