Seattle Sports Examiner

      Now that the Sonics have left town, it's time for me to go, too.

     However, unlike the unlikelihood of another NBA coming back to the city any time soon, I shall return in about 2 1/2 weeks. In the meantime, everyone can entertain themselves with my old posts here and grade me for grammar, spelling and logic.

     I'll be out of the country where the only sports I might see are the finish of the Tour de France, Rome taxi drivers jockeying for position or maybe that event in Siena, Italy where big vegetable trucks drive through the center of town and everyone throws tomatoes at each other. That one's so tough to score, though.

     By the time the Seahawks are ready to play their first exhibition game at Minnesota, I'll be back. Come hell or high water, can't miss watching that one. As I depart, there are some stray thoughts, random thoughts, potshots and predictions that I need to release. It makes more sense doing it here than declaring them at customs.

     * With the baseball trading deadline a week away, wouldn't it be great if the Yankees take Jarrod Washburn. It doesn't matter who the Mariners get in return - the Yankees' farm system is depleted. The fact that they will take his salary is sufficient. He's expected to make $10 million next season. His four-year, $37.5 million deal that notorious Bill Bavasi signed him to in 2006 has produced 22 victories (38 losses), or about $1.7 million per win.

     * It's wishful thinking that Erik Bedard would be gone as well. It might be better to wait until the off-season. By the way, is this a good time to mention that Adam Jones, who turns 23 Aug. 1, is hitting .282 with 43 RBI, which would be fourth highest on the Mariners if he were still here. And George Sherrill, a first-time All-Star, has 29 saves, second most in the Majors.

    * Here are some numbers to look for over while I'm gone: Ichiro's average and 200-hit pace, Felix Hernandez's ERA and Richie Sexson's average with the Yankees (he's had one hit in four at-bats, playing in just two of five games). What are the odds that Sexson will still be with the Yankees when they visit Seattle Sept. 5-7?

     * One more thing on the Mariners, they are returning to KIRO radio for three years beginning in 2009. That's good. It does feel more like home but the problem is I may inadvertently be subjected to some Dori Monson collaterel damage (if he's still there). That last time I listened to him was the day after Saddam Hussein was captured. He admonished the Iraq war naysayers with, "for all those people who were against the war, this ought to show how ridiculous their positions are.'' I was one of those, Dori, and, like all the others against it,  it was never about Saddam.

    * Kevin Calabro will stick around town to be the voice of the Seattle FC Sounders. Love it. He's got the greatest broadcast voice, although I'm wondering how it will translate into soccer. My feeling is he's waiting around to see how the Mariners' broadcast team ultimately shakes out. Then he'll move over there. He'd be outstanding doing baseball.

    * I'm actually looking forward to the highest level of pro soccer in America here next year. We've gotten in line for season tickets. I owe it to fellow Clevelander Drew Carey for stepping up and helping to make it happen.

     * Would Brett Farve be someone who could help the Seahawks get over the top in Mike Holmgren's final season? Farve, Holmgren and Matt Hasselback together again. I'm not a big Hasselbeck fan, although I don't think either quarterback will carry us much into the Jim Mora era.

    * The new NBA franchise in Oklahoma City will be called the Thunder. Isn't that special? It sounds like a name for a U-12 girls soccer team at 60 Acres. My preference would have been the OKC Rustlers.

    * As UW football begins training camp, it seems to me that the Pac-10, on the whole, will come back a little for the Huskies. But the Huskies wouldn't be able to step up to meet it. Maybe five wins. Likely Tyrone Willingham's final season.

    * The guy who may have to make that decision on Willingham could be Chuck Nelson. The former Husky kicker, who now runs the Boeing Classic golf tournament on the Champions Tour, is interested in the open athletic director position and being considered. As the longtime UW radio analyst, he has seen the devastation first hand. It's my feeling that Willingham won't survive long under a Nelson Regime.

     It would be nice if all this could happen over the next couple weeks then we'll have something and someone to kick around.