College Football’s Most Pummeled
Man: According to
this story in the Wall Street Journal, it’s Larry
Dixon, the Olympic High grad and starting fullback for Army. Army
takes on Navy Saturday (12 p.m., CBS) jn Philadelphia.
A review of every Army offensive play in 2012 shows that
Dixon has gotten a fake handoff 190 times this season. The cadet
has been tackled without the ball 95 times, compared with the 129
times he has been wrestled to the ground with the pigskin.
In five of the 10 games he’s played this season, he has been
tackled more often without the ball than with it. “Those are long
days,” Dixon said.
Army-Navy series: Navy leads the series 56-49-7. Navy won 27-21
last year and has won 10 straight over Army.
UFC is coming to Seattle Saturday night. As big as the MMA
scene has become, I’m still a boxing guy. I’ll be more interested
Pacquiao-Marquez IV. Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez mix
it up on Saturday in Las Vegas. Pacquio is 2-0-1 against Marquez.
Pacquio is 35 now, and this probably won’t be an epic fight, but
it’s the best boxing has to offer these days and I still find it
more intriguing than the MMA event that will be televised by FOX
from KeyArena. The main event matches Benson Henderson and Nate
Diaz.
Les Carpenter of Yahoo! Sports writes about Russell Wilson’s
obsession with film study. Do you suppose the rookie
quarterback’s agent is negotiating with Russell Athletic for an
endorsement contract? Maybe Wilson Sporting Goods?
More on Wilson: If the Seahawks didn’t pick
Wilson with their third-round pick, he likely would have ended up
as a backup to Michael Vick, Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III,
writes
Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.
Just wondering: If RGIII is so good, why hasn’t
anybody signed RGI and RGII?
Not only have I not missed the NHL at all, but
it just dawned on me that I’m not paying much attention to the NBA
either. I try to keep track of Bremerton’s Marvin
Williams and how he’s doing with the Utah Jazz, but that’ s
about it. That said, I will be watching when the playoff arrive.
And when Seattle gets another team — and it will — I will get to my
share of the games. The NBA, of all sports, is the best sport to
watch in person, especially if you’re fortunate enough to have a
seat close to the court. Unless, of course, you’re going to a San
Antonio Spurs game and coach Gregg Popovich decides to rest his
stars.
West Coast League president Ken Wilson, who
broadcast 70-plus Mariners’ game the last two seasons, visited
Bremerton this week and talked to the Kitsap Athletic
Roundtable. He was Dave Niehaus’ original partner in Seattle, and
went on to have a pretty impressive and interesting career as an
MLB and NHL announcer. He called Pete Rose’s 4192nd hit that broke
Ty Cobb’s all time record. He’s called three perfect games (Kenny
Rogers, Rangers, 1994; Phillip Humber, White Sox, 2012; and, Felix
Hernandez, Mariners, 2012). He worked the games when George Brett
got his 3,000th hit and Gaylord Perry won his 300th game. He was in
Baltimore when Cal Ripken tied Lou Gehrig’s record for consecutive
games played.
Greg Johns of mlb.com writes about the
Mariners’ possible pursuit of free-agent outfielders
Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher. I think the M’s ought to zero
in on Swisher. He’s hit 20-plus homers for eight straight years and
seems like a good fit for any clubhouse. Forget about Josh
Hamilton. Swisher’s 32 and he can be the M’s starter in left field
for the next five years. Bourn makes sense, too, because he can run
and the M’s need a legit stolen base threat, but he’s 29 so he’s
already peaked as a base stealer. His best years might be behind
him.
John McGrath of the Tacoma News Tribune (you can read his stuff
in our print editions from time to time) writes about Mike
Gastineau, who signed off from KJR radio after 21 years.
Prediction: Seattle 27, Cardinals 10. Arizona’s
defense is nasty, but the offense is a mess. Kent Somers of USA
Today writes:
“John Skelton returns to quarterback the Cards. Skelton
takes over for Ryan Lindley, who took over for Skelton, who took
over for Kevin Kolb, who took over for Skelton, who was injured in
the season opener against Seattle. … The Cardinals’
quarterback position is not a carousel, it’s spinning like a
centrifuge.”
Finally, the book plug: Some of you know of Tom
Kelly. I met him when he was a sports writer with the Seattle
Times. He now writes a Homes column that runs in The Kitsap Sun’s
advertising section. He’s also written a new book which might be a
good holiday present. It’s called Cold Crossover, and the Bremerton
ferry run is an important part of the book.
He’s offering Sun readers a free Kindle downlead of the book.
Look for it at the bottom of his column on Monday, Dec. 10, and
Tuesday, Dec. 11.
Here’s Kelly’s capsule of the book:
Linnbert “Cheese” Oliver, hard-luck high school basketball
hero in the Northwest town of North Fork, is missing on a
late-night Bremerton ferry. And for real estate agent Ernie
Creekmore, his father figure, friend and former coach, the news
hits hard. Ernie’s suffered too much loss and pain in his life —
his wife, a state basketball championship, a mysterious medical
malady — and he just can’t accept the idea that Cheese might have
taken his own life. Working with sheriff’s detective Harvey
Johnston, Ernie uses his contacts in real estate and hoops to trace
Cheese’s movements. Meanwhile, hints at possible foul play turn up
in pieces of North Fork’s rough-and-tumble history in fishing,
logging and railroading, and the past and the present violently
collide in a series of heart-stopping moments that peel back layers
of greed, secrets and twisted family ties that refuse to stay
buried.
Have a good weekend.
