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July 2009
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| February 2008Tons of internet reports have free agent TE Alge Crumpler close to signing with the Seahawks. It ain't so! says his agent. Frank Hughes at the TNT spoke to Butch Williams, who says the internet is wrong and Crumpler plans to visit one more team before making up his mind. Another Seahawks news flash to keep our eyes on, as the first day of free agency starts with a boom. Williams tells Hughes that GM Ruskell has the wherewithal to maneuver the cap, if he wants to sign Crumpler. Anyone think Holmgren's last shot at a SB with the Seahawks will be successful with Pollard or a rookie TE? Me no think so, either. ...Josh Feit over at the Slog is reporting that sources in Olympia confirm a new Sonics deal in the works. According to the Stranger's blog, a "super-rich local crew" has plans to front a "major chunk of change" to redo lame-duck KeyArena. Feit says this new deal has the public footing a much smaller portion of the $250-million deal that bottomed out in Olympia for (insert boo or hiss here) Clay Bennett and crew. Seahawks kicker Josh Brown just spoke to the KING 5 sports department with confirmation that he's leaving the team. ...Got a phone call and then saw this on the TNT: Seahawks kicker Josh Brown has told KJR radio that he's 100% gone from the team. The story comes from KJR's Dave Mahler, who spoke with Brown and asked the percentage chance that Brown would be back. Mahler reportedly got a text message from Josh saying that he won't be back. Stay tuned, we'll let you know more about the kicker's future when we do. Update: Here is a link to the story on KJR's website. It's an interesting read. KJR says the Seahawks told Mahler they were prepared to make Brown the highest paid kicker in the NFL, but Brown turned down the offer. ...If Bennett's Sonics leave after the 2010 season, King County exec Ron Sims says there is a chance the SuperSonics name and logo could stay in Seattle, ala the Cleveland Browns. Sims told the PI that there are three potential parties interested in buying an NBA team for Seattle, but no buyer will talk about keeping the Sonics brand until a verdict comes on the KeyArena lease. Makes sense, I guess. As a fan, it'd sure suck to see Durant have yet another jersey to peel off in a television ad. The desire to keep a team in Seattle is based partly, Sims says, on the NBA's want to maintain a franchise on the hub of the massive Chinese market. "Do you think the NBA hasn't noticed the revenues coming to MLB from Mariners telecasts in Japan?" Sims told Art Thiel. "Safeco and Seattle are very attractive places for the telecasts...That's part of why Bennett wanted such an elaborate arena in Seattle." The next hurdle for Bennett's plans start Tuesday, when Oklahoma will vote on a sales-tax increase to dump $120 million into Ford Center. ...Free agent tight end Alge Crumpler is visiting with the Seahawks today and tomorrow. Crumpler spent time talking to the Titans earlier this week. GM Tim Ruskell told the TNT that the Seahawks are tight under the cap, and landing any big FA will take restructuring of existing players' contracts. When asked about Shaun Alexander, Ruskell told the TNT they weren't going to ask Shaun to take a pay cut. Also, the Seahawks tendered FB Leonard Weaver, which leaves the restricted FA the chance to negotiate with other teams. The team will then have the right to match any offer. ...One day away from the NFL's free agency period, and soon the Seahawks will likely say goodbye to players who've made contributions in the past. The TNT spoke to Kevin Bentley's agent -- who said the back-up LB no longer wants to be the fourth option and is thus leaving the Seahawks. With Locklear signed and Tru tagged, that leaves Josh Brown, Bentley, DJ Hackett, Chuck Darby, Niko Koutouvides and Floyd Womack just a few of the FA Hawks ready to test the market. Here's to hoping Ruskell has some magic up his sleeve. Also of note, as Clare Farnsworth at the PI points out, signing Tru to a deal now helps out in the future. At the end of next season, Lofa Tatupu and Leroy Hill become unrestricted free agents. ...Ah, remember the old days of the alley-OOP slamma-jamma Payton to Kemp, with George Karl smoldering in the background, all hissy 'cause a layup would've gotten the job done? Now, we have (boo here) David Stern telling the media at the All-Star game that there aren't any more miracles. Well, someone thinks different. "I'm kind of a believer in miracles," Karl told KIRO radio (his Nuggets are in town to beat the Sonics). "I still think there's a passion and pride for Sonic basketball in Seattle." The ex-Supersonics coach said in today's radio interview that he cannot fathom the franchise leaving town. His best quote: "If we're going to take basketball to Europe, I think we definitely should be able to keep basketball in Seattle." Thanks George. I still hope you wear that ugly lucky tie. If fans want to check out the interview, you can listen to it at mynorthwest.com. ...Feel the need? Mariners' single-game tickets go on sale this Saturday at 10 a.m. You can pick 'em up (sans service charge) at the Safeco Field box office or the Mariners' team stores. Or buy them at www.mariners.com, call (206) 622-4487 or at Tickemaster locations. Tickets purchased between March 1-28th will be $1-$2 off the price of regular season seats. Tickets purchased on game-day will increase from $1-$5 each. Following the NFL's poor example, Major League Baseball will restrict web coverage once the season starts. The Sports Business Journal reports MLB will only allow 120 seconds of content on the web, that includes video or audio from league facilities, unless it's a formal press conference. That content can only stay up on a website for 72 hours, then it must come down. I know that pro sports are just feeling their way through this new media age, but the fans suffer from a lack of coverage. [Ed. note: I know websites/companies do benefit from page hits, but they only benefit if the fans view the website.] Obviously, more and more people are getting their information/news from the web. (In my best Anchorman's Ron Burgendy voice "It's Science.") ...In case you missed it, we did a story on pitcher Felix Hernandez in the 5pm newscast on KING5. M's manager John McLaren and bullpen coach Norm Charlton talks about Felix's 2007 season and explains why they need more out of him. If you want to hear Felix's interview, click here. Or if you want to hear Charlton's interview, click here. On the Mariners website, the skipper doesn't want to see earrings on players during the game. Plus, you won't see full blown beards. You can check out McLaren's rules and reasons right here. On that same web page, you'll find catcher Kenji Johjima's battle with the knuckleball. ...The Washington Nationals posted a story about Bret Boone's recent comeback. The former Mariner says he left the game of baseball to battle his alcoholism. In the article, Boone says days of boozing goes back to his time in Seattle. He would drink after games and, at times, consume 12-15 beers at a time. You can read about Boone's battle with alcoholism here. As you all know by now, Bret is attempting a comeback with the Washington Nationals. His brother Aaron plays there. His father Bob is the Nats assistant general manager. The Times has Boone's story as well. ...Saw this story and thought it of note for all you NFL fans out there suffering with Comcast. Today an appeals court ruled that the battle between Comcast and the NFL (over the cable company's right to charge for the NFL Network via a sports-tier package) will...drum roll...head back to court. Looks like the battle where the fan is the loser will go on. It reverses a lower court's decision that allowed Comcast to package the NFL Network. The NFL sued Comcast in '06 after the company moved the network from a tier seen by 7 million viewers, to a sports package with 750,000 paying viewers. How many fans out there have this package? Or will the 12th Man only shell out if the Seahawks have a NFL Network game in '08? ...Love him or hate him, Sonics GM wunderkind Sam Presti continues to garner attention around the league. There are even "supposed" grumblings by NBA execs, according to columnist Sam Smith from the Chicago Times, over the team's recent trades. Smith writes, "The feeling among several league executives is new Seattle general manager Sam Presti, who got his current job after working for the Spurs under current Cavs general manager Danny Ferry, is paying off debts by trying to help the Spurs and Cavs." Think? Three first round picks for Kurt Thomas? Say what you will, but in the rebuilding process -- Presti, and his hunger for building block picks -- is golden. Let's just hope the Sonics stay in Seattle. ...The organization called "Save Our Sonics" sent out a press release late Monday night. It contains a letter sent out to 7 NBA owners who sit on the relocation committee. SOS makes 5 compelling points of why the owners should vote "No" to relocation. You can read the whole thing after the jump. (that's the highlighted thing right next to "Continue reading") This also comes on the heels of some good news for the city and Sonics fans. A judge rules the Sonics must turn over all of their e-mails in regards to Seattle's arena lawsuit with the Sonics. Owner Clay Bennett's lawyers only wanted to submit e-mails from Bennett and co-owener Aubrey McClendon and not the other 6 board members. ...M's manager John McLaren names his starting pitcher for Friday's Cactus League opener All right, it's slow around here. I know it's not that big of a deal. After all it's the Cactus League. But new M's pitcher Erik Bedard will get the start. McLaren wants to see Ichiro run more this season. He thinks Ichiro can steal 80 bases. In case you missed it on Northwest Sports Tonight, we had MLB.com reporter Jim Street on the show. He talks about the M's new and improved pitching staff, if Seattle has a chance against the Angels in a battle for the AL West, and his surprise pick to make the team. Here's the uncut version interview with Jim Street. Around the newspaper world, The Seattle Times shows off the M's bunt competition. KING 5's Lisa Gangel did a story on Adrian Beltre today. But I ran across an article by the News Tribune's Ryan Divish that makes me wince...and it's about Beltre.. Speaking of the TNT (are they still called that or just the NT), here's some cool pictures of the M's. Over in the P-I, the pitchers get buzzed. ...Champ boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. is prancing away from Dancing With the Stars, and dropping his boxing gloves to take on...Wrestlemania. Why not? The undefeated WBC welterweight champion is set to get a $20 million payday when he takes on Big Show for WWE's "WrestleMania XXIV" in Orlando on March 30th. The outdoor match will be a pay-per-view event. At today's presser at LA's Staples Center, Mayweather tossed out $100, $50 and $20 bills into the wild crowd. "I run Vegas and I run L.A. and I will run the WWE," he bragged. Too bad it's wrassling. If the sport was the real-deal, I may pay to watch the 5-foot-8, 150 pound Mayweather run into a 7-foot, 430-pound wall of meat called Big Show. Brings back memories of Andy Kaufman. Adrian Beltre is starting his fourth season in Seattle and Mariners fans are still waiting for that offensive "pop" the third baseman had in 2004. He was then with the LA Dodgers and hammered 48 homeruns and drove in 121 runs (Beltre and Barry Bonds were the number 1 and 2 best hitters in baseball that year). By far, his best year. But over the past three season, Beltre has averaged just 23 homers and 92 RBI. Mariners Manager John McLaren attributes the lack of production to his infielder trying too hard to prove himself in a new city (Seattle) and also putting pressure on himself to live up to the large contract he signed with the Mariners (5-year, $64 million). (I know I just ignited a fire under many of you who didn't know he was making that much. But facts are facts.) Here's Monday's report on Beltre. ...There's some recent news for local fans hungry for anything re: the new Seattle MLS team. One, the soccer franchise will reveal their name and the team crest in the new two weeks, according to a blog at the Washington Post. Also of note, if you check out goalseattle.com, you can find a scanned article from the March issue of Washington CEO Magazine, highlighting the owners, the team, the league and more. For those still seeking the Pro Soccer for Idiots guidebook, the article has a nice breakdown of the MLS divisions, season, players, investors and more. ...The Sonics had to deal with some bad news on Friday. Center Robert Swift tore some cartilage in the same knee had an ACL reconstruction. The injury happened Thursday night against the Blazers. He'll have his knee looked at again by a doctor in Los Angeles. He'll likely have to have surgery. Plus, when or if that happens, Swift will probably be done for the season. Tough break for the Red Menace. He seemingly can't stay healthy enough to see if he can put together a string of good games. ...Sonics general manager Sam Presti just held a press conference to go over the team's recent trades. Presti talks about there wasn't a mandate from owner Clay Bennett to cut salary. He actually compliments Clay for allowing him to add salary when they traded for C Kurt Thomas before the season began. The Supes GM also says the team will miss both guys' (Wally Szczerbiak and Thomas) leadership, but the 4 guys coming in have NBA Finals experience. Presti goes on to say that at times during rebuilding/building a team, you won't have all the players you want or need at the same time. That it's a process. Presti also goes into the reasons why the team is stockpiling 1st round picks. They have 6 over the next 3 drafts. Here's Presti's press conference. ...It's an argument that even made it onto last night's TNT halftime show, with the Sonics old nemesis Charles Barkely campaigning for the team to stay in Seattle. Nobody can really answer the economic impact losing the team would have on the city, but Art Theil at the PI shines a light on why keeping them in town could be worth it to the city and some local zillionaire. Here's a tidbit from Friday's column: "...a point needs to be considered: Accepting a buyout will foreclose almost permanently not only on an NBA future, but the chance to create a grand new space with civic uses well beyond sports. Seattle has convention space that is smaller than Vancouver, B.C., Portland and even Spokane, with no capacity for big-ticket events such as national political conventions, international meetings and Final Fours." Like he says, that is a big deal. ...Here's a late roundup of Thursday's stuff from the Mariners in Peoria. Finally, M's 2nd baseman Jose Lopez reported to Peoria. He was being held up by troubles getting a visa from Venezuela. M's manager John McLaren got in the little hot water over it and apologized about it. Plus, KING 5's Lisa Gangel gives a report on new M's outfielder Brad Wilkerson. Even Ichiro jokes a little about having speedy guys in the outfield with him. Hmmm...so he likes Wilkerson because he isn't that fast. Btw, the Everett Herald's M's blog had McLaren upset that Ichiro increased his body fat count. I wonder what the M's skipper would say to former baseball player John Kruk? ...The Sonics nearly pulled off a pretty good comeback Thursday in Portland. The Supes totally fell apart in the second quarter and fell behind the Blazers by 10 at halftime. But the Sonics used a 10-2 run & a 10-1 run in the second half to make it a game. Seattle just couldn't break through at the end of the game to lose 92-88. A couple of things stood out in the game. Center Robert Swift left the game with a strained right knee. Can this guy ever catch a break? Will we ever see the Red Menace healthy? The Sonics need to see him healthy to figure out what they're gonna do with him. Is Earl Watson the second coming of Greg Anthony? ...Today was absolutely gorgeous! 70 degrees and not a cloud in the sky! Not a bad setup if you're a ball player...especially since the guys are done with their work day by 2pm nearly every day (well, before games start later in camp anyway). So, what's a guy to do with the rest of a sun-filled day?? GOLF! A good number of the pitchers and catchers spend the rest of their days on the golf course. Today, Arthur Rhodes and Chris Reitsma left the ballpark talking smack on each other's golf games as they headed for the course. Must be nice! ...Lost in the whole Seahawks Franchising Marcus Trufant deal is K Josh Brown's situation. Seattle Franchised him last year. Both sides have tried to work a deal, but with little luck so far. Brown is now an unrestricted free agent. Frank Hughes from The News Tribune posted an article on his blog. Sounds like, from other reports, the Hawks and Brown's agent are about 400-grand apart on a deal. If that's true, I hope that doesn't sour the deal. Brown's leg has proved he can win a couple of games a year for Seattle. Hopefully, for the 12th man's sake, they can figure it out. ...Jose Lopez has arrived! After days of waiting for a Visa in his native country, Venezuela, Lopez finally joined his teammates at Spring Training. The second baseman went to the Embassy in Venezuela last Thursday to obtain his Visa, but they told him he couldn't leave until the following week. He told me they didn't give him any explanation but just turned him away and told him to come back later. Jose planned to arrive in Peoria, AZ on Saturday because he wanted to get to camp early. John McLaren said Jose did everything he was supposed to do but these kinds of things happen regularly when traveling internationally. The Sonics just sent a press release about today's trade to acquire Ira Newble, Adrian Griffin, and Donyell Marshall. You can read it after the jump. The part I thought was interesting was the last paragraph. It says the Sonics have waived Brent Barry to bring their roster to the legal limit. Although, they don't specifically say so, I'm guessing it was a buyout sitiuation. After today's 3-team trade, the Sonics had 16 players. The NBA only allows you 15 (12 active and you can place 2 in the D-League). So no Bones 2: the sequel in Seattle. I tell you what, it's too bad for us. Bones was a soundbite waiting to happen. KING5 had a good rapport with Barry. UPDATE: We caught up with Sonics head coach P.J. Carlesimo before tonight's game with the Blazers. Here's PJ's take on the Sonics trades. ...One of the football websites that I read pretty religiously reports they've been hearing "multiple rumblings" that the Seahawks will cut RB Shaun Alexander "soon". The website is called profootballtalk.com. You'll have to scroll down a few stories to find the article. In the article, they quote an NFL insider call Shaun "just a guy" in 2007. In some former Seahawks news, the Cowboys Franchised safety Ken Hamlin. Good for him. Although I remember the Hawks thought so little of Hamlin, they didn't really even try to resign. I think it was the right move. Brian Russell and Deon Grant did a great job this past season. ...ESPN is reporting that the Seahawks have extended right tackle Sean Locklear's contract, taking the free agent off the market. ESPN.com says the deal is a five-year extension worth $32 million with bonuses around $12 million. Keeping the 26-year-old is a big deal for the Seahawks, in keeping and creating o-line consistency. You can read the report here. ...The Seahawks have sent out an official press release confirming they've placed the Franchise tag on CB Marcus Trufant. You can see the official release after the jump. As you can read in the press release, it's not an exclusive Franchise tag. What that means is Trufant can still negotiate with other teams, but Seattle has the right to match any deal or receive two 1st round draft choices. As good as Tru is and the premium on corners, I don't think anyone will swipe him right from under our noses (ala Hutch's transition tag). ...Internet reports have the Sonics trading Wally Szczerbiak and G Delonte West in a three-way trade with the Bulls and the Cavs. The Cavs land Ben Wallace and Joe Smith and Szczerbiak and West. Chicago gets Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden, and the Sonics land...Ira Newble, Donyell Marshall and Adrian Griffin. Looks like the Sonics just wanted to get rid of Szczeriak's bloated contract (Wally was the highest paid Sonic, would've earned $13-million next season). You can read more on the Seattle Times and David Aldridge's blog. ...I snagged this post-All Star Page 2 tidbit off of SuperSonicsoul.com, where ESPN's Bill Simmons segues from trade talk to ripping Sonics owner Clay "We Did Our Best" Bennett: "The Sonics need to keep saving Clay Bennett money so he can devote more resources to needlessly destroying basketball in the city of Seattle and ripping the heart out of a loyal fan base that's only supported the NBA for 41 years and counting. Yeah, let's pull their team from them because they don't want to help a billionaire build a new arena that doesn't need to be built. That's an awesome idea. I'm still waiting for someone to explain to me how David Stern could care so little about saving basketball in Seattle. It's completely inexplicable and goes against everything he's ever been about. I don't get it. I don't get it." ...Today is the first day for position players to practice in Peoria (say that fast 5 times). Only 2nd baseman Jose Lopez was absent. The M's say he'll be on the field on Thursday. Lopez had a little trouble getting his visa in Venezuela. For today's practice video, click on this link. You'll find Ichiro, Richie Sexson, Yuni Betancourt, and more take the field for grounders and fly balls. Plus, batting practice, the M's brass, and the pitchers in their bullpen sessions. There's plenty more M's video at spring training (9 pieces in all on Tuesday). ESPN's baseball expert Peter Gammons thinks the Mariners have a shot at the playoffs. The Sheriff returns to Seattle to rule the bullpen. Chris Egan reports on Norm Charlton's new job as the bullpen coach. Before taking the field for the first time in spring training, Raul Ibanez says he's ready to go. Ichiro walks the media "catwalk" with his fashion forward thinking. Here's his views of fashion and his teammates lack of it. Ichi shares a few thoughts on his off-season eating habits, his new teammates, and more. And finally, new M's outfielder Brad Wilkerson talks about his new team, why he chose the M's and why didn't take Boston's offer. Finally, here's the KING 5 news report at 11pm on the M's first practice with position players. I hope you enjoy all the video. There will be more throughout spring training. ...First full day of Spring Training! Now, baseball season is here! The bats were cracking, the fields were full, and Ichiro was in full effect! Last season, Ichiro greeted the media for his first interview wearing a fashionable tight pink shirt, trendy jeans, and colorful "designer" sneakers. So, you can guess I was pretty excited to see what ensemble he was going to dazzle us with today! ...I saw this on the PI's blog and it's freakin' hee-larious. Former Mount Vernon athlete Kyle Kendrick, who pitches for the Phillies, was caught up in a prank -- in which he think's he's being traded to a Japanese team. It's pretty elaborate. Reporters and even Kendrick's agent went along with the gag. NFL.com claims the Seahawks have slapped the franchise tag onto CB Marcus Trufant. KING5 has placed a call to the Seahawks, but they have yet to return the call. The Franchise tag allows Seattle to exclusively negotiate with the former Coug. The Hawks will have until July 15th to work out a long-term deal. If not, he'll get a 1-year deal. So either way, Tru is about to cash in. If he signs the qualifying offer (a 1-year deal), he'll make nearly 9.5 million dollars. If the Seahawks can figure out a multi-year deal, Tru will make a ton in upfront bonus money. I'm sure mama Trufant is happy Marcus is going to remain a Seahawk. Btw, we will see what this means for K Josh Brown. Josh had the franchise tag slapped on him last year. I still believe the Hawks want to lock him up long-term. He had a bumpy road in 2007, but I think that had more to do with the long snappers (until Jeff Robinson arrived) than any issues concerning Brown. ...KING 5 just started doing a Sports Blog (we use to do just the Seahawks blog). We will give you tidbits, extra stories, and generic stuff from the Sonics/Storm, Mariners, and Seahawks (as usual). So we'll try to bring you as many updates as we can. For example, the Mariners just sent a press release to us. Just in case you haven't seen it or heard about it, you'll find their promotions for 2008. They're gonna have Soul Patch night, the ever popular Stitch 'n Pitch night, Turn Back the Clock night, Bobblehead promos, and more. Single tickets go on sale March 1st. Check out press release, after the jump. ...20 hours from the NBA's trade deadline and the Sonics are open for business. Yahoo & ESPN are reporting that the Sonics have traded Kurt Thomas to the Spurs for C Francisco Elson, G Brent Barry (welcome home Bones), and 2009 1st round pick. Bonus for Seattle, both Elson and Barry are expiring contracts. So you probably won't see either one in a Sonics uni next season. Could Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West, Earl Watson or anyone not named Kevin Durant and Jeff Green be far behind? Sonics GM Sam Presti is still at the beginning of roster overhaul. Hopefully, the Sonic fans will be available to see the end game in Seattle, not in some dustbowl north of Texas. UPDATE: The Sonics have sent an official release at 6:32pm. You can read it after the jump. Plus, I spoke to one of their PR guys, Tom Savage. He says Elson and Bones won't be in uniform Thursday in Portland. But it's possible that they'll make their debut Friday at the Key. ...Tomorrow is the deadline for the Seahawks to use their franchise tag on a player. The TNT is reporting that Marcus Trufant, Josh Brown and Sean Locklear are the three players who are likely to get the tag -- which leaves free agent WR DJ Hackett available to shop around. Of the three, I'd hope a deal with Trufant gets done -- which would count around $9.5 million against the cap. I think the Seahawks are currently projected to be around $13 million in cap space, so tagging Tru would be a hit. Hopefully they can get a deal done. Stay tuned, the Seahawk could use the tag this afternoon. ...In case you didn't catch the Sonics win Tuesday night, here are some the highlights. As you probably noticed in a previous post, Kevin Durant missed Kevin Durant Bobblehead night with the flu. So Delonte West started in his place. The season long experiment known as the starting lineup/rotation continues. Seattle jumped out to 17-12 lead then proceeded to fall down 19 points by the 3rd quarter. Then the Sonics decided to rebound and hit their shots. They went on a 18-2 run, keyed by Wally Szczerbiak and Earl Watson. Watson capped an impressive 3rd quarter with a 3-ball with .1 seconds left on the clock. The Sonics finished the game with hitting most of their free throws and a big 3-point play by Wally with about :31 seconds to go in the game. Just an incredible shot. Wally talked about it after the game. Earl Watson scored a season high 26 points. He was equally impressed with the shot. Also Nick Collison talked about the part of the business no one really wants to think about, the trade deadline. It's coming up on Thursday. Wally told reporters he was thinking about it too. While on the bench in the 3rd quarter, he told Luke Ridnour let's forget about everything. The trading deadline, the status of the Sonics in Seattle and all the other stuff and let's go out there and forget about everything and win this one. Dreams do come true. Position players are filing into camp on Tuesday. You can check out Lisa Gangel's 6:30pm report that includes Richie Sexon and Adrian Beltre's first impressions of camp. Plus, Gangel returns for KING 5 News at 11pm. She tells us why M's manager John McLaren wants to be more aggressive on the base paths. As a bonus, we're trying to post more practice video from spring training. We figure if you're unable to go to Peoria to see the M's, then we'll bring the M's practice to you. Here's Tuesday's practice. It focuses on Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre taking batting practice and fielding ground balls. You can also see Dave Niehaus' reaction to making the Baseball Hall-of-Fame and the questions asked from reporters. ...OK, not really, but Sonics guard Kevin Durant is sick and will not play tonight against the Grizzlies. Kind of sucks for the Supes PR department. Tonight is Kevin Durant Bobblehead night. ...Position players don't have to report for their first full team workout until tomorrow, but today numerous players showed up a day early. Guys I've already seen working out in the batting cages and on the field include Richie Sexson, Raul Ibanez, Adrian Beltre, Willie Bloomquist, Brad Wilkerson, and Mike Morse. Why are they arriving early? I talked to... ...The Storm are holding a press conference right now to announce a major trade. Seattle has traded its 2008 - 1st round pick (4th overall) to Detroit for Swin Cash. Cash played with Sue Bird at UConn. She was also the 2nd overall pick in 2002, right behind Bird. The forward averaged 11.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists last season. UPDATE: Here's the Swin Cash press conference raw. It includes both Cash and new head coach Brian Agler's reaction to the trade. ...The Mariners position players officially report Tuesday. Although some have already made their way to camp. Unfortunately, second baseman Jose Lopez has not. He will miss tomorrow's workout and maybe more. Lopez is stuck in Venezuela with visa problems. Manager John McLaren doesn't expect him to make it to Peoria until the end of the week. For what it's worth, Lopez is from Venezuela. ...You've heard the news that Mariners broadcaster Dave Niehaus is going to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this summer. Congrats to Mr. Neihaus. It made me think, which broadcaster -- from all the local teams -- deserves the most thanks from fans? I know, they are all deserving. No one is better than the other. Dave has been a treat to listen to -- and watch. My, oh my. So has the voice of the Sonics, Kevin Calabro. Anything better than Calabro screaming out George Clinton after a Kemp whirlwind dunk? Get up for the down stroke! And while I enjoy the voice of the Seahawks' Steve Raible, who can forget Pete Gross' Touchdown Seahawks! Anyone else stand out? And apologies to any stud-sportscaster I've forgotten. Blame my relative youth. ...As a Husky alum of course I'd vote for Marcus Trufant's younger brother, Desmond, to help make the Dawgs better. Well, it seems the junior CB from Wilson High School already has offers from WSU and UW (and even Oregon -- boooo). Desmond, though, told the PI he's keeping his options open. "I don't really favor anybody," he said. His coach, Don Clegg, said Desmond may even start at QB or RB and CB next year. So where will Desmond go? Clegg said Tru had the "best junior season at cornerback" of the three Trufant's he's coached (Marcus and Isaiah). I'd vote for UW. But then again, I also went to USC. Could be worse places to play, eh? ...In an effort to continue building team chemistry, the Mariners remain committed to daily "American Idol" performances...that are quite embarrassing, I might add. Most of the singing "auditions" are kept private in the clubhouse, but today a group of young catchers were required to perform on the field in front of everyone, including the media and any fans that arrived early enough for the show. The guys sang an edited version of Josh Turner's song called "Me and God". Instead of "God" they changed the lyrics to say "Roge", as in Roger "Roge" Hanson, the Mariner's catching coordinator. It was creative and performed pretty well in the spirit of "team bonding". Even if the stomach flu wasn't going around, Sonics fans should feel queasy after listening to David Stern talk-the-talk this weekend. The Sonics' move to Oklahoma City, the commish said, is inevitable. "It's apparent to all who are watching that the Sonics are heading out of Seattle," he said. Well, Mr Stern, could you please quit siding with the Oklahoma consortrium. In fact, instead of aiding Bennett's cause, why not take away any worry fans have over collusion -- and that you're not just thanking Bennett for helping out after Katrina. Why not let the Sonics and the city do their thing? Wouldn't that be the prudent thing to do, out of respect for the franchise? What do you Sonics fans think? Does Stern really have one hand on the dolly and one foot in the moving truck, or is this just posturing to get the NBA the best deal it can, Sonics, Seattle or not? ...After a couple of nice days of weather, it feels more like Seattle weather today. Gray skies, scattered showers, long-sleeves and sweatshirts are the clothing of choice. Before pratice, manager John McLaren told me the M's may hold an intersquad game on February 27th. But I don't expect any of the main starters to play because McLaren says he doesn't particularly care for intersquad games and neither do most of the players. As Sonics players take a well-deserved break from losing, an e-mail war is heating up between the city and the Professional Basketball Club, LLC ownership group. According to the PI, the lawyers for the Sonics are trying to block the city's recent request for access to e-mails between the eight owners.
With Seahawks 36-year-old TE Marcus Pollard a free agent and news that the Falcons today released 30-year-old stud TE Alge Crumpler (sprinkle in a little of GM Ruskell), doesn't it feel likely the Seahawks -- who have seemingly been without a reliable TE since Mike Tice -- will pursue the four-time Pro Bowling Crumpler? When was the last time a TE led the Seahawks in receptions? Crumpler did for the Falcons twice. So who is the better fit? Or should the Seahawks pursue a TE in the draft (see team RB need). I'd vote for taking a RB and trying for Crumpler. Since Holmgren has been here, the one thing the Seahawks have always lacked is a game-changing TE. Let the Giants keep Jeremy Shockey and his ego. ...Foxsports.com writer John Czarnicki recently posted a story called 10 burning questions for NFL off-season. Check out #4 - Sleepless in Seattle. The Czar implies that Hawks owner Paul Allen agreed with GM Tim Ruskell about not giving head coach Mike Holmgren an extension. ...Day one is officially in the books at the Peoria sports complex for the Mariners. Howard Lincoln accused me of bringing in chilly weather from Seattle to Arizona. I wouldn't say chilly - it's 60 degrees with a chill. After practice, John McLaren was all smiles. The M's manager was very excited with the energy level of his players and coaches. McLaren says it's truly a joy to have a pitching coach like Mel Stottlemyre on his staff. Stottlemyre has nearly five decades of baseball under his belt, and helped the Yankees win four World Series, and well as the Mets title in 1986. Felix Hernandez tells me he's 7 pounds lighter than he was last spring training and says he couldn't be more excited to have Carlos Silva and Erik Bedard now in the M's starting rotation. Watch out for a possible secret weapon out of the bullpen. I talked with R.A. Dickey after practice and he says his knuckleball is feeling pretty good. Imagine bringing in a quality knuckleball pitcher after Felix or Carlos Silva. The only problem with knuckleballers is that they are had to catch, but Jamie Burke says he's up to the challenge. Burke was a catcher for Dickey in Texas in 1999. As for the workouts, all the pitchers threw bullpens, with Mark Lowe, Arthur Rhodes and Chris Reitsma throwing modified pens as they recover from their respective surgeries. ...Wow! That was quick. The Seahawks announced they've signed OG Mike Wahle to a multi-year deal. Wahle just came to town yesterday. He'll definitely give Seattle a nice 1-2 punch on the left side. ...This afternoon, the Seahawks finally announced they've hired Bill Lazor as their new quarterbacks coach. Here's the press release: Hawks Press Release: Players arrived bright and early the Peoria sports complex. Upon arrival, we sat down with J.J. Putz to get his thoughts on spring training. He says he feels like a little kid and is ready to go, but he also says he has to pace himself so he doesn't push too hard early. After our one-on-one with J.J., he headed into the locker room for a mandatory 8 a.m. meeting with new pitching coach Mel Stottlemyer The day's a little chillier, low 70s with a brisk wind. Before practice I chatted with manager John McLaren. He says he warned his team not to overdo it, since no one is going to get cut today. ...The home of the Seattle Seahawks is getting a facelift, replacing the existing Field Turf with the same material -- get this, just in time for the Dalai Lama's rally in April. According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, Paul Allen's First & Goal was concerned the playing surface has become faded and impacted, and possibly more injuries. It'll take six-weeks to yank out the exisiting field, pour down rubber and then install the new surface. Hey, if it keeps Shaun (or some other RB) from breaking a bone on the first game of next season, I'm all for it. ...It's done. Redskins head coach Jim Zorn has stole Stump Mitchell from the Seahawks. Stump will be the 'Skins new running backs coach. Yeah, the same position he held with Seattle. Unless my count is off, Stump is the sixth assistant coach who's left the team or been let go. Zorn wants former Hawks RB Sherman Smith to run the offense. If the former Seahawks QB coach fails to procure Smith, it's rumored that Mitchell will be promoted to run QB Jason Campbell and crew (of course, with the help of Zorn). ...Inside the Panthers is reporting that former Pro Bowler, Panther and Packers guard Mike Wahle is in Kirkland today to visit Seahawks brass. Wahle played for Holmgren back in the Green Bay days of yore. Wahle was cut by the Panthers earlier this week. He suffered a torn labrum in 2006 while suiting up for Carolina. The 31-year-old Wahle played in the Pro Bowl in 2005. Releasing the 6-foot-6, 304-Wahle freed up cap room. Carolina reportedly owed him a $1 million roster bonus and $3 million base salary. ...How many Seahawks fans -- season ticket holders or not -- really plan to attend that other football, when MLS starts at Qwest Field? Is the venue simply too big for Pelé's Beautiful Game, or does the stadium fall under the "if you build it..." category? As Houston Dynamos GM Oliver Luck said, "...there's nothing worse than 15,000 people in a 72,000-seat stadium. That's been proven over and over by MLS teams." Yet MLS president Mark Abbott told the TNT, "Seattle was to be able to create in Qwest Field a number of the advantages that we were able to achieve in soccer-specific stadiums." Specifically, using only the lower bowl of The Qwest Field, faking a 25,000-seat stadium. With something like 11,000 season-tickets sold, there is certainly a low-grade buzz about the Seattle's new MLS team. But will the 12th Man go? ...Former Seahawks QB coach turned new Redskins head coach Jim Zorn needs a new offensive coordinator. According to the Washington Post running backs coach Stump Mitchell is in the mix. Although Stump has never been an offensive coordinator (nor has Zorn for that matter), both Mitchell and Zorn could make the calls by committee. ...That is the question being raised over in that other Washington as sports writers in the nation's capital try to figure out newly hired head coach and Seahawk icon, Jim Zorn. So, who deserves the credit for Matt's growth from boo-bird bullsye at Husky Stadium back in those days to the Pro Bowl moustache-wearing QB he is now? Quarterback guru Mike Holmgren or Zorn? Over at the Post, they're hoping hiring Zorn brightens Jason Campbell's future. Mike Holmgren has the larger resume, including two Hall of Famers -- Montana and Young (and Favre and Matt). Zorn gets credit for helping out Detroit's Charlie Batch (and Matt). So who (besides Matt) gets the credit for molding Matt into a Pro Bowler? Redskins fans and Seahawks fans may not vote for the same head coach. ...Now that the Pro Bowl is over (does anyone really watch the game?), all eyes in the NFL can turn to Redskins' head coach Jim Zorn's fumbled first news conference...wait. How about... free agency. For Seahawks fans, FA No.1 is likely Marcus Trufant, commonly known as Mr. Elite Cornerback. 411mania.com has Tru ranked as the number one free agent on the market. And realfootball365 believes Mora's hiring was part and parcel in trying to keep Marcus. So, what will the Seahawks do? Offer a contract slightly below market value and if Tru says no, tag him? The "buzz" at the Pro Bowl, according to the Denver Post was..."Trufant is going to cash in big in free agency and could surpass Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey as the highest-paid cornerback in the league." Whew. Well, if they can't sign him, would the Seahawks franchise Trufant? It'd cost. Something around $9.5 million. ...The sudden promotion of Jim Zorn from o-coordinator to head coach is sending ripples of ">wha-huh? throughout the league. Jim Fassel, who was considered the front-runner for the gig told CBS, "This is a shock to me." Fassel goes on to say, "...Jim Zorn has three jobs he hasn't done now...he's a head coach, and he's never done it. He's an offensive coordinator, and he's never done it. And he's calling the plays, and he's never done it." Is Zorn ready? Is he the right choice? You can cast your vote at ESPN. Either way, it'll be interesting to see who else is hired to help coach the offense and quarterbacks. ...Take that, Redskins. The Washington Post is reporting that the Seahawks have hired Bill Lazor to replace Zorn as QB coach. Lazor was promoted to quarterbacks coach for the 'Skins back in 2006, replacing Bill Musgrove. In 2003, he was offensive quality control coordinator with the Atlanta Falcons. Lazor was a quarterback for Cornell in the ninties, setting numerous records. ...The NFL network's Adam Schefter is reporting that the Seahawks are toying with the idea of letting Pro Bowl corner Marcus Trufant hit the open market -- and hitting kicker Josh Brown with the franchise tag. This came across Rotoworld.com. It sounds like the thought behind these comments is the high price Trufant will demand on the market. When asked earlier this year by the Seattle Times if he'd give the Seahawks the oppurtunity to get him back, Trufant replied: Asked if he'll give the Seahawks every opportunity to bring him back, Trufant was noncommittal. "I think so, but you just kind of have to play it by ear. The business is the business," he said. "Really, I'm not committing either way." Boy, it would be hard to see Tru go. Which player should the Hawks hit with the tag? ...In case you haven't seen the blog lately, watched our KING5.com live stream on the Hawks presser, or been out of the country, the Seahawks have named Jim Mora as Mike Holmgren's successor in 2009. Unfortunately, Jim Mora isn't at the press conference (nor is Mike). CEO Tod Leiweke and President/GM Tim Ruskell are making the announcement. Ruskell says it's a four-year extension (five-year if you include 2008). Ruskell and Leiweke gave Holmgren a ton of compliments, mainly for announcing next season will be his last season and giving the franchise an opportunity to find his replacement very early in the process. Ruskell says the team, per the NFL rules, can sidestep the Rooney Rule if they have a "in-house" candidate/replacement. Ruskell heaped a ton of praise over Mora. By the way, they worked together back in Atlanta. The Hawks GM just goes over a laundry list of why Mora is qualified to be the next head coach. I'll link the presser when it's over. In the meantime, it's streaming live on KING5.com. ...Joel just sent me this: Packers GM Ron Wolf trying to take back last week's slam of Holmgren. You may remember Wolf essentially blamed Holmgren for losing Super Bowl XXXII, going as far as to call Holmgren "pig-headed." “For something like that to come out 11 years later makes me look like an idiot,” Wolf told Mike Vandermause. Wolf says he called Holmgren and apologized. “I told him quite frankly that if he never spoke to me again I could understand it....(Holmgren) is by far the smartest coach I’ve ever been around,” he said. You can read the Packer News article here. ...Does the hiring of Jim Mora as the next head coach of the Seahawks relieve or frustrate Husky fans? Does it make head coach Ty Willingham's job easier? How many fans ever thought/hoped there was a real shot of Mora becoming the next UW coach? As many Dawgs know, the Interlake graduate, Mora, was a linebacker for the Huskies and started his career under Don James in 1984. The 46-year-old spent seven seasons with the Niners, before being let go from Atlanta in the '06 season after telling KJR radio that the UW was his 'dream job.' Either way, Ty certainly has one less shadow to work under. And the Seahawks organization can start stitching a purple lining into the 'Hawks jerseys. ...Foxsports.com reports that the Seahawks have tabbed Jim Mora to be the team's next head coach. Current head coach Mike Holmgren has said next season will be his last season. Foxsports.com's insider Jay Glazer says the soon-to-be promotion comes with a contract extension. No doubt, we'll hear something from the Seahawks about it, soon. So the Hawks are promoting from within. I guess it's the en vogue thing to do. The Colts are doing it. Jim Caldwell will take over for Tony Dungy when he's finished coaching at Indy. In college hoops, Bobby Knight just retired and passed his job onto his son, Pat. You can't forget that's what happened over at Wazzu, too. Update: The Hawks have called a noon press conference on Wednesday. So watch KING 5 news at noon or keep an eye on our website. We'll either have it on the noon news live or stream it live on KING5.com. Update #2: ESPN's John Clayton tells us it's a 5-year deal. He'll become the head coach in 2009. Again, watch KING 5 news at noon Wednesday or log on to the web KING5.com to see the Hawks press conference. ...As today's Sporting News article focusing on NFC needs for '08 points out: Seattle needs a RB, TE and G. While the TNT is throwing out the idea of the Seahawks making a play for Jeremy Shockey, what about RB? From the draft, the Sporting News likes Oregon's Jonathan Stewart and Illinois' Rashard Mendenhall. While Josh Morgan over at Field Gulls is throwing out free agents Julius Jones, Michael Turner and Mewelde Moore. So what makes the most sense? The Seahawks first-round pick sits at number 25. Here's a good, recent mock draft by the Bleacher Report you can take a look at. Any other player you'd like to see the Seahawks draft? (Btw, The mock draft has the Hawks taking Rashard Mendenhall). Wouldn't it be nice to see USC's OT Sam Baker drop that far? ...Saw this and thought it was worth a gander, as Hollyscoop interviews Hasselbeck in the Super Bowl celebrity lounge. Matt talks about what he was in Phoenix to promote. For those who didn't know, Matt was a marketing-and-finance major, as shown in this Conde Nast Portfolio.com article from early January. An article where Matt swears to never wear hair-plugs. ...First off I have to say "Take that!" to all the pundits who start every NFL season by saying the NFC sucks compared to the AFC. Thank you, Giants. So what's next for the Super Bowl winners? Seahawks GM Tim Ruskell has some advice, after dealing with the team's SB XL loss. "Work hard to maintain your core players," he told the Sporting News. "Don't lose sight of the fact you still have to recruit for free agency...everybody says, 'we made it to the Super Bowl, so this is my year to ask for a new contract or go into free agency'." Ruskell also recommends the Giants give their players extra time off, even if it messes with the offseason training programs. "You've got to give them some downtime, even though it'll come up on you quick." The year after losing in the Super Bowl the Seahawks lost Hutchinson, Shaun and Matt missed games, and -- as the article points out -- 14 players were either hurt or on IR. ...Ouch. Talk about taking a swipe at a former employee. Green Bay GM Ron Wolf told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Mike Holmgren's coaching was responsible for the Packers loss to the Broncos in SB XXXII. "Certain calls were to be made that weren't made," Wolf is quoted in the article. "Mike Holmgren refused those calls. There would have been an adjustment on the blocking scheme and it would have been over." Wolf goes on to blame Holmgren for being "pig-headed" and not listening to assistant coaches to stop the Bronco's blitzes. "I found this out about four years ago," Wolf said. "Two people told me about it that were in a position to know. I could tell you who they were but they wouldn't tell you. They were coaches." Whew. Someone still bitter? ...Is something fishy going on in the Patriots Spygate case? It seemed like NFL commish Roger Goodell punished the Pats and it was over. But now a Pennsylvania senator wants to talk to Goodell about Spygate. Who knows if he has his reasons or if he's just grandstanding, but a New York Times article brings new light to New England's spying problem. They tried to talk to former Pats video department employee about New England's history with tape. Matt Walsh worked for owner Robert Kraft from 1996 to 2003. But Walsh won't give out any info unless the newspaper would agree to pay any legal fees or woes caused by him talking about his past employer. It makes it sound like he's fearful that he has damaging info that would cause the Pats and the NFL a public relations nightmare. ESPN.com also has an article on Walsh. Oh, by the way, the NY Times article was co-written by award winning writer Greg Bishop. If that name sounds familiar to Seahawks fans, you have a good memory. Bishop worked for the Seattle Times before heading to New York. ...Don't rule it out. The Buffalo Bills want to play a "home" game in Toronto for the next few seasons. It's possible that the Hawks will play the Bills in one of those games north of the border. Here's the article from a Rochester, New York paper. Also, it looks like the Chargers and Saints will play in London in 2008. There's a good chance the Hawks will play in Beijing in 2009. You might remember, Seattle was suppose to play there in 2007. That game was cancelled. ...Not only will Zorn be revamping the Redskins offense to the West Coast, which Rotoworld is reporting and the Washington Post is hinting at, the new Washington offensive coordinator is getting high praise from Steve Largent. Largent told the Post, "The one great attribute Jim has is that he is not very emotional." Matt Hasselbeck is in the Zorn praising mix, too -- telling the Washington Times that he believes Zorn should be the Skins new head coach, ala Andy Reid. Reid made a similar jump to the Eagles. In some ways, I agree with Matt. ... |