The comeback edition
Published 8:16 am Tuesday, October 13, 2009
THE LINEUP
A daily look at the top sports stories in The Herald
1. Seahawks bounce back in big way
Matt Hasselbeck made his triumphant return to the starting lineup and the Seahawks
bombarded the Jacksonville Jaguars41-0 on a beautiful fall day at Qwest Field. Not only was Hasselbeck back behind center, but the defense showed up for the first time since Week 1. Hey, it’s a lot easier going up against David Garrard than Peyton Manning. Next up, those pesky Arizona Cardinals, and looming on the horizon like an oasis in the desert, the bye week. Boy do the Seahawks need it.
2. Silvertips unload on Winterhawks
Everett fell behind 3-0 early in Sunday night’s game, likely making many in the stands wonder if this was going to be the first time the team lost back-to-back games to Portland. Uh, scratch that idea. The Silvertips scored nine unanswered goals to crush the Winterhawks 10-4 and set a franchise record for goals in a game. So much for the new-and-improved Winterhawks team.
3. UW skating on thin ice
Herald writer Scott M. Johnson equates the Huskies to a man standing at the center of a frozen lake – and over the next few weeks we’ll know if he’ll fall in or skate on. With teams such as Oregon, Oregon State and UCLA still on the docket, UW desperately needs to win Saturday in the desert against Arizona State to keep their bowl hopes alive. The Closer believes Everett native Dennis Erickson still has a soft spot for the ol’ Purple and Gold, so a Huskies win should be a lock. Although, he’s been wrong about Dennis before: Who would have ever thought he’d leave that cushy job at Idaho?
THE WARMUP PITCH
Swept away
The Yankees and Angels continued the trend the Los Angeles Dodgers began a day earlier, sweeping Minnesota and Boston, respectively on Sunday. Now the two teams face off in the American League Championship Series, and the Yankees can only hope that the Phillies take a 2-1 leadin the best-of-five series. As The Closer watched last night from his hot tub, he could only wonder what kind of adrenaline was going through that man’s body. Cheers, Brad.
Shady Groves
A motorist’s father is complaining that Jacksonville’s Quentin Groves received preferential treatment from airport police after a hit-and-run incident he was allegedly involved in just before catching his plane to Seattle. Hit and run, huh? Sounds like two things the Jaguars didn’t do very well on Sunday.
Feel-good football
Sunday was an emotional day for The Closer. First he read Mike Cane’s feature on Ike Ditzenberger in that morning’s Herald and then he watched Cincinnati, playing for defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, whose wife of 27 years died three days prior, go out and beat Baltimore. The only other time The Closer’s eyes got that watery during a football game was when he was chop-blocked by an overweight 12-year-old in his Pop Warner days.
Broncos are busting
It took a late comeback and overtime, but Josh McDaniels defeated his mentor, Bill Belichick, and the New England Patriots, improving to 5-0 on the season. The Closer isn’t sure who was more upset: Belichick or Seahawks president Tim Ruskell, who owns the Broncos first-round pick.
Crying shame
There was some bad football on Sunday, none of it more offensive (or shall we say lack-of-offensive?) than that mess we call the Oakland Raiders. A day after their coach Tom Cable was painted in a very poor light yet again, Oakland went out and laid an egg, losing to the New York Giants 44-7. The Browns and the Bills weren’t much better, as Cleveland completed just two passes on the day … and won, beating Buffalo 6-3. After the game, Cable called up Browns coach Eric Mangini for advice.
Time running out on Zorn
Another Sunday and another bad loss for Redskins coach and former Seahawks assistant Jim Zorn. This time it was the winless Carolina Panthers who beat the Redskins, leaving many to wonder not if, but when, Zorn will lose his job. Even former Redskins are getting their digs in. Football commentator and former Redskin Brian Mitchell said he felt Zorn was “a little less than” former Skins coach Norv Turner. Norv Turner, Brian? That hurts.
Tiger’s revenge
Tiger Woods defeated Y.E. Yang – the guy he lost the PGA Championship to – 6-and-5 on Sunday and finished the Presidents Cup undefeated to lead the Americans to a victory over the International team. The Closer is sure that Tiger enjoyed the team victory, but knows that he’d trade it all in a second for that PGA title.
CURVE BALLS
Head strong, player stupid
Seahawks fullback Owen Schmitt got all fired up before Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars and then let it get to his head. Just watch:
After the game, Seahawks head coach Jim Mora said he wasn’t too happy with his “only” fullback. “The thing is, he was our only active fullback …” Mora said. “He’s running out on the field banging his head, and I said, ‘Hey pal, if you get hurt, we don’t have anybody else’”
Lactose intolerant
File this under another stupid NCAA rule. According to ESPN’s Jay Bilas, college teams are banned from providing cream cheese or butter for pregame and postgame spreads. When The Closer went on a diet a while back his wife tried that tactic. It didn’t work, though. His bagels without cream cheese just turned into dog frisbees and he headed for McDonalds for a McGriddle and two hash browns.
THE RUNDOWN
In honor of our comeback theme, let’s take a look back at Arizona State head coach Dennis Erickson, who seems to keep coming back over and over again. Here’s a list of his best seasons as a head coach. (Notice that none of them are in the NFL.) It was also a comeback weekend for Erickson, who took a mean shot on the sidelines and was knocked out briefly. Erickson remained in the game. Why not, right? He was playing Washington State for crying out loud. He could beat them in his sleep.
1. Miami Hurricanes, 1991: Erickson leads the Hurricanes to an undefeated season and a win in the Orange Bowl, giving them a share of the national title with UW. The Closer still thinks that the Huskies would have drubbed them in a national championship game. Where were you BCS when we needed you? (Didn’t thing you’d ever read that, huh?)
2. Oregon State Beavers, 2000: Erickson took a ragtag bunch of Beavers and turned them into world beaters. Not only did OSU crush Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, it broke a 33-year losing streak to USC and won a share of the Pac-10 title for the first time since 1964,
3. Miami Hurricanes, 1989: Taking over for Jimmy Johnson, Erickson won the first of his two national championships in his first year at Miami. He loses points, however, for doing it mostly with Johnson recruits.
4. Washington State, 1988: Erickson took a sputtering WSU program and turned it around, leading the Cougars to a 9-3 record and a win in the Aloha Bowl, their first bowl victory since 1931. Of course all that success led him to jump ship to Miami.
5. Arizona State, 2007: Erickson performed another miracle in the desert: Make football important at Arizona State. Erickson led the usually middling Sun Devils team to a 10-3 record and Holiday Bowl appearance. The Closer was sure that this was a springboard to a bigger job, but it seems ol’ Dennis has found a home in the desert. And from the looks of his contract, it must be a big home.
