Sportingnews - 20090510

QUICK LINKS:

MLB > 17

Chicago 4, Vancouver 2

NFL > 28

NBA > 6

NHL > 11

NASCAR > 15

COLLEGE FOOTBALL > 32

COLLEGE BASKETBALL > 32

LACROSSE > 31 Denver 106, Dallas 105

Making his Mark Fifty-year-old Mark Martin moved into playoff position with a victory at Darlington Raceway. Page 15 Mayfield suspended, Page 16

JONATHAN HAYWARD / AP

Samuel Pahlsson and the Blackhawks took a 3-2 series lead. Page 11

Scoreboard

SUNDAY MAY 10, 2009

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME VOLUME 1 ISSUE 292

NBA Playoffs Western Conference semifinals Denver 106, Dallas 105 (Denver leads series 3-0) Eastern Conference semifinals Cleveland 97, Atlanta 82 (Cleveland leads series 3-0)

NHL Playoffs Western Conference semifinals Chicago 4, Vancouver 2 (Chicago leads series 3-2) Eastern Conference semifinals Pittsburgh 4, Washington 3, OT (Pittsburgh leads series 3-2)

Baseball American League Tampa Bay 14, Boston 5 Toronto 6, Oakland 4 Baltimore 12, N.Y. Yankees 5 Chicago White Sox 3, Texas 2 Detroit 4, Cleveland 0 Minnesota 9, Seattle 6 L.A. Angels 1, Kansas City 0 National League N.Y. Mets 10, Pittsburgh 1 L.A. Dodgers 8, San Francisco 0 Atlanta 6, Philadelphia 2 Houston 5, San Diego 4 Cincinnati 8, St. Louis 3 Florida 3, Colorado 1 Milwaukee 12, Chicago Cubs 6 Washington 2, Arizona 1

MATT SLOCUM / AP

Rudderless

Five NFL teams head to camp not knowing who’ll be their QB Minnesota Vikings

BY ALBERT BREER [email protected]

The Bears and Chiefs filled holes at quarterback with trades for Jay Cutler and Matt Cassel, but five other NFL teams have a QB competition brewing. That can be good. Or bad. “A three-way competition is always bad,” said Jim Miller, part of multiple QB battles in 12 NFL seasons. “Two-way competitions are manageable, but the guys on the team know who should emerge, and when it goes against that you have problem. “Usually, it’s good for everyone to feel that pressure that you’ll feel on Sundays.” Here is a quick look at five QB battles:

Denver Broncos The contenders: Kyle Orton, Chris Simms.

The chase: Some don’t believe it, but Orton was the key piece in the Cutler trade. In Simms’ only season as a starter, he led Tampa to the

The contenders: Tarvaris Jackson, Sage Rosenfels. The chase: Forget perception. Neither the financial nor the draft-pick compensation the Vikings surrendered suggests Rosenfels has to start. Jackson played fairly well down the stretch, and this race likely will go to the man who best moves the chains and protects the ball. Or Brett Favre.

New York Jets

BILL KOSTROUN / AP

ED BETZ / AP

Jets coach Rex Ryan has hinted he’d like Mark Sanchez, above, to grab the starting job.

Kellen Clemens has said he expects to be ‘under center opening day in Houston.’

playoffs. Despite the perception it’s Orton’s job, coach Josh McDaniels calls the competition “real.”

when Stafford, the $41.5-million man, will start. It could be a function of “when” his teammates can give him a chance. Until then, the Lions might let Culpepper take the punishment, although coach Jim Schwartz says, “We don’t have a depth chart.”

Detroit Lions The contenders: Daunte Culpepper, Matthew Stafford. The chase: It’s only a matter of

The contenders: Kellen Clemens, Mark Sanchez. The chase: If Sanchez picks up the offense, it’s his job. Rex Ryan hinted at that last weekend, saying he “has a good idea” of what will happen and has experience winning with a rookie QB.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The contenders: Josh Freeman, Byron Leftwich, Luke McCown. The chase: McCown looked shaky early this spring, making Leftwich the likely bridge to Freeman. Most scouts say it’ll take Freeman time to adjust to the NFL.

Carmelo Anthony hit the winning 3-pointer after a non-call on an attempted intentional foul. Denver leads the semifinal series 3-0. Page 7

‘A great friend to all coaches’ Chuck Daly was a study in perseverance. In 1981, he was so desperate to take an NBA head coaching job that he accepted the reins for a sad-sack Cleveland team. The Cavaliers went 9-32 under Daly, and he was fired. Things improved, of course, when Daly went to Detroit, building the Pistons into two-time champions as part of a 14-year career that earned him a spot in the Basketball Hall Chuck Daly of Fame. Daly died Saturday at 78 after battling pancreatic cancer. “He was a great friend to all coaches,” said Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, one of Daly’s former assistants, “extremely generous and there are very few people that have had such a great impact on the game, and such humility.”

— Sean Deveney Yao out for playoffs, Page 9

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

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

Lakers at Rockets 3:30 p.m., ABC By winning Game 1 in the conference semis, the Rockets grabbed momentum and sowed seeds of doubt in what was expected to be the Lakers’ march to the NBA Finals. Now, with C Yao Ming out with a broken foot and SF Ron Artest having been ejected from consecutive games, it is the Rockets on the ropes in Game 4. Coach Phil Jackson has, at times this season, questioned his team’s killer instinct. It has a chance to how him that instinct today.

— Sean Deveney NHL

Hurricanes at Bruins 7:30 p.m., Versus The Hurricanes pulled off the large shocker by beating the Devils in the first round, but now that they have Boston facing elimination tonight, maybe nothing they do from now on should be considered surprising. Eric Staal and Jussi Jokinen have been beasts throughout Carolina’s playoff run, and G Cam Ward still hasn’t lost a playoff series. Boston’s biggest fault is scoring just three goals in the last three games—all losses.

— Roger Kuznia BASEBALL

Rays at Red Sox 8 p.m., ESPN

See a Different Game

AUTO RACING 6 a.m. SPEED—GP2 Championship Series, at Barcelona, Spain (sameday tape) 7:30 a.m. SPEED—Formula One, Spanish Grand Prix, at Barcelona, Spain Noon VERSUS—IRL, pole qualifying for Indianapolis 500

COLLEGE SOFTBALL 12:30 p.m. FSN—Big 12 Conference, championship game, teams TBA, at Oklahoma City

GOLF 9:30 a.m. TGC—European PGA Tour, Italian Open, final round, at Turin, Italy (same-day tape) 2 p.m. NBC—PGA Tour, THE PLAYERS Championship, final round, at Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. 3 p.m. ESPN2—LPGA, Michelob ULTRA Open, final round, at Williamsburg, Va.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 12:30 p.m. TBS—Atlanta at Philadelphia 2 p.m. WGN—Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee 8 p.m. ESPN—Tampa Bay at Boston

MOTORSPORTS 4 p.m. SPEED—FIM World Superbike, at Monza, Italy (same-day tape)

NBA BASKETBALL

Tonight’s game is already the 10th between these two teams this season, with Tampa Bay holding a 6-3 edge. If Rays righthander Matt Garza pitches as well as he has in his first two starts against Boston this season, Tampa Bay likely will post their seventh victory. Garza has allowed just one earned run in 14.2 innings of work, striking out 15, including 10 in his April 30 start. Garza matches up with Boston’s Josh Beckett, who has given up 10 hits in each of his last three outings.

— Roger Kuznia

3:30 p.m. ABC—Playoffs, conference semifinals, Game 4, L.A. Lakers at Houston 8 p.m. TNT—Playoffs, conference semifinals, Game 4, Boston at Orlando

NHL HOCKEY 7:30 p.m. VERSUS—Playoffs, conference semifinals, Game 5, Carolina at Boston

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

2

OFF THE FIELD

Hicks’ loan default casts shadow on Rangers, Stars Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars owner Tom Hicks, who defaulted last month on $525 million in loans tied to those teams, says the issue is a “nonevent” for coaches, players, fans and the rest of the operations. Financial analysts aren’t so sure. “The notion that this is a modest hiccup, where all he’s really trying to do is buy himself a few weeks before he makes payments so that he can properly run his franchises ... I don’t find that part compelling,” said Andrew Zimbalist, a Smith College economics professor who specializes in sports business. However, some analysts consider it fairly unlikely that Hicks will lose either of the teams, citing the value of the franchises ($810 million combined, according to Forbes magazine) relative to the debt and the large number of lenders tied up in the loans (about 40).

Nowitzki’s credit cards at risk? The love interest of Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki may have gained access to his credit cards without permission, The Dallas Morning News reported, but it’s unknown if, or how much, she was able to use them. Cristal Taylor may have also victimized her former husband in similar fashion, racking up $330,000 in debt, according to the newspaper. Taylor was arrested at Nowitzki’s home Wednesday. She was taken to Dallas County jail with bail set at $20,000 on a theft of services charge.

Quick hits Steve Mills, who as president of business operations for MSG Sports Teams hired former Knicks marketer Anucha Browne Sanders and former Knicks president Isiah Thomas, is leaving the organization after

If you deliver it daily, they will come.

TONY GUTIERREZ / AP

While his team is down 3-0 to Denver, Dirk Nowitzki is dealing with a personal issue. nearly a decade to work for Magic Johnson Enterprises, SportsBusiness Journal’s Terry Lefton reported. Browne Sanders was paid $11.5 million in the 2007 settlement of a sexual harassment suit against Thomas and MSG. Attorneys for Jayson Williams say they’ll seek to have the former NBA star’s convictions for covering up a fatal shooting thrown out on grounds of racial bias. At issue is a racial slur used by a former employee of the Hunterdon County (N.J.) Prosecutor’s Office. Williams was convicted of four counts of covering up the shooting death of a hired driver at his Hunterdon County mansion in 2002. Mexican soccer clubs Chivas Guadalajara and San Luis have withdrawn from the Copa Libertadores in the fallout from the refusal of Uruguay and Brazil clubs to play matches in Mexico following the swine flu outbreak. One club official said the South Americans’ refusal to visit bordered on “racism.” — Compiled by Benson Taylor, with wire reports

FREEup! Sign Today!

The country’s first and only daily digital sports newspaper. Delivered via email every morning, 7 days a week, Sporting News Today is your one-stop destination for breaking sports stories plus news about every team, every game and every score from coast-to-coast. Experience America’s hottest new product. Sign up at sportingnewstoday.com. It’s free.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

My Profile

www.sportingnews.com

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

ON NEWSSTANDS N NOW

John Burkett 1993 National League wins leader, two-time All-Star (What you won’t find on Facebook … even if you are approved as a friend) Born: Nov. 28, 1964, in Beaver, Pa. Status: Married These days: Bowling, playing poker and golf, driving my kids to activities What’s on TV: 24, pro bowling, pro golf, pro football, Weeds, World Poker Tour, High Stakes Poker, Poker After Dark What’s in my iPod: Dave Matthews Band, classic rock What I drive: 2007 Mercedes-Benz S550, 2007 Chevy Tahoe Favorite flicks: Caddyshack, A Few Good Men, Casino, A Perfect Murder What I’m reading: Dan Harrington’s How to Win at No-Limit Hold ’em Money Games, Vol. 1 Magazine subscriptions: Sports Illustrated, Golf Magazine, Card Player Bookmarks: Steelers, ESPN, Bowl.com, Gmail Worst habit: Biting my nails On my office walls: Plasma TV; 1993 MLB All-Star frame with cards of every player that was in it; autographed painting of Lou Brock and Rickey Henderson Love to trade places for a day with … Jackie Robinson. To have the chance to experience one day of his life during his career would probably be the most shocking experience imaginable. First job: Wedgewood Lanes, 16 years old,

Beaver, Pa. I worked in the snack bar for $1.50 an hour. I went to school until 2:30 p.m. and worked 3-11 p.m. 5 to 6 days a week. Met a lot of nice people. Talent I’d most like to have: The knowledge of a world-class poker player like Doyle Brunson Favorite meal: Filet mignon, medium, with a loaded baked potato and a bottle of Insignia red wine to wash it down Favorite athlete to watch in another sport: Tiger Woods Favorite city to visit: Las Vegas Favorite team as a kid: Pittsburgh Steelers Favorite values in others: Enthusiasm and honesty Favorite physical attribute about myself: Teeth And least … Midsection. A little bigger these days. Dream date: My wife Laura. Sounds like brownie points but it’s the truth. My greatest love: Seeing the smiles on my kids’ faces at Disney World the first trip My hero: Willie Stargell My bucket list: 1. Win a World Series of Poker event, 2. Watch my kids get married and be successful — Jeff D’Alessio

Unrivaled fun Un They p play for the Territorial Cup every ccollege football season, and annual “Duel in the Desert” the an between Arizona and Arizona State betwee hot, as do 49 other ingets pretty pr rivalries explored in a special state ri report in Sporting News Magazine, available now. Wildcat-turnedavailab Patriot Lance Briggs explains why he hates hate ASU, and former Sun Devil Jake P Plummer explains why he hates U UA. But some players put their emotions in a more caring way: emoti

Th things I love Three a about Arizona State BY TEDY BRUSCHI

1.

I love that no one they ever had was able tto block me.

2.

I loved winning in their stadium and looking into their fans’ eyes looki with a big smile on my face while dodging thrown batteries. batte

3. PAUL SANCYA / AP

I love knowing that we own that state. — As told to Albert Breer

3

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

Next Gen: Recruiting

RECRUITING DISH

SN100’s McCay cuts three off his list Justin McCay, who recently was named one of Sporting News Top 100 players for the class of 2010, is being patient with the whole recruiting process. He has no deadlines in mind. Still, the WR/LB prospect recently eliminated three schools from his lengthy list of scholarship options. UCLA, Nebraska and Oklahoma State were the ones the 6-3, 200pound athlete out of Shawnee Mission, Kan., dropped. “I just didn’t feel like they fit me,” McCay told Sporting News Today. “They were recruiting me, but not really recruiting me, like some of the schools I already have a long relationship with. That’s how I feel about it, that the schools I have the most tight relationships with are the ones I’ll look at the most.” McCay estimates that he has more than 30 scholarship offers at this time. He said it’s tough to cut the list. He enjoyed an April trip to Notre Dame, and said he’s thinking about trips to Oklahoma, Kansas State and Wisconsin, among others. He also has scholarship offers from Florida, Florida State, Georgia, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee and Texas A&M, among others. McCay also reacted to being named to the first preseason SN100. He premiered at No. 6 on the list. “I don’t know all the other players in it,” McCay told SN Today. “I know I’m working my butt off, so in my mind I should be No. 1. I want to go against the best corner and the best receiver on the list and see who is best. If he’s better than me, then he’s better than me, but

9 : H H : H D7 (in a good way)

COURTESY OF JUSTIN MCCAY

Justin McCay (19) estimates that he has more than 30 scholarship offers. rankings won’t make you a millionaire, that’s for sure.” O. Perry Walker (New Orleans) DL Anthony Johnson has become Tennessee’s second commitment of the class of 2011, Rivals. com reported. The 6-3, 265-pound strongside defensive end also had a verbal scholarship offer from LSU. Colleges aren’t allowed to extend written offers until Sept. 1 of a prospect’s junior year. “I just feel really comfortable with the coaches,” Johnson told Rivals.com. “And they are just

incredible. To play for a guy like Coach O (assistant coach Ed Orgeron) is awesome. He’s a great guy and it’s a great feeling that I will have a chance to play for him and at a school like Tennessee.” Summerville (S.C.) DT Brice Laughlin has committed to Maryland, Rivals.com reported. The 6-2, 260-pound tackle also had received interest from Clemson, Georgia, North Carolina, N.C. State and South Carolina, among others. — Brian McLaughlin

Can’t get your mind off the game? You’re a “die-hard” fan. And only Sporting News Magazine can give you the access, analysis and intelligence to satisfy your sports appetite. Packed with great storytelling and impactful photography from a host of insiders you can’t read anywhere else, Sporting News delivers insights from prominent sports columnists, best-selling authors, scouts, big name executives and the real experts, the athletes themselves.

SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND SAVE 88%! ONE YEAR JUST $14.97    sWWWSPORTINGNEWSCOM

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

Chuck Daly’s Coaching Record Year, School 1969-70 Boston Col 1970-71 Boston Col 1971-72 Penn 1972-73 Penn 1973-74 Penn 1974-75 Penn 1975-76 Penn 1976-77 Penn Totals

W 11 15 25 21 21 23 17 18 151

L 13 11 3 7 6 5 9 8 62

Pct. .458 .577 .893 .750 .778 .821 .654 .692 .709

Professional Regular Season

Year, Team 1981-82 Cle 1983-84 Detroit 1984-85 Detroit 1985-86 Detroit 1986-87 Detroit 1987-88 Detroit 1988-89 Detroit 1989-90 Detroit 1990-91 Detroit 1991-92 Detroit 1992-93 NJ 1993-94 NJ 1997-98 Orl 1998-99 Orl Totals

W 9 49 46 46 52 54 63 59 50 48 43 45 41 33 638

L 32 33 36 36 30 28 19 23 32 34 39 37 41 17 437

Pct. .220 .598 .561 .561 .634 .659 .768 .720 .610 .680 .524 .549 .500 .660 .593

Fin 2 2 3 2 1 1 1 2 3 3 3 5 2

Year, Team

W

L

Pct.

1983-84 Detroit 1984-85 Detroit 1985-86 Detroit 1986-87 Detroit 1987-88 Detroit 1988-89 Detroit-y 1989-90 Detroit-y 1990-91 Detroit 1991-92 Detroit 1992-93 New Jersey 1993-94 New Jersey 1998-99 Orlando Totals

2 5 1 10 14 15 15 7 2 2 1 1 75

3 4 3 5 9 2 5 8 3 3 3 3 51

.400 .556 .250 .667 .609 .882 .750 .467 .400 .400 .250 .250 .595

Playoffs

Overall Totals

713 488

.594

y-won NBA championship

Tribute

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

5

CHUCK DALY (1930-2009)

Coach of the Bad Boys was ‘a great man and nice guy’ DETROIT—The Detroit Pistons made plenty of enemies while winning titles and throwing blows two decades ago. Chuck Daly, though, was universally admired for his class and coaching acumen. “I never understood how a great man and nice guy coached the Bad Boys,” Charles Barkley said. Daly died Saturday morning at 78 in Jupiter, Fla., with his family by his side, the Pistons said. The team announced in March he was being treated for pancreatic cancer. The Hall of Fame coach led the Dream Team to the Olympic gold medal in 1992 after winning back-to-back NBA championships in Detroit. Daly was renowned for his ability to create harmony out of diverse personalities at all levels of the game, whether they were Ivy Leaguers at Pennsylvania, Dream Teamers Michael Jordan and Barkley, or Pistons as dissimilar as Dennis Rodman and Joe Dumars. “It’s a players’ league. They allow you to coach them or they don’t,” Daly once said. “Once they stop allowing you to coach, you’re on your way out.” Daly was voted one of the 10 greatest coaches of the NBA’s first half-century in 1996, two years after being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He

th was the first coach to win both NBA and Olympic titles. arDaly had a career regularseason record of 638-437 in 13 off NBA seasons. In 12 playoff nt appearances, his teams went is75-51. He left Detroit as the Pison tons’ leader in regular-season and playoff victories. id NBA commissioner David is Stern said the “void left by his death will never be filled.” n “Chuck did much more than coach basketball games,” hee said in a statement. “He posi-tively impacted everyone he met, both personally and professionally, and his love of people and the game of basketball helped develop the next generation of coaches.” In Barcelona, the Olympic team led by Larry Bird, n Magic Johnson and Jordan scored more than 100 points in each of their eight wins, and their victory margin topped 43 points. Daly did not call a timeout during the tournament. Daly also made the right moves for the Pistons, who were notorious for their physical play with Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn leading the fight, Rodman making headlines and Hall of Fame guards Isiah Thomas and Dumars lifting the team to titles in 1989 and 1990. “He did an unbelievable job of taking a bunch of different

What they’re saying Comments on the death of basketball coach Chuck Daly on Saturday:

“He positively impacted everyone he met, both personally and professionally, and his love of people and the game of basketball helped develop the next generation of coaches.” — NBA commissioner David Stern “Ch “Chuck’s legacy will live on with all of the people he touched throughout his Hall of Fame career. He wa was a wonderful coach, mentor and friend to all o us.” of — Joe Dumars, the Pistons president of basketball operations who played for Detroit under Daly “He was a mentor, a father figure, someone we all “H loo looked up to in everything he did. I can’t explain in w words how much he gave me as a player and a ma man. This is an immeasurable loss for the NBA and the entire basketball world.” — Isiah Thomas, former Pistons player and New York Knicks coach and president, who now coaches at Florida International University “Ch was a great leader—I only wish I could “Chuck hav have played for him outside of the Dream Team. My pra prayers go out to his family.” — Bobcats managing partner Michael Jordan, who played on the Dream Team under Daly “He gave me a tremendous opportunity to learn fro from him in 1992 as a member of the Dream Team coa coaching staff and for that, I am eternally grateful. The There was no better ambassador for the game of bas basketball than Chuck Daly.” — Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski

personalities and molding them into a team,” Mahorn said. The National Basketball Coaches’ Association created pins with the initials “CD” that many coaches and broadcasters are wearing as it dedicates this postseason to Daly. Born July 20, 1930, in St. Marys, Pa., Charles Jerome Daly played college ball at St. Bonaventure and Bloomsburg. He began coaching in the NBA in 1978 as an assistant under Billy Cunningham in Philadelphia. His first head coaching job

ED REINKE / AP

was with Cleveland, but he was fired after the Cavaliers went 9-32 the first half of the 1981-82 season. In 1983, Daly took over a Detroit team that had never had two straight winning seasons and led the Pistons to nine straight. He persuaded Rodman, Thomas, Dumars, Mahorn and Laimbeer to play as a unit and they responded with championships in 1989 and 1990. — The Associated Press

“In the heat of those battles, Chuck was always a frie friend of coaches. A good guy. He was always in the coa coaching fraternity and always extended a friendly hhand.” — Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who coached the Jordan-led Chicago Bulls against Daly and the Pistons “I thought he was a genius at making complicated things seem very simple. ... Losing him now is going to be a big void to me. He was special to the game. But more importantly, he was a great guy to be around.” — Celtics coach Doc Rivers “He gave so much to our organization, no words or awards would fully acknowledge all he did. His legacy and impact on basketball players and coaches covered all levels — high school, college, the NBA and of course internationally. His impact in international basketball is immeasurable.” — USA Basketball executive director Jim Tooley

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

NBA

6

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS Cleveland 97, Atlanta 82

Hawks just have no answers for James, Cavaliers ATLANTA—LeBron James had that unstoppable feeling. Everyone get out of the way. Time for him to do something really special. As if being the league’s MVP wasn’t enough, James scored 47 points in his best performance yet of these playoffs, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to the brink of their second straight postseason sweep with a 97-82 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night. “It’s unexplainable, honestly,” James said after carrying Cleveland to a 3-0 lead in the series. “There’s only a few guys in this league that can get into a zone like that, and I’m blessed to have the ability to be one of those guys. “You just feel like you can make pretty much every shot you take.” He’ll get no argument from the Hawks, who put up their best fight of the series and still find themselves just one loss away from calling it a season. The Cavaliers said James was the first player ever to score that many points, grab that many rebounds (12) and dole out that many assists (eight) in a playoff game. “LeBron was just out of his mind tonight,” Atlanta’s Josh Smith said. Cleveland kept up its dominating run through the playoffs, setting an NBA record with its seventh straight double-figure win to eclipse the mark set by the 2004 Indiana Pacers. The only solace for the Hawks: They stopped the Cavaliers’ streak of 20-point playoff wins at three, including a pair of routs in Cleveland. The Hawks were only down 47-46

BYRON SMALL / ATLANTA BUSINESS CHRONICLE

LeBron James took over at just the right time down the stretch in Saturday’s Game 3, putting the Cavs one game from the Eastern Finals. at the halftime, and they surged back into their first second-half lead of the series with a 13-0 run in the third quarter. But Zaza Pachulia got ejected

for arguing a foul call—acting as though he might attack the officials— and Atlanta faded away down the stretch.

James made sure of that. He normally rests the first few minutes of the second and fourth quarters, but this time he asked to

stay in the game heading to the final period. Coach Mike Brown wasn’t about to sit his star down. “He took the ball, put it in his hands and said he was going to score for us, so I told him, ‘OK,’” Brown said. “I just told everybody else, ‘Let’s defend.’” James eclipsed his previous high in these playoffs—38 points vs. the Pistons in an opening-round sweep— and finished just one off his best playoff performance ever, a 48-point night against Detroit while leading Cleveland to its first trip to the NBA finals in 2007. They appear to be on the way again, especially with the MVP leading the way. James hit a running 13-footer to send the Cavaliers to the final period with a 72-65 lead. If the Hawks had any thoughts of a comeback, he quickly erased them. James hit a jumper near the courtside seat and slapped his hands in delight with just over 8 minutes remaining. On Cleveland’s next possession, he stood out near the halfcourt line, barking instructions at his teammates. Delonte West and Zydrunas Ilgauskas both popped out to set picks, and James weaved his way through the Atlanta defense before pulling up to launch a floater just off the foul lane. Nothing but net. “When you’ve got the hot hand, you continue to go to it,” he said. “Tonight, I felt like I had the hot hand. I got anywhere and everywhere I wanted to get on the floor.” — The Associated Press

Series glance (Cleveland leads series 3-0) May 5: Cleveland 99, Atlanta 72 May 7: Cleveland 105, Atlanta 85 Saturday: Cleveland 97, Atlanta 82 Monday: Cleveland at Atlanta, 7 p.m. Wednesday: Atlanta at Cleveland, TBA, if necessary Friday: Cleveland at Atlanta, TBA, if necessary Monday, May 18: Atlanta at Cleveland, 8 p.m., if necessary

Cleveland Atlanta

22 18

25 28

25 19

CLE Min FG FT Reb James 43:14 15-25 12-16 2-12 Varejao 25:11 2-5 2-3 7-10 Ilgauskas 33:29 6-9 2-4 2-8 M Williams 36:27 5-13 0-0 0-2 DWest 44:41 4-8 4-4 1-4 J Smith 25:51 3-4 1-2 1-8 Gibson 14:06 0-3 0-0 0-0 Wallace 8:17 0-0 0-0 0-0 Szczerbiak 7:12 0-2 0-0 0-2 Kinsey 0:46 0-0 0-0 0-0 Pavlovic 0:46 0-0 0-0 0-0 Totals 240:00 35-69 21-29 13-46

25 — 17 — A 8 1 1 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 15

PF 2 2 4 1 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 14

97 82 PTS 47 6 14 11 12 7 0 0 0 0 0 97

Percentages: FG .507, FT .724. 3-Point Goals: 6-22, .273 (James 5-10, M. Williams 1-6, Gibson 0-2, Ilgauskas 0-2, Szczerbiak 0-2). Team Rebounds: 11. Team Turnovers: 13 (19 PTS). Blocked Shots: 2 (James, J. Smith). Turnovers: 11 (J. Smith 5, Gibson, James, Szczerbiak, Varejao, Wallace, M. Williams). Steals: 3 (James, Varejao, D.West). Technical Fouls: None. ATLANTA Evans JosSmith Horford Bibby Johnson Pachulia MaWilliams Murray MWest Hunter Jones Totals

Min 19:09 37:00 35:34 37:57 45:49 11:40 13:29 36:19 1:31 0:46 0:46 240:00

FG 2-4 8-18 3-8 3-8 9-19 1-1 2-5 6-13 0-0 0-0 0-0 34-76

FT 0-0 2-4 0-0 0-0 2-3 1-2 0-0 2-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 7-11

Reb 0-1 3-5 1-4 1-4 3-5 0-3 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 8-23

A 0 2 4 5 3 0 2 3 0 0 0 19

PF 3 3 5 4 4 4 0 1 0 0 0 24

PTS 5 18 6 8 21 3 4 17 0 0 0 82

Percentages: FG .447, FT .636. 3-Point Goals: 7-18, .389 (Murray 3-6, Bibby 2-4, Evans 1-2, Johnson 1-3, Horford 0-1, Jos.Smith 0-1, Ma.Williams 0-1). Team Rebounds: 8. Team Turnovers: 9 (14 PTS). Blocked Shots: 4 (Horford 2, Jos.Smith 2). Turnovers: 8 (Johnson 3, Bibby 2, Jos.Smith 2, Horford). Steals: 7 (Johnson 3, Evans, Horford, Murray, Ma.Williams). Technical Fouls: Pachulia, 2, 1:33 third. Ejections: Pachulia, 1:33 third. A: 20,143 (18,729). T: 2:37. Officials: Monty McCutchen, Bill Spooner, Mike Callahan.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

NBA

7

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS Denver 106, Dallas 105

Anthony, Nuggets benefit from non-call DALLAS—Antoine Wright had a simple objective. In a game with 61 fouls already called, he was trying to commit another. Wright bumped Carmelo Anthony once, hard enough to knock him off stride. But not enough for a foul call. So he jostled Anthony again. Still no call—and now Wright was out of position, leaving Anthony a clear look at the basket. His 3-pointer went right through with a second left, giving the Denver Nuggets a 106-105 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, and a 3-0 series lead that has been insurmountable in NBA history. “I have hit a lot of big shots in my short career, but never in a situation like this,” Anthony said. “It was a thin line between 2-1 and 3-0.” The Nuggets can consider themselves lucky to be close enough to get saved by a controversial finish. They missed 15 of their first 17 shots and made only two longer than five feet the entire first half. They finished with as many fouls as field goals and their previously dominant center tandem of Nene and Chris Andersen struggled, Nene missing his first eight shots and “Birdman” fouling out in only 11 minutes. Yet Denver never trailed by more than six. The Mavericks’ inability to pull away—take your pick when; the Nuggets never really strung together many baskets—was as damaging as the non-call on Anthony. “The game didn’t come down to

MATT SLOCUM / AP

Carmelo Anthony’s game-winning 3-pointer in the final second of Game 3 came after a Dallas player made a concerted effort to foul him. that last play,” Dallas guard Jason Kidd said. “You’ve got to make plays down the stretch, and we just

didn’t do that.” The Mavericks led 105-101 with 31 seconds left, then saw Anthony

zip in for a quick dunk. Dirk Nowitzki missed a 13-footer with about eight seconds left and missed a

high-arching shot from the corner at the buzzer. “This is about as tough of a loss as I’ve been a part of in my 11 years,” said Nowitzki, who overcame a difficult week off the court and a thirdquarter leg bruise to score 33 points and grab 16 rebounds. “That’s a game we’ve got to have.” During the timeout before Anthony’s winning shot, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle reminded his players they had a foul to give and told them to use it. Wright did his best to foul, but one was not called. The official closest to the play was Mark Wunderlich, the same official who did not call a foul on the Lakers’ Derek Fisher at the end of Game 4 of last year’s West finals. “What do you want me to do ... take him out and then I get a flagrant 2 late in the game?” Wright said. “I made a play on the ball like I was told in the huddle and the call wasn’t made.” When time ran out, the crowd fell silent, the Nuggets began to celebrate and the Mavs began to gripe. Josh Howard was among several clusters of Dallas players who appeared to be exchanging words with Denver players and staff. Owner Mark Cuban brushed by a cameraman on his way to the scene, then blew off steam behind the scorer’s table, his face reddening. He declined to comment later. “Officiating has to be a science, not an art,” Carlisle said. “If I sit here and belabor this, it’s not going to be good for our league.” — The Associated Press

Series glance (Denver leads 3-0) May 3: Denver 109, Dallas 95 May 5: Denver 117, Dallas 105 Saturday: Denver 106, Dallas 105 Monday: Denver at Dallas, 9:30 p.m., TNT Wednesday: Dallas at Denver, 9 or 10:30 p.m., if necessary Friday: Denver at Dallas, TBA, if necessary Sunday, May 17: Dallas at Denver, TBA, if necessary

Denver Dallas

20 20

28 25

31 35

DENVER Min FG FT Reb Anthony 41:44 9-24 11-14 3-8 Martin 38:06 5-6 2-2 3-4 Nene 30:25 2-10 1-2 2-8 Billups 41:11 9-16 11-12 0-3 Jones 14:04 3-4 2-2 1-1 Smith 30:46 3-10 3-4 2-6 Andersen 10:42 2-4 1-2 2-6 Kleiza 13:54 0-1 0-0 0-3 Carter 17:31 1-6 1-2 0-2 Petro 1:37 0-0 0-0 0-0 Totals 240:00 34-81 32-40 13-41

27 — 106 25 — 105 A 2 1 4 3 0 2 0 1 2 0 15

PF 5 4 5 4 3 4 6 0 2 1 34

PTS 31 12 5 32 8 10 5 0 3 0 106

Percentages: FG .420, FT .800. 3-Point Goals: 6-15, .400 (Billups 3-7, Anthony 2-2, Smith 1-4, Carter 0-2). Team Rebounds: 8. Team Turnovers: 7 (9 PTS). Blocked Shots: 5 (Andersen, Anthony, Billups, Jones, Smith). Turnovers: 7 (Anthony 2, Nene 2, Andersen, Billups, Martin). Steals: 7 (Anthony 2, Nene 2, Carter, Martin, Smith). Technical Fouls: Defensive three second, 11:49 second. DALLAS Min FG FT Reb Howard 28:50 5-15 4-5 2-7 Nowitzki 38:22 9-19 13-15 2-16 Dampier 17:13 1-2 0-0 1-3 Kidd 40:37 5-9 2-2 1-5 Wright 19:36 3-5 2-3 0-0 Terry 33:26 5-12 5-6 0-4 Bass 24:49 2-5 12-14 3-5 Green 9:11 0-4 0-0 0-0 Hollins 11:53 0-2 2-4 0-4 Barea 11:37 0-2 0-0 1-1 Singleton 4:28 0-0 0-0 1-1 Totals 240:02 30-75 40-49 11-46

A 1 2 2 5 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 15

PF 5 2 4 2 5 1 0 3 2 0 3 27

PTS 14 33 2 13 8 17 16 0 2 0 0 105

Percentages: FG .400, FT .816. 3-Point Goals: 5-15, .333 (Terry 2-4, Nowitzki 2-5, Kidd 1-2, Green 0-1, Howard 0-1, Wright 0-2). Team Rebounds: 14. Team Turnovers: 10 (4 PTS). Blocked Shots: 7 (Nowitzki 2, Dampier, Hollins, Howard, Kidd, Singleton). Turnovers: 10 (Howard 3, Dampier 2, Terry 2, Hollins, Kidd, Nowitzki). Steals: 1 (Howard). Technical Fouls: Defensive three second, 10:56 second; Howard, 10:22 third. A: 20,620 (19,200). T: 2:57. Officials: Bennett Salvatore, Mark Wunderlich, Ken Mauer.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

NBA

www.sportingnews.com

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

8

WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS Denver 106, Dallas 105

NOTEBOOK

NBA office admits officials missed foul on Anthony BY KATHERINE CROMER BROCK Dallas Business Journal

MATT SLOCUM / AP

Jason Kidd and the Mavericks face a 3-0 deficit to the Nuggets, and no team has ever come back from such a deficit in NBA history.

DALLAS—With one second remaining in the game, Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony hit the gamewinning 3-point shot Saturday, giving Denver a 3-0 series lead over the Mavericks. The Mavericks thought that shot should never have come. And, afterward, the NBA admitted Dallas was right. Joel Litvin, NBA president for league and basketball operations, said in a statement “the officials missed an intentional foul” committed by Antoine Wright on Anthony. Wright had been all over Anthony, trying to foul him and stop the clock. Instead, the whistle never came, setting up Denver’s winning basket. “Unfortunately, in a game where there’s 61 fouls called, an official decides not to call a foul when we’re trying to take a foul. It’s just a shame,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “I’m yelling to Antoine, ‘Get him, get him, take it,’ and no whistle blows. It’s just extremely disappointing. …What do you tell your fans? What do you tell the players?” Wright was so certain he had fouled Anthony—as were the rest of the Mavs—that he had stopped playing. “I was positive a whistle was coming, just like everybody else was positive the whistle was coming. … I tried to hit him before he got into the

shooting motion. I felt like I did, and the whistle wasn’t blowing.” Nuggets coach George Karl, however, said he didn’t see “much of a foul.” Despite the controversial ending, Anthony, called the 3-pointer a highlight of his career. “I’ve never hit a big shot in a playoff like this, in a situation like this,” Anthony said. “There’s a thin line between being 2-1 or 3-0. That shot was the deciding factor. They’re the moments that I live for, crunch time, we need a bucket.”

Another big game from Dirk Before the start of Saturday’s game, there was speculation that Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki’s off-court drama, in which a woman was arrested at his home on Wednesday, could have a negative effect on the big man’s play. But Karl wasn’t worried about that happening. “We think Dirk’s tough enough, and talented enough, I don’t think it’s going to affect him,” he said. “For me, staying away from distractions is something that you talk to your team about. We’re big men; we’re grown men that have to handle situations and circumstances all the time.” Any remaining doubts were quieted by Nowitzki’s strong start. He scored the first bucket of the game, and proceeded to rack up 21 firsthalf points. By the end of the game, he had scored 33 and had 16 rebounds. “We’ll be down tonight after this

one,” Nowitzki said after the game. “I think this is about as tough of a loss that I’ve been a part of in my 11 years in the league.” In Dallas’ other six matchups this season against Denver, Nowitzki had averaged 30.5 points per game and 10.7 rebounds per game. All six games were Dallas losses. “I think we deserved to win, we played well enough to win,” he said. “It just wasn’t meant to be.”

Going to the bench early Questions were raised before Game 3 as to whether Mavs F Josh Howard would be able to play at full force with an injury to his left ankle, and a tweak to his right. Howard has been a fast starter, averaging 7.6 first-quarter points in the regular season. The trend continued into the playoffs, with Howard averaging 6.4 first-quarter points. Carlisle acknowledged before the game that Howard was “sore,” and said he had to “hope for the best.” Although he was a starter Saturday afternoon, Howard was replaced by Jason Terry with 6:46 left in the first quarter, after scoring five points. In fact, early foul trouble led the Mavs to go deep into the bench early, with Terry, Brandon Bass, Gerald Green, Ryan Hollins and Jose Barea all on the court before the end of the first quarter. Howard ended up playing 29 minutes and had 14 points. — Katherine Cromer Brock writes for the Dallas Business Journal. Email her at [email protected]

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

NBA

www.sportingnews.com

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

NOTEBOOK

NOTEBOOK

Yao out remainder of postseason HOUSTON—Yao Ming will miss the rest of the playoffs because of a broken left foot. The Houston center limped off the court late in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 108-94 victory over the Rockets on Friday night. Yao missed Saturday’s practice to get treatment and the team said the 7-foot-6 All-Star would be re-evaluated today. But the Rockets announced later Saturday night that further examination of Yao’s injury revealed a hairline fracture. The Rockets say Yao will need 8-12 weeks to recover, though no surgery is required. The Rockets and Lakers play Game 4 of their Western Conference semifinal series today. The Lakers lead the series 2-1. Yao had 19 points and 14 rebounds in Friday’s loss, his sixth straight double-double. But he was noticeably limping by the fourth quarter and finally hobbled off the court in the final minute, with the outcome decided. After the Rockets’ practice on Saturday, Ron Artest said Yao told him that he’d be ready for Game 4. However, coach Rick Adelman prepared his team as if Yao wouldn’t be available. “We have to play to our strengths,” Adelman said. “Everybody has to play to their strengths and understand what they can do to help us win. You do it collectively. There’s strength in numbers, and that’s what we have to understand.” The Rockets went 3-2 without Yao during the regular season and 19-8 without him in 2007-08. A total of 12 players missed 179 games for Houston this season, and the Rock-

ERIC GAY / AP

The Rockets say Yao Ming will need 8-12 weeks to recover from a broken left foot. ets still managed to go 53-29. “We’ve won without people all year long,” Adelman said. “It’s just one more case. You can’t dwell on who’s not here. You have to dwell on who is here. These guys truly believe, if we go out and play the way we’re capable of playing, we can win a game.”

Artest foul downgraded The NBA downgraded a flagrant foul called against Ron Artest, determining Saturday that the play should

9

not have been severe enough to warrant an ejection. Artest will not face a suspension for Game 4 today. Artest was whistled for a flagrant foul penalty two, an automatic ejection, for his hard foul on Pau Gasol late in Game 3. “I think that they made more of that than it was. I didn’t think that was a flagrant two,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “It looked to me like it was a hard foul. .... I think they overreacted a little bit on that.” — The Associated Press

Celtics try to regroup after ‘awful’ Game 3 ORLANDO—Celtics coach Doc Rivers was at home in the wee hours of Saturday morning after his team’s playoff loss and started watching a movie, hoping to relax. Only this film had no drama. No hero. No uplifting end or reason to stay tuned. The tape of Game 3 against Orlando was simply a nightmare. “It made me feel worse,” Rivers said Saturday, a day after Boston’s demoralizing 117-96 loss to the Magic. “I was in an awful mood when I turned it on. What’s past awful, I was in that afterward. They played great. They made a lot of great shots. And we played awful. “Our defense was awful. I thought we were soft. I thought they were more aggressive. I thought we were the retaliators all game. Other than that, it was just a wonderful night of film watching.” Now the Celtics want to make sure there’s no sequel. Following one of their worst defensive games of the season, the defending champions have plenty to fix if they want to avoid a 3-1 hole in their best-of-seven series against the Magic. Their defense was sloppy. Their offense was inconsistent, and Boston made mistakes it usually doesn’t, with Orlando shooting nearly 60 percent on top of it. While today’s Game 4 is not an elimination game, the Celtics almost surely have to win if they have any chance to advance. Only eight NBA teams have ever come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a series. “We’re not going to panic,”

JOHN RAOUX / AP

Coach Doc Rivers thought his Celtics were soft in their Game 3 loss to Orlando. Celtics forward Paul Pierce said. “But there’s definitely a huge sense of urgency to get this win and try to get our home-court advantage back.” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy says he hasn’t determined the starting lineup for today’s game. Point guard Rafer Alston will be back after his one-game suspension for slapping Eddie House in the back of the head, and shooting guard Courtney Lee will again be in the lineup with a protective mask following a solid return off the bench—11 points in 32 minutes

in Game 3.

Perkins avoids suspension Celtics center Kendrick Perkins will not face a suspension for an elbow that hit Orlando’s Mickael Pietrus in the chin and throat and drew a flagrant one foul. NBA spokesman Tim Frank confirmed that the league reviewed the play and it stands as called. Replays showed Perkins hit Pietrus while the two were battling for position away from the ball in the fourth quarter of Game 3. — The Associated Press

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

NBA

www.sportingnews.com

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

Playoff glance

INSIDE DISH

Suns believe Gentry ‘the right man to lead’ The Jazz want F Andrei Kirilenko to add weight during the offseason, but Kirilenko doesn’t see why his lack of bulk is an issue. “I’ve never concentrate on that in my life and in my career, but obviously it’s been brought up to my attention so I will try to concentrate on that a little bit more,” Kirilenko told the Deseret News. Kirilenko started the 200809 season weighing 226 pounds, and said he shed eight pounds over the course of the year.

As expected, the Suns are sticking with coach Alvin Gentry. Suns general manager Steve Kerr removed the interim tag from Gentry’s title on Saturday, calling him “the right man to lead our team into the future.” Gentry took over the struggling Suns on Feb. 16 after coach Terry Porter was fired just four months into his first season with the club. Gentry’s contract is for two years with a third-year option. Gentry returned the Suns to the freeform style of Porter’s predecessor Mike D’Antoni, guiding the team to an 18-13 record despite the absence of injured All-Star Amare Stoudemire for all but one game. Phoenix finished 46-36, the second-best record of any team that failed to make the playoffs since the field expanded to 16 teams 25 years ago.

Bulls PG Derrick Rose was a star of the first-round of the playoffs and won the NBA’s rookie of the year award, but he still thinks there are plenty aspects of his game that can get better. “I need to work on my jump shot, my defense and becoming a leader,” Rose told the Chicago Tribune. “I’ve got to lead the team better. I’ve got to control the game a little more as a point guard.”

The Kings plan to interview former coach Eddie Jordan early next week about a possible return to the club he briefly coached in the late 1990s. Jordan was fired by the Wizards last November early in his sixth season with the club after 197 victories and four playoff appearances. Jordan had his first head coaching job in Sacramento from March 1997 until 1998, when he was fired by the Kings after going 33-64.

the camp after a long season.

Celtics PG Rajon Rondo and C Kendrick Perkins have been invited to a July camp in Las Vegas for potential candidates for the U.S. basketball team, The Boston Globe reported. Rondo said he will likely participate, but Perkins remains undecided. Both players expressed concern about how healthy they’d be during

Back in his home country of Australia, Bucks C Andrew Bogut said he’ll have another MRI scan in about a week, and that will determine when he can start working out again. Bogut, who was able to play only 36 games last year, is recovering from a stress fracture in his back. “Because it’s such a long

10

Today’s games All Times ET

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (Best-of-7), All times ET EASTERN CONFERENCE (Cleveland leads series 3-0) Cleveland vs. Atlanta May 5: Cleveland 99, Atlanta 72 May 7: Cleveland 105, Atlanta 85 Saturday: Cleveland 97, Atlanta 82 Monday: Cleveland at Atlanta, 7 p.m. 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 Boston vs. Orlando (Orlando lead series 2-1) May 4: Orlando 95, Boston 90 May 6: Boston 112, Orlando 94 May 8: Orlando 117, Boston 96 Today: Boston at Orlando, 8 p.m. Tuesday: Orlando at Boston, 8 p.m. 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 May 8: L.A. Lakers 108, Houston 94 Today: 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

RICK SCUTERI / AP

Alvin Gentry, left, with Steve Nash, led the Suns to an 18-13 record after replacing Terry Porter as coach. offseason, there’s no point trying to rush it and then set myself back,” Bogut told The Associated Press. “We need to make sure it’s 100 percent healed, so I’m not doing any strenuous activities at all.” Blazers backup PG Sergio Rodriguez said he’d not only welcome a trade this offseason, but halfway expects one, The Oregonian reported.

“Something has to happen,” Rodriguez said. “I can’t be here forever, with the same situation. I’ve been here three years and I’m in the same position I was in my first week. It’s the same situation over and over and over.” Rodriguez averaged 4.4 points and 3.6 assists in 15 minutes a game, and his role was diminished in the first round playoff series against Houston.

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (Best-of-7) L.A. Lakers at Houston, 3:30 p.m., ABC Boston at Orlando, 8 p.m., TNT

Betting line Today FAVORITE ..........LINE ............ O/U .....UNDERDOG L.A. Lakers................... 4................(194) .......at Houston at Orlando ................... 5................(192½).......... Boston

Denver vs. Dallas (Denver leads series 3-0) May 3: Denver 109, Dallas 95 May 5: Denver 117, Dallas 105 Saturday: Denver 106, Dallas 105 Monday: Denver at Dallas, 9:30 p.m. Wednesday: Dallas at Denver, TBA, if necessary Friday: Denver at Dallas, TBA, if necessary Sunday, May 17: Dallas at Denver, TBA, if necessary

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

NHL

11

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS Chicago 4, Vancouver 2

Patience pays off in big way for Bolland, Blackhawks VANCOUVER—With Chicago on a power play and the puck on Patrick Kane’s stick, David Bolland found a soft spot behind the Canucks defense and trusted the puck was coming. The hardest part was waiting for it. When the puck finally arrived, Bolland patiently gathered it and then snapped a shot past the stick of a diving Roberto Luongo and into an empty net. The goal with 5:05 left gave the Chicago Blackhawks the lead they turned into a 4-2 victory over Vancouver on Saturday night in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinal series. “Kane just stepped off the boards and saw me open and threw a little saucer, and I knew it was going to get to me. Roberto couldn’t get over that quick,” Bolland said. “I didn’t want to mishandle it. I just wanted to make sure.” Martin Havlat added an emptynet goal with 62 seconds left, and Chicago took a 3-2 edge over the Canucks in the series. The Blackhawks can advance to the conference finals on Monday at home. After Canucks forward Ryan Johnson failed on a great chance to clear the zone, and with defenseman Willie Mitchell missing his stick, Kane walked off the right boards and looked off Luongo before finding Bolland open on the backdoor. “Kane is a tremendous passer, a tremendous player and he’s going to get you the puck,” said Bolland, who has four goals in the secondround series.

DARRYL DYCK / AP

Chicago’s Dave Bolland, left, celebrates his go-ahead third-period goal with Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane, right. The Blackhawks trailed 2-1 midway through the second period, but rallied to win for the third time in the series. Chicago hasn’t been to the conference finals since 1995, following a second-round sweep of the Canucks. If the Canucks stay alive, they would host Game 7 on Thursday. “We don’t want to come back,”

Bolland said. “We want to finish it at home.” Defenseman Brian Campbell set up a pair of goals by Dustin Byfuglien, including the tying tally during a power play with 1:38 left in the second period, for the Blackhawks. Chicago was less than three minutes from being down 3-1 in the series before rallying late and win-

ning Game 4 in overtime at home. “I don’t know what it is, it’s crazy,” Kane said of the comebacks. “We have a young team and it’s almost like we don’t know any better but to come back.” Mats Sundin had a goal and an assist, and Ryan Kesler also scored for Vancouver, which has lost two straight at home, matching its total

there for the last three months of the regular season. “We’re going to regroup,” said Luongo, who finished with 26 saves. “We’re going to come Monday and we’re going to play the hardest game we’ve played all year, make sure we play our best game on the ice, and bring us back here.” Nikolai Khabibulin made 19 saves for Chicago, getting a break when Kyle Wellwood hit the post midway through the third period, but also getting a blocker on Kesler’s shorthanded 2-on-1 chance with seven minutes left. After Chicago won what Canucks coach Alain Vigneault called a “chess match” in Game 4 on Thursday, the teams played a faster-paced, highly physical game Saturday with plenty of big hits and scrums after the whistle. The Canucks got top defenseman Sami Salo back after he missed two games with an undisclosed lowerbody injury, but Chicago opened the scoring for the first time in the series with 4:33 left in the first period. Byfuglien beat Mattias Ohlund to a rebound of Campbell’s point shot through traffic and off Luongo’s pad. “We had guys all over the puck and kept it in when we need to and we found a way to sneak some by [Luongo],” Byfuglien said. The Blackhawks controlled much of the play in the opening period, pinning the Canucks in their own end for long stretches, but Kesler tied it on a lucky power-play bounce with 2:06 left. Sundin gave the

Series glance (Chicago leads series 3-2) 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 Saturday: Chicago 4, Vancouver 2 Monday: Vancouver at Chicago, 9 p.m. Thursday,: Chicago at Vancouver, TBD, if necessary

Chicago Vancouver

1 1

1 1

2 0

— —

4 2

First Period: 1, Chicago, Byfuglien 2 (Campbell, Versteeg), 15:27. 2, Vancouver, Kesler 2 (Wellwood, Sundin), 17:54 (pp). Penalties: Ladd, Chi (roughing), 16:35. Second Period: 3, Vancouver, Sundin 2 (H.Sedin), 11:16. 4, Chicago, Byfuglien 3 (Campbell), 18:22 (pp). Penalties: Edler, Van (holding), 2:24; D.Sedin, Van (holding stick), 8:48; Ladd, Chi (roughing), 12:44; Walker, Chi, misconduct, 17:12; Versteeg, Chi (cross-checking), 17:12; O’Brien, Van, minor-misconduct (roughing), 17:12; Bieksa, Van (roughing), 17:12. Third Period: 5, Chicago, Bolland 4 (Kane, Keith), 14:55 (pp). 6, Chicago, Havlat 5, 18:58 (en). Penalties: Bieksa, Van (high-sticking), 13:16; Kesler, Van (holding), 16:07. Shots on Goal: Chicago 10-11-9: 30. Vancouver 11-5-5: 21. Power-play opportunities: Chicago 2 of 5; Vancouver 1 of 2. Goalies: Chicago, Khabibulin 7-4-0 (21 shots-19 saves). Vancouver, Luongo 6-3-0 (29-26). A: 18,630 (18,630). T: 2:34. Referees: Paul Devorski, Dennis LaRue. Linesmen: Brad Lazarowich, Jay Sharrers.

Canucks the lead midway through the second, but Byfuglien tied it again after Vancouver was whistled for an extra penalty during a postwhistle scrum. “A lot of people are going to write us off, but we believe in this locker room that we can win,” Luongo said. “We should have won both games in Chicago, so we know we can go in there and win a game.” — The Associated Press

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

NHL

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

12

EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFFS Pittsburgh 4, Washington 3, OT

Malkin’s deflection pushes Capitals to edge WASHINGTON—The Pittsburgh Penguins can say they have outplayed the Washington Capitals and had the perseverance to overcome a two-game deficit to take the series lead. However, Sidney Crosby will be the first to admit that the Penguins are ahead because the puck was deflected into the net by a Capitals player in overtime. Twice. Evgeni Malkin’s pass to Crosby was broken up by sliding defenseman Tom Poti, who then helplessly watched the puck sail past goalie Simeon Varlamov 3:28 into overtime Saturday night, giving the Penguins a 4-3 victory in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. “These games come down to mistakes and bounces,” Crosby said. “And we got a good bounce there on the last goal.” The Penguins overcame a thirdperiod deficit and survived Alex Ovechkin’s tying goal late in regulation before winning on Malkin’s power-play tally, which came with one second remaining in the advantage. Malkin had drawn a tripping penalty on Milan Jurcina that stopped a possible breakaway. The final goal brought flashbacks to Game 3, when Kris Letang’s winner was deflected in by defenseman Shaone Morrisonn. “It’s always hard when you play in overtime and you allow a silly goal like this,” Varlamov said through an interpreter. “That’s twice now. ... But winners make their own luck.” Jordan Staal, Ruslan Fedotenko

and Matt Cooke also scored, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves for the Penguins, who have won three straight after dropping the first two games. They can advance Monday night in Pittsburgh. Since 1991, Washington has lost five series in which it blew a lead against Pittsburgh, including 2-0 advantages in 1992 and 1996. Maybe it was those ghosts that caused David Steckel to blow an easy chance 19 seconds into overtime. “First shift, Stecks missed an empty net,” Ovechkin said. “I said, ‘Jesus, where is our luck?’ The puck was bouncing, and next they got a power play and scored a goal.” The Penguins became the first road team to win in the series, and the first to win after scoring first. They also sustained the momentum from Friday night’s dominant 5-3 Game 4 victory. Thanks to back-to-back games caused by a Yanni concert in Pittsburgh, the young Capitals came home with little time to regroup. “We’ve been in this position before,” said Washington coach Bruce Boudreau, referring to the Capitals’ rally from 3-1 down to beat the New York Rangers in the first round. “It’s a tough hill to climb, but you’ve just got to think of it as one game.” Ovechkin got his ninth and 10th goals of the playoffs, and Nicklas Backstrom also scored for the Capitals. Varlamov made 38 saves, rebounding from his first poor

game of the playoffs. Crosby, who entered with nine goals and 16 points in the postseason, had a five-game point streak snapped, but that hardly mattered for a Penguins team that was in danger of missing the playoffs before Dan Bylsma took over as coach in February. “They showed it at the end of the season, they showed it in the first round as well,” Bylsma said. “There’s a resolve in that room. There’s character. We had the belief going out (for overtime) that we were going to get that goal.” Staal put the Penguins ahead 1-0 early in the second. Ovechkin responded 59 seconds later with a blistering shot from beyond the left circle that Fleury couldn’t see. Ovechkin celebrated by sticking his left index finger high in the air, and Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik appeared to object by raising his hand toward Ovechkin’s chest. A penalty for too many men led to a Capitals goal late in the second period. Backstrom worked a nice giveand-go with Sergei Fedorov before beating Fleury. The Penguins tied it early in the third on Fedotenko’s shot from the top of the left circle, then took the lead with 13:33 left in regulation when former Capitals left wing Cooke lifted a rebound over Varlamov. Ovechkin tied it with 4:08 left in the third, but Malkin got the final break in overtime. “It’s Malkin, so you can’t give

him too much time and space,” Poti said. “It became a 2-on-1 and I tried to go down to take the pass away and take away his angle coming to the net. He tried to make the pass and it ended up going off my glove and my stick or something. An unfortunate bounce.” — The Associated Press

Series glance (Pittsburgh leads series 3-2) May 2: Washington 3, Pittsburgh 2 May 4: Washington 4, Pittsburgh 3 May 6: Pittsburgh 3, Washington 2, OT May 8: Pittsburgh 5, Washington 3 Saturday: Pittsburgh 4, Washington 3, OT Monday: Washington at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. Wednesday: Pittsburgh at Washington, 7 p.m., if necessary

Pittsburgh Washington

0 0

1 2

2 1

1 0

— —

4 3

First Period: None. Penalties: Semin, Was (tripping), 5:41; Guerin, Pit (hooking), 16:05; Orpik, Pit (roughing), 20:00; Malkin, Pit (roughing), 20:00; Erskine, Was (roughing), 20:00; Ovechkin, Was (roughing), 20:00. Second Period: 1, Pittsburgh, Staal 1 (Satan, Orpik), 5:17. 2, Washington, Ovechkin 9 (Poti), 6:16. 3, Washington, Backstrom 3 (Fedorov, Ovechkin), 14:35 (pp). Penalties: Pittsburgh bench, served by Malkin (too many men), 14:19. Third Period: 4, Pittsburgh, Fedotenko 4 (Malkin, Letang), :51. 5, Pittsburgh, Cooke 1 (Kennedy, Staal), 6:27. 6, Washington, Ovechkin 10 (Backstrom, Green), 15:52. Penalties: None. First Overtime: 7, Pittsburgh, Malkin 6 (Kunitz), 3:28 (pp). Penalties: Jurcina, Was (tripping), 1:29. Shots on Goal: Pittsburgh 11-14-14-3: 42. Washington 12-109-0: 31. Power-play opportunities: Pittsburgh 1 of 2; Washington 1 of 2. Goalies: Pittsburgh, Fleury 7-4-0 (31 shots-28 saves). Washington, Varlamov 6-5-0 (42-38). A: 18,277 (18,277). T: 2:43. Referees: Bill McCreary, Eric Furlatt. Linesmen: Derek Amell, Pierre Racicot.

NICK WASS / AP

A pass by Evgeni Malkin, above, intended for Sidney Crosby, deflected off Washington D Tom Poti and through the legs of Capitals G Simeon Varlamov.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

NHL

www.sportingnews.com

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

13

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

Ovechkin’s hit on Gonchar: was it dirty or accidental?

With two key goals in Game 4, Hossa finally doing his part

WASHINGTON—Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar sat out Game 5 against the Capitals on Saturday. Gonchar was hurt in a knee-toknee collision with Washington’s Alex Ovechkin in Friday night’s Game 4. Ovechkin was assessed a penalty on the play but was not further punished by the league. Coach Dan Bylsma said Saturday that Gonchar’s injury was not as severe as initially thought, but the coach declined to say whether the veteran defenseman will play again in the postseason. Meanwhile, debate raged over the league’s refusal to suspend Ovechkin. “There shouldn’t be (a suspension),” Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau told The Washington Post only hours before Game 5 at Washington’s Verizon Center. “If you’ve watched any replay—the knee is not the first thing that goes out. He’s trying to hit him with his shoulder and the rest of your body, you can’t leave it somewhere, it’s got to follow you and that’s what happened. He led with his shoulder. Simple.” Not so simple, according to several Pittsburgh players. “It’s kind of the same thing he (Ovechkin) did with me last game,” Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik told reporters after Game 4. “I mean, you can run guys, guys are fair game, but the guy takes strides every time and leaves his feet a lot of times, too. To us, we got the feeling he’s really trying to hurt guys at times.” Gonchar’s agent, J.P. Barry,

PAUL SANCYA / AP

Sergei Gonchar missed Game 5, and his status for the rest of the postseason is unknown. directed his criticism at the league, saying there’s a double standard regarding star players. “We now have Exhibit A of the extreme double standard that exists in the NHL’s approach to discipline,” Barry told TSN. “Alex clearly cuts back with his knee after missing his check with devastating results. But, of course, because it’s Alex, it’s all Sergei’s fault. “It was an extremely negligent hit, and if anyone else in this league does

the same, we all know they will face serious discipline.” Ovechkin continued to maintain there was no intent to injure. “I tell a couple guys—(Bill) Guerin, (Mark) Eaton—it was accidental,” he told The Post. “I didn’t try to hurt him.” To replace Gonchar, the Penguins recalled defenseman Alex Goligoski from their AHL team at WilkesBarre. — The Associated Press

DETROIT—Really, it’s not about the money. Some people cringe when athletes say that. When Marian Hossa did, no one could question it. Hossa signed a one-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings last summer, turning down a longer contract to stay in Pittsburgh and a more lucrative one to play for Edmonton, because he believed the defending Stanley Cup champions gave him the best chance to win a title. Anaheim Ducks forward Teemu Selanne vividly remembers hearing the news back home in Finland. “We were joking, ‘The rich got richer,’ ” Selanne recalled Saturday, a day before facing Hossa and the Red Wings on their home ice in Game 5. “We knew Detroit was going to be stronger. “It’s hard to repeat, so it’s good to have new blood from guys who are hungry to win the Cup.” Perhaps it makes sense that Hossa helped Detroit win a game it needed against Anaheim to avoid being on the brink of elimination in the Western Conference semifinals. After being held pointless in the first three games by the Ducks, Hossa broke a tie with two goals in a 3-minute span to lift the Red Wings to a 6-3, seriesevening victory in Game 4. “It definitely feels good when you can finally put a puck in the net,” Hossa said. “We had some

PAUL SANCYA / AP

Marian Hossa was pointless in the first three games of this series before coming to life. great chances and played some good games, but the puck didn’t go in. We tried to stay patient.” Hossa, though, was impatient about his quest for a Cup. The marquee free agent from Slovakia signed in Detroit at a relative discount for about $7.5 million, declining an offer estimated to be worth $49 million to remain with the runner-up Penguins and reportedly many more millions to join the Oilers. The 38-year-old Selanne, who won a Cup two years ago, understands why Hossa made the rare decision to leave money on the table. “For a veteran who has made a lot of money, like Hossa, you know you have to sacrifice to win a Cup,” Selanne said. “Winning the Cup is priceless. I think

anybody would take a pay cut to try to win a Cup.” The 30-year-old Hossa improved his chances—and those of his team—by finding a way to score in a matchup featuring the past two Stanley Cup winners. “He’s a high-end player and he has to feel like the weight of the world is off his back,” Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. “Anyone who envisions themselves as a scorer, when it’s not going in the net, they start pressing. So it was good for him.” Hossa had a team-high 40 goals this season and has scored at least 29 times in nine straight seasons with Detroit, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and Ottawa. Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer said it was inevitable Hossa was going to find the back of the net in the series. “He’s a talented, gifted guy,” Niedermayer said. “But when we look back at those goals, we feel we could’ve done more in those situations.” Heading into Game 5 today in Detroit, Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle would not say who would be in goal trying to stop Hossa. Carlyle replaced Jonas Hiller, who gave up five goals after making 100-plus saves in two wins, with Jean-Sebastien Giguere on Thursday night. So, who’s going to start today? “You guys better come to the warmup,” Carlyle said. Babcock said he isn’t buying it. — The Associated Press

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

NHL

www.sportingnews.com

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

Playoff glance

INSIDE DISH

Balsillie’s strategy: Let the court decide

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

After an interview with Jim Balsillie that appeared in Saturday’s The Globe and Mail of Toronto, the newspaper concluded that the BlackBerry CEO’s latest attempt to acquire an NHL franchise is a long-planned legal strategy that he hopes will be decided in an Arizona courtroom by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge. “I wouldn’t be doing something if I didn’t think there were optimistic possibilities—that wouldn’t be constructive,” Balsillie said when asked about the controversial maneuvering that could help him gain control of the Phoenix Coyotes—contingent on a move to southern Ontario. Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes, who has been struggling to keep his franchise afloat in the city of Glendale, Ariz., filed for Chapter 11 protection this week, a surprising development that forced the NHL to reveal it had taken over the team several months ago, and Moyes therefore had no right to take such action. The NHL is asking the court to deny the bankruptcy request, claiming Balsillie is attempting to subvert league rules.. Balsillie, The Globe and Mail says, is counting on the court to declare Moyes the owner and, given that his $212.5 million offer is the most attractive, force the NHL to allow the team to relocate—and even accept Balsillie as the owner. Balsillie’s offer will be the only one before the court, although the NHL claims several others have been made. The NHL’s bylaws lay out strict criteria for both relocation and ownership. Relocation, the newspaper points out, is based on market conditions and ownership qualifications that consider financial means as well as “good character and integrity.” And in 2006, Balsillie

EASTERN CONFERENCE

said Vancouver developer Tom Gaglardi is leading the charge. According to records in the Oakland County Treasurer’s Office, Red Wings D Chris Chelios owes more than $78,000 in back taxes on his $2.9 million home in suburban Detroit. A team spokesman told the Detroit News that it is an accounting glitch and the bill will be paid in full within days. The newspaper reports that Chelios and his wife owe $61,544 in 2007 taxes, plus $16,519 in interest and fees on their Bloomfield Hills home. Treasurer Patrick Dohany says Chelios did pay his 2008 property taxes, but the house will be foreclosed if the 2007 bill isn’t paid by April 2010.

MARK AVERY / AP

Tomas Kopecky, right, reportedly has broken bones in his face after a fight with Anaheim D Francois Beauchemin. was approved unanimously by the league governors when he attempted to buy the financially struggling Penguins—only to have the deal fall through when he wouldn’t agree to keep the team in Pittsburgh.. “There can be lots of finger-pointing and scenarioizing and blaming to go around, but it’s fundamentally irrelevant right now,” Balsillie told the newspaper. “What you have is a difficult situation. You have a team that’s filed for bankruptcy, that’s lost a lot of money, that’s out of cash and has a lot of creditors. We’ve got a bankruptcy court that has to make a

14

decision. We’re putting forward what we think is an amazing proposal. …” Hamilton reportedly is the target destination for Balsillie. But the Hamilton Spectator reports a second group is interested in relocating the Atlanta Thrashers to the city. According to the newspaper, mayor Fred Eisenberger will meet with a Vancouver-based group on Monday to discuss a proposed lease for Copps Coliseum. Eisenberger would not disclose any details of the second group, but the newspaper cited a source that

Detroit F Tomas Kopecky might need surgery to repair facial injuries he suffered in a Game 4 fight with Anaheim D Francois Beauchemin. According to Red Wings general manager Ken Holland, nothing will be sure until the team receives a final report on Kopecky’s condition.

Today’s games All Times ET Eastern Conference semifinals (Best-of-7) Anaheim at Detroit, 5 p.m. Carolina at Boston, 7:30 p.m., Versus

Betting lines Today FAVORITE LINE UNDERDOG LINE at Detroit ................-240................Anaheim .............+200 at Boston................-200................Carolina...............+170

(Best-of-7) All Times ET

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 May 8: Carolina 4, Boston 1 Today: 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 (Pittsburgh leads series 3-2) May 2: Washington 3, Pittsburgh 2 May 4: Washington 4, Pittsburgh 3 May 6: Pittsburgh 3, Washington 2, OT May 8: Pittsburgh 5, Washington 3 Saturday: Pittsburgh 4, Washington 3, OT 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 Today: Anaheim at Detroit, 5 p.m. Tuesday: Detroit at Anaheim, 10 p.m. Thursday: Anaheim at Detroit, TBD, if necessary

Vancouver vs. Chicago (Chicago leads series 3-2) 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 Saturday: Chicago 4, Vancouver 2 Monday: Vancouver at Chicago, 9 p.m. Thursday,: Chicago at Vancouver, TBD, if necessary

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

NASCAR

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

Bold pit call propels Martin to victory lane BY REID SPENCER [email protected]

DARLINGTON, S.C.—In a Hendrick Motorsports assault on Darlington Raceway, Mark Martin—at 50 the senior member of the team—won Saturday night’s Southern 500 Sprint Cup race by 1.531 seconds over teammate Jimmie Johnson. Attrition trimmed the field, and perseverance allowed Johnson and teammate Jeff Gordon to rally from a lap down each to finish in the top five. But it was a call by Martin’s crew chief, Alan Gustafson, that gave the driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet his second victory of the season and the 37th of his career—tying him with Bobby Isaac for 17th on the career wins list. Martin and Johnson were two of seven drivers who stayed out on old tires under the 15th caution of the race on Lap 321, while Tony Stewart, Martin Truex Jr. and Gordon were the first three drivers out of the pits with fresh right-side tires. Stewart charged through the field to finish third in his No. 14 StewartHaas Racing Chevrolet, a car that gets engine, chassis and technical support from Hendrick. Stewart’s teammate, Ryan Newman, ran fourth, followed by Gordon. Stewart moved past 16th-place finisher Kurt Busch into second in the Cup standings, 29 points behind Gordon. Truex came home sixth, followed by Brad Keselowski in the No. 25 Chevy owned by Hendrick. Greg Biffle, rookie Joey Logano and polesitter Matt Kenseth completed the top 10. “It’s absolutely unbelievable,” Martin said. “This is a big surprise.

15

Southern 500 results FINISH START CAR. DRIVER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

12 42 18 3 2 16 31 11 5 1

5 48 14 39 24 1 25 16 20 17

Mark Martin Jimmie Johnson Tony Stewart Ryan Newman Jeff Gordon Martin Truex Jr. Brad Keselowski Greg Biffle Joey Logano Matt Kenseth

MAKE Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet Ford Toyota Ford

POINTS

LAPS

190 175 170 165 160 155 146 152 143 139

367 367 367 367 367 367 367 367 367 367

NASCAR Sprint Cup standings (through Saturday’s race)

BRETT FLASHNICK / AP

Mark Martin, above, was one of three Hendrick drivers finishing in the top five. Jimmie Johnson finished second and Jeff Gordon fifth. We had a strong car, but I never expected to win. Alan Gustafson is absolutely the best. I may have been his childhood hero, but I’m living a second childhood now—and he’s my childhood hero. “We had a good enough car to do it, and pit strategy put us in a position to pull it off.” Ultimately, Martin had enough muscle to stave off Johnson’s lastditch attempts to pass him after the final restart on Lap 347 of 367. “He’s Superman,” Martin said. “Three championships in a row. The guy’s incredible. I thought he was trying to snooker me, lollygag back there and all of a sudden mash the gas, and I’d be off-guard. I was trying to save gas, but I couldn’t let him

get near me, because I know how tough he is.” Johnson, who gained two positions to fourth in the points, survived a series of calamities to claim the runner-up finish. “I got trapped on pit road, I spun out trying to get to my pit stall, just a bunch of stuff—man, it was a just chaotic night,” Johnson said. “I’m very relieved and proud of the race team, because we kept our heads and fought through it all night long and got ourselves a good finish.” Biffle led a race-high 117 laps, but his hopes of winning evaporated on Lap 296, when he spun his No. 16 Ford off Turn 4 and slammed the outside wall. Thirteen laps earlier, a tap from Biffle had sent Roush

Fenway Racing teammate Carl Edwards sliding into the Turn 2 wall, forcing Edwards to the garage with extensive damage. Notes: Clint Bowyer’s streak of 83 races without a DNF (did not finish) ended in a hard crash on Lap 222. Bowyer is the modern record holder for consecutive races running at the finish, but he stopped one short of Herman Bean’s all-time record 84, set from 1961-1963. Bean set his mark while running limited schedules, not in consecutive events. … This is Martin’s second win at Darlington. His first came in the 1993 Southern 500. The fifth Hendrick driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., finished 27th. — Reid Spencer writes for the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

RK. +/- DRIVER POINTS BEHIND STARTS POLES WINS T-5 1 -- Jeff Gordon 1601 Leader 11 0 1 6 2 1 Tony Stewart 1572 -29 11 0 0 5 3 -1 Kurt Busch 1546 -55 11 0 1 3 4 2 Jimmie Johnson 1465 -136 11 0 1 5 5 -1 Denny Hamlin 1445 -156 11 0 0 2 6 1 Jeff Burton 1384 -217 11 0 0 2 7 -2 Kyle Busch 1380 -221 11 1 3 4 8 2 Ryan Newman 1363 -238 11 0 0 3 9 2 Greg Biffle 1345 -256 11 0 0 3 10 2 Matt Kenseth 1326 -275 11 1 2 3 11 4 Mark Martin 1316 -285 11 3 2 3 12 -3 Carl Edwards 1271 -330 11 0 0 1 13 -5 Clint Bowyer 1264 -337 11 0 0 3 14 -- Juan Montoya 1255 -346 11 1 0 0 15 -2 David Reutimann 1232 -369 11 1 0 1 16 1 Kasey Kahne 1205 -396 11 0 0 1 17 -1 Brian Vickers 1188 -413 11 2 0 1 18 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. 1182 -419 11 0 0 1 19 2 Martin Truex Jr. 1144 -457 11 1 0 0 20 -1 Marcos Ambrose 1131 -470 11 0 0 1 21 2 Kevin Harvick 1109 -492 11 0 0 2 22 -2 Casey Mears 1104 -497 11 0 0 0 23 -1 Reed Sorenson 1090 -511 11 0 0 0 24 1 Jamie McMurray 1068 -533 11 0 0 0 25 3 A.J. Allmendinger 1059 -542 11 0 0 1 —Bold line indicates Chase cutoff

MORE COVERAGE from sportingnews.com Results: sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=547419 Standings: sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=547418

T-10 8 8 6 7 4 5 4 5 6 4 6 4 4 3 2 2 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 3 2

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

NASCAR

www.sportingnews.com

Mayfield suspended after failing drug test

INSIDE DISH

BY REID SPENCER [email protected]

CJ DRIGGERS / AP

Carl Edwards says contact from Roush Fenway teammate Greg Biffle caused his wreck.

Edwards upset after incident with Biffle Moments after Roush Fenway Racing driver Carl Edwards bounced off the Darlington Raceway wall on Lap 284 Saturday of the Sprint Cup Series Southern 500, he calmly keyed his in-car microphone. “That’s nice of my teammate to wreck me,” Edwards told his crew. He was sarcastic, of course. It wasn’t very nice of a teammate. But Edwards did blame Greg Biffle for the wreck. “We’ve been fighting real hard all night with our car and making progress, and Greg just got into my left rear and put me in the fence there,” Edwards said after finishing 32nd. “It’s too bad that happened. That’s a really good car. I’ve been trying to give all night and race cautiously, and we just got tangled up with him there.” Replays weren’t conclusive, and Biffle said he didn’t hit Edwards.

16

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

“I’d have to look at the replay,” Biffle said. “Maybe I bumped him, but I really don’t think so. He cut down the hill. He knew I was inside of him, and that happens, but I think just the air off my bumper got him loose—but I’ll have to look at the replay.” Biffle later backed into the wall but rallied to finish eighth. — Lee Montgomery, SceneDaily.com

Scott Speed drove Nemco Motorsports’ No. 87 car in Saturday’s Southern 500. Speed failed to qualify his No. 82 car for the Sprint Cup race on Friday at Darlington after crashing in practice and going to a backup car. Red Bull Racing worked out an arrangement with Nemco to have Speed replace driver Joe Nemechek. By putting Speed in the car, which will keep its regular logos, Red Bull will get the rookie valuable experience and Speed will earn the driver points. Team owner Joe Nemechek will get to keep the owners points. Speed finished 26th in Saturday’s race. — Kenny Bruce, SceneDaily.com

DARLINGTON, S.C.—Jeremy Mayfield, driver of his own No. 41 Toyota in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series, has been suspended immediately and indefinitely after failing a drug test, NASCAR announced Saturday at Darlington Raceway. Tony Martin, a crew member for the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Cup team of driver John Andretti, and Ben Williams, a crew AP member with the No. Jeremy Mayfield 16 Roush Fenway Racing team in the Nationwide Series, also drew suspensions for failed drug tests. NASCAR received the results of the tests at approximately noon on Saturday. Roush’s No. 16 team features multiple drivers. Matt Kenseth won Friday night’s Nationwide race in the No. 16 car. Mayfield, 39, is the first Cup driver to fail a drug test after the institution of NASCAR’s zero-tolerance policy toward violation of the substance-abuse rules at the start of the 2009 season. “We test anywhere from 4-8 drivers per weekend,” said Jim Hunter, NASCAR’s vice president of corporate communications. “I think that’s a good way for us to stay on top of this—with every driver having been tested at least once. And by random, some drivers have been tested numerous times. “But I think it’s a good program, and we’re going to continue this program.” Mayfield was tested at random, not on the basis of suspicion, said Hunter, who made it clear that Mayfield was

suspended from participation in NASCAR activities as both an owner and a driver. By policy, NASCAR does not release the specific nature of the substance abuse. On Saturday evening, Mayfield released a statement, indicating his belief that a combination of legal substances had produced the positive test result. Mayfield also indicated his team would continue to compete with an interim owner and driver. “As both a team owner and a driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, I have immense respect for the enforcement policies NASCAR has in place,” Mayfield said. “In my case, I believe that the combination of a prescribed medicine and an over the counter medicine reacted together and resulted in a positive drug test. My doctor and I are working with both Dr. (David) Black (who administers drug testing for the sanctioning body) and NASCAR to resolve this matter. “Mayfield Motorsports remains committed to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and the organization will announce an interim owner and a temporary replacement driver early next week. Those roles will commence immediately beginning with next week’s Sprint Open and continuing through Charlotte and beyond.” On Friday, Mayfield had failed to qualify for Saturday night’s Southern 500 at Darlington. He had competed in five of 10 Cup races this season, having failed to qualify for the other five. His best finish this year was 32nd at Talladega. Mayfield has five victories in the series, the last of which came at Michigan in 2005. — Reid Spencer writes for the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

JIM COLE / AP

Patrick Carpentier finished 17th in Friday’s Nationwide race at Darlington.

Carpentier hopes one-race deal opens door for more chances BY LEE MONTGOMERY SceneDaily.com

DARLINGTON, S.C.—Patrick Carpentier was back in a NASCAR stock car Friday, and he hopes he can return for some more races. Carpentier was a last-minute replacement for David Green in SK Motorsports’ No. 07 Nationwide Series Toyota at Darlington Raceway, making his first start of 2009. He finished 17th in Friday night’s Diamond Hill Plywood 200 in what is a one-race deal, for now. Carpentier was a rookie in the Sprint Cup Series last year, starting the season with the team now known as Richard Petty Motorsports. But he was let go before the end of the season and has been out of work since. He’s been frustrated by sitting on the sidelines, knowing that seat time is the only way he can improve in stock cars after spending most of his

career in open-wheel. “It was a little bit (frustrating) because I know it takes a few years,” Carpentier said. “You don’t come here and start setting the world on fire when you come from open-wheel. You’ve got a lot to learn.” He wishes he would have gotten at least another year in Cup, and he cites Penske Racing’s Sam Hornish Jr. as an example of a driving who is improving from his rookie season. Could he get more in the Nationwide Series this year? He does have at least one more race scheduled, at Montreal for Michael Waltrip Racing. Carpentier said he’s talking to some other Nationwide teams, including the first-year SK Motorsports team. “We’re talking, we’re pushing. And we’re talking to a couple more teams also,” he said. “We’ll see, but just being here and being in a car— finally—always helps.” [email protected]

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

INSIDE DISH

THE LAUNCHING PAD

Cubs’ Ramirez expected to miss 4-6 weeks The injury bug has bitten the Cubs yet again. Already without ace Carlos Zambrano (hamstring), the two-time defending N.L. Central champions are expected to be without 3B Aramis Ramirez for 4-6 weeks. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday. Ramirez dislocated his left shoulder in Friday night’s game and was sent back to Chicago for an MRI exam, according to the Chicago Tribune. Already this season, the Cubs also have dealt with injuries to C Geovany Soto, 1B Derrek Lee and OF Milton Bradley, all of whom have returned to action. As for Zambrano, the newspaper reported he is expected back around May 19. Meanwhile, the Cubs’ crosstown rivals are making a change to their rotation. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, P Jose Contreras lost his spot in the starting five following yet another poor outing Friday. In six starts this season, Contreras is 0-5 with an 8.19 ERA. Manager Ozzie Guillen hasn’t announced a rotation replacement, but P Clayton Richard is expected to be the top candidate. As for Contreras, he could be moved to the bullpen. Although he was out of the starting lineup for a fifth consecutive game Saturday, Red Sox 1B Kevin Youkilis (back/oblique) won’t be added to the disabled list. Manager Terry Francona told The Boston Globe that Youkilis should return to the starting lineup Tuesday in Anaheim. Also missing from the starting lineup Saturday was OF J.D. Drew (quad). Francona told the team’s website that Drew could return tonight.

17

What to expect in the major leagues today

from Class AAA on Saturday. Tomko went 2-7 in 22 games (10 starts) for the Padres and Dodgers in 2008. He had a 0.64 ERA in 10 relief appearances at Class AAA this season. Mets manager Jerry Manuel was suspended for Saturday’s game and fined an undisclosed amount. The discipline was a result an incident Thursday when Manuel allegedly made hat-to-hat contact with umpire Bill Welke during an argument. After taking batting practice and running the bases at full speed Friday, Rangers OF Josh Hamilton (ribs) is ready to begin a brief rehab assignment. The Fort Worth StarTelegram reported Hamilton hopes to be back in the Rangers’ lineup Tuesday against Seattle.

DARREN HAUCK / AP

The injury to Aramis Ramirez, above, could mean playing time for newly acquired Ryan Freel. Angels manager Mike Scioscia told the Los Angeles Times that OF Vladimir Guerrero (chest) might be ready to take batting practice by the end of the team’s current homestand, which runs through Thursday. As soon as 10 days later, Guerrero could return to the Angels’ lineup as the DH. There is no timetable for his return to the outfield. Meanwhile, the newspaper reported Ps John Lackey (forearm) and Ervin Santana (elbow) could return as soon as this week. Though he had hoped to return to the Astros’ lineup Saturday, 1B Lance Berkman (wrist) was unable to swing a bat in batting practice.

Berkman told the team’s website that he might have to miss this afternoon’s game as well. Berkman, who is hitting just .184 with seven homers and 16 RBIs this season, injured his wrist on a check swing Thursday. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, slumping Phillies 2B Chase Utley still is feeling the effects of being hit by a pitch on the right foot more than a week ago. Manager Charlie Manuel told the newspaper that he has noticed Utley favoring the foot when he is trying to run hard. Seeking a middle-relief boost, the Yankees called up P Brett Tomko

The Miami Herald reported Marlins P Anibal Sanchez (shoulder) is expected to be out until at least the All-Star break. The team has yet to announce a starter for Tuesday’s game at Milwaukee. In better news, P Andrew Miller (oblique) should be ready to rejoin the Marlins’ rotation Saturday. The Mariners found a way to remove struggling P Carlos Silva from their rotation, placing him on the 15-day disabled list Saturday. Silva, who is 1-3 with an 8.43 ERA in six starts this season, has inflammation and stiffness in his right shoulder, according to The Seattle Times. Jason Vargas will replace Silva in the Mariners’ rotation. Meanwhile, the Mariners activated P Brandon Morrow (biceps) from the disabled list. He will reclaim the closer duties from P David Aardsma.

RICHARD DREW / AP

Adam Wainwright has given up six earned runs in eight IP at Great American Ballpark.

Seattle swoon Things have gone downhill quickly for the slumping Mariners, who relinquished their A.L. West lead Wednesday. The division suddenly is bunched up, with the Rangers leading the pack and the Angels starting to make their move. The revitalized Erik Bedard, who struck out eight Twins in his first start this season, will try to give Seattle a boost today. He’ll need to be especially careful against Twins first baseman Justin Morneau, who is 8-for-19 with two homers and nine RBIs against him in his career.

Seeing Red The much-improved Reds and surprising Cardinals wrap up their threegame series in Cincinnati this afternoon, with Joey Votto and Co. aiming to shave a game off their N.L. Central deficit. Each team will send its ace to the mound, with St. Louis’ Adam Wainwright seeking to improve upon his 6.75 career ERA at Great American Ball Park and bounce back from his worst outing of the season (seven earned runs allowed in a loss to Philadelphia). For the Reds, Edinson Volquez has a 16-inning scoreless streak that includes 13 strikeouts and five walks. As always, control will be key for Volquez, who has walked at least four batters in five of his six starts this season.

Under new management A couple of games into the A.J. Hinch era, things don’t look all that different for the disappointing Diamondbacks. This afternoon, Arizona concludes its weekend series against the Nationals. Although Washington has played better recently, it’s fair to wonder if Manny Acta still will be the managing the Nationals when these two teams meet again in August. For the D-backs, righthander Max Scherzer will try again for his first win of the season—and of his career. Despite a 3.16 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 82 2/3 innings pitched, Scherzer is winless in 21 career games (12 starts).

— Chris Bahr

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

Q&A with ... Hall of Fame P Juan Marichal

Disabled list

Marichal credits leg kick, Willie Mays for his success Juan Marichal is the only player from the Dominican Republic in the Hall of Fame, though that will change after some of today’s great Dominican players retire. In a recent interview with Sporting News’ Matt Crossman, Marichal talked about which of his fellow countrymen could join him in Cooperstown, the hitters who gave him the most problems and how he developed his famous leg kick.

Q: A:

Who was your toughest out? There were so many good hitters. Pete Rose was one of them. Roberto Clemente was another one. Billy Williams was another. He was a great, great hitter. Hank Aaron was another. Willie Stargell. There were so many great hitters I had the privilege to play with—Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda. I was lucky to play with those guys.

Q: A:

What was it like watching Mays play every day? Willie Mays made my career. With a guy behind you that knows the hitters so well, it was easy for any pitcher to have a guy like Willie Mays playing center field. He was the greatest.

Q: A:

What do you miss most about your playing days? My teammates. When I came up to the major leagues, I was so happy to see all those big names. When I was a kid and in the minor leagues, I was hoping one day I would get to meet them. When I came up to the major leagues and walked through the Giants’ clubhouse and saw all those big names that were going to be my teammates, I felt so wonderful. I felt so happy.

Q: A:

Where did you get your high leg kick? That started in 1959. My first few years (in the minors), I never kicked my leg. I was a sidearm pitcher. I tried to imitate a pitcher in the Dominican Republic. I was 9 years old, and after I saw that man pitch, I said, ‘I want to be a pitcher like him.’ Late in the season in 1959, I was playing for Springfield, Mass. My manager said, ‘Why do you pitch like that?’ I told him that’s how I learned. He asked me if I wanted to learn how to throw overhand. I asked him what would be the benefit. He said, ‘You would be a much better pitcher against lefthanded hitters.’ So I said right away, ‘Yes, I want to learn.’ He took me to the bullpen with two baseballs and a catcher. I started to try. I never did it before—to throw overhand the

ERIC RISBERG / AP

Juan Marichal won 243 games in his big league career, and all but five of them came pitching for the San Francisco Giants. way he was telling me. I felt like it was impossible to do it without kicking my leg. That high leg kick started on that day. After that, I learned four different pitches overhand—slider, screwball, curve and changeup. The reason I stayed 16 years in the major leagues is because I learned to throw overhand.

Q: A:

If you were coming up today, do you think you would have as good a career now as you did then? I think so. In those days, there were only 16 teams. There were so many great hitters because the amount of players was (lower). Today, there are 30 teams,

and they have to bring so many players to cover those numbers, make the lineups. A lot of times, they bring players that aren’t ready yet to play at that level. That’s why there’s not the same caliber of hitting we faced in those days.

Q: A:

You’re the only Dominican in the Hall of Fame. Who’s going to be next? There’s so many great players from the Dominican. I think we’re going to have a few. Pedro Martinez is going to be one of them. Sammy Sosa is another one. Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, Vladimir Guerrero. All of those guys have a chance to be in the Hall of Fame.

(Through May 7) x: 60-day; all others are 15-day AMERICAN LEAGUE Baltimore INF Ryan Freel, April 21 LHP Richard Hill, March 29 RHP Dennis Sarfate, May 2 RHP Alfredo Simon, April 15 Boston RHP Miguel Gonzalez-x, March 27 OF Mark Kotsay, March 27 SS Jed Lowrie, April 12 RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka, April 15 RHP John Smoltz, March 27 Chicago CF Brian Anderson, April 30 OF DeWayne Wise, April 14 Cleveland 2B Jamey Carroll, April 5 1B Travis Hafner, April 29 LHP Scott Lewis, April 11 RHP Joe Smith, April 29 RHP Jake Westbrook-x, March 26 Detroit RHP Jeremy Bonderman, March 30 SS Carlos Guillen, May 5 OF Marcus Thames, April 19 C Matt Treanor-x, April 24 LHP Dontrelle Willis, March 29 Kansas City LHP John Bale, March 27 3B Alex Gordon, April 16 SS Tony Pena, May 3 RHP Doug Waechter, April 18 Los Angeles RHP Kelvim Escobar-x, April 4 OF Vladimir Guerrero, April 16 RHP John Lackey, March 27 RHP Dustin Moseley, April 18 RHP Ervin Santana, March 27 Minnesota RHP Boof Bonser, March 27 RHP Pat Neshek-x, Feb. 21 New York RHP Brian Bruney, April 22 LHP Damaso Marte, April 26 OF Xavier Nady, April 15 C Jorge Posada, May 5 SS Bryan Ransom-x, April 25 RHP Chien-Ming Wang, April 19 Oakland RHP Santiago Casilla, April 29 3B Eric Chavez, April 25 RHP Joey Devine-x, April 4 RHP Justin Duchscherer-x, March 27 2B Mark Ellis, April 29 SS Nomar Garciaparra, April 29 Seattle RHP Roy Corcoran, April 29 LHP Ryan Feierabend-x, March 15 LHP Cesar Jimenez, March 29 RHP Shawn Kelly, May 6 RHP Brandon Morrow, April 24 LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith, April 11 Tampa Bay RHP Chad Bradford, March 27 RHP Jason Isringhausen, March 31 CF Fernando Perez, March 27 C Shawn Riggans, April 10 Texas RHP Joaquin Benoit-x, April 5 RHP William Eyre, April 23 OF Josh Hamilton, April 27 RHP Eric Hurley-x, April 5 RHP Dustin Nippert-x, March 27 Toronto C Michael Barrett, April 18 RHP Jesse Litsch, April 14

18

RHP Shaun Marcum, March 27 RHP Dustin McGowan, March 27 LHP Ricky Romero, April 20 LHP B.J. Ryan, April 24 NATIONAL LEAGUE Arizona 1B Tony Clark, May 5 SS Stephen Drew, April 25 RHP Tom Gordon, May 4 RHP Brandon Webb, April 7 Atlanta RHP Jorge Campillo, April 17 LHP Tom Glavine, April 2 RHP Tim Hudson-x, Feb. 24 Chicago RHP Carlos Zambrano, May 4 Cincinnati 3B Edwin Encarnacion, April 28 Colorado INF Jeff Baker, April 27 RHP Taylor Buchholz-x, March 27 LHP Jeffrey Francis-x, March 27 LHP Franklin Morales, April 22 RHP Ryan Speier, April 19 Florida LHP Andrew Miller, April 21 RHP Scott Proctor March 27 RHP Henricus Vandenhurk, March 29 Houston RHP Brandon Backe, March 27 3B Aaron Boone-x March 27 RHP Doug Brocail, May 4 C Humberto Quintero, April 25 RHP Jose Valverde, April 27 Los Angeles LHP Hong-Chih Kuo, April 30 RHP Hiroki Kuroda, April 7 1B Doug Mienkiewicz-x, April 17 RHP Jason Schmidt, March 30 RHP Claudio Vargas-x, April 6 Milwaukee RHP David Riske, April 10 C Mike Rivera, April 29 New York CF Angel Pagan, March 27 LHP Oliver Perez, May 3 RHP Tim Redding, March 27 C Brian Schneider, April 16 LHP Billy Wagner, March 27 Philadelphia None Pittsburgh C Ryan Doumit, April 20 LHP Phil Dumatrait, March 27 RHP Craig Hansen, April 20 SS Jack Wilson, April 25 St. Louis OF Rick Ankiel, May 5 RHP Chris Carpenter, April 15 LHP Jaime Garcia, March 27 3B Troy Glaus, March 27 SS Brendan Ryan, April 30 San Diego RHP Mike Adams-x, April 1 RHP Cha Seung Baek, March 30 SS Everth Cabrera-x, April 20 OF Cliff Floyd, April 5 RHP Shawn Hill, April 26 RHP Walter Silva, April 14 RHP Mark Worrell-x, April 1 San Francisco LHP Noah Lowry, March 26 RHP Joseph Martinez, April 10 RHPSergio Romo, March 26 OF Andres Torres, April 28 Washington CF Roger Bernadina-x, April 19 LHP Matt Chico-x, March 27 1B Dmitri Young, April 1 RHP Terrell Young, March 27

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

Fantasy Focus

LEAGUE LEADERS Batting Average

Pitcher Rankings A.L.

Player Youkilis MiCabrera VMartinez Longoria Markakis AdJones Two tied

There’s more to the Giants’ rotation than just Tim Lincecum. Two other San Francisco pitchers make big leaps in our rankings this week.

Risers SP Matt Cain, Giants. Finally getting some run support, Cain has two chances for wins this week (vs. Nationals, vs. Mets). SP Barry Zito, Giants. Zito has given up just four earned runs in his past four starts. He gets the Nationals this week. RP Mike Gonzalez, Braves. Gonzalez has allowed only one earned run since April 17, and he has struck out 11 in that span.

Player Beltran Votto Braun MRamirez HaRamirez Ibanez Helton

.393 .389 .385 .367 .353 .353 .351

A.L.

Team New York Cincinnati Milwaukee Los Angeles Florida Philadelphia Colorado

.378 .370 .349 .348 .343 .339 .337

Player CPena Longoria Bay Granderson Kinsler Seven tied

N.L.

Team Tampa Bay Tampa Bay Boston Detroit Texas

Runs A.L.

Player Markakis AdJones Scutaro Pedroia Bay Longoria AHill

Player Pujols ASoriano Hudson Hart Werth Ibanez Victorino

33 32 31 29 28 27 25

A.L.

Team St. Louis Chicago Los Angeles Milwaukee Philadelphia Philadelphia Philadelphia

29 28 26 25 25 24 24

Player Crawford Ellsbury Abreu Figgins Kinsler Four tied

Player Longoria Bay CPena Lind Markakis Four tied

Player Cantu Pujols Braun Ethier BMolina Ludwick Two tied

44 33 32 31 30 28

A.L.

Team Florida St. Louis Milwaukee Los Angeles San Francisco St. Louis

32 32 28 27 27 26 25

Player Buehrle Frasor Bannister Palmer ABailey Greinke

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

A.L.

Player Longoria Callaspo Polanco Five tied

Player FSanchez Hudson Kotchman Zimmerman Four tied

15 13 13 12

5-0 4-0 3-0 3-0 3-0 6-1

Player Crisp Seven tied

A.L.

Team Pittsburgh Los Angeles Atlanta Washington

13 11 11 11 10

4 2

Team Washington San Diego New York Philadelphia Florida Arizona

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 Greinke Verlander Lester FHernandez Halladay Bedard Meche

Team Kansas City Detroit Boston Seattle Toronto Seattle Kansas City

Player JVazquez Santana Peavy Haren Lincecum Gallardo Billingsley

59 56 49 47 44 39 37

Player Bourn Kemp Victorino 16 tied

A.L.

Team Houston Los Angeles Philadelphia

3 3 3 2

Player FFrancisco Fuentes Jenks Papelbon Soria Rodney Six tied

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

9 8 7 7 7 6 5

Franklin FrRodriguez Cordero Bell Broxton BWilson Qualls

W 21 19 15 14 13

L 12 12 17 16 18

Pct .636 .613 .469 .467 .419

GB WCGB L10 — — 6-4 1 — 5-5 5½ 4½ 7-3 5½ 4½ 4-6 7 6 4-6

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

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

Central Kansas City Detroit Minnesota Chicago Cleveland

W 18 16 15 14 11

L 13 13 16 15 20

Pct .581 .552 .484 .483 .355

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

Str L-2 W-2 W-2 W-1 L-3

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

West Texas Los Angeles Seattle Oakland

W 16 15 15 11

L 14 14 16 17

Pct .533 .517 .484 .393

GB WCGB L10 — — 6-4 ½ 3 7-3 1½ 4 2-8 4 6½ 4-6

Str L-1 W-3 L-6 L-1

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

National League Standings East New York Florida Philadelphia Atlanta Washington

W 16 17 15 14 10

L 13 14 13 16 18

Pct .552 .548 .536 .467 .357

GB WCGB L10 — — 7-3 — 1 4-6 ½ 1½ 5-5 2½ 3½ 4-6 5½ 6½ 6-4

Str W-6 W-2 L-1 W-1 W-3

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

Central St. Louis Milwaukee Cincinnati Chicago Houston Pittsburgh

W 19 18 17 16 13 12

L 12 13 13 14 17 18

Pct .613 .581 .567 .533 .433 .400

GB WCGB L10 — — 5-5 1 — 7-3 1½ ½ 7-3 2½ 1½ 6-4 5½ 4½ 5-5 6½ 5½ 1-9

Str L-2 W-2 W-3 L-2 W-2 L-7

Home Away 12-5 7-7 9-6 9-7 7-8 10-5 8-6 8-8 7-10 6-7 7-7 5-11

West W Los Angeles 22 San Francisco 15 San Diego 13 Arizona 12 Colorado 11 z-first game was a win

L 10 14 18 19 18

Pct .688 .517 .419 .387 .379

GB WCGB L10 — — 8-2 5½ 2 6-4 8½ 5 2-8 9½ 6 3-7 9½ 6 4-6

Str W-1 L-1 L-2 L-3 L-3

Home 14-2 10-4 8-6 8-12 5-8

Away 8-8 5-10 5-12 4-7 6-10

57 54 52 51 50 47 47

American League Detroit (Porcello 2-3) at Cleveland (A.Reyes 1-0), 1:05 p.m. N.Y. Yankees (Chamberlain 1-1) at Baltimore (Uehara 2-3), 1:35 p.m. Texas (Padilla 1-2) at Chicago White Sox (Colon 2-2), 2:05 p.m. Seattle (Bedard 2-1) at Minnesota (Blackburn 2-2), 2:10 p.m. Kansas City (Davies 2-1) at L.A. Angels (Loux 2-2), 3:35 p.m. Toronto (Cecil 0-0) at Oakland (Braden 3-3), 4:05 p.m. Tampa Bay (Garza 3-2) at Boston (Beckett 3-2), 8:05 p.m.

9 9 9 8 8 7 7

National League The Line Atlanta (Kawakami 1-4) at Philadelphia (Myers 2-2), 12:35 p.m. at Phi -145 Atl +135 Pittsburgh (Snell 1-4) at N.Y. Mets (Li.Hernandez 2-1), 1:10 p.m. at NYM -160 Pit +150 St. Louis (Wainwright 3-1) at Cincinnati (Volquez 4-2), 1:10 p.m. at Cin -115 StL +105 Chicago Cubs (Marshall 0-2) at Milwaukee (Suppan 2-2), 2:05 p.m. at Mil -125 ChC +115 San Diego (Geer 0-0) at Houston (Oswalt 0-2), 2:05 p.m. at Hou -190 SD +180 Florida (Volstad 2-1) at Colorado (Cook 1-1), 3:10 p.m. at Col -145 Fla +135 San Francisco (Lincecum 3-1) at L.A. Dodgers (Jef.Weaver 1-0), 4:10 p.m. SF -130 at LAD +120 Washington (Olsen 1-3) at Arizona (Scherzer 0-3), 4:10 p.m. at Ari -160 Was +150

N.L.

Team Texas Los Angeles Chicago Boston Kansas City Detroit

East Toronto Boston Tampa Bay New York Baltimore

Pitching Matchups Today’s Games (All times Eastern)

N.L.

Saves N.L.

Team Kansas City

Player Martis Meredith Pelfrey Condrey JoJohnson TPena

1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 .857

Triples A.L.

9 9 9 8 8 8 7

Strikeouts

N.L.

Team Tampa Bay Kansas City Detroit

Team Houston Colorado New York San Francisco Los Angeles Pittsburgh Chicago

N.L.

Team Chicago Toronto Kansas City Los Angeles Oakland Kansas City

Doubles

Fallers SP Roy Oswalt, Astros. A right finger injury and a shaky start to the season are reasons for concern. SP Justin Masterson, Red Sox. He was dominant early, but Masterson been roughed up for 12 earned runs in his past two starts. RP Mariano Rivera, Yankees. The homers (four) and sore right shoulder are major concerns. — Matt Lutovsky

Player Bourn Fowler JosReyes Burriss Kemp Morgan Theriot

21 15 12 12 8 7

Pitching (3 decisions) N.L.

Team Tampa Bay Boston Tampa Bay Toronto Baltimore

11 10 9 9 9 9 9

N.L.

Team Tampa Bay Boston Los Angeles Los Angeles Texas

RBIs A.L.

Team St. Louis Philadelphia Cincinnati Washington San Diego Philadelphia Chicago

Stolen Bases N.L.

Team Baltimore Baltimore Toronto Boston Boston Tampa Bay Toronto

Player Pujols Utley Bruce Dunn AdGonzalez Ibanez ASoriano

13 11 9 9 9 8

19

American League Standings

Home Runs

N.L.

Team Boston Detroit Cleveland Tampa Bay Baltimore Baltimore

BEN MARGOT / AP

San Francisco P Matt Cain

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

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

The Line at Cle -125 Det +115 NYY -170 at Bal +160 at ChW -120 Tex +110 at Min -105 Sea -105 at LAA -130 KC +120 at Oak -130 Tor +120 at Bos -140 TB +130

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

Baseball

20

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

AMERICAN LEAGUE Baltimore 12, N.Y. Yankees 5

Orioles use 8-run second against Hughes BALTIMORE—Held to four singles one night earlier by CC Sabathia, the Baltimore Orioles bounced back in spectacular fashion against New York Yankees righthander Phil Hughes. Aubrey Huff hit a three-run homer off Hughes during an eight-run second inning, and the Orioles got 16 hits—including four home runs—in a 12-5 victory Saturday. Playing in his second game back from hip surgery, New York third baseman Alex Rodriguez went 0 for 3 with a walk. After getting blanked by Sabathia in a 4-0 loss Friday night, the Orioles worked to get their offensive mojo back almost immediately upon arriving at the ballpark Saturday afternoon. Before batting practice, several players took some swings indoors with hitting coach Terry Crowley. “When I got here today, there was an awful lot of them working with Crow in the cage. Mostly all the guys were looking at video,” manager Dave Trembley said. “Their approach in batting practice today was businesslike. ... There was a feeling like, ‘Hey, we’re going to get after it early.’ ” And that they did. The Orioles sent 13 batters to the plate in the second, their most productive inning of the season. Luke Scott and Gregg Zaun each had two of Baltimore’s eight hits, and the Yankees fueled the onslaught with an error, a wild pitch and a hit batter. Nick Markakis added a solo homer in the third, Lou Montanez hit a tworun drive in the fourth and Adam

ROB CARR / AP

Aubrey Huff (17) hit a three-run homer that was the big blow during an eight-run second inning that propelled the Orioles. Jones connected in the eighth. “We all know what we’re capable of doing,” Jones said. “We all got up a little earlier today, got in the cage and got our work done, and got back on the grind of hitting the ball.” Crowley said, “There was a certain amount of determination to put

that one (Friday) behind us and play as hard as we can for nine innings. I’m proud of the way they came back.” Johnny Damon, Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher homered for the Yankees, who have lost six of seven. New York has yielded 10 runs or

more in six games this season; it didn’t happen for a second time last year until May 18. “It’s not what we want to do. I think we are capable of pitching much better,” manager Joe Girardi said. “Sometimes it’s been the starter, sometimes it’s been the

bullpen.” This time, it was a little of both. Hughes (1-2) gave up eight runs, eight hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings—the shortest start in his three-year career. His ERA swelled from 2.70 to 8.49. “It’s kind of disheartening when we basically lose the game in the second inning and it’s basically all on me,” Hughes said. Orioles starter Adam Eaton (2-3) allowed four runs, four hits and five walks in five innings. Baltimore’s second inning began with three straight singles, and a run came in on an overthrow by Swisher from right field. Hughes then hit Cesar Izturis with a pitch to load the bases, and Brian Roberts delivered a sacrifice fly before Jones doubled in a run. After Markakis got an infield hit, Huff hit an 0-2 pitch over the right-field scoreboard. Hughes then got the second out, but Scott singled and Montanez walked before Zaun greeted Edwar Ramirez with an RBI single. “I tried to limit the damage as much as I could. I just wasn’t executing pitches,” Hughes said. “I let it get out of control real fast.” Markakis’ sixth homer made it 9-0, and after Swisher hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth, Montanez connected in the bottom half to make it 11-1. Meanwhile, the Yankees said today’s scheduled starter, Joba Chamberlain, could be held out after breaking a blood vessel in his right thumb during batting practice. — The Associated Press

Orioles 12, Yankees 5 New York AB R Jeter ss 3 0 Damon lf 4 1 Teixeira 1b 3 2 A.Rodriguez 3b 3 0 H.Matsui dh 3 0 Swisher rf 2 1 Cano 2b 4 0 Me.Cabrera cf 4 1 Cervelli c 3 0 a-Gardner ph 1 0 Totals 30 5

H 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 6

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

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

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

Avg. .266 .319 .196 .143 .277 .271 .315 .338 .143 .227

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

H BI 0 1 3 2 3 1 1 3 1 0 3 0 2 2 3 1 0 0 16 10

BB 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2

SO 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4

Avg. .294 .353 .353 .267 .224 .296 .212 .221 .244

New York Baltimore

AB 4 5 5 4 5 5 3 4 3 38

R 0 2 2 1 0 3 2 1 1 12

000 131 000 — 5 6 1 081 200 01x — 12 16 0

a-fouled out for Cervelli in the 9th. E: Swisher (3). LOB: New York 4, Baltimore 6. 2B: Me.Cabrera (3), Ad.Jones 2 (12), Zaun (6). HR: Damon (8), off Eaton; Teixeira (6), off Eaton; Swisher (8), off Baez; Huff (5), off Hughes; Markakis (6), off E.Ramirez; Montanez (1), off E.Ramirez; Ad.Jones (6), off Tomko. RBIs: Damon 2 (22), Teixeira (16), Swisher 2 (21), B.Roberts (12), Ad.Jones 2 (21), Markakis (30), Huff 3 (28), Montanez 2 (5), Zaun (3). SB: Jeter (7), C.Izturis (6). SF: Swisher, B.Roberts. Runners left in scoring position: New York 2 (A.Rodriguez, Cano); Baltimore 4 (Mora, C.Izturis, B.Roberts, Scott). DP: New York 1 (Cano, Jeter, Teixeira); Baltimore 2 (C.Izturis, Huff), (B.Roberts, C.Izturis, Huff). New York Hughes L, 1-2 E.Ramirez Albaladejo Tomko Baltimore Eaton W, 2-3 Baez Walker Ji.Johnson

IP 1 2⁄3 3 1⁄3 2 1 IP 5 2 1⁄3 2⁄3 1

H 8 4 1 3 H 4 2 0 0

R ER BB SO 8 8 2 0 3 3 0 2 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 R ER BB SO 4 4 5 1 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1

NP ERA 53 8.49 46 5.40 25 5.63 14 9.00 NP ERA 93 7.18 30 2.50 13 1.59 8 2.08

Inherited runners-scored: E.Ramirez 2-1. HBP: by Hughes (C.Izturis). WP: Hughes. Umpires: Home, Jeff Nelson; First, Mark Carlson; Second, Tim Tschida; Third, Bob Davidson. T: 2:49. A: 41,825 (48,290).

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

21

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

AMERICAN LEAGUE Tampa Bay 14, Boston 5

Toronto 6, Oakland 4

Longoria pushes RBI total to 44 BOSTON—The Boston Red Sox are having trouble getting Evan Longoria out with runners on base. At least they have some company. Longoria homered and drove in five runs to raise his major league-leading total to 44 RBIs, leading the Tampa Bay Rays to a 14-5 win over the Red Sox on Saturday. “I feel good,” said Longoria, last year’s A.L. Rookie of the Year. “My swing is right where I want it to be and the guys have been getting on a lot. That helps a lot. It seems like when I come to the plate, somebody is in scoring position.” Boston manager Terry Francona certainly has noticed Longoria’s success against his team. “He’s killed us a few times, more than a few times,” he said. Pat Burrell, Carlos Pena, Ben Zobrist and Akinori Iwamura each drove in two runs for Tampa Bay, which has won seven of 10. The Rays, who lost Friday night’s series opener 7-3, also have won six of nine against Boston this season. Longoria’s homer off Jon Lester hit the top of the center-field wall and bounced over after Carl Crawford walked, making it 2-0 three batters into the game. It was his 11th of the season and fifth against the Red Sox. “He’s just locked in,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said of his young star. “Every atbat is a quality at-bat. He’s not throwing any away.” Rocco Baldelli and Julio Lugo hit solo homers for Boston, which lost for just the fourth time in 16 games in Fenway Park this season. Three of those losses have come against the Rays, once seemingly unable to win in Boston. Tampa Bay can win its seventh straight series—including last fall’s ALCS—against Boston on Sunday night when Matt Garza

Rays 14, Red Sox 5 Tampa Bay AB R B.Upton cf 5 3 Crawford lf 4 3 W.Aybar 1b 1 0 Longoria 3b 4 3 C.Pena 1b 5 1 Gross rf 0 0 Burrell dh 5 1 Bartlett ss 4 1 Kapler rf 3 0 a-Zobrist ph-rf-lf 2 0 Iwamura 2b 4 1 Navarro c 5 1 Totals 42 14

H BI 2 0 3 1 1 0 2 5 1 2 0 0 2 2 1 0 1 0 1 2 2 2 1 0 17 14

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

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

Avg. .165 .331 .219 .367 .254 .265 .250 .351 .222 .281 .282 .188

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

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

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

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

Avg. .294 .325 .221 .317 .314 .274 .273 .194 .226 .154 .357

AB 4 4 4 5 4 1 5 3 2 1 4 37

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

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

Tampa Bay 200 065 100 — 14 17 2 Boston 010 022 000 — 5 10 1 MARY SCHWALM / AP

Jason Bay and the Red Sox have lost only four times at home this season, and three have come vs. the Rays. is scheduled to face Red Sox ace Josh Beckett in the finale. Garza is 2-0 with a 0.61 ERA in two starts against the Red Sox this year. “We try to win every series. Every series is important,” said Baldelli, who helped Tampa Bay win the pennant last year. “That’s what you try to do, if you can win every series, you’re doing pretty well. I think we’ll come out ready to play like we always do.” Scott Kazmir (4-3) gave up three runs and eight hits in five innings for Tampa Bay, off to a sluggish 15-17 start. He had allowed at least six runs in three of his previous four starts. — The Associated Press

a-singled for Kapler in the 6th. E: Crawford (1), Longoria (3), J.Bailey (2). LOB: Tampa Bay 7, Boston 10. 2B: Crawford 2 (8), W.Aybar (3), Longoria (15), C.Pena (6), Iwamura (12), Lowell (11). HR: Longoria (11), off Lester; Baldelli (1), off Kazmir; Lugo (1), off J.Nelson. RBIs: Crawford (14), Longoria 5 (44), C.Pena 2 (32), Burrell 2 (16), Zobrist 2 (13), Iwamura 2 (12), Bay (33), Lowell 2 (28), Baldelli (4), Lugo (2). SB: Burrell (1), Iwamura (6). SF: Longoria, Iwamura. Runners left in scoring position: Tampa Bay 5 (Navarro 2, Kapler, Burrell, Longoria); Boston 6 (Lowell 2, Pedroia, Varitek 2, Baldelli). DP: Tampa Bay 1 (Longoria, Iwamura, C.Pena). Tampa Bay Kazmir W, 4-3 J.Nelson Cormier S, 1-1 Boston Lester L, 2-3 H.Jones Saito Ja.Lopez Delcarmen

IP 5 1⁄3 3 2⁄3 IP 4 1⁄3 2⁄3 1 2 1

H 8 1 1 H 10 4 1 1 1

R ER BB SO NP ERA 3 3 3 2 100 5.92 2 2 2 0 20 4.61 0 0 0 0 40 2.49 R ER BB SO NP ERA 8 8 1 6 89 6.31 4 4 1 0 31 7.27 1 1 1 0 27 4.50 1 1 1 2 28 9.26 0 0 0 1 13 0.55

H.Jones pitched to 4 batters in the 6th. Inherited runners-scored: Cormier 2-1, H.Jones 2-1, Saito 2-2. IBB: off H.Jones (Longoria), off Saito (Bartlett). WP: Kazmir. Umpires: Home, Tim Welke; First, Scott Barry; Second, Angel Hernandez; Third, Bill Welke. T: 3:33. A: 37,773 (37,373).

Blue Jays 6, Athletics 4 Toronto AB R H Scutaro ss 5 0 3 A.Hill 2b 5 0 1 Rios rf 4 1 0 V.Wells cf 5 1 3 Lind dh 5 0 2 Bautista 3b 5 2 2 Overbay 1b 3 2 2 R.Chavez c 4 0 0 Snider lf 4 0 2 Totals 40 6 15

BI 1 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 0 6

BB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

SO 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 5

Avg. .273 .351 .248 .286 .336 .315 .256 .217 .250

Oakland O.Cabrera ss K.Suzuki dh Giambi 1b Holliday lf Cust rf R.Sweeney cf Crosby 3b Kennedy 2b Powell c Totals

BI 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 4

BB 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 3

SO 0 0 1 2 0 0 1 1 2 7

Avg. .231 .311 .217 .234 .286 .261 .254 .250 .172

Toronto Oakland BEN MARGOT / AP

Travis Snider, right, and the Blue Jays ended their two-game slump with Saturday’s win.

Blue Jays get back on track OAKLAND—Brian Tallet has started an NCAA championship game, and he’s also been traded for a career minor leaguer named Bubbie Buzachero. He was a second-round draft pick with a glistening future, and he also was designated for assignment by two teams. And at 31, this 6-6 career reliever finally has found a groove as an effective starter for the first-place Blue Jays. Tallet yielded two hits over seven strong innings, Lyle Overbay homered with three RBIs and Toronto avoided its first three-game skid of the season with a 6-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Saturday. Adam Lind had two run-scoring hits for the Blue Jays, whose powerful offense shook a two-

game slump with 15 hits in their ninth victory in their last 11 meetings with the A’s. Before a three-run rally in the ninth, Oakland was shut down by Tallet (2-1), the fill-in starter who followed up six no-hit innings against Cleveland last Monday with another gem. “I felt even more comfortable than I did the other day (against the Indians),” said Tallet, who started the 2000 NCAA title game for LSU. “Once I got in a rhythm, they had a hard time finding holes. ... I take it as a good game, but it’s only one. If you only have one, then you’re not really doing your job.” Jason Giambi homered twice for Oakland, which had just one hit off Tallet until the seventh. — The Associated Press

AB 4 4 3 4 4 4 2 4 4 33

R 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 4

H 1 0 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 8

111 010 020 — 000 000 103 —

6 15 0 4 8 2

E: K.Cameron (1), Powell (2). LOB: Toronto 9, Oakland 5. 2B: Lind (12), Overbay (8), Snider (6). HR: Overbay (5), off Gallagher; Giambi (2), off Tallet; Giambi (3), off Downs. RBIs: Scutaro (18), Lind 2 (31), Overbay 3 (18), Giambi 3 (13), Kennedy (1). SB: V.Wells (4), Bautista (1). SF: Overbay. Runners left in scoring position: Toronto 5 (Bautista, Rios, R.Chavez, V.Wells, A.Hill); Oakland 2 (Powell 2). DP: Toronto 2 (Overbay, Scutaro, Overbay), (Scutaro, A.Hill, Overbay); Oakland 1 (Cust, Cust, Powell). Toronto IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Tallet W, 2-1 7 2 1 1 2 7 97 4.95 Carlson 1 1 0 0 0 0 9 2.81 Downs 1 5 3 3 1 0 27 2.20 Oakland IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Gallagher L, 1-1 5 10 4 3 0 3 92 4.50 K.Cameron 2 1 0 0 0 0 28 1.29 Blevins 2 4 2 2 0 2 40 16.20 HBP: by Gallagher (Rios). Umpires: Home, Paul Nauert; First, Joe West; Second, Ed Rapuano; Third, Paul Schrieber. T: 2:34. A: 15,817 (35,067).

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

22

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

AMERICAN LEAGUE L.A. Angels 1, Kansas City 0

Minnesota 9, Seattle 6

Saunders wins duel with Greinke ANAHEIM—Facing the stingiest pitcher in the American League this season, Joe Saunders had the game of his career. The Los Angeles Angels’ lefthander bested Zack Greinke, tossing a five-hitter to lead the Angels to a 1-0 victory against the Kansas City Royals on Saturday. “You know that if you give up one or two (runs) you might lose,” Saunders said. “For me I had to bring my A game tonight; the A-plus game, really, to beat that guy the way he’s been throwing.” Greinke (6-1) had won his first six starts, while posting a microscopic ERA of less than half a run. He was excellent again versus Los Angeles, allowing four hits, no walks and one run in a complete game. His ERA rose to 0.51. “(My stuff) was all right—I can’t complain but not good enough,” said Greinke, who had three-ball counts on six of the first seven batters he faced. “It was a tough game. “A loss is a loss. It might be a little tougher, but the end result is the same thing.” Saunders (5-1) was even better, posting his first career shutout and second complete game. Chone Figgins’ sacrifice fly in the third inning was all the support he needed. Figgins also came up big with his glove. Saunders had to work out of a secondand-third situation with one out in the eighth. Figgins got the second out when he tagged out Miguel Olivo running from second base on a ground ball from Coco Crisp. With David DeJesus at the plate, Figgins had to go to his right, toward the line, where he made a sliding stop of a sharp grounder. He then threw across the diamond to get DeJesus by a step and

Angels 1, Royals 0 Kansas City AB Crisp cf 4 DeJesus lf 4 Teahen 3b 4 J.Guillen dh 4 Butler 1b 3 Callaspo 2b 3 Bloomquist rf 3 Olivo c 3 Aviles ss 2 Totals 30

R 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

H 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 5

BI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BB 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1

SO 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 1 1 6

Avg. .232 .234 .295 .274 .286 .343 .368 .227 .202

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

R 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1

H 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 4

BI 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

BB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

SO 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 5

Avg. .262 .278 .309 .302 .279 .329 .281 .273 .292

AB 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 26

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

LORI SHEPLER / AP

Kansas City P Zack Greinke gave up just four hits but suffered his first loss of the season. end the inning. Saunders clapped the back of his glove and emphatically pointed at Figgins while leaving the mound. Figgins got the revenge he was seeking after DeJesus made a catch on his line drive in the first. “I know he’s going to want to make a play on me,” DeJesus said. “That’s what he said to me: ‘You robbed me; I’m going to rob you.’ Hey, what can you do?” Saunders closed out the victory by striking out Mark Teahen and Jose Guillen to open the ninth and sealed it by getting Billy Butler to fly out to center field. It was the Angels’ first shutout since Ervin Santana did it on May 5, 2008. — The Associated Press

0 5 0 1 4 1

E: E.Aybar (3). LOB: Kansas City 5, Los Angeles 3. 2B: K.Morales (9), Matthews Jr. (4), E.Aybar (6). RBIs: Figgins (6). S: Aviles, E.Aybar. SF: Figgins. Runners left in scoring position: Kansas City 2 (Aviles, DeJesus); Los Angeles 2 (J.Rivera, Abreu). DP: Los Angeles 2 (E.Aybar, M.Izturis, K.Morales), (Figgins, M.Izturis, K.Morales). Kansas City Greinke L, 6-1 Los Angeles Saunders W, 5-1

IP 8 IP 9

H 4 H 5

R ER BB SO NP ERA 1 1 0 5 115 0.51 R ER BB SO NP ERA 0 0 1 6 101 2.66

Umpires: Home, C.B. Bucknor; First, Mike Everitt; Second, Gerry Davis; Third, Brian Gorman. T: 2:05. A: 39,776 (45,257).

JIM MONE / AP

Minnesota’s Michael Cuddyer, right, hit a three-run homer that drove in Justin Morneau, left, and Joe Mauer, in the fifth inning.

Long ball handy for Twins MINNEAPOLIS—Joe Mauer doesn’t hit many home runs—just 47 since he broke into the big leagues in 2004. So when he went deep in consecutive games for the first time since 2005, Mauer could only laugh when his bigger, badder buddy—Justin Morneau—did the same thing right behind him just to show it’s not as hard as Mauer sometimes makes it look. Mauer and Morneau hit back-toback homers for the second straight night and Minnesota roughed up Seattle ace Felix Hernandez in a 9-6 victory over the Mariners on Saturday. “I hit a home run, it doesn’t happen a whole lot,” Mauer said with a wide grin. “Then he’s got to go back and show everybody that he can do it too. I always give him a hard time, saying, ‘Hey, look at me, I can do it too.’ It’s all in fun.” Mauer had two hits and three RBIs and Michael Cuddyer added a 427foot, three-run homer off Sean White in the fifth inning. Joe Nathan picked

up his fifth save in six chances. Hernandez (4-2) gave up six runs— five earned—and six hits in four innings for the Mariners, who have lost six in a row. After they both went deep in the fifth inning of an 11-0 win on Friday night, the Twins’ version of M&M Boys did it again against Hernandez in the third for an early 4-0 lead. Mauer is 10-for-16 (.625) with two homers and six RBIs against Hernandez in his career. “He’s supposed to be the guy who wins batting titles and I’m supposed to be the guy who hits homers,” Morneau said with a big chuckle. “It’s good to see. Anytime he’s hitting homers, we’re doing all right.” Francisco Liriano (2-4) was perfect through three innings. But he hit Ichiro Suzuki to start the fourth and appeared to deflate a little after that. He allowed five runs and six hits in five innings. — The Associated Press

Twins 9, Mariners 6 Seattle AB R I.Suzuki rf 4 2 Jo.Lopez 2b 5 1 M.Sweeney dh 4 1 Beltre 3b 4 2 Balentien lf 4 0 Branyan 1b 3 0 Johjima c 4 0 F.Gutierrez cf 2 0 Y.Betancourt ss 4 0 Totals 34 6

H 2 1 1 3 0 1 2 0 0 10

BI 0 1 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 6

BB 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 3

SO 0 1 2 0 2 1 0 0 0 6

Avg. .320 .256 .279 .226 .311 .290 .250 .272 .275

Minnesota Span cf-lf Tolbert 2b Mauer c Morneau 1b Kubel dh Cuddyer rf Buscher 3b Delm.Young lf Gomez cf B.Harris ss Totals

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

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

BB 1 1 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 7

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

Avg. .305 .200 .483 .322 .311 .271 .200 .288 .216 .300

AB 3 4 3 2 4 4 3 4 0 4 31

R 1 1 2 2 0 2 1 0 0 0 9

Seattle 000 320 010 — Minnesota 202 230 00x —

6 10 2 9 8 0

E: Beltre 2 (7). LOB: Seattle 5, Minnesota 6. 2B: Jo.Lopez (5), Beltre (9), Span (4), Mauer (3). HR: M.Sweeney (2), off Liriano; Beltre (1), off Guerrier; Mauer (3), off F.Hernandez; Morneau (8), off F.Hernandez; Cuddyer (3), off White. RBIs: Jo.Lopez (18), M.Sweeney 2 (9), Beltre 2 (14), Johjima (6), Span (15), Mauer 3 (9), Morneau (25), Cuddyer 3 (17). SB: Beltre (5). CS: Beltre (2), Span (1). SF: Span. Runners left in scoring position: Seattle 3 (Y.Betancourt 3); Minnesota 4 (Cuddyer, Tolbert, Kubel 2). DP: Seattle 1 (Beltre, Jo.Lopez, Branyan); Minnesota 2 (B.Harris, Tolbert, Morneau), (Buscher, Tolbert, Morneau). Seattle F.Hernandez L, 4-2 White Stark Aardsma Batista Minnesota Liriano W, 2-4 Ayala Guerrier Nathan S, 5-6

IP 4 1 1 1 1 IP 5 2 1 1

H 6 2 0 0 0 H 6 1 2 1

R ER BB SO NP 6 5 3 2 81 3 3 1 1 26 0 0 2 1 35 0 0 1 3 21 0 0 0 2 15 R ER BB SO NP 5 5 2 4 77 0 0 1 1 36 1 1 0 1 16 0 0 0 0 13

ERA 4.09 3.38 14.73 2.03 3.31 ERA 5.75 4.70 3.78 1.64

HBP: by Liriano (I.Suzuki). WP: F.Hernandez. Umpires: Home, Eric Cooper; First, Tim McClelland; Second, Laz Diaz; Third, Chuck Meriwether. T: 2:56. A: 29,552 (46,632).

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

Baseball

23

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

AMERICAN LEAGUE Chicago White Sox 3, Texas 2

Konerko’s sac fly lifts White Sox CHICAGO—Paul Konerko put just enough muscle behind his eighthinning fly to bring home the decisive run. Carlos Quentin doubled twice and scored the go-ahead run on Konerko’s sacrifice to give the White Sox a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday night. Texas starter Kevin Millwood gave up a leadoff single to Chris Getz in the eighth and hit Quentin on a 1-2 pitch. Dye chased Millwood (3-3) with a single to load the bases with no outs. One out later, Konerko lifted one to center off Texas reliever Darren O’Day. Quentin tagging from third, dove into the plate ahead of Marlon Byrd’s accurate throw. “It was a dogfight, against a guy like that. It always is against a sidewinder. It’s never a comfortable at-bat and I hadn’t seen a slider the whole at-bat either so I was trying not to think,” Konerko said. “It wasn’t like I hit it deep to the track, Carlos got a good jump off third and went hard in at the plate which also helped.” White Sox reliever Scott Linebrink (1-1) pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Bobby Jenks pitched a perfect ninth for his seventh save in seven opportunities. Jenks also threw behind Rangers star Ian Kinsler. In five games this season, the Rangers have hit six White Sox batters. Chicago has hit one Texas batter. “I wanted to go in and send a message and I think that message was sent. Our guys have been hit a lot this series, definitely in a one-run game

Detroit 4, Cleveland 0

White Sox 3, Rangers 2 Texas AB R H Kinsler 2b 5 0 1 Vizquel 3b 4 0 1 Byrd cf 4 0 1 An.Jones dh 4 0 0 Blalock 1b 3 0 1 N.Cruz rf 4 1 1 Dav.Murphy lf 4 0 0 Saltalamacchia c 4 1 1 Andrus ss 1 0 1 a-C.Davis ph 1 0 0 Totals 34 2 7

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

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

SO 1 1 3 2 0 1 3 2 0 1 14

Avg. .320 .400 .320 .314 .248 .281 .185 .275 .274 .210

Chicago Podsednik cf Getz 2b Quentin lf Dye rf Thome dh Konerko 1b Pierzynski c Fields 3b Al.Ramirez ss Totals

BI 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 3

BB 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 3

SO 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 3

Avg. .231 .293 .245 .303 .200 .302 .292 .243 .204

Texas Chicago

AB 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 28

R 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

H 0 1 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 7

000 010 100 — 001 001 01x —

2 7 0 3 7 1

a-struck out for Andrus in the 9th. E: Getz (2). LOB: Texas 8, Chicago 7. 2B: N.Cruz (6), Quentin 2 (3), Dye (3), Thome (4). RBIs: Kinsler (28), Andrus (6), Quentin (18), Dye (17), Konerko (21). SB: Vizquel (2), Byrd (1). SF: Konerko. Runners left in scoring position: Texas 4 (Dav.Murphy 2, Blalock, Vizquel); Chicago 4 (Fields, Dye, Pierzynski 2). DP: Texas 2 (Kinsler, Andrus), (Kinsler, Andrus). Texas Millwood L, 3-3 Holland O’Day Chicago Danks Thornton BS, 2-2 Linebrink W, 1-1 Jenks S, 7-7

PAUL BEATY / AP

Carlos Quentin, left, scored what turned out to be the game-winning run in the eight inning. didn’t want to put anyone on base. Just wanted to send a message and say, ‘Hey we can play that game, too,’” Jenks said. Home plate umpire Lance Barksdale warned both teams. “It definitely looked like it was on purpose. That’s part of the game. Things like that happen. Who knows? It was a weird situation for that to happen in, but it’s kind of one of those things we’ll wait and see

what happens down the road,” David Murphy said. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said he would never have a pitcher throw at a batter in that situation. “He’s (Barksdale) got a point. I don’t think he liked what he saw,” said Guillen. “If that guy scores, than I think I should be the worst manager in the game. “I’m not that crazy.” — The Associated Press

IP 7 1⁄3 2⁄3 IP 6 1 1 1

H 7 0 0 H 4 2 1 0

R ER BB SO NP ERA 3 3 3 2 115 2.92 0 0 0 0 3 2.08 0 0 0 1 10 0.96 R ER BB SO NP ERA 1 1 1 10 98 3.41 1 1 1 2 33 3.27 0 0 1 0 19 0.82 0 0 0 2 14 1.64

Millwood pitched to 3 batters in the 8th. Inherited runners-scored: Holland 3-0, O’Day 3-1. IBB: off Linebrink (Blalock). HBP: by Millwood (Getz, Quentin). Umpires: Home, Lance Barksdale; First, Brian Knight; Second, Randy Marsh; Third, Mike Winters. T: 2:48. A: 28,864 (40,615).

Indians’ scoreless streak at 19 innings CLEVELAND—Edwin Jackson could hardly be heard over the blaring music in the Detroit Tigers’ clubhouse. In the home team’s locker room, the Cleveland Indians needed some privacy after another brutal loss. It wasn’t until 42 minutes after Jackson and two relievers combined to shut out Cleveland 4-0 Saturday night that the doors to Cleveland’s clubhouse were opened to reporters. “If we wanted you guys to know (what was said), we would have invited you in,” Cleveland closer Kerry Wood said of the Indians’ players-only meeting. “It’s not because we’re playing well,” Wood added. The Indians have not scored in 19 innings—since the eighth inning of a 13-3 loss Thursday in Boston. They got only two hits Friday night off Justin Verlander in a 1-0 loss and went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position Saturday. “We can’t keep playing the game with this type of inconsistency,” said an annoyed Cleveland manager Eric Wedge as he met the media in an outer concourse. Ordinarily, Wedge’s postgame comments are made in his office. Cleveland, expected to contend for the A.L. Central title, lost for the sixth time in eight games to fall to 10-20. “You can’t let it get in your head and start to snowball,” Wedge said. Jackson (2-2) used that philosophy to bounce back from his worst start of the season, when he allowed five runs and seven hits in six innings Monday in a 7-2 loss to Minnesota. — The Associated Press

Tigers 4, Indians 0 Detroit AB J.Anderson lf 4 Polanco 2b 4 Thomas rf 4 Mi.Cabrera dh 4 Granderson cf 2 Larish 1b 3 Inge 3b 3 Laird c 4 Santiago ss 3 Totals 31

R 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 4

H 1 1 0 2 1 1 1 0 1 8

BI 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 4

BB 1 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 6

SO 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 2 1 7

Avg. .327 .271 .333 .389 .256 .190 .278 .224 .262

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

R 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

H 1 0 1 2 1 0 0 1 1 7

BI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BB 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2

SO 2 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 9

Avg. .227 .315 .385 .275 .246 .259 .278 .247 .200

Detroit Cleveland

AB 4 4 4 3 3 4 4 3 3 32

000 000 220 — 000 000 000 —

4 8 0 0 7 0

LOB: Detroit 7, Cleveland 7. 2B: Choo (7), Valbuena (2). 3B: Larish (1). RBIs: Larish (2), Inge (20), Laird (7), Santiago (13). SB: Thomas (1), B.Francisco (5). CS: Granderson (1), Sizemore (5). S: Inge. Runners left in scoring position: Detroit 4 (Mi.Cabrera, Thomas, Inge, Polanco); Cleveland 4 (A.Cabrera 2, Dellucci, Garko). DP: Detroit 1 (Inge, Polanco); Cleveland 2 (DeRosa, Valbuena, Garko), (A.Cabrera, Garko). Detroit E.Jackson W, 2-2 Zumaya Rodney Cleveland Carmona L, 1-4 R.Betancourt K.Wood

IP 7 1 1 IP 6 2⁄3 1 1⁄3 1

H 5 1 1 H 4 3 1

R ER BB SO NP ERA 0 0 1 7 102 2.60 0 0 0 0 15 0.00 0 0 1 2 22 4.09 R ER BB SO NP ERA 2 2 6 4 112 5.57 2 2 0 3 29 5.51 0 0 0 0 11 6.55

Inherited runners-scored: R.Betancourt 2-0. Umpires: Home, Brian O’Nora; First, Fieldin Culbreth; Second, Chad Fairchild; Third, Jim Wolf. T: 3:07. A: 33,640 (45,199).

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

24

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

NATIONAL LEAGUE L.A. Dodgers 8, San Francisco 0

Washington 2, Arizona 1

L.A. gets first post-Manny win

BRANIMIR KVARTUC / AP

Dodgers CF Matt Kemp, right, raced safely back to first before Giants 2B Emmanuel Burriss could catch him. LOS ANGELES—Eric Stults turned in his second career shutout. Center fielder Matt Kemp helped out with three outstanding defensive plays. Juan Pierre finished with three RBIs. There were plenty of stars in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ first win since Manny Ramirez was suspended. Stults pitched a four-hitter and Pierre had three hits to help the Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants 8-0 on Saturday. “Obviously, shutouts are special—and for me, it’s like a no-hitter,” Stults said. “I think I owe Matt Kemp some dinner. He ran down some balls today and made some great plays, especially in key situations with runners on base.” Juan Castro had three hits and drove in two runs for the defending NL champions, who are 1-2 since Ramirez was banished for 50 games by Major League Baseball after testing positive for a banned drug. Stults, who was recalled from

Triple-A on April 11 to replace the injured Hiroki Kuroda in the rotation, threw 123 pitches while striking out five and walking none in his third start against the Giants this season. The 29-year-old lefthander also had an RBI single during the Dodgers’ three-run eighth. “I really wasn’t thinking about pitch count. I was just trying to get outs,’” Stults said. “I didn’t do that very well last time I faced them, so I was just trying to get contact early so I could work deeper into the game. You definitely know what their strengths and weakness are after facing them a couple of times.” Stults (4-1) gave the Dodgers their first complete game of the season, going the distance for the second time in 20 career starts. His other complete game came on June 25, when he beat the Chicago White Sox 5-0 at Dodger Stadium with a four-hitter and threw 116 pitches. — The Associated Press

Dodgers 8, Giants 0 San Francisco AB R F.Lewis lf 4 0 Matos p 0 0 Renteria ss 4 0 Winn rf-lf 4 0 B.Molina c 4 0 Rowand cf 4 0 Aurilia 1b 3 0 Uribe 3b 3 0 Burriss 2b 3 0 J.Sanchez p 1 0 a-Velez ph 1 0 J.Miller p 0 0 b-Schierholtz ph-rf 1 0 Totals 32 0

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

BI 0 0 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 0 0

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

Avg. .299 --.255 .219 .298 .216 .175 .268 .266 .000 .143 --.265

Los Angeles Pierre lf Hudson 2b Ethier rf Paul rf Kemp cf Martin c Loney 1b Blake 3b J.Castro ss Stults p Totals

H 3 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 3 1 11

BI 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 7

BB 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 4

SO 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 5

Avg. .405 .336 .297 .000 .287 .275 .278 .238 .438 .100

AB 5 5 5 0 4 1 4 3 4 3 34

R 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 0 8

San Francisco 000 000 000 — Los Angeles 130 010 03x —

0 4 2 8 11 1

a-popped out for J.Sanchez in the 6th. b-struck out for J.Miller in the 8th. E: Uribe (2), Rowand (1), Hudson (2). LOB: San Francisco 5, Los Angeles 7. 2B: Renteria (5), Rowand (6), Pierre 2 (3), Hudson (11), J.Castro 2 (2). RBIs: Pierre 3 (6), Kemp (23), J.Castro 2 (3), Stults (2). SB: Kemp (8), Martin (3). S: Stults. Runners left in scoring position: San Francisco 4 (Uribe, Winn 2, Rowand); Los Angeles 5 (Hudson, Loney 2, Pierre, Ethier). DP: San Francisco 1 (Renteria, Burriss, Aurilia). San Francisco J.Sanchez L, 1-3 J.Miller Matos Los Angeles Stults W, 4-1

IP 5 2 1 IP 9

H 6 1 4 H 4

R ER BB SO NP ERA 5 5 4 4 96 4.78 0 0 0 1 29 2.70 3 2 0 0 27 6.23 R ER BB SO NP ERA 0 0 0 5 123 3.58

IBB: off J.Sanchez (Martin). Umpires: Home, Dan Iassogna; First, Charlie Reliford; Second, Larry Vanover; Third, Sam Holbrook. T: 2:40. A: 41,425 (56,000).

MATT YORK / AP

Washington C Jesus Flores forces Arizona’s Felipe Lopez at home during the seventh inning.

Play at home provides spark PHOENIX—Ryan Zimmerman homered to extended his hitting streak to 27 games. Adam Dunn hit one out of the park for the second night in a row. And the Arizona Diamondbacks squandered one opportunity after another. The play that everyone was talking about after Washington’s 2-1 victory over Arizona Saturday night, though, was made by Nationals right fielder Austin Kearns and catcher Jesus Flores. “Unbelievable,” Washington starter John Lannan said. “I’ve never seen that happen before.” With the Nationals leading 1-0 and the bases loaded with one out in the seventh inning, Arizona’s Josh Whitesell lined what looked like a base hit just in front of Kearns. Felipe Lopez, the runner at third, had to hold close to the base in case the ball was caught,

and Kearns rifled a throw home. Flores stretched out like a first baseman to make the grab for the force out. Kearns said he’s tried the play before, but this was the first time he’d pulled it off. He gave credit to Flores. “He made the play,” Kearns said. “I tried to get my feet under me and make a good throw. It was a little off-line and he stretched out and made the play.” The play came moments after Flores was struck in the right shoulder by a foul ball. He sustained a bruise that will keep him out of today’s game, Acta said. Flores stayed in the game, but was replaced in the ninth inning. The Nationals have won three straight for the first time this season, all on the road, and clinched their first road series since early August. Overall, Washington, which started the season 1-10, has won five of its past six. — The Associated Press

Nationals 2, Diamondbacks 1 Washington AB R H BI BB C.Guzman ss 4 0 1 0 0 Dukes cf 4 0 0 0 0 Zimmerman 3b 4 1 1 1 0 Dunn 1b 3 1 1 1 1 Beimel p 0 0 0 0 0 K.Wells p 0 0 0 0 0 Hanrahan p 0 0 0 0 0 Willingham lf 4 0 0 0 0 Kearns rf 4 0 0 0 0 Flores c 4 0 1 0 0 Nieves c 0 0 0 0 0 Belliard 2b 3 0 1 0 1 Lannan p 2 0 0 0 0 b-Cintron ph 1 0 0 0 0 Mock p 0 0 0 0 0 Villone p 0 0 0 0 0 Kensing p 0 0 0 0 0 N.Johnson 1b 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 33 2 5 2 2

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

Avg. .386 .268 .336 .297 ------.174 .247 .311 .083 .143 .167 .000 ------.317

Arizona F.Lopez 2b C.Young cf J.Upton rf Reynolds 3b Whitesell 1b Byrnes lf Snyder c d-Montero ph Jo.Wilson ss e-Tracy ph D.Davis p a-C.Jackson ph J.Gutierrez p Schoeneweis p c-R.Roberts ph Qualls p Totals

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

Avg. .314 .183 .290 .248 .077 .177 .207 .279 .227 .215 .167 .184 ----.222 ---

AB 4 4 4 2 3 5 4 1 3 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 35

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

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

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

BB 1 1 1 3 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9

Washington 010 000 010 — Arizona 000 000 001 —

2 5 2 1 8 2

a-grounded out for D.Davis in the 6th. b-flied out for Lannan in the 7th. c-doubled for Schoeneweis in the 8th. d-doubled for Snyder in the 9th. e-struck out for Jo.Wilson in the 9th. E: Dunn 2 (3), Reynolds 2 (6). LOB: Washington 6, Arizona 16. 2B: Byrnes (5), Montero (4), R.Roberts (1). HR: Dunn (9), off D.Davis; Zimmerman (6), off J.Gutierrez. RBIs: Zimmerman (21), Dunn (25), Montero (5). Runners left in scoring position: Washington 2 (Lannan, Flores); Arizona 11 (D.Davis, Whitesell 2, C.Jackson 2, Byrnes 2, C.Young 2, Tracy 2). GIDP: Whitesell, Jo.Wilson. DP: Washington 2 (C.Guzman, Belliard, Dunn), (Belliard, C.Guzman, Dunn). Washington Lannan W, 2-3 Mock H, 4 Villone H, 1 Kensing H, 1 Beimel H, 5 K.Wells H, 3 Hanrahan S, 3-6 Arizona D.Davis L, 2-5 J.Gutierrez Schoeneweis Qualls

IP 6 1⁄3 1⁄3 1⁄3 1 2⁄3 1⁄3 IP 6 1 1⁄3 2⁄3 1

H 3 2 0 0 2 1 0 H 4 1 0 0

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

NP ERA 93 3.89 15 5.00 5 0.00 4 9.53 18 1.74 20 3.86 6 6.08 NP ERA 91 3.25 18 3.00 7 2.00 5 2.25

Inherited runners-scored: Villone 3-0, Kensing 3-0, Hanrahan 2-0. Umpires: Home, Paul Emmel; First, Bill Hohn; Second, Casey Moser; Third, Rob Drake. T: 3:08. A: 27,233 (48,652).

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

25

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

NATIONAL LEAGUE Atlanta 6, Philadelphia 2

N.Y. Mets 10, Pittsburgh 1

Vazquez bounces back after two subpar starts PHILADELPHIA—Javier Vazquez kept his pitches down and in the strike zone. Even in a hitter-friendly park, that’s a formula for success. Vazquez pitched neatly into the eighth inning, Yunel Escobar and Brian McCann hit two-run homers and the Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-2 on Saturday. Vazquez (3-3) allowed two runs and four hits, striking out seven in 7 2/3 innings. He had no walks and also helped himself with a double that started a three-run rally in the fifth. “Anytime you win here is a good win,” Vazquez said. “They score a lot of runs. You can’t walk people in parks like this, and I was getting my first pitch over for strikes.” Chase Utley hit his 10th homer and Raul Ibanez also went deep for the Phillies, who got another poor performance from a starting pitcher. Joe Blanton (1-3) gave up six runs and eight hits in eight innings. Blanton’s shaky start was the latest in a slew of rough outings for a rotation that played a vital role in helping the Phillies win the World Series last season. Philadelphia’s starters are 7-10 with a 6.47 ERA. “It’s one of those where you can go home and take a lot of positives out of it,” Blanton said. “Ninety-eight percent of the time, if I throw the ball that well, I’m not going to give up six runs.” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel was somewhat encouraged. “Overall, he battled, changed speeds,” Manuel said. “His mistakes got him in trouble. The ball is carrying right now.”

Braves 6, Phillies 2 Atlanta AB K.Johnson 2b 5 Escobar ss 5 C.Jones 3b 4 G.Anderson lf 3 McCann c 4 Kotchman 1b 4 Francoeur rf 4 Schafer cf 4 J.Vazquez p 3 O’Flaherty p 0 c-Prado ph 0 M.Gonzalez p 0 Totals 36

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

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

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

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

SO 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 5

Avg. .230 .287 .294 .163 .250 .298 .283 .232 .071 --.281 ---

Philadelphia Rollins ss Victorino cf Utley 2b Howard 1b Werth rf Ibanez lf Dobbs 3b S.Eyre p Coste c Blanton p a-Stairs ph b-Feliz ph-3b Totals

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

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

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

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

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

Avg. .203 .281 .323 .279 .290 .339 .154 --.204 .125 .267 .305

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

Atlanta 010 030 020 — Philadelphia 000 100 010 —

TOM MIHALEK / AP

Javier Vazquez also got it done with his bat, hitting a double to start a three-run rally. Vazquez was hitless in his first 12 atbats this season before lining a one-out double down the left-field line in the fifth. He scored on Kelly Johnson’s double. Escobar followed with a drive to the seats in left-center for a 4-1 lead. McCann, wearing glasses after missing 13 games with an eye infection, connected in the eighth to make it 6-1. McCann wore a new mask behind the plate and didn’t have trouble with his glasses fogging up. Vazquez bounced back from two subpar starts. He gave up 11 runs in 14 2/3 innings against St. Louis and the New York Mets, losing both games. — The Associated Press

Alomar Sr. leads well in Manuel’s place

JULIE JACOBSON / AP

6 9 0 2 5 0

a-was announced for Blanton in the 8th. b-grounded out for Stairs in the 8th. c-walked for O’Flaherty in the 9th. LOB: Atlanta 5, Philadelphia 2. 2B: K.Johnson (4), Schafer (7), J.Vazquez (1), Utley (2), Coste (5). HR: Escobar (3), off Blanton; McCann (3), off Blanton; Utley (10), off J.Vazquez; Ibanez (9), off J.Vazquez. RBIs: K.Johnson (10), Escobar 2 (16), McCann 2 (11), Francoeur (18), Utley (23), Ibanez (23). Runners left in scoring position: Atlanta 2 (J.Vazquez, Escobar); Philadelphia 2 (Rollins, Howard). GIDP: Ibanez. DP: Atlanta 1 (Escobar, K.Johnson, Kotchman). Atlanta IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA J.Vazquez W, 3-3 7 2⁄3 4 2 2 0 7 115 3.88 O’Flaherty 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 7 2.38 M.Gonzalez 1 1 0 0 0 1 16 3.55 Philadelphia IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Blanton L, 1-3 8 8 6 6 1 5 110 6.82 S.Eyre 1 1 0 0 1 0 23 5.40 Umpires: Home, Mike DiMuro; First, James Hoye; Second, Dale Scott; Third, Jerry Meals. T: 2:29. A: 45,339 (43,647).

Fernando Tatis, left, had two of the Mets’ season-high 17 hits Saturday against the Pirates. NEW YORK—As he walked into the postgame interview room, Sandy Alomar Sr. shouted out a request for the media to take it easy on him. He followed that up with a hearty laugh, knowing it would be difficult to grill him. The New York Mets had just completed what might have been their most well-rounded win of the season. Alomar took over the manager’s seat for the suspended Jerry Manuel on Saturday, and the Mets took advantage of an expansive Citi Field to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-1 for their sixth straight win. “It was a great day in the park,” said Alomar, who didn’t think he ever had to act as manager in the big leagues. “When you get 10 runs, the other team one, I don’t know if there’s anything difficult to it.” Manuel was suspended one game for making contact with umpire Bill Welke during an argument in the

Mets’ 7-5 win over Philadelphia on Thursday night. Jose Reyes capped a five-run fourth with a two-run single, and the Mets had 13 well-placed singles out of a season-high 17 hits to improve to 10-6 at their new ballpark. Carlos Beltran hit a long home run and David Wright tripled, giving the Mets 12 homers and 11 three-base hits at home this season. Reyes finished with three hits, three RBIs and a stolen base for New York. “He makes me young just watching him, the energy he has,” said Gary Sheffield, who made a sliding catch on a sinking liner in right. John Maine overcame what he called his worst pregame warmups of the year to pitch six innings. He allowed just three hits, although one was a homer by Pirates starter Paul Maholm. — The Associated Press

Mets 10, Pirates 1 Pittsburgh AB Morgan lf 4 F.Sanchez 2b 3 McLouth cf 4 Ad.LaRoche 1b 4 Moss rf 4 An.LaRoche 3b 3 R.Vazquez ss 4 Jaramillo c 3 Maholm p 2 J.Chavez p 0 b-Monroe ph 1 Meek p 0 Grabow p 0 Totals 32

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

New York AB Jos.Reyes ss 5 Cora ss 0 Castillo 2b 5 Beltran cf 5 Delgado 1b 5 Stokes p 0 D.Wright 3b 5 Sheffield rf 4 Tatis lf-1b 4 R.Castro c 2 Santos c 1 Maine p 2 a-Dan.Murphy ph 1 Takahashi p 0 c-Reed ph-lf 1 Totals 40

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

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

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

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

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

Avg. .298 .317 .283 .231 .176 .264 .167 .277 .154 --.229 -----

H BI 3 3 0 0 2 1 2 1 2 0 0 0 2 2 2 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 17 10

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

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

Avg. .268 .313 .325 .378 .300 --.306 .190 .341 .292 .278 .000 .308 .000 .286

Pittsburgh 000 010 000 — 1 5 0 New York 100 510 12x — 10 17 0 a-grounded out for Maine in the 6th. b-struck out for J.Chavez in the 7th. c-singled for Takahashi in the 8th. LOB: Pittsburgh 7, New York 7. 2B: An.LaRoche 2 (9), Delgado (6), Santos (3). 3B: D.Wright (2). HR: Maholm (1), off Maine; Beltran (6), off Maholm. RBIs: Maholm (1), Jos.Reyes 3 (12), Castillo (7), Beltran (22), D.Wright 2 (17), Sheffield (5), Tatis (3), Reed (2). SB: F.Sanchez 2 (3), Jos.Reyes (9). Runners left in scoring position: Pittsburgh 4 (Ad.LaRoche 2, Maholm, Jaramillo); New York 4 (Castillo, Sheffield, D.Wright 2). DP: Pittsburgh 1 (An.LaRoche, F.Sanchez, Ad.LaRoche). Pittsburgh Maholm L, 3-1 J.Chavez Meek Grabow New York Maine W, 3-2 Takahashi Stokes

IP 5 1 1 1 IP 6 2 1

H 10 0 2 5 H 3 1 1

R ER BB SO NP ERA 7 7 1 2 93 4.06 0 0 0 1 11 2.25 1 1 0 0 22 2.79 2 2 0 1 29 3.95 R ER BB SO NP ERA 1 1 2 3 102 4.54 0 0 0 2 25 0.00 0 0 0 0 15 0.00

IBB: off Maine (Jaramillo). HBP: by Maine (An.LaRoche). WP: Maholm. Umpires: Home, Tony Randazzo; First, Chris Guccione; Second, Ed Montague; Third, Jerry Layne. T: 2:39. A: 39,769 (41,800).

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

26

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

NATIONAL LEAGUE Cincinnati 8, St. Louis 3

Reds 8, Cardinals 3 St. Louis AB Schumaker 2b 4 Rasmus cf 4 Pujols 1b 4 Ludwick rf 4 Duncan lf 4 Y.Molina c 3 LaRue c 0 K.Greene ss 4 Thurston 3b 4 Lohse p 2 a-T.Greene ph 1 D.Reyes p 0 Motte p 0 Boyer p 0 c-Robinson ph 1 Totals 35

Harang gets hit, win on his birthday CINCINNATI—Aaron Harang won’t have any trouble remembering this birthday. The righthander pitched seven innings and had a bases-loaded single during Cincinnati’s decisive rally, a birthday bash that gave the Reds an 8-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday and their best record in three years. “A great birthday,” manager Dusty Baker said. Harang (3-3) had many good moments on the day he turned 31, none better than the awkward swing that produced his first hit of the season in the sixth. Cincinnati sent nine batters to the plate for five runs off Kyle Lohse (3-2) in the inning, blowing open a tie game. “I was just trying to put something in play, trying to make something happen,” Harang said. He played the biggest role in the Reds getting a noteworthy win. With their third straight, they moved four games over .500 (17-13) for the first time since 2006. The Reds have won their last three despite missing most of their starting infield. Third baseman Edwin Encarnacion has a broken wrist, shortstop Alex Gonzalez has pulled muscles in his side, and second baseman Brandon Phillips and first baseman Joey Votto have been sidelined by the flu. Phillips was back in the lineup on Saturday, but Votto—the Reds’ leading hitter at .378—was still sick. As a starter, Harang doesn’t get to pitch on his birthday often—his turn in the rotation rarely lines up that way. He

AL BEHRMAN / AP

Aaron Harang is tagged out here, but his basesloaded single was the key hit Saturday. knows he spent his birthday on the mound one other time, but can’t remember the year. This one will be vivid for a long time to come. Harang gave up three runs—two earned—and struck out seven. Ryan Ludwick hit a two-run homer off him in the third on one of his few bad pitches. “I was really pleased with how I pitched,” Harang said. “I got out of jams early, and I really only made one mistake. I was able to stay in there and hang tough.” Jay Bruce had a two-run shot off Lohse, who let a 2-all tie slip away quickly in the sixth. Laynce Nix and Ramon Hernandez singled home runs, and the Reds loaded the bases with two outs for Harang, an .079 career hitter who was 0 for 13 this season. Harang took an off-balance, stiffarmed swing at Lohse’s first pitch—a high slider—and lined it to left field to drive in two more runs. He smacked his hands together in celebration at first base, then stood there trying to subdue a smile. — The Associated Press

Milwaukee 12, Chicago Cubs 6 SO 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 8

Avg. .299 .247 .330 .277 .283 .323 .412 .238 .259 .231 .222 ------.000

Cincinnati AB R H BI BB SO Taveras cf 4 1 2 1 0 0 Hairston Jr. ss 3 2 2 1 0 0 Bruce rf 4 1 1 2 0 2 Phillips 2b 3 1 2 0 1 0 L.Nix lf 4 1 1 1 0 2 R.Hernandez 1b 3 0 1 1 1 1 A.Rosales 3b 4 1 1 0 0 0 Hanigan c 3 1 0 0 1 0 Harang p 3 0 1 2 0 0 Weathers p 0 0 0 0 0 0 b-Dickerson ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 Masset p 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 32 8 11 8 3 5

Avg. .284 .231 .267 .250 .311 .284 .250 .323 .071 --.206 ---

St. Louis Cincinnati

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

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

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

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

002 000 100 — 200 005 10x —

DARREN HAUCK / AP

3 7 1 8 11 2

a-struck out for Lohse in the 7th. b-grounded out for Weathers in the 8th. c-struck out for Boyer in the 9th. E: Pujols (5), R.Hernandez (1), Harang (1). LOB: St. Louis 6, Cincinnati 4. 2B: Schumaker (6), Taveras (5), Phillips (4). HR: Ludwick (8), off Harang; Bruce (9), off Lohse; Hairston Jr. (2), off D.Reyes. RBIs: Ludwick 2 (26), Taveras (5), Hairston Jr. (5), Bruce 2 (19), L.Nix (6), R.Hernandez (10), Harang 2 (2). SB: Bruce (2). CS: Phillips (2), A.Rosales (2). S: Hairston Jr.. Runners left in scoring position: St. Louis 3 (Duncan, Lohse, Pujols); Cincinnati 2 (A.Rosales, R.Hernandez). DP: Cincinnati 1 (Bruce, R.Hernandez). St. Louis Lohse L, 3-2 D.Reyes Motte Boyer Cincinnati Harang W, 3-3 Weathers Masset

IP 6 2⁄3 1⁄3 1 IP 7 1 1

H 9 2 0 0 H 7 0 0

Brewers win headache of game

R ER BB SO NP ERA 7 7 3 4 96 4.25 1 1 0 1 10 4.66 0 0 0 0 2 3.46 0 0 0 0 7 9.82 R ER BB SO NP ERA 3 2 1 7 107 2.93 0 0 0 0 9 2.61 0 0 0 1 11 1.35

Inherited runners-scored: Motte 1-0. Umpires: Home, John Hirschbeck; First, Wally Bell; Second, Marty Foster; Third, Marvin Hudson. T: 2:35. A: 40,651 (42,319).

Cubs C Geovany Soto, right, is late with the tag on Milwaukee’s Craig Counsell. MILWAUKEE—Brewers manager Ken Macha took two painkillers after enduring nearly 4½ hours of walks followed by one unusual delay. He wasn’t sure how many his counterpart Lou Piniella needed. Craig Counsell and Ryan Braun hit back-to-back homers and the Milwaukee Brewers scored six times in the seventh inning before the lights went out in a 12-6 win over the injurydepleted Chicago Cubs on Saturday. “I took two Advil before I came in here. I’m serious about the Advil, I am,” Macha said. “We got nine walks, a hitby-pitch, they got seven walks and a hit-by-pitch. Tough game, I don’t know how many Advil Lou took, but I took two.” It was Braun’s second homer in as many days and came after Counsell hit his first since June 17 and 36th of his career off Cubs starter Ryan Dempster (2-2). The consecutive shots helped the

Brewers break open a tight game and earn their 14th win in 18 games, the best mark in baseball over that stretch. “I was a little worried it was going to go foul,” Counsell said. “I thought it had enough but I thought it might go foul.” The game was stopped for 20 minutes in the eighth inning after more than half the lights went out at Miller Park. Chicago scored three times to cut Milwaukee’s lead to 9-5 and reliever Todd Coffey had just finished warming up when the field became dark. “That was kind of strange there, but, I don’t know, it seems like the fans liked it,” Chicago’s Mike Fontenot said. Milton Bradley hit an RBI double when play resumed but Coffey struck out Micah Hoffpauir to end the inning. The Brewers responded with three runs in the bottom half to put the game away. — The Associated Press

Brewers 12, Cubs 6 Chicago AB A.Soriano lf 5 Theriot ss 2 Fukudome cf 4 Bradley rf 3 Hoffpauir 1b 5 Soto c 5 Fontenot 2b 4 Scales 3b 5 Dempster p 2 Cotts p 0 Patton p 0 b-Miles ph 1 Fox p 0 Heilman p 0 c-Re.Johnson ph 1 Totals 37 Milwaukee Weeks 2b Counsell 3b Braun lf Fielder 1b Hardy ss Hart rf Duffy cf Kendall c Gallardo p McClung p Stetter p Villanueva p a-B.Nelson ph Julio p Coffey p Totals

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

R 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6 R 1 2 3 2 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12

H 1 0 2 2 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11

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

BB 0 2 1 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7

SO 3 1 0 0 2 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 13

Avg. .268 .304 .308 .175 .298 .176 .239 .300 .000 ----.203 ----.224

H BI 2 1 2 1 2 2 0 1 1 0 1 2 1 1 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 10

BB 1 1 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 9

SO Avg. 2 .276 0 .340 0 .349 2 .264 1 .216 1 .274 1 .111 1 .233 1 .235 1 .000 0 --0 1.000 0 .000 0 .000 1 .000 11

Chicago 000 020 040 — 6 11 2 Milwaukee 201 000 63x — 12 12 0 a-walked for Villanueva in the 7th. b-grounded into a fielder’s choice for Patton in the 8th. c-lined out for Heilman in the 9th. E: Dempster (1), Soto (1). LOB: Chicago 12, Milwaukee 10. 2B: Fukudome (7), Bradley (1), Hoffpauir (5), Fontenot (4), Braun (6). HR: Hoffpauir (3), off Gallardo; Counsell (1), off Dempster; Braun (8), off Dempster. RBIs: Fukudome 2 (17), Bradley (5), Hoffpauir 2 (11), Weeks (20), Counsell (4), Braun 2 (28), Fielder (25), Hart 2 (14), Duffy (3), Kendall 2 (10). SB: Braun (3). CS: Braun (3). SF: Fielder, Kendall. Runners left in scoring position: Chicago 6 (Dempster, Hoffpauir 2, A.Soriano, Soto 2); Milwaukee 5 (Hart, Counsell 3, Weeks). GIDP: Fontenot. DP: Milwaukee 1 (Weeks, Hardy, Fielder). Chicago Dempster L, 2-2 Cotts Patton Fox Heilman Milwaukee Gallardo W, 4-1 McClungH,21 Stetter H, 5 Villanueva H, 3 Julio Coffey

IP 6 1⁄3 0 2⁄3 0 1 IP 5 1⁄3 1⁄3 1⁄3 2⁄3 1 1⁄3

H 7 1 3 0 1 H 5 1 0 0 2 3

R ER BB SO 5 4 3 9 2 2 1 0 2 2 1 0 2 2 2 0 1 1 2 2 R ER BB SO 2 2 4 8 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 4 1 1 0 0 0 1

NP ERA 121 4.98 10 6.75 24 8.03 10 135.00 29 5.40 NP ERA 102 3.09 34 3.18 3 3.27 6 6.28 24 8.49 22 3.24

Cotts pitched to 2 batters in the 7th. Fox pitched to 2 batters in the 8th. Inherited runners-scored: Patton 2-2, Heilman 2-2, Stetter 3-0, Villanueva 3-0, Coffey 1-1. HBP: by Dempster (Braun), by Julio (Theriot). WP: Dempster, Patton, Fox, Julio. Umpires: Home, Jerry Crawford; First, Phil Cuzzi; Second, Todd Tichenor; Third, Tom Hallion. T: 3:47 (Rain delay: 20:00). A: 44,428 (41,900).

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

27

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

NATIONAL LEAGUE Houston 5, San Diego 4

Florida 3, Colorado 1

Gamble pays off for Pence HOUSTON—Hunter Pence decided to take a chance and the Houston Astros were glad he did—when the play was over. Pence scored the winning run on Miguel Tejada’s slow infield bouncer in the eighth inning and Houston rallied to beat the San Diego Padres 5-4 on Saturday night. Michael Bourn and Pence walked with no outs in the eighth to set up the decisive rally. Both runners moved up on Cla Meredith’s wild pitch before Carlos Lee tied it with an RBI single. Tejada followed with a grounder to the left of the mound and Pence took off. “I was saying no, no, no,” manager Cecil Cooper said, “then I was saying yes, yes. That’s just Hunter’s aggressiveness. Sometimes he’s a little too aggressive but I wouldn’t change a thing about him. That’s how we want him to play.” Pence had no doubt about the play. “Basically, they said to see it through unless it was a chopper,” Pence said. “I read it as a chopper so I came as fast as I could.” Meredith didn’t. “I tried to barehand it,” he said. “My glove was right there. I tried to give it a go. I thought it was my only shot. I knew I had to be quick. Unfortunately I couldn’t get the transfer.” Chase Headley hit a two-out, tworun double off LaTroy Hawkins (1-0) in the top half to give San Diego the lead. But Hawkins got Nick Hundley to foul out to first with the bases loaded to end the inning. “It was a great sign we rallied, got some big hits,” Padres manager Bud Black said. “I hope this is a sign of things to come, getting three runs in

PAT SULLIVAN / AP

Houston’s Michael Bourn scored twice against San Diego, including here in the sixth inning. the eighth, getting some good swings and at-bats. “In close games, to lead off the inning with a walk, that’s one of the things the younger pitchers are going to have to learn to control. Then we have the wild pitch. Those things late in the game will haunt you.” Luke Gregerson (0-3) allowed a run in the seventh and was charged with both runs in the eighth as the Padres lost for the third time in four games. David Eckstein doubled in a run in the sixth and had an RBI single in the eighth for San Diego. Brian Moehler had a strong start for the Astros, allowing one run and five hits in seven innings. He was making just his second start after spraining his right knee, and had an unsightly 14.00 ERA in three starts coming in. Kevin Correia lasted six innings for San Diego, allowing two runs and four hits. — The Associated Press

Astros 5, Padres 4 San Diego AB Giles rf 5 Eckstein 2b 5 Hairston cf 4 Ad.Gonzalez 1b 4 Headley lf 3 Kouzmanoff 3b 3 Hundley c 4 L.Rodriguez ss 3 Gregerson p 0 Meredith p 0 Mujica p 0 b-Gerut ph 1 Correia p 1 C.Burke ss 2 Totals 35

R 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 4

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

BI 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4

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

SO 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7

Avg. .151 .264 .338 .296 .245 .226 .269 .239 ------.218 .400 .261

Houston K.Matsui 2b Bourn cf Pence rf Ca.Lee lf Keppinger 3b Tejada ss Blum 3b-1b Erstad 1b-lf Towles c Moehler p a-Michaels ph Geary p Arias p W.Wright p Hawkins p Totals

R 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5

H 0 1 0 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6

BI 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4

BB 0 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6

SO 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 5

Avg. .255 .291 .309 .319 .333 .302 .253 .171 .182 .000 .250 ---------

San Diego Houston

AB 4 2 2 4 0 2 3 4 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 27

000 001 030 — 000 002 12x —

4 10 0 5 6 0

a-grounded out for Moehler in the 7th. b-flied out for Mujica in the 9th. LOB: San Diego 7, Houston 6. 2B: Eckstein (9), Headley (6), Correia (1), C.Burke 2 (4), Ca.Lee (9), Erstad (1). RBIs: Eckstein 2 (9), Headley 2 (13), Ca.Lee 2 (22), Tejada 2 (12). SB: Headley 2 (4), Kouzmanoff (1), Bourn (9). CS: Bourn (3). S: Correia, Towles. SF: Tejada. Runners left in scoring position: San Diego 7 (Eckstein 3, Ad.Gonzalez, L.Rodriguez, Hundley 2); Houston 2 (Blum, Towles). DP: Houston 1 (Moehler, Tejada, Erstad). San Diego Correia Gregerson L, 0-3 Meredith BS, 3-3 Mujica Houston Moehler Geary H, 2 Arias H, 1 W.Wright Hwkns W, 1-0 BS, 2-6

IP H 6 4 1 1 1⁄3 1 2⁄3 0 IP H 7 5 1⁄3 2 1⁄3 0 0 1 1 1⁄3 2

R ER BB SO NP ERA 2 2 3 4 104 5.34 3 3 2 1 20 5.82 0 0 1 0 9 3.27 0 0 0 0 8 4.11 R ER BB SO NP ERA 1 1 1 6 91 8.44 2 2 0 0 9 6.05 0 0 0 1 4 3.38 1 1 0 0 5 7.84 0 0 0 0 25 2.40

W.Wright pitched to 1 batter in the 8th. Gregerson pitched to 2 batters in the 8th. Inherited runnersscored: Meredith 2-2, Mujica 2-0, Arias 1-0, W.Wright 1-0, Hawkins 2-2. IBB: off Meredith (Blum). HBP: by Hawkins (Kouzmanoff). WP: Gregerson, Meredith. Umpires: Home, Ted Barrett; First, Adrian Johnson; Second, Greg Gibson; Third, Andy Fletcher. T: 3:08. A: 29,141 (40,976).

Johnson ‘lights out’ after rough warmup Marlins 3, Rockies 1 Florida AB R Amezaga cf 4 0 Uggla 2b 3 1 Ha.Ramirez ss 4 2 Cantu 1b 4 0 Helms 3b 4 0 C.Ross rf 4 0 Hermida lf 3 0 Carroll lf 1 0 R.Paulino c 2 0 Jo.Johnson p 2 0 Lindstrom p 0 0 Totals 31 3

DAVID ZALUBOWSKI / AP

Colorado’s Todd Helton tosses his bat after poping out to Florida C Ronny Paulino. DENVER—Josh Johnson described his pregame warmup for Saturday night’s start against the Colorado Rockies as “terrible,” struggling with his control and grip. Still, he refused to worry about the problematic bullpen session once he began throwing pitches that counted. “Because,” Johnson said, “sometimes you throw terrible out there, and all of sudden you’re lights out in the game.” The Rockies will attest to that. Johnson pitched eight innings of seven-hit ball to lead the Marlins past the Rockies 3-1 on a chilly night at Coors Field. “He has so many weapons,” Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. “He threw 70 to 75 percent fastballs. He had a good command of it, and had an effective slider and a handful of changeups.” Johnson (3-0) won his sixth straight decision, dating back to Sept. 13. He has 10 wins in his last 11 decisions since

coming back last July from Tommy John surgery. Johnson said he believes he’s a better pitcher now than before the surgery, in part because the year off allowed him to refine his fundamentals during the dozens of practice sessions he threw in the course of his rehabilitation. “I just think my mechanics are a little more sound,” he said. “You work on so much after the surgery. You throw 40-50 bullpens. That’s all you do for two or three months. It’s pretty annoying but it definitely helps you out in the long run, a blessing in disguise.” Matt Lindstrom got the final three outs for his sixth save in eight chances. Jorge De La Rosa (0-3) was almost as tough on Marlins’ hitters, striking out a career-high 12 in eight innings. He allowed four hits and walked one but remained winless in six starts this season despite retiring the last nine batters he faced. — The Associated Press

SO 3 1 0 3 1 2 1 0 0 2 0 13

Avg. .211 .194 .343 .297 .231 .221 .248 .158 .275 .063 ---

Colorado AB R H BI BB SO S.Smith lf 4 0 2 0 0 0 Grilli p 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tulowitzki ss 4 0 2 1 0 1 Helton 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 Hawpe rf 4 0 2 0 0 1 Spilborghs cf-lf 4 0 1 0 0 1 Atkins 3b 3 0 0 0 1 1 1-Barmes pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 Stewart 2b 4 0 0 0 0 3 Torrealba c 3 0 0 0 0 0 b-Iannetta ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 De La Rosa p 2 0 0 0 0 0 a-Fowler ph-cf 1 1 1 0 0 0 Totals 34 1 8 1 1 7

Avg. .291 .000 .223 .337 .337 .269 .218 .228 .197 .241 .209 .083 .267

Florida Colorado

H 0 1 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 6

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

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

100 100 001 — 000 000 010 —

3 6 1 1 8 1

a-singled for De La Rosa in the 8th. b-grounded out for Torrealba in the 9th. 1-ran for Atkins in the 9th. E: Cantu (3), Helton (1). LOB: Florida 4, Colorado 7. 2B: Ha.Ramirez (10). 3B: Uggla (1). RBIs: Ha.Ramirez (18), Cantu (32), C.Ross (16), Tulowitzki (11). SB: Ha.Ramirez 2 (6), C.Ross (1), Spilborghs (5). CS: Tulowitzki (3). S: Jo.Johnson. Runners left in scoring position: Florida 3 (C.Ross, Amezaga, Carroll); Colorado 3 (De La Rosa, Helton, Iannetta). DP: Florida 1 (Ha.Ramirez, Uggla, Cantu). Florida IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Jo.Johnson W, 3-0 8 7 1 1 0 5 109 2.34 Lindstrom S, 6-8 1 1 0 0 1 2 24 5.54 Colorado IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA De La Rosa L, 0-3 8 4 2 2 1 12 106 3.53 Grilli 1 2 1 1 0 1 19 1.69 HBP: by De La Rosa (Uggla). Umpires: Home, Bill Miller; First, Derryl Cousins; Second, Angel Campos; Third, Brian Runge. T: 2:41. A: 28,227 (50,449).

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

NFL

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

28

INSIDE DISH

Favre-Vikings drama continues; Falcons mum on Abraham Is Brett Favre healthy and hungry enough to end his retirement again? And how badly do the Vikings want him? The questions and confusion continues as team doctors pour over his medical records, including recent X-rays and an MRI. It’s not the previously reported biceps tendon tear that is the major concern. If it were just that, doctors could arthroscopically snip it—a tenotomy—and he’d be ready to throw at the start of training camp. A source told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Favre might have a more serious injury. The fear is that he could have: a) rotator cuff damage, b) cartilage damage in the shoulder, c) the biceps tendon out of its groove possibly by a rupture in the sheath that surrounds it. Any of the three would require major surgery to repair and probably end Favre’s latest dalliance with a comeback. Favre’s agent, Bus Cook, continues to say that Favre has not told him he wants to come back for a 19th NFL season. “Brett would have to be mentally ready to go play, physically ready to go play and want to go play,” Cook told ESPN, “and I’m not sure all three of those things are there right now.” Vikings officials have yet to address the drama since coach Brad Childress acknowledged last week it was likely the team would assess its interest in Favre. DE John Abraham isn’t participating in the Falcons’ minicamp, but neither Abraham nor coach Mike Smith would say if he had

surgery. Abraham played through nerve, shoulder and neck injuries last season while setting the franchise record with 16 1/2 sacks. “Abe is leftover from the rigors of the 16-game season,” Smith told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “He had a number of ailments.” Raiders WR Javon Walker had knee surgery last month but just told the coaches this week, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Walker also had surgery on the same knee in ’07 with the Broncos. Raiders coach Tom Cable says Walker won’t be ready to practice until training camp. “We just found out about it,” Cable said. “Yeah, it is a little bit uncommon but we’re aware of it now and it was probably the right thing to do and get it cleaned up.” Walker had season-ending surgery on his left ankle midway through last season, but Cable says that injury is healed. He took a $27 million pay cut in January but is guaranteed $4.6 million in base salary the next two seasons. It’s unclear whether the Bears are interested in signing free-agent WR Amani Toomer. The NFL Network reports that Bears officials have inquired, but team sources told the Chicago Tribune that is not the case. Toomer, who turns 35 in September, spent 13 seasons with the Giants. The Bears have said they’re interested in signing a veteran, but perhaps not Toomer. They were interested in Torry Holt but lost him to Jacksonville.

NFL minicamp schedule A listing of upcoming NFL minicamps (all include rookies and veterans unless otherwise noted): Atlanta—Friday-today Baltimore—Friday-today 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-today (rookies); June 5-7 Miami—June 12-14 Minnesota—May 29-31 New England—June 10-12 New Orleans—Friday-today (rookies); June 5-7 N.Y. Giants—Friday-today (rookies); June 16-18 N. Y. Jets—June 9-11 Oakland—Friday-today St. Louis—June 5-7 San Francisco—June 5-7 Seattle—June 10-12 Tampa Bay—June 16-18

PAUL SAKUMA / AP

John Abraham, left, isn’t participating in the Falcons’ minicamp, but the team is mum about whether the DE had surgery. Seattle WR Nate Burleson is running pass patterns again, effortlessly, like a gazelle. He’s catching almost every ball thrown near him. Heck, he’s even lining up as a scout-team defensive back, giving other Seahawks receivers someone to run against during offseason practices. This from a player who had reconstructive knee surgery eight months ago. “Of course, I’m not going to be 100 percent yet,” Burleson said, wearing a black brace over the knee. “The last couple of days, I’ve got to be honest, there was some doubt in my mind, but right now I don’t feel my knee hurting. This week has proved to me the rehab is working.”

Burleson, a seven-year veteran, said the week of practices has eased his mind. But he still wasn’t full-go. The Seahawks kept him restricted to position drills. He watched from behind the huddle during team scrimmages. Once healthy, he’ll join newly signed T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Deion Branch, another wide receiver recovering from two knee surgeries in the last 15 months, on the field. Ravens RB Willis McGahee, coming off arthroscopic ankle surgery, says he’ll be 100 percent before training camp. “Believe it or not, I am excited about this season,” McGahee told The Baltimore Sun. “I don’t know

why, but I am. Maybe because I actually took care of the little bumps I had in the road last year. It’s all working towards the better.” QB Kellen Clemens, who was considered the favorite to be the Jets’ starting quarterback until they traded up to take Mark Sanchez, still thinks he will win the starting job. Conventional wisdom says Clemens will have to completely outplay Sanchez to get the job. “My expectations haven’t changed since the draft,” Clemens said. “I fully expect to be under center opening day when we go down to Houston.” Saints rookie LB Stanley Arnoux

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.

ruptured his left Achilles’ tendon in the first of five rookie minicamp practices. A fourth-round pick from Wake Forest, Arnoux will have surgery next week. Most Achilles’ tendons tears require being sidelined for a full season.

Denny Thum was named president of the Chiefs, 35 years after he took an entry-level job in the ticket office and began a career that has touched upon just about every offthe-field aspect of the team. Thum, 57, will oversee everything but the football operation. G.M. Scott Pioli, hired in January from the Patriots, will run the football operation.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

NFL

www.sportingnews.com

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

29

Q&A with ... Cardinals QB Kurt Warner

‘I really, seriously considered retirement’ Kurt Warner, 37, had arthroscopic hip surgery on March 17, just two weeks after signing a two-year, $23 million contract extension with Arizona. Sporting News Radio’s Tim Montemayor caught up with Warner this week to talk about his love affair with St. Louis, his recovery and Brett Favre’s dilemma.

Q:

You might have left St. Louis, but you’ve never really left. How have you remained so connected with the city? It all started with the championship run. I think we were able to endear ourselves with the people there because of what we started there on the football field. But I think in the process, what we were committed to off the football field and the type of people we were and what we wanted to stand for really connected with the people in St. Louis. We’ll always have the memories of the Super Bowl, but more important we have a common belief in impacting people around us and coming together and understanding that the only way to have a true impact is to do it together. I think those two things tie in together for the long haul and it has been neat because, like you said, very few athletes have the same type of impact in a city five, six or seven years after they’ve left. The great thing is that the people in St. Louis haven’t forgotten about us, they believe in what we’re doing.

A:

Q: A:

How do you feel about your new contract and your career right now? I couldn’t be more blessed. There are a lot of points in

your career where you sit back and you think why did this happen or is this going to be the thing that defines me. Going through my career with St. Louis and then getting cut there, being bounced around with the Giants and then coming to Arizona, had to chance to start then back to the bench ... there’s moments throughout your career where you think, “Man, this looked so good at one point and then it didn’t look so good.” When I look at it as a whole, being able to be a part of two teams that nobody really expected to be in the Super Bowl and to be a part of two runs (in St. Louis and Arizona) like that, where not only did I get a chance to perform and go to the Super Bowl on the field, but I got a chance to see a community change and the culture of a community change. And to have the opportunity to experience that twice in my career has really been special. And so I look back at my career and I wouldn’t change anything.

Q:

You had physical problems last season and had to have hip surgery this spring. Did you think about retirement? This was a long year for me, a lot of struggles, a couple of physical issues. ... You deal with all of those issues during the season. I was tired and I was worn out and I really, seriously considered retirement and thought, “You know, I don’t know if I want to do this anymore, I’m not sure if I can do this anymore.” Right up until the end of the season I had no idea what I was going to do.

A:

The one thing was that shortly after the season was over I was already thinking about football again, it was already on my mind so I was able to commit and realize that OK if I’m thinking about football at this point there’s still a little football left, so it’s easy for me to make that decision.

Q: A:

Do you identify with Favre’s annual play/don’t play struggle? I understand the physical and mental strains it takes on your body and on your mind. And as you get older, I can understand you getting to the point where you’re just like, “I don’t know if I can do that anymore, I gotta get away from it.” But then a lot of times you get away from it and there are some guys who say I didn’t miss it, it was easy for me to walk away, it was the right time. Then there are other guys who it takes a couple of months to really get away from the game and you start getting that itch again and you start thinking about football. You know sometimes you have to make a decision earlier than you want to, based on teams and their current situation and that’s where I relate with Brett. Sometimes you get forced into making that quick decision, and it’s not until a couple of months down the road that you realize I still think there’s some more left in me. So I can relate to that and you know a guy like Brett ... you know he’s good for the game, you know he can still play, you know he does it the right way. You just hope that the bottom line at the end of the day is that the decision he makes, he gets the opportunity to let that play out.

MARK HUMPHREY / AP

Kurt Warner, above, says he can relate to Brett Favre’s struggle about whether to retire or continue playing.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

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

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

30

Rookies Nicks, Barden work to fill Burress’ Giant void EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—In his first 7-on-7 drill with the New York Giants, wide receiver Hakeem Nicks made a quick move at the line of scrimmage past fellow rookie Stoney Woodson and suddenly was wide open 10 yards behind the defense. If only for one play, Nicks, the first-round pick from North Carolina, certainly showed he could provide a deep threat the Giants lost when they cut troubled Plaxico Burress. The bad news on the play was that second-year quarterback Andre Woodson underthrew Nicks running down the left seam and Stoney Woodson recovered quickly to knock the pass down. But before the drill was over, Nicks went deep again and caught a long pass. He also wasn’t the only one who went deep in the Giants’ two-day camp for rookies and free agents. Third-round draft pick Ramses Barden, the 6-6 clone of Burress from Cal Poly, caught a long pass from Rhett Bomar, the former Oklahoma quarterback who was taken in the fifth round after completing his career at Sam Houston State. “I thought Ramses and Hakeem both did a nice job of catching the ball,” coach Tom Coughlin said. “We will see if they can come back and do it.” Make no mistake, the Giants need someone to stretch the defense. Burress, who caught the winning pass in the Super Bowl over the then-undefeated New England Patriots in February 2008, provided that since joining the team as a free agent in 2005. New York was 11-1 when Burress accidentally shot himself in the thigh in late November in a New York City

BILL KOSTROUN / AP

Hakeem Nicks, the Giants’ first-round pick, said he doesn’t feel any pressure to replace Plaxico Burress. nightclub and was eventually suspended for the rest of the season. Without him, the offense struggled and the team went 1-4 down the stretch, losing at home to Philadelphia in the NFC semifinal. Both Nicks and Barden avoided comparisons to Burress. Nicks insisted that he wants to be himself and do the things that made him a first-round pick. He caught 21 touchdowns in his Tar Heel career, averaging almost 16 yards a reception. “I didn’t feel any pressure at all,” Nicks said. “I just want to go out and play the game that I have been

playing, do what I have been doing to get me up to this point. Nothing is guaranteed. I have to work hard for my spot. That is what I am looking forward to right now.” Barden refused to comment on anything to do with Burress. Nicks said his biggest assignment now is learning the offense. “You have to know what everybody is doing on the field,” he said. “That is just the game of football. Me being the leader by example, on and off the field, on the field especially, I want to make sure everybody is doing what they are supposed to be doing.”

Barden seemingly has more to prove. He spent his college career in Division I-AA. However, he caught 206 passes for 4,203 yards and 50 touchdowns. His string of TD catches in 20 consecutive games broke a record held by Jerry Rice. “I have all the confidence I can in my ability and, you know, I have something to prove as well,” Barden said. “I want to prove I am the player they expect me to be and they think I can be. It is going to take steps and teaching and learning. I will do the hard stuff first.” — The Associated Press

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

Lacrosse

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

31

Christopher Maryland, Notre Dame kick off Day 2 of NCAA Tournament gets third OT winner Oddity: Massachusetts has played for a national championship more recently than Princeton. The Minutemen advanced to the title game in 2006. The Tigers have not been there since 2002. Also, Godoi is a native of Brazil and is majoring in Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation.

BY CHRISTIAN SWEZEY InsideLacrosse.com

Today begins with arguably the most anticipated matchup of the NCAA Tournament’s first round and finishes with three of the top four seeds seeing their first action. And just like Saturday, new matchups are the norm; none of these games are rematches from the regular season. Here’s a breakdown of what to watch:

Siena (12-5) at No. 2 Syracuse (12-2)

Maryland (9-6) at No. 7 Notre Dame (15-0) When: noon, ESPNU When Maryland has the ball: Fighting Irish senior goalie Scott Rodgers (6.25 GAA, 66 percent save percentage) has tremendously quick hands for someone his size (6-4, 265). Junior Sam Barnes has been the Irish’s shutdown defender and is likely to defend sophomore Ryan Young (19 goals, 16 assists). The other matchups are up in the air since sophomore Grant Catalino (22 goals, 21 assists) moved to midfield from attack last week. When Notre Dame has the ball: Senior Ryan Hoff (32 goals) is shooting 40 percent despite being face-guarded in almost every game. Senior attackman Duncan Swezey (22 goals, 20 assists) is the quarterback and most likely will draw sophomore Brett Schmidt, Maryland’s most athletic defenseman. Oddity: Maryland attackman Will Yeatman (26 points) transferred from Notre Dame over the winter.

Villanova (11-5) at No. 1 Virginia (13-2) When: 2:30, ESPNU When Villanova has the ball: Villanova’s experienced attack is led by seniors Chris MacDonald (23 assists) and Tim Driscoll

BILL DANIELEWSKI / WGD ACTION PHOTO

Johns Hopkins senior midfielder Brian Christopher scored the game-winning goal in OT against Brown. (27 goals), though freshmen C.J. Small and Kevin Cunningham combined for four goals and four assists in the CAA Final against Towson. When Virginia has the ball: Senior goalie Andrew DiLoreto enters as the hot goalie. He was MVP of the CAA Tournament, where he made 11 saves against Towson and Hofstra. But Virginia’s offense has been tough to stop when it works for good shots rather than settling for average ones. Oddity: The Wildcats have nine states represented on their roster, including California, Tennessee and Michigan. Virginia

has 11, including Illinois and Florida.

Massachusetts (9-5) at No. 4 Princeton (12-2) When: 5 p.m., ESPNU When Massachusetts has the ball: Senior righty Tim Balise (30 goals) and senior lefty Jimmy Connolly (35 goals) are most of the offense; no other player has more than 13 goals. When Princeton has the ball: UMass is led by senior D Diogo Godoi (27 groundballs) and senior goalie Doc Schneider (7.30 GAA, .658 save percentage). Godoi will defend sophomore attackman Jack McBride (34 goals).

When: 7:30 p.m., ESPNU When Siena has the ball: Georgetown-transfer Jordan Loftus (23 goals, 18 assists) and Bryan Neufeld (37 goals, 13 assists) lead a balanced offense that features five players with at least 59 shots and nine players with at least one extra-man goal. When Syracuse has the ball: Like Villanova, Siena is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time. And also like the Wildcats, the MVP of their conference tournament was a goalie. Junior Brent Herbst made 22 saves in the tournament. Herbst had better pay attention when sophomore attackman Stephen Keogh has the ball. He has 41 goals on 74 shots (55.4 percent). Oddity: Syracuse’s John Galloway is one of five goalies to have started for a national championship team as a freshman. None of the previous four goalies ever won another title.

No. 8 Johns Hopkins 12, Brown 11 (OT) Johns Hopkins senior midfielder Brian Christopher scored his third overtime game-winner in four games as the Blue Jays held off Brown in Baltimore. Thomas Muldoon chipped in four goals in a losing effort for the Bears. The Blue Jays have won four one-goal games this season.

No. 6 North Carolina 15, UMBC 13 Sophomore attackman Billy Bitter tied a school record with eight goals and senior Shane Walterhoefer won 22 of 31 faceoffs to lift the Tar Heels over visiting UMBC. North Carolina was down at halftime, but outscored the Retrievers 9-5 over the last two quarters.

No. 5 Cornell 11, Hofstra 8 The Big Red used a 5-1 run in the third quarter to pull away from Hofstra. Freshman attackman Rob Pannell had three goals and two assists to lead Cornell, while Hofstra freshman goalie Andrew Gvozden made 15 saves to keep the Pride close.

No. 3 Duke 14, Navy 5

Today’s lineup Maryland at No. 7 Notre Dame, noon ET, ESPNU Villanova at No. 1 Virginia, 2:30 p.m., ESPNU Massachusetts at No. 4 Princeton, 5:00 p.m., ESPNU Siena at No. 2 Syracuse, 7:30 p.m., ESPNU

Nine different players scored for the Blue Devils, who led 10-0 at halftime and never looked back. The Blue Devils have won eight in a row heading into the quarterfinals next weekend.

MORE COVERAGE For more coverage on the NCAA Tournament, go to: InsideLacrosse.com

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

College Football / College Basketball

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

32

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

INSIDE DISH

INSIDE DISH

Cougars DE airlifted to hospital after car accident

St. John’s slipping in Stephenson sweepstakes

Washington State DE Cory Mackay, who had just completed his freshman year, was injured in an auto accident while driving home to Redmond, Wash. Coach Paul Wulff said Mackay had completed his last final and was driving home Thursday when the accident occurred outside of Washtucna, Wash. He was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and is in stable condition. Mackay, a 6-4, 257-pounder, apparently fell asleep at the wheel, according to The Seattle Times. The newspaper reported that Mackay’s father had relayed information that his son had suffered a broken back but doesn’t appear to have spinal-cord damage. A state patrol supervisor told the newspaper that Mackay’s vehicle left the road at about 5:20 p.m., hit a ditch and went airborne, flipping and coming to rest on a county road. Mackay was the only person in the truck and wasn’t thrown from the vehicle, The Times reported, but wasn’t wearing a seat belt.

St. John’s has not dropped out of the pursuit of New York high school star Lance Stephenson, but the fact he hasn’t made up his mind to choose the Red Storm makes it unlikely he’ll end up with them. A 6-5 guard rated No. 8 nationally by Scout.com, Stephenson led Lincoln High to four consecutive city championships. He has been recruited by St. John’s pretty much throughout his career and had narrowed his college choices to Kansas, Maryland and the Red Storm. When Kansas dropped out after signing wing Xavier Henry and Stephenson began considering other options including Arizona and Memphis, it became obvious the Terps and Johnnies had a limited chance to land him. St. John’s is looking at other prospects to fill its last scholarship, including 6-7 SF Justin Brownlee of Chipola J.C. in Florida and possibly some available transfers. — Mike DeCourcy

QB Ryan Mallett, a transfer from Michigan who sat out last season under NCAA rules, tops the Arkansas depth chart heading into the summer. Arkansas released its postspring depth chart Friday. Coach Bobby Petrino said that, if Arkansas had a game now, Mallett and freshman Tyler Wilson would both play. Mallett would be the starter with Wilson coming in for the first series of the second

APRIL L. BROWN / AP

Following spring practice, QB Ryan Mallett appears to have the edge to be the Razorbacks’ starter. quarter. Mallett and Wilson were listed together atop the depth chart before spring practice. Friday’s depth chart confirms an edge for Mallett, but that could change in practice before the season opens next fall. “We’ll evaluate all throughout the summer,” Petrino said. “They’ve got to make sure they’re doing things right.” Wilson played sparingly as a freshman for the Razorbacks last year. Mallett transferred from Michigan after coach Lloyd Carr

retired and Rich Rodriguez was hired to replace him. The trial of Oklahoma State WR Bo Bowling, who faces felony and misdemeanor drug charges, has been pushed back, according to The Oklahoman. A request from his attorney was granted, so he will be back in court July 10 to have a trial date set—and that date may not be until September, reducing the chances that he could return to the team. Bowling has maintained that he is not guilty.

Coach John Calipari bragged often about how three of his Memphis Tigers would graduate in four years. He’s now at Kentucky, but Antonio Anderson, Robert Dozier and Chance McGrady have upheld their end of that deal. The three members of winningest four-year class in NCAA Division I history picked up their degrees Saturday at the University of Memphis. The trio went 137-14 in four years. Anderson and Dozier tied each other by playing in 17

into his decision to play for the Razorbacks.

Doug McDermott, the son of Iowa State coach Greg McDermott, was offered a scholarship at Northern Iowa, The Des Moines Register reported. Doug is a junior at Ames High School and was second-team Class 4-A all-state. Greg McDermott is a Northern Iowa graduate, playing there from 1984-88 and scoring 1,033 career points. He later coached there for five seasons. HENNY RAY ABRAMS / AP

It looks less likely that New York prep star Lance Stephenson will stay close to home. NCAA Tournament games and helped Memphis reach the national title game in 2008. Another starter in Shawn Taggart also is graduating. He has a year of eligibility left but is checking his NBA draft status. Former Iowa PG Jeff Peterson Is transferring to Arkansas, according to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Peterson, who says he was frustrated at times during his twoyear stint at Iowa, will sit out next season per NCAA rules. He has two seasons of eligibility left. Peterson was third on the team in scoring with 10.6 points a game last season and he led the Hawkeyes with 106 assists. Arkansas’s campus is about two hours from his hometown of Springfield, Mo., but Peterson said location didn’t factor

Troy University’s board of trustees approved the construction of a new arena that would be home to the men’s and women’s basketball teams, The Associated Press reported. Trustees gave the go-ahead to issue up to $57 million in bonds for the arena, a new dining hall and fraternity village. The arena will seat 5,0006,000 spectators for basketball games and be used for commencement ceremonies and other events. Troy’s 4,000-seat Trojan Arena was renovated before the 1998-99 season, including the addition of 1,000 seats. Alabama F Yamene Coleman won’t return for a fifth season with the team after graduating. Coleman received his degree in criminal justice on Saturday. He averaged nearly four points and four rebounds last season and has played in 81 total games since redshirting.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Golf

www.sportingnews.com

Cejka avoids trouble, remains confident PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLA.—Alex Cejka could see chaos all around him at The Players Championship, or at least hear it through the groans of a scorching Saturday at the TPC Sawgrass that delivered so many meltdowns. He was among the few to survive, taking on the flag with an 8-iron on the final hole that set up a 5-foot birdie for an even-par 72 and a five-shot lead, the largest after three rounds in the 36 years of this prestigious event. Time to exhale? Not quite. In a tournament full of surprises, the biggest of all might be his date in the final round today: Tiger Woods. Woods didn’t look like a player who should be in contention, not after having to play one shot left-handed from the base of a pine, missing one shot by 40 feet with a wedge in his hand and looking increasing frustrated at birdie chances that slipped away. But back-to-back birdies, followed by a huge break on the 18th hole, changed his fortunes. His 2-under 70 turned out to be good enough to move up 20 spots into a six-way tie for second, in the final pairing today with a 38-year-old who has never held a finalround lead on U.S. soil. “It’s going to be tough,” Cejka said. “He’s the best player. It’s going to be a good challenge for me. I know I have a lead, but it’s against not only Tiger but against the rest of the field. I’ve got to play well tomorrow to win here.” Cejka was at 11-under 205 and doesn’t seem to be all that intimidated. He recalled beating Woods the last time they were paired in the final round of a big event—that was the 1996 British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, when Woods was a 20-year-old amateur. Cejka shot 67 to finish 11th; Woods had a 70. And the Czech-born German is going with a familiar Sunday attire—red shirt and black pants—a tradition for Woods in the final round. “Hopefully, it works for me, too,” Cejka said. “It’s nice to watch the best player in the world, but I’ve got to focus again on my game tomorrow and let him work a little bit.” In Woods’ only victory this year since returning from knee surgery, he matched his PGA Tour best with a fiveshot comeback against Sean O’Hair in the final pairing at Bay Hill. Even so, Woods was not alone in his pursuit. Henrik Stenson was two shots behind until he bogeyed three of the last five holes, nearly chipping into the water on the 16th. He wound up with a 73, and was in the sixway tie for second that included Woods, two-time U.S.

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

Leaderboard Saturday At TPC Sawgrass, Players Stadium Course Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Purse: $9.5 million Yardage: 7,215; Par: 72

WILFREDO LEE / AP

Tiger Woods leads six golfers at 6-under-par going into today.

The Players Championship Site: Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. 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, 2-7 p.m.

Open champion Retief Goosen (71), Jonathan Byrd (71), Ben Crane (72) and Ian Poulter, who didn’t make a single birdie on his way to a 75. Woods got into the final group because he was the first to finish among the group at 6-under 210, and what a finish it was. He had been struggling all day in temperatures that climbed into the 90s. He had to hit one shot left-handed

Third Round Alex Cejka Tiger Woods Retief Goosen Jonathan Byrd Ben Crane Henrik Stenson Ian Poulter Brian Davis John Mallinger Kevin Na Woody Austin Kenny Perry Ben Curtis Daniel Chopra Kevin Sutherland Richard S. Johnson Billy Mayfair Martin Kaymer Zach Johnson Jim Furyk Steve Stricker John Senden Justin Rose Boo Weekley Michael Letzig Tim Petrovic Jeff Overton Tommy Armour III John Rollins Jeff Klauk Johnson Wagner Bubba Watson Scott Verplank Justin Leonard Ryan Moore Camilo Villegas Robert Allenby David Toms

66-67-72—205 -11 71-69-70—210 -6 67-72-71—210 -6 67-72-71—210 -6 65-73-72—210 -6 68-69-73—210 -6 67-68-75—210 -6 71-69-71—211 -5 66-71-74—211 -5 71-66-74—211 -5 72-72-68—212 -4 73-71-68—212 -4 71-72-69—212 -4 75-65-72—212 -4 73-67-72—212 -4 66-72-74—212 -4 70-74-69—213 -3 71-73-69—213 -3 72-71-70—213 -3 68-74-71—213 -3 71-71-71—213 -3 72-69-72—213 -3 70-71-72—213 -3 73-67-73—213 -3 71-68-74—213 -3 68-70-75—213 -3 71-67-75—213 -3 74-70-70—214 -2 68-76-70—214 -2 71-72-71—214 -2 69-73-72—214 -2 67-75-72—214 -2 67-74-73—214 -2 70-69-75—214 -2 71-68-75—214 -2 67-72-75—214 -2 73-66-75—214 -2 67-70-77—214 -2

Jason Dufner Angel Cabrera Luke Donald Heath Slocum Phil Mickelson Fredrik Jacobson Ernie Els Geoff Ogilvy Michael Allen Tim Clark Charley Hoffman Paul Casey John Merrick Nick O’Hern Stephen Ames Mark Wilson Sergio Garcia Mike Weir Matt Kuchar Cameron Beckman Vijay Singh Jason Bohn Brad Adamonis Scott Piercy Chez Reavie Ryuji Imada Steve Flesch Rocco Mediate Pat Perez Padraig Harrington Jeff Quinney Jeev M. Singh Aaron Baddeley

67-70-77—214 -2 72-65-77—214 -2 74-70-71—215 -1 75-69-71—215 -1 73-71-71—215 -1 70-73-72—215 -1 73-69-73—215 -1 70-72-73—215 -1 71-70-74—215 -1 72-69-74—215 -1 70-69-76—215 -1 70-69-76—215 -1 70-72-74—216 E 68-73-75—216 E 70-71-75—216 E 69-72-75—216 E 71-73-73—217 +1 72-72-73—217 +1 72-72-73—217 +1 72-72-73—217 +1 71-72-74—217 +1 72-71-74—217 +1 67-76-74—217 +1 71-72-74—217 +1 70-72-75—217 +1 72-70-75—217 +1 75-69-74—218 +2 73-71-74—218 +2 72-72-74—218 +2 72-72-74—218 +2 73-70-75—218 +2 68-74-76—218 +2 71-71-76—218 +2

Failed to make final round Robert Karlsson 74-70-75—219 +3 Hunter Mahan 73-71-75—219 +3 Martin Laird 71-72-76—219 +3 Nathan Green 74-69-76—219 +3 K.J. Choi 73-69-77—219 +3 Stewart Cink 70-73-77—220 +4 Bob Estes 75-68-77—220 +4 Graeme McDowell 71-73-77—221 +5 Fred Funk 73-71-78—222 +6 Steve Marino 72-72-78—222 +6 Dustin Johnson 72-72-78—222 +6 Rod Pampling 70-73-79—222 +6

from the base of a pine, missed his target by 40 feet with a wedge, and looked increasingly frustrated as he missed birdie chances. Back-to-back birdies got him in range, and a huge break that followed on the 18th kept him there. He was in the trees again, a few feet from the divot he left the day before when he made a tremendous escape. This time, a 6-iron came out hot and more left than he wanted, racing through the green and tumbling down a bank toward the pond. But a tuft of Bermuda grass grabbed the ball a foot from the water, and Woods managed to save par. He had no idea where it would lead him. “You figured some of the guys would shoot 3- or 4-under-par today, but it’s just not happening out there,” Woods said. — The Associated Press

33

NOTEBOOK

Na has third round he would rather forget Kevin Na trudged up the 18th fairway, stopped a few yards short of the green and started searching for his ball. It was buried deep in the rough. He probably wished he could have left his entire round there. Na had the wildest round during a strange Saturday at The Players Championship. The 25-year-old Na twice pulled within a stroke of leader Alex Cejka, but followed both of them with near-meltdowns on the unforgiving Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. He shot a 2-over 74, was at 5 under heading into the final round and six strokes behind Cejka. It could have been worse, too. “This golf course can do that to you,” said Na, who turned pro at 17 and is still looking for his first PGA Tour victory. “Every hole is birdieable, but definitely you can make an X on it.”

Another cut For the first time in the tournament’s 36-year history, The Players Championship had a second cut. Twelve more players were cut after the third round Saturday, all of them sent home because of a tour rule that calls for another cut if more than 78 players make it to the weekend. Robert Karlsson, Hunter Mahan, Stewart Cink and Fred Funk were among the dozen players done a day earlier than they had hoped.

Island paradise? The 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass, the famed island green that has given players nightmares over the years, has proven to be a much more pleasant place to visit this year. The lagoon hole, the one with swirling winds and daunting galleries, is playing under par for the first time since 1997. The hole’s scoring average is 2.940 through three rounds, with only 24 balls hit into the murky waters. Only four balls landed in the water Saturday, the fewest in any round since only four also got wet in the third round in 2004. — The Associated Press

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Back Page

www.sportingnews.com

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2009

34

IN BRIEF

Castroneves wins third Indy pole INDIANAPOLIS—Less than a month after being acquitted of charges of tax evasion, Helio Castroneves was right where he wanted to be, back in the cockpit and on the pole for the Indianapolis 500. Castroneves’s four-lap average of 224.864 mph on the historic 2.5-mile oval came with less than two hours remaining in the six-hour opening round of time trials for the May 24 race. Castroneves’ Penske Racing teammate, Ryan Briscoe, was second at 224.083 mph. Dario Franchitti, the 2007 Indy winner, posted a speed of 224.010 that wound up being good enough for third on the grid. Rahal, the son of 1986 Indy winner Bobby Rahal, wound up fourth at 223.954.

the third-round lead as Lorena Ochoa faltered Saturday in the Michelob Ultra Open. The top-ranked Ochoa shot 74 with only two birdies, both of which were canceled out by a double-bogey at the par-4 14th. She started the day leading by three and now is five behind. In-Kyung Kim, one back after a 67, will play with Song-Hee Kim, who is two back after a 68, with Wendy Ward (67) and Natalie Gulbis (68) in the third-to-last group. Ochoa, who is tied with Ward and Gulbis, is in the fourth pairing with Shiho Oyama, who is seven back.

Boxing LAS VEGAS—Chad Dawson successfully defended his IBF and IBO light heavyweight titles Saturday night, unanimously outpointing Antonio Tarver in a rematch of their October fight. The undefeated Dawson, who looked lackadaisical at times in fighting off several impressive combinations from the 40-year-old Tarver, had winning scores of 116-112, 117-111 and 117-111 from the three judges.

Volleyball PROVO, UTAH—Jordan DuFault had 14 kills, including the final one in the fifth set and UC Irvine won its second NCAA volleyball title in three years, beating Southern California 3-2 Saturday. The Anteaters rallied from a 2-1 deficit to reclaim the national title they won two years ago with the five-set win over the Trojans.

Cycling VENICE, ITALY—Lance Armstrong was satisfied with the start of his first major race since winning his seventh consecutive Tour de France in 2005. Armstrong’s Astana squad finished third in the team time trial Saturday to start the Giro d’Italia—cycling’s most important race after the Tour. Only two American-owned teams— Columbia-High Road and Garmin-Slipstream—were faster. “Those guys are specialists,” Armstrong said. “All in all, we have to be very pleased.” British sprinter Mark Cavendish crossed the line first for Columbia and took the leader’s pink jersey in the race that ends May 31 in Rome. Columbia covered the 12.7-mile route along

MARCO TROVATI / AP

Lance Armstrong is in 15th place at the Giro d’Italia in Venice. the Lido beach front in 21 minutes, 50 seconds. Garmin was six seconds back and Astana was 13 seconds behind. “I felt all right for an old man,” said Armstrong, who is 37 and recovering from a broken collarbone. “Yeah, I think we’re pleased with that, considering the amount of preparation we put into it, which was minimal but as much as we could.” Armstrong, riding in his first Giro, crossed the line first for Astana and is 15th in the overall standings.

Golf WILLIAMSBURG, VA.—Lindsey Wright shot a 7-under 64 and Cristie Kerr had a 66 to share

Tennis ROME—Top-ranked Dinara Safina won her first title of the year Saturday by defeating fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the Italian Open. Safina avenged a loss to Kuznetsova in the final of the Porsche Grand Prix last weekend in Stuttgart, Germany. She also lost two other finals this year, including the Australian Open. OEIRAS, PORTUGAL—Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium won her first WTA Tour title by defeating Ekaterina Makarova 7-5, 6-2 Saturday in the final of the Estoril Open. In the men’s semifinals, seventh-seeded Albert Montanes defeated unseeded Paul Capdeville 6-3, 6-4 in a match interrupted by rain. The match between James Blake and second-

TRANSACTIONS seeded Nikolay Davydenko was suspended because of darkness. Davydenko won the first set 7-6 (3) but trailed 4-2 in the second. The match will be resumed today, with the winner to face Montanes later in the day. MUNICH—Mikhail Youzhny rallied past big-serving, wild-card Daniel Brands 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 Saturday to reach the final of the BMW Open. Youzhny will play fourth-seeded Tomas Berdych, who beat Jeremy Chardy 6-1, 5-7, 6-2. BELGRADE, SERBIA—Lukasz Kubot became the first Pole to reach an ATP Tour in 26 years, downing second-seeded Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (0), 6-2 at the Serbia Open on Saturday to gain a matchup against Novak Djokovic in the final. Djokovic, the tournament host, defeated fourth-seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 to reach his fourth straight final. — The Associated Press

Major League Soccer EASTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts GF GA D.C. 3 1 5 14 15 13 Toronto FC 3 2 4 13 13 13 Chicago 2 0 6 12 14 11 Kansas City 3 4 2 11 12 12 New England 2 2 3 9 6 12 New York 2 5 2 8 9 11 Columbus 1 2 5 8 11 14 WESTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts GF GA Chivas USA 7 1 1 22 12 3 Seattle 4 2 1 13 10 4 Colorado 3 2 2 11 10 8 Houston 3 2 2 11 7 5 Real Salt Lake 3 4 1 10 14 11 Los Angeles 1 1 5 8 9 9 San Jose 1 5 2 5 8 16 FC Dallas 1 6 1 4 7 15 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. All Times ET May 6 Today’s game Kansas City 1, D.C. United 1, tie Los Angeles at Seattle, 3 p.m. Real Salt Lake 2, Los Angeles 2, tie Saturday, May 16 May 8 Chicago at Toronto FC, 4 p.m. New York 4, San Jose 1 Colorado at New England, 7:30 Saturday’s games p.m. Columbus 3, Kansas City 2 Houston at New York, 7:30 p.m. D.C. United 3, Toronto FC 3, tie Seattle FC at Seattle FC, 8:30 p.m. Chicago 1, New England 1, tie Kansas City at Real Salt Lake, 9 p.m. Houston 1, FC Dallas 0 D.C. United at Chivas USA, 9 p.m. Chivas USA 1, Real Salt Lake 0 Sunday, May 17 Columbus at Los Angeles, 3 p.m.

BASEBALL MLB: Suspended N.Y. Mets manager Jerry Manuel for one game and fined him an undisclosed amount for making contact with an umpire in a May 7 game. American League NEW YORK YANKEES: Purchased the contract of RHP Brett Tomko from Scranton-Wilkes Barre (IL). Optioned RHP Dave Robertson to ScrantonWilkes Barre. Designated RHP Eric Hacker for assignmen OAKLAND ATHLETICS: Purchased the contract of INF Adam Kennedy from Sacramento (PCL). Recalled RHP Jeff Gray from Sacramento. Optioned INF Gregorio Petit to Sacramento. Designated OF Ben Copeland for assignment. Sent INF Joe Dillon to Tampa to complete trade for Kennedy. SEATTLE MARINERS: Placed RHP Carlos Silva on the 15-day DL. Activated RHP Brandon Morrow from the 15-day DL. TEXAS RANGERS: Recalled INF Joaquin Arias from Oklahoma City (PCL). Optioned OF Greg Golson to Oklahoma City. National League ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: Placed RHP Yusmeiro Petit on the 15-day DL. Recalled RHP Bobby Korecky from Reno (PCL). CHICAGO CUBS: Placed INF Aramis Ramirez on the 15-day DL. BASKETBALL National Basketball Association PHOENIX SUNS: Promoted interim coach Alvin Gentry to coach. FOOTBALL National Football League NEW YORK GIANTS: Signed DE Maurice Evans, DL Alex Fields, DT Dwayne Hendricks, LB Kenny Ingram, CB Bruce Johnson, S Sha’reff Rashad and CB Vince Anderson. HOCKEY National Hockey League PITTSBURGH PENGUINS: Recalled D Alex Goligoski from Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton (AHL). COLLEGE GEORGIA: Suspended TE Bruce Figgins for six games and DE Justin Houston two games for violating team rules.