Jack Patera Dead At 85.

Kiro TV reports that Jack Patera, the original coach of the Seattle Seahawks, has died.

Boo!

Have a Happy Halloween!

The Cooperstown Casebook By Jay Jaffe

First, a little background on this book. Jay Jaffe got in touch with me over the internet many years ago.  His grandparents were residents of Walla Walla, WA. Bernie and Clara Jaffe were Doctors, with Bernie practicing at Walla Walla's Veteran's Hospital. My grandparents were friends with them.
Jay is an East Coast baseball writer and blogger who for a while, not sure if he still does, wrote for Sports Illustrated.
Cooperstown, New York is the home of the Baseball Hall Of Fame.  According to Jaffe, not every player in the Hall Of Fame has earned his place.  Likewise, there are player that are excluded who should be inducted.
A few years ago, I was surprised that Ron Santo had not been inducted.  He was eventually inducted in the summer after his death.
In this book, Jaffe goes over the history and the working of the Hall. He also writes about various players at each position.  In addition, he reveals his technique for deciding who is or isn't worthy.  It was like a trip down memory lane reading this.   My baseball fandom goes back to the late 1960s, however, players are featured from the 1800s to the present.
I think that for all the information contained in the book, it was very entertaining.  The Cooperstown Casebook is available on Amazon.

Happy Birthday Dasher!

Dasher turns 7 today!

New Neighborhood In Maple Valley.

In the Four Corners area, across from Fred Meyer,  new streets and sidewalks connect residential areas with shopping.
Maple Valley has come along way, since we moved here 20 years ago.

Mourning The Victims Of The Shooting At The Tree Of Life

Eleven Congregants were murdered at The Tree Of Life Congregation, a Pittsburgh synagogue.

WSU Classmate Does Football Podcast

During my college days, I worked at KUGR with James Laurie, who used his initials, JRL, on the air.  I recently found out that he had a podcast analyzing Cougar Football.

Washington State set to host first College GameDay in the program's hist...

15 years of waving the Cougar flag made ESPN's first visit to Pullman, a weekend to remember.  No doubt ESPN will return in the near future.

Pullman's mayor shows his Cougar pride by announcing for WSU football, m...

Pullman Mayor and PA announcer for Cougar football and basketball, Glenn Johnson gives a little insight into his roles.

World Series 50 Years Ago

It was over on October 10th, in the last season without Division Playoffs, the Detroit Tigers beat the defending World Champion St Louis Cardinals in 7 games.

World Series Begins Tonight

The World Series begins tonight with the Boston Red Sox facing the Los Angeles Dodgers.

One Year Ago Today

In Israel with my friend Joe Saxon.   We had just  arrived and on our first outing.

Bledsoe Appears On Gameday

Former WSU, a native of Walla Walla, appeared on ESPN's Gameday

More Gameday In Pullman

Capped off with an exciting victory over the Ducks.   Congrats to the Cougars who persevered to get the message across that Pullman is the ideal host city for the event.   

It Has Arrived

ESPN's Gameday on the WSU campus in Pullman for the first time ever.  The WSU flag, Ol' Crimson has traveled and appeared on Gameday telecasts across America for 15 years.

Paul Allen--The Seahawk Compass

I have to admit, Paul Allen did not just dive in and save the Seahawks, although really he did.  When it looked certain that owner Ken Behring was moving the team to LA, the call went out for a local buyer, Allen already owned the Portland Trail Blazers.  It seemed like a dream.
When Allen did step up, it was a conditional purchase, we had to vote for a new stadium. Along with that, the existing facility, the Kingdome had to be taken down.  It seemed like a long shot. After all, the town was divided over the building of Safeco Field and in fact an election to get that field built was unsuccessful.  It took the state legislature to reverse the public vote, a move that even today has rubbed nerves.  The vote did go the Seahawks way and Allen purchased the team.
Allen got off to a rough start as the record did not improve as rapidly as the fans wanted.  Sports journalists wondered if he really cared, you wouldn't see pictures of Allen cheering or showing anguish.
Over the years, that has changed.  Three Super Bowl appearances including one championship, two brilliant coaching hires in Mike Holmgren and Pete Carroll, Allen had become the bedrock of the organization.  If things were not right, we knew Mr. Allen had the concern and the capital to fix it.
After efforts in this off season to rebuild for the future, not much was expected from the Seahawks this year.  Fans have been pleasantly surprised,  The team had just won 3 or the last four games.  The loss was a close last second defeat by the LA Rams, who seem to be this year's team of destiny.
Fans were celebrating a convincing defeat of the Oakland Raiders in London when the shocking news occurred.
Allen's health battles were no secret, but he always seem to be able to make quick recoveries. It had just been announced that he had suffered a recurrence of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.   We as Seahawks fans will always remember Paul Allen.

Talk Of Mitch Levy Podcast

It 's been just over a year since Mitch Levy announced that he had been terminated from his morning shift at Sports Radio KJR  and there is talk of a comeback.  A group of followers have encouraged him to set up a podcast.

At KJR, Mitch had a no holds barred show covering issues that sports fans wanted to talk about.  While he had many detractors, his interview skills and his topic knowledge was rarely in question.
He was once named by Seattle Met Magazine, one of Seattle's 50 most influential people. 

Levy said he was talking with "podcast people" and wanted to see if there was a wide demand or just a loud "few'. 

8th CD District Debate

Will a Democrat finally represent Washington's 8th congressional District?  Democrat Kim Schrier and Republican Dino Rossi are debating in Ellensburg.
No doubt Schrier will make this a debate about the 45th president, who has limited popularity in our area.

Veteran Portland News Anchor Retires

Congrats to WSU alum Tracy Barry, who is calling it a career after 33 years at KGW in Portland.  I remember when we were both students at WSU Tracy from WSU,  She was also once anchored at KSTW in Tacoma.
Before announcing her retirement, she anchored a live gubernatorial debate between Oregon Governor Kate Brown and challenger  Rep. Knute Buehler.

Paul Allen Dead At 65

Paul Allen, who changed helped change the world the way Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers did in early years, is dead after of Non Hodgkins Lymphoma.  The Mercer Island resident announced  his disease had come out of remission earlier this month.  Allen and Bill Gates started Microsoft.  

Allen will probably best remembered for buying the Seahawks and saving them from a move to Los Angeles.  Under Allen's ownership, the team played in three Super Bowls, winning one.

Bob Robertson announces his Retirement

Bob Robertson the voice of the Cougars for over 50 years has announced his retirement.  He has been with the Cougars for 52 years as Cougar announcer, although he took three years off to work for the Huskies.

Robertson did play by play for Cougar football until 2011 when he became an analyst on the broadcasts. He also called Cougar Basketball for 23 years.  In addition, he also announced PCL Basketball for 3 decades.

He was name Washington State Sports Broadcaster Of The Year" 12 times.

Bob was known for his trademark sign off "Always be a good sport, be a good sport all ways!"

Vintage Burl

My cousin, Burl is tallest in this late 60s or early 70s picture with friends.  This picture really catches the essence of the counter culture.

ESPN Gameday Heading To Pullman

ESPN has announced that it's iconic College Football pregame show Gameday will be in Pullman this coming weekend when the Cougs take on the Oregon Ducks.
Bringing the show to Pullman has been a longtime wish for Cougar fans who travel wherever the show takes place with the school flag.  Ol' Crimson has appeared in the background of Gameday telecasts now for 15 years.

West Statue Design Revealed

A miniature version of  a statue of Adam West was unveiled on the second annual Adam West Day in Walla Walla, according to Jonathan Grant one of a group of  local residents who have worked on honoring the memory of the late actor who achieved TV fame playing Batman.

Ruben Procopio is the designer of the statue.  The location of the proposed statue has not been determined according to Grant. 

West, whose real name was Bill Anderson, was a native of Walla Walla.

NHL Northgate Training Center animation

The potential practice facility for the Seattle NHL team looks as fancy as the potential arena.

Seattle Times Readers Prefer Sockeyes For New Hockey Team In Poll

A Seattle Times reader's poll has chosen the name "Sockeyes" for the city's proposed NHL team.
It beat out the Totems, which was a long time professional hockey team in town and the Metropolitans, a Seattle team that won the Stanley Cup in the early 20th Century.
Of course, this is merely a fun poll and the name will be decided by the franchise, perhaps in the Spring. 

October 8th 1956 Larson Pitches Perfect Game

On this day in 1956, Yankees pitcher Don Larson pitched a perfect game against the Brooklyn Dodgers in game 5 of the World Series.  It was the only no-hitter in the post season until the late Roy Halliday pitched one for Philadelphia against Cincinnati in the National League Division Series of 2010.

LITTLE WING (1970) by Derek and the Dominos live

Great song by Eric Clapton and his Dominos.

Salmon Days This Weekend

Issaquah Salmon Days, probably the last outdoor festival of the year in this area takes place today and tomorrow, October 6th and 7th in Downtown Issaquah.

NBA In The Key For First Time In 10 Years

It's only an exhibition game, but NBA fans in the Seattle area will finally get to attend a game in the Key for the first time since 2008.  The Sacramento Kings will face the World Championship Golden State Warriors .   

A few years ago, Chris Hansen, bought the Kings in an attempt to move the team to Seattle.  The attempt was thwarted by NBA Board Of Governors who wanted to keep the team in Sacramento. Golden State's Kevin Durant played his rookie season for the Seattle Super Sonics.

Tip Off for tonight' game is 7:30.

NHL Executive Committee Votes To Forward Seattle NHL Bid

A nine member executive committee has voted unanimously to forward Seattle's big for an NHL expansion team to the league's board of governors, according to Commissioner Gary Bettman.  This is great news to Seattle sports fans as the city has been without a major professional winter sports team since the Super Sonics left in 2008 for Oklahoma City.
In the picture, Mayor Jenny Durkan is leaving the meeting with investors of the potential hockey franchise.
The bid should come up in a meeting of the full board in early December.  According to a Seattle Times story by Geoff Baker, a Seattle NHL franchise could possibly be on the ice by October of 2020.

Pat O'Day And Jimi Hendrix

I got in my car and Sirius/XM radio was on.  A Jimi Hendrix song was fading out and DJ Meg Griffin was coming on. She told the story of when Hendrix, a Seattle native died, his family couldn't afford to bring his body back to the states.  His record company, that made millions off of his music would not get involved. She mentioned that finally a Seattle DJ stepped up and paid to have Jimi Hendrix brought back to this area where he is now buried.  Griffin said "I think his name was Pat O'Day".  I had already heard that story but was really proud to have it get national attention.

The picture above of Pat and Jimi shaking hands at a Garfield High School pep assembly, in story in itself.  It has been made into a statue by Pat's son Jerry.  The picture was recently displayed in an exhibit at the State Capitol on the year 1968.

Jefferson Starship: With Your Love

In honor of Marty Balin, my favorite Jefferson Starship song.