UW basketball, baseball season begins

Yesterday's win over UCLA was the kind of game I've been expecting from UW all season. This has been a disappointing season, but I think this a very promising team with a lot of young talent, that should be really good next year. I like their chances in the NIT, and they do still have an outside shot at making the NCAA tournament. They enter the Pac-10 tournament with momentum, and I think if they can reach the title game, they should make the field of 64. Even if they don't, I think the Huskies have a good shot at winning the NIT, which would be nice to have on the mantle heading into next year. I don't know much about this year's recruiting class, so I think I'll have to check that out and get back to you. A lot of next year depends on whether Spencer Hawes returns, and I think it'd be in his best interest to come back for at least one more year. He still has holes in his game, specifically his rebounding intensity and turnovers. With the depth of this year's draft class, I think he'd be better off to work on his game for another year, then leave next year as a top-5 pick, most likely.


Baseball is finally here! Not even an awful offseason for the Mariners can temper my enthusiasm. Here's what I plan on doing soon: I'd like to put out player rankings for fantasy purposes and general debate, take a look at the pre-season win over/unders for MLB, like I did for NFL (Gambling!), and maybe put out previews for some teams that I find interesting, surprising, etc. I'll also probably revise the earlier post I did on the Mariners, with the pitching additions. I don't think there will be much change, but it's worth a shot. For what's it's worth, the Mariners over/under is 76.5 wins, they're 100-1 to win the world series, and 10-1 to win the AL West. Actually, that 10-1 to win the west isn't a bad bet; I think the West looks pretty much even. I think Oakland was kind of lucky last year, and they've taken a step back, I'm not sold on the Angels offense, and Texas is Texas. I also like the over for the Mariners wins.