Seahawks Hire Head Coach

Wednesday the Seahawks hired their 

new head coach in Michael MacDonald.

With Ben Johnson decided to stay at

Detroit with the Lions there wasn't 

any other decision to go out. The 

Seahawks were likely going to hire the

best young offense coordinator or the

best young defensive coordinator.

The Washington Commanders were 

expected to sign Johnson so the 

Seahawks has to move fast before 

they would lose MacDonald. The 

Seahawks could have been his first

choice anyway.

Now the keys are who will be coming

to Seattle as the assistant coaches.

I am sure an up and coming offensive

and defensive coordinators will be named.

MacDonald will put a stamp on the

defense for sure. 

Since the news came out only few hours 

ago we will let you will be on the staff

with MacDonald. It will be interesting 

to see what players will and who will

not. News is MacDonald is signing a 

six year day. Being the youngest head

coach at 36 years of age he could

be in Seattle for a long time depending

on his success. 

Stay tuned what happens over the next

few days and weeks. 

a 

Mariners Make Another Trade

On Tuesday  the Seattle  Mariners  made 

another trade. Not as significant  as  the

one made on Monday  however it could 

back a difference  on the roster or another

trade that could happen as well.

The Mariners  acquired  infielder/outfielder 

Samad Taylor from the Kansas City Royals 

for a player named later or cash considerations. 

This may mean the Mariners  could trade Dylan 

Moore or adding more depth. Also the Mariners are

expected sign veteran Nick Solak to a minor

league deal and invited to trying camp.

The trade in which the Mariners  acquired 

Jorge Polanco  from  the Twins  opens doors

to the roster for competition.  The Mariners 

have 12 position spots  pretty  much set now.

So several players will fight for the remaining 

spot on the opening day roster. Right now 

Dylan  Moore  is the most likely  candidate 

unless the Mariners  decide to trade him

freeing up more money. A trade likely would

bring in another pitcher. There has been rumors 

on that front. 

In other local sports  news. Ben Johnson the

offensive  coordinator of the Detroit Lions 

has decided to  stay where he is at. This means

defensive coordinator  Michael Macdonald 

could  be  the Seahawks  next head coach.

The Washington Commanders were sure that

Johnson  would be their next head coach. It

will be interesting to  see  where the Commanders 

to get their next head coach. Does that mean

the Seahawks  have to act quickly or not. We

will see what happens. What we do know the

Seahawks  will have new coordinators as they

both have new jobs. Not a big surprise since 

whoever is the next Seahawks  head coach

would bring in his own guy. Will the Seahawks 

name the new head coach before the weekend 

or wait until the Super Bowl is over. Stay tuned.

Mariners Make a Trade

On Monday the Mariners  made a

trade without giving up one of their

young pitchers while acquiring a

player from the Minnesota  Twins. 

The Mariners  acquired Jorge Polanco 

from the Twins  for four players. The 

two primary  players with major league 

experience  were Anthony Desclafani 

who the Mariners  had acquired  from

the Giants with Mitch Haniger and

reliever Justin  Topa who had a good 

season  in  Seattle  in  his only year

in a Mariners  uniform. Desclafani 

had been acquired  to add depth  to

the Mariners  starting  rotation.  With

the Twins he will start. Topa will be an 

added addition to the Twins bullpen. 

The Twins also received pitcher Darren

Bowen who pitched last year in the low

minors and is not among the Mariners 

top 30 prospects. They did receive #3

prospect outfielder  Gabriel Gonzales.

Though a tough player to give up the

Mariners  didn’t  give up any of their

top infield prospects  or catcher Harry 

Ford. We know the athletic ability of

Ford he could play many other positions 

other ball field.

Polanco should be the Mariners second

baseman though he can play third. Second

is his best position. Polanco missed half

of last year however the Mariners  feel his

injuries are behind him. This means Josh

Rojas and Luis Urias  will share or platoon

at third base. Rojas may play some second

when Polanco needs a day off. Polanco is

a switch hitter so we could see him dh on

occasion  against a right hander. We can see

Cal Raleigh  dh on occasion  against lefties 

on his day off at catcher. 

Mitch Garver is expected  to  be the main dh

on the season. He may catch on occasion.

How often depends whether  the Mariners  go

with two or three catchers on opening day.

The Mariners  do go with three catchers means 

Dylan  Moore  will be the fifth outfielder  and

utility player along with the third catcher, Rojas or 

Urias and Haniger or Dominic Canzone on the 

bench. The Mariners  could make another trade 

for another outfielder. 

The Mariners  could still  sign Seattle native 

Blake Snell to  a contract though will be costly

as a free agent. They could move  Bryce Miller 

or  Bryan Woo  to the bullpen as a long reliever.

Go M's. 

 

News For Seahawks New Head Coach

This week  the Seahawks  could name

their new head coach since two candidates 

teams on Sunday  lost in the Conference 

Championship games. 

The first game the Kansas City  Chiefs 

beat the Baltimore  Ravens so their

defensive  coordinator  Michael  Macdonald 

is thought of being the next head coach of

the Seahawks.  

The Detroit  Lions  looked like  they were

going to beat the San Francisco 49ers

for much of the game being ahead by

17 points before some turnovers happen 

and they ened up losing by ten. Now the

Lions offensive  coordinator  Ben Johnson 

is available  to  be interviewed as well. 

There is  thoughts he will be  the  next

head coach of the Washington Commanders.

No naming of a Seahawks  coach this week

likely  won't  happen  until  after the Super 

Bowl.  Maybe  there is a dark horse  for the

Seahawks  position.  Knowing general manager 

John Schneider we never know. It would be 

nice to hear this week however getting the right

one is the most important thing.  Go Hawks!

Cougars, Huskies and Zags All Win

It was a great Saturday as the three 

major men's basketball teams in

Washington State all won. Not 

something that happens all the time.

I would say Gonzaga was really the 

only team expected to win while

the Cougars and Huskies we were 

hoping they would.

Gonzaga actually was the closest 

game which was expected to be

a blow out. The Cougars won their

game in double digits while the

Huskies as a blow out.

Gonzaga beat Pacific 82-73 on the road.

Pacific made it tough on the Zags leading

by one at half time 35-34. The Zags had

foul trouble in the first half as well as

poor shooting. The second half was 

different as they shot better and went

on a 12-2 run. Pacific wouldn't let the

Zags off the hook for a while though

they weren't able to win.

The Zags had all five starters score

in double figures as they did in their

previous game to. Graham Ike who

missed some time in the first half

for foul trouble led the Zags with

20 points. Nolan Hickman who played

the whole game had 19 points. Anton

Watson who missed time in first

half as well ended up leading the Zags

in rebounding with eleven. Also he

had 12 points. 

The Zags play home on Tuesday 

against Loyola Marymount. They

are 3-4 heading into the game. 

On Saturday they play St. Mary's

which might be the toughest

game so far as they are 7-0 in

conference and have won eight

straight.

The Cougars beat Colorado at

home to sweep the two home

games beating Utah on Wednesday.

The Cougars showed it is tough

for road teams to win in the Pac-12

conference though it is possible.

Final WSU 78 Colorado 69

The Cougars had control of the game

most of the game. The Buffaloes are

a very good team. Had they won the

game they would be on the top of the

Pac-12 conference instead they are 

in third place behind Arizona and

Oregon. 

The Cougars shot better from the 

field making six more field goals.

They were pretty even on three point

shots as Colorado made one more.

The Cougars had four players score

in double figures. Jaylen Wells and

Myles Rice were tied in the lead with

17 points each. Wells was second in 

rebounds with 10. Isaac Jones led 

with 11 rebounds and had 13 points.

The Huskies controlled the game 

from the start on  the way to a 

score 98-73.  Wasn't a good road

trip for Utah as they were routed 

by the Cougs on Wednesday. The

Huskies showed what they are 

capable of when they are at their

best.

Keion Brooks Jr dominated scoring

27 points on the night. The Huskies

had four starters in double figures.

Paul Mulcahy had another great

game scoring 18 points. The coaching 

brass must have told him to score

more points. He certainly look like

he was having fun.

Sahvir Wheeler was having fun dishing

the ball as he had 10 assists on the 

night. Braxton Meah who was having

a good game took a fall late in the

first half tripping on a fellow Husky

coming down the court after dunking

a ball. He twisted his ankle and missed

the rest of the game. Wilhelm Breidenbach

who started at center had to play most

of the second half. Have to see whether

Meah will be back for the next game.

The Huskies and Cougars don't play

until Saturday when they face each

other in Seattle. The Huskies should

be favored since they play their best

ball at home however don't count out

the Cougars who are having a good 

season. Even with the win the Huskies

are in 10th place in the conference 

with Oregon State and USC below

them.  The Beavers though swept 

Arizona and Arizona State this week 

at home. The following week the 

Huskies and Cougars play the Beavers 

and Ducks the following week on

the road so won't be easy for both 

Huskies and Cougars. Splitting the

series for both seems to be the

best scenario. In the meantime

face each other first. 

Seahawks Still Waiting

It had been a few weeks since Pete

Carroll was moved to advisor and

won't be the head coach anymore.

Some thought Dan Quinn former 

defensive coordinator would get 

the job. He may still but not likely

the first choice other wise he 

have the job already. 

Several head coaching jobs have 

already been filled. Washington 

Commanders an Seahawks are 

the only ones left. Going into this 

weekend candidates could be 

from Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore

Ravens, Detroit Lions and San 

Francisco 49ers.  Chiefs and 49ers

don't have any rising candidates

spoken of any way. If they go to

the Super Bowl then the Seahawks

could name a coach this coming

week. 

The Seahawks have some free agents

coming up this off season. The three

key players who will stay or not will

quarterback Geno Smith,  Jamal Adams

and Bobby Wagner. Geno and Adams 

are not free agents while Wagner is. 

Will Bobby Wagner return right now 

it would be a guess. We will get more

on the roster and free agents after 

the naming of the coach.  Go Hawks!

Gonzaga Wins a Close One At Home

As I expected the game between

between Gonzaga and University

of San Francisco would be a good 

one and wasn't a disappointment.

Gonzaga won 77-72.

The Zags led by one at halftime 

however a run in the second half

got them a 12 point lead. The Dons

would not give up as their defense 

got them back into the game reducing

the score down to three before the

end. 

The Zags played their starters most of the

way so only had four points off the bench.

Graham Ike who lead the Zags with 22 

points missed sometime along with Anton

Watson who was second in scoring with

15 in the first half being in foul trouble.

Both of them had seven rebounds to lead 

the Zags to. All five starters scored in

double figures.

The game came to the foul line. The

Zags made 22 of 34 foul shots while

the Dons made 11 of 14.  Most of the

Zags foul shots happened in the second

half as the Dons were trying to get back 

into the game.

The Zags will play at Pacific on Saturday

night. Pacific isn't doing well this year 

being on the West Coast Conference

so the Zags should win easily. The Zags 

need to win all or most of the games

to get into the NCAA tournament. 

The Zags are in third place of the West 

Coast conference with a 5-1 record. 

St. Mary's who is at top with 6-0 the.

Zags will play them early February. Be 

an  important game for them to win. 

Santa Clara is second with 6-1 record. 

They beat Gonzaga in their first outing 

at home 77-76. They play again on 

February 24 in Spokane. Go Zags!