Sportingnews - 20090520

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With Wall, Cats new No. 1 Recruit John Wall’s pick of Kentucky vaults the Wildcats to the top in Mike DeCourcy’s early Top 5 for 2009-10. 1. Kentucky 2. Kansas 3. Michigan State 4. North Carolina 5. Texas

NFL > 28

NBA > 10

NHL > 13

NASCAR > 36

COLLEGE FOOTBALL > 34

COLLEGE BASKETBALL > 35

NBA LOTTERY > 4

Brady’s ‘full go’ Source says Pats QB is working out with teammates, Page 28

ON NEWSSTANDS NOW

John Wall WEDNESDAY MAY 20, 2009

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME VOLUME 1 ISSUE 302

DeCourcy’s Top 10, Page 8 Kentucky’s No. 1 class, Page 7

Scoreboard

Clippers win Griffin lottery BY SEAN DEVENEY [email protected]

NBA Playoffs Western Conference finals L.A. Lakers 105, Denver 103 (L.A. Lakers lead series 1-0)

NHL Playoffs Western Conference finals Detroit 3, Chicago 2, OT (Detroit leads series 2-0)

Baseball American League Detroit 4, Texas 0 N.Y. Yankees 9, Baltimore 1 Oakland 4, Tampa Bay 1, 11 innings Boston 2, Toronto 1 Kansas City 6, Cleveland 5 Chicago White Sox 6, Minnesota 2 L.A. Angels 6, Seattle 5 National League Pittsburgh 8, Washington 5, 10 innings Atlanta 8, Colorado 1 Arizona 5, Florida 3 Philadelphia 4, Cincinnati 3 St. Louis 3, Chicago Cubs 0 Milwaukee 4, Houston 2 San Diego 2, San Francisco 1 L.A. Dodgers 5, N.Y. Mets 3

8. Knicks

If only the Clippers could have known they’d win this year’s draft lottery before they dealt for the albatross contract of power forward Zach Randolph. L.A. will wind up choosing Blake Griffin, but Randolph’s deal isn’t going anywhere—meaning we’re likely headed for a draft night of trades.

9. Raptors

Chase Budinger G/F Arizona His combination of shooting ability and athleticism sets him apart, and the Raptors are looking for wing players.

Team Player Pos. School 1. Clippers Blake Griffin PF Oklahoma They’ll need to make room for him (so long, Chris Kaman?), but the Clips won’t pass him up. 2. Grizzlies Ricky Rubio PG Spain The Grizzlies might shop PG Mike Conley this summer in order to make Rubio their man—or they could move down.

4. Kings

Hasheem Thabeet C Connecticut The Kings may put together a package to shake Rubio from Memphis. If not, big is the way to go.

The jersey held by Clippers president Andy Roeser, above, likely is reserved for Blake Griffin. 6. T’wolves Stephen Curry G Davidson Many are assuming he’ll be there for the taking when the Knicks pick. Not so fast. 7. Warriors

5. Wizards

Brandon Jennings PG United States The Wizards could use a backup point guard or a big man, but they’ll probably trade this pick.

10. Bucks

Ty Lawson PG N. Carolina He’s a tough, experienced point man who would be the ideal guy for coach Scott Skiles.

11. Nets

James Harden SG Arizona St. Harden will fit here because the Nets will, eventually, move Vince Carter.

12. Bobcats Earl Clark SF Louisville A 6-9 small forward who can handle the ball and be a playmaker—Clark is just Larry Brown’s type. BILL KOSTROUN / AP

3. Thunder Jordan Hill PF Arizona It will come down to Hasheem Thabeet or Hill, and Hill has the athleticism advantage.

DeMar DeRozan SG USC DeRozan is still developing, but he is an excellent athlete, and Mike D’Antoni likes athletes.

Tyreke Evans G Memphis In the second half of last season, Evans showed some promise as a point guard, though he’s probably not ready for that role just yet.

Gerald Henderson SG Duke By closing the season strong and showing off a nice jumper, Henderson laid to rest any doubt about his NBA ability.

13. Pacers

Terrence Williams SG Louisville His shooting in the NCAA Tournament was a big surprise and, considering his defensive talent, a big boost for his stock.

14. Suns

Complete first-round mock draft, Page 4

The 50 best MLB players St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols tops Sporting News’ list of the 50 greatest players in baseball today, as selected by a panel of 100 Hall of Famers, major award winners and other baseball personalities. Pujols, who appears on the cover of the latest Sporting News magazine, was a runaway winner, picking up 55 first-place votes from our panel, which includes 13 Hall of Famers, 13 Cy Young Award winners and 12 league MVPs. Among the MLB legends who filled out ballots for SN: Willie McCovey, Stan Musial, Brooks Robinson, Tony Gwynn, Tom Seaver, Rollie Fingers and Greg Maddux.

The top 10: 1. Albert Pujols, 1B, Cardinals 2. Alex Rodriguez, 3B, Yankees 3. Johan Santana, SP, Mets 4. Manny Ramirez, LF, Dodgers 5. Hanley Ramirez, SS, Marlins 6. Chase Utley, 2B, Phillies 7. Roy Halladay, SP, Blue Jays 8. Derek Jeter, SS, Yankees 9. Mariano Rivera, RP, Yankees 10. Chipper Jones, 3B, Braves

— Jeff D’Alessio The full list, Page 18

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

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OFF THE FIELD

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

NBA

Magic at Cavaliers 8:30 p.m., TNT

Cleveland is coming off its second straight eight-day layoff after sweeping Atlanta in the semifinals, while Orlando is just two days removed from a Game 7 win over Boston. The Magic did beat the Cavs in two of the three games they played this year, but both came at Orlando. Expect LeBron James to set the tone of the series early—the first two Game 1s of these playoffs, James has gone for 30-plus each night.

BASEBALL

Cubs at Cardinals 8 p.m., ESPN

In case you haven’t seen this week’s Sporting News Magazine, Cardinals 1B Albert Pujols is on the cover as No. 1 on the list of baseball’s top 50 players, decided on by a panel of 100 former players, managers, executives and media members. There hasn’t been a season in Pujols’ career where he’s batted less than .314, and his lowest home run (32) and RBI totals (103) are remarkable too. Tonight also marks the return of Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter, back from a strained ribcage.

MLB Tonight: Roundtripper

10 p.m., MLB Network Unlike some other network that seems to be a mouthpiece for a few select teams, MLB Network’s highlights/analysis show gives you a lot more on every team and every game. You also get reporting and live look-ins at some of the late action. One of the peeks you’ll assuredly get is the Mets-Dodgers tilt at Chavez Ravine, as it matches two of the National League’s best.

— Compiled by Roger Kuznia

GUIDE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 8 p.m. ESPN—Chicago Cubs at St. Louis

See a Different Game

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NBA BASKETBALL 8:30 p.m. TNT—Playoffs, Eastern Conference finals, Game 1, Orlando at Cleveland

Obama has fun with Irish

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

SN’s 2008-09 AWARDS Throughout the week, we’ll unveil our NBA and NHL award winners. The full package can be found in the new issue of Sporting News Magazine.

After surviving controversy and hecklers at the University of Notre Dame, President Barack Obama got in a shot of his own at the school whose renowned football team has gone its longest stretch without a national championship. After giving the commencement speech at Notre Dame, Obama spoke at an Indianapolis fundraiser Sunday evening for the Democratic National Committee. He began his remarks by joking that he told university President Rev. John Jenkins that the controversy surrounding his appearance on campus “paled in comparison to what to do about the football team.” The football team has posted records of 3-9 and 7-6 the past two seasons, the most losses in a two-year period ever for the Fighting Irish, who haven’t won a national championship since 1988. “That’s an issue we may not resolve within my four years,” Obama joked.

ELISE AMENDOLA / AP

Peter Chiarelli’s Bruins amassed an additional 22 points this season over last season.

NHL EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR

Quick hits Gold medal gymnast Shawn Johnson, 17, was named Dancing With the Stars champion Tuesday on the ABC show.

Cristal Taylor told The Dallas Morning News that she is pregnant with Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki’s child and that they were indeed engaged prior to her May 6 arrest at Nowitzki’s home. Shaquille O’Neal is taking part in “Sportscaster U” at Syracuse University, a crash course designed to teach athletes about the broadcasting industry, according to Syracuse.com. O’Neal started classes Monday and was expected to attend Tuesday before departing today. ESPN’s Dave Ryan is teaching the course. — SportsBusiness Daily, sportsbusinessdaily.com

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JAMIE-ANDREA YANAK / AP

Danny Ferry’s Cavs won 21 more games this season than the 2007-08 team.

NBA EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR Danny Ferry Cleveland Cavaliers Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry, whose moves helped establish Cleveland as the top team in the regular season, has been selected by league coaches and executives as Sporting News’ 2009 NBA executive of the year. Ferry won the award in a vote of 41 coaches and executives, receiving 15 votes. Denver Nuggets vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien and Orlando Magic general manager Otis Smith tied for second with eight votes each. No one else received more than two votes.

Among the roster additions Ferry made to bolster the Cavs’ lineup were point guard Mo Williams, who was acquired in a three-team trade last summer, and veteran forward Joe Smith, who was signed in March. “He identified the pieces we need to make this puzzle whole,” Cavaliers coach Mike Brown—SN’s coach of the year— told Sporting News Today. “When you have a guy with a vision and a plan, like Danny, it makes you more likely to get results, rather than someone who flounders from idea to idea to idea. He came in believing in something and he has stuck with it and seen it through.”

Peter Chiarelli Boston Bruins Peter Chiarelli, the architect of a Boston team that raised its point total from 94 in 2007-08 to an Eastern Conference-best 116 this season, has been named Sporting News’ Executive of the Year by his NHL peers, a panel of 39 coaches and executives. Chiarelli, when asked for the moves he made that had the biggest impact on the team, cited the signing of underachieving Montreal forward Michael Ryder as one. “I know it was a criticized move at the time,” Chiarelli told Sporting News Today. “We put a lot of thought into it from the perspective that it was a guy who I had seen for many years in the Northeast Division. He was a guy who had a long relationship with our coach, and he was the type of player we were looking for.” Ryder scored 27 goals and was a plus-28 for the Bruins.

Awards schedule

Coming this week in Sporting News Today: Thursday: NBA, NHL players of the year Friday: NBA, NHL all-star teams

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Paul O’Neill Five-time World Series champ with Yankees, Reds (What you won’t find on Facebook … even if you are approved as a friend) Born: Feb. 25, 1963, in Columbus, Ohio Status: Married What I’m up to these days: Watching my son’s high school basketball team, driving my daughter to dance, trying to become good at golf What’s on TV: American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Golf Channel What’s in my iPod: Bon Jovi, Mellencamp, Led Zep, Stones What I drive: Black Escalade Favorite flicks: Grease, Caddyshack, Major League, Sandlot What I’m reading: Wild at Heart, by John Eldredge Magazine subscriptions: Men’s Fitness, Men’s Health Superstition: Wearing the same T-shirt and batting gloves when I was hot Worst habit: Perfectionism On my office walls: Pictures of family, my father pitching in the minor leagues, celebration of 1996 World Series Love to trade places for a day with … Past—Michael Jordan in his prime. Loved to watch him compete and win. Present— Tiger Woods. Would love to have that much control of a golf ball. First job: Agler Davidson Sporting Goods in Columbus, Ohio. It was a minimum wage job. Just spent hours there waiting to go to spring training and dreaming about not spending the rest of my life selling sporting goods. Favorite meal: New York Italian Favorite athletes to watch in other sports: LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods Favorite city to visit: Delray Beach, Fla. Favorite team as a kid: Oakland Athletics—cool uniforms Favorite values in others: Trust, competitive My greatest love: Went to kindergarten with my wife. Pretty obvious. My hero: My father My bucket list: To watch my kids become happy and successful people — Jeff D’Alessio

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

Week of May 25, 2009

JUST 100 OF THE GAME’S BIGGEST NAMES, INCLUDING: WILLIE MCCOVEY GREG MADDUX STAN MUSIAL BROOKS ROBINSON TONY GWYNN JIM BUNNING DENNIS ECKERSLEY PHIL NIEKRO TONY PEREZ ...

Get to know Philip Rivers—the cleanestliving, cleanest-talking trash talker in the NFL. The Chargers quarterback sat down with our Steve Greenberg for a Sporting News Conversation.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Next Gen: NBA Draft

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

4

DRAFT LOTTERY

Mock draft: Clippers win Griffin sweepstakes playmaker—Clark is just Larry Brown’s type.

already been adding muscle and should impress in workouts.

13.

Pacers. Gerald Henderson, SG, Duke. By closing the season strong and showing off a nice jumper, Henderson laid to rest any doubt about his NBA ability.

17.

2.

14.

18.

3.

15.

19.

With the lottery out of the way, Sporting News Today’s Sean Deveney projects the first-round picks of the NBA draft, which will be held June 25.

1.

Clippers. Blake Griffin, PF, Oklahoma. They’ll need to make room for him (so long, Chris Kaman?), but the Clips won’t pass him up.

Suns. Terrence Williams, SG, Louisville. His shooting in the NCAA Tournament was a big surprise and, considering his defensive talent, a big boost for his stock.

Grizzlies. Ricky Rubio, PG, Spain. The Grizzlies might shop PG Mike Conley this summer in order to make Rubio their man—or they could move down.

Pistons. James Johnson, PF, Wake Forest. He’s a bit of a ‘tweener, and he needs polish, but a bench role in Detroit would help his development.

Thunder. Jordan Hill, PF, Arizona. It will come down to Hasheem Thabeet or Hill with this pick, and Hill has the athleticism advantage.

4.

Kings. Hasheem Thabeet, C, Connecticut. The Kings may put together a package to shake Rubio from Memphis. If not, big is the way to go.

Mike D’Antoni likes athletes.

5.

9.

Wizards. Brandon Jennings, PG, United States. The Wizards could use a backup point guard or a big man, but they’ll probably trade this pick.

6.

Timberwolves. Stephen Curry, G, Davidson. Many are assuming he’ll be there for the taking when the Knicks pick. Not so fast.

7.

SUE OGROCKI / AP

Blake Griffin averaged 22.7 points this season.

Bulls. B.J. Mullens, C, Ohio State. Offensively, Mullens has enormous potential. Defensively, Mullens needs work, but he has

Timberwolves (from Heat). Jeff Teague, G, Wake Forest. Want a pure playmaker? Look elsewhere. Teague is a scorer, and a lethal one. Hawks. Jonny Flynn, PG, Syracuse. Tough, competitive point man without much height, but with a killer first step.

20.

Jazz. DeJuan Blair, PF, Pittsburgh. The Jazz are in danger of losing all their big men this summer. Blair would, at least, help offset that.

Bucks. Ty Lawson, PG, North Carolina. He’s a tough, experienced point man who would be the ideal guy for coach Scott Skiles.

8.

Bobcats. Earl Clark, SF, Louisville. A 6-9 small forward who can handle the ball and be a

Mavericks. Eric Maynor, PG, VCU.

Largely toiling in anonymity, Maynor has made a name among scouts as an all-around playmaker.

23.

Kings (from Rockets). Darren Collison, PG, UCLA. His defense makes him NBA-ready, and he is steady enough offensively to log backup minutes right away.

24.

Blazers. Austin Daye, SF, Gonzaga. He’s coming off a knee injury and a so-so season, but Daye is big and loaded with potential.

25.

Thunder (from Spurs). Derrick Brown, F, Xavier. He has a solid body, a big wingspan and plenty of athleticism, but he needs work.

DUSAN VRANIC / AP

Ricky Rubio has been compared to Steve Nash. with three first-rounders.

27.

29.

28.

30.

Memphis (from Magic). Tyler Hansbrough, PF, North Carolina. Perhaps Hansbrough will be just a backup in the NBA, but he’d be a pretty good backup on a team like this.

Nets. James Harden, SG, Arizona State. Harden will fit here because the Nets will, eventually, move Vince Carter.

12.

22.

Bulls (from Nuggets through Thunder). Marcus Thornton, SG, He’s a very good catch-andLSU. shoot wing man in the midrange game, which gives him a sure NBA future.

10. 11.

Hornets. Wayne Ellington, SG, North Carolina. He’s much more of a shooter than an athlete, which is perfect for the Hornets.

26.

Raptors. Chase Budinger, G/F, Arizona. His combination of shooting ability and athleticism sets him apart, and the Raptors are looking for wing players.

Warriors. Tyreke Evans, G, Memphis. In the second half of last season, Evans showed some promise as a point guard, though he’s probably not ready for that role just yet. Knicks. DeMar DeRozan, SG, USC. DeRozan is still developing, but he is an excellent athlete, and

16.

76ers. Jrue Holiday, G, UCLA. He really didn’t show much in his one college season, but if he can prove he’s a point guard, he’s a sure top-20 talent.

21.

MARK J. TERRILL / AP

Hasheem Thabeet, right, could go as high as No. 3 and likely no lower than No. 4.

Timberwolves (from Celtics). Vladimir Dasic, SF, Montenegro. He’s big and has potential, though he will probably need to stay in Europe—which is fine for a team

Lakers. Sam Young, SF, Pittsburgh. Outstanding tournament and strong perimeter shooting should get him a first-round spot. Cavaliers. Gani Lawal, PF, Georgia Tech. Needs time to develop, but gives the Cavs some cushion should PF Anderson Varejao leave in free agency.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Next Gen: NBA Draft

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DRAFT LOTTERY

Clippers win lottery, Grizzlies No. 2 SECAUCUS, N.J.—For most of the last 25 years, the Los Angeles Clippers have had to travel across the country every spring for the NBA draft lottery. Maybe Blake Griffin can help save them the trip. The Clippers won the lottery Tuesday night, moving up from the third-best chance to earn the top pick and the right to draft Griffin, the national college player of the year from Oklahoma. “We’re going to do our diligence and then we’re going to pick the best player in the draft. A lot of people think that’s Blake Griffin,” Clippers president Andy Roeser said. “He’s a terrific athlete, he’s athletic and he’s strong. Any franchise would be happy to have Blake Griffin for a long time.” And perhaps someday the AllAmerica power forward will be part of a Clippers team doing what the Lakers, their Staples Center cotenants, were doing Tuesday night: playing in the conference finals. “I’m not sure we’ve stolen the spotlight (from the Lakers),” Roeser said. “A couple of years ago we were playing in the playoffs and I would rather be in that position, no questions.” Memphis vaulted to second and Oklahoma City will pick third. Sacramento, which had the best chance to win the lottery after finishing with a league-worst 17-65 record, fell to fourth, and Washington dropped from second to No. 5. The Clippers won the top pick for the third time in their mostly dismal history. They last had the No. 1 selection in 1998 and, perhaps

BILL KOSTROUN / AP

Clippers president Andy Roeser, left, was congratulated by Chris Webber, a former No. 1 pick. predictably, blew it, taking eventual bust Michael Olowokandi. They stand a better chance of getting it right if they go with Griffin, who led the nation with 30 doubledoubles and 14.4 rebounds per game, while also averaging a Big 12-best 22.7 points as a sophomore. Roeser, who represented the team on the podium, wouldn’t confirm that they will choose Griffin, though they could certainly use a power forward after former star Elton Brand left before last season as a free agent. “I think five years from now Blake Griffin will be hitting his stride in the NBA and he will be an impact player wherever he is,” said

Roeser, whose sports jacket was lined with a Clippers uniform with a No. 1 on the left side and a 23, Griffin’s number, on the other. “He is an athletic player. He can do all sorts of things and has a ton of talent, and I think any team will be happy to have him.” Former All-Star Chris Webber, who represented Sacramento on the podium, seemed to agree Griffin is the way to go. “I love Griffin’s game. I think there is a lot of upside to his potential,” Webber said. “He is a hardworking player. I love the guy.” The top three teams all moved up, making the 25th lottery as unpredictable as most of its predecessors.

Not since 2004, when Orlando took Dwight Howard, had the team with the best chance to win ended up with the No. 1 pick. And though Sacramento desperately needed the help, Webber said he loved the system. “The worst team shouldn’t always get the best player,” he said. “You can do a lot of losing for that. I really like the system, it is fair.” The draft is June 25. Minnesota has the sixth pick followed by Golden State, New York, Toronto, Milwaukee, New Jersey, Charlotte, Indiana and Phoenix. The Clippers also picked first in 1988, drafting Danny Manning. This was their 20th appearance in the draft lottery, which is supposed to help bad teams get better quickly. They can only hope that will finally be the case this time. “Our goal is to be playing next year at this time,” Roeser said. The lottery had a much bigger buzz in the past two years because there were two players who seemed worthy of going No. 1. Portland went for Greg Oden over Kevin Durant in 2007, and the Chicago Bulls moved up to get Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose last season, with Michael Beasley going second to Miami. That wasn’t the case this year, since Griffin seems like the only possible choice at No. 1. Spanish guard Ricky Rubio and Connecticut center Hasheem Thabeet are also considered top-three choices, but come with question marks: Rubio is still a teenager and Thabeet isn’t polished offensively. — The Associated Press

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

2009 NBA draft order First round

1. L.A. Clippers 2. Memphis 3. Oklahoma City 4. Sacramento 5. Washington 6. Minnesota 7. Golden State 8. New York 9. Toronto 10. Milwaukee 11. New Jersey 12. Charlotte 13. Indiana 14. Phoenix 15. Detroit 16. Chicago 17. Philadelphia 18. Minnesota (from Mia) 19. Atlanta 20. Utah 21. New Orleans

22. Dallas 23. Sacramento (from Hou) 24. Portland 25. Oklahoma City (from San Antonio) 26. Chicago (from Denver through Oklahoma City) 27. Memphis (from Orl) 28. Minnesota (from Bos) 29. L.A. Lakers 30. Cleveland

Second round

31. Sacramento 32. Washington 33. Portland (from L.A. Clippers) 34. Denver (from Ok. City) 35. Detroit (from Minnesota) 36. Memphis 37. San Antonio (from GS through Phoenix) 38. Portland (from New York through Chicago) 39. Detroit (from Toronto) 40. Charlotte (from

5

New Jersey through Oklahoma City) 41. Milwaukee 42. L.A. Lakers (from Char) 43. Miami (from Indiana) 44. Detroit 45. Minnesota (from Phil through Mia) 46. Cleveland (from Chi) 47. Minnesota (from Mia) 48. Phoenix 49. Atlanta 50. Utah 51. San Antonio (from NO through Toronto) 52. Indiana (from Dallas) 53. San Antonio (from Houston) 54. Charlotte (from SA) 55. Portland (from Den) 56. Portland 57. Phoenix (from Orl through Okla. City) 58. Boston 59. L.A. Lakers 60. Miami (from Cle.)

Lottery winners Here’s a look at each winning team and selection since the inaugural lottery in 1985: Year 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Team New York Knicks Cleveland Cavaliers San Antonio Spurs Los Angeles Clippers Sacramento Kings New Jersey Nets Charlotte Hornets Orlando Magic Orlando Magic Milwaukee Bucks Golden State Warriors Philadelphia 76ers San Antonio Spurs Los Angeles Clippers Chicago Bulls New Jersey Nets Washington Wizards Houston Rockets Cleveland Cavaliers Orlando Magic Milwaukee Bucks Toronto Raptors Portland Trail Blazers Chicago Bulls

Player Patrick Ewing Brad Daugherty David Robinson Danny Manning Pervis Ellison Derrick Coleman Larry Johnson Shaquille O’Neal Chris Webber Glenn Robinson Joe Smith Allen Iverson Tim Duncan Michael Olowokandi Elton Brand Kenyon Martin Kwame Brown Yao Ming LeBron James Dwight Howard Andrew Bogut Andrea Bargnani Greg Oden Derrick Rose

School Georgetown North Carolina Navy Kansas Louisville Syracuse UNLV LSU Michigan Purdue Maryland Georgetown Wake Forest Pacific Duke Cincinnati Glynn Academy HS Shanghai Sharks (China) St. Vincent-St. Mary HS SACA Utah Benetton Treviso (Italy) Ohio State Memphis

— NBA.com

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

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Next Gen: NBA Draft

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

6

DRAFT LOTTERY Q&A with ... Timberwolves F Kevin Love

Words of wisdom from ex-lottery pick: ‘Work your butt off’ up against, to see who I was going to fight with to make my spot in the lottery and in the draft. And my workout would have gone a lot better if I would have just stayed calm. The interview process was fine because you weren’t out there playing. But I took care of my business early, and as time went on I worked out for the top six or seven teams and ended up doing better every single time.

A year ago, Kevin Love watched the NBA draft lottery, wondering which team would select him. Tuesday, Love was at the lottery in in Secaucus, N.J., as the representative for the Minnesota Timberwolves, hoping to see his team improve on odds that had them the fifth-most likely to get the No. 1 pick. He failed in that endeavor, as the Timberwolves were awarded the No. 6 pick in the first round. But his rookie season was not a bust. Love averaged 11.1 points and 9.1 rebounds and was named to the NBA all-rookie second team. He talked to Sporting News Today’s Bill Eichenberger about his first season and what awaits this year’s class of NBA rookies.

Q: A:

Obviously, not very well when you move back a spot. I thought I could bring us some luck and I didn’t. It’s tough times, but you keep moving on.

What was the biggest surprise of your rookie season? The day-in and day-out competitiveness of the guys. We had a good group of individuals who really wanted to win. Our result wasn’t always great. But we had guys who brought it ever single day in practice and that helped me and helped our other younger guys to get better as well.

Q: A:

Q: A:

Q: A:

You looked like you belonged up there on stage. How did it

go?

Did you have any good-luck charms on you, maybe a rabbit’s foot in your pocket? Nothing like that. My lucky charm is my grandmother. So I called her today. She’s a little frail so I couldn’t fly her out here. But I called and talked to her for about 30 minutes. I hoped that would give me good luck tonight.

Q: A:

So how much fun was it for you to be representing the Timberwolves in the lottery? It was so much fun. I’m just a year removed from college. I was in this same position as these guys are, trying to see where I was going to be picked, trying to see what team I was going to be drafted by. It’s a lot of fun. But it’s also a tremendous honor that Minnesota picked me to be the face of the team. It is pretty cool.

JIM MONE / AP

Last year, Minnesota acquired Kevin Love, the fifth overall pick, in the hours following the draft, and he rewarded them with 11.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. went.

Q: A:

What about your rookie season? How did the reality of it measure up to your expectations? It was a very humbling experience. I think going through the transition, especially at the beginning, was a little tough for me. But I think I persevered through the adversity and ended up having a great year. I’m happy with the way things

Q:

Q:

A:

A:

Do you have any advice for any of this year’s rookies as they are about to go through this draft process? I would say stay humble and just work your butt off and try to get better so you can take your game to the next level.

Did you learn anything going through the NBA Combine and the individual workouts that might benefit the players in this year’s class? Stay calm. I think my first workout last year was with Seattle, which is Oklahoma City now. I came in there. I was really anxious to see who I was going to go

What was the biggest disappointment? Was it the 24-58 record? I would say just the losing. I’m not used to it. I rarely lost in high school, rarely lost in college. But that is why we are here now. Hopefully, we’ll get a good pick, someone who can help us to change it around and get more ‘Ws’ up on the board.

Q:

How much better will the Timberwolves be, assuming Corey Brewer and Al Jefferson bounce back from the injuries that sidelined them this season? I love Corey. He’s long and athletic and adds a lot to our team, as does Al (Jefferson). With the youth on our team, I think if we can play together healthy, I think we can be in playoff contention and even make a playoff run.

A:

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Wall: Calipari ‘biggest factor’ in choice to play at Kentucky

SHAWN ROCCO / AP

John Wall joins a Kentucky recruiting class that could be considered the best of all time. John Wall will play for John Calipari after all. Wall, the consensus No. 1 guard in the class of 2009, confirmed Tuesday to the Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer that he has committed to Kentucky. Wall plans to make an official announcement today during a news conference. “I had a group of great schools, and I admire them all,” Wall told the newspaper. “But the relationship I had with Coach Cal was the biggest factor. ... (Calipari) told me that it would be competitive and I’d have a chance to compete for the starting job. “I’m looking forward to graduating from high school and moving on to my college career.” Wall, a 6-4 point guard from Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, never publicly trimmed any schools from a list of eight that were considered to be in the mix. Kentucky was among the eight after Calipari left Memphis to become the Wildcats’ new coach. Wall took official visits to Miami, Baylor, Kansas and Memphis, and Duke, Florida and N.C. State were

considered contenders, too. North Carolina also briefly inquired about him. “We had an at-length conversation (Monday) night,” Brian Clifton, Wall’s travel team coach, told Rivals.com. “He felt that the risks that were at Kentucky were acceptable risks for him.” Wall’s road to Kentucky was long and winding. It appeared almost certain he was headed to Memphis for what was shaping up as one of the nation’s top recruiting classes before Calipari took the Kentucky job. Now the Wildcats are set to celebrate what must be considered as one of the top recruiting classes of all time. The group includes four fivestar caliber recruits with Wall, power forward/center DeMarcus Cousins, point guard Eric Bledsoe and center Daniel Orton, who signed with the previous coaching staff. Four-star small forward Darnell Dodson and shooting guard Jon Hood complete the blockbuster class. Today is the final day of the late signing period. — Brian McLaughlin

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

7

RECRUITING DISH

Iowa athlete gets close-up look at three Pac-10 schools A.J. Derby just returned from a quarterback camp in California, and while he was on the West Coast, he checked out some of the Pac-10’s finest programs—including Stanford, a school that has offered him a scholarship. He also saw USC and UCLA. Derby, a 6-5, 220-pound Iowa City (Iowa) product, also reports scholarship offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska and Wisconsin, among others. And Iowa doesn’t want him to leave his home state. “I’m either going to go down to a top eight or top five—that will be my cut sometime this summer,” Derby told Sporting News Today. “I’ll take my officials (visits), unless I fall in love with a school earlier. “... Distance from home is not really a high priority either way. I’m just going to go to a place that fits me best. There’s always pressure to stay in-state, but this is a time in your life where you can be selfish.” Derby is being labeled an athlete as much as a quarterback as far as which role he might play in college. He excelled at wide receiver earlier in high school. “I think I have a strong arm and I’m athletic,” Derby told SN Today. “I have the ability to run out of the pocket if needed. I’m a leader and a competitor.” Derby is rated a four-star prospect as an athlete by Rivals.com. As a junior, he passed for 1,197 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushed for 1,064 yards and another 13 touchdowns. Troup (LaGrange, Ga.) DE J.C. Copeland has committed to Tennessee, Rivals.com reported. He said Auburn was probably No. 2 on his list. Copeland (6-2, 240) also reported scholarship offers from Maryland, Ole Miss, Southern Miss and East Carolina, among others. “I’ve had a chance to speak with Coach (Lane) Kiffin and his dad, and that’s really what sealed it for me, the coaches they have up there,” Copeland told Rivals.com. “They have a direct link to the NFL there, and that’s everybody’s dream.

CHARLIE NEIBERGALL / AP

Kirk Ferentz, above, is chasing a four-star recruit in the Hawkeyes’ home city, but he has plenty of competition. “Getting a good education is important for sure, but with that staff the NFL connections are strong, too.” Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, Calif.) DT Cassius Marsh has decided to look around even though he committed to California just a little more than a month ago. Marsh (6-5, 290) told Scout.com he still has the Golden Bears No. 1, but wanted to check out LSU, Tennessee, USC and Oklahoma, among others. “Well, he’s a tough kid,” Bill Redell, his high school coach, told SN Today. “He runs a 4.98 in the 40. And that’s not my timing of the 40, that’s a real timing. “… He’s a good kid, and he has a little mean streak in him. He’s what you want in a

defensive lineman. I’d like to have four or five more like him.”

In basketball: Brea (Calif.) Olinda C Kyle Caudill has committed to Arizona State for the class of 2011, Rivals.com reported. He also reported scholarship offers from Oregon State and USC. Caudill (6-11) has a four-star rating for 2011 from Scout.com. He averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds as a sophomore. “I was amazed by the facility and just realized how much I love being out there and decided to pull the trigger,” Caudill told Rivals.com. “The facility is beautiful and that was big factor. I can’t wait to use it every day. “It’s hard to imagine there is any better practice facility in the country than that right now.” — Brian McLaughlin

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Next Gen: Recruiting

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

Calipari’s remaking of Kentucky a marvel owed to modern recruiting Not even a month into his tenure, John Calipari already has made astounding progress. No, not talking Kentucky recruiting here. Talking Twitter. Calipari already has 60,551 people following his Internet alerts, and he’s hit the “update” button 195 times. He hasn’t yet gotten a signed letter of intent from Raleigh, N.C., point guard John Wall, so he Mike DeCourcy hasn’t had to figure out a way to squeeze that particCOLLEGE BASKETBALL ular exclamation into 140 characters, but it’s coming. So, OK, this really is about recruiting. And coaching. And remaking the Kentucky program so fast Twitter is the ideal device to signal the Wildcats’ ascent. In some ways, it’s also a representation of why Calipari was able to walk into his office at the Kraft Center on April 1 and transform a team that did not reach the 2009 NCAA Tournament into an early No. 1 for 2010. As much as any coach in college basketball, Calipari embraces what is current. The modern circumstances of recruiting made it possible for him to assemble the nation’s top recruiting class—Wall, point guard Eric Bledsoe, center DeMarcus Cousins and forward Darnell Dodson to go with early signees Daniel Orton and Jon Hood—in such a short period of time. A half-dozen years ago: A signed letter of intent was not as easy to escape as colleges have allowed it to become. Now, a player who signs early and wants a release because of a coaching change can be allowed to compete immediately at another school. That’s how Dodson, a top junior college shooter, followed Calipari to UK after signing early with Memphis. Nobody would have asked for the sort of escape clause Cousins, rated No. 3 in the class by Scout.com, wanted after committing to

UAB. Because his request wasn’t granted, Cousins remained a “free agent” and eventually committed to Memphis, then opted for UK after Calipari changed schools. A player with Wall’s ability would not have been available to anyone in Division I. Wall is ranked No. 1 by Rivals.com. He’d have placed himself on the NBA’s early entry list directly out of high school. Calipari might have gained a commitment—like from Kendrick Perkins and Amare Stoudemire—but never would have coached him. “The last time I’ve seen this much collective excitement was when Kentucky was winning in ’03,” said Matt Jones, who runs a UK-centric website and hosts the nightly Louisville Sports Report on WBKI-TV. “But this is even more, because unlike that team, the fans know this team will have NBA lottery picks, those kinds of players. “I just had lunch with some UK types, and they’re all ready to buy their Final Four tickets.” Lots of Kentucky fans are wondering not whether this is the best recruiting class of the year (it is) but where it ranks with the best ever assembled (pretty doggoned high). It is not the Fab Five, which Michigan assembled in 1991: three top 10 prospects in Chris Webber, Juwan Howard and Jalen Rose plus two other exceptional talents, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson, who started as freshmen. But anybody else in the argument—North Carolina 1993, Duke 1997, Ohio State 2006— has some new company. “When you look at the first three kids, it’s as good as any threesome,” said recruiting analyst Van Coleman of Hoopmasters.com. “They’re all going to be pros. It’s going to be the other kids who have the chance to lift it into one of the best ever.” The excitement regarding Wall’s commitment comes with a catch, however. Success must be immediate. He will not play a second season with the Wildcats, so he has to make them substantially better in 2009-10. It

Early Top 10 for 2010

1.

Kentucky. From out of the Tournament to winning it all? That isn’t unprecedented, and it hasn’t been that long: Syracuse 2003. Kansas. Might the difference between UK and KU come down to hunger? The most important Jayhawks already have rings. Michigan State. There are several variables among the Spartans, notably Delvon Roe and Raymar Morgan. If all are at their best, they could win this. North Carolina. These Tar Heels might have more lottery picks than their predecessors. Texas. Point guard issues dragged down the Longhorns last season. But man, this team is talented. Duke. The Devils still are not overwhelming at the point or in the post, but they’re first-class everywhere in between. Purdue. Just watch: they’ll eliminate somebody with more future lottery picks from the NCAA Tournament. Georgetown. The Big East is ripe for some team to make a major move forward. Experience will help the talented Hoyas become that team. Washington. The Huskies will have the nation’s best backcourt: Abdul Gaddy, Isaiah Thomas and demonic defender Venoy Overton. Xavier. Kentucky’s rank presumes guard Jodie Meeks’ return. The Muskies landing here, likewise, requires another year from Derrick Brown. — Mike DeCourcy

2. 3.

4. 5.

6.

JAMES CRISP/AP

John Calipari hasn’t coached a game for Kentucky, but he has fans—and recruits—following his every move. worked for Calipari when he signed Derrick Rose at Memphis, and the similarities between Wall and Rose have many expecting those kinds of results. Their games and circumstances are not identical. With star forward Patrick Patterson back from a short excursion into the NBA draft, this team will have stronger veteran leadership than those Tigers. If Jodie Meeks comes to his senses and returns, the Wildcats will have a much more dangerous 3-point attack. But this team will be significantly younger. Cousins, Orton, Dodson and Bledsoe have not played in Division I, and they will be important rotation players. Neither has Wall, although the lack of experience in so many

spots might mean he won’t have to measure himself the way Rose did early on with the Tigers. “I think John Wall is the most difficult guard in America to check,” Scout.com recruiting analyst Dave Telep said. “I don’t think that’s going to change much from high school to college. He’s a major problem for 99 percent of the defenders he’s going to face.” Wall will need to adapt to being a part of something bigger than himself and being challenged by consistently high-level competition. That’ll be new to him. He’ll be the finest talent in college basketball next season, but becoming the most significant player will be a greater challenge. [email protected]

8

7.

8. 9.

10.

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

9

NATIONAL LEAGUE

L.A. Angels 6, Seattle 5

L.A. Dodgers 5, N.Y. Mets 3

San Diego 2, San Francisco 1

Angels’ pen picks up Palmer

Dodgers now have 7 1/2-game lead

Hairston, Hundley HRs just enough

SEATTLE—Matt Palmer knew he didn’t have his best stuff when he took the mound for the Los Angeles Angels against the Seattle Mariners. So he simplified his goal. “The big thing for me was to make sure I can salvage the bullpen. I didn’t want them in in the third or fourth inning,” said Palmer, who has five wins in five starts as he lasted five innings in the Angels’ 6-5 victory Tuesday night. “I was not the same as I’ve been so I knew it was going to be a longer night than I wanted it to be,” Palmer added. “I wanted to go at least through the fifth so I knew the bullpen was set up right where they needed to be, everyone in the right spots.” Palmer gave up a leadoff double in the sixth then handed it off to the bullpen. All three relievers who followed did their jobs to preserve the victory. Jason Bulger worked two hitless innings. Scot Shields set the side down in the eighth and Brian Fuentes struck out the side in the ninth to pick up his 10th save in 12 opportunities. “That’s how to you draw it up. Sometimes it always doesn’t work like that,” said Fuentes, now second in the league in saves. Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 615th career homer for the Mariners, and Felix Hernandez (4-3) lasted just 5 2/3 innings. — The Associated Press

Angels 6, Mariners 5 Los Angeles AB R H BI Figgins 3b 5 1 2 0 M.Izturis ss 4 3 3 0 Abreu rf 4 1 3 2 Hunter cf 5 0 2 1 K.Morales 1b 4 0 1 0 Napoli c 5 0 0 1 Matthews Jr. lf 3 1 1 0 J.Rivera dh 4 0 0 0 Kendrick 2b 4 0 2 1 Totals 38 6 14 5

Dodgers 5, Mets 3 New York AB R Jos.Reyes ss 4 0 Dan.Murphy lf 2 0 b-Sheffield ph 1 0 S.Green p 0 0 Fr.Rodriguez p 0 0 Beltran cf 4 1 D.Wright 3b 2 1 Church rf 4 0 R.Martinez 2b 4 0 Reed 1b 3 1 Santos c 2 0 Maine p 2 0 Takahashi p 0 0 a-Pagan ph-lf 2 0 Totals 30 3

BB SO Avg. 0 0 .281 1 1 .284 1 0 .302 0 0 .317 1 2 .286 0 2 .313 1 0 .274 0 0 .282 0 0 .244 4 5

Seattle AB R H BI BB SO Avg. I.Suzuki rf 5 0 1 1 0 2 .319 F.Gutierrez cf 4 0 0 0 0 2 .263 Griffey Jr. dh 2 1 1 1 2 0 .224 Beltre 3b 4 0 0 0 0 2 .205 Branyan 1b 3 1 1 0 1 0 .310 Jo.Lopez 2b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .228 Johjima c 4 2 2 0 0 0 .264 Cedeno ss 2 1 1 2 0 1 .200 En.Chavez lf 3 0 1 1 0 0 .274 a-Balentien ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .284 Totals 32 5 7 5 3 9 Los Angeles 200 121 000 — 6 14 0 Seattle 120 101 000 — 5 7 1 a-struck out for En.Chavez in the 9th. E: Jo.Lopez (7). LOB: Los Angeles 9, Seattle 5. 2B: Abreu (7), K.Morales (11), I.Suzuki (3), Johjima (3). HR: Griffey Jr. (4), off Palmer; Cedeno (2), off Palmer. RBIs: Abreu 2 (16), Hunter (31), Napoli (18), Kendrick (19), I.Suzuki (13), Griffey Jr. (9), Cedeno 2 (5), En.Chavez (9). SB: Figgins (18), M.Izturis (5), Abreu (15), Hunter 2 (8). CS: M.Izturis (1), Hunter (3), Kendrick (1). S: Cedeno. Runners left in scoring position: Los Angeles 8 (Matthews Jr. 2, M.Izturis, Napoli 2, J.Rivera 2, Hunter); Seattle 3 (F.Gutierrez 2, Jo.Lopez). DP: Los Angeles 1 (M.Izturis, Kendrick, K.Morales); Seattle 1 (Cedeno, Branyan). Los Angeles Palmer W, 5-0 Bulger H, 2 S.Shields H, 5 Fuentes S, 10-12 Seattle F.Hernandez L, 4-3 White M.Lowe Batista

IP H 5 7 2 0 1 0 1 0 IP H 5 2⁄3 11 1 1⁄3 1 1 2 1 0

R ER BB SO NP ERA 5 5 3 2 87 4.26 0 0 0 3 21 6.28 0 0 0 1 13 7.36 0 0 0 3 17 4.61 R ER BB SO NP ERA 6 6 3 3 107 4.13 0 0 0 0 17 2.33 0 0 0 0 15 3.93 0 0 1 2 20 2.49

Palmer pitched to 1 batter in the 6th. Inherited runners-scored: Bulger 1-1, White 1-0. HBP: by Palmer (Cedeno). WP: F.Hernandez. Umpires: Home, Doug Eddings; First, Hunter Wendelstedt; Second, Brian Knight; Third, Dana DeMuth. T: 2:53. A: 16,002 (47,878).

More MLB results, Page 22

JEFF LEWIS / AP

Andre Ethier, right, Joe Torre and the Dodgers improved to 28-13. LOS ANGELES—Minus Manny Ramirez, the Los Angeles Dodgers are finding other players to deliver clutch hits. Casey Blake hit a goahead, three-run homer off John Maine in the sixth inning and the Dodgers scored earlier with the help of another New York Mets error in a 5-3 victory. “It felt good to be back in there tonight and pick the team up,” said Blake, who hit his team-high ninth homer after missing two games with tightness in his left hamstring. “Home runs are a product of getting good pitches to hit and

putting a good swing on them.” Chad Billingsley (6-1) struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings for the win, allowing three runs, four hits and five walks. He also hit an RBI double, helping the defending N.L. West champions improve their major league-best record to 28-13 and extend their division lead over San Francisco to 7½ games. Dodgers second baseman Orlando Hudson bruised his left shoulder diving for a bloop single by Jose Reyes in the seventh and had to leave the game. — The Associated Press

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

BB SO Avg. 0 1 .283 1 0 .273 0 0 .254 0 0 --0 0 --0 1 .364 2 0 .361 0 1 .275 0 3 .000 1 1 .344 2 0 .255 0 1 .188 0 0 .000 0 1 .400 6 9

Los Angeles AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Pierre lf 3 1 1 0 1 0 .400 Furcal ss 3 0 1 0 1 0 .239 Hudson 2b 3 0 1 1 0 0 .341 J.Castro 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 .391 Ethier rf 4 0 0 0 0 2 .257 Martin c 4 0 0 0 0 2 .264 Loney 1b 4 1 1 0 0 1 .273 Kemp cf 4 1 1 0 0 0 .276 Blake 3b 4 2 2 3 0 0 .283 Billingsley p 2 0 2 1 1 0 .250 Leach p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --Belisario p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Wade p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Broxton p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --Totals 32 5 9 5 3 5 New York 021 000 000 — 3 6 1 Los Angeles 100 103 00x — 5 9 1 a-struck out for Takahashi in the 7th. b-grounded out for Dan.Murphy in the 7th. E: Dan.Murphy (3), Furcal (7). LOB: New York 6, Los Angeles 6. 2B: Billingsley (1). HR: Blake (9), off Maine. RBIs: D.Wright (28), Maine 2 (2), Hudson (27), Blake 3 (26), Billingsley (2). CS: Dan.Murphy (1). Runners left in scoring position: New York 3 (Jos.Reyes, Sheffield, R.Martinez); Los Angeles 5 (Martin 3, Pierre, Furcal). DP: New York 2 (R.Martinez, Jos. Reyes, Reed), (D.Wright, R.Martinez, Reed); Los Angeles 1 (J.Castro, Loney). New York Maine L, 3-3 Takahashi S.Green Fr.Rodriguez Los Angeles Billingsley W, 6-1 Leach H, 2 Belisario H, 6 Wade H, 6 Broxton S, 10-12

IP 5 1⁄3 2⁄3 1 1 IP 6 1⁄3 1⁄3 1⁄3 1 1

H 8 1 0 0 H 4 1 0 1 0

R ER BB SO NP ERA 5 4 3 3 103 4.53 0 0 0 0 4 3.12 0 0 0 1 13 7.50 0 0 0 1 8 0.92 R ER BB SO NP ERA 3 3 5 7 117 2.51 0 0 0 1 12 7.36 0 0 0 0 5 2.74 0 0 1 0 18 4.15 0 0 0 1 10 1.35

Inherited runners-scored: Takahashi 1-0, Leach 1-0, Belisario 2-0. IBB: off Billingsley (Reed). WP: Billingsley. Umpires: Home, Dale Scott; First, Jerry Meals; Second, Mike DiMuro; Third, James Hoye. T: 2:58. A: 37,857 (56,000).

SAN DIEGO—Although his record suggests otherwise, this isn’t the same Barry Zito who struggled for two seasons after signing a $126 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. Zito’s first complete game since 2003 was spoiled by home runs by Scott Hairston and Nick Hundley, which carried the San Diego Padres to a 2-1 win over the Giants. The lefthander, who was the 2002 A.L. Cy Young Award winner, outlasted San Diego’s Chris Young, but the early homers did him in. Zito held San Diego to five hits while walking four and striking out three. “I felt good,” Zito said. “I had good stuff. I wish I could take back the two homers.” Zito dropped to 1-4, but he’s allowed only 10 earned runs in his last 40 2/3 innings to lower his ERA from 10.00 to 3.62. “I’m not really going for stats,” Zito said. “Tried that, it didn’t work too well. It’s a frustrating loss for the team.” Zito was 21-30 the last two seasons. Last year he started 0-8 with a 6.25 ERA, on his way to a career-worst 17 losses. “I’ve been here before, early,” he said. “I’m just glad I’m throwing the ball the way I am at this point of the season. I’m feeling good about things. There’s nothing productive out of me getting frustrated.” Zito pitched his 10th career complete game. — The Associated Press

Padres 2, Giants 1 San Francisco AB R Velez cf 5 0 Frandsen ss 3 0 Sandoval 3b 3 0 B.Molina c 4 0 Winn rf 4 0 F.Lewis lf 3 1 Aurilia 1b 4 0 Burriss 2b 3 0 Zito p 3 0 b-Rowand ph 1 0 Totals 33 1

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

BB SO Avg. 0 2 .156 0 0 .000 1 1 .308 0 0 .295 0 1 .270 1 2 .287 0 2 .200 1 0 .252 0 2 .071 0 1 .246 3 11

San Diego AB Giles rf 4 Eckstein 2b 4 Hairston cf 2 Ad.Gonzalez 1b 3 Kouzmanoff 3b 4 Headley lf 2 Hundley c 4 C.Burke ss 3 C.Young p 2 a-E.Gonzalez ph 1 G.Burke p 0 Mujica p 0 Bell p 0 Totals 29

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

BB SO Avg. 0 1 .168 0 0 .235 2 0 .354 1 0 .288 0 0 .231 1 1 .242 0 1 .268 0 0 .200 0 0 .250 0 0 .160 0 0 --0 0 --0 0 --4 3

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

San Francisco 000 001 000 — 1 6 0 San Diego 110 000 00x — 2 5 0 a-grounded into a fielder’s choice for C.Young in the 6th. b-struck out for Zito in the 9th. LOB: San Francisco 9, San Diego 8. 2B: Winn (8). HR: Hairston (5), off Zito; Hundley (3), off Zito. RBIs: Burriss (7), Hairston (18), Hundley (10). SB: Velez (1), Winn (7), Hairston (4), Headley (5). Runners left in scoring position: San Francisco 4 (B.Molina 2, Burriss, Zito); San Diego 4 (C.Burke 2, Ad.Gonzalez, E.Gonzalez). San Francisco Zito L, 1-4 San Diego C.Young W, 3-2 G.Burke H, 1 Mujica H, 4 Bell S, 10-10

IP 8 IP 6 1 1 1

H 5 H 5 0 1 0

R ER BB SO NP ERA 2 2 4 3 115 3.62 R ER BB SO NP ERA 1 1 3 6 100 5.07 0 0 0 2 12 0.00 0 0 0 1 11 3.26 0 0 0 2 11 0.00

IBB: off C.Young (Burriss). HBP: by Zito (Headley), by C.Young (Frandsen). Umpires: Home, Brian O’Nora; First, Fieldin Culbreth; Second, Gary Cederstrom; Third, Jim Wolf. T: 2:35. A: 16,175 (42,691).

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10

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

Series glance

CLEVELAND VS. ORLANDO BY SEAN DEVENEY [email protected] SEASON SERIES: Magic won 2-1

Frontcourt Certainly, the Orlando front line is strong, with SF Hedo Turkoglu, PF Rashard Lewis and, of course, AllNBA first-team C Dwight Howard. Lewis and Howard obviously have the edge over Cleveland PF Anderson Varejao and C Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Turkoglu is no slouch—he is big, versatile and put up 25 points and 12 assists in the Game 7 win at Boston. But the Cavs have SF LeBron James, who has dominated the postseason (32.9 points, 9.8 rebounds, 6.8 assists). His presence outweighs the Howard-Lewis advantage.

Edge: Cavaliers.

Backcourt The backcourt has been a scramble for Orlando. PG Rafer Alston has struggled with his shooting, making just 38.9 percent from the field in the playoffs. SG J.J. Redick, moved into the starting five when SG Courtney Lee was injured, has made just 33.9 percent of his playoff shots. Lee is expected to move back into a starting role, which helps—but not enough to offset the Cavs’ advantage. Defensively, PG Mo Williams (yes, he is a much better defender now in Cleveland) and SG Delonte West should help continue the Magic’s shooting woes.

Edge: Cavaliers.

Bench The Cavs’ reserves haven’t been tested much lately, but coach Mike Brown has a deep and varied bench to call on—SG Wally Szczerbiak and PG Daniel Gibson, big men PF Joe Smith and PF/C Ben Wallace and SF Sasha Pavlovic. The Magic, too, are deep, with SG Mickael Pietrus, PG Anthony Johnson and Redick. But the big men off the bench (C Marcin Gortat and PF/C Tony Battie) don’t stack up against Smith and Wallace.

Edge: Cavaliers.

Go-to guy The Magic can’t go to Howard in late-game situations because Howard is not much of a free throw shooter (though he has been decent in the playoffs, at 61.2 percent). Turkoglu has been the go-to guy, but the Cavs have James. End of story.

Edge: Cavaliers.

X-factor The 3-point shot. The Magic were able to win some games in the first two rounds without being on from the 3-point line. But they need those shots in order to have a chance here. They shot 29.6 percent from the 3-point line in playoff losses and 37.5 percent in wins. In their three regular-season games against the Cavs, Orlando shot 39.5 percent from the arc.

SNumber The field-goal percentage being allowed by the Cavaliers in the postseason is .397. Cleveland is allowing just

Today: Orlando at Cleveland, 8:30 p.m., TNT Friday: Orlando at Cleveland, 8:30 p.m., TNT Sunday: Cleveland at Orlando, 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 26: Cleveland at Orlando, 8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 28: Orlando at Cleveland, 8:30 p.m., if necessary Saturday, May 30: Cleveland at Orlando, 8:30 p.m., if necessary Monday, June 1: Orlando at Cleveland, 8:30 p.m., if necessary

31.3 percent on 3-point tries and 78.1 points per game. The Cavs’ D led the league in all three categories this year.

Who’s hot? It’s probably not fair to say LeBron James. But the guy was amazing against he Hawks. He shot 55.6 from the field and 48.1 percent from the 3-point line, and just about every one of his 3s seemed to come at a moment when the Hawks just could not afford to let him make one. Who’s not? Coach Stan Van Gundy won 59 games and has taken his team to the conference finals for the first time since ’96. Yet, because he openly took the blame for the Magic’s loss in Game 4 against Boston and was criticized by Howard after the Game 5 loss, Van Gundy is being discussed as though he could be fired. He won’t, but he needs a good showing.

Outlook Orlando has enough 3-point shooting and plays enough defense to make these games more entertaining than the romps we’ve seen the Cavs in throughout the playoffs. The Magic have gone 4-3 on the road in the playoffs, and stealing one of the first two games in Cleveland is a must. But the best-case scenario for the Magic is probably a loss in seven.

Cavaliers in 6.

ELISE AMENDOLA / AP MARK DUNCAN / AP

In Cleveland’s eight playoff games, LeBron James is shooting a better percentage and scoring more than the regular season.

Orlando Magic 3-Pnt.

Cleveland Cavaliers 3-Pnt. Player James M. Williams West Ilgauskas Smith Varejao Szczerbiak Gibson Pavlovic Kinsey Wallace Jackson

G 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 5 8 5

MIN 39.3 36.0 40.1 28.8 20.9 30.6 11.6 12.8 5.4 1.8 11.0 5.0

TEAM 8 240.0 OPPONENTS 8 240.0

FGM-FGA 84-158 44-99 38-79 37-82 17-38 18-41 13-22 7-26 6-11 1-3 2-3 1-5

PCT FGM-FGA .532 16-44 .444 20-54 .481 5-14 .451 2-7 .447 2-3 .439 0-0 .591 1-6 .269 4-16 .545 1-3 .333 0-0 .667 0-0 .200 0-0

268-567 .473 240-604 .397

51-147 36-116

Free throw shooting has been a problem for Dwight Howard in his career, but he’s shooting them slightly better in the postseason.

FTM-FTA 79-105 10-16 25-29 10-18 20-25 9-13 9-10 7-7 1-2 2-2 0-4 0-2

PCT PTS AVG HG .752 263 32.9 47 .625 118 14.8 24 .862 106 13.3 21 .556 86 10.8 14 .800 56 7.0 19 .692 45 5.6 12 .900 36 4.5 17 1.000 25 3.1 9 .500 14 2.0 7 1.000 4 0.8 2 .000 4 0.5 2 .000 2 0.4 2

172-233 .738 759 94.9 105 109-141 .773 625 78.1 85

REBOUNDS Player OFF James 9 M. Williams 6 West 4 Ilgauskas 15 Smith 10 Varejao 31 Szczerbiak 7 Gibson 1 Pavlovic 1 Kinsey 1 Wallace 6 Jackson 0

DEF 69 14 27 38 31 27 13 3 9 1 10 5

TOT AVG. 78 9.8 20 2.5 31 3.9 53 6.6 41 5.1 58 7.3 20 2.5 4 0.5 10 1.4 2 0.4 16 2.0 5 1.0

AST AVG. 54 6.8 36 4.5 35 4.4 11 1.4 3 0.4 5 0.6 4 0.5 4 0.5 1 0.1 0 0.0 2 0.3 1 0.2

PF 11 23 13 22 15 19 10 13 2 1 6 5

DQ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

STL 16 4 9 3 4 10 2 1 1 0 3 0

TEAM 91 OPPONENTS 71

247 186

338 42.3 257 32.1

156 19.5 134 16.8

140 181

0 0

53 45

TO BLK 13 5 18 1 21 2 8 9 7 5 8 11 6 1 5 2 2 0 1 0 1 2 1 0 100 93

38 24

Player Howard Lewis Turkoglu Alston Lee Pietrus Redick Lue Johnson Gortat Battie Foyle Richardson

G 11 12 12 11 9 12 10 1 12 12 10 2 1

MIN 38.2 40.1 37.2 32.5 28.3 23.6 22.7 4.0 15.7 11.8 7.0 2.0 2.0

TEAM 12 240.0 OPPONENTS 12 240.0

FGM-FGA 81-133 86-189 55-140 52-133 35-74 32-74 18-56 2-2 24-64 18-26 14-27 0-1 0-1

PCT FGM-FGA .609 0-1 .455 19-57 .393 12-39 .391 16-50 .473 6-18 .432 13-45 .321 14-37 1.000 1-1 .375 7-23 .692 0-0 .519 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0-0

417-920 .453 412-914 .451

88-271 66-200

FTM-FTA 61-101 48-59 38-46 18-26 15-16 22-33 12-13 0-0 4-8 6-7 2-4 0-0 0-0

PCT .604 .814 .826 .692 .938 .667 .923 --.500 .857 .500 -----

PTS 223 239 160 138 91 99 62 5 59 42 30 0 0

AVG 20.3 19.9 13.3 12.5 10.1 8.3 6.2 5.0 4.9 3.5 3.0 0.0 0.0

HG 36 29 24 21 24 17 15 5 13 11 8 0 0

226-313 .722 1148 95.7 117 201-262 .767 1091 90.9 112

REBOUNDS Player Howard Lewis Turkoglu Alston Lee Pietrus Redick Lue Johnson Gortat Battie Foyle Richardson

OFF 55 17 4 1 3 10 1 0 6 12 4 0 0

DEF 128 58 39 27 16 20 15 0 14 28 7 1 0

TOT AVG. 183 16.6 75 6.3 43 3.6 28 2.5 19 2.1 30 2.5 16 1.6 0 0.0 20 1.7 40 3.3 11 1.1 1 0.5 0 0.0

AST AVG. 14 1.3 38 3.2 45 3.8 52 4.7 16 1.8 6 0.5 19 1.9 0 0.0 26 2.2 3 0.3 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0

PF 45 18 37 24 21 36 20 0 19 20 6 1 0

DQ 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

STL 6 13 10 17 9 9 7 0 8 7 0 0 0

TEAM 113 OPPONENTS 103

353 369

466 38.8 472 39.3

219 18.3 245 20.4

247 291

2 1

86 79

TO BLK 29 28 26 10 31 1 16 2 8 0 11 8 4 1 0 0 8 0 6 5 1 1 1 0 1 0 150 171

56 37

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS Series glance

L.A. Lakers 105, Denver 103

Bryant’s clutch free throws seal Lakers’ comeback LOS ANGELES—Kobe Bryant proved a steadying presence for his wildly inconsistent teammates, taking over in the fourth quarter and delivering a come-from-behind victory. Bryant scored 40 points, including six free throws in the final 30 seconds, to lift Los Angeles to a 105103 win over the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals opener on Tuesday night after the Lakers trailed most of the game. “Once I sensed we didn’t have the energy, I had to take it upon myself to lead by example,” he said. “It’s just part of my responsibilities to this team.” He did it even with an injury. Bryant had the right ring finger on his shooting hand taped after the game. He dislocated it against Cleveland in January and had to have it popped back in place Tuesday. “He was the scoring opportunity for us,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “We had very little else going on. He muscled his way through.” Pau Gasol added 13 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who faced a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Gasol’s two free throws tied the game for the last time at 99 before Bryant started his closing streak at the line, offsetting a 3-pointer by Chauncey Billups and a free throw by J.R. Smith. Carmelo Anthony scored 39 points and Billups added 18 for the Nuggets, who hadn’t played since taking care of Dallas in five games last Wednesday. “There’s no moral victories in

playoff basketball,” Denver coach George Karl said. “The next 48 hours are going to be difficult.” Game 2 is Thursday at Staples Center. The Nuggets have lost 11 consecutive playoff games to the Lakers, including a first-round sweep last season. Bryant, who was 9-for-9 from the line in the fourth quarter, made two for a 101-99 lead with 30 seconds left. Trevor Ariza stole the inbounds pass near midcourt and the Lakers were able to run the clock down to 10 seconds when Bryant made two more free throws. “He threw the ball and gave me just enough air to go get it,” Ariza said of the steal of Anthony Carter. “That’s all it took.” Billups hit a 3-pointer to get the Nuggets to 103-102 with five seconds left, but then Anthony fouled Bryant, who made his final two foul shots. “They have the best closer in the sport and we didn’t do enough,” Karl said. Smith made one free throw with 3.2 seconds left and missed the second intentionally. Bryant grabbed the game’s last rebound. “Any great player would love that moment, get the ball in their hands every time down the court and make something happen,” Anthony said. The Lakers were back in action 48 hours after closing out Houston in seven games in the conference semifinals. “We won that game on energy

(L.A. Lakers lead series 1-0) Tuesday: L.A. Lakers 105, Denver 103 Thursday: Denver at L.A. Lakers, 9 p.m., ESPN Saturday: L.A. Lakers at Denver, 8:30 p.m., ABC Monday: L.A. Lakers at Denver, 9 p.m., ESPN Wednesday, May 27: Denver at L.A. Lakers, 9 p.m., if necessary, Friday, May 29: L.A. Lakers at Denver, 9 p.m., if necessary Sunday, May 31: Denver at L.A. Lakers, 8:30 p.m., if necessary

Denver L.A. Lakers

31 23

DENVER Min FG FT Anthony 40:23 14-20 7-8 Martin 39:27 7-14 1-2 Nene 32:17 6-9 2-3 Billups 41:00 5-13 6-9 Jones 15:51 0-3 1-2 Smith 24:35 2-7 2-6 Andersen 23:53 2-4 4-5 Carter 15:17 0-4 0-0 Kleiza 7:18 0-0 0-0 Totals 240:01 36-74 23-35

23 32

22 19 Reb 2-6 1-8 1-5 0-5 1-1 0-5 2-5 0-2 0-0 7-37

27 — 103 31 — 105 A 4 2 1 8 2 3 1 3 0 24

PF 5 3 6 0 3 5 1 2 1 26

PTS 39 15 14 18 1 8 8 0 0 103

Percentages: FG .486, FT .657. 3-Point Goals: 8-19, .421 (Anthony 4-5, Smith 2-5, Billups 2-7, Carter 0-1, Jones 0-1). Team Rebounds: 16. Team Turnovers: 15 (12 PTS). Blocked Shots: 8 (Andersen 2, Martin 2, Anthony, Nene, Jones, Smith). Turnovers: 15 (Anthony 3, Jones 3, Smith 3, Martin 2, Andersen, Billups, Carter, Nene). Steals: 9 (Carter 2, Martin 2, Andersen, Billups, Nene, Jones, Kleiza). Technical Fouls: Anthony, 2:49 second.

MARK J. TERRILL / AP

Even with a dislocated right ring finger, Kobe Bryant, left, and the Lakers put a stop to Chauncey Billups and the Nuggets in Game 1. and gutting it out,” Jackson said. “They outmuscled us and put pressure on the passers. We talked about getting the game close enough to win it at the end. We got a couple stops that helped us.” Denver led most of the game in its return to the conference finals for the first time in 24 years. But the

Nuggets couldn’t stop Bryant over the final 6:48, when he scored 15 points to help the Lakers improve to 7-1 at home in the playoffs. They are 8-0 this postseason when scoring 100 points. “You get used to greatness,” Lamar Odom said. “He was amazing. He wanted the ball. Kobe is

always going to help you or bail you out more than he hurts you.” Bryant got the better of Anthony, his U.S. Olympic teammate. “It was a lot of fun, he’s a bull down there,” Bryant said. “I am a little out of my weight class, but I’ll give it my best shot.” — The Associated Press

L.A. Ariza Gasol Bynum Fisher Bryant Walton Odom Vujacic Brown Farmar Powell Mbenga Totals

Min FG FT Reb 27:55 2-8 1-2 2-5 42:24 5-9 3-5 6-14 15:50 2-4 2-2 2-6 30:37 5-13 0-0 1-2 43:21 13-28 12-13 3-6 13:29 2-6 0-0 1-2 33:09 3-7 0-0 2-8 13:07 1-5 0-0 0-2 6:09 1-4 0-0 0-1 9:22 2-5 0-0 0-0 4:14 1-1 2-2 0-0 0:23 0-0 0-0 0-0 240:00 37-90 20-24 17-46

A 2 3 0 6 4 3 4 0 0 2 1 0 25

PF 4 4 5 2 3 1 3 2 1 0 1 0 26

PTS 6 13 6 13 40 5 7 3 3 5 4 0 105

Percentages: FG .411, FT .833. 3-Point Goals: 11-25, .440 (Fisher 3-6, Bryant 2-3, Odom 1-1, Walton 1-2, Brown 1-3, Farmar 1-3, Vujacic 1-3, Ariza 1-4). Team Rebounds: 8. Team Turnovers: 16 (17 PTS). Blocked Shots: 9 (Bynum 2, Gasol 2, Odom 2, Bryant, Farmar, Powell). Turnovers: 15 (Ariza 3, Fisher 2, Gasol 2, Odom 2, Walton 2, Brown, Bryant, Bynum, Farmar). Steals: 7 (Ariza 3, Odom 2, Fisher, Gasol). Technical Fouls: Bryant, 3:18 third. A: 18,997 (18,997). T: 2:44. Officials: Scott Foster, Tony Brothers, Joe DeRosa.

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Playoff glance

INSIDE DISH

Yao ready for a restful summer In addition to figuring whether they’ll keep SF Ron Artest, one of the Rockets’ main offseason concerns is the health of C Yao Ming, who broke his left foot early in the conference semifinals against the Lakers. The injury won’t require surgery, but Yao will need 8-12 weeks to recover. Yao is looking forward to a quieter summer than last year, when he rushed to recover from foot surgery to get ready for the Beijing Olympics. He’s not on the current roster of the Chinese national team and said he’ll stay in Houston for another month to make sure his foot heals properly. “This summer will be a very special summer for me,” Yao told reporters Tuesday. “It’s truly a summer that I don’t need to play (basketball) for any minutes. I’m not even on the list for our national team. It will help. Hopefully, I will not gain too much weight.” Yao, the top overall draft pick in 2002, has one year left on his contract. Team owner Leslie Alexander said Yao is the only “untouchable” player on the roster and general manager Daryl Morey said he’s ready to negotiate a contract extension. In a wide open search for their next head coach, the 76ers dipped into the assistant ranks this week and interviewed Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis and Mavericks assistant Dwane Casey. The timing of Rambis’ interview was a bit of a surprise as the Lakers were preparing to play Game 1 of the Western Conference

12

CONFERENCE FINALS (Best-of-7) All times ET

EASTERN CONFERENCE Cleveland vs. Orlando Today: Orlando at Cleveland, 8:30 p.m., TNT Friday: Orlando at Cleveland, 8:30 p.m., TNT Sunday: Cleveland at Orlando, 8:30 p.m., TNT Tuesday, May 26: Cleveland at Orlando, 8:30 p.m., TNT Thursday, May 28: Orlando at Cleveland, 8:30 p.m., if necessary Saturday, May 30: Cleveland at Orlando, 8:30 p.m., if necessary Monday, June 1: Orlando at Cleveland, 8:30 p.m., if necessary

finals against Denver on Tuesday night. Rambis declined to answer questions about the meeting before Game 1 other than to say, “It didn’t happen today.” Casey interviewed on Tuesday and did not immediately respond to an e-mail left by The Associated Press. Casey coached the Timberwolves in 2006-07 and was fired the following season after a 20-20 start. The Sixers already interviewed former Wizards coach Eddie Jordan and will also interview Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau.

WESTERN CONFERENCE L.A. Lakers vs. Denver

Jazz owner Greg Miller said he will do whatever it takes to retain restricted free agent PF Paul Millsap— even if their player payroll was pushed beyond $71 million and into luxury-tax territory, the Deseret News reported. “I just love what I see in him,” Miller told KSL-TV. “I love his aggression; I love his hustle. He always just seems to be in the right place in the right time.”

PAT SULLIVAN / AP

Rockets owner Leslie Alexander says Yao Ming, above, is the only untouchable player on the roster.

In other Jazz news, F Kyle Korver had surgery to remove scar tissue from his right wrist. Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor says Korver had the operation Monday in New York. The wrist will be re-examined in two weeks. Korver averaged 9.0 points in 78 games last season. He has one year remaining on his contract, but can opt out of the deal before June 30 and become a free agent.

the grievance case between PG Jamaal Tinsley and the Pacers, the Indianapolis Star reported. The NBA Players Association filed a grievance on behalf of Tinsley in early February after the Pacers hadn’t traded him and would not buy out his contract or release him. The Pacers banished Tinsley from the team following the 2007-08 season.

An arbitration hearing has been set for July 27 in New York in

ers

TNT averaged 8.4 million viewfor Sunday’s Magic-Celtics

Eastern Conference semifinals Game 7, making it the most-viewed NBA conference semifinal game in cable history. According to SportsBusiness Daily, TNT is averaging a 3.1 cable rating through 37 NBA playoffs games this season, up 10.7 percent through 36 telecasts last year. Former NBA F Brian Grant revealed this week that he has Parkinson’s disease and is starting a website devoted to his fight with the

neurological disorder. The 37-yearold Grant told ESPN.com that he was diagnosed in January with “young onset Parkinson’s” and began having tremors in his left hand last summer. He consulted two other well-known Parkinson’s suffers, Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali, and quickly implemented several lifestyle changes. Grant played parts of 12 seasons in the NBA and averaged 10.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.

(L.A. Lakers lead series 1-0) Tuesday: L.A. Lakers 105, Denver 103 Thursday: Denver at L.A. Lakers, 9 p.m., ESPN Saturday: L.A. Lakers at Denver, 8:30 p.m., ABC Monday: L.A. Lakers at Denver, 9 p.m., ESPN Wednesday, May 27: Denver at L.A. Lakers, 9 p.m., if necessary, Friday, May 29: L.A. Lakers at Denver, 9 p.m., if necessary Sunday, May 31: Denver at L.A. Lakers, 8:30 p.m., if necessary

Betting line Today FAVORITE ..........LINE at Cleveland ................ 9

O/U ........UNDERDOG (184½) ..........Orlando

Odds to win series Cleveland ...............-700

Orlando..............+500

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WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

NOTEBOOK

Detroit 3, Chicago 2, OT

Osgood passes test

Red Wings shine, even without their stars DETROIT—Pavel Datsyuk was held without a goal. Again. Marian Hossa was held without a goal. Again. Henrik Zetterberg? Yup. No goal. Detroit’s biggest goal-scorers from the regular season were shut out again. But Detroit won. Again. This time it was because of goals from Brian Rafalski, Dan Craig Custance Cleary and HOCKEY Mikael Samuelsson, who notched the winner in overtime. That’s six playoff goals for Cleary, one more than Hossa and Datsyuk have combined in the playoffs. Cleary has as many playoff goals in his last three games as Hossa does the entire postseason. This is no criticism of Hossa. Or Datsyuk. Not yet, although that will come if their goal drought starts to translate into losses for the Red Wings. Instead, it provides another example of why the Red Wings continue to find a way to win, even when their best players aren’t their best players. Even when their opponents, like the Blackhawks did, raise their game and outplay them. Detroit still wins.

13

“It’s nice to have depth,” Zetterberg said “You know that every line can score. You can wait on the opportunity to get your chances. You don’t have to force anything and you can play with discipline. You’ll get your chance.” And that’s why there’s no panic in Detroit. While the players who aren’t scoring admit they might be pressing, their teammates also know it eventually will come. When coach Mike Babcock was asked if he was concerned about the lack of goal-scoring from Datsyuk and Hossa, his answer was simple. He’s concerned only with winning. And right now, the Red Wings are winning. That’s why they have the luxury of patiently waiting for the superstars to come around while the Clearys and Samuelssons take turns playing hero. “Those guys are All-Stars, they’ll be there when it matters,” Cleary said of Hossa and Datsyuk. Maybe they’re waiting for the Stanley Cup finals. It really matters then, and this Red Wings team seems well on its way to returning to the championship round. The Blackhawks now face the daunting task of having to win four of the next five games against the defending Cup

In the first round of this year’s playoffs, at least one Columbus player suggested some of Chris Osgood’s saves were lucky. In the second round, Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle lamented an Erik Christensen shot he thought was fired straight into Osgood’s glove. Over and over, opponents have said they need to test the Red Wings’ veteran goalie more than he has been tested. In Detroit’s 3-2 overtime win in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals, Osgood was tested plenty. He saw 19 shots in the first period alone, a shot total that often is a game’s worth. He’s the reason the Red Wings even got the game into overtime. It was his best performance of the postseason. “Nothing new for us,” said teammate Dan Cleary. “He’s a gamer. A big-game goalie, real competitor.” It was a game that featured plenty of offensive chances. Mike Babcock said it was fun to watch as a fan, hard to watch as a coach. But the two veteran goalies made up for defensive mistakes. “That was definitely a fun game, a fast-paced game,” Osgood said. “It’s fun for me to play against (Nikolai Khabibulin) and Chicago. They have a fast, young enthusiastic team. They gave us everything we could handle tonight.”

Blackhawks were loose

CARLOS OSORIO / AP

Thanks to experience and superlative depth, Detroit can afford some struggles from Marian Hossa (81) and their stars. champions. Even considering how well Chicago played Tuesday night, that’s a real stretch. “Well, we want to beat them one game, and that’s the next one,” Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. That would be a start. But as long as the Red Wings continue to get serious contributions from all four lines— and we haven’t even mentioned

the impressive shift Kris Draper and Darren Helm clocked in overtime—four wins against them is a longshot. Disappointed Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell knew his ugly turnover, one that led to a three-on-one Red Wings break in overtime, cost his teammates a chance at the win. “I don’t feel too good about it right now,” Campbell said.

But it was something teammate Jonathan Toews had said the day before that revealed why the Blackhawks are now down 2-0. In comparing Detroit to Vancouver, Toews said simply, the Red Wings just keep coming. And eventually the stars will join them. Whether they need them to or not. [email protected]

If the Blackhawks were uptight heading into Game 2, they did a great job of hiding it. The morning of the game, the mood was light in the Blackhawks’ dressing room. Chicago’s Colin Fraser had the nameplate over his locker edited with a taped-on new name: Mario. Inquiring hockey journalists assumed it was a nod to Mario Lemieux, but Fraser said that was not the case. Fraser revealed that the Blackhawks have been putting in serious video game time playing Mario Kart on a Nintendo Wii at the team hotel. Fraser competes as Mario. “Guys have been giving me a hard time because I haven’t been playing very well,” Fraser said. So who is the best? Niklas Hjalmarsson, who dominates with the character Bowser. “He’s just a natural,” Fraser joked. “He takes command of the game.” — Craig Custance

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS Detroit 3, Chicago 2, OT

Samuelsson, Wings send Blackhawks home empty-handed

CARLOS OSORIO / AP

The Red Wings forced a turnover near their own blue line, and Mikael Samuelsson capped the down-ice rush with the OT winner in Game 2.

DETROIT—The Red Wings have put the Chicago Blackhawks on notice. The defending Stanley Cup champions are two wins away from getting back to the finals, and they aren’t even playing their best hockey. Mikael Samuelsson scored 5:14 into overtime and Chris Osgood made 37 saves, lifting Detroit to a 3-2 win over the Blackhawks on Tuesday night and a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals. Red Wings coach Mike Babcock was relieved to win a game in which his team was often outplayed. They played for the fourth time in a week, including two hard-fought games against the Anaheim Ducks. “I don’t think we had any legs or any pop whatsoever,” Babcock said. “I thought we had good will and good determination, but no legs.” The Blackhawks had nothing to show for their grit, desire and talent. “It’s a brutal loss,” Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. The fourth-seeded Blackhawks, playing in their first conference final since 1995, now have the daunting task of beating the defending champions in four out of five games to advance. “We want to beat them one game, the next one, and that’s our concern,” Quenneville said. “We should be excited about being back in the United Center to recapture some excitement and enthusiasm.” Game 3 is Friday night in Chicago. Detroit is trying to become the first defending champion to get

back to the finals since New Jersey did in 2001. The Red Wings are the last team to repeat, winning the Cup in 1997 and ’98. “This gives us a good start, but this is a team that is going to be tough to put away,” Babcock said. Detroit won Game 2 on a 3-on-1 rush, taking advantage of Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell’s turnover near Detroit’s blue line. Jiri Hudler raced up the left side with the puck, pushed it to his right toward Valtteri Filppula, whose drop pass set up Samuelsson for a shot from the slot that beat Blackhawks goalie Nikolai Khabibulin. “I just kept skating with them,” Samuelsson said. “It was a great play.” Campbell lamented his role. “If I’d do the play over again, maybe, I’d put a little sauce on that,” he said. “But I’ve got to make that play.” After losing 5-2 in the series opener, the young Blackhawks weren’t going to get routed again. Jonathan Toews’ second goal of the game with 7:40 left in regulation pulled Chicago into a 2-2 tie. Toews gave Chicago the lead midway through the first period, but Brian Rafalski got Detroit even later in the frame. Dan Cleary made it 2-1 early in the second. Khabibulin stopped 35 shots. The first two goals were scored on power plays. The final two in regulation came at even strength. Chicago had a two-man advantage in the first period and grabbed a 1-0 lead during the second half of the power play with 7:11 left in the

period. After Samuelsson left the penalty box, he failed to clear the puck out of his end. Toews was credited with a goal that went off the skate of Red Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson. — The Associated Press

Series glance (Detroit leads 2-0) May 17: Detroit 5, Chicago 2 Tuesday: Detroit 3, Chicago 2, OT Friday: Detroit at Chicago, 8 p.m., Versus Sunday, May 24: Detroit at Chicago, 3 p.m., NBC Wednesday, May 27: Chicago at Detroit, 7:30 p.m., if necessary, Versus Saturday, May 30: Detroit at Chicago, 8 p.m., if necessary, Versus Monday, June 1: Chicago at Detroit, 7:30 p.m., if necessary, Versus

Chicago Detroit

1 1

0 1

1 0

0 1

— —

2 3

First Period: 1, Chicago, Toews 5 (Havlat, Barker), 12:49 (pp). 2, Detroit, Rafalski 2 (Lidstrom, Datsyuk), 16:43 (pp). Penalties: Chicago bench, served by Versteeg (too many men), 7:14; Samuelsson, Det (cross-checking), 10:33; Stuart, Det (tripping), 11:34; Holmstrom, Det (goaltender interference), 13:41; Toews, Chi (tripping), 15:26. Second Period: 3, Detroit, Cleary 6, 14:06. Penalties: Pahlsson, Chi (holding), 2:26; Lidstrom, Det (high-sticking), 3:18; Lidstrom, Det (holding), 19:21. Third Period: 4, Chicago, Toews 6 (Versteeg, Campbell), 12:20. Penalties: Byfuglien, Chi (goaltender interference), 4:56; Osgood, Det, served by Helm (holding), 4:56; Bolland, Chi (holding), 13:53. Overtime: 5, Detroit, Samuelsson 5 (Filppula, Hudler), 5:14. Penalties: None. Shots on Goal: Chicago 19-6-12-2: 39. Detroit 13-9-14-2: 38. Power-play opportunities: Chicago 1 of 5; Detroit 1 of 4. Goalies: Chicago, Khabibulin 8-6-0 (38 shots-35 saves). Detroit, Osgood 10-3-0 (39-37). A: 20,066 (20,066). T: 2:49. Referees: Paul Devorski, Dennis LaRue. Linesmen: Derek Amell, Pierre Racicot.

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ON SALE NOW!

Playoff glance

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

Rallying against Pens may prove tougher for Canes

CONFERENCE FINALS (Best-of-7), all times ET

EASTERN CONFERENCE PITTSBURGH—The Carolina Hurricanes are never one and done. Lose the first game of a playoff series? No big deal to the Hurricanes, who usually play their best when challenged. They trail Pittsburgh 1-0 in the Eastern Conference finals, but they’ve won each of the last five series in which they dropped the opener. Carolina also lost Game 1s to New Jersey and Boston in the opening two rounds, but rallied each time to win Game 7 on the road. They wouldn’t mind at all going to seven against the Penguins, even if Pittsburgh owns the home-ice advantage. “Been there, done that—done it twice,” defenseman Tim Gleason said Tuesday. “Kind of like a routine of ours.” Only it’s not the preferable method of putting away the Penguins, who, since Sidney Crosby moved into their lineup, haven’t lost any playoff series in which they owned a lead. They’re 5-0 the last two seasons when they’ve grabbed a lead, and 7-0 since 2000—when they won the first two games at Philadelphia in the second round, then lost the next four. Maybe it’s a reflection of their 21-yearold captain’s ability to respond when they’ve gained the edge on an opponent, but the Crosby-led Penguins are quickly developing a habit of finishing off teams once they seize control. The last two seasons, they haven’t needed more than six games to win any of the four series in which they won the opener. “I think in our heads, we know what to do to win, even in a game when we have a lead or we’re looking for a goal, we usually go get it,” forward Max Talbot said. “That’s a great attitude we have and I think that’s the team mentality for ourselves, and it’s great to have that.” Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward could sense that confidence during the Penguins’ 3-2 victory in Game 1 on Monday. Once

GENE J. PUSKAR / AP

Dropping Game 1 is nothing new for Cam Ward and the Hurricanes—they’ve done that twice this year. they got a goal, he said, they seemed to go into a different gear searching for a second goal. They got it, too, as Miroslav Satan and Evgeni Malkin scored less than 90 seconds apart during a brief but game-altering flurry during the first period. “They get that (Satan) goal, they sail in, they play a much better game after that,” Ward said. Keeping any momentum, however, may prove more difficult in this series for both teams. There are two-day breaks before Game 2 on Thursday and Game 4 on Tuesday and, if necessary, another before Game 5 on May 29. That can be a long time to sustain any perceived advantage, and the Penguins clearly dislike having so much time off. “I’d rather play,” said goalie MarcAndre Fleury, who came up with probably his best game of the playoffs in Game 1. “It’s too much of a wait for the next game. It seems too long.” It may not for injured Hurricanes

forwards Tuomo Ruutu and Erik Cole, both of whom sustained unspecified lowerbody injuries. Ruutu didn’t return after defenseman Mark Eaton appeared to kick a leg out from beneath him early in the first period. Cole was hurt late in the third by a knee-to-knee hit from forward Matt Cooke. Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice refused to lobby for a fine or suspension for Cooke, saying, “I just coach.” Ruutu and Cole are two of Carolina’s most physical players, and losing them for even one game would weaken a team that relies on constant pressure and staying within a system to generate scoring chances. Ruutu, however, is optimistic he will be ready by Thursday night. “Those guys are irreplaceable,” forward Chad LaRose said. “Those guys are big pieces of our team. ... It would be tough to lose them.” Cole, who doesn’t have a goal in 15 playoff games, must be growing to dislike Mellon Arena. He broke two vertebrae in his neck during a hit from behind by Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik in March 2006, and he didn’t return until Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals against Edmonton. — The Associated Press

Thursday’s game Conference finals

Carolina vs. Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh leads series 1-0) May 18: Pittsburgh 3, Carolina 2 Thursday: Carolina at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m., Versus Saturday: Pittsburgh at Carolina, 7:30 p.m. Versus Tuesday, May 26: Pittsburgh at Carolina, 7:30 p.m., Versus Friday, May 29: Carolina at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m., if necessary, Versus Sunday, May 31: Pittsburgh at Carolina, 7:30 p.m., if necessary, Versus Tuesday, June 2: Carolina at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m., if necessary, Versus

WESTERN CONFERENCE Chicago vs. Detroit (Detroit leads series 2-0) May 17: Detroit 5, Chicago 2 Tuesday: Detroit 3, Chicago 2, OT Friday: Detroit at Chicago, 8 p.m., Versus Sunday: Detroit at Chicago, 3 p.m., NBC Wednesday, May 27: Chicago at Detroit, 7:30 p.m., if necessary, Versus Saturday, May 30: Detroit at Chicago, 8 p.m., if necessary, Versus Monday, June 1: Chicago at Detroit, 7:30 p.m., if necessary, Versus

Odds to win Stanley Cup TEAM Detroit Pittsburgh Chicago Carolina

CURRENT ODDS 3-2 8-5 7-2 6-1

OPENING ODDS 4-1 7-1 25-1 35-1

MORE THAN

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(Best-of-7), all Times (ET) Carolina at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m., Versus

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NHL

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

16

INSIDE DISH

Bankruptcy judge orders mediation in Coyotes case A bankruptcy judge has sidestepped the issue of who controls the Phoenix Coyotes for now, centering his attention instead on whether the team should be allowed to move to Hamilton in southern Ontario. Judge Redfield T. Baum ordered the NHL and Phoenix Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes to mediation in a Tuesday proceeding to resolve their fight over who is in control of a franchise that both sides agree is insolvent. Baum made the ruling after hearing arguments from attorneys in U.S. bankruptcy court over the NHL’s contention that Moyes had no authority to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this month. The league and Moyes were ordered to report their mediation progress at a status hearing May 27. The question of whether the team could relocate needs to be decided before the franchise is sold, Baum said. During a four-hour session in a crowded downtown courtroom, the judge scheduled a June 22 hearing for arguments on whether he should approve the potential move. “If you lose that one,” Baum told Susan Freeman, attorney for prospective buyer Jim Balsillie, “I think the sale motion is dead.” Under Moyes’ bankruptcy plan, the team would be sold to BlackBerry CEO Balsillie for $212.5 million and would move to Hamilton. The NHL—garnering support from the NFL, Major League Baseball and the NBA—has asked the judge to uphold that the league has a right to determine who owns a team and where it plays. The NHL wants to find an owner to keep the team in Glendale, Ariz.

“The biggest issue here is, is this a mobile asset,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said outside the courthouse, “and we have to decide that before we have an auction.” Freeman said Balsillie would file motions with the NHL next week to purchase the team from Moyes and move it to Hamilton. NHL attorney Tony Clark told the judge, however, that there is no way the league could reach a decision on a request to move the team in time for the upcoming season. “It’s impossible,” Clark said. “It can’t be done.” Balsillie’s offer is contingent on quick approval in the coming weeks. But Baum said the timeline proposed, closing the sale by June 30, would not be fair to other potential bidders. Moyes and Balsillie have contended that blocking the transfer of the franchise would violate antitrust law, and that Baum has the authority to consider that in his ruling. The NHL initially had wanted the case thrown out on the grounds that Moyes didn’t have authority to file for bankruptcy. But after the hearing, Daly said the league was willing to go through with the sale through auction in bankruptcy court. “I don’t think there were really any victories or losses today,” Daly said. According to the Toronto Sun, if the Arizona bankruptcy decision goes to the NHL, Wayne Gretzky will almost certainly be out as coach. The league, with control of the team, would likely favor the lowball offer of Chicago-based sports magnate Jerry Reinsdorf, who would keep

the trade deadline in March, will have to deal with the unknown again as he heads into the offseason leading up to the final year of a contract that will cost somebody $6.5 million. Pronger, a former Norris Trophy winner and a member of Anaheim’s 2007 Stanley Cup championship team, knows the drill. “I’ll tell you the same thing I told you at the deadline—it is what it is,” he told the Orange Country Register. The newspaper speculated that Pronger’s future could be tied to a decision—come back or retire—by veteran D Scott Niedermayer, another former Norris winner. If Niedermayer doesn’t return, the Ducks might be inclined to keep Pronger.

Warren Rychel, a former teammate of Patrick Roy with the Colorado Avalanche, told the Canadian Press the former star goaltender will make an excellent NHL coach—for somebody. “He has a lot of passion for life and passion for the game—it’s all about heart with him,” said Rychel, commenting on reports that Roy has been offered the Avalanche job. “I think he’d be an excellent leader.”

MARK AVERY / AP

Because of a $6.5 million salary, Ducks D Chris Pronger likely will find himself on a new team next season. the bankrupt franchise in Phoenix. Reisndorf also would streamline the operation and that would mean cutting the $6.5 million Gretzky is scheduled to make next season and the $8

million he would get in 2010-11. Gretzky’s original salary was tied in part to the ownership stake he had in the Coyotes franchise. While Gretzky reportedly has backed

Reinsdorf’s bid, the two have not met to discuss any possible relationship. Anaheim star D Chris Pronger, the center of speculation leading up to

Carolina F Tuomo Ruutu said he felt sore Tuesday, the day after suffering a lower-body injury in the first game of the Eastern Conference finals against Pittsburgh—a 3-2 Hurricanes’ loss. Ruutu was optimistic he’ll be ready for Thursday’s Game 2, however, partly because of the extra day off in a friendly schedule. The Hurricanes also lost F Erik Cole after a knee-onknee hit with the Penguins’ Matt Cooke.

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

INSIDE DISH

THE LAUNCHING PAD

Back injury threatens career of Oakland’s Chavez A’s 3B Eric Chavez told the San Francisco Chronicle that the next time the herniated disk in his back acts up, it will mean the end of his career. Chavez, currently on the disabled list, plans to rehab his back and strengthen the problematic area in hopes that it will hold up when he eventually returns to the lineup. However, if the disk is injured again, the newspaper reports Chavez will need to have his previously repaired vertebra, the L4-L5, fused with the vertebra that is currently herniated. The team moved him to the 60-day disabled list from the 15-day DL on Tuesday. “We’re at a pretty serious point,” Athletics assistant general manager David Forst said before Tuesday night’s game against Tampa Bay. “We’re doing everything we can medically to get him back on the field.” The Los Angeles Times reported OF/DH Vladimir Guerrero (chest) is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Class A Rancho Cucamonga on Friday. If all goes well, he should rejoin the Angels’ lineup Monday, though Guerrero likely will be limited to DH duty for another month. Meanwhile, rehabbing P Kelvim Escobar (shoulder) will start Friday’s game for Rancho Cucamonga. Twins OF Delmon Young will be out until at least Friday after his mother passed away from cancer Monday. Young left the Twins last Friday before the start of a four-game series at the New York Yankees to attend to his mother, Bonnie. Red Sox 1B Kevin Youkilis (oblique/

17

that Greene’s offensive struggles are affecting his defense. Greene admits that he has anxiety issues, and he didn’t deny that he has taken out his frustrations on himself physically. His 2008 season (and Padres career) ended in July when he broke his left hand punching a storage trunk after striking out. Good news for the Braves’ rotation: Both Tim Hudson (elbow) and Tom Glavine (shoulder) are making progress. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Hudson expects to throw off the mound in bullpen sessions next week, and manager Bobby Cox said Hudson definitely will be back by August—if not sooner. Meanwhile, Glavine is expected to begin a rehab assignment Saturday at Class AAA Gwinnett, according to the newspaper. He is expected to make two rehab starts and then join Atlanta’s rotation.

What to expect in the major leagues today

Healthy again ... for now Just when it appeared Cardinals righthander Chris Carpenter was back in top form (and top health), he landed right back on the disabled list. Because of elbow and shoulder injuries/surgeries, Carpenter made only five appearances (four starts) from 2007-08. But he looked like an ace this spring (1.52 ERA in 23 2/3 innings) and took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of his first regular season start—a game in which he struck out seven and picked up his first win since 2006. Carpenter lasted only three innings in his second start, however, because of a torn left oblique muscle. He’ll be back on the mound tonight—without having made a rehab start and without having pitched since April 14—against the Cubs. In addition, Cardinals outfielder Rick Ankiel (shoulder) is expected to be back from the D.L. tonight.

Central slumpers The Twins and White Sox, who combined for nine consecutive losses before their series opener Tuesday, meet again in Chicago tonight. Lefthander John Danks, who has an 8.84 ERA in his past four starts, will try to stop the bleeding for a pitching staff that has struggled plenty this season. But don’t put all of the blame on the pitching. One of the few White Sox having any kind of success at the plate recently is DH Jim Thome, who tied Mike Schmidt for 13th on the all-time home run list Monday when he connected for No. 548.

Magic Wandy As the Astros try to climb back to .500, they do so with a new ace. As Roy Oswalt struggles (1-2, 4.50 ERA, 10 homers allowed), Wandy Rodriguez prospers. Going into tonight’s start against Milwaukee, Rodriguez is 4-2 with a 1.90 ERA, has yet to allow a homer and is coming off an 11-strikout performance at Colorado.

— Chris Bahr

DINO VOURNAS / AP

Eric Chavez has been on the disabled list six times since July 2007. back) is expected to be activated from the disabled list and return to the starting lineup tonight, according to The Boston Globe. Youkilis is hitting .393 with six homers, 20 RBIs and a .505 on-base percentage this season. After successful hip surgery Tuesday, Mets 1B Carlos Delgado is expected to need about 10 weeks to recover, according to the team’s website. For now, the Mets will use a combination of Fernando Tatis, Jeremy Reed and Daniel Murphy at first base. And according to the New York Post, Mets IF Alex Cora, already on the disabled list, is considering surgery to repair the torn ligament in his right

thumb. Such a procedure would sideline him for at least two months. Following his horrible outing (six earned runs in two-thirds of an inning) on Monday, the Twins placed P Glen Perkins on the 15-day disabled list because of elbow inflammation. The Star Tribune of Minneapolis-St. Paul reported the team has yet to name a rotation replacement, but P R.A. Dickey is a candidate. According to the St. Louis PostDispatch, the Cardinals plan to use slumping SS Khalil Greene in more of a utility role going forward. Manager Tony La Russa told the newspaper

The Brewers officially placed 2B Rickie Weeks on the 15-day disabled list and recalled second baseman Hernan Iribarren from the minors on Tuesday. The 24-year-old Iribarren was hitting .308 with 10 doubles, a homer and 19 RBIs with Triple-A Nashville. Giants P Noah Lowry is expected to have season-ending surgery to remove the first rib on his left side, according to the San Jose Mercury News. Meanwhile, Lowry’s agent Damon Lapa, told ESPN that Lowry’s condition, thoracic outlet syndrome, has “existed since 2007 and essentially been misdiagnosed.” Lapa says the Giants had the wrong surgery performed and had the pitcher do the wrong rehab as well.

ROSS D. FRANKLIN / AP

Chris Carpenter has been on the DL since April 15 with a strained left rib cage muscle.

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Baseball

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

18

Sporting News’ Top 50 MLB players The best way to create a best-in-baseball list is to go directly to the experts. And that is what Sporting News did. SN polled 100 Hall of Famers, major award winners and other baseball personalities to select the top 50 players in the game today. The results of those votes: ALBERT PUJOLS 1B, Cardinals

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

CC SABATHIA SP, Yankees

JOHAN SANTANA SP, Mets

ICHIRO SUZUKI RF, Mariners

MANNY RAMIREZ LF, Dodgers

BRANDON WEBB SP, Diamondbacks

HANLEY RAMIREZ CHASE UTLEY 2B, Phillies

DAN HAREN SP, Diamondbacks

ROY HALLADAY SP, Blue Jays

FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ RP, Mets

DEREK JETER SS, Yankees

MATT HOLLIDAY LF, A’s

MARIANO RIVERA RP, Yankees

GRADY SIZEMORE CF, Indians

DAVID WRIGHT 3B, Mets

1

50

PLTOP AY ER S

NAME

RF Ichiro Suzuki

2

C

My lineup

3

1B Albert Pujols

Sporting News asked Twins manager Ron Gardenhire to make a lineup card featuring the top votegetters at each position. How he has them hitting:

4

3B Alex Rodriguez

5

LF Manny Ramirez

6

2B Chase Utley

7

SS Hanley Ramirez

8

CF Grady Sizemore

9

SP Johan Santana

Joe Mauer

RYAN BRAUN LF, Brewers

SS, Marlins

RYAN HOWARD 1B, Phillies

POS.

ALFONSO SORIANO LF, Cubs MIGUEL CABRERA 1B, Tigers

ALEX RODRIGUEZ 3B, Yankees

CHIPPER JONES 3B, Braves

JOSH HAMILTON CF, Rangers

26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38.

BASEBALL’S

JEFF ROBERSON / AP

Albert Pujols’ 2009 season is befitting of SN’s top MLB player—he’s hitting .319 with 13 HRs and 37 RBIs.

JUSTIN MORNEAU 1B, Twins

14. 15. 16. 17.

JIMMY ROLLINS SS, Phillies JOSH BECKETT SP, Red Sox

MARK TEIXEIRA 1B, Yankees

DUSTIN PEDROIA 2B, Red Sox

18. 19. 20. 21.

TIM LINCECUM SP, Giants EVAN LONGORIA 3B, Rays

LANCE BERKMAN 1B, Astros

JOSE REYES SS, Mets

22. 23. 24. 25.

CARLOS BELTRAN CF, Mets IAN KINSLER 2B, Rangers

ZACK GREINKE SP, Royals

KEVIN YOUKILIS 1B, Red Sox

VLADIMIR GUERRERO RF, Angels JAKE PEAVY SP, Padres

JOE MAUER C, Twins

39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44.

CARLOS QUENTIN LF, White Sox

JASON BAY LF, Red Sox CHAD BILLINGSLEY SP, Dodgers

CLIFF LEE SP, Indians TORII HUNTER CF, Angels

VICTOR MARTINEZ C/1B, Indians

45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50.

ROY OSWALT SP, Astros

CARLOS DELGADO 1B, Mets CARLOS ZAMBRANO SP, Cubs

COLE HAMELS SP, Phillies BRIAN MCCANN C, Braves

For much more ... The entire 10-page MLB Top 50 players package is in the latest edition of Sporting News Magazine, which hits newsstands later this week. Find it at all Barnes & Noble, Borders and Hudson Retail outlets.

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Baseball

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

19

Attendance an ongoing issue as MLB owners prepare to meet BY ERIC FISHER SportsBusiness Journal

Major League Baseball attendance, perhaps the game’s most discussed issue so far this season, is tracking down almost 5 percent compared with the same point last year. The 4.9 percent decrease, to 28,835 per game, while in line with preseason expectations among league executives, would mark the largest year-over-year decline for the sport in seven years if sustained for the rest of the season. Largely to blame for the early slide is the challenging combination of the ongoing economic recession, poor early season weather in much of the Midwest and Northeast, and fan backlash over ticket pricing in some markets, particularly New York. A heavy wave of team-level ticket discounts and promotions has helped lessen, but not eliminate, the declining attendance numbers. That same discounting, however, has contributed to MLB’s aggregate ticket revenue being down an even greater percentage than the attendance decline, perhaps something closer to 6 percent to 7 percent, industry sources said. Through May 13, 20 of the league’s 30 teams posted lower attendance numbers, including a startling nine clubs being down by double-digit percentages (see chart). Not surprisingly, the reigning American League champion Tampa Bay Rays are the league’s largest attendance climber, with a 41 percent jump, while the Washington Nationals are showing the steepest decline, with a 33 percent drop. “It’s sort of good news, bad news for us,” said St. Louis Cardinals

MLB attendance Three teams have seen double-digit attendance growth during the season’s first five weeks, while nine clubs have posted comparable declines.

Team

Change

Tampa Bay

41.00%

Florida

36.30%

Kansas City

11.30%

Team

Change

Washington

-33.40%

Detroit

-29.40%

N.Y. Mets*

-22.10%

Atlanta

-18.20%

San Diego

-16.00%

Toronto

-16.00%

Colorado

-14.10%

Houston

-13.00%

N.Y. Yankees*

-12.60%

* The Mets and Yankees are playing in new ballparks that have smaller capacities than their 2008 venues. Note: Attendance through May 13, compared with the same period in 2008. (Research by Brandon McClung)

LYNNE SLADKY / AP

Attendance for Major League Baseball is down about 5 percent from last season, and down about 4.2 percent for the Cardinals, above. president Bill DeWitt III, whose team’s attendance is down 4.2 percent this season. “We’ll get to 3 million, maybe 3.1 million. That’ll be down about 10 percent from last year, and on the surface, that may look bad. But we’re coming off a high base last year, three million will be one of the highest numbers in the league, and when you consider all that’s going on with the economy, we don’t think that’s too bad.”

DeWitt also noted that the Cardinals are in the unique position of hosting this year’s All-Star Game. “(That’s) certainly helped with our season-ticket retention,” he said. Still, the attendance totals in the box scores so far this season have acted as sort of a daily stock index on the health of the sport. Tickets represent MLB’s largest revenue source. To that end, league and team executives have been

questioned on attendance at an unprecedented rate so far this spring, with media and fans alike seeking to discern the recession’s full impact on baseball. “The architecture of attendance this year is very different,” said Larry Baer, San Francisco Giants president and chief operating officer. “Even if the numbers are similar in some cases, there are fewer advance purchases and more game-

by-game decision-making by fans. There’s definitely more volatility in the situation now.” Baseball’s attendance debate has been centered on New York. Both the Yankees and Mets opened this season in new stadiums with lower capacities than their old homes. Despite record levels of attendance in recent years for both clubs, the teams have not been able to sell out their new facilities, as fans have

angrily rebuked new ticket-pricing structures, particularly for the Yankees. Several weeks ago, the Yankees lowered the prices of some luxury seats nearest the Yankee Stadium field, but that measure did not meet with heavy fan and media approval, and the club has stopped discussing the ticket issue publicly. League-wide attendance is expected to be discussed during this week’s owners meetings, scheduled for today and Thursday in New York. — Eric Fisher is a staff writer for SportsBusiness Journal.

E-mail him at [email protected]

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Baseball

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

20

Three banks set to finance Tom Ricketts’ purchase of the Cubs BY DANIEL KAPLAN SportsBusiness Journal

Chicago Cubs buyer Tom Ricketts is close to lining up three banks to arrange the $450 million financing necessary to complete his acquisition of the team, financial sources said. That would position him to clear a substantial hurdle in the long-running sale of the club. JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America are set to commit to the deal as soon as the end of this week, the sources said. That commitment would allow Ricketts to submit his $900 million bid to the court that is overseeing the bankruptcy filing of current Cubs owner Tribune Co. The court likely then would take 30 to 45 days to process the offer, one source said, leaving a potential closing ready by July. At that point, Major League Baseball could wait until its August owners meeting to approve the deal or could call a special owners meeting to address the sale earlier. “There is a basic financing set up that is preliminarily agreed to,” a banking source said. Galatioto Sports Partners, which is advising Ricketts, declined to comment. Citigroup and Bank of America also declined to comment. A JPMorgan Chase spokesman did not return requests for comment. The deal comes at a steep cost for Ricketts, a scion of the Ameritrade fortune who is putting up $450 million of equity to buy the team, Wrigley Field and the club’s 25 percent interest in Comcast SportsNet Chicago. Sources said the banking fees are substantial, and the banks still are negotiating a minimum for what the interest rate would be.

CHARLES REX ARBOGAST / AP

Thanks to financing from JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America, Tom Ricketts’ $900-million bid for the Cubs and Wrigley Field could be submitted by the end of the week. Rates are commonly pegged to the London Interbank Offered Rate, which last week was trading at 1 percent. One source said the lowest LIBOR could be in the Ricketts deal would be 3 percent. So, normally, if

a loan were to charge 300 interest points over LIBOR trading at 1 percent, the loan would charge a 4 percent rate. In the case of LIBOR being artificially set at 3 percent, the loan rate would be 6 percent.

According to one finance source, the $450 million financing is split between a loan and a fixed-rate private placement, which represents loans from institutional investors like pension funds. The bank loan

portion is roughly $350 million, the source said, and the private placement, which the three banks are arranging, is about $100 million. The three banks are committed to keeping the entire loan on their

balance sheets if they are unable to find other financial institutions to buy pieces of it—a process called syndication. Before the credit crisis last September, banks would have agreed to a deal like this contingent on syndication, but syndications have become much more unreliable since the fall. So a recent trend in finance is for banks to hold onto larger chunks of loans. Ricketts has been trying to sell preferred notes in the team to raise another $50 million. These socalled “perk notes” would give the individual lenders special access to games, team executives and spring training. The notes would be repaid after 15 years. Sources differed on whether Ricketts would succeed in selling the notes, with some saying there was interest and others describing it as a hopeless cause. The Cubs were put on the market in April 2007 as part of Sam Zell’s $8.2 billion purchase of Tribune Co. Zell promised to execute the sale quickly, but he took his time and tried to sell the team separate from the stadium and media assets. That plan proved ineffective, and then the credit crisis hit last fall. Complicating the sale was Tribune Co.’s December bankruptcy filing. Tribune Co. chose Ricketts from a final group of three prospective buyers in January, but securing the financing has proved challenging. Since January, the frozen credit markets have thawed somewhat, but borrowers face steeper fees and more onerous terms in any deals. — Daniel Kaplan is a staff writer for SportsBusiness Journal. E-mail him at [email protected].

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Fantasy Focus

LEAGUE LEADERS Batting Average

Start ’Em, Sit ’Em A.L.

Player V.Martinez Mi.Cabrera Bartlett Ad.Jones M.Young A.Hill 2 tied at

.400 .381 .380 .366 .349 .343 .338

Start ‘em Rafael Furcal, SS, Dodgers. Furcal is 22-for-66 (.333) with four homers and five steals in his career against the Mets’ Livan Hernandez. Ervin Santana, SP, Angels. Santana had little trouble mowing down the Mariners in five starts last season (3-0, 2.19 ERA, 0.81 WHIP). Corey Hart, OF, Brewers. Hart is 10-for-23 (.435) and has three steals in his career against Astros lefthander Wandy Rodriguez. Sit ‘em John Danks, SP, White Sox. Danks, who was roughed up in his most recent start, has a 5.61 ERA and 1.59 WHIP in eight career starts against the Twins. Robinson Cano, 2B, Yankees. Cano has cooled since his red-hot April and is just 2-for-22 in his career against Orioles righthander Jeremy Guthrie. Gil Meche, SP, Royals. Meche has a 7.32 ERA in his past four starts and is 4-9 with a 5.10 ERA in 19 career starts against Cleveland. — Brad Pinkerton

MORECOVERAGE Get everything you need to dominate your fantasy league at http://fantasysource. sportingnews.com/baseball/home/index.html

A.L.

Team Cincinnati New York New York Washington Philadelphia Florida LosAngeles

.366 .364 .361 .358 .350 .348 .341

Player C.Pena Morneau Bay A.Hill Kinsler Longoria Teixeira

N.L.

Team Tampa Bay Minnesota Boston Toronto Texas Tampa Bay New York

A.L.

Player Scutaro Ad.Jones Markakis B.Roberts Bay Damon 3 tied at

Player Pujols Zimmerman Ibanez A.Soriano Werth Braun Hudson

36 35 35 34 32 32 31

A.L.

Team St.Louis Washington Philadelphia Chicago Philadelphia Milwaukee Los Angeles

34 34 33 33 31 30 29

Player Crawford Figgins Ellsbury Abreu Bartlett B.Upton Crisp

Player Longoria Bay Lind A.Hill A.Huff Markakis 2 tied at

Player Fielder Pujols Ibanez Cantu Dunn Hawpe Zimmerman

46 40 35 34 34 34 33

A.L.

Team Milwaukee St. Louis Philadelphia Florida Washington Colorado Washington

37 37 36 33 32 32 31

Player Palmer Frasor Halladay Greinke Buehrle Slowey Pettitte

Player Longoria Callaspo M.Young Byrd Lind Markakis Polanco

Player Kotchman F.Sanchez Hudson Ha.Ramirez Zimmerman 5 tied at

16 15 15 14 14 13 13

5-0 4-0 8-1 7-1 6-1 5-1 4-1

Player Crisp Andrus J.Buck Crawford DeJesus 13 tied at

A.L.

Team Atlanta Pittsburgh Los Angeles Florida Washington

15 15 14 14 14 12

5 3 3 3 3 2

Team Washington San Diego Los Angeles Los Angeles Los Angeles New York Milwaukee

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

1.000 1.000 1.000 .857 .800 .800 .800

Player Verlander Greinke Halladay F.Hernandez Lester Beckett 2 tied at

N.L.

Team Detroit Kansas City Toronto Seattle Boston Boston

Player Peavy J.Santana J.Vazquez Lincecum Billingsley Haren Harden

69 65 57 56 54 46 45

Player Kemp Bourn Morgan Victorino Winn DWright 19 tied at

A.L.

Team Los Angeles Houston Pittsburgh Philadelphia San Francisco NewYork

4 3 3 3 3 3 2

Player Papelbon Fuentes F.Francisco Jenks MaRivera Sherrill Soria

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

69 67 67 66 63 56 53

N.L.

Team Boston Los Angeles Texas Chicago New York Baltimore Kansas City

11 10 9 8 7 7 7

Player Fr.Rodriguez Cordero Broxton Hoffman Bell 3 tied at

East Toronto Boston New York Tampa Bay Baltimore

W 27 23 22 20 16

L 15 16 17 21 23

Pct .643 .590 .564 .488 .410

GB WCGB L10 — — 7-3 2½ — 5-5 3½ 1 8-2 6½ 4 6-4 9½ 7 4-6

Str L-1 W-1 W-7 L-1 L-2

Home 16-6 14-4 11-7 10-9 11-11

Away 11-9 9-12 11-10 10-12 5-12

Central Detroit Kansas City Minnesota Chicago Cleveland

W 21 21 18 16 14

L 16 18 22 22 26

Pct .568 .538 .450 .421 .350

GB WCGB L10 — — 7-3 1 2 3-7 4½ 5½ 4-6 5½ 6½ 3-7 8½ 9½ 3-7

Str W-4 W-2 L-5 W-1 L-4

Home 12-5 14-8 14-9 9-8 7-11

Away 9-11 7-10 4-13 7-14 7-15

West Texas Los Angeles Seattle Oakland

W 23 20 18 14

L 15 18 22 22

Pct .605 .526 .450 .389

GB WCGB L10 — — 8-2 3 2½ 6-4 6 5½ 3-7 8 7½ 4-6

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

Home 14-6 12-8 9-10 8-10

Away 9-9 8-10 9-12 6-12

National League standings East Philadelphia New York Atlanta Florida Washington

W 21 21 19 18 11

L 16 18 19 21 27

Pct GB WCGB L10 .568 — — 6-4 .538 1 1 5-5 .500 2½ 2½ 6-4 .462 4 4 3-7 .289 10½ 10½ 1-9

Str W-5 L-3 W-1 L-2 L-6

Home 8-12 12-8 7-11 7-10 5-13

Away 13-4 9-10 12-8 11-11 6-14

Central Milwaukee Chicago St. Louis Cincinnati Pittsburgh Houston

W 25 21 22 20 18 17

L 14 16 17 18 21 20

Pct .641 .568 .564 .526 .462 .459

GB WCGB L10 — — 9-1 3 — 6-4 3 — 3-7 4½ 1½ 5-5 7 4 6-4 7 4 6-4

Str W-7 L-2 W-1 L-4 W-4 L-1

Home 12-7 12-7 13-8 7-10 11-9 8-11

Away 13-7 9-9 9-9 13-8 7-12 9-9

West W Los Angeles 28 San Francisco 19 San Diego 17 Arizona 15 Colorado 15 z-first game was a win

L 13 19 22 23 23

Pct GB WCGB L10 .683 — — 7-3 .500 7½ 2½ 4-6 .436 10 5 4-6 .395 11½ 6½ 3-7 .395 11½ 6½ 4-6

Str W-3 L-1 W-4 W-2 L-1

Home 16-3 13-8 12-6 9-15 7-10

Away 12-10 6-11 5-16 6-8 8-13

Pitching Matchups Today’s games (All times Eastern)

Saves N.L.

Team Kansas City Texas Kansas City Tampa Bay Kansas City

Player Martis Meredith Broxton Billingsley Stults Pelfrey Gallardo

1.000 1.000 .889 .875 .857 .833 .800

Triples A.L.

13 11 11 10 10 10 10

Strikeouts

N.L.

Team Tampa Bay Kansas City Texas Texas Toronto Baltimore Detroit

Team Houston New York Cincinnati San Francisco Colorado Pittsburgh New York

N.L.

Team Los Angeles Toronto Toronto Kansas City Chicago Minnesota New York

Doubles A.L.

Player Bourn Jose Reyes Taveras Burriss Fowler Morgan D.Wright

25 18 16 15 12 12 11

Pitching (3 decisions) N.L.

Team Tampa Bay Boston Toronto Toronto Baltimore Baltimore

15 13 13 12 12 12 10

N.L.

Team Tampa Bay Los Angeles Boston Los Angeles Tampa Bay Tampa Bay Kansas City

RBIs A.L.

Team San Diego Philadelphia St. Louis Cincinnati Washington Chicago

Stolen Bases N.L.

Team Toronto Baltimore Baltimore Baltimore Boston NewYork

Player Ad.Gonzalez Ibanez Pujols Bruce Dunn A.Soriano 2 tied at

13 12 11 11 11 11 11

Runs

GUSRUELAS/AP

Rafael Furcal has battered Livan Hernandez.

Player Votto Beltran DWright Zimmerman Ibanez HaRamirez Hudson

American League standings

Home Runs

N.L.

Team Cleveland Detroit TampaBay Baltimore Texas Toronto

21

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

Team New York Cincinnati Los Angeles Milwaukee San Diego

11 10 10 10 10 9

American League Texas (Harrison 4-2) at Detroit (Verlander 3-2), 7:05 p.m. Baltimore (Guthrie 3-3) at N.Y. Yankees (Hughes 1-2), 7:05 p.m. Oakland (Bre.Anderson 0-4) at Tampa Bay (Kazmir 4-3), 7:08 p.m. Toronto (Cecil 2-0) at Boston (Penny 3-1), 7:10 p.m. Cleveland (Carmona 2-4) at KansasCity (Meche 2-4), 8:10 p.m. Minnesota (Liriano 2-4) at Chicago White Sox (Danks 2-3), 8:11 p.m. L.A.Angels (E.Santana 0-0) at Seattle (Jakubauskas 2-4), 10:10 p.m.

The Line at Det-155 Tex +145 at NY-155 Bal +145 at TB-180 Oak +170 at Bos-125 Tor+115 at KC-120 Cle +110 at Chi-120 Min +110 LA-140 at Sea +130

National League Arizona (D.Davis 2-5) at Florida (Volstad 2-3), 5:10 p.m., 1st game Pittsburgh (Maholm 3-1) at Washington (Lannan 2-3), 7:05 p.m. Philadelphia (Moyer 3-3) at Cincinnati (Harang 3-4), 7:10 p.m. Colorado (De La Rosa 0-3) at Atlanta (J.Vazquez 3-3), 7:10 p.m. Milwaukee (Gallardo 4-1) at Houston (W.Rodriguez 4-2), 8:05 p.m. Chicago Cubs (Dempster 3-2) at St.Louis (C.Carpenter 1-0), 8:15 p.m. Arizona (Augenstein 0-1) at Florida (Penn 1-0), 8:40 p.m., 2nd game SanFrancisco (J.Sanchez 1-3) at SanDiego (Gaudin 0-3), 10:05 p.m. N.Y.Mets (Li.Hernandez 3-1) at L.A .Dodgers (Weaver 2-1), 10:10 p.m.

The Line at Fla (G1)-155 Ari+145 at Was -130 Pit+120 at Cin -125 Phi +115 at Atl -160 Col +150 at Hou -105 Mil -105 at STL -125 Chi +115 at Fla (G2) -130 Ari+120 at SD -125 SF +115 at LA -135 NY +125

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

22

AMERICAN LEAGUE Boston 2, Toronto 1

N.Y. Yankees 9, Baltimore 1

Sox successful, but Ortiz hitless in return Rodriguez homers BOSTON—Popup after popup, Tim Wakefield could tell that his knuckleball had returned. The Red Sox righthander held Toronto to five hits over eight innings, and Boston got some help from the bottom of the batting order to beat the A.L. East-leading Blue Jays 2-1. “Swings and misses and popups are usually good signs the ball is moving pretty well,” said Wakefield, who got 16 of his 24 outs on fly balls—eight of them that never left the infield. “Tonight was just one of those nights when I had very good stuff.” Wakefield (5-2) also got four groundouts and a caught stealing. He gave up a solo homer to former teammate Kevin Millar, but no other Blue Jays made it as far as third base. Another popup fell for a hit when second baseman Dustin Pedroia and first baseman Jeff Bailey let it land between them with one out and one on in the eighth inning. But Red Sox manager Terry Francona gave Wakefield the chance to work out of trouble, and he got Alex Rios and Vernon Wells on fly balls to left. “It seemed like every time you looked up there was a popup to the infield,” Francona said. “We let the popup fall, and we still felt like he was good enough to get them out. And he was.” Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth for his 11th save in 11 chances. David Ortiz, who got a weekend off to try to snap out of a slump, returned to the lineup but went 0-for-3 with a walk and saw his batting average drop to .203. The slugger who hit 54 homers in 2006 has not homered in 147

Red Sox 2, Blue Jays 1 Toronto AB R H BI Scutaro ss 4 0 1 0 A.Hill 2b 4 0 1 0 Rios rf 4 0 1 0 V.Wells cf 4 0 0 0 Lind lf 4 0 0 0 Rolen 3b 3 0 0 0 Overbay 1b 4 0 0 0 Millar dh 3 1 1 1 Barajas c 2 0 1 0 1-Jo.McDonald pr 0 0 0 0 R.Chavez c 0 0 0 0 Totals 32 1 5 1

BB SO Avg. 0 1 .283 0 0 .343 0 0 .264 0 0 .253 0 2 .314 1 0 .311 0 1 .237 0 0 .300 1 0 .313 0 0 .235 0 0 .241 2 4

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

BB SO Avg. 0 0 .305 0 0 .315 1 2 .203 0 0 .294 0 1 .289 1 1 .256 0 0 .314 0 2 .190 0 1 .133 2 7

Toronto Boston

AB 4 4 3 4 3 2 3 3 2 28

R 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2

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

000 010 000 — 1 5 1 020 000 00x — 2 6 1

1-ran for Barajas in the 8th. E: Lind (1), Lugo (4). LOB: Toronto 6, Boston 5. 2B: Ellsbury (7), Bay (10). HR: Millar (3), off Wakefield. RBIs: Millar (14), J.Bailey (8), Kottaras (4). CS: Rios (1), Ellsbury (5). SF: Kottaras. Runners left in scoring position: Toronto 2 (Rios, V.Wells); Boston 2 (Ellsbury, Lowell). Toronto Tallet L, 2-2 Frasor B.J.Ryan Boston Wakefield W, 5-2 Papelbon S, 11-11

IP 6 1 1 IP 8 1

H 4 0 2 H 5 0

R ER BB SO NP ERA 2 2 2 5 102 4.47 0 0 0 1 11 0.60 0 0 0 1 18 8.22 R ER BB SO NP ERA 1 1 2 3 97 3.59 0 0 0 1 12 1.00

PB: Kottaras. Umpires: Home, Wally Bell; First, Marty Foster; Second, Marvin Hudson; Third, John Hirschbeck. T: 2:13. A: 37,830 (37,373).

ELISE AMENDOLA / AP

Not even a weekend off could snap David Ortiz out of his slump, as he went 0-for-3 with a walk. at-bats dating to last September—the longest slump of his career. “I talked to him today,” said Millar. “The important thing is to have fun.

You start off with a rough spot and everything gets magnified. He’ll be OK. He’ll find his swing. — The Associated Press

in 4th straight game NEW YORK—Alex Rodriguez is quickly finding his comfort zone at the new Yankee Stadium—it’s somewhere way, way out there in the left-center field bleachers. Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira launched more long home runs, CC Sabathia dominated into the late innings and the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-1 Tuesday night for their seventh win in a row. “I love this place,” Rodriguez said. “There are so many things here you can use to your advantage.” Rodriguez homered for the fourth straight game, all in the Bronx, connecting for a tworun shot in the first inning. Each one of his no-doubters sailed deep to left. “He’s been a huge part of this little run we’ve been on,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. It was the 558th homer of Rodriguez’s career, putting him five behind Reggie Jackson for 11th place on the all-time list— before the game, A-Rod and Mr. October visited in the clubhouse. Ahead 2-1 in the seventh, the Yankees broke it open with a seven-run burst. Teixeira highlighted it with his fourth homer in four games. The Yankees last won seven straight in September. — The Associated Press

Yankees 9, Orioles 1 Baltimore AB R B.Roberts 2b 4 1 Ad.Jones cf 4 0 Markakis rf 4 0 A.Huff 1b 4 0 Mora 3b 3 0 Reimold lf 3 0 Montanez dh 3 0 Zaun c 2 0 Andino ss 3 0 Totals 30 1

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

BB SO Avg. 0 2 .293 0 1 .366 0 0 .327 0 0 .273 0 0 .253 0 1 .250 0 1 .204 1 1 .194 0 2 .222 1 8

New York Jeter ss Berroa 3b Damon lf Teixeira 1b A.Rodriguez 3b R.Pena 3b-ss H.Matsui dh Swisher rf Cano 2b Me.Cabrera cf Cervelli c Totals

H BI 1 2 0 0 2 1 1 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 7 8

BB SO Avg. 1 0 .276 0 0 .167 0 0 .327 1 1 .241 0 0 .194 0 0 .263 0 1 .252 1 2 .230 1 0 .296 0 0 .315 0 0 .370 4 4

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

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

Baltimore 100 000 000 — 1 3 2 New York 200 000 70x — 9 7 0 E: Andino (1), Ad.Jones (3). LOB: Baltimore 3, New York 2. 2B: Jeter (7). HR: A.Rodriguez (5), off Bergesen; Teixeira (11), off C.Ray. RBIs: A.Huff (34), Jeter 2 (17), Damon (28), Teixeira 2 (30), A.Rodriguez 2 (10), Cervelli (3). SB: B.Roberts (10). CS: Cervelli (1). Runners left in scoring position: Baltimore 2 (Mora, B.Roberts); New York 1 (A.Rodriguez). Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Bergesen L, 1-2 6 1⁄3 3 4 4 4 2 107 5.35 C.Ray 0 4 5 4 0 0 18 8.53 Hendrickson 1 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 2 20 5.73 New York IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Sabathia W, 4-3 7 3 1 1 1 7 105 3.43 Bruney 1 0 0 0 0 1 15 3.00 Tomko 1 0 0 0 0 0 13 2.70 C.Ray pitched to 5 batters in the 7th. Inherited runners-scored: C.Ray 2-2. WP: Bergesen. PB: Zaun. Umpires: Home, Gary Darling; First, Bruce Dreckman; Second, Paul Emmel; Third, Angel Campos. T: 2:49. A: 42,838 (52,325).

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23

AMERICAN LEAGUE Detroit 4, Texas 0

Oakland 4, Tampa Bay 1, 11 innings

Willis strong in derailing Rangers’ streak

Rays can’t get over .500 hump

DETROIT—Dontrelle Willis finally won again after nearly 20 months. Willis allowed one hit while working into the seventh inning of Detroit’s 4-0 win over the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night. It was the Tigers’ fourth straight win and snapped Texas’ seven-game winning streak. Willis (1-0), making his second start since coming off the disabled list with an anxiety disorder, struck out five in 6 1/3 innings to win for the first time since Sept. 25, 2007. He allowed two baserunners in the first inning, then retired 17 straight. “He was tremendous,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “Hopefully we can build on that.” Andruw Jones’ walk with one out in the seventh ended Willis’ run of retired batters and his outing. Willis left to a loud ovation and four relievers finished the shutout. “I appreciate it,” Willis said of the cheers. “Now that I feel healthy and strong, I think I can start building some trust out there.” Willis’ last win came against the Chicago Cubs when he was still pitching for the Florida Marlins. He began Tuesday’s game with a 7.71 ERA but trimmed it to 3.27 by the time he walked off the mound for good. The 2003 N.L. Rookie of the Year was acquired by Detroit from Florida in a blockbuster deal that also landed slugger Miguel Cabrera. But Willis was a mess last season, with a 9.38 ERA in only 24 innings. He missed most of the season with a right knee injury and battled control problems when he was on the mound. “I think he’s in the process of working

Tigers 4, Rangers 0 Texas AB R Kinsler 2b 4 0 Andrus ss 4 0 M.Young 3b 4 0 An.Jones dh 1 0 Byrd cf 3 0 Dav.Murphy lf 3 0 N.Cruz rf 3 0 C.Davis 1b 3 0 Saltalamacchia c 3 0 Totals 28 0

H BI 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

BB SO Avg. 0 0 .306 0 0 .266 0 0 .349 2 1 .292 0 1 .302 0 1 .194 0 1 .265 0 2 .221 0 2 .260 2 8

Detroit AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Granderson cf 5 0 2 0 0 0 .263 Polanco 2b 3 1 1 1 1 0 .266 Thomas rf 4 1 1 0 0 1 .306 Mi.Cabrera 1b 3 1 2 1 1 0 .381 Larish dh 2 0 0 1 1 1 .263 Inge 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .278 J.Anderson lf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .294 Laird c 3 0 1 1 0 1 .222 Santiago ss 4 1 1 0 0 1 .345 Totals 32 4 10 4 3 4 Texas Detroit

000 000 000 — 0 1 1 111 000 10x — 4 10 0

E: McCarthy (1). LOB: Texas 3, Detroit 9. 2B: M.Young (15), Mi.Cabrera (8), Santiago (4). RBIs: Polanco (16), Mi.Cabrera (31), Larish (6), Laird (10). CS: Granderson (2). SF: Larish, Laird. Runners left in scoring position: Texas 1 (Byrd); Detroit 4 (Inge 2, Thomas, Santiago). Texas IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA McCarthy L, 3-2 7 9 4 3 3 4 118 5.60 Benson 1 1 0 0 0 0 10 7.80 Detroit IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Willis W, 1-0 6 1⁄3 1 0 0 2 5 100 3.27 Lyon H, 1 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 6 6.75 Seay H, 9 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 6 5.25 Zumaya 1 0 0 0 0 2 11 1.59 Rodney 1 0 0 0 0 0 10 3.94 Inherited runners-scored: Lyon 1-0, Seay 1-0. Umpires: Home, Tim Welke; First, Scott Barry; Second, Angel Hernandez; Third, Bill Welke. T: 2:20. A: 23,756 (41,255).

DUANE BURLESON / AP

Dontrelle Willis looked like the D-Train of old, allowing just one hit in 6 1/3 innings vs. the Rangers. himself back,” Leyland added. “We’re going to take our time with it and let it develop.” Brandon McCarthy (3-2) allowed four

runs and nine hits in the first seven innings and lost for the second time in as many decisions. — The Associated Press

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.—After 10 scoreless innings, the Oakland Athletics got a little help from the Tampa Bay Rays to finally break out. Matt Holliday hit a three-run homer during a four-run 11th inning to help the Athletics beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1. “We need to start winning games because it’s been frustrating,” Holliday said after Oakland won for just fifth time in 15 games. Holliday hit his fifth homer of the season on a two-out, 3-2 pitch from Joe Nelson. Adam Kennedy later added an RBI double. “That was something,” Athletics manager Bob Geren said. “Holliday, with two strikes, hit one of the longest balls I’ve seen all year.” Holliday got a chance to hit after Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett misplayed Jack Cust’s grounder that should have ended the inning. “It’s definitely not on J.B.,” Nelson said. “That’s where I need to step up.” Santiago Casilla (1-1) pitched a scoreless 10th inning for the win, which stopped Oakland’s four-game losing streak. Willy Aybar hit a solo homer for Tampa Bay in the 11th. The defending Rays (20-21), who had won four straight, failed in the attempt to move above the .500 mark for the first since they were 4-3. — The Associated Press

Athletics 4, Rays 1, 11 innings Oakland AB R H BI BB SO Avg. O.Cabrera ss 5 0 2 0 0 1 .238 K.Suzuki c 3 1 0 0 1 1 .313 Cust dh 4 1 0 0 1 1 .262 Holliday lf 4 1 2 3 1 1 .268 Giambi 1b 4 0 0 0 1 1 .193 1-R.Davis pr-cf 0 1 0 0 0 0 .179 Kennedy 2b 5 0 2 1 0 0 .371 R.Sweeney cf-rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .250 Crosby 3b-1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .213 Cunningham rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .000 Hannahan 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 .133 Totals 37 4 7 4 4 6 Tampa Bay B.Upton cf Crawford lf Longoria 3b C.Pena 1b Bartlett ss W.Aybar dh Iwamura 2b Kapler rf b-Zobrist ph-rf M.Hernandez c a-Gross ph Navarro c Totals

AB 5 5 5 4 4 5 4 3 1 2 1 2 41

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

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

BB SO Avg. 0 2 .184 0 1 .329 0 2 .333 1 2 .241 1 2 .380 0 1 .274 0 2 .297 0 0 .200 1 0 .276 0 0 .273 0 1 .250 0 0 .175 3 13

Oakland 000 000 000 04 Tampa Bay 000 000 000 01

4 7 0 1 9 1

a-struck out for M.Hernandez in the 8th. b-was intentionally walked for Kapler in the 9th. 1-ran for Giambi in the 11th. E: Bartlett (4). LOB: Oakland 6, Tampa Bay 11. 2B: Kennedy (2). HR: Holliday (5), off J.Nelson; W.Aybar (1), off Springer. RBIs: Holliday 3 (26), Kennedy (4), W.Aybar (7). SB: R.Davis (4), Crawford (25), Bartlett (12), M.Hernandez (2). S: K.Suzuki, R.Sweeney, Iwamura. Runners left in scoring position: Oakland 3 (Giambi 2, Cunningham); Tampa Bay 7 (Crawford, B.Upton 2, Kapler, Bartlett 3). DP: Tampa Bay 1 (Iwamura, Longoria, C.Pena). Oakland IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Outman 6 3 0 0 1 6 99 3.31 Wuertz 1 1 0 0 0 1 12 1.74 A.Bailey 2 3 0 0 2 3 44 1.42 S.Casilla W, 1-1 1 1 0 0 0 2 13 2.87 Springer 1 1 1 1 0 1 12 3.12 Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA J.Shields 8 1⁄3 4 0 0 2 5 98 3.43 Howell 2 0 0 0 0 1 18 2.33 Wheeler L, 1-1 1⁄3 0 1 0 1 0 10 5.65 J.Nelson 1⁄3 3 3 0 1 0 19 5.82 Inherited runners-scored: Howell 2-0, J.Nelson 1-1. IBB: off A.Bailey (Zobrist). Umpires: Home, Lance Barksdale; First, Alfonso Marquez; Second, Randy Marsh; Third, Mike Winters. T: 3:22. A: 12,842 (36,973).

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24

AMERICAN LEAGUE Chicago White Sox 6, Minnesota 2 Kansas City 6, Cleveland 5

Royals score four in 9th off Wood

White Sox now 7-1 in Buehrle starts

KANSAS CITY—With two swings, the Kansas City Royals went from another deflating loss to a thrilling victory. Mike Jacobs and Mark Teahen hit back-to-back home runs off Indians closer Kerry Wood and Willie Bloomquist capped the four-run ninth inning with a game-winning sacrifice fly as the Royals beat Cleveland 6-5 on Tuesday night. David DeJesus tripled to score pinchrunner Mitch Maier and tie it at 5 after the home runs. Bloomquist’s fly ball to right scored DeJesus. “We dream of ninth innings like that,” Jacobs said. “It’s got to be the biggest win of the season for us so far.” Jacobs fouled off three pitches with the count full before going deep to right for his ninth home run. “Soon as Jake put together that huge at-bat, that was warm and fuzzy,” Bloomquist said. “All of a sudden Teahen comes up with a huge swing. Now the tying run is at the plate. Your thought process goes up from tying it to ‘Let’s win this thing right now.’ Tonight was a special night. Off a guy like that, it’s not easy to do. We need to feel good about it and hopefully build the momentum into tomorrow.” Teahen hit the first pitch from Wood out to left. “I just saw it and hit it,” Teahen said. “My at-bat was set up by Jake’s, seeing all those pitches. It is easy for me ondeck and get a little timing. I knew he was going to be aggressive with his fastball, so I got a barrel to it.” The back-to-back homers were the Royals’ first since July 7, 2008.

CHICAGO— Nobody is debating who the White Sox ace is. Mark Buehrle pitched seven solid innings and Paul Konerko hit a two-run homer to help Chicago snap a five-game losing streak with a 6-2 win over the Minnesota Twins. Jermaine Dye homered and Jim Thome added a two-run double in the seventh for the White Sox, who won for just the fourth time in 16 games. Buehrle (6-1) added to his solid season, allowing two runs and scattering eight hits. He had four strikeouts and did not issue a walk. The White Sox are 7-1 in his starts compared with 9-21 when he doesn’t pitch. “Mark did a great job. He’s been the stopper as of late for us. He is a true No. 1 for us and he came out today and stopped the bleeding that’s been going on and it was all around a great effort,” Dye said. The Twins came to Chicago after getting swept by the Yankees in a four-game series. To make matters worse, they had to face Buehrle, now 23-13 lifetime against Minnesota. “I owned them,” Buehrle joked. “Obviously, we face them a lot of times. It seems like it goes back and forth. ... Obviously I’m on one of those stretches now. — The Associated Press

Royals 6, Indians 5 Cleveland AB R A.Cabrera ss 5 1 Sizemore dh 4 0 V.Martinez 1b 3 0 Choo rf 4 1 DeRosa 3b 4 0 B.Francisco cf 3 1 LaPorta lf 3 1 Shoppach c 4 1 Valbuena 2b 4 0 Totals 34 5

H BI 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 1 0 9 4

BB SO Avg. 0 0 .314 0 1 .215 1 0 .400 0 0 .285 0 1 .242 1 0 .241 0 2 .206 0 0 .227 0 1 .130 2 5

Kansas City AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Crisp cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 .238 Callaspo 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .338 Butler 1b 4 1 2 0 0 1 .285 J.Guillen rf 4 0 2 1 0 0 .289 Jacobs dh 4 2 2 1 0 1 .270 Teahen 3b 4 1 2 2 0 0 .295 Olivo c 3 0 1 0 1 1 .226 1-Maier pr 0 1 0 0 0 0 .267 DeJesus lf 3 1 1 1 0 0 .239 Bloomquist ss 3 0 0 1 0 0 .320 Totals 33 6 11 6 1 3 Cleveland 100 103 000 — 5 9 0 Kansas City 010 001 004 — 6 11 0

CHARLIE RIEDEL / AP

Willie Bloomquist, center, got hugs from teammates after hitting the game-winning sacrifice fly. “Since I’ve been here, I haven’t seen a comeback like this in our home ball park,” Royals manager Trey Hillman said. “As soon as the ball left the bat with Teahen, I think the whole dugout felt like we’re going to do this.” Wood (1-2) blew a three-run lead after starter Cliff Lee had pitched eight effective innings. The Indians’ bullpen has nine blown saves in 16 opportunities. Wood, Cleveland’s big free agent signing in the offseason, has blown two

saves and has an 8.31 ERA. “I’ve got to go out and get three outs,” Wood said. “I got two outs and gave up four runs. It’s not lack of work. If I haven’t pitched in two weeks, I’ve still got to go out and get three guys out. “I went with fastballs. The first guy (Jacobs) saw nine pitches. He’s a low ball hitter, caught one down in the zone. The second guy (Teahen), same thing out over the plate.” — The Associated Press

Two outs when winning run scored. 1-ran for Olivo in the 9th. LOB: Cleveland 5, Kansas City 4. 2B: A.Cabrera (10), Butler (12), Teahen (9). 3B: DeJesus (3). HR: Shoppach (3), off Bannister; Jacobs (9), off K.Wood; Teahen (5), off K.Wood. RBIs: V.Martinez (27), LaPorta (4), Shoppach 2 (9), J.Guillen (16), Jacobs (23), Teahen 2 (16), DeJesus (16), Bloomquist (6). S: DeJesus. SF: Bloomquist. Runners left in scoring position: Cleveland 2 (Shoppach, V.Martinez); Kansas City 2 (Crisp, Teahen). DP: Cleveland 1 (B.Francisco, B.Francisco, DeRosa); Kansas City 2 (Butler, Butler, Bloomquist, Butler, Callaspo, Olivo), (Teahen, Callaspo, Butler). Cleveland IP Cl.Lee 8 K.Wood L, 1-2 BS, 2 2⁄3 Kansas City IP Bannister 6 Ho.Ramirez 2 Farnsworth W, 1-3 1

H 8 3 H 9 0 0

R ER BB SO NP ERA 2 2 0 3 101 2.90 4 4 1 0 24 8.31 R ER BB SO NP ERA 5 5 1 4 87 2.75 0 0 1 1 25 5.74 0 0 0 0 14 4.40

HBP: by Bannister (LaPorta). Umpires: Home, Bill Miller; First, Derryl Cousins; Second, Jim Joyce; Third, Brian Runge. T: 2:22. A: 25,024 (38,177).

White Sox 6, Twins 2 Minnesota AB R H BI Span lf 3 0 2 0 B.Harris 2b 4 0 0 0 Mauer dh 4 1 1 1 Morneau 1b 4 0 1 0 Crede 3b 4 0 1 0 Cuddyer rf 4 1 2 0 Redmond c 3 0 1 0 a-Buscher ph 1 0 0 0 Gomez cf 3 0 0 0 Punto ss 2 0 1 1 Totals 32 2 9 2

BB SO Avg. 1 0 .295 0 0 .282 0 2 .406 0 0 .338 0 1 .224 0 0 .259 0 0 .255 0 1 .213 0 1 .232 0 0 .202 1 5

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

BB SO Avg. 0 1 .269 0 2 .217 1 0 .275 1 1 .252 2 0 .319 0 0 .265 0 1 .268 1 0 .231 0 0 .215 5 5

AB 4 4 3 3 2 4 4 3 4 31

R 1 0 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 6

H BI 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 7 6

Minnesota 000 001 100 — 2 9 0 Chicago 030 010 20x — 6 7 1 a-struck out for Redmond in the 9th. E: Fields (6). LOB: Minnesota 5, Chicago 6. 2B: Morneau (12), Cuddyer (7), Redmond (2), Thome (6), Al.Ramirez (4). HR: Mauer (7), off Buehrle; Konerko (5), off S.Baker; Dye (9), off S.Baker. RBIs: Mauer (18), Punto (10), Dye (21), Thome 2 (22), Konerko 2 (25), Al.Ramirez (14). SB: Podsednik (2). SF: Punto. Runners left in scoring position: Minnesota 2 (Span, Buscher); Chicago 5 (Fields 2, Bri.Anderson, Pierzynski 2). DP: Chicago 4 (Getz, Al.Ramirez, Konerko), (Buehrle, Al.Ramirez, Konerko), (Dye, Dye, Konerko, Al.Ramirez), (Thornton, Al.Ramirez, Konerko). Minnesota S.Baker L, 1-5 Henn Guerrier Breslow Chicago Buehrle W, 6-1 Thornton Linebrink

IP 5 1 1⁄3 2⁄3 1 IP 7 1 1

H 5 2 0 0 H 8 0 1

R ER BB SO NP ERA 4 4 4 4 105 6.98 2 2 1 0 2213.50 0 0 0 0 5 3.80 0 0 0 1 15 6.28 R ER BB SO NP ERA 2 1 0 3 99 2.77 0 0 1 0 13 2.45 0 0 0 2 17 1.93

Inherited runners-scored: Guerrier 1-0. IBB: off Henn (Dye). WP: S.Baker 2, Guerrier. Umpires: Home, Jeff Kellogg; First, Mark Wegner; Second, Tim Timmons; Third, Rob Drake. T: 2:40. A: 26,696 (40,615).

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25

NATIONAL LEAGUE St. Louis 3, Chicago Cubs 0

Milwaukee 4, Houston 2

Cards’ Pineiro throws 3-hit ‘masterpiece’

Bush wins 3rd for Brewers

ST. LOUIS—Joel Pineiro was so locked in, 28 Cubs batters saw a total of 28 balls. Pineiro pitched a three-hitter for his first shutout in six seasons and first complete game since 2006 as the St. Louis Cardinals snapped a three-game slide with a 3-0 victory over Chicago on Tuesday night. “It was a masterpiece against a club that’s been as hot as anybody,” St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. Colby Rasmus hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning for the Cardinals, who rebounded after getting swept in a three-game series by the Brewers. St. Louis has won only three of 10 overall, but expects to get pitcher Chris Carpenter and outfielder Rick Ankiel back for today’s game. Pineiro retired 23 of his final 24 batters, interrupted only by Mike Fontenot’s two-out double in the fifth, and recorded 17 outs on grounders for his fourth career shutout. The game lasted 2 hours, 5 minutes, the fastest for the Cardinals since Sept. 9, 2006, at Arizona. Pineiro emphasized his sinker—he threw 21 first-pitch strikes and had only two three-ball counts. “They’re a very aggressive team, they want to try to knock the pitcher out,” Pineiro said. “You make your pitches down in the zone, they’ll be on the ground like they were today.” Losing pitcher Ted Lilly watched much of Pineiro’s handiwork on a clubhouse TV. “He didn’t leave too many balls out over the plate, and the very few that were had real good movement on them,” Lilly said. “When a guy throws like that, it’s going to be tough. — The Associated Press

Cardinals 3, Cubs 0 Chicago AB R A.Soriano lf 4 0 Theriot ss 3 0 Fukudome cf 3 0 D.Lee 1b 3 0 Bradley rf 3 0 Fontenot 3b 3 0 Soto c 3 0 Miles 2b 3 0 Lilly p 2 0 Gregg p 0 0 a-Hoffpauir ph 1 0 Totals 28 0

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

BB SO Avg. 0 1 .279 0 0 .288 0 0 .325 0 0 .229 0 0 .188 0 0 .207 0 1 .198 0 0 .209 0 2 .111 0 0 --0 1 .304 0 5

St. Louis Br.Ryan ss Rasmus cf Pujols 1b Y.Molina c Duncan lf Schumaker lf Stavinoha rf Robinson rf Barden 3b Pineiro p Thurston 2b Totals

H BI 1 0 1 2 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 3

BB SO Avg. 2 0 .279 0 0 .250 0 0 .319 0 0 .289 0 2 .252 0 0 .301 0 0 .286 0 0 .240 0 0 .258 0 3 .063 1 0 .237 3 5

Chicago St. Louis

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

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

000 000 000 — 0 3 0 100 020 00x — 3 5 0

a-struck out for Gregg in the 9th. LOB: Chicago 1, St. Louis 4. 2B: Fontenot (5), Pujols (7). HR: Rasmus (4), off Lilly. RBIs: Rasmus 2 (15), Y.Molina (16). SB: Br.Ryan (3). S: Rasmus. Runners left in scoring position: Chicago 1 (Soto); St. Louis 2 (Y.Molina 2). GIDP: Bradley, Barden. DP: Chicago 1 (Theriot, Miles, D.Lee); St. Louis 1 (Thurston, Br.Ryan, Pujols). Chicago Lilly L, 5-3 Gregg St. Louis Pineiro W, 5-3

IP 7 1 IP 9

H 4 1 H 3

R ER BB SO NP ERA 3 3 3 5 104 3.35 0 0 0 0 17 5.71 R ER BB SO NP ERA 0 0 0 5 92 3.48

Umpires: Home, Gerry Davis; First, Brian Gorman; Second, C.B. Bucknor; Third, Mike Everitt. T: 2:05. A: 41,374 (43,975).

TOM GANNAM / AP

Joel Pineiro retired 23 of the last 24 batters he faced, netting him his first shutout in six seasons.

HOUSTON—The Milwaukee Brewers have a winning formula working early in the season. Dave Bush pitched six solid innings to remain unbeaten and Trevor Hoffman earned his 10th save, leading the Brewers over the Houston Astros 4-2 on Tuesday night for their seventh straight victory. J.J. Hardy drove in two runs for Milwaukee and Prince Fielder had an RBI and two runs scored. Bush (3-0) allowed two runs and seven hits for the NL Central leaders, who have won 13 of 15 to turn around a 4-9 start. “We don’t talk about it,” said Bush, who threw 84 pitches. “We know we have a solid team. We knew that at the beginning of the year, when we weren’t playing very well.” Hoffman set down the Astros in order in the ninth to improve to 10-for-10 on save chances with his new team. Carlos Villanueva and Todd Coffey pitched scoreless innings before Hoffman wrapped it up. The Brewers’ bullpen came in with a 3.67 ERA, secondbest in the NL. “There’s no hesitation at all to give it up and let those guys finish it out,” Bush said. The Astros got eight hits but scored their runs in unusual ways—Kaz Matsui stole home while teammate Michael Bourn was in a rundown, and relief pitcher Russ Ortiz hit a homer. — The Associated Press

Brewers 4, Astros 2 Milwaukee AB R Hart rf 4 0 Hall 3b 4 0 Braun lf 2 2 Fielder 1b 3 2 M.Cameron cf 4 0 Hardy ss 4 0 Mi.Rivera c 4 0 McGehee 2b 2 0 Bush p 2 0 Villanueva p 0 0 Coffey p 0 0 b-Gamel ph 1 0 Hoffman p 0 0 Totals 30 4

H BI 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 4

BB SO Avg. 0 0 .241 0 2 .259 2 0 .323 1 1 .273 0 2 .276 0 0 .229 0 0 .350 1 0 .167 1 1 .167 0 0 .500 0 0 .000 0 0 .200 0 0 --5 6

Houston AB R H BI BB SO Avg. K.Matsui 2b 5 1 1 0 0 0 .236 Bourn cf 4 0 2 0 0 1 .304 Berkman 1b 3 0 0 0 1 1 .224 Ca.Lee lf 3 0 0 0 0 1 .324 Tejada ss 3 0 1 0 0 0 .318 Pence rf 4 0 3 0 0 0 .336 Blum 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .259 I.Rodriguez c 4 0 0 0 0 1 .276 Hampton p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .333 R.Ortiz p 1 1 1 1 0 0 .222 a-Erstad ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .163 Fulchino p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --c-Michaels ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .200 Totals 34 2 8 1 1 5 Milwaukee 000 202 000 — 4 6 0 Houston 100 010 000 — 2 8 0 a-flied out for R.Ortiz in the 6th. b-flied out for Coffey in the 9th. c-popped out for Fulchino in the 9th. LOB: Milwaukee 5, Houston 8. 2B: Fielder (7), K.Matsui (5), Bourn (7). HR: R.Ortiz (1), off Bush. RBIs: Fielder (37), Hardy 2 (23), McGehee (1), R.Ortiz (2). SB: K.Matsui (6). SF: McGehee. Runners left in scoring position: Milwaukee 2 (Hall, Bush); Houston 5 (Tejada, I.Rodriguez 2, Ca.Lee, Erstad). GIDP: Braun, Mi.Rivera, Ca.Lee. DP: Milwaukee 1 (Hall, McGehee, Fielder); Houston 2 (Blum, K.Matsui, Berkman), (Blum, K.Matsui, Berkman). Milwaukee Bush W, 3-0 Villanueva H, 6 Coffey H, 6 Hoffman S, 10-10 Houston Hampton R.Ortiz L, 2-2 Fulchino

IP 6 1 1 1 IP 4 2 3

H 7 0 1 0 H 3 3 0

R ER BB SO NP ERA 2 2 1 2 84 3.74 0 0 0 2 10 4.50 0 0 0 1 11 3.10 0 0 0 0 8 0.00 R ER BB SO NP ERA 2 2 3 4 60 5.23 2 2 2 2 46 5.81 0 0 0 0 35 4.61

HBP: by Bush (Ca.Lee, Tejada). Umpires: Home, Laz Diaz; First, Eric Cooper; Second, Delfin Colon; Third, Mike Reilly. T: 2:41. A: 29,343 (40,976).

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

26

NATIONAL LEAGUE Philadelphia 4, Cincinnati 3

Another strong start in Cincy for Hamels CINCINNATI—Whenever Cole Hamels comes to town, he thinks about the first time he was on a major league mound. It was here. And it was impressive. The lefthander added another win to his resume of success in Cincinnati, going six innings to stay unbeaten against the Reds, and the Philadelphia Phillies held on Tuesday night for a 4-3 victory, their fifth in a row. The NL East leaders matched their longest winning streak of the season behind Hamels (2-2), who made his big league debut on May 12, 2006, giving up one hit in five innings at Great American Ball Park. He’s always been tough on Cincinnati’s predominantly left-handed lineup. “It’s kind of a special place, kind of where everything started for me,” said Hamels, who is 3-0 at Great American. “I want to make an impact every time I come here. I know they probably don’t want to see that, but that’s kind of my goal.” He reached it, with help from some of the Phillies’ old dependables. Ryan Howard hit a solo homer, and slumping Jimmy Rollins doubled and scored during Philadelphia’s decisive three-run fifth inning off Johnny Cueto (4-2). Hamels has allowed five earned runs in 36 career innings against the Reds. He improved to 4-0 in five starts against Cincinnati, which got solo homers from Jay Bruce and Jerry Hairston Jr. The Reds have lost a season-high four straight because their depleted offense is in a rut, scoring four runs in the last 28 innings. — The Associated Press

Phillies 4, Reds 3 Philadelphia AB Rollins ss 4 Utley 2b 4 Ibanez lf 3 Howard 1b 3 Werth rf 4 Victorino cf 4 Feliz 3b 4 Ruiz c 4 Hamels p 2 a-Dobbs ph 1 Condrey p 0 Madson p 0 Lidge p 0 Totals 33

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

H BI 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 4

BB SO Avg. 0 1 .223 0 0 .289 0 1 .350 1 1 .267 0 0 .285 0 1 .256 0 0 .315 0 1 .235 0 0 .100 0 0 .121 0 0 --0 0 --0 0 --1 5

Cincinnati Taveras cf Hairston Jr. 3b Phillips 2b Bruce rf R.Hernandez c A.Rosales 1b D.McDonald lf Ale.Gonzalez ss 1-Janish pr Cueto p b-Dickerson ph Rhodes p Cordero p c-L.Nix ph Totals

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

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

BB SO Avg. 0 3 .283 0 0 .245 0 0 .269 0 3 .232 0 0 .293 1 2 .258 0 1 .189 0 0 .174 0 0 .313 1 0 .176 1 0 .230 0 0 --0 0 --1 0 .294 4 9

AB 5 5 4 4 3 3 4 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 33

Philadelphia 010 030 000 —

4 7 0

Cincinnati 000 102 000 — 3 7 0 a-grounded out for Hamels in the 7th. b-walked for Cueto in the 7th. c-walked for Cordero in the 9th. 1-ran for Ale.Gonzalez in the 9th. LOB: Philadelphia 4, Cincinnati 8. 2B: Rollins (8), Feliz (9), R.Hernandez (6). 3B: Phillips (1). HR: Howard (9), off Cueto; Bruce (12), off Hamels; Hairston Jr. (4), off Hamels. RBIs: Rollins (14), Utley (26), Ibanez (36), Howard (29), Hairston Jr. (10), Bruce (24), R.Hernandez (14). SB: Taveras (11). SF: Ibanez, R.Hernandez. Runners left in scoring position: Philadelphia 1 (Hamels); Cincinnati 4 (D.McDonald, Hairston Jr. 2, A.Rosales). Philadelphia Hamels W, 2-2 Condrey H, 2 Madson H, 7 Lidge S, 8-10 Cincinnati Cueto L, 4-2 Rhodes Cordero

AL BEHRMAN / AP

Phillies starter Cole Hamels is 3-0 at the Reds’ Great American Ball Park, including Tuesday’s victory.

IP 6 1 1 1 IP 7 1 1

H 5 0 1 1 H 7 0 0

R ER BB SO NP ERA 3 3 2 7 117 4.95 0 0 1 0 19 2.49 0 0 0 1 12 3.38 0 0 1 1 22 7.85 R ER BB SO NP ERA 4 4 0 4 112 2.35 0 0 1 0 13 0.69 0 0 0 1 12 2.25

Umpires: Home, Charlie Reliford; First, Adrian Johnson; Second, Dan Iassogna; Third, Sam Holbrook. T: 2:46. A: 18,449 (42,319).

Pittsburgh 8, Washington 5, 10 innings

Nats waste rally in 9th WASHINGTON—When the Washington Nationals rallied to tie the Pittsburgh Pirates in the ninth, all it did was allow them to continue the type of losing streak experienced by few others in major league history. Pittsburgh, almost predictably, countered with Adam LaRoche’s two-out, two-run double in the 10th. The Pirates won 8-5 on Tuesday night for their season-high fourth straight victory, while the Nationals became only the fourth team ever to construct a six-game losing streak in which they scored at least five runs every time. “We continue to put runs on the board,” Washington manager Manny Acta said. “This is the 10th game in a row where we score five or more runs— and we’re 1-9. That tells you the story right now.” The unusual six-game skid matches those by the 1929 Pirates, 2004 Cincinnati Reds and 2005 Texas Rangers, according to STATS, LLC. The Nationals are averaging 5.7 runs in those six games, but they’ve allowed 8.8. Here’s a more startling statistic: With Joe Biemel (0-3) taking the loss, the Nationals bullpen now has a record of 1-14. — The Associated Press

Pirates 8, Nationals 5, 10 innings Pittsburgh AB R H BI BB SO Morgan lf 4 1 1 0 0 0 F.Sanchez 2b 4 2 1 1 1 2 McLouth cf 5 1 1 0 0 0 Ad.LaRoche 1b 4 2 1 2 1 0 Moss rf 5 0 2 3 0 1 An.LaRoche 3b 3 1 1 2 1 0 Gorzelanny p 1 0 0 0 0 1 Jaramillo c 3 0 0 0 1 0 Ja.Wilson ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 Karstens p 2 0 0 0 0 0 b-Monroe ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 Meek p 0 0 0 0 0 0 S.Burnett p 0 0 0 0 0 0 R.Vazquez 3b 1 1 1 0 0 0 Totals 37 8 8 8 4 5 Washington AB C.Guzman ss 4 N.Johnson 1b 4 Zimmerman 3b 3 Dunn rf 3 Willingham lf 4 W.Harris cf 3 A.Hernandez 2b 4 Nieves c 5 Martis p 1 a-Belliard ph 1 Villone p 0 c-Kearns ph 1 Beimel p 0 d-Cintron ph 1 Totals 34

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

H BI 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 2 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 4

Avg. .303 .305 .289 .231 .261 .262 .000 .264 .278 .000 .239 --.000 .203

BB SO Avg. 1 0 .373 0 0 .333 2 0 .358 2 2 .287 1 0 .210 1 1 .250 0 0 .286 0 1 .289 0 0 .250 0 1 .196 0 0 --0 0 .213 0 0 --0 0 .077 7 5

Pittsburgh 302 000 000 3—8 8 0 Washington 000 103 001 0—5 8 0 a-struck out for Martis in the 6th. b-flied out for Karstens in the 7th. c-flied out for Villone in the 8th. d-flied out for Beimel in the 10th. LOB: Pittsburgh 4, Washington 10. 2B: Morgan (3), Ad.LaRoche (12), Moss (7). 3B: N.Johnson (1), A.Hernandez (1). HR: An.LaRoche (2), off Martis; Dunn (12), off Karstens. RBIs: F.Sanchez (13), Ad.LaRoche 2 (18), Moss 3 (10), An.LaRoche 2 (18), Dunn (32), W.Harris (9), A.Hernandez (10), Nieves (4). SB: W.Harris (2). S: Morgan, A.Hernandez, Martis. Runners left in scoring position: Pittsburgh 1 (Ja.Wilson); Washington 5 (A.Hernandez, Zimmerman, Willingham, Kearns, W.Harris). Runners moved up: McLouth, Ad.LaRoche, C.Guzman, Nieves. GIDP: N.Johnson, Willingham. DP: Pittsburgh 2 (F.Sanchez, Ad.LaRoche), (F.Sanchez, Ja.Wilson, Ad.LaRoche). Pittsburgh IP Karstens 6 Meek H, 2 1 S.Burnett BS, 1-1 1 2⁄3 Gorzelanny W, 1-01 1⁄3 Washington IP Martis 6 Villone 2 Beimel L, 0-3 2

H 7 0 1 0 H 5 0 3

R ER BB SO NP ERA 4 4 2 2 105 5.21 0 0 3 0 24 3.07 1 1 2 1 35 3.15 0 0 0 2 16 0.00 R ER BB SO NP ERA 5 5 2 2 85 4.53 0 0 0 1 24 0.00 3 3 2 2 42 5.63

Inherited runners-scored: Gorzelanny 2-0. IBB: off Beimel (F.Sanchez). HBP: by S.Burnett (W.Harris), by Karstens (N.Johnson). WP: S.Burnett, Martis 2. Umpires: Home, Joe West; First, Ed Rapuano; Second, Chad Fairchild; Third, Paul Nauert. T: 3:07. A: 18,579 (41,888).

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

27

NATIONAL LEAGUE Atlanta 8, Colorado 1

Arizona 5, Florida 3

Jurrjens gets his support; 2,000 hits for Helton

Garland deals with weather

ATLANTA—Jair Jurrjens knew eventually the Atlanta Braves would score some runs in one of his starts. The only question was when. “It’s like going to the ice cream store when you were a little kid,” Jurrjens said with a grin. “You relax more and just throw strikes. Try to work on the pitch count, try to work deep in the game.” Jurrjens pitched seven strong innings, and Casey Kotchman had three hits and three RBIs to help the Atlanta Braves beat the Colorado Rockies 8-1 on Tuesday night. Lowering his ERA 10 points to 1.96, Jurrjens (4-2) scattered three hits and allowed one run in seven innings. The right-hander struck out a season-high eight and walked three. “Just come out and throw strikes,” said Jurrjens, whose previous eight starts resulted in an average of only 2.3 runs of support. “That’s the thing that’s been working for me, just being aggressive. Before I was trying to be perfect. Now I’m up there challenging the hitters, making sure I get ahead and make them get themselves out.” One of the few highlights for Colorado, which has lost five of seven, was Todd Helton’s 2,000 career hit. The Rockies’ first baseman singled in third to become the 255th player to reach the milestone. In their previous three games, the Braves had scored just four runs, but the win improved them to 7-11 at Turner Field. They began the night with a .353 home winning percentage that was second-worst in the majors. “That’s a lot of hits,” Helton said. “I’m proud of every hit I’ve got.” — The Associated Press

Braves 8, Rockies 1 Colorado AB R Fowler cf 2 0 Tulowitzki ss 3 0 Helton 1b 3 0 Hawpe rf 4 0 Iannetta c 3 0 S.Smith lf 3 0 c-Spilborghs ph 0 0 Stewart 3b 4 0 Barmes 2b 3 1 Hammel p 1 0 a-Atkins ph 1 0 Peralta p 0 0 Totals 27 1

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

BB SO Avg. 2 0 .254 0 0 .244 1 0 .336 0 2 .333 1 2 .237 0 1 .282 1 0 .270 0 3 .189 0 1 .240 0 0 .000 0 1 .192 0 0 --5 10

Atlanta AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Escobar ss 4 1 1 0 0 1 .302 Kotchman 1b 5 1 3 3 0 0 .301 C.Jones 3b 4 0 1 1 1 1 .312 McCann c 4 0 1 1 0 2 .280 G.Anderson lf 4 1 2 0 0 1 .254 K.Johnson 2b 4 2 3 0 0 0 .243 Francoeur rf 3 1 0 0 0 0 .242 Schafer cf 4 1 1 2 0 1 .216 Jurrjens p 3 1 1 1 0 0 .118 R.Soriano p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --b-Norton ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .125 M.Gonzalez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --Totals 36 8 13 8 1 6 Colorado Atlanta

001 000 000 — 1 3 1 132 000 02x — 8 13 0

a-struck out for Hammel in the 7th. b-flied out for R.Soriano in the 8th. c-walked for S.Smith in the 9th. E: Barmes (2). LOB: Colorado 6, Atlanta 7. 2B: Barmes (6), Kotchman 2 (15). RBIs: Tulowitzki (13), Kotchman 3 (18), C.Jones (15), McCann (13), Schafer 2 (6), Jurrjens (1). SB: K.Johnson (2). S: Hammel. SF: Tulowitzki. Runners left in scoring position: Colorado 3 (Hawpe, Barmes, Stewart); Atlanta 5 (McCann 2, Francoeur, K.Johnson, C.Jones). DP: Colorado 1 (Fowler, Fowler, Iannetta); Atlanta 1 (Escobar, K.Johnson, Kotchman). Colorado Hammel L, 0-3 Peralta Atlanta Jurrjens W, 4-2 R.Soriano M.Gonzalez

IP H 6 10 2 3 IP H 7 3 1 0 1 0

R ER BB SO NP ERA 6 3 1 4 103 4.60 2 2 0 2 46 9.00 R ER BB SO NP ERA 1 1 3 8 107 1.96 0 0 1 0 14 1.50 0 0 1 2 26 3.57

HBP: by Peralta (Francoeur, Escobar). WP: Hammel, Jurrjens. Umpires: Home, Mark Carlson; First, Tim Tschida; Second, Bob Davidson; Third, Jeff Nelson. T: 2:46. A: 16,749 (49,743).

PAUL ABELL / AP

Casey Kotchman had three hits and three RBIs, part of a 13-hit Braves attack.

MIAMI—Paying little attention to the ominous forecast and threatening skies, Jon Garland gave the Arizona Diamondbacks another quality start. Mark Reynolds homered leading off a five-run seventh and Garland pitched six strong innings to lead the Diamondbacks over the Florida Marlins 5-3 on Tuesday night. Garland (4-2) allowed two runs—one earned—and seven hits. He walked one and struck out three during his fifth quality start in eight outings. Chad Qualls pitched the ninth to earn his ninth save in 10 opportunities. Garland had been slated to start Sunday at Atlanta, but a rainout pushed him back to Tuesday. Then on Monday night, teammate Dan Haren pitched three innings before the scheduled series opener at Florida was postponed. Tuesday’s forecast was for even worse weather. “I wasn’t worried about wasting a start (like Haren). If that’s your mind-set going in, you’re not going to have your best stuff,” Garland said. It was Arizona’s second straight win after dropping seven of eight. Hanley Ramirez homered for Florida, which has lost seven of eight and 13 of 17. The announced attendance was 10,131, though only about onethird of that was present. — The Associated Press

Diamondbacks 5, Marlins 3 Arizona AB R H BI BB SO Avg. F.Lopez 2b 5 1 1 1 0 1 .313 G.Parra cf 4 0 2 1 1 2 .412 J.Upton rf 4 0 0 1 0 2 .300 S.Drew ss 3 0 0 0 1 0 .203 Reynolds 1b 4 1 1 1 0 2 .244 Byrnes lf 3 1 1 0 1 0 .214 Snyder c 4 1 1 0 0 0 .216 Ojeda 3b 2 0 0 0 1 0 .301 Garland p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .000 a-Montero ph 0 1 0 0 0 0 .240 J.Gutierrez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --c-Tracy ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .191 T.Pena p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Qualls p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --Totals 32 5 6 4 4 8 Florida AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Bonifacio 3b 4 0 0 0 1 1 .255 Coghlan lf 5 0 1 0 0 1 .172 Ha.Ramirez ss 4 1 2 1 0 1 .348 Cantu 1b 4 1 3 0 0 0 .279 Jo.Baker c 4 0 1 0 0 1 .276 Uggla 2b 4 0 1 1 0 1 .192 Hermida rf 4 0 0 0 0 0 .250 C.Ross cf 4 1 3 0 0 0 .241 Jo.Johnson p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .053 Pinto p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --Calero p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --b-Gload ph 1 0 1 1 0 0 .240 Nunez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --Sanches p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --d-Helms ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .213 Totals 36 3 12 3 1 6 Arizona Florida

000 000 500 — 5 6 2 000 002 100 — 3 12 3

a-was hit by a pitch for Garland in the 7th. b-singled for Calero in the 7th. c-popped out for J.Gutierrez in the 8th. d-struck out for Sanches in the 9th. E: Byrnes 2 (2), Nunez (1), Bonifacio (6), Coghlan (1). LOB: Arizona 7, Florida 8. 2B: C.Ross (7). HR: Reynolds (9), off Jo.Johnson; Ha.Ramirez (7), off Garland. RBIs: F.Lopez (10), G.Parra (6), J.Upton (20), Reynolds (17), Ha.Ramirez (21), Uggla (22), Gload (5). SB: Byrnes (6). S: Ojeda, Jo.Johnson. SF: J.Upton. Runners left in scoring position: Arizona 3 (Garland, Reynolds, Tracy); Florida 3 (Hermida 3). DP: Arizona 2 (Reynolds, S.Drew), (F.Lopez, S.Drew, Reynolds). Arizona Garland W, 4-2 J.Gutierrez H, 1 T.Pena H, 5 Qualls S, 9-10 Florida Jo.Johnson L, 3-1 Pinto BS, 2-2 Calero Nunez Sanches

IP 6 1 1 1 IP 6 1⁄3 0 2⁄3 1 1

H 7 2 2 1 H 4 2 0 0 0

R ER BB SO NP ERA 2 1 1 3 80 4.72 1 1 0 0 14 3.92 0 0 0 1 14 1.47 0 0 0 2 15 2.40 R ER BB SO NP ERA 3 2 2 6 97 2.54 2 1 0 0 7 1.53 0 0 1 0 9 2.75 0 0 1 0 15 1.89 0 0 0 2 12 0.00

Pinto pitched to 3 batters in the 7th. Inherited runners-scored: Pinto 2-2, Calero 2-1. IBB: off Calero (S.Drew). HBP: by Pinto (Montero). Umpires: Home, Tony Randazzo; First, Chris Guccione; Second, Todd Tichenor; Third, Jerry Layne. T: 2:47. A: 10,131 (38,560).

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Remaining free agents A quick look at the remaining NFL free agents by position (R-restricted free agent, F-franchise tagged player): OFFENSE Quarterbacks—Brooks Bollinger, Dallas; Ken Dorsey, Cleveland; Brett Favre, NY Jets; 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; 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; 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; Marcus Maxwell, Baltimore; 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; 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. Guards—Lennie Friedman, Cleveland; 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; 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; Travis LaBoy, Arizona; Jayme Mitchell, Minnesota; Jerome McDougle, NY Giants; Julius Peppers (F), Carolina; Josh Savage, New Orleans; Anthony Weaver, Houston; James Wyche, Jacksonville. Defensive tackles—Kenderick Allen, Minnesota; Gary Gibson, Carolina; La’Roi Glover, St. Louis; Vonnie Holliday, Miami; Antwan Lake, New Orleans; Langston Moore, Detroit; Kindal Moorehead, Atlanta; Dewayne Robertson, Denver; Orpheus Roye, Pittsburgh; Hollis Thomas, New Orleans; Josh Thomas, Indianapolis; John Thornton, Cincinnati; Darwin Walker, Carolina; 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; 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; Marquand Manuel, Denver; Marlon McCree, Denver; Lawyer Milloy, Atlanta; Chad Nkang, Jacksonville; Jarrad Page (R), Kansas City; Pierson Prioleau, Jacksonville; Chris Reis (R), New Orleans; Dwight Smith, Detroit; Jimmy Williams, San Francisco; 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.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

28

Surgically-repaired Brady is ‘full go’ in practices BY ALBERT BREER [email protected]

Get ready, NFL. Tom Brady is back. And if all indications from this spring are correct, the new Brady should be pretty close, if not identical, to the old Brady who started the 2008 season with a clean bill of health. According to a source close to Brady, the quarterback has “no restrictions at all” as a result of his reconstructed left knee and is “more than excited” about his progress. Brady tore his ACL and MCL during last season’s opener and underwent reconstructive surgery Oct. 6. An infection developed after the surgery, but it was quickly contained after follow-up procedures. Brady was able to return to his normal rehabilitation schedule within “10 days to two weeks” after the follow-up effort, the source said. That means the quarterback is roughly six months into the rehab process. “He’s full go,” the source said Tuesday. A second source confirmed that assessment. Brady hasn’t been shy about taking part in the club’s offseason program, giving teammates a close-up look at his progress. Most Patriots players are apprehensive about shedding light on player injuries and rehabs, but reactions have been uniformly positive. “He comes in, he does his work and takes it home to his wife,” Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss said Friday. “The only thing I can say is everybody’s up there working hard and getting ready for the season.”

MICHAEL DWYER / AP

Sources close to Tom Brady said the QB’s reconstructed left knee isn’t giving him any trouble. As a point of comparison, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers had his knee reconstructed Jan. 23, 2008 and returned to practice on May 2—100 days later—and played through training camp and last season without incident. Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer tore his ACL and MCL in a playoff game Jan. 10, 2006 and was ready to start training camp July 30, six months and 20 days later.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick last month said Brady had been “doing his offseason work without any limitations.” Owner Robert Kraft has said Brady will wear a brace on the left knee, which is standard for players coming off this type of injury. Both Rivers and Palmer wore knee braces coming off their injuries. Even if Brady’s rehab is complete, it’s hard to say he has come

full circle. There’s a significant mental mountain a player has to climb while returning to game action. Authorities in sports medicine say it takes roughly two months of live action for a player to fully learn to use his reconstructed knee. “There’s no question that they’re never really back 100 percent until they get behind that line, take snaps and play,” said Dr. Lonnie Paulos, Palmer’s surgeon. “That’s where all the practice and technique comes back, and you get that razor’s edge. No matter how hard you rehab, it’s going to take time.” The Patriots began voluntary practices (organized team activities) this week, although a spokesman said Brady was not expected to participate Monday, Tuesday or today in the workouts earmarked for rookies and veteran newcomers. The club’s mandatory fullsquad minicamp will be held June 10-12, and training camp will begin in late July. “It’s been great to see him,” wide receiver Wes Welker said. “He looks like the same guy to me.” No one would deny that the return of Brady adds something to a season that will begin Sept. 14 with a prime-time game against Buffalo, which will hold an unveiling of its own with Terrell Owens’ debut in a Bills uniform. “Everybody’s excited for Tom’s return,” said Moss, who set an NFL record with 23 touchdown catches in his one full season with Brady as his quarterback. “And what (better) way to welcome him back than a Monday Night Football game?” — Staff writer Reid Spencer contributed to this article

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Q&A with ... Bills DE Aaron Maybin

‘Play fast and violent, man’ The Bills selected Penn State’s Aaron Maybin with the 11th overall pick, immediately upgrading the team’s pass rush. Sporting News Radio’s Tim Montemayor caught up with Maybin this week to talk about his on-field versatility, his off-field influences and his speed.

Q: A: Q: A:

Should I call you a defensive end or an outside linebacker? Defensive end, man.

Your versatility is a great asset, right? That’s one of the great things about being in the position I’m in right now. The coaching staff—after I’m able to pick up the playbook and learn everything correctly—will be able to move me around and coming from a whole bunch of different positions.

Q:

Do you think you’ll be able to get around guys in the NFL as easy as you were able to do it in college? Of course, it’s not going to be anywhere near as easy. These are professionals you’re going up against, and these are grown men. From what I’ve deduced from our first camp and what I’ve experienced to this point, the difference is in your preparation. The difference is going to be in your preparation, and it’s also going to be in your approach to the game and the guy that you’re preparing to go against.

A:

Q:

How much have LaVar Arrington and other

professional athletes you’ve spent time with influenced you? Well, they continue to influence me every day. When you have guys that have accomplished that much in the NFL in your corner and at your disposal, you’d be ignorant not to learn as much as you can. That’s what I try to do: I just try to take those experiences and learn. Those guys have been through so much and accomplished so much in this game that it really gives you a lot of insight as to what you need to do to be successful in this game.

A:

Q:

You met LaVar when you were young and then you also go to Penn State. You now interact with him on a daily basis. What is that like? As a kid, I was always a fan of the game so I always looked up to guys like LaVar. As a kid, I always looked up to guys who had made it that I could always look at and say, “Man, this dude is somebody that I know, and he went through some of the same things I’m going through right now.” It goes a long way to give you reassurance that if you apply yourself the same way that they did and if you’re diligent in everything associated with your craft, you can one day be in those shoes also.

A:

Q: A:

Do you feel like you have an edge going into the NFL with influences like that? One of the things they’ve always taught me and kind of raised me up in the game to do is to always be confident in your own

abilities. I think that’s a piece of the puzzle that’s very hard for a young guy to come in. When he comes face-to-face with so many guys that he’s watched and admired on the field for so long as a fan—and to now have those guys being called his colleagues—it’s a little bit of an adjustment. One of the things that they told me was that, no matter what, that I stay the same guy that I was when I stepped on the field for the first time in Pop Warner— focused, driven, tough-nosed, ready to do anything and everything to win—but, more important, to just be confident in my own game and abilities. In this game, everybody’s good, so you have to be confident in yourself.

Q: A:

How would you describe your game? Play fast and violent, man. I think those are the two words that can best describe me. From the second the ball is snapped to the moment the whistle blows, I’m going 110 mph. I think that’s something that has really helped me to set myself apart in my career thus far.

Q: A: Q: A:

Did you really run a 4.6-second 40-yard

dash? I ran a 4.58 at my Pro Day. I’m sorry, a 4.58. You’re freakishly fast, aren’t

you?

That’s always been a gift that I’ve been blessed with. I guess all those days of chasing my shadows when I was a kid paid off.

DAVID DUPREY / AP

Aaron Maybin calls himself a defensive end, but expects the Bills to move him around quite a bit.

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30

Scouts’ views

Defensive end rankings: Allen, Peppers can do it all 10.

Kyle Vanden Bosch, Titans. Vanden Bosch had not missed a game in three seasons in Tennessee before missing six last year. This season will be a “prove it” year for him, as the Titans will need him to be a leader for a unit that will be without playmaker Albert Haynesworth. Strong and smart, Vanden Bosch has the tools to fill that role.

Here’s the thing to remember about the defensive ends: It’s not only about the pass rush. That’s where many NFL ends make their impact plays, but players who can also defend the run, drop in zone schemes and play full-time are the guys who rise to the elite level. RealScouts, SN Today’s team of former NFL scouts, rank their top 20 defensive ends for ‘09:

1.

Jared Allen, Vikings. Not only does Allen have 30 sacks over the last two seasons, he is a stout run defender who plays with a lot of heart and hustle. His ability to draw protection schemes helps Kevin and Pat Williams inside.

11.

Igor Olshansky, Cowboys. His move to Dallas reunites him with Wade Phillips, who was the defensive coordinator during Olshansky’s first three years with the Chargers. He knows the 3-4 well, has great strength and has learned to use his hands well and play with leverage.

2.

Julius Peppers, Panthers. After a poor 2007, Peppers re-established himself as a dominating force and elite pass rusher last season. He is a two-way end who has recorded double-digit sacks in five of his seven seasons and sets the edge in the run game.

12.

John Abraham, Falcons. Abraham is still an elite pass rusher, but his play against the run is limited. As he gets older, he will be used more as a situational player.

3.

Dwight Freeney, Colts. Speed and quickness have always been Freeney’s calling cards as an edge rusher. He has also learned to use his initial burst when filling running lanes and on inside pass-rush moves.

4.

Mario Williams, Texans. Williams has established himself as a top-tier pass rusher and has made great strides as a run defender. He’s an explosive athlete who can dominate offensive tackles and has the athleticism to chase down plays from sideline to sideline.

5.

Richard Seymour, Patriots. After a few productive but unspectacular seasons, Seymour put up his highest tackle and sack numbers since 2003 last season. Back at full health, he should again be a force as a run stuffer and inside pass rusher.

13.

TOM OLMSCHEID / AP

Jared Allen does more than sack the QB, he also frees up Kevin and Pat Williams to attack.

6.

Aaron Smith, Steelers. A prototypical 3-4 end, Smith has great size and strength and is a reliable run stuffer. But he also is a powerful bull rusher who keeps his legs moving and works to the whistle.

7.

Osi Umenyiora, Giants. The good news about Umenyiora’s knee injury in ’08 was that it happened before the season started. With a whole year to heal, he is more than ready to get back in the mix. His athleticism and natural instincts as a pass rusher will be featured on a revamped Giants line.

8.

Justin Tuck, Giants. Tuck went from situational pass rusher to full-time starter in 2008 and filled the void left by the retired Michael Strahan and the injured Umenyiora. Tuck’s unique combination of quickness and strength allows him to rush from any line position.

9.

Patrick Kerney, Seahawks. Though his ’08 season was cut short by injury, Kerney has thrived in the Seahawks one-gap system. He’s an athletic pass rusher who can play on either side of the line and attacks the line as a pass rusher and run defender.

Adewale Ogunleye, Bears. An excellent athlete, Ogunleye is not particularly big or strong, but he has excellent quickness and burst and gets off the edge very quickly. He’s coming off a down year, like most members of the Bears’ defense, but look for new line coach Rod Marinelli to get the best out of Ogunleye and his linemates.

14.

Andre Carter, Redskins. A speed pass rusher who hasn’t gotten much help in Washington, Carter is at his best when he can work in space and use his long arms to keep blockers off his body. With the addition of Haynesworth and rookie Brian Orakpo, Carter will have more freedom to show off skills.

15.

Trent Cole, Eagles. Cole is extremely athletic, which makes him a

perfect fit in the Eagles’ zone blitz scheme. He does so many good things within the system against the run and in coverage— and he has 29½ sacks over the past three seasons.

16.

Brett Keisel, Steelers. Injury and age are beginning to catch up to Keisel, but he is an effective pass rusher for a 3-4 end and shows a lot of versatility within the Steelers’ scheme.

17.

Shaun Ellis, Jets. Ellis is not an explosive player but has good size and strength for a 3-4 end. He has been one of the Jets’ most durable and consistent players and uses his experience and savvy to put himself in position to make plays against the run and pass.

18.

Cullen Jenkins, Packers. Jenkins has the size, strength and experience inside to excel in the Packers’ new 3-4 scheme. He has a nice array of pass-rush moves, is a sure tackler in the run game and has the agility to make plays on the perimeter.

19.

Gaines Adams, Buccaneers. Adams is a natural pass rusher who relies on speed to do his best work, though he has improved his play against the run and has developed more pass-rush moves. He is a player on the rise.

20.

Aaron Schobel, Bills. Schobel is coming off injury, but the Bills will rely heavily on him to help restore their pass rush. He’s a high-effort player who has the strength to hold up at the point of attack and the instincts and pass-rush moves to lead the Buffalo pass rush. — RealScouts analyze NFL and college players, coaches and teams exclusively for Sporting News Today.

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31

INSIDE DISH

Palmer looks sharp; Edwards shows up at Browns’ minicamp Carson Palmer was back to his old, healthy passing self on Tuesday. Palmer showed good zip and accuracy in executing the Bengals’ playbook at the team’s minicamp, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Palmer did not face pressure during the downfield passing drills, but all accounts were he was calm and confident working with a revamped line and new WR Laveranues Coles. Among the highlights was a 50-yard spiral strike to Chris Henry. Chad Johnson has yet to participate in the team’s offseason program. The performance left coordinator Bob Bratkowski impressed and Palmer feeling good. “I threw only a couple long ones, but it felt like before I ever hurt my elbow,” Palmer said. “The arm felt great and the elbow felt great.” Unfazed by the consistent trade rumors of the offseason, Browns WR Braylon Edwards showed up for the first day of the team’s three-day minicamp. The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported that a source close to Edwards confirmed his participation on Tuesday. Browns G.M. George Kokinis tried to trade Edwards to the Giants at the NFL owners meetings in March. That deal fell through, and now the Jets seem interested—especially if they decide not to sign former Giant Plaxico Burress. KR-WR Joshua Cribbs, who wants to renegotiate his contract, was a no-show at the Browns’ minicamp. The Rams, who currently have second-year men Donnie Avery and Keenan Burton as their starting wide

receivers, won’t try to reunite Burress with coach Steve Spagnuolo, the former Giants defensive coordinator. G.M. Billy Devaney told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the Rams have no interest in signing Burress. Spagnuolo is trying to fix the losing culture in St. Louis, and Burress could be a significant distraction.

Shaun Hill is on track to be the 49ers’ starting quarterback in 2009. ESPN.com reported Hill will go into training camp as the No. 1 option ahead of Alex Smith, who is trying to come back from a shoulder injury. Hill posted a solid passer rating of 87.5 last season. His assets are getting rid of the ball quickly and limiting mistakes. Smith has had durability issues since being drafted first overall in 2005, and his development has been set back by several changes at offensive coordinator. Smith thinks the failure of WR Isaac Bruce to appear for OTAs is hurting the team’s progress in the passing game. “You can’t show up in the fall and expect to be winning games,” Smith told The Sacramento Bee. “I think, especially with where we’re at, it takes everybody to be here. We’ve got to push it right now.” Jets Pro Bowl running back Thomas Jones will rejoin his teammates next week after sitting out voluntary team activities while in a contract dispute, according to his agent. Drew Rosenhaus wrote on his Twitter page Tuesday night that Jones, entering the third year of a four-year, $20 million deal, “will attend the Jets OTA next Wednesday.”

10, eight days after getting injured. Commissioner Roger Goodell says he’s not sure whether Brett Favre sent his retirement form to NFL headquarters. Goodell spoke Tuesday at the league meetings in Florida. Asked about Favre’s future, the commissioner said he doesn’t know if the 39-year-old quarterback officially retired.

Dolphins RG Donald Thomas suffered a torn pectoral muscle during a recent workout and could miss most of training camp, coach Tony Sparano confirmed to The Miami Herald. Thomas suffered the injury lifting weights. He could miss a portion of training camp but is expected to be ready for the regular season. Thomas was projected to start after spending most of his rookie season on injured reserve.

Felix Jones is recovering well from his season-ending toe woes from his rookie season and should be ready for Week 1. “My body is finally responding the way I want it to respond,” Jones told The Dallas Morning News. Jones, handpicked by fellow Arkansas alum Jerry Jones, is expected to be used in many ways to complement a strong unit that includes Marion Barber and Tashard Choice. He is easily the team’s top big-play threat with the departure of Terrell Owens. The Saints signed former Bill Anthony Hargrove, hoping he can strengthen the depth at defensive end. They could be depleted at the position early next season if starters Will Smith and Charles Grant are forced to serve four-game suspensions, which remain on appeal in federal court. Hargrove, 25, has violated the NFL’s substance abuse policy three times. After being suspended for all of 2008, he was reinstated this year. The Saints are still considering offering a contract to RB Edgerrin James, who could bolster a running back unit that already features Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush. “We’ve spent some time evaluating

With Jason Taylor resurfacing in Miami, the Patriots have reportedly turned their attention to acquiring Raiders pass rusher Derrick Burgess. New England is considering trading a second- (the Pats have three in 2010) or a thirdround pick for Burgess, several media outlets reported.

TONY TRIBBLE / AP

The Buccaneers placed FB Byron Storer on injured reserve after he re-injured his knee during OTAs last week. Storer, who made six starts over the past two seasons, tore his ACL last season. Look for the Bucs to pursue another fullback to compete with B.J. Askew, the St. Petersburg Times reported.

Carson Palmer showed off his arm during a workout with a revamped line and Laveranues Coles. Edgerrin,” Saints G.M. Mickey Loomis told FOXSports.com. “We think he can still play. We’re going to continue to evaluate that and see where it ends up. We haven’t made a decision on Edgerrin yet.” Special

teams

coach

Joe

DeCamillis, who suffered a broken neck during the collapse of the Cowboys’ practice facility, is back on the field and running drills. DeCamillis showed up Tuesday for the first day of organized team activities wearing a neck brace. He was released from the hospital May

MLB Barrett Rudd has not participated in the Buccaneers’ OTAs and was not on hand for their voluntary minicamp because he wants a contract extension, according to PewterReport.com. He is entering his final year of his contract and is scheduled to make $1.6 million.

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2009 preseason schedule Sunday, Aug. 9

Monday, Aug. 24

Buffalo vs. Tennessee at Canton, Ohio, 8 p.m.

N.Y. Jets at Baltimore, 8 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 13

Thursday, Aug. 27

New England at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m. Washington at Baltimore, 7:30 p.m. Arizona at Pittsburgh, 8 p.m. Dallas at Oakland, 10 p.m.

Jacksonville at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. St. Louis at Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m. Miami at Tampa Bay, 8 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 14 St. Louis at N.Y. Jets, 7 p.m. Minnesota at Indianapolis, 7:30 p.m. Cincinnati at New Orleans, 8 p.m. Denver at San Francisco, 10 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 15 Atlanta at Detroit, 4 p.m. Chicago at Buffalo, 7 p.m. Cleveland at Green Bay, 8 p.m. Houston at Kansas City, 8 p.m. Tampa Bay at Tennessee, 8 p.m. Seattle at San Diego, 10 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 28 New England at Washington, 8 p.m. Green Bay at Arizona, 10 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 29 Indianapolis at Detroit, 1 p.m. New Orleans at Oakland, 4 p.m. Buffalo at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m. Tennessee at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m. San Diego at Atlanta, 8 p.m. Baltimore at Carolina, 8 p.m. N.Y. Jets at N.Y. Giants, 8 p.m. San Francisco at Dallas, 8 p.m. Seattle at Kansas City, 8 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 30

Monday, Aug. 17

Chicago at Denver, 8 p.m.

Jacksonville at Miami, 7:30 p.m. Carolina at N.Y. Giants, 8 p.m.

Monday, Aug. 31

Thursday, Aug. 20

Thursday, Sept. 3

Cincinnati at New England, 7:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Indianapolis, 8 p.m.

Detroit at Buffalo, 6:30 p.m. Philadelphia at N.Y. Jets, 7 p.m. Baltimore at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m. Indianapolis at Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m. N.Y. Giants at New England, 7:30 p.m. Washington at Jacksonville, 7:30 p.m. Cleveland at Chicago, 8 p.m. Green Bay at Tennessee, 8 p.m. Kansas City at St. Louis, 8 p.m. Miami at New Orleans, 8 p.m. Pittsburgh at Carolina, 8 p.m. Arizona at Denver, 9 p.m. Oakland at Seattle, 10 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 21 Tennessee at Dallas, 8 p.m. Atlanta at St. Louis, 8 p.m. Kansas City at Minnesota, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 22 Carolina at Miami, 7:30 p.m. Detroit at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m. Pittsburgh at Washington, 7:30 p.m. Tampa Bay at Jacksonville, 7:30 p.m. Buffalo at Green Bay, 8 p.m. New Orleans at Houston, 8 p.m. N.Y. Giants at Chicago, 8 p.m. Oakland at San Francisco, 8:15 p.m. San Diego at Arizona, 10 p.m. Denver at Seattle, 10:30 p.m.

Minnesota at Houston, 8 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 4 Houston at Tampa Bay, 7 p.m. Dallas at Minnesota, 8 p.m. San Francisco at San Diego, 10 p.m. — Subject to change

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

32

Vick to be released today; Goodell needs convincing Michael Vick was scheduled to be released early today from federal prison in Leavenworth, Kan., and will serve the final two months of a 23-month sentence for his role in a dogfighting operation in home confinement in Hampton, Va. There was no word when Vick would be released, and his attorney, Billy Martin, declined to reveal the time. “I’m not at liberty to tell you that,” Martin told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We’re excited to have Michael Vick back as a free man again. We are looking forward to getting him back to his family and have his life restored.” Vick is free to travel by car (a 19-hour drive) or plane to 3,500-square-foot, brick house in Hampton. Meanwhile, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he has not determined the potential reinstatement process for Vick. Only this much is certain: Vick will need not only to say he’s sorry, but convince Goodell he means those words if there’s any chance his indefinite suspension will be lifted. “I think that’s going to be up to Michael,” Goodell said Tuesday during a break at the NFL meetings. “Michael’s going to have to demonstrate to myself and the general public and to a lot of people, did he learn anything from this experience? Does he regret what happened? Does he feel that he can be a positive influence going forward? Those are questions that I would like to see when I sit with him.” When will that happen? Goodell reiterated that it’ll take place only once Vick’s legal process is completed; his time in federal custody ends July 20, or roughly around the same time NFL

HARAZ N. GHANBARI / AP

Though he’ll be released from prison today, Michael Vick will be under house arrest until July 20. training camps open. “I don’t anticipate anything other than sitting down with him at some

point and having to make a decision,” Goodell said. Once Vick leaves the federal lockup

in Leavenworth, he will be confined much of the time to his Virginia home and wear an electronic monitoring device. He will be allowed to leave home for work at a $10-an-hour construction job, plus other courtapproved events. And although Goodell said he hasn’t “spent any time on this,” the commissioner did acknowledge reaching out in recent weeks to former Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy, who met with Vick in prison not long ago. Goodell said he and Dungy have exchanged phone messages, but not spoken. “I haven’t sat down and determined the process,” Goodell said. “But I’ve never been one to shy away from input and from facts that can be helpful in making an ultimate judgment. It’s always difficult to make judgments about people and where they are. If others can provide some helpful information, then I welcome it.” Meanwhile, Vick said he wants to with an unlikely ally—the Humane Society of the United States—on a program aimed at eradicating dogfighting among urban teens. Society president Wayne Pacelle said Tuesday that he recently met with Vick at the federal prison, and that Vick said he wants to work with the group once he’s out of federal custody. “He indicated that he’s tremendously remorseful about this, and now he wants to be an agent of change, to work to end dogfighting and to specifically get young kids to cease any involvement in these activities,” Pacelle said. Pacelle said he went into the meeting with much skepticism. But, he said, “Sometimes folks who are reformed can be particularly strong advocates.” — The Associated Press

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Owners’ meetings

Super Bowl returns to New Orleans; vote delayed on expanded schedule FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.—New Orleans is a Super Bowl city again. NFL owners voted Tuesday to play the 2013 Super Bowl in New Orleans, the first time the championship game will be played there since Hurricane Katrina shredded parts of the Superdome. The hurricane caused 1,600 deaths and devastated the Gulf Coast four years ago. This is the 10th time New Orleans will be the site for the Super Bowl. New Orleans beat out Miami and Glendale, Ariz., for the 2013 game. “We’re just thrilled about what’s going on,” Saints owner Tom Benson said. “We’re getting a new Superdome. Now we’re going to get a Super Bowl on top that. It couldn’t be any more exciting than that.” Still unclear: Where will the 2013 Pro Bowl be played? It’s coming to Miami a week before the 2010 Super Bowl, then going back to Hawaii in ’11 and ’12. It was not part of the bidding process for the ’13 Super Bowl. Louisiana lawmakers already have approved plans to spend $85 million in Superdome upgrades, which would be completed in time for the ’13 Super Bowl. The upgrades would include additional seating, new suites, wider concourses and other measures for the Saints to generate new revenue streams. In other news Tuesday from the owners’ meetings: Commissioner Roger Goodell doesn’t anticipate a vote this week on lengthening the regular season to 17 or 18 games. The NFL extended television deals with Fox and CBS Tuesday for two years through the 2013 season, and Goodell acknowledged “flexibility” for more games. But it now seems likely no decision will be made until talks are held with players in the coming months. “The players understand the cost to their bodies,” new players union executive director DeMaurice Smith said. “The players understand how tough it is to get through a regular season. They understand how hard it is to try to stand up on a Monday morning. They understand why they need a day off on Tuesday. Their families understand when they get out of football and they have arthritis before they’re 40. They understand the cost.” Talks on a new collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the players union are expected

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In 2013, New Orleans will play host to its 10th Super Bowl. to begin next month. The league announced a deal with Comcast to keep NFL Network on that provider’s digital cable package and not on a tier that would require customers to pay an additional service fee each month. Talks on an anti-tampering arrangement involving free agents will take place Wednesday. A vote on the measure has not been ruled out at these meetings. If no vote takes place today, one is likely in October, Goodell said. Goodell said owners did not discuss implementing a rookie wage scale. Responding to Delaware becoming the only state east of the Mississippi River to allow betting on sports after new legislation last week, Goodell said the league will examine potential revenue streams that could come from having logos available on lottery cards— but reiterated the league’s anti-betting stance. — The Associated Press

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College Football

34

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

Trimming budgets and tightening belts need not be so hard CHICAGO—May is meetings month in college football, and the drill goes like this. Conferences pay resorts and luxury hotels tens of thousands of dollars to provide buffets and meetings rooms to their coaches and administrators. Priority No. 1 for those folks this spring? Cutting costs. “Everybody,” Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said this week, “is looking at things to save money.” Amazing, right? Another paradox in Dave Curtis this head-shaking COLLEGE FOOTBALL sport. But there’s no doubting this year’s mission is to trim budgets and tighten belts on campus and in the league office. The brainstorming has stretched from the routine (we’ll wait a year on the new carpeting) to the radical (furloughs for football coaches), and it’s likely to continue once revenue projections become clearer later this summer. For now, the debate continues. And regardless of what shakes out of these sessions, here are a few measures that need to be implemented. Some would require NCAA legislation; others would need nothing more than handshake agreements. All would help football and budgets, both of which could use some improvement in 2009.

1. Reduce official visits from five to three. As recruits hone in on their eventual colleges, the NCAA allows them schoolpaid, weekend-long visits to as many as five campuses. The expenditure, which includes travel to and from campus, runs north of $100,000 for schools with large numbers of sports. But most recruits, especially in the major sports, don’t take all five visits. And many who do just want an extra weekend of free partying before they choose a campus. On the coaches’ side,

the order of the visits seems important; programs tend to give higher priority to recruits who use early official visits on their campuses. “We’ve talked about it,” Rodriguez said of his staff. “We’ve said, ‘Let’s not bring them in just to bring them in. Let’s make sure they’re seriously interested in us.’” Recruits don’t need five visits, and schools don’t need to be on the hook for it. Three visits are plenty, and that leaves room to change the rules to four visits, an obvious compromise.

2. Minimum $1 million bowl payouts. So the bowls say they help college football and mean a lot to the fabric of the game. Put up or shut up time, guys. No school should lose money on a bowl trip, even one across a country or an ocean. These games need to fund travel for players, coaches, bands and cheerleaders; anything short of the magic million figure, and the game gets decertified. Take some of that local economy profit and push it back to the folks responsible for creating it. 3. Ride a bus for any road trip shorter than 350 miles. At most schools, this is the norm for the athletes in non-revenue sports (not football or basketball). “It’s going to save us about $175,000,” Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said. This would be the Ohio State that this year boasts a $115 million budget and has enough revenue to pump $26.2 million back to the rest of the university. Bet Ohio University, or Miami (Ohio), sits in a little rougher shape. 4. Limit staff sizes. An ESPN.com blog reported that more than 50 non-players appeared in a recent Michigan football team photograph. Mike Groh, an offensive coordinator last year at Virginia, is a graduate assistant at Alabama. The numbers of operations staff and

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Michigan’s Rich Rodriguez says every school is looking at ways to cut costs of running a football program. recruiting assistants are multiplying, and it’s becoming a big cash eater. No program needs more than 30 fulltime employees—from the head coach to the trainers, the video guys to the secretaries—to function. Need envelope stuffers? Get some work-study students.

5. No hotels for the home team. Most programs, especially in the larger leagues, place their teams in hotels on the eve of home games. Coaches see this as a bonding activity. Bean counters see it as foolishness. Keep the kids in their dorms when they play at home.

The NCAA won’t legislate on many of these issues because they are institution-by-institution decision. Many initiatives fall under that category, making some conferences afraid of making these adjustments because of the competitive disadvantages they might face, especially in recruiting. But money is sparse, which means change is gonna come. And soon. These meetings, and the next few months, will determine how drastic those changes become. [email protected]

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

35

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

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Paterno says he’s stopping public push for expansion

Henderson leaving Duke for draft after hiring agent

Penn State coach Joe Paterno on Tuesday backed off his recent comments supporting the addition of a 12th school and a conference championship game to the Big Ten. Speaking at the Big Ten coaches meetings, Paterno said he would leave the future of the conference to commissioner Jim Delany. And according to Paterno, the two have not discussed expansion or a league title game. “If it’s going to happen and is good for the conference,” Paterno said, “Jim is the guy to decide what we ought to do.” Paterno drew attention in April when he told reporters in New York that such changes would help the league in all areas. Tuesday, he said the comments were offhanded and that the uproar they caused alarmed him. “I said to myself, ‘what the devil did you do, Paterno?’” he said. “ ‘Keep your mouth shut.’ ” The conference’s football coaches discussed the matter in meetings Monday and Tuesday but came to no consensus that the league should move forward with it, Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said. Bielema, who has supported expansion, said the subject will remain in circulation. “That’s the buzz topic this year,” he said. “But every year, we discuss it.” Delany said again Tuesday that there are no plans for expansion. Paterno said he’s no longer a public champion for adding another team and a championship game. — Dave Curtis

Gerald Henderson’s career at Duke is done. Henderson officially is headed for the NBA draft after signing with agent Arn Tellem, the school announced Tuesday. Duke, which finished 30-7 last season and won the ACC Tournament, will return four starters next season: Kyle Singler, Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Lance Thomas. Henderson, a small forward, led the Blue Devils in scoring as a junior last season, averaging 16.5 points. He was second on the team in rebounding (4.9 average) and total assists (91) and third in steals (46) and blocked shots (28). Henderson is the 10th Duke player under coach Mike Krzyzewski to enter the NBA draft with college eligibility remaining.

The NCAA has denied Florida State WR Corey Sur’s rency final appeal to play another year. The decision Tuesday upheld an April ruling. Surrency transferred from El Camino Community College in California last summer. He lost a year of eligibility because he played for the Florida Kings—a South Florida semipro team—after he turned 21 and before he went to El Camino. Surrency caught 12 passes for 237 yards last season with the Seminoles and tied for the team lead with four touchdown receptions. Auburn coach Gene Chizik will be paid $1.9 million annually, plus performance and academic bonuses, over five years, according to his two-page letter of

JACQUELYN MARTIN / AP

Joe Paterno says he has not talked with the Big Ten commissioner about a league title game. agreement released by the school. Chizik has been on the job more than five months but still hasn’t signed a formal contract, though school officials told the Mobile Press-Register that a completed deal is expected soon. The delay isn’t uncommon—Alabama coach Nick Saban, for example didn’t sign his contract until six months after he took the job, according to the Birmingham News. Former Miami QB Robert Marve says he will announce Friday whether his next stop is Purdue or Tennessee. Marve told the Knoxville News Sentinel that he is waiting to talk with his father, who returns home today from a business trip. Marve has a scholarship offer from Purdue but would have to walk on at Tennessee and pay for his first year. A team from the ACC will face the top selection from the Mid-American Conference in the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala., this season, bowl officials announced. The ACC, which replaces Conference USA, will send its ninth pick to the Jan. 6 game.

Earl Pettis will return home to Philadelphia to resume his college career. He will enroll at La Salle after deciding to transfer from Rutgers. Pettis played in 60 games in two seasons for the Scarlet Knights, starting in 23. He averaged 4.6 points last season. Pettis, a 6-5 guard, is a Philly native who helped win two Catholic League championships at Neumann-Goretti High. La Salle attempted to recruit him then but lost him to Rutgers. “I always liked Earl’s talent, versatility and personality,” La Salle coach John Giannini said in a release. “He is a big guard who can handle the ball well, attack the basket and make good passing decisions. “Earl has Big East starting experience and with another year of work I am very confident that he can be a big part of keeping our program in a strong position to win games. Earl is also a great person who adds to team chemistry.” — Mike DeCourcy Tennessee junior SF Tyler Smith hasn’t decided whether he will stay in the draft, but coach Bruce Pearl said Smith has elevated his play during the early offseason. “I’ve seen a maturity in Tyler over the past three or four weeks as it relates to him getting himself ready,’’ Pearl told the Knoxville News Sentinel. “He’s

MICHAEL CONROY / AP

Gerald Henderson, right, averaged 16.5 points and 4.9 rebounds. playing his best basketball right now.’’ Smith worked out for the San Antonio Spurs last weekend and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday. He is scheduled to work out with the Washington Wizards and Chicago Bulls later this week. The evaluation ends with a combine in Chicago on May 27-30. “This is the opportunity of his lifetime,’’ Pearl told the newspaper. “It’s a win-win situation for him, and he has clearly stepped it up. “Based on what we’ve heard, he has to work his way up from (projections) the middle of the second round.’’ Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg announced Tuesday that former Florida reserve F Allan Chaney has transferred to the Hokies’ program, confirming reports from last week. Chaney must sit out the 2009-10 season under NCAA transfer rules and would have three years of eligibility remaining. In March, Florida coach Billy Donovan suspended Chaney for the remainder of the season for undisclosed reasons. He averaged 3.0 points and 2.1 rebounds in 23 games, including two starts.

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INSIDE DISH

NASCAR racing going online with iRacing.com NASCAR has licensed iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations to develop a NASCAR-sanctioned online racing series. The series will begin in 2010, and iRacing.com, whose co-owner is Fenway Sports Group principal owner John Henry, will develop the participation criteria to determine who will be eligible to compete. “The online world is an ever-growing marketplace filled with NASCAR fans. To provide those fans with the most realistic NASCAR racing environment, iRacing was the right partner for us,” said Blake Davidson, NASCAR managing director of licensed products. “Bill France Jr. had the original vision for this series more than 10 years ago. He foresaw a day when NASCAR fans could experience NASCAR’s side-byside racing from the comfort of their own homes; that day has come.” Dale Earnhardt Jr. often talks about racing fans at iRacing.com and has helped in the development of its racing software. Participants need a personal computer, a broadband Internet connection and a PC-compatible steering wheel and pedal. — Bob Pockrass, SceneDaily.com Speed said its coverage of Saturday night’s Sprint All-Star Race earned a final Nielsen Media Research rating of 3.7, basically matching the figure reported for the 2008 event. The cable network said the race was viewed by 2.691 million households, down fractionally from the 2.701 million that viewed the event in 2008. Those figures translate to a 3.68 rating this year, down from 3.74 in 2008. — SceneDaily.com

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

36

Gordon has procedure to deal with back pain Jeff Gordon underwent a back procedure Monday in an effort to alleviate pain he has been having recently. “I had a facet-block procedure done on my back on Monday, and it went well,” Gordon said in a statement released Tuesday. “I was a little sore after the procedure, but I’ll definitely take that brief bit of soreness if it stops the recurring back pain I’ve had. “I hope that will end the back issues I’ve been having, but it’s too early to tell if that fixed the problem.” The procedure involves the injection of an anti-inflammatory into a spinal joint. Gordon, who is scheduled to compete in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, plans to give his back a test today in the Ultimate Speed karting event to raise money for the Jeff Gordon Foundation and the Jeff Gordon Children’s Hospital in Concord,

N.C. “That event is always a lot of fun, and it shouldn’t be a strain on my back,” Gordon said. “Even running karts, I’ve felt some discomfort in my back, so that event may provide an early indication of how well the procedure worked.” Gordon expects to be back in his Cup car Thursday, when practices begin at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. In 32 starts at the 1.5-mile track, Gordon has five wins, seven poles, 15 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes. “This is a grueling race—600 miles here is tough,” Gordon said. “It’s tough on equipment, and it’s tough mentally. You have to mentally stay in the game and be focused for 600 miles. “I’m really looking forward to the event. Obviously, I want to see how my back does, but I also think we can challenge for the win.” — SceneDaily.com

HAROLD HINSON FOR SN

Jeff Gordon said he may know if his back is feeling better today, when he races in a go-kart.

Allgaier learning to tame aggressiveness BY DAVID EXUM SceneDaily.com

There’s a reason Justin Allgaier is nicknamed “The Little Gator.” At 5 feet 6 inches, he has a physique more closely resembling a jockey than a racecar driver, but Allgaier, 22, appears to have no problem muscling a 3,400-pound stock car around a track. And inside his Nationwide Series No. 12 Dodge, he becomes focused on one thing and one thing only: Going to the front. “I’m much more like Kyle Busch; I kind of like to let it all hang out,” Allgaier said. “It gets me in trouble sometimes. Earlier in my career, when I started racing ARCA, we either won the race, or they towed me

back in with the wrecker. I’ve been trying to pull the reins back. My ultimate goal is to race like Mark Martin. He might not run up front the entire race, but he’s always there at the end, and that’s where I’m headed.” After winning the 2008 ARCA championship, Allgaier moved to NASCAR and made four starts in the Nationwide Series. Earlier, he made eight starts in the truck series (2005-2008). Now, 10 races into his first full season in the Nationwide Series, the candidate for Raybestos Rookie of the Year finds himself ninth in the series standings and working to find a consistency to match his aggressiveness. “It’s easy to see he’s got a lot of talent and

a lot more than the rookie stripe gives you,” said Chad Walter, his crew chief. “He adapts to tracks really well. His biggest problem is that he always wants to go fast, and sometimes you can’t always manage that.” Heading into Saturday’s Carquest Auto Parts 300 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Allgaier is riding high after finishing fifth at Darlington on May 8, his second top five of the season. A sign of Allgaier’s maturation is how he is handling his success. Allgaier dreams of driving in the Sprint Cup Series but is realistic. “I’m not ready to move to the next level,” he said. “I hope I can run another season in Nationwide, and Chad Walter has done a

GREGG ELLMAN FOR SN

Justin Allgaier aspires to drive Sprint Cup cars, but he knows he still has a lot of learning to do. great job getting me acclimated to these tracks. Do I think I need more laps? The answer is yes. Would I love to jump in a Cup car right now? No question. Yeah, I want to be there, but right now is just not the right time for it. If I can get another season in Nationwide, that would be ideal for me.” [email protected]

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PGA Tour statistics

World Golf ranking (Through May 17) 1. Tiger Woods 2. Phil Mickelson 3. Sergio Garcia 4. Henrik Stenson 5. Geoff Ogilvy 6. Kenny Perry 7. Paul Casey 8. Padraig Harrington 9. Vijay Singh 10. Camilo Villegas 11. Robert Karlsson 12. Sean O’Hair 13. Steve Stricker 14. Jim Furyk 15. Anthony Kim 16. Lee Westwood 17. Ernie Els 18. Ian Poulter 19. Zach Johnson 20. Rory McIlroy 21. Angel Cabrera 22. Mike Weir 23. Retief Goosen 24. Luke Donald 25. Martin Kaymer 26. Stewart Cink 27. Justin Leonard 28. Alvaro Quiros 29. Nick Watney 30. Robert Allenby 31. Tim Clark 32. Adam Scott 33. Ben Curtis 34. Shingo Katayama 35. Miguel Angel Jimenez 36. Jeev Milkha Singh 37. K.J. Choi 38. Justin Rose 39. Ross Fisher 40. Trevor Immelman 41. Chad Campbell 42. Oliver Wilson 43. Rory Sabbatini 44. Hunter Mahan 45. Soren Kjeldsen 46. Dustin Johnson 47. David Toms 48. Stephen Ames 49. Aaron Baddeley 50. Ben Crane 51. Graeme McDowell 52. Thongchai Jaidee 53. Prayad Marksaeng 54. Davis Love III 55. Andres Romero 56. Brian Gay 57. Mathew Goggin 58. Louis Oosthuizen 59. J.B. Holmes 60. Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano 61. Kevin Sutherland 62. Pat Perez 63. Stuart Appleby 64. Boo Weekley 65. Peter Hanson 66. Charl Schwartzel 67. Anders Hansen 68. Rod Pampling 69. Richard Sterne 70. Soren Hansen 71. Lucas Glover 72. Kevin Na 73. Francesco Molinari 74. Lin Wen-Tang 75. Ryuji Imada

Golf

USA USA Esp Swe Aus USA Eng Irl Fji Col Swe USA USA USA USA Eng SAf Eng USA NIr Arg Can SAf Eng Ger USA USA Esp USA Aus SAf Aus USA Jpn Esp Ind Kor Eng Eng SAf USA Eng SAf USA Den USA USA Can Aus USA NIr Tha Tha USA Arg USA Aus SAf USA Esp USA USA Aus USA Swe SAf Den Aus SAf Den USA USA Ita Twn Jpn

9.64 8.36 6.67 6.33 6.28 5.75 5.64 5.19 5.16 4.86 4.50 4.48 4.39 4.32 4.01 3.86 3.77 3.74 3.65 3.61 3.48 3.44 3.34 3.30 3.24 3.20 3.05 2.94 2.94 2.88 2.87 2.82 2.81 2.81 2.76 2.74 2.73 2.73 2.71 2.61 2.52 2.49 2.44 2.41 2.36 2.35 2.31 2.30 2.25 2.25 2.24 2.23 2.23 2.22 2.22 2.21 2.21 2.20 2.17 2.17 2.11 2.09 2.03 1.99 1.95 1.93 1.92 1.91 1.90 1.89 1.86 1.84 1.84 1.83 1.82

(Through May 17) Scoring Average 1, Tiger Woods, 69.13. 2, David Toms, 69.69. 3, Sean O’Hair, 69.73. 4 (tie), Kenny Perry and Steve Stricker, 69.76. 6, Zach Johnson, 69.82. 7, Kevin Na, 69.83. 8, Nick Watney, 69.85. 9, Brandt Jobe, 69.87. 10, Brian Gay, 69.91. Driving Distance 1, Bubba Watson, 313.3. 2, Gary Woodland, 308.0. 3, Robert Garrigus, 306.3. 4, Dustin Johnson, 304.4. 5, Brandt Jobe, 303.1. 6, Nick Watney, 302.6. 7, Angel Cabrera, 301.9. 8, Scott Piercy, 301.7. 9, Bill Haas, 300.4. 10, Charley Hoffman, 299.6. Driving Accuracy Percentage 1, Mark Brooks, 79.81%. 2, David Toms, 74.48%. 3, Brian Gay, 73.84%. 4, Joe Durant, 72.99%. 5, Scott Verplank, 72.32%. 6, Bart Bryant, 72.14%. 7, Tim Clark, 71.35%. 8, Heath Slocum, 70.90%. 9, Bob Estes, 70.52%. 10, Kirk Triplett, 70.36%. Greens in Regulation Pct. 1, Camilo Villegas, 71.14%. 2, Briny Baird, 70.57%. 3, Jay Williamson, 70.56%. 4, D.J. Trahan, 70.53%. 5, John Senden, 70.49%. 6, Brandt Jobe, 70.20%. 7, Sean O’Hair, 70.16%. 8, K.J. Choi, 69.93%. 9, Casey Wittenberg, 69.87%. 10, Mark Brooks, 69.63%. Total Driving 1, Jonathan Byrd, 70. 2, Lucas Glover, 75. 3, Bill Haas, 81. 4, Mathew Goggin, 87. 5, Boo Weekley, 92. 6 (tie), Kenny Perry and D.J. Trahan, 95. 8, David Toms , 100. 9, Robert Allenby, 102. 10, 2 tied with 111. Putting Average 1, Luke Donald, 1.696. 2, Geoff Ogilvy, 1.703. 3, Kevin Na, 1.710. 4, Kris Blanks, 1.714. 5, Steve Stricker, 1.721. 6 (tie), David Toms and Dean Wilson, 1.724. 8, Charlie Wi, 1.727. 9 (tie), Jerry Kelly and Aaron Baddeley, 1.728. Birdie Average 1, Geoff Ogilvy, 4.61. 2, Anthony Kim, 4.54. 3, Dustin Johnson, 4.44. 4, Sean O’Hair, 4.40. 5, Charley Hoffman, 4.29. 6, Paul Casey, 4.25. 7, Hunter Mahan, 4.24. 8, Nick Watney, 4.23. 9 (tie), Fred Couples and Tim Clark, 4.11. Eagles (Holes per) 1, Bubba Watson, 73.8. 2, Nick Watney, 79.2. 3, Mike Weir, 82.3. 4, Ryan Palmer , 90.0. 5, Chris Stroud, 92.3. 6, Phil Mickelson, 93.0. 7, Retief Goosen, 99.0. 8 (tie), Daniel Chopra and Ben Crane, 102.9. 10, 2 tied with 103.5. Sand Save Percentage 1, Kevin Na, 66.13%. 2, Luke Donald, 66.10%. 3, David Mathis, 66.07%. 4, Webb Simpson, 63.86%. 5, Brad Adamonis, 63.29%. 6, George McNeill, 62.86%. 7, Brian Gay, 62.71%. 8, Ken Duke, 62.50%. 9, Mike Weir, 62.30%. 10, Bill Lunde, 61.02%. All-Around Ranking 1, Sean O’Hair, 239. 2, Nick Watney, 275. 3, Kenny Perry, 279. 4, David Toms, 287. 5, Tim Clark, 295. 6, Steve Stricker, 308. 7, Charlie Wi, 325. 8, Ben Crane, 375. 9, Stephen Ames, 376. 10, Camilo Villegas, 378. PGA TOUR Official Money Leaders 1, Phil Mickelson (10), $3,238,635. 2, Geoff Ogilvy (10), $3,155,529. 3, Zach Johnson (13), $3,130,921. 4, Sean O’Hair (11), $2,963,842. 5, Kenny Perry (12), $2,705,259. 6, Nick Watney (12), $2,497,253. 7, Paul Casey, (6), $2,299,950. 8, Tiger Woods (6), $2,166,813. 9, Steve Stricker, (11), $1,960,236. 10, Retief Goosen (10), $1,755,992.

37

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

NOTEBOOK

Palmer receives Byron Nelson Prize IRVING, TEXAS—Arnold Palmer called it a “great thrill” to accept an award bearing Byron Nelson’s name. “I admired him so much as a youngster and followed his career and his game. Then, as time went on and I got to play, I got to know him pretty well,” Palmer said Tuesday after being presented the Byron Nelson Prize. “He was always ready to help.” The Byron Nelson Prize was established after Nelson’s death in 2006. It’s given to a person or organization in golf who exemplifies the ideals of “giving back.” PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, who attended the opening ceremony of the HP Byron Nelson Championship where the prize was awarded, said “anything that perpetuates Byron’s memory” is positive. The prize comes with a $100,000 contribution to charity. That will be made to the Arnold D. And Winifred W. Palmer Charitable Foundation, which supports hospitals for women and children. Nelson won 52 tournaments, including five majors. In 1945, he won 11 consecutive tournaments and 18 overall—both records.

Mickelson’s simple talk pays What started as a “fun project” to share his wizardry with the short game has gone beyond Phil Mickelson’s expectations. His “Secrets of the Short Game” DVD debuted last month at No. 2 on the Billboard Video Sales recreational sports category. Early sales have topped 25,000 copies, and it now is in the second print run. “We did a lot better than we prepared for,” Mickelson said, “which is a good problem to have.”

L.M. OTERO / AP

Arnold Palmer, right, said he tried to copy a lot of what Byron Nelson did, including his discipline.

Open and shut Another major deadline looms, and Davis Love III again is on the bubble. This is the final week for players to avoid 36-hole qualifying for the U.S. Open and the British Open. Love, who missed the Masters by just over four-hundredths of a point in the world ranking, goes into the Byron Nelson Championship at No. 54 in the world and most likely will need to finish no worse than 14th to get into the top 50. The top 50 in the world and the Top 10 on the PGA Tour money list after this week are exempt from U.S. Open qualify. The top 10 on the money list going into the Nelson who are not already exempt for the U.S. Open—Sean O’Hair, Nick Watney and Paul Casey—will get in through the world ranking. — The Associated Press

Golf glance Byron Nelson Championship Site: Irving, Texas. Schedule: Thursday-Sunday. Course: TPC Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas (7,166 yards, par 70). Purse: $6.5 million. Winner’s share: $1,152,000. TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m.; SaturdaySunday, 1-2:30 p.m., 9:30-11:30 p.m.) and CBS (SaturdaySunday, 3-6 p.m.). Last year: Australia’s Adam Scott won the last of six PGA Tour titles, topping Ryan Moore with a 48-foot birdie putt on the third hole of a playoff. Last week: Zach Johnson successfully defended his Texas Open title, beating James Driscoll in San Antonio with a 10-foot birdie on the first hole of a playoff. Johnson, the FedEx Cup points leader, also won the Sony Open in Hawaii in January. Notes: Phil Mickelson, the 1996 winner, is coming off a 55th-place tie in The Players Championship. He won this year at Riviera and Doral. ... Scott has dropped from third to 32 in the world ranking in the last year. ... Scott Verplank won his hometown event in 2007. ... Nelson died in September 2006 at 94. He won a record 11 consecutive events in 1945. ... England’s Ian Poulter is skipping the European tour’s Wentworth stop to play in the event. ... The Colonial is next week in Fort Worth, followed by the Memorial in Dublin, Ohio.

— The Associated Press

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2009 Ricoh ATP World Tour statistical leaders (as of May 18—full leaderboard on ATPWorldTour.com) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Aces Andy Roddick Ivo Karlovic Mardy Fish Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Ivan Ljubicic

Number 333 324 314 288 257

Match 31 21 27 31 25

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Service Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Andy Roddick Ivo Karlovic Roger Federer Rafael Nadal

Games Won 91 90 90 88 85

Percent Match 31 31 21 32 43

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Break Marin Cilic Stanislas Wawrinka Ivo Karlovic Roger Federer Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Points Saved 71 71 70 68 68

Percent Match 31 23 21 32 31

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Break Robin Soderling Rafael Nadal Viktor Troicki Mischa Zverev Tommy Robredo

Points Converted 50 48 48 48 47

Percent Match 19 43 26 18 38

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Return Rafael Nadal Andy Murray David Nalbandian Fernando Verdasco Juan Monaco

Games Won 39 39 36 33 33

Percent Match 43 36 21 31 30

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Match Rafael Nadal Novak Djokovic Andy Murray Tommy Robredo Andy Roddick

Wins Leaders 41-4 37-11 31-5 28-10 27-6

W-L Titles 5 2 3 2 1

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Clay Match Tommy Robredo Rafael Nadal Juan Monaco Novak Djokovic Jose Acasuso

Wins Leaders 21-6 19-1 17-9 15-5 13-8

W-L Titles 2 3 0 1 0

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Hard Match Andy Murray Andy Roddick Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Rafael Nadal Novak Djokovic

Wins Leaders 26-2 26-5 23-5 22-3 22-6

W-L Titles 3 1 2 2 1

Tennis

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

38

NOTEBOOK

U.S. men in longest Grand Slam drought since ’60s The French Open begins in four days, so cue the annual hand wringing about the Americans’ problems in Paris. It’s been a decade since a man from the United States won the title —Andre Agassi in 1999—and none has even reached the quarterfinals there since he did in 2003. The country’s decline extends far beyond the red clay of Roland Garros, though. “I fear, actually, for American tennis at the moment,” said former No. 1 and eight-time major champion Ivan Lendl. “This void, this vacuum, this wait for more success may not be limited just to the French.” Indeed, a wider look reveals a gloomier picture: American men are going through their worst Grand Slam title drought in the 41-year history of tennis’ Open era. Since Andy Roddick’s 2003 U.S. Open championship, 21 major tournaments have come and gone without an American man winning. The only longer gap between U.S. titles was a 30-Slam shutout from 1955-63. “Americans have become accustomed to having champions,” said Jim Courier, who won four Grand Slam titles in the 1990s. “We’ve pretty much had players challenging for—and winning—majors forever.” Not lately. Only two active U.S. men, Roddick and Robby Ginepri, ever have made it as far as the semifinals at any major. At the French Open, no one is coming close to contending: Over the past three years combined,

World Team Cup DUESSELDORF, GERMANY—The United States lost both matches to Sweden on Tuesday at the World Team Cup, with Andreas Vinciguerra beating Robby Ginepri 7-5, 6-4 and Robin Soderling defeating Sam Querrey 6-2, 6-2. The Americans will attempt to recover at today’s doubles of the round-robin tournament. Eight teams are split into two groups, with the winner of each meeting in Saturday’s final.

Warsaw Open WARSAW, POLAND—Romanian qualifier Ioana Raluca Olaru beat Jelena Dokic of Australia 6-4, 6-3 Tuesday in the first round of the Warsaw Open. Also, fifth-seeded Sara Errani of Italy downed Greta Arn of Hungary 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (2), and No. 6 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia rallied to beat Nuria Llagoster Vives of Spain 3-6, 6-3, 6-3

Strasbourg International ANDRES KUDACKI / AP

The past six years have been frustrating for Andy Roddick and other Americans—no U.S.-born player has won a Grand Slam since Roddick in ’03. there have been three U.S. men into the third round—zero in 2007. “There is nobody currently playing for the United States who has any chance of winning the French championships. You can say that categorically,” said Cliff Drysdale, the 1965 U.S. Open runner-up and an ESPN tennis analyst for 30 years. One significant reason for the

current slide, not just in Paris but everywhere, is that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal collected 18 of the past 21 major titles for Switzerland and Spain. But a look at Monday’s ATP rankings shows it’s not merely at the very top where the United States is lacking. Only Roddick at No. 6, and James Blake at No. 16, represent the country in the Top 25. Add in Mardy

Fish at No. 26, and there are three Americans in the Top 60. That’s one fewer than Croatia—a country with a population roughly 1.5 percent that of the United States. France, meanwhile, has 11 of the Top 60. Spain has eight. There does not appear to be much help on the horizon, with only one American man younger than 23 inside the Top 100.

STRASBOURG, FRANCE—Defending champion Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain rallied to beat Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 Tuesday in the first round at the Strasbourg International. The top-seeded Garrigues, who won at Strasbourg in 2005 and ‘07, will face Kristina Barrois of Germany at the clay event. But four seeded players, including No.5 Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand and No. 6 Elena Vesnina of Russia, lost on a day of upsets. — The Associated Press

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009

IN BRIEF

TRANSACTIONS

Armstrong moves up, but gap widens in Italy PINEROLO, ITALY—Danilo Di Luca attacked on a steep downhill stretch, then left behind his final challengers when the road tilted upward to win the grueling 10th stage of the Giro d’Italia on Tuesday and pad his overall lead. Two days earlier, Di Luca and Lance Armstrong brought the main pack to a halt mid-stage to protest a dangerous circuit in Milan, enraging race director Angelo Zomegnan. Armstrong finished 13th, 29 seconds back, and moved up from 25th to 18th overall, although his gap behind Di Luca increased to 5 minutes, 28 seconds. Armstrong won his first mountain stage in the Tour de France in Sestriere in 1999, setting up the first of his seven consecutive Tour victories. The Texan stayed with the lead group through Sestriere this time but dropped behind on the final climb, then clawed back to limit his damages. Armstrong declined to speak with reporters for a fifth consecutive day. As riders crossed the line, they learned of the death hours earlier of Fabio Saccani, a 69-year-old motorcycle driver in his 32nd Giro. He died in a crash heading toward the start of the stage. Di Luca leads Denis Menchov by 1:20 in the overall standings.

Boxing NEW YORK—When Floyd Mayweather Jr. walked away from boxing, he was widely considered the pound-for-pound king, the mythical mantle bestowed upon the best in the game. Now that he’s back, at least one person believes Mayweather still is: lightweight champ Juan Manual Marquez, whom he’ll face in his highly anticipated return. “I’m expecting the best Floyd Mayweather ever,” Marquez said Tuesday, at a news conference on the 80th floor of

Major League Soccer EASTERN CONFERENCE W Chicago 3 D.C. United 3 Kansas City 4 Toronto FC 3 New England 2 New York 2 Columbus 1 WESTERN CONFERENCE W Chivas USA 7 Seattle FC 4 Colorado 3 Houston 3 Real Salt Lake 3 Los Angeles 1 San Jose 1

L 0 1 4 3 2 5 2

T 6 6 2 4 4 3 6

Pts 15 15 14 13 10 9 9

GF 16 17 14 13 7 10 12

GA 11 15 12 15 13 12 15

L 1 2 2 2 5 1 5

T 2 3 3 3 1 7 2

Pts 23 15 12 12 10 10 5

GF 14 12 11 8 14 11 8

GA 5 6 9 6 13 11 16

NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. All times ET

CD Chivas USA at Kansas City, 8:30 p.m.

Los Angeles at FC Dallas, 8:30 p.m. San Jose at Houston, 8:30 p.m. Seattle FC at Colorado, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday’s Games

New England at Toronto FC, 4 p.m. Real Salt Lake at D.C. United, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday’s Game

Chicago at New York, 3 p.m.

beating California 4-0. The Bears lost to UCLA in last year’s final.

Swimming

FRANK FRANKLIN II / AP

Floyd Mayweather Jr., left, and Juan Manuel Marquez will face off July 18 in Las Vegas. the Empire State Building to help launch the fight. “I’m putting in my mind that he never retired, so I’m expecting the best.” The two will meet July 18 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. They’ll fight at a catchweight of about 143 pounds, eight more than Marquez has ever fought and the lightest that Mayweather has been since 2005.

Tennis COLLEGE STATION—USC won its 17th NCAA men’s tennis tournament with a 4-1 victory

39

over No. 3 seeded Ohio State on Tuesday. The eighth-seeded Trojans (25-5) won the doubles point at the No. 3 line, with Jaak Poldma and Matt Kecki breaking at 8-7 on a forehand winner by Poldma for the first point. USC went up 3-0 when Daniel Nguyen won the first seven games against Chase Buchanan and cruised to a 6-0, 6-2 victory, while Abdullah Magdas toppled Matt Allare 6-2, 6-3 at No. 4. Duke won its first women’s title,

LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND—Swimming’s governing body rejected 10 high-tech racing suits and approved 202 others on Tuesday for the world championships in July. FINA said in a statement that its expert panel sent back 136 models to the manufacturers, who have 30 days to resubmit modified designs. A total of 18 out of 21 makers who submitted suits for laboratory tests on thickness, buoyancy and water resistance had designs cleared for competition in 2009. The approved list did not include polyurethane suits worn by French freestylers Frederick Bousquet and Alain Bernard when they set unofficial world records last month. — The Associated Press

BASEBALL American League CHICAGO WHITE SOX: Activated OF Brian Anderson from the 15-day DL. Optioned INF Brent Lillibridge to Charlotte (IL). DETROIT TIGERS: Recalled OF Wilkin Ramirez from Toledo (IL). MINNESOTA TWINS: Placed LHP Glen Perkins on the 15-day DL. Purchased the contract of LHP Sean Henn from Rochester (IL). NEW YORK YANKEES: Activated RHP Brian Bruney from the 15-day DL. Optioned RHP Edwar Ramirez to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (IL). OAKLAND ATHLETICS: Purchased the contracts of RHP Edgar Gonzalez and RHP Chris Schroeder from Sacramento (PCL). Optioned RHP Sean Gallagher and LHP Gio Gonzalez to Sacramento. Transferred 3B Eric Chavez to the 60-day DL. Released OF Javier Herrera. National League CINCINNATI REDS: Placed RHP Nick Masset on the 15-day DL, retroactive to May 11. Recalled RHP Ramon Ramirez from Louisville (IL). Eastern League TRENTON THUNDER: Announced RHP Jonathan Hovis has been transferred to Tampa (FSL). Golden Baseball League CHICO OUTLAWS: Agreed to terms with OF Chad Gabriel. United League SAN ANGELO COLTS: Signed 1B-OF Jason Landreth and RHP Brian Henschel. BASKETBALL NBA Development League DAKOTA WIZARDS: Named Terri Benson general manager. FOOTBALL National Football League HOUSTON TEXANS: Signed RB Clifton Dawson and released G Brandon Walker. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS: Signed DE Anthony Hargrove. OAKLAND RAIDERS: Claimed WR William Franklin off waivers from Detroit. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS: Placed RB Byron Storer on injured reserve.

United Football League LAS VEGAS: Named Isaac Carter defensive backs coach, Donald Eck offensive line coach, Sam Garnes defensive assistant, Larry Mac Duff defensive coordinator-special teams coach, Charles Shelton director of football operationsrunning backs coach, Eric Van Heusen special teams-tight ends coach, Michael Wilson wide receivers coach and Kevin Wolthausen defensive line coach. NEW YORK: Named Donald Blackmon defensive coordinator, Derrick Burroughs administrative assistant-defensive assistant, Earle Mosley running backs coach, John Tice offensive line coach and Pete Rodriguez special teams coach. ORLANDO: Named Bill Bradley secondary coach, Chuck Bresnahan linebackers coach, Jay Gruden offensive coordinator, Carl Hairston defensive line coach, Bill Laveroni offensive line coach, Sean McVay quality control-wide receivers coach, Ricky Porter director of football operations-running backs coach and Al Roberts special teams-tight ends coach. SAN FRANCISCO: Named Martin Bayless defensive backs coach, Trent Bray linebackers coach-quality control, Charles Collins receivers-tight ends coach, Robert Griffith defensive assistant, Art Kehoe offensive line coach, Mike Kruczek offensive coordinator, Mike McDaniel running backs-quality control coach, Sid Pillai director of football operations and Brian Stewart defensive coordinator. LACROSSE National Lacrosse League EDMONTON RUSH: Fired general manager-coach Bob Hamley. SOCCER Women’s Professional Soccer PHILADELPHIA: Announced the team name will be Independence. COLLEGE GREENSBORO: Announced the resignation of women’s basketball and men’s and women’s cross country coach Jason Tuggle. RUTGERS: Named Ronald Hughey women’s assistant basketball coach. TUSCULUM: Named Adell Harris women’s basketball coach.