Last Week: Andrew (3-1), Dan (2-2), Joe (2-2), Matthew (2-2)
Overall: Dan (54-10), Matthew (53-11), Andrew (53-11), Joe (49-15)
Week 12:
Washington—The Good Guys
Stanford—The Good Guys
USC—The Good Guys
-Dan
Filed under Pac-10 Outlook
In a dog eat dog conference, earning 6 wins is proving to be a tough task for everyone except Oregon, Stanford, and Arizona. USC is of course out of bowl discussion, as is Washington State and Arizona State. That leaves California (5-5), Oregon State (4-5), UCLA (4-5), and Washington (3-6) fighting to earn 6 wins. As it stands nows, the Pac-10 bowl picture looks like this:
Tostitos BCS National Championship Game: Oregon vs. BCS team Rose Bowl Game: Stanford vs. Big Ten Valero Alamo: Arizona vs. Big 12 Bridgepoint Education Holiday: California vs. Big 12 Hyundai Sun: No team MAACO Las Vegas: No team Kraft Fight Hunger: No team
Remaining Schedules:
California: vs. Stanford, vs. UW
Oregon State: vs. USC, @Stanford, vs. Oregon
UCLA: @UW, @ASU, vs. USC
Washington: vs. UCLA, @WSU, @Cal
Oregon State is all but dead in this discussion, as is UCLA. The Beavers would need to win 2 of 3 against the top 3 teams in the conference. UCLA could very well get 2 more wins in their final 3, and sneak into the Sun Bowl, however, a loss to Cal earlier makes a Holiday Bowl bid impossible assuming Cal wins 1 more game. If Cal loses to Stanford and beats UW, which is the most likely scenario, they will play in the Holiday Bowl assuming Stanford goes to the Rose Bowl. Ironically, if Cal beats Stanford and UW, they will most likely end up in the Sun Bowl, rather than the Holiday because Stanford would be knocked out of Rose Bowl contention. Finally, Washington has the most simple route to a bowl game. They must win all 3 of their final games to be bowl eligible. And the reward for doing so would be terrific. Here’s why…
If UW beats UCLA and Cal, and Oregon and Stanford handle their remaining games, the Huskies will be playing for a Holiday Bowl bid in the Apple Cup on 12/4. Believe big!
-Dan
Filed under Huskies Football, Pac-10 Outlook
Last Week: Andrew (5-0), Dan (5-0), Joe (4-1), Matthew (4-1)
Overall: Dan (52-8), Matthew (51-9), Andrew (50-10), Joe (47-13)
Week 11:
Oregon St.—The Good Guys
Stanford—The Good Guys
Oregon—The Good Guys
USC—Andrew; Arizona—Dan, Matthew, Joe
-Dan
Filed under Pac-10 Outlook
As frustrating as the Dawgs have been to watch the past 3 weeks, it is easy to forget that they are just coming off a 7 game stretch in which 6 of the opponents were ranked at the time. The one unranked opponent, ASU, was obviously no gimme either.
I wonder if any other team has had a murderer’s stretch like that this season. UW went 2-5, which is about what I’d expect. Here is a look at these brutal 7 games with the ranked teams in bold.
Sat, Sept 18 vs #8 Nebraska L 56-21 1-2 (0-0)
Sat, Oct 2 @ #18 USC W 32-31 2-2 (1-0)
Sat, Oct 9 vs Arizona State L 24-14 2-3 (1-1)
Sat, Oct 16 vs #24 Oregon State W 35-34 2OT 3-3 (2-1)
Sat, Oct 23 @ #18 Arizona L 44-14 3-4 (2-2)
Sat, Oct 30 vs #13 Stanford L 41-0 3-5 (2-3)
Sat, Nov 6 @ #1 Oregon L 53-16 3-6 (2-4)
It gets easier starting next Thursday, and with 3 winable games upcoming, 6-6 is still within reach. So, can the football team repeat what the basketball team accomplished last year? Remember how low that team was after a home loss to USC, which dropped their conference record to 7-7? I sure do, partly because I was at that game. Then remember them reeling off 9 wins in a row after that? I realize the football Huskies are a far cry from the basketball Huskies, but I have a funny feeling this season has a long way to go.
-Dan
Filed under Huskies Football
Last Week: Andrew (4-1), Dan (5-0), Joe (3-2), Matthew (5-0)
Overall: Andrew (45-10), Dan (47-8), Joe (43-12), Matthew (47-8)
Week 10:
California—Andrew, Matthew, Dan; Washington St.—Joe
Oregon St.—The Good Guys
Arizona—Matthew; Stanford—Andrew, Dan, Joe
USC—The Good Guys
-Dan
Filed under Pac-10 Outlook
You just knew Oregon and Uncle Phil would do something a little different with the new Matthew Knight Arena that’s scheduled to open in a couple of months. Well, check out the photo (below). The floor was designed by Nike and it’s supposed to evoke the image of a forest. Hmmm. Don’t know if I’m thinking about a forest when I look at that picture, but whatever.
-Percy Allen, Seattle Times
To me it looks like a major paint spill accident. Seriously, did Phil Knight just puke all over the place and call it good? It’s ridiculous but I’ll bet a lot of 17 and 18 year old kids think it’s tight.
-Dan
Filed under Uncategorized
Last Week: Andrew (3-1), Dan (4-0), Joe (2-2), Matthew (4-0)
Overall: Andrew (41-9), Dan (42-8), Joe (40-10), Matthew (42-8)
Week 9:
Arizona—The Good Guys
Oregon St.—The Good Guys
Arizona St.—The Good Guys
Oregon—Matthew, Dan; USC—Andrew, Joe
-Dan
Filed under Pac-10 Outlook
There is something very unique about being a Seattle sports fan. For me, the best way I can describe it, is that even in the rare moments of greatness, I’m always waiting for the other shoe to drop. It’s like finding a $20 bill on the sidewalk, and after picking it up, you’re just waiting to get jumped. I guess that’s just how it is when you’ve yet to see your team hoist a championship. I’m fairly certain my local teams have lowered my life expectancy. And so, I’d like to offer a glass 1/2 full thought, which I for one could use, especially following an evening of flipping between the painful World Series (Lee vs. Lincecum) and the torture chamber that was the NBA opener for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
So, ever wonder how the M’s landed Felix Hernandez? Well here’s the jist, thanks to the always reliable Wikipedia-
Felix Hernandez was first spotted by Luis Fuenmayor, a part-time Mariners scout who saw him pitching at age 14 in a tournament near Maracaibo, Venezuela. Fuenmayor recommended Hernández to fellow scouts Pedro Avila and Emilio Carrasquel, who were impressed with the youngster who could already throw 94 mph. The Mariners continued to follow Hernández for over a year, but baseball rules prohibit teams from signing players to contracts until after they have turned 16.
After graduating from high school, Hernández finally agreed to his first professional contract. Mariners director of international operations Bob Engle signed Hernández as a nondrafted free agent on July 4, 2002. Hernández received a large signing bonus of $710,000, although he said the Mariners were not the highest bidder. Other teams trying to sign him included the New York Yankees, the Atlanta Braves, and the Houston Astros, with the Braves reportedly offering the most money.
One reason Hernández chose the Mariners is because his idol, fellow Venezuela pitcher Freddy García, was pitching for the team at the time.
Much has been made of the Mariners drafting Brandon Morrow in 2006, rather than picking the hometown boy, Tim Lincecum. A lot of fans count to this instance as another example of the curse of Seattle sports. I agree that watching Lincecum pitch stings a little, but keep in mind, 9 teams passed on him that in the 2006 draft, Seattle of course was one of the teams. But how do the Orioles feel picking Bill Rowell just before Lincecum? Or how about the Rockies selecting Greg Reynolds in front of Evan Longoria!
Actually, I find the 2005 draft much more painful as a Mariners fan. Seattle took Jeff Clement with the 3rd pick overall, and the next 4 picks were Ryan Zimmerman, Ryan Braun, Ricky Romero, Troy Tulowitzki. Wow! But hey, that’s baseball. It’s easy to remember these instances, and forget how we came to have studs like King Felix and Ichiro. Without having Freddie Garcia on our roster, it is very possible that Felix would have taken higher money and landed in New York, Houston, or Atlanta. So maybe we do catch some breaks! And that, is my glass 1/2 full thought today.
-Dan
Filed under Mariners
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