Seattle Sportsnet

The problem with the Husky Basketball team is that they appear to not give a shit. In any sport there will always be wins and losses. That’s a given. But win or lose, you can only hope that your team gives a shit every time they play. So far this season, the Huskies have failed to prove to me — and to many others, I’d imagine — that they are among the shit-giving elite in college basketball. That’s not good.

As a collective unit, this year’s squad resembles Matt LeBlanc in Joey. After Friends, that guy completely mailed it in. He used to care. And then Joey came along. At which point, he more or less gave up. NBC was still signing off on his paychecks. That’s really all that mattered. Lazy bastard.

Since the Huskies neither star in a sitcom spinoff nor get paid, I can’t imagine what’s motivating them to take the court these days. Maybe it’s the free gear they get, the nice kicks they wear, or perhaps all the hot college chicks they get to bang. I don’t know. I am not a psychologist. All I see is a lack of effort, hustle, and desire. Which leads me to question the heart of the entire program.

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Dawg Pack Dirt: Cal State Northridge

Volume 8, Issue 7, December 22, 2011

Special to Seattle Sportsnet

Written by dedicated Dawg Pack members

The game:

-Cal State Northridge Matadors (3-6) @ Washington Huskies (5-5)

-Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, Seattle, Wash.

-Thursday, December 22, 2011, 7:00 p.m. PST.

The team:

-Northridge is currently 3-6 on the season.

-Freshman guard Stephan Hicks leads the Matadors with 17.5 ppg and 8.5 rebounds.

-Head coach Bobby ‘Bras’ Braswell is in his 16th season at CSUN after coming from Oregon as an assistant coach.

-Braswell’s son and two former players stole over $6,000 worth of merchandise from a local Best Buy in 2009. They were released on $20,000 bail.

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Dawg Pack Dirt: UC Santa Barbara

Volume 8, Issue 6, December 16, 2011

Special to Seattle Sportsnet

Written by dedicated Dawg Pack members

The game:

-UCSB Gauchos (5-2) @ Washington Huskies (4-4)

-Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, Seattle, Wash.

-Friday, December 16, 2011, 7:00 p.m. PST.

The team:

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December 19th, 2004. I will never forget that day. I spent most of it outside, huddled under an awning extending forth from Hec Edmundson Pavilion. I was a student then, content to loiter for hours on end for a good seat at Husky basketball games.

The Huskies played North Carolina State that day. It was a Sunday. A 5:00 p.m. tip-off on the West Coast.

Just one year prior, the Dawgs had been on no one’s radar. They had been in the midst of a four-year stretch of futility that spanned two coaching regimes. But then they kicked off the 2004 calendar year by winning ballgames. And lo and behold, they returned to relevance by making the ’04 NCAA Tournament. Now here we were, nine months later, and Washington was in the early stages of their 2004-2005 season, ranked 18th in the nation, playing a meaningful game against a nationally-ranked opponent.

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I didn’t get to go to the gym on Tuesday. The Huskies were taking on 11th-ranked Marquette in Madison Square Garden. I needed to watch. Husky Basketball takes priority over any workout I could possibly accomplish. But I couldn’t let the day go to waste. I had a bagel sandwich for breakfast, a sizable burrito for lunch, and around about snack time I killed some Chex Mix. That’s a lot of carbs for one day. And I am not one to let those carbs go to waste. So I took the logical step of creating my own workout plan. Or as I’m currently calling it, the Wroten Workout Plan, in honor of Tony Wroten, Jr.

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From Year of the Comeback:

“With peace in his heart and love in the room, our beloved Andrew took his last breath tonight. He was surrounded by his family and a few close friends. It was peaceful and so beautiful.”

I had the chance to share Andrew’s story nearly three years ago when I first heard about his fight against cancer. He was only supposed to have a couple months to live. He defied the odds for so long.

He made me appreciate my life more. I changed the mission of this website after I wrote his story. I just wanted to bring people together after that. Through words. Because he was bringing people together through a situation that would otherwise be negative.

He changed my life and I hardly knew him. I owe that guy so much. A lot of who I’ve become is due in large part to his attitude.

Man, he inspired me. He inspired me to live better. So much has changed since I first heard about him. My whole life is different now, and I know it has a lot to do with his story.

I can’t believe this. I just never considered the fact that he wouldn’t get better. I was naive. Cancer is relentless. But sometimes you just can’t help but believe in the fighter, believe in the fight. He was an incredible fighter. Nobody else could have lived the way he did, under these conditions, for as long as he did it. He was amazing. He’s in a better place now. But he’s missed. So, so missed.

It’s funny. You shouldn’t be able to miss someone you hardly know. What you miss is the presence, I guess. Andrew had that presence. His presence reminded me that we can’t take this for granted. We can’t skip a day and look off our relationships for a minute. We’ll regret it otherwise. You have to immerse yourself in the positive, find your love and embrace it. I didn’t fully realize this until I interpreted his story that way.

Andrew, you’re awesome. You were awesome, and you’ll continue to be awesome. The Huskies lost an All-Star tonight. But more than that, the world lost a good human being.

We’ll see you again someday. Thanks for everything.

Dawg Pack Dirt: Florida Atlantic University

Volume 8, Issue 3, November 13, 2011

Special to Seattle Sportsnet

Written by dedicated Dawg Pack members

The game:

-Florida Atlantic Owls @ Washington Huskies

-Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, Seattle, Wash.

-Sunday, November 13, 2011, 5:00 p.m. PST.

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According to police reports, former University of Washington basketball player Venoy Overton is a pimp. An alleged pimp, I should say. I mean, we already knew he was a pimp in the figurative sense long ago. But now he’s allegedly a real pimp. That would be allegedly hilarious if it wasn’t so allegedly unfortunate. Chances are, however, you’ve already found the hilarity in the situation and made a few jokes behind closed doors. It is what it is. Don’t feel bad about it.

We can all admit that Venoy has f**ked up pretty badly. Whether you’re a Husky fan or not is irrelevant. Getting caught pimping hos is never a good thing. This is just a reality of the world we live in.

On top of that, sympathy for the ex-Dawg has all but run out. No one gives a sh*t about Venoy Overton anymore, and that’s too bad. Not because I’m advocating compassion for the guy. But because it’s pretty damn sad that people will remember him as a bad individual.

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What is love?

Is love having a girlfriend that will perform sex acts on other people for money, then perform those same sex acts on you for free?

Is love the confidence that you can set your dove free, out into the world, out to explore the nether reaches of other gentlemen, knowing full well that she’ll return to you with exactly the same passion and exuberance she once departed with?

Could love be the sharing of finances? Finances that have been garnered through any means necessary, out of adoration for the other soul in your life. Finances handed over for the sake of the relationship, for the better of both of you. Finances that won’t just pay the bills, or put food on the table, or raise the kids, but also serve as a beautiful metaphor for two hearts beating as one.

Is love hanging out with one of your closest friends, having a conversation about life, knowing you’re baring all your emotions to this life-long confidant of yours, all while two willing females massage your respective genitalia with their mouths?

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The above post appeared on the Twitter feed of one Tony Wroten, Jr. late last night. The future University of Washington basketball player was reacting to a story by prep sports reporter Mason Kelley in The Seattle Times. The article investigated an academic cheating scandal involving Wroten and others at Seattle’s Garfield High School.

You know, it wouldn’t be a story if Wroten’s name wasn’t it. This, according to Wroten.

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Lisa Simpson.

That’s who I felt like when I warned you about Isaiah Thomas.

I warned you on Facebook (“Does IT really need to return to UW next year? What does he gain by doing that?”), I warned you on Twitter (“What does IT gain by coming back? Already a proven scorer and won’t get the chance to flash the PG skills next year w/ Gaddy/Wroten.”), and I warned you in Episode XIX of the podcast most of you don’t listen to (beginning at the 33:45 mark, in case you’re interested).

Think of Isaiah as the ever-shrinking O-Zone layer. Think of me as Lisa. And consider yourselves to be the good people of Springfield.

If we’re not careful, the O-Zone layer will disappear! I told you. I tried to warn you. But none of you listened. And now, sadly, the O-Zone layer is gone.

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Yes. There are moments when Lorenzo Romar gets outcoached. As fans, we’ve all experienced those moments. A turnover out of a timeout, a broken half-court offense, the veritable lack of anything that would resemble an inbounds play. We know. We’re not blind. We’re not dumb. We’re educated to the point of recognizing deficiencies. And if the head coach of the University of Washington men’s basketball team has one glaring deficiency, it is his ability to sketch up the X’s-and-O’s.

There’s no denying that this is perhaps Coach Romar’s greatest weakness. At times, this shortcoming can be maddeningly frustrating. You watch Romar’s Huskies try to combat a 2-3 zone defense, for example, and you want to rip your hair out. In the heat of the moment, you get angry. You get upset. You say stupid things. You tell your buddy that anyone could do a better job than this guy, that anyone could game-plan better than this. You might even call for the man’s head.

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Sometimes, as human beings, we attempt to mask our disappointment by feigning happiness over an unpleasant turn of events. It’s a method of coping that allows us to repress our true emotions and deal with the reality of the situation by creating a happier state in which to immerse ourselves. Frankly, I think it’s a bunch of crap.

I’m not one to run away from my true feelings, which is why I’m disappointed in the Husky basketball team. I am. I’m not willing to apologize for that, nor am I willing to fabricate satisfaction and congratulate the players or the coaching staff on a season well-done. Don’t get me wrong, they weren’t horrible, not by any means. But clearly the end result of their work was a bit of a letdown and there’s simply no getting around that.

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No further words are necessary.