The Stark Truth

It’s getting close to kickoff. I’ve whaffled all week on this, but here goes:

Indianapolis 33, New Orleans 31.

This is not a pick for Manning over Brees. I just think Indy’s the better team. New Orleans was fortunate to get past Green Bay and I don’t see the Saints stopping the Colts. But I think the Saints will play inspired football. I think we’re in for a good game.

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Port Orchard’s David Falk, who writes a soccer blog for the Examiner, weighs in with some thoughts on professional soccer after today’s news that the USL Division Two had received official sanctioning from the U.S. Soccer Federation Board of Directions.

Unless you really follow the sport, it’s not an easy story to follow. Kitsap Pumas owner Robin Waite has always talked about fielding a D-2 team and this news would seem to fit in with his vision of what he’d like to see happen down the road. The Pumas are currently preparing for their second season in the USL Premier Development League.

It makes sense for the U.S. to establish a pro D-2 league. It makes sense that the PDL become an amateur-only league. The Pumas were among a handful of PDL clubs that pays its players.

Here’s the official release from the USL.

There’s currently 68 PDL clubs and six D-2 clubs. There’s also six USSF Division II clubs. Like I said, it’s not easy to follow. Here’s the breakdown.

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UPDATE: Just talked to Kasey Dunn, and he’s not going back to Washington State. He was hired two day ago to coach wide receivers at Southern Miss. You’ll be able to read the story on our home page and sports page at kitsapsun..com shortly.

EARLIER POST

About two minutes after talking on the phone with former North Kitsap football coach Jerry Parrish about former NK star and Seahawks running backs coach Kasey Dunn, Howie Stalwick filed this report:

PULLMAN — Steve Broussard, running backs coach and special teams coordinator at Washington State, has resigned to coach wide receivers at Arizona State.
Broussard starred at running back at WSU when Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson coached the Cougars. Broussard said he sought to be closer to his children, who live in Los Angeles.
Cougfan.com said former Seattle Seahawks and WSU running backs coach Kasey Dunn and USC running backs coach Todd McNair may be the leading candidates to replace Broussard. FootballScoop.com reported that Dunn, a graduate of North Kitsap High School, has been hired as the wide receivers coach at Southern Mississippi. The school has not confirmed the hiring.

Dunn, among the assistants not retained by new Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, was at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala.., last week. He and his wife live in Issaquah. Dunn was at WSU from 1998-2002. He left with Mike Price for Alabama.

Dunn’s Coaching History

1993 Idaho, Volunteer coach, Wide Receivers

1994 University of San Diego, Tight Ends/Receivers Coach

1995 Idaho, Cornerbacks Coach

1996 New Mexico, Cornerbacks Coach

1997 New Mexico, Cornerbacks Coach

1998 Washington State, Running Backs Coach

1999 Washington State, Running Backs Coach/Special Teams Coordinator

2000 Washington State, Running Backs Coach/Special Teams Coordinator

2001 Washington State, Assistant Head Coach, Running Backs Coach/Special Teams Coordinator

2002 Washington State, Assistant Head Coach, Running Backs Coach/Special Teams Coordinator

2003 Texas Christian, Cornerbacks Coach

2004 Arizona, Running Backs Coach

2005 Arizona, Running Backs Coach

2006 Arizona, Running Backs Coach

2007 Baylor,  Assistant head coach, wide receivers, special teams coordinator

2008 Seattle Seahawks, running backs coach

2009 Seattle Seahawks, running backs coach

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Sources are reporting the Mariners are considering bringing back Erik Bedard, who is still recovering from shoulder surgery.

“I’d love to be back,” in Seattle, he told Larry Larue of the Tacoma News Tribune.

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Washington’s recruiting class just got better.  Safety Sean Parker of Narbonne High in Harbor City, Calif., the No. 6 ranked player at his position in the country according to Scout.com, picked the Huskies over USC and Michigan. Parker made his announcement on ESPNU (Ch. 400 on Comcast, Ch. 621 HD), your best place to follow today’s national signing day.

It’s an important sign for the Huskies, who got a commitment from Parker’s teammate — running back  Melvin Davis — earlier in the week.

Washington’s also landed highly-recruited  running back Deonte Cooper, who’s already enrolled in school. Offensive lineman Nick Kohler and quarterback Nick Montana are among the UW’s other top commits. All are from California. Head coach Steve Sarkisian’s wasted no time re-establishing the Huskies as big-time players in that state; something Don James and his staff was able to do during Washington’s glory years.

The Huskies also reeled in a familiar name from in-state. Skyline linebacker Cooper Pelluer committed to Washington Tuesday after deciding to stay home instead of going to Hawaii. He’s the son of Scott Pelluer, former WSU linebacker and UW assistant. Former UW quarterback Steve Pelluer is Cooper’s uncle.

Here’s a list of UW’s 31 commitments (remember to add Parker and Cooper to this list) and if my math is right 16 are from California:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/huskies/2010954307_uwcommits02.html

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Things are moving fast. Babe Ruth officials from New Jersey have tentatively ticketed North Kitsap Babe Ruth to host the 2012 Babe Ruth World Series for 13-year-olds.

Originally, the NK organizing committee thought it was looking into hosting the World Series for 14-year-olds. But now it sounds like it’s all but a done deal to bring the 13s here, providing officials from national headquarters like what they see and hear on an April 13 visit to Kitsap County. The tournament would be played at the main baseball field at Gene Lobe Fields at the Fairgrounds.

Here’s a link to a story I wrote last week. It’ll give you a little background if you’re just catching up to this story.

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I got a chance to watch the full Gonzaga game Thursday night. And the Zags, for the most part, weren’t all that impressive against Santa Clara. Senior All-American candidate Matt Boldin and 6-8 freshman sensation Elias Harris both had off nights as the No. 8-ranked Bulldogs tried to mount a comeback. They trailed by as many as 13 in the second half.

They finally got it going, thanks to Steven Gray, the 6-foot-5 junor guard from Bainbridge. There are players who jump higher and have more flash to their game, but not many collegians are as well-rounded on — or off — the court as Gray. On Thursday night, he always seemed to be in the right spot, hustling for a loose ball or a rebound, or making a big shot. He hit a 3-pointer that got the Bulldogs to within one late in the game and made a simple, but beautiful cut to take an inbounds pass and score the bucket that clinched the 71-64 win. Gray finished with 19 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal. Not spectacular, yet his stats don’t tell the story.

You can tell that Gray’s enjoying himself. The former Metro League MVP, who led the Spartans to the Class 3A state title game his senior year, was all smiles after Thursday’s win. Even during heated moments of the game, he’s smiling. The demeanor, the athleticism, the engery, combined with a high basketball IQ, makes him an NBA prospect. Dime Magazine recently called him the Biggest Sleeper on the West Coast, and they might be right.

In his last five games, Gray has averaged 17.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists. He’s made 53.8 percent of his shots and 85.7 percent of his free throws. Gray had 14 points and 14 rebounds in a win at St. Mary’s during that stretch.

“He’s playing with a lot of confidence,” Bouldin said prior to the Santa Clara win. “When he looks to score and plays aggressively he’s tough. He’s definitely shown he can guard just about anybody in the country.”

The former Bainbridge star is showing that he’s one of the most complete players in the country.

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The Seattle Sounders have capped their season ticket sales at 32,000 for their second MLS season — and, once again, they’re going fast. As of this morning, there were 1,000 left.

For ticket information visit www.soundersfc.com or call 877-MLS-GOAL.

Here’s the AP story:

RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Already having set new Major League Soccer standards for attendance in their inaugural season, the Seattle Sounders FC are taking it up a notch in year No. 2.
The Sounders said Wednesday that they will cap season ticket sales at 32,000 for the 2010 season. That’s 10,000 more than their first season, when the Sounders averaged a league-record 30,943 per match.
Seattle says its season ticket package includes 15 regular season MLS matches and three international friendlies yet to be announced. The team says less than 1,000 season-ticket packages remain.
The Sounders will kick off the 2010 MLS season when they host the expansion Philadelphia Union on March 25.

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UPDATE: Ashley Wagner had a strong performance but finished third at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Saturday night in Spokane. The top two earned Olympic berths. NBC is broadcasting the event on a delayed basis as I type.

 Earlier Report: Ashley Wagner, the figure skater who considers Kitsap County home, is reporting from Spokane on YouTube.  Wagner should be on the ice, or just finishing about now. Her peformance in today’s long program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships will be televised tonight at 8 p.m. (Universal) and 9 p.m. by NBC.

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The Washington Huskies knew they’d have a hard time replacing Jon Brockman. The pride of Snohomish brought it every game — heck, every practice — and the current team wasn’t doing that until last week’s impressive sweep of Stanford and Cal. 
For the most part, you can’t fault the Huskies’ effort in Thursday’s 62-61 loss at UCLA, but it’s becoming clear that the team doesn’t have anyone they can count on inside. The “bigs” were MIA again in the loss to the Bruins.
These Huskies are a puzzling bunch. Remember, these sub.-500 Bruins are not the powerhouse Bruins we’ve come used to watching. And they weren’t even at full strength, yet they beat the Huskies, who are still looking for a road win.
Speaking of Brockman, did you seethe rookie’s line the other day in Sacramento’s 105-103 loss to the Chicago Bulls? 30 minutes, 0 points on 0-1 FG shooting and 14 rebounds, 7 of them offensive boards.
In Sacramento’s next game, the bullish Brockman made his second start of the season at center in place of former Husky and good buddy Spencer Hawes. Brockman had six points, three rebounds and four fouls in 23 minutes in a loss against Atlanta. He didn’t make it to the end of the game. In typical Brockman fashion, he struck his head on a camera while tumbling out of bounds and he had to be treated for a cut over his left eye.
Brockman was inserted into the lineup to give the Kings some toughness.
Here’s what the Sacramento Bee had to say about Brockman:
The 6-foot-7 Brockman played 20 of his 30 minutes in the second half against Charlotte. He grabbed 10 of his career-high 14 rebounds while overseeing a major upgrade in frontcourt defense. After tallying 38 points in the paint before the break, the Bobcats had 16 points there in the second half.
The Kings won the other game in which Brockman started (102-100 over Denver on Jan. 9). The rookie from Washington said he is looking forward to setting a tough-guy tone at the start.
“If we’re the ones back on our heels from the start, it’s going to take a lot more for us to rear in and start pushing them back,” Brockman said. “(Huskies coach Lorenzo) Romar always talked about the first punch … If you come out and you’re the more physical team, the refs are going to let you play a little more physical and it’s just going to be a lot easier throughout the night.”

This is what Romar said after Thursday’s loss to UCLA:

“I think overall, we have to grow up, regroup and mature as a group.”

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