SEATTLE (AP) - The Seattle Mariners say left-hander Cliff Lee is
recovering from minor left foot surgery and will be limited when
pitchers and catchers report to spring training this month.
The team announced Monday that its biggest offseason acquisition
had surgery Friday in his native Arkansas to remove a bone spur
that broke loose and was floating in his left foot.
Lee was acquired from Philadelphia this winter in a complicated
four-team deal. His injured foot is not in a cast, and he is
continuing his upper-body exercise program. The Mariners says the
2008 AL Cy Young Award winner will "gradually return to all normal
baseball activities" over the next two to three weeks.
Seattle's first workout for pitchers and catchers is Feb. 18.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Kaman named to replace Roy in All-Star game
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman will
replace the Trail Blazers' Brandon Roy in this weekend's All-Star
game.
Roy injured his right hamstring last month. Roy, in his fourth
season with the Blazers, made the All-Star team as a reserve for
the third straight season.
Kaman will be making his first All-Star appearance.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Protests, weather top of mind for IOC at final pre-Games briefing
VANCOUVER - Vancouver Olympic officials have delivered their
final formal briefing to the International Olympic Committee ahead
of the 2010 Games.
While weather was top of mind, the IOC also pressed Vancouver
organizers on transportation and protests.
IOC member Gerhard Heiberg says the committee has known protests
would be an issue since the day Vancouver won the Games.
He says the IOC isn't concerned about them as long as they're
legal.
Dave Cobb with the Vancouver committee says they told the IOC
that while protests will happen, they believe they will be
peaceful.
Both IOC and Vancouver officials also say they remain confident
that the contingency plans in place for Cypress Mountain, where
spring-like conditions mean there's a lack of snow, are enough to
ensure the competitions go ahead.
(The Canadian Press) (from Broadcast News Ltd.)
Thomas leads Dawgs to victory
SEATTLE (AP) - Isaiah Thomas responded from being benched the
game before to score 17 points, Quincy Pondexter added 17 and
resurgent Washington cruised to a 79-56 victory over Arizona State
on Saturday night.
The Huskies (16-7, 6-5 Pac-10) and Sun Devils (16-8, 6-5) are in
a five-way tie for second place in the scrambled conference, one
game behind California. Seven games remain in the league's regular
season.
Washington coach Lorenzo Romar benched Thomas at times in
Thursday's win over Arizona for not leading the offense
efficiently. Unfazed, last season's Pac-10 freshman of the year
ignited a 25-6 run to begin the game as the Huskies avenged a
17-point loss in Tempe last month.
Justin Holiday had seven points, 10 rebounds and another
game-changing night of defense for Washington, which next plays at
Cal on Thursday night.
Ty Abbott led ASU with 10 points.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Cougs snap losing streak at home against Arizona
PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) - DeAngelo Casto scored 19 points and
blocked three shots as Washington State beat Arizona 78-60 on
Saturday, knocking the Wildcats out of a tie for first place in the
Pac-10.
Klay Thompson had 14 points and Reggie Moore 12 points for the
Cougars (15-8, 5-6), who had lost three straight. Washington State
held Arizona to 42 percent shooting to sweep the season series.
Derrick Williams scored 16 points for Arizona (12-11, 6-5),
which was coming off a narrow loss at Washington that ended a
four-game winning streak. The Wildcats were tied for first with
three other teams heading into Saturday's games.
It was Arizona's first game since the university announced
Friday that it had placed its men's basketball program on probation
for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons for violations by Hall of Fame
coach Lute Olson related to an offseason AAU tournament in 2008.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Broussard lifts Seattle past Portland State 80-77
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Aaron Broussard scored a game-high 21
points, including a 3-pointer with less than a second remaining, to
lift Seattle past Portland State 80-77 on Sunday.
Cervante' Burrell added 15 points and Charles Garcia had 12 for
the Redhawks (11-13) in the nonconference game.
Julius Thomas led Portland State (10-13) with 19 points. Jamie
Jones had 18 points and nine rebounds and Dominic Waters added 15
points for the Vikings.
Portland State led 60-52 after Jones' rebound put-back with
11:50 remaining. Seattle battled back and took its first lead of
the half 71-70 on two free throws by Garcia with 4:52 to play.
Portland State went ahead 77-75 when Waters made two free throws
with 1:46 left, but a lay-in by the Redhawks' Alex Jones tied the
game at 77 with 1:13 to go.
Portland State shot 50 percent from the field to Seattle's 41
percent.
Lakers don't need Kobe to top Trail Blazers
PORTLAND, Ore. - Lamar Odom replaced an injured Kobe Bryant and
matched his career high with 22 rebounds, and the Los Angeles
Lakers broke their nine-game losing streak at the Rose Garden with
a 99-82 victory Saturday night over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Bryant sat out with a sore left ankle.
The 12-time All-Star and last year's NBA finals MVP had played
in 235 straight games.
Odom also scored 10 points as the Lakers pulled away in the
fourth quarter, leading by as many as 19 points.
Portland was again without All-Star guard Brandon Roy, who
announced earlier in the evening that he would miss the next three
games and the All-Star game to heal his sore right hamstring.
(The Associated Press) (from Broadcast News Ltd.)
No.18 Vikings shoot 62.7 percent to gain fifth straight victory
BELLINGHAM, Wash. --- Forward Rory Blanche (So., Ashland, OR) came off the
bench and hit his first nine shots from the field in scoring a team-high 20 points
as nationally ranked Western Washington University defeated Saint Martin’s University,
88-68, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men’s basketball contest Saturday on
Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.
The Vikings, No.18 in this week’s National Association of Basketball Coaches/NCAA Division II
Top 25 Poll and No.2 in the latest West Region Poll, improved to 21-3 overall and remain
second in the GNAC at 8-2, one-half game behind leader and nationally No.9-rated Seattle
Pacific.
Saint Martin’s fell to 11-9 overall and 1-8 in the GNAC. Forward Blake Poole had 22 points and
13 rebounds for the Saints, who lost for the eighth straight time since a triple overtime 94-86
victory over Western on Jan. 7 which gave the Saints an 11-1 start.
Blanche entered the game midway through the first half and poured in 16 points by halftime,
helping the Vikings pull away from an 18-18 tie with 9:33 left in the period to open up a 43-36
lead at halftime. He was 7-of-7 from the field in the half and also converted both his free throw
attempts.
Saint Martin’s opened the second half with a 9-2 run to pull within a point, 45-44, with 16:12 to play,
but the Vikings ran off the next seven points, as guard Morris Anderson (Sr., Federal Way) drove for
a layup, fed Andrew Ready (Sr., Chicago, IL/Westinghouse) for another, then hit a 3-pointer, giving
Western a 52-44 advantage with 14:25 left.
The Saints never got closer than six points after that, and the margin was never less than 16 points
in the final four minutes. Forward Derrick Webb (Sr., Port Orchard/South Kitsap) had 19 points for Western
, which won for the fifth straight time and is 11-1 at home. Anderson had 15 points, nine assists and six
rebounds, and Ready added 11 points. The Vikings shot 62.7 percent (37-of-59) from the field, their
second-best mark of the season.
Forward Jared Howard had 15 points for Saint Martin’s. Center Jeremy Green had 12 and guard Galen Squires added 10.
The Vikings next travel to Alaska to play Alaska Anchorage on Thursday (7:30 p.m. AT) and Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday (7:30 p.m. AT)
Cabe scores 26 as No.19 Vikings get 10th straight victory
BELLINGHAM, Wash. --- Forward Willow Cabe (Sr., McCleary/Elma) scored a game-high
26 points as nationally ranked Western Washington University defeated Saint Martin’s University
, 77-64, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women’s basketball contest Saturday on
Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.
The Vikings, tied for No.19 in this week’s USA Today/ESPN NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll and
No.2 in the latest West Region poll, improved to 19-2 overall and remained atop the GNAC
standings at 10-0. It was the 10th straight victory for Western, which is 11-0 at home this season.
Forward Dara Zack had 19 points for Saint Martin’s, which fell to 8-12 overall and 2-7 in the
GNAC with its ninth loss in the last 11 games.
Western took the lead for good less than eight minutes into the contest, but was ahead by just
seven, 60-53, with seven minutes remaining before breaking the contest open. The Vikings scored
seven points in 51 seconds to start a 13-3 run that gave them a 73-56 advantage with 3:40 to play.
The margin was never less than 11 points after that.
Forward Jessica Summers (Sr., Blaine) had 15 points for the Vikings, who shot 51.6 percent
(32-of-62) from the field, including 57.7 percent (15-of-26) in the second half. Western entered
the game ranked No.6 nationally in NCAA II in field-goal percentage at 48.1 percent.
Krissy Bassett had 11 points for Saint Martin’s, which was 6-of-10 (60.0 percent) on 3-pointers,
and 20-of-23 (87.0 percent) on free throws.
The 10 consecutive Western victories are the 19th double-figure winning streak in school history,
and all 10 of the triumphs have been by double digits. Both of the Viking losses have been to
nationally ranked teams.
The Vikings go to Alaska for GNAC counters against Alaska Anchorage on Thursday (5:15 p.m. AT)
and Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday (5:15 p.m. AT) in a GNAC.
Bedard, Mariners reunite with 1-year deal
SEATTLE (AP) - Free-agent left-hander Erik Bedard is coming back
to the Seattle Mariners.
General manager Jack Zduriencik announced Saturday morning the
team and the oft-injured 30-year-old agreed to a one-year contract
with a mutual option for 2011.
The contract is expected to have a base salary a fraction of the
$7.75 million Bedard made last season, and it would likely include
incentive clauses.
He is rehabilitating in his native Canada following surgery in
August to repair a torn labrum in his pitching shoulder. The normal
recovery time for the procedure would have him making his season
debut in June at the earliest.
After two disappointing seasons with Bedard, Seattle no longer
needs him to be on top of a rotation that includes Cliff Lee and
Felix Hernandez.
Bouldin, No. 17 Gonzaga top Memphis 66-58
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Matt Bouldin scored 19 points and No. 17
Gonzaga pulled away at the end for a 66-58 victory over Memphis on
Saturday.
Robert Sacre added 13 points and Steven Gray finished with 12,
despite shooting 4 of 12 from the field for Gonzaga (19-4). Gray
had seven rebounds.
Wesley Witherspoon led Memphis (16-7) with 26 points, hitting
eight of his 11 shots, including 4 of 6 on 3-pointers. Elliot
Williams finished with 11 points for the Tigers, who lost their
second game in the last three.
Gonzaga led 58-57 after Will Coleman, who had nine points and
eight rebounds, scored inside with 1:35 left. But the Sacre scored
inside and Bouldin hit two free throws to give the Bulldogs enough
breathing room for their 11th win in the last 12.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Gonzaga's Bouldin among Cousy finalists
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - Senior Sherron Collins of top-ranked
Kansas and star freshman John Wall of No. 4 Kentucky are among the
finalists for the Bob Cousy Award, given to the top point guard in
college basketball.
Matt Bouldin of Gonzaga is also one of the 11 finalists
announced Friday by the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame from a list
of 73 original nominees from all three NCAA divisions.
The other finalists, all from Division I, are: Devan Downey,
South Carolina; Trevon Hughes, Wisconsin; Jeremy Lin, Harvard;
Kalin Lucas, Michigan State; Ronald Moore, Siena; Scottie Reynolds,
Villanova; Jon Scheyer, Duke; and Greivis Vasquez, Maryland.
The winner will be announced April 5 at the Final Four.
Bruins lose 10th straight, 3-2 to Canucks in SO
BOSTON (AP) - Pavel Demitra tied the game on a tip-in with 4:42
left and scored the only goal of the shootout to lift the Vancouver
Canucks to a 3-2 win Saturday that sent the reeling Boston Bruins
to their 10th straight loss.
The defeat was the ninth in a row at home for the Bruins. Both
streaks are the second-longest in club history.
Roberto Luongo stopped all three Bruins' shootout shots, while
Demitra beat rookie Tuukka Rask on Vancouver's first attempt.
Zdeno Chara and Michael Ryder scored first-period power-play
goals for Boston, while Mason Raymond scored in the second period
for Vancouver.
The Canucks ended a two-game losing streak on the fourth stop of
the longest road swing in NHL history, a 14-game trip caused by the
Olympics.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Women's college
Washington State defeats Arizona State 66-62
. TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - April Cook scored 33 points to help
Washington State snap an 11-game losing streak with a 66-62 victory
against Arizona State on Saturday.
The Cougars (6-16, 1-10 Pac-10) overcame 28 turnovers and a
13-point first-half deficit to win for the first time since beating
San Francisco 74-57 on Dec. 19.
Washington State had not beaten the Sun Devils (14-8, 6-5) since
Feb. 28, 2004, in Pullman, Wash. The Cougars won in Tempe for the
first time since 1997.
kiki Moore overcame her 13 turnovers to add 16 points, five
assists and four steals for Washington State.
Kayli Murphy had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Arizona State.
Cook and Jazmine Perkins hit 3-pointers to give Washington State
the lead for good at 48-44 with 7:15 remaining.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Arizona women rout Washington 80-50
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Soana Lucet had 22 points and 10 rebounds
and Arizona raced to an 80-50 women's basketball victory over
Washington on Saturday.
Ify Ibekwe also had a double-double, with 17 points and 10
rebounds for the Wildcats (11-10, 5-6). Brooke Jackson scored 15
points and Reiko Thomas 13 for Arizona.
The Wildcats' 30-point margin at the finish was their biggest
lead of the game. They led 32-20 at halftime and shot 51 percent in
the game.
Washington (9-12, 4-7) was led by Laura McLellan, who scored 18
points. Sami Whitcomb had 16 for the Huskies.
Washington's only lead came in the first minute of the game.
Arizona outrebounded Washington 47-27.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Cypress Mountain cut back to save snow for Olympics
VANCOUVER - Olympic officials are scaling back training time for
athletes at one of the mountain venues for the 2010 Winter Games in
order to save snow.
As a helicopter dumps a load of snow every three minutes atop
parts of Cypress Mountain, Vancouver organizers say to preserve the
integrity of the courses, they need to keep athletes away.
Sarah Lewis of the international ski federation says cutting
back training on the halfpipe to three from five days still gives
athletes more time on the venue than they would have at a World
Cup.
Freestyle skiers and snowboarders are also being offered trips
up to the host mountain resort of Whistler, B.C. just to keep in
shape.
Cypress, which is just north of Vancouver, has suffered from the
warmest January on record forcing organizers into an extensive
contingency plan that also involves trucking snow from as far as
three hours away.
The committee says while the courses themselves are coming
together, they continue to bring in snow to help finish off other
areas of the field of play like the path athletes will take to get
on and off the mountain.
(The Canadian Press) (from Broadcast News Ltd.)
