PORTLAND, Ore. -- The plan was for Clint Dempsey to go 60 minutes and see how he was feeling less than 72 hours after playing 90 minutes in a U.S. national team exhibition against Mexico. When the one-hour mark arrived, Dempsey and the Seattle Sounders were trailing rival Portland by two goals. He wasnt about to check out. Dempsey scored the first hat trick in his MLS career, including goals in the 85th and 87th minutes to help the Sounders rally late for a wild 4-4 draw with the Timbers on Saturday. "You always feel good when you are contributing, scoring goals or getting assists," Dempsey said. "Im in a good rhythm at the moment and its about continuing that form." Trailing 4-2 for most of the second half after goals from Diego Chara and Maximiliano Urruti early in the half gave Portland the advantage, Dempsey led Seattles stunning late comeback to earn a point in the first Cascadia rivalry matchup of the season. Dempsey scored in the 85th minute to get Seattle within 4-3, a goal that felt was coming with the pressure the Sounders were pushing forward. Seconds later, Seattle defender DeAndre Yedlin was taken down in the penalty box by Portlands Ben Zemanski and referee Hilario Grajeda immediately pointed to the penalty spot. Yedlin said he was hoping to draw a penalty on the play and Zemanski obliged by clipping the young Seattle defender. After a brief discussion with Gonzalo Pineda, who was expecting to take the penalty kick, Dempsey stepped up. He converted the chance, beating former Seattle goalkeeper Andrew Weber to get Seattle even. "That point today felt like more than a point. It kind of felt like a win," Dempsey said. The afternoon was an advertisement for the league, even if it gave the coaches heartburn. Play was wide open and end-to-end. There were 41 shots and countless near misses. There were four goals in the first 25 minutes -- including goals from Seattles Kenny Cooper, Portland Diego Valeri and Dempsey -- along with the two late scores. And the biggest star on the field burned brightest even if he was a little tired at the end. "Hes a leader. He wants to lead this team. He wants to show that last year was not the Clint Dempsey that were going to see this year," Seattle coach Sigi Schmid said. "And he wants to show people hes ready for the World Cup. I think he did that today." Seattle walked off thrilled with the final result and knowing there were other missed chances in the final minutes to get a winner. Meanwhile, the Timbers stood stunned as the worst start in their brief history continued. The Timbers have generally been slow starters since joining the league in 2011, but now have just three points after five games, not the opening anyone in Portland expected after reaching the Western Conference finals last season. "You should never give up 4 goals, and you should never tie a game if you score 4 goals," Portland coach Caleb Porter said. Chara was the star until Dempsey took over. On his 28th birthday, Chara scored in MLS play for the first time since September 2011. Seattle defence was willing to give him space and he took advantage with two perfectly placed shots from outside the penalty box. His first goal in the ninth minute deflected off goalkeeper Stephen Freis hand but had enough force to get into the net. His second goal, and what appeared to be the winner, came from about 25 yards and Frei had no chance at the save. Both times, Seattles defenders failed to step up and defend Charas shot. "I feel good, but obviously completely not happy with the game," Chara said. "We should have won that game, so to score 2 goals, for me, is good, but Id rather see a W than me score 2 goals." Urrutis goal in the 57th minute appeared to give Portland plenty of cushion. But Dempsey said otherwise and both sides had to settle for the draw in one of the wilder matchups of a rivalry dating to the mid-1970s. Cheap Basketball Shoes China . Lawries batting helmet hit an umpire during his ninth-inning outburst in the Jays 4-3 loss to Tampa Bay on Tuesday. The 22-year-old threw his helmet to the ground and it bounced up and hit home plate umpire Bill Miller on the right hip after Lawrie was called out on strikes for the second out. Basketball Shoes Sale . - Dominika Cibulkova erased three match points in the second set Wednesday and beat Agnieszka Radwanska 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Sony Open. https://www.cheapbasketballshoesstore.com/. -- John Senden never imagined it would take more than seven years to win again. Basketball Shoes Online Store . The hard-serving 22-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., became the first Canadian to be ranked in the Top 10 on the ATP World Tour thanks to his runner-up performance at Rogers Cup in Montreal. Cheap Basketball Shoes Free Shipping .com) - Nicolas Colsaerts fired an 11-under 60 on Thursday and grabbed a 3-stroke lead with the opening round of the Portugal Masters suspended by rain.MINNEAPOLIS -- Lose by a little or win by a lot: thats been the story for the Minnesota Timberwolves this season. Theres still time to move past their spats and struggles make the playoffs for the first time in 10 years, and this was a forward step. Nikola Pekovic scored 26 points in 27 minutes and the Timberwolves blew off some steam with a 119-92 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday. "We just need to have one good streak and then were right back where we need to be," said Kevin Love, who had 19 points and 14 rebounds and rested for most of the fourth quarter. Kevin Martin added 19 points, and Minnesotas bench had 20 points before Charlottes reserves even got on the board late in the second quarter. "Im happy when we play hard, when we play to the end," said Pekovic, who also stifled former Timberwolves big man Al Jefferson on the defensive end. Anthony Tolliver led the Bobcats with 21 points on 5-for-5 shooting from 3-point range, and Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 16 points. Jefferson finished with only eight points and seven rebounds, though, and the Bobcats were outrebounded 54-33 on their way to their seventh loss in eight games. "Basically just kicked our butts," Jefferson said. The Timberwolves lost on Wednesday 104-103 to Phoenix to fall to 0-10 in games decided by four points or fewer. The tension lingered into the locker room where Love, who was critical recently of a particularly paltry output by the reserves, ripped J.J. Barea and Dante Cunningham for their disinterested body language at the end of the bench. By midway through the second quarter, though, all the frustration had faded away. "We did a good job of letting the other night go. We forgot about that already. Now were back winning, so weve just got to keep it going," Barea said. The Wolves posted their league-leading eighth win of 20 points or more. Theyre also 8-2 following those losses of four points or less. "They want to be a good team, but they have to find out how theyre going to do that," said coach Rick Adelman, who remained critical of some defensive risks and forced shots, mistakes that have contributed to the close losses. Love set the tone with a commanding start, posting hhis league-leading 31st double-double before halftime.dddddddddddd Then the backups put together one of their sharpest stretches of the season. With Chase Budinger and Ronny Turiaf finally healthy, the second unit is much stronger. The highlight came when Cunningham blocked Kemba Walkers fast-break layup, Barea grabbed the ball, and Alexey Shved caught his outlet pass for an uncontested dunk for a 45-34 lead. That came near the end of a 20-6 run by the Wolves. Pekovic then scored 13 straight points for the Wolves in one third-quarter, and Martin followed with a layup to push the lead to a game-high 88-57. "If we can do it consistently, this teams going to be great," Barea said. The Bobcats (15-22) entered the game still above the cut in the Eastern playoff chase, seeking just the second appearance in the franchises 10 seasons. Too many more performances like this, though, and theyll have a hard time keeping up even in the far weaker of the two conferences. For a team that went an NBA-worst 28-120 over the last two seasons, there has been clear progress under first-year coach Steve Clifford. But the Bobcats, who had allowed the second-fewest points in the league entering the night, have taken a step back on defence lately. "You have to have a team game thats together where everybody knows what your game is, then understand that and they play it. We were doing that three weeks ago. Were not doing that right now," Clifford said. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will give them a boost soon. He missed his 18th straight game because of a broken left hand, but plan is for him to practice on Monday and play on Tuesday against New York. NOTES: This was the first time in nearly two years the Wolves had no injured players on the roster. Luc Mbah a Moute returned from a three-game absence due to a strained left groin and played in the fourth quarter. ... The Bobcats fell to 3-11 against Western Conference teams this season. ... Jefferson wasnt the only former Timberwolves player the Bobcats brought. Tolliver, who spent two seasons here from 2010-12, went 8 for 9 from the field. "Whenever youre getting blown out by 30 or 20 or whatever, if youre shooting really well it doesnt matter," he said. ' ' '