Sports

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, June 22, 2008 These are dark times for area sports fans By John Sleeper Herald columnist It's never been this bleak in Puget Sound-area sports. We survived Ken Behring and Jeff Smulyan. We weathered bad UW football teams and constant ragging by inflamed boosters. We've seen ups and downs of Husky basketball -- men and women. We got past the Sonics and the Danny Vranes years. We just haven't ever had to slog through it all in one calendar year. What a week, eh? At precisely the time as the M's finally yanked their heads out and started jettisoning people responsible for baseball's worst record, the Sonics were in court, desperately trying to flee their home of 41 years. Hemlock, anyone? While the Boston area celebrates -- what? -- its seventh major sports championship this decade, we're stuck with the Mariners, Sonics and UW football, which is like choosing between cholera, leprosy and gangrene. We're six weeks away from the opening of what may be Tyrone Willingham's final crack at rescuing Husky football from its worse phase in its history -- while many of what used to be the program's most ardent backers are practically praying for him to fail. Talk about pleasant working conditions. UW men's and women's basketball teams are rebuilding. Incredibly, Lorenzo Romar is hearing it from the same lunatic fringe that wants Willingham's head on a platter. Women's coach Tia Jackson just completed her first year and already is feeling heat because of a) a losing season; and b) multiple roster defections, including her two brightest prospects. Gad. One season and the vultures are circling. Ah, but we have the Seahawks, you say. True. However, this is Mike Holmgren's swan song, as the team's most popular and successful coach calls it quits after this coming season. How hard will they play for a lame duck? Not only that, but the running game is in the hands (feet) of such names as Julius Jones, Mo Morris and T.J. Duckett. Doesn't exactly carry the same impact as Shaun Alexander in 2005, does it? OK, but we still have the Storm, in part because Sonics co-owners Aubrey McClendon and Tom Ward are heavyweight financiers of Americans United to Preserve Marriage, a conservative Christian group opposed to gay marriage. The Storm, as do many WNBA teams, has a sizable lesbian fan base. The Good Ol' Boys didn't want the team and any more of "that kind" within a time zone of their beloved Oklahoma City. So they left the Storm in Seattle. We like the Storm. Heck, we LOVE the Storm. After all, what other area franchise won a championship in the past 25 years? The Storm has a starting five of All-Stars and league MVPs. It'll probably win another WNBA title. The problem: Twelve people care. Yes, but Seattle will have a big-time soccer team next year -- ahhh, forget it. We're a dinghy in the Bering Sea. We're Rick Majerus running a marathon. We're Rudy Giuliani running for president. So when does it end? Does Willingham suddenly turn the Huskies into beasts? Does interim general manager Lee Pelekoudas import Derek Jeter, Vlad Guerrero and Joe Torre? Can we reasonably expect Clay Bennett to slap himself in the forehead, realize what a colossal gumball he's been and sell the Sonics back to Howard Schultz? Fat chance. Wait a minute. Here's a thought. Washington State will begin its football season against Oklahoma State Aug. 30 at Qwest Field. Good Lord. Haven't we suffered enough? Sports columnist John Sleeper: sleeper@heraldnet.com. For Sleeper[`]s blog, "Dangling Participles," go to www.heraldnet.com/danglingparticiples.

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