Sports & Recreation

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• Best Weekend Getaway

  Soap Lake

  A short distance north of the Gorge Amphitheater in the Central Washington desert, Soap Lake's Notaras Lodge is super-luxurious for its sub-$100/night, old-growth cabins. The adjoining Businessmen's Club- a subterranean, members-only quasi-speakeasy that looks like an Eagles Club designed by David Lynch- features karaoke with a live drummer and is owned by an elderly Greek woman with a fondness for… More >>

• Best Tennis Court

  Cal Anderson Park

  If you're looking for a court where you can always get in a couple solid hours of hitting without worrying about the vagaries of a loose net, the distractions of nearby, loudly arguing basketball players, or the fear of waiting until past dark to start your warm-ups, you are in a city blessed with no shortage of options. But if… More >>

• Best Coach

  Al Hairston

  When Al Hairston took over the boys basketball program at O'Dea High School before the 2010-2011 season, the former Garfield legend had nothing left to prove, having achieved Red Auerbach status as the coach of the Bulldogs in the '80s and '90s. Many men in this situation would coast on rep, but Hairston instead immediately molded the Irish… More >>

• Best Boxer

  Alex Love

  Seattle certainly has its share of big-city problems. But the punishing childhood factors that often produce great pugilists-poverty, parental abandonment, and then a little more poverty- are harder to find here than in, say, Depression-era Detroit (Sugar Ray Robinson) or a Brooklyn housing project (Mike Tyson). Alex Love didn't grow up poor, hungry, or desperate for a father… More >>

• Best Bowling Alley

  West Seattle Bowl

  As manufacturing jobs you can land with only a high-school degree disappear, so too do bowling alleys. One result of this slow-motion death is a form of Darwinism, in which boutique lanes advertise their flashiest plumage (like $10 pomegranate martinis), while other 10-pins adapt in subtler ways. West Seattle Bowl falls into the latter category. Catering to league… More >>

• Best Dog Park

  Marymoor Off-Leash Dog Park

  If all dogs do indeed go to heaven, it must look nearly identical to Marymoor Off-Leash Dog Park. Dubbed "Doggy Disneyland" by locals, it features 40 acres of former farmland for Fido and his friends to go absolutely nuts. Border collies catch Frisbees mid-air. Beagles and Jack Russell terriers wrestle with one another. Labrador retrievers splash about in… More >>

• Best Sounder

  Osvaldo Alonso

  There's Kasey Keller, of course, veteran and icon, and Mauro Rosales, the dazzling newcomer. But in fans' eyes, tenacious midfielder Osvaldo Alonso -who so far this season has played every second of every MLS match but one-can do no wrong. Even when in the June 11 match he committed a foul in the box that entitled Vancouver to a… More >>

• Best Place to Skate

  Castle Ice

  What do blades, brooms, and sturdy ankles have in common? A babushka, yes, but also Castle Ice : an arena for hockey, figure skating, and broomball enthusiasts. Castle Ice has one small rink in the corner for young beginners, as well as a full-size one for ice kings and queens who want to strut (or glide) their stuff at… More >>

• Best Urban Bike Ride

  Lake Washington Loop

  Much wailing and moaning erupted in June among the Lycra-clad riders of carbon-fiber ponies--sometimes called "Freds"--who hurtle round the Lake Washington Loop each weekend. Alas, the Burke-Gilman Trail is now closed from 145th to Kenmore for repairs projected to last until winter, when few are out cycling. But the roughly 50-mile loop (the distance depends on your exact… More >>

• Best Sports Bargain

  The King's Court

  With the outcome of this baseball season largely determined, calling any seat in Safeco a "bargain" seems grounds for journalistic malpractice. The 2011 Mariners, after all, are only marginally better than they were last year, when they scored fewer runs than any team since the advent of the designated hitter. But in a genius bit of promotional savvy, the marketers… More >>

• Best Boxing Gym

  White Center's PAL

  Every day after school, 30 boys and girls put in two hours of hard work in a hot and cramped room at White Center's PAL so that they might someday grow up to become scientists of the sweet persuasion, that is. Under the tutelage of trainer Tony Rago, the mostly Latino and Asian kids hammer heavy bags, skip… More >>

• Best College Athlete

  Chris Polk

  A prized recruit wooed from California by head coach Steve Sarkisian, Chris Polk rushed for more than 1,400 yards and scored nine touchdowns last year as a sophomore, and deserves a sizable share of the credit for helping the Washington Huskies morph from the worst team in college football-they won zero games just three seasons ago-to a competitor… More >>

• Best High-School Athlete

  Kasen Williams

  Kasen Williams isn't just the best high-school athlete this year-he may be the best in Washington history. As a wide receiver on Sammamish's Skyline High School's powerhouse football team, the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Williams set school records for career catches (236), yards (4,161), and touchdowns (56) en route to three state titles and one second-place finish. An All-American and… More >>

• Best Public Park

  Discovery

  The one with the name best suited to describe it: Discovery. Encompassing 534 acres in Magnolia on bluffs overlooking Puget Sound, the park is so vast and includes such varied terrain that it's possible to encounter new trails, vistas, and wildlife on each visit. Highlights include two miles of tidal beaches, breathtaking views of both the Olympics and the Cascades,… More >>

• Best Sports Bar

  Wingmasters

  Don't let the name fool you. Wingmasters (not affiliated with Wingdome, Wing Zone, or any other wings chain) is a stellar neighborhood sports bar that just so happens to be named after the main item on its menu. Decorated with all sorts of memorabilia, mostly baseball-related, Wingmasters does the little things well, like keeping the sound cranked during… More >>

• Best Sports Figure Not Named Ichiro

  Felix Hernandez

  It won't be long before this category will have to be renamed "Best Sports Figure Not Named Felix." Ichiro spent half of this season mired in the first extended slump of his accomplished career, and, sadly, his days with the Mariners seem numbered. Felix Hernandez , on the other hand, is just 25 years young and coming off a… More >>

• Best Basketball Court

  Green Lake Park

  As any hoops fiend will tell you, Seattle isn’t a pickup-basketball town. If you play, most likely it’s in a league, or in a regular game with dudes you’ve been crossing over since middle school. True, there are a handful of outdoor courts where, on a nice day, you’ll be able to find a serviceable game, but if you want… More >>

• Best Seahawk

  Marshawn Lynch

  The Seahawks have plenty of question marks—starting quarterback, anyone?—but few satisfactory answers. Even the team’s projected starting running back, who we are naming its best player, is no sure thing. He has yet to put together a season that would make Maurice Morris proud, let alone Shaun Alexander. But that run? You know, the 67-yarder where he eluded seven would-be… More >>

• Best Mariner Not Named Felix

  Michael Pineda

  Yes, he's a rookie. And baseball history is littered with one-year wonders. But Michael Pineda is something special. First, he's huge--6 feet 7 and a solid 260 pounds, with room to grow. And his raw numbers--133 strikeouts in 130 innings, a .205 opponents' batting average (through July)--speak of stardom. Remarkably, he's doing it all with just two pitches:… More >>

• Best Sports Broadcast Personality

  Jim Moore

  After a few weeks of working across from Jim Moore on the P-I sports desk in the late ’80s, I couldn’t help but think “This guy should be on the radio!” Now he is, partnering with one of the Northwest’s most recognizable and distinctive voices, former Sonics play-by-play man Kevin Calabro, as the afternoon drive-time centerpiece of a 710 ESPN… More >>

• Best Move (Sports-Related)

  Resurrecting the North American Soccer League’s I-5 rivalry

  It took 16 long years, but Major League Soccer finally acted upon the realization that resurrecting the North American Soccer League’s I-5 rivalry of the 1970s and early ’80s would be good for business. The Seattle/Portland hate-fest has picked up where it left off, while up Highway 99, Vancouver, with as many victories as head coaches this season, has yet… More >>

• Best Yoga Studio

  Yoga on Beacon

  Yoga on Beacon is not a big space. The location is far from glamorous, or even memorable. But this small storefront studio on Beacon Avenue South, a few blocks down from the new light-rail station and across from a Tesoro, has something no other studio does: the passion and compassion of Dee Hein, who launched YoBe in October 2007 and… More >>

• Best Miniature Golf

  Greenlake Golf Course

  Affectionately referred to as the Pitch and Putt, Greenlake Golf Course offers a grown-up take on mini-golf. Instead of painted clowns and windmills, the nine-hole, par-three course stretches 705 yards total, with the longest fairway a respectable 115. And at under $10 a person for clubs and balls, it demands nowhere near the financial or time commitment of… More >>