Sounders explode with five second half goals to defeat Cal FC 5-0

By Money Mike


Unlike the Portland Timbers last week, the Seattle Sounders had no problem at all with Cal FC. The Sounders put up a five spot on the amateur side and advanced to the Quarterfinal of the U.S. Open Cup with a 5-0 win. The Sounders will face the San Jose Earthquakes in the Quarterfinal on June 26th (although it could be moved to June 27th) at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco. I doubt San Jose will agree to move the match to Starfire like Atlanta did back in the third round. The Sounders won't be back in action until June 16th when they travel to the Stade Saputo in Montreal and face the Montreal Impact who currently have four former Sounder players on the team. Those four are Miguel Montano, Lamar Neagle, Sanna Nyassi and Tyson Wahl. They also had Mike Fucito at one point before they traded him to the Portland Timbers.

The Sounders were knocking on the door early in the match. In the 6th minute, Alex Caskey made a cut and had support from the trailing Andy Rose. Caskey fed Rose who settled and cracked one from distance and a slight deflection just forced his shot wide. Rose who scored his first Sounders goal last week against the Atlanta Silverbacks was looking to make it two goals in two games, but he just missed wide.

In the 17th minute, Cal FC had an opportunity off a corner kick. Diego Barrera rolled the ball to the top of the penalty area for Danny Barrera who took a crack at it, but it was easily saved by Bryan Meredith. Danny Barrera is one of four Cal FC players who have had tryouts with the Seattle Sounders these last couple of years. The other three were goalkeeper Derby Carillo, who a couple years ago during his stint with Seattle got pranked on April Fools Day along with a couple other rookies. Mike Randolph and Jesus Gonzalez also tried out for the Rave Green.

In the 31st minute, the Sounders came close again. Zach Scott's long throw in was headed back to the top of the area by Fredy Montero. Waiting in that area was Alex Caskey who cracked on first time and again it was deflected wide. I don't know if Derby Carillo got a touch to that one, but my guess was he may have been beat on that play had the ball not taken a deflection. Off the corner kick the ball bounced to Sammy Ochoa at the six yard area, but Ochoa couldn't tap it in.

In the 42nd minute, Sammy Ochoa got on the end of a cross from Marc Burch. However, Derby Carillo comes up with a big save to deny a breakthrough for the Sounders.

Five minutes into the second half, the Seattle Sounders would finally break the deadlock. Fredy Montero had a go from 19 yards out which was blocked by Albero Navarro in the box. But there's a little problem here because it hit Navarro's arm and he's not a goalkeeper so therefore, the referee calls a handball and points to the penalty spot. Ozzie Alonso stepped up to take the PK with an opportunity to give the Sounders the lead. He went to the goalkeepers right hand side and Derby Carillo read it perfectly and got a touch on it, but he didn't get enough of the touch to keep the ball out of the net and the Sounders drew first blood in the 50th minute.

In the 57th minute, the Sounders looked to double their advantage on Cal FC. Off a quick free kick Marc Burch sent the ball long into the penalty area for Andy Rose. The rookie from UCLA then headed the ball back across for Sammy Ochoa who went for the Bicycle Kick, but the ball went beyond everything. Ochoa looked to pick up where he left off last Tuesday against Atlanta where he had two goals. He had a chance on picking up his third of the tournament but it didn't work with that effort, even though it was a good one.

A minute later Seattle would double their advantage. Jhon Kennedy Hurtado booted the ball to midfield. Sammy Ochoa got up and won the ball as he flicked it for Cordell Cato who made a brilliant move to get away from two Cal FC defenders as sprinted towards the penalty area. Cato then looked and slid the ball across beautifully for Fredy Montero to put it away and extend the Sounders lead to 2-0.

The Sounders weren't done there. In the 63rd minute, they would add a third goal. Fredy Montero's corner kick found Sammy Ochoa again from point blank range and his header was punched off the line by Derby Carillo. Cal FC failed to help their goalkeeper by clearing the ball out of danger and Alex Caskey took advantage of it and headed the ball in. Unfortunately for him, he didn't get credit with the goal because his header hit Andy Rose's face before it went in so he got credited with an assist and Andy Rose got credited with his second goal in as many matches.

Seattle still wasn't done. In the 68th minute, Fredy Montero took the free kick from the far side. It looked at first it was going to be a cross for Sammy Ochoa, and it may have actually been an attempted cross. The ball was curled in toward the near post for Ochoa who was in an offside position and at first I thought he got a touch to it, but apparently he didn't. Both the referee and the linesman discussed the situation and in the end, it was ruled a goal for Montero which made it 4-0.

Two minutes later, the Sounders would bag one more. This one made SportsCenter's Top 10 plays yesterday. Alex Caskey rolled the ball to Ozzie Alonso and from 30 yards out, Alonso hits a half-volley over the head of Derby Carillo and into the net to make it 5-0 Sounders and that's how it ended.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (PK) 50'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (Cordell Cato) 58'

Seattle Sounders FC - Andy Rose (Alex Caskey) 63'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (unassisted) 68'

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (Andy Rose) 70'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; Reckless tackle) 19'

Seattle Sounders FC - Sammy Ochoa (caution; Unsporting behavior) 45'

Cal FC - Richard Menjivar (caution; Reckless tackle) 74'


Lineups:

Cal FC - Derby Carillo; Alberto Navarro, Hector Espinosa (Paulo Ferreira-Mendez 76'), Mike Randolph, Richard Menjivar; Jesus Gonzalez, Eder Arreola (Pedro Ferreira-Mendez 60'), Pablo Cruz (Alex Caceres 65'), Artur Aghasyan; Danny Barrera, Diego Barrera

Seattle Sounders FC - Bryan Meredith; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Marc Burch; Cordell Cato, Osvaldo Alonso (Servando Carrasco 75'), Andy Rose, Alex Caskey; Sammy Ochoa (Roger Levesque 73'), Fredy Montero (David Estrada 81')

I still hate Howard Schultz

By Kshell

What should have been a great day in Seattle Sports history was ruined due to what Howard Schultz did to the city on July 18th, 2006. On that day Schultz the owner of Starbucks coffee sold the team out to out of state owner Clay Bennett who was from Oklahoma. On that day most Sonics fans became scared as we knew our team was in serious danger of moving. The team eventually moved after the 2007-08 season due to mayor Greg Nickels selling out the team and releasing the Seattle Supersonics of their two year lease agreement. Now most in this city have a ton of hate towards this situation I feel like Howard Schultz who receives a ton of hate doesn't earn even more. This man not only robbed me of my team that I grew up with but he robbed us all of the experience to witness one of  the NBA's all-time greats when it is all said and done in Kevin Durant. Howard Schultz was supposed to be on our side as was Greg Nickels and yet both failed us. This is why I'll never vote for Nickels and will never spend one penny at Starbucks!

Howard Schultz often used the phrase "civic duty" yet when it came to the hometown team he stabbed them in the back for more money.  Schultz bought the team from long time owner Barry Ackerly in 2001 as Ackerly sold to Schultz due to being an in state owner despite someone else bidding more. Schultz then ran the franchise into the ground and alienating his fan base by trading away Gary Payton. With poor drafting and bad free agent signings the Sonics were a complete mess under Schultz watch. In 2004-05 the Sonics came out of nowhere to win the first ever Northwest Division title going 52-30. Schultz was there courtside acting like a fan. Acting like the type of owner you want. That offseason he would let Nate McMillan walk down the road to coach the Portland Trail Blazers. Schultz once again went cheap instead of hiring a real head coach he promoted long time assistent Bob Weiss. After the Sonics failed that year he sold the team that offseason to Oklahoma businessman Clay Bennett. Steve Balmer and others in this area were willing to buy the team but Schultz never officially put the team on sale. Instead sold to Bennett who way overpaid. Schultz when all said and done made over 150 million dollars in profit by selling this team.

I remember in my college years at Central Washington University trying to ignore reality of the situation. There was no way the NBA was going to let some new owner just move the team away who had 40 years of history including an NBA title. There was no way our city was going to let Bennett out of his lease that ran through the 2010 season. The Sonics under Bennett that first year continued to struggled then that offseason he decided to blow the team up. Most thought he was doing that on purpose but I actually liked that decision. The Sonics landed Kevin Durant with the #2 pick and traded franchise star Ray Allen for Jeff Green. The Sonics last year in Seattle would lose over 60 games for the first time in franchise history. The Sonics in that 2008 draft would select Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka. Already I was worried because at the draft both players were chosen by the "Sonics" there was no mention of Seattle. All the national media guys were saying the team was gone and recently at this time Schultz stepped forward claiming he was going to sue Bennett for lying to him about having a "good faith" to keep the team. I was thinking right on Schultz maybe you aren't this bad guy after all! Schultz I figured knew people hated him and wanted to right his wrong.

Come to find out it was all for show by Schultz. A week after the draft then mayor Greg Nickels sold the team out and realeased the Sonics of their two year lease. Immediately after that Schultz dropped his lawsuit and the nightmare scenario had become reality. I was so upset as I knew Kevin Durant was going to become a star. I also knew that first year they would struggle and receive another high draft pick which they did in James Harden. Seattle fans put in the hard work with this franchise which didn't give us many memories from 1998-2008. Now Oklahoma City in just their fourth season is going to the NBA Finals meanwhile here in Seattle we are just hoping that someday we can have a team. Clay Bennett and David Stern aren't high on my list at all and I hate them. I really hate Greg Nickels and Howard Schultz the most. Those guys were supposed to be on our team yet they stabbed us in the back for more money. Money that none of us fans are ever going to see.

I'm so angered when I drive by a starbucks in Seattle and see the place is full. I'm so angered that so many in this area still refer to OKC as their team. How can you claim them as us when they were stolen from us?!! I like Kevin Durant but I hate their owner, hate that city, and hate their fan base that is consistently rubbing our noses in the fact our team was stolen. I was disgusted when this state had a starbucks day to honor Schultz just shows the politicians didn't care then or care now about the Sonics franchise. Last night we should have been celebrating our first trip to the NBA Finals in 16 years instead we are left with sadness, anger and just flat out depression. For this feeling I'll never forgive Howard Schultz who destroyed a city and made a profit. A guy who most of this state doesn't hate for some reason. I'm not a hateful person at all but I truly hate Howard Schultz and can't stand the way people have easily forgotten what he did to our city.





If you want to learn more about the Sonics situation feel free to watch Sonicsgate the movie as you'll learn a lot about what exactly had happened to us during that terrible time.

Sounders look to end Cal FC's dramatic Open Cup run

By Money Mike


It has been a hell of a run in the U.S. Open Cup for Cal FC, but now they need to find a way to get past the Seattle Sounders tonight at Starfire. This match will be televised nationally on FOX Soccer and will also be streamed live on soundersfc.com. Some fans have felt a little nervous about this match. In the first round, Cal FC got past the Kitsap Pumas 3-1. In the second round, they pounded the Wilmington Hammerheads 4-0. And of course in the third round, they pulled off a huge upset by defeating the Portland Timbers 1-0 in extra time at Jeld-Wen Field. The Sounders of course are coming off a 5-1 win over the Atlanta Silverbacks. Andy Rose and Alex Caskey each cashed in with their first Sounders goal, Ozzie Alonso picked up his first goal of the season and Sammy Ochoa scored two.


What to watch out for in this match:

I won't have much to say on this article. What I would look for is the Sounders to continue to attack for 90 minutes and really wear down the Cal FC backline. This has been my key to victory 24/7, and it's once again my key to victory. I'd much rather lose to the Earthquakes or the Minnesota Stars rather than Cal FC. Well actually, I'd rather not lose at all but hopefully you guys understand my point that a win by Cal FC over the Sounders would be a major upset. Time for the Sounders to make sure that doesn't happen.

Seattle Mariners weekly recap: May 28th-June 3rd edition

By Kshell

The Seattle Mariners just completed a 3-3 road trip that extends tonight. The Mariners began the week taking two out of three against the Rangers which includes a six run 9th inning in a 10-3 win followed up by a 21-8 win which saw the Mariners lead 16-0 after three innings. The Mariners then would lose two out of three to the Chicago White Sox but had an exciting 10-8 win over the White Sox in extra innings on Saturday. This week also saw Justin Smoak named as American League player of the week as he had a huge week along with all the other youngsters on the Mariners team. The young guys are starting to play well and it's nice seeing a team with a future for once. This team with these young hitters has been inconsistent but the future appears bright. This week since the Mariners went 3-3 I'll talk about the good(the youngsters), the bad( Ryan and Figgins) and the awesome(where I go over the players Jack Zduriencik has drafted/traded for to see how they are doing). As always hope you enjoy my Mariners weekly recap.

The Good:

The good for this week was the hitting future of Dustin Ackley, Jesus Montero, Kyle Seager and Justin Smoak. Throw in Michael Saunders who is still in his 20's and this week gave all the optimistic Mariners fans hope in the Jack Zduriencik regime. The Mariners offense three times this week scored in double figures. The Mariners offense averaged 8.2 runs per game. In their three wins they averaged 13.7 runs per game. Like I said up top Justin Smoak was named American League player of the week and this week saw a change in the lineup. Dustin Ackley moves back into the #2 spot instead of leadoff while Kyle Seager is now the #3 hitter as Ichiro slides back into leadoff where he homered twice on Saturday. The Mariners bullpen pitched pretty well this week as they saw the debut of youngster Stephen Pryor who began the year in double A. In his first major league appearance he came in to face Paul Konerko and struck him out on five pitches. He was clocked at 100 MPH twice in that at bat and threw Konerko nothing but fastballs. This week was a great week indeed for the future of this franchise.

Good Hitting:

Kyle Seager: 9-24(.375), HR, 6 runs, 5 RBI's, 4 doubles
Jesus Montero: 9-27(.333), HR, 4 runs, 5 RBI's, 2 doubles
Miguel Olivo: 4-14(.286), HR, 3 runs, 4 RBI's
Michael Saunders: 12-27(.444), HR, 5 runs, 3 RBI's, 3 doubles, SB
John Jaso: 4-15(.266), HR, 4 runs, 4 RBI's
Dustin Ackley: 6-20(.300), HR, 6 runs, 4 RBI's, 2 doubles, SB, 5 BB's
Justin Smoak: 8-23(.347), 3 HR's, 7 runs, 8 RBI's, 6 BB's

Good Pitching:

Jason Vargas: 1-0, 6.2 IP, 4.04 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 2 K's
Lucas Luetge: 2.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, K
Charlie Furbush: 3.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, 4 K's
Stephen Pryor: 2.1 IP, 3.86 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 4 K's
Brandon League: 3.2 IP, 2.45 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 2 K's
Tom Wilhelmsen: 1-0, 4 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, 4 K's

Lucas Luetge a rule five pick this year is 1-0 in 20 appearances having thrown 13.1 innings. He has a 0.00 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 13 K's. Opponents are hitting .174 off of him.

Charlie Furbush another lefty in the pen who Zduriencik acquired in the Doug Fister trade this year is 2-1 in 19 appearances. He has thrown 19.1 innings. He has a 3.26 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, and 22 K's. Opponents are hitting .149 off of him. The Mariners are in good shape as both pitchers are in their mid 20's far as left handed relievers go.

The Bad:

A run saved is worth a run scored is what I keep hearing. Now the bad this week is the veterans of this team continue to not hit. Sure Brendan Ryan has a great glove but he is also hitting .171 which is embarassing for a major league regular playing every day and we are in June right now. This week also saw the starting pitching get lit up which includes Felix Hernandez who might be going on the disabled list. Despite the offense blowing up the team was only able to go 3-3 this weekend losing all three games in close fassion.  With youngsters down in the minors tearing it up you have to wonder when some of these veterans that Eric Wedge loves so much might be getting a plane ticket out of town or in Ryan's case simply becomes a late inning defensive replacement.

Bad Hitting:

Alex Liddi: 2-12(.167), run, RBI, 6 K's
Chone Figgins: 3-15(.200), 2 runs, RBI, SB, 3 K's
Brendan Ryan: 4-24(.167), 5 runs, 4 RBI's, 2 SB's, 5 K's

Bad Pitching:

Felix Hernandez: 5 IP, 7.20 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, 6 K's, 3 HR's allowed
Kevin Millwood: 0-1, 9 IP, 5.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, 9 K's
Blake Beavan: 1-0, 6 IP, 7.50 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 2 K's
Hector Noesi: 4.1 IP, 12.47 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 5 K's, 3 HR's allowed
Steve Delabar: 0-1, 0.1 IP, 81.00 ERA, 9.00 WHIP, K

Brendan Ryan on the year is hitting .171/.275/.263 in 152 AB's with just one home run. He is one of the best defenders in baseball but at some point you need to hit.

As for Figgins I don't need to quote his stats as we know they suck. Figgins just needs to be released and hopefully will be when Franklin Guiterrez is called up soon.

The Awesome:

The future is looking very bright for the Mariners with Danny Hultzen, James Paxton and Taijuan Walker headlining the list. Currently all three along with Nick Franklin are in double A for the Jackson Generals as the Generals are currently 35-22. Not only that but the Mariners have a few(not many) nice pieces for the Tacoma Rainiers and then most of the young core is already on the big league team. Through the draft and trades Zduriencik is starting to build something which took a while due to Bill Bavasi wasting two top five draft selections where he passed on Ryan Zimmerman, Ryan Braun, Troy Tulowitski, Ricky Romero. Then following draft Tim Lincecum and Clayton Kershaw while trading away Asdrubal Cabera and Adam Jones. Would be nice having those two back plus two of those players I listed. Now the team has a bright future where I'll post their stats to give you an idea.

Awesome Pitching:

Danny Hultzen(2nd pick overall 2011 draft, #21 prospect baseball America 2012, 22 years old): 6-3, 62.1 IP, 1.44 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 67 K's(9.7 K's per 9)- Double A 2012

James Paxton(1st round 2009 draft by Toronto Blue Jays, 2010 fourth round pick by Mariners, #52 prospect baseball America 2012): 3-3, 46.1 IP,  3.88 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 52 K's(10.1 K's per 9)- Double A 2012.

For his minor league career he is 10-8, 159 IP, 3.00 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 201 K's(11.4 K's per 9)

Taijuan Walker(1st round pick in 2010 draft #43 overall, #20 prospect baseball America 2012, 19 years old): 4-1, 50.1 IP, 2.68 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 53 K's(9.5 K's per 9)- Double A 2012

For his minor league career he is 11-7, 154 IP, 2.75 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 175 K's(10.2 K's per 9)

Stephen Pryor(5th round pick 2010 draft): 1-0, 7 saves, 16.0 IP, 1.12 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 24 K's(13.5 K's per 9, 22 years old)- Double A Jackson

In Tacoma he recorded two saves while pitching 12 innings, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 15 K's(11.2 K's per 9).

In Seattle 2.1 IP, 3.86 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 4 K's(15.45 K's per 9).

In his minor league career 4-3, 24 saves, 113 innings, 2.87 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 155 K's(12.3 K's per 9).

Awesome Hitting:

Nick Franklin(1st round pick in 2009 draft 27th overall, #53 prospect baseball America 2011, #77 in 2012, 21 years old, Short Stop): Hitting .345/.410/.560 in 195 PA's. 4 HR's, 20 runs, 25 RBI's, 7 SB's.

For his minor league career: hitting .295/.362/.475 in 1,239 PA's. Has 35 HR's, 186 runs, 122 RBI's, 51 SB's.

Francisco Martinez( part of Doug Fister trade, 21 years old, 3rd base): Hitting .256/.333/.340 in 243 PA's. Has only one HR, 34 runs, 15 RBI's, 21 SB's.

For his minor league career: hitting .277/.329/.368 in 1,592 PA's. Has 17 Hr's, 218 runs, 161 RBI's, and 75 SB's.

Denny Almonte(2nd round pick in 2007 by Bill Bavasi, outfielder, 23 years old): Hitting .280/.360/.450 in 229 PA's with 8 HR's, 21 runs, 27 RBI's and 11 SB's- Double A

For his career hitting . 251/.297/.439 in 2,229 PA's with 77 HR's, 274 runs, 315 RBI's, 74 SB's

Carlos Triunfel( #62 prospect baseball America in 2008, #89 in 2009, SS/3B, 22 years old): Hitting .251/.310/.403 in 233 PA's. Has 5 HR's, 38 runs, 23 RBI's, 2 SB's.

Minor league career: hitting .276/.319/.373 in 2,206 PA's with 26 HR's, 269 runs, 206 RBI's, 48 SB's.

As you can see the future looks bright and this doesn't include guys who are in the major leagues like Felix Hernandez, Dustin Ackley, Justin Smoak, Jesus Montero, Kyle Seager, and Charlie Furbush. Also doesn't include Mike Zunino the catcher the Mariners chose today out of Florida #3 overall.

Al West Standings:

Texas Rangers: 32-22, first place
L.A. Angels: 28-27, 4.5 GB
Oakland A's: 23-31, 9.0 GB
Seattle Mariners: 24-32, 9.0 GB

This team will probably still lose another 90 games or come very close to doing that. Still the fact this team has so many youngsters who are already on the big club or dominating the minors has to be a refreshing thing to see. This isn't the 2008 group that lost over 100 games with a 100 million dollar payroll with no hope in the minor leagues besides Triunfel. This team is building this thing up from the ground up and will this result in a playoff appearance ever? Who knows. At least as fans we finally have hope for this team something we haven't had in forever. At least now there is some guys who when called up I'll pay money to actually see. There are some guys when called up to Tacoma I'll make the drive to watch in person. I'm probably getting ahead of myself but things are actually looking up for once for this team something we couldn't say a few years back.

Seattle Sounders FC monthly rewind: May 2012

By Money Mike


The Sounders started the month on a high note with wins over the LA Galaxy, the Philadelphia Union and FC Dallas. Since then, they have struggled to produce as they are winless in their last four MLS matches. After a long month where the Sounders had to play a total of eight matches, including the U.S. Open Cup, I'm going to look back and give you guys some positives (Bryan Meredith filling in very well in goal) and negatives (lack of finishing and poor defending) from this past month and look ahead to what we have going on for the month of June, including Steve Zakuani's road to recovery.


Positives:

Back on May 2nd against the LA Galaxy, Bryan Meredith came on as a halftime sub for Michael Gspurning after he suffered a hip injury. He was ruled out for 2-3 weeks, but I wasn't surprised that Meredith got the start in goal for the rest of the month. Since filling in, Meredith has done an excellent job as he finished the month with a GAA of 0.92 in six starts and he also has a couple of clean sheets. The Sounders have dealt with their goalkeeping crisis since the end of last season starting with Terry Boss's season ending concussion which also forced him to retire. Josh Ford has been dealing with a few injuries as well and Andrew Weber has had ankle problems that dropped him to the #3 spot in the Depth Chart. I still remember Bryan Meredith making his debut against Monterrey in the final Champions League group stage match and putting together a great performance between the pipes because he just joined the team at the time following Kitsap Pumas PDL Championship run. I've been impressed with this kid and I think he has a great future ahead of him, but unfortunately he won't be in goal much longer when Gspurning returns in a couple of weeks.

I think Fredy Montero has had a solid month for the Sounders and has answered all the stupid and unnecessary critics with four goals and three assists during the month. People have been calling him lazy and I will say that he hasn't been aggressive at the start of the season, but last month was a different story as he really began to challenge the defenders and test the goalkeepers. The Montero/Johnson partnership has had its ups and downs during the month, but I think it will start to take shape as summer rolls around. Montero has been accounted for six of the seven goals Seattle has scored in league play last month.


Negatives:

I'm not sure what to make of this. Last four MLS matches, poor defending and on the other side, poor finishing. This is definitely not the Sounders team we saw at the last half of the 2011 season all the way up to the midweek road match against FC Dallas. On the defensive side, the man who has disappointed me the most is Adam Johansson. He has been caught napping in his last three starts and those three times he got caught, the opposition went ahead and scored. He is 10 times better than that. The coaching staff needs to get in his head, get him fired up or whatever. They need to do something because getting caught in three straight matches is ridiculous. The defense needs to wake up and the offense needs to finish when they get the chance.


Western Conference standings:

1. Real Salt Lake, 9-3-2 (29 pts) GF 22 GA 14 GD 8
2. San Jose Earthquakes, 8-3-3 (27 pts) GF 27 GA 17 GD 10
3. Seattle Sounders FC, 7-3-3 (24 pts) GF 16 GA 9 GD 7
4. Colorado Rapids, 6-6-1 (19 pts) GF 20 GA 18 GD 2
5. Vancouver Whitecaps, 5-3-4 (19 pts) GF 13 GA 14 GD -1
6. Chivas USA, 4-6-3 (15 pts) GF 9 GA 14 GD -5
7. Portland Timbers, 3-5-4 (13 pts) GF 12 GA 15 GD -3
8. FC Dallas, 3-8-4 (13 pts) GF 15 GA 24 GD -9
9. Los Angeles Galaxy, 3-8-2 (11 pts) GF 15 GA 21 GD -6


Look ahead to the month of June:

There's really not much going on this month unlike last month. All we have are four league matches and a couple of U.S. Open Cup matches as well, unless the Sounders end of losing to Cal FC this Tuesday.

Upcoming schedule: June 2012

June 5 vs Cal FC, 7:00pm (soundersfc.com, FOX Soccer)*
June 16 @ Montreal Impact, 4:30pm (KONG TV)
June 20 vs Sporting Kansas City, 7:00pm (KONG TV)
June 24 @ Portland Timbers, 2:00pm (ESPN)
June 30 @ New England Revolution, 4:30pm (KONG TV)

Note: * - U.S. Open Cup match

Now this is huge for the Sounders. Last night Steve Zakuani appeared in a reserve match against the Whitecaps reserves and played a full 45 minutes. It was great to see him back out there as he winds down his long road to recovery from that broken leg he suffered April 23rd of last year. With the struggles the Sounders have gone through late last month and the fact that they have yet to get past the MLS Cup Quarterfinal, having Zakuani back will be a major boost for the Seattle Sounders on their road to MLS Cup 2012.

On this date in history: June 2nd

By Kshell

On this date in sports history some signficant events happened that I remember very vividly. The one event that happened was 16 years ago was when the Seattle Supersonics defeated the Utah Jazz in game seven of the Western Conference Finals 90-86 which was their first Finals appearance since 1979. I was in 4th grade and since the Sonics were going to play the Chicago Bulls I knew we had no chance so my dad and myself celebrated like we had one a title. That same school year the Mariners began the season with their magical 1995 run which saw the Mariners defeat the New York Yankees in five games. Edgar Martinez had the double heard around the northwest as Ken Griffey Jr scored the game winning run to defeat the Yankees. Sports was looking well for the northwest teams back then and on June 2nd the Sonics going to the Finals was one of the happiest sports days of my life.

Fast forward to 2010 and I was in Las Vegas, Nevada on a 10 day vacation. I was playing a lot of poker which you can see as I'm playing in a World Series sponsored sit and go(took 3rd place had chip lead got rivered back to back hands). Whenever I'm in Las Vegas with my friends I'm about having a good time and staying out late. Las Vegas is a great social city and this trip was no different than every other trip I've had down there. For whatever the reason whenever I'm in Las Vegas a major event happens in my life. The year before while I was in Las Vegas pop icon Michael Jackson had died and being in Vegas when that happened was a very surreal moment for me. Now in 2010 I didn't expect another big moment to happen. Instead I had two moments happen on the same day which was pretty crazy.

I woke up on June 2nd in the afternoon to a ton of text messages from my friends telling me that Seattle Mariners legendary outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. had suddenly retired without warning. Now there was rumors leading up to this as Griffey was struggling in 2010 hitting .184/.250/.204 on the year with zero home runs in 98 at bats as the team was experiencing a horrible season. There was no final goodbye to Griffey which was the sad part instead he retired. Griffey had retired with 630 home runs and a batting line of .284/.370/.538 in 9,801 at bats. Griffey scored 1,662 runs and drove in 1,836 runs in his future hall of fame career. Griffey had won an MVP in 1997 and finished in the top five in the MVP race in 1993(5th), 1994(2nd), 1996(4th), and 1998(4th). He was a 13-time all-star and had won 10 gold gloves. The Griffey retirement hit home to everyone in my age group who grew up with Griffey and was very sad to see the way he went out. Normally when a player of his calibar retires that is the big news of the day. Instead Griffey was overshadowed that day by a pitcher with a 26-30 record and a 4.69 ERA for his career.

Later that day I was watching the t.v. when sportscenter switched to the Detriot Tigers-Cleveland Indians game as Armando Galarraga was working on a perfect game. The Detroit Tigers had a 3-0 lead going into the 9th inning as Galarraga was three outs away from perfection. After recording the first two outs he was one out away facing shortstop Jason Donald. Donald hit a grounder inbetween second and first where Miguel Cabrera decided to snag the ball and toss it to Galarraga for the final out. As you can see Galarraga made the out but umpire Jim Joyce called the runner safe. I screamed in shock waking up my friend who I was staying with who is a night shift poker dealer on the strip in Vegas. When he saw the replay he couldn't believe it either as Galarraga was robbed of the perfect game. He would record the next batter but that opportunity to be perfect was lost forever. That story was the story that everyone was talking about on national t.v. and later on that night on the strip in Vegas at the poker tables all anyone could talk about.

For whatever reason when I go to Las Vegas major events happen. Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett die on the same day, Griffey retires same day as the perfect game was robbed by an umpire then last year when I found out I was going to be an uncle for the first time. This date in particular was special as the Sonics had clinched a trip to the NBA Finals back in 1996 and then the biggest Seattle sports legend we had ever seen retired on that same day 14 years later. June 2nd will always be a special date in Seattle sports history due to the Sonics and Griffey. I was just glad I can recall these moments so well and glad I can share those memories with you guys.

SSB weekly rant: May 26th-June 1st edition

By Kshell

Happy booze day to all my readers who like liquor! Today of course is the first day in this states history where alcohol can be purchased inside a store such as costco, fred meyers, wal mart, QFC, etc. So now it is much easier to purchase alcohol as you are buying your mix drinks. Not to mention the money now goes towards our state and it actually cheaper despite what many have you to believe. Hopefully those of you out there are taking advantage of this new law as you are reading my blog post. This week I have plenty to rant about as the NBA playoffs are now in the conference finals, while David Stern had yet another fishy NBA lottery, one team in the playoffs is denying tickets to fans who happen to live in 47 states in the United States and the Mariners are bowing down to a legend who is way past his prime.

The big news out of Seattle today is Ichiro is being moved from the 3rd spot in the lineup. That was expected since he is only hitting .271/.305/.367 on the season with just one home run in 223 PA's. He only had 15 extra base hits and when he was given the day off the Mariners erupted for 21 runs against the Texas Rangers. So most people thought the slumping Ichiro would hit at the bottom of the order as the kids develope. Instead Ichiro will bat leadoff in a move that pisses me off. Look I understand batting order doesn't matter and scrubs like Miguel Olivo still play against right handers. The reason this move pisses me off shows that Ichiro still has management by the balls. It shows that Ichiro is still running this franchise that has finished in last place six of the last eight seasons and is currently in last place right now. The Mariners continue to bow down to their legendary right fielder despite the fact he isn't hitting that well the last two years. The last two years Ichiro's production has fallen and with these young kids playing all the time it's time to develope them and worry about Ichiro less.

This week the NBA held their annual draft lottery where they determine who receives the number one pick. This year it matters more so than other years because the player with the number one pick will be Kentucky Wildcats center Anthony Davis. Davis who was the Final Four most outstanding player as he led the Wildcats to their first NCAA championship since 1998. Davis who was the #1 player coming out of high school didn't disappoint as he won the college basketball player of the year award when he averaged 14.2 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 1.4 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 62.3% from the field. So Davis is the obvious choice what made this lottery so fishy is the fact the New Orleans Hornets won the lottery. Yes the same team that David Stern and the NBA had taken over for over the past year. The same team that nobody wanted to buy then suddenly a month ago New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson bought the team despite not showing any interest in the team before. Look I don't know if Stern rigged the lottery or not but Sonicsgate did show he is a corrupt man. I wouldn't be shocked one bit if he promised Benson the #1 pick if he buys the team from the league. Stern is not someone you can trust as the NBA always has a way of getting the teams they want in the NBA Finals.

For yesterday's game three of the Western Conference Finals the Oklahoma City Zombie Sonics denied all fans who weren't from Oklahoma, Arkansas or Kansas to enter the game. If your billing address wasn't from those states you couldn't buy tickets. So that includes even famous people like rapper Lil' Wayne was denied to go to the game. As Charles Barkley has said in the past Oklahoma City isn't a city for black people and they are holding that statement true by denying a black rapper. This is very North Korea like in an attempt to keep Spurs fans and Sonics fans away. They know most of the NBA is rooting against them as they stole a team from a dedicated fan base like Seattle. Now they are denying people from other states to attend their games. These guys continue to show why they are at the bottom of the NBA when it comes to class. Oklahoma City with the way they still bash Seattle has shown they have no class and they are denying the world from their shithole city because they know the whole world will bash that city. Welcome to Oklahoma City folks where they resemble North Korea more than the United States!

Meanwhile the conference finals are heating up as the home teams have won all five games. The Miami Heat survived game two over the Boston Celtics in overtime 115-111. Ray Allen had hit a three pointer to force the overtime, Rajon Rondo scored 44 points, dished out 10 assists and grabbed eight rebounds as it wasn't enough. Lebron James had a "quiet" 34 points and 13 rebounds while Dwyane Wade was quiet all game until he scored eight in the overtime period to finish with 23 points. The Heat now lead 2-0 heading back to Boston tonight for game three. As for the other series the San Antonio Spurs led by Tony Parker and Tim Duncan led two games to zero winning 20 games in a row before finally losing to the Oklahoma City Zombie Sonics led by Kevin Durant who had been quiet the previous two games in the fourth quarter. That series is now 2-1 in the Spurs favor which should make for a terrific game four which can swing the series. I still like the Heat in five games and I like the Spurs in six games. The Heat-Spurs Finals might be one of the better finals we've seen in years.

Well hope you guys are enjoying your new alcohol freedoms today and watch the Heat-Celtics game. The Mariners are still showing that they will do whatever it takes to bow down to an aging star than worry about the future. Just don't say that to a certain media member on twitter or he'll attack you(and many others) in the process for simply disagreeing with him. Oklahoma City has continued to show they are a classless city, classless fan base and classless organization. For them to deny ticket sales to 94% of the states in this country is straight bullshit! Anyways for the playoffs I'll say this go Heat! Go Spurs! Hopefully when Ichiro retires at 45 years old the Mariners can finally start to win some games because you just know they'll bring his old ass back for another un. Anyways hope you enjoyed my weekly rant and drink safely guys!