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NBA PLAYOFFS

Alex Rodriguez homered on the first pitch he saw in his injurydelayed 2009 season, leading the Yankees to a 4-0 win. Page 18 ROB CARR / AP

CC shuts down O’s, ends slide, Page 19

SATURDAY MAY 9, 2009 SEE A DIFFERENT GAME VOLUME 1 ISSUE 291

Scoreboard

ERIC GAY / AP

NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference semifinals Orlando 117, Boston 96 (Orlando leads series 2-1) Western Conference semifinals L.A. Lakers 108, Houston 94 (L.A. Lakers lead series 2-1)

Winning attitude BY STAN MCNEAL [email protected]

NHL Playoffs Eastern Conference semifinals Pittsburgh 5, Washington 3 (Series tied 2-2) Carolina 4, Boston 1 (Carolina leads series 3-1)

Baseball American League N.Y. Yankees 4, Baltimore 0 Detroit 1, Cleveland 0 Boston 7, Tampa Bay 3 Texas 6, Chicago White Sox 0 Minnesota 11, Seattle 0 Oakland 5, Toronto 3 L.A. Angels 4, Kansas City 1 National League Philadelphia 10, Atlanta 6 Cincinnati 6, St. Louis 4 N.Y. Mets 7, Pittsburgh 3 Milwaukee 3, Chicago Cubs 2 Houston 2, San Diego 0 Florida 8, Colorado 3 Washington 5, Arizona 4 San Francisco 3, L.A. Dodgers 1

Last season brought Josh Hamilton and his remarkable comeback from drug abuse. This season, Kansas City righthander Zack Greinke has become the feel-good story three years after he left the game because of an anxiety disorder. Behind the Zack attack:

Three years after almost quitting, Greinke’s now dominating majors

Royal flush Where would the Royals be without Zack Greinke? Not in first place in the A.L. Central. His contributions:

ERA

— Benson Taylor

Page 12

Greinke: 0.40 ERA, (6-0 record)

5

Pittsburgh at Washington 7 tonight, Versus Series tied 2-2

Greinke is tied with Toronto’s Roy Halladay atop the majors with six wins. He leads all of baseball in four categories:

0.40

3

2

0.84

ERA

complete games

shutouts

WHIP AP/STAFF GRAPHIC

further separates Greinke is the ability to throw any pitch in any count for a strike. “You have to look for a fastball early,” said TV analyst Steve Stone, one of two 25-game winners since 1980 (Bob Welch won 27 in 1990). “When he gets you in a hole, he’s going to bury you.”

STUFF Scouts say Greinke has about 12 pitches. Four is more accurate, but the discrepancy exists because he throws his curve, slider and fastball at different speeds. His fastball touched 95 mph in the ninth inning against Chicago. A slow curve: 69. What

NHL PLAYOFFS

Rest of Royals’ starters: 4.89 ERA, (8-9 record)

NUMBERS White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen calls Greinke, “the best in the game right now.” Disagree? Check these numbers: Heading into tonight’s start at Anaheim, Greinke, 25, has allowed two earned runs in six starts, all wins. He pitched 29 innings this season before allowing an earned run. He has 54 strikeouts in 45 innings, eight walks and three complete games, including a shutout over Guillen’s White Sox in his last start. “For me to give credit to somebody takes a lot, but this kid deserves credit,” Guillen said. “Baseball needs people like that.”

Another big scoring night for Kobe Bryant, another ejection for Ron Artest, above background. Two new developments, however, helped propel the Lakers to a 10894 win over the Rockets, giving L.A. a 2-1 series lead. The Lakers hit 55.0 percent of their 3-point shots after making 8 of 35 in the first two games. And Jordan Farmar was a steady replacement for suspended point guard Derek Fisher. ”He stepped up and played exceptionally well,” Bryant said.

CONFIDENCE Grienke still doesn’t like attention but is far more at ease on and off the field than when he left spring training and went home for three months in 2006. Newfound confidence might be the main reason

for his domination because hitters say he’s always had superb stuff. Now he’s making them uncomfortable with it. “He’s developed an attitude,” Stone said. “He’s not afraid to knock guys down.” While Greinke’s success has helped the Royals to first place and created a buzz throughout baseball, he remains unimpressed. “I saw stuff of Fernandomania,” he says of the hype surrounding Dodgers great Fernando Valenzuela in 1981. “(The atmosphere at his last start) was great but it wasn’t that class.” Not yet, anyway.

The Penguins did everything they wanted against the Capitals. They won both games at home, and Friday’s 5-3 victory evened the Eastern Conference semifinal series at 2-2. But Pittsburgh players weren’t too happy after the game. A questionable hit by Washington’s Alex Ovechkin injured Pittsburgh star defenseman Sergei Gonchar— and it could be serious. “(Ovechkin) sticks his leg right out at him,” Brooks Orpik said of the knee-on-knee hit. “Hopefully the league takes action.”

— Craig Custance

Page 8

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Tune In Today A quick look at the best sports on TV — all times Eastern NBA

Nuggets at Mavericks 5 p.m., ESPN Dirk Nowitzki’s personal life has become an issue in his professional one, as a woman (fiancée?) was arrested at his home this week for what amounts to financial shenanigans. While this could be a huge distraction for Nowitzki and the Mavericks as they try to notch their first win of this series, it is not without precedent for players to do well in trying situations. The Mavericks won’t turtle when they play so well at American Airlines Center.

GOLF

The Players Championship 2 p.m., NBC The leaderboard has a decidedly international flavor, with Germany’s Alex Cejka at the top of the heap. While the 38-year-old has won a number of events abroad, NBC analyst Johnny Miller could have well been talking about Cejka, who is winless on American soil, when sizing up the difficulty of winning golf’s unofficial fifth major: “It’s going to be exciting, when you have those last three holes (16-18) and the choke factor, and the pressure of winning The Players Championship, a lot of things can happen.”

NASCAR

Southern 500 7 p.m., FOX Even if the repaved racing surface at Darlington is much smoother than the days of yore, this track still is a demanding one that allows only the sport’s best drivers to do well there. So look for Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and defending race winner Kyle Busch to do well tonight. If you’re looking for darkhorses, look at Ryan Newman, who also has shown past Darlington strength and enters tonight’s race on a roll.

— Compiled by Roger Kuznia

AUTO RACING 8 a.m. SPEED—Formula One, qualifying for Spanish Grand Prix, at Barcelona, Spain Noon VERSUS—IRL, pole qualifying for Indianapolis 500 7 p.m. FOX—NASCAR, Sprint Cup, Southern 500, at Darlington, S.C.

COLLEGE BASEBALL 1 p.m. FSN—Texas A&M at Texas

GOLF 9:30 a.m. TGC—European PGA Tour, Italian Open, third round, at Turin, Italy (same-day tape) 2 p.m. ESPN2—LPGA, Michelob ULTRA Open, third round, at Williamsburg, Va. NBC—PGA Tour, THE PLAYERS Championship, third round, at Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 3:30 p.m. FOX—Regional coverage, Tampa Bay at Boston, Atlanta at Philadelphia, or San Francisco at L.A. Dodgers 7 p.m. WGN—Texas at Chicago White Sox

See a Different Game MEN’S COLLEGE LACROSSE Noon ESPN2 — NCAA Division I tournament, first round, Brown at John Hopkins

MEN’S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL 7 p.m. ESPN2—NCAA Division I tournament, championship match, USC vs. UC Irvine, at Provo, Utah

NBA BASKETBALL 3:30 p.m. ABC—Playoffs, conference semifinals, Game 4, L.A. Lakers at Houston 5 p.m. ESPN—Playoffs, conference semifinals, Game 3, Denver at Dallas 8 p.m. ABC—Playoffs, conference semifinals, Game 3, Cleveland at Atlanta

NHL HOCKEY 7 p.m. VERSUS—Playoffs, Eastern Conference semifinals, Game 5, Pittsburgh at Washington 10:30 p.m. VERSUS—Playoffs, Western Conference semifinals, Game 5, Chicago at Vancouver

SOCCER 9 p.m. ESPN2—MLS, Dallas at Houston

SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

2

OFF THE FIELD

Obama art benefits Berkeley school Cal forward Jamal Boykin has a new obsession, according to the San Francisco Chronicle—he’s hand-crafting portraits of President Obama for charity events to be held in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and likely San Francisco. Proceeds will be given to the art program at Malcolm X Elementary School in Berkeley, Calif. Boykin will hold an exhibition today at the Alphonse Berber Gallery in Berkeley. “I no longer believe in coincidence,” Boykin told the newspaper. “The way things have lined up just proves it was all supposed to happen.” The work, according to the Chronicle, ranges from sketches to stippling and includes Boykin’s first forays into acrylic paint and cross-hatching. “The only way I could ever sell this is if I had the blessing from the president,” Boykin said. “To me, I feel like this is my child.”

Nowitzki warned about woman People within the Mavericks organization cautioned Dirk Nowitzki about his relationship with a woman who was arrested at the star forward’s home this week, multiple team sources told the Dallas Morning News. Cristal Taylor, 37, remained jailed Thursday night in Dallas County jail with bail set at $20,000 on a theft of services charge and no bail allowed on a probation violation. Taylor has a history of financial crimes under multiple identities that date back at least a decade and span both Texas and Missouri, records and interviews by the Morning News show. Two Dallas-area TV stations cited unidentified sources in reporting Thursday that Taylor had been engaged to Nowitzki and is pregnant with his child. Sources who spoke to the Morning News did not, or could not, confirm her pregnancy.

BEN MARGOT / AP

Jamal Boykin’s art will be on display today in the Bay Area.

Quick hits “Mannywood” is no more. In the wake of Manny Ramirez’s suspension for testing positive for a banned substance, the Dodgers’ have stopped a promotion that offered two seats in left field and two “Mannywood” T-shirts for $99, CNBC.com reported. The section will now be referred to as the “90090” section in honor of the new Dodger Stadium ZIP code. Actor Michael J. Fox, who is battling Parkinson’s disease, was joined by cyclist Lance Armstrong and actress and Cubs fan Bonnie Hunt for a game at Wrigley Field in the debut episode of ABC’s Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist, SportsBusiness Daily reported. “If the subject is optimism,” said Fox, while at Wrigley Field, “then what I am doing here?” — SportsBusiness Daily, sportsbusinessdaily.com

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Member of Red Sox Hall of Fame (What you won’t find on Facebook … even if you are approved as a friend)

Born: Nov. 10, 1954, in Portland, Maine Status: Married Alma mater: Kearny (N.J.) High These days: Giving pitching lessons and running camps at the USA Training Center in Newington, N.H. What’s on TV: The Price Is Right, CSI, Criminal Minds, 24, Law & Order What’s in my iPod: Country, all kinds What I drive: Chevy Trailblazer Favorite flicks: Radio, Happy Gilmore, To Hell and Back What I’m reading: Not a reader Magazine subscription: People Worst habit: Doing everything too fast Love to trade places for a day with … Nobody. I like my life the way it is. First job: Ashland Chemical, Kearny, N.J. I made glue. Talent I’d most like to have: Golf better Favorite meal: All kinds of pasta Favorite athlete to watch in another sport: Tiger Woods Favorite city to visit: Kansas City Favorite team as a kid: N.Y. football Giants Favorite value in others: Honesty Favorite physical attribute about myself: Height And least … No hair Dream date: I had it with my wife 32 years ago. My greatest love: Wife and kids My hero: My son Kyle, who beat cancer My bucket list: Go to the Kentucky Derby

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The Philadelphia Eagles expect Missouri wideout Jeremy Maclin to be a unique talent. SN Magazine spent NFL draft weekend exploring Maclin’s unique background.

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SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

Dom DiMaggio, left, with brother Joe at the All-Star Game in 1950.

Dom DiMaggio: 1917-2009

Seven-time All Star, but overshadowed by brother BOSTON—Dominic DiMaggio, the Boston Red Sox center fielder who made his own mark on the major leagues despite playing in the shadows of Hall of Fame brother Joe and teammate Ted Williams, died Friday at his Massachusetts home. He was 92. DiMaggio died at about 1 a.m. with the Red Sox television replay of Thursday night’s game on in the background, said his son, Dominic Paul. “He was in and out of consciousness, but he was acknowledging it. He was a Red Sox fan until the end,” his son said. DiMaggio was surrounded by his family, according to his wife, Emily. He had been battling pneumonia, the Red Sox said in a statement. “He was the most wonderful, warm, loving man,” his wife of 61 years said. “He adored his children, and we all adored him.” DiMaggio was a seven-time All Star who still holds the record for the longest consecutive-game hitting streak in Red Sox history. Known as the “Little Professor” because of his eyeglasses and 5-foot-9, 168-pound frame, DiMaggio hit safely in 34 consecutive games in 1949. The streak was broken on Aug. 9 when big brother Joe caught a sinking liner in the eighth inning of a 6-3 Red Sox win over the Yankees. Joe set the major league record with a 56-game hitting streak with the Yankees in 1941. The oldest of the three center fieldplaying DiMaggio brothers was Vince, who had a 10-year major league career

with five National League teams. Vince died in October 1986, while Joe died in March 1999. “Dad had a great deal of respect for Uncle Joe and what he did,” his son said. “But he never felt inferior. He was a competitor and a strong competitor.” Dom DiMaggio spent his entire career—10 full seasons plus three games in 1953—with the Red Sox and was close friends with teammates Williams, Bobby Doerr and Johnny Pesky. “He was a great player, and most of all, a great friend,” Pesky said. “I will miss him terribly.” Doerr called DiMaggio a “class guy and a great teammate.” “His loss saddens us all, but his contributions to the glory and tradition of our ballclub will forever be etched in the annals of Red Sox history,” principal owner John Henry said in a statement. DiMaggio retired because he’d been relegated to the bench and didn’t want to be a part-time player, said his son, who was just 3 years old at the time. “I remember walking out to center field with him on the day he retired. For some reason, what I remember most is thinking how big the green and red ball and strike lights were on the scoreboard. But I think that was just his way of saying goodbye to Fenway.” While Dom did not have the offensive numbers of Joe, he was generally regarded as a better defensive player with a stronger arm. He was a career .298 hitter with 87 homers, while Joe was a .325 career hitter with 361 homers.

Dom’s baseball career was interrupted for three years (1943-45) by World War II when he served in the Navy, a military obligation that might have cost him induction into the Hall of Fame, Doerr once said. DiMaggio and Pesky “were really penalized for that, and I think it was kind of a shame in a way because when you look, they have the numbers,” Doerr said in August 2007 during an appearance at Fenway Park. Dom played a pivotal role in Game 7 of the 1946 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, a heartbreaker for Boston fans. He drove in two runs in the eighth inning to tie the game at 3, but injured his leg while running the bases and was replaced in center field by Leon Culberson for the ninth. It was Culberson who fielded Harry Walker’s double and threw it to Pesky during Enos Slaughter’s famous “Mad Dash” from first to home that won the series for the Cardinals. Many argued that if DiMaggio had been in center, he would have handled the play better and

prevented Slaughter from scoring. “Watching the play had been pure agony for Dominic DiMaggio ...,” David Halberstam wrote in his 2003 book, The Teammates. “His own injury, his own pulled hamstring, Dominic now decided, had been the decisive play of the game.” After the Red Sox finally won the World Series in 2004, their first since 1918, DiMaggio, Pesky and Doerr were

GEORGE DORRILL / SN

on hand on opening day 2005 to raise the championship banner at Fenway Park. DiMaggio grew up in San Francisco, one of nine children born to Sicilian immigrants. His mother was a teacher and his father was a fisherman. He is survived by his wife and three children, Dominic Paul, Peter and Emily. — The Associated Press

4

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RECRUITING DISH

Virginia Tech lands pair of QBs H.D. Woodson (Washington, D.C.) QB Ricardo Young has made his choice—he’ll be playing quarterback for Virginia Tech, Rivals.com reported. The 6-1, 170-pound dualthreat quarterback had said earlier this week that Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, UConn and Michigan State made up his top five. He told the Hokies’ coaching staff ahead of time. “I talked to Coach (Frank) Beamer on Sunday,” Young told Rivals. com. “He was ecstatic. He was playing golf and real happy just saying that now he was going to hit a hole-in-one. I think I kind of shocked him at the same time. I don’t think anyone told him I was coming there.” As a junior, Young threw for 3,089 yards and 31 touchdowns, while also rushing for 780 yards and 11 touchdowns. The Hokies also picked up dualthreat QB Mark Leal out of Atlantic (Delray Beach, Fla.). The 6-1, 190pound quarterback will do battle with Young when they both reach campus. West Virginia, Oregon and Rutgers were also some of Leal’s favorites. Also, Highland Springs DT Derrick Hopkins gave his word to Virginia Tech. He is 5-11, 270 pounds. North Gwinnett (Suwanee, Ga.) OL Jawuan James has committed to Alabama, Scout.com reported. The 6-6, 295-pound tackle had recently trimmed his lengthy list of schools to Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Oregon and Tennessee. James is the school’s 11th commitment, and is rated a

DON PETERSEN / AP

Frank Beamer, above, was surprised to land QB Ricardo Young, according to Young. four-star prospect by two major recruiting services. “I am 100-percent committed to the Alabama program. This is where I wanted to go from Day One,” James told Scout.com. “I got on the phone with Nick Saban. I told him the same thing I told Coach (Kirby) Smart. I told him I look forward to playing for him on the next level ... I committed because of the coaching staff and overall atmosphere at Alabama. Every time I went there for a visit it got better. I think the future there is very bright ... I was fighting with several schools for a while, but it hit me last week that ’Bama was where I wanted to go.” Michigan State has added a wide receiver, the Detroit Free-Press reported, as Crockett (Detroit) star Tony Lippett will play for the

Spartans. Lippett is 6-3, 185 pounds and also has played quarterback in high school. As a junior, Lippett threw for 1,755 yards and 18 touchdowns, with only six interceptions. He also rushed for 755 yards and 16 touchdowns, and added five interceptions on defense. Lippett reported a scholarship offer from Toledo, and interest from several other schools. He is Michigan State’s second commitment for 2010. Syracuse has added two junior college football players to the list of 2009 signees, The Post-Standard out of Syracuse, N.Y. reported. CB John Mark Henderson (5-11/190) comes from City College of San Francisco, while S Derek Hines (6-0/215) is out of Santa Ana (Calif.) Community College. — Brian McLaughlin

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Overnight Report

SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

6

BASEBALL / NATIONAL LEAGUE San Francisco 3, L.A. Dodgers 1

Despite lack of offense, Zito still picks up win LOS ANGELES—The San Francisco Giants’ offense consisted of an infield RBI single and two sacrifice flies—one of them in foul territory. Barry Zito was more than grateful, after three no-decisions in which he pitched equally as well. Zito outpitched Chad Billingsley to record his first win of the season on his sixth attempt, and the Giants beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 on Friday night. “We had to scratch some runs across,” Zito said. “You’ve got to manufacture them, especially against Billingsley. They’ve got a great defense, so we played the game the way it was supposed to be played and we got our runs in the fashion that we knew we would have to.” The defending N.L. champion Dodgers have lost both games they’ve played since slugging left fielder Manny Ramirez was suspended for 50 games by Major League Baseball for using a banned drug. At the time of the suspension, they were a major league-best 21-8. “They have a great lineup and Manny adds that much more to it. But it’s still a great lineup without him,” Zito said after the Giants trimmed the Dodgers’ division lead to 4½ games. “That team’s in first place for a reason. This is a big series for us, to come down here, make a statement and say, ‘Hey, we’re not going to roll over in this division.’” Manager Bruce Bochy played down Ramirez’s absence. “I don’t look at it as a break,” Bochy said. “Sometimes when you talk about one player like that, you forget about how talented the other guys are that they have. That’s a good lineup.” Zito (1-2) allowed a run and eight hits over six innings. He struck out five,

DANNY MOLOSHOK / AP

Barry Zito continued to show improved form for the Giants, pitching six innings for his first win of the season. walked two and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth. The 2002 AL Cy Young winner was removed for a pinch-hitter in the seventh when his teammates broke a 1-all tie with Edgar Renteria’s sac fly and Pablo Sandoval’s run-scoring infield hit. “It was great to get Barry a win, the way he threw the ball,” Bochy said. “He’s just commanding all his pitches on both sides of the plate and using any pitch at any time. His stuff has picked up and so has his command.” Pitching coach Dave Righetti is impressed at the way the way Zito has pitched under the gun without much run support. “He’s done a good job of that,” Righetti

said. “You’ve got to concentrate on pitching your game, and shutting the other team down, because you never know when you’re going to get runs.” Brian Wilson, who hadn’t pitched since last Sunday, worked 1 1/3 innings for his seventh save in eight chances after Merkin Valdez walked two batters with two out. Wilson’s last three saves have required four outs each. The righthander ended the eighth inning by slipping a called third strike against Casey Blake, who fouled off six two-strike pitches during his 13-pitch at-bat. — The Associated Press Royals’ win streak ends, Page 20

Giants 3, Dodgers 1 San Francisco AB R F.Lewis lf 3 0 Affeldt p 0 0 Valdez p 0 0 Schierholtz rf 1 0 Renteria ss 3 1 Winn rf-lf 4 0 Sandoval c 4 0 Rowand cf 2 0 Ishikawa 1b 3 0 Uribe 3b 4 1 Burriss 2b 4 1 Zito p 1 0 a-Velez ph-lf 1 0 B.Wilson p 0 0 Totals 30 3

H 2 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 10

BI 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

BB 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4

SO Avg. 0 .312 0 1.000 0 --0 .273 0 .255 1 .228 0 .298 0 .214 3 .191 1 .289 1 .253 1 .111 0 .150 0 --7

Los Angeles Furcal ss Hudson 2b Ethier rf Kemp cf Martin c Loretta 1b 1-Paul pr Troncoso p Blake 3b Billingsley p Belisario p Loney 1b Pierre lf Totals

H 1 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 9

BI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1

BB 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5

SO 1 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 8

AB 5 2 4 4 3 3 0 0 4 3 0 1 2 31

R 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

San Francisco 000 001 200 — Los Angeles 000 001 000 —

Avg. .250 .333 .310 .288 .267 .333 .000 .000 .245 .200 .000 .288 .378 3 10 0 1 9 0

a-sacrificed for Zito in the 7th. 1-ran for Loretta in the 8th. LOB: San Francisco 9, Los Angeles 9. 2B: Furcal (5), Blake (5). RBIs: Renteria (12), Sandoval (10), Rowand (12), Blake (17). CS: F.Lewis (2), Renteria (2), Pierre (2). S: Zito, Velez. SF: Renteria, Rowand. Runners left in scoring position: San Francisco 5 (F.Lewis, Uribe 2, Rowand 2); Los Angeles 5 (Kemp, Ethier 2, Billingsley, Blake). DP: San Francisco 3 (Uribe, Burriss, Ishikawa), (Uribe, Burriss, Ishikawa), (Renteria, Burriss, Ishikawa); Los Angeles 1 (Hudson, Loretta). San Francisco Zito W, 1-2 Affeldt H, 6 Valdez H, 1 B.Wilson S, 7-8 Los Angeles Billingsley L, 5-1 Belisario Troncoso

IP 6 1 1⁄3 1⁄3 1 1⁄3 IP 7 1 1

H 8 0 0 1 H 8 1 1

R ER BB SO NP ERA 1 1 2 5 126 3.57 0 0 1 1 20 3.29 0 0 2 1 15 4.00 0 0 0 1 28 3.07 R ER BB SO NP ERA 3 3 4 5 115 2.45 0 0 0 1 17 2.95 0 0 0 1 9 2.25

Inherited runners-scored: B.Wilson 2-0. IBB: off Billingsley (F.Lewis). HBP: by Zito (Pierre), by Billingsley (Ishikawa). Umpires: Home, Sam Holbrook; First, Dan Iassogna; Second, Charlie Reliford; Third, Larry Vanover. T: 3:14. A: 51,209 (56,000).

Dodgers make changes, brace for Manny-less team LOS ANGELES—A pair of baggy black jeans hung inside his locker. A nearly empty water bottle sat on a shelf. A pristine No. 99 jersey was ready to be slipped on. It looked as though Manny Ramirez had briefly stepped away instead of being suspended for 50 games a day earlier by Major League Baseball for a drug violation. “I’m not sure it’s sunk in yet,” manager Joe Torre said before Friday night’s series opener against the rival San Francisco Giants. “You’re so used to seeing him but reality sets in and you sort of have to force it on yourself.” Ramirez will lose nearly $7.7 million in salary; the Dodgers have yet to know whether they’ll take a financial hit from the prolonged absence of their dreadlocked slugger. He’s eligible to return July 3 in San Diego. Merchandise connected to Ramirez, like No. 99 jerseys, T-shirts and dreadlocked wigs, remains for sale around Dodger Stadium. Anyone wanting to exchange an item related to Ramirez can do so with or without a receipt, a club official said. Ramirez was single-handedly responsible for boosting attendance, souvenir sales and interest in the team before he helped it win the N.L. West last season. This year alone, more than 5,000 Manny T-shirts, 800

jerseys, and 1,700 dreadlocked wigs have been snapped up, the club said. The Dodgers sold more than 30,000 season tickets in the first 24 hours after Ramirez was acquired at last year’s July 31 trade deadline—the highest volume sold in club history. But things are changing. Barely a week since the “Mannywood” seating section was announced, it’s been renamed “90090” after the stadium’s zip code. For $99, fans got two tickets and two “Mannywood” T-shirts. In its short existence, 3,130 tickets were sold to fans wanting to sit in the area closest to Ramirez’s position in left field, the club said. About 60 tickets for “Mannywood” had been turned back by fans since Ramirez’s suspension was announced Thursday, according to Dennis Mannion, the club’s president and chief operating officer. “We’ll wait to see if it’s appropriate to bring it back,” he said. In an ironic bit of timing, the Dodgers’ marketing campaign that prominently featured Ramirez had begun phasing out last week. The new “My Town” campaign will include celebrities and other players, although Ramirez will be part of it, Mannion said. “He’s still on our team,” Mannion said. — The Associated Press

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SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS Pittsburgh 5, Washington 3

Penguins shackle Ovechkin, get to Varlamov PITTSBURGH—Alex Ovechkin disappeared, at least as much as the game’s most dominant scorer can, and so did all the magic Simeon Varlamov was working. Suddenly, the Washington Capitals are in a familiar position against rival Pittsburgh, losing their grip on a playoff series that seemed to be theirs. The Penguins shook off an opening-minute Washington goal, scored three times in less than 12 minutes in the first period against a suddenly vulnerable Varlamov and beat the Capitals 5-3 Friday night to even the Eastern Conference semifinal at 2. The Capitals won’t get much time to try to regain any confidence they lost by losing twice in Pittsburgh, not with Game 5 in Washington tonight. “We’re right back in it and we have momentum on our side and we’ll try to keep it going,” said Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 19 saves. Washington scored one-goal victories at home in each of the first two games as Ovechkin scored a combined four goals, but he was shut out on two shots while being constantly shadowed by defenseman Rob Scuderi. Penguins star Sidney Crosby had his playoffsleading ninth goal and an assist. “They were desperate down here,” Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said. “Alex is only human, he can’t be unbelievable every night. He’s a great player, he just had one of those nights where he’s not going

GENE J. PUSKAR / AP

Sidney Crosby failed to get this first-period shot past Caps G Simeon Varlamov, but he did score in the third period, his ninth of the postseason. to get three goals.” Capitals owner Ted Leonsis is unhappy at playing twice in two nights in two cities, all because of a Yanni concert in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. He may be even more concerned with the Capitals’ first major letdown in the series, an opening period in which Washington’s one-goal lead

quickly became a two-goal deficit as Sergei Gonchar, Bill Guerin and Ruslan Fedotenko scored. Now, the Penguins again could do what they did against the Capitals in 1992 and 1996 by rallying to win after being down 2-0 in a series. “We said we’ve got to get two at

home and now we’ve got to try to get one on the road,” Scuderi said. Pittsburgh has a major worry, though, as Gonchar was helped off the ice late in the first period after absorbing a knee-on-knee hit from Ovechkin. There was no immediate word about the injury, or how long it would sideline the Penguins’

most experienced defenseman, who missed three-quarters of the regular season with a shoulder injury. Varlamov came in with a 1.64 goals-against average despite having only six games of NHL experience, but could be seen shaking his head at his inability to stop not-difficult shots. Varlamov, arguably the best player on the ice while making 39 saves during Pittsburgh’s 3-2 overtime win in Game 3, probably couldn’t be blamed for Guerin’s goahead goal on a rebound of Crosby’s in-close forehander midway through the period. But the 21-year-old goalie had a good look on Gonchar’s tying goal from close to the blue line, which came slightly more than 3 minutes after Washington’s Nicklas Backstrom scored with 36 seconds gone. Maybe that was a bad omen for the Capitals, since the team scoring first has lost all four games in the series. A much-worse omen came when Sergei Fedorov couldn’t score on two excellent scoring chances not long after Gonchar’s goal, and Varlamov began looking shaky. He was beaten on a seemingly harmless 50-foot wrist shot that Fedotenko was trying to throw on net at 15:25 of the first, making it 3-1. “There were four soft goals out of the five,” Boudreau said. “But he’ll bounce back. He’s a real competitive guy.” The Capitals twice came back from two-goal deficits on goals by Chris Clark and Milan Jurcina,

Series glance (Series tied 2-2) May 2: Washington 3, Pittsburgh 2 May 4: Washington 4, Pittsburgh 3 May 6: Pittsburgh 3, Washington 2, OT Friday: Pittsburgh 5, Washington 3 Today: Pittsburgh at Washington, 7 p.m., Versus Monday: Washington at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m., Versus Wednesday: Pittsburgh at Washington, 7 p.m., if necessary

with Jurcina scoring short-handed. But the Penguins answered as Crosby and Max Talbot each scored in the third period. Crosby has nine playoff goals, one more than Ovechkin. — The Associated Press Washington Pittsburgh

1 3

1 0

1 2

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3 5

First Period: 1, Washington, Backstrom 2 (Semin), :36. 2, Pittsburgh, Gonchar 2, 3:55 (pp). 3, Pittsburgh, Guerin 3 (Crosby, Kunitz), 10:47. 4, Pittsburgh, Fedotenko 3 (Staal, Scuderi), 15:25. Penalties: Clark, Was (cross-checking), 1:58; Orpik, Pit (holding stick), 13:45; Ovechkin, Was (tripping), 14:55; Malkin, Pit (elbowing), 19:37. Second Period: 5, Washington, Clark 1 (Green, Ovechkin), 15:08. Penalties: Fedorov, Was (holding), 1:53; Backstrom, Was (interference), 6:49; Dupuis, Pit (slashing), 9:48; Fleischmann, Was (crosschecking), 11:51; Scuderi, Pit (cross-checking), 18:33. Third Period: 6, Pittsburgh, Crosby 9 (Satan, Guerin), 4:16. 7, Washington, Jurcina 2 (B.Gordon, Bradley), 6:23 (sh). 8, Pittsburgh, Talbot 2 (Fedotenko, Scuderi), 14:46. Penalties: Erskine, Was (tripping), 4:30. Shots on Goal: Washington 10-5-7: 22. Pittsburgh 13-4-11: 28. Power-play opportunities: Washington 0 of 4; Pittsburgh 1 of 6. Goalies: Washington, Varlamov 6-4-0 (28 shots-23 saves). Pittsburgh, Fleury 6-4-0 (22-19). A: 17,132 (16,940). T: 2:17. Referees: Brad Watson, Tim Peel. Linesmen: Shane Heyer, Brian Murphy.

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EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS NOTEBOOK

Pittsburgh 5, Washington 3

Penguins are steamed over hit on Gonchar PITTSBURGH—It didn’t seem possible, but the venom between the Penguins and Capitals just increased dramatically. One hit, a knee-on-knee collision between Washington’s Alex Ovechkin and Pittsburgh’s Sergei Gonchar, had the Penguins steamed after their 5-3 win in Game 4 of a second-round series. Pittsburgh forward Ruslan Fedotenko didn’t Craig Custance hesitate when HOCKEY asked if he thought Ovechkin’s hit on Gonchar was dirty. “He’s trying to hurt (his knee), obviously,” Fedontenko said. “We can play that game, too. I think the league should step up before it gets ugly.” Gonchar left the game late in the first period after the hit and didn’t return. Coach Dan Bylsma said doctors were still evaluating Gonchar after the game, but it sure didn’t sound good for the veteran defenseman to return tonight for Game 5. If Gonchar is out, Fedotenko thinks Ovechkin should join him. “I hope so,” said Fedotenko, who scored his third goal of the playoffs. “Look, we don’t know how long we’ll lose one of our top defensemen.” Despite seizing the series momentum with consecutive wins in Pittsburgh and evening the series at 2-2, the Penguins are a less effective team without Gonchar. That momentum could be meaningless if

they have to continue without him. The impact of his absence was evident last night when the Penguins’ power play was 0-for-5 after Gonchar was injured. Their only power play goal came from Gonchar himself, an unassisted slapshot that tied the game at 1-1 early in the first period. When Gonchar missed the bulk of the regular season with a shoulder injury, the Penguins struggled without him. In all likelihood, his shoulder injury cost coach Michel Therrien his job. Now, for the first time since he took over behind the bench, Bylsma could be facing a stretch of games without his most important defenseman. The Penguins have momentum, but the degree of difficulty eliminating the Capitals doubles if Gonchar is out for any length of time. “In terms of replacing Sergei Gonchar, you don’t get to replace 55,” Bylsma said. “But we have depth at the defensive position for this occasion.” Bylsma said the team will have to simplify its power play and we could see more of Evgeni Malkin at the point. That’s not necessarily a good thing. And there certainly isn’t a lot of time to iron out any wrinkles. “I think you saw it when (Gonchar) left, the power play struggled a little bit. He settles everything down on the power play,” said Pittsburgh defenseman Brooks Orpik. “And bringing the puck up the ice—his puck decisions, it falls off a little bit there.” Orpik was also outspoken about

KEITH SRAKOCIC / AP

Caps coach Bruce Boudreau believes Simeon Varlamov will bounce back from a poor Game 4.

Despite struggle, Caps will stick with Varlamov

KEITH SRAKOCIC / AP

Sergei Gonchar grimaces following his knee-on-knee collision with Alex Ovechkin. the hit. “That’s three games in a row, to us, he’s out there trying to hurt guys,” Orpik said of Ovechkin. “Everyone likes to play physical in the playoffs, when you get the feeling guys are trying to hurt guys, hopefully it gets dealt with.” It’s hard to imagine the league would suspend its biggest star for a game that will be Washington’s

biggest yet. And if intent is considered when the league reviews it—which it will be—Ovechkin said he wasn’t trying to hurt anybody. Especially his good friend. “I’m not the kind of player who wants to injure a player. … I know Gonch. I wouldn’t hit him like that,” Ovechkin said after the game. “I was disappointed, too. It’s a game. It happens.” [email protected]

Check out the hit on Craig Custance’s blog and judge for yourself: sportingnews.com/blog/ccustance.tsn/191173

It was bound to happen. Washington rookie Simeon Varlamov struggled for the first time since seizing the goalie job from former starter Jose Theodore in the first round. He gave up soft goals early, especially one by Pittsburgh forward Ruslan Fedotenko that gave the Penguins an early 3-1 lead. He battled back to make a big save late in the game on Max Talbot, but Washington coach Bruce Boudreau conceded this wasn’t Varlamov’s best effort. “He struggled,” Boudreau said. “Again, he’s human. He hasn’t had a bad game. When you look at it, it’s his 10th game I think in the playoffs and arguably there were four soft goals out of the five. But he’ll bounce back.” With the Capitals and Penguins playing back-to-back, there was speculation that Washington

might turn to Theodore for tonight’s Game 5. But Boudreau shot that down after the game. Varlamov will be back in net, Boudreau said, and his teammates still have faith he’s the guy who can lead the Capitals to a series win. “If that’s his only game—he’s played unbelievable this playoff series,” Washington forward Chris Clark said. “If he gets it all out of him in one game, that’s great. … We’re all behind him 100 percent.”

Guerin gearing up Veteran forward Bill Guerin scored his third goal of the playoffs, knocking in a rebound off a great scoring effort from Sidney Crosby. Guerin had a goal and an assist and was plus-2, providing the kind of scoring the team needs on Crosby’s wing. “Billy crashed the crease there, got the rebound and put it in,” coach Dan Bylsma said. “He’s been—his game, the last few, have been at another level than maybe we saw in the first round. He’s a big part of that line.” — Craig Custance

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EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS Carolina 4, Boston 1

Top-seeded Bruins on brink of elimination RALEIGH, N.C.—There’s a reason the Carolina Hurricanes call Jussi Jokinen’s line the “Finnish line.” Because of him, the Boston Bruins are nearly finished. Jokinen scored the go-ahead goal for the second straight game and added two assists, and the Hurricanes pushed the top-seeded Bruins to the brink of elimination by pulling away late for a 4-1 victory Friday night. Eric Staal scored two goals to break the club career playoff scoring record, and Sergei Samsonov added a goal for the Hurricanes. They lead the Eastern Conference semifinal series 3-1. Game 5 is Sunday night in Boston. “We’re going to keep getting them from (Jokinen) the rest of the way, too,” Staal said. “It’s still early. He’s played phenomenal. He’s really finding those areas and scoring key goals. You always have those guys in the playoffs, and he seems to be having that confidence.” Marc Savard scored for the Bruins, who have lost three straight since sweeping Montreal in the first round and winning the opener against Carolina. “I think our team has probably picked the worst time of the year to play their worst hockey,” coach Claude Julien said. “When you look at the whole team right now, there isn’t anybody that has played up to their potential. ... You can see the frustration on the players right now, and it’s certainly getting worse.

This is something that has to be resolved before next game, and we don’t have much time to do that.” If history is any guide, the Hurricanes can start making travel plans for either Pittsburgh or Washington. They’ve taken 3-1 series leads twice before in franchise history and have advanced both times. Meanwhile, the Bruins haven’t won any of the 21 series in which they’ve faced such a deficit. “We’ve got to be realistic. In being realistic, you’ve got to know that you can do it,” goalie Tim Thomas said. “We can win three games in a row. How many times in the season did we do it? ... We still have a chance.” Jokinen delivered another late goal for Carolina—and this time, he left enough time to generate a couple of goals for his teammates, too. The Finn capped a third-period burst that started when Anton Babchuk unloaded a slap shot from the left point. Rod Brind’Amour took a whack at it near the left post, and Jokinen swept it past Thomas and into an open net to make it 2-1. The Hurricanes have become used to go-ahead goals from Jokinen, who won Game 3 with an overtime tap-in two nights earlier. In the series before that, he won Game 4 against New Jersey with an off-theskate score with 0.2 seconds remaining, then scored to start Carolina’s two-goals-in-80-seconds rally that beat the Devils in Game 7.

Series glance (Carolina leads series 3-1) May 1: Boston 4, Carolina 1 May 3: Carolina 3, Boston, 0 May 6: Carolina 3, Boston 2, OT Friday: Carolina 4, Boston 1 Sunday: Carolina at Boston, 7:30 p.m., Versus Tuesday: Boston at Carolina, 7 p.m., if necessary Thursday: Carolina at Boston, TBD, if necessary

Boston Carolina

0 1

1 0

0 3

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1 4

Just as he’s done throughout the playoffs, Jussi Jokinen, right, scored the critical go-ahead goal to set up Carolina’s win.

First Period: 1, Carolina, Staal 8 (Cole, Whitney), 4:54 (pp). Penalties: Samsonov, Car (hooking), 1:43; Krejci, Bos (roughing), 3:17; Savard, Bos (roughing), 16:59; Lucic, Bos (roughing), 16:59; Cole, Car (roughing), 16:59; Seidenberg, Car (roughing), 16:59. Second Period: 2, Boston, Savard 5 (Recchi, Ryder), 2:37 (pp). Penalties: Ruutu, Car (holding), 2:09; Kobasew, Bos (holding), 14:10. Third Period: 3, Carolina, Jokinen 6 (Brind’Amour, Babchuk), 2:52 (pp). 4, Carolina, Samsonov 2 (Jokinen, Ruutu), 14:31. 5, Carolina, Staal 9 (Corvo, Jokinen), 15:41. Penalties: Chara, Bos (hooking), 1:07; Montador, Bos (hooking), 6:08; Kobasew, Bos (holding), 14:59; Cole, Car (roughing), 14:59; Babchuk, Car (hooking), 19:19; Kobasew, Bos (roughing, interference), 19:56; Brind’Amour, Car (roughing), 19:56. Shots on Goal: Boston 4-10-7: 21. Carolina 12-6-13: 31. Power-play opportunities: Boston 1 of 3; Carolina 2 of 4. Goalies: Boston, Thomas 5-3-0 (31 shots-27 saves). Carolina, C.Ward 7-4-0 (21-20). A: 18,878 (18,680). T: 2:28. Referees: Kevin Pollock, Dave Jackson. Linesmen: Jean Morin, Thor Nelson.

“It’s been quite a ride the last three months and especially in the playoffs,” Jokinen said. “But I’m not satisfied with it and how things are right now. ... We still have a long way to go.”

to 22-12. Thomas finished with 27 saves for Boston, which was out to prove it still had plenty of fight left after losing the previous two. — The Associated Press

KARL B. DEBLAKER / AP

Jokinen set up Samsonov for a backhander that made it a two-goal game with 5:29 left, and had one of the assists on Staal’s second goal 70 seconds later. Staal weaved through several defenders and beat Thomas

with a snap shot for his 40th career point in the playoffs, breaking the mark of 39 set by current associate head coach Ron Francis. Cam Ward made 20 saves in improving his career playoff record

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Crosby vs. Ovechkin plays second fiddle to Yanni PITTSBURGH—Yanni is forcing the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins to play back-to-back playoff games, and Capitals owner Ted Leonsis doesn’t like it. Because of three events scheduled in an eight-day span at Mellon Arena, the NHL was forced to schedule Game 4 of the Capitals-Penguins Eastern Conference semifinal series in Pittsburgh on Friday night and Game 5 at the Verizon Center in Washington today. “You don’t want to play back-to-back,” Capitals general manager George McPhee said. “Neither team wanted it.” The teams have been playing every other day. Normally, they would have played Friday in Pittsburgh, Sunday in Washington and Tuesday (if necessary) in Pittsburgh, but the prescheduled Yanni concert ruled out the Tuesday date. Instead, Game 6 is scheduled for Monday night in Pittsburgh, meaning the teams will play three games in a fourday span. A WWE wrestling event last Tuesday and a Dane Cook show Thursday in Pittsburgh also factored into the NHL schedule. “It is a shame that both teams will have to play back-to-back games ... because the Pittsburgh building—against NHL rules—booked a series of concerts and forced the league to alter the playoff schedule,” Leonsis wrote on his blog. “This is bad for the league, both fan bases and for the players. “The playoffs are very intense and physical and players need time to recoup. No one is advantaged by playing back-toback games, so no one can complain. But it is unfortunate that the Yanni concert takes precedence over high-quality NHL playoff hockey.” There have been no other back-to-back games so far in the first two rounds,

building availability and national television preferences when making the playoff schedule.” By playing a Penguins-Capitals game today, Canadian national network CBC gets a Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin matchup for its Hockey Night in Canada broadcast. “We saw the schedule,” Crosby said Friday. “That’s the way it is.” Leonsis has reason to dislike the scheduling quirk. Last season, the Capitals played on successive days in their first-round series against Philadelphia— losing Game 7 in overtime at home the day after winning Game 6 on the road. Penguins forward Max Talbot said he didn’t think it was a big deal. “Whatever team wins (Game 4) will have the momentum going into Game 5, which is good,” he said. “I like it.” According to NBC’s website, the first two games of the Stanley Cup finals are scheduled for Friday, June 5, and Saturday, June 6, although—unlike the Capitals-Penguins games—they would be played in the same city. NBC is televising all but two games in the finals. —The Associated Press

Today’s games All Times ET Eastern Conference semifinals (Best-of-7)

NICK WASS / AP

Neither Sidney Crosby, right, nor Alex Ovechkin seemed bothered by playing on consecutive days. although teams have played on consecutive days in past years. Last season, teams played back-to-back games five times. “We agree with Ted Leonsis and the Capitals that it is unfortunate when you

have to play back-to-back in the playoffs,” Penguins CEO Ken Sawyer said in a statement issued by the team. “However, it has happened before, it is sometimes unavoidable, and it impacts both teams equally. The NHL has to consider

Pittsburgh at Washington, 7 p.m., Versus Chicago at Vancouver, 10:30 p.m., Versus

Betting lines Today FAVORITE LINE UNDERDOG LINE at Washington .......-145................Pittsburgh...........+125 at Vancouver ..........-150................Chicago ...............+130

10

Playoff glance CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (Best-of-7) All Times ET

EASTERN CONFERENCE Boston vs. Carolina (Carolina leads series 3-1) May 1: Boston 4, Carolina 1 May 3: Carolina 3, Boston 0 May 5: Carolina 3, Boston 2, OT Friday: Carolina 4, Boston 1 Sunday: Carolina at Boston, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday: Boston at Carolina, 7 p.m., if necessary Thursday: Carolina at Boston, TBD, if necessary

Washington vs. Pittsburgh (Series tied 2-2) May 2: Washington 3, Pittsburgh 2 May 4: Washington 4, Pittsburgh 3 May 6: Pittsburgh 3, Washington 2, OT Friday: Pittsburgh 5, Washington 3 Today: Pittsburgh at Washington, 7 p.m. Monday: Washington at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. Wednesday: Pittsburgh at Washington, 7 p.m., if necessary

WESTERN CONFERENCE Detroit vs. Anaheim (Series tied 2-2) May 1: Detroit 3, Anaheim 2 May 3: Anaheim 4, Detroit 3, 3OT May 5: Anaheim 2, Detroit 1 May 7: Detroit 6, Anaheim 3 Sunday: Anaheim at Detroit, 5 p.m. Tuesday: Detroit at Anaheim, 10 p.m. Thursday: Anaheim at Detroit, TBD, if necessary

Vancouver vs. Chicago (Series tied 2-2) April 30: Vancouver 5, Chicago 3 May 2: Chicago 6, Vancouver 3 May 5: Vancouver 3, Chicago 1 May 7: Chicago 2, Vancouver 1, OT Today: Chicago at Vancouver, 10:30 p.m. Monday: Vancouver at Chicago, 9 p.m. Thursday,: Chicago at Vancouver, TBD, if necessary

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INSIDE DISH

Canada, Russia to play for gold in Worlds final Canada is in position to get some revenge at the IIHF World Hockey Championships in Bern, Switzerland. The Canadians rode Derek Roy’s two goals and Dwayne Roloson’s 25 saves to a 3-1 semifinal win over Sweden on Friday, setting up a rematch with Russia in the tournament’s gold medal game on Sunday. The two teams have been on a collision course since the event began two weeks ago. It will be the second straight year the teams have met in the final, and Team Canada officials well remember Russia winning last year’s gold in Quebec City. Canada will be coming off its strongest performance of the tournament, a patient semifinal game in which it neutralized the Swedish attack and never left the outcome in doubt. Shawn Horcoff had the other goal for Canada, while Dallas Stars F Loui Eriksson scored for Sweden. In the early semifinal, Konstantin Gorovikov scored with 1:47 remaining to give Russia a 3-2 victory over a surprising Team USA. The Americans had taken the lead in the second period on a goal by captain Dustin Brown, then tied it later in the period on a goal by Kyle Okposo after Russian goals by Ilya Kovalchuk and Alexander Frolov. “We were very unlucky on two of their goals. Shots which were going wide hit somebody,” U.S. coach Ron Wilson said. “I’m very proud of our team for the effort we gave.” Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov had 18 saves for Russia. Robert Esche made

and Sweden will co-host the event in 2012 and 2013. The IIHF also announced that Kuwait and Georgia have been admitted as associate members, bringing its total number of national federations to 68. It also agreed that the 12 countries playing in the men’s tournament at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver must announce their rosters by Dec. 31.

JACQUES BOISSINOT / AP

Derek Roy (9) had two goals, including this one against Sweden G Jonas Gustavsson, as Canada advanced to the IIHF World Hockey title game. 21 for the Americans, who will play Sweden Sunday for a bronze medal. The former Soviet republic of Belarus has been granted the right

to host the IIHF World Championships in 2014, The Associated Press reported Friday. The decision was announced at an election of IIHF members at their annual Congress. Hungary

was a distant second choice followed by Latvia and Ukraine. Belarus, which lost to Russia in a quarterfinal game on Thursday, reportedly plans to build two new venues to stage the event. Finland

TSN reported that NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly admitted on XM Radio’s NHL Home Ice show that Jim Balsillie’s bid for the Phoenix Coyotes caught league officials by surprise and said there have been multiple offers to keep the team in Arizona. Daly said the news was frustrating because the league had been working with Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes on potential ownership options and was stunned when the team filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday. “The discussions between Mr. Moyes and Mr. Balsillie were conducted surreptitiously,” Daly said in the radio interview. “We had been working with Mr. Moyes for many months on potential ownership options in Phoenix. We were actually encouraged by Mr. Moyes to pursue a local owner, which we did, and we thought we had the issue resolved. We were bringing that solution to Mr. Moyes on Tuesday when we heard that he had filed for bankruptcy. This clearly was a surprise to all of us and we’ll have to deal with it.”

Daly also said the league has identified at least three potential suitors for the franchise, including one that would have satisfied the needs of creditors. The Denver Post reported that former Montreal and Colorado great Patrick Roy met with Avalanche president Pierre Lacroix earlier this week, stirring speculation he might want to work for his former team. If true, it’s unclear what position might interest the former star goaltender, although Roy has said he might someday like to coach in the NHL. Tony Granato remains in place as coach of an Avs team that finished last in the Western Conference, but the team is searching for a new general manager and Granato’s status could change. Roy as been part owner and coach of the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL since retiring in 2003, but sons Jonathan and Frederick no longer play with the team and there’s speculation Roy might want to move on. Detroit coach Mike Babcock says F Tomas Kopecky will miss Sunday’s Game 5 of a second-round series against the Anaheim Ducks, and that D Brian Rafalski and F Kris Draper are doubtful with upper-body injuries. Kopecky sustained facial injuries in a fight with Anaheim D Francois Beauchemin in the third period of Game 4 and was under further evaluation. Neither Rafalski or Draper have played in the secondround series, which is tied 2-2.

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SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS L.A. Lakers 108, Houston 94

Kobe, Fisher fill-in Farmar key Lakers HOUSTON—Kobe Bryant scored 33 points and the Los Angeles Lakers took a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series with a 108-94 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday night. Lamar Odom had 16 points and 13 rebounds and reserve point guard Jordan Farmar had 12 points and seven assists in place of the suspended Derek Fisher, who was ejected from Game 2 for a hard hit on Luis Scola when he set a pick. Ron Artest, who scored 25 points, was ejected for a flagrant foul on Pau Gasol in the final minute, the only carryover of the rough play that turned testy in Game 2. Artest was ejected from Game 2 for a verbal altercation with Bryant following Bryant’s elbow to Artest’s upper chest. Artest was OK with the call in Friday’s game, adding that two of the referees explained why they called it that way. “I don’t think that was a flagrant, maybe a flagrant one,” Bryant said of Artest’s ejection. “That rule is so all over the place, it’s hard to judge. I’m an ’80s baby, so that’s just two shots and let’s go.” Artest had 25 points and Yao Ming added 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Rockets but he was bothered by a lower left leg injury in the final minutes and was limping as he left the court. The Lakers snapped the Rockets’ nine-game home winning streak. Game 4 is Sunday in Houston. The Rockets trailed 50-48 at

halftime, then missed 15 of their first 19 shots in the third quarter. “We had to get stops,” Bryant said. “When they started desperation plays we were not able to get stops. In the third quarter and into the fourth quarter, we started to get stops and it sustained us.” Bryant had a quiet third quarter until the final 3 seconds, when he took an inbounds pass, dribbled away from Artest and swished a straight-on 33-footer at the buzzer to give the Lakers a 74-62 lead. He struck a frozen pose at midcourt after another signature shot, silencing the capacity crowd that booed him every time he touched the ball. “I missed some easy shots at the rim, they just didn’t go down for me,” Bryant said. “I had to pull the string on that 3-pointer.” Early in the fourth quarter, Houston’s Von Wafer jumped into Sasha Vujacic on a 3-point try and hit the floor. Players from both teams rushed over, but Wafer defused a potential confrontation by walking away. Wafer made three free throws to cut Houston’s deficit to 81-71. Artest muscled inside for a layup and Yao dunked to pull the Rockets within 90-84 by the 4-minute mark. Farmar sank a baseline jumper with 3:54 to boost the lead back to eight. Yao missed a baseline shot with 3 minutes left and Bryant beat the shot clock with another 3 with 2:21 left for a 95-84 that virtually put it away. Los Angeles pushed the tempo from the start. Odom dunked an alley-oop pass

Series glance (L.A. Lakers lead series 2-1) May 4: Houston 100, L.A. Lakers 92 May 6: L.A. Lakers 111, Houston 98 Friday: L.A. Lakers 108, Houston 94 Sunday: L.A. Lakers at Houston, 3:30 p.m. Tuesday: Houston at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m. Thursday: L.A. Lakers at Houston, TBA, if necessary Sunday, May 17: Houston at L.A. Lakers, TBA, if necessary

L.A. Lakers Houston L.A. LAKERS Ariza Odom Gasol Farmar Bryant Walton Bynum Brown Vujacic Powell Totals

30 28

20 20

24 14

34 — 108 32 — 94

Min FG FT Reb A PF 31:41 4-7 2-4 0-5 2 5 33:48 7-11 0-0 2-13 0 3 35:44 4-11 5-7 3-6 3 4 32:48 3-7 6-8 2-5 7 0 44:15 11-28 7-8 2-6 3 2 18:44 2-6 1-2 0-1 2 2 12:16 2-2 0-0 1-5 0 3 15:12 2-2 4-4 0-1 0 1 12:32 1-6 0-0 0-1 0 2 3:00 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 240:00 36-82 25-33 10-43 17 22

PTS 13 16 13 12 33 6 4 8 3 0 108

Percentages: FG .439, FT .758. 3-Point Goals: 11-20, .550 (Bryant 4-6, Ariza 3-4, Odom 2-2, Walton 1-2, Vujacic 1-3, Farmar 0-3). Team Rebounds: 7. Team Turnovers: 6 (5 PTS). Blocked Shots: 9 (Bryant 3, Bynum 2, Odom 2, Farmar, Gasol). Turnovers: 6 (Odom 3, Ariza, Brown, Farmar). Steals: 11 (Ariza 4, Bryant 2, Farmar 2, Odom, Vujacic, Walton). Technical Fouls: Walton, 6:03 second.

ERIC GAY / AP

Ron Artest (96) was ejected for the second consecutive game Friday, tossed in the final minute following a flagrant foul on Pau Gasol. from Trevor Ariza 9 seconds into the game and Bryant hit a 3-pointer a minute later to pass Larry Bird and move into sixth place on the alltime postseason scoring list. Los Angeles led 30-28 heading to the second quarter, notable because the team leading after the first

period had won all of Houston’s eight previous playoff games. The first sign of the chippy play that marred Game 2 came midway through the second quarter, when Luke Walton was called for a technical foul for nonchalantly kicking the ball after knocking down Kyle

Lowry. Bryant went 5 for 6 from the field and had 11 points in the first quarter, then missed six of seven shots in the second. The Rockets slowed the pace, got to the free-throw line more and took a 46-43 lead. — The Associated Press

HOUSTON Min FG FT Reb Battier 42:02 2-5 0-0 4-8 Scola 27:03 5-11 0-2 4-12 Yao 39:50 6-14 7-9 6-14 Brooks 27:24 3-8 0-0 0-3 Artest 37:25 10-23 3-4 2-6 Lowry 21:58 3-6 2-3 1-4 Hayes 6:34 0-0 0-0 0-1 Landry 21:11 4-7 2-2 2-6 Wafer 16:33 2-10 4-5 0-2 Totals 240:00 35-84 18-25 19-56

A 7 0 2 1 1 4 1 0 0 16

PF 2 3 1 5 4 3 1 1 2 22

PTS 6 10 19 7 25 8 0 10 9 94

Percentages: FG .417, FT .720. 3-Point Goals: 6-19, .316 (Battier 2-5, Artest 2-8, Brooks 1-2, Wafer 1-4). Team Rebounds: 4. Team Turnovers: 17 (20 PTS). Blocked Shots: 3 (Yao 2, Artest). Turnovers: 17 (Artest 4, Brooks 3, Yao 3, Scola 3, Wafer 2, Battier, Hayes). Steals: 2 (Battier, Yao). Technical Fouls: None. Flagrant Fouls: Artest, 0:43.6 fourth. A: 18,495 (18,043). T: 2:35. Officials: Steve Javie, Sean Corbin, Ron Garretson.

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SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS Series glance Orlando 117, Boston 96

(Orlando leads 2-1)

Howard ensures that Alston is not missed ORLANDO—Into the stands. Off the backboard or in another player’s face, Dwight Howard sent Boston Celtics’ shots everywhere. Howard had 17 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks to lift the Orlando Magic to a 117-96 victory over the Celtics on Friday night and a 2-1 series lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal. “Just the whole team stepped up the defensive intensity,” said Howard, the NBA’s defensive player of the year. “It starts with me. I have to do that every night if we want to be successful.” Rashard Lewis had 28 points, and Hedo Turkoglu scored 24 for Orlando, which played without starting point guard Rafer Alston. He was suspended by the NBA for slapping Eddie House in the back of the head in Game 2. Paul Pierce broke out of his series slump to score 27 points, and Rajon Rondo added 15 for the defending champion Celtics, who trimmed a 20-point deficit to seven before the Magic regained control. “You give them their inside game and their outside game, then you don’t have a chance,” Pierce said. Game 4 is Sunday in Orlando, and Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said he won’t spend time enjoying his team’s latest win. “This is not the time of year to celebrate a win in the playoffs, especially against a team like Boston,” Van Gundy said. “It’s basically like being at halftime with a one-point

lead.” It was the second time this postseason the Magic won with a starter suspended. Howard lost his cool and threw an elbow at Samuel Dalembert’s head to draw a suspension for Game 6 of their first-round series against Philadelphia—but Orlando still managed to get a blowout win and eliminate the 76ers. Anthony Johnson had 13 points in place of Alston. “I can’t explain that,” Van Gundy said about winning shorthanded. But this time, it was the Magic’s big man who made sure a teammate wasn’t missed. Howard had four blocks in the first half, forcing the Celtics into a jump-shooting team much like the Magic did to win Game 1. On the first play of the second quarter, Howard soared so high he had to brace his left hand against the backboard so he wouldn’t smack his head, swatting Stephon Marbury’s layup attempt into the stands. It was no different on offense. Howard sprinted down the middle of the lane to take a pass zipped from the wing by J.J. Redick, gripping the ball with two hands for a thunderous dunk that gave Orlando a 43-31 lead. The Magic eventually would go ahead by 14 points in the period. “Our defense was awful. They made every shot,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “I thought they were the aggressors and we were the

retaliators all night.” The Magic took a 20-point lead early in the third quarter before Howard picked up his fourth foul, and the Celtics ended the period on a 12-2 run capped by a breakaway dunk by Rondo. The Celtics trimmed the deficit to seven in the fourth, and just when it appeared they would complete the comeback, center Kendrick Perkins lost his cool. Perkins was called for a flagrant one foul with 10:15 remaining for an elbow on Mickael Pietrus. Replays showed Perkins’ elbow hit Pietrus in the chin while the two were battling for position away from the ball, the kind of play the NBA has been reviewing—and sometimes giving out suspensions—in a postseason that’s only becoming more physical. Rivers reiterated that he doesn’t believe in postseason suspensions and that players should serve their penalty in the following regular season. Van Gundy agreed. “I understand what the NBA is trying to do and trying to prevent, and I respect that,” Van Gundy said. “But it is getting to the point now that every time somebody gets hit somebody has to get up there lobbying trying to get a guy suspended.” Orlando’s Courtney Lee returned for the Magic with a protective mask after missing the first two games of the series recovering from a fractured sinus. — The Associated Press

May 4: Orlando 95, Boston 90 May 6: Boston 112, Orlando 94 Friday: Orlando 117, Boston 96 Sunday: Boston at Orlando, 8 p.m., TNT Tuesday: Orlando at Boston, 8 p.m., TNT Thursday: Boston at Orlando, TBA, if necessary Sunday, May 17: Orlando at Boston, TBA, if necessary

Boston Orlando

18 22

BOSTON Min FG FT Pierce 38:14 6-15 14-14 Davis 28:25 2-6 3-4 Perkins 28:32 5-8 0-0 RAllen 32:41 3-13 2-2 Rondo 34:19 7-17 1-3 Scalabrine 24:36 2-5 0-0 Marbury 14:58 1-4 0-0 House 20:32 6-7 0-0 Moore 6:15 1-1 0-0 Pruitt 3:50 0-1 0-0 TAllen 3:50 1-1 1-1 Walker 3:50 0-1 2-2 Totals 240:02 34-79 23-26

23 31

28 25 Reb 0-3 1-3 3-7 1-5 1-5 0-3 0-0 0-1 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-0 6-29

27 — 96 39 — 117 A 6 1 0 4 6 1 3 1 1 1 0 0 24

PF 2 5 5 1 3 5 3 2 1 0 1 1 29

PTS 27 7 10 8 15 5 2 15 2 0 3 2 96

Percentages: FG .430, FT .885. 3-Point Goals: 5-18, .278 (House 3-4, Pierce 1-3, Scalabrine 1-3, Marbury 0-1, Perkins 0-1, Rondo 0-1, R.Allen 0-5). Team Rebounds: 8. Team Turnovers: 15 (25 PTS). Blocked Shots: 1 (Davis). Turnovers: 14 (Perkins 3, R.Allen 2, Marbury 2, Pierce 2, Davis, Pruitt, Rondo, Scalabrine, Walker). Steals: 11 (Pierce 3, Rondo 3, Davis 2, House, Moore, Walker). Technical Fouls: House, 10:15 fourth. Flagrant Fouls: Perkins, 10:15 fourth. ORLANDO Min FG FT Turkoglu 33:46 8-12 6-7 Lewis 40:47 9-17 7-8 Howard 27:32 7-8 3-6 Redick 27:27 1-5 2-2 Johnson 27:54 5-7 2-2 Lee 32:25 3-4 4-4 Battie 3:50 0-2 0-0 Pietrus 18:58 2-6 3-4 Gortat 20:28 2-2 3-3 Lue 3:51 2-2 0-0 Foyle 3:02 0-1 0-0 Totals 240:00 39-66 30-36

Reb 0-2 0-6 2-14 0-3 1-3 0-4 0-0 0-0 0-3 0-0 0-1 3-36

A 4 3 0 2 3 3 0 0 1 0 0 16

PF 5 0 5 2 4 3 0 1 4 0 1 25

PTS 24 28 17 5 13 11 0 7 7 5 0 117

Percentages: FG .591, FT .833. 3-Point Goals: 9-18, .500 (Lewis 3-7, Turkoglu 2-3, Johnson 1-1, Lee 1-1, Lue 1-1, Redick 1-2, Pietrus 0-3). Team Rebounds: 8. Team Turnovers: 19 (16 PTS). Blocked Shots: 5 (Howard 5). Turnovers: 17 (Lewis 4, Howard 3, Johnson 2, Lee 2, Redick 2, Foyle, Gortat, Pietrus, Turkoglu). Steals: 11 (Howard 2, Johnson 2, Pietrus 2, Redick 2, Lee, Lewis, Turkoglu). Technical Fouls: Turkoglu, 10:15 fourth. PHELAN M. EBENHACK / AP

Dwight Howard, right, had 4 of his 5 blocks in the first half, including this one of Paul Pierce.

A: 17,461 (17,461). T: 2:38. Officials: Scott Foster, Joe DeRosa, Leon Wood.

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WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

Nuggets understand importance of Game 3

SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

14

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

Series glance (Denver leads series 2-0) May 3: Denver 109, Dallas 95 May 5: Denver 117, Dallas 105 Today: Denver at Dallas, 5 p.m., ESPN Monday: Denver at Dallas, 9:30 p.m., TNT Wednesday: Dallas at Denver, TBA, if necessary Friday: Denver at Dallas, TBA, if necessary Sunday, May 17: Dallas at Denver, TBA, if necessary

TONY DEJAK / AP

Zaza Pachulia, center, would be forced into the Hawks’ starting lineup again if Al Horford (sprained ankle) is unable to play.

JACK DEMPSEY / AP

Carmelo Anthony, left, and the Nuggets lost Game 3 in the quarterfinals to the Hornets. DALLAS—In their romp through the playoffs thus far, the Denver Nuggets have made only one mistake: blowing Game 3 of their firstround series. Up 2-0 on the Hornets, and playing in New Orleans, the Nuggets jumped way ahead in the opening minutes—then wound up losing. They bounced back in a big way the next game and haven’t lost since. Today, Denver gets another Game 3 on the road, again while up 2-0. This time it’s against the Dallas Mavericks. Have the Nuggets learned their lesson? Do they now understand the difference between a playoff road game and a regular-season road game? Denver coach George Karl is eager to find out. “Game 3 always has a sort of

home-court intensity that big-time pros know how to take advantage of, and I think Dallas is made up of big-time pros,” Karl said. “They’re going to have a home-court energy that’s going to be more than New Orleans was. It’s going to be hotter. It’s going to be a hot building where we’re going to have to keep 48 minutes of composure and focus and make sure we stay on track and on point to how to win the game.” The Nuggets haven’t had many problems with the Mavericks so far, using their size and strength to bully their way to the basket seemingly at will. Both games have featured stretches when everything came easy for Denver and nothing was easy for Dallas. Yet the Mavericks haven’t been total bystanders. In both games, they led early and got close with

about a quarter left. The difference has been Denver pulling away and Dallas unable to stop it. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle and staff have had three days to come up with some new strategies and some backups in case those don’t work. There’s also been time for Josh Howard to rest his ailing ankles. And there’s the comfort of being home, where Dallas is 17-1 since mid-February. “Coming home is something that can help you, but it doesn’t guarantee anything,” Carlisle said Friday. “Our whole game’s got to get better. There are a lot of things we can do in the first three quarters that will help us be in better shape going into the fourth.” Dirk Nowitzki is always Dallas’ main man, but perhaps especially so today. He’s spent the days since Game 2 dealing with the arrest of a woman who was living at his house and the fallout from it, including constant media attention. Having a game to play should be a great release, and fans are likely to show him plenty of support. “Watching him prepare the last two days, he looks like he’s focused, ready to go,” guard Jason Terry said. — The Associated Press

Hawks hurting, but won’t just roll over ATLANTA—If this was a heavyweight fight, the referee might have already stepped in to stop it. LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are on a record roll and throwing nothing but haymakers. The Atlanta Hawks are all banged up and on the ropes. Of course, it takes four wins to advance in the NBA playoffs, so the Cavaliers’ work is only half done. But it’s hard to see any way the team with the league’s MVP and the league’s best record could possibly let this one slip away. The Cavs took Game 1 by 27 points. Game 2 was a 20-point blowout (and not really that close). Compounding Atlanta’s problems: Three starters—leading scorer Joe Johnson, center Al Horford and forward Marvin Williams—are hurting. Horford (sprained ankle) and Williams (sprained wrist) sat out Game 2, while Johnson twisted his right ankle after the contest already had gotten out of hand and left the arena in a walking boot. They’re all questionable for Game 3 tonight. Even if they play, none will be at full strength.

“It’s a little frustrating not to have a full deck,” Hawks coach Mike Woodson said after practice Friday. “No one wants to go through a playoff series all beat up. We’ve got some key guys on the sideline.” Horford and Williams took part in the off-day practice at Philips Arena, though it really was more of a walkthrough. Johnson stayed in the back, getting treatment. “Injuries happen. They’re part of the game,” said Zaza Pachulia, who would start at center if Horford can’t go. “Unfortunately, it’s happened to us in the playoffs. That’s not a good time. But we’re still going to have five guys on the court.” Don’t expect any sympathy from the Cavaliers, who have won all six of their playoff games by double figures—matching the record streak set by the 2004 Indiana Pacers. “I’ve seen a lot of teams come up with some big-time efforts when starters are out,” Wally Szczerbiak said. “Look at the playoffs this year. Dwight Howard was out and the Magic won Game 6 on the road in Philly to close out that series. So we’ve got to be ready for their guys to

Series glance (Cleveland leads series 2-0) May 5: Cleveland 99, Atlanta 72 May 7: Cleveland 105, Atlanta 85 Today: Cleveland at Atlanta, 8 p.m., ABC Monday: Cleveland at Atlanta, 7 p.m., TNT Wednesday: Atlanta at Cleveland, 8 p.m., if necessary Friday: Cleveland at Atlanta, TBA, if necessary Monday, May 18: Atlanta at Cleveland, 8 p.m., if necessary

step up. There are professional basketball players in this league who are hungry and ready to play. We have to go out and do our jobs and continue to play the way we have, no matter who is out there for them.” The Hawks can look back to last year’s playoffs in their search for inspiration. Atlanta was blown out in its first two games of its opening-round series against Boston, but fought back to force the series to seven games before losing. — The Associated Press

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Playoff glance

INSIDE DISH

LeBron: ‘I’m comfortable with being in Cleveland’ There has been plenty of speculation about what Cavs SF LeBron James will do in 2010, when he can become a free agent. Many Knicks fans might assume he won’t be able to turn down the bright lights of New York, but his comments on an upcoming segment on ESPN’s Outside the Lines, which airs Sunday, make it appear as though he’ll be happy to stay at home with the Cavs. According to the Akron Beacon Journal, which received an advanced copy of the episode, James said, ‘’I’m comfortable with being in Cleveland. I’m excited about it. ‘I’m loving the direction we’re (going) in and I’m loving the teammates I have and the organization. So if that’s any indication of me leaving, then somebody must be looking out the wrong box.’’

Kobe Bryant and his wife have been ordered to pay unemployment benefits to their former housekeeper who is suing them for harassing and humiliating her. The California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board has ruled the Los Angeles Lakers star and his wife must pay $326 a week in unemployment benefits to Maria Jimenez. The ruling affirms a decision by an administrative law judge who found that Jimenez testified credibly that she was forced to quit because she was “demeaned and humiliated” by her employer. 76ers general manager Ed Stefanski will meet with coach Tony DiLeo by early next week to discuss DiLeo’s future with the team, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Stefanski said he has not yet decided

Today’s games All Times ET CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (Best-of-7) Denver at Dallas, 5 p.m., ESPN Cleveland at Atlanta, 8 p.m., ABC

Betting line Today FAVORITE ..........LINE ............ O/U .....UNDERDOG at Dallas ...................... 4................(209½)..........Denver Cleveland .................... 8................(180) .........at Atlanta

TONY DEJAK / AP

LeBron James will be a coveted free agent in the summer of 2010, but says he likes the direction the Cavs are headed. whether DiLeo will remain as coach or return to the Sixers’ front office, where he served from 1990 until Dec. 13, 2008, when Stefanski promoted him to head coach to replace the fired Maurice Cheeks. DiLeo went 32-27 as the Sixers’ coach after the team started the season 9-14. The Sixers lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Magic in six games. After the final loss, DiLeo didn’t get a ringing endorsement from the players. C Theo Ratliff said the season-ending defeat was the result of “soft” coaching. G/F Andre Iguodala said the team had “inner turmoil”

and “mental lapses.” The Suns have been in negotiations with coach Alvin Gentry to remove the interim tag from his title, and a deal could be done by this weekend, The Arizona Republic reported. “It’s all going well,” general manager Steve Kerr said about the negotiations. “We’ve had productive conversations the last couple days. Hopefully, we’ll get something done. We’ve got the ball rolling. We just have to keep the discussion going and hopefully get something done soon.” According

15

to The Republic, the Suns and Gentry are talking about a two-year contract after Phoenix gave Terry Porter, who was fired in February, a threeyear contract a year ago. The Suns still owe Porter about $4.5 million, leaving a smaller money pool for the new coach. With Rick Pitino apparently staying in Louisville, former Kings and Wizards coach Eddie Jordan remains the frontrunner for the head coaching position in Sacramento, according to yahoo.com, with Paul Westphal and Mike Fratello also being candidates.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers isn’t a fan of suspensions in the playoffs— even when it’s someone on the other team being suspended. Magic PG Rafer Alston was suspended for Friday night’s Game 3 after slapping Celtics G Eddie House on the back of the head on Wednesday, but Rivers said he doesn’t “believe in suspensions,” according to the Boston Herald. “I know that sounds lax, but I really don’t like guys getting suspended in the playoffs,” Rivers said. “… The league would never go along with it, but a suspension does affect the series at times, (like) Dwight Howard in the first round. It just changes the game.” Wizards F Antawn Jamison had a bone spur removed from his right ankle at a New York hospital Thursday, The Washington Post reported. He is expected to make a full recovery.

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (Best-of-7), All times ET EASTERN CONFERENCE (Cleveland leads series 2-0) Cleveland vs. Atlanta May 5: Cleveland 99, Atlanta 72 May 7: Cleveland 105, Atlanta 85 Today: Cleveland at Atlanta, 8 p.m. Monday: Cleveland at Atlanta, 7 p.m. Wednesday: Atlanta at Cleveland, TBA, if necessary Friday, May 15: Cleveland at Atlanta, TBA, if necessary Monday, May 18: Atlanta at Cleveland, 8 p.m., if necessary Boston vs. Orlando (Orlando lead series 2-1) May 4: Orlando 95, Boston 90 May 6: Boston 112, Orlando 94 Friday: Orlando 117, Boston 96 Sunday: Boston at Orlando, 8 p.m. Tuesday: Orlando at Boston, TBA, if necessary Thursday: Boston at Orlando, TBA, if necessary Sunday, May 17: Orlando at Boston, TBA, if necessary WESTERN CONFERENCE L.A. Lakers vs. Houston (L.A. Lakers lead series 2-1) May 4: Houston 100, L.A. Lakers 92 May 6: L.A. Lakers 111, Houston 98 Friday: L.A. Lakers 108, Houston 94 Sunday: L.A. Lakers at Houston, 3:30 p.m. Tuesday: Houston at L.A. Lakers, TBA, if necessary Thursday: L.A. Lakers at Houston, TBA, if necessary Sunday, May 17: Houston at L.A. Lakers, TBA, if necessary Denver vs. Dallas (Denver leads series 2-0) May 3: Denver 109, Dallas 95 May 5: Denver 117, Dallas 105 Today: Denver at Dallas, 5 p.m. Monday: Denver at Dallas, 9:30 p.m. Wednesday: Dallas at Denver, TBA, if necessary Friday, May 15: Denver at Dallas, TBA, if necessary Sunday, May 17: Dallas at Denver, TBA, if necessary

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In a rare display of vulnerability, Yankees P Mariano Rivera surrendered two ninth-inning homers in Thursday’s loss. They were the third and fourth long balls the closer allowed this season, matching his season totals from 2007 and 2008, and the first time he had ever allowed back-to-back HRs. Since moving into the bullpen full-time in 1996, Rivera never has allowed more than five homers in a season. After Thursday’s game, Rivera admitted to Newsday that his surgically repaired shoulder isn’t 100 percent. And manager Joe Girardi admitted Rivera was rested for five games last week because of shoulder soreness. Rivera, however, refused to use his shoulder as an excuse.

San Diego State righthander Stephen Strasburg, the possible No. 1 overall draft pick next month, threw a no-hitter in a 5-0 victory

16

THE LAUNCHING PAD

Yankees admit Rivera not at 100 percent

Already shorthanded at catcher after placing Jorge Posada (hamstring) on the 15-day disabled list earlier in the week, the Yankees have to dig even deeper into their catching depth. On Friday, New York put C Jose Molina on the disabled because of a Grade 2 strain of his left quadriceps, according to the New York Post. They called up C Kevin Cash from Class AAA. P Steven Jackson was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster. Also, according to The Journal News of New York, P Ian Kennedy has an aneurysm under his armpit that has caused numbness in his fingers. He will have surgery Tuesday. There is no timetable for his return, the newspaper reported.

SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

What to expect in the major leagues today

disabled list this week. Manuel added that Perez, who is 1-2 with a 9.97 ERA in five starts this season, will make at least one rehab start before rejoining the Mets’ active roster. A day after leaving his start because of discomfort in his surgically repaired shoulder, Marlins P Anibal Sanchez was placed on the 15-day disabled list Friday with what was called a sprain. In need of depth after injuries to Mark Ellis, Eric Chavez and Nomar Garciaparra, the A’s acquired IF Adam Kennedy from the Rays for a player to be named. Kennedy was released by St. Louis in spring training.

BILL KOSTROUN / AP

Since moving to the bullpen in 1996, Mariano Rivera has not allowed more than five HRs in a season. over Air Force on Friday night. Strasburg (11-0) struck out 17 and walked two in another dominant outing. When can we expect to see P David Price in the Rays’ rotation? Probably not in the near future. The St. Petersburg Times noted Price was roughed up again Thursday at Class AAA, allowing four earned runs on five walks and six hits in four innings. Price is 1-4 with a 4.74 ERA and hasn’t made it past the fourth inning in four of his six starts, though he is on a 75-pitch limit. The Boston Globe cited a report in the Lynn Item that noted Red Sox P

John Smoltz visited Dr. James Andrews in April in order to get some peace of mind about his surgically repaired right shoulder. Smoltz experienced a setback in his rehab around that time, prompting the visit. Ryan Freel, who expressed unhappiness with his lack of playing time, was traded by the Orioles to the Cubs for OF Joey Gathright. Obtained in a December trade with Cincinnati, Freel hit .133 in nine games with Baltimore. Mets manager Jerry Manuel told the New York Daily News that he was unaware of the knee tendinitis that landed P Oliver Perez on the

Commenting on his outburst during Wednesday’s game, Angels P Justin Speier told the Los Angeles Times that he let his frustration get the best of him. After allowing a homer to Blue Jays 3B Scott Rolen, Speier hit Blue Jays C Rod Barajas with a pitch and was warned by the home plate umpire. Angels manager Mike Scioscia came out to object to that warning and was ejected. At that point, several Angels coaches tried to restrain Speier as he tried to get to the home plate umpire. During that time, Speier argued with the coaches. As a result, Scioscia and Speier had a closed-door meeting. Though he continues to battle a sore neck, Cubs 1B Derrek Lee won’t be placed on the 15-day disabled list, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. In fact, manager Lou Piniella expected Lee to be available this weekend.

JEFF CHIU / AP

Eric Stults, making his third start against the Giants today, has split the first two.

Baltimore bashing The Yankees welcomed third baseman Alex Rodriguez back with open arms Friday in Baltimore. That’s partially because the hot corner has been anything but hot for New York this season. During A-Rod’s 28-game absence, Yankees third basemen combined to hit .198 with no homers and 10 RBIs. The Orioles were one of Rodriguez’s favorite opponents last season, as he hit .306 with five homers and 10 RBIs in 18 games against them. The five homers were tied for the most he had against any team. Even better news for A-Rod and the Yankees: Baltimore’s Adam Eaton, tonight’s starter, has a 7.18 ERA this season.

Life without Manny Not only did the Dodgers lose their offensive star Thursday, they also lost their first home game of the season after 13 consecutive wins. And now the rival Giants are in town for the weekend. Although Ramirez hit .381 (8-for-21) against the Giants in the six games he played against them this season, he had no homers and only one RBI. And Los Angeles still won four of those six matchups, so don’t expect this team to collapse. This afternoon, Dodgers lefthander Eric Stults will make this third start of the season against San Francisco. Stults beat the Giants at Dodger Stadium but was pounded by them at AT&T Park.

Dempster dominance After finishing first and second, respectively, in the N.L. Central last season, the Cubs and Brewers both are looking up at the Cardinals this season. In a scheduling quirk, Chicago and Milwaukee don’t play at Wrigley Field until July 2, but they continue their second series at Miller Park tonight. The Cubs certainly will have the right man on the mound. Righthander Ryan Dempster was 4-0 with a 2.40 ERA in five starts against the Brewers last season, and he already has a win against them this season.

— Chris Bahr

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Fantasy Focus

SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

LEAGUE LEADERS Batting Average

Hitter rankings A.L.

Player Youkilis VMartinez MiCabrera Longoria AHill Bartlett Callaspo

Player Beltran Votto Helton MRamirez Pujols Ibanez Zimmerman

.393 .390 .385 .362 .357 .355 .344

A.L.

Team New York Cincinnati Colorado Los Angeles St. Louis Philadelphia Washington

.377 .370 .351 .348 .343 .340 .339

Player CPena Longoria Bay Granderson Kinsler Four tied

N.L.

Team Tampa Bay Tampa Bay Boston Detroit Texas

CHRIS CARLSON / AP

Dodgers OF Juan Pierre Several outfielders are profiting from a teammate’s misfortunes and, thanks to increased playing time, moving up (or into) the latest set of hitter rankings. Juan Pierre, OF, Dodgers. Pierre stands to benefit the most from Manny Ramirez’s 50-game suspension. He’ll get the majority of playing time in left field while Ramirez sits until July 3. Pierre should be a great source of runs and steals. Josh Anderson, OF, Tigers. Carlos Guillen (shoulder) is on the disabled list, meaning Anderson should have an open spot in left field and a shot at everyday at-bats. Give Anderson a shot if you miss out on Pierre. Colby Rasmus, OF, Cardinals. With Rick Ankiel (shoulder) on the disabled list, Rasmus figures to get more consistent playing time in a typically unstable Cardinals outfield. Ankiel’s absence also means regular at-bats for Chris Duncan and Ryan Ludwick. — Brad Pinkerton

MORE COVERAGE Get everything you need to dominate your fantasy league at: at sportingnews.com/fantasy/baseball

Player Markakis Scutaro AdJones Pedroia Bay AHill Three tied

Player Pujols ASoriano Hart Hudson Werth Victorino Two tied

31 31 30 28 27 25 24

A.L.

Team St. Louis Chicago Milwaukee Los Angeles Philadelphia Philadelphia

29 27 25 25 25 24 23

Player Crawford Ellsbury Abreu Figgins Kinsler Three tied

Player Longoria Bay CPena Lind Markakis AHill Kinsler

Player Pujols Cantu Ethier BMolina Braun Three tied

39 32 30 29 29 28 27

A.L.

Team St. Louis Florida Los Angeles San Francisco Milwaukee

32 31 27 27 26 24

Player Greinke Buehrle Frasor ABailey Bannister Palmer

Player Longoria Callaspo Polanco Byrd MYoung Three tied

Player FSanchez Kotchman Zimmerman MCameron Hudson Tejada Votto

14 13 13 12 12 11

6-0 5-0 4-0 3-0 3-0 3-0

Player Crisp Seven tied

A.L.

Team Pittsburgh Atlanta Washington Milwaukee Los Angeles Houston Cincinnati

13 11 11 10 10 10 10

4 2

Team New York Washington San Diego Philadelphia Milwaukee Pittsburgh

4-0 4-0 4-0 3-0 3-0 3-0

1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

Player Verlander Greinke FHernandez Halladay Lester Bedard Meche

Team Detroit Kansas City Seattle Toronto Boston Seattle Kansas City

Player Santana Peavy Haren Lincecum JVazquez Billingsley Harden

56 54 45 44 43 39 37

Player Bourn Kemp Victorino 15 tied

A.L.

Team Houston Los Angeles Philadelphia

3 3 3 2

Player FFrancisco Fuentes Soria Papelbon Jenks Rodney Five tied

Team New York San Diego Arizona San Francisco Atlanta Los Angeles Chicago

9 8 7 7 6 6 5

Cordero Franklin FrRodriguez Broxton Bell BWilson Qualls

W 19 20 14 14 12

L 11 12 15 17 18

Pct .633 .625 .483 .452 .400

GB WCGB L10 — — 6-4 — — 5-5 4½ 4½ 5-5 5½ 5½ 6-4 7 7 3-7

Str W-2 L-2 W-1 L-1 L-1

Home Away 12-3 7-8 11-4 9-8 6-7 8-8 6-7 8-10 9-9 3-9

Central Kansas City Detroit Minnesota Chicago Cleveland

W 18 15 14 13 11

L 12 13 16 15 19

Pct .600 .536 .467 .464 .367

GB WCGB L10 — — 8-2 2 3 5-5 4 5 5-5 4 5 4-6 7 8 4-6

Str L-1 W-1 W-1 L-1 L-2

Home Away 11-6 7-6 8-5 7-8 10-8 4-8 7-7 6-8 5-8 6-11

West Texas Seattle Los Angeles Oakland

W 16 15 14 11

L 13 15 14 16

Pct .552 .500 .500 .407

GB WCGB L10 — — 7-3 1½ 4 3-7 1½ 4 7-3 4 6½ 4-6

Str W-1 L-5 W-2 W-2

Home Away 8-6 8-7 7-7 8-8 8-7 6-7 6-8 5-8

National League Standings East Philadelphia New York Florida Atlanta Washington

W 15 15 16 13 9

L 12 13 14 16 18

Pct .556 .536 .533 .448 .333

GB WCGB L10 — — 6-4 ½ 1 7-3 ½ 1 4-6 3 3½ 4-6 6 6½ 5-5

Str W-1 W-5 W-1 L-1 W-2

Home Away 7-8 8-4 9-6 6-7 6-7 10-7 5-9 8-7 5-7 4-11

Central St. Louis Milwaukee Chicago Cincinnati Houston Pittsburgh

W 19 17 16 16 12 12

L 11 13 13 13 17 17

Pct .633 .567 .552 .552 .414 .414

GB WCGB L10 — — 5-5 2 — 7-3 2½ ½ 6-4 2½ ½ 6-4 6½ 4½ 5-5 6½ 4½ 1-9

Str L-1 W-1 L-1 W-2 W-1 L-6

Home Away 12-5 7-6 8-6 9-7 8-6 8-7 6-8 10-5 6-10 6-7 7-7 5-10

West W Los Angeles 21 San Francisco 15 San Diego 13 Arizona 12 Colorado 11 z-first game was a win

L 10 13 17 18 17

Pct .677 .536 .433 .400 .393

GB WCGB L10 — — 7-3 4½ 1 6-4 7½ 4 2-8 8½ 5 4-6 8½ 5 4-6

Str L-2 W-2 L-1 L-2 L-2

Home Away 13-2 8-8 10-4 5-9 8-6 5-11 8-11 4-7 5-7 6-10

54 52 51 50 50 47 41

American League Tampa Bay (Kazmir 3-3) at Boston (Lester 2-2), 3:40 p.m. Toronto (Tallet 1-1) at Oakland (Gallagher 1-0), 4:05 p.m. Texas (Millwood 3-2) at Chicago White Sox (Danks 2-2), 7:05 p.m. Detroit (E.Jackson 1-2) at Cleveland (Carmona 1-3), 7:05 p.m. N.Y. Yankees (Hughes 1-1) at Baltimore (Eaton 1-3), 7:05 p.m. Seattle (F.Hernandez 4-1) at Minnesota (Liriano 1-4), 7:10 p.m. Kansas City (Greinke 6-0) at L.A. Angels (Saunders 4-1), 9:05 p.m

The Line at Bos -140 TB +130 at Oak -110 Tor +100 at Chi -145 Tex +135 at Clev -130 Det +120 NY -145 at Bal +135 at Min -110 Sea +100 KC -110 at LA +100

9 9 9 8 8 7 7.

National League Pittsburgh (Maholm 3-0) at N.Y. Mets (Maine 2-2), 1:10 p.m. San Francisco (J.Sanchez 1-2) at L.A. Dodgers (Stults 3-1), 3:40 p.m. Atlanta (J.Vazquez 2-3) at Philadelphia (Blanton 1-2), 3:40 p.m. San Diego (Correia 0-2) at Houston (Moehler 0-2), 7:05 p.m. Chicago Cubs (Dempster 2-1) at Milwaukee (Gallardo 3-1), 7:05 p.m. St. Louis (Lohse 3-1) at Cincinnati (Harang 2-3), 7:10 p.m. Florida (Jo.Johnson 2-0) at Colorado (De La Rosa 0-2), 8:10 p.m. Washington (Lannan 1-3) at Arizona (D.Davis 2-4), 8:10 p.m.

The Line at NY -190 Pitt +180 at LA -170 SF +160 at Phi -115 Atl +105 at Hou -130 SD +120 at Mil -130 Chi +120 at Cin -115 STL +105 at Col -105 Flo -105 at Ari -130 Was +120

N.L.

Team Texas Los Angeles Kansas City Boston Chicago Detroit

East Boston Toronto New York Tampa Bay Baltimore

Pitching Matchups Today’s Games (All times Eastern)

N.L.

Saves N.L.

Team Kansas City

Player Pelfrey Martis Meredith Condrey DiFelice Maholm

1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

Triples A.L.

9 8 8 8 8 7 7

Strikeouts

N.L.

Team Tampa Bay Kansas City Detroit Texas Texas

Team Colorado Houston San Francisco Pittsburgh New York Los Angeles Chicago

N.L.

Team Kansas City Chicago Toronto Oakland Kansas City Los Angeles

Doubles A.L.

Player Fowler Bourn Burriss Morgan JosReyes Kemp Theriot

21 15 12 12 8 7

Pitching (3 decisions) N.L.

Team Tampa Bay Boston Tampa Bay Toronto Baltimore Toronto Texas

11 9 9 9 8

N.L.

Team Tampa Bay Boston Los Angeles Los Angeles Texas

RBIs A.L.

Team St. Louis San Diego Chicago Philadelphia

Stolen Bases N.L.

Team Baltimore Toronto Baltimore Boston Boston Toronto

Player Pujols AdGonzalez ASoriano Utley Four tied

13 10 9 9 9 8

Runs A.L.

American League Standings

Home Runs

N.L.

Team Boston Cleveland Detroit Tampa Bay Toronto Tampa Bay Kansas City

17

Cincinnati St. Louis New York Los Angeles San Diego San Francisco Arizona

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

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SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

18

AMERICAN LEAGUE N.Y. Yankees 4, Baltimore 0

A-Rod returns with a bang BALTIMORE—Alex Rodriguez walked to the plate, and a dozen fans behind the screen swung into action. Holding up giant, foam syringes, they started with the taunts. Rodriguez answered them, all right. Back in the big leagues, the Yankees star launched the first pitch he saw deep into the left-field seats for a three-run homer Friday night. “One swing, and the rest was easy,” Rodriguez said. That might have hushed his tormentors—for a moment. But baseball figures to face a much tougher time silencing the boos, jeers and doubts stirred up by Manny Ramirez and sport’s latest scandal from the Steroids Era. A day after the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger was suspended 50 games for using a banned drug, A-Rod returned to the scene. Off the disabled list from hip surgery, he played in the majors for the first time since admitting in February that he used steroids when he was a member of the Texas Rangers from 2001-03. As he walked on the grass before the game, a fitting song played over the sound system at Camden Yards: Circus, by Britney Spears. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my career. They’ve been well-documented. I’ve paid

the price,” Rodriguez said before New York’s 4-0 win over Baltimore. “I have nine years to make a difference, to become a better baseball player and a better person,” he said. “I think I have time to have a happy ending.” But what about the game itself? The rocky relay from Ramirez to Rodriguez made for yet another stain on the sport and left the pair, sharing huge salaries and megatalent, chasing the same impossible dream: To just play ball. Yet like their many home runs, their errors off the field will stay on the board. And no doubt, as Rodriguez circled the bases to a mix of cheers and boos with his 554th home run, many fans wondered how many of them should really count because of performance enhancers. “It’s heat on baseball. It’s horrible for baseball,” Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon said. “Now you look at all the superstars who got busted— or allegedly. This era is definitely tarnished.” Ramirez, meanwhile, remained in seclusion, a day after the Dodgers played for the first time without their dreadlocked star and saw their record home winning streak come to an end. Although fans and players

had plenty to say, Ramirez offered little explanation, simply apologizing for “the whole situation” and leaving Dodgers manager Joe Torre to plead his star’s case, saying Ramirez felt he was a disappointment. Rodriguez never said the word “steroids” during a pregame news conference. He also said he would not answer any questions related to the newly released book about him by Selena Roberts. Pressed as to whether he used performance-enhancing drugs in high school, as the book suggests, he said, “The answer is no.” Rodriguez was the last player to join the team for stretching. The All-Star third baseman drew mostly cheers from the 100 or so Yankees fans lining the dugout and did not acknowledge the crowd. There was a mix of boos and applause when he was announced in the starting lineup. “It seems like I’m always in this situation,” he said. “I know I have an opportunity to make things right, to make my daughter proud.” Among those watching him was Brad Reese, who brought his 6-year-old son and 2-yearold daughter from central Pennsylvania. Dressed in Yankees garb, they sat five rows off the field, even with third base.

“I don’t think anybody really cares whether he used steroids or not,” Reese said. “That’s a player’s choice, and he’ll have to deal with the consequences later. I think he kind of got a bad deal.” Rodriguez rejoined a wobbly team and helped the Yankees end a five-game losing streak. He had a sudden impact, showing no ill effects from his repaired right hip when he homered in the first inning off Jeremy Guthrie— New York had not gotten a single home run from its third basemen in its first 28 games this season. Several fans chanted, “Let’s go, steroids!” later in the inning. One man wore a jersey with A-Rod’s No. 13 and an asterisk, and a fan in the upper deck held a sign that simply said, “Cheater.” Rodriguez struck out swinging in his next two atbats and grounded out, and was flawless in the field. Wherever he went, the fans marked him. The first time he walked onto the field for warmups, a man with a big neck and even bigger mouth began razzing from behind the dugout. Yankees teammate Nick Swisher heard it, turned around and put his index finger to his lips. “Shhhh!” — The Associated Press

ROB CARR / AP

On his first swing of the 2009 season, Alex Rodriguez slammed his 554th career homer.

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Baseball

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SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

AMERICAN LEAGUE N.Y. Yankees 4, Baltimore 0

Sabathia silences O’s, ends five-game slide BALTIMORE—Amid all the chatter about his steroid use, hip injury, Madonna and big-money contract, one thing about Alex Rodriguez is indisputable: his ability to play the game of baseball at the absolute highest level. Rodriguez trumpeted his return to the Yankees by hitting a three-run homer on the first pitch of his late-starting season, CC Sabathia pitched a four-hitter and New York ended a five-game losing streak by defeating the Baltimore Orioles 4-0 Friday night. “It was awesome,” Rodriguez said. “It was just nice to get to the ballpark, give the guys a hug and do what I do best.” Tormented by stories of involvement with steroids and slowed by hip surgery that forced him to begin the season on the disabled list, Rodriguez finally turned his attention toward playing baseball when he stepped to the plate in the first inning against Jeremy Guthrie (2-3). As a dozen fans waved plastic foam syringes a few rows behind the plate, A-Rod stepped into a fastball and sent it soaring into the left-field seats. It was his 554th career home run, and for sheer theater, it just might have been in the Top 10. “What a hitter. What a player,” Guthrie said. “To come off the DL like that, I throw that fastball on the black inside, and he just takes it for a home run. ... It’s a real

special at-bat for him. He stepped up in the big moment right there, center stage, and does what he does best.” After taking a stroll around the bases, Rodriguez was mobbed in the New York dugout. “I feel like I’m back with my family,” he said. The shot sure came at the right time for the Yankees, whose fivegame skid was their longest under second-year manager Joe Girardi. During that losing streak, New York went 6 for 43 with runners in scoring position. “I think you’re always hoping that every time he comes up he hits a home run. You know, that’s the impact he has,” Girardi said. “Your concern when a guy first comes back is his timing, but he was ready for it.” Rodriguez struck out in the third and fifth innings against Guthrie, then grounded out against Bob McCrory in the seventh to finish 1 for 4. But that one hit was a doozy; while A-Rod was gone, New York third basemen hit a combined .202 with no homers and 10 RBIs over 28 games. Rodriguez’s home run was all the support the Yankees needed for Sabathia (2-3), who stopped a run of four starts without a victory. It was by far his finest performance since signing a $161 million, seven-year contract with New York during the offseason.

Afterward, however, Sabathia spoke with awe about Rodriguez’s return. “He’s the best player in the game, so you kind of expect it out of him,” the lefthander said. “He hadn’t seen a pitch all year and to come up, first pitch, Guthrie’s throwing hard and to go deep— it’s unbelievable, but it’s not surprising.” Sabathia was pretty impressive, too. The husky lefthander allowed singles to the first two batters he faced, then retired 23 of the next 24 batters—the exception a thirdinning walk to Brian Roberts— leading up to the ninth. Cesar Izturis and Roberts opened the ninth with singles before Sabathia got three straight outs to end it. Sabathia struck out eight, walked one and gained a measure of revenge for an opening-day loss to Baltimore, when he gave up six runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings. “Gosh darn, the guy was exceptional,” Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. “One run would have done it for him.” Guthrie also settled down after the first, when he walked Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira before yielding the home run to Rodriguez. Over the next five innings, New York failed to score and got only one runner past second base. — The Associated Press

Yankees 4, Orioles 0 New York AB R Jeter ss 5 0 Damon lf 4 1 Teixeira 1b 3 1 A.Rodriguez 3b 4 1 H.Matsui dh 4 0 Swisher rf 4 0 Cano 2b 4 0 Me.Cabrera cf 4 0 Cervelli c 2 1 Totals 34 4

H 0 1 0 1 1 1 2 2 1 9

BI 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 4

BB 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3

SO 1 0 3 2 1 2 0 0 1 10

Avg. .264 .312 .192 .250 .286 .266 .325 .342 .250

Baltimore B.Roberts 2b Ad.Jones cf Markakis rf Mora 3b Huff 1b Wigginton dh Montanez lf Moeller c C.Izturis ss Totals

H 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4

BI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BB 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

SO 0 2 1 1 1 0 1 2 0 8

Avg. .303 .342 .342 .226 .267 .202 .167 .233 .253

New York Baltimore

AB 3 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 30

R 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

300 000 100 — 000 000 000 —

4 9 0 0 4 0

LOB: New York 7, Baltimore 4. 2B: Damon (6), Swisher (9), Cano (7). HR: A.Rodriguez (1), off Guthrie. RBIs: Damon (20), A.Rodriguez 3 (3). CS: Ad.Jones (2). S: Cervelli. Runners left in scoring position: New York 4 (Damon, Jeter, Me.Cabrera, A.Rodriguez); Baltimore 2 (Mora 2). New York Sabathia W, 2-3 Baltimore Guthrie L, 2-3 McCrory C.Ray

IP 9 IP 6 2 1

H 4 H 7 2 0

R ER BB SO NP ERA 0 0 1 8 112 3.94 R ER BB SO NP ERA 3 3 2 8 102 4.97 1 1 1 1 40 2.70 0 0 0 1 13 7.20

Umpires: Home, Bob Davidson; First, Jeff Nelson; Second, Mark Carlson; Third, Tim Tschida. T: 2:32. A: 36,926 (48,290).

ROB CARR / AP

CC Sabathia got his first win since April 11 Friday by blanking the Orioles on four hits.

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20

SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

AMERICAN LEAGUE L.A. Angels 4, Kansas City 1

Oakland 5, Toronto 3

Kendrick’s hustle assures end to Royals’ streak

Move proves good for Sweeney

ANAHEIM—Howie Kendrick jokingly credited all the treadmill work he has done over the years for helping him hit the first inside-the-park home run—of his life. Truth is, if he didn’t make it all the way around the bases Friday, it wouldn’t have been a laughing matter for the Los Angeles Angels second baseman. Kendrick’s two-run homer in the sixth inning that started out as a fly ball down the right-field line, ended up giving the Angels key insurance runs in a 4-1 victory that put a stop to the Kansas City Royals’ six-game win streak. Kendrick was merely jogging down the first-base line until Royals right fielder Jose Guillen overran the ball. The he kicked it into high gear and scored standing. “It was mentioned to him,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. In his third start of the season, Angels rookie Matt Palmer picked up his third victory. Palmer, who grew up a St. Louis Cardinals fan, allowed one run and two hits in 5 1/3 innings, giving him one earned run allowed in each of his last two outings. After moving a season-low five games under .500 on April 25, the Angels have won eight of their last 11. They also have won five of their last six. The A.L. Central-leading Royals lost for just the second time since April 28. The fundamentally sound brand of baseball that has led the Royals to a hot start disappeared for a key play. When Guillen overran the ball, it dropped behind him just inside the foul line, and TV replays appeared to show the ball clipped the side of his glove. “I got under it and I just missed it,” Guillen said. “I closed the glove before the ball

Angels 4, Royals 1 Kansas City AB Crisp cf 3 DeJesus lf 3 Teahen 3b 4 J.Guillen rf 3 Butler 1b 4 Jacobs dh 4 Callaspo 2b 4 J.Buck c 4 Aviles ss 2 a-Bloomquist ph-ss 1 Totals 32

R 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

H 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 4

BI 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

BB 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

SO 0 2 1 0 0 3 1 2 1 0 10

Avg. .231 .243 .296 .276 .295 .245 .344 .233 .206 .389

Los Angeles Figgins 3b M.Izturis ss Abreu rf Hunter cf K.Morales 1b Napoli dh J.Rivera lf Kendrick 2b Mathis c Totals

R 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 4

H 0 2 0 1 0 2 2 2 1 10

BI 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 4

BB 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 3

SO 1 1 2 1 1 1 0 2 1 10

Avg. .269 .290 .318 .311 .267 .343 .291 .255 .238

AB 4 4 4 4 3 3 4 4 4 34

Kansas City 000 001 000 — Los Angeles 011 002 00x —

LORI SHEPLER / AP

Howie Kendrick did plenty of running in the sixth inning after hitting an inside-the-park home run. got there. I have no excuse. That’s a play you should make. I got there in time, I just missed it.” Kendrick’s fourth homer of the season was the first inside-the-park for the Angels since Gary Matthews did it June 17, 2007, at Dodger Stadium. It was a tough break for Royals starter Gil Meche, who had a solid outing going until Kendrick’s homer. He lasted just two more batters. Meche (2-3) gave up four runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. Kendrick’s homer was the first Meche has given up this season. Even without Guillen’s misplay, Palmer still was ahead in the duel with his counterpart. The righthander, who went to

high school in Caruthersville, Mo., in the southeast portion of the state, had only made three big league starts before this year, all last season with the San Francisco Giants. He wouldn’t even be in the rotation had it not been for an Angels pitching staff that has been decimated by injuries and the tragic death of Nick Adenhart. “The manager and the pitching coach said to just come up here, do what you do and trust your stuff,” Palmer said. “I know myself and they know that I have good movement on my pitches and they said to just trust it.” The Royals scored their only run in the sixth on a double by Billy Butler. — The Associated Press

1 4 0 4 10 1

a-singled for Aviles in the 7th. E: Figgins (4). LOB: Kansas City 7, Los Angeles 9. 2B: Butler (8), J.Rivera (5), Kendrick (5). HR: Kendrick (4), off Meche. RBIs: Butler (13), Napoli (14), Kendrick 2 (19), Mathis (8). SB: Crisp 2 (7). Runners left in scoring position: Kansas City 4 (Butler, Teahen, Callaspo 2); Los Angeles 5 (Figgins, J.Rivera, M.Izturis, Abreu 2). Kansas City Meche L, 2-3 Mahay Farnsworth Los Angeles Palmer W, 3-0 Oliver H, 1 Arredondo H, 9 Fuentes S, 8-10

IP 5 2⁄3 1⁄3 2 IP 5 1⁄3 1 2⁄3 1 1

H 8 1 1 H 2 2 0 0

R ER BB SO NP ERA 4 4 3 7 120 4.43 0 0 0 1 7 4.50 0 0 0 2 23 6.10 R ER BB SO NP ERA 1 1 3 5 92 3.06 0 0 0 2 22 1.74 0 0 0 1 17 5.27 0 0 0 2 14 5.91

Inherited runners-scored: Mahay 1-0, Oliver 2-1. WP: Mahay. Umpires: Home, Brian Gorman; First, C.B. Bucknor; Second, Mike Everitt; Third, Gerry Davis. T: 2:55. A: 41,019 (45,257).

OAKLAND—Ryan Sweeney didn’t mind when Oakland manager Bob Geren dropped him out of the leadoff spot in the lineup earlier this week. If anything, the veteran outfielder welcomed the move down in the order. “I just feel more relaxed,” Sweeney said, after hitting a two-run homer to help the A’s to a 5-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night. “Sometimes I may have put more pressure on myself (batting leadoff) to get on base and make something happen. Maybe I was trying to do too much.” Sweeney’s home run highlighted a five-run second inning against Toronto starter Scott Richmond, but the A’s bullpen made the biggest impact. Four relievers combined for 4 2/3 scoreless innings and kept the team with the best record in the A.L. from mounting a comeback. Michael Wuertz (2-1) pitched 1 2/3 innings for the win. Russ Springer and Andrew Bailey helped him blank the Blue Jays after starter Josh Outman was knocked from the game in the fifth inning. Bailey worked the final two innings for his first major league save in two tries. “You just have to be ready to go,” Wuertz said. “You’re going to have nights like this and it’s the bullpen’s job to suck it up and get the job done.” — The Associated Press

Athletics 5, Blue Jays 3 Toronto AB R H Scutaro ss 4 0 1 A.Hill 2b 5 0 1 Rios rf 4 0 1 V.Wells cf 5 0 1 Lind dh 4 0 1 Rolen 3b 4 1 1 Millar 1b 4 1 1 Barajas c 4 1 1 Bautista lf 3 0 0 Totals 37 3 8

BI 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 3

BB 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3

SO 2 1 2 0 2 1 0 0 1 9

Avg. .260 .357 .255 .274 .333 .306 .333 .319 .306

Oakland O.Cabrera ss K.Suzuki c Giambi 1b G.Petit 2b Holliday lf Cust dh R.Sweeney cf Crosby 2b-1b T.Buck rf Hannahan 3b Totals

BI 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 5

BB 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2

SO 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 3

Avg. .230 .324 .202 .250 .234 .287 .261 .246 .211 .188

Toronto Oakland

AB 4 4 3 0 4 3 3 3 3 2 29

R 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 5

H 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 1 7

030 000 000 — 050 000 00x —

3 8 0 5 7 2

E: O.Cabrera (4), Crosby (4). LOB: Toronto 10, Oakland 3. 2B: Scutaro (5), Rolen (6), K.Suzuki (10), Hannahan (2). HR: Barajas (3), off Outman; R.Sweeney (2), off Richmond. RBIs: Millar (11), Barajas 2 (17), O.Cabrera (6), K.Suzuki (14), R.Sweeney 2 (8), Hannahan (3). S: Hannahan. Runners left in scoring position: Toronto 5 (V.Wells, A.Hill, Millar 3); Oakland 2 (Holliday, K.Suzuki). DP: Toronto 1 (Scutaro, A.Hill, Millar). Toronto Richmond L, 4-1 Oakland Outman Wuertz W, 2-1 Springer H, 3 A.Bailey S, 1-2

IP 8 IP 4 1⁄3 1 2⁄3 1 2

H 7 H 6 0 2 0

R ER BB SO NP ERA 5 5 2 3 96 3.29 R ER BB SO NP ERA 3 3 3 5 101 4.79 0 0 0 1 17 1.62 0 0 0 1 26 2.57 0 0 0 2 20 1.27

Inherited runners-scored: Wuertz 2-0. WP: Richmond. Umpires: Home, Paul Schrieber; First, Paul Nauert; Second, Joe West; Third, Ed Rapuano. T: 2:26. A: 14,103 (35,067).

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SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

AMERICAN LEAGUE Boston 7, Tampa Bay 3

Texas 6, Chicago White Sox 0

Bay sparks another big sixth inning for Boston

Harrison impressing teammates

Red Sox 7, Rays 3 Tampa Bay AB B.Upton cf 4 Crawford lf 5 Longoria 3b 2 C.Pena 1b 4 Burrell dh 3 Gross rf 3 a-Zobrist ph-rf 1 Iwamura 2b 4 Bartlett ss 4 M.Hernandez c 4 Totals 34

R 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3

H 0 3 0 0 1 1 0 0 3 1 9

BI 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 3

BB 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3

SO 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 5

Avg. .152 .317 .362 .257 .242 .265 .274 .274 .355 .333

Boston Ellsbury cf Pedroia 2b D.Ortiz dh Bay lf Lowell 3b J.Drew rf J.Bailey 1b Varitek c Lugo ss Totals

R 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 7

H 2 4 0 2 3 1 1 1 1 15

BI 1 1 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 7

BB 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

SO 1 0 1 1 0 1 3 0 2 9

Avg. .295 .336 .220 .323 .308 .250 .179 .232 .333

AB 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 38

Tampa Bay 101 100 000 — Boston 000 005 02x —

CHARLES KRUPA / AP

Jason Bay’s three-run homer off Tampa Bay’s James Shields in the sixth inning helped the Red Sox rally from a 3-0 deficit. BOSTON—Here comes the sixth inning. Here come the Red Sox. And there go the balls—singles to the infield, doubles down the line, homers over the fences. One night after scoring an A.L.record 12 runs before making an out in that inning, Boston sent five across with no outs in the sixth and beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 Friday night. “I think the sixth inning’s our lucky charm,” said Mike Lowell, who delivered a key double in the latest rally. Jason Bay hit his second sixthinning, three-run homer in two nights

to tie the game 3-3. Then Lowell doubled and J.D. Drew drove the ball over the low right-field wall in front of the bullpen off James Shields (3-3). “You kind of sense those guys getting hits, hitting the ball hard,” Drew said. “Maybe he is leaving the ball up out over the plate a little bit more and you want to take advantage of that.” Bay has nine homers and 33 RBIs, second most in the A.L., but would just as soon avoid the dramatics. “It would be nice to kind of jump out early one time and kind of coast to one,” he said. “It seems like we always

make it interesting in the middle there.” Brad Penny (3-1) pitched well enough to give the Red Sox a chance to come back. He allowed three runs and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings after taking a loss against Shields five days earlier. Shields also pitched well—five hits in five scoreless innings. But then he had to pitch the sixth and the momentum shifted quickly. “Within a matter of something, 10 pitches almost,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “It was very fast.” — The Associated Press

3 9 0 7 15 0

a-grounded into a fielder’s choice for Gross in the 8th. LOB: Tampa Bay 8, Boston 8. 2B: Crawford (6), Bartlett 2 (6), Ellsbury (5), Lowell (10). 3B: Crawford (2), J.Bailey (1). HR: Bay (9), off J.Shields; J.Drew (4), off J.Shields. RBIs: Longoria (39), Burrell (14), Bartlett (12), Ellsbury (10), Pedroia (12), Bay 3 (32), J.Drew 2 (16). SB: Crawford (21). SF: Longoria. Runners left in scoring position: Tampa Bay 5 (Gross, M.Hernandez, C.Pena, Longoria, Crawford); Boston 3 (Varitek, J.Bailey, J.Drew). DP: Boston 1 (Lugo, Pedroia). Tampa Bay J.Shields L, 3-3 Balfour Boston Penny W, 3-1 Okajima H, 5 R.Ramirez H, 5 Papelbon

IP 6 2 IP 6 1⁄3 1 2⁄3 1

H 10 5 H 8 0 0 1

R ER BB SO NP ERA 5 5 1 7 106 4.02 2 2 0 2 39 7.15 R ER BB SO NP ERA 3 3 2 2 91 6.90 0 0 1 1 18 3.68 0 0 0 0 7 0.56 0 0 0 2 11 1.38

Inherited runners-scored: Okajima 2-0, R.Ramirez 1-0. Umpires: Home, Bill Welke; First, Tim Welke; Second, Scott Barry; Third, Angel Hernandez. T: 2:52. A: 37,745 (37,373).

CHICAGO—David Murphy has seen a difference in Matt Harrison from April to May. “The thing that I notice with him is confidence,” the Texas Rangers outfielder said. And, Harrison is turning that improved mound presence into wins. The lefthander threw a four-hitter in his second career shutout, leading the Rangers to a 6-0 win over the Chicago White Sox on Friday. Ian Kinsler and Omar Vizquel each drove in two runs, and Murphy scored three runs for the Rangers, who have won six of seven. Harrison (3-2) hasn’t allowed a run in 19 straight innings after going 1-2 in four start in April with a 7.89 ERA. He didn’t allow a runner past second base and only allowed one walk while striking out five. Harrison “His body language out on the mound has been incredible the last few starts,” Murphy said. “He kind of looked a little unsure of himself early in the season and I think he’s figured things out. That kind of shows.” Jose Contreras (0-5), who helped the White Sox win the 2005 World Series allowed five runs, three earned on six hits. He also hit one batter, threw two wild pitches and walked two. After the game, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said he talked to Contreras and told him they will replace him in the rotation. — The Associated Press

Rangers 6, White Sox 0 Texas AB R H Kinsler 2b 3 1 1 Vizquel ss-3b 5 0 2 M.Young 3b 3 0 0 Andrus ss 2 0 1 An.Jones dh 3 0 1 Byrd cf 5 0 1 N.Cruz rf 5 0 0 Dav.Murphy lf 4 3 2 C.Davis 1b 4 1 1 Teagarden c 3 1 2 Totals 37 6 11

BI 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5

BB 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 3

SO 1 0 1 0 0 1 4 0 3 1 11

Avg. .325 .423 .328 .265 .340 .323 .282 .200 .212 .219

Chicago Getz 2b Fields 3b Quentin lf Thome dh Dye rf Konerko 1b Pierzynski c J.Nix ss Lillibridge cf Totals

BI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1

SO 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 5

Avg. .292 .250 .233 .195 .292 .301 .302 .333 .176

Texas Chicago

AB 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 3 30

R 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

H 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 4

120 201 000 — 000 000 000 —

6 11 1 0 4 1

E: Kinsler (3), Fields (5). LOB: Texas 9, Chicago 4. 2B: Vizquel (3), Byrd (12), Dav.Murphy (3), Teagarden (1). RBIs: Kinsler 2 (27), Vizquel 2 (5), Teagarden (3). SB: Kinsler (8), Vizquel (1). CS: Fields (2). S: Kinsler. Runners left in scoring position: Texas 6 (Byrd, Vizquel, N.Cruz 2, M.Young, Andrus); Chicago 2 (Fields, Getz). GIDP: Byrd, Fields. DP: Texas 2 (Teagarden, Teagarden, Kinsler, C.Davis, Vizquel), (Vizquel, Kinsler, C.Davis); Chicago 1 (Getz, J.Nix, Konerko). Texas Harrison W, 3-2 Chicago Contreras L, 0-5 Carrasco Richard Broadway

IP 9 IP 3 2⁄3 3 1 1⁄3 1

H 4 H 6 4 0 1

R ER BB SO NP ERA 0 0 1 5 111 4.79 R ER BB SO NP ERA 5 3 2 3 81 8.19 1 1 0 5 50 3.00 0 0 0 3 20 4.41 0 0 1 0 16 4.50

Inherited runners-scored: Carrasco 1-0, Richard 1-0. HBP: by Contreras (Teagarden). WP: Contreras 2, Carrasco. Umpires: Home, Mike Winters; First, Lance Barksdale; Second, Brian Knight; Third, Randy Marsh. T: 2:28. A: 21,326 (40,615).

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22

SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

AMERICAN LEAGUE Minnesota 11, Seattle 0

Detroit 1, Cleveland 0

Baker finally shows he’s ace of Twins’ staff

Verlander outduels Lee

Twins 11, Mariners 0 Seattle AB R I.Suzuki rf 4 0 En.Chavez lf 4 0 Jo.Lopez 2b 4 0 Branyan 1b 4 0 Beltre 3b 4 0 Griffey Jr. dh 3 0 Johjima c 3 0 F.Gutierrez cf 3 0 Y.Betancourt ss 3 0 Totals 32 0

H 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 5

BI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

SO 0 0 1 3 1 1 0 1 0 7

Avg. .313 .280 .259 .289 .208 .205 .227 .278 .286

Minnesota AB R H BI BB SO Span cf-rf 5 1 1 0 0 0 Tolbert 2b 4 2 1 0 1 0 Mauer c 5 1 2 2 0 0 Morneau 1b 3 1 1 2 1 0 Kubel dh 3 1 2 1 1 0 Cuddyer rf 3 1 1 0 0 0 a-Gomez ph-cf 2 0 0 0 0 0 Buscher 3b 4 2 1 3 1 0 Delm.Young lf 3 1 2 0 1 0 B.Harris ss 4 1 2 3 0 0 Totals 36 11 13 11 5 0

Avg. .304 .273 .462 .310 .323 .262 .216 .188 .303 .321

Seattle 000 000 000 — 0 5 2 Minnesota 230 051 00x — 11 13 0 a-grounded out for Cuddyer in the 6th. E: Jo.Lopez (4), Jakubauskas (1). LOB: Seattle 5, Minnesota 8. 2B: Tolbert (1), Kubel (9). HR: B.Harris (2), off Jakubauskas; Mauer (2), off Jakubauskas; Morneau (7), off Jakubauskas; Buscher (1), off Batista. RBIs: Mauer 2 (6), Morneau 2 (24), Kubel (17), Buscher 3 (5), B.Harris 3 (7). SB: En.Chavez (6). SF: Morneau, Kubel. Runners left in scoring position: Seattle 3 (Branyan 2, F.Gutierrez); Minnesota 6 (Cuddyer, Span, Buscher 2, Mauer 2).

JIM MONE / AP

Seattle’s Endy Chavez, right, steals second as Minnesota SS Brendan Harris awaits the throw in the first inning, one of the few times the Mariners got past first base. MINNEAPOLIS—Scott Baker has said all season that he wasn’t worried about his numbers, even as bloated as they were. Yet no matter how well he thought he had been pitching lately, it was nearly impossible to overlook an 0-4 record and a 9.15 ERA for the ace of the staff. So there was no surprise when some relief washed over his face after his first complete effort of the year. Baker pitched seven shutout innings for his long-awaited first victory of the season, and the light-hitting Twins broke the

game open with three homers in the fifth inning of an 11-0 win over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night. Baker (1-4) gave up five hits and struck out five to hand the struggling Mariners their fifth straight loss. Asked if it was a relief to get that first win, Baker let out a big sigh and said, “Absolutely. Sometimes the first one’s the toughest one to get.” Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Brian Buscher gave the Twins their first threehomer inning in nearly seven years, and

Brendan Harris also went deep to help the Twins snap a three-game losing streak. Chris Jakubauskas (1-4) gave up nine runs on eight hits and walked three in 4 1-3 innings for the Mariners, who surprised many by winning eight of their first 11 games. But they have lost nine of their last 12. Seattle has scored just four runs in the last 37 innings. It was the ninth time in 30 games this season that the Mariners have scored one run or fewer. — The Associated Press

Seattle Jakubauskas L, 1-4 Batista Vargas M.Lowe Minnesota S.Baker W, 1-4 Crain Nathan

IP 4 1⁄3 1 1⁄3 1 1⁄3 1 IP 7 1 1

H 8 3 1 1 H 5 0 0

R ER BB SO NP ERA 9 9 3 0 103 7.67 2 2 2 0 35 3.52 0 0 0 0 24 0.00 0 0 0 0 13 3.55 R ER BB SO NP ERA 0 0 0 5 102 6.83 0 0 0 0 12 5.63 0 0 0 2 16 1.80

Inherited runners-scored: Batista 2-2, Vargas 2-0. Umpires: Home, Chuck Meriwether; First, Eric Cooper; Second, Mike Estabrook; Third, Laz Diaz. T: 2:47. A: 29,714 (46,632).

CLEVELAND—Justin Verlander was dominant on the mound for Detroit. The Tigers’ defense was even better behind him. Verlander (3-2) struck out 11 and outpitched reigning Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee for the second time in a week to beat the Cleveland Indians 1-0 Friday night. Curtis Granderson took away Grady Sizemore’s bid for a tworun homer in the ninth with a leaping catch at the center-field wall to preserve the win. “It wasn’t so much the catch, but the timing of the catch,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “If you make that catch in the first inning, it’s a great catch. If you make it in the ninth, it’s a great catch, but if you make it in the ninth inning of a 1-0 game with one guy on, that makes it a better catch.” Lee (1-5) didn’t disagree. “It was out of the park and he brought it back,” the lefthander said. “I felt like I did everything I could to help my team win, but some things are out of my control.” Verlander pitched a two-hitter for the third shutout and fourth complete game of his career to improve to 2-7 at Progressive Field and 6-10 overall against the Indians. The Tigers scored in the eighth when Cleveland second baseman Luis Valbuena couldn’t get the ball out of his glove in time to get the third out. — The Associated Press

Tigers 1, Indians 0 Detroit AB Granderson cf 3 Polanco 2b 4 Thomas rf 4 Mi.Cabrera 1b 4 Ordonez dh 3 Inge 3b 4 Raburn lf 4 Everett ss 3 Sardinha c 3 Totals 32

R 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

H 0 1 2 1 1 1 0 1 0 7

BI 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

BB 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2

SO 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 6

Cleveland Sizemore cf A.Cabrera ss V.Martinez 1b Choo rf DeRosa 3b Dellucci dh B.Francisco lf Valbuena 2b Shoppach c 1-Barfield pr Totals

R 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

H 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

BI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2

SO Avg. 1 .226 2 .327 1 .390 0 .263 2 .244 1 .304 1 .244 1 .143 2 .216 0 1.000 11

000 000 010 — 000 000 000 —

1 7 0 0 2 0

Detroit Cleveland

AB 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 1 3 0 27

Avg. .252 .272 .455 .385 .229 .277 .050 .262 .111

1-ran for Shoppach in the 9th. LOB: Detroit 6, Cleveland 2. 2B: Polanco (13), V.Martinez (10). RBIs: Thomas (3). SB: Granderson (4). CS: Mi.Cabrera (2). Runners left in scoring position: Detroit 3 (Thomas 2, Everett). DP: Detroit 1 (Everett, Polanco); Cleveland 2 (A.Cabrera, Valbuena, V.Martinez), (Shoppach, Shoppach, Valbuena). Detroit Verlander W, 3-2 Cleveland Cl.Lee L, 1-5 R.Betancourt

IP 9 IP 8 1

H 2 H 7 0

R ER BB SO NP ERA 0 0 2 11 118 4.50 R ER BB SO NP ERA 1 1 2 5 113 3.45 0 0 0 1 7 4.80

Umpires: Home, Jim Wolf; First, Brian O’Nora; Second, Fieldin Culbreth; Third, Chad Fairchild. T: 2:12. A: 27,492 (45,199).

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SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

23

NATIONAL LEAGUE Philadelphia 10, Atlanta 6

Q&A with ... Phillies OF Shane Victorino

Hamels finally gets win

Phillies-Mets rivalry bigger than any ballpark

Phillies 10, Braves 6 Atlanta AB Infante 2b 5 Escobar ss 3 C.Jones 3b 3 G.Anderson lf 4 McCann c 3 Francoeur rf 4 Kotchman 1b 4 Schafer cf 3 Jo.Reyes p 2 Parr p 0 b-Prado ph 1 O’Flaherty p 0 Bennett p 0 d-Norton ph 1 Totals 33

TOM MIHALEK / AP

Cole Hamels did better on the mound than at the plate. PHILADELPHIA—Cole Hamels left the mound on his terms. Hamels pitched six impressive innings to earn his first win since the World Series, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 10-6 on Friday night. Jayson Werth, Chris Coste and Chase Utley homered for the N.L. East leaders, who snapped a twogame losing streak. Making his first start since spraining his left ankle on April 28, Hamels (1-2) allowed two runs, three hits and struck out seven. Hamels was MVP of the N.L. championship series and World Series last year, but struggled the first month mostly because of a series of freak injuries. “I’m glad nothing came down and hit me,” he said. “It was almost abnormal, being out there in the sixth inning.” Atlanta’s Casey Kotchman hit a three-run homer off Brad Lidge in the ninth, and Omar Infante also went deep. Braves starter Jo-Jo Reyes (0-2) lost his ninth straight, allowing eight runs—four earned—and five hits in five innings. The lefthander hasn’t won since beating the Los Angeles Angels last June 13. — The Associated Press

Philadelphia Rollins ss Victorino cf Utley 2b Howard 1b Werth rf Ibanez lf Feliz 3b Coste c Hamels p a-Cairo ph Taschner p Condrey p c-Dobbs ph Lidge p Totals

AB 5 5 4 4 2 4 4 2 2 1 0 0 1 0 34

R 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6

H 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6

BI 1 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6

BB 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4

SO 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 9

Avg. .338 .291 .296 .175 .205 .284 .310 .232 .000 --.281 ----.100

R 0 0 1 1 3 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 10

H 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 8

BI 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 8

BB 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

SO 0 0 3 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 7

Avg. .211 .291 .315 .290 .289 .340 .309 .196 .000 .071 .000 --.174 ---

Atlanta 000 200 013 — 6 6 2 Philadelphia 042 110 02x — 10 8 0 a-fouled out for Hamels in the 6th. b-grounded out for Parr in the 7th. c-singled for Condrey in the 8th. d-struck out for Bennett in the 9th. E: Jo.Reyes (1), Escobar (2). LOB: Atlanta 4, Philadelphia 4. 2B: G.Anderson (4), Francoeur (4), Rollins (6), Howard (7), Feliz (6). HR: Infante (1), off Condrey; Kotchman (2), off Lidge; Werth (6), off Jo.Reyes; Coste (1), off Jo.Reyes; Utley (9), off Jo.Reyes. RBIs: Infante (9), McCann 2 (9), Kotchman 3 (9), Rollins 2 (9), Utley (22), Werth 2 (21), Feliz (18), Coste (6), Dobbs (3). Runners left in scoring position: Atlanta 2 (Francoeur, McCann); Philadelphia 3 (Victorino 3). Atlanta Jo.Reyes L, 0-2 Parr O’Flaherty Bennett Philadelphia Hamels W, 1-2 Taschner Condrey Lidge

IP 5 1 1 1 IP 6 1 1 1

H 5 0 0 3 H 3 0 1 2

R 8 0 0 2 R 2 0 1 3

ER 4 0 0 2 ER 2 0 1 3

BB SO 2 6 0 0 0 1 1 0 BB SO 2 7 1 0 0 0 1 2

NP ERA 88 5.48 16 3.86 12 2.45 31 1.98 NP ERA 95 6.17 15 4.05 12 2.12 25 8.49

HBP: by Bennett (Werth). Umpires: Home, Jerry Meals; First, Mike DiMuro; Second, James Hoye; Third, Dale Scott. T: 2:29. A: 45,312 (43,647).

Before Philadelphia’s first-ever game at Citi Field on Wednesday night, Shane Victorino told Sporting News Today’s Bill Eichenberger and other reporters that the venue for the Phillies-Mets rivalry might be new, but the intensity of one of baseball’s most bitter rivalries will stay the same.

Q:

Does the extra intensity of a Mets-Phillies game make it more fun for the players as well as the fans? I wouldn’t say it is more fun. But I also wouldn’t say there is added pressure. Still, you definitely don’t want to make the big mistake. You don’t want to make it anywhere else, either, but you get reminded of it a lot more here (New York) than most places. There is definitely an intensity level in both places—it’s the same when they come to play us.

A:

Q:

Do you think this rivalry will have a different feel now that it is no longer being played at Shea Stadium? I don’t think that is a question that even needs to be asked. The intensity of these games will always be there. I’m sure New York fans are excited when the Phillies come to town, just as Phillie fans are when the Mets come to town.

A:

JULIE JACOBSON / AP

Philadelphia’s Shane Victorino, right, likes the Mets’ new ballpark but always enjoyed playing at Shea. just liked playing there. But this place is state of the art.

Q: A:

Q: A:

Q: A:

Q:

Will it feel at least a little different? It’s a different ballpark. The fans are a little more on you. So we’ll see how we handle it. What were your first impressions of Citi Field? It’s definitely a prettier park. But I loved playing at Shea. There was just something about that park. I know the facilities weren’t the greatest, but I

Does it remind you of your park, Citizens Bank Park, at all? The outside—the bricks and stuff like that—kind of reminds me of our place. There are similarities there. But it is just nice to see these new parks and how they just seem to get better every year.

Did playing with Mets third baseman David Wright on Team USA during the World Baseball Classic affect the way you view him and the Mets?

A:

I feel no different now than about him than before I played with on Team USA. He’s still a great player. It’s still a baseball game. That’s the bottom line.

Q: A:

Is there any different feeling now because of what your team accomplished last year? Nope. It’s baseball. There is no difference. You still have to go out there and play the games. I don’t care if you’re supposedly the best team in baseball. On any given night, somebody can win the game. It’s not about what we did last year. That is over and done. We’re worrying about ’09, and every game counts.

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SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

NATIONAL LEAGUE Cincinnati 6, St. Louis 4

Cueto staying frustration free CINCINNATI—It’s hard to rattle Johnny Cueto these days. The righthander, who was prone to meltdowns as a rookie, extended his scoreless streak to 15 innings Friday night before giving up his only run, and the Cincinnati Reds won their second in a row with a depleted lineup, 6-4 over the St. Louis Cardinals. Cueto (3-1) had his way with a team that hit him hard during his rookie season. He limited the Cardinals to a run and five hits in seven innings Friday, leaving with a 6-1 lead. It was the latest measure of how far he’s come. “He’s full of confidence,” manager Dusty Baker said. The 23-year-old pitcher appears to be maturing at the start of his second season. Last year, he would get rattled by a mistake, allowing it to multiply into a big inning. In his last five starts, Cueto has allowed only three earned runs, refusing to get on the defensive when something goes wrong. “I’m trying to be more aggressive,” Cueto said in Spanish, with teammate Ramon Hernandez translating. “Last year, I think I was moving my glove and tipping my pitches, so I’m not doing that this year. I’m just trying to be more aggressive and make them put the ball in play.” David Weathers gave up three runs in the eighth, including Tyler Greene’s first career homer—the first runs off the reliever in 11 appearances this season. Francisco Cordero pitched the ninth, remaining perfect in his nine save chances with the help of his catcher. Joe Thurston drew a leadoff walk. With pinch-hitter Jason LaRue at the plate, Thurston took off and was caught trying to steal by catcher Ryan Hanigan.

Reds 6, Cardinals 4 St. Louis AB Schumaker 2b 3 b-Robinson ph-cf 2 Rasmus cf 3 c-T.Greene ph-2b 1 Pujols 1b 4 Ludwick rf 2 Duncan lf 4 Y.Molina c 4 K.Greene ss 4 Thurston 3b 2 Pineiro p 1 a-Barden ph 1 C.Perez p 0 B.Thompson p 0 e-LaRue ph 1 Totals 32

N.Y. Mets 7, Pittsburgh 3 R 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4

H 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 8

BI 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

BB 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 4

SO Avg. 0 .290 0 .000 1 .247 0 .235 1 .343 0 .278 0 .284 1 .323 0 .237 0 .272 0 .091 0 .300 0 --0 1.000 1 .412 4

Cincinnati AB R H BI BB SO Taveras cf 3 1 2 1 1 0 Hairston Jr. 2b 4 1 2 2 0 0 Bruce rf 4 0 1 1 0 0 R.Hernandez 1b 3 0 1 1 1 1 L.Nix lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 A.Rosales 3b 4 1 2 0 0 0 Hanigan c 3 1 2 0 0 0 Janish ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 Cueto p 2 2 0 1 0 1 Rhodes p 0 0 0 0 0 0 Weathers p 0 0 0 0 0 0 Burton p 0 0 0 0 0 0 d-Dickerson ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 Cordero p 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 32 6 11 6 2 4 St. Louis Cincinnati

000 000 130 — 230 000 10x —

Avg. .276 .210 .268 .282 .317 .250 .357 .357 .167 ------.210 --4 8 1 6 11 0

a-flied out for Pineiro in the 7th. b-flied out for Schumaker in the 8th. c-homered for Rasmus in the 8th. d-struck out for Burton in the 8th. e-struck out for B.Thompson in the 9th. E: Pineiro (1). LOB: St. Louis 6, Cincinnati 6. 2B: Duncan (9), K.Greene (4), Hairston Jr. (3), Janish (3). HR: T.Greene (1), off Weathers. RBIs: T.Greene (2), Duncan (20), Y.Molina (14), Taveras (4), Hairston Jr. 2 (4), Bruce (17), R.Hernandez (9), Cueto (1). SB: Ludwick (2). CS: Thurston (1). S: Pineiro, Hanigan, Cueto. Runners left in scoring position: St. Louis 3 (Schumaker 2, Barden); Cincinnati 4 (Bruce, L.Nix 2, Dickerson). DP: St. Louis 2 (Schumaker, K.Greene, Pujols), (Pujols); Cincinnati 1 (Hairston Jr., Janish, R.Hernandez).

AL BEHRMAN / AP

Cincinnati P Johnny Cueto is among baseball’s leaders with a 1.59 ERA. “He got a bad jump,” manager Tony La Russa said. “I put the (steal) sign on, right or wrong. That’s how it turned out.” Jerry Hairston Jr. doubled home a run in the first inning off Joel Pineiro (4-2) and singled home another in the second, helping the Reds pull out to a 5-0 lead. The Reds won their second game in a

row without two stalwarts. First baseman Joey Votto, who leads the team in batting at .378, and Gold Glove second baseman Brandon Phillips were sidelined again with the flu. Cincinnati also is missing shortstop Alex Gonzalez, sidelined by pulled muscles in his left side. — The Associated Press

St. Louis Pineiro L, 4-2 C.Perez B.Thompson Cincinnati Cueto W, 3-1 Rhodes Weathers Burton H, 3 Cordero S, 9-9

IP 6 1 1 IP 7 1⁄3 1⁄3 1⁄3 1

H 8 2 1 H 5 0 3 0 0

R ER BB SO 5 4 0 3 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 R ER BB SO 1 1 2 3 0 0 0 0 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

NP ERA 94 3.66 26 3.00 18 5.59 NP ERA 98 1.59 9 0.00 22 2.89 5 6.08 18 2.08

Inherited runners-scored: Burton 1-0. WP: C.Perez. PB: Y.Molina. Umpires: Home, Marvin Hudson; First, John Hirschbeck; Second, Wally Bell; Third, Marty Foster. T: 2:54. A: 18,016 (42,319).

Delgado passes Mantle for RBIs NEW YORK—Carlos Delgado’s eyes lit up. Yes, it’s nice to see all those baserunners. Passing Mickey Mantle, well, that’s pretty cool, too. Delgado hit a three-run homer in a five-run eighth inning and finished with five RBIs, moving past Mantle on the career list and helping the surging New York Mets beat Pittsburgh 7-3 on Friday for their fifth straight win. “It’s a team effort,” Delgado said. “We get guys on, we put together good at-bats, put pressure on the opposition and good things happen.” Jonathon Niese plugged a hole in New York’s rotation with six effective innings and Carlos Beltran had a tiebreaking RBI single for the Mets, who improved to 3-0 on their homestand. Nyjer Morgan had two hits and reached base five times for the slumping Pirates, who have lost six straight and 10 of 11 overall. Pittsburgh also has lost six consecutive road games. “We’ve got to stay focused and keep plugging away,” said Morgan, who has done his part on the road with a .375 average away from PNC Park this year. “It’s part of our learning situation.” Jose Reyes got the winning rally started with a single to center off Tyler Yates (0-2). Luis Castillo then walked before Beltran sliced a single down the third-base line to give New York a 3-2 lead. — The Associated Press

Mets 7, Pirates 3 Pittsburgh AB Morgan lf 3 F.Sanchez 2b 5 McLouth cf 5 Ad.LaRoche 1b 4 An.LaRoche 3b 4 Moss rf 4 R.Diaz c 4 Bixler ss 4 Karstens p 1 a-Delw.Young ph 1 Yates p 0 S.Burnett p 0 Veal p 0 d-Hinske ph 0 Totals 35

R 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3

H 2 1 2 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 9

BI 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

BB 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2

SO 0 1 0 0 2 3 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 9

Avg. .308 .316 .295 .240 .250 .185 .294 .227 .000 .313 ------.229

New York Jos.Reyes ss Castillo 2b Beltran cf Delgado 1b D.Wright 3b Dan.Murphy lf Reed lf Santos c Church rf Niese p S.Green p Takahashi p b-Cora ph Parnell p c-Sheffield ph Putz p Totals

R 2 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7

H 2 2 1 3 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 13

BI 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7

BB 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3

SO 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4

Avg. .254 .319 .377 .294 .302 .311 .231 .257 .264 .500 --.000 .313 --.158 ---

AB 4 4 4 4 4 4 0 4 4 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 35

Pittsburgh 002 000 001 — New York 200 000 05x —

3 9 0 7 13 1

a-struck out for Karstens in the 7th. b-singled for Takahashi in the 7th. c-walked for Parnell in the 8th. d-walked for Veal in the 9th. E: Jos.Reyes (4). LOB: Pittsburgh 9, New York 7. 2B: McLouth (3), Bixler (3), Dan.Murphy (4). HR: Delgado (4), off S.Burnett. RBIs: Morgan (13), F.Sanchez (11), McLouth (19), Beltran (21), Delgado 5 (23), Santos (6). SB: Morgan (8), Jos.Reyes (8), Castillo (2). CS: Morgan (4), Cora (1). S: Karstens. Runners left in scoring position: Pittsburgh 5 (Ad. LaRoche, F.Sanchez, R.Diaz, McLouth 2); New York 2 (Castillo 2). DP: Pittsburgh 1 (Ad.LaRoche). Pittsburgh Karstens Yates L, 0-2 S.Burnett Veal New York Niese S.Green Takahashi Parnell W, 1-0 Putz

IP 6 1 2⁄3 1⁄3 IP 6 2⁄3 1⁄3 1 1

H 7 3 3 0 H 7 1 0 0 1

R ER BB SO 2 2 0 3 3 3 1 1 2 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 R ER BB SO 2 2 0 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 2 1

NP ERA 87 5.19 25 8.71 32 3.29 10 4.15 NP ERA 95 3.00 11 8.31 1 0.00 16 1.29 29 3.71

Yates pitched to 3 batters in the 8th. Inherited runners-scored: S.Burnett 2-2, Veal 2-0, Takahashi 2-0. HBP: by S.Green (Morgan). WP: S.Burnett. PB: R.Diaz. Umpires: Home, Jerry Layne; First, Tony Randazzo; Second, Chris Guccione; Third, Ed Montague. T: 3:13. A: 38,496 (41,800).

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SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

NATIONAL LEAGUE Milwaukee 3, Chicago Cubs 2

Blast brings back memories for Braun MILWAUKEE—Ryan Braun’s homer had a familiar feeling. Braun hit a two-run drive in the eighth and the Milwaukee Brewers rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs, who may be without third baseman Aramis Ramirez for an extended period after he dislocated his left shoulder Friday night. Braun hit a two-run homer in the eighth against the Cubs in the final game last season that lifted the Brewers to their first postseason appearance in 26 years. “Not quite as dramatic as the home run last year, but definitely a lot of fun, just the energy, the excitement of the crowd that made it feel a little bit like last year,” said Braun, who is hitting .424 with six homers and 20 RBIs in his last 16 games. “That’s why you work hard all year is to have an opportunity to be in a situation like that. That’s what makes this game fun.” Ramirez, who hurt himself after his diving backhanded stop of a hard grounder by Braun in the third, said he’ll return to Chicago for tests on Saturday. “I felt a pop. I’ve done it before,” said Ramirez, who hurt the same shoulder in 2000 in Pittsburgh and missed six weeks. “It’s been nine years since I’ve been playing, it’s just one of those things.” J.J. Hardy homered in the sixth ahead of Braun’s big hit, which came off Aaron Heilman (2-2) after the Cubs reliever entered and threw five straight balls to walk Corey Hart and fall behind Braun. “Walks always hurt you,” Heilman said. “I put myself in the hole there and tried to get out of it.”

DARREN HAUCK / AP

Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun had reason to celebrate after hitting a two-run homer in the eighth. Braun watched his opposite-field drive for a moment, then stuck his tongue out in a Jordan-esque display while slapping hands with first base coach Ed Sedar. Milwaukee has won four of five and 13 of the last 17. “I’m passionate. My intent is never to show anybody up or embarrass anybody,” Braun said. “I think guys should be emotional, you should enjoy it. You don’t hit too many home runs in big situations that you get to enjoy, so why not?” The Cubs certainly aren’t enjoying their latest predicament after sending reserve outfielder Joey Gathright to

Triple-A and trading him to Baltimore for utility player Ryan Freel before the game because of the lack of infield depth. That move allowed the Cubs to call up pitcher Randy Wells, who threw five scoreless innings in his first major league start. Wells is in Carlos Zambrano’s spot in the rotation with the ace recovering from a hamstring injury. Milton Bradley homered in the fifth off Brewers starter Dave Bush, and Alfonso Soriano’s sacrifice fly in the sixth gave Chicago a 2-0 lead as Wells stranded six Brewers in the first three innings. — The Associated Press

Houston 2, San Diego 0

Brewers 3, Cubs 2 Chicago AB A.Soriano lf 2 Theriot ss 4 Fukudome cf 3 d-Soto ph 1 Heilman p 0 Ar.Ramirez 3b 1 Miles 2b 3 Hoffpauir 1b 4 Bradley rf 4 Fontenot 2b-3b 3 K.Hill c 3 R.Wells p 1 a-Scales ph 1 A.Guzman p 0 c-Re.Johnson ph-cf 1 Totals 31

R 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2

H 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 5

BI 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

BB 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

SO 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 6

Milwaukee Weeks 2b Hart rf Braun lf Fielder 1b M.Cameron cf Hardy ss Hall 3b Kendall c Bush p b-Duffy ph Villanueva p Stetter p Hoffman p Totals

R 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

H 1 1 2 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 7

BI 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

BB 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

SO Avg. 2 .270 0 .274 1 .337 0 .269 2 .291 0 .214 3 .279 1 .209 1 .143 0 .091 0 1.000 0 --0 --10

Chicago 000 011 000 — Milwaukee 000 001 02x —

2 5 0 3 7 1

AB 4 3 3 4 4 3 3 3 2 1 0 0 0 30

Avg. .271 .310 .299 .159 --.364 .206 .288 .150 .239 .306 .000 .400 .000 .229

a-tripled for R.Wells in the 6th. b-grounded out for Bush in the 7th. c-reached on error for A.Guzman in the 8th. d-grounded out for Fukudome in the 8th. E: Hall (2). LOB: Chicago 4, Milwaukee 6. 2B: K.Hill (2), Kendall (3). 3B: Scales (1). HR: Bradley (3), off Bush; Hardy (5), off A.Guzman; Braun (7), off Heilman. RBIs: A.Soriano (18), Bradley (4), Braun 2 (26), Hardy (17). SB: Theriot (7). CS: Fukudome (4). SF: A.Soriano. Runners left in scoring position: Chicago 3 (Ar.Ramirez, Soto 2); Milwaukee 5 (M.Cameron 2, Weeks 2, Hardy). DP: Chicago 1 (Theriot, Miles, Hoffpauir). Chicago IP R.Wells 5 A.Guzman H, 2 2 Heilman L, 2-2 BS, 2-2 1 Milwaukee IP Bush 7 Villanueva 2⁄3 Stetter W, 2-0 1⁄3 Hoffman S, 5-5 1

H 5 1 1 H 4 1 0 0

R ER BB SO 0 0 2 5 1 1 0 4 2 2 1 1 R ER BB SO 2 2 0 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

NP ERA 84 0.00 34 4.11 20 5.14 NP ERA 81 4.05 15 6.43 2 3.38 13 0.00

Inherited runners-scored: Stetter 3-0. IBB: off Villanueva (A.Soriano). WP: Heilman. Umpires: Home, Tom Hallion; First, Jerry Crawford; Second, Phil Cuzzi; Third, Todd Tichenor. T: 2:25. A: 42,025 (41,900).

Cooper happy with Rodriguez HOUSTON—It was not the Wandy Rodriguez the Astros have known before this season. Manager Cecil Cooper was glad of that. Rodriguez threw eight sharp innings and Hunter Pence’s tworun single in the fifth lifted the Astros to a 2-0 victory over the San Diego Padres on Friday night. “He just pitched a terrific game,” Cooper said. “It really shows me a lot. He is becoming a big-time, big-league pitcher. “The difference this year is just the maturity,” Cooper added. “There was a time when he would let things get away if something went wrong. He’d balk and then he’d lose focus. But now he just calms down.” In his longest outing of the season, Rodriguez (3-2) allowed five hits without issuing a walk. He struck out seven and lowered his ERA to 1.80, third-best in the league. Rodriguez retired 16 in a row from the second through the seventh innings. The impressive streak came after he worked his way out of a jam with runners at second and third in the second inning with a strikeout and a groundout. Rodriguez is one of four pitchers in the league not to allow a home run this year. “Wandy was incredible,” Pence said. “That’s the reason we won tonight. When he pitches like that, it’s tough to beat him.” — The Associated Press

Astros 2, Padres 0 San Diego AB Eckstein 2b 4 Giles rf 4 Hairston cf 4 Ad.Gonzalez 1b 4 Headley lf 4 Kouzmanoff 3b 3 Hundley c 3 L.Rodriguez ss 3 Gaudin p 2 a-E.Gonzalez ph 1 Meredith p 0 Totals 32

R 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

H 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 5

BI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

SO 0 1 2 0 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 8

Avg. .257 .158 .343 .297 .243 .232 .270 .235 .000 .184 ---

Houston K.Matsui 2b Bourn cf Pence rf Ca.Lee lf Hawkins p Tejada ss Blum 3b Erstad 1b I.Rodriguez c W.Rodriguez p Michaels lf Totals

R 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2

H 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5

BI 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

BB 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3

SO 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 6

Avg. .267 .287 .315 .303 --.298 .262 .161 .242 .000 .261

San Diego Houston

AB 3 3 4 4 0 4 2 3 2 3 0 28

000 000 000 — 000 020 00x —

0 5 1 2 5 0

a-flied out for Gaudin in the 8th. E: Gaudin (1). LOB: San Diego 5, Houston 6. 2B: Hairston (7), L.Rodriguez (4), Ca.Lee (8). RBIs: Pence 2 (13). CS: Blum (1). Runners left in scoring position: San Diego 4 (Headley 2, Eckstein 2); Houston 4 (Ca.Lee, Pence, Erstad, Tejada). DP: San Diego 1 (Hundley, Hundley, L.Rodriguez). San Diego Gaudin L, 0-2 Meredith Houston W.Rodriguez W, 3-2 Hawkins S, 4-5

IP 7 1 IP 8 1

H 5 0 H 5 0

R ER BB SO NP ERA 2 2 3 5 103 4.08 0 0 0 1 9 3.38 R ER BB SO NP ERA 0 0 0 7 116 1.80 0 0 0 1 11 2.63

HBP: by Gaudin (I.Rodriguez). Umpires: Home, Andy Fletcher; First, Ted Barrett; Second, Adrian Johnson; Third, Greg Gibson. T: 2:19. A: 28,139 (40,976).

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SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

NATIONAL LEAGUE Washington 5, Arizona 4

New manager, same results for D-backs PHOENIX—A new manager, a frustratingly familiar result for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Jesus Flores drove in two runs with a homer and an RBI single, and the Washington Nationals spoiled A.J. Hinch’s debut as Arizona manager by beating the Diamondbacks 5-4 on Friday night. Cristian Guzman tripled in two runs and Adam Dunn homered for the Nationals, who have won two in a row on the road for the first time this season. “We’re starting to build some confidence and playing a lot better baseball,” Washington’s Ryan Zimmerman said. Zimmerman hit safely in the 26th consecutive game, the longest active streak in the majors, when he singled in the first inning. Overall, the Nationals have won four out of five. “Sooner or later things had to turn around a little bit,” Washington manager Manny Acta said. “We had a rough April and May’s been good so far, but there’s still a ways to go.” Hinch, director of player personnel for Arizona, moved into the manager’s job after Bob Melvin was fired Thursday night. The new manager said he liked his team’s attitude, despite the loss. “I was proud of the guys for battling back and kind of answering the bell,” Hinch said. “Obviously we left a lot of guys on base, had some opportunities which you always reflect on, but the effort was there. I felt like the intensity was high. We came up a run short, which is unfortunate.” — The Associated Press

Nationals 5, Diamondbacks 4 Washington AB R H BI BB C.Guzman ss 5 0 2 2 0 N.Johnson 1b 4 0 0 0 1 Zimmerman 3b 5 0 2 0 0 Dunn lf 5 1 2 1 0 K.Wells p 0 0 0 0 0 Dukes cf-lf 4 0 0 0 0 Kearns rf 3 1 1 0 1 Flores c 3 2 2 2 1 A.Hernandez 2b 4 0 0 0 0 Martis p 2 1 1 0 0 Mock p 0 0 0 0 0 c-Willingham ph 1 0 1 0 0 Hanrahan p 0 0 0 0 0 d-Belliard ph 1 0 0 0 0 Tavarez p 0 0 0 0 0 W.Harris cf 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 37 5 11 5 3

Florida 8, Colorado 3 SO 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 6

Avg. .392 .317 .339 .296 --.280 .261 .314 .310 .231 --.190 --.125 .000 .182

Arizona AB R H BI BB SO F.Lopez 2b 5 2 3 0 0 0 C.Young cf 4 0 1 1 0 1 Rauch p 0 0 0 0 0 0 Vasquez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 T.Pena p 0 0 0 0 0 0 e-R.Roberts ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 J.Upton rf 4 1 1 1 1 2 Reynolds 3b 5 0 1 0 0 3 Whitesell 1b 4 0 1 0 0 0 C.Jackson lf 3 0 0 1 1 0 Montero c 4 1 2 0 0 0 Jo.Wilson ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 Y.Petit p 1 0 0 0 0 1 a-Tracy ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 L.Rosales p 0 0 0 0 0 0 b-Byrnes ph-cf 2 0 2 1 0 0 Totals 38 4 12 4 2 8

Avg. .316 .180 ----.000 .176 .292 .252 .100 .186 .262 .263 .000 .218 --.162

Washington 021 101 000 — Arizona 100 011 100 —

5 11 0 4 12 0

a-grounded out for Y.Petit in the 4th. b-singled for L.Rosales in the 6th. c-singled for Mock in the 7th. d-struck out for Hanrahan in the 8th. e-flied out for T.Pena in the 9th. LOB: Washington 8, Arizona 9. 2B: Kearns (5), F.Lopez (9), Whitesell (1), Montero (3). 3B: C.Guzman (1), C.Young (1). HR: Dunn (8), off Y.Petit; Flores (4), off Y.Petit. RBIs: C.Guzman 2 (9), Dunn (24), Flores 2 (15), C.Young (8), J.Upton (16), C.Jackson (14), Byrnes (8). SB: Kearns (1), Byrnes (5). CS: Byrnes (2). Runners left in scoring position: Washington 6 (Dukes 3, N.Johnson, Belliard, Dunn); Arizona 4 (Whitesell 2, C.Young, Montero). DP: Arizona 1 (Jo.Wilson, Whitesell). Washington Martis W, 4-0 Mock H, 3 Hanrahan H, 2 Tavarez H, 4 K.Wells S, 1-1 Arizona Y.Petit L, 0-3 L.Rosales Rauch Vasquez T.Pena

MATT YORK / AP

Washington C Jesus Flores catches a pop-up by Arizona’s Mark Reynolds during the seventh inning.

IP 5 1⁄3 2⁄3 1 1 1 IP 4 2 1 1 1

H 9 0 2 1 0 H 6 2 3 0 0

R ER BB SO 3 3 2 6 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 R ER BB SO 4 4 1 2 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1

NP ERA 99 4.67 8 5.19 12 6.23 10 6.35 18 3.27 NP ERA 63 8.03 27 6.00 25 8.25 18 3.24 11 1.23

Inherited runners-scored: Mock 2-0. WP: T.Pena. Umpires: Home, Rob Drake; First, Paul Emmel; Second, Bill Hohn; Third, Casey Moser. T: 2:52. A: 28,640 (48,652).

Nolasco breaks skid DENVER—Ricky Nolasco got the Florida Marlins’ starting pitchers back into the win column. Settling down after a shaky beginning, Nolasco earned the first win by a Florida starter in more than three weeks, leading the Marlins to an 8-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Friday night. The Marlins went a clubrecord 20 games without a win by a starting pitcher before Nolasco (2-3) scattered eight hits over six innings with five strikeouts and a walk in his first victory since opening day. He allowed three runs to become the first Marlins starter to earn a victory since April 16 when Anibal Sanchez beat Atlanta. During that span, Florida’s starters had gone 0-8 with a 5.48 ERA. “Nobody wants to be recognized for something like that,” Nolasco said. “To come in here and throw the ball pretty decent, we’ll try to build off this. I’m not extremely satisfied, but this is a start.” Nolasco got plenty of support from Hanley Ramirez, who drove in two runs with his first four-hit game of the season, including his third homer in two games. John Baker went 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs. — The Associated Press

Marlins 8, Rockies 3 Florida AB R Bonifacio 3b-2b 5 2 Coghlan 2b 4 1 Nunez p 0 0 Lindstrom p 0 0 Ha.Ramirez ss 5 2 Cantu 1b 4 0 Jo.Baker c 5 2 C.Ross rf 5 1 Hermida lf 3 0 Carroll lf 1 0 Amezaga cf 5 0 Nolasco p 3 0 Pinto p 0 0 Calero p 0 0 b-Helms ph-3b 2 0 Totals 42 8

SO 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 8

Avg. .248 .500 ----.327 .299 .288 .220 .255 .167 .226 .250 ----.257

Colorado AB R H BI BB SO S.Smith lf 3 1 1 0 2 0 Tulowitzki ss 4 2 2 2 1 0 Helton 1b 4 0 1 0 0 0 Spilborghs cf 4 0 0 0 0 2 Hawpe rf 4 0 2 1 0 2 Iannetta c 4 0 2 0 0 1 Stewart 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 Barmes 2b 4 0 0 0 0 3 Hammel p 2 0 0 0 0 1 Belisle p 0 0 0 0 0 0 Rusch p 0 0 0 0 0 0 a-Murton ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 Daley p 0 0 0 0 0 0 Corpas p 0 0 0 0 0 0 Street p 0 0 0 0 0 0 c-Quintanilla ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 Totals 35 3 8 3 3 10

Avg. .275 .211 .351 .270 .329 .212 .210 .228 .000 --.400 .273 ------.200

Florida Colorado

H 1 2 0 0 4 0 2 1 2 1 1 2 0 0 0 16

BI 0 0 0 0 2 1 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 8

BB 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

111 050 000 — 102 000 000 —

8 16 0 3 8 0

a-popped out for Rusch in the 6th. b-grounded out for Calero in the 8th. c-struck out for Street in the 9th. LOB: Florida 10, Colorado 8. 2B: Tulowitzki (4), Hawpe (9), Iannetta (2). HR: Ha.Ramirez (6), off Hammel; Jo.Baker (3), off Hammel; Tulowitzki (4), off Nolasco. RBIs: Ha.Ramirez 2 (17), Cantu (31), Jo.Baker 3 (14), Hermida 2 (13), Tulowitzki 2 (10), Hawpe (19). SB: Ha.Ramirez (4). SF: Cantu. Runners left in scoring position: Florida 4 (Jo.Baker, Bonifacio, Cantu, Helms); Colorado 5 (Hammel, Iannetta, Spilborghs, Murton, Hawpe). Florida Nolasco W, 2-3 Pinto Calero Nunez Lindstrom Colorado Hammel L, 0-1 Belisle Rusch Daley Corpas Street

IP 6 1⁄3 2⁄3 1 1 IP 4 1⁄3 0 1 2⁄3 1 1 1

H 8 0 0 0 0 H 8 3 1 0 2 2

R ER BB SO 3 3 1 5 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 R ER BB SO 6 6 1 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

NP ERA 99 6.63 15 1.29 9 1.69 16 2.30 11 6.00 NP ERA 80 5.40 13 9.82 24 4.50 13 1.50 11 5.68 20 5.11

Belisle pitched to 3 batters in the 5th. Inherited runners-scored: Calero 2-0, Belisle 2-2, Rusch 1-0. WP: Nolasco, Belisle. Umpires: Home, Brian Runge; First, Bill Miller; Second, Derryl Cousins; Third, Angel Campos. T: 3:17. A: 27,398 (50,449).

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27

Former stars want to play on, but can they find jobs? BY ALBERT BREER [email protected]

Go back a half-decade and toss these names around: Jason Taylor. Chris McAlister. Edgerrin James. Jon Runyan. Derrick Brooks. Marvin Harrison. Back then, you could build a championship team around that group. But it’s pretty evident—since these guys are still out of work in early May—that you can’t anymore. Can you get anything out of the old stars? In each case, the answer is, well, probably. But there are reasons each is lingering on the street and why such veterans usually do this time of year. Among them: Veterans of 10-plus seasons—all six of the players mentioned above are in that category—carry a minimum salary of $875,000. The rookie minimum is $340,000. So no matter how cheap a vet signs for, he’ll still cost more, though there is cap relief for signing older veterans. They count just $460,000 (equal to the minimum for a third-year player) against the limit, softening the blow. The injury risk is exponentially higher. One team conducted a study that showed a mid-30s player is four times more likely to be seriously injured than a rookie. There’s little upside to such a signing, and the player could decline over the course of the year. Generally, former stars have little special teams experience, meaning they almost have to start to represent proper value on the roster. With those factors in mind, an update on the six big-name vets:

BOB LEVERONE / SN

Jason Taylor, DE/OLB The situation: Sources continue to indicate that New England is the front-runner for Taylor, who had his best season in a Belichick-like system under Nick Saban, would fill the Patriots’ crying need for an edge rusher and has a desire to play there. The Dolphins have had lukewarm interest in bringing back Taylor, 34, and Miami is committed to giving CFL star Cameron Wake a shot opposite Joey Porter.

Scout’s take: “Under the right circumstances, he could definitely give a team something. The problem is he went through his career without injuries until last year, and they finally crept up on him. He has something left as a situational pass rusher in the right scheme. He’s not a starting player in this league anymore, but assuming he stays healthy, he can be effective.”

GAIL BURTON / AP

PAUL CONNORS / AP

DAVID DUROCHIK FOR SN

BOB LEVERONE / SN

ALBERT DICKSON / SN

Chris McAlister, CB

Edgerrin James, RB

Jon Runyan, OT

Derrick Brooks, OLB

Marvin Harrison, WR

The situation: McAlister, 31, is rehabbing from arthroscopic knee surgery in Los Angeles and is expected to be cleared for all football activities by late June. He’d like to stay near his native California. The Seahawks and Chargers have shown interest, as have the Cowboys, who intrigue McAlister very much.

The situation: James finally got his wish, gaining his release after Arizona selected Chris Wells in the draft— and the Saints have investigated him. At this point, he’s a complementary piece—he turns 31 in August and averaged under 4 yards per carry in each of his three years in desert.

The situation: The Eagles swiftly replaced Runyan, 35, with Stacy Andrews in March, and the veteran tackle is still rehabbing after offseason knee surgery. At 6-7, 330 pounds, he can be a physical presence but will need to prove his health.

The situation: Brooks, 36, was part of a purge of veterans by Tampa’s new regime at the outset of free agency. The 11-time Pro Bowler has indicated he wants to play a 15th season, but there has been little interest around the league.

Scout’s take: “He’s lost a lot of mobility, and he was never a tremendous athlete. He’s always been that road-grading right tackle. The question is, do you give him more help? Do you want to have the running back constantly chipping to his side? Do want to keep your tight end in? The league’s getting more athletic, and it won’t be too long before you see right tackles who slide like left tackles. We’re getting enamored with athletic ability, and he’s a throwback.”

Scout’s take: “He doesn’t fit every scheme, so right off the bat there are teams that won’t consider him. He’ll probably need an injury somewhere to get on a roster. He has another year left, but it needs to be the right fit. While he’s a technically sound guy, he’s only got OK athletic ability. It’s not near where it was.”

The situation: Creaky knees have led to rumors that Harrison, 36, will hang ’em up in the wake of his ouster from Indianapolis. He’s clearly not the elite player of yesteryear, but his agent has said he plans to play in 2009 and he did he manage 60 catches and five touchdowns last year while missing just one game.

Scout’s take: “He’ll sign Scout’s take: “He’s got a lot of tread on the tire. Watching him last year, he’s without question a big injury risk. Athletically, while he still has the instincts, the drop-off in long speed and explosiveness were noticeable. He probably should’ve gone to safety a while ago. At his age, do you do it now? It’ll be difficult if he doesn’t get in a camp, I could see him not playing this year.” Ideal spot: Cowboys

somewhere—he still has something left as a complementary back. He’s got good run instincts, vision, and change-of-direction skills. He’s not a breakaway threat, but he really never was. I don’t love how he fit in that power scheme in Arizona, but he’s still talented enough, with his vision and instincts, to play well in a situation like Indianapolis, where he can take a draw handoff, slash and pickand-slide.”

Ideal spot: Steelers

Ideal spot: Colts

Scout’s take: “Marvin has lost a great deal of his downfield explosiveness and vertical bigplay ability. But he’s an exceptional route runner with excellent hands and ball skills, and he still has enough lateral quickness to get in and out of his breaks. What I’d be most concern with, other than age, is the durability factor. But he’s a guy who can help. He’s not going to forget how to play football, and if someone gets hurt in camp, he could end up there.”

Ideal spot: Saints Ideal spot: New England

Ideal spot: Chargers

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SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

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NFL minicamp schedule

Shoulder X-rays will determine Favre’s decision According to an ESPN report, Brett Favre is considering another comeback after all. The network said a source close to the situation indicated X-rays of Favre’s throwing shoulder were sent to the Vikings for evaluation. If the damage to the shoulder does not require major surgery, Favre, 39, will sign with the Vikings and play this season, ESPN said. If major surgery is necessary, Favre will remain retired. Favre has a partially torn biceps tendon in his right arm, which apparently is leading to pain in his shoulder. The news came a day after Yahoo! Sports reported that Favre told Vikings coach Brad Childress he would remain retired. The Rams continued to revamp their defense under new coach Steve Spagnuolo, releasing OLB Pisa Tinoisamoa Friday. Tinoisamoa was the team’s leading tackler last season, but at 220 pounds, he lacks the size Spagnuolo wants at linebacker. Spagnuolo made the surprise announcement in a statement, calling it a “difficult decision based on a lot of factors.” Tinoisamoa is a sixyear veteran who had 135 tackles in 2008. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the team created $2.25 million in 2009 cap room by cutting him. The Rams are expected to replace Tinoisamoa on the strong side with journeyman Chris Draft. Rookie James Laurinaitis will start at middle linebacker and Will Witherspoon on the weak side.

Linehan said. “Whether they’re good receivers or not, that’s what you’ve got to be first. Pettigrew was such a unique fit and profile for the position because he’s a blocker and a receiver. He will be a big factor in our offense whether we’re throwing the ball or running.” TE Michael Gaines, who was cut by the Lions last week, will visit the Bears on Monday, a league source told the Chicago Sun-Times. Gaines was released after Detroit drafted two tight ends. He started six games last season and caught 23 passes for 260 yards and one touchdown.

KATHY WILLENS / AP

If he can avoid major surgery on his right shoulder, Brett Favre might play again after all. QB Jason Campbell, who appeared to be in jeopardy of losing his job as the Redskins considered trading for Jay Cutler and later Mark Sanchez, is attempting to improve his mechanics. According to Redskins.com, Campbell is working on dropping back quicker and altering his throwing motion to improve his release time. “I’m trying to be explosive under center and learn a technique of pushing the ball back at the

end of my drop so that I’m able to release the ball quickly and not have as much of a windup,” Campbell said. Lions offensive coordinator Scott Linehan told Mlive.com that versatile rookie TE Brandon Pettigrew will have a major role in the offense. “If you look at the teams that run the ball consistently over the course of 16 games and the playoffs, they’ve got tight ends who can block,”

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The Falcons wanted to get younger on defense, which they have achieved after parting ways with LB Keith Brooking, 33, S Lawyer Milloy, 35, and DT Grady Jackson, 36. “Right now, we have 25 players on our roster with three years or less NFL experience,” coach Mike Smith said. “We are also going to be a faster and more urgent football team with the infusion of the players we drafted. That was one of the things we set out to do. We wanted to increase or speed and urgency on our roster.” After picking up DL Tyson Jackson and Alex Magee in the draft—two players with the size to play end in a 3-4 scheme—the Chiefs think they have enough pieces to go ahead with their transition to the new defense. “We’re going to try variations of it,” coach Todd Haley said. The Seahawks feel that have

the pieces in place to eventually replace cornerstone LT Walter Jones, 35, who is coming back from microfracture knee surgery. He is expected to be ready to play this season, but the team knows it will need to replace him in the next couple of years. The team appears satisfied with Sean Locklear and Ray Willis as a starting combo down the road. Locklear is expected to start at right tackle this season, but he is subbing at left tackle for Jones during offseason workouts with Willis at right tackle. According to InsideBayArea. com, the Raiders have signed veteran FB Lorenzo Neal and RB Gary Russell. The Raiders are Neal’s eighth team and 2009 will be his 17th season. He was still an effective lead blocker for the Ravens last season. Russell gained 77 yards in 28 carries for the Steelers last year. Oakland TE Zach Miller had sports hernia surgery and likely won’t take the field for another month, InsideBayArea.com reported. The Lions re-signed veteran Keary Colbert to boost their depth at wide receiver, The Detroit News reported. Colbert, a sixth-year pro who initially signed with the Lions as a free agent late last season, caught five passes for 64 yards in four games with Detroit. The Colts announced the jobs of longtime player personnel official Dom Anile and several others in the scouting department were eliminated in recent restructuring

A listing of upcoming NFL minicamps (all include rookies and veterans unless otherwise noted): Atlanta—Friday-Sunday Baltimore—Friday-Sunday Buffalo—June 9-11 Cincinnati—June 18-20 Cleveland—May 19-21 (voluntary); May 26-28 (voluntary); June 11-13 Dallas—June 16-18 Denver—June 12-14 Detroit—June 23-25 (voluntary) Green Bay—June 23-25 Houston—June 15-17 Indianapolis—June 5-7 Kansas City—Friday-Sunday (rookies); June 5-7 Miami—June 12-14 Minnesota—May 29-31 New England—June 10-12 New Orleans—Friday-Sunday (rookies); June 5-7 N.Y. Giants—Friday-Sunday (rookies); June 16-18 N. Y. Jets—June 9-11 Oakland—Friday-Sunday St. Louis—June 5-7 San Francisco—June 5-7 Seattle—June 10-12 Tampa Bay—June 16-18 Note: Teams are allowed to have rookie minicamps separate from the full-squad minicamp, and teams with first-year head coaches are allowed to add up to two voluntary minicamps.

efforts. Anile, 71, was credited with being a key to the Colts’ string of successful drafts and ability to find undrafted free agents such as C Jeff Saturday. OLB Terrell Suggs, the Ravens’ franchise player, was a no-show for the team’s minicamp Friday. Suggs has not signed his tender, so he can’t be fined for not participating. The Ravens are trying to negotiate a long-term deal with Suggs. The Broncos signed former Texans RB Darius Walker. He rushed for 264 yards in 2007 but did not get on the field last season in Houston. The Oakland Raiders have bolstered their backfield by signing FB Lorenzo Neal and RB Gary Russell. The team added the two backs in time for the start of the mandatory minicamp.

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Remaining free agents A quick look at the remaining NFL free agents by position (R-restricted free agent, F-franchise tagged player): OFFENSE Quarterbacks—Brooks Bollinger, Dallas; Ken Dorsey, Cleveland; Gus Frerotte, Minnesota; Charlie Frye, Seattle; Drew Henson, Detroit; Quinn Gray, Kansas City; Trent Green, St. Louis; Rex Grossman, Chicago; Brad Johnson, Dallas; J.P. Losman, Buffalo; Jamie Martin, San Francisco; Craig Nall, Houston; Marques Tuiasosopo, Oakland; Anthony Wright, NY Giants. Running backs—Darian Barnes, New Orleans; Tatum Bell, Denver; Brian Calhoun, Detroit; Jesse Chatman, NY Jets; P.J. Daniels, Baltimore; Reuben Droughns, NY Giants; Warrick Dunn, Tampa Bay; DeShaun Foster, San Francisco; Samkon Gado, St. Louis; Nick Goings, Carolina; Ahman Green, Houston; Andre Hall, Denver; Kay-Jay Harris, NY Giants; Maurice Hicks, Minnesota; Edgerrin James, Arizona; Rudi Johnson, Detroit; Deuce McAllister, New Orleans; Travis Minor, St. Louis; Montell Owens (R), Jacksonville; Chris Perry, Cincinnati; Andrew Pinnock, Denver; Michael Pittman, Denver; P.J. Pope, Denver; Cecil Sapp, Houston; Aaron Stecker, New Orleans; Selvin Young, Denver. Wide receivers—Drew Bennett, St. Louis; Troy Bergeron, Atlanta; Shaun Bodiford, Green Bay; Marty Booker, Chicago; Drew Carter, Oakland; Jason Carter; Carolina; Keary Colbert, Detroit; Jayson Foster, Denver; Malcom Floyd (R), San Diego; D.J. Hackett, Carolina; Dante Hall, St. Louis; Marvin Harrison, Indianapolis; Ike Hilliard, Tampa Bay; Darrell Jackson, Denver; Nate Jackson, Denver; Matt Jones, Jacksonville; Joe Jurevicius, Cleveland; Ashley Lelie, Oakland; Brandon Lloyd, Chicago; Dane Looker, St. Louis; Ruvell Martin (R), Green Bay; Anthony Mix, Tampa Bay; Ben Obomanu (R), Seattle; Tab Perry, Miami; Jerry Porter, Jacksonville; Kevin Robinson, Kansas City; Koren Robinson, Seattle; Edell Shepherd, Denver; Travis Taylor, Detroit; Amani Toomer, NY Giants; Kelley Washington, New England; Todd Watkins (R), Oakland; Harry Williams, Houston; Reggie Williams, Jacksonville; Wallace Wright (R), NY Jets. Tight ends—Courtney Anderson, Houston; Adam Bergen, Denver; Mark Bruener, Houston; Scott Chandler, San Diego; Owen Daniels (R), Houston; Michael Gaines, Detroit; Nate Lawrie, Cincinnati; Michael Merritt, Kansas City; Chad Mustard, Denver; Leonard Pope (R), Arizona; Jeff Robinson, Seattle; Derek Schouman (R), Buffalo; Stephen Spach (R), Arizona; Daniel Wilcox, Baltimore; Kris Wilson, San Diego. Offensive tackles—Tyson Clabo (R), Atlanta; Anthony Davis, St. Louis; Jon Dunn, Detroit; Wayne Gandy, Atlanta; Kwame Harris, Oakland; Jonas Jennings, San Francisco; Levi Jones, Cincinnati; James Marten (R), Oakland; Fred Miller, Chicago; Rob Petitti, St. Louis; Jon Runyan, Philadelphia; Ephraim Salaam, Houston; Charles Spencer, Jacksonville; Barry Stokes, New England; Mark Tauscher, Green Bay; Mark Wilson (R), Oakland; Eric Young, Cleveland. Guards—Lennie Friedman, Cleveland; Adrian Jones, Kansas City; Pete Kendall, Washington; Matt Lentz, Detroit; Terrence Metcalf, Chicago; Edwin Mulitalo, Detroit; Chris Naeole, Jacksonville; Tutan Reyes, Jacksonville; Grey Ruegamer, NY Giants; Kendall Simmons, Pittsburgh; Rob Sims (R), Seattle; Jason Whittle, Buffalo. Centers—Brennen Carvalho, Green Bay; Jean-Philippe Darche, Kansas City; Melvin Fowler, Buffalo; Matt Lehr, New Orleans; Andy McCollum, Detroit; Jeremy Newberry, San Diego; Scott Peters, Arizona; Bryan Pittman, Houston; Cory Withrow, St. Louis.

DEFENSE Defensive ends—Kevin Carter, Tampa Bay; Earl Cochran, Houston; Sean Conover, NY Jets; Nick Eason, Pittsburgh; Kalimba Edwards, Oakland; Ebenezer Ekuban, Denver; John Engelberger, Denver; Simon Fraser, Atlanta; Roderick Green, San Francisco; Jason Hunter, Green Bay; Travis LaBoy, Arizona; Jayme Mitchell, Minnesota; Jerome McDougle, NY Giants; Julius Peppers (F), Carolina; Jason Taylor, Washington; Anthony Weaver, Houston; James Wyche, Jacksonville. Defensive tackles—Kenderick Allen, Minnesota; Gary Gibson (R), Carolina; La’Roi Glover, St. Louis; Vonnie Holliday, Miami; Antwan Lake, New Orleans; Anthony Montgomery (R), Washington; Langston Moore, Detroit; Kindal Moorehead, Atlanta; Dewayne Robertson, Denver; Orpheus Roye, Pittsburgh; Montavious Stanley (R), New Orleans; Hollis Thomas, New Orleans; Josh Thomas, Indianapolis; John Thornton, Cincinnati; Darwin Walker, Carolina; Gabe Watson (R), Arizona; Ellis Wyms, Minnesota; Brian Young, New Orleans; Jeff Zgonina, Houston. Linebackers—Rufus Alexander, Indianapolis; Jason Babin, Kansas City; Rocky Boiman, Kansas City; Derrick Brooks, Tampa Bay; Khary Campbell, Washington; Anthony Cannon, Detroit; Dan Cody, Baltimore; Rosevelt Colvin, New England; Donte’ Curry, Carolina; Donnie Edwards, Kansas City; Keith Ellison (R), Buffalo; Troy Evans, New Orleans; Gilbert Gardner, Chicago; Curtis Gatewood, Kansas City; Morlon Greenwood, Houston; Marques Harris, San Diego; Napoleon Harris, Minnesota; Abdul Hodge (R), Cincinnati; Mike Humpal, Pittsburgh; Brad Kassell, NY Jets; Jason Kyle, Carolina; Teddy Lehman, Buffalo; Paris Lenon, Detroit; Wesly Mallard, Seattle; Jim Maxwell, Cincinnati; Willie McGinest, Cleveland; Marques Murrell (R), NY Jets; Ryan Nece, Detroit; Shantee Orr, Cleveland; Antwan Peek, Cleveland; Carlos Polk, Dallas; Junior Seau, New England; Matt Sinclair, Washington; Gary Stills, St. Louis; Terrell Suggs (F), Baltimore; Dontarrious Thomas, Minnesota; Pisa Tinoisamoa, St. Louis; Marcus Washington, Washington; Nate Webster, Denver. Cornerbacks—David Barrett, NY Jets; Dre’Bly, Denver; Fakhir Brown, St. Louis; Terry Cousin, Cleveland; Jason Craft, St. Louis; Travis Fisher, Detroit; Reynaldo Hill, Tennessee; Roderick Hood, Arizona; William James, Jacksonville; Michael Lehan, New Orleans; Sam Madison, NY Giants; Ricky Manning Jr., St. Louis; Derrick Martin (R), Baltimore; Chris McAlister, Baltimore; Mike McKenzie, New Orleans; R.W. McQuarters, NY Giants; Deltha O’Neal, New England; Dunta Robinson (F), Houston; Lewis Sanders, New England; Duane Starks, Jacksonville; Brandon Sumrall, NY Giants; DeJuan Tribble, San Diego; Jason Webster, New England; Jimmy Williams, Houston; Stanley Wilson, Detroit. Safeties—Oshiomogho Atogwe (F), St. Louis; Michael Boulware, Minnesota; Mike Brown, Chicago; John Busing, Cincinnati; Oliver Celestin, Kansas City; Corey Chavous, St. Louis; Keith Davis, Dallas; Will Demps, Houston; Mike Doss, Cincinnati; Hiram Eugene, Oakland; Mike Green, Washington; Rodney Harrison, New England; Terrence Holt, New Orleans; Dexter Jackson, Cincinnati; Sammy Knight, NY Giants; Dawan Landry (R), Baltimore; Marquand Manuel, Denver; Marlon McCree, Denver; Lawyer Milloy, Atlanta; Jarrad Page (R), Kansas City; Pierson Prioleau, Jacksonville; Chris Reis (R), New Orleans; Dwight Smith, Detroit; George Wilson (R), Buffalo; Cameron Worrell, Chicago. SPECIAL TEAMS Kickers—John Carney, NY Giants; Matt Stover, Baltimore. Punters—Mitch Berger, Pittsburgh; Mike Dragosavich, Indianapolis; Sam Koch (R), Baltimore; Kyle Larson, Cincinnati; Ryan Plackemeier, Cincinnati.

NFL

SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

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Bengals expect reunion to revitalize Williams CINCINNATI—Safety Roy Williams hopes that a reunion with his defensive coordinator from Dallas will get his career turned around. Williams, signed to a one-year contract by the Bengals earlier this week, missed most of last season with Dallas because he broke his right forearm twice—and the Cowboys released him on March 5. Part of the attraction of coming to Cincinnati was the chance to play for coordinator Mike Zimmer, who held the job in Dallas from 2000-06. Williams was the Cowboys’ first-round pick in 2002. “I know that Coach (Zimmer) knows what I can do on the football field,” Williams said. “I’ve been criticized for a lot, but I was never criticized when he was my coach. We’re going to get back to our old ways and have a great season.” The Bengals finished 4-11-1 last season in large part because they had the worst offense in the NFL. The defense, which has been a problem for years, improved to a middle-of-the-league ranking despite spending a lot of time on the field. Williams, 28, had problems in coverage with the Cowboys, but he fills the Bengals’ need to add another hard-hitting safety to handle running backs in the AFC North. “He was a big-time enforcer,” Zimmer said. “When the ball was thrown over the middle of the field, not a lot of people came away with either the ball or their ribs or something. He’s a big-time blitzer. He’s a playmaker.” Williams made five Pro Bowls before last season, when he broke

AL BEHRMAN / AP

In Cincinnati, Roy Williams, right, will once again play for defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, who coached him in Dallas from 2000-06.

his right forearm in the second game, missed the next three, then returned and broke it again. He thinks he’ll be a better fit in the Bengals’ defense. “I’m going to be more involved in the defense here, from my understanding,” Williams said. “The last couple of years, I wasn’t utilized to the best of my abilities. We played to everyone else’s abilities, which is a great thing for the team and I’m a team player. Whatever I’m told to do,

I’ll do.” Williams agreed to a one-year deal on Wednesday night, and the Bengals offered to fly him into the city over the weekend. Williams didn’t want to wait that long—he flew in Thursday morning, signed the deal and worked out with some of his new teammates. “Being out on the street is not a fun thing and I don’t take this lightly,” Williams said. Williams originally visited the Bengals on March 19, but at the

time, coach Marvin Lewis told him the team had higher priorities than signing the safety. The Bengals had already decided to keep safety Chris Crocker and were looking to upgrade their offensive and defensive lines. “We were very open and candid with Roy and told Roy we had other priorities that we felt were more important, and Roy would text me and remind me of those as we checked them off,” Lewis said. — The Associated Press

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SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

Hornish’s fortunes finally improving

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Southern 500 When: Tonight, 7:20 ET TV: FOX, 7 p.m. ET Radio: MRN/Sirius XM Satellite Ch. 128 Track layout: 1.366-mile oval Race distance: 367 laps/500 miles 2008 winner: Kyle Busch 2008 polesitter: Greg Biffle

BRETT FLASHNICK / AP

Matt Kenseth won the fourth pole of his career Friday, and his first since October 2005 at Kansas.

Kenseth sets qualifying record at Darlington TONY GUTIERREZ / AP

BY REID SPENCER [email protected]

Sam Hornish Jr. qualified well for tonight’s Sprint Cup race at Darlington, where he’ll start fourth. BY JARED TURNER SceneDaily.com

Almost from the day he joined the Sprint Cup Series, Sam Hornish Jr. has heard rumblings that he wouldn’t compete on NASCAR’s top circuit for long. A three-time IndyCar Series champion, Hornish has faced a steady stream of questions and rumors about a possible return to the openwheel ranks where he found so much success. It has even been suggested that the Penske Racing driver might step down to the Nationwide Series to hone his stock-car skills. But if Hornish can build on his recent successes, all the questions and suggestions seem sure to fade away. After more than a year of struggles, the Bryan, Ohio, native seems be finding his way in Cup. A pair of top-10 finishes in his last three starts may be proof enough. “Everybody asks me if I’m liking racing Cup,” Hornish says. “I said, ‘I’ll like it a lot more when we start winning or start being more successful,’ because I did have that tendency to run so well (in IndyCar), but I was also realistic enough to know that it wasn’t going to come easy, and it’s really why I

wanted to come over here and do this. “I had an opportunity to kind of get my feet wet, and when I decided to come do it full time, there (were) no misconceptions about what stock-car racing was. I knew how hard it was and how much different it was from what I was accustomed to, but it was a challenge that I felt that if I didn’t do, that I was going to at some point in time regret not doing it.” While the numbers reveal just the two top10s—a ninth at Phoenix on April 18 and a sixth last weekend at Richmond—over the season’s first 10 races, they aren’t entirely indicative of the gains made by Hornish and his team. At Talladega, for example, Hornish was running in the top 15 before being eliminated in a late crash not of his own making. At Texas, he spent most of the race in the top 12 before fading to 17th. At Bristol, he lost several laps early on but eventually had a car that ran competitively. Such baby steps might not mean much to a lot of teams. But for the No. 77 bunch, they speak to the slow, but steady progress of Hornish and the entire group, especially since Travis Geisler replaced Chris Carrier as crew chief going into Bristol last August. [email protected]

DARLINGTON, S.C.—On a “green” racetrack washed by a hard afternoon rain, Matt Kenseth laid down the best qualifying lap in the history of Darlington Raceway. Touring the 1.366-mile egg-shaped circuit in 27.394 seconds (179.514 mph), Kenseth won the pole for tonight’s Southern 500, edging Jeff Gordon (178.861 mph) by a tenth of a second, in a session that saw three-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Jimmie Johnson wreck in Turn 2 on his first lap. Ryan Newman (178.757 mph) qualified third, followed by Sam Hornish Jr. (178.744 mph) and rookie Joey Logano (178.549 mph). In winning his fourth career pole and his first since October 2005 at Kansas Speedway, Kenseth erased the mark of Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle, who qualified at 179.442 mph in May of last year. “It was a great lap for us,” said Kenseth, who won the first two races of the season but since has fallen to 12th in the Cup standings. “We’ve had a lot of speed in our car all day, for some reason, which has been real encouraging. We made a lot of changes on our car

today, and we’ve been able to make it work, been able to make it better. “I didn’t really think that we had a serious shot at the pole, but our car was driving really good, and actually, for once when it quit raining, I was glad we had a chance to qualify today.” Kenseth said the track didn’t change as much after the rain as he thought it might. “The track today in general rubbered in (from tire wear during practice) a lot more than I thought it would,” Kenseth said. “It turned really dark, and the more it would rubber in, the more grip it got and the better it felt… I thought after the rain that would all be washed away, and surprisingly, there was still a lot of rubber in the track.” Johnson spun in Turn 2 and backed into the wall, knocking the rear wing off his No. 48 Chevrolet. His car then slid down the track and nosed into the inside wall. Johnson will start tonight’s race from the 42nd position in a backup car. Rookie Scott Speed, who crashed during practice and made his qualifying run in a backup car, failed to make the race. Jeremy Mayfield likewise failed to make the 43-car field. — Reid Spencer writes for the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

Tonight’s starting lineup (Car number in parentheses) 1. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 179.514 mph 2. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 178.861 3. (39) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 178.757 4. (77) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 178.744 5. (20) Joey Logano, Toyota, 178.549 6. (31) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 178.510 7. (9) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 178.407 8. (2) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 178.400 9. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford, 178.019 10. (47) Marcos Ambrose, Toyota, 177.826 11. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 177.646 12. (5) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 177.300 13. (07) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 177.300 14. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 177.039 15. (6) David Ragan, Ford, 177.007 16. (1) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 176.911 17. (33) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 176.892 18. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 176.594 19. (19) Elliott Sadler, Dodge, 176.555 20. (26) Jamie McMurray, Ford, 176.422 21. (00) David Reutimann, Toyota, 176.347 22. (13) Max Papis, Toyota, 176.328 23. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 176.264 24. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 176.138 25. (42) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 176.050 26. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 175.981 27. (96) Bobby Labonte, Ford, 175.968 28. (7) Robby Gordon, Toyota, 175.735 29. (78) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 175.629 30. (71) David Gilliland, Chevrolet, 175.441 31. (25) Brad Keselowski, Chevrolet, 175.434 32. (87) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 175.266 33. (66) Dave Blaney, Toyota, 175.247 34. (12) David Stremme, Dodge, 175.053 35. (83) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 174.860 36. (55) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 174.773 37. (36) Scott Riggs, Toyota, 174.724 38. (44) A J Allmendinger, Dodge, 174.525 39. (34) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 173.847 40. (98) Paul Menard, Ford, owner points 41. (43) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, owner points 42. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, owner points 43. (09) Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 174.402 Failed to qualify 44. (41) Jeremy Mayfield, Toyota, 174.229 45. (82) Scott Speed, Toyota, 174.013

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Nationwide team owner and ESPN analyst Rusty Wallace felt he had to correct significant problems with the pit crew of his No. 62 Chevrolet, driven by Brendan Gaughan. “I said, ‘You guys are having so many problems that we’re going to have a time out for one week—we’re going to get new guys in place, and we’re going to practice for the next two weeks,’” Wallace said Friday at Darlington. “So I’m using Richard Childress’ No. 33 Cup team (of driver Clint Bowyer), pitting Brendan Gaughan, because I lost confidence in what

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Kenseth capitalizes on Busch’s flat tire

Martin has heard nothing about crew chief swap Hendrick Motorsports driver Mark Martin and crew chief Alan Gustafson say they have no knowledge of any plans to switch crew chiefs within the organization, a move that has been rumored in the Sprint Cup garage. The two certainly have heard talk that some fans think team owner Rick Hendrick could swap Gustafson with Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s crew chief, Tony Eury Jr. But neither has knowledged of any sort of factual basis for such talk—and Martin certainly plans to remain with the crew chief that has helped his team climb to 15th in the standings. “I’m in no position to make any kind of demands at Hendrick Motorsports,” Martin said when asked about the rumor Friday at Darlington Raceway. “I know Rick, I’ve known him only well for a short period of time. I would do whatever Rick Hendrick told me to do, even though I’d be incredibly disappointed. “I have every intention of working with Alan as long as I drive the (No.) 5 car. He is an incredible crew chief, and there’s never been any conversation. … Rick Hendrick’s the boss, but I’m not concerned.” Martin said that Hendrick has never spoken to him about that possibility. — SceneDaily.com

SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

BY REID SPENCER [email protected]

BRETT FLASHNICK / AP

Mark Martin, above, wants to stick with Alan Gustafson. we were getting done.” — Reid Spencer Goodyear may be feverishly working to find a tire that’s compatible with the racing surface at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and NASCAR’s new racecar, but Sam Hornish Jr., for one, probably wouldn’t mind the same sort of race the Cup series staged there last year, when tire issues chopped the race into segments of approximately 10 laps. “I’ve said ever since that race was over with, I thought that was one of the best Brickyard 400s, if you’re going to look at it as far as the amount of lead changes and not knowing what was going to happen,” said Hornish, who won the 2006 Indianapolis 500. “I blew out two tires, one of them under green and one of them under yellow. “You couldn’t got the full 10 laps as hard as you could possibly go or you’d blow out a tire, so for us drivers, you knew that if you drove too hard you’d have a problem. But how hard was too hard? It was one of my favorite races I ever ran at Indianapolis, because there was never a dull moment.” — Reid Spencer

DARLINGTON, S.C.—Maybe Matt Kenseth’s luck has turned again. On Friday afternoon, Kenseth was the surprise pole winner for tonight’s Southern 500 Sprint Cup race at Darlington Raceway. On Friday night, he completed the daily double with a victory in the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 Nationwide Series race at the 1.366-mile egg-shaped track, after misfortune struck the dominant car of Kyle Busch in the closing circuits. Kenseth inherited the lead when Busch was forced to pit under yellow with a cut right-rear tire and won the race under the record-tying 10th caution period of the night, when Morgan Shepherd spun moments after a restart for a green-white-checkered-flag finish that took the race six laps beyond its scheduled 147 laps. The victory was Kenseth’s first of the season, his third at Darlington and his 25th in the series, fifth best all-time. Jason Leffler came home second, followed by Carl Edwards and rookie Erik Darnell, who posted his first top-five finish in his third start in the series. Fellow rookie Justin Allgaier ran fifth. “Today couldn’t have gone any better than it did, that’s for sure,” said Kenseth, who won the first two Cup races of the season before his fortunes soured and a series of miscues and mishaps dropped him to 12th in the standings. “Like I said earlier, it’s all really about the cars and the people that work on them and your pit stops and all that. “I can’t go fast with slow cars, which I proved over the last couple months. It feels good to be able to win one of these things… On the Cup side, it feels good to make changes today, and the car actually reacted to it and seemed to drive a lot better than our stuff has lately, so it’s been a good day for us. Hopefully, that will continue (today).” With Busch finishing 16th, Edwards trimmed the Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s advantage in the series standings to 37 points. Busch, who led a race-high 143 laps, was two circuits away from victory when a wreck on the backstretch involving Scott Lagasse Jr. and Joe Nemechek brought out the ninth caution and set up the green-white-checkered-flag finish. Busch ran over debris from the wreck. Busch’s right rear tire sustained a cut to the inside sidewall. The tire likely would not have survived the restart, and Busch and crew chief Jason Ratliff made the prudent call to pit and change tires. — Reid Spencer writes for the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

MARY ANN CHASTAIN / AP

Matt Kenseth now has won three Nationwide races at Darlington in his career.

Diamond Hill Plywood 200 results FINISH

START

CAR.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

6 7 3 5 16 2 19 9 10 31

16 38 60 6 12 33 1 29 32 5

DRIVER

MAKE

Matt Kenseth Jason Leffler Carl Edwards Erik Darnell Justin Allgaier Ryan Newman Mike Bliss Jeff Burton Brian Vickers Scott Wimmer

Ford Toyota Ford Ford Dodge Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet Toyota Chevrolet

MORE COVERAGE Results: sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=547005 Standings: sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=547007

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SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

32

DAVE CURTIS’ MAILBAG

Don’t shortchange Tressel, he’s a hall of a coach A dip into Sporting News Today college football writer Dave Curtis’ inbox hits on some of the nation’s biggest programs, the BCS (of course), and whether college football has a drug problem. Here we go …

Panthers moving any time soon? — Mike D.

Curtis: First, Mike, I’m not sure the Big Ten needs a 12th team. We’ve seen that the conference championship game, the obvious perk of jumping to 12, doesn’t work everywhere. But in talking to administrators and others around the league, I don’t see expansion in the next five years at least. I’m a big believer that the Big Ten will wait for Notre Dame to change its mind and surrender independent status. If that doesn’t happen, it will stay at 11. And no one, except random 82-year-olds, will complain.

Q:

I read your Jim Tressel column. Are you crazy? Why don’t we just put any coach who’s won a championship in the Hall of Fame? Did you forget about the national championship games? — John M.

Curtis: Here’s another hidden curse of the bowl set-up—postseason performance skews whatever else a coach or a program accomplishes. A fantastic year, sometimes an undefeated year, can get spoiled by a bad matchup or a bad day. Tressel deserves to be knocked for falling short in recent big games. But that Dave Curtis doesn’t disqualify what COLLEGE FOOTBALL he’s done in all the other games. Tress has assured himself a spot in the hall as soon as he’s eligible. It’s too bad more of these lifer coaches can’t get honored before they retire instead of after most fans have moved on.

Q:

If the NCAA takes victories away from Bobby Bowden, does that mean he stays around longer? And what does that mean for coach-in-waiting Jimbo Fisher? Can you spare some change for the $5 million we’d owe him if he’s not the head coach (by Jan. 10, 2011)? Go ’Noles! — Terry B.

Q:

I was thinking about the Manny Ramirez stuff, and it dawned on me that we never hear about steroids in college football. Baseball has issues, and so does the NFL. Do you think we’ll ever see a steroids scandal in college football? — Jason M.

TERRY GILLIAM / AP

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, center, has assured himself a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame, SN Today’s Dave Curtis says.

Curtis: I’ve got 47 cents on me, Terry, so you’re still a couple bake sales away from the $5 mil. Maybe I’ll help more with this take. For starters, I suspect Bobby comes out of this with his record intact. It’s pure speculation (the NCAA is tough to gauge as far as punishments and appeals go), so take it for what it’s worth. If he loses wins, Bowden will feel the tug to stick around longer than expected. In the end, though, Bowden will step aside by the end of the 2010 season. Fisher will ascend, and FSU won’t need to drain its savings.

Q:

Why does Congress care so much about the BCS? There are so many other problems in this country, and we’re talking about college football. What gives? — Susan T.

earned nothing but a few headlines. Even the legislation on the table seems empty. Bottom line: Don’t expect any sweeping changes to come from these hearings. This is not the birth of a playoff system. It’s the birth of a few re-election campaigns.

Curtis: All politics is local, Susan, even on Capitol Hill. Folks in Texas and Utah and Hawaii are peeved over slights their football teams have received from the BCS. So their members of Congress, hoping for a bump in positive PR, have pounced on the issue and

Q:

I read about the talk of Big Ten expansion this week, and the Big Ten has to get a 12th team. I think Pittsburgh is a perfect fit—they’re geographically close, and they play our style in basketball. Are the

Curtis: It’s naïve to think there are no performance-enhancing drugs in college sports. There are too many talented athletes, too many desperate coaches, and too much on the line to avoid the temptation of cheating. But I don’t foresee a major scandal with across-the-board suspensions for key players. Individual schools and the NCAA issue drug tests, and the process has been refined over the last decade or so to become more accurate and legitimate. We’ll continue to see guys benched for a game or two for “unspecified violations of team rules.” We might even see a tell-all book from a former player. But I’m not sure we’ll have the stars of college football brought down for using PEDs. [email protected]

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New Pac-10 commish could offer different playoff stance The change of commissioners in the Pac-10 provided a glimmer of hope for advocates of a college football playoff. The retirement of Tom Hansen and the hiring of Larry Scott made some wonder whether the Pac-10 might soften its anti-playoff stance. The questions multiplied when Scott, who takes over in July, said he wanted “to keep an open mind” about expanding the BCS. Scott, who declined to be interviewed, has made a favorable impression on athletic directors. “He has great leadership qualities,” Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood told The Associated Press. “Fresh eyes, fresh vision.” But perhaps not a fresh take on the BCS. “I don’t expect (Scott) to come in and advocate revolution,” Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby told the AP. “I think he’ll come in and talk to the people in our league and hear a strong message that the BCS—we’re there because we want to be.” A total of 11 Tennessee players with scholarships have left the Volunteers squad under new coach Lane Kiffin, including four since the end of spring practice, according to the AP. WRs Ahmad Paige and Tyler Maples, OG Darris Sawtelle and QB B.J. Coleman have left the program since the Vols’ Orange and White scrimmage game on Apr. 18. A suspended Oklahoma State player is scheduled for an

SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

ERICH SCHLEGEL / AP

Bo Bowling will be arraigned today on charges he intended to distribute marijuana. arraignment on drug charges in Payne County District Court, The News Press of Stillwater, Okla., reported. WR Bo Bowling is set to be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. He was suspended indefinitely after his February arrest. He’s been charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of paraphernalia and possession of controlled substances. Police say they found more than 100 grams of marijuana, plastic baggies, a scale and $1,135 in cash when they searched Bowling’s off-campus residence. Police also say they found the anabolic steroid Stanozolol. Georgia coach Mark Richt did not reveal whether TE Bruce Figgins, DE Justin Houston and WR Tony Wilson will be suspended for

violating team rules, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The Atlantic Coast Conference has added a bowl to its lineup of nine postseason games. The league said Friday the Mobile, Ala.-based GMAC Bowl will replace the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho. The GMAC Bowl will have the ninth pick of eligible ACC teams this year, while the EagleBank Bowl in Washington, D.C., which had the final pick last year, moves up to the No. 8 pick of ACC teams. The ACC champion once again will play in the Orange Bowl unless it is ranked either first or second in the final BCS standings. In that case, it will play in the BCS title game in Pasadena, Calif.

33

Pitino not a candidate for NBA job Louisville coach Rick Pitino is not interested in returning to the NBA, school officials said Friday. The university insists there is no truth to a Yahoo! Sports report that said Pitino had inquired about the Sacramento Kings’ vacant coaching job. Louisville spokesman Kenny Klein said Pitino was in his office Friday but did not feel it necessary to address the situation. Pitino just finished his eighth season with the Cardinals, leading Louisville to a 31-6 record and the Big East regular-season and tournament titles. The Cardinals lost to Michigan State in the regional finals of the NCAA Tournament. Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof also denied the team has talked with Pitino. Pitino has coached two NBA teams. He went 90-74 with the New York Knicks from 1987 to 1989 and 102-146 with the Boston Celtics from 1997 to 2001. At the press conference where he was introduced as the new Kentucky head coach, John Calipari told Wildcats fans, “I do not have a magic wand.” But he might have underestimated himself: Friday, Kentucky announced that star F Patrick Patterson is withdrawing from the NBA draft. “The kid has a chance to be a firstteam All-American,” Calipari said. Patterson averaged 17.9 points and 9.3 rebounds as a sophomore for the Wildcats. He placed his name on the NBA’s early entry list but did not sign with an agent in order to retain the option to return to college.

bachelor’s degree in broadcasting, but Williams said that the issues will keep him from playing. The 7-foot sophomore redshirted last season after transferring from Durham College in Oshawa, Ontario, and did not appear in any games with Marquette in his career.

ED REINKE / AP

Rick Pitino had nowhere near the success in the NBA he’s had in college. Patterson played mostly in the post for UK in his first two seasons, but Calipari envisions him playing primarily at the power forward spot while freshmen DeMarcus Cousins and Daniel Orton share the center position. As a forward in Calipari’s dribble drive motion offense, Patterson should be able to play similarly to 6-9 Robert Dozier, who was able to develop his skills with Calipari’s Memphis teams. Patterson had hosted PG recruit Eric Bledsoe on Bledsoe’s official visit last weekend and became intrigued about playing with such a gifted point guard. Bledsoe signed with the Cats earlier in the week. Kentucky also continues to recruit PG John Wall of Raleigh, N.C., the No. 1 high school prospect according to Rivals.com. — Mike DeCourcy Marquette coach Buzz Williams said C Liam McMorrow will leave the program because of unspecified medical issues. The Toronto native will remain enrolled at Marquette to pursue his

The University of Mary hired Randall Herbst, a former NebraskaOmaha assistant, as its new coach, the Bismarck Tribune reported. He will succeed Juno Pintar, who resigned in March after leading the program during its transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II. Lipscomb G Jimmy Oden is transferring to Middle Tennessee State, The Tennessean reported. Oden, who will sit out the 2009-10 season, played two seasons at Lipscomb. He averaged 5.5 points and 3.0 assists in 56 games. Southern Indiana officials said coach Rick Herdes has resigned amid irregularities in the program. Athletic director Jon Mark Hall did not give specifics as he said the athletic department found “concerning information” about the program last week. He said a report would be submitted to the NCAA. Herdes did not attend a Friday news conference at which his resignation was announced. He had coached the Eagles since 2001, leading them to a 27-7 record last season. He was 200-59 in eight seasons, including a trip to the 2004 Division II title game.

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Cejka starts early, quietly in building two-shot margin PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLA.—Alex Cejka began his surprising run to the lead Friday in The Players Championship with a 10-foot birdie putt in the stillness of a glorious morning. A smattering of applause drowned out the chirping of birds. There were 14 fans, 13 marshals. “It felt like a Monday afternoon practice round,” Cejka said after a 5-under 67 gave him a two-shot lead over Ian Poulter. That figures to change on the weekend full of possibilities. The Players Championship is among the more unpredictable tournaments in golf. The TPC Sawgrass is so devilish that small mistakes can lead to big numbers. The field is so strong that even guys who started the week as an alternate have a chance to win. Jason Dufner is proof of that, among those in a tie for third. Tiger Woods hit a rake and a spectator and almost the wrong fairway. From 45 yards away on a par 5, he tried to keep his chip short of the green, did just that, and made an important par. It added to a 69 that put him seven shots behind and left a smile on his face. “I got myself back in the ball game,” Woods said. Not many figured Cejka would be in the lead. It was only two weeks ago when he couldn’t feel his right arm, the product of a pinched nerve from surgery last year to replace a disk in his neck. He had an epidural last week, the numbness is almost gone, and Cejka nearly left the field in his wake. He had six birdies in 11 holes and built a four-shot lead over the morning starters, a lead that held for most of the day until Poulter limited his mistakes and

SATURDAY, MAY 09, 2009

Couples starts Presidents Cup interviews

PHIL COALE / AP

Alex Cejka had six birdies in 11 holes to build his two-shot lead after the second round.

The Players Championship Site: Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Schedule: Today-Sunday. Course: TPC Sawgrass, Players Stadium Course (7,215 yards, par 72). Purse: TBA ($9.5 million in 2008). Winner’s share: TBA ($1.71 million in 2008). TV: NBC (Today-Sunday, 2-7 p.m.).

finished with a birdie for a 68. “If you play the golf course properly, with good play you can score very well,” Poulter said. Cejka was at 11-under 133 and will be playing in the final group going into the weekend for the first time in nearly five years. Phil Mickelson is thankful he gets to play for two more days. He struggled with his putting most of the round and shot 1-under 71, making birdie on the last hole to make the cut on the number. “You never want to give up here, because too many things can happen on this golf course,” Mickelson said. — The Associated Press

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLA.—Listening to Fred Couples talk about his first meeting with potential U.S. players for the Presidents Cup team gave some insight into how different he will be as a captain. “It went well,” he said Friday. “I talked, they listened. Which is the way you’re supposed to have it.” The PGA Tour invited the top 30 players in the Presidents Cup standings for a Wednesday afternoon meeting in the clubhouse at The Players Championship. That should answer Kevin Sutherland’s question as he read the invitation and wondered if he was supposed to go (he is No. 30). And it explains why Scott Verplank (No. 40) jokingly said to Couples after running into him at dinner Wednesday night, “Thanks for the invitation.” Not every eligible player attended the meeting, the most noteworthy being Tiger Woods. Couples and Woods exchanged text messages after the meeting, which according to Couples went like this: Couples: “You hurt my feelings.” Woods: “I’m on the boat. You should have had the meeting on the boat.” Couples: “You’re right. We could have fit 40 (players) on the boat.” Woods: “I’m watching a movie with my baby on my lap.” Couples: “OK. That’s a good spot for you to be.” The matches will be held Oct. 8-11 at Harding Park in San Francisco.

Chopra’s run Daniel Chopra was so furious after his opening 75, especially with two balls in the water on the 17th, that he was ready to pack his bags. Good thing he stuck around. First, the Swede matched the course record by becoming the 10th player to shoot a 30 on the back nine at TPC Sawgrass. Three holes, and three birdies later, he was thinking about the

course record of 63 held by Fred Couples (1992) and Greg Norman (1994). Chopra already was 9 under with six holes to play. And even after a bogey on the fifth hole, he answered with a birdie to stay in the hunt for a course record. But he pulled his tee shot on the 240-yard eighth hole and had to scramble for a bogey. Then came the par-5 ninth. His plan all along was a 3-wood off the tee because it was difficult to reach the green. “You only get so many chances to shoot 62 or 63 around here,” Chopra said. He hit driver into the rough, laid up, then hit his wedge heavy enough to find the bunker. He wound up with another bogey and a 65, that took him to 4-under 140.

Not so great Scott Adam Scott has never missed more than four cuts in any season as a PGA Tour member. Despite chipping it for eagle on the final hole Friday for 74 at The Players Championship, he missed his fifth consecutive cut. Scott has not made a cut on the PGA Tour since his runner-up finish at the Sony Open in January. His two pay checks since then have come at World Golf Championships, which have no cut. The 28-year-old Australian had a knee cap injury during the offseason, but most of his woes stem from his swing getting so far out of sorts that it feels as though he is going through a change just to get back to where he was. Scott is headed to his home in Switzerland before returning to the Byron Nelson Championship and Colonial.”I feel like it’s close, but I need to let you between the ears,” Scott said. “I can’t do any worse than some of these shots.” — The Associated Press

Leaderboard Friday At TPC Sawgrass, Players Stadium Course Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Purse: $9.5 million Yardage: 7,215; Par: 72 Second Round Alex Cejka Ian Poulter Kevin Na Angel Cabrera Jason Dufner John Mallinger Henrik Stenson David Toms Ben Crane Richard S. Johnson Tim Petrovic Jeff Overton Camilo Villegas Robert Allenby Paul Casey Michael Letzig Ryan Moore Jonathan Byrd Justin Leonard Retief Goosen Charley Hoffman Kevin Sutherland Brian Davis Boo Weekley Tiger Woods Daniel Chopra Tim Clark Mark Wilson Stephen Ames Michael Allen Nick O’Hern Scott Verplank John Senden Justin Rose John Merrick Aaron Baddeley Geoff Ogilvy Steve Stricker Jim Furyk Ryuji Imada Chez Reavie Bubba Watson Jeev M. Singh Johnson Wagner Ernie Els K.J. Choi Brad Adamonis Scott Piercy Nathan Green Rod Pampling Jeff Quinney Jeff Klauk Martin Laird Bob Estes Fredrik Jacobson Ben Curtis Stewart Cink Zach Johnson Vijay Singh Jason Bohn Hunter Mahan Cameron Beckman Padraig Harrington Kenny Perry Phil Mickelson Dustin Johnson Pat Perez Steve Marino

66-67 67-68 71-66 72-65 67-70 66-71 68-69 67-70 65-73 66-72 68-70 71-67 67-72 73-66 70-69 71-68 71-68 67-72 70-69 67-72 70-69 73-67 71-69 73-67 71-69 75-65 72-69 69-72 70-71 71-70 68-73 67-74 72-69 70-71 70-72 71-71 70-72 71-71 68-74 72-70 70-72 67-75 68-74 69-73 73-69 73-69 67-76 71-72 74-69 70-73 73-70 71-72 71-72 75-68 70-73 71-72 70-73 72-71 71-72 72-71 73-71 72-72 72-72 73-71 73-71 72-72 72-72 72-72

—133 —135 —137 —137 —137 —137 —137 —137 —138 —138 —138 —138 —139 —139 —139 —139 —139 —139 —139 —139 —139 —140 —140 —140 —140 —140 —141 —141 —141 —141 —141 —141 —141 —141 —142 —142 —142 —142 —142 —142 —142 —142 —142 —142 —142 —142 —143 —143 —143 —143 —143 —143 —143 —143 —143 —143 —143 —143 —143 —143 —144 —144 —144 —144 —144 —144 —144 —144

-11 -9 -7 -7 -7 -7 -7 -7 -6 -6 -6 -6 -5 -5 -5 -5 -5 -5 -5 -5 -5 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 E E E E E E E E

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Matt Kuchar Robert Karlsson Martin Kaymer Heath Slocum Rocco Mediate John Rollins Graeme McDowell Fred Funk Woody Austin Mike Weir Sergio Garcia Steve Flesch Luke Donald Billy Mayfair Tommy Armour III

72-72 74-70 71-73 75-69 73-71 68-76 71-73 73-71 72-72 72-72 71-73 75-69 74-70 70-74 74-70

—144 —144 —144 —144 —144 —144 —144 —144 —144 —144 —144 —144 —144 —144 —144

E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E

Failed To Qualify Troy Matteson Will MacKenzie Adam Scott Jerry Kelly Bart Bryant Ken Duke Andres Romero Joe Ogilvie George McNeill Soren Kjeldsen Scott McCarron Chad Campbell Todd Hamilton Nick Watney Charles Howell III Steve Elkington Nicholas Thompson Greg Kraft D.J. Trahan Eric Axley Bill Haas Cliff Kresge Davis Love III Stuart Appleby Bo Van Pelt Ross Fisher Brett Quigley Sean O’Hair Kevin Streelman Briny Baird Vaughn Taylor Lucas Glover Charlie Wi J.B. Holmes Paul Goydos Thongchai Jaidee J.J. Henry Parker McLachlin Dean Wilson Ryan Palmer Tim Herron Peter Lonard Y.E. Yang Fred Couples Corey Pavin Marc Turnesa Rory McIlroy Tom Pernice, Jr. Rory Sabbatini Webb Simpson Mathew Goggin Tim Wilkinson Anthony Kim Matt Bettencourt Trevor Immelman Michael Bradley Steve Lowery Dudley Hart Brian Gay Carl Pettersson

73-72 73-72 71-74 73-72 74-71 70-75 74-71 72-73 70-75 70-75 74-72 75-71 74-72 68-78 73-73 73-73 73-73 74-73 74-73 72-75 74-73 72-75 73-74 71-76 71-76 74-74 72-76 73-75 74-74 72-76 72-76 73-75 74-74 72-76 78-70 74-74 73-76 75-74 77-72 75-75 75-75 77-73 73-77 80-71 74-77 76-75 74-77 74-79 81-72 76-77 76-77 77-77 73-82 76-79 73-82 80-78 81-78 73 80

—145 +1 —145 +1 —145 +1 —145 +1 —145 +1 —145 +1 —145 +1 —145 +1 —145 +1 —145 +1 —146 +2 —146 +2 —146 +2 —146 +2 —146 +2 —146 +2 —146 +2 —147 +3 —147 +3 —147 +3 —147 +3 —147 +3 —147 +3 —147 +3 —147 +3 —148 +4 —148 +4 —148 +4 —148 +4 —148 +4 —148 +4 —148 +4 —148 +4 —148 +4 —148 +4 —148 +4 —149 +5 —149 +5 —149 +5 —150 +6 —150 +6 —150 +6 —150 +6 —151 +7 —151 +7 —151 +7 —151 +7 —153 +9 —153 +9 —153 +9 —153 +9 —154 +10 —155 +11 —155 +11 —155 +11 —158 +14 —159 +15 —WD —WD —WD

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35

Johns Hopkins-Brown kicks off NCAA Tournament today Hofstra (11-3) at No. 5 Cornell (10-3)

BY CHRISTIAN SWEZEY InsideLacrosse.com

Fresh matchups define the NCAA Tournament’s first round. That begins today with Brown and Johns Hopkins, who haven’t played each other in nearly 30 years. Here’s a breakdown of today’s four games.

Brown (12-2) at No. 8 Johns Hopkins (9-4) When: noon, ESPN2 When Hopkins has the ball: Senior G Jordan Burke (.629 save percentage, 7.51 GAA) is one of the best goalies in the country. The defense in front of him rarely throws takeaway checks. Instead, they collapse on the inside and let teams shoot from 12-15 yards on the outside in the belief that Burke will make the save. This would not seem to be the recipe to beat the Blue Jays. They have a number of good outside shooters, particularly sophomore Kyle Wharton (31 goals) and junior Michael Kimmel (18 goals, 21 assists). When Brown has the ball: The offense features middies who dodge but then funnel the ball to the attackmen like sophomore Andrew Feinberg (38 goals, 16 assists) and senior Kyle Hollingsworth (20 goals, 25 assists). Oddity: Burke’s younger brother plays for Johns Hopkins. Freshman Steven Burke has appeared in four games. The real oddity is that it’s the second time this year the Blue Jays will have faced the brother of one of their goalies. Junior Michael Gvozden outlasted younger brother Andrew Gvozden in a 12-7 victory over Hofstra on March 7.

JOHN MECIONIS / INSIDE LACROSSE

Doc Schneider and UMass face Princeton on Sunday.

UMBC (12-3) at No. 6 North Carolina (11-5) When: 2:30 p.m., ESPNU When UMBC has the ball: The Retrievers have the top midfield in the game. Seniors Peet Poillon (25 goals, 19 assists), Alex Hopmann (31 goals) and junior Kyle Wimer (21 goals, 16 assists) are the team’s top three scorers, an extreme rarity. Hopmann also is the top extra-man offense threat (nine goals). North Carolina’s shortstick d-middies are not considered a particular strength. When UNC has the ball: Sophomore Billy Bitter has gone from quarterback of the extraman unit as a freshman to the team’s leading scorer, with 38 goals and 22 assists. The surprise has been junior middie Sean Delaney (32 goals). He leads the team with 111 shots, though Bitter and senior Bart Wagner (33 goals) each has more than 100 shots as well. Oddity: UMBC coach Don Zimmerman was considered for the North Carolina head coach opening last summer, though he withdrew early in the process.

When: 5:30 p.m., ESPNU When Cornell has the ball: Opposing coaches have found that tracking the Big Red’s off-ball movement is a major problem. Hofstra’s defense, especially freshman goalie Andrew Gvozden, better be ready. Junior attackman Ryan Hurley (40 goals) is an accurate shooter from in close. Freshman attackman Rob Pannell (19 goals, 33 assists) is a tremendous passer and senior middie Max Seibald (23 goals, 10 assists) has scored some important goals in his career. When Hofstra has the ball: A lot depends on the status of Cornell senior defenseman Matt Moyer. He missed an 8-7 victory over Hobart last Saturday with a leg injury. The Big Red also is unsettled in goal. Fifth-year senior Jake Myers played the first 40 minutes against Hobart and had one save. Senior Kyle Harer finished the game and made five saves. The Big Red used three goalies in a first-round loss to Ohio State last year. Oddity: Hofstra already has played two Ivy League teams this year. It defeated Princeton, 9-7, and Brown, 11-10 in double overtime.

Navy (11-4) at No. 3 Duke (13-3) When: 7:30 p.m., ESPNU When Navy has the ball: Duke likes to pressure the ball relentlessly. Sophomore Mike Manley, junior Parker McKee and freshman C.J. Costabile throw a lot of checks and are very good when the ball is on the ground (McKee especially). Georgetown uses similar pressure, and Navy has not always handled it well. Expect the Midshipmen to try and play a slower pace so as to limit Duke’s transition. When Duke has the ball: Navy senior

Games to watch

(NCAA Tournament seeds in parentheses) Today Brown at (8) Johns Hopkins, noon, ESPN2 UMBC at (6) North Carolina, 2:30, ESPNU Hofstra at (5) Cornell, 5, ESPNU Navy at (3) Duke, 7:30, ESPNU Sunday Maryland at (7) Notre Dame, noon, ESPNU Villanova at (1) Virginia, 2:30, ESPNU UMass at (4) Princeton, 5, ESPNU Siena at (2) Syracuse, 7:30, ESPNU

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defenseman Andy Tormey has excelled as an off-ball defender in the second half of the year. He is likely to face junior attackman Max Quinzani (39 goals). Freshman Matt Vernam, fresh off guarding Brandon Corp of Colgate and Austin Winter of Bucknell in the Patriot League Tournament, may wind up guarding senior attackman Ned Crotty (20 goals, 45 assists). Oddity: Tormey is close friends with Duke point guard/budding college quarterback Greg Paulus. Each attended Christian Brothers Academy (N.Y.). Paulus attended Navy’s 8-7 victory over North Carolina last year and wore a Navy lacrosse T-shirt even though his younger brother plays football at UNC.

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Safina knocks out Venus ROME—Top-ranked Dinara Safina outlasted Venus Williams 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4 Friday to advance to the finals of the Italian Open, where she will play Svetlana Kuznetsova in an all-Russian match. Kuznetsova beat Belarusian teenager Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-4 in the other semifinal at the Foro Italico. BELGRADE, SERBIA—Tournament host and top seed Novak Djokovic extended his dominance of the inaugural Serbia Open by beating fellow countryman Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-2 to reach the semifinals on Friday. Djokovic’s family brought the ATP event to Serbia this year after buying the license from the former ABM Amro Open in the Netherlands. Today, Djokovic will play fourth-seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy, who reached his first semis of the season by beating Marcos Daniel of Brazil 6-4, 7-5. The other semifinal pits second-seeded Ivo Karlovic against unheralded Lukasz Kubot of Poland. Karlovic hit 13 aces past Italian qualifier Flavio Cipolla to win 6-3, 6-3. OEIRAS, PORTUGAL—Albert Montanes rallied to upset topseeded Gilles Simon 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (4) Friday in the quarterfinals of the Estoril Open.The seventh-seeded Spaniard will meet Paul Capdeville, who defeated Oscar Hernandez 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. Second-seeded Nikolay Davydenko stopped Mardy Fish 6-4, 6-3 and will play James Blake, who topped Florent Serra 6-4, 6-1. MUNICH—Tomas Berdych rallied past Lleyton Hewitt 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) Friday to reach the semifinals of the BMW Open. Berdych will play Jeremy Chardy, who upset second-seeded Marin Cilic 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to reach his third semifinal of the year. Mikhail Youzhny upset seventh-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 and will play wild-card Daniel Brands in the other semifinal.

Golf WILLIAMSBURG, VA.—Lorena Ochoa topped the leaderboard for the sixth straight round on the LPGA Tour, shooting a 6-under 65 on Friday to take a three-stroke lead in the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill.

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STEVE HELBER / AP

Lorena Ocho birdied six of eight holes at one point in the Michelob Ultra Open to claim the lead after the second round. Teeing off around the time Song-Hee Kim finished a record-tying 63 and In-Kyung Kim was polishing off a 64 that put them in front at 10 under, Ochoa started with three straight pars and then reclaimed the lead with birdies on six of the next eight holes. The Skins Game, a Thanksgiving weekend tradition for nearly three decades, became golf’s latest victim of the economic downturn when organizers said it would be postponed this year with no guarantees it would return. IMG, which manages the Skins Game, had been negotiating a contract extension with LG when the Korean-based electronics company elected not to renew. The Skins Game was a novelty when it began in 1983 with Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Tom Watson. It has struggled to attract an All-Star lineup in recent years, and TV ratings have plunged. TURIN, ITALY—Daniel Vancsik took the lead at the Italian Open, shooting a 6-under 65 to lead Gareth Maybin by one stroke after Friday’s second round. John Daly stayed in contention with a second straight 69. — The Associated Press

Major League Soccer EASTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts D.C. United 3 1 4 13 Toronto FC 3 2 3 12 Chicago 2 0 5 11 Kansas City 3 3 2 11 New York 2 5 2 8 New England 2 2 2 8 Columbus 0 2 5 5 WESTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts Chivas USA 6 1 1 19 Seattle FC 4 2 1 13 Colorado 3 2 2 11 Real Salt Lake 3 3 1 10 Houston 2 2 2 8 Los Angeles 1 1 5 8 San Jose 1 5 2 5 FC Dallas 1 5 1 4 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. Wednesday’s games D.C. United 1, Kansas City 1, tie Los Angeles 2, Real Salt Lake 2, tie Friday’s game New York 4, San Jose 1 Today’s games Kansas City at Columbus, 7 p.m. Toronto FC at D.C. United, 7:30 p.m.

GF 12 10 13 10 9 5 8

GA 10 10 10 9 11 11 12

GF 11 10 10 14 6 9 8 7

GA 3 4 8 10 5 9 16 14

New England at Chicago, 8:30 p.m. FC Dallas at Houston, 9 p.m. Real Salt Lake at Chivas USA, 10:30 p.m. Sunday’s game Los Angeles at Seattle FC, 3 p.m.

BASEBALL American League NEW YORK YANKEES: Activated 3B Alex Rodriguez from the 15-day DL. Placed C Jose Molina on the 15-day DL. Purchased the contract of C Kevin Cash from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (IL). Optioned RHP Mark Melancon to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Designated RHP Steven Jackson for assignment. OAKLAND ATHLETICS: Acquired INF Adam Kennedy from Tampa Bay for a player to be named and assigned Kennedy to Sacramento (PCL). National League ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: Named A.J. Hinch manager, Jack Howell hitting coach and Mel Stottlemyre, Jr. pitching coach. CHICAGO CUBS: Acquired INF-OF Ryan Freel and cash consideratons from Baltimore for OF Joey Gathright. Assigned OF Joey Gathright outright to Iowa (PCL). Recalled RHP Randy Wells from Iowa. FLORIDA MARLINS: Placed RHP Anibal Sanchez on the 15-day DL. Purchased the contract of INF Chris Coghlan from New Orleans (PCL). NEW YORK METS: Promoted John Ricco to vice president/assistant general manager. Eastern League TRENTON THUNDER: Announced LHP Wilkin De La Rosa was assigned to the team from Tampa (FSL) and C P.J. Pilittere was assigned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (IL). Midwest League QUAD CITIES RIVER BANDITS: Released OF Brian Buck. Can-Am League NEW JERSEY JACKALS: Signed INF Mike DeJesus. Golden Baseball League EDMONTON CAPITALS: Agreed to terms with INF Joe Jianetti, OF Marcus Nettles, RHP Lou Pote and INF Max Poulin and announced Nettles and Pote would be player-coaches. ST. GEORGE ROADRUNNERS: Agreed to terms with C D.J. Dixon, OF Alexis Gomez, LHP Mark Pawelek, 1B A.J. Valentine, RHP Eric Van Slyke and OF Ruddy Yan. TUCSON TOROS: Agreed to terms with OF Ricky McGraw. United League LAREDO BRONCOS: Signed RHP Tristan Crawford. FOOTBALL National Football League BALTIMORE RAVENS: Signed P Dave Brytus, FB Jason Cook, LB Dannell Ellerbe, K Graham Gano, CB Kevin Gerard, DL Will Johnson, CB David Jones, WR Eron Riley, C Greg Ryan, LB-DE William VanDeSteeg, LB-DE Luis Vasquez, WR Isaiah Williams and QB Drew Willy. DENVER BRONCOS: Signed RB Darius Walker. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: Announced the job of consultant for player personnel, held by Dom Anile, has been eliminated. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: Named Denny Thum president. OAKLAND RAIDERS: Signed FB Lorenzo Neal and RB Gary Russell. ST. LOUIS RAMS: Released LB Pisa Tinoisamoa. Canadian Football League EDMONTON ESKIMOS: Released DE Adrian Baird, DE Tyler Clutts and WR Greg Prator. WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS: Released K Kenny Byrd, DB Marlon Fair, DL Josh Miller, LB Roderick Johnson and LB A.J. Nicholson. HOCKEY National Hockey League ST. LOUIS BLUES: Signed Kevin McDonald to a contract extension and named him assistant general manager in addition to his director of professional scouting duties. Extended the contract of Jarmo Kekalainen, assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting. SOCCER Women’s Professional Soccer LOS ANGELES SOL: Traded D Kendall Fletcher, F Christie Welsh and a 2011 second-round draft pick to St. Louis for a conditional 2010 first-round draft pick and a 2011 first-round draft pick. COLLEGE MARS HILL: Named Jennifer Nance senior women’s administrator. PENN STATE: Announced the resignation of men’s assistant tennis coach Don Holman. SOUTHERN INDIANA: Announced the resignation of men’s basketball coach Rick Herdes. WELLESLEY: Named Jennifer Kroll women’s basketball coach.