SSR Interviews: Afraid of Ed Hochuli

We continue our interview series with another Seattleite (I’m done with Seattle after this you little….), Afraidofedhochuli (otherwise known as The Matt).

1. Why did you decide to join the blogging world?

I love sports and I love to talk about them. As long as I can remember I have loved to write – I have a degree in playwrighting and am currently working on a book. I figured that putting the two things together (sports and writing) were a logical choice.

I am trying to get myself together to go back to school for journalism, but it is really difficult in the crazy world we live in.

2. What are your most fond memories in Seattle sports history?

Listening to the 1995-1996 finals with my Dad on the radio. Hearing the Sonics toss up threes and miss, and the young me yelling at the radio: “Don’t take ‘em if you can’t hit ‘em!”

The 1995 “Refuse to Lose” Mariners. My favorite part of this was watching the people, not the team. My step-father’s mother was a huge M’s fan, and I remember watching a game or two at her house. Now that she is gone, the memory of the joy and excitement on her face was worth more then any of the other memories.

The Seahawks memory is vague and not fully formed. Yes, I was a big fan of the “Bowl” run, but that is a cop-out. I guess it would have to be every draft day. I love seeing the picks, doing some research and then realize that these are the players of the future. I can tell you where I was the last 5 years and what I was doing when the Hawks’ pick happened.

3. I’m mostly “angry” at Howard Schultz in this whole Sonics deal because he was the one that sold the team. Thoughts on this whole debacle?

I was down on Schultz until the last week happened. After the debacle that has come forward, I am starting to side with Schultz. It looks like he got duped just as much as the rest of us. Maybe that is what he wants, and maybe I am naïve, but I still blame Bennett and Stern more then anyone else.

4. Are you really afraid of Ed Hochuli?

You know what…I kind of am. The guy is huge and he is a lawyer. But, no, he is a great guy – even though he is too busy for my emails… – and I think that he wouldn’t actually hurt me…unless, I piss him off.

5. What happened to the Mariners offense? It seems that they can’t hit at all.

What happened? Bill Bavasi happened. ‘Nuff said. (P.S. It is kind of funny that after you send me this, they have a 5-run 9^th.)

Update: They’ll punish me and score 23 runs tonight…

6. What happened to the predictions thing we did a while back?

No one (other than you) really did them. They took forever to get back to me, we finished the big-3 sports and no one spoke up. I just didn’t think anyone cared. But, if you like it so much…maybe I will get the “prediction” machine up and running.

7. What are some of the other blogs you recommend (don’t include mine)?

The Sports Apple; Cold, Hard Football Facts; Chicks in the Huddle; Women Like Sports; Joe Sports Fan (one of my all-time favorites); Oh No, Romo!; Sports Censored.

8. Finally, what do you think of the Seahawks draft picks?

I like them all…for the most part…but I am not going to give away my “Hoch’s Nest” article for today.

Thanks to AOEH, and please visit his site at http://www.afraidofedhochuli.com. Besides, shouldn’t you be looking at the blogroll anyway?

Links of the Day

I will TRY to revive my once weekly linkage to other blogs.

1. The Sports Hernia gets mentioned on Sportscenter!

2. More on the debacle that was Costa Now from Awful Announcing.

3.  David Beckham is on Sesame Street says The Beautiful Game.

4.  After the Suns loss last night, Signal to Noise reports Mike D’Antoni won’t be coming back.

5. Pacifist Viking looks at what the Vikings fixed with their draft picks.

6.  Finally, Larry Brown Sports (not the coach you fools) on how the Giants are mishandling the Barry Zito situation.

Larry Brown to Coach Bobcats

(Ap Photo)

Larry Brown shocks everyone and decides to comeback to coaching and the Charlotte Bobcats is team #664523534.

This comes after the firing of rookie head coach Sam Vincent, who finished the season 32-50, but had clashed with players on a couple of occasions. Sportsline says:

Brown hasn’t lasted anywhere long, and has had some ugly divorces. His last coaching job was the disastrous 2005-06 season in New York, when the Knicks went 23-59 and Brown clashed with management.

His dismissal was followed by a long dispute over how much money he was owed for the rest of his contract.

A deal eventually was struck and Brown became an executive vice president with the Philadelphia 76ers, but Brown yearned to return to the bench.

“I was a bad coach. I did a bad job. I learned from that,” Brown said, referring to his time with the Knicks. “But being out of it in the last few years, even though I had a title in Philly … I just missed being around the game. I love it. I want to be a part of it.”

Jordan said he contacted Brown before hiring Vincent last spring, but Brown said he wasn’t ready to return. He changed his mind late this season, quitting his job in Philadelphia after being interviewed for the Stanford opening.

If you’re like me, you wonder why Larry Brown hasn’t just decided to coach 30 teams at once. He is a hall of fame coach but he has only won 1 NBA title, despite coaching 500 teams in the league. I still believe he is a coach that can turn the ship around if the players are good enough, but he won’t lead you to a championship.

We’ll see how this plays out, but I’m not too fond of the hiring.

SCHOLES!!

Thank you for doing something. The wonderstrike from Paul Scholes gives Manchester United a spot in the UEFA Champions League final, and guarantees an All-English final, as the Red Devils face either Chelsea or Liverpool.

Owen Schmitt is the Seahawks Runaway Beer Truck And YOU Can’t Have Him

I was quite pleased with the players chosen by Mr. Ruskell. My favorite pick has to be Owen Schmitt out of West Virginia. Not only is her a runner, a blocker, and just flat out huge….he is a runaway beer truck. Remember this play?

Owen Schmitt, Leonard Weaver, Julius Jones, TJ Duckett, Mo Morris, and no more Shaun Alexander? I must be dreaming.

Please Watch Costas Now

I’ve never been so infuriated by words from another guy like Buzz Bissinger.

We missed the live edition, but I urge you to join me in watching Costas Now (if you have HBO) because it involves the state of sports media, the rise of internet blogging, and the rise of sports radio.

I say this because apparently last night, writer Buzz Bissinger just went on an all out assault on Will Leitch of Deadspin fame. He discredited everything blogging and questioned his 40 years of writing experience, when a blogger on Deadspin used the word that rhymes with ”runt”.

Bissinger also called out Leitch, saying he was “full of sh*t”.

He just went off, and Leitch did not bite back, which I applaud because that would’ve meant more fuel to the fire, considering that Costas and Bissinger were talking about the mean-spirited tone of the internet.

I’m happy that Leitch didn’t walk off the stage looking at some footage that spilled over to the world of video sharing. It was just a horrible display, and Bissinger is probably not going to be called Buzz Bissinger from now on.

If more videos show up I will post them.