2008 In Review VIII: August--Sada Jacobson Takes Silver Medal

The US Women's Fencing team sweeps medals in Women's Sabre Event in this year's Summer Olympics in Beijing. My cousin, Sada Jacobson wins Silver and makes headlines when former President George Bush offers her his hankerchief in a teary moment.

2008 In Review VII: July--Arizona Trip

We headed to Arizona in July, spending 5 days in Sedona, on our third day down there, we took the sunset tour of the Grand Canyon, you can see some awesome pictures here.

2008 In Review VI: June--Showdown At White River

2008 In Review V: May--Michelle Malkin Vs Rachael Ray

Dunkin Donuts pulled ads featuring Rachael Ray after Conservative Columnist Michelle Malkin suggested that Ray's scarf promoted "terrorism".

Cardinals Beat Seahawks In Season's Last Game

There was no fairy tail ending to the Mike Holmgren era as the Arizona Cardinals pounded the Seattle Seahawks 34-21. The one bright spot was Seahawk back up quarterback Seneca Wallace who passed for 250 yards on the day with 2 touchdown passes.

2008 In Review IV:April--NBA Approve Sonics Move

The NBA owners approved the move of the Seattle Super Sonics to Oklahoma City in April of this year.
The Oklahoma Thunder continues the losing ways of the Seattle Sonics, but could show potential if high draft picks allow them to build a winning team around Kevin Durant.

Holmgren Era Closes Tommorrow

The Mike Holmgren era will close tommorrow as the Seattle Seahawks take on the Arizona Cardinals. After struggling to rebuild the team the first few seasons, Holmgren went from zero to hero in 2005 when he lead the Seahawks to their first and so far only Super Bowl appearence. Mike is shown here on a red Harley given to him as a parting gift from his team.

The Year In Review III: March-- One Bennett Stays

While it became clear that Seattle Super Sonic Clay Bennett had no intention of keeping the his team in town, WSU's Tony Bennett was denying rumors that he was eying other coaching positions around the country, he had, after all, made history by guiding the Cougs to their second straight NCAA tournament appearance. While Clay and the Sonics are "gone with the wind", Tony Bennett is still in Pullman.

Seahawk Josh Wilson Honored

Seattle Seahawks defensive back Josh Wilson has been chosen as Defensive Player Of The Week for the NFC for his role in last Sunday's victory over the Jets.

Jets Are Grounded, But Snowballs Fill The Air

While Jets were grounded at Sea Tac, the New York Jets could not get their ground game going. It was up to Shaun Ellis to do what Brett Favre couldn't do all afternoon, throw an accurate pass.

2008 In Review: February 2008--I Lead Democratic Presidential Caucus In Maple Valley

Rock Creek Elementary School was loud and boisterous as I presided over hundreds of crazy Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton supporters last February. It almost made me long for the days when a handful of us met in the library. Thanks to everyone to helped me, it was a tough, but rewarding afternoon.

Chanucka Song Part III

New Profile Picture

The Maple Valley Public Library

2008 In Review: January 2008--Walla Walla Devastated By Sudden Windstorm

Chanukka Begins Tonight

Holmgren Victor In Snowy Home Finale

No doubt, in spite of the fact that football has only a fraction of the number of games that baseball or basketball have, an NFL season encompasses all seasons. When we went to visit Qwest last August for the 'Hawks second exhibition, the weather was scorching hot and there was talk about fans getting dehydrated. The last game this season, a 13-3 victory over the New York Jets, was played in near blizzard conditions.
The game marked the end of an era as Mike Holmgren coached his last game at Qwest. A last minute interception by Josh Wilson ensured the victory.

Mike Holmgren To Coach Last Game At Qwest Field

Today's Seattle vs. New York Jets games today, will be the last home game that Mike Holmgren will coach as a Seahawk.

I will write more about Holmgren's Seahawk tenure after the last game of the season in a couple of weeks.

Puget Sound Area Hit By Snowfall

Although winter sports are popular here, the mild climate Seattle area does not deal with snow very well as schools and business have closed today due to an ongoing snowstorm. Thank you to Mike Siegel of the Seattle Times for this picture.

UPS Store Suggestions For The Holidays

If you are mailing packages UPS for the holidays, here are some tips.

1. Do not wrap your package in brown paper--sure Grandma did in the olden days, but with high speed belts, the paper can be torn off the package and there goes the label.

2. Use a sturdy box. The box that the product your sending, most likely came on a pallet on a freight carrier. Box your package in a way that it can take bumps and bruises or better yet--have someone at the UPS Store pack it. They have been trained to pack fragile items and the price is a great value considering time and materials used.

3. No guarantees on "Ground Shipping" . It's always better to pay a little more to have it arrive on time.

4. Have your items organized according to how you want them packed.

Times Music Critic MacDonald Leaves Paper

Seattle Times rock critic Patrick MacDonald announced today that he has left the Seattle Times. MacDonald, who the Seattle Weekly has described as a "Seattle Institution" had written for the Times for 35 years. Before his stint with the Times, he had written for the Seattle PI, the UW Daily and DJed for KOL FM.
24 years ago, while KYYX was up and running, he had written an article in their magazine about his encounter with Jimi Hendrix some 16 years earlier. I don't believe that article is online.

Seahawks Beat Rams

The Seattle Seahawks turned it on in the second half and beat the St.Louis Rams 23-20. In the second quarter, the 'Hawks looked as listless as ever, failing several times to make third down stops. After half time though, the Seahawks were finally able to move the ball, setting a game winning field goal by Olindo Mare in the closing seconds of the game. It was the first Seahawk victory since October 27th in this nightmare of a football season.

High Ranking For Gonzaga Basketball

This has not been a banner year for Washington sports teams. The Mariners had a dismal season, the Seahawks have been surprisingly bad, and the Cougar and Huskie football teams had a total of 2 victories between them, both by the Cougs. The storied Bellevue High football team even had a little rotten luck on the road.

There is one bright spot in the state, the Gonzaga Bulldog basketball team is now undefeated and ranked number 4 in the country.

Seahawk Make Valient Effort--Still Lose

Long given up for dead, former Patriot Deion Branch (above)l caught two touchdown passes, while a healthy quarterback Seneca Wallace passed for 212 yards. Still the Patriots were able to take care of business, beating the 'Hawks 24-21. The Seahawks lead all the way until the final minutes of the 4th quarter, for the 3rd time in 4 weeks, a Seahawk comeback was stopped by a turnover.

Senator Caroline Kennedy?

Reports are surfacing that Caroline Kennedy is interested in succeeding Hilary Clinton in the United States Senate. It would be the first political position held by Kennedy, the daughter of slain President John F. Kennedy. The irony in the appointment is that her early endorsement of Barack Obama may have been the beginning of the end of Clinton's own campaign. Clinton, of course has been tapped by the President-elect to be Secretary Of State. Kennedy would need to be appointed to the seat by New York Governor David Paterson.

Juice No Longer Loose

OJ Simpson will serve prison time for his attempted memorabilia heist in Las Vegas.

Hey, It May Have Saved Her Life

Former child star Erin Murphy writes about a clothes encounter with Paula Abdul at the LA Airport in her funny blog "16 Minutes"

Steve Kelley Takes On Selfish Pro Athletes

Veteran Seattle Times Sports columnist says recent antics by a number of professional athletes have no place in today's depressed economy.

Great Anecdotes From My Dad's Blog

My Dad talks about his long time business competitor in this installment of his blog.