I haven’t been following sports too closely lately, but I’m pleasantly surprised at how Seattle’s basketball scene has played out. Last summer the Seattle Storm won the WNBA title. Now the University of Washington Huskies men’s college basketball team is on the verge of winning its first Pac-10 title in 20 years. The Seattle SuperSonics have also been stellar this season in the NBA. As a Seattle sports fan I’m used to letdowns and disappointments, late season meltdowns and bonehead roster moves. It’s finally nice to see that two area teams have overachieved this season. I wish their mojo would rub off on the Mariners, but I’m not optimistic the M’s will do well this season. All the best M’s players (except Ichiro) now play for the New York Mariners…er Yankees. I would not be surprised in the least if Ken Griffey, Jr. ends up in pinstripes too.
The #10 Huskies demolished the University of California Golden Bears 106-73 last night to improve their record to 24-4. They are tied with the University of Arizona Wildcats for a share of first place in the Pacific 10 Conference. If they beat the Stanford Cardinals, they could win the conference outright if Arizona loses or if they have a better record against the Pac 10’s third-place team. It’s quite a change from the 1990’s, when Huskies football was the only college game in town. The football team is terrible now, so the men’s basketball team has stepped in to give Husky fans something good to root for. The women’s basketball team has also done well in recent years, although they were disappointing this season. The Huskies should be ranked #1 or #2 in the NCAA Tournament. An NCAA championship would be great, but I’ll settle for a Pac-10 championship.
The Seattle SuperSonics have also been a joy to watch this year. The team wasn’t expected to contend for an NBA title, but now it’s March already and they’re 12 games up in the Pacific Division. Other teams such as the San Antonio Spurs have better records, and the Phoenix Suns have been the darling of the NBA this season. Still, I’m glad to see the Supes doing well. It’s better than the alternative! Whether they can translate their dominance during the season to an NBA championship is debatable, but it’s nice for a change to see the Sonics atop the standings.
On a personal note, I fell ill today. The flu bug has been roaming the halls at work, and several people stayed home this week. I really wanted to go home early, but I was too busy. When I got home I slept for several hours. I feel a little better now. I’m planning to have a nice long sleep tonight and hope to be healthy again by Monday.
