Seattle Sports: In the Morning

Brandon Roy's father Ed (who's other son, Edward, was also a high school star) on Garfield phenom Tony Wroten: "He's so advanced, so mature at such a young age. Edward and Brandon were pretty raw as ninth-graders. Tony's game is so advanced, it just seems like he's been here and done all this already." This and more in a profile of Wroten in today's P-I by Michael McLaughlin.

Operating on the philosophy that rabid Mariner fans will read anything about Dave Niehaus, MLB.com's Jim Street interviews him about...Christmas? Yes, and we read the whole thing twice. Who hasn't wondered what Niehaus' favorite Christmas song is? Here he is lamenting the lost loves of his youth: "I can remember wanting an electric train, but my dad never had the money to get me one. To this day, I've never had an electric train. But I did get a red wagon when I was 5 or 6 years old, one of those Radio Red Flyers. I will never forget that. I was so happy."

Washington State moves up to #4 in the latest basketball polls. Gonzaga dropped out of the poll.

Lorenzo Romar tells TNT's Eric D. Williams he predicted Brandon Roy's breakout season: "He’s playing like an All-Star, which is no surprise to us. When we saw him in August playing against our guys, scrimmaging, this is what I thought would happen. I told the Trail Blazers, and they said, ‘We agree.’ They thought he might be one of the top 15 players in the league."

Holmgren says he's going to play Sunday's finale against Atlanta like a regular season game. Dave Boling of TNT urges him to reconsider.

Mariner V-P of player personnel Benny Looper talks publicly for the first time about his battle against multiple myeloma, to the Herald's Kirby Arnold.

Willingham interviewed Michigan defensive coordinator Ron English about the Husky job, reports the Times' Bob Condotta via RealDawg.com. Joe Chait of NYT magazine attended a Michgan fantasy camp and had this to say about English: "Ron English is awesome. When it comes to UM coaches there’s English and there’s everybody else. He has this Bo-like charisma and command. I was blown away by the guy."

Adrian Oliver transferred to San Jose St. He'll be eligible to play in the second half of next season.

Tonight's game to watch: Sonics @ Blazers, 5pm, ESPN [Stats LLC preview]