Each Friday during the football season we will make our NFL and college football picks.  We will have a “guest guesser” join us each week.  If you would like to have a chance to be our “guest guesser” send an email to wingman@700espn.com  Make sure to include your best day time phone number so we can reach you.

The college football season kicks off this week!  Exciting stuf.  The Pac-10 spotlight will be on the northwest with two Pac-10 conference games right out of the chute!   The Oregon State Beavers travel to the Bay Area to open the season and Pac-10 play against the Stanford Cardinal on Thursday.  On Saturday, just after the Cougars open at Qwest Field against Oklahoma State, the Washington Huskies will be in Eugene to meet the Oregon Ducks.  Oregon will apparently be without starting QB Nate Costa and Washington will have QB Jake Locker playing after a hamstring injury that kept him on the sidelines for the first week of training camp. 

Join me for the 22nd year of the Cougar Road Show this Saturday at 10:30 in the morning from the events center at Qwest Field.  Join Bob Robertson, Jim Walden and me for the pre-game show at 11:30, with kick set for 12:30 on KXLY 920 and the Cougar Sports Radio Network.

The Seahawks have a pair of games this week.  We’ll have members of the Seahawk broadcast crew on Monday and Tuesday regarding the San Diego game, and Friday as the Seahawks wrap up the pre-season against the Raiders. 

Hope your summer is going well.  I have mixed emotions about the opening of Seahawk camp and then seeing the Cougars, Eagles, Vandals and Huskies headed to camp.  I love football season, but it also means summer is over for those of us who cover professional or college football.   As I write this, we are barely a week away from the first Seahawk pre-season game!  We all have high expectations for the Seahawks,  just like we did for the Mariners.  I think–and hope–that those expectations are better founded than they were for the Mariners.  If you are interested in the Seahawks, maybe joining the Spokane Valley Seahawkers is for you.  check out www.spokanevalleyseahawkers.org for more information.

Hope you enjoy the Holiday weekend.  Tough time for Sonic fans, the few of you there are left.  It seems it was a foregone conclusion that Clay Bennett would get his way and find the way to Oklahoma City.  The sad thing is that any future NBA team in Seattle will probably arrive in less than ideal condition.

At least the Mariners are playing a little better right now.  Don’t get too excited, but it is nice that they are the worst in baseball right now. 

Be safe and sane this weekend!

Drink plenty of water!  Going to be in the 90’s and that doesn’t factor in the black asphalt affect!  We are excited to broadcast live from Hoopfest Center Court Friday afternoon from 1:00 to 3:00.  The Dennis Patchin Show will be live at Center Court right after us.

After struggling to score runs all year, the Mariners have posted a couple of double digit games.  Could be history tonight, maybe a series sweep for the first time this season!

Coach Tony Bennett and the Cougs get a nice committment from point guard Xavier Thames.  Thames and Spokane’s Anthony Brown next year will join the 6 new Cougars who are in Pullman right now.  Cougs are getting more athletic and could play a little more uptempo as these guys mature. 

Will the firing of General Manager Bill Bavasi change anything for the Mariners?  Probably not right now.  We’ll see what the long term affects are.  Lee Pelekoudas is a solid baseball guy who will get a chance to turn things around.  If that chance is only for the remainder of the season don’t expect much to change.  He will have a chance to change the look of this team if ownership says he can hold a firesale and trade for youngsters in July.  We’ll see.  I like that Johjima has been taking grounders at first, with Clement set to catch.  Next move by the M’s should be to designate Richie Sexson for re-assignment and see if anyone wants to take a gamble on him.

Game 6 of the NBA Finals tonight on 700 ESPN The Ticket.  With all the titles the Patriots and Red Sox have won lately, the Celtics have a chance to win a World Championship at home, something the Patriots will never do with the Super Bowl in a warm weather city and with the Sox having won their titles on the road.   

Let’s hope June is a better month for the Mariners than May was.  But then again, how could it not be better?  20 losses in May.  May-day, May-day.  Sending out an SOS. 

Lakers and Celtics in the NBA Finals….back to the 80’s?  What is the over under on the number of shots of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson watching? 

 Pre-season college football magazines are hitting the newstands.  WSU and UW both predicted to finish in the bottom half of the league.

Seahawks holding their final mini camp before training camp opens in July. 

It’s already Memorial Day, in Mariner baseball season that has produced no good memories.  Doing some research before the show today, and read Geoff Bakers’s blog on the Seattle Times.  I agree that the Mariner front office needs to make a statement about John McLaren’s future.  Baker basically states that the M’s have no chance unless they back McLaren so he has more authority to make moves.  I’d like to see Jeremy Reed play left and DH Raul Ibanez.  Vidro can play some first base, and occasionally Sexson. 

 Let’s hope the Memorial Day weekend is memorial for the Spokane Chiefs at the Memorial Cup.  A win Sunday night and the Chiefs won’t need a plane to fly home from Kitchener! 

 I still say Spurs and Pistons in the NBA finals.  Pistons got their needed road win, will the Spurs be next?

Go Danica Patrick…..it would be great to see her win the Indy 500. 

Remember, it’s Memorial Day Weekend.  Take some time Monday to remember those who sacrificed for us!    

Geez, just when the Mariners finally get hot, the schedule maker gives them a day off to cool them off!  The Mariners have their first back to back wins since April 20th and 22nd as they head to Detroit.

Go Chiefs Go!  Nice 2-0 start in the Memorial Cup.   Chiefs could be in the final on Sunday even before they play their final game of the round robin on Tuesday. 

How good is Big Brown?!  Looks unbeatable, but in the last 12 years 7 other horses have had a chance to win the Triple Crown and couldn’t get it done.  That being said, Bib Brown looks like the real deal. 

I don’t think a Mariner punch connected in the brawl with the Rangers, so they still haven’t scored in awhile!  Richie Sexson charging the mound after an eye high fastball was the ultimate act of a frustrated player.  His team is struggling, he’s struggling and there is something going on with his family that seems to have him on edge.  There was no reason to go to the mound after that pitch, but he will pay for it with a suspension. 

It’s not pretty in the booth during our show right now, since Wingy is not showering until the Mariners score again.  If they haven’t scored by Sunday, I’m not doing the show on Monday! 

 Way to go Chiefs!  Great to see the Chiefs in the Memorial Cup again, and having Spokane native Tyler Johnson as the WHL finals MVP is pretty cool!