Weekend Picks

Washington +14 over Hawaii - Sometimes people focus so much on one aspect of a given game that they forget about the actual game itself. That's what I see happening this game. I understand that Hawaii can pass the ball like crazy and the Huskies haven't been able to stop the pass to save their lives. I don't expect the Huskies D to even slow down the Hawaii pass offense. They will probably give up 500, heck, maybe 600 yards through the air. But the Huskies have done that a couple times this season and still been in position to win the game. The Dawgs' best defense in this game may be their offense. If the Huskies can run the ball then they can keep the Hawaii offense off the field. Statistically the Hawaii defense has been successful stopping the run, but often times teams are forced to throw it against them after getting behind early. In the end, this should be at the very least a high scoring game that is fun to watch.

Huskies can win if: They run the ball well (250+ rushing yards and I think they win) and don't turn the ball over. Also if the D can at least get some red zone stops to hold Hawaii to a field goal a couple times. Hawaii 47, UW 40

Seahawks +3 over Eagles - I always expect the worst when the Hawks travel to the East coast. They have just never seemed to play well over the years. That being said, the Eagles will be playing without Donovan McNabb once again and I'm looking for a let down coming off a close loss to the Patriots. AJ Feely played over his head last week against New England and the Hawks D has been getting great pressure on QB's of late. They should stack the box to slow down Brian Westbrook and force Feely to make plays through the air.

Seahawks can win if: They hold Brian Westbrook under 100 yards and can get better protection than they did in the first half last week. If they can contain Westbrook, this could turn into a dominant performance from the Hawks D. Seattle 24, Philadelphia 14

Sonics Losing = Lottery Winning

For years pro sports fans have battled with wanting their team to win games or wanting them to lose to get a higher draft pick. Well, Sonics fans, your time has come. Although it won't be much of a battle, because the Sonics are headed to the lottery whether you like it or not. Sure, it would have been great for Kevin Durant to turn the franchise into an immediate contender, but anyone who has been watching college basketball this season should be excited for the prospects of next year's draft. You don't even have to get greedy like the Celtics and wish for top two or bust, next year's draft could be loaded with top talent and anywhere in the top five should serve the Sonics well. Point guard is what you want? Check out Derrick Rose for Memphis and Eric Gordon for Indiana. Forward? Michael Beasley from Kansas State or Donte Green from Syracuse. Big man? How about DeAndre Jordan playing at Texas A&M or Kevin Love at UCLA. That's not even mentioning any of the upperclassmen like Roy Hibbert or Darren Collison. I know the lottery used to be a scary thing for Sonics fans, but Rick Sund or Wally Walker is not running the team anymore. The days of drafting 7-foot projects or trading away picks for veterans should be over with Sam Presti at the helm. You don't have to root against the Sonics, but Sonics fans should all know the power of those ping pong balls and they certainly know what it feels like to win the lottery.

Weekend Thoughts

• It's good that the Huskies wanted to challenge themselves early in the season with these non-conference games, but at the same time losing twice in New York now makes the remaining road games against Oklahoma State and LSU almost must win. With the Pac-10 being as tough as it is right now, 4+ non-conference losses will not help in March, regardless of who they are against. The Huskies should continue to get better with Appleby coming back in December and the continued development of the young players who are once again being asked to play key roles. The impact of playing such tough competition early on won't really be known until later in the season, but in the future it seems like something to do with a more experienced team.

• Tyrone Willingham has got to be officially on the clock at this point. Personally, I think you have to give him this next season, but after that nothing should be guaranteed. A lot of the players that played key roles this season still aren't players Willingham recruited, so give him another full class, see how the young players turn out next season, but if they aren't pushing for a bowl berth next season then it's time to think about a change.
  

• Maybe the Seahawks didn't play great Sunday, but the bottom line is they got a win on the road against a division opponent. Style points simply don't matter in the NFL. After all that talk in the pre-season about the Seahawks being ready to give up their division crown, the Hawks once again find themselves in control of the division and should find themselves with a home playoff game for the fourth straight season.