Sportingnews - 20090512

QUICK LINKS:

MLB > 15

NFL > 31

NBA > 11

NHL > 6

NASCAR > 34

COLLEGE FOOTBALL > 28

COLLEGE BASKETBALL > 30

Vikes like Favre Minnesota president confirms interest as QB works with preps Page 31

TENNIS > 37

AL & NL

LACROSSE > 35

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

TEAM STATS PAGES 20-27

JOHN BAZEMORE / AP

Matt Ryan

ASK THE QB Got something you’d like to ask the Falcons’ Matt Ryan or the Jaguars’ David Garrard? E-mail your questions, along with your name and hometown, to yourturn@ sportingGarrard news.com. We’ll pick our five favorites for each and bounce them off the quarterbacks this week.

Scoreboard NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Cleveland 84, Atlanta 74 (Cleveland wins series 4-0) Western Conference Dallas 119, Denver 117 (Denver leads series 3-1)

NHL Playoffs Eastern Conference Washington 5, Pittsburgh 4, OT (Series tied 3-3) Western Conference Chicago 7, Vancouver 5 (Chicago wins series 4-2)

Baseball American League Cleveland 9, Chicago White Sox 4 National League Atlanta 8, N.Y. Mets 3 Cincinnati 13, Arizona 5 San Francisco 11, Washington 7

TUESDAY MAY 12, 2009

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME VOLUME 1 ISSUE 294 ALAN DIAZ / AP

Purdue has produced NFL QBs, and Robert Marve likes the Boilermakers.

Process of elimination NBA PLAYOFFS

Cavs, Blackhawks advance; Washington forces Game 7

Greg Paulus’ jump back to football has made him the most popular quarterback transfer this offseason. But Robert Marve, who started last year for Miami, might be the most important. The likely landing spots for Marve, who’ll be eligible to play in 2010:

NHL PLAYOFFS

BY SEAN DEVENEY [email protected]

BY CRAIG CUSTANCE [email protected]

Already, we’ve got a team with a ticket into the NBA’s conference finals. The Cavaliers were first into the league’s Final Four Monday night, nudging Atlanta, 84-74— which counts as close for a team that has swept two playoff matchups by an average of 16.8 points. The win kept alive Cleveland’s perfect playoff record, and also kept alive its record-setting string of postseason games won by double digits (also eight). LeBron James had his worst game of this postseason, which isn’t saying much, because he still finished with 27 points, eight assists and eight rebounds. James is now averaging 32.9 points with 9.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists. Impressed? Uh, no. “Why should we celebrate?” James wondered. “We’re a team that’s playing for a championship.” The Cavaliers will face the winner of Boston-Orlando, which is

The youngest team in the playoffs did something the reigning Eastern Conference champions could not. Eliminate a team on home ice. With their 7-5 win over the Vancouver Canucks Monday night, the Chicago Blackhawks advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 1995. The Penguins, however, couldn’t finish the Capitals in Pittsburgh. David Steckel’s overtime goal gave Washington a 5-4 win in Game 6. Alex Ovechkin vs. Sidney Crosby is now on to Game 7 Wednesday. Perfect. “I just wish it was for the Cup,” said Washington coach Bruce Boudreau. Added Crosby: “It’s been everything it’s made out to be. … We would have loved to finish it off tonight, no doubt.” Young Chicago star Patrick Kane had a hat trick in leading the Blackhawks to a series upset of the

JOHN AMIS / AP

LeBron James and the Cavs have their sights set on loftier goals than a sweep of Atlanta. shaping to be a long series. James shrugged that off, too. “An advance is an advance,” James said. “No matter if you win in four games or you win in game seven.” Try telling that to the other six teams locked in playoff battles. Mavericks survive Game 4, Page 11

QB Marve plots his next move

NAM Y HUH / AP

Chicago is the playoffs’ youngest team, but that didn’t stop them from taking Game 6. Canucks. “I think we’re progressing in a real good way here,” said Chicago coach Joel Quenneville. “This team can achieve a lot.” Chicago’s dream continues, Page 7

Purdue. Marve loved the place coming out of high school, but cold weather and distance from his Tampa home hurt the Boilermakers. He could follow the Drew Brees-Kyle Orton path to the NFL in Purdue’s spread offense. Odds: 3-2. Nebraska. A training camp duel next summer with Cody Green, an early enrollee this winter, would mirror Marve’s competition with Jacory Harris at Miami. Odds: 10-1. Arizona State. This option went from probable to doubtful after former Michigan quarterback Steven Threet enrolled. Odds: 15-1. South Florida. By staying home, Marve could inherit the Bulls’ offense from Matt Grothe. But a coordinator change leaves some uncertainty in the program. Odds: 15-1. — Dave Curtis Paulus fits with ’Cuse, Page 28

See a Different Game

www.sportingnews.com

Tune In Today

A quick look at the best sports on TV — all times Eastern

NBA

Rockets at Lakers 10:30 p.m., TNT Houston played with boundless energy in Game 4, more than making up for the loss of Yao Ming. But can they sustain that level of play now that they’re headed back to enemy territory at Staples Center? They’ve proven they can win in L.A. by winning Game 1, but that was with Yao in the lineup. Yao replacement Chuck Hayes needs to do a better job of defending Pau Gasol than he did in Game 4, when Gasol scored 30 points in a losing effort.

NHL

Red Wings at Ducks 10 p.m., Versus The momentum of this series has swung to Detroit, with the Red Wings winning the last two games of this series by three-goal margins. Battling flu-like symptoms, Ryan Getzlaf didn’t do much in Game 5, and Anaheim desperately needs him playing well to force this to a Game 7. But here’s what continues to make Detroit difficult to stop. They had four players score their four Game 5 goals, and come from all angles at all times.

GENERAL

Interview with Roger Clemens 8:25 a.m., ESPN2 We haven’t heard from seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens since he spoke with 60 Minutes’ Mike Wallace in January of 2008 and also had a press conference then, but we’ll hear from him on the Mike and Mike in the Morning radio show simulcast on the Deuce. Surely if hosts Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic have any backbone, they’ll love to get Clemens’ take on Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez, two players who have either admitted to or tested positive for using banned substances. Who knows what else they’ll get out of him.

— Compiled by Roger Kuznia

GUIDE NBA BASKETBALL 8 p.m. TNT — Playoffs, conference semifinals, game 5, Orlando at Boston 10:30 p.m. TNT — Playoffs, conference semifinals, game 5, Houston at L.A. Lakers

NHL HOCKEY 7 p.m. VERSUS — Playoffs, conference semifinals, game 6, Boston at Carolina 10 p.m. VERSUS — Playoffs, conference semifinals, game 6, Detroit at Anaheim

OFF THE FIELD

Clemens on radio as damaging book hits Roger Clemens was scheduled for an ESPN Radio interview today, the publication date of an unflattering book about the seven-time Cy Young Award winner. American Icon: The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids in America’s Pastime by four New York Daily News reporters covers the pitcher’s alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs, charges he has repeatedly denied. “He was asked to do it,” Clemens’ lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said Monday about the interview. “That would be my guess as to what the impetus for it is, but I’m not sure. There’s nothing new about the case that would spark it.”

©2009 Speed Channel, Inc. All Rights Reserved. NASCAR is a registered trademark of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Quick hits NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s recent visit to UnderAmour headquarters in Maryland could be a precursor to the company’s making a pitch for the NFL’s exclusive licensing deal, currently held by competitor Reebok but set to expire after the 2011 season, the Baltimore Business Journal’s Ryan Sharrow reported. Businessman and former NBA star Dave Bing is now the mayor of Detroit, and the third person to hold the job in eight months. The former Detroit Pistons great took the oath of office Monday afternoon. When space shuttle Atlantis lifted off Monday on a repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, it had more than the seven crew members on board. It also had one of the Harlem Globetrotters’ vintage red, white and blue basketball balls. When the shuttle returns, the ball will be sent to the hall of fame in Springfield, Mass. — SportsBusinessDaily, sportsbusinessdaily.com

Watch the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race for your chance to win $25,000! Go to SPEEDtv.com for details.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

My Profile

www.sportingnews.com

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

Frank Malzone

THE WORLD’S FIRST DIGITAL DAILY SPORTS NEWSPAPER

Six-time All-Star, member of the Red Sox Hall of Fame

CHAIRMAN & CEO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ray Shaw PRESIDENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Whitney Shaw PUBLISHER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ed Baker EDITOR-IN-CHIEF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jeff D’Alessio MANAGING EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Paul Kasko CREATIVE DIRECTOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Keith Wood VP, GENERAL MANAGER, ONLINE . . . . . Jeff Gerttula VP, INTEGRATED MARKETING & SALES .Stuart Marvin DIRECTOR, DIGITAL MEDIA. . . . . . . . . . . . Geoff Shaw VP, MARKETING & SALES DEVELOPMENT . .Eric Karp

(What you won’t find on Facebook … even if you are approved as a friend) Born: Feb. 28, 1930, in Bronx, N.Y. Status: Married and widow of three years Alma mater: Samuel Gompers High (Bronx) These days: I’m a consultant for the Boston Red Sox. What’s on TV: All Law & Order shows—SVU, Criminal Intent; NCSI; CSI Miami; Criminal Minds; Two and a Half Men; Eleventh Hour What’s in my iPod: Country Western—Martina McBride, Carrie Underwood, Reba McIntyre, Toby Keith, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson; a lot of oldtime singers—Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Perry Como What I drive: 2000 silver Mercury Grand Marquis, fully equipped. Plan on keeping it till it falls apart. Favorite flicks: Gunga Din; Rocky series—all 5 of them; Executive Decision; The Pride of the Yankees What I’m reading: Not a reader of novels; mostly sports stories of great men Bookmarks: Not a computer guy; my sons keep me posted with their computers Superstition: Only one as a player—never step on the line coming back to the bench Worst habit: Chewing tobacco or using dip (Copenhagen) First job: Graduated from Samuel Gompers High School and went straight into pro baseball for the Boston Red Sox team in Milford, Del., in the Eastern League, which was Class D. Was paid $150 a month. This was the start of becoming a big league third baseman for the Red Sox. I was 18 years old. Played 7 years in the minor leagues, spent 2 years in the Army. Was 27 years of age my first year in the big leagues and

3

managed to be in the majors for 11 years. Talent I’d most like to have: Playing golf the right way—by keeping the ball in play Favorite meal: Spare ribs and pork chops

Favorite athletes to watch in another sport: Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer Favorite city to visit: Chicago Favorite teams as a kid: N.Y. Giants and Yankees, Boston Bruins and Celtics Favorite values in others: Being there for you when needed, honesty My greatest love: My wife of 54 years, Amy. She passed away in 2005. She was the backbone of my family, which was 4 boys and 1 girl. Without her, I would not have been a major leaguer. My heroes: My parents—Frank and Pauline Malzone—and, of course, my wife Amy My motto: Live your life to the fullest. And remember: Family comes first. — Jeff D’Alessio

EDITORIAL OFFICES

120 West Morehead Street, Suite 200 Charlotte, NC 28202 704-973-1550 1-800-443-1886 Letters to the editor: [email protected] General feedback: [email protected] National Digital Sales Managers Joey Glowacki, 704-973-1856 [email protected] Gary Strauss, 212-500-0672 [email protected]

ON NEWSSTANDS NOW

PHIL SANDLIN / AP

What does spring football mean for fall? SN Magazine looks in on 74 of the nation’s biggest college programs to get the answers.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

Next Gen

RECRUITING DISH

SINCE YOU ASKED ...

Florida commitment always knew he wanted to be a Gator Jaylen Watkins is looking forward to his future by revisiting the past. Watkins, who committed to the Florida Gators in April, said lately he has been watching replays of some of college football’s greatest games on cable—and already getting excited about the 2010 season. “It’s all so exciting,” Watkins told Sporting News Today. “They might play just one of those rerun games, and I’m going to be in that position in a year or two. I might be on one of those reruns one day. “I never paid this much attention to it, at least not as much as I have been this year. I watch them all.” Watkins, a 6-1, 170-pound athlete from Cape Coral, Fla., could play cornerback or receiver for the Gators. He committed just before attending Florida’s spring game. “It was great; I was with all of the other commits, and we all went into the weight room and sort of bonded with each other,” Watkins told SN Today. “I kind of thought about waiting a lot longer to commit, but then again I was just so happy with Florida. I always wanted to go to Florida—even when I was a freshman and sophomore.” Watkins, a Sporting News Top 100 prospect, also received scholarship offers from Florida State, Miami, Michigan, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Tennessee, Alabama, Ole Miss and many others. Why were all those big-time schools interested in him? “I’m just one of those players who will play any side of the ball; I’m always upbeat and going to be

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers. Write us at: [email protected]

TO: Sporting News Today FROM: Rob Gardner, North Las Vegas, Nev. Q: As an Illinois alum, I was disappointed in my team’s showing last fall. Since we have (quarterback) Juice Williams and (wide receiver) Arrelious Benn back this season, will my Illini challenge for the Big Ten crown?

Juice Williams

4

If you deliver it daily, they will come.

Arrelious Benn

RESPONSES Glen Mason Former Minnesota coach Big Ten Network analyst COURTESY OF JAYLEN WATKINS

Jaylen Watkins, out of Cape Coral, Fla., will play receiver or corner at the University of Florida. giving 100 percent, and I’ll compete at any position,” Watkins said. “I think I’ll probably play cornerback in college, but I’ve heard talk that I might go to offense. I could play receiver and be on special teams— I’ve even played quarterback in high school.” Ocean Lakes (Virginia Beach, Va.) WR Justin Hunter has committed to LSU, Rivals.com reported. He had numerous scholarship offers, including from Alabama, Florida, Ohio State and Tennessee. Hunter (6-4, 170) caught 34 passes for 545 yards and 13 touchdowns as a junior. Rivals.com lists him as a four-star prospect. “I’ve been thinking about it and everything and it’s the right school for me,” Hunter told Rivals.com. “My parents and I talked about the

organization and the academic center, the school itself and everything like that. “I liked how they had all of your homework online, and I just liked everything I saw.” Garland (Texas) dual-threat QB Jared Barnett has committed to Iowa State, Rivals.com reported. He also reported scholarship offers from Kansas State and Houston. Barnett (6-1, 190) threw for 1,376 yards and 14 touchdowns and rushed for 420 yards and three touchdowns—in just seven games— as a junior. “I have been wanting to commit for a while. ... I thought about it some more and decided I was sure so I called,” Barnett told Rivals. com. — Brian McLaughlin

Rob, Illinois has the most talent on offense of any team in the Big Ten. All should be disappointed in the performance of the Illini last year coming off a Rose Bowl season. To contend for a Big Ten title and trip to the Rose Bowl, Illinois would have to get off to a great start, which is not going to happen, in my opinion. They open in St. Louis vs. Missouri and then, after playing Illinois State, will have to face Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State in consecutive weeks. Tough duty and a crazy schedule—they finish the season with two nonconference games, at Cincinnati and home vs. Fresno State. Gerry DiNardo Former Indiana coach Big Ten Network analyst

FREEup! Sign Today!

The country’s first and only daily digital sports newspaper.

Rob, The short answer is yes. After visiting all 11 Big Ten spring practices, I believe Illinois goes into the 2009 season as one of the three most talented teams in the conference and the most talented offensive team in the league. I believe if Illinois gets back to the spread option attack that they used in 2007 and makes significant improvement on defense—preventing those runs and passes over 15 yards—they will challenge for the crown.

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.

WRITE US Got a question you’d like answered? E-mail it to editorin-chief Jeff D’Alessio at [email protected], along with your name and hometown.

Experience America’s hottest new product. Sign up at sportingnewstoday.com. It’s free.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

Overnight Report

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Johnson two wins from 300 SAN FRANCISCO—While Randy Johnson closes in on a major pitching milestone, he’s a bit worried about challenging another San Francisco great’s achievements along the way. “I’m on pace to catch Barry (Bonds) in home runs—giving them up, that is,” the 45-year-old lefthander said with a weary sigh. Although Johnson yielded three more homers and couldn’t stop Ryan Zimmerman’s 29-game hitting streak, the San Francisco Giants ensured his 298th career victory Monday night with their own offensive barrage in an 11-7 win over the Washington Nationals. Randy Winn had three hits and scored three runs, while Travis Ishikawa also had three hits and drove in two runs as the Giants produced their biggest run total of the season in their 14th victory in 20 games. The 6-foot-10 Johnson (3-3) gave up eight hits and four runs while outdueling 6-foot-9 Daniel Cabrera in the tallest pitching matchup in baseball history. Johnson threw five strong innings before fading in the sixth after a long, chilly stroll around the basepaths while the Giants drew five consecutive walks and scored five unearned runs in their eighth straight victory over Washington. “It was an all-or-nothing kind of night,” said Johnson, whose 10 homers allowed lead the majors. “You’re going to make mistakes, but it just seems like they’re magnified now. I don’t get away with as many things as I used to. ... It was a lot of fun to watch our offense, though. I hope it carries over into (Tuesday).” His 300th victory now is clearly in sight—and if Johnson can beat the Mets

Giants 11, Nationals 7 Washington AB R H C.Guzman ss 5 0 2 N.Johnson 1b 5 0 1 Zimmerman 3b 5 2 4 Dunn rf 4 1 2 Dukes cf 5 0 2 Willingham lf 5 1 1 Belliard 2b 3 1 1 Villone p 0 0 0 a-Kearns ph 1 0 0 Hanrahan p 0 0 0 Nieves c 4 1 1 D.Cabrera p 2 0 0 Kensing p 0 0 0 W.Harris 2b 2 1 1 Totals 41 7 15

BI 0 0 4 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7

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

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

San Francisco AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Burriss 2b 5 0 0 1 1 0 .274 Renteria ss 4 0 0 1 1 1 .250 Sandoval 3b 4 2 2 1 1 1 .289 B.Molina c 5 0 1 0 0 0 .287 Winn rf 4 3 3 1 0 0 .261 Rowand cf 3 2 2 1 2 1 .240 F.Lewis lf 5 2 1 0 0 0 .286 Ishikawa 1b 4 1 3 2 1 1 .219 Ra.Johnson p 2 1 1 0 1 0 .083 J.Miller p 1 0 0 0 0 1 .000 Matos p 1 0 1 1 0 0 1.000 Medders p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --B.Wilson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 38 11 14 8 7 5 BEN MARGOT / AP

Washington’s Ryan Zimmerman didn’t take long to extend his hitting streak to 29 games, getting a single in the first inning. and Johan Santana on Saturday, he would have the chance to hit the milestone in Seattle, where he spent parts of 10 seasons. “I’ve never been a part of anything like it,” said Ishikawa, a Seattle native who was 5 when the Mariners traded for Johnson in 1989. “It’s gratifying because I grew up watching him compete against the best guys. I would watch him every chance I got. If the game wasn’t on TV, I’d listen on the radio.” Johnson’s three victories in his first season with San Francisco all have been at the Giants’ waterfront ballpark, where a record-low 23,934 fans attended the frigid series opener. Zimmerman went 4-for-5 with two homers for the Nationals, including a solo shot in the sixth off Johnson and a three-run shot in the ninth. — The Associated Press

Washington 010 102 003 — 7 15 1 San Francisco 021 052 01x — 11 14 0 a-struck out for Villone in the 8th. E: Willingham (1). LOB: Washington 8, San Francisco 11. 2B: Dukes (6), Sandoval (8), Rowand 2 (8), Ishikawa (3). HR: Willingham (5), off Ra.Johnson; Belliard (1), off Ra.Johnson; Zimmerman (7), off Ra.Johnson; Zimmerman (8), off Matos. RBIs: Zimmerman 4 (26), Dukes (20), Willingham (7), Belliard (2), Burriss (6), Renteria (14), Sandoval (11), Winn (13), Rowand (13), Ishikawa 2 (11), Matos (1). SB: Winn (5). Runners left in scoring position: Washington 4 (Dukes, Nieves, Kearns, Willingham); San Francisco 7 (Burriss 2, F.Lewis 2, Renteria, B.Molina 2). DP: Washington 1 (Belliard, C.Guzman, N.Johnson); San Francisco 1 (Burriss, Ishikawa). Washington D.Cabrera L, 0-4 Kensing Villone Hanrahan San Francisco Ra.Johnson W, 3-3 J.Miller Matos Medders B.Wilson S, 8-10

IP 4 2⁄3 1⁄3 2 1 IP 5 2 1 2⁄3 0 1⁄3

H 8 2 1 3 H 8 2 4 1 0

I need brakes that

Avg. .378 .307 .363 .318 .275 .196 .158 --.243 --.190 .000 --.250

R ER BB SO NP ERA 8 3 6 3 93 4.98 2 2 1 0 12 13.14 0 0 0 1 22 0.00 1 1 0 1 25 6.28 R ER BB SO NP ERA 4 4 0 9 83 5.89 0 0 0 1 21 2.35 3 3 1 2 43 9.00 0 0 0 0 5 4.61 0 0 0 1 3 3.18

Ra.Johnson pitched to 3 batters in the 6th. J.Miller pitched to 1 batter in the 8th. Medders pitched to 1 batter in the 9th. Kensing pitched to 2 batters in the 6th. Inherited runners-scored: Kensing 3-1, Villone 1-1, J.Miller 1-0, Matos 1-0, Medders 1-0, B.Wilson 2-0. IBB: off D.Cabrera (Ishikawa). HBP: by D.Cabrera (Winn). WP: D.Cabrera, Ra.Johnson. Umpires: Home, Mark Wegner; First, Tim Timmons; Second, Gerry Davis; Third, Jeff Kellogg. T: 3:10. A: 23,934 (41,915).

paste here

.

don’t squeal

cut here

San Francisco 11, Washington 7

really stop my car are from a brand I trust are on sale

With NAPA Adaptive One® Brakes, you get all of the above. Looking for the perfect brake job? NAPA’s Adaptive One brakes offer the best of all worlds. And now at any participating NAPA AutoCare Center or quality repair facility that installs NAPA parts, when you have NAPA Adaptive One brake pads and NAPA Ultra Premium rotors installed as part of a four-wheel brake job, you’ll get up to

$90 off.

Go to www.AdaptiveOne.com for rebate form and complete details. Offer ends May 31, 2009.

www.NAPAonline.com 1-800-LET-NAPA Save $15 per axle on NAPA Adaptive One or Ultra Premium brake pads/shoes and $10 per axle on labor (maximum of two axles for brake pads/shoes and labor) when you buy and have Adaptive One or Ultra Premium brake pads/shoes installed. Also, save $10 per NAPA rotor (maximum of four) when you have NAPA Ultra Premium rotors installed. Mail completed rebate form and original sales receipt in an envelope to NAPA Brakes Rebate Headquarters, 3459 Washington Drive, Suite 105, Eagan, MN 55122. Rebate form and complete details can be obtained at www.AdaptiveOne.com or from participating facilities. Qualifying activities must occur at a participating auto repair facility between 5/01/09 and 5/31/09. Envelope must be postmarked by 6/30/09. Allow 8 weeks for rebate processing. Limit one rebate submission per person/household. Void where prohibited. Offer good in the U.S.A only.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

NHL

6

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS Chicago 7, Vancouver 5

After a wild third period, Kane, Blackhawks left standing CHICAGO—The kids made sure the Blackhawks are moving on. Patrick Kane had his first hat trick and Jonathan Toews scored the go-ahead goal in a wild third period Monday night as Chicago advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 1995 by beating the Vancouver Canucks 7-5. “It’s about time I got the first hat trick. I’ve been waiting two years. I guess it can’t come in a better game than this,” the 20-year-old Kane said. In the thunderous United Center, the Blackhawks rallied from a onegoal deficit twice in the third period and put up four scores against Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo to win the series 4-2. Next up is either Detroit or Anaheim. “It’s awesome. We didn’t want to go back to Vancouver,” the 21-yearold Toews said. “Nobody knew what was going to happen. It was unbelievable. ... We’ve found ways to come back, especially late in games.” Even the usually unemotional Chicago coach Joel Quenneville was shaking his head over the final period, when he said it was so loud he had trouble making line calls. “I don’t think anybody anticipated the craziness of the third period. The turns and swings were gigantic,” Quenneville said. “How it unraveled and unfolded, it was an amazing ending.” When Chicago’s Troy Brouwer was called for goaltender interference with just under 8 minutes remaining, Daniel Sedin scored

NAM Y. HUH / AP

Patrick Kane, Chicago’s 20-year-old winger, scored his first career hat trick and helped the Blackhawks close out Vancouver at home. quickly with a shot from the left circle that put the Canucks ahead 5-4. Kane responded. He got a puck from behind the net and then maneuvered to the side and put a shot under Luongo to tie the game at 5. Then, 49 seconds later on a power

play, Toews worked around the side and tried to pass across the crease to Patrick Sharp. But the puck deflected in off Vancouver’s Alexander Edler with 6:11 left. Kane capped his hat trick with a hard back-hander past Luongo with 3:43 remaining, sort of an insurance

score. “I just picked up the puck in the middle, saw I had a one-on-one, made a move through the defenseman’s stick and shot,” Kane said. Chicago’s Nikolai Khabibulin made 33 saves and Luongo 23. “ We had some chances early and

I made some saves, but the rest of the way I didn’t help my teammates out,” said Luongo, who was near tears in the Canucks’ locker room. “When you let in seven goals, I don’t think that’s a very good performance.” Sedin had a pair of goals for Vancouver, which lost the final three games of the series in a crushing end to what the Canucks hoped would be a run to the Stanley Cup. “We had a chance to go a long way,” Sedin said. “That’s the most disappointing thing. This was a great opportunity.” Vancouver’s Mats Sundin scored to put the Canucks up 4-3 early in the third period, but Adam Burish countered on a nice centering pass from Patrick Sharp to tie the game. The Blackhawks took a 3-1 lead in the second period on power-play goals by Kris Versteeg and Toews. The Canucks came charging back to tie on scores from Sedin and Shane O’Brien to momentarily quiet the frenzied crowd. Mason Raymond gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead in the first period on a wrist shot from the right circle with Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler standing in the crease. But Kane answered 2 minutes later with his first goal of the game, skating around Mattias Ohlund near the boards and, with Luongo apparently screened by a teammate, driving the puck past the goalie’s glove. Versteeg’s goal broke the tie in the second period and came after Vancouver’s Rick Rypien drove Chicago’s Ben Eagler into the bench door for a cross-checking penalty. The

play came soon after Chicago’s Andrew Ladd crashed into Kesler, shaking him up and drawing blood from his face. Toews got his first goal of the series on a rebound of his own shot to give the Blackhawks a 3-1 lead midway in the second period. But Sedin scored on a high wrist shot from the left circle. It was the first goal of the series for Sedin, whose 31 goals led the Canucks in the regular season. — The Associated Press

Series glance (Chicago wins series 4-2) 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 May 9: Chicago 4, Vancouver 2 Monday: Chicago 7, Vancouver 5

Vancouver Chicago

1 1

2 2

2 4

— —

5 7

First Period: 1, Vancouver, Raymond 2 (Sundin, Ohlund), 11:13. 2, Chicago, Kane 6 (Toews), 13:13. Penalties: Kane, Chi (holding), 1:41; Versteeg, Chi (delay of game), 13:35. Second Period: 3, Chicago, Versteeg 3 (Seabrook, Byfuglien), 3:54 (pp). 4, Chicago, Toews 3 (Havlat, Barker), 10:17 (pp). 5, Vancouver, D.Sedin 3 (Wellwood, Bieksa), 11:09. 6, Vancouver, O’Brien 1 (Bieksa, Rypien), 14:49. Penalties: Rypien, Van (interference), 2:15; Mitchell, Van (hooking), 10:03. Third Period: 7, Vancouver, Sundin 3 (Ohlund, Edler), 3:43. 8, Chicago, Burish 2 (Sharp), 5:41. 9, Vancouver, D.Sedin 4 (Salo, H.Sedin), 12:15 (pp). 10, Chicago, Kane 7 (Brouwer, Campbell), 13:00. 11, Chicago, Toews 4 (Havlat, Campbell), 13:49 (pp). 12, Chicago, Kane 8, 16:17. Penalties: Chicago bench, served by Kane (too many men), 1:42; Byfuglien, Chi (roughing), 6:30; Kesler, Van (interference), 7:52; Brouwer, Chi (goaltender interference), 12:07; O’Brien, Van (hooking), 13:26. Shots on Goal: Vancouver 13-8-17: 38. Chicago 9-12-9: 30. Power-play opportunities: Vancouver 1 of 5; Chicago 3 of 4. Goalies: Vancouver, Luongo 6-4-0 (30 shots-23 saves). Chicago, Khabibulin 8-4-0 (38-33). A: 22,687 (20,500). T: 2:29. Referees: Mike Leggo, Dan O’Halloran. Linesmen: Lonnie Cameron, Greg Devorski.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

NHL

www.sportingnews.com

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

7

WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

NOTEBOOK

Chapter 2 of Hawks’ fairy tale has happy ending

Kane wakes up, puts Canucks to sleep

CHICAGO—And so the fairy tale continues. The NHL’s 30-team opening field was whittled to 16 for the postseason, and by week’s end four will remain with a pulse. After Monday night’s 7-5, seriesclosing victory over Vancouver, the tooyoung comeback kids from Chicago will be one of them. The Blackhawks’ inconceivable, improbable run has landed the team in the Western Conference finals for the first time since 1995. And since this sure feels like a dream Dave Curtis sequence, the fitting HOCKEY next plot turn would be a date with the hated Red Wings. Monday night showed how bad the fans want that matchup. With 3 minutes still on the United Center clock, pockets of the 22,000-plus here shouted a chant that began with “Detroit” and ended with a word that rhymes with pucks. Another endorsement came from hockey’s godfather, a former Wing and current Hawk who lit up at the thought of Chicago-Detroit in May. “It’s two original teams,” Blackhawks senior advisor Scotty Bowman said. “There are only six of them, so that’s big.” Sometimes, the sports deities smile on their fans. This year’s Cup playoffs are proof—the energy of Columbus’ maiden postseason trip, the drama of Ovechkin and Crosby going 15 rounds and Marty Brodeur looking mortal with the season on the line. But seven games of Hawks and Wings might top everything. It might also make this arena even louder than it grew during a third period that Hawks coach Joel Quenneville

NAM Y. HUH / AP

The Blackhawks are headed to their first Western Conference finals since 1995. deemed “as wild a period as I’ve ever seen.” Chicago fell behind 4-3 and 5-4 before a three-goals-in-3:17 spurt iced

the series and sent the crowd into a frenzy. Maybe the noise best showed the

depth of this Blackhawks renaissance. The franchise eclipsed the 1,000,000 fan mark with Monday night’s gate— through most of the third period, it felt like the team had packed that many folks into the arena for one game. The folks coming to see Bruce Springsteen tonight will be challenged to match the din. “I’ve been to some pretty crazy metal concerts at this place,” Chicago’s Adam Burish said. “I don’t think it’s ever been as loud as it was tonight.” Then came those Detroit chants, loud and popular enough that some of the truest Chicago fans will be cheering for the Wings to finish off Anaheim and set up another rivalry renewal. Everybody in town wants Blackhawks-Red Wings … except some of the guys in the Hawks’ locker room. They know that, despite the series wins over Calgary and Vancouver, they remain the sloppiest team in the playoffs. If the defensive mistakes don’t disappear, either Detroit or Anaheim might sweep them. And if the Red Wings do appear across the bracket, they know the Red Wings beat them four of six games in the season series, with Chicago’s only two wins coming in an April home-andhome after both teams were locked into playoff position. “It might be fun for the fans,” Patrick Sharp said, “but you’ve got to be careful what you wish for.” Then again, maybe it doesn’t matter who the Blackhawks play. They played for the playoffs in the fall; now, in the spring, they’re halfway to a Stanley Cup. It’s a fairy tale, and it continues this weekend in hockey’s final four. [email protected]

Patrick Kane kicked off the biggest day of his hockey life by sleeping through his alarm. Despite setting his alarm clock for 8:30 a.m. Monday, he awoke at 9:47 a.m. and hurried to the United Center well behind his on-time teammates. “I was late for all the meetings,” Kane said after Chicago’s 7-5, series-clinching victory over Vancouver. “I almost missed the skate. The day didn’t start real good.” Kane said he drew a few sneers from the coaching staff but received no punishment for his tardiness. He redeemed himself plenty after dark, recording his first playoff hat trick and earning first-star honors. Two of his goals came in a 3:17 span when the Blackhawks turned a 5-4 deficit into the 7-5 final score. “He’s scored a lot of big goals this season,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “But none bigger than the ones at the end.”

Going to timeout After watching his team blow a 3-1 lead, Quenneville elected to burn his lone timeout with 5:11 remaining in the second period. He said his message to the team was simple: Forget the Canucks’ rally to tie the game, and focus on what lies ahead. “It really calmed us down,” winger Kris Versteeg said. “Q really knows when to call them. He’s been doing things like that for us all year. That was a big point in the game.”

Canucks stars come up empty Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault spent much of the past two days calling out his top players for better efforts in Game 6. And save for two goals from Daniel Sedin, the Canucks’ stars floundered in the big spotlight. Goalie Roberto Luongo, whom Vigneault called his team’s “best player”, allowed all seven goals, most in any regular-season or playoff game in 2008-09. Winger Alex Burrows, another of Vigneault’s targets, went without a point in 17:14 of ice time and finished the series with no goals and one assist. —Dave Curtis

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

NHL

8

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS Washington 5, Pittsburgh 4, OT Series glance

Steckel’s redemption brings series back to D.C. for Game 7 PITTSBURGH—The Washington Capitals supposedly can’t win without Alex Ovechkin scoring. They can’t win an overtime playoff game. They can’t beat the Pittsburgh Penguins when a series is on the line. All that’s ended, and it means a riveting, entertaining series matching the NHL’s two biggest names and two of its best teams is anything but over. David Steckel scored on a deflection of Brooks Laich’s shot and the Capitals finally won an overtime playoff game, beating nemesis Pittsburgh 5-4 on Monday night to force a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals. “I think it’s going to be great game,” Ovechkin said. “I think the league wants us to play Game 7 (on Wednesday).” This one couldn’t have been much better. The Capitals, losers of their previous seven overtime games, failed to hold a 4-3 lead late in regulation when Sidney Crosby scored. They made up for it when Steckel went to the net immediately after winning a faceoff. Laich wristed the puck from the right circle and Steckel tipped it past Marc-Andre Fleury 6:22 into the overtime. The game before, Steckel couldn’t score into an open net early in overtime and the Penguins won 4-3 on Evgeni Malkin’s goal to force the potential closeout game on Monday. “I told myself if I had a chance again, I wouldn’t miss,” Steckel said. “I was in the right place at the right time. I personally didn’t know

where it went or anything. ... It was the biggest goal of my career so I didn’t know what to do. I just jumped around.” It was the third overtime game of the series, the most in any round of these NHL playoffs. Pittsburgh won the first two, both on deflections off Capitals defensemen. Also, the Penguins had won eight of their previous nine overtime games and had been 7-1 against the Capitals in OT. Ovechkin, so dominating while scoring seven of Washington’s first 15 goals, didn’t get a goal but had three assists and has 13 points in six games. Crosby has 10, including six goals. “They’re incredible, both of them, and Malkin is just as incredible,” Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said. “They play at a level other people can’t attain.” Viktor Kozlov scored twice for the Capitals in the fourth game in six nights, all of them tight and tense. All but one has been decided by one goal. “There was a lot of talk before the series started, and it’s everything it was made up to be. We would have loved to finish it off here, no doubt, but we did a lot of good things and it could have worked out. We were a couple of inches from finishing it off,” Crosby said. “Let’s just say it’s not surprising it’s going seven.” Now that they’ve forced a Game 7 that didn’t look all that certain after they ceded home-ice advantage, the Capitals hope to finally close out a series against the Penguins. Four

times since 1992 they’ve led the Penguins by two games in a series, including this one, but have yet to win one. Maybe they can take something from this: The Capitals won in Pittsburgh for the first time in this round despite trailing 1-0 and 3-2 and being outshot 42-24, and did it without a goal from Ovechkin. “It’s always fun when Ovie scores, but it’s hard because the other team pays a lot of attention and is very close to Ovie, so it’s a good thing other people give us goals,” Kozlov said. Washington came back from Kris Letang’s second career playoff goal, both in this series, to take a 4-3 lead early in the third on goals 29 seconds apart by Alexander Semin and Kozlov. Semin hadn’t scored since the first round against the Rangers. Crosby tied it with 4:18 left in regulation by batting down Brooks Orpik’s shot and pushing it past Simeon Varlamov, who made 38 saves—17 in the first period alone. The Penguins shook off the Capitals’ promised desperation to dominate that period, outshooting them 18-5 and limiting them to two shots in the final 16:22. However, Pittsburgh managed a single goal while constantly controlling the puck, by Bill Guerin, and Crosby said it would have helped considerably to get a second goal. “They wanted not to make a game of it,” Boudreau said. “I think they just wanted to come in and blow us out.” — The Associated Press

(Series tied 3-3)) 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 May 9: Pittsburgh 4, Washington 3, OT Monday: Washington 5, Pittsburgh 4, OT Wednesday: Pittsburgh at Washington, 7 p.m.

Washington 0 Pittsburgh 1

2 1

2 2

1 — 0 —

5 4

First Period: 1, Pittsburgh, Guerin 4 (Crosby, Kunitz), 5:55. Penalties: Backstrom, Was (hooking), 10:16; Laich, Was (cross-checking), 11:16; Crosby, Pit (interference), 12:12; Kunitz, Pit (cross-checking), 19:28. Second Period: 2, Washington, Kozlov 3 (Ovechkin, Morrisonn), 6:27. 3, Washington, Fleischmann 3 (Fedorov, Semin), 14:42. 4, Pittsburgh, Eaton 4 (Malkin, Boucher), 19:26 (pp). Penalties: Pittsburgh bench, served by Malkin (too many men), 7:34; Pothier, Was (interference), 17:56. Third Period: 5, Pittsburgh, Letang 2 (Goligoski, Malkin), 4:40 (pp). 6, Washington, Semin 6 (Ovechkin, Laich), 5:38 (pp). 7, Washington, Kozlov 4 (Backstrom, Ovechkin), 6:07. 8, Pittsburgh, Crosby 10 (Orpik, Malkin), 15:42. Penalties: Steckel, Was (slashing), 4:31; Orpik, Pit (hooking), 5:23; Laich, Was (slashing), 17:58. First Overtime: 9, Washington, Steckel 3 (Laich, Bradley), 6:22. Penalties: None. Shots on Goal: Washington 5-6-9-4: 24. Pittsburgh 18-7-14-3: 42. Power-play opportunities: Washington 1 of 4; Pittsburgh 2 of 5. Goalies: Washington, Varlamov 7-5-0 (42 shots38 saves). Pittsburgh, Fleury 7-5-0 (24-19). A: 17,132 (16,940). T: 2:47. Referees: Paul Devorski, Dennis LaRue. Linesmen: Brad Lazarowich, Jay Sharrers.

GENE J. PUSKAR / AP

Alexander Ovechkin, back, didn’t bury Washington’s game-winner—that task went to David Steckel (39).

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

NHL

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

NHL thrives thanks to strong first round First-round playoff coverage generated high local ratings for teams across the league, as well. MSG averaged a 2.5 local rating for its broadcasts of the New York Rangers-Washington series, giving the network its best first-round rating in 12 years. Nielsen Media research reported a 69 percent increase in Boston on NESN, which averaged a 9.19 local rating, compared to 5.54 in 2008, and a 6 percent increase in Pittsburgh on Fox Sports, which averaged a 15.59 local rating, compared with a 14.71 in 2008. Fans also flocked to NHL.com, where the number of unique visitors increased 3 percent and video starts rose 89 percent over 2008. Revenue for NHL GameCenter Live increased 92 percent from the same period in 2008, and the number of subscriptions rose 42 percent, according to the league. Clubs that made the playoffs benefited from increases in season-ticket renewals and new sponsorships. The Philadelphia Flyers reported that season ticket renewals were 25 percent ahead of the same period in 2007-08. The Ducks added six new partners for the playoffs and next season.

BY TRIPP MICKLE SportsBusiness Journal

The NHL barreled through one of its most successful first-round playoff series in years, selling out all but four games, generating ratings increases across national and local television and driving significant online revenue increases. In January, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman had pointed to the playoffs as the first indicator of the effect the global economic downturn would have on the league in the 2009-10 season. But the participation of five of the Original Six NHL franchises, three games in Chicago’s 22,000-seat United Center and the representation of clubs from six of the top 10 U.S. television markets contributed to an especially strong first round. The league averaged 18,717 spectators over 44 games in the first round of the playoffs, giving it the highest average attendance for the conference quarterfinals since the 2005-06 postseason and more than the 18,597 average attendance in 2008. The league sold out 48 of 48 games last year, but historically has failed to sell out anywhere from two games to 10 in the opening round. Average capacity was 100.6 percent, according to reported attendance totals. Only the Carolina Hurricanes and Anaheim Ducks failed to sell out all of their first-round games. The Hurricanes sold out one of three and averaged 96.6 percent of capacity with 18,039 spectators, and the Ducks sold out one of three and averaged 97.6 percent of capacity with 16,760 spectators. Ducks chief marketing officer Bob Wagner attributed the failure to sell out all three games to the team’s late-season push into the playoffs. The team clinched the final Western Conference playoff spot in the last week of the season.

[email protected].

Today’s games All Times ET Conference semifinals (Best-of-7) CHARLES KRUPA / AP

First-round attendance was robust in places like Boston, where fans packed in to see a sweep of Montreal. Television viewership increased compared with the first-round playoffs in 2008. In the U.S., NBC averaged 17 percent more viewers, with 1.45 million average over four broadcasts, and Versus averaged 22 percent more than in

2008, giving it the network’s mostwatched first round ever with an average of 442,301. In Canada, TSN averaged 567,000 viewers for its first-round coverage, delivering a 42 percent increase over last season.

Boston at Carolina, 7 p.m., Versus Detroit at Anaheim, 10 p.m., Versus

Betting lines Today FAVORITE LINE UNDERDOG LINE at Carolina ..............-110................Boston...................-110 Detroit ....................-155................at Anaheim.........+135

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

EASTERN CONFERENCE Boston vs. Carolina (Carolina leads series 3-2) 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 May 10: Boston 4, Carolina 0 Today: Boston at Carolina, 7 p.m. Thursday: Carolina at Boston, TBD, if necessary

Washington vs. Pittsburgh (Series tied 3-3) 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 May 9: Pittsburgh 4, Washington 3, OT Monday: Washington 5, Pittsburgh 4, OT Wednesday: Pittsburgh at Washington, 7 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE Detroit vs. Anaheim (Detroit leads series 3-2) 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 May 10: Detroit 4, Anaheim 1 Today: Detroit at Anaheim, 10 p.m. Thursday: Anaheim at Detroit, TBD, if necessary

Vancouver vs. Chicago (Chicago wins series 4-2) 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 May 9: Chicago 4, Vancouver 2 Monday: Chicago 7, Vancouver 5

9

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

NHL

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

10

INSIDE DISH

Lightning remove Tocchet’s interim tag; Roy interested in Habs The Tampa Bay Lightning made Rick Tocchet their full-time coach Monday, lifting the interim tag he has carried since taking the reins in mid-November. A league source told Sporting News Today that Tocchet was given a twoyear contract, not the three-year deal he was widely expected to receive. He took over the team after Barry Melrose was fired and posted a 19-33-14 record after a rough start. “Now I’m on the clock,” Tocchet told The Associated Press. “I’m ready to go. We have some great pieces on this team. I think we have a lot of players here that can do the job. I’m excited.” Hurt primarily by injuries, the Lightning missed the playoffs for a second straight season, only five years after winning a Stanley Cup in 2004. Tampa Bay used 50 players last season, including 22 defensemen. Owner Oren Koules says he wholeheartedly endorses Tocchet. “It’s something we’re proud to do and wanted to do,” Koules said. “He’s a character guy. He’s absolutely our guy.” General manager Brian Lawton said assistant coach Wes Walz, goaltending coach Cap Raeder and video coach Nigel Kirwan also will return for the 2009-10 season. Associate coach Mike Sullivan has an offer to stay with the team, but was given permission to look for another position if he wants. One potential destination could be the staff of New York Rangers coach John Tortorella. “He wants to weigh all his options,” Lawton said. “It wouldn’t shock me if we had to move in another direction.”

minutes of Boston’s 4-0 Game 5 victory when Ward and Carolina’s Matt Cullen began shoving in front of the Bruins’ net. Walker skated in and hit Ward with a right cross that knocked him to the ice. Walker was given a misconduct, a fighting major and an instigator penalty.

Lawton, after a postseason review of the organization, decided not to bring in other candidates for Tocchet’s position. “Under a difficult situation, he did a great job,” Lawton said.

Patrick Roy, who recently interviewed for a job with the Colorado Avalanche, now has told the Quebec City newspaper Le Soleil that he would be interested in the vacant coaching job for another NHL team of his past—Montreal. Roy, 43, has coached the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL since 2003, primarily because his two sons played for the team. Both are gone now, and one of the game’s alltime great goaltenders is looking to get back in the NHL. The Avalanche still have Tony Granato under contract, but the team struggled last season and finished last in the Western Conference. The Canadiens fired former coach Guy Carbonneau late last season and G.M. Bob Gainey stepped in to finish a disappointing season. Wherever Roy might end up, he has the endorsement of Scotty Bowman, a man he once played for and the generally acknowledged greatest coach in NHL history. “I think he has enough experience now and deserves an opportunity,” Bowman told The Denver Post. “I know he has the passion to coach. He’s done a good job in junior.”

Though Rick Tocchet’s record with Tampa Bay wasn’t outstanding (19-33-14), he helped them battle through a rough start and several injuries.

Carolina F Scott Walker was fined $2,500 by the NHL but won’t be suspended for Game 6 of the Hurricanes’ second-round series against Boston for throwing a

punch that might have broken a bone in Bruins D Aaron Ward’s face. Hurricanes G.M. Jim Rutherford told The Associated Press that the automatic suspension Walker had

According to the AP, veteran Dallas F Mike Modano is coming back for his 20th NHL season. Modano had said he would take time to consider retirement after the Stars’ season ended without a playoff berth. But the highest-scoring U.S.-born player in NHL history said Monday he has been inspired by watching play in the postseason. Modano, who turns 39 next month, holds virtually every franchise offensive record, including 543 career goals. He has played his entire career with the Stars, starting in Minnesota before the team moved to Dallas prior to the 1993-94 season.

GENE J. PUSKAR / AP

received was rescinded after a hearing with league disciplinarian Colin Campbell, who decided the hit was not a sucker punch. “Based on what was said on the ice

as I was dropping my gloves, it was my understanding that I was engaged in an altercation,” Walker said in a statement issued by the team. Tempers flared in the final

The Buffalo Sabres announced Monday that D Tyler Myers, the team’s first-round (12th overall) selection in last year’s draft, has signed a three-year, entry-level contract. The 6-foot-7 Myers recently was named MVP of the WHL playoffs after helping the Kelowna Rockets win the league title and grab a berth in the Canadian Hockey League’s Memorial Cup championship. “He is a big, strong player who has excellent hockey skills for a 19-year old player,” Sabres G.M. Darcy Regier said in a statement. “We’re glad to have him signed and look forward to his continued development, both on and off the ice.”

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

NBA

11

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS Dallas 119, Denver 117

Nowitzki’s 44 keeps Mavericks’ season alive DALLAS—So much for the idea that the Dallas Mavericks would be devastated by the way Game 3 ended. Inspired was more like it. Dirk Nowitzki scored 19 of his 44 points in the fourth quarter, including a go-ahead, high-arching shot with 1:05 left in a 119-117 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night that prevented the Mavericks from being swept and injected a whole lot more excitement into this second-round series. “It was an unbelievable game,” Nowitzki said. “We were down the whole game, but were able to come back and win and we’ve been doing that all season long. ... We’ve got to go back to Denver and let it all hang out again.” Carmelo Anthony scored a career playoff-best 41 points and hit a 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds left from nearly the exact spot as his winning basket in the previous game, only this time it left Denver a point shy of a tie. Dallas’ Jason Terry made a free throw with 1.1 seconds left, then missed another—intentionally, he said. Anthony got the rebound but couldn’t stop the clock and didn’t have enough time to even get off a 90-foot heave. The buzzer sounded and confetti fell as the teams left the court, knowing they will meet again Wednesday night in Denver. “We’re still in control of this going back to our home court,” Anthony said. “We’ll be ready.” The postgame scene was a little calmer than after the end of Game 3, although it may also wind up getting reviewed by the league office because

Denver’s Kenyon Martin clearly exchanged words with Dallas owner Mark Cuban. Martin wouldn’t talk in the locker room, telling reporters to “go someplace else. All you (expletive) are trying to do is cause trouble.” This game had all the intensity of a Game 7, with seven technical fouls and multiple flagrants. There were video reviews and concerns for the safety of Anthony’s girlfriend and Martin’s mom, all of it started by the wacky Game 3 finish, then stoked by a silly elbow from Anthony early in the second quarter. Once things started going out of control, they hardly stopped. Denver led by 14, then Dallas got close several times only to fall back by several baskets. The Mavs tied it several times before finally breaking through on Nowitzki’s rainbow over Martin. “They’re allowed to be fans, but when it gets personal, it goes over the top,” Denver’s Chauncey Billups said. “They’re drinking before the game started, drinking all game, and it probably got a little out of hand. They’re allowed to be fans but sometimes it can get over the top.” Added Nuggets coach George Karl: “I would probably use an uglier word than hostile, but I’m not going to do that right now. I don’t think it was very classy. I’ve been in hostile buildings, but you can do it in a classy way.” Denver was headed to another blowout early when Anthony tangled arms with Dallas’ Antoine Wright. It was like an alarm clock for the drowsy crowd of 20,523 — and for the Mavericks, who all season have

MATT SLOCUM / AP

Denver had no answer for Mavs F Dirk Nowitzki (41), who scored 19 of his 44 points in the fourth. been at their best immediately after hitting rock bottom. It was a quality coach Rick Carlisle expected to see Monday night, even if it showed up

more than a quarter late. In the final minute, Dallas was up by two after Mavs forward Josh Howard and Anthony each hit a pair

of free throws. Dallas got the ball to Nowitzki and he drew another foul on Martin. K-Mart knew it was his sixth and went straight to the bench and took a seat, watching Nowitzki sink two more free throws with 8.3 seconds left. Anthony’s 3 gave the Nuggets hopes of another miracle finish, but they were out of tricks. Unable to steal the ball from Terry, they fouled him instead. It was too late. Denver wasn’t going to pull off the first four-game sweep in franchise history and Dallas avoided getting swept for the first time in a seven-game series. The Mavs also lost the season series 0-4, but they knew they were getting closer. The margin went 14 to 12 to one, and, now, to two points in their favor. “We’ve been fighting and fighting this whole series,” said Howard, who had 21 points and 11 rebounds. “The win finally went our way. ... The end of Game 3 gave us a lot of willpower for this game.” Nowitzki, who also is dealing with off-court troubles involving a girlfriend, was 14-of-25. He made 16 of 17 free throws and grabbed 13 rebounds. “There are very few guys I have been around in this league that are as strong-willed as him,” Carlisle said. Jason Kidd added 13 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Billups had 24 points and seven assists, and J.R. Smith had 19 points, including two terrific baskets with the shot clock about to expire in the fourth quarter. —The Associated Press

Series glance (Denver leads series 3-1) May 3: Denver 109, Dallas 95 May 5: Denver 117, Dallas 105 May 9: Denver 106, Dallas 105 Monday: Dallas 119, Denver 117 Wednesday: Dallas at Denver, 9 p.m. Friday: Denver at Dallas, TBA, if necessary Sunday: Dallas at Denver, TBA, if necessary

Denver Dallas DENVER Anthony Martin Nene Billups Jones Smith Kleiza Carter Totals

34 23 Min FG FT 43:27 15-29 9-11 32:58 1-4 0-0 42:28 2-5 5-10 39:47 6-12 10-10 17:28 3-8 3-4 28:21 7-10 3-5 20:24 2-7 2-4 15:07 2-4 0-0 240:00 38-79 32-44

29 30

27 32 Reb 3-11 0-2 0-8 0-2 2-5 0-1 0-3 1-2 6-34

27 — 117 34 — 119 A 3 1 3 7 1 0 1 0 16

PF 5 6 5 3 2 2 4 2 29

PTS 41 2 9 24 10 19 7 5 117

Percentages: FG .481, FT .727. 3-Point Goals: 9-21, .429 (Smith 2-3, Anthony 2-5, Billups 2-6, Jones 1-1, Carter 1-2, Kleiza 1-4). Team Rebounds: 9. Team Turnovers: 11 (13 PTS). Blocked Shots: 5 (Nene 3, Billups, Martin). Turnovers: 11 (Anthony 2, Billups 2, Carter 2, Nene 2, Jones, Martin, Smith). Steals: 9 (Anthony 5, Billups, Nene, Jones, Smith). Technical Fouls: Billups, 2:54 second; Anthony, 11:15 second; Kleiza, 3:47 third. DALLAS Min FG FT Howard 34:29 7-18 7-8 Nowitzki 43:45 14-25 16-17 Dampier 22:54 0-1 0-0 Kidd 40:38 4-8 3-4 Wright 20:41 3-6 2-2 Terry 31:15 3-7 5-7 Bass 27:56 4-6 3-3 Singleton 1:23 0-0 0-0 Barea 16:59 5-8 0-2 Totals 240:00 40-79 36-43

Reb 3-11 1-13 2-4 0-10 1-1 1-3 1-6 0-0 0-2 9-50

A 2 3 1 6 1 3 0 0 1 17

PF 3 1 6 4 5 5 4 0 1 29

PTS 21 44 0 13 8 12 11 0 10 119

Percentages: FG .506, FT .837. 3-Point Goals: 3-14, .214 (Kidd 2-5, Terry 1-4, Wright 0-1, Howard 0-4). Team Rebounds: 6. Team Turnovers: 15 (26 PTS). Blocked Shots: 3 (Bass, Dampier, Nowitzki). Turnovers: 14 (Dampier 5, Nowitzki 4, Howard 3, Kidd, Wright). Steals: 9 (Kidd 3, Nowitzki 2, Wright 2, Bass, Howard). Technical Fouls: Terry, 0:03.8 second; Bass, 7:59 fourth; Wright, 6:07 fourth; Dampier, 11:32 fourth. Flagrant Fouls: Howard, 2:00 second; Terry, 0:03.8 second. A: 20,523 (19,200). T: 2:54. Officials: Steve Javie, Joe DeRosa, Marc Davis.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

NBA

12

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS Cleveland 84, Atlanta 74 Series glance

Cavaliers continue clicking, sweep second straight series ATLANTA—Like Michael Jordan, he knows there are times that call for dominating. Like Magic Johnson, he knows there are times that call for sharing the ball. LeBron James went with his Magic impression in the deciding game of another playoff sweep. While failing to match his offensive explosion in Game 3, the league’s MVP scored 27 points and got his teammates involved as the Cleveland Cavaliers finished off the Atlanta Hawks 84-74 Monday night to win the second-round series in four straight. Delonte West and Mo Williams showed Cleveland isn’t just a oneman squad, hitting huge shots down the stretch as the Cavaliers extended their NBA-record streak of doubledigit playoff wins to eight in a row. Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao pounded the boards, leading the Cavaliers to another big rebounding edge. “I’ve got trust in every last one of our guys,” James said. Cleveland, which also swept Detroit in the opening round, will face either Boston or Orlando in the Eastern Conference finals. The Hawks, who were hobbled by injuries to Joe Johnson, Al Horford and Marvin Williams, got a round deeper than they did last year. “It’s hard to judge this team because we really weren’t healthy in this series,” said Atlanta coach Mike Woodson. “We have to get better personnel-wise, but I couldn’t be

more proud of the guys than I am. We made some major strides this season.” James wasn’t in the mood to celebrate. For the Cavaliers, the only thing that will make this season complete is hoisting a trophy after the final game. “Why should we celebrate?” James said. “We’re playing for a championship. An advance is an advance. It doesn’t matter if you win in four games or you win Game 7. We’re happy that we’re playing great basketball ... but we’re not taking for granted what we’re doing right now.” The Cavaliers became the second team to sweep the first two rounds of the playoffs since the NBA expanded the first round to best-ofseven in 2003. The Miami Heat started with sweeps of New Jersey and Washington in the 2005 playoffs before losing to Detroit in the Eastern finals. After scoring 47 points in Game 3, James struggled with his jumper in this one. Still, he came through with the Cavaliers facing their first serious challenge of the playoffs. Midway through the fourth, James hit a towering 3-pointer with 6½ minutes to go, lingering at the arc to pose with his right hand extended toward the arena roof. He also converted a three-point play with 2:03 remaining, making the basket desppite getting hacked by Zaza Pachulia. When the Hawks came at him

with double- and triple-teams, James passed it off to West for an open 3 from the corner and, finally, found Mo Williams for a trey that finished off the Hawks with 52 second left. The Hawks called timeout, their only way to extend the season, but James hovered near the middle of the court, just staring at a fan in a garish green shirt and orange pants who’d been riding him all game. As usual, James had the last word. He made only 9 of 22 from the field, but had eight rebounds and eight assists. Plus, he had some help from his teammates. West scored 21 points, while Williams made four 3-pointers to account for his 12 points. The Cavaliers had another dominating night on the boards, finishing with a 48-33 edge after doubling up the Hawks (46-23) two nights earlier. “You know LeBron is going to be there, but you don’t know who else is going to be there,” Woodson moaned. “They’ve got weapons around LeBron.” West donned a pair of James’ signature sneakers. “You saw I had LeBrons on? It was the shoes,” West joked. Added James, “Delonte was awesome. He’s our glue. When he gets into attack mode, when he gets into the lane, he’s one of those guys who’s sort of unguardable.” Josh Smith led Atlanta with 26 points, but the Hawks were doomed by a miserable shooting night — 23 of 73 from the field to finish at 31.5

(Cleveland wins series 4-0) May 5: Cleveland 99, Atlanta 72 May 7: Cleveland 105, Atlanta 85 May 9: Cleveland 97, Atlanta 82 Monday: Cleveland 84, Atlanta 74 Cleveland Atlanta

15 22

25 16

22 19

CLEVELAND Min FG FT Reb James 43:25 9-22 6-9 0-8 Varejao 31:45 0-3 2-2 7-11 Ilgauskas 31:29 6-13 1-4 5-10 M Williams 33:40 4-11 0-0 0-4 DWest 44:37 7-13 5-8 1-4 Pavlovic 3:56 0-0 0-0 0-2 J Smith 19:34 1-3 0-0 0-6 Wallace 13:12 0-0 0-2 1-1 Gibson 3:23 0-1 0-0 0-0 Szczerbiak 14:59 3-4 0-1 1-2 Totals 240:00 30-70 14-26 15-48

22 — 17 — A 8 1 0 5 6 0 1 0 1 0 22

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

84 74 PTS 27 2 14 12 21 0 2 0 0 6 84

Percentages: FG .429, FT .538. 3-Point Goals: 10-18, .556 (M. Williams 4-7, James 3-6, D.West 2-4, Ilgauskas 1-1). Team Rebounds: 16. Team Turnovers: 18 (22 PTS). Blocked Shots: 5 (Ilgauskas 2, Varejao 2, J. Smith). Turnovers: 15 (M. Williams 4, James 3, D.West 3, Gibson, Ilgauskas, Pavlovic, Szczerbiak, Varejao). Steals: 6 (Ilgauskas, James, J. Smith, Szczerbiak, Varejao, D.West). Technical Fouls: Szczerbiak, 5:00 second; Varejao, 2:54 third. ATLANTA Min FG FT MaWilliams 29:53 1-7 2-2 JosSmith 45:06 8-16 10-12 Horford 19:01 0-3 0-0 Bibby 30:48 1-6 0-0 Johnson 43:42 7-18 4-5 Evans 12:18 0-2 0-0 Murray 32:12 4-15 5-5 Pachulia 26:25 2-6 5-6 MWest 0:35 0-0 0-0 Totals 240:00 23-73 26-30

Reb 0-4 2-8 0-3 2-4 1-6 0-0 1-2 3-6 0-0 9-33

A 2 1 0 1 7 0 2 0 0 13

PF 1 1 3 3 1 2 3 5 0 19

PTS 4 26 0 3 18 0 14 9 0 74

Percentages: FG .315, FT .867. 3-Point Goals: 2-13, .154 (Bibby 1-3, Murray 1-5, Evans 0-1, Ma.Williams 0-1, Johnson 0-3). Team Rebounds: 9. Team Turnovers: 8 (11 PTS). Blocked Shots: 2 (Pachulia, Ma.Williams). Turnovers: 8 (Murray 2, Jos.Smith 2, Bibby, Horford, Pachulia, Ma.Williams). Steals: 7 (Murray 3, Horford, Johnson, M.West, Ma.Williams). Technical Fouls: Jos.Smith, 0:00.9 second. JOHN BAZEMORE / AP

Cleveland ‘s LeBron James, right, never caught fire, but he did have eight assists and eight boards.

A: 19,241 (18,729). T: 2:36. Officials: Scott Foster, Ron Garretson, James Capers.

percent. Joe Johnson added 18 points but made just 7 of 18 shots. Mike Bibby scored his only points on a 3-pointer in the final quarter. Flip Murray kept putting it up, but made only 4 of 15 for 14 points. The Hawks actually led 22-15 after the opening period—the first

The Hawks missed their first nine shots, finally hitting their first basket on Murray’s drive more than 5 minutes into the period. Still, the Cavaliers couldn’t pull away, settling for just a 40-38 lead at the break. — The Associated Press

time they had been ahead of the Cavaliers after any quarter in any off the four games. The seven-point edge also matched Atlanta’s biggest of the series. But Atlanta squandered any momentum with a dismal offensive stretch to start the second quarter.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

NBA

www.sportingnews.com

Davis earned right to take game-winner BOSTON—Glen “Big Baby” Davis wasn’t the Celtics’ first choice to take the last shot in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Orlando. He turned out to be a good choice. Davis hit a buzzer-beater to give the Celtics a 95-94 victory over the Magic on Sunday night and tie the best-of-seven series at two games apiece. The series resumes in Boston with Game 5, and a victory tonight would preserve the home-court advantage for coach Doc Rivers and the defending NBA champs. “Since I have been with the Celtics, I have been trying to find my niche in our system,” Davis said. “Doc told me that if you work on that shot and show me you can make it, I am going to let you shoot it. This year has been proof of hard work. You just have to be focused.” Celtics center Kendrick Perkins reported no ill effects of the left shoulder strain he complained about during Sunday night’s game. Celtics spokesman Jeff Twiss said Perkins was on the team plane and there was no further testing planned. Perkins had a similar injury during the NBA finals last year, missing Game 5 of the series against the Lakers and playing less than 14 minutes in three other games. Even though Rivers now trusts Davis to take the big shots, the play wasn’t drawn up for the 6-foot-9, 289-pound, second-year center from Louisiana State. The ball was first supposed to go to Ray Allen, the All-Star who scored 51 points in a game against Chicago

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

13

Rockets loose after Lakers miss opportunity

PHELAN M. EBENHACK / AP

Second-year C Glen Davis made the biggest shot of his NBA career in Sunday’s Game 4 win. and has the most 3-pointers in the playoffs this season. If Allen wasn’t open, NBA finals MVP Paul Pierce was supposed to be the consolation prize. Eddie House, who burned the Magic with 31 points off the bench in Game 2, was also on the floor. Allen was covered tightly by Hedo Turkoglu, so point guard Rajon Rondo swung the ball over to Pierce, who was well-covered by Rashard Lewis. Pierce dribbled toward the center of the court looking for a shot, and Davis came over and set a pick on Lewis, who briefly left Davis to double-team Pierce. While Lewis was caught in the middle, Pierce jumped and—instead of trying to shoot over Lewis and Dwight Howard — passed the ball over to Davis near the Magic logo on the left side. He calmly sank the 21-footer as time expired.

“We have a saying: ‘Trust the pass,’” Rivers said. “Our best player trusted the pass. He may have had a shot but (Lewis) was in his face. Baby was open. He trusted the offense. He trusted the pass. That was great.” Davis’ basket at the far end of the court set off a frenzy on the Celtics bench, with Rivers spiking an imaginary basketball in celebration. The Celtics took Monday off to return to Boston, and Orlando did not practice either on the travel day. “They’re the champions. They protect home court well,” Howard said. “We have to go in there with a great mind-set, start to finish it has to be the same. We know they’re going to come out and try to knock us out in the first couple of minutes. We have to withstand all their blows.” — The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles Lakers are grumpy for letting a big chance get away from them in Texas. The Houston Rockets are loose and having a good time, even if they don’t have Yao Ming. After tonight, one of them is going to have a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series. The top-seeded Lakers no doubt figured that they would have a chance to close out the Rockets in Game 5 at Staples Center. But that was before the Rockets embarrassed Los Angeles 99-87 on Sunday, tying the series and picking up their pace a day after finding out that the 7-foot-6 Yao had a stress fracture in his left foot. “Yeah, we had a great opportunity,” Los Angeles’ Kobe Bryant said. “I’ve been on teams who have made this dumb mistake before. It’s important for my guys to stay up and get ready to play and understand that come (tonight) we’re going to face a really hungry Rockets team that believes they can win this series.” The Lakers could be without forward Lamar Odom. He was listed as questionable for tonight’s game after an MRI and CT scan showed he has a bruised lower back. He was hurt Sunday when he drove into the lane and collided with Shane Battier, landing hard on the court. The Rockets were in a good mood after watching film following their arrival in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon. “We have a free mentality,” said Battier. “Every shot that everyone takes is a free shot. If it goes in,

ERIC GAY / AP

Rockets PG Aaron Brooks contributed a career-high 34 points in Sunday’s win. great. If not, we tried. We have nothing to lose. No one expected much out of us. We expect an effort out of us, but we’re going to take our shots, play hard and take our chances.” The Rockets are in the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 1997. The Lakers are trying to get back to the NBA finals a year after losing to Boston in six games. Bryant said the Lakers’ mood Monday was “grumpy, a little quiet,” but that they will just have to deal with the disappointment of the wire-to-wire rout, when the smaller Rockets’ lineup took advantage of Los Angeles’ defensive lapses. “You can’t get it back. You’ve just

got to move forward and get ready for the next one,” he said. The Rockets stunned the Lakers—and most everyone else—by racing to a 29-16 lead in the first quarter. They never trailed and led by as many as 29 points before the Lakers at least made it look respectable toward the end. “We didn’t understand the type of energy Houston was going to come with,” Bryant said. “We didn’t have that type of energy.” It wasn’t a case of the Lakers taking the Rockets lightly without Yao, Bryant said. “Naw, man they just kicked our (rear),” he said. The Lakers say they need to have the kind of energy the Rockets had Sunday. “If we want to be a championship team we have to go after it every single game,” Gasol said. “We can’t take for granted that because we’re better individually or maybe collectively that we can play 70, 80 percent. We have to play 100 percent from the get go.” Gasol said the Lakers were “outhustled and outplayed and we could have won if we really wanted to.” Guard Aaron Brooks scored a career-high 34 points in Game 4, and the Rockets were still talking about their point guard on Monday. “Maybe it’s a bowlegged thing, a knock-kneed, pigeon-toed thing, but boy, they can’t keep up with him,” said bulky 6-6 forward Chuck Hayes, who started for Yao on Sunday. “He uses his speed to his advantage to get to the paint. For such a little guy, he finishes pretty well.” — The Associated Press

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

NBA

www.sportingnews.com

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

INSIDE DISH

Today’s games

Raptors coach wants team to toughen up The Raptors did not have to look far to find their new coach, because he’s their old coach—Jay Triano, who took over as the interim coach after Sam Mitchell was fired in December. The Raptors were just 25-40 after Triano took the reins, but the team improved as the year went on and closed the season with a 9-4 record down the stretch. “He was given not the most ideal circumstances to fight through,” said Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo. “Yet, each day, he showed up with a positive attitude, encouraging this team, teaching this team, leading this team. And the players responded.” Colangelo said that the organization considered other candidates, but agreed that Triano, who was given a three-year contract, best fit the team’s needs. Triano said he has made no decisions on his staff yet, but that he has targeted at least one of his team’s deficiencies: toughness, which must have been pleasing to the ears of star PF Chris Bosh, who complained about his team’s lack of toughness this year. “Toughness is something we need to address,” Triano said. “I don’t think we’re a real tough team.” In Philadelphia, shortly after Triano’s press conference, it was announced that coach Tony DiLeo was withdrawing his name from consideration for the Sixers’ job and will return to the front office. That was somewhat of a surprise, because DiLeo seemed receptive to taking the job and had the best track record of any of the year’s interim

All Times ET CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (Best-of-7) Orlando at Boston, 8 p.m., TNT Houston at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m., TNT

Betting line Today FAVORITE ......... LINE.........O/U ......... UNDERDOG at Boston.....................2 ...........(192) ................. Orlando at L.A. Lakers.........12½ ...........(197½) ..............Houston

Dropping the ‘interim’ Generally, interim coaches don’t stick around very long in the NBA. But this year, of the seven interims, three have been upgraded to full contracts, while three other jobs remain open and is still undecided. (Note: On replacing Marc Iavaroni in Memphis, Lionel Hollins was given a contract for next year, and thus, was never an interim.) Team Minnesota Oklahoma City Philadelphia

Interim Kevin McHale Scott Brooks Tony DiLeo

Phoenix Sacramento

Alvin Gentry Tony Natt

Toronto Washington

Jay Triano Ed Tapscott

Status Undecided Hired Withdrew from consideration Hired Fired; job remains open Hired Returned to front office; replaced by Flip Saunders

coaches—after starting 9-14 under Maurice Cheeks, Philadelphia went 32-27 under DiLeo and earned a playoff berth. But, after the postseason, some Sixers players criticized DiLeo publicly, while PG Andre Miller and C Theo Ratliff did not show up for the team’s postseason meeting. That might have fed into his decision. Word that general manager Chris Mullin was on the outs with the Warriors had been circulating for nearly a year, with Mullin supposedly losing out in a power struggle with team president Robert Rowell. The team finally made it official yesterday, cutting Mullin loose and promoting assistant Larry Riley in his place. “It’s never an easy decision to make a change,” said Rowell in a statement released by the team. “This case is compounded by the fact it involves Chris Mullin— someone who has provided Bay

CHRIS YOUNG / AP

Jay Triano, the first Canadian-born head coach in the NBA, signed a three-year contract Monday. Area fans with many great memories over the years, as both a player and executive. He’s a class individual who will always be remembered for his accomplishments with the Warriors organization.” There’s a lengthy he-said, shesaid, he-might-have-said here, but heading into last night’s game against the Mavericks, it was clear that Nuggets PF Kenyon Martin was not happy with Dallas owner Mark Cuban. That’s because, according to The Denver Post, Cuban—after hearing another fan calling the Nuggets, “thugs”—admits to telling Martin’s mother, “That includes your son.” Martin was asked if he was offended. According to The Dallas Morning News, he said, “That’s just like saying something to my kids. If you got something to say, say it to me. But I’m going to take care of it. I’m not going to do the whole media thing, back and forth. That’s his

thing. I’m more of a personal, face-toface type of dude.” The Magic got some good news on the economic front, with the team poised to receive a loan of $100 million to help complete the financing of their new stadium. According to Sports Business Journal, that loan is believed to be the first to go to a mid-tier organization since the world credit markets froze in September. “There is a thaw, but that’s not to say the borrowing costs are at the rates prior to the current economic environment,” Alex Martins, the Magic’s chief operating officer, told SBJ. “Having said that, we are pleased with the fact that there is a market out there to finance our contribution to the arena.” One guy who is not surprised to see how well the backcourt combo of PG Kyle Lowry (listed at 6-0) and PG

Aaron Brooks (generously listed at 6-0) has played for the Rockets when they’ve been on the floor together in their series against the Lakers is Brooks himself. When he was at Oregon, he teamed up with PG Tajuan Porter, who is 5-6, to form a small but imposing backcourt. “It reminds me a lot of college,” Brooks told SN Today. “We had the same kind of thing going. Obviously, you are going to be giving up size. But you can make up for it in quickness.” — Sean Deveney The father of the 12-year-old boy bumped by Celtics big man Glen “Big Baby” Davis after Sunday’s gamewinning shot is demanding an apology. Ernest Provetti told the Orlando Sentinel that he wrote the NBA office demanding an apology from Davis for acting like a “raging animal with no regard for fans’ personal safety.” NBA spokesman Tim Frank confirmed the league received the e-mail but declined to comment on it. Video of the play shows Davis ducking behind a referee and stepping out of bounds as he ran back to the Celtics bench. Provetti told the paper it was his son, Nicholas, whose hat fell off as Davis bumped him. Celtics spokesman Jeff Twiss said Davis was not available for comment. The Magic also declined to comment.

14

Playoff glance CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (Best-of-7), All times ET EASTERN CONFERENCE Cleveland vs. Atlanta (Cleveland wins series 4-0) May 5: Cleveland 99, Atlanta 72 May 7: Cleveland 105, Atlanta 85 May 9: Cleveland 97, Atlanta 82 Monday: Cleveland 84, Atlanta, 74 Boston vs. Orlando (Series tied 2-2) May 4: Orlando 95, Boston 90 May 6: Boston 112, Orlando 94 May 8: Orlando 117, Boston 96 May 10: Boston 95, Orlando 94 Today: Orlando at Boston, 8 p.m. Thursday: Boston at Orlando, 7 p.m. Sunday: Orlando at Boston, TBA, if necessary WESTERN CONFERENCE L.A. Lakers vs. Houston (Series tied 2-2) May 4: Houston 100, L.A. Lakers 92 May 6: L.A. Lakers 111, Houston 98 May 8: L.A. Lakers 108, Houston 94 May 10: Houston 99, L.A. Lakers 87 Today: Houston at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m. Thursday: L.A. Lakers at Houston, 9:30 p.m. Sunday: Houston at L.A. Lakers, TBA, if necessary Denver vs. Dallas (Denver leads series 3-1) May 3: Denver 109, Dallas 95 May 5: Denver 117, Dallas 105 May 9: Denver 106, Dallas 105 Monday: Dallas 119, Denver 117 Wednesday: Dallas at Denver, 9 p.m. Friday: Denver at Dallas, TBA, if necessary Sunday: Dallas at Denver, TBA, if necessary

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

Baseball

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

INSIDE DISH

THE LAUNCHING PAD

Report: Medical records led to Manny’s suspension Manny Ramirez’s personal medical records disclosed his prescription of human chorionic gonadotrophin, the banned substance that landed the Dodgers outfielder a 50-game suspension, according to ESPN.com. Ramirez turned over the records— as required by the collective bargaining agreement—as part of his appeals process after testing positive for elevated testosterone levels in spring training. HCG is used to stimulate natural testosterone production among steroid users, though the report states it wouldn’t have caused the elevated marks in Ramirez’s test; doping experts said the spike was caused by synthetic testosterone. Every individual naturally produces testosterone and a substance called epitestosterone, typically at a ratio of 1:1. In MLB, if the ratio comes in at 4:1 during testing, a player is flagged. In Ramirez’s case, his ratio was between 4:1 and 10:1, according to the report. Ramirez dropped plans to appeal the suspension after MLB informed him of their findings, according to the report. Josh Hamilton says he’s close to rejoining the Rangers, who were on top of the A.L. West on Monday by a half game. Hamilton made his first rehabilitation start Sunday for Triple-A Oklahoma City. Hamilton, sidelined with a strained muscle in his rib cage, went 1-for-2 with a single and walk, while playing center field for six innings, according to The Dallas Morning News. “It felt good today,” he said

What to expect in the major leagues today

Rogers Centre reunion From 2006-08, righthander A.J. Burnett went 38-26 in 81 games (80 starts) for the Blue Jays. He opted out of his contract following the 2008 season and signed a five-year, $82.5 million deal with the Yankees. Tonight, he will be back on the Rogers Centre mound, but he will be wearing pinstripes (and likely hearing more jeers than cheers). Meanwhile, Toronto will give the ball to ace Roy Halladay—the only Blue Jays pitcher with more wins (55) than Burnett from 2006-08. Halladay has won his past three starts and has pitched at least seven innings in all seven of his starts this season. And with the Yankees back in Toronto and Alex Rodriguez back in the lineup, Blue Jays infielders must be prepared for a Howie Kendrick-like moment on any popup.

afterward in Round Rock, Texas. “I slipped in the outfield and landed on my ribs and didn’t feel a thing. I’ll see how it feels (today), but I’m planning on playing nine innings here Monday and then be ready for the Rangers (tonight).” Prior to the injury, in 18 games Hamilton was batting .242 (16-66) with two home runs and 10 RBIs. Cubs 1B Derrek Lee left the team Sunday and had an MRI on the bulging disc in his neck, according to the Chicago Tribune. Lee didn’t play over the weekend and could land on the disabled list, pending results of the MRI. A sore right elbow kept Atlanta’s Chipper Jones out of the starting lineup Monday in the series opener against the Mets in New York, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Jones hyperextended the elbow twice on back-to-back swings in the fifth inning Sunday against Philadelphia, the paper revealed. Martin Prado replaced him in the lineup Monday. Jones said he didn’t expect the injury to keep him out of the lineup more than a game. In games Jones hasn’t started, the Braves are 1-5. The Marlins optioned Cameron Maybin to Triple-A New Orleans after the center fielder struggled to a .202 average and 31 strikeouts in 84 atbats, The Miami Herald reported. “We just want to send him down, get some AB’s, and regain some confidence,” Marlins G.M. Mike Hill told the Herald of the 22-year-old Maybin. “He’s tremendously

15

A Manny-less rematch

TONY GUTIERREZ / AP

A strained muscle in his rib cage sidelined Texas’ Josh Hamilton, but he’s on a rehab assignment. talented, has a bright future ahead of him. He’s still a baby.” Lefthander John Koronka was recalled from New Orleans, where he was 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA, and will start today’s game in Milwaukee. The Chicago White Sox promoted lefthander Jimmy Gobble from Triple-A on Monday to take the roster spot of struggling starter Jose Contreras. The White Sox purchased the contract of Gobble from Charlotte. Contreras was optioned to the minor league team Sunday. Gobble went 0-1 with a 5.25 ERA in relief appearances at Charlotte after signing with the White Sox on April 6. The 27-year-old Gobble is 22-23 lifetime with a 5.23 ERA and four saves, all with the Kansas City Royals. Contreras was 0-5 with an 8.19 ERA in six starts. The Phillies will visit the White House on Friday to meet President Obama, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Jimmy Rollins, shortstop on

the World Series champion Phillies has been thinking about what he might say if he meets the President. “Whatever pops up, I guess, which is usually how it works,” Rollins told the Inquirer. “Maybe he’ll be wearing a funky tie or something, and I can crack a joke or something. I don’t know.” Boston Red Sox fans, family and friends paid their final respects to former team great Dom DiMaggio. Teammate Johnny Pesky and former Red Sox CEO John Harrington were among those attending a funeral Mass at St. Paul Church in Wellesley on Monday. Harrington said DiMaggio was dearly loved by former team owners Tom and Jean Yawkey. DiMaggio’s family says he died Friday with the Red Sox game playing in the background. He was 92. The center fielder and seven-time All-Star was the younger brother of Yankees Hall of Famer Joe, and played in the same outfield as Ted Williams.

Because of Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez’s suspension, some of the luster is gone from tonight’s Dodgers-Phillies matchup. But you can bet Citizens Bank Park still will be rocking. In last October’s NLCS, Philadelphia disposed of Los Angeles in five games, despite two doubles, two homers and seven RBIs from Ramirez. Though they have been dominant at Dodger Stadium—beginning the season with an MLB-record 13 consecutive home wins—the Dodgers are just 8-8 on the road this season.

The Cubs’ conundrum During the offseason, the Cubs flirted with the idea of trading for Padres ace Jake Peavy, before eventually breaking off talks. Tonight, they’ll face the 2007 N.L. Cy Young Award winner under the lights at Wrigley Field. While Peavy still would make a fine addition to Chicago’s rotation—and talks could restart once both franchises officially get their new ownership in place—the Cubs’ biggest problems this season have been an inconsistent offense and injuries. Both righthander Carlos Zambrano and third baseman Aramis Ramirez are on the disabled list.

— Chris Bahr

JULIE JACOBSON / AP

A.J. Burnett will make his return to Toronto after signing with the Yankees.

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

1. Blue Jays (2)

Finally, the top spot. The Blue Jays have been lurking for a few weeks now and didn’t even have to put anyone on the D.L. this week. Double-bonus, eh?

2. Red Sox (4)

Watching Jonathan Papelbon pump 97-mph fastballs past the heart of the Rays’ order with two on, no outs in the ninth inning Sunday was awe-inspiring.

3. Cardinals (3)

Ryan Franklin blew his first save opportunity of the season, but rookie Colby Rasmus came through with a 10th-inning double to keep the Cards from being swept in Cincy.

4. Dodgers (1)

You know why they dropped in the poll. Still a good team without Manny, but not the best in baseball. Where will they be in early July, when he returns?

5. Mets (21)

And just like that, the Mets are atop the N.L. East with a seven-game winning streak that seemed to come from nowhere. Amazing.

6. Brewers (13)

Speaking of coming from nowhere, the Brewers have won 14 of their past 19 games. Why? Because they have a team ERA of 3.21 in that stretch.

7. Tigers (10)

Back-to-back-to-back outstanding starts by Justin Verlander, Edwin Jackson and Rick Porcello helped the Tigers sweep the Indians.

8. Royals (7)

Rough weekend in L.A., where the boys from K.C. lost all three games to the Angels. That’s the bad news. The good news? The pitching still looked solid.

9. Reds (14)

Who would have guessed that the Reds would have the best road record at 10-5 entering the week. (OK, technically, the Phillies, at 8-4, have the same winning percentage at .667.)

10. Cubs (6)

For all the grief the N.L. Central gets, the division has four teams at least three games over .500 entering the week. No other division even comes close to that.

11. Marlins (8)

A sweep in Colorado would have been a good answer for a brief 1-3 homestand, but, still, two out of three ain’t bad.

12. Rangers (15)

First place in the A.L. West has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

13. Angels (24)

Torii Hunter deserves the credit for getting the Angels over .500. He leads the team in homers, RBIs, and his home-run-robbing catch saved Sunday’s game.

14. Giants (12)

The Giants haven’t lost a series since the middle of April. Their window of opportunity in the West is officially open with Manny on the sidelines.

BY RYAN FAGAN [email protected]

15. Phillies (9)

Two impressive road victories in St. Louis were followed by one win in five games against East rivals, the Mets and Braves.

Odd week in the MLB neighborhood. Manny’s on the sidelines with the 50-game suspension that will end in early July (in time for the All-Star Game, actually—he likely would have been a lock to be voted in as a starter; what happens now? Will the fans vote him in?). A-Rod’s back in pinstripes, and that homer on the first pitch was pretty impressive (though, getting only one hit in his next 10 at-bats shows even the best have to work their way back into the rhythm of the game). The Mets have reeled off a sevengame winning streak to grab first place in the N.L. East and the Angels are suddenly just a halfgame out of first in the A.L. West. And the Blue Jays just keep winning. Though, at this point, it doesn’t seem nearly as odd to see them atop the A.L. East. Fun team to watch.

16. Mariners (5)

Horrible week for the M’s was salvaged by five runs in the last two innings in Minnesota that averted a sweep by the Twins.

17. Yankees (11)

A-Rod and CC couldn’t have produced at a better time. Their tag-team win Friday against the Orioles came after losing four straight to the Red Sox and Rays at home.

18. Rays (19)

Going 3-2 on a trip through New York and Boston is nothing to be ashamed of, but the Rays were in position to win all five, so the pair of losses stings.

19. Twins (18)

Joe Mauer is hitting .485 since his return. The team is 4-4 in those games.

20. Braves (20)

Talk about being bunched up … the Braves enter the week with six players tied for the team lead with three home runs—and three others have two.

21. White Sox (17)

He doesn’t have the stuff on staff, but at 5-0 record and a 2.61 ERA, veteran lefty Mark Buehrle is showing why he’ll be Chicago’s ace until he leaves the city.

22. Astros (25)

Wandy Rodriguez has only allowed more than one earned run in two of his seven starts this season, but he’s just 3-2 because of poor run support.

23. Diamondbacks (22)

Something had to give, and Bob Melvin paid the price. New manager A.J. Hinch knows the youngsters he’ll write on the lineup card, but is that enough?

24. Padres (23)

Closer Heath Bell still hasn’t allowed a run this year in 11 games.

25. Orioles (27)

Future update: At Class AAA Norfolk, Matt Wieters has his average up to .301 and Chris Tillman is 3-0 with a 2.52 ERA.

26. Pirates (16)

Two weeks ago, they were at No. 6 in this poll. They’ve won once since then.

27. Rockies (28)

The Padres were expected to be horrible this year and the Diamondbacks just fired their manager. Both enter the week ahead of the Rockies in the N.L. West.

28. Athletics (26)

They can see rock-bottom, right? That has to be a good thing.

29. Nationals (30)

Out of last place, and sooner than expected. Ryan Zimmerman has a 29-game hitting streak that would be the talk of baseball if he played somewhere else.

30. Indians (29)

Ugh. At least they scored a run Sunday against the Tigers.

KATHY WILLENS / AP

Jonathan Papelbon’s ninth inning on Sunday helped Boston take second in our ranking.

Power Poll

16

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

Fantasy Focus

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

LEAGUE LEADERS Batting Average

Start ’em, Sit ’em A.L.

Player Youkilis MiCabrera VMartinez Longoria AdJones AHill Markakis

Player Votto Beltran Zimmerman HaRamirez MRamirez Braun Helton

.393 .378 .372 .358 .358 .353 .352

A.L.

Team Cincinnati New York Washington Florida Los Angeles Milwaukee Colorado

.381 .370 .363 .348 .348 .345 .343

Player CPena Longoria Bay Blalock Damon Granderson Kinsler

N.L.

Team Tampa Bay Tampa Bay Boston Texas New York Detroit Texas

Boston DH David Ortiz

Start ’em David Ortiz, DH, Red Sox. Ortiz is not off to a good start, but he eats up the Angels’ Jered Weaver (7-for-17, 2 HRs, 9 RBIs).

A.L.

Player AdJones Markakis Scutaro Bay Pedroia Longoria Four tied

Player Pujols ASoriano Hudson Zimmerman Hart Werth Four tied

33 33 32 29 29 27 25

Team St. Louis Washington Cincinnati San Diego Chicago Philadelphia Philadelphia

12 11 10 10 10 10 9

Stolen Bases N.L.

Team Baltimore Baltimore Toronto Boston Boston Tampa Bay

Player Pujols Dunn Bruce AdGonzalez ASoriano Utley Ibanez

13 11 9 9 9 9 9

Runs CHARLES KRUPA / AP

American League Standings

Home Runs

N.L.

Team Boston Detroit Cleveland Tampa Bay Baltimore Toronto Baltimore

A.L.

Team St. Louis Chicago Los Angeles Washington Milwaukee Philadelphia

32 29 26 26 25 25 24

Player Crawford Ellsbury Abreu Figgins Crisp Kinsler Five tied

N.L.

Team Tampa Bay Boston Los Angeles Los Angeles Kansas City Texas

Player Bourn JosReyes Burriss Fowler Morgan Kemp Taveras

22 15 12 12 8 8 7

Team Houston New York San Francisco Colorado Pittsburgh Los Angeles Cincinnati

10 10 9 9 9 8 8

Todd Wellemeyer, SP, Cardinals. Wellemeyer is 4-1 with a 3.54 ERA in his past 11 games against Pittsburgh, including a win last week. Ryan Garko, 1B, Indians. Garko is 10-for-19 (.526) lifetime versus the White Sox’s Mark Buehrle. Hopefully, Eric Wedge notices.

RBIs A.L.

Player Longoria Bay CPena Huff Lind Markakis AHill

Team Tampa Bay Boston Tampa Bay Baltimore Toronto Baltimore Toronto

Halladay usually holds Swisher (2-for-12, five strikeouts) in check.

Nick Johnson, 1B, Nationals. Johnson is 0-for-8 with five strikeouts against the Giants’ Matt Cain. Andy Sonnanstine, SP, Rays. In six starts versus Baltimore, Sonnanstine is 2-3 with a 7.11 ERA and 1.80 WHIP. —George Winkler

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

Player Pujols Cantu Braun Dunn Ethier BMolina Four tied

44 34 32 31 31 30 29

Sit ’em Nick Swisher, 1B/OF, Yankees. Roy

Pitching (3 decisions) N.L.

A.L.

Team St. Louis Florida Milwaukee Washington Los Angeles San Francisco

33 32 28 28 27 27 26

Player Buehrle Frasor RRamirez ABailey Palmer Bannister

N.L.

Team Chicago Toronto Boston Oakland Los Angeles Kansas City

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

Doubles A.L.

Player Longoria Callaspo Polanco Five tied

Player Kotchman FSanchez Hudson Zimmerman MCameron Six tied

15 13 13 12

A.L.

Player Crisp Seven tied

Team Atlanta Pittsburgh Los Angeles Washington Milwaukee

13 13 12 12 11 10

4 2

1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

Player Greinke Verlander Lester FHernandez Halladay Bedard Garza

Team Kansas City Detroit Boston Seattle Toronto Seattle Tampa Bay

Player Santana Lincecum JVazquez Peavy Haren Gallardo Billingsley

59 56 49 47 44 43 42

Player Bourn Kemp Victorino 17 tied

A.L.

Team Houston Los Angeles Philadelphia

3 3 3 2

Player FFrancisco Fuentes Papelbon Soria Jenks Three tied

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

60 58 57 52 51 47 47

N.L.

Team Texas Los Angeles Boston Kansas City Chicago

9 9 8 7 7 6

Player Cordero Franklin FrRodriguez Qualls Broxton BWilson Bell

East Toronto Boston New York Tampa Bay Baltimore

W 22 20 15 15 13

L 12 12 16 18 19

Pct .647 .625 .484 .455 .406

GB WCGB L10 — — 7-3 1 — 6-4 5½ 4½ 4-6 6½ 5½ 6-4 8 7 4-6

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

Home Away 11-4 11-8 13-4 7-8 6-7 9-9 6-7 9-11 10-10 3-9

Central Detroit Kansas City Minnesota Chicago Cleveland

W 17 18 15 14 12

L 13 14 17 17 21

Pct .567 .563 .469 .452 .364

GB WCGB L10 — — 6-4 — 2 6-4 3 5 4-6 3½ 5½ 3-7 6½ 8½ 3-7

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

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

West Texas Los Angeles Seattle Oakland

W 17 16 16 11

L 14 14 16 18

Pct .548 .533 .500 .379

GB WCGB L10 — — 7-3 ½ 3 7-3 1½ 4 3-7 5 7½ 3-7

Str W-1 W-4 W-1 L-2

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

National League Standings East New York Florida Philadelphia Atlanta Washington

W 17 17 15 16 10

L 14 15 14 16 20

Pct .548 .531 .517 .500 .333

GB WCGB L10 — — 8-2 ½ 1 3-7 1 1½ 4-6 1½ 2 5-5 6½ 7 5-5

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

Home 11-7 6-7 7-10 5-9 5-7

Away 6-7 11-8 8-4 11-7 5-13

Central St. Louis Cincinnati Milwaukee Chicago Houston Pittsburgh

W 20 18 18 17 14 12

L 12 14 14 14 17 19

Pct .625 .563 .563 .548 .452 .387

GB WCGB L10 — — 5-5 2 — 6-4 2 — 6-4 2½ ½ 7-3 5½ 3½ 5-5 7½ 5½ 1-9

Str W-1 W-1 L-1 W-1 W-3 L-8

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

West W Los Angeles 22 San Francisco 17 San Diego 13 Colorado 12 Arizona 13 z-first game was a win

L 11 14 19 18 20

Pct .667 .548 .406 .400 .394

GB WCGB L10 — — 7-3 4 ½ 6-4 8½ 5 2-8 8½ 5 4-6 9 5½ 3-7

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

Home 14-3 11-4 8-6 6-8 9-13

Away 8-8 6-10 5-13 6-10 4-7

Pitching Matchups Today’s Games (All times Eastern)

Saves N.L.

Team Kansas City

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

N.L.

Triples A.L.

Team San Diego New York Washington Los Angeles Philadelphia Florida

Strikeouts

N.L.

Team Tampa Bay Kansas City Detroit

Player Meredith Pelfrey Martis Broxton Condrey JoJohnson

1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

17

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

9 9 9 8 8 8 8

American League The Line Tampa Bay (Sonnanstine 1-3) at Baltimore (Hendrickson 1-4), 7:05 p.m. TB -125 at Bal +115 Chicago White Sox (Richard 0-0) at Cleveland (Sowers 0-1), 7:05 p.m. at Cle -165 Chi +155 N.Y. Yankees (A.Burnett 2-0) at Toronto (Halladay 6-1), 7:07 p.m. at Tor -140 NY +130 Seattle (Vargas 1-0) at Texas (Feldman 2-0), 8:05 p.m. at Tex -145 Sea +135 Detroit (Galarraga 3-2) at Minnesota (Slowey 4-1), 8:10 p.m. Det -115 at Min +105 Kansas City (Hochevar 0-0) at Oakland (Cahill 1-2), 10:05 p.m. at Oak -120 KC +110 Boston (Masterson 2-2) at L.A. Angels (Jer.Weaver 3-1), 10:05 p.m. at LA -130 Bos +120 National League The Line St. Louis (Wellemeyer 3-2) at Pittsburgh (Duke 3-3), 7:05 p.m. STL-135 at Pit +125 L.A. Dodgers (Kershaw 1-2) at Philadelphia (Park 0-1), 7:05 p.m. at Phi -115 LA+105 Atlanta (Jurrjens 3-2) at N.Y. Mets (Pelfrey 4-0), 7:10 p.m. at NY -120 Atl +110 Florida (Koronka 0-0) at Milwaukee (Parra 1-4), 8:05 p.m. at Mil -145 Flo +135 San Diego (Peavy 2-4) at Chicago Cubs (Harden 3-1), 8:05 p.m. at Chi -155 SD +145 Houston (F.Paulino 1-2) at Colorado (Jimenez 2-4), 8:40 p.m. at Col -160 Hou +150 Cincinnati (Owings 2-3) at Arizona (Haren 3-3), 9:40 p.m. at Ari -185 Cin +175 Washington (Zimmermann 2-1) at San Francisco (Cain 3-1), 10:15 p.m. at SF -135 Was +125

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

Baseball

18

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

NATIONAL LEAGUE Atlanta 8, N.Y. Mets 3

Mets’ lack of offense allows Braves, Lowe to top Santana NEW YORK—Johan Santana is still waiting for some help from his teammates this year. Derek Lowe outlasted Santana in a matchup of aces, pitching the Atlanta Braves to an 8-3 victory Monday night that ended New York’s sevengame winning streak. “I love facing guys like that, especially Santana. He’s going to beat you more than you’re going to beat him, but it’s fun to be in those games,” Lowe said. “It’s fun to challenge yourself to see if you can step up when you have to.” In a season-long trend that has become maddening for the Mets, they provided Santana with little support on offense or defense. Jose Reyes’ two-out error in the seventh inning led to four runs, saddling Santana (4-2) with his second loss this season when he did not allow an earned run. “It’s crazy that it happened twice already,” Santana said. “There’s not many things I can do.” The two-time Cy Young Award winner was pulled after 108 pitches with the score tied at 1. He lowered his NL-best ERA to 0.78 through seven starts—but somehow New York has lost three of them. “Hopefully, there will come a point where we will pick him up,” manager Jerry Manuel said. “I think it’s just coincidence, I really do. He’s the type of guy that gets everybody up before his game. He might be getting ‘em too geeked—that might be it. I think it’ll turn around.” Matt Diaz’s two-run single off Pedro Feliciano snapped a 1-all tie in the seventh, and Casey Kotchman followed with another two-run single

that made it 5-1. That was more than enough for Lowe (5-1), who took a three-hitter into the seventh and won his fourth straight start. The Braves have won five of six on an eight-game road trip against the three teams ahead of them in the NL East standings. This was their first visit to Citi Field, the Mets’ new ballpark. “It was a matchup as advertised,” Atlanta manager Bobby Cox said. Both teams played without a big slugger. Carlos Delgado sat out for the Mets because of a recurring hip injury, while Chipper Jones was sidelined for Atlanta due to a sore right elbow. Lowe gave up two runs and five hits in 6 2-3 innings. The Mets pursued the sinkerballer in the offseason but were outbid by the Braves, who signed him to a $60 million, four-year contract. New York then turned its attention to re-signing Oliver Perez, a major bust this year who is currently on the disabled list. Two infield singles and a two-out throwing error by third baseman David Wright gave Atlanta a run in the first inning. New York tied it on Omir Santos’ sacrifice fly in the fifth. Kelly Johnson’s one-out single in the seventh chased Santana. With two on and two outs, Feliciano came in to face cleanup batter Brian McCann, who hit a slow grounder up the middle. Reyes slid over from shortstop but booted the ball behind second, loading the bases. “Nothing went wrong there. I just missed the ball. E-6,” Reyes said. Manuel stayed with Feliciano

Braves 8, Mets 3 Atlanta AB K.Johnson 2b 6 Escobar ss 4 Prado 3b 4 McCann c 5 M.Diaz lf 5 Kotchman 1b 4 Francoeur rf 4 Schafer cf 4 D.Lowe p 3 Moylan p 0 a-Norton ph 1 R.Soriano p 0 c-Infante ph 1 Carlyle p 0 Totals 41

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

H 2 3 1 1 3 2 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 16

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

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

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

Avg. .242 .302 .297 .246 .258 .319 .271 .217 .083 --.143 --.338 .000

New York Jos.Reyes ss Castillo 2b Beltran cf D.Wright 3b Dan.Murphy lf Tatis 1b Reed rf Santos c Santana p Parnell p Feliciano p Stokes p b-Cora ph Takahashi p d-Sheffield ph Totals

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

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

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

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

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

Avg. .269 .321 .370 .311 .286 .356 .353 .302 .000 ------.333 .000 .182

Atlanta New York

AB 3 3 4 4 4 4 3 3 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 32

100 000 412 — 000 010 101 —

8 16 0 3 9 2

a-singled for Moylan in the 8th. b-singled for Stokes in the 8th. c-singled for R.Soriano in the 9th. d-grounded out for Takahashi in the 9th. E: Jos.Reyes (5), D.Wright (4). LOB: Atlanta 11, New York 6. 2B: McCann (4), D.Wright (8), Tatis (3), Reed (1). RBIs: Escobar (17), M.Diaz 2 (13), Kotchman 2 (14), Francoeur (19), Infante (10), Tatis (4), Santos 2 (10). S: Prado. SF: Francoeur, Santos. Runners left in scoring position: Atlanta 5 (Kotchman, M.Diaz, Schafer 2, K.Johnson); New York 2 (Santos, Sheffield). DP: Atlanta 3 (K.Johnson, Escobar, Kotchman), (Prado, K.Johnson, Kotchman), (Escobar, K.Johnson, Kotchman); New York 1 (D.Wright, Castillo, Tatis).

KATHY WILLENS / AP

Atlanta SP Derek Lowe benefitted the most from his team’s four-run seventh inning to earn his fifth victory of the season. against the right-handed hitting Diaz, and his single to left put Atlanta ahead. Yunel Escobar added an RBI grounder in the eighth, and the Braves scored twice in the ninth after McCann’s leadoff double. Jeff Francoeur had a sacrifice fly, and pinch-

hitter Omar Infante delivered an RBI single. Santana was charged with two unearned runs and seven hits in 6 1-3 innings. He dropped to 0-4 with a 2.31 ERA in six career starts against Atlanta. The Mets have scored 15 runs in

Santana’s seven starts this year, 11 while he was on the mound. They have 139 runs in their other 24 games, an average of 5.79. “We try to figure that out. It’s hard to believe,” Reyes said. “We feel bad right now.” — The Associated Press

Atlanta D.Lowe W, 5-1 Moylan H, 5 R.Soriano Carlyle New York Santana L, 4-2 Parnell Feliciano Stokes Takahashi

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

H 5 0 1 3 H 7 1 2 3 3

R ER BB SO NP ERA 2 2 2 1 95 3.80 0 0 0 0 2 6.94 0 0 0 2 24 1.13 1 1 1 0 29 5.40 R ER BB SO NP ERA 2 0 1 6 108 0.78 1 0 0 0 6 1.26 2 0 0 0 8 3.46 1 1 0 0 15 0.68 2 2 1 0 23 3.00

Feliciano pitched to 3 batters in the 7th. Inherited runners-scored: Moylan 1-0, Parnell 1-0, Feliciano 2-2, Stokes 1-0. HBP: by Santana (Kotchman). WP: Takahashi. Umpires: Home, Greg Gibson; First, Andy Fletcher; Second, Ted Barrett; Third, Tim McClelland. T: 3:04. A: 40,497 (41,800).

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

Baseball

19

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

AMERICAN LEAGUE / NATIONAL LEAGUE Cleveland 9, Chicago White Sox 4

Cincinnati 13, Arizona 5

Pavano, Indians start strong, end recent slide No jet lag CLEVELAND—Carl Pavano threw strikes and his Cleveland Indians teammates struck quickly at the plate. Pavano won his third straight start and the Indians scored in the first inning for the first time this month as they defeated the Chicago White Sox 9-4 on Monday night to snap a fourgame losing streak. “It finally felt like a real baseball game,” said Cleveland third baseman Mark DeRosa. “Any win right now is big.” Pavano (3-3) allowed four runs and 10 hits over 6 1/3 innings in his first appearance against the White Sox in nearly five years. The right-hander didn’t issue a walk and struck out three. “He controlled the game and it was good to see,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said of Pavano, who threw 67 of 87 pitches for strikes. Shin-Soo Choo and Jhonny Peralta drove in three runs apiece for Cleveland, which totaled 13 hits and scored three more runs than it did during its four-game slide. Chicago lost for the seventh time in nine games as Gavin Floyd (2-3) gave up eight runs and 11 hits over five innings. The right-hander is 0-2 with a 9.73 ERA in four starts since April 19. Floyd did not throw a first-pitch strike to the first 11 batters he faced. Pavano was 10-for-10 until Brent Lillibridge let an outside pitch go past for ball one. “In the big leagues, if you don’t throw a strike, I don’t care how good you are, you’re going to get killed,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “He couldn’t throw his curve for strikes because he couldn’t throw his fastball for strikes. You have to command your fastball to make the other pitches work.” The last time Pavano faced Chicago, he pitched a three-hit shutout on June 16, 2004, for Florida on the way to an 18-8 record. — The Associated Press

Indians 9, White Sox 4 Chicago AB R H Getz 2b 5 0 0 Lillibridge cf 4 0 1 b-Betemit ph 1 0 0 Quentin lf 4 0 0 Dye rf 4 0 1 Thome dh 4 1 2 Konerko 1b 4 2 3 Pierzynski c 4 1 2 Fields 3b 3 0 2 Al.Ramirez ss 4 0 1 Totals 37 4 12

BI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 4

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

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

Avg. .274 .169 .281 .237 .292 .212 .307 .301 .255 .200

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

BI 0 0 1 3 1 3 0 1 0 0 9

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

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

Avg. .226 .325 .372 .273 .246 .246 .242 .274 .247 .224

Chicago Cleveland

AB 5 4 4 4 4 5 3 0 4 3 36

R 1 2 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 9

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

000 020 200 — 200 403 00x —

4 12 0 9 13 0

b-lined out for Lillibridge in the 9th. LOB: Chicago 7, Cleveland 9. 2B: Pierzynski (3), DeRosa (8), B.Francisco (5). RBIs: Pierzynski (10), Fields (12), Al.Ramirez 2 (13), V.Martinez (20), Choo 3 (17), DeRosa (22), Peralta 3 (13), Garko (12). SB: A.Cabrera (6). CS: Getz (1). SF: Garko. Runners left in scoring position: Chicago 4 (Pierzynski, Getz, Quentin 2); Cleveland 4 (Dellucci 3, V.Martinez). DP: Cleveland 1 (A.Cabrera, Peralta, V.Martinez). Chicago IP H R ER Floyd L, 2-3 5 11 8 8 Gobble 1⁄3 2 1 1 Broadway 2 2⁄3 0 0 0 Cleveland IP H R ER Pavano W, 3-3 6 1⁄3 10 4 4 Laffey 1 2⁄3 2 0 0 R.Betancourt 1 0 0 0

BB 3 0 1 BB 0 0 1

SO NP 3 107 1 9 2 27 SO NP 3 87 2 27 0 24

ERA 7.32 27.00 3.72 ERA 6.45 3.38 5.19

Floyd pitched to 2 batters in the 6th. Inherited runners-scored: Gobble 1-1, Broadway 2-1, Laffey 2-0. HBP: by Floyd (DeRosa). Umpires: Home, Dale Scott; First, Jerry Meals; Second, Mike DiMuro; Third, James Hoye. T: 2:53. A: 14,567 (45,199).

MARK DUNCAN / AP

Cleveland P Carl Pavano won his third straight by limiting the White Sox to four runs.

worries for Reds

PHOENIX—Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker wondered if his team would be sluggish after playing 10 innings Sunday and then flying across three time zones. He needn’t have worried. With Willy Taveras matching a career high with five hits, the Reds opened a six-game Western swing with a 13-5 rout of the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night. “Great way to start a road trip,” Baker said. “Most of the guys, this is the first time we’ve come West. Everybody woke up 5:30, 6 o’clock in the morning, including myself. That’s what you’re a little concerned about, but the guys responded big-time to it.” Adam Rosales added a homer and two doubles as the Reds set season highs in runs and hits (18). “Hopefully, our hitting’s here to stay,” Baker said. Taveras, the leadoff man, set the table nicely. He wrapped four singles around a fourth-inning double. Taveras, who scored four runs and drove in two, had five hits on April 25, 2007, at the New York Mets. He raised his average 32 points, to .315, and stretched his hitting streak to 12 games. — The Associated Press

Reds 13, Diamondbacks 5 Cincinnati AB R H BI Taveras cf 5 4 5 2 D.McDonald cf 1 0 0 0 Hairston Jr. ss 4 2 2 2 Lincoln p 0 0 0 0 Votto 1b 4 1 2 2 Phillips 2b 5 0 2 2 Bruce rf 5 0 0 0 R.Hernandez c 4 0 0 0 b-Hanigan ph-c 1 0 1 0 L.Nix lf 4 2 2 1 Dickerson lf 1 0 0 0 A.Rosales 3b 5 3 3 1 Arroyo p 3 1 1 0 Herrera p 0 0 0 0 d-Janish ph-ss 0 0 0 0 Totals 42 13 18 10

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

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

Avg. .315 .226 .257 --.381 .257 .250 .289 .314 .327 .197 .295 .091 .000 .345

Arizona AB F.Lopez 2b 4 Jo.Wilson p 0 C.Young cf 5 J.Upton rf 4 e-Montero ph 1 Reynolds 3b 4 Byrnes lf 4 Tracy 1b 2 L.Rosales p 0 a-C.Jackson ph 1 Korecky p 0 J.Gutierrez p 0 c-R.Roberts ph-2b 1 Snyder c 4 Ojeda ss 3 Garland p 1 Whitesell 1b 3 Totals 37

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

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

Avg. .323 .231 .193 .307 .273 .254 .216 .207 --.182 ----.348 .219 .302 .000 .059

Cincinnati Arizona

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

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

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

103 304 200 — 13 18 1 002 020 100 — 5 11 1

a-popped out for L.Rosales in the 5th. b-singled for R.Hernandez in the 8th. c-singled for J.Gutierrez in the 8th. d-walked for Herrera in the 9th. e-flied out for J.Upton in the 9th. E: A.Rosales (1), Reynolds (7). LOB: Cincinnati 6, Arizona 7. 2B: Taveras (6), Hairston Jr. 2 (5), Phillips (5), A.Rosales 2 (2), F.Lopez (10), Byrnes (7). HR: L.Nix (2), off Garland; A.Rosales (2), off Garland; J.Upton (7), off Arroyo; F.Lopez (4), off Arroyo; Reynolds (8), off Arroyo. RBIs: Taveras 2 (7), Hairston Jr. 2 (8), Votto 2 (26), Phillips 2 (20), L.Nix (7), A.Rosales (5), F.Lopez (8), J.Upton 2 (18), Reynolds (15), Byrnes (12). SB: Taveras (8). S: Arroyo. Runners left in scoring position: Cincinnati 4 (Bruce, R.Hernandez 2, Votto); Arizona 3 (Reynolds, Garland, C.Jackson). DP: Cincinnati 1 (Hairston Jr., Phillips, Votto); Arizona 2 (Ojeda, F.Lopez, Tracy), (Ojeda, R.Roberts, Whitesell). Cincinnati IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Arroyo W, 5-2 7 10 5 5 0 5 124 7.02 Herrera 1 1 0 0 0 0 12 2.13 Lincoln 1 0 0 0 0 0 11 9.45 Arizona IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Garland L, 3-2 3 2⁄3 10 7 7 1 0 77 5.18 L.Rosales 1 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 10 4.15 Korecky 2 7 6 6 1 2 4913.50 J.Gutierrez 1 1 0 0 0 0 17 2.84 Jo.Wilson 1 0 0 0 1 0 12 0.00 Inherited runners-scored: L.Rosales 1-0. HBP: by Lincoln (Jo.Wilson), by Arroyo (Ojeda). WP: Korecky 2. Umpires: Home, Doug Eddings; First, Hunter Wendelstedt; Second, Rob Drake; Third, Dana DeMuth. T: 2:58. A: 17,640 (48,652).

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

20

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

AMERICAN LEAGUE TEAM STATS

THROUGH MONDAY’S GAMES BALTIMORE ORIOLES BATTERS

BOSTON RED SOX BATTERS

CHICAGO WHITE SOX

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Jones

.358 .418 120

33

43 12

1

6 21 10 25

3

2

1

Youkilis

.393 .505

89

23

35 11

0

6 20 16 18

1

0

1

Nix

.333 .400 12

Markakis

.352 .434 122

33

43 10

0

6 30 17 15

1

1

3

Lugo

.333 .375

30

6

10

0

1

1

4

0

0

1

Konerko

.307 .352 114 17

Scott

.303 .384

99

14

30

6

0

5 15 12 19

0

0

0

Bay

.324 .468 108

29

35

8

1

9 34 28 28

4

0

0

Pierzynski

.301 .337 93

11

28

3

1

4

10 5

5

1

Roberts

.290 .356 131

24

38

8

0

4 12 14 18

4

3

2

Pedroia

.320 .409 128

29

41

9

0

1 12 18 11

4

3

1

Dye

.292 .345 106 16

31

3

0

7

17 8

29 0

Huff

.268 .343 123

16

33

8

0

6 31 15 19

0

1

2

Lowell

.312 .344 125

18

39 11

1

6 28

5 15

0

0

4

Anderson

.288 .383 52

15

2

0

0

4

14 2

3

2

2

BATTERS

AVG OBA AB

CLEVELAND INDIANS

R

1

6

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

4

1

0

1

2

2

35

9

0

3

21 7

2

8

BATTERS

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

3

3

3

.372 .454 129

25

Cabrera

.325 .397 120

23

39

6

1

1 16 15 25

6

0

1

Garko

.274 .375

73

4

20

4

0

1 12 12

7

0

0

1

1

Choo

.273 .410 110

14

30

7

1

3 17 23 25

6

0

2

0

0

0

Barfield

14 0

0

0

Martinez

0

2

1

1

AVG OBA AB 1.000 1.000

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

1

0

48 10

1

6 20 21 13

0

0

1

Andino

.261 .292

23

4

6

0

0

0

1

1

4

1

0

0

Ellsbury

.292 .326 130

18

38

5

0

1 10

7 12 15

3

0

Betemit

.281 .324 32

2

9

5

0

0

3

2

11 0

0

2

Hafner

.270 .370

63

10

17

5

0

4

8

8 18

0

0

0

Izturis

.244 .292

90

8

22

4

0

1 10

4

4

6

0

4

Green

.289 .349

76

9

22

7

0

1 12

2 16

1

2

6

Getz

.274 .340 84

11

23

5

1

0

6

6

8

3

1

2

Francisco

.247 .324

97

16

24

5

0

2

8

7 21

6

1

1

Mora

.242 .288

62

4

15

0

0

2 11

4 10

1

2

2

Baldelli

.273 .304

22

4

6

0

0

1

1

0

0

0

Fields

.255 .342 106 13

27

2

2

2

12 12 34 0

2

5

DeRosa

.246 .311 134

22

33

8

0

6 22 12 30

0

1

5

Moeller

.233 .281

30

1

7

2

1

1

1

2

5

0

0

0

Drew

.242 .368

95

16

23

8

1

4 17 18 29

0

1

1

Wise

.238 .238 21

5

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

Peralta

.246 .306 114

13

28

6

0

1 13

9 36

0

0

3

Montanez

.212 .289

33

4

7

3

0

1

5

3

7

0

0

0

Varitek

.227 .324

88

11

20

7

0

4 12 11 18

0

0

1

Quentin

.237 .338 114 18

27

4

0

8

18 10 14 1

0

0

Dellucci

.242 .286

33

2

8

2

0

0

1

9

0

0

0

Zaun

.210 .304

81

10

17

6

0

1

3 10 12

0

0

3

Ortiz

.224 .338 116

13

26 10

1

0 14 20 26

0

1

0

Podsednik

.231 .222 26

1

6

1

0

0

2

0

1

1

Sizemore

.226 .310 137

19

31

8

0

6 23 17 37

5

5

0

Wigginton

.198 .236 101

5

20

2

0

1 10

4 12

1

1

2

Bailey

.206 .341

34

5

7

2

1

1

6

5 12

0

0

2

Thome

.212 .330 85

15

18

4

0

4

14 15 32 0

0

0

Shoppach

.224 .366

58

9

13

2

0

2

7

5 24

0

0

0

Pie

.183 .269

4

11

1

0

1

7 17

1

2

0

Kottaras

.154 .258

26

3

4

2

0

0

3

4

9

0

0

0

Ramirez

.200 .241 100 7

20

3

0

1

13 6

14 6

1

2

Valbuena

.200 .429

10

2

2

2

0

0

0

4

3

0

0

0

Team Totals

.270 .340 1090 162 294 62

Lowrie

.056 .150

18

0

1

0

0

0

0

2

8

0

0

0

Miller

.182 .280 22

4

4

2

0

0

3

3

3

0

0

0

LaPorta

.154 .267

13

3

2

0

0

1

2

1

3

0

0

0

Team Totals

.282 .371 1103 185 311 80

Lillibridge

.169 .269 59

7

10

2

0

0

0

8

17 3

0

2

Team Totals

.267 .355 1150 170 307 67

PITCHERS

60

G

GS SV

2

2 35 153 108 171 18 12 22

W

L ERA

IP

H

R

Baez

2

1 2.50 10

0

0

18.0

9

5

5

2

5

15

McCrory

0

0 2.70

2

0

0

3.1

3

1

1

0

1

2

Walker

0

0 2.84 14

0

0

6.1

8

2

2

1

0

Johnson

2

1 3.77 14

0

0

14.1

14

6

6

2

4

Sherrill

0

1 3.95 14

0

5

13.2

17

6

6

3

6

4

6

6 36 178 141 221 25 10 21

0

Team Totals .253 .323 1038 129 263 46 4

ER HR BB SO PITCHERS

W

L ERA

G

GS SV

Delcarmen

1

0 0.55 14

0

8

Ramirez

3

0 0.55 16

10

Papelbon

0

0 1.29 13

12

Wakefield

4

1 2.93

0

6

0

1

H

R

ER HR BB SO

PITCHERS

0

16.1

13

3

1

0

8

0

0

16.1

7

1

1

1

5

8

Dotel

1

0

0.00 12 0

0

10.1

6

0

0

0

8

0

8

14.0

12

2

2

1

8

18

Linebrink

1

1

0.82 11 0

0

11.0

10

1

1

0

5

6

6

0

40.0

27

13

13

1

18

25

Jenks

0

1

1.64 11 0

7

11.0

8

3

2

1

PITCHERS

W

L ERA

G

GS SV

3 33 153 138 265 24

8 17

30 125 95 207 17 10 23

IP

14

0

IP

H

R

W

L ERA

G

Herges

0

0 3.00

2

0

0

13

Sipp

0

0 3.00

7

0

0

6.0

3

9

Laffey

2

0 3.38

6

4

1

26.2

25

4

12

Lee

1

5 3.45

7

7

0

47.0

57

18

ER HR BB SO

GS SV

IP

H

R

3.0

2

1

ER HR BB SO 1

1

0

4

2

2

2

4

8

10

10

1

15

13

18

3

12

33

Uehara

2

3 4.01

7

7

0

42.2

41

22

19

6

7

32

Okajima

2

0 3.31 16

0

0

16.1

10

6

6

2

9

20

Buehrle

5

0

2.61 6

6

0

38.0

30

11

11

3

11

24

J. Lewis

2

3 4.86 15

0

1

16.2

19

9

9

6

6

13

Guthrie

2

3 4.97

7

7

0

41.2

47

26

23

8

14

27

Saito

0

0 4.50 12

0

2

12.0

14

6

6

2

3

11

Carrasco

0

0

3.13 12 0

0

23.0

28

9

8

1

6

12

Betancourt

1

1 5.19 16

0

0

17.1

19

13

10

2

8

19

Bergesen

1

0 4.98

4

4

0

21.2

31

14

12

3

7

11

Masterson

2

2 5.28

8

4

0

29.0

31

17

17

2

10

26

Thornton

1

1

3.27 13 0

0

11.0

12

4

4

1

6

19

Carmona

1

4 5.57

7

7

0

42.0

43

27

26

5

23

25

Hendrickson

1

4 5.13

6

6

0

26.1

36

23

15

7

12

18

Lester

2

3 6.31

7

7

0

41.1

52

29

29

8

13

49

Danks

2

2

3.41 6

6

0

34.1

31

13

13

4

10

31

Pavano

3

3 6.45

7

7

0

37.2

50

27

27

4

8

26

Bass

1

1 6.20 10

0

0

20.1

28

16

14

5

7

20

Beckett

3

2 6.42

7

7

0

40.2

52

30

29

4

20

41

Broadway

0

1

3.72 6

0

0

9.2

12

4

4

0

5

5

Wood

1

1 6.55 12

0

5

11.0

13

8

8

2

5

16

Sarfate

0

0 6.39

8

0

0

12.2

13

11

9

3

7

10

Penny

3

1 6.90

6

6

0

30.0

38

27

23

5

15

16

Richard

0

0

4.32 12 0

0

16.2

23

8

8

2

5

10

Smith

0

0 7.11

8

0

0

6.1

7

6

5

0

5

6

Eaton

2

3 7.18

6

6

0

31.1

38

25

25

5

15

24

Jones

0

0 7.27

7

0

0

8.2

9

7

7

2

3

7

Colon

2

3

4.88 6

6

0

31.1

33

19

17

4

12

23

Reyes

1

1 7.20

6

6

0

30.0

34

24

24

5

16

17

Ray

0

0 7.20 12

0

0

10.0

16

8

8

1

4

11

Matsuzaka

0

1 12.79

2

2

0

6.1

14

9

9

3

5

5

Floyd

2

3

7.32 7

7

0

39.1

53

33

32

4

21

31

S. Lewis

0

0 8.31

1

1

0

4.1

7

4

4

2

1

3

Simon

0

1 9.95

2

2

0

6.1

8

7

7

5

2

3

Gobble

0

0

27.00 1

0

0

0.1

2

1

1

0

0

1

Kobayashi

0

0 8.38 10

0

0

9.2

12

9

9

2

4

4

13 19 5.38 32

32

7

272.2 303 150 142 25 118 210

0

1 12.60

0

5.0

7

7

7

0

3

1

Team Totals

5 279.1 333 190 167 52

99 210

Team Totals

20 12 4.89 32

32 10 285.1 300 163 155 32 127 247

Team Totals 14 17 4.69 31 31

Sowers Team Totals

1

1

12 21 5.77 33

33

7 290.0 333 192 186 38 129 203

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

21

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

AMERICAN LEAGUE TEAM STATS

THROUGH MONDAY’S GAMES DETROIT TIGERS BATTERS

KANSAS CITY ROYALS

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

.378 .448 111

18

42

3

0

7 22 13 15

1

2

3

Bloomquist

.368 .448

57

12

21

1

2

1

9

7

4

1

1

Napoli

.316 .435

76

14

24

6

0

5 14 15 19

2

3

1

Mauer

.485 .553

33

7

16

3

0

3 10

4

0

0

0

Thomas

.333 .429

2

6

1

1

0

3

1

0

0

Callaspo

.340 .395 103

17

35 13

1

2 12 10

7

0

0

1

Abreu

.309 .389 110

10

34

5

0

0 12 15 17 12

0

2

Morneau

.322 .388 121

23

39

9

0

8 26 13 19

0

0

0

7

3

3

4

5

BATTERS

MINNESOTA TWINS

Cabrera

18

BATTERS

LOS ANGELES ANGELS

.327 .373

55

11

18

3

1

0

8

6

1

1

Teahen

.302 .386 116

18

35

8

0

4 13 12 22

1

0

0

Aybar

.309 .329

68

5

21

6

0

0

7

0

1

3

Kubel

.308 .342 104

16

32

9

1

4 17

6 17

0

0

0

Everett

.281 .319

64

10

18

5

0

1 12

3 11

1

1

4

Butler

.284 .371 102

16

29

9

0

2 13 14 16

0

0

0

Hunter

.294 .358 109

24

32

7

0

8 21 11 16

3

1

0

Span

.295 .371 122

17

36

4

1

1 15 13 14

7

1

1

Inge

.280 .395 100

21

28

4

0

8 20 16 26

1

2

4

Guillen

.273 .385

66

10

18

2

0

3 11

9 10

1

0

0

Rivera

.281 .319

8

25

5

0

1

0

0

0

Young

.288 .333

80

10

23

1

0

1 13

4 21

2

2

2

Polanco

.270 .313 122

13

33 13

1

0 15

7 10

0

1

0

Jacobs

.257 .336 101

10

26

7

0

5 19 11 31

0

0

2

Morales

.280 .322 107

15

30

9

1

5 18

7 22

0

2

1

Harris

.286 .333

63

9

18

2

0

2

5 11

0

0

0

Santiago

.262 .311

42

4

11

2

0

1 13

3 15

0

1

2

Crisp

.241 .369 116

23

28

8

4

2 11 23 15

8

2

2

Izturis

.278 .303

72

13

20

3

0

0 10

3

8

3

0

2

Cuddyer

.270 .354 111

15

30

5

2

3 18 15 22

3

1

2

Granderson

.254 .328 122

22

31

2

0

9 21 14 26

4

1

0

Buck

.233 .299

5

14

3

2

3 17

0

0

3

Matthews Jr.

.271 .312

70

11

19

4

1

0 12

5 15

0

0

1

Redmond

.237 .326

38

1

9

1

0

0

6

0

0

0

Ordonez

.241 .333 108

12

26

1

0

2 12 15 19

0

0

1

Maier

.231 .394

26

4

6

1

0

0

0

7

5

2

0

0

Figgins

.255 .354 110

19

28

4

1

0

7 18 20 12

Thames

.222 .250

18

2

4

1

1

0

2

1

6

0

0

0

Olivo

.229 .260

70

5

16

1

1

2

8

1 26

1

1

0

Guerrero

.250 .314

32

3

8

0

0

1

3

Laird

.215 .323

79

14

17

2

1

1

7

9 16

1

0

0

DeJesus

.224 .278 116

13

26

5

1

3 14

7 21

0

1

0

Kendrick

.245 .272 110

16

27

5

1

60

6 16

3

5

Anderson

89

7

BATTERS

8

5

7

7

3

5

2

4

Crede

.232 .308

82

12

19

6

0

3

7

9 14

0

0

1

3

0

0

0

Gomez

.218 .259

55

8

12

4

1

0

1

3 14

2

3

0

4 19

2 24

5

0

2

Punto

.207 .313

82

9

17

2

0

0

8 12 15

3

0

2

3

Larish

.208 .296

24

7

5

0

1

2

3

3

6

0

0

0

Aviles

.202 .223

99

8

20

3

1

1

8

3 21

1

0

4

Mathis

.244 .306

45

7

11

1

0

0 10

4 11

0

0

1

Buscher

.200 .349

35

4

7

1

1

1

5

7

9

0

0

0

Guillen

.200 .267

90

11

18

4

0

0

6

8 15

1

0

0

Gordon

.095 .269

21

2

2

0

0

1

3

3

8

1

0

1

Quinlan

.176 .176

17

1

3

1

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

0

Tolbert

.167 .286

18

3

3

1

0

0

0

3

5

0

0

0

Sardinha

.111 .100

9

1

1

1

0

0

1

0

5

0

0

0

Hernandez

.000 .000

4

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Willits

.000 .000

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Team Totals

.271 .341 1075 147 291 52

Raburn

.050 .208

20

2

1

0

0

0

1

4

5

0

0

1

Pena Jr.

.000 .083

11

1

0

0

0

0

1

1

2

0

0

1

Team Totals

.278 .337 1025 148 285 56

Treanor

.000 .071

13

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

4

0

0

0

Team Totals

.259 .337 1075 146 278 63 12 29 136 116 209 19

Team Totals

.260 .335 995 150 259 42

6 31 145 104 190 16

PITCHERS

GS SV

ER HR BB SO

PITCHERS PITCHERS

W

L ERA

G

GS SV

IP

H

R

ER HR BB SO

Oliver

W

L ERA

G

0

0 1.42

6

GS SV 1

0

IP

H

R

12.2

12

2

W

L ERA

IP

H

R

Nathan

1

0 1.64 11

0

5

11.0

8

2

2

2

2

10

8

Guerrier

1

0 3.63 15

0

0

17.1

12

7

7

2

3

11

ER HR BB SO 2

7 13

9 20

5 18

9 16 PITCHERS

4 24 141 92 173 37

7 26 136 109 195 19

0

2

G

GS SV

ER HR BB SO

W

L ERA

G

IP

H

R

Greinke

6

1 0.51

7

7

0

53.0

34

4

3

0

8

59

Saunders

5

1 2.66

7

7

0

47.1

41

16

14

4

11

22

Perkins

1

2 3.73

6

6

0

41.0

38

17

17

3

8

22

Zumaya

1

0 0.00

5

0

0

6.0

5

0

0

0

0

2

Bannister

3

0 1.48

4

4

0

24.1

18

7

4

1

11

14

Weaver

3

1 2.66

6

6

0

40.2

31

13

12

6

9

31

Blackburn

2

2 4.32

7

7

0

41.2

49

24

20

3

11

19

Seay

0

0 1.80 13

0

0

10.0

6

2

2

0

2

7

Tejeda

0

0 1.69

8

0

0

10.2

7

2

2

0

10

16

Palmer

3

0 3.06

3

3

0

17.2

11

7

6

1

8

8

Mijares

0

1 4.50

7

0

0

6.0

6

3

3

1

2

8

Jackson

2

2 2.60

7

7

0

45.0

37

17

13

4

11

35

Wright

0

1 1.83 13

0

0

19.2

15

7

4

2

4

14

Moseley

1

0 4.30

3

3

0

14.2

20

8

7

3

3

8

Ayala

1

1 4.70 14

0

0

15.1

21

9

8

1

4

10

Perry

0

1 2.92 13

0

0

12.1

7

6

4

0

11

10

Cruz

2

0 1.88 13

0

1

14.1

7

3

3

1

9

11

Loux

2

2 4.64

6

6

0

33.0

43

17

17

1

10

13

Dickey

1

0 4.96

9

1

0

16.1

22

9

9

3

10

13

Galarraga

3

2 4.08

6

0

35.1

33

16

16

4

16

29

Soria

1

0 2.08

8

0

7

8.2

8

3

2

0

4

10

R. Rodriguez

0

0 4.91

6

0

0

11.0

18

9

6

1

3

3

Slowey

4

1 5.50

6

6

0

34.1

50

21

21

6

2

25

6

Porcello

3

3 4.28

6

6

0

33.2

33

17

16

6

11

20

Meche

2

3 4.43

7

7

0

42.2

46

22

21

1

14

37

Arredondo

1

0 5.27 15

0

0

13.2

15

8

8

0

3

19

Liriano

2

4 5.75

7

7

0

40.2

38

27

26

5

16

33

Miner

2

1 4.29

6

4

0

21.0

26

15

10

3

11

14

Mahay

1

0 4.50 12

0

0

10.0

14

6

5

1

2

13

Fuentes

0

2 5.40 13

0

9

11.2

14

7

7

1

5

15

Breslow

0

1 6.75 13

0

0

10.2

8

9

8

2

10

8

Verlander

3

2 4.50

7

7

0

44.0

38

25

22

3

14

56

Waechter

0

0 4.50

3

0

0

4.0

5

2

2

2

1

3

Shields

1

2 7.71 14

0

1

11.2

8

11

10

1

12

8

Baker

1

4 6.83

5

0

27.2

31

21

21

8

5

21

Lyon

1

2 4.97 11

0

0

12.2

12

7

7

2

7

4

Davies

2

1 5.22

7

7

0

39.2

39

23

23

6

19

29

Speier

0

1 8.18

9

0

0

11.0

12

10

10

2

6

11

Crain

1

1 7.88 10

0

0

8.0

6

7

7

0

5

7

Rincon

1

0 5.23

7

0

0

10.1

12

6

6

2

6

10

Ponson

1

4 5.91

6

6

0

35.0

43

23

23

4

12

19

Bulger

0

1 9.00 10

0

0

10.0

12

10

10

2

6

9

15 17 5.22 32

32

Rodney

0

0 5.25 12

0

6

12.0

13

7

7

1

4

9

Farnsworth

0

3 6.10 11

0

0

10.1

12

7

7

2

4

10

Ortega

0

2 9.24

3

0

12.2

19

15

13

4

6

7

1

0 6.30

0

10.0

10

7

7

0

6

7

Ramirez

0

1 7.71

0

11.2

17

10

10

2

4

9

Robertson Team Totals

8

0

17 13 3.84 30

30

6 262.2 252 135 112 29 103 210

Team Totals

8

1

18 14 3.45 32

32

8 284.0 265 119 109 22 102 244

Team Totals

3

16 14 4.64 30

30 10 264.0 282 150 136 28

98 172

Team Totals

5

5 279.1 305 169 162 39

84 193

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

22

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

AMERICAN LEAGUE TEAM STATS

THROUGH MONDAY’S GAMES NEW YORK YANKEES BATTERS

OAKLAND ATHLETICS

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Cabrera

.333 .407

81

15

27

4

0

4 10 10 12

3

1

1

Suzuki

.318 .356 110

13

35 11

Cano

.321 .353 131

21

42

8

0

6 18

7 12

1

0

1

Kennedy

.286 .286

7

0

Damon

.314 .388 118

23

37

6

1

9 25 14 18

3

0

1

Cust

.284 .402 102

19

29

4

0

4 14 19 28

1

Posada

.312 .402

77

10

24

6

0

5 20 12 19

1

0

1

Crosby

.262 .387

61

7

16

3

2

0

8 11 11

1

Nady

.286 .310

28

4

8

4

0

0

2

1

6

0

0

0

Sweeney

.254 .313 122

17

31

6

0

2

8 10 22

2

Pena

.279 .340

43

4

12

1

0

0

4

4

6

1

0

2

Garciaparra

.231 .262

39

5

9

1

0

1

7

Cervelli

.273 .333

11

2

3

0

0

0

0

1

2

0

0

0

Holliday

.226 .282 115

13

26

4

1

4 20

Jeter

.273 .347 132

19

36

6

0

4 13 13 20

7

0

2

Cabrera

.223 .278 121

12

27

3

0

Molina

.273 .333

44

5

12

2

0

1

6

0

0

1

Swisher

.270 .398 100

22

27

9

1

8 21 20 31

0

0

3

Buck

.211 .286

57

3

12

1

Matsui

.265 .360

98

9

26

6

1

3 12 13 15

0

0

0

Giambi

.208 .345

96

17

20

4

Gardner

.227 .288

66

11

15

3

0

0

6 14

6

1

0

Ellis

.206 .265

63

6

13

2

Teixeira

.198 .338 106

18

21

4

0

7 17 21 23

0

0

0

6

4

4

BATTERS

SEATTLE MARINERS

Rodriguez

.182 .250

11

1

2

0

0

1

3

1

2

0

0

0

Ransom

.180 .226

50

4

9

5

1

0

6

3 15

1

0

2

Berroa

.167 .167

12

4

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

Team Totals

PITCHERS Coke

.273 .353 1108 172 303 64

W

L ERA

G

1

2 3.29 15

GS SV 0

0

3

4 48 161 130 204 23

IP

H

R

13.2

10

8

2 17

ER HR BB SO 5

2

4

10

2

0

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

0

2 14

6

8

0

1

1

Suzuki

.315 .351 108

11

34

2

1

2

9

5 10

5

2

1

Longoria

.358 .410 123

27

44 15

0 11 44 12 29

2

0

3

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

Balentien

.313 .370

48

8

15

4

0

1

3

5

8

1

0

0

Bartlett

.351 .390 114

18

40

6

0

4 13

7

1

2

0

1

Branyan

.289 .358

97

19

28

7

0

7 15

9 29

1

0

0

Crawford

.333 .397 135

25

45

8

2

1 15 13 27 22

0

1

0

4

Chavez

.279 .345 104

11

29

2

0

1

8 11 14

6

1

1

Hernandez

.333 .333

21

1

7

1

0

1

2

1

1

0

2

1

Sweeney

.279 .323

61

7

17

4

0

2

9

7

0

0

1

Iwamura

.277 .341 112

14

31 12

0

0 12 11 25

7

0

4

1

2

BATTERS

TAMPA BAY RAYS

3

BATTERS

6 18

4

0

7

0

0

0

Gutierrez

.272 .362

92

14

25

3

0

3 13 12 21

0

2

0

Zobrist

.269 .347

67

10

18

5

0

5 13

8 17

2

1

0

7 23

0

0

0

Betancourt

.265 .276 113

7

30

4

1

1 12

2 10

2

0

4

Gross

.265 .390

49

9

13

2

0

1

5 10 12

1

1

0

0

6 10 10

1

3

4

Lopez

.256 .298 121

16

31

5

0

3 19

8 17

0

1

4

Pena

.252 .355 119

20

30

6

1 13 32 18 42

0

1

5

0

1

5

6 13

1

1

0

Johjima

.250 .265

48

4

12

1

0

1

1

0

3 13 16 22

0

0

2

Beltre

.234 .265 128

14

30

9

0

1 14

0

0

2

1

2

Griffey Jr.

.218 .344

11

17

4

0

3

9

5 10

78

6

1

0

0

1

Aybar

.250 .282

36

2

9

4

0

0

7

0

0

0

5 20

5

2

7

Burrell

.250 .349 108

9

27

4

0

1 17 16 25

2

2

1

0

0

7 15 16

0

0

0

Riggans

.250 .250

4

1

1

0

0

1

1

0

0

0

0

1

Davis

.200 .286

25

2

5

0

0

0

0

3

8

3

2

0

Johnson

.207 .230

58

4

12

3

1

0

8

2 18

0

1

1

Kapler

.222 .286

45

3

10

6

0

0

0

4 10

2

0

1

Powell

.172 .242

29

2

5

3

0

0

6

3

7

0

0

2

Cedeno

.138 .219

29

5

4

1

0

1

1

3

0

1

1

Navarro

.182 .206

99

11

18

4

0

1

4

1 18

1

0

1

Hannahan

.158 .238

19

2

3

2

0

1

3

2

5

0

0

0

Team Totals

.260 .312 1098 131 285 49

Upton

.167 .277 102

18

17

5

0

0

3 16 34

7

2

0

Chavez

.100 .129

30

0

3

1

0

0

1

1

7

0

0

0

Team Totals

.272 .343 1144 169 311 78

Team Totals

.236 .310 1024 121 242 46

PITCHERS

GS SV

3 18 116 101 185 11 10 21

IP

H

R

ER HR BB SO

GS SV

9

3 26 124 82 183 20 10 24

PITCHERS

W

L ERA

G

IP

H

R

Rowland-Smith

0

0 0.00

1

1

0

3.1

4

2

0

0

4

1

Vargas

1

0 0.00

2

0

0

3.2

3

0

0

0

1

4

Percival

3 40 166 118 268 53

7 21

ER HR BB SO PITCHERS

W

L ERA

G

0

1 2.08 10

GS SV 0

5

IP

H

R

8.2

9

2

ER HR BB SO

W

L ERA

G

2

1

3

4

Gray

0

0 0.00

1

0

0

0.1

0

0

0

0

0

0

Kelley

1

1 1.54 10

0

0

11.2

11

2

2

2

1

11

Cormier

0

0 2.49 12

0

1

25.1

25

7

7

1

6

8

Bailey

3

0 1.27 15

0

1

21.1

6

3

3

1

7

24

Aardsma

0

1 1.88 14

0

3

14.1

7

3

3

1

9

15

Garza

3

2 3.56

7

7

0

48.0

31

20

19

5

19

42

Bedard

2

1 2.53

7

7

0

42.2

39

14

12

3

11

43

Howell

0

2 3.65 14

0

0

12.1

14

5

5

1

6

15

Bruney

2

0 3.38

9

0

0

8.0

3

3

3

0

2

12

Rivera

0

1 3.65 13

0

6

12.1

15

5

5

4

1

18

Cameron

0

0 1.29

4

0

0

7.0

6

1

1

0

1

4

Chamberlain

2

1 3.89

6

0

34.2

37

18

15

4

17

34

Wuertz

2

1 1.53 16

0

2

17.2

10

4

3

1

2

15

Washburn

3

2 2.68

6

6

0

40.1

33

13

12

3

9

28

Shields

3

3 4.02

7

7

0

47.0

46

21

21

8

14

30

32

Casilla

0

1 1.59

9

0

0

11.1

3

3

2

0

6

7

Lowe

0

0 3.07 14

0

0

14.2

16

6

5

0

6

11

Shouse

1

1 4.22 14

0

0

10.2

12

5

5

2

2

6

16

5

4

2

6

16

Batista

2

0 3.24 12

0

0

16.2

18

10

6

1

9

14

Nelson

0

0 4.61 14

0

1

13.2

10

7

7

3

10

14

6

Sabathia

2

3 3.94

7

7

0

Aceves

0

0 4.15

1

0

0

4.1

4

Pettitte

2

1 4.38

6

6

0

39.0

42

Burnett

2

0 5.26

6

6

0

37.2

35

Ramirez

0

0 5.40 12

0

0

15.0

Albaladejo

2

1 5.63 14

0

0

Veras

1

1 7.20 13

0

Hughes

1

2 8.49

3

Tomko

0

0 9.00

1

Marte

0

1 15.19

Wang

0

3 34.50

Team Totals

48.0

43

23

21

2

16

2

2

1

2

7

Springer

0

1 2.57 15

0

0

14.0

20

19

5

11

23

Braden

3

4 2.79

7

7

0

42.0

46

15

13

3

13

27

White

0

0 3.38

9

0

0

13.1

10

6

5

2

8

3

Niemann

2

3 5.65

6

6

0

28.2

31

20

18

4

18

16

22

22

6

15

33

Cahill

1

2 3.82

6

6

0

33.0

32

15

14

4

18

12

Olson

0

0 3.60

1

0

0

5.0

9

3

2

0

3

2

Sonnanstine

1

3 5.79

6

6

0

32.2

42

22

21

1

12

20

17

10

9

5

11

14

Giese

0

3 3.93

5

1

0

18.1

16

8

8

4

8

7

Hernandez

4

2 4.09

7

7

0

44.0

43

21

20

5

13

47

Kazmir

4

3 5.92

7

7

0

38.0

42

27

25

5

21

30

16.0

16

12

10

3

5

7

Ziegler

0

0 4.05 11

0

4

13.1

18

7

6

0

4

11

Morrow

0

1 4.70

8

0

6

7.2

4

4

4

0

9

9

Balfour

1

0 7.15 14

0

1

11.1

13

9

9

0

10

11

0

15.0

11

12

12

2

10

12

Gallagher

1

1 4.50

5

1

0

12.0

18

7

6

1

2

9

Corcoran

1

0 7.27

8

0

0

8.2

13

7

7

0

9

4

Wheeler

0

0 7.15 13

0

0

11.1

12

9

9

4

3

11

3

0

11.2

17

12

11

2

8

8

Outman

0

0 4.79

6

4

0

20.2

22

13

11

5

10

21

Jakubauskas

1

4 7.67

7

5

0

29.1

34

25

25

4

9

11

15 18 4.63 33

33

0

0

1.0

3

1

1

1

0

0

7

0

0

5.1

9

9

9

3

3

6

3

3

0

6.0

23

23

23

2

6

2

15 16 5.79 31

31

6 278.1 301 193 179 44 123 230

Anderson

0

3 5.79

5

5

0

28.0

33

20

18

4

9

14

Silva

1

3 8.48

6

6

0

28.2

38

27

27

5

9

10

Blevins

0

0 16.20

4

0

0

3.1

6

6

6

1

3

2

Stark

0

1 14.73

4

0

0

3.2

6

6

6

1

4

3

11 18 3.88 29

29

16 16 4.25 32

32

Team Totals

7 271.2 278 131 117 28 109 185

Team Totals

9 287.2 288 149 136 27 114 216

Team Totals

8 287.2 287 154 148 35 124 207

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

AMERICAN LEAGUE TEAM STATS THROUGH MONDAY’S GAMES TEXAS RANGERS BATTERS

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

.371 .405

35

5

13

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

4

2

0

0

Hill

.353 .394 153

25

54

6

0

8 29 10 24

2

1

5

Young

.328 .369 122

8 23

2

1

2

Lind

.333 .405 132

20

44 12

0

6 31 16 27

0

0

0

Kinsler Jones

1

9 28 10 24

8

1

3

Bautista

.328 .443

58

13

19

3

0

1

1

0

0

0

3

1

0

0

Millar

.327 .364

52

8

17

5

0

1 11

3

7

0

0

1

Byrd

0

2 16

1

0

0

Barajas

.319 .350

94

12

30

9

0

3 18

5 12

0

0

4

4

0

0

6

21

40 12

0

7 16

.316 .363 133

25

42

9

.314 .470

51

12

16

6

.308 .318 107

11

33 12

2

8 14 12 2 13

BATTERS

American League

National League

TEAM BATTING AND FIELDING

TEAM BATTING AND FIELDING

4 11 14

CLUB

BA

SLG OBP G

AB

R

H

TB

2B 3B HR RBI

Toronto Boston L.A. Angels Texas N.Y. Yankees Tampa Bay Minnesota Baltimore Cleveland Detroit Seattle Kansas City Chicago White Sox Oakland

.294 .282 .278 .278 .273 .272 .271 .270 .267 .260 .260 .259 .253 .236

.467 .463 .411 .492 .468 .450 .405 .427 .417 .408 .381 .420 .392 .340

1245 1103 1025 1107 1108 1144 1075 1090 1150 995 1098 1075 1038 1024

204 185 148 175 172 169 147 162 170 150 131 146 129 121

366 311 285 308 303 311 291 294 307 259 285 278 263 242

113 146 95 99 119 120 116 145 133 73 129 111 129 75

78 80 56 68 64 78 52 62 67 42 49 63 46 46

44 36 24 53 48 40 26 35 33 31 26 29 30 18

195 178 141 171 161 166 136 153 153 145 124 136 125 116

CS GDP LOB SHO E

DP TP

2 10 9 4 2 7 7 12 8 9 10 5 10 10

34 22 31 33 32 36 20 22 46 29 26 40 18 28

.274 .328 117

17

32

6

0

7 21 10 30

4

0

3

Rolen

.304 .363 112

19

34

7

0

3 12

9 14

2

0

4

.273 .312

88

16

24

2

2

2

6

5 15

3

0

7

Wells

.283 .335 145

24

41

9

1

5 21 12 14

4

0

0

Saltalamacchia .262 .295

84

11

22

4

0

3 13

4 29

0

0

1

Scutaro

.278 .406 133

32

37

5

1

5 18 29 19

2

1

0

Blalock

.257 .297 109

18

28

5

1

9 21

5 17

0

0

0

Overbay

.256 .370

82

13

21

8

0

5 18 16 13

0

0

0

Hamilton

.242 .282

66

8

16

1

1

2 10

3 15

3

0

0

Rios

.255 .311 145

19

37

8

1

3 17 11 29

3

0

1

Davis

.221 .289 104

18

23

3

0

8 16

8 49

0

0

0

Snider

.250 .305

88

12

22

6

0

3 12

7 18

1

0

1

Teagarden

.219 .306

32

3

7

1

0

0

3

3 14

0

0

0

Chavez

.217 .217

23

1

5

0

0

0

2

0

1

0

0

0

Murphy

.207 .309

58

10

12

3

0

1

7

9 13

1

2

0

McDonald

.200 .200

10

3

2

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

Team Totals

.278 .331 1107 175 308 68

Barrett

.167 .211

18

3

3

0

0

1

2

1

5

0

0

0

TEAM PITCHING

Team Totals

.294 .361 1245 204 366 78

2 18

3 6 4 5 4 3 7 2 3 6 3 12 4 3

9 0 11 6 7 5 5 3 5 11 11 9 2 6

Andrus

3 44 195 130 198 15

34 32 30 31 31 33 32 32 33 30 32 32 31 29

SH SF HBP BB IBB SO SB

Cruz

4 18

.361 .371 .337 .331 .353 .343 .341 .340 .355 .335 .312 .337 .323 .310

CLUB Toronto Boston L.A. Angels Texas N.Y. Yankees Tampa Bay Minnesota Baltimore Cleveland Detroit Seattle Kansas City ChicagoWhite Sox Oakland

5 53 171 83 259 25

(Through May 11)

(Through May 11)

TORONTO BLUE JAYS

Vizquel

13 10 11 8 8 10 10 7 9 8 9 6 9 7

8 21 4 8 10 11 10 11 24 11 6 15 16 11

130 141 92 83 130 118 109 108 138 104 82 116 95 101

10 15 6 4 7 4 5 4 4 4 7 9 1 2

198 221 173 259 204 268 195 171 265 190 183 209 207 185

15 25 37 25 23 53 19 18 24 16 20 19 17 11

34 35 15 15 26 16 31 16 25 32 35 27 24 20

514 461 356 414 451 449 442 391 528 375 387 434 421 408

0 1 0 1 0 2 3 1 3 2 3 1 5 4

18 21 20 18 17 21 13 22 17 16 24 18 23 21

W

L

ERA

G

CG

SHO

SV

INN

H

R

ER

18 17 11 22 16 15 16 14 20 17 15 13 12 15

14 13 18 12 16 18 14 17 12 14 17 19 21 16

3.45 3.84 3.88 4.11 4.25 4.63 4.64 4.69 4.89 4.90 5.22 5.38 5.77 5.79

32 30 29 34 32 33 30 31 32 31 32 32 33 31

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

4 5 0 3 3 1 3 2 0 1 1 1 0 2

8 6 7 6 9 8 10 7 10 9 5 5 7 6

284.0 262.2 271.2 310.2 287.2 287.2 264.0 272.2 285.1 275.1 279.1 279.1 290.0 278.1

265 252 278 292 288 287 282 303 300 284 305 333 333 301

119 135 131 154 149 154 150 150 163 160 169 190 192 193

109 112 117 142 136 148 136 142 155 150 162 167 186 179

3

2 4.79

6

6

0

35.2

43

19

19

4

13

17

Murphy

0

0 1.93

7

0

0

9.1

1

2

2

1

7

4

1

2 4.85 15

0

0

13.0

14

11

7

1

7

10

Downs

0

0 2.20 15

0

3

16.1

13

5

4

1

1

20

Padilla

2

2 4.97

7

7

0

41.2

40

24

23

4

17

24

Carlson

0

1 2.70 17

0

0

16.2

12

5

5

0

6

10

Feldman

2

0 5.79

6

3

0

23.1

22

15

15

3

8

14

Halladay

6

1 3.29

7

0

52.0

51

20

19

5

7

44

CLUB

HR

HBP

BB

IBB

SO

WP

BK

Kansas City Detroit Oakland Toronto Seattle Tampa Bay L.A. Angels Chicago White Sox Boston Texas Minnesota Baltimore Cleveland N.Y. Yankees

22 29 28 36 27 35 28 25 32 38 39 52 38 44

9 5 3 14 12 10 9 6 24 18 9 12 12 23

102 103 109 109 114 124 98 118 127 108 84 99 129 123

3 5 8 4 4 6 5 11 5 5 3 9 7 7

244 210 185 240 216 207 172 210 247 161 193 210 203 230

15 12 6 11 17 17 10 13 9 9 9 6 7 13

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

L ERA

IP

H

R

1

0 0.00 14

G

0

9

14.2

7

0

0

0

4

13

O'Day

1

0 1.42

0

0

6.1

5

1

1

0

0

6

8

GS SV

ER HR BB SO PITCHERS Wolfe

W

L ERA

G

1

0 0.00

1

GS SV 0

0

IP

H

R

0.2

2

0

ER HR BB SO 0

0

0

1

Holland

0

1 2.08

5

0

0

8.2

8

2

2

1

3

4

Cecil

1

0 0.64

2

2

0

14.0

11

2

1

0

2

12

Millwood

3

3 2.92

7

7

0

52.1

44

19

17

7

11

27

Frasor

4

0 0.77 13

0

1

11.2

7

1

1

0

1

6

Jennings

0

1 4.02 10

0

0

15.2

14

9

7

2

7

10

Romero

2

0 1.71

3

3

0

21.0

19

4

4

1

4

13

McCarthy

3

1 6.10

6

6

0

31.0

34

21

21

7

15

22

Eyre

0

0 6.23

3

0

0

4.1

5

3

3

0

3

7

Richmond

4

1 3.29

6

6

0

38.1

32

16

14

5

14

29

1

Camp

0

1 4.50 12

0

0

14.0

16

8

7

2

7

7

Benson

1

1 8.36

3

2

0

14.0

21

14

13

4

6

8

Tallet

2

1 4.95

9

5

0

36.1

29

21

20

7

16

29

Guardado

0

1 8.53 11

0

0

6.1

12

6

6

2

3

2

League

1

1 5.17 13

0

0

15.2

16

9

9

1

5

12

17 14 4.90 31

31

Ray

0

1 6.00

2

0

12.0

14

9

8

3

4

6

Team Totals

9 275.1 284 160 150 38 108 161

2

Litsch

0

1 9.00

2

2

0

9.0

14

9

9

4

1

8

Ryan

1

0 11.12

6

0

2

5.2

8

7

7

2

5

4

22 12 4.11 34

34

Team Totals

6 310.2 292 154 142 36 109 240

BA

SLG

OBP G

AB

R

H

TB

2B

3B HR RBI

N.Y. Mets L.A. Dodgers Washington St. Louis Atlanta Cincinnati Houston Philadelphia Milwaukee Colorado Pittsburgh San Francisco Chicago Cubs Florida San Diego Arizona

.288 .285 .277 .272 .262 .262 .259 .259 .258 .255 .252 .251 .250 .240 .240 .236

.430 .425 .447 .447 .404 .414 .401 .455 .435 .437 .387 .358 .410 .381 .391 .397

.368 .374 .360 .349 .346 .337 .327 .339 .348 .337 .325 .313 .333 .320 .316 .310

1043 1132 1104 1074 1068 1072 1066 996 1064 1000 1040 1047 1054 1103 1068 1102

154 184 157 172 141 145 133 164 158 146 130 120 149 147 122 125

300 323 306 292 280 281 276 258 274 255 262 263 264 265 256 260

89 103 149 103 139 131 141 82 98 96 127 94 99 109 97 116

51 68 51 65 63 54 55 57 61 53 68 50 47 50 56 69

13 6 7 6 5 5 9 6 4 6 6 7 5 6 8 3

CLUB

SH

SF HBP BB IBB SO

SB CS GDP LOB SHO E

DP TP

N.Y. Mets L.A. Dodgers Washington St. Louis Atlanta Cincinnati Houston Philadelphia Milwaukee Colorado Pittsburgh San Francisco Chicago Cubs Florida San Diego Arizona

19 8 12 20 17 26 19 7 11 12 14 13 6 16 18 9

13 10 4 15 8 10 15 12 12 10 9 11 9 6 5 8

171 212 260 190 199 216 188 180 261 226 223 227 233 273 213 256

27 24 13 16 6 18 21 12 10 23 18 21 19 18 15 25

22 28 28 31 19 29 41 17 25 27 32 36 23 19 35 33

CG 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1

SHO 3 2 4 2 1 6 1 0 4 2 3 1 1 0 0 0

9 11 10 18 11 12 8 15 17 8 13 15 13 10 7 8

131 156 136 118 131 114 107 111 138 120 104 84 122 123 115 113

31 33 31 32 32 32 32 29 32 30 31 31 31 32 32 33 18 20 7 8 7 5 8 2 7 6 8 11 6 8 7 7

10 8 6 6 5 9 15 5 9 9 6 8 11 11 4 9

27 36 22 19 26 24 25 20 25 24 17 25 23 17 24 14

455 485 524 423 441 422 401 361 450 396 416 401 445 446 404 436

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

24 26 41 37 26 33 26 42 40 39 20 16 37 31 30 34 22 13 33 26 20 27 12 8 20 18 14 14 19 21 15 25

144 175 152 167 132 136 125 158 155 141 124 109 139 141 118 119 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1

(THROUGH MAY 11)

CLUB

Wilson

W

CLUB

TEAM PITCHING

Harrison

PITCHERS

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

(THROUGH MAY 11) Kansas City Detroit Oakland Toronto Seattle Tampa Bay L.A. Angels Chicago White Sox Boston Texas Minnesota Baltimore Cleveland N.Y. Yankees

Francisco

23

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

CLUB L.A. Dodgers N.Y. Mets San Francisco Atlanta St. Louis Cincinnati Milwaukee Florida Pittsburgh Houston Arizona Colorado Chicago Cubs San Diego Philadelphia Washington

W 22 17 17 16 20 18 18 17 12 14 13 12 17 13 15 10

L 11 14 14 16 12 14 14 15 19 17 20 18 14 19 14 20

ERA 3.77 3.94 3.97 3.99 4.05 4.07 4.16 4.28 4.31 4.42 4.48 4.56 4.60 4.69 5.39 5.42

G 33 31 31 32 32 32 32 32 31 32 33 30 31 32 29 31

SV 10 9 8 8 12 9 10 6 5 6 8 6 8 8 5 5

INN 294.0 274.1 278.2 282.0 286.1 289.1 283.2 290.0 269.2 285.1 295.1 262.2 275.2 282.1 259.0 272.1

H 247 263 260 269 289 275 258 292 260 302 299 275 257 282 273 314

R 127 135 128 139 145 143 139 153 139 147 155 143 148 160 156 190

CLUB

HR

HBP

BB

IBB

SO

WP

BK

L.A. Dodgers N.Y. Mets San Francisco Atlanta St. Louis Cincinnati Milwaukee Florida Pittsburgh Houston Arizona Colorado Chicago Cubs San Diego Philadelphia Washington

22 26 32 22 29 30 35 26 27 31 38 33 37 28 53 33

17 10 9 13 9 14 18 7 15 14 5 9 9 9 16 11

120 121 127 112 107 122 120 122 123 124 109 101 134 131 112 138

14 7 12 12 2 5 8 14 8 5 3 10 6 13 6 10

247 216 253 250 209 221 226 247 166 213 233 190 263 221 196 177

17 8 13 9 9 10 12 14 7 8 16 6 14 11 4 18

0 3 1 0 3 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 3 1 0 1

ER 123 120 123 125 129 131 131 138 129 140 147 133 141 147 155 164

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

24

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

NATIONAL LEAGUE TEAM STATS THROUGH MONDAY’S GAMES ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS BATTERS

ATLANTA BRAVES

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Roberts

.348 .429

23

3

8

Lopez

.323 .383 127

Upton

.307 .391 101

Ojeda

.302 .384

63

Montero

.273 .333

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

0

0

3

7

1

0

0

Infante

.338 .372

71

10

24

3

0

1 10

5

5

1

0

2

Freel

1.000 1.000

1

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Votto

.381 .484 105

17

40 10

0

4 26 19 21

2

1

3

16

41 10

0

4

8 12 24

3

1

4

Kotchman

.319 .379 113

11

36 13

0

2 14

9 14

0

0

0

Scales

.385 .385

13

3

5

0

1

0

0

0

4

0

0

0

Janish

.345 .424

29

10

0

0

0

0

1

20

31

6

0

7 18 13 27

3

1

1

Escobar

.302 .367 116

17

35

6

0

3 17

9 13

1

1

2

Ramirez

.364 .417

66

8

24

3

0

4 16

5

8

0

0

1

Nix

.327 .357

52

11

17

8

1

8

19

4

0

0

2

8

6

0

1

2

Ross

.298 .411

47

8

14

4

0

3

9

9 18

0

0

0

Fukudome

.319 .449

94

20

30

7

1

4 17 22 18

3

4

0

Taveras

.315 .381 111

24

35

6

1

44

4

12

4

0

2

5

4 13

0

0

3

Prado

.297 .381

37

2

11

5

0

1

6

5

0

1

1

Hill

.306 .390

36

5

11

2

0

1

9

0

0

0

Hanigan

.314 .375

35

5

11

1

0

Reynolds

.254 .333 118

18

30

4

1

8 15 13 41

4

1

7

C. Jones

.284 .417

88

15

25

4

1

3 11 19 15

0

0

4

Theriot

.299 .366 117

17

35

4

2

3 15 12 20

7

2

4

Rosales

.295 .373

44

7

13

2

Wilson

.231 .333

26

0

6

1

0

0

2

3

0

0

2

Francoeur

.271 .287 129

17

35

4

2

3 19

4 14

0

1

0

Hoffpauir

.295 .343

61

5

18

5

0

3 11

5 11

0

0

1

Hernandez

.289 .349

97

6

28

4

Snyder

.219 .367

64

6

14

4

0

1

8 14 19

0

0

0

Diaz

.258 .342

66

8

17

3

1

2 13

8 17

1

0

1

Soriano

.266 .331 128

29

34

7

0 10 20 12 34

4

2

2

Hairston Jr.

.257 .313

74

16

19

9

3

3

BATTERS

CINCINNATI REDS

1

4

BATTERS

CHICAGO CUBS AVG OBA AB

6

4

BATTERS

3

3

2

2

2

7

3 16

0

0

0

1

7 11 12

8

1

1

0

1

4

2

0

0

0

0

2

5

5

4

0

2

1

0

1 11

8 12

0

0

1

5

0

3

6 13

1

0

2

8

6

Byrnes

.216 .268

88

10

19

7

0

4 12

6

9

5

2

0

McCann

.246 .362

57

10

14

4

0

3 11

7

1

0

2

Fontenot

.229 .321

96

12

22

4

0

5 17 13 20

1

1

2

Phillips

.257 .333 109

15

28

5

0

5 20 14 13

4

2

3

Tracy

.207 .239

82

9

17

7

0

2

9

4

9

0

0

0

Johnson

.242 .327

95

14

23

4

1

3 10 10 14

1

1

2

Johnson

.224 .316

49

6

11

0

1

0

7

0

0

0

Bruce

.250 .328 112

19

28

3

0 10 21 12 22

2

0

1

Drew

.205 .280

44

3

9

3

1

1

5

5

7

0

1

0

Schafer

.217 .357 106

12

23

7

0

2

3 23 43

1

1

0

Lee

.209 .282

91

13

19

5

0

3 15 10 20

0

0

0

McDonald

.226 .273

4

7

0

1

0

0

2

Young

.193 .246 114

13

22

9

1

2

8

7 33

4

2

0

Anderson

.191 .250

47

6

9

4

0

0

4

4

4

0

0

2

Miles

.205 .266

73

10

15

5

0

0

3

6 11

3

0

1

Dickerson

.197 .316

66

6

13

1

1

1

5 11 23

0

2

3

Jackson

.182 .264

99

8

18

4

0

1 14 11 16

5

0

2

Norton

.143 .333

21

2

3

1

0

0

2

6

6

0

0

0

Bradley

.179 .321

67

8

12

1

0

3

6 11 17

0

0

0

Gonzalez

.176 .215

74

4

13

2

0

2

9

3 16

0

0

2

Clark

.179 .258

28

3

5

1

0

2

5

3 15

0

0

1

Team Totals

.262 .346 1068 141 280 63

5 26 132 131 199

6

5 20

Soto

.169 .297

77

5

13

2

0

0

4 13 19

0

0

1

Encarnacion

.127 .286

63

2

8

1

0

1

6 13 19

1

1

3

Whitesell

.059 .273

17

0

1

1

0

0

0

5

0

0

1

Team Totals

.250 .333 1054 149 264 47

Team Totals

.262 .337 1072 145 281 54

Team Totals

.236 .310 1102 125 260 69

PITCHERS

W

L ERA

G

Pena

3

0 1.15 17

0

Haren

3

3 1.84

7

7

GS SV

2

3 34 119 113 256 25

9 25

IP

H

R

ER HR BB SO

0

15.2

12

4

2

0

3

11

0

49.0

33

10

10

3

9

51

Schoeneweis

0

0 2.00 16

0

0

9.0

9

2

2

2

3

4

Qualls

0

0 2.77 12

0

8

13.0

13

4

4

1

2

16

Gutierrez

1

2 2.84 16

0

0

19.0

15

6

6

1

6

24

Davis

2

5 3.25

7

7

0

44.1

39

16

16

8

16

32

Scherzer

0

3 3.98

6

6

0

31.2

29

15

14

4

14

29

Rosales

0

0 4.15

3

0

0

4.1

4

2

2

0

1

3

Vasquez

1

1 4.82

7

0

0

9.1

10

5

5

1

7

8

Garland

3

2 5.18

7

7

0

41.2

48

25

24

5

16

16

Rauch

0

0 7.62 16

0

0

13.0

21

13

11

1

7

9

Petit

0

3 8.03

6

5

0

24.2

33

24

22

8

10

19

Korecky

0

0 13.50

5

0

0

6.0

11

9

9

0

4

3

Webb

0

0 13.50

1

1

0

4.0

6

6

6

2

2

2

Gordon

0

1 21.60

3

0

0

1.2

3

4

4

0

3

0

13 20 4.48 33

33

Team Totals

8 295.1 299 155 147 38 109 233

W

L ERA

IP

H

R

Soriano

PITCHERS

0

0 1.13 16

G

GS SV 0

3

16.0

8

2

2

0

6

22

Bennett

0

0 1.98 14

0

0

13.2

23

4

3

0

5

12

Wells

Jurrjens

3

2 2.01

7

7

0

40.1

32

10

9

3

16

20

Lilly

O'Flaherty

0

0 2.19 15

0

0

12.1

8

3

3

0

1

6

Guzman

Gonzalez

1

0 3.29 16

0

5

13.2

11

6

5

1

5

19

Marshall

Lowe

5

1 3.80

8

8

0

47.1

44

20

20

2

19

34

Parr

0

0 3.86

5

0

0

7.0

8

3

3

0

2

3

Vazquez

3

3 3.88

7

7

0

46.1

42

21

20

6

11

57

4

4

5 37 139 122 233 19 11 19

31

0

1

2

8

5 33 136 114 216 18

9 27

ER HR BB SO PITCHERS

W

L ERA

G

GS SV

0

0 0.00

1

4

2 3.11

6

6

0

1

0 3.63 14

0

0

1

2 4.06

7

5

0

31.0

Gregg

0

1 4.11 16

0

6

15.1

15

7

7

2

Marmol

0

1 4.20 17

0

2

15.0

10

8

7

1

Zambrano

3

1 4.50

6

6

0

38.0

40

20

19

4

1

0

IP

H

R

ER HR BB SO

5.0

5

0

0

37.2

29

14

13

7

17.1

11

7

7

2

32

14

14

4

10

0

2

PITCHERS

W

L ERA

G

GS SV

IP

H

R

ER HR BB SO

7

0

0

0

5

Rhodes

0

0 0.00 13

0

0

11.0

9

31

Masset

1

0 1.23 11

0

0

14.2

5

2

2

6

18

Cueto

3

1 1.59

6

6

0

39.2

30

7

7

20

Herrera

0

1 2.13 14

0

0

12.2

14

6

3

10

18

Cordero

0

2 2.57 14

0

9

14.0

13

5

4

14

18

Weathers

0

0 2.61 12

0

0

10.1

7

3

3

14

33

Harang

3

3 2.93

7

7

0

46.0

47

18

15

3

9

0

8

12

2

11

32

0

7

11

0

6

15

1

4

8

4

10

37

Campillo

1

0 5.40

4

0

0

3.1

6

3

2

0

3

3

Harden

3

1 4.83

6

6

0

31.2

29

18

17

6

17

41

Volquez

4

2 4.40

7

7

0

43.0

28

22

21

5

28

43

Carlyle

0

1 5.40 10

0

0

13.1

19

10

8

1

5

8

Dempster

2

2 4.98

7

7

0

43.1

41

25

24

6

19

41

Owings

2

3 5.08

5

5

0

28.1

32

20

16

4

12

15

Reyes

0

2 5.48

4

4

0

23.0

21

18

14

4

9

20

Heilman

2

2 5.40 16

0

0

15.0

12

10

9

2

11

14

Burton

0

0 5.65 14

0

0

14.1

17

9

9

1

7

10

Kawakami

2

4 5.79

6

6

0

32.2

37

24

21

5

18

31

Cotts

0

1 6.75 14

0

0

6.2

9

5

5

1

8

5

Arroyo

5

2 7.02

7

7

0

41.0

51

32

32 10

15

23

Moylan

1

2 6.94 16

0

0

11.2

7

9

9

0

9

13

Patton

1

1 8.03

9

0

0

12.1

13

12

11

2

9

11

Lincoln

0

0 9.45 11

0

0

13.1

19

14

14

11

4

16 16 3.99 32

32

Fox

0

0 135.00

2

0

0

0.1

2

5

5

0

3

0

18 14 4.07 32

32

17 14 4.60 31

31

Team Totals

8 282.0 269 139 125 22 112 250

Team Totals

8 275.2 257 148 141 37 134 263

Team Totals

2

9 289.1 275 143 131 30 122 221

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

25

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

NATIONAL LEAGUE TEAM STATS THROUGH MONDAY’S GAMES COLORADO ROCKIES BATTERS

FLORIDA MARLINS

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

.343 .390 105

14

36

6

1

3 18 10 15

0

0

1

Ramirez

.348 .421 112

20

39 10

0

6 19 13 20

6

4

1

Lee

.333 .377 117

14

39 10

0

6 26 10 10

0

1

0

Paul

.500 .500

2

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

Hawpe

.330 .417

88

14

29

9

1

4 20 13 16

0

1

2

Cantu

.294 .360 102

17

30

0

8 32

1

0

3

Keppinger

.319 .407

47

5

15

4

1

1

2

0

0

0

Castro

.438 .412

16

4

7

2

0

0

3

0

2

0

0

0

Smith

.310 .459

58

10

18

2

1

3

7 16 11

2

0

0

Baker

.289 .379

83

21

24

8

0

3 14 11 19

0

0

2

Tejada

.313 .341 131

16

41 10

0

2 16

5 10

1

1

4

Pierre

.426 .481

47

9

20

4

0

0

7

4

1

3

2

0

Murton

.273 .273

11

2

3

0

0

1

1

2

0

0

0

Coghlan

.286 .375

7

1

2

0

0

0

0

1

3

0

0

0

Pence

.310 .389 113

17

35

6

1

4 13 16 17

4

2

0

Mientkiewicz

.400 .400

5

0

2

1

0

0

2

0

2

0

0

0

Spilborghs

.267 .333 105

16

28

8

0

3 14

9 25

5

1

0

Paulino

.275 .383

40

5

11

2

1

1

5

7

8

1

0

1

Bourn

.287 .364 108

20

31

5

3

1

9 13 21 10

3

1

Ausmus

.381 .435

21

3

8

1

0

0

3

2

4

1

0

0

Fowler

.258 .333

89

14

23

5

0

2

9 11 22

9

2

1

Bonifacio

.250 .298 132

20

33

3

1

1

6

9 31

6

3

4

I. Rodriguez

.273 .318

99

14

27

6

2

4 14

6 22

0

2

0

Loretta

.333 .444

30

6

10

1

0

0

3

5

3

0

0

0

Torrealba

.241 .353

29

7

7

1

0

2

4

6

0

0

0

Gload

.244 .385

41

9

10

0

1

0

3 10

3

0

0

1

Matsui

.255 .324

98

12

25

3

1

1 12 10 19

5

3

1

Hudson

.331 .416 133

26

44 12

2

3 19 20 16

4

0

2

Tulowitzki

.237 .342

97

14

23

4

2

5 12 16 22

2

3

2

Hermida

.240 .388 104

12

25

3

1

3 13 24 28

2

1

1

Blum

.253 .333

87

9

22

3

0

0

6 11 13

0

1

1

Ethier

.285 .399 123

23

35

7

0

6 27 21 22

1

0

2

Barmes

.228 .265

79

15

18

5

0

3 11

3 16

2

0

0

Helms

.225 .273

40

3

9

2

0

0

4

3 12

0

0

2

Michaels

.240 .387

25

1

6

4

0

0

2

7

1

1

0

Kemp

.275 .343 120

19

33

7

3

4 23 12 33

8

1

0

Iannetta

.211 .349

71

11

15

2

0

6 11 14 21

0

1

0

Ross

.214 .250 117

11

25

4

0

4 16

4 30

1

1

1

Berkman

.184 .325 103

14

19

3

0

7 16 21 27

0

1

2

Martin

.272 .390 103

15

28

5

0

0 14 19 22

3

2

0

Atkins

.210 .276 105

12

22

5

0

3 13 10 15

0

0

3

Amezaga

.207 .266

58

4

12

2

0

0

4

5 13

0

1

0

Towles

.182 .250

11

2

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

Loney

.264 .348 121

12

32

7

0

0 21 16 10

1

1

0

Stewart

.194 .304

67

10

13

3

0

4 13

9 22

2

1

1

Maybin

.202 .280

84

11

17

4

1

1

3

8 31

1

1

0

Erstad

.175 .209

40

4

7

1

1

0

2

2 12

0

0

0

Blake

.260 .347 104

18

27

5

1

6 18 12 27

0

0

2

Quintanilla

.154 .214

13

1

2

1

0

0

0

1

7

0

0

0

Uggla

.189 .304 106

10

20

4

1

4 19 16 26

0

0

4

Quintero

.000 .000

8

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

0

Furcal

.246 .312 126

21

31

5

0

1

3

1

5

Baker

.130 .167

23

0

3

0

1

0

3

1

7

1

0

1

Carroll

.158 .200

1

3

0

0

0

0

0

0

Smith

.000 .000

21

1

0

0

0

0

1

0

8

0

0

0

Team Totals

.285 .374 1132 184 323 68

Team Totals

.255 .337 1000 146 255 53

Team Totals

.240 .320 1103 147 265 50

Team Totals

.259 .327 1066 133 276 55

4

6 39 141 120 226 23

9 18

19

8

9 18

0

1

3

BATTERS

LOS ANGELES DODGERS

Helton

0

BATTERS

HOUSTON ASTROS

6 31 141 123 273 18 11 21

3

6

5

1

0

4

BATTERS

W

L ERA

G

GS SV

IP

H

R

Daley

0

1 1.29

7

0

Grilli

0

1 1.69 14

Morales

1

0 3.38

2

De La Rosa

0

3 3.53

Marquis

4

2 3.92

Embree

0

Rusch

2

0 4.50 10

ER HR BB SO

0

7.0

2

1

1

0

3

6

0

1

10.2

9

2

2

1

6

2

0

8.0

7

3

3

3

1

6

6

0

35.2

27

17

14

2

6

6

0

41.1

38

20

18

1 4.00 14

0

0

9.0

7

5

4

0

0

16.0

23

9

8

PITCHERS

W

L ERA

G

GS SV

IP

H

R

ER HR BB SO

Pinto

2

0 1.23 18

0

0

14.2

12

2

2

0

10

13

14

Calero

1

0 1.62 19

9

Meyer

0

0 2.03 14

0

0

16.2

9

3

3

0

6

0

0

13.1

7

3

3

1

3

16

35

Nunez

2

0 2.30 14

0

0

15.2

8

4

4

1

5

12

19

Johnson

3

0 2.34

7

7

0

50.0

45

13

13

1

3

4

Volstad

2

2 2.98

7

7

0

42.1

32

18

14

3

3

11

Badenhop

2

1 3.86

6

0

0

9.1

10

4

4

1

PITCHERS

G

8 13

W

L ERA

IP

H

R

Broxton

3

0 0.56 14

0

8

16.0

2

1

1

0

4

27

8

Kuroda

1

0 1.59

1

0

5.2

4

1

1

0

1

2

15

37

Troncoso

0

0 2.21 12

0

1

20.1

16

5

5

0

2

10

4

13

Billingsley

5

1 2.45

7

7

0

47.2

34

14

13

1

20

47

0

4

Weaver

1

0 2.57

3

2

0

14.0

12

4

4

0

6

12

6

9

Wolf

1

1 2.95

7

7

0

42.2

32

17

14

4

14

36

14

28

Belisario

1

2 3.26 16

0

0

19.1

16

7

7

2

7

22

4

Stults

4

1 3.58

6

6

0

32.2

32

13

13

1

14

20

W

L ERA

Sampson

2

0 1.71 15

0

23

W. Rodriguez

3

2 1.80

7

14

Hawkins

1

0 2.40 15

8

12

Arias

0

0 2.70

2

6

43

Byrdak

0

0 3.00 13

0

0

12.0

9

4

4

2

6

16

33

Oswalt

1

2 4.50

8

8

0

44.0

45

22

22

9

4

9

Brocail

1

0 4.76

7

0

0

5.2

5

3

3

2

8

4

GS SV

6 26 175 156 212 24

9 26 125 107 188 21 15 12 PITCHERS

PITCHERS

8 12 24

IP

H

R

ER HR BB SO

0

21.0

16

6

4

0

8

7

0

45.0

32

9

9

0

0

4

15.0

15

4

4

1

0

0

3.1

1

1

1

1

G

1

GS SV

ER HR BB SO

Street

0

1 4.73 15

0

4

13.1

16

7

7

3

2

14

Lindstrom

1

1 5.54 14

0

6

13.0

12

9

8

2

9

13

Hampton

1

3 4.91

6

6

0

33.0

36

21

18

3

15

26

Ohman

0

0 4.66 14

0

1

9.2

9

5

5

3

4

5

Speier

0

0 4.76

5

0

0

5.2

6

3

3

0

3

2

Sanchez

1

4 5.79

6

6

0

32.2

43

21

21

6

15

25

Paulino

1

2 5.23

6

3

0

20.2

29

13

12

1

10

17

Kershaw

1

2 4.91

6

6

0

33.0

27

18

18

4

16

34

Cook

2

1 5.03

7

7

0

39.1

43

23

22

7

19

21

Nolasco

2

3 6.63

7

7

0

38.0

51

30

28

5

10

32

Valverde

0

1 5.63

8

0

2

8.0

7

5

5

3

3

11

Wade

0

2 5.59

9

0

0

9.2

10

6

6

0

1

6

Hammel

0

1 5.40

6

3

0

20.0

28

13

12

4

8

12

Miller

0

1 6.94

4

2

0

11.2

14

9

9

0

8

3

Ortiz

2

1 5.91

7

4

0

21.1

23

14

14

1

20

15

Kuo

1

0 6.75

7

0

0

5.1

5

4

4

1

4

4

Jimenez

2

4 5.45

6

6

0

33.0

33

20

20

0

20

30

Penn

1

0 7.43

9

0

0

13.1

18

15

11

1

10

15

Geary

1

3 6.05 15

0

0

19.1

27

14

13

3

8

12

McDonald

1

1 7.27

8

4

0

17.1

17

14

14

2

14

9

Corpas

0

3 5.68 14

0

1

12.2

20

8

8

1

2

6

17 15 4.28 32

32

Wright

1

1 7.84 14

0

0

10.1

19

9

9

2

4

10

Mota

2

1 7.43 14

0

0

13.1

19

11

11

1

10

6

1

0 9.82 11

0

0

11.0

16

12

12

3

3

7

0

2 8.44

0

16.0

28

15

15

1

5

12

Leach

0

0 18.00

0

0

1.0

2

2

2

0

2

1

12 18 4.56 30

30

Belisle Team Totals

6 262.2 275 143 133 33 101 190

Team Totals

6 290.0 292 153 138 26 122 247

Moehler Team Totals

4

4

14 17 4.42 32

32

6 285.1 302 147 140 31 124 213

Team Totals

2

22 11 3.77 33

33 10 294.0 247 127 123 22 120 247

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

26

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

NATIONAL LEAGUE TEAM STATS THROUGH MONDAY’S GAMES MILWAUKEE BREWERS BATTERS

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Beltran

.370 .460 119

19

44

6

1

6 24 19 19

3

1

1

Stairs

.353 .522

17

4

6

1

0

2

5

0

0

0

Diaz

.381 .381

21

1

8

2

0

1

4

0

1

0

0

0

Braun

.345 .463 110

21

38

7

0

8 28 19 26

3

3

0

Tatis

.356 .412

13

16

3

1

1

2

0

0

Ibanez

.327 .386 113

24

37

8

1

9 23 11 18

3

0

0

Young

.350 .435

20

3

7

3

0

0

2

3

3

0

0

0

Counsell

.333 .429

54

11

18

5

0

1

4

8

6

0

0

2

Reed

.353 .421

17

0

6

1

1

0

2

2

4

0

0

0

Utley

.309 .437

97

23

30

2

0 10 23 17 17

2

0

3

Sanchez

.317 .352 120

19

38 13

2

3 11

5 20

3

0

1

Rivera

.308 .286

13

0

4

2

0

0

1

0

3

0

0

0

Cora

.333 .425

33

6

11

2

1

0

4

6

4

1

1

0

Feliz

.303 .355

99

12

30

6

0

2 19

9 12

0

0

2

Morgan

.301 .376 123

21

37

2

2

0 13 13 22

9

5

0

Cameron

.295 .395 105

16

31 11

0

6 18 18 21

2

0

0

Castillo

.321 .396

84

15

27

2

1

0

9 11

9

4

0

3

Howard

.287 .364 115

19

33

9

1

6 22 13 32

0

0

0

McLouth

.292 .378

96

16

28

4

0

5 22 14 15

3

0

0

Hall

.292 .364

89

12

26

8

0

3

8 10 23

1

0

3

Wright

.311 .394 119

22

37

8

2

3 18 17 36

5

5

4

Werth

.287 .392 101

25

29

8

1

6 21 15 23

3

1

0

Jaramillo

.277 .382

47

4

13

7

0

0

5

8

6

1

0

1

Weeks

.277 .343 130

24

36

5

1

7 21 10 32

1

2

5

Santos

.302 .304

43

8

13

3

1

1 10

9

0

0

0

Victorino

.272 .319 125

24

34

6

3

4 19

9 10

3

2

0

Wilson

.255 .314

47

3

12

3

0

0

7

4

5

1

1

3

Hart

.262 .345 122

25

32

9

1

3 14 16 35

3

3

2

Delgado

.298 .393

94

15

28

7

1

4 23 12 20

0

0

2

Coste

.204 .316

49

4

10

5

0

1

7 12

0

0

0

An. LaRoche

.253 .336

95

8

24

9

0

1 11 10 14

1

0

4

Fielder

.255 .410 110

15

28

6

1

5 25 27 35

0

0

0

Castro

.292 .358

48

3

14

3

0

2

0

0

2

Rollins

.195 .231 123

14

24

6

0

1

9

5 16

1

2

1

Doumit

.244 .271

45

5

11

4

0

2

9

2 10

0

0

1

Kendall

.234 .315

94

12

22

3

1

0 11

9 12

0

1

4

Murphy

.286 .351

98

19

28

4

1

3 11 11

1

0

2

Ruiz

.172 .273

29

0

5

1

0

0

0

4

2

0

0

1

Hinske

.231 .333

52

8

12

5

0

0

4

5 14

0

0

0

Hardy

.208 .289 106

12

22

3

0

5 17 13 24

0

0

3

Reyes

.269 .351 130

16

35

3

2

2 13 17 15 10

2

5

Dobbs

.148 .207

27

0

4

0

0

0

3

2

6

0

0

0

Monroe

.229 .270

35

5

8

1

0

2 10

2 11

0

0

0

McGehee

.200 .200

15

1

3

0

0

0

0

0

3

0

0

0

Church

.264 .340

91

7

24

6

0

1

8 10 12

1

0

1

Bruntlett

.143 .231

21

5

3

3

0

0

3

3

4

0

0

0

Ad. LaRoche

.223 .310 112

15

25

8

0

5 14 14 28

0

0

0

Duffy

.107 .194

28

2

3

1

0

0

3

3 11

0

0

0

Sheffield

.182 .357

44

7

8

2

1

1

5 11

8

0

1

1

Cairo

.133 .133

15

1

2

0

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

0

Bixler

.200 .231

25

2

5

3

0

0

2

1 18

0

0

2

Nelson

.000 .091

20

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

0

Schneider

.143 .250

21

3

3

1

0

0

3

1

0

0

0

Team Totals

.259 .339 996 164 258 57

6 42 158 111 180 12

5

8

Vazquez

.182 .333

55

7

10

0

0

0

4 12 14

0

0

1

Team Totals

.258 .348 1064 158 274 61

Team Totals

.288 .368 1043 154 300 51 13 24 144 131 171 27 10 22

Moss

.174 .228

86

11

15

2

2

0

3

0

0

0

Team Totals

.252 .325 1040 130 262 68

0

0

8

4 40 155 138 261 10

9 20

45

4

3

1

8

3

5 10

3

8

BATTERS

PITTSBURGH PIRATES

R

1.000 1.000

BATTERS

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

1

Corporan

AVG OBA AB

NEW YORK METS

PITCHERS PITCHERS Hoffman

W

L ERA

G

0

0 0.00

6

GS SV 0

5

IP

H

R

6.0

3

0

ER HR BB SO 0

0

0

PITCHERS

W

L ERA

G

GS SV

IP

H

R

ER HR BB SO

7

Stokes

0

1 0.68 12

0

0

13.1

13

2

1

0

2

6

G

GS SV

7

5

6

BATTERS

W

L ERA

IP

H

R

Condrey

3

0 2.12 17

0

0

17.0

11

4

ER HR BB SO 4

2

6

12

Madson

2

1 2.70 13

0

1

13.1

9

4

4

0

6

16

PITCHERS

W

L ERA

G

GS SV

5 16

6 20 124 104 223 18

IP

H

R

6 14

ER HR BB SO

DiFelice

3

0 1.15 14

0

0

15.2

11

2

2

1

3

15

Santana

4

2 0.78

7

7

0

46.0

31

8

4

2

13

60

Happ

1

0 2.84 10

0

0

19.0

12

6

6

1

7

14

Chavez

0

1 2.19 14

0

0

12.1

9

3

3

1

6

10

Gallardo

4

1 3.09

7

7

0

46.2

33

16

16

5

16

47

Parnell

1

0 1.26 16

0

0

14.1

15

3

2

0

4

10

Durbin

1

0 3.57 16

0

0

17.2

11

7

7

3

10

14

Duke

3

3 2.79

6

6

0

42.0

39

15

13

2

10

23

McClung

0

1 3.18 13

0

0

17.0

14

6

6

1

14

13

Rodriguez

0

0 1.32 14

0

9

13.2

7

4

2

1

7

16

Myers

2

2 4.81

7

7

0

43.0

48

23

23 10

17

30

Meek

0

0 2.79

7

0

0

9.2

5

3

3

0

9

6

Coffey

1

0 3.24 15

0

2

16.2

19

6

6

1

3

12

Niese

0

0 3.00

1

1

0

6.0

7

2

2

0

0

5

Taschner

1

1 5.14 11

0

0

14.0

14

8

8

2

10

7

Burnett

0

1 3.14 16

0

0

14.1

9

6

5

2

6

11

Stetter

2

0 3.27 16

0

0

11.0

7

4

4

1

7

9

Takahashi

0

0 3.00

4

0

0

6.0

5

2

2

0

2

3

Eyre

0

1 5.40 13

0

0

6.2

5

5

4

2

6

4

Maholm

3

1 4.06

7

7

0

44.1

45

21

20

2

14

21

Bush

1

0 4.05

6

0

40.0

33

19

18

7

9

29

Feliciano

0

1 3.46 18

0

0

13.0

14

9

5

3

2

15

Hamels

1

2 6.17

5

0

23.1

30

16

16

5

6

22

Ohlendorf

3

3 4.14

6

6

0

37.0

35

17

17

4

9

17

7

5

Looper

2

2 4.18

6

6

0

32.1

36

16

15

5

13

21

Putz

1

2 3.50 17

0

0

18.0

13

7

7

1

8

11

Park

0

1 6.67

6

5

0

27.0

29

20

20

5

13

16

Veal

0

0 4.15

4

0

0

4.1

2

2

2

1

9

4

Parra

1

4 4.88

6

6

0

31.1

32

19

17

4

20

28

Maine

3

2 4.54

6

6

0

33.2

23

18

17

3

20

25

Blanton

1

3 6.82

6

6

0

34.1

45

26

26

8

10

28

Snell

1

5 4.50

7

7

0

40.0

39

22

20

5

24

27

Suppan

2

3 5.50

7

7

0

37.2

39

25

23

7

17

21

Hernandez

3

1 5.08

6

6

0

33.2

39

19

19

5

12

19

Moyer

3

2 7.26

6

6

0

31.0

44

25

25 10

12

18

Karstens

1

1 5.19

5

5

0

26.0

25

16

15

5

13

12

Lidge

0

1 8.53 13

0

4

12.2

15

12

12

9

15

Hansen

0

0 5.68

5

0

0

6.1

6

4

4

1

4

5

15 14 5.39 29

29

5 259.0 273 156 155 53 112 196

Grabow

1

0 6.14 15

0

0

14.2

23

11

10

1

8

14

0

2 7.56

0

5

8.1

12

7

7

1

4

7

0

2 8.71 13

0

0

10.1

11

12

10

2

7

9

12 19 4.31 31

31

5

Villanueva

1

3 5.87 15

0

3

15.1

14

11

10

1

8

11

Pelfrey

4

0 5.46

5

5

0

28.0

34

17

17

4

14

6

Julio

1

0 8.49 10

0

0

11.2

11

12

11

2

9

11

Green

0

2 9.00 14

0

0

14.0

20

14

14

3

9

12

Riske

0

0 18.00

0

0

1.0

4

2

2

0

0

0

Perez

1

2 9.97

5

5

0

21.2

28

24

24

3

21

20

Capps

17 14 3.94 31

31

9 274.1 263 135 120 26 121 216

Yates

Team Totals

1

18 14 4.16 32

32 10 283.2 258 139 131 35 120 226

Team Totals

Team Totals

Team Totals

9

5 269.2 260 139 129 27 123 166

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

27

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

NATIONAL LEAGUE TEAM STATS THROUGH MONDAY’S GAMES SAN DIEGO PADRES BATTERS

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Hairston

.333 .388

78

8

26

8

1

4 16

6 16

3

0

0

Holm

.400 .500

5

1

2

0

0

0

Cabrera

.308 .357

13

4

4

1

0

0

1

3

0

0

0

Sandoval

.289 .336 114

12

33

8

2

A. Gonzalez

.294 .387 119

22

35

3

0 10 22 17 32

1

0

2

Molina

.287 .286 115

14

33

6

Hundley

.263 .352

80

4

21

4

2

1

8 11 19

1

1

2

Lewis

.286 .390 105

16

30

6

Eckstein

.261 .336 111

12

29

9

1

0

9 11

8

1

0

0

Burriss

.274 .342 106

9

29

Burke

.259 .375

27

3

7

4

0

0

0

5

2

1

4

Uribe

.262 .295

42

2

Headley

.255 .317 110

12

28

6

1

3 15 10 27

4

1

1

Winn

.261 .336 115

17

Rodriguez

.247 .389

73

11

18

4

0

1

7 19

9

0

0

2

Renteria

.250 .328 108

18

Gerut

.228 .265

92

16

21

6

0

4

9

5 19

1

0

0

Schierholtz

.250 .263

36

Kouzmanoff

.222 .266 117

8

26

5

1

1

8

5 29

1

0

0

Rowand

.240 .321

96

Blanco

.176 .282

34

6

6

0

0

3

4

5

7

0

0

0

Torres

.222 .417

9

E. Gonzalez

.171 .244

41

5

7

1

2

2

5

4

7

0

1

1

Ishikawa

.219 .284

Giles

.158 .241 120

6

19

3

0

1 14 13 15

1

0

0

Aurilia

.163 .213

Team Totals

.240 .316 1068 122 256 56

Velez

.136 .174

Team Totals

.251 .313 1047 120 263 50

PITCHERS

G

GS SV

0

4

8 30 118 115 213 15

BATTERS

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

4 15

W

L ERA

IP

H

R

Bell

1

0 0.00 11

0

8

11.2

5

0

0

0

2

14

Meredith

4

0 3.27 13

0

0

11.0

15

6

4

1

4

7

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

AVG OBA AB

R

H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

0

0

0

0

LaRue

.412 .474

17

5

7

1

0

2

0

0

0

Guzman

.378 .378

90

15

34

5

1

1

0 13

1

1

3

2 11

6 17

2

0

0

Pujols

.330 .443 112

32

37

5

0 12 33 22 11

5

1

5

Zimmerman

.363 .408 135

26

49 12

0

8 26 11 26

0

0

4

1

7 27

0 14

0

0

1

Molina

.317 .386 101

11

32

4

1

3 15 12 11

1

1

0

Dunn

.318 .457 110

19

35

4

0 11 28 28 33

0

1

4

1

0

2 14 36

2

2

2

Schumaker

.307 .366 101

15

31

8

1

0

9 10 11

1

1

2

Flores

.311 .382

90

13

28

3

2

4 15 11 26

0

0

1

2

0

0

6

9 17

9

3

2

Barden

.296 .350

54

8

16

2

0

3

7

9

0

0

1

Johnson

.307 .389 114

18

35

4

0

2 12 14 21

0

0

3

11

3

0

0

1

2

7

0

0

2

Duncan

.288 .372 104

13

30 10

2

3 23 15 22

0

1

3

Hernandez

.293 .391

75

12

22

5

0

0

8 12 15

2

0

3

30

5

2

2 13 13 24

5

0

0

Ludwick

.267 .333 105

16

28

4

0

8 26

9 20

2

0

1

Dukes

.275 .351 102

12

28

6

1

4 20 12 26

2

4

1

27

5

0

2 14 13 17

1

2

3

Thurston

.259 .351

85

14

22

8

1

1 14 12 16

1

1

3

Bernadina

.250 .400

1

1

1

0

0

0

1

1

1

0

0

4

9

3

0

0

7

0

1

0

Rasmus

.256 .337

86

17

22

5

0

1

8

9 19

1

0

2

Harris

.250 .382

28

5

7

0

1

1

2

5

5

1

0

0

10

23

8

0

2 13 10 22

1

0

1

Ryan

.250 .317

36

5

9

3

1

0

3

3

8

1

0

1

Kearns

.243 .391

74

13

18

5

2

3 15 16 18

1

0

0

4

2

0

0

1

3

1

0

0

Ankiel

.247 .326

81

11

20

6

0

2 11

7 19

0

0

0

Willingham

.196 .338

56

8

11

2

0

5

7 10 15

0

0

1

73

7

16

3

1

0 11

5 24

0

0

1

K. Greene

.235 .323

85

13

20

4

0

2 11 10 11

2

1

6

Nieves

.190 .227

21

2

4

0

0

0

0

0

6

0

0

2

43

2

7

0

0

0

6

3

5

0

0

0

T. Greene

.222 .263

18

3

4

1

0

1

2

0

7

1

0

0

Belliard

.158 .200

38

1

6

0

0

1

2

2 10

0

0

2

22

1

3

1

0

0

0

0

6

0

0

1

Robinson

.200 .200

5

0

1

1

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

Cintron

.000 .095

19

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

1

Team Totals

.272 .349 1074 172 292 65

Team Totals

.277 .360 1104 157 306 51

0

1

2

1

1

3

7 16 109 84 227 21

BATTERS

WASHINGTON NATIONALS

8 14

1

1

1

3

6 37 167 118 190 16

BATTERS

6 26

4

9

6

7 41 152 136 260 13

6 33

ER HR BB SO PITCHERS

W

L ERA

G

GS SV

Miller

1

0 2.35 12

0

IP

H

R

ER HR BB SO

0

15.1

13

4

4

2

5

10

PITCHERS

W

L ERA

G

GS SV

Carpenter

1

0 0.00

2

2

IP

H

R

0

10.0

5

1

ER HR BB SO 0

0

PITCHERS

W

L ERA

G

GS SV

IP

H

R 0

2

9

Villone

1

0 0.00

4

0

0

3.2

2

ER HR BB SO 0

0

0

1

Perdomo

0

0 3.65

9

0

0

12.1

11

7

5

2

5

6

Cain

3

1 2.61

6

6

0

38.0

32

11

11

5

19

28

Franklin

1

0 1.23 14

0

9

14.2

7

2

2

2

3

13

Beimel

0

1 1.74 11

0

0

10.1

12

2

2

0

2

5

Gaudin

0

2 4.08

3

3

0

17.2

16

8

8

0

10

15

Affeldt

0

1 3.14 17

0

0

14.1

14

6

5

1

7

12

Boyer

0

0 2.70

8

0

0

6.2

4

3

2

0

2

6

Wells

0

0 3.86 10

0

1

11.2

8

5

5

0

9

8

Mujica

1

1 4.11 13

0

0

15.1

13

9

7

2

5

14

Wilson

2

0 3.18 16

0

8

17.0

12

6

6

2

6

19

Perez

1

1 2.89 11

0

1

9.1

6

3

3

1

8

11

Lannan

2

3 3.89

7

7

0

39.1

44

21

17

7

15

20

Peavy

2

4 4.27

7

7

0

46.1

39

23

22

5

17

52

Lincecum

3

1 3.25

7

7

0

44.1

40

17

16

1

13

58

McClellan

2

1 3.29 13

0

1

13.2

11

6

5

2

9

13

Mock

0

1 4.66 10

0

0

9.2

10

5

5

0

6

5

Moreno

1

3 4.41 15

0

0

16.1

17

9

8

1

11

13

Howry

0

2 3.38 14

0

0

13.1

13

5

5

1

4

10

Motte

1

1 3.38 16

0

0

13.1

13

5

5

0

4

10

Martis

4

0 4.67

6

6

0

34.2

38

19

18

3

13

19

Young

2

1 4.76

7

7

0

39.2

38

22

21

1

19

31

Valdez

1

0 3.48

9

0

0

10.1

10

4

4

1

5

7

Boggs

1

0 3.50

4

3

0

18.0

19

8

7

1

9

19

Cabrera

0

4 4.98

7

7

0

34.1

40

32

19

2

28

13

Geer

0

1 5.14

5

4

0

28.0

32

19

16

5

5

12

Zito

1

2 3.57

6

6

0

35.1

32

14

14

2

12

24

Pineiro

4

2 3.66

6

6

0

39.1

45

20

16

2

7

13

Zimmermann

2

1 5.48

4

4

0

23.0

26

14

14

5

6

18

Hill

1

1 5.25

3

3

0

12.0

15

7

7

1

3

7

Medders

1

1 4.61 13

0

0

13.2

16

7

7

1

11

11

Miller

0

0 4.15 12

0

0

8.2

9

5

4

2

3

10

Tavarez

0

2 6.08 16

0

1

13.1

12

13

9

1

8

16

Correia

0

2 5.34

6

6

0

30.1

31

18

18

2

19

25

Sanchez

1

3 4.78

5

0

26.1

21

16

14

3

22

27

Lohse

3

2 4.25

7

7

0

42.1

41

22

20

4

13

27

Hanrahan

0

1 6.28 16

0

3

14.1

18

10

10

3

5

17

24 10

6

Gregerson

0

3 5.82 16

0

0

17.0

19

11

11

1

8

18

Johnson

3

3 5.89

7

7

0

36.2

36

24

16

39

Reyes

0

1 4.35 17

0

1

10.1

8

5

5

2

3

10

Olsen

1

3 7.00

7

7

0

36.0

51

30

28

5

16

26

Silva

0

0 6.52

2

2

0

9.2

10

7

7

2

7

3

Martinez

1

0 6.75

2

0

0

2.2

4

2

2

0

1

2

Wainwright

3

1 4.35

7

7

0

41.1

44

23

20

5

21

33

Kensing

0

1 18.00

6

0

0

5.0

12

10

10

1

4

2

Sanchez

1

1 6.75 11

0

0

9.1

12

7

7

3

7

2

Matos

0

0 9.00

5

0

0

6.0

11

7

6

2

1

5

Wellemeyer

3

2 4.75

6

6

0

36.0

47

20

19

2

11

20

Team Totals

10 20 5.42 31

31

0

0 19.29

0

2.1

7

5

5

2

3

0

Team Totals

17 14 3.97 31

31

0

1 5.59

7

0

0

9.2

13

6

6

1

2

4

Lopez Team Totals

4

0

13 19 4.69 32

32

8 282.1 282 160 147 28 131 221

8 278.2 260 128 123 32 127 253

Thompson Team Totals

20 12 4.05 32

32 12 286.1 289 145 129 29 107 209

5 272.1 314 190 164 33 138 177

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

College Football

www.sportingnews.com

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

28

Paulus, Marve look for the right places to prove themselves Two free agents remain in this college football offseason. One plays quarterback, and the other thinks he can, with reels of film from Central New York high school games as evidence. They are gifted athletes, and their former coaches say they will change a program’s perception and performance as soon as they arrive. Yet the two free agents look at their football futures with opposite motivations. The smart money says that Greg Paulus suits up for Syracuse in the fall Dave Curtis and Robert Marve enrolls COLLEGE FOOTBALL at Purdue as soon as next week. Both players have histories with those destination schools, and both have visited them in the last few weeks. Paulus grew up in Syracuse’s shadow, starring at quarterback and point guard for Christian Brothers Academy before heading to Duke. Marve, a Tampa product, looked hard at Purdue before the Indiana winters and the distance from home sent him to Miami. “When Purdue recruited him the first time around, geography became the big issue,” said Robert Weiner, Marve’s former coach at Plant High. “When you talk about a transfer, and know you really can’t make a mistake this time, geography becomes less of an issue.” The bigger issue for Marve is a chance to redeem what seemed a promising career just three years ago. As highly touted as any quarterback in the country, he signed with the Hurricanes and saw his career spiral. There was the 2007 car crash that

GERRY BROOME / AP

DAVE EINSEL / AP

Is Syracuse the spot for Greg Paulus to scratch his itch?

As a prep recruit, Robert Marve turned down Purdue for Miami, but he could end up a Boilermaker in the end.

broke his wrist and prompted his redshirting that season. There were the two suspensions last season for violations of team rules. There were the struggles on the field—he averaged just 117.5 passing yards per game, threw more touchdowns than interceptions and ceded the starting job to problem-free backup Jacory Harris. Those demons didn’t matter much to the desperate schools that have shown interest in the transferring Marve. They see a

big-armed guy with a year of college ball in his pocket. But others wonder whether he has the skills to win and the mettle to lead at college football’s highest level. And there lies Marve’s mission at Purdue, or wherever he lands. After a year off per NCAA transfer rules, he needs to show everyone else the high school hype was legitimate. He wants to make everyone else as confident in him as he is in himself.

WEEKDAYS 1–4PM ET

Listen on Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 127, online at SportingNews.com or check your local listings for broadcast times in your area.

“At Miami, it wasn’t like he had a million people around him who were veterans,” Weiner said. “And he didn’t have a lot of college experience himself. Now, he has film, and he knows what he can or can’t do. He obviously is a lot more ready to be a good college quarterback.” And then there’s Paulus. No one knows whether he’s ready to be a quarterback, mostly because he hasn’t taken a competitive snap since Thanksgiving weekend in

2004. He’s spent the interim as a Duke point guard, starting much of his first three years before fading to the bench as a senior. He has a future in basketball, as a player overseas or in the Mike Krzyzewski-coaching tree stateside. But an urge to play football remained. The Green Bay Packers rekindled it, thinking the former high school AllAmerican might be worth a late-round draft pick or a free agent contract. He looked not-ready-for-the-NFL in a workout, but the ensuing buzz got some college coaches involved. Michigan, Syracuse and Nebraska came calling, and the Orange, given their talent and their location, seem the most likely fit. But unlike Marve, who needs to revive his career and rebuild his image, Paulus can view this transfer as the start of a oneyear football fantasy camp. He’s a long shot to start, even for Syracuse. But he’ll see the field, as a quarterback, and his pedigree indicates he’ll have at least some success in the Big East. Let’s remember a Pitt team led by Bill Stull and Pat Bostick contended for a conference title last year. If Paulus thrives at the Carrier Dome, then he’ll face another basketball-football decision in the winter. If he tanks, he can head back to hoops with his football itch scratched. This week, today, maybe this moment, the free agents are making their final calls. Marve plans to gather with visiting family early this week to plot his future. Paulus will follow suit. And then they’ll head to their new schools, Marve with something to prove to the world, and Paulus with something to prove to himself. [email protected]

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

College Football / College Basketball

www.sportingnews.com

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

29

INSIDE DISH

INSIDE DISH

Bowden says NCAA ‘really stepping out of bounds’

Patterson knew he wanted to return to Kentucky

Florida State’s Bobby Bowden says he won’t lose sleep over his battle with Penn State’s Joe Paterno for the most coaching wins in major college football. Bowden just doesn’t want to lose victories he already has because of an NCAA ruling. Last month the school appealed sanctions that called for forfeits in football and nine other sports because of an academic cheating scandal. Bowden could lose as many as 14 victories from the 2006 and 2007 seasons. “I think they’re really stepping out of bounds by doing that,” Bowden told The Palm Beach Post at a weekend booster meeting in West Palm Beach. “Maybe they’ll change their minds once they think it over real good.” Bowden, who turns 80 in November, has 382 victories, just one fewer than the 82-year-old Paterno. Bowden hasn’t said if he’ll coach beyond the 2009 season. “It seems unfair, what they are doing, because we spotted the problem, we reported it, we took care of it and the kids were punished,” Bowden told the Post. Of his contest with Paterno, Bowden said, “… The thing about the race between Joe and I, it’s not like there are seven more of us, it’s just us two, and you hate to give up in a good battle like that.”

Kentucky sophomore F Patrick Patterson said Monday he didn’t work out for any NBA teams before deciding to pull out of the draft evaluation process. Patterson, who submitted his name for the draft on April 15 but did not hire an agent, and his parents held a news conference at the school Monday to discuss his reasons for staying with the Wildcats. “I felt that if I did do workouts, it wouldn’t do anything because I felt in my heart I wanted to come back for next year,” Patterson said. Patterson said he was told he likely would have been a firstround pick, probably somewhere from 14 to 20, but that he was excited about the direction of the program with coach John Calipari and the new recruits. “All the weapons we have coming in, that helped (me make a decision) as well,” Patterson said.

Pitt sophomore WR Jonathan Baldwin was charged with misdemeanor indecent assault, harassment and disorderly conduct after an alleged incident on a campus shuttle bus involving a female student on April 18, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. Baldwin will have a preliminary hearing May 27. “The matter is currently under investigation, and until that investigation reaches a conclusion, we will decline comment,” athletic department spokesman E.J. Borghetti said in a statement. Baldwin caught 18 passes for 404 yards and three touchdowns last season. Marshall RB Darius Marshall and DB DeQuan Bembry entered conditional guilty pleas Monday to the misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession. The charge will be removed from their records if the players complete a six-month probation. Marshall and Bembry were arrested May 2. Coach

DON EDGAR / AP

FSU coach Bobby Bowden feels it’s unfair to take away any of his wins.

Mark Snyder has suspended both players from the team Marshall ran for 1,177 yards and scored five touchdowns last season as a sophomore. Bembry had 80 tackles, including 7.5 for loss, and intercepted a pass as a redshirt freshman. Missouri is going bigger picture this fall. The school is putting up a new $3.8 million video board that will measure 30 feet tall and 80 feet wide at the north end of Memorial Stadium. “It’s not going to be Texas, but if you’re a fan of the Tigers and been to games, there’s going to be a noticeable difference,” associate athletic director Mark Alnutt told the Columbia Daily Tribune. “It’s literally 3½ times bigger. There will be that wow factor.” Developed by Daktronics Inc., the industry leader in scoreboard design, the video board has the capability to display a single giant image or multiple zones to feature stats, graphics and animation. Alnutt said the new board will help pay for itself with more space for advertising.

UCLA is giving Pauley Pavilion a $185 million facelift in hopes of putting one of college basketball’s most recognized arenas on the national map again. The renovation plans, announced Monday, will include a new entrance, locker rooms for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams and more than 1,000 additional seats to bring its capacity to nearly 14,000. The construction, expected to start in February 2010 and finish in the fall of 2012, will displace the men’s and women’s teams for the 2011-12 season. Mississippi State F Jarvis

CHARLES DHARAPAK

President Barack Obama and UNC coach Roy Williams led their teams to the top in recent months.

Varnado announced Monday he is coming back for his senior year rather than entering the NBA draft. “I feel like I wasn’t ready for the NBA,” said Varnado, the two-time reigning SEC defensive player of the year. “Another year in college can only help my game, and I’m really excited about this team.” Varnado submitted his name for the draft on April 27 but did not hire an agent. Since playing pickup basketball with North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., last spring, Barack Obama won the presidency, carrying that state in November, and the Tar Heels won the national championship, defeating Michigan State last month. Obama welcomed the Tar Heels

to the White House on Monday. “I’m not sure whose luck rubbed off on who,” Obama said as he greeted the team on the South Lawn. “I think there was just a good vibe going on there.” Obama picked the Tar Heels to win the national title on live TV leading up to the NCAA Tournament. He thanked them “for salvaging my bracket and vindicating me before the entire nation.” The President’s other picks for the Final Four didn’t make it. Oregon sophomore G Kamyron Brown is transferring and will have two years of eligibility remaining. Brown split time at point guard last season with freshman Garrett Sim. Brown averaged 4.5 points and 2.2 assists and was second on the team with 34 steals.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

College Basketball

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

30

Why wait on Wall? He can make dreams come true Some of us work best under pressure. John Wall might be one of those. The final buzzer always is on its way in a basketball game, and Wall performs decisively in this arena. In the matter of choosing a college, Wall faces no deadline. Though the close of the NCAA spring signing period will arrive May 20, Wall need not worry about a Mike DeCourcy ticking clock. If he COLLEGE BASKETBALL signs by then, great. But no rule dictates he has to sign anything, ever. Wall, a 6-4 point guard from Raleigh, N.C., Word of God Christian Academy, must make up his mind in time to be admitted to whichever college he chooses. Those involved almost certainly would find a way to accommodate him. So they wait: Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Miami. Alphabetically, those schools are believed to be Wall’s final choices. Wall will change the course of the 2009-10 college basketball season– wearing some uniform or other. “Athletically, I’m not sure John has a real peer. He’s just got so much bounce and so much speed,” Scout. com recruiting analyst Dave Telep said. “John is just freaky with what he can do.” Telep is certain Wall would fit into the system at each of the contending schools, the way Derrick Rose fit in immediately at Memphis in 2008 and Chris Paul took over at Wake Forest four seasons before.

“When you have talents like this, it’s not the kids’ job to fit into the system,” Telep said. “It’s the coaches’ job to accentuate the guy’s talent.” So which program is best equipped to make that happen? Take a look: Miami. Last season’s finish: 19-13, NIT. Top players returning: SG James Dews (8.2 ppg), PF Adrian Thomas (5.1), SF DeQuan Jones (2.7). Possible NBA draft return: C Dwayne Collins (10.6). The Hurricanes missed last year’s NCAAs primarily because they lacked the point guard play Wall could deliver almost immediately. A fine recruiting class led by New York wing Durand Scott will help replace star guard Jack McClinton. But the key to Miami’s improvement is the progress of Jones, an extremely athletic wing whose opportunities to make a positive impact as a freshman were limited because the playmakers couldn’t put him in position to excel. He’s not a shooter. He needs to be set up. Collins also suffered last year from a lack of post scoring opportunities. Coach Frank Haith promised an emphasis on the inside game, but his players could not deliver. Wall could make Collins a star. Kentucky. Last season’s finish: 22-14, NIT. Top players returning: PF Patrick Patterson (17.9), PF Perry Stevenson (7.8), SF Darius Miller (5.3). Possible NBA draft return: SG Jodie Meeks (23.7). UK will be a completely renovated team even if Patterson and Meeks are both in place to lead the attack. The arrival of coach John Calipari assures this. He’ll have the Wildcats

running the Dribble Drive Motion offense, and they’d run it better with Wall at the controls. Calipari already enriched Kentucky by signing big center DeMarcus Cousins and retaining top big man Daniel Orton, who signed in the fall. Those two will give Patterson the flexibility to perform more often as a forward, which he is skilled enough to manage. Wall would not need to score as much with the Wildcats, but he could be the final piece in an instant turnaround for Calipari. Florida. Last season’s finish: 25-11, NIT. Top players returning: PF Alex Tyus (12.5), PG Erving Walker (10.1), SF Chandler Parsons (9.2). Possible NBA draft return: PG Nick Calathes (17.2). The Gators missed the past two NCAA Tournaments not because they lacked point guard play but because they were young and not athletic. Coach Billy Donovan will have plenty of veterans. Adding shooting guard Kenny Boynton, who has signed with the Gators, and Wall would solve most of those speed and quickness issues. Boynton plays a lot with the ball in his hands, but elite 2010 point guard recruit Brandon Knight was able to excel alongside him in AAU competition. Tyus’ return is important. Wall needs to have some frontcourt targets, and Tyus is a high-percentage finisher. It’s hard to say what adjustments would be necessary if Calathes were to return and Wall chose the Gators. Duke. Last season’s finish: 30-7, NCAA Sweet 16. Top players returning: PF Kyle Singler (16.5), PG Jon

SHAWN ROCCO / AP

PG John Wall, above, can change the course of a program with his electrifying talent, drawing comparisons to the likes of Chris Paul and Derrick Rose. Scheyer (14.9), SG Nolan Smith (8.4). Possible NBA draft return: SF Gerald Henderson (16.5). There’d be no worry about Wall clashing with incumbent Scheyer. Although Scheyer played well running the offense, the Devils would eagerly move him off the ball. He is not equipped to penetrate the lane. And though Scheyer excels defensively at chasing wings around

screens, he is not overwhelming against the ball. Adding Wall to a perimeter attack featuring not only Singler, Scheyer and Smith but also starter Elliot Williams would put the Devils back into the days when they were regularly generating 90 points a game. They also have more bodies to throw at the inside game than in several years.

Duke is the one school on the list that reached the NCAAs, but the Devils are accustomed to exiting more gracefully. Or not exiting at all. Wall is the kind of player who can make that last dream happen– just about anywhere he chooses to play, whenever that day finally comes. [email protected]

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

NFL

www.sportingnews.com

INSIDE DISH

Griese’s odd man out among Bucs’ QBs Bucs officials do not expect to see QB Brian Griese when the team begins voluntary workouts today. Griese, 34, is considered the fifth QB on a team that will carry only four to training camp. Luke McCown, Byron Leftwich, Josh Freeman and Josh Johnson are expected to go to Bucs training camp. According to the St. Petersburg Times, team officials say Griese could have trade value and the team might hold his rights well into the offseason. Griese, who missed two months last year with tendonitis in his throwing elbow, started five games last season, passing for 1,073 yards with five touchdowns and seven interceptions. The Bears agreed to a one-year contract with TE Michael Gaines on Monday. Gaines, 29, has 41 starts in five seasons with the Panthers, Bills and Lions. He is more of a blocker than a pass catcher with only 79 career receptions and five TDs. “The Bears had a plan for me,” Gaines said via the team’s website. “You can’t beat that when people have a goal and a plan mapped out for you at your position.” Jets RB Thomas Jones was a noshow at Monday’s voluntary workouts, continuing his boycott of team activities in a contract dispute. The first mandatory event is the full-squad minicamp June 9-11. If Jones skips that, he can be fined by the club. Jones is scheduled to earn $900,000 in ’09 but did make $13 million over the last two seasons with the Jets, according to The (New York) Daily News.

JULIE JACOBSON / AP

Jets RB Thomas Jones (20) is skipping voluntary workouts in protest of his contract. OT Todd Wade is retiring after nine NFL seasons, according to the FoxSports.com. Wade started 96 games with the Miami, Houston and Washington. He spent last season with Jacksonville but did not play. Contract talks between the Vikings and Pro Bowl CB Antoine Winfield have stalled. Winfield, who turns 32 next month, will make $6 million in the final season of his current deal. Fellow CB Cedric Griffin, 26, recently had his contract extended through 2014. Patriots NT Vince Wilfork is going into the final year of his contract, and Patriots officials say getting an

extension worked out is a priority. According to The Boston Globe, Wilfork is one of only three first-round picks from the Class of 2004 working under his rookie contract. The others: Chargers QB Philip Rivers and Patriots TE Benjamin Watson. Cowboys special teams coach Joe DeCamillis, 43, was released Sunday from a Dallas hospital eight days after his neck was broken when the roof of the team’s indoor practice facility collapsed during a storm. Cowboys scouting assistant Rich Behm was paralyzed from the waist down when the roof was torn apart by strong winds during a rookie minicamp workout.

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

31

Favre practicing with preps again; Vikings confirm interest Brett Favre seems to be closer than ever to wearing a Minnesota Vikings uniform. While Vikings president Mark Wilf finally confirmed the team’s interest in Favre, the supposedly retired quarterback was working out Monday with a Hattiesburg high school team. “He’s a Hall of Fame quarterback. He’s a great competitor,” Wilf said. “Ultimately, you’ll have to ask Brett what his plans are, but sure there’s interest in Brett Favre. But again, it’s part of a process we have in general with any of our players. We’re always looking to make our team better.” Favre, 39, has not spoken on the record about returning for a 19th NFL season, but he is obviously considering it and is working out with the Oak Grove High School team, just as he did last year. “His arm is there,” J.D. Simpson, Oak Grove assistant and friend of Favre, told The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune. “He’s had the same problem with his left arm that he’s having with his right. He told me John Elway had the same problem in his last year. It’s a certain throwing angle or motion that hurts. It doesn’t hurt all the time, though, and just looking at him throwing you can’t tell there’s anything wrong with it. “I help out with the receivers, and he threw a few that bounced off some facemasks out there.” Favre was released by the New York Jets on April 28 and issued a statement that said, “At this time, I am retired and have no intention of returning to football.” He hasn’t been heard from since. His agent, Bus Cook, has said Favre remains retired. Cook did not return phone messages Monday. Wilf, who along with brother Zygi purchased the team in 2005, spoke about Favre during a previously scheduled community visit. It was the first question asked by a fan during a panel discussion between Wilf and linebackers Chad Greenway and Ben Leber. After Greenway gave a politically correct answer, Wilf jumped in to defend the current stable of quarterbacks—incumbent Tarvaris Jackson, newcomer Sage Rosenfels and third-stringer John David Booty. “With Sage and Tarvaris and John David, we’re pleased with the quarterbacks we have,” Wilf said. “Let’s not let that get forgotten here. And we just feel as a whole as a roster, we’re trying to improve every day. We feel we’ve made a lot of steps to improve off an NFC North division win and we’re ready to take the next step and to go all the way.”

JAY DROWNS / SN

QB Brett Favre threw 22 touchdown passes and 22 picks last season. It’s a little bit of deja vu for the Vikings. Last year, Favre renounced his retirement from the Packers and, after being told Green Bay was going with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, Favre wanted to play for the NFC North rival Vikings. After a messy divorce with Green Bay, Favre was shipped to the Jets, where he threw 22 touchdown passes and 22 interceptions for a team that finished 1-4 down the stretch to miss the playoffs. The Vikings won the division without Favre but have been unsettled at the most important position for three-plus years. Quarterback is viewed as one of the team’s few weak spots. With Favre, retirement has become an annual ordeal. He was released by the Jets on April 28 and now is free to sign with the Vikings if he is healthy enough and still has the desire to play. “He’s retired a couple of times, so you wonder where his loyalties lie,” Greenway said. — Associated Press

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

NFL

www.sportingnews.com

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

32

Scouts’ views

Center rankings: Brawn meets brains in middle of line As RealScouts, a group of former NFL scouts, take a look at the top centers, it’s important to note that these guys are among the smartest players on the field. Not only must the centers make their own adjustments, they must read the defensive front and make the line calls to teammates, hear the quarterback’s audible, readjust the line calls, snap the ball and then get their man blocked—all in a matter of a few seconds. NFL centers come in all shapes and sizes, and RealScouts’ top-10 ranking for ’09 is representative of that.

and uses hands well, and he is athletic enough to reach linebackers on the second level.

1.

4.

Nick Mangold, Jets. The Jets’ offensive line had its best season in a long while, and it starts with Mangold. He doesn’t overwhelm with physical tools and there isn’t one aspect of his game that stands out, but he does everything well. He has started every game of his NFL career, showing excellent football intelligence, competitiveness and instincts. As his strength and technique continue to improve, he will get even better.

2.

Nick Hardwick, Chargers. Hardwick often is overlooked in the Chargers’ offense, but the production drops off dramatically when he is sidelined. At 6-4, he’s tall for a center but still plays with good leverage and pad level and his long reach is a big asset. He shows good footwork

3.

Olin Kreutz, Bears. He has everything: He is tough, smart and athletic, plays with a mean streak and is fundamentally sound. He is a fine run blocker and has the agility to protect a mobile quarterback like Jay Cutler.

Shaun O’Hara, Giants. He is one of the most consistent and durable players in the league, missing just one game the last four years. He isn’t powerful or explosive but is smart and technically sound. He takes great angles to defenders and communicates well with line mates to create the holes for the Giants’ dangerous running game.

5.

Jamaal Jackson, Eagles. As Eagles’ coach Andy Reid shuffled the line in the offseason, he certainly didn’t think of moving away from Jackson. He is an immovable object in the middle of the line at 330 pounds, but he also has impressive athleticism. He gets off the snap and reaches the defensive tackle quickly, and he can pull and seal the corner for perimeter

runs. He’ll be even better in ’09, leading an improved line that added Jason Peters and Stacy Andrews.

6.

Jason Brown, Rams. He is a big, powerful, wide-bodied center who can move the pile in the interior running game, which will be a bigger part of the Rams’ offense in ’09. He was the best center available on the free-agent market and is a big addition for the Rams, who already have begun building around him with the selection of OT Jason Smith in the draft.

7.

Jeff Saturday, Colts. The Colts toyed with the idea of letting Saturday leave via free agency, but that couldn’t have made QB Peyton Manning happy. Ultimately, the Colts re-signed Saturday. That’s good because he’s a perfect fit for their passoriented attack. He is agile, still has some initial quickness and is smart and instinctive. However, he turns 34 in June and probably has only a couple years left.

8.

Dominic Raiola, Lions.

Raiola lacks ideal size or strength, but he is a high-effort and competitive guy. He plays smart,

shows good instincts and fights to the whistle on every snap. His technique and experience will be invaluable to a young offense this year. On what has been a terrible team, Raiola has been a rare bright spot.

9.

Andre Gurode, Cowboys. He made the Pro Bowl last year, but it was based more on reputation than production, à la the Titans’ Kevin Mawae. Gurode is a physical run blocker, not a finesse player. He’ll need to be more productive in ’09 than he was in ’08 to get the Cowboys back to the playoffs. The measure of that will be the success of their running game between the tackles.

10.

Ryan Kalil, Panthers. Kalil’s strength is his ability to reach the second level and deliver key blocks on linebackers to spring RBs Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams on the long runs. It’s what makes the Panthers an elite rushing team. Kalil is equally adept at working inside or outside, showing the athletic ability to pull and lead perimeter runs. — RealScouts, a team of former NFL scouts, analyze NFL and college players, coaches and teams exclusively for Sporting News Today.

BOB LEVERONE / SN

Since the Jets drafted him in 2004, Nick Mangold has started every game and helped lead their ninth-ranked rushing game last season.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

NFL

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; 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; 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.

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

33

NFL vote on a 17- or 18-game schedule uncertain BY DANIEL KAPLAN AND LIZ MULLEN SportsBusiness Journal

NFL owners meeting next week in Florida are unlikely to vote on expanding the regular-season schedule despite reports earlier this year that the league might act on the topic during its May gathering. Several league sources said the owners would not vote on adding games to the regular season, and New York Jets owner Woody Johnson also said there would be no vote. Early last week, a league spokesman said there would be no vote, but after commissioner Roger Goodell told SportsBusiness Journal last week that the issue of a vote still was up in the air, the spokesman deferred to Goodell’s comment. As commissioner, Goodell is in charge of the meeting agenda. Many of the complexities of expanding from 16 games to either 17 or 18 games have become highly visible, with labor implications being among the key considerations. New NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith has talked about the need to understand the physical harm players face in extending the regular season. Top agents agreed. “The issue goes beyond if you play two more games you get two more paychecks,” said player agent Tom Condon, head of the football practice at CAA Sports. “There would certainly have to be a consideration for the health risk, the additional wear and tear and

AMY SANCETTA / AP

Don’t expect NFL owners to vote on adding games to future regular-season schedules. the potential of shortening of players’ careers.” Condon also noted the impact additional regular-season games could have on benefits and free agency. “If you are playing two more games a year, over a period of time, you could have an extra year of credit towards benefits,” Condon said. “For a rookie player who normally would reach free agency

after year No. 4, potentially, he would have played in 64 games. Now, (in an 18-game schedule) it would be 64 plus eight. There would be eight more games for potential injury. ” Drew Rosenhaus, who represents about 100 players, said he is curious about how players under long-term contracts negotiated during a 16-game regular season would be paid if two more regu-

lar-season games were added. “The fairest way to do it, in my opinion, is to take the player’s salary and add two game checks with prorated amounts,” he said. The league can unilaterally expand the season but must negotiate with the union over compensation, according to the collective-bargaining agreement. The CBA expires in 2011, and it is not clear if an expanded season would happen before then. Goodell remarked last week at a Wall Street Journal forum that the expansion of the season is unrelated to the league possibly pushing its schedule into February. “We’re not talking about adding two more weeks,” Goodell said at the forum. “We’re talking about taking two preseason weeks and making those into regular-season weeks. So the length of our season wouldn’t really change. We have talked about the idea where we should move the season later, out of August—when it’s not football season—and move into a September-October-November-December-January period. And in that case, if you did that, you would go into early February.” In other business slated for next week’s meetings in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the owners are expected to choose the host of the 2013 Super Bowl. New Orleans is considered the favorite, ahead of Miami and Glendale, Ariz. Owners also are expected to get an update on looming labor talks with the union. —Daniel Kaplan and Liz Mullen are staff writers for SportsBusiness Journal. E-mail them at [email protected] and [email protected].

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

NASCAR

www.sportingnews.com

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

34

INSIDE DISH

NASCAR consultant: Mayfield tested positive for ‘drug of great concern’ NASCAR reviews all positive drug tests to determine whether there was a legitimate need for a person to have a certain amount of any drug in his system, and owner/ driver Jeremy Mayfield tested positive for a “drug of great concern to NASCAR,” NASCAR’s consultant, Dr. David Black, said Monday. Black is an internationally recognized forensic toxicologist and president of Aegis Sciences Corp., which conducts the testing for NASCAR and is one of the largest independent sports doping test laboratories in the world. He has worked with NASCAR officials in creation of its drug-testing program. Neither NASCAR officials nor Black would name the drug Mayfield tested positive for earlier this month that resulted in the indefinite suspension NASCAR handed out Saturday. Mayfield, in a statement issued by his team, said he believed a mix of prescription and over-the-counter drugs resulted in the positive test. “We had a drug of great concern to NASCAR,” Black said in a phone interview Monday. “In all my experience, a combination of over-thecounter drug plus a prescription drug would not have necessarily caused this positive test result. “I’m very confident and comfortable with the action taken.” — Bob Pockrass, SceneDaily.com Roush Fenway Racing gas man Ben Williams, who was suspended by NASCAR last week for violating its substance-abuse policy, has

HAROLD HINSON FOR SN

While there are some changes to Darlington Raceway, including the number of times the Sprint Cup Series races there, ‘The Track Too Tough To Tame’ is still a test for the drivers.

What’s not to like about Darlington? CJ DRIGGERS / AP

Jeremy Mayfield resigned and is no longer with the team. Williams served on the crew of the team’s No. 16 Nationwide Series Ford, but a team spokesperson said he has resigned. The team had no other comment. — Lee Montgomery, SceneDaily.com Exide Batteries will sponsor Camping World Truck Series points leader Mike Skinner for an additional seven races this season, Randy Moss Motorsports announced. In addition, Exide will serve as an associate sponsor for the remainder of the season on both RMM Toyotas, the No. 5 driven by Skinner and the No. 81 driven by Tayler Malsam, who leads the points for Raybestos Rookie of the Year. The company has already been the primary sponsor in three races with Skinner. — SceneDaily.com

It’s not Las Vegas—far from it. But if NASCAR is serious about returning to its roots, those roots aren’t hard to find. They grow deep at Darlington. For 51 weeks a year, Darlington and nearby Florence, S.C., are little more than places to change highways on the way to Myrtle Beach. Even during race week, which currently ends with the SouthReid Spencer ern 500 on the THE COOL DOWN LAP eve of Mothers Day, there’s not a lot to do in Darlington. Fans who make the annual pilgrimage to the asymmetrical, egg-shaped track, however, are there for a singular purpose—to watch some of the best racing NASCAR has to offer. Darlington is a place that gets under a driver’s skin. A frustrated Kyle Petty once suggested filling the track with water and stocking it with bass.

“Well, it’s not one of my top five (favorites)—I can promise you that,” Clint Bowyer said diplomatically the day before the race. Today’s Darlington, mind you, isn’t the same track that bullied and befuddled drivers 30 or 40 years ago. Repaved in time for last year’s race, the surface is far kinder to tires than it used to be, as was evidenced by the frequency of two-tire and fuel-only calls in the pits on Saturday night. Ultimately, Mark Martin won the race by staying out on old tires—an impossibility in the old days, when the abrasive asphalt would chew the “good” off the tires in fewer than 10 laps. The frontstretch is now the backstretch, and pit road is now on the side of the racetrack farthest from Highway 151. Much has changed over the years at the Lady in Black, but the soul of the place is still there. There’s a saying in professional golf that the difficulty of a U.S. Open setup identifies the best players in the world. Similarly, the crucible of

Darlington identifies the best drivers. Scan the list of winners at “The Track Too Tough To Tame,” and you’ll find the absolute cream of the sport. And if you don’t think racing at Darlington is as intense as ever, just ask Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. “This is so tough,” Johnson said Saturday after trailing Martin to the finish line. “The speeds are so high. Track position’s everything. … Every position that you go for out there, you’ve just got to gouge and bang and run people over and fight with each other and run into each other under caution. It was absolutely out of control out there.” For those who measure the quality of racing by green-flag passes for the lead or by drag races to the finish line, Darlington was a disappointment this year, but to look at the Southern 500 only in those terms is short-sighted. There was plenty of hard racing and plenty of passing for position. Martin had to work his way back

toward the front after a mistake on pit road. Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon, who finished third and fifth, respectively, fought hard for those final positions after late two-tire pit stops. Greg Biffle, who dominated the middle stages of the race and at one point opened a lead of more than eight seconds, needed a banzai run in the closing laps—after a spin off Turn 4 on Lap 296—to rescue an eighth-place result. Sure, Darlington is different now. So is the Southern 500, which used to be run on a hot, sticky Sunday before Labor Day, instead of on a warm Saturday night in May. But one glance at the red-and-white throwback walls in Turns 3 and 4—with the solid black stripe from contact with the right sidewalls of the Cup cars’ tires running from the entry to the exit—provided a clear reminder that the essence of the place is flourishing—and that there’s still much to treasure there. — Reid Spencer writes for the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Lacrosse

www.sportingnews.com

Bitter’s barrage of goals highlight first round about Maryland has been how its talented roster hasn’t put it all together. Between Grant Catalino’s shift to midfield and Bryn Holmes completely taking Ryan Hoff out of the picture, the Terps gave Syracuse coach John Desko something to stress over heading to Hofstra next week.

BY SEAN BURNS InsideLacrosse.com

After watching all eight men’s Division I lacrosse games Saturday and Sunday with Terry Foy for his running blog on InsideLacrosse. com, here’s a list of superlatives from the NCAA Tournament’s first round.

Phil Esposito Award

Player of the Weekend Billy Bitter, North Carolina The sophomore’s eight goals came in a game that his team won by two, so this had the dual qualification of being an obscene performance and being pretty key to his team’s advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals. Bitter tied UNC’s school record for single-game goals and helped cement coach Joe Breschi’s first season at his alma mater as an unequivocal success.

‘Welcome to the Big Show’ Award Cody Jamieson, Syracuse After much ballyhoo, the former Onondaga Community College superstar finally got some serious minutes in his third game for the Orange after receiving his eligibility clearance from the NCAA in late April. He had three goals and an assist in the win over Siena. It wasn’t a polished performance, but if you’re a ’Cuse fan, you have to like seeing what he can do going down the stretch. Reminds me a bit of a stud rookie pitcher called up in September for a pennant drive.

PEYTON WILLIAMS/ACCPHOTOS.COM

UNC’s Billy Bitter scored eight goals Saturday.

‘So THAT’S What You Can Do’ Award Maryland Terrapins Speaking of ballyhoo, the Terps finally came up big, smothering unbeaten Notre Dame on the road for a 7-3 win. All season, the lament

Games to watch

Quarterfinal matchups Saturday @ Hofstra No. 4 Princeton vs. No. 5 Cornell, noon Maryland vs. No. 2 Syracuse, 2:30 p.m. Sunday @ Navy No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 8 Hopkins, noon No. 3 Duke vs. No. 6 UNC, 2:30 p.m.

Kyle Hollingsworth, Brown Just when all hope seemed lost for Brown against Johns Hopkins, Hollingsworth dove after a loose ball in front of the net and slapped it by Jays goalie Mike Gvozden to knot the score at 10 with eight seconds remaining. Of course, Brian Christopher did his Brian Christopher thing in OT (third overtime game-winner in Hopkins’s last four games) and sent the Jays to the quarterfinals. But Hollingsworth’s diving, temporarily season-saving slap shot was the highlight of the first round.

Poise Under Fire Award Brent Herbst, Siena Sure, maybe he nearly doubled his regular-season goals against average (6.01) in the 11-4 loss, but the Saints goalie kept them in the game far deeper than a lot of folks thought they would manage, making 11 saves (several of the jawdropping variety). As Foy pointed out in his IL blog, the difference in this game was team speed and athleticism, but Herbst really gave Siena a legitimate shot with his performance.

SUBSCRIBE TODAY www.insidelacrosse.com

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Horse Racing / Soccer

www.sportingnews.com

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

134TH PREAKNESS

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET, NBC (Post time: 6 p.m.)

Roadblocks cleared for Rachel Alexandra LOUISVILLE, KY.—Rachel Alexandra is in the Preakness. Finally. Probably. The superstar filly will get her chance to run with the boys during Saturday’s second jewel of the Triple Crown after a series of potential roadblocks were lifted over the weekend. Pimlico vice president Mike Gathagan said Monday there are 13 horses, including Rachel Alexandra, expected to enter the 1 3-16-mile race. The field will be set by noon Wednesday, with the draw at 5 p.m. The almost certain entry of the Kentucky Oaks winner saves the industry from a public relations nightmare after several owners— including Mine That Bird’s Mark Allen and Pioneerof the Nile’s Ahmed Zayat—considered taking steps to keep the 3-year-old filly from joining the field, which is capped at 14. Allen said Monday he toyed with the idea of putting unheralded Indy Express into the Preakness to take up one of the starting spots from Rachel Alexandra. Zayat briefly weighed doing the same with one of the more than 20 horses he nominated to the Triple Crown. Triple Crown rules give starting preference to horses pre-nominated to the series. Rachel Alexandra was not nominated by previous owner Dolphus Morrison, meaning new owner Jess Jackson will have to pay a $100,000 supplement fee to put her up for consideration. Normally that isn’t a problem. It briefly became one Sunday when it appeared 14 horses already prenominated to the race would make the field, leaving Rachel Alexandra

Borel has already agreed to ride Rachel Alexandra for the rest of the year. The duo are unbeaten in five starts since he took over as her jockey last fall, including a 20¼-length win in the Oaks on May 1. Allen said Mike Smith, who won the 2005 Kentucky Derby with Giacomo, will ride Mine That Bird if Borel is on Rachel Alexandra. “That’s a pretty good backup plan,” he said with a laugh. “We’re not crying in our beer right now.” Borel spent a little time on Mine That Bird on Monday morning, putting the gelding through a half-mile workout in a leisurely 49.20 seconds. The horse is expected to travel to Pimlico on Tuesday. Rachel Alexandra will likely ship on Wednesday, and she’ll almost certainly have a starting gate after Zayat decided against entering another of his Triple Crown nominated horses. — The Associated Press

NTRA 3YO Thoroughbred poll

MORRY GASH / AP

Calvin Borel should have the opportunity to ride Kentucky Oaks winner Rachel Alexandra after all. on the outside looking in. The potential replacements weren’t exactly world beaters, either. Indy Express is winless in nine career starts, with career earnings of $12,618. While Allen thinks the horse has talent, he chose to keep Indy Express out of the race because he simply didn’t have the same credentials as Rachel Alexandra. “To do it with a maiden ain’t

36

right,” Allen said. Allen’s concerns were professional, not personal. If Rachel Alexandra missed the Preakness, it would mean Mine That Bird could retain jockey Calvin Borel. The 42-year-old Borel made a riveting trip along the rail, riding the 50-1 long shot on a frantic last-to-first dash to win the Kentucky Derby on May 2.

NEW YORK—The NTRA 3-Year-Old Thoroughred Poll, ranking leading 3-year-old contenders. The Top 10, ranked on a 10-9-8-76-5-4-3-2-1 point scale, is based on the votes of thoroughbred racing media representatives with first place votes in parentheses, records through May 10, points and previous rank (Sex: C-colt, G-gelding, F-filly, M-mare): 1. Rachel Alexandra (17) 2. Pioneerof the Nile 3. Mine That Bird (2) 4. Quality Road 5. I Want Revenge 6. Musket Man 7. Papa Clem 8. Friesan Fire 9. Charitable Man 10. Chocolate Candy

S F C G C C C C C C C

St 4 3 3 3 3 5 4 4 2 4

1-2-3 4-0-0 3-0-0 1-1-0 2-1-0 2-0-1 3-0-2 1-2-0 3-0-0 1-0-0 2-1-0

Pts 188 143 142 110 108 106 84 48 29 27

Pvs 1 2 3 5 4 6 7 9 — 8

Other Horses Receiving Votes: General Quarters 12; Hull 11; Mr. Fantasy 9; Big Drama 8; Summer Bird 6; The Pamplemousse 5; Dunkirk 4; Join In The Dance 1; Justwhistledixie 1; Mythical Power 1; Square Eddie 1; Stardom Bound 1.

UEFA rejects Barcelona, Manchester United appeals NYON, SWITZERLAND—European soccer’s governing body upheld the decisions ruling out Manchester United’s Darren Fletcher and Barcelona’s Eric Abidal and Dani Alves from the Champions League final. UEFA’s disciplinary committee rejected both clubs’ appeals Monday to let the suspended players compete in the May 27 final in Rome. UEFA said both teams missed deadlines to appeal within 24 hours of the games last week. But, UEFA added, even if the appeals were made on time they would have been rejected because there were no grounds for contesting the referees’ decisions. Fletcher was sent off after tackling Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas in last Tuesday’s semifinal second leg. Fletcher connected with the ball first but his momentum brought down the Spaniard. Abidal was ejected when Chelsea’s Nicolas Anelka went down after a challenge last Wednesday, though TV replays suggested there was no contact. Alves received a yellow card that triggered a ban because of past infractions. BARCELONA, SPAIN—Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta believes he will overcome his right thigh muscle injury and play in the Champions League final against Manchester United. Iniesta reportedly said after undergoing tests on Monday—his 25th birthday—that his injury

ANDRES KUDACKI / AP

Barcelona’s Andres Iniesta, right, is hopeful that a thigh injury won’t sideline him. during Barcelona’s 3-3 draw the previous day with Villarreal was only “a small tear.” Measuring the tear at 2 centimeters (0.8 inches) in length, Barcelona would only say that “doctors will be working to get Iniesta fit for the final.” The club had already said Iniesta will miss Wednesday’s Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao. Iniesta scored Barcelona’s late equalizer last Wednesday to earn Barcelona a 1-1 draw at Chelsea and passage into the Champions League final Barcelona is expected to face defending champion United without suspended defenders Eric Abidal and Daniel Alves together with injured Rafael Marquez, while striker Thierry Henry is doubtful with a right knee injury. — The Associated Press

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

PGA Tour schedule

www.sportingnews.com

Jan. 8-11 — Mercedes-Benz Championship (Geoff Ogilvy) Jan. 15-18 — Sony Open in Hawaii (Zach Johnson) Jan. 21-25 — Bob Hope Chrysler Classic (Pat Perez) Jan. 29-Feb. 1 — FBR Open (Kenny Perry) Feb. 5-8 — Buick Invitational (Nick Watney) Feb. 12-15 — AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (Dustin Johnson) Feb. 19-22 — Northern Trust Open (Phil Mickelson) Feb. 25-March 1 — WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship (Geoff Ogilvy) Feb. 25-March 1 — Mayakoba Golf Classic (Mark Wilson) March 5-8 — The Honda Classic (Y.E. Yang) March 12-15 — WGC-CA Championship, (Phil Mickelson) March 12-15 — Puerto Rico Open (Michael Bradley) March 19-22 — Transitions Championship (Retief Goosen) March 26-29 — Arnold Palmer Invitational (Tiger Woods) April 2-5 — Shell Houston Open (Paul Casey) April 9-12 — The Masters (Angel Cabrera) April 16-19 — Verizon Heritage (Brian Gay) April 23-26 — Zurich Classic of New Orleans (Jerry Kelly) April 30-May 3 — Quail Hollow Championship (Sean O’Hair) May 7-10 — The Players Championship (Henrik Stenson) Thursday-Sunday — Valero Texas Open, La Cantera Golf Club (Resort Course), San Antonio May 21-24 — HP Byron Nelson Championship, TPC Four Seasons Resort, Irving, Texas May 28-31 — Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, Colonial CC, Fort Texas, Texas June 4-7 — The Memorial Tournament, Muirfield Village GC, Dublin, Ohio June 11-14 — Stanford St. Jude Championship, TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tenn. June 18-21 U.S. Open, Bethpage State Park (Black Course), Farmingdale, N.Y. June 25-28 — Travelers Championship, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn. July 2-5 — AT&T National, Congressional CC (Blue Course), Bethesda, Md. July 9-12 — John Deere Classic, TPC Deere Run, Silvis, Ill. July 16-19 — The Open Championship, Turnberry (Ailsa Course), Turnberry, Scotland July 16-19 — U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, Brown Deer Park GC, Milwaukee July 23-26 — RBC Canadian Open, Glen Abbey GC, Oakville, Ontario July 30-Aug. 2 — Buick Open, Warwick Hills G and CC, Grand Blanc, Mich. Aug. 6-9 — WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Firestone CC, Akron, Ohio Aug. 6-9 — Legends Reno-Tahoe Open, Montreux G and CC, Reno, Nev. Aug. 13-16 — PGA Championship, Hazeltine National GC, Chaska, Minn. Aug. 20-23 — Wyndham Championship, Sedgefield CC, Greensboro, N.C. Aug. 27-30 — The Barclays, Liberty National GC, Jersey City, N.J. Sept. 4-7 — Deutsche Bank Championship, TPC Boston, Norton, Mass. Sept. 10-13 — BMW Championship, Cog Hill GC, Lemont, Ill. Sept. 24-27 — The Tour Championship, East Lake GC, Atlanta Oct. 1-4 — Turning Stone Restort Chamnpionship, Atunyote GC at Turning Stone Resort, Verona, N.Y. Oct. 8-11 — The Presidents Cup, Harding Park GC, San Francisco Oct. 15-18 — Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, TPC Summerlin, Las Vegas Oct. 22-25 — Frys.com Open, Grayhawk GC, Scottlsdale, Ariz. Oct. 29-Nov. 1 — Viking Classic, Annandale GC, Madison, Miss. Nov. 12-15 — Children’s Miracle Network Classic, Walt Disney World Resort (Magnolia Course, Palm Course), Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Golf / Tennis

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

Williams exits with knee injury MADRID—Serena Williams pulled out of the Madrid Open on Monday after aggravating an injury to her right knee during a first-round match against Francesca Schiavone. The second-seeded Williams retired after losing the first set 6-4. She declined to detail the extent of the problem, but said it would not keep her out of the upcoming French Open. “It’s not going to stop me playing in Paris,” Williams said. “I didn’t want to risk my chances to play Roland Garros. I don’t know how serious it is, but I don’t want it to get worse.” Williams, who had difficulty bending her right knee, said she had made too many commitments with her schedule this year and was paying the price. “I was just really hindered. My movement was hindered as a result of an injury I’ve been struggling with for some time,” Williams said. Third-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia took a little over an hour to defeat Lourdes Dominguez Lino —the last Spanish woman left in the Open—6-3, 6-2. In the men’s draw, No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France defeated former Wimbledon champion Marat Safin of Russia 6-4, 7-5. Spain’s David Ferrer, seeded 12th, beat Guillermo Canas of Argentina 6-2, 6-2. Tsonga said he was pleased with his attacking game but acknowledged he needed to improve to climb the rankings. “I played good offensive tennis with some aggressive shots,” he said, adding that as a boy he rooted for Safin. “He played some great matches at Roland Garros and was like an idol of mine. It was special to play against him.” After struggling through two injury-plagued seasons, two-time Grand Slam champion Amelie Mauresmo of France continued her recent solid play, beating Ai Sugiyama of Japan in straight sets. The 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon champion beat the Japanese player 6-2, 6-4. — The Associated Press

DANIEL OCHOA DE OLZA / AP

A right knee injury forced Serena Williams out of the Madrid Open.

Mutua Madrilena Masters/Open results At Recinto Ferial Casa de Campo, Madrid Purse: Men, $5.04 million (WT1000); Women, $4.5 million (Premier) Surface: Clay-Outdoor Singles Men, First Round Mardy Fish, United States, def. Janko Tipsarevic, Serbia, 7-6 (3), 6-4. Florent Serra, France, def. Rainer Schuettler, Germany, 6-2, 6-4. Oscar Hernandez, Spain, def. Martin Vassallo Arguello, Argentina, 6-3, 6-3. David Ferrer (12), Spain, def. Guillermo Canas, Argentina, 6-2, 6-2. Ivan Ljubicic, Croatia, def. Teimuraz Gabashvili, Russia, 6-3, 6-2. Robin Soderling, Sweden, def. Ivan Navarro, Spain, 6-4, 6-2. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (9), France, def. Marat Safin, Russia, 6-4, 7-5. Simone Bolelli, Italy, def. Juan Ignacio Chela, Argentina, 7-5, 7-6 (3). Tommy Haas, Germany, def. Ernests Gulbis, Latvia, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5. Stanislas Wawrinka (11), Switzerland, def. Marco Crugnola, Italy, 6-2, 6-0. Philipp Kohlschreiber, Germany, def. Nicolas Almagro, Spain, 6-3, 6-4. Juan Monaco, Argentina, def. Feliciano Lopez, Spain, 6-4, 7-5.

37

WTA World Tour rankings

ATP World Tour rankings

1. Dinara Safina, Russia, 9,011 points 2. Serena Williams, United States, 8,053 3. Venus Williams, United States, 7,452 4. Jelena Jankovic, Serbia, 7,330 5. Elena Dementieva, Russia, 6,991 6. Vera Zvonareva, Russia, 5,890 7. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia, 5,206 8. Ana Ivanovic, Serbia, 4,894 9. Victoria Azarenka, Belarus, 4,506 10. Nadia Petrova, Russia, 3,840 11. Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark, 3,790 12. Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland, 3,686 13. Marion Bartoli, France, 3,304 14. Flavia Pennetta, Italy, 3,210 15. Alize Cornet, France, 2,665 16. Zheng Jie, China, 2,609 17. Anabel Medina Garrigues, Spain, 2,505 18. Dominika Cibulkova, Slovakia, 2,415 19. Kaia Kanepi, Estonia, 2,410 20. Patty Schnyder, Switzerland, 2,377 21. Amelie Mauresmo, France, 2216 22. Anna Chakvetadze, Russia, 2056 23. Carla Suarez Navarro, Spain, 1971 24. Katarina Srebotnik, Slovenia, 1874 25. Aleksandra Wozniak, Canada, 1814 26. Alisa Kleybanova, Russia, 1810 27. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russia, 1757 28. Li Na, China, 1756 29. Sybille Bammer, Austria, 1714 30. Iveta Benesova, Czech Republic, 1687 31. Samantha Stosur, Australia, 1638 32. Shuai Peng, China, 1576 33. Ai Sugiyama, Japan, 1556 34. Virginie Razzano, France, 1553 35. Ekaterina Makarova, Russia, 1546 36. Sara Errani, Italy, 1488 37. Sabine Lisicki, Germany, 1475 38. Agnes Szavay, Hungary, 1469 39. Daniela Hantuchova, Slovakia, 1464 40. Sorana Cirstea, Romania, 1451 41. Maria Kirilenko, Russia, 1438 42. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, Spain, 1432 43. Gisela Dulko, Argentina, 1414 44. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, United States, 1351 45. Francesca Schiavone, Italy, 1346 46. Alona Bondarenko, Ukraine, 1290 47. Tszvetana Pironkova, Bulgaria, 1249 48. Tamarine Tanasugarn, Thailand, 1236 49. Petra Kvitova, Czech Republic, 1226 50. Lucie Safarova, Czech Republic, 1224

1. Rafael Nadal, Spain, 15360 2. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 10170 3. Andy Murray, Scotland, 8990 4. Novak Djokovic, Serbia, 8920 5. Juan Martin del Potro, Argentina, 4720 6. Andy Roddick, United States, 4040 7. Gilles Simon, France, 4030 8. Fernando Verdasco, Spain, 3900 9. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, France, 3455 10. Gael Monfils, France, 3310 11. Nikolay Davydenko, Russia, 3265 12. Fernando Gonzalez, Chile, 2945 13. David Ferrer, Spain, 2645 14. Marin Cilic, Croatia, 2635 15. David Nalbandian, Argentina, 2455 16. James Blake, United States, 2370 17. Tommy Robredo, Spain, 2350 18. Stanislas Wawrinka, Switzerland, 2135 19. Radek Stepanek, Czech Republic, 2090 20. Marat Safin, Russia, 2015 21. Richard Gasquet, France, 1935 21. Tomas Berdych, Czech Republic, 1935 23. Robin Soderling, Sweden, 1880 24. Dmitry Tursunov, Russia, 1840 25. Ivo Karlovic, Croatia, 1770 26. Mardy Fish, United States, 1760 27. Jurgen Melzer, Austria, 1735 28. Albert Montanes, Spain, 1724 29. Nicolas Kiefer, Germany, 1690 29. Igor Andreev, Russia, 1690 31. Rainer Schuettler, Germany, 1635 32. Feliciano Lopez, Spain, 1620 33. Victor Hanescu, Romania, 1556 34. Nicolas Almagro, Spain, 1515 35. Philipp Kohlschreiber, Germany, 1510 36. Andreas Seppi, Italy, 1490 36. Paul-Henri Mathieu, France, 1490 38. Mario Ancic, Croatia, 1475 39. Igor Kunitsyn, Russia, 1468 40. Jeremy Chardy, France, 1461 41. Viktor Troicki, Serbia, 1457 42. Ernests Gulbis, Latvia, 1370 43. Fabrice Santoro, France, 1287 44. Jose Acasuso, Argentina, 1270 45. Julien Benneteau, France, 1265 46. Jarkko Nieminen, Finland, 1250 47. Juan Monaco, Argentina, 1240 48. Carlos Moya, Spain, 1225 49. Martin Vassallo Arguello, Argentina, 1209 50. Marc Gicquel, France, 1203

Women, First Round Roberta Vinci, Italy, def. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, Spain, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. Varvara Lepchenko, United States, def. Magdalena Rybarikova, Slovakia, 7-6 (12), 5-7, 6-1. Peng Shuai, China, def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russia, 6-1, 7-6 (2). Daniela Hantuchova, Slovakia, def. Gisela Dulko, Argentina, 7-6 (7), 6-1. Amelie Mauresmo, France, def. Ai Sugiyama, Japan, 6-2, 6-4. Francesca Schiavone, Italy, def. Serena Williams (2), United States, 6-4 retired. Caroline Wozniacki (9), Denmark, def. Shahar Peer, Israel, 5-4 retired. Second Round Elena Vesnina, Russia, def. Virginie Razzano, France, 7-5, 6-3. Nadia Petrova (8), Russia, def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Germany, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5). Patty Schnyder, Switzerland, def. Aleksandra Wozniak, Canada, 6-2, 6-4. Anna Chakvetadze, Russia, def. Samantha Stosur, Australia, 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4). Elena Dementieva (3), Russia, def. Lourdes Dominguez Lino, Spain, 6-3, 6-2.

Doubles Men, First Round Frantisek Cermak, Czech Republic, and Michal Mertinak, Slovakia, def. Julian Knowle and Jurgen Melzer, Austria, 6-2, 7-5. Stephen Huss, Australia, and Ross Hutchins, Britain, def. Pablo Andujar and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Spain, 4-6, 7-5, 10-7 tiebreak. Women, First Round Alla Kudryavtseva and Ekaterina Makarova, Russia, def. Sorana Cirstea, Romania, and Vladimira Uhlirova, Czech Republic, 2-6, 7-6 (2), 10-3 tiebreak. Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko, Ukraine, def. Akgul Amanmuradova, Uzbekistan, and Tamarine Tanasugarn, Thailand, 3-6, 6-1, 10-6 tiebreak. Hsieh Su-wei, Taiwan, and Janette Husarova, Slovakia, def. Maria Kirilenko, Russia, and Flavia Pennetta (6), Italy, 4-3 retired. Vania King, United States, and Monica Niculescu, Romania, def. Vera Dushevina, Russia, and Galina Voskoboeva, Kazakhstan, 6-3, 7-5. Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (5), Spain, def. Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears, United States, 7-6 (5), 6-2. Daniela Hantuchova, Slovakia, and Ai Sugiyama (7), Japan, def. Nathalie Dechy, France, and Mara Santangelo, Italy, 6-4, 6-3. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, United States, and Nadia Petrova, Russia, def. Alisa Kleybanova, Russia, and Peng Shuai, China, 6-4, 6-1. Victoria Azarenka, Belarus, and Elena Vesnina, Russia, def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Germany, and Patty Schnyder (8), Switzerland, 6-2, 7-6 (3).

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Back Page

www.sportingnews.com

IN BRIEF

Reinbold team deals with nightmare at Indy INDIANAPOLIS—IndyCar team coowner Dennis Reinbold walked from pit row to the garage, rubbing his aching head after the first weekend of Indianapolis 500 qualifying. No wonder, after this washout. Reinbold came to Indy with four drivers, but just one has qualified—in the last of 22 spots claimed so far— another wound up in the hospital and a third had a dangerously close call. So instead of spending this week tuning up for race day, the Dreyer & Reinbold team will go back to work repairing cars, revising schedules and figuring out solutions. “It’s not a scramble, but we had some other things we’d rather be working on,” Reinbold said Sunday night. Reinbold forged a partnership with seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty to put John Andretti in the cockpit, found enough sponsorship to add the popular Milka Duno and sentimental favorite Davey Hamilton to his lineup and still managed to keep his full-time driver, 25-year-old rookie Mike Conway. But with only one of his four cars claiming a spot among the top 22, Reinbold’s team has real problems. It has to rebuild the damaged No. 24 car of England’s Conway, who crashed hard into the wall just minutes into Sunday morning’s practice. Conway was taken to a local hospital with bruised lungs and a mild concussion. He was released from the hospital Monday but won’t be cleared to drive before Friday. That could force the team to consider finding a replacement. The team must also repair Andretti’s No. 43 car after he spun in the first turn, crashed hard into the SAFER barrier and then slid

STEVE METZ / AP

Dreyer & Reinbold team member Mike Conwayspent Sunday in the hospital after this crash. down the track and almost into the path of the oncoming Graham Rahal during the afternoon. Rahal avoided contact by diving hard inside, spinning his own No. 02 car before rolling safely to a stop with 75 minutes left in the session.

LPGA LYTHAM ST. ANNES, ENGLAND—Hawaii golfer Michelle Wie will play at the Women’s British Open this summer. The LPGA Tour rookie confirmed Monday she will be in the field at Royal Lytham on July 30-Aug. 2. The 19-year-old Wie finished third at the Women’s British Open in 2005.

Cycling VALDOBBIADENE, ITALY—Lance Armstrong moved up to fifth place in the Giro d’Italia. His first real test comes with Tuesday’s uphill finish, and the seven-time Tour de France winner isn’t quite sure what to expect. Riding the Giro for the first time, Armstrong has never seen the nearly 8.5-mile climb to San Martino di Castrozza, but he asked top favorite Ivan Basso about it. “(Basso) expects 10 to 20 guys to

be together, then the next day is steeper,” Armstrong said. “Tomorrow’s not that steep. If, like Ivan said, there are close to 20 guys, I would think I might be there. Down to five or six guys, I wouldn’t be there right now.” — The Associated Press

Major League Soccer EASTERN CONFERENCE W D.C. 3 Toronto FC 3 Chicago 2 Kansas City 3 New England 2 New York 2 Columbus 1

L 1 2 0 4 2 5 2

T 5 4 6 2 3 2 5

Pts 14 13 12 11 9 8 8

GF 15 13 14 12 6 9 11

GA 13 13 11 12 12 11 14

WESTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts GF GA Chivas USA 7 1 1 22 12 3 Seattle 4 2 2 14 11 5 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 6 9 10 10 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 Seattle FC at Seattle FC, 8:30 p.m. Sunday’s Games Kansas City at Real Salt Lake, Seattle 1, Los Angeles 1, tie 9 p.m. Saturday’s Games D.C. United at Chivas USA, 9 Chicago at Toronto FC, 4 p.m. p.m. Colorado at New England, 7:30 May 17 p.m. Columbus at Los Angeles, 3 Houston at New York, 7:30 p.m. p.m.

Baseball America Top 25 poll DURHAM, N.C.—The top 25 teams in the Baseball America poll with records through May 10 and previous ranking (voting by the staff of Baseball America): Record Pvs 1. UC Irvine 37-11 1 2. Louisiana State 38-13 3 3. Arizona State 38-11 5 4. Rice 33-13 2 5. Cal State Fullerton 36-13 6 6. Texas 36-12 8 7. Georgia Tech 33-12 9 8. North Carolina 38-13 4 9. Mississippi 37-15 7 10. Virginia 37-10 13 11. Kansas State 38-13 10 12. Alabama 35-15 21 13. Florida 35-17 11 14. Texas Christian 31-14 15 15. Oklahoma 37-16 18 16. Texas A&M 33-18 14 17. Florida State 36-14 16 18. Cal Poly 33-15 12 19. Clemson 34-17 20 20. East Carolina 37-15 24 21. Minnesota 33-14 NR 22. Elon 36-14 NR 23. Louisville 36-14 NR 24. Miami 32-18 19 25. Missouri 30-23 NR

Collegiate Baseball poll TUCSON, ARIZ.—The Collegiate Baseball poll with records through May 10, points and previous ranking. Voting is done by coaches, sports writers and sports information directors: Record Pts Pvs 1. U.C. Irvine 37-11 492 1 2. Louisiana St. 38-14 485 3 3. Arizona St. 38-11 483 4 4. North Carolina 38-13 482 2 5. Cal. St. Fullerton 36-13 480 5 6. Texas 36-12-1 477 8 7. Florida St. 36-14 475 6 8. Georgia Tech. 33-12-1 474 10 9. Rice 33-13 472 7 10. Alabama 35-15 469 23 11. Florida 35-17 467 9 12. Virginia 37-10-1 466 11 13. Mississippi 37-15 463 12 14. Missouri 30-23 459 — 15. Georgia 34-17 457 14 16. Arkansas 31-17 453 13 17. Clemson 34-17 450 19 18. Kansas St. 38-13-1 448 17 19. Texas A&M 33-18 447 15 20. Oklahoma 37-16 446 21 21. Miami, Fla. 32-18 444 20 22. Cal Poly 33-15 441 16 23. Texas Christian 31-14 440 22 24. Minnesota 33-14 438 — 25. Texas St. 37-12 436 — 26. Indiana St. 33-14 433 — 27. South Florida 31-19 431 28 28. Louisville 36-14 430 — 29. George Mason 38-9 429 29 30. East Carolina 37-15 427 30

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

38

TRANSACTIONS BASEBALL American League CHICAGO WHITE SOX: Purchased the contract of LHP Jimmy Gobble from Charlotte (IL). Optioned RHP Jose Contreras to Charlotte. CLEVELAND INDIANS: Agreed to terms with RHP Blaine Neal on a minor league contract and assigned him to Columbus (IL). National League HOUSTON ASTROS: Optioned C J.R. Towles to Round Rock (PCL). SAN DIEGO PADRES: Recalled OF Drew Macias from Portland (PCL). Optioned LHP Arturo Lopez to Portland. American Association GRAND PRAIRIE AIRHOGS: Signed C Cody Merrell. Traded RHP Jeff Jamnik to Sioux City for a player to be named. Traded OF Drew Holder to the Laredo (UL) for a player to be named. Released LHP Justin Garcia and OF Chris Petrie. FORT WORTH CATS: Released INF Jason Diaz and C Kent Wright. LINCOLN SALTDOGS: Released RHP Ryan Trytten. PENSACOLA PELICANS: Signed INF Dallas Christison and OF Adam Deleo. ST. PAUL SAINTS: Signed C Chris Herbert. Released C Tommy Bryant. SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER CAPTAINS: Signed RHP BJ Litchfield. Traded RHP Matt Clayman to Edinburg (UL) for future considerations. SIOUX CITY EXPLORERS: Signed INF Derek Schermerhorn. Released LHP Tim Huber. WICHITA WINGNUTS: Signed INF Pat Brooks. Can-Am League AMERICAN DEFENDERS: Signed LHP Mark Romanczuk. BROCKTON ROX: Released RHP Greg Bunn. BASKETBALL National Basketball Association GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: Announced executive vice president of basketball operations Chris Mullin’s contract won’t be renewed. Named Larry Riley general manager. PHILADELPHIA 76ERS: Announced interim coach Tony DiLeo withdrew his name from consideration as coach for the 2009-10 season and will return to his previous position as senior vice president and assistant general manager. TORONTO RAPTORS: Signed coach Jay Triano to a three-year contract. Women’s National Basketball Association MINNESOTA LYNX: Signed F Kamesha Hairston and C Aisha Mohammed. WASHINGTON MYSTICS: Released G Coco Miller. FOOTBALL National Football League CHICAGO BEARS: Agreed to terms with TE Michael Gaines on a one-year contract. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: Signed WR Terrence Nunn. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS: Signed OL Michael Brown, OL Shawn Flanagan, DT Earl Heyman and WR Matthew Simon. GYMNASTICS USA GYMNASTICS: Named Samantha Kilgore manager of media relations. HOCKEY National Hockey League NHL: Fined Carolina F Scott Walker $2,500 for throwing a punch that knocked Boston D Aaron Ward to the ice during a May 10 game at Boston.

BUFFALO SABRES: Signed D Tyler Myers to a three-year contract. COLORADO AVALANCHE: Signed D Cameron Gaunce and G Trevor Cann. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING: Promoted Rich Tocchet from interim coach to head coach and signed him to a multiyear contract. American Hockey League SYRACUSE CRUNCH: Announced Columbus (NHL) re-signed coach Ross Yates and assistant coach Trent Cull. International Hockey League MUSKEGON LUMBERJACKS: Announced the resignation of coach Bruce Ramsay. LACROSSE Major League Lacrosse BOSTON CANNONS: Placed M JJ Morrissey on waivers. CHICAGO MACHINE: Placed G Christopher Bluse, M Brian Clayton, M Matt Dasinger, M Patrick Hogan, A Towbey Kassa, M Christopher Keating, A Nicholas Marks, M Nicholas Schimdt and M Doug Shanahan on waivers. DENVER OUTLAWS: Traded M Geoff Snider to Toronto for a 2010 third-round collegiate draft pick. Placed A Nick Carlson, M Brett Hamilton-Koll, D Brett Moyer, A Jonathan Paulson, D Alexander Pritzlaff, M Jason Rostan, D Matthew Scanlon, M Peter Striebel and M Michael Unterstein on waivers. LONG ISLAND LIZARDS: Placed A Derek Cherney, M Josh Cittadino, M James Ireland, M Brian Jacovina, G Kevin Keenan, D Ricky Smith and M Robert Trasolini on waivers. TORONTO NATIONALS: Placed A John Grant, D Dan Cocoziello, M Dan Brennan, D Ryan Cousins, M Will Dalton, M Shawn Evans, D Kyle Point, M Jeff Shattler, D Joe Smith, A Daryl Veltman, A Andrew Watt and D Taylor Wray on waivers. WASHINGTON BAYHAWKS: Placed M Devon Britts, M Ryan Cranston, D Sean Dougherty, M Joshua Funk, D Kyle Hartzell, G Joey Kemp, M Brekan Kohlitz, A Michael Phipps and D Thomas Zichelli on waivers. TENNIS INTERNATIONAL TENNIS FEDERATION: Suspended Richard Gasquet until his hearing for testing positive for cocaine at the Sony Ericsson Open. COLLEGE DELAWARE: Named Bernard Muir director of athletics and recreation services. JAMES MADISON: Named Rachel Chupein women’s assistant soccer coach. LYON: Announced the resignation of athletic director and baseball coach Kirk Kelley, to become baseball coach at Oklahoma Wesleyan. Named Kevin Jenkins interim athletic director and Tony Roepcke baseball coach. MINNESOTA STATE-MANKATO: Named Eric Meams women’s ice hockey coach. MISSISSIPPI STATE: Announced junior men’s basketball C Jarvis Varnado withdrew his name for the NBA draft. PHILADELPHIA: Announced the resignation of baseball coach Mark Heineman. TEXAS: Announced F-C Alexis Wangmene was granted a medical hardship waiver from the Big 12 Conference for the 2008-09 season and will be a redshirt sophomore for the 2009-10 season. VIRGINIA: Named Mike Curtis strength and conditioning coach for the men’s basketball program. VIRGINIA TECH: Announced sophomore men’s basketball G Hank Thorns will transfer.