Author: Art Thiel

Husky Stadium is a big place to fill, and it won’t happen playing Montana and Arkansas State, a tradition that likely is in its final years. / Drew McKenzie, Sportspress Northwest Since the last pretense of big-time college football as an amateur endeavor has fallen away, the question remaining is how quickly does the enterprise give itself over to complete professionalization. I don’t know the answer, but I’m sure the agenda includes maximizing every possible revenue opportunity. That’s partly why, for the first time, beer and wine will be sold throughout Husky Stadium Saturday (except for the student sections –…

The smile of Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto is large: He earned a contract extension and his club shut out the Houston Astros in back to back games. / Alan Chitlik, Sportspress Northwest file Dragging along its historic futility like an anvil, the Mariners franchise is desperate to be rid of its dead weight. After having tried most everything else, it is opting for an strategy unusual after four decade — patience. They are sticking with Jerry Dipoto and Scott Servais. While it’s easy to say that the move was a no-brainer as club entered September in playoff contention, it’s…

OL Jake Curhan, from Cal via Pete Carroll’s old high school, is the only undrafted free agent to make the Seahawks’ 53-man roster. / Art Thiel, Sportspress Northwest In the eight months since they were handed their helmets by the Rams in the playoffs’ first round, the Seahawks worked around COVID-19, a firing of the offensive coordinator, a controversial burst of public petulance by Russell Wilson, the tiniest draft haul in club history, losses in free agency led by CB Shaquill Griffin, and free agent signings that snapped the heads of no one in the NFL. Did the workarounds get…

Sounders fans were ready to party, but the Sounders weren’t. / Lindsey Wasson, Seattle Sounders It wasn’t enough that the Sounders were leading the Western Conference, had six selections to the MLS All-Star Game and just set an MLS record by winning three road games in a row over seven days. They wanted to party too. So on a sublime Sunday of weather perfection, the Sounders invited women, cranked up the tunes with a dozen bands in the parking lot, brought in food trucks and invented something called The PNW Experience, which included a salute to Seattle rock legend Jimi…

RB Alex Collins had himself a night in the Seahawks’ exhibition finale. / Rod Mar, Seattle Seahawks The annoyance of haphazard play in the first two weeks of fake games vanished quickly Saturday night at the Loo when the Seahawks went up 14-0 in the first quarter en route to a 27-0 dope-slap (box) of the Los Angeles Chargers. The deed was done without Russell Wilson and eight other starters, who were held out of harm’s way. More noteworthy was the emergence of a catchy nickname. As RB Alex Collins figuratively broke the ankles of an increasing number of Chargers…

Some of the fam . . . uh, the conferences running big-time college football met this week to create an “alliance” to protect each other’s interests. In explaining the complicated relationships among the Corleones, Tattaglias, Barzinis, Cuneos and Staccis, novelist Mario Puzo, author of The Godfather, said this: “It was not perhaps the warmest friendships in the world, they would not send each other Christmas gift greetings, but they would not murder each other.” In a sentence, that’s all you need to know about the latest episode of the internecine conflicts in big-time college football: Creation this week of “The…

In January 2016, Luke Willson was a happy dude after catching a wild, two-point conversion pass from Russell Wilson against the Green Bay Packers that helped win the NFC Championship. / Drew Sellers, Sportspress Northwest Luke Willson has always been an original character. His abrupt exit Wednesday from the Seahawks and professional football was no less unique, but much more melancholy than his usual effervescence. Via Twitter, Willson said he had been hospitalized in the off-season with a severe pericardial effusion, a heart condition that didn’t stop him from re-joining the Seahawks Tuesday at practice, but did stop him from…

Replete with blonde highlights, TE Luke Willson was back Tuesday at Seahawks practice. / Rod Mar, Seattle Seahawks Beyond injuries, never is it possible to manufacture a pivotal moment in an NFL exhibition season. But it is possible to make a big deal out of no longer soiling the sheets. In arrears a combined 50-10 after two defeats played without use of most starters, the Seahawks seek to tidy up Saturday in the fake-game finale at the Loo against the Los Angeles Chargers. “They’re good, hard, crappy lessons that you have to deal with and then try to learn from,”…

Kyle Seager’s 29th homer of the season decided Sunday’s win over Houston and left him one shy of his career high. / Alan Chitlik, Sportspress Northwest file Despite being well-trained and experienced, most members of the vast tribe of Mariners skeptics — that means that outside of the Root Sports broadcasters, I’m writing about you — were flummoxed by developments in Houston Sunday. The long-expected moment had arrived, then vanished. Every season one of the parlor games developed within the tribe is to pinpoint the game or series when the fragile construct of belief is shattered, and the Mariners slide…

Sean Mannion saw his first preseason action, completing 13 of 23 passes for 118 yards and no turnovers. / Rod Mar, Seattle Seahawks We all know that in terms of outcomes, the NFL preseason is meaningless, especially when the Seahawks are in max-protect mode regarding the health of players. The truth was amplified last season when all fake games were scrubbed because of COVID-19 and no one noticed any compromised play. So after the 2021 preseason was cut from four to three games (and the regular season increased to 17 games), the meager hope was for a bit of August…