OK, so I'm coming off a cold, with a monster headache, which makes me grumpy anyway, but this week in sports has not made it any better, believe me.

My bracket for the NCAA's totally blew up in my face.  "nuff said.

Baseball:  Stud closer JJ Putz down with a muscle strain that caused him to blow his first save of the year.  On the DL for at least two weeks.  Along with the other weaknesses in the bullpen, this can bode nothing but ill (witness four losses in a row to the O's, of all people).

Then came the hip discomfort  of newly acquired ace pitcher Erik Bedard, causing him to be scratched from his scheduled second outing in Baltimore (his former team home).  Thankfully, that turned out to be nothing, at least THIS time.  But his history of injuries the past few years is not terribly promising.

Basketball:  See the above regarding the NCAA's.

NBA:  "NBA?  Who are they?"  The NBA is dead to me now, and I think that everyone knows why.  I will never watch another NBA game on TV after the regular season is over this year, nor buy tickets to any game, nor buy any of their merchandise, and will purposely boycott any and all companies that sponsor the NBA with my personal dollars.  (I will, however, continue to support our local WNBA team).

My major entertainment for this summer is going to be watching and listening to how the Commish and others in the NBA hierarchy try to weasel their way out of the coming embarrassment  (during the NBA finals in June) that will be the City of Seattle vs Seattle Supersonics Basketball Club, NBA, et al.  It could get very interesting.

The weather:  I know, I know, I live in Seattle, OK.  But even I would like to see the sun at least one day a week.  They tell me it is coming tomorrow or Friday.  I hope so.

Football:   The 'Hawks just might be going to really suck this year.  Since it is Holmy's last year, they should strive to do just the opposite.

And, finally, they have come up with a  name for Seattle's new MLS team and it is.......drum roll,please.  Almost exactly the same as the old minor league team..Seattle Sounders FC (the FC is all that is new).

On that note, I'm done grumping for today.

Seahawks place kicker Josh Brown has declared that he will be doing something a bit unusual to keep himself warm in between kicks during the NFC Divisional Playoff game at Lambeau Field the day after tomorrow.

What could that be, you might well ask? 

He will be wearing battery powered heaters inside of the down lined rain pants that he wears over his uniform when not needed on the field..... so that he can keep his kicking leg warm.  They are part of his hunting gear during the off season.

Upon further reflection, I guess that the team is paying him enough for the use of that leg (not to mention the occasional use of his tackling skills) that maybe he SHOULD keep it plenty warm, because 3 points might make the difference between winning and losing in Green Bay--it has before on quite a number of occasions.

On hearing about Mr. Brown's plans, my usually staid 27 year old daughter said, "Well, good luck with that.  He had better hope that he doesn't go getting an electric shock in any part of his anatomy where he might find it excrutiatingly painful."

And, insofar as anyone can tell, this is not a violation of the rules.

This in contrast to Julian Peterson, who says that he will be out on the field in short sleeves (brrrrrrr).  I know that he will be busy running after Brett Favre most of the early afternoon, but here is hoping that he won't be getting any frostbite whilst doing it.

(Note to male readers:  OK, so what iis it with you men that you feel you have to prove your manliness in such a way?  Thanks for your kind attention to this matter).

And, just for the record:  The cartoon at this URL shows what will be this year's version of "We want the ball and we're gonna score..."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/seahawks
/2004117494_hawkcartoon10.html

As I sit here thinking about taking Ultra up on his challenge from a week or so ago, and possibly writing a retroactive letter to Santa Claus about all of our local sports needs for the next year, I realize that I can sum my predictions for the year up in one great big word…….

Now, let’s take it from the top, and you will see what I mean:

Basketball:  I don’t care how much he and his lackies deny it, “Cash Us” Clay Bennett very clearly came into town and demolished what little bit of good there was to the Seattle Supersonics, just as a means of making Seattlites reach a point where they barely give a flying flip about the team and the fact that he has the moving vans almost packed and ready to take off to OKC as soon as the NBA’s board of governors gives him permission to do so.

The Sonics can barely win their way out of a paper bag any more after trading Ray Allen to the suddenly resurgent Boston Celtics, and letting Rashard Lewis get away to the Orlando Magic.  About the only good thing about this team is Kevin Durant, and he should be the league’s Rookie of the Year for the way he is trying to carry the team on his back.  Can you say “deliberate tanking” everyone?

The Federal Court hasn't even started to hear motions on the city of Seattle’s litigation against Bennett and the Sonics ownership for trying to bail out on the last two years of their lease for the Key Arena, and the other two class action suits that have been filed against them for ticket fraud (he DID, after all, make some promises to season ticket holders that he didn’t really have much of an intention of fulfilling), and already Mr. Bennett has convinced the City of OKC that they need to raise $100MM to upgrade the nearly brand new Ford Center against the POSSIBILITY that the team might be relocating there, for which the city will be holding a referendum vote on an additional city sales tax to support the renovation.  (Note to OKC:  If you approve it, he isn’t going to spend any of the team’s money for that renovation; and will be back in less than five years asking for $500MM more (again none of the team’s money to be added) for a totally brand new arena.

Pfooey, Clay.  The people of OKC really want the Hornets back anyway.  Hopefully, while you are tied up in court, Mr. Shinn will bring them back, since the league is not happy with their attendance in NOLA since their return, and you won’t have any place in OK to put the OKC whatever their names will be.  There are people here who want to buy the team back to keep it here.  Get off the dime and sell to them.

Baseball:  Carlos Silva??  Carlos Silva???  OK, so we got a pitcher from the Twins.  Note to Silly Billy Bavasi—–WRONG PITCHER, DUDE!!!!  You were supposed to be dealing for Carlos’ best friend, Johan, remember?  What’s up with that?  (Note to Carlos:  Please go and have a talk with your best friend and convince him to tell the Twinkies management that he would like to be reunited with you.)  The only thing good about this offseason is that the Angels didn’t get a whole heck of a lot better.  Yes, they got Torii Hunter and Jon Garland, but Vlad is getting a little brittle lately, and sending Orlando Cabrera off to Chicago isn’t going to do a whole lot for Vlad’s protection in the line up.  (Torii isn’t exactly getting any younger or faster or better with the bat, you know; and Jon Garland is a solid middle of the rotation pitcher  more or less).

I’m here to predict that, barring a miracle like the one that happened in NYC in 1969, I will have quit watching local baseball games on TV by the middle of July, and probably won’t have attended one in person after opening day.

Football:  *sigh*  Methinks Mike Holmgren retireth after the Hawks get knocked out of the playoffs (hopefully in the second round, not the first), and we have son of “Playoffs? Playoffs?  Don’t even talk about the playoffs!” as the new head coach (at least until Ty Willingham gets the axe at the UW, and Mora the Younger goes off to  take over that gig).  He’s done a great job with the defensive secondary this year, but is he ready to be a head coach again?  I dunno, but something deep within me says that the Hawks window of opportunity is about to slam shut with a resounding ####, and they go back to being the Hawks of old for a few years (translation:  not so hot).

 Now that I have totally depressed myself about the state of professional sports in Seattle, I think I will go off and watch a T’Birds game.  At least they are playoff bound, and stand a pretty good chance of winning the American Division of the WHL again this year.

2007 has been thus far, and promises to continue to be, a year of the good, the bad and the colossally ugly in terms of Seattle sports.    And a little bit laughable, too.

This, for example, is just plain laughable.  Tony LaRussa to be the next manager of the Mariners, and bring Walt Jocketty with him as GM in a package deal?  Not gonna happen.

On the other hand, this is almost too painful to imagine, so maybe the previous paragraph is not so far fetched after all.

THE GOOD:

The Mariners when they were on their hot streak.  The starting rotation was going fairly deep into games and doing a good job of keeping opponents off balance; the bullpen was sterling; the hitters all seemed to be clicking at once; and the defense was superb.  For the first time in nearly six years, the team was in contention deep into August, hopes were high--if they couldn't catch the Angels for the division, surely they could take the wild card (which might have been preferable anyway, given the WS winning habits of wild card teams the past several years). Mariners games were popular again, people were talking about them on the streets and in the buses.

The Seattle Sounders have advanced to the USL Championship Round after convincing series victories in both the divisional round and the semi-finals. I'm not a soccer fan but, hey, it's a good thing for Seattle sports, no?

The Seahawks have started the season 2-1 (though they SHOULD have been 3-0 but for that stupid little mistake in the last minute of the Cardinals game two weeks ago).  While not looking as good as they could/should, they are looking better than a lot of people have given them credit for.

THE BAD:

The last two and a half weeks of the Mariners schedule.  What was humming along well has fallen into a shambles reminiscent of the past three years---losing, losing, losing.  Everything that was hot has grown terribly, terribly cold.  Playoff hopes over, and the inevitable round of "what if's" and "what will happen in the offseason" already beginning. 

Will there be a new field manager next year?  Probably not.  John McLaren has been in the organization too long for them to dump him after just a few months (mid-season next year if things don't get better, though, is another story).  Will there be a new GM next year?  If my (and a lot of other people's) prayers are answered with a yes, there will be, but I'm not holding my breath until I turn blue.  Will there be any constructive trades, FA signings and/or rebuilding in the off-season?  Not if the answer to question number two is "no".

Shaun Alexander's wrist fracture.  It was thought to be just a sprain, suffered in the season opener.  Turns out, the team announced yesterday, that he has a fracture.  He plans to continue to play with the game day cast he has been wearing for the past three weeks, but this cannot be a good sign.  Last year it was the foot fracture, now the wrist (has anyone checked this young man for osteoporosis or Vitamin D deficiency?  If not, why not?).  He HAS to keep playing for now, because his back up Maurice Morris was also injured in the opener and may not be back for a while.  All in all, though, this is worrisome.

UW football:  After beginning with two wins, they have now lost twice (though I won't complain much about one of them, because it came at the hands of my beloved Buckeyes).  This was to be the season that the Huskies returned to decent standings.  We'll see.

THE DOWNRIGHT UGLY:

This man and his friends,

and all that they have done to turn this city and the NBA/Sonics situation into a contentious battleground.  (If you think I'm joking, head on over to the story about the city's lawsuit against the Sonics on foxsports.com's NBA section and read some of the 17 (yes, I said SEVENTEEN) pages of comments, which consist mainly of Seattlites and Oklahomians calling each other everything but nice over this issue (and I admit that I got some licks of my own in, simply because the whole thing ticks me off royally for the way it has been (mis)handled).

I used to work at the Key Arena during Sonics and Storm seasons; I support both of the teams; and I'm going to miss the heck out of Kevin Calabro's commentary when the team is no longer here (crosses fingers and hopes that he will come in to either join or replace Dave Niehaus on Mariners commentary, because he is a pretty good baseball man, too).

As I have said on numerous occasions in the past, I am against taxpayer funding for a new arena for the Sonics.  If the new owners are astute enough businessmen that they could put together the $350MM to buy the teams, then they should be astute enough to be able to put together a private financing package to get the $500+MM arena that they want with no trouble whatsoever, and minimum burden to taxpayers that are already hurting.  I'd like both of the teams to stay here, but not at the expense of another 2-3+ percent in sales tax or whatever else it might take to finance another arena.

What it could be like in OKC if the teams end up there:  Lauren Jackson has already said that she will NOT go to OKC if the Storm is moved there. The loss of a two time league MVP is never a good thing for a team.  Kevin Durant is about the only draw that the Sonics have right now, with Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis having departed for other pastures.  Sure, the NO/OKC Hornets played to frequently sold out houses during their tenure in OKC, but that was probably as much due to the novelty of having a pro franchise in town for the first time as anything else.  If this losing team goes there and continues to lose, will they continue to play to sold out houses on a consistent basis?  I hardly think so--why pay upwards of $200 per for tickets to watch a losing team in person when you can do it at home on television for free?  (Oh, wait, will the team have as good a media contract/coverage in the vastly smaller OKC media market as they do here in Seattle?  Again, one can't be too sure).  Oh, yes, by the way, if the team is relocated to OKC or anywhere else, the SuperSonics name should stay right here in Seattle where it has been for the past 40+ years--why should they be allowed to have the goodwill and history attached to that name--let them think up their own name for the new team.

There you have it, my friends, my version of the good, the bad and the ugly, early Seattle Tuesday morning style.

Drop on by any old time.

Ah, yes, here we are again.  The time of year when three or more sports overlap and it seems that all of the games that I am interested in are on the tube at the same time.  The TiVO can record one and I can watch another, but the problem is that today there are five on at the same time, and we only have two TV's in the apartment and I'm not swift enough to run from room to room to keep up on all of them at the same time.

There is the replay of last night's WNBA playoff game between the Storm and the Phoenix Mercury that I didn't get to see when it was on live. I already knew the outcome, but just hadn't seen the game, so it is kind of down around number five on my priority list for channel hopping.

But the Mariners/Rangers game started at 5:30 our time,, followed at 6:00 by both the Seahawks/Vikings game and the Angels/Jays game, and the Yankees/Tigers game was in the mix in that time frame as well.

The problem with all of this is that just when it is time to change channels for the next 10 minute stretch of catching up, something important and/or exciting happens in the game of the moment.  But, if I don't change the channel, I miss something equally important and/or exciting in the next game on the surfing schedule.  And, to make things worse, college football is about to toss itself into the mix any day now.  What's a body to do?  I can't, unfortunately, clone myself.  My daughter likes baseball and football, but not enough to watch the games and report on them for me (now, if hockey were on right now, I wouldn't have any problems, because she loves to watch hockey--just against the possibility that some colossal fight will occur sometime during the game (I think she is a closet Canadian)).

So, on I continue to go with my schizophrenic television watching schedule, never really knowing everything that happens in any particular game of a Saturday or Sunday.  If this were the last three years, I would say that it would be over in about another three weeks, and all I would have to worry about would be college football mostly on Saturdays, and pro football mostly on Sundays.  But this year, it is beginning to look like there might just be Mariners baseball into at least the first week or two of October, if not farther (please Lord????????), so I might just have to figure out some other means of keeping current with all of the important games.

Meanwhile, in other more amusing news, I could not help but ROTF and LMAO when I read this and this .  It looks like Clay "not quite a truth teller" Bennett and his cronies might finally be looking down the barrel of what they have coming to them,. After all, it's not like those of us who really pay attention didn't know that he never really meant to keep the Sonics in Seattle from the get-go, but now Commissioner Stern has spoken with the $250K fine for Aubrey McClendon and could very well put the proverbial bug into the board of governors of the NBA that Oklahoma City will just have to wait a while longer for an NBA team, and it could very well not be the Sonics that they end up with.

Oh well, my friends, the Hawks just scored another TD and it is time to check in on the M's,  who were down two runs the last time I peeked in on them in the seventh inning, then on to the Angels and Jays who were tied 2-2 the last time I looked in about the fifth inning.  Here's to productive sports viewing for you all this fine Saturday evening.