Monthly Archives: October 2014

Collegians: SK grad Thomas GNAC Player of the Week; Moskowitz makes ’14 debut

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Starting to wonder if Central Washington’s Isaiah Thomas, junior defensive back/punt and kickoff returner from South Kitsap, might not have a chance to play in the NFL. Thomas, a D2 preseason All-American, was the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Week after helping the Wildcats beat Western Oregon 24-20.

Thomas’ interception and two punt returns led to scores for Central (4-3, 3-1 GNAC). Thomas has six picks a year ago, and according to this story on the CWU website, opponents are not challenging him much this season.

At Minot State (N.D.), Leon La Deaux (sr., South Kitsap) leads the winless Beavers with 35 catches for 491 yards and two touchdowns. …. Brother Aaron La Deaux (so., South Kitsap) punts (49 for a 38.9 average with a long of 68) and handles kickoff duties for the Beavers. Nine of his 22 kicks have resulted in touchbacks. … Defensive back Bryce Broome (so., South Kitsap) is Minot’s fourth-leading tackler (24 solo, 15 assists) and has 2.5 tackles for losses and two interceptions.

At Eastern Oregon, defensive tackle Kyle Lanoue (so., Central Kitsap) is having a standout season for the NAIA Mountaineers (4-3, 3-3 Frontier Conference). He’s fourth on the team in tackles (23 solo, 17 assists in seven games and has 6.5 tackles for losses and two sacks.

Defensive lineman Austin Cook (sr., South Kitsap) has seven tackles for Pacific Lutheran (3-2, 1-2 Northwest Conference).

In cross country, Ramona Morshead (grad student, Kingston) and Ruby Roberts (redshirt sr., Kingston) are running at Washington State. Roberts was 21st at the Indiana State Pre-Nationals Invitational meet in Terre Haute, Ind., on Oct. 18.

In his first appearance since last year’s nationals, Shane Moskowitz (sr., Central Kitsap) of Oklahoma State was second at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Oct. 18. “Shane’s an experienced guy, so it was good to have him back,” coach DaveSmith said. “He’s a fifth-year senior and he was the fifth guy on a national championship squad, so it was good to have him back. He knocked off a little bit of rust today, but as long as he gets a few more races under his belt, I think he’ll be at a good level in time for the national championships.” Next up: the Big 12 Championships, Nov. 1., in Lawrence, Kan.

In women’s soccer, Becca Schoales (so., South Kitsap) has three goals, all game winners, for the Washington Huskies (10-4, 3-2 Pac-12). The forward has started seven of 14 games.

Midfielder Delanee Nilles (jr., North Kitsap) has a goal and two assists for No. 20-ranked Western Washington ( 12-0-2, 8-0-2 GNAC). She’s started 12 of 14 games. … Becca Cates (so., North Kitsap) has played in 10 games as a midfielder for the Vikings, averaging 22 minutes a game.

Kailey Lyman (jr., South Kitsap) has started all 14 games for Pacific Lutheran (10-3-1, 8-2 Northwest Conference). The midfielder has one assist.

Evergreen’s Amy Bromley (fr., Central Kitsap) has five goals and four assists for the Geoducks (4-9-1, 2-4-1 Cascade Collegiate Conference). Irina Lyons (jr., Port Townsend/Edmonds) has started four games for Evergreen.

Midfielder Jalyn Halstead (jr., Olympic) has started 11 of the 12 games she’s played in for Linfield (10-3, 7-3 Northwest Conference).

Midfielder Micaylla O’Leary (sr. Olympic) has started four of 14 games for St. Martin’s (1-11-1, 1-8-1 GNAC).

In men’s soccer, midfielder Diego Aceves (so., South Kitsap) and Jacob Beck (fr., Central Kitsap) are playing for Pacific Lutheran (7-8, 4-5 Northwest Conference). Aceves has started 13 of 15 games and has a goal. Beck, a defender, has started six of the eight games he’s played in. He’s a freshman in eligibility, but a junior in school.

In golf, Carl Jonson (sr., Bainbridge) has a sixth, tie for 22nd, T25 and T48 in four fall tournaments for No. 24 UNLV. His sixth came at the Jerry Pate National Collegiate in Alabama last month.

Erynne Lee (sr., Central Kitsap) tied for fourth at the Stanford Collegiate tournament, helping No. 8 UCLA to a second-place finish. She had 3-under 68 on the final day. Lee tied for 42nd and tied for 36th in earlier events this fall.

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Tough road ahead for Hawks, Dawgs & links

cstark

OK, maybe we let our heart get in the way our our brains last week.

I didn’t pick the Washington Huskies to beat Oregon, but I thought the Dawgs were ready to give the Ducks a game. Surely, they’d cover the spread (20.5 points).

Wrong.

I thought the Seattle Seahawks would regroup and handle the Rams in St. Louis.

Wrong.

They did regroup, but it was too late. The Rams rode some special teams tricky to a 28-26 victory and the Seahawks are suddenly 3-3.

Seattle’s defense isn’t nearly as dominating as it was a year ago, but the biggest problem remains the Hawks’ offensive line. They allowed three sacks and had three holding penalties and QB Russell Wilson was running for his life, especially in the first half when the Seahawks fell behind 21-3 at one point.

At the start of the season, I thought these Seahawks might be even better than last year’s Seahawks.

Wrong.

Even after last week’s loss to Dallas, I thought the Hawks were still the team to beat in the NFC.

Wrong.

Arizona (5-1) might be the best team, even better than Dallas (5-1) and Philadelphia (6-1) and don’t forget about the Packers (4-2) or 49ers (3-3). The Seahawks are still in the mix, but they’ve put themselves in a precarious position. At 3-3, they don’t have a lot of room for error and the schedule is far tougher than it was a year ago with road games left against Carolina (Oct. 26), Kansas City (Nov. 16) and Philadelphia (Dec. 7) and home-and-home games still to play with the Cardinals and 49ers.

We were reminded that the previous eight Super Bowl champions didn’t win a playoff game the following year. So the Seahawks didn’t have history on their side when the season started, but to suggest they might not make the playoffs seemed pretty far-fetched.

Now? Well, maybe not so much.

Pete Carroll, interviewed on 710 ESPN radio Monday morning, said, “The story is not written right now.”

What about those Huskies?

The Oregon-Washington game was a total mismatch. Oregon’s 45-20 victory, their 11th straight over the Huskies, was far more convincing than I figured it would be. Washington’s defense, so impressive the week before while holding Cal to seven points, couldn’t stop the run or the pass. And Washington’s offense didn’t look so hot either against an Oregon defense that has struggled at times.

Quarterback Marcus Mariota played like a Heisman Trophy winner and the Ducks didn’t look anything like the team that barely beat Washington State 38-31 and lost to Arizona 31-24.

If Oregon runs the table against Cal, Stanford, Utah, Colorado and Oregon State, they should wind up in college football’s four-team national playoff. But in college football’s most unpredictable season, who can say for sure what’s going to happen from week to week?

As for Washington, it’s back to the drawing board, as a disappointed coach Chris Petersen pointed out after the loss. The Huskies were also beat up physically in Eugene. QB Cyler Miles left with a possible concussion, and if he’s not available, it appears redshirt freshman Troy Williams will be the starter. He won the backup job over Jeff Lindquist and played most of the fourth quarter after Miles was injured.

The UW has six games left, including a tough home game against Arizona State on Oct. 26 (7:45 p.m., ESPN), and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Huskies went 4-2 or 1-5. At the start of the season, I predicted Washington would finish 10-3, tied for second in the Pac-12 North. Now my brain tells me they’re looking more like an 8-5 team that will find itself playing in the Cactus Bowl (Jan. 2 at Tempe, Ariz.) or Las Vegas Bowl (Dec. 20).

Some links

The St. Louis Surprise. Mike Silver of NFL.com writes about Jeff Fisher’s call for a fake punt on fourth down, the play that sealed the Rams’ upset of the Seahawks on Sunday.

Mike Sando of ESPN.com writes about how the Percy Harvin trade hurts Seattle’s chances to repeat.

At 3-3, Seattle is not in desperation mode, but the Seahawks’ flaws are showing, writes Don Banks of SI.com.

Percy Harvin trade makes sense for Jets.

Art Thiel of Sportspressnw.com puts the latest Seahawks loss on coach Pete Carroll and GM John Schneider.

Remember Steve “Bye Bye” Balboni? Well, if you’re old as dirt, like me, you do. He was the slugging first baseman for the Kansas City Royals’ 1985 World Series champions. Now? He’s an advance scout for the San Francisco Giants. It’ll be a strange, trip for Balboni when he returns to KC this week for the start of the World Series.

Hard to believe but Tim Lincecum, only 30, is now a bit player with the Giants, the backup long relief pitcher as San Francisco heads to the World Series.

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Harvin, Ducks, Dawgs, Villopoto & more

cstark

Links, notes, thoughts:

There were warning signs: Don’t know for sure, but it sure seems like Doug Baldwin’s post-game rant after the Seattle Seahawks’ loss against Dallas might have been aimed at Percy Harvin. You might have read or heard about the trade that sent Harvin to the Jets on Friday. Sounds like Harvin was a pain in the you-know-what. Remember the stories when the Seahawks gave him a guaranteed $25.5 million after acquiring him from the Vikings? Harvin, according to some in the media, was described as a head case, a time bomb, and a diva. One report coming out Friday had Harvin punching former teammate Golden Tate, now a Detroit Lion, in the week leading up to the Super Bowl. He also, reportedly, had an altercations with Baldwin in the preseason and refused to re-enter the Dallas game late in the fourth quarter, according to a Seattle Times report.

More Harvin: Despite modest statistics (he caught just 27 passes in eight games during his Seahawks’ career), everyone was singing Harvin’s praises after the Monday night game at Washington less than three weeks ago. Harvin had three TDs called back in that one. That was a strange game, but Friday’s trade trumped that for strangeness.

What’s a conditional mid-round draft pick? it depends on how Harvin plays with the Jets. If he plays a certain number of games, the mid-round pick (fourth, fifth) could turn into a second rounder, according to an NFL.com report.

The Ducks, the Ducks, the Ducks: Washington has lost 10 straight to Oregon, and the Huskies are 20.5-point underdogs on Saturday. I was in the stands at Berkeley last week, and the UW defense was impressive against a pretty good Cal offensive, good enough to give Husky fans hope that maybe, just maybe, this could be the year Washington upsets the Ducks. Danny Shelton and Shaq Thompson are part of a front seven that could be really nasty by the end of the season. The secondary has come a long way in a short amount of time. Prediction: Marcus Mariota is the difference and the losing streak reaches 11, but it won’t be a double-digit victory, and that’s an upset in itself since Washington has never kept it close in the last 10 years. The closest margin of defeat has been 17 points.

Did you know? Mariota and Washington QB Cyler Miles have not thrown an interception.

Did you know II? Chris Petersen, coach of the Huskies, was 2-0 against Oregon when he was at Boise State.

Saturday night plans: Dylan. Bob Dylan. Never seen the man live. I’ve been told not to hear or expect the Dylan I think I’m going to hear at the Paramount. Doesn’t matter. I can’t wait.

Marvin update: Bremerton’s Marvin Williams is five games into the preseason with the Charlotte Hornets. Here’s the average line for the starting power forward: 5.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.6 steals while playing an average of 26 minutes. Charlotte likes his ability to hit threes, although he’s made just 6 of 19 attempts thus far.

Historic decision for RV2: Poulsbo’s Ryan Villopoto talks with Transworld Motocross about his decision to race in Europe for a world championship instead of going for a fifth straight Supercross championship. For Villopoto, 26, this will be his last year as a competitive racer.

Wild Series: It’s the Giants and Royals in the World Series. Two exciting wild-card teams. The Royals are 8-0 in the postseason and the darlings of baseball. The Giants are the Giants. A different players seems to step up every game. Travis Ishikawa of Federal Way is the latest hero after hitting a walk-off home run to clinch the NLCS against St. Louis. They’ve been here before, winning it all in 2010 and 2012. If they can do it again, manager Bruce Bochy should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Speaking of Giants: If San Francisco prevails, does Todd Linden get a World Series ring? The Central Kitsap grad, a one-time Giants’ prospect, was the hitting coach for San Francisco’s Class A team in the South Atlantic League — the Augusta GreenJackets.

Elton Goodwin Foundation: The foundation is holding a spaghetti dinner fundraiser for the late South Kitsap coach on Friday, No. 7, at the Port Orchard Eagles. Tickets are ($20 single/$35 couple) are available at Cruise-N Car Wash and Espresso through Oct. 31. Tickets at the door will be $25 single/$40 couple. All Profits will benefit the foundation for scholarships and/or facilities at South Kitsap High School.

Rangers back in the hunt: Olympic College’s volleyball team is 18-5 and ranked No. 2 in the NWAC Coaches’ Poll behind Blue Mountain (34-1). Blue Mountain, from Pendleton, Oregon, beat OC in the NWAC championship match a year ago. OC handed the Timberwolves their only loss, but the defending champs hold a 2-1 advantage over the Rangers this season.

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Troy Kelly starts 2014-15 PGA season with 1-under 71

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Troy Kelly got his 2014-15 season off to a decent start, firing a 1-under 71 at the Frys.com Open. The Central Kitsap grad was one of the early starters and was tied for 41st as I write this, but there are still several players on the course (Silverado CC-North) in Napa, California.

Here’s the deal for Kelly: The 36-year-old, now living in Tacoma, has 12 starts left on a major medical extension to collect $563,133 or 353.837 FedExCup points to retain his PGA Tour status. He has just one top-35 finish in 54 PGA Tour starts, and he tied for first, losing a playoff to Ted Potter at The Greenbrier Classic in 2012. That got him a spot in the British Open.

Kelly couldn’t keep the momentum going, then he missed 11 months, recovering from knee surgery. He made just two of eight cuts on the Web.com Tour and missed cuts in both PGA events he played last year.

Chip shots: Kelly birdied three of his last four holes on Thursday, but also had bogeys on No. 14 and 16. … Andres Gonzales of Olympia, a Web.com grad, is leading the Frys.com Open with a 6-under 66. … The tour moves to Las Vegas next week for the Shiners Hospital for Children Open. You can follow the Frys.com Open here.

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MNF Links: Seahawks vs. Redskins

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From the Washington Post:

Since the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins met in a 2012 playoff game, the franchises have gone in different directions.

Richard Sherman and DeSean Jackson are former Little League teammates. Tonight, they’ll play against each other.

Sherman, by the way, is still looking for his first interception. A couple of Post writers provide answers to the question: Can the Redskins have success throwing to Sherman’s side of the field?

QB Kirk Cousins is coming off a game in which he threw four interceptions against the Giants, and now he has to face the Legion of Boom.

Columnist Jason Reid writes that Washington coach Jay Gruden is the right man for the job, but his roster is lacking.

There’s no timetable for RGIII”s return.

From the Washington Times:

Look for Washington to try and take a page out of San Diego’s playbook and attack Seattle’s defense with its tight ends.

Washington QB Kirk Cousins played against Russell Wilson twice in college. “You make me nervous,” Cousins told Wilson when the met following their rookie NFL seasons. “When I’m standing on the sidelines and the ball’s in your hand, I’m always nervous, because you never know what the next play’s going to be.”

From CBSSports.com:

Fifteen things to know about Monday’s game. Here’s an example:

Amazingly, since the start of the 2012 season, Seattle is 17-1 at home with an average margin of victory of 16.5. But during that same span on the road, they’ve gone just 9-8. That’s why, despite so many obvious discrepancies between these two teams, Monday’s game could be closer than many expect.

From ESPN.com:

Another profile on Richard Sherman. This one covers Sherman’s relationship with Stanford and his mentor, coach David Shaw.

From NFL.com:

Washington tackle Trent Williams on Seahawks: “They’re not robots.”

Here’s a video preview of the Monday Night game. One of the top match ups is Washington’s defense against Seattle’s running game. The Redskins only allows 3.3 yards per carry to opposing offenses, and Seattle has the third-best running attack in the game.

From The Seattle Times:

The Seahawks have won eight straight Monday Night Football games and are 10-1 under Peter Carroll in primetime games. Columnist Larry Stones writes about how the Hawks have thrived in those big games.

Beat writer Bob Condotta previews the game.

From Seahawks.com:

Safety Kam Chancellor grew up a Redskins fan and patterned his game after the late Sean Taylor.

Marshawn Lynch has surpassed what the Seahawks thought he’d bring to the team when they acquired him in a trade from Buffalo on Oct. 5, 2010.

From the News Tribune:

Stopping the Redskins on third down will be a key for Seattle.

John McGrath writes about the QB showdown between Wilson and Cousins.

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Links and quick hits: Villopoto to forego Supercross series to race in Europe

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Links

Nobody has ever won five straight AMA Supercross Championships and Poulsbo’s Ryan Villopoto has a chance to do it, but he has decided to compete in the FIM 450 World Championships in Europe in 2015. Villopoto has reportedly signed a multi-million dealt to race in Europe. Here’s the link to the story on his own website rv2.com. A couple side notes: Villopoto, 28, was nominated for his third ESPY this year, and he also threw out the first pitch at a Padres game in late August.

Seattle Seahawks’ quarterback Russell Wilson says he used to be a bully when he was a young kid.

“Truthfully, I used to beat people up a lot,” Wilson wrote for ThePlayersTribune.com, a new website started by Derek Jeter. “Many of you readers probably think I have been Mr. Goody Two-Shoes my whole life, but honestly, I was a bully growing up. In elementary and middle school, I threw kids against the wall. I rubbed their heads in the dirt at recess. I bit them. I even knocked teeth out.”

Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated digs into the suspension of ESPN’s Bill Simmons. Interesting stuff, indeed. Simmons was suspended for three weeks after calling NFL commissioner Roger Goodell a liar on his podcast.

Here’s a couple different takes on the Hope Solo story. Kate Fagan of ESPNw.com equates Solo’s alleged assault of her 17-year-old sister and nephew to what Ray Rice did and thinks USA Soccer should suspend her immediately. Ta-Nehisi Coates of The Atlantic has a different take on the issue. Coates writes that there is a reason why we have a “Violence Against Women Act,” not a “Brawling With Families Act.”

Nobody wants to host the Olympics, writes Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports.

“Essentially the entire world has told the IOC it’s a corrupt joke,” he writes.

Quick hits

I’M STILL THINKING about Kansas City stealing seven (count ’em, SEVEN) bases in its wild-card victory over Oakland. And I’m think the Seattle Mariners need to find a way to keep James Jones in the lineup. Of course, a lot of that will depend on the development of Jones. He hit .250 with 27 stolen bases in 108 games (312 at bats). He hit .292 in June and looked like he could be the Mariners’ everyday center fielder. Then he crashed. He hit .287 before the All-Star break and .114 after. The M’s traded for Austin Jackson and Jones went back to Triple-A Tacoma before being recalled in September. It’ll be interesting to see what becomes of Mr. Jones. He could become a valuable piece of Seattle’s puzzle. Speed kills. If it’s not Jones, then they need someone like him.

I’VE ALREADY GOT a lot of positive feedback about my column on the late John Jarstad and his thoughts about the late Roosevelt Field in downtown Bremerton. Roosevelt was located just off the Warren Avenue Bridge, next to Olympic College. It’s now a … parking lot. It pains me to write that. Anyway, here’s the column in case you missed it.

OLYMPIC COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL coach Beth Donnelly has put together another strong team. The Rangers were second in the NWAC (Northwest Athletic Conference) and already own a victory over North Division rival Bellevue. They play an excellent brand of volleyball. Go see it for yourself. Next home games are Oct. 10 (Shoreline) and Oct. 15 (Edmonds).

LARRY DIXON KEEPS moving up Army’s career rushing list. The senior fullback from Olympic High is currently seventh in Army history with 2,424 yards on 400 carries. He has carried 62 times for 338 yards (5.5. per carry) and four touchdowns this season for the Black Knights (1-3), who host Ball State (1-3) on Saturday at 9 a.m. PST (CBS Sports Network).

“AMERICA’S ST. ANDREWS” a book about Chambers Bay written by Blaine Newnham, is available at Chambers Bay and can be ordered online at chambersbaygolf.com. The book chronicles the story of how Chambers Bay, which opened in 2008, was selected to host the 2015 U.S. Open.Robert Trent Jones Jr., the chairman and master architect of RTJ II, has written the book’s foreword.

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