Seattle

After a disappointing 9-5 loss to Texas Friday night, the Mariners’ losing streak has reached 7. Now at 20-28, the season appears to be slipping slowly away. Rather than discuss how they could improve, let’s take a look at the horror of a losing streak at a glance through some key numbers. Joe Saunders made two poor starts in the streak. David Richard-USA TODAY Sports 34 – The Mariners run deficit over the past seven losses. They’ve been beaten in pretty much every way imaginable. Three walkoffs, two shutouts, and a few complete drubbings. 23 – The Mariners run deficit since leaving Cleveland. The Angels solidly demolished the M’s in two games (Seattle scored one run) and the Rangers handled them at Safeco last night. So how did the Mariners respond to their worst series of the year? About as badly as they possibly could have. 5 – The lowest run total of any Mariner opponent in the streak, from Cleveland’s walkoff win last Saturday. The Mariners pitching has been horrendous in the streak, both starters and bullpen and sometimes both at once (see Tuesday’s 12-0 loss to the Angels). 1 – Quality starts by Mariners pitchers in the seven-game skid. Brandon Maurer delivered it in the 6-3 loss to the Indians that started the streak last Friday. Of course, Maurer also posted a complete stinker on Tuesday which pretty much made up for it. 7 – Mariners home runs in the losing streak. Not a horrible number, but they don’t have one since the final game in Cleveland. That’s what going nearly scoreless in Anaheim will do to a team. .227 – Batting average of Mariners centerfielder Michael Saunders after a hitless night in the leadoff spot Friday. Before the losing streak began, Saunders was hitting .262. He should lose his leadoff spot soon if nothing changes. .287 – Batting average of the Mariners leading hitter, Kendrys Morales, who has raised his average 19 points in the streak and developed into a legit middle of the order bat. 53 – Points by which Brendan Ryan has increased his batting average in the losing streak, getting him over the Mendoza line (.202) last night for the first time since April 13. Some of these numbers are good, most bad. One thing is clear: the Mariners need to win and do it soon. Otherwise, the season will be lost.

Carlos Triunfel, who didn't arrive at the ballpark last night until the middle of the game, having flown in from Reno, starts at second base. And Michael Saunders, mired in an extended slump, drops from first to sixth in the batting order. There are other small changes as well, as the Mariners try to snap a seven-game losing streak.

Jack's Drafts with the Ms There's been a lot of talk this week about Jack's failures in the offseason.  I agree with some and disagree with others, but as the Ms wallow in their annual May losing streak and throw away a lot of the goodwill we have for em, I figured we should talk about where we've been.

Driving to the Sasquatch! Festival on Thursday I opted to skip out on I-90 from Seattle and instead drive way up north and take Route 2. It still gets you where you're going, but the traffic-congested two-and-a-half hour trip you get with 90 becomes an isolated six-hour journey if you choose Rt. 2. It's completely worth it considering what you get instead: over 100 miles of absolutely stunning forests. Bright spring weather shifts into snowy mountains, freight trains chug by, so long they seem to lack a beginning or end - the forest completely surrounds you. It's a real experience Read MoreBlog: Groove Radio PTRelated: Sasquatch! Friday: Vampire Weekend, Macklemore, Youth Lagoon, & MoreLIVE REVIEW: Youth Lagoon and Porcelain Raft @ The Independent, San Francisco 4/13/12Youth Lagoon And Father John Misty Announce Tour DatesVampire Weekend Premiere Diane Young And Step(Scene and Heard) Youth Lagoon and Majical Cloudz at The Bell House

I was perusing some YouTube the other day and ran across these familiar videos - if you'll remember, they were some Nike promotional ads that I think were used in the run-up to the MNF debacle matchup with Green Bay (though I could be misremembering that), and aired prior to and during the pre-game build-up. I remember thinking at the time that pretty much everything about these videos was awesome, except for the goofy Nike catch-phrase 'Seattle is Faster'. For me, it was one of those silly little marketing taglines like Adidas' awful old 'Impossible is Nothing' nonsense-phrase but I was pretty willing to overlook it because this time-lapse-crescendo-tracked HD promo for Seattle and the Hawks was/is goosebump inducing. And frickin' sweet. Anyway, it dawned on me that while last year's 'Seattle is Faster' tagline was pretty lame (particularly because it was supposed to be in reference, I guess, to better technology in the Nike uniforms), it really, really works well this year, because of the additions of Percy Harvin, Cliff Avril, Christine Michael, Chris Harper, Luke Willson, and hopefully the possible development and bigger roles from Robert Turbin, Malcolm Smith, Jeremy Lane, Bruce Irvin, etc and so forth. Seattle has beefed up their 'explosive' element by bringing in elite athletes, as Davis has broken down (and will further expand on) in his SPARQ-rating series, and while a couple of years ago there was no way you could say the Seahawks were a 'high-octane, explosive' team, with the additions the last few months, I really do think that this year, as Nike would put it, 'Seattle is Faster.' A lot faster, actually. Which is pretty damn interesting both from a schematics, 'what can we do with this newly acquired speed element?' to a pure fan, 'god damn this is fun to watch!' point of view. Click 1080p for most viewing enjoyment.

Driving to the Sasquatch! Festival on Thursday I opted to skip out on I-90 from Seattle and instead drive way up north and take Route 2. It still gets you where you’re going, but the traffic-congested two-and-a-half hour trip you get with 90 becomes an isolated six-hour journey if you choose Rt. 2. It’s completely worth it considering what you get instead: over 100 miles of absolutely stunning forests. Bright spring weather shifts into snowy mountains, freight trains chug by, so long they seem to lack a beginning or end — the forest completely surrounds you. It’s a real experience (playing Mount Eerie and Agalloch records loud certainly helps, too) and it sort of sums up what makes Sasquatch! so special. The big sell on a music festival beyond the lineup is the idea that it’s not just about seeing bands you like – it’s the environment, the community, it’s seeing bands you like in this setting. And that’s where Sasquatch! shines over many other festivals, and really delivers. There’s an indescribable feeling when you walk up the steep hill to the main stage, and look down the other side, like it’s the peak of a roller-coaster, for the first time. You get this view, as far as you can see, of mountains, rivers, and valleys — even the massive main stage where Macklemore would headline tonight (more on that soon) looked like a footnote to everything else you’re taking in. It must put everyone, artists and fans alike, in a unique frame of mind. There have already been a few killer shows after one day. Read More...

When draft season comes around people always talk about positional value, with the consensus being that the premium positions are LT, QB, CB, and pass rushers. So it stands to reason that these positions are more valuable because they teams that are great here should be the top teams in the league right? Well these are some interesting things I found after looking at the site that provides the closest you can get to hard data for football on the internet: Pro Football Focus. The table is at the bottom, and here are three things first before they get asked: 1) If a team had an injury at one of these positions or a new starter took over the job mid-season the player with the most snaps was used. 2) This is a reflection of last year's teams that means players that scored exceptionally low or high may no longer be with the teams. 3) The list is sorted from worst final scores to the best with San Diego having the worst players at key spots and Denver leading the league, and the numbers besides their names are indicators of where they ranked based on wins. For example Baltimore won the SB so they are 1, and KC drafted first so they are 32. Interesting fact #1: 13 teams managed to play the year without a bad starter at any of the key positions and they are: St. Louis, Dallas, Oakland, Carolina, Washington, Tennessee, NYG, San Francisco, Atlanta, New England, Seattle, Houston, and Denver. Interesting fact #2: J.J. Watt personally is rated higher than any other individual, and he is ranked higher than 30 of the teams final scores, with his team and Denver being the exceptions. Interesting fact #3: Baltimore made won the Super Bowl and only managed to scrape together a final score of 10.2, the fourth worst on this list. This is possible because the Ravens utilize an efficient ground game, and their best pass rusher was hurt for most of the year. Interesting fact #4: San Diego managed to be the only team to get a negative in EVERY category. The Chargers were bad at all the key positions and still managed to escape drafting in the top ten thanks to a weak division and a few above average performances at home. Interesting fact #5: In these rankings Indianapolis is the lowest rated AFCS team thanks to very good play by the Jaguars LT and Austin Lane their best pass rusher. So what does it all mean? All piece says to me is that the Titans have a very good roster where it counts and they just underperformed. Giving Jake Locker better protection will boost his score, and life should only get easier for the Titans best DE (Derrick Morgan) and their best CB (Jason McCourty) since the Titans have upgraded talent at DT and S. If the Titans manage to play up to their rosters capability then the playoffs aren't out of reach considering the bottom 10 teams on this list play the Titans a combined seven times next year (SD-once, ARZ-once, NYJ-once, IND-twice, JAX-twice) and the Titans will have home field advantage against all five of those teams at some point. table { }td { padding-top: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-left: 1px; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; vertical-align: bottom; border: medium none; white-space: nowrap; }.xl63 { font-size: 10pt; font-family: Calibri; } TEAM LT QB CB Pass Rush Final Score SD (22) -43.4 -4.5 -5.2 -3.5 -56.6 ARZ (26) -38.7 4.7 9.3 -2.6 -27.3 BUF (25) 6.6 -18.6 3.8 10 1.8 BLT (1) -5.9 4.7 3.5 7.9 10.2 NYJ (24) 23.5 -22.1 10 0.3 11.7 CLV (27) 25.6 -30 8.3 8.3 12.2 DET (28) -2.4 9.8 7.4 -1.9 12.9 IND (9) 7.3 8.1 5.5 -0.5 20.4 JAX (31) 21 -4.3 -2.5 7.8 22 PHI (29) 6.6 -11.4 1.5 31.6 28.3 STL (17) 8.6 3.1 6.9 12 30.6 TB (20) 14.9 -3.9 3.8 18.8 33.6 PIT (16) -12.4 34.8 9.8 2.9 35.1 KC (32) 13.8 -4.9 13.7 16 38.6 MIN (10) 15.8

A Troubled Bridge Over (and In the) Water: The Skagit River bridge collapse, as it happened. Goldy had something to say on the political aftermath. Big Argument, Tiny Apartments: Dominic Holden takes issue with aPodment haters. The Right to Bear Gay Husbands: Cienna Madrid looks at some suspicious pro-gun, pro-gay signs that are popping up around Capitol Hill. (And the dopes at Reason, hilariously, took offense at Cienna's post.) You Can Tell They're from Portland By Their Terrible Teeth: Goldy says Portland voters are stoopid. I Apologize for My Gender: Anna Minard explores how to fight street harassment. Hint: It's Not Because the Air Conditioning Failed: You really should read Ansel Herz on "Why They Break Windows." A Literal Shot in the Arm: Brendan Kiley watches someone shoot someone else for the sake of, uh, art. (Plus: More!) Oops: How Dominic Holden accidentally forced Mike O'Brien into a primary fight. More Than One Way to Skin a Rat: What it's like to take a taxidermy class, with plenty of gross pictures. That's (An Appropriate Amount of) Entertainment: On The Great Gatsby, adaptations, and how much entertainment is too much entertainment. Benedict Cumberbatch Is a Marital Aid: That's something commenters are claiming in this spoiler-filled Star Trek Into Darkness review. (Here's Cienna on Cumberbatch's shower scene, too.) Also This Week: The heckle heard round the world: [ Comment on this story ] [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

So, funny thing. When we were a little less than a year away from the wedding, we decided to sign our contract for our rehearsal dinner venue. Why so early, you might ask? I knew our rehearsal dinner venue before I even knew we were getting engaged. It wasn’t even a question for me, so when we were engaged, I asked Sparky if he was on board and he was. Farestart Restaurant—good food, great charity via Seattle Dining There is a local restaurant that serves great food, has a wonderful atmosphere, and, amazingly enough, is a charity. I love to go to the restaurant for lunch when I can, and every Thursday night they have a guest chef night. The reason I love this place so much is that they use the money they make to do something I am very passionate about: help people. Interior of Farestart via William Wright Photography This restaurant takes people who are homeless and/or just generally down on their luck and gives them culinary training over (I think) 10 weeks. They get housing support, they get mental health counseling. At the end of their training, they get support to help them find a job. This is a place where I wanted to do my internship for school because I love it so much. So: our rehearsal dinner money will go to help people in need. It’s amazing and I’m so excited! Was your rehearsal dinner space a last-minute decision or did you do what we did and book it super early?

You have to give the Texas Rangers credit for pulling a fast one on the umpire’s Friday night in Seattle. Seattle’s Jesus Sucre did his best to not be the second out of a double play after his grounder. After successfully converting the force out at second base, Elvis Andrus tossed the ball to first but the ball was intercepted by Texas pitcher Justin Grimm. Mitch Moreland was supposed to grab the ball as he was on first, and it looked like he actually did. Somehow the first base umpire Jeff Nelson called Sucre out at first, and Grimm headed back to the mound like nothing happened. Very odd. [BP] Article found on: Next Impulse Sports