I Somehow Found Some Time

For what seems to be the fifth time in the past two weeks, I have just found out that I don't have all the necessary files to do my work. I had all intent to do work at home, but apparently I am a moron who can't remember everything I need. So instead, here I sit at Third Place Books with the youngest daughter asleep in her carseat (oh, yeah, I have a second daughter now) and the oldest playing contently with her mom and aunt. I can't think of anything better to do than make my post-baby return to the blog.

There has been a lot going on in the world of sports, but these are most on my mind.

-BountyGate. Ok, shame on me for adding 'gate' onto the end of this, but whatever, I don't care. When I got in the car and heard the news on the radio that Sean Payton had been suspended for a year, I was shocked. There was no way I saw that coming. We have seen players suspended in similar manner, but this is such a new concept that I'm not sure what to think. I mean, for all intensive purposes, Payton will be back in 2013. He will run the same type of offensive and defensive schemes, so the Saints are going to have to find someone willing to not just take the team for a year (with no intent of keeping the job longterm), but someone who is willing to do things the way Payton wants them done. The names being thrown around - Parcells, Dungy, Gruden - all make sense as they appear to have no ambition to get back into coaching full-time again. There is no way an up-and-coming assistant takes the position because it is essentially a dead end.

The other interesting aspect will be exactly how much contact Payton will be allowed. Will he be allowed to attend practice but not games? Will he be able to meet with interim coaches for film sessions? Will he be allowed to sit in the box with the owner during games? Will he be allowed to travel with the team and hold meetings in the hotel? Or will he be completed banned from any communication? Only time will tell, but I know this much for sure - the Saints will be the most intriguing team to follow in 2012.


-Tim Tebow in NYC is going to be a fiasco. I just don't get it from a football standpoint. I take that back - I get that he is the perfect guy for a Tony Sparano offense, but this is doomed to fail. As it is, there is tons of pressure and skepticism around Mark Sanchez. Now with Tebow in the fold, every incomplete pass will be scrutinized. Every 2 INT day will lead to fans chanting for Tebow. Sanchez will never feel comfortable and Tebow will never win games in NY. The only thing this signing does is take the spotlight off the defending champs and move it to their roommates. Oh, and of course, it will shut down the internet.


-The Sounders are 2-0 in MLS play, but I think things could start to get a little rocky for them in the near future. It appears that Jeff Parke is not happy with being benched in favor of Patrick Ianni the past two games. After practice, Parke talked to the media and finally broke his silence, essentially admitting that he is 'frustrated' and 'angry' with the benching. he says that he talked to Sigi after practice and that while there was no yelling, he did let him know he felt. Sigi apparently sat him because he felt Jeff's legs were tired from a long offseason.

I like Jeff and think he should be starting, but the fact remains that Ianni is a quality player and could be starting for many other teams in the league. He does not represent a huge dropoff - Parke needs to show Sigi that he is worthy of starting. As Sigi often says, competition is a good thing. It gets the guys working harder than if there status was unquestioned.

Here's the problem though - in order to have a healthy competition, you need to have players who are willing to compete and who don't sulk if they sit the bench. Again, I like Parke, but I often question his mental makeup. Let's quickly review his past. He got suspended by MLS for failing a drug test in 2008. He was left unprotected in the expansion draft and was chosen by the Sounders. He decided to test the European market but was unable to find a team and had to return stateside. He was unhappy with what he thought was an unfair offer by the Sounders and decided to sit out 2009 rather than play for less than what he thought he was worth. Since that time he has mostly said and done all the right things, but he never really seemed happy to me. He never said anything about not being happy, but I always got the sense that his ego was bigger than normal and that he perceived people to be constantly slighting him.

When the season is over, we might look back and laugh at this, but for now, consider me a little worried. We have never really had any problems off the field and it would be a shitty time for it to start.


-I am not a Tony Wroten hater. I am not a Tony Wroten lover. I am a guy who see his value but also a guy who sees all of his warts. I realize that this UW team needed Wroten in order to be successful, but I also know that he was going to have his share of groan-worthy moments.

Tuesday night in the NIT Semi-finals, Wroten had a performance he will be wanting to forget (not to mention one that all Husky fans will want to forget too). At the time, I called Wroten the stupidest basketball player I have ever seen. While I have definitely backed off that extreme opinion (afterall, the kid is still only 18 and from what I can tell has never really been coached before), I can't help but think how much he would benefit from another year in college. I know the big bucks will be enticing, but the fact is if he ever wants to fulfill his potential, he needs to stay another year in college to learn how to play defense and most importantly, to get meaningful late-game situations under his belt. These are not things he will learn in the NBA.

Point in case - 46 seconds left in the game against Minnesota (shot clock at 25). The Huskies have rallied back and now trail by either 2 or 3 points. I can't remember the exact number, but I know it was a 1-possession game. Regardless of the exact difference, any smart player should know that you don't need to foul. Instead, if the team can play solid defense and make their opponent take a bad shot, there is a good chance they will get the ball back with a chance to win or tie. It's basketball 101. Yet Wroten decided to be lazy and reaches in to go for a steal. The ref does what he does in 95% of those situations and calls a foul. He bailed the Gophers out. Oh, and did I mention that the guy he fouled set a record for highest FT% in one season? Ummm, yeah, that makes it even worse. Then the next time down the court he did it again. It was frustrating as all hell. Now ultimately the refs swallowed their whistles down the stretch and the Huskies were able to send the game to OT. But it should never have gotten to that situatoin. Wroten needs to do better than that. Period.


-Peyton Manning to Denver is the perfect marriage. He wanted to continue playing and get paid a lot. John Elway wanted to end the Tim Tebow Era and not get run out of town. It worked out perfectly as I'm pretty sure even the most irrational Tebow fan could not argue with replacing him with a 4-time NFL MVP. Manning is not Orton. He demands respect. Elway knew that and pulled the trigger. Time will only tell if he is even close to the same guy he once was, but I have a feeling that even though it was super convenient, Elway would not have signed him had he not been pleased with what he saw from Manning's throwing session as well as his physical. I think this has the potential to work out nicely, especially in a weak division.


-Now that they have lost, I will offer some mild congratulations to Lehigh. As you may all know, the 15th seeded Mountainhawks upset 2nd seed Duke in the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament. While I hate to admit it, it probably as impressive as Bucknell's win over Kansas a few years ago. Many BU alumni that I talked to were rooting for Lehigh to go far, saying it was good for the league. I get the thought, but can't fully support it. Before Bucknell ever beat the Jayhawks, I would have agreed. The Patriot League needed a win to gain some credibility and attention. When the Bison won, they not only got both, but the league did as well. No PL team had won since and I must admit that I enjoyed being cocky about it. I knew American and Holy Cross couldn't get the job done - only the Bison were good enough to win. Having Lehigh beat us in the PL Final and knowing that we should have been the one beating Duke did not and still does not sit well with me. It should have been Bucknell and I will not apologize for hating on Lehigh.


-Justin Dentmann recently signed a 10-day contract with the San Antonio Spurs, bringing the total of former Huskies in the NBA to 6. I am really happy for all of them, but most happy for Dentman and his former teammate Isaiah Thomas. Thomas, who many thought was making a mistake by entering the draft after his junior season, was the last player selected in the 2011 NBA Draft but is now starting and averaging 12.2 points per game for the Kings over the past two months. Jimmer got all the press coming into the year, but Isaiah is having the better season by a landslide.


-My poor Nets. They wanted LeBron and he went to South beach. They wanted Carmelo and he went to NY. The traded for Deron Williams in hopes of getting Dwight Howard, but Howard (after much public flirting with the Nets) decided to stay in Orlando for another year. No one wants to come to NJ/Brooklyn. And it's a real shame.

Call me crazy, but right now I don't think they have the worst team. D-Will is a superstar. Kris Humphries is quietly having another monster season on the boards. MarShon Brooks looks like the biggest steal of the draft (not named Isaiah). Gerald Green has been a great find out of the D-League. Together the form a decent core and combined with newly acquired Gerald Wallace and I think they are solid. Notice I didn't even mention Brook Lopez who would make the starting five (Lopez, Humph, wallace, Brooks, D-Will) playoff worthy.

Too bad they are almost 20 games .500 and about to lose D-Will, Humph and Lopez all in the same offseason. Uggghhh...if there is an NBA God, please let us win the Anthony Davis lottery.


-Finally, I just bought tickets to a Sounders women's game in June. I wanted to go when they signed both Hope Solo and Alex Morgan, but what made me actually buy the tickets was the signing of Meghan Rapinoe. She might not get the press that the other two do, but damn she is a quality player who was my favorite during the 2011 WC. It is common knowledge that the trio will only play 8 games (3 exhibition, 4 home regular season and 1 away regular season games) so I am praying that they will be there for the match I bought tickets for.


UPDATE - I forgot one thing yesterday. Kudos to the Sounders Front Office for their brilliant idea regarding tickets for Portland and Vancouver games. It was recently announced that the team would be opening the entire stadium up for those games. It is a smart move because both games will definitely sell out. The problem of course is that the Sounders wouldn't be able to control who bought all those extra tickets. It is entirely possible that the Timbers Army could get their hands on 10k-15k tickets. So what did the FO do? Well, they included those games in a 4 game pack with games against LA and Chelsea. So that means unless you have season tickets, the only way to get your hands on Cascadia Cup tickets is to buy tickets for 3 additional games. I suppose it is possible that some Portland fans will take the hit and buy all 4 games, but I can't believe it will be an overwhelming amount. As for Seattle supporters, what a better way to spend your hard earned money than to see 2 Cascadia Cup matches, the star-studded LA Galaxy and one of the EPL's top teams, Chelsea. It doesn't get any better for non-season ticket holders wanting to get to some games this year.

No Excuses for UW

Here's a little secret for ya - The Wife and I like to watch The Biggest Loser. Yeah, I probably shouldn't be proud of it, but whatever - I'm old and have a kid. Anyways...this season's theme is No Excuses, which was exactly what I thought when I saw the newly released 2012 UW football schedule. For those who haven't seen, the 12 game schedule contains non-conference games against Div 1-AA Portland St, San Diego St and likely defending national champion LSU on the road. As for the conference schedule, the Huskies play all teams except Arizona St and UCLA (with new coach, former Husky Jim Mora Jr). The actual schedule is as follows:

Sat Sept. 1 --- San Diego State
Sat Sept. 8 --- at LSU
Sat Sept. 15 --- Portland State
Thu Sept. 27 --- Stanford
Sat Oct. 6 --- at Oregon
Sat Oct. 13 --- USC
Sat Oct. 20 --- at Arizona
Sat Oct. 27 --- Oregon State
Fri Nov. 2 --- at Cal
Sat Nov. 10 --- Utah
Sat Nov. 17 --- at Colorado
Fri Nov. 23 --- at Washington State

The 2012 schedule presents an absolute BRUTAL opening set of games, with 4 of the first 6 opponents likely to finish in the Top 10 this year. I know it will be easy to complain about how the Dawgs open up, but I think it is time to put all excuses aside. I don't know what it is like to be in this town when the Huskies are a ranked team, but I can't imagine that the 1991 team backed down from a challenge. If the Huskies are really back - and I mean 9 or 10 wins - then they need to get the job done. It's simple as that. This isn't the SEC West where a team like Ole Miss will have to play Alabama, LSU, Arkansas, Auburn and rival Miss St every year and then Georgia or Florida every other year. No, this is the Pac-12, where currently there are only 3 ranked teams. I don't want to rip on the league, but after Stanford and Oregon, we had Washington, UCLA and Arizona st playing in bowls. Not exactly Murderers Row.

No excuses. Get the job done. And you know what? I think the Dawgs might actually have a shot at 9 wins. I'm going to assume wins against San Diego st and Portland St (although the latter won't count towards Bowl eligibility) and a loss on the road against LSU. At 2-1 the Dawgs then open up the conference schedule at home against Stanford on a Thursday night. Stanford is a damn good team but they will be losing not only Andrew Luck but two lineman who are projected to be top 10 picks, a highly rated TE and 6 other starters. They are going to be good (projected top 10 in 2012), but not 10-1 good. The Cardinal will also be coming off a BYE week, but I think they will be ripe for the picking. I think coming into a rowdy, raucous Husky Stadium on a Thursday night will be a tough go for the Cardinal. The atmosphere will be ridiculous and I think the Huskies get the upset win.

The next two weeks will be tough but the USC game will be at home as well. They have won 2 of 3 against the Trojans, so who knows. After USC, the Dawgs won't play another ranked opponent the rest of the year, although road games at Colorado and WSU to end the year could be trap games.

Here is the other thing - if the Huskies do end up at 9-3, it probably means that they won 6 in a row to end the season. That would be good enough for a Top 25 ranking and a birth in another quality bowl game.

I know it is wayyy to early to talk about the upcoming season (especially with a new defensive coordinator coming in and a less than favorable recruiting class), but it doesn't hurt to see what the team is in for. It will be a rough go at first, but this is the type of thing that separates good teams from special teams. If the Huskies want to become an elite program again, it must take the bad with the good and just get the job done. It is that simple. No excuses.

Thoughts on the Alamo Bowl

When I told the Wife that I was leaving only an hour early to go to the Apple cup, she thought I was crazy. She knows that I don't like being late or leaving early from games and surely an hour was not enough time. i told her it was no big deal because even if I missed 2 scoring drives, there were probably going to be 8 more once I got inside the stadium. The Huskies have no defense. Whenever they play a team with an equally defense, it is going to be a shootout. Last night was no different.

It's amazing to admit, but I was actually bored by a good portion of the second half. To me, a total of 43 points in one quarter isn't suspenseful. I know that many people will argue that the 9-6 LSU-Bama game earlier this year was the most boring 60 minutes of their lives, but at least their was suspense. At least there was a chance that one of the offenses could score. In the Alamo Bowl last night, I never once thought either team could get stop. it was like an Arena League game.

Ok, with that being said, I did watch the entire second half and have the following random comments about the game

• I get that striking The Superman pose is the new fad, but I think it is going a little far. I saw the fullback break it out last night after a 4th down conversion, a DB break it out after an open field tackle and of course countless guys do it after TD's. Give it a break guys.
• My favorite part of the game was clearly when listening to former defensive stud Chris Spielman say anything positive about the game. Early in the third quarter he was asked if the offense deserves any credit and his response was great - "I'm not gonna give either offense any credit. They don't get credit. The defenses are just bad." Then later he said this was "really unbelievable" when speaking about the 100+ points and the 1000+ yards. He even suggested that both teams try onsides kicks, cut the field down and use the endzone as a 12th defender and hope for a FG. I was fully expecting him at any time to take off the headsets, run down to the field, rip off his shirt and beat the crap out of the defensive coordinators.
• In case there was any question, Keith Price is the man. With his 7 total TD and 438 yard performance, he is now the owner of the most impressive season ever by UW QB. Over 3000 yards passing, 36 total td's and only 11 interceptions. Oh, and he is only a Sophomore.
• Early in the year the Huskies couldn't stop the pass. Then when they went against Stanford and Andrew Luck, they only gave up 169 passing yards compared to 446 running yards. The same thing happened tonight as the "held" RG3 to 295 passing, but gave up 482 yards on the ground (including 3 rushers with 100+ yards!!).
• Anyone else really like the white helmets? I know I am not the UW traditionalist like many others, but I thought they were really sharp. Interesting that neither team went with their traditional gold helmets.
• Halfway through the game, my thought was that Chris Polk was off to the NFL. But now, after realizing that he is a mere 31 yards short of breaking Napoleon Kaufman's all-time school rushing record combined with the bad taste left in his mouth from the crucial third quarter fumble, I think he comes back to be part of what could be one of the special offensive units in college football. Or at least let's hope so.
• In none Huskies football stuff, a nice win by the Dawgs on the hardwood. They may have given up 80 points, but there was no way that the Beavers were going to outscore them. Also, I got to watch an exciting game between Rutgers and #10 Florida in which the Scarlet Knights overcame a late 7 point deficit to get the upset win in 2OT. The most amazing thing was that 0 points were scored by seniors. On the season, freshman and sophomores have accounted for 82% of their total points. It is going to be a up and down season this year, but they may be on to something for the future.
• Ok, back to the Alamo Bowl - I think RG3 can be successful in the NFL. I actually think he is still a bit green, but the dude has some freakish athleticism. In the past many successful dual-threat college QB's haven't been very successful in the pros but Cam Newton is showing that sometimes it doesn't matter - if you're a physical freak you can get things done.
• I love the freshman Seferian-Jenkins and Kasen Williams.
• Best of luck to Jermaine Kearse who ends his 4 year career with 2871 total receiving yards and 29 td's, both 2nd in school history. He was a part of that historically bad 2008 team but stuck with it and can say he was a key part of the UW revival.
• The offense may even be better next year and should be great for a long while. If I'm a potential recruit and I play offense, I have to seriously think about UW. I mean, they are going to score some points
• On the other side of the ball, I have no idea how Nick Holt keeps his job. I know that the administration isn't going to force Sarkisian to do anything, but how can he not go in another direction? I know that they are friends, but this defense kept them from winning 9 games in only his third season at the helm. I know there was a lot of leftover players from the old regime, but the offense was able to retool, why not the defense? This isn't USC. UW doesn't have the athletic freaks on defense that just blow up people.
• Jeopardy style...Answer: 13. Question: How many more points did Oregon St score than Baylor did against the Huskies?
  

Big Day for Huskies

I hope everyone had a pleasant holiday with your families. Mine was especially nice this year, but I am glad to get back to blogging. The holiday is officially over so it's time to get back to work. This goes doubly for the Huskies, who have both a key basketball game against Oregon St on Thursday at 6pm and a nationally televised Alamo Bowl game against Baylor at the same time.

Both games are important to the sports program, but I think the basketball game is the more important of the two. I know beating Baylor and Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III would be a great way to not only end 2011 but gain momentum going into 2012, but I don't think it is a must-win game. I had a hunch heading into last year's game against Nebraska that the Dawgs were going to step up and get the win - there were just too many signs - but this year feels a lot different. Whereas Nebraska was upset at being bumped to the Holiday Bowl to play a team they had already beat, Baylor is genuinely excited to have been invited to the Alamo Bowl. The reason is simple - it's Baylor. It's not exactly the most decorated football program, having played in only 8 bowl games in the past 30 years. Oh, and one other reason - Baylor has RG3.

I don't think many Huskies fans are expecting a win - not with our porous defense. I think a lot of fans are happy to be going to a second straight bowl game, even if it is not a New Years Day Bowl. Don't get me wrong, beating the newly crowned Heisman winner on national television would certainly be great for recruiting and morale. It would signal that indeed UW football has turned the corner. BUT, a loss won't cripple the program.

On the other hand, a loss on the hardwood would be disastrous. I'm sorry, I know Oregon St has been impressive in their first 11 games (9-2), but this is a team that Huskies should and need to beat, especially at home (OSU only has 1 win against a RPI Top 100 team, so take the 9 wins with a grain of salt). The Huskies are one of the most talented, if not THE most talented team, in the conference, but so far they have been incredibly underwhelming, limping into the conference schedule with a 6-5 record (RPI: 107). Losses to Duke and Marquette showed what they could become, but losses to St Louis, Nevada and South Dakota St exposed their flaws. Talent alone will certainly win games, but this team just seems to be lacking something. Their three leading scores are underclassmen. Their three captains have been non-existent. Their frontcourt is led by a guy who can't stay on the court and when he is on the court can't get out of his own way. And their most talented player is a freshman who is expected to leave for the NBA at the end of the season, who can't play with their second best player, who turns the ball over way too much and who just appears to be a wrong fit. Ok, maybe 'wrong fit' is a little too much, but he certainly isn't buying into the team concept like other big name recruits have.

UW needs to win either the conference regular season or conference titles. With a 6-5 out of conference record (which should go to 7-5 after playing Seattle U), I think they will need to go at least 13-5 in PAc-12 play plus win 1 or 2 games in the tournament to be in the dance. That would put them with a record of roughly 22-11. A loss to Oregon St would make things really tough. They get a nice break with avoiding a trip to the Bay Area, but I could see either Cal or Stanford picking up a win at Hed Ec when they visit in late January. I think they will probably drop 1 game on the road in Oregon and could possibly lose both games on the road at USC and UCLA late in the year. Add in potential road losses in Tucson and the Pullman and suddenly this team is looking at their 5-6 conference losses. If this holds true, that means every other game must be a win. Thus, the importance of the conference opener against Oregon st.

It is a shame that both games will be on at the same time tomorrow night as each deserve my attention. When faced with simultaneous start times, I will be watching the Alamo Bowl simply because there will be no more football until September. BUT, I will be keeping a close eye on the more important of the two - the home tilt against the Beavers.

Bow Down.

My Day at the Apple Cup

Thanks to my boy Nattie Ice, I got to experience the Apple Cup in person for the first time on Saturday. It was a great time and one that I thought I would give a recap of.

• I get the call saying we are leaving at 3:30 for a 4:30 game. The Wife says we are crazy, but I didn't care - I wasn't driving. AND even though I assumed we would be late, there was sure to be lots of scoring, so we wouldn't miss too much.
• Nattie knows of a sweet place to park for free. Amazingly the lot was not full and we were on time.
• After walking towards the NW end of the stadium, we realize we made a mistake an turn around. We get in the NE line and stayed there for over 30 minutes. It was a shit storm. At the beginning, people were creating multiple lines and then merging. Once the official line was established, people started walking on the grass to bypass the line. they got away with it for about 10 minutes before a drunk woman with a phone and cigarette starting bitching out everyone that passed by. She and a dude then got security involved and we stopped getting cut.
  
• We find out that every person is getting patted down and that the women's line is quicker. It's simple - when the ratio of men to women in the stadium is 4:1 but the ratio of male security guards is 2:1, the women are certainly gonna get the advantage.
• When we got within 10 feet of the pat down, some dbags found another way to cut. It led to my favorite exchange of the day:
  
  Nattie: What are you gonna cut?
  DBag: Yes
  Nattie: No.
  
  It was that simple.
• We both somehow got into the stadium with our alcohol even though the patter clearly ran his hand over my airline bottle. Either he was sensing the ever growing anger from the line or he thought it was my belt buckle. Who knows. I'm just glad I got through.
• Qwest HAS to do avoid this situation next year when the Huskies move in. It was a disaster.
• Finally we get to our seats and realize we have missed the blocked punt. The next WSU drive ends in a fumble and the Huskies score to go up 14-0. Somehow it didn't feel convincing...oh, maybe it was because WSU was outgaining us on the day. All I knew was that we were two simple plays from being tied at 0 or down a td.
• After WSU scored late in the first half to tie the game, the Huskies responded with a td drive of their own. I remember thinking that 2:05 was a lot of time on the clock and it turned out to be.
• Play of the day goes to Kasen Williams for hurdling over some would-be tackler. I could take the time to find out his name, but really I don't care. And I'm sure he is ok with it that way. Williams just owned him. He is a freak of nature.
• Nattie has a definite man-crush on Austin Sefarian-Jenkins (and it's well deserved)
• Keith Price didn't look right the entire second half and actually took himself out of the game prior to the first play of a drive. It was definitely weird as their was no reason for him to be injured. (Turns out it was a hurt thumb on his throwing hand). He came back in and broke the single season UW record for td passes later in the game.
• Just a side note, but I have heard numerous times about the great lineage of UW QB's over the years...yet if you look at the single-season td leaders, only 5 have ever thrown more than 20 tds in a single season. That is kind of shocking to me.
  
• About halfway through the half I realized that Keith price and Eric Folk wore the same number. Same thing with Chris Polk and Sean Parker. I know this is common knowledge to most fans, but I had not noticed it until then. I understand that with >100 players on the roster, someone is going to have to share numbers, but your two best players? Really? Really?
• Speaking of Chris Polk, he had a really quiet 100 yard game. I would have put it at 65 tops.
• I definitely didn't feel comfortable with a 31-21 lead in the 4th. (and I know I wasn't the only one). The problem with a bad defense in late game situations is that if they are winning they have to stop 4 plays rather than only 3. Earlier in the game, if the defense holds the offense to less than 10 yards on 3 plays, the team punts. In the fourth that team will go for it...and stopping them on 4 plays is way harder.
  
• The defense then came up with a huge play at the end of the game, intercepting a desparate flea-flicker. The offense then mached down the field and the game was over. 38-21. Huskies keep the Apple Cup for another year.
  
  
• Now a few words about WSU. I really liked their QB Marshall Lobbestael and think he is going to be a star. He was really poised for a freshman playing in his first AppleCup. There are rumors that Mike Leach will be on the top of the wish list (although some are speculating that he will be going to ASU) to replace Paul Wolff and I have to be honest, I think it would be a spectacular hire for them. I think the QB could be really really successful with Leach's type of offense.
• I was really amazed by the WSU fans. I never have been at a game where the away crwod rivaled the home crowd (well, anything outside of 500 person Patriot League tournament games) and it was a great atmosphere. I now see why the game is so important to everyone involved. I loved it.

So the Huskies ended a 3 game losing streak and finished 7-5 on the season. However, it is entirely possible that they will be going to second highest bowl for Pac-12 teams - the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio. It's really amazing if you think about it. Stanford is going to the BCS. Oregon won't lose to UCLA in the Pac-12 title game and will be going to the Rose Bowl. USC is on probation. That leaves UW, Cal, Utah and UCLA as the only remaining conference teams with a winning record. Considering UW beat both Cal and Utah, they HAVE to be the most attractive of the teams. If not, then it's probably the Holiday Bowl or the Sun Bowl. I know 7-5 is a bit of a disappointment (they easily could have been 9-3) but the Alamo Bowl would be a quality bowl to be invited to.

There were weeks during the season when the sports writers around here were claiming the Huskies to be taking a step back. At other times, they were on the right track. It seemed like most of them weren't taking the whole body of work into account and instead making their proclamation on one game. I know it's an easy thing to do - as fans and writers we are reactionary - but really we need to take a step back to appreciate where this team has come and where it is going. From 0-12 four years ago to 2 successive bowl trips, the program is definitely on the upswing.

I wondered where the team would go this year with Price under center, but he proved to be the real deal. The best thing is that he will be here two more years and have a plethora of weapons to throw to - Williams, Seferian-Jenkins and Bishop Sankey are all freshman, Jesse Callier a Sophomore - which will undoubtedly make the offense as explosive as it was this year (oh, and there is the possibility that Polk could return). As for the much-maligned defense - I think they can only improve and might actually do so next year with the foundation of Sean Parker, Princeton Fuimaono, Hau'oli Jamora, Thomas Tutogi (all Sophomores) and Demond Trufant and Nate Fellner (Juniors). It will be tough to replace Alameda Ta'Amu and Cort Dennison, but I think their is some talent on that side of the ball. Now the team just needs to think about it's game plan (um, talking to you, Nick Holt) and 9-10 wins might be sooner than we think.

Thanks again to Nattie. Bow Down.

Interesting Weekend

It was an interesting weekend in the world of sports (or at least in the world of sports that I care about). There were a lot of different stories that I cared about, but the two biggest ones were of course the mauling of the Huskies and the mauling of Mauro Rosales.

I didn't think the Huskies had a real chance of beating Stanford on the road. I have so much faith in Andrew Luck that I knew he wouldn't let them lose. I figured he would throw for 400 yards and 5 td's. I figured the Huskies only had a shot to win if the game was somewhere in the range of 55-51. I figured the Huskies defense would give up a lot of yards, but wow, that was painful. The Cardinal ran for 440+ yards and the Huskies lost 65-21. It was so bad that Stanford punted once in the game, were 8-12 on 3rd down conversions and averaged 9.3 yards per play. Let me write that again - 9.3 yards per play. That is unthinkable.

I know it's only one game, but it certainly feels like no progress has been made. It is certainly reactionary for me to say that, but since Sarkisian took over we haven't had too mamny days like this. Our offense is really really solid, but as long as our defense is playing this way, we won't be taken seriously. I think we can still finish 8-4, but that would be a bit of a disappointment considering how well Price, Polk and the rest of the offense is playing. Here's hoping the Dawgs rebound at home next week against an Arizona squad that picked up their first conference win of the season this past Thursday.

The other big story to me is the injury to Mauro Rosales. I have to say that the whole situation just pisses me off. I know that Sounders fans are feeling a bit entitled these days, but their is good reason for that: the Sounders are a damn good team. I mean, damn good - multiple trophies good. You don't have to be a rocket scientist however, to realize that they are not as good without Mauro on the field. When he got hurt a few weeks ago, I wasn't overly concerned because I knew there was enough time left in the season for him to get healthy. When I realized who their final opponent was I knew what was going to happen. Sigi had to play Mauro because he needed to regain his fitness and because he wanted the team to get back some of the chemistry they had as little as a few weeks ago. It was the correct move, I just knew it had the potential to blow up. In my book, Chivas is the dirtiest team in MLS and have been so for a few years. I just knew someone would get hurt in the meaningless game and unfortunately it was Mauro. I really hate those effers (maybe even more than Portland) and pray that this one game doesn't ultimately hurt our playoff chances.

Aside from those two stories, here are some other observations:

• I think it is totally apparent who the worst two teams in the NFL are - the Colts and the Dolphins. Shame on the Dolphins for letting Tebow work his magic. Shame on you for adding fuel to the Tebow fire. Shame on you for allowing his legend to grow. Ughhhhh. One the final two drives of regulation, with Denver trailing 15-0, Tebow went 9-13 for 121 yards and 2 td. According to my calculation, up to that point, he was 4-14 for 40 yards. Shame on you, Miami. AND shame on you for going for 2 early in the 4th quarter. Maybe it seemed like the correct move at the time since the score was 12-0, but up to that point, the defense had not given up any points. Have a little confidence in your squad and kick the extra point
  
  Shame on the Colts for just sucking. It is clearly evident how good Peyton Manning is and how much he means to this team. You obviously can't blame Curtis Painter for giving up 62 points, but I just think the team doesn't know how to respond to him. What a huge dropoff between the two....and we are moving closer and closer to the point where the Colts have to choose whether to pick Luck or continue with Manning.
• Sorry Mike, but this bullet is all about your teams. I don't know which is worse - giving up 6 goals in soccer and losing to your cross town rivals, or giving up 6 points on the road to a bad team in the NFL and losing. Neither feels good. (Since I am shaming people, shame on the refs for the phantom block in the back call on Leon Washington's return. I'm no Seahawks homer, but that was just bad)
• Somehow my Uncle Greg has made me hate Aaron Rodgers. Seriously, he could just struggle the one week I have to go against him in fantasy. Yuck.
• I was getting all ready for the two biggest games of the year - LSU/Alabama and Oklahoma/OSU and then something happened. Oklahoma lost to Texas Tech. I know the game will still be a damn good one, but it won't mean as much if they are both not undefeated (of course, this is assuming that OSU gets past undefeated Kansas St next week).
• The World Series is tied at 2. Did I get that right? Seriously, I have no idea
• In some news that no one cares about, last week my men's soccer team played the Kitsap Pumas reserve team. The Pumas as a pro team based out of Bremerton, WA and recently won the USL PDL title. The guys were really good, but somehow we held them to 2 goals. This week we played 2 men down for 25 minutes until another player showed up. We were down 3-1 at halftime and then our goalie broke his knee brace and had to leave. I went in goal (now down to 9 players) and somehow my boys scored 3 goals and we walked out with a 4-4 tie.
• I don't think Carson Palmer and the Raiders are that bad, but I do know they passed up a golden opportunity to move to 5-2 before their bye week. The bye comes at the perfect time, however, as it will give Palmer an additional week to get ready and hopefully give Run DMF a week to recover.
• Are the Lions being exposed as frauds? Well, I think they are a good team, but they are not a quality team as you can run on them AND they can't run on you. It will be interesting how the next 5 weeks play out.
• Finally, who the hell is DeMarco Murray and why did he run for 253 yards yesterday? (AND how crazy are fantasy players going to be to pick him up?)
  

That's it for now -I'll be back later this week with a Sounders regular season review.

Monday Morning Five-Pack

I have five things I want to talk about this morning, so let's not waste any time.

• For me right now, all weekends start and end with the Sounders. After a disapointing loss at home mid-week (in what really was a terrible game to watch), the club rebounded with a 3-1 win at Vancouver to win the Cascadia Cup. First off, the game was really exciting to watch. I know it is easy to say considering we won, but regardless of the score, there was a lot of end to end stuff with a lot of open space. A few things in particular stood out.
  
  First, it's games like that when we are all reminded how special a player Fredy Montero is and can be. I have been saying for a month that he has been playing really well - problem was he wasn't scoring in league play, so there seemed to be no payoff. However, with Mauro out and the team seemingly needing a leader, he stepped up with two big goals for the win. I noted to The Wife that he even looks happier this year - I don't remember any of those sulking moments that he had in the past when he wasn't the one scoring. I know that doesn't mean much, but I think it goes to show how close this team is right now.
  
  Second, we escaped with no injuries to our currently fragile midfield. With both Rosales and Friberg out with injuries and both Evans and Alonso nursing minor ones, things were feeling pretty dicey. I was surprised to see Sigi keep Evans out there for the full 90 considering his recent injury, but this time it worked. I can only guess that he won't be playing B-Rad on Tuesday night and instead will be counting on El Flaco, who was subbed out by Darid Estrada (!), to go the full 90.
  
  Third, I think we found our Nate Jaqua replacement. I know that Sammy Ochoa hasn't actually score in his first two appearances, but that was by luck alone. On Tuesday he was denied by a world class save and Saturday he was denied by the post. If he is able to get to at least one header a game he is going to be scoring some goals. You just don't put those quality shots on without them going in. His continued emergence HAS to spell the end of Big Nate's time in rave.
  
  Finally, I really think this Vancouver team could be good next year. Even though they both had forgettable games, I think the forward pair of Eric Hassli and Mustapha Jarju could become one of the top units in the league. In Camilo and David Chumiento they also have great quality....but it's that defense that is going to kill them. One place to start would be to find someone of the Alonso/Mastroeni/Joseph to sure of the center of the field defensively. The next step would be to get some outside backs who can actually man mark. Final would be to stop making bad mistakes (Jay DeMerit, anyone?). Bottom line - more quality is needed...remember, Pate Vagenas got the start for them
• On to the Huskies, who improved to 3-1 with a 31-23 win over at Cal. I don't know where this season is going to go, but I can say one thing - there is never going to be a dull game. I mean, their defense is terrible and their offense looks to be actually pretty good. Keith Price may end up having one of the best seasons in UW history (dare I say it, but he is making us quickly forget Jake) but as long as they keep on giving up 400 yards passing they will never be able to get to the next level.
  
  Next week is going to be a key game. If they can get the win at Utah they will with all likelihood be at 5-1 when they make the trip to Palo Alto (assuming of course that we don't shit the bed against Colorado at home the week before). At 5-1, even if we were to lose all 4 games to Stanford, Zona, USC and Oregon, we could still end the season with 7 wins with OSU and WSU last on the schedule. Games against teams of similar strength are the really important ones because they can mean the difference between going to a bowl game and staying home.
  
  oh, one more thing - that Seferian-Jenkins kid appears to be the real deal.
  
  
  
• I really had hoped the Mets could have won yesterday because I could come in this morning and say how we swept the Phils and helped them lose their 8th straight. Unfortunately we had Mike Pelfrey on the mound against Roy Halladay - we never had a chance. Pelfrey has been terrible this year. Their is no doubt about it. Instead of leaving us with something to be hopeful about, he went out and through another dreadful game. I have defended him in the past because of his stuff, but he simply doesn't appear to have the mental stuff to make it in NY.
• On to the NFL where the Bills and Lions are definitely the best stories of the season. Of the two however, I think the Lions have the better chance to make the playoffs. For me, it simply comes down to their division. I don't want to take anything away from the Bears because they are a decent team, but the Lions have Chicago and the defending champs in their division - the Bills have the Jets and Pats. I can accept the Lions being the second best team in the NFC north, but I can't accept the Bills being the second best team in the AFC East. I think the Bills were a little fortunate yesterday. Up to now, the Pats had no equal on offense, but their defense was almost as bad as the Huskies. Well, they encountered a team that could not only put points on the board, but they turned the ball over 4 times to help them put points on the board. Tom Brady had a rare bad game and the rest of the team couldn't get the job done.
  
  The one thing that bothers me about the Lions though is the lack of a running game. They had 20 yards on 19 carries yesterday(!). At some point, that is going to come back to bite them in the ass.
• Finally, a note on soccer with The Incident. It was really really fun. I did not feel competitive for a second (I made sure not to be That Guy who was decked out in full soccer gear) and I just loved being able to run around with her. I am excited for next Saturday.

One final note- with the NBA locked out, I am hoping the NHL sees a huge influx of viewers. I know personally I am more excited about the season simply because I have more time to focus on it. Opening night for the Devils is Oct 8 - less than two weeks away. I can feel the excitement!

King Isaiah Makes Right Choice

Lost in all the talk about soccer and hockey last week was the NBA Draft. I would love to pretend like I cared that much, but the reality was that it was a really weak draft. A guy who played only 300 minutes last year went first; a record number of international players followed; and my team moved up 3 spots to 24 to draft the leading scorer out of the Big East conference. The biggest news to me though was the 60th pick in the draft - none other than UW's own Isaiah Thomas.

For those doing the math at home, there are only 60 picks in the draft. While it is certainly an honor to be drafted at all, one has to imagine that this was a huge disappointment for IT. When he decided to come out, some were projecting him as a late first/early second rounder. Seeing him drop is initially shocking, but it really shouldn't be. Isaiah is a great player, but he is only 5'6 and not as explosive as his predecessor Nate Robinson.

I was firmly in the stay in school camp upon first hearing his decision. I mean, all the pieces were in place for a special senior season. If he was only to average 15 points per game, he would have left UW as it's all-time leading scorer. In addition, he would have been the premier player in the Pac-12 conference. On top of that, UW had the potential to be a top-20 team again. His stock could have been at an all-time high come draft time.

Being drafted so low should have been the evidence I needed to back up my theory, but instead, I think it has had the opposite effect. I think maybe, just maybe he made the right decision. Let's break it down a little more.

1. Staying in school another year would not have changed his height. Regardless of whether it is 2011 or 2012, he is still going to be 5'6. Physically he has nothing to gain.
2. What would happen if he was to blow out his knee while playing for the Huskies? Not only would his dreams go down the drain, but he would be losing a lot of money.
3. What if the Huskies backcourt logjam negatively impacted Thomas' production? What if Romar is unable to work the proper rotation and the Huskies flame out of the NCAA tournament in the first round? Then what?
   
4. The most important reason - he was drafted 60th in an extremely weak draft. What if Harrison Barnes, Jared Sullinger, Perry Jones, Terrence Jones and John Henson had come out? If he waited until the 2012 draft, there is a good chance he wouldn't be as lucky.
   

After some thought, I think the picture is remarkably clear. Thomas cares about the Huskies; being the all-time leading scorer probably would have fulfilled a lifelong dream. Unfortunately in doing so, it probably would hurt his professional career. While a second round draft pick is not guaranteed anything, he does get to take a shot at making the Kings in a year with subpar rookie competition. I think most of us romanticize staying in school - somehow, it is supposed to be pure and just. We want all players to be like Jake Locker and Andrew Luck and pass up millions to stay in school. For someone like Thomas though, it just doesn't make sense. He realized that this might be the best opportunity for him to make the league so he jumped at it. I think he may have in fact made the right decision (of course that is assuming that there is a 2011-2012 NBA season, otherwise Thomas will have to enter the league with more talent AND he won't have the UW scoring record to fall back on)