My Seahawks disappointment has been assuaged. I have been keeping distant tabs on the upcoming baseball season while I watch the unexpectedly exciting Blazers, but the time is nearing. Pitchers and catchers will be reporting next month and opening day for the Mariners will be March 31. Interestingly, the official opening day will be on March 25 when the Red Sox meet the Athletics in Tokyo.

I only mention that because both Boston and Oakland are in my Rotisserie league for which I’m getting excited again. My enthusiasm has spiked earlier than usual this year due to reading a very fun book about the hobby called Fantasyland by Sam Walker. I would recommend this book anyone even vaguely interested in the sport as it is both informative and insightful to the casual fan and a very familiar ride to those who have played. A great book has me wound up and raring to read up on the 25-man rosters for all of our eligible teams. I’ll have to be on my toes if I want to go for the three-peat!

Well, another NFL season has come and gone for this Seahawks fan. The ending wasn’t quite as nailbiting as last year or the year before, but it was no less disappointing. The guys had a golden opportunity to finish off a better Packers team, but couldn’t get it done. The nagging things that had been annoyances all year finally stacked up to become a major problem. Then the things that had worked well started to misfire, too. It added up to a fairly unexciting loss in a blizzard.

What made this just a touch more disappointing was that the Giants beat the Cowboys today. If Seattle had pulled off the win, the NFC Championship game would have been back in Seattle. While the Giants have been better of late, they set the record for false starts by an opponent in Qwest field the last time they were there. There would have been a good shot there. Ah, well, there are always should have and could have discussions. Now, it’s time for a deep breath.

Fortunately, I can turn to the Blazers who have been playing quite well and look like they could carry themselves to a playoff berth. That’s something fun to watch and think about for next year.

By the way, on a completely random note: Anyone else notice that at this moment in time, Boston is in a fantastic position to pull off the major league trifecta? The reigning World Series champions are the Red Sox. The prohibitive favorite to win the Super Bowl is the New England Patriots. And the best record in the NBA is currently owned by the Boston Celtics. Wow.

Okay, this is a little late, but still worth celebrating. The Zephyrs of the Northwest Nerds Rotisserie Baseball League have just completed back-to-back championships! I rode the same power that has the Boston Red Sox in the World Series as I had David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, and Jason Varitek on my team. For the first time, I also had Ichiro which paid off in spades with a great batting average and over a third of my stolen bases. On the pitching side, I rode some pitchers who fly under the radar. I got 14 wins out of Joe Blanton, 15 from Dan Haren, and 17 from Kelvim Escobar. And, to top things off, I was carrying JJ Putz who locked down 40 saves this year!

All in all a fun year. Thanks to other managers in the league (Steve, Bob, and Rick) for making it another great run with much suspense right up to the end. And a special thanks to the commissioner (Steve) for the championship trophies and pennants!

For years, I have seen biorhythm charts and software that purport to help you plan the high and low points of your life. If you ever look at one, you’ll see that the three waves run on different cycles. But, since the cycles are regular, they will all eventually sync up such that all three are down or all three are up. Over the past week, I feel like my sports biorhythm is syncing up.

You see, I have three major sports teams I root for and feel a real emotion about when they win. I have been a Blazers fan since elementary school. I have been a Seahawks fan since high school. I became a Mariners fan during our stint living in Seattle. Now, at any given point in the year, I have one or two teams to be rooting for and following.

This last week the Blazers drafted a center who is both young and talented. He seems to be a truly nice guy, to boot. People are talking about building a stable core of talent like we haven’t seen since the Drexler days of the late eighties. The fact is that Drexler’s teams never had a good center (apologies to Kevin Duckworth). Arvydas Sabonis came along a few years later and would have been a great fit with those Drexler teams had he left the Soviet Union/Lithuania earlier. I guess that means the Blazers biorhythm was just a little off then. I think the Blazers of the next decade have the opportunity to be even better, and I’m going to get to watch every day of it.

The Mariners seemed to have peaked between ‘95 and ‘01 with the Refuse To Lose teams and the 116 win monster. Today, though, they completed their second consecutive sweep of winning teams and are twelve games over .500. They are playing great baseball and I’m having fun watching them again.

Finally, the Seahawks were in the Super Bowl two years ago and narrowly missed a return visit last year due mostly to critical injuries on the team and a leaky offensive line. I believe they are prepared for a strong run this year.

So, it is not unreasonable to think of all three of my teams making the playoffs with a chance to make some noise. None are locks to win, but they’ll be challenging. I’m used to having to write one or two of my teams off during a year and rooting for the one that happens to be on an upswing. Over the next couple of years, I think all three of my teams will either be approaching or finishing their peak period.

I plan to enjoy it while it lasts. I just won’t look ahead to that point in the biorhythm chart where they all sync up again, because that’s usually when they all bottom out.

Well, it’s a minor victory, but I like to celebrate them all.

As you can see on the left sidebar, I finished the season in first place in my rotisserie baseball league. This is notable because I finished the previous season in a distant last place.

My strategy started during the end of last season. I began to stockpile cheap talent. I was definitely taking the Moneyball approach. I started this season with only one player over $20 (Curt Schilling at $22) while superstars in our league will often go for $40-45. I also took a chance on some new Mariners and came out pretty good: Kenji Johjima (.291/18/76) at $15, Yuniesky Betancourt (.289/8/47) at $4, and Jose Lopez (.282/10/79) at $6. My cheap talent approach has paid off, too: Nick Swisher (.254/35/95) at $6 and Dan Haren (14 wins, 4.12 ERA, 223 IP) at $3.

Each year there are two categories that you have to specifically draft for: saves and stolen bases. I traded early on for Chone Figgins who ended up giving me 48 SBs (I finished 1 SB short of the leader as a result). I had a lucky break in the draft for saves. I had no closers at the end of draft day and picked up JJ Putz hoping that he might become the closer at some point. Eddie Guardado had an early breakdown and JJ was promoted even faster than I thought he would. He ended up giving me 36 saves at the bargain price of $2.

To push me over the top, I traded for Derek Jeter (to get some OPS and SB) and Vladimir Guerrero (to get some HR and RBI). That resembled more of a Steinbrenner kind of move, but it was necessary. I hope I don’t regret trading away Felix Hernandez. Although, as a Mariners fan, I hope he becomes good enough for me to regret it.

Anyway, it was a heckuva year! Enjoy the playoffs.

I couldn’t agree more with this column at the Seattle Times. The move to get Deion Branch was the kind of move that tells fans that Seahawks management is serious. They may have made a misstep in losing Steve Hutchinson over the offseason, but they didn’t screw around. They upgraded the offense and the defense and have, IMHO, the most complete team in the league.

Then, they go out and grab Branch. This is no Billy Beane kind of move. This is a George Steinbrenner kind of move. This is what the Yankees do even when they look better on paper than anyone else. They upgrade anyway. The baseball comparisons are intentional. This is the kind of move I kept waiting for the Mariners to make in 1999, 2000, and 2001. Those were fantastic teams, but they never made that “one more move” to push the team over the hump. They grabbed a little piece here or there, but never found the blockbuster bat or ace pitcher that would have kept the momentum going. It was this lack of big moves that annoyed the heck out of Mariners fans everywhere. It started to make me wonder if I’d ever see one of my favorite teams win a championship.

The Seahawks have made me a believer again. If this is how the front office is going to treat the golden window of opportunity they have, then I’m optimistic. Even better, I think this team has a chance to win a couple. As a matter of fact, there’s some similarity in Branch’s new team and the old. The Seahawks are building a dominating, stable team that can win consistently. They are keeping themselves in a position to keep replacing players as they retire or move on and maintain momentum.

New England has run that plan to three Super Bowl victories. I think that’s within the realm of possiblity here.

But, right now, I’m just enjoying the fact that I can cheer a trade that has clearly upgraded a team that was already pretty darn good.

I just had to chime in with my opinon of the recent NBA draft. I admit to being caught up in the hysteria to draft Adam Morrison. He really seemed to have the passion and excitement that would make me enjoy watching the Blazers again. When I heard about the trades and the drafting of LaMarcus Aldrige, I was mad. I think I even pounded the steering wheel in my truck.

After sleeping on it and reading more about it, though, I think Kevin Pritchard may very well be a genius. As I look at the other teams in the lottery, they’re all bragging about the great player they got. All their news stories are about one guy. We get to brag about getting two players who could have easily gone 1-2. Our news stories float around two solid characters who want to play and should fit well. I’ve fallen in love with Aldrige and Brandon Roy. I think this is the real beginning of a rebirth.

Pritchard wheels and deals and brings home two excellent players, one project, and a sleeper of a point guard who might just turn into something special in a year or two. The Blazers now have a very young team, but with lots of talent just waiting to be tamed. Fortunately, they have the right coach, too.

I believe in Nate. I now believe in Pritchard. I only ask two more things. I ask that Paul Allen hang on to the franchise to give it some legs. I also ask that Pritchard find some way, any way, to cut Darius Miles loose. They have made great strides in raising the character bar in Portland but, one bad apple can still spoil the whole bunch. Cut him loose now. And give Zach a warning.
Until then, though, a big round of applause for the Blazers. It’s good to feel good about them again.

Wow.

I don’t know how else to say it… Wow.

They get hammered in their first game at the College World Series and then just start winning. They get to the final series and lose the first game on a triple and a passed ball. They’re down 5-0 early in the second game and it seems to be all over. Their closer pitches over five innings in Game 2 and then comes in to get the save in Game 3.

What an amazing game, series, and set of playoff games. Very exciting. Very fun to watch.

Congrats!

You read that right. It’s a mix of chess and boxing. You have to read it to believe it.

If you can handle it, read about it at ESPN here.

If someone is going to try to make a real game out of one described in science fiction, I vote for a professional Pyramid league. Who’s up for a game?

Wow, what an amazing playoff series. The whole NBA playoffs was a step above previous years.

I had more fun watching the Clippers, Suns, Mavericks, and Heat than I’ve had watching the playoffs in quite a while.

As for the Finals, I was ready to place money on the Mavs after the first two games. The Heat played amazingly well in Miami. It was really a joy to watch an exciting, well-played Finals with some different faces and different styles.

I think it just may have re-sparked my interest in NBA basketball again. I think David might be hooked, too.

Way to go!