Tuesday, January 18, 2005
FACE UP
Welcome to Tuesday. I've sifted through the articles and I've decided that it indeed is a pretty slow load today. The Sonics play tonight, however.
On TV tonight -- Nuggets at SuperSonics (7p, FSNNW)
MARINERS
Spring training is creeping closer and closer. I haven't been this excited for completely meaningless baseball in a long time.
FOOTBALL
You know, I'm not sure whether this Levesque piece strikes me as ambitious or abstract. Basically Levesque says that the Seahawks need a "face" of the franchise. He says Paul Allen obviously can't be it, because he announced the firing of Bob Whitsitt via speakerphone. He says it can't be Mike Holmgren, because he's only the coach and can't make individual player moves or anything like that anymore. This team doesn't have any sort of personality like a Jerry Jones or anything like that. What Levesque appears to be getting at is that one of the people that is higher up than Holmgren, someone that puts the stamp directly on the personnel moves, should be the face of this franchise and therefore take accountability for the good and bad things that happen to the team. Though I don't wake up every morning thinking about who the proverbial face of the Seahawks should be, it's not a totally hokey thing. I'm just surprised that John Levesque got that much column space out of it. It's a hefty read.
Rick Neuheisel apparently will be named the QBs coach for the Baltimore Ravens today. With what's gone on with Neuheisel in this region over the past few years, I should probably be interested in this story. Instead, it's barely registering much more than a smidgen on the I-Don't-Give-A-Crapometer. If anything, just the fact that the Ravens have Art Modell, Brian Billick, Rick Neuheisel, Ray Lewis, and an awful number font on their uniforms will give me more than enough to hate them for years to come.
Also, Jeremy elaborated on this earlier, but Jim Moore's got his piece as well on the Deja Vu Independence Bowl that was shot down immediately. Jim's piece is worth it just to get to the final line. It's priceless.
BASKETBALL
The Marvin Williams Watch
The Tar Heels came up 6th in this week's AP poll after the road loss to Wake Forest. Based on this, the only free RPI thingie I could find, the Tar Heels were a mere 13th in the RPI, behind four Pac10 schools.
The Tar Heels are at Clemson tomorrow.
Huskies
Ladies and gentlemen, the Huskies have cracked the top 10 in the AP Poll. They are only the 5th team in Husky men's basketball history to do that. The Huskies are 15-2. Other teams in the top 10 with two losses: #5 Oklahoma State (13-2), #6 North Carolina (14-2), #8 Kentucky (12-2). The Huskies are also 6th in the RPI.
The Huskies are home against Washington State on Sunday (FSNNW).
Bulldogs
No, I didn't forget about the Zags. They were right behind the Huskies, 11th in the AP Poll, but they're 10th in the RPI.
The Zags go to the Bay Area to face the Dons of USF on Thursday (KONG 6/16 broadcast).
Sonics
I should be worried about Ray Allen's contract negotiations not getting much done, but for some very odd reason, I'm not. Ray isn't getting too bombarded with questions about his contract future for now, though the questions will be flying should this drag closer to the trading deadline. I can guarantee you one thing, though. If the Sonics right now were having the season that people were truly expecting them to have before the season started, the questions would be everywhere and Ray quite possibly might not be a Sonic right now.
One interesting thing at the end of that P-I article is the little 12-game snippets they took of the Sonics points scored/allowed and rebounding differential per game, and the associated records. In short, they're allowing more points and rebounding less.
Also, Rashard Lewis will probably not play tonight, and Vitaly Potapenko skipped out on practice without notifying anybody, but should be available tonight.
Lastly, the Nuggets will be without the services of Nene (fka Nene Hilario) as he is serving a four-game suspension for a fight with Michael Olowokandi of the Timberwolves, who in turn will be serving his suspension with his team facing the Sonics as well.
Yes, the Nuggets played at Golden State last night.
Upcoming...
Tonight vs. Denver
Friday vs. Minnesota
Sunday vs. Utah
HOCKEY
I'm not sure it's news, but the owners and players will be heading back to the bargaining table, though with slightly different personnel, for one last shot in the dark in an attempt to rescue this season. It looks bleak, and I'm assuming nothing comes out of it.
No games last night, so it's standings...
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
(rank_team_games played, record[pts], streak, last 10)
Western Conference
US Division
1 Seattle Thunderbirds 43, 31-11-0-1[63], W2, 8-2-0
2 Everett Silvertips 45, 21-16-6-2[50], W1, 4-6-0
3 Portland Winter Hawks 47, 18-21-4-4[44], L1, 3-6-1
4 Spokane Chiefs 44, 15-21-7-1[38], L1, 4-6-0
5 Tri-City Americans 41, 15-20-4-2, L5, 4-6-0
BC Division
1 Kelowna Rockets 47, 26-10-9-2[63], W1, 6-4-0
2 Kootenay Ice 46, 29-13-4-0[62], W7, 8-2-0
3 Vancouver Giants 46, 25-18-1-2[53], L1, 6-4-0
4 Prince George Cougars, 19-23-3-1[42], L1, 4-6-0
5 Kamloops Blazers 45, 17-23-3-2[39], L2, 5-4-1
AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE
(rank_team_(NHL affiliate)_games played, record[pts])
Western Conference -- North Division
1 Manitoba Moose (Vancouver) 40, 27-10-1-2[57]
2 Rochester Americans (Buffalo) 40, 25-9-3-3[56]
3 Saint John's Maple Leafs (Toronto) 40, 25-14-0-1[51]
4 Edmonton Road Runners (Edmonton) 41, 20-13-3-5[48]
5 Hamilton Bulldogs (Montreal) 42, 16-18-4-4[40]
6 Cleveland Barons (San Jose) 41, 18-20-1-2[39]
7 Syracuse Crunch (Columbus) 39, 15-18-3-3[36]
NORTHERN PACIFIC HOCKEY LEAGUE
(rank_team games played, record[pts])
Western Division
1 Portland Pioneers 31, 28-3-0[56]
2 Puget Sound Tomahawks 32, 26-5-1[53]
3 Tri-City Titans 32, 10-21-1[21]
4 River City Jaguars 31, 5-26-0[10]
Upcoming...
Tonight: Wilkes-Barre Scranton at Manitoba
Thursday: Seattle at Prince George, Wilkes-Barre Scranton at Manitoba
Friday: Portland at Kelowna, Everett at Spokane, Vancouver at Tri-City, Manitoba at Edmonton
Saturday: Portland at Seattle, Everett at Kootenay
Sunday: Vancouver at Portland, Manitoba at Edmonton
---
Everybody have a great day. And beware of the penguins. Yes, I know they don't show that commercial anymore.
On TV tonight -- Nuggets at SuperSonics (7p, FSNNW)
MARINERS
Spring training is creeping closer and closer. I haven't been this excited for completely meaningless baseball in a long time.
FOOTBALL
You know, I'm not sure whether this Levesque piece strikes me as ambitious or abstract. Basically Levesque says that the Seahawks need a "face" of the franchise. He says Paul Allen obviously can't be it, because he announced the firing of Bob Whitsitt via speakerphone. He says it can't be Mike Holmgren, because he's only the coach and can't make individual player moves or anything like that anymore. This team doesn't have any sort of personality like a Jerry Jones or anything like that. What Levesque appears to be getting at is that one of the people that is higher up than Holmgren, someone that puts the stamp directly on the personnel moves, should be the face of this franchise and therefore take accountability for the good and bad things that happen to the team. Though I don't wake up every morning thinking about who the proverbial face of the Seahawks should be, it's not a totally hokey thing. I'm just surprised that John Levesque got that much column space out of it. It's a hefty read.
Rick Neuheisel apparently will be named the QBs coach for the Baltimore Ravens today. With what's gone on with Neuheisel in this region over the past few years, I should probably be interested in this story. Instead, it's barely registering much more than a smidgen on the I-Don't-Give-A-Crapometer. If anything, just the fact that the Ravens have Art Modell, Brian Billick, Rick Neuheisel, Ray Lewis, and an awful number font on their uniforms will give me more than enough to hate them for years to come.
Also, Jeremy elaborated on this earlier, but Jim Moore's got his piece as well on the Deja Vu Independence Bowl that was shot down immediately. Jim's piece is worth it just to get to the final line. It's priceless.
BASKETBALL
The Marvin Williams Watch
The Tar Heels came up 6th in this week's AP poll after the road loss to Wake Forest. Based on this, the only free RPI thingie I could find, the Tar Heels were a mere 13th in the RPI, behind four Pac10 schools.
The Tar Heels are at Clemson tomorrow.
Huskies
Ladies and gentlemen, the Huskies have cracked the top 10 in the AP Poll. They are only the 5th team in Husky men's basketball history to do that. The Huskies are 15-2. Other teams in the top 10 with two losses: #5 Oklahoma State (13-2), #6 North Carolina (14-2), #8 Kentucky (12-2). The Huskies are also 6th in the RPI.
The Huskies are home against Washington State on Sunday (FSNNW).
Bulldogs
No, I didn't forget about the Zags. They were right behind the Huskies, 11th in the AP Poll, but they're 10th in the RPI.
The Zags go to the Bay Area to face the Dons of USF on Thursday (KONG 6/16 broadcast).
Sonics
I should be worried about Ray Allen's contract negotiations not getting much done, but for some very odd reason, I'm not. Ray isn't getting too bombarded with questions about his contract future for now, though the questions will be flying should this drag closer to the trading deadline. I can guarantee you one thing, though. If the Sonics right now were having the season that people were truly expecting them to have before the season started, the questions would be everywhere and Ray quite possibly might not be a Sonic right now.
One interesting thing at the end of that P-I article is the little 12-game snippets they took of the Sonics points scored/allowed and rebounding differential per game, and the associated records. In short, they're allowing more points and rebounding less.
Also, Rashard Lewis will probably not play tonight, and Vitaly Potapenko skipped out on practice without notifying anybody, but should be available tonight.
Lastly, the Nuggets will be without the services of Nene (fka Nene Hilario) as he is serving a four-game suspension for a fight with Michael Olowokandi of the Timberwolves, who in turn will be serving his suspension with his team facing the Sonics as well.
Yes, the Nuggets played at Golden State last night.
Upcoming...
Tonight vs. Denver
Friday vs. Minnesota
Sunday vs. Utah
HOCKEY
I'm not sure it's news, but the owners and players will be heading back to the bargaining table, though with slightly different personnel, for one last shot in the dark in an attempt to rescue this season. It looks bleak, and I'm assuming nothing comes out of it.
No games last night, so it's standings...
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
(rank_team_games played, record[pts], streak, last 10)
Western Conference
US Division
1 Seattle Thunderbirds 43, 31-11-0-1[63], W2, 8-2-0
2 Everett Silvertips 45, 21-16-6-2[50], W1, 4-6-0
3 Portland Winter Hawks 47, 18-21-4-4[44], L1, 3-6-1
4 Spokane Chiefs 44, 15-21-7-1[38], L1, 4-6-0
5 Tri-City Americans 41, 15-20-4-2, L5, 4-6-0
BC Division
1 Kelowna Rockets 47, 26-10-9-2[63], W1, 6-4-0
2 Kootenay Ice 46, 29-13-4-0[62], W7, 8-2-0
3 Vancouver Giants 46, 25-18-1-2[53], L1, 6-4-0
4 Prince George Cougars, 19-23-3-1[42], L1, 4-6-0
5 Kamloops Blazers 45, 17-23-3-2[39], L2, 5-4-1
AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE
(rank_team_(NHL affiliate)_games played, record[pts])
Western Conference -- North Division
1 Manitoba Moose (Vancouver) 40, 27-10-1-2[57]
2 Rochester Americans (Buffalo) 40, 25-9-3-3[56]
3 Saint John's Maple Leafs (Toronto) 40, 25-14-0-1[51]
4 Edmonton Road Runners (Edmonton) 41, 20-13-3-5[48]
5 Hamilton Bulldogs (Montreal) 42, 16-18-4-4[40]
6 Cleveland Barons (San Jose) 41, 18-20-1-2[39]
7 Syracuse Crunch (Columbus) 39, 15-18-3-3[36]
NORTHERN PACIFIC HOCKEY LEAGUE
(rank_team games played, record[pts])
Western Division
1 Portland Pioneers 31, 28-3-0[56]
2 Puget Sound Tomahawks 32, 26-5-1[53]
3 Tri-City Titans 32, 10-21-1[21]
4 River City Jaguars 31, 5-26-0[10]
Upcoming...
Tonight: Wilkes-Barre Scranton at Manitoba
Thursday: Seattle at Prince George, Wilkes-Barre Scranton at Manitoba
Friday: Portland at Kelowna, Everett at Spokane, Vancouver at Tri-City, Manitoba at Edmonton
Saturday: Portland at Seattle, Everett at Kootenay
Sunday: Vancouver at Portland, Manitoba at Edmonton
---
Everybody have a great day. And beware of the penguins. Yes, I know they don't show that commercial anymore.
/ Click for main page
