Sonics News
Sonics fans just got the announcement they’ve been waiting for.
ESPN reports that the NBA’s board of governors will hold a vote next week to explore adding expansion teams exclusively in Seattle and Las Vegas. League sources told ESPN that the vote is expected to pass, as it needs approval from 23 out of the 30 team governors.
Next Wednesday’s vote will allow the league to focus on Seattle and Vegas and have a bidding process for the teams, which are expected to each fetch $7 to 10 billion. There would then be a final vote later this year to finalize the league’s expansion to 32 teams.
If approved, the Sonics would be targeted to start playing in the 2028-29 season.
NCAA Basketball News
March Madness is officially here.
Duke, Arizona, Michigan and Florida all earned No. 1 seeds in the men’s bracket during the Selection Show yesterday. Gonzaga was named the No. 3 seed in the West Region, and will play 14th-seeded Kennesaw State in Portland at 7 pm on Thursday.
Over in the women’s bracket, UConn, UCLA, Texas and South Carolina all got No. 1 seeds. The Huskies earned a six seed and will play 11th-seeded South Dakota State in Sacramento on Friday morning.
WWU Vikings News
Meanwhile, the Western women had their season come to an end over the weekend.
The Vikings were eliminated from the national tournament after falling to Cal Poly Pomona 57-54 on Saturday. They led by four entering the final quarter, but shot just 1-16 in the 4th to suffer the loss.
Senior Olivia Hodges scored 15 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for her 25th double-double of the season. She fell just one short of the GNAC single-season record and set a new single-season rebounding record at Western.
The Viks finish the season with a 25-8 record
WBC News
The United States are one game away from world baseball supremacy.
The US edged Dominican Republic 2-1 last night to advance to the World Baseball Classic championship. Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony each hit solo home runs, while Paul Skenes and the US pitching staff stifled a red-hot DR lineup to advance.
Julio Rodriguez still got his highlight reel catch in, robbing reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge of a home run in the fifth inning.
The US will now await the winner of tonight’s game between Italy and Venezuela in the WBC championship tomorrow.
Kraken News
The Kraken ended their recent woes at home last night.
They beat the Florida Panthers 6-2 to snap a four-game skid at Climate Pledge.
Bobby McCann had a power-play goal and added an assist in his second game for Seattle. Kaapo Kakko also scored and had two more assists as the Kraken moved back into the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
They’ll look to win their third straight tomorrow when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Coverage begins at 6:30 and puck drops at 7 on KPUG.
Sounders/Reign News
The Sounders picked up another win yesterday.
They edged the San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 to improve to 3-1 on the season. Paul Rothrock scored his third goal of the season to propel the win and hand the Earthquakes their first loss of the year.
Meanwhile, the Reign opened their season with a 2-1 win over the Orlando Pride. It came as revenge after the Pride bounced them from the playoffs last year.