Pac-10 Ref's Suck

Seriously, the Pac-10 has the worst officiating, of any major sports body, I have seen. WWU intramural ref's do a similar job. In honor/mockery of these terrible officials please use this posts comment thread to discuss your favorite/worst bad calls by Pac-10 officials.

Ray Allen for Three

"Then coach asked me to post up! Hahaha!"

Just a few days ago (or, if you're from the future, some other time measure ago), Ray Allen surpassed Reggie Miller for the greatest three point shooter in history.  This is not me boosting up a local player (Allen of course spent the bulk of his years in Seattle), but rather something backed up by stats: Ray Allen will have more threes made in his career than Miller, to go with a better percentage.

Strangely enough, both men have almost identical career stat lines despite such disparate personalities.  Miller, the fiery and outgoing man known mostly for taunting the Knicks and his 18 straight years as a Pacer, averaged 18 PPG, to go with 3 rebounds and 3 assists.  Ray Allen, known for being Jesus Shuttlesworth and his class, has a career line of 20, 4, and 4, on slightly worse overall shooting (.452 to Miller's .471).

It's fairly common knowledge for anyone with the ability to look things up on the internet that Miller, for all his greatness, never won a championship.  While some (specifically: me) will argue that Miller really wasn't that great of a player, that doesn't change the fact that he probably deserved a championship, especially after voluntarily living in Indiana for almost 20 years.  Allen had similar problems for years, forced to ply his trade on what were generally disappointing teams in Seattle before moving to Boston and winning a championship on the strength of KG's unmeasureably large dickishness.

The thing is, Ray Allen seems underappreciated to me.  The man spent years and years on average to slightly above average to miles below average teams, carrying them on his back.  Allen could work guys off the dribble, curl around screens from jumpers, and do just about anything outside of posting up.  Unfortunately, the Sonics of Allen's era weren't exactly given national exposure for a variety of reasons.  As such, people know Allen for his role as Jesus Shuttlesworth in a mediocre Denzel Washington film and for his work in Boston.

For the Celtics, Allen almost exclusively curls off screens for catch-and-shoot opportunities.  As such, people seem to view Allen mostly as nothing more than a shooter and defender.  This is, of course, laughable, as anyone who watched Allen in his prime knows he is far more than a shooter and far less than a defender (not that he doesn't try his best).

Ray Allen is indeed one of the greatest Sonics of all time, deserving to stand next to names like Jack Sikma, Gary Payton, and that one guy from high school (Robert Swift?).  While many may not remember him as shiningly as he deserves, Allen will stand for a long time now as the best shooter ever; just look at the stats.

Breaking Fake News!!!

The other day at work I got to talking with a co-worker about people that follow sports rumors insesently. You know the type. They are signed on to every major media's twitter, friends with all their favorite stars on facebook and constantly looking at ESPN.com. My co-worker and I came to the realization that if this blog started breaking some sports news stories or rumors we would get way more traffic. Well here is the thing. I dont have the time or resources to find these breaking stories. However, I do have the time to make them up. So I have decided to do just that. Here are 10 breaking fake news blurbs that you probably wont see anywhere else this year.

• Tiring of charasmatic coach Pete Carroll, Seahawks owner Paul Allen decides to coach the team himself in 2011.
• Inspired by the Ken Griffey Jr signing in 2010, GMZ decides to bring back another aging past Mariner and signs Randy Winn to start in LF.
• Clay Bennett decides he really doesn't like basketball all that much and decides to sell the Sonics back to Seattle.
• Encouraged by the success of ESPN U, the massive sports network launches ESPN HS.
• The Toronto Blue Jays agree to trade Brandon Morrow back to the Mariners for Brandon League.
• While hiking in the Andes this offseason, Matt Hasselbeck finds the fountain of youth and end the Seahawks QB concerns for the forseeable future.
• Former UW Husky Jake Locker skips the NFL draft to play center field for the Los Angeles Angels of Anahiem.
• Powered by his magical purple drink, JaMarcus Russell signs a contract with the Carolina Panthers and lead them to the NFC Championship and Super Bowl XLVI only to lose to the Buffalo Bills.
• During a prolonged NFL labor dispute, stars, like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, bolt from the established league to the fledgling UFL.
• Tiger Woods becomes the first major sports star to come out of the closet. 

Quick Hits

• If you want to learn to play basketball right, check out this video, as well as part 2 and part 3.
• Gary Payton popped up on the Onion Sportsdome yesterday, a show you should definitely be watching.  If you missed it, here you go.
• An excellent look at the trials and tribulations of being a British royal and a professional basketball player.
• This is how beards work.  Perfectly.

Cooperstown Heritage: Best Thing Ever

"Home run! Or strikeout, I forget which is good."

Recently, I was combing the internet for cheap drugs and underage prostitutes, as I often due, when I came across what may have been the greatest discovery of all time.  Nike, that scrappy, upstart company, has released a new line of shirts called the "Cooperstown Heritage" collection.  The basic design is that of the outline of various baseball stars from the 70s, 80s, and 90s.  Ranging from Randy Johnson to Rollie Fingers, this seems like a fairly straightforward idea.

Of course, Nike has made a small change making this the greatest invention since inventions.  Instead of a simple picture of the player, the shirts feature the outline of the players hair only.  For instance, in the case of Rollie Fingers, the shirt consists of a Brewers cap, long blond hair, and a giant moustache, and nothing else.  The same rings true for the shirts featuring guys like Randy Johnson (mullet supreme), Mike Schimdt (power moustache), and Mr. October himself, complete with hilarious glasses.

Now, if I had a choice, I would currently own every single shirt in this line, with the exception of the Kirby Puckett shirt (which is merely a goatee).  Unfortunately, Nike has already sold out.  Rest assured, as soon as Nike has restocked their online store, I shall once again be complete in my life, free to roam the streets with ridiculous facial hair both on my face and my chest.

Karma: Brett Favre Wins the Super Bowl

"I can't believe I threw another TD!"

After years and years of being wrongly persecuted at every turn by millions of sports fans, Brett Favre won his second Super Bowl today.  Yes, it was a monumental day for a man who's never been given the media coverage he truly deserved.  Favre, a reserved, humble man who up until today had only one championship to his credit, led the Packers to the championship with an excellent performance.  Much like every game, Favre played almost flawless football, displaying his trademark accuracy and respect for opponents.

The only downside to the perenially underrated Favre's victory was that it came at the expense of one of the best kept secrets in the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers.  With the possible exception of the New England Patriots, no team has been as disrespected and ignored despite their success this decade than the Steelers.  Of course, the Steelers have done little to try and gain media attention, populating their roster with soft-spoken everymen who refuse to draw attention to themselves.  Favre, of course, embodies this as well, and it showed this Sunday night.

Free Fall

With the loss Saturday to the Oregon Ducks, the Washington Huskies have now dropped three straight games in Pac-10 play. These last two games haven't even been to good teams. The Beavers were 9-11 (3-6 conf) coming into their game with the Huskies. The Ducks were 11-11 (4-6 conf) before the UW game. Both of those games should have been easy wins for the UW team, which had been considered highly talented. However, The Huskies managed to lose both. After watching those games Husky fans must have some questions about the talent level of their squad. Is it possible that this team isn't as good as everyone thought?

During each of the last three UW basketball games Isaiah Thomas has struggled. Against WSU and OSU, Thomas played terribly. Against Oregon he improved a little, but was nowhere near the level fans had grown accustomed to. When it comes to scoring Thomas averaged 13.7 PPG but shot only 29.4% (10-34) from the field and 23.5% (4-17) from three point range. He was only been able to keep his scoring average up because the other teams kept fouling him. He was 17-19 from the charity strip over the three game spread. Beyond scoring, Thomas also struggled with his point guard duties. He had 17 assists over the three games, which might appear good. However, he also had 16 turnovers over those three games and many of them have looked just awful. These turnovers negated any benefit the Huskies gained from his assists.

So what about the other stars, Matthew Bryan-Amaning and Justin Holiday? These two seniors were expected to be able to pick up the slack during those games when Isaiah Thomas was struggling. During the three game losing streak MBA has averaged 13.0 PPG on 44% (16-36) shooting from the field. He has also been pulling down 8.6 RPG. He did have an absolutely terrible scoring game against WSU where he went 1-8 from the field and 4-8 from the line, but he managed to grab 11 rebounds. The biggest complaint about Bryan-Amaning over the three game slide has to be is free throw shooting where he is 7-17. This is nothing new though, MBA has never been a good free throw shooter. Despite his struggles at the line I would say MBA has played well during the losing streak.

During the same three game slide, Justin Holiday has averaged 12.0 PPG on 42.9% (12-28) shooting from the field. Much like MBA, Holiday has been helping the team out off the glass. He has pulled down 8.0 RPG. Also like MBA, Holiday had a game where he just didn't score at all but managed to rebound for the Huskies. Against OSU he went 2-8 from the field but pulled down 7 rebounds. Overall Holiday played fairly well against WSU, OSU and UO.

In addition to MBA and Holiday, other guys showed up to play against the Cougars, Beavers and Ducks. Against the in state rival Cougars, Freshman Terrence Ross dropped 14 pts in only 22 minutes. In the OSU game Scott Suggs scored a career high 18 points. Finally against the hated Ducks, Ross stepped up again and scored 12.

It has been said repeatedly from many sources that the Huskies are a very deep team. They are supposed to be able to play 8 or 9 deep on their bench without a talent drop off. Having a really deep team is great and it is essential for a deep tournament run. It allows your stars to have an off day without the team missing a beat. Other guys are supposed to be able to step in and carry the load.

Based on the last three games I think we are seeing that this idea of the Huskies depth winning them games might have been overblown. It appears that the Huskies are a star driven team. They rely on Isaiah Thomas to win games. When Isaiah Thomas falters, the Huskies falter. That is exactly what has happened these last three games. Isaiah Thomas struggled and the Huskies lost, despite others performing well.

Hopefully, this isn’t true and the Huskies have been losing because their opponents are just out playing them. If it is true we should expect trouble for this UW team. Opponents will just have to focus on Thomas. If they can shut him down they can win. Reliance on one player will result an early exit from the NCAA tournament, for any team, the Huskies included.

Source: Yahoo Sports

WWU vs SPU or Something FSN Actually Got Right

On Wednesday January 26th, another chapter was added in the men's basketball rivalry between the Western Washington University Vikings and the Seattle Pacific University Falcons as the two battled it out at Royal Brougham Pavilion in Seattle Washington. Like most in this rivalry, the game was a thriller.


The game had everything and was truly exciting. It kept the fans at Royal Brougham engrossed for the entire game. Led by the Orange Men, an SPU super fan group, the entire arena stayed loud for all 40 minutes. The Vikings scored first and kept that lead the whole first half finishing with a 36-31 lead. Both teams looked engerized by the rivalry aspect of the game and played hard. WWU PG John Allen looked unstoppable amassing 17 points on 7-8 shooting in the first half. 

Yay, we're winning!

Unfortunately for the Vikings early in the second half Allen took a nasty spill and was never able to get back in a groove, failing to score in the second half. The rest of his team failed to pick up the slack, jacking up forced shots, resulting in only 40% shooting. Led by C Andy Poling SPU capitalized on the Viking's short comings. The shorter Viking players were unable to stop the 6'11" Poling and SPU captured the lead around the 12 minute mark in the second half. Even with the poor shooting and lackadaisical defense the Vikings managed to keep it close. They pulled within two in the waining seconds of the game. Ultimately the Vikings just ran out of time and SPU notched another home victory.

Boo we lost.

The game was shown on TV by FSN, who is featuring Great Northwest Athletic Conference basketball this season. Although I did not see the broadcast (because I was at the game), I can't think of a better showcase for GNAC basketball. It is great that FSN is choosing to show select local Division II games live. Unlike many of the larger Division I programs, the althetes in Division II are truly student-athletes. Most don't have dellusions of NBA career. They come to the school to get an education and play the sport they love. Athletes like this set a great example for high school and junior high student-athletes. In addition, a higher percentage of the players in the GNAC are from Washington and Oregon. Broadcasting GNAC games allows these player's skills to be showcased in front of their friends and family.

The SPU game won't be Western's only feature on FSN. On 2/16/11 the Central Washington University Wildcats will take on the Western Washington University Vikings at 7:00pm in Carver Gym in Bellingham. When I was at Western, this matchup drew more fans and campus attention then any other. They were always exciting and often went down to the wire. This year should be no different. The Wildcats currently sit atop the GNAC standings with a 17-1 (10-1 conf) record. The Viking's currently sit in fourth with a 11-7 (6-4 conf) record. However, WWU's mens basketabll team has the advantage of being at home where they are 8-0 this year. That is a strong home court advantage if I have ever seen one. I for one look forward to watching another classic WWU rivalry on FSN.