Daily Dan Sports Blog

Quincy Pondexter played a horrible first half. But when the game was on the line, he made the biggest shot in his career.

Down 15 points, the Dawgs clawed there way back. Their depth and defense pushed them back into a battle just like what they faced against Cal last week. People will remember the last shot by Pondexter, but the coach in me will point to his offensive rebound of Isiah Thomas’s missed 3-ball. That put the game into a final shot sequence.

Kudos to Coach Romar for having his team prepared for the last shot.  That’s great coaching and preparation. No timeout; the guys knew what to do.

It was time to redeem the Q-Pon!

Go Dawgs!

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

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Cliff Lee has been suspended for the first five games of the year for throwing at Arizona’s Chris Snyder. Really? I certainly hope the M’s appeal this decision. I can’t believe this tough of a consequence comes from an early spring training game. The Mariners need to get off to a terrific start on the road and Cliff Lee needs to throw the second game. This sounds like a slap on the wrist but to me it’s just ridiculous. We need every start he can get. Any attorneys out there willing to go to bat for Lee? Contact Jack Zduriencik.

Charlie Who? Looks like the Seahawks are banking on third-string San Diego QB Charlie Whitehurst as the heir apparent to Matt Hasselbeck. They’ve made (or appear to be making) a significant cash ($10M) and draft (moving from #40 to #60) investment. I don’t get it. As others on the radio have said, this seems like desperation. Couldn’t we have drafted Tony Pike out of Cincinnati? I hope somebody on the shores of Lake Washington knows more than everybody else.

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

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1 – Nice article on Vivian Frieson in today’s Kitsap Sun. The former Bremerton High hoops star is now a senior at Gonzaga and heading into to the NCAA tournament. It’s hard to imagine her a senior. I remember coaching against her and when she was coming up through the junior high ranks. She left Bremerton after two years to go to Garfield under the tutelage of Joyce Walker. I think she went through some challenging times, however looks like things have gone well lately. Best wishes to her and the Bulldogs in the tourney.

2 – The Deion Grant era at safety appears t be over. The veteran was cut by the Seahawks yesterday. Does this signal the return to the Northwest of one Taylor Mays?

3 – Nothing new in the Brandon Marshall saga. The signing of WR Ruvell Martin does nothing to make me feel good about our WR corp.

4 – My early prediction for Thursday…the Huskies win 77-71. I’m not just being a homer, either. The Dawgs are hot (7 in a row and 11 of 13), are playing basically at home (one hour plane ride), should have a ton of fans, and match up well with Marquette. I like a second round match-up with New Mexico.

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

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The Huskies and Lorenzo Romar took care of business beating #20 Cal to take the Pac-10 tourney crown and punching their ticket to the Big Dance. No drama other than finding out where, when, and who. Before the game, they were looking at a #13 slot. I predict this will push them up to a #10 seed. If they keep playing with this much confidence, swagger, and defense, they have a great shot to win at least one.

P.S. I’m guessing the recent lack of comments mean you don’t like Husky hoops??? What else is there to really talk about? It’s really early in spring training, the NFL draft is a month away, we have no NBA, no Tiger on the Tour, and as we discussed, I don’t know or do auto racing. Any college hoop fans out there? We can also talk other conferences and the upcoming selection show. Let’s go!

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

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1 – Huskies take care of Stanford in Los Angeles. They didn’t play great in the first half, however the defense was solid the entire game. This should punch their ticket for March Madness. By the way, what’s happened to Abdul Gaddy. He was terrible. Lorenzo Romar was smart to pull him out before he became a disaster for the team. He needs to get dramatically better in the off-season. For now, his role should be the bench.

2 – A win tonight over Cal would do wonders for seeding. A better first round slot will give hope for pulling out one win.

3 – I’m a little surprised we haven’t heard more on the Brandon Marshall front. With Antonio Bryant signing with the Bengals, there doesn’t seem much leverage on his side. Perhaps a trade is in the works to avoid losing the #6 pick.

4 – Spring training is in full swing. I still have three spots in my fantasy baseball league that drafts next week. Any takers? Free league, lots of fun.

5 – News is that Tiger Woods will be playing in the Masters. So when do we hear from him? Is he going to drag this out like a Brett Favre decision? Will he hold another “invitation only” press conference. It’s getting close to the azaleas blooming. When will Tiger show up for the dance?

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

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ESPN feels the same way I do. The two teams in the tournament championship should get in to the Big Dance – Read the story.

45 minutes from tip. Washington got a break when Stanford beat Arizona State. ASU is a tougher match-up for the Dawgs. Play their game and we should be dancing over the weekend.

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

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The big news while I was in New York was the Big East tournament. Hoops is huge in New York and the place was abuzz with basketball. St. John’s dismantling of Connecticut certainly made the city happy.

Pac-10 play is just underway and the Cougs got rudely bumped out by Oregon in OT. Undoubtedly a precursor to a great weekend. The Pac-10 may be down, but the competition should be good. There’s a lot on the line and I’m convinced two teams will get in.

So, what did happen in my absence…

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

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Well…sort of. I’m heading to New York City for a three-day business trip. Because of my travel day tomorrow, I’m putting up an early edition of the Monday Morning QB…

1 – Huskies – The hoop hounds got the job done in Oregon. Two nice road wins to catapult them into a rematch with the Beavers. The Pac-10 will get two teams into the tourney. Most likely, it will be the last two standing in the championship game (unless Cal gets upset). That means the Dawgs need to dispatch the bitter Beavers and then probably knock off Arizona State. Which road team will show up?

2 – Seahawks – According to ESPN, the Broncos want a #1 pick for Marshal  and may be looking to deal. The Hawks let Nate Burleson go and now are in desperate need of a quality WR. Talk is that there may be more teams involved. Could this be posturing by Denver? Stay tuned. At the same time, the Hawks are going to work out Tim Tebow. Remember my blog earlier about Tebow being a Seahawk? Seneca Wallace may be courted by Mike Holmgren and the Browns. Stay tuned here, too.

3 – Mariners – Not much news early. Spring training is just heating up in the desert.

I will make sure I report from NYC this week.

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

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Nate Burleson has inked a 5-year deal with the Detroit Lions, thus ending his homecoming to Seattle. Deion Branch is still on the squad, but this shouldn’t instill a lot of faith in the 12th Man. That leaves T.J. Houshmandzadeh as the only threat at WR. Deion Butler may have potential, but he’s certainly not there yet.

With Burleson leaving, the stakes are higher to get Brandon Marshall. I’m rooting for a trade because the 6th pick in the draft is a hefty price tag. Marshall is in Seattle today to meet with the Hawks. ESPN’s John Clayton doesn’t think an offer sheet will be signed. The best option for Seattle will be the trade route, but their leverage is less than it was 24 hours ago.

My gut feeling is something will get done and Marshall will be a Seahawk by next week.

By the way, less than 2 years ago, Seattle had become a wasteland for talent in professional sports. Outside of Ichiro, Lauren Jackson, and Sue Bird, we had not much left. Since then, Felix Hernandez has become a Cy Young Award candidate and we’ve added the likes of Cliff Lee, Chone Figgins, and Pete Carroll. Now, we may be adding Brandon Marshall.

The times are changing and should be interesting!

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

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Rumors are running rampant that the Seahawks are close to offering disgruntled Denver WR Brandon Marshall a contract. ESPN’s Tim Hasselbeck (Matt’s little bro) has been reporting his thoughts all day.  The questions for Hawks fans is this? Do we want a highly talented WR with an MO that reminds is of TO?

My thoughts:

1 – I’m always willing to take a risk and Marshall might be worth it. However, it the price is the #6 overall, I’m out. That’s too steep.

2 – The #6 has to go offensive line. Hasselbeck is no good to us or his receivers laying prone on the field. Anyone who watched games last year knows fixing the O-Line is job one.

3 – If the cost is the #14, I think I could stomach that. I know he’s a diva with off-field issues. But, does he catch TD passes? Can he help our team? The answer to both is yes. It’s a gamble. But supposedly the strength of Pete Carroll is communicating. Let’s see how good he is.

4 – This is an uncapped year. With Paul Allen’s money, could we make a serious bid to make a playoff run? Arizona is starting to unravel. The division is weak. If we get in, who knows what could happen? As former coach Jerry Glanville once quipped, “The NFL stands for Not for Long.” You must strike while the iron is hot.

My bottom line – If Marshall costs the #6 pick, I’m a no. If he’s the #14 and a lower pick, I’m willing to make the move and gamble for the short term.

What’s your bottom line?

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

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