Seattle Sports Blog weekly rant: April 7th-13th edition

By Kshell

This week in my weekly rants happens to fall on Friday the 13th. Now thankfully there is no new crappy Friday the 13th movie that we all know would suck. Instead if you do decide to go to the movies this weekend I'd see American Pie Reunion if you happen to be under the age of 35 this movie will hit home to you. Now that I got my two cents on movies out of the way I'll once again rant about what is on my mind for what happened this past week in sports. The new baseball season has hit and our Seattle Mariners are 4-4 as they are about to open up their home season this year. I'll also talk a little bit about the Washington Huskies offensive line problems which had a huge hit this week with Colin Porter having to retire. So hope you enjoy yet another week of my weekly rants.

This year was different for the Mariners as opening day was taking away from us since it was started in Japan. Now the home opener this year has a special feel to it. The reason is because Felix Hernandez is starting the home opener. With the Mariners starting on the road since 2009 the following pitchers have pitched the home opener: Carlos Silva, Ryan Rowland-Smith and Jason Vargas. Not exactly top flight pitching and the last two years the Mariners have been blown out. So this year when the Mariners returned to the states they decided to have Vargas pitch the first game so Hernandez who won the 2010 Cy Young award can pitch the home opener. By having Hernandez pitch the opener the Mariners have guaranteed themselves a pack house. This will probably be the only time the Mariners have a packed house all year long not counting Yankees or Redsox games which are half of their fans anyways. The home opener is a special game and ticket prices are pretty spendy.

This year Mike Cameron will be throwing out the first pitch for the Mariners. In four years with the Mariners from 2000-2003 the Mariners won 90, 116, 93 and 93 games. Since his departure the Mariners have had just two winning seasons. Cameron who was an all-star in 2001 and won two gold gloves hit  .256/.350/.448 . With 554 hits, 87 HR's, 353 runs, 344 RBI's, 106 SB's while in Seattle. Cameron also hit four home runs in one game back in 2002 on the road in Chicago. Cameron won over the fans of Seattle despite coming over in a trade for Ken Griffey Jr. Last year I came up with my all-time Mariners team Cameron had made my 25 man roster as he was a fan favorite. I got his autograph back in the 2000 season and I'm sure plenty of fans are excited to see Cameron throw out the first pitch. That was one of the first of many terrible moves by Bill Bavasi was letting Cameron go as he obviously didn't value Cameron's defense or leadership. Bringing back Cameron was one of the few smart things that Mariners management has done. Hopefully Cameron delivers a strike to begin the Safeco season as Felix Hernandez caps it off with a win as he'll be facing the Oakland A's for the third time this year. Should be a magical night at Safeco Field as the home opener is always a special night.

Just like I had talked about earlier in the week. Huskies lost offensive lineman Porter for his career . Which was a stunning move to the Huskies program as Sarkisian enters year four. After losing out on the top three offensive lineman in his own backyard this news couldn't have came at a worst time. The Huskies football for now appears to be hurting but Sarkisian is bringing in five offensive lineman for the fall. Still if the Huskies offensive line is a mess that could spell doom for their season as they don't have an established running back and Keith Price doesn't have any experience behind him as no quarterback on the roster has thrown a pass besides him. The offensive line will make or break the Huskies. Sarkisian failing to lock down those key kids in his backyard could be his undoing.

Well that was my weekly rant for this week. That wasn't very long but don't worry I'll have more as the NBA playoffs are starting to roll around, the NFL draft is in two weeks and nobody has a clue what the Seahawks are going to do. I'm happy to see the Mariners offense is starting to actually hit which they didn't do last year and hopefully King Felix can get his King's Court friends something to cheer about. Last start Hernandez had his fastball dropping from last year and it showed as he allowed six runs. We'll find out this Friday if that is something to worry about or if that was just a bad outing for him. I love the home opener as I'll probably not be going to the game but I"ll be watching somewhere down at Pioneer Square as that should be a fun atmosphere for sure.

Huskies lose offensive guard Porter for his career ; O-line is in shambles

By Kshell

This wasn't supposed to happen this not way. At least not now but the Washington Huskies found out that two year starter offensive guard Colin Porter is going to be forced to retire. This is a huge blow to the Huskies program as Porter has started 19 games already and had emerged as the Huskies top guard the last two seasons. With left tackle Senio Kelemete graduating, Erik Kohler recovering from injuries now working with the second team and Colin Tanigawa still recovering from an ACL injury as his season appears in jeopardy the news of Porter is especially devastating. For Porter he had a bright future as many expected him to play in the NFL someday so this is just a tragic blow to him. For the Huskies their offensive line was set to return four starters but as of right now only one starter remains in center Drew Schaefer. For Steve Sarkisian entering his fourth season his offensive line is such a mess he might not even be able to hold a spring game.

Losing Porter hurts because he was a local standout recruit who was playing great. Porter coming out of Bothell High School was the 9th rated guard in the nation and a 4 star recruit. He started in the middle of his true freshman season against the Oregon State Beavers. He since started every game to end the year and was the key guard pulling on the Chris Polk's game winner against Cal and a crucial 4th and 1 against the Cougars in the Apple Cup. In that same class Sarkisian signed Tanigawa who was only a two star recruit but emerged as a starter last year as a redshirt freshman. He started the first 11 games before getting injured against the Oregon State Beavers tearing his ACL. On paper last year the Huskies appeared set at the guard position since Porter was a sophomore and Tanigawa was a freshman. In 2010 Sarkisian signed seven offensive lineman including three four star recruits. Which is why so many excused Sarkisian in 2011 for signing only two offensive lineman as he had two five star recruits in his backyard to snatch up for 2012.

In 2012 Sarkisian once again failed on the offensive line. He missed out on Joshua Garnett the #3 guard in the nation and 5 star recruit who was from Puyallup, Washington as he went to conference foe Stanford Cardinal. He lost out on Zach Banner the 13th rated tackle in the nation and 4 star recruit from Lakes High School out of Lakewood, Washington. He also lost out on Walker Williams the 40th ranked guard in the country who is a 3 star recruit from Tacoma Baptist high school in Tacoma, Washington. This year Sarkisian did sign five offensive lineman but only three are three star recruits. Since that terrific 2010 class Sarkisian has brought in just seven offensive lineman which has had zero four star recruits and four three stars. Due to Sarkisian not recruiting the offensive line hard enough especially in his own backyard he'll have to play true freshman on his offensive line yet again. In year two when he was playing walk-ons and true freshman it was excused as that should Tyrone Willingham didn't recruit offensive lineman very well but in year four that shows Sarkisian isn't either.

Sarkisian is starting to look more and more like Rick Neuheisel without the Rose Bowl win. If Sarkisian fails at Washington revisionist history will say he didn't understand Washington culture, didn't recruit lineman, didn't keep a fence around the state and always had one foot out the door anyways much like they say bout Neuheisel. Losing a sophomore who had two years of eligibility for his career and a freshman who has three years left for possibly this season is a huge blow for any coach. Still had Sarkisian kept on recruiting lineman heavy like he did in 2010(signed 7 that year, signed only 8 the other three years combined) this wouldn't be such a problem. Injuries are a sad part of the game and Sarkisian in year four has been exposed as a coach who like Neuheisel is into the skill players but not the guys who truly win football games. Sarkisian ignoring the offensive line which is a trademark of great Husky football could be his undoing at Montlake.

When bad stories break there is always something positive to take from it. In this case there is no positive as Porter who had a bright future and was hoping that future would lead him to the NFL was tragically taken away from him. He was a warrior and a good Husky to come in fighting through injuries for two years and step in right away from high school to start is incredible. Hopefully that 2010 class of Micah Hatchie, Ben Rivera and James Atoe can fill the void. Had Sarkisian landed the two main guys in his backyard this past recruiting season this wouldn't be such a devastating blow. For Porter this is a horrible day while for Husky football this is a huge blow. Still in year four for Sarkisian there will be no such thing as excuses. Hopefully this next recruiting season Sarkisian will finally realize how important the offensive line position is and start recruiting it hard like he did back in 2010.

Seattle Mariners weekly recap: March 28-April 8th edition

By Kshell

The Seattle Mariners season has finally begun and the Mariners came out of the gate strong defeated the Oakland A's three out of  four games. In the longest series in franchise history which started in Japan then took a week off to do spring training then resumed in Oakland the Mariners found themselves 3-1 for the first time since 2006. In the two games in Japan both teams had strong pitching performances while over here in the states the Mariners hitting finally woke up. The Mariners also saw two guys who have struggled mightly in the past have a big two game set in Oakland in Chone Figgins and Michael Saunders. The atmosphere in Japan was incredible way to start the season while in Oakland it was business as usual. Like I did last year when the Mariners have a winning week I'll go over the good(the hitting), the bad(there was some hitters who slumped), and the awesome(the great week by Chone Figgins). The Mariners who are now in year two of Eric Wedge as manager are hoping the hitting has improved from last season which ranked last in almost every hitting category. The Mariners are hoping these four games weren't a fluke but just a sign of things to come in the near future for this young ball club.

The Good:

The Mariners went 3-1 against the A's so there was plenty of good. For starters the hitting especially when the series shifted back to Oakland started to pick up. In the first game of the season over in Japan Ichiro playing back in his homeland went 4-5 with an RBI which was a thrill for the future hall of famer. Jason Vargas began the season with two quality starts while Brandon League already has two saves. Felix Hernandez on opening night went 8 innings allowing just one run. The Mariners offense came out of the gate which was nice to see. The Japan series was especially good for Ichiro like I stated he was playing in front of his home fans and responded that series by going 4-9. Dustin Ackley won the game MVP in the first game as over in Japan they reward an MVP each game. In that game Ackley went 2-5 with a home run and also the game winning RBI to earn the game MVP.

Good Hitting:

Chone Figgins: 7-17(.412), 2 runs, 4 RBI's, SB. Hitting .412/.412/.588
Kyle Seager: 4-11(.364), run, 2 RBI's, SB. Hitting .364/.417/.364
Ichiro: 6-17(.353), 2 runs, 3 RBI's, SB. Hitting .353/.368/.471
Dustin Ackley: 6-19(.316), HR, 4 runs, 3 RBI's, SB. Hitting .316/.316/.474
Michael Saunders: 4-13(.308), HR, 3 runs, RBI, SB. Hitting .308/.400/.615
Brendan Ryan: 3-10(.300), 3 runs. Hitting .300/.364/.500

Good Pitching:

Jason Vargas: 1-0, 11.2 IP, 2.31 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 6 K's
Felix Hernandez: 1-0, 14.1 IP, 4.40 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 13 K's
Tom Whilhelmsen: 1-0, 4 IP, 2.25 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 5 K's
Brandon League: 2 saves, 3 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 2 K's

The hitting has been great as you can see the Mariners have six regulars right now who are hitting above .300 which may be due to a short sample size. After last seasons failures in hitting this is still a pleasant surprise to see.

The Bad:

Not all was good for the Mariners in their 3-1 start. The Mariners have three regulars including two guys who the organization is hoping to be a cornerstone of the franchise get off to a slow start. Add in the blown save in the second game of the year you'll see a couple of bullpen arms make the list as well. As for the hitting Miguel Olivo isn't hitting at all or is he catching well with already two pass balls. With the trade of left handed John Jaso and facing nothing but righties it was puzzling to see Olivo start all four games this year so far. With the team going 3-1 though it is hard to complain too much. The team played well and players will always be slumping but it was frustrating to see Justin Smoak and Jesus Montero come out of the gate struggling. Both guys are prized prospects who the Mariners gave up some pitching to acquire both. This is Smoak's third year in the major leagues as this appears to be a make or break year for him. So far he has gotten off to a slow start despite the home run over in Japan. For the players hitting well and same with the players doing poorly at first this is just four games into a long 162 game schedule.

Bad Hitting:

Jesus Montero: 3-15(.200), RBI, 2 K's, Caught Stealing. Hitting .200/.188/.200
Miguel Olivo: 2-16(.125), run, RBI, 2 K's. Hitting .125/.125/.125
Justin Smoak: 2-17(.118), HR, 2 runs, 2 RBI's, 4 K's. Hitting . 118/.167/.294
Mike Carp: 0-4(.000)

Bad Pitching:

Shawn Kelly: 0-1, blown save,  0.1 IP, 27.00 ERA, 3.00 WHIP
George Sherrill: 0 IP, 3 hits, 1 run, 1 homerun

Hopefully this week in Texas will awake the bats of Smoak and Montero. Jack Zduriencik's tenure as Mariners GM will be measured up to how those two perform since he traded all-star pitchers Cliff Lee and Michael Pineda for them.

The Awesome:

Chone Figgins in the past has been a pain in the ass for the Mariners. He was a pain in the ass to the Mariners when he played for the Angels too as he was their leadoff hitter constantly getting on base and causing havoc on the Mariners. Then the Mariners signed him moved him to the #2 spot in the order and he was again a pain in the Mariners ass as he never got on base. Last year he hit below .200 as they were having drink specials based on his batting average. Well this year Figgins is hitting leadoff and in exchange for that he is playing everywhere on the field. He was the opening day third baseman and due to Mike Carp getting hurt in left field Figgins is now playing left field which is allowing Kyle Seager's red hot bat to play third base. The Mariners are hoping this isn't just some small sample size instead the return of Figgins. They also saw Michael Saunders who was once a top 100 prospect according to baseball america continue his hot spring training hitting into the major league season.

Awesome Hitting:

Mariners team: Hitting .266/.291/.385 with 3 HR's averaging 4.8 runs per game

Chone Figgins: Figgins has had back to back three hit games for the Mariners something he has only done twice now in his career. Last year in 81 games Figgins had only one three hit performance. He is playing the outfield now and leading off. Figgins is finally starting to hit and hopefully he is due for a big year.

Michael Saunders: Saunders is getting what feels like his last chance in Seattle. With Franklin Gutierrez out due to injury Saunders is starting in his place. Saunders so far has had a terrific spring training and has started off well this year. His home run came off of a lefty where he has struggled in the past.

The Mariners hitting numbers aren't great but they are day and night better than last season. The Mariners have beaten up on the Oakland A's the one AL West team they seem to do well against the last few years. Now comes the real test as they take on the Texas Rangers down in Arlington in a nice four game set.

AL West Standings:

Seattle Mariners: 3-1, First Place
Texas Rangers: 2-1, 0.5 GB
L.A.Angels: 1-2, 1.5 GB
Oakland A's: 1-3, 2.0 GB

The Seattle Mariners are looking to go 4-1 for the first time since 2001. If the Mariners go 4-1 it will be how that 2001 team did as well winning the opener, dropping the second game then winning three in a row. As we all know that 2001 team won 116 games and is the last Mariners team to play in the postseason. Before we get ahead of ourselves it was nice to see the Mariners playing well coming out of the gate especially hitting. This is a big week as the Mariners take on the two-time defending AL champions Texas Rangers a team who has owned them the last four years and then return home for the home opener which should be pretty special. If the Mariners can keep up their hitting they could possibly surprise some people as they hope to compete for a winning season which they have only had two since 2004.

Sounders nearly snatch one late, but settle for a draw

By Money Mike


In 2011 the Sounders had the best road record in MLS. In the first road match of the season, it was an evenly played game on both sides from start to finish and in the end the Sounders came close to stealing all three points in the final second of the match, but sometimes close isn't good enough as this match ended in a goalless draw. The Sounders are now 2-1-1 on the year with still a couple games in hand with the Western Conference in this young season. The team looked better than last week with the return of a couple of key players, however they were still without Adam Johansson, Mauro Rosales and Steve Zakuani. Johansson and Rosales are expected to return to the lineup next week when the Sounders return home to face Colorado while Zakuani is expected to return within a month or two.

The Sounders didn't really test D.C. United goalkeeper Joe Willis until the 22nd minute when Fredy Montero gave it a go from about 19-yards out, but it was right into the arms of Willis. Montero has still yet to score this first goal of the season, but he's looked more lively these last couple of games and will surely break through soon.

A minute later, Seattle nearly found themselves a goal behind. Nick DeLeon made a nice cut toward the endline and sent in a low driven ball to the near post for Hamdi Salihi who had Michael Gspurning beaten, but the crossbar denied D.C. the lead and Salihi's first D.C. goal.

In the 34th minute, Seattle had probably the best chance of the match. Alvaro Fernandez took the corner which was headed out. Ozzie Alonso stepped up and volleyed it back into the area which found the head of Fredy Montero who was onside, but his header just missed wide of the far post. It didn't look like Fredy was expecting it at all.

Eddie Johnson came on in the 66th minute of the match for his MLS debut for the Rave Green and nearly made an impact. Zach Scott sent in a good cross for Johnson who got up high, but couldn't direct it on target.

With just over 15 minutes to go, D.C. came close to breaking the deadlock. Chris Pontius, who scored twice against us in one of our home matches in 2010 (not three), got around Zach Scott and worked a give and go with Maicon Santos before missing the far corner. Nick DeLeon tried to follow up, but the ball rolled out of play.

Five minutes later, Seattle failed to clear and the ball fell through to Maicon Santos who couldn't get a clear shot on target and was easily saved by Michael Gspurning. Gspurning had a great night in goal for the Sounders especially on set pieces and long throw-in's on his way to his second clean sheet of the season.

In the final minute of stoppage time, Seattle came so close to snatching a late goal. Just seconds after coming on against his old club. Marc Burch followed up on a long range effort from Ozzie Alonso, but he was denied by the crossbar.


Observations:

Neither team played like they deserved to win. Some key players like David Estrada were kept in check. Alvaro Fernandez didn't do much either. As a matter of fact, I think he had a somewhat disappointing night. Especially that one opportunity that was goal bound. A centering pass for David Estrada was an awful one and we've rarely seen that from Fernandez in the early stages of the season. Again, Seattle was still missing some key figures like Mauro Rosales. But they did get Eddie Johnson back after he missed the first three matches of the season due a hip flexor injury he suffered in the Champions League Quarterfinal against Santos Laguna. 

Dwayne De Rosario has been kept quiet all night which is something you rarely see out of him, but the backline of Seattle stood tall and shut down D.C. United's attack force. Salihi still has yet to score his first MLS goal, Maicon Santos couldn't add to his two goals he scored against FC Dallas and both Danny Cruz and Nick DeLeon didn't really do much on the wing for United.

The fact that we were missing Mauro Rosales and Adam Johansson, I think to head to D.C. and get a draw was a pretty good result for this team. It just shows that the Sounders will never back down and once their key players return, this will be a dangerous Sounders team in 2012.


Scoring summary:

NONE


Misconduct summary:

D.C. United - Maicon Santos (caution; foul) 12'

D.C. United - Dejan Jakovic (caution; foul) 30'


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Leo Gonzalez; Roger Levesque, Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Alvaro Fernandez (Marc Burch 92'+); David Estrada (Eddie Johnson 66'), Fredy Montero

D.C. United - Joe Willis; Robbie Russell (Chris Korb 74'), Dejan Jakovic, Emiliano Dudar, Daniel Woolard; Danny Cruz (Chris Pontius 59'), Perry Kitchen, Dwayne De Rosario, Nick DeLeon; Hamdi Salihi (Branko Boskovic 72'), Maicon Santos

Sounders hit the road for the first time this season as they take on D.C. United

By Money Mike


After taking six points out of nine in their first three matches of the season (all at home) the Seattle Sounders get set to play their first road match of 2012 as they invade the nations capital. The Sounders take on D.C. United today at 4:30pm. The Sounders are coming off their first loss of the season, falling 1-0 to the San Jose Earthquakes. D.C. are coming off their first win of the season, winning 4-1 at home last week against FC Dallas. Maicon Santos scored two goals in that match and Dwayne De Rosario who has yet to score this season picked up two assists. The Sounders are 4-2-1 all time against D.C. including their U.S. Open Cup final victory in 2009 which was the first of three in a row for the Men in Rave Green.


Injury report:

Seattle Sounders FC - For the Sounders, Eddie Johnson who's been dealing with a right hip strain looks like will be good to go for tomorrows match. I expect him to be on the bench to start this one. Adam Johansson missed the last two matches with a strained left hamstring. Right now there's about a 50/50 chances he'll return. I don't expect Mauro Rosales to return until next Saturday when the Sounders return home to face the Colorado Rapids. He suffered a knee injury in the season opener against Toronto FC.

D.C. United - For D.C., Ethan White is out after having surgery on his right knee. Rookie Lance Rozeboom has a torn left ACL and he is out. Bill Hamid sprained his left ankle while he was with the U.S. U-23 national team in their bid for the 2012 Olympics (which was unsuccessful). He is listed as questionable, expect Joe Willis to get the start in net. Dejan Jakovic, Kurt Morsink and Josh Wolff are all listed as probable.


Key matchup:

Danny Cruz vs Marc Burch - Well Burch will have his work cut out for him against his former team. Going up against one of D.C. United's offseason acquisitions Danny Cruz. We've seen what Danny Cruz can do with his left foot, he loves to cut inside which is where he's dangerous. It's a question of how Burch will fare against a young talented player like Cruz.

Seattle Sports Blog weekly rant!

By Kshell

This past week in Seattle sports a ton of stuff has gone down. Due to work and other obligations I haven't had the time to sit down and discuss each item. As you guys know by now I have strong opinions on various topics. In this post this is more or less going to be a rant about various topics. I'm not going to pretend I'm reporting anything just rant how I feel about various subjects. I must admit with opening day happening this week due to the Mariners playing in Japan, sucking for a decade straight and trying to prevent the NBA/NHL to return to Seattle it has been pretty hard to get up for this baseball season.  Throw in the fact that the Washington Huskies basketball team has lost two underclassmen who happen to be the two best players and this week has been tough. The Seahawks debut their new uniforms which most of the fan base simply didn't like. Then you have news from the Washington Huskies football that they don't even have enough lineman to possibly run a spring game. Throw in another five star recruit leaving this state to play in conference and Seattle sports in general just seems pretty bad right now. I'm going to rant on each topic and I'm sure not everyone will agree with my rants. Then again I don't really care if anyone cares for my rants as long as they are heard that is all I truly care about.

Okay first rant which I'm already getting annoyed of. Can we stop with this ridiculous lazy ass analysis that the Huskies will be better off without Terrence Ross and Tony Wroten? I mean come on people! They were our two best players both were named first team all pac-12 and both were up for player of the year. You don't get better losing two NBA players especially when you are an NIT. The Huskies missed the tournament because they still have no low post scoring options which they won't have next year. The Huskies had no leadership which they won't have next year either as Abdul Gaddy and Scott Suggs aren't vocal in your face leaders like Isaiah Thomas, Nate Robinson, Jon Brockman and Brandon Roy were. The Huskies free throw shooting cost them as well which has been a problem for Lorenzo Romar teams the past five seasons now. Next year the Huskies will have streaky shooters in C.J. Wilcox and hopefully Scott Suggs can emerge as well as Abdul Gaddy. The thing is everything has to fall into place just right for the Huskies to make the big dance and I mean get hot in the only games that count apparently(since the regular season means dick). Will fans stop bashing Wroten already unless they like playing in the CBI then go ahead and bash away please.

You see that guys? That is me standing next to a Washington Huskies national championship trophy. You wouldn't know that the Huskies once won a national title 20 years ago according to the Dawgman, Seattle Times and Softy's page crowd. Expectations are such an all-time low right now for Husky football it's embarassing. Steve Sarkisian is heading into year four and yet I'm still hearing about freaking 0-12!! Shoot guys 0-12 is about as relevant as 12-0 back in 1991.  Facts are Sarkisian is entering year four as is 19-19 as a head coach and more importantly he's 4-12 on the road. Last years collapse shouldn't just be on Nick Holt's shoulders when Sarkisian begged Holt to come to UW and bosted how he hired the top defensive coordinator in the nation. Now with Chris Polk leaving to the NFL you see Scott Eklund posting how you make an excuse for a losing season in 2012. I find that talk to be insulting considering most teams would kill to have  junior quarterback as good as Keith Price. Besides I was told the last three years how Sarkisian is this great recruiter so although the seniors might not be good there should be more than enough talent to produce a winning season. This culture of low expectations around Montlake has really worried me. You add in the fact they created the zone and going to Husky games is turning more and more into that crap feeling I get when I go to Mariners games.

Speaking of the Mariners what is this bullshit about the biggest complaint fans give to Chuck Armstrong is the traffic?!!! Are you kidding me Chuck?!! You don't think fans are more upset with you putting a constant loser out there that has finished last place six of the last eight seasons?!! How some are defending Chuck Armstrong and Howard Lincoln trying to sabotage the potential return of the Sonics and NHL to Seattle is beyond me. First of all this gameday traffic myth is just that. From 2000-2003 the Mariners averaged nearly 40,000 fans a game. Now that number is around 23,000 so adding the NBA/NHL's 17,000 that is the same number as back then. When the Sonics were in town back in 2008 they shared just TWO home dates that was it. If the Mariners had a winning product people would go to their games the fact they expect me to pay to see them lose constantly is a joke. A ticket at a baseball game may be cheap but the concession stands alone will cost you over $50. That money is going towards what again?!! Payroll keeps trimming down, they claim they are doing a youth movement yet I see Ichiro, Chone Figgins, Kevin Millwood, George Sherrill and Miguel Olivo out there. Last I saw those guys aren't young. I wish Clay Bennett had been a baseball fan and not an NBA fan. I'd glady sell the Mariners and let them keep mayor Greg Nickels plus they can have Starbucks for the Sonics. We get Kevin Durant you can keep those other morons.

I understand why baseball has the opening series in Japan. I also thought it was very cool for Ichiro to play in Japan in a Mariners uniform. Having said that I think opening the season in Japan is the dumbest thing baseball can do. Due to the season opening in Japan I along with many other fans were robbed of an opening day experience. Due to living a normal life back then meaning I had to get up in the morning I was unable to watch the games so I missed out. So when the Mariners play the Oakland A's this weekend it won't be the same as they have already played. The whole series was ticky tack anyways with Root sports having Dave Sims and Mike Blowers announce the game from Bellevue instead of actually in Japan was dumb as well. Plus the Mariners played two real games then came back for spring training breaking up the season. The Mariners already travel more than any other team by a large margain and Bud Selig asked them to travel some more. I understand why they did the trip but in the future if the Mariners actually cared about winning which they obviously don't they'll say no to this.

The NFL debut the new Nike uniforms this week with the Seahawks being the only team to truly change their uniforms. Now most fans are already bitching about the uniforms and how ugly they are blah blah blah. The important thing is the uniforms were a smash hit as most current NFL players raved about them on twitter. The Seahawks stole the headlines on the new uniforms as they were the talk of the NFL. Now as you guys know I hate the Oregon Ducks but all those wacky uniform combo's makes them the "it" team of college football and definately of the west coast. Notice even our very own Washington Huskies have different uniform combo's now? There is a reason you don't want to be left behind on the times. Recruits also noticed Oregon's uniforms and with the Seahawks having nine different uniform combinations they'll be luring key free agents. So yes these uniforms may ruffle the feathers of some fans but in reality I'd rather they do that than piss off the players. If the Seahawks land good players then the fans will come. Fans don't go to games to see the uniforms they go to see good play a concept the Mariners still haven't figured out yet.

Well I hoped you guys liked my rant. From here on out I'm going to do a weekly rant every Friday morning to catch you up on what is bugging me concerning Seattle sports. A lot of stuff went down this week for our teams and I'll be there to give my two cents on the situation. I like what the Seahawks are doing in general while I continue to hate what the Mariners are doing. I'm just puzzled with UW sports in a nutshell as they have good teams but accept being average so damn much it pisses me off. If the NBA/NHL doesn't come to Seattle look for a lot of fans including myself to never step foot at Safeco Field again. The Mariners ownership continues to alienate their fan base with crappy play and now this nonsense. Well guys I'm out until next week hope you enjoyed the SSB weekly rants!

Sounders come away with nothing this time, lose 1-0 to San Jose

By Money Mike


After winning their first two matches of the season the Seattle Sounders came into this match with alot of confidence, but sometimes confidence isn't good enough. The Sounders found themselves on the losing end, falling 1-0 to the San Jose Earthquakes. The Sounders hit the road next Saturday in the nations capital as they face D.C. United who are coming off their first win of the season, defeating FC Dallas 4-1. It was a poorly played game from both sides and the Sounders deserved no more than a point out of this, but a horrible PK decision midway through the first half made sure that didn't happen. Seattle will have to shake this one off and turn their attention to their match next Saturday at D.C.

Seattle did start of brightly in the early minutes. In the 10th minute after San Jose struggled to clear the ball out of danger, Osvaldo Alonso stepped and sent in a driven ball to the middle of the penalty area for Fredy Montero who just headed it over the top.

In the 17th minute, San Jose nearly caught the Sounders on the break. Chris Wondolowski found Steven Beitashour making a brilliant overlapping run from the back. Beitashour whipped in a short cross which bounced to the far post for Steven Lenhart who forced a save from Michael Gspurning who then pounced on the ball and held on to prevent Chris Wondolowski from putting home the rebound.

Now as I said on my preview, Alvaro Fernandez was fined for embellishment in last weeks match. The MLS Disciplinary Committee better fine Steven Lenhart as well for this crap in the 23rd minute. Marc Burch stuck his leg out and there was very little to no contact on the play. It was a clear dive by Lenhart but referee Mark Kadlecik decides to point to the penalty spot and award a PK to the Quakes. I hate making excuses here but that was a horrible call by the referee. I'm just getting sick and tired of the fact that referee's end up deciding the game.

Chris Wondolowski stepped up to take the PK for San Jose. Michael Gspurning has made some key penalty saves during his career. However, Wondo overpowered him and put it inside the right post for his fourth of the season and to give San Jose the lead in Seattle.

In the 35th minute, Zach Scott, who got the start again at right back for the injured Adam Johansson, sent in a cross into the six yard box where four Sounder players were waiting. The ball found the head of Alonso who headed it just wide of the near post.

The Sounders continued to push at the start of the second half. In the 51st minute, Osvaldo Alonso found David Estrada who turned, got away from Sam Cronin and had a go from about 25 yards away, but it didn't really test goalkeeper Jon Busch. Estrada who scored four goals in his first two matches was really quiet in the first half and trying to get it going in the second half.

Six minutes later, the Quakes nearly capitalized on a mistake. Servando Carrasco gave the ball away to Sam Cronin who stepped away from Patrick Ianni, but just missed wide as he looked to slot into the far corner.

In the 83rd minute, Fredy Montero and Sammy Ochoa liked up very well on this play and Montero looked to curl this one into the far corner but Jon Busch came up huge yet again. That was just about the last real opportunity for the Sounders as the breaks just weren't going their way like they were last match.


Scoring summary:

San Jose Earthquakes - Chris Wondolowski 4 (penalty kick) 24'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; foul) 6'

Seattle Sounders FC - Christian Sivebaek (caution; Persisten infringement) 47'+

San Jose Earthquakes - Rafael Baca (caution; foul) 64'

San Jose Earthquakes - Steven Lenhart (caution; Time wasting) 64'

Seattle Sounders FC - Zach Scott (caution; foul) 81'

San Jose Earthquakes - Alan Gordon (caution; foul) 83'


Lineups:

San Jose Earthquakes - Jon Busch; Steven Beitashour, Victor Bernardez, Justin Morrow, Ramiro Corrales (Jason Hernandez 46'); Marvin Chavez (Simon Dawkins 89'), Sam Cronin, Rafael Baca, Shea Salinas; Steven Lenhart (Alan Gordon 67'), Chris Wondolowski

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Zach Scott, Patrick Ianni, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (Jeff Parke 46'), Marc Burch; Christian Sivebaek (Sammy Ochoa 62'), Osvaldo Alonso, Servando Carrasco (Alex Caskey 74'), Alvaro Fernandez; David Estrada, Fredy Montero