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]