Eric Wedge is Annoying

Something I have noticed over the last two seasons of Mariners baseball is that whenever Manager Eric Wedge gives an interview all that he says is just super cliche and pointless. He never offers any real insight, just phrases like "respecting the game", "giving it all" or my personal favorite "playing the right way" (what the heck is the right way?). What is the point of even uttering these quips? Every sports fan has heard them a million times; Players must have heard them a even more. Can they really motivate anyone anymore? Is Justin Smoak suddenly going to turn into the next Mark Texeria because someone tells him "he just needs to play within himself", I doubt it.

Outside of the world of news quotes Wedge seems to live by these tire old mantras. He favors players like Kevin Millwood and Miguel Olivo who "provide veteran leadership". In fact no players better exemplifies Wedge's passion for gritty old school guys than Miguel Olivo. The former M's catcher could hit for average, draw a walk or catch a pitch (the CATCHer's primary job), but he constantly stayed in the Manager's good graces. Why, because he "played hard every play" and "had a fire to win". Personally I wish subdued that fire a little so he could concentrate on getting base more and screwing up less.

Basically what I am trying to say is Eric Wedge is super annoying and I doesnt appear to add any real value to the Mariner's chances of winning baseball games. So, is it just me or is Eric Wedge's old school cliche and stereotypical management style really pointless and annoying to anyone else?

Time to Prove It GMZ

Hired in 2008 to replace the incompotent Bill Bavasi, Jack z is about start start his fifth season as the Seattle Mariners General Manager. So far the team has had limited success and I think this is definitely GMZ's prove it year

Throughout his time in Seattle he has been lauded for his ability to build a strong minor league system through the draft and trades, but so far none of those prospects have turned into good major league players. Sure several of them are still young and have showed some promise, but for every Kyle Seager there is a Justin Smoak to counter him.

The General Managers other job is to decide which players to keep, which players to let go and which players to add. Although a lot of his trades and signings were heralded at the time as deft moves almost none of them have panned out. The biggest and most obvious example was the disasterous Chone Figgins deal, but other moves like the Cliff Lee trade and/or the Brandon Morrow trade have also been failures.

The best thing gMZ has going for him is him not being Bill Bavasi. If some of the young guys don't finally step up and show that all the praise for drafting them was deserved or Michael Morse and Kendrys Morales don't hit bunch of Hr, Jack Z 's job is definitely on the line.

Some of My Thoughts on the Sonics Potential Return.

The potential return of the NBA to Seattle has created a sense of euphoria around the Seattle sports community. Memories of Shawn Kemp dunks and Ray Allen threes are racing back into the subconscious of people all over Washington State. Old Sonics fans are ecstatic to hear that a team is most likely coming back (and that they will most likely be called the Sonics). However, I for one cant seem to get on the band wagon. My excitement remains suppressed

First, let me be clear that I was never the biggest Sonics fan. I mostly watched when they a) were good or b) I was bored and they were on TV. That right there dampers my enthusiasm for their return. Even so, I was hurt when they left and I felt bad for all those die-hards. I could imagine the sadness I would feel if my favorite team, the Seattle Mariners, was stolen from us. 

This feeling of sympathy is one of the main reasons I am struggling to get excited now (the other being the Maloofs are weasels and mind still find a way out of this sale). By taking the Kings from Sacramento, Chris Hansen and his investment group are inflicting much of that same pain and sorrow Sonic's fans felt onto another fan base. Kings fans didn’t do anything to deserve this, just as Seattle fans didnt deserve to have the Sonics stolen. The NBA and its broken system of managing it teams, revenue and fans is what causes these teams to pack up and move, but the NBA doesnt face any consequences. However, the King's fans are still going to feel the consequences of the move and the NBA will just get new revenue from a new market.

Additionally, I feel conflicted because Sacramento is a one team city. The sports fans in the California capital dont have a football team or baseball team to fall back on. If the Kings leave, the fans are stuck rooting for Bay Area teams, something I think most Seattle fans can agree is less than desirable. It really feels bad knowing we will be taking away something so important to a sports community.

Now, dont get me wrong, I am not suggesting I dont want the Sonics to return. I feel worse for the Seattle area fan than I ever will for the Kings fans. I just wish there was a way for the wrong of taking the Soncis to be righted without us diving into world of sports villains (which is exactly what will happen). The way that we have to go about getting a team just makes me a little uneasy. I dont want our fine city to be associated with Clay Bennettesque team stealing.

The best way I have heard to rationalize this whole team swapping deal is that in order to have a NBA team you have to play within the system that governs that league. We are less stealing this team and more taking it. The new owners have been very open this whole process about their desire to move whatever team they acquire to Seattle. They aren’t playing with some other city’s fan’s hearts like Clay Bennett did. Basically the old saying, "dont hate the player, hate the game" fits these team movement situations to a T. 

The Seahawks Need a Pass Rusher

The Sonics Exist Again: A Primer

A controversial inbound play, but effective nonetheless.

After years of hardship, Seattle has an NBA team again.  Sure, any logical person might ask "why didn't the NBA just move Sacramento to Oklahoma City and cut out the middle man?"  Shut up, that's why.  The important thing here is that David Stern undid his mistake (sort of) and that Seattle will get to have a team again.  With a bit of luck, the ownership can purchase the history back from Oklahoma City officially and we can all pretend like nothing ever happened.  If that doesn't happen, I don't really care.  The Sonics exist, and I'm so happy I don't even mind have Jimmer Fredette on the roster.

When will the SEC get caught?

It seems there is one constant among great college football teams, eventually they all get caught for breaking some NCAA regulation. Oregon, USC, Ohio State, Miami, the list goes on. However, teams from one conference, the SEC, are strangely absent from that list. Teams from the SEC have dominated the AP poll for a decade and yet none of them have had major violations. They have won seven straight national championships, but nobody ever gets caught breaking any rules. You would think one of their coaches would slip up and get caught paying family members, handing out passing grades or at the very least asking their "hostesses" to cross a line, but no, somehow they stay clean. Sure, there are whispers in the media about how the SEC remains dominate but no proof. The NCAA hasnt ever been about to hang anything on them. How they manage to continue their dominance remains a mystery or if you believe it superior coaching and recruiting, but  it sure seems like the other boot has got to drop at some point.

A Few Tidbits from Around the Web

Note: this post was originally written in September but I forgot to click post, oops.

I don't want you to think we here at USTN are just sitting around doing nothing, idlely letting your days pass without our opinions to read. It is just that between, school, work and Battlefield 3, we have been really busy. So, to give you something to do while we write up opinions about the world of sports here are a bunch of links to sports related content on the web.

• A few months ago the Toronto Blue Jay's tattooed wonder kid exploded on an umpire for a series of bad calls. In reaction to this Lookout Landing imagined what each of the Mariner's regulars would do in a similar situation.
• One of my new favorite blogs, Seattle Sports Net, makes a humorous analogy for the Mariners Chone Figgins situation.
• The Seattle Arena saga is still on going and the cities largest newspaper, The Seattle Times, has decided to jump into the fight by officially joining the anti-arena side.
• Jerry Brewer talks about Seahawks defensive coordinator Gus Bradley.