The one where King Felix meets King Midas
Published 12:02 pm Tuesday, January 19, 2010
TODAY’S LINEUP
A look at today’s top sports stories in The Herald:
Thatcher headed to Winter Games
Karen Thatcher, a women’s hockey player from Blaine, is finally going to realize her dream of playing the Olympics when she suits up for the U.S. women’s hockey team in Vancouver next month. Thatcher said her mom wanted her to be a figure skater first, but gave up on that when Thatcher fell in love with hockey. So like the exact opposite of Johnny Weir’s mom.
No ‘I’ in Bruins, well there is, but … oh nevermind
The Cascade Bruins boys basketball teams is crediting offseason team-building exercises in helping them become a better team this season. The Closer went to a team-building camp one time, but he did the cross-your-arms-and-fall-backwards exercise and nearly crushed an intern.
Felix possibly agreeing to extension
According to ESPN.com’s Keith Law, right-hander Felix Hernandez and the Mariners have agreed to a multiyear deal. The Closer isn’t sure, but was King Midas bald. He’s just saying …
Tri-City goalie gets the call
Americans netminder Alexander Pechurskiy was recently called up to the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins in an emergency backup role … and then got some significant playing time and earned a third star. Pechurskiy is 4-1-0-1 and shut out the Tips in his debut, so it’s safe to say the Tips hope he heads back to the big time soon.
THE WARMUP PITCH
Nate the Great … for now
After a month of being in Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni’s doghouse, Nate Robinson has exploded back on the scene. On the same day it was announced he’d be defending his slam dunk title, the former UW guard led the Knicks over the Pistons on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Robinson will continue to play significant minutes until he starts dribbling off his feet and throwing up shots over his head. So maybe a few days.
Brockman doing the dirty work
Snohomish High and UW grad Jon Brockman hit the boards hard Monday, collecting 14 rebounds in Sacramento’s loss to Charlotte. Of course the King of Snohomish County didn’t have any points, but hey Sacramento’s not paying him to shoot.
LT’s ‘Electric glide’ inspiring
LaDainian Tomlinson’s “Electric Glide” video found a few fans in the New York Jets last week. A number of Jets said they watched Tomlinson’s video before Sunday’s game and let him know about it during the game. The Closer wonders how they tackled Tomlinson while they were laughing so much.
Pondexter has best week ever
After leading the Dawgs to two big wins over Stanford and Cal this past week, Quincy Pondexter was named the Pac-10 player of the week. Of course this week he’ll average 5 points per game and 3 rebounds per game and be deemed the Pac-10 biggest disappearing act of the week.
Snowboarder to miss Olympics
Snowboarder Danny Davis, who had high hopes for the Vancouver Games, won’t be able to participate after suffering a back injury during a four-wheeler accident recently. That’s a lot better story than The Closer, who injured his back while reaching for the remote while watching a snowboarding competition.
CURVE BALLS
A look at the wild and wacky side of sports:
Marbury heads to China
Stephon Marbury reached an agreement to play for a professional basketball team in China. Wang Xingjiang, head of the Shanxi team, called the signing of Marbury “a reward to our fans” to help a struggling team. The Closer thinks the translation might be wrong. They must have meant punishment, right?
ESPN on Xbox 360
The New York Times reports that ESPN and Microsoft are in talks to bring a subscription-based service to Xbox Live that would stream live sporting events through the Xbox 360, no cable TV connection needed. Because yeah that’ll get the kids off the game consoles and outside playing more.
