Author Archives: Matthew

by | December 17, 2011 · 1:20 pm

Sports! Be Jolly!

Sports are supposed to make us happy.  They slake our desire for competition.  They let us escape the mundane with moments of elation and transcendence.  They also make us extremely cranky, especially here is Seattle.

Seattle sports fans do have plenty to complain about.  We’re just a couple years past one of the worst sports seasons for a city in history, and things haven’t gotten dramatically better since.  Still, it’s all relative.  Outside of Greg Halman’s heartbreaking death, and to a much lesser degree, the absence of the Sonics, most sports complaints can only rate as inconveniences in the portrait of life.

So, in the spirit of the holidays, here are some of the sports-related things that just make me happy.  There’s nothing wrong with sports making you mad and frustrated, but hopefully the good times more than balance out the bad.

  • Curling on TV.  I’m watching it right now.  I love watching curling, but I really don’t know why.  It’s moderately ludicrous and I can’t even remember how the scoring works right now.  Still, I was thoroughly excited when I saw the Canadian channel was showing it this morning.
  • The weekly Terrance Ross 360 alley-oop.  Always surprising, always beautiful.  Ross might not yet have broken out to the extent we’d like, but wow, the highlights are amazing.
  • The continuing teardown and rebuild of Husky Stadium.  This is a no-lose.  It was already one of the coolest places to watch a football game in the world. Now, we’ll get a stadium that isn’t falling apart and hopefully has a few more concessions and restrooms.  As an added bonus, we have the good fortune of playing in another great stadium for a year.  Century Link might not be Husky Stadium, but it’s a whole lot better than stretching out the rebuild to be able to keep playing games, or looking for some other stadium option.  Finally, years down the road, we’ll get to wax nostalgic about all the great games we saw in the old Husky Stadium. Perfect.
  • Prince Fielder is still a free agent.  I’m kind of doubting that he wants to come to Seattle, but until he signs elsewhere, hope stays alive.  I’m not delusional enough to think that he’ll immediately take the Mariners to the World Series, or even the playoffs.  It’s just that, coming into the offseason, two, maybe three free agents excited me: Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, maybe Jose Reyes.  The fact that the Mariners could be the favorite for Prince makes me happy.
  • For that matter, the Mariners future, at least until the season starts.  Right now, they’re a couple of years away from having a young and absolutely dominating rotation.  Throw in an all-star second baseman and a couple of young sluggers, and the future is bright.  It never works out how we plan it, but we can forget about that fact for a little while.
  • Tony Wroten. He’s maddening too, with the free throws and turnovers, but you can see him improve every game.  He’s the most explosive offensive player I’ve ever seen at UW.  If he sticks around next year, there’s no reason he can’t be an All-American.
  • Tim Tebow.  Love him or hate him, he’s provided one of the greatest stories we’ve had in a while.  Just enjoy the ride.  These types of things don’t come around that often.
  • The Huskies are in a bowl game for the second year in a row.  It’s even a good bowl game, and we get to watch the Heisman Trophy winner.  Sure, the Dawgs aren’t great yet, but after their recent history, I’ll never take a bowl game for granted again.
  • The universality of sports.  I just finished playing “The Purple Ball Game” with my niece, which consists of throwing a foam purple Husky basketball up and down the stairs.  Dan made up a basketball game called “The Flying Dutchman” (here and here) that has us continually laughing and doing ridiculous things. Kids on soccer fields throughout the world grow up to be Pele and David Beckham.  Sports are for everyone, in any form you want.  All ages, races, people of any intelligence or political or religious persuasions, anyone can enjoy sports, side by side.  To me that seems important.

Who knows if we’ll get anything else on this blog in the next week, so I’ll take this opportunity to wish you a merry Christmas, happy holidays, and whatever else you may celebrate.  We appreciate anyone who takes the time to read what we write, especially when the posts are often few and far between.  We hope you have a few items to add to my list above, and much more to be thankful for outside of the sports world.

-Matthew and The Good Guys

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by | November 18, 2011 · 10:09 pm

UW vs. OSU Predictions

Can any state match the Oregon universities for region-appropriate but completely unthreatening mascots.  Beavers are super-cool, but what are they going to do on the football field?  Gnaw your leg off and wap you with their tail?  Slowly build a dam that will funnel the opposing offense toward a waterfall?  That dam defense bends but doesn’t break!

I have to admit, ducks are among my very favorite birds, and I really like birds.  They have a certain je ne sais quoi.  Mystery hides behind their bills and well-groomed feathers.  But put them on a football field and you just get this.

Joe

UW comes into Corvallis licking it’s wounds after two straight weeks of getting thrashed by superior conference foes.  Oregon and USC exposed so many weaknesses in the Dawgs top to bottom, I’d bore you to death with the details.  All you need to know is they got rocked.  Thankfully, they get Benny the Beaver this week, and he is not a superior foe.  OSU has struggled all year to be competitive (except for the beat down they administered to Wazzu), and I expect that to continue this Saturday.  It’s senior day at Reser, so emotions will be high, but that’s all they have going for them at home.  A porous defense that has given up over 800 yards on the ground over the past three games should be a welcome sight for the Huskies. With Nick Montana making his first ever start, I expect Sark to called Chris Polk’s number all day. I better see 30 carries from #1.  I have a good feeling Polk will deliver. Sean Mannion is a legit, strong armed, up and coming QB in the Pac 12. Even though just a freshman, coach Riley has handled the program over to the young signal caller. He’ll play with confidence and throw a lot to his stable of solid WRs.  Since the UW secondary is terrible, expect to see OSU throw and throw often.  In the end this game will be about tempo and ball control.  If UW expects to win, the ball must be in the best players’ hands, i.e. Polk, ASJ, Kasen. If Montana finds those guys, I like the chances of winning.

UW 31 – OSU 24

Andrew

These next 2 games will define the season for the Huskies.  If they beat OSU and WSU, which they should, then the season will be seen as a success and another step forward for the program.  If they drop one of these games then it’s hard to be as excited about this season.  So, this game means more than just playing a team with 2 wins.

To be perfectly honest, I don’t know why the line on this game is so low.  The Huskies are clearly a better team even if they have their backup quarterback.  Oregon State isn’t very good, but they will play hard and will play with emotion.  If the Dawgs are able to get their running game going and play decent defense they should win this game by double digits, but it’s hard to know if that will happen after the last couple of games.  I’m thinking that Chris Polk will make sure his team is ready to go.  As for Nick Montana, I think he’ll be efficient and will wow us and then make us scratch our heads every once in a while.  This game has me nervous, but not nervous enough to pick against the Huskies.

UW 38, OSU 27

Dan

My emotions are swirling heading into this game tomorrow. That’s not terribly unusual, but this game in particular has me anxious. A month ago, the Huskies were rolling and the Beavers were playing like the Beavers we remember from the 90’s. As it stands today, UW has lost 2 in a row, and coming out of its toughest stretch of the schedule, the team is beat up physicially, emotionally, and most likely mentally. The Beavers are not exactly surging having lost 3 straight, but they are as healthy as they’ve been, and from what I’ve heard the team is practicing hard, and in no way resembles a typical 2-8 football team. No matter how you dice it, the Huskies are better at nearly every position, on both sides of the ball. The offensive line’s struggles have been well documented, but the truth is all 5 starters would probably start for the Beavers. The talent gap is large, but that has never prevented the Beavs from competing well, especially in November. I expect a heavy dose of Chris Polk tomorrow, but then again I expect that every week, and sometimes it doesn’t happen. For me, the 2 factors that scare me most are the Keith Price injury, paired with the weird juju that often occurs at Reser in November. I smell an upset, and a frustrating afternoon.

Beavers-38, Huskies-31

Matthew

With Nick Montana getting the start and the Huskies’ recent swoon, this game had me pretty worried.  Then I realized how bad the Beavers have been most of this season.  I guess I’m so used to the Beavers being a tough game, especially late in the season, that I just assumed the Huskies would end up with the loss.  I could still see that happening, but OSU isn’t a major threat.  The rushing numbers are so heavily in UW’s favor that they should decide the game.  We’ve heard things like that before, of course, and it often doesn’t work out.  I have a feeling that this time, it will.  Montana should be good enough to keep the defense honest, and Polk should have a huge day.  Go Dawgs!

UW 34, OSU 20

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by | November 16, 2011 · 5:48 pm

Does Prince Fit? The Mariners by Position

Prince Fielder has dominated Seattle Mariners offseason talk thus far, which is saying something since their offseason really started back in June.  Offensively, it’s hard to imagine a better fit for the Mariners than Fielder, but there are other issues besides his bat, including but not limited to: money, weight, defensive position, and possibility of the Mariners contending in the forseeable future.

Every Mariner writer (and there are many good ones) has weighed in on the issue.  Other than those people who think that Fielder is going to fall apart next year, its hard to argue with any objections to signing Prince.  It’s going to cost a fortune, he’s not a great fit for the current team defensively, and there’s a decent chance that he could be breaking down by the end of the contract.  Most people agree on all of these issues to varying degrees.  Some are willing to accept them and still make a deal, others aren’t. Both viewpoints are completely understandable.

I’m pretty firmly on the “Sign Prince” side, but I thought I’d step back to see where the Mariners stand, both for next year and the future.  I’m going to work through this positionally, probably out of order.  I’m not going to make an effort to talk about how to improve the position, unless I feel like it.  I’m just going to lay out what’s there and what is in the system that might help soon. Continue reading →

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by | November 11, 2011 · 12:37 pm

UW vs. USC Predictions

Hello, Dawg fans.

In 2006, the UW Huskies started 4-1 with their only loss to Oklahoma.  It seemed a return to a bowl game was imminent.  Then they lost a few tough ones, Isaiah Stanback got hurt, and they didn’t win another game until the Apple Cup.  They finished 5-7, missing a bowl game.  Two years later they were 0-12.

This year, they Huskies started 5-1.  Three weeks later, they’re 6-3 and facing a tough USC squad in L.A.  It’s easy to think this season is sliding away, especially in light of the beatdowns from conference powers Oregon and Stanford.

Entering the season, however, most people were expecting a 7-5 or 8-4 season.  A few people were hoping for 9 or 10 wins, but even they admitted they were being very optimistic.  Even with the disappointing losses, the Dawgs are right on target.  They’re not anywhere near being elite yet, but they’re a solid, young team, just like we thought.  They should finish with 8 wins, with 7 or 9 being realistic possibilities.

Even if they don’t win another game, they’ve secured a bowl game.  I don’t want to be at the point where Husky fans are just hoping for a bowl game, but it’s a start, and it’s where the team is right now.  They’re making progress, and while we want it to happen quicker, it helps to take a step back and remember what could be happening instead.

Joe

Nothing about this game feels right.  USC is taking this game personally.  The Nick Holt comment, which was harmless and not a slam on USC if you read the context of the question, is plastered all over the USC football facilities.  Coach Sark complimenting Matt Barkley saying he’s better than Luck is being taken personally somehow.  Lane Kiffin today on Softy was clearly annoyed with the fact USC has lost two in a row to the Dawgs (Hey Lane, cheer up, you got a few extra timeouts from last year you might be able to use Saturday…).  The Trojans want revenge, and I think they’ll get it.  USC is playing at a very high level right now offensively, and that concerns me for obvious reasons. Robert Woods and his WR running mates will simply torch the UW secondary, and if the UW pass rush continues to be M.I.A., Barkley will have all day to throw.  This could get ugly quick.  I do think the Huskies will bounce back on the offensive side, but it’ll be too little because of the inevitable drops by the receivers will kill some drives. I expect Polk to have a tremendous game back on his home turf of So Cal.  In the end though, the Trojans roll.

USC 49 – UW 31

Matthew

I think the Dawgs are capable of pulling this one out, but they are moving in the complete wrong direction.  If this were the fourth game of the year, I would have picked the Huskies.  Since then, the Huskies are floundering a bit while USC is playing great football.  If the Dawgs play anything like they did against Oregon, they don’t have much of a shot.  Still, it feels like this team could click at any minute, so maybe this will be the week.  I’ll believe it when I see it.

USC 45, UW 34

Andrew

The Huskies have a tough fight up against them on Saturday.  USC has been playing well after starting their season a little lackadaisical and the Huskies will have to play a really good game if they want to avoid losing their 3rd out of their last 4.  Sark and company have had the Trojans number the last 2 years though and I think that means something.  This game means a little more to the coaching staff and they will be prepared (not that they aren’t usually prepared).  USC probably has a little better athletes but I don’t think the gap is that far away, as Bob Condotta pointed out with some stats the other day (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/huskyfootballblog/2016734593_comparing_uws_and_uscs_confere.html).  I think that points to a close game.  My hopes aren’t too high for this game and I don’t know why.  Maybe it’s because I thought the Huskies would finish 8-4 all along and this game would be the last one they lost.  I know I’ve been preaching that we should start expecting to win but I don’t feel that heading into Saturday.  I’m guessing that it’s about time USC wins a close one against us and so I’ll go with that.

UW 35, USC 38

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by | November 5, 2011 · 2:26 pm

Bleeding Purple

 We’ve been posting a few of our favorite Husky Stadium memories over the last few weeks, and I thought I’d throw up one more before the game.  You might see a couple more before the season ends, or you might not.  The Good Guys like to keep you guessing!  I wrote this about eight years ago, while I was in college.  Some of it’s a little outdated, but the sentiment hasn’t changed.  It’s one of my favorite things I’ve written, so I thought I’d share.  Hope you enjoy.

-Matthew

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                So far none of us has jumped.  Still, my dad’s recommendation to stay on the bridge has come roughly every other autumn Saturday for the last eight years of my life.  I’m not selectively suicidal, diving into depression on these certain Saturdays.  My dad just wants to make sure we make it to the University of Washington football game on time, and a body dropping the some 100 feet into the water of the Montlake Cut would slow us down considerably.  Someday I might have to try it, except I want to get to the game on time as well.

                I was born watching Washington Husky football.  Well, almost.  I was born, and then later that day my dad held me as he watched the Apple Cup, the annual game against the cross-state rival Washington State University Cougars.  The Huskies have been a part of my life ever since.  I remember games playing on the radio as we built a shed in our yard, and my dad complaining about a lack of playing time for star running back Napolean Kaufman in the Rose Bowl.  Minutes later, I remember Napolean racing down the sideline for a near touchdown that helped win the national championship.  I centered birthday parties around the Apple Cup and watched the Huskies get beat one year in a blizzard.  Another year I fell asleep halfway through the game, with the baseball mitt I had just got for my birthday still on my hand. Continue reading →

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by | November 5, 2011 · 10:58 am

Beat the Ducks!

Welcome to gameday!

Just a couple of quick things while you wait for Pac-12 games to get going.  I’m amazed how many people are picking the Huskies to win.  Not everyone, or even close, but a decent amount.  And these aren’t just commenters on Ted Miller’s ESPN Pac-12 blog.  These are rational, respected writers who have watched a lot of football. Like Bud Withers.  You tell ’em, Bud!

I’m not sure I’ve seen any Oregon media pick the Huskies to win, but I don’t think I’ve seen any pick a blowout either.  I don’t know if that means they have increased respect for UW, or if they have doubts about Oregon.  Probably some of both, but Oregon does look a tiny bit less scary this year.  Hopefully that carries over to tonight.

A couple of links:

  • It’s been fun hearing and reading all the stories about the stadium this week.  This guy is amazing.
  • This is not only a huge day for the team past and present, but potentially for the future.  There are a huge amound of recruits visiting this weekend.  Here’s the list, and here’s Condotta’s write-up, with some quotes from ESPN recruiting guy Greg Biggins.  My quick take on recruiting, which isn’t really unique to me: the Dawgs have a solid base, led by two elite quarterbacks, but there’s a lot of room for either improvement or disappointment.  Of the top five guys in-state, Jeff Lindquist is already committed to the Dawgs and Cedric Dozier is committed to Cal.  The last three guys all have UW on their very short lists, reportedly, but are no means sure things.  Zach Banner and Josh Garnett are the linemen everyone wants, and the Huskies really need to get at least one of them.  Banner seems to be the better bet, but both are still more than possible.  Keivarae Russell is an elite running back.  Get two of those three, and you’ve been pretty successful.  Get all three and this class is an unmitigated success.  Get two or three of them and add a couple of the out-of-state blue chips visiting today and previously, and this class could be the one to take the Huskies the next step.  By the way, it sounds like lots of in-state guys will be in the crowd today, they just won’t be on official visits.  It’s possible over half of UW’s 2012 recruiting class will be in the stadium tonight.

Finally, here’s a video from former football player Greg Christine and some of the biggest names in Seattle hip-hop.  Yes, Seattle hip-hop exists, and it’s really good. (The video won’t imbed, for some reason, so here’s the link instead.)

http://www.dawgsinthehouse.com/

Go Dawgs!

-Matthew

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by | November 4, 2011 · 10:04 pm

UW vs. Oregon Predictions

I’m going to keep this intro short, because I’m tired and there’s no point trying to move the focus from the game itself.  This is shaping up as one of the most exciting weekends in UW sports history.  Andrew and I just got back from the basketball exhibition game, where the Huskies dismantled Seattle Pacific and Tony Wroten showed nothing to take away the excitement surrounding him.  More on that in a couple of days.

Between the emotion of the last game at Husky Stadium and all of the former players and festivities surrounding it, there’s going to be a lot of intrigue.  What remains to be seen is whether that intrigue will carry into the game or not.  If Oregon rattles off a quick three touchdowns, the night will just turn sad in a hurry.  If the Huskies can hang in there all night, though, we might see some magic.

You never know how these things are going to go.  You can put as much or as little emphasis on the non-game stuff as you want, but it still mostly comes down to the teams on the field.  Hopefully, the Huskies will give us one more memory in the old stadium.

Danny

I want the Huskies to win tomorrow more than any game I can remember in recent history.  The Ducks are annoying, I have sports hate for them, but more than anything I just want to see UW take that next step, from good to potentially great.  Andrew was right yesterday in his declaration that no matter what anybody says, this game is impossible to predict.  You wouldn’t think it would be, given the Ducks recent dominance over Washington (7 straight wins of 20+ points), but this is a particularly intriguing matchup, full of possibilites.  The only way I can think to sort all the factors, is to rank each facet of the game, on a scale of 1-5.  This is absurb, by the way, but bear with me.  Oregon offense-5; Oregon defense-3.5; UW offense-4; UW defense-1.5; Home field-UW +1; Special teams-UO +1; Coaching-even.  This scientific breakdown tells me Oregon-9.5, UW-6.5.  Now all I have to do is multiple x4 to get the actual score (this works every time).

Ducks-38, Huskies-26

Matthew

I don’t really believe the Huskies are going to win, but I’m not going to pick the Ducks.  I’m sick of the Ducks.  I’m sick of the Mariners losing and Isaiah Thomas going pro and Pete Carroll in general and especially losing to the Ducks.  Do something good for once, Seattle sports people!  Don’t lose to the Ducks!

UW 45, Oregon 43

Andrew

I mentioned in a post last night that this game is hard to predict.  Seeing how I haven’t had much luck with my predictions this year (although last week’s was pretty spot on), I imagine I’ll be wrong.  For the Dawgs to have any chance they’ll have to stop the Ducks running game.  Well, not stop it because no one can do tha,t but maybe they could slow it down a little bit behind the strength of the 12th Dawg (a raucous crowd) and the 13th Dawg (the Seattle weather).  Since my predictions aren’t usually right in these type of games I’m going to say that the Huskies lose 65-21 (yes, the same score as Stanford-UW), the Big Boi gets into a fight with a drunk Duck fan, the 1991 team gets stuck in traffic and doesn’t show up, Don James decides that he likes the Cougars better, and the South End of the stadium completely collapses during halftime, setting the renovation back 6 years.  Please God, don’t let any of that happen.  Go Dawgs!

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By the way, here’s what else Andrew wrote in his prediction email to me.  I thought it should be shared.  I’m Big Boi, by the way.  Matthew is Big Boi (but not that Big Boi, the rapper from Outkast).  It’s a long story.

Hey big boi! Did I ever tell you that I killed a duck once.  I was driving dad’s pickup on terrace heights drive and there was a duck in the middle of the road.  I tried to stop in time but he didn’t move and then he was right under the truck and tried to fly up.  I looked in the rear-view mirror and there was a dead duck in the middle of the road.  I felt bad.  Maybe God’s been punishing me ever since by the Ducks winning the football game.  Or maybe the Huskies just had Tyrone Willingham as a coach. That seems more likely.

Anyway…. I’m a duck, quack quack! I have webbed feet and float around in a lake and sometimes I pee in the same place I float! I’m a loser! Now, I’m a husky! roof roof! I eat ducks for breakfast but I’ve stopped since I don’t like the taste of webbed feet.  They’re dumb too and lower my IQ! WOOF WOOF! BARK BARK! BEWARE DUCKS, I’m a DAWG!!!

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by | November 2, 2011 · 8:15 pm

Mariners Offseason: Looking Ahead

The baseball offseason is underway, with the Mariners already making a few roster moves in the last couple of days.  Gone are David Aardsma, Luis Rodriguez, and Jeff Gray, at least temporarily.  While Gray was claimed off waivers, Aardsma and Rodriguez were released, so there’s a chance that either or both could be back.  With Aardsma rehabbing until at least midsummer, neither would be a huge loss.

Last offseason was surprising in its predictability.  I remember writing early on that there seemed to be a number of obvious moves.  The team had a lot of holes, and it seemed the best move was to upgrade each spot as much as possible.  I never expected Jack Zduriencik to do exactly that.  Usually the offseason brings surprises.  No one expected Cliff Lee to become a Mariner two years ago.  No one expected Vernon Wells to become an Angel last year.  Those are two extreme examples at opposite ends of the spectrum, but offseason moves are generally more unexpected than not.  Teams have so much more knowledge than fans do, about both themselves and players.  We don’t even know what the Mariner payroll will be for next year.  We can make guesses, but for all we know they might raise it to $125 million to sign Prince Fielder and Jose Reyes.  Not likely, but we just don’t know. Continue reading →

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