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by | June 17, 2010 · 12:25 am

3 Weeks

Today I’m leaving to go work at a camp for 3 weeks without connection to the outside world.  Blame me for the lack of blog posts in the next 3 weeks.  I’m looking forward to this time as it will be a good experience but there’s another aspect to this as well.  I’m looking forward to escaping for a while.  I’m not going to try to poetically craft a couple nice metaphors over a few paragraphs that describe why we all need escapes from reality.  Instead, I’ll just bluntly say that life can provide a lot of crap and we don’t get away from that crap often enough.  I have a great life but still can feel bogged down by certain situations.  It’s inevitable considering that we’re all human.  But since this is a sports blog, let me say that maybe we need an escape from sports too.

I’m not one to quit on my teams.  For being a 19-year-old, I’ve suffered through some really bad seasons.  The Mariners haven’t been to the playoffs since I entered my teens and the Huskies haven’t been to a bowl game since I went into high school.  Still, I can’t remember the last time I didn’t watch or listen to a Husky football game and I’ve only missed 5 Mariners games this year. 

This season has been rough on everyone but I’m not about to quit.  I like baseball and like knowing about my team too much.  Will the Mariners make the playoffs?  No way.  But that’s not going to stop me from watching them.  With that being said, I’m not sure this is a good thing.  I’m a happy person but sometimes these teams affect my moods.  The Huskies more so than the M’s.  So this break from reality, and from sports, provides me with a good excuse to not watch the Mariners lose another 15 games.  There are downsides, but at least I’m not missing watching a first place team play.  I’ve seen this version of the Mariners a few too many times in the past 8 years, I’m not feeling that bad about missing 3 weeks of this team.

With these pleasant breaks come realizations about who and what you care about most.  Needless to say, I care about my family and friends most and I’ll miss talking to a few certain people more than anything while being away.  But after that I’ll miss a few things in the sports world a lot.  I’m missing out on game 7 of one of the most interesting NBA Finals I’ve seen.  I’ll miss the speculation on Cliff Lee being traded and his last few starts as a Mariner.  I’ll miss the World Cup, which only comes around 4 years (I’m a little bitter about this).  I’ll miss King Felix and my cousin Tyler getting his first few games as a district all-star.  And I’ll definitely miss grabbing a Pepsi in the early evening and sitting down on the couch to watch the Mariners.

It’s only 3 weeks but that’s a pretty long time in the sports world.  It’s funny how the first post I wrote on this blog was about sports giving us a break from reality and now I’m talking about taking a break from sports.  So, go Mariners (if they win every game while I’m gone they would be 4 games over .500 when I return, that’s pathetic), go USA and all the African soccer teams, go Lakers (yes, I like the Lakers. Sue me.) and thank you for being awesome Cliff Lee. 

Also, thank you readers.  It’s almost been half a year on this blog and it’s exceeded my expectations.  One started as an idea because I missed writing, has turned into something I look forward to everyday.  See you in 3 weeks!

Andrew

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by | June 5, 2010 · 2:02 pm

One of the Greatest Huskies Ever

Danielle Lawrie’s Husky career came to an end today as the UW softball team lost to Arizona 4-3.  I know that softball isn’t a sport of choice here on this blog but Lawrie put up a career that can’t be ignored.

A two-time national player of the year, she led her team to the national championship last year and back to the college world series this year.  This year she threw 3 perfect games and led the NCAA in wins. 

It was a sad way to end here career this afternoon but that doesn’t take away from the fact that her career is one to be celebrated.  Danielle, thanks for being a Dawg!

Andrew

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by | June 3, 2010 · 10:53 am

Best Griffey Story Yet

Leave it to Jeff Sullivan to write the best Griffey piece, enjoy.

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by | June 1, 2010 · 3:12 pm

31 Years Ago Today…

1979 NBA World Champions

…The Seattle Supersonics won their first and only world championship. It’s the only pro sports title this city has ever seen. Thanks to Howard Schultz, Clay Clay, Nickels & Dimer, David Stern and the rest the lame politicians in this state that let them go to that dump in okc. Am I still bitter? Yeah. I LOVE basketball, it’s my favorite sport, and my all time fav team no longer exists. Go Supes, I’ll always love you guys! –Joe

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by | May 6, 2010 · 12:38 pm

The Rights of Fans

Sports teams and players and their fans have always had a complicated relationship, and that won’t change anytime soon.  Athletes are often the most visible and popular people in a city or region, and at least in the professional ranks, fans are indirectly responsible for their salaries.  Combine that with the role sports teams and athletes play in fans’ personal lives, as entertainment and vicarious dream fulfillment, and fans tend to develop a sense of ownership over their favorite athletes and teams.

Seattle fans currently find themselves in a couple of messy situations.  One involves a high school student from Portland who happens to be one of the best basketball players in the country.  The other centers around a 32-year-old man with a big bat and seemingly even bigger personal troubles.  The stories are probably familiar to everyone by now.  Terrence Jones, maybe the top uncommitted basketball player in the country, held a press conference on Friday to announce his choice of college.  He picked the Huskies, but has yet to sign a letter of intent, which would make the choice official.  There are next to no facts about the situation, but that hasn’t prevented fans and media alike from throwing accusations and judgments, at Jones for delaying the commitment, and at Kentucky coach John Calipari for trying to change his mind, and at anyone else involved, including Jones’ family and friends.

Meanwhile, Milton Bradley, a man with a well-documented history of blow-ups and suspensions, stormed off the field Tuesday night after striking out, and upon seeing Don Wakamatsu had removed him from the game, left the stadium.  Wednesday, he met with Jack Zduriencik and Wakamatsu and later the team.  He reportedly told them he was dealing with some very difficult personal issues and asked for their help.  He’ll sit out for the forseeable future while the team tries to get him whatever help he needs.

The situations are very different, except that they both have more to do with off the field (or court) issues than anything to do with performance.  That’s not totally the case, of course.  If it were, fans would not be at all interested.  Bradley’s issues affect his play and the rest of the team; Jones is a huge talent whose presence could lift any team to the next level.  And so fans find themselves stuck between caring about their team and respecting the personal life of the athlete.

It’s a difficult place, but mainly because we as fans do not have a personal relationship with Jones or Bradley or any other athlete.  They are the athlete who entertains us, but that’s all, and we don’t give anything back.  Nearly any of us, if faced with a colleague or friend or family member who was asking for help or making a difficult decision, would try to help them any way we could.  We wouldn’t deride them or criticize them.  We might be disappointed in their choice or think occasionally about our interests in the matter, but usually we can set ourselves aside and be supportive of those we love.

I don’t see any reason why that should be different with athletes.  I want to see Jones and Bradley playing and playing well in Seattle, and if they don’t I’ll be disappointed and maybe mad.  But I won’t boo them or write insults and racial slurs on their Facebook pages.  Rivalries and “sports-hate”, as Bill Simmons terms it, have a great place in sports.  There’s nothing wrong with booing the Oregon band when they run into Husky Stadium.  They know we’re booing because they’re from University of Oregon and anyone involved with the Ducks should be booed.  They’ll boo us right back.  The difference is that we all know that if we were Mariner fans and went to a game together, we’d probably have a great time.  Or we might not, but it would be because we didn’t get along, not because they’re Ducks and I’m a Husky.  If a rivalry is full of hatred to the point where that’s no longer true, it’s gone too far in my opinion.

So keep the the affection or lack thereof based on the field.  Boo A-Rod when he comes to town, but don’t boo Milton Bradley because he’s going through some tough times, and don’t give Terrance Jones a hard time because he isn’t sure what to choose in the biggest decision of his life.

-Matthew

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by | April 22, 2010 · 1:26 pm

Summer is Coming

Spring is in full bloom.  I’ve always associated the season of spring with the word hope.  Spring hasn’t quite gotten us to the full-blown joy that summer brings but that joy is within reach.  The chill of winter has mostly passed but there’s still those cold days where we hope that the sun will come out tomorrow.  Things aren’t perfect but there’s enough evidence to make hoping for summer justifiable. 

It just so happens this is where we are right now in the Seattle sports scene.  A few weeks ago we were able to enjoy one of the best weeks sports has to offer; The Masters, college basketball’s championship, and Opening day in baseball.  But, this is a week where spring can turn to summer sports wise.  Hope could turn joy.  Cautious joy, but joy none the less.  The Mariners, Seahawks, and Huskies all have significant events starting today and lasting through next weekend.  If all goes well this city could be as excited about sports as we’ve seen in a long time.

Lets start with the Mariners because this is probably the most evident case of things turning golden quickly.  The M’s had an outstanding homestand and are now tied in first place.  You think things can’t get better?  Ladies and gentleman, meet Cliff Lee.  Next Friday, April 30th, the former cy young award winner will be making his Mariner debut.  This is the moment Mariner fans have been dreaming of since mid-December.  He’ll be thrown right into the fire against a pretty good Texas Rangers lineup.  Will he be as sharp as he was in the world series his first start?  Probably not, but this is still cause for celebration.  And if this isn’t enough to get someone excited, Felix pitches the next day.  Finally, what was billed as the best 1-2 punch in baseball is here. 

The same night that Lee returns on his white horse, the Dawgs will take the field at Husky Stadium.  Now, I know spring games aren’t going cause the excitement that upsetting USC brought but I truly think that after seeing this team play people will be buzzing about what could be next fall.  The freshman running backs, Nick Montana, the emergence of the secondary, Mason Foster, and Jake Locker will provide the Dawgs with higher expectations than they’ve had in years.  While a team has to fulfill expectations to be considered a success, high expectations is step is important for a program.  The fact that those expectations are coming back is enough to bring a smile to my face and after April 30th I think Husky fans will have plenty of smiles going around. 

By that same day we should know the fate of Terrance Jones and Terrance Ross.  Both of these guys are mega recruits that the Husky basketball team would love to have.  If these two commit the sky may be the limit for the Huskies next year.  The dawgpack will be partying in the streets of Montlake and the basketball team would move up 5 or 10 spots in the “way too early” preseason rankings.  The sun will be shining bright if Jones commits and if both commit then you might as well put on your swimming suit because it will be like we’re on a beach in July.

Then there’s the Seahawks.  Few sporting events bring the amount of hope that the draft brings.  Dan wrote about what he thinks the Hawks should do with their picks earlier today so I won’t get into that.  A franchise is built on young talent and today is the start fo Seattle rebuilding their franchise.  Unfortunately, this hope can’t translate to joy as soon as these other examples.  The NFL draft can be really hit and miss and it will take a few years to fully judge these players.  But that doesn’t take away from the hope there is in this day for the Seahawks.  The last few years have been absolutely awful and today may be the start of that changing. 

Yes, this could just be me getting excited about nothing too important (it wouldn’t be the first time).  But it’s hard not to feel a sense of excitement and hope about the next week. 

Meanwhile, Donald Butler, who just last year was an average linebacker playing for a terrible Husky defense, is sitting somewhere today waiting for a phone call that will tell him he’s going to receive money to play professional football for the first time in his life.  22 years of hard work will pay off for him today.  His hope will turn to joy.  His spring will turn to summer.  As I sit here looking out the window at a sunny day, I can’t help but feel that summer might come a little bit early this year.

Andrew

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by | April 19, 2010 · 1:56 pm

Royals Review Gets it Right!

This was exactly what I needed for a laugh on Monday.  Absolutely hilarious.  Royals and Peanuts Baseball Eerily Similar.  Enjoy!

Andrew

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by | April 5, 2010 · 10:35 am

Sports as National Holidays

Some days in sports are cause for celebration, today being one of them.  I’m beginning to think that we sell these days short and they should become national holidays.  Here are a few days that need to be celebrated to the fullest extent (by fullest extent I mean that there should be no school or work on those days).

  • The first 2 days of March Madness–  This is a must.  I already skip classes on these days and know many friends who do the same.  There are basketball games from 9 am to 10 pm on these first 2 days and there are usually some fantastic matchups.  As if that wasn’t enough to get these days off, people are even more invested because of the brackets they filled out.  These two days are awesome and this should be a no-brainer. 
  • Opening Day (baseball)-  I’ve waited through a month of spring training to get to this day and here I am stuck at school.  It’d be great to be sitting on the couch right now, with some chips and salsa, watching two irrelevant teams play baseball.  Instead, I’ll drive over to good ol’ Maple Valley tonight and catch the Mariners game and maybe half of another one.  I know some people get bored watching baseball all day and I willingly admit that the Opening Day Holiday does not have as much zest as The March Madness Holidays but you wouldn’t be forced to watch sports on these days.  Are you forced to do labor on Labor Day?  Do you hang up pictures of Honest Abe and sing songs about him on Presidents Day?  You wouldn’t have to watch baseball.  But, for the sake of us baseball diehards, this day should be a national holiday.  (Not to mention Opening Day is the same day as the National Championship this year.  Which leads me to say, if you’re a Butler fan and you’re working today, for goodness sakes stop!  Butler’s in the national championship, stop working.)
  • National Signing Day (college football)-  This is a stretch but I really enjoy this day.  I feel that it’s vastly under-rated and not many people know about it.  If everyone became well-educated about this day they’d realize it’s importance.  Unfortunately, this one isn’t too exciting to watch but it’s fun to keep track of online.
  • Thursday and Friday of the Masters-  I know that golf can be boring.  I know that some of you would rather work than watch golf on TV.  But I know my dad would love to have these two days off to watch golf.  Therefore, it should be a national holiday.

Well, there are more but I don’t want to make this argument seem too ridiculous so I’ll stop here.  If this does become law the Good Guys’ call dibs on naming these holidays.  We wouldn’t let it be something boring like “The First Two Days of March Madness.”  We’d make it way cooler than that. 

Anyway, Happy Opening day my friends.  This is a day to be celebrated and the start of a season to remember (I hope).  Go Mariners!

Andrew

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