Have a great holiday
A GRIP ON SPORTS
We wrote a lot about a couple different subjects yesterday morning, so today we'll keep it a little simpler, mainly because we're a little burned out, not because it's a holiday. Read on.
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• Ya, I wrote for more than a couple hours yesterday, and that's before I got to the mundane tasks of finding links. Then I spent the early afternoon watching "Gangster Squad" and the latter part of the day watching Ray Lewis (see what I did there?). I was disappointed in the movie – with that cast and the story, how could a film be so rotten? – but not in the football. The Atlanta Falcons, after practicing blowing a big lead the week before against the Seahawks, finally got it right yesterday. They stumbled away the game and, instead of rallying, kept it in the loss column. And the Ravens just beat the crud out of New England, showing dominating up front physically is more important than having the prettiest quarterback on the field. So the Super Bowl is set, Baltimore vs. San Francisco, the matchup our poll yesterday showed more than half of you wanted. You got your wish, so now get ready for two storylines – the Harbaugh brothers meet! Ray Lewis' redemption! – that will be run into the ground the next two weeks. By the way, before the playoffs began, I told Kim my money was on the Ravens winning the Super Bowl. There is no way Lewis is leaving the league without a title (see Bettis, Jerome). If I were a betting man, I would have booked it. I'm not, but I will stay with the pick. Baltimore wins the game.
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• Washington State: If you are a Cougar fan, it must be tough to deal with a 36-game losing streak with the Washington women, but we'll try to cheer you up. It could be worse. After all, the Cougar women are 0-53 against Stanford and have never (that's never, ever, in recorded history) defeated the Cardinal women. Does that make you feel better about the UW streak? ... WSU's latest defeat to the Huskies came yesterday afternoon and Christian Caple was in Beasley. He had this story and has more in this morning blog post. ... How happy were the Oregon players that Mark Helfrich was named as Chip Kelly's replacement? They gave the former assistant coach a standing ovation.
• Gonzaga: Though Jim Meehan was hopping planes across the country Sunday, he still had time to put together this day-after post following the loss to Butler.
• Chiefs: Spokane didn't play yesterday, but the Thunderbirds did. They won, actually.
• Seahawks: To give you a taste of what it's going to be like in Seattle next year, we went to the flagship newspapers in the home towns of the Super Bowl participants. (Whew, that was a long sentence.) Anyhow, here are stories from the Baltimore Sun and the San Francisco Chronicle.
• Sounders: As we said yesterday, the (short) offseason is about over - though Seattle's moves probably aren't. The Sounders start preseason camp today.
• NBA: It is all but official now. The Sacramento Kings will cease to exist next year and the Seattle Supersonics will return. And, for a couple years at least, the nostalgia will be even greater as they will play in Key Arena.
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• Enjoy your Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. I just want to remind you it's the last three-day weekend for most of you until the end of May. The great winter slog is about to really begin. Unless, of course, you are retired. Or at least semi-retired like some of us. Until later ...
