Happy Halloween!

 

Seattle Street Named After Seattle Sports Legend

 

Lenny Wilkens was already a star player when he arrived in Seattle in the late 1960s.  It can arguably be said that he was instrumental in making Seattle a major league sports town.  

Today, Lenny Wilkens Way, dedicated this past week, runs next to Climate Pledge Arena, the location of the Seattle Colosseum, where Wilkens played, then became player coach.  After being traded, he would return to turn around a struggling Sonics team as coach.  He would then in 1979, coach the Seattle Super Sonics to an NBA championship. 

Wilkens would go on and coach other NBA franchises, but kept his home in the Seattle area and has been active in charity work.  

More Spookiness In Neighborhood

One of our neighbors went full throttle decorating for Halloween.

Close Your Eyes James Taylor With Son Henry At The Tacoma Dome

From Wednesday night's concert.  James Taylor does a duet with son Henry of the beautiful ballad, "Close Your Eyes".   Henry has a striking resemblance to the James Taylor of early days. 

Happy 10th Birthday, Dasher!

 

Shower the People (full song) James Taylor Jackson Browne Tacoma Dome 10...

From the Jackson Browne/James Taylor Concert in the Tacoma Dome  last night. 

James Taylor With Opening Act Jackson Browne

 

James Taylor and Jackson Browne appeared at the Tacoma Dome in a concert that was originally scheduled in May of last year.  Delayed because of the pandemic,  it was a concert worth waiting for.

Jackson Browne, known for 70s soft rock songs like "Rock Me On The Water" and "Doctor My Eyes", opened the show. With Gray hair and beard, his appearance was "mature", but his voice had not changed.  Browne went deep into his song collection, playing many songs that I had not heard.  He concluded his set with a duet with Taylor (above picture) on his classic "Running On Empty"  Very rare for a headliner to show up in the opening act. 

James Taylor, legend in the music business and a member of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, was also visibly aged, but like Brown, had not missed a beat.  Taylor performed his signature song, Fire And Rain, with seemingly the same emotion that it was written.  A very humble man, he didn't miss a chance to introduce bandmembers and backup singers and continually praised the  audience. He also called Browne back to the stage for a duet on the Eagles hit "Take It Easy", a song Browne had cowritten with the late Glen Frey.  He closed the show with a duet with his son, Henry (picture below), who is also one of his backup singers. 

Kraken Get First Home Victory

 Kraken fans could finally celebrate a victory at Climate Pledge arena as they beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-1.  It ended a four game losing streak for the NHL's newest team. 

Hasselbeck To Be Inducted Into Ring Of Honor

 Matt Hasselbeck, the quarterback who led the Seattle Seahawks to it's first ever Super Bowl,  will be inducted in the  team's Ring Of Honor tonight (Monday, October 25th).

When the Seahawks picked Mike Holmgren to coach and be GM of the Hawks, his choice to quarterback, was Hasselbeck, who had been backup to Brett Favre at Green Bay.  Hassselbeck was a tough sell to the fans and media as there was a clamoring for the team to play Trent Dilfer, a newly acquired quarterback who was hot off a Super Bowl victory with the Baltimore Ravens.  

Eventually, Holmgren relented and benched Hasselbeck in favor of Dilfer.  Dilfer was soon injured, though, and Hasselbeck was back in business, better than ever.  Hasselbeck would go on to become a three time pro bowler and lead the Seahawks to the 2006 Super Bowl. 

Fall Colors In The Neighborhood

Beautiful tree in the next cul-de-sac.

Another Spooky Neighborhood

An amazing Halloween display in Patrick's Faire, the adjacent neighborhood.

Chicago - Feeling Stronger Every Day

Legendary rock band Chicago, in session.  I love Peter Cetera's windmill motion. 

Maple Valley's Brandi Carlile To Appear On SNL

 Brandi Carlile, the Maple Valley native with the skyrocketing career, has been a frequent topic of this blog.  Her emergence in the music scene has somewhat paralleled our move to this area.  

Carlile will be appearing this weekend (Saturday, October 23rd) on SNL. Saturday Night Live alumni Jason Sudeikis is scheduled to host. 

Rolo To Sue University

Sources say Nick Rolovich will sue WSU over his firing this week.  In the lawsuit, Rolovich's attorney accuses Cougar athletic director Pat Chun of vindictive and  discriminatory behavior.   Such a sad ending for something that at one time showed so much promise. 

Spookiness In The Neighborhood

What I think is the best decorated house in Belmont Woods has blow up monsters and an opening coffin.

Rolovich Is Fired For Not Getting COVID Jab

 Nick Rolovich, whose Cougars have been rolling for the past three weeks, has been relieved of his duties for refusing to take the COVID vaccine.  The controversy, which has been swirling around since the Pac 12 Media Day, has divided Cougar fans more than any school issue in recent memory. 

Jake Dickert, the Cougar Defensive Coordinator will take over as interim head coach. 

Colin Powell Dead

 General Colin Powell, the four starred general who became our country's first African American Secretary Of State is dead at 84.  Powell had suffered from Covid 19, even though he was fully vaccinated.

Powell is one of the few national figures in recent times to get high respect from both Democrats And Republicans.

In 2011, Deb and I attended a seminar where General Powell spoke.

Beat Stanford

 The Washington State Cougars, winners of two in a row, take on the Stanford Cardinal in Pullman.  The game starts at 4:30 pm PDT.

Kraken Get Historic First Win

 The Seattle Kraken defeated the Nashville Predators for the first regular season win in it's history.  The final score, was 4-3, the same as it was in the team's first game against Las Vegas , but this time, Seattle's NHL expansion team was victorious. 

Although the Hockey season is long, this victory in only the second game, speaks volumes about the team's progress. 

The Kraken's next game is tomorrow (October 16th) against the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

Jim Moore Back On The Radio--Now With Sports Radio 950

 Popular area sports guy, Jim Moore is back on the air.  Moore whose everyman personality has endeared him to listeners and former readers, when he had his sports column in the Seattle P-I, was let go from 710 ESPN a year ago.   A recent column revealed a tense relationship between him and program director Mike Salk. 

Moore revealed on his Facebook page that he was accepting a position on Sports Radio 950  where he would join long time KJR radio host Jason Puckett in the 10-1 weekday radio spot.  

Both are Puckett and Moore are fellow Cougs. 

Walla Walla's Caprio Cellars Featured On WFNP Podcast

The Wine For Normal People podcast which is hosted by Elizabeth Schneider, featured Caprio Cellars owner Dennis Murphy.  Caprio Cellars is an estate winery based in Walla Walla.  

This is not the first time that a Walla  Walla Winery has been presented on the podcast.  The podcast, in previous episodes, has also covered Amavi/Pepperbridge and Sleight Of Hand

The aim of the podcast is to present the wine and winery culture in "layman's terms".  Schneider is based in Raleigh North Carolina.

Bye Bye Matt Amodio For Now

 Matt Amodio's 38 game Jeopardy winning streak ended last night, his winning totals are shown in the picture.  Matt will return to Jeopardy for the Tournament Of Champions.  Amodio is the third highest money winner in Jeopardy history.

Go Kraken!

 The Seattle Kraken begin it's first NHL season tonight (October 12th 2021)  against the Las Vegas Golden Knights at 7pm.   The game, in Las Vegas, will be shown live on ESPN. 

Gruden Resigns As Raiders Coach

 Jon Gruden, the iconic coach who is pretty much the face of The Raiders in the post LA years, has resigned his second stint as coach of the franchise. The resignation takes place after racist, homophobic, and misogynist emails by the coach over a ten year period have been uncovered. 

Kim Kardashian West Monologue - SNL

Well, didn't know what to post today, so I put this up.  Her monologue, some thought was funny, I didn't. 

Still, the show has continued its decades long tradition of having the headliners of the day, or the fairly recent past, hosting the show. 

Maple Valley Days--Fall Version

After missing Maple Valley Days in the Summer the last couple years due to the pandemic, a scaled down Autumn version was put on this weekend at Lake Wilderness Park.

Seahawks Will Miss Wilson For About 6 Weeks

 For the first time in about 10 years, the Seahawks will not have Russell Wilson as it's starting quarterback.  The engine behind the Seahawks success including a Super Bowl title and an almost annual appearence in post seasons, will be out for probably 6 weeks. 

Wilson had started every regular season game since joining the franchise, defying an amazing number of brutal sacks that he had taken through the years. 

His 149 consecutive starts is 6th amongst all NFL quarterbacks. Geno Smith, who looked impressive at times  in the Seahawks loss to the Rams, will guide the team in Wilson's absence. 

Go Cougs!

 The Cougars take on the Oregon State Beavers this afternoon (October 9th, 2021) at 1 pm.

Back Up Quarterback Geno Smith Impressive Replacing Ailing Wilson

 

Yes, Russell Wilson has a backup quarterback.  The Seahawks lost to the Rams 26-17 tonight but there biggest loss was the loss they dreaded the most, Wilson was injured. Wilson had previous only missed play in three games due to injury.

Geno Smith, who probably the majority of Seahawks fans hadn't heard of  due to Wilson's durability, came in to the game and led a  march down the field for a Seahawk touchdown.  

Smith is number 7 in the picture above.  There is so far, no word on the severity of Wilson's injury, which reportedly was the middle finger of his throwing hand.

Smith finished the day going 10 for 17, gaining 131 yards.  He did however throw a late game interception that sealed the victory for the Rams.

King County Council Member Lambert Under Fire

Even if the mailer is not meant to be racist, from what I can see, it's plain wrong.  Sarah Perry, whom I got to know with my work in the 5th Legislative District Democrats, is sensible, reasonable and a real people person. I don't even think she was a Sanders supporter, but that's beside the point.

I am surprised that Kathy Lambert put this out for a couple of reasons.

Number one, although she is definitely a Conservative Republican, she seems like a very respectable person.  I've met her in person and interacted with her on Facebook and she always seemed reasonable.

Number two, I don't think this helps her in any way.  I think voters do not like this campaign, those who would be influenced by something like this, would probably have voted for her anyway.  

Generally "hit pieces" are put out by groups either supporting a campaign or opposing a campaign. 

The 6 County Council members who identify as Democrats (it's a non-partisan body), issued a joint statement calling for Lambert to apologize. 

Mitch Levy Interviews On Local Podcast

I had not heard of the Seattle Sports Union podcast, but Mitch Unfiltered podcast co-host Mitch Levy promoted it on his latest episode.  Levy is a guest on this installment and gives his insight into his days hosting the morning show on 950 KJR.  

Dave Sims calling Mitch Haniger's single in the 8th: what a night, what ...

Dave Sims calling a great come from behind hit from the Seattle Mariners.  Sadly, the Mariners could not replicate that magic in the following game, but let's remember the good times.

Piff The Magic Dragon

 Piff The Magic Dragon performed Saturday night at the Snoqualmie Casino.  A British man, with an acerbic sense of humor, a keen sleight of hand, and a ridiculous looking dragon suit,  Piff and his dog, Mr Piffles has gone from placing high on the summer TV talent show America's Got Talent to having his own room at the Flamingo in Las Vegas. 

Piff, along with his female assistant and his dog, Mr Piffles, did a two hour show using audience members, and many crowd pleasing tricks.  

5 Man Electrical Band - Signs | REACTION

This gentlemen's channel feature's his interpretations of classic rock songs.  I can't resist this one from the early 70s. Five Man Electrical Band's Signs. 

Twenty Years Ago

 Deb and I pose with gladiators at the Colosseum in Rome.  We took our first trip across the Atlantic in late September  of  2001 with Deb's mom, uncle, aunt, cousins, and guests.  

We spent the first couple days in Rome, then stayed in Lucca for the remainder of the trip.  We visited Florence, Cinque Terre, and Siena.