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Archive for November, 2008

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The Travis Henry Potent Human Being Awards: Plaxico Burress

Posted by Alex on November 30, 2008

In lieu of the Individual Power Rankings (which will return next week), we’re debuting a new feature on SSN: The Travis Henry Potent Human Being Awards. If you don’t know Travis Henry, he’s an ex-NFL running back who also moonlights as the world’s most potent man. Henry has fathered nine children with nine different women. I know what you’re thinking. We could have called this “The Travis Henry Total Stupidity Awards,” but we’re going to give T-Money the benefit of the doubt and assume he’s only had sex nine times, with nine different women no less, and had the testicular fortitude to power right through whatever birth control device was being used and send one of his boys to the promised land (or “end zone,” as I imagine he would call it).

Yes, here at SSN we try our best to put a positive spin on what would appear to be a negative situation. In addition to his ability to rear kids (R. Kelly and Michael Jackson just shared an awkward laugh at that line, and deep down the 12-year-old in you loved it too), Henry’s potency extends to the gridiron, where he was a 2002 Pro Bowler, and to his habitual side, where he has been busted for both possessing and using cocaine. Needless to say, awarding Henry the distinction of Most Potent Human Being was a foregone conclusion, so we had to just name the whole frickin award after him. Every now and then, we’ll take the time to award an individual who embodies the spirit of Henry and carries out Henry’s potency in his or her daily life. Our inaugural winner: New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress.

Plax has had his share of flubs this year. He was fined $45,000 by the league for abusing an official and tossing a ball into the stands. He’s been reprimanded by the Giants for skipping team meetings and essentially ignoring head coach and notorious hard-ass Tom Coughlin. He’s had police called to his home for a domestic dispute. He’s had a less-than-productive year on the field due to injury and inconsistency. Basically, he’s been straight poo this season.

Just when it looked like things couldn’t get any worse, Burress’ inner T-Hen emerged Friday night and the potency erupted like volcanic lava. Or, more accurately, like a bullet from a gun. Yes, Burress fired a gun. Accidentally. At himself. And like Henry’s misfires prior to that, Plax misfired badly, shooting his own darn self in the leg. Amazing.

Wide receivers need their legs, which makes Plaxico’s bonehead play all the more worse. Oh, and he could face criminal charges if it’s revealed that he doesn’t own a concealed weapons permit. Concealed weapons permits don’t allow the weapon owner to brandish arms in public, so Burress is probably in trouble there anyways. This is bad. Real bad.

Even if Plaxico can get off the schneid and salvage what has become a horrible, horrible year, he likely won’t live down this crapshow. This boner ranks right up there with Jose Canseco’s homer-off-the-head and that Gonzaga player who tried to dunk in a game on Thursday and ended up getting sent to the floor after having ball meet rim WITH AUTHORITY!

For the record, Plax’s injury is non-life threatening so we can look back at this right now and laugh. We can also congratulate the wideout for taking home the very first Travis Henry Potent Human Being Award, a major, major achievement. Congrats, Plax!

Posted in NFL, THPHBA | Leave a Comment »

Have fantasy sports gone too far?

Posted by Alex on November 29, 2008

Let me start by telling you about the Pearce Fantasy League, the world’s foremost fantasy football organization. The PFL (as insiders like to call it) is a 12-team “keeper” league with 14-man rosters, an annual live draft, two six-team conferences, four three-team divisions, a BCS-like ranking system, a thriving message board community, a modest $50 buy-in, home-field advantages, a four-man Board of Directors, and a ubiquitous championship game dubbed “The Pearce Bowl.” Named after league commissioner and founder David Pearce, the PFL is just one example of a fantasy sports epidemic that has gripped our nation in recent years. It is also one of five football leagues that I am currently a member of this season.

Remember those anti-drug public service ads from a few years ago? At the end of each commercial, a message would come up with a blank line followed by the phrase “is my anti-drug.” The main character would then fill the open space with whatever it is they liked to do. Now if it were me, there’s no denying that “Fantasy sports” would fill that blank. Fantasy sports is my anti-drug. Besides my five football teams, I’m also currently managing three fantasy basketball teams and have already taken care of four baseball teams this year for a grand total of 12 fantasy teams in 2008 alone. I’ve been doing this since I was 14 years old. I’m 24 now. In ten years, I’ve probably managed nearly 100 fantasy ballclubs. At this rate, by the time I’m in my forties I’ll be the fantasy Larry Brown.

It’s not like I’m alone in this. As the other 11 members of the PFL can tell you (ok, maybe more like eight or nine members, we have some delinquents) fantasy sports are a big deal. Sports information sites recognize this and have gone to great lengths to make fantasy sports accessible to all who wish to participate. In 1999, Yahoo.com became the first major provider of free fantasy ownership. Shortly thereafter, competitors cropped up left and right. Currently, ESPN.com, Yahoo.com, and CBSsportsline.com are the big three when it comes to fantasy sports, free or otherwise.

Each of the big three have also put together teams of experts devoted 24/7 to breaking down fantasy sports. Essentially, these fantasy “savants” are no different than the rest of us, except they get paid to discuss fantasy while the rest of us usually end up paying to lose. Perhaps the most visible fantasy whiz is ESPN’s Matthew Berry, a former comedy writer who, thanks to his Hollywood background and sense of humor, sees more air time than any of his fantasy constituents. Featured almost daily on Sportscenter or any one of the more sport-specific shows on ESPN’s family of networks, Berry mixes in fantasy analysis across all sports with jokes that no one really cares about. In fact, the provided analysis is often spotty, and when it comes down to it there are few individuals out there, paid or unpaid, who have come to master the handicapping of fantasy sports.

I’ll be the first to admit that fantasy sports are out of control. It’s gotten to the point where one-time sports fans no longer root for actual teams, but actual players who happen to be on the rosters of their make-believe teams. Personally, I spend chunks of my day debating whether to play DeSean Jackson over Terrell Owens, a luxury NFL head coaches can only dream of having, but for me an agonizing decision that usually ends up ruining my Sunday. The only thing worse than having an actual team lose, is watching your fantasy team go down the crapper. Sure, it may be labeled the Dungeons and Dragons of today. And yes, we may have distanced girlfriends, wives, and even family members with our tunnel vision towards players we don’t even know. But for many of us, whose dreams of athletic glory died the second we collected our high school diploma, fantasy is as close to reality as we will ever get.

Posted in Fantasy sports | 1 Comment »

Dawg Pack Dirt: University of the Pacific

Posted by Alex on November 29, 2008

Dawg Pack Dirt, Volume 5, Issue 4, University of the Pacific, November 29th, 2008

By Nate Taggart and Aaron Bean

This Saturday the Dawgs start their month of home games with a matchup against the Pacific Tigers. I know it’s a vacation weekend and some of you won’t be in town but hopefully we can get a decent crowd there to make some noise.

The Game:

-Pacific Tigers at Washington Huskies
-Saturday, November 29th, 2008 @ 1:00 p.m.
-Bank of America Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion

The Team:
-The Pacific Tigers of Stockton, CA make their home in the Big West Conference which is home to teams such as Cal State Northridge, UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Fullerton, and Long Beach State.
-Pacific finished 21-10 last season, finished fourth in the Big West and returns three starters from a year ago.
-Pacific is 2-1 to start this season with wins over UC San Diego and a usually solid Nevada team. They lost to Cal by 12.
-Pacific was expected to win the Big West, until a recent investigation that has led to two starters and a key reserve being removed from the team. A link to the story can be found here.

The Players:

-Sr. G #2 Chad Troyer is a local Seattle Prep grad that is only shooting 22% from the field. His dad played for the UW and set a freshman record by scoring 52 points against Oregon in a game. He’s a music manager/producer and his biggest client is somebody named Mike Knight.
-Fr. G #3 Taylor Shipley is a very exciting person that claims on the official Pacific athletics website that his hobby is sleeping. His cell phone number is (310) 430-5116 and his AIM is ADIDASexTS7. His Myspace says that his game is most compared to Michael Jordan so we’re in for a treat. Unfortunately, this prodigy has yet to play any minutes and it looks like he’ll be redshirting this season but we can still give it to him anyways.
-Fr. G #4 Nick Peterson also looks like he’ll be redshirting but he really loves White Gummy Bear Jamba Juice. He also received a seatbelt ticket on Thanksgiving so we should teach him how important seatbelt safety is.
-Jr. F #22 Royal Edwards has only taken four shots this year, making none.
-Fr. G #24 Brandon Hawkins really doesn’t have any dirt that I can find, but I’m pretty excited because he is the son of Seattle Supersonics great, Hersey Hawkins. Don’t tell me you haven’t played NBA Jam on Nintendo 64 with the great duo of Hersey Hawkins and Shawn Kemp. I really hope Hersey shows up.
-Sr. G #30 James Doran goes by the nickname Jimmy D.
-Jr. C #33 Casey Neimeyer is shooting 0-5 in his 15 minutes of PT.
-Fr. F #25 Anthony Cates has the weird hobby of discovering ways that Fight Club quotes can be applied to Pacific basketball. The first rule of Pacific basketball is you don’t talk about Pacific basketball.

GO DAWGS!

Posted in Dawg Pack Dirt, Husky Basketball | Tagged: , | 1 Comment »

Kiffin to take over at Tennessee

Posted by Alex on November 29, 2008

It’s official. Lane Kiffin will not be the next head coach of the University of Washington football team. The former Oakland Raiders head man signed on late Friday afternoon to take over the University of Tennessee football program. Kiffin will succeed long-time Volunteers coach Phillip Fulmer, another candidate rumored to be in contention for the Husky head coaching job.

With Kiffin’s obligation to Tennessee, another candidate on an increasingly shorter short-list is out, and has UW one step closer to being stuck with a coach rather than choosing their guy. Seahawks assistant Jim Mora, Jr. was the first in a line of coaches to have expressed disinterest in the Husky job (despite rumors to the contrary). Earlier this week, TCU head coach Gary Patterson declined Washington’s offer, though he was rumored to be interested in Tennessee’s vacancy, possibly putting a kink in his plans.
Last week saw the departure of two other big names off Washington’s list. Gary Pinkel, head coach at Missouri, signed an extension with UM, while University of Texas offensive coordinator Will Muschamp was named the Longhorns’ “head coach in waiting,” all but eliminating his name from contention, as well.
One of the few big names remaining is that of Boise State head coach Chris Petersen, who is rumored to be close to signing a contract extension with BSU and is likely not interested in the UW job anyways.

Posted in Husky Football | Leave a Comment »

Seahawks continue march towards ’09 Draft

Posted by Alex on November 29, 2008

The Seahawks continued their quest for a top-10 pick in the 2009 NFL Draft with a Thanksgiving-day loss to the Dallas Cowboys yesterday afternoon. All but out of the game at the end of the first half, the best the Hawks could muster was three Olindo Mare field goals en route to a 34-9 Texas-sized shellacking.

Unlike previous matchups where the Hawks struggled to either get the offense in gear, or get the defense going, yesterday’s loss was a total all-around effort. The offensive line provided no protection for Matt Hasselbeck. With three backups starting on the interior line–guards Floyd Womack and Ray Willis, and center Steve Vallos–the Cowboys were able to fill every gap and put repeated pressure on the Hawks QB. Even left tackle Walter Jones got in on the inaction, allowing Cowboys DE DeMarcus Ware to run around him twice for sacks.

The pressure affected the Seahawks running game, as well. Julius Jones, who was afforded the extra motivation of playing against his former ballclub, only managed 37 yards on 11 carries to lead the team in both categories. The trio of backups that comprise the rest of the Hawks’ running back corps finished with a combined 33 yards on 10 carries.

The Hawks defense fared no better, allowing Dallas QB Tony Romo to throw for 331 yards and 3 TD’s. It would be easy to place blame for the Cowboys aerial assault on the Seahawks secondary, but the team recorded zero sacks, allowing a Dallas o-line to manhandle the Seattle front seven from start to finish.

From an optimist’s viewpoint, two encouraging signs emerged from yesterday’s game. One was Seahawks TE John Carlson, who recorded 105 receiving yards on six catches. The first-year product of Notre Dame abused the Cowboys defense down the middle of the field and proved once again why the Hawks traded up in the draft to select him. His sure-handed catching ability and on-field awareness will only improve as the season winds down.

The second encouraging sign was the Hawks improved draft position with the loss. If this team intends to turn itself around even as early as next season, they will need to so via the draft. The worse record they can put together this season, the better the draft pick in the upcoming 2009 NFL Draft. With nothing else to play for at this point, fans can continue to root for the Hawks to come up with a top-of-the-draft selection next Spring.

Posted in Seahawks | Leave a Comment »

Give thanks for a Thunderous disappointment

Posted by Alex on November 27, 2008

Admit it, you like seeing the Oklahoma City Thunder lose. In fact we all do. It’s the one guilty pleasure we can stick in our back pocket and pull out whenever we’re feeling down. Who cares if most of those guys are ex-Sonics? They could be ex-anythings, but the fact of the matter is they’re current-Earth Elements. They’re the sound that emerges when two rainclouds collide. Essentially, they’re the farts of the clouds. That’s what I plan on calling them from now on. The Oklahoma City Cloudfarts.

Back to my original point, the OKCCF are losing and doing it in dramatic fashion. On Tuesday night, the Cloudfarts were up by six points with two minutes remaining in their game against the Suns. Really, all they had to do at that point was control the ball and the clock. Of course, when Earl “The Gunner” Watson is your point guard, controlling the tempo is as easy as, say, controlling R. Kelly at an unchaperoned middle school social mixer. After a one-minute period in which Steve Nash would score seven straight points, the Suns found Matt Barnes for the game-winning bucket, sending them home with a one-point win. The OKCCF record after the defeat: 1-14.
Wednesday night, the Cumulus Crappers were at it again, this time in a more standard fashion. In Cleveland to take on the Cavs, the Blunder were all but finished by the end of the first quarter. By halftime, they were down 66-32. LeBron James played a career-low 17 minutes. Zydrunas Ilgauskas, of all people, was the game’s high scorer with 17 points. The best the Misty Gaspassers could muster was 14 from Chris Wilcox. They improved to 1-15 on the young season.
Yeah, it sucks not having an NBA team. But at least we can watch our old team punch their ticket out of the town they just moved to. At this rate, the Oklahoma City fans will kick these guys out within five years. They can’t sell out games, the fans are already booing the team, and wunderkind GM Sam Presto Presti looks like he may not be as smart as everyone thought. It’s pretty much a Sonics fan’s dream come true.
So if you’re searching for something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, look no further than Oklahoma, where Clay Bennett’s pride and joy is currently the most embarrassing show on the hardwood.

Posted in Sonics | Leave a Comment »

Huskies improve in losing effort

Posted by Alex on November 26, 2008

The Washington Men’s Basketball team finished up their Kansas City road trip last night by losing to the Florida Gators. In the final game of the CBE Tournament, the Dawgs stepped up their performance significantly from just one night earlier when they struggled against a Kansas zone and were unable to complement a poor shooting effort with any sort of defense.

Tuesday night, the Huskies seemingly had no problems with Florida’s zone defense, working the ball inside to Jon Brockman repeatedly in the second half, and allowing guard Isaiah Thomas to penetrate the paint possession after possession. The interior focus opened up opportunities for the UW shooters outside, with Justin Dentmon the main benefactor of kick-out passes. Dentmon knocked down all five three-point shots he attempted and finished with 17 points.

Defense, however, continued to plague the Huskies. The frontcourt players were unable to shut down Florida’s dribble penetration, and as a result the Dawgs were forced to rely on the interior defense of lengthy bigs Matthew Bryan-Amaning and Darnell Gant to keep them in the game. Lackadaisical defensive efforts from the backcourt players has been the Achilles heel of the last three Husky ballclubs, since the days of Brandon Roy and Bobby Jones, among others. With the possible exception of Justin Holiday, none of the Husky guards and small forwards have been able to piece together a solid defensive effort yet this season.

The Dawgs return home and will take on the University of the Pacific on Saturday, a team that should provide them a slight reprieve from the likes of Kansas and Florida (though they would never admit that). Though they seem to improve rapidly, the Huskies have yet to play what an objective observer would call a “complete game,” with good defense and an ability to establish a flow on the offensive end at the same time. If they can make that leap against Pacific, maybe then this team will be able to quiet the critics who are looking at this season as a carbon-copy of the past two.

Posted in Husky Basketball | Leave a Comment »

The Top 11: Seattle draft busts of the past 25 years, #11-7

Posted by Alex on November 26, 2008

There have been plenty of draft busts in Seattle sports history, which is why we had to limit our findings to the past 25 years. Whether it was the Sonics, Seahawks, or Mariners making the selection, our local scouting departments seemingly had a knack for unearthing untalented players. By the way, do you know how hard it was to find images of some of these players? Especially live-action images, near impossible. Anyways, here’s our list of the Top 11 people you can’t help but shake your head at. Enjoy.

11. The Trifecta (Robert Swift, Johan Petro, Mouhamed Sene). Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me; fool me three times, I must be the Sonics front office staff on draft night. 2004: Robert Swift. 2005: Johan Petro. 2006: Mouhamed Sene. What do these three names have in common? Let’s see:

  • All three are former Seattle Sonics first-round draft picks.
  • All three are centers.
  • All three are over 7′ tall.
  • All three spend more time on the bench than they do playing.
  • All three are now Oklahoma City’s curse of a problem, and yet we’d take them back in a heartbeat.

Let’s start at the beginning with Robert Swift, class of 2004. Right away there were problems with Swift. I remember watching the ’04 Draft and hearing Swift’s name announced by David Stern, then immediately thinking, Who? Swift wasn’t present at the venue, so there was no visual of the guy the Sonics had selected. Quick cut to the studio analysis. Usually you have the consensus “great pick/really fills a need” garbage from the overpaid talking heads, but this one was a stretch even for the eternal optimists. I remember someone labeling him a “project,” which in draft-speak is a nice way of saying “you’re doomed.” And they were right, Swifty was one hell of a project.

To top it off, Swift is a non-European white guy, which is a horrible, horrible sign. Try to think of five really good non-European white guys in the NBA right now……..it’s difficult, I know, but keep trying………Steve Nash, yes……Brad Miller, but that’s a stretch………Mike Dunleavy, Jr., also a stretch……..ok, so the consensus is you can’t fill out an All-Star roster with non-European white guys, which basically begs the question why draft one in the first place unless he’s the next Larry Bird? Oh wait, hold on a second. Apparently the next Larry Bird was already drafted, and has yet to pan out so far in his third season. Goes by the name of Adam Morrison. Whoops, never mind then, I guess even the next Larry Bird isn’t a draftable non-European white guy. Moving on.

So here comes the 2005 draft and the prospect of improving from a year ago. Stuck with the 27th overall pick after the Sonics’ one playoff season in the past decade, the team drafts French center Johan Petro. There are about a million things wrong with drafting French center Johan Petro, but why go into it? Let’s just move on to 2006 (although it should be noted that of the three big men, Petro has shown the most promise thus far).

Mouhamed Saer Sene. If you are (or were, I guess, at this point) a Sonics fan and hear this name, chances are you cringe. Sene was the epitome of a mistake the moment he was selected and everyone knew it. At least you could pin the “project” label on Swift and Petro. Sene wasn’t a “project,” he was “raw.” “Raw” is the draft equivalent of “this guy isn’t American, isn’t European, and isn’t Yao Ming, so what the hell is he?” “Raw” means that you, the player, aren’t even on anyone’s draft board. The Sonics made this raw pick because, in layman’s terms, another team baited them into it. They claimed they “had to” pick Sene because they couldn’t afford to let him drop to an opponent lower in the draft, who supposedly would have selected Sene and used him against the Sonics in some way…I guess.

So here we were with the 7-footer from Senegal, a young Dikembe Mutombo, soon-to-be-fired experts said. Sene’s biggest claim to fame was a 7’8″ wingspan which allowed him to touch the rim standing flat-footed. Interestingly enough, he carried that flat-footed approach into games which made him quite useless on either end of the floor. Naturally, he blocked a few shots here and there, but so did Shawn Bradley and Georghe Muresan back in the day. Long story short, in his two years on the job in Seattle, Sene just didn’t play, and when he did it was for the minor league Idaho Stampede of the NBDL and not the Sonics.

Time for a side note. When Sene was selected, did anyone else immediately think of the movie “The Air Up There?” Because I did, and I could picture Kevin Bacon going to Africa to find Sene and bring him to America to play for a team here, just like in the movie. And not only that, but dominating alongside Sene on a dirt basketball court after having his lower abdomen sliced open in a tribal ritual to indoctrinate him into the group. Maybe it’s just me.

Of course, we don’t have to worry about The Trifecta anymore. Now they languish on the bench of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

10. Ryan Christianson. Realizing the clock was ticking on catcher Dan Wilson, the Mariners used their 1999 first-round draft pick on a high school catcher by the name of Ryan Christianson. The #11 overall pick in a draft that produced the likes of Josh Beckett and Josh Hamilton, among many others, Christianson was labeled the catcher of the future for the big club and set on the fast track to the Major Leagues. Unfortunately, Christianson’s fast track wasn’t very fast at all, and he derailed almost immediately, spending three years in Single-A ball at the outset of his career.

By 2005, Christianson was in his second stint with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, on the cusp of making the big show, when he tested positive for steroids. That effectively ended his Mariners career and Christianson was released prior to the end of the season.

Christianson was last spotted as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals Triple-A affiliate in 2007.

9. Sherell Ford. Where the heck is Sherell Ford? Honestly. Does anyone know? If you know, please tell me, because I’ve been Googling Ford for an hour and he’s disappeared off the face of the earth. I can at least break down what we do know about Sherell Ford, international man of mystery.

Ford, out of the University of Illinois-Chicago, was the 26th overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft. At that point in the draft, there aren’t hugely outrageous expectations placed on players. You just kind of hope for the best and assume you’ll get a two- or three-year rookie contract out of whomever you select. In Ford’s case, 28 games was all the Sonics got, good for 90 total points, most coming in garbage time.

A 6’7″ swingman expected to fill a void at the shooting guard/small forward positions, Ford essentially just filled a void on the payroll. He didn’t even last on the bench after a season, and beyond that rookie year, Ford never played in the NBA again.

According to his Wikipedia page, Ford was last spotted in 2006 when a Chicago ABA franchise invited him to take part in a tryout for their expansion team. The franchise has since folded. No word on whether Ford made the team or not.

8. Rick Mirer. You would think Mirer would be higher up on this list, but he’s here at #8 for two reasons: 1) the Seahawks actually managed to get four semi-productive seasons out of him and 2) when they finally gave up on Mirer, they managed to get a first-round pick in return for him, which is pretty amazing in and of itself. Mirer did try his hardest to become the very best bust he could be though, there’s no denying that.

The second overall pick in the 1993 NFL Draft, right after Washington State quarterback Drew Bledsoe, Mirer was supposed to be a franchise savior for whichever team ended up with his services. Hyped as the next Joe Montana, Mirer more closely resembled Hannah Montana during his tenure with the club. The only thing he possessed similar to that of Joe Montana’s was a strong arm…which he used to deposit balls into the hands of cornerbacks and safeties. In his four years in Seattle, Mirer amassed 56 interceptions to just 41 touchdown passes.

Luckily for the Hawks, the 1997 Chicago Bears were a passer-desperate team willing to do anything for a starting quarterback, which Mirer technically was. Packaged with a fourth-round pick, Mirer was on his way to Chicago with a first-rounder coming West to Seattle. With their two 1997 first-round picks, the Hawks selected cornerback Shawn Springs and left tackle Walter Jones, making Mirer a pretty valuable bargaining chip.

Mirer remained on NFL rosters until 2005, when he unofficially retired. He hasn’t played since.

7. Patrick Lennon. In evaluating Major League draft prospects, scouts will always tell you to avoid guys who have “slow” skills. Slow skills are those which don’t lend themselves to athleticism, per se, but are rather baseball-specific skills that tend to decline rapidly once a player ages or makes the leap to the next level of competition. Examples of slow skills are proficient power but low contact ability; lack of speed on the basepaths; and the inability to play the middle positions on the field (shortstop, second base, center field). Patrick Lennon was a slow-skilled player. And yet somehow, the Mariners found it in their hearts to draft him eighth overall in the 1986 June amateur draft.

It should be noted that Lennon didn’t appear in a Major League uniform until 1991, five years after he was drafted. That he even appeared in a big-league clubhouse is pretty remarkable considering the fact that he just wasn’t any good at baseball. In the nine games Lennon was a part of in ’91, five came as the DH, which is a ridiculously bad omen for a young player. He recorded one hit, a double, in eight at-bats that season, posting a .125 batting average.

In 1992, Lennon spent the majority of the year in Triple-A before earning another late-season call-up. He appeared in one game, recording two at-bats and going hitless. Unfortunately for trickLe (I like to call him trickLe, it’s a hybrid of Patrick and Lennon, it’s like A-Rod, and is used to exemplify how out of control the hybrid nickname has become), that was the last time he’d ever appear in uniform as a Seattle Mariner. As soon as the season was over the M’s released their one-time first-round selection and he was quickly signed by the expansion Colorado Rockies. Interestingly enough, Lennon was released by the Rockies before the team ever played a game and he wouldn’t appear in the Majors again until 1996 with Kansas City.

Lennon managed to appear in 81 more big-league games in his post-Mariner career before hanging it up at the age of 31 following the 1999 season.

Posted in Mariners, Seahawks, Sonics, Top 11 | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Schedule changes and Response Department

Posted by Alex on November 25, 2008

To our loyal readers:

We want to notify you of changes to our schedule for the coming week, as well as a new feature we will be debuting here on the site.

Tomorrow (Wednesday), we will be featuring the first five members of this week’s Top 11. The Top 11 will continue to be printed on a Thursday/Sunday/Monday schedule going forward, but because this Thursday is Thanksgiving, we will publish the first installment a day early this week.

Also you may have noticed that our left-hand sidebar now includes a “Featured Segments” section with direct links to each of our regular segments on the site. Three of the six featured segments will be on a weekly schedule as far as when they’ll be printed on the site. They are:

  • Dawg Pack Dirt: Printed on the morning of every Husky Men’s Basketball home game.
  • Individual Power Rankings: Printed on Saturday afternoons/evenings.
  • The Top 11: #11-7 printed on Thursdays (Wednesday, this week only), #6-2 printed on Sundays, #1 printed on Mondays.

The other three featured segments (Beyond Seattle; League Bias; and In your face, Seattle) will be printed whenever stories arise that fall into any of the three categories.

Finally, as is our goal here at SSN, we want to further our relationship with you, our readers, by creating a bi-weekly Response Department to publish reader questions and comments. We have set up a separate email address from our primary contact to handle the questions and comments sent to us by readers. The new email address is: ssnresponsedept@gmail.com. We have set up a link on our sidebar with the new address for reader submissions. The goal of the SSN Response Dept. is to allow you, the reader, to be a part of the production here on the site. We want to know how you feel about certain issues, questions you may have about Seattle sports topics, or just witty comments you want to pass along. Every two weeks, we will sort through the best questions and comments and publish the standouts in our column. Please include your first and last name, and contact email with each submission.

We hope you enjoy the changes on the site and will continue to take part in all that we’re doing here. Thanks.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Huskies atrocious in road loss to Kansas

Posted by Alex on November 25, 2008

The Washington Men’s Basketball team fell to 2-2 on the young season last night with a 73-54 road loss to the Kansas Jayhawks. Playing on a “neutral” court in Kansas City as part of the CBE Classic Tournament, the Dawgs were unable to overcome a horrific shooting night that saw them go 19-65 from the floor (29.2%) and 9-16 from the line (56.3%).

Isaiah Thomas led the Huskies with 17 points on a disappointing 6-16 shooting night (37.5%). Thomas did, however, knock down 3-8 shots from beyond the arc.

No other Husky player finished in double figures scoring, and senior captain Jon Brockman posted his second-straight off night with only seven points on 2-9 shooting. Brockman still contributed on the glass, though, collecting 18 rebounds (6 offensive) in the losing effort.

The Dawgs were unable to work their way around a stifling Kansas zone defense, and were victims of poor distribution. The team as a whole amounted only nine assists, with seven of those coming from Justin Dentmon (the other two were courtesy of Venoy Overton).

The zone D has been a Husky killer in recent years. Poor free-throw shooting has discouraged the Dawgs from directly attacking the zone, and poor outside shooting has handicapped their ability to force opponents back into man defense. In man-to-man alignment, the Huskies have been able to outquick opposing players and move the ball around. In zone, the Huskies typically rotate the ball around the perimeter and attempt to work it inside. On the rare occasion that they find an entry into one of their low-post players, that player is immediately double-teamed and is forced to either take a tough shot or kick the ball back out. It is an illness that has yet to be cured for the Huskies.

Washington will take on Florida tonight in Kansas City in their final game of the CBE Tournament.

Some parts of this story have been edited for accuracy.

Posted in Husky Basketball | 1 Comment »

The Emergency Poll

Posted by Alex on November 25, 2008

Here at Seattle Sportsnet, we have an open door policy. Think of us as you would your high school principal. We know some of you may be afraid to come speak to us face-to-face (or in this case, using the “Comments” section underneath each post), which is why we’ve created a suggestion box of sorts in the form of The Emergency Poll.

The Emergency Poll is a special kind of poll that we will post from time to time here when attempting to gauge fan reaction. Generally, we will need to better evaluate fan opinion in moments of controversy. Here at SSN we offer opinions, and like anyone who opines, sometimes those opinions won’t be received with open arms by our readers.

We’re not perfect, we’re the media (kind of). We will occasionally be wrong, occasionally be right, and often times just somewhere in the middle. As is the case with any article posted on the site, we encourage you to share your opinion with us and with other readers using the aforementioned “Comments” section underneath each post. If you choose not to do that, then we hope you’ll offer your opinion by voting in any one of our polls, and in this case The Emergency Poll.

The rules of the Emergency Poll are simple. We will ask you a question and give you unbiased options to choose from when voting. The Emergency Poll will take precedence over any other polls currently being run on the site, and appear above everything else in our sidebar on the left-hand side of your screen. If you’ve never voted in a poll before, we ask you to please consider voting in our Emergency Polls because they are our one true barometer of fan opinion. Check out the first Emergency Poll now and continue to enjoy the site. Thanks!

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The Top 11: Seattle sports heroes, #1

Posted by Alex on November 24, 2008

Our first ten Seattle sports heroes, counting down from 11, are as follows: 11, 1995 Mariners supporting cast; 10, Ichiro Suzuki; 9, Brandon Roy; 8, Mike Holmgren; 7, Lenny Wilkens; 6, Steve Largent; 5, Lou Piniella; 4, Don James; 3, Gary Payton; 2, Edgar Martinez. Numbers 11-7 can be found here, while numbers 6-2 can be found here. And now, our number one Seattle sports hero.

1. Ken Griffey, Jr. There is no debate. Ken Griffey, Jr. is Seattle’s biggest superstar. He saved baseball in this city, and arguably put Seattle on the national map with his highlight reel catches, 1997 MVP season, and picturesque swing. Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam may have represented Seattle all across the world, but Griffey was the city’s biggest rock star since Jimi Hendrix.

Griffey emerged on Seattle’s radar as a name in 1987. He was the first overall pick in Major League Baseball’s June amateur draft that year, and was poised to become the face of a franchise if everything went according to plan. Mariners owner George Argyros had wanted to use the #1 pick on Cal-State Fullerton pitcher Mike Harkey, but was overruled by his scouting team, who labeled Griffey a can’t-miss prospect with five-tool abilities. Junior was the prototype. He had the prototype build (6’3″, 195 pounds), prototype bloodlines (dad Senior was a Cincinnati Reds outfielder at the time), and the prototype attitude (generally well-liked, but with a dash of cockiness that tended to breed greatness).

By 1989, Junior was the starting center fielder on a young Seattle team. He had been hand-picked by first-year manager Jim Lefebvre to replace up-and-coming Mickey Brantley, who would ultimately have his career derailed by Junior’s emergence (no fault of Junior’s). Griffey spent some time on the disabled list that year, but still put together a decent rookie season, hitting 16 home runs and batting .264. He lost out on the American League Rookie of the Year award to Baltimore Orioles closer Gregg Olson (which, if you’re keeping track at home, makes for three obscure players that are answers to trivia questions involving Griffey: Harkey, Brantley, and now Olson).

Griffey really took off in 1990 and would never look back. He was a bona fide talent and the nation took notice. By 1994 he had had his own candy bar, appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, done voice work for The Simpsons, acted in a major motion picture (Little Big League), guest starred on a network TV show (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), and produced a video game (Ken Griffey, Jr. Presents Major League Baseball for Super Nintendo).

Even with all the accolades, Griffey outdid himself in 1995. The ’95 season began in somber fashion for Junior, who broke his wrist on a Spider Man-like leaping catch against the Kingdome’s right-center field wall. In the ensuing moments, Junior captured a spectrum of emotions from fans: amazement at the attempt, jubiliation at the catch, worry at the aftermath, sadness at his depature, fear at the prospect of being without his presence in the future. Despite a three-month absence spent on the disabled list, Griffey continued to dictate the Mariners season. While he watched from the sidelines, the team remained barely in playoff contention, hovering around .500 for the twelve weeks Griffey was out.

When Junior returned in August, the team was desperate for a spark to get them back on the winning track. Junior provided just that. Down the stretch he would quickly return to form, helping lead the ballclub to the playoffs for the first time in their history. One of the great images of the ’95 season is of Junior, arms raised, fingers pointed the heavens, immediately after hitting a game-winning home run, the first of his career. I can tell you that the game was played on a Sunday afternoon. The Mariners wore their alternative teal jerseys on Sundays that year, and here was Griffey all tealed out.

Perhaps the most memorable moment of the Griffey-Seattle relationship occurred later that season, in the ’95 American League Division Series against the Yankees. Junior, barrelling around third base in the 11th inning of the deciding Game 5, would score on Edgar Martinez’s infamous double to essentially save the Mariners franchise from leaving Seattle. The image is considered holy to a true Mariners fan. Griffey, sliding feet-first, left hand outstretched to graze home plate. Yankee catcher Jim Leyritz positioned in front of the dish, awaiting a throw that won’t arrive on time. In the background, pure happiness. Numerous figures frozen in mid-air, leaping with unrestrained jubilation. Bob Wolcott, the Mariners 21-year-old starting pitcher, displaying a vertical leap that would get NBA scouts’ attention. An amazing photograph, and one that has been reproduced a thousand times over in Mariners lore.

In the aftermath of that winning run, a second photo would emerge to capture the spirit of the moment. Griffey, immediately tackled out of sheer joy seconds after crossing home plate, pops out of the bottom of a dogpile grinning like a kid on Christmas morning as teammates celebrate above him.

Ken Griffey, Jr. would remain in Seattle through the 1999 season. He won an American League MVP award in 1997, and amassed numbers as a Mariner that had him on pace to become one of the greatest baseball players of all-time. Upon a fateful trade to Cincinnati, however, Griffey’s career was sidetracked by injuries and he would never again be the same player he was in the Emerald City. His return to Seattle in 2007 resulted in multiple standing ovations, a tribute video that brought grown men to tears, and a home run for the opposition that had 45,000 fans cheering for him once again.

Ken Griffey, Jr. played a game in such a way that it moved people to take action. He brought fans to a once-empty ballpark and got them to watch him and his teammates. He made a state government take action and ensure that their baseball team would never leave the only city it had called home. He helped fund a new baseball stadium, simply by hitting home runs, catching fly balls, and flashing a geniune smile every now and then. He elicited emotion in fans and created it himself. Griffey may not ever fully realize exactly what he means to this city, but there’s no denying that when it comes to heroes, he may not have a cape or be able to fly, but Ken Griffey, Jr. is our Superman.

Posted in Mariners, Top 11 | Tagged: , , , , | 3 Comments »

Seahawks stumble again

Posted by Alex on November 24, 2008

In a situation that’s becoming all too familiar, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck led the Seahawks offense on to the field with a 1:30 remaining in yesterday’s game and a chance to win or tie with a score. Instead, down 20-17, Hasselbeck connected with Redskins cornerback Shawn Springs to all but seal a Washington victory.

This is the second straight week that Hasselbeck has thrown a critical fourth-quarter interception, and it is apparent that the Seattle QB is anything but healthy. Yesterday’s sad finish capped off an all-around disappointing day. Hasselbeck’s line was no better than any of those posted by backup Seneca Wallace over the course of the past few weeks: 12-24 passing, 103 pass yards, 2 TD, 2 INT. Which brings up the question once again of whether or not Hasselbeck should even be playing, when pride is all that the 2-9 Seahawks are now competing for.

While the competitive mentality tells each player and coach to give 100% and win every ball game, regardless of the circumstances, logical reasoning often presents a different case. Under the current situation, Hasselbeck has no business being on the field right now. He is only being exposed to further injury and has proven unreliable in back-to-back games. Seneca Wallace may not be the answer at quarterback for this club, but he’s what we have right now and should be the man under center each week from here on out.

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Poll Results: Poll #4

Posted by Alex on November 23, 2008

The question: Which of these five Seattle sports heroes is your favorite? The overwhelming answer: Brandon Roy.

With 22 of a total 29 votes, Roy finished with 75% of the results. A very distant second place was recorded by the ’95 Mariners supporting cast, who totaled three votes, good for 10%. Mike Holmgren received two votes (6%), while Ichiro Suzuki and Lenny Wilkens each received one vote (3% each).

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The Top 11: Seattle sports heroes, #6-2

Posted by Alex on November 23, 2008

Heroes #11-7 can be found here. They are as follows: 11, 1995 Mariners supporting cast; 10, Ichiro Suzuki; 9, Brandon Roy; 8, Mike Holmgren; 7, Lenny Wilkens.

6. Steve Largent. The former Seahawks wide receiver was arguably this city’s first superstar athlete. He became Seattle’s first true Hall of Famer in 1992, after a thirteen-year career that saw him leave the game in 1989 as the NFL’s career leader in receptions (819), reception yards (13,089), and touchdown receptions (100).

Despite the national accolades Largent received at the back end of his career, he arrived in Seattle inconspicuously in 1976 after a trade with the Houston Oilers. A star wideout at the University of Tulsa, Largent wasn’t selected until the fourth round of the ’76 NFL draft. Prior to the start of the regular season the Oilers sent Largent to the Hawks in exchange for a 1977 eighth-round pick. There may never have been a better trade in Seattle history.

Following his football career, Largent turned his national stardom into a successful foray into politics. Beginning in 1994, Largent served in the U.S. House of Representatives as a member of Oklahoma’s first district, but resigned his seat in 2002 when he took an unsuccesful run for the office of governor.

In addition to his records and Hall of Fame selection, Largent was also a seven-time Pro Bowler and was chosen as a member of the NFL’s 1980′s All-Decade Team.

5. Lou Piniella. When Piniella came to Seattle in 1993, interest in his Mariners ballclub piqued, but expectations remained low. In 1992, behind manager Bill Plummer, the Mariners had put together one of their worst seasons in history, finishing 64-98, despite a roster brimming with talent. With younger versions of Ken Griffey, Jr., Edgar Martinez (the 1992 American League batting champ), Jay Buhner, and Randy Johnson, the Mariners were on the verge of putting it all together but needed a leader to show them the way. Piniella became that leader.

Piniella’s impact on the team was immediate. The team put together their first winning season in seventeen years of existence with an 82-80 finish in 1993. They took a nosedive in the strike-shortened season of ’94, finishing 49-63, but were bailed out in a sense when playoffs were cancelled anyways. The 1995 season brought renewed hope, new players, and a new attitude to the Kingdome. Sweet Lou managed to get the most out of his team that year, sending the Mariners to the playoffs for the first time in their history and essentially saving baseball in Seattle.

When he wasn’t winning ballgames, Lou was winning over fans and players alike with his on-field tantrums. He would throw bases, kick dirt, toss his hat, yell and scream all in a futile effort to change a seemingly bad call. It was one of his finer points.

Lou stuck with the M’s for seven seasons after that miracle ’95 run, but departed following the 2002 campaign to move closer to his home in Florida. Upon returning to the Emerald City with his visiting Tampa Bay Devil Rays club shortly thereafter, Piniella was greeted with a standing ovation and even gave addressed the crowd in red carpet fashion before the game.

Piniella is the manager that all Mariners skippers have been and forever will be compared to. He may not have won it all with this team, but he won over the fans of the city and kept a Major League team entrenched here for years to come.

4. Don James. When Don James resigned as head coach of the Washington football team prior to the 1993 season, he left college football as one of the last men in a dying breed. James was the type of head coach you rarely see in today’s game. His intensity and passion was visibly reflected on the field by his players, who, despite an age gap between mentor and tutor, played the disciplined, hard-nosed style of football that their coach demanded of them. James was a man who could command both fear and respect, which allowed him the luxury of eighteen solid seasons on Montlake as the leader of the Dawgs.

The Dawgfather emerged as the man to replace another icon, head coach Jim Owens, in 1975 after four years at Kent State University. He wasn’t the biggest name, nor had the most impressive resume, but at the age of 43 was ready to make the leap to a major Division-I school and happened to be the right guy at the right time.

James’ first two seasons at Husky Stadium were the definition of average. He compiled an 11-11 overall record over the ’75 and ’76 campaigns and couldn’t find a way to a bowl game. That all changed in 1977 when the Huskies rose to prominence, going 10-2 and becoming Rose Bowl champions. Following that season, James would take the Dawgs to 13 more bowls in his fifteen remaining years as head coach. His career apexed in 1991 when the Huskies won a share of the national championship.

Though he’s been retired for over fifteen years, the Huskies are still searching for the man to replace Don James. The team is now searching for their fifth head coach since James’ departure and to hear people talk about the Dawgfather, one would assume he had just resigned last week. Like Lou Piniella with the Mariners, James will now and forever be the coach that all other Husky coaches are compared to.

3. Gary Payton. Most heroes complement their achievements with humility, affability, politeness, and a sense of respect for others. Not Payton. Built like the one and only foil to all that embodies heroism, GP was a loudmouth, trash-talking, in-your-face gamer who never took a play off. He built his reputation on attitude and intensity, and would eventually become arguably one of the greatest players in NBA history.

Big for a point guard, Payton, at 6’4″, was the second overall pick by the Sonics in the 1990 NBA Draft. Coming out of Oregon State University, the wiry Payton was expected to team up with power forward and 1989 first-round selection Shawn Kemp to form an inside-out, one-two punch. The duo would do just that over the course of the next seven years, taking the Sonics to the playoffs in the final five seasons they played together.

After Kemp’s departure in 1997, Payton would last almost six more years in Seattle before being traded for Ray Allen in the middle of the ’02-’03 season. To this day, Payton is among the top three in fourteen different major statistical categories in Sonics franchise history, including being the leader in points scored (18,207), steals (2107), assists (7384), and games played (999). Payton eventually went on to win an NBA championship with the Miami Heat in 2006, but still considers himself a Sonic at heart. He helped lead a rally this past year to keep the Sonics in Seattle, and continues to be a prominent figure in the Emerald City despite making his home in Las Vegas.

2. Edgar Martinez. Over the course of a professional career that began in 1982 and didn’t end until 2004, Edgar combined 22 years as a member of the Seattle Mariners organization with Hall of Fame numbers to become one of the most beloved sports figures in this city’s history.

He first appeared on the scene in 1987 as a pinch-runner, slender, with a mustache that resembled a small rodent. He wouldn’t crack the everyday lineup until 1990, after starting third baseman Jim Presley was traded to Atlanta. Over the course of the next fifteen seasons, Edgar would play in seven All-Star games, win five Silver Slugger awards, and collect two AL batting titles (1992 and 1995).

But even if you took away all the great years, the statistics, and the achievements, Edgar’s meaning to this city could simply be summed up in one moment. The Double.

The Double stands as one of the greatest moments in Seattle sports history. Like Joe Carter’s walk-off home run to win the 1993 World Series, Michael Jordan’s push-off jumper over Bryon Russell in the 1998 NBA Finals, or Dwight Clark’s “The Catch” in 1982, The Double was a once-in-a-lifetime play that came to define an entire team’s season in one instant.

1995. Game 5. American League Division Series. Bottom of the 11th inning. Down 5-4. Runners on first and second. The opponent was the hated New York Yankees. The pitcher was Yankee ace Jack McDowell, brought in out of the bullpen to close the door and send New York to the ALCS. Mariner second baseman Joey Cora stood on second, Ken Griffey, Jr. on first. Cora could score to tie the game on a single. Junior, with his speed, could possibly score on a double. Edgar emerged in the batter’s box and assumed his stance, hands held high, the head of the bat pointing towards the pitcher’s mound, left foot raised up from the ground, weight back, neck cocked, squinting. McDowell came set, checked the runners, and delivered. As if in slow motion, Edgar uncoiled from his statuesque pose and released his bat through the zone. Smoothly, effortlessly he connected with McDowell’s fastball. A line drive down the left field line. Cora scored easily. Here was Griffey, now, steaming around third base, being waved in by a frantic Sam Perlozzo. Yankee catcher Jim Leyritz positioned himself in front of the plate, awaiting a throw that would arrive too late. Edgar Martinez of all people had won the game and the series.

Our #1 hero will appear in tomorrow’s updates.

Posted in Husky Football, Mariners, Seahawks, Sonics, Top 11 | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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