Tuesday, March 08, 2005
WIDE DECEIVING
Welcome to Tuesday.
For the random...I don't have a fax machine, so whenever I need to fax a transcript request back to Central so they can fax a transcript to some place that more than likely won't give me a job, I go to the FedEx/Kinko's, with our local one in Silverdale. I'm not sure if it stems from a general mistrust of other people, or if it stems from Dave Chappelle's Popcopy sketch, but I have this weird feeling every time I go to FedEx/Kinko's that they're going to somehow screw up my fax. This is even after they hand me the confirmation slip that says the fax went through. Even still, I get a bit nervous about what the records department at Central then does with my request and my transcripts. One time I'd tried to verify if my fax request had gone through, and they told me they'd already faxed over my transcripts even though I hadn't yet paid for their release (standard protocol is request transcript, verify reception of transcript request by school, pay for transcript, followed by the school actually faxing the transcript). As for what might be a general mistrust of people that I alluded to, I was the type of person in school that hated group projects, and I'm guessing that it probably stems from earlier incident that I can't remember where I'm sure I got stuck with someone who didn't do jack for the group project. It makes me sound like a power-tripper since I preferred individual projects, but I felt better when I alone had complete control. Basically, I felt more secure knowing that if I was going to get a bad grade or screw up, it was because of me and only me, and not because someone else fell asleep the night before the project was due and didn't type up the fake mini-screenplay or cut more magazine clippings for the ridiculously-themed collage or something. Of course, none of this explains why I didn't come back for my senior year of wrestling and the fact that two people (not just me) write for this here weblog.
Enough of the soul-baring though.
To the post...
MARINERS
Well, the pitchers are getting a bit lit up, and the Mariners are 0-4 in Cactus League play. Who cares? As the P-I piece mentions, the Mariners had the identical record in Cactus League play to start, and the 2001 team won quite a few regular season games. My main thing with spring training, though, is that other than the fringe spots of the final 25, I just want everyone to get their work in and not get hurt. Other than that, it's somewhat enriching to hear Niehaus, Rizzs, and Fairly try to sort through all the high-number players during a broadcast. It's spring training for the broadcast crew as well, though they certainly don't have to sort through so many jersey numbers above 60 during the regular season.
As for other stuff in those two articles, Eddie Guardado threw a painless 1-2-3 inning on 7 pitches, and Jorge Campillo is throwing a ton of pitches, but managing to get out of jams. Why does this make me think of a righthanded Ron Villone?
It's an Art Thiel fluff piece on Wladimir Balentien. The organization likes his bat. I hope he's just himself and the numbers compare to the next Manny Ramirez. He's 6'2" and 280*** (huge!), but since he's young, I can't just put him in a long (okay, two people) line of slightly older Mariner minor-league sluggers such as Bucky Jacobsen and...Juan Thomas! When's the last time you thought of Large Human? I'm glad I was able to mention him in this post.
[***Edit 2:12p -- The P-I later edited the article because Wladimir Balentien is actually closer to 180 pounds, not 280. Still, my intentions to mention Large Human are good.]
SEAHAWKS
After the Jones-Hasselbeck-Alexander trifecta was taken care of, the Seahawks' offseason has seemed to be reactive rather than proactive, and they really haven't reacted yet. They had needs to begin with on defense, then Ken Lucas bolted, and now Chike Okeafor has fled the coop to sign with Arizona (5 years and $25M as I heard from Paul Silvi of KING-5), of all teams. Worse yet, the Seahawks apparently were pretty close to the Cardinals' offer in terms of money. Though Tim Ruskell (who I associate with defense) is now in charge, we're still feeling the aftereffects of not only the Whitsitt era, but also of just how bad the defense as a whole was last year. Perhaps Chike just wanted to play for a more confident group, or maybe he hated Ray Rhodes. It could beT anything, though I'd bet more on the former than the latter. The bottom line is that two key cogs of the defense -- not the crappy parts of the defense -- are gone. I really hope this team gets a couple of signings and drafts really well, because I'm a bit worried right now.
The free-agent visit carousel: Tennessee cornerback Andre Dyson visited the Seahawks yesterday. Chicago running back Anthony Thomas, Saint Louis defensive end Bryce Fisher, and Atlanta fullback Fred McCrary are scheduled for visits to Seahawkville. Possible visits are attached to the names of Jets' tight end Anthony Becht, Cleveland linebacker Kevin Bentley, Denver linebacker Donnie Spragan, Denver cornerback Kelly Herndon, and Baltimore linebacker Edgerton Hartwell.
The P-I article also mentions the possibility of Jeff Garcia being the next backup quarterback for your Seattle Seahawks. I liked having Dilfer back there, but I guess Garcia back there wouldn't be Stan Gelbaugh-bad or anything like that.
BASKETBALL
The Miah Davis Update
The Roanoke Dazzle host Florida on Saturday, and Fayetteville the following Saturday and Sunday.
The Marvin Williams Watch
The Tar Heels will get the winner of the 8/9 game (Maryland/Clemson) on Friday (9a, ESPN2). The winner of that game plays Saturday (1:30p, ESPN).
Huskies
Some all-conference recognition for the Huskies' doings this season. Lorenzo Romar was named Pac-10 coach of the year. Nate Robinson and Tre Simmons were voted to the all-conference team. Honorable mentions went to Brandon Roy and Will Conroy to the all-conference team, and to Joel Smith for the freshman all-conference team.
The Huskies face Arizona State in the 2/7 game on Thursday (6:15p, FSNNW). The winner goes on to face Stanford or Washington State on Friday (8:45p, FSNNW).
Bulldogs
The Zags beat the Gaels of Saint Mary's 80-67 for their sixth WCC tournament title in seven years. A big run after halftime put the game away for Gonzaga, and Adam Morrison scored his team's first seven points after the half. Morrison finished with 30, Derek Raivio finished with 16, JP Batista had 9 points and 9 rebounds, and Ronny Turiaf had 18 points, 14 boards, and 4 blocks.
Gonzaga now awaits the results from Selection Sunday.
Sonics
Wolf down a footlong sub in observance of two articles about the Sonics' resurgent big man, Jerome James. I'd advise you to just wolf down one and not try to match James' height, because you'd have to eat a little more than seven footlong subs, and that'd be a lot. James claims that he's set his personal agendas aside, unlike seasons past, and suggests that he didn't work out extra-hard and lose weight in the offseason because it's his contract year. He says he slimmed down so he could keep up with Luke Ridnour bringing the ball up the court. James is part of the adjustment that the Sonics are trying to put onto their opponents, who have made adjustments on the pick-and-rolls that had been freeing up open shooters. You know, I've been doing the Jerome James Watch in the game posts, just keeping track of James and seeing if he would put up any numbers, but the last few games have been pleasantly surprising. Here I was thinking that the save of Danny Fortson's flying chair would be his biggest contribution to the season, and then he comes out with that game against Detroit. I've still got the jumphook off the loose ball replaying in my mind.
Nick Collison is awaiting his mask after having broken his nose, and may or may not play tonight. When the Pistons were in town, both Rip Hamilton and Carlos Arroyo were wearing masks.
Nate McMillan concurs that most (22, given the math in the Times piece) of the 27 three-point attempts the Sonics took against the Suns were good looks. They just weren't hitting them. Shooting can run hot, and shooting can run cold, but it can also get hot at any time, and with the great shooters that are on this team, I'm not sure you can tell a Ray Allen or a Vladimir Radmanovic to not hoist one off an open look even if they're 0-for-5 from downtown in the game up to that point. Who's to say they can't nail the next six straight? With the shooters this team has, it could happen at any time. Still, though, I'm a fan of getting the ball to Fortson down low if nothing else is working. Have him get hacked as he's putting one up, and it's almost a sure two points. Of course, if the officials are spineless and don't call crap down low like they did in the Phoenix game on Sunday, then Fortson and any other Sonic will get mauled when they go into the paint, and the whistles will fall silent.
Upcoming...
Tonight vs. Houston (7p, FSNNW)
Friday vs. Chicago (7:30p, not televised)
Sunday at New York (3p, FSNNW)
HOCKEY
Owners. Players. Labor talks. Later this week. I'm not expecting much, but talking is better than nothing at this point. In a related note, I think my Bizarro Canucks on EA Sports NHL 2005 are 50-7-0-2. Don't worry, I'll crank the difficulty level up once I get done with that particular season.
Also, since Wayne Gretzky's words always matter, here's some of that.
Upcoming...
Tomorrow: Tri-City at Seattle, Everett at Spokane, Manitoba at Grand Rapids
Friday: Seattle at Everett, Spokane at Portland, Vancouver at Prince George, Manitoba at Grand Rapids
Saturday: Portland at Everett, Vancouver at Prince George, Manitoba at Chicago, Puget Sound at Queen City (Game 1 of Cascade Cup Finals)
Sunday: Spokane at Seattle, Everett at Portland, Manitoba at Chicago, Puget Sound at Queen City (Game 2 of Cascade Cup Finals)
---
Have a gee-golly fun Tuesday, every single one of you.
For the random...I don't have a fax machine, so whenever I need to fax a transcript request back to Central so they can fax a transcript to some place that more than likely won't give me a job, I go to the FedEx/Kinko's, with our local one in Silverdale. I'm not sure if it stems from a general mistrust of other people, or if it stems from Dave Chappelle's Popcopy sketch, but I have this weird feeling every time I go to FedEx/Kinko's that they're going to somehow screw up my fax. This is even after they hand me the confirmation slip that says the fax went through. Even still, I get a bit nervous about what the records department at Central then does with my request and my transcripts. One time I'd tried to verify if my fax request had gone through, and they told me they'd already faxed over my transcripts even though I hadn't yet paid for their release (standard protocol is request transcript, verify reception of transcript request by school, pay for transcript, followed by the school actually faxing the transcript). As for what might be a general mistrust of people that I alluded to, I was the type of person in school that hated group projects, and I'm guessing that it probably stems from earlier incident that I can't remember where I'm sure I got stuck with someone who didn't do jack for the group project. It makes me sound like a power-tripper since I preferred individual projects, but I felt better when I alone had complete control. Basically, I felt more secure knowing that if I was going to get a bad grade or screw up, it was because of me and only me, and not because someone else fell asleep the night before the project was due and didn't type up the fake mini-screenplay or cut more magazine clippings for the ridiculously-themed collage or something. Of course, none of this explains why I didn't come back for my senior year of wrestling and the fact that two people (not just me) write for this here weblog.
Enough of the soul-baring though.
To the post...
MARINERS
Well, the pitchers are getting a bit lit up, and the Mariners are 0-4 in Cactus League play. Who cares? As the P-I piece mentions, the Mariners had the identical record in Cactus League play to start, and the 2001 team won quite a few regular season games. My main thing with spring training, though, is that other than the fringe spots of the final 25, I just want everyone to get their work in and not get hurt. Other than that, it's somewhat enriching to hear Niehaus, Rizzs, and Fairly try to sort through all the high-number players during a broadcast. It's spring training for the broadcast crew as well, though they certainly don't have to sort through so many jersey numbers above 60 during the regular season.
As for other stuff in those two articles, Eddie Guardado threw a painless 1-2-3 inning on 7 pitches, and Jorge Campillo is throwing a ton of pitches, but managing to get out of jams. Why does this make me think of a righthanded Ron Villone?
It's an Art Thiel fluff piece on Wladimir Balentien. The organization likes his bat. I hope he's just himself and the numbers compare to the next Manny Ramirez. He's 6'2" and 280*** (huge!), but since he's young, I can't just put him in a long (okay, two people) line of slightly older Mariner minor-league sluggers such as Bucky Jacobsen and...Juan Thomas! When's the last time you thought of Large Human? I'm glad I was able to mention him in this post.
[***Edit 2:12p -- The P-I later edited the article because Wladimir Balentien is actually closer to 180 pounds, not 280. Still, my intentions to mention Large Human are good.]
SEAHAWKS
After the Jones-Hasselbeck-Alexander trifecta was taken care of, the Seahawks' offseason has seemed to be reactive rather than proactive, and they really haven't reacted yet. They had needs to begin with on defense, then Ken Lucas bolted, and now Chike Okeafor has fled the coop to sign with Arizona (5 years and $25M as I heard from Paul Silvi of KING-5), of all teams. Worse yet, the Seahawks apparently were pretty close to the Cardinals' offer in terms of money. Though Tim Ruskell (who I associate with defense) is now in charge, we're still feeling the aftereffects of not only the Whitsitt era, but also of just how bad the defense as a whole was last year. Perhaps Chike just wanted to play for a more confident group, or maybe he hated Ray Rhodes. It could beT anything, though I'd bet more on the former than the latter. The bottom line is that two key cogs of the defense -- not the crappy parts of the defense -- are gone. I really hope this team gets a couple of signings and drafts really well, because I'm a bit worried right now.
The free-agent visit carousel: Tennessee cornerback Andre Dyson visited the Seahawks yesterday. Chicago running back Anthony Thomas, Saint Louis defensive end Bryce Fisher, and Atlanta fullback Fred McCrary are scheduled for visits to Seahawkville. Possible visits are attached to the names of Jets' tight end Anthony Becht, Cleveland linebacker Kevin Bentley, Denver linebacker Donnie Spragan, Denver cornerback Kelly Herndon, and Baltimore linebacker Edgerton Hartwell.
The P-I article also mentions the possibility of Jeff Garcia being the next backup quarterback for your Seattle Seahawks. I liked having Dilfer back there, but I guess Garcia back there wouldn't be Stan Gelbaugh-bad or anything like that.
BASKETBALL
The Miah Davis Update
The Roanoke Dazzle host Florida on Saturday, and Fayetteville the following Saturday and Sunday.
The Marvin Williams Watch
The Tar Heels will get the winner of the 8/9 game (Maryland/Clemson) on Friday (9a, ESPN2). The winner of that game plays Saturday (1:30p, ESPN).
Huskies
Some all-conference recognition for the Huskies' doings this season. Lorenzo Romar was named Pac-10 coach of the year. Nate Robinson and Tre Simmons were voted to the all-conference team. Honorable mentions went to Brandon Roy and Will Conroy to the all-conference team, and to Joel Smith for the freshman all-conference team.
The Huskies face Arizona State in the 2/7 game on Thursday (6:15p, FSNNW). The winner goes on to face Stanford or Washington State on Friday (8:45p, FSNNW).
Bulldogs
The Zags beat the Gaels of Saint Mary's 80-67 for their sixth WCC tournament title in seven years. A big run after halftime put the game away for Gonzaga, and Adam Morrison scored his team's first seven points after the half. Morrison finished with 30, Derek Raivio finished with 16, JP Batista had 9 points and 9 rebounds, and Ronny Turiaf had 18 points, 14 boards, and 4 blocks.
Gonzaga now awaits the results from Selection Sunday.
Sonics
Wolf down a footlong sub in observance of two articles about the Sonics' resurgent big man, Jerome James. I'd advise you to just wolf down one and not try to match James' height, because you'd have to eat a little more than seven footlong subs, and that'd be a lot. James claims that he's set his personal agendas aside, unlike seasons past, and suggests that he didn't work out extra-hard and lose weight in the offseason because it's his contract year. He says he slimmed down so he could keep up with Luke Ridnour bringing the ball up the court. James is part of the adjustment that the Sonics are trying to put onto their opponents, who have made adjustments on the pick-and-rolls that had been freeing up open shooters. You know, I've been doing the Jerome James Watch in the game posts, just keeping track of James and seeing if he would put up any numbers, but the last few games have been pleasantly surprising. Here I was thinking that the save of Danny Fortson's flying chair would be his biggest contribution to the season, and then he comes out with that game against Detroit. I've still got the jumphook off the loose ball replaying in my mind.
Nick Collison is awaiting his mask after having broken his nose, and may or may not play tonight. When the Pistons were in town, both Rip Hamilton and Carlos Arroyo were wearing masks.
Nate McMillan concurs that most (22, given the math in the Times piece) of the 27 three-point attempts the Sonics took against the Suns were good looks. They just weren't hitting them. Shooting can run hot, and shooting can run cold, but it can also get hot at any time, and with the great shooters that are on this team, I'm not sure you can tell a Ray Allen or a Vladimir Radmanovic to not hoist one off an open look even if they're 0-for-5 from downtown in the game up to that point. Who's to say they can't nail the next six straight? With the shooters this team has, it could happen at any time. Still, though, I'm a fan of getting the ball to Fortson down low if nothing else is working. Have him get hacked as he's putting one up, and it's almost a sure two points. Of course, if the officials are spineless and don't call crap down low like they did in the Phoenix game on Sunday, then Fortson and any other Sonic will get mauled when they go into the paint, and the whistles will fall silent.
Upcoming...
Tonight vs. Houston (7p, FSNNW)
Friday vs. Chicago (7:30p, not televised)
Sunday at New York (3p, FSNNW)
HOCKEY
Owners. Players. Labor talks. Later this week. I'm not expecting much, but talking is better than nothing at this point. In a related note, I think my Bizarro Canucks on EA Sports NHL 2005 are 50-7-0-2. Don't worry, I'll crank the difficulty level up once I get done with that particular season.
Also, since Wayne Gretzky's words always matter, here's some of that.
Upcoming...
Tomorrow: Tri-City at Seattle, Everett at Spokane, Manitoba at Grand Rapids
Friday: Seattle at Everett, Spokane at Portland, Vancouver at Prince George, Manitoba at Grand Rapids
Saturday: Portland at Everett, Vancouver at Prince George, Manitoba at Chicago, Puget Sound at Queen City (Game 1 of Cascade Cup Finals)
Sunday: Spokane at Seattle, Everett at Portland, Manitoba at Chicago, Puget Sound at Queen City (Game 2 of Cascade Cup Finals)
---
Have a gee-golly fun Tuesday, every single one of you.
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