Mariners News

The Mariners are back from the All-Star break tonight for a crucial series against their division rivals. The M’s are hosting the Houston Astros with a chance to regain some ground in the race for the AL West.

Houston currently leads Seattle by five games as the top two teams in the division. The Astros enter the series having won four of their seven earlier matchups, but their last series at T-Mobile was as tight as it gets. All three games were decided by a single run.

Luis Castillo is on the mound for the M’s tonight as they look to start the weekend off strong. Coverage begins at 6:00 and first pitch is at 7:10 on KPUG.

Bells News

The Bells are also back from their brief All-Star break. They’re hosting the Victoria HarbourCats in the first of their three-game series.

The Bells recovered from a rough 1-4 start to the second half of the season to win four straight games going into the break.They’ll look to keep it going tonight against a HarbourCats team that has the best second-half record in the North Division at 10-2.

First pitch is at 6:35 from Joe Martin Field. Make sure to get there early, because the first 900 fans will receive a Bells-branded tumbler.

Seahawks News

The Seahawks have finalized a deal with one of their top rookies. ESPN reports the team agreed on a fully guaranteed contract last night with second-round safety Nick Emmanwori.

He’s the first player in NFL history drafted 35th overall to receive a fully guaranteed contract. It’s a league-wide trend that has developed after the Houston Texans made the unprecedented move of guaranteeing the entire rookie contract of their 34th overall pick.

The Seahawks traded up 17 spots to select Emmanwori, who was a three-year starter at South Carolina. The team plans to use him as a nickelback this upcoming season, with Julian Love and Coby Bryant remaining in place as starting safeties.

After yesterday’s signing, the Seahawks’ entire 11-man draft class is now under contract ahead of their first practice of training camp on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks placed veteran edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu on the physically unable to perform list yesterday. Nwosu got surgery over the offseason to repair a knee injury he first suffered in a preseason game last August.

Players can be activated off the PUP list at any time during training camp and preseason, so the move doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t be available for the start of the season.

Nwosu had 9.5 sacks in his first season as a Seahawk in 2022, but has since battled a slew of injuries and played just six games in each of the past two seasons.

Whatcom County Events

All the local hoopers will be out for this weekend’s Razz Fest in Lynden. The Curt Maberry Memorial Classic Basketball Tournament is celebrating its 25th year as part of the annual festival.

The 3-on-3 tournament includes over 200 teams from all age groups starting at 3rd grade and up.  The games run in downtown Lynden until 9:00 tonight and then again from 8 am to 6 pm tomorrow.