2019 Offseason

[Anointed One]

How fitting that the Rams lost 13-3, which was their regular season record....

 

[seahawksfan234]

Kind of off topic, but today when I was doing my work at Starbucks (yes I know), some guy wearing a Seahawks beanie and jacket dropped his binder and some paperwork. I got up to help him pick his stuff up because he was holding a coffee in his other hand, and his binder said "2009 Seattle Seahawks Special teams" on it. Another paper I grabbed for him said Ben Obomanu on it.

Afterwards I googled his picture to make sure it was him and I went over and struck up a conversation with him. He recently graduated law school and is studying for the bar exam. Really nice, smart guy. He has his second daughter on the way and is looking to get into sports law.

Always makes me happy to see a former Seahawk/Seattle Sports figure doing great things after their football career ends. Hopefully someday I run into him again, really nice guy.

 

[Anointed One]

Kind of off topic, but today when I was doing my work at Starbucks (yes I know), some guy wearing a Seahawks beanie and jacket dropped his binder and some paperwork. I got up to help him pick his stuff up because he was holding a coffee in his other hand, and his binder said "2009 Seattle Seahawks Special teams" on it. Another paper I grabbed for him said Ben Obomanu on it.

Afterwards I googled his picture to make sure it was him and I went over and struck up a conversation with him. He recently graduated law school and is studying for the bar exam. Really nice, smart guy. He has his second daughter on the way and is looking to get into sports law.

Always makes me happy to see a former Seahawk/Seattle Sports figure doing great things after their football career ends. Hopefully someday I run into him again, really nice guy.

Very cool... We're now going to call you, "The Good Samaritan"...

 

[JMR]

Had a pretty cool Seahawk-related experience the other night. I volunteered at the Sports Star of the Year awards on Thurs. My job was VIP escort. The big names would come up to our table to check in, then I would take them upstairs to where the event was and make sure they got to wherever they were supposed to go (media row, silent auction, coat check, green room, etc.). Former Hawks that I escorted: Walter Jones, Lofa Tatupu, Jordan Babineaux, and Jacob Green. I also escorted Ahmad Rashad, Lenny Wilkens, Paul Silas, Slick Watts, Wally Walker, James Donaldson, Jack Thompson, and probably a couple others I forget. My partner escorted Tyler Lockett, Gus Williams, Gardner Minshew and Sue Bird. I talked quite a bit with all the guys I took up; Lofa was super cool, asked questions about me and treated me like I was just like him. Talked with Babs a ton, and of course he's a riot. Media types I interacted with were Ian Furness, Jen Mueller, Jessamyn McIntyre, C-Rog, and Danny O'Neill. They were all great, especially Danny & Jessamyn. I was taking Lenny and Paul Silas up on the escalator, and Lenny says to me, "Ya know, I think I left my phone in my car..." he hands me his valet ticket..."it's a Hummer, can you just go look inside on the console to see if it's there?" Fortunately, one of the hospitality people overheard and came to the rescue. Lenny and I continued on to media row. Too funny.

Anyway, it was a mind blowingly awesome experience so thought I would share. Like being a kid again.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Had a pretty cool Seahawk-related experience the other night. I volunteered at the Sports Star of the Year awards on Thurs. My job was VIP escort. The big names would come up to our table to check in, then I would take them upstairs to where the event was and make sure they got to wherever they were supposed to go (media row, silent auction, coat check, green room, etc.). Former Hawks that I escorted: Walter Jones, Lofa Tatupu, Jordan Babineaux, and Jacob Green. I also escorted Ahmad Rashad, Lenny Wilkens, Paul Silas, Slick Watts, Wally Walker, James Donaldson, Jack Thompson, and probably a couple others I forget. My partner escorted Tyler Lockett, Gus Williams, Gardner Minshew and Sue Bird. I talked quite a bit with all the guys I took up; Lofa was super cool, asked questions about me and treated me like I was just like him. Talked with Babs a ton, and of course he's a riot. Media types I interacted with were Ian Furness, Jen Mueller, Jessamyn McIntyre, C-Rog, and Danny O'Neill. They were all great, especially Danny & Jessamyn. I was taking Lenny and Paul Silas up on the escalator, and Lenny says to me, "Ya know, I think I left my phone in my car..." he hands me his valet ticket..."it's a Hummer, can you just go look inside on the console to see if it's there?" Fortunately, one of the hospitality people overheard and came to the rescue. Lenny and I continued on to media row. Too funny.

Anyway, it was a mind blowingly awesome experience so thought I would share. Like being a kid again.

That's awesome. Always makes me happy to hear about things like that. All the interactions I've had with local sports stars/media people have always been very pleasant.

Only guy I've ever heard bad things about was Randy Johnson. I can't remember the exact details, but my mom ran into him at the post office and went up to him and apparently he was an absolute asshole.

I met Shannon Drayer years ago and she wasn't rude or anything, just came off as very strange. My favorite guys I've met are probably Ben Obomanu (just posted about that), Doug Baldwin, Dori Monson, Dave Niehaus, Steve Sarkisian and Norm Rice (mayor, but I guess it counts).

I've ran into Baldwin twice at the Target in Renton. First time I saw him I went up and shook his hand and wished him the best. Ran into a bunch of Seahawks players that day buying gifts for kids for Christmas. Second time was probably about two years later was less than a week after we lost the Superbowl. I was with my mother at the time since she lives in Renton and saw Doug and when we went to the isle he wasn't in, and I said to her "that was Doug Baldwin." She goes "Who?" "He's the Seahawks #1 wide receiver" She asked why I didn't go up and say hi, I responded that I didn't want to bother him, especially after the recent loss. I'm not the quietest guy on the face of the Earth (my excessively long posts on this site probably give that away) and he must've overheard me from the other side of the isle because he came over and shook both of our hands and thanked us for not making a big deal about it.

Dave Niehaus I met a couple of times and he was genuinely one of the sweetest people I've ever met. When I was a freshman in high school we had to write a paper on who our hero was, and I wrote about him and how I believed he saved baseball in Seattle.

Dori Monson I had a radio interview with and prior to the interview we probably spoke for about an hour prior to the roughly 15 minutes I was on the show. He actually seemed more interested in getting to know me than actually getting to the interview.

Norm Rice I met at a UW awards ceremony I was attending for a close friend/mentor for best teacher. Norm was a speaker there and not someone I would recognize because I was just a kid when he was mayor of Seattle. I went to use the restroom and after exiting I was on my phone trying to find my friends and he randomly came up and struck up a conversation with me. At first I just thought he was some random guy being friendly or a staff member because he was asking if I was enjoying myself, etc. then halfway through the conversation it dawned on me who he was.

Lastly when I was in high school I attended the Rising Stars football camp during Sark's first year as head coach. I showed up to the camp without cleats because the morning before the camp I didn't realize that my only pair of cleats were in my mother's car that was being repaired and we didn't have time to go get them. During one of the drills, he came up to me and asked me why I didn't have cleats. I told him my situation and he personally took me to an equipment room and got me a pair that fit and let me keep them. My friends and I now joke that he was probably drunk lol.

I must be getting old because that was definitely longer than I anticipated it to be and I definitely rambled on.

 

[JMR]

That's awesome. Always makes me happy to hear about things like that. All the interactions I've had with local sports stars/media people have always been very pleasant.

Only guy I've ever heard bad things about was Randy Johnson. I can't remember the exact details, but my mom ran into him at the post office and went up to him and apparently he was an absolute asshole.

I met Shannon Drayer years ago and she wasn't rude or anything, just came off as very strange. My favorite guys I've met are probably Ben Obomanu (just posted about that), Doug Baldwin, Dori Monson, Dave Niehaus, Steve Sarkisian and Norm Rice (mayor, but I guess it counts).

I've ran into Baldwin twice at the Target in Renton. First time I saw him I went up and shook his hand and wished him the best. Ran into a bunch of Seahawks players that day buying gifts for kids for Christmas. Second time was probably about two years later was less than a week after we lost the Superbowl. I was with my mother at the time since she lives in Renton and saw Doug and when we went to the isle he wasn't in, and I said to her "that was Doug Baldwin." She goes "Who?" "He's the Seahawks #1 wide receiver" She asked why I didn't go up and say hi, I responded that I didn't want to bother him, especially after the recent loss. I'm not the quietest guy on the face of the Earth (my excessively long posts on this site probably give that away) and he must've overheard me from the other side of the isle because he came over and shook both of our hands and thanked us for not making a big deal about it.

Dave Niehaus I met a couple of times and he was genuinely one of the sweetest people I've ever met. When I was a freshman in high school we had to write a paper on who our hero was, and I wrote about him and how I believed he saved baseball in Seattle.

Dori Monson I had a radio interview with and prior to the interview we probably spoke for about an hour prior to the roughly 15 minutes I was on the show. He actually seemed more interested in getting to know me than actually getting to the interview.

Norm Rice I met at a UW awards ceremony I was attending for a close friend/mentor for best teacher. Norm was a speaker there and not someone I would recognize because I was just a kid when he was mayor of Seattle. I went to use the restroom and after exiting I was on my phone trying to find my friends and he randomly came up and struck up a conversation with me. At first I just thought he was some random guy being friendly or a staff member because he was asking if I was enjoying myself, etc. then halfway through the conversation it dawned on me who he was.

Lastly when I was in high school I attended the Rising Stars football camp during Sark's first year as head coach. I showed up to the camp without cleats because the morning before the camp I didn't realize that my only pair of cleats were in my mother's car that was being repaired and we didn't have time to go get them. During one of the drills, he came up to me and asked me why I didn't have cleats. I told him my situation and he personally took me to an equipment room and got me a pair that fit and let me keep them. My friends and I now joke that he was probably drunk lol.

I must be getting old because that was definitely longer than I anticipated it to be and I definitely rambled on.

Glad you had a better interaction with Baldwin than me. I ran into him at SeaTac just before camp started a few years back. He was just coming off the plane at the next gate from me, and as I walked up alongside him and turned and said, "Go Hawks Doug" and didn't break stride like I was going to try to hold him up or anything, and him and his g/f immediately made a hard left away from me toward a gift shop. He flipped up his hoodie to conceal his face and just sorta stood there and waited until I was gone. It turned me off on him a bit. It wasn't like I was being all fanboy or anything. I wasn't even going to try to talk to him any further than just the greeting. I dunno, maybe just a bad day. Even millionaires have them I suppose.

Cool encounters though. It is not at all hard to believe that Niehaus would have been kind. I've heard similar about RJ, especially earlier in his career when he was having trouble with his control. I want to say I've also heard he became a bit friendlier with more success. First time I ever traveled on an airplane was to Vegas in 1987 when I wasn't even quite 16 to see Mike Tyson fight (vs Bonecrusher Smith). Saw all sorts of celebs there. One morning we ate breakfast 2 tables over from Adam West (original tv show Bat Man).

When I'm traveling and going through airports alone, I'm always paying attention for familiar faces (not much else to do alone). About 4 years ago I was in Chicago and walked right by Jim Thome. Big guy. Not sure many even recognized him.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Glad you had a better interaction with Baldwin than me. I ran into him at SeaTac just before camp started a few years back. He was just coming off the plane at the next gate from me, and as I walked up alongside him and turned and said, "Go Hawks Doug" and didn't break stride like I was going to try to hold him up or anything, and him and his g/f immediately made a hard left away from me toward a gift shop. He flipped up his hoodie to conceal his face and just sorta stood there and waited until I was gone. It turned me off on him a bit. It wasn't like I was being all fanboy or anything. I wasn't even going to try to talk to him any further than just the greeting. I dunno, maybe just a bad day. Even millionaires have them I suppose.

Cool encounters though. It is not at all hard to believe that Niehaus would have been kind. I've heard similar about RJ, especially earlier in his career when he was having trouble with his control. I want to say I've also heard he became a bit friendlier with more success. First time I ever traveled on an airplane was to Vegas in 1987 when I wasn't even quite 16 to see Mike Tyson fight (vs Bonecrusher Smith). Saw all sorts of celebs there. One morning we ate breakfast 2 tables over from Adam West (original tv show Bat Man).

When I'm traveling and going through airports alone, I'm always paying attention for familiar faces (not much else to do alone). About 4 years ago I was in Chicago and walked right by Jim Thome. Big guy. Not sure many even recognized him.

Regarding Doug, I get the impression he doesn't like the attention. I don't think it's anything personal. First time I saw him and shook his hand he seemed very intent on walking away immediately after. I think the only reason he came up to us that one time was because he was happy I didn't approach him and he probably doesn't get that often whenever someone recognizes him. That's why I suspect he said "thank you for not making a big deal out of it." I have to imagine that whenever he is recognized, people ask for a picture and that just attracts more attention.

One of my close friends works at Seattle Children's and she told me that Russell Wilson tells people (probably just adults) he doesn't do pictures. It's probably annoying and before you know it, you have everyone in the vicinity asking for a picture once they realize who it is.

The year my mom met Randy it was the year he got traded and was shipping stuff to Houston. She asked him for an autograph for my father and he snapped at her saying he was doing something. Told me she had never been so embarrassed in her life.

Surprisingly I haven't really seen anyone I recognize in airports and I've probably taken at least 50 flights in the last 4 years or so. Many of them were international though. I definitely wouldn't have recognized Jim Thome personally, you have a good eye.

 

[wazzu31]

Regarding Doug, I get the impression he doesn't like the attention. I don't think it's anything personal. First time I saw him and shook his hand he seemed very intent on walking away immediately after. I think the only reason he came up to us that one time was because he was happy I didn't approach him and he probably doesn't get that often whenever someone recognizes him. That's why I suspect he said "thank you for not making a big deal out of it." I have to imagine that whenever he is recognized, people ask for a picture and that just attracts more attention.

One of my close friends works at Seattle Children's and she told me that Russell Wilson tells people (probably just adults) he doesn't do pictures. It's probably annoying and before you know it, you have everyone in the vicinity asking for a picture once they realize who it is.

The year my mom met Randy it was the year he got traded and was shipping stuff to Houston. She asked him for an autograph for my father and he snapped at her saying he was doing something. Told me she had never been so embarrassed in her life.

Surprisingly I haven't really seen anyone I recognize in airports and I've probably taken at least 50 flights in the last 4 years or so. Many of them were international though. I definitely wouldn't have recognized Jim Thome personally, you have a good eye.

I will always respect Doug Baldwin. Right after the whole kneeling stuff went down he made an appearance at a couple of locals schools which have portrayed as racist schools. He went into the belly of the beast and actually did a good job giving out his version while facing criticism from some parents. I don’t know him personally obviously but in this social media age, athletes need to be more like Doug than most other athletes.

 

[MrS]

what schools are these that are portrayed as racist?

 

[seahawksfan234]

I will always respect Doug Baldwin. Right after the whole kneeling stuff went down he made an appearance at a couple of locals schools which have portrayed as racist schools. He went into the belly of the beast and actually did a good job giving out his version while facing criticism from some parents. I don’t know him personally obviously but in this social media age, athletes need to be more like Doug than most other athletes.

I was unaware of that. Pretty cool stuff.

 

[JMR]

I will always respect Doug Baldwin. Right after the whole kneeling stuff went down he made an appearance at a couple of locals schools which have portrayed as racist schools. He went into the belly of the beast and actually did a good job giving out his version while facing criticism from some parents. I don’t know him personally obviously but in this social media age, athletes need to be more like Doug than most other athletes.

I respect him as well. I am positive my political views differ from his greatly, but he handled the whole anthem protest thing in a mature, dignified manner that may actually contribute to some sort of positive outcome. Unlike some of the other guys (like the one who started it) who couldn't really articulate what the true problems were or what outcome they were trying to achieve.

 

[chf]

Had a pretty cool Seahawk-related experience the other night. I volunteered at the Sports Star of the Year awards on Thurs. My job was VIP escort. The big names would come up to our table to check in, then I would take them upstairs to where the event was and make sure they got to wherever they were supposed to go (media row, silent auction, coat check, green room, etc.). Former Hawks that I escorted: Walter Jones, Lofa Tatupu, Jordan Babineaux, and Jacob Green. I also escorted Ahmad Rashad, Lenny Wilkens, Paul Silas, Slick Watts, Wally Walker, James Donaldson, Jack Thompson, and probably a couple others I forget. My partner escorted Tyler Lockett, Gus Williams, Gardner Minshew and Sue Bird. I talked quite a bit with all the guys I took up; Lofa was super cool, asked questions about me and treated me like I was just like him. Talked with Babs a ton, and of course he's a riot. Media types I interacted with were Ian Furness, Jen Mueller, Jessamyn McIntyre, C-Rog, and Danny O'Neill. They were all great, especially Danny & Jessamyn. I was taking Lenny and Paul Silas up on the escalator, and Lenny says to me, "Ya know, I think I left my phone in my car..." he hands me his valet ticket..."it's a Hummer, can you just go look inside on the console to see if it's there?" Fortunately, one of the hospitality people overheard and came to the rescue. Lenny and I continued on to media row. Too funny.

Anyway, it was a mind blowingly awesome experience so thought I would share. Like being a kid again.

Nice, I woulda' been in heaven seeing all those old Sonics. I still remember staying up to watch the fricking finals on tape delay with my dad. I got to see the Sonics play the Clips I think the other team was in an exhibition game a few years later here in Calgary, still remember Sikma towering over the crowd with that goofy haircut.

 

[Cave_Johnson]

Those are some pretty cool stories.

Reminds me of the time I was at Universal Harry Potter World LA a few years back. I had just gotten a butterbeer when out of the corner of my eye I spotted a dude with two kids and a smoking hot mistress wearing Florida Atlantic shorts. I figured out it was Lane Kiffin pretty quickly. I then ran up to him yelling his name and asked if he'd take a picture with me. He reluctantly obliged, but right before my mom took the photo I pretended to cast expelliarmus on him with the wand I had recently purchased from Olivanders. He was less than pleased and immediately called me a faggot and had his son kick me in the ballsack. It was awesome.

The next day we were at Disney Land and I swear I saw Eddie Lacy, but it just turned out to be one of the park employees dressed up as PJ from Goof Troop.

 

[JMR]

Nice, I woulda' been in heaven seeing all those old Sonics. I still remember staying up to watch the fricking finals on tape delay with my dad. I got to see the Sonics play the Clips I think the other team was in an exhibition game a few years later here in Calgary, still remember Sikma towering over the crowd with that goofy haircut.

Yeah, Sikma was there the other night but I didn't escort or talk to him. The '79 team was well represented there -- Lenny, Sikma, Gus Williams, Paul Silas, Freddy Brown, Wally Walker, Dennis Awtrey, and I think Joe Hassett. If not for their passings, I'm sure Lonnie Shelton, John Johnson, and Dennis Johnson would have been there too. When they returned to Seattle right after winning the title that year, my dad took to me to the airport (can't remember if it was SeaTac or Boeing Field) to welcome them home. I was just short of 8 years old, sitting on my dad's shoulders so I could see them come off the plane with the trophy. A lifetime memory for sure.

Looking back on that season and seeing the standings, it's interesting to note that the Sonics were the 1 seed in the West with 52 wins and Bullets the 1 in the East with 54. As much as we grumble today about parity in the NFL, only 1 other team in the entire NBA had 50+ wins in 1979. I don't watch hardly any NBA these days, but it seems there are like 3 good teams and then everyone else is pretty much serving no real purpose outside of filling out the rest of the schedule.

 

[wazzu31]

what schools are these that are portrayed as racist?

Carbonado and Wilkeson.

 

[JMR]

Carbonado and Wilkeson.

What exactly makes these schools racist?

 

[blstoker]

Austin Davis has been hired as an offensive assistant.

 

[chf]

Yeah, Sikma was there the other night but I didn't escort or talk to him. The '79 team was well represented there -- Lenny, Sikma, Gus Williams, Paul Silas, Freddy Brown, Wally Walker, Dennis Awtrey, and I think Joe Hassett. If not for their passings, I'm sure Lonnie Shelton, John Johnson, and Dennis Johnson would have been there too. When they returned to Seattle right after winning the title that year, my dad took to me to the airport (can't remember if it was SeaTac or Boeing Field) to welcome them home. I was just short of 8 years old, sitting on my dad's shoulders so I could see them come off the plane with the trophy. A lifetime memory for sure.

Looking back on that season and seeing the standings, it's interesting to note that the Sonics were the 1 seed in the West with 52 wins and Bullets the 1 in the East with 54. As much as we grumble today about parity in the NFL, only 1 other team in the entire NBA had 50+ wins in 1979. I don't watch hardly any NBA these days, but it seems there are like 3 good teams and then everyone else is pretty much serving no real purpose outside of filling out the rest of the schedule.

I knew about DJ and JJ, but didn't know about Lonnie.

People don't remember how... 3rd rate the NBA was at that time. Not airing the finals games live? Hell the NHL would lose their minds about that.

Magic/Bird changed everything.

 

[JMR]

I knew about DJ and JJ, but didn't know about Lonnie.

People don't remember how... 3rd rate the NBA was at that time. Not airing the finals games live? Hell the NHL would lose their minds about that.

Magic/Bird changed everything.

The Miracle on Ice was also on tape delay if I recall it correctly. Shoot, MNF was tape delayed on the west coast as well pretty much my entire childhood. The world was such a big place back then.

 

[FirebreathingMonkey]

Takeaways: Seahawks GM John Schneider on Doug Baldwin’s injury status, latest with Frank Clark

Takeaways: Seahawks GM John Schneider on Doug Baldwin's injury status, latest with Frank Clark