The preseason NFL predictions are hitting the shelves and it seems as though the national powers that be have some sort of collective amnesia about the defending Super Bowl champs.
If the Mariners had any room to err in a razor-thin American League postseason race, they used it up by losing two of three against the Phillies this week.
Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon has taken plenty of cues from his mentor, Jim Leyland. In fact, McClendon's first season in Seattle is strikingly similar to Leyland's debut campain with the Tigers in 2006, when Detroit advanced to the World Series.
Between the Blue Angels flying over Seahawks practice, a visit from a Hall of Famer, the Mariners' deadline moves and Marshawn Lynch's return, Thursday was a memorable day for Michael Grey.
Big contracts went out to players like Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman and Michael Bennett, but Marshawn Lynch's hold out proves that even the Seahawks aren't immune to the issues money creates.
Added experience has paid off for the Mariners, who enter the second half of the season in the thick of the playoff race and looking to improve even more with expected deadline deals.
