Kirsten Kendrick

There's no rest for the weary at Seattle Seahawks headquarters. Less than a week after the end of the season, head coach Pete Carroll fired offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates and hired Darrell Bevell from the Minnesota Vikings to replace him.

Carroll also has hired the newly-fired head coach of the Oakland Raiders, Tom Cable, to be his assistant head coach and the man in charge of the Hawks' offensive line. How does all of this impact the effort to re-sign quarterback Matt Hasselbeck?

It will be freezing cold. The field will be lousy. But the Seahawks are bringing a lot of emotional momentum into Sunday’s NFC Divisional Playoff game against the Bears in Chicago. 

The Seattle Seahawks host the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints Saturday in the NFC playoff game.  Kickoff is at 1:30 at Qwest Field.  Matt Hasselbeck will be the starting quarterback, getting the nod over Charlie Whitehurst, who led the Seahawks to victory over St. Louis for the NFC West title last weekend. 

Sports commentator Art Thiel shared his thoughts on the Saints-Seahawks matchup with KPLU’s Kirsten Kendrick.

What would you say was the top Seattle sports story of 2010?   Sports commentator Art Thiel has come up with his top five, and he shared them with KPLU’s Kirsten Kendrick.

The Washington Huskies are working hard to prepare for their first bowl appearance in eight years.  They play Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl next Thursday, December 30th, in San Diego. 

Sports commentator Art Thiel shared with KPLU’s Kirsten Kendrick the many reasons why this game is such a big deal for Washington and not for Nebraska. 

The Mariners have signed three veteran free agents in the past week.  But the news is not generating much excitement.  Sports commentator Art Thiel tells KPLU’s Kirsten Kendrick that’s because the Mariners are embarking on a rebuilding year, which could have them entertaining offers for star pitcher Felix Hernandez. 

The Washington Huskies may be all smiles when it comes to preparing for the Holiday Bowl on December 30th.  But that’s not the case for their opponent, Nebraska.  Sports commentator Art Thiel tells KPLU's Kirsten Kendrick the Cornhuskers are suffering from a double case of Déjà Vu. 

You’ve read his columns in the Seattle P-I for 30 years – first in print and more recently online.  Now, KPLU sports commentator Art Thiel has started a new Web site with friend and former P-I colleague Steve Rudman.  It’s called Sportspress Northwest.  Art talked with KPLU’s Kirsten Kendrick about his new venture, and about one of the big stories that will be featured on the site this weekend (the Apple Cup). 

Seattle will not be hosting World Cup matches in 2022.  The United States was up against four other countries to host the World Cup. But the bid has gone to the Middle Eastern country Qatar.  

The Washington Huskies play their second-to-last football game of the season Saturday against Cal in Berkeley.  And, even though the Huskies are just 4 and 6, sports commentator Art Thiel tells KPLU’s Kirsten Kendrick the stakes are high for this game. 

The Mariners' Felix Hernandez has won his first Cy Young Award.  He was recognized Thursday as the American League’s best pitcher for the 2010 season.  Sports commentator Art Thiel talked with KPLU’s Kirsten Kendrick about Felix’s honor in this week’s installment of Sports with Art Thiel. 

After falling just short of the honor last year, Mariners pitching ace Felix Hernandez has won his first American League Cy Young Award.  The announcement was made this morning. 

“I have never been so sad to lose someone I never met.”  The words of one Mariner fan on Facebook at a memorial page for the team’s radio announcer Dave Niehaus.  His death this week from a heart attack has affected a lot of people in the Pacific Northwest in the same way. 

Jazz saxophone legend Sonny Rollins celebrated his 80th birthday on September 7th. KPLU's Kirsten Kendrick and Nick Morrison used the opportunity to talk about Rollins' life and play some of his great music. As part of a monthly contribution to NPR's music Web site, Nick compiled a list of five Sonny Rollins' songs that span his extensive career. And Nick talked with Kirsten about some of his selections.

Kirsten: Nick, when did Sonny Rollins first start coming into focus for jazz fans?

If you love jazz, then you know it's often a family affair. Here's one example: the Heath Brothers Quartet performed this weekend at Jazz Port Townsend, with Jimmy Heath on tenor saxophone and Tootie Heath on drums. Along with their late brother Percy, the Heaths are just one of the great sibling stories in jazz. In this week's installment of our Artscape series, KPLU's Kirsten Kendrick and Nick Morrison discuss more musical families as part of a list that Nick prepared for NPR.