Seattle, WA

I don’t know why the Seattle Kraken were good, and because of that I’m glad they’re gone

Published

2 years ago

May 16, 2023

I don’t know why the Seattle Kraken were good, and because of that I’m glad they’re gone

At this time of year, when the NHL gets down to the brass tacks, it’s best to know why teams are in the conference finals and why you’d want to watch. It should be easily identifiable what these teams do and/or who they have that makes them worthy of the time of the year, and have left the proletariat behind. It’s usually pretty easy to spot.

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This year, the Canes are a perennial division winner and one of the better defensive teams in the league, with a highly mobile defensive corps that pushes them up the ice. The Knights are deep and willing to turn games into contests of who can outwork each other which they almost always win. They are also a division winner. The Panthers are only a year removed from a Presidents’ Trophy and saw Sergei Bobrovsky throw a .938 save percentage at the Leafs.

So it’s a good thing, really, that the Seattle Kraken were dismissed in the seventh game of their second-round series with the Dallas Stars. While the Stars are hardly a juggernaut, they at least have a future Rocket Richard Award winner in Jason Robertson, a quickly blossoming young No. 1 center in Roope Hintz, and a future Norris Trophy candidate in Miro Heiskanen (THE REDEEMER).

What do the Kraken have? Who the fuck knows.

Seattle has been an utter mystery

Seattle has been an utter mystery all season. They had a 40-goal scorer in Jared McCann, but we’ve watched McCann cycle through three teams before landing in Seattle to pretty much know he’s a middle-six winger. So they must’ve been a pretty good defensive team? Yeah, in the regular season they were fourth in expected goals against. But in the playoffs, they were pretty butt, giving up 2.76 xGA per game, which was good for 11th out of 16, with the five teams below them all having eaten it in the first round.

So a dynamic offensive team? No, not that either. They were 20th in xGF during the season, and they maintained the same rate in the postseason to rank 13th out of the playoff teams. Special teams? Nope, as both their power play and penalty kill ranked 21st during the season, and their power play during the playoffs made Baby Jesus cry.

And before you even start, no, their goaltending would have to wheel-pose to even be called middling in the playoffs, after being downright bad in the regular season. Basically, the Kraken spent 96 games having an inordinate number of shots go in because either A) they’d unearthed a series of underappreciated and undiscovered snipers in the expansion draft and off the scrapheap and hence are one of the greatest scouting forces of all time or B) hockey was just at its most weird in the Pacific Northwest.

Oh sure, they played “fast” in that they got the puck into the opponent’s zone quickly, though rarely did they manage to string three passes together to do so. Nor were they much interested in doing so. Just get it there and they would buzz around and the bounces would go their way. It nearly worked.

But still, like any second-year team they’re faceless and featureless, other than speed, which pretty much every team is featuring these days (except the Rangers). Roll out their sub-.900 goaltending next year and they’ll miss the playoffs by a distance. The Kraken spent most of this series against Dallas getting pretty well thumped. In four of the seven games they were on the ass end of severe beatings in Corsi and expected goals and were just about even in a further two. They just kept having enough goals go in…because Jake Oettinger went a little funny this series and because the Hockey Gods were huffing paint again. Story wasn’t much different in the first round in Colorado, except they got the coin flip that time.

It was cute and all, a novelty, a quirk, a ghost in the machine. But this is supposed to be a time for realness, and the Kraken got found out just in time. Basically, the Kraken need to come back when their balls drop and we can identify something special about them other than how strange it is that they were here at all.

Blue Jays broadcast notices Aaron Judge looking at…something

This assuredly won’t become an overblown thing in the next day or two…

While Blue Jays broadcasters Dan Shulman and Buck Martinez didn’t say any more about it than it was just something they noticed, they’ll certainly be labeled as accusing Judge of…something. And it’s not exactly that the Yankees have been above reproach in recent history.

Still, the most likely explanation is that hitters don’t like to stare out at the pitcher for too long, fearing that they’ll kind of get glassy-eyed and get a little on their heels. You’ll often see hitters look off during their practice swings to refocus when they do look back at the pitcher.

But it is rare to see a hitter do this right before a pitch is thrown. It could be that Alex Manoah is tipping his pitches and someone in the dugout noticed, which might be one explanation for Manoah playing with matches and kerosine all season (that or his fastball losing some velocity). And maybe Jay Jackson was…too? Well, that’s a stretch.

Interesting, is all.

Follow Sam on Twitter @Felsgate.

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Seattle, WA

Uber sues the City of Seattle

Published

2 hours ago

December 20, 2024

Press Room

Uber is taking Seattle to court. The Seattle Times reported Uber is suing to block a law that would regulate when it can deactivate a driver.

The lawsuit claims that the city is infringing on the company’s rights by limiting its ability to manage drivers based on performance and safety concerns.

“Uber believes that ensuring consumers receive reliable, efficient and, above all, safe deliveries is more important than allowing couriers with consistently low consumer ratings — a sign of serious performance and/or safety issues — to keep disappointing consumers. The city does not,” the suit read.

The Seattle City Council passed the law in 2023, with strong support from then-council member Theresa Mosqueda.

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“To deactivate a driver or to cut someone off to have their ability to have an income with no warning and no recourse is just wrong,” she said at the time.

The law, set to take effect on New Year’s Day, aims to provide more transparency and fairness in the deactivation process. It requires companies like Uber to establish a “reasonable” policy for deactivations, give drivers advance notice and conduct fair investigations.

Uber argues that the law will hinder its ability to quickly address issues related to driver performance and safety, potentially leading to poorer service for customers. The company also contends that the law violates its constitutional rights by forcing it to associate with problematic drivers and disclose confidential business information.

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The law is part of a broader effort by Seattle lawmakers and labor advocates to protect gig workers, who often lack the ability to unionize. It includes provisions to prevent deactivations based on insufficient driving hours, low customer ratings, or declined ride offers, except in extreme cases.

Additionally, companies must provide drivers with records justifying their deactivation and allow them to contest the decision. Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, who signed the bill into law, emphasized the importance of protecting app-based workers from sudden deactivations that could threaten their livelihoods. However, Uber maintains that its existing policies are sufficient to ensure safety and reliability for consumers.

Contributing: Frank Lenzi, KIRO Newsradio

Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X, formerly known as Twitter, here and email him here.

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Seattle, WA

Seattle Metro bus murder suspect arrested last year for stabbing, killing roommate

Published

10 hours ago

December 20, 2024

Press Room

Seattle Metro bus murder suspect arrested last year for stabbing, killing roommate

Police ID Seattle Metro bus stabbing suspect

Seattle Police are hunting for 53-year-old Richard Sitzlack for killing bus driver Shawn Yim.

SEATTLE, WA – The man who is wanted for the murder of a Seattle Metro bus driver was arrested a year ago for the murder of his roommate, but released due to a lack of evidence, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Seattle Police say 53-year-old Richard Sitzlack murdered 59-year-old Shawn Yim early Wednesday morning.

Yim, a King County Metro driver, only had two passengers on the bus when he was killed: the accused murderer and a witness, who FOX 13 Seattle spoke to on Thursday morning.

Seattle Police released a photo of the accused killer more than 30 hours after the murder.

Police identify 53-year-old Richard Sitzlack in deadly Seattle bus driver stabbing. (Seattle Police Department)

However, police tell FOX 13 Seattle someone reportedly saw Sitzlack downtown around 8 p.m. Wednesday. That is about five miles from where the attack happened in the University District, and 15 hours after the attack.

Seattle police would not provide any more details on the sighting of Sitzlack.

“We are seeking the public’s help in finding this person,” said Detective Eric Muñoz with SPD. “The Metro coach drivers all have his photograph, every police officer in the city has his photograph and information.”

A year ago, Sitizlack was behind bars for a similar incident.

Officials from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s office said Sitzlack was arrested for murder in connection with the death of his roommate.

However, no charges were filed, and Sitzlack was released.

“Both police and prosecutors looked at the admissible evidence and thought we can’t disprove the claim of self-defense,” said Casey McNerthney with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

According to the prosecutor’s office, Sitzlack claimed his roommate tried to kill him with a machete. He fought back and stabbed his roommate to death, then called the police, according to the report.

“If King County prosecutors had the evidence to charge him with murder, we would have charged him with murder,” said McNerthney.

The transit union is offering a $10k reward to the person who helps find the murderer.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Seattle Police Department’s Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000.

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To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily Fox Seattle Newsletter.

Download the free FOX Seattle FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national coverage, plus 24/7 streaming coverage from across the nation.

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Seattle, WA

Seattle Seahawks Injury Report: Key players trend in right direction

Published

18 hours ago

December 19, 2024

Press Room

Seattle Seahawks Injury Report: Key players trend in right direction

The Seattle Seahawks’ running back situation took a positive step forward Thursday.

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After sitting out of practice the day prior, Seattle’s top two options in the backfield were back on the field. Kenneth Walker III (calf) was a full participant and Zach Charbonnet (oblique) was limited.

Walker has missed the past two games with the calf injury and logged his first full practice since Nov. 29. Charbonnet rushed for 188 yards and three touchdowns in the two games Walker missed.

With Walker and Charbonnet both out, Seattle was down to third-string running back Kenny McIntosh and fourth-stringer George Holani on Wednesday.

Seattle received another good sign for its run game, too, as starting center Olu Oluwatimi (knee) was a limited participant after missing practice the day before. The second-year offensive lineman exited Sunday’s loss to Green Bay Packers with the injury and did not return.

A couple other players trended in the right direction Thursday outside of the handful of players who sat out of the previous day’s practice for normal rest. Tight end Noah Fant (knee) was a full participant following a limited session to start the week, and cornerback Tre Brown (hamstring) logged a limited practice for the first time since being a late add to the Seahawks’ injury report before their game against the Arizona Cardinals two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, linebacker Ernest Jones IV (knee) was a limited participant for the second straight day.

One Seahawk did, however, take a step back. Outside linebacker Trevis Gipson (ankle) was held out of practice after being limited on Wednesday.

Here are the full injury reports from Thursday’s practices for both the Seahawks and Vikings.

Seattle Seahawks

Did not practice

TE Brady Russell (foot)

DE Lenoard Williams (foot/rest)

LB Trevis Gipson (ankle)

T Abraham Lucas (knee/rest)

NT Johnathan Hankins (illness/rest)

Limited

RB Zach Charbonnet (oblique)

C Olu Oluwatimi (Knee)

CB Tre Brown (hamstring)

LB Ernest Jones IV (knee)

Full

RB Kenneth Walker III (calf)

WR DK Metcalf (shoulder)

G Laken Tomlinson (rest)

WR Tyler Lockett (rest)

NT Jarran Reed (rest)

TE Noah Fant (knee)

TE AJ Barner (shoulder)

QB Geno Smith (knee)

S K’Von Wallace (ankle)

Minnesota Vikings

Did not practice

CB Fabian Moreau (hip)

DL Jalen Redmond (concussion)

S Harrison Smith (foot)

Limited

OLB Patrick Jones II (knee)

T Brian O’Neill (knee)

DL Harrison Phillips (knee)

Full

CB Stephon Gilmore (hamsrting)

TE Josh Oliver (wrist)

FB C.J. Ham (ankle)

T David Quisenberry (oblique)

OLB Dallas Turner (knee)

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• Big Ray Roberts: How Seahawks overthought the plan on offense
• The league has taken notice of Seahawks’ lack of home-field advantage
• Seahawks Uniforms: For second straight game, it’s all one color
• Seahawks CB Riq Woolen’s inconsistent play ‘hard to explain’
• Breaking down Seahawks’ NFC West title and playoff odds

Follow @ZacHereth

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