Taking Seattle To Cleaners
One last laundry stop at home before the World Cup quarters, semis and Final:
Cheer up, Mariners fans. Ownership is tighter than a gnat’s mouth stretched over a rain barrel, the manager is panicking, players are being pressured beyond limits of reason and a strike could ruin the only bright spot of the season, namely Ken Griffey Jr.’s home-run chase.
Hey, it could be worse. The new consumer-driven divisional lineup leaves some hope for flirtation with first place in baseball’s weakest division. For that, you can thank the baseball moguls, because if it hadn’t been for the new divisions, this M’s team couldn’t be distinguished from all the others.
In the old seven-team A.L. West, Seattle would be in sixth place, 12 lengths behind first-place Chicago.
Of course, it could be better, too. They could have created 14 two-team divisions with the Mariners and the California Angels in one division. Then we could really be excited because the M’s would be on a roll.
The tradition of monster college football teams at Washington may be in a transitional phase following Pac10 Conference and NCAA slaps across the school’s face, but an offfield football tradition lives on.
Around the country and the Pac10, graduation rates for football players have been improving in the last few years while they remain as bad as ever at the Yew Dub. Instead of placing recruits on a five-year academic plan so any player who thinks he’ll one day be an NFL player knows he won’t graduate before he’s drafted, it might be a good time to look at a 4- or 4-year plan.
How can a basketball franchise that looked as good as the Sonics’ look as bad as they do today?
If the Sonics and Mariners continue their acts of public humiliation much longer, we may have to investigate conspiracy theories. Is there one secret group of diabolical madmen running both organizations?
Probably not, but you might be interested to know that a former sportswriter whose name is not of immediate importance has applied for the vacant GM spot with the Sonics and has received recommendations from at least two prominent NBC personalties with NBA ties.
Rumor has it the guy is being seriously considered. You’ll hear a lot more on this if he gets the job.
In a 19-day span, the Romanian national soccer team went 3-0 in the Rose Bowl. In the last 19 years, the Big Ten Conference which includes 11 football teams - is 5-14 in the Rose Bowl game.
I haven’t applied for the Sonics general manager position for financial reasons - the Ackerley family doesn’t have enough money to pay me to work for them.
But if I were in the office, I would have had Arizona State’s undrafted guard Stevin “Hedake” Smith signed to a free agent contract by now. He is the Pac-10’s all-time 3-point leader, an accomplished 6-foot-2 defensive player with loads of confidence and the kind of guy who can shoot from the outside coming off a screen, which is what they used to ask Ricky Pierce to do.
Smith reportedly has a tryout scheduled with the Cleveland Cavaliers and has received interest from Miami, Denver and Philadelphia.
No word on what the Sonics are doing or thinking or whether anyone is even in the office these days.
Up to date grades on the front offices of the three Seattle pro sports franchises: Seahawks, C Work accomplished in June was impressive, but more evidence of diligence in homework and fewer instances of personnel skipping school will be required for a better grade.
Mariners, D-minus - They do their work on expensive bonded stock paper, but it all reads like something taken out of Cliff Notes; no originality. We thought Lou Piniella was the rump-kicker who would turn everything around, but it turns out he’s just another dugout employee like Jim Lefebvre, Dick Williams, Rene Lachemann, Darrell Johnson, et. al. Sonics, F Inattentive in class, failure to do required work, belligerent attitude toward all people to whom they should be showing respect. Extremely disruptive and exhibiting a continuing refusal to take responsibility for their own actions.
Didn’t the concept behind the Disneyland Pigskin Classic in Anaheim have something to do with an early season clash of college football powers that would cause fans to rush to the ticket windows in anticipation of a an appealing matchup that would whet the appetite for the season?
Why then, is it Fresno State-Ohio State in this year’s game Aug. 29?
On Aug. 5, the Seahawks play their exhibition season opener in Indianapolis against the Colts.
It may not be long before the Sonics’ front-office turmoil costs them valued assistant Tim Grgurich, who could be headed to an NBA city where he has reason to anticipate a return on his investment of loyalty.
What’s next, Andy Russo?