End of the Year Awards

I have never given any awards before but decided to do so this year with a day remaining for Washington teams.

Sportsman of the year- Russell Wilson Seahawks.

Sportswoman of the year: University of Washington Volleyball team.

Sports team of the year:  Seattle Sounders

Looking forward to seeing how the teams in Washington fare in 2020. How far the Seahawks go in the playoffs. The Mariners do with the youngsters. Seattle Sounders can they repeat. The Washington men's basketball team make it to the NCAA tournament again. How far will Gonzaga go in the tournament; can they win a championship in 2020.

Who will go to the Summer Olympics in Tokyo and how will they do.

Seahawks Lose By Inches And Time

The Seahawks again were in a close game, unfortunately, this time they lost. The final score San Francisco 26 Seattle 21.

The first half was all SF leading 13-0 at half-time. The only thing that didn't change the Seahawks had a hard time stopping the 49ers. I was hoping for a turnover at some point but that didn't happen. 

The Seahawks were able to score three touchdowns in the second half but were not able to make it four with little time left. The Seahawks actually had the ball on the one year line with less than a minute to go in the game. Marshawn Lynch came in the game for beast mode but for some reason, the Seahawks coaching staff allowed the clock to lapse so delay of game penalty moved it back to the six-yard line Marshawn than went back to the sideline.

The Seahawks had three times to score but couldn't find a way in. On the fourth down tight end, Hollister caught the ball but was stopped inches from the goal line. It looked like he was held on the play as well, The officials didn't look at the replay on it which was wrong. Being inside two minutes the Seahawks couldn't ask to look at the replay. I hope they change the rule when it comes to replay for next season. An important game like this should have been reviewed whether it would have changed the outcome or not.  

I was impressed by running Travis Homer. He had a good game running the ball. In fact, he was the leading rusher on the day or night in this case in the game with 62 yards on ten carries. I have to say he deserves to seeing playing time next year. He certainly will see it next week when the Seahawks go to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles in the first game of the playoffs. The defense will certainly have to play better along with the offense getting off to a better start. Go Hawks. 

Coming Up Starting This Week

The Washington State Cougars play Arkansas Pine Bluff later today. The game is on the Pac-12 network; however, I am not sure how many will actually watch it since the game is on at the same time as the Seahawks play the 49ers. If you like Cougar basketball record the game or you could record the Seahawks. LOL.

This will be the last non-league game for the Cougars as they start the Pac-12 schedule on Thursday, January 2 against USC Trojans. This will be a hard game for the Cougars to win though it is at home. There are a lot of good teams this year in the Pac-12 so it may be hard for the Cougars to win a lot of games this year. We do hope they can end up having a decent season.

The Washington Huskies play UCLA on Thursday and then switch opponents with the Cougars having USC on Saturday while the Cougars play UCLA. It would be nice to send UCLA back home 0-2 with USC at 1-1. We have to be realistic don't think USC will go home without a win. 

The Seahawks, on the other hand, we hope for a victory to go into the playoffs. Depending on how the other teams going into the playoffs the Seahawks could have the number two seed behind New Orleans. Whatever happens, we will be able to talk about the playoffs. Go Hawks!

WSU Cheez It

The Washington State Cougars lost to Air Force Friday night in the Cheez-It Bowl. I guess you could use a lot of puns here if you wanted to. 

The final was Air Force 31 WSU 21. I thought it would be a lot higher score game than it turned out.

Neither team scored in the first quarter. Air Force led 17-14 at half-time. The Cougars were shut out in the 3rd quarter as well where Air Force scored one touchdown. In the 4th quarter, each team had a touchdown.

Washington State did primarily passed the ball quarterback Anthony Gordon threw the ball 42 times with 28 completions for 351 yards and three touchdowns. Not bad depending on who you are playing. The Cougars, unfortunately, ran the ball six times for 27 yards.

Air Force was able to keep the ball out of the hands of the Cougars by running the ball a lot and successful. They had two running backs get over 100 yards. Kadin Remsburg ran the ball 26 times for 178 yards and Taven Birdow had 108 yards on 20 carries. Both players had a touchdown each.

Air Force quarterback Donald Hammond threw the ball only 12 times however he ran 15 times for 62 yards and scored two touchdowns.  

This was Cougar's quarterback Anthony Gordon last game as he is a senior. We will see who competes for quarterback next season in the spring. 

Washington State Cougars Bowl Bound

The Washington State Cougars play Friday night in the Cheez-It Bowl against Air Force. What a name for a bowl game.

I am not sure who is going to win the game; however, I do know if you love offense and scoring there will be a lot for both teams. Over 100 points could easily be scored in the game.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Cougars throw the ball over 70 times in the game and Air Force runs the ball a lot. If the Cougars can't stop the run it will be important for them to pass it that often.

In many ways, the Cougars passing game is like running the ball. They will run the ball on occasion but not too many times like Air Force. Best of luck to the Cougars; enjoy the game very much so.

Jacob Eason To The NFL

Washington Huskies junior quarterback Jacob Eason stopped the speculation deciding to go into the NFL draft this year. Whether it is a mistake on his part or not we will find out. 

Unless you are the top quarterback in the draft being an underclassman isn't a good idea in my mind to go into the NFL; however, I can't blame the guy because of the money involved. 

The NFL should have a way to give quarterbacks like Eason a chance to play but not as the starting quarterback. He could watch and see on Sundays while getting action during the week. The problem is the NFL doesn't have backups get into much practice during the week. The starter gets almost all the reps. A reason most teams have a veteran quarterback as the backup so he feels ready to go if the starter gets hurt. 

We wish Eason the best for his NFL career. We hope he can go somewhere where he can learn from a veteran quarterback for a year before taking over. 

Gonzaga Ranked #1

The Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team is ranked #1 in College basketball right now. The Bulldogs have a record 13-1 in non-league action going into their last game of 2019 when they play at home against Detriot on this coming Monday. Detroit isn't much of a threat since they are 2-10. 

The Bulldogs start their regular season in the WCC on January 2 on the road at the Portland Pilots. The Pilots are 8-7, on a four-game losing steak. The first serious game will be against Santa Clara who is 12-2  at home on January 16.  After playing BYU at home, they play Pacific, Santa Clara again and San Francisco. Gonzaga will have to play their A-game since any of those teams could beat them. Pacific has a record right now of 12-3 and San Francisco 11-3. We will have to how those three do against the Bulldogs.

The Washington Huskies men's team lost to Houston in the championship final of the Diamond Head Classic on Christmas night 75-71. As the score indicates it was a close game though the Huskies did have a large lead being 14 points up on Houston but a 10-2 at the end of the first have put them in reach with the Huskies leading by five. The Huskies held onto the lead unto 11:15 period of the second half when Houston took the lead. The largest lead Houston had was six points. The Huskies were led in scoring once again by Isaiah Stewart with 25. Jaden McDaniels had a good start having scored ten points early but Houston shut him out the rest of the night. A major reason the Huskies lost along with turnovers and letting Houston outrebound them especially on the offensive side.

Houston is a very similar team offensively as the Huskies so this was a good test for them going into the Pac-12 conference schedule. They don't play again until Thursday, January 2 when they start conference play against the UCLA Bruins. The Bruins are 7-5 on the season with one non-league game remaining on Saturday against Cal State Fullerton. UCLA recently lost to Notre Dame and North Carolina in double digits. Both of the games were on the road. 

The Huskies will see if they can defend as Pac-12 champions. The Huskies were picked preseason to finish third in the conference behind Oregon and Colorado. Both teams have a non-league record of 10-2. The Huskies don't play Oregon until the third week of the season at home while they play Colorada on the road near the end of January. At that point, we should know how good the Huskies will be. Go Dawgs! 

Merry Christmas

I want to wish you all a very merry Christmas.  The Washington Huskies men's basketball team play tonight against the Houston Cougars in the championship game of the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu Hawaii. 

The Seahawks have Marshawn Lynch back for the game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night football. I am sure the fans are excited. We will see how he does. Hopefully, he will help give us a late Christmas present. We hope all the Seahawks who can play will be healthy.

Nothing new on the front of the Seattle Mariners when it comes to new players. We hope to hear something soon. We know they won't be going after any high priced players but it would be nice to acquire another starting pitcher along with a reliever. 

Until next time enjoy the day with your family and friends. 

Two Former Seahawks Return

The Seahawks lost more than the game last Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. Both Chrison Carson and CJ Prosise were injured out for the rest of the season including the playoffs. The Seahawks need to stop playing their top players against the Cardinals. It seems every game against them they lose at least one player if not more.

The loss of Carson and Prosise the Seahawks have now turned to two former players to fill the spots. They have signed Robert Turpin and Marshawn Lynch. Yes, the beast mode is returning to Seattle. 

The Seahawks beat the 49ers on Sunday night football they will win the NFC West Go Hawks!

Seahawks Lose Husky Basketball Wins

The Seattle Seahawks had a bad game at home against who other than the Arizona Cardinals. The Seahawks seem to do poorly against the Cardinals no matter how good or bad the team is. This time they lost 27-13.

The loss came more than how the players played or the score. The Seahawks lost both running backs Chris Carson and CJ Prosise for the season. Now they have to bring in a running back or two.  

Along with other injuries, the postseason doesn't look too promising for the Seahawks. We will have to see how things work out next week and the weeks following. The record looks really well at 11-4; however, with the injuries, the Seahawks have the rest of the guys will have to step up better than ever.

The Huskies men's basketball team Ball State at the Diamond Head Classic late Sunday afternoon. The game started slow once again for the Huskies but when they did get going they ended up winning like a landslide with the final score being 85-64. 

The Huskies now go to the second round Monday night to take on home town favorite Hawaii. The Huskies should be favored to win and go to the championship game of the Diamond Head Classic but things can turn out differently. We will see. 

Washington Huskies Dominate Boise State

I am sure many thought the Las Vegas Bowl game Saturday would be a close game between the Washington Huskies and the Boise State Broncos. It didn't turn out that way. 

The Huskies scored first after a turnover on an interception. The game was very much like the Apple Cup where the Huskies dominated both sides of the ball.

The first half neither team could run the ball; however, the Huskies passing game behind quarterback Jacob Eason did a good job. In the second half, the Huskies running game improved while the Broncos defense became tired. The Huskies led the game at half-time 17-0. The Broncos did score once in the third quarter but the defense turned them away after that. The final score was Washington 38 Boise State 7.

I am sure Chris Petersen didn't think his final game as the Huskies Head Coach would turn out this way but I am sure Husky fans certainly glad it did. 

Now the reigns of the Huskies will turn over to Jimmy Lake as head coach. We wish the best to Coach Petersen as well as the new Coach Lake. The Huskies football program is in good hands. Go Dawgs!

Washington State Cougars BB Wins

The Washington State Cougars Thursday night beat Florida A&M 87-73. The Cougars now have won four straight games. The Cougars won because they had a good first half leading 41-24. 

The Cougars were led again by CJ Elleby with 25 points and 11 rebounds. The guy is having a good season so far for WSU. Usually how he does is how the Cougars go. 

The Cougars play next tomorrow at 4 pm against Incarnate Word. I expect they are a small school which WSU should beat.

The Cougars football team will be playing Air Force in a week in the Cheese-It Bowl. It should be an exciting game to watch with both offenses going.

The Washington Huskies play Boise State Saturday in the Las Vegas Bowl. We hope to see an exciting game out of the Huskies in Chris Petersen's last game as head coach. Wednesday was the first-day signing recruits early. The Huskies were able to sign 23 players so a good sign though Petersen stepped down. A very good sign for the program. 

The Seattle Seahawks signed veteran linebacker Dekoda  Watson to replace receiver  Josh Gordon who was suspended. It is ironic because Watson was released earlier on when Gordon signed with the Seahawks. Pete Carroll says Watson will be used for the pass rush and on special teams.

Nothing new as far as signings at this point for the Seattle Mariners. Right now all we hear is trade rumors we will see if anything happens before Christmas and the New Year's.

That's all folks for now. 

Washington Schools Win

The Washington State Cougars men's basketball team now are 6-4 after beating UC Riverside Sunday night at home 70-56. The Cougars were led by sophomore sensation forward CJ Elleby with 20 points. Four of the Cougar's five starters scored in double figures. Odd though the fifth starter Jervae Robinson had no points. The Cougars take on Florida A&M Thursday night at home. 

Tuesday night the Washington Huskies played city rival Seattle University Redhawks. The Redhawks gave the Huskies a tight game most of the way. The Redhawks led 33-32 at halftime; however, the Huskies led most of the second half. They pulled away under four minutes to go with a run of 16-2 to close out the game. The final score was Washington 81 Seattle 59. The Huskies were led in scoring by Isaiah Stewart with 27 points and 13 rebounds. Guard Quade Green had an outstanding game too for the Huskies scoring 20 points.

Wednesday night the Gonzaga Bulldogs played North Carolina at home winning 94-81. Gonzaga was led in scoring by Corey Kispert with 26 points. Also, Filip Petrusev had 20. The Bulldogs take on Eastern Washington at home on Saturday night. Gonzaga is ranked #2 in the nation right now with a 12-1 record. They have two games including Eastern Washington before opening West Coast Conference play on the road against Portland Pilots on January 2, 2020. 

Josh Gordon Out For Seahawks

I have to admit that I don't know much about Josh Gordon. I do understand that he played for the Cleveland Browns before going to New England this year before they released him and the Seahawks picked him up. He is a talented wide receiver, however, an announcement came out on Monday that he was suspended indefinitely for failing the NFL Drug Policy. 

At his press conference on Monday, Head Coach Pete Carroll talked briefly about the Gordon suspension. He is hoping that Josh Gordon will get the help he needs. Pete Carroll found him to be a good player and teammate in his time with the Seahawks.  Whatever the future lies for Gordon it sounds like the end of his time in Seattle. I am sure the Seahawks agree they hope he can get his life in order.

In other local sports, the Washington men's basketball team takes on city rival Seattle University Tuesday night on their home court. This should be a competitive game with an experienced Seattle U team against the talented Washington team. After this game, the Huskies men's team will be going to Hawaii to play Ball State in the Rainbow Classic on Sunday, December 22. They may play up to three games if they make the final of the tournament. 

The Huskies conference play in the Pac-12 will begin on January 2, at home against UCLA. The Huskies are hoping to be able to play all four of these next games so they will be ready for the Bruins. Go Dawgs.

Washington State Cougars will be taking on Florida A&M on Thursday night at home in Pullman. They have three remaining non-conference games at home before taking on USC Trojans at home on January 2.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs will be home on Wednesday night taking on North Carolina. It should be an exciting game to see. They take on Eastern Washington on Saturday at home. They finish 2019 against the University of Detroit on Monday, December 30. 

Seattle Seahawks Win At Carolina

The Seattle Seahawks won on the road again beating the Carolin Panthers Sunday afternoon 30-24. This gives the Seahawks a final road record of 7-1 only losing last week to the Los Angeles Rams.

The Seahawks got off to a good start scoring two touchdowns in the first quarter ending the period 13-0. Chris Carson scored the first of his two touchdowns and DK Metcalf caught a pass for a touchdown to.

Both teams scored a touchdown in the second quarter. Tyler Lockett who had the flu caught the Seahawk's touchdown pass for 19 yards. Lockett caught eight passes for 120 yards. Chris Carson ended rushing 24 times for 133 yards for an average of 5.5 per carry. He made some important carries late in the game when the Seahawks were hoping to hold off the Panthers.

The Seahawk led at half time 20-7. In the 3rd quarter, not much scoring happened as each team kicked a field goal. Scoring wise Carolina had two touchdowns to the Seahawks one to make it a game. Chris Carson had his second touchdown on the day in the 4th quarter.

Bobby Wagner and rookie Cody Barton led the Seahawk in tackles. The Seahawks lost Wagner as he got a sprained ankle in the game. Not sure whether he will play next week when the Seahawks take on Arizona at home. The Seahawks lost safety Quanre Diggs in the game as well with a sprained ankle as well. He is questionable for next week's game.

Later in the day, good news came out as the San Francisco 49ers lost to the Atlanta Falcons 29-22. So both teams are tied for first place in the NFC West Division. The Seahawks have clinched a spot in the playoffs; however, if they win the final two games against Arizona and San Francisco they will win the game. Both of those games are at home. We hope the Seahawks can get healthy again going into the playoffs go Hawks.

The Seattle Defense This Sunday

The question mark this week will be how the Seattle Seahawks will play defensively against the Carolina Panthers along with seeing their depth on the defensive side. 

The Seahawks have defensive end, Jadeveon Clowney ruled out for the game. Also, cornerback Shaquill Griffin and defensive end Ziggy Ansah are not expected to play either. So that is three important players not going on Sunday.

Rashaad Penny will be missing the rest of the season as I mentioned already before. So CJ Prosise is expected to backup Chris Carson at running. Prosise hasn't played a lot this season so it will be interesting to see how much he has. He has had moderate success when playing but not playing a significant amount of time puts it in question, on the other hand, he is healthy for a change. Likely he will be used on some third-down situations to catch the ball out of the backfield. I wouldn't be surprised that Carson goes a couple series before Prosise enters into the game. This will depend on how successful the Seahawks running game is today too. It is important the Seahawks keep the ball out of the hands of the Panthers to rest the defense. 

We will see how the Seahawks bounce back from a terrible game against the Rams next week. We wish you, Russell Wilson, a good and healthy game. Go Hawks. 

Trade Rumors

As the Winter Meeting was coming to close trade rumors were coming out. For the Mariners, the two biggest ones were for Mitch Haniger and Kyle Seager.

I am not sure the Mariners will trade Haniger unless some high prospects are included in the return. If the Mariners do trade Haniger it will likely be at the trading deadline at the end of July 2020 or next off-season. Haniger missing most of last season won't command a lot right now. The team mentioned most was the Arizona Diamondbacks who the Mariners had acquired Haniger in the first place.

There is thought that Kyle Seager might go to several teams because of the need for third basemen. He does have option year where he was traded it would become a player option instead. There is thought that Seager might waive the option if the right circumstances happened. We will see, won't we?

Scott Servais said at the Winter Meetings that Shed Long likely will be the Mariners second baseman So what do the Mariners do about Dee Gordon? Servais figured the Mariners wouldn't be able to trade Gordon so he will get some playing time but most of the time would go to Long. Gordon will have one year remaining on his contract after this coming season but it is an option where the Mariners likely will buy out if he does stay. We will see where that goes as well. 

Gordon not only can play second base he has experience at shortstop so he could play there giving JP Crawford a day off once in a while. Gordon would be an expensive utility player though. I expect they will be able to move him along by the trading deadline or release him. 

We will see what Jerry Dipoto will do this coming week in regards to trades or acquiring free agents. I don't expect free agents to be big names either. The Mariners will look to acquire another starting pitcher along with some more relief help. They may go after a catcher to add depth and a utility player though they do have Austin Nola and Dylan Moore besides Gordon. Go M's. 

Seahawks Off To Carolina

The Seattle Seahawks play in Carolina against the Panthers on Sunday. The Panthers are not having a good season this year. They fired their head coach a couple weeks ago and they are third place in the NFC South with a record of 5-8. Also, they are without starting quarterback Cam Newton.

Going into this game it looks as though the Seahawks should win this game easily but when a team like the Panthers are struggling anything can happen. They may show the Seahawks that they still can play. The Seahawks will have to get off to an early lead to win this game. If they give the Panthers any chance an upset could happen.

The Seahawks will be without running back Rashaad Penny the rest of the season because of injury.

It looks as though Chris Carson will have the bulk of the running. He has had another good season except for fumbles which he is trying to get over with.

CJ Prosise who hasn't had much playing time recently will see some action as the backup running back. He likely will be in on passing downs but the Seahawks will probably use him on running plays as well depending on how much the Seahawks have the ball and how often they are running.

After the terrible game against the LA Rams, this is a game the Seahawks have to rebound in. It is important to keep up with the SF 49ers. The Seahawks still control their destiny in winning the NFC West division. They win the final three games then they win the division. We can't count on the 49ers to lose besides the final game against the Seahawks.

The Washington Huskies football team is preparing for their bowl game in Las Vegas against Boise State. It is ironic the Huskies play Boise State in Chris Petersen's final game as Huskies coach as he came to Seattle from Boise. We are hoping the Huskies will win for Coach Petersen. Go Dawgs!

The Rule 5 Draft

The Seattle Mariners picked up one player in the Rule 5 draft picking right-handed starting pitcher Yohan Ramirez from the Houston Astros. He is 24 years old, he pitched last season in Double-A and Triple-A for the Astros with an era of 3.99 in 27 games starting 15 of them. He is known for lack of control which the Mariners are hoping to fix up. The Mariners acquired three players in the minor-league portion of the draft as well C Brian O'Keefe from Cardinals, OF Jhonny Santos from Marlins and 1B Dariel Gomez from Cardinals. The Mariners didn't lose either of their players in the major league portion of the draft.

Winter Meeting Conclude On Thursday

There have been signings of several free agents for a lot of money none by the Mariners. In fact, the Mariners haven't announced acquisitions during the meetings this week. It doesn't mean the Mariners won't acquire anyone this week or over the next few weeks. I am sure Jerry Dipoto and his staff have talked to numerous players and or their agents.

Thursday The Rule 5 draft takes place. The Mariners have the number six spot so they could get a good player. They have two players that are eligible for the draft they could lose. They are outfielder Dom Thompson-Williams who they acquired last year in the James Paxton trade, and Ljay Newsome right-handed pitcher. Williams has potential but didn't have a good year in the Mariner minor leagues. The Mariners have several outfielders including number one prospect Jarred Kelenic and number two prospect Julio Rodriguez ahead of him. Williams's poor season he may not be drafted at all. 

Newsome, on the other hand, was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 26th round in 2015. He started out on the Mariner's rookie team in Arizona in 2015. In 2016 he spent in Everett before going to low single-A in 2017. His stats don't look too impressive until 2019. He began last season at High Level-A Modesto where he started 18 games with an era of 3.75. On July 15, the Mariners promoted him to Double-A Arkansas where he started nine games with an era of 2.77. If the Mariners would have added Newsome to the 40-man roster he likely would have started the season at Double-A Arkansas or moved up to Triple-A Tacoma. The Mariners decided to game about possibly losing Newsome by not adding him to the 40-man roster. There is more of a chance the Mariners will lose Newsome than Williams. Whatever teams they would be picked by they would have to be on the opening day roster spending the season on the whole season or be offered back to Seattle.

So we will see where Williams and Newsome might land and who the Mariners may pick. They are hoping the player they acquire will be another find like Brandon Brennan was for them last year. I will let you know the Mariners choose and what other players they may sign or trade for on Thursday. Go M's. 

Major League Baseball Winter Meetings

Jerry Dipoto of the Seattle Mariners and his staff are at the Winter Meeting in San Diego this week. They arrived on Sunday with meetings happening on Monday. Much of the meetings is to talk with other general managers along with agents.

The news came out Wednesday the Gerrit Cole formerly of the Houston Astros signed a nine-year contract with the New York Yankees at $35 per year. I am sure we all know that is a lot of money. Cole being a pitcher though 29 years old nine years seems too long of a contract to pay someone. We know the Yankees like doing something like that though.

Jerry Dipoto has been talking with different general managers and agents but nothing has been announced as far as picking up a player most likely a pitcher the Mariners would want. The pitchers will probably be marginal who may be coming off of injury or they non-tendered by their previous team last week.  They will be similar to the pitchers they acquired last week.

The Mariners will probably want to sign at least one more starter and at least one reliever.  On Thursday which is the last day of the Winter Meetings is the Rule 5 draft. They are players who played in the minor leagues for several years without making it to the majors.  Last year the Mariners picked up Brandon Brennan who had a good season coming out of the bullpen when he was healthy. He was on the injured list for a couple months. 

This year the Mariners will probably get another pitcher like Brennan in Rule 5 draft. Like Brennan, he will probably be a reliever though they could take a starter who could be the fifth starter. The rules of the Rule 5 draft the player must be on the major league roster all year long or be returned back to the team he played for before the draft. 

Next year the Winter Meeting might be quite interesting for the Mariners because they will probably be more active than this year. The reason is the Mariners figure they will be competing for a playoff spot. This will depend a lot on how the youngsters play this season. We will see, won't we? Go M's. 

Seahawks and Huskies Lose

The Seattle Seahawks lost in LA on Sunday night against the Rams 28-12. It was the Seahawk's first loss on the road.  With all the close games they had, it shouldn't be a surprise they would lose by a good margin. 

The 49ers won a close game against the Saints so they take over possession of first place. The Seahawks will still win the NFC West division if they win their three remaining games. This loss may keep them from having the number one seed though. Next week the Seahawks take on the Carolina Panthers. The game is on the road as well.

It was a tough game on Russell Wilson as the Rams defense rushed him a lot and he had to hurry a lot of passes. The Seahawks running game was such it was hard for them to have a good offensive night. The Seahawks now have a record of 10-3 which is better than most of us expected. Go Hawks!

The Washington Huskies men's basketball team lost at home to the Gonzaga Bulldogs 83-76. The Huskies were in the game all night though they were out of control while turning the ball over 18 times. They did, however, were able to shoot the ball well 50.9% from the floor. The Huskies have over a week off until they play again on December 17. Go Dawgs!

Washington State Men's Basketball Wins Saturday

The Washington State Cougars beat New Mexico State at home Saturday afternoon 63-54. The difference in the game was the first half where the Cougars were leading 30-21. The second half both teams score 33 points.

The Cougars this year are looking at the defense as the difference. They want to build a program where they can match up with Gonzaga and Washington making it the mighty three in Washington. We hope the best for them so it can become a reality.

WSU has a 5-4 record with four games remaining in their non-league schedule. Their next game will be next Sunday against UC Riverside at home in the afternoon. Those who are in the area should look to get in to seem them live. All four games are at home. The Pac-12 schedule begins on January 2 when the Cougars take on USC Trojans at home than face UCLA on January 4. 

WSU women's team is 5-3 so far in non-league action. They take on Gonzaga Sunday afternoon in Pullman. They have three more non-league games before starting their Pac-12 schedule beginning with the Washington Huskies on December 29 in Pullman.

WSU football coach Mike Leach signed this week an extension so he will be around for a bit longer.

The big men's game today locally is between Gonzaga and Washington in Seattle this afternoon. This will be just over an hour before the Seattle Seahawks are on Sunday night football against the Los Angeles Rams.  

In major league baseball, the Winter Meetings begin today going through Thursday in San Diego. We will have to see whether Mariners will add any more players to the roster. If they do it will likely be more pitching. They add or remove a position player as well but most likely not unless they trade Dee Gordon or Mitch Haniger. State tuned right here.

Mariners Trade Narvaez To Brewers

Thursday the Seattle Mariners traded starting catcher Omar Narvaez to the Milwaukee Brewers for a #24 prospect who is a starting pitcher in Single-A right now and an additional pick in next year's draft.

We had heard rumors of Narvaez being traded; however, I was disappointed in the trade. I thought the Mariners could have gotten a lot more for Narvaez. He was the best hitter on last year's team and had a career-high in home runs with 22. His defense was the biggest concern. I am sure the Mariners felt his defense wouldn't get better but he is only 27 years old so his best years may be ahead of him. Not sure because Kyle Seager hasn't done as well in the years that are considered his prime.

We can't cry over spilled milk so we have to see whatever else may come way for the Mariners during this off-season. This could be the beginning of several other trades where this one might make more sense. I least I hope so anyway. Dipoto doesn't expect a lot of trades this off-season like in the past but I am hoping for a few more anyway. This doesn't make so much sense if it stands on its own. We will really not know for a few years whether the trade is a success or not. The importance is the Mariners make the playoffs on a regular basis and find themselves in the World Series in the next few years. Go M's. 

Washington and Gonzaga Both Win

Wednesday night the Washington Huskies and the Gonzaga Bulldog both won getting ready for there showdown at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle this coming Sunday.

The Huskies got off to a terrible start having to come back to beat Eastern Washington 90-80. EWU began opening with a 10-1 before the Huskies were able to get going. The game was tied at 33-33 with 4:50 mark when the Huskies went on a good 14-2 run. The Eagles were never able to get back into the game. 

Gonzaga Bulldogs ended up beating Texas Southern at home 101-62. The game was over at half-time with the Bulldogs leading 53-20. All seven of their players who play many minutes scored in double figures. They were led by Cory Kispert with 17 points.

The Huskies will have to get off to a better start on Sunday if they have any chance to beat Gonzaga. Both teams have only one loss so far on the season. This game will show good the Huskies will be going into Pac-12 play in January. 

Gonzaga again should make the NCAA tournament while the young Huskies are hoping to. 

Seahawks Win 10th Game

Monday night the Seattle Seahawks beat the Minnesota Vikings 37-30. This time the Seahawks had a large lead; however, they settled winning by a touchdown. It is getting quite familiar, to say the least.

The important thing is they are winning; by how much isn't so important. It was an odd game with turnovers in a weird fashion.  Like the ball, Russell Wilson tried to bat away instead turned into a touchdown. I am sure he wouldn't try that one again.

The Seahawks were down 17-10 at half-time; however, they scored 24 unanswered points before the Vikings came back to make it interesting. 

In the third quarter, running back Rashaad Penny scored a touchdown then with the extra point tied it at 17-17. Myers kicked a field goal,  a beautiful pass from Wilson to David Morse plus extra point made it 27-17. In the 4th quarter, Penny scored a second touchdown for 13 yards from Wilson. The Vikings weren't dead yet with QB Cousins throwing a 58-yard touchdown pass. Little more than five minutes later Cousins threw another touchdown pass for 3 yards. The Vikings missed the extra point making it 34-30. With 21 secs remaining in the game the Seahawks kicked a 36-yard field goal making it 37-30. The Viking fumbled the kick-off the Seahawks recovered ending the game. 

The Seahawks had a good day on the ground with Chris Carson running for 102 yards while Penny had 74. DK Metcalf led the Seahawks in catches and yards with six and 75 while David Moore had 2 for 65 yards including the touchdown. 

The Seahawks are tied for first place with the San Francisco 49ers each with a record of 10-2. If the Seahawks win all their remaining games they will win the division. This coming Sunday they take on the Los Angeles Rams in LA. Go Hawks!

Chris Petersen Resigns as Huskies Head Coach

It became a shock for everyone related to the Washington Huskies athletic department Chris Petersen stepped down as head coach on Monday. He isn't going anywhere right now. He will still work in the athletic department. 

So you may ask who is going to replace Petersen as head coach. The Huskies have already named his successor in defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake the next head coach. Petersen will coach the bowl game the Huskies will play in before turning the reigns over to Lake. 

Petersen gave no reason why he stepped down, however, will stay on in the Huskies athletic department. Lake says the head coach job at Washington is his dream job but was surprised he would become the head coach any time soon. Now a new era begins. Go Huskies!

There Is More For Seahawks On Monday Night

As the Seattle Seahawks were waiting on Sunday to play the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night the San Francisco 49ers lost in Baltimore to the Ravens 20-17 on a last-second field goal. 

It is only fair the Ravens beat the 49ers or the 49ers lost to the Ravens depending on how you look at it since one of the Seahawks' two losses was to the Ravens in Seattle. 

Seahawks fans already had something to root for already but this adds more fire to Monday night's game. The Seahawks win they are in first place in the NFC West. Now the Seahawks have to do is win the remaining four games and they have the NFC West title. The Seahawks have done better in the playoffs when winning the division. 

The Vikings are looking to win this game as well since they are a half-game behind the Green Bay Packers. They win the game they are even with the Packers while losing a game behind. Sort of the same scenario as the Seahawks. The Seahawks win they are tied with the 49ers except they beat them so have the upper hand. The Seahawks lose then they are a game behind.

The Seahawks are undefeated on the road while the two losses are both at home. We want that trend to end. It doesn't matter how they win; however, it would be nice if they win by at least ten points. So enjoy the game with the Seahawks winning in the end. Go Hawks!

Ducks Beat The Beavers

Since this blog is supposed to be about northwest sports I figure to mention the Oregon Ducks Saturday night beat the Oregon State Beavers for the final game of the regular season 24-10.

The Ducks scored ten points in the first quarter while the Beavers kicked a field goal for three. The Ducks scored a touchdown in the second quarter making it 17-3 at half time. Both teams were silent in the third quarter not scoring a point then both had touchdowns in the fourth.

Oregon ended the regular season at 10-2 while Oregon State at 5-7. The Ducks won the Pac-12 North Division so they will take on the South Division champions Utah this coming Friday for the Pac-12  Championship. The Beavers tied Washington and California for second place with 4-5 record in the division; however, they are not eligible to play in a bowl game without enough wins overall. Stanford in the cellar of the North Divison and are not eligible for a bowl game either. In the South Division UCLA, Colorado and Arizona are not eligible either. 

The winner between Oregon and Utah could go to the National Championship Series. Utah has an overall record of 11-1 so they would have a better chance over the 10-2 Ducks. We wish both teams the best in the championship game leading to the National Championship Series.

The Seattle Seahawks have Sunday off however they take on the Minnesota Vikings at home on Monday night. Jadeveon Clowney who missed the game against the Eagles is expected to play against the Vikings. Also, fellow defensive end Jarran Reed Reed had limited practice time this last week is expected to play as well. We are hoping for the Seahawks 10th win with four games remaining after this one. Go Hawks!

Huskies Win Apple Cup Again

This year wasn't sure who may win the Apple Cup since both the Huskies and the Cougars were not having good seasons. The Huskies had lost to Colorado in a poorly played game; however, this is a rival game so teams are always up for them or at least they are supposed to be.

The Cougars dominated the first quarter having the ball for three-quarters of it but was a tie 7-7 at the end. The Huskies dominated the second through the fourth quarter. The Huskies had a lead of 21-10 at halftime. They scored a touchdown in the third quarter while the Cougars kicked a field goal. The Huskies kicked a field go in the fourth quarter making the final score 31-13.

Not sure why but the Huskies have won the last seven straight Apple Cup's including six under Head Coach Chris Petersen. The Huskies defense harassed the Cougars offense so much in the second quarter and the second half. Cougar's quarterback Anthony Gordon was sacked five times though he threw for over 300 yards but didn't have a touchdown. The Huskies' secondary showed how good they are in this game. The never gave up a long pass; playing a zone most of the way the Cougars had to go on short passes instead. So now both teams look to hear what bowl games they will be playing in.

On the south side of Washington, the Gonzaga Bulldogs beat Oregon in a tight game of basketball on Thanksgiving in the Bahamas 73-72; however, they were upset by Michigan Friday 82-64 to end their unbeaten season record. The Bulldogs are now 8-1 playing their next game on Wednesday at home against Texas Southern.  On Sunday, December 8 Gonzaga will come to Seattle to take on the Washington Huskies which should be an exciting game. 

The Washington Huskies men's team has two games before facing Gonzaga. They take on South Dakota on Monday followed by Eastern Washington on Wednesday. The Washington Huskies are now 5-1 winning three straight after losing to Tennessee in Toronto, Canada. 

The Seattle Seahawks take on the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night football. They hope to make their record 10-2 with four games remaining in the season. The Seahawks have always played well on Monday night football so expect the same in this one.

Happy Thanksgiving Sports Fans

It is time for another warm welcome to Thanksgiving. I hope you are able to throw the football around well as watch some football while spending time with family.

Don't forget the Apple Cup takes place on Friday starting at 1pm. 

The Seattle Seahawks are on Monday night football at home against the Minnesota Vikings. With five remaining games on the schedule, each one will feel like a playoff as the Seahawks look to make the plays. The Seahawks currently have a 9-2 record. They should end up at least with eleven wins unless they totally fall on their face. They could end up with at least 12 wins as well. Go Hawks!

The Gonzaga Bulldogs won easily again on Wednesday night 94-69 over Southern Mississippi. 

Thanksgiving they take on the Oregon Ducks. It will be their toughest opponent so far. The Ducks are favored to win the Pac-12 conference.  

Corey Kispert led the Bulldogs with 28 points. The Bulldogs won big despite having several players injured. Anton Watson had to leave the game in the first minute because of injury; his replacement Joel Ayayi was second in scoring with 21 points while grabbing a team-high 12 rebounds. 

The Seattle Mariners signed reliever Carl Edwards Jr to a free-agent contract.  Last year he had a poor year with the Chicago Cubs before being traded to the San Diego Padres. He had a good career for three years prior to last season. The Mariners are hoping Edwards will be able to get back to where he was at in 2018. Not a big gamble at all. If he is able to get back to his old self he will have a good place in the Mariner bullpen if not it doesn't cost the Mariners that much in baseball money. 

We will see what Jerry Dipoto has up his sleeve after acquiring three pitchers this week. The Mariners also signed an infielder Patrick Wisdom. He has been a minor league player but the Mariners signed him to a major league contract. He likely will start the season at triple-A Tacoma; however, he gives the Mariners insurance in case Kyle Seager gets hurt. You have to figure Dylan Moore and Tim Lopes are ahead of him in the role of utility players well as Austin Nola who could start at first base if Evan White doesn't start or be the Mariners backup catcher as well. 

This is it I think so anyway. I don't think I have forgotten anything. Again Happy Thanksgiving!

Seattle Mariners Giving More?

I posted yesterday the Mariners acquired a pitcher. The latest a free agent. The second pitcher in two days. 

We are expecting an announcement on Wednesday the Mariners will be signing another pitcher. Who that maybe anyone's guess. He is expected to be another pitcher who will compete for a spot in the starting rotation. I will let you know when it happens.

There is a word out Omar Narvaez Seattle Mariner catcher that could be dealt elsewhere. Wednesday as well. Where he goes and what the Mariners get in return I have no clue. I will update on the trade to if and when it happens. Also, any other news comes the way of the Mariners during this off-season.

In basketball, the Gonzaga Bulldogs play Wednesday night against Southern Mississippi. The game takes place at the Imperial Arena (I wanted to say Palace) at Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas.

Friday remember the Apple Cup the Huskies are host to the Cougars at Husky Stadium. Huskies have never lost to the Cougars while Chris Petersen has been the Head Coach. Will this change this year? We will see. 

Seattle Mariners Adding Pitching

Tuesday the Mariners announced the signing of Kendall Graveman who previously pitched for the Oakland A's to a contract. Graveman has missed time by having Tommy John surgery.

There is news the Mariners are going to link a contract with another starting pitcher. The announcement isn't supposed to be made until Wednesday. This could be another pitcher who

missed time because of an injury as well. 

Right now the Mariners starting rotation would be Marco Gonzales and Yusei Kikuchi for sure. Also, Justin Sheffield will be another. So the Mariners have room to add two more pitchers to the rotation. September the Mariners pitched Justin Dunn after calling him up from Double-A Arkansas. It is not sure whether he is ready to go or not. The Mariners are wanting to go young so the chance is he will be in there but not a sure thing. 

In the 5th spot of the rotation, the Mariners may try the opener once again.  It is a role that Justin Dunn starts at the beginning of the year. This would mean he would pitch two or three innings at best. The Mariners could bring Graveman in after that if he isn't considered the 3rd or fourth starter. They may use the bullpen as well depending on how long the other starters go in the game. 

I thought last year Erik Swanson would fit well in the opener spot, however, the Mariners are planning to use him out of the bullpen now. It doesn't mean he still couldn't be an opener though. He could start once a week go an inning or two then come out of the bullpen once a week. 

Another candidate as an opener or starter is Nestor Cortes Jr a lefty the Mariners acquired from the Yankees on Monday for international Monday. 

The whole starting rotation for the Mariners will be interesting going into next season. We will know more Wednesday about this pitcher the Mariners are signing. Go M's. 

Seahawks Win On Road While Huskies Men's Basketball Win At Home

Sunday was a good day in the Seattle area with the Seahawks beating the Eagles in Philadelphia 17-9. The Seahawks are now 6-0 on the road with an overall record of 9-2. 

The San Francisco 49ers beat up on the Green Bay Packers badly Sunday winning 37-8. The Seahawks will have to keep on rolling since the 49ers are. The last game of the season the Seahawks will be taking on the 49ers at home. The Seahawks look like they will need to win the game to win the division. It will be much better for them to do so to have success in the playoffs.

The Philadelphia Eagles' first drive of the game looked like the Seahawks would be in trouble all day long; however, Seattle was able to stop them only allowing a field goal. The rest of the way went in the favor of the Seahawks for the most part.  Chris Carson had a tough time keeping his hands on the ball fumbling twice in a row. The second one the Eagles were able to recover but the Seahawks defense was able to save it for them.

Rashaad  Penny had a good game in place of Carson running the ball 14 times for a career-high 129 yards. It included a 59-yard run for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to help seal the victory. The Seahawks could see more of  Penny the rest of the way if he can stay healthy.

The Washington Huskies men's basketball team had a close game for most of the first half before going on a run late to be ahead 41-30 at half-time. The San Diego Toreros were unable to get any closer in the game with the Huskies going on a 13-0 run early on in the second half. Freshman forward Isaiah Stewart led the Huskies with 25 points. The other talented forward Jaden McDaniels contributed 20 points. 

The Huskies have this Thanksgiving week off before taking on South Dakota at home on December 2. The Huskies have a 5-1 record on the season. Go Dawgs!. 

WSU Wins UW Loses

Saturday was something else for college football in Washington State. The WSU Cougars almost had another loss with Oregon State coming up a play short. Do you remember the loss to UCLA? It almost happed the same way. The Cougars ended up winning 54-53. Oregon State scored 29 points in the fourth quarter making it really interesting. How many teams score that many points in any quarter well as the 4th quarter?

This game was a passing bonanza. If you like teams throwing the ball you would have liked this game. WSU quarterback Anthony Gordon threw the ball 70 times completing 50 of them for 606 yards, six touchdowns, and three interceptions. He became the Pac-12 single-season passer. On the other side, Oregon State's quarterback Jake Luton completed 22 of 40 passes for 408 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception.  

It looks like the Huskies secondary will have a busy time next Friday in the Apple Cup whether they or the Huskies win. The Huskies have the Cougars number and the loss on Saturday night at Colorado 20-14 they will want to change things around.

The score was closer than the play of the Huskies. Especially in the first half quarterback Jacob Eason had to run around getting sacked five times on the night. His running yardage ended up minus 29. 

The Huskies tried to establish the passing game after the bye week. Coach Chris Petersen said they would work on the passing game which is fine but why come out throwing when you have a good running game. This game showed the running game opens things up for the passing game.

We do hope the Huskies learned this lesson.  With the passing of WSU, you want to keep the ball out of their hands as much as possible. 

Sunday the Seahawks take on the Eagles in Philadelphia. It will be nice to see a win so we can have a winning record for the state instead of losing record. Go Hawks!

Washington Huskies Basketball Beat Montana Friday Night

The Washington Huskies got off to a good start for the first time in five games scoring nine points before the Montan Grizzlies responded scoring nine points themselves. A lot of that happened because freshmen standout Isaiah Stewart got in foul trouble early. 

The Huskies went on a few other runs as well but the Grizzlies responded. The Huskies were up 31-29 at halftime. Stewart started the second half but only last 90 secs when he got his fourth foul. The Grizzlies stayed in reach or the Huskies allowed them too anyway; however, Stewart returned just under nine minutes remaining in the game. After re-entering the game, Stewart and the Huskies dominated the Grizzlies with the final score of 73-56. The game was in doubt until the five-minute mark in the second half.  

Isaiah Stewart led the Huskies in scoring with 18 points though he only played 15 minutes. Montana had a hard time going to the hoop while the Huskies made it look easy. Montana shooting from 3-point range kept them close for a while.

The Huskies' next opponent is San Diego on Sunday night. Go Dawgs!

Washington football teams play Saturday night against the Buffaloes in Colorado. The Huskies are hoping the passing game will be much improved after having a bye week. Next Friday night will be

Washington's last regular-season game at home against WSU in the Apple Cup. 

The Gonzaga Bulldogs play late Saturday afternoon against the Cal State Bakersfield at home. The #8 ranked Gonzaga are 5-0 going into this game though Tuesday night's game was the closest winning 72-66 against Texas-Arlington. The previous four games were all blowouts. Good to have a close game to help the Zags out. 

Ed Dickson Put On Injured Reserve

This must be the first time I have written three times on my blog in a day regarding northwest sports. The Seahawks put tight end Ed Dickson on Injured Reserve two days after activating him for the first this season. He will be lost for the rest of the season along with probably his last time in a Seahawk uniform. 

The Seahawks were hoping to use Dickson primarily as a blocker leaving the pass-catching to Jacob Hollister, now  Tyrone Swoopes former Texas quarterback was activated off the practice squad. Most likely the Seahawks will use an offensive lineman when needing a blocker. It is nothing new for the Seahawks to do so. 

Other Seahawk news, Jadeveon Clowney was sent off-campus as Coach Carroll called it. Not sure right now whether he will play against the Philadelphia Eagles or not. If he isn't able to play it will be a big loss for the Seahawks. 

We do hope the defense can play well along with the offense and Russell Wilson rack up a lot of points. Go Hawks!

Evan White Signs Long Term Deal With Mariners

The Seattle Mariners signed future first baseman Evan White to a long term deal for $24 Million for six years. They have three options that could make it $55 Million. This hasn't happened very often in major league baseball. General manager Jerry Dipoto felt it was something the Mariners should do.  The announcement happened shortly after my last post.

What this means for Austin Nola, Domingo Santana, and Daniel Vogelbach we will have to see? Nola did a good job playing first base while Vogelbach was at dh for have the games last season but did play some first base. 

Nola will likely be the primary backup to White when he makes the ball club. There is no guarantee he will start the season in 2020; however, the chances are good though If White begins the season in Tacoma then we will see Nola at first base most of the time. The Mariners could use Santana at first base on occasion though he has been an outfielder. If he and Vogelbach are on the team they may have to share the designated hitter spot with Vogelbach starting against righties while Santana is in against lefties. 

The Mariners probably will want Santana to be the primary dh if he is still around and play the outfield on occasion. Mariner announcer mentioned when Santana was on the injured list he said he saw him field some balls at third base but didn't make any throws. He thought Santana was doing a good job which could translate over to playing first base as well. Santana would be more valuable spending time in the outfield well as first base and third base along with dh. If the Mariners are willing to do this than Vogelbach would still be on the club, otherwise he won't unless the Mariners trade him instead.  So now more interesting things happening for spring training for sure. Go M's. 

Omaha Beats WSU In Pullman

I am sure the WSU Cougar fans thought their team was going to win Thursday night. The Cougars had a lead of 48-35, Unfortunately, they let Omaha off the hook where they only scored 29 points in the second half while the visitors score 50 to win the game 85-77.

The Cougars now have an even record at 2-2 heading off to play Nebraska next Monday. The Cougars look like a team of inconsistency which is understandable how the team has played for the last few years. A reason they had a change of coaches. 

The Washington Huskies take on the Montana Grizzlies at Alaska Airlines Arena Friday night. The Grizzlies have two seniors in the starting lineup along with two freshmen, and a sophomore. They have another freshman playing a lot coming off the bench. So a young team like the Huskies. The Huskies though have better talent than Montana so they should win at home. 

The Washington Huskies football team travel to Colorado to take on the Buffaloes Saturday. Both teams had bye weeks so no advantage there for Huskies; however, Washington is hoping the passing game can get back in step since had an off week though they beat Oregon State 19-7. Both teams will try to establish the run first. The Huskies defense will try to play like they did against Oregon State who had only 119 yards of offense. 

The Seattle Seahawks also travel going to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles. This game originally was to be on Sunday Night Football but was changed to 10:00 Pacific Standard Time. 

A look at the teams in Washington State this weekend. 

Jamar Taylor

The Seattle Seahawks released Jamar Taylor this week with the activation of tight end Ed Dickson. The Seahawks with injuries at the tight end position had to either pick up another one through waivers or activate Ed Dickson when he was available to active which they did.

I think it sad to release Jamar Taylor; he is a good cornerback. The Seahawks though were not using him or anyone else for that matter as a nick back when the opportunity arises. They decided to keep Bobby Wagner, KJ Wright, and Mychal Kendricks in on passing downs. In a way, I find that OK since teams bring in players on third down when it is necessary for passing down. It may occur on second down on occasion because of a penalty or the quarter was sacked. I would say it happens later in the game than early. 

Personally, I think the Seahawks need to use the nick back a little more frequently than they have. The problem could be that the Seahawks are playing in a zone at times as well. In the game against the 49ers, the Seahawks were taken advantage of in the first quarter; however, it didn't seem to happen much after that. I am sure the Seahawks changed things up. At least that is what I hope happened.

The Seahawks may go with safeties Ugo Amadi or Marquise Blair or cornerback Akeem King. Most teams would go with King in the nick back but the talent of Amadi and Blair may go with three safeties. I would expect the Seahawks to stay using the three linebackers most of the time unless they are not being successful. We will see what happens against the Eagles on Sunday. Go Hawks.

Huskies Win Easy

As we hoped the Washington Huskies beat Maine fairly easy 72-53 after getting off to a slow start.

The Huskies ran off 13 points in the second part of the first half with Maine never getting back into the game. Isaiah Stewart led the Huskies with 16 points along with 9 rebounds. The Huskies had only six turnovers in the game after being in double digits in their first three games. Now they have a record of 3-1. Take on Montana on Friday.

The Washington State Cougars are 2-1 they take on Omaha in Pullman, Washington on Thursday night. The Cougars are hoping to have a good season though they are expected to finish in the bottom half of the Pac-12.

The Seattle Mariners are expected to complete their 40-man roster or at least add a few players so they are not part of the Rule 5 draft. Currently, they have 35 players on the 40-man roster. What we are looking for is whether Jerry Dipoto will make a trade soon to add to their roster.

In other Mariner news. Kristopher Negron who spent the end of 2018 with the Tacoma Rainiers and the Mariners then Rainiers most of 2018 then called up before being traded to the Los Angeles announced last he was retiring. The Mariners have hired him as the Assistant Director of Player Develop under Player Development Director Andy McKay. He will assist McKay in all areas of player development including on-field instruction and mentoring minor leaguers. It will be good to bring back Negron to the Mariner organization. Since Dipoto came on as General Manager he has been working on the Mariners becoming a better minor organization to help players make it to the major leagues. Outside of pitchers, the Mariners haven't had a lot of position players stick around especially top draft picks. 

Tuesday Sports

The Washington State Cougars men's basketball team is now 2-1 on the season. On Sunday they beat Idaho State 72-61. The Cougars were led by CJ Elleby with 23 points and eight rebounds. The Cougars had three players scoring in double figures. They play at home on Thursday against Omaha. Next Monday they will be on the road at Nebraska. Omaha is 2-2 on the season with both wins at home. So you would think the Cougars should be favored in this one. Nebraska is 1-2 playing all three games at home. 

The Cougars football team will be playing at home against Oregon State on Saturday before heading to Seattle for the Apple Cup on Friday right after Thanksgiving. The Cougars will have to win one of those games to be Bowl eligible.

The Washington Huskies basketball team will be home tonight against Maine after losing to Tennessee on the road last Saturday. They now have a record of 2-1. The football team will play Saturday on the road against Colorado before facing the Cougars. The Huskies are eligible for a bowl game but they want to finish off by winning both games to be at the best bowl game possible. This last week the Huskies had a bye week. 

The Seahawks were back to work to get ready for their game against the Eagles in Philadelphia. The Huskies are having a tough schedule the rest of the way, however, they are still wanting to win the NFC West Division though it won't be easy to accomplish. 

No news yet on trades by the Seattle Mariners. We hope something comes about real soon. 

SF 49ers Beat Arizona Cardianls

It looked like the Arizona Cardinals would beat the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday so the Seahawks would be in a tie for the NFC West Division; however, it wasn't meant to be.

Arizona took a lead 16-0 in the second quarter than the 49ers came within six points at half-time 16-10. The score at the end of the 3rd quarter was Arizona 19 SF 17. In the 4th quarter, the Cardinals scored a touchdown to go up 26-17. The Cardinals were up 26-23 with two minutes remaining in the game. 

It looked like the 49ers were going to tie the game at 26-26 and go into overtime like the game between them and the Seahawks last Monday Night; however, a defense mistake by the Cardinals the 49ers went up 30-26. There wasn't much time left in the game for the Cardinals to win then they turned the ball over that gave SF a touchdown to end the game 36-26. We should have known the Cardinals would find a way to lose or the 48ers find a way to win. The Seahawks still a game behind the 49ers. 

The 49ers are at home next Sunday against the Green Bay Packers while the Seahawks are on the road in Philadelphia to take on the Eagles. We hope the Seahawks win while the 49ers lose. Go Hawks!

Weekend Sports

The Washington Huskies men's basketball team lost to Tennessee on Saturday playing in the James Naismith Classic. The score was 75-62. The Huskies got off to another poor start; however, this time the closest they got was within seven points. The major issues were taking poor shot selections along with turnovers at the wrong time too. Also, Hameir Wright and Isaish Stewart were in foul trouble early. Wright actually fouled out of the game. in the second half. 

The Huskies have their next seven games played at home so hopefully, this means they will be able to win and learn from their mistakes. They play Tuesday against Maine. 

The WSU Cougars are home today against Idaho State in basketball. The football team ended up beating Stanford 49-22. They take on Oregon State next Saturday. They win that game or the Apple Cup they will be eligible to play in a bowl game. Lose both no bowl game sorry Cougs!

The Cougars had a 10 point lead going into the fourth quarter. They were able to add 17 more points without giving up a point to make the difference and the win in this one. Anthony Gordon threw for 520 yards on the day with five touchdowns and one interception. Though the Cougars passed the ball a lot Max Borghi was able to run for 111 yards with a touchdown. He caught a pass for a touchdown as well. 

Stanford's quarterback Davis Mills almost passed as many yards as Gordon. His yardage was 504 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Stanford though didn't run the ball much against the Cougs. 

If you haven't heard the Seahawks and Huskies are off this week in football. See them next weekend again. 

Gonzaga Men's Basketball Wins Friday Night

For those who follow College Men's basketball on a regular basis Gonzaga beating Texas A&M was not a big surprise. Gonzaga ending up beating Texas A&M 79-49.

Gonzaga has four more games before facing the Washington Huskies in Seattle on December 8. I expect them to be undefeated going into that game. It should be a good game between the two-state rivals. 

Gonzaga scored 79 points when leading scorer on the team Corey Kispert had only three points on the night. Gonzaga did have four players score in double figures so we could say Kispert had a night off though he did play 32 minutes in the game. Starting guards Admon Gilder and Ryan Woolridge each had 16 points while forward Filip Petrusev had 14. Reserve Drew Timme had 11 points coming off the bench. Filip Petrusev led Gonzaga with 10 rebounds. 

In other sports news, the major league baseball general managers' meeting ended without much fanfare. No acquisitions by the Mariners during these meetings. I do hope something happens this coming week so have something to write about the Mariners. 

Tomorrow let you know how the Washington Huskies and Washington State Cougars do Saturday.