Fyrone

Husky Nation can exhale. Their four-year long nightmare is over. Almost.

Current (soon-to-be former) coach, Tyrone Willingham has five games left to close out his UW coaching career in style (take that however you want).

Monday's forced resignation culminates a seemingly never ending downward spiral for the once proud football program. Willingham's 32 losses clearly played a big part in his ouster. By comparison, Husky legend Don James lost 57 games as Husky coach. But that took 18 years.

It wasn't just the mounting losses. It was how the losses came - last year it was about second half collapses, this season - sheer annihilation. It was Willingham's abrasive attitude. It was his unwillingness to change his game plan. It was his lackluster recruiting. Every move Willingham made, was ultimately the wrong move.

His supporters will say that he restored order to the UW program. But that's like lauding the Bush Administration because there hasn't been a terrorist attack in the U.S. since 9/11. Praise need not be given for doing your job. And Willingham couldn't even do that. He completely forgot about the winning part.

To his credit, Willingham is a proud man. Failing at Notre Dame and now at UW must be beyond disheartening.

Willingham had four years to turn around the program. He misunderstood what that meant. Because instead of a 180 turnaround, Willingham pulled a 360. Is Husky Football any better than when Keith Gilbertson completely quit on the 2004 season?

So it's back to square one for newly appointed UW AD, Scott Woodward. Willingham was the "safe" pick in 2004. A new direction is desperately needed. A winner who won't be afraid to crack a few skulls is imperative to energize not only the program, but also a disenchanted fan base (it's a problem when Husky Stadium has less people in it than a Clay Aiken concert).

But look at it this way, things can only get better.

Award Tour

The World Series is nearly underway. And before we know it, the regular season awards will be handed out. But before then, I feel it's necessary I get my say.

I'm still waiting on my membership to the Baseball Writers Association of America to get approved (for some reason I'm not getting much response. I guess that happens when your readership consists of 8 people). Nevertheless, here are my MLB award winners for 2k8.

AL MVP

1. Dustin Pedroia

2. Joe Mauer

3. Josh Hamilton

This one is about as certain as Barack winning the election.

If anything, this signifies that we're clearly in the post steroids era. Take Bret Boone's unreal 2001 season. Boonie hit .331 with 37 HR, 141 RBI and a .950 OPS. Compare that with Pedroia's 2008 numbers, .326 BA, 17 HR, 83 RBI and .869 OPS. Boone finished 3rd in MVP voting in 2001, albeit ingesting roids like the Ultimate Warrior.

Pedroia is a gamer. He also plays a vacuum like second base. He was a big part in getting the BoSox to the playoffs and for that he should be rewarded.

Mauer had a great year playing the most demanding position in the field. But his numbers .328, 9, 85, .864 are just a cut below Pedroia's. The Twinkies missing out on the playoffs (Mauer was 0-3 in the Twins tie breaker game) keeps the trophy from his hands.

Hamilton was the feel good story of the season. Nearly everyone has heard about his story, overcomming a serious drug addiction, only to make it to the bigs and fulfill his freakish talent. Hamilton faded over the season's last two months (7 HR, 26 RBI), but he still had a phenomenal season, at one point looking like he'd have well over 160 RBI.

NL MVP
1) Albert Pujols
2) Manny Ramirez
3) Ryan Howard

This one really isn't that tough. Pujols quietly carried a mediocre Cardinals team, keeping them in contention until September. Pujols is clearly a cut above every hitter in the National League. His .357 BA, 37 HR, 116 RBI and freaky 1.115 OPS is yet another phenomenal season for a guy who could end up being considered one of the best right-handed hitters ever (at his current rate, he'll have over 3,000 hits, 600+ HR's and a career .330+ batting average by 2015).

Some have issue even considering ManRam for the MVP. He only played 60 games with the Dodgers. But in those 53 games, Manny's L.A. Story proved just that. His presence in the lineup reshaped that entire team. He damn near out homered Matt Kemp for the team lead in 100 fewer games. Even though his combined numbers are MVP worthy, Manny simply can't win the award in 1/3 of the season.

Howard is an interesting case. His home run (48) and RBI (146) numbers are solid as a rock (Ashford & Simpson style) . But everything else is abysmal. He struck out 199 times. Hit .251, and had a .339 OBP. It's like saying Ocean's 12 would have been the best out of the series, except for the stupid Julia Roberts plot twist. It just doesn't add up.

AL Cy Young

1) Roy Halladay

2) Cliff Lee

3) Daisuke Matuszaka

I have to agree with Geoff Baker from the Seattle Times on this one. Yes, Lee had a great season. But his win total is really what stands out. Halladay arguably had better numbers, pitching against much better teams on a regular basis. Wins are generally a combination of luck and skill. Halladay didn't have as much luck every fifth day as Lee.

Some might wonder why K-Rod doesn't make the cut. After all, he did annihilate the single season saves record. But like Lee, K-Rod greatly benefited from the position his team put him in. He had more save opportunities than anyone this season and the second most all-time. So given that, he would have had to post an ERA under well below his 2.24.

NL Cy Young

1) Tim Lincecum

2) Brandon Webb

3) Johan Santana

Tiny Tim put together a great year on a terrible team. Webb and Santana were good, but Lincecum was great - and should be for years to come.

AL ROY

1) Evan Longoria

2) Alexei Ramirez

3) Jacob Ellsbury

Despite being an "n" different than Tony Longoria Parker's wife, this Longoria is a stud. He lead all rookies in HR's and finished second in RBI.

Ramirez had the best fielding play this year. He also provided a great bat at 2B for the ChiSox.

NL ROY

1) Geovany Soto

2) Joey Votto

3) Jair Jurrjens

Soto did a great job behind the plate for the Cubbies. He clubbed 23 bombs and hit .285. Votto was under the radar for the abysmal Reds. His numbers compare favorably to Soto, but playing catcher gets Soto extra points in my book.

AL Manager of the Year

1) Joe Maddon

2) Ron Gardenhire

3) Mike Scioscia

This is a no brainer. Maddon kept a young, inexperienced team atop the AL East standings for the entire year. No small feat, especially when you consider he did it with a team that had never won more than 70 games before.

Along with Maddon, Gardenhire got the most out of a team that was supposed to do very little.

NL Manager of the Year

1) Lou Piniella

2) Charlie Manuel

3) Freddi Gonzalez

Sweet Lou couldn't take the Cubs to the promised land. But he did lead them to the best record in the NL by 5 games. Not an easy feat for a franchise that's more accustomed to losing than Walter Mondale.

AL Scott Sanders

1) Carlos Silva

2) Miguel Batista

3) Brian Bannister

Pitchers like Silva and Batista make owners wish all contracts were incentive based. The Mariners teammates earned over $23 million in 2008 and produced an 8-29 record with a 6.36 ERA.

NL Scott Sanders
1) Brandon Backe
2) Barry Zito
3) Jeff Suppan

If you can't keep your ERA below 6, you shouldn't be allowed to pitch at a big league level. Backe (6.05) did little but eat up innings for the Astros.

Zito actually settled down a bit as the season progressed, even finishing with a 2-1 record and a 3.15 ERA in September. Everyone knew he was worth the astronomical contract the Giants gave him in 2006. But at least he's shown flashes that he might be able to regain his Cy Young form.

AL LVP
1) Richie Sexson
2) Jack Hannahan
3) Darci Barton

Big Sexy takes home the trophy for the second consecutive year. For as bad as his 2007 season was, Sexson figured out how to top himself. The pride of Vancouver, Washington hit .236 with 12 HR and a David Eckstein-like .382 slugging percentage, while getting cut by both the Mariners and the Yankees. Unfortunately, it looks like Richie will have trouble completing the trifecta.

The A's damn near fielded an entire lineup of LVP's. No joke.

NL LVP
1) Gregor Blanco
2) Michael Bourn
3) Jeff Francoeur

The speedy Blanco barely slugged over .300. Bourn slugged .300 exactly. But it's Bourn's intent on becoming the real life version of Willie Mays Hayes (41 SB) that keeps him from not winning the award.

After bursting on to the scene as a mid-season call up in 2005, Francoeur's career is in free fall. Francoeur has never been great about getting on base, but he slugged nearly 100 points below his 2006/2007 mark. Francouer is only 24, so hopefully he can figure out where his stroke went.

BoSox Come Alive!

Up seven runs in the seventh with two outs , it seemed like the Boston Red Sox had about as much chance of winning as Viva Laughlin had of staying on TV.

But somehow, someway, the Sox pulled out an improbable comeback to win Game 5 of the ALCS 8-7. Just when Big Papi started to look like Jerry Johnson from Little Big League, he swats a 3-run bomb into the right field seats. All those balls that the seemingly inpenetrable Rays outfield ran down, somehow dropped on the Fenway grass. And leave it to J.D. Drew, he of the Tin Man Syndrome (no heart), to give the Sox a clutch homer and the game winning hit.

This loss is devastating for the Rays. They were seven outs away from the World Series. Seven outs! For a team this young and inexperienced, losing this series will feel like getting dumped by your high school sweetheart for the douche bag on the lacrosse team with crabs. If they end up blowing the series, it will surely go down as one of the all-time great collapses in sports history.

But there are still two games to play. The Rays need only one win. Their entire season has been about proving everyone wrong. They have to do it at least one more time.

Rays of Sunshine

In May, Sports Illustrated featured an animated cover with a Tampa Bay Rays player proudly hoisting Derek Jeter in the air , declaring 2008 as "Bizzaro Baseball".

Flash forward five months and the Rays have done the improbable. They took on the entire American League, and won. Sure, they nearly pulled off the biggest choke job since the Pats couldn't finish off the best season in NFL history. But the upstart Rays pulled out the 3-1 Game 7 win, securing a trip to the World Series.

Just ten years ago, the Rays (née Devil Rays), featured a roster with all-time greats like Jerome Walton (1989 Topps All Star Rookie), the aptly named Bubba Trammell and 1998 All-Star, Rolando Arrojo.

With a core lineup featuring Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton, and a starting rotation boasting Scott Kazmir, James Shields, Matt Garza and David Price (2009 AL ROY, heard it here first), the Rays are built to win on a consistent basis for at least the next five years. They have one of the best managers in baseball, a phenomenal GM in Andrew Friedman and the funkiest dome since the King.

The Rays completely wasted their first five years in the league. Bad drafts (how good would they be if Josh Hamilton didn't fall off the wagon?), reckless free agent signings (Greg Vaughn, Jose Canseco, Juan Guzman) and a dysfunctional front office guaranteed 90-plus losses annually.

But their 2004 trade for Kazmir (Mets fans torture themselves with that one every September), followed by Friedman's hiring after the 2005 season, and the Rays established the building blocks for their current success.

Let this be a lesson for the Royals, Pirates and Mariners fans. For as bad as things seem, they can change in a few short seasons.

This is clearly the Rays year. They've come this far and it will end in a World Series title.

History 101

This one really hurts for Cubbies fans. It's like getting tagged in the head by a Mike Tyson uppercut in his prime. The Cubs went down about as quickly as a Tyson opponent circa 1985-1989 too.

In a year where nearly everything went right for the Cubs for their 162 regular season games, it took just 27 miserably played innings to make 2008 end the way the past 100 seasons have.

I know what it's like to have a magical regular season (2001 Mariners), where it seems like destiny will appear in the form of a World Series Trophy.

It's twisted irony that Lou Piniella coached that 01 M's squad too - and a Joe Torre team beat his ass back then also.

The Cubs freaked out in the playoffs. They couldn't pitch. They couldn't hit. They couldn't field. It's hard to win ball games under those circumstances.

But credit has to go to the Dodgers. How crisp do those jersey look right now? All they needed was ManRam and that team doesn't look anything like the one that was struggling to reach .500 with an old, overpriced roster. Now they appear headed for an epic World Series battle against the Red Sox.

So it will be at least another year before the Cubs exercise the demons of the Billy Goat and Bartman. It's not like their fans aren't used to waiting.

Purple Pledge

You would think losing tickets to a sporting event would be a hard thing to do. But for some reason, my dad is highly skilled at this art.

About 20 minutes before kick off for last weekend's UW/Stanford game, I get a call; "Boy, I can't find the tickets. See if you can find anyone who has extras."

As I hurriedly walked outside Husky Stadium's multiple entrances, searching for a decent priced pair of tickets, I found myself reluctant to pay even ten bucks to watch this team. Then I started thinking - the university should pay UW fans for suffering through the horse shit product they've produced since 2004.

A few days ago, I stumbled upon Chris Ballard's Sports Illustrated story on Stanford's "Gridiron Gurantee". In a culture surrounded by inflated salaries and ticket prices, this is more refreshing than having a "maverick" in the White House .

Here's my proposal for the Huskies "Purple Pledge".

Defense surrenders 400+ passing yards = Free Schultzy's hot dogs for all attending fans
Botched Extra Point = The real Lil' Penny is named interim coach for a game
Blown out by ranked opponent = Fans get a free Tyrone Willingham pistol. Bullets not included.
Jake Locker overthrowing a receiver by 20 yards = Seat cushions throughout Husky Stadium
Apple Cup Loss = Free season tickets for life for all current season ticket holders