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Saturday, October 16, 2004

2004 MARINERS GAME RECAP ARCHIVE 

Yes, you, the esteemed and greatly appreciated Sports and Bremertonians reader, can now relive the 2004 Seattle Mariners season through the recaps that I cranked out throughout the year. Jeremy filled in for one recap the day after I left for my geology field course, and I've filled in the rest of the spots with links to the SportsLine recaps. Yes, you can relive the 0-5 start, Kevin Jarvis being completely incompetent, and the 15-game road losing streak, but you can also sift through the late-season stuff on Ichiro and Edgar Martinez, which was decidedly more positive.

Here's what they're saying about the recaps...

"[S]cathing" -- Alex at Theo's Gift

Of course, Steve passed along some suggestions for better readability as far as recaps were concerned, and I think I eventually got around to them. However, it did take me until the 26th of August to finally get a template and stick to it as far as the recaps were concerned. Also, gameballs and goats weren't regular until mid-April.

Enjoy your surf through the trials and travails of your 2004 Seattle Mariners, folks.

[Edit 23 Dec ~5:32a -- The game on 11 Apr was originally listed as a 10-5 loss in Anaheim, though the gameball and goat were given to players off of the correct teams. The problem has been rectified.

~6:21a -- The game on 14 Apr was originally listed as a 7-5 defeat in Oakland, which has also been rectified.

~6:24a -- score of 31 May game originally listed as 2-1, now rectified.

~6:26a -- 4 Jun game originally listed as 6-5, rectified.]


APRIL
Tue 6: L 10-5 vs ANA (0-1, .000); gameball: Mateo
Wed 7: L 10-7 vs ANA (0-2, .000) (outside recap)
Thu 8: L 5-1 vs ANA (0-3, .000); gameball: Garcia, goat: Melvin/D Myers/Boone/M Myers/Hasegawa
Fri 9: L 8-6 at OAK (0-4, .000) (outside recap)
Sat 10: L 2-1 at OAK (0-5, .000); gameball: Meche
Sun 11: W 9-4 at OAK (1-5, .167); gameball: Hasegawa, goat: Kielty (OAK)
Tue 13: L 7-5 at ANA (1-6, .143) (outside recap)
Wed 14: L 6-5 at ANA (1-7, .125); gameball: Aurilia
Thu 15: W 6-2 at ANA (2-7, .222) (outside recap)
Fri 16: L 5-0 vs TEX (2-8, .200); gameball: Olerud, goat: Ibanez
Sat 17: W 4-1 vs TEX (3-8, .273) (outside recap)
Sun 18: W 4-2 vs TEX (4-8, .333); gameball: Spiezio, goat: Winn
Mon 19: W 2-1 vs OAK (5-8, .385); gameball: Garcia, goat: Wilson
Tue 20: W 2-1 vs OAK (6-8, .429); gameball: Franklin, goat: Boone
Wed 21: L 7-4 vs OAK (6-9, .400); gameball: Olerud, goat: Myers
Thu 22: L 8-2 vs OAK (6-10, .375); gameball: Martinez, goat: Bloomquist
Fri 23: L 10-8 at TEX (6-11, .353); gameball: Spiezio, goat: Jarvis
Sat 24: L 3-0 at TEX (6-12, .333); gameball: Garcia, goat: Ichiro
Sun 25: L 14-6 at TEX (6-13, .316); gameball: Martinez, goat: Jarvis
Tue 27: W 7-5 at BAL (7-13, .350); gameball: Olerud, goat: Meche
Wed 28: L 3-1 at BAL (7-14, .333); gameball: Moyer, Ichiro
Thu 29: L 9-5 at BAL (7-15, .318); gameball: Pineiro, goat: Ichiro
Fri 30: W 3-1 at DET (8-15, .348); gameball: Garcia, goat: Olerud
MONTH of April: 8-15, .348

MAY
Sat 1: L 4-2 at DET (8-16, .333); gameball: Olerud, goat: Spiezio
Sun 2: W 12-2 at DET (9-16, .360); gameball: Winn, goat: Aurilia
Tue 4: W 4-3 vs MIN (10-16, .385); gameball: Villone, goat: Aurilia
Wed 5: L 5-1 vs MIN (10-17, .370); gameball: Putz, goat: Boone
Thu 6: W 2-1 vs MIN (11-17, .393); gameball: Garcia, goat: Ibanez
Fri 7: W 6-2 vs NYY (12-17, .414); gameball: Cabrera, goat: Wilson
Sat 8: L 6-0 vs NYY (12-18, .400); gameball: Putz, goat: Ibanez
Sun 9: L 7-6 vs NYY (12-19, .387); gameball: Wilson, goat: Boone
Tue 11: L 7-6 at MIN (12-20, .375); gameball: Aurilia, goat: Hasegawa
Wed 12: L 4-3 at MIN (12-21, .364); gameball: Martinez, goat: Cabrera
Thu 13: L 1-0 at MIN (12-22, .353); gameball: Franklin, goat: Ibanez
Fri 14: L 9-5 at NYY (12-23, .343); gameball: Hansen, goat: Ibanez
Sat 15: W 13-7 at NYY (13-23, .361); gameball: Wilson, goat: Winn
Sun 16: L 2-1 at NYY (13-24, .351); gameball: Ichiro, goat: Borders
Tue 18: L 7-2 vs BAL (13-25, .342); gameball: Boone, goat: Winn
Wed 19: L 5-2 vs BAL (13-26, .333); gameball: Putz, goat: Ibanez
Thu 20: W 11-0 vs BAL (14-26, .350); gameball: Aurilia, goat: McCracken
Fri 21: L 5-0 vs DET (14-27, .341); gameball: Meche, goat: Martinez
Sat 22: L 8-4 vs DET (14-28, .333); gameball: Pineiro, goat: Aurilia
Sun 23: W 3-1 vs DET (15-28, .349); gameball: Olerud, goat: Winn
Tue 25: W 5-4 at CLE (16-28, .364); gameball: Hasegawa, goat: Wilson
Wed 26: W 7-3 at CLE (17-28, .378); gameball: Ichiro, goat: Bloomquist
Thu 27: L 9-5 at CLE (17-29, .370); gameball: Martinez, goat: Ibanez
Fri 28: L 8-4 at BOS (17-30, .362); gameball: Olerud, goat: Martinez
Sat 29: W 5-4 at BOS (18-30, .375); gameball: Myers, goat: Spiezio
Sun 30: L 9-7 at BOS (18-31, .367); gameball: Martinez, goat: Mateo
Mon 31: W 6-2 vs TOR (19-31, .380)
MONTH of May: 11-16, .407

JUNE
Tue 1: L 6-5 vs TOR (19-32, .373); gameball: Mateo, goat: Martinez
Wed 2: L 5-3 vs TOR (19-33, .365); gameball: Aurilia, goat: Boone
Fri 4: L 4-2 vs CHW (19-34, .358); gameball: Garcia, goat: Olerud
Sat 5: W 4-2 vs CHW (20-34, .370); gameball: Boone, goat: Putz
Sun 6: W 5-4 vs CHW (21-34, .382); gameball: Winn, goat: Wilson
Mon 7: W 5-0 vs HOU (22-34, .393); gameball: Mateo, goat: Cabrera
Tue 8: L 1-0 vs HOU (22-35, .386); gameball: Pineiro, goat: Martinez
Wed 9: L 3-0 vs HOU (22-36, .379); gameball: Garcia, goat: Olerud
Fri 11: W 1-0 vs MTL (23-36, .390); gameball: Olerud, goat: Boone
Sat 12: W 3-0 vs MTL (24-36, .400); gameball: Bocachica, goat: Spiezio
Sun 13: W 8-1 vs MTL (25-36, .410); gameball: Olerud, goat: Bloomquist
Tue 15: L 3-0 at MIL (25-37, .403); gameball: Garcia, goat: Mariner offense
Wed 16: L 4-1 at MIL (25-38, .397) (outside recap)
Thu 17: W 6-3 at MIL (26-38, .406) (outside recap)
Fri 18: W 5-4 at PIT (27-38, .415) (outside recap)
Sat 19: W 5-1 at PIT (28-38, .424) (outside recap)
Sun 20: W 5-4 at PIT (29-38, .433) (outside recap)
Tue 22: L 10-2 at TEX (29-39, .426) (outside recap)
Wed 23: L 6-3 at TEX (29-40, .420) (outside recap)
Thu 24: L 9-7 at TEX (29-41, .414) (outside recap)
Fri 25: L 3-2 vs SD (29-42, .408) (outside recap)
Sat 26: W 7-3 vs SD (30-42, .417) (outside recap)
Sun 27: L 5-1 vs SD (30-43, .411) (outside recap)
Mon 28: L 8-5 vs TEX (30-44, .405) (outside recap)
Tue 29: W 4-3 vs TEX (31-44, .413) (outside recap)
Wed 30: L 9-6 vs TEX (31-45, .408) (outside recap)
MONTH of June: 12-14, .462

JULY
Thu 1: W 8-4 vs TEX (32-45, .416) (outside recap)
Fri 2: L 11-2 at STL (32-46, .410) (outside recap)
Sat 3: L 8-1 at STL (32-47, .405) (outside recap)
Sun 4: L 2-1 at STL (32-48, .400) (outside recap)
Tue 6: L 7-6 at TOR (32-49, .395) (outside recap)
Wed 7: L 12-4 at TOR (32-50, .390) (outside recap)
Thu 8: L 10-8 at TOR (32-51, .386) (outside recap)
Fri 9: L 6-2 at CHW (32-52, .381) (outside recap)
Sat 10: L 3-2 at CHW (32-53, .376) (outside recap)
Sun 11: L 4-3 at CHW (32-54, .372) (outside recap)
Thu 15: W 2-1 vs CLE (33-54, .379) (outside recap)
Fri 16: L 18-6 vs CLE (33-55, .375) (outside recap)
Sat 17: L 6-5 vs CLE (33-56, .371) (outside recap)
Sun 18: W 7-5 vs CLE (34-56, .378) (outside recap)
Mon 19: W 8-4 vs BOS (35-56, .385) (outside recap)
Tue 20: L 9-7 vs BOS (35-57, .380) (outside recap)
Wed 21: W 6-5 vs OAK (36-57, .387) (outside recap)
Thu 22: W 4-2 vs OAK (37-57, .394) (outside recap)
Fri 23: L 8-2 vs ANA (37-58, .389) (outside recap)
Sat 24: L 8-4 vs ANA (37-59, .385); gameball: Winn, goat: Jacobsen
Sun 25: W 6-2 vs ANA (38-59, .392); gameball: Pineiro, goat: Spiezio
Mon 26: L 14-5 at OAK (38-60, .388); gameball: Martinez, goat: Ibanez
Tue 27: L 5-3 at OAK (38-61, .384); gameball: Franklin, goat: Winn
Wed 28: L 3-2 at OAK (38-62, .380); gameball: Moyer, goat: Bloomquist
Thu 29: W 6-5 at ANA (39-62, .386); gameball: Madritsch, goat: Olivo
Fri 30: L 6-5 at ANA (39-63, .382); gameball: Jacobsen, goat: Ibanez
Sat 31: L 9-8 at ANA (39-64, .379); gameball: Ibanez, goat: Blackley
MONTH of July: 8-19, .296

AUGUST
Sun 1: L 3-2 at ANA (39-65, .375); gameball: Jacobsen, goat: Spiezio
Tue 3: L 9-7 at BAL (39-66, .371); gameball: Ichiro, goat: Villone
Tue 3: L 5-4 at BAL (39-67, .368); gameball: Moyer, goat: Ibanez
Wed 4: L 6-3 at BAL (39-68, .364); gameball: Winn, goat: Bloomquist
Thu 5: W 4-2 at TB (40-68, .370); gameball: Madritsch, goat: Ibanez
Fri 6: L 2-1 at TB (40-69, .367); gameball: Franklin, goat: Bloomquist
Sat 7: W 5-2 at TB (41-69, .373); gameball: Olivo, goat: Cabrera
Sun 8: L 5-1 at TB (41-70, .369); gameball: Wilson, goat: Winn
Tue 10: W 4-3 vs MIN (42-70, .375); gameball: Martinez, goat: Ibanez
Wed 11: W 4-3 vs MIN (43-70, .381); gameball: Madritsch, goat: Wilson
Thu 12: L 6-3 vs MIN (43-71, .377); gameball: Thornton, goat: Franklin
Fri 13: L 11-3 vs NYY (43-72, .374); gameball: Martinez, goat: Villone
Sat 14: L 6-4 vs NYY (43-73, .371); gameball: Lopez, goat: Hasegawa
Sun 15: W 7-3 vs NYY (44-73, .376); gameball: Olivo, goat: Bloomquist
Tue 17: W 16-3 at KC (45-73, .381); gameball: Ibanez, goat: Olivo
Wed 18: L 3-2 at KC (45-74, .378); gameball: Franklin, goat: Wilson
Fri 20: L 8-3 at DET (45-75, .375); gameball: Cabrera, goat: Thornton
Sat 21: L 11-10 at DET (45-76, .372); gameball: Winn, goat: Moyer
Sun 22: W 5-3 at DET (46-76, .377); gameball: Jacobsen, goat: Winn
Mon 23: L 9-0 vs TB (46-77, .374); gameball: Martinez, goat: Boone
Tue 24: L 6-5 vs TB (46-78, .371); gameball: Boone, goat: Ibanez
Wed 25: L 6-5 vs TB (46-79, .368); gameball: Winn, goat: Cabrera
Thu 26: L 7-3 vs KC (46-80, .365); gameball: Winn, goat: Moyer
Fri 27: W 7-5 vs KC (47-80, .370); gameball: Spiezio, goat: Jacobsen
Sat 28: W 9-7 vs KC (48-80, .375); gameball: Bocachica, goat: Wilson
Sat 28: W 5-3 vs KC (49-80, .380); gameball: Baek, goat: Jacobsen
Sun 29: W 5-4 vs KC (50-80, .385); gameball: Villone, goat: Lopez
Tue 31: W 7-5 at TOR (51-80, .389); gameball: Lopez, goat: Ibanez
MONTH of August: 12-16, .429

SEPTEMBER
Wed 1: L 4-2 at TOR (51-81, .386); gameball: Ichiro, goat: Winn
Thu 2: L 8-6 at TOR (51-82, .383); gameball: Kida, goat: Jacobsen
Fri 3: L 7-5 at CHW (51-83, .381); gameball: Winn, goat: Cabrera
Sat 4: L 8-7 at CHW (51-84, .378); gameball: Ichiro, goat: Franklin
Sun 5: L 6-2 at CHW (51-85, .375); gameball: Martinez, goat: Ibanez
Mon 6: L 5-0 vs CLE (51-86, .372); gameball: Martinez, goat: Ibanez
Wed 8: L 9-5 vs CLE (51-87, .370); gameball: Martinez, goat: Bloomquist
Thu 9: W 7-1 vs BOS (52-87, .374); gameball: Madritsch, goat: Wilson
Fri 10: L 13-2 vs BOS (52-88, .371); gameball: Boone, goat: Franklin
Sat 11: L 9-0 vs BOS (52-89, .369); gameball: Dobbs, goat: Moyer
Sun 12: W 2-0 vs BOS (53-89, .373); gameball: Meche, goat: Lopez
Mon 13: L 5-1 vs ANA (53-90, .371); gameball: Lopez, goat: Spiezio
Tue 14: W 3-2 vs ANA (54-90, .375); gameball: Madritsch, goat: Boone
Wed 15: W 1-0 vs ANA (55-90, .379); gameball: Franklin, goat: Cabrera
Thu 16: L 6-1 vs ANA (55-91, .377); gameball: Moyer, goat: Winn
Fri 17: W 6-3 vs OAK (56-91, .381); gameball: Villone, goat: Bloomquist
Sat 18: L 7-4 vs OAK (56-92, .378); gameball: Winn, goat: Olivo
Sun 19: L 2-1 vs OAK (56-93, .376); gameball: Reed, goat: Olivo
Mon 20: L 5-2 vs ANA (56-94, .373) (outside recap)
Tue 21: W 7-3 at ANA (57-94, .377) (outside recap)
Wed 22: W 16-6 at ANA (58-94, .382) (outside recap)
Fri 24: W 8-7 at TEX (59-94, .386) (outside recap)
Sat 25: L 5-4 at TEX (59-95, .383) (outside recap)
Sun 26: W 9-0 at TEX (60-95, .387) (outside recap)
Mon 27: L 6-5 at OAK (60-96, .385) (outside recap)
Tue 28: W 7-2 at OAK (61-96, .389); gameball: Reed, goat: Olivo
Wed 29: W 4-2 at OAK (62-96, .392); gameball: Cabrera, goat: Wilson
Thu 30: L 3-2 at OAK (62-97, .390); gameball: Olivo, goat: Martinez
MONTH of September: 11-17, .393

OCTOBER
Fri 1: W 8-3 vs TEX (63-97, .394); gameball: Ichiro, goat: Lopez
Sat 2: L 10-4 vs TEX (63-98, .391); gameball: Martinez, goat: Boone
Sun 3: L 3-0 vs TEX (63-99, .389); gameball: Ichiro, goat: Ibanez
MONTH of October: 1-2, .333

Thanks to our readers for sticking with us throughout the season, and here's to a more tolerable 2005 season for the Seattle Mariners.

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BRONSON 

In honor of Bronson Arroyo's 1st inning performance against the Yankees...

Sometimes the world looks perfect
Nothing to rearrange
Sometimes you just
Get a feelin' like you need some kind of change
Standing tall
On the wings of my dream
Rise and fall
On the wings of my dream
Rain and thunder, the wind and haze
I'm bound for better days
It's my life
It's my dream
Nothing's gonna stop me now.

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WEAKEND 

Okay, I'm sitting here between LCS games, and I haven't swept through the slew of articles in post form...

BASEBALL
-- I'll set the over/under on the next Carlos Beltran contract at $140M over eight years. Just a crazy knee-jerk reaction to his performance today.

-- Bob Finnigan has moved "patient and positive" Grady Little to the forefront of the managerial speculation involving the Mariners, reporting that the Mariners have met with him, as well as Joe Maddon, and are "believed to have met" with the "intense and extremely organized" Terry Collins. Finnigan reports Mariner interest in Buddy Bell (ugh), Jerry Manuel, Lee Elia, and Mike Hargrove.

FOOTBALL
-- Robbie Tobeck has to eye the defense and instruct the line for blocking schemes based on what he reads when he puts his hand on the ball before the snap. This will be even more imperative tomorrow against the Patriots. Why? Because Bill Belichick is nuts. I remember when Belichick was just some crappy coach for a crappy Cleveland Browns team back in the day. Vinny Testaverde, Michael Jackson, Leroy Hoard (who did NOT play football against Al Martin), Mark Carrier...great teams, really. And I've already mentioned that I cringed last Sunday when Josh Brown had to punt. Tom Rouen punting tomorrow is seriously in doubt (seconded here).

BASKETBALL
-- Ray Allen really doesn't like the idea of throwing out the three-point line, and frankly, I don't either. I hate the low-scoring games, but I don't think taking out the three line is the answer. Also, former Michigan State star Mateen Cleaves is still on the roster.

-- Furthermore, Luke Ridnour and others got the opportunity to work out with John Stockton. In the article, we learn that John Stockton was a big proponent of the knee-on-knee hit (I know it's not hockey, bear with me) as well as the flop after making contact with the defender's knee. That's evil.

-- Who could forget the Storm's victory celebration at Westlake Center?

HOCKEY
-- Everett beat Portland 5-3 with goals from five different players, three of the goals coming in the third period.

-- Brian Bridges pitched a 30-save shutout and Aaron Gagnon netted a hat trick as the Thunderbirds beat the defending Memorial Cup champion Kelowna Rockets, 4-0.

-- Mike Truex had two goals and four assists, and Kyle Stombaugh and Carl Horten had two goals and three assists each as the Puget Sound Tomahawks steamrolled the Kootenai (Coeur d'Alene) Colts by a score of 7-1 to run their record to 10-1. Iggy Slepokourev stopped 30 of 31 shots.

-- The Vancouver Giants came away from Spokane with a 3-2 win over the Chiefs, running their streak to a franchise-record six straight wins, despite being outshot in every period.

-- Lee Goren had his first goal as a Moose, as well as two more for a hat trick, leading Manitoba to a 7-2 whipping of the Rochester Americans.

Tonight: Vancouver at Kootenay (Cranbrook), Seattle at Everett, Prince George at Portland, Puget Sound at Kootenai (Coeur d'Alene), Manitoba at Cleveland

It's game time. Kevin K. Brown against Bronson "Pinchot" Arroyo. Yippee.

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WEEK 6 PICK ME UP 

What is it with me?

I have success with the early games, but in the late games, I don't do so well. At least the Seahawks are playing the Patriots earlier in the day, so that's a good thing, I guess.

In Week 5, I was 8-6. As always, I'm hoping to do better.

Here are my Week 6 picks:

WEEK 6
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17
EARLY GAMES


Seattle at New England (FOX, televised in Arkansas)
(Seahawks 28, Patriots 24. The streak ends.)

San Diego at Atlanta
(Call me crazy, but I'd rather have LaDainian Tomlinson than Michael Vick)

San Francisco at New York Jets
(Why didn't I pick the Jets to make the playoffs this year?)

Miami at Buffalo
(Ugh)

Carolina at Philadelphia
(Aww hell, let's go nuts, "Swords" for 48,000!)

Washington at Chicago
(These aren't my elementary school 'Hogs and 'Da Bears)

Kansas City at Jacksonville (CBS, televised in Arkansas)
(This game will come down to the special teams, I can feel it)

Cincinnati at Cleveland
(Butch Davis to Texas? The rumors are starting...)

Green Bay at Detroit
(Brett Favre does not play well in domes)

Houston at Tennessee
(Chris Brown, can you please convert on 3rd and short?)

LATE GAMES
Pittsburgh at Dallas (CBS, televised in Arkansas)
(I believe in Ben Roethlisberger)

Denver at Oakland
(The Broncos, the worst 1-loss team in football)

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Minnesota at New Orleans (ESPN)
(Daunte Culpepper will have another big game)

MONDAY, OCTOBER 18
MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Tampa Bay at St. Louis (ABC)
(UPSET OF THE WEEK. The Rams will have a letdown, I'm calling it right now.)

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

FINALLY!

Seahawks fans can rejoice. We will get a decent broadcasting team for a change.

Dick Stockton, Troy Aikman, and Cris Collinsworth will call the 'Hawks-Patriots game from Foxboro on Sunday. Joe Buck is busy covering the biggest series in the history of the world, Yankees-Red Sox. Personally, I'd be more excited about that series if FOX used Nelson. But that would make too much sense.

Hooray for football. Hooray for Seahawks. Hooray responsibility.

Hooray!

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Friday, October 15, 2004

ALL OVER 

I guess it's a little roundup here on a Friday.

MARINERS
I'm just going to pretend that Whitey Herzog's name never came up in the Mariners' managerial speculation hoopla. Between the names of Joe Maddon, Terry Collins, Grady Little, Jimy Williams, Art Howe, Whitey Herzog, and Don Baylor, let's check my excitement level really quick upon reading this... Yup; flatlined.

SEAHAWKS
Did you know Steve Nelson was a Pro Bowl linebacker for the Patriots back in the day? Okay, it's probably a different one. Anyway, Matt Hasselbeck's dad's teammate has a few things to say about the young Hasselbeck. Also, Itula Mili realizes he's a backup to Jerramy Stevens. In the notes section, Ken Hamlin and Ced Woodard have sore toes and are probable for Sunday. There's also that Jerry Rice rumor. At this point, if anything can help Koren Robinson hang onto the ball, by all means those things should be pursued.

SONICS/STORM
Nate McMillan wants more out of Vlad Radmanovic. This leads me to ask myself, how long have the Sonics left the "Rashard or Vlad" dilemma on the table? It's mildly infuriating. There's another article on this, with both articles reporting that Ray Allen was poked in the eye by Ibrahim Kutluay and had to take a trip to the ol' ophthalmologist. Also, they're beating up Robert Swift at practice, and he seems to be taking it really well, to the point where he might actually contribute this season, far ahead of original plans. I guess this tends to happen after Jerome James plays 25 minutes and gets one rebound the other night. In Storm news, Lauren Jackson will have bone spurs taken out of her foot (notice the nice picture of Jackson seemingly resisting Howie Schultz's peck on the cheek), and David Locke suggests that Anne Donovan does everything a good coach does, making her more than suitable for an NBA job.

HOCKEY
Wayne Gretzky can coach the Phoenix Coyotes if he wants to (provided they ever play). He's a 17% owner in the team, and nets $2.5M/yr as a managing partner in the team. And if you want to tick yourself off, here's the NHL's collective bargaining agreement news site. And there's Charlie Teujeur's letter to Gary Bettman.

Tonight: Vancouver at Spokane, Everett at Portland, Kelowna at Seattle, Puget Sound at Kootenai, Manitoba at Rochester

Have a good day, and have fun watching Kevin Brown and Bronson Arroyo. I guess.

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Thursday, October 14, 2004

HASSELBECK'S DAD 



Sunday's Seahawks-Patriots game in Foxboro is a big game for obvious reasons.

But this is also a homecoming for 'Hawks QB Matt Hasselbeck, the former Boston College star. His father Don was a tight end for the Patriots from 1977 to 1982.

Here are Don Hasselbeck's stats, courtesy of Pro Football Reference.

In a related note, I love the Patriots old logo. I still have an old school Pats hat that I bought at a garage sale a few years ago. If the Patriots win on Sunday, I'll wear that hat next week. Then again, I may just wear it anyway, because it's a cool hat.

With the way things have been going this week here at Sports and Bremertonians, you could almost rename this place "Sports and Bostonians". If this is your first time here, welcome. We always appreciate our readers.

And it's finally official. I'll be able to watch the 'Hawks on the FOX affiliate here.

Good times, good times.

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GOOD FRIGGING MORNING 

Here's the stuff that I fell asleep over last night. I might have posted part of this post on accident about 20 minutes ago. Anyway, it's tidbittage.

MARINERS
-- Bob Finnigan reports that former Florida manager John Boles has been hired into the organization, but then doesn't give Boles' new title. Just that he's going "to help Mariners GM Bill Bavasi rebuild the Mariners." The article then moves on to further managerial speculation, namely Bavasi retreads Terry Collins and Joe Maddon. There's also a sprinkle of Uncle Lee Elia in there (hire him if you want Dan Wilson to really like it here, I guess). Also in the article was the seemingly tacked-on part about the Mariners "no longer hav[ing] the services of" coaches John Moses and Jim Slaton. Most of the rest of the names seem to be Finnigan spewing stuff, though, except for maybe one name, which has another corroborative partner in the Seattle print media...

-- The headline to the John Hickey article reads "Baylor to interview with M's." The first sentence in the article says "...Baylor is expected to be interviewed by the Mariners for their vacant managerial job..." [emphasis added]. I take this a lot differently than, say, "Baylor will fly to Seattle on Monday and be interviewed for the vacant Mariners' managerial post." For me, the last sentence I just made up would have been suitable for the headline that was put onto the story. The one that actually ran is not. I bet it's great for selling papers, though. Bavasi is indirectly quoted as trying to have a new manager hired by the start of the Yankees/Cardinals World Series (yeah, I said it). Also, the Mariners outrighted Jeff Heaverlo, Mickey Lopez, BJ Garbe, and Hiram Bocachica to Tacoma. Bocachica refused and walked. The three that took the outright are vulnerable to be lost to the Rule V Draft (oh damn!!! That'd suck!! Yes, I'm kidding).

-- Some of my thoughts about the games last night. Remember when Brandon Backe was just another one of those Tampa Bay no-names with an ERA of 5.44? A year later, somehow he's the Astros' LCS Game 1 starter. How the Astros have gotten away with the likes of Phil Garner, Backe, Pete Munro, and an injured Andy Pettitte, I'll never know. ... About the Cardinals, I called the Pujols homer about 30 seconds before it happened. I didn't think it'd be opposite-field, though. ... As for that other series, it looks like it's different players and the same result for the Yankees and Red Sox. Does anyone see this series going seven? I can't see it, especially if this ankle injury to Curt Schilling hampers him. No Pettitte and no Clemens and the Yankees are still pulling this crap. Life isn't fair. And I didn't even mention the John Olerud homer.

-- Why is Bret Boone having LASIK eye surgery on his 20/30 eyes? Maybe that's contact-assisted. Bret Boone is on KJR right now with Mitch, anyway.

SEAHAWKS
-- Jerry Wunsch rejoined the Seahawks, signing a two-year deal. Tod McBride was waived to make room. Wunsch apparently is insurance for next season. Four linemen (Walter Jones, Robbie Tobeck, Chris Gray, Floyd Womack) are all eligible to be free agents next offseason.

-- Did anyone else cringe last Sunday when Josh Brown punted after Tom Rouen had the hamstring injury? I know I did. I was glad he got it away, though it was kind of short, but I'm also glad he didn't shank it or have it get blocked. Overall, the Brown punt wasn't as disastrous a play as any of Koren Robinson's dropped balls or Shaun Alexander's failed 3rd-and-1 attempt with about 4 minutes to go. Kudos to a couple of KJR voice mailers, one who called the Groz and Gas show as Koren (dropping everything he held, including his sandwich and phone), and the drunk one who called Mitch Levy repeatedly, complaining about how Alexander takes one step forward and then tries to bounce to the outside every time, and the opposition picks up on it easily. There was cursing involved in Drunk Guy's responses.

-- Greg Bishop has an interesting little article about quarterbacks drafted in the late rounds having some success lately. Two of them (Matt Hasselbeck/Tom Brady) will face off on Sunday. Input from Michael Holley, Phil Simms, and Trent Dilfer. The P-I also has a somewhat similar article, just saying that the two have had a somewhat similar ascent.

SONICS
-- Nate McMillan messed with the lineup last night in Portland after Ray Allen was sidelined with migraines and gastrointenstinal problems and Luke Ridnour was out with a left eye scratch. Rashard Lewis was used at shooting guard. Anyway, the game ended up with Portland waxing the floor with the green and gold (yellow), 92-73. A much more interesting read is the P-I article, with Ray Allen's take on Kobe and the new Lakers. Frank Hughes would tell you that some of Allen's words were "sharp" and "visceral."

HOCKEY
-- The Manitoba Moose (the Canucks' farm team) came away with a 6-3 win at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last night. Veteran journeyman goalie Wade Flaherty came in after Alex Auld allowed three goals on his first four shots. Flaherty stopped all 15 shots he faced. Jimmy Roy and Jason King had two goals and one assist apiece (Roy with the gamer). Peter Sarno added a goal and an assist, and Ryan Kesler chipped in with a goal.

-- The Everett Silvertips came away with a 2-2 tie against last year's Memorial Cup champs, the Kelowna Rockets. I'd be a little more jazzed if they'd won the Memorial Cup in Tacoma. This despite the 'Tips being outshot 33-12. Credit to Michael Wall in net.

-- The Vancouver Giants got a 4-3 overtime win against Prince George on an overtime power-play goal by Andrej Meszaros. Also in the works for the Giants is a scrimmage with a few of the Canucks (May, Cloutier, Naslund, Sopel, Jovanovski?, Cooke) on December 11 to benefit Canuck Place Children's Hospice.

-- Tomorrow: Vancouver at Spokane; Everett at Portland; Kelowna at Seattle

And that'll be it for now. There'll probably be more, seeing as to how they don't want me back at work until Monday. Hooray for temp work! No hooray for no money!

Again, thanks to Nelson de la Rosa, who got us the best hit day in recorded Sports and B's history, to the tune of almost 800 hits. Freakin' crazy. So to recap, our day-to-day content alone nets us about 200-250 hits on a weekday, whereas Nelson has netted us hundreds more. Amazing.

And to anyone new out there to Sports and B's, please enjoy your stay.

[Edit Fri ~1:09a -- Sorry I realized this really late, but with my work week getting curtailed, I lost track of what day it was. The three hockey games are on Friday, as opposed to Thursday, which I implied in the original posting. This has been changed.]

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Wednesday, October 13, 2004

WHAT BETTER TIME THAN HERE? 

What better time than now? (Well, Sunday)



I would just like to remind everybody that the New England Patriots have not broken the NFL record for consecutive victories. The NFL Record and Fact Book, the football bible as far as I'm concerned, only recognizes a team's consecutive victory streak in the regular season. The playoff results are not recognized in this particular record.

Most Consecutive Games Won
17 Chicago Bears, 1933-34
16 New England, 2003-04
Chicago Bears, 1941-42
Miami, 1971-73
Miami, 1983-84
15 L.A. Chargers/San Diego, 1960-61
San Francisco, 1989-1990


As for this week's issue of Sports Illustrated, if there ever was a time for the "SI Cover Jinx" to come into effect, this Sunday would be the perfect time for it. Of course, the Seahawks are good enough on their own to beat the Patriots. It is not like they need Sports Illustrated to help them out.

Yes, this Seahawks team is good enough to win in Foxboro on Sunday. I'm so fired up for Sunday that I can barely contain myself. This is a chance for the Seahawks to eliminate some of the bad vibes from the Rams debacle.

We always talk about how the Seahawks don't get any respect. Well, the fact is, they have to win in order to get some respect. What better way to get respect than to beat the defending Super Bowl champions on their turf? In addition, prevent the Patriots from tying an NFL record.

I expect the Seahawks to use Shaun Alexander a lot on Sunday. The Patriots have struggled against the run and Alexander is arguably the best running back they have faced so far this season. Alexander seems to get up for the marquee games (i.e. games that are shown on national television). I would say that this Sunday's game is a marquee game.

Get up or get out.

BTW, I would like to invite Seahawks fans to A Large Regular, a blog from Chris Lynch, who's from the Boston area. We already have ALR linked down in the "baseball blogs" section, but I figured I would post it here as well. Hopefully for Chris' sake, the Red Sox win tonight.

One more thing, about our increased hit totals lately...

Thank you, Nelson.

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SNOOZE 

I didn't see anything new on the Mariner front tonight, so it's on to other stuff...

-- Well, here's some more articles on the Seattle Storm winning the first major pro sports championship in Seattle in 25 years. Times articles are here, here, here, and here. P-I articles are here, here, here, and here. From expansion team to WNBA champs in five years. Crazy.

-- In other basketball news, the Sonics played a preseason game that I'm sure nobody cared about. They beat the Lakers 87-80 at the Pond in Anaheim. Ho, hum. In Percy Allen's article, I'm not sure how to react to a sentence where Luke Ridnour "led the defensive charge." Also, can anyone tell me why the hell Kobe Bryant is playing 41 minutes in a preseason game? Also, the KJR broadcast of the Sonics' game tonight was tape-delayed until after the Storm coverage was over with. So most people out there probably didn't get to hear the debut of Craig Ehlo as Kevin Calabro's color man. This will be Calabro's 18th season with the Sonics, which seems incredible.

-- In other other basketball news, this whole story with TrailBlazer Qyntel Woods and dogs is a tiny bit disturbing.

-- J-M Romero suggests that New England fans won't give a crap what happens in Foxboro with the Red Sox still alive. Clare Farnsworth gives us even MORE damning stats regarding the Seahawks' debacle on Sunday, this time tossing out some facts involving third-down defense (or lack thereof).

-- Small hockey update. In the WHL, Vancouver is 5-2-0-0 and second in the BC division, while Seattle (4-2-0-0) and Everett (3-2-1-1) are first and second in the US Division. In the NorPac Junior B western division, the Puget Sound Tomahawks are 9-1-0, with a 10-point lead in the division (though second-place Portland has played four less games). The Vancouver Canucks' farm team, the Manitoba Moose, start their regular season tonight against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (I like the use of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre better).

And with that, I'd better get to sleep. We've got two concurrent LCS games tonight, everyone. Yes, I think that's a terrible idea. Luckily, I don't think it happens again.

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Tuesday, October 12, 2004

STORMIN' NELSON 

A couple of things...of course this is before the new Wednesday slew of articles gets posted onto the Seattle daily papers' websites.

-- I watched the second half of Sun/Storm Game 3 instead of watching Red Sox/Yankees Game 1 (and Making the Cut...dammit!). But as a Seattle sports fan, and especially after the Seahawks' debacle on Sunday, I wasn't sure of the Storm winning until the final buzzer sounded. My goodness...a pro team from Seattle won a championship? David Locke and Elise Woodward were on the Storm radio broadcast asking themselves over and over if it was real, if it was really happening. Though I haven't been following the team for the whole year, or for the last five years, or followed women's basketball religiously since Kate Starbird, the Reign, and the ABL came and went, I was sitting there in front of the TV as the buzzer sounded and had to realize what I was seeing -- a team, from Seattle, celebrating, with the crowd going nuts, hoisting up the championship trophy, confetti raining down, the crowd not wanting to leave...I can only hope this happens with one of Seattle's other teams in the near future. Since I didn't follow this team day-to-day, or for a number of years, it's nowhere near as gratifying as if, say, the Mariners managed to win a World Series. I can't begin to put into words how it'd feel if the team I've been following for as long as I can remember ended up winning it all.

-- Okay, since everybody and their mother has searched us today for it (to the tune of one of our top three days ever in terms of hits), friend Grant correctly and immediately identified Pedro's friend as an actor (Majai) in the 1996 version of the film The Island of Dr. Moreau. The man's name is Nelson de la Rosa, age 36.

-- I was let off work early today. I ran to Best Buy and got the new Sum 41 album (review may be at Rambling on Music in the near future) as well as Ren & Stimpy seasons 1 and 2 on DVD (YEAH!!!!). Then I went to Ostrander Field again and hit baseballs, but into the wind this time. Wind sucks. Wind was the one thing in Ellensburg that kept me from buying a wiffleball and wifflebat when I was over there. Wiffleball is logistically impossible in Ellensburg. Too much freakin' wind.

Okay, this'll be it before I most likely chime in on the midnight articles. Seeya next time.

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RIDIN' THE STORM OUT... 

Who knew?

The Seattle Storm are your 2004 WNBA Champions.

Storm head coach Anne Donovan is the first female coach to win a WNBA championship in league history. The previous championships were won by Houston's Van Chancellor (1997-2000), Los Angeles' Michael Cooper (2001-2002), and Detroit's Bill Laimbeer (2003).

Earlier in the year, the only Storm-related talk was about Lauren Jackson's nude photos. But now, when people talk about the Storm (yes, there are a few WNBA fans out there), they'll refer to the Storm as WNBA champions. Not a bad deal at all.

Lauren Jackson would probably bitchslap Robert Swift into oblivion, that's how good she is. Needless to say, that's going to be the only championship-caliber basketball to be played in Key Arena this year. Too bad, so sad.

Way to go, ladies. Go crazy, Storm fans.

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NIGHT MOVES 

Just a couple things before I sleep here...

-- Bill Bavasi says that the Mariners' are down to a "very short list" of managerial candidates. The only three names mentioned in Dave Andriesen's article are Jim Riggleman (ugh), Lee Elia, and John McLaren. None of the three claim to have been contacted by the Mariners. McLaren is "very, very interested" in the job.

-- Rookie Robert Swift is getting thrown around at the Sonics' training camp. From getting knocked to the floor by Vitaly Potapenko to getting a bloody nose from a Reggie Lewis elbow, Swift is apparently leaving an impression on coach McMillan (he likes the toughness) as other leave impressions on him. Well, Swift says he likes contact, and that's good considering the Sonics haven't really had a guy that likes to bang down low in a long time. I know Vin Baker sure as hell wasn't that guy. Sonic fan during Vin Baker era: "Vin Baker should drive to the basket more." Vin: [passes up open lane, pulls back for an 18-foot perimeter shot, goes home, eats, gets bombed]

-- Terreal Bierria "couldn't even sleep." Grant Wistrom, largely held at bay on Sunday by Orlando Pace, feels "sicken[ed]." Coach Holmgren didn't blow up on his players, and had to answer some of the media's questions about the late play-calling. Some KJR callers were ticked off, citing lack of preparedness after a bye week as the reason the Seahawks lost, which would be completely ignoring the first 50 or so minutes of the game, which were pretty impressive. The bottom line is that the players played 50 minutes instead of 60, and this Thiel article brings up a list of little things, that, if they had been executed or had gone the Seahawks' way, the game more than likely would have been over. I've run through the game log, and seconded what Mike Gastineau brought up today. Of the first 26 plays from scrimmage in the second half, the Seahawk offense was on the field for only four of those plays, getting one first down on a 41-yard run across midfield before the drive stalled with 7:06 to go in the 3rd quarter.

-- I've got to straighten out something John Levesque has said. In his article deriding the WNBA's playoff system (high seed gets games 2 and 3), he tries to use the Mariners' 1995 ALDS against the Yankees as an example. The point that I know he's trying to make is that this scenario should always be possible: the higher-seeded team could lose all their road games, and win all their home games, and never be behind in the series. This is why someone always complains when the NBA Finals are going on, because the 2-3-2 format is (or was, if it's since been replaced) used in the Finals, though not in the previous rounds (2-2-1-1-1). In another note, baseball has used the 2-3-2 format in seven-game series for as long as I can remember. In 2001, if the format was instead 2-2-1-1-1, Lou Piniella wouldn't have had to make his guarantee to bring the series back to Seattle for Game 6 because the Mariners would have come back to Seattle for Game 5. This would have been moot though because it still would have been Aaron Sele on the mound in the playoffs in an elimination game, instead of a certain young'un named Joel Pineiro.

Now that I've totally strayed from my point, Levesque says this...

Major League Baseball, for example, changed the format of its best-of-five League Division Series to give a fairer shake to the higher-ranked team. When LDS games were introduced in 1995, the team with the better record hosted the first two games, and the "lesser" team got to host each of the final three if a full five games were necessary.

In fairness to the New York Yankees, the game that "saved" baseball in Seattle, Game 5 of the 1995 American League Division Series, should have taken place at Yankee Stadium.


But this isn't really correct. The deciding game would have been in Seattle anyway because Seattle was the division winner, and New York was the wild card team (the Angels were out of the playoffs because the AL West winner had a worse record than the Yankees), and the Wild Card team never had the "home-field advantage," per se. If that series were held under the current format, the Mariners would have had games 1 and 2 at the Kingdome, had games 3 and 4 in the Bronx, and then hosted Game 5 at the Kingdome. It wouldn't have had quite the same lustre if the Mariners had blown a 2-0 series lead, or failed to win games at the Kingdome in the series. Let's just be glad that that's the way it was, and move on with it.

-- If a Phil Garner-managed team wins a World Series, I don't know what I'll do with myself. That said, Carlos Beltran is freakin' good. And congrats to Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell, finally winning their first postseason series and getting the monkey off their backs, all the while playing with heavy hearts due to the loss of ex-teammate Ken Caminiti, who was an Astro for all or part of ten seasons since 1987 (Biggio was a teammate for nine of those seasons, Bagwell for six). Off the wire after the game, Biggio said, "I think I felt his spirit out there," while Bagwell said, "I know he's smiling somewhere."

This is the part of the show where I sleep. Have a good Tuesday, everyone.

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Monday, October 11, 2004

GO HOME, LARRY 

Chipper Jones was 4-for-20 in the NLDS.

No home runs, no runs batted in.

Go f**k yourselves, Atlanta.

Atlanta, the worst sports town in America and it's not even close.

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GET UP OR GET OUT 

It's one day after the Seahawks' disappointing 33-27 OT loss to the Rams.

Some fans are already jumping off the bandwagon.

The majority of the national media are kissing the Rams' ass again.

Oh well, the season is over. After all, if the Seahawks can't hold a 17-point lead in the 4th quarter at home, then they should just call it day, shouldn't they?

Wrong.

Keep in mind that this team is 3-1, a half-game ahead of the Rams in the NFC West. Would the division have been wrapped up if the 'Hawks won yesterday? Hell no. If you believe that would have been the case, then you don't know football.

We are a quarter of the way through the 2004 NFL season. In today's NFL, there is no such thing as a dominating team. No, not even the New England Patriots can be considered a dominating team.

This season is long from over. The Seahawks are still a good football team. It's up to them to decide whether they want to live up to the hype that was heaped on them in the offseason. Or could they just decide that they want to be the "same old Seahawks". You know, the team that has a ton of talent, but doesn't know how to put it together. This has happened to a few 'Hawks teams over the years.

The home winning streak is over. I guess it will be time to start a new one when the 'Hawks return home on Halloween to play the Carolina Panthers. But I won't look that far ahead yet. Some fans were guilty of looking ahead to the Patriots game before the 'Hawks played the Rams. I wasn't one of those fans. I know that the Rams are a dangerous team, even though Mike Martz is an idiot. They proved that they can't be counted out after yesterday.

I believe in this team. There's reason to be optimistic, even though this team looked horrible in the 4th quarter yesterday. Chances are that we won't be see a blowup like that again this season.

Get up or get out.

Go Seahawks.

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Sunday, October 10, 2004

KEN CAMINITI, DEAD AT 41 

Unbelievable.

I'm reading this Houston Chronicle piece on Ken Caminiti and all of a sudden, I just found out that he died of a heart attack earlier tonight. It's sad that it had to end this way for Caminiti.

Caminiti was the 1996 National League MVP, hitting 40 home runs and driving in 130 runs, leading the Padres to the N.L. West title. He spent his 16-year career with the Astros, Padres, Rangers, and Braves.

RIP, Ken.

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NOT ALL BAD... 

Well, I tried to find some sort of positive refuge after the Seahawks choked today. Actually, now that I think about it, I wish Chad Eaton were still a Seahawk for today's game so we could blame him for Cougin' it. Of course, there's Marcus Trufant...

Anyway, not all was lost...

-- The Connecticut Sun/Seattle Storm WNBA Finals Game 2 was a seesaw affair. Nykesha Sales and Betty Lennox (27 pts on 11-for-16 shooting) were hitting clutch shot after clutch shot for both teams, and the Storm somehow let Sales sneak open for a three-point shot (off the side of the backboard) on the final play. Nonetheless, the Storm eke by with a 67-65 win. The deciding game will be on Tuesday.

-- Thanks to ESPN2, just a few minutes ago I was able to see Tara Kirk swim the 100m breaststroke at the FINA short course worlds. Finishing order: 1) Brooke Hanson of Australia, 2) Jade Edmistone of Australia, 3) Tara Kirk, 4) Amanda Beard. Tara Kirk walks away from the meet with two bronze medals as the fastest American woman in the 50m and 100m breaststroke events, and comes away with a silver medal as part of Team USA's 4x100m medley relay team. Good job, Tara.

So, in celebration of these two positive events (and positive events in women's athletics, no less), I'm going to go to Fred Meyer to clean out their discount CD rack. And maybe buy the Ren & Stimpy DVD set out on Tuesday. Of course, these can also be considered as reactions to the Seahawks' loss as well.

[Edit Mon ~9:13a -- threw in some links, and clarified that yes, the Storm won, which I didn't explicitly say in the first place.]

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RAM IT DOWN 

This is the post I would have done an hour ago, but I was still vomiting in my mouth. I'm a little better now.

Anyways, the good, the bad, and the f**king ugly of the Seahawks' 33-27 OT loss to the Rams today.

The Good:
---The first half. I was impressed at how the Seahawks offense started off the game. Shaun Alexander set up the 'Hawks first scoring drive with a 33-yard run. He then punched it in for a 1-yard touchdown. 10 plays, 73 yards, 5:08. That's what I call efficiency.

---Matt Hasselbeck. He was 20-for-35, passing for 216 yards and 2 touchdowns. His 56-yard touchdown pass to Darrell Jackson in the 2nd quarter was a thing of beauty. Again, his receivers let him down today. Bobby Engram missed a few easy balls, as well as Jerramy Stevens. And of course, Koren Robinson. More on him later.

---Shaun Alexander. 23 carries, 150 yards, 1 touchdown. He had a few big runs, including a long 41-yard run on the Seahawks first possession of the 2nd half. Again, give me a very good reason why the 'Hawks shouldn't re-sign Alexander.

---Darrell Jackson. While Hasselbeck doesn't really have a true #1 receiver, Jackson is the closest thing to a #1 receiver that the 'Hawks have. He caught 5 passes for 91 yards, including that beautiful 56-yard touchdown reception.

---Ken Lucas. 2 interceptions. Man, he's becoming a player this year.

The Bad:

---The defense. I would have put the defense into the "good" category if it weren't for their demise in the 4th quarter. You simply can't blow a 17-point lead at home, no matter who you are playing. They did pressure Marc Bulger for most of the game, causing him to throw 3 interceptions. They hurried Bulger 18 times (according to Fox). I just can't believe that the defense let up like they did. Is Ray Rhodes and/or Mike Holmgren to blame? Sure. But blame the players as well. After all, they were the ones out there.

The F**king Ugly:

---Koren Robinson. Yes, he caught 5 balls for 59 yards. But it is the 4 passes that he couldn't catch that have to be brought up here. Near the end of the 3rd quarter, Robinson dropped a very catchable ball on 2nd down. The 'Hawks proceed to go 3 and out, and give the Rams the ball at the start of the 4th quarter. I could begin to tell that the wheels would possibly fall off once Koren dropped that ball. Screw potential. This is Robinson's 4th season. The majority of 'Hawks fans will agree with me when I say CATCH THE DAMN BALL, KOREN!!!

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

So the Seahawks are no longer undefeated. So the Seahawks' 10-game winning streak at Seahawks Stadium/Qwest Field is now history.

The 'Hawks can make some history next Sunday in Foxboro. James Brown, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, and Jimmy Johnson, aka the Fox NFL Sunday crew, will be at Gillette Stadium to watch the Seahawks-Patriots. It is definitely the Game of the Week next week, regardless of some of the lost luster after today's loss.

The nation will be watching. Right now, I would venture to guess that some of the people who think that this Seattle Seahawks team is "championship-caliber" are rethinking their opinions. But next Sunday, the Seahawks have a chance to regain some of the "respect" that has been heaped on them.

However, the Seahawks don't deserve any respect right now. They are 3-1 and just lost a game at home where they had a 17-point lead in the 4th quarter. You damn well better believe that Kirkland is not going to be a happy-happy-joy-joy place this week.

It's Patriots Week. Hey Patriots, come out and play. Bring it.

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WHAT THE F**K WAS THAT??? 

Josh Brown kicks a 34-yard field goal to make it 27-10 Seahawks with 8:47 left in the 4th quarter.

You would think that the Seahawks would close the Rams out, like "championship-caliber" teams do.

Well, did that happen? Of course not.

You all know what happened. Rams won 33-27 in overtime, ending the 'Hawks 10-game winning streak in Seahawks Stadium/Qwest Field.

I may have more later on this game, who knows. But right now, there isn't much to say. What was said today was displayed on the Qwest Field turf in the last 10-something minutes of action, 4th quarter and overtime included.

Koren Robinson is not an elite receiver. I'm tired of defending this guy. CATCH THE DAMN BALL, KOREN. Is that too much to ask?

Well, it was too much to ask of the Seahawks to close out the Rams.

Needless to say, I'm pissed off. Very pissed off. The 'Hawks better show up in Foxboro next week against the Patriots. The nation will be watching.

Can the Seahawks rebound? Of course they can. But they cannot allow another episode like today happen. Or else.

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RAMS/SEAHAWKS 

I hate being a Seattle sports fan. Hate it, hate it, hate it. Why does it have to be so freakin' hard? Why does the secondary suddenly start getting lit up late? Why can't the offense convert a frigging third down?!?!?!?!

AAARRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

(more later)

Edit Mon ~8:30p
You know, I'd have a lot more to say here if I'd actually seen the whole game and not had to help my dad haul some musical equipment away from a venue. I did end up listening to most of the game, though, and the beginning sounded great. After the big touchdown pass to Darrell Jackson, I said "okay, this team is officially nuts."

But when I saw Shaun Alexander with about 4 minutes left in the fourth quarter fail to get ONE YARD on 3rd-and-1, I said "don't surprise me; just lose the game already." I swear, you could almost see it coming from a mile away. Once the first dent was made, it was all downhill. When Marc Bulger throws into triple coverage and the Rams still get a touchdown out of it...Seattle teams don't seem to ever come back when the opposing team gets breaks like that to go their way.

All in all, I only could sum up my feelings like this -- if it's too good to be true, it probably is. A 4-0 team...I would have loved it, sure, but is it ever easy for fans of Seattle teams? No. Why should it be that way now?

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SPECTATING 

Well, I saw two things today...

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
It opens up with a sports radio call-in show talking about high school football, and from that moment, you get a feeling of how big high school football is in Texas. For me, it was my moment of "yeah, on King of the Hill, Bobby's middle school is Tom Landry Middle School for a reason!" Anyway, Coach Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton) is bombarded left and right with suggestions from everyone's parents in town, many of the older men around town have state championship rings, and there's a ton of pressure. It's good, this movie. Boobie Miles was exactly the kind of guy I would have hated in high school. I guess I'll just say that Mike Winchell and Don Billingsley were two tough dudes. I was also glad when I realized Chris Comer (backup running back) wasn't Nick Cannon, as I had previously thought when seeing the promos. I'll have to say that I teared up after the final play (I'm man enough to admit this), because of two things -- (1) the resolutions of a couple of family-related things, and (2) it reminded me of the feeling I had when I realized I'd stepped onto a baseball field and donned a uniform for the last time. Baseball was something I never wanted to go away, and it was just there for me every year. Beginning when I was 13, it was what I did for at least the first half of summer. In my late teenage years, some other kids got jobs, and I played ball. So when I realized I'd have to find something else to do in the summer...tears. Hell, I'm a wimp. One last thing about the movie is that the music carries it along really well, and will probably be a very underrated part of the movie. Jeremy tipped me off to the band being Explosions From the Sky, which Allmusic.com says is an indie band from Texas that is "becoming touted as the next phenomenon in moody and dynamic instrumental indie rock." Three words that come to mind after seeing the film: LET'S GO MOJO!!

TRI-CITY TITANS VS. PUGET SOUND TOMAHAWKS
The Tomahawks took a 4-0 lead quickly, and I think that happened before the first period was half over. They dominated out of the gate, and for the most part didn't seem to commit a lot of mistakes. They also did a good job killing off their penalties, sans the double-minor in their own end in the third period. Since the game was out of Tri-City's reach for much of the game, there were some skirmishes and a few fights late in the game. But it wasn't just about the game for me, or the team that now has a record of 9-1, which anyone living in or near Bremerton should go see when they have the chance (next chance is in two weeks). I walked into the hometown rink for the first time (that popped up once I left town for college), and I'd forgotten how it felt like to walk into an ice rink. It's like walking near your grocer's freezer. Tickets are $7.50. I heard the crowd tonight was their largest of the season, and there were a couple hundred in there. Concessions are very reasonably priced; there's no $3 sodas or anything like that (I think they range from $1-$2). Ladies and gentlemen, the Puget Sound Tomahawks are quality entertainment and damn good hockey. They're 9-1. They looked great tonight. And so did the rink.

TARA KIRK
Okay, I didn't see Tara Kirk swim on Saturday, live or on television. But I've dug up Saturday's results for the fellow Bremerton Knight's doings. Saturday marked Day 3 at the FINA short course worlds, and the events at hand for Tara were the 4x100m medley relay (breaststroke leg) and the 100m breaststroke preliminaries and semifinals. Tara had the second leg of the 4x100m medley relay, matched up against Brooke Hanson of Australia. Team USA finished second in 3:55.98, while the Aussies did it in 3:54.95, netting themselves a world record in the process. In the 100m breaststroke prelims, Tara notched the third-best time out of 42 swimmers (1:07.28). The time was 0.29 seconds behind Brooke Hanson in first place, 0.20 behind second-place Amanda Beard, and 0.31 ahead of Jade Edmistone. In the semifinals, Tara had the second-fastest time (1:06.20) out of the 16 qualifying swimmers, 0.26 seconds behind Edmistone, 0.12 seconds ahead of third-place Hanson, and 0.84 ahead of Beard. Forgive us if we're a little biased here at Sports and B's when it comes to this. Go Tara.

With my sports-filled weekend half-over, it culminates with Rams/Seahawks. Man, I really want a Seahawk win...I'm giddy.

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