Why 16-0 Doesn't Matter

The New England Patriots are 16-0, the first team in NFL history to win 16 regular season games. Tom Brady and Randy Moss are setting individual records faster then the Celtics are winning games (which if you haven’t been paying attention, is at a ridiculous rate). But in order to be remembered as a truly great team, perhaps the greatest team of all-time, the Patriots have to reach another number: 19.

19-0. That is the only way 16-0 matters. Every team’s goal is to win the Super Bowl. Every player would trade their individual statistics for a championship ring. New England’s won 16 games to put themselves in the best position to win #19. While the Patriots have to be the odds-on favorite to win Super Bowl XLII, there are plenty of things standing in their way. Right now, 16-0 is great but not important. What is important?

-The 1934 and 1942 Chicago Bears. Both finished the regular season undefeated, both lost in the championship game. History shows that just because you dominate the regular season it doesn’t necessarily mean you win the championship. New England will forever be grouped with those teams if they don’t bring the Lombardi Trophy back to Foxboro.

-January in Foxboro: The Patriots rely on Brady throwing the ball. If they can’t throw it, their in trouble. The offensive line and running backs have shown nothing, other than the fact that you don’t want to rely on them to win you a game.

-The Indianapolis Colts: The defending Super Bowl champions are quietly waiting in the bushes. They have beaten New England before, Peyton Manning loves beating Belichick, and with all the focus on the Patriots, they have to feel disrespected. Yes, they are a dome team and the Patriots have beaten them in the playoffs before, but after last year that "mystic" may be over.

-19 games: The Patriots have to win 19 games IN A ROW!!!! That is incredible. As only the second team to win 16 games in a season, we know they can stay focused. But now they will be playing back-to-back games against quality opponents, knowing full well that history is on-the-line with every play. Every mistake will be overblown, every great play over celebrated. The desire to go undefeated will drive them, the chance to knock them off will fuel their opponents. Mentally, the Patriots are going to go through possibly the toughest month ever.

Right now, the 2007 New England Patriots and the 1972 Miami Dolphins are in the same category. If the Patriots lose this season, they get acquainted with the ‘34 and ‘42 Bears. If they go 19-0, they stand alone, atop the NFL mountain, the best football team this world has ever seen.

Would Somebody Please Call Warren Moon A Taxi?

Seahawks radio color commentator and NFL Hall of Famer Warren Moon was arrested on suspicion of DUI early Friday morning. This is the second time this year that Moon has been suspected of a DUI.

Your a NFL Hall of Famer, legend at the University of Washington, and have a sweet gig as Seahawks radio analyst and FSN Northwest co-host. What in the hell are you doing driving around drunk, even buzzed? Call a taxi.

Maybe this is a sign that Moon has some deeper things to deal with then just being stupid and driving drunk. Let's hope not, but this is a dangerous path to be on.

Moon arrested on suspicion of DUI [Seattle Times]

Primed and Ready

Head on back to Greensboro, Aggies! Get ready for Washington, Cougars! It was an easy win for the Cougs, 67-34, in a game they lead the entire way and rested their starters in the 2nd half. Washington State is 12-0 and ready for Pac-10 play.

The Cougar defense was at it again, limiting the Aggies to 27 percent shooting and forcing 19 turnovers. As a team, WSU had 13 steals and 3 blocks, frustrating and dominating the Aggies all night long.

Derrick Low lead the way with 19 points, shooting 7 of 11 from the field and 4 of 8 from beyond the arc. Kyle Weaver chipped in with 9 pts. on 3 of 5 shooting and contributed 3 steals, moving him to #5 on the Cougar’s all-time steals list.

The bench got a lot of minutes, with Caleb Forrest and Nikola Koprivica leading the way with 23 and 22 minutes, respectively. It looks like Bennett is going to go with the 7 man rotation with Abercrombie mixed in until Harmeling can return from his injury. The lack of depth is going to huge with these first 3 conference games on the road against 3 good basketball teams.

This victory ended the non-conference part of the schedule and now we head into the loaded Pac-10. As the #4 team in the nation it is easy to think the Cougars can go 16-2 or 15-3 in conference play. Realistically, with the talent of the Pac-10, 14-4 or 13-5 is what we expect. If the team goes 8-1 at home, and 6-3 on the road then we think you have to be happy. No one is going to go through conference play undefeated, that you can bet on.

Something else you can bet on, the Cougars are primed and ready to go.

Game Day: North Carolina A&T

North Carolina A&T Aggies at #4 Washington State Cougars, 7 p.m., No TV

Time for one last tuneup before Pac-10 play. One more chance to get the kinks worked out before facing the rival Huskies. A chance to match the best start since 1991-92, 12-0, with a win over the Aggies. With a win tonight, odds are the Cougars finish 2007 ranked in the Top 5. Who'd a thunk it?

The 5-7 Aggies will have played 3 of the remaining 9 undefeated Division 1 teams after tonight (Pittsburgh, Miami, WSU). They've also played Tennessee, so you can't expect them to be star-struck with the #4 team in the nation, unlike The Citadel last week. All in all, this game should be an easy 20-25 point victory for the Cougs, a great way to end the non-conference schedule, and give them 7 days to prepare for those guys in the purple jerseys. Cougar Nation wants 6 in-a-row!!!

Things to watch for tonight:
-Kyle Weaver seems to be going through the motions. Maybe it's because of the lack of competition, but we would like to see him step-up his game.

-How will Tony Bennett use his bench? With Daven Harmeling out at least 3 weeks, will he use this game to tinker with the rotation to see which guys work best with each other? If Low and Weaver are forced to play 30 minutes a game now, by February they will be wore out.

-Like to see Low continue his hot shooting the last few games. The team won't play another game till January 5, 7 days, so let's get the shooting stroke going tonight and keep it going into January.

North Carolina A&T Starters:

F Jason Wills - Best player on the team, Weaver should guard him

F Trahem Chaplin

C James Porter

G Steven Rush

G Austin Ewing

Levenseller Should Stay

New Washington State football coach Paul Wulff is forming his staff. We're all for starting anew and bringing in guys who are "your" guys, but Wulff would be making a mistake to let Mike Lenvenseller go. Not only has he been an assistant with the team since 1992, but he played WR for WSU and held many WR records at the school. He is known as one of the best WR coaches in the country, evidenced by the strong group of receivers WSU perennially puts out there.

The only real question was if Levenseller would accept a "demotion" from OC to WR coach. That question was clearly answered by George Yarno in the PI article:

"He (Levenseller) wants to stay more than all of us," Yarno said. "He's the real Cougar of the group."

Wulff should do the smart thing, keep Levenseller and use the other 8 positions for "his" guys. What can it hurt, you have a WR coach who is loyal, hard-working, smart, and knows how to recruit kids to Pullman. That sounds like the kind of guy we'd want on our staff.

Wulff begins shaping coaching staff at WSU [Seattle PI]

Cooper High School Copyrighters

Cooper High School, located in Abilene, Texas, has been asked to change its logo since it is very similar to Washington State's. The Cougars are working with the school to help them change the logo so it doesn't break any copyright laws.

This is the second time in 3 years that the state of Washington has fought with the state of Texas. In 2005 Texas A&M claimed the Seahawks stole their 12th man theme. Eventually, they settled out of court, with Seattle maintaining the rights to the 12th man in the NFL and Texas A&M having them in college.

This time there will be no compromise. Cooper High School has to change their logo, which is going to very costly for them. Looking at the logos, they are very similar and chances are the person who designed the Copper logo used WSU's as a reference. Should they have to change it? We don't know, and frankly, we could care less. Its just interesting to see what people do for a living, hunt down bastard high schools who steal logos from prominent universities.

Legal challenge means CHS must redesign its logo [Reporter News]

So Which Mariners Will Be In The Mitchell Report?

The countdown is on to the release of the Mitchell Report, something that can ruin the late 90s and early 2000s for many baseball fans. The question we have up here in the Northwest, a.k.a the end of the earth, is what, if any, Mariners will be named?

We have to believe that Bret Boone will be on the list. Jose Guillen for sure will make it, but what about Adrian Beltre? Beltre did have an abnormally great year in 2004, leading to the Mariners sinking millions of dollars into him. Was that year the product of a steroid-infused body?

The person's name we are most worried about seeing in that report: Edgar Martinez. He is the real Mr. Mariner and was part of our most unforgettable Mariner memories. If he is outed as a steroid abuser it will permanently scar our perception of him and the many great memories we have of him.

We will never forget Edgar's last game. We had the game on the TV, muted so we could listen to Dave Niehaus call his final at bat. It was the end of an era, the end of the career of the only major player who stuck around. Edgar will always be remembered for being a great teammate, community member, and loyal Mariner. Let's hope, after tomorrow, we aren't remembering him for anything else.

Breaking News: UW AD Todd Turner Resigns

The University of Washington has announced that Athletic Director Todd Turner has resigned. A statement was released, saying that Turner and President Mark Emmert meet and decided it would be best to move in a different direction.

His resignation is effective at the end of January 2008.

We'll have more on this story as it becomes available.

*Update - This looks like it was a mutual decision, not one where Turner walked away or Emmert fired him. The big question this decision sparks: Will Tyrone Willingham still be kept as football coach? It was only a week ago that Turner and Emmert publicly said Willingham will be back, but was that only a public front? Did Turner and Emmert disagree about this decision behind closed doors, leading to Turner's resignation? Was it Turner's inability to get funding for the stadium renovation? These questions may never be answered, but we can always speculate.

Cougars Go With Wulff

Washington State found their coach and he wasn't very far away. Today the Cougars will announce that Paul Wulff is their next head football coach. Wulff comes from Eastern Washington where he was very successful with a limited budget.

Wulff's first order of business: Go to Prosser and steal WR Cody Burns from Tyrone Willingham and the University of Washington.

This is a popular hire among Cougar fans and alumni. We advocated for Mike Price, but we didn't know much about Wulff before this process started. After reading many articles about him, we like the move for a variety of reasons, including that he's a Cougar coaching the Cougars.

Now we look forward to seeing what, if any, assistants Wulff keeps and how many inroads he can make in recruiting to get this team more then 3 recruits.

Huskies Looking to Change Schedule

12 games in 12 weeks is tough. That's why the Huskies are looking to move 3 games next season. Hoping to get three byes during the season, UW wants to move the Oregon game to Opening weekend. We have to ask: Is that the best way to start out Jake Locker's sophomore season? On the road against arguably your biggest rival. The Ducks won't have Dennis Dixon, but they still hate Washington and will see this as an opportunity to grab an early Pac-10 lead.

The other games they want to move: Oklahoma at home, up one week to Sept. 13 and the California game to Championship weekend on December 6. Either the Huskies really like playing another team after the Apple Cup or Ty Willingham thinks that playing in early December means your improving.

UW already has a break next year, all 3 of their nonconference games are at home. Add in 3 bye weeks and UW will be spending a lot of time in Seattle, hoping to be somewhere else in late December.

Clarifying Our Lute Olson Story

We broke the story earlier in the season that Lute Olson's son was sick and that was why he had taken a leave of absence. Then last week we found out that he was divorcing his second wife. A number of sites and blogs are now saying that his oldest son has AIDS, therefore Olson will spend the rest of the season with him.

We are sticking with our source that said it is because of his son being sick, not his pending divorce. We still do not know for sure if his son does have AIDS so we do not want to report that it's the reason he is sick.

All we know is that Olson has to be going through a very tough patch in his life and we want to wish him the best. College basketball and the University of Arizona need you Lute, so stay strong and make it through this.

2007 NFC West Champions!!!

They just blew a 12-point halftime lead, lost in OT on a field goal, and fell to 4-4 on the season. It looked like they were going to be in a fight for the division until Week 17. Then the offense opened up, the receivers stepped up, and Hasselbeck proved he has to be in the conversation with Tony Romo and Brett Favre for the best QB in the NFC. The Seahawks became dangerous again.

5 wins in a row, 4 straight division championships, 5 straight playoff appearances

Question: Which 3 NFL teams have made the playoffs the last 5 years?
Answer: Indianapolis, New England, Seattle

Critics will say that Seattle plays in the weakest division. Compare the NFC West with the AFC East this season. New England is clearly the best team in the NFL, but the rest of the division is weak. You don't hear any pundits talking about how facing the Bills, Jets, and Dolphins twice a season has helped the Patriots on their undefeated run. If you played 1vs.1, 2vs.2, etc., the NFC West would win 3 of 4 from the AFC East.

Michael Irvin, Sean Salisbury, Tiki Barber, and Dan Marino can say what they want about the Seahawks. Their opinions determine exactly zero games. The only words you need to pay attention to: 4 Straight Division Championships.

Hang up another banner.

Top 10 State of Washington Sports Moments of 2007

People will remember the sports world of 2007 for its trials, judges, and indictments as much as they will remember it for its touchdowns, home runs, and 3-pointers. While the legal battles stayed mostly out of Washington, the battles on the court, field, diamond, and links make up the State of Washington’s Top 10 moments of 2007.

10. Ryan Moore finishes 2nd at Dublin, Ohio - Puyallup native Ryan Moore had the best finish of his young career when he came in second to K.J. Choi at The Memorial Tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus. During the offseason Moore is said to be working hard to earn a cameo appearance in Tin Cup 2, as he’s a big Kevin Costner fan.

9. Apple Cup 2007 - The 100th Apple Cup, coincidently the 100th meeting between the best two college football teams in the state of Washington, although it recent years that distinction has started to mean less and less. Cougars won 42-35 and as of yesterday, the UW secondary was still trying to find Brandon Gibson.

8. UW fires Tyrone Willingham - After 3 seasons and a 11-25 record the University of Washington decided it was moving in a different direction.....wait, they didn’t fire Willingham? They decided to give him another year because they were encouraged by his recruiting? On a side note, Jake Locker has decided to give that baseball thing a try, not wanted to endure another 4-9 season, instead aiming for a 4-9 day in a June double-header.

7. Mariners still in playoff talk in August - On August 25 the Mariners were 73-54, 1 game back of the Angels and tied in the loss column. Then they played the Angels in a huge series at Safeco Field, got swept and finished 6 games back. We Mariner fans had to endure another October without playoff baseball, instead dealing with the side effects of listening to Dave Sims talk all summer.

6. #’s 3, 4, and 5 for Cougar Basketball - Let’s just say it: the University of Washington is a volleyball school. Not only did the Cougars take back the Apple Cup Trophy for the 3rd time in 4 years, but they beat the Husky basketball team for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th straight times. The presence of 10th overall pick Spencer Hawes could not scare the Cougar trio of Derrick Low, Kyle Weaver, and Robbie Cowgill. If you wanna be scared, see Derrick Low up close on HDTV.

5. Locker plays 1st game in Purple & Gold - Jake Locker, the savior of the floundering UW football program, made his debut against Syracuse on August 31. The Huskies won the game easily 42-12, but it turned out to be costly because Locker left his accuracy in Syracuse, NY. It is still M.I.A.

4. Skyline comes from Behind to be Champs - The 3A football championship game was the spread, passing attack against the in-your-race running attack. For most of 3 quarters it looked like O’Dea and RB Johri Ferguson were going to be bringing the title back to First Hill. Then a horrible fake FG, some beautiful throws, and a little luck and Skyline had won its 3rd state title. We are taking bets on how Skyline coach Steve Gervais is going to celebrate his 6th state title. Currently off the board, hunting trip to Northern Alaska.

3. Super Bowl Curse is Broken - Shaun Alexander suffered the Madden Curse, but the Seahawks broke the Super Bowl Loser Curse. Before last season, the last 5 Super Bowl losers failed to make the playoffs the following season. Not only did Seattle win the division, make the playoffs, and beat the Cowboys in the 1st round, they got a little good karma when Tony Romo fumbled the FG snap. After the season, Romo received his good karma when he dated Carrie Underwood, Sophia Bush, and Jessica Simpson.

2. Washington State Basketball - Bennett ball took on a whole new meaning last season. Before, it was known as a slow-it-down defense with an even slower run-the-set offense. In 2007 it still had the same basic principles but now it was leaving the Cougars on the winning side of the final score. The students of WSU caught Wazzu basketball fever, and January games that normally would have drawn 800 fans were now drawing 8,000. Half the crowd (the boys) were there to watch the game, the other half (the girls) were there to checkout Tony Bennett.

1. Sonics get #2 pick; select Kevin Durant - The lottery balls bounced Seattle’s way, allowing them to select a future superstar in Kevin Durant. With the future of the team in Seattle uncertain, it puts a lot of weight on Kevin Durant to bring the fans to the arena. Considering Durant can bench press 185 lbs. exactly zero times, Sonics fans may be in big trouble.

Ichiro Almost Wore Pinstripes

This is an older story by apparently Ichiro was almost a Yankee. He had the teams narrowed down to the Mariners and Yankees, his wife then persuaded him to stay in Seattle.

The thought of Ichiro in pinstripes makes us sick, not as sick as if he was a Red Sox, but we digress. We aren't huge Ichiro fans, but we like him on the team. The Yankees and Red Sox are the worst so if we had to watch him slap singles for them it would have caused us to drink like Richie Sexson on his way to a Blazers game.

If the Mariners can pull off some sort of miracle, like trade for Johan Santana, then they have an opportunity to make a playoff push. Of course the Angels signing Torri Hunter doesn't help Seattle's cause.

If Not For His Wife, Ichiro Might be A Yankee [Enjoy the Enjoyment]
The Angels sign Hunter to a $90 million deal [NY Times]

High School Football - Championship Version

This weekend is Championship Weekend in the state of Washington. The two big classifications, 4A and 3A, play Saturday and Friday night respectively. In the 3A game Skyline plays O'Dea and in 4A Bothell takes on Lewis & Clark from across the mountains.

Skyline is coached by Steve Gervais, maybe the best high school coach is Washington state history. He has won 3 1A titles with Eatonville, took Gig Harbor to the championship game, and won the 3A title in 2000 and the 4A title in 2005, both with Skyline. He has the Spartans in position to win their 3rd title in 8 years. It will be very interesting to see what happens to Skyline when Gervais leaves, something that will most likely happen in 2 years when sophomore QB Jake Heaps graduates.

In the 4A game, Bothell makes it second straight appearance in the championship game. They have been the best team in 4A this season and if a team ever deserved to win they would be it. The Tigers from Lewis & Clark are making their first appearance in the title game. They are a big underdog to Bothell, but they have surprised a lot of teams in the playoffs so we wouldn't be shocked if they somehow pulled out the win.

Both games should be very entertaining and will display the quality of high school football that Washington state offers year-in and year-out.

Photo Courtesy of The Seattle Times

Potential Cougar Football Coaches

Now that the Cougars have to hire a new football coach we though we'd look at the possible hires who would take over at Wazzu.

-Mike Price: The choice everyone and the mom has been talking about. He hasn't done well at UTEP the last two years, 5-7 and 4-8. He would have considerably better talent at WSU and has proven he can recruit and win in Pullman. He is 61 years old, something that could hurt in recruiting.

-Paul Wulff: The head coach at Eastern Washington University. Wulff is a former Coug who is familiar with recruiting in Washington. He would probably keep some of the staff the same. Negative, he's never been a Division 1 coach, something that AD Jim Sterk said was something they were looking for.

-Bob Gregory: He is a former Coug as well, now the D-coordinator at California. He has coached Division 1 football before albeit as an assistant. He could keep Levenseller around to work with the offense and concentrate on the defense.

-Under no circumstance should WSU hire or even interview UW offense coordinator Tim Lappano. That would be a lateral, if not backwards, move. He has never been a HC and frankly we are not to impressed with his offense at UW.

Those seem to be the most logical choices. Washington State needs a Cougar to coach the Cougars. All three of the above guys are Cougars and understand what it takes to play in a town like Pullman.

Cougar News

Lots of Cougar news today.

Football coach Bill Doba was fired. Just two days after winning the Apple Cup he is let go. The Mike-Price-back-to-Washington-State stories are already out, including this one by the El Paso Times. We have been on the Bring Back Mike Price Bandwagon for a long time. We like Doba as a guy, so much so that we feel for him today, but football wise this was the right move. The best part of Price coming back would be he would most likely keep some of the staff. We like that fact that the Cougars are coached by Cougars. Levenseller, Yarno, Broussard, Rypien; those guys care about Washington State.

In other WSU news, the basketball team moved up to #6 in the nation. This is the new highest ranking for the Cougars. They won the inaugural Hispanic College Fund Tournament this past weekend in Spokane. They play at Baylor on Friday then travel to the Kennel for a big game with Gonzaga on December 5th. Unfortunetly, both of those games are televised on ESPNU, a channel that we don't get.

Doba fired as WSU football coach [Tacoma News Tribune]
Washington St., coach part ways; Price could return [El Paso Times]

What's Up With...

Bryce Fisher!!!

The former Seahawks starting DE was traded to the Titans on Sept. 11th this season for an undisclosed draft pick. We haven't read or heard anything about Fisher lately so we wanted to see how he's been performing this season.

Fisher has played in 6 games this season recording 0 sacks and 5 tackles. It doesn't look like Fisher is getting the playing time he needs to be really effective but he wouldn't have got that here in Seattle either.

Fisher was a great off-the-field guy who was mildly entertaining on his weekly-radio spot with Softy on KJR. The Seahawks made the right decision trading him and allowing Darryl Tapp to start. Tapp has been great this season, 6.5 sacks, 1 INT, and 2 FF. Not to mention he recovered the fumble Sunday that allowed the Seahawks to hold off the Bears.

Photo Courtesy of The Seattle Times

Catching Up!

We have had a very busy week so there has been no posting since Thursday, which is not what we want but it had to happen.

It's Apple Cup week and the birds are already chirping. Jordan Reffett, the Husky DT, had a lot to say about the Cougs. We hope the Cougs shove it to the dawgs, but it isn't looking good.

*Update: Locker is going to start for UW, meaning the Cougar defense needs to play its ass off.

The Seahawks beat a mediocre Bears team on Sunday. They have the Rams this week, which should be a win. That would put them at 7-4 with probably still a 1-game division lead.

The state football playoffs semifinal round is this weekend. In the 4A game across the mountain, Bothell visits Ferris with the winner being the favorite to win the whole thing. In the other game, Lewis & Clark plays Edmonds-Woodway at the Tacoma Dome.

In 3A Skyline and Bellevue both play but in opposite sides of the bracket. This could potentially be a huge championship game if they both win.

Dawg has plenty of yap in him [Seattle PI]

What Happened Last Night...

The Huskies are headed to NYC, the Sonics get off the crapper, and Tony Bennett signs a solid class for the Cougs.

UW beat Utah 83-77 to advance to the NIT semifinals in Madison Square Garden. Johnny Brockman had a monster game: 31 points and 18 rebounds and the other cast of characters contributed when needed. Now the dawgs get set to play Texas A&M next week.

Kiss that 0-82 season good-bye because the Sonics winners. They beat the Dwyane Wade-led Heat 104-95, notching the first victory on Kevin Durant's belt. Durant had 18 points on 6 for 16 shooting. Good thing Pat Riley didn't suit up for the game or we may be talking about a different outcome this morning.

Washington State signed five new basketball players yesterday. The class included 3 guards and 2 forwards. The first player listed, Marcus Capers, is the one that Tayler Rochestie gave up his scholarship for. The class received an "honorable mention" from Scout.com, whatever that means. Tony Bennett knows that he must get players that want to be part of a team, can live in a smalltown atmosphere, and are willing to give up things for the benefit of the team and the program.

Brockman has career game against Utah [Seattle Times]
Sonics finally break through [Seattle PI]
Cougars reloading at guard [Seattle Times]

Is Harrington Better Than Vick?

Michael David Smith of Fanhouse thinks so. He compares Harrington to the other QBs he has split time with: Byron Leftwich, Daunte Culpepper, and Jeff Garcia. It looks like Smith handpicked the stats he used in the argument, but the stats don't lie.

As life-long Vick haters we don't have any arguments that someone plays the QB position better than him. The only bad thing about Vick not playing this season is we don't get to watch him humiliate himself every Sunday. The guy is a joke, was always a joke, and will always be a joke.

Is Joey Harrington a better QB than Michael Vick? That is a debatable question. Is Joey Harrington a better person, teammate, and leader than Micheal Vick? That's like asking if Tony Dungy is a better person than Bill Belichick. It's no contest.

Joey Harrington Is Better Than Michael Vick [FanHouse]

Photo from The Onion

What Happened Last Night...

A whole lot of basketball, that's what happened.

0-82 here Seattle comes!!! Not really, but the Sonics did lose again last night. This time to the Orlando Magic and our good friend Rashard Lewis. Lewis went for 22 pts. against his former team while Durant was 4 for 13 with 10 points. The Sonics play the Heat tonight in Miami, getting another chance to pick up that elusive first victory.

The #9 team in the nation, the Washington State Cougars (we love typing that), went on the road into the smurf-court and beat the Boise State Broncos 86-74. Kyle Weaver played a much better game then he did in the opener and Derrick Low brought the Cougs back from a halftime deficit. Also, Daven Harmeling chipped in with 18 points, shooting 8 0f 12 from the field.

We don't know about you but when we think of basketball we think of the New Jersey Institution of Technology. And that's why the Huskies' blowout win last night was so surprising. UW is now one victory away from Madison Square Garden, where they can play the likes of Texas A&M, Syracuse, and Ohio State. Two guys who didn't play last year, Tim Morris and Joel Smith, went for 16 and 12 points respectfully. The rock in the middle, Jon Brockman threw in 12 pts. and grabbed 9 rebounds in the winning effort.

Magic extend Sonics' franchise-worst start to eight games [ESPN]
Cougars catch up, then coast [Seattle Times]
Huskies open season with runaway victory [Seattle PI]

Love the Forward Pass: Watch the Cougs on Saturday

Alex Brink already holds just about every WSU passing and QB record there is. Expect him to pad those numbers against Oregon State Saturday because 3 OSU defensive backs must sit out the 1st half.

Starting CB Brandon Hughes and reserves Bryan Payton and James Dockery were suspended for the 1st half by the NCAA for fighting with Washington players last week. Now, there's nothing wrong with kicking a little Husky ass, but you just might want to do it behind the stadium, not on the field.

With starting tailback Dwight Tardy out for the season expect Brink to be hitting Gibson, Bumpus, and hopefully Jed Collins all 1st half Saturday afternoon. This is a huge opportunity for Wazzu, added with OSU's starting QB not being able to play, for them to setup an important Apple Cup next week. If the Cougs pull off the upset, then a win in the AC means 6 wins and a chance for a bowl game. It's even bigger for Bill Doba because a bowl game is the only way he saves his job.

Cougars catch a break [Seattle PI]

M's Should Sign This Guy

There has been talk of the Mariners pursuing Hiroki Kuroda, a RHP out of Japan. He is a free agent so there is no posting fee and could come at a bargain compared to some other pitchers out there.

The Mariners could have an upperhand in signing Kuroda. He has a 103-89 career record in 11 seasons pitching in Japan. He has a career 3.69 ERA and has thrown 74 complete games. Kuroda has a 90-92 mph fastball, he throws a slider similar to Dice-K's, but he doesn't throw a curveball. His best pitch is a fork-split, which is his strikeout pitch.

Kuroda projects as a #3 starter in MLB and the Mariners have 2 openings in their rotation. Since he will come cheaper then some no-good, garbage free agent pitchers out there we think the Marines have to make a serious offer to him.

A Hernandez, Batista, Kuroda, Washburn, Rowland-Smith rotation doesn't get us jacked up over the roof, it does look better then if it had some of the other free agent pitchers out there in it. We discussed U.S.S. Mariner's offseason plan earlier, where they had the M's adding Bartolo Colon. If Seattle adds Kuroda and Colon, then it shows they are making a serious effort to improve the team, realizing that they cannot just sit on their hands because this team won 88 games last season.

Mariners in hunt for Japanese ace? [Tacoma News Tribune]
The Japanese Scouting Report [Prospect Insider]

What Happened Last Night...

The Seahawks beat a very bad 49ers team and the Cougars B-Ball team wins one game and moves up one spot.

The Seahawks threw it accurately and often in their 24-0 shutout over the 49ers. Hasselbeck threw it 40 times, completing 27 for 2 TD and 1 INT. We wonder what Shaun Alexander was thinking over on the sideline. Did he realize that Holmgren has lost his patience and he may never again get the amount of carries he wants. After losing both games to SF last season the Seahawks took it to them in both games this season.

The Cougars have matched their highest ranking ever, #9 in the AP Poll. Wazzu beat Eastern Washington and Michigan State didn't play so the Cougars moved up. They play tonight against Boise State in Boise. Since Ian Johnson doesn't play basketball and Chris Petersen isn't coaching I like the Cougars in this one.

Win comes to pass [Seattle PI]
AP Top-25 Men's College Basketball Poll [Seattle Times]

Explanation of Lute Olson's Absence

Lute Olson took a personal leave of absence on November 4th for undisclosed reasons. A source who has spoken to Olson has took us that it is because his son is sick. He also told the source that he is not leaving the team permanently and he will return this season.

Olson has two sons, we are not sure which one is sick or with what illness. Clearly this illness is very serious and Olson should be with his family. We wish the Olson family the best and hope that he makes a full recovery.

Lute Olson taking leave of absence from Arizona [Arizona Sports Hub]

Mr. Playoffs - High School Version

The "1st Round" of the state playoffs kicks off tomorrow night and there are going to be some interesting matchups this weekend. Here is a link to the 4A bracket.Defending state champion Oak Harbor has to travel to Olympia on Saturday night, eliminating their unique home field advantage.

#1 ranked Bothell has to be the favorite, with Ferris barely squeaking by last week. Graham-Kapowsin is the only remaining SPSL team and they get a home game against South Kitsap. Other matchups include Woodinville traveling across the mountains to play Lewis & Clark at Joe Albi Stadium and 10-0 Edmonds-Woodway hosting Snohomish.

The best game of the weekend happens in 3A when #2 Skyline hosts #1 Lakes. This game could be a very high-scoring affair, although both teams have decent defenses. The winner of this game 9 out of 10 times goes on to win the 3A state title.

Lakes and Skyline get no favors from draw [Seattle PI]
Photo Courtesy of Crimson Photography

You Don't Want To Be Billy Gillispie Right Now!

We sure hope Billy Gillispie doesn't have a public listing in the Lexington phone book. His Wildcats got whipped by Gardner-Webb at Rupp Arena tonight. Now, they don't get to play in New York against the likes of #3 Memphis, Oklahoma, and Connecticut. Instead they get to stay at home and think about losing to a mid-major program by 14 at home.

The good news: daiper dandies Patrick Patterson and Alex Legion played well. We posted about the upside of Patterson earlier in the week and its good to see him playing well in only his second collegiate game.

There better be some intensity in practice the next few weeks. The schedule gets brutal toward the end of November with games against Liberty, Texas Southern, and Stony Brook. If you want to reach Tubby Smith, he's in Minnesota.

Gardner-Webb rolls to New York with rout at Kentucky [ESPN]
Photo Courtesy of ESPN

Some Love For The Cougs!!!

Andy Katz, who we love reading, wrote this article about the Cougar basketball resurgence. He hit it right on, who would have thought that the Cougars would be a Top 10 team. But they have to prove they are that good.

The senior leaders on this team will not allow this season to be a waste. Weaver is going to have a monster year and Low will be the rock this team needs. The Pac-10 is going to be horribly tough this year, but along with UCLA, the Cougs have to be the favorites.

Remember a few years ago when the university tried to do away with referring to Washington State as Wazzu because it was deemed "inappropriate." So ESPN titles their article with Wazzu, gotta love it.

We look forward to watching a lot of Wazzu Cougar victories this season and a possible trip to the Final Four. Wow, did we really just say the Cougs could be in the Final Four?

Wazzu must prove it is no one-hit wonder [ESPN]

Wishing Seattle's RB Ran Like This

We got the priviledge yesterday to watch the Chargers-Vikings game before Seahawks started. Little did we know that we would be watching history be made right before our eyes. If you missed Adrian Peterson setting the NFL single-game rushing mark, you can see a highlight reel here.

What was even more impressive was his style of running. It's something we haven't seen all season up here in Seattle. Don't you just wish sometimes Alexander would burst through the hole and takeoff down the sideline like that.

Watching Peterson's performance reminded us of 2005 when Alexander and that offense line carved up defenses. Wishful thinking says Shaun will improve when he gets that cast off. If not, Maurice Morris looked pretty good yesterday in limited action. (If you throw out that 4-1 play in OT, which was horrific)

What Happened Last Night...

The "regular season game-of-the-century" was played and the bad guys came out on top, the new BCS rankings came out and we are headed straight for a huge controversy, and the Sonics start the season 0-3 for the first time since 1985-86.

The game wasn't the high scoring affair many thought it would be, but did hold up to the hype in the drama department. How often is it that a losing headline for the Colts starts off with Manning did something to lose the game?

The great BCS has given us its newest rankings. LSU is #2, for now, and Oregon and Kansas are right behind. Here's a question: What happens if Kansas goes undefeated and wins the Big 12 Championship game? Can they jump over two teams if they both win out as well? We've got a feeling the BCS people are going to be big Missouri fans in a couple weeks.

Kevin Durant had another solid game, 24 pts., 8 rebounds, and 5 assists but the Sonics lost again. The Clippers, with their powerful duo of Corey Maggette and Tim Thomas, pulled away in the 4th. That makes it 3 for 3 for the Sonics in the "keep-it-close-till-the-4th-then-fall-apart-and-lose" category.

Manning's late fumble seals deal for undefeated Patriots [ESPN]
LSU takes over second place in BCS [CBS Sportsline]
Durant scores 24, but Sonics fall to 0-3 [Seattle Times]

Seahawks-Browns Notes

Wow, what the hell happened today. The 1st half was going so well, the offense was looking good and the defense was holding Cleveland. This is one of those rare, ultimate-loss weekends that happen about once every two years: where Puyallup, Washington State, and the Seahawks all lose on the same weekend. We have to vent, so here are some notes we took while watching the game, these are in no particular order since we don't want to think right now.

-Why the hell can't Seattle convert 3rd and 4th and short. We've been harping on that for 3 seasons now and it has cost them at least 2 games. Today and the Chicago playoff game last season. It is absolutely embarrassing and frankly, its pissing everyone off.

-Hasselbeck's INT was thrown into double-coverage, he tried to force it.

-The 1st quarter Engram TD pass was on a great design. The play was a different wrinkle then we have seen and we love that.

-Spencer missed bad on the 1st and goal run from the 3 when Alexander lost 2 yards, that one's on him not Shaun.

-The blitzes were very ineffective today. The one play we especially picked out was when Winslow almost scored in the 4th. Russell blitzed from the left-side of the line and didn't get past the line of scrimmage. This had been happening all game, in that situation you gotta drop back, only rush 4 and concentrate on covering the receivers.

-Anderson was killing the defense with those dump-offs to the RBs and FB. Those were going for 5-8 yards a piece.

-Where the hell was Julian Peterson?

-Kellen Winslow is a baby. Every time he didn't catch a pass thrown to him he bitched to the officials about PI.

-The Burleson celebration after his punt return TD - the Lebron James chalk clap - was great.

-Did any else notice that Ben Obomanu was on the field a lot on critical plays?

-You can't blame this loss on Hasselbeck, Engram or Burleson. They were the Seahawks players of the game.

Kentucky Freshman Patterson Off To Good Start

Kentucky's highly-touted freshman forward Patrick Patterson has started the exhibition season strong. He scored 17 pts., going 6 for 6 from the field and 5 for 5 from the free throw line. He also pulled in 7 rebounds, got 4 assists, and blocked 3 shots against Seattle University Saturday night.

The fans of Lexington are really excited for Patterson and new coach Billy Gillispie to take the Cats back to the Final Four. It will be interesting to see how they both handle the pressure of Kentucky basketball and the SEC. Mark Story wrote an article describing how Patterson is embracing being the cornerstone of this team. He seems like a kid who is very grounded and prepared for the rigorous of college basketball. He is the kind of player that Gillispie can recruit around, bringing in players knowing they have a legitimate shot at a Final Four appearance and a National Title shot.

Kentucky opens the regular season in the 2k Sports College Hoops Classic, then they have a light non-conference schedule. Their toughest non-conference games start the month of December with North Carolina at home and a visit to Indiana. This schedule allows Patterson and Gillispie to ease into their new roles as the leaders of the Kentucky program and give them a strong base to launch into the SEC schedule.

Kentucky overpowers SU [Seattle Times]
Patterson embraces hope, hype [Lexington Herald-Leader]

What Happened Last Night...

The dreaded #2 ranking lost again, Oregon showed its king of the West Coast, and Puyallup disappoints again in the postseason.

Who the hell wants to be #2 this season? Boston College had to know this was coming. This is great for college football because BC wasn't the 2nd-best team in the country. Plus this is really going to screw the BCS up and there are going to be a lot of pissed off people either in Eugene or Baton Rouge.

The Ducks proved that they are legitimate National Title Contenders as they beat up on the weasel and his Sun Devils. Dixon's injury isn't expected to be serious, but you never know until the MRI is performed. The most disappointing thing about this is that if they beat Cal they are clearly #2, if not #1, and all those LSU fans have to shut the hell up about deserving to be in the title game.

Another prelimenary round exit, another disappointing season for Puyallup. The Vikings got blitzed and ran out of Silverdale and the playoffs last night. For a team that said they had state championship goals, this was a huge dose of reality. It is very hard to blame 16, 17, and 18 year olds for loses and in this case that isn't appropriate. The disappointment of this season falls squarely on the shoulders of the coaching staff, who did not have the team prepared and failed to adjust during the game when it was clear their plan wasn't working.

FSU upsets Boston College [Fox Sports]
Dixon hurt but lifts #5 Oregon with 4 TD passes [ESPN]
South Kitsap survives on a tough night for locals [Tacoma News Tribune]

Mariners Offseason Plan: Dave Cameron's Version

Dave Cameron, from U.S.S. Mariner came out with his 2007 offseason plan. After reading it, it seems very reasonable. The Mariners have to add pitching if they want to have any chance next year and his plan has them adding an expensive, but necessary starter in Bartolo Colon.

The idea of getting rid of Richie Sexson is a great idea. We have wanted Ibanez moved to 1st base since May of last season. Like Dave states the defense will improve with a younger, quicker OF that will help the pitchers. Adam Jones has to have an opportunity to play everyday or why else do the Mariners still have him? If you aren't going to trade him then let him play, don't waste his talent in Tacoma. We don't know much about Geoff Jenkins so we'll gonna trust him on that one.

The starting pitching market is weak this season, but we don't like the idea of Ryan Rowland-Smith getting the ball every 5th day. We can't give any better suggestions cause we haven't done the research, but we can't imagine that is who is going to be the opening 5th starter.

Dave's Offseason Plan, v.2007 [U.S.S. Mariner]

True Hoop Article on Sonics

Came across this article that interviews Steven Pyeatt, one of the founders of Save Our Sonics. The article contains a lot of good information about the differences between Seattle and Oklahoma City.

While you can't be completely confident until an arena deal is reached, the facts are very encouraging. Clearly the plan has to be to keep this in the court system, cost Bennett tons of money, and get the legislation to develop a reasonabe financial plan. If this stays in the courts and costs Bennett and his group lots of money, hopefully they will become frustrated and sell the team to the local buyer group.

Also, on College GameDay this morning there was a sign being held up in the background that said: Save Our Sonics, along with something else but I couldn't quite read what it said. Any little bit of publicity we can get to show our support for our NBA team is awesome.

*We were checking out Ballhype and found this link. It is from SuperSonicSoul where they suggest everyone write a letter to David Stern, telling him how much we want the team to stay in Seattle. We full-heartly agree with this idea and will be sending one to the commish. It is time to get serious in this fight, the guys at SuperSonicSoul are starting it.

Save Our Sonics: This Game is Far from Over [True Hoop]

A Letter [Supersonicsoul]

What Happened Last Night...

We got our first 5 participates in the state tournament, Mariners decline option on Guillen, and our favorite 3B is out of his mind.

There was only 5 games last night and the SPSL didn't do so hot. Graham-Kapowsin was the only SPSL team to win, knocking off Evergreen of Vancouver 33-28. The other three: Bethel, Kentwood, and Kentridge lost.

The Mariners took the first step toward making Adam Jones a starting OF when they declined their option on OF Jose Guillen. Now Guillen has 5 days to pickup his player option for $5 million or he can go to free agency, the option he will most likely take.

Apparently A-Rod decided he was worth $350 million just to talk to him. I can't believe that this guy is going to get that kind of money. He is a proven loser, someone who can't perform under pressure. Why would you want to pay a guy that ridiculous amount of money who isn't going to help you extend your season past the 1st week of October?

Score-It: November 2 [Seattle Times]
M's refuse option on Guillen [Seattle PI]
A-Rod was seeking $350 million from Yanks [Fox Sports]

Sonics News and Notes

We haven't posted about the Sonics in the last couple days even though their season started. It was because of problems with our internet connections, not that we didn't watch.

If you look at it from a distance it could look like the one of the worst opening weeks in franchise history. The team starts 0-2 and the owner filed for relocation to another city. But everyone knew that this season was going to be a struggle on and off the court.

Kevin Durant scored 27 points in his Seattle debut, following up his 18-point NBA debut at Denver on Halloween night. Chris Wilcox had his first double-double of the season with 23 and 11 last night. It's only 2 games, but Nick Collison has been solid.

The problem this team is going to face the entire season has cost it in its first two games: what happens when their jump shooting goes cold? They have been close through 3 quarters, then they get tired and the shots don't fall in the 4th. With the lack of defense we've seen so far, if the shots aren't falling this team could be blown out of a lot of games this season.

Forget the record, forget the offcourt crap, this season will be a fun one to watch for Sonics fans. Appreciate the fact that we have a front row seat to one of future's biggest stars.

Bennett says he's moving Sonics to Oklahoma [Seattle PI]

Injuries Aplenty in the State of Washington

Thursday was the day to get injured if you are a collegiate athlete in the state of Washington. First, Cougar starting RB Dwight Tardy tore his ACL and is out for the season. This is a huge blow to the team espeically coming off their most impressive victory of the season. With 2nd stringer Chris Ivory out with a concussion, 3rd RB Kevin McCall gets the start in Berkley Saturday night.

The rival Huskies took a blow today, albeit to their basketball team. Starting guard Ryan Appleby broke his thumb in an offcourt incident. The article says that Appleby is the Huskies' best offensive player, I would disagree with that. He is only out six weeks so he won't miss any major part of the season, but his lack of preseason play may hurt him, especially since Appleby is a jump-shooter.


WSU RB Tardy out for season with torn ACL [Seattle Times]
UW's Appleby injured, off the court for 6 weeks [Seattle PI]

Former M's Fan Favorite Fails Drug Test

Former Mariner center fielder Mike Cameron failed a 2nd drug test, causing him to be suspended for 25 games. It is clear that he did not take steroids, just another banned substance.

I don't know if I believe that he did not know he was taking anything illegal. These guys' whole lifestyle is based on his body, so would he willingly put something in it that he didn't know exactly what it was?

Cameron was always a good clubhouse guy and a fan favorite. I hope he learns from his mistake and is able to continue his career in MLB.

Cameron fails stimulant test; suspended 25 games [ESPN]

High School Playoffs

The High School playoffs are set (almost) and we know when the games are and where they will be played. After a disappointing loss Friday night to Rogers, Puyallup travels to Central Kitsap to try and extend their season on the road. Here are all the 4A matchups:

Snohomish at Kentwood
Graham-Kapowsin at Evergreen
Kentridge at Mariner
Ballard at Edmonds-Woodway
Bethel at Eastlake
Cascade at Federal Way
Bellarmine at Oak Harbor
Gig Harbor at Bothell
Skyview at Olympia
Inglemoor at Rogers
Lewis & Clark at Richland
GLS #3 at Wenatchee
Moses Lake at Ferris
Puyallup at Central Kitsap
Kamiak at South Kitsap
Woodinville at Heritage

This is the week the weak teams are weeded out and the best 16 go on to state. I would expect a lot of favorites to win which could setup some exciting "1st round" matchups next week.

Also of note: In the 3A bracket, if Skyline and Lakes both win, which is expected, they would face off in that "1st round." Clearly, these are the two best teams in 3A and its a shame they have to play so early.

City of Seattle beats Sonics

Seattle won a battle today against the Sonics when a judge ruled that the case cannot go to arbitration. This is great for the city since it strikes a blow to the Sonics ownership group and possibly delays the team moving to Oklahoma City.

Although this is good, it is only the first step in a long process. Our elected officals need to be working on an areana deal. And what the hell happened to the Muckleshoot site? Clearly, Clay Bennett is sitting on his hands while trying to drive the fan base away.

City wins court ruling in Sonics case [Seattle Times]

What Happened Last Night...

We have a new champion of the baseball world, the #10 Cougs lose a player, and the Top 3 of the BCS change nada.

The Red Sox swept the Rockies outta the World Series, giving all those 3-yr. old Red Sox fans their long awaited championship. I expected a better showing from Colorado, now I can't watch ESPN for 2 days.

The Cougar basketball team took a hit this week when freshman forward Fabian Boeke was banned from playing this season. I don't know what he was expected to contribute this season, but it was better that this was found out now, before the season started. I don't know what repercussions would have happened to the team, but its best they just not go there.

No big upsets this week, no changes with the Top 3 of the BCS. The biggest matchup of the week has to be #4 Arizona State going to #5 Oregon, the winner being in the national championship picture for the long haul.

Powerhouse Red Sox make their mark [ESPN]
WSU's German frosh banned [Seattle PI]
Ohio State, BC, LSU remain atop BCS [Fox Sports]

Weekend Notes

Here are some notes and thoughts from the past weekend in sports:

-Good to see the Cougars get their first Pac-10 win. The offense and defense played a great game, special teams not so much. Obviously, the running game was outstanding and Brink had an ok day going 28 for 46 for 271 yds. 1 TD and 1 INT. Hopefully this can carry over to next week against a struggling Cal team.

-That sucks for the Huskies. They can't play defense and Jake Locker is the only offense the team has. They are 2.5 pt. favorites at home against Stanford this week and right now I'm think I'm laying the points.

-The damn Patriots won again. I don't want to believe it, but they might go undefeated this season. While I didn't get to see all of today's game, I saw enough to know it was a absolute domination.

-Looks like the World Series is gonna be over tonight, Boston is up 2-0 in the 5th. Even if Colorado pulls it out tonight, there is no way that they will win 4 in a row.

-This weekend showed the Pac-10 is the best conference in the country. South Carolina loses to Tennessee and Mississippi State beats Kentucky. Not to mention Florida's 3rd lose of the season. The Oregon and Arizona State winner should play for the NC if the win out. They will have a better resume then LSU if they both finish with 1-loss.

Cougars Start Season #10 in Coaches Poll

The Washington State Cougars open the season at #10 in the preseason Coaches Poll. This is the highest a WSU team has ever started the season.

North Carolina starts #1 followed by UCLA and Memphis. UCLA and WSU give the Pac-10 two Top 10 teams with Oregon at #13, Arizona #17, USC #18 and Stanford #21. That is a great showing for the Pac-10 and shows this conference is going to be awfully tough this season.

Two other notes: Gonzaga opens tied with Texas A&M at #14 and Kentucky starts at #22.

UNC, UCLA, Memphis separated by 8 votes in preseason poll [ESPN]

Week 9 College Picks

Mississippi at Auburn
South Florida at Connecticut
Duke at Florida State
Florida at Georgia
Mississippi State at Kentucky
Pittsburgh at Louisville
Clemson at Maryland
Minnesota at Michigan
Iowa State at Missouri
Virginia at North Carolina State
North Carolina at Wake Forest
West Virginia at Rutgers
Miami, OH at Vanderbilt
Kansas at Texas A&M - Upset Special!!!
Nebraska at Texas
Arizona at Washington
Indiana at Wisconsin
Ball State at Illinois
Louisiana-Monroe at Florida Atlantic
Michigan State at Iowa
Baylor at Kansas State
Central Michigan at Kent State
Northwestern at Purdue
South Carolina at Tennessee
Colorado at Texas Tech
Akron at Buffalo
Deleware at Navy
Florida International at Arkansas
UNLV at Wyoming
UAB at East Carolina
Southern Methodist at Tulsa
Louisiana Tech at Utah State
Western Michigan at Eastern Michigan
USC at Oregon
Memphis at Tulane
Idaho at Nevada
Rice at Marshall
Utah at Colorado State
Ohio at Bowling Green
Stanford at Oregon State
UCLA at Washington State - Upset Special!!!
Middle Tennessee State at North Texas
Troy at Arkansas State
Northern Illinois at Toledo
Ohio State at Penn State
Houston at UTEP
California at Arizona State - Upset Special
New Mexico State at Hawaii
UCF at Southern Miss

Week 9 - Thursday and Friday Picks

This will be quick since I forgot to do it earlier.

Virginia Tech over Boston College
Air Force over New Mexico

Boise State over Fresno State

World Series Prediction

Everyone knows that the World Series kicks off tonight in the glorified landfill known as Fenway Park. The Red Sox come off a drilling of the Indians 3 days ago to win Game 7. The Rockies have been off for 9 days, possibly killing any momentum or luck they had.

I really want the Rockies to win the Series. They have never won it and I believe my dislike for anything Boston is quite apparent. Unfortunately, I have the ability to pick with my head instead of my heart. It really pains me to say this but I like the Red Sox in 5.

They have Beckett, momentum which I believe is important in baseball, and the Rockies have been off for way to long. I can already see stories chronicling how the Rockies dominance of the NLCS cost them the World Series. I hope I'm wrong, but I had this same feeling after Game 5 of the ALCS when Cleveland couldn't finish the sawx off at home and we all know how that ended.

Sports Pickle Study

If you enjoy reading satire sports humor, then the Sports Pickle is for you. I was reading it today and came across this article. It is older, but the concept still very much applies today. Here is a exert from the article:

“The media has only contributed to this problem,” said Dr. Kreager. “By harping on the years and years the Red Sox went without a championship as though it was some sort of national tragedy, Boston fans actually started to believe they were more important than fans from other cities and therefore deserved to win more. When in fact, all they were was fans of a crappy franchise.”

The rest of the aritcle is very entertaining as well.

Study: 96-Percent of Boston sports fans have no idea how annoying they are [Sports Pickle]

Damon Huard

It's Week 8 of the NFL schedule and guess who's in 1st place in the AFC West? That's right, the Kansas City Chiefs. They are 4-3 with a 1 game lead on the division going into their bye week. Does this mean they are headed to the playoffs? No. But who would have thought they would be in position to, near the halfway point of the season.

Damon Huard has not put up big numbers this season. He has more interceptions (7) then touchdowns (6), but his team is still in 1st place. The former Puyallup Viking and Washington Husky is doing the things that need to be done in order for his team to win. This past Sunday he lead the Chiefs to a come-from-behind victory over the Raiders, completing a 58-yard pass to Dwayne Bowe to setup the winning score. This is the second time this season he has won a game in the 4th quarter, as the Cheifs upset the Vikings in Week 3.

Last year Huard came in and had Kansas City in position to make the playoffs until head coach Herm Edwards pulled him, put Trent Green back as the starter, and the Chiefs lost 2 games in a row to fall out of the race. Through 7 weeks this season Huard has them in place to make a 2nd half push. His play needs to improve if they are serious about making the postseason, but the play of his offensive line and RB Larry Johnson needs to improve as well.

Kansas City faces a huge test out of the bye week with Green Bay and Denver at home followed by a trip to Indianapolis. They probably need to win 2 of those 3 games to stay in the hunt. In order to do that Huard needs to pick up his play. Clearly, he is not the QB of the future, but if he can lead his team to an unexpected playoff berth he can maybe postpone the future in KC a little bit longer. Right now he is a starting QB in the NFL and only 31 other guys in the entire world can say that.

What Happened Last Night...

The Colts keep pace with the Patriots, the U.S. rid themselves of soccer coach who doesn't know how to coach soccer, and my fantasy team took a bit hit.

-MNF showcased the Colts moving to 6-0 for the third straight season, beating Jacksonville 29-7. To be fair, the Jaguars played most of the game with their backup QB Quinn Gray who would be a good NFL QB if his receivers were 10 ft. tall.

-Hope Solo must be a happy girl this morning since U.S. women's coach Greg Ryan is out. He is the famous coach benched Solo, the starting goalie, instead playing Briana Scurry because she had beaten Brazil before. The U.S.'s 4-0 lose to Brazil knocked them out of the championship game, instead settling for 3rd place.

- One of the surprise players on my 1st-place fantasy football team has been Miami RB Ronnie Brown. While I expected him to be a solid contributor, he has single-handily led my team to victory twice this season. That's why yesterday's news that he was done for the season with a torn ACL really hurts. I'll be swifting through the wavier wire this week to find a replacement.

Colts take solid lead in AFC South after breezing past Jags [ESPN]
Greg Ryan out as U.S. women's coach [Fox Sports]
Hurting, winless Dolphins lose top back Brown, S Hill for season [CBS Sportsline]

Monday News

My internet has been down all day, so I couldn't post these links earlier.

Seahawk injury news: TE Marcus Pollard is having knee surgery and hopefully will only miss the one week like the article says. Yesterday's defensive star Darryl Tapp broke a bone in his hand, but he shouldn't miss any games which is a great thing.

The Mariners have confirmed 4 of their coaching hires. No real surprises here. I am most excited about the new pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre. He won multiple rings with the Yankees and has worked with a lot of great pitchers over the years. I also would be excited if Larry Bowa fills out the staff just because he gets so fired up.

That's all for now.

Pollard faces surgery; Tapp broke bone in hand [Seattle Times]
Mariners name four new coaches [Seattle PI]

SEC vs. Pac-10: The Final Count

*Thanks again to The Big Lead for picking up this post, we sure got those SEC fans agitated.

The Pac-10 vs. SEC debate has been going on all season. It started before the season, actually, when LSU coach Les Miles verbally slapped the Pac-10 on SEC media day. I’m here to finally put that debate to rest by staging games between the equal teams of each conference. Since there are 2 more teams in the SEC, two games have multiple SEC teams. The outcome of these games is who I think would win if the game was played on a neutral field in Nebraska.

LSU vs. Oregon
This could very well be the real National Championship game if both teams win out and get a little help. Both teams have lost 1 game and could be undefeated. Oregon’s only lose came when they fumbled the ball out of the back of the endzone in the last few seconds. LSU lost on the road at Kentucky and snuck out a win last night over Auburn on a gutsy call. Oregon has a ton of speed and I don’t think LSU can defend the spread.
Winner: Oregon

Florida vs. Arizona State
Arizona State has been a surprise this year under the weasel Dennis Erikson. Florida has lost twice, but both were close, hard-fought games. Tim Tebow is a Heisman favorite and, like Oregon, they have a ton of speed. Arizona State has yet to be tested, their closed game a 3-pt. win at Washington State.
Winner: Florida

Alabama vs. USC
I still can’t believe that USC lost to Stanford. That has to be the upset of the year so far. The devil Nick Saban has Alabama over-performing. They lost to a bad Florida State team and a heartbreaker to Georgia. USC has not been its dominating self of the last 3 years, but they are still good enough to beat Alabama.
Winner: USC

South Carolina, Georgia vs. UCLA
This is the matchup of teams we can’t figure out and they can’t figure out themselves. UCLA loses to Utah by 30 but beats a underachieving California team. South Carolina beats Kentucky but loses to Vanderbilt. Georgia clips Alabama in OT, but loses to a Tennessee team that Alabama destroyed this weekend. I believe that South Carolina is still a year away and Georgia hasn’t proven itself yet. UCLA’s lose to Utah was the exception, not the rule.
Winner: UCLA

Auburn, Kentucky vs. California
As I mentioned earlier I think Cal has underachieved. They should have won at Oregon State two weeks ago and that hangover cost them against UCLA. Kentucky has been a huge surprise, but I still don’t think there a Top 15 caliber team, maybe its just because its Kentucky. Auburn almost beat LSU and South Florida. There lose to Mississippi State was slightly worse than Cal’s to Oregon State. Auburn has played some teams tough and Kentucky beat LSU, so I give them the nod.
Winner: Auburn, Kentucky

Tennessee vs. Oregon State
Oregon State beat Cal, although that may have had more to do with Cal then the Beavers. Tennessee got destroyed by Alabama and are perennial underachievers. I’m gonna use the old logic of Oregon State beat Cal, Cal beat Tennessee, so Oregon State will beat Tennessee.
Winner: Oregon State

Arkansas vs. Arizona
This is another interesting matchup. Arkansas is not any where near the team they were last year although they have two great running backs. Arizona almost beat USC and then lost to Stanford. This may be a tossup game, but Stoops is gonna get fired and Arizona can’t stop McFadden.
Winner: Arkansas

Vanderbilt vs. Stanford
This is the matchup of the spoilers. Stanford pulled off the biggest upset of the season, knocking off USC in the Coliseum. Vanderbilt beat South Carolina on Saturday to knock the Game Cocks out of the NC hunt. Stanford’s win over USC and Jim Harbaugh’s coaching give the Cardinal the edge.
Winner: Stanford

Mississippi vs. Washington, Mississippi State vs. Washington State
The Mississippi’s vs. the Washington’s. The bottom-feeders of their respective conferences. The two biggest wins for these 4 teams are Mississippi State over Auburn and Washington over Boise State. I’m gonna call for a split on these two games.
Winner: Mississippi, Washington State

After tallying up the score it’s the Pac-10 6-4. As you can see it’s a close race, but the Pac-10 is the better conference this season. Don’t be surprised if the National Championship winner comes from the Pac-10.