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. 

This Week In NW Sports

The Seattle Seahawks and the Washington Huskies football team have a bye this week. Upcoming game Washington Huskies in Toronto Saturday playing against the Tennessee Vols. Both teams have 2-0 records. 

The Washington State Cougars football team is at home against Stanford on Saturday while the basketball team plays Idaho State at home on Sunday. The football team needs to win two of the final three games to qualify for a bowl game. 

The Gonzaga Bulldogs ranked #8 in the nation this week will play at Texas A&M Friday night. 

Enjoy your weekend and sports for sure. 

Oh Yes, we are still waiting for a Mariner trade or acquisition. 

Major League Baseball GM Meetings

This week the Major League Baseball general manager meetings are happening. Often they talk about trades that likely will happen after. the meetings are over. I am sure they talk about other things as well.

Last year if I recall the Mariners made at least one trade during the meetings. I believe it was Mike Zunino to the Tampa Bay Rays for Mallex Smith and Jake Fraley. I believe Fraley has a future still here I am not so sure of Smith. I wouldn't have a problem trading him away.

I do hope we do hear something about a Mariner trade this week or at least next week after the meetings are over. The Mariners won't make the number of trades they did last year or at least not as big. There are several players that are on the block but whether they actually will get traded we will see. The Mariners may pick up a starter or two with not big names either. 

I let you know what I think of any trades that do materializes. I could see Domingo Santana, Malles Smith or Mitch Haniger go somewhere since they do have an overabundance of outfielders. Dee Gordon is another one that could end up being traded as well. I wouldn't be surprised that we get surprised by a trade. Stay tuned!

Tuesday Night Basketball

The Washington Huskies men's basketball team had an ugly game on Tuesday night; however, they were able to pull the game out 56-46. 

A young team like the Huskies they are going to have nights like that, but at least they found a way to beat the Mount Saint Mary's Mountaineers. Next up well be Tennessee on the road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada Saturday night. We wish the best for them.

The Washington State Cougars ended up losing to Santa Clara on the road Tuesday. Santa Clara, by the way, plays in the same conference as Gonzaga and they are 3-0 after beating the Cougars. The final score was Santa Clara 70 WSU 62. The next opponent will be Idaho State. The Cougars right now is 1-1.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs who are ranked number 8 right now beat North Dakota State 97-66 at home. The Bulldogs are again a good team. They are 3-0 on the young season. All three games they have scored over 90 points in each one while giving up in the sixties. 

The Bulldogs had six players in double figures led by forward Corey Kispert with 20. He was followed by Filip Petrusev with 19 points. He dominated the boards with 15 rebounds as well. Let you know he is Serbian. Gonzaga is known to get international players to play for them. Next up for the Bulldogs will be Texas A&M on the road Friday night.

Continue the best for all three teams. 

Seahawks Win Another Overtime

The Seahawks beat the San Francisco 49ers an important showdown on Monday Night Football in overtime 27-24.

The Seahawks played a terrible first quarter, not able to stop the passing game of the 49ers. Behind 10-0 at the end of the first quarter, I thought the game was over, however, I should have known better.

The 49ers had three turnovers that led to the Seahawks to go-ahead 21-10 heading into the 4th quarter. I figured the game was over because usually, the Seahawks do well in the  4th quarter my mistake again.  A fumble by the Seahawks led to a 49er touchdown followed by a field goal tied the game at 21-21. Each team had a field goal to end regulation. Mistakes on the 49er side led the Seahawks to win the game.

The fumble the 49ers recovered the announced mentioned what a great play it was. In a way they were right, but the Seahawks should have run the ball on second down. I thought they were a running team. Had the play been done on third down than I would say yes on a great play. A missed tackle by Bobby Wagner allowed the field goal as well  The Seahawks shot themselves in the foot where they should have won in regulation. At least they are good in close games and overtime. 

The Seahawks are now 8-2 a game behind the 49ers with a bye week coming up. Not only do they need to stop the mistakes along with poor pass defense. Obviously, the defensive backs are not close to being the legion of boom. The 49ers are good at the short and mid=range passing game.

I thought it was hilarious the national announcers saying "the run is setting up the pass for the 49ers". 

The Seahawks were stopping the run game but couldn't stop the pass especially on third down. Now we can relax and hope the Seahawks can improve for the next game against the Eagles in Philadelphia on Sunda Night football.  Go Hawks!

MLS CUP For Sounders

I have to admit I am not a big soccer fan; however, it was nice to watch this whole game between the Sounders and Toronto on television.

Toronto outplayed the Sounders in the first half; however, no goals were scored thankfully. The Sounders had a great second half scoring three goals before Toronto scored one near the end making it 3-1. 

The second goal was at such an angle I was surprised it went in. The third goal was interesting because I didn't see Toronto's goalie in live play. I thought they had taken him out of the game for more offense power. It was in the replay where I saw the goal go over the goalies head.  Another amazing shot as well.

Usually, I don't watch soccer as we call it here in the USA  because I am not into seeing only a goal or two in a game. It was nice though to see a lot of attempts though only four went in. 

While watching the game I was wishing the field was a little bit smaller. I am sure the purists would think I am nuts. Also, having a smaller field would be best to see indoor soccer. 

It was nice to see and hear 70,000 thousand fans in the stands. Regardless of the number of goals can't have more excitement than that. I was wondering what they were shouting at times as well.

Maybe I will watch more games. I am not sure a whole game but at least the second half when it can be more exciting. Anyway, congratulations Sounders bringing another championship to Seattle. Nice that it took place in Seattle as well. I am sure everyone is looking to next season for a repeat performance. Go Sounders!

Cougars Lose To Golden Bears On The Road

The Washington State Cougars lost to the California Golden Bears in Berkely, California late Saturday afternoon. It was the Bears only second win in the Pac-12 schedule so far this season. The first win was over the Washington Huskies. So they can't beat anyone except the Washington schools.

The game started off in an interesting way where the Golden Bears intercepted a pass on the Cougar's first possession. California ended up scoring a touchdown however on the extra point the Cougars were able to run it back for two points. The Cougars ended up getting a field goal in the first quarter as well so the score was California 6 Washington State  5 at the end of the first quarter.

The score at half-time is one we don't see often if ever California 13 Washington State 11. The Golden Bears outscored the Cougars 20-13 in the second half to make the final California 33 Washington State 20. The Cougars were in the game still in the fourth quarter when the Golden Bears ran for 52 yards on a third and long. This doesn't happen often either but we are talking about the Golden Bears and the Cougars.  Often the Cougars find a way to lose and it happens often to the Golden Bears. California somehow has it for the Washington schools. 

Now we can look forward to next season to see what may happen against California for the Huskies and Cougars.  The Cougars have to win two of their final three games to be eligible for a bowl game. The chances are good the Cougars won't go to a bowl game this year. Next week they are at home against Stanford followed by Oregon State than on the road at Washington to finish the regular season. There is a chance the Cougars win two of those games. We wish them the best against Stanford and Oregon State to make a bowl game. Go Cougs!

Huskies Basketball and Football

The Washington Huskies upset Baylor University in Anchorage Alaska on Friday night 67-64. The Huskies were down by 13 points around nine minutes remaining in the game before making a 21-5 run to finish off the game. The Huskies defense was tough especially in the inside with freshman standout Isaiah Stewart. He had three block shots while holdover Hameir Wright had five.

The Huskies had a tough start trying to get out of each other's way having 15 turnovers in the first half. In total, the Huskies had 20 turnovers for the night. 

Guard Nahziah Carter led the Huskies with 23 points while Jayden McDaniels had 18 points. Isaiah Stewart was third in scoring with 15 points with most on the inside. 

The Huskies football team defense shutout the Oregon State Beavers offense which has been average 34 points a game. The Huskies won 19-7 with the Beavers lone touchdown was on a Jacob Eason interception which went 36 yards. Oregon State had 119 yards total offense while Huskies running back Salvon Ahmed had 174 yards rushing. 

This definitely was a good night for Husky sports. Go Dawgs!

Mariners Name Coaching Staff For 2020

On Thursday the Seattle Mariners named their new coaching staff under manager Scott Servais. Two of there staff members from last season were not retained.

Perry Hill returns as the first base coach as well as the infield coach for the second season.

Manny Acta who had been the bench coach returns to third base coach. I expect he will be working with the outfielders as well.

Pete Woodworth is the new pitching coach. Last year he was the pitching coach at double-A Arkansas so he knows a number of the young pitchers. A good way to get those pitchers to perform at a higher level along with knowing their strengths and weaknesses.

Brian DeLunas returns as bullpen coach after a season off in another position dealing with the pitchers.

Tim Laker returns as the hitting coach for the second season.

Jarret DeHart a new guy on the scene will be the assistant hitting coach with Laker.

Jared Sandberg in his second season in the Mariners organization is now the Mariners bench coach.

Carson Vitale is now the Mariner major league field coordinator. I believe the position Sandberg had last year. 

Ichiro Suzuki not sure what is position will be with the Mariners this coming season; however, likely will do the same job he did last year except he has retired from playing ball. LOL

These are all the guys that will be surrounding manager Scott Servais next season. Go M's. 

Cougars Open Season Positive

The Washington State Cougars men's basketball team opened the season with a victory over state-rival Seattle University. The final score was 85-54 so we can see it wasn't a close game.

The Cougars have a new coaching staff this season after having another terrible season last year where they were 11-21 overall, 4-14 in the Pac-12 under Coach Ernie Kent who was at Washington State for five years. The Cougars decided it was time for a change so now they are coached by Kyle Smith who spent the last three seasons coaching at San Francisco. Before going to San Francisco, he was at Columbia University for six seasons. So the Cougars are hoping Smith with his nine years of head coaching experience can turn the Cougars around becoming a competitive force in the Pac-12 conference. 

The Cougars were led in scoring by sophomore sensation CJ Elleby out of Cleveland High School in Seattle with 27points. Last year Elleby was second in scoring average for the Cougars at 14.7 along with 7.1 rebounds per game. Junior guard Isaac Bonton was second in scoring with 12 points. Bonton is a transfer from Casper College in Casper Wyoming. Elleby and Bonton were the only Cougars to score in double figures, however, the other ten players who played did each score at least two points.

Seattle University had a poor night making only one shot from outside the three-point line in eighteen attempts. The Cougars showed in this game playing some good defense. They are hoping this will continue over the season. Also, they hope to keep turnovers to a minimum as well.

The Cougars play next at Santa Clara next Tuesday night. This could be a more competitive game for the Cougars. Best wishes for a good season for the Cougs. 

The Washington Huskies open their season Friday night in Anchorage Alaska against Baylor University while the football team plays against Oregon State hoping to rebound (sorry for the pun) after two defeats. Go Dawgs!

Seahawks Defense Needs To Turn

So many Seahawk fans were upset that Jason Myers could have cost the team the game. Of course, he should have made the field goal at the end of regulation time but it was the defense that put them in the predicament. 

The Seahawks defense isn't getting enough sacks or what I would call getting at the quarterback. The defensive line isn't doing their job on that front and I am not sure they will this season. This means the linebackers and defensive backs have to then.

Speaking of the linebackers, the Seahawks are keeping all three of the guys most of the time on passing downs. It would be fine if it was done successfully but it isn't. The Seahawks need to have three cornerbacks and two safeties in the game during that period or go with two corners and three safeties if that is necessary.

Another thing against Tampa Bay the Seahawks were playing a lot of zone. I am not sure this happened in the prior games because I wasn't paying as much attention to know the honest truth. In the past seasons, they played man to man most of the time so I didn't even consider zone. Well, the zone didn't work against Tampa Bay. It is time for the Seahawks to play man to man at least some of the time if not most of the time. I know the defensive backs now are not as talented as those in the past but the zone defense left gaps in the middle of the zone for Tampa to take advantage of the Seahawks. 

I know Pete Carroll and the defensive coaching staff are looking at stopping the other team in the red zone but it would be nice not to see the other team march down the field so easily. What made that game allowing the Seahawks to win as they were able to do the same thing through the air. Tampa Bay's defense didn't allow the Seahawks to run the ball. I expect the Seahawks will be back to running the ball against the 49ers. The Seahawks will need to keep the 49ers offense off the field as much as possible. Go Hawks!

It is Hump Day

Hello Wednesday. It is the middle of the week getting ready for another football weekend. Let you know the college basketball season has started as well.

Tuesday night the Gonzaga Bulldogs opened their season at home where they beat Alabama State 95-64. The Bulldog's next game will be on Saturday at home against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Not another big-time team. 

The Bulldogs were led by junior forward Corey Kispert who had a career-high 28 points. He is expected to be the leader of this year's team. The Bulldogs start three forwards and two guards. 

The Washington State Cougar's men's basketball season begins at home on Thursday against Seattle University. Next Tuesday they will be on the road at Santa Clara. These two games will give us a little idea of how good or bad the Cougars will be this year. 

The Washington Huskies men's basketball team begins their season on Friday against Baylor up in Anchorage Alaska. The football team plays Friday night against Oregon State in Corvallis, Oregon. The Huskies are hoping to end their two-game losing streak. The Beavers have won two games in a row both on the road. They haven't played well at home winning only one game on the season. Also, the last time the Huskies lost to the Beavers was in 2011. We hope that streak continues though the Beavers are second-place in the Pac-12 North Division two games behind their state rival Oregon Ducks.

The Washington State Cougar's football team play the California Bears on the road. The Golden Bears haven't won a game since they beat the Huskies early on the season so they are looking to beat the Cougars. The Cougars though will want to win to continue to see about getting into a bowl game. They play Stanford and Oregon State before meeting the Huskies in the Apple Cup at the end of November. We wish the Cougars the best until they face the Huskies in the Apple Cup.

The Seattle Seahawks face the 49ers down in the Bay Area on Monday night football. The 49ers are undefeated so it is important the Seahawks win the game to stay close to win the NFC West Division. The Seahawks will have to play a better game on Monday night than they did on Sunday in the win in overtime against the Tampa Bay Bucs. The Seahawks seem to always do well on Monday night football so we hope for the same this time. 

This wraps up how the basketball and football schedules go this week. We root for all those teams. 

Seahawks Win In Overtime

Sunday afternoon game the Seattle Seahawks beat the Tampa Bay Bucs at Century Link Field; however, it took overtime along with winning the coin flip for the Seahawks to win 40-34.

The Seahawks are now 7-2 heading into next week's game on Monday night football against the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers are still undefeated so it is important that the Seahawks win the game. The Seahawks defense will have to play a better game against the 49ers to have a chance to win.

Both the Seahawks and Bucs were unable to stop the other one through the game for the most part. The Seahawks had to pass the ball for the most part because they were unable to run the ball against them. Tyler Lockett had a big day catching a career-high 13 catches that went for 152 yards and two touchdowns.

Rookie DK Metcalf had a big day as well for the Seahawks catching six balls for 123 yards with a touchdown in the fourth quarter. He caught a 29-yard pass that help set up the overtime catch by tight end Jacob Hollister for the winning touchdown. Hollister just made it over the plane of the end zone.

The Seahawks defense played poorly for the most part especially the defensive backs. I believe the poor play by the defensive backs as they played a lot of zone defense instead of man-to-man. I don't mind zone defense as long as the team can hide it and not done on so many plays. Most likely Pete Carroll wanted to defense not to break and give up the big play which they did anyway on several occasions. 

Not enough of that now time to plan on for the game next week. Best for the Seahawks!!

Huskies Lost To Utah

I guess we could say the Utah Utes need this game Saturday more than the Huskies. Washington got off to another good start scoring on their first possession of the game; however, mistakes along the way cost them the game.

Utah Utes actually made mistakes along the way to; however, the Huskies were unable to take advantage of them in the same way. The Huskies led at half time 14-13 then scored in their second possession of the second half but the Utes were able to score three touchdowns. The first touchdown by Utah in the third quarter was on an interception thrown by Jacob Eason. 

The Huskies didn't score again until the end of the game when it was too late. The final score was Utah 33 Washington 28. 

The Huskies are now 2-4 in conference play with an overall record of 5-4. They are in fourth place of the North Division with Oregon leading the way being undefeated in conference play after beating USC. Utah who had been tied with USC in the South Division can go to the conference championship if they win out while Oregon is two games ahead of Oregon State who the Huskies play next Friday night. Oregon likely will face Utah in the championship game unless they fall to Oregon State along with at least another loss and the Beavers win out. 

Washington State had the week off before facing California next Saturday. The Golden Bears haven't won a game since beating Washington in the first game of the Pac-12 schedule.

The Seattle Seahawks play an important game Sunday afternoon facing Tampa Bay. This will be the last easy game on the schedule before they face San Francisco next Monday night. It will be important the Seahawks win if they want to stay in contention for the NFC West Division. Go Hawks!

Good News For Husky Basketball

The Washington Huskies men's basketball got good news on Friday that sophomore guard Quade Green got his waiver after transferring from Kentucky last January. The Huskies requested a waiver that Green could start the season with the Huskies without waiting until the Pac-12 schedule begins this coming January. Now he will be able to start the season that begins this coming Friday, November 8 against Baylor. 

Green is expected to start at point guard in place of sophomore Elijah Hardy. This means the Huskies will have more depth in the backcourt. Most likely Hardy and fellow guard Jamal Bay will come off the bench first for the Huskies. Also, the Huskies have freshman Marcus Tsohonis out of Portland Oregon to play as well. Unlike last year where the Huskies played seniors in the backcourt, they have a lot of youth back there well as in the frontcourt.

It will be interesting to see where most of the scoring will come this season since they have five-star recruits Isaiah Stewart and Jaylen McDaniels as well.  The Huskies were picked to finish this season in the third spot of the standings, but with this talent, it will be interesting where things end up at. Stay tuned and enjoy the season. Go Dawgs!

Basketball Season Has Begun

The NBA is already underway though I don't watch them anymore since the Sonics left town. Locally there are still the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Washington Men's basketball team had there first game of the season on Halloween though it was an exhibition game against Western Washington who they blew out  87-63. It will be exciting to see freshmen Isaiah Stewart and Jayden McDaniels. Both players were five-star recruits. It will be good to see the return of Nahziah Carter who had a good season last year as a sophomore coming off the bench. He is expected to start this season.

The Huskies' first pre-season game that counts will be next Friday night against Baylor University on the road in Anchorage Alaska.  Outside of the starters' coach, Mike Hopkins isn't sure how his rotation will work for a few weeks.

The Washington State Cougars open the pre-season next Thursday at home against Seattle University under new head coach Kyle Smith. Gonzaga Bulldogs, on the other hand, start next Tuesday at home against Alabama State.  It will be interesting to keep up with Huskies, Cougars, and Bulldogs this coming season. Go teams!