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.
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.
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
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.
The lefty probably wouldn’t be able to pitch until May at the earliest. There’s no question that Bedard is one of the top lefties in the game when he’s healthy, but that’s been the problem since he came to Seattle in the infamous trade with Baltimore. The M’s got fleeced in that deal. They gave up CK Adam Jones, LHP George Sherrilla and top prospects Chris Tillman and Kam Micholio, both right-haners. Lefty Tony Butler was also shipped to the Orioles.
Bedard was 6-4 with a 3.67 ERA in 81 innings in 2008. He earned $7 million.
He was 5-3 with a 2.82 ERA in 83 innings in 2009 when he made $7.5 million.
When he pitched, he was very, very good.
He’s coming back from a torn labrum, which isn’t a slam-dunk.
Are the M’s willing to give him an incentive-laden contract? Sounds like a good idea to me. Don’t know if there would be a better No.. 4 or No. 5 man in the rotation in baseball. He’d be behind Felix Hernandez, Ciff Lee and Ryan Rowland-Smith.
What do you think? Sign him? Or forget about him? Or maybe you’d rather bring Jarrod Washburn back. Washburn, according to this report, hasn’t ruled out coming back to Seattle.
Remember, this still all speculation. The M’s have not made an offer, but MLB.com writer Jim Street says the M’s are considering it. And Bedard’s gonen on record as saying he’d like to come back.
I
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
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.
