Northwest Sports: In the Morning

A day off from Mariners fun left me hoping that the San Antonio/New Orleans game would turn into something worth watching. I kept my eye on the score, wondering if it would start to tighten up, but it never did, and I think I went an entire evening without watching a sporting event of any kind. Instead, I watched last week's 30 Rock, which was, sadly, the season finale. Thanks, writers strike.

Dan Raley with a touching piece on former NBAer Joe Pace, who's living in a Seattle homeless shelter.

The Times and P-I both preview the Storm season. The team feels it has a fresh start after a disappointing '07, writes Jayda Evans. The expectation is simple--a championship, writes Darren Fessenden. Greg Johns profiles tireless, talented Storm CEO Karen Bryant. New coach/GM Brian Agler has made some much-admired personnel moves, writes Fessenden. Last year's coach, Anne Donovan, is on to a new challenge, coaching the US Olympic Team, writes Art Thiel.

The Times has some capsules on each Storm player.

Jose Lopez' journey in the batting order--from #8 to #2 to #5, shows how much more confidence the Mariners have in him, writes Geoff Baker.

Three of Brazil's top players--Alexandre Pato, Robinho and Adriano--are on the roster for the May 31 game vs. Canada at Qwest. 30,000 tickets have already been sold, writes Jose Miguel Romero.

Wazzu starting safety Xavier Hicks, already suspended for three 2008 games, violated his work release. Hicks, the guy who put rubbing alcohol in his teammates' contact lens case, is back in the pokey.

Husky softball begins the NCAA tourney in an unfamiliar position--they don't have the #1-seed, writes Zach Landres-Schuur.