RENTON, Wash. -- Four days before the Seattle Seahawks' most important game of the season -- a Monday night matchup with the NFC West-leading San Francisco 49ers -- Pete Carroll began his mid-week press conference with a changeup.
"Shoot, this is a big week," Carroll said in his opening remarks. "It's such a big week."
Carroll's delivery was earnest enough, but no one familiar with how he operates needed to see the look on his face to think a punchline might be coming. It was.
"The Harlem Globetrotters are in town."
The crux of Carroll's joke is that the Seahawks never speak in terms of "big games" -- not even a nationally televised showdown with an undefeated division rival.