Outside The Press Box
We used to be in there, now we’re out here
Now that Pete Carroll has made the rounds to tout his new book and taken megawatts of heat for the NCAA infractions at USC under his watch, it is time to get past all of that NFL-irrelevant baloney and get to the business at hand.
In the span of six months, Carroll has gone from celebrating his return to the NFL to being skewered for the Reggie Bush fiasco at USC. His book is obviously a way for him to close that chapter of his coaching life, but – right or wrong – he’s been getting roasted along the way.
If the Seahawks were looking to boost their national profile, they surely did it with Carroll, whom owner Paul Allen reportedly is paying $7 million a year. Of course, Allen had to know there would be criticism of Carroll, both from those who don’t think he can coach in the NFL and from those who blame him for the recently revealed sanctions of USC.
Sphere: Related ContentLeiweke’s tenure was a success
26 Jul 2010
Tod Leiweke’s departure was inevitable. As usual, his tenure was relatively brief – seven years in Seattle — but quite successful, despite what some uninformed and currently bitter Seahawk fans might think.
Leiweke made the Seahawks popular again, helped push them over the top – if ever so briefly – and, as his last act, brought Allen the high-profile coach he wanted to keep the Seahawks visible while they try to rebound from a couple of down years.
Sphere: Related ContentNats need to stand pat
21 Jul 2010
With the trading deadline rapidly approaching, the speculation continues to ramp up regarding the haves pillaging the have nots for players to be used during the playoff push.
One name that keeps coming up in trade talks is the Washington Nationals’ Adam Dunn. Who wouldn’t want a 40-homer, 120-RBI guy in the middle of their lineup? And with the Nationals out of the playoff picture and Dunn unsigned for next season, he becomes a popular person for teams to zero in on.
The White Sox are said to be very interested. I’d think a team like the Padres, who could desperately use another big bat, would even toss Dunn in the outfield in order to get his offense. An AL team like the Rays would love to have Dunn as their DH.
And yes, dealing Dunn is a tempting possibility for Nationals GM Mike Rizzo. Getting some quality prospects in return would help Washington’s future, and given that Dunn would be a rental for whatever team acquires him, there’s the possibility that he would simply re-sign with the Nats after the season is over.
But the best course of action regarding Dunn, and to a lesser extent, Josh Willingham, would be for the Nats to do nothing. Read the rest of this entry »
Sphere: Related Content- No Comments
- Tags: adam dunn, nationals, sluggers, trade deadline
Will Hill miss more than one game?
17 Jul 2010
Leroy Hill got off light. For now.
The NFL suspended the Seahawks’ linebacker for one game and docked him an additional game check for violating the substance-abuse policy, a penalty that stems from his marijuana arrest last offseason.
Hill still could face further punishment under the personal-conduct policy, depending on the outcome of his trial for domestic assault, which is supposed to begin next week.
There also is a chance Hill could end up in jail for violating terms of his probation in Georgia, where the marijuana arrest occurred in April 2009.
Hill will miss the very significant season opener against the division favorite San Francisco 49ers at Qwest Field on Sept. 12. David Hawthorne is likely to start in his place – and perhaps replace him permanently.
If Hill plays well in the preseason and avoids jail time or further suspension, it would be best for the Seahawks to let him start ahead of Hawthorne so the Seahawks can create a trade market for him next offseason.
Sphere: Related Content
When the Seahawks open training camp in about two weeks, there’s going to be a whole lot of teaching going on. And not just by the coaches.
Coach Pete Carroll and his staff began the process in minicamps, but it starts in earnest – and in pads―on July 30.
Fortunately, Carroll & Co. seem to have a very nice little plan for getting everyone up to speed on their offensive and defensive systems.
It helps the holdovers from Jim Mora’s roster, which includes 14 returning starters, that the schemes are similar to what the Seahawks ran last season. The offense is still a West Coast system using zone blocking, and the defense is a variation of the Tampa 2 and is coordinated by the same guy, Gus Bradley.
It helps even more that the Hawks have veterans who know the schemes and can teach them to those who don’t. That is no accident. It is the way the Seahawks have set it up.
Sphere: Related ContentMariners midseason report card
15 Jul 2010
As we embark on the second half of the Seattle Mariners’ season, it becomes obvious that everything from this point on will be done with an eye toward the future. But it would be impossible to overlook what ranks as one of the most disappointing first-half campaigns in team history.
The Mariners were a chic playoff pick this season, but all those hopes dissolved after a horrific May in which every single weakness was exposed like a raw nerve. We all knew that offense would be an issue for this team, but no one could have imagined this level of ineptitude.
In a year in which every division in baseball is up for grabs, the Mariners find themselves lumped with longtime short-bus riders Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Baltimore as teams with no chance of doing anything in the second half.
How did things unravel so fast? Let’s take a look… Read the rest of this entry »
Sphere: Related Content- No Comments
- Tags: felix, mariners, no offense, report card
Well, it’s finally done. Six months after trading Phillipe Aumont, J.C. Ramirez and Tyson Gillies, the Mariners finally know what they got in return.
With the best ace in baseball in his hand, Seattle GM Jackie Z played his cards as well as he could. After using the Yankees to up the ante, he basically had his choice of two of the best power-hitting prospects in baseball, and he ended up with what he and the Mariners hope will be the first bona fide power hitter they have had since Richie Sexson blasted 30-40 homers a couple of times for them.
Maybe the best thing about the deal that sent Cliff Lee and Mark Lowe to Texas for Justin Smoak and three minor-leaguers was the fact that JZ apparently ticked off some Yankee execs who thought they had a deal with the Mariners.
Sphere: Related ContentLeBronapalooza finally comes to merciful end
8 Jul 2010
Of course I watched “The Decision.” It was like a car wreck – I couldn’t look away even if I knew it would be painful to see.
The Summer of LeBron had reached its apex, and he suckered us all in with the entire dog and pony show, capped off by the overblown ESPN special announcing his intentions to join the Miami Heat – news that had been breathlessly reported throughout the day, taking some of the starch out of the proceedings.
Now, I could act like all the crusty sportswriters and radio hosts and decry the coverage of a free-agent’s decision as The End of Days, or spout off about the enormity of LeBron’s ego, but that would be ridiculous.
Look at the times in which we live: People regularly post to social media about what they ate for dinner or compose 140-word missives after a jaunt to the gas station. So why wouldn’t one of the world’s most famous athletes take advantage of the voracious media cycle and create the news on his own terms? And why wouldn’t ESPN capitalize on the tremendous opportunity that fell from the sky like a mysterious coke bottle from the gods?
(Full disclosure: I wrote for LeBron’s MSN.com site for a couple of years, which I supposed could make me biased in my opinion of the man, but considering I only spoke with him once during that time, I don’t think so.)
No, what resonates for me more than anything is that LeBron’s decision further hampers his legacy, no matter how many titles the Heat may win (and right now, I think that’s a lot easier said than done). Read the rest of this entry »
Sphere: Related Content- (2) Comments
- Tags: heat, lebron, poor cleveland, the decision, wade
Most sports fans – certainly World Cup fans – have seen that awww-inspiring YouTube video that surfaced last week, showing Americans around the globe celebrating Landon Donovan’s last-second goal to beat Algeria and send Team USA to the next round.
The video showed what happens on the increasingly more rare occasions these days when people unite behind one cause – the feeling of camaraderie, in this case patriotism, that can be created by a single event.
Even non-soccer fans and casual observers like myself were moved by the excitement and hope Donovan had created with that goal.
Of course, the Americans were eliminated in the next match, and just like that it was over.
As Stephen Colbert said, “Big news from World Cup Soccer: We don’t have to care about it anymore.”
And then there was David Letterman: “The Russian spies tried to blend in. They were acting like Americans. As a matter of fact, for two weeks, they were pretending they loved soccer.”
While that has generally been the sentiment of most Americans, there are some who really do love soccer all of the time, and they take hope from moments like the one Donovan provided that soccer will become a more widely supported sport in the United States.
In that spirit, one of my soccer friends, known at OTPB as The Dink, penned this passionate e-mail essay to me on the sport that has been front and center even in the United States this month.
Sphere: Related ContentThe inmates are finally running the asylum
30 Jun 2010
Is the NBA ready for cataclysmic change? We are on the verge of what could possibly be the craziest few days in league history; the long-awaited start of the 2010 free agency period, an event that people have had marked on their calendars for years given the staggering amount of talent on the open market.
Of course, the big fish is LeBron James, who has managed to work several teams into a cost-cutting frenzy just to have the available cash ready to potentially sign him.
Hell, the Knicks threw away their last three seasons all in preparation for a LeBron deal and are now seen as a long shot to make that happen.
What makes this free agency period different is that there has been a noticable shift of power from the owners/teams to the players themselves. The question isn’t what team will make a splash in free agency, but which players will decide the course of the league’s future. Read the rest of this entry »
Sphere: Related Content- No Comments
- Tags: collusion?, free agency, lebron, nets, salary dump
About this blog
Two former sports reporters freed from the constraints of traditional print media write about the hot topics on both the Seattle and national sports scene. No deadlines, no word count, no press box decorum — we're Outside The Press Box.
Photostream
Categories
- S. Oelek: Is it small of me to totally agree with the title of this post? I think it might be, but I can live [...]
- Pat: Such a succinct summimation of the LeBron debacle. He is an ungrateful wretch who will long for Cle [...]
- S. Oelek: Wow! A The Gods Must be Crazy reference! That's something you don't see every day. Kudos! [...]
- John Martin: I used to be a big Leroy Hill fan, but he has shown a lack of control in the past year and his injur [...]
- tank51: Hill isn't worth keeping,..... If he is suspended for the max of 4 game that leaves him with a 12 g [...]
- Forget USC; it’s time for Carroll to prove he’s no Dennis Erickson
- Leiweke’s tenure was a success
- Nats need to stand pat
- Will Hill miss more than one game?
- Tutor style: Seahawks are depending heavily on player-coaches
- Mariners midseason report card
- Best part of the Lee deal? Using the Yankees to up the ante for the ace
- LeBronapalooza finally comes to merciful end
- Why does America have to be second rate in soccer?
- The inmates are finally running the asylum
