What good was it to keep them in during the 2nd half, especially when you’re up 30+ to an overmatched Seattle U team? 

When Quincy went down, I was for sure he was done for the year; that was my first thought.  He was in obvious pain and rolling all over the floor like his shoulder had shattered in ten thousand pieces.  Why Romar put him back in the game, I will NEVER understand.

The Huskies had way too much to lose and NOTHING to gain by keeping the starting five in.  Brockman and Isaiah were diving all over the court for loose balls, which is great, except when you’re up by a significant margin and the LAST thing we want is an injury.

Anyways, great game.. The dawgs put Seattle U away early and gave them no chance of making a late, dramatic comeback.  The defense was exceptional, holding the Redhawks to 19 first-half points, while the dawgs shot 56% from the floor for the game.

This was an obvious mismatch and the Huskies exploited Seattle U in every way… I just wish Romar got the bench in the game a little earlier so I didn’t have to sit uneasy for much of the second half.

Jermaine Phillips is scheduled to visit Seattle and I wanted to dissect this Safety to see if he would be a quality (potential) replacement for our current problem.. I mean Safety, Brian Russell.

PHYSICAL QUALITIES:  The two are practically identical, with Phillips maybe edging him out by 10 lbs.  At 6’2, they are possess great height for the position.

AGE / EXPERIENCE:  Again, both have been in the league seven years.  Russell turned 31 this month and Phillips will be 30 for the start of the 2009 season.  Jermaine Phillips has been to the playoffs three times in his career with the Bucs and won a Superbowl as a rookie, but was used very sparingly.  Russell has been to the playoffs twice; once with the Vikings and once with the Seahawks.  Leadership-wise is where these two are separated.  Russell’s quiet nature lacks the leadership quality needed at the safety position.  The safety is the center-fielder of the defense and must be able to guide the secondary; something Phillips can provide in Seattle.

INJURIES:  Brian Russell holds a commanding edge in the injury department, as he has played in 108 regular season games and has missed only four.  Phillips on the other hand, has constant arm problems including two broken arms last season.  He has only completed two full seasons, one of which was his rookie year when he only compiled nine tackles as a reserve.

TURNOVERS / AGGRESSIVENESS:  Phillips dominates this category, as he has 9 interceptions and 9 forced fumbles total the past three years compared to Russell’s two and two.  Russell has become known in Seattle for his passive-aggressive play, resulting in his name rarely even being mentioned and NOT because the opposing QB is avoiding throwing in his direction.  Jermaine is a consistent turnover machine and is known across the league for the physical presence he brings to his defense. 

VARIABLES:  Russell’s time in Seattle may be cut short should the Hawks bring in a much more physical safety in Jermaine Phillips.  The 12th man is getting tired of seeing number #25 getting burned every Sunday and rarely coming up with a big play or turnover.  Seahawk’s GM Tim Ruskell drafted Jermaine Phillips in the 5th round when he was with Tampa Bay and he knows the aggressive style and veteran leadership he can bring to spark a defense that ranked dead last in 2008. 

I say do EVERYTHING YOU CAN to woo Jermaine into a Seahawk’s jersey for the 2009 season before the SD Chargers even get the chance at him.  Brian Russell is not the answer and our defense will continue to struggle with him in our secondary.

Cole really stands out as a go-getter that never really had the talent level that some of the pro-bowl DT’s are born with, but more than makes up for it with his work-ethics and hustle.  He sounds very likable and humble, and at 6’3″ and 325 lbs, will be a LOAD at the core of our young defensive line.

TJ really emphasized the fact that he wanted to come home to the Northwest and be a part of a WINNING franchise; both of which are attributes of our Hawks.  He says “..when I left Seattle I felt like.. I’m going to be playing with the Seahawks,” and was further enforced when he checked out Minnesota. 

I love the fact that both of these guys had little hesistation about coming to play with the Seahawks and I can see TJ and Cole making HUGE contributions in 2009.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh on with Softy on KJR 950 AM

Colin Cole on with Mitch on KJR 950 AM

This is way more than anyone had previously anticipated, and the Sounders organization is taking the necessary steps to accommodate the high demand for Sounders tickets. The seating arrangement that was originally meant to hold a crowd of 24,500 has been expanded to include a total of 27,700 seats. 

It’s really cool to see the Pacific Northwest truly embracing their new soccer club by showing so much support even BEFORE the regular season has started. Vulcan Sports and Entertainment CEO Tod Leiweke said, “This community once again showed why Seattle has the best fans in the country.” 

Way to go, Seattle fans! 

To support the Seattle Sounders FC in person, you can buy individual game tickets ranging in price from $20 – $85:  Click here to visit the Sounder FC Website!

The biggest goal for me as 2008 came to a close was to GET OUT OF 2008 and never look back!  After such a (historically) dreadful year in sports, I was looking forward to nothing more than putting ALL of 2008 behind me and getting 2009 started.  We have many great sporting events and dates to be optimistic about this year and I have outlined them, as I feel, in order of importance.

#8. Bavasi out, Zduriencik in.

The NIGHTMARE of Bill Bavasi is gone, and I can already hear the sighs of relief among Seattlites with the new attitude Zduriencik brings to the Mariners organization.  Although the expectations are low for 2009 and the term “rebuilding” is almost synonymous with “Mariners” these days, Jack gives us some hope for the future.  With a quick hire of Don Wakamatsu, Zduriencik is confident in his moves and very optimisitic for our Mariners in the upcoming years.  I am looking forward to seeing the style of our new GM and manager, and getting ourselves back to where we belong; atop the AL West.  

#7. NFL draft on April 25th. 

Although the NFL draft, for Hawks fans, lost some attraction with the recent aquisition of TJ Housh (we most likely will now pass on Crabtree), it is still always exciting to have a top 5 pick!  Names that have been thrown around include: 

• OLB Aaron Curry – Wake Forest
• DT B.J. Raji – Boston College
• OT Jason Smith – Baylor

These are all exceptional athletes, and I would not be disappointed with any of them.  And don’t forget.. we also have the #36 pick which can still be considered first round potential.

#6. Houshmandzadeh fills WR void for Hawks.

I was very happy to hear that TJ chose to come to Seattle on Monday.  Although drafting Crabtree (which still isn’t out of the question) would have obviously been more than exciting, the signing of TJ brings in a proven WR and he is worth every penny he got.  Houshmandzadeh leads the NFL in receptions over the past 3 seasons and will instantly give Hasselbeck a loyal target every down.  He will be a very nice addition to our westcoast style offense as he can turn any 5 yard catch into a 50 yard touchdown.

#5. Sounders join MLS.

Seattle fans still have a bitter taste left in their mouths from the recent departure of their NBA team, The Supersonics. A possible remedy to this is the arrival of a Major League Soccer team to Seattle, funded by a group of investors which includes Seattle’s rich uncle, Paul Allen. 

Foreign names like Sébastien Le Toux and Freddie Ljungberg join forces with Seattle native, Kasey Keller and others, as they take the pitch at Qwest Field to start their regular season March 19th, with a sold-out home opener against the New York Red Bull. 

The Sounders have already sold over 20,000 season tickets, which is the largest season ticket base in the MLS. With a fresh team of young talent and veteran wisdom, we can expect some intense soccer games to come in 2009, as we watch our newly founded soccer club, the Seattle Sounders FC, climb to the top of Major League Soccer!

#4. Jim Mora looks to take back NFC West crown. 

It can never be a GOOD thing to lose a future-hall-of-fame coach who won four straight division championships and took us to the Superbowl, but I think Ruskell did a great job of easing Mora into his new role of replacing Mike Holmgren as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks.

Coming off a terrible, injury-riddled season and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2002, Mora will look to rebound this team back to the NFC’s elite.  Jim will take control of the defense and took little time hiring Greg Knapp to call the offense and team up once again like they had in Atlanta.  This coaching duo had much success as they led the NFL in rushing yards three straight years and won the NFC South in their first year together.  I am cautiously optimistic for the Seahawks in 2009 as it can take time for players to adapt to new coaches, but I CANNOT WAIT to get my butt back into Qwest field and be a part of the 12th man!

#3. Sarkisian starts Husky rebuild.

It could take a long time to get where we once were, but I’m ready to start.  With the departure of Tyrone Willingham comes former USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.  Steve has a heavy task in front of him, but I’m hoping he’s just the man for the job.  He should be able to broaden our recruiting down to California and he will definitely give us some MUCH-NEEDED creativity on the offensive side of the ball.

We all know that we must start from the ground up following a horrendous 0-12 season, and I am anxious to see Sarkisian’s progress when the LSU Tigers come to town September 5th. 

#2. Griffey comes home.

The minute I heard the news of Griffey coming back, I sped home, unpacked my old “Junior” posters from storage, and relived the mid-’90s just like I was a kid again.  That’s the kind of excitment Griffey brings to Mariner’s fans here in Seattle, which was displayed when ticket sales skyrocketed faster than the 2001 season when we we’re dominating the AL West.

I don’t know if I would go THAT far, but the re-birth of “The Kid” in Mariner’s jersey will bring fans to an otherwise-empty Safeco Field that would have lacked the electricty 24 brings everynight.  Whether he hits .215 and 9 HRs or .305 and 30 HRs this season, I think all Mariner fans will agree on this;  We’re happy to have you back, Junior.

#1. Huskies start 2009 off with a bang, head to big dance.

The way the 2008 year went for Seattlites, I had very little confidence in our Huskies, who experts picked to finish 5th in the Pac-10, especially after losing to PORTLAND on opening night!  Buuut, what a year it has turned out to be as the Huskies nearly Pac-10 regular season champs, and are looking at a 3 or 4 seed in the Big Dance! 

Dentmon and Brockman have shown their senior leadership time and time again, and Isaiah Thomas and Overton have been young spark plugs and are a great foundation to build upon for years to come.  Hopefully this is the start of a new trend for us in Seattle, and I cannot wait for March 19th to get this thing underway!

There you have it!  If I left any off, don’t be afraid to let me know about it!

By Bryan and Kenta

I couldn’t be more excited about this free agency pick-up.  Now Hasselbeck will have a VERY reliable WR to spend all summer gaining some continuity with and we’ll hopeful have a 100+ reception WR which we haven’t seen in quite some time.  I can’t help but smile at the thought of TJ, Deion Branch, and Nate lining up together in September.

Over the past three seasons, TJ has averaged 98 receptions, 1,042+ yards and 8+ touchdowns.  This guys brings his game face every Sunday and has been looking to be the #1 guy for years now.  At the age of 31, he has more than enough left in the tank; I can see him playing 4 or 5 solid years for Seattle.

With the addition of a #1 WR, I now doubt we will be looking to take Michael Crabtree.  Instead, a few names that have been thrown around the #4 spot are DT B.J. Raji from Boston College, OLB Aaron Curry from Wake Forest, and OT Jason Smith from Baylor.

With the recent addition of DT Colin Cole, I would have to think we’re going to draft Offensive Tackle at the 4th spot, or trade down and get an extra pick, maybe in the second round.

Nonetheless, I will be the first in line to grab a Houshmandzadeh jersey this summer and couldn’t be more excited about this pick-up!  Great move, Ruskell. 

Houshmandzadeh’s stats

ESPN.com article on TJ

Mike Sando’s Blog

After beating both Arizona and Arizona State, the Huskies are making a solid bid for a #2 or #3 seed in the March Madness Tourney.  I don’t know if wins against Seattle U and Washington State would push us into the top-10, but losses will for sure drop us down and maybe put us into a tough 5-12 matchup in the first round, which we NEED to avoid!

HOME GAMES:

• Jacksonville Jaguars
• Chicago Bears
• Detroit Lions
• Tennessee Titans
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• San Francisco 49ers
• Arizona Cardinals
• St. Louis Rams

AWAY GAMES:

• Houston Texans
• Indianapolis Colts
• Dallas Cowboys
• Green Bay Packers
• Minnesota Vikings
• San Francisco 49ers
• Arizona Cardinals
• St. Louis Rams

This schedule is very scary for the Hawks in ’09.  As a hawk’s fan and season ticket holder, I HATE the home schedule (although we should go 8-0), and would flip flop the home and aways in a second.

Just glancing at the away games, I see four or five very tough places to play; Indy, Dallas, GB and Minn.. and road division games (no matter how bad the NFC West is) are always tough.  With such a soft home schedule, I’m hoping we don’t look past any of those teams and take care of business at Qwest.  If we can sneak out four road wins (only ONE of which are on the Eastcoast) and go 7-1 at Qwest, I can definately see the Seahawks going 11-5 and regaining control of the NFC West once again.

Griffey’s much-anticipated debut comes only two weeks after he chose to sign (and likely retire) with the Mariners after many thought he would end up in Atlanta.

The Seattle fans responded and Safeco sold thousands of 16-game packages that same day.  Single game tickets go on sale Saturday, March 14th.

Buy Mariners tickets here

ESPN.com has told us he will make a decision sometime this morning. 

I was definitely excited to hear TJ was in town late last week and would love to see him in a Seahawk jersey next season.  We are missing a dependable WR, especially if Engram takes off.  With TJ, Branch and Nate, we will have a solid foundation with a young group of backups in Jordan Kent, Logan Payne, Courtney Taylor and Michael Bumpus.

The signing of TJ may have a huge effect on this years draft.  There is much speculation on the Hawks looking to draft Michael Crabtree, but you would have to think we would look elsewhere if we get a #1 WR through free agency.  DT B.J. Raji has been climbing up everyone’s draft board lately, but with the recent signing of Colin Cole, would we still go DT?