Seattle’s LGBTQ community members say they hope that this Friday’s World Cup “Pride Match” between Egypt and Iran, two countries where homosexuality is criminalized, can be an opportunity to change minds.
Seattle, WA
Seattle Mariners Let 10th Inning Snowball in 9-3 Loss to Washington Nationals
SEATTLE — Fans at T-Mobile Park could only watch as the Seattle Mariners allowed seven runs in the 10th inning en route to a 9-3 loss to the Washington Nationals on Thursday. The loss dropped the Mariners to 30-25 on the season and kept their lead in the American League West at just half a game.
“Always tough to lose in the extra innings,” Seattle manager Dan Wilson said in a postgame interview. “Good ball game. Our guys really, really fought to the end. … They were just able to break it open late and that was the difference.”
At the start of the 10th, the Mariners and Nationals were tied 2-2. Seattle had used high-leverage relievers Gabe Speier, Carlos Vargas, Matt Brash and Andres Munoz across the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings, respectively. In extras, the Mariners relied on Collin Snider.
Automatic runner Jose Tena moved to third during the first plate appearance of the 10th after a wild pitch. The errant offering set Tena up to score on an RBI sacrifice fly hit by Daylen Lile, which gave Washington a 3-2 lead. CJ Abrams hit a double the next at-bat and James Wood was intentionally walked to set the Nationals up with runners on first and second with one out.
Nathaniel Lowe hit a single to score Abrams. The snowball continued to roll down the hill after that.
Snider committed a throwing error to second on a fielder’s choice that loaded the bases for Washington. Luis Garcia Jr. brought home two with a double to bolster the Nationals lead to 6-2. Josh Bell capped the inning with a three-run home run to right field. His knock gave Washington a 9-2 lead.
“It looked to me like there were just some balls that caught a lot of plate,” Wilson said. “And give some credit to them, that’s a team like we’ve said that’s aggressive. They can make things happen quickly and that’s what they were able to do in the 10th.”
In the bottom of the 10th, Leo Rivas hit an RBI single to lead off the inning and for the eventual final of 9-3.
The 10th inning was an almost appropriate end to a game that featured various missed opportunities and chaotic moments that led to Seattle’s loss.
Mariners starting pitcher Emerson Hancock was pulled in the top of the sixth after he walked two of the first three hitters he faced in the inning. The game was tied 0-0 at that point. Speier relieved Hancock and allowed a two-run double the first pitch he threw to Wood. Hancock was dinged with the earned runs and had a final stat line of four strikeouts, three walks and two earned runs on two hits in 5.1 innings.
“I think, as a competitor, you always want to stay in those situations,” Hancock said after the game. “But you also understand we got a really, really good bullpen. That’s a great matchup there (with Speier and Wood), it just didn’t work out. More times than not, it’s going to. It’s just, for me, I put us in a tough position there in the sixth. And they were able to capitalize on it.”
Seattle had an opportunity to immediately respond in the bottom of the sixth. Leody Taveras and Ben Williamson hit back-to-back singles to give the Mariners runners on the corners with no outs.
J.P. Crawford got the first crack at bringing home at least one, but struck out looking on a pitch outside of the plate. He took issue with the call and was ejected after an argument with home plate umpire Andy Fletcher. Rivas took over his spot in the lineup. Cal Raleigh was hit by a pitch two plate appearances later to load the bases for Seattle with two out, but Randy Arozarena struck out swinging to leave the trio of runners stranded.
The Mariners tied the game in the bottom of the seventh on back-to-back two-out RBI singles by Taveras and Williamson. The latter of the two was left on second to end the inning. Seattle stranded two more in scoring position to end the eighth.
The Mariners finished 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left eight on base.
Seattle will have a chance to bounce back with the first of three games against the Minnesota Twins at 7:10 p.m. PT on Friday. Bryan Woo will start for the Mariners and Zebby Matthews will start for the Twins.
MARINERS MANAGER CONFIRMS RETURN DATE FOR PITCHER BRYCE MILLER: The third-year Mariners starting pitcher has struggled this season due to right elbow inflammation. CLICK HERE
MARINERS MANAGER GIVES POSITIVE UPDATE ON DESIGNATED HITTER JORGE POLANCO: The Mariners switch-hitting designated hitter has been limited to hitting the left side of the plate for most of the season, but he has the green light to bat from both sides for now. CLICK HERE
MARINERS GRADES THROUGH FIRST THIRD OF THE SEASON: The Mariners are a third of the way through the season and have exceeded expectations in some areas, while falling short in others. CLICK HERE
Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @RefuseToLosePod. You can subscribe to the “Refuse to Lose” podcast by clicking HERE.
Seattle, WA
Council eyes street barricades in fight against violence, sex trafficking in north Seattle
SEATTLE — The Seattle City Council is expected to vote next week on a plan that would give the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) the authority to close off street access for public safety reasons.
The proposal comes after months of outcry from residents in north Seattle who say sex traffickers and sex buyers are looping through the streets surrounding Aurora Avenue North.
The street-closure proposal passed the council’s Public Safety Committee on Tuesday and is expected to be voted on by the full council next week.
“I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say the crime has gotten much worse, much more violent, and much more predator,” said District 5 councilmember Debora Juarez. “I think that we do have the authority to shut down a street for bullets flying and endangering the lives of those who live there.”
Frustrated neighbors have installed their own homemade barricades after a spate of gun violence between sex traffickers in May.
RELATED | SDOT removes street barricades near Aurora Ave; neighbors doubtful of temporary measures
Councilmember Bob Kettle says street closures will help tamp down sex buying in certain areas, but he emphasizes it must be accompanied by an increase in outreach and enforcement.
“We have to have a sustained effort,” Kettle told KOMO News. “My concern is for every action, there’s a reaction. We need to take this flex and then really attack it … because if we do just a bit and our attention wanders, we could have this conversation three months from now and we’re talking about the same thing.”
A 15-year-old boy was shot near 95th Street and Aurora Avenue North around 10:45 p.m. last night. The teen initially claimed he had been shot while walking down the street, but investigators now say he was shot by a passenger in his car.
RELATED | Seattle police say ‘drive-by’ on Aurora Ave. was actually passenger shooting teen driver
Kettle credited the city’s Real Time Crime Center cameras with helping investigators quickly piece together the events of the shooting.
“Just as important to finding out what happened, the cameras help police determine what did not happen,” Kettle said.
According to Seattle police data, reports of shootings and shots fired in the north precinct area are at their lowest levels since 2021.
Through the end of May, there were 48 total reports of shootings or shots fired, with one fatal shooting and seven nonfatal injury shootings.
That’s down from 63 total reports of shootings and shots fired – one fatal and seven injuries – in 2025; and 64 shootings or shots fired reports – one fatal and 17 injuries – in 2024.
At Tuesday’s committee meeting, councilmembers pointed out residents are calling for a new police precinct to be built on Aurora Avenue.
Ten years ago, a new North Precinct building was slated to be built at 130th Avenue and Aurora Avenue North to replace the existing precinct building, which was decades old and did not have enough space for the department’s needs.
Led by former councilmember Kshama Sawant, the “Block the Bunker” movement successfully got the North Precinct replacement project killed in city council.
Kettle said the city’s current financial issues make it essentially impossible to bring back a project similar to the one the previous council defeated.
“We have to connect the dots back,” Kettle said. “If we want to know why we are where we are today, we have to look at decisions made over the last two councils.”
Seattle, WA
Iran and Egypt to play in Seattle ‘Pride Match’ despite earlier complaints | The Jerusalem Post
Seattle revels in its reputation as a welcoming place and Pride flags are visible all over the city, all year round. Its June Pride weekend is one of the biggest in the United States.
So, ahead of December’s World Cup draw, it was only natural that local organizers designated the June 26 match to be held in the city as a “Pride Match.”
Then the draw happened — and the two teams scheduled to play the game were Egypt and Iran.
Egypt’s Football Association urged global soccer governing body FIFA to prevent any Pride-related activities, arguing such events clashed with the Muslim-majority country’s cultural and religious values. The governing body in Iran, where same-sex relations can carry the death penalty, filed an objection with FIFA.
Some in Seattle have doubts over the teams in the ‘Pride Match’
But in Seattle, there is no question that the Pride Match will go ahead as planned.
“The World Cup is going to come and go in three weeks,” Hedda McLendon, from Seattle’s local World Cup organizing committee, told Reuters. “The Pride celebration … has happened on this weekend for 50-plus years.
“It is going to happen this weekend, it is going to happen long after the World Cup.”
Some in the city’s LGBTQ community had mixed feelings given the participants, said Jon Cairns, 49, manager of local LGBTQ+ club Kremwerk.
Cairns, however, said his own view was that it provided a platform to promote acceptance that only the world’s biggest sporting event could offer.
“My reaction is let’s have them,” he told Reuters. “International sports is one of the biggest brokers historically of social change and individual rights and freedoms worldwide, including in the U.S.”
He cited black U.S. sprinter Jesse Owens’ four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Nazi Germany and Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ raised-fist protest in 1968 as moments where “only international sports could reach that big of an audience.”
“They’re not going to turn off the World Cup on state television in Iran or Egypt to block out a Pride flag in the audience,” Cairns said.
The Pride Match is “a host city initiative” and separate of FIFA, a spokesperson for soccer’s governing body told Reuters.
Seattle’s LGBTQ community sees an opportunity
Egypt and Iran’s involvement in the Pride Match is not the first time the World Cup has grappled with stark differences in attitudes between hosts and visitors.
In 2022 World Cup host Qatar, the emir said visitors should “respect our culture” when asked about gay people attending the tournament.
FIFA threatened yellow cards for captains wearing the “OneLove” armband, citing its rules against political slogans. Teams including England and the Netherlands that had been planning to wear the armbands to protest Qatar’s laws against same-sex relationships abandoned the plan.
For Ryan Webster, a 40-year-old lifestyle manager who was at Kremwerk the weekend before Pride, Seattle’s “Pride Match” was an opportunity to show solidarity with people in countries where their sexuality was outlawed.
“I’m choosing to believe that this is our moment to allow the members of the LGBTQ community that come from those countries to have the opportunity to celebrate themselves in totality that they might not have otherwise,” he said outside the club, which will host a watch party for Friday’s game.
Inside, ‘Venus Fengz’ lip-synced to Cher’s “Believe” before introducing fellow drag performers to the stage, clapped and cheered by a raucous crowd.
Fengz, who only wanted to provide their stage name, said Pride coinciding with the World Cup would bring increased visibility, anticipating perhaps some new audience members.
“I think it’s always great for us to be able to share space and share places with people who don’t have the same experiences as us,” they told Reuters.
“Sometimes you just have to be the bigger person and show grace where you can and know that everyone is a human learning (from) different experiences, but also it can get hard — because you’re on the shorter end of the stick, always trying to have to explain yourself around people who don’t grow up with the same worldview.”
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Las Vegas could be years away from landing an NBA expansion team, but the league’s commissioner is now offering a clearer sense of the timeline.
On Tuesday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told “The Dan Patrick Show” that Seattle and Las Vegas remain the cities the NBA is focused on if it expands. “If we expand, at least we’re thinking ’28-29 season,” Silver said.
Silver had previously signaled before that March meeting that Seattle and Las Vegas were at the center of the expansion discussion, while cautioning that no decision had been made.
“We will make decisions in 2026,” Silver said in February.
At the time, Silver said the league was not expected to vote in March but could emerge from those meetings ready to take the next step and begin discussions with potential ownership groups.
Las Vegas has long been viewed as Seattle’s most likely expansion partner if the NBA grows from 30 to 32 teams. Silver, however, has repeatedly said the league could expand by two teams, one team, or not at all.
The potential of an NBA Las Vegas expansion team has already drawn interest. This week, majority owner of the Vegas Golden Knights, Bill Foley, announced he is putting together a bid for the expansion team in Las Vegas.
-
New Hampshire2 minutes agoNew Hampshire has highest share of adults who identify as atheists
-
New Jersey7 minutes ago2 tractor-trailers crash on NJ Turnpike, burst into flames snarling traffic
-
North Carolina12 minutes agoGreat Horned Owl kills barn owl owlet on North Carolina Wildlife Live Cam
-
New Mexico14 minutes agoGovernor asks AG to investigate DEA agents over fentanyl in New Mexico
-
North Dakota22 minutes agoFargo woman convicted in North Dakota fraud case now faces charges in Minnesota: A deeper dive
-
Ohio29 minutes agoProperty transfers in Marion County, sales range from $40K to $415K
-
Oklahoma32 minutes agoWhat are the Oklahoma City Thunder getting in Kentucky star Otega Oweh?
-
Oregon37 minutes agoOregon Announces $49 Million Payout to Inmates for Handling of Pandemic
