Sonics

Although this year has been a struggle at times, they have shown their NBA Finals experience sporadically throughout the season.

They've got a tough, legitimate scoring center; whom they've needed, in Terry Cummings who has earned the last three starts in the regular season over Jim McIlvane. Which helped them capture the Pacĩc Division crown.

Gary Payton is stepping up and taking the whole team to another level. The only disappointment has been Shawn Kemp, but in Cummings three last starts, Kemp averaged 24 points and 11 rebounds. Then again, who knows if they'll ever elude their playoff curse?

Mariners

The Mariners have never looked so good. They've retained their talented superstars (Griffey, Johnson, Martinez, Buhner, and Rodriguez) and have made some wise acquisitions that will indeed help their ballclub. Jeff Fasero, Dennis Martinez, and Scott Sanders were signed in the offseason and have already made contributions.

The hitting has been unparalleled. Edgar Martinez's knowledge of hitting has been passed on to the rest of the team. Russ Davis is on pace for a breakthrough year and Dan Wilson is quietly hitting the ball in the shadows of the rest of the team.

Griffey has gone so far as to say that he won't leave until Seattle has a championship. With the team this year, Junior should be able to leave soon.

Seahawks

Paul Allen has showed an intent to win by dishing out $10 million dollars to free-agents Chad Brown and Willie Williams.

They've dumped Rick Mirer for a first-round draft pick (exactly what they used to get him). Which translated into two first-round draft picks that were used to draft Ohio State's Shawn Springs and Florida State's Walter Jones.

They have also acquired veteran and University of Washington native Warren Moon to a back-up job which will give them needed depth.

The Hawks have made some noise in the off-season, but they need to do the same in September.