SSB weekly rant: April 28th-May 4th edition

By Kshell

Last week I took a week off from my weekly rant instead to cover the NFL draft. This past week including today plenty has been going on that I would like to rant about. My main picture is of a sinking ship which can be confused as the Seattle Mariners current logo given their six game losing streak and how they have been a terrible product from the 2004 season until now. I also will talk about the NBA playoffs some in particular one player who has so far had a terrific playoffs. In this rant I'll address rumors by our local radio hosts to boost struggling ratings. This week has seen plenty and like usual I'll give my two cents on everything. So in this rant once again hope you aren't too offended and make sure to enjoy what one man has to rant about.

In year four of the Jack Zduriencik experiment the Mariners offense still looks pathetic and the team is experiencing a six game losing streak. Zduriencik's big trade acquisitions like Franklin Gutierrez and Justin Smoak are proving to be busts while his free agents Chone Figgins and Miguel Olivo are also terrible. Zduriencik is on his second manager Eric Wedge who doesn't appear to have the slightest clue on what is going on. Wedge is in love with veterans when the Mariners should be rebuilding and Zduriencik can't fire him or else he will have failed with both his managerial hires. Last year I suggested that Zduriencik isn't the guy to lead the Mariners to the promise land and unfortunately I'm right once again. Jack Z has proven to be a fraud so far and the Mariners 11-16 record and already seven games back in year four just further proves my claim. The fact that 22 of the 25 guys on this roster are a product of Zduriencik(Felix, Ichiro and Saunders are the three who aren't) just gives more evidence he doesn't know what he is doing to be a major league general manager. Time for Zudriencik and Wedge to pack their bags and move on.

This playoffs once again no player matters more than Lebron James. In this picture shows Lebron going up against Carmelo Anthony. I bring up these two because at one point they were both in the same breath. James will win his third MVP in the last four years in a couple of weeks while Anthony has made it past the first round just once in his career as he falls to 0-7 in playoff games with the Knicks. Lebron is killing the Knicks this series averaging 27.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 5.7 APG and 2.7 steals while shooting 50.9% from the field. While Anthony is averaging 21.0 PPG and 9.0 RPG but shooting just 34.4% from the field. Anthony appears to be this generations wasted talent a guy who can rack up stats but can't translate to wins. While James has had his problems in the playoffs he has never lost a first round series in his entire NBA career. James scored 17 of his 32 points in game three in the fourth quarter making a two point game into a 17 point victory. James is stepping up his game while Anthony once again is falling short. At one time Anthony falling short in the playoffs used to be a major story instead now it's a non story which speaks even further of Anthony's career in New York.

Today on his KJR show and on his twitter Dave Softy Mahler speculated that the Eugene register is sitting on a big story that will put the Oregon Ducks basketball and football on probation. Of course his source quickly turned into a rumor when he caught lying. Now Mahler can sit behind that he was just spreading a rumor but as the case he was just flat out wrong. Then on the Dawgman message boards fans were saying that writer from the Eugene Register is just a Ducks fan with an agenda. What fans don't realize is newspaper writers have to hold some sort of integrity while radio hosts like Softy or those who run Dawgman don't. Dawgman is a glorified fan site just like Softy's show is a glorified fan show. They never break any real news yet the fans in Seattle eat it up like it's the gospel. Use common sense people in today's era with bloggers, radio hosts, and other newspapers you really think a small-time newspaper is going to sit on a huge national story?!! Really?!! This was just a sad attempt by a KJR host hoping to boost his ratings and the fans ate it up. I've been hearing for a while the Oregon Ducks are going on probation but until it actually happens I'm sick of it. Right now these Husky fans are misrepresenting the true fans which is a shame. These hacks would rather see Oregon fail than see the Huskies succeed which is a shame. So in the future guys don't listen to anything this guy has to say because his "sources" are Hugh Millen, Kim Grinolds of dawgman  and Elderidge Recasner. Basically he has no real sources just guesses and hoping it sticks.

Well guys those are my rants for the week. Hopefully in football season I can be more positive although you guys don't read my blog for positive rants. The Mariners are a team that is in a sinking ship and we should be enjoying the NBA playoffs but our team was stolen. There isn't much going on in this city since the draft has just been completed so expect more rumors with no facts supporting them behind it. Anyways hope you enjoyed this post and make sure to read my Mariners weekly post this Monday.

When has stalking teens become acceptable?

By Kshell

Typically when an adult is texting a teen 40 times a day, messaging them on facebook non stop or tweeting to them all day that is something to be concerned about. What most people would think is that adult is a pedophile like former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky. Instead this is just your normal recruiting in today's era. With Facebook and Twitter plus back in the day myspace these site owners harass these kids 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year like clockwork. With twitter blowing up you also see so many sad fans trying to "sell" their favorite team to a recruit thinking that their opinion might actually matter. The saddest part in all this is that the stalking of teens during recruiting season has become too "normal" to most people since it has been going on for so long with no end in sight.

On twitter you'll see the Dawgman guys or Crazy Ruth Robbins especially stalking these teens. Always trying to break the story on where a kid is going. On Dave "Softy" Mahlers facebook page so many people are concerned about the mindset of a 17 year old kid that this time last year they had no clue who he was. I'll admit that the names Jordan Payton, Shaq Thompson, Cedric Dozier, Arik Armstread meant nothing to me as of three months ago. Then when LOI day finally arrives if that kid comes to your school he is the next great one, if he snubs your school then there must be something wrong with him. Adults don't care one bit about calling a 17 or 18 year old kid every name in the book behind a keyboard if he doesn't go to their particular school. Another thing these adults don't realize is there is a very good chance these kids are getting off on the attention. It reminds me of South Park where the kids are outsmarting the adults here. I'm sure these high recruits love to mess with these adults as it is just so easy to do.

Sometimes people forget what it was like to be in high school. Where all you cared about was sports, girls and how to steal alcohol from either your parents or a friends parents. They also forget just how immature these kids are and how their mind changes from day to day. That won't stop the adults from freaking out though if a five star recruit tweets "I had a cherry milkshake today" then everyone freaks out thinking oh he chose cherry because it's red then starts to figure out what it meant. These kids on twitter it's so obvious love messing with the adults and these sites like Dawgman, Realdawg and every other public figure who participates in this sad game eats it up every time. I just wish there was a hard rule stopping people from contacting recruits(I know there is a rule but never enforced) as I'm tired of people cluttering up my twitter feed with "@Stud5Star come to the dawgs(or cougs or ducks) and lead us to a Rose Bowl baby!". Try tweeting that to a 17 year old and CPS is all over your ass as you become the most popular person in your new "club" called Prison.

Social media has made the recruiting game into a giant joke and sadly this isn't going to stop. If you aren't reading up on the recruits you will be behind with old news and nobody wants to be left out. I just hope the adults stop badgering these recruits on facebook and twitter as it's super annoying plus pathetic. I'll be honest I want the stud recruits to come to Washington but I can care less about how they are as people. I don't want to "get to know" a high school kid seeing how I'm 26 years old. When we were in high school did we ever try to "get to know" a middle schooler? Hell no! I just think this stalking teens game is beyond sad and even worse most people have no problem with it. If you were doing that to any other high school kid you'd be in jail but hey he's good at sports so it must be all right.

Do recruiting sites do more harm than good for their respective programs?

By Kshell


Never in the history of media as a single "WOOF!!! WOOF!!! WOOF!!!" cause so much controversy but that was the case last night on twitter. When Washington Huskies head coach Steve Sarkisian tweeted that tweet that typically means he just signed a new recruit. Per NCAA rules Sarkisian isn't allowed to say who. There had been rumors for a few weeks now that three-star(was a four-star last week) cornerback Brandon Beaver from Dominguez high school from Compton, California was going to commit to the Huskies soon. So without even talking to him first Crazy Ruth Robbins of Realdawg reported that Beaver was a Husky. After Dave "Softy" Mahler of KJR had retweeted that she quickly backed off that report which started a giant twitter war. Soon after Dawgman.com had reported Beaver was also coming to the Huskies. Beaver who is only 18 years old about to embark on his biggest decision of his life had his moment taken away from him. Now Beaver is going on his trip to Oklahoma Sooners and the Arizona Wildcats. The Huskies could lose out on Beaver when it is all said and done considering 20 years ago this wouldn't have been a problem Beaver would be a Husky now he might be just another cautionary tale of yet another recruit lost at the hands of crazy Ruth Robbins. So you have to wonder do these recruiting sites do more harm for their school they represent than good?

When crazy Ruth(you can see she has killed Huskies recruiting in the past with this picture on James Montgomery's page) tweeted that Softy Mahler retweeted that. A day after blasting me saying he would only quote a credible source he had no problem quoting crazy Ruth despite her being known for jumping the gun. Immediately after crazy Ruth had said she hadn't spoke to Beaver. Then Softy was upset(rightfully so as he looks dumb by default) with Crazy Ruth which then proceeded to be the most entertaining 15 minutes of twitter war I've seen. In this case Softy was 100% correct in questioning crazy Ruth who in returned pissed off the "Husky commit" Brandon Beaver. He actually tweeted about Ruth saying "Ruth is something else...SMH...sad to say". Beaver wanted to let his family and friends know first hand. He wanted to enjoy this special moment of his life that he'll forever remember instead it was all ruined by crazy Ruth who is only in the business to help herself and herself only. She can care less about the Huskies program and the damage she has constantly done to this football program. She isn't the only guilty one in this mess as her rival recruiting site Dawgman.com also reported this. Then Softy Mahler had Chris Fetters on as a guest today and Fetters unintentionally took heat off crazy Ruth and put it on his site instead.

Today on Softy Mahler's show Dawgman writer Chris Fetters was on there. Fetters did more damage than good for his site today. The most telling quote was him saying "I'm only in this business to put Dick's burgers in my stomach and shoes on my feet" translation I'm in this for me and me only screw the program. Dawgman in the past has sat on their hands on key information such as Tyrone Willingham knowing that had they came out to say he needs to go good chance he would have been let go heading into 2008. Instead they protected him and the Huskies went 0-12 in the process. Fetters and crazy Ruth are showing that these recruiting sites don't give a shit about the Huskies, the kids involved or the people they hurt. They are in this business about themselves and themselves only. Kim Grinolds the site owner did his best politician act on Mahler's facebook page today trying to clean up the big steaming pile of crap that Fetters had put on his fanbase as subscribers are being lost by the minute. That is the problem when you have two sites targeting the same material to the same fanbase and those two absolutely hate each other. In the end once again the program and the fans are the ones who are hurt the most. Their level of selfishness may have cost the Huskies a talented cornerback which this program has been starving for since the 2000 Rose Bowl championship team.

In conclusion, this town isn't big enough for two recruiting sites. One has to go and while Dawgman looks bad today that option is clearly Crazy Ruth. Husky booster Bill Fleenor has stated Steve Sarkisian and Huskies athletic director Scott Woodward aren't happy with crazy Ruth and her credentials might be finally revoked which is a move that has been long overdue. At some point these guys need to have a soul and let these kids celebrate the moment. Unless these kids personally say to them they are going to their school they should remain quiet. Like Mahler has stated and I believe him he has sat on key information for the better of the school.  Fetters and crazy Ruth showed their true colors today and last night. They showed they care about their own personal gain than the team they supposedly cheer for on Saturday's. Hopefully Beaver still comes here after the damage Crazy Ruth did today. Sarkisian will do his best to separate himself from these clowns and hopefully Beaver realizes those groups don't represent the Husky fanbase at all.

Nick Montana transfers from Washington

By Kshell

Kris Shellenbarger
@seattlesports89

I have a source that told me that Huskies QB Nick Montana hasn't enrolled in any classes this quarter. Looking like he will be transfering.

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9:16 PM - 7 Jan 12via web · Details


Washington Huskies backup quarterback redshirt freshman Nick Montana has officially transfered today. This is something that I had reported a few weeks back. While at the time some believed my reporting skills there was a few doubters. I didn't just randomly post that as I don't do that. Instead from a mutual friend that he regularly talks to every single day told me I decided to run with this. KJR's Dave "Softy" Mahler had told me at the time he spoke to Montana and that I was wrong. Yet here we are today with Montana transfering. Instead of giving me credit like Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times rightfully did Mahler instead took this as a chance to rag on me even more so. In this following post I'll talk about Montana transfering and the positive/negative reaction I've received from Mahlers childish antics towards myself.

When Nick Montana the son of Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana came to Washington there was high expectations for the four star recruit that he would take over when Jake Locker graduated. Instead Montana lost out to sophomore quarterback Keith Price and never really played much this year. When Montana finally had a chance to play he didn't play well at all. In his lone start in a 38-21 loss to Oregon State he was pulled for the injured Keith Price failing to throw for even 100 yards. For his Huskies career Montana completed 24-42(57.1%) of his passes for 226 yards(5.4 YPA) with three touchdowns to two interceptions. Montana showed in that Oregon State game that he wasn't ready for major college football. With Sarkisian bringing in two highly rated quarterbacks and Price having two more years left this was a move that makes sense for Montana.

Keith Price the quarterback that nobody gave a chance to beat out Montana broke a lot of passing records as only a sophomore quarterback. While the Huskies marketing team was busy selling Nick Montana's #5 jersey Price simply showed he was the better quarterback. Price began his career with six straight games of passing for at least three touchdown passes in a game. For the year Price completed 242-362(66.9%) of his passes for 3,063 yards(8.5 YPA) with 33 touchdowns to 11 interceptions with three rushing touchdowns. Price set a single season school record for QB rating, completion percentage and touchdowns in a season. The school record is 53 passing touchdowns by Locker and Price for his career already has 35 touchdowns so Montana was looking at best starting only his senior year.  With Sarkisian bringing in two quarterbacks and with Derrick Brown also a highly touted quarterback waiting in the wings could have beaten out Montana as well. Most people saw with the play of Keith Price that Montana was going to indeed transfer. Montana transfering isn't a shock to most. Just the timing of Montana's transfer after I had been told I was wrong just two weeks ago is the story. Had Montana transfered a year from now or even before I had reported it  people could claim they had known all along. After I had reported it though I was met with some negative feedback in return mostly by one individual.

"Softy Mahler

I complained that I had to chase down a rumor from a blog nobody had ever heard of. I cant waste my time chasing down stories based off rumors that appear on fan blogs. Theres just too many of them and if I did that I wouldnt even have time to breathe. But people kept bugging me about it, so I called Nick. He denied it then. Now, today, a credible news source is reporting he's gone. That is worth responding to. If anyone with a fan blog wants to break stories and be taken seriously, then go get a job with an established media organiziation, or build a history that one day people can take seriously. Its that simple."

Dave "Softy" Mahler is often known for his childish antics and homerism for the Huskies.  He has called out author Derrick Johnson in the past too discrediting him. So I'm not surprised he referred to my blog as a blog that nobody has heard of despite the fact that I have three-quarters of a century thousand in views. For him to say I was wrong then to explode on me like this was very unprofessional especially when qualified newspaper writers such as Bob Condotta had no problem giving me my much deserve credit on my reporting skills.

In conclusion, I didn't make up this story on Montana I had actual key information reporting to me about Montana which was proven right two weeks later. I also had key information reporting to me that Mike Leach was in Pullman two days before it was announced he was head coach. After taking backlash from people for two straight days he was named head football coach for the Cougars. Bottom line I'm not in this blogging game for personal joy but more so cause I love sports. Just when the chance I get something right(Don't worry I'll admit when I'm wrong too) just give me some credit. For the Huskies program losing Montana is no big loss as they are loaded at the quarterback position. You won't be seeing Joe Montana in the stands anymore which is perhaps the only loss in this whole thing. Anyways I wish Nick Montana luck and will continue listening to KJR believe it or not. At the end of the day we are all rooting for the same teams even if we happen to disagree.

Why do Seattle fans hate Jim L. Mora?

By Kshell

This past sunday when the Seattle Seahawks took on the Cleveland Browns there was an interesting choice as the color commentator. The announcer was former Seahawks head coach Jim L.Mora and he actually showed he still loves the city of Seattle. With the Washington Huskies defense still struggling under Nick Holt some fans have suggested Mora take over as coach. Of course some fans are against the move. You see due to the Tyrone Willingham fallout in 2007-2008 Mora to those fans is the most evil coach there is. He's on the same level as Chip Kelly and Rick Neuheisel to this fanbase. In this following post I'll explain why hating Jim L. Mora(he isn't a junior by the way) is simply stupid and I'll explain why some fans hate Mora.

The controversy all began with Mora in December of 2006. Mora two seasons removed from taking the Atlanta Falcons to the NFC championship game was on 950 KJR with Dave "Softy" Mahler and his old college roommate Hugh Millen. On air talking candily with two guys that he considers his friends Mora made mention that the Univeristy of Washington was his dream job. Mahler caught that statement and knew he had gold so he ran with it. To which Mora said "If I'm coaching Super Bowl week I'm quitting my job to be with the Huskies if they offered tomorrow." Those comments made some Husky fans very excited. Those comments also pissed off the Atlanta Falcons fanbase and some Washington Huskies fans as the Huskies had a coach in place in Tyrone Willingham. Willingham who took over a 1-10 mess saw his team go 2-9 in year one but then in year two saw progress going 5-7. The Huskies did lose six games in a row after starting off 4-1 as Willingham rubbed some people the wrong way with his "suddenly senior" game as the Huskies lost 20-3 at home to 0-10 Stanford Cardinal. At the end of the season the Falcons fired Mora after going 7-9 in a season which the Falcons started off 5-2. The Falcons lost three games in a row after Mora made those comments as well. Mora was hired though by the Seattle Seahawks to be the secondary coach and assistent head coach. That move was interesting as Mora would be in Seattle in 2007 which meant he was going to be the first choice if Willingham started to fail.

With Mora already in Seattle that made for an interesting 2007 season which divided up the fan base. You had your pro Willingham guys who defended him no matter what and felt you should never bash on your coach. You also had some fans who wanted Mora to be the coach. The season started off well for Willingham as the Huskies were 2-0 for the first time since 2001 under freshman quarterback Jake Locker. The Huskies then lost six games in a row and the tipping point was the final loss as the Huskies blew a 41-26 lead to the Arizona Wildcats losing 48-41. That is when some fans began to openly demand the Huskies fire Willingham and go with Mora. Mora took a position job for the Seahawks many felt so he can be right there in Seattle. There was some speculation that a secret behind the scenes deal was taking place for Mora to take over for Willingham. There was many arguments on the dawgman boards where it got to a point the Mora fans created their own website which could get pretty vulger at times but the content was generaly the right message.

 The Huskies finished the 2007 season losing the Washington State Cougars 42-35 and then blowing a 21-0 lead only to lose 35-28 to the Hawaii Warriors. This is where the University screwed up they chose to keep Willingham for the 2008 season knowing that an NFL coach was in their backyard in Jim L. Mora. In January of 2008 the Seahawks who had a 10-6 season named Mora the next head coach for when Mike Holmgren retires after the 2008 season. Willingham of course went 0-12 in 2008 and because Mora was already scheduled to be the next NFL head coach he turned down the Huskies out of loyalty to the Seahawks. The Huskies would hire Steve Sarkisian while Mora was fired after just one season for the Seahawks going 5-11 even though he inherited a team that had gone 4-12 the year prior.

Seattle has had plenty of failed coaches before and many who have failed worse than Mora did in only one season. Which is why it is so perplexing that Mora is so hated by so many fans in Seattle. For those who don't know Jim L. Mora's dad is Jim Mora the coach who once had the famous line of "Playoffs?!! I just hope we can win a friggin game" in a very high pitch voice. Well elder Mora earned his stripes as the Huskies defensive coordinator when Don James took over as head coach the first move he made was demoting Jim Lambright from defensive coordinator to linebackers coach. The Huskies won the Rose Bowl during the 1977 upsetting the Michigan Wolverines 27-20. Elder Mora then bolted to the NFL as he was successful for the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts but couldn't ever win the big game.

Younger Mora played for the University of Washington from 1980-1983 as he was a part of two Rose Bowl teams and a graduate assistent on the Orange Bowl team. Younger Mora went on to coach with his dad then later became an up and coming defensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers before becoming head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. There is no reason to hate Mora as his dad has a big part of Huskies history and he himself played for the Huskies. He has stated several times that the Huskies job would be his dream and he even coached the Seattle Seahawks. Recently while announcing the Seahawks game he showed that he still loves Seattle as he grew up here, his wife is from here and he still lives in Seattle. If anything fans should root for a guy like Mora who has local connections. Instead, since nobody will ever admit to supporting Willingham the bitterness still remains. Many of the Willingham fans are easily detected as they go out of their way to hate on the "evil" Rick Neuheisel and will bash on Jim L. Mora even though he played for the Huskies.

Now the Mora bashers bring up the fact that why would any college team want him since he failed in the NFL twice? Well let's play a little game coach A won one division title and has a 31-33(.484%) record in the NFL and a 1-1 playoff record. He was given three years at one job where he had some success and at another job was fired after just one season. Coach B won one division title and had a 33-31(.515) record in the NFL and a 1-2 playoff record. He was given three years at one job where he had some success and at another job was fired after just one season. Both coaches were also defensive coordinators on successful 49ers teams. As you can see both coaches are eerily similar so if you haven't guessed by now coach A is Jim L. Mora and coach B is Pete Carroll. Yes the same Carroll who replaced Mora as Seahawks coach and more importantly the same Carroll who won two national championships, four Rose Bowl championships and two Orange Bowl's. Carroll like Mora is an energetic defensive minded coach who had no college head coaching experience at all prior to arriving at USC.

 In fact failing in the NFL doesn't mean much as most failed NFL coaches do quite well in the college game. Former Seahawks coach Dennis Erickson won two national titles at the university of Miami went to the Seahawks where he was 31-33 in four seasons. After being fired went to the Oregon State Beavers who hadn't had a winning season in close to 30 years. While at Oregon State Erickson went 31-17(.646%) including a Fiesta Bowl win.  Erickson went to the 49ers where he was 9-23 only to return to the college game with the Arizona State Sun Devils who are enjoying a 5-2 season as we speak. Steve Spurrier won a ton of games including a national championship at the univeristy of Florida Gators before leaving to the Washington Redskins. With the Redskins Spurrier was a failure going just 12-20 before returning to the college game. At bottom feeder South Carolina Spurrier is 50-34(.595%). Typically failed NFL coaches come down to the college ranks and dominate the college game just like major leaguers dominate triple A.

In conclusion, no fan in Seattle should have any reason to hate Jim L. Mora yet so many want him to fail. Just mentioning that a former NFL head coach should be the Huskies defensive coordinator and some fans will be outraged at the thought of Mora becoming defensive coordinator. You just know if Sarkisian were to be fired or leave and Mora takes over all those Willingham supporters bitterness would come through as they would ride Mora like no other. Facts are Mora was with the Seahawks for one season which isn't enough time to run a franchise into the ground like many portray that he did. Mora also isn't set out for the NFL but as a Huskies fan I fear that someday UCLA, Arizona or California will come in and swoop Mora up. I've never seen Husky fans turn on one of their one in my entire life. Sad that the fans will let an 11-37(.229) coach like Willingham be the reason for turning on a player whose dad coached the Huskies to a Rose Bowl win and a former player who was on a Rose Bowl championship team. Hopefully the animosity towards Mora will finally end as he appears to be a guy who loves this area. This is a guy we should be rooting for not against as there is no reason to root against Mora. If the Huskies are ever at point of searching for a new head coach(hopefully not for decades I might add) I would have no problem with Jim L. Mora being the head coach and neither should you.

Fan base divided brings back memories

By Kshell

The Washington State Cougars fan base is currently divided over head coach Paul Wulff. Some fans want him fired as they realize he isn't the guy. While others want to elect him mayor of Pullman because he leads the Pac-12 in "moral" wins the last two years. The boiling point came in a disappointing 28-25 loss to the UCLA Bruins despite winning the totals yards, first downs, time of possession and turnovers. The fan base who wants Wulff and his 8-34 record(3-26 in conference) gone are now being accused of not being "true" Cougar fans. While I must admit watching Cougar fans fight amongst themselves is quite hilarious it brings me back to a dark time period. When Washington Huskies fans were bickering about a certain losing coach. All the same bull shit excuses that are used towards Wulff were used towards Tyrone Willingham. From blaming the previous coach, the constant jealously of your rival(Husky fans towards Oregon and now Cougars towards Sarkisian), to be satisfied with just being competitive, and to not being a "true" fan for openly getting on your head coach. Yes I don't miss those days at all. In this following post I'll talk about the losing mindset that Cougar fans and how Husky fans had that same mindset just a few years ago.

During the 2007 football season the Huskies fan base was divided. You had two groups of people which had one side(the doogs) who were fine with Willingham and made every excuse in the world for him. Then you had another portion of the fan base that was sick of excuses and embarassing losses(like losing four of five to the Cougars!!!). The Dawgman boards were a war zone where if you blasted Willingham you were considered not a fan. The dawgman guys all supported Willingham despite an 11-25 record. On KJR Dave "Softy" Mahler publicly supported Willingham stating he needed more time. The only public figure was Hugh Millen who did a study showing coaches who have a winning percentage under .350 after three seasons have never succeeded at their university. Now everyone claims all along that they "knew" Willingham wasn't the guy. Mahler even went as far as saying he knew Willingham wasn't the guy during his second season after "suddenly senior" night. Just like I'm sure many of my Cougar friends who are being persecuted right now by many soft Coog(spelled wrong on purpose) fans will be the same fans that "knew" Wulff wasn't the guy. The problem is every fan base just accepts losing and in the northwest fans who want to win are the minority not the majority.

When you do fire a crappy coach the key is to hire the right guy. Which the Huskies failed to do when they fired Keith Gilbertson they hired Willingham. The Cougars did the same thing when they fired Bill Doba then hired Paul Wulff. Just like in 2007 so many Husky fans wanted Pat Hill who was an average coach at Fresno State. Today Cougar fans if they do fire Wulff will most likely want Robb Akey to lead them. Akey of course coached the Cougars from 1999-2006 so he'll never leave Pullman. As a Huskies fan I hope my rival school hired Akey as he is only 18-38 as head coach at Idaho. In his fifth season he is currently 1-5 yet the love affair for Akey is very confusing. The Cougars have always hired from the Cougar family so why change that? Well because you've only made it to 10 bowl games in 100 years, beat your rival only 31 times out of 103 games is why. Steve Sarkisian is in the process of controlling this state landing nine of the top 11 players in the state the last two years including all six last season. If the Cougars expect to compete with their rivals they are going have to find a real coach or be prepared to be stuck losing for a while.

In conclusion, watching history repeat itself with my rival school has been fun to witness. I do feel for my Cougar friends who actually have expectations for their program but they are fighting a losing battle. I experienced this battle as a Huskies fan for a year straight on Mahler's facebook page and the doogs/coogs will always have the numbers. Fans want to make excuses and believe in "hope" instead of hard factual evidence. If you ranked the Pac-12 coaches Wulff would rank either 11th or 12th including Mike Stoops who was just fired would rank ahead of Wulff. Those who support Wulff can't complain when their rivals(Huskies) are playing in a Rose Bowl soon because they helped that happen. The Cougars are no longer a threat and are fighting for their lives just to win five games in year four. The fact that the Cougars were so bad in 2008 and 2009 has made their fan base soft where they accept going 2-10 last year. Last year was a "success" as the Cougars were finally competitive and now in year four the Cougars are still getting blown away by mountain west teams. Still losing to UCLA whose own head coach Rick Neuheisel is on the hot seat. The Cougars fan base is divided and as a Huskies fan I hope the excuse makers get their wish as Wulff is given more time. For my friends who have expectations well I feel sorry for you guys. Don't worry though you guys are the true Coug fans because you actually expect wins unlike the soft fans who want a participation ribbon for just showing up.

Reflections on my blog turning one years old today

By Kshell

On this date last year the NBA free agency period was getting hot. This was back when I was waking up at 8 in the morning vs now when I go to bed at 8 in the morning. After talking on the phone with my friend I decided to create the blog. My very first post was nothing special and in fact it was only a paragraph about how the Miami Heat signed Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. I also created a facebook account called "Seattle Sportsblog" where I would friend those who would talk quite a bit on other sports figures pages. I built up quite a following on my facebook account but the problem was I couldn't get people to come over to my blog. In fact the few couple of months were rough far as viewership on my blog. In my first four months I only had 5,758 page views which isn't very much. What also didn't help was my friend who decided to partner up with me didn't want to write for my blog anymore. Then for the second time in two weeks facebook had deleted my blog account. It was looking like my blog was about to disappear until I finally caught a break.

One day in November I logged on and noticed over 300 people had viewed my page. I check to see what increased so much and it was that on twitter Sonicsgate tweeted an article that I had nothing to do with. They tweeted the article of sonics to oklahoma city means lightning in Seattle. From that point on the page views started to pick up as I received 4,246 views in November. Then in December my page views increased to an all-time high of 5,148. That month I was talking about the Huskies going to a bowl game, previewing the entire week of the Apple Cup, Seahawks playoff push. Plus I was pretty vocal on Dave "Softy" Mahler's facebook page at that time. Before Sonicsgate posted on twitter that article I had received just 5,758 views in the eight months after that I had received 33,294 page views. I needed to catch a break and that was the break I needed.

After an increase in page views in November and December my blog dropped off a bit in January and February. Once again I picked up a break when Jeff Aaron asked me to be on his radio show. You can listen to my interviews with my Jeff Aaron posts right here. I must admit those were a ton of fun I was so nervous my first interview but by my third one I felt really comfortable. It was a chance to voice my opinion on various topics and I'll never forget the fun I had from that. Then in March Dave "Softy" Mahler created a witch hunt for me which caused a ton of negativity towards me. He also made my blog pretty popular as I had over 300 page views that day. His act of immaturity whether he realized it or not helped my blog grow even more. In the past four months I've had over 19,000 page views so Mahler definitely helped my blog out. Then in April my blog received some views due to Patton Richard's NFL Draft talk which he would include his predictions and had a live NFL draft chat. I felt like Richard helped legitimized my blog. I think people viewed my blog after Mahler blew up on me as a side show then quickly realized I had some good information in there.

In the past couple of months my blog has really picked up. In the last two months I've had over 11,000 page views due to my Seattle Mariners related posts. I also think the group I created has helped with the popularity of the blog. The group I created is called Seattle Sportsblog which is always busy with traffic. My fan page has over 300 members, the group has over 250 and I've even had over 110 followers on twitter. My group page gives me a feel on some subjects so I write a blog post on it. My favorite debate was when Bryan White and Zach Cecil would go back and forth on Ichiro. Of course Tory Johnson who actually played with Ichiro in Japan would weigh in as well. During the NBA playoffs Chris Rozwood became a regular contributer to the group and whether I agreed with his opinion or not his posts were very well thought out. For baseball season Mike Morris was a regular poster as well and I remember him getting on a fan for calling Felix Hernandez "King Dipshit" that was a mememorable rant. Now our newest poster Ian Korzeniecki has given the group page a new refreshing change of fan point of view. I feel like the group has really helped my blog page and that's the funnest part of my day is get on the group as it's always busy.

In conclusion, my blog wouldn't be where it is without you guys. I want to thank Michael Morrison, Michael Hourigan, Patton Richard, Brian Alfi, Insider Steve and Korey Payne for writing for my blog in the past. I can't believe it has already been a year for my blog and over 40,000 page views. I started off slow if I keep up my pace I expect to be close to over 100,000 page views. Obviously I couldn't have my blog if people didn't enjoy it. This has been a fun hobby for me and has given me a chance to meet several former players I wouldn't have otherwise had an opportunity to meet. So once again guys thanks for a great year and I hope to be doing this for many years to come. Now I'll go celebrate with some friends in Las Vegas this weekend. Hopefully I come back rich but either way I'll still be posting on the blog. I can't believe it has already been a year a year that I'll never forget.

My reaction to being interviewed by Jeff "the fish" Aaron

By Kshell

On Tuesday March 15th, 2011 for the first time in my life I was interviewed on live radio. In this following blog post I'll link you guys to that interview while also talking about the process leading up to the interview. In this interview I mainly discuss the NCAA tournament and in particular who was left out. I also talk about my bracket(which I recently changed by the way) and from a previous conversation with Huskies beat writer Percy Allen I discuss which hollywood figure has the greatest booty. Quite a thrill to have been interviewed for the first time as my thoughts shall be discussed.

This interview doesn't take place if I hadn't start my blog. I was bored one day and created the Seattle Sportsblog. I also created a facebook account where I added people who typically post on Dave "Softy" Mahler's page. By doing this I've met some people who liked my blog and enjoyed discussing sports with me. Facebook decided to delete my account twice but the people I got to know through this process I added to my personal facebook. Well one of those people recently became an intern for Jeff "the fish" Aaron. After talking sports with him for almost a year he figured he would have me be a guest on Aaron's show. After talking with Aaron he liked the move and it was decided that I will be on his show. As for the interview itself it was well done in my opinion.

The interview sounded like a normal conversation because Aaron had already called me twice prior to my interview. In the off the record conversations I had told him I agreed with his stance that there would be more MMA coverage in the Seattle papers. I also told him that I think Percy is crazy for saying Kardashian is #3 on the best booty list. So when the interview finally took place which you can hear(if you want to skip to me I'm roughly at the hour mark) right here by clicking on listen to show!!! we discussed this very topic from the start. I told him I felt Beyonce is still #1 while Kardashian is #2 and although J-Lo was the first famous big booty due to her age she is a distant #3 in my opinion. I never figured my very first interview topic would be discussing who has the best ass in hollywood but it was. That helped relax me and made the interview process pretty fun. Then after that it was time to discuss sports and in particular the NCAA tournament.

In the following interview I talked about who was snubbed in the NCAA tournament. The two teams I felt were snubbed were St. Mary's who went 25-8, won their conference and had an RPI of 46. If you compare them to VCU who went 23-11, took fourth in their conference and has an RPI of 49 I don't get how St. Mary's was snubbed. I also brought up how future Pac-12 member Colorado Buffaloes were snubbed as they went 21-13, had a SOS of 49 and won six games against teams in the RPI top 50. While a team like Clemson who is 20-10 had zero wins against teams in the top 50. I also brought up how Alabama should have got in over Georgia since they won their division and swept Georgia. I then discussed my final four who I said 6th seed St.John's, two #1 seeds in Ohio State and Kansas then #3 Uconn(Although I changed it to Duke for my bracket). I then said I had Kansas winning the tournament and they better not burn me like last year.

All in all, I've received nothing but positive feedback from everyone which I'm happy to hear. I also discussed how I was going to watch the Seattle Sounders for the first time and sarcasticly(while being correct) Jeff Aaron said the game would end 1-0. The interview was a great experience for me to further my own career. The interview was also pretty fun to do and I hope to be back on Jeff Aaron's show in the future. I'll bring up some topics we can disagree on for a point counterpoint. I heard Jeff is a big golf fan while I can't stand the sport so that could be a nice little start. I'll forever be thankful for this opportunity as this was a great experience. Thanks guys for the continued support of this blog and my interview.

Huskies-Syracuse Game Experience

By Kshell

Seattle Sportsblog: I'm going to the Huskies game tomorrow. My prediction for the game is Huskies 41, Syracuse 20. I think Jake Locker and the offense explodes.Friday at 8:25pm

The Huskies behind Jermaine Kearse and Jake Lockers big day prevailed over the Orangemen 41-20 just as I had predicted on Friday night. The Huskies overcame a 10-0 early deficit and once the offense settled in there was no looking back.

The Huskies leading just 13-10 at halftime erupted in the second half. The Dawgs came out and scored in just 20 seconds when Jake Locker hit a simple 6 yard out to Jermaine Kearse which turned into a 57 yard touchdown pass. Later on in the quarter Locker would hit Kearse again for 28 yards and the touchdown.

Jermaine Kearse would end the game with 9 receptions for 179 yards with 3 touchdowns and not one of those grabs was on a long bomb which he is typically known for. With Kearse having a big day that allowed Aguilar to have a big game as well. Aguilar would have 7 receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown to make the score 41-20.



Jake Locker looked very Heisman worthy today completing 22 of 33 passes for 289 yards and 4 touchdowns. In fact Locker looks like an NFL drop back quarterback. He very rarely runs and makes NFL throws across the field on out routes that can't be taught.

Overall it was nice the see the Huskies overcome adversity and come out with a win. This is the Dawgs first home opener win since 2007 when they defeated Boise State 24-10. The Huskies will get a good test these next two games with #8 Nebraska coming into two then in three weeks playing at #14 USC.

Observations:
-Once again the special teams is making Husky fans groan. For the second straight week the Huskies defense has forced a three and out and the special teams has committed a dumb penalty which allowed the opposing offense to stay on the field. This week after a terrible kick off coverage that penalty cost the Huskies a touchdown as Syracuse took advantage of that mistake.

-Where has Jake Lockers running go? Locker had just 18 yards rushing on 4 carries. Last week he had just 29 yards on 11 carries. I've never seen Jake get tripped up by defensive lineman and that has happened at least three times this season.

-Jake Locker now dating back to last year has thrown for 10 touchdowns to zero interceptions in his last three games. Locker isn't as dangerous as he once was but he is more polished as a passer. He has proven before he can play well at home and is still learning. This is basically Lockers just 2nd year in his entire life of coaching(Sarkisian). In highschool he ran the wing-T and his 3 years under Willingham was a total waste.



-Chris Polk is still really good. Polk grinds away the tough yards finishing with 117 yards and a career long touchdown run of 52 yards. Chris Polk also fumbled the ball two times today one leading to a Syracuse touchdown. That can't happen next week.

- Erik Kohler made three bad penalties. He is also a true freshman and already starting which says several things. It shows you how talented him and Colin Porter(who also played) are. It also shows you how weak the rest of the offensive lineman are that two true freshman are taking snaps away from them. Don James once said a best time to play a freshman is when they are juniors. Having true freshman on the offensive line is a bold statement towards your older offensive lineman.

-The defense showed me something today. They allowed 20 points but 14 of those points were gifts. The defense dialed it up and were blitzing plenty of times including some corner blitzes. The defense has three sacks and missed on three other sacks. The defense had an interception and forced some fumbles and were all over the field. I also noticed Nick Holt has his corners right up on the receivers and leaves them on an island. That will create big plays but I'm glad the Dawgs have an agressive attacking defense.

-The Punt team is going to lose the Dawgs a game this year. So many times today a punt was almost blocked and the punts were straight line drives with zero hang time. I'm afraid Nebraska might block a punt for a touchdown or bust a punt for a touchdown.

Pre-Game/Post Game:
-Traffic rant coming up. Okay guys the far left lane is for passing only! So in that lane unless you are passing somebody get over. So many times today people were putt putting along in the left lane. I even had a boat in the left lane it was horrible. It drives me nuts and its annoying. Okay rant over!

-Tailgating in September is great. I started off in the E1 lot then went to the Zone. At the Zone it was a great atmosphere and I think thats a great idea by UW fans. I must have seen every Syracuse fan there because they had nothing. I ran into Softy Mahler and knew the best way to get his attention was to mention how I'm the Seattle Sports Blog.

-Tailgating on the boats was a blast. I've never been out there and that was quite the experience. It was so hot out. I'm used to go to games in November where I'm adding on layers of clothes not pealing off layers.

-The crowd was great and loud like usual. My one complaint is on third downs everyone stand up and get loud. Its pretty terrible where I look like an ass for standing up on third downs and having people ask me to sit down. I of course sat down but was dissapointed.

-I wish Husky Stadium had actual seats like Qwest Field. The bleachers suck and its not fair for small people as they get their seats jacked. I also think it should be like an airplane rule if you are of a certain size you should have to buy two tickets.

-After the game I stopped by Azteca restraurent in the U district down the street from the QFC. The service was great, the food was great, the salsa was hot and spicy just how I like it. I recommend going there after games.

-No matter how old you get nothing beats going to the game with your Dad. He has taken me to games since I was 10 years old and now I'm repaying him the favor. I appreciate every moment talking to him about Husky Football

Well guys I hope you enjoyed my game experience and my observations. Take care guys I'm a little worn out.