Sports

TACOMA, Wash. — After 15 years as an NFL quarterback, Jon Kitna hopes to return to his old high school in Tacoma as a coach.

A new detailed list from the Office of Financial Management names University of Washington football coach Steve Sarkasian the top paid Washington state employee in 2010, with $1.98 million in gross pay.

On the same day the members of the Seattle Storm were honored by President Obama at the White House, the ladies learned that teammate and three-time WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson is having hip surgery today and will be out up to 12 weeks.

It's a blow to the team whose season has not gotten off to a great start. They were WNBA champions just a year ago. Can the Storm claim the title again this year – without a lot of help from Lauren Jackson?

Hear KPLU sports commentator Art Thiel's take on that tomorrow morning at 5:35 and 7:35 on KPLU. And you'll find a blog of our conversation right here tomorrow morning as well. 

President Barack Obama welcomed the Seattle Storm to the White House Rose Garden today. Obama said the 2010 WNBA champions set a good example for young girls with big dreams. The President is a basketball fan and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, also like to shoot hoops.

Qwest is becoming CenturyLink, and that means Seattle stadium where the Seahawks and Sounders play will become CenturyLink Field.

This weekend some of the world’s best skateboarders are competing at Key Arena for nearly half a million dollars in the Street League Skateboarding Pro Tour. 

Competitors at the event will be judged on the style, difficulty and originality of their tricks and stunts.  The organizer is Rob Dyrdek, a former pro-skateboarder, who says he’ll also be giving $75,000 and materials from this weekend’s competition to Roxhill Park in West Seattle. 

Gonzaga continued its late season win streak, roaring through its first game in the NCAA men's basketball tournament with a solid win over St. John's last night, 86-71. The Zags dominated in rebounding, and just about every other category, against their favored Big East conference opponent, writes The Seattle Times' Bud Withers:

There's no rest for the weary at Seattle Seahawks headquarters. Less than a week after the end of the season, head coach Pete Carroll fired offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates and hired Darrell Bevell from the Minnesota Vikings to replace him.

Carroll also has hired the newly-fired head coach of the Oakland Raiders, Tom Cable, to be his assistant head coach and the man in charge of the Hawks' offensive line. How does all of this impact the effort to re-sign quarterback Matt Hasselbeck?

Snow flurries and a fired up Bears team proved too much for Seattle, as Chicago controlled the game through most of three quarters, and held on for a 35-24 NFC semifinal playoff win at Soldier Field.

The NFC North champs scored on their first possession, led by the steady arm of quarterback Jay Cutler, making his professional post-season debut. The Bears offensive line protected Cutler all afternoon, leading to a 28-0 margin in the 3rd quarter.