Lots of stuff happened this week, so despite what I said earlier, it wasn't a slow week.
Huskies
Huskies rebounded and finished our first round of Pac-10 opponents at 3-6. Not very good, considering two should be gimmes. But we did win the last two, and we still have lots of home games to play.
We played well against Oregon, who was without their MVP, but they have so many guards that it shouldn't have hindered them that much. Dentmon had another huge game with 24 7 and 6, although he looked too much for his own shot in my opinion. Brockman also had a good night with only 14 8, but played with so much heart and hustle that doesn't get put on the stat sheet. Hawes actually looked solid off the bench, he wasn't his usual self, but he looked capable at least. Oregon did have 6 players in double figures however while shooting 55%. We shot 52% and used our size advantage to get 9 more rebounds. We looked like we were in control most of the way, except when in the middle of the second half they surged to gain the lead, but after that we went on a tear. Good win against an 18-1 team.
Against Oregon State we looked just so so the first half. We looked like were up by a decent amount, but never really took a commanding lead. In the second half, we just exploded and the game was put away really quickly. Brockman played really well, as usual. Dentmon got a 5th foul with 4 to go, but the problem is, why did Romar have him in in the first place? If you're winning by 20, put in Oliver, Burmeister, Nelson, Wallace, Gasser as a lineup. Both teams shot 52%, but we outrebounded them 38 to 21, which goes to show that our size advantage is working. The only problem with this game is that Hawes looked horrible. Apparently he lost "15" pounds and is still slightly injured too, but whatever it is, we need him for Saturday against Arizona.
Coming up is the Arizona's, with ASU first, so we should have at least a 3 game win streak.
Sonics:
First, we lost a high scoring game to Denver despite shooting 5% higher and nabbing the same amount of rebounds and getting the same amount of turnovers. It's probably because they had 32 foul shots compared to our 17. We were the home court so I don't want to blame the refs, but I have to a little bit. I can't see the NBA not wanting Carmelo and AI in the playoffs, so they'll take any win they can get. I really didn't want to lose this game because I hate both those players because they can't shoot worth a lick. Also on the headlines it said Carmelo's 34 downs Sonics, but I would have put up a headline like "Ray Allen's 44 not enough in losing effort to Fat Carmelo, Ball Hog AI and the sucky Nuggets". Another positive out of this is that Wilcox and Collison are looking great, Wilcox is the finesse talent, and Collison is the gritty, down and dirty player.
We squeeked out a win against Minnesota by getting only 7 turnovers. Ray Allen took 30 shots and scored 36 on amazing shooting across the board. Wilcox and Collison got double doubles againt, and Collison also had 2 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals. Craig Smith, a beast from BC, got 26 and 8 off the bench for Minnesota and Garnett was one shy of a triple double, but I think Garnett's lack of aggressiveness on shooting (which is Garnett's biggest weakness I think), and the fact that Randy Foye isn't good enough yet to take the big shot in the end killed them. Right now it's just Ricky Davis taking their last shots and he is unreliable both in basketball, and in life.
Yesterday's game against the Clippers was pathetic. After 3 quarters, we were losing 89-56. None of the stats mean anything because we put in all our reserves really early. The only positive things about this game are that Petro and Sene did well, and we have a better chance at a good lottery pick. Right now, the lottery's looking pretty good with all these stud freshman.
Mariners:
Mariners are reportedly about to sign Weaver for a one year 8.325 million dollar deal. I was high on Weaver halfway through last year, but now I don't know. He was at his low point then, and now he's at a semi-high point. St. Louis can make anyone look good apparently so, I'm not completely sold on him. He had a .303 batting average against him last year, and Lefties slugged .609 against him last year. He also never had an ERA less than 5 for a month when he was in the AL. This deal isn't that bad though. It's only one year, and he might do well. We'll take anything to get Ichiro back on board at this point. If he can regain those 3 mph on his fastball, he can be the effective pitcher he was projected to be, or at least a good 4th starter. I wasn't sold on Baek or Woods, but I don't know if $8 million dollars is worth the extra 2 wins.
We also signed Arthur Rhodes, which reminds me of the early 2000 seasons when he had 10 wins or sub 2 ERA. Rhodes was horrible last year in Philly, but just the year before, he had a 2. flat ERA in Cleveland. Giving him a minor league contract is a great idea, low risk high reward.
Also in not so recent news, Felix Hernandez is looking slim. This is great news because most people believe that the shin problems he had in spring training were from the 230 pounds on his frame, and the extra relief on his legs will make him a better pitcher, and that if he wasn't hurt then, his season would have been better. (Jon's note: the biggest problem Venezuelans have is that they are FAT and LAZY. Miguel Cabrera oozes with talent but coaches question his work ethic. He is also fat.) The weight loss, plus the increased trust in Johjima should make him a better pitcher.
Pac 10:
I watched the Stanford USC game Thursday night, and Brook Lopez was the man that day. Triple double with 12 blocks! He isn't really much of a block machine, but he was on that night. His coach said that that day will cement his draft status in the lottery which is ludicrous because he needs to be more consistent. Stanford then went on to beat UCLA, proving to me that the Pac-10 has 7 studs, 1 fairly good team, and 2 mediocre ones.
Also on TV was UNC's domination of Arizona. I was rooting for Arizona, but they look like a team in disarray. Marcus Williams was hurt, but the game should have been close at least. Most fun to watch was Psycho T's monster dunk, and the two times Mustafa Shakur had stupid turnovers, he ran back and had monster blocks to make up for it. Also what hurt Arizona was that Budinger had early fouls and couldn't play much until the game was already out of hand. Another big factor was luck, 1 for 23 in 3 pointers just isn't very good.
Seattle Products:
Jamal Crawford made 16 straight shots including 8 threes and 52 total points. I don't think he dunked it once, and my brother and I were going crazy because he was putting up long threes and fadeaways. I'm just glad one of my favorite players is doing so well, and it was awesome to watch.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
NBA Midseason MVP
Since Nash and the Phoenix Suns played (and whooped) Gilbert Arenas and the Washington Wizards, I thought it would be appropriate to hand out the Midseason Award for MVP. Right now, I only see three players in the mix: Steve Nash, Gilbert Arenas, and Dirk Nowitzki. Here's the pros and cons of all three:
Steve Nash: His team has been nasty since their 1-5 start. Playing better than last year according to everyone. He's making 54% of his FG attempts AND he's scoring more (19.5 PPG over 15.5 from his first MVP season) despite Amare being back. He's got more assists than ever at 11.6 APG. And he's shooting 49.8% from 3pt land despite shooting more threes than ever (5.2 a game making 2.6). Those are some Insane numbers. Also, Nash's game over Arenas (27 PPG and 14APG) was AMAZING. He missed only 2 shots and was effective, efficient, and a true leader/point guard. As Bill Simmons has said, Nash is playing angry and looks like he will take over games scoring wise sometimes. Nash's only problem is that he has won the last two MVP awards and voter's might be hesitant to give him three in a row as that has only been done with the cream of the cream of the crop (Wilt, Bill Russel, and Bird. yes... not even MJ, both of them).
Dirk Nowitzki: His Mavs have been on fire since their 0-4 start. His numbers aren't great and it has been said that the emergence of Josh Howard is a possible reason (though I look at his numbers and don't see a huge difference). Dirk is VERY efficient this year as he has posted a 50% FG percentage and a 42% 3PT percentage, and a 90% FT percentage. Also, as Greg Anthony has noted, Dirk plays like a 7-footer this year. His 3pt attempts are way down and he's down near the basket more. This won't necessarily help out his number but I think this is a big reason for the Mavericks' sick record.
Gilbert Arenas: He has a new nickname (Agent Zero) and a new calling card (Hibachi!). He's putting up a great stat line 29 PPG, 6 APG, and 4 RPG. He's also made some HUGE shots and with flair. He has hit multiple 3pts to win games and if you watch the tapes, he KNOWS those shots are going in. I for one have really enjoyed his performances. His team is on pace for a 49-win season which is good enough for a first or second seed in the East, however it IS the East.
I think that voters will put aside the fact that only 3 players have enjoyed the MVP 3 times in a row and will make Steve Nash the 4th player due to his numbers, his leadership, and his team's performance.
(HerseyChris's input)
I'd put Kobe 2 behind Nash, and then Dirk, with Arenas 4th. Kobe is averaging 28.3 points per game, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game. True these numbers aren't as good as last year, where he averaged an amazing 35 points per game. His shooting percentage this year is roughly the same, except he is shooting 2% better in overall FG. Also he was hampered early by injury, and has become more and more explosive as time has gone on. Most impressive of all is that Kobe is getting his teammates involved, no matter how little talent they have, and with Lamar Odom sidelined for over a month, Kobe still has the Lakers in position to win be second in the division after Phoenix. Lets face it the Lakers are 50% Kobe, 30% Odom, 10% Phil Jackson, and 10% the rest of the team. So Kobe can get most, if not all, of the credit for carrying this Lakers franchise. Guys like Luke Walton, Vlad Radmanovic, Brian Cook, Andrew Bynum, Smush Parker, Kwame Brown, Chris Mihm, Maurice Evans, and Jordan Farmar are not great complementary players, but if one of these guys is your 3rd best player (in this case with Odom out 2nd best) then you're probably not going to make the playoffs. And yet Kobe has carried this team to a sure playoff spot. Perhaps whats best about Kobe is his uncanny resemblance to MJ, selfish in the beginning with awesome dunking ability, then able to feed his teammates and shoot a pretty J. His intensity on both ends of the court is rivalled only by MJ (and if we're going by other sports Tiger). Kobe won't get the award though because Nash's team is unstoppable. Nash has improved even more this past year, and if Kobe didn't get it last year with his amazing scoring, then he surely won't get it this year either.
Steve Nash: His team has been nasty since their 1-5 start. Playing better than last year according to everyone. He's making 54% of his FG attempts AND he's scoring more (19.5 PPG over 15.5 from his first MVP season) despite Amare being back. He's got more assists than ever at 11.6 APG. And he's shooting 49.8% from 3pt land despite shooting more threes than ever (5.2 a game making 2.6). Those are some Insane numbers. Also, Nash's game over Arenas (27 PPG and 14APG) was AMAZING. He missed only 2 shots and was effective, efficient, and a true leader/point guard. As Bill Simmons has said, Nash is playing angry and looks like he will take over games scoring wise sometimes. Nash's only problem is that he has won the last two MVP awards and voter's might be hesitant to give him three in a row as that has only been done with the cream of the cream of the crop (Wilt, Bill Russel, and Bird. yes... not even MJ, both of them).
Dirk Nowitzki: His Mavs have been on fire since their 0-4 start. His numbers aren't great and it has been said that the emergence of Josh Howard is a possible reason (though I look at his numbers and don't see a huge difference). Dirk is VERY efficient this year as he has posted a 50% FG percentage and a 42% 3PT percentage, and a 90% FT percentage. Also, as Greg Anthony has noted, Dirk plays like a 7-footer this year. His 3pt attempts are way down and he's down near the basket more. This won't necessarily help out his number but I think this is a big reason for the Mavericks' sick record.
Gilbert Arenas: He has a new nickname (Agent Zero) and a new calling card (Hibachi!). He's putting up a great stat line 29 PPG, 6 APG, and 4 RPG. He's also made some HUGE shots and with flair. He has hit multiple 3pts to win games and if you watch the tapes, he KNOWS those shots are going in. I for one have really enjoyed his performances. His team is on pace for a 49-win season which is good enough for a first or second seed in the East, however it IS the East.
I think that voters will put aside the fact that only 3 players have enjoyed the MVP 3 times in a row and will make Steve Nash the 4th player due to his numbers, his leadership, and his team's performance.
(HerseyChris's input)
I'd put Kobe 2 behind Nash, and then Dirk, with Arenas 4th. Kobe is averaging 28.3 points per game, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game. True these numbers aren't as good as last year, where he averaged an amazing 35 points per game. His shooting percentage this year is roughly the same, except he is shooting 2% better in overall FG. Also he was hampered early by injury, and has become more and more explosive as time has gone on. Most impressive of all is that Kobe is getting his teammates involved, no matter how little talent they have, and with Lamar Odom sidelined for over a month, Kobe still has the Lakers in position to win be second in the division after Phoenix. Lets face it the Lakers are 50% Kobe, 30% Odom, 10% Phil Jackson, and 10% the rest of the team. So Kobe can get most, if not all, of the credit for carrying this Lakers franchise. Guys like Luke Walton, Vlad Radmanovic, Brian Cook, Andrew Bynum, Smush Parker, Kwame Brown, Chris Mihm, Maurice Evans, and Jordan Farmar are not great complementary players, but if one of these guys is your 3rd best player (in this case with Odom out 2nd best) then you're probably not going to make the playoffs. And yet Kobe has carried this team to a sure playoff spot. Perhaps whats best about Kobe is his uncanny resemblance to MJ, selfish in the beginning with awesome dunking ability, then able to feed his teammates and shoot a pretty J. His intensity on both ends of the court is rivalled only by MJ (and if we're going by other sports Tiger). Kobe won't get the award though because Nash's team is unstoppable. Nash has improved even more this past year, and if Kobe didn't get it last year with his amazing scoring, then he surely won't get it this year either.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Chase Utley Deal, Mike Vick, and Tampa's OF
So Chase Utley, in my opinion the best 2nd baseman, got a deal for 7 years 85 Million Dollars. Good deal if you ask me. He doesn't have a history of getting injured, he's fairly young at 28, and he's probably the best 2nd baseman right now. He's a lefty, he's a fan favorite, he plays solid defense, and he's a 5 tool player. 302/339/532. Great numbers for a 2b, but he does play in Philadelphia where the park is nice and easy, especially for lefties. His away numbers are 289/361/485 which aren't much worse, because his OBP is so much higher. All in all, I'd say 12 million dollars per year is a pretty sweet deal. Only way it could be bad is if their buying high (he only has 2 full years of experience), if he gets injured, or if he ages quickly like Erstad. But with the way prices are right now, I'd pay 12 million a year for a 5 tool lefty second baseman. (Jon's Comment: The Phillies are also forfeiting the contract they currently have with him which is probably for a very cheap deal).
Mike Vick is supposedly going to be exonerated for the water bottle incident. First of all, he's an idiot. I never liked him as football player, and he's an idiot for flicking off his own fans too. Everyone knows you can't carry water bottles into airports, especially a guy like him who flies all the time. Why would he have a special water bottle like that anyways? ESPN's report says that it had a "compartment that contained a small amount of dark particulate and an odor consistent with marijuana, according to a police report." That seems fishy to me that it WASN'T marijuana, and I wonder if he didn't' pay the police off or something. What the hell could it possibly be? Anyways, the Falcons can't really cut him, he's a big time publicity stunt/fan draw, and he is supposedly the highest paid QB in the NFL. I don't think Schaub's the answer, but if Vick can't get it done with 3 solid RB, 3 big first round pick WRs and Alge Crumpler, then the Falcons should draft some O-lineman and if Vick STILL can't get it done, then they should cut him. There's no reason a team that good should suck that much. At this point he's just a glorified Seneca Wallace. (Jon's Comment: everyone used to say that Vick wasn't a conventional QB and that he didn't put up the great passing numbers but he had something that was more important: he knew how to win. WELL GUESS WHAT? Now he's not winning and I'm pretty sure the reason the Falcons were winning before was a great defense and a good running game. I hate the "he just knows how to win despite what his stats say" argument. Wait long enough and see if it works, and for Vick it didnt' work. This goes for Brady too. See how many more Super Bowls he wins now that his defense ain't so great).
I was reading Buster Olney's article on young talent in baseball, and I didn't realize that Rocco Baldelli had such a good year last year. .302 average with .339 OBP and .533 slugging percentage? When did he get that much power? In 92 games, he hit 24 doubles and 16 hrs. Thats a heck of a stat line, especially for a CF. He's pretty much comparable to Sizemore or Crawford now. Combine him with Delmon Young, who can rake at a 317 clip with a 476 slugging, and Crawford, who had a stat line of .305/.348/.482 and 58 SB (he also missed 11 games from jumping after he scored a run), and you have by far the best young OF in the league. They could even be the best OF period, even better than Matsui, Damon, and Abreu/Sheffield or Dunn, Griffey, and Kearns (oh wait, that never panned out). I was hoping some combination of Reed, Jones, Snelling, and Ichiro would be great but not powerful, but it looks like that won't happen.
Mike Vick is supposedly going to be exonerated for the water bottle incident. First of all, he's an idiot. I never liked him as football player, and he's an idiot for flicking off his own fans too. Everyone knows you can't carry water bottles into airports, especially a guy like him who flies all the time. Why would he have a special water bottle like that anyways? ESPN's report says that it had a "compartment that contained a small amount of dark particulate and an odor consistent with marijuana, according to a police report." That seems fishy to me that it WASN'T marijuana, and I wonder if he didn't' pay the police off or something. What the hell could it possibly be? Anyways, the Falcons can't really cut him, he's a big time publicity stunt/fan draw, and he is supposedly the highest paid QB in the NFL. I don't think Schaub's the answer, but if Vick can't get it done with 3 solid RB, 3 big first round pick WRs and Alge Crumpler, then the Falcons should draft some O-lineman and if Vick STILL can't get it done, then they should cut him. There's no reason a team that good should suck that much. At this point he's just a glorified Seneca Wallace. (Jon's Comment: everyone used to say that Vick wasn't a conventional QB and that he didn't put up the great passing numbers but he had something that was more important: he knew how to win. WELL GUESS WHAT? Now he's not winning and I'm pretty sure the reason the Falcons were winning before was a great defense and a good running game. I hate the "he just knows how to win despite what his stats say" argument. Wait long enough and see if it works, and for Vick it didnt' work. This goes for Brady too. See how many more Super Bowls he wins now that his defense ain't so great).
I was reading Buster Olney's article on young talent in baseball, and I didn't realize that Rocco Baldelli had such a good year last year. .302 average with .339 OBP and .533 slugging percentage? When did he get that much power? In 92 games, he hit 24 doubles and 16 hrs. Thats a heck of a stat line, especially for a CF. He's pretty much comparable to Sizemore or Crawford now. Combine him with Delmon Young, who can rake at a 317 clip with a 476 slugging, and Crawford, who had a stat line of .305/.348/.482 and 58 SB (he also missed 11 games from jumping after he scored a run), and you have by far the best young OF in the league. They could even be the best OF period, even better than Matsui, Damon, and Abreu/Sheffield or Dunn, Griffey, and Kearns (oh wait, that never panned out). I was hoping some combination of Reed, Jones, Snelling, and Ichiro would be great but not powerful, but it looks like that won't happen.
Monday Morning Review Jan 22nd
Sports are starting to wind down. Football playoffs are still going, but they're almost over, and Seattle's out anyways. That just leaves basketball, though football's offseason will be exciting (would be more exciting if the Seahawks actually had a first round pick). NBA midseason report should be coming back, as well as a discussion of who the best college basketball players are and what their draft status is so far.
Sonics:
Sonics went 2-0 against Cleveland and Milwaukee. The win against Cleveland would look better if they didn't also lose to Portland. Ray Allen has 22 points 11 assists with a horrible 6-21 shooting. Collison and Wilcox continued their strong play with lines of 14 12 and 16 12 respectively. I'm not too sure why we won because LeBron had 30/7/8 and Ilgauskus had 24 11. We had the same amount of shots, shooting percentage, and turnovers roughly, but I guess the +10 team rebounding is a big reason why we won.
We then blew out Milwaukee, who didn't have Redd, Villanueva, or Maurice Williams. So that would be like us not having Ridnour (or Watson), Ray Ray, and Rashard. Collison had 13 points 16 rebounds 2 steals 2 blocks in just 33 minutes. Ray Allen put up 21/4/3 in 28 minutes. No one else really had good stat lines because we were winning by 30 at one point. Petro got 9 pts 9 rebs in limited minutes, and Wilkins showed that he deserves playing time. Ridnour also played well getting 13 points on 5-6 shooting, 6 assists, a steal and a block. Overall, about as good of a week for the Sonics as you can get. Too bad their season is almost over, barring a miracle run with the return of Rashard.
Huskies:
Just about as much of a nightmare as one could dream up. Our only Pac-10 win is against Arizona State, the 2nd worst team in the Pac 10. We then lose to Washington State by almost 30 points. Granted we didn't have Hawes, but we still shouldn't have lost. I wish Artem Wallace didn't suck so much, because Hans Gasser is horrible. As a team, we shot 28% which is never going to win a game, and they shot 54%, which is also not going to win many games, so I guess you mix those two and you get a blow out. Oliver and Nelson weren't very good at all, and combined with Artem Wallace our third starter, we got 0 points out of 60% of our lineup. I think its time to start Pondexter and Dentmon again. They're not that bad at shooting, and we need their athleticism and defense. Washington State isn't very big, so I don't know why we played Gasser for 26 minutes, I'd rather play Burmeister, who shoots well and doesn't make many mistakes. Gasser managed to only get 3 rebounds in that time, block 0 shots, and get 0 fouls. To sum it up, pretty much only Brockman and Pondexter played well at all. For Washington State, Derrick Low and Kyle Weaver look like 2nd team Pac 10 players at this rate. Coming up is Oregon and Oregon State. Oregon State should be a gimme (and congrats to them for picking up oft-troubled Seattle product CJ Giles who transferred from Kansas, their second Seattle transfer in 2 years) and Oregon should be hard, but if Hawes is back I still think we're the 3rd most talented team in the conference. Good news also, Aaron Brooks is sitting this game out because he elbowed Appleby last year. Sucks for the Seattle product, but good for us. He's been talked about as player of the year anyways, so he shouldn't be too mad. Also, USC is now ranked 25th, making it 5 Pac 10 teams in the top 25. I thought this would happen, I just thought it would be Washington, not Washington State. Also, Oregon is ranked 7th, but with only 1 loss to USC, and wins against Georgetown, UCLA, and Arizona, they should be ranked higher. If they were in the ACC, they'd be ranked top 5. And according to "bracketologist" Joe Lunardi, the Huskies last week weren't even in the tournament, but after this past week's loss, I might have to agree with him.
Seahawks:
Seahawks signed Jim Mora as their Assistant Coach/Secondary Coach. This is good news because he's a good coach and our secondary has problems. I'm guessing this is real temporary, and he'll replace Holmgren or Willingham in a year.
Rumors:
Pau Gasol is being rumored in a trade, and I say the Sonics should try to get a trade done. With the exceptions of Ray Allen, Nick Collison, and Ridnour, I'd say anyone should be up for a trade. Pau Gasol is an extremely skilled big man, and while he's not a true center, he is a big power forward.
Kirilenko has also expressed some unhappiness, and while the Jazz probably wouldn't even consider trading AK-47, they might think that Deron Williams and Boozer is their future. I'd also be interested in trading for him, as I think when he's healthy he's a top 10 player in this league.
Sonics:
Sonics went 2-0 against Cleveland and Milwaukee. The win against Cleveland would look better if they didn't also lose to Portland. Ray Allen has 22 points 11 assists with a horrible 6-21 shooting. Collison and Wilcox continued their strong play with lines of 14 12 and 16 12 respectively. I'm not too sure why we won because LeBron had 30/7/8 and Ilgauskus had 24 11. We had the same amount of shots, shooting percentage, and turnovers roughly, but I guess the +10 team rebounding is a big reason why we won.
We then blew out Milwaukee, who didn't have Redd, Villanueva, or Maurice Williams. So that would be like us not having Ridnour (or Watson), Ray Ray, and Rashard. Collison had 13 points 16 rebounds 2 steals 2 blocks in just 33 minutes. Ray Allen put up 21/4/3 in 28 minutes. No one else really had good stat lines because we were winning by 30 at one point. Petro got 9 pts 9 rebs in limited minutes, and Wilkins showed that he deserves playing time. Ridnour also played well getting 13 points on 5-6 shooting, 6 assists, a steal and a block. Overall, about as good of a week for the Sonics as you can get. Too bad their season is almost over, barring a miracle run with the return of Rashard.
Huskies:
Just about as much of a nightmare as one could dream up. Our only Pac-10 win is against Arizona State, the 2nd worst team in the Pac 10. We then lose to Washington State by almost 30 points. Granted we didn't have Hawes, but we still shouldn't have lost. I wish Artem Wallace didn't suck so much, because Hans Gasser is horrible. As a team, we shot 28% which is never going to win a game, and they shot 54%, which is also not going to win many games, so I guess you mix those two and you get a blow out. Oliver and Nelson weren't very good at all, and combined with Artem Wallace our third starter, we got 0 points out of 60% of our lineup. I think its time to start Pondexter and Dentmon again. They're not that bad at shooting, and we need their athleticism and defense. Washington State isn't very big, so I don't know why we played Gasser for 26 minutes, I'd rather play Burmeister, who shoots well and doesn't make many mistakes. Gasser managed to only get 3 rebounds in that time, block 0 shots, and get 0 fouls. To sum it up, pretty much only Brockman and Pondexter played well at all. For Washington State, Derrick Low and Kyle Weaver look like 2nd team Pac 10 players at this rate. Coming up is Oregon and Oregon State. Oregon State should be a gimme (and congrats to them for picking up oft-troubled Seattle product CJ Giles who transferred from Kansas, their second Seattle transfer in 2 years) and Oregon should be hard, but if Hawes is back I still think we're the 3rd most talented team in the conference. Good news also, Aaron Brooks is sitting this game out because he elbowed Appleby last year. Sucks for the Seattle product, but good for us. He's been talked about as player of the year anyways, so he shouldn't be too mad. Also, USC is now ranked 25th, making it 5 Pac 10 teams in the top 25. I thought this would happen, I just thought it would be Washington, not Washington State. Also, Oregon is ranked 7th, but with only 1 loss to USC, and wins against Georgetown, UCLA, and Arizona, they should be ranked higher. If they were in the ACC, they'd be ranked top 5. And according to "bracketologist" Joe Lunardi, the Huskies last week weren't even in the tournament, but after this past week's loss, I might have to agree with him.
Seahawks:
Seahawks signed Jim Mora as their Assistant Coach/Secondary Coach. This is good news because he's a good coach and our secondary has problems. I'm guessing this is real temporary, and he'll replace Holmgren or Willingham in a year.
Rumors:
Pau Gasol is being rumored in a trade, and I say the Sonics should try to get a trade done. With the exceptions of Ray Allen, Nick Collison, and Ridnour, I'd say anyone should be up for a trade. Pau Gasol is an extremely skilled big man, and while he's not a true center, he is a big power forward.
Kirilenko has also expressed some unhappiness, and while the Jazz probably wouldn't even consider trading AK-47, they might think that Deron Williams and Boozer is their future. I'd also be interested in trading for him, as I think when he's healthy he's a top 10 player in this league.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Seahawks review
If you had told me at the beginning of the season we were going to go 9-7 I would have laughed. I didn't see us going worse than 12-4. I figured Womack would be a downgrade from Hutchinson, but Womack was just one part of a whole, and the whole offensive line looked pretty good. Besides that, we lost Jurevicius a sure-handed receiver, but if we could plug in Jerehm Urban and DJ Hackett, then an athletic stud like Burleson would do nicely as well. After the Branch trade our WRs were stacked. Jackson was the all-around stud, Branch was the possession receiver with championship experience, Burleson was the uber-athletic slot receiver, Engram was the sure-handed veteran clutch in 3rd down situations, and DJ Hackett was the young guy who had tons of upside. Well, Jackson was good, then got injured, Branch never really played that well, Engram had a thryoid problem, Hackett stepped up but got injured in the playoffs, and Burleson became a $49 million dollar talented but raw punt and kickoff returner.
On the defensive side, we lost Jamie Sharper who was injured and replaced by DD Lewis anways, but gained Julian "the physical freak" Peterson. We lost Manuel, but got Hamlin back, and we lost Dyson, but drafted Jennings in round 1. On top of that, our young defense just got older and more experienced.
Grades:
Matt Hasselbeck D
He played about as bad as he could. He was injured for several weeks, injured his knee, his left throwing hand, and reports are that he could have played the entire season with a torn labrum on his throwing shoulder. Last year he was unbelievable, throwing only 9 picks. This year you expect about 10 off-target passes a game, putting the Hawks in bad situations. This probably forced him to do stupid things which only made things worse. I fully expect him next year to regain his title as best QB in the NFC.
Shaun Alexander C-
He looked horrible in the beginning, and he eventually cracked his foot which made him ineffective. He didn't look good until the Packers game when he ran for 200 yards, and the only other time he looked good was against the Bears. It's not all his fault though, for a guy who goes down on contact, he couldn't have prevented his injury. Many experts predicted his injury. 6 seasons without an injury, a great season with lots of carries the previous season, plus a SuperBowl run which meant even more carries. I also expect him to be better next year, but hopefully 3/5 of our O-Line won't be injured.
Darrell Jackson A-
Despite missing the last 3 games and playing injured other games, he had 956 yards and 10 TDs. He's probably the most underrated number 1 WR in the game.
Nate Burleson D
Sure he looked great on a few punt returns, but he 7 million dollars a year for a guy who had 18 catches for 192 yards is just ridiculous. What makes it worse is that our WR are too good and deep and we're investing too much money into them.
Deion Branch C+
If he played a full season he probably would have had 60 catches and 800 yards. That's pretty good, especially since we had so many WRs, but we gave up a first round pick for him. We need that pick for a guard, cornerback, or safety. Branch also had some key drops in big games, not something you'd expect from a former Super Bowl MVP.
DJ Hackett A
Hackett was so good that I wish we hadn't signed Burleson or traded for Branch. Why pay those guys a combined 13 million a year when we could have Hackett for less than a million?
Walter Jones: A-
He didn't make the All-Pro team, and wasn't as dominate this year as before. Still one of the best, but I dont' know why he slumped a bit this year.
Chris Spencer B+
Not a great guard, but decent. When he was moved to center, he was awesome. Tobeck retired recently and I'm glad we have Spencer to rely on. Wish we could have retained Tobeck for a few more years as a very good backup, but oh well.
Jerramy Stevens C-
Him and Mili (who might be done) were injured in the beginning of the year, so we had to rely on Will Heller. His official stats were 22 catches for 231 yards and 4 touchdowns. A guy as big, strong, and athletic as him should be getting 65 catches for 800 yards. For being such a punk he is a good blocker, and it seemed that when he was in the game, our running game was better. He also came up big against the Cowboys.
Grant Wistrom B
Wistrom must be the best player with a stat line as bad as his. 37 tackles, 1 FF, 4 Sacks. It seemed like he was in every play and his motor was always there. He's a great inspiration to the team and hell of a veteran.
Julian Peterson A+
Everything I hoped for. Completely over his injury, he had 90 tackles, 1 FF, 1 INT, and 10 Sacks for the season. A playmaker on defense with speed and power and you saw him on every play (unlike Leroy Hill who just dissapears).
Lofa Tatupu B-
123 tackles with 2 FF, 1 INT, and 1.5 Sacks. He looked lost sometimes, and didn't have that look like he did last year where he seemed to be in the right place all the time like Polomalu. He put on some weight in the offseason because at 235 he was getting pushed around by guys like Larry Allen (who doesn't?), but the extra weight made him slower and less effective I think. He also overpursued a lot of runs, which is bad because he is the safety cog, while LeRoy Hill and Peterson are the swift playmakers. He still made the Pro Bowl though even if it was undeserved, so this year wasn't a complete step backward.
Boulware and Hamlin: C-
I thought these two would be great safeties for the Seahawks for a while. I was wrong. They both have the athletic tools, but both are susceptible to the long ball. Boulware overpursues on runs still with his linebacker mentality. His rookie year he got picks but this year he overpursues every time. Against Minnesota on a 4th and goal (12 yards out or so) KC pitched it outside, and Boulware pursued even though the guy had to get 12 yards to get to the end zone. Moore, the running back, then threw to the guy that Boulware stopped covering, Jermaine Wiggins for a TD. Why would you go to help pursue this guy that is 12 yards from getting a TD when this TE runs right past you and you know there is no one back behind you? Boulware was benched for a few games, but then came back and still had the same problems. Hamlin played the full season, but made some dumb decisions like intercepting a long pass at our own 8 yard line on a 4th down then running directly out of bounds. He should have just batted the ball down.
Josh Brown A+
Having a guy who can kick 50 + yarders with great accuracy is special. It lets you know that all you have to do is get it to the 35 yard line and you can get points. Unfortunately Hasselbeck didn't help with this against the Bears, but having that in your mind puts so much pressure on the defense.
Plackemeier C+
In the beggining, he'd have big booming punts when he punted from midfield, and have sucky punts when we punted from our own endzone. By the end of season he was improving, but things like the Chicago game where he shanked his punt for 18 yards to allow them to get an easy field goal is where we got screwed. Kickers can't be so inconsistent, and Plackemeier needs to work on that. He has the talent, just needs to boom them when it's important to.
On the defensive side, we lost Jamie Sharper who was injured and replaced by DD Lewis anways, but gained Julian "the physical freak" Peterson. We lost Manuel, but got Hamlin back, and we lost Dyson, but drafted Jennings in round 1. On top of that, our young defense just got older and more experienced.
Grades:
Matt Hasselbeck D
He played about as bad as he could. He was injured for several weeks, injured his knee, his left throwing hand, and reports are that he could have played the entire season with a torn labrum on his throwing shoulder. Last year he was unbelievable, throwing only 9 picks. This year you expect about 10 off-target passes a game, putting the Hawks in bad situations. This probably forced him to do stupid things which only made things worse. I fully expect him next year to regain his title as best QB in the NFC.
Shaun Alexander C-
He looked horrible in the beginning, and he eventually cracked his foot which made him ineffective. He didn't look good until the Packers game when he ran for 200 yards, and the only other time he looked good was against the Bears. It's not all his fault though, for a guy who goes down on contact, he couldn't have prevented his injury. Many experts predicted his injury. 6 seasons without an injury, a great season with lots of carries the previous season, plus a SuperBowl run which meant even more carries. I also expect him to be better next year, but hopefully 3/5 of our O-Line won't be injured.
Darrell Jackson A-
Despite missing the last 3 games and playing injured other games, he had 956 yards and 10 TDs. He's probably the most underrated number 1 WR in the game.
Nate Burleson D
Sure he looked great on a few punt returns, but he 7 million dollars a year for a guy who had 18 catches for 192 yards is just ridiculous. What makes it worse is that our WR are too good and deep and we're investing too much money into them.
Deion Branch C+
If he played a full season he probably would have had 60 catches and 800 yards. That's pretty good, especially since we had so many WRs, but we gave up a first round pick for him. We need that pick for a guard, cornerback, or safety. Branch also had some key drops in big games, not something you'd expect from a former Super Bowl MVP.
DJ Hackett A
Hackett was so good that I wish we hadn't signed Burleson or traded for Branch. Why pay those guys a combined 13 million a year when we could have Hackett for less than a million?
Walter Jones: A-
He didn't make the All-Pro team, and wasn't as dominate this year as before. Still one of the best, but I dont' know why he slumped a bit this year.
Chris Spencer B+
Not a great guard, but decent. When he was moved to center, he was awesome. Tobeck retired recently and I'm glad we have Spencer to rely on. Wish we could have retained Tobeck for a few more years as a very good backup, but oh well.
Jerramy Stevens C-
Him and Mili (who might be done) were injured in the beginning of the year, so we had to rely on Will Heller. His official stats were 22 catches for 231 yards and 4 touchdowns. A guy as big, strong, and athletic as him should be getting 65 catches for 800 yards. For being such a punk he is a good blocker, and it seemed that when he was in the game, our running game was better. He also came up big against the Cowboys.
Grant Wistrom B
Wistrom must be the best player with a stat line as bad as his. 37 tackles, 1 FF, 4 Sacks. It seemed like he was in every play and his motor was always there. He's a great inspiration to the team and hell of a veteran.
Julian Peterson A+
Everything I hoped for. Completely over his injury, he had 90 tackles, 1 FF, 1 INT, and 10 Sacks for the season. A playmaker on defense with speed and power and you saw him on every play (unlike Leroy Hill who just dissapears).
Lofa Tatupu B-
123 tackles with 2 FF, 1 INT, and 1.5 Sacks. He looked lost sometimes, and didn't have that look like he did last year where he seemed to be in the right place all the time like Polomalu. He put on some weight in the offseason because at 235 he was getting pushed around by guys like Larry Allen (who doesn't?), but the extra weight made him slower and less effective I think. He also overpursued a lot of runs, which is bad because he is the safety cog, while LeRoy Hill and Peterson are the swift playmakers. He still made the Pro Bowl though even if it was undeserved, so this year wasn't a complete step backward.
Boulware and Hamlin: C-
I thought these two would be great safeties for the Seahawks for a while. I was wrong. They both have the athletic tools, but both are susceptible to the long ball. Boulware overpursues on runs still with his linebacker mentality. His rookie year he got picks but this year he overpursues every time. Against Minnesota on a 4th and goal (12 yards out or so) KC pitched it outside, and Boulware pursued even though the guy had to get 12 yards to get to the end zone. Moore, the running back, then threw to the guy that Boulware stopped covering, Jermaine Wiggins for a TD. Why would you go to help pursue this guy that is 12 yards from getting a TD when this TE runs right past you and you know there is no one back behind you? Boulware was benched for a few games, but then came back and still had the same problems. Hamlin played the full season, but made some dumb decisions like intercepting a long pass at our own 8 yard line on a 4th down then running directly out of bounds. He should have just batted the ball down.
Josh Brown A+
Having a guy who can kick 50 + yarders with great accuracy is special. It lets you know that all you have to do is get it to the 35 yard line and you can get points. Unfortunately Hasselbeck didn't help with this against the Bears, but having that in your mind puts so much pressure on the defense.
Plackemeier C+
In the beggining, he'd have big booming punts when he punted from midfield, and have sucky punts when we punted from our own endzone. By the end of season he was improving, but things like the Chicago game where he shanked his punt for 18 yards to allow them to get an easy field goal is where we got screwed. Kickers can't be so inconsistent, and Plackemeier needs to work on that. He has the talent, just needs to boom them when it's important to.
8 player swap between Pacers and Warriors
The Pacers and Warriors, two teams that have loads of talent, but are underperforming, traded 4 players each to each other. The Pacers traded away Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson, Sarunas Jasikevicious, and Josh Powell (a throw-in)while the Golden State gave up Troy Murphy, Michael Dunleavy, Ike Diogu, and Keith McLeod. At first I thought this deal was about even, but now I think that the Pacers are a much better team because of it.
I was always a fan of Golden State's young talent. Besides the three big names that were traded, they have Baron Davis, Monta Ellis, Andris Biedrins, Mickael Petrius, and Matt Barnes. Unfortunatley for the Warriers, Don Nelson just wasn't a fan of Troy Murphy or mike Dunleavy. I don't know why though. Troy Murphy is a beast down low, and if he didn't get injured, he would be a better version of Zach Randolph. Better on and off the court. If you look at Murphy's game log, he has some insane games (ex: 15 12 5 5 3). Murphy also shoots 3's at a 37% clip this season and a 35% career clip. An added bonus is that Murphy played his college ball for Notre Dame. Dunleavy is like a Wally Szcerbiak or Mike Miller. He'll never be the number one, or even number two scorer on the team (if he is you're in trouble), but he's a solid 3 scorer who can rebound, pass, and shoot. Anyone who went to Duke and is the son of an NBA head coach has to be passionate about the game and very smart. I'm also a big fan of Ike Diogu. He was dominate at ASU where he averaged 20 10 2. He is a bit undersized at 6-8, but he can still block shots (like Elton Brand), and he holds his own with his 255 pounds (muscle not fat). McLeod is not that good, but he is only 27, and shoots threes and FT's well.
How for what Indiana gave up. Al Harrington is a good young player at just 26. The last 5 years, he's averaged about 16 points and 6.5 rebounds. He's shooting an insane 46% from 3-land this year while making 1.5 per game. He doesn't get any blocks or steals though and has never played defense at the level he is capable of. Stephen Jackson is a thug, and plays out of position at the SG spot. He shoots less than 42% FG and less than 30% 3's. Despite being 6'8", he only gets 2.5 rebounds a game. His incident in the night club with a gun doesn't make him any more appealing. He's supposedly good at defense, but I think he's overrated in that area. Sarunas Jasikevicius is a pretty good player, but Golden State already has Davis and Ellis. Sarunas is one of the best FT men in the league and he's a pretty good distributor, but he's streaky in shooting. Solid player to have, but he's already 30.
Project starting lineups and bench rotation for both teams when healthy:
Indiana Pacers:
PG: Jamaal Tinsley
SG: Mike Dunleavy
SF: Danny Granger
PF: Troy Murphy
C: Jermaine O'Neal
Bench1: Jeff Foster
Bench2: Ike Diogu
Bench3: Stephen Jackson
Bench4: Darrell Armstrong
Golden State Warriors:
PG: Baron Davis
SG: Jason Richardson
SF: Mickael Petrius
PF: Al Harrington
C: Andris Biedrins
Bench1: Monta Ellis
Bench2: Matt Barnes
Bench3: Marquis Daniels
Bench4: Sarunas Jasikevicius
So, the Pacers get two guys for their starting lineup who in my opinion are great hard-working guys. The Warriors get one starter and bolster their bench. The only way this is a win for Golden State is if Murphy gets injured for the rest of the season. Even if he's gone injured at his usual 40% clip, Pacers still make out better.
I was always a fan of Golden State's young talent. Besides the three big names that were traded, they have Baron Davis, Monta Ellis, Andris Biedrins, Mickael Petrius, and Matt Barnes. Unfortunatley for the Warriers, Don Nelson just wasn't a fan of Troy Murphy or mike Dunleavy. I don't know why though. Troy Murphy is a beast down low, and if he didn't get injured, he would be a better version of Zach Randolph. Better on and off the court. If you look at Murphy's game log, he has some insane games (ex: 15 12 5 5 3). Murphy also shoots 3's at a 37% clip this season and a 35% career clip. An added bonus is that Murphy played his college ball for Notre Dame. Dunleavy is like a Wally Szcerbiak or Mike Miller. He'll never be the number one, or even number two scorer on the team (if he is you're in trouble), but he's a solid 3 scorer who can rebound, pass, and shoot. Anyone who went to Duke and is the son of an NBA head coach has to be passionate about the game and very smart. I'm also a big fan of Ike Diogu. He was dominate at ASU where he averaged 20 10 2. He is a bit undersized at 6-8, but he can still block shots (like Elton Brand), and he holds his own with his 255 pounds (muscle not fat). McLeod is not that good, but he is only 27, and shoots threes and FT's well.
How for what Indiana gave up. Al Harrington is a good young player at just 26. The last 5 years, he's averaged about 16 points and 6.5 rebounds. He's shooting an insane 46% from 3-land this year while making 1.5 per game. He doesn't get any blocks or steals though and has never played defense at the level he is capable of. Stephen Jackson is a thug, and plays out of position at the SG spot. He shoots less than 42% FG and less than 30% 3's. Despite being 6'8", he only gets 2.5 rebounds a game. His incident in the night club with a gun doesn't make him any more appealing. He's supposedly good at defense, but I think he's overrated in that area. Sarunas Jasikevicius is a pretty good player, but Golden State already has Davis and Ellis. Sarunas is one of the best FT men in the league and he's a pretty good distributor, but he's streaky in shooting. Solid player to have, but he's already 30.
Project starting lineups and bench rotation for both teams when healthy:
Indiana Pacers:
PG: Jamaal Tinsley
SG: Mike Dunleavy
SF: Danny Granger
PF: Troy Murphy
C: Jermaine O'Neal
Bench1: Jeff Foster
Bench2: Ike Diogu
Bench3: Stephen Jackson
Bench4: Darrell Armstrong
Golden State Warriors:
PG: Baron Davis
SG: Jason Richardson
SF: Mickael Petrius
PF: Al Harrington
C: Andris Biedrins
Bench1: Monta Ellis
Bench2: Matt Barnes
Bench3: Marquis Daniels
Bench4: Sarunas Jasikevicius
So, the Pacers get two guys for their starting lineup who in my opinion are great hard-working guys. The Warriors get one starter and bolster their bench. The only way this is a win for Golden State is if Murphy gets injured for the rest of the season. Even if he's gone injured at his usual 40% clip, Pacers still make out better.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
NFL Playoffs: Week 3
First let me recap the games from last week: The Indy Baltimore game was the most boring game I have EVER watched and Steve McNair WAS WHO I THOUGHT HE WAS: a sucky, overrated QB. Seahawks played well (we didn't get blown out like people were predicting for some reason) but missed our chances. Pats beat the Chargers just like I said (with some luck though). And the Eagles finally came back to Earth (but the Saints only beat them by three). Now on to next week:
New England Patriots AT Indianapolis Colts:
Its funny how neither the ONE or the TWO seed made it in the NFC, but these two teams were big favorites in preseason (at least Indy was, and once NE made the playoffs, they were). Colts D has looked pretty good, but they played Baltimore last week who STINKS. Peyton Manning has looked bad for some reason and if he plays like he has so far in the playoffs, they will not win. I'm going to guess that he plays better but I'm still going to pick NE. If the Colts win, I'm going to guess kicking might be a factor, cause you have "the most clutch kicker ever" against a rookie dude whose name I can't even spell.
New Orlean Saints AT Chicago Bears:
This is very tought to call. Both teams had very close games last week. If the Seahawks didn't screw up some plays though, they would have won. The Saints have Drew Brees who has played a lot better than Hasselbeck and they have a LOT more weapons (especially since we had some guys injured). Grossman looked good last week, but he still CAUSED a touchdown for the Seahawks with that retarded fumble. Grossman could have just taken the sack but instead he went for the "gunslinger" I can still squeeze something out of this play approach. Grossman was also playing against a rookie CB, a backup Safety as the 2nd CB and a guy who was a loan officer two weeks ago as the nickle. I don't think the Saints have quite the same predicament. I will pick Saints because the Bears D ain't what it used to be and Deuce McCallister (not Bush) will have a good game.
New England Patriots AT Indianapolis Colts:
Its funny how neither the ONE or the TWO seed made it in the NFC, but these two teams were big favorites in preseason (at least Indy was, and once NE made the playoffs, they were). Colts D has looked pretty good, but they played Baltimore last week who STINKS. Peyton Manning has looked bad for some reason and if he plays like he has so far in the playoffs, they will not win. I'm going to guess that he plays better but I'm still going to pick NE. If the Colts win, I'm going to guess kicking might be a factor, cause you have "the most clutch kicker ever" against a rookie dude whose name I can't even spell.
New Orlean Saints AT Chicago Bears:
This is very tought to call. Both teams had very close games last week. If the Seahawks didn't screw up some plays though, they would have won. The Saints have Drew Brees who has played a lot better than Hasselbeck and they have a LOT more weapons (especially since we had some guys injured). Grossman looked good last week, but he still CAUSED a touchdown for the Seahawks with that retarded fumble. Grossman could have just taken the sack but instead he went for the "gunslinger" I can still squeeze something out of this play approach. Grossman was also playing against a rookie CB, a backup Safety as the 2nd CB and a guy who was a loan officer two weeks ago as the nickle. I don't think the Saints have quite the same predicament. I will pick Saints because the Bears D ain't what it used to be and Deuce McCallister (not Bush) will have a good game.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Monday Morning Review Jan 15
This week was about as bad as it gets in Seattle Sports. The Huskies lost two more to start 1-5 in Pac 10 play, and the Seahawks season is over.
Huskies
Two away losses to Stanford and Cal, probably the 7th and 8th best teams in the Pac-10 right now, better than only ASU and OSU.
Against Stanford, Brockman was amazing, putting up a 23 10 line. Problem is, no one else was. Hawes and Pondexter were horrible, and Appleby only took 6 shots. We outrebounded them 36 to 23, but still managed to lose because we couldn't draw fouls or play good enough defense. They ended up shooting 55% compared to our 48% and our turnovers were about the same as theirs.
Against Cal, Hawes, the number 6 recruit in the nation, was outplayed by Ryan Wright. In this game, only Dentmon performed real well. Cal only shot 39%, but managed to outrebound us 43 to 34. We also had zero blocked shots, which means that our defense forced bad shots, but never went for the ball much and didn't try for the rebound as much. I'm glad we finally drew more freethrows, but we shot horrendously thanks to Brockman's 1 for 6, and we still had five fewer than Cal(probably from fouling in the end though).
Seahawks
An exciting game, and I'm glad Alexander finally did well. I thought we were going to win because we had Josh Brown on our team, but we failed to make anything on three consecutive drives. Whenever we'd get into near field goal range, we'd go backwards and Hasselbeck would get sacked. Alexander was on fire after the first quarter, churning out 10 yard runs seemingly on every other run. Hasselbeck's throwing is still off, and without D-Jack being effective, Hackett playing, Tubbs not there to plug up the middle, and our corners to provid any kind of pass defense, I'm pretty proud of this team.
Sonics
You know it's not a great week when the Sonics going 1-2 is the highlight of the weak. That's the only win for Seattle this week. First game we lost to the Suns away, but that loss was actually positive because the Suns are awesome, Collison posted a 29 pts 21 reb line, and Petro posted a 10 pts 10 reb 2 block line. I'm glade Collison did well because he's one of my favorite players. He's a hustle machine and he gets the most out of his talent. Collison also did a great job on Amare holding him to 12 and 7. I always thought Collison was a tough gritty defender, he just didn't get enough credit because he doesn't get the stats like blocks and steals. Ridnour is still exiled to the bench with minutes in the teens after posting fantastic numbers before. Sure he slumped in the last 2 weeks, but whatever, he's a great point guard. Making Ray Allen handle the ball more isn't good, it'll just tire him out for shooting.
We then lose a close game to Miami, despite almost everyone doing well. Collison again has a good game by putting up 21 9. Wilcox put up 28 13. Ray Allen put up 29, 6, and 7. Ridnour finally got some minutes and played pretty well. Unfortunately Dwyane Wade had 13 assists, 29 points, and 17 free throws, 3 fewer than the entire Sonics team. NBA finals all over again.
Finally the great overtime win over Utah. 29 13 for Collison for his 3rd consecutive 20 9 game. Earl Watson gets 16 assists after getting 11 the game before. And of course, Ray Allen goes off for 54 points, 8 threes, 10 boards, and 5 assists. Lots of free throws shot, as there were almost 80 free throws combined. Utah is a quality team, so this is definetley a quality win. So despite going 1-2, the Sonics looked pretty damn good. Collison has finally emerged, and Rashard Lewis should be back soon.
Huskies
Two away losses to Stanford and Cal, probably the 7th and 8th best teams in the Pac-10 right now, better than only ASU and OSU.
Against Stanford, Brockman was amazing, putting up a 23 10 line. Problem is, no one else was. Hawes and Pondexter were horrible, and Appleby only took 6 shots. We outrebounded them 36 to 23, but still managed to lose because we couldn't draw fouls or play good enough defense. They ended up shooting 55% compared to our 48% and our turnovers were about the same as theirs.
Against Cal, Hawes, the number 6 recruit in the nation, was outplayed by Ryan Wright. In this game, only Dentmon performed real well. Cal only shot 39%, but managed to outrebound us 43 to 34. We also had zero blocked shots, which means that our defense forced bad shots, but never went for the ball much and didn't try for the rebound as much. I'm glad we finally drew more freethrows, but we shot horrendously thanks to Brockman's 1 for 6, and we still had five fewer than Cal(probably from fouling in the end though).
Seahawks
An exciting game, and I'm glad Alexander finally did well. I thought we were going to win because we had Josh Brown on our team, but we failed to make anything on three consecutive drives. Whenever we'd get into near field goal range, we'd go backwards and Hasselbeck would get sacked. Alexander was on fire after the first quarter, churning out 10 yard runs seemingly on every other run. Hasselbeck's throwing is still off, and without D-Jack being effective, Hackett playing, Tubbs not there to plug up the middle, and our corners to provid any kind of pass defense, I'm pretty proud of this team.
Sonics
You know it's not a great week when the Sonics going 1-2 is the highlight of the weak. That's the only win for Seattle this week. First game we lost to the Suns away, but that loss was actually positive because the Suns are awesome, Collison posted a 29 pts 21 reb line, and Petro posted a 10 pts 10 reb 2 block line. I'm glade Collison did well because he's one of my favorite players. He's a hustle machine and he gets the most out of his talent. Collison also did a great job on Amare holding him to 12 and 7. I always thought Collison was a tough gritty defender, he just didn't get enough credit because he doesn't get the stats like blocks and steals. Ridnour is still exiled to the bench with minutes in the teens after posting fantastic numbers before. Sure he slumped in the last 2 weeks, but whatever, he's a great point guard. Making Ray Allen handle the ball more isn't good, it'll just tire him out for shooting.
We then lose a close game to Miami, despite almost everyone doing well. Collison again has a good game by putting up 21 9. Wilcox put up 28 13. Ray Allen put up 29, 6, and 7. Ridnour finally got some minutes and played pretty well. Unfortunately Dwyane Wade had 13 assists, 29 points, and 17 free throws, 3 fewer than the entire Sonics team. NBA finals all over again.
Finally the great overtime win over Utah. 29 13 for Collison for his 3rd consecutive 20 9 game. Earl Watson gets 16 assists after getting 11 the game before. And of course, Ray Allen goes off for 54 points, 8 threes, 10 boards, and 5 assists. Lots of free throws shot, as there were almost 80 free throws combined. Utah is a quality team, so this is definetley a quality win. So despite going 1-2, the Sonics looked pretty damn good. Collison has finally emerged, and Rashard Lewis should be back soon.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
NFL Playoffs: Week 2
AFC:
San Diego Charger (1 seed) v. New England Patriots (4 seed)
This is a funny matchup because it pits the greatest playoff coach of ALL TIME, Belichick, against the coach with a huge reputation for sucking when it matters, Marty Schottenheimer. San Deigo also has a rookie QB (rookie enough for me) who struggled late in the season while NE has TOM BRADY, who is GOD ON EARTH (at least to ESPN). So San Diego has LT and Shawne Merriman, the person who proves that people don't care if you cheat as long as you are really good (cept for Bonds or McGwire... I guess this just applies to football then. I'll never understand why no one makes a bigger deal out of it. He said there was a mixup but he tested positive for some kind of SERIOUS steriod, not some over-the-counter supplement type mix-up stuff. Also, the effects of steroids LASTS longer than the four-week suspension. Merriman is playing football right now with the benefits of CHEATING so I think the penalty is not stiff enough). Since its the playoffs, I will pick the Pats.
Baltimore Ravens (2) v. Indianapolis Colts (3)
This is ALSO a funny matchup because of the history of the Colts who fled Baltimore in the dead of the night so long ago (who wouldn't. I was there once and thought the city sucked too). However, Baltimore is my pick to win the superbowl, so I'm sticking with them even though I don't believe in their offense at all (Steve McNair and his "intangibles" are crap. ESPN guys are retarded. Look at his numbers. They aren't that good.) Even though the Colts looked awesome last week, they played against the Chiefs and Herm Edwards CLEARLY can't coach. It was ONE game, and I'm sure an entire season worth of games says more. ALSO, Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning in the playoffs? please.
NFC:
Chicago Bears (1) v. Seattle Seahawks
As much as I love the Seahawks, we have looked so mediocre all year, I just can't pick us. Am I glad we are playing the Bears this week? YES. Grossman's QB rating probably has the largest standard deviation out of any QB EVER! The defense looks bad lately, they ARE missing Mike Brown and that DT who wrecked havok on the Seahawks during their regular season matchup, Tommy Harris. Like I've said before, EVEN if Grossman SUCKS, I can still see the Bears winning. So, I'll pick the Bears. I've said a lot about the Seahawks, you can look below. In summary of them: Offense still not clicking, defense looking better but still Big Play problems.
New Orlean Saints (2) v. Philidelphia Eagles (3)
I HATE the Eagles. I thought they were going to win last week even though I picked against them. And they BARELY won at home versus a struggling Giants team (I know I know, you can say the same about the Seahawks, but I hear no Seahawks praise like I do of the Eagles). I think the Saints are GREAT. SO many Weapons! Even though the chargers are playing well, I bet Brees is glad he's in New Orleans and I bet MIAMI wishes they could have picked him instead of Daunte Culpepper. Philly has had there run with Jeff Garcia and it was a good run, but now its over.
San Diego Charger (1 seed) v. New England Patriots (4 seed)
This is a funny matchup because it pits the greatest playoff coach of ALL TIME, Belichick, against the coach with a huge reputation for sucking when it matters, Marty Schottenheimer. San Deigo also has a rookie QB (rookie enough for me) who struggled late in the season while NE has TOM BRADY, who is GOD ON EARTH (at least to ESPN). So San Diego has LT and Shawne Merriman, the person who proves that people don't care if you cheat as long as you are really good (cept for Bonds or McGwire... I guess this just applies to football then. I'll never understand why no one makes a bigger deal out of it. He said there was a mixup but he tested positive for some kind of SERIOUS steriod, not some over-the-counter supplement type mix-up stuff. Also, the effects of steroids LASTS longer than the four-week suspension. Merriman is playing football right now with the benefits of CHEATING so I think the penalty is not stiff enough). Since its the playoffs, I will pick the Pats.
Baltimore Ravens (2) v. Indianapolis Colts (3)
This is ALSO a funny matchup because of the history of the Colts who fled Baltimore in the dead of the night so long ago (who wouldn't. I was there once and thought the city sucked too). However, Baltimore is my pick to win the superbowl, so I'm sticking with them even though I don't believe in their offense at all (Steve McNair and his "intangibles" are crap. ESPN guys are retarded. Look at his numbers. They aren't that good.) Even though the Colts looked awesome last week, they played against the Chiefs and Herm Edwards CLEARLY can't coach. It was ONE game, and I'm sure an entire season worth of games says more. ALSO, Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning in the playoffs? please.
NFC:
Chicago Bears (1) v. Seattle Seahawks
As much as I love the Seahawks, we have looked so mediocre all year, I just can't pick us. Am I glad we are playing the Bears this week? YES. Grossman's QB rating probably has the largest standard deviation out of any QB EVER! The defense looks bad lately, they ARE missing Mike Brown and that DT who wrecked havok on the Seahawks during their regular season matchup, Tommy Harris. Like I've said before, EVEN if Grossman SUCKS, I can still see the Bears winning. So, I'll pick the Bears. I've said a lot about the Seahawks, you can look below. In summary of them: Offense still not clicking, defense looking better but still Big Play problems.
New Orlean Saints (2) v. Philidelphia Eagles (3)
I HATE the Eagles. I thought they were going to win last week even though I picked against them. And they BARELY won at home versus a struggling Giants team (I know I know, you can say the same about the Seahawks, but I hear no Seahawks praise like I do of the Eagles). I think the Saints are GREAT. SO many Weapons! Even though the chargers are playing well, I bet Brees is glad he's in New Orleans and I bet MIAMI wishes they could have picked him instead of Daunte Culpepper. Philly has had there run with Jeff Garcia and it was a good run, but now its over.
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Monday Morning Week in Review Jan 8th
Mariners:
Not much has happened, it seems. They signed Reitsma, a decent bullpen arm who sucked last year before being put away because of injury, for a one year deal. There's a team option for a second year, and 700k buyout. This move is ok, but I think we have enough bullpen. Still, one year deal never hurts I guess.
Mariners are also in the hunt for Brian Lawrence supposedly. He was ok for a few years but then sucked last year because of injury, so he pretty much fits in with our offseason gameplan. Buy low because of injury/off year.
Randy was traded to Diamondbacks for Vizcaino and two fairly good prospects. Someone in ESPN speculated that with the prospects that the Yankees got from the Sheffield and the Randy trade that they would make a run at Johan Sanata for a trade because if Zito's contract was as large as it was, then Santana's is going to be in the $200 million range, and only 3-5 teams can afford that.
Huskies:
Huskies split their week, losing barely at home to Arizona, then winning by only 10 to Arizona State. Arizona game wasn't really a surprise because I have them as a top 5 talent team overall. Reason we lost to Arizona? Appleby wasn't on his game, and Arizon shot 65%. Same as the UCLA game, even if you shoot over 50% and outrebound your opponent if they shoot over 60%, you're going to lose. Budinger, Marcus Williams, and Mustafa Shakur all had 20+ points, and all shot well. Hawes did a good job against Radenovic, but the other guys need to learn how to play team defense and get back quicker. I actually like Romar's move of shaking up the starting lineup. He benched Dentmon and Pondexter and started Nelson and Appleby. If Romar was white, I think there would be a bigger fuss about this because that means no black starters (I think Oliver is part Native American, I can't tell though, maybe a mixture). Anyways, that lit a fire under Ponderxter's ass, and Nelson also thrived hitting big shots. Obviously what hurt us the most was not making a single shot after 4:32 left second half. That will always ensure a loss in a close game. Arizona's bench, as I said before, isn't very good, but they hardly played, so it didn't really matter. That's why this starting lineup might not have been as good because Appleby and Nelson don't really drive that much, and if you could get some fouls, than Arizona's weak bench would be exposed.
Against Arizona State, we had the same lineup. This time, Appleby was on fire and proved my McNamara Redick comparisons right. Unfortunately, Brockman's 16 10 was the only other respectable player, and the team shot 42% as a whole. ASU shot 35%, so either they just got unlucky, or Romar drilled defensive pressure and getting back into their heads. We shut down Christian Polk, but Pendergraph had a great game, overall we should have won by more.
Also in the Pac 10, UCLA lost to Oregon, who lost to USC, and Washington State beat Arizona, so their might be 6 ranked teams in the Pac-10.
Seahawks: (by AndoverJon)
Seahawks Baby! Wow! What an amazing game. Best game I have seen in a while. While I like the result of the game (a big W and keeping our playoff hopes alive) the game seemed to show the same Seahawks that I have seen all year. Hasselbeck still looks off and Alexander is still pretty ineffective. The one highlight of our offense was Stevens who came up big with 7 catchs for 80 or so yards and TWO TDs.
Our defense looked GREAT though. Really, they only gave up 13 points because 7 were off a kick return. Also, they had a safety and obviously that HUGE stop in the end. The safety was an amazing play and so was the Romo fumble. I don't think people understand how big Jordan Babineaux was on that play to stop Romo. He still could have gotten a first down, so JB's hustle was very important. The Seattle secondary performed admirably without key guys. Another key for the Seahawks was that the defense did not let up any big plays (one on special teams). If the Seahawks want to win next win next week in Chicago, their offense needs to click more and we need Grossman to have one of his OFF days.
Sonics
What a bad week for the Sonics, they went 0-4. I was wrong about their game against Dallas, Nowitzki did play, it was his first game back. Ray Allen played well, shooting 5-8 on three points, but still only 4-6 on free throws. Earl Watson also did well, but mainly in the first half. Sene had three great blocks, but after that, not much good happened. Dallas' whole starting lineup went off at us, and had a quiet 31 15.
Next day at Houston, we lost to a Yao-less rockets. McGrady went off for 31 6 7, and 4 members of their starting lineup had double digit points. Ray Allen had 32 points and Wilkens had 19, but Ridnour struggled to score.
Against NY at home we lost again. Nate Robinson didn't get to play in front of his home crowd because of the Brawl, which is unfortunate. Ray Allen only went 3 for 10, and Marbury, Crawford a Seattle Native, and Curry went off for 22+ points each.
We then lost another away back-to-back at Golden State. Ray Allen hit 7 threes and was 9-9 from the charity stripe. Ridnour was benched for Watson, who did no better. I've been a big believer in how good and deep Golden State is. Biedrins had a 15 16 game, which hurts because we here at Seattle Sports Maniacs wanted the Sonics to trade up and draft him 3 years ago, instead we settled for Swift, and have drafted 2 more young centers since. Davis also went off for 22 11 7, which sort of shows that Watson isnt necessarily better at defending then Ridnour.
The Sonics looked like they could make a run for the playoffs, but after this week, we pretty much have no chance to make the playoffs. What a dissapointment.
Not much has happened, it seems. They signed Reitsma, a decent bullpen arm who sucked last year before being put away because of injury, for a one year deal. There's a team option for a second year, and 700k buyout. This move is ok, but I think we have enough bullpen. Still, one year deal never hurts I guess.
Mariners are also in the hunt for Brian Lawrence supposedly. He was ok for a few years but then sucked last year because of injury, so he pretty much fits in with our offseason gameplan. Buy low because of injury/off year.
Randy was traded to Diamondbacks for Vizcaino and two fairly good prospects. Someone in ESPN speculated that with the prospects that the Yankees got from the Sheffield and the Randy trade that they would make a run at Johan Sanata for a trade because if Zito's contract was as large as it was, then Santana's is going to be in the $200 million range, and only 3-5 teams can afford that.
Huskies:
Huskies split their week, losing barely at home to Arizona, then winning by only 10 to Arizona State. Arizona game wasn't really a surprise because I have them as a top 5 talent team overall. Reason we lost to Arizona? Appleby wasn't on his game, and Arizon shot 65%. Same as the UCLA game, even if you shoot over 50% and outrebound your opponent if they shoot over 60%, you're going to lose. Budinger, Marcus Williams, and Mustafa Shakur all had 20+ points, and all shot well. Hawes did a good job against Radenovic, but the other guys need to learn how to play team defense and get back quicker. I actually like Romar's move of shaking up the starting lineup. He benched Dentmon and Pondexter and started Nelson and Appleby. If Romar was white, I think there would be a bigger fuss about this because that means no black starters (I think Oliver is part Native American, I can't tell though, maybe a mixture). Anyways, that lit a fire under Ponderxter's ass, and Nelson also thrived hitting big shots. Obviously what hurt us the most was not making a single shot after 4:32 left second half. That will always ensure a loss in a close game. Arizona's bench, as I said before, isn't very good, but they hardly played, so it didn't really matter. That's why this starting lineup might not have been as good because Appleby and Nelson don't really drive that much, and if you could get some fouls, than Arizona's weak bench would be exposed.
Against Arizona State, we had the same lineup. This time, Appleby was on fire and proved my McNamara Redick comparisons right. Unfortunately, Brockman's 16 10 was the only other respectable player, and the team shot 42% as a whole. ASU shot 35%, so either they just got unlucky, or Romar drilled defensive pressure and getting back into their heads. We shut down Christian Polk, but Pendergraph had a great game, overall we should have won by more.
Also in the Pac 10, UCLA lost to Oregon, who lost to USC, and Washington State beat Arizona, so their might be 6 ranked teams in the Pac-10.
Seahawks: (by AndoverJon)
Seahawks Baby! Wow! What an amazing game. Best game I have seen in a while. While I like the result of the game (a big W and keeping our playoff hopes alive) the game seemed to show the same Seahawks that I have seen all year. Hasselbeck still looks off and Alexander is still pretty ineffective. The one highlight of our offense was Stevens who came up big with 7 catchs for 80 or so yards and TWO TDs.
Our defense looked GREAT though. Really, they only gave up 13 points because 7 were off a kick return. Also, they had a safety and obviously that HUGE stop in the end. The safety was an amazing play and so was the Romo fumble. I don't think people understand how big Jordan Babineaux was on that play to stop Romo. He still could have gotten a first down, so JB's hustle was very important. The Seattle secondary performed admirably without key guys. Another key for the Seahawks was that the defense did not let up any big plays (one on special teams). If the Seahawks want to win next win next week in Chicago, their offense needs to click more and we need Grossman to have one of his OFF days.
Sonics
What a bad week for the Sonics, they went 0-4. I was wrong about their game against Dallas, Nowitzki did play, it was his first game back. Ray Allen played well, shooting 5-8 on three points, but still only 4-6 on free throws. Earl Watson also did well, but mainly in the first half. Sene had three great blocks, but after that, not much good happened. Dallas' whole starting lineup went off at us, and had a quiet 31 15.
Next day at Houston, we lost to a Yao-less rockets. McGrady went off for 31 6 7, and 4 members of their starting lineup had double digit points. Ray Allen had 32 points and Wilkens had 19, but Ridnour struggled to score.
Against NY at home we lost again. Nate Robinson didn't get to play in front of his home crowd because of the Brawl, which is unfortunate. Ray Allen only went 3 for 10, and Marbury, Crawford a Seattle Native, and Curry went off for 22+ points each.
We then lost another away back-to-back at Golden State. Ray Allen hit 7 threes and was 9-9 from the charity stripe. Ridnour was benched for Watson, who did no better. I've been a big believer in how good and deep Golden State is. Biedrins had a 15 16 game, which hurts because we here at Seattle Sports Maniacs wanted the Sonics to trade up and draft him 3 years ago, instead we settled for Swift, and have drafted 2 more young centers since. Davis also went off for 22 11 7, which sort of shows that Watson isnt necessarily better at defending then Ridnour.
The Sonics looked like they could make a run for the playoffs, but after this week, we pretty much have no chance to make the playoffs. What a dissapointment.
Friday, January 5, 2007
Mariners prospects
There are a few Mariners prospects that I'm pretty high on and I just want to shine a little spotlight on them.
Michael Morse:
Ok, so he's not technically a prospect. He did get 230 at bats in the majors 2 years ago, but how'd he do? 280/350/370 sounds pretty good for me. Sure his slugging is a little low, but lots of guys take a while for slugging to get up because they're just trying to get good contact at the major league level. Last year, he posted numbers of 370/400/490 but in only 43 at bats. The knocks against him are that he doesn't put up amazing numbers in the majors and that he played subpar shortstop, which is why he was moved to 1b/3b/LF. I don't recall A-Rod being a great shortstop early on, but he worked hard and won 2 gold gloves. His minor league numbers are 250/300/400 in 200 AAA at bats, so not very good. And two years before 250/320/410 in Triple A in 180 at bats. I'm not going to lie, those aren't very good numbers, but reasons could be that he was upset that he about as well as he could and got demoted anyways and because he spent a lot of effort learning his new defensive positions. Another thing to look at is that the trend of Morse's numbers get better as the competition gets harder. I'm not usually one to believe that someone "steps up to the challenge", but in this case, Morse could be one of those guys who gets excited and more focused on a bigger stage. Am I saying Morse will be the next A-Rod? No. But 275/350/410 is a hell of a lot better than Carl Everett, and it's probably the same as Jose Vidro who's getting paid 5 million more than Morse.
Matt Tuiasosopo:
Everyone gives him a bad rap, but he's only 20! He hit .306 in 60 games for High A California. Sure his BB:K ratio was 14:58, and he only had 1 hr and 14 doubles, but he's probably working on mechanics and hitting the ball opposite field. His struggles with defense are probably weighing in on him too. A guy that big will get his power. First you get your average up, then your walks, than your power. Bavasi stupidly promoted him to early to AA San Antonio where he only had a .185 average in 60 games. If a guy is still trying to do well in High A, he's a top flight prospect, and he's really young, why not keep him there? Agressive promoting has been a bad move by management this year, and this could set Tuiasosopo back a year, but its in his blood to suceed at sports.
Yung Chi Chen
The 2b for San Antonio from Taiwan. He hit .295/.365/.443, which are all great numbers. These are especially good for a 2b. Do we need a 2b hitter? Not really, I think Lopez has that position for a while, but I think he'll get better, and if Lopez ever gets injured, we can give Chen a few at bats and then trade him when his value's high. I'm not exactly sure what his average is in Winter League Ball, or Taiwan ball, but I hear he's tearing it up.
Ryan Feierabend
Nice polished lefty who might as well be our 5th starter now according to some. He had a 7.42 K/9 in AA San Antonio last year, and posted a .667 BAA. He could use this year to polish his game a bit by trying to induce more groundballs and giving up less walks, because he had 16 hr 55 BBs and only 6 GDP in 160 innings. Anyways, this guy is a huge positive for the Mariners right now, and I can't wait to see him up in 2007 or 2008.
Michael Morse:
Ok, so he's not technically a prospect. He did get 230 at bats in the majors 2 years ago, but how'd he do? 280/350/370 sounds pretty good for me. Sure his slugging is a little low, but lots of guys take a while for slugging to get up because they're just trying to get good contact at the major league level. Last year, he posted numbers of 370/400/490 but in only 43 at bats. The knocks against him are that he doesn't put up amazing numbers in the majors and that he played subpar shortstop, which is why he was moved to 1b/3b/LF. I don't recall A-Rod being a great shortstop early on, but he worked hard and won 2 gold gloves. His minor league numbers are 250/300/400 in 200 AAA at bats, so not very good. And two years before 250/320/410 in Triple A in 180 at bats. I'm not going to lie, those aren't very good numbers, but reasons could be that he was upset that he about as well as he could and got demoted anyways and because he spent a lot of effort learning his new defensive positions. Another thing to look at is that the trend of Morse's numbers get better as the competition gets harder. I'm not usually one to believe that someone "steps up to the challenge", but in this case, Morse could be one of those guys who gets excited and more focused on a bigger stage. Am I saying Morse will be the next A-Rod? No. But 275/350/410 is a hell of a lot better than Carl Everett, and it's probably the same as Jose Vidro who's getting paid 5 million more than Morse.
Matt Tuiasosopo:
Everyone gives him a bad rap, but he's only 20! He hit .306 in 60 games for High A California. Sure his BB:K ratio was 14:58, and he only had 1 hr and 14 doubles, but he's probably working on mechanics and hitting the ball opposite field. His struggles with defense are probably weighing in on him too. A guy that big will get his power. First you get your average up, then your walks, than your power. Bavasi stupidly promoted him to early to AA San Antonio where he only had a .185 average in 60 games. If a guy is still trying to do well in High A, he's a top flight prospect, and he's really young, why not keep him there? Agressive promoting has been a bad move by management this year, and this could set Tuiasosopo back a year, but its in his blood to suceed at sports.
Yung Chi Chen
The 2b for San Antonio from Taiwan. He hit .295/.365/.443, which are all great numbers. These are especially good for a 2b. Do we need a 2b hitter? Not really, I think Lopez has that position for a while, but I think he'll get better, and if Lopez ever gets injured, we can give Chen a few at bats and then trade him when his value's high. I'm not exactly sure what his average is in Winter League Ball, or Taiwan ball, but I hear he's tearing it up.
Ryan Feierabend
Nice polished lefty who might as well be our 5th starter now according to some. He had a 7.42 K/9 in AA San Antonio last year, and posted a .667 BAA. He could use this year to polish his game a bit by trying to induce more groundballs and giving up less walks, because he had 16 hr 55 BBs and only 6 GDP in 160 innings. Anyways, this guy is a huge positive for the Mariners right now, and I can't wait to see him up in 2007 or 2008.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
NFL Playoffs Preview
Well, the NFL playoffs have started and the first week has some intriguing matchups. Even the teams that have first round buys have some question marks (Rex Grossman, Philip Rivers). Some teams have looked good going into the playoffs such as the Ravens and the Eagles, others have limped in like the Cowboys and Seahawks. I will give an analysis of the Week One games and an overall prediction.
NFC games:
Eagles vs. Giants
I have hated the Eagles all year and will always hate them. I like what Garcia brings to the table and his doing well shows that he is NOT done AND that McNabb is overrated and a product of a pass happy system (Andy Reid is the owner of the highest percentage of passing plays per play out of ANY coach EVER.)
The Giants have the talent. They have 2 good running backs, a promising QB who will always be overrated, and a talented defense although they have some injuries (Strahan and others I think).
I'm picking the Giants based on talent and on the fact that I hate the Eagles.
Cowboys vs. Seahawks:
Seahawks have 2 things going for them. They played well the last two games, handily beating the Bucs on the road and nearly beating the Chargers. The defense has been playing better although the secondary is beat up. Hasselbeck is starting to look better. Alexander is still mediocre.
Cowboys are looking like CRAP. Romo has 15 turnovers in the past 5 games, 8 INTs and 7 fumbles. Also, the Cowboys pass defense has been CRAP as well. They let up over 3 passing TDs a game in the last 4. Just look how Michael "I can't pass at ALL and shouldn't be a quarterback in the NFL" Vick did against them (230 yds for 4 TDs).
Finally, this game is IN SEATTLE, so I say Seattle wins.
AFC games:
Colts vs. Chiefs:
For some reason, ESPN has picked this game as the most likely upset. Lets be honest, the Chiefs are LUCKY to be in the playoffs no matter what their idiot of a head coach says. When you have to have 3 other teams lose on the final day to get into the playoffs, there is a certain luck factor. That said, the Colts look like CRAP lately losing to HOUSTON in Week 16. Larry Johnson should tear up the Colts pathetics run defense, but I think the Colts will get out to an early lead and that will be it for them. Colts by more than a touchdown.
Jets vs. Pats:
I don't know why people picked this as the LEAST likely upset. Didn't the Jets beat the Pats this season AT Gillette Stadium. However, that was a while ago. The Jets have a rookie coach going against the heralded Belichik and the wonder-hero/hunk Tom Brady. I hate the Pats but I'm going to have to pick the Pats as well, but not by as much as everyone thinks.
For the whole playoff picture, I like the Seahawks (biased, I know) or the Saints in to represent the NFC and the Chargers or the Ravens to represent the AFC.
Overall, I'll pick Ravens over whoever in the NFC.
NFC games:
Eagles vs. Giants
I have hated the Eagles all year and will always hate them. I like what Garcia brings to the table and his doing well shows that he is NOT done AND that McNabb is overrated and a product of a pass happy system (Andy Reid is the owner of the highest percentage of passing plays per play out of ANY coach EVER.)
The Giants have the talent. They have 2 good running backs, a promising QB who will always be overrated, and a talented defense although they have some injuries (Strahan and others I think).
I'm picking the Giants based on talent and on the fact that I hate the Eagles.
Cowboys vs. Seahawks:
Seahawks have 2 things going for them. They played well the last two games, handily beating the Bucs on the road and nearly beating the Chargers. The defense has been playing better although the secondary is beat up. Hasselbeck is starting to look better. Alexander is still mediocre.
Cowboys are looking like CRAP. Romo has 15 turnovers in the past 5 games, 8 INTs and 7 fumbles. Also, the Cowboys pass defense has been CRAP as well. They let up over 3 passing TDs a game in the last 4. Just look how Michael "I can't pass at ALL and shouldn't be a quarterback in the NFL" Vick did against them (230 yds for 4 TDs).
Finally, this game is IN SEATTLE, so I say Seattle wins.
AFC games:
Colts vs. Chiefs:
For some reason, ESPN has picked this game as the most likely upset. Lets be honest, the Chiefs are LUCKY to be in the playoffs no matter what their idiot of a head coach says. When you have to have 3 other teams lose on the final day to get into the playoffs, there is a certain luck factor. That said, the Colts look like CRAP lately losing to HOUSTON in Week 16. Larry Johnson should tear up the Colts pathetics run defense, but I think the Colts will get out to an early lead and that will be it for them. Colts by more than a touchdown.
Jets vs. Pats:
I don't know why people picked this as the LEAST likely upset. Didn't the Jets beat the Pats this season AT Gillette Stadium. However, that was a while ago. The Jets have a rookie coach going against the heralded Belichik and the wonder-hero/hunk Tom Brady. I hate the Pats but I'm going to have to pick the Pats as well, but not by as much as everyone thinks.
For the whole playoff picture, I like the Seahawks (biased, I know) or the Saints in to represent the NFC and the Chargers or the Ravens to represent the AFC.
Overall, I'll pick Ravens over whoever in the NFC.
Monday, January 1, 2007
Monday Morning Week in Review
Happy New Years, lets check out what's happened in this last week.
Huskies:
The Huskies lost twice. Both games were hard, at USC and at UCLA. USC should be ranked, after beating two ranked teams in a row then losing a close one to Washington State, who should be ranked too, as they have proven that they are capable of staying with UCLA in a game.
I didn't get to watch the USC-Washington Game because FSN was showing UCLA-Washington State. I did see overtime and double overtime. First off, there were some bad calls by the refs. Pondexter's steal in double overtime was ridiculous because he clearly stole the ball, then clearly go fouled, yet they called a foul on him. Hawes' three pointer was amazing, and I had a feeling he'd take it and make it. A big reason why we lost is because our entire starting lineup except for Hawes fouled out. Hans "frickin" Gasser played 24 minutes! I don't know why Romar played him and not Artem Wallace. Either Wallace was injured, or Romar has no faith in Wallace at all. I however, have no faith in Gasser, so... yeah. How many people fouled out for USC? Just one, and it was a backup forward, Rousean Cromwell. 30 fouls to 18, homefield advantage? I think so. Wilkinson was able to get crucial rebounds in overtime and double overtime because of Brockman not being there. All in all, USC showed they can play, Taj Gibson, Gabriel Pruitt, and Nick Young all played outstanding ball. Pondexter continued his slump, and the Huskies need to find three people to score besides Hawes and Appleby to win.
For the UCLA game, I actually missed it because I assumed it was at night because of football. I did get to watch the Seahawks game if that's any consolation, but I'm still pretty pissed at myself. Turns out, I only missed a 20 point beating anyways. We shot 51% and lost. Why is this? Because UCLA shot 60% while taking 12 more shots then us. They were 12 for 25 from 3 point land, with 5 for Afflalo, 3 for Collison, and 3 for Roll, the three top scorers, and the three guys who killed us. No one on UCLA who shot more than 4 times shot less than 50%, which is pretty embarassing. UCLA probably got lucky, but we still need to improve our perimeter D. We outrebounded UCLA 31 to 24, but we had more turnovers than them with 21 to their 13. Apparently they had great passing becauseCollison had 12 assists and Afflalo had 8!
Overall: I think we need Appleby to become our main focus after Hawes. We should treat him like a McNamara or Redick. It's clear that Pondexter, Oliver, and Dentmon can't score on a consistent basis. If our offense feeds a bit more off of Appleby, then other guys can have an easier time to get open. Next up, Arizona and their 11 game winning streak and Arizona State
Seahawks: (Written by Andover Jon)
Playoffs have started and the Seahawks have "backed in" to them or so everybody says. Well, at least in Week 17, the Seahawks looked pretty good. They played a bad team on the and won convincingly. The only problem was we lost our number 2 and number 4 CBs after already having Marcus Trufant, our number one, out (he'll be out for week 1 of the playoffs too i think). So, right now our already weak secondary (at least to big plays) is even weaker. Besides the final score though, the Seahawks didn't look too great. Alexander managed a pedestrian 3 yds/carry, Hasselbeck finished up with good stats but he seems to be off target this year (I often see his passes skid into the ground for some reason). Our defense had some great stops including a goal line one in the fourth quarter. We should have won last week (worst holding call i have ever seen, Burleson was robbed of a TD return) so at least we are looking up as the playoffs are about to start.
Sonics:
Sonics went 2-2 this week, with two wins at home to the Hornets and Celtics, and two away losses to Denver and Minnesota.
We beat New Orleans, but because Chris Paul injured his ankle, the victory isn't really a big deal because all they have is Chandler and Desmond Mason. Funny how stars like Paul and Dirk get injured against us. Wilcox did well, putting up 22-10 and Ridnour continued to shine with a statline of 27-9-3. Ray Allen curiously went 3-6 from 3pt range, but only 4-8 from the free throw line. He also had 2 blocks. I'm not sure I like starting Earl Watson because then we're like a college team. I'm not really a big fan of Watson anyways, and I think we should trade him because the Sonics aren't making the playoffs.
We lost to Denver because they have AI, and we didn't have Rashard or Ray Ray. Ray Allen was at his son's birth, so our starting lineup was Ridnour, Watson, Wilkins, Wilcox, and Glyniadakis. Sounds like some unknown college's roster except for Ridnour and Wilcox. Iverson smoked us for 44 points and 10 assists, and that was the game.
We then lost a back to back game at Minnesota. Ray Allen was 4 for 16, and 0 for 7 from 3 point land. Everyone on the starting lineup was awful, and Ray Allen and Johan Petro were the only two people to get double digit points. No one's stats were too good on the Timberwolves because they were winning by 25 points going into the 4th, although KG did have 13 boards, 5 assists, and 5 blocks.
We beat the Celtics without Pierce, to continue the trend of the teams we played.
Dallas without Dirk, Toronto without Bosh, NOK without Paul, Denver without Carmelo, nothing wrong with Minnesota, then the Celtics without Pierce. We actually continue this trend by playing Dallas without Dirk, Houston without Yao, then NY without a couple of guys for the brawl. I guess Nate Robinson won't be making an appearance in his hometown, which sucks. The Celtics had good performances by Al Jefferson and Gerald Green, but other than that, nothing too impressive. For the Sonics, Wilcox, Wilkens, and Ridnour did well, while Ray Allen struggled AGAIN with his shooting. Petro is actually playing well, and I don't know why we don't start him, because we started him a few times last year, and I'd imagine that he'd only be infinetley better by now.
Overall 2 and 2 isn't bad, but when you think of the injured superstars, we could have done better. I don't think anyone really cares about the Sonics right now anyways because they suck and they might move.
Huskies:
The Huskies lost twice. Both games were hard, at USC and at UCLA. USC should be ranked, after beating two ranked teams in a row then losing a close one to Washington State, who should be ranked too, as they have proven that they are capable of staying with UCLA in a game.
I didn't get to watch the USC-Washington Game because FSN was showing UCLA-Washington State. I did see overtime and double overtime. First off, there were some bad calls by the refs. Pondexter's steal in double overtime was ridiculous because he clearly stole the ball, then clearly go fouled, yet they called a foul on him. Hawes' three pointer was amazing, and I had a feeling he'd take it and make it. A big reason why we lost is because our entire starting lineup except for Hawes fouled out. Hans "frickin" Gasser played 24 minutes! I don't know why Romar played him and not Artem Wallace. Either Wallace was injured, or Romar has no faith in Wallace at all. I however, have no faith in Gasser, so... yeah. How many people fouled out for USC? Just one, and it was a backup forward, Rousean Cromwell. 30 fouls to 18, homefield advantage? I think so. Wilkinson was able to get crucial rebounds in overtime and double overtime because of Brockman not being there. All in all, USC showed they can play, Taj Gibson, Gabriel Pruitt, and Nick Young all played outstanding ball. Pondexter continued his slump, and the Huskies need to find three people to score besides Hawes and Appleby to win.
For the UCLA game, I actually missed it because I assumed it was at night because of football. I did get to watch the Seahawks game if that's any consolation, but I'm still pretty pissed at myself. Turns out, I only missed a 20 point beating anyways. We shot 51% and lost. Why is this? Because UCLA shot 60% while taking 12 more shots then us. They were 12 for 25 from 3 point land, with 5 for Afflalo, 3 for Collison, and 3 for Roll, the three top scorers, and the three guys who killed us. No one on UCLA who shot more than 4 times shot less than 50%, which is pretty embarassing. UCLA probably got lucky, but we still need to improve our perimeter D. We outrebounded UCLA 31 to 24, but we had more turnovers than them with 21 to their 13. Apparently they had great passing becauseCollison had 12 assists and Afflalo had 8!
Overall: I think we need Appleby to become our main focus after Hawes. We should treat him like a McNamara or Redick. It's clear that Pondexter, Oliver, and Dentmon can't score on a consistent basis. If our offense feeds a bit more off of Appleby, then other guys can have an easier time to get open. Next up, Arizona and their 11 game winning streak and Arizona State
Seahawks: (Written by Andover Jon)
Playoffs have started and the Seahawks have "backed in" to them or so everybody says. Well, at least in Week 17, the Seahawks looked pretty good. They played a bad team on the and won convincingly. The only problem was we lost our number 2 and number 4 CBs after already having Marcus Trufant, our number one, out (he'll be out for week 1 of the playoffs too i think). So, right now our already weak secondary (at least to big plays) is even weaker. Besides the final score though, the Seahawks didn't look too great. Alexander managed a pedestrian 3 yds/carry, Hasselbeck finished up with good stats but he seems to be off target this year (I often see his passes skid into the ground for some reason). Our defense had some great stops including a goal line one in the fourth quarter. We should have won last week (worst holding call i have ever seen, Burleson was robbed of a TD return) so at least we are looking up as the playoffs are about to start.
Sonics:
Sonics went 2-2 this week, with two wins at home to the Hornets and Celtics, and two away losses to Denver and Minnesota.
We beat New Orleans, but because Chris Paul injured his ankle, the victory isn't really a big deal because all they have is Chandler and Desmond Mason. Funny how stars like Paul and Dirk get injured against us. Wilcox did well, putting up 22-10 and Ridnour continued to shine with a statline of 27-9-3. Ray Allen curiously went 3-6 from 3pt range, but only 4-8 from the free throw line. He also had 2 blocks. I'm not sure I like starting Earl Watson because then we're like a college team. I'm not really a big fan of Watson anyways, and I think we should trade him because the Sonics aren't making the playoffs.
We lost to Denver because they have AI, and we didn't have Rashard or Ray Ray. Ray Allen was at his son's birth, so our starting lineup was Ridnour, Watson, Wilkins, Wilcox, and Glyniadakis. Sounds like some unknown college's roster except for Ridnour and Wilcox. Iverson smoked us for 44 points and 10 assists, and that was the game.
We then lost a back to back game at Minnesota. Ray Allen was 4 for 16, and 0 for 7 from 3 point land. Everyone on the starting lineup was awful, and Ray Allen and Johan Petro were the only two people to get double digit points. No one's stats were too good on the Timberwolves because they were winning by 25 points going into the 4th, although KG did have 13 boards, 5 assists, and 5 blocks.
We beat the Celtics without Pierce, to continue the trend of the teams we played.
Dallas without Dirk, Toronto without Bosh, NOK without Paul, Denver without Carmelo, nothing wrong with Minnesota, then the Celtics without Pierce. We actually continue this trend by playing Dallas without Dirk, Houston without Yao, then NY without a couple of guys for the brawl. I guess Nate Robinson won't be making an appearance in his hometown, which sucks. The Celtics had good performances by Al Jefferson and Gerald Green, but other than that, nothing too impressive. For the Sonics, Wilcox, Wilkens, and Ridnour did well, while Ray Allen struggled AGAIN with his shooting. Petro is actually playing well, and I don't know why we don't start him, because we started him a few times last year, and I'd imagine that he'd only be infinetley better by now.
Overall 2 and 2 isn't bad, but when you think of the injured superstars, we could have done better. I don't think anyone really cares about the Sonics right now anyways because they suck and they might move.
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