NW Sports from the AP

Date: 04/17/2013 06:06 AM

NW–1st SportsMinute/617
Here is the latest Washington, Oregon and Alaska sports news from The Associated Press

 

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Oregon runners will assemble on Portland’s waterfront tonight to pay tribute to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. The Portland Triathlon Club has invited the community to take part in a run to support and to remember friends, families and fellow competitors in Boston. The gesture in response to the tragedy was one of many in Oregon, which has a rich track and field history and a tight-knit community of runners – including 351 who took part in Monday’s marathon.

SEATTLE (AP) – Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn says a tentative deal has been reached to ready KeyArena for the NBA’s return. Under the agreement, which still needs City Council approval, the prospective new owners of the Sacramento Kings would pay a guaranteed rent to Seattle, ensure that all city employees at KeyArena retain their jobs, and assume operations of the arena beginning this July and lasting as long as NBA basketball is played at the facility. A group led by Chris Hansen is seeking to buy the Kings and move them to Seattle, where they plan to build a new $490 million arena for professional basketball and hockey.

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Caron Butler scored 18 of his 22 points in the third quarter, and the Los Angeles Clippers routed the Portland Trail Blazers 93-77 last night for their sixth straight victory. Blake Griffin added 16 points, DeAndre Jordan had 10 points and nine rebounds, and Chris Paul had 11 assists for the Pacific Division champions, who finished their home schedule with a 32-9 record. They end the regular season tonight at Sacramento. Another win would ensure the Clippers have home-court advantage to start the playoffs.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Kevin McGuff is the new women’s basketball coach at Ohio State, three weeks after signing a contract extension with the University of Washington. Ohio State announced the hiring yesterday. The 43-year-old McGuff, who spent nine years as the head coach at Xavier before winning 41 games the last two seasons with the Huskies, follows Jim Foster, fired last month after the Buckeyes failed to win 20 games or make the NCAA tournament for the first time in his 11-year tenure.

SEATTLE (AP) – The Seattle Mariners and DIRECTV Sports Networks have announced partnership on a new regional sports network where the Mariners will be the majority stakeholder in the operation. The deal, announced yesterday, will run through the end of the 2030 baseball season. DIRECTV Sports Networks will take on a minority position with the venture, but will oversee daily management of the network. The Mariners say the network will continue to operate under the ROOT Sports brand.

SEATTLE (AP) – Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run homer and drove in Detroit’s first four runs, and the Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners 6-2 last night. Cabrera’s homer came with two outs in the fifth inning off Seattle starter Aaron Harang and was his second of the season. Cabrera drove a pitch off the edge of the plate out to right-center field to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead. Cabrera also had RBIs in the first and seventh innings. Austin Jackson scored twice, giving him 19 runs scored in just 13 games.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The University of Oregon has proposed a self-imposed two-year probation and the loss of a scholarship for three years because of possible recruiting violations involving the Ducks’ football program. The university released documents late Monday that included a proposed summary disposition from September which discusses the violations and characterizes at least one as “major.” The contents of the documents were first reported by KATU television in Portland.

 

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.