Date: 03/13/2013 05:29 AM
NW–SportsMinute/700
Here is the latest Washington, Oregon and Alaska sports news from The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Zach Randolph returned from an ankle injury with 19 points and 10 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies won their fifth straight game with a 102-97 win over the Portland Trail Blazers last night. Marc Gasol (gah-SOHL’) had 20 points for the Grizzlies, who’ve won 13 of their last 14 games and sit in fourth place in the Western Conference. Mike Conley had 14 points and a career-high 15 assists. LaMarcus Aldridge had 28 points and 10 boards for Portland. Damian Lillard had 27 points.
SEATTLE (AP) – The Seattle Storm will be down another All-Star after the team announced that Sue Bird will miss the 2013 season because she needs knee surgery. Bird will undergo surgery to remove a cyst from her right knee later this spring. No date has been announced for the surgery. The expected recovery time is six months. Seattle will already be without former MVP Lauren Jackson, who is choosing to remain in Australia and recover from hamstring surgery. Bird is currently playing overseas.
LAS VEGAS (AP) – Joel Wright scored 26 points to lead Texas State to a 68-56 win over Seattle in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament last night. Wright was 7 of 12 from the field for the game and had a team-high nine rebounds. Matt Staff scored 13 points for the seventh-seeded Bobcats. Texas State led 36-28 at halftime. The score was tied only once and Texas State never trailed. Deshaun Sunderhaus led Seattle with 15 points. Prince Obasi had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) – Felix Hernandez struck out three in three innings of his second spring training start, but the Seattle Mariners lost to an Arizona Diamondbacks split squad 5-4 Tuesday. Hernandez, who became the highest-paid pitcher in baseball when he signed a seven-year, $175 million contract in February, walked one and gave up one hit – a solo home run to Eric Hinske. In two spring appearances, Hernandez allowed two runs and three hits in five innings. He has one walk and five strikeouts.
RENTON, Wash. (AP) – The Seattle Seahawks have completed a trade with Minnesota to acquire wide receiver Percy Harvin in exchange for three draft picks. Seattle announced the finalization of the trade yesterday once the NFL’s league year began. Harvin passed his physical and was introduced at the team’s facility later. The 24-year-old Harvin will give second-year quarterback Russell Wilson a dynamic playmaker not yet at his peak and reunite him with former teammate Sidney Rice.
SEATTLE (AP) – Eddie Johnson scored in the 75th minute to cap the Seattle Sounders’ remarkable second-half rally to beat Tigres 3-2 on aggregate and advance to the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals for the first time in team history. Seattle won the second-leg of the quarterfinal series 3-1 and became the first MLS club to oust a Mexican side in a home-and-home series since the format for the tournament was altered five years ago. Seattle will face either Houston or Santos Laguna in the semifinals.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Mason Raymond scored the only goal in the shootout, and seldom-used Roberto Luongo (loh-AHN’-goh) stopped 26 shots through overtime to lead the Vancouver Canucks past the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1. Luongo, playing his second game in 16 days, stopped all three Blue Jackets in the shootout. Raymond, shooting second the Canucks, scored when he came to a quick stop, got goalie Sergei Bobrovsky on the ice, and then easily tapped a backhander into the net.
NOME, Alaska (AP) – A 53-year-old former champ has won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race to become the oldest winner of Alaska’s grueling endurance test. Mitch Seavey and 10 dogs crossed the Nome finish line to cheering crowds at 10:38 Alaska time last night. His victory in the 1,000-mile race came after a dueling sprint against Aliy Zirkle, last year’s runner-up, along the Bering Sea coast. The pair jostled for the lead, closely followed by four-time champion Jeff King. Seavey won his first Iditarod in 2004.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.