June 4
Each week I will post my "Dick's Dow Jones" report on whose stock is up and whose is down from across the world of sports.

	Lou Piniella is keeping the fire going in Seattle.

Stock up: Seattle Mariners
Give the nod to the Seattle Mariners and manager Lou Piniella. Seattle is 43-12, the best 55-game start of any team since the 1953 Bronx Bombers.

Think about what this franchise has gone through in recent years. It has lost the likes of Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez, yet it keeps on winning and winning.

The Mariners have added important pieces of the puzzle. Bret Boone has had a super season driving in runs. John Olerud has been a big plus at first base. Then there is Ichiro Suzuki, who has posted MVP-type numbers, though I would lean towards picking Manny Ramirez of the Red Sox for that honor at this point of the season.

Pitching is needed to prevail and the Mariners have been incredible in that category. Aaron Sele, Jamie Moyer and Freddy Garcia have been virtually unbeatable. Kazuhiro Sasaki has been one of the top closers in baseball again.

On a sad note, our sympathies to Piniella, whose father-in-law passed away recently.

Here's a big-time salute to the hottest team in the major leagues, the Seattle Mariners. The team's stock is climbing big-time, baby!

Stock down: Bucks' Williams
Scott Williams of Milwaukee let his teammates and himself down. The Bucks lost to the Sixers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, and it didn't help that Williams was out of the lineup due to a one-game suspension.

It was a flagrant foul that sent Williams to the sidelines. His shot at Allen Iverson was totally uncalled for and could have done serious damage. Stock down for Williams of the Bucks.