Daily Dan Sports Blog

Okay, I’m calling a technical foul on me. Four days without a post is inexcusable. Back at it today.

I’ve actually been watching soccer this weekend. My 12-year old niece is here from Spokane playing in the Viking Cup. I don’t get the sport, the rules, or like standing in the rain, but I enjoy watching her play. She’s a terrific athlete and kicks the ball a lot, so I guess that’s a good thing, right soccer pals? One more to go to this afternoon. I hope to stay dry.

Her brothers are start basketball players. Now, that’s something I know a little bit about. I’m going to do some bragging (it is after all my blog) on them. Check out the two highlight reels on them below…

Kyle Bailey – Senior headed to Biola University to play hoops…

Brett Bailey, 9th grader at University High in Spokane – the only hoop I could dunk on in my life was an 8-footer!

Okay, enough bragging. We now return you to our regular programming…

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

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I was listening to Mike and Mike on ESPN Radio this morning and the topic of LeBron James and Phil Jackson came up.

The Cleveland Cavaliers just fired head coach Mike Brown, potentially paving the way for a new coach to come in and keep LeBron in Cleveland. The bad news is they don’t really have the salary cap room to add another big name player to the mix.

Phil Jackson has been paramount in getting Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’ Neal and Kobe Brynat their first championship rings. In fact, only Shaq got a ring with a coach other than Jackson (Miami with Pat Riley and with help from Dwayne Wade).

Could LeBron be next in line?

Certainly, the lure back to Chicago where he brought the Bulls all their glory in the 1990′s or the Big Apple where he played would be juicy for the NBA. The Knicks have a coach (unlike the Bulls), but I’m sure the potential of luring James and free agent Chris Bosh would be enticing to Jackson.

This will be an interesting soap opera to be played out over the summer. Jackson’s Lakers are on course for another Lakers-Celtics championship match-up. If he wins there again, would the next challenge include a return to glory spots with a new superstar craving the trophy?

Stay tuned…

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

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I just attended a presentation by North Kitsap Babe Ruth on the 2012 Babe Ruth World Series. The terrific news is that we have been approved (we meaning the Kitsap Peninsula). The next step is the fundraising portion and that effort is now wll underway.

Russ Barker and Brent Stenman are the leaders of what will turn into a community effort to bring the Babe Ruth World Series to Kitsap County. The event will bring in 10 teams from across the country and great attention to our area. They are in need of a lot of volunteers in addition to money. Areas such as public relations, fundraising, event management, housing players, and transportation are just some of the areas of need.

If you’d like to get involved, I encourage you to contact either Russ Barker at (206) 396-1726 (Ball_Four@comcast.net) or Brent Stenman at (425) 299–8467 (info@nwbaberuth.org).

You will be hearing more form me on this subject. I coached at the Little League level for may years, and both my daughters played at North Kitsap Little League. This is a tremendous opportunity to jump on board and support youth sports and our community.

Play ball!

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

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Listening to 710ESPN this morning, I heard some staggering statistics on the Mariner woes at the plate…

• The Mariners team batting average is only .230. We knew it was bad, and this is bad.
• BUT, if you take away Ichiro and his .354 batting average you now have a team hitting .211.
• AND, if additionally you take away Franklin Gutierrez and his .300 average, you now have a team at a horrid .199!
• There are 4 Mariners regulars within 4 percentage points in average and none of it is good.  Ken Griffey Jr. is at .182, Casey Kotchman is at .183, Josh Wilson is at .185, and Chone Figgins is at .185. Heck, can you imagine what it would mean to this team that is now 10 games under .500 if this was in .282-.285?

At this point, without any changes to the lineup and even if Erik Bedard comes back strong, this is a team that looks like it might only win 70 games. After the pre-season hype, this would be a tremendous disappointment. Milton Bradley is not going to be the hitting savior, even if he does come back. It seems at this point that Junior will be lucky to survive the season. And, there’s not a lot of hope in the minors.

Well, I guess we will see just how good Jack Zduriencik really is!

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

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1 – Mike Woodson was fired as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks. He spent the last 6 years as head coach and his first team ended with 13 wins in 82 games. Each year, they improved and this season they finished with 53 wins. Nope, they won’t win the championship this season. However, they have shown steady improvement every year and have gained 40 wins over the years. As a former head coach, this stinks. I get it…it’s the NBA and it’s about wins. But tell me, who are you going to go out and get to replace Woodson that will be better?

2 – Where will LeBron go? New Jersey, New York, Cleveland? Who can afford him and who is willing to make administrative moves to suit him? Mike Brown, the Cavs coach is on the hot seat. LeBron is a Cleveland native. My early pick is that he re-signs with Cleveland and has a hand in the new head coach.

3 – The Mariners bats are still pitiful. I like what Michael Saunders is doing with the bat. Adam Moore was coming around, and now is hurt. Mike Sweeney was hitting the ball instead of teammates, and now he is hurt. Cliff Lee and King Felix are left to throw gems and get a no decision or loss. Time is running out on this year to make decisions. I hope they act quickly.

4 – Sorry that I have been less than “Daily Dan.” My goal is to get back to that. Keep those cards, letters, and comments coming!

5 – I still have to make a Pumas game, but my daughter went Saturday night and they won. Kudos to the team. And yes, I still plan on making a game!

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

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There is now a Facebook Fan page out calling for Larry Larue of the Tacoma News Tribune to quit because of the story he wrote on Ken Griffey Jr. It claims that “Larry LaRue was the mouth for two unnamed Mariners players who decided to talk behind Ken Griffey Jr.’s back through the media. Against better journalistic judegment LaRue published the story.”

C’mon people…get a grip!

Larue is a 30-year plus veteran beat writer. He is extremely well respected in the industry and the Mariners organization. He doesn’t fabricate stories. He has an obligation to report what he learns. He isn’t employed by the Mariners, nor is a shill for them. The problem is inside the M’s clubhouse in a lot of areas.

1 – If Griffey were even producing like last year, this wouldn’t be an issue. The reality is he’s not, and he’s looking worse as the season goes on. As much as I wanted him back, I’m not so sure the end is going to look as good as it would have last year.

2 – Two players talked. Larue didn’t hold a gun to their head to say Griffey was in the clubhouse snoozing. What’s their purpose or agenda for talking?

3 – Mike Sweeney is now trying to fight people. In the players only meeting, Sweeney called out the snitches and offered to fight them. No takers. What a shocker. Which led Sweeney to say the story was fabricated. Wrong. I get the hunkering down in the clubhouse, but seriously.

Yea, the Mariners got a much needed road win in Baltimore last night. thanks mainly to the brilliance of Cliff Lee. Griffey went 0-3 and is now hitting .200 at the “designated hitter” spot.

Look, I’m a huge Ken Griffey Jr. fan. As far as I’m concerned, he can ride out the year and hope for some sparks of glory the rest of the way. However, that should be as a pinch hitter and occasional DH. This team put it out there in picking up Lee to make a run THIS year. This offensive lineup that includes Griffey won’t get it done. It’s time to make some hard choices.

Let’s hope Trader Jack isn’t asleep in his office.

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

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The Seattle Sounders did something unprecedented in my recollection. They are giving money BACK to the fans!

They apparently played an uninspired match (game?) last week against the LA Galaxy in losing 4-0. They felt so bad about the product the fans saw, that they (gasp) are giving back the money! Well sort of. They are refunding one game next year for season ticket holders. Still, this is amazing. Can you imagine how much the the Seahawks would be in the hole if they did that for the past 2 years. Or, the Mariners the past home stand?

Kudos to the Sounders for putting the fans first.

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

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On April 5th, the Seattle Pro Sports scene looked like this…

- It was opening day for the Mariners in Oakland ( a game they would dramatically win). They had made major moves in the off-season to bolster an 85-win team from a year ago by adding former Cy Young pitcher, Cliff Lee, and pried away 2B Chone Figgins from their division rivals. The time was ripe for the M’s to make their move to re-claim the division after nearly a decade. Mariners Fever was high.

- The Seahawks were a mess. They had done literally nothing since hiring Pete Carroll except jettison or lose players. They hadn’t signed anyone. It was a season to re-build and get in the mix for the Jake Locker sweepstakes. The 12th Man morale was low.

Today…

- The Mariners are wallowing in a 4-game home losing streak. They are 11-15 and losing ground fast. They have a terrific pitching staff, but can’t hit their way out of a paper bag. Mariner Nation morale is low. It’s beginning to look like a season where they may have to deal Cliff Lee before the trade deadline and spend another Fall at home instead of in the playoffs.

- The Seahawks had arguably the best draft week f any team in the NFL according to national sources. They had a great draft, picking up a huge left tackle (Russell Okung) to replace Walter Jones, a top flight safety (Earl Thomas), and a play-making WR (Golden Tate) who wasn’t supposed to be there when it got there turn. They made a splash by pulling off three trades including bringing in running backs LenDale White and Leon Washington. Hey, we might actually win the division!

Wonder what it will look like come June 5th?

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

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The Mariners have a World Series staff and a Little League batting lineup (no offense meant to Little Leaguers). Actually, beleaguered is more the word. Cliff Lee was spectacular in his initial start of the year after a month stint on the DL. If we can’t show promise of giving him run support, he will be gone at the end of the year. If he is going to walk, we need to get better value by the trade deadline. It seems awful early but it’s not – it’s now time for the M’s to get moving on bringing in bats. If they are going to be a contender this year, and have a chance at keeping Lee, they must act this month. Otherwise, it’s a lost year and they will need to deal Lee by July.

Trader Jack – are you on the phone yet?

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

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