NorthWest Sports Blog brings you daily features on Oregon, Washington State, and BC amateur and pro sports teams.
NWSB Editor Bryant Knox breaks down who the Portland Trail Blazers are expected to draft according to the national media. ESPN, CBS, Sports Illustrated and Hoopsworld are just a few of the publications. Players on Portland’s radar are Shabazz Muhammad, Cody Zeller, Alex Len, Kantavious Caldwell-Pope and the Northwest’s own Kelly Olynyk. With money to spend, free agency will be a hot topic around PDX as well this offseason. Stay tuned.
NWSB Insider and Seattle Seahawks Blogger Erin Acacio breaks down the Seahawks 2013 NFC West schedule. With three prime time games, one against each NFC West foe, the Seahawks have a chance to really make a name for themselves in the rest of the country. The Hawks often get overlooked by an east coast biased national sports media market. The extra “love” this year will finally give them a chance to be seen, and heard nationally.
Bryant Knox previews the Portland Trail Blazers April 5 matchup against the Houston Rockets. The Blazers will be back on national T.V. (ESPN) for the second time in just over a week. Last time didn’t go so well against the Brooklyn Nets, and the team will look to restore its image with a young, energetic roster. The key matchup is going to be at the shooting guard spot. James Harden and Wesley Matthews will have the potential to score a lot of points in a up-tempo system.
NWSB Insider and Vancouver Canucks blogger Kevin “the Flying V” Vanstone weighs in with the first of many 2013 NHL regular season updates. With the new CBA going into effect on Monday, Kevin tells us how this effects the Vancouver Canucks. Namely, the ability to buy out some contracts, and the scrambling to get a full roster of players ready to go for the proposed season opener on January 19th.
NWSB Writer Bryant Knox recaps the biggest ‘What If?’ questions in Portland Trail Blazers franchise history. ESPN recently aired its documentary “Going Big” about the Blazers drafting Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan, but this is just one of many situations in which Portland saw itself moving in a completely opposite direction. Kevin Durant, Larry Bird, Chris Paul and Bob McAdoo could have all been Blazers.
NWSB insider and Seattle Seahawks blogger Phil Slater weighs in today with another coaches decision breakdown. Phil coaches football, so we’ll trust Phil on this one. Let’s get to the bitter truth of this play; the Bills were losing, lackadaisical and a sense of apathy was creeping into their game. Phil says Seahawks coach Pete Carroll exploited weakness’ in the Buffalo Bills like a preying lion. Thoughts?
NWSB Writer Bryant Knox breaks down how the Portland Trail Blazers did in ESPN’s annual NBA Rank. The team’s players range from No. 20 all the way down to No. 460, but the question is, did ESPN get their rankings right? LaMarcus Aldridge led the way at No. 20, Damian Lillard was surprisingly low at No. 211 and Jared Jeffries was surprisingly high at No. 268.
Our Washington State Cougars insider Jordin Ereth weighs in on this week’s football matchup against the UNLV Rebels in NCAA football week 3 action. Jordin says Expect Connor Halliday to let the ball fly often, and let Marquess Wilson make plays down field. Halliday may throw an interception or two in this game, but with the poor defensive of UNLV on the other side of the ball, the reward will greatly outweigh the risk.
NWSB Insider and Seattle Mariners blogger Clinton Bell tells us to him the best “MY oh MY” play of the twenty-third week of the year had to be the defensive gem by Michael Saunders grabing the ball out of the first row of seats. Yes, the ball was foul, but this play took another chance away from Coco Crisp, one of the most dangerous base runners in all of MLB. A true web gem.
NWSB Managing editor and Seattle Seahawks blogger “Q” tells us about the news breaking tonight out of Seattle that Pete Carroll has picked rookie 3rd round pick out of Wisconsin Russell Wilson to be the Seahawks 2012 opening day starting quarterback. Matt Flynn missed most of last week’s practices with tendinitis in his elbow and did not play in the game against the Chiefs. That opened the door WIDE open for Wilson. Who slammed it shut.
NWSB Insider and Washington State Cougars blogger Jordin Ereth gives us five good reasons why Mike Leach was the right choice to turn around the bottom feeder Washington State Cougar football program. First off, his track record speaks for itself. 10 straigh years with a bowl appearence at Texas Tech. The Cougars have only been to ten in the last century! The Texas pipeline will open up new opportunities for the Cougs as well.
NWSB Insider and NHL blogger Alistair Corp tells us today about Vancouver Canucks hard core fans the Green MEN. One of the two die hards Sully is up for an individual award. THE ESPN Hall of Fans finals are underway. Sully and his partner Force first attended a Canucks game in 2009, as a onetime deal. Who knew the Canucks fan passion would take them where they are today?
