And Now, For a Break From Baseball, Football...

Now whyever would I want a break from baseball, you may ask? After all, there are still 122 games left to be played before the regular season is over and playoffs begin. I'm sorry, if you have to ask that question you haven't been paying much attention to how awful the Mariners are for the third year in a row. (Oh well, at least my second favorite team is doing well and my third favorite team is trying hard to do better).

The Seattle Seahawks announced recently that Head Coach Mike Holmgren has been signed to a two year contract extension, through the 2008 season. Terms of the contract have not been released, but it is thought that the last year of his current contract was reworked as a part of the new deal.

However, it is also generally believed that the contract also contains an "out clause" if Holmgren is offered a GM position by any NFL team during its run.

This will give the team a sense of some stability for the next few years, allowing them to see if they can bypass the Super Bowl jinx and do at least as well, if not better, this year than they did last. On the subject of jinxes, MVP Shaun Alexander has openly stated that he is not worried in the least about the Madden jinx, and QB Matt Hasselbeck has not commented on the Chunky Soup jinx (does he even know it exists? maybe he thinks that Roethlisberger, who signed first, will be the recipient of that one). Perhaps the third jinx is the charm and they will all cancel each other out (not superstitious at all, the author sits with fingers and toes crossed).

Holmgren is well known for his occasionally volatile temper (hey, Mike, would you like an offseason temp assignment? I know a certain baseball team that could use some of that motivation......) but says that he is trying to mellow out a bit as he approaches the end of his fifth decade. He also states that he is in good health, and is still well motivated to coach this team at this time.

The first mini-camp is nearly on the books, and it is just a matter of weeks until training camp opens. Here is to a productive season for all involved.