Area sports

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Spokane Chiefs are in a five-team logjam playing a game of musical chairs for the bottom few playoffs spots from the Western Conference, and had a tough road test against one of the other four on Friday. 

The Spokane Chiefs are clinging to the last playoff spot in the Western Conference, with a one-point advantage over the Victoria Royals. At the start of an 11-game stretch against teams either below them in the standings or immediately above, there's no time like the present for the Chiefs to solidify that playoff spot and maybe creep up on Portland and Tri-City, tied for sixth and seventh places three points better than Spokane. 

WENATCHEE – The Spokane Chiefs had a rough one Friday night, falling at last-place Vancouver and allowing the Giants to snap an eight-game losing streak. After a slow start on Saturday, they had no such problems.

LANGLEY, B.C. – Joe Iginla scored the go-ahead goal at 8:28 of the third period and the last-place Vancouver Giants snapped an eight-game losing streak, beating the Spokane Chiefs 3-1 in a Western Hockey League game at Langley Events Centre on Friday. 

As the Seattle Seahawks get ready for the Super Bowl, about 200 fans gathered at the Spokane Indians field at Avista Stadium to form a giant “12” to show support.

It's games like this that make everyone involved with the Spokane Chiefs believe that they not only can qualify for the playoffs but also make some noise once they get there. 

LA JOLLA, Calif. – Clarkston native Joel Dahmen shot a 1-over 73 on Sunday in the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open, finishing the PGA tournament tied for seventh after entering the last round alone in second place.

The Spokane Zephyr hoped to begin the second half of their season with a victory.

SEATTLE – Washington State's Rosemary Longisa became the third-fastest mile runner in NCAA women's track and field history Saturday, finishing one second short of the NCAA record with a time of 4 minutes, 24.59 seconds to win the mile race at Dempsey Indoor during the UW Invitational.

The Spokane Chiefs have had their share of struggles this season, but none of that was evident on Saturday at the Arena against a team considerably higher in the standings than their hosts.

LA JOLLA, Calif. – Clarkston native Joel Dahmen shot a 4-under 68 on Saturday and sits alone in second place at 15 under through three rounds at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Winter still has its icy grip on the region, but the Spokane Indians are already thinking about the 2026 baseball season.

In the coach’s office at ONE Spokane Stadium, Spokane Zephyr head coach Nicole Lukic is vacuuming. With laptops open, and documents sprawled over a medium-size, foldable table, she had just finished leading practice on a wet and hazy January afternoon.

The Spokane Chiefs were embarrassed on Friday, falling at expansion Penticton 6-0 – where they managed just 19 shots on goal, went 0 for 2 on the power play and lost the faceoff battle 38-22.

From wire reports

Switch hitter extraordinaire Carlos Beltrán and center field savant Andruw Jones were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by a vote of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, the results of which were announced Tuesday night.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Last season the Spokane Chiefs swept the Portland Winterhawks in the Western Conference finals. Both teams’ fortunes have changed though, as they now find themselves in a battle for one of the last playoff berths from the conference.

The Spokane Chiefs earned their most impressive win of the season on Friday, beating Western Conference leaders Everett 4-0 on the road.