Permit us to bloviate some on the death of David Halberstam today in a car crash, which is utter bullshit considering that the guy reported from fricking Vietnam and he dies in a traffic accident in San Mateo (the car that hit him driven by, in a terrible irony, a Berkeley journalism student) (actually, I'm an idiot, his driver was a Berkeley student, so there's no irony, just terribleness). Halberstam's Summer of '49, about the......

After Felix Hernandez' terrible eight-inning reign, the A's won't be contesting Jarrod Washburn's accession to the mound. What a performance--the best in Mariner opening day history, and one of the best in opening day history period. ESPN says Hernandez is the first pitcher to record 12+Ks and not give up a run on Opening Day since Bob Gibson did it in 1967. Later that year, Gibson won games one, four, and seven of the World......

--If you try to light people on fire, 82-year-old Gus Jones will whack you with his cane. Awesome picture in the Times. --New local radio ratings are out, contain more bad news for Air America. --Who let one of the Minutemen teach a class at Western? --PCC's basically no different than Safeway now, but there's a new co-op grocery...in Skyway? --Uptown Espresso in West Seattle could be the second coming of the Algonquin Round Table.......

The almost universal reaction to Howard Schultz's pathetic attempt to spin his sale of the Sonics as the best step for keeping the team in Seattle has been this: how stupid do you think we are? Art Theil: Hey Howard, We're Not Morons. Steve Kelley: Schultz Sold Out Seattle. John McGrath in the Tacoma News Tribune, calls the news conference "fake." Schultz did an interview this morning with KJR's Mitch Levy, in which he......

Two days later, the horrible officiating in Super Bowl XL (led by Bill Leavy, at right) continues to be a major media story. Our take? Sure, there were some bad calls, but the Hawks would have still won had they played better, coached better, and not had some critical injuries. Still: The folks at 12 Seahawks Street urge you to call the NFL to complain. Or you can sign a petition contending that the game......

Tony Kornheiser, who languished for years as a poor man's Dave Barry until ESPN gave him a sports talk show, has returned to his roots and written a painfully unfunny column denigrating the city of Seattle, in advance of Saturday's Hawks/Skins playoff rumble. Kornheiser, you see, is a D.C. native, and since D.C.'s team is playing Seattle's team, of course the first thing that a sane person like Kornheiser thinks to do is insult Seattle......

Befuddled Bob Weiss, whose sideline body language reminded us of overwhelmed Husky coach Keith Gilbertson, is gone, replaced by Bob Hill. Hill's last team, the 2002-03 Fordham University Rams, posted a 2-26 record (though they did nearly knock off then #25 Dayton). Hill is a safe and underwhelming choice--just like Weiss was. Times columnist Steve Kelley rips Sonic president Wally Walker a new one here. Times reporter Percy Allen asks "Who is Bob Hill?" here.......

Sonics Lose Opener: The season got off to rather poor start, after the Sonics did everything wrong in the final few minutes of last night's opener, and lost to the Los Angeles Clippers of Anaheim 101-93. Not very promising, it was of course only the first of 82 games, and last year the Sonics started their season by getting blown away by the same Clipper squad. Steve Kelley, however, says it is time to panic.......

Seahawks starting safety Ken Hamlin won't be hurling his body at opposing ballcarriers anytime soon. His head is broken after someone beat the hell out of him in front of a Pioneer Square club. Hamlin, according to witnesses, started the fight, but he evidently was not the one who finished it. Hamlin's got a brain clot and a fractured skull and is lucky to be alive. Best wishes for a speedy recovery. According to S.P.D.......

In the view of Sonics players, excellent three-point-shooting is the team's best chance to beat heavily-favored San Antonio in their best-of-seven Western Conference Semifinal playoff series. In game one, however, two of their top marksmen, Ray Allen and Vladimir Radmanovic sprained their ankles. Had the Sonics won, it might have been called a Pyrrhic victory. Instead, not only was their offense crippled, but they suffered a humiliating 22-point loss. Not so much a Pyrrhic victory......

Toward the end of this season's home win against Arizona, University of Washington radio voice Bob Rondeau posited that no Husky athlete had ever done as much to improve a program as Nate Robinson. The influence ended yesterday. Robinson, the Lord of Leaping, won't be back to play his senior season. He's going to enter the NBA draft instead. Steve Kelley of the Times recaps Robinson's UW career, one of the most memorable in......