WesCoastBias

Time to guess what on earth the Seahawks will do.  Obviously, with a new coach and GM who apparently don't value 2nd round picks, it will be interesting to see how they screw this up.  Haven't seen them coach, but he can't be worse than Mora.  So I have got multiple picks for the first two.

PC and Schneider screw the pooch:
Spiller 6th and Derrick Morgan 14th.  Who cares that we don't have offensive lineman?  We need playmakers and the best players available (because that worked out so well with Curry compared to the other two rookie, pro bowl LBs).  Why not get a WR with the 2nd round pick to top it all off? 

USC reigns:
Taylor Mays and Charles Brown in whatever order.  Not horrible, as long as Mays plays run and they get a cover safety like Berry (but obviously not Berry).  Add Griffin and McKnight and there you go.

Clipboard Jesus just doesn't do it for us:
Jimmy Clausen 6th and Spiller 14th (probably).  Because again, we're idiots.  Reggie Bush is such a STUD for the Saints (I think they mean Pierre Thomas) and Charlie Whithurst needs to be the gift that keeps on giving.  Why not trade a 2nd rounder for a 3rd stringer when you already had Teel?  Rick Mirer 2, baby!!!

Lets get serious. 

It really depends on what KC does (again).  Last year, they didn't pick Curry, and now the Seahawks look stupid.  If KC picks Berry (and they should), then the Seahawks draft Trent Williams.  If not, and we don't pick up Berry, I'd be surprised.  But then again, Curry was a sure thing too, and Berry is mediocre against the run (but can cover and knock out teeth).  My guess is Curry will be better, with better coaching and being turned loose, and KC is stupid, and Seattle doesn't want Holmgren to get him and make us look stupid again, so:

Round 1, 6th overall - Eric Berry, FS    In a pass happy league, Seattle needs a Troy Polamalu, especially if Crabtree tries to bite them in the butt for not picking him.

Round 1, 14th overall - Chuck Brown, OT   A no brainer pick.  Grimm likes him.  Carroll likes him.  Seattle wants an OT.  C'mon man.  Only other option is to trade down (I would guess they'd pick a WR with whatever they'd get for it, LeFell maybe) and pick whoever The City picks out of Iupati and Brown. 

Round 2, 60th overall - RB  I don't care if it is Hardesty, Ben Tate, or Jonathan Dwyer.  All are cheaper and better every down backs than Spiller and would compliment Forsett (the MAN) nicely.  Also makes the Chargers look stupid if the RB we draft is better than the RB they draft.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJJiHPqy8xE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfBkonPBFGY&feature=related Beats Berry a few times
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ65q2J9Qx8

Round 4, 104th overall - DE is a big need that hasn't been addressed.  If Greg Hardy (Ole Miss DE) is here, take him.  If not, hopefully WR LeFell will fall, but WRs Marcus Easley and Dezmon Briscoe have size and skills.

Round 4, 127th overall - If they took Greg Hardy, then WR Briscoe could still be available.  If not, why not UW Husky Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, DE?  Undersized, but if he can blast Forsett, then he has my respect.  Clifton Geathers would also work (6'8", DE from the other USC).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf6XCZ3-UzU

Round 5, 133rd overall - Alterraun Verner, CB
http://multimedia.foxsports.com/m/v
ideo/30130742/draft-preview-alterra
un-verner.htm
Not bad size and speed, and was 1st team all Pac-10.  Also Ben Burney, CB from Colorado could work too.

Round 5, 139th overall - Myron Rolle, SS or Larry Asante, SS.  I'd prefer Rolle, because he has intelligence (obviously), size, and high character/desire.  Babs + Berry + Rolle = awesome.

Round 6, 176th overall and Round 7, 245th overall - Ciron Black, OG  Grimm likes later lineman, and this guy is big.  Several other lineman should still be available for these last two picks. Chris Marinelli OT from Stanford (1st team Pac-10), Linkenbach OT from Cincy (only player who showed up in the Sugar Bowl), and Brandon Carter, OT from Texas Tech, one of the few to stop the House of Spears Suh and McCoy.  And he's crazy. 

There you have it.  (Potentiall) Solves the Safety problem and O-line problem, helps the DE, WR, and Corner problems, and gives Forsett a buddy for a dynamic duo.  But I don't run things, and they'll probably draft Spiller, Dez Bryant, and Tony Pike.  Sweet.

The Mariners better be good this year, because anything but a World Series berth is going to make Seattle look like the dumbest smart city for giving up Durantula for free.  San Antonio Spurs lite = 3 NBA championships.  Ugh.  I'll buy an OKC shirt just to shut up the WNBA and MLS snobs.  Listen, again, I like the Sounders but they are in a tier 3 league.  And don't talk to me about WNBA and teamwork when the Thunder have all of that.  Ugh with a side of ugh.  My icon might be switching from the Nuggets soon.  Technically, it's still my team and they did jack the trophy Seattle won and my mom saw in the victory parade, so fairs fair.  Hopefully the Nuggets can stop that self-depricating nonsense and win one for Coach Karl, an awesome, AWESOME coach.  His firing was the beginning of the end.
I made some good calls with the Saints winning the Super Bowl and the Thunder being good.  I feel pretty good about that.  My friend and his girlfriend were rooting AGAINST the Colts.  WTF was that?  His girlfriend has a crush on Manning (???!) and I'm not sure what my friend's deal was.  Maybe he just hates black people secretly.  He did ditch the NBA for MLS real quick, hmmm...
Predictions for the NBA are boring (Lakers vs. team the makes the King without a Crown look stupid), so NHL predictions!   West will be bizarro once the Red Wings choke their way out of the playoff mix (ha ha).  Do I dare go with the Avs vs. Canucks possible matchup winner?  San Jose and Chicago are the frontrunners?  What are Phoenix and LA doing here?  Side note: I enjoyed myself in Phoenix last year on Spring Break, the Coyotes should be downtown, not in Glendale.  Someone in Phoenix should be fired for their urban planning.  Glendale?  Seriously???  Sucks to be a Cardinals fan or 'Yotes fan without a car.  As long as Nashville dies a quick death (I hate the Predators randomly.  Why aren't they in Hamilton, KC, or Seattle?  www.bringbackthetotemsormets.com) it'll be great.  I'd pick the Blackhawks just because there are too many bad luck teams, but they have Hossa, who can be a liability, and if it's the Saints year, why not the Sharks?  As much as I want to see Ovie/Crosby 2, who is going against the Devils and Brodeur's send off with a gold medal and a cup?

This is probably premature, but dumping Mora for Carroll sounds awesome.  First, I was thrilled Mora is gone.  People are harping for consistancy and Hasselbeck's head, but Mora is a college coach (ironic since they're pursuing Carroll).  He wanted the UW job, not the Seahawks job.  His record is dropping off, he's unproven, and he lost the team.  The Seahawks have to clear house, including their lame duck coach.  Carroll at least gets the Seahawks to lead Sportscenter (when was the last time any Seattle team did that?  The 116 win Mariners?).  That draws FAs and gives Seattle more exposure than just being South Alaska.  Carroll is a BSer, that works for FAs.  I wouldn't be surprised if they select Taylor Mays (O'Dea!), Charles Brown, and McKnight with their first 3 picks (not too shabby).  Seattle wants to be LA north anyway (cars/sprawl/progress > rail/density/green), why not make the Seahawks USC north?  Tatupu and Mays on D, Brown and McKnight on O.  I'm excited.  The Hawks HAVE to be more entertaining and more cocky than last year at least.  They are soft, boring, and old right now.  This would be a perfect hire, even if he stays at his .500 clip as a coach.  That's better than Mora going to the toilet.  AND if Sarkisian doesn't bolt for USC (he might!), then UW has a better chance at bouncing back to the top. 

The Hawks are being jerks with Leslie Frazier though.  I don't want him (DC of the Bengals, Colts, and falling apart Vikings D? Ugh) but jerking him around to satisfy the Rooney rule is messed up.  Things might be better for UW and the Seahawks, at least more entertaining.

Having played football in Oregon, I know how big this win was for my Oregon Duck loving teammates and how crushing and disappointing it is for my Oregon State teammates.  Probably lots of money changed hands as well.  The Civil War is by far my favorite rivalry game, 100 times better than the Apple Cup can ever be.  And now that Oregon has finally accomplished something, their fans will actually having something to talk about other than Joey Harrington.  I'm not sure why Cal, Oregon State, and Arizona must suffer, but the Pac-10 and Rose Bowl are a gas, especially with someone other than USC being there.  I want to say cheer up to Oregon State, but I know USC is also young, so the last two seasons were probably your best shot.  What a great game to watch.  James Rogers and Canfield definitely played their hearts out, but the Oregon D stepped up and the O took a 16-3 stretch in the last part of the game to take it to the Pasadena.  Oregon State really shot themselves in the foot with penalties and failed red zone attempts, and that was the game.  But it was a blast.  I did want to throw up watching Blount play,  Again, the NCAA makes exceptions for some players not others.  Spikes and Blount can play, but Dez Bryant can't for eating with Neon Deion.  If the Buckeyes don't bring they're D, it will be another boring Rose Bowl, but I don't care.  I love the Rose, Alamo, and Peach bowl the best, so it doesn't matter.

There were three games I sat and watched every minute of: UW vs. USC, the Hawks vs. the 49ers, and the Fish vs. the Colts.  I was pumped for the UW game because I knew they would win (and of course they did).  Every SC fan I know KNOWS that USC plays down to people they view as inferior.  If their schedule was Ohio State, Florida, Alabama, and Miami, they would go undefeated every year (maybe not this year, but at worst they would go 3-1).  But when they play Oregon State, UW, or any middle of the pack Pac-10 team on the road, they lose.  That's what they do.  Now, all three of these games had one team dominate the running game, time of possession (not in USC's case, but every time they got the ball was nerve-racking), and looked good on D for the most part.  But, there were three different results.  Of course, I could only benefit once out of the three games.  UW probably shouldn't have beaten USC, but they did.  Not sure why they didn't run McKnight on every play or at least a screen, but Pete Carroll decided not to.  The Hawks looked bad without their two starting linebackers, and Mike Singletery, the second best coach in the division besides Whisenhunt, knew it and exploited it with Frank Gore.  Smart, simple coaching.  I would love it if the Seahawks got an elite running back, drafted more O-lineman and became a team like Baltimore, San Francisco, or Minnesota and just ran the ball and played defense.  Hasselbeck or Seneca Wallace could manage the game and make plays when needed to (they're certainaly better than Shaun Hill, whose 9-3 record is irrelevant when you see he has the mechanics of a shot-putter).  I hate that the Seahawks are soft like the Rams were shown to be after they lost to the Patriots in the Super Bowl.  After they lost Hutchinson and the Super Bowl, they lost their toughness in the trenches.  Ruskell is worthless and Mora is the 4th best coach in the division.  What has he done?  He's a defensive coach who is only known for letting Mick Vick loose.  Stop trying to fill holes and find a silver bullet, build the trenches up a la Arizona and San Francisco.  Corners and WR are useless overall anyway.  If you can stop a pass rush and create a pass rush, the rest handles itself in the NFL.  I love watching teams like the NY Giants and Miami Dolphins who put it in the trenches' hands and just dominate time of possession.  They look like a machine.  This isn't college where you can expect to come back from 14 down easily unless your Indianapolis, who stole that game.  What was Sparano thinking chewing up time on the final drive?  No words for how stupid that was or how frustrating it was to watch.  Is Indy that good or that lucky in two games?  I hope the Fish can bounce back soon, but that was demoralizing.  Carroll and Sparano put on a clinic on how to lose games you should win, while Mora simply looked underprepared (weird!). 

There’s less than a week left before the trade deadline, and despite how much I want the Mariners to overtake the Angels , it’s just not going to happen.  That’s how they hook you, you keep thinking if they win this, and they lose that, we’re only 4.5 games out, but it’s a pipe dream.  With it 8-0 Cleveland “we used to be worst than the Royals until they started to tank” Indians in the top of the 5^th and the Angels well on their way to their 20^th straight win, the Mariners best hope is stealing the wild card away from the AL East or possibly Texas.  The Mariners cannot hit, period.  The pitching is making strides, but with Washburn and Bedard possibly on their way out, they’ve got to deal at least one of them or get not much in return.  I know Bedard really wants to stay, but he’s been injured.  He probably realizes he will have less value because of it, so why not trade him to someone who needs an arm now (though it didn’t help that he only lasted 3 innings today).  He was a bad trade to begin with, but what do you expect from Bavasi?  It’s time to move on.

Ryan Rowland-Smith may have had an apparently good comeback (not sure how a loss with the wheels falling off late is a good comeback considering that’s what he does), but its time to cut bait and try to get some prospects.  The Mariners will hover around .500 but I don’t see them catching anyone without their hitting.  And please, no posts about how doom and gloom I sound, or that I’m throwing a wet blanket on a playoff “race.”  The Angels are curb-stomping the Central teams they’re supposed to beat (why are the Indians so hard to beat, Seattle?) and Boston will wake up eventually, and Texas will probably just keep aiming for the fences like they always do.  This is about the long term.  I don’t see how getting swept in the first round would do them any good.  Half the starting lineup is going to get molded into Zduriencik’s vision (which hopefully will be better than the Brewers /ex-Pilots).  Wakamatsu’s a champ, and even with the team giving people looks he’ll keep them somewhat afloat.  The Mariners need an infield, a left fielder, and some more pitchers couldn’t hurt. 

Since watching the crappy 2012 preview before the mediocre Transformers 2 (you have to at least give credit to Michael Bay for getting $200 mil out of that thing), I have some crazy predictions before the apocalypse (like Y2K, but with Palin becoming president). 

1. I keep having this crazy dream of the Saints winning the Super Bowl in Lucas Oil Stadium, which is the Super Bowl in 2012.  I see Brees passing over the middle a thousand times to receivers and tight ends, gaining chunks, breaking Simms’ Super Bowl record for completions.  I’m not sure why, I have no vested interest in the Saints, but I remember watching NFL films when they said if they ever did win the Super Bowl, that Hell would freeze, so that runs together with that whole apocalypse thing.  Now, I see them beating the Colts, or some team with silver helmets (the Pats or Raiders?) but in black uniforms, and since they would wear white in 2012, then it might be in 2011 at Dallas.  Since I’ve only seen the outside of that monstrosity, who knows.  This leads me to…

 

2. The Rams will move back to LA soon.  This will be a pretty lame move by the NFL, considering they tried hard in the 1990s to get a team back to St. Louis (even had the Stallions before the Jags stole the final expansion bid) and the Rams have cool fans (and I HATE the Rams), but St. Louis has to have a top 10 NFL stadium by 2015, which will be impossible because of Jerry Jones’ playground, the Colts mausoleum (love the non-homefield advantage there with the killing of crowd noise), and the slick, eco-friendly LA stadium design.  Why the NFL can’t add two more teams and turn it into a first tier and second tier league (a la European soccer), I don’t know.  They have more than enough money.  What would be so bad about adding an LA and San Antonio franchise?  It saves the Vikings, Chargers, and Rams, and don’t think Weaver is ever selling the Jaguars or moving them.  I got a letter in fifth grade from him saying they would draft me in 2008, he’s loyal to fans (it was also when I was trying to get drafted/autographs from every NFL team and I still was in love with UW).  Why can’t they do this in the NBA, too (baseball and the NHL don’t need it)?  The talent would be diluted?  Really?  There would be two leagues, the top teams would be in one (like 16-24), and they’d beat the crap out of each other with the best talent.  It’s not like there aren’t enough college and semi-pro football and basketball players looking for a shot, cities looking for teams to fill arenas (looking at you LA and KC), billionaires looking for something to blow their money on, and fans looking for a team. 

When the Supes moved, and I came to grad school in St. Louis, I knew St. Louis was going to move the second I realized the internal atmosphere of Key Arena is the same as Edward Jones Dome. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:E
dwardjonesinterior.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped
ia/commons/0/00/Key_Arena.jpg

Dark, dingy, random red seats (I guess the Sonics had red when they went to the finals and St. Louis was going to switch with the Cardinals for names and uniforms?), and a white looking roof that is uncomfortably low (or feels that way).  They also both are tacky, mid-90s stadiums.  However, both can be loud and cacophonous, when the owners decide to put a decent product on display.  Speaking of the Supes….

 

3. The Zombies will win the NBA title in 2012, at which point I will call them the Thunder and stab everyone who lives in Seattle.  Since Seattle is the Cleveland of the West Coast (no one has come to grips with this yet), we will have to watch our young, fun team win a title in another city shortly after moving.  OKC fans are cool with me, just read my last two blogs, but watching that shyster Stern hand his partner-in-crime Bennett the trophy will give me an aneurysm.  Browns fans had to see Art Modell hold the Lombardi Trophy, we’ll have to watch this.  Every Sonics fan knows this, and they will run over every hippy, yuppie, bicyclist, and liberal they can find in Seattle.  I hate that they say education and roads are more important.  Two thoughts: They’re not from the same source of funding and both are 10 years behind already.  Now I’m moderate, but Seattle is too liberal for its own good with issues of infrastructure.  Being too liberal is as bad as being too conservative.  We don’t need to pay millions for a committee to approve a committee to build something 10 years from now.  It’s time to get serious.  But there’s a silver lining to everything.  If the Supes are the Browns, the Seahawks the Indians (I’ve come to grips that they’re never winning a Super Bowl in my lifetime.  I love them, I’ve supported since I was a kid, even during Rick Mirer, but they’re never winning the Super Bowl until I’m dead.  They’re the best, consistently good team this decade not to cash in.  Or maybe I just want to reverse the karma.), then that must mean….

 

4. The Mariners will win the World Series before 2013.  WTF?!?!?! You say?  Based on what?  Using the Cleveland analogy, the Cavaliers couldn’t win this year.  But remember everyone knows Lebron will win a championship at some point (probably in NY, though it’d be sweeter on the Clippers and they have more players).  Am I confusing the Sounders or Storm with the Mariners?  Possibly.  Note: Don’t tell me the Sounders could hang in the Primera League, English Premier, or Bundesliga.  I love them, too, but no.  Stop it.  They may win friendlies, but they would be second tier after one season, and stay there for a century.  And the Storm are something to take my future daughter to in order for her to like sports, but women’s basketball just isn’t that entertaining. 

I just finished “Now I can Die in Peace.”  Inspirational.  Everyone hates the Yankees , and now everyone hates the Red Sox , too, but they did kill the wicked witch of the AL east.  Had Bernie Williams decayed 2-3 years earlier and Arthur Rhodes didn’t exist, maybe it’s the Mariners, the freaking 116 game winning Mariners, who take them out.  According to the book, the Mariners should have won the World Series twice by now, in 1995 when they exploded on the scene with the Refuse to Lose stuff (best time to be in Seattle, with the Supes running people’s lives, too) and in 2001 (my mom would say the umps were bought after 9/11, but that’s giving the Mariners pitchers too much credit).  The key is to have faith, faith in Z and Wakamatsu, who both seem to know what they’re doing (Russell Branyon, my fantasy baseball MVP).  Faith that Ichiro can pull something at the twilight of his career, although having him leave might be good.  It worked with Griffey and A-Rod (and in the book, Nomar and Ewing).  Faith there could be a youth movement and solid pitching can be found through it.  It’s all a pipe dream right now, but who knows?  At some point they have to be able to hit.  The pitching has been decent, but if the hitting can get going, then they have a shot right now.  There’s no curse on Seattle.  God does not hate Seattle because it’s ultra-liberal and has a large GLBT population.  I always thought that was a stupid thought, since the hardcore Hawks and M’s fans are from the north and south (Everett and Auburn area) and Supes fans were from the east, more conservative areas.  Although all the hardcore in city fans seem to be from Ballard (like me and my family) or West Seattle.  As they said on the Simpsons, God roots for the St. Louis Football Cardinals, who moved to Arizona, and not even him and Larry Fitzgerald could stop the Steelers.  But if the God theory is true, then building the arena in Renton would have landed Seattle at minimum 4 NBA championships and 2 Stanley Cups for the resurrected Totems/Mets.  D’oh! 

BTW, how’s this for a logo:

http://www.pathgallery.com/pageimag
es/Hunt%20Tony%20Raven%20250.jpg

Check out the SAM’s Native American print collection, and tell me that wouldn’t make a sweet hockey jersey for the Totems.

The only real scapegoat is the fans themselves.  Not the 30 actual hardcore ones, who get pissed when they lose.  No, it’s the ones who cheer mediocrity, who don’t hold people accountable.  That includes are heroes.  If Holmgren doesn’t get whiny at halftime, the Hawks take the Super Bowl.  If Piniella knew when to take out a pitcher, and didn’t sympathize with New York after 9/11, we win the World Series (twice).  If Karl, although the most entertaining of the bunch, could win ANYTHING, the Supes three-peat from ’94-’96 and obviously, don’t move.  Seattle needs a good coach, and maybe Wakamatsu is it.  Maybe Mora is it (or he’s George Karl II).  Maybe…wait, the Sonics are gone.  Here’s hoping that my gut isn’t leading me astray and I can see one parade before I die. 

 

And by all means, replay with your own semi-realistic to ridiculous predictions for the next 4 years.

I’m pretty disappointed in the coverage of the NHL draft.  I know ESPN is still shunning them because they went to VS, but seriously, I love all sports and the NHL is possibly the most fun to watch (especially live).  The St. Louis radio stations are helping much either and they have a team.  Someone help me find a solid station to listen to NHL updates on.  I know you guys love baseball, and I do enjoy the Cardinals, but I’m looking for Blues info and cannot find it.  The NFL and NBA draftees all have their back-stories covered, dissected, and broadcast so the casual, non-college football or basketball following fan can know who’s awesome.  Not so much with the NHL (or MLB).  I only really know the WHL, and from that, I know the Thunderbirds were awful but have a sweet new arena (I need to go).  I want to know more about who the Blues, Avs, and Ducks are drafting. 

In the other blog entry, I talked about being at peace with OKC (and even the Steelers).  People who know me know I’m obsessed with maps (I am a grad school student in Architecture and Urban Planning afterall), so mixing it with sports yields to my obsession with stadiums, arenas, and moving teams.  I have stated that I cannot return home to Seattle after I graduate unless they fix the Key and get an NBA team back, and an NHL team (ALSO, not either/or) would be icing on the cake.  Delicious, violent, fun icing.  Of course, this will make me a vulture …. which I’m used to anyone since I pouch people’s food all the time anyway.  Deep down however, I will feel bad for crushing little children’s dreams (see last blog), but then again, my childhood was also stolen (Stern and Schultz must pay; karma can be a b@#$h).

  I know the Kings are going through the same thing Seattle did.  Once loyal owners are whining about a lease on a 90s arena, failed to get a new arena/renovation when the team was good, put a crappy product on the floor and expect people to pay up, and threaten to move.  My teammates from Sac and the Valley are all pretty passionate about the Kings but fed up with the Maloofs.  They know they’re moving to Vegas, San Jose, or Anaheim (and it makes sense) and are OK with it because they don’t ever want to live in Sac or the Valley the rest of their life (ouch).  Pacers fans seem to want to give the Pacers to Seattle or Kansas City, so that might be the best option.  They’ve got a crappy lease (apparently) on a 1999 (!) arena.  I think Conseco is a sweet arena (along with the FedEx Forum and Charlotte Arena), so it seems like these guys were idiots (looking at you Schultz) for signing crappy leases when they did.  And other teams, such as the Blazers, Bobcats , and Grizzlies , who say their leases make it so their teams cannot move, uh, did you see what happened to Seattle?  Leases and contracts don’t matter, it’s called an out of court settlement.  Our mayor is just dumb enough to agree to a really small number (could be $75 million, most likely will be $45 million), and yours probably will, too, because they honestly don’t care about sports right now.  Beware.