AP-NW–Sports Right Now/620
MARINERS
Surprising Seattle leads the AL West in mid-May
SEATTLE (AP) — When new general manager Jerry Dipoto went about rebuilding the Seattle Mariners in the offseason, he bet heavily on the rebound.
Dipoto believed the Mariners could be revamped without spending heavily in free agency through shrewd acquisitions of players who struggled in 2015 or had perhaps fallen out of favor with their former club.
Through the first six weeks of the season, that bet is paying off.
After completing a three-game sweep of Tampa Bay, the Mariners are 21-13, their best start since 2003. They find themselves in the rare position of being in first place in the AL West into the middle of May and are starting to energize a fan base that’s grown apathetic during the longest playoff drought of any team in baseball.
NFL-SEAHAWKS-LOCKETTE RETIRES
Injured Seahawks WR Lockette retires from NFL
RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Ricardo Lockette arrived in the NFL with zero fanfare, just another undrafted free agent with a specific skill who was being given a chance.
He stepped away from football Thursday, retiring from the Seattle Seahawks with a formal news conference in an auditorium packed with staff, former teammates and coaches.
The turnout spoke to the lasting impact Lockette had in Seattle — a story that can’t be told through statistics — before retiring because of a severe neck injury suffered last season in a game against Dallas.
Not yet 30, Lockette is leaving with three Super Bowl appearances under his belt, a Super Bowl ring, four career touchdown catches and the infamy of being the intended receiver on Russell Wilson’s pass that was intercepted by Malcolm Butler to end Seattle’s bid for a second straight title.
Lockette is also leaving with titanium plates holding together his cervical spine. If not for the proper response from trainers and medical personnel on the field in Dallas last November, Lockette could have died, a chilling story he retold when visiting first responders in the Seattle area during the winter.
Lockette arrived at Thursday’s event without the neck brace he wore continuously following the surgery to stabilize the ligaments and vertebras in his neck.
POP WARNER-KICKOFFS
Pop Warner bans kickoffs in 3 youngest age divisions
LANGHORNE, Pa. (AP) — Pop Warner is eliminating kickoffs in its three youngest football divisions, another safety-focused rules change sure to be noticed and discussed at higher levels of the game.
The ban, which will affect ages five to ten, will begin this fall. Instead, the ball will be placed at the 35-yard line to start each half and following scores.
The organization, which began in 1929 and has 225,000 children enrolled in football from ages 5 to 15, says it will review the results of the rules change following next season as it considers implementing the same ban in older age divisions.
Pop Warner has also announced a further reduction in contact time during practice, lowering the percentage to 25 from the 33 percent rule that was implemented in 2012.
WOLFSBURG-SPONSOR
Nike becomes Wolfsburg’s sponsor as of July
WOLFSBURG, Germany (AP) — Nike will become the kit sponsor of Bundesliga club Wolfsburg in a nine-year deal starting in July.
The club gave no financial details of the “strategic partnership” on Thursday.
Wolfsburg CEO Thomas Roettgermann says the deal is a “quantum leap” for the club, which is also backed by the auto making giant Volkswagen.
The club was Bundesliga champion in 2009 and won the German Cup last season. Wolfsburg reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League for the first time this season but has failed to qualify for an international competition in the next campaign.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
