Seahawk Walter Jones Hangs It Up

9 time Pro Bowl selected Seahawk left tackle Walter Jones has announced his retirement. The 13 year pro missed all of last season due to an injury suffered late in the 2008 season and subsequent surgeries. Playing in a position that draws little attention, Jones accomplishments were brought to light in 2005 when Seattle headed to what was to become their first Super Bowl apearance. Tailback Shaun Alexander set a league rushing record and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck played injury free in what was at that time, the NFL's premier offensive line. According to the Seattle Times, Jones played in more post season games than any other player in franchise history. The team immediately retired his jersey number, 71

Celebrity Apprentice--The Realignment

I cannot kid you, this was a rather difficult episode to watch. The vibrant Bret Michaels, who in spite of his goofiness, has been a spot-on contestant, is now in a hospital fighting for his life, but let's move on.

The teams gather on what seems to be Trump's rooftop, where his youngest son is taking a few golf swings. Immediately, I wonder if young Baron is going to be sitting in on the boardroom replacing either his brother or sister.

Rock Solid has only two members left, so Trump mixes up the teams so Sharon and Maria go to Rock Solid and Curtis goes to Tenacity. This works out well as Sharon had grown weary of the bickering Tenacity team. She teams up with Bret and women's wrestler Maria. The team gels right away. No sooner are the teams announced when Cyndi Lauper announces that for the second time, she will have to be absent for a task. Once is understandable, but twice shows a lack of committment in my opinion.
The task was to set up an exercise class for "24 Hour Fitness", it was a two prong task. First was to come up with an original idea, which Rock Solid nailed with a Rock Concert theme. The other was to raise the most money, which Tenacity did. Trump was pleased with both efforts and nobody was fired.

Celebrity Apprentice--Bret Michaels Stricken

By now you probably have heard that Bret Michael has been hospitalized with a brain hemorrhage, Barers Of Maple Valley wishes a full recovery. Michaels, of course is appearing on this season's Celebrity Apprentice. Since entire show, save the final episode, is prerecorded, he will continue to appear.

Burl Barer Featured On Local Blog

Blatherwatch, a Seattle based blog that reviews local talk radio, recently began a Saturday feature highlighting old time Seattle radio personalities. Last Saturday, Burl Barer was "topic du jour", it was a well received post until a "shoot from the hip" comment from an anonomous reader suggested friction between Burl and Seattle radio king Pat O'Day. The comment was, of course, a total fabrication and both Burl and Pat apeared on the blog to deny it. Taking things a little farther, Pat made an additional post, both praising the left-leaning Blather Watch blog and extolling the career of Glen Beck, whose roots are in the Puget Sound area. That inspired another post on blatherwatch.

2 5th District Democrats To Run For State House

Democrats Greg Hoover and Dean Willard are challenging the 5th District incumbents in the Washington State House Of Representatives.

Seahawks Pick Left Tackle Number One

The Seattle Seahawks are attempting to replace the irreplaceable, picking Oklahoma State left tackle Russell Okung number one in this year's NFL draft. For a decade the left tackle position was manned by Walter Jones, a future Hall Of Famer whom many have described as the greatest to play the game. As injuries have kept Jones out of the line-up the last couple seasons, the 'Hawks have gone from having one of the best O-lines in the NFL to having maybe the worst.

Celebrity Apprentice--The Brett And Cyndi Show

This week's task was for each team to take an aspiring Country Singer and make them over so they can be superstars. Cyndi Lauper takes on the task of being PM, she is, of course, a legend in the music industry, and who would know image better than Cyndi? Rock Solid is down to it's last 3 players, however they have an ace in the hole with Brett Michaels, the lead singer for '80 hard rock group Poison.
When the artists are introduced, they turn out to be established stars. Tenacity gets Emily West, a rather starstruck singer, whose signature song, "Blue Sky" sounds a little like Cyndi's "True Colors", at least in my opinion. The team is squabbling though, Holly is rather hard nosed and unmanageable, and Maria wants more responsibility. Finally, Sharon comes back after being out ill for awhile and seems to bridge some of their disagreements.
Rock Solid gets along real well, the problem is that Brett is not PM. It's Goldberg, who thought that it would be good to step up for the task. He delegates the entire task to Brett. Curtis, the chef has little that he can do, but is always willing to help. The trouble with Rock Solid is that Lucas is unmanagable, he does not take Brett's advice on interviews and does not want to change his image.
Tenacity wins, partly because their singer goes along with Cyndi's advice. Trump does not like the idea that Goldberg volunteered to be PM in a task he was not qualified for and fires him.

Woodinville III

A couple of pictures from "Passport To Woodinville", a big thank you to my friend, Scott for the bottom picture, taken at the historical Hollywood Schoolhouse, where Northwest Totem Cellars was having a tasting. The top picture was taken at the Covington Cellars, in the warehouse district.

Woodinville II

Here are my wife and nephew, standing at the entrance to the Willows.

A Fun Weekend In Woodinville

For the second year in a row, we went to the"Passport To Woodinville" , an event featuring about 50 wineries spread around the city of Woodinville, Washington. The Wineries who participate offer tasting of their product, and sometimes also food and entertainment.
This year we stayed at the Willows Lodge, across the street from Chateau St.Michelle. From the above picture, you can see the Hollywood Schoolhouse from our room.

From Marsh Park In Kirkland

Looking south from the dock in Marsh Park in Kirkland.

Seattle Sports Host Interviews Leaf

With great command in the "pocket" and a laser accurate arm, Ryan Leaf in 1997 took WSU to it's first Rose Bowl in 60 odd years. He seemed like a slam dunk to succeed in the NFL and in fact was the number two overall draft pick the following year by the San Diego Chargers. Instead of stardom, Leaf suffered a series of missteps, nearly ruining the Chargers franchise.
After being out of the "public eye" for nearly a decade, Leaf was in the headlines again last year after reports that he was about to be indicted on a breaking and entering charge. KJR midday host Ian Furness interviewed a seemingly contrite Leaf last Wednesday. You can hear the interview by clicking here.

Paragliders Dot The Sky Above Issaquah

Tracy Taylor Has Fan Page

A facebook fan page for King 5 traffic reporter Tracy Taylor has reached 864, heads and tails above many other Seattle media personalities. Taylor began her Seattle career with Sportsradio KJR, with Mitch Levy and Jeff Aaron in 2001. After leaving the station for stints in Spokane and North Carolina, she then returned to KJR to resume reporting on traffic. She joined KING5 and KONG 6, in January. Tracy's facebook fan page is open to all facebookers, just click here.

Celebrity Apprentice--Best Defense Is Two Ex Blazers

On this episode of the Celebrity Apprentice, I learned 2 things, Right Guard is the official deodorant of the NBA and two bright former Portland Trail Blazers were in a show together with no mention of that particular team. Granted, Scottie Pippen is best known for his time in Chicago with Michael Jordan, the team won 6 world championships, but Clyde "The Glide" Drexler had a brilliant 12 year career in Portland, but hey, that's the homer in me talking.

On this show we begin to see why the show is going back to it's original format of contestants vying for a job next season. Sharon Osbourn has been ill for a couple of TV weeks, I don't know how that would translate in real time and sat this one out. On top of that, Cyndi Lauper took time off to see President Obama. The women and men's team had the same number of players. The difference was that the men's team seems to have gelled. The women's team bickered. Back to the Right Guard theme, this week's task was to create a 30 second commercial and a 10 second internet video promoting Right Guard. The women got to use Scottie Pippen, who basically charmed the pants off of Holly and Selita (reported erroneously as Elita last week). The men got Clyde The Glide, a much more down to earth professional. Brett Michael finds out that his daughter may have diabetes and is devastated, however he helps his team execute. Michael Johnson quits at the end of the task due to an unknown family crisis. The men win though, and the women, who complain endlessly about Cyndi, lose the one task they perform without her. Selita is fired.

Here is the shot everyone is talking about in 2010 Masters. Phil Michelson, who would go on to win the tournament, not only gets out of trouble, but puts this shot on the green.

Although it is not a happy subject, it was interesting to see Cousin Bette Rae (mistakenly called "Betty Kay") and her daughter Faith, both of whom I know very well in this report.

Former Seattle Anchor Stays In Touch

While attending WSU I shared a class with Margo Myers. Myers would go on to have an excellent broadcasting career, working first for KOMO-TV in Seattle and later for KIRO-7. During her time at WSU, Myers was a sports reporter at the college newspaper.

She now has a blog where she can keep up with friends and former viewers. By the way, Myers had a role in the 2002 Angelina Jolie movie "Life Or Something Like It"

Celebrity Apprentice-Governor Blogo Fired Again

Having a disgraced former governor on this show is rather shameful and we find out, kind of a burdon for the team lucky enough to get him.
This weeks project involved Universal's brand spanking new "Harry Potter Theme Park" in Orlando Florida. Since the network that this show appears on is owned by Universal, it is no surprise that they would use this show to promote it, assuming that anyone actually watches the show.
By a stroke of luck, the Governor Rod Blogojevich is picked project manager for Rock Solid in a task where technology comes into play. You see him and rival project manager Elita Ebanks are to fly to Orlando and relay information to be used during the project. Governor Rod cannot use a computer nor can he text on the telephone. Since he is with Tenacity Project Manager during the whole task, he cannot talk on his cell phone. Since Tenacity's project manager is a lady, he should have gone to the men's room to call. Needless to say, Rock Solid blows the task and the Governor is fired.

Sports Take Away Monday Blahs

Great night for sports on TV. First Duke outlasts upset minded Butler 61 to 59 in a contest that went down to the last shot and then the M's beat the Oakland A's in the season opener.

Seaside III--Maggie's On The Prom

Deb and I were walking down The Prom (Seaside's boardwalk) in the morning when we noticed this charming restaurant. Wanting a nice evening out, we made a reservation for that evening. Maggie's is located 3 doors South of the Wyndham, were we were staying. It is part of the Oceanfront Inn

We arrived for our 8:30 reservation and were seated by the window allowing full view of the beach where a storm was blowing in along with rain hitting the windows, it really made for a great effect. I ordered the hazelnut encrusted Halibut while Deb had the stuffed halibut. Both the food and the service were excellent. I would heartily recommend Maggie's On The Prom.

Seaside II

This is the town of Seaside. Shot from our room, away from the beach and central business district.

Barers Of Maple Valley Return From Seaside

Hard rain and gusting wind mixed with occasional sunshine marked our midweek trip to Seaside, Oregon. This picture was taken from our Condo on the 8th floor of the Wyndham, right in the heart of town.

Rusty And I On Trail

Excuse the fingers as I used the i-pod video camera. Leashes are nescesary on the Lake Wilderness Trail.