NW–SportsMinute/364
Here is the latest Washington, Oregon and Alaska sports news from The Associated Press
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Jimmy Rider drove in the winning run with a shallow pop fly that landed just inside the left-field foul line in the bottom of the ninth, lifting Kent State to a 3-2 win over Oregon last night and sending the Golden Flashes to their first College World Series. Rider’s hit off Oregon closer Jimmie Sherfy fell just out of the reach of shortstop J.J. Altobelli and left fielder Brett Thomas. Kent State becomes the first team from the Mid-American Athletic Conference since 1976 to book a trip to Omaha.
SEATTLE (AP) – Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn has delivered a personal message to NBA Commissioner David Stern, saying the city is interested in having the league come back. Mayor’s spokesman Aaron Pickus says McGinn met with Stern in New York yesterday. A new ownership group took the Sonics to Oklahoma City in 2008. They’re now playing as the Thunder in the NBA finals. McGinn says he supports a proposal to build a nearly $500 million arena near Safeco and CenturyLink fields in Seattle.
SEATTLE (AP) – Before they became critically acclaimed documentary filmmakers, Adam Brown and Jason Reid were just basketball junkies. But all it takes is one screen shot of owner Clay Bennett or one mention of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s past incarnation as the Seattle SuperSonics to help them recall why they can never cheer for that team. Seeing Oklahoma City win the Western Conference crown last week was tough enough for Seattle fans. Now come the NBA Finals beginning tonight vs. Miami.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – When he left the Olympic Club in 1998, Casey Martin wasn’t sure he would ever play in another U.S. Open. He didn’t even know if he would still have his right leg. Martin made his way through two stages of qualifying and returns to the very spot where he brought his disability to a national stage. Martin became the first player in a cart at the U.S. Open because of a painful circulatory disorder in his right leg. He’s now 40, the golf coach at Oregon, and back in his single-rider cart.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.