2022 Pacific Northwest Sports Top 10: Honorable Mentions
These are the people who just missed out on making our 2022 Pacific Northwest Sports Top 10 list.
Before we hit the top five in our 2022 Pacific Northwest Sports Top 10, we take a break from the countdown to recognize those who just missed the cut this year.
Marshawn Lynch
Beast Mode hung up his cleats in 2019, but he’s still a big part of the Pacific Northwest sports scene. Marshawn Lynch even became a minority partner in the Seattle Kraken ownership group in April. Hopefully, he can put his recent troubles behind him like the would-be tacklers he shed during his playing days.
Macklemore and Marshawn Lynch are the newest minority owners of the Seattle Kraken.
More: https://t.co/jlqwb2H5od pic.twitter.com/rViIcvTKEn
— ESPN (@espn) April 18, 2022
Oakview Group – Tod Leiweke, President
It’s been quite a year for the Oakview Group. They renovated an arena, started an NHL franchise, and laid the groundwork for a new Supersonics franchise. Does anyone sleep over there?
By almost every fan experience metric, the Kraken’s inaugural season was a success. Climate Pledge Arena is a place the city can take pride in. If 2023 is as successful for the Oak View Group as 2022 was, it won’t be too long before the NBA is back in Seattle.
Part of the sweetest open in Hockey. @SeattleKraken at Climate Pledge Arena pic.twitter.com/TfkJEtjBUh
— Alyssa Charlston (@Alyssacharlston) January 21, 2022
Jen Cohen
It’s been a heck of an eight-month period for University of Washington Athletic Director Jen Cohen. Going back to November, she suspended then fired head football coach Jimmy Lake for hitting one of his players during a sideline scuffle against Oregon. After a thorough search, she hired Kalen DeBoer from Fresno State to lift up the sagging program.
Just when the seas started to smooth, the bottom fell out of the Washington Huskies’ boat. Pac-12 mainstays USC and UCLA bolted for the Big Ten Conference in June. Will Washington stay in the Pac-12 or leave for another conference? If they do stay, will the conference expand? What about a new national television contract? All those questions and more are on her plate.
Joe Cronin
Joe Cronin was thrust into the spotlight as the Portland Trail Blazers general manager when the team terminated his predecessor Neil Olshey on December 3. He hit the ground running and, by the NBA trade deadline, was ready to put his own stamp on the franchise.
Robert Covington, Norman Powell, Larry Nance Jr., and the very popular C.J. McCollum were all traded away. In return, Cronin got back a handful of expiring contracts, draft picks, and a very useful guard, Josh Hart.
The new GM kept up the momentum after the season ended. He traded for Jerami Grant and signed Gary Payton II away from the NBA Champion Warriors.
"We know we're not good enough"
I asked Joe Cronin what's next.
"Keep on the path. We're trying to be really aggressive…keep trying to get better…(the draft) is not the end all as far as trades go."#RipCity pic.twitter.com/X7lwAcMO2n
— Orlando Sanchez (@orlandokgw) June 24, 2022
Ron Francis
It’s hard to say if Ron Francis had a good year or not because the Seattle Kraken didn’t have a very productive first season. But by virtue of his position as the Seattle Kraken General Manager, he wields considerable power.
Francis took plenty of head for what many fans thought was a poor expansion draft. He got some redemption at the NHL trade deadline by moving out a slew of veterans for a boatload of draft picks over the next several seasons. His luck continued to change at the 2022 NHL Draft when the player many felt was the best prospect in the class, Shane Wright, fell to Seattle at pick number four.
Check out numbers 7-10 in our Pacific Northwest Sports Top 10.