in 2012, Richard Sherman doctored up and tweeted out a photo after the Seahawks beat the Patriots 24-23 in Seattle. Apparently, Brady is over the taunt. / Associated Press via Sherman Twitter account As they prepare for the San Francisco 49ers Sunday, personnel news hasn’t been great for the Seahawks. Starting TE Gerald Everett was placed Wednesday on the reserve/COVID-19 list; former WR Josh Gordon, cleared by the NFL to play, spurned Seattle for Kansas City, and former Seahawks star CB Richard Sherman came out of his self-imposed isolation to join QB Tom Brady, at his request, in seeking another…
Author: Art Thiel
Art Thiel
Never having met a metaphor he could not twist beyond recognition, Art has been illuminating, agitating, amusing and annoying Puget Sound sports readers for a long time. Along with Steve Rudman, he co-founded Sports Press Northwest because it didnt seem right that the Google monster should aggregate daily journalism into oblivion without at least a flesh wound from somebody. Thiel and Rudman labored under the Seattle Post-Intelligencer globe until the print edition died an undeserved death in March, 2009. Art continued on at its online successor seattlepi.com while working on SPNWs creation. His radio commentaries can be heard Friday and Saturday mornings and Friday afternoon on KPLU-FM 88.9. In 2003 he wrote the definitive book about the Seattle Mariners, Out of Left Field, which became a regional bestseller. In 2009, along with Rudman and KJR 950 afternoon host Mike Gastineau, Thiel authored The Great Book of Seattle Sports Lists, a cross between historylink.org and Mad Magazine that has become mandatory reading for any sports fan who has an indoor bathroom. A graduate of Pacific Lutheran University as well as two dead papers and a live one, the News Tribune of Tacoma, he has become a fan of entrepreneurial online journalism because it allows him to continue a lifelong passion to take the English language to places it rarely visits willingly, and does not involve the cleaning of kennels or stables.
Then-Seahawks CB Shaquill Griffin made a game-saving pass defense in a 27-24 overtime win over the 49ers in a 2019 game. / Drew McKenzie, Sportspress Northwest To all who believe that the Seahawks defense is wafer-thin, consider that a year ago after the third game, they had surrendered an average of 497 yards and 28.7 points a game. After three games this season, they are at 440.3 and 26.3. Does anyone appreciate the improvement? Nooo. All the critics focus on is niggling details like the win-loss differential: 3-0 vs. 1-2. Go ahead and mock this season’s defense; they’re ahead of…
After a reception, Seahawks WR Tyler Lockett was tackled awkwardly and torqued his left knee, forcing him from the game temporarily. / Rod Mar. Seattle Seahawks In his post-game scrum Sunday with the media, Pete Carroll was a tad saltier than most of his players had been on the field. “You guys will write whatever you think is going on,” said the Seahawks coach, “but you don’t know.” Probably true. But that isn’t the question. The question is what, if anything, Carroll and his staff know about one of dorkiest games the Seahawks played during his tenure.
It took a long replay review to declare Huskies RB Sean McGrew (5) scored a touchdown in overtime to beat Cal, 31-24 Saturday at Husky Stadium. / Art Thiel, Sportspress Northwest Ahead 24-10 halfway through the third quarter in their first Pac-12 Conference game of the season, the Washington Huskies seemed poised to deliver proof at Husky Stadium that the early season embarrassments were solved. By the end, in overtime, their harrowing 31-24 triumph (box) over the Cal Bears provided a 1-0 conference start, but little assurance that the Huskies (2-2) were more than a wobbly team in the middle…
WR Tyler Lockett is second in the NFL in receiving yards. / Drew McKenzie, Sportspress Northwest It’s easy to suggest that the proximate cause of the come-from-ahead stunner home loss to Tennessee Sunday was 10 penalties. But the solution for the Seahawks, NFL leader in crimes of taunting, is as easy as turning the other cheek — literally. The new rules call for turning away from the opponent before commencing gyrations and histrionics. Silly, yes, but the ask is not as difficult, say, as solving the Middle East. To beat the Vikings (0-2) in Minneapolis Sunday, the Seahawks’ reduction in…
The Seahawks home-opener celebration was great, until it wasn’t. / Drew McKenzie, Sportspress Northwest A year ago at this time, the defense had more leaks than an adobe submarine. The Seahawks gave up 506 yards in Atlanta in the opener, 464 yards next week against New England and 522 in week three against Dallas. Fortunately for the beleaguered outfit, Russell Wilson was cooking on offense. The Seahawks won all three games. You probably remember the rest of the saga: They reached 5-0, defenses wised up to the Seahawks offense, which fell off, but was rescued by a defensive renaissance, and…
Derrick Henry was a bad match-up for any Seahawk, especially defensive backs. / Drew McKenzie, Sportspress Northwest Sunshine, big lead, innovative offense, resolute defense, mistake-free special teams, tra-la, tra-la. Following a 48-second touchdown drive that covered 75 yards, the Seahawks went into halftime up 24-9 as the first sellout crowd since 2019 offered them a riotous salute that evoked the old audio disruptions. “It might have been,” said Titans safety Kevin Byard, “the loudest stadium I’ve ever played in.” The only thing missing was an awareness that a good Tennessee Titans team just played six consecutive crappy quarters to start…
Hey, a celebration in Husky Stadium. Remember? TE Cade Otton started things off on Washington’s second possession with a 13-yard touchdown reception. / Drew McKenzie, Sportspress Northwest Since the conclusion of the Washington Huskies’ unpleasantness in Ann Arbor, I kept thinking about a scene in the film Airplane! when flight attendant Elaine Dickerson addresses a cabin full of a skittish passengers. Ladies and gentlemen, this is your stewardess speaking. We regret any inconvenience the sudden cabin movement might have caused. This is due to periodic air pockets we encountered. There’s no reason to become alarmed, and we hope you enjoy…
Mariners majority owner John Stanton is flanked by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and Mariners president of business operations Catie Griggs Thursday at the Space Needle for the announcement that Seattle has been awarded the 2023 All-Star Week. / Alan Chitlik, Sportspress Northwest The Seattle bid had been in MLB’s hands for a few years. The target date varied from 2024 to 2027. But when the commissioner’s office called in early spring inquiring whether the city could be ready to host All-Star Week 2023, the Mariners front office hit hyper-drive. “We had to put all the pieces of the puzzle to…
After a year’s hiatus, the audio riot returns to Seahawks games. / Drew McKenzie, Sportspress Northwest Typically the previous game reveals much about the opponent’s status for the pending game. What Pete Carroll saw in the Tennessee Titans film from Sunday was borderline scary. Not the Titans. The division-rival Arizona Cardinals. “I was really attracted by Arizona’s play — they were spectacular,” the Seahawks coach said Wednesday of the Cardinals’ 38-13 win in Nashville. “On offense, they were all over the place, and did a million different things. Defensively, they created so many big plays right from the beginning. It…