NorthWest Sports Blog brings you daily features on Oregon, Washington State, and BC amateur and pro sports teams.
NWSB insider and Portland Trailblazers blogger Blair Thomas brings us his reasons why he loves and hates the Blazers offer sheet to Nicolas Batum. Re-signing him now would be the perfect time in his career to do so. He’s already a fan favorite and will grab a starting spot with a deal like this. On the other hand, he will need to produce more and the Blazers are hoping to avoid a bidding war for Batum.
NWSB Insider and Vancouver Canucks blogger The Flying V – Kevin Vanstone weighs in on the amazing news today for Nucks fans that The Russian Rocket Pavel Bure has been inducted into the 2012 Class of the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame. At 478 career points Bure only sits 7th all time among Canucks players, but boasts the best goal-per-game averages Vancouver has ever seen. Joe Sakic, Adam Oates, and Mats Sundin also go in.
NWSB Insider and Seattle Seahawks blogger Matt Church weighs in with a Seahawks post about the five easiest 2012 NFL matchups that await the team this season. The Seahawks match up with the Rams in week four should be an easy win, if the secondary can shut down Sam Bradford that is. Another easy game with division implications is the week twelve match up with the Arizona Cardinals. Will Matt Flynn be the man?
NWSB Insider and Seattle Seahawks blogger Matt Church brings us a Northwest Player Profile of Seahawks punter Jon Ryan. Ryan was born in Regina Saskatchewan, played at the University of Regina, and got his professional start with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. With the noteriety he gained in the CFL, it didn’t take long for the NFL to come calling. Ryan made his debut with the Grenn Bay Packers before finally landing in Seattle with the Seahawks.
NWSB Insider and Seattle Mariners blogger Clinton Bell weighs in with another M’s Week That Was. Intended to be a fun column, with lots of laughs and other good stuff. Normally it will be a top 10 list, a la David Letterman style. Another bad week for the Mariners in inter-league play. Lost four out of six against the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks, Michael Saunders and Casper Wellls keep hot bats, Felix Hernandez knocks in a pair.
NWSB Insider and Seattle Mariners blogger Brandon Choate gives us his weekly M’s pitching breakdown in the arms under the spotlight segment. Felix Hernandez, Erasmo Ramirez, and Hector Noesi all put up great performances, but only Felix got the win. This goes hand in hand with the way things have been going this season for the starting rotation. Jason Vargas continued his slide with a poor performance.
NWSB Insider and Seattle Mariners blogger Britton Ransford tells us the season long sophomore slump that Dustin Ackley has been going through in 2012. With Ackley tearing the cover off the ball in every level prior to the big leagues, this is cause for concern for the Mariners. Ackley has a new found fondness of striking out that never has plagued him before in his career, and his OBP, and Slugging numbers are down from last year as well.
NWSB Insider and BC Lions blogger Phil The Bartender Slater weighs in with his Week 1 CFL preview for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers vs. BC Lions from BC Place in Vancouver. Fitting that the CFL`s 2012 50 best players had Travis Lulay at the top. So it’s no surprise that he is at the top of this game match-up. No title up for grabs in this week’s tilt but its still a 2011 Grey Cup rematch. Expect Geroy Simon to be great.
NWSB Writer Rick Stella details five Oregon State Beavers that you need to keep an eye on this 2012 college football season. With OSU finally stepping out from the Rodgers brothers’ shadow, it’s time to look at a few players who will play pivotal roles on this year’s squad. Players discussed include Sean Mannion, Malcolm Agnew, and Colby Prince.
NWSB Insider and Vancouver Canucks blogger Richard Hodges weighs in with his ananlysis of the Justin Schultz NHL free agency situation. He’s 21, can’t make more than $925,000 on his entry level contract. The Canucks are simply his best shot to win the cup, all other factors aside. The rumoured favourites for Schultz’s services are the, the Oilers, the Blackhawks, the Rangers, and the Maple Leafs.
Free MLB Betting Odds & Picks on the Oakland A’s vs. Seattle Mariners Tuesday night game 2 matchup. The Mariners are -112 home favorites. The over/under is set at 7. Q likes the road team in this one 4-1. Travis Blackley, LHP (1-2, 3.89 ERA) vs. Jason Vargas, LHP (7-7, 4.66 ERA) in this one. Big surprise here. Seattle is continuing to sink the AL West.
NWSB Insider Brandon Choate brings us his weekly Fantasy Baseball recap of your Seattle Mariners. Felix Hernandez is always a safe bet in fantasy with Ichiro Suzuki joining him in those ranks right off the bat. Kyle Seager was the man of the week while the rest of the team could not hold a candle to the young third baseman. This includes Justin Smoak who has gone cold…again.
