Seahawks reign in Washington

SEATTLE – Ray Allen, Adam Morrison and Nate Robinson took their shots at making basketball reign in 2005.

But by year’s end, Shaun Alexander and the record-setting Seattle Seahawks regained the attention of the entire Northwest.

Despite spending $114 million, the Seattle Mariners again suffered a losing season, while Washington State running back Jerome Harrison was the lone highlight in a forgettable college football season.

Rick Neuheisel settled with Washington and the NCAA, while Washington golfer James Lepp and the Huskies volleyball team brought home national titles.

But the Seahawks, and their second consecutive division title, had fans thinking Super Bowl thoughts.

Seattle started 2-2, and then won a team-record 11 straight. The Seahawks clinched the division title before their 42-0 drubbing of Philadelphia on national television Dec. 2.

The Seahawks swept all six games against the NFC West and beat Dallas and the New York Giants at home with late-game heroics.

Alexander tied Priest Holmes’ NFL record of 27 rushing touchdowns in a season with one game left. A young and talented defense, led by defensive rookie of the year candidate Lofa Tatupu, continually improved, allowing just three points during a two-week span in December.

“It feels like we’re on this ride right now. And nobody wants to see it stopped,” Alexander said.

Earlier in the year, Allen led the Seattle SuperSonics to a surprising Northwest Division title, a shocking result for a team expected to be among the worst in the NBA.

In the playoffs, Seattle beat Sacramento in five games and took eventual champion San Antonio to six in the conference semifinals.

Seattle signed key free agents during the off-season, including Allen, who agreed to a five-year deal worth up to $85 million in early July.

But a day later, coach Nate McMillan left for the Portland Trail Blazers after 19 years as a player and coach in Seattle.

Seattle turned to assistant Bob Weiss, and the Sonics started the 2005-06 season hovering just less than the .500 mark.

In women’s pro ball, the Seattle Storm bowed out in first round of playoffs after winning the title a year before.

On the college hardwood, Robinson, Tre Simmons and the Washington men’s basketball team achieved one of the best seasons in school history with a 29-6 record and a Pac-10 Tournament title.

The Huskies were rewarded with a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and beat Montana and Pacific before losing to Louisville in the regional semifinals.

“Husky basketball is something that our guys now take pride in,” coach Lorenzo Romar said.

Meanwhile, Gonzaga dominated the West Coast Conference again, winning its fifth straight regular-season title and sixth tournament title in the last seven years. Led by Morrison and WCC player of the year Ronny Turiaf, the Zags received a No. 3 seed in the NCAAs, but lost to Texas Tech in the second round.

Morrison started the ‘05-06 season blazing, scoring 43 points in a win over Michigan State and a loss to Washington – the Huskies’ first win over the Bulldogs in seven games.

In June’s NBA draft, Turiaf, Robinson, North Carolina’s Marvin Williams, a Bremerton native, and Seattle Prep’s Martell Webster were all drafted in the first 37 picks.

But Turiaf’s NBA career was put on hold when an enlarged aortic root was discovered in his heart. He underwent surgery on July 26 but signed last week with the Yakama Sun Kings of the Continental Basketball Association as he works to get his game back in shape.

In baseball, the Mariners signed Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson to $114 million worth of contracts, but the team won just six games more than in 2004, finishing 69-93.

One bright spot was the emergence of 19-year-old pitcher Felix Hernandez, who was 4-4 with a 2.67 ERA in 12 starts after coming up from Triple-A in August.

Before 2005 ended, Seattle went to Japan again, signing catcher Kenji Johjima, added a left-handed bat with Carl Everett and signed left-handed pitcher Jarrod Washburn.

In college football, Tyrone Willingham took over the Washington program, but progress was slow. The Huskies followed up their 1-10 season with a 2-9 campaign, the lone bright spot a 38-14 win over Arizona.

Things weren’t much better on the Palouse, where the Cougars lost seven straight before beating Washington 26-22 in the Apple Cup. Harrison led Division I-A with 1,900 yards rushing and was a first-team AP All-American.

Eastern Washington quarterback Erik Meyer won the Walter Payton Award given to the top player in Division I-AA.

Neuheisel walked out of court with a $4.5-million settlement from Washington and the NCAA, ending a 21-month legal battle over his firing and a tawdry chapter in Huskies football history.

The year ended on a positive note for UW when Washington became the first team to win six matches in the NCAA volleyball tournament without dropping a game, including a sweep of No. 1 Nebraska in the title match.

And in the lifetime achievement category, mountaineer Ed Viesturs of Bainbridge Island became the first American and 12th climber overall to summit all 14 of the world’s mountains higher than 8,000 meters when he reached the summit of 26,545-foot Annapurna in Nepal on May 12.