NCAA BASKETBALL NEWS

March Madness is officially here. The men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournament brackets have been finalized after yesterday’s Selection Sunday show. Auburn, Duke, Florida and Houston are the #1 seeds on the men’s side, while UCLA, South Carolina, USC and Texas are the top-seeds for women.

The Gonzaga men earned an 8-seed and will face 9th-seeded Georgia on Thursday afternoon. Meanwhile, the University of Washington women are one of eight teams fighting it out in the First Four. They’ll play Columbia for the 11th-seed on Wednesday afternoon in their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2017.

Meanwhile, there will be plenty of tournament action here in Washington state. The first and second rounds feature several men’s games in Seattle and women’s games in Spokane. You can also catch all of this week’s tournament drama on KPUG.

MARINERS NEWS

The Mariners have named their Opening Day starter. M’s skipper Dan Wilson announced on Saturday that Logan Gilbert will start the season off on the mound for their March 27th game against the Athletics.

Gilbert is coming off a 2024 campaign where he threw the most innings in the majors while making his first All-Star team and finishing sixth in American League Cy Young voting. He’ll take over for Luis Castillo, who was selected as Seattle’s Opening Day starter for the previous two seasons.

It comes as the Mariners fell to the Athletics 7-6 this afternoon in Cactus League play.

KRAKEN NEWS 

The Kraken couldn’t hold off a late rally and fell to the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 in overtime last night. Seattle got off to an early 2-0 lead, but Winnipeg came back to tie it in the second period. Dylan Samberg went on to score less than 2 minutes into OT to give the NHL-leading Jets their 98th point of the season. It was a bit of a homecoming for Kraken fan favorite Brandon Tanev, who was traded to the Jets for a second-round pick earlier this month.

Seattle now drops to 4-5-1 in its last 10 games to fall 10 points out of a wild card in the Western Conference. They’re back tomorrow night against the Chicago Blackhawks for the start of a four-game road trip.

SUPERSONICS NEWS

A fan favorite of the Seattle SuperSonics has passed away. The family of Donald “Slick” Watts announced on Saturday that he passed away at the age of 73. Watts was signed by coach Bill Russell to play for the Sonics in 1973 as an undrafted rookie.

He was with Seattle for less than five years, but became a fixture known for his broad smile, bald head and crooked headbands. In his later years Watts taught physical education in the Seattle School District and ran a basketball academy with his son.

Watts had been in poor health following a stroke in 2021.

SEAHAWKS NEWS

The Seahawks are getting more help in their secondary. ESPN reports that Seattle has signed free agent cornerback Shemar Jean-Charles. Jean-Charles had 14 tackles and one interception in nine games for the New Orleans Saints last year.

The 26-year-old comes in as a potential replacement for Tre Brown, who left for the San Francisco 49ers in free agency last week. He’ll look to provide depth for a cornerback room that includes Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen and the newly re-signed Josh Jobe as the starting group.