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August 2009
Categories
| May 2009Yes, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the Rams are officially for sale. The club has reportedly hired Goldman Sachs to find a buy. Post-Dispatch reporter Bernie Miklasz breaks down the reasons for the sale. Chip Rosenbloom owns 60 percent of the club. Denver Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke owns the other 40%. Forbes listed the Rams' worth as $929 million in 2008. Rosenbloom reportedly didn't put any pre-conditions on selling the club. That means an out-of-town buyer could swoop in and buy the team and move it. Could the Rams be headed back to Los Angeles? ...The Storm brought their roster down to 13 players today. They've cut forwards LaTangela Atkinson and Kasha Terry. Both were newcomers to the Storm in training camp. The Storm have to make 2 more roster moves to get down to 11. Also, remember Lauren Jackson should be back either today or tomorrow. Hopefully, we'll talk with her tomorrow on Northwest Sports Tonight and KING 5 News at 5pm. ...
Game One of the AHL Calder Cup Finals featured everything an exciting hockey game could ask for: a sold-out crowd, lots of action and a hat trick for one player in a thrilling overtime win.
Party at Sporty's in Everett Tuesday evening.
The Sounders make a couple of moves before tonight's game with Columbus. They've put Taylor Graham on the injured reserve list. He has a fracture in his right foot. Seattle forward Jarrod Smith has been called up by the New Zealand National Team. Smith is currently on the Sounders' I.R. If you want to read the Sounders official news release, click on the jump. ...(Note: Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals takes place Saturday, May 30th at 5pm on KING 5)
My news anchor, Brad Goode, enters the newsroom. Usually, he says "Good Morning." Not this time. He strides up to me and says loudly, "Rematch!" Brad's from Detroit and a rabid Red Wings fan. I am a rabid Pittsburgh Penguins fan. I hold up my hand for a high five and he slaps it. "Let's have a great series!" we agree, and he continues to his desk as I turn my attention back to proofreading scripts for KING 5 Morning News. ...
Goaltenders among 40 players to vie for prestigious Under-18 summer team.
The Storm left sunny Seattle (it sounds weird saying that) today for the "City that Never Sleeps." And not only are they enjoying the hot sunny desert, but they're doing it in style. Sue Bird told us the Maloof brothers were kind enough to put the ladies up at "The Palms." Swanky!
The Amateur Softball Association of America, the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, announced today the selection of Washington's Danielle Lawrie as the recipient of the 8th Annual USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award.
The Manitoba Moose advanced to the Calder Cup Finals, but the Houston Aeros did not make it an easy ride for the boys from Winnipeg. After falling behind 3 games to 0, the Aeros battled back, game by game, to make a series of it. Houston won Game 4, 5-4 in overtime. Matt Beaudoin delivered the goal that kept the Aeros' playoff hopes alive. ...Seattle Pacific hires Eastern Oregon University coach Ryan Looney as the Falcons new men's basketball coach. He replaces Jeff Hironaka who went to WSU as an assistant. Looney, 33, compiled a 95-55 record in five seasons at EO, including a berth in the quarterfinals of the 2009 NAIA Division II Tournament. The press release from SPU is after the jump. ...A fan has taken to Youtube.com to profess her love of Sounders FC defender Evan Brown. If you missed the 5pm KING 5 Newscast or Northwest Sports Tonight at 9:30, 11pm, 11:30pm, or 12:30pm, I'll try to post a story a little later. Lisa Gangel did the story. Or you can watch Mandy's, the Evan Brown fan, Youtube clip right here. It's already got over 6,000 hits. ...Sounders forward Fredy Montero is up for his 3rd Goal of the Week award. Montero won it twice this season. It happened at the beginning of the season. If you'd like to vote for Goal of the Week, click right here. ...The Mariners put Kenji Johjima on the 15-day disabled list with a broken toe. Everyone expected something like that. The surprise came in the form of his replacement. Instead of calling up veteran catcher Jamie Burke, C/DH/1B Jeff Clement, or even promising AA catcher Adam Moore, the M's went with Guillermo Quiroz. OK, Quiroz has MLB experience, but you gotta wonder why him? You can read the M's official news release after the jump. ...If you've always wanted to ask a pro athlete a question, but never could? Well now is your chance to do it. We call it "Ask the Sounders." It's your opportunity to ask the coaches or players a question about the game or anything else. We will take the top 3 questions. So put your questions in the "Comments" section.
Former Sonic Kevin Durant made, what seems to be, a unintentional gaffe. During an ESPN chat, Durant was asked which city was a better NBA city, Seattle or OKC? Here's his answer: I think the toughest thing is moving everything from Seattle. With Seattle having a team for so long, I think they are more of an NBA city. But the fans in Oklahoma City are great. -- Kevin Durant on ESPN.com I like that he was nice enough to say something to appease the OKC fans. By the way, Durant becomes a restricted free agent in 2010. You gotta believe his agent wants him to get the heck out of Dodge, aka OKC. In Durant's rookie season they rewarded him with three national spots and five more local spots in Seattle. Now that he is in Oklahoma City he had no national campaigns and no local ones either. Nike wants their clients to be in the spotlight and that is not going to happen in Oklahoma City. -- Bleacherreport.com Shocking, huh? So while some may chase LeBron James in 2010, teams may get more bang for their buck to grab Durant. Because we all know that Bubba Bennett and his cronies won't be able to afford KD in the very near future. So start the farewell tour now, Bubba. ...Gonzaga's baseball team will open play in the NCAA tournament on Friday at 3 p.m. against Georgia Southern (42-15). The Zags (35-16) earned the WCC's automatic berth. They are the third seed in the Fullerton, CA regional. It's the Zags first appearance in the tournament since 1981. ...
The Providence Bruins' exciting playoff run ended today, as they lost 5-2 to the Hershey Bears before a home crowd. The best of 7 series began on an "up" note for Providence, as they clinched the first game. But the Bears turned out to be too strong for Providence, sweeping the next four games to win the Eastern Conference Championship. They now take home the Richard F. Canning trophy and await the winner of the Western Conference battle being fought by the Houston Aeros and Manitoba Moose, who are engaged in a Game 6 showdown tonight in Winnipeg. ...David Reutimann gambled and stayed out on the track during a caution. It turned into a rain delay. Then all Reutimann had to do was wait for the rain to keep falling, which it did and gave him his first Sprint Cup Series win, and Michael Waltrip's first win as a car owner. The Washington State baseball team opens play in the NCAA tournament on Friday against Arkansas. It's an 11 a.m. (PT) start in Norman, Oklahoma. The Cougs (31-23) finished second in the Pac-10. Arkansas (34-22) is seeded second in the four-team, double elimination tournament.
Game 6 Monday night in Winnipeg. Last Monday, the Houston Aeros were staring at the end of their season. They were down 3 games to none to the Manitoba Moose in the AHL's Western Conference Finals. To many people, it looked as though Game 4 would be a formality. Then the team could pack their things and start their summer break. ...
For the fans of four NHL teams (Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins), the season is still alive and the hope of bringing Lord Stanley's Cup to their town is very real. But for fans of the other 26 teams, the season is over and fans are either trying to be optimistic that next year will be better, or still trying to digest the taste of bitter disappointment left by the way their team finished.
It's a topic that seems to be getting as much attention in the NHL as the race for the Stanley Cup. Is Tampa Bay planning to trade star Vincent Lecavalier and if so, to whom? There's no one better suited to tackle this topic than Western Washington University alum and Lightning blogger Cassie McClellan. Cassie is a regular contributor to Tampa Bay's popular "Raw Charge" blog. Here, she outlines just who's in the running for Vinny, and why. ...We're approaching Nascar Sprint Cup's longest race, 600 miles this Sunday at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte. Ryan Newman's on the pole. Enumclaw's Kasey Kahne is the defending race champion; his number 9 car qualified 6th. But this got me to thinking about the guys who are starting 3rd and 5th for Sunday night's race, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Johnson's cut his hair and grown a beard. Gordon's now one of the "old men" on the circuit, battling a bad back. These guys, though, are a lot alike. Calling Steve Balmer, the Charlotte Bobcats are now for sale. Majority Owner Bob Johnson says he's losing 20-40 million dollars a year. Last December, Forbes listed the Bobcats as worth $284 million. Johnson owns 70 percent of the club. It's reported that he wants 325-350 million dollars for his share of the Bobcats. It's believed that Johnson will want to sell it to Michael Jordan, if possible. Hopefully, Balmer can jump in and bring the NBA back to Seattle. ...Before Friday nights Mariners-Giants game, M's manager Don Wakamatsu said Jarrod Washburn will not start tomorrow as planned. Wakamatsu says Washburn will be pushed back to Tuesday at Oakland due to some tightness above his left knee, the leg he pushes off to make his pitches. Wakamatsu said the injury bothered Washburn a little bit in his last start Monday against the Angels in which he got the loss. He said there is no concern of a major injury but that it's safer to hold him out for a few days and eliminate any chance of making it worse. Garrett Olson will get the start for the Mariners on Saturday, instead of Washburn.
WHL News Release AHL fans get their choice of games tonight, as all four teams left in the run for the Calder Cup do battle tonight. In the Western Conference Finals, the Houston Aeros (which feature KING 5 hockey blogger/former Everett Silvertip Mitch Love and former 'Tip John Lammers) take on the Manitoba Moose (featuring former Silvertips Shaun Heshka, who's seen a lot of ice time; and Taylor Ellington, who has not been in the playoff lineup). ...On the heels on last night's victory over Sacramento, the Storm have already made a couple of moves. They've waived Kimberly Beck and Mara Freshour. Beck had to know the writing was on the wall when Seattle signed Pee Wee Johnson. Freshour had even a much larger task in front of her. It's a numbers game for the third round pick out of Florida State. Teams can only have 11 players on their roster this season. I would put the official Storm news release after the jump, but it was short and sweet. It was only 2 sentences. ... The drivers have already been turning left and driving fast since the Daytona 500 in mid-February. The rumors are flying around about where Michael Vick will play next season and the Seahawks have even been mentioned as a possible home for Vick since Jim Mora was his head coach in Atlanta. Coach Mora did not talk about Vick during today's Seahawks practice, but quarterback Matt Hasselbeck did share some thoughts on Vick. When asked if Vick deserves another shot in the league, Hasselbeck said, "I've been getting that question a lot, without knowing everything about the situation, there's just so much about it, it's hard to keep up with everything, but it seems like he paid a pretty severe penalty and I definitely believe in second chances for people. Again, I'm not an expert on the subject, but that would be my initial gut reaction." Hasselbeck was then asked if he would welcome Vick on a team he played on, "He was always great to me, every time I hung out with him or met him or was around him, he was great to be around." So What do you think? Would you want Michael Vick to come and play for the Seahawks? Share your thoughts. ...He's been the backbone of the Seattle Thunderbirds forever, it seems. Their Captain for the past two seasons. A stalwart on the defensive line, whose excellent vision and powerful skating made #4 a force to be reckoned with, no matter where he was manning the ice.
Program will be for select games in 2009-10 season
I'm torn, as a Cougar, whether to bash on this or feel some sympathy for the Dawgs. The Tyee Club has started two new programs to help their fellow Husky fans who are down on their luck in these tough economic times.
If you've always wanted to ask a pro athlete a question, but never could? Well now is your chance to do it. We call it "Ask the Sounders." It's your opportunity to ask the coaches or players a question about the game or anything else. We will take the top 3 questions. So put your questions in the "Comments" section.
The Houston Aeros are back on home ice tonight, looking to dig out of a hole and keep their Calder Cup hopes alive, after dropping the first two games of the Western Conference Finals to a strong Manitoba Moose team in Winnipeg. ...He hasn't graced the ice at Comcast Arena in 6 years, but say his name and you're bound to get the same reaction. Riley Armstrong remains a staunch favorite among Everett Silvertips fans. That's how much of an impression he made in his one and only year with the team in its inaugural season. ...It sounds like the Sounders are going to be depending on their bench a little more. Obviously, James Riley is going to miss tonight's game after receiving a red card last weekend. But word from the Sounders is Freddie Ljungberg is out with a migraine. Plus, Chris Eyelander hits the disabled list and Ben Dragavon becomes the #2 keeper. Nate Sturgis is out with a bad hammy. Jarrod Smith suffers a setback with his hammy, too. According to the Sounders website, his injury probably put him back a couple of weeks.
The NFL just gave teams an additional $5 million in cap space when they went from a projected $123 mil to $128 mil. That's good news for the Hawks. They were expected to have nearly $3 million to play around with. Now the Seahawks currently sit $7.8 million under the salary cap. After looking at each team's cap space number, it's difficult to fathom two teams are more than $30 million under the cap. By the way, those teams are Tampa Bay ($36.6 mil) and Kansas City ($31.1 mil). For what it's worth, division rival San Francisco has $25.4 million in cap room. ...The race for the Calder Cup is now down to four teams. And if you've been keeping up with updates here, you know that three of them include former members of the Everett Silvertips. So... many local fans are turning their eyes to the exciting world of AHL hockey!
For a second straight day, Brandon Morrow came in to close out a game and for a second straight day Morrow gave up a game winning hit to the Texas Rangers. M's manager Don Wakamatsu didn't second-guess his decision to send out Morrow for the ninth, "You can sit here and say the gamble was just as big not to put him in there, You have to find out about your players. You never want it to end that way, but he has to be in that situation." Erik Bedard will most likely miss his next start on Saturday. He has a tight right hamstring. The official decision will come tomorrow. Expect Garrett Olson to make the start against the Red Sox. ...The Huskies are facing hard times too. They were suppose to cut 2.8 million dollars out of its atheletic budget. A few weeks ago, they cut the swimming department. Now they've cut 13 positions in the Athletic Department. According to their website, that'll account for $600,000 of the cuts. The other 1 million from "various across-the-board reductions in the department's sports and administrative operating budget as well as various revenue generating initiatives." The original1.2 mil cut came from getting rid of the swimming teams. ...The Associated Press reports new Cougar hoops coach Ken Bone has signed his 7-year contract. He'll make about $650,000 plus incentives in his first year, $750, 000 in his second, and $850,000 in his third season. According to the report, the final four years, any additional raises will be negotiated. ...The same site that reported former Huskies head coach Tyrone Willingham had a job in the UFL, now says they couldn't reach an agreement. Willingham was suppose to be an assistant coach for San Fran. He would have been the running backs and special teams coach. Dennis Green is the head coach. The United Football League is suppose to start play this fall. ...The WNBA is selling a limited amount of tickets for their All-Star game. It's being held July 25th at Connecticut's home court. You can purchase tickets online with ticketmaster or by calling 1-877-WNBA-TIX. The official WNBA news release is after the jump. ...You can vote for your favorite Sounder(s) for July 29th's All-Star game with an English Premier League team. Go to MLSnet.com and vote for your starting 11. Fans can vote for the All-Star First XI online by selecting one goalkeeper, three defenders, five midfielders, and two forwards. Fans can vote up to 10 times per day. The online fan balloting program, which concludes on Monday, July 6, will comprise 25 percent of the total vote for the All-Star First XI, with coaches and general managers, players, and media each holding 25 percent of the vote. The top 11 face Everton FC. If you want to see the official news release, click on the jump. ...You can vote for your favorite Sounder(s) for July 29th's All-Star game with an English Premier League team. Go to MLSnet.com and vote for your starting 11. Fans can vote for the All-Star First XI online by selecting one goalkeeper, three defenders, five midfielders, and two forwards. Fans can vote up to 10 times per day. The online fan balloting program, which concludes on Monday, July 6, will comprise 25 percent of the total vote for the All-Star First XI, with coaches and general managers, players, and media each holding 25 percent of the vote. The top 11 face Everton FC. If you want to see the official news release, click on the jump. ...It's a big night for 3 teams, as they fight to advance to the next round of the Calder Cup playoffs. The Houston Aeros will put it all on the ice tonight at Bradley Center in Milwaukee in a Game 7 match up with the Milwaukee Admirals. ...Former Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren is already ready to come back to the NFL. The Washington Post ran a little blog sharing a story about MIke. Apparently, his wife caught him watching the NFL Draft and commenting on what teams should or shouldn't do. It sounds like Holmgren will surely be back in the NFL by 2010, if not sooner. He's just unsure in what capacity.
TICKETS GO ON SALE TODAY
Don't call it a comeback. Actually, you've got to call it a comeback. Former Federal Way star Michael Dickerson is trying to make it back to the NBA. He's one of more than 20 players trying out for the Memphis Grizzlies. Dickerson was forced into retirement back 2003 due to severe groin and hamstring injuries. ...Yes, the Cougars are breaking out a new look June 12th in Pasco. The school's going to unveil its Nike uni's at Broadmoor RV/Towne Crier Tri-Cities Tailgate. It'll happen around 6:30pm. At 7:30pm, those uniforms go live on WSUCougars.com. You can attend the live event in Pasco. For that info and the official news release, click on the jump.
According to Footballscoop.com, former Huskies head coach Tyrone Willingham has a new coaching job. Willingham finds a job with San Francisco in the United Football League. The former Husky is an assistant coach for Dennis Green. Yes, that Dennis Green. So Green "crowns" or names Willingham as the coach for the running backs and specials teams. ...If you've always wanted to ask a pro athlete a question, but never could? Well now is your chance to do it. We call it "Ask the Sounders." It's your opportunity to ask the coaches or players a question about the game or anything else. We will take the top 3 questions. So put your questions in the "Comments" section. We'll "Ask the Sounders" your questions sometime this week for Sunday May 17th's show. Sounders FC Weekly airs Sundays at 10:35 p.m. on KONG-TV. ...The AHL playoffs are turning out to be as wild as their NHL counterpart, as one team staves off elimination and two others tie things up in their battle to move on to the next round. And several former Everett Silvertips feature prominently in the race for the Calder Cup!
The Mariners made a couple of moves today. They put pitcher Carlos Silva to the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his pitching shoulder. The M's then activated Brandon Morrow from the D.L. Seattle won't have to make a decision on Silva's spot in the rotation thanks to an off day on Monday. The M's official news release is after the jump.
According to Profootballtalk.com, new (old) Seahawks CB Ken Lucas nearly was a Detroit Lion. Back in February, the Panthers discussed sending Lucas to the Lions. In that scenario, Detroit would be on the hook for Lucas' $5.6 contract. Apparently, Lucas didn't like the idea so the trade didn't happen. Then in March, Carolina cut Ken. Of course, you know the Hawks signed Lucas. He signed a 1-year deal worth $2.3 mil. In essence, Lucas lost $3.3 mil to not play for Detroit. I guess it seems reasonable. Lucas is 30. His NFL career is nearing an end. Why would you want to go through that rebuilding process if you don't have to. Sure he loses over three mil, but would you go to an 0-16 team? Sounds like a soul crushing experience. ...The Cougars just sent out a news release about defensive end Cory Mackey's condition.
In case you're unable to catch Northwest Sports Tonight on Thursday night, you missed Hawks running back T.J. Duckett's new look. His teammates are calling him Kimbo Slice. Duckett has grown a beard that resembles Slice. He plans to keep growing it for training camp. Duckett also has a new number. Last season he was #42. He's now sporting #44. We're not sure why yet, but when we find out, we'll pass it along. If you want to see Duckett's beard, watch Northwest Sports Tonight at 9:30 on NWCN, 11pm on KONG 6/16, or 11:30 on NWCN. ...The Manitoba Moose steamrolled through two rounds of playoff action. The Vancouver Canucks' AHL affiliate swept the Grand Rapids Griffins (Detroit Red Wings) in four games, to take the North Division Final. This is the first post-season sweep in Manitoba's franchise history. The Moose also carry a 7-game winning streak in playoff action. The Moose had a little bit of a tougher time in the first round, needing 6 games to dispatch the Toronto Marlies. ...Free agent Levi Jones has postponed his visit to Seattle, according to FOXSports.com. On Wednesday, the same site reported Jones was going to visit the Hawks. Apparently, Levi found a better fit with other teams who are pursuing him. ...FOXsports.com reports that offensive tackle Levi Jones is coming to Seattle for a visit. Jones was just recently let go by Cincinnati. He was the 10th overall pick back in 2002. The Hawks may be kicking the tires on Jones in case their current Jones (Walter) runs behind schedule on his knee surgery. Big Walt had microfracture surgery. Obviously, if they sign Levi, that's not a good sign of Big Walt's recovery. ...Former Everett Silvertip (and KING 5 Hockey blogger) Mitch Love and the Houston Aeros look to pull ahead in their best of 7, second round playoff series against the Milwaukee Admirals. The teams meet at Toyota Center tonight in Houston for Game 3 of the matchup. ...If you've always wanted to ask a pro athlete a question, but never could? Well now is your chance to do it. We call it "Ask the Sounders". It's your opportunity to ask the coaches or players a question about the game or anything else. We will take the top 3 questions. So put your questions in the "Comments" section. We'll "Ask the Sounders" your questions sometime this week for Sunday May 10th's show. Sounders FC Weekly airs Sundays at 10:35 p.m. on KONG-TV. ...Minutes ago, the Storm announced they re-signed Lauren Jackson for the 2009 season.
Per team policy, terms of Jackson's new contract were not disclosed.
The M's just moved closer Brandon Morrow to the 15-day disabled list with bicep tendinitis in his throwing arm. The Mariners called up pitcher Denny Stark. The official release is after the jump. ...The Seahawks hit the field today for day one of a three-day rookie mini-camp, but most of the attention was centered around Leroy Hill, who just signed a new six-year contract with the Hawks. "It's just good to be back, physically I'm hurting to be back, but mentally, I'm happy to be back," said Leroy Hill after practice. Hill said the removal of the franchise tag last Saturday did not rattle him. "They let me know we were still trying to work out a deal, I still felt like I was going to come back even when they dropped it." Hill, joined forces with Lofa Tatupu and top draft pick Aaron Curry as the starting three linebackers at practice. Curry, who has already spent 15 hours studying the playbook, says it may take some time to get the entire defensive scheme down, but he's excited to be playing next to linebackers such as Tatupu and Hill. "As a rookie it's great to be playing next to two veteran linebackers like that, I have alot to learn to catch up to them and Leroy and I have to try and catch up to Lofa," said Curry.
The Mariners activated catcher Kenji Johjima off the disable list today. Seattle designated catcher Jamie Burke for assignment. The M's got 10 days to trade, release or outright him to the minors. My guess, he's heading back to Tacoma. Not too many teams are looking for a 37-year-old backup catcher. ... |