NorthWest Sports Blog brings you daily features on Oregon, Washington State, and BC amateur and pro sports teams.
NWSB Editor Bryant Knoxs takes us on a trip down memory lane by recapping the Portland Trail Blazers’ all-time starting lineup. Bill Walton, Maurice Lucas, Clifford Robinson, Clyde Drexler and Terry Porter make the cut. There’s no one way to determine the best player at each position, but the Blazers are a proud franchise with a proud fanbase, and there are a handful of players who will be remembered as long as the organization is around.
NWSB Editor and Insider Chris Anderson gives you his opinion on the first four games on Seattle’s schedule in 2013. While all four are undoubtedly tough matchups for Seattle, Chris predicts that Seattle will go 3-1 over the time span, especially with two back-to-back home games in the mix. He predicts their first loss will come in their fourth game of the season against the Houston Texans, who they play on the road.
NWSB Insider and Seattle Mariners blogger Clinton Bell tells us to him the best “MY oh MY” play of the ninth week of the year had to be the two homerun game by Nick Franklin against the San Diego Padres. The M’s rallied around the King to pick up the get away day matinee at Petco Park. The bats were out in full force as the Mariners hit five homers on the day, but the real story here was rookie Nick Franklin going deep for the 1st and 2nd time in his young career.
NWSB Insider and Seattle Seahawks’ blogger Jonas Hyde gives you his two cents on how he thinks the Seahawks will do in the upcoming year. Airing on the side of caution and attempting to bring Seattle fans down from the clouds, Jonas points out the parody in the NFL and how things never go as expected, predicting that the Seahawks will struggle in 2013 and go a mediocre 7-9. Let’s just hope, as he mentions, his predictions are wrong.
NWSB Editor and Insider Chris Anderson talks about 5 underrated players on the Oregon Ducks’ football team heading into 2013. Now an annual college football powerhouse, the Ducks are once again loaded and primed for a run at the Pac-12 and BCS National Championship. Star players such as Marcus Mariota, De’Anthony Thomas, and Ifo Ekpre-Olomu give Oregon quite the potency on both offense and defense. Yet it is not just their efforts that will bring them to glory.
NWSB Editor and Insider Chris Anderson previews the next five games on Seattle’s schedule. The Mariners will host the Chicago White Sox for a three-game series starting tonight before hosting the New York Yankees beginning on Thursday. With Felix and Iwakuma over their struggles and Saunders performing well at Safeco, Seattle will look to turn things around and get the organization headed in the right direction. We’ll see if Bonderman and Harang can keep progressing as well.
NWSB Insider and Vancouver Canucks’ blogger Bryan McFarlane talks about a five other changes the Vanucks need to make if they want to see themselves to greater success in the coming years. Most cities would be happy to have a coach who could win as many games as AV did in his time with the Canucks. But most cities aren’t this big of a hockey market. The pressure to perform each year seems to grow and grow. And of course we all know the definition of insanity: to do the same thing over and over but expect a different result. Thus change is needed, in a big way, in Vancouver.
NWSB Insider and BL Lions’ blogger Bryan McFarlane talks about five players to keep your eye on if you’re paying close attention to the BC Lions this year, they may just surprise you! With the great threat of Andrew Harris in the backfield, he keeps opposing defenses on alert and frees up a bit of space in the secondary for Lulay to pick apart. So even though the orange and white will be without their beloved fan-favorite Simon, don’t expect this season to be a let down in the passing game.
NWSB Insider and Seattle Seahawks Blogger Brett Bivens takes us on a trip down memory lane, recapping the five biggest draft busts in Seahawks’ history. Brian “The Boz” Bosworth, Dan McGwire, Rick Mirer, Chris McIntosh and Aaron Curry make the list. Marcus Tubbs nearly made the list as well. Let’s just hope that the Seahawks don’t add to this list for a very long time. We’ll see how Christine Michael pans out soon enough.
NWSB insider and OSU blogger gives us his predictions for the Beaver’s top underrated players on offense heading into the 2013 football season. Making the list are Richard Mullaney, Chris Brown, Caleb Smith and Gavin Andrews. If these four can step up in the upcoming season, OSU’s offense could be unstoppable.
NWSB insider and Mariner blogger Jon Irwin gives us his take on why Brendan Ryan deserves to stay with Seattle for the long-term. With so many roster changes happening to the M’s, fans are dieing for some offense. And even though Ryan has some ugly offensive numbers, Jon’s here to tell you the 31 year old’s defense is more than reason enough for the team to keep him in the Pacific Northwest.
NWSB Editor and Insider Chris Anderson talks about the top 5 games on Seattle’s schedule that you must tune into this next season. With the Seahawks priming themselves for a run at the NFC and the Super Bowl, there will be plenty of opportunities for other teams to play the role of the spoiler next year. Among Seattle’s top opponents in 2013 are San Francisco, Houston, and Indianapolis. Tune in!
