MLB: Angels at Mariners, Monday – Wednesday; Phillies at Mariners Friday – Sunday (ROOT SPORTS)
PREDICTION: Mariners take Angels series, 2-1, outscoring LA 8-5. Pineda rebounds strong against Philly.
The Mariners get to properly commemorate last weeks 25th anniversary of Ferris Buellers Day Off with a much-needed break Thursday, the teams first day off since May 26. But there is no rest for the weary Phillies, who travel from the East Coast that day only to face Pineda, who will redeem himself after Saturday’s bad outing against Detroit.
MLS: Sounders at Toronto, 4 p.m. Saturday, (KONG)
PREDICTION: Sounders beat Toronto, 2-1; Disturbing dating debate rattles Emerald City fans
Everyone likes a bit of alliteration, but no one liked the “dramatic derby draw” that was Saturday night’s match against MLS expansion newbie Vancouver. Sounders fans take the teams road trip as a chance to voice their discomfort over the fact that defender Jeff Parke a guy who says he likes the color of blood has a higher eBay bid amount than Brad Evans in this summers Date with a Sounder. (If this were an English footie team with a similar penchant for alliteration, they’d have called it “Snog a Sounder.”)
WNBA: Storm vs. Indiana Fever, 7 p.m. Friday, KeyArena
PREDICTION: Storm over Fever by 3; flop exposed.
The Fever and Storm sport big scorers, big rebounders and big All-Star names. The Fevers Katie Douglas and Tamika Catchings combine to score 45 points. Impressive, but against Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson, it is lacking. Seattles duo puts up 47, including a double-double from Bird. Tight, fast-paced game. Over breakfast at Queen Anne’s Mecca, Bird is overheard agreeing with Jacksons assertion that the evolution of the WNBA is positive, but the evolving art of the flop is not.
NHL Stanley Cup: Game 6, Vancouver at Boston, 5 p.m. (KONG)
PREDICTION: Bruins force Game 7, win, and Lord Stanley’s silverware goes to Boston.
If Vancouvers Sedin twins havent figured out how to score on Boston goalie Tim Thomas by now, they arent going to figure it out this week. To complicate matters for the Canucks, Roberto Luongos gigantic body in goal once again acts more like sieve than plug. Poor guy leaves Game 6, looks for property in the Boston neighborhood of Somerset and develops a nasty cough, a la Dirk Nowitzki, to avoid going back to Vancouver to lose in in Game 7.