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.

Rams at Seahawks - Game Notes

This is what should be expected from the Seahawks when they play an 0-6 team at home. This is a good division win, leaves them alone in 1st place going into the bye, and we saw what this defense is capable of.

-The defense played a hell of a game. Darryl Tapp is today's MVP. Let's hope his hand isn't injured badly. Peterson had another strong game, proving he is the best player on this defense, maybe the team.

-Shaun Alexander. Clearly, he is not running as well as he can. Toward the end of the game when he and Holmgren were having an animated conversation, I was glad to see it. It showed Alexander's got some pride and frustration. The thing that will make this bad is if he comes to the media and complains and whines.

-Understanding that Alexander is playing badly, do we really need the booing. I like the passion from the Seahawks fans, but I'm tired of hearing it. These are the same fans that root for the Mariners when a guy advances the runner to third, but makes the third out. The perfect example of this is when Alexander couldn't catch the high pass from Hasselbeck with his cast the fans started booing, why? Booing should be used when a guy isn't putting forth 100%. Alexander is running hard, he has a broken wrist with a cast. As long as he's running hard, the booing isn't necessary.

-Hasselbeck wasn't himself after pulling that muscle. He was very inaccurate, but hopefully the bye week will allow him to get healthy.

-I fully expect this offense to come out swinging after the bye. Branch, Hackett, and Pollard should be back. Hasselbeck and Alexander should be healthier. Its go time in Week 9.

-The team still cannot convert 3rd, 4th and short. This has been a problem for two years now. I've voiced my idea, but they don't seem to want to do it.

-In the end, good win and let's get healthy in the bye week.

What Happened Last Night...

The Red Sox won't let us start the World Series yet, the Ducks put on an offensive display at the Huskies' football and track and field stadium, another thriller in the SEC, and Central showed Western how to play ball.

J.D. Drew has drawn the ire of Boston fans all season, they were loving him last night when he single-handily beat Fausto Car-sucks.

Oregon had 661 total yards of offense, Johnatan Stewart rushed for 251 yards, and the Ducks pushed toward a NC game berth. The Husky defense looked completely lost and embarrassed themselves because of it.

I had the privilege of watching this exciting game last night. Matt Flynn's TD pass with 1 second left gave LSU the 30-24 victory. It was a very gutsy call considering they were in FG range with a reliable kicker that could have won the game. If that ball is picked or bobbled, the game is over and LSU loses without even attempting the game-winning kick.

Another Central Wildcat victory, another big day for Johnny Spevak. The Puyallup High product showed off his old QB arm, throwing for a TD and catching another to lead the good guys over the bad.

Drew delivers Sox to within one win of Series [ESPN]
Oregon rushes past the Huskies [Seattle PI]
No. 5 LSU edges No. 18 Auburn [Fox Sports]
Battle in Seattle: CWU smothers Western [Seattle Times]

The Day in College Football

Another Saturday, another round of upsets. This season has been full of them and there are still opportunities for that to continue tonight.

Steve Spurrier had never lost to Vanderbilt, I stress the word had.

My Michigan State upset prediction fell just short as #1 Ohio State remains undefeated.

Its the 3rd Saturday of October, that means Tennessee and Alabama play. Who would have thought that this would be the result: An Alabama 41-17 beatdown of the Volunteers.

Missouri absolutely destroyed Texas Tech, 41-10.

Kentucky couldn't recover fast enough from their emotional win over #1 LSU last week, losing to Florida 45-37.

The Pac-10 continues to beatup on each other with UCLA upsetting Califronia, 30-21.

McLearn, Mariners Shape Coaching Staff

John McLearn made his first coaching staff hire, choosing Jim Rigglemen as his bench coach. The article also states that they have offered the 3rd base coaches job to Larry Bowa. I like Larry Bowa, he's a fiery guy that is aggressive on the base paths.

I am waiting for the Mariners to hire a pitching coach. This guy is going to be in charge of turning Brandon Morrow into a starter and teaching King Felix to stay calm on the mound. He will be the most important hire for McLearn and the M's can't afford to screw that one up. I have heard that Mel Stottlemyer, the former Yankee pitching coach, is a candidate. That would be a very exciting hire if they can pull it off.

M's staff begins to take shape [Seattle Times]
Photo Courtesy of The Seattle Times

NFL Picks Week 7

My buddy finally got me last weekend. He won the week, narrowing my lead to 2 weeks. I've got to rebound this week and I'll have an opportunity to with 6 different picks.

I like the Redskins over the Cardinals, New Orleans over Atlanta, Tampa Bay over Detroit, Houston over Tennessee, the Raiders over Kansas City, and the Eagles over the Bears. My buddy has the opposite of all those games.

We both agree that the Colts, Patroits, Seahawks, Steelers, Bengals, Giants, Cowboys, and Ravens will win.

Mr. Playoffs - High School Version

After last nights action the playoff picture is a lot clearer. Curtis is out; Puyallup, Rogers, and Bethel are in. The winner of next week's Graham-Kapowsin - Emerald Ridge game will also be playoff bound. Now to figure out where each team is gonna be seeded and who they'll play.

Rogers and Puyallup play this week, the winner will be the #1 seed out of the SPSL South. The winner will host KingCo #4, right now its Woodinville in the 1st week of the playoffs. Also the #1 seed gets all home games until the Tacoma Dome, if they make it that far.

The rest of the picture is very confusing. Bethel will beat Spanaway Lake, so we are giving them that victory for these purposes. If ER wins then they'll be #4, Bethel #3, and the loser of PHS-RHS #2. If GK wins and Puyallup wins, then it would be PHS #1, RHS #2, Bethel #3, and GK #4. But if Rogers beats Puyallup and GK beats ER, then it goes to tiebreakers.

That would mean that PHS, Bethel, and GK would all be tied for 2nd with the exact same record. The 1st tiebreaker is head-to-head. Puyallup beat Bethel, Bethel beat GK, and GK beat Puyallup therefore cancelling each other out. The next tiebreaker is called Power Points, using where the teams finish and who beat who. Each team is given an inverse number to their final standing and its totalled up. For example, 1st place gets 8 points, 2nd place 7 points, etc. If you add up all the wins by the 3 teams, all of them equal 17 so that tiebreaker is out too.

The 3rd-tiebreaker is called Point Differential System where the scores of the games against each other are used. The points given up are subtracted from the points scored in those 2 games. There is a limit of a 14 point deferantial per game. I did the math, Puyallup +6, Bethel +1, and GK -7. So Puyallup would be #2, Bethel #3, and GK #4.

That is really confusing, but I think I got it.

Here are the first round matchups for the SPSL and their potential opponents.

KingCo #4 (Woodinville) at SPSL South #1
SPSL South #2 at Narrows #3 (Gig Harbor or Central Kitsap)
SPSL South #3 at KingCo #2 (Eastlake)
SPSL South #4 at Greater St. Helens #1 (Evergreen)

What Happened Last Night...

Two SPSL teams locked up playoff spots, Connecticut! wins to stay atop the Big East standings, and Ryan Morre takes the lead in the Fry's Electronic Open.

The SPSL South gets 4 playoff spots this year, and two of them were filled last night. Puyallup beat Curtis, 26-14 and Bethel destroyed Emerald Ridge, 46-11. The league championship will be determined Friday when Rogers visits Puyallup, where the Vikings have won 7 in a row against the Rams.

In this crazy season of college football I guess its expected that Connecticut would be leading the Big East in Week 8. You have to feel bad for Brian Brohm of Louisville, he came back to school and passed on the NFL draft to win a national championship. Now they are 4-4, 1-2 in the Big East and they aren't even going to make a bowl unless they pull off some upsets.

Puyallup native Ryan Moore is the leader at the Fry Electronic Open. Morre has a 3-shot lead, which he hopes he can turn into his first career professional win on the PGA tour.

SPSL 4A Wrapup [Seattle Times]
Late moxy helps Dixon, Huskies down Cardinals [ESPN]
Puyallup's Moore shoots 63 to take lead at PGA event [Tacoma News Tribune]

College Picks - Week 8

Can you believe that its already Week 8 of the college football season? It seems like it was just yesterday when Appalichan State looked like a cupcake opener.

Its a light weekend of Pac-10 football for us on the left coast. The marquee game would have to be California at UCLA (not very marquee is it). I like the Bears over the Bruins and the Trojans over the Limpin' Irish. Oregon and Washington hate each other which is good for Oregon this year since they are better. The Trojan-slayer Cardinal are in Tuscon on Saturday to play the Wildcats.

What should you be watching on Saturday? College Gameday is in Lexington and the state of Kentucky is gonna be chuggin Jim Beam before 9 a.m. I like Kentucky to hand the defending champs their 3rd SEC loss of the season. LSU could make a strong case to be the new #2 if they beat Auburn handily. Missouri hosts Texas Tech as a matchup of Top 25 teams. Missouri has been a surprise this season and I look for them to continue winning. The state of Michigan is gonna be in a frenzy Saturday night after the Wolverines beat Illinois, Western Michigan beats Ball State, and Michigan State upsets the #1 team in the nation Ohio State. Thats right, the upsets continue.

Some other winners I like are: Minnesota over North Dakota State, New Mexico State over Idaho, Syracuse over Buffalo, Miami, OH over Temple, Arkansas State over Middle Tennessee State, Wyoming over Air Force, Memphis over Rice, Nevada over Utah State, Tulane over Southern Methodist, Troy over North Texas, UCF over Tulsa, Freson State over San Jose State, Louisana-Lafayette over Florida Atlantic, Brigham Young over Eastern Washington, Kent State over Bowling Green, Houston over UAB, Louisana-Monroe over Florida International, UNLV over Colorado State, Boise State over Louisana Tech, Ohio over Toledo, and New Mexico over San Diego State. You can finish your college football weekend by watching Southern Miss beat Marshall on Sunday night.

Some other games of note this weekend involving BCS conference teams. Undefeated Kansas isn't gonna stay that way all season, but they will win this week. The heated rivarly between Miami, FL and Florida State is very even this year. Bowden's gotta stay ahead of Joe Pa so I'll take the Seminoles. Speaking of Joe Pa, Penn State visits Indiana for a blowout victory. Tennessee and Alabama hook up in Tuscaloosa where the Vols escape with a win.

The Big 10 has Wisconsin beating Northern Illinois and Purdue over Iowa. The Big 12 features Oklahoma over Iowa State, Texas A&M beats Nebraska, Oklahoma State over Kansas State, and Texas over Baylor. In the BCS's weakest conference, the ACC, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Wake Forest, and North Carolina State play juggarnauts Army, Central Michigan, Navy, and East Carolina respectifully. While Virginia and Maryland do battle in College Park. The SEC and Big East hookup with Mississippi State visiting West Virginia. Other games are Arkansas at Mississippi, Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, and Vanderbilt at South Carolina.

What Happened Last Night...

A lot. It was a sports fans night with college football upsets, baseball playoffs, NBA preseason, and a little high school football that could prove very important in 8 days.

Another weekend, another Top 5 team loses in college football. This time it was #2 USF losing on the road at Rutgers, 30-27. Because they are an upstart program and play in the Big East USF won't get an opportunity to play for NC even if they only have one lose. Now they can focus on winning the Big East title, therefore playing in a BCS bowl for the first time.

Cleveland couldn't close out Boston at home. After a 7-1 Boston victory, the series swifts back to the Northeast. This will inevitable make it harder for Cleveland, but they have Fausto Carmona pitching in Game 6 against the sock-painter himself Curt Schilling.

I got my first opportunity to see Kevin Durant in a Sonics uniform last night. I didn't see much of the game, but from what I did see it looked like he was nervous and uncomfortable out there. That should change with experience, hopefully. By the way, the what the hell happened to Robert Swift, he looks like a bum.

In the SPSL South, Rogers beat Graham-Kapowsin, 30-12. That puts Rogers in the playoffs and potentially sets up a league championship game next Friday if Puyallup takes care of business tonight against Curtis.

Added to all of these great sporting events was a hilarious episode of The Office. It was a TV watchers dream night.

USF won't get second chance to crash party [ESPN]
Beckett carries Red Sox back to Fenway [Fox Sports]
Sonics' flaws exposed in loss to Lakers [Seattle PI]
A day for Van Sligtenhorst, defense [Tacoma News Tribune]

Week 8 College Thursday and Friday Picks

Big game on the schedule tonight when South Florida (or USF, as they like to be called) visits Rutgers. Phil Steele has South Florida winning by a FG, but in this year of upsets I'm gonna take Rutgers. This year has been the wildest season for college football elite and I just gotta bet that the upsets are going to continue.

South Florida at Rutgers
Utah at TCU

Northwestern at Eastern Michigan
Louisville at Connecticut

Rest of the picks will be up tomorrow.

Puyallup Duo Leading the Way for UW

The Tacoma News Tribune ran a story today about Christal Morrison and Stevie Mussie, both from Puyallup High School who are now teammates on the UW volleyball team. Both are making huge contributions for the Huskies, leading them to 17-1 record and a #5 national ranking.

This is just another example of the athletic tradition that comes from Puyallup. Whether its volleyball players leading their university toward another National Championship, football players competing in the Pac-10, or a 2-sport athlete starring at a smaller state university, Puyallup has demonstrated a long tradition of producing strong students and athletes.

One of the main reasons that former PHS students are so successful at the next level is the attitude they learn while at Puyallup. Winning is a way of life there. From the football team perennially playing into late November, the basketball team making state every season, or the volleyball team playing for state championships, winning is valued. Winning is something that is expected, it is not seen as surprise. That is not something that can be said about a lot of high schools in this state. Sure there are the private schools and open enrollment high schools, but they are designed for achieving success. Puyallup is a public high school that has closed enrollment, they win with is there.

Breeding a winning attitude young can influence an athlete forever. Look at former UW QB Isaiah Stanback. He played his high school ball at Garfield. There, losing was the way of life so when he got to UW and the loses piled up it was no big deal. For someone that is used to winning, losing is so unacceptable that it makes them sick. That winning attitude makes someone a better player then the person who has comparable talent, but lacks the desire to win.

You can see the results of that attitude all over the state in the form of Puyallup High School graduates.

Washington's Lost is Central's Gain

Three of the seniors UW coach Ty Willingham "released" last November are leading the Central Washington Wildcats to a national ranking. Chris Hemphill, Durrell Moss, and Charles Smith, deemed not worthy to play another season for the mighty Huskies, are enjoying their time in the small-town atmosphere of Ellensburg.

Central is currently ranked #17 and #19 in the 2 major Division II polls. Puyallup product Johnny Spevak is leading the team in receiving with 9 TD and 600 yards as of October 13. Spevak and the former Huskies will be on display this Saturday at Qwest Field for the annual "Battle in Seattle" between rivals Central and Western Washington. The winner takes home the Cascade Cup. If you enjoy small-college football I suggest you go out to the game and support the national-ranked Central Wildcats.

Ex-Huskies are playing key roles with Central [Seattle Times]

Mr. Playoffs - High School Version

We are already down to only 2 weeks of regular season high school left. The playoff push has definitely started and the 4A SPSL South is going to be a sprint to the finish. I am going to try and clear up the playoff picture and tell you how each team can make the postseason. First, here are the current standings.

Team League Overall
Puyallup 4-1 6-1
Graham-Kapowsin 4-1 5-2
Rogers 4-1 5-2
Bethel 3-2 5-2
Emerald Ridge 3-2 5-2
Curtis 2-3 3-4
Beamer 0-5 2-5
Spanaway Lake 0-5 1-6

Beamer and Spanaway Lake are out, so see ya guys next year. That leaves 6 teams fighting for 4 spots. The only record that matters for playoff seeding is the league record, so the overall record is useless so forgot about it. Let's outline how each team can get into the playoffs (this will be a lot less confusing next week)

Puyallup plays Curtis, a PHS victory guarentees them the playoffs since they will have beaten every team with a worse record, wining the tiebreaker against all of them.
A Curtis loss means they are out, a victory throws everything for a loop and puts PHS is a very bad spot.

Bethel and Emerald Ridge play this week, the winner is #4, the loser is out as of this week.

GK and Rogers play each other. If GK wins they are in 1st place all alone based on the head-to-head tiebreaker (they will have beaten both Puyallup and Rogers). A Rogers win puts them in 1st and guartenees that GK can't get 1st unless there is a 3-way tie between GK, PHS, and Rogers for 1st.

All of the 6 potentional playoff teams play each other this week, so this will clear up a lot of the tiebreakers and setup a very important final weekend.

E:60

I watched the premiere episode of E:60 tonight. I came away impressed with the show. It was good to see ESPN doing a news show rather than a bunch of opinion from ex-athletes and coaches. The stories on tonight's show were interesting and engaging.


They had stories on the Miami Northwestern High School football team whose star RB committed statutory rape, the estranged relationship between Cecil and Prince Fielder, Dr. Bob who single-handily changes point spreads in Vegas, and the story of Jason Ray who was the North Carolina mascot who was killed in an accident but saved 4 lives by donating his organs. It was interesting to see how one guy can affect the point spread in Vegas. The story of Cecil and Prince Fielder was sad. Bill Simmons becoming a video game star at the end was mildly funny, mildly annoying. The guy looked like a total geek out there with the Celtics, telling Paul Pierce to pretend its the 2008 Finals and the Celtics are about to win the championship. Plus, the guy has no basketball ability what so ever.

The only part of the show I disliked was in-between stories when the correspondents and produces staged a production meeting. The questions seemed staged and the answers written out before. The show will do fine on the stories, it doesn't need the acting.

Holmgren's Play Sheet

NBC's cameras picked up Mike Holmgren's offensive playsheet during the game Sunday night. Holmgren was able to joke about it and didn't see too much harm in it saying:

"The guys that have worked with me and for me over the years, have a very similar type of set-up. The plays change weekly. That whole sheet is different now."

Although he did also say: "There are not a lot of secrets, but I think those things probably, they should probably tell you if they're going to try and do that," Holmgren said. "Or ask you, and if you say no, they should honor that request. I would rather they didn't do that."

I like to see that he has a separate section called "Seneca Plays", plays just for when Seneca Wallace is in the game. Hopefully in the next few weeks that section will expand and allow Wallace to be a more integral part of the offense.

Danny O'Neil's Seahawks Blog [Seattle Times]
Photo Courtesy of Enjoy the Enjoyment

Price Returning to the Palouse

I have been saying this for months now. Washington State should hire Mike Price back from UTEP, Doba can return to his defensive coordinator role, and the victories will start to return to Pullman. John McGrath wrote exactly my idea in his column on Friday. This hire makes sense for all involved.

Price would jump at the opportunity to return to the place where he should have never left. He would return to a Pac-10 school where he was adored before he made a selfish and stupid mistake to take the Alabama job. He would be more committed then ever because he would feel like he has something to prove, that he can still coach in a major conference. If he came back I believe he would feel like he owes something to the fans of the Cougars for his abrupt departure. Price has proven he can recruit players who are talented and prepared for life just a little outside of the spotlight. This team needs a coach who knows the area, knows what kinds of players can play at Washington State, and has a knack for finding the hidden gem. All of those things Mike Price possess.

The biggest problem with Price returning, according to many Cougar fans, is his actions upon leaving. He shouldn't have coached the Rose Bowl, many have said. Since he was leaving he should have turned the team over to Doba and been gone. I agree that he should not have coached that game, but is that really a reason to not bring him back if he is capable of producing a winner? People learn from mistakes. Price made a mistake that embarrassed him in front of the entire country. I believe he has learned from that mistake and there is no reason not to give him a second chance.

The best part of the story is that Bill Doba would be able to stay on with the team. He is a great guy who unfortunately is not cut to be a head coach. He is a great defensive coordinator and if he can commit all of his energy and time to that you may well see another Palouse Posse very soon.

Some fans want AD Jim Sterk to find a younger, hipper coach. One similar to Tony Bennett. But there is only one Tony Bennett. If I had to throw a name out there I would say Steve Sarkisian, the offensive coordinator at USC. But the chances of an up-and-coming coach staying in Pullman for a long time is not likely. He would use Pullman as a stepping stone to a higher profile job. If Price is hired, WSU will be higher profile job he was looking for. It would be the place he would retire from after leading the Cougars to their first Rose Bowl victory since 1916.

Price back to WSU? Never. Won't happen. Can't happen. Can it? [Tacoma News Tribune]

So Far, Is Dice-K Worth the Salary?

*This was linked on The Big Lead so thanks to them for grabbing the post.

When the Red Sox paid $51 million just for the right to talk to Daisuke Matsuzaka you had to scratch your head. Who the hell was this guy that had a secret, magical pitch? Maybe when it came down to the wire and no contract was worked out that should have been a clue. When the deal finally got done at the last minute the total cost to the Red Sox was $103 million, with the $62 contract added to the posting fee. The big question is, through his first season, which isn't over yet, was he worth the money?

Looking strictly at the numbers he was no where close to the savior and ace that many Red Sox fans thought he would be. He finished the regular season 15-12 with a 4.40 ERA. He did break the 200 inning mark with 204 2/3 innings and had a WHIP of 1.32. What I find interesting is his ERA against the other 3 AL playoff teams. Against the Yankees it was 6.12, the Indians 4.26, and he never faced the Angels in the regular season. He also had a 4.86 ERA at Fenway Park, which I believe is quite high for your homefield. During his first Fenway start when everyone was juiced to see him, he was outpitched quite handily by Felix Hernandez, who threw a 1-hitter and shutout the Red Sox.

Tonight in a pivotal game for the Red Sox because of tomorrow's starter Tim Wakefield and the game being on the road Dice-K couldn't make it out of the 5th inning. He gave up 4 runs and 6 hits in 4 2/3 innings. He didn't have his best stuff and got out of a jam in the 3rd that could have extended the Indian lead. It was not the performance the Red Sox or their fans were looking for at the price their paying.

So back to the original question: Is Dice-K worth the money? I realize that this season isn't over and this is only the 1st year of his 6 year contract. But with all the preseason hype and the ridiculous posting fee I think it's a fair question. Based on his 1st year numbers I do not think the Red Sox got what they paid for. He has been a solid middle of the rotation starter, but that's not what they were looking for. They thought they were signing a pitcher that you could throw out in a Game 7 and have no doubt about the performance you were going to get. Right now, I don't think they want him anywhere near a Game 7.

Angels Stoneman Stepping Down

Angels GM Bill Stoneman is stepping down from his position as team architect. He was the GM when the Angels won the World Series in 2002. He is the 4th GM to step down this offseason and the first from a playoff team in 2007. We don't know the details of why he is stepping down, but he will remain with the team in as a consultant.

Do you think the Mariners are regretting keeping Bill Bavsi? After they announced that he will return as GM for 2008 two successful GMs have stepped down. Do you think they would be more confident with Stoneman or Walt Jocketty as their main guy? I know that the majority of fans would be much happy with one of those two guys.

Stoneman to announce decision Tuesday [Fox Sports]

Cardinals Got Tricked

I love the title of this story: No GM? No Problem: Cardinals resign Pineiro. Yeah, I think there is a problem: they just gave Joel Pineiro $13 million for 2 years. After watching that guy pitch in Seattle for many years I wouldn't give him $13 dollars for 2 years.

He pitched well at the end of the season, which facilitated the deal. By the middle of June next season fans will calling for him to go to the bullpen. He'll be 3-6 with a 5.50 ERA and everyone will be wondering what the hell they gave him that money for.

Trust me, we've been tricked before.

No GM? No Problem: Cardinals resign Pineiro [Fox Sports]

Ray of Hope Story Refreshing

This is the story of Jason Ray, the mascot for North Carolina who was killed after being struck by a car earlier this year. After reading it I don't see how you can't feel sadness for his family and joy for the families of the people he saved. The young man clearly had a passion for life and the people in it. It is so tragic that this is the way he had to go. Though if you can ever beat death, he clearly has done it.

His death saved the lives of 4 other people. He bettered the lives not only of these people, but of their families and friends as well. The way those peoples' lives are affected is a direct result of Jason deciding to donate his organs. It should inspire anyone who isn't a donor or cannot decide if they want to be one. Like he says, what good is my heart if its buried in the ground.

These are the kind of stories that should be reported on. These are the acts that make you proud to be involved in sports and be a fan of sports. While this act is great no matter who did it, the fact that it has a tie in with college athletics only makes it more important that the story be told.

Ray of Hope [ESPN]

Seahawks, Saints Random Thoughts

That isn't what I was expecting last night. That was an overall bad performance by every aspect of the Seahawks team. That should have been a win, at home, on Sunday night, against an 0-4 team, but now the Seahawks find themselves slipping and questioning their game plans.

-Special Teams was horrible. A bad snap for a TD, a blocked FG, little yardage on any returns.

-Alexander 14 carries for 35 yards? What the hell is that? The O-line didn't help him out but Shaun continues to go down to early.

-Hasselbeck was not accurate. He continues to miss on the deeper patterns. It seemed like he was either not seeing the open receivers or holding the ball too long. The last interception he threw was a horrible decision.

-The Seahawks should have kicked the FG at the end. That would have made it an 8 point game with the Seahawks needed to get an onside kick. Either way the Seahawks were going to have to get a 3 and a 8. Take the 3 instead of going for it on 4th and long.

-The defense was playing off the receivers too much. On 3rd and longs they were given them 8-10 yards and allowing them to run to the sticks and catch the ball.

-With Branch and Hackett out the receivers were in trouble. They were keying on them single coverage and sending everyone else at Hasslebeck and Alexander. But Wallace did have a nice grab at the end.

NFL Picks - Week 6

So I'm up on buddy by 3 weeks. He better start to bring it or I'm gonna run away with this thing.

My Picks:
Cincinnati over Kansas City
Houston over Jacksonville
Cleveland over Miami
Minnesota over Chicago
Philadelphia over Jets
Baltimore over St. Louis
Tennessee over Tampa Bay
Washington over Green Bay
Arizona over Carolina
New England over Dallas
San Diego over Oakland
Seattle over New Orleans
Giants over Atlanta

My Buddies' Picks:
Cincinnati over Kansas City
Jacksonville over Houston
Cleveland over Miami
Chicago over Minnesota
Philadelphia over Jets
Baltimore over St. Louis
Tampa Bay over Tennessee
Green Bay over Washington
Arizona over Carolina
New England over Dallas
San Diego over Oakland
Seattle over New Orleans
Giants over Atlanta

Wanna Win Some Money, Here's Some Picks:

Here are some sure-winners from the upcoming weekend of college and pro football:
As always the winners are in red

Purdue at Michigan (-5.5)
Indiana at Michigan State (-3.5)
East Carolina (+3) at UTEP
Virginia Tech (-14) at Duke

NFL:
New Orleans at Seattle (-6.5)
Tennessee (+3) at Tampa Bay
New England (-5.5) at Dallas

Sonics Preview

Tony Mejia of CBS Sportsline has done his preseason Sonics preview. He has the Sonics listed as the 28th best team in the league, which I believe is about right. They will not compete for the playoffs but hopefully they can use this season to gain some experience and prepare to make a serious postseason run in the next few seasons.

A lot of the points Mejia makes in the article are spot-on. Obviously the arena situation is the biggest thing involving the Sonics right now. With all the legal battles happening it really takes away from the upcoming season. Its good to see that Durant and Green are working hard to improve and prepare themselves for the rigors of a NBA season.

Originally I was not a fan of the Ray Allen trade. I thought that this team needed to win now in order to keep the fans interested and get a new arena built. After having some time to reflect I am glad that they decided to gamble on the future and trade Allen. This team is setting itself up for a big run in 2 or 3 years. If they struggle this year like expected they will likely have another high draft pick to add to the nucleus. With expiring contracts they also will be able to sign a couple quality role players.

This season should provide some excitement with Durant and Green, and also some stress with the young team and the arena situation.

Sonics Preview [CBS Sportsline]

College Picks - Week 7

Here are my Week 7 picks:

Navy at Pittsburgh
Florida State at Wake Forest
Hawaii at San Jose State
Washington at Arizona State
Oregon State at California
Arizona at USC
Texas at Iowa State
Minnesota at Northwestern
LSU at Kentucky - Upset Special!!!
Purdue at Michigan
Alabama at Mississippi
Virginia Tech at Duke
South Carolina at North Carolina
Oklahoma State at Nebraska
Rutgers at Syracuse
Bowling Green at Miami, OH
Kent State at Ohio State
Eastern Michigan at Ohio
Missouri at Oklahoma
Georgia at Vanderbilt
Connecticut at Virginia
Tennessee at Mississippi State
Temple at Akron
Western Kentucky at Ball State
Army at Central Michigan
Louisville at Cincinnati
Illinois at Iowa
Baylor at Kansas
Colorado at Kansas State
Georgia Tech at Miami, FL
Texas A&M at Texas Tech
Toledo at Buffalo
New Mexico at Wyoming
San Diego State at Utah
Western Michigan at Northern Illinois
Boston College at Notre Dame
Wisconsin at Penn State
Rice at Houston
Washington State at Oregon
TCU at Stanford
Fresno State at Idaho
Air Force at Colorado State
Tulane at UAB
Auburn at Arkansas
UCF at South Florida
Indiana at Michigan State
Marshall at Tulsa
Louisiana-Monroe at North Texas
Louisiana-Lafayette at Arkansas State
New Mexico State at Louisiana Tech
Southern Methodist at Southern Miss
Middle Tennessee State at Memphis
East Carolina at UTEP
BYU at UNLV
Nevada at Boise State

Reggie Bush Story

The Reggie Bush got illegal benefits while at USC story is back on again. Yahoo! Sports is reporting that financial records totally $280,000 while be turned over to the NCAA.

I don't want to comment on this story because we've heard this claim before and nothing was ever determined. I will say that this sounds a lot more serious then the initial claims. If Bush and his family did receive these things then they will have a lot of explaining to do.

Pete Carrol better hope that the NCAA doesn't find that he had anything to do with this or his week is going to get a lot worse. Worse then a home loss to Stanford when you were 41 point favorites.

Report: NCAA to get evidence on Bush [Yahoo! Sports]

Mack Strong's Career is Over

This is some saddening news from the Seahawks. The Seattle Times is reporting that he has a neck injury that will end his season and his career. Strong was the ultimate professional and teammate and his blocking skills will be greatly missed by the entire offense.

The other news out of the article is that Deion Branch will miss 2 games with his foot injury. This is not good for Seahawks because with Hackett already out and the offense floundered in Pittsburgh on Sunday the team will need all the help it can get to win some ball games.

Strong's football career is over [Seattle Times]
Photo Courtesy of the Seattle Times

Weekend Notes and Thougths

It was a busy weekend, both for me and in the sports world. Here are some notes and thoughts of mine:

-The Pac-10 refs blew it again in Pullman this weekend. They called an apparent TD for Washington State an incomplete pass, then reviewed it but didn't overturn the call. I was at the game and could tell it was a TD catch on the grainy screen at the stadium from an angle. I believe this was the same officiating crew that blew the Oklahoma-Oregon game last year.

-What the hell happened in Los Angeles on Saturday night? That has to be the biggest upset of the season so far. Pete Carrol has to be pissed that Jim Harbaugh beat him after he talked all offseason.

-The division series in baseball have been somewhat boring so far. With 3 sweeps it hasn't been all that exciting and it sucks that Boston is going to the ALCS.

-The Seahawks played like garbage on Sunday. It was very disappointing because it was Pittsburgh and it would have been nice to beat a good team on the road. But it is only 1 game and the season goes on.

Weekly Picks - College and NFL

I'm gonna put both my college and NFL picks in the same post this week.
First, COLLEGE!!!!

Vanderbilt at Auburn
North Carolina State at Florida State
Minnesota at Indiana
Bowling Green at Boston College
Georigia Tech at Maryland
Northwestern at Michigan State
Eastern Michigan at Michigan
Nebraska at Missouri
Louisiana Tech at Mississippi
Wake Forest at Duke
Miami, FL at North Carolina
Cincinnati at Rutgers
West Virginia at Syracuse
Arizona at Oregon State
Iowa at Penn State
Virginia Tech at Clemson
Colorado at Baylor
Oklahoma State at Texas A&M
Oklahoma at Texas
Arizona State at Washington State
Houston at Alabama
Tulane at Army
Wisconsin at Illinois
Central Michigan at Ball State
South Florida at Florida Atlantic
Kansas at Kansas State
Miami, OH at Kent State
Virginia at Middle Tennessee State
Georgia at Tennessee
Iowa State at Texas Tech
Northern Illinois at Temple
Ohio at Buffalo
TCU at Wyoming
UAB at Mississippi State
Idaho at San Jose State
Fresno State at Nevada
San Diego State at Colorado State
Chattanooga at Arkansas
Stanford at USC
North Texas at Louisiana-Lafayette
Liberty at Toledo
Akron at Western Michigan
UCF at East Carolina
Notre Dame at UCLA
Florida at LSU
Ohio State at Purdue
UNLV at Air Force
Tulsa at UTEP
Utah State at Hawaii
New Mexico State at Boise State

NFL Picks:
First mine, I'm up 2 weeks on my buddy.
Arizona over St. Louis
Tennessee over Atlanta
New Orleans over Carolina
New England over Cleveland
Washington over Detroit
Kansas City over Jacksonville
Houston over Miami
Giants over Jets
Seattle over Pittsburgh
Indianapolis over Tampa Bay
San Fransisco over Baltimore
San Diego over Denver
Green Bay over Chicago
Dallas over Buffalo

My Buddies' Picks:
St. Louis over Arizona
Tennessee over Atlanta
New Orleans over Carolina
New England over Cleveland
Detroit over Washington
Jacksonville over Kansas City
Houston over Miami
Jets over Giants
Seattle over Pittsburgh
Indianapolis over Tampa Bay
San Fransisco over Baltimore
San Diego over Denver
Green Bay over Chicago
Dallas over Buffalo

WSU's Rochestie Gives Up Scholarships

Washington State guard Tayler Rochestie decided that the team is the most important thing. He gave up his scholarship because his family can afford tuition so the Cougars could sign another recruit.

Marcus Capers from Winterhaven, FL is 6-5 guard-forward who will be part of the 2008-09 recruiting class gets Rochestie's scholarship. This is another example of a good player putting team ahead of himself and really the program ahead of himself because he will not be there when Capers and the 2008 class will be making there major impacts.

Rochestie gives up his scholarship [Seattle Times]

Enough Super Bowl XL Talk

I guess I have to give my 2 cents on this subject. I was trying to ignore it, but everyone keeps talking about it. Just because the Seahawks are playing Pittsburgh this weekend doesn't mean we need to talk about that Super Bowl. Its over, the Steelers won, the officiating was bad, and its now 2007.

Fox Sports Adam Schein wrote this article about how the Seahawks still hold a grudge. Then you read this article from the Seattle Times and it talks about how the Seahawks are over it and its a non-story. I think the national writers are looking for a quick story and the idea that the Seahawks are still upset about the game is an easy one to write.

There are too many new players on both teams, it was 2 years ago, and this is not nearly as important as a Super Bowl. This shouldn't be a story and I don't understand why everyone wants to talk about it. The only Super Bowl Seattle needs to be talking about is XLII.

Seahawks still hold Super grudge [Fox Sports]
Hawks will see different matchup vs. 2006 Super Bowl champs [Seattle Times]

Another Reason to Root for Rockies

The Colorado Rockies are doing everything right these days. They have a 2-0 lead in their series against the Phillies and today they voted to give a full share of their playoff payout to the Coolbaugh family. Mike Collbaugh was killed on July 22 when a line drive foul ball hit him in head while he was coaching 1st base.

The best part of the story is that this was all the player's decision. There is a great article about the Collbaugh family in the Sept. 24 edition of Sports Illustrated. It is such a tragic accident and according to doctors this was a once-in-a-lifetime thing that said, "A one-in-bazillion chance of a fatal blow. A half a hair either way and it wouldn't have killed him."

I've got one thing to say: Go Rockies!!!
Rockies vote playoff share to Coolbaugh's wife [ESPN]

Mariners Release 2008 Schedule

The Mariners released their tentative 2008 schedule. After taking a quick glance at it I noticed a few things.

-In the first month, 14 of 28 games are against AL West opponents including 6 against LAA.

-They have 8 September games against the Angels so if they are close they have an opportunity to catch or extend the lead.

-The first 6 games after the All-Star break are at home against Cleveland and Boston, two playoff teams this season.

M's will open 2008 season at home against Rangers [Seattle Times]

Mysterious NFC QB

Whenever you watch The NFL Network, ESPN, or the FOX pregame show you always hear Donovan McNabb, Eli Manning, Brett Favre or Tony Romo. These are the class of the NFC QBs, the guys that lead their teams to victories and make the front cover of Sports Illustrated. Through the first 4 weeks of the season, Romo and Favre deserve to be talked about, but there's one QB that never gets mentioned as one of the elite: not this year, last year, or any other year.

He has led his team to the best record in the NFC since 2003, 4 straight playoff appearances, a Super Bowl berth, and through 4 games is having another Pro-Bowl worthy season. But when most people hear the name Matt Hasselbeck they think of his proclamation in Green Bay 4 years ago, "We want the ball and we're gonna score." While he was wrong that day, it's that confidence that makes him player he is.

In the 6 years he's been the Seahawks' starter he has a passer rating of 89.0, with 112 TD, 67 INT, and completes 62.2% of his passes. The 2-time Pro-Bowler has been solid this season with 7 TD and 3 INT (2 that his receivers tipped into the hands of defenders), and other than a broken handoff in Arizona would have the team at 4-0. He is the clear leader of the offense and the difference without him in the lineup was exposed last season when Seneca Wallace had to start 4 games.

In the last 6 years there isn't another QB in the NFC that I would rather have lead my team then Matt Hasselbeck. He is a proven winner, a great teammate, and a model citizen. With all the cheating, 'roiding, and criminal activity going on in the NFL the last few years having a player who puts the team above himself is a breath of fresh air. He can continue to get ignored by Sean Salisbury, Terry Bradshaw, and Dan Marino but as long as he continues to win games that's all that matters.

Hey, it could be worse: He could have to play for the Rams.

Durant, PJ make the Big Lead

So I'm reading The Big Lead this morning and see a post about Kevin Durant and my Seattle Sonics. The story they cite was one that I read in the Seattle PI the other day, but considered it a non-issue. But apparently Durant moving to SG is a big deal.

I think that this will eventually change. Durant is a natural SF and will play that position at some point in the season. The Sonics are stacked at the position like the post indicates with Jeff Green and Wally Szcerbiak also vying for time there. The only position that matters is that he is on the floor and contributing to Sonics victory.

PJ Whips It Out, Creates Stir [The Big Lead]

NFC West QB's Going Down Like Flys

Two stories I noticed on ESPN.com this morning.

First, the Rams are sitting Marc Bulger and starting Gus Frerotte (pictured on the right). Scott Linehan indicates that it is not a permanent move just one to help Bulger recover from his injuries and get a new perspective on the St. Louis offense.

Secondly, 49ers QB Alex Smith may have a serious injury to his shoulder courtesy of Rocky Bernard and the Seattle Seahawks. This is good news for the Seahawks since the 49ers are trying to overtake the Seahawks.

The Rams are done, the 49ers proved that they are not ready to play with the big boys, and the Cardinals' win over Pittsburgh impressed me. This is looking like the Seahawks division if they can take care of business.

Former Seahawk Stevens Sentenced to Jail Time

Former Seahawk TE Jerramy Stevens was sentenced to 12 days in jail today in Arizona. He will get 12 days in jail, but his lawyer filed an appeal that will stay the sentence till after the NFL season is over.

He was a waste of talent with the Seahawks and continues to be a burden on society. Hopefully this will help him turn his life around and I'm glad he's not the Seahawks problem any more.

Stevens gets 12 days in jail, fines for extreme DUI [The Arizona Republic]

MLB Playoffs Set, Game Pitching Matchups

If last night's game was any indication of what the entire playoffs are going to be like then put on your seat belt. That game was one of the most exciting of the year, ripe with drama, come-from-behind rallies, and a lot of controversy.

Three of the series' begin tomorrow with the Yankees and Indians starting on Thursday. Here are the pitching matchups for all the Game 1's:

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Boston
Lackey 19-9 3.01 at Beckett 20-7 3.27

New York at Cleveland
Wang 19-7 3.70 at Sabathia 19-7 3.21

Chicago at Arizona
Zambrano 18-13 3.95 at Webb 18-10 3.01

Colorado at Philadelphia
Francis 17-9 4.22 at Hamels 15-5 3.39

College Picks - Week 6 Weeknight Games

There's a full week of College Football ahead of us. It starts tonight in Memphis, were tragedy struck this week. The rest of the weeknight games take us on a tour of the South, with games in Hattiesburg, Mississippi; Columbia, South Carolina; and Louisville, KY.

Here are my picks:

Marshall at Memphis
Rice at Southern Miss
Kentucky at South Carolina
Utah at Louisville

On a side note, I am really happy and excited to see Kentucky competing in the tough SEC. Being a huge Kentucky basketball fan I have never really followed the football team. I just can't believe that they are this good so I have to continue to pick against them. Hopefully they will continue to prove me wrong.

Police still seek suspectin Memphis shooting; classes resume [ESPN]

Tatupu On Offense

I'm watching the Patroits-Bengals game seeing the Patriots using Junior Seau and Mike Varbel on offense in their goal line package. The Seahawks have trouble converting 3rd and 4th and shorts. Why not use Tatupu in the backfield in short-yardage situations.

You don't have to use him in every situation, just the ones that are deemed important. I know that Mack Strong is a good blocker but he's not getting any older and he hasn't done the job in these situations the last few years. Lineup Strong and Tatupu in the backfield with Alexander. It may be unconventional but I think it's at least worth a try.

Who's Division? Seattle's Division!

I had to take the night to digest the Seahawks' dominating victory over the 49ers. This was as close to what I expected from the Seahawks this year as we've seen so far. Here are some observations and questions from the game:

-The pass rush was phenomenal. (Obviously) Peterson and the LBs were in Smith, then Dilfers face all day long which allowed the secondary to play an outstanding game.

-"Does Shaun Alexander secretly suck? I haven't watched him closely enough to have an opinion on this, but I'll be watching this weekend. Stay tuned." Bill Simmons from ESPN.com in his weekly picks article. No, Alexander does not suck. Yes, he does go down to easily when he's hit in the backfield. Once again the opponent stacked the box to stop our running game. Now that Hasselbeck and Branch are proving they can throw it will loosen up the running lanes and I expect Shaun to start to run like the Pro-Bowler he is.

-Speaking of Deon Branch, he has had a hell of a 3-week stretch. Ever since that 1st game he has been the Seahawks most productive and consistent receiver.

-Burleson and Hackett, when he comes back, need to be more productive. Burleson only had 2 catches for 10 yards yesterday. If one of them emerges as a solid #2 that will only open the running lanes more for Shaun and the middle of the field for Pollard.

-Hasselbeck continues to play solid as a rock. Today he threw his first "real" interception but he still has shown that without him in the lineup this whole thing could really fall apart.

-It was good to see Seneca Wallace in on some trick plays. Hopefully they will continue to work on them and use them next week against Pittsburgh.

-I recorded the 1st 15 plays from scrimmage because Holmgren likes to script them, I just wrote down the formation and the result, whether it was run or pass.

1st series:
1. Regular - Pass
2. Zebra - Run
3. Eagle - Pass

2nd series:
4. E - Run
5. E - Pass
6. Eagle - Pass
7. Regular - Run
8. Regular - Pass
9. Eagle - Pass

3rd series:
10. Regular - Run
11. Regular - Pass
12. Eagle - Pass

4th series:
13. E - Run
14. E - Pass
15. Regular - Run

Who let the underdogs out? [ESPN]
Photo Courtesy of Scott Eklund, Seattle PI