Stan Barer Recognized By The Times

At the end of every year, The Seattle Times does a review of deaths of celebrities, local leaders, and other newsmakers during that year. 

I was pleasantly surprised and honored to see that my cousin Stan Barer made the list.

Stan is noted for his contributions in writing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when he worked on the staff of Senator Warren Magnuson and also for his contributions to helping reopen trade between the US and China.

Stan passed away on December 13th after a long battle with cancer.

Times Reports Inslee Considering A Run For White House

A front page story in the Seattle Times has revealed that Washington Governor Jay Inslee is seriously considering a run to be the 46th president of the United States.  The newspaper revealed that Inslee has set up a political action committee to explore his options in the race.

Inslee, a Democrat, has been at the forefront of Washington politics since he first went to Congress in 1992, a huge year for Democrats as Bill Clinton was elected.  Inslee would represent Washington's generally Conservative 4th Congressional District in Central Washingon.  Inslee was defeated in the next cycle after a Republican sweep, but reemerged in 1998 to be elected back to the House Of Representatives in the 1st Congressional District which encompasses suburban Seattle.  

Inslee ran for governor in 2012 upsetting Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna.  He was reelected  in 2016.  Inslee is known for his passion for the environment and is a frequent critic of President Trump.   

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. 

Seattle Times: Sports Reporters To Be Read, Not Heard

My favorite sports blog, Seattle Sportsnet, reports that starting September 5th of this year, the Seattle Times will not allow it's sports staff to appear in other local media.  Sportsradio KJR 950 has routinely sought analysis from reporters from both Seattle Times and the Tacoma News Tribune.  I first heard of John Clayton from from former KJR host Mike Gastineau's afternoon show, Clayton at the time, was a reporter for the Tacoma paper. Clayton would eventually shoot to fame as an ESPN football analyst.
Presently, Seattle Times reporters Ryan Divish (baseball) and Bob Condotta  (football) are prominently featured on KJR. 
According to Sportsnet, this was an order from the Times publisher, perhaps in response to attacks from KJR talk show hosts attacking the paper's stance on the building of the proposed Sodo arena.  The Times editorially has been a critic of the Sodo Project and an advocate for a remodel of the Key Arena at the Seattle Center.

Former Walla Walla UB Editor Bill Asbury Dies

Bill Asbury became editor of The Walla Walla Union Bulletin in the 1970s.  He assumed a much higher profile than previous ones.  A native of Western Washington, his more Liberal views did little to endear him in a small town, at least as I remember.
Seattle mayor Wes Uhlman was a  good friend of my Uncle Arny.  When Uhlman announced that he was running for Governor of Washington, the UB carried a scathing editorial.  Although, I had not lived in Seattle at the time, I was a big fan of Uhlman's so I wrote my first letter to the editor.  I will always credit Asbury for inspiring me to write it.  I was so excited when it was published. 
During Asbury's tenure, the journalism staff of the University Of Washington newspaper, The Daily, came to Walla Walla to put out an edition of the UB.  They largely published a satirical look at some of the town's institutions that enraged locals.  In an e-mail several years ago, Seattle Times Publisher, who at that time, was publisher of the UB, hinted that this was Asbury's idea. 
Asbury would eventually leave the UB, and become news editor at the Seattle PI, where he eventually became executive editor.
He would later serve on the staffs of three Washington governors.

The Portland Mavericks Remembered

Larry Stone writes an excellent piece on  "..the nuttiest baseball team the Northwest has ever seen" in today's Seattle Times.  Stone talks about the Portland Mavericks, so named because they had no Major League affiliation.  They were in the Northwest League with the Walla Walla Padres and became the team everyone loved to hate.  I had been wanting to do a post on the team, but really did not know where to begin.  You can read Larry's story by clicking here.

Seattle Times Baseball Writer Stone Promoted.

If you were looking for the MLB power rankings in the sports section of today's Seattle Times, they were no where to be found.  The reason was that Larry Stone has been taken off the baseball beat.  Seattle Times Sports editor Don Shelton announced  in today's paper that Larry Stone will fill the position left vacant when Steve Kelley left the paper as  Sports opinion columnist.  In addition to covering Mariner games, Stone's inside pitch page gave Times readers incite into what was happening around the baseball world.
Shelton said that Stone had covered baseball for the Times for 16 years.  He said that the combination of Stone and columnist Jerry Brewer would give the sports page a "great 1-2 sports opinion punch."

In The Right Place At The Right Time

Dasher's picture is in the top left in this photo taken at the Alki Arts Gallery.  It appeared on page B-1 of the Seattle Times August 8th edition.  The dogs were all painted by Jeanne Romano.  Although Dasher is not the subject of the picture, he does appear prominently.

Steve Kelley Nostalgic In Sunday Column

As Steve Kelley winds up 30 some years as Seattle Times Sports Columnist, he picked the 30 top sports stories during his tenure with the paper you can click here for the entire list but here are his top 10:
10. Mookie Wilson's dribbler trickled through first baseman Bill Buckner's glove, scoring Ray Knight and giving the New York Mets a Game 6 win. Two days later the Mets won the deciding game of the 1986 World Series.
9. With the score tied 52-52, Derrick Wittenburg's desperation jumper fell short, but Lorenzo Charles read the shot's arc, grabbed the air ball and dunked the game-winning field goal. North Carolina State beat the heavily favored Phi Slamma Jammas of Houston in the 1983 title game and coach Jim Valvano ran around the floor looking for someone to hug.
8. In a jaw-dropping sprint, Tyus Edney dribbled the length of the floor in the final 4.8 seconds and scored at the rim over Derek Grimm to stun Missouri 75-74 in the second round of the 1995 NCAA tournament. UCLA eventually won the final Final Four played at the Kingdome.
7. The Sonics and Utah Jazz, two teams playing at their absolute best, gave us a classic seventh game of a dramatic 1996 Western Conference finals. It was Gary Payton vs. John Stockton and Shawn Kemp against Karl Malone. Kemp had 26 points and 14 rebounds in Seattle's 90-86 series-clinching win that still gives me chills.
6. In a hold-your-breath moment, Michael Phelps beat Milorad Cavic by one hundredth of a second in the 100 butterfly to win the seventh of his unprecedented eight gold medals in the Beijing Olympics. Even every sportswriter was cheering for Phelps.
5. Dodger Kirk Gibson painfully limped to home plate to face Oakland's Dennis Eckersley in the ninth inning of the first game of the 1989 World Series. I don't know how, but he slammed the game-winning home run and as he hobbled around the bases, broadcaster Jack Buck put words to our feelings, saying, "I do not believe what I just saw."
4. Edgar Martinez doubled down the left-field line. From first base, Ken Griffey Jr. expertly cut the edges of second and third and slid home into a delirious celebration as the Mariners came from a 2-0 series deficit to beat the New York Yankees 3 games to 2 in the 1995 American League Divisional Series.
3. All morning, Seattle was in a state of nervous anticipation as it waited for the first pitch of this one-game playoff with California for the 1995 AL West title. But Randy Johnson calmed the city's fears, pitching a complete-game three-hitter in the M's 9-1 win.
2. Michael Johnson hit some gear I've never seen from a human as he rounded the turn en route to setting a world record and winning the gold medal in the 1996 Olympic 200 meters. I thought it was the most thrilling performance I'd ever seen, until ...
1. Usain Bolt easily pulled past the world's fastest humans and was heading for a world record in the 100 meters, when he raised his hands and celebrated his 2008 gold medal about 10 meters before the finish line. Sitting about 15 rows from the track, I thought he'd blown his chance at the world record. And then I looked up at the scoreboard. And then I heard the roar inside the Beijing Bird's Nest. He did it.

Steve Kelley Leaving Seattle Times

Steve Kelley, perhaps the best known  newspaper sports columnist in town for over 3 decades, has announced that he is leaving his position at the Seattle Times.  Known for his candor and measured criticism of local teams, owners, players, and fans,  Kelley's column was a "must read" after any significant college or professional sports event in the area or around the nation.
 Kelley sited the posted reader's comments on line for one of the reasons that he is leaving.  The forums at the end of newspaper articles provide for anonymous comments that are often mean spirited.   Like veteran sports talk show host Mike Gastineau, who left KJR last year,  Kelley also spoke of repetition of covering the same things continuously, that made the position less enjoyable.

Seattle Times Gives Free Advertising To Republican McKenna

In  a move that has outraged everyone in this state who is not a supporter of gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna, the Seattle Times has granted unilateral free advertising to McKenna, who is currently in a neck and neck battle with former Washington Congressman Jay Inslee.  Washington State Democratic Chair Dwight Pelz (pictured above) said he had never seen anything like that in his 35 years in politics.  McKenna is currently Washington's Attorney General. The Times, the state's largest newspaper, also granted free advertising to R-74, the bill for marriage equality.  The Times has endorsed both McKenna and R-74 in it's paper.

Seattle Times Editorial Writer Spars With Sports Talk Radio On Sonics Arena

More audio at MyNorthwest.com

The Seattle Time's Bruce Ramsey has some valid opinions, but does not seem to be in possession of correct facts in this interview Mike Salk and Brock Huard on 710 ESPN.

Dasher Keeps His Dad Informed

Every morning, Dasher will walk down the driveway and bring the Seattle Times to me.  Except on Sunday's when the paper weighs a ton.  Not bad for a 4 month old!

Could The NBA Return Soon?

A Seattle Times report about an NBA team relocating to Seattle has the town buzzing.  Seattle first major sports franchise, the Seattle Super Sonics left town in 2008.  The Times said talks are going on behind the scenes to about a privately financed arena being built, possibly to house what is now, the Sacramento Kings, should a deal for an arena fall through in that city.  The article said that the proposed site would be south of Safeco Field and would possibly also lead to an NHL Hockey franchise relocating to the area. 
After a nasty battle to keep the Sonics in town, many area sports fans lost their taste for the NBA. Comments from Commissioner David Stern aimed toward the city government added insult to injury.

Letter To The Editor Published In Seattle Times

My letter challenging the Seattle Times for advocating the removal of precinct committee officer elections on the primary ballot.was published in the Tuesday, September 28th issue of the Seattle Times.
Northwest Voices Seattle Times Newspaper

Piniella Bows Out

Lou Piniella recently stepped down from his managerial duties with the Chicago Cubs. Seattle Times beat reporter Larry Stone had this excellent article about Lou's career. Click here

Sunday Surprise

Every Sunday, I read the letters to the editor in the Sports section of the Seattle Times. Yesterday, I surprised to see that mine was published, I had written to columnist Steve Kelley to comment on a column that he had written on the late UCLA coach John Wooden. The Times decided to publish it, you can read it here....

The picture above is Coach Wooden with Lew Alcindor from the 6os, along with a more recent picture of the pair. Alcindor, of course, would change his name to Kareem Abdul Jabbar and go on to a long and storied NBA career.

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.

Local Paper Endorses Obama

The Seattle Times today has endorsed Senator Barack Obama for president. You can read the editorial here

Seattle Times Nails Dino Rossi

The normally Conservative Seattle Times has called out Dino Rossi for voting in favor of a gas tax that he blames the governor for. Check here.