Tuesday, January 04, 2005
ICED
Just like yesterday, this will go up a section or two at a time. Same reasons as yesterday.
VICTORY FOR SONICS!! O-KAY!! When asked why the Sonics are so good, Peja Drobnjak's cat answered, "This is good question. I don't mind the dogs, actually. I feel very sorry for them. God is cruel to make a creature so stupid and slow." When asked if it was really necessary for Shaun Alexander to apologize yesterday, Jinkies said, "No, I would not like to meet you in person. I have read about your type in magazines and newspapers and I will call FBI."
This one's a late addition, but the thought of the stadium taxes being perpetually extended, well...I'm just glad I don't have any need to dine out, buy anything, rent cars, or put myself up in a hotel in King County.
MARINERS
As seemingly hastily-made as the FSNNW ads for the Mariners (Sexson/Beltre) are, I think the UPN11 ads just might be a lot worse. I hope the commercials are amazing this year, because they were mediocre to poor last year. I only set the bar so high because I remember the ads of the last five years before 2004, and they were a ton better. I also set the bar high because, dammit, those commercials will be everywhere and they'll be drilled into the heads of every one of us. If they suck, it just makes it that much worse. The Mariners have raised the bar this offseason with player acquisitions, and I hope the ad wizards raise the bar with the next batch of promos.
SEAHAWKS
From my thinking, Shaun Alexander's apology for the postgame "stabbed in the back" comments, which I didn't think were completely unfounded, basically took a lot of pressure off of Mike Holmgren because now he doesn't have to answer the media's questions about a really irate running back for the rest of the week. Still, I want Alexander touching the ball 25 times on Saturday.
So how many columns did this Alexander apology crank out? It looks like four from the Seattle print media. Most of the columns didn't truly differ from one another except for maybe Carpenter's (final link). He says Alexander will "undoubtedly" be playing somewhere next year, especially after this. That's sad. No, I'm not convinced Mo Morris can get you 1696 yards in a season. I think it might be at the point where it'll either be Holmgren or Alexander staying next year, but it won't be both.
For Jeremy's take on this whole deal, scroll down two posts or click here.
This whole Shaun Alexander thing has taken a ton of heat off of what the normal barrage of questions were going to be about this week.
One, the fourth-quarter defensive porosity. Two, Koren Robinson. Why isn't HE apologizing? He's taken away a key piece of this offense for almost half a season, and has dropped vital passes whenever he's managed to actually get on the field this year. Even Jim Moore says to send Koren somewhere other than here. I'm much tired of it myself. It's ridiculous.
In more normal happenings, Matt Hasselbeck doesn't expect to miss any practice this week. In an abnormal happening, Darrell Jackson apparently had a police officer restricting media access as Jackson declined interviews. It turns out Jackson too was one-yard short, except of 1200 receiving yards, a mark reached in Seahawk history by only space-cadet Koren and Steve Largent. But I was really surprised they only got Jackson the ball three times last Sunday. Very surprised. Possibly more than seeing the Seahawks throw to their tight ends so much.
BASKETBALL
The Marvin Williams Watch
The Tar Heels have the work week off (but practices are in full swing) before conference play starts in the Dean Dome against Maryland on Saturday.
Huskies
The Huskies go to USC on Thursday and UCLA on Saturday.
Bulldogs
Gonzaga is off until they travel to Santa Clara to open West Coast Conference play on Thursday. They'll also be at Saint Mary's on Saturday.
Sonics
For my take on the game, scroll down a post (click here if you're in the archive).
In an odd move, Steve Kelley has the main game piece in the Times for last night. Surely now the final nonbelievers remaining out there have to be turned around after last night, right? Magic contributes material for a few lines (as opposed to an hour) in the article, and he thinks the key to all of this is Luke Ridnour. Of course, Magic might be a little biased considering the position he once played, but Luke getting props isn't a bad thing. Also, Ridnour was one of Mark Jackson's top 5 NBA role players last night on ESPN NBA Fastbreak (number one was Bo Outlaw, and I have no idea why). Also, like I mentioned toward the very end of the game post, Danny Fortson's fourth-quarter free-throw shooting is incredibly important. He did brick one to get the Sonics a one-point lead late instead of a two-point lead, but a horribly blatant lane violation on Miami was never called. But the Sonics still won anyway. That's the type of thing where we've seen EVERY Seattle team get screwed and end up losing in the past. We'd look back at that one play and just lament. Take for instance the back judge blocking Bobby Engram in Saint Louis last year, or the referees not winding the clock in Baltimore (it gave them one more time out than the Seahawks), or even the visual obstruction call on Jose Lopez which cost the Mariners that game in Tampa Bay last year. But these guys won anyway. I think we might have something here.
Toughness. Sure, they scored 98 points on the night, but overall their shooting wasn't terribly great (sans Ray), and definitely not lights-out. But this team just beat a team with Shaq and Dwyane Wade, for goodness' sake. They beat the Heat even after Wade went off for 23 second-half points. For all the hype about Wade, if he finds a dependable midrange jumper, he'll be unstoppable (though you could probably say that any young player needs a midrange shot). All I'm seeing (or remembering) so far is Wade driving to the basket, knifing inbetween defenders, and laying it in, but if he drives and runs into a wall, maybe someday he could take a stepback jumper on the right side instead of having to kick out to someone else for a three in the corner with his team down one in the final minute. As further proof of the shots not necessarily falling last night, the Sonics didn't hit a shot from the field anywhere in the last two minutes of the game (they hit five free throws), and still never lost the lead after Allen beat the buzzer in the third quarter with a three. Shaq's thoughts: "When you play me, you better flop. It's a shame that the referees fall for that s%*#. ... All they do is flop, and the referees fall for it." They've got Shaq complaining that Danny Fortson should have had more calls going against him. Hilarious.
The heavier-set Van Gundy brother also suggested that Nate McMillan is the runaway coach of the year. How can he not be? The only other coach in the running seemingly would be Mike D'Antoni of Phoenix, but come on, his team actually make a blockbuster move in the offseason. Steve Nash to Phoenix got a ton of headlines. Calvin Booth for Danny Fortson did not. In a related story, Calvin Booth is averaging 2.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per contest. Fortson? He's getting 9.3 points and 6.4 boards in 18.5 minutes a game.
Upcoming...
Wednesday at Orlando
Thursday at Washington
Sunday vs. Miami
HOCKEY
No WHL teams usually covered in this space played last night.
Upcoming...
Tonight: Everett at Kamloops, Moose Jaw at Vancouver, Cleveland at Manitoba
Wednesday: Seattle at Spokane, Vancouver at Prince George, Cleveland at Manitoba
Friday: Kelowna at Seattle, Spokane at Everett, Portland at Saskatoon, Vancouver at Prince George, Puget Sound at River City
Saturday: Tri-City at Seattle, Kamloops at Everett, Portland at Prince Albert, Vancouver at Kelowna, Puget Sound at River City, Edmonton at Manitoba
Sunday: Edmonton at Manitoba
Three games of World Junior Championship hockey took place yesterday, the last of which was the fifth-place game.
Germany beat Belarus, 4-3. This Belarus team beat the Americans and managed to lose to the Germans. Both teams in this game end the tournament with one win apiece. In this one, the Belarussians had a 2-0 lead on two goals from Alexey Ugarov. Belarus led 3-1 until the 32:45 marker in this game. The Germans scored the next three goals. Alexander Janzen got it rolling in the second period, and power-play goals by Marcus Kink and Andre Reiss in the third period tied and won the game for the Germans. Belarus outshot Germany 29-28. Stepan Goryachevskikh stopped 24 for Belarus, and Youri Ziffzer stopped 26 for Germany.
Slovakia beat Switzerland, 3-2. The Slovaks got a 2-0 lead on goals very early and very late in the first period. The Swiss tallied one in the second and eventually Kevin Romy tied the game at 2-2 for the Swiss in the third period. But Marek Hascak scored the winner for Slovakia with just inside seven minutes to play. The teams were each 0-for-8 on the power play. Slovakia ended the tournament 4-2, having gotten the bad end of a three-way tiebreaker before the elimination round. The Swiss ended the tournament 2-4. The Swiss outshot the Slovaks 32-26. Michael Tobler stopped 23 for the Swiss, and Jaroslav Halak stopped 30 for Slovakia.
Finland beat Sweden, 4-3 in overtime. The Finns came away with this fifth-place game that probably captivated much of Scandinavia. Sweden scored the first goal of the game, and the teams traded goals back and forth until Finland scored the final goal in overtime. Sweden scored goals in each of the three periods in regulation, all of which were go-ahead goals. Finland's three goals in regulation all tied the game, and Janne Kolehmainen won the game 1:37 into overtime. Sweden outshot the Finns 38-27. David Raitio Berguv stopped 23 for the Swedes, and Joonas Hallikainen stopped 35 for Finland.
Only the medal games remain...
Tonight: Czech Republic vs. United States (bronze medal game), Canada vs. Russia (gold medal game)
---
Have a great Tuesday everyone. The sun is rising as I type this, so maybe we'll get a clear day out of this in the great northwest.
VICTORY FOR SONICS!! O-KAY!! When asked why the Sonics are so good, Peja Drobnjak's cat answered, "This is good question. I don't mind the dogs, actually. I feel very sorry for them. God is cruel to make a creature so stupid and slow." When asked if it was really necessary for Shaun Alexander to apologize yesterday, Jinkies said, "No, I would not like to meet you in person. I have read about your type in magazines and newspapers and I will call FBI."
This one's a late addition, but the thought of the stadium taxes being perpetually extended, well...I'm just glad I don't have any need to dine out, buy anything, rent cars, or put myself up in a hotel in King County.
MARINERS
As seemingly hastily-made as the FSNNW ads for the Mariners (Sexson/Beltre) are, I think the UPN11 ads just might be a lot worse. I hope the commercials are amazing this year, because they were mediocre to poor last year. I only set the bar so high because I remember the ads of the last five years before 2004, and they were a ton better. I also set the bar high because, dammit, those commercials will be everywhere and they'll be drilled into the heads of every one of us. If they suck, it just makes it that much worse. The Mariners have raised the bar this offseason with player acquisitions, and I hope the ad wizards raise the bar with the next batch of promos.
SEAHAWKS
From my thinking, Shaun Alexander's apology for the postgame "stabbed in the back" comments, which I didn't think were completely unfounded, basically took a lot of pressure off of Mike Holmgren because now he doesn't have to answer the media's questions about a really irate running back for the rest of the week. Still, I want Alexander touching the ball 25 times on Saturday.
So how many columns did this Alexander apology crank out? It looks like four from the Seattle print media. Most of the columns didn't truly differ from one another except for maybe Carpenter's (final link). He says Alexander will "undoubtedly" be playing somewhere next year, especially after this. That's sad. No, I'm not convinced Mo Morris can get you 1696 yards in a season. I think it might be at the point where it'll either be Holmgren or Alexander staying next year, but it won't be both.
For Jeremy's take on this whole deal, scroll down two posts or click here.
This whole Shaun Alexander thing has taken a ton of heat off of what the normal barrage of questions were going to be about this week.
One, the fourth-quarter defensive porosity. Two, Koren Robinson. Why isn't HE apologizing? He's taken away a key piece of this offense for almost half a season, and has dropped vital passes whenever he's managed to actually get on the field this year. Even Jim Moore says to send Koren somewhere other than here. I'm much tired of it myself. It's ridiculous.
In more normal happenings, Matt Hasselbeck doesn't expect to miss any practice this week. In an abnormal happening, Darrell Jackson apparently had a police officer restricting media access as Jackson declined interviews. It turns out Jackson too was one-yard short, except of 1200 receiving yards, a mark reached in Seahawk history by only space-cadet Koren and Steve Largent. But I was really surprised they only got Jackson the ball three times last Sunday. Very surprised. Possibly more than seeing the Seahawks throw to their tight ends so much.
BASKETBALL
The Marvin Williams Watch
The Tar Heels have the work week off (but practices are in full swing) before conference play starts in the Dean Dome against Maryland on Saturday.
Huskies
The Huskies go to USC on Thursday and UCLA on Saturday.
Bulldogs
Gonzaga is off until they travel to Santa Clara to open West Coast Conference play on Thursday. They'll also be at Saint Mary's on Saturday.
Sonics
For my take on the game, scroll down a post (click here if you're in the archive).
In an odd move, Steve Kelley has the main game piece in the Times for last night. Surely now the final nonbelievers remaining out there have to be turned around after last night, right? Magic contributes material for a few lines (as opposed to an hour) in the article, and he thinks the key to all of this is Luke Ridnour. Of course, Magic might be a little biased considering the position he once played, but Luke getting props isn't a bad thing. Also, Ridnour was one of Mark Jackson's top 5 NBA role players last night on ESPN NBA Fastbreak (number one was Bo Outlaw, and I have no idea why). Also, like I mentioned toward the very end of the game post, Danny Fortson's fourth-quarter free-throw shooting is incredibly important. He did brick one to get the Sonics a one-point lead late instead of a two-point lead, but a horribly blatant lane violation on Miami was never called. But the Sonics still won anyway. That's the type of thing where we've seen EVERY Seattle team get screwed and end up losing in the past. We'd look back at that one play and just lament. Take for instance the back judge blocking Bobby Engram in Saint Louis last year, or the referees not winding the clock in Baltimore (it gave them one more time out than the Seahawks), or even the visual obstruction call on Jose Lopez which cost the Mariners that game in Tampa Bay last year. But these guys won anyway. I think we might have something here.
Toughness. Sure, they scored 98 points on the night, but overall their shooting wasn't terribly great (sans Ray), and definitely not lights-out. But this team just beat a team with Shaq and Dwyane Wade, for goodness' sake. They beat the Heat even after Wade went off for 23 second-half points. For all the hype about Wade, if he finds a dependable midrange jumper, he'll be unstoppable (though you could probably say that any young player needs a midrange shot). All I'm seeing (or remembering) so far is Wade driving to the basket, knifing inbetween defenders, and laying it in, but if he drives and runs into a wall, maybe someday he could take a stepback jumper on the right side instead of having to kick out to someone else for a three in the corner with his team down one in the final minute. As further proof of the shots not necessarily falling last night, the Sonics didn't hit a shot from the field anywhere in the last two minutes of the game (they hit five free throws), and still never lost the lead after Allen beat the buzzer in the third quarter with a three. Shaq's thoughts: "When you play me, you better flop. It's a shame that the referees fall for that s%*#. ... All they do is flop, and the referees fall for it." They've got Shaq complaining that Danny Fortson should have had more calls going against him. Hilarious.
The heavier-set Van Gundy brother also suggested that Nate McMillan is the runaway coach of the year. How can he not be? The only other coach in the running seemingly would be Mike D'Antoni of Phoenix, but come on, his team actually make a blockbuster move in the offseason. Steve Nash to Phoenix got a ton of headlines. Calvin Booth for Danny Fortson did not. In a related story, Calvin Booth is averaging 2.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per contest. Fortson? He's getting 9.3 points and 6.4 boards in 18.5 minutes a game.
Upcoming...
Wednesday at Orlando
Thursday at Washington
Sunday vs. Miami
HOCKEY
No WHL teams usually covered in this space played last night.
Upcoming...
Tonight: Everett at Kamloops, Moose Jaw at Vancouver, Cleveland at Manitoba
Wednesday: Seattle at Spokane, Vancouver at Prince George, Cleveland at Manitoba
Friday: Kelowna at Seattle, Spokane at Everett, Portland at Saskatoon, Vancouver at Prince George, Puget Sound at River City
Saturday: Tri-City at Seattle, Kamloops at Everett, Portland at Prince Albert, Vancouver at Kelowna, Puget Sound at River City, Edmonton at Manitoba
Sunday: Edmonton at Manitoba
Three games of World Junior Championship hockey took place yesterday, the last of which was the fifth-place game.
Germany beat Belarus, 4-3. This Belarus team beat the Americans and managed to lose to the Germans. Both teams in this game end the tournament with one win apiece. In this one, the Belarussians had a 2-0 lead on two goals from Alexey Ugarov. Belarus led 3-1 until the 32:45 marker in this game. The Germans scored the next three goals. Alexander Janzen got it rolling in the second period, and power-play goals by Marcus Kink and Andre Reiss in the third period tied and won the game for the Germans. Belarus outshot Germany 29-28. Stepan Goryachevskikh stopped 24 for Belarus, and Youri Ziffzer stopped 26 for Germany.
Slovakia beat Switzerland, 3-2. The Slovaks got a 2-0 lead on goals very early and very late in the first period. The Swiss tallied one in the second and eventually Kevin Romy tied the game at 2-2 for the Swiss in the third period. But Marek Hascak scored the winner for Slovakia with just inside seven minutes to play. The teams were each 0-for-8 on the power play. Slovakia ended the tournament 4-2, having gotten the bad end of a three-way tiebreaker before the elimination round. The Swiss ended the tournament 2-4. The Swiss outshot the Slovaks 32-26. Michael Tobler stopped 23 for the Swiss, and Jaroslav Halak stopped 30 for Slovakia.
Finland beat Sweden, 4-3 in overtime. The Finns came away with this fifth-place game that probably captivated much of Scandinavia. Sweden scored the first goal of the game, and the teams traded goals back and forth until Finland scored the final goal in overtime. Sweden scored goals in each of the three periods in regulation, all of which were go-ahead goals. Finland's three goals in regulation all tied the game, and Janne Kolehmainen won the game 1:37 into overtime. Sweden outshot the Finns 38-27. David Raitio Berguv stopped 23 for the Swedes, and Joonas Hallikainen stopped 35 for Finland.
Only the medal games remain...
Tonight: Czech Republic vs. United States (bronze medal game), Canada vs. Russia (gold medal game)
---
Have a great Tuesday everyone. The sun is rising as I type this, so maybe we'll get a clear day out of this in the great northwest.
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