The chronically East Coast-focused ESPN crowned Cleveland the most tortured fan base in all of sports last year, before the collective treachery and vindictiveness of the unholy Schultz-to-Bennett takeover cost us our oldest franchise. With the advent of this past weekend's debacle in Buffalo, it’s time for Cleveland to step aside. There’s a new redheaded stepchild on the professional sporting block and its name is Seattle. Now that O’Dea High School alumni Nate Burleson,......

We've been reading and rereading Hawks/Packers stuff all week. Here the few things we think are important about Saturday's game: 1) The Hawks' Patrick Kerney made the Pro Bowl this year for terrorizing quarterbacks, but he may not be much of a factor in this game. The Packers gave up the fewest sacks of any NFL team--not because they have a terrific offensive line, but because they designed their offense that way. Brett Favre often......

Not sure we've ever seen a win for which the credit belongs so overwhelmingly to the defense. For most of the game, the Seahawks' defensive line was able to get pressure with only four rushers. By establishing that, they were able to drop guys back into coverage, which led to the two pick sixes. The offense? The special teams? Not so great. But let's enjoy this one for now, shall we? Here's the scene at......

Good God. Receiver Nate Burleson agrees that it looks a little like Hitler's mustache (we think it's more "obsequious French maitre'd"), and says he wants it hidden during team meals, "I told him, 'Matt, come on, I'm eating. Let me finish my meal before we make any more eye contact with the mustache.'" via Sportable and DC Sports Bog. UPDATE: Hasselbeck shaved the mustache off, telling reporters: "It was really bad. In fact, my......

This is the Seahawks recipe for success from now until they rebuild the offense: stifling defense, good special teams play, and an offense that capitalizes on turnovers and doesn't make mistakes. Defense: Darryl Tapp--who broke his hand during the game, but returned after being outfitted with a massive cast--tied a team record with four sacks in the game. He also forced a fumble, thanks in no small part to his cast. Special Teams: Nate Burleson......

All-star surgeon James Andrews fixed Matt Hasselbeck's torn labrum yesterday. Hasselbeck's played with the injury, which is in his non-throwing shoulder, for three seasons, but it apparently got too troublesome. Hasselbeck's out for six months--he'll be back by exhibition season, but he'll miss the minicamp where he was hoping to get his timing down with Nate Burleson and Deion Branch. Damn labrums. Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus calls a labrum tear baseball's most fearsome injury.......

Even before we got drunk during last night's game, we felt like we were in some substance-induced hysteria. Just a weird, weird game. We don't think people are grasping just how unusual the weather at Qwest Field was. Not only was it the coldest ever for a Hawks home game (obviously, the years in the Kingdome weren't much competition), the 34-degree temp would've been the 2nd coldest recorded game temperature ever at Husky Stadium. It......

Bill Simmons (a.k.a. "The Sports Guy") of ESPN isn't impressed with the Seahawks' trade for Deion Branch. We'll take his rant with a grain of salt because Simmons thinks the sun shines out of the assholes of the Patriots front office, but here it is: Seattle made one of the all-time panic trades, barely beating the Lions in Detroit, then panicking and ponying up an unprotected No. 1 for Deion Branch 24 hours later. Now,......

The 2006 Seahawks schedule was released this morning. They open at Detroit, and have two home Monday night games-- vs. Oakland on November 6th, and vs. Green Bay on Nov. 27th. A few Hawks are making international waves. DE Bryce Fisher, a graduate of the Air Force Academy, is on a USO tour. Here he is in Afghanistan. Some practice squad guys are doing well in NFL Europe. QB Gilbran Hamdan was named offensive player......

Last week the Minnesota Vikings shanghaied Pro Bowl guard Steve Hutchinson from the Seahawks by including a "poison pill" in his contract--a provision specifying that Hutchinson had to be the top-earning offensive lineman on the team; a provision the Seahawks couldn't match. We wondered how ridiculous these clauses could get. And the Seahawks have answered that question. In their offer to Vikings' receiver Nate Burleson, they included a clause that would make the contract guaranteed......