Daily Dan Sports Blog Sports Talk for the Savvy Sports Mind
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Monthly Archives: January 2012
This blog is a Kitsap Sun reader blog. The Kitsap Sun neither edits nor previews reader blog posts. Their content is the sole creation and responsibility of the readers who produce them. Reader bloggers are asked to adhere to our reader blog agreement. If you have a concern or would like to start a reader blog of your own, please contact sunnews@kitsapsun.com.
Sure, the Dawgs were spurned by a couple of former players kids
when Josh Garnett (Scott Garnett’s son) and Zack Banner (Lincoln
Kennedy’s son) chose Stanford and USC respectively over their pop’s
alma mater. Yes, it hurts but let’s be real. Maybe these guys
wanted to make a mark in a school different than where their
fathers played. I get that.
But all is not lost…
Steve Sarkisian landed an even bigger fish. Shaq Thompson is the
#1 rated safety in the country and one the top 5 players
nationally. Certainly, all these kids still need to perform, but
this was a coup for the Huskies. They also picked up a few more
kids from California this evening and their class is rounding into
fine shape.
You never know what you’re getting. Sometimes kids don’t pan
out. But, on a week that sets the stage for years to come, the
Dawgs should be pleased even if they didn’t land Garnett and
Banner. The best of the bunch may be heading to Montlake!
This past weekend, I got the opportunity to watch a fascinating
documentary on Hall of Fame QB Joe Namath. It shows on HBO and
prominently includes interviews with Namath, teammates,
journalists, and Beaver Falls, PA residents.
One of the things that most impacted me was the incident that
occurred between Namath and ESPN sideline reporter Suzy Kolber
during a 2003 prime time game between the Jets and Miami
Dolphins.
Namath was honored along with his teammates from the 1969 Super
Bowl team. Namath admitted that he had been drinking heavily all
day. By the time the 4th quarter rolled around, he was completely
intoxicated. Kolber was charged with interviewing Broadway Joe. In
the beginning, it was apparent that Namath was having some issues
talking, but they had no idea what was about to happen in front of
the entire prime time audience. Namath eschewed Kolber’s question
about Chad Pennington and several times told her he wanted to kiss
her. ESPN scrambled to get out of it, but the damage was done.
Namath admits he was humiliated. In fact, that set the stage for
him to reform his life to where it is today. But, I digress. The
thing that resonated with me was the response by Suzy Kolber.
She was interviewed for this documentary and clearly recounted
the event, with assistance from the footage. She recounted how
Namath called her the next day to apologize. She said it took him 5
minutes to apologize and she accepted. She then spent 45 more
minutes on the phone with him talking football and life. Here’s
what she said that so intrigued me. She said, “What I saw was a
really good guy who was in trouble.” She felt bad for him, didn’t
judge him, and saw him not as some drunk who couldn’t control
himself, but as a regular guy who needed help.
In the world of sports, we are very quick to pass judgement. We
often look for and hope that successful people fail (see Tim
Tebow). We automatically jump to the conclusion that someone is
damaged. I loved that Suzy Kolber looked deeper. She really exuded
a perspective that thinks of the human being first. Often,
journalists are the most cynical. Kolber showed humanity.
I’m as guilty as most of us. It’s easy to throw guys under the
bus; make fun of them; and not worry about consequences to their
lives. Suzy Kolber gave me perspective and one that I hope I can
keep the next time my QB throws an interception or one of my sports
“heroes” falls.
The University of Washington basketball team is young. Really
young. Gone are floor leaders like Isaiah Thomas, Quincy
Poindexter, and Jon Brockman from years past. The roster is filled
with freshman
Lorenzo Romar
and sophomores, and even a scholarship football player. The
Dawgs have at times looked clumsy and out of sorts. They’ve lost
games they should have won. And, through all of that, they find
themselves atop the Pac-12 (with a whole lot of other teams) at
6-2, and 13-7 overall after a win against Arizona State last night
in Tempe.
At some point, we need to recognize the job Lorenzo Romar has
done with this program. It’s one thing to recruit great players,
which he has done. But, it is an altogether different thing to take
a group of young players and guide them through turbulent times and
growing pains, while still winning. That is exactly what he has
done. Marv Harshman (Coach Romar’s old coach) at this point is
certainly the king of coaches at Washington, at least in the modern
era. I see Lorenzo Romar surpassing his mentor at some point. Why?
He’s much younger when he got started here; has a long term deal at
his alma mater; is a terrific recruiter; and most of all lives by
his convictions. And, as it seems, he may know a little bit about
X’s and O’s.
This team featuring Terrance Ross and Tony Wroten may end up
being his best to date in the next year or so. In the meantime,
they may still find a way to win the Pac-12 and go to the Big
Dance. And all the credit goes to Lorenzo Romar…
Make no mistake, I wanted Prince Fielder in a Seattle Mariners
uniform.
Justin Smoak
That being said, I’m okay with Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik not
opting for the big dough that snagged Fielder for the Detroit
Tigers. I guess as a lifelong M’s fan, I’ve seen Kevin Mitchell not
hit HRs in the Kingome, and Richie Sexton and Adrian Beltre never
come close to the power numbers they displayed with other teams.
Now Fielder may be different, but the reality is that I think it’s
too high a price-tag. Fielder may have several good years in front
of him, but a 9-year commitment and still needing to sign your own
guys like Felix Hernandez in a few years leads to an awful lot of
issues. I’m tired of hearing people say the M’s didn’t try to get
him. They have no idea that’s true. It’s not like they can run to
the store and pick him up! Outside of money, why would he want to
be here? The Mariners are at least a couple of years away from
contending again; they are young; the ball park is huge and hitting
HR’s isn’t easy; the cold makes it worse for the first 3 months…
You get the picture. In Detroit, they are already contending and
they have a hitter friendly park. He may be there ticket over the
top now.
I like Jesus Montero and I’ve never seen him play. The guys who
know a lot more about baseball rave about him. Who cares if he
isn’t that much of a defensive catcher. We haven’t had stellar
backstop work since Dan Wilson hung up the spikes. The kid is 22
years old. As long as he can keep the ball in front of him, throw
the ball back to the pitcher, and keep runners halfway honest, I
can live with it as long as it comes with .330, 30 HR’s, and 120
RBIs! If Montero can be anywhere near the lofty status people
project for him, comparing him to mashers like Frank Thomas and
Miguel Cabrera, then the M’s may have their own “prince” locked up
for the next 6 years. Time will tell.
At this point, I actually find myself excited to watch Montero,
Justin Smoak, Mike Carp and Dustin Ackley for a full season. Spring
always brings hope eternal, right? It just might need to be hope in
2013 or 2014. I’d settle for a anything better than a lousy .233
batting average and .292 on base percentage. THAT would at
least keep me watching more games. And, it would lead to more wins
– something the Mariners organization, Jack Zduriencik, and Manager
Eric Wedge desperately need!
You might notice that it has been over 10 months since I last
posted. My apologies. In reading the date, I notice that it was
just 6 days before my father passed away last year…just a few days
before he went into a coma he would never recover from. Crazy how a
year goes by. With that being said, I am armed and ready to get
back to talking about sports. With my apology and explanation, I
hope you will once again start reading.
My next REAL blog post will begin tomorrow with my thoughts on
the Mariners and losing out on the Prince Fielder sweepstakes. Game
on!
