Seattle Mariners: The Mariners had another good week last week, winning four out of six games. They won two of three to start off the week against the Padres, and later won two of three against the best in the majors, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Though they did not pick up any games on the first place Angels, who are riding a five game winning streak, they are still only three games out of first and are now three games over .500.We all knew that the Ms could beat San Diego, but winning two of three against the Dodgers was a good sign. Their pitching again keyed the victories, as the M's gave up two or less runs in both wins.
If the M's are able to maintain their level of play and pitching through the rest of this road trip, they should do well. They travel to face the Yankees and Red Sox next week. However, they will have to do so without the hot bat and glove of Adrian Beltre, who has been hitting well but must have surgery to repair bone spurs in his soldier. He will be out six to eight weeks and will now likely not be tradable. However, with a good turnout against Boston and New York, hopefully the Mariners won’t be looking to sell come the trade deadline. So far on this tough road trip, it’s been looking that way. Grade: A
Freddy Montero and Nate Jacqua: The two Sounders FC forwards keyed a 3-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids. Jacqua had two goals and assisted Montero’s goal, while Montero scored and assisted Jacqua on his pair of scores. The win gave the Sounders a four-point lead over the Rapids, who previously trailed the Sounders by just one point.
The game was a feel good win after a multitude of ties. Once again, veterans Keller and Ljungberg seemed to make all the right plays in the victory. But even more so, the win really highlighted the two forwards’ ability to play well together. Hopefully they will lead us into the playoffs, and maybe even to the MLS Cup championship. Grade: A
US Men’s National Team: Yeah, yeah, I know… more soccer. SeaTownJunkie is probably writing his suicide note right now. But you know what? USA’s upset win over the No. 1 team in the world, Spain, was a big deal!
Never before has the US been in a final match for a FIFA tournament. Even though they lost 3-2 in the final of the Confederations Cup, at least they gave Brazil a run for their money, leading for most of the game. Their victory definitely proved that US soccer is not a complete failure. It made a major splash in the US, and perhaps will mark the time when American soccer began to catch up to their European counterparts. Grade: A-
NBA Draft: This event was painful as the first draft without the Sonics in Seattle. I wanted to pay close attention, but then would be reminded of the Sonics’ absence. It just made me think about the excitement we in Seattle are missing out on.
The only reason I paid any attention at all was to see where local talent went off to. It was pretty exciting for me to learn that Jon Brockman would be heading off to my (current) favorite NBA team, the Trail Blazers, only to learn he was traded to Sacramento. Other local talent was taken pretty early, with Rainer Beach’s Terrance Williams going at No.11 and Gonzaga’s Austin Daye taken 15th. The influx of basketball talent continues to flow out of the Seattle area.
And man, I know it’s almost blasphemy, but that Thunder team is going to be good… Grade: C
Photo Source: Seattle Times
Original Story:
http://www.seatownsports.net/2009/06/...
