WNBA awards Portland an expansion franchise that will begin play in 2026

News

WNBA awards Portland an expansion franchise that will begin play in 2026

2024-09-18 21:54 Last Updated At：22:01

The WNBA is headed back to Portland, with Oregon's biggest city getting an expansion team that will begin play starting in 2026.

The team will be owned and operated by Raj Sports, led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal. They paid $125 million for the franchise.

“This is huge for Portland. We are so honored and humbled to be the vessel that delivers this WNBA franchise to Portland,” Lisa Bhathal said. “And that’s really how we consider ourselves. Portland is this incredibly diverse, enthusiastic community. We saw the passion first-hand when we started looking into the Portland Thorns and this is Basketball City. So we’re very excited about the future.”

The Bhathals started having conversations with the WNBA late last year after a separate bid to bring a team to Portland fell through.

“I think from our perspective, knowing that the league was interested in coming to Portland, gave us confidence that pursuing the opportunity would be well received by the league,” Alex Bhathal said.

“The idea of expanding our footprint in Portland and being able to create a platform focused on women’s sports in the Portland market and really being able to put the foothold and to put a stake in the ground in Portland and make the mark as the epicenter of a global women’s sport market is something that was really compelling and interesting to us and very deserving by the community of Portland.”

It's the third expansion franchise the league will add over the next two years, with Golden State and Toronto getting the other two. The Golden State Valkyries will begin play next season and Toronto in 2026.

“It’s nice to have the Pacific Northwest kind of locked in now,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said.

Engelbert has said she hopes to have more teams by 2028 but doesn't think that the league will be adding any more that will start playing before 2027.

Portland had a WNBA team, the Fire, from 2000 until 2002 when it folded. That franchise averaged more than 8,000 fans when games were played at the Rose Garden. The new franchise will play at the Moda Center — home of the NBA's Trail Blazers. The Bhathals will build a dedicated practice facility for the team as well.

The Bhathal family brings more than 50 years of experience in professional sports, including serving as co-owners of the Sacramento Kings and the controlling owners of the Portland Thorns of the NWSL.

Portland has been a strong supporter of women's sports from the stellar college teams at Oregon and Oregon State to the Thorns. The Bhathals bought the soccer team for $63 million earlier this year. The franchise is averaging more than 18,000 fans this season.

The city also had the first bar dedicated to women's sports — The Sports Bra.

“When you look at our numbers, not just the Thorns' off-the-charts attendance, which is incredible, what you’ve seen, in Eugene, what you’ve seen in Oregon State, we knew that this was going to be one of the great moments in sports for Oregon," U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden said. “We saw, February of 2023, what was possible. So I can tell you that right now there are women playmaking in Portland. They’re rebounding in Roseburg, they’re hooping in Hermiston. Every nook and cranny of our state is into this.”

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Rizzo drives in 2 runs as Yankees earn playoff berth with 2-1 win over Mariners in 10 innings

2024-09-19 15:05 Last Updated At：15:10

SEATTLE (AP) — Anthony Rizzo hit a tiebreaking double in the 10th inning and drove in both runs for New York as the Yankees clinched a playoff spot with a 2-1 win over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night.

Rizzo lined the first pitch of the inning from reliever Collin Snider (3-4) down the right-field line to score automatic runner Jasson Domínguez from second. Ian Hamilton held on in the bottom half after a bizarre baserunning mistake by Julio Rodríguez.

The postseason berth is the 59th in franchise history for the Yankees, and their 25th playoff trip in 30 years. Assured at least an American League wild card, New York has made the playoffs six times in Aaron Boone’s seven seasons as manager.

The first AL team to wrap up a playoff spot this year, the Yankees moved five games ahead of second-place Baltimore in the AL East with 10 to play.

“We’ve been through a lot already this year,” Boone said. “We understand it’s just a first step — but it’s an important one. We’re in the dance.”

Seattle remained five games behind first-place Houston in the AL West and three back of Minnesota for the league's last wild card.

The Yankees managed only two hits against Mariners starter Bryce Miller, but they scored two runs produced by Rizzo, who gave them an early lead with a run-scoring single in the second for his first RBI since Sept. 2.

Miller struck out eight over six innings while issuing four walks (one intentional). After a bumpy first few innings, he worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the third and retired the final 10 hitters he faced.

But the Seattle offense failed to push across a run against former Mariners pitcher Nestor Cortes, who allowed four hits and struck out six in six shutout innings.

“Our goal is to win the division,” Cortes said. “I knew how important it was today for us to clinch. Last year we didn't clinch, so having this opportunity to pitch in this game and be able to help out the guys to go out there and throw up zeros and win, it was everything for us today.”

Justin Turner tied the game at 1 with a homer in the eighth that handed Clay Holmes his 13th blown save this season, most in the majors. That equaled the club record held by Dave Righetti (1987) and Hall of Famer Goose Gossage (1983).

Cal Raleigh singled leading off the bottom of the 10th to send Rodríguez, the automatic runner, from second to third. But the Mariners' star was picked off after scampering into foul territory to dodge a flying bat that slipped out of the hands of Randy Arozarena on a strikeout, completing a strange double play.

“Kind of a freak scenario there at the end with the bat coming down there and just kind of a reactionary thing," Seattle manager Dan Wilson said. "It was a great ballgame on all fronts and a tough one to lose.”

Rodríguez explained that he assumed the play would be declared dead after the bat sailed out of Arozarena's hands, and he would be allowed to return to third base.

“I got away and turned my back to the field and I heard (third base coach) Manny (Acta) yelling, ‘Get back to third.’ That’s when I got back to third,'” Rodriguez said. “Honestly, at that moment I wasn’t really thinking about the game, just trying to get away from the bat coming at me.”

Turner then struck out to end it.

Hamilton earned his third career save and first this year. Luke Weaver (6-3) fanned four in 1 2/3 hitless innings for the win.

Mariners pitchers combined for 15 strikeouts, while Yankees pitchers struck out 14 batters.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Mariners OF Victor Robles (hand) was out of the lineup after taking a pitch off the hand from New York starter Luis Gil in the first inning of Tuesday’s game. Robles exited after the inning, and his status is day-to-day.

UP NEXT

Yankees RHP Clarke Schmidt (5-3, 2.41 ERA) will start on Wednesday against Seattle RHP Logan Gilbert (7-11, 3.24).

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb