November 29-December 5, 2010
- Good Week — For the second week in a row, UW football coach Steve Sarkisian kaboshed a potential tie, went for it on fourth down and came up a winner. Sarkisian’s decision to pull his field-goal unit off the field with 81 seconds left in Saturday’s Apple Cup, and Chris Polk’s ensuing 16-yard romp on the following fourth-down play, set up Jake Locker’s game-winning touchdown pass to Jermaine Kearse. Sarkisian’s gutsy call sends UW to a bowl game for the first time since 2002.
- Bad Week — WSU head coach Paul Wulff finishes his third season with the Cougars by losing the Apple Cup 35-28 at Martin Stadium. It marked his 32nd loss in 37 tries — more defeats endured by any college coach in America over the past three seasons. And his 25 Pac-10 defeats over the same span rank as the worst in conference history. When you “out-Beaver” the Oregon State teams of the ’80s, you’ve permanently retired the “Bad Week” trophy. He got a reprieve and will return to the WSU sidelines in 2011. But is that a good thing?
- Sunday, Dec. 5 — The Seahawks reel in the first half against the 1-10 Carolina Panthers, but avoid an epic Qwest embarrassment by rallying to win, keeping them tied with St. Louis atop the NFC West. Season would have been an utter failure with a loss here.
- Saturday, Dec. 4— Chris Polk delivers a performance for the Apple Cup record books (284 yards, 2 TDs), Jake Locker gets the bowl game he sought, and head coach Steve Sarkisian has officially erased the reek of 0-12. Never before has 6-6 looked so good.
- Friday, Dec. 3 — The Chicago Cubs announce that Northwest sporting icon Ron Santo has died in an Arizona hospital of complications from bladder cancer. A Franklin High graduate and a former Seattle Rainniers batboy and groundskeeper, Santo had a near-Hall of Fame career with the Cubs and White Sox (1960-74) and later served with the Cubs’ broadcast team.
- Thursday, Dec. 2 — The Mariners swap Jose Lopez to the Colorado Rockies for a minor league pitcher and surprisingly offer LHP Erik Bedard an incentive-laden, one-year deal. Both moves work. The Mariners got something (Chaz Roe) a little better than a used reisin bag for Lopez, and it won’t cost the club much to find out if Bedard can stay healthy.
- Wednesday, Dec. 1 — Mariners make it official that they no longer covet the services of Jose Lopez. Gosh, what a shock. Lopez has had some decent years for the Mariners, but 2010 was the nadir. Remember when Lopez and Yuniesky Betancourt were the future of the Mariners’ infield? Future didn’t last long, did it?
- Tuesday, Nov. 30 — UW hoopsters, ranked No. 23, rout Long Beach State 102-75, their third 100-point game of the season. Redshirt freshman C.J. Wilcox tallies a career-high 20. It’s the first time since 2007 that UW has posted three 100-point games in a season. If Matthew Bryan-Amaning can keep his head in the game, Huskies will win the Pac-10 title.
- Monday, Nov. 29 — The Texas Rangers sign former Mariner Yorvit Torrealba (2005) as thire regular catcher for the 2011 season. Torrealba hit .291 and .271 for San Diego over the past two seasons, while Mariner catchers collectively couldn’t crack .200. In case you’re wondering, the Mariners traded Torrealba straight up for the little-remembered Marcos Carajal.