A "Voice" I Remember

He tagged Fred Brown "Downtown". He put the Seattle Supersonics on the map. He was Seattle sports. Bob Blackburn, longtime voice of the Seattle Supersonics was remembered Sunday as family, friends, and colleagues jammed into First United Methodist Church in Bellevue for one last salute to this honorable family man. As people were filing into the church, his booming voice was heard one last time as he delivered another perfect game in the final minutes of the replay of the Sonics' 1979 NBA Championship win over the Washington Bullets. There wasn't a dry eye in the house.

"Bob was a legend", those words from a legend himself, Lenny Wilkens. Wilkens talked about how he became neighbors with "Voice" after he was traded to the Sonics from the St. Louis Hawks. He later guided the Sonics to the NBA Championship as their coach. No legend myself, I was fortunate to grow up in Woodridge, an old school neighborhood just east of downtown Bellevue. It was a dream neighborhood where locking doors was few and far between. I was friends with Bob's son Dave, a quick witted multi-sport athlete who afforded me the chance to learn and choose who my childhood idol would be. It wasn't Spencer Haywood or Bob Rule. It wasn't Dick "The Duck" Snyder, or even "Leaping'" Lee Winfield. It was a man who inspired me to enter the broadcasting profession. His work ethic, drive, passion, and attention to detail is what peaked my interest. The Sonics had a 7:30 game one evening and I asked him what time he needed to leave for the Seattle Center Coliseum. "Four fifty-eight", he responded.

I knew then that Bob Blackburn was my idol.

Oh For Pete's Sake

Department of redundancy department. The Seahawks have done it again. They've hired another good looking coach (excluding Mike Holmgren). He is going to bring them to the promised land. No more 5-11 seasons, no more Superbowl debacles. Just good ol' fashioned smash mouth football with former USC Coach Pete Carroll. Please. One of the remaining Seattle newspapers did a poll and the majority of readers (those Huskies that could read) didn't think it was a good hire. Why? Because most of them are Huskies and don't like the fact the Seahawks hired someone from USC. I agree. Remember Barbara Hedges? You know, the lady that was so infatuated with Rick Neuheisel that she decided to hire him. She turned on him just as quickly when he fell in love with the San Francisco 49ers without letting her know. Maybe he should have consulted Tiger on the best way to handle this. Don't get too excited about Pete Carroll. His motivational ploys that worked with USC won't work in the pros. His athletes with the Seahawks aren't as good as the ones he had at USC.

For Pete's sake.

The Tiger Thing

I'm sorry, I just can't get off this Tiger thing. I can't stop thinking about Jack Nicklaus' comments about five years ago when he said Tiger's life would change when he started to have a family. Boy was he right on. But what we didn't realize was how much the world revolved around Tiger, and still does. Just ask him. I really question how much remorse he really has. People will soon forget when he sets foot on the links again. Everyone knows it's the best therapy for him. All he needs is a win and this will all be water under the bridge.

Let's just hope it's not the one at Rae's Creek at Augusta. I can just hear Jim Nance now. "Tiger is back".

Please.

The Fall Of The Tiger

Tiger Woods, you made the game of golf that much harder. The wins will be harder to come by after this debacle of a personal life you are going through. Tiger, you will be under more pressure and public scrutiny than you've ever been before. Women will throw themselves at you, because they know you are vulnerable. Hecklers will heckle you more than they've ever heckled before, because they know you are vulnerable. Sponsors will require more from you than they've ever required before, because well, you know. The conservatives in the game of golf, and there's a lot of them, will have you under the microscope more than ever. The expectations will be higher, the pressure will follow. Tiger, the pars and birdies are going to be that much harder to come by. The wins are going to be few and far between. The majors are the real question. You had none last year, zippo. And when you tee it up in January you will carry more distractions to the golf course than you've ever experienced before. You will face many of the demons that your competitors face today. Those negative thoughts that get into people's heads when they get out of their comfort zone. You are out of your comfort zone Tiger.

It's not a good feeling is it? I'm sure the Golden Bear is smiling today. I don't blame him.

Apple Cup Week

This is the week that signifies the entire season. Throw out the records, the injuries, the rhetoric about coaches, and most importantly, the won-loss record. The pride of the State of Washington is on the line. There's a reason why the Cougs have to put on a purple jersey when they mess up in practice. Coach Wulff is a lot smarter than people give him credit for. It builds a hatred for those guys in the purple jerseys and serves as a year long reminder. I remember when Don James got pegged by an apple in Pullman while walking the sidelines prior to the game. He picked it up and took a bite out of it. The Cougs took a bite out of his Dawgs on that Saturday in November. That was back when they filled up Martin Stadium, not anymore.

Even though the tickets go for $90 it won't be hard to find one. I scalped a ticket to the UCLA game last year and I think it cost me $20. I have a feeling this won't be any different. There's a certain electricity in this game un-matched by any sporting event I've attended. You have the typical Husky fans that never went to school there who have adopted them as "their" team. You have the faithful Cougs who, like me, wanted to get away from home and go to a college town for the college experience. You can't really go home on the weekend because it is so far. It worked. I met my wife there, and like me, she hasn't missed very many of these since we graduated in 1987. I think the Cougs will surprise some people on Saturday. They've been preparing for this one for 11 games. They will play their best game of the year.

Don't get too excited.

Everything Ducky-For Now

The Oregon Ducks were impressive in their win over USC on Saturday. But let's not let them get ahead of themselves, like they often do. Oregon fans are already chanting "B-C-S", pretty premature don't you think? Last time I checked there are still some pretty tough teams on their remaining schedule including Arizona on the road and Oregon State in the Civil War. But this isn't how Duck fans think. They win a big game and they think it's their ticket to the National Championship (which they have never won by the way, but you would never know it by the way their fans act). The Ducks are extremely vulnerable. The Pac Ten is a very tough conference. It's the conference of champions.

Will this be the Ducks' year? Don't bet on it. They will find some way to implode. They always do.

Summer in the Tri-Cities

The feel of summer is creeping away. The Water Follies and Tri-Cities Boat Race Weekend is the trademark of summer here. It's usually the hottest weekend of the year. But shortly after, that summer 'feel' tends to slip away. The winds pick up, much cooler nights, and that awful feeling that winter is just around the corner. I've learned the older I get, the faster time goes, and this summer was no exception. Our recent camping and boating trip to Clarkston and the Snake River was the best possible way to end another great Tri-Cities summer. While we were able to escape the 108 degree day in the Tri-Cities, we found a much cooler spot at Chief Timothy Park in Clarkston with a cool 106. We thought about making t-shirts that read, "We survived Chief Timothy." Today, I woke up to a slight drizzle and cool temperatures. "We might hit 80 degrees today", said the weathercaster on KNDU TV. What a bummer.

Another ho-hum Tri-Cities summer.