Olivo Returns: Well, it took seven years and stints on four other teams, but Miguel Olivo has finally locked down the Mariners’ starting catcher job. This was supposed to have happened closer to June 27, 2004, when Olivo came to the M’s as part of the Freddy Garcia trade. Instead, Olivo hit .176 in parts of two seasons, ending up down in AAA and finally out of town. Now he’s back with a 2 year, $7M deal. He won’t OPS .765 like he did in Colorado, but he’s an upgrade over Adam Moore and Rob Johnson.
Is the Dawg Pack Dying? It has seemed a little quiet at Husky hoops this year, and Jacob Thorpe of the UW Daily blames his fellow students. Scolds Thorpe: “The students this year seem to think just showing up and yelling is enough. Most of the Dawg Packs signature chants have died out, and heaven knows they arent coming up with any new ones.”
Sounders Add Swedish Midfielder: As soon as they get clearance from MLS, the Sounders will announce the signing of Eric Friberg. SPNW’s Stanley Holmes has some good info about Friberg, who’ll challenge for a starting role after the Sounders lost Nathan Sturgis and Sanna Nyassi in the expansion draft.
What they’re saying…
“Were not only punting Moores future, but were taking away potentially needed payroll space next winter. The team has a lot of cash coming off the books after 2011, but has now committed a part of that to an aging catcher who has never hit outside of Colorado. Hes simply not very good, and now the team has less money next winter to throw at someone who might be.” — Dave Cameron, USS Mariner
“As catchers, none of us — myself included — were able to hit. It’s obvious they had to do something” — M’s catcher Adam Moore, via Geoff Baker.
“Olivo? What happened to contending?” — @crobison
In other news…
Remember that the Dave Niehaus “celebration of life” is on Saturday. Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner, Dan Wilson and Ron Fairly will speak, with Ken Griffey Jr. appearing on video. The event, beginning at 1:10 p.m., is free. Parking in the Safeco Garage will be free as well. (Street parking will be risky, most of the spots around there have two-hour limits.)
Ryan Rowland-Smith signed with the Astros.
SPNW’s own John Hickey reported a source’s claim that the Mariners have offered a contract to OF Laynce Nix.
Here’s a .gif of Russell Okung’s awesome tackle in the Carolina game.
This video of Matt Hasselbeck, miked up for the Carolina game, is a really entertaining 4 minutes. My favorite is his cheering after Lofa Tatupu’s interception. He sounds just like a fan.
A Pistons blogger ran the stats and found that Shawn Kemp fouled out the most of any NBA player over the last 25 years. By a lot.
Freddie Ljungberg may take his sunny disposition and team-first attitude back to Europe.
Today in SPNW…
Todd Dybas says that defensive advice from Hoosiers can no longer defeat the versatile Huskies.
Doug Farrar on what’s made Niners QB Alex Smith such a bust.
This weekend’s action…
Friday
NCAA Volleyball Regional Semifinal: (7) Cal vs. (10) Minnesota, 5 p.m., Hec Ed (UWTV)
NCAA Volleyball Regional Semifinal: Washington vs. (2) Nebraska, 7 p.m., Hec Ed (UWTV)
Saturday
NCAA Football: Army vs Navy, 11:30 a.m. (CBS)
Dave Niehaus “Celebration of Life”, 1:10 p.m., Safeco Field (FSN, KOMO, Northwest Cable News)
NCAA Hoops: Washington @ Texas A&M, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
NCAA Hoops: Seattle U vs. Idaho, 5 p.m., KeyArena (FSN)
NCAA Volleyball Regional Final: Cal/Minn winner vs. UW/Nebraska winner, 8:30 p.m., Hec Ed (ESPNU)
Sunday
NFL: Seahawks @ San Francisco, 1:05 p.m. (FOX)
NFL: Eagles @ Cowboys, 5:15 p.m. (NBC)
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