AP-NW–1st SportsMinute,455
Here is the latest Washington, Oregon and Alaska sports news from
The Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) – The Seattle Mariners have hired Chris Gwynn as
their new director of player development after current minor league
director Pedro Grifol was made the new manager at Single-A High
Desert. The Mariners made the moves official yesterday. Gwynn
previously worked as the director of player personnel for the San
Diego Padres. He’s the younger brother of Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn,
and will oversee all aspects of the Mariners’ minor league system.
It’ll be his 14th season working in a major league front office,
including the last 12 with the Padres.
SEATTLE (AP) – Down 3-0 in the two-game, aggregate-goals Western
Conference semifinal, the Sounders are playing for their playoff
life in Wednesday’s match against Real Salt Lake in Seattle. Salt
Lake stunned Sounders fans with Saturday night’s 3-0 victory in the
first game in Utah. The Sounders had won their third consecutive
U.S. Open Cup title at home on Oct. 4 and were expecting more
success. Now they’ll need a little miracle to give goalkeeper Kasey
Keller a chance at an MLS championship before retiring.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) – Wide receiver Jared Karstetter is having
another standout season for Washington State. The senior from
Spokane ranks third on the team with 37 receptions for 418 yards,
with four touchdowns. He also was just named a National Football
Foundation scholar-athlete, and will receive an $18,000
postgraduate scholarship. Karstetter is just the fifth Cougar to
earn the NFF scholar-athlete prize. Karstetter ranks sixth on WSU’s
all-time receiving list with 143 receptions. He has caught a pass
in 35 consecutive games.
PHOENIX (AP) – The Pac-12 has four teams already bowl eligible,
including two that could play in BCS bowls. After that, it’s a
jumble of teams still needing two wins or more, leaving the
conference in a scramble to fill all its bowl allotments. No. 4
Stanford and sixth-ranked Oregon could both play in BCS bowls,
possibly even the national title game. No. 22 Arizona State and
Washington are bowl eligible as well. But for the Pac-12 to fill
its seven bowl spots, three of its teams will have to play well
down the stretch. UCLA, Cal and Utah need to win two of their final
four games, while Washington State needs three of four.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus
Aldridge will host a charity basketball game Sunday night at the
University of Portland. Among the players expected to attend are
fellow Blazers Brandon Roy and Wesley Matthews, Oklahoma City’s
Kevin Durant, Atlanta’s Jamal Crawford and the Wizards’ Josh
Howard. Aldridge has dubbed the game the Rip City Basketball
Classic. Proceeds of the game will benefit Breast Cancer Awareness,
Providence/St. Vincent’s Cardio Vascular Institute and New Avenues
for Youth.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
AP-NY-11-02-11 0531EDT
