TERRY MOSHER
TOP OF THE TOWN – Among the top major sports teams in Seattle the only one that plays defense is the Seattle Mariners. Defense, hitting bombs and good team chemistry has the Mariners rising to the top. Seattle Seahawks and Washington Huskies football teams are giving up point like it’s a weekly giveaway. I can see the Huskies having a leaky defense, having given up 40 and 45 in defeats the last two weeks because head coach Kalen DeBoer is a an offensive genius who has produced high-scoring teams wherever he goes. But defense? What is that? I can’t, though, understand the Seahawks. Coach Pete Carroll has prided himself on his defensive genius throughout his long career, yet the Seahawks have given up 39 and 48 points in the last two weeks. Fortunately, they were playing the hapless Detroit Lions when they scored 48 to outlast the Lions who scored 45. To put some perspective on it, The Lions were shutout Sunday (Oct.9) by the Patriots 29-0. The bright spot for the Seahawks is Geno Smith. He has produced better than anybody thought he could. He is making the lost of whatshisname forgettable. Whatshisname is not doing well in Denver, which makes Smiths performance even that much better. This Seahawks’ team won’t win many games, maybe none, playing defense this way. They can’t stop the run and can’t stop the pass. They have a 50-50 chance at the pre-game coin flip. The Arizona Cardinals are at Lumen Field next Sunday (Oct. 16) and they better fine a way to play some defense if they expect to win. Smith has been unbelievable. He’s completed 77.3 percent of his passes (102-132) for 1,037 yards with two interceptions and six touchdowns. His teammates like him and fans are getting to like him. What’s not to like? Unfortunately, the Seahawks can’t stop water. And now they may have lost Rashaad Penny to an ankle injury. So it goes. As for the Huskies, DeBoer used an excuse that because of injuries hey had to use seldom used players in the secondary. Bu that’s the nature of the sport where injuries are as common as a broken fingernail. So an excuse like that is no excuse at all. You have to dance with what you have got. And if those are not good enough to dance that is on you. All the preseason talk about how the incoming football coaching staff has guys working hard in the weight room and using different techniques to better agility must have been just a lot of talk because it isn’t showing up on the field on game days. Tackling has been a problem along with the lack of aggression. The end result is that this is not the Husky football that scared opponents with their toughness and aggression. This is trick ‘em football with slickness. It produces points, but also gives up a lot of points. If you like pinball football, this is it. Hey, hey, the Miracle Mariners are here. The no-hit wonders of baseball are the story of the year in MLB. No team has hit this bad (.230 average) and still made the playoffs. The Mariners tied with Arizona and Miami with the worst batting average in MLB. Yet, here they are, ready to play Houston to the American League West Division title. How did they do it? Well, they used pitcher Luis Castillo’s remarkable pitching effort in the first game against Toronto to win that game 4-0 and then overcame an 8-1 deficit after five innings to win 10-9 in the decisive second game. God must have been looking down with favor on them because trailing 9-6 in the eighth inning J.P. Crawford hit a soft blooper to shallow centerfield with the bases loaded and it fell in for a miracle double clearing the bases and tying the score. Two Toronto outfielders ‑ George Springer and Bo Bichette ‑ collided trying to corral the fly ball. Springer had to be carted off the field. First updates indicate Springer is doing okay. The Miracle Mariners meanwhile are doing well. They play at Houston Tuesday (Oct. 11) either at noon or 12:30. The second game (of the best of five) is Thursday in Houston and the third game is set for Saturday at T-Mobile Park. The fourth if necessary game will be at T-Mobile Park on Sunday and the fifth if necessary game is set for Houston on Monday (Oct.17). That’s it for today. Stay safe.
Be well pal.
Be careful out there.
Have a great day.
You are loved.