AP-NW–Sports Right Now/719
MARINERS-ORIOLES
Lind homers to propel Mariners over Orioles 7-2
BALTIMORE (AP) — Adam Lind broke open a close game with a three-run homer in the sixth inning, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-2 Thursday to complete another successful road series.
Leonys Martin also homered for the Mariners, who took two of three from Baltimore to improve to an AL-best 15-7 in away games. Seattle is 6-0-1 in seven road series.
Nathan Karns (4-1) allowed one run and four hits in five innings, striking out five and walking none. The right-hander is unbeaten in seven starts since April 9.
Pedro Alvarez and Adam Jones had RBIs for the Orioles, who have dropped three of four following a seven-game winning streak.
REDSKINS-POLL
Poll: 9 in 10 Native Americans not offended by Redskins name
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) —A recent national poll finds that nine of 10 Native Americans aren’t offended by the Washington Redskins name.
The poll conducted by the Washington Post indicated more than eight in 10 say they wouldn’t be offended if someone who was not a Native American called them that name.
A federal judge ordered the cancellation of the Washington Redskins’ trademark registration in July, ruling that their name may be disparaging to Native Americans. The club is appealing.
Ninety percent of the random national sample of 504 Native Americans says the name doesn’t bother them; 9 percent say it is offensive.
Native Americans make up about 2 percent of the U.S. population
Interviews were conducted from December through April on landline and cellphones, with a margin of error of plus or minus 5.5 percentage points.
NFL-PAID PATRIOTISM-REFUND
Sens. McCain and Flake announce NFL refund of $700k to taxpayers
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Republican senators said Thursday that they’ve scored a touchdown for taxpayers after the National Football League informed them that it is refunding more than $700,000 paid by the Defense Department to NFL clubs to honor military service members at league games and events.
Arizona Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake had complained that the Pentagon spent more than $10 million in marketing and advertising contracts with professional sports teams between 2012 and 2015 for what the senators dubbed “paid patriotism.”
Flake and McCain called for an end to the taxpayer-funded practice of sponsoring such military celebrations at games, an effort that is often used for recruiting efforts and community outreach. A report they issued last year found 72 contracts in which the Pentagon paid for patriotic tributes at professional sports games.
The senators said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell notified them that an external audit to evaluate contracts between NFL clubs and the Pentagon identified $723,734 over four seasons that may have been mistakenly applied to appreciation activities rather than recruitment efforts. That amount is being returned in full to taxpayers, Goodell told the senators this week.
EX-NFL PLAYER-SCHOOL CHIEF
Ex-NFL player chosen to be next Pittsburgh schools head
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Officials say a former professional football player has been tapped to be the next superintendent of Pittsburgh Public Schools.
City school directors voted Wednesday evening to offer a five-year contract to Anthony Hamlet.
Hamlet had been the director of accountability transformation in the School District of Palm Beach in Florida since June 2014.
His resume states he oversaw 20 low-performing schools and managed budgets totaling more than $128 million.
Hamlet was a defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks and Indianapolis Colts in the early 1990s. He later played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Canadian Football League.
Current Superintendent Linda Lane retires on June 30th.
NCAA SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
NCAA Softball regional championships open
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Play opens today in the NCAA Division I softball championships, with three days of regional play at 16 regional campus sites.
Two-time defending national champion Florida has the top overall seed in the tournament and will open play facing Alabama State in the double-elimination regional tournament. Teams that advance out of regionals will go to super-regionals before the Women’s College World Series.
Alabama State is among five schools making their first appearance ever in the national tournament, along with Butler, Cal State-Bakersfield, Mississippi and Samford.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
