Category Archives: Richard Sherman

All Seahawks: Jersey No. 12 cracks NFL’s Top-10 list

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The No. 12 jersey of the Seattle Seahawks, which honors its fans, is now the No. 10 selling jersey in the NFL. Russell Wilson’s No. 3 is No. 1, Marshawn’s Lynch’s No. 24 is No. 5 and Richard Sherman’s No. 25 comes in at No. 6.

Michael Bennett had a helluva year for the Seahawks and he’s going to test the free-agent market. It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out. Just gotta ask, how many of you knew who Bennett was prior to the start of the 2013 season?

The 10-best NFL free-agent bargains? This story by Chris Wesseling at NFL.com rates Golden Tate No. 1 and Walter Thurmond No. 3.

Here’s ESPN’s primer on free agency as it pertains to the Seahawks.

The New York Daily News takes a look a the top 20 free agents and predicts that Bennett will wind up in … Seattle. The paper says Golden Tate will sign with the Jets.

Quarterback Russell Wilson worked out with the Texas Rangers earlier this week. Wilson played a season of Class A ball before, and he enjoyed the day. The Rangers also enjoyed having Wilson around. “He can teach kids about attitude and commitment and work ethic and application and I think that’s what life is about. Period,” said Texas manager Ron Washington.

Wilson was asked how much he wished he could have got in the spring game for an inning.

“How much did I want to play an inning? How much did I want to play the whole game is the question,” he said.

Cornerback Brandon Browner has been reinstated by the NFL and will face a four-game suspension, but somebody’s going to sign the free agent. According to this Bleacher Report, the onus is on Browner to prove that he is worthy of a multi-year contract.

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Richard Sherman, Richard Sherman, Richard Sherman …

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Everybody’s got an opinion about Richard Sherman, who has become the face, ah, make that the voice, of the Seattle Seahawks. The Internet is full of Sherman stories. Before we get to some of them, here’s my quick thought on what transpired at the end of Sunday’s game at CenturyLink:

It’s an emotional game, and Sherman clearly got caught up in the excitement and energy of making a game-saving play in the biggest game of his life, but he’s apologized for taking the attention away from his teammates. I didn’t mind the post-game rant, I rather enjoyed it and I’m a card-carrying AARP-member. I didn’t like the choke sign. That was bush-league. Can he tone it down? Sure, but this is a supremely confident athlete. He’s a smack-talker, but he’s not a thug. He wears his bravado on his sleeve like Muhammad Ali. He’s the mouth that roars, and it’ll be interesting to see how he handles the bright lights of Super Bowl media week in New York. You’re not going to get a lot of boring, cliche-like answers from him, but I don’t think he’ll give Peyton Manning and the Broncos any bulletin board material either. Richard Sherman’s too smart for that, and I think he’ll learn from how he reacted following the Seahawks’ NFC Championship game.

The most disturbing part of the Richard Sherman saga? Reading some of the ignorant and racially-implied online comments directed toward Sherman on the Internet. That tells me more about their character than his.

He talks about that and more in this revealing interview with Rachel Nichols of CNN.com.

Love him or hate him, Peter King of mmqbSI.com says everybody is fascinated about the Seahawks’ cornerback.

“I think this story has really caught on because everyone loves a villain,’’ said Dr. Annemarie Farrell, a professor of sports management and media at Ithaca College. She is an expert in fan behavior. “There’s not a ton of villains on either of these teams that people can talk about. We can’t all talk about Peyton Manning every day all the time. That’s boring. Sherman, on the other hand, put himself out there, and America really latched on. That’s why it became a bigger story than the game.

“There’s a lot of different storylines with Richard and reasons for why this blew up, but I think a really important one here is race. This seethes into this narrative of race in America and race logic. Think about who Richard Sherman is. He’s a kid from Compton who graduated second in his class and went to Stanford to earn a degree in Communications. He’s at a critical point in his football career, makes a huge play, then a reporter sticks a mike in his face. What does he do? He not only speaks, he shouts. And now you have an angry, almost violent black man, in a very passionate moment, yelling on national television.’’

Stanford coach David Shaw was the defensive coordinator when Sherman played for the Cardinal. Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News asked him about Sherman.

“Bill Walsh said you want guys with high character who are great players and great people,” Shaw said. “But every once in a while, you have to line up and defend Jerry Rice. And the guy who does that has to be on the edge. That’s where Richard is.”

Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports writes:

There is nothing wrong with not liking Sherman. As sure as he is free to act as he chooses, fans are free to judge him on that and react accordingly. That’s part of the deal. The only mistake is to assume that everyone in the NFL should act the same way – or more specifically act like you think you would act if it were you who was playing the game.

Jamie Fritz, who manages Sherman’s marketing deals, told ESPN.com: “We live in a world where so many are politically correct, so many are all about media training. There’s one thing that you can count on from Richard, and that is that he’s always going to speak his mind.”

Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times defends Sherman. He writes:

“… he is the example of everything that is wrong with some modern professional football fans. A guy fights for three hours and winds up throwing the punch of his life in the most important professional moment of his life, and America expects him to immediately start blowing kisses?”

Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune is among those who finds Sherman refreshing:

“You want classy? Go to the opera. Sherman sounded like football. Good for him. Good for our entertainment.

“Admit it, you loved it, too. Stop lying to yourselves. It’s a bad habit, it’s patently phony, and people are already pointing at you and talking about you.

“Sherman was himself. He was a thing, and it was hysterical. He was funny, colorful, entertaining. This is not a G-8 meeting, people. It’s entertainment.

“It’s entertainment that includes a guy suffering a torn ACL for our pleasure.

“It’s entertainment that includes players welcoming the early stages of brain damage for our pleasure.

“Wise up, folks. When you’re asking people to bring on early dementia and early death, yeah, there’s a chance they’ll be geeked up.

“And when a player makes the key play in a conference championship game and has a live mic stuck in front of him, then yeah, there’s a chance he’ll still be geeked up.”

Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News writes that Sherman has made it all about himself.

“Richard Sherman may make you root against him, against his team, root even harder for Peyton Manning to come win the big game in Eli’s house. But Sherman’s face was as much the face of his sport as Peyton’s was on championship Sunday. His voice, like it or not, drowned out everything else, even all that noise in Seattle.

“He hits town in a week. It is more likely Richard Sherman runs out of saliva before he runs out of material. Peyton may light him up in the game, it’s happened to loudmouth defensive backs in Super Bowls before. Until then, Sherman will think all the bright lights of the big city are about him.”

ALSO: According to vegasinsider.com, the favorite is just 1-5 in the last six Super Bowls and 3-9 in the last 12 against the spread. Several Vegas bookies had the Seahawks as early favorites, but the line moved in Denver’s favor and the Broncos are now 2-point favorites. That line, of course, could move as we get closer to the game.

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Blue Friday links

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You might have heard about the football game that’s going to be played on Sunday in Seattle: Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers (3:30 p.m. FOX) for the right to advance to the Super Bowl.

I’m working on a story about Poulsbo’s Patrick Seahawk Duncan (yes, he changed in middle name to Seahawk). In the meantime, here’s a few samples of what people are writing about the game. No, wait, I mean THE game:

Gonna start with this piece about the culture of the 12th Man as witnessed by an outsider. Really captures the passion of the Seahawks’ fans, and includes a video of the Seahawks anthem, or at least one of the anthems that’s been recorded by local artists.

Pete Carroll or Jim Harbaugh? Who’s the better man? Who’s the better coach? Rick Reilly tackles those questions in this column on ESPN.com.

John Clayton, ESPN.com’s professor of football, calls the Seahawks-49ers rivalry one of the best in the NFL since he started covering the league in the early 1970s. He rates the top five rivalries in that time.

Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com studies the tapes of the first two meetings between the Seahawks and 49ers and he has some interesting thoughts on the matchup.

“I don’t know if there’s going to be handshakes after this one,” says Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman.

Sherman praises fellow cornerback Byron Maxwell in his MMQB.com column. He writes: “At this point, he’s well-prepared, and he’s playing as well as any corner in the NFL …”

Who has the edge? NFL.com experts break it down position-by-position.

This Associated Press story deals with how the 49ers are going to try and handle the noise-factor at CenturyLink.

And this Associated Press story addresses the noise issue from a Seahawks’ defensive standpoint.

Want stats? Here’s AP’s capsule look at the 49ers and Hawks.

The year’s Final Four — Seahawks vs. 49ers in the NFC, and Broncos vs. the Patriots in the AFC — doesn’t get much better. Check out CBS.com’s rundown of the two games.

Writers — one who covers the Seahawks and one who covers the Niners — break it all down.

And a late story: Brendon Mebane, the unsung hero on Seattle’s defensive line, a story by Doug Farrar for SI.com’s MMQB.

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Key matchup: Hawks’ Okung vs. Rams’ mighty Quinn

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Sure, it’s possible for the Seattle Seahawks to win the Super Bowl as a No. 5 seed.

But nobody, especially the Seahawks, wants to go down that road. Seattle would have to win three road playoff games in order to secure a spot in the Super Bowl.

The path, at least on paper, would be much easier if the Seahawks (12-3) beat the St. Louis Rams (7-8) and lock up the No. 1 seed and home field playoff advantage. They’d get a bye, and you can’t overstate how important that would be. A week of rest at this point of the season would be huge. Then, they’d get a home playoff game, and another one if they won.

So there’s a lot at stake today, and even though the Rams are out of the playoff picture, they should make it tough on the Seahawks as they try to finish .500 for the first time i seven years. St. Louis hell the Hawks to 135 yards and seven first downs the first time around, but somehow managed to lose the game 14-9 when Golden Tate got loose for an 80-yard touchdown reception.

Here’s the key matchup: Seattle left tackle Russell Okung vs. Rams’ defense end Robert Quinn, who leads the NFL with 18 sacks and six forced fumbles. Three of those sacks came against Wilson in the first game on Oct. 28. Okung missed that game with a toe injury, and that injury forced him to miss some snaps last week. If Quinn has a quiet day, then the Seahawks should be in pretty good shape.

Prediction: The Seahawks are favored by 12. If I was betting, I’d take the Rams and the points. This one promises to be close — again. Seattle 19, Rams 17.

Here’s a column I wrote earlier in the week about the Seahawks needing to finish what they started.

This is not a do-or-die game, but it might as well be, writes Terry Blount of ESPN.com.

Richard Sherman’s confident the Seahawks will play better than they did in last week’s loss against Arizona.

Important sub-plot to today’s game: Tacoma News Tribune columnist Dave Boling wonders if QB Russell Wilson bounces back after having a bad day last week?

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Physical O-lines still in vogue; Zags reload; Sherman shares more thoughts

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How many of you saw this one coming? Stanford, a 10- or 10.5-point underdog on its home turf, beat Oregon 26-20 in the marquee college football game of the week on Thursday night.

The Ducks couldn’t score a touchdown in three quarters. So the Ducks’ national title hopes are gone, and Stanford has the inside track on earning a second straight Rose Bowl bid after upsetting Oregon for the second straight season. Stanford’s time of possession (42:34) told the story in this one, just as it did a year ago when Stanford won 17-14 in Eugene. Oregon ran just 74 players in that one and punted eight times.

And if you’ve seen Oregon QB Marcus Mariota play, you know he wasn’t himself. There were rumors before the game that he wasn’t 100 percent because of a knee injury and he didn’t look to run against Stanford and the Ducks were turned into a one-dimensional offense. The nation’s No. 2 rushing offense ran for just 61 yards.

I find it interesting in this era of high-powered, wide-open spread offenses, that No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Florida State, No. 4 Ohio State and No. 5 Stanford are all getting it done on offense with old-style physical offensive lines. They can protect the quarterback and beat you with a punishing run-game. Stanford pounded Tyler Gaffney at Oregon 45 times for 157 yards.

College Basketball

Gonzaga, as always, will be an interesting team to watch. They’ve got a 7-1 center (Przemek Karnowski), an exciting transfer from Providence (Gerard Coleman), and another promising transfer from Louisville (Angel Nunez) to go along with returners Sam Dower, Kevin Pangos and David Stockton. Go ahead and pencil the Zags into the NCAA tournament. They’ve made it 16 straight years and there’s no reason to believe they won’t be there again.

Not that it matters at this stage of the college basketball season, but Gonzaga is projected as a No. 4 seed in Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology listings at ESPN.com. The Washington Huskies are not projected to be one of the 68 teams selected to play in the NCAA tournament

I think the Huskies, picked to finish eighth in the Pac-12, could surprise. Perris Blackwell, a 6-10 transfer from San Francisco, looks like a legit inside presence on offense, something the Huskies have lacked in recent years. Freshman guard Nigel Williams-Goss might be the real deal and CJ. Wilcox is the real deal. I’ll also be interested to see how the Arizona State Sun Devils fare. I got a chance to see Shaquielle McKissic play in the NWAACC last season when he was with Edmonds CC and the 6-5 transfer, a Kentridge High grad, promises to be one of the most exciting talents in the Pac-12.

If Sherman was the commish ….

What if Richard Sherman was the commissioner of the NFL? He tackles that question in his latest column for Monday Morning Quarterback (MMQB) for SI.com. Here’s an exerpt:

“It’s a difficult job, I’m sure, working for the owners while looking out for the welfare of the players. It always seems like a happy balance is being struck in late April, when a parade of draftees crosses the stage at Radio City Music Hall, each one giving Roger Goodell a handshake and a hug after his name is called. But for the rest of the year it’s clear that the interests of the 1,700 players pale in importance to those of the 32 owners.

Read the entire column here.

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Is there a ‘Super Bowl Shuffle’ in the Seahawks’ future?

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Someone on the NFL Network pre-game show, and I can’t remember who it was, compared the Seahawks’ defense to the defense that carried the Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl victory in 1985. He talked about the secondary, and the overall quickness and aggressiveness of the unit.

That’s some pretty high praise.

Da Bears finished 15-1 in ’85 and punished New England 48-10 in SB XX in New Orleans.

Seattle’s currently 6-1 and 15-1 seems possible at this stage of the season — only two of their final nine opponents, New Orleans and the 49ers, are currently over .50o — if the defense keeps playing at its current level. If you had to vote for postseason honors right now, Seattle safety Earl Thomas would get a lot of votes for Defensive Player of the Year. The guy — pardon me Marshawn — is a beast. He’s got 43 solo tackles (six more assists), four interceptions and he’s forced two fumbles.

But back to the team. On the road, against a decent but not great Arizona Cardinals team, the Seahawks had their way . They allowed just 30 rushing yards, had seven sacks and two interceptions, one by Thomas and another that should have been returned for a touchdown but cornerback Brandon Browner was tripped up by Casper (the friendly ghost) before he got to the end zone.

Seattle ranks No. 5 in points allowed (16.6), No. 2 in total yards allowed (282.1), No. 3 in passing yards allowed (190.6) and No. 5 (91.6) in rushing yards allowed. They are first in interceptions with 11, first in forced fumbles with 10, and first in recovered fumbles (8). They have the best secondary in the league, led by Thomas and Richard Sherman. Browner raised his level against the Cardinals after a so-so start. Cam Chancellor remains one of the hardest-hitting strong safeties in the game and you just don’t see him making mistakes.

The Hawks are also as deep as anyone in the league along the defensive front. It doesn’t seem to matter who ‘s in the game — Bruce Irvin, Michael Bennett, Chris Clemons, Cliff Avril are getting things done from the outside and Red Bryant, Brandon Mebane, Clinton McDonald and Tony McDaniel are getting it done inside. If Seattle duplicates the rush it had against the Cardinals’ Carson Palmer, he won’t be the last quarterback who is going to have a miserable day against the Seahawks.

When Chicago was wreaking havoc, the Bears weren’t facing the kind of high-powered offenses that now exist in the NFL. But I can’t remember a defense that was more intimidating, or dominating. Coached by Buddy Ryan, they used an innovative attacking “46 zone” defense that allowed the fewest points (196), total yards (4,135) and few rushing yards (1,319) that year. They also led in interceptions (34) and were third in sacks (64). Middle linebacker Mike Singletary was the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year, and the award could easily have gone to teammate and future Hall of Famer Richard Dent, who had 17 sacks. Another Hall of Famer, Dan Hampton, was also part of the defensive line.

Da Bears, under head coach Mike Ditka, were also pretty good on offense. Led by His Sweetness, Walter Payton, and quarterback Jim McMahon, Chicago outscored opponents 456-198. Payton was the NFL’s all-time leading rusher at the time and he danced and pounded for 1,551 yards and caught 49 passes for another 485 yards.

Seattle’s offense, considering all of the injuries to the offensive line, has been pretty good. The Seahawks have been successful ramming Marshawn Lynch at opponents and quarterback Russell Wilson, just seven games into his second pro season, is the best at extending plays and keeping opponents guessing. McMahon spread the ball around to his receivers — speedster Willie Gault (33 catches, 704 yards) was the deep threat, Dennis McKinnon (31-555-7 TDs) had his best season and tight end Emery Moorhead was clutch (35-481) was clutch. It’s similar to how the Seahawks are getting it done. There’s probably not anybody you want on our fantasy team, but Sidney Rice, Golden Tate, Doug Baldwin, Zach Miller and Jermaine Kearse have all demonstrated they can make big plays. And the offense should get better. Receiver/returner Percy Harvin has yet to play, but is getting close to being game ready and he is one of the best offensive weapons in the league. Plus, they’ve been without starting tackles Russell Okung (foot) and Breno Giacomini (knee).

One more comparison. The Bears were led by Ditka, who was as fiery as they come during his day. He was never afraid to speak his mind and remains a beloved figure in the Windy City. Enthusiastic Pete Carroll does it with a different style in Seattle, and the outgoing coach has captured the 12s, as well as the team, while turning the Seahawks into legit Super Bowl contenders.

The only thing missing?

The Bears recorded the “Super Bowl Shuffle” and released it to rave reviews three months prior to the Super Bowl. I remember it as being a bit corny, but after some extensive reasearch (thank you, Google), I discovered that it sold more than a half million records, hit No. 41 on the Billboard charts and was even nominated for a Grammy.

I’m sure the Seahawks could get a little help from one of their biggest fans, Macklemore, if they wanted some help on recording their own rap video. The “Super Bowl Shuffle, Seattle-Style” just might be in order.

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Four stories you might want to read

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Pay Us for the Preseason. This is Richard Sherman’s second column for SI.com’s MMQB. The Seahawks All-Pro cornerback writes about the injuries that a lot of players have suffered, but he still thinks the preseason is necessary.

All told, there’s only one way to soften the blow of injuries like (Giants safety Stevie) Brown’s: Either make the experience more affordable for fans, or pay players for the risks we’re taking. Now, I hesitate to complain about money. We all make a really good living playing this game. Yet there’s a certain economic inequity at work here. Logically, if a Seahawks fan has to pay over $375 dollars for club seats on Thursday when we play the Raiders in the final preseason game, and the beers in the 300 section still cost the standard $8, and the owners are still pulling in near the same amount they would for a regular season game, why shouldn’t players get the same cut we’ll soon earn when the games count?

The Gangster in the Huddle. This Rolling Stones story alleges former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was heavy into using angel dust. It traces the days leading up to the murder he’s been charged with and recounts his life as a well-respected youngster growing up in Bristol, Conn., and how he failed drug tests at Florida (yet never missed a snap) and ended up as a gangster-like thug.

It hasn’t been a smooth road for Chiefs QB Alex Smith. The Kansas City Star story takes a look at the unconventional route that Smith took to get to the NFL and how the death of his closest friend impacted his life. The Bremerton-born quarterback is the son of former Olympic High football coach Doug Smith, who is quoted in the story.

Wayback Machine: Genesis of Husky Stadium. Sportspress.com takes a look at how the original Husky Stadium came to be. It opened in 1920. The latest remodeled version debuts on Saturday when the Huskies play Boise State at 7 p.m.

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Links and thoughts on Ryan Kelly, Dawgs, Hawks, preps & updates on Kitsap baseball players

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Bremerton’s Ryan Kelly found himself without a job when his brother — PGA Tour player Troy Kelly — had season-ending knee surgery earlier in the season.

Ryan, who caddied for his younger brother, returned to the Bremerton/Tacoma area and wound up playing in a lot of the region’s top amateur tournaments. He’s won the Fircrest Amateur in Tacoma the weekend before last.

Here’s the story by Todd Milles of the Tacoma News Tribune.

Ryan played golf at Oregon State and played professionally for a while, but his career was stymied by a back injury. He regained his amateur status a few years ago.

The Huskies

Here’s some best-case, worst-case scenarios for the Huskies from Pac-12 football blogger Ted Miller at ESPN.com. Pretty funny stuff.

If his broken finger is OK, will Washington tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins play against Boise State on Saturday? He ASJ was arrested (DUI) during the offseason, and coach Steve Sarkisian suspended him for spring football, but let him back for fall ball. Should Sark suspend him for the Boise State game? I think that’s the right thing to do, but I don’t think he will. A one-game suspension sends the right message and is more important than getting a win, not that the Huskies can’t win without ASJ. Michael Hartvigson is a quality backup.

Unranked Washington is a 3.5-point favorite to beat No. 19 Boise State, mostly because they’ll be playing at home in front of a fired-up crowd at remodeled Husky Stadium. The game should go down to the wire, just as it did during the Las Vegas Bowl when the Broncos held on for a 28-26 win. Boise State was a 4.5-point underdog in that game. I think this is truly a tossup game. If Washington wins, it’ll be a great start to their season. If the Huskies lose, die-hard fans shouldn’t lose a lot of sleep over it because Boise will likely be as good as anybody Washington plays outside of Oregon and Stanford.

The Seahawks

Richard Sherman’s been pretty quiet of late. By design perhaps? Still waiting for his second column for SI.com’s MMQB. If you missed his first one, here it is.

Sherman and the Seahawks’ defense are getting their due, however. This story in SI.com rates Seattle’s ‘D’ as the best in the NFL.

Don’t know if there’s a team in the NFL with a better situation at running back than the Seahawks. All-Pro Marshawn Lynch, second-year backup Robert Turbin, and rookie Christine Michael, first-team All-Preseason, give the Hawks some serious giddy-up in the backfield. Lynch has run for 2,794 yards and 23 touchdowns his last two seasons with the Seahawks. He’s also caught 53 passes in that time. Lynch is 27 and pretty durable. Does he have three more All-Pro quality seasons left? If he does, and the Seahawks can win a Super Bowl or at least get to one, will Lynch have done enough to warrant Hall of Fame consideration? He’d be around 10,000 yards with 75-80 touchdowns. Here’s a look at the career NFL rushing leaders (Hall of Fames are noted).

The NFL

It’s Tuel Time in Buffalo. Yep, Jeff Tuel, free-agent quarterback from Washington State, is going to start Week 1 for the Bills against the New England Patriots. Can you name the other WSU quarterback who made it to the NFL? Give up? In alphabetical order: Drew Bledsoe, Alex Brink, Ryan Leaf, Timm Rosenbach and Mark Rypien.

Preps

According to the Spokesman Review, Boise State and Mississippi State are among the colleges that have already offered scholarships to quarterback Brett Rypien of Shadle Park High School in Spokane. Rypien’s coming off a record-breaking sophomore year in which he threw for 3,179 yards in nine games, completing 62.5 percent of his passes. He’s also had offers from Washington State, Idaho and Colorado State. His uncle is Mark Rypien, also a Shadle Park grad and a former WSU star who was a Super Bowl MVP during his career with the Washington Redskins.

Here’s a list of offers and commits from football players in the state of Washington who are in the class of 2014.

Baseball

Oregon senior-to-be Tyler Baumgartner, the former Central Kitsap star, hit .402 in eight games for NWAACC USA at the World Baseball Challenge at Prince George, British Columbia. Baumgartner, an outfielder, had two hits in the bronze medal game, won 9-7 by NWAACC USA over Chinese Taipei. The team was comprised of current and former NWAACC players.

Baumgartner’s cousin, Drew Vettleson, a third-year pro with the Charlotte Stone Crabs (Rays), had a four-hit game (4-for-6 with a double, RBI and two runs scored) on Aug. 25 against Jupiter, Fla., in the Advanced Class A Florida State League. Vettleson’s had some clutch hits lately, including a game-winning RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth in a game last week. He’s hitting .283 (.340 on-base, .397 slugging percentage) with five triples, four home runs and 61 RBI.

Aaron Cunningham of the Triple-A Round Rock Express (Rangers) was 3-for-5 with two homers, five RBI and four runs scored on Aug. 21 at Nashville. Cunningham, an SK grad who was drafted following his freshman year at Everett CC, has hit .389 with three homers over his last 10 games. The outfielder has had five multi-hit games in that stretch. He’s hitting .255 with 10 homers and 48 RBI. He’s got a .338 on-base percentage, .415 slugging percentage.

South Kitsap grad and former Lewis-Clark State star Brady Steiger is hitting .245 for the Gulf Coast Yankees, a rookie-league team, but he has an impressive .420 on-base percentage after 16 games and 53 at bats. He’s walked 12 times.

South Kitsap grads Willie Bloomquist (Diamondbacks) and Jason Hammel (Orioles) remain on the DL, but are close to returning. Hammel’s scheduled to pitch in a Double-A game on Thursday. He went on the DL with tightness in his forearm. Bloomquist, an infielder who’s been out with a hand injury, could be back on the big-league roster this week. He’s been playing rehab games with Arizona’s team in the Arizona rookie league.

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Seattle’s Sherman: Cornerback, Mouth, Columnist

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He thinks he’ s the best cornerback in the NFL.

He probably thinks he’s the most interesting man in the world, capable of parallel parking a train, but that one’s been taken by the character in those highly entertaining Dos Equis beer commercials.

And, you know what, Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks could very well be the best cornerback in the NFL. We’ll find out this season because he’ll be under the biggest microscope a cornerback has ever been under.

And maybe he can parallel park a train? If you asked him, I bet he’d say he could.

Sherman wrote his first column for MMQB (Monday Morning Quarterback) with Peter King, an SI.com site, last week.

A sample:

“I play the game the right way. I play hard. I don’t take cheap shots. I never try to hurt anybody. And I respect people who respect me. It’s pretty simple. But if you don’t respect me, or if you doubt my ability, I’m not just going to sit there and swallow it. I’ll come at you. I know there are people out there—fans and other players—who say, ‘Just shut up and play.’ But that’s not me. Never has been, never will be. I can’t make everyone out there happy.”

We’ll keep our eye on what Sherman is writing. It could turn out to be as interesting as those “most interesting man” in the world commercials.

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Handicapping Dawgs and Cougs; Jonson tied for 5th at PNGA Amateur; Sherman’s softball game Sunday

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Chris Huston, college football writer for CBS Sports.com, took a look at the over/under lines on how many games Pac-12 football teams will win in 2013.

The line for the Washington Huskies was 7.5. It was 4.5 for the Washington State Cougars. Will the Huskies win more than seven games? Will WSU win more than four?

Here’s how Huston sized up the UW and WSU:

Washington, 7.5

Over (-120)/Under (-120)

The Huskies have been consistently mediocre under Steve Sarkisian with three straight 7-6 seasons. This may be his last chance to show he can get it done in Seattle. The talent is certainly there, with all-star recruits on both sides of the ball. But this Husky program is still trying to find its identity. The schedule does Sarkisian no favors, as Washington opens withBoise State, then travels to Chicago to take on Illinois. October is a bear, with a home game against Oregon sandwiched between road games at Stanford and Arizona State. It’s going to be tough for UW to break out of its 7-win gulag. VERDICT: Under

Washington State, 4.5

Over (-130)/Under (-110)

Mike Leach is in his second season in the Palouse and his team should be much improved after last season’s disappointing 3-9 record. Whether that will translate into more wins is the big question. The season starts out rough, with road trips to Auburn and USC, but games against cream puffs Southern Utah and Idaho means the Cougars should be 2-2 heading into a late September game against Stanford in Seattle. WSU doesn’t have Colorado on its schedule, but it also misses UCLA. The last three games against Arizona, Utah and Washington will determine the win total and I like Leach’s chances to get two of those three. VERDICT: Over.

If UW quarterback Keith Price gets his mojo back after a disappointing 2012 season, I think Washington has a chance to win nine, maybe 10 games. The defense was much-improved a year ago, and it should be even better. The offensive line should also be a strength. And, like Huston pointed out, this could be Sarkisian’s last chance to get it done. Another seven-win season and the honeymoon will be over. Another seven-win season and Sark’s stock will drop considerably.

I’m think Leach will get it done on the Palouse, but only if his team can get some sort of a running game established. Doesn’t need to be much, but it has to be better than it was a year ago when WSU ran for an average of 29.1 yards a game. They’ve got some experience up front, including John Fullington, the senior from North Mason who has started the last 30 games for the Cougars. Look for the Cougs to win six games. If they won’t win four, Leach might catch the next pirate ship out of Pullman.

Jonson tied for 14th

Bainbridge’s Carl Jonson, who will be a junior at UNLV, is tied for 5th after the first round at the PNGA Men’s Amateur, being played at Bandon Dunes Resort in Oregon. Jonson shot a 3-over 75 on the Bandon Dunes course Saturday. He plays Bandon Trails today. The low 64 advance to match play. Here’s the leaderboard.

Jonson was medalist in this event a year ago at Wine Tree Golf Club in Walla Walla and advanced to the championship match, where he lost 5 & 4 to Ban Shotaro of San Jose, Calif. Shotaro also carded an opening-round 75. He’s playing in the same threesome with Jonson. The other player in the group, Mark Strickland of Mukilteo, shot 1-under 69 and sits atop the leaderboard.

Ed Jonson, Carl’s dad, won this tournament in 1974 at the Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish.

Port Orchard’s Bjorn Bjorke is in a good position to make the cut to match-play after shooting 77 on the Bandon Dunes course. The Olympic College golf coach is tied for 16th at 5-over.

Sherman’s softball game today

Festivities for Richard Sherman’s Celebrity Softball Game Sunday, July 7, at Tacoma’s Cheney Stadium begin at noon. Here’s a list of some of the celebs scheduled to show up. Lots of Seahawks will be there. Larry Fitzgerald of the Cardinals and ex-Sonic Shawn Kemp are also playing. Says here that Golden Tate’s the early favorite to win the home-run derby. Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson will coach the teams.

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