Marco Gonzales

I am  sure  Mariner fans are hoping 

for a rebound year by Marco Gonzales.

Marco  got off to a slow start then was

hurt at beginning of Mayand not returning 

until  June.  Didn’t see the old Marco until 

August  and September when he pitched 

well.

This year with Robbie Ray becoming the

ace and Logan Gilbert hopefully being

the number two pitcher Marco Gonzales 

will likely be in the number three slot. On

many  teams he would have been the

number three starter instead of number

one.  The Mariners haven't had an ace 

since Felex Hernandez was in his prime.

One thing  we know  Marco when pitching 

well he leads with passion. Though he

doesn't have the most talent he does well 

with what he has. The Mariners need a

player like him in a leadership role. Go M's!

Gonzaga Upset and More

The Gonzaga Bulldogs  lost the last

game of the regular season to St. Mary's 

Saturday  night on the road 67-57.

One of the lowest scoring  games of the

season by Gonzaga. Center Chet Holmgren 

who had 21 points against San Francisco 

had only six points  in  this one. Also, Drew

Timme had six points.  Both players down

below normal  production. 

Number two Arizona  also lost on Saturday 

to Colorado 76-63. Not only that number 

three thru six all lost as well. This means 

the rankings won't  likely change except 

maybe five and six.

If a team is going  to lose going into the

tournaments is better than in the tournament.

We wish Gonzaga  the best the rest of the

way.

In baseball  news it looks like spring training 

and games will not happen on what was the

ending of February to start the season on time.

According to  Sports Illustrated progress has

been made toward the new CBA. You think 

the owners  could end the lockout on good 

faith but I expect not to  happen. 

Anyway I  hope  resolve before March ends.

At least  in some parts like in Washington state 

we will be able to see minor league baseball. 

Mariners Julio Rodriguez

As we get  ready  for the major

leaguers to report whenever 

that is  Julio Rodriguez will be

the talk of  spring training  in

Peoria Arizona. 

Most likely  Julio will start the

season at Tacoma.  This won't 

make a difference whether the

major leagues start on time or

not.

I am sure the Mariners will have 

Julio in Seattle when he is expect

to  be playing  as a regular. If  he is

in the lineup he will probably play

some left and some right field. This

could  depend how healthy Kyle 

Lewis is  as well. 

We could see Lewis and Mitch Haniger 

share the dh spot though Lewis maybe 

there  more frequently. I hear those so

called experts for the Mariners to pick

up a dh but  my opinion a waste of time

unless Lewis isn't  healthy to start the

season. The Cougars on the other hand 

take on 

In other local sports  the  Washington 

Huskies beat the Washington State 

Cougars 78-70 on Saturday afternoon 

in Seattle. The same score when Cougars 

beat the Huskies Wednesday night.

The Cougars were ahead by six points at

halftime, however,  the Huskies went man

to  man on defense in the  second half to

make the difference. Terrell Brown Jr  scored

25 points to  lead the Huskies with 21 coming

in the second half. 

Emmitt Mathews Jr  who was out for a few

games returned scoring  15 points. He might

have been unrecognizable as he returned with 

a haircut. Jamal Bey third with 13 points. Michael 

Flowers led the Cougars with  30 points. Flowers 

made 7 out of 12 behind the 3-point  line. He was

the one primary Cougar to keep them  in the game.

The Huskies will be at home Monday night against 

UCLA in a makeup  game followed by Oregon on

Thursday night and Oregon State Saturday afternoon.

The Huskies  have had  hard time against the Ducks 

in recent years. The Cougars will  take on Oregon State

Monday night  in Corvallis followed in Pullman on

Thursday night. End the regular season against the

Oregon Ducks Saturday afternoon in Pullman.

Gonzaga Bulldogs continuing being number one

in the country  beating San Francisco  89-73 on 

the road Thursday night. The Bulldogs had four 

players  in double digits  led by center Chet Holmgren 

with 21 points.  Also, had 15 rebounds. The Bulldogs 

have one game left against St. Mary's Saturday night.

Minor Leaguers In Camp

Thursday I  read an article in the 

Seattle Times by Ryan Davish

where many of the  minor  leaguers 

are in camp for the Seattle Mariners.

They are not required to  be  there

until  March 4, however,  many of

the Mariners  top prospects are 

already. 

Since  major league lockout is 

still happening the Mariners 

 coaching staff including manager

Scott Servais are working with

the youngsters. What a nice benefit 

for both the players and  coaches.

We do hope the lockout is over 

soon  with  deadline of Monday 

February 28. It would be nice if

the major leaguers can be in

camp on March 4 too. Go  M's.

Huskies lose to Cougars

In the first game of two this

week the UW Huskies lost

WSU Cougars 78-70 in Pullman.

See if Huskies reverse on Saturday.

The Cougars had three players in double figures with two over 20.

PJ Fuller had his best game for 

the Huskies with 23 points. Terrell 

Brown and Bajema had 11 points

each.

I have been impressed with Fuller 

coming off the bench though he is starting for Demon Davis who is 

hurt. Also Emmitt Mathews Jr is

out as well. Though he didn't start

Bajema played 32 minutes.

The Huskies and Cougars are tied 

for sixth in the Pac-12 with 8-8 record.

Colorado is right ahead of them both

at five with record 10-7.

Both teams have four games remaining so making the NCAA

tournament is unlikely unless

win Pac-12 tournament.

Right now looks like Arizona will

win the conference with 14-1 

record. USC and UCLA are at 12-4.

Original Mariner passes away.

On Wednesday  morning  Julio Cruz

the first second baseman the Seattle 

Mariners  had passed away  from  cancer.

He was only 27 years old.

Cruz along with Rupert Jones were the 

heart and soul of the early  years. Cruz

had a great sense of humor keeping the

team loose. He lead the  Mariners  in

stealing bases as well.

After his career over he was baseball 

announcer for the Mariners on Spanish 

radio.  I am sure his humor there was

a relief as well. We will miss you Julio

Cruz.  Our thoughts  with your family.

Mariners Logan Gilbert

I am sure  as we hear about 

the baseball lockout is over

we will hear the sound of bats

and mets.

I  am  sure pitchers are throwing 

somewhere as well as the hitters

in some bat cage.

Logan Gilbert going into his 2nd

season  with the Mariners will 

have a breakout year. 

If things workout he should be 

the second  best starter behind

Robbie Ray. How many wins do

you think Logan will have?

Of course it will  depend on when

the season begins.  We hope the

players and owners will iron things

out by February 28th.

Both sides  need to realize they

are not bigger than the game or

the fans. Who gives  both the

money  they get. I do believe the

minimum salary should go up

and free agency start earlier.

Let  baseball get going. 

WSU Cougars Lose Tight One

The Washington State Cougars  almost 

upset the USC Trojans  Sunday afternoon 

losing 62-60.

The Cougars   much like the Huskies go

into an offensive  funk where they can't 

score for a period of time. This time 

cost them an upset and make the Pac-12 

standings more interesting.

The Cougars  were leading 60-57 just 

over two minutes  remaining  in  the game.

The Trojans scored a 3-pointer at the 2:15

time left in the game. Boogie  Ellis hit a 

sixteen  footer at the top of the game with

0.2 seconds remaining. Ellis had 21 points 

in the game.

The Cougars  were led by Tyrell Robert's

with 14 points. The Cougars  take on the

Huskies this Wednesday in Pullman 

followed by a game in Seattle on Saturday.

The  difference in both games could be

which  offense shows up especially at the 

end of the game. Both teams have struggled 

on offense. 

Washington Huskies Men's Basketball Lose

The Washington Huskies men's  basketball 

team was taken to the cleaners Saturday 

 night  by UCLA  Bruins on the road 76-50.

The Huskies have now  lost three in row.

They are to the three best teams in the  

Pac-12 conference.  It isn't easy to  win 

on the road and over the years against

UCLA  for sure. UCLA  doesn't  lose at

home often.

The Huskies  have had a good season in

the  Pac-12 but has shown  they have a 

ways to go  become among the elite. 

The Huskies  were  not able to  stop two

players for sure. Jalen  Clark had his biggest 

scoring  nightvof the season for the Bruins 

leading with 25 points. His season average 

is 7.7 per game. Had the Huskies been able 

to stop Clark around his average they may 

have won the game.  The other one was

David Singleton who had 22 points.  He to

was way above his average of 5.6 per game.

This shows the Huskies defense wasn't what 

it should  have  been. 

On offense  the Huskies were led by Terrell Brown 

JR with 13 points.  Jamal Bey had a good game 

with 12 points and 11 rebounds.  PJ Fuller had

10 points.  Not much else from the  rest of the

crew.

This coming week  the Huskies  take on their 

state rival the Cougars Wednesday in Pullman 

followed by game in Seattle on Saturday. They

will have to see who are the better between the

two. The Cougars  lost to UCLA  on Thursday 

76-56. They take on the talented Trojans Sunday 

afternoon. 

The Huskies are 8-7 in conference play while

the Cougars are 7-7. Huskies are sixth in Pac-12 

while Cougars are seventh. Let the best team 

win. 

Opening to Spring Training

We still don't know when spring training will open,
however, they announced on Friday that spring
training games would likely not start until March
8.

They are going to start negotiating beginning on

Monday, meeting every day until they reach an

agreement. They are giving a deadline of February

28 to iron out a deal for new collective bargaining

agreement. 

Not sure what will happen if they don't except that

the season will likely be delayed after that day. We

do hope both sides are serious in getting a deal done.

It is the best thing they do get it done because fans

I am sure will be tired if it goes longer. Both sides

need to think about the seriousness of this. The

loss of revenue won't help either as well. 

Stay tuned and let's see what happens. Enjoy

your weekend.  

Seahawk Thursday the defense

Pete Carroll made it official

that Clint Hurtt will be the

defense coordinator.

Hurtt says the defense will

change. I have to say true if

he wants to stay long term.

The Seahawks will not only 

play 4-3 since Pete Carroll has

been in Seattle they are going

to go with 3-4 defense at times 

as well.

This means two defensive ends 

with nose tackle in the middle.

Also playing four linebackers. I am

sure the Seahawks linebackers 

hear that as good news.

We will get into that next time when

speaking about the Seahawks. This will mean more speed and Hurtt  wants more aggressive play. This is good

news too.  The Seahawks need a defense that stops offense besides doing so in the red zone. Go Hawks!

Baseball Lockout Continue

This week  spring  training  should be 

starting for  the  Seattle  Mariners. 

The lockout is still on.

We will have to  see how long this will 

last. Will it go until spring  games are

scheduled to start or longer.

Maybe  neither side will  decide until 

regular  season is supposed to start 

and money is involved.  Stay tuned!

Seahawks Making Coaching Changes

The Seahawks have  made some 

changes in their coaching staff.

The question  is  will  it make them 

better. 

In recent years Pete Carroll hasn't 

seemed to  have  upgraded the 

assistant  coaches.  You think

when the opportunity arises 

upgrading would be  a good  thing.

At best they have hired someone 

at the same level as the predecessor.

Another thing we know  Pete Carroll 

won't be here forever so hire someone 

who will  take his spot when he is 

finished. Do you think anyone on the

staff can takeover or someone who

may have been with the  Seahawks 

before like Dan Quinn?

The Seahawks  reporting are going to

make defensive  line coach Clint Hurtt

the defensive coordinator. Also talk

about Ed Donatell former defensive 

coordinator at Denver coming over

in some capacity,  however, now

reported going to Minnesota Vikings 

as defensive  coordinator. Did Pete 

Carroll miss on that one? Another 

report interesting in hiring former

Chicago  Bears defensive coordinator 

Sean Desai in some capacity as well.

Wonder if  they will blow it there too.

On the offense the Seahawks fired

line coach Mike Solari. He has been 

replaced by Andy Dickerson who

came over from the Rams last year

as run game coordinator. See how

that goes  too.

Huskies Win Cougars Lose

Washington  Huskies  were able  to  win 

going away beating  Arizona State  87-64.

This will build confidence leading into 

Saturday's  afternoon  game against Arizona. 

The Huskies  again were led by Terrell Brown 

Jr with 19 points.  Brown has been  the Huskies 

best player if not the player of the year in the 

Pac-12 conference. Brown had eight assists

as well.  His only weakness offensively is he

doesn't  shoot  well behind the 3-point line. 

Fortunately he knows that so doesn't take too 

many shots. PJ Fuller  started for Deajon Davis 

who was injured  against Stanford. Fuller who

has played well coming off the bench had 16

points starting. 

The Washington State Cougars lost Arizona 

72-60. Cougars had their moments getting 

within six points late in the first  half but 

couldn't draw closer. In fact Arizona was 

able to  extend the  lead to 20 points before

losing by 12. Michael Flowers had 16 points 

for the Cougars  along with Noah Williams 

with 10 points  coming off the bench in 19

minutes. 

Next week  the Huskies and Cougars play USC 

and UCLA on the road.  Not an easy task for

either Huskies or Cougars. The following week 

the Huskies and Cougars will play each other. 

The first  game in Pullman followed  by the

second three days later in Seattle.

Mariners' Bullpen

First of all, owners end the lockout. You
want fans on your side. If spring training
doesn't start on time and drags until March
recommend cutting down the spring training
games.

As we know the bullpen was the major 

reason the Mariners won 90 games and

almost made the playoffs. This year they

might even be better. 

The emergence of Paul Sewald, Drew 

Steckenrider and Diego Castill at the 

end of the bullpen made quite the 

difference and they will return once

again. Whether they will be as good

we will see. 

Ken Giles and Andres Munoz added

to the roster will be an added boost.

Both pitchers will be able to pitch

in the 7th, 8th, or 9th innings as well.

Also, if the Mariners go into extra

innings too.

Casey Sadler was good coming out

as the first pitcher from the bullpen.

Especially after the trading deadline.

He should have the spot to himself

this year though another pitcher to

do so be good as well. 

If three of the five starting pitchers

at the very least can go six innings

on a regular basis will help for sure.

The Mariners bullpen be good for

three innings of baseball.

Anthony Misiewicz will likely be

the primary lefty out of the bullpen.

He was a bit inconsistent last season

so important for him to do even better.

His pitching would make the bullpen 

solid. 

This would only leave one or two 

other spots for the bullpen. Who 

fits the bill the Mariners will have

several choices. See how it works

out in spring training whenever it

starts. 

Justin Dunn might be one of the

two out of the bullpen along with

Justus Sheffield if neither one is

in the starting rotation. They may

end starting in triple-A or be

traded for that matter. Go M's. 

Huskies Lose Cougars Prefail

The Washington  Huskies  lost to  the

Stanford Cardinal  on Sunday 87-69.

This was after  beating  California 

pretty  easily.

The Cardinal had four players in 

double  figures while the Huskies 

only two. Terrell  Brown  again led

the Huskies with 30 points. PJ

Fuller is having a good  season 

coming off the  bench  had 11.

Jamal Bey  had only 3 points after 

scoring 20 against California.  

Emmitt  Mathews  had only 2 points.

For the  Huskies to win those two 

need to score in double figures. Also,

Daejon Davis injured  in early of the

game didn't  return and had no points.

It is  not bad splitting  games on the 

road but  this week  at home won't be

easy taking on Arizona State on Thursday 

and Arizona on Saturday. Arizona  State 

upset UCLA over the weekend  so that 

game will be harder to win. The Huskies 

will have to  play  well to split the series 

and  exceptional to win both.

The  Cougars  beat California  in another 

tight game 68-64. Though both close 

they won both on the road and that is what 

counts. The Cougars had four players in

double figures  led by Michael Flowers with

21 points.

Gonzaga  won both games during the week 

both  over  by 30 points. The recent game on

Saturday beating BYU on the road  90-57.

All five starters for Gonzaga scored in double 

figures They were led by freshman  center  Chet

Holmgren with 20 points. Also. Holmgren dominated

the  boards with 17 rebounds. Looks like Holmgren 

going  to  NBA next season. This week Gonzaga will 

be home this week against Pacific  and  St. Mary's 

Thursday and  Saturday night.

Washington Huskies Recruiting

The signing day was on Wednesday where
the Huskies were able to sign 15 players. They
figure to have at least 17 signings before finishing
up on 2022 recruits.

Though February 2 was an important day not

all high school players signed and the same 

goes for the transfer portal. The Huskies had

8 high schoolers along with 7 going through

the portal.

The top high school recruit most likely was

Ryan Otton tight end the brother of Cade Otton

the starting tight end for the Huskies this last

season and should be drafted in second. third

or fourth round. 

Michael Penix Jr might be the biggest draw

at quarterback through the portal especially

if he ends up the starter. Regardless of who

starts at the beginning of 2021 it is nice to

have depth at quarterback. 

Two other big recruits coming out of high

school locally were Denzel Boston wide  

receiver from Puyallup and defensive back

Tristan Dunn from Sumner. Both players

could redshirt this coming season with a 

lot of talent at their positions already.

The Washington State Cougars signed

21 players during the recruiting process.

Of course, we will see how they match

up with the Huskies over the next few years.

18 of the 21 signings by the Cougars were

high school players.  They had more time 

than the Huskies because they had their

head coach ahead of the Huskies. 

The Cougars had five players signed out 

of Washington State. They went elsewhere

to sign two quarterbacks. John Mateer high

schooler out of Little Elm, Texas and 

transfer Cameron Ward out of Incarnate

Word College and West Columbia Texas.

The Cougars signed six other players out

of Texas.  The highest state they signed 

players from.  We wish them all the best.

Washington Participating in Winter Olympics

There are several  Olympians from Washington  

state or are connected  to  teams in Seattle.

Jean- Luc Baker participating  in ice dancing 

is from Edmonds. Sean Beighton from Seattle 

is the coach for the USA  curling team.

Matty Be jersey the Seattle  Kraken  number one

pick in NHL  draft playing for  Michigan is on

the USA  hockey  team. Samuel Knazko plays 

for the Seattle  Thunderbirds will be playing for

the Slovakia hockey team.

Katie  Hensien who grew up on Crystal  Mountain 

will compete in Apine Skiing. Jacqueline Wiles 

 born in Portland  Oregon has been  a  member 

of the White Pass team will  be participating in

Alpine skiing as well. Novie McCabe of Winthrop 

will be doing cross country  skiing.

Two members of short speed skating  are Eunice

Lee of  Bellevue  and  Corinne Stoddard of Tacoma.

We root for all of you.

Huskies win on the road

 The Washington Huskies men's basketball team

continue to be a surprise since starting Pac-12
play. Outside the big loss to Oregon, they have
played well. The Huskies have won six out their
last seven games.

The Huskies do have a veteran group of players

mainly coming over as transfers so took them a

while to click.

They beat California Golden Bears on Thursday

night 84-63. Jamal Bey finally had a big game

leading the Huskies with 20 points.  Terrell Brown

and Daejon Davis each had 19. Emmitt Mathews

having a solid season had 11.

The Huskies now take on Stanford on Sunday.

Stanford lost to Washington State in a closer 

game 66-60. The Cougars will take on California

on Sunday.

The Cougars were led by Michael Flowers with 

22 points while Tyrell Roberts had 12. Only 

players scoring in double figures. The did get

9 points from DJ Rodman off the bench.

Spencer Jones was the high scorer for Stanford

and the only one in double figures with 24. The

Huskies will have to play good defense against

him.

The Huskies are still in fourth place with Oregon

at 7-3.  The Cougars are behind them with a 

record of 6-3. 

Next week it will be tough for the Huskies and

Cougars taking on the Arizona schools at home.