Seattle Sports: In the Morning

Carlos Silva signed, and everyone's saying $48 million for Silva is too much. I could give a shit. When you get a tasty steak at a restaurant, do you ask the waiter how much they paid for the beef? Unless the Mariners were going to drop ticket prices if they signed Silva for less, all I care about is whether the team is good. Silva makes the team better. Next topic.

According to a report in the Oregonian, Mike Bellotti is a candidate for the UCLA job, a fact that "came out of nowhere" according to the Times' Bob Condotta. Condotta wonders what would happen if Rick Neuheisel then came to Oregon. I will tell you--blood in the streets.

Chris Wilcox is upset about how the Sonics are using him. He tells the Times' Percy Allen: "I'm more of a pick-and-roll guy and I'm not in pick-and-rolls...That's how I was the last couple of years when I was effective. Now it's just like me just sitting around on the block...With me, to get a rhythm, I have to be involved, and a lot of times I feel like I'll just be running up and down and then I lose my focus in the game...it's kind of hard when your mind is not there and stuff is not going the way you want...If the guys on your team are not looking for you, you look at yourself like, 'What can I do to get open? What can I do to get the ball?' So when I do get it, there's more pressure on me because I want to score. I might not get a touch the whole game."

Pete of SupersonicSoul posts a list of point guards on teams the Sonics have beat (mostly crappy ones), and a list of point guards on teams that have beat the Sonics (either average or good ones). He concludes: "When the case history of the 2007-08 SuperSonics is written, and an analysis of the team’s needs is ascertained, it won’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that a new point guard is desperately needed."

"I'd be surprised if Seattle tried running the ball more than two or three times the whole game," says Brian Billick. As good as the Ravens' run defense is (#2 in the NFL) and as bad as the Hawks' run offense is (#24 in the NFL), Billick may be right. The P-I's Clare Farnsworth examines the Hawks' O-line problems.

Sunday's Hawks game will feature two of the best offensive tackles of all-time, Walter Jones and Jonathan Ogden, writes the Times' Jose Miguel Romero. Jones on Ogden: "Ogden is way up there to me. He was the guy before I came in. It's one of those things where I'm happy for him to be able to, at the tail end of his career, to go out there and dominate guys."

Baltimore's Troy Smith, last seen getting swarmed under by Florida defenders, will start Sunday against the Seahawks. The Hawks are 1-1 against Heisman trophy winning quarterbacks this year, having lost to Leinart and beaten Palmer.

Julian Peterson may be getting just a tad ahead of himself when he tells TNT's Frank Hughes: "I think we match up real well with [the Patriots]. Other teams, they might say, ooh, the Vikings, the run game, but if we stop the run game then they have to pass and then that is to our advantage. With the Patriots, I think we just match up better with athletic guys all across the board. We have big, tall safeties to kind of counter the jump ball when it comes to Randy. We have speed corners that can run around with the Stallworths, the Wes Welkers. Plus, we have good pass rushers where we don't have to blitz to create pressure. I think we match up very well with them. But time will tell." Or, perhaps, not. Still, I'd for sure like to see if Peterson's right.

A rushing TD by Shaun Alexander will put him at 100 for his career--only the eighth NFL back to do that, writes the P-I's Art Thiel. The others: Emmitt Smith, Marcus Allen, LaDainian Tomlinson, Walter Payton, Jim Brown, John Riggins and Marshall Faulk. Still, BOOOOOOOOO!

Baltimore LB Bart Scott on whether Alexander has lost a step: "I think they were saying the same thing about a guy like that who was in Baltimore that’s having a great season in Cleveland (Jamal Lewis). I’ve heard that story before, I’m not buying that piece of cheese."

The Washington/LSU game won't be shown on ESPN, as originally scheduled. It will be seen only on Fox Sports South, which you get if you have the Comcast or DirecTV sports pack. The Tigers lost by 20 at Wichita St. on Wednesday. Bob Condotta of the Times has pointed out that the LSU game will be the Dawgs last chance to make a "real statement" with a non-conference win, but they've already made a better statement by beating Utah. Utah is #72 in Ken Pomeroy's rankings, thought to be a close approximation of RPI. LSU is #91. (UW is #89).

Wazzu beat Citadel at Key Arena last night, 67-45. Gonzaga wasted 28 points by Jeremy Pargo, losing to Oklahoma 72-68 in Oklahoma City's Ford Center. Speaking of the Ford Center...

Oklahoma City citizens will vote on whether to raise $100 million to upgrade Ford Center--primarily, to build restaurants. $100 million of taxpayer funds so an NBA team can steal restaurant revenue from your local businesses. Smart move, Oklahoma!

In the only other Pac-10 game of the night, Cal beat Delaware St., 74-57.