Quick Hits on a Saturday afternoon:
Hydros: South Kitsap graduate Dave Villwock won his 62nd career unlimited hydroplane race, and now shares the all-time record with Bill Muncey. Chip Hanauer retired with 61 wins. The three are regarded as the best drivers in the history of the sport. Here’s a link to Villwock’s win in Qatar. He was sponsored by the country of Qatar and said he must have signed 6,000 autographs during the week.
Offshore powerboats: Friends, co-workers and family of Kyler Talbot celebrated the Silverdale driver’s win in the world offshore boating championships in Key West, Fla., on Sunday. The gathering Friday night at the Yacht Club Broiler in Silverdale was a total surprise to Talbot. Here’s a link to a story we ran earlier in the week.
Basketball: Heading into Saturday night’s basketball game against UC Irvine, Seattle U’s Brandon Durham, a sophomore forward, still hasn’t missed a shot through five games. Durham was 2-for-2 from the field in a loss against Louisiana Tech and has now made all nine of his field-goal attempts. … Based on early returns, it looks like this could be Lorenzo Romar’s best team at Washington. The Huskies have size, quickness, depth, the ability to shoot it from outside and legit inside threats. And Venoy Overton and Justin Holiday are two of the top defenders in the country. Of course, we’ll know more after the Maui Invitational. The UW takes on Virginia, coached by former WSU coach Tony Bennett, on Monday. No. 2 Michigan State and Kentucky are also in the tournament. … Will DiIorio, the Metro League MVP a year ago for Bainbridge, is on the WSU roster. The walk-on is expected to redshirt this season. WSU plays Portland on Tuesday at KeyArnea.
Baseball: Aaron Cunningham of Port Orchard, an outfielder with the Padres, was in Victoria, B.C. last weekend to help with a clinic that was arranged by his agent. Cunningham’s not arbitration eligible and the fact that he’ll earn close to the major-league minimum might work in his favor when the low-budget Padres decide on a roster next spring. Here’s an analyis of the Padres’ roster situation.
Seahawks: Seattle’s an 11.5-point underdog against New Orleans on Sunday. The Saints are allowing a league-low 166 yards pass per game. This one could get ugly in a hurry for Seattle, unless QB Matt Hasselbeck can take advantage of the aggressive New Orleans defense by hitting some passes when the Saints are blitzing.
