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I just wanted to say a few things about the Seahawks and specifically Coach Mike Holmgren. This Sunday he will coach his final game for the Seahawks at Arizona, and that will cap off an incredible 10 year run of history for this franchise. It’s been quite a ride!

Though he most certainly does not know it, Mr. Holmgren and I are connected – but it is in one of those time-space kind of ways. You see, I moved to Washington in 1998, and not soon thereafter Mr. Holmgren was hired as the new head coach of the Seatle Seahawks. It was a huge, HUGE, “get” by the local team – it instantly brought respect, credibility, and notability to a team that for far too long had languished in relative obscurity in the Northwest. It was a new start – for us both – and it would be filled with the many highs and lows that only a decade of life can provide.

Sadly, that decade is, in some ways, coming to an end. This Sunday the Seahawks will face-off with Arizona. The team has had a forgettable season, primarily the result of a rash of devastating injuries to some big-name players at the most important positions. It’s been a tough season, and unlike in seasons past, the team won’t have the benefit of Coach Holmgren’s steady leadership to guide it through a challenging off-season in preparation for next year. The team, rather, enters unknown territory with a new coach and a possible re-shuffling of the roster. This is hardly familiar waters for a team fortunate to have 10 years of capable stewardship.

Some say change is good. In this case, I disagree. Mr. Holmgren should have been allowed to stay with the Seattle Seahawks as long as he was interested in coaching – no questions asked. You simply don’t turn away a man of his stature. I was and continue to be very disappointed with the Seahawks for the way they apparently showed him the door. They should have never taken away his GM responsibilities. Give him all the time-off he needs and desires. But let him go?? No! It’s very disappointing.

I will never forget back in late ’98/early ’99 the Seahawks ran a commercial where Coach Holmgren, flanked by his Seahawks players, marched off a Seattle Ferry deck and onto Colman Dock in downtown Seattle. Over the visuals you heard Holmgren saying, “We have a Super Bowl caliber football team.” Although he was not immediately prophetic (the Seahawks didn’t reach the Super Bowl until 2005), the words were exactly what that team and this city needed. Some attitude. Some confidence. Some leadership. It was very cool to know you had a guy like that representing your team and walking on your sidelines.

Much remains to be seen from the Seahawks in the post-Mike Holmgren era. It’s going to be weird, no doubt. Regardless of all that, I would just like to say thank you to Coach Holmgren for pouring his heart and soul into the Seahawks. It has been a great ride indeed.

Mr. Holmgren, you’re one of the best. Thank you.

In case it’s not completely obvious, it’s a pretty tough time right now to be a sports fan in Seattle. Oh let me count the ways…

- The Mariners are 35 games out of first place in the AL West…this, after they were widely regarded by baseball pundits at the start of the season as the team to beat not only in the West but also as a serious title contender in the American League. Guess that $117 million player payroll wasn’t money well spent, eh? And yes, that payroll is the 9th highest in the Majors.

- The Seahawks have started their illustrious 2008 season 0-2, falling in a blowout to Buffalo and in a heartbreaker to San Francisco. Granted, there have been devastating injuries, especially to the receiving corp, but this is uncharted territory for the Seahawks. Good teams will find a way to win, to overcome the challenges they face. Have we all been spoiled over the course of these past 5 seasons? This team is very much in danger of losing the NFC West this year. Arizona and San Francisco are certainly showing life in this young season and my guess is they have thoughts of revenge towards the Seahawks after being the doormats of the division for so long now. I don’t think this is how Mike Holmgren envisioned his final season in Seattle. And here’s the scary thing – these first 3 games were supposed to be the easier ones! Uh oh.

- Washington Huskies. Boy, what else can you say. They’ve been on such a decline now for so many years. Almost makes you wish that Neuheisel was back, eh? It’s sad to watch a once-proud program go through such tough times. My guess is Tyrone Willingham will not be at UW next year as coach. Whether that’s a good and or fair thing or not, I’m not sure. I think he will take the fall as the pressure from boosters and fans builds and builds and a change becomes demanded. That will lead to yet another coaching search (not to mention the search for the new AD), yet another new system, and yet more years of rebuilding. All this while trying to keep in-state talent in-state AND attract out-of-state talent. That’s a tall order. Mercifully, I’m not much of a Husky fan or a college football fan so while I’ll find the outcome of this to be interesting, I certainly won’t be losing any sleep over it.

- Seattle SuperSonics. Oh, wait – check that – the Oklahoma City THUNDER! Yep, Seattle’s NBA team is gone. It’s pretty much the worst thing a sports fan can go through if you ask me. Sure, they were bad when they were here, but at least they were here. I really wish I had the opportunity to be depressed about their lackluster play and terrible record. At this point, I’d take it. But it is not to be. The loss (theft) of the Sonics was really the last good turn of the knife in the breaking heart of Seattle sports fans.

You know, Seattlites really don’t need much help when it comes to depression. It usually hits us in the form of buckets and buckets of rain starting in Fall and lasting through, well, we like to hope early-Spring – but let’s be realistic – who the hell really knows when or if it’ll ever stop?! Let’s just say we’ve got that market covered. So when the local sports teams (i.e. rain diversions) aren’t doing so hot, you can kind of start to get the idea how difficult things can get around here. We’re ready and waiting for something to wake us up for and give us something to cheer for.

Will it ever come? When will the bleeding stop? That’s about as predictable as our weather.