HS Basketball News

State basketball continues today as we hit Day 3 of tournament action in Yakima and Spokane. Five Whatcom County teams are still alive, four of which are still in championship contention.

The top-seeded Lynden girls are playing 4th-seeded Clarkston at the SunDome with a spot in the 2A state championship on the line. Coverage begins at 3:30 and tipoff is at 3:45 on KPUG with Jason Upton and Rick Todd on the call.

At the same time, the top-seeded Lummi Nation boys are playing 4th-seeded DeSales at 3:45 pm in Spokane with a ticket to the 1B state championship at stake.

After that, the Lynden Christian boys take the court. The 2nd-seeded Lyncs are taking on 6th-seeded King’s, with the winner advancing to the 1A state championship. Coverage for that one will begin right after the Lynden girls and tipoff is at 5:30 on KPUG with Jason and Rick sticking around for that one.

The night caps off with the 3rd-seeded Lynden Christian girls taking on 2nd-seeded Zillah in the 1A semifinals. The Lyncs are coming off a dramatic double overtime win over Annie Wright last night. Coverage for their game against Zillah begins at 8:45 and tipoff is at 9:00 on KPUG with Randy Farmer and the coach Dan Kaemingk on the call.

Meanwhile, the 8th-seeded Lummi girls are playing 4th-seeded Yakama Tribal at 2:00, with the winner advancing to the 4th place game in Spokane tomorrow. The Blackhawks had their championship hopes ended last night in a quarterfinals loss to 2nd-seeded Garfield Palouse. 

WWU/UW Basketball News

The Western Washington University women’s basketball team tips off its postseason today.

The top-seeded Viks are taking on 5th-seeded Western Oregon in the GNAC Championships semifinals. Tipoff is at 2:15 from Carver Gym.

The winner will move onto the tournament championship, where they’ll face Montana State Billings at 5:00 tomorrow night, again at Carver Gym.

Meanwhile, the Huskies women couldn’t get the job done this morning, as they fell to 2nd nationally ranked UCLA 78-60 in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals. UW will find out next week where it goes and who it plays to start the postseason, as a likely team to make the 64-team national tournament field.

The Huskies men are playing their final game of the regular season on the road at 8 pm tomorrow against Oregon.

NFL News

A former Seahawks quarterback is on the hunt for a new home.

ESPN reports that the Las Vegas Raiders are planning to release Geno Smith before the start of the new league year on Wednesday. By releasing Smith, the Raiders will open up $8 million in salary cap space while taking on $18.5 million in dead money.

Geno played five seasons in Seattle and started for three of them, earning two Pro Bowl nods along the way. The Seahawks traded him to the Jets last offseason after failing to agree on a new contract and Smith struggled under former Seattle coach Pete Carroll, leading the league with 17 interceptions as the Raiders finished with the worst record in the NFL.

Vegas is expected to replace Smith with likely No. 1 overall draft pick Fernando Mendoza.

Kraken News

The Kraken’s front office made a pair of moves today ahead of the trade deadline.

Seattle acquired forward Bobby McCann from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a second-round pick in 2027 and a fourth-round pick in 2026. The 29-year-old McMann has 19 goals and 32 points in 60 games this season, and will hit free agency after the season ends.

The Kraken also signed captain Jordan Eberle to a two-year contract extension. He’ll now stay in Seattle through the 2027-28 season with an average annual value of $5.5 million.

The 35-year-old Eberle leads the Kraken with 22 goals and 42 points in 59 games this season. 

The Kraken continue their homestand tomorrow night against the Ottawa Senators. Coverage begins at 6:30 and puck drops at 7 on KGMI.