• The American League lost 5-1 to the National League last night, meaning the N.L. will get homefield advantage. This is bad news, because if the Mariners make the World Series and if it goes to seven games, only three games will be played at Safeco Field. But I guess I'm getting ahead of myself. Pineda was dominant in his one inning pitched in the third inning, striking out Scott Rolen and Rickie Weeks. League gave up a run in the seventh inning. Real baseball games start back up on Thursday.

• First half report card for Mariners pitchers by Lookout Landing. It's mostly happy news, except for the part about Josh Lueke.

• Storm 79, Mystics 71 [box]: Sue Bird and Swin Cash both went for over 20 points. Storm 7-4, fourth place, .5 games back. Next game, Thursday at the San Antonio Stars 6:00 p.m. PT.

• Coach Sark landed a four-star linebacker named Jeremy Castro out of Murrieta, CA. He's already a monster at 6'3" 245lbs. See some video here.

• The Husky basketball team was spotted at North Seattle Community College by Montlake Madness. Read their in-depth thoughts here. 

--Kevin Cacabelos ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )

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• Michael Pineda and Brandon League could pitch for the American League All-Star team in tonight's Midsummer Classic. 5:00 p.m., FOX, 710 ESPN

• Jeff Sullivan from Lookout Landing hands out his first-half grades to Mariners position players. Hint: it's not a report card you'd show your parents.

• Grab your sunglasses because the future is bright in Seattle sports. Thank the youth.

• ESPN's John Clayton doesn't think Matt Hasselbeck wants to play for the Tennessee Titans or the Minnesota Vikings. Do you want Hasselbeck under center next season for the Seahawks?  

• Nate Robinson would consider trying to play in the NFL if the NBA continued to be locked out. Why not? He was an absolute terror on the field in high school. I'll say it once and I'll say it again: Nate Robinson is the most talented athlete to ever come out of the state of Washington.

--Kevin Cacabelos ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) no comments

• A's 2, Mariners 0 [box]: The Mariners had no offense, Jason Vargas pitched above-average and the Mariners lost. Third baseman Kyle Seager will make his big league debut on Friday for the Mariners. Seager, Ackley's former teammate at UNC, is a crucial piece to the Mariners organization moving forward. It'll be fun to watch him develop in the big leagues. Mariners 43-44, third place, 3.5 games back. Next game, today at Los Angeles at 7:05 p.m. PT.

• What's wrong with Franklin Gutierrez's bat? 

• Local sports journalist Seth Kolloen wrote a featured piece on ESPN.com's Grantland about The King's Court. I'm wondering if the King's Court is living off a novelty effect right now, and if that novelty effect will disappear in the near future. 

• The Husky Haul had the chance to interview Jernard Jarreau, one of the lesser-known basketball recruits of the incoming 2011 recruiting class.

• Peyton Siva could make the jump to the NBA after his junior season, at least that's what Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino thinks. Siva will need to improve his three-point shooting and take care of the basketball better to get some looks at the next level. 

On TV/Radio today: Mariners vs. Oakland (7:05 p.m. PT, ROOT/710 ESPN)
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• Mariners 4, A's 2 [box]: Felix dominated Oakland for all eight innings he pitched. There were two loyal King's Court members stationed in Oakland's left field bleachers during the game; they witnessed a four hit and ten strikeout performance by King Felix. Despite holding the A's to one run and despite a go ahead Dustin Ackley home run in the seventh inning, Oakland tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning after left fielder Carlos Peguero was unable to catch a bloop single. The Mariners eventually won in extra innings after Ichiro disrupted a double play attempt that allowed Franklin Gutierrez to score from third. Mariners 43-43, third place, 2.5 games back. Next game, today at Oakland at 12:35 p.m. PT.

• Fever 81, Storm 61 [box]: You think the Storm are missing Lauren Jackson? It's also hard to win games when you turn the ball over 19 times. Storm 5-4, fourth place, 2 games back. Next game, Saturday against the LA Sparks at 7:00 p.m. PT.

• There is actually real tangible momentum in the legislature to get an arena built in the Seattle-area. This is better than no news at all.

• Gonzaga and Butler just agreed to a home-and-home series that will pit the two top mid-majors against each other on a yearly basis. I guess the question is, who is the better Bulldog? 

• Sonic great Dale Ellis believes he's the best shooter of all-time. Ray Allen would like to punch him in the face.

On TV/Radio today: Mariners vs. Oakland (12:35 p.m. PT, ROOT/710 ESPN)

--Kevin Cacabelos ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )

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• Mariners 2, A's 1 [box]: Justin Smoak's seventh inning doubled broke a 1-1 tie and gave the Mariners victory over the Oakland A's. The recently snubbed Michael Pineda pitched six innings, striking out seven and only giving up one earned run. Mariners 42-43, third place, 2.5 games back. Next game, today at Oakland 7:05 p.m. PT.

• Sounders 0, Galaxy 0 [match stats]: Unfortunately, the Sounders couldn't come out with a win, but a tie against the best team in the league on the road is a worthy result. Sounders 8-4-8, third place. Next game, Sunday at Portland 1:00 p.m. PT.

• Lorenzo Romar and his coaching staff have their eyes on Parker Cartwright, a small point guard out of Loyola HS in Los Angeles, CA. I had the chance to watch Cartwright back in January and came away impressed by his calm demeanor, soft shooting touch and quickness. Cartwright is still small at 5'7", but is still growing as he enters his sophomore year for the 2011-12 school year.

• Doug Pacey at the News Tribune compiled the 23rd Annual All-Sports Championships Results. Bellarmine Prep and Kamiakan won their classifications for 4A and 3A respectively.

• Quarterback Jason Thompson from Kennedy HS was offered by Washington two weekends ago. Thompson will probably play Safety or LB at the next level. You can read an interview we did with him last fall here.

On TV/Radio Today: Mariners vs. Oakland (7:05 p.m. PT, ROOT/710 ESPN), Storm at Indiana (6:00 p.m. PT, 1090)

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• Braves 5, Mariners 3 [box]: Dustin Ackley hit a two-run home run in the eight inning to bring the Mariners within two runs, but the Braves bullpen mowed through the Mariners offense and helped Atlanta complete a three-game sweep over Seattle. Eric Wedge got himself thrown out of the game in the bottom of the second inning after arguing balls and strikes.  Erik Bedard was sent to the 15-day DL with a sprained knee. Mariners 39-42, third place, four games back. Next game tomorrow at 7:10 p.m. PT against the San Diego Padres.

• The St. Louis Cardinals have released former-Mariner Ryan Franklin. His goatee didn't appreciate the booing earlier this season.

• I'd never wear the Seahawks neon green uniforms in public, however, I don't think they are THAT bad. I could live with it as an alternate jersey. What do you think?

• It will take 8 to 12 weeks for Lauren Jackson, the reigning WNBA MVP to recover from the hip surgery she will undergo today. The Storm will need to somehow replace her production during her absence. Although, Jackson might make it back in time for the playoffs. 

• Eric Byrnes surprised Harold Reynolds on the MLB Network yesterday. Byrnes carried it all out in typical Eric Byrnes fashion. Former Mariner hilarity here.

Kevin Cacabelos ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )

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• Braves 5, Mariners 4 [box]: Despite Ichiro's first home run of the season, the Mariners were unable to beat Atlanta. Michael Pineda ended up loading the bases in the seventh inning and his replacement, Aaron Laffey gave up a game-tying single. Mariners 39-41, third place, three games back. Next game today against Atlanta at 12:40 p.m. PT.

• Nick Franklin, a prized infield prospect within the Mariners prospect suffered a bad injury on Monday night. Luckily, he didn't fracture anything.

• Leon Washington and the Seattle Seahawks were both nominated for ESPY's. The Seahawks playoff win over the Saints is nominated for "Best Upset," while Leon Washington's two kickoff returns for touchdowns against the San Diego Chargers is nominated for the "NFL Strongest Performance Award." You can cast your vote here.

• Sounders Head Coach Sigi Schmid was mentioned in a New York Times blog post as a possible candidate to eventually replace current U.S. National Team Head Coach Bob Bradley.

• This was in the Seattle Times earlier, but if you haven't heard yet, Ingraham High School is receving a huge gym/athletic facility renovation courtsey of ESPN. Ingraham's basketball court is a joke. I'm glad it will finally get fixed. The school will need this to boost the morale around their athletic programs.

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• Braves 3, Mariners 1 [box]: The M's dipped below .500 after failing to get anything going offensively. I was at the game yesterday and noticed an abnormally large contigent of away fans. In fact, Atlanta's Brian McCann elicited a loud response from the crowd at Safeco Field. Like most games when the Mariners are playing bad, the most exciting part of my night was when the hydroplane race took place. Unfortunately Yellow did not beat Red and my buddy rubbed it in my face. 

• Seth Kolloen from Sports Press NW doesn't believe Jack Zduriencik should make any drastic moves this summer that could negatively effect the overall rebuilding plan. I tend to think Jack Z is way smarter than Bavasi, and I hope he sees that winning right now isn't necessarily the ultimate goal. 

• The Seattle Storm are without Lauren Jackson for a couple of months. Thankfully, the team has statistically proven to be decent without their star forward. 

• The California Bears are starting to become the favorite to win the Pac-12 in basketball next season. Though I hate to admit it, with returning starters in seniors Jorge Gutierrez and Harper Kemp along with sophomore Allen Crabbe, the Bears are going to be dangerous next season. UCLA will be hurting with the loss of Malcolm Lee and Tyler Honeycutt and UW will be a completely different team without Isaiah Thomas. On the other hand, the Bears are returning three starters that were productive last season. 

• Who are the top five most popular athletes in Seattle right now? Two are from the Mariners, one is from the Seahawks, one is from the Storm and one is from the Sounders. Read my feature at SB Nation Seattle to find out names.

--Kevin Cacabelos ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) no comments

• Nationals 6, Mariners 5 [box]: Fans don't want to relive this game. The M's blew a 5-1 lead with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Mariners 37-36, second place, two games back. Next game today at Washington, 7:05 p.m. PT.

• The Huskies will be playing Nebraska, again. This time it'll be minus Jake Locker and it'll be at Nebraska. It's early for predictions, but do you have one?

• Outfielder Ryan Ludwick from the San Diego Padres is garnering interest from the Mariners. Ludwick currently has a line of .255/.322/.355. Carlos Peguero currently has a line of .200/.257/.410. Take your pick.

• A recent recruting website that gained a strong following revealed itself to be completely fake. The author of Summer Hoop Scoop fooled everyone including several top recruiting analysts into thinking he was a legitimate recruiting insider. What's the moral of the story? Recruiting news is a messy business. As for us? We'll only break recruiting news if we've talked to the recruit themselves or confirmed the news with a couple of people close to the recruit. 

• Lorenzo Romar was on 950 KJR yesterday and gave his comments on the recent news around Venoy Overton. What is frustrating about Overton is that he was given a second chance. And he blew it.

• Steve Zakuani has a blog! Interact with the Sounders FC star here.

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Should the Mariners go after Luke Scott of the Balitmore Orioles to solve their problem at left field?

 
Make sure to read our Trufant interview if you haven't yet. We'll have a Sounders midseason review for you tomorrow. See today's links for 6/20/11 after the jump.
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