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Saturday, March 26, 2005

GUT 

Welcome to Saturday. Amazingly, this one's on time.

For the random today...since this is Bremerton, I'm sure there's no rational explanation for it, but here's my word to the wise -- a Taco Bell Grilled Stuft Burrito comes out to $2.49 after tax at the Taco Bell on the west side of Bremerton on Kitsap Way. The Taco Bell on the east side of Bremerton on Wheaton Way near the ex-Albertsons that had the roof cave in a few years ago when we had that big huge holiday snowstorm followed by a ton of rain (slush is heavier than snow) charges only $2.38 for the same burrito. Nobody has taken over that ex-Albertsons building, and ever since Lowe's (formerly Eagle) moved out of the city limits like all big businesses do, only one-third of the building is still in operation, and that's being run by RiteAid.

To the post!

MARINERS
How many hitters out there would come into July hitting .315 and think that they needed to change their stance? Well, Ichiro did just that last year, and he raked, raked, and raked some more. All it took was bringing his feet four more inches apart in his stance and holding his bat at less of an angle. A strikeout yesterday ended his spring-ball streak at 50 at-bats without a strikeout. However, Ichiro went 240 ABs without striking out over in Japan (oh, the disappointment). If Ichiro ever establishes an all-time hitting streak, let's hope he stops it at 161 games, because he'll "quit baseball" if he hits in 162 straight.

Bench coach Ron Hassey is in charge of outfield defense. He doesn't mind how deep the four guys (three plus Raul Ibanez) usually play until they start getting balls hit over their heads. Since that's obvious, the meaningful part of the article (and this one) is that Scott Atchison will probably end up on the disabled list as he's pulled a Joel Pineiro (strained flexor bundle). Atchison will be reevaluated after being shut down from throwing for two weeks. That's not the only injury, though, as catcher Ryan Christianson was nailed on the backswing by Alberto Castillo, breaking his index finger under his mitt. He's out 4-6 weeks. Eddie Guardado, however, pitched without pain in a sim game. Also, since we've clarified that spring training baseball is meaningless, it gives me opportunities to look away when it comes to normally scary things, such as Jamie Moyer giving up 10 hits in six innings of a minor-league game.

SEAHAWKS
Jureveni, Jurevidi, Jurevicius. Joe Jurevicius will at the very least fill the spot vacated by the release of Jerry Rice. He's also a big dude at 6'5" and 230. Again, we're hoping he stays healthy and catches the damn ball. Again, I'm still more anxious to see what Tim Ruskell does with this team in the draft than I am at his chances on the free-agent market.

BASKETBALL
The Miah Davis Update
Roanoke hosts Huntsville tonight and Columbus on Wednesday.

The Marvin Williams Watch
In the Tar Heels' 67-66 win against Villanova, Marvin Williams was saddled with three fouls in the first half. He ended up with 16 points in 24 minutes, shooting 4-for-9 from the field, 2-for-3 from beyond the arc, and 6-for-6 from the line. He also grabbed five rebounds and chipped in with a steal.

North Carolina will face Wisconsin tomorrow for a Final Four berth.

Huskies
The season's over, but the stream of articles isn't. The Huskies will miss having their backcourt experience and probably their perimeter shooting as well. Brandon Roy is on the fence about coming back, and he'd be a great player for the team to have back. As for the possibility of a home game with North Carolina next year, well, that'd be absolutely nuts. I know I'd love that, and it might because a meltdown at the Bremerton Sun.

Sonics
For my thoughts on last night's game, scroll down a post or click here if this is the only post on the page.

Now the Sonics are just cranking out wins any way they can get them. These recent wins aren't the tactical wins of perfect execution that put it well out of doubt before the final few minutes of the game. Now it seems like almost every game is ending up like that game in Houston, down to the final minutes. I'm just glad the Sonics didn't lose this one, because having Villanova scare North Carolina and having Wildcat alum Tim Thomas hit the three to send the game into overtime was too much for me to begin with. The Sonics weren't doing much for the sellout crowd until they finally started clicking in the fourth quarter, and Ray Allen hit some clutch threes. Thomas hit the overtime-forcing shot before the Sonics put together a big run to start overtime and bury the Knicks. A barrage of free throws at the end of the game enabled Ray Allen to get to 40 points and Rashard Lewis to get to 30. Lewis sure didn't look like a guy who'd had knee tendinitis flareups the night before. Last note about free throws -- the Sonics nailed their last 18 attempts from the line.

Upcoming...
Tomorrow vs. Washington (5p, FSNNW)
Tuesday at Memphis (5p, FSNNW)
Wednesday at San Antonio (5:30p, FSNNW)
Friday vs. Portland (7:30p, FSNNW)

HOCKEY
Portland shut out Everett 3-0. The Silvertips were shut out in their last two games of the regular season, and the trend continued into their first playoff game. Everett was unbeaten with a 3-0-2 record in five games in Portland during the regular season, but that trend didn't hold up in this one. Everett will likely be without Tyler Dietrich for the entire series due to a broken ankle, and Portland is without leading scorer Dan Da Silva, who took a stick to the head from Zack FitzGerald of Seattle (who got a four-game suspension) last Saturday. Portland scored the winner when Brandon Dubinsky took the puck off an Everett skate and hit the open net with 1:43 to go in a very defensive second period. On an Everett power play in the third period, Braydon Coburn blocked a shot to set up a Portland rush, where Dubinsky fed Brian Woolger for a chip-in and a 2-0 lead with 9:33 left. Everett coach Kevin Constantine pulled goalie Mike Wall with all of 6:25 to go, but Everett couldn't take advantage of the extra skater and Dubinsky scored from his own red line. Dubinsky had an assist to go with his two goals. Shots were 33-20 for Portland. Mike Wall stopped 31 for the Silvertips, and Blake Grenier stopped all 20 for the Winter Hawks. Portland leads the series 1-0.

Vancouver beat Kelowna 4-3. The Rockets hadn't lost in Kelowna since mid-October. The Giants used a three-goal second period to steal a game on the road against a very good Kelowna team. Triston Grant, Gilbert Brule (on the power play), and Adam Courchaine (late) scored for the Giants in that second period. The Rockets did manage to tie it in the third period, but Conlan Seder got the winner with 7:42 to go. Adam Courchaine had an assist to go with his goal and was a plus-2 skater along with Seder. Shots were 30-24 for Kelowna, and Marek Schwarz stopped 27 for the Giants. Vancouver leads the series 1-0.

Russ Farwell, GM of the Seattle Thunderbirds, says many things, including that ownership isn't going to move the team to Edmonton or anything like that. The Tri-City Americans are "considering" a move to Chilliwack north of the border.

Also with some Thunderbird ink is a piece on Thunderbird Tyler Metcalfe, one who has had more stellar numbers in the past, but is playing on a better team than before.

Upcoming...
Today: Tri-City at Seattle (Game 1), Vancouver at Kelowna (Game 2), Saint John's at Manitoba
Tomorrow: Everett at Portland (Game 2)
Monday: Tri-City at Seattle (Game 2)
Tuesday: Portland at Everett (Game 3), Kelowna at Vancouver (Game 3)
Wednesday: Seattle at Tri-City (Game 3), Portland at Everett (Game 4), Kelowna at Vancouver (Game 4), Manitoba at Hamilton
Friday: Seattle at Tri-City (Game 4), Everett at Portland (Game 5 if necessary), Vancouver at Kelowna (Game 5 if necessary), Manitoba at Syracuse
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Have a great Saturday and a great weekend.

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