A memorable sports year in Washington

SEATTLE — Ichiro Suzuki made history.

So did Anne Donovan and the Seattle Storm.

Bob Melvin and Keith Gilbertson, on the other hand, were history. Same goes for former Washington athletic director Barbara Hedges, who, like Seattle Mariners hitter Edgar Martinez, decided it was time to retire.

The Storm became the first Seattle pro team to win a title since the 1978-79 SuperSonics, taking the WNBA championship behind stars Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird and a gritty performance by Finals MVP Betty Lennox.

Donovan became the first female coach in the WNBA’s eight-year history to win the league title.

“No better candidate than me, huh?” she joked afterward. “It’s something we’ve been striving for. There are a lot of great women coaches out there. In order to get to the next level of respect, we have to win championships.”

For sports fans across Washington, one of the major thrills of 2004 was Suzuki’s historic 262 hits in his pursuit of baseball’s 84-year-old single-season hits record.

“I felt like something got off my shoulders,” Suzuki said after breaking the mark Oct. 1. “To see the fans and to see my teammates, it was just a very exciting time for me. It was a very special moment — definitely the highlight of my career.”

Suzuki’s chase of George Sisler’s 257-hit record gave Mariners fans something to cheer during the team’s worst season in 12 years. Just after finishing with 99 losses, Melvin was fired after only two seasons as manager.

He was replaced by veteran Mike Hargrove, and at year’s end Seattle broke from its historically conservative spending to drop $114 million on free agent sluggers Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson.

“We’ve just demonstrated we were dead serious about turning things around as quickly as possible,” team chairman Howard Lincoln said.

Martinez signed with Seattle in 1982, reached the majors in 1987 and spent his entire career with the Mariners. He received a vibrant sendoff in a Safeco Field ceremony as the season ended.

Baseball officials named the award given annually to the sport’s best designated hitter after Martinez. City officials announced a street outside the ballpark will bear his name.

“I would like to thank so many people,” Martinez said. “Along the way, so many people impacted my life. They helped me so much to accomplish all the things I’ve been able to accomplish on the field.”

It was an up-and-down season for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, who opened training camp with some national forecasters picking them to reach the Super Bowl but suffered a handful of dubious defeats.

They were 7-7 with two games remaining, though the playoffs were possible because the Seahawks led the NFC West going into today’s game against Arizona.

Some frustrated fans — venting after embarrassing home losses to St. Louis, Buffalo and Dallas — yelled from the stands that coach Mike Holmgren should find another job.

“Yeah, I do hear it,” Holmgren said. “As much as I try to avoid it, I hear it and I’m human. I’m as disappointed as anybody. … I’m just going to do what I do, coach the way I coach and try to get us into the playoffs.”

Gilbertson had a tough time, too, stepping down after two seasons when Washington finished 1-10 and winless in the Pac-10. It was the worst season in decades for a once-formidable program.

“I do love this place,” Gilbertson said when he announced plans to resign. “I have a great passion for Husky football. I do feel I made a contribution, but this was not a dream situation.”

His departure cleared the way for Tyrone Willingham, just two weeks after his firing at Notre Dame. He was hired by Washington president Mark Emmert and athletic director Todd Turner, both hired over the summer.

Hedges retired in January after a tumultuous tenure that included the firings of football coach Rick Neuheisel for gambling on NCAA basketball and softball coach Teresa Wilson amid a prescription drug scandal.

There were high points for the Huskies when the men’s basketball team reached the NCAA Tournament last spring in the second season under coach Lorenzo Romar, and the volleyball team reached the Final Four.

Gonzaga’s basketball team had another strong season but tripped in the NCAA Tournament’s second round to end a school-record 21-game winning streak. The Zags lost to Nevada in the same way they once handed out NCAA upsets.

“It feels as if someone took your life away almost,” forward Adam Morrison said after the defeat. “This is all we’ve got, this is all I’ve got — basketball. We can’t play anymore.”

But they did play again, starting another season in November. Gonzaga and Washington were both ranked in the Top 25 this week.

It was a tough football season at Washington State, where a three-year streak with at least 10 wins ended with a 5-6 record. But the Cougars snapped their six-game Apple Cup losing streak, beating Washington 28-25.