Tag Archives: Washington Huskies

by Joe Loughery | February 21, 2010 · 12:16 am

Thank You Quincy

CLIFF DESPEAUX / THE SEATTLE TIMES

I just want to give a big shout out to the man of the night, Quincy Pondexter. Senior night, and he came out and dominated UCLA. I am happy to see him go out with a win, especially against the smug punks from Westwood. The Huskies played unbelievable, yet again showing they are the premier Jeckyl and Hyde team in the nation. I still maintain they win the next three on the road, but at this point what is the use in trying to predict anything in the Pac-10…

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by Joe Loughery | February 19, 2010 · 3:46 pm

Cheer Up!!!

No use in rehashing last nights meat grinder of a game at HecEd. Let’s focus on the positive, the good juju in Seattle sports. It’s sunny out, WHY NOT!

Jake Locker is coming back this fall. Let’s not forget that Husky fans. I’ve got a purple kool-aid keg in my garage at the ready for Labor Day weekend. BYU is toast.

Come September, this guy will be running WILD!!!

Ken Griffey Jr has arrived at Spring Training is is already holding court in the locker room. I heard he was doing P90 in the offseason, dropped seven pounds and is in great shape for a guy his age. Add to that Ichiro arriving soon, along with Mike Sweeney? Can there BE any more Sodo Mojo love in the desert? Don’t think so…

The Seahawks have two first round picks. They have holes at literally every position. Hence, they will more than likely draft two guys who will play right away. Sounds good to me, let’s just hope they go best available. I like what I am hearing from Schneider and Carroll. Sign me up, I’m buying.

Have an awesome weekend!

Joe

PS – These video highlights make me quite happy and full of joy. I hope you feel the same.

UW vs USC – The Battle at HecEd

Time to go old school on USC.

The UW vs USC smackdown at Hec Ed. I have been stewing over this game since Saturday, because, as other writers on this freight train of a blog have stated, tonights game is probably the UW’s toughest match-up. USC has always been a tough for the Dawgs. That’s doesn’t mean they own us, it just means the games always tend to be very physical and a grinder. Watching Jon Brockman and Taj Gibson throw each other around for four years was a treat.

Now for the geeky part. I am very comfortable and open with the fact that I have a very strong geek streak in me. It doesn’t help much with the ladies, but it does help when it comes to breaking down basketball match ups. Therefore, I have to plug the following website:

http://statsheet.com/

Stat Sheet.com is literally a cornucopia of stat goodness. The very definition of good, ratio, +/- juju. They have a great page for tonights match up here:

http://statsheet.com/mcb/games/2010/02/18/2010-02-18_southern-california_vs_washington

Based on the stat guru, the Huskies are an 8 pt favorite. Considering the UW has blown out most home opponents this year, and couple that with the tougher than normal match up, inside a 10 pt game sounds very realistic. I expect it to be much closer actually. USC thoroughly dismantled UW in their first match up. Pondexter had probably his worst game of the year, 2pts. Overton played well with 18pts, and was seemingly the only Husky player that showed up that day. I expect things to be very different tonight. Look for Overton to play well again, along with Isaiah. I am very concerned with USC’s strength, so I don’t see MBA, or any other player who mucks it up down low having a good night. I think this game could come down to outside shooting, especially Suggs and Turner from three range, and Quincy being able to knock down his 20ft jumpers. If the shots are not falling, the Huskies will need to crash the boards, which they are very good at, 1st in the Pac-10.

As always, the game will come down to desire and hustle. The Dawgs are a top 15 team at home. I like the fact that the UW has a bone to pick with both SC and UCLA this weekend, more motivation to play hard on defense and get physical on the blocks. I am looking for a close, hard fought victory tonight for the Huskies.

Joe

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by Joe Loughery | February 13, 2010 · 10:26 pm

UW beats Stanford, 800 pound gorilla leaves the room

See ya...

The Huskies finally got the giant gorilla off their backs by defeating Stanford tonight 78-61. I am very pleased with this win, for a lot of reasons. One, the team bounced back after a tough, hard fought loss at Cal, showing grit and determination by defeating a team that was 5-0 at home in the conference. Second, Darnell Gant finally played, and played well. He was all over the glass, played good defense, and generally didn’t make a fool of himself on offense, unlike MBA or Breshers (I like both guys, but Breshers is a walking personal foul, and MBA thinks he is Olajuwon, which he is not…). I am trying to find some stats to back up my claim, but if basketball had a +/- like hockey, Gant’s would be off the charts good. When he was on the floor, the

Tree! Thanks for losing!!

Huskies played great defense, and the offense seemed to flow better, probably because the black hole know as MBA was not in there. The Dawgs were down 8-2, Romar puts Overton and Gant in there, and boom, a 14-0 run. Same thing at the end of the game. Gant and Overton in there, and they close the door. Look, it’s do or die. Gaddy and Breshers will be fine players in a year or two, but right now, the Dawgs must go with the hot hands, and Overton and Gant played so well tonight, I expect them to see significant minutes from here on out. Of course, Pondexter played well, he was strong, as was Thomas, he has some nice assists. He certainly has a shooters mentality, sometimes for the good, and times for the bad. Holiday played flat out lockdown defense on Fields. Turner did his thing, knocking down a couple big three’s. Not to completely trash MBA, he did end up with 11 points, but my goodness, when he gets the ball on the block, it’s gut-wrenching! I really think Romar did a fine job tonight tightening up his rotation, and staying with the hot hands. I commend him for doing that. Let’s hope this philosophy stays intact over the next few weeks.

No more Twitter for Isaiah, holla!

The expectation for this team is to win out in the regular season. USC is the best team they face that is left on their schedule, and that game is at home, along with UCLA. Those are must wins, and expected wins. And then, three road games to end it, all against inferior opponents: Cougs, Ducks and Beavs. Maybe I am drinking way too much kool aid, but I really see this team winning out the rest of the regular season, assuming of course they keep the defensive intensity at a high.

With all the nay-sayers out there, someone has to play the contrarian, why not me? All in all, a good night for the Huskies.

-Joe

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Tagged as Stanford, Washington Huskies

by Joe Loughery | February 11, 2010 · 12:50 am

UW vs. Cal – Pac-10 Lead and Tourney Birth at Stake

Oski - The Creepiest Mascot in Sports.

At 6pm, Washington and California rumble in Berkeley for the Pac-10 lead. Some may scoff and say that leading the Pac-10 isn’t much to celebrate, but I beg to differ. We can all look at, and study, the RPI to death, but I usually like to judge teams based on how they actually look on the court, and then compare them to other teams across the nation. Cal and Washington are the two most talented teams in the Pac-10, no question. Cal has been consistent at home and away, with their only bad loss being the blowout at HecEd. The UW, on the other hand, has been dominant at home, 16-1 (how they lost to the Ducks is beyond me, lucky win by Ernie’s crew? Maybe…), and flat out bad on the road. In fact, they have regressed in many ways. Texas Tech and Georgetown were competitive games, on the whole, while their four conference road games have been clunkers.

The key, in my mind, to this game will be Jerome Randle. In the game at HecEd, Randle was lost. Literally. He could not pass, had no idea where his man was on defense, and Coach Montgomery noticed, benching him for long periods of time. He ended the game going 2-9 from the field. It was by far his worst game of the year. If Randle just has an average game Thursday (19.1 pts), things will be very different. Patrick Christopher had a big game that day. 28 pts, 8 boards, 14-18 from the line. He pretty much got the shots he wanted all day. That concerns me. Look, Justin Holiday can’t guard everyone. I think Cal is beginning to figure it out on offense. They are a three man team: Randle, Christopher and Robertson. Over the past couple games, these guys have scored 102 of the 135 points the Bears have scored. Cal is getting their identity in order, which means good things are in store for the crew from Berkeley.

One the other side we have the Huskies. Coming into this game, the Dawgs may have started to figure out who they are: a defensive team. Quite literally, when this team plays in your shorts, brash defense led by Venoy Overton (or Venoying as I like to call him), they are extremely hard to beat. There is no one in the Pac-10 who can hang with them when they are crazy on defense and crashing the boards. The problem, of course, is they don’t bring this defense on the road with them. The two losses in Arizona were

Plastic Man!

embarrassments. No one contested shots, no one got back, and what happened? Got run by 17 both times. Now, in both those games, Holiday didn’t play, and he is most certainly a difference maker. Just see the game up in Seattle against those same teams. Horne and Kuksiks were non-factors, largely due to Holiday playing his Stacy Augmon “Plastic Man” defense defense on them. I expect Holiday to play well Thursday, but it will be interesting to see who Holiday checks. He is taller than Christopher, but Patrick has him by 40 lbs. Robertson is a load at 6-6 230. I expect to see a lot of switching with Pondexter on these two guys. If the Dawgs let the Big Three go off, it will be a very long and frustrating night for the Huskies, so QPon, Holiday, and Venoy must bring their A games. I do think the emergence of Scott Suggs has helped this team gain confidence on the offensive end verses a zone. I have no idea what defense Cal was running in the January game. I watched the who game, and Cal didn’t play a lick of defense. That said, Suggs and Turner have been great zone busters with the ability to hit the corner three ball. Do it with some consistency, and they have a recipe for success on the road in a hostile environment. I know I haven’t said much about Isaiah in this post, and that is by design. If I.T. just lets the game come to him and plays his role, the Huskies are much better off.

In the end, this will be an extremely tough game for the UW to win. I cannot think of a scenario in which Cal comes out flat. I would think right away we must lock down Randle. Thomas is underrated as a defender, so I expect him to check Jerome. After that, the Dawgs better hope the refs let them play, or else they’ll have foul trouble quick, and Cal in the bonus before the 12 minute mark. The Huskies must withstand the initial emotion of the start, and just hang in there and give themselves a chance at the end. I feel very confident the Dawgs will come out playing well, I just think Cal may be slightly better because of the home court.

Joe

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by Joe Loughery | February 6, 2010 · 11:41 pm

Huskies, Intro & Quick Hits

Wow, well, finished up watching the Dawgs wipe the floor with ASU. That’s great, I really don’t like Derek Glasser, he’s a bum. Thursday at Cal. CAN WE GET A ROAD WIN PLEASE!?!? National TV, ESPN, let’s do this DAWGS!!! UW wins and first place is ours.

Anyway, I was invited to be a member by Danny and so far the posts have been excellent, I expected nothing less. I am clearly NOT the best good guy here, I can tell right away I might just be the peanut gallery!! I am honored to be a part of this, as I am passionate sports. It’s a wonderful constant in my life, always a great topic of discussion and interest. I think humor and lightheartedness are vital to loving sports (especially in this town!!!!), so fair warning, I may not always be serious…

About me… I’m 32, born and raised in the state of Washington, so yes, I am a homer, but I love the national sports scene as well. Went to school at Auburn High, then college at the UW, class of 2000. The Huskies are it for me, football and hoops are 1 and 2 on my list. I am very passionate about the UW, I love the school, the campus, the neighborhood. I love the vibe before and after games. I really don’t pull for any other school, and I am generally not a “root for the Pac-10” guy. I backed Penn State in the 1994 Rose Bowl against Oregon when a bunch of so called UW fans thought it was “neat” the Ducks made it. “Go west coast” they tell me. Bull. Oregon sucks and always will. Kenny Wheaton is a cuss word in my vocab.

Regarding pro sports, I love the M’s, Hawks, Sonics, Sounders, TBirds. Yes, the Sonics. I still love them and always will. The Supes are a passion of mine. The 1990’s are the decade I really matured sports wise, and the SuperSonics had their best run that decade. I am old enough to remember Dale Ellis, Tommy Chambers and the X-Man, but for me Payton and Kemp are almost sports deity. The 1996 Sonics are family. The spring of ’96 was one of the best times of my life. The fact that this city does not have an NBA team is a complete and utter disaster and joke. I shake my head every time I think about it. But, I am hopeful. No idea why, I just choose to be hopeful that one day I’ll see the Green & Gold back out there on the hardwood.

I have a ton of thoughts about the upcoming Mariners season, the upcoming NFL draft where the Hawks MUST get it right. In the NFL if you screw up the draft, it will set back the organization years.

Random Quick Hits:

Quincy Pondexter is Pac-10 POTY.

The Mariners should bring back the teal jerseys.

Cortez Kennedy belongs in the HOF, and so does Edgar.

The Kingdome was awesome, even if it stunk of stale beer constantly and had only two bathrooms.

Safeco Field is even more awesome: Tons of bathrooms!!! ICHIRO!!!!!!!!!!! Garlic Fries!! Ivars fish!!!! Sushi!!!! Zombie Nation Kernkraft 400 BLARING!!!!! DIPPIN DOTS!!!! DAVE SIMS!!!! HEY NOW!!!!!!!

Steve Scheffler and Frank Brickowski had game.

Shaun Alexander could catch, check his stats from 2001-2004.

Vin Baker was an all star in 97-98 with the Sonics. Then he discovered donuts during the lockout. The rest is history.

Steve Emtman was unstoppable. Best defensive player I have ever seen. Period.

Jackie Z and Wak are geniuses, how the M’s were above .500 last year is beyond me, (not to mention the amazing offseason JZ has put together so far, the Cliff Lee deal was highway robbery).

Game 7 of the 1993 NBA Western Conference Finals was fixed, you cannot convince me otherwise, it’s established fact, look at the boxscore.

The 2005 NFC Championship is the best game I have ever seen live. (seeing Jimmy Johnson’s hair freeze was an added bonus…)

Both times the UW lost to UConn in the Tourney resulted in me refusing food and water for days and human interaction suffered for weeks.

I have major, MAJOR bromances with Coach Sark, Jake Locker and Chris Polk.

If you’ve made it this far, congrats, I am done, sorry no prizes… I know it was a lot about me, but I thought I better get my street creds out there now before someone asks for them. More to come!!