TERRY MOSHER
JUSTIN HERBERT
TOP OF THE TOWN – It’s a big weekend for regional football fans. Two of the best quarterbacks slinging the old pigskin will be visiting Seattle. First, Saturday the Oregon Ducks come to Husky Stadium with a stingy defense and Justin Herbert, a quarterback considered a top draft pick to meet the Washington Huskies (5-2, 2-2) in a key Pac-12 game. The 6-6 senior has thrown for 1,602 yards and 17 touchdowns with just one interception while leading the Ducks to a 5-1 record and the best record (3-0) in the Pac-12 North. He was 18-for-32 and 202 yards and two TDs last year in Eugene in a 30-27 overtime victory against the Huskies. Then on Sunday its Baltimore (4-2) visiting Seattle (5-1) to play the Seahawks in a NFL game that will feature the sensational Lamar Jackson at quarterback. The 6-2, 210-pound Jackson, last week in a win over Cincinnati (23-17), threw for 236 yards on 21 for 33 passes and ran for 152 yards and a score. He is on pace to rush for over 1,200 yards. While most of the focus will be on Earl Thomas, who signed a four-year $55 million contract with $32 guaranteed with the Ravens, as he makes his return to CenturyLink Field, the Seahawks know they will have their hands full with the electric Jackson. What is most important for the Huskies is the game itself. They need a victory to have a chance to repeat as champions of the Pac-12. It’s a long shot for sure even now, but another conference loss throws ice cold water on their chances. Other than the annual Apple Cup game against Washington State this game with Oregon is as big as it gets. They are bitter rivals and Oregon fans flock to Seattle dressed in their yellow and green and treats this as a chance to show who is boss in the Pacific Northwest. So Husky Stadium will be rocking Saturday. It is expected to be about 50 degrees with a chance for thundershowers for the game … Sad day for boxing. Junior middleweight Patrick Day, 27, died from brain injuries suffered when he was knocked out last Saturday in the 10th round by undefeated Charles Conwell. There are things we remember as we go through life and one I will never forget happened March 24, 1962. I was watching the welterweight championship fight between champion Benny “Kid” Paret and Emile Griffith. I was a big Griffith fan and this was the third fight between them. Griffith won the first fight and Paret took the second. The fight was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City and I was glued to the TV watching the fight unfold. Paret was beating Griffith, much to my dismay. Then in the 12th round, Griffith backed Paret into a corner and unleashed 29 consecutive punches to Paret. As Griffith unloaded I clearly recall, even now, that I screamed, “Kill him, kill him” at the TV. Sadly, Griffith did. Paret lapsed into a coma, was carted to a hospital where he died 10 days later from massive brain injury. You don’t forget certain events and I certainly have not forgotten this one. I can still see Griffith punching Paret and I’m not very proud of what I said. You can contribute this fight and the one a year later in 1963 that resulted in the death of Davey Moore to the eventual decline in popularity of boxing. Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is now the thing when it comes to fighting, although boxing still has its moments. … Local high school football games this week has me picking Forks to beat Olympic, Klahowya losing to Charles Wright, North Kitsap handling North Mason, Central Kitsap edging North Thurston, Chief Sealth defeats Bainbridge, Bremerton stops Kingston and Puyallup manhandles South Kitsap. Take my picks and $5 and you might be able to get a cup of coffee at Starbucks. That’s it for today.
Be well pal.
Be careful out there.
Have a great day.
You are loved.