Atlanta Nips Seahawks

The Atlanta Falcons closed out a nightmare season by beating the Play-off bound Seattle Seahawks 44-41. The 'Hawks built up a 10-0 lead but starters exited as the game had no effect on Play Off positions. Down by 3 with a minute left, the Seahawks appeared to have recovered an on-side kick, putting them in position to make a miracle comeback, however an offsides violation nullified the recovery and the Falcons where able to keep gain possession on the next try.

2007 In Review--King County Eastside Dinner Outburst

This exchange last fall between an Iraq War veteran and Congressional Candidate Darcy Burner at the normally civil Eastside dinner should give us a hint about what the political climate will be in 2008.

Not So Great News For Warren Moon

Warren Moon's football credentials speak for themselves. When he graduated from the University Of Washington, black quarterbacks were nowhere to be found in the NFL, so he headed north to the Edmonton Oilers in the Canadian Football League. Shattering any record in site, the NFL finally realized that a quarterback of Moon's caliber would have to play in their league. He is currently the only African American quarterback in the hall of fame. He is also a former Seahawk. One of the few players in star in this town in both College and Pro. Currently he is a commentator on the Seahawks broadcast team.

The sad thing is, he also has a penchant for trouble with the law. Warren Moon was stopped this weekend for Driving while impaired by alcohol, the second time this has happened, as a matter of fact, his Washington Driver's License had been revoked and he was using a driver's license issued by the state of Texas. Moon had recently been stopped in August, but pleaded guily to a lesser charge. There have been other incidents as well, but Moon continues not only on the Seahawk broadcasts, but also doing endorsements such as Burien Chevrolet. Warren Moon is working while many others, who don't quite have his smooth persona have fallen. It is somewhat surprising and disturbing.

A Perfect Regular Season For The Patriots

This game was in my opinion more exciting than most Super Bowls, as the New England Patriots overcame a 12 point deficit and beat the New York Football Giants 38-35. This makes the team formerly known as the "Boston Patriots", the first team go undefeated in a 16 game regular season. The 1972 Miami Dolphins finished a 14 game season undefeated. To add insult to injury for Miami Dolphins fans, this years addition of the Dolphins are horrendous this year. They did not have a victory for the first several weeks of the season.

Steve's Dog Adventure

It has been a harrowing week for brother in Walla Walla, Steve and girlfriend Dawn.

Barers Of Maple Valley Wishes You A Merry Christmas!

Seahawks Throttle The Ravens

The Seattle Seahawks got back on the winning track by thrashing the Baltimore Ravens 27-6. The often ailing Shaun Alexander seemed to win back the fans, rushing for 73 yards and catching a touchdown pass. That pass and a 21 yard catch by Nate Burleson, gave quarterback Matt Hasselbeck a career high 27 touchdown throws for the season. Bobby Engram (pictured above) continued to be an excellent Hasselbeck target, catching 5 passes for a combined 69 yards. The Defense held the Ravens scoreless until the 4th quarter on rain-soaked Qwest Field.

She'll Be Home For Christmas

The Seattle Times Reports that Tanya Rider, the Maple Valley resident who was trapped in her car for over a week last fall, will be released this weekend to spend Christmas with her family.

Back From The Dead: The Apprentice

The Apprentice will return to NBC next month, the question is, will it's audience return as well? The once successful franchise is bringing back "lightning rod" Omarosa for this coming Celebrity Apprentice

Cougars Defeat The Citadel

I joined 12 thousand plus Cougar fans last night in Key Arena as number 10 ranked WSU beat The Citadel 67-45. Aaron Baynes lead the Cougs with 16 points. The games was billed as the "Cougar Hardwood Classic" it gave alumni in the Seattle area a chance to see the nationally ranked team. The Cougs will return here later in the season to play the Washington Huskies.

Led Zeppelin Concert In London

Hey, my music era is back in full force as the surviving members of the English Supergroup reunite for the first time in 27 years.

Panthers Trip Seahawks

In a game where a strong defense was unable to create a turnover and a strong offense was unable to start it's engine, the Seattle Seahawks lost to the Carolina Panthers 13-10. Even though there was no scoring by either team until the 4th quarter, it was clear that the Seahawks were feeling the "hangover" from last week's NFC West clinching victory over the Cardinals. The Seahawks were unable to get any threatening drive in the first three quarters, in spite of the fact that the 'Hawks were at full strength while the Panthers were playing a fourth string quarterback.

The Mitchell Report--My Thoughts

I looked through the Mitchell Report and really found very little in the way of surprises. I had not thought of Roger Clemens, I have never been a fan of Clemens and even less of a fan when he threw the barrel of a broken bat at Mike Piazza. I think if we condemn the players, we need to also condemn the trainers, the managers and even the players not mentioned who may even have been non-users for their silence.
I was happy to see who was missing from the report, Edgar Martinez, who is one person that I had the chance to work with, who I look up to as one of the class acts of sports. No mention at all of John Olerud, Dan Wilson or Jay Buhner.
I think much of this problem lies at the hands of Baseball going years with just an acting commissioner. Bud Selig was an almost invisible "acting" commissioner for years. I think that there no longer is ruling law in baseball.
In 1989, Commissioner Bart Giamatti suspended Baseball Icon Pete Rose, the weight of the move may have cost Giamatti his life as he died 8 days later from a heart attack. The point is that players implicated need to be dealt with.

In Pullman--The Paul Wulf Era Begins

There is a new head football coach at Washington State University, 40 year old Paul Wulf will guide the Cougs. He will replace Bill Doba, the first WSU coach anyone can remember who got fired for not winning. Doba lead Cougar teams beat Washington Huskie teams in 3 of the 5 Apple Cups that he coached in, that did not satisfy athletic director Jim Sterk. It looks like this is a chance for the Cougs to take football to the next level. Hopefully, the old attitude of. "if we beat Washington it'll be a successful season", will be out the window. WSU has proven during the past decade that it can be competitive in the Pac-10 with it's 2 Rose Bowl appearances, I only hope that Coach Wulf can be the Cougar coach who can raise the bar.

My Cousin Sam Barer Writes About his Grandfather

My Cousin Sam Barer has a blog with mostly car tips, but he changed the subject slightly today to honor his wonderful maternal Grandpa who was honored by the University Of Oregon
This weekend I had the honor of helping my grandfather, Leonard Donin, out to center court at Portland’s Rose Garden arena right before tip-off of the basketball game between University of Oregon and University of Utah. At 96 years old, Grandpa is the oldest living U of O varsity athlete, having lettered in basketball and baseball.
My grandfather was introduced over the public address system as the game’s honorary captain. The entire crowd (which included over thirty family members and friends) came to its feet. As he waved to the adoring crowd, I applauded the man who not only fathered my mother, but also was responsible for the little athletic ability I received.

My Blog Hits A Milestone

Barers Of Maple Valley received it's 10,000th hit yesterday according to site meter. The figure is somewhat misleading, of course as the blog was well over a year old when I added the sitemeter, still this blog has had an impact and I cannot thank anyone who reads this enough.

Seahawks Win This "Battle Of The Birds" Clinch Division

The Seahawk victory train is rolling to 5 straight. Seattle beat the Arizona Cardinals 42-21 in a game that sent the Seahawks to 9-4. The Seahawks have now clinched their 4th straight NFC West crown and will draw a bye (won't play) in the first round of the play-offs.
Matt Hasselbeck, Patrick Kerney, and Marcus Trufant had career games, Hasselbeck threw four touchdown passes, Kerney sacked Cardinal quarterback Kurt Warner 3 times, while Marcus Troufant, (an ex-Coug by the way) intercepted Warner 3 times. Suddenly the Superbowl seems to be very much in sight for our surging team.
Also of note, Coach Mike Holmgren was given the game ball from Seahawk owner Paul Allen for passing Chuck Knox as the winningest Seahawk coach of all time.

A Fun Christmas Song

Hopefully this will help get you into the Holiday Spirit.

Disaster To The South

Our thoughts go out to the victims of the recent flooding in Chehalis and Centralia, approximitly 100 miles south of here.

An Infamous Washington State Political Blunder

Rod Chandler used to represent Washington's 8th Congressional District. In 1992, he decided to run for a US Senate seat that the late Brock Adams was vacating. Adams was caught up in a sex scandal and an unknown Shoreline candidate named Patty Murray was the Democratic choice to run for the seat. No one thought that Chandler would lose, he was after all, a former television newscaster. With the campaign underway Chandler and Murray met for a debate and in a scene that could have been scripted from the movie Shampoo, Chandler ended the debate quoting Roger Miller's "Dang Me Dang Me-they ought to take a rope and hang me" Patty Murray became our US Senator and Rod Chandler was finished in Washington state politics.

Once Again Defense Saves Seahawks

Lofa Tatupu had 3 interceptions including a game saver in the last seconds (above) as the Seattle Seahawks beat the Philadelphia Eagles 28-24. Julian Peterson also had an interception. Shaun Alexander returned after a 2 week absence and netted 65 yards including a 2 yard touchdown run. Mo Morris ran for a 45 yard touchdown in the 4th quarter. It looks like the Seahawks are getting hot at the right time as this is their 4th consecutive victory.

Snowstorm Hits Seattle Area

We got the season's first snowfall today. This picture is from the Seattle Times.

"The King And I" Playing At Issaquah's Village Theatre

I watched "The King And I" with Deb, her parents and grandmother last Thursday at the Village Theatre in Issaquah. I had seen the Rogers And Hammerstein production as a second or third grader at the Little Theatre in Walla Walla.
The premise to the story, based on a true story, is an English school teacher coming to Thailand to teach the Royal children. It is focusing on the clash of Western and Eastern culture, however many of the issues presented in the production seem very relevant even today in American culture. The King, played brilliantly by Michael Lee is a power hungry, greedy but clumsy despot with 37 wives, lovers, etc. Ana, played by Beth DeVries is appalled by the degradation, not only of women, but of the King's subjects. She somehow also see that somewhere, the King has a heart and that sets up a wonderful production.

Evel Knievel: Pop Culture Icon Dies

It just does not seem right, Motorcycle Daredevil Evel Knievel meeting a peaceful death, but it happened in Clearwater, Florida. I remember him trying to jump the Snake River Canyon in 1974, the day President Ford pardoned Richard Nixon. Knievel was mentioned in Pat O'Day's recent biography and had strong Northwest connections. He formerly owned a motorcycle shop in Moses Lake.

Adam Sandler--The Chanukah Song

Behind the silliness in this song,at this time of the year many Jewish children really feel like they are the "only kid in town without a Christmas tree. That is because they are usually right. It is nice to hear some familliar names of people who are Jewish "just like you and me"

A Moment OF Silence--Sean Taylor

Hawks Slip Past Rams--3rd Consecutive Win

Seahawk fans know that when the team plays badly, it can take the down the whole Sunday Afternoon. The bad news is the team played badly in this afternoon's contest with the re surging StLouis Rams, the good news is they were able to make the right plays when it counted and beat them 24-19.
Seattle did not lead until Leonard Weaver's 5 yard touchdown run with less then 6 minutes in the final quarter. Josh Brown missed a 52 yard field goal, and the Seahawks were called for pass interference, setting up the Rams within striking distance of going ahead with little time to respond. The Seahawk's however were able to keep them out of the end zone on four downs and the game was over.

Cougs Win--Alex Brink's 3rd Victory

In a game full of irony, the Washington State Cougars beat the Washington Huskies 42-35. If this was the only game that you watched this season and someone told you that these were the best two teams in the Pac-10, you may have believed them as momentum shifted many times in what may go down in history as one of the best Apple Cups of all time.
In fact, neither team had a winning record nor had any chance for a bowl game. Maybe because of that rather than in spite of it, both teams brought their A game. Alex Brink, who until now was not usually not on the lips of Cougar fans talking about the school's greatest quarterback, became the first Cougar quarterback to beat Washington three times.
Playing for the first time since his injury against Oregon State, Jake Locker was his brilliant self making several dashing runs and also throwing a 63 yard touchdown pass to Marcel Reese.

100th Apple Cup Meeting This Saturday

It's that time again, this weekend Washington and Washington State will meet for the annual "Apple Cup" football game. Last year the Huskies beat us on our own field, two years ago, we won at Huskie Stadium. I was at that game and remember all the trash talking by the Huskie fans. It made the victory much more satisfying. Here is a scene from the celebration.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Around The Blogosphere: The Apprentice Returns

In her excellent blog "No Deep Thoughts, my friend from Texas, PJ, announces the return of "The Apprentice" What was in it's initial run, a pretty slick show, has gradually degenerated into just another show that hung around a little too long. If you were disgusted by the gimmickry in the LA version of the show, you haven't seen nothing yet .

Charter Maple Valley Council Member Defeated

Jim Flynn, a member of the Maple Valley City Council and Deputy Mayor, was defeated in this month's general election. Maple Valley has a Council-Manager form of city government. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor serve on the council and have equal voting rights with other council members. A City Manager, chosen by the city council performs the executive duties. Maple Valley has had the same mayor and deputy mayor since it's 1997 incorporation. Mayor Laure Iddings was unopposed and able to keep her council seat. Flynn's opponent ran a strong campaign and was able to defeat him. Flynn, a developer, lost his seat to Layne Barnes.

Paige Davis Returns To Trading Spaces

One of our TV "guilty pleasures" from year's past was "Trading Spaces" the reality show where two sets of neighbors would do home improvement on the other's homes. More than learning home improvement, the real fun of the show would be when one of the couples hated the remodel, resulting in fights and tears. The host was the unbelievably perky Paige Davis. Davis had a unique sunny personable style much like the Food's Channel's Rachael Ray and the Game Channel's Mel Peachy. The show lost it's "zing" when Paige left. The news now is that Paige is returning and will again appear on the show in January.

Seahawks Bag Bears

This battle between the last two Super Bowl runners up turned out to be better than expected. In a barn burning game, the Seattle Seahawks beat the Chicago Bears, 30-23. The Seahawk outlook was grim at first as the Bears a touchdown on their first drive, something that Chicago had not done all season. Matt Hasselbeck passed for 337 yards and 2 touchdowns one to DJ Hackett and another one to Nate Burleson. Mo Morris filled in aptly for Shaun Alexander with 87 yards and a touchdown. Chicago Quarterback Rex Grossman threw for a respectable 266 yards, but the Seattle defense sacked him 5 times.

Marshall Barer On You Tube

A very spectacular, touching performance by the late composer-singer Marshall Barer. A very distant relative who amongst other things, wrote the theme to Mighty Mouse.

Congratulations Stan

Stan Barer was honored this week by The American Jewish Committee with their Human Relations Award. A formal dinner was held this week at the Fairmont Olympic in Downtown Seattle to present the award.

Back When Television Was Funny And Entertaining

This week Newsweek had a cover feature recalling the year 1968. I thought that I would contribute this piece which is basically timeless. The Smothers Brothers from there Sunday night Comedy Hour doing a medley with Donovon and Peter, Paul, And Mary.

Forever In Pinstripes!

The guessing game of where A-Rod will land is over now, Alex Rodriquez apparently will ink a deal to return to the New York Yankees. How history will stack him up with the Yankee legends remains to be seen.

The Beatles--It Won't Be Long

Just for fun, here are The Beatles from 1964!

Cougars B-Ballers Beat Boise State Broncos

WSU Cougar fans tired of the mediocrity of this year's football team will be glad to know the college basketball season is now underway. Last night the Cougs overcame a 32-26 deficit to defeat the Boise State Broncos 86-74. According to the Seattle Times, the Cougars are currently ranked 9th in the country. This is WSU's second year under coach Tony Bennett.

'Hawks Whitewash The 'Niners

A Seattle football crowd which has not had all that much to cheer about had to like this one as the Seahawks easily beat the San Francisco 49ers, 24-0. Matt Hasselbeck threw two touchdown passes and Mo Morris had a rushing score The always reliable Josh Brown added a field goal in the second quarter. The 49ers had one off the field distraction. Coach Mike Nolan's Father Dick, who had also coached the 49er many years ago, passed away yesterday.

Seahawks ON MNF

The Seattle Seahawks will take on the San Franciso 49er on Monday Night Football. The game will be played at 6:00pm Pacific Time on ESPN.

Jake Locker Leaves Field In Ambulance

Redshirt Freshman Huskie quarterback Jake Locker is reported to be in stable condition after a helmet to helmet in tonight's Washington-Oregon State match up. Reports say that he can move his extremities but is thought to have suffered some type of neck injury.

David Stern Takes A Swipe At Seattle

It doesn't seem that long ago when NBA Commissioner David Stern was everone's hero. Stern assumed the commissioner's position at the beginning of the Magic Johson-Larry Bird era. That was just before extremely marketable superstar Michael Jordan burst on the scene and the NBA rose to incredible heights.
Today the NBA is floundering. It's marquee player Kobe Bryant was involved in a criminal investigation, A shocking fight between the Pacers and the Pistons , New York Knicks coach Isaiah Thomas is involved in a sexual harassment suit, and the latest is the involvement of a referee in a point shaving scandal. Somehow Stern is still commissioner and seems slow to take the blame for the bad turns that the league has taken.
However it has not stopped Stern from criticizing Seattle for taking it's time on a potential arena deal or lack of it. It does not look like Stern has taken the time to investigate exactly what the implications are nor does he have any clue about the local issues involved. Maybe Oklahoma
City is prepared to give the league everything it wants when it wants . If that is the case, losing the Sonics may be less damaging to the area and the region than turning our backs on all the needs of the area and building a third multimillion dollar sports structure in the area.

Burl Barer To Make Internet Radio Apearance

Burl Barer has announced his apearance today on Matt Alan's Internet Radio today (Saturday November 10th) at 3:00pm Pacific Standard Time. To listen to the veteran radio star go to http:www.mrcigar.com and click listen live. Of course if it's too late when you read this, you may have to find another means to getting the show.

An Example Of Ann Coulter Showing Her Ignorance

Not only is Ann offensive and hypocritical, she is also ignorant of history.

Loads Of Thanks To Our Friends In North Bend!

A big think you to Margie, Rick, and family for hosting Deb,Rusty and I at their North Bend home, although the 'Hawks did not win, it was fun time for all with pizza and games.

Browns Beat Seahawks In Overtime

The unthinkable happened today, the Seattle Seahawks, comming off a bye were bringing what looked like their A game into Cleveland when everything fell apart. Our defense which until now seemed to carry us when the offense sputtered could not seem to find an answer for the one-two punch of Running back Jamaal Lewis and Kelvin Winslow. A call reversal by the officials on what looked like a Matt Hasselbeck first down was pretty much "the icing on the cake".
Except for an early pass interception, Matt Hasselbeck was brilliant with 318 yards and 2 touchdown passes. Nate Burleson (above) ran a punt back 94 yards for a touchdown.

Burl Barer Tells How He Got His First Seattle Radio Job

It takes a real skill to get people to crack up at a friend's wake. Burl can do it. I had wanted to post this a year ago have finally figured out how to do it. It's Burl speaking at a memorial lunch at Andy's Diner (downtown Seattle) for Jerry Kaye.

Cougars Face Bears Tonight Without Dwight Tardy

If you thought last week's victory over UCLA got WSU Coach Bill Doba off the "hot seat", think again. With the game wrapped up, the Cougs kept star running back Dwight Tardy in the game to make one final touchdown run. Tardy wound up tearing his ACL and is out for the season.

A Shot Of Brandi

Maple Valley area native Brandi Carlile is playing tonight at the Paramount in Downtown Seattle. Like her last 3 performances here, it's sold out.

Former Classmate Kathy Brock Keeps Chicago Informed

Here is Cougar alumni Kathy Brock, co-news anchor at WLS in Chicago

BOO!

Happy Holloween

Well the first syllable in his name is Ghoul!

A-Rod Leaves Yankees

Alex Rodriquez is leaving the New York Yankees, creating fascination amongst sport fans. Somehow in spite of his statistics, It does not look like there will be a mad dash for his services. I could be wrong but on paper, it looks like a lot of money toward a player who seems to "poison the water" everywhere that he goes.
The latest news is that A-Rod's agent is apoligizing for announcing that A-Rod was opting out of his Yankee contract during the World Series. Give me a break. If there was one bit of excitement to that series, no one would have really cared. The fact of the matter is if A-Rod thinks there is pressure now to lead a team to the Series, wait until he signs an even bigger contract.

Boston Red Sox Sweep

I can remember when in grade school, we would bring transistor radios to class and beg the teacher to put the World Series on the Tv in the classroom. Even in Walla Walla, where there was no Major League baseball team in site at the time, the World Series was the banner headline in the local newspaper.

Now it seems even for the baseball fans who follow the sport, the World Series is hard to even get excited about. It is almost always lopsided and rarely goes past 4 games. This year the Boston Red Sox beat the Colorado Rockies in 4 games, of course.

Cougs Shock Pac-10 Beat Bruins

The Washington State Cougars, who have beaten Idaho this season and had not done much else, got their first conference win today in a 27-7 victory over UCLA. The Bruins had been undefeated in conference play. Sophomore Coug Dwight Tardy ran for a career high 214 yards and two touchdowns.
Cougar football fans finally have something to celebrate. Meanwhile, the woes continues for the Washington Huskies, who lost to the Arizona Wildcats 48-41

More On Aunt Dorothy

My Dad has another nice tribute to Dorothy Barer. You can also click here for the notice in the Seattle paper.

Good Bye Aunt Dorothy

Dorothy Copeland Barer, passed away today. My cousins, Linda And Karen have a nice tribute.

Seahawks Beat Rams

For the first time in a couple of weeks, both the offense and defense are clicking again as the Seattle Seahawks defeated the St Louis Rams 33-6. After a shaky 10-3 halftime lead, Nate Burleson opened the second half with a 91 yard touchdown run and the 'Hawks never looked back. The Rams offense, once dubbed "The Greatest Show On Turf" was limited to just 41 yards in the first half.
The Seahawks have a bye this coming week, that should allow some ailing player to rest and recover for when the Cleveland game in two weeks.

Issaquah Brewhouse Comes Through

Last night, a vicious windstorm temporarily wiped out power for the Maple Valley area. The outage included our house. Deb and I stopped at the Issaquah Brew house, on the way back from where we work in Bellevue. Issaquah Brew house is one of the area's best kept secrets. It is located off the main drag, (Front Street) near adjacent to the Salmon Hatchery.
It not only contains a full menu of ales, but the service was excellent, even after we had our menus, the food server wiped off our table, a small thing, but I had never noticed it in any other establishment. If addition, she put the ballgame on TV when I requested it. The food prices were extremely reasonable and the food was delicious.

The address is 35 W Sunset Way

Issaquah, Wa 98027

Nobel Winner Al Gore

This year has been a banner year for Al Gore. His informative Movie An Inconvenient Truth first won an Oscar and now Mr. Gore is being honored with the Nobel Peace Prize. Many Conservatives attacked Gore and said that he did not lead a Green lifestyle. The point of the movie was not Gore's lifestyle, but how we can make small changes to save the Earth.
I met Mr. Gore back in 2000, he was kind enough to pose for a picture with me. I will post that soon.

Seahawks Lose In Second Straight Ugly Game

For the second straight week, the Seattle Seahawks turned in a shabby performance. However this week, it was for the home fans and a National audience as the New Orleans Saints defeated the 'Hawks 28-17.
It was clear from the opening drive that this would not be a Seahawk night when the normally reliable punter, Ryan Plackemeir dropped a snap that led to the first Saint touchdown. The game also had to be stopped for 10 minutes in the first quarter when an overhead TV camera line snapped.
The Saints were 0 and 5 before tonight's game. Next week the Hawks play another winless team at home, the St Louis Rams.

From The ABarer Blog

My Dad has another one of his stories of days gone by....

The customer is always right
As we plugged in the final computer entries I had a flashback probably sixty or more years ago.The main store front at our place was sixty feet from the front door to the rear. Behind was a driveway between the store and the warehouse.In those days a popular product was steel wire rope cable used for loading hay.I was standing in the driveway with my dad and Uncle Dave when a man approached. Throwing a role of cable on the ground he asserted that the cable was no good and he wanted his money back.Uncle Dave examined the cable and responded that there was an appearance of abuse while being used.The man flew into a rage. "I knew you Jew Sons of ----". He didn't finish his statement.Uncle Dave spun the man who was at least as tall as he was. Picked him up by his belt and collar and "bums rushed" him the sixty feet to the front door propelled him out where he lost his balance and fell. As the man gathered his wits, the roll of cable came flying out after him and the door slammed behind him.The other onlookers present began debating as to whether the guy should have been beat up on the premises or whether there was a liability incurred by throwing him out on a public street.I, of course, was taken aback this was totally out of character but it was explained to me that the merchandise was purchased prior to haying season and now that the season was over and the cable had been used and abused the guy wanted his money back.The ethnic slur was not to be tolerated.

Neck Injury Forces Mack Strong To Retire

Seattle Seahawks veteran fullback Mack Strong suffered a severe neck injury that will force his retirement. Strong whose very name suggests power was in the NFL for 15 seasons, almost twice the average career of an NFL running back.
The injury took place during yesterday's game in Pittsburgh. Doctors said that it was a herniated disk that was pinching his spinal cord.
I think Strong will be the first member of the 2005-2006 Seahawk Super Bowl team to be inducted into the the Ring Of Honor.

Anger And Emotion Permeate Democratic Eastside Dinner

The Eastside Democratic Dinner has traditionally been a fun and affordable gathering for suburban King County Democrats. The classy dressy affair generally takes place in a Bellevue Hotel with local and national speakers giving their stock speeches. Nothing could be more different than tonight's dinner at the Bellevue Westin Hotel in Lincoln Center where an anti war protester interrupted Congressional Candidate Darcy Burner's speech and introduction of the night's main speaker, Retired Major General Paul Eaton.

The evening hosted by Rob Estes, started with Senator Patty Murray's keynote address, Senator Murray said Congress under the Democratic rule is providing over site to the war and addressing the concerns of veterans. After polite applause Senator Murray seemed to want to take a seat but was motioned to exit through what looked like the kitchen door. Darcy Burner got up to speak, and suddenly one of the guests began screaming at her about Senator Murray and the congress. Not losing her cool, Burner quietly told the man to sit down, to which he did.

General Eaton came up to speak but first allowed the protester to say his piece. The General who broke ranks with the White House, told the crowd that the Iraq war was executed incompetently by the administration. Eaton, who's son is about to be deployed in Afghanistan called for, not a victory but a thorough crushing of the GOP in November of 2008. He further went on to say that America's dependence on oil has set the stage for this war and that total withdrawal at this time would be a mistake.

I once again thank washblog for this video from the affair

Seahawks Miss Plane To Pittsburgh (or something)

Seahawks fans watched a football game that was about as pleasant as a Seattle rainstorm as the Pittsburgh Steelers easily won the battle 21-0. After a good first half holding star running back Willie Parker to 17 yards, a visibly tired Seahawk defense became as ineffective as the offense, as Parker eventually netted 102 yards.

Democrats Squander Eastside County Council Opportunity

The winds have changed in the Suburbs of East King County. Once a solid Republican area, Democrats have recently captured seats in every legislative district but the 5th. Still frustration is in the air as long time Republican County Councilwoman Jane Hague (above) seems to be unraveling with one embarrassing revelation after another. The twist is that Hague's Democratic foe, Richard Pope is a perennial office seeker who as run as both a Republican and Democrat without capturing the heart of either party nor any single office. He has lost 11 races for public office according to the Seattle PI.

Washington Supreme Court--Government Should Not Be Truth Police

In an unusual case where the ACLU and one Liberal sided with 3 Conservative justices and took on 4 Left leaning judges defending a Republican thinking Democratic Legislator, the
Washington Supreme Court struck down a 1999 law that prohibits candidates for public office from intentionally lying.
Conservative Tim Sheldon invoked the law when his opponent, Green Party candidate Marilou Rickert sent out a pamphlet which allegedly falsified his voting record. Rickert appealed the ruling. The ACLU argued that the law was an abridgement of the first amendment. That point is debatable. Laws requiring truth in advertising seem to withstand legal scrutiny.
I really think that this should motivate the public to do their own homework. Study the candidates and find out what they really are saying. I think voters as a whole, vote on emotion for the most part and that is too bad.

Maple Valley Case Mystifies World

Maple Valley woman Tanya Rider is a household name after being found alive on highway 169 severely injured but still alive. The case has put the King County Sheriff's Department under a microscope after allegation from Rider's husband that authorities would not begin an immediate search for her. It is my hope that Ms Rider makes a complete recovery. There is no doubt that there is much more to this story than we have heard so far.

The Seattle Times has printed a time line to this story.

Seahawks Beat 49ers At "The Stick"

The game was never exciting, but the results were satisfying. The Seattle Seahawks handily defeated the San Francisco 49ers 23-3 in San Francisco. You may remember that last year the 49ers beat Seattle twice.

Alex Smith, who played brilliantly against the Seahawks last season went out in the first quarter after being sacked by Rocky Bernard. Ex Seahawk Trent Dilfer came in to replace Smith but was very rusty and ineffective after sitting for two seasons.

Deion Branch had 7 catches for 130 yards and Matt Hasselbeck threw touchdown passes to Bobby Engram and Marcus Pollard. Josh Brown had 3 field goals.

Sharon Mast Is Pick For DNC

Democrats from across the Washington state enjoyed the Hospitality of Picturesque Wenatchee and picked Sharon Mast to replace Karen Marchioro as DNC representative. Mast was chosen on the third ballot after a hard fought battle with Southwestern Washington populist Cathi Bailey. My choice, Di Irons , was able to go to the second ballot after a coin toss. Irons had tied for third with Lexi Smith on the first ballot.

The meeting featured a moving slide show tribute to Marchioro.

Wikipedia: A Good Reference But Beware

I have been called into question for using the Wikipedia as a reference. The Wiki is basically open to anyone who has a computer. We all know that is a recipe for disaster but the Wiki seems to work. Because anyone can contribute, it has a localized flavor. That is people write about things that are important to them. I was surprised at how much Seattle and Washington state information is contained there. I would imagine that is because people in the area contribute many articles. I do not know anyone who has written or edited the wiki except for myself. I have contributed 4 articles that have since been updated and edited. I make a good effort to use footnotes and site my sources. One example is the Baker-Boyer Bank (pictured above) from Walla Walla.

I have also a number of family members that are listed.

Seahawks Win Thriller 24-21

A couple of last minute plays made the difference today between a dismal turn to this young season and a promising one as the Seattle Seahawks edged the Cincinnatti Bengals 24-21. The Seahawks, who despite making some heads up plays in the game, could not get any break in the second half until Matt Hasselbeck found Nate Burleson for a 22 yard score with barely a minute remaining. For the second week in a row, a young USC quarterback was effective against our defense. Last week, it was Matt Leinart, who engineered a Cardinal victory, this week it was Carson Palmer perplexing our defense and coming close to doing the same. After the Burleson touchdown it looked like hang-on time, but Seahawk special teams player Lance Laury, made a jarring hit on Bengal Return man Glen Holt during the kick-off and the Hawks had the ball back and only had to run out the clock.