The Stark Truth

Washington tight end Kavario Middleton was muzzled for saying the Huskies were going to score 50 points against Washington State in Saturday’s Cr-Apple Cup game.

Good call, Kavario.

The Huskies should drop at least 50 on the Cougs. They’re coming off a bye week — and an embarrassing loss against Oregon State — and this is a Washington State team that’s been embarrassed just about every time they’ve stepped on the field.

Opponents have pulled off the gas, too, or the Cougars’ losses would have been even more lopsided.

I don’t think the Huskies will be pulling off the gas in this one. After the disappointment of not being able to finish with a bowl bid after such a promising start, the Huskies don’t need just a victory —- they need a BIG victory. They’re favored by 24 1/2 points. I think Kavario catches four touchdown passes and the Huskies win by 44 — 59-15.

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Bremerton’s Bree Schaaf left for Europe today for the final six races of the World Cup bobsled circuit. Schaaf was fourth (Park City, Utah) and ninth (Lake Placid, N.Y.) in the first two events. Here goal is to be on the U.S. Olympic team that will compete at the Vancouver Winter Games in February.

King-5 television in Seattle profiled Schaaf this week. Check out the video here. Her parents, Ken and Terri, get a lot of air time, in this story.

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Ten things that might explain what Tiger Woods was doing when drove his 2009
Cadillac Escalade into a fire hydrant and a tree in his neighbor’s yard after pulling out of his driveway sometime around 2:20 a.m. on Friday:

1. Putters were half-price at Wal-Mart and he wanted to be first in line at the Black Friday sales.

2. Buick, a longtime sponsor of Woods, sabotaged the steering components in
his Cadillac.

3. Tiger was going fishing. His $2.4 million home is located in a community
with a chain of small lakes.

4. After a big turkey dinner, Tiger fell asleep and had a nightmare about Phil Mickelson. Instead of turning right when he backed out of his driveway, he went ‘Lefty’ on us.

5. Shaquille O’Neal lives in the same development and Tiger figured he could finally get away with running into a few things while O’Neal, who prides himself on being a volunteer cop, was out of town with the Cavaliers.

6. Tiger’s tired of smashing golf records and decided to smash something  else.

7. Tiger was still distraught over Stanford’s loss to Cal in the Big Game.

8.  Tiger’s just a bad driver. While most kids were cruising the streets, he was living at the golf course, hitting balls for hours and hours.

9. He was going to the super market to buy a copy of this week’s National Enquirer, which reports that Tiger is having an affair with Rachel Uchitel,  whoever she is.

10. He was driving to the National Enquirer’s office in North Florida and tee off on those responsible for printing the story about his alleged affair.

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Enjoy and happy Thanksgiving:

This guy wonders if Bremerton’s Marvin Williams would be better coming off the bench as a sixth man in Atlanta.

Tac0ma News Tribune columnist John McGrath says it’s another blah, irrelevant Apple Cup. Hard to argue that point.

The Locker family is split for the Apple Cup.

This one’ s not sports related, but this Wall Street Journal report details how FDR tired, and failed, to move the national holiday up a week because of economic reasons.

Percy Allen of the Seattle Times interviewed the coach of Turkish basketball recruit Enes Kanter, a 6-10 player who has committed to Washington. The kid sounds like the real deal.

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Check out these photos taken at Mount Baker by Bellingham-based ski photographer Grant Gunderson. It was opening day, Nov. 14, at the ski resort. I’d been at Baker the week before and there was no snow. What a transformation. What a beautiful place.

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Check out the Mariners Hot Stove League Show every Wednesday night from 6-8 p.m. on 710 ESPN Seattle. Hosts Shannon Drayer, Rick Rizzs and Mike Blowers host a Hot Stove League Show every Wednesday from 6-8 p.m. on 710 AM radio. They interview Mariners players and personnel and other baseball guests.

And here’s a few recent links with some interesting M’s news you might be interested in:

This one, from the USSMariner.com, offers an interesting point of view about the Pirates’ Ryan Doumit, suggesting the Moses Lake native and cousin of Willie Bloomquist would be a good fit for the Mariners.

The Mets are exploring the possibility of signing first baseman Russell Branyan, which might be good news for Seattle, reports Larry Larue of the Tacoma News Tribune.

Jeff Baker of the Seattle Times wonders if Jose Lopez’s days are numbered in Seattle. The organization’s going to see if No. 1 draft pick Dustin Ackley can play second base, and Lopez, despite decent power numbers, has a horrible on-base percentage and is hardly a defensive whiz.

Ackley hit .315 with one home run and 12 RBI in the Arizona Fall League. You can find the M’s Winter league stats here.

The reported trade talks between Seattle and Detroit have slowed, reports ESPN. Outfielder Curtis Granderson and pitcher Edwin Jackson are available, but the Tigers are asking for a lot. Here’s the Seattle P-I’s report.

The Mariners’ annual FanFest is Jan. 30-31. Tickets are now on sale. Click here for information.

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Earlier this month I took in a portion of the bobsled training that was going on at Whistler, B.C. all of the world’s best sliders were there, trying to figure out the wicked turns while traveling at speeds that would get you or I about a steep ticket if we were caught driving that fast (85-90 mph) down a perfectly smooth and safe highway.

I’ve talked to Bremerton’s Bree Schaaf several times about the sport, but talking about it and seeing it up-close is another thing. This is not like hopping in the tube at Wild Waves Theme Park. Or riding down a hill in your favorite sled or inner-tube.

So when I read that Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report was taking a ride in a bobsled, I thought, ‘Yeah, right.” Well, he did, taking a ride at Lake Placid with an American team on Sunday. He described it like this: “It felt like I was being hit in the head with ice hammers. It was like losing the worst snowball fight of your life.”

But he survived, and my hat goes off to the comedian who is helping sponsor the U.S. Speedskating team in Vancouver.

Here’s the link to the AP story.

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My interest in boxing, like a lot of you, has faded over the years. But every once in a while, a fight comes along that I really want to see. And I usually don’t like watching replays, but I’ll make an exception for the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight. HBO will replay it at 10 p.m. Saturday night (Nov. 21) and I’ll be belly-up to the television.

Pacquiao scored a historic 12th-round TKO, and has now won titles in seven different weight classes, something no fighter has ever done. The victory followed up decisive wins over Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton. Pacquiao’s cemented himself as one of boxing’s all-time greatest fighters.

There’s an MMA fight on Saturday night, too, but I can’t get revved up about mixed martial arts fighting. It seems like nothing more than glorified bar fighting to me. Yeah, yeah, I know it’s probably surpassed boxing and wrestling in popularity. If you’re into it, I’m sure you’ll be watching Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin go at it n their highly-anticipated light heavyweight fight. If you want to watch it, go to this link.

We’re a week away from the Apple Cup game, but to help you get ready for the Washington-Washington State game (Saturday, Nov. 28, 3:30 p.m.), here’s FSN’s coverage plans, which starts on Sunday,  nov. 22 at 7 p.m.:

“The countdown for Apple Cup is here and FSN will again be the exclusive home of the battle between the Washington Huskies and the Washington State Cougars. The most anticipated game of the season for crimson and purple fans kicks off on FSN on Saturday, November 28th at 2:30 pm and if you’re not in Husky Stadium, then FSN will be your eyes and ears for the 102nd playing of the annual rivalry game.

 
The 2009 Apple Cup kicks-off for viewers across the Northwest live at 2:30 p.m. with a special 60-minute edition of College Football Northwest from Husky Stadium. FSN’s Brad Adam will be joined by former WSU quarterback Jason Gesser, and former UW quarterback Damon Huard, along with FSN’s Angie Mentink and Jen Mueller to bring fans exclusive interviews and key match-ups for this year’s game.

FSN’s Tom Glasgow will bring fans the play-by-play action for the 2009 Apple Cup game as it kicks off at 3:30 pm live on FSN. Glasgow will be joined by former Seahawks fullback Mack Strong, along with former WWU quarterback Jason Stiles bringing fans updates directly from the sidelines. The College Football Northwest crew will return with an “Apple Cup Wrap-up” show featuring post-game reaction from both locker rooms and exclusive interviews with players and coaches at 10:30 p.m. immediately following the UCLA/USC game. Fans can also watch a replay of the 2009 Apple Cup game on Sunday, November 29th at 10 pm and Monday, November 30th at 11 am and 7 pm.

In addition to unprecedented coverage of this year’s game, FSN will spend the entire week giving fans a chance to relive some of the greatest Apple Cup moments of the past with FSN Classics and will count down the top-10 Apple Cup games for both teams in the history of the rivalry on Northwest Top 10: Huskies Apple Cup Games and Northwest Top 10: Cougars Apple Cup Games.

FSN Classics kicks off the full week of Apple Cup programming on Sunday, November 22nd at 7 pm, with the 1996 Apple Cup as the Huskies take a big lead in Pullman, but the Cougars fight back and take the game into overtime in a heated battle at Martin Stadium. FSN Classics continues on Tuesday, November 24th at 7:30 pm, with the 1992 Apple Cup, famously known as “The Snow Bowl,” as the fifth-ranked Huskies traveled to Pullman to face Drew Bledsoe’s Cougars. A blustery snow storm and a high-scoring third quarter were the difference in this memorable game for both teams.

Apple Cup legends such as Drew Bledsoe, Warren Moon, Mike Price and Don James look back at some of the top games ever played in the series on Northwest Top 10: Huskies Apple Cup Games and Northwest Top 10: Cougars Apple Cup Games. Host Jen Mueller will countdown the top-10 Apple Cup games for each team during a 30-minute special dedicated to the Huskies and the Cougars. FSN will also give fans an “All Access” pass to both teams on Huskies All Access and Cougars All Access during the week leading up to the 2009 Apple Cup.”

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UPDATE: Troy Kelly finished the day tied for third. He’s 2 strokes back of the leader, Luke List.

EARLIER POST: Troy Kelly’s chances of moving on to the final stage of PGA Tour qualifying school look pretty good right now. The Central Kitsap grad fired a 4-under 67 at the TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, on Thursday. He was among the first players to finish today, and he’s currently tied for first at 7-under 135. His round included an eagle 2 on No. 14 and four birdies.

The top 21 and ties move on to the final stage, Dec. 2-7 at Bear Lakes CC in West Palm Beach, Fla. The top 25 at the final stage earn their PGA Tour cards for 2010. Kelly tied for 11th at Q-School finals a year ago when it was held at PGA West in LaQuinta, Calif., where Kelly now resides.

Though he failed to retain his card in his rookie season, Kelly played a lot better at the end of the season, particularly on the Nationwide Tour, and he ended earning nearly $100,000 between the PGA Tour and Nationwide Tour.

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The Philip F. Anschutz MLS Cup was in Bainbridge today. Why? That’s the million dollar question. Anyway, here’s a video of the trophy coming off the MV Tacoma ferry at Colman Dock in Seattle. Sounders coach Sigi Schmid and Sounders technical director Chris Henderson are carrying the hardware.
The Los Angeles Galaxy and Real Salt Lake will play for the trophy in the MLS championship game on Sunday at Qwest Field. It will be televised live by ESPN at 5:30 p.m.

I guess this was the official kickoff to MLS Cup festivities and the league was looking to make a big splash by having the sterling-silver cup arrive via ferry. It made for a nice photo op, and there were a few hands on the Seattle side, waiting to greet the trophy.

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