The Timbers and Sounders play tonight for maybe the last time (at least in league play), at PGE Park. The Timbers’ Scot Thompson tells Boaz Herzog: “I don’t like to have all this balled-up aggression and fierceness inside of me, and it always seems to come out when we play Seattle. It’s not just another game.” Fox Soccer Channel is showing the game, which starts at 8pm.

Mark Lowe, fighting for a spot in next season’s M’s bullpen, didn’t help himself with his performance yesterday afternoon, writes John Hickey.

The M’s haven’t yet said who will start Saturday, but they’ve told Miguel Batista it won’t be him. Ryan Rowland-Smith is the most likely candidate, writes John Hickey. Hickey also reports that Jeremy Reed has been taking groundballs at first base and may get a start there in the next week.

Though Jarrod Washburn didn’t win, he only made one major mistake and has his seventh quality start in his last ten outings. With the Yankees putting Joba Chamberlain on the DL, Washburn could’ve pitched himself closer to New York, writes Geoff Baker.

Brandon Morrow says the toughest thing about converting to a starting pitcher will be getting comfortable in the windup again. Problem is, until he gets comfortable, he’ll be wild and walk people, at which point he’ll have to pitch from the stretch.

Quarter-season ticket packages for the Blazers go on sale Monday at 10am. Fewer than 1,500 are available. The team hasn’t announced when single-game tickets will go on sale.

Matt Hasselbeck knows what to do when Holmgren offers a carrot, as he did yesterday by letting the player practice in camo baseball caps instead of helmets. He tells Danny O’Neil: “What I tried to stress in the huddle was, ‘Hey, this is a gift that he’s given us. Let’s have the best practice that we can have assignment-wise so that he thinks highly of this idea and he’ll do it again some time.’”

The Seahawks like their new practice facility, writes Frank Hughes. Hughes dropped some photos on Seahawks Insider.

Lofa Tatupu told the Times of the new facility: “Paul [Allen] built this with intentions on us to build on what we’ve accomplished and keep going. He put a lot of money into this, and we want to capitalize and make him proud. Make Seattle proud.”

Tim Lappano thinks Jake Locker’s accuracy will improve because the O-Line is going to be more experienced, writes Don Ruiz. But there are some mechanical things, too. Says Lappano: “He has a tendency to overstride, and that’s when the ball sails on him. He knows that. He didn’t have a lot of that in spring.”

Husky D-line coach Randy Hart says it’s better to have inexperience on the line than in the secondary, telling Bob Condotta: “If you screw up, it’s not a touchdown. There are still two levels of defense in back of you.”

The Seattle Times gives you a list of 45 Olympians with local ties. They have a special Olympic preview edition today.

There’s bad blood brewing in Olympic women’s basketball between Australia and Team USA, reports Jayda Evans. That could make things awkward for USA’s Sue Bird and her Storm teammate, Aussie Lauren Jackson.

Mill Creek Little League went undefeated in Northwest Region pool play and advanced to the semifinals. If they beat Billings, Montana, tonight they’ll play for a berth in the Little League World Series on Saturday at 6pm. That game would be on ESPN.

The Little League Softball World Series, held in Portland since 1994, starts today.