Sounders
Jackson leads Sounders' quest

By Matt Massey
Special to The Seattle Times

Danny Jackson has recovered from knee injury.

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The Seattle Sounders hope to put the finishing touches on another championship season in the A-League.

They are three wins away.

Meanwhile, the Sounders' Danny Jackson has finished writing the final chapter on his first novel. Jackson also coaches youth soccer. He's studying to get his commercial real-estate license. He has taken the exam needed to be accepted into law school.

He's Action Jackson.

Jackson, the team's sweeper back on defense, will play an integral part in what figures to be a defense-oriented Western Conference finals against the Vancouver Whitecaps, beginning tonight at 8 p.m. at Qwest Field.

Not even reconstructive surgery on his left knee during the offseason in September could slow down the third-year professional. Jackson's missed the club's final 10 matches, including playoffs, in 2003.

Whitecaps at Sounders Tonight: 8 at Qwest Field (Game 1 of 2-game aggregate A-League playoff series) Radio: KKNW (1150 AM); KXPA (1540 AM) in Spanish. Records: Whitecaps 16-10-4, Sounders 17-12-4 Notes: The Sounders face their most bitter rival for the eighth time in the playoffs. Seattle has won 5 of 7 series, dating back to the NASL. ... Sounders eliminated Vancouver at Swangard Stadium in a shootout last season ... Sounders won the 2004 regular-season series with Vancouver 2-1-1, capturing the last two meetings. ... F Welton leads Sounders with 12 goals, including eight game-winners. F Roger Levesque has nine goals. ... F Jason Jordan leads the Whitecaps with 21 points. ... Series will conclude Sunday at 5 p.m. in Burnaby, B.C., at Swangard Stadium. Matt Massey

Friday's match is the first part of the two-match, aggregate-goals format of the conference finals with the series concluding on Sunday (Sept. 12) at 7 p.m. at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, B.C.

Jackson, 24, will see his first pro playoff action despite his tearing the ACL, MCL and meniscus in practice on Aug. 12, 2003.

"It was a freak accident and I just came down with my leg straight," said Jackson, who grew up in England and got his soccer training with the famed Leeds United Youth Program. "Chad Brown and I both went up for the ball, but he didn't even bump me."

Jackson's novel is based on the life of his mom's father and his grandfather, Felix Hase, a World War II medic for the German army who was caught by Russia moving out of the Ukraine.

"He spent time in a Siberian labor camp from 1944-49," said Jackson, whose grandfather died on May 5, 2003 at age 84. "My message was that my grandfather was a hero. He came out on the other side and provided for his family."

Felix Hase nearly starved to death in the labor camp.

"They made him dig his own grave and then play Russian roulette several times," Jackson said. "When out cutting wood, they had to avoid being attacked by wolves by climbing trees.

"They put 40 of them at a time in a cattle wagon and traveled for about two or three weeks at a time."

Jackson put the story together from notes taken by both his grandfather and his own father.

"They released him in 1949 for some reason," Jackson said. "It was pure luck."

Jackson has always been able to mix on-field and off-field. He graduated from North Carolina in just 3-1/2 years with degrees in political science and information systems.

While taking 50 credits as a senior, Jackson led the Tar Heels men's soccer team to an NCAA title in 2001. He was named MVP of the 2-0 championship game win over Indiana.

Jackson started the novel just before his arrival in Seattle in April of 2003. Almost 600 pages later, he's looking for a publisher.

"I just finished the best draft I can create," Jackson said.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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