About Mike Gastineau

Mike Gastineau has been a fixture in the Seattle sports community since his arrival in June of 1991. In a business where loyalty and longevity are rarely used in the same sentence his 21-year career at KJR Radio screams out both. During his time at KJR Gas created the KJR Kares-a-thon, a yearly charity radio show that raised over $1.5 million for various Puget Sound-area charities.

EXCERPT ONE FROM MR. TOWNSEND & THE POLISH PRINCE

By |2020-04-02T16:56:50-07:00February 4th, 2019|

  On November 8th, 1980, Delaware State College lost a football game to Portland State University by the astonishing score of 105 to 0. The loss (the largest of several lopsided defeats the Hornets suffered that year) led to school president Dr. Luna Mishoe ordering his athletic director Nelson Townsend to completely revamp the school's football [...]

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FREE POOL, CHEAP BEER, AND A GOOD JUKEBOX LEAD TO A LIFELONG LOVE

By |2020-04-02T16:56:50-07:00April 7th, 2017|

I moved to Seattle in June of 1991 and Renee followed in August. She arrived three days after a local band named Pearl Jam released their first record, Ten. That was merely a coincidence. Neither of us knew anything about the band and we were both focused on trying to get a foothold in a city [...]

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HASSELBECK LEAVES NFL WITH NO ESCORT NECESSARY

By |2020-04-02T16:56:51-07:00March 9th, 2016|

On an afternoon in Detroit in 2006 my producer Matt Muller and I were walking around the media center at Super Bowl XL when a security guard suddenly jumped in front of us and ordered us to halt. We could see and hear a great commotion as some star was making his way into the area. [...]

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LOOKING FOR PERFECTION? DON’T START HERE

By |2020-04-02T16:56:51-07:00February 8th, 2016|

In the late 90s, a writer friend of mine was involved with the presentation of the Davey O’Brien award, a trophy given yearly to the top college football quarterback by an athletic club in Fort Worth, Texas. My friend had helped coordinate the voting by other writers and as a thank you he and his wife [...]

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HENDU: LIFE OF A BALL PLAYER

By |2020-04-02T16:56:51-07:00December 28th, 2015|

Dave Henderson loved being Hendu. Loved it. Basked in it. Enjoyed filling up every room he ever walked into with Hendu goodness. He’d smile his big smile, say hello to old friends and introduce himself to new ones and then he’d be off to the races. The 1986 home run in Game 5 vs the Angels [...]

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GREAT FIRST HALF! WHY IS EVERYONE LEAVING?

By |2020-04-02T16:56:51-07:00November 2nd, 2015|

I went to a really exciting playoff game the other night. There was a huge crowd, the game was nationally televised, and given that it was the first of November, the weather really cooperated. The road team got the homeboys down early, and that ended up having a wet blanket effect on things as fan behavior [...]

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NEW HALL OF FAMER KASEY KELLER ALMOST DIDN’T BECOME A SOUNDER

By |2020-04-02T16:57:17-07:00April 8th, 2015|

(photo: Rod Mar) Lacey, Washington native Kasey Keller was elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame today on the first ballot. The best player ever produced by the Evergreen State and one of the best Americans of all time, Keller spent the majority of his pro career playing in Europe. As his career [...]

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MORRIS TROPHY’S COLORFUL HISTORY BEFITS SEATTLE

By |2020-04-02T16:57:17-07:00January 14th, 2015|

On Thursday, January 15th, the Morris Trophy will be presented for the 35th time at a luncheon at the Washington Athletic Club in downtown Seattle. The award honors the top offensive lineman, and top defensive lineman, in the PAC 12 conference and is voted on by the players who play those positions. This year's winners are [...]

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KLINSMANN’S BAD YEAR

By |2020-04-02T16:57:17-07:00October 16th, 2014|

If Jurgen Klinsmann were a stock I'd be on the phone to my guy asking him how long we're going to hang on to him. The man who makes $2.6 million dollars a year to coach the United States Men's National Team continues to behave like a child in the back of a car on a [...]

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10/10 A DAY OF SIGNIFICANCE AT CASA DE GAS

By |2020-04-02T16:57:17-07:00October 10th, 2014|

My book SOUNDERS FC: AUTHENTIC MASTERPIECE  was published one year ago today, almost exactly a year after I first decided to write it. That sentence is a mouthful (much more for me than anyone else). The idea to do a book on the launch of the team hit me while I was walking back to my car [...]

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