TWTWTW: Isaiah Thomas sounds off on Pullman

Jan. 24-30, 2011

• Good Week — Wide receiver Kasen Williams becomes the first player from the state of Washington to be named national Player of the Year by Parade magazine. During his four years at Skyline High, the University of Washington recruit caught 235 passes for 4,121 yards and 56 touchdowns.
• Bad Week — The Mariners get hit with more off-the-field legal problems when they learn that Adam Kennedy, signed to a minor league free-agent contract, has been arrested in Newport Beach, CA, and charged with DUI. Kennedy takes full responsibility for the DUI, even going so far to telephone several Seattle reporters to express his regret over the incident.
• Sunday, Jan. 30 — Washington State coach Ken Bone devises a perfect plan to foil Isaiah Thomas — the Cougars force him down the middle and hold him to 3-for-13 shooting — and snap their four-game losing streak to the Huskies. Huskies and Cougars now have a chance to finish in the top three in the conference for the first time in Pac-10 play.
• Saturday, Jan. 29 — Chone Figgins tells reporters during FanFest at Safeco Field that he doesn’t want to be traded to Oakland, or anywhere else. “This is where I want to be, and until they force me out of here, I’ll always love playing here.” Adds GM Jack Zduriencik: “Our plan when we open the season is that Chone is going to be our third baseman.” Well, it does beat Jose Lopez.
• Friday, Jan. 28 — Rumors surface to the effect that the Oakland A’s are pursuing Seattle infielder Chone Figgins in a deal in which the Mariners coould possibly acquire 3B Kevin Kozmanoff and a pitcher. Source for this story: The Oakland Tribune, which cites “sources with knowledge of the situation.” Pays to be skeptical of these types of reports.
• Thursday, Jan. 27 — In response to the question,” What do you think about Pullman,” UW guard Isaiah Thomas says, “It’s just like a prep school. It’s in the middle of nowhere. It’s snowing. It’s cold. I don’t understand why people want to go there.” Believe us: today’s trash talk between the Huskies are Cougars is lame compared to the 1980s.
• Wednesday, Jan. 26 —  Tim Lincecum (top pro), Apolo Ohno (top male), Jessica Pixler (top female) and Felix Hernandez (top story) snag awards at the Sports Star of the Year banquet. Best part of the night: Keith Jackson’s tribute to former Mariner announcer Dave Niehaus.
• Tuesday, Jan. 25 — After an erratic Monday practice at the Senior Bowl, in which he had one pass intercepted and fired high on several others, Washington’s Jake Locker gets dialed in and generally wows NFL scouts. For some teams, Locker is too much of a long-range project to take real high the draft. For others, he’s far too athletic not to take high in the draft.
• Monday, Jan. 24 — Washington’s Isaiah Thomas is named Pac-10 Player of the Week for the second time in three weeks after averaging 20.5 points, 9.0 assists, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals in wins over Arizona and Arizona State. Among Husky guards dating to the formation of the Pac-10 Conference in 1978, only Brandon Roy in 2006 had a bigger statistical impact than Thomas in 2011.

“That Was The Week That Was (TW3)” is published every Monday as part of Sportspress Northwest’s package of home-page features collectively titled, “The Rotation.”

The Rotation’s weekly schedule:

• Monday: That Was The Week That Was (TW3) — A snarky, day-by-day review of the week just ended.
• Tuesday: Wayback Machine — Sports historian David Eskenazi’s deep dive into local sports history, replete with photo eye candy.
• Wednesday: Nobody Asks But Us — We ask, and answer, fun and quirky questions nobody else is asking.
• Thursday: Water Cooler Cool — Art Thiel takes on the weekend for the benefit of the more casual fan.
• Friday: Top 5 List — The alpha and omega of Northwest sports, at least as far as we’re concerned.