Pre New Year's Musings From the Left Coast (repost from Fox blog)

Art Thiel: More often than not he just annoys me. But just when I think that I can ignore his column once and for all, he writes one like this:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/thiel/253522_thiel27.html
I couldn't have said it better myself, Art. But now I'm going to add to it a bit, if you don't mind.
Things Seattle Sports Fans Could Use More of In 2006:
1. Mariners and Sonics GM's and CEO's going to Tim Ruskell for a few lessons in how to drastically improve their teams in a single offseason and then following up on what they have learned.
2. Geography lessons for out of town sports writers and broadcasters who don't have the faintest idea where Seattle is really located (i.e. not in Canada, not in Southern Alaska, and so on).
3. That same Microsoft deciding that buying out competitor (on the sports front) Nintendo America might not be such a bad idea after all (hey, who said you can't own a basketball, football AND a baseball team?),, doing it and surprising Seattle fans with a seriously winning team by 2007
4. A continued growing fan base for women's sports, i.e. the Storm and the Lady Huskies (volleyball especially). Women are legitimate athletes and should be regarded as such by more than just other women.
5. Athletes who really DO want to come to Seattle and play for something other than money, and then do just that.
6. A contract for Shaun Alexander, sooner than later.
Things Seattle Sports Fans Could Use Less of In 2006:
1. The rather widely held perception that Seattle sports fans are just coffee drinking Yuppies who don't know anything about the mechanics, rules or subtle nuances of the game(s).
2. Ticket price increases for a product that has decreased in value (I'm not naming any names here, but you know who you are).
3. Talking from the broadcast booth just to be talking. If you don't have something substantive to say, or if you are going to repeat yourself for the third time in the past 20 minutes, just let us watch the game in peace and talk when it really means something.
So, fellow bloggers, let's hear your 2006 hopes/dreams for sports fans in your cities!