#thankyouwalter:
Walter Jones was to the Seahawks what gravity is to the Universe. Not flashy, not one to provide many memorable moments. Just a steady and indispensable force that holds everything together.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
"I tell people, the two greatest athletes I ever played with were Deion Sanders and Walter Jones." -- Robbie Tobeck, via Seahawks.com
"It was once said of Jim Brown that there are many superstars but only one Superman. It was my good fortune to watch Walter Jones ply his trade for over a decade -- and to understand, for a time, what Superman actually looked like." -- Doug Farrar, Yahoo Sports (full column on Jones.)
"I faced a number of other Hall of Famers who were fantastic players, and Walt was head and shoulders above them...It was like wrestling a bear for three hours." -- Patrick Kerney, via Seahawks.com.
"It will be a great honor to have our #12 hanging up next to Walter's #71." -- @JonAxell.
"It’s the feeling that you have when you have a left tackle that can play like he does, and you don’t have to monkey with your protections that much that way. You just can say, ‘OK, you’ve got that guy and we’ll help in other areas.’ Very few teams can say that.” -- Mike Holmgren, via TNT.
"'Invisible" was how Big Walt liked it. Wasn't invisible to the RE's who tried for years to get past him. Most overlooked runblkr." -- Jim Mora Jr., via Twitter.
"As much as we all love Steve Largent, he was never a DOMINANT player, and he was probably never the best player in the NFL at his position. Walter Jones is the indispensable man: He is the one player MOST responsible for the Seahawks golden age from 2003-2007." -- Johnny Peel, Dave Krieg's Strike Beard (full column on Jones for HOF.)
"Walter was probably a better athlete than everybody on the field other than the defensive backs," Bryce Fisher, via TNT.
"Walter will always be connected to us and will always be a huge part of the Seahawks family.” -- Pete Carroll, via Seahawks.com.
MORE JONES
This story, which Matt Hasselbeck told to the Times' Danny O'Neil, is awesome: "At Super Bowl XL in Detroit, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Joey Porter spent days leading up to the game working up a verbal lather. When the game started, Hasselbeck said he started talking back. That's when Jones told the man he'd be protecting not to worry. 'He just grabbed me,' Hasselbeck said. 'And it was maybe the loudest I'd heard him on the field. "Please don't. I got it. Don't worry. Don't say anything to this dude. I got this."'"
The Seahawks video tribute to Jones. Best part comes about three minutes in, from the 2005 NFC championship, of Jones blocking Panthers DE Mike Rucker about 15 yards downfield. Jones is like a truck with arms.
The team immediately retired Jones' #71.
The Seahawks asked fans to share thoughts on the Twitter hashtag #thankyouwalter. Pretty neat to read.
By declaration of Governor Gregoire today is Walter Jones Day in the State of Washington.
A photo of Jones' locker.
There will be no farewell press conference per Jones' request.
The stats: In 180 career starts, Jones was called for holding just 9 times. As Seahawks Addicts points out, Jones had as many Pro Bowls as holding calls. In 5,703 career pass plays, Jones allowed just 23 sacks.
IN OTHER NEWS
Seahawks
Pete Carroll and Bill Simmons got in another Twitter battle, it ended with Simmons accepting Carroll's invitation to visit Seattle this fall.
Patrick Kerney's post-football life will begin...at Columbia Business School? Apparently so, he was accepted this week.
Huskies
Two UW football players are under investigation for throwing beer bottles off of an apartment balcony.
The Huskies' new women's hoops assistant coach used to be Michelle Wie's agent. He's also the father of one of the best 8th graders in the country. Hmmmm....
Phil Steele ranked the % of offensive production each college football team has returning, and UW is 2nd with 99.13%. (via Bob Condotta)
Husky RB Brandon Yakaboski's career is over after he failed to recover from a knee injury, Coach Sark told Bob Condotta.
Mariners
CLIFF LEE STARTS TODAY WOOOOOO! I'll be there, Field Level sec. 143. Switched over to the third base side especially for this one.
Former M's catcher Miguel Olivo passed a kidney stone during a game Monday. Ew.
Sounders
The Sounders have reportedly traded MF Stephen King to DC United. King scored the game-winner in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal win over Houston last year.
Freddie Ljungberg told reporters he thinks the Sounders will do good things on offense against attacking Columbus on Saturday.
Other/National
Blazers are done for the year, losing Game 6 at home to Phoenix. Brandon Roy, playing less than a week after knee surgery, was just 4-16. "I couldn't imagine being in a suit, seeing these guys get knocked out of the playoffs. I just wanted to be out there with them," he told Blazers Edge after the game. Awesome.
The Mavs and Jason Terry are also done, after losing 3-2 to #7-seeded San Antonio.
San Antonio vs. Phoenix begins Monday night in Phoenix.
Jackson High kid Travis Snider had a homer and a double last night for Toronto, hopefully he'll start to pull out of a dreadful (8-64) early season slump.
TODAY'S ACTION
Terrence Ross and Terrence Jones announce their college choices, 3:30 p.m. (Live blog here.)
Atlanta @ Milwaukee, 4 p.m., ESPN (Milwaukee leads 3-2).
Lakers @ Zombie Sonics, 6:30 p.m., ESPN (Lakers lead 3-2).
Mariners vs. Texas, 7:10 p.m., Lee vs. Lewis.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Seattle Sports: In the Morning
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Seattle Sports: In the Morning
Dear reader: These morning roundup posts are an experiment; moving to a bigger platform soon. I'd love to hear what you think as I fiddle around with different formats and styles. Give me a shout at kolloen (at) gmail.
Sounders announce friendly opponents [team release]
They're no Barcelona and Chelsea, but Sounders' exhibition opponents Boca Juniors and Celtic are two of the most consistently successful clubs in the world. Boca has won 23 league championships in the Primera Division Argentina. Celtic's won 42 in the Scottish League. Boca comes to town May 26, Celtic on July 18.
Mariners 6, Royals 5 [box]
Ryan Rowland-Smith had a 5-1 lead with two outs in the sixth, and got Jason Kendall to pop up to short RF. Job well done, right? Nope. The pop up fell between Ichiro and Figgins, Mitch Maier followed with a game-tying triple, and Hyphen remains winless. Happily, the M's won the battle of the bullpens, getting a manufactured 8th inning run: Bradley double, Sweeney groundout, Rob Johnson sac fly. M's 11-11, 3rd place, 1 GB.
Quincy Pondexter and Danielle Lawrie are not dating [Jim Moore column]
Fans of eugenics will be disappointed to hear that future NBAer Pondexter and All-American pitcher Lawrie are just "good friends," in Lawrie's words. So much for what would be the best UW romantic combo since the glory days of Jon Brockman and Cristal Morrison. Lawrie tells Jim Moore that she and Pondexter might date, "if I wasn't so busy." Too busy? I don't remember college relationships being particularly time-intensive, but perhaps times have changed.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
"If the Caps blow Game 7, DC vaults past Seattle for Most Depressed Sports City honors. At least Seattle has Pete Carroll for comedy's sake." -- Bill Simmons (@sportsguy33), via Twitter.
"@sportsguy33 seattle depressed? Come on! The m's are 1.5 gms out of 1st & its an exciting time for the 'hawks! And the weather's great now!" -- Pete Carroll, via Twitter.
"Clemons-Cole-Mebane-Jackson is perhaps the worst starting defensive line in the NFL." -- John Morgan, Field Gulls (full column on Aaron Curry as a DE option.)
"It's incredible to me how much agility and arm strength (Jack) Wilson packs into a body that looks like it was built by sewing together various bits and limbs from a group of dead seven year olds." -- Jeff Sullivan, Lookout Landing (full game recap.)
"I remember telling (mom), 'I'm going to just do school and get a 9-to-5,' I just said, 'I'd had enough. I don't want to do this anymore. It's not worth it.'" -- Steve Zakuani, on almost quitting soccer at 15 (full profile by Joshua Meyers.)
"If you have built castles in the sky, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them." -- Walter Jones, via Twitter.
"Now my journey to Seattle starts!" -- Golden Tate, via Twitter.
"Here's something for ya. The next time the M's play a baseball game, their starting pitcher will be Cliff Freakin' Lee!" -- @HarveyRoad
"I like the fact that the #Mariners are trying to win a pennant with a 23 man roster, but it's time to cut Sweeney and Junior and get serious." -- @michaelcbarr
COLUMN OF THE DAY
Topic: Don Wakamatsu and his "belief systems."
Dave Cameron's take: Wak has confidence in his decisions and he sticks by them. When you don't agree with him, his stubborness can be annoying, but the benefits (stability) outweigh the costs.
My take: Completely agree, and am reminded of a quote I just read, from a legendary European soccer coach named Bela Guttman. Said Guttman: "A coach is like a lion tamer. He dominates the animals, in whose cage he performs his show, as long as he deals with them with self-confidence. But the moment he becomes unsure of his hypnotic energy, and the first hint of fear appears in his eyes, he is lost."
IN OTHER NEWS
Seahawks
The Hawks released two guys I've never heard of and signed two guys I've never heard of. Enlighten yourself.
Here's a list of all 24 Seahawks draftees/undrafted free agents who'll be at the minicamp that starts Friday.
Jeff Feagles, the Seahawks' punter from 1998-02 (between Tuten and Rouen), is retiring after 22 NFL seasons. Feagles also punted for Philly, and I always found it amusing to say "Jeff Feagles, late of the Eagles..." I'll miss saying that. Not sure anyone else will.
Huskies
The UW men's golf team won their second consecutive Pac-10 championship. UW was seven strokes down coming into Wednesday's final round, but stormed back to win by 3.
Husky DE Andre Pulu plead guilty to second-degree assault, reports Bob Condotta. Pulu could get nine months. The Huskies haven't announced what Pulu's status with the team/university is, and won't for a couple of days.
The Pac-10 announced the matchups for the Big XII challenge. The Huskies flip-flop last year's games, hosting Texas Tech 12/4 and visiting Texas A&M 12/11.
Husky baseball had 5 homers in a 12-4 win over Gonzaga.
Mariners
Jack Wilson made an unbelievable throw from deep short in the bottom of the 8th, watch it here.
Some of the M's top hitting prospects are really raking, writes Larry Stone.
Seriously, why the hell did some Kansas City fans boo Mike Sweeney? You know though, if I were a Royals fan, I think I'd boo everything up to and including the peanut guy.
Matthew Carruth of FanGraphs points out that Griffey/Sweeney's DH production so far would rank 9th among NL pitchers. Probably also 9th among NAIA 3rd basemen, adult fast-pitch catchers, and minor league groundskeepers. Still -- 1 game back!
Sounders
Apparently picking Celtic as a friendly opponent is controversial in soccer circles. This article in Prost Amerika Soccer goes into it a little bit, but I still don't understand exactly what the objection is. Something about how Celtic is known for "profiting from the sectarian, ethnic and racial divisions in Glasgow." Huh? How? Pardon my ignorance. Am confused.
Ivy League mighty mite Mike Fucito continues to struggle with "a really strange injury," as Sigi Schmid describes it. Fucito has got fluid under his knee that won't go away. Let's hope he gets back on the field soon, we don't want him being the soccer version of Moonlight Graham.
The Columbus Crew's leading scorer may not play when the Crew visit Qwest Saturday night.
National/Other
#8-seeded Montreal knocked #1-seed Washington out of the NHL playoffs. Could the #1-seed Lakers be next?
Denver stayed alive, beating Utah 116-102 to pull the series to 3-2. C'mon Nuggets! Win it for George!
Jamal Crawford's first playoff season is in deep trouble after the Hawks lost a home Game 5 to Milwaukee to fall behind 3-2 in the series. Crawford shot 4-18 in the game.
Ken Griffey Sr. is hitting coach for the Dayton Dragons this year. Players, including Cascade High's Brian Pearl, are in awe.
Inter advanced to the Champions League final against Bayern Munich on May 22.
Joe Posnanski's column on poor Zach Greinke includes a dig at Horacio Ramirez!
TODAY'S ACTION
Mariners off today.
The Seattle Times is holding an online chat with Seahawks GM John Schneider at 2 p.m.
Dallas @ San Antonio, 5 p.m., TNT (San Antonio leads 3-2).
Phoenix @ Portland, 7:30 p.m., TNT (Phoenix leads 3-2).
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Seattle Sports: In the Morning
Top o' the Mornin': UW Prez Emmert leaves UW to head NCAA, Jamal Crawford wins NBA Sixth Man Award, Mariners win.
Your future rages against the inequities and iniquities of college athletics will be directed at a Fife kid and UW grad--Mark Emmert is the new executive director of the NCAA. Emmert always seemed to have a good grasp on how important college athletics is, but also the ability to keep it in perspective. Still, hard to say for sure what kind of NCAA president he'll be.
Rainier Beach grad Jamal Crawford is the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year. Fellow Metro Leaguer Jason Terry finished second in the voting, but no hard feelings as Terry won the award last year. With Aaron Brooks having won Most Improved Player, that's two major postseason awards by 206ers. REPRESENT!
Mariners 3, Royals 2 [box]. It took perhaps the lamest extra base hit in team history, but the M's rallied past the Royals with three in the 8th. Jose Lopez' game-tying "double" was a comebacker that ricocheted off the pitcher's mitt into centerfield. Milton Bradley later walked to drive in the go-ahead run. Props to the bullpen, which pitched 3.2 scoreless innings. M's 10-11, 3rd place, 2 GB.
IN OTHER NEWS...
UW's Friday night spring game will be live on KJR and tape-delayed on UWTV and FSN. Here's how to watch, courtesy of Bob Condotta.
Milton Bradley had some more fun with the left-field line fans in Kansas City, pulling the old "fake toss the ball" trick at them. Good times. Via Lookout Landing, here's Bradley blowing a kiss to a heckler after the game.
Got a Jeep Wrangler? Jon Brockman would like to buy it.
Russell Okung will wear Steve Hutchinson's old number, reports Mike Sando.
Will Conroy and his Rio Grande Valley Vipers won the D-League Championship last night.
Neat story on Storm coach Brian Agler's hoops-playing daughter Taylor. "There are days I say, 'I don't want you to coach me!' but his dad coached him, so he gets it. He gives me time to cool off, then we're back at it."
The Moyer Foundation is offering a suite to Saturday's Sounders game for $1,500 obo. Proceeds to The Duck Tour Fire Assistance Fund The Moyer Foundation.
The SonicsGate guys will be featured on ESPN's Outside the Lines today, Sonics Central says.
The Cavs and Celtics both won, advancing to play each other in the second round. Dallas survived with a home win, pulling their series with San Antonio to 3-2.
The Zombie Sonics got stomped by the Lakers, 111-87 [box], to take a 3-2 series lead. Game 6 is Friday in OKC at 6:30 p.m.
He ended up without a win, but Zach Greinke has now pitched 29 consecutive scoreless innings against the Mariners.
UW baseball beat Gonzaga 11-1.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING...
"Best of luck to Mark Emmert, he will do great things for the NCAA." -- Steve Sarkisian (daily top 5).
"Congrats 2 UW president Mark Emmert for being named President of the NCAA. It was a honor to have a good friendship wit him hes a GREAT dude" -- Isaiah Thomas, via Twitter.
"President Emmert is one of the most impressive persons I've ever met. Obviously, you hate to see someone go that is that talented and so supportive. But at the same time, it is an unbelievable oppotunity for him. The NCAA will be better as a result of his leadership" -- Lorenzo Romar
"When it comes to support within reason for big-time college athletics, Mark Emmert is about as good as it gets for an athletic director and head football coach." -- Art Thiel (full column on Emmert's departure).
"(Snell) showed all the same problems he’s always had--can’t get lefties out, struggles to command his fastball--and will now have to try to salvage his season in relief." -- Dave Cameron, USS Mariner (full game recap).
"He is ... Ken Griffey Jr. You don't just dump him like Brad Wilkerson because he had a bad April." -- Larry Stone, Seattle Times (full blog post)
"You're supposed to get booed on the road. That's like a badge of honor." -- Milton Bradley (full Geoff Baker game recap).
"It's starting to look like so goes Milton Bradley, so go the Mariners." -- @pokano.
"Milton Bradley is awesome." -- @SeattleDawg18
"Milton Bradley is a douchebag." -- @darren_greene
"You couldn’t have scripted a better draft for us." -- Tod Leiweke (full comments, via Ben Malcolmson.)
"I take pride in being from Seattle. I pay attention to the Huskies. I pay attention to the Seahawks. I love to see what's going on up there. To have my first Senior Open at Sahalee will be a great, great week." -- Fred Couples (full story on Couples by the Times' Scott Hanson).
TODAY'S ACTION
M's @ Royals, 11:10 a.m., Rowland-Smith vs. Meche.
Inter @ Barcelona, Champions League Semi (2nd leg), 11:45 a.m., FSN. (Inter won 1st leg 3-1).
UW baseball vs. Gonzaga, 2 p.m., Husky Ballpark
Bucks @ Hawks, 5 p.m., TNT (Series tied 2-2).
Jazz @ Nuggets, 7:30 p.m., TNT (Utah leads 3-1).
Monday, April 26, 2010
Seattle Sports: In the Morning
Mariners lose, Dwight Howard ditches Aaron Goodwin, Kentridge phenom Gary Bell Jr. says he'll attend Gonzaga.
Kansas City 3, Mariners 1 [box]. Felix Hernandez pitched well enough to win...if he pitched for a different team. The anemic M's didn't manage a hit off Kyle Davies until the 6th, and didn't score until the 9th. Milton Bradley returned to LF, going 1-4 with a double. M's 9-11, 3rd place, 3 GB.
The state's B&O coffers just got a little smaller, as Dwight Howard has left Seattle-based agent Aaron Goodwin. Howard will have friends and family manage his career, just like LeBron James did after leaving Goodwin. Silver lining: It's an excuse for Goodwin to update his client list, which includes retirees Chris Webber, Gary Payton and ... Todd MacCullough? For what, his pinball career?
Kentridge shooting guard Gary Bell says he'll play college ball at Gonzaga. Bell, who'll be a senior next year, was also considering UCLA and Washington. Bell will join Stephen Gray as the only Zags from the Seattle/Tacoma metro area. The Zags' success has been achieved mostly without Puget Sound kids; the only 206 star during their run is Erroll Knight, who actually started his college career at UW.
IN OTHER NEWS
Just to recap: Ryan Howard, 30, 5 years, $125M. Felix Hernandez, 23, 5 years, $78M.
The Mariners are now 2-9 on the road.
Ichiro is hitting just .172 against LHP (he's hitting .385 against RHP). For his career, Ichiro actually hits LHP better than RHP.
Carlos Silva had another great start last night, going 7 and allowing 3 ER against the Nationals. Silva's ERA dropped to 1.73, and the Cubs won in extra innings.
When Cliff Lee comes back, Ian Snell will move to the bullpen and Jesus Colome will go to Tacoma, reports Larry LaRue.
The Blazers had an 18-4 lead, but collapsed to lose 107-88 [box] and fall behind the Suns 3-2. Brandon Roy was just 2-7 in 19 minutes off the bench. Game 6 is Thursday in Portland, time TBA.
Magic beat the Bobcats, they sweep the series. Bucks beat the Hawks, that series is tied 2-2.
Friday night's Husky spring game will be a regular game, except with no kickoffs or punts, Sark told Bob Condotta.
Of the undrafted Huskies, Paul Homer is most likely to get a tryout, tweets Condotta.
Stewart Mandel of SI with a long column on Jake Locker and his decision to stay at Washington.
Quincy Pondexter has hired an agent, Bob Myers of Wasserman Media Group. Percy Allen talked to Myers.
Seven-handicapper Kenny Evans of Tacoma is one of five finalists for the Golf Digest/U.S. Open Challenge in June, writes Todd Milles. If Evans wins an online vote, he'd golf with Drew Brees, Wayne Gretzky and Mark Wahlberg for one round at a Pebble Beach course set as if for U.S. Open play.
Everyone's lauding the Seahawks draft, but do post draft report cards mean anything at all? Check out how Mel Kiper's '05 draft report card turned out.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
"I don't think now is the time to panic." -- Don Wakamatsu, via Geoff Baker.
"Can we bench Junior with all the promos coming up? #mariners #handcuffedbybobbleheads" -- @wbboyd.
"Mariners offense where are you? Echo..echo......echo.." -- @Rodeochihuahua.
"Where can you even buy the ugly ass hat that Dave sims has on? Is there some sort of old man hat store?" -- @SeattleDawg18.
"Just arrived back in Seattle. Officially the worst road trip of my career...thankfully tomorrow is the start of something new." Sounder D James Riley, via Twitter.
"I've had two nightmares in my life that I can remember. One was that I was getting chased around a department store by an invisible Predator. The other was that a then-current girlfriend called me to say she was pregnant. Yuniesky Betancourt striking out on a curve in the dirt but reaching base anyway on a Rob Johnson throwing error was like getting chased around a department store by an invisible Predator while my girlfriend calls to tell me she's pregnant." -- Jeff Sullivan, Lookout Landing (full M's game recap).
"Kam Chancellor should start in week one. Chancellor exhibits solid awareness, and Seattle is better served maximizing the sweet spot where his skills and tools align, and not awaiting incremental improvement to his skills while burning his youth." -- John Morgan, Field Gulls (full scouting report on Chancellor, the Hawks' 5th round pick).
"(Pete Carroll and John Schneider) were legit last week. They turned the draft into a declaration that change will be a good thing during this new regime. And though it's a tenuous emotion, they've acquired trust from a fan base that feared the worst just a few days ago." -- Jerry Brewer, Seattle Times (full column on Seahawks draft).
"Don’t be shocked in the next month or two to see future Baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. join (Walter) Jones on the sidelines. Junior’s swan song with the Mariners has been wonderful in so many ways, but he’s not even average anymore, and one would hate to see Junior wait so long to pull the plug that management has to do it for him." -- Howie Stalwick, Kitsap Sun (full notes column.)
TODAY'S ACTION
Bayern Munich @ Lyon, UEFA Champions League Semi, 11:45 a.m., FSN (2nd leg, BM leads 1-0).
Miami @ Boston, 4 p.m., NBA-TV (BOS leads 3-1).
Chicago @ Cleveland, 5 p.m., TNT (CLE leads 3-1).
M's @ Kansas City, 5:10 p.m., Snell v. Greinke.
UW baseball vs. Gonzaga, 6 p.m. at Husky Ballpark.
Tacoma Rainiers vs. Salt Lake, Doubleheader!, 6 p.m. at Cheney Stadium
Detroit @ Phoenix, 6 p.m., VERSUS (Game 7 of NHL first round).
San Antonio @ Dallas, 6:30 p.m., NBA-TV (DAL leads 3-1).
Zombie Sonics @ Lakers, 7:30 p.m., TNT (Series tied 2-2).
