NW Sports from the AP

AP-NW–1st SportsMinute,477
Here is the latest Washington, Oregon and Alaska sports news from
The Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) – Lauren Jackson had nine of her 14 points in the
third quarter to help lead the Seattle Storm past the Tulsa Shock
74-57 last night. Tanisha Wright scored 12 points, Camille Little
had 10 and Swin Cash added nine for Seattle, which moved into a tie
with Phoenix for second place in the Western Conference. The Storm
have won three in a row since Jackson returned from a hip injury.
Tulsa fell to 1-25 and extended its streak to 20 losses.

RENTON, Wash. (AP) – Tarvaris Jackson knows where Seattle’s
starting offense needs to start with the fixes: scoring. Through
two lackluster preseason games, the Seahawks’ No. 1 offense has yet
to put any points on the board. They posted a zero in two short
series in their preseason opener at San Diego, then were shutout
again last week against Minnesota. So just scoring is an easy place
for Jackson to start with a Seahawks offense that’s looked marginal
so far. Jackson and the starting offense are likely to play into
the third quarter tomorrow in Denver.

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – LaMichael James certainly isn’t shy about
making bold predictions for No. 3 Oregon this season. Big things
are expected from the Ducks after they went 12-1 last season,
captured their second consecutive Pac-10 title and played in the
BCS championship game. The Associated Press preseason Top 25 placed
the Ducks behind only Oklahoma and Alabama – and a spot in front of
season-opening opponent LSU. And the expanded Pac-12 preseason
media poll forecast that Oregon would win both the new North
Division and the inaugural league conference game. James, now a
junior, is one of the reasons for such lofty expectations.

NEW YORK (AP) – With Hurricane Irene taking aim at the East
Coast, Major League Soccer has changed times or dates for three of
this weekend’s games – including Portland. D.C. United moved
Saturday’s start time against Portland from 7:30 p.m. EDT to 2 p.m.
EDT at RFK Stadium. That’s an 11 a.m. PDT start for the Timbers’
game against D.C. United tomorrow. MLS will continue to monitor
Irene before making a final determination of the status of the
game.

SNOQUALMIE, Wash. (AP) – It took joining the Champions Tour
before Fred Couples got a chance to regularly play where he grew
up. As long as he’s healthy, he’ll get the opportunity to play back
in the Seattle area at least through 2014. Couples will be the
headliner when the Boeing Classic tees off today at TPC Snoqualmie
Ridge. Yesterday, the Champions Tour, the tournament’s title
sponsor and the host course announced a two-year extension that
keeps the only professional golf event in Washington state coming
back through 2014. That’s welcome news to Couples, who grew up in
Seattle and has played only a few times in front of his hometown
fans.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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