Linkage on Deadline Day

A few links to get you through till the M's game tonight!

Deadspin won't miss Joe, will you?

Pac-Man decides not to wrestle> Good decision Adam, first good one you've made in a while.

It sucks to be the Tour De France, another winner said to be doping

Angels vs. Mariners July 31, 2007 Game 2

Lackey vs. Weaver 7:10, Safeco Field

Earlier this year Lackey went 6 shutout innings giving up only 4 hits to the Mariners in April. Weaver has been great since coming off the DL, he is 2-3 with a 2.79 ERA in his 9 starts since the DL. You have to disregard the 2-3 record because he has lost 2 of the 3 games because of no offensive support, including a CG, 4 hitter against Toronto that he lost 1-0.

If the Mariners can get a win tonight they set themselves up nicely for Wednesday’s game. They will have taken 2 of 3 guaranteed, know that the worst they can be is 3 games back, and put all the pressure on the Angels for Wednesday with Felix throwing. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, just win tonight M’s.

Also the Mariners have another set with the Angels at Safeco at the end of August. They know they only have to stay within 3 games of the division lead until then because they get another chance to chip into that lead. Winning tonight allows them to stay within that 3 game cushion.

Only one move made the M’s today at the trading deadline, a minor one at that. Wife-beater Julio Mateo was traded to Philadelphia for Class AA shortstop Jesus Mercham. Mercham was hitting .330 with 7 HR, and 44 RBI at Reading. He recently got promoted to AAA Ottawa where he was batting .385 through 3 games. Looks like the Mariners are assigning him to Class AA West Tennessee.

Love for Cougs, Low

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=katz_andy&id=2954205




Low has to do something about the hair. He has that werid ponytail, bun looking hair. This isn't the best picture of it. Its almost impossible to make fun of it. Get a haircut Low!

Thanks to presspass who passed along this video from the team's parctice. You get a good shot of the hair at the 6:38 mark, Low is in the blue. You can't miss the hair.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=B6MbaFMHLkM


Last July would you have believed that not only would one Cougar be on the Pan-Am team, but two Cougs. Plus the fact that one of them is being credited with sparking the team to its all-to-low (no pun intended) finish at 5th place.


This game experience along with the Cougar team's recent trip to Australia and New Zealand will help this be ready to compete come November. The team is still relatively young so this experience is invaluable.


It is very exciting for Washington State this last week. Tony Bennett signs his contract extension, Low and Weaver get picked for the the Pan-Am team, and Low gets the most praise from the head coach of that team.


This should be a very exciting year for the Cougar basketball team.

KG to the Celtics?

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7075382

Apparently this is close to being a done deal.

The Celtics have made some great improvements this offseason. Adding Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett will help their offensive tremendously. I would worry that the rest of the team will not be up to par, therefore relying to much on the older veterans.

We know here in Seattle that Allen is injury-prone especially the last 2 years. I still believe the Sonics got the better end of the Allen deal, but the two teams were making the trade for completely different reasons. Boston wanted to compete next year, the Sonics in 2-3 years.

KG and Allen, along with Pierce will mean that Boston will be a contentor in the weak Eastern Conference. If this trade goes through, I would expect the Celtics to give Detroit and Cleveland a run for the Eastern Conference crown.

Angels vs. Mariners July 30, 2007 Game 1

Escobar vs. Batista tonight.

The only time the Mariners faced Escobar this season they rocked him for 8 runs (6 earned) in 2-1/3 innings. The M's are 3-2 vs. him in the last 5 games they've faced him.

This is the most important series for the Mariners all season. They have to take 2 of 3 from the Angels. That will leave them 3 games back and build their confidence up. A sweep by the M's? How sweet would that be, 1 game back. But that's too far down the road. A sweep by the Angels and the M's are done.

Beltre is hot as hell right now and is providing the bat in the middle of the lineup that him and Sexson were brought into be in 2005. I hope to see Ben Broussard in the lineup tonight. He deserves to play after yesterday, saving the game for the Mariners. Sexson can take some time on the bench to figure out his swing.

Bill Walsh Dies

Before I post the Mariners-Angles preview for tonight I have to pass this along:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2003813072_webwalsh30.html

Bill Walsh passed away today at the age of 75.

He had an enormous impact on the game of football and his teaching directly affected the way the Seahawks play offense today.

He not only had a great NFL career, but was a good college coach as well.

He will be missed.

Big 10 becoming the New Big 12?

http://www.epiccarnival.com/2007/07/big-ten-new-big-twelve.html

This article brings up an interesting idea. Clearly, Notre Dame would be the best choice, but they also have the most reasons for not joining a conference.

ND is already tied in with the BCS so they don't need a conference to play for the National Championship, they have a National TV deal so they're on TV every week, and they have the ability to schedule whoever they want with out being tyed down with games against Illinois and Northwestern.

I would add Louisville to the list. I know they recently joined the Big East but they would fit nicely in with the Big 10. They are geographically aligned with the other Big 10 schools, they may not have a deep tradition of winning, but the last 5 years have been in the talk for National Championship at some point in the season, and the Big 10 would be adding a new market in the football-is-king South.