Time to Stop the Brad Evans Experiment

I am done with the Brad Evans experiment. I know we need someone to play centerback with Chad Marshall, but Evans isn't that guy. He just doesn't have the understanding of the position yet. If the Sounders want him to play the position they should be having him practicing at the position and playing in non league matches, but against MLS opponents Evans shouldn't be playing.

In Saturday's match against San Jose Brad Evans was basically responsible for giving up two goals. The first was a bad first touch followed by a stupid header toward the Sounders goal, which gave Chris Wondolowski an easy finish. On the second goal Evans was completely out of position allowing Innocent Emeghara to get a ball deep on the attack. Evans attempt at a recovery resulted in him falling over and allowing another easy goal.

I know Zach Scott is old, but he does a better job than Evans. The Sounders offense is good but they cant be expected to bail out the defense every week. Giving up easy goals off of stupid mistakes is not a way to win soccer games. Until Evans can play a full 90 without making stupid mistakes he shouldn't be playing centerback.

Lakeside vs Bellevue: Two Basketball Styles Clash

I went to the Washington State High School Basketball Championships again this year. The first game I saw was Bellevue High School against Lakeside High School. It was an interesting matchup. The game turned out to be the most exciting of the three I saw that day. The Lions ended up winning 58-54 and it was as close as the score indicates. On offense the it showcased two very distinct strategies for scoring points.

In 2014-2015, the Lakeside Lions two stars were Daejon Davis and Isiah Brown. The official program showed that those two players each averaged 20+ ppg, while nobody else even managed 10. The offense is all about two guys scoring the rock. During the game the team showed great ball movement and passing, which surprised me. I figured the two scoring threats would dominate the ball and force shots. The Lions passing was designed to move the ball quick and get to Davis and Brown for scoring opportunities. Once the ball made it to them both players did a good job scoring.

Much like his 28.2 ppg suggested, Brown appeared to be more of a pure scorer than Davis. Brown showed the ability to make plays on his own and he definitely wasn't afraid to take a shot. He made more than one impressive athletic play to twist and turn past defenders in the lane. A few times he forced a shot when he really should have passed, but as only a junior in high school this isn't a big deal. When it was all said and done Brown ended up with 31 points. I definitely expect him to play in college somewhere.

The Lions other star, Davis, scored most of his points by taking advantage of what the game gave him. He always seemed to find himself open for a catch and shoot or positioned correctly for an easy put back basket. Despite not making many flashy plays or any that particularly stood out, Davis managed to rake up the points as well. He ended the game with 17.

On the other side, Bellevue looked like the well balanced team their stats indicated. The official program showed that the Bellevue Wolverines had all five starts average over 10.0 ppg. Throughout the game the Wolverines scoring came from several different places. Lots of players scored in this game for Bellevue. Their most consistent scorer was big man Gunther Klimes who scored 21. He collected buckets throughout the game by consistently grinding away on the inside. Nothing as exciting as the Lakeside tandem, but it got the job done. Another Bellevue big man, Mikey Henn, also managed to score with inside play, but he didn't get a large point total because he got into foul trouble and spent a lot of time on the bench. In the fourth quarter guard Sharif Khan hit several key three pointers to bring the Wolverines back into the game. He scored 14 for the game.

This game highlighted the two common strategies for basketball offense. The first, which was used by Lakeside, is a star focused scoring attack. The second, which Bellevue used, is a team driven method, which relies on the ability of anyone to be the nights star, depending on what the other team gives them. You see both of these style all the way up to the NBA. In the history of basketball neither has been definitively proven to be better than the other. Coaches, commentators, and fans will continue to debate the merits of each for years to come. The Bellevue versus Lakeside game was the perfect example of the two strategies pitted against each other. And much like the history of basketball neither strategy proved to be far better than the other.

The Mariners 2015 Season Prevew: A Negative View

I decided to write a negative view and a positive view this year. If you don't want to be brought down off your spring training high don't read the below preview.  I'll post something more upbeat and optimistic about the upcoming 2015 season later.

Well the Mariners have done it again. They followed up a surprise winning season by adding a big name free agent and building up all kinds of preseason hype. This time the free agent is Nelson Cruz and the hype is so big that in Las Vegas they have the third best odds for an AL team to make the World Series. It has all resulted in the city's fanbase starting to dream. However for me it is all just too eerily similar to 2007 and 2009. In the 2007 offseason it was Erik Bedard and talk of finally returning to relevance. In 2009 it was Chone Figgins and the cover of the ESPN the Magazine MLB season preview. You might remember both of the follow up seasons turned into unmitigated 101 loss disasters.  The overselling of the 2015 M's and their constant history of failure has basically turned me into a pessimistic mess. I want to believe this year will be different. I want to believe baseball games will have actually meaning in August. But, I just cant get myself over the hump of pessimism.