Sounders sign German midfielder Christian Tiffert, trade Alvaro Fernandez to the Chicago Fire

By Money Mike


The MLS summer transfer window officially closed today and normally during this period the Seattle Sounders would not make any moves, but not this time. Earlier today, the Sounders made a couple of big moves as they signed German midfielder Christian Tiffert to a DP contract. MLS clubs are allowed only three Designated Players and the prior to the deal, Seattle's three DP's were Fredy Montero, Alvaro Fernandez and Mauro Rosales. To free up that last DP slot, the Seattle Sounders traded Alvaro Fernandez to the Chicago Fire for Allocation Money. Remember Fernandez was originally linked with a loan move to Fredy Montero's former Colombian club Deportivo Cali, but that deal eventually fell through. That looked to be the only move they made, but it appears that 22 year old Honduran international Mario Martinez has signed with the Sounders on loan from Real Espana, but that deal hasn't been confirmed yet. Martinez is currently with the Honduran national team in London for the 2012 Olympics.

When I got up earlier in the morning, I read on Seattle Times that the Sounders reportedly signed Christian Tiffert as a Designated Player which was confirmed at that time by his club 1. FC Kaiserslautern and his agent. Since then I've been keeping track of all the reports regarding this. What the Sounders would do to free up a DP slot. Then about 12:30, the Sounders say the deal wasn't officially done yet which almost makes you wonder if the deal would ever be completed. Then about 1:45, I read a tweet that stated that there was a big trade to announce and it apparently involved the Sounders as they traded Fernandez to Chicago. The former German under-21 international is a talented player, very good on the ball, but he's coming off a disappointing season. Obviously it wasn't just him, 1. FC Kaiserslautern absolutely sucked last season which saw them Relegated from the German Bundesliga.

Alvaro Fernandez has left the team after making 55 league appearances for the Rave Green and scoring 13 goals. When Fernandez joined the team in late July 2010 following the trade of Freddie Ljungberg, Fernandez was almost an unknown because at the start of his career, he's been traveling everywhere looking for a club. I mean, he spent time with seven clubs in his first five seasons of his career and following the World Cup there was a report saying that the Sounders were gonna sign Fernandez and following the Ljungberg trade, the Sounders used a DP tag on him. He didn't get that much playing time late in 2010 however because the Sounders still had a young kid named Sanna Nyassi. In 2011, Fernandez started the first two games but then he was dropped to the bench and a lot of us were beginning to think that his guy is useless, but then we lost Zakuani to a major injury, Fernandez stepped in and scored nine goals which is his career best. 2012, has been a rough year for Flaco, but he did score in his last two matches. Fernandez finishes his Sounders career with two U.S. Open Cup titles in his resume.

I think the Sounders front office did a great job today. Tiffert is a guy who brings leadership to this team, much like Mauro Rosales, considering he was the team captain over at 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Fernandez will be missed in Seattle for sure, but with Zakuani close to 100% and the struggles that Fernandez has gone through, I think the move had to be made.

U.S. women rally from two down with four unanswered goals to defeat France 4-2

By Money Mike


So we all know that the Olympics don't officially start until Friday. However, the only exception to that is Olympic soccer kicked off with the women's tournament today. Six women's matches were played today but the only match I care about is a match that features the United States. Like earlier today at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland, and yes folks this was an official Olympic game. This U.S. came back from two goals down as they scored four unanswered goals to defeat France 4-2. Good way to kick off the 2012 Olympic tournament for the two time Olympic Champions. Despite the result, I wasn't overly impressed with the midfielders. Most the game, they just seem to have a knack on giving the ball away to the opposition and other times, their teammates just fall asleep at the wrong time. Hopefully USA head coach Pia Sundhage can work with her team in that area during practice leading up to their next match on Saturday.

It took only 12 minutes for the deadlock to be broken, unfortunately, it was France who struck early. France's long ball was headed away by Amy LePeilbet but right to Gaetane Thiney and from 20 yards out Thiney strikes the ball brilliantly in to the back of the net to put France ahead 1-0. Hope Solo did get a fingertip to it but not enough.

Two minutes later, the U.S. we're two goals down. Elise Bussaglia took the corner for France on the far side of the pitch. The U.S. fail to clear the ball out of their area and Marie-Laure Delie makes them pay as she rips her shot into the net to put France up 2-0 over the two-time defending Olympic Champions.

The United States would climb back into this one in the 19th minute. Megan Rapinoe, who is one of four players from the Sounders Women's team, took the corner from the near side and what we all know is that if the corner kick finds the head of Abby Wambach, it's more than likely going to be a goal and that's what happened here. Rapinoe floated the ball to the far post and it was Abby Wambach who got up and headed the ball back across and inside the left post cut the French lead to one.

With just over a half an hour gone by, the United States would equalise and it was another one of four Sounders Women on this team, you guys may have heard of this person before, her name is Alex Morgan. Following an offside call against France, Hope Solo (speaking of the Sounders Women), booted the ball into the French half which missed the head of Abby Wambach but ball found Alex Morgan in the box. Morgan waited for ball to bounce right in front of her before chipping the ball over the head of French goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi and in to back of the goal to tie this baby up at two goals a piece. Remember last year following USA's World Cup defeat to Japan, I talked a little bit about Alex Morgan and why she should've started and went ahead and stated that she was the future of this U.S. Women's team. Of course she was just making a jump to the international level and she had nine international goals. Now fast forward to July 25, 2012, and the 23 year old has become one of the best in the game. That equalising goal was Alex Morgan's 28th in her international career in her 43rd cap and I'll bet she's gonna reach 100 caps way before the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.

In the 56th minute, the United States would get their third unanswered goal to take their first lead of the match. Megan Rapinoe poked the ball in the middle for Carli Lloyd and remember the goal she scored against Brazil in the 2008 Gold Medal match in Beijing? When she took one touch and just cracked one inside the far post? Well, this goal against France was no different. Rapinoe fed the ball to Lloyd who took one touch and then BANG!! Right footed from outside the area and the goalkeeper had no chance of stopping that one and the U.S. who were 2-0 down earlier in the game were now 3-2 up.

10 minutes later the U.S. would add a fourth. Once again, Megan Rapinoe was involved in the play as she played the ball long to the far side of the pitch and French defender Corine Franco made a mistake by sliding in to try to break up the play which gave Tobin Heath so much space to run at the French defense. Heath took it toward the end line and squared the ball across which missed Abby Wambach but right there was Alex Morgan at the far post to tap it in for her second of the game to make it 4-2 for the U.S. and that's how it would end.


Scoring summary:

France - Gaetane Thiney 1 (12')

France - Marie-Laure Delie 1 (14')

United States - Abby Wambach 1 (19')

United States - Alex Morgan 1 (32')

United States - Carli Lloyd 1 (56')

United States - Alex Morgan 2 (66')


Misconduct summary:

NONE


Lineups:

United States - Hope Solo; Amy LePeilbet, Rachel Buehler, Christie Rampone, Kelley O'Hara; Megan Rapinoe (Sydney Leroux 84'), Shannon Boxx (Carli Lloyd 17'), Lauren Cheney, Tobin Heath; Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan (Amy Rodriguez 74')

France - Sarah Bouhaddi; Corine Franco, Wendie Renard, Ophelie Meilleroux (Laura Georges 46'), Sonia Bompastor; Camile Abily (Sandrine Soubeyrand 71'), Louisa Necib (Eugenie le Sommer 46'), Elise Bussaglia; Elodie Thomis, Marie-Laure Delie, Gaetane Thiney

Ichiro traded to the Yankees!

By Kshell

Many thought this day would never come but shockingly it has. The Seattle Mariners traded away Ichiro Suzuki to the New York Yankees for two pitching prospects. What the Mariners received at this point doesn't matter what matters is the fact the face of the franchise since 2001 has been traded away. Since 2001 Ichiro has occupied mostly right field and some centerfield while batting leadoff for the Mariners. He had 10 consecutive 200+ hit seasons for the Mariners but his production has dramatically declined in 2011 and this year. Ichiro actually was the one who asked to be traded as he probably would like to win to end his career. Jack Zduriencik didn't receive much in this deal but two b-list pitching prospects. This was a trade that was more about addition by subtraction. This trade was so the Mariners franchise can finally move forward. So the new faces behind Felix Hernandez can finally emerge. Much like the Seahawks last year getting rid of Matt Hasselbeck so the youth can take over this roster the Mariners are doing just that with today's trade. The Mariners franchise led by for better or for worse Howard Lincoln and Chuck Armstrong are showing they are allowing Zduriencik to do what he wants. For that you have to be excited knowing our general manager has no restrictions and most likely never did.

As if Zduriencik's job hasn't been hard enough in Seattle under his watch the two greatest Mariners of all-time had awkward endings. Ken Griffey Jr. the Mariners greatest player ever had a nice comeback in 2009 but in 2010 was horrible. Griffey ended up turning the clubhouse against manager Don Wakamatsu which cost him his job as Griffey quit midseason. I do believe Ichiro is the second greatest Mariner of all-time. He'll finish his Mariners career with .322 career batting average, 2,533 career hits, and 438 stolen bases. He won the MVP and rookie of the year in 2001. He has won two batting titles in 2001 and 2004. He has led the league in hits seven times including 2004 when he had 262 hits which is a major league record breaking George Sissler's record back in 1920. Ichiro has won the All-Star game MVP in 2007 as he was selected to 10 all-star games and won 10 gold gloves. He also won three silver slugger awards in Seattle. Like Griffey and most athletes for that matter his career didn't have that fairy tale ending. Instead his ending leaves a sour taste in your mouth but that is sports. Sadly this is the typical ending we must endear as a fan base when one of our beloved heroes is at the end of his career.

In 2001 the Mariners had just lost Randy Johnson in 1998, Ken Griffey Jr after the 1999 season and Alex Rodriguez after the 2000 season. The Mariners were desperately looking for the new star and they got that in Ichiro Suzuki who came over from Japan. In 2001 Ichiro took the league by storm as he become only the second Mariners player to ever win the MVP award as he led the Mariners to a record tying 116 wins. During that season he hit .350/.381/.457. Had 242 hits, 8 HR's, 127 runs, 69 RBI's and 56 SB's. He took home the rookie of the year award, batting crown, all-star game, gold glove, silver slugger and of course MVP. During that postseason Ichiro hit 16-43(.421) with three RBI's, seven runs scored and 3 stolen bases as the Mariners lost to the New York Yankees in the ALCS.  In 2001 that was a magical time for Ichiro as he came in so mysterious like and immediately dominated the game of baseball. That year would start a run of 10 straight seasons where he had 200+ hits, made the all-star team and won a gold glove. Ichiro due to being such a great player in 2007 was resigned for 5 years at 90 million paying him 18 million per year. The Mariners have been restricted due to that wage and Ichiro's production fell off as he is now 38 years old. Ichiro has declined which is natural but what he gave this franchise in 2001 shouldn't be forgotten as that was the last great moment for the Mariners.

Ichiro was traded for right handed pitchers D.J. Mitchell and Danny Farquhar. Mitchell this year for the Yankees has appeared in four games having pitched 4.2 innings with a 3.86 ERA, 2.14 WHIP and 2 strikeouts. This year in the minor leagues he appeared in 15 games making 14 starts where he is 6-4 having thrown 85.2 innings he has a 5.04 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 72 K's(7.6 K's per 9). For his career he has appeared in 94 games making 87 starts. He has thrown 538 innings sporting a 3.56 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 421 K's(7.0 K's per 9). Farquhar has been in three different organizations this year in the minor leagues and has pitched only two innings in the major leagues giving up three runs. In his minor league career he has appeared in 208 games where he is 14-17 with 59 saves in 282.2 innings. He has a 3.06 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 290 K's(9.2 K's per 9). The Mariners didn't receive much as currently Ichiro is no longer the player he was. Ichiro this season is hitting .261/.288/.353 with only 15 stolen bases. Ichiro last season was worth 0.3 WAR and this year he is at 1.4 due to mainly his defense not his bat. The Mariners didn't receive much and would have gotten more had they dealt him back when I suggested in July of 2010 but that isn't the point. The point is this franchise is moving forward which should be rewarding to so many fans who have questioned this managements leadership over the years.

This day is a bittersweet day for me. Ichiro for years was my favorite Mariner and if I were going to the Mariners-Yankees game tonight I'd cheer Ichiro as he deserves to be cheered. He has done a lot for this franchise and will be our second first ballot hall of famer. Still his production has fallen and this was a move that had to be made. Hopefully Ichiro can finally taste some team success being in New York and hopefully the Mariners young kids can finally grow to be what we had hoped. Zduriencik didn't receive much for Ichiro and they pretty much released him. That shouldn't be held against Jack Z though as Ichiro is 38 with a big contract and is declining fast. He no longer brings in fans as Mariners attendance has been dwindling for some years now. Ichiro will leave Seattle like Matt Hasselbeck, Ken Griffey Jr, Gary Payton and many other stars before him on awkward terms. Saying goodbye to your superstar is tough to do especially when he still views himself as a superstar when in reality he is no longer that guy. The Mariners had to make this move, this move doesn't hurt or help the Mariners right now and I'll always remember the great run Ichiro gave this franchise. I wish Ichiro luck and more importantly I hope the Mariners can start playing some meaningful games in September something they haven't done since 2003.

My experience at the Everett AquaSox game

By Kshell

This weekend for the first time in my life I went and saw the Everett AquaSox in person. The reason I saw this short season single A team was the Mariners #3 draft pick overall Mike Zunino was set to make his pro debut. The AquaSox are a short drive for me so I decided to go check out our single A affiliate up in Everett. With the Seattle Mariners struggling and the Tacoma Rainiers probably too far of a drive for me to make consistently I'll probably be attending more AquaSox games which by far as the best mascot I've seen. The atmosphere at these games are fun and for a single A ball park I really enjoyed it. A dream of mine was to have a single A team play in my hometown of Longview, Washington. Since I've moved I'll just enjoy the AquaSox instead. In this particular game the AquaSox were taking on the Tri-City Dust Devils(Colorado Rockies affiliate) in what was going to be Mike Zunino's pro debut set for July 13th, 2012 on a Friday. As is usually the case in this state the weather played a factor for me as the game on Friday night was rained out. It was a shame as I would miss Zunino's pro debut as the tickets for my section were sold out on Saturday. I exchanged my tickets on Sunday for root beer float day instead.

For $6 you can drink all the root beer floats that you would like. I had three root beer floats for this game as relievers Mark Bordonaro(25th round pick 2012 draft) and Marcos Reyna(43rd round pick 2011 draft) signed my cup. The root beer floats were pretty tasty and it was nice talking to the players. They enjoyed it up here in Everett like I pointed out to them some single A teams are in the middle of nowhere at least Everett you can still have somewhat of a night life being close to Seattle. Unlike the rainy day on Friday the weather on Sunday was beautiful and my cup that was signed is now hanging on my shelf. For the guys down in single A they are still years away from the major leagues. They are still enjoying the game and having fun. They haven't quite gone through the grind of this being work which was refreshing to see in talking with the players before the game. Eventually some will move on to higher levels, few to the major leagues. While for most of these guys they'll never reach the majors that is just the harsh reality. Playing professional baseball is still fun and I'm glad to see these guys are enjoying themselves. Also the root beer floats I fully endorse that giveaway especially on a nice sunny July game. After I had my first one though it was time to watch the game as our AquaSox were ready to take on the Tri-City Dust Devils.

With the game started I was interested in seeing the Mariners 3rd pick overall Mike Zunino out of Florida. I also curious to see former Praire High School and Washington State Cougar Taylor Ard play. The picture to my right is of Ard and I felt he had a good day at the plate. In his first at bat he worked the count full before ripping a double down the third base line for a stand up double. He fouled out away some two pitch strikes which was nice to see him stay alive at the plate. In his second at bat Ard had the count in his favor as the pitcher fell behind 3-0 and after throwing Ard back to back strikes it was full count once again. Ard this time grounded out weakly to shortstop for the out. In his third at bat in the 7th Ard worked the count to 2-1 in his favor before flying out to right center field on a good swing. Overall I liked Ard's three at bats as I was impressed with his eye. I liked Ard's swings at the plate and someday he could be a nice player for this organization. The only problem I have with Ard is he is right handed and to date doesn't appear to have great power up until now. He has plenty of ways to go such as everyone on this club. Mainly I was impressed with Ard's at bats and the former Cougar is trying to be another productive Cougar first baseman for the Mariners like John Olerud was.

The main reason I went to the AquaSox game in the first place was to see prized prospect Mike Zunino. Zunino who was the third pick overall this past draft in 2012 out of the University of Florida. Zunino the previous day in the double header had a double his first at bat and since this game has homered three times in two games. In this particular game Zunino had a mixed result as he batted 5th and was DH all weekend. The first at-bat he saw just two pitches before grounding out. What I liked what right when he came to the dugout due to my seats I saw him telling the coach what the pitch was and the location showing he knew what it was just missed it. In his second at-bat he led the inning off with a base hit to center which was a rope. He had a good swing on the ball and it was a good solid base hit. His third at bat was a rough one as he struck out on a pitch in the dirt. I don't care if you are the #3 pick overall the draft or drafted in the 40th round you are going to have at-bats that makes you look silly. Overall I liked what little I saw of Zunino and hopefully his future in Seattle someday is very bright. The Mariners haven't had a catcher since Dan Wilson and the hope is Zunino can be that guy.

My experience at the AquaSox game was great. Like I said even though we lost 7-0 the AquaSox are still in first place in the Northwest League. It was nice to see the future of this franchise compete at the minor league league level. More importantly with the Mariners being so down it was nice to go to a baseball game and enjoy myself. I didn't care about the score as I cared more about having fun and just watching some good ole baseball being played. That was the most important part of my trip is that it was a fun game and the future appears bright for our Seattle Mariners. I hope someday to see some of these guys at Safeco Field in the next coming years!

Sounders come away with a point against the New York Red Bulls, 2-2 draw

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders looked to pick up where they left off from their Open Cup semifinal victory against Chivas USA during midweek and pick up three points against the New York Red Bulls in their final trip to the east coast this season, but in the end both teams settled for a point. The Sounders didn't get the win, but they did come away with a valuable road point after a 2-2 draw against the New York Red Bulls in Harrison, New Jersey. The Sounders return home this Wednesday for a friendly match against European Champions Chelsea. Their next league game won't be until July 28th when they travel to Dicks Sporting Goods Park to take on the Colorado Rapids.

The Sounders had control of this match early on and their first real opportunity came in the 11th minute. Brad Evans fed the ball to Eddie Johnson who did very well to get around Rafa Marquez. Evans continued his run and Johnson found him with a great through ball and Evans had a chance to put it away but Bill Gaudette came out and got a hand to it. This is the second time the Sounders faced Gaudette this season. The first time they faced him was when the LA Galaxy traveled to Seattle. Gaudette, who was acquired a couple days ago from the Galaxy, was making his Red Bulls debut in replace of rookie goalkeeper Ryan Meara who was out with a hip injury.

Five minutes later, the Sounders would open the scoring. Adam Johansson joined in on the attack and was found by Ozzie Alonso. Johansson took one touch before setting himself up to whip in a very good cross to the far post and Alvaro Fernandez was there to volley it home for his second goal in as many matches and the Sounders took a 1-0 lead. Brandon Barklage got caught at the wrong place at the wrong time and Johansson read it perfectly and found a wide open Fernandez and there was nothing Bill Gaudette could do there.

In the 21st minute, the Red Bulls had to make a change defensively. Rafa Marquez, who has been criticised by the media all season, left the game with a hip injury and was replaced by Wilman Conde, Jr. After the sub the Red Bulls changed their tactics offensively with Thierry Henry pushing up top. By the way, that was the only sub the Red Bulls made in the game. That just goes to show that head coach Hans Backe doesn't trust his bench.

In the 24th minute, the Red Bulls pulled one back and leveled this match up. Joel Lindpere poked the ball to Connor Lade who maneuvered around Adam Johansson. Lade fed Kenny Cooper who gave it a go from 25 yards out which was punched away by Bryan Meredith, but right there was Sebastien Le Toux to tap home the rebound and level it up on his Red Bulls debut against his old club. Le Toux was acquired by the Red Bulls from the Vancouver Whitecaps in exchange for Dane Richards, so we won't see him in Seattle this year. As a matter of fact, his return to Seattle last year during his time with the Philadelphia Union may be his last visit because his contract expires after this season and there are rumors that suggest that he'll move to Europe during the winter. Anyway, on the play that resulted in the goal. It looked like Marc Burch wasn't paying any attention. You cannot expect Bryan Meredith to do all the dirty work defensively, when he punches the ball aside, somebody has to get over there and clear the ball out of danger.

In the 32nd minute, the mistake nearly led to a Sounders goal. Connor Lade gave the ball straight away to Alvaro Fernandez. Fernandez sent Eddie Johnson away down the left hand side. Johnson put on the breaks and slowed things down before cutting to his right foot and drilling a shot to the far post which forced a big time save from Bill Gaudette. That mistake in the midfield showed that Connor Lade, who signed with the Red Bulls as a homegrown player during the offseason, has quite a bit to work on as the season progresses as well as his young career.

The score remained level until the 61st minute when the New York Red Bulls took advantage of a mistake in the midfield and took a 2-1 lead. The Sounders started the second half with some sloppy passing and the Red Bulls would make them pay as Brandon Barklage found Joel Lindpere who was kept onside by Jeff Parke and Adam Johansson. Lindpere cut inside of Jeff Parke and slid the ball inside the near post for his third goal of the season. You may think that Bryan Meredith could've made the save, but two things here. One, when Lindpere cut to his left foot, Meredith started to cheat toward the far post. And Two, as the shot came in, Meredith was screened by Jeff Parke which resulted in a late reaction by the goalkeeper because he couldn't see where Lindpere was going.

Following that goal, the Sounders brought on Fredy Montero in place of Mauro Rosales and in the 67th minute, the Colombian would make an impact. Adam Johansson found Brad Evans making the good run down the right hand side. Evans squared the ball across for Fredy Montero to slam it home for his fifth goal of the season and his fifth against the New York Red Bulls. There were a few more chances on both ends of the ball, but in the end, the Sounders come away with a good point on the road in a tough venue. They still sit in third place with a record of 8-5-7.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Alvaro Fernandez 2 (Adam Johansson 1) 16'

New York Red Bulls - Sebastien Le Toux 5 (unassisted) 24'

New York Red Bulls - Joel Lindpere 3 (Brandon Barklage 4) 61'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 5 (Brad Evans 1, Adam Johansson 2) 67'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Marc Burch (caution; foul) 44'

New York Red Bulls - Connor Lade (caution; foul) 53'

Seattle Sounders FC - Andy Rose (caution; handball) 66'

New York Red Bulls - Thierry Henry (caution; dissent) 74'


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Bryan Meredith; Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Marc Burch; Brad Evans (Servando Carrasco 85'), Osvaldo Alonso, Andy Rose (Leo Gonzalez 77'), Alvaro Fernandez; Mauro Rosales (Fredy Montero 62'), Eddie Johnson

New York Red Bulls - Bill Gaudette; Brandon Barklage, Markus Holgersson, Rafa Marquez (Wilman Conde 21'), Roy Miller; Joel Lindpere, Dax McCarty, Connor Lade; Sebastien Le Toux, Kenny Cooper, Thierry Henry

Breaking down 2012 vs 1992 dream team: Who wins?

By Kshell

This past week Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant made the controversial statement that this 2012 U.S. men's olympic basketball team could defeat the vaunted 1992 "Dream Team" which featured 11 NBA hall of famers and became the first team inducted into the basketball hall of fame. That statement of course caused some back lash from the 1992 members in particular Michael Jordan who found the comments laughable and Scottie Pippen who said the 1992 team would defeat this team by 25 points. In this upcoming post I'll break down the teams and give some perspective of how the players were at the time of the games. I actually think this hypothetical game would be a lot closer than many want to believe. What is hurting the 2012 team is the fact the 1992 team was so dominant, has some legendary names, everything in the past is viewed as being better than the present and more importantly injuries. The 2012 team is without Dwight Howard(6-time all-star, 3-time defensive player of the year, 5-time first-team all-nba, 4-time first-team all defensive) , Derrick Rose(NBA MVP, Rookie of the year, 3-time all-star, first-team all NBA), Dwyane Wade(8-time all-star, NBA Finals MVP, all-star game MVP, 2-time first-team all-nba) and Chris Bosh(7-time all-star). Howard, Wade, and Bosh all helped team USA win Olympic gold in 2008 while Rose helped team USA win the World Championships in 2010. If those four were on this current team that would make the game interesting and I'd maybe take the 2012 team to win. Now that we have established those guys aren't on the team we'll still break down both rosters.

This current squad I'll break it down by how I'd have the starting lineup. At point guard you'd have Chris Paul who just made the all-star team this year, was first-team all-nba and first-team all defensive. He also finished third in the MVP vote. In his career he has made five all-star games, won the rookie of the year, been selected first-team all defensive twice and been selected first-team all-nba twice. At shooting guard you'd have Kobe Bryant who also made the all-star team, was selected first-team all-NBA, second-team all defensive and finished 4th in the MVP race. In his career Bryant has been named to 14 all-star games, has won the MVP award, was NBA Finals MVP twice during his five NBA championships. He has been all-star game MVP four times, been selected first-team all-NBA 10 times, first-team all defensive team nine times and has won two scoring titles. At small forward I'd go with Kevin Durant who also made the all-star team, was selected first-team all-NBA, was All-Star game MVP, won another scoring title and was 2nd in the MVP race. Durant has made three all-star games, won three scoring titles, won the Rookie of the Year and was first-team all-NBA three times. Then at power forward I'd start Lebron James who is in his prime right now coming off an all-star game appearance, winning another MVP award, finally winning his first NBA championship where he was finals MVP, was named first-team all-NBA and first-team all defensive team as well. For his career James has been selected to eight all-star games, won the rookie of the year, has been a three-time MVP selection, two-time all-star game MVP, six-time first-team all-nba, and four-time first-team defensive selection. Rounding out my five would be center Kevin Love(remember no Howard) who made the all-star game this past year and was second-team all-nba. He has been to two all-star games and won most improved player.

I think the 2012 starting five can stack up with the 1992 starting five if not be better than the 1992 starting five. The problem is the bench for 2012 isn't very deep at all. The bench consists of forward Carmelo Anthony who made the all-star game this past year and was selected third-team all-nba. He has made five all-star games in his career. Center Tyson Chandler who is actually starting in these games just won the NBA defensive player of the year award and was second-team all defensive this past year. He was also third-team all-NBA. He also won a championship the year prior with the Dallas Mavericks as their starting center. Point guard Deron Williams is coming off of another all-star game appearance and is a three-time all-star. Russell Westbrook was an all-star and named second-team all-NBA this past year in helping lead OKC to the NBA finals. He has made two all-star games so far in his brief career. Teammate guard/forward James Harden also made the team and just won the sixth man of the year award. Andre Iguoudala was just selected to his first all-star game this past season. Recently dropping out was forward Blake Griffin who made the all-star team for the second straight year and was selected second-team all-NBA. He also won the rookie of the year award last season. Taking his spot is #1 pick overall from national champion Kentucky Wildcats Anthony Davis who just won the college basketball player of the year award.

Now the 1992 squad which features 11 hall of famers has a pretty hefty resume as well. I'm only going to mention their resume as of 1992 so keep in mind these numbers are from then. At point guard I'd start Magic Johnson who didn't play the previous season due to being HIV positive. He did however win the all-star game MVP in 1992. In his career he was selected to 12 all-star games, won the MVP award three times, won Finals MVP three times as he won five championships, was all-star game MVP twice and selected first-team all-NBA nine times. At shooting guard I have Michael Jordan who was in his prime. Jordan was selected to the all-star game, won another MVP award, another scoring title, won another Finals MVP, was first-team all-nba once again and first-team all defensive once again. His career up until that point saw him go to eight all-star games, win the rookie of the year, win three MVP's, win two Finals MVP's as he had won two titles, all-star game MVP, defensive player of the year, six scoring titles, six-time all-nba first-team, five-time all defensive team first team. At small forward I'd start Clyde Drexler who was an all-star, was selected first-team all-NBA leading the Blazers to their second NBA finals in three years, and he finished second in the MVP race that season. Drexler was a six-time all-star and was first-team all-nba once. At power forward I'd start Karl Malone who was an all-star, first-team all-NBA and finished 4th in the MVP voting. Malone was a five-time all-star, all-star game MVP and been first-team all-nba four times. At center the 1992 squad would start David Robinson who was selected to the all-star team, was first-team all-nba, first-team all defensive team, defensive player of the year and finished 3rd in the MVP race heading into the Olympic games. For his career he had been selected to three all-star games, won rookie of the year, won defensive player of the year, was twice selected first-team all-nba and all defensive team.

This is where the 1992 team would have the major edge is the bench production as they have some real fire power off the bench. Leading the bench would be Charles Barkley who was selected to the all-star game, was second-team all-nba. Barkley was a six-time all-star, all-star game MVP and four times selected first-team all-nba. Scottie Pippen was also an all-star, was second-team all-nba, first-team all defensive team. Pippen had won two NBA titles with the Bulls and had made two all-star games. At center they also had Patrick Ewing who was selected to the all-star team, was second team all-nba and all defensive team. He also finished fifth in the NBA voting. At forward Larry Bird who was an all-star but had only played in 45 games. Bird was a 12-time all-star, rookie of the year, won three straight MVP awards, two-time finals MVP as he won three titles, all-star game MVP and was selected first-team all-NBA nine times. Forward Chris Mullin had his best season as he was selected to the all-star team and was first-team all-nba finishing sixth in the MVP vote. He was also a four-time all-star in his career. John Stockton was an all-star that year as he was selected second team all-nba and all defense. He was a four-time all-star. The final selection was college star Christian Laettner from Duke who was the college basketball player of the year as he led the Duke Blue Devils to their second straight national championship.

The 1992 team has a deeper roster and the greatest player to have ever played the game in his prime in Michael Jordan. So how does the 2012 team even compete? Well I think the 2012 team has the next three best players in  Lebron James, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant on their roster. In the case of James and Durant there is nobody who can guard either one as they are freaks of the game. Durant is a 6'10" forward who can bomb three's away from anywhere on the court, while Lebron James is a 6'8" 240 lb guy who averages 7.2 rebounds and 6.9 assists for his career. As for Bryant he is still make first-team all-nba selections and has missed only two all-star games in his career which was his rookie season and 1999 which was cancelled due to a players strike. Under my lineup for now Magic who was retired would have to cover Chris Paul who is quick which always gave Magic problems, Jordan would be able to lock up Bryant but Bryant led the 2008 Olympics in assists so he'd realize that. Drexler who was never known for his defense would be forced to guard Durant which would spell trouble for the 1992 squad while Malone would have to guard James. James is at the point in his career like Jordan was where you can't guard him. Even Robinson would have trouble with Love who is a perimeter center. The 1992 team was never challenged so we never saw their weaknesses but covering this athletic perimeter team of the 2012 squad would give them trouble.

Eventually the 1992 team would have to make a counter move which would be to swap Magic out for Pippen and swap Drexler out for Barkley. Have Pippen run the point forward. Sure Durant will still go off but now you put the 2012 team in a hole that forces them to pull Chris Paul as he has nobody he can guard. Who is Durant going to guard? Barkley or Malone? Good luck there. Who is going to guard David Robinson who is just entering  his prime? If 2012 puts in Chandler to guard him then 92' can float Robinson as Chandler isn't a threat to score. Even though Bird and Magic were just names at that point with Stockton out due to a broken leg the 92' team was deeper. I have yet to even mention Mullin who was first-team all-nba that year or Patrick Ewing who was also in his prime. Ewing who I believe is better than Dwight Howard and I know David Robinson is. The 12' team could hang with the 92' team but I see the 92' team pulling away as the game progresses with their depth and winning by 10-15 points.

Two things in my life as a sports fan I just barely missed out on due to my age(born in 1985) that I regret. One was the 1991 Washington Huskies national championship team. I would have loved to have enjoyed that season live as it happened. The other is the 1992 Dream Team which changed basketball forever as the world saw first hand the greatness of men's basketball. Due to those games guys like Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, both Gasol brothers and Serge Ibaka have grown to love the game of basketball. There will never be a dream team in our lifetime ever again as these guys were all all-stars that season. The 1992 team had the star power that this team has as well but it's not the same. If Howard, Wade, Bosh and Rose were healthy then this 2012 team could compete and perhaps even win. Since they don't the 1992 team would win the game. I learned back in 1998 as well never bet against Michael Jordan especially a Jordan in his prime. This 2012 team should start worrying more about Spain and France as there is no guarantee this team will win the gold. While the 1992 team won the gold the minute their plane landed in Barcelona, Spain.

Seahawks release Mike Williams

By Kshell

The Seattle Seahawks have announced that they have released wide receiver Mike Williams. Once again Pete Carroll is proving the myth that he is loyal to his former USC Trojans is false. Williams who had a decent sized contract and coming off of an unproductive season in 2011 meant he was on the chopping block. For Carroll he has the right attitude that all NFL teams must have which is "what have you done for me lately?" Now Williams who was a big part of the Seahawks winning the 2010 NFC West championship and had a productive playoffs was beaten out by younger guys in 2011. Williams production dropped off big time and he showed up to mini-camps in April fat which is what got him bounced from the NFL the first time around.

When Mike Williams came to Seattle in 2010 he was a former first round bust that his old college coach in his first year gave a chance to. Williams was an instant hit that season playing in 14 games making 13 starts he caught 65 passes for 751 yards(11.6 YPC) with two touchdowns. He became Matt Hasselbeck's favorite target that season as he played so well in the preseason the Seahawks cut T.J. Houshmanzdeh  and later traded Deion Branch away. Williams was productive especially against the divisional rivals Arizona Cardinals who had beaten the Seahawks four games in a row. Williams against the Cardinals caught 22 passes for 232 yards with a touchdown as the Seahawks finally swept the Cardinanls. In his first playoffs with the team in two games Williams caught nine passes for 83 yards with three touchdowns. The Seahawks rewarded Williams with a three-year contract after that terrific season.

Then the lockout happened, Hasselbeck was let go and the Seahawks signed Sidney Rice. They also brought in a new quarterback Tarvaris Jackson and Williams numbers declined. In 12 games, Williams made 10 starts he had only 18 receptions for 236 yards(13.1 YPC) with just one touchdown. Williams was held without a reception four times that year and had just one reception in two games. After the first game when he caught four passes he would never catch more than three passes in a game again. Rice was injured some but undrafted rookie Doug Baldwin came in with 51 receptions for 788 yards(15.5 YPC) with four touchdowns. Ben Obomanu and Golden Tate also outproduced Williams during the season as well. The Seahawks are also high on Ricardo Lockette who caught a 61 yard touchdown pass in the final game of the season, Deon Butler and Kris Durham who are mid round draft picks. There just wasn't room for Williams who had an awful season last year. I felt Jackson didn't look his way enough like Hasselbeck did but Williams was slow as well which hurt him.

I'm sad to see Williams go because he gave the Seahawks a wonderful 2010 season and had appeared he had turned it around. I do like this move because Carroll once again proves that what you did yesterday doesn't matter for today. Williams was an all-american receiver for him at USC and gave him a great comeback season in 2010 then after a bad year Carroll showed him the door. That is how Carroll operates with the Seahawks if a guy isn't being productive or there are younger guys willing to take his spot he'll show them the door regardless of what they have done for this team. The Seahawks although short on big names will be fine at the wide receiver spot. Carroll once again is continuing to clean house and rid this roster of lazy guys who are resting on their past achievements. If you are Marshawn Lynch you know that if you have a bad season there is a chance Carroll shows you the door so you have to come to camp ready to reproduce that season. That is what I love about the Seahawks, Carroll isn't afraid to cut a player who the fan base is attached to. He is simply here to do one job and one job only which is to win. For Mike Williams he helped this franchise win in 2010 but he isn't going to help this team in 2012 which I'm fine with.