Seahawks News

The Seahawks are gearing up for their final game of the regular season.

They’re on the road against their rival San Francisco 49ers tomorrow night with the No. 1 seed in the NFC on the line. Both teams have won their last six games entering tomorrow’s matchup.

Seattle will look to avenge their season-opening loss to the Niners, which ended in a turnover on what would have been the game-winning drive.

The Hawks will be without left tackle Charles Cross, who has been ruled out for the second straight game, but will get Pro Bowl returner Rashid Shaheed back after clearing concussion protocol. 

The winner of tomorrow’s game will not only get a first round bye, but have home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.  Coverage begins at 3:00 and kickoff is at 5:00 on KPUG.

College Football News

The College Football Playoff semifinals are set.

Oregon shut out Texas Tech 23-0 in the Orange Bowl yesterday to book a spot in the Peach Bowl. There, they’ll face top-ranked Indiana, who’s coming off a 38-3 drubbing of Alabama.

On the other side of the bracket, Ole Miss edged Georgia 39-34 in a thriller last night. The Rebels advanced to play Miami in the Fiesta Bowl after the Hurricanes upset the defending champion Ohio State Buckeyes on Wednesday.

Ole Miss and Miami face off next Thursday and Oregon takes on Indiana on Friday for the right to play in the national championship.

Kraken/Torrent News

The Kraken are heating up to start off the New Year.

Seattle beat the Nashville Predators 4-1 last night behind two goals from Matty Beniers. They’re now riding a six-match points streak and have won five of their last six.

After nearing the worst record in the NHL, the Kraken are now tied for the eighth-best record in the Western Conference. They’ll look to keep it up tonight when they rematch the Vancouver Canucks up north, days after falling in a shootout.

Coverage begins at 7:00 and puck drops at 7:30 on KPUG.

Meanwhile, Seattle hockey will have plenty of representation in the Olympics this winter.

USA Hockey announced today that the Torrent will send four players to next month’s Winter Games in Milan Cortina. The selections were highlighted by Hilary Knight, who is set to make her fifth Olympic appearance.

The Kraken are sending two more to the Games, with Kaapo Kakko and Eeli Tolvanen each making Finland’s Olympic team.

UW Huskies News

The Huskies women just picked up their biggest win of the season.

Washington upset 6th nationally ranked Michigan 64-52 last night to notch their third straight win. Sophomore guard Avery Howell had a game-high 22 points and 16 rebounds to help the Dawgs improve to 12-2 on the season.

They have a week off before returning to host No. 24 Michigan State next Thursday.

WWU Vikings News

The Western women are also celebrating a big win.

The Viks edged Western Oregon 62-57 last night in their first home game of conference play. Former Lynden Christian standouts Demi Dykstra and Libby Stump combined for 27 points to lead the Vikings. Stump also added 10 assists in the win.

They’re now 3-0 in GNAC play ahead of tomorrow night’s game against Saint Martin’s. Tipoff is at 5:00 from Carver Gym.

The Western men couldn’t find the same success, they lost to Alaska Fairbanks 85-76. They’ll finish their road trip up north tomorrow night against Alaska Anchorage.

HS Basketball News

Whatcom County’s high school basketball teams finished the year strong on New Year’s Eve. with three teams winning trophies at holiday tournaments.

The Lummi Nation boys and girls each took home hardware at the Trojan Storm Winter Classic with wins over Meridian and Blaine.

The Lynden girls also beat Napavine to secure the Lynden Christmas Classic crown. The 2x defending state champion Lions now own the second-longest active winning streak of any girls basketball team in the country with 57 straight, according to MaxPreps.

Coming up tonight…

The Lummi boys are at Mount Vernon.

The Sehome boys and girls are both in Anacortes.

The Squalicum girls host Blaine.

The Blaine boys host Squalicum.

The Lynden Christian girls host Burlington-Edison.

The LC boys are at Burlington.

The Ferndale girls are on the road against Lakewood.

And the Ferndale boys are home for Lakewood.