Digest: Seahawks wide receiver Ricardo Lockette retiring
NFL: Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Ricardo Lockette is retiring six months after suffering a serious neck injury in a game at Dallas.
The team confirmed the retirement and has scheduled a news conference with Lockette on Thursday.
Lockette was knocked out and remained motionless on the field for several minutes after a hit by Cowboys safety Jeff Heath during the Nov. 1 victory over Dallas. He was eventually strapped to a backboard and taken off the field. Lockette underwent surgery at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas the next day to stabilize his neck.
Earlier this year, Lockette told a group of paramedics and firefighters that the injury was so serious he could have died if not for proper treatment from athletic trainers and medics on the field.
Lockette has been a special teams standout for the Seahawks since joining the team in 2011. He’s also been part of Seattle’s rotation of receivers.
Thompson, Warriors win series in Game 5
NBA: Klay Thompson scored 33 points with six 3-pointers, Stephen Curry added 29 and sealed it with a 3 with 24.9 seconds left, and the Golden State Warriors advanced to the Western Conference finals for the second straight season with a 125-121 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 5 in Oakland, California.
Curry finished with five 3s a day after becoming the first unanimous MVP in NBA history. He added 11 assists after returning to the starting lineup for the first time all series because of a knee injury.
Draymond Green, who had his left ankle re-taped in the fourth quarter, had 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists after guaranteeing Golden State would advance from this game.
Damian Lillard scored 28 points and CJ McCollum had 27 for the Trail Blazers.
Raptors take series lead: DeMar DeRozan matched a playoff high with 34 points, Kyle Lowry had 25 and the Toronto Raptors beat the visiting Miami Heat 99-91 to take a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Bismack Biyombo had 10 points for the Raptors, who can clinch their first conference finals berth with a win in Game 6 in Miami on Friday.
It was DeRozan’s franchise-best 13th 20-point game in the playoffs and his sixth this postseason.
Dwyane Wade scored 20 for Miami, Goran Dragic and Josh Richardson each had 13 and Joe Johnson 11.
Toronto led by 20 in the first half and by 13 to start the fourth quarter before its lead was cut to one. DeRozan sealed it by going 4 for 4 on his free throws in the final 21 seconds.
League fines Dragic: Miami guard Goran Dragic has been assessed a technical foul and fined $2,000 by the NBA for swinging at Toronto guard Cory Joseph under the basket late in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“It was just a physical play,” Dragic told reporters. “I was trying to get a rebound and he was holding my arm. I kind of tried to let it go. I swung it a bit but there was no contact, nothing.”
FC Dallas scores
twice to beat Timbers
MLS: Ryan Hollingshead and Walker Zimmerman each scored their first goal of the season – two minutes apart – and FC Dallas beat the Portland Timbers 2-1 in Frisco, Texas.
Hollingshead scored in the 55th minute to end Dallas’ three-plus game scoreless stretch. His pass was deflected into the area and he raced to the loose ball to score with the outside of his foot. Zimmerman then headed in Mauro Diaz’s corner kick for a 2-1 lead.
Dallas (6-4-2) was coming off a winless and goal-less three-game road swing. It was outscored 8-0 during the stretch and didn’t have too many scoring chances in the first half against Portland.
The Timbers put FC Dallas in the hole in the third minute. Lucas Melano battled to gain possession on a cross and found an open Diego Valeri in front of goal.
Portland (3-5-3) has one win in seven games at Dallas.
Perez scores twice in Whitecaps’ win: Blas Perez scored his second goal of the night and second of the season on a bicycle kick in the 89th minute in the Vancouver Whitecaps’ 2-1 victory over the Chicago Fire in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The 35-year-old Perez opened the scoring for the Whitecaps (5-5-2) in the 36th minute.
Union ties Galaxy: Keegan Rosenberry scored his first MLS goal in the 63rd minute and the Philadelphia Union tied the Los Angeles Galaxy 2-2 in Chester, Pennsylvania. Los Angeles goalkeeper Dan Kennedy bobbled a header on a Philadelphia corner kick and Rosenberry put it in the back of the net.
Philadelphia (4-3-2) ended a three-game losing streak against Los Angeles (5-1-4). Philadelphia has lost six of the nine career meetings with two draws.
Serna lifts Colorado: Dillon Serna scored two minutes after entering as a second-half substitute and the Colorado Rapids beat 10-man Sporting Kansas City 1-0 in Commerce City, Colorado.
Ike Opara received his second yellow card on a questionable call in the 76th minute. Moments later, Serna rolled in a shot from distance to give Colorado the lead in the 78th.
Colorado (7-2-2) won its sixth straight home game to tie a team mark set in the 2005 season. The Rapids also extended their undefeated streak to seven games.
St. Louis advances
to conference finals
Hockey: Robby Fabbri, Paul Stastny and Troy Brouwer each scored a goal and had two assists, and the St. Louis Blues dominated the host Dallas Stars to advance to their first Western Conference finals since 2001 with a 6-1 victory in Game 7 of their series Wednesday night.
The Blues, in the playoffs for the 40th time and still in search of their first Stanley Cup, will have home-ice advantage in the Western Conference finals against Nashville or San Jose – and for the Stanley Cup as well if they advance. The Predators and Sharks play the deciding Game 7 on Thursday night.
David Backes, their captain, and Patrik Berglund also had goals for the Blues, who won their third road game in this series. Vladimir Tarasenko added an empty-netter with 4:40 left.
Patrick Eaves had the lone goal for Dallas.
Thunderbirds stay alive: Ryan Gropp and Alexander True both scored twice to lead the Seattle Thunderbirds in a 6-1 rout of the Brandon Wheat Kings, sending the championship series to Game 5 in Kent, Washington, with Brandon leading 3-1.
Seattle councilwomen respond to backlash
Miscellany: Writing in an op-ed in the Seattle Times, the five women on Seattle’s mostly female City Council responded to sexist attacks against them after a recent council vote sidetracked an arena proposal aimed at bringing the NBA back to the city.
The councilwomen wrote they were “deeply troubled” at the level of vitriol in social media posts and emails that often threatened them with “sexual or other physical violence,” contained hateful language and racist rhetoric.
All five women on the nine-member council voted against selling a street to investor Chris Hansen, complicating his plan to build an arena in the city’s SoDo District. The four men voted for the proposal.
The op-ed was the first major public response by the councilwomen and says many accused them of incompetence because they’re women.
“The misogynistic backlash to our vote is an attempt to communicate a dangerous message: Elected women in Seattle do not deserve the respect necessary to make tough decisions without the fear of violence and racially and sexually charged retaliation,” the op-ed says.
Hansen wants to bring the NBA back to Seattle after the SuperSonics left for Oklahoma City following the 2007-2008 season. Hansen and Mayor Ed Murray both condemned the sexist attacks last week. Murray also supported the arena project.
“While we may not agree with the council’s vote, misogynistic insults, vile comments and threats are unacceptable and need to stop,” Hansen said in a statement last week. “We should all show respect for our elected officials and the legislative process, even if we disagree with their decision.”
Many members of the council voiced opposition to the street vacation because of concerns from the Port of Seattle that an arena project could infringe on nearby industrial activities.
“The messages of solidarity and support we have received in the days since the vote have proved that the negative voices truly are on the losing side of history,” the op-ed says. “Don’t allow the hateful voices of a few intimidate you into silence or inaction.”
Federer beats Zverev at Italian Open: Roger Federer put his full array of shots on display in a 6-3, 7-5 win over Alexander Zverev in the second round of the Italian Open in Rome.
After withdrawing from last week’s Madrid Open with lower back pain, Federer looked sharp from the start against the 44th-ranked Zverev, using his backhand slice drop shot especially well.
Greipel wins fifth stage: German rider Andre Greipel won a mass sprint by a large margin to take the fifth stage of the Giro d’Italia, and Tom Dumoulin held onto the overall leader’s pink jersey.
It was Greipel’s 18th stage win in a Grand Tour – four at the Giro, 10 at the Tour de France and four in the Spanish Vuelta – and the 130th victory overall in his career.