360 Sports Blog

According to this report from ESPN.com, Mariners Ace Felix Hernandez has agreed to a multi year extension with the club.

The implications of this are huge. For one, players are buying into what Jack Z has brought to the team. Second, we now have a lockdown on the best starting rotation in the AL West. I say its time to prepare for next October.

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I received the following press release from Zags fan/Media Guru Kelly Roberts, who is helping organize a philanthropic campaign for the Bulldogs. I’m not a big Gonzaga fan, but this seems like a worthy cause.

Bulldog Fans Encouraged to Donate Used Phones at McCarthey Athletic Center this Saturday
 
January 14, 2010 Spokane, WA – For the first time, Verizon Wireless is joining forces with the Gonzaga University Bulldogs to help curb domestic violence with the company’s HopeLine national phone recycling program that has collected over 6.5 million phones nationally since 2001.
 
Fans attending the game against Loyola Marymount on Saturday, January 23 at 5 pm are encouraged to donate used wireless phones and accessories (from any carrier) to benefit survivors of domestic violence through the Verizon Wireless HopeLine® program. Drop boxes will be located around McCarthey Athletic Center entrances by 10 am; gates will open at 3:30 pm. In addition, the drop boxes will be available for phone and equipment donations all week prior to Saturday’s game.  
 
“The Gonzaga University Athletics Department is pleased to partner with Verizon Wireless on this important cause.  The HopeLine program continues to be a source of great support for victims of domestic violence,” said Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth. “We ask our fans to help support this worthwhile cause.”
 
Nationally, only about 10% of wireless phones are recycled each year. Through the HopeLine program, tons of electronic waste and batteries are kept from entering landfills—and used wireless phones, batteries and accessories from any service provider are then recycled, refurbished and sold. Verizon Wireless uses the proceeds to award grants and wireless phones with airtime to non-profit human services and law enforcement agencies to aid survivors of domestic violence.
 
In 2008, Washingtonians donated more than 34,000 used phones to the Verizon Wireless HopeLine program. The used equipment collections resulted in $312,000 in Hopeline grants, wireless phones and airtime contributions benefitting 19 Washington shelters and domestic violence education programs.
Since HopeLine’s national phone recycling and re-use program was launched nationwide in 2001, Verizon Wireless:
·         Has collected more than 6.5 million phones
·          Awarded more than $7 million in cash grants to domestic violence agencies and organizations in the U.S.
·         Distributed more than 80,000 phones with more than 240 million minutes of free airtime and other features valued at more than $24 million to be used by victims of domestic violence
·         Properly disposed of more than 1 million no-longer-used wireless phones in an environmentally sound way
·         Kept more than 200 tons of electronic waste and batteries out of landfills
Wireless phones and equipment can be donated to the HopeLine program year-round at any Verizon Wireless Communications Store across the country.
 
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s most reliable and largest wireless voice and 3G data network, serving 89 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with  85,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NASDAQ and LSE: VOD).  For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

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With Ohio State beating Oregon last week, it means that Husky fans can still make fun of Duck fans for not having won a Rose Bowl in over 100 years. It also means that the 360 Sports Blog College Bowl Mania challenge has come to an end.

My best buddy and faithful reader Double D of Port Orchard wound up winning the contest. This comes as no surprise, because he wins almost every pseudo gambling contest/sports bet that he and I are involved in. Though the contest was technically a tie (My other bud Big Red had the same amount of points, but lost the tie breaker), the Deezy always seems get the roll.

Example: Last year, we had a substantial bet on our fantasy football matchup. I was up by 17 points going into Monday Night Football; he only had Steve Smith (Panthers version) to play. I always hate holding a beatable lead going into MNF, as I have to wait on pins and needles to see if I get fleeced by the opponent. It makes the games more interesting, but much less enjoyable. Anyway, Smith only had 2 points going into halftime, yet lit up his oppoent for 2 TDs and over 100 yards in the second half. Despite being favored, I lost because the Dallas Cowboys’ secondary refused to play defense.

Double D always wins. Never bet against him. I’m amazed he hasn’t quit his job at the Shipyard and become a professional gambler. Kudos to DD, I owe you a beer.

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Thanks to Bob Condotta’s Husky Football Blog for the info.

According to the LA Daily news, Coach Sark was contacted about filling the to be vacated coaching spot at USC. He declined, stating that he was happy at UW.

I find it very gratifying that in the past two years, Seattle has dismantled the USC coaching staff. Last year Steve Sarkisian and Nick Holt (offensive and defensive coordinators) came to the UW football program and head coach Pete Carroll looks to follow suit as the Seahawks head coach.

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Just got home after a couple beers and contemplating the future of the Seahawks/Huskies. Charles Barkeley is also on Saturday Night Live tonight. He can’t stop laughing during his skit. Is he doing a Jimmy Fallon impression?

I’ve been reading this article which features the impact of Pete Carroll leaving USC for the Seahawks. There are at least three USC commits (out of an already small recruiting class of 14) that have decommitted or are reconsidering their choice of college. Here are some quotes:

Junior college tackle Brice Schwab (Palomar Junior College) has reopened his recruitment after hearing the news.

“I am decommitting,” he said. “Since I am a junior college guy, I am going to return to my junior college and see what happens.

Four Star wide receiver Kyle Prater: “I really don’t know what to say. I’m pretty shocked. I’m just trying to get with my family and my head right,” Prater said. “I’m not going to be in Los Angeles on Monday. It just hurts. I really don’t know what to say. I wasn’t told of anything. I just need to sit down with my family.”

This is good for the Huskies, as these commits will head elsewhere (not necessarily in the Pac 10). If they’re lucky, UW might even land one of them. It will lead to a better power balance and will create opportunities for the dawgs to do well.

If I may quote the Wizard of Oz: Let the joyous news be spread, the wicked old witch at last is dead!

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There are a lot of implications following Friday’s events. Let’s do a quick recap: The Seahawks secretly interviewed Coach Carroll at USC earlier this week. They seem to be impressed with what they heard, as they fired Coach Mora on Friday. Shortly after, the link with Carroll was reported. Word is the Hawks offer is $7 million a year for 5 years.

Was the firing justified?

I say yes. Coach Mora didn’t seem to have the appropriate answers for the team’s problems and had problems with motivating the team, among others. That being said, I feel bad for Mora. He’s a stand up guy who grew up in Seattle and played for UW. He got into a bad situation in Seattle and didn’t get much of chance to improve it. He deserved better.

Is Carroll the coach for the Seahawks?

I’m not so sure. Carroll has had stints with the Patriots and Jets – a 33-31 record overall. He is 1-2 in playoff games. Point being, he hasn’t exactly had success at the pro level.

Second, he was a stud at USC, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to the pros. Carroll won’t be able to recruit star running backs throughout the nation in the NFL. He won’t have the sunshine or half naked college co eds walking around to lure talent.

However, Carroll will most likely take over the President’s job as well, meaning he will be in charge of personnel like he was at USC (where he had success). There are a lot of ins and outs here, but either way you look at it it’s risky.

What does this mean for UW?

For one, it appears that the most dominant force in the Pac 10 for the past 10 years is taking a massive hit, which could reorganize the power structure of the conference. This move comes right before letter of intent day in early February. Seeing that Carroll is probably on his way out, some of their recruits could wind up going elsewhere. Additionally, two of the potential replacements are Oregon’s Chip Kelly and Oregon State’s Mike Riley.

This could leave the hole wide open for the Huskies to move right back into contention for the Pac 10 title.

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ESPN’s Chris Mortenson is reporting that there are multiple sources confirming that the Seahawks are engaged with Pete Carroll and he is expected to be the man in Seattle:

“It will now be a surprise if Pete Carroll is NOT the Seahawks next coach.”

I am skeptical about this. For one, Carroll has had coaching stints with the Jets and Patriots – both of which went without much success. Also, college success does not necessarily mean one will do well in the pros. More to come later…

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There are rumblings on Twitter that the Seahawks are targeting USC coach Pete Carroll. ESPN is reporting that Carroll is “interested.” More to come on this as it happens…

Word is that the Coach Mora firing came directly from the top – Paul Allen. Apperently he was not happy with the direction of the team and wanted a change.

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Here are some links to news outlets that have released the story:

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/seattle-seahawks-fire-jim-mora-010810

http://www.komonews.com/sports/seahawks/81014857.html

http://www.tsn.ca/nfl/story/?id=305243

The firing comes after just one year at the healm of the Seahawks. I have to say this firing is justified. As I wrote in a previous post, Mora simply didn’t have answers to any of the team’s problems. He also threw players under the bus (ahem, Olindo Mare) instead of addressing the team’s real issues.

Mora was a failure in all categories: team motivation, defense, offense, player selection (consistently choosing Julius Jones over Justin Forsett, despite all evidence to the contrary) and most of all wins. The team actually looked worse at the end of the year than at the beginning.

As a season ticket holder, I support this move by the Hawks.

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Andre Dawson is a Hall of Famer. Edgar Martinez is not, as he received only 36 percent of the Hall of Fame votes, well short of the 75% needed to enter the MLB Hall of Fame. Cue in the hysteria.

Note: Seattle Times reporter Geoff Baker openly advocated AGAINST Edgar going into the HoF, despite how Edgar performed during his faithful Mariners career. To vote against Edgar is one thing, but to openly lobby against a Seattle icon is another.

Dear Geoff,

Remember back in 1995, when Edgar’s .356 batting average helped save baseball in Seattle? Remember “The Double” (Which is unarguably the best moment in Mariner history)? Did you know that Edgar spent his entire career with the Mariners? That is 18 seasons! How about a little love for loyalty? You need to look at the intangibles of what Edgar did for his team. Do not punish him because Edgar took advantage of the DH rule put in place by the MLB.

Also, it’s not like Edgar had bad statistics. He hit .312 for his career with over 2000 hits and 1000 runs.  He was the most feared DH in MLB history!

Your punch bowl theory on how Edgar shouldn’t make it because Andre Dawson didn’t make it also void, as he is now in. Does that mean Edgar should go as well?

I encourage everyone reading this to boycott your column until your have made an appropriate apology and/or vote for Edgar and kiss his feet while begging for forgiveness. I find your lack of faith disturbing.

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