So, a lot has happened in the nearly two months since my last post. Most of these things have contributed to my not writing and some may just get me divorced. Let’s get to it:Gainful Employment – Yes, that’s correct, there are jobs out there and I got one of the four that were available in the country. Don’t worry, if you’ve been laid off, you too can earn 25 to 50 percent...

What’s better than a major league baseball player running into a wall while chasing a fly ball? An international sex symbol major league baseball player running into a wall while chasing a fly ball. This week, Mariners outfielder Franklin Gutierrez has achieved both. One could also say Gutierrez has achieved the Seattle baseball fan adoration trifecta:Bobblehead night? Check (July...

For the record, I’ve never been accused of leading the Kenji Johjima fan club. In fact, I can’t think of another major league catcher who has created a more visceral negative reaction when he’s behind the plate. In a word, he’s terrible. So, it was with open arms that I accepted the news that M’s catcher Rob Johnson was “officially” going to be handling the club’s...

In the team’s first season of play, the Sounders FC has turned the Seattle sports scene on its ear. They’re selling out every game and on Saturday packed the Qwest Pitch with more than 65,000 fans for their friendly with Chelsea. Any doubt that this has become, or maybe always was, a soccer town must be washed away.I think it’s awesome, even though I’m not a big consumer...

In the team’s first season of play, the Sounders FC has turned the Seattle sports scene on its ear. They’re selling out every game and on Saturday packed the Qwest Pitch with more than 65,000 fans for their friendly with Chelsea. Any doubt that this has become, or maybe always was, a soccer town must be washed away.I think it’s awesome, even though I’m not a big consumer...

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied nearly 3 percent yesterday, there’s an outside chance that The Mitten gets a job offer today that doesn’t entail mopping the men’s room of a Shell station, and NBA commissioner David Stern told Seattle Times columnist Steve Kelley that he believes Seattle will be an NBA city once again. Things seem to be coming around. And if you believe...

Since we’ve got some time during the mid-summer classic break, it’s fun to think about the Mariners making a second-half run at the AL West pennant. They could hold on to pitchers Erik Bedard and Jarrod Washburn and really make a go of it. However, it’s not so fun to think about what this team would look like next year and possibly years after if they don’t deal both of these...

For anyone who has read this column, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that one of my favorite movies is Will Ferrell’s NASCAR spoof Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.In the movie, Ricky Bobby loses his wife to his best friend and former racing teammate after Ricky has a mental brake down following a crash. Fearing the worst, Ricky will often strip down to his skivvies...

A year ago today when Seattle’s 41-year-old NBA franchise decided Oklahoma City was a better place to be than Seattle. That sentiment alone was enough to push SuperSonics fans over the edge. How could a dusty mid-west pit stop, located in a big red flyover state be a more attractive home than Seattle, we asked. I mean, Seattle is a hip, iconic city. Pike Place Market, Tom Hanks...

There is a lot to like about our new President Barack Obama. He’s a hoops fan and sports enthusiast. He’s young and intelligent. And he can now add expert hunter to the list. This fly is just lucky that U.N. forces weren’t involved. Of course, PETA couldn’t help itself and condemned this naked act of aggression. The organization for the ethical treatment of animals has also...

Ask anyone who has lived in the greater Seattle area for more than a few years and they’ll tell you that the summers here are the best in the world. However, it has become a bit of a bummer if you’re a sports fan. In the world of Seattle sports there are few truly compelling local stories, but there are some constants:The Mariners have made it a habit of dropping out of contention...

Some of you have noticed nary a post has been published in this space for more than a few days. Securing gainful employment has been a priority for me. So has playing golf in the first warm weather week that the Seattle area has seen in more than eight years. I’ll be back in the saddle later this week after I return from a short trip to Vegas. While I’m away, June 2 will mark...

Michael Vick should not be allowed to play in the NFL. There you go.In case you’ve been living under Yuniesky Betancourt’s third chin the last few years, Vick has spent the last 19 months in federal prison for financing and participating in a dog fighting ring. The former NFL quarterback is now out of prison. He’ll spend a couple months in home confinement and then a few years...

Climbing legend and Bainbridge Island resident Ed Viesturs summited Mt. Everest yesterday morning as part of an expedition to promote Eddie Bauer’s new line of expedition gear. Ron Judd of the Times has the complete rundown of the details here. Also on the summit was Peter Whittaker, who comes from a long line of climbing legends. in 1963, his uncle Jim Whittaker was the first...

You ever wonder what Don Wakamatsu says behind closed doors when no one is listening except for maybe his most trusted advisors? Do you think he just comes unglued after watching night after night of head-case baseball? You don’t think about it? Could you maybe play along then? Super, here we go.He came as close as probably ever will to calling out a player the other night after...

The jubilance of spring training has vanished while the crispness and optimism that sprung eternal for this Mariner ballclub has officially been extinguished. It was fun while it lasted, but I think we all knew deep down what this team was. There is nothing wrong with dreaming big in the first weeks of a season, but now we’ll have to face the harsh reality that this team is truly...

Quite a few blogs and news outlets broke this huge non-story, fresh from the “Stuff We Already Know” file: Former Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren wants to return to the NFL.According to the Washington Post, Post reporter Les Carpenter talked to Holmgren at an event in Washington, D.C. hosted by Redskins coach Jim Zorn where Holmgren dropped an apparent bomb shell on Carpenter that...

I was wondering when this was going to happen. Both Steve Kelley of the Times and Art Thiel of the P-I jump all over the beautiful game that was anything but yesterday on the Qwest pitch.The Seattle Sounders and L.A. Galaxy scrummed to a 1-1 tie yesterday, but a majority of mainstream press focused on what many people who are not fans of the sport point to as a reason for their loathing...

Yeah, I mailed it in last week. There were extenuating circumstances, though. My last day of work was Friday. I had a couple of phone interviews. I may have played golf three or four times. I may have stayed out until the wee hours of the morning playing poker on one occasion.So, reader Charlie’s e-mail was a nice reminder to get my act together and get back to work … sorta speak...

The 2009 NFL Draft couldn’t have played out better for the Seattle Seahawks. They didn’t get sucked into the hype of Mark Sanchez, stuck to their scouting reports and went with the best player in the draft after he fell to No. 4: Aaron Curry.The linebacker from Wake Forest had to have been a no-brainer for Seattle GM Time Ruskell. Curry is a high-character, explosive linebacker...

It appears the athletic directors at Washington and Washington State hit a major roadblock at the last moment and could not come to an agreement that would move the Apple Cup to Qwest Field. The hiccup? The greedy SOBs couldn’t agree on how many tickets to divide up between the two schools. Qwest holds 67,000 and UW wanted all 43,000 season ticket holders to be guaranteed tickets�...

Great news today for Seattle Seahawks fans who were dreading their undersized and under-talented defensive backs having to face Arizona wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald twice next season. EA Sports unveiled the cover of Madden NFL 10 and Fitzgerald shares the spotlight with Pittsburgh’s Troy Polamalu.Players who grace the cover of Madden have a knack for suffering a devastating injury...

You may not have noticed that the NBA playoffs have begun. It’s understandable that you forgot because your pro basketball team the Seattle SuperSonics was stolen from you with the help of the elected officials you helped put into office. You may also have become a small, bitter man like me who never passes on the opportunity to make fun of the NBA, David Stern and anything related...

We've reached a fever pitch about who the Seattle Seahawks might choose with the No. 4 pick in the NFL Draft. It's crazier than a rat in a tin sh*t house and I'm pretty much loving every moment. There's a dearth of information out there about prospective draft picks. Forgive me if I don't go all Sanchez all the time, but there's too much of it and there...

Even as I write this, I can't believe it. Mariners starting pitcher Jarrod Washburn is This Week's Man Crush. Amazing and well deserved. Dare I say he has even become the rotation's stopper? Yikes. Washburn ended a Mariners two-game skid on Tuesday, pitching 7 innings with a cramp in his side. He allowed 2 earned runs, 5 hits and struck out 9. Nine. The win takes...