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Northwest Sports Update: Storm secure playoff spot, M’s win 4th straight, FIFA World Cup ticket presale opens and more

Northwest Sports Update: Storm secure playoff spot, M’s win 4th straight, FIFA World Cup ticket presale opens and more

AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson Photo: Associated Press


Storm News

The Seattle Storm are playoff bound.

The Storm edged the Golden State Valkyries 74-73 last night to secure the last spot in the eight-team WNBA postseason. Erica Wheeler hit a go-ahead jumper with 19 seconds left to finish with a team-high 17 points off the bench.

Although the Storm were the last team to clinch a playoff spot, they could still earn the No. 7 seed if the Minnesota Lynx beat the Valkyries tomorrow night. The opening round of the playoffs is a best-of-three series that begins on Sunday.

The Storm will host Game 2 at Climate Pledge Arena on either Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.

Mariners News

The Mariners have a chance to extend their win streak and secure a series sweep tonight. They’re hosting the St. Louis Cardinals in the final game of their series at T-Mobile.

Randy Arozarena hit a 3-run home run to propel the M’s to a 5-3 win in Game 2 last night. He also scored Mitch Garver on a sac fly and Josh Naylor hit a solo homer to secure Seattle’s fourth-straight win.

George Kirby gave up three runs in four innings and the M’s bullpen gave up just two hits over five scoreless innings of relief.

With the Astros’ loss last night, the M’s now sit just a game back from first place in the AL West. They’ll have a chance to move into a tie tonight with Logan Gilbert taking the mound against the Cards.

Coverage begins at 5:30 and first pitch is at 6:40 on KPUG.

2026 FIFA World Cup News

Registration is now open to enter a drawing for tickets to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The presale drawing is only available for Visa cardholders.

Once registration ends at 8 am on Friday, there will be a randomized selection process to choose fans who will be able to buy tickets. FIFA said tickets will be priced in four tiers at the stadiums hosting matches, with tickets for the lowest tier starting at $60. 

Next summer’s World Cup will be spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico, featuring 16 host cities all together. Bellingham will be right in the middle of the action, with six matches taking place in Seattle and seven more in Vancouver from June 13 through July 7.

You can find a link with more ticket information on FIFA’s website.

Pac-12 Conference News

A federal judge in California has heard arguments in the Mountain West Conference’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the Pac-12 over $55 million in “poaching fees.”

The Pac-12 and some of the schools it has added have filed legal actions, claiming the poaching clause the league agreed to when it signed a scheduling agreement for its football teams for last season was invalid. The clause called for payments to the Mountain West of $10 million for the first team that left, with the amount growing by $500,000 for every additional team.

That was on top of the $17 million-plus exit fees schools were responsible for as part of a different agreement.

The Pac-12 filed its federal antitrust lawsuit against the Mountain West last year and requested Tuesday’s hearing on the motion to dismiss after the two sides failed to reach an agreement through mediation. Colorado State, Utah State, San Diego State, Fresno State and Boise State are all set to join the Pac-12 starting in 2026.

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