(Portland, OR)  --  The Portland Trail Blazers' two-game losing skid is over, after last night's 111-95 win at home over San Antonio.  Wesley Matthews led all scorers with 31 points, and Damian Lillard added 18 for Portland.  LaMarcus Aldridge had eleven points and 13 rebounds.  The Blazers will host Oklahoma City tomorrow night.
 

(Portland, OR)  --  Fans of former Portland Trail Blazers great Jerome Kersey will have the opportunity to pay their respects next week.  A public memorial has been scheduled for Monday, March 2nd at Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Winning Way.  Kersey died last week at the age of 52 after a blood clot traveled from his leg to his left lung.  The memorial is scheduled to begin at four p.m., and doors will open at three.

(Renton, WA)  --  Marshawn Lynch is looking to cash in on a phrase he uttered repeatedly during the week of Super Bowl 49.  His pat answer of "I'm just here so I won't get fined" to nearly every question asked during a news conference became an immediate media sensation, and Lynch has formally applied to have the sentence trademarked.  The Seahawks running back has previously applied for trademarks on other phrases, including "Beast Mode" and "All about that action, Boss."

(Portland, OR)  --  The Portland Trail Blazers will prepare for Wednesday night's game after losing at home.  The Blazers fell to Memphis last night, 98-92, after blowing a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter.  Damian Lillard had 18 points and seven assists for Portland, while Nicolas Batum added 17 points and collected ten rebounds.  The Blazers will host San Antonio Wednesday night.

Salt Lake City, UT (SportsNetwork.com) -
Damian Lillard netted 19 points and LaMarcus Aldridge supplied 14
points and eight boards for Portland, which had won four of its
last five contests coming in.

The Jazz ripped off 17 straight points from the final minute of the
third quarter to the beginning of the fourth to turn the game into
a rout. The Jazz led by as many as 22 down the stretch.

Earlier, Aldridge netted six quick points as the Blazers raced out
to a 15-9 start. They were up 24-18 following a quarter of play and
43-39 at the break.
 

(Indianapolis, IN)  --  The Seattle Seahawks are hoping to know soon whether Marshawn Lynch will return next season.  Seahawks General Manager John Schneider, who's attending the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, says the star running back will decide soon on whether to retire or continue his career.  Schneider says Lynch knows the team wants him to come back and has given no specific indication that he won't return.  
 

Corvallis, OR (SportsNetwork.com) - Delon Wright posted nine
points, nine rebounds and five assists as No. 9 Utah beat Oregon
State 47-37 on Thursday night, ending the Beavers' best home start
in school history.

Dakarai Tucker led the Utes (21-4, 11-2 Pac-12) with 11 points off
the bench.

Malcolm Duvivier scored a game-high 12 points for Oregon State
(16-10, 7-7), which was held to 33.3 percent shooting.

The Beavers suffered their first loss in 15 games at Gill Coliseum
this season.

(SportsNetwork.com) - Jerome Kersey, best known as an integral part of the Portland Trail Blazers' title-contending teams in the early 1990s, has died at the age of 52. The cause of death has yet to be confirmed, though the Oregonian reported the fire department was called to his home early Wednesday evening. After being taken to the hospital, Kersey was pronounced dead.

Pictured: Mike Rice, Jay Reese, Frank Bonacquisti and Jerome Kersey

Kersey played 17 years in the NBA, 11 with the Blazers from 1984-95 after they selected him in the second round of the famous '84 draft. He is fifth on the Blazers' all-time scoring list and third in rebounds. "Today we lost an incredible person and one of the most beloved players to ever wear a Trail Blazers uniform," said Blazers owner Paul Allen. "My thoughts and condolences are with the Kersey family. He will be missed by all of us. It's a terrible loss." The 6-foot-7 forward also spent time with Golden State, the Lakers, Seattle, San Antonio and Milwaukee, and he won an NBA title with the Spurs in 1999.

(Renton, WA)  --  Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin says he regrets his controversial touchdown "celebration" in Super Bowl 49.  Baldwin caught a scoring pass from Russell Wilson in the third quarter and proceeded to squat over the ball in the end zone.  Baldwin says the act was directed at New England Patriots cornerback Darrelle Revis, and says he apologizes to fans and anyone who was offended by the celebration.

(Undated)  --  It didn't take long for Amar'e Stoudemire to find a new home.  Multiple reports say Stoudemire has agreed to sign with the Mavericks once he clears waivers on Wednesday.  Stoudemire's contract was bought out by the Knicks.

(Villanova, PA)  --  Seton Hall guard Sterling Gibbs was ejected after throwing a vicious elbow in an 80-54 loss to sixth-ranked Villanova.  Gibbs was assessed a flagrant foul 2 and thrown out after striking Villanova's Ryan Arcidiacono in the face.

(Seattle, WA)  --  Former Milwaukie Brewer Rickie Weeks is the latest acquisition for the Seattle Mariners.  If Weeks passes a physical, he stands to make two-million dollars during the upcoming season plus two-million more in incentives.  The "Seattle Times" reports Weeks, who played second base during his career with Milwaukie, is likely to be used as a utility bench player with the Mariners.  Last season, he batted .274 with an on-base-plus-slugging percentage of .809.
 

(Portland, OR)  --  LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds to help guide the Blazers to a 102-86 victory over the Lakers at the Moda Center.  Wesley Matthews led all players with 20 points and Damian Lillard tallied 15 points and eight assists for Portland, which has won four of five.  Jordan Clarkson paced LA with 17 points and six boards in a losing effort.  Wayne Ellington chipped in 16 points and eight rebounds as the Lakers dropped their sixth straight game.  Both teams are now off for the All-Star break.

Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Joseph Young netted 26 points
and pulled down five rebounds to lead his Oregon Ducks to a tight
80-75 victory over the USC Trojans in Pac-12 Conference action at
the Galen Center.

Elgin Cook and Dillon Brooks each chipped in with 15 points for
Oregon (18-7, 8-4 Pac-12). Cook contributed with seven rebounds and
six assists in the win, which was the fourth in a row for the Ducks.

Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Bryce Alford netted 22 points
on 6-of-10 shooting to lead his UCLA Bruins past the Oregon State
Beavers, 75-59, in a Pac-12 Conference tilt at Pauley Pavilion.

Gary Payton II scored 24 points with five rebounds to lead oregon
State (16-8, 7-5), while Langston Morris-Walker contributed 19
points with eight boards. Jarmal Reid came off the bench to chip in
10 points in the loss, which ended a two-game Beavers win streak.

Former Medford Black Tornado and Oregon State Beaver ‘Hall of Famer’ Bill ‘Earthquake’ Enyart passed away today at the age of 67 in Bend, Oregon.

Enyart graduated from Medford High School, helping the Black Tornado to a state title. He played varsity football for the Beavers from 1966-68. Enyart was part of the iconic 1967 “Giant Killers,” who went 7-2-1 with victories over No. 1 USC, No. 2 Purdue and a tie vs. No. 2 UCLA.

He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011 joining former Heisman Trophy winner Terry Baker as the only Beaver players to be enshrined. He was a member of one of the first classes to be inducted into the OSU Sports Hall of Fame in 1991 and added the State of Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honor in 2003. - Jay Reese Sports

(Renton, WA)  --  Seahawks assistant coach Rocky Seto has a new title.  Seto has been promoted to Assistant Head Coach for Defense after serving as the defensive passing game coordinator for the past three seasons.  He's the first Assistant Head Coach for Defense for the Seahawks.  Tom Cable is Assistant Head Coach for Offense.

(Eugene, OR)  --  Oregon may have just landed its replacement for NFL-bound Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Marcus Mariota.  Eastern Washington quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. announced on Twitter that he will play out his final season of eligibility with the Ducks.  Adams Jr. has been the runner-up in each of the past two seasons for the Walter Payton Award, which honors the FCS player of the year.  He is eligible to play immediately next season under the NCAA's graduate student transfer-exception rule.  Oregon opens its 2015 campaign at home on September 5th against Adams' former Eastern Washington team.

(Eugene, OR)  --  Oregon and head football coach Mark Helfrich have agreed to a new five-year extension.  The pact runs through January 2020 and is worth at least 17.5-million dollars.  The 41-year-old Helfrich has gone 24-and-4 in two seasons since replacing Chip Kelly.  Helfrich guided to Ducks to a spot in this year's national title game, where they lost to Ohio State.

(New York, NY)  --  Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard will be playing in the NBA All-Star Game after all.  Lillard has been named to replace Blake Griffin of the L.A. Clippers on the Western Conference roster.  Griffin is about to undergo surgery for a staph infection in his elbow.  Lillard will join fellow Blazer LaMarcus Aldridge for the game, which will be played in New York's Madison Square Garden on February 15th.

(Houston, TX)  --  The Portland Trail Blazers will return home Wednesday night after chalking up a 109-98 win over Houston.  LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard combined last night for 47 points to hold off the Rockets, who made the game close after a third-quarter surge.  The Rockets' James Harden scored 45 points, but Houston shot only 38 percent from the field to the Blazers' 53 percent.  Portland will host the Los Angeles Lakers Wednesday night.

(Renton, WA)  --  Add safety Kam Chancellor to the list of Seahawks who played through pain during Super Bowl 49.  Chancellor says he suffered a deep bone bruise and a torn MCL in his knee, two days before the game during practice.  Fellow safety Earl Thomas played with a separated shoulder and cornerback Richard Sherman was ailing from damaged ligaments in his elbow.  Sherman says many of his teammates played with pain during the season, and he felt it was important to play in the Super Bowl despite his injury.

(Eugene, OR)  --  The Oregon football team's 2015 recruiting class is ranked 17th in the country by Rivals.com, and contains 22 prospects.  The class includes a half-dozen athletes with four-star-or-better ratings who enrolled early, and three of the nation's top four all-purpose running backs.  Two of the higher-profile prospects are six-seven, 290-pound defensive end Canton Kaumatule from Hawaii, and dual-threat quarterback Travis Waller out of Anaheim, California.

(New York, NY)  --  The thrilling contest between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots is the new ratings champion for Super Bowl games.  NBC Sports says Super Bowl 49 attracted 49-point-two percent of households with a television, good for a 72 share.  The previous record was held by Super Bowl 47, which garnered 48-point-one percent and a 71 share.  That game, between the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens, included a power outage that lasted more than a half-hour at the Superdome in New Orleans.

(Phoenix, AZ)  --  Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll is defending his decision to run a pass play from the one-yard line with about a half-minute remaining in Super Bowl 49.  Carroll says there was no thought in his mind that the Hawks would make a mistake on the play, and he credits Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler with the move he made to make the interception that assured New England its fourth Super Bowl title.  Seattle had a ten-point lead going into the fourth quarter, but ended up on the short end of a 28-24 game.  Carroll says the outcome of the game "hurt uniquely" was "so far off of what should have happened" to the Seahawks.

(Renton, WA)  --  Marshawn Lynch is reported to be considering a contract-extension offer from the Seahawks.  NFL.com is reporting that the Seahawks are offering to pay the star running back ten-million dollars next season, which is twice what he was scheduled to be paid.  Lynch's current contract expires at the end of next season, and the new deal would reportedly keep him in Seattle for the remainder of his career.
 

(Glendale, AZ)  --  Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll is taking the blame for the team's final offensive play of Super Bowl 49.  Carroll says he's responsible for the play in which quarterback Russell Wilson was intercepted at the goal line, which sealed the New England Patriots' 28-24 win.  Most Seahawks fans expected Wilson to hand off at the one to Marshawn Lynch, who earlier scored on a three-yard run.  The Seahawks led the game by ten points at the end of the third quarter, but Tom Brady's Patriots put together two touchdown drives in the fourth period.