The Huskies head east to face the Cougars in Pullman on Saturday. The Dawgs must win to keep pace with California, who ran over Utah on Thursday. Coming away with a W in Pullman is never an easy task, as these games never fail to be physical from start to finish. This is the first of the three on the road for UW to close out the regular season. California attempts to become just the second Pac-12 team to leave Boulder with a victory on Sunday and this weekend is a big opportunity for the Dawgs to move into sole possession of first place in the Pac.

The Basics

5 P.M. PST. ROOT. The Middle of Nowhere.

Washington Huskies (19-8; 12-3) Washington State Cougars (14-13; 6-9)

MORE AFTER THE JUMP!

Eric Wedge recently broke the news that struggling and overpaid Mariners third baseman Chone Figgins would begin the 2012 campaign in the leadoff position. This left all Mariner fans wondering, “what’s happening to Ichiro”? Wedge announced today that Ichiro will be hitting in the third spot, meaning that Dustin Ackley will be hitting second. As the Mariners manager put it, “I feel like our best opportunity to score runs is with Ichiro hitting third for us. It helps the guy in front of him, it helps the guy behind him.” Here is why Eric Wedge is a total genius.

Photo credit: Rod Mar/Seahawks.com

Before we address this question, let’s answer another question: What exactly is the franchise tag?

In short, the franchise tag is giving a soon to be free agent a one-year contract. The catch is that if a team wants to do this, that one-year contract’s value would have to be the average salary of the top-5 players of the player’s position group.

For example, let’s say the Seahawks want to apply the franchise tag on soon to be free agent running back Marshawn Lynch. Because the average salary of the top-5 running backs is currently $7.7 Million, Lynch’s new contract would be worth $7.7 Million over one year. Pretty simple, right?

Each team can only use the tag once a year, so general manager John Schneider will have to use it wisely.

Find out my franchise tag canidates after the jump!

Saturday’s Sea-King District tournament championship featured two of the top teams in the state, Seattle Prep and Rainier Beach. The No. 1 ranked Rainier Beach Vikings won three games against Bainbridge, Bellevue and O’Dea to make the championship, while Seattle Prep won games against Sammamish, Franklin and Lake Washington to make the championship. Seattle Prep’s 61-56 district championship victory over Rainier Beach was another classic Metro game to remember.

In the first half, the game went back and forth between the two teams. Beach led for the entire first half, the but could not build on their lead. The Vikings’ Fuquan Niles struggled down low and could not contain the play of Mitch Brewe who scored 10 points in the first half. Dejuan Piper led the charge for Beach, scoring eight points while Anrio Adams had a quiet six points in the first half.

The second half was all DJ Fenner for Seattle Prep; the junior scored 20 of his 28 points in the second half. He showed no fear, and continually got easy baskets by driving to the hoop with his athleticism; he also knocked down several tough jump shots. Brewe proved to everyone why the is one on of the toughest players in the state; he was fouled hard by a Beach defender, which caused his lip to bleed. Brewe only sat out for a couple of minutes, got his lip bandaged and re-entered the game.

Beach led most of the second half thanks to a couple of big shots by Marquis Davis and Anrio Adams. The Vikings were hurt by the poor play by their big men; their  guards were forced to do all the work. Prep would continued hitting big shots and hung around the entire game, and finally took the lead late in the fourth quarter. Rainier Beach had one more chance of tying the game when they were down three with twenty seconds left. However, a poorly forced Viking shot fell into the arms of a Jackson Clough. Clough hit one of two from the  free-throw line to seal the game.

--Evan Baron (@BaselineBaron09)

Initial (Over)Reactions

I expected Gus Johnson on ROOT. Maybe he was on another channel for the game, I don’t know, but I was ready to hear his voice. That was possibly the only aspect of this game that disappointed. Brendan Sherrer got to start the game and receive a standing ovation as he checked out in the waning seconds. Darnell Gant played with his usual fire, including a late game mix-up with former Husky recruit Angelo Chol (I sure hope you regret being a Wildcat). And if this was to be Terrence Ross and Tony Wroten’s last game in Hec Ed, they’ll be leaving in style. Ross’ NBA level talents were on display from start to finish as he had 25 points, 5 rebounds and 5 steals. Wroten drove to the basket at will and ended up with 22 points and 9 rebounds. Ultimately, the three-headed monster of Ross, Wroten and C.J. Wilcox was too much to overcome for Arizona.

Now is the time for me to overanalyze the seemingly unimportant last thirty seconds of the game. Darnell Gant was subbed out so he could receive a standing ovation, as he is a senior and this was his last game in Seattle as a Husky. Brendan Sherrer checked in and then checked out immediately after for the same reason. Here comes the changeup: Romar pulled Ross from the game after his free throws had the background noise of “one more year” chants from the crowd. Was this Ross’ last game in Hec Ed? It very well could be. Wroten stayed in the game and never went out. I like to make a big deal about small things during the game, so I’m going to say that Ross exiting means exactly what we all feared: he is gone and Romar knows it. I don’t blame him, as he will be a top 15 pick in the draft. Wroten never left the floor, so he is staying another year. Is it a stretch to make these predictions after just fifteen seconds of action to end the game? Yes. Do I think I am right with my predictions about the future with these two stars? I sure hope so, because I really don’t want Tony to leave.

Washington. Arizona. A re-match of last season’s Pac-12 championship game that Gus Johnson so eloquently commentated on (if you are ever feeling down, watch this. Watch it a lot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEGP6nBiub8). If Arizona wins, they find themselves in a heated battle for first place. If they lose, they are essentially eliminated from the Pac-12 regular season race. The Huskies need to win to keep pace with California at the top of the league. Let’s just say there is A LOT at stake. To keep the momentum going, Saturday is Senior Night for one of Washington’s most decorated players to come through this program in Darnell Gant. The game will also mark beloved senior Brendan Sherrer’s last game in Hec Ed as Husky. As icing on the cake, Isaiah Thomas, Mr. Cold Blooded himself, began his stay in the Sacramento Kings’ starting lineup on Friday night. So yeah, this game is a pretty damn big deal.

The Basics

Noon. PST. ROOT. Alaska Airlines Arena.

Washington Huskies (18-8; 11-3) Arizona Wildcats (19-8, 10-4)

MORE AFTER THE JUMP!

A couple years ago, when the Sonics asked the city of Seattle to help generate revenue to help fund a renovation of Key Arena, the city and its politicians replied with a mighty chorus of “No, no, and no.” And guess what happened? The team skipped town and left Sonics fans staring at Seattle mayor Greg Nickels in disbelief. 41 years of history. Gone.

Now fast forward to the present. Long story short, San Francisco business man Chris Hansen has rallied a group of private investors to shell out possibly $800 MILLION to a) purchase NBA and NHL teams and b) help build a $500 Million arena.

First thought: That is a lot of money. So much money I have to sit and reflect how much money that really is. I mean, sheesh. This small army of businessmen basically donating that kind of money to the city of Seattle is almost incomprehensible.

But is this too good to be true? To complete this project, $200 Million needs to come from tax revenue.

“Haha,” Seattle granola-cruncher man says. “We’ve got you now! No way I’m voting to increase my sales tax to fund a stupid arena! I win!”

But wait, Mr. Seattle granola-crunching man. Did you know that this $200 Million will come at no cost to the taxpayer?

“How is that?” replies granola-cruncher, spilling his Frappuccino on his scarf.

Well, it’s pretty simple. The money would be generated through rent payments and existing taxes, including revenue generated by the arena through sales, property, ticket and admissions, B&O and parking taxes. So in essence the arena would pay for itself after being built.

“But um, well, that’s stupid that we would use $200 Million to fund an arena! Why not use it for statues of artists or bike lanes? You know… important stuff?” replies granola-cruncher as he is starting to sweat.

Easy. Seattle mayor Mike McGinn insisted that the money would not exist if not for the arena project.

“Uh…”

Yeah, that’s what I thought. This is a sports fan (Hansen) doing something great for other sports fans. It will not affect the average Seattle citizen negatively regarding taxes and money.

Granola-crunchers, you have no excuse. Buy in. Only good can come out of a new, state of the art basketball/hockey/concert/any event you can think of arena.

Believe it. We’ve come this far. Why stop now?

- Nathan Parsons (@nathanparsons98)

Initial (Over)Reactions

It is games like these that make me wonder “why is Hec Ed so special?” Games like this also make me think, “Wow, the Pac-12 is really bad. How is ASU not in last place?” The Dawgs ran Arizona State out of the building tonight, lead by the three-headed monster of C.J. Wilcox, Terrence Ross and Tony Wroten. The dynamic trio is at full force with a healthy Wilcox, as they combined for 45 points on just 35 shots.

The Huskies left ASU with no hope after the first twenty minutes, finishing the half on a 17-4 run to go up 44-26. The Sun Devils did themselves no favors in the first half, as UW outscored them on points off turnovers 18-4 as ASU had 12 turnovers.

We should all forget the last eleven minutes of the second half, as it was a joke. The Huskies inexcusably took their foot off the gas and allowed Arizona State to continuously chip away at the lead and only lose by single digits. The defense in the second half was lazy enough to allow an ASU team that averages barely over 60 points a game, to put up 43 in a single half.

MORE AFTER THE JUMP!

The Dawgs return to the friendly confines of Alaska Airlines Arena to face the Arizona schools this week. First up, Arizona State. The Sun Devils are essentially the same team that the Huskies faced two and a half weeks ago, with one exception: Trent Lockett is back. UW is looking to stay tied with California at the top of the standings, as the Bears take on a strong Oregon team tonight.

The Basics: 

8:00 p.m. PST. Alaska Airlines Arena. ROOT.

Washington Huskies (17-8; 10-3)       Arizona State Sun Devils (8-17; 4-9)

MORE AFTER THE JUMP!

                                                                                     Photo Credit: KING 5 News


Update 10:45 pm: The Seattle Times is now reporting that a City Hall official has said the press conference still is not finalized. Officials are tying up loose ends tonight trying to make this happen tomorrow. But, there is still a chance there will be no press conference.

Sources tell KING 5 and the Seattle Times that Christopher Hansen, the hedge fund manager from San Francisco, is in Seattle and will announce his arena proposal tomorrow at a press conference scheduled for 2 p.m. Hansen was said to have met with the Seattle City Council tonight to discuss his proposal for a new arena south of Safeco Field. This has the potential to be a major development in luring a NBA and/or NHL team to Seattle as soon as next season. Both league commissioners have said a new arena plan must be finalized before they even think about coming to Seattle. 

Tonight, Sports Radio KJR's Mitch Levy has been saying on Twitter that this arena proposal involves no public funding whatsoever. The taxes would involve admission and property taxes, both of which are not required to be paid by taxpayers, nor are they considered public funding. Levy is also reporting Hansen will not be attending the press conference, rather, it will just be Mayor Mike McGinn and the Seattle City Council there to make an announcement. Hansen still wants to lay low and not become a distraction.

In regards to the funding of the arena, Levy reports that Hansen and his investors might be spending upwards of $280 million of private money into the project. That would be more private money than any other arena except the Staples Center and Madison Square Garden, says Levy.

As of right now, this arena proposal is a win-win for fans. There are no public taxes being proposed and the investor, Hansen, seems to be committed to this project for the long term. Now, the matter of drawing teams to Seattle is still unresolved. Even if this arena plan is finalized, there is no guarantee yet that an NBA or NHL team will come next season, or even in the next few years. But, having an arena plan in place, with a set timetable for construction would be a huge plus.

Both the NBA and NHL have said that in order to have a team in Seattle, a new arena proposal must be finalized. This is why the news today is crucial. The sooner the deal is done the better for Seattle fans. Once this occurs, the pressure shifts to the NBA and NHL. It's their move. They said teams would have a good chance of coming to Seattle with a new arena. The onus would be placed on those leagues to set the wheels in motion on basketball and hockey in Seattle as soon as next season.

There are still a lot of loose ends to tie up. But today's news is a huge step in the right direction. 

- Alex Gallant (@Alex_Gallant)