Will Seahawks' Woeful 0-2 Start Leave Them Out of the Chase for the Super Bowl Title?

If you set your goal to not only get to but win the Super Bowl this season, it is not a good idea to lose your first two games. During the 8-year period from 2000 through 2007 only 6 of the 70 National Football League teams that started the season at 0-2 went on the make the playoffs, much less win the Super Bowl. So here come Mike Holmgren's Seattle Seahawks, all full of spit and vinegar and wimpering out while losing their first two games, a 34-10 thumping from the Bills in Buffalo and a 33-30 overtime loss at home to the San Francisco 49ers, a National Football Conference West Division rival.In two games the Seahawks, which returned all 11 of their defensive starters (almost unheard of in pro football), gave up 33.5 points a game.One explanation for their lapse of playmaking came from defensive coordinator John Marshall, who maintained that there were not many blown assignments as much as the players simply not trusting their teammates and overcompensating in their own areas to make up for what they perceived as a shortcoming somewhere else. It kind of sounds like they were minding everyone else's business but their own.There are, of course, some other perhaps less plausible but more understandable explanations, such as spending too much time:1) Reading the press clippings about how great they were going to be this year.2) Placing a quick cell phone call to their agent to see what new endorsements might put them more in the spotlight.3) Figuring out the quickest route to the hot dog stand after the first half ends.4) Trying to figure out if that foxy looking blond in the 4th row on the starboard side is approachable.The defensive front did record 8 sacks but the defensive secondary was last seen somewhere near Tukwila, 12 miles south of Qwest Field in downtown Seattle.The six exceptions to the 0-2 rule of going nowhere fast were:1) The 2007 New York Giants who went 10-6 and won Super Bowl XLII (Super Bowl 42 to people in the real world, as opposed to NFL executives).2) The 2006 Kansas City Chiefs who went 9-7 and lost the AFC wild card game.3) The 2003 Philadelphia Eagles who went 12-4 and made it to the NFC championship game.4) The 2002 Atlanta Falcons who went 9-6-1 and made it to the NFC divisional game.5) The 2002 Pittsburgh Steelers who went 10-5-1 and made it to the AFC divisional game.6) The 2001 New England Patriots who went 11-5 and won Super Bowl XXXVI (Super Bowl 36 to people in the real world, as opposed to NFL executives).Alexander Pope, the master of the heroic couplet, penned "Hope springs eternal in the human breast, Man never is, but always to be blessed" and so it is with the Seahawks.After being mired in a pitiful state like fraternity boys caught with their pants down outside in the dead of winter, the Seahawks made a 180-degree turn at home last week and routed the St. Louis Rams (another division opponent) 37-13. With all of Seattle's starting wide receivers banged up and left with major inexperience at the wide receiver position, the Hawks' handed off to Julius Jones 22 times for 140 yards (6.4 yards per carry), including a 29-yard touchdown scamper. They handed off to T. J. Duckett 19 times for 79 yards and 2 short TD runs, and that was that.Did I mention that rookie tight end John Carlson (all 6-foot-5, 251-pounds of him) continues to look good and actually catches the ball when you throw it to him? Carlson comes to Seattle from Notre Dame. He is not the first great tight end from Notre Dame.That honor belongs to the immortal Leon Hart, the 1949 Heisman Trophy winner and the only lineman to win 3 national titles in both college (1946, 1948 and 1949 national championships at Notre Dame) and pro football (1952, 1953 and 1957 NFL championships with the Detroit Lions).Leon Hart is also the last and only 1 of 2 linemen ever to win the Heisman Trophy. He was an All American tight end on offense and defensive end on defense. That was when men were men rather than self-centered, spoiled, multi-millionaire, petulant stars who show up but don't always play for fear of being hurt.Seattle has a bye this week but travels to New York on Sunday (10-5-08) to face the defending Super Bowl Champion Giants. We shall see if the Seahawks can duplicate their last game success at home while on the road in East Rutherford (NJ), where Giants Stadium is located. There is a rumor going around that the Giants are really happy to see the Seahawks coming, something about patting their 3-0 record.

Michigan State Women Finish 1-2-3 to Win the Colonial Inter-Regional Championship

Both of Michigan State's women and men cross country runners announced themselves big time Saturday (9-27-08) as the women used a 1-2-3 finish to capture the Colonial Inter-Regional women's title at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg (VA), and the men were runner-up in their contest.Lisa Senakiewich was 1st, Nicole Bush was 2nd and Sarah Price was 3rd, all are seniors and were also the only 3 runners to crack 22 minutes in the 6K race (3.72 miles). Senakiewich clocked 21:03.1 followed by Bush in 21:08.2 and Price 21:31.8. For Senakiewich, winning was double sweet as the victory represented her first career cross-country title. The win was triple sweet as the Spartans last two scorers were both freshmen—Carlie Green was 5th in 22:06 and Tiffany Abrahamian was 8th in 22:20. The 1-2-3-5-8 finish gave MSU 19 points to host William & Mary's second place finish with 42 points. In cross-country, the low team score wins. To highlight Michigan State's depth on the women's side, sophomore Emily MacLeod was 9th in 22:22.4 and senior Laura Portis was 10th in 22:22.7. The Spartans emphasize team running rather than individual success, and it shows. Freshman Rebekah Smeltzer was 11th, junior Ashley Casavant 15th, junior Leah Elenbaas 16th, and sophomore Becky McCormack 28th.If Michigan State's second 5 women runners were a team they would have finished 9-10-11-15-16 with 61, good for a 3rd place team finish ahead of John Hopkins University (102 points), LaSalle University (114), Saint Joseph's (120), Hampton University (217), Norfolk State (221), Howard University (223) and Longwood (227). That is impressive!There is a reason why the Michigan State women are ranked No. 8 nationally in the pre-season poll by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association. Now you know.Sophomore Spencer Beatty led the Spartan men by finishing 5th in 25:10.7 for the 8K race (4.96 miles). Like the team-running of the women, MSU took 8th through 12th places with freshman Joe Dimambro 8th (25:18.0), junior Max Goldak 9th (25:18.8), junior Shane Knoll 10th (25:24.4), senior Adam Sprangel 11th (25:25.8) and sophomore Pat Grosskopf 12th (25:28.9). The 5-7-8-9-10 finish was good for 39 points to William & Mary's 32.The depth on the men's side included junior Dan Lewis 18th, sophomore Mike Quick 19th, freshman Aaron Simoneau 24th and freshman Isaiah Van Doorne 32nd.If Michigan State's second 5 men runners were a team they would have finished 11-12-18-19-24 with 84, good for a 4th place team finish behind Tennessee at 3rd (71) and ahead of LaSalle University (99), John Hopkins University (151), Longwood (194), Howard University (231) & Hampton University (230). Joe Dimambro's 8th place finish was his third top-10 finish in as many races to begin his collegiate career as a freshman. Junior Shane Knoll's 10th place marked his second straight top-10 finish.Michigan State's cross-country program under the tutelage of Walt Drenth, Director of Cross-Country and Track & Field, is committed to win a national championship.In an additional sad note, Rita Arndt-Molis, former MSU Associate Head Cross-Country Coach for the men's and women's program and the Assistant Track and Field Coach for the past two years, has accepted a position as the Miami (OH) University Head Women's Cross-Country and Track and Field Coach.

College Football 2008

9 AP Top 25 Teams Lose, 6 to Unranked Teams, No. 1 USC, No. 3 Georgia & No. 4 Florida All Fall.

College football's 5th week revealed the nation's 6 luckiest teams—Missouri, Texas Tech, Brigham Young (BYU), Kansas, Boise State and Vanderbilt. They were the 6 teams among the AP Top 25 Poll who had a bye week, saving them from a possible upset loss.The other 19 Top 25 teams did not fare so well in Week 5 as only 10 of the 19 won (a scant 53%) while 9 more—including 3 of the top 4 teams—lost.Among the 9 ranked teams that lost, 6 committed the unforgivable sin of losing to unranked teams, an absolute no-no if you want to be in the hunt for the national title. You can pretty well say goodbye to the national title hopes of Southern California, Wisconsin, Wake Forest, Clemson, Illinois and Texas Christian (TCU). The biggest loser was No. 1-ranked University of Southern California (USC, the University of Shoulda Coulda), which traveled to the Corvallis (OR) den of the Oregon State Beavers. The Beavers, an unranked team at 1-2 who had already lost away games at Stanford and Penn State, decided to take out their nastiness on the Trojans, dominating USC 21-0 in the first half and hanging on for a 27-21 victory.USC should have known better, since the Trojans were upset by the Beavers 33-31 during their last trip to Corvallis two years ago. That loss ended Southern Cal's 38-game regular-season winning streak.No. 4-ranked Florida hosted unranked Mississippi and promptly lost 31-30 with lousy defense and its star quarterbacks Tim Tebow, last year's Heisman Trophy winner, having a horrific day. Tebow was sacked 3 times by holding the ball too long, overthrew 4 receivers deep, lost a fumble that turned into an Ole Miss touchdown, and failed to convert on a run attempt with a critical 4th down and 2 feet to go at the Ole Miss 32-yard-line with 40 seconds left.Florida won the first half 17-7 but lost the second half 24-13. It is a loss that coach Urban Meyer and his players will not soon forget, nor should they.No. 9 Wisconsin led by 19 and was all over unranked Michigan but let the Wolverines back into the game by giving up 20 points in the 4th quarter, allowing Michigan to enjoy its biggest home comeback in history and give new coach Rich "I'm Not Hitched to West Virginia" Rodriguez his first win at Michigan, 27-25.No. 16 Wake Forest spotted unranked Navy 17 points on its home field and never came back while losing 24-17.No. 20 Clemson led unranked Maryland 17-6 at the half but could not score in the second half while losing at home, 20-17. Here is a news flash: Apparently Maryland is a whole lot better than Clemson this year.No. 23 East Carolina hosted unranked Houston and bit the dust, 41-24. East Carolina's early season wins over Virginia Tech and West Virginia are looking less impressive every week.The other 3 ranked teams that lost at least lost to ranked opponents. No. 3 Georgia hosted No. 8 Alabama and was dominated by the Crimson Tide 41-30 in a game that was not nearly as close as its score. No. 22 Illinois traveled to No. 12 Penn State and made the Nittany Lions look good in Happy Valley as the Illini went down, 38-24. No. 24 Texas Christian (TCU) traveled to No. 2 Oklahoma and found out why you do not want to play the Sooners at home, losing 35-10.The Georgia Bulldogs simply got beat up, and at home no less. Georgia was ranked No. 1 in the pre-season AP Top 25 Poll and will now take a nosedive in the rankings. Illinois, Clemson and East Carolina should all be kicked out of the Top 25 this week.Seven other ranked teams won, some impressively, some not. They included:No. 5 LSU at home 34-24 over 1-4 Mississippi State (not impressive), No. 7 Texas at home 52-10 over Arkansas (impressive), No. 13 South Florida on the road 41-10 over North Carolina State (impressive), No. 14 Ohio State at home 34-21 over Minnesota (the Gophers came in unbeaten), No. 15 Auburn at home 14-12 over Tennessee (seriously, not impressive), No. 17 Utah at home 37-21 over 1-AA Weber State (beating a 1-AA team is not impressive), and No. 25 Fresno State on the road 36-31 over UCLA (hardly impressive, given the current state of UCLA football).Other game results that struck a chord with me were:Seeing the recent great Hawaii Warrior tradition of winning games now hitting hard times. Hawaii dusted off 1-AA Weber but has lost to Florida, Oregon State and San Jose State to open the season. June Jones, who built a 75-41 record in 9 seasons at Hawaii, bolted the program to take over the head coaching job at Southern Methodist University this year.Michigan State is now 4-1 after beating Indiana 42-29 on the road, but can the Spartans continue to win against Iowa and Northwestern and host Ohio State with a 6-1 start? Has coach Mark Dantonio been able to build a different mindset at Michigan State, or will the Spartans fold once again when playing better competition?Question: When is the last time the Tennessee Volunteers started a season at 1-3? Answer: 14 years ago. How bad could North Texas be? Rice is seldom if ever good, and the Owls whipped in-state rival North Texas 77-20. That was also the score at the end of the 3rd quarter. North Texas must be really bad. North Texas has played the 5th toughest schedule in the country so far, but Jeff Sagarin also has them rated at 152 among 119 1-A teams.Washington's top two institutions—Washington and Washington State—are both terrible this year. Washington has lost its first 4 games, and the Huskies ' star quarterback Jake Locker broke the thumb on his throwing hand while losing Saturday to Stanford, 35-28. Things are not good in Husky land. Fourth-year coach Ty Willingham may be moving soon.Things are even worse at Washington State. The Cougars are 0-5, having lost 39-13, 66-3, 45-17, 48-9 and 63-14. First year coach Paul Wulff will get a temporary pass but it is possible that when Washington State hosts in-state rival Washington on Nov. 22, the Cougars could be 0-11 and the Huskies 0-10.Texas-El Paso (UTEP) coach Mike Price finally got his first win this season by hosting and beating the University of Central Florida, 58-13. Both teams are now 1-3. The beauty of college football is the unexpected, the excitement of thousands of fans pouring onto the field after their Oregon State Beavers upset No. 1-ranked Southern Cal, the inexorable attrition of unbeaten teams clashing during conference play, and the unknown players who announce themselves as tomorrow's stars in today's games.Welcome to college football's 6th week, when Wisconsin hosts Ohio State, South Florida hosts Pittsburgh, Auburn travels to Vanderbilt, Utah hosts Oregon State, Michigan State hosts Iowa, Southern Cal hosts Oregon, and Missouri travels to Nebraska.

Chanderpaul scoops top ICC award

West Indian Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been named the International Cricket Council Cricketer of the Year at the annual awards ceremony in Dubai.

England women's captain Charlotte Edwards, who presided over 13 victories in an unbeaten home summer, pipped Claire Taylor to the women's award.
In the emerging player category, Sri Lankan spin prodigy Ajantha Mendis was chosen ahead of England's Stuart Broad.
England's Kevin Pietersen and Ryan Sidebottom made the World Test team.
Edwards was delighted with the acknowledgement and said: "This is a massive night for women's cricket. It's a huge honour for me to be involved with a ceremony like this - I'm so glad that the ICC is recognising the women's game.
"It's a big moment for the other girls who have been nominated for this and I am honoured to be included in that shortlist, let alone win it.
Edwards made her England debut in 1995 and has played over 100 ODIs
"Women's cricket has a big year ahead. It's fantastic for the game and an exciting time to be involved in women’s cricket."
The emerging player had to be under 26 at the start of the period under review, 9 August 2007, and must not have played more than five Tests and/or 10 one-day matches by that time.
Mendis has made an explosive start to his international career, taking 26 wickets in his first three Tests at an average of 18 and adding 20 scalps in eight one-day internationals at a cost of just 10.

The 23-year-old said: "I am delighted to win the award. It is an honour to play for Sri Lanka and I hope to continue playing for my country for a long time to come."
During the voting period, left-hander Chanderpaul played eight Test matches, scoring 819 runs at an average of 91.00, including three centuries and six fifties, all against the top seven teams in the world.
He also played 13 ODIs in that time, topping the averages with 74.75 having scored 598 runs, with a century and five fifties.
"I am honoured to be given this prestigious award," the 34-year-old from Guyana said.
"A special thank you goes out to my manager, my agent and all my supporters in the Caribbean and throughout the world. It's also important that I thank my team-mates without whom this wouldn't have been possible."
ICC president David Morgan said of Chanderpaul: "Shivnarine has been a rock in the West Indies batting line-up for many years and he thoroughly deserves this award."
The panel for selecting the Test and one-day sides was chaired by West Indies legend Clive Lloyd and included former Australia captain Greg Chappell, recently retired South Africa all-rounder Shaun Pollock, former Sri Lanka opener Sidath Wettimuny and former Bangladesh batsman Athar Ali Khan।

Cricketer of the Year:Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Test Player of the Year: Dale Steyn
ODI Player of the Year:Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Emerging Player of the Year:Ajantha Mendis
Associate Player of the Year:Ryan ten Doeschate
Twenty20 International Performance of the Year:Yuvraj Singh
Women's Player of the Year:Charlotte Edwards
Spirit of Cricket:Sri Lanka
Umpire of the Year:Simon Taufel
ICC World Test team of the Year (in batting order):
Graeme Smith (SA, captain), Virender Sehwag (Ind),Mahela Jayawardene (SL),Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI),Kevin Pietersen (Eng),Jacques Kallis (SA),Kumar Sangakkara (SL, wicketkeeper),Brett Lee (Aus),Ryan Sidebottom (Eng),Dale Steyn (SA),Muttiah Muralitharan (SL),12th man: Stuart Clark (Aus) ।
ICC World ODI Team of the Year (in batting order):Herschelle Gibbs (SA),Sachin Tendulkar (Ind),Ricky Ponting (Aus, captain),Younis Khan (Pak),Andrew Symonds (Aus),Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind, wicketkeeper),Farveez Maharoof (SL),Daniel Vettori (NZ),Brett Lee (Aus),Mitchell Johnson (Aus),Nathan Bracken (Aus),12th man: Salman Butt (Pak).

Aussie spinner misses first Test

Australia's first-choice spinner for the series in India, Bryce McGain, has been ruled out of at least the opening Test - and may even be flown home.

The 36-year-old leg-spinner has failed to recover from a shoulder injury sustained in September so off-spinner Jason Krejza is set to play instead.
McGain and Krejza, 25, are uncapped in Tests and one-day internationals.
The first first of four Tests takes place in Bangalore's spectacular Chinnaswamy Stadium from 9 October.
The Australian camp, and McGain himself, had voiced confidence that his shoulder strain was not serious.
But he has struggled to bowl in the nets and was unable to take his place in the Australians' final tour match against a Board President's XI starting in Hyderabad on Thursday.
He is already rated doubtful for the second Test, team spokesman Matthew Slade confirming: "He won't be available for at least two weeks."
It is a bitter pill to swallow for McGain who, until March this year, still worked in the IT department of a bank in Melbourne.
But following a meteoric rise in his first full Pura Cup season - Australia's equivalent of the County Championship - he has unexpectedly forced himself into the Test picture.
McGain told BBC Sport last week he was even prepared to look ahead at a possible dream Ashes tour in 2009.
"It would be fantastic," he said. "It's such a wonderful series and I've enjoyed watching it for many, many years."
Australia could draft in Beau Casson, a 25-year-old slow left-armer who made a Test debut in Barbados in June.
Beyond Krejza, their only other option is Michael Clarke's part-time spin. Andrew Symonds is not in the squad for disciplinary reasons.
Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council has kept umpires Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson off the roster for the series.
The duo officiated in the ill-tempered Sydney Test between the two nations in January which almost saw India pulling out of the series after a string of controversial decisions.
India are likely to name a squad of 14 for the Bangalore Test, with much debate centring on who will bat at six.Veteran Sourav Ganguly, captain of the squad which famously beat Australia in 2001, is in the frame along with Mohammad Kaif and Subramaniam Badrinath.

Beijing bids farewell to Olympics

The Olympic Games have drawn to a close with a glittering ceremony inside Beijing's Bird's Nest Stadium.
Spectacular fireworks kicked off the proceedings, while a beautifully choreographed drumming and dancing display recalled the opening ceremony.
It was a more celebratory affair, as exuberant athletes, dancers and
musicians got into the party spirit.
The Olympic flag was handed to London mayor Boris Johnson, with organisers briefly showcasing the 2012 Games.
The countdown to 2012 has started, and organisers will know they have a great deal to live up to with China hosting one of the best organised Games in history and staging some of the most memorable opening and closing ceremonies ever seen.
Beijing's dramatic farewell to the 29th Games of the modern Olympiad got under way with a magnificent firework display, which quickly segued into an amazing display of dancing and drumming.
Scottish cyclist Chris Hoy, who claimed three gold medals in Beijing, carried the flag for Team GB as more than 200 flag bearers led the way for the thousands of athletes.
After speeches from Liu Qi, president of the Beijing Organising Committee, and International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, the Beijing Games were officially declared to be over.
China staged the Olympics against a background dominated by fears of pollution, worries over security and protests about its human rights record.
But the sporting action was enthralling, with highlights including Michael Phelps swimming to a record eight gold medals and Jamaica's Usain Bolt breaking three world records on his way to three golds.
"We have come to the end of 16 days which we will cherish forever," said Rogge.
"New stars were born and stars from previous Games continued to amaze us.
"We shared their joys and their tears and marvelled at their abilities, and will long remember their achievements here.
"These were a truly exceptional Games."
The British flag was raised and "God Save the Queen" sung by the choir, before Johnson was handed the Olympic flag from Guo Jinlong, the major of Beijing, and Rogge.
It heralded the start of an eight-minute segment for London organisers to offer a flavour of the 2012 Games, as a red London bus arrived into thestadium.
Hoy, dressed up as a city gent, and fellow British cyclists Victoria Pendleton and Jamie Staff accompanied the bus on bicycles alongside a troupe of dancers holding umbrellas.
Singer Leona Lewis and former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page emerged as the bus transformed into a grass-covered carnival float, and the pair combined for a rendition of "Whole Lotta Love".
And the biggest star turn came when former Manchester United star and England captain David Beckham arrived to kick a football into the crowd of athletes.
The Olympic flame was then extinguished, before the attention shifted to a "memory tower" in the centre of the stadium.
Legendary Spanish tenor Placido Domingo and Chinese soprano Song Zuying joined forces to sing, while Hollywood actor Jackie Chan later joined a throng of dancers and singers for a closing number.
The sporting action was finally brought to an end earlier in the day, with France's men claiming gold in the final of the handball.
It was the 302nd and last gold medal to be awarded, and followed Sunday's finals in boxing, basketball, volleyball and water polo, while Kenya's Sammy Wanjiru won the men's marathon.

Best receives 18-week suspension

Northampton and Ireland flanker Neil Best has been handed an 18-week ban after pleading guilty to a charge of eye-gouging.
Best was cited for making contact with the eye or eye area of Wasps number eight James Haskell with his hand in the Premiership match on 20 September.
The 29-year-old, who joined Saints from Ulster in the summer, will not be allowed to play again until 28 January.
More to follow.

Man City misfit sounds Reds alert

Isaksson was told he had no future at City by Sven-Goran Eriksson
Andreas Isaksson's final game for Manchester City seemed a cruelly fitting end to a miserable two years at Eastlands.
On the last day of the 2007-08 season, the giant keeper conceded eight goals away at Middlesbrough, a side hardly renowned for routing Premier League opponents.
It was only the 17th game he had played for City and the Swede was relieved when PSV Eindhoven stepped in to sign him a few weeks later.
On Wednesday, Isaksson returns to England for his side's Champions League tie against Liverpool.
PSV arrive at Anfield with something to prove following their 3-0 mauling by Atletico Madrid in Eindhoven in their first match in Group D.
After being drawn in a tight group that also includes Marseille, there is little room for manoeuvre for the Dutch champions now.
"After what happened in the first game, the match at Anfield is very important for us," Isaksson said.
"If we are to have a chance to go through to the next round we need a good result against Liverpool.
"Atletico were much better than us in that game. Liverpool are the biggest team in the group, but Atletico are very good as well.
"They have very good strikers in Sergio Aguero and Diego Forlan and I think they can do some damage to Liverpool."
But Isaksson admits the duo have some way to go before they can be put in the same class as Liverpool talisman Fernando Torres.
The former Atletico star slotted past Isaksson, who has 60 caps, when Spain beat Sweden 2-1 in the group stages of Euro 2008.
"Torres is a world-class striker, one of the very best players around. He is fast, clever and a deadly finisher and the number of goals he scored last season was phenomenal, as it was his first year in England.

"We will have to be very careful and not give him too much space."
PSV have a star of their own in 22-year-old Holland international Ibrahim Afellay, who has been compared to Johann Cruyff by Dutch legend Ronald Koeman.
Arsenal are reported to have watched the Morocco-born midfielder 15 times last season, while City made enquiries about him on transfer-deadline day.
Isaksson said: "Ibrahim is very gifted and can go a long way. He needs to show what he is capable of against Liverpool, which none of the team really did against Atletico in the first match."
Isaksson will also be determined to show English fans what he can do after his torrid two years in Manchester.
"Last season was tough and frustrating, because I didn't play much," Isaksson said.
"I'm in football to play games, not just to train and be on the bench. Now I'm back playing and enjoying it. PSV are a big club and we have a good team, so it's been a great move for me.
"This is the chance for me to start over. I don't want to think about what happened in the past anymore."
City beat off competition from several major European clubs to land Isaksson from Rennes for £2m in 2006.
The 6ft 6in keeper, who had a season at Juventus early in his career, was an established international with Sweden and had developed a lofty reputation during two years in France.
Yet soon after he had signed he picked up knee and ankle injuries and missed the first three months of the season, which set the tone for the rest of his time at the club.
Isaksson played the final 10 games of that season, before fracturing his thumb in pre-season, which caused him to miss the first two months of the following season.

By this time Sven-Goran Eriksson had taken over from Stuart Pearce as manager and announced that he wanted to rotate Isaksson, Joe Hart and Kasper Schmeichel before he would settle on a first-choice keeper.
Eriksson eventually plumped for Hart, which meant the end for Isaksson at City.
"He told me during Christmas last year that I didn't have a future at the club, so I knew I had to move on. I thought I was worth a spot in the team, but it was up to him.
"The timing of my injuries weren't the best and Joe played well when he had the chance. I was very unlucky, but that's football."
The 26-year-old bears no hard feelings towards his compatriot and says he was bemused by Thaksin Shinawatra's treatment of Eriksson.
"Sven did well with the team and everybody liked him, so it was all a bit bizarre when we heard he was going to be sacked," he said.
Neither is there any resentment about the decision to give Hart the starting jbetween the sticks. Isaksson thinks it is only a matter of time before the 21-year-old becomes England number one.
"Joe is a great lad and we got along really well," he said. "He had a great season last year and has a great future.
"He's young and still learning, but he could be England's number one, there's no doubt about it. He's got the qualities to do it, although you need a bit of experience as well.
"He's only played one season at City, so he needs more games before he can be ready to challenge, but it will happen soon I think."

Scholes & Rooney suffer injuries

Scholes was replaced by Ryan Giggs after 16 minutes in Denmark
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson fears Paul Scholes could be out for up to eight weeks with suspected medial knee ligament damage.
The 33-year-old midfielder limped off after just 16 minutes of United's 3-0 Champions League win over Aalborg.
"It's difficult to say how serious it is but it looks like the medial ligament, in which case it will be six to eight weeks," said Ferguson.
Striker Wayne Rooney was also forced off with an ankle problem.
Rooney was replaced by Carlos Tevez just before the hour mark as a precaution after injuring his ankle and Ferguson was unsure as to the seriousness of the injury.
"We are hoping it isn't ligament trouble," added the Scot.
"He just felt his ankle. I would imagine he would be doubtful for the Blackburn game on Saturday."
England coach Fabio Capello will be taking a keen interest in Rooney's injury as on Sunday he will be naming his squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Belarus.
606: DEBATE
Give your reaction to Man Utd's injury problems
The loss of Scholes adds to United's worries in midfield as Michael Carrick is out for at least another month.
The England midfielder was ruled out for six weeks after breaking a bone in his foot in the 2-1 defeat at Liverpool on 13 September.
There were some plus points for United, notably from Dimitar
Berbatov who opened his account for the club with two second-half goals on his Champions League debut.
The Bulgarian striker had failed to find the net in his first three games in a United shirt after a £30.75m summer switch from Tottenham and Ferguson was delighted with his contribution against Aalborg.
"He got two fantastic goals। That will help his confidence," he said.

"When you transfer for that amount of money you want to score your first goal quickly and he has got that now."
Berbatov added: "I knew it would come sooner of later, but of course the team winning was the most important thing and it was just another goal."