Friday, December 5, 2003

Go 2 Guy: Hawk barbers called for clipping

By JIM MOORE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER COLUMNIST

KIRKLAND -- I often attend Slackaholics Anonymous meetings, and one of the topics that always comes up is this business of mailing it in on the last day of work before a vacation.

As you probably already know, I prefer days off to days on, and yesterday was a tweener.

One part of your mind tells you to work hard and sprint to the finish -- you can relax next week.

The other part tells you to kick back and jog to the finish -- you can relax now and next week, too.

This conflict never lasts long in my head. The other part always whips up on the good conscience part, but yesterday they forged one of their more memorable battles at Seahawks headquarters in Kirkland.

I went there seeking an angle for a Friday morning column, hoping Shawn Springs could help me out.

The Seahawks were practicing in their outdoor bubble. Because of the windstorm, the power was out. The players looked like silhouettes at dusk.

Nothing was working -- from the lights, to the speakers simulating crowd noise, to me. As usual, I was suffering from an energy outage.

After practice, coach Mike Holmgren walked over, and we made large talk. (The two of us probably weigh 500 pounds together, making it impossible to characterize any conversation between us as small talk.)

Holmgren hadn't seen the Apple Cup and wondered what happened to the Cougars, and I think I deftly changed the subject before wandering into the locker room to see what Springs had to say.

I had visions of the quotable cornerback giving the Go 2 Guy an exclusive, blasting the Seahawks for demoting him. I pictured a big, bold headline over this column. I would go off on vacation with my head held high, no longer scoopless in Seattle.

But Springs said: "I'm not talking about anything."

So it's 4 p.m., and there I was with nothing, thinking I should have gone to Sonics practice or analyzed the Storm draft situation or sifted through the Huskies hoop rubble when I happened upon two guys holding clippers near the Seahawks shower room.

Jason Kinlow was trimming Koren Robinson's beard, and cousin Chad Kinlow was giving a haircut to Kerry Carter.

Kinlows Hair Care & Custom Cut is normally located at 56th and Portland Avenue in Tacoma, but on Thursday afternoons in the fall, it is in the back of the Seahawks locker room.

Jason Kinlow grew up with former Seahawks and current Bengals quarterback Jon Kitna, who talked him into bringing a couple of chairs to Kirkland once a week.

The Kinlows charge the Seahawks $25 for haircuts. Like any other disreputable, dirt-seeking reporter, I asked who the worst tippers were and got silence.

Silence means there must be some bad ones or they would have said something like: "No one, they're all good tippers."

The best tippers are Trent Dilfer and Walter Jones.

The best former tipper is Levon Kirkland, who was cut after the 2001 season.

"Oh, man, I hated to see him go," Jason Kinlow said. Kirkland paid $100 for his haircuts.

Through his work, Kinlow met Springs and now considers him one of his closest friends.

"When they drafted Marcus (Trufant), I asked Shawn to take him under his wing," said Kinlow, who has been cutting Trufant's hair since he was a kid.

Kinlow watches occasional games in Springs' field-level box and has received balls from Shaun Alexander and the balding Matt Hasselbeck.

"You don't have to do much with him," Kinlow said, laughing.

Holmgren keeps joking he is going to get a haircut, "but I don't think he trusts me," Kinlow said.

Apparently Brandon Mitchell does, taking a seat and getting a trim after I had my sides buzzed. (For the record, I left a $4 tip that will appear as a $10 tip on the expense account.)

Bobby Engram sat down in Chad Kinlow's chair. I had never met Engram and all I could think of to say was: "Hey, you're the sprinkler guy. How 'bout a sprinkler move while you're getting your haircut."

Which, in hindsight, was a dumb thing for a 46-year-old man to say but, again, I was desperate.

"Nah, I gotta be standing up," Engram said. "It's a receiver thing. We're gonna be doing a lawn mower and a chainsaw -- all the household appliances."

In my household, I've got a blender and a toaster. What Engram does with a chainsaw and a lawn mower in his kitchen, I have no idea.

So there you have it. I could try to come up with some clever little line about the Seahawks being razor sharp for the Vikings, but the other part of my mind is telling me to grab my sticks and head to Phoenix.

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