AP-NW–Sports Right Now/782
FC DALLAS-SOUNDERS
Dempsey sparks surge, Sounders beat FC Dallas 5-0
SEATTLE (AP) — Clint Dempsey, Andreas Ivanschitz and Jordan Morris scored during a 15-minute span of the first half and the Seattle Sounders routed MLS-leading FC Dallas 5-0 on Wednesday night to snap a four-game winless streak.
Joevin Jones and Cristian Roldan added second-half goals for the Sounders (6-10-2), who started the night with the lowest goal total in the league (14).
Dempsey scored in the 6th minute when he drilled a penalty kick past goalkeeper Chris Seitz for his third goal of the year. The PK was set up when defender Maynor Figueroa was called for an intentional hand ball just outside of the 6-yard box and shown the red card.
That halted a 321-minute shutout streak for Dallas (11-6-4).
Seattle had not scored on its home field since a 2-0 victory against San Jose on May 7 — a drought of 277 minutes.
Ivanschitz increased the lead to 2-0 in the 18th minute with his third of the season, and Morris tallied his team-leading seventh just 4 minutes later. Jones scored in the 61st, followed by Roldan in the 73rd.
Seattle also finished with 10 men after Dempsey was sent off in the 34th minute at CenturyLink Field.
MLS-REAL SALT LAKE-WHITECAPS
Vancouver beats Real Salt Lake
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Cristian Techera scored three minutes after a Real Salt Lake own goal in the first half and the Vancouver Whitecaps won 2-0 on Wednesday night.
The MLS win was Vancouver’s first at B.C. Place Stadium since May 11 and snapped an ugly 1-3-2 streak overall.
The Whitecaps (8-8-4) had their first shutout since April 23, a stretch of 11 matches.
Vancouver took the lead in the 34th minute when Matias Laba sent a low cross into the Real penalty area that Salt Lake’s Tony Beltran cleared off fellow defender Justen Glad and into his own net.
Techera added his second goal of the season in the 37th minute, taking a pass from Christian Bolanos and scoring from 35 yards out.
Real Salt Lake (8-6-5) came up empty on two early scoring opportunities.
ESPY AWARDS-GUN VIOLENCE
NBA stars open ESPYs urging end to profiling, gun violence
LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James and fellow NBA stars Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade opened the ESPY Awards with a plea to address racial profiling and end the nation’s spate of gun violence.
They stood on stage at the Microsoft Theater on Wednesday night and took turns commenting on what Anthony called “the realities of the current state of America.”
Paul, nephew of a police officer, recited the names of several black men who have been killed, most by guns.
“We all feel helpless and frustrated by the violence,” James said.
James urged his fellow professional athletes to return to their communities and invest time and resources in helping rebuild them. He asked them to educate themselves and renounce violence.
“We all have to do better,” he said.
BROWNS-CROWELL APOLOGY
Browns’ Crowell pledges to Dallas police fund as apology
BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Cleveland Browns running back Isaiah Crowell says he will donate about $35,000 to a fallen officers’ fund in Dallas as part of his apology for posting a drawing on Instagram last week showing a police officer getting his throat slashed.
In a video posted on Facebook Wednesday, Crowell again apologized for the posting and said he would donate his first game check to a fund for the police officers slain and injured during a sniper attack last week. He didn’t say what the exact amount would be but his yearly salary is $600,000 covering 17 weeks of the NFL season, including a bye.
Crowell posted the drawing after men in Louisiana and Minnesota were fatally shot by police. He subsequently deleted the post, but a screenshot continued to be circulated on social media.
In the video, Crowell says he wants to be part of the solution.
2016 LEGENDS CLASSIC
Matchups set for Legends Classic
NEW YORK (AP) — Notre Dame, coming off an Elite 8 season, will play Colorado and Texas will meet Northwestern in the semifinals of the 10th annual Legends Classic at Barclays Center.
The semifinals will be November 21st, with the championship and consolation games the next night.
In addition to the games played in Brooklyn, the four semifinalists will host two games each on campus beginning November 12th.
Eastern Washington will host Bryant, Louisiana Monroe and Seattle in a subregional round on November 21st through 22nd.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
