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Dueling Silvertips and the Geezer Bowl
Friday, Nov. 13, 2006
Posted
at
10:38 am
TODAY'S LINEUP
The top sports stories from today's edition of The Herald:
1. Give me a C, give me an A ...
The Everett Silvertips return home tonight after being on the road for nearly three weeks. The highlight of the trip, Herald writer Nick Patterson notes, was the anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better duel waged between Tips goalies Thomas Heemskerk and Kent Simpson, who each turned in a string of sparkling performances. In basketball, they call that a game of H-O-R-S-E. What is it in hockey? C-A-R-I-B-O-U?
2.It was the Lions, for goodness sake!
The Seahawks' company line this week is that Sunday's come-from-behind victory over the Dandy-Lions was “definitely a character builder.” Uh-oh. Character is what coaches start building when they realize constructing a winning team is out of the question.
3. Look out, boys, here comes the backhoe
The UW football team's lack of a consistent pass rush is a major concern for head coach Steve Sarkisian heading into Saturday's game against the Pac-10's hottest passer, Oregon State QB Sean Canfield. “We just have to keep digging,” Sarkisian said when asked what his team needs to do to put more pressure on the quarterback. So far, the only thing all that digging has produced is a grave big enough to bury the Huskies' bowl aspirations.
4. Time — and the Tommies — just keep marching on
Don't be late to tonight's big Class 4A prep football playoff game between No. 3-ranked Auburn (10-0) and No. 8 Marysville-Pilchuck (10-0). Herald prep editor John McDonald notes that since neither team throws the ball much, the clock is going to run almost non-stop. Come to think of it, that's also what the M-P Tomahawks have done against all 10 of their opponents this season.
5. Belmont? Isn't that a horse race?
The key to early-season success in college basketball is not coaching, talent or preparation. It's scheduling schools only a geography prof can find on a map. If the majority of your fan base has no idea where your opponent hails from, chances are you're going to win. That's why the Closer confidently predicts the UW men's basketball team will be 2-0 after games tonight and Saturday against Wright State and Belmont. Or is that Right State and Preakness? The Closer is not sure.
THE WARMUP PITCH
We kind of like the old style, coach
Ken Bone makes his debut as head coach of the Washington State men's basketball team tonight. He promises to do away with the Cougars' deliberate, defensive-oriented style of play in favor of a more up-temp game. Bone says it's “more entertaining for the fans.” The Closer's not so sure. Three consecutive trips to the postseason were not exactly a snooze-fest, coach.
Let's settle this thing once and for all
The Meadowdale High School football team is 10-0 for the first time since 1972. That 1972 group was the last Wesco football squad to complete an undefeated season and not win a state title. The state playoffs didn't start until the following year. The Chieftains (Meadowdale's nickname before we went all touchy-feely politically correct) finished second to Wenatchee in the final state poll. The Closer hates a lack of closure in sports so, even those it's been 37 years, it's time for a Wenatchee-Meadowdale showdown. Sure, the players are in their mid-50s now, a little heavier and lot slower, but at least we'll have resolution. We'll call it the first Geezer Bowl.
Hey, we recognize you guys
Congrats to the Jackson High School volleyball, which assured itself of a top-eight finish at the Class 4A state volleyball tournament by posting a 2-1 record Thursday. Ironically, the Timberwolves traveled 190 miles to Kennewick only to wind up playing Wesco South rival Kamiak in the trophy-clinching match. The schools are 7.5 miles apart.
'Til we meet again
Speaking of athletes running into each other miles from home, Marjorie Heard of Glacier Peak High School and Danielle Love of Cascade are bound to have a few close encounters in the coming years after each signed a national letter of intent Thursday with a Pac-10 basketball program. Heard will play at Washington, Love at Oregon.
Mr. Positive
Mrs. Closer is worried that I've been too hard on pro soccer in my column, so I promised her I would say something positive about the Sounders FC today. OK, here goes: I like the fact the Sounders' season is over. How's that, honey?
You think you can win with these guys? Prove it
The NBA's New Orleans Hornets fired head coach Byron Scott on Thursday and replaced him with general manager Jeff Bower. The team CEO, Hugh Weber, said that since Bower assembled the roster, he should be responsible for the players' performance. The Closer likes that kind of accountability. Now, if the team continues to struggle, the Hornets will be taking a long, hard look at the guy who hired the GM, right Mr. Weber?
CURVEBALLS
The wacky news from the word of sports:
Really, mom, it was just a joke
The UW Web site has a picture of soccer player Alex Kirk in the back of a police car. Kirk, a graduate of Edmonds-Woodway High School, said it was all in fun. She and some friends were taking pictures near a police cruiser on Capitol Hill when the officer invited her to strike a pose in the backseat. Kirk took the officer up on the offer, making her the first athlete in recorded history who actually wanted her picture taken in the back of a police car.
Don't (huff) worry, (puff) I'll be there (huff) in a second
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson is in trouble after criticizing the fitness of a referee following a recent Premier League soccer game. He was fined $32,000 and banned for four games. Reminds The Closer of his days officiating YMCA youth basketball. Used to make the calls from a folding chair at midcourt.
THE RUNDOWN
The Closer saw in today's Herald that prep pigskin prognosticators Mike Cane and Tom Lafferty were 6-0 last week in picking high school games. Inspired by their success, The Closer decided to try his hand this week at predicting the winner in each of the five playoff games involving Snohomish County schools. Here goes:
1. Auburn (10-0) over Marysville-Pilchuck (10-0): Last The Closer checked, Auburn played in the SEC. That's a lot tougher conference than the Wesco North.
2. Jackson (10-0) over Issaquah (7-3): Issaquah snuck up on M-P last year. The Eagles won't have the element of surprise on their side this year.
3. Meadowdale (10-0) over Columbia River (5-5): The Mavericks improve to 11-0 for the first time in school history, an accomplishment that can be matched by the 1972 team if it wins the upcoming Geezer Bowl.
4. Timberline (10-0) over Glacier Peak (8-2): With the way Glacier Peak flies up and down the field — and allows its opponents to do likewise — there is a real chance of injury ... to the stats keepers.
5. Archbishop Murphy (9-1) over R.A. Long (8-2): R.A. ain't Long for the state playoffs (heehee, The Closer cracks himself up).
Contact The Closer at inthebullpen@heraldnet.com.
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