Sportingnews - 20090526

QUICK LINKS:

MLB > 17

Nuggets 120, Lakers 101

NFL > 35

NBA > 8

NHL > 11

NASCAR > 15

COLLEGE FOOTBALL > 5

COLLEGE BASKETBALL > 39

GOLF > 45

Reutimann is the man Rainy Coca-Cola 600 goes to first-time winner

TENNIS > 41 MLB POWER POLL

Intrastate travels

Page 15

The difference among the Golden State’s teams: SoCal is heading north and NorCal is going south. This Week

TUESDAY MAY 26, 2009

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME VOLUME 1 ISSUE 308

JACK DEMPSEY / AP

J.R Smith, above, scored 24 points and helped Denver lift an ailing Carmelo Anthony in Game 4. Page 8

Scoreboard NBA Playoffs Western Conference Finals Denver 120, L.A. Lakers 101 (Series tied 2-2)

College Lacrosse Men’s Division I Championship Syracuse 10, Cornell 9, OT Orange rally for repeat, Page 7

Baseball American League Baltimore 4, Toronto 1 N.Y. Yankees 11, Texas 1 Boston 6, Minnesota 5 Detroit 13, Kansas City 1 Oakland 6, Seattle 1 Cleveland 11, Tampa Bay 10 Chicago White Sox 17, L.A. Angels 3 National League Cincinnati 8, Houston 5 Milwaukee 1, St. Louis 0, 10 innings L.A. Dodgers 16, Colorado 6 San Diego 9, Arizona 7, 10 innings San Francisco 8, Atlanta 2 Florida 5, Philadelphia 3 N.Y. Mets 5, Washington 2 Pittsburgh 10, Chicago Cubs 8

Motor mouths

Kiffin, Saban take opposing views on SEC trash talk

BY DEREK SAMSON [email protected]

When the SEC meetings convene today in Florida, commissioner Mike Slive’s agenda includes a message for the league’s football coaches. He’ll tell them to cool it. The national story of the offseason has been the motor mouths of the South, from their public needling of one another to more serious accusations of NCAA violations. New Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin started most of the fires. Florida’s Urban Meyer and South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier stoked them. Two SEC coaches shared opposing views on the topic with Sporting News Today: Q&A: Saban talks Bama football, Page 6

1 10 14 19 29

Team

Dodgers Angels Padres Giants A’s

Last Week

2 15 22 16 29

Complete poll, Page 18 Team stats, Pages 27-34

Eagles soar with NFL’s best offseason Some huge names changed uniforms this NFL offseason—Albert Haynesworth, Jay Cutler and Terrell Owens, to name a few. Here’s our take on the five teams that enjoyed the best offseason:

WADE PAYNE / AP

Lane Kiffin says media attention has helped him bring top recruits to UT.

BOB LEVERONE / SN

For Nick Saban, recruiting is about information and access—not entertainment.

BY LANE KIFFIN Tennessee coach

BY NICK SABAN Alabama coach

All this stuff about media attention, well, look at the result so far. Top 10 recruiting class, No. 1 player in the country, first time it has ever happened at Tennessee. I don’t think it’s very hard to figure out, that if the other stuff didn’t happen, our recruiting success doesn’t happen. You don’t go 5-7, you don’t come in and not have your staff signed until one month before signing day and have the success we have recruiting without that national attention. I don’t love the way that I’ve had to do everything. But I was not hired to please fans of other schools. I was hired for three people: the people of Tennessee, our current players and recruits.

I try to stay out of the spotlight. I don’t try to sensationalize anybody. I’m not trying to entertain. I’m trying to give information and give access to me and tell about our program. I want to represent our organization in the first-class way and be the kind of role model and leader that other people can emulate. The way I look at it is, if you don’t want somebody to know something, don’t say it. If you don’t want them to see you do something, don’t do it. None of this (coaches’ jaw-jacking) do I know a lot about because I don’t pay much attention to it. What somebody else does, I don’t have a lot of control over.

— As told to Matt Hayes

— As told to Derek Samson

1. Eagles. OTs Jason Peters and Stacy Andrews upgrade the line; WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy give Donovan McNabb more playmakers. The Eagles could be the last team standing Feb. 7. 2. Jets. Getting QB Mark Sanchez was the draft’s sexiest move. Plus, they added four impact players on defense—Bart Scott, Jim Leonhard, Marques Douglas and Lito Sheppard. 3. Patriots. They added Fred Taylor, Chris Baker, Joey Galloway, Shawn Springs and Leigh Bodden. Oh, and Tom Brady got healthy. 4. Bears. Getting Cutler was expensive, but they now have a franchise QB for the next 10 years. 5. Giants. A nasty defense will be nastier with Michael Boley, Clint Sintim, Rocky Bernard and Chris Canty. Rookie WR Hakeem Nicks has intriguing potential. — Clifton Brown

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

Tune In Today — all times Eastern NBA

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

After Cleveland swept its first two playoff series, you would have thought the Cavs would be in for another romp of a team missing PG Jameer Nelson. But if not for LeBron James’ 3-pointer at the Game 2 buzzer, this series would be 3-0 Magic. James needs someone else to step up if the Cavs are to avoid going down 3-1. Dwight Howard has gotten plenty of help and big shots from Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis to make this a real series.

NHL

Penguins at Hurricanes 7:30 p.m., Versus

If the ’Canes are truly cardiac, this has to be their time to shine. Down 3-0 and having given up 13 goals over the last two games, it’s now or never for the 2006 Stanley Cup champions. One stat sticks out above the rest–getting Eric Staal involved in the action. The Hurricanes are a perfect 7-0 when he scores a goal in the playoffs, and 1-9 when he doesn’t. Then again, when the Penguins are playing this well, it might not matter.

BASEBALL

My Boys season finale 10:30 p.m., TBS

Mike Fontenot is on the verge of losing his starting job with the Cubs, but maybe he has a career on the small screen. Judge for yourself as Fontenot guest stars on this cable series. The Fontenot storyline: Brendan (Reid Scott) attracts the attention of Fontenot’s girlfriend while at spring training. Another Cub making an appearance is 1B/OF Micah Hoffpauir. And for all you folks who just like to watch the show, a surprising secret about Stephanie (Kellee Stewart) comes to light.

— Compiled by Roger Kuznia

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 8 p.m. ESPN — St. Louis at Milwaukee NBA BASKETBALL 8:30 p.m. TNT — Playoffs, Eastern Conference finals, game 4, Cleveland at Orlando

2

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

OFF THE FIELD

A quick look at the best sports on TV

GUIDE

See a Different Game

NHL HOCKEY 7:30 p.m. VERSUS — Playoffs, Eastern Conference finals, game 4, Pittsburgh at Carolina TENNIS Noon ESPN2 — French Open, early round, at Paris

Tyson’s 4-year-old daughter on life support Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson’s 4-year-old daughter is on life support after she was found with her neck on a treadmill cable Monday. The girl’s 7-year-old brother found her on a treadmill with her neck on a cable attached to the exercise machine at their Phoenix home, police Sgt. Andy Hill said, calling it a “tragic accident.” The boy told the girl’s mother, who was in another room. She took the girl off the cable, called 911 and tried to revive her. Responding officers and firefighters performed CPR on the girl as they rushed her to a nearby hospital, where she was in “extremely critical condition” and on life support, Hill said. “Somehow she was playing on this treadmill, and there’s a cord that hangs under the console—it’s kind of a loop,” Hill said. “Either she slipped or put her head in the loop, but it acted like a noose, and she was obviously unable to get herself off of it.” Hill said Tyson had been in Las Vegas but flew to Phoenix immediately after learning of the accident. Police didn’t release the girl’s name.

Trouble for Jets S Rhodes New Jersey police are investigating a woman’s claim that she was raped by two men at the home of Jets safety Kerry Rhodes. The New York Post reported in Monday editions that the woman, a Canadian tourist, said she met Rhodes and another man at a Manhattan nightclub before being taken to a home in Morristown, N.J., where Rhodes owns a town

If you deliver it daily, they will come.

FREEup! ED BETZ / AP

Sign Today!

A woman claims she was raped by two men at the home of Jets S Kerry Rhodes. house, according to authorities. Rhodes, in a statement released through a Jets spokesman, said he was not one of the accused.

Ex-NBAer Williams arrested Former NBA star Jayson Williams was arrested early Monday after authorities say he punched someone in the face outside a Raleigh, N.C., nightclub, the latest legal tribulation for the All-Star who has spent years in the courtroom since an injury ended his basketball career. Some type of dispute led Williams, 41, to hit the other person shortly before 2 a.m., Raleigh police said. Williams was charged with

one count of simple assault and released on $1,000 bond.

Harrison’s son doing fine The agent of Steelers linebacker James Harrison says the player’s young son is doing fine after an attack by a pit bull, but may remain in a Pittsburgh hospital another day or two. Harrison’s family had hoped that 2-year-old James Harrison III would be released Monday, but Harrison’s agent, William Parise, says the hospital is being cautious about any possible infection concerns. Parise says there don’t appear to be any complications. — Compiled by staff with wire reoports

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

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

My Profile

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

Michael Cuddyer

THE WORLD’S FIRST DIGITAL DAILY SPORTS NEWSPAPER

Twins right fielder CHARLES KRUPA / AP

(What you won’t find on Facebook … even if you are approved as a friend) Born: March 27, 1979, in Norfolk, Va. Status: Married Alma mater: Great Bridge High (Chesapeake, Va.) What’s on TV: Reality TV, Survivor, The Biggest Loser, American Idol, 24, Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, anything on the Food Network What’s in my iPod: Kenny Chesney, George Strait, Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks, Zac Brown Band, Brooks & Dunn What I drive: 2007 green Toyota Tundra Crew Max, 2006 blue Lexus LS430, 2008 blue Toyota Highlander Hybrid Favorite flick: Good Will Hunting What I’m reading: Launching a Leadership Revolution, by Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady Magazine subscription: Men’s Health Bookmarks: MLB.com, ESPN.com, CBSSportsline.com Worst habit: My wife says not picking my clothes up off the floor On my office walls: Pictures of my wife Claudia and my son Casey Love to trade places for a day with … The President. I would just like to know the things we are not supposed to know. First job: I was 13 in Chesapeake, Va., when I was a tiny tot soccer ref. Got paid $10 a game. I just remember the enjoyment on those 4- and 5-yearolds’ faces. Talent I’d most like to have: Either singing or playing an instrument. Any instrument. Favorite meal: Sushi—about five different rolls from a place in Chesapeake called Domo Favorite athlete to watch in another sport: LeBron James Favorite city to visit: Chicago Favorite team as a kid: Dallas Cowboys Favorite value in others: Character Favorite physical attribute about myself: My smile And least … My love handles Dream date: My wife My greatest love: My family My hero: My dad My bucket list: Sail from one continent to another My motto: A vision without action is nothing but a hallucination. And, always smile. — Jeff D’Alessio

3

CHAI CHAIRMAN & CEO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ray Shaw PRESIDENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Whitney Shaw PRES PUBLISHER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ed Baker PUBL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jeff D’Alessio EDITO MANAGING EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Paul Kasko MAN CREATIVE DIRECTOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Keith Wood CREA MANAGER, ONLINE . . . . . Jeff Gerttula VP, GENERAL G MARKETING & SALES .Stuart Marvin VP, INTEGRATED IN DIRECTOR, DIGITAL MEDIA. . . . . . . . . . . . Geoff Shaw DIREC & SALES DEVELOPMENT . .Eric Karp VP, MARKETING M EDITORIAL OFFICES

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

ON NEWSSTANDS NOW

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

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

Overnight Report

FHECEJ?ED

AMERICAN LEAGUE Chicago White Sox 17, L.A. Angels 3

Thome leads Sox’s pounding of Angels ANAHEIM—Jim Thome still has the photograph of Mike Schmidt grabbing his hand and raising it aloft as the two of them stood at home plate at Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium when the Phillies played their final game there in 2003. The two sluggers will always be linked because of that moment, which Schmidt viewed as a symbolic passing of the torch. Thome made certain he acknowledged the Hall of Fame third baseman on Monday night after passing him on the career home run list with a three-run shot that helped the Chicago White Sox rout the Los Angeles Angels 17-3. “Getting the opportunity to meet him and be a part of that was very special,” Thome recalled. “Anytime you can associate your name with the greats, like a Mike Schmidt, it’s a true honor and very humbling because you know what they’ve done for the game. “To have Mike Schmidt do that at the last game at the Vet, when he lifted my hand, was one of the better feelings of my career, for sure. Mike is class. Maybe the ball will go next to that picture now. It’ll be pretty neat.” Thome and Schmidt both hit 30 or more home runs in nine consecutive seasons. Thome’s streak is still alive. “It’s unbelievable, really, when you hear the names of the guys he’s passing and putting in his rear-view mirror who are legendary,” teammate Paul Konerko said. “You’ve got to sit back sometimes and just realize that you’re playing with a legend. I mean, Jim’s such a normal guy and such a humble guy, and just like any other teammate. But you still realize that his place in history just keeps climbing.” John Danks (4-3) breezed to the

MARK AVERY / AP

Chicago’s Carlos Quentin, center, is helped off the field after injuring his ankle. victory after Thome helped stake the left-hander to an 11-3 lead in the third with his 549th home run and eighth this season. The five-time All-Star also had an RBI single during Chicago’s 24-hit attack, which included four each by Scott Podsednik and Alexei Ramirez. Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko also went deep to help support Danks, who allowed three runs, four hits and a career-high six walks in six innings. Dye drove in four runs and Ramirez had three RBIs for the defending AL Central champions, who spoiled the return of slugger Vladimir Guerrero to the Angels’ lineup. Guerrero was 0-for-4 in his first game since April 15, after being sidelined because of a torn pectoral muscle on the right side of his chest. — The Associated Press

White Sox 17, Angels 3 Chicago AB R H BI Podsednik cf-lf 5 2 4 2 Al.Ramirez ss 7 3 4 3 Dye rf 5 3 2 4 Thome dh 3 1 2 4 c-C.Miller ph-dh 2 0 0 0 Konerko 1b 4 1 1 1 Betemit 1b 2 0 0 0 Quentin lf 1 0 1 1 1-Bri.Andersonpr-cf 5 3 3 0 Pierzynski c 6 2 3 0 Fields 3b 6 0 2 2 Getz 2b 5 2 2 0 Totals 51 17 24 17

BB SO 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 3 1 0 4 8

Avg. .303 .243 .270 .250 .200 .306 .214 .229 .307 .273 .221 .250

Los Angeles Figgins 2b M.Izturis 3b Abreu rf a-MatthewsJr.ph-cf Guerrero dh Hunter cf b-Kendrick ph-2b J.Rivera lf-rf Quinlan 3b-lf K.Morales 1b Mathis c E.Aybar ss Totals

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

Avg. .294 .269 .303 .270 .222 .319 .243 .286 .243 .283 .224 .282

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

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

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

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

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

Chicago 344 210 201 — 17 24 0 Los Angeles 300 000 000 — 3 4 0 a-struck out for Abreu in the 5th. b-flied out for Hunter in the 5th. 1-ran for Quentin in the 1st. LOB: Chicago 12, Los Angeles 6. 2B: Podsednik (3), Quentin (6), Fields (3), Getz (6), K.Morales (13). HR: Dye (12), off E.Santana; Thome (8), off R.Rodriguez; Konerko (7), off Bulger. RBIs: Podsednik 2 (5), Al.Ramirez 3 (20), Dye 4 (30), Thome 4 (26), Konerko (29), Quentin (20), Fields 2 (16), Hunter 2 (39), Quinlan (2). SB: Al.Ramirez (8), Hunter 2 (10). Runners left in scoring position: Chicago 7 (Fields, Dye 2, Al.Ramirez 4); Los Angeles 3 (Quinlan, Figgins, E.Aybar). DP: Chicago 1 (Getz, Al.Ramirez, Konerko). Chicago Danks W, 4-3 Carrasco Gobble Los Angeles E.Santana L, 0-2 R.Rodriguez Bulger J.Speier Arredondo

IP 6 2 1 IP 1 3 2 2 1

H 4 0 0 H 9 7 2 3 3

R ER BB SO NP ERA 3 3 6 4 112 4.59 0 0 0 1 21 2.56 0 0 0 0 1414.54 R ER BB SO NP ERA 7 7 1 1 41 7.82 6 6 1 3 63 7.71 1 1 1 2 31 5.60 2 2 1 1 35 5.89 1 1 0 1 15 5.14

E.Santana pitched to 5 batters in the 2nd. Inherited runners-scored: R.Rodriguez 1-0. HBP: by J.Speier (Podsednik). Umpires: Home, Gary Cederstrom; First, Jim Wolf; Second, Brian O’Nora; Third, Fieldin Culbreth. T: 3:04. A: 43,177 (45,257).

HIGHEST PERFORMERS SWEEPSTAKES Own a piece of baseball history! Enter for a chance to win one of twenty 22x28 prints of the game’s legendary heroes taken by the greatest baseball photographer of all time, Charles M. Conlon. From 1904 to 1942, Sporting News photographer, Charles M. Conlon, immortalized the sport’s greatest players and created some of baseball’s most famous photographs. Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams—these visually stunning, black and white photographs of baseball’s golden age are instantly recognized around the world.

ENTER TODAY! sportingnews.com/mlb/draft/sweeps This opportunity is brought to you by Gillette Clinical Strength Anti-Perspirant Deodorant. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. For complete rules and regulations, visit sportingnews.com/mlb/ draft/sweeps. Starts 12:01 AM ET 05/01/2009 and ends 11:59 PM ET 06/30/2009 when all entries must be received. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States/DC, 18 years of age or older as of the date of entry except employees of Sponsors, their immediate families, and those living in the same household. Void outside the 50 United States/DC and where prohibited. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries received. ARV of 20 prizes: $150 each. Sponsor: Sporting News, 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10016 and Procter and Gamble Distributing, LLC, Cincinnati, OH 45202.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Next Gen: Recruiting / College Football

www.sportingnews.com

Highly-rated Colorado QB commits to California

Texas and coach Mack Brown have picked up early commitments by the boatload in recent seasons. This year, one of those early commitments bailed. Midway (Waco, Texas) S Ahmad Dixon dropped the Longhorns and immediately committed to Baylor,

5

INSIDE DISH

RECRUITING DISH

Austin Hinder’s grandfather played college football at California, but the Steamboat Springs (Colo.) quarterback told Sporting News Today that’s not the only reason he committed to the Bears on Sunday. His grandfather is Jim Hanifan, the longtime NFL assistant and former head coach of the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Falcons. Hanifan was an All-American at Cal and led the nation in receiving in 1954. “My grandpa played there, and people are saying, ‘Oh, that’s why you’d go there,’ but he’s the one who was telling me all along to take all of my official visits,” Hinder told SN Today. “But I just couldn’t do it. “Cal already had everything I wanted in a school, and they have the best quarterback mind out there in coach (Jeff) Tedford. And they always bring in great line classes, so I don’t have to run around my whole career.” Hinder (6-4, 180) is ranked No. 69 overall in Sporting News’ Top 100 high school prospects for the class of 2010. Alabama, Colorado, Florida State, Kansas, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Pitt, Stanford and UCLA had also offered him a scholarship. He said he is relieved that the decision is behind him after a crazy spring—“It’s a good feeling to get it off your back.” Hinder said he informed Cal offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig of the commitment but had not talked to Tedford yet. Hinder said Ludwig was “all fired up” and that Ludwig said he was really looking forward to Tedford’s reaction. Hinder said he is a pro-style quarterback. “I love to drop back out of the shotgun and throw the ball downfield, for sure,” Hinder said. “I’m also really athletic. I’m not going to just sit back there and take a sack— I’m going to use my feet to get out of trouble. Mainly, I like to throw the deep ball.”

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

COURTESY OF AUSTIN HINDER

Steamboat Springs (Colo.) QB Austin Hinder is ranked the No. 69 overall prospect in the 2010 class by Sporting News. Rivals.com reported. Dixon (6-1, 195) is rated a four-star prospect by Rivals and a five-star recruit by Scout.com. One of Dixon’s high school teammates has a family connection to the Bears’ coaching staff, which prompted him to give Baylor a second look, he told Rivals.com. He liked what he saw and changed schools because of it. Servite (Anaheim, Calif.) OT Matthew Jakubiec has committed to Arizona, Rivals.com reported. He also reported scholarship offers from New Mexico, New Mexico State and San Jose State. Jakubiec (6-7, 310) is Arizona’s fourth commitment for the class of 2010. — Brian McLaughlin

Former Florida-Georgia QBs: Keep the game in Jacksonville The site of the annual Florida-Georgia game has been a hot topic for debate recently. Where should the teams play when the current contract with Jacksonville, Fla., expires after the 2010 season? Both coaches have weighed in—Florida’s Urban Meyer said he favors keeping the game in Jacksonville, and Georgia’s Mark Richt said the Gator Bowl doesn’t seem much like a neutral site to him. So what do three former quarterbacks who played in the series think? The Atlanta Journal-Constitution caught up with former Florida quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel (1993-96) and former Georgia QBs John Lastinger (1980-83) and Buck Belue (1978-81). Wuerffel: “During my sophomore and junior years at Florida, the stadium in Jacksonville was being renovated for the Jaguars, and I had a unique opportunity—I played games in Gainesville and Athens. “Many of the details of the alternating home games have gotten lost in my mind with the dozens of other home and away games in which I had participated. The games that stand out, for lots of different reasons, were in Jacksonville. … Without any hesitation, I believe the Florida-Georgia game should stay in Jacksonville.” Lastinger: “… I never felt like—and I think I can speak for my teammates—we were at a disadvantage by having to travel to Jacksonville back then. Being from Valdosta, I learned in a hurry how important the game is to the South Georgia fan base. “It is truly one of the great traditions in all of college football—and I think we should respect that and all that goes with it.” Belue: “… Count me among those who would hate to see it moved just because the Gators have owned the series the last 20 years. I don’t buy that it’s a home-field edge for Florida. The last time I checked, that stadium was divided right down the middle, half Georgia and half Florida. “… Move this game out of Jacksonville? That is unacceptable. I haven’t found a former teammate or a former Georgia player that wants to see the game moved.”

STEPHEN MORTON / AP

Gators fans never have a problem getting excited to face Georgia. Michigan brought Joe Reynolds in on a track scholarship. This fall, he’ll get a chance at receiver as a preferred walk-on for coach Rich Rodriguez’s football team. “In his years at West Virginia, he was famous for giving walk-ons scholarships because coach Rodriguez himself was a walk-on who got a scholarship,” Reynolds told the Detroit Free Press. “I met with him. He made me feel like he knew everything about me.” Michigan track coach Fred LaPlante gave film of Reynolds to the football coaches. Reynolds played football in high school and was a receiver/defensive back. He will go to Ann Arbor on June 26 and participate in 7-on-7 informal summer workouts with the football team. The Independence Bowl has a new sponsor, AdvoCare International LP (a direct marketer of nutritional and skin care products) of Carrollton, Texas. The Dec. 28 game will be called the AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl, after a new multivitamin.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

College Football

www.sportingnews.com

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

Q&A with … Alabama coach Nick Saban

‘The true team chemistry really surfaces in the summertime’ was the first day. Then we managed it the second day, the third day, the fifth month and the sixth month, the first season, then the second season. Our thing is you’ve got to have a lot of intensity but also a sense of urgency— continue to get better, and manage the positives and negatives you deal with every day. That’s all I focus on. I never had any thoughts of what it should have been, what it could have been, what it’s gonna be or when it’s gonna be that.

A year ago, Alabama coach Nick Saban’s Crimson Caravan tour of the Southeast carried a slightly different message. He was coming off a 6-6 regular season, a year in which the Tide lost at home to Louisiana-Monroe and saw their losing streak against Auburn reach six games. This spring has been more about handling expectations than keeping the faith. Alabama, in Saban’s second season, won its first dozen games before falling to Florida in the SEC championship and Utah in the Sugar Bowl. Saban’s caravan stopped last week in Atlanta, where he was presented with Sporting News’ Coach of the Year award and talked with reporters, including SN Today’s Derek Samson, about all things Bama.

Q: A:

How much do your (No. 1) recruiting rankings fuel expectations? It’s nice to be recognized and I certainly have respect for the people doing the recognizing. But football is such a developmental game. I ask kids, “Are you a lot better now than you were as a freshman in high school?” They all say yeah. “Well, you’re gonna be a lot better player as a junior, a senior in college than a freshman. Now can we get back to why you improved?” We (don’t want) the players themselves caught up in that. The fans sometimes get caught up in the instant self-gratification of it all. The expectations affect the players, too. When they don’t have success, they get frustrated. That sets them back so they’re not making the progress they need to make.

Q:

When you go out to these booster events this offseason, how much different is it from a year ago? The energy and enthusiasm has always been really positive ever since we’ve been here. People weren’t at all discouraged. They sort of knew we had to do some building. We’re pleased with the progress we made to this point, but not satisfied. What I try to do is get everybody to understand the goals are the same, but the inspiration is a little different. Once you get good, you need a total disposition about staying good. … Now the challenge is you’ve got to wanna be the best. That’s a never-ending process. That’s got to be the motivation. It’s not about being embarrassed or trying to prove something.

A:

Q: A:

Have the players bought into that attitude? We had a good spring, but I don’t think the true team chemistry really surfaces until the summertime. The coaches are always with the guys in spring practice. In the summer, the

BOB LEVERONE / SN

Though Nick Saban has had major recruiting success, he warns against the trap of instant gratification. coaches aren’t there as much. That’s when the true leadership starts to emerge. You start to see the core buy-in that everybody has in terms of how they go about what they do. They have to work with the strength and conditioning coaches. For the first time, the responsibility becomes theirs

instead of somebody making them do it. That’s where the true chemistry (develops); you see what the team might be.

Q: A:

Is the program where you thought it’d be at this point? I didn’t have any thoughts where it would be. I just know where it

Q: A:

Is football the hardest sport to project the future of a player? It’s a developmental game because of the physical nature of the game. There’s so many skill sets involved because of the different positions. Offensive line, receivers, the running backs, quarterbacks … you’ve got so many different skill sets, and if a guy has a fatal flaw at any position, it will impede his development.

6

Decision on FSU’s appeal might affect Bowden’s future TALLAHASSEE, FLA.—Bobby Bowden and Florida State are scheduled to open the 2009 football season Labor Day night against archrival Miami, but school’s most important date of the year could be this week. The university expects to hear from the NCAA soon on its appeal of sanctions resulting from an academic cheating scandal that included taking away as many as 14 victories from Bowden’s coaching record. Such a penalty would leave Bowden unable to keep pace with Penn State’s Joe Paterno in their competition to finish Bobby Bowden extraordinarily long coaching careers with the most wins at the major college level. “It’s just us two and you’d hate to give up in a good battle like that,” Bowden recently told the Palm Beach Post during a South Florida booster tour stop. Bowden, who turns 80 in November, has 382 wins now, one fewer than Paterno. Although the actual number of wins that will be subtracted from Bowden’s total hasn’t been determined, it could be 14 which would leave Bowden 15 shy of Paterno going into the penultimate season of his coaching career, if not the final one. Florida State has already contracted with offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher to take over by the 2011 season or will pay a $5 million penalty, and university president T.K. Wetherell is on record that he won’t make a penalty payment. Bowden has already shied away from an earlier goal of getting 400 victories before stepping away. “I need to try and stay away from numbers, because people start counting,” Bowden said in January. Florida State athletic director Randy Spetman said there’s no question that Bowden will coach the 2009 season. — The Associated Press

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Lacrosse

www.sportingnews.com

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

NCAA DIVISION I NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Orange win 11th title after forcing OT in final seconds BY CHRISTIAN SWEZEY InsideLacrosse.com

FOXBOROUGH, MASS.—The Syracuse men’s lacrosse team is not the type to panic. After all, its 10-9 overtime victory over Cornell before 41,935 at Gillette Stadium on Monday afternoon marked the program’s 11th national title, a record amount. Though there were signs that the Orange (16-2) may not have been panicking, they were at least rolling the dice when they trailed by three goals with less than four minutes to play. For the first time in the game, coach John Desko used an attack unit of senior Kenny Nims, junior Cody Jamieson and sophomore Stephen Keogh. Nims is the nation’s leading scorer. Keogh and Jamieson, meantime, are considered two of the best finishers in the game. Keogh is a righty; Jamieson is a lefty. The two honed their shooting skills in the tight confines of indoor lacrosse in their native Canada. And it was those three players who led the comeback that culminated in a goal by Jamieson 80 seconds into the sudden-death overtime. To force overtime, Keogh scored with 3:37 to play to cut the deficit to 9-7; Jamieson scored to make it 9-8 with 2:46 left; and Nims forced overtime with on a goal with 4.5 seconds to play. “We thought if we were going to have a chance to win we were going to have to have unsettled situations,” Desko said. “Those guys in-tight are going to shoot

NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse champions

COURTESY OF GREG WALL

Cody Jamieson (43) and Greg Niewieroski (20) celebrate Jamieson’s game-winning goal, which gave Syracuse back-to-back titles. the ball extremely well.” Said Nims: “I never did think we were going to lose. Our guys never give up. ... This is our time of year. This is why we go to Syracuse.” The three attackmen actually had been paired together to start the fourth quarter. But their impact was delayed because Cornell (13-4) did a masterful job of controlling the ball. The Big Red had a 4 minute 3 second possession that culminated in a goal by senior Max Seibald for an 8-6 lead with 7:20 to play. The lead became 9-6 following a goal by freshman Roy Lang with 5:31 left. Yet the goal by Lang was Cornell’s last shot. Its final four possessions ended with three turnovers and a failed clear. The Big Red were outshot 8-0 in the final 5:31. Senior John Glynn finished

with three goals, two assists, nine groundballs and won 10 face-offs. Seibald added two goals and played offense, defense and as a wing on face-offs. Syracuse “played great and showed a lot of poise at the end of the game,” Cornell coach Jeff Tambroni said. “They certainly played like a team that has been here before.” With the victory, Syracuse became the first team to win backto-back national titles since Princeton in 1996-98. Sophomore John Galloway, the team’s starting goalie, is 7-0 in his career in the NCAA tournament. That the winning goal came from Jamieson would have been impossible in the season’s early stages. Jamieson, a transfer from Onondaga (NY) Community College, was not cleared to play until early April

following questions about an online he course over the winter. Jamieson certainly is no stranger to winning— Onondaga won two junior college national titles when he was there— and his arrival was called “a game changer” by one Division I head coach. Jamieson clearly added to his legacy with the winning goal on Monday. “There were definitely nights looking at your ceiling wondering if it was going to happen,” Jamieson said of his eligibility quandry. “So I leaned on my family and friends and hoped it would happen. I practiced every day with the team and I still felt like a part of the team. They didn’t make me feel like I wasn’t a part of the team and it’s a great feeling right now.”

2009 — Syracuse 2008 — Syracuse 2007 — Johns Hopkins 2006 — Virginia 2005 — Johns Hopkins 2004 — Syracuse 2003 — Virginia 2002 — Syracuse 2001 — Princeton 2000 — Syracuse 1999 — Virginia 1998 — Princeton 1997 — Princeton 1996 — Princeton 1995 — Syracuse 1994 — Princeton 1993 — Syracuse 1992 — Princeton 1991 — North Carolina 1990 — x-Syracuse 1989 — Syracuse 1988 — Syracuse 1987 — Johns Hopkins 1986 — North Carolina 1985 — Johns Hopkins 1984 — Johns Hopkins 1983 — Syracuse 1982 — North Carolina 1981 — North Carolina 1980 — Johns Hopkins 1979 — Johns Hopkins 1978 — Johns Hopkins 1977 — Cornell 1976 — Cornell 1975 — Maryland 1974 — Johns Hopkins 1973 — Maryland 1972 — Virginia 1971 — Cornell x-Participation in tournament vacated by NCAA

Failed clear dooms Big Red FOXBOROUGH, MASS.—Cornell had a three-goal lead with less than 4 minutes to play in the NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse championship game on Monday in Foxborough, Mass. Yet when the game ended, it was it was Syracuse that was celebrating a 10-9 overtime victory before 41,595 at Gillette Stadium. In between, the Big Red (13-4) had four possessions. Three ended in turnovers, one in a failed clear. The failed clear was the most distressing. Cornell had a 9-8 lead and had possession with 28 seconds left. But senior midfielder Max Seibald, the first fourtime All-Ivy lacrosse player in league history, passed the ball instead of trying to clear it himself. And Syracuse senior Kenny Nims forced a turnover near midfield, then raced toward the goal. There, he caught a last-gasp pass from senior Matt Abbott and scored with 4.5 seconds to play. Cornell midfielder Roy Lang, a 6-foot-3 freshman, leaped and tipped Abbott’s pass—but did not alter it enough to stop it from reaching Nims. “We had an opportunity to clear the ball,” Seibald said. “Add I picked the ball up off the endline and passed it up. I probably should have just ran it out myself. I’ll probably never forget that.” Seibald finished with two goals and classmate John Glynn added three goals, two assists and nine groundballs. “When you put so much time and effort in, you sacrifice so much,” Cornell coach Jeff Tambroni said. “Being five seconds away from being the best team in college lacrosse is a tough thing to swallow.” — Christian Swezey

7

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

NBA

www.sportingnews.com

8

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS Series glance

Denver 120, L.A. Lakers 101

With ’Melo ailing, Nuggets step up and tie series DENVER— The Denver Nuggets are so much more than just Carmelo Anthony. A dominating effort on the boards and a great performance by the bench helped the Nuggets overcome a below-par effort from an ailing ’Melo on Monday night, when they raced past the Los Angeles Lakers 120-101, evening the Western Conference finals at two games apiece. They did it with their star hobbled by a sprained ankle and slowed by a stomach virus that had him hugging the commode before tipoff and getting IVs at halftime. “Even before I twisted my ankle, with my stomach, I didn’t have my legs early in the game,” Anthony said. “I felt like I didn’t have any energy. Those IVs were a must. They helped a little bit. I’ll be OK for Wednesday.” Anthony finished with 15 hardearned points on 3-of-16 shooting, but it hardly mattered because, unlike in Game 3, his teammates came to the rescue. Six of them scored in double digits, led by Chauncey Billups and J.R. Smith with 24 apiece. “It was important for everyone to step up,” Anthony said. “We had a bunch of guys step up today. I know the past two, three games our bench hasn’t been as productive as they have been in the playoffs, but tonight those guys stepped up. J.R. stepped up big, Linas Kleiza came in and hit some big shots, he was just phenomenal out there.” Kenyon Martin and Nene each had a double-double as the Nuggets posted their eighth blowout of the

CHRIS CARLSON / AP

J.R. Smith was one of several Nuggets to fill the void created by Carmelo Anthony’s sprained ankle and stomach ache—he scored 24 points. postseason but first against Los Angeles following three games that came down to the final seconds. “They whooped us, period,” said Kobe Bryant, who scored 34 points. “They whooped us on the glass. They whooped us to loose balls.” They whooped them in every

which way as Denver dominated the glass, the paint and the stripe, outrebounding, outmuscling and outhustling the tired Lakers, whose fatigue after their grueling sevengame series with Houston and the quick turnaround to Denver is really starting to show.

“But that’s not a very good excuse,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. The Nuggets beat the Lakers on the glass by 18, outscored them in the paint by 18, beat them on the fast break by 10 and outscored their bench 42-24. “It just shows we have heart and can

play with a man down,” Smith said. “We did a lot this year and kept it up.” So, the Nuggets didn’t need to worry about a botched inbounds pass in the closing seconds like the ones that cost them wins in Games 1 and 3. “I had forgotten about that,” Nuggets coach George Karl cracked. The series shifts to Los Angeles for Game 5 Wednesday, and the only thing that put a smile on Jackson’s face on this night was the memory of the Lakers’ win 48 hours earlier. “What we’ve done is we’ve won a road game and brought the homecourt advantage back to L.A.,” Jackson said. Martin had 13 points and 15 boards, Nene pitched in 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Chris “Birdman” Andersen added 14 rebounds for the Nuggets, who outrebounded the Lakers 58-40. “We got hammered from every direction tonight,” Lakers forward Luke Walton said. In Jackson’s view, the hammering went overboard. Jackson complained about Dahntay Jones’ trip of Bryant in the third quarter, calling it unsportsmanlike. “I just fell on my face for no reason,” Bryant deadpanned. “I’m a klutz.” Jackson also griped about Denver’s lopsided 49-35 advantage in free throws, a reversal of Game 3’s 45-31 Lakers advantage. “Basketball is a game where the aggressor gets the advantage. And tonight we didn’t know what a foul was and what wasn’t a foul,” Jackson complained. —The Associated Press

(Series tied 2-2) May 19: L.A. Lakers 105, Denver 103 May 21: Denver 106, L.A. Lakers 103 May 23: L.A. Lakers 103, Denver 97 Monday: Denver, 120, L.A. Lakers 101 Wednesday: Denver at L.A. Lakers, 9 p.m. Friday: L.A. Lakers at Denver, 9 p.m. Sunday: Denver at L.A. Lakers, 8:30 p.m., if necessary

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

19 22

Min FG FT 25:42 1-4 0-2 35:25 8-11 5-7 23:17 6-7 2-3 23:13 2-7 0-0 41:12 10-26 12-13 29:47 1-8 2-4 12:39 0-2 0-0 15:31 1-4 1-2 15:30 2-4 0-1 14:00 3-7 2-3 2:43 0-1 0-0 1:01 0-1 0-0 240:00 34-82 24-35

26 30

21 25 Reb 0-1 1-10 2-5 0-1 1-7 4-8 1-3 0-1 0-1 0-3 0-0 0-0 9-40

35 — 101 43 — 120 A 1 4 0 1 5 1 5 0 0 2 0 0 19

PF 5 4 5 1 3 5 6 2 0 0 0 0 31

PTS 3 21 14 5 34 5 0 3 6 10 0 0 101

Percentages: FG .415, FT .686. 3-Point Goals: 9-31, .290 (Vujacic 2-4, Farmar 2-5, Bryant 2-10, Odom 1-2, Ariza 1-3, Fisher 1-5, Brown 0-1, Walton 0-1). Team Rebounds: 11. Team Turnovers: 10 (13 PTS). Blocked Shots: 5 (Gasol 3, Bynum, Walton). Turnovers: 10 (Odom 3, Brown 2, Ariza, Bryant, Farmar, Fisher, Vujacic). Steals: 4 (Bryant, Fisher, Odom, Walton). Technical Fouls: Walton, 9:11 fourth. Flagrant Fouls: Bynum, 6:11 fourth. DENVER Min FG FT Reb Anthony 34:58 3-16 9-11 2-3 Martin 34:30 5-11 3-4 3-15 Nene 34:47 5-8 4-7 7-13 Billups 41:43 7-16 9-9 1-3 Jones 19:14 3-5 6-6 1-3 Smith 28:26 9-17 2-6 1-2 Andersen 24:04 2-4 2-4 4-14 Kleiza 13:02 3-5 2-2 0-2 Carter 5:59 1-1 0-0 0-2 Balkman 1:38 0-2 0-0 1-1 Petro 1:01 0-1 0-0 0-0 Hart 0:38 0-0 0-0 0-0 Totals 240:00 38-86 37-49 20-58

A 5 2 6 3 1 4 0 0 2 0 0 0 23

PF 5 3 2 1 2 4 2 2 2 1 0 0 24

PTS 15 13 14 24 12 24 6 10 2 0 0 0 120

Percentages: FG .442, FT .755. 3-Point Goals: 7-24, .292 (Smith 4-9, Kleiza 2-3, Billups 1-6, Andersen 0-1, Jones 0-1, Martin 0-1, Anthony 0-3). Team Rebounds: 10. Team Turnovers: 6 (6 PTS). Blocked Shots: 5 (Andersen 2, Martin 2, Billups). Turnovers: 6 (Smith 3, Anthony, Carter, Nene). Steals: 6 (Smith 2, Anthony, Balkman, Billups, Jones). Technical Fouls: Smith, 7:09 fourth; Martin, 3:49 fourth; Anthony, 3:49 fourth. A: 20,037 (19,155). T: 2:54. Officials: Bennett Salvatore, Bennie Adams, Ken Mauer.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

NBA

www.sportingnews.com

9

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFFS Today’s game

CLEVELAND VS. ORLANDO ORLANDO—Tinted sunglasses concealing the cuts and bandages framing his puffy left eye, struggling Cleveland guard Mo Williams plopped down on a table inside a ritzy hotel ballroom on Monday and quickly proclaimed the Cavaliers were not in any trouble. Far from it. “We’re the best team in basketball,” he said. Really? The Cavaliers, winners of 66 regular-season games and their first eight straight in the playoffs, certainly haven’t looked superior to the Orlando Magic. They can’t stop Dwight Howard inside. They can’t contain Orlando’s squadron of outside shooters. They are missing easy, open shots. They’re not giving LeBron James enough support, and they trail 2-1 in the Eastern Conference finals. Williams remains confident. “They deserve respect,” he said. “They are a good team. But we are the best team in basketball. I don’t feel that they’ve had to adjust to us one time in the series.” So, Mo. You’re sure the Cavaliers will win Game 4 tonight and rally to win the best-of-seven series. Willing to guarantee it? “Guarantee we’re going to win the series? Yeah, yeah,” he said. “We are down 2-1. But there is nobody on this team and definitely not myself that says we are not going to win this series. Yeah, it is going to be tough. We know that. We get this game tomorrow, go home, still got home-court advantage. “We don’t see ourselves losing two out of three at home.”

The Magic brushed off Williams’ boast. “We just got to go out there and play,” Howard said. “We can’t worry about what other guys are saying.” James didn’t flinch when told Williams had guaranteed the Cavaliers would advance. “He should. There’s no other reason why we should be here,” he said. Orlando, relishing the underdog role in its first conference finals appearance since 1995, won 99-89 on Sunday night in a disjointed Game 3 that included personal fouls, technicals and a flagrant on Magic reserve guard Anthony Johnson for his elbow to Williams’ face in the second quarter. The blow opened cuts above and below Williams’ eye, and Cleveland’s point guard said he was still feeling a little woozy from an unexpected shot he felt was intentional. “My head’s still ringing,” said Williams, who refused to take off his shades to show the wounds. “The game of basketball is not played with throwing punches, throwing elbows.” Johnson refused to get drawn into a verbal war with Williams, who was called for a block on the play that bloodied him. “I was trying to get to the rim and make a play and I drew a foul,” Johnson said. “Elbows are a part of the game—good and bad. ...” James was asked if the Cavaliers would retaliate. “For what?” he said. “We’re just trying to get wins.” The league’s MVP is averaging 41.7 points in the series, but the Cavs have

Conference finals (Best-of-7), all times ET Cleveland at Orlando 8:30 p.m., TNT

Betting line Today FAVORITE ..........LINE ... Cleveland .................... 1....

O/U .........UNDERDOG (188) .............at Orlando

become a one-man show at the worst time possible. Williams (32.1 percent), Zydrunas Ilgauskas (38.2) and Delonte West (41.9) are not shooting up to their standards. James understands he can’t win a championship by himself. “It’s going to be tough,” he said. “I know they can play a lot better. They know they can play a lot better. I don’t want to put pressure on those guys. They’ve just got to come out and do it. We just got to knock shots down.” The Magic feel as though they haven’t gotten their proper due all season. While a potential James-Kobe Bryant showdown in the NBA finals has been fueled by popular TV commercials featuring puppets of the superstars, Orlando’s players have been wondering: Hey, what about us? “It’s disrespectful when everybody’s counting us and Denver out trying to win a championship,” said Howard, who made the Cavs pay for fouling him by making 14 of 19 free throws in Game 3. “It’s like, forget the Magic, forget Denver. They want to see LeBron and Kobe go at it. So that is disrespectful. The only way you get respect is by going out there and taking it. My mind-set is making people respect us.” — The Associated Press

JOHN RAOUX / AP REINHOLD MATAY / AP

League MVP LeBron James is averaging 41.7 points in the series with the Magic, but his Cavs trail 2-1 heading into tonight’s game.

3-Pnt. G 11 11 11 11 11 11 9 9 11 11 7 5

MIN 40.0 37.5 41.5 29.5 19.1 30.2 11.8 9.4 9.8 11.8 1.4 5.0

TEAM 11 240.0 OPPONENTS 11 240.0

FGM-FGA 127-239 62-155 51-110 50-116 22-49 27-56 13-24 10-20 7-27 4-6 1-3 1-5

PCT FGM-FGA .531 21-61 .400 26-78 .464 10-28 .431 2-13 .449 3-5 .482 0-0 .542 1-7 .500 2-8 .259 4-17 .667 0-0 .333 0-0 .200 0-0

375-810 .463 344-816 .422

69-217 61-176

Orlando Magic 3-Pnt.

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

Magic F Rashard Lewis has made a series-high 30 three-pointers while shooting 39.5 percent from beyond the arc.

FTM-FTA 113-151 19-27 29-34 15-24 23-29 13-18 9-10 1-3 7-7 0-4 2-2 0-2

PCT .748 .704 .853 .625 .793 .722 .900 .333 1.000 .000 1.000 .000

PTS 388 169 141 117 70 67 36 23 25 8 4 2

AVG 35.3 15.4 12.8 10.6 6.4 6.1 4.0 2.6 2.3 0.7 0.6 0.4

HG 49 24 21 14 19 14 17 9 9 4 2 2

231-311 .743 1050 95.5 106 177-231 .766 926 84.2 107

REBOUND Player OFF James 14 M. Williams 9 West 4 Ilgauskas 23 Smith 10 Varejao 36 Szczerbiak 8 Pavlovic 1 Gibson 1 Wallace 11 Kinsey 1 Jackson 0

DEF 81 27 34 64 38 36 15 14 3 15 1 5

TOT AVG. 95 8.6 36 3.3 38 3.5 87 7.9 48 4.4 72 6.5 23 2.6 15 1.7 4 0.4 26 2.4 2 0.3 5 1.0

AST AVG. 76 6.9 49 4.5 45 4.1 16 1.5 3 0.3 6 0.5 6 0.7 4 0.4 4 0.4 3 0.3 0 0.0 1 0.2

PF 18 34 22 34 25 32 13 8 13 11 2 5

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

STL 21 6 15 3 6 13 2 3 1 3 0 0

TEAM 118 OPPONENTS 94

333 269

451 41.0 363 33.0

213 19.4 198 18.0

217 245

2 2

73 65

TO BLK 23 9 27 1 27 4 9 12 7 7 12 14 6 1 3 0 5 2 2 2 1 0 1 0 137 131

52 36

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

G 15 16 16 15 16 13 12 1 16 16 14 2 1

MIN 37.5 40.4 37.8 32.7 23.8 28.5 21.8 4.0 14.7 12.3 6.1 2.0 2.0

FGM-FGA 108-178 111-239 78-191 69-179 51-105 46-104 23-63 2-2 28-74 26-35 15-30 0-1 0-1

PCT FGM-FGA .607 0-1 .464 30-76 .408 19-51 .385 23-68 .486 21-61 .442 8-26 .365 16-41 1.000 1-1 .378 8-27 .743 0-0 .500 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0-0

TEAM 16 240.0 557-1202 .463 OPPONENTS 16 240.0 548-1231 .445

126-352 88-286

FTM-FTA 83-132 66-85 59-69 25-34 32-44 18-19 12-13 0-0 5-12 7-10 3-5 0-0 0-0

PCT .629 .776 .855 .735 .727 .947 .923 --.417 .700 .600 -----

PTS 299 318 234 186 155 118 74 5 69 59 33 0 0

AVG 19.9 19.9 14.6 12.4 9.7 9.1 6.2 5.0 4.3 3.7 2.4 0.0 0.0

HG 36 29 25 21 17 24 15 5 13 11 8 0 0

310-423 .733 1550 96.9 117 280-365 .767 1464 91.5 112

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

OFF 70 18 5 1 15 4 1 0 6 15 4 0 0

DEF 169 76 61 36 27 20 16 0 16 37 9 1 0

TOT AVG. 239 15.9 94 5.9 66 4.1 37 2.5 42 2.6 24 1.8 17 1.4 0 0.0 22 1.4 52 3.3 13 0.9 1 0.5 0 0.0

AST AVG. 22 1.5 47 2.9 82 5.1 69 4.6 8 0.5 22 1.7 23 1.9 0 0.0 33 2.1 3 0.2 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0

PF 66 29 48 34 48 25 22 0 24 27 7 1 0

TEAM 139 OPPONENTS 137

468 485

607 37.9 622 38.9

309 19.3 323 20.2

331 390

DQ 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

STL 10 15 12 24 12 13 7 0 10 7 0 0 0

4 110 3 105

TO BLK 40 35 34 11 41 2 25 4 17 12 14 2 5 1 0 0 9 0 8 8 1 1 1 0 1 0 204 221

76 54

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

NBA

www.sportingnews.com

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

Playoff glance

INSIDE DISH

Van Gundy believes in handling complaints during game

CONFERENCE FINALS

Magic coach Stan Van Gundy probably had a beef that he could have brought to the league when he reviewed the film showing PG Mo Williams chucking the ball at C Dwight Howard in Game 3. But Van Gundy, who has no problem loudly letting referees know when he is displeased, says that he doesn’t see much point in taking in-game problems to the league for review. “I can say this honestly, and I’ve said it before,” Van Gundy said. “We’ve got to be the only team in the league that never, ever, ever calls the league. Whatever complaints I have I’ll voice during the game. … They said they didn’t see (the throw). There were roughly 22,000 people in that arena, and three people didn’t see it. What are you going to do? How do you argue that if they didn’t see it?”

EASTERN CONFERENCE

has said publicly that he’d like to keep Millsap, even if it means paying the luxury tax. The Jazz have two other prominent free agents, C Mehmet Okur and PF Carlos Boozer (if he opts out of the final year of his contract, which is no certainty). “My sense is that Millsap is the priority with them,” one Western Conference G.M. told SN Today. “You’ll see them let Boozer and Okur go before they let Millsap out.” — Sean Deveney The Timberwolves finally settled on a new general manager, tabbing former Pacers exec David Kahn last week. Still left undecided is the fate of coach Kevin McHale. It’s not certain that Kahn wants to keep McHale, or that McHale wants to stay on as coach. The two are expected to discuss the issue this week. There are still some top coaching candidates available—including ex-Mavs coach Avery Johnson, ex-Wizards coach Eddie Jordan, ex-point guard Mark Jackson, Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau and former Timberwolf Sam Mitchell—and if McHale steps down, the Timberwolves would join the Sixers and Kings as the only teams in need of a coach.

Raptors PG Jose Calderon, a fixture for the Spanish national team, announced on his personal website that he had asked to be withdrawn from consideration for this year’s European Championships in Poland. Calderon struggled for much of last season as he battled a hamstring injury and had surgery in April to repair a damaged ligament in his left ring finger. He wrote on the site, “I know that now I need to rest, recuperate well from the injuries from this season and seriously prepare for the upcoming NBA season where my team requires 100 percent of my effort to improve our results from last year.”

Magic coach Stan Van Gundy doesn’t have a problem expressing himself, and isn’t compelled to follow up with calls to the NBA office.

It could be a ploy, but general managers who have been licking their chops at the prospect of

landing PF Paul Millsap—known for his tough, hard-working focus on rebounding and defense—are

DAVID RICHARD / AP

starting to suspect that the Jazz will make every effort to keep Millsap. He is a restricted free agent, so

10

whatever offer Millsap gets can be matched by Utah, and Greg Miller, head of the team’s ownership group,

The Sixers, for their part, were considered the frontrunners for the services of Eddie Jordan, but have been extremely—annoyingly, to some in Philadelphia—fastidious in their interview process. In addition to Jordan, they now have chatted with Villanova’s Jay Wright, former coach Chris Ford, Thibodeau, ex-TWolves coach Dwayne Casey and Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis. Still, they’re expected to land Jordan in the end.

(Best-of-7), all times ET

Cleveland vs. Orlando (Orlando leads series 2-1) May 20: Orlando 107, Cleveland 106 May 22: Cleveland 96, Orlando 95 May 24: Orlando 99, Cleveland 89 Today: Cleveland at Orlando, 8:30 p.m., TNT Thursday: Orlando at Cleveland, 8:30 p.m. Saturday: Cleveland at Orlando, 8:30 p.m., if necessary Monday, June 1: Orlando at Cleveland, 8:30 p.m., if necessary

WESTERN CONFERENCE L.A. Lakers vs. Denver (Series tied 2-2) May 19: L.A. Lakers 105, Denver 103 May 21: Denver 106, L.A. Lakers 103 May 23: L.A. Lakers 103, Denver 97 Monday: Denver 120, L.A. Lakers 101 Wednesday: Denver at L.A. Lakers, 9 p.m., ESPN Friday: L.A. Lakers at Denver, 9 p.m. Sunday: Denver at L.A. Lakers, 8:30 p.m., if necessary

NBA calendar June 4—NBA finals start date (possible move-up to June 2). June 15—NBA draft early entry entrant withdrawal deadline (5 p.m. ET). June 18—NBA finals latest possible end date. June 25—NBA draft.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

NHL

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

11

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

Sweep or not, Maurice deserves to have interim tag removed Scott Walker knows about sacrifice. The Carolina forward has been a big part of the Hurricanes’ playoff run while also helping his wife fight cervical cancer. So he has a little extra appreciation for what his coach, Paul Maurice, is doing right now. Maurice was hired on an interim basis in December after Carolina GM Jim Rutherford fired head coach Peter Laviolette. When Craig Custance his former franHOCKEY chise and close friend needed the help, Maurice didn’t hesitate. He also left his family behind in Toronto while leading the Hurricanes on a remarkable trip to the Eastern Conference finals. He’s done it all with no public guarantees that he’ll be the head coach next season. It’d be shocking if Rutherford didn’t bring Maurice back after his coaching performance, but the G.M. has yet to offer any assurances beyond this season. “I still want to wait and go through the process when we’re finished playing,” Rutherford told The News & Observer. Rutherford’s deliberate style is what makes him one of the best GMs in the game. But it can’t be easy on Maurice. “I think Jimmy (Rutherford) has done a tremendous job here over the years,” Walker told Sporting News Today. “He sits back and sees how things go and assesses things when he has time. Right now, you can’t assess anything.”

GENE J. PUSKAR / AP

Since taking over behind the bench on Dec. 3, Paul Maurice, left, has led Matt Cullen and the Hurricanes on a season-ending hot streak and into the Eastern Conference finals. Walker said that makes Maurice even more respected in the Carolina dressing room. His contract doesn’t extend beyond June, but the players would never know by the time and sacrifices Maurice continues to make. If this is an extended job interview, he’s earned the approval of the players. “You know what it means to us; we can imagine what it means to

him,” Walker said. “He gets a great deal of respect from me for that. In some ways, it’s almost more than what you can do coaching. The sacrifices you make for your teammates and team pushes you a little further.” Pittsburgh’s Dan Bylsma, the coach on the opposing bench, had his interim tag removed after leading the Penguins to the playoffs. He said he’s been so focused on

leading the Penguins that it wasn’t a decision that changed anything. But, he added, it was nice for his family, which did a little celebrating after the deal was signed. Maurice said his family is celebrating the Hurricanes’ playoff success. Right now, that’s the reward. “We’ve gotten through it fine,” Maurice said. “It’s nice to have a playoff payoff like this. To come down and miss the time in your

family’s life, they enjoy [the playoffs], and they need it too.” And in typical Maurice fashion, he injected some self-deprecating humor. “It was a sacrifice for me. I’m not sure about my family,” Maurice said. “They seem to be getting along pretty well without me.” When Maurice was hired and Ron Francis moved from the front office to the role of associate coach,

there were expectations from some in hockey that Francis was the head coach-in-waiting—if he wanted it. Maurice said Francis sees things on the ice very few people in hockey see and agrees he would make a fantastic head coach. Francis also has helped elevate the game of franchise center Eric Staal, who is close with the Hall of Fame center. Maybe Francis’ presence complicates things. If he wants to be the head coach, even Maurice agrees he’s ready. “We’ll sit down when everything is all said and done and discuss which direction we go,” Francis said. If they’re competing for the same position, Maurice is doing a lousy job campaigning against Francis. “For me, Ron is going to do whatever he decides he wants to do. If it’s management, at some point he’ll be the G.M.,” Maurice said. “If he wants to be a head coach, at some point he’ll be a head coach. He can do that next season if he wants. I hope they’ll wait that long.” Maurice deserves the headcoaching job regardless of the result of Tuesday night’s Game 4 in Carolina. All indications point to him getting it. Rutherford has a history of making the right decision, and this one is easy. “People in Carolina have a great deal of confidence with Jimmy,” Walker said. “I don’t know how he does it. He gets character guys and quality people around him.” That’s what they have in Maurice: a coach worth keeping. [email protected]

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

NHL

www.sportingnews.com

12

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

Staal sputters at inopportune time for Hurricanes RALEIGH, N.C.—It’s been five months since Eric Staal went this long between goals. If the All-Star center doesn’t start producing soon, he might have to wait that long before his next chance to score. As Staal goes in this postseason, so go the Carolina Hurricanes. They’ve have won all seven playoff games in which he has scored a goal, and are 1-9 when he doesn’t. One reason the Hurricanes enter tonight’s Game 4 in danger of being swept out of the Eastern Conference finals by the surging Pittsburgh Penguins is the lack of production from their franchise player. The Penguins’ young stars, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, have taken over the series, combining for 14 points and eight of their team’s 16 goals. Conversely, Staal has been held to just one assist in the series, and has gone six games without a goal since he had two in Game 4 of the second round against Boston. The Hurricanes’ top scorer insists his touch will return with time, even if his team is running out of it. “I’m counted on to score goals and counted on to produce offensively,” Staal said Monday. “I need to be a little bit better in my end of the rink and focus on that first, and everything else kind of takes care of itself. ... When those opportunities come, they’re going to fall—I didn’t score 40 goals for no reason. I know what I can do, and that’s continuing to attack the net, and those things are going to happen.” The drought is his longest since he went seven games without a goal in November and December, a stretch that coincided with the firing of coach Peter Laviolette and the rehiring of Paul Maurice. Staal rebounded from

Eastern Conference finals (Best-of-7), all times ET Pittsburgh at Carolina, 7:30 p.m., Versus

Betting line UNDERDOG ........LINE at Carolina .............+115

that stretch to score a team-best 40 goals, hitting that mark for the second time in his five-year career, and finished with 75 points, two behind Ray Whitney for the team lead. But after a quick start to the playoffs when he had 12 points in 11 games, he’s one loss away from the indignity of being eliminated by his baby brother’s team. “He’s hard on himself—probably too hard on himself sometimes,” Pittsburgh forward Jordan Staal said. “It’s a difficult situation for him. He’s been playing hard. It’s just not going in for him.” The Penguins’ underrated defense has something to do with that, too. They’ve kept several of Carolina’s top players off the scoresheet during the series, holding Whitney and Erik Cole to two assists apiece. “Those three guys ... they use each other very well,” Penguins defenseman Rob Scuderi said. “They don’t rely so much on one-on-one talent, individual skill, as they do on the whole line. We’re just trying to get on them quick, take away their time and space, and get moving into the offensive zone, because that’s where our forwards are able to grind them down and make them play defense.” Indeed, the Penguins are at their

Pittsburgh Penguins POS NO. PLAYER C 71 Evgeni Malkin C 87 Sidney Crosby R 13 Bill Guerin D 55 Sergei Gonchar L 14 Chris Kunitz L 26 Ruslan Fedotenko D 58 Kris Letang L 24 Matt Cooke D 7 Mark Eaton C 48 Tyler Kennedy C 11 Jordan Staal R 81 Miroslav Satan C 25 Maxime Talbot R 27 Craig Adams D 44 Brooks Orpik D 43 Philippe Boucher D 4 Rob Scuderi D 2 Hal Gill D 3 Alex Goligoski R 17 Petr Sykora L 9 Pascal Dupuis TEAM TOTALS OPPONENT TOTALS

Today’s game

Today FAVORITE .........LINE Pittsburgh ............-135

Playoff stats (Through May 24)

NO GOALTENDER 29 Marc-Andre Fleury TEAM TOTALS OPPONENT TOTALS

GP 16 16 16 14 16 16 15 16 16 16 16 10 16 16 16 7 16 16 2 6 10 16 16

G A PTS +/12 16 28 3 14 12 26 10 6 7 13 10 2 10 12 2 1 11 12 5 5 5 10 5 3 6 9 3 1 6 7 24 2 6 9 3 3 6 32 4 6 51 4 5 4 3 1 4 2 2 2 4 1 0 4 4 11 2 3 21 2 3 3 0 2 2 4 0 1 1 10 1 1 30 0 0 361 101 162 9 46 79 125 9-

GP MINS AVG 16 995 2.71 16 1000 2.76 16 1000 3.66

W 11 11 5

PIM 18 12 9 10 15 4 26 12 6 4 6 9 5 2 16 4 6 4 0 0 6 180 242

PP 5 5 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 16 10

L OT EN SO 5 0 1 0 5 0 1 0 11 0 4 1

SH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 GA 45 46 61

GW 3 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 11 5

OTG 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1

S 79 63 47 32 31 41 39 23 11 50 39 15 21 21 5 8 7 15 1 7 14 569 461

SA SV% G 460 .902 0 461 .900 0 569 .893 0

PCTG .152 .222 .128 .063 .032 .122 .077 .043 .364 .060 .051 .067 .143 .095 .000 .125 .143 .000 .000 .000 .000 .107 .100

A PIM 0 2 0 2 0 0

Carolina Hurricanes GENE J. PUSKAR / AP

Carolina wins when Eric Staal scores, but he hasn’t found the net since Game 4 of the second round. fast-breaking best when they’re flying down the ice, peppering goalie Cam Ward with quick shots and following one goal with another. They’re outshooting Carolina by nearly nine shots per game. Three times in the series the Penguins have scored multiple goals within 90 seconds. Next up for Pittsburgh: A spot in the record book, one way or another. No team since the 1984 Edmonton Oilers has won the Stanley Cup the year after losing in the finals. The Penguins—beaten by Detroit in six games in last year’s Cup finals—seemingly are racing the Red Wings to become the first team to reach the final round in consecutive years since New Jersey did

it in 2000 and ’01. The Red Wings lead the West finals 3-1 over Chicago. Before the Penguins can think about a probable matchup against former teammate Marian Hossa— who signed with the Red Wings in the offseason for what he perceived as a better chance to win a title—they must take care of the Hurricanes and avoid becoming the first NHL team since the 1975 Penguins to lose a series after leading 3-0. “We certainly know the situation we’re in,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. “We haven’t won four games. This is a race to four, and we still have more work to do to get there.” — The Associated Press

POS NO. PLAYER C 12 Eric Staal L 36 Jussi Jokinen R 59 Chad LaRose L 13 Ray Whitney D 25 Joni Pitkanen L 14 Sergei Samsonov D 77 Joe Corvo R 24 Scott Walker C 8 Matt Cullen D 4 Dennis Seidenberg D 6 Tim Gleason L 18 Ryan Bayda R 15 Tuomo Ruutu C 17 Rod Brind’Amour R 26 Erik Cole R 44 Patrick Eaves R 39 Patrick Dwyer D 5 Frantisek Kaberle D 33 Anton Babchuk C 63 Dwight Helminen D 38 Tim Conboy D 7 Niclas Wallin TEAM TOTALS OPPONENT TOTALS NO GOALTENDER 30 Cam Ward TEAM TOTALS OPPONENT TOTALS

GP 17 17 17 17 17 16 17 17 17 15 17 14 16 17 17 17 1 7 12 1 3 17 17 17

G 9 7 4 3 0 5 2 1 3 1 1 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 41 48

A 5 4 7 8 8 2 5 6 3 5 4 2 3 3 4 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 74 83

GP MINS AVG 17 1043 2.65 17 1049 2.75 17 1049 2.35

PTS +/14 211 111 1 11 78 2 7 3 7 77 36 1 6 55 24 2 4 34 44 43 11 1 1 3 1 30 0 0 0 0 2 115 5131 5 W 8 8 9

L 9 9 8

PIM 4 0 14 4 16 6 2 19 14 12 32 18 8 8 22 13 0 2 10 0 9 4 221 210

PP 3 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 8

OT EN SO 0 2 2 0 2 2 0 1 2

SH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 GA 46 48 41

GW 1 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 9 SA 552 554 539

OTG S PCTG 0 68 .132 1 27 .259 0 49 .082 0 52 .058 0 46 .000 0 22 .227 0 48 .042 1 24 .042 0 26 .115 0 16 .063 1 11 .091 0 17 .118 0 17 .059 0 28 .036 0 30 .000 0 21 .048 0 0 --0 7 .000 0 21 .000 0 0 --0 0 --0 9 .000 3 539 .076 1 554 .087 SV% .917 .913 .924

G 0 0 0

A PIM 0 0 0 0 0 0

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

NHL

13

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

Red Wings welcome opportunity to clinch at home DETROIT—The Detroit Red Wings had 3-1 series leads twice in the playoffs last year and failed to advance on home ice either time. Detroit did, though, beat the Pittsburgh Penguins to win the Stanley Cup after eliminating the Dallas Stars. Both series ended in Game 6 on the road. The defending champions would like to make things a little easier on themselves Wednesday night against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals. “You want to finish it as soon as you can,” Detroit defenseman Brian Rafalski said Monday, a day after the Red Wings beat Chicago 6-1 in Game 4. “Obviously, we have some bangedup bodies. “We want to get them healthy, and the best way to do that is to finish it as soon as you can.” MVP finalist Pavel Datsyuk (foot) has missed two games, six-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom (lower body-injury) was a surprise scratch Sunday, and four-time Cup-winning forward Kris Draper (lower body) missed Game 4, too. Detroit coach Mike Babcock said he hopes Datsyuk and Lidstrom will be back on the ice Wednesday, but ruled out Draper for Game 5. Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood said the team doctor kept him out of the third period Sunday because of cramps, but insisted he felt “great” on Monday. “If it had been a closer game, I would have stayed in for sure,” Osgood said. On the brink of elimination, the Blackhawks are also banged up.

Wednesday’s game Western Conference finals (Best-of-7), all times ET Chicago at Detroit, 7:30 p.m., Versus

CARLOS OSORIO / AP

Niklas Lidstrom and the Red Wings failed to close out two series last postseason in Game 5 at home. Goalie Nikolai Khabibulin (lower body) hasn’t played since the second period of Game 4, which Chicago won in overtime, and the team’s leading scorer, Martin Havlat, left the ice in two straight games after getting checked hard. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said the status for both players will become more clear today.

If Havlat is hesitant to step back on the ice before becoming a free agent this summer, it’ll be understandable. He was hit by defenseman Niklas Kronwall in the first period of Game 3 and by defenseman Brad Stuart in the middle of Game 4. “The physicality of Stuart and Kronwall is so important for our success at playoff time,” Babcock said.

Rafalski said Kronwall’s open-ice checks remind him of the ones dished out by former New Jersey Devils teammate Scott Stevens. Kronwall was given a major penalty and was ejected from Game 3 for his shot on Havlat. “He’s not as big as Scotty, but he still delivers,” Rafalski said. Quenneville delivered the line of the day after Game 4, saying, “I think we witnessed probably the worst call in the history of sports there,” after a roughing penalty on Matt Walker led to Detroit taking a 3-0 lead in the second period. “Well, I wasn’t happy after the game,” said Quenneville, trying to distance himself from his comments. “I already voiced my displeasure. “We have to face the Wednesday challenge. We got to be smart how we go into the next game and play our game and play it hard between the whistles.” Quenneville was fined $10,000 by the NHL on Monday for his remarks. Babcock said the key for the Red Wings is to realize they have done nothing yet. “As soon as you let up for one second, and the other team gets more focused, then they beat you,” he said. “Last year was a great example, we lost two Game 5s at home that, in the end, could have cost us the series.” — The Associated Press

Playoff stats (Through May 24) Chicago Blackhawks POS NO. PLAYER R 24 Martin Havlat R 88 Patrick Kane C 19 Jonathan Toews L 32 Kris Versteeg R 10 Patrick Sharp C 36 Dave Bolland D 7 Brent Seabrook D 51 Brian Campbell D 25 Cam Barker R 33 Dustin Byfuglien D 2 Duncan Keith R 37 Adam Burish C 26 Samuel Pahlsson L 16 Andrew Ladd L 55 Ben Eager D 8 Matt Walker L 22 Troy Brouwer D 4 Niklas Hjalmarsson C 46 Colin Fraser TEAM TOTALS OPPONENT TOTALS NO GOALTENDER 39 Nikolai Khabibuli 50 Corey Crawford 38 Cristobal Huet TEAM TOTALS OPPONENT TOTALS

GP 16 15 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 1 16 16

G 5 8 7 4 7 4 1 2 3 3 0 3 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 53 52

A 10 5 6 8 4 7 10 8 6 6 6 2 3 1 1 2 2 1 0 88 85

GP MINS AVG 15 881 2.93 1 16 3.75 2 66 4.55 16 970 3.22 16 970 3.28

PTS +/15 0 13 1013 112 511 111 0 11 0 10 0 9 19 16 1 5 4 5 44 4 2 12 32 11 30 0 141 4137 4 W 8 0 1 9 7

L 6 0 1 7 9

PIM 8 12 26 22 4 24 14 0 2 26 8 30 4 12 51 14 12 6 0 279 250

PP 0 2 5 3 3 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 14

OT EN SO 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 0

SH 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 GA 43 1 5 52 53

GW 1 0 2 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 9 7

OTG S PCTG 1 35 .143 0 33 .242 0 42 .167 0 24 .167 1 40 .175 0 27 .148 0 35 .029 0 26 .077 0 31 .097 0 40 .075 0 23 .000 0 22 .136 0 10 .200 1 31 .097 0 14 .071 0 15 .000 0 19 .000 0 8 .000 0 1 .000 3 476 .111 1 463 .112

SA SV% G 421 .898 0 7 .857 0 32 .844 0 463 .888 0 476 .889 0

A 0 0 0 0 0

PIM 0 0 0 0 0

Detroit Red Wings POS NO. PLAYER GP L 93 Johan Franzen 15 C 40 Henrik Zetterberg 15 R 11 Daniel Cleary 15 D 5 Nicklas Lidstrom 14 C 51 Valtteri Filppula 15 R 81 Marian Hossa 15 R 37 Mikael Samuelsson 15 L 26 Jiri Hudler 15 D 28 Brian Rafalski 10 C 13 Pavel Datsyuk 13 D 55 Niklas Kronwall 15 D 23 Brad Stuart 15 R 96 Tomas Holmstrom 15 D 52 Jonathan Ericsson 15 D 22 Brett Lebda 15 C 43 Darren Helm 15 L 8 Justin Abdelkader 6 L 82 Tomas Kopecky 8 R 18 Kirk Maltby 12 D 14 Derek Meech 1 L 21 Ville Leino 2 C 33 Kris Draper 4 D 24 Chris Chelios 5 TEAM TOTALS 15 OPPONENT TOTALS 15 NO GOALTENDER 29 Ty Conklin 30 Chris Osgood TEAM TOTALS OPPONENT TOTALS

G 10 9 6 4 1 6 5 4 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 57 33

A 9 9 7 9 12 6 4 5 5 6 6 6 2 2 4 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 96 57

GP MINS AVG 1 20 0.00 15 926 2.14 15 948 2.09 15 948 3.61

PTS +/19 10 18 11 13 15 13 7 13 8 12 4 9 5 9 3 8 8 7 4 7 4 7 8 4 0 4 8 4 6 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 1153 20 90 20W 0 11 11 4

PIM 10 6 8 6 6 6 4 6 11 9 25 10 16 21 8 4 0 7 2 0 0 0 2 171 277

PP 3 3 0 3 1 2 0 2 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 15

L OT EN SO 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 1 4 0 0 1 11 0 4 0

SH 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 GA 0 33 33 57

GW 2 0 2 1 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 4 SA 9 420 429 586

OTG S PCTG 0 47 .213 0 55 .164 0 31 .194 0 45 .089 0 25 .040 0 70 .086 1 60 .083 0 30 .133 0 19 .158 0 47 .021 0 23 .043 0 27 .037 0 14 .143 0 25 .080 0 13 .000 0 23 .087 0 7 .000 0 13 .000 0 5 .000 0 0 --0 1 .000 0 4 .000 0 2 .000 1 586 .097 2 429 .077

SV% 1.000 .921 .923 .903

G 0 0 0 0

A PIM 0 0 1 2 1 2 0 0

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

NHL

www.sportingnews.com

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

INSIDE DISH

Report: Avalanche sweeten offer for Roy It may not be just the Colorado Avalanche head coaching job Patrick Roy is considering. According to a Montreal news website, Ruefrontenac.com, Roy was offered both the general manager and head coaching job in Colorado by Avs president Pierre Lacroix. According to the report, Roy would hire Sylvain Lefebvre and Guy Boucher as his assistant coaches and Colorado vice president of hockey operations Craig Billington as his co-general manager. There’s speculation that Colorado upped the ante in order to prevent Roy from getting hired by the Montreal Canadiens in some capacity. Right now, Tony Granato is still the Avs head coach, although his firing appears to be a formality at this point if Roy is interested in the job. According to The Denver Post, the team had no comment on the report, which cited sources close to Roy. The NHL has fined Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville $10,000 for harsh criticism of officiating in his team’s loss to Detroit in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals. Quenneville fumed over a roughing call against defenseman Matt Walker during a scrum as the first period ended Sunday. The Red Wings scored on the ensuing power play 1:13 into the second period extending their lead to 3-0, and went on to win 6-1 and take a 3-1 edge in the series. “I think we witnessed probably the worst call in the history of

sports there,” Quenneville said after the game. “Nothing play. “They scored, it’s 3-0. They ruined a good hockey game and absolutely destroyed what was going on the ice. ... Never seen anything like it.” The Blackhawks will try to avoid elimination Wednesday in Detroit.

in the present and getting prepared for the opportunity we have. You know, we have a good opportunity. I understand that. The guys understand that.” Toronto general manager Brian Burke is interested in moving up in the upcoming NHL Entry draft, but he might not have a taker in Tampa Bay G.M. Brian Lawton, who holds the No. 2 pick in the draft. According to the St. Petersburg Times, Lawton would prefer to hold on to the pick rather than trade it. The team covets Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman, although there’s still the possibility Hedman goes No. 1 to the New York Islanders. Either way, Lawton said they want to add a key piece to the franchise’s future. “Our goal is to be competing for a playoff spot next year,” Lawton told the paper. “Along the way, we want to build a foundation and a team ownership and the fans can be proud of.”

According to The Globe and Mail, the NHL and Phoenix Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes have agreed on how the team will be operated day-to-day. According to the report, both sides are expected to tell the judge that the league will continue to finance the team’s operation until a new buyer is found. The only hang-up remaining is the timeline of the sale of the team. Moyes would like a sale quickly so there aren’t huge losses in Phoenix next season while the league wants to wait on moving the team, citing scheduling problems and normal procedures of moving a team. The timeline of the sale will likely be decided by the judge. Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock met with reporters on Monday during an off-day for Detroit. Immediately he was asked about the status of his three injured veterans Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Lidstrom and Kris Draper. He ruled Draper out for Wednesday’s game and said he was happy he didn’t have to worry about playing the other two until then.

DAVID ZALUBOWSKI / AP

Patrick Roy could have G.M. duties in addition to the head coaching job in Colorado. “I’m hopeful to see Pav and Nik very shortly here,” he said. Even without those three, the Red Wings were able to rout Chicago in game four. But Babcock

said beating the Blackhawks so convincingly doesn’t send any message. “I don’t buy any of that stuff,” Babcock said. “I believe in living

Calgary G.M. Darryl Sutter is expected to address the media in Calgary today and possibly name a replacement for the recently fired Mike Keenan. While New Jersey’s Brent Sutter has been the hottest name speculated, the Calgary Herald reported that Darryl Sutter himself could return behind the bench. If that happens, the paper reports, it’s likely because of an order from ownership. The Flames owe Keenan a reported $1 million not to coach next season.

14

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

EASTERN CONFERENCE Carolina vs. Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh leads series 3-0) May 18: Pittsburgh 3, Carolina 2 May 21: Pittsburgh 7, Carolina 4 May 23: Pittsburgh 6, Carolina 2 Today: Pittsburgh at Carolina, 7:30 p.m., Versus Friday: Carolina at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m., if necessary, Versus Sunday: 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 3-1) May 17: Detroit 5, Chicago 2 May 19: Detroit 3, Chicago 2, OT May 22: Chicago 4, Detroit 3, OT May 24: Detroit 6, Chicago 1 Wednesday: Chicago at Detroit, 7:30 p.m. Versus Saturday: Detroit at Chicago, 8 p.m., if necessary, Versus Monday, June 1: Chicago at Detroit, 7:30 p.m., if necessary, Versus

NHL calendar Through May 30—NHL Combine, Toronto. June 5—Stanley Cup finals begin at Western Conference champion. June 18—NHL awards show at Las Vegas. June 26-27—NHL draft, Montreal. July 1—Free agency signing period begins. July 5—Deadline for player-elected salary arbitration. July 6—Deadline for club-elected salary arbitration. July 10—Deadline for eligible players to elect Group 5 free agency. July 20-Aug. 4—Salary arbitration hearings held. Aug. 6—Deadline for salary arbitration decisions to be rendered.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

NASCAR

Reutimann gladly takes rain-shortened victory

Coca-Cola 600 results FINISH START 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

BY REID SPENCER [email protected]

CONCORD, N.C.—He’ll take it! David Reutimann was the big winner in NASCAR’s losing battle against Mother Nature in Monday’s rain-shortened 24 hours of the CocaCola 600 Sprint Cup race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Nearly 25 hours after the 50th edition of the race was supposed to start, and with menacing storm cells dotting the radar, NASCAR called the event after 227 of a scheduled 400 laps and made a first-time winner of Reutimann, who parlayed a strategic call by crew chief Rodney Childers into the unlikely victory. The win in NASCAR’s longest race, which was postponed from Sunday because of rain, was the first for Michael Waltrip Racing—now in its third season of Cup competition— and the first for a Toyota team other than Joe Gibbs Racing. All told, Reutimann led five laps, all under the final caution. He was running 14th when rain started falling on Lap 221. The top three finishers—Reutimann, polesitter Ryan Newman and Robby Gordon—remained on the track when NASCAR threw the sixth caution of the race on Lap 221 after a shower hit Turn 2. Six laps later, the race was red-flagged for the fourth time. Carl Edwards and Brian Vickers, who each took two tires under yellow on lap 222, finished fourth and fifth. “It certainly wasn’t the prettiest win,” said Reutimann, who won the race with his father, renowned shorttrack racer Buzzie Reutimann, in attendance. “Rodney Childers made a great call and told me to stay out. “When you envision winning your first Sprint Cup race, this is not

15

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

21 1 37 19 8 2 6 9 14 30

CAR DRIVER

MAKE

00 39 7 99 83 18 9 42 20 17

Toyota Chevrolet Toyota Ford Toyota Toyota Dodge Chevrolet Toyota Ford

David Reutimann Ryan Newman Robby Gordon Carl Edwards Brian Vickers Kyle Busch Kasey Kahne Juan Montoya Joey Logano Matt Kenseth

POINTS

LAPS

190 175 170 160 160 160 146 142 143 134

227 227 227 227 227 227 227 227 227 227

NASCAR Sprint Cup standings (through Monday’s race)

MIKE MCCARN / AP

David Reutimann, second from left, only led five laps in Monday’s race but they were the ones that counted the most. exactly the way you envision it. But these things are so hard to win, we’ll take it any way we can get it… It’s fun, but I felt like I was down on pit road for a month (waiting for NASCAR to call the race.” Reutimann gained two positions to 13th in the Cup standings, trailing 12th-place Mark Martin by six points. “Obviously, their crew chief made an awesome call,” an elated Michael Waltrip said of the No. 00 Toyota team’s effort. “David and I have been in position to win races before, and fate took it away from us. So I look at this as payback.” Kyle Busch led a race-high 173 laps but was victimized by rain for the second straight NASCAR event. On

Saturday night, he had the dominant car in the rain-shortened Carquest Auto Parts 300 Nationwide Series race, which Mike Bliss won by conserving fuel and staying out until a storm hit the speedway. Busch passed Newman on Lap 3 and thereafter dominated the greenflag segments of the race, which were run between interruptions from intermittent thundershowers. Newman lost track position when he had to bring his No. 39 Chevrolet back to the pits to tighten a lug nut under a competition caution called on Lap 41. Newman and crew chief Tony Gibson discussed strategy during the final caution and made the strategic call that salvaged a good finish. Notes: Newman posted his fourth

straight top-five finish. The last time he had a comparable streak was 2005 … Robby Gordon’s third was his best finish since he ran second at Watkins Glen International in 2005 … Bill Elliott finished 15th in his 800th Cup start … Kurt Busch came to pit road with a vibration on Lap 193, and his crew corrected the problem by changing right-side tires on the No. 2 Dodge. The unscheduled stop dropped Busch to 34th at the finish. He remained third in points but fell 115 behind leader Jeff Gordon, who finished 14th … Dale Earnhardt Jr. fought an ill-handling car from the outset, lost two laps on the track and finished 40th. — Reid Spencer writes for the Sporting News NASCAR wire service

RK. +/- DRIVER POINTS BEHIND STARTS POLES WINS 1 -- Jeff Gordon 1722 Leader 12 0 1 2 -- Tony Stewart 1678 -44 12 0 0 3 -- Kurt Busch 1607 -115 12 0 1 4 -- Jimmie Johnson 1594 -128 12 0 1 5 -- Denny Hamlin 1575 -147 12 0 0 6 +1 Kyle Busch 1540 -182 12 1 3 7 +1 Ryan Newman 1538 -184 12 1 0 8 -2 Jeff Burton 1472 -250 12 0 0 9 +1 Matt Kenseth 1460 -262 12 1 2 10 -1 Greg Biffle 1448 -274 12 0 0 11 +1 Carl Edwards 1431 -291 12 0 0 12 -1 Mark Martin 1428 -294 12 3 2 13 +2 David Reutimann 1422 -300 12 1 1 14 -- Juan Montoya 1397 -325 12 1 0 15 +1 Kasey Kahne 1351 -371 12 0 0 16 +1 Brian Vickers 1348 -374 12 2 0 17 -4 Clint Bowyer 1319 -403 12 0 0 18 +1 Martin Truex Jr. 1238 -484 12 1 0 19 -1 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 1225 -497 12 0 0 20 -- Marcos Ambrose 1216 -506 12 0 0 21 +3 Jamie McMurray 1168 -554 12 0 0 22 -- Casey Mears 1168 -554 12 0 0 23 -2 Kevin Harvick 1149 -573 12 0 0 24 -1 Reed Sorenson 1148 -574 12 0 0 25 +5 Joey Logano* 1145 -577 12 0 0 —Bold line indicates Chase cutoff

MORE COVERAGE from sportingnews.com Results: sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=553064 Standings: sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=553066

T-5 6 5 3 5 2 4 4 2 3 3 2 3 2 0 1 2 3 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 0

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

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

NASCAR

Rain ruins dominant day for Kyle Busch

16

INSIDE DISH

NASCAR confiscates Robby Gordon’s rear axle housing after 3rd-place finish

BY JARED TURNER SceneDaily.com

CONCORD, N.C.—The plight of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch in Monday’s CocaCola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway is living proof that the fastest car doesn’t always win a NASCAR Sprint Cup race. Busch led 173 laps—by far the most of any driver in Monday’s rain-delayed event that was originally set for Sunday— but finished sixth after pitting with most of the leaders under the race’s final caution, brought out by rain on lap 222. The rain kept coming, the race never went green again and it was called official after 227 of 400 scheduled laps. Busch, the first driver off pit road who took four tires, ended up behind three drivers who didn’t pit at all and two others who took just two tires. “We had to come down pit road and put gas in it,” Busch said. “Fortunately, a lot of guys like us took four tires so we didn’t lose that much ground. The 99 (of Carl Edwards) and the 83 (of Brian Vickers) took two tires, so they got out in front of us. It only hurt us two spots so we finished sixth.” First among those drivers who stayed out was winner David Reutimann, who inherited the top spot by not pitting. Reutimann had been running 14th when the final caution flag flew. If the weather had cleared and the race had resumed, Reutimann and the two others who didn’t stop—Ryan Newman and Robby Gordon—would have been forced to pit and fallen deep in the field. But that’s not what happened. “We’re running a different race than what them guys in 15th are racing,” said Steve Addington, Busch’s crew chief. “(We) made the decision and thought we’d go back racing. (I thought), ‘We have lights here, we probably won’t get another drop of rain.’ ... It’s just hard to sit there and know what’s going to happen, but we

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

HAROLD HINSON FOR SN

Kyle Busch did everything but win Monday’s race, leading 173 of the 227 laps that were run before rain ended it. were racing our race. … “If we’d have stayed out and then it went back green, we’d have had to come down pit road ... and we’d have been stuck back there in 26th position and it would have been hard getting back up there. But we came here to win the race and we raced the guys we were racing and all them took four tires.” Busch was the leader when the final caution flag waved. Five laps later, the race—already past its halfway point and thus an official event—was called. Despite the way things turned out, Addington could find solace in how

strong the No. 18 group ran throughout the race. “You can take bright spots out of it,” he said. “We ran good all day long, from the beginning of the race till right there till the last pit stop. We were still in good shape because if we’d have went back green (those) guys were in a bad situation. “… It’s not hard on (Kyle). It sucks for us for him because he goes out there and drives his tail off and dominates the race all day long and then doesn’t have anything to show for it.” [email protected]

NASCAR kept the rear axle housing of Robby Gordon’s car following the Coca-Cola 600 and will do further inspections of it this week at its Research and Development Center, NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp said Monday night. If there are any penalties to Gordon and his Robby Gordon Motorsports team, they will be announced later this week, Tharp said. Gordon finished third in the rain-delayed race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, thanks in part to his decision to stay on the track under the final caution period. The result was his best since a second at Watkins Glen in 2005 and his best on an oval track since winning at New Hampshire in 2001. “Part of it was watching the computer screen,” Gordon said. “We were sitting there 20th or 21st, and we were like, ‘OK, if we come in and pit, we’re going to come out 21st. If we stay out, we’ve got an opportunity to finish in the top five.’ “I was just kind of bummed there were two other guys who went for the gamble.” Gordon had used the same strategy earlier in the race when he stayed out under the race’s fourth caution to lead lap 73. When the chance came to do it again just past the halfway point, the choice was clear. “I don’t think we had to say anything,” crew chief Kirk Almquist said. “We’d done it once earlier in the race. We stayed out and led a lap under the first red flag we had. We had talked about it and knew if we got in the situation again, depending on where we were on the track, we definitely were going to go for it and try it.” — Lee Montgomery, Bob Pockrass, SceneDaily.com Rookie Joey Logano’s acclimation to NASCAR Sprint Cup racing was in full view in Monday’s rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Logano ran as high as fourth during the race, which was called after 227 of a scheduled 400 laps. Under caution on Lap 222, he brought his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to the pits for

four tires and fuel and lost positions when race winner David Reutimann, runner-up Ryan Newman and Gordon gambled on the weather and stayed on the track. Logano was credited with a ninth-place run, matching the career best he posted in two of the previous three races, at Talladega and Darlington. Though the rain may have deprived him of a better finish, Logano, who turned 19 on Sunday, was philosophical. “A top-10 is hard to be mad about,” he said. “Could have been a blessing in disguise. Could have been better. Could have been worse. The only thing that I wish was different is that they brought us down pit road and stopped up and let us change our tires after we went back green (instead of opening pit road when the final caution flew), because then we would have been sitting fourth right now or fifth or wherever the heck we were. “It is what it is. I couldn’t have done anything about it, so I really can’t be mad about it. It’s still ninth place. We could have gone back a lot further than (we could have gone) forward.” — Reid Spencer At 3 p.m., 163 laps into the race, NASCAR brought the cars to a halt on the frontstretch as crew members lined pit road and fans stood silently in the grandstands in a Memorial Day moment of remembrance for members of the Armed Forces who have given their lives in service to the United States. “I thought that it was really cool,” said seventh-place finisher Kasey Kahne. “To honor the men and women who have served our country, and be able to participate in such a really special deal was great. “During the moment of silence, I just sat in my car and thought about what the men and women of the Armed Services have done for our country. I’m proud of NASCAR and all the drivers and crews for such a great moment.” — Reid Spencer

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

INSIDE DISH

Manny Ramirez worked out at Dodger Stadium on Monday for the first time since he was suspended 50 games for violating Major League Baseball’s drug policy 2½ weeks ago.

drop in the Red Sox lineup has been delayed because the lefthanded DH was on the bench Monday at Minnesota, with Twins lefty Francisco Liriano on the mound. Manager Terry Francona said Ortiz, hitting .195 with one home run, is healthy and described his slump as “normal hitters’ woes.” 3B Mike Lowell is scheduled for a rest, so Francona said he might make multiple changes to the order for tonight’s game.

LM OTERO / AP

Alex Rodriguez’s first trip to Arlington after admitting steroid use was met with boos. Ramirez took batting practice at the empty stadium, team spokesman Josh Rawitch said. The rest of the Dodgers were in Denver, where they beat the Rockies 16-6. Their road trip continues this week against the Rockies and Cubs. Ramirez can work out with the Dodgers, but he must be off the field by the time gates open. He is eligible to be activated for the July 3 game at San Diego. Yankees C Jorge Posada, sidelined since straining his right hamstring May 4, could play in an extended spring training game this week. He took batting practice, threw and participated in a running program Monday with OF Xavier Nady (right elbow ligament), C Jose Molina (strained left quadriceps) and 3B Cody Ransom (right quadriceps). Struggling David Ortiz’s possible

Lefthander David Price, who helped Tampa Bay reach the World Series last year, was promoted from Class AAA Durham and started at Cleveland on the same day it was announced that 2B Akinori Iwamura, batting .310, will miss the rest of the season after suffering a torn ligament in his left knee Sunday against the Marlins. Meantime, manager Joe Maddon, voted by his peers as Sporting News’ 2008 A.L. manager of the year for leading the Rays to that 2008 World Series, has received a three-year contract extension, through 2012. “This is where I belong,” Maddon said. “This is where I want to be.” Cubs OF Milton Bradley believes umpires have widened his strike zone in retaliation for his April 16 run-in with umpire Larry Vanover, the Chicago Tribune reported, forcing Bradley to chase pitches he normally doesn’t swing at or risk being called out on strikes. “Unfortunately, I just think it’s a lot of ‘Oh, you did this to my colleague,’ or ‘We’re going to get him any time we can. As soon as he gets two strikes, we’re going to call whatever and see what he does. Let’s try to ruin Milton

17

THE LAUNCHING PAD

Boo who? Rangers fans let A-Rod have it Alex Rodriguez didn’t make himself available to the media in the days leading up to Monday’s YankeesRangers game, his first in Texas since he admitted this spring that he used steroids during his time in Arlington. But he wasn’t able to hide from the fans who had watched him hit 156 home runs in a Texas uniform but booed him heartily during introductions Monday. Rangers owner Tom Hicks told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram before the Yankees 11-1 victory that he hadn’t talked to Rodriguez since his admission and that Hicks had no intention of doing so during the series either. “I don’t worry about Alex Rodriguez,” Hicks said. “I worry about the Texas Rangers.” Rodriguez’s response: his first five-hit game since 2005. Yankees manager Joe Girardi had suggested that any negative reaction in Texas would be based on Rodriguez’s stature as a “great player,” and not because Rangers fans felt cheated or betrayed by A-Rod’s admitted steroid use while with the team from 2001-03, the New York Daily News reported. But before the A.L. West-leading Rangers took the field, The Who song “The Kids are Alright” blared over the loudspeakers, a dig at Rodriguez for comments he made after being traded that he would have never gone to Texas if he had been told it would be him “and 24 kids.”

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

Bradley,’” he told the Tribune. The Arizona Republic reported that Monday’s afternoon game prevented many Diamondbacks players from attending funeral services in the morning for reliever Scott Schoeneweis’ wife, Gabrielle, found dead Wednesday at the couple’s suburban Phoenix home. The team would have chartered a bus for the team if not for Monday’s 12:40 p.m. PT game against the Padres, manager A.J. Hinch said. Still, starting pitchers and some who are on the D.L. were expected to attend. Reds 2B Brandon Phillips, who has an N.L.-leading 27 RBIs this month, plans on trying to play with a hairline fracture of his right thumb suffered Saturday against the Indians. “It is really swollen right now,” Phillips said. “I’ll think about the next step when it gets here, after the swelling goes down.” Giants G.M. Brian Sabean, acknowledging that his anemic team needs to add a hitter, told the San Francisco Chronicle that he is active in trade talks and, in a departure from his long-held philosophy, is willing to get one who can walk as a free agent after the season. The Giants have inquired about Marlins 2B Dan Uggla, who won’t be a free agent until 2011. The Nationals are willing to deal 1B Nick Johnson, and the Indians have made IF/OF Mark DeRosa available. Both are potential free agents. Others who could be moved include A’s OF Matt Holliday, Texas IF Hank Blalock and Seattle 3B Adrian Beltre, whom Sabean is known to like.

What to expect in the major leagues today

Out for revenge After suffering a doubleheader sweep by a combined score of 17-4 at Fenway Park last month, the Twins are in no mood to roll out the red carpet for the Red Sox in their current series. And when the Twins are angry, look out. Last week, they snapped a six-game losing streak by shellacking the White Sox by the score of 20-1. The next night, they hung 11 runs on the Brewers. But bad as the Twins are on the road (5-14), they’re tough to beat at home. Already this season, two Twins (Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer) have hit for the cycle at the Metrodome. It all could add up to a long night for Boston starter Jon Lester, who has a 6.93 ERA in four road starts this season.

Royal pain for Detroit With the first-place Tigers recently putting some space between themselves and the rest of the A.L. Central, the Royals need to make up some ground in their current three-game set against Detroit. And they will have the right man on the mound tonight. Ace Zack Greinke will try again for win No. 8, though it will be hard to top his previous effort at Kauffman Stadium against the Tigers. Back in April, Greinke fanned 10 Detroit hitters in a complete-game shutout.

We want a pitcher ... As nice as it is to have a starting pitcher who can handle the bat, the Reds would like righthander Micah Owings to be more dominant on the mound than at the plate. Owings, a .314 career hitter who is batting .292 with a homer this season, has a 5.27 ERA over his past five starts. His struggles at home (5.63 ERA in three starts at Great American Ball Park) have been especially troubling. He will face the Astros at home tonight.

— Chris Bahr

CHARLES REX ARBOGAST / AP

Jason Kubel is one of two Twins to hit for the cycle in Minneapolis this season.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

TOM MIHALEK / AP

Heath Bell and the Padres continue to sustain their strong start to the season.

Power Poll BY RYAN FAGAN [email protected]

The eyes of the baseball world have been focused on Southern California lately, what with the Dodgers leading the majors in victories without the services of their suspended slugger, and with the Jake Peavy watch hitting Favreian levels (OK, that’ll never happen …). What we’ve also learned is that the Padres are capable of playing better baseball than anyone thought heading into the season. Their strong 9-3 start caught most folks by surprise, as has their current nine-game winning streak. But the rotation can be solid, and the bullpen has been pretty good, led by closer Heath Bell. Manager Bud Black has done a fine job with a makeshift team. The goal now is to avoid another extended swoon, like the 4-19 stretch the Padres went through leading up to the nine-game winning streak. When you look at that lineup, though (with the obvious exception of Adrian Gonzalez), that might be easier said than done. They’ve proven they’re capable of winning; now they have to show they’re capable of finding some type of consistency.

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

18

1. Dodgers (last week: 2)

After a rough start without Manny Ramirez (1-4 in the first five games after his suspension), the Dodgers have gone 8-3 and continue to be lights-out at home (18-5).

2. Rangers (4)

Still a bit strange to see that the team with the most homers in the majors entering the week is led in homers, RBIs and runs scored by the leadoff hitter, Ian Kinsler.

3. Red Sox (6)

The three-game sweep of the Blue Jays in Fenway Park to open last week could be a sign of things to come for both teams.

4. Brewers (3)

The Brew Crew enter Monday with the same record as the division-rival Cardinals, but they get the nod here thanks to their convincing three-game sweep in St. Louis last week.

5. Cardinals (11)

The Cardinals gave up just two runs during the five-game winning streak (after Milwaukee left town) that brought them back into a tie with the Brewers.

6. Tigers (7)

The recent improvement in the pitching staff—especially Dontrelle Willis’ resurgence—has Tigers fans everywhere thinking postseason.

7. Blue Jays (1)

Rough week for the Jays. How they respond to this six-game losing streak will set the tone for the rest of the season.

8. Phillies (10)

What’s wrong with Brad Lidge? He’s allowed at least one earned run in eight of his past 11 appearances, and already has four blown saves this season.

9. Yankees (8)

The Yankees were the beneficiary of one of those Lidge blown saves, which helped save them from being swept at home by the Phillies this weekend.

10. Angels (15)

The conversation about Torii Hunter and the A.L. MVP starts now.

11. Mets (5)

That was a trip to Los Angeles that the Mets would rather forget.

12. Braves (18)

Atlanta is only 1½ games out of first place, and that pitching is starting to round into shape.

13. Reds (12)

Odd stat: The Reds are two games under .500 at home, but five games over on the road.

14. Padres (22)

That 9-0 homestand was impressive, especially considering the wins came against three teams—Reds, Giants, Cubs—with sights set on the postseason.

15. Rays (14)

David Price is back in the bigs. He struggled at times for Class AAA Durham, but his last outing—nine strikeouts in five hitless innings—is what Rays’ fans hope to see.

16. Twins (17)

Joe Mauer is the best hitter in baseball right now. His only flaw at the plate was a lack of power. That’s “was” as in past tense. He already has 10 homers this season.

17. Royals (13)

Three huge games with the Tigers starting today in Kansas City.

18. Cubs (9)

The offense just isn’t there right now. The Cubbies scored a whopping total of five runs in their six games—all losses—this week in St. Louis and San Diego.

19. Giants (16)

San Francisco is now nine games behind the Dodgers in the N.L. West. That’s not exactly the push the Giants were hoping to make with Manny on the sidelines in L.A.

20. Mariners (21)

Here’s an update with the Russell Branyan experiment (give him 500 at-bats, see what he does with it): His OPS is solid (.988) and he has 10 homers, but the 20 RBIs aren’t enough for the No. 5 hitter.

21. Marlins (19)

At least the Nationals should keep the majors’ most free-falling team out of last place in the N.L. East.

22. Pirates (24)

Andy LaRoche is batting .424 with nine RBIs in his current nine-game hitting streak.

23. Orioles (23)

The Erik Bedard trade looks better every time Adam Jones steps to the plate in an Orioles’ uniform.

24. Astros (20)

The Astros are fifth in the N.L. in team batting average (.265) but only 13th in runs scored. They’re batting .249 with runners in scoring position, 12th in the N.L.

25. White Sox (25)

Jake Peavy would have looked nice slotted atop the rotation on the South Side.

26. Diamondbacks (28)

Signs of life have finally been spotted in the desert—the D-backs are 6-2 in their past eight games.

27. Rockies (26)

Todd Helton (.342 average) and Brad Hawpe (.326) have been rocks in the Rocks’ lineup; everyone else has been resoundingly blah.

28. Indians (27)

With the way this season has gone for Cleveland, is it any surprise the Indians lost two of three to their Ohio rivals, the Reds?

29. Athletics (29)

Just, ugh.

30. Nationals (30)

Rookie lefty Ross Detwiler has given up three earned runs in his first two starts (a nifty 2.45 ERA) but hasn’t gotten a win either time.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

Fantasy Focus

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

LEAGUE LEADERS Batting Average

Start ’em, Sit ’em A.L.

Player MiCabrera Bartlett VMartinez AdJones AHill Morneau Kubel

Player Beltran Pence DWright Zimmerman Ibanez Hudson CGuzman

.378 .373 .364 .359 .348 .341 .340

A.L.

Team New York Houston New York Washington Philadelphia Los Angeles Washington

.367 .358 .348 .346 .345 .344 .344

Player CPena Bay Morneau Teixeira Four tied

N.L.

Team Tampa Bay Boston Minnesota New York

PAT SULLIVAN / AP

Houston P Roy Oswalt

Start ’em Roy Oswalt, SP, Astros. Oswalt is 23-1 with a 2.35 ERA against Cincinnati. Don’t think Reds fans will ever forget that. B.J. Upton, OF, Rays. Upton’s average has been abysmal, but he’s 5-for-8 (.625) with a home run and two RBIs vs. Carl Pavano. Chris Duncan, OF, Cardinals. Duncan’s average has dropped about 70 points in May, but he’s 5-for-12 (.417) against Jeff Suppan. Sit ’em Magglio Ordonez, OF, Tigers. Ordonez is 4-for-31 (.129) with five strikeouts vs. the Royals’ Zack Greinke. Delmon Young, OF, Twins. Young just returned from the bereavement list and needs time. Plus, he’s 3-for-16 with five Ks against Jon Lester. Kelly Johnson, 2B, Braves. Johnson is 1-for-10 with three strikeouts vs. the Giants’ Tim Lincecum. —George Winkler

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

Player BRoberts AdJones Damon Morneau Pedroia Scutaro Two tied

Player Ibanez Pujols Zimmerman Hudson ASoriano AdGonzalez Two tied

41 38 37 37 37 37 36

A.L.

Team Philadelphia St. Louis Washington Los Angeles Chicago San Diego

38 38 37 35 35 33 32

Player Crawford Figgins Ellsbury Abreu Bartlett BUpton Crisp

Player Longoria Bay Morneau Hunter CPena Markakis AHuff

Player Ibanez Fielder Dunn Pujols Hawpe Cantu Zimmerman

49 47 41 39 39 38 37

A.L.

Team Philadelphia Milwaukee Washington St. Louis Colorado Florida Washington

43 42 39 38 36 35 35

Player Palmer Halladay Greinke Slowey Buehrle Penny RRamirez

Player Longoria Callaspo MYoung Byrd Lind Lowell Four tied

Player FSanchez Hudson Kotchman Beltran FLopez HaRamirez Tejada

20 16 16 15 15 15 14

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

Player Crisp Andrus JBuck Crawford Cuddyer DeJesus 15 tied

A.L.

Team Pittsburgh Los Angeles Atlanta New York Arizona Florida Houston

17 16 16 15 15 15 15

5 4 3 3 3 3 2

Team Los Angeles Washington San Francisco New York Los Angeles Atlanta New York

5-0 5-0 5-1 4-1 4-1 6-2 6-2

1.000 1.000 .833 .800 .800 .750 .750

Player Verlander Greinke FHernandez Halladay Lester Garza Beckett

Team Detroit Kansas City Seattle Toronto Boston Tampa Bay Boston

Player Peavy JVazquez Lincecum JSantana Billingsley Haren JoJohnson

85 73 66 63 58 53 51

Player Kemp Morgan Victorino Bourn JUpton Winn DWright

A.L.

Team Los Angeles Pittsburgh Philadelphia Houston Arizona San Francisco New York

4 4 4 3 3 3 3

Player Fuentes Papelbon Jenks FFrancisco Sherrill MaRivera Rodney

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

79 78 76 75 69 63 59

N.L.

Team Los Angeles Boston Chicago Texas Baltimore New York Detroit

12 12 10 10 10 9 8.

Player FrRodriguez Bell Cordero Hoffman Franklin Qualls Broxton

East Boston New York Toronto Tampa Bay Baltimore

W 27 26 27 23 19

L 18 19 21 24 26

Pct .600 .578 .563 .489 .422

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

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

Home 17-6 14-9 16-6 11-10 12-11

Away 10-12 12-10 11-15 12-14 7-15

Central Detroit Kansas City Minnesota Chicago Cleveland

W 25 22 22 20 18

L 18 23 24 24 28

Pct .581 .489 .478 .455 .391

GB WCGB L10 — — 8-2 4 4 4-6 4½ 4½ 4-6 5½ 5½ 5-5 8½ 8½ 4-6

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

Home 15-7 14-11 17-10 12-10 8-11

Away 10-11 8-12 5-14 8-14 10-17

West Texas Los Angeles Seattle Oakland

W 26 23 21 17

L 18 21 25 25

Pct .591 .523 .457 .405

GB WCGB L10 — — 6-4 3 2½ 5-5 6 5½ 4-6 8 7½ 4-6

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

Home 14-7 12-9 12-12 10-12

Away 12-11 11-12 9-13 7-13

National League Standings East Philadelphia New York Atlanta Florida Washington

W 24 24 23 21 13

L 19 20 21 25 31

Pct GB WCGB L10 .558 — — 7-3 .545 ½ 1½ 5-5 .523 1½ 2½ 6-4 .457 4½ 5½ 4-6 .295 11½ 12½ 2-8

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

Home 8-13 13-8 11-12 9-14 7-16

Away 16-6 11-12 12-9 12-11 6-15

Central Milwaukee St. Louis Cincinnati Chicago Pittsburgh Houston

W 27 26 24 21 21 18

L 18 19 20 22 24 25

Pct .600 .578 .545 .488 .467 .419

Str W-1 L-2 W-2 L-8 W-2 L-5

Home 13-7 17-9 11-12 12-8 11-9 9-15

Away 14-11 9-10 13-8 9-14 10-15 9-10

West W Los Angeles 31 San Diego 23 San Francisco 21 Arizona 19 Colorado 18 z-first game was a win

L 15 22 23 26 26

Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home Away .674 — — 7-3 W-1 18-5 13-10 .511 7½ 3 10-0 W-10 17-6 6-16 .477 9 4½ 3-7 W-1 14-8 7-15 .422 11½ 7 6-4 L-2 9-16 10-10 .409 12 7½ 4-6 L-1 7-11 11-15

GB WCGB L10 — — 6-4 1 — 5-5 2½ 1½ 4-6 5 4 2-8 6 5 7-3 8 7 3-7

Pitching Matchups Today’s Games (All times Eastern)

N.L.

Saves N.L.

Team Kansas City Texas Kansas City Tampa Bay Minnesota Kansas City

Player Broxton Martis Cain Pelfrey Stults DLowe JSantana

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

Triples A.L.

15 12 11 11 11 10

Strikeouts

N.L.

Team Tampa Bay Kansas City Texas Texas Toronto Boston

Team Houston Cincinnati San Francisco Colorado New York

N.L.

Team Los Angeles Toronto Kansas City Minnesota Chicago Boston Boston

Doubles A.L.

Player Bourn Taveras Burriss Fowler JosReyes Three tied

29 19 18 15 14 14 11

Pitching (5 decisions) N.L.

Team Tampa Bay Boston Minnesota Los Angeles Tampa Bay Baltimore Baltimore

17 17 14 14 12

N.L.

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

RBIs A.L.

Team San Diego Philadelphia Washington St. Louis

Stolen Bases N.L.

Team Baltimore Baltimore New York Minnesota Boston Toronto

Player AdGonzalez Ibanez Dunn Pujols Four tied

15 13 13 13 12

Runs A.L.

American League Standings

Home Runs

N.L.

Team Detroit Tampa Bay Cleveland Baltimore Toronto Minnesota Minnesota

19

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

13 13 12 11 11 11 11

American League The Line Tampa Bay (Garza 4-2) at Cleveland (Pavano 4-4), 7:05 p.m. TB -125 at Cle +115 Toronto (Romero 2-0) at Baltimore (Berken 0-0), 7:05 p.m. Tor -115 at Bal +105 N.Y. Yankees (Chamberlain 2-1) at Texas (Millwood 4-4), 8:05 p.m. NYY -115 at Tex +105 Boston (Lester 3-4) at Minnesota (Blackburn 3-2), 8:10 p.m. Bos -120 at Min +110 Detroit (E.Jackson 4-2) at Kansas City (Greinke 7-1), 8:10 p.m. at KC -165 Det +155 Chicago White Sox (Colon 2-4) at L.A. Angels (Saunders 6-2), 10:05 p.m. at LAA -190 ChW +180 Seattle (Washburn 3-3) at Oakland (Braden 3-5), 10:05 p.m. at Oak -145 Sea +135 National League The Line Florida (A.Miller 1-1) at Philadelphia (Blanton 2-3), 7:05 p.m. at Phi -155 Fla +145 Houston (Oswalt 1-2) at Cincinnati (Owings 3-5), 7:10 p.m. Hou -135 at Cin +125 Washington (Stammen 0-0) at N.Y. Mets (Li.Hernandez 3-1), 7:10 p.m. at NYM -150 Was +140 Pittsburgh (Snell 1-5) at Chicago Cubs (Marshall 2-3), 8:05 p.m. at ChC -150 Pit +140 St. Louis (Wainwright 4-2) at Milwaukee (Suppan 3-3), 8:05 p.m. at Mil -105 StL -105 L.A. Dodgers (Milton 0-0) at Colorado (Cook 3-1), 8:40 p.m. at Col -165 LAD +155 San Diego (Correia 1-2) at Arizona (Scherzer 1-3), 9:40 p.m. at Ari -155 SD +145 Atlanta (Medlen 0-1) at San Francisco (Lincecum 3-1), 10:15 p.m. at SF -165 Atl +155

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

Baseball

20

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

AMERICAN LEAGUE N.Y. Yankees 11, Texas 1

Boston 6, Minnesota 5

Booed in Texas, A-Rod reacts by going 5-for-5

Sox produce again for Penny

ARLINGTON, TEXAS—The only thing that felt awkward for Alex Rodriguez was wearing a red New York Yankees cap. A-Rod certainly wasn’t bothered by hearty boos he heard in his first game in Texas since admitting earlier this year that he used steroids while playing for the Rangers. Even while insisting there was no extra motivation, Rodriguez had the perfect response: matching a career high with five hits and driving in four runs in New York’s 11-1 victory over the Rangers on Monday. “There’s no panic. I know exactly what I’m capable of doing,” Rodriguez said. “I’m feeling much better each and every day.” As for the red caps the Yankees wore for Memorial Day, Rodriguez called those “a little weird.” After singling in the eighth inning in his fifth at-bat, A-Rod was lifted for a pinch runner with New York already up 10-0. His first five-hit game since April 2005 raised his batting average 60 points—from .189 to .259. He had 10 hits his previous 16 games since being activated from the disabled list May 8. “He looked great. He didn’t try to do too much,” manager Joe Girardi. “He pulled the ball, hit some balls in the gaps, some up the middle.” Phil Hughes (3-2) limited the Rangers to three hits over eight shutout innings, leaving after 101 pitches. He had allowed 17 earned runs in 15 2-3 innings since throwing six scoreless innings in his first start of the season April 28 at Detroit. “The story for me was Phil Hughes,” Rodriguez said. Maybe on any other day. Rodriguez was booed when introduced before the game and each time he batted,

MINNEAPOLIS—Brad Penny has received quite the welcome from the Boston Red Sox. They signed him for $5 million this season, believing the two-time All-Star could rebound from shoulder problems. They’re scoring runs for him at an exceptional rate. Heck, they even take care of him when he’s sick. Jason Bay and Kevin Youkilis hit two-run doubles, and Red Sox started a 10-game road trip with a 6-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday— surviving a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth inning by pinch-hitter Joe Mauer. Penny (5-1) gave up an early home run to Michael Cuddyer, but he worked his way into the sixth despite a sinus problem that caused an upset stomach. He was vomiting between innings. In nine starts by Penny, the Red Sox have scored 58 runs. “It’s a lot of fun with this team,” Penny said, later adding: “The breaks are going my way.” Penny, who lowered his ERA to 5.96 after allowing six hits without a walk, watched his new team take a 5-1 lead against Francisco Liriano (2-6) in the fourth. Penny struck out seven. Jacoby Ellsbury stretched his hitting streak to 20 games with a slow roller over the mound in the third that Liriano wasn’t in position to field. The Red Sox got 15 hits from the first six batters in the order. — The Associated Press

Yankees 11, Rangers 1 New York AB R H BI Jeter dh 5 2 1 0 Damon lf 4 3 2 0 Gardner cf 1 0 1 0 Teixeira 1b 4 3 2 2 A.Rodriguez 3b 5 2 5 4 1-Berroa pr-3b 0 0 0 0 Cano 2b 5 1 2 2 Me.Cabrera cf-lf 5 0 1 0 Swisher rf 4 0 1 3 R.Pena ss 5 0 1 0 Cash c 5 0 3 0 Totals 43 11 19 11

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

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

Avg. .284 .312 .253 .273 .259 .167 .315 .323 .225 .246 .182

Texas Kinsler 2b M.Young 3b Vizquel 3b Hamilton cf Dav.Murphy lf N.Cruz rf Blalock dh Byrd lf-cf C.Davis 1b Teagarden c Andrus ss Totals

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

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

Avg. .278 .337 .372 .260 .229 .294 .245 .282 .200 .225 .285

New York Texas

LM OTERO / AP

Alex Rodriguez punished his former team at the plate, leading the Yankees to an easy road win. though cheers from a group of Yankees fans were more prominent by the time A-Rod trotted off the field in the eighth. Rodriguez played for the Rangers from 2001-03, when he first became baseball’s highest-paid player with a then-record $252 million, 10-year contract, and was traded to the Yankees prior to spring training in 2004. In an interview with ESPN in February, he blamed the pressures of that contract for his decision to use performance-enhancing drugs in Texas. Rangers owner Tom Hicks, who said he felt “personally betrayed” after the slugger’s admission, said he had no plans to talk to Rodriguez this week. A-Rod did call him to apologize in February.

“Texas is a place that has been really good to me,” Rodriguez said after the win. “I have a lot of respect for the ownership here. I have a lot of good friends.” Mark Teixeira, the Rangers’ former first-round pick, hit an RBI double off Matt Harrison (4-4) in the first before Rodriguez drove in a run with an infield single. Teixeira , a former Rangers first-round pick who was traded less than two years ago, heard his share of boos, though not as loud as those reserved for Rodriguez. “We’re Yankees, we get booed everywhere,” Teixeira said. “It’s great. That means people care.” — The Associated Press

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

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

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

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

204 013 010 — 11 19 0 000 000 001 — 1 4 0

1-ran for A.Rodriguez in the 8th. LOB: New York 10, Texas 5. 2B: Jeter (10), Damon (11), Teixeira (10), A.Rodriguez 2 (3), Hamilton (4), N.Cruz (9), Teagarden (2). 3B: Cano (1). HR: N.Cruz (12), off Aceves. RBIs: Teixeira 2 (36), A.Rodriguez 4 (17), Cano 2 (27), Swisher 3 (27), N.Cruz (32). SB: N.Cruz (8), Blalock (1). SF: Swisher. Runners left in scoring position: New York 5 (Me.Cabrera 2, R.Pena 2, Damon); Texas 4 (Teagarden 2, Byrd, Kinsler). DP: Texas 2 (Kinsler, Andrus, C.Davis), (Andrus, C.Davis). New York Hughes W, 3-2 Aceves Texas Harrison L, 4-4 Benson Madrigal

IP 8 1 IP 5 3 1

H 3 1 H 11 6 2

R ER BB SO NP ERA 0 0 1 6 101 5.16 1 1 0 1 8 1.84 R ER BB SO NP ERA 7 7 1 2 96 5.43 4 4 2 1 60 8.50 0 0 0 0 16 7.71

HBP: by Hughes (Blalock), by Benson (Teixeira). Umpires: Home, Tom Hallion; First, Jerry Crawford; Second, Mike Muchlinski; Third, Phil Cuzzi. T: 2:35. A: 48,914 (49,170).

Red Sox 6, Twins 5 Boston AB Ellsbury cf 5 Pedroia 2b 5 Youkilis 3b 5 Bay lf 5 Lowell dh 5 1-N.Green pr-dh 0 Baldelli rf 4 a-J.Drew ph-rf 1 Varitek c 5 J.Bailey 1b 3 Lugo ss 4 Totals 42

R 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 6

H 2 3 2 2 4 0 2 0 0 1 0 16

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

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

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

Avg. .300 .337 .384 .289 .305 .309 .233 .269 .238 .197 .258

Minnesota Gomez cf Tolbert 2b Morneau 1b Kubel dh Cuddyer rf Buscher 3b Redmond c b-Mauer ph Delm.Young lf Punto ss Totals

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

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

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

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

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

Avg. .225 .197 .341 .340 .286 .186 .259 .444 .253 .181

AB 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 1 4 3 35

Boston 003 200 010 — Minnesota 010 002 002 —

6 16 1 5 8 0

a-popped out for Baldelli in the 9th. b-homered for Redmond in the 9th. 1-ran for Lowell in the 9th. E: Baldelli (1). LOB: Boston 10, Minnesota 3. 2B: Youkilis 2 (13), Bay (11), Baldelli (1), Gomez (5), Morneau (13), Redmond (3). HR: J.Bailey (3), off Dickey; Cuddyer (8), off Penny; Mauer (11), off Papelbon. RBIs: Youkilis 2 (28), Bay 2 (47), Lowell (33), J.Bailey (9), Morneau (41), Kubel (24), Cuddyer (31), Mauer 2 (31). SB: Pedroia (6), Bay (5), Tolbert (2). CS: Ellsbury (6). Runners left in scoring position: Boston 6 (Bay 2, Lugo 3, Varitek); Minnesota 2 (Cuddyer, Punto). Boston Penny W, 5-1 R.Ramirez H, 7 Okajima H, 7 Papelbon S, 12-13 Minnesota Liriano L, 2-6 Dickey Ayala Henn

IP 5 1⁄3 1 2⁄3 1 1 IP 4 4 1⁄3 2⁄3

H 6 0 0 2 H 11 3 2 0

R ER BB SO 3 3 0 7 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 2 0 1 R ER BB SO 5 5 0 7 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

NP ERA 91 5.96 26 0.74 13 2.70 14 2.57 NP ERA 84 6.42 59 3.42 7 4.79 6 4.91

Inherited runners-scored: R.Ramirez 1-0, Henn 2-0. HBP: by Dickey (J.Bailey). PB: Redmond. Umpires: Home, Jerry Layne; First, Tony Randazzo; Second, Chris Guccione; Third, Todd Tichenor. T: 3:01. A: 27,636 (46,632).

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

Baseball

21

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

AMERICAN LEAGUE Cleveland 11, Tampa Bay 10

Baltimore 4, Toronto 1

Martinez fires up Tribe for 10-run rally

When it rains, it pours for Jays

CLEVELAND—Trailing by 10 runs, Victor Martinez told his Cleveland Indians teammates they could win. Martinez, in an 0-for-18 slump, backed up his words by lining a twoout, two-run single to cap a seven-run ninth inning that gave the Indians an 11-10 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night. “You never know what’s going to happen,” Martinez said after his hit off Jason Isringhausen (0-1) ruined the Rays night, which began with the muchawaited season debut of starter David Price. The lefthander was staked to a 10-0 lead but ran his pitch count up and lasted only 3 1/3 innings. “When he came out, I said, ‘Go out there and be a tough out, and just keep battling,’ ” Martinez said. “That’s what we did.” The Indians became the first team to make up a 10-run deficit and win since the Texas Rangers rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 16-15 on May 8, 2004, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. “When you do something like this, it is special,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said. It was the largest blown lead in Rays history. Tampa Bay had twice led games 10-2 before losing 20-11 each time—to the New York Yankees in 2005 and Cleveland in 1999. Ryan Garko’s two-run homer off Price in the fourth started the comeback. His three-run shot in the ninth off Grant Balfour made it 10-7. “I wanted to put the barrel of the bat on the ball and just happened to hit a home run,” Garko said of his second homer. “The important thing was not making the last out. Nobody wanted to

Indians 11, Rays 10 Tampa Bay AB R B.Upton cf 6 0 Crawford lf 4 1 Longoria 3b 2 1 C.Pena 1b 4 2 W.Aybar 2b 4 1 Zobrist rf 4 2 Gross dh 3 2 Navarro c 4 0 Brignac ss 5 1 Totals 36 10

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

BB 0 1 3 1 1 1 2 0 0 9

SO 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 7

Avg. .194 .316 .330 .244 .263 .286 .274 .221 .222

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

H 0 2 1 1 1 2 3 0 0 2 12

BB 3 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 2 10

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

Avg. .273 .227 .364 .268 .302 .260 .257 .190 .316 .248

AB 3 4 6 4 5 4 5 4 0 3 38

R 1 1 0 1 2 2 2 0 1 1 11

BI 0 1 2 0 0 0 5 0 0 1 9

Tampa Bay 052 300 000 — 10 10 2 Cleveland 000 200 027 — 11 12 0 TONY DEJAK / AP

Cleveland’s Victor Martinez celebrates after hitting a two-run single that capped the victory. do that.” Jeremy Sowers (1-2) pitched five scoreless innings for the win in his first relief appearance after 51 career starts. The loss was Tampa Bay’s 14th in a row in Cleveland. The Rays have not won a road game against the Indians since a 1-0 victory on Sept. 28, 2005. The teams combined to use 11 pitchers, who issued a total of 19 walks—10 by the Rays. Isringhausen walked the first three men he faced, forcing in one run to make it 10-8. Martinez then lined a 3-2 pitch to center and was mobbed by teammates in Cleveland’s biggest win of a disappointing season. “The walks are unacceptable,” Isringhausen. “I’d rather give up home runs than walk guys.” The Indians still have the worst record

in the A.L. at 18-28 and are just 8-11 at home. But Garko said he felt confident seeing Martinez at the plate with the game on the line. The catcher leads the Indians with 32 RBIs and a .364 batting average. “That’s the guy you want up there in that spot,” Garko said. Price struggled with his command, walking five. “He had great stuff, but was all over the place,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. Indians starter Fausto Carmona was even wilder. The right-hander unraveled in the second inning, walking the first four men he faced on 20 pitches and giving up five runs while registering only one out. — The Associated Press

Two outs when winning run scored. a-walked for LaPorta in the 9th. E: Brignac (1), Longoria (4). LOB: Tampa Bay 9, Cleveland 11. 2B: Zobrist (9), Navarro (6), Sizemore (9), B.Francisco (8). HR: Gross (3), off J.Lewis; Garko (3), off Price; Garko (4), off Balfour. RBIs: B.Upton (9), Crawford (22), C.Pena (39), Zobrist (24), Gross 3 (14), Navarro (11), Brignac 2 (2), Sizemore (29), V.Martinez 2 (32), Garko 5 (20), B.Francisco (15). SB: Crawford (29). Runners left in scoring position: Tampa Bay 5 (W.Aybar 2, B.Upton 3); Cleveland 5 (Choo 3, V.Martinez, J.Carroll). DP: Tampa Bay 2 (W.Aybar, Brignac, C.Pena), (Longoria, W.Aybar, C.Pena); Cleveland 1 (Jh.Peralta, J.Carroll). Tampa Bay Price Cormier J.Nelson Thayer Choate Balfour IsringhausenL,0-1BS,1-1 Cleveland Carmona J.Lewis Rundles Sowers W, 1-2

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

H 4 1 0 5 0 1 1 H 3 3 1 3

R ER BB SO NP ERA 2 2 5 6 100 5.40 0 0 0 0 40 2.12 0 0 0 0 10 5.21 4 2 1 0 38 6.23 1 0 0 0 5 2 2 1 0 14 5.75 2 2 3 0 23 6.00 R ER BB SO NP ERA 5 5 5 3 60 6.42 5 5 2 2 44 5.47 0 0 1 1 31 0.00 0 0 1 1 57 7.71

J.Lewis pitched to 3 batters in the 4th. Choate pitched to 1 batter in the 9th. Isringhausen pitched to 4 batters in the 9th. Inherited runners-scored: Cormier 2-0, Choate 2-1, Balfour 2-2, Isringhausen 1-1, J.Lewis 3-0, Rundles 2-2. HBP: by Rundles (Navarro). Umpires: Home, Angel Hernandez; First, Bill Welke; Second, Tim Welke; Third, Jim Reynolds. T: 3:51. A: 20,929 (45,199).

BALTIMORE—Jeremy Guthrie’s pitch count had soared past 100, and the Toronto Blue Jays had the tying run at second base in the seventh inning when a driving rain got even worse. Guthrie managed to put the wet baseball where he wanted, and the Baltimore Orioles escaped with a 4-1 victory Monday that extended the Blue Jays’ losing streak to seven. Guthrie (4-4) allowed one run, seven hits and a walk over seven innings. He had lost four of his previous five decisions, but in this one his control was exceptionally sharp—even after the conditions became dismal. With Baltimore nursing a 2-1 lead, Lyle Overbay led off the seventh with a single and Rod Barajas struck out before Jose Bautista walked. After a visit from pitching coach Rick Kranitz, Guthrie struck out Marco Scutaro on a 3-2 pitch and finished his performance by inducing Aaron Hill to hit into a fielder’s choice. “I don’t know how he did it. He sure came up with some big pitches,” Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. Former Oriole B.J. Ryan then gave up two runs in the bottom half to put Toronto in a 4-1 hole. After a drying agent was applied to the soggy infield, Cesar Izturis slapped a grounder to third that dropped out of Scott Rolen’s glove. Brian Roberts followed with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Aubrey Huff. — The Associated Press

Orioles 4, Blue Jays 1 Toronto AB R Scutaro ss 5 1 A.Hill 2b 4 0 Rios rf 4 0 V.Wells cf 4 0 Lind dh 3 0 Rolen 3b 4 0 Overbay 1b 4 0 Barajas c 4 0 Bautista lf 3 0 Totals 35 1

H 2 1 1 2 0 0 2 1 0 9

BI 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

BB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

SO 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 5

Avg. .280 .348 .260 .266 .291 .303 .274 .301 .293

Baltimore B.Roberts 2b Andino 2b Ad.Jones cf Markakis rf Mora 3b A.Huff 1b Wigginton dh Reimold lf Zaun c C.Izturis ss Totals

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

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

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

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

Avg. .295 .189 .359 .303 .250 .267 .216 .262 .215 .238

Toronto Baltimore

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

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

100 000 000 — 100 100 20x —

1 9 0 4 9 0

LOB: Toronto 9, Baltimore 9. 2B: Overbay (10), Barajas (12), B.Roberts (14), A.Huff (13). 3B: B.Roberts (1). RBIs: V.Wells (22), B.Roberts (18), A.Huff (37), Zaun (4). SB: Scutaro (4). CS: Lind (1). SF: A.Huff. Runners left in scoring position: Toronto 5 (Bautista, V.Wells, A.Hill, Rolen, Scutaro); Baltimore 4 (B.Roberts 3, Wigginton). DP: Toronto 1 (Overbay, Scutaro, Overbay). Toronto Tallet L, 2-3 B.J.Ryan Wolfe Baltimore Guthrie W, 4-4 Baez H, 4 Sherrill S, 10-12

IP 6 2⁄3 1 1⁄3 IP 7 1 1

H 7 2 0 H 7 1 1

R ER BB SO NP ERA 2 2 2 5 101 4.31 2 2 2 0 32 8.71 0 0 0 0 10 1.42 R ER BB SO NP ERA 1 1 1 4 108 4.90 0 0 0 0 13 3.28 0 0 0 1 17 2.75

Inherited runners-scored: Wolfe 2-0. IBB: off B.J.Ryan (Mora). HBP: by Wolfe (Zaun), by Guthrie (Lind). WP: B.J.Ryan. PB: Zaun. Umpires: Home, Tim Timmons; First, Jeff Kellogg; Second, Rob Drake; Third, Mark Wegner. T: 2:51. A: 24,904 (48,290).

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

Baseball

22

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

AMERICAN LEAGUE Oakland 6, Seattle 1

Detroit 13, Kansas City 1

Kennedy making most of his second chance

Verlander impresses again

OAKLAND—Adam Kennedy has been the Oakland Athletics’ most dynamic offensive player since shortly after they plucked him from Tampa Bay’s minor league system 2½ weeks ago. That’s both a credit to the veteran second baseman and a cutting critique of the A’s otherwise floundering lineup, although his teammates provided a little help to their surprising star in Oakland’s 6-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Monday. Kennedy extended his torrid start for Oakland with a career high-tying four hits and two RBIs, while Travis Buck homered and scored three runs to back Brett Anderson’s second major league victory. Kennedy also walked and eventually scored on an error in the first when he slid home in a collision with Mariners catcher Kenji Johjima, who broke his toe on the play. The former A.L. championship series MVP is 20-for-37 in his last nine games, giving him 26 hits in his 15 games with the A’s. “Getting on base five times is a little ridiculous, but I’ll take it,” said Kennedy, the A’s leadoff hitter since shortly after his arrival. “I’m trying to fit in, have good atbats, play hard, and that’s about it. I just try to do what I can do best and look for ways to get on base.” Oakland scored three runs in the second inning on three consecutive hits, including a two-run double down the right-field line by Kennedy, who improved his average to .441 with the 15th four-hit game of his 10-season career. Not bad for a 33-year-old who wasn’t playing particularly well for Tampa Bay’s Triple-A affiliate in Durham earlier this month before Oakland acquired him for a player to be named. “You just stay ready for it (in the minors)

KANSAS CITY—The way Justin Verlander has been pitching lately, he didn’t need the Detroit Tigers’ big offensive day. Verlander pitched seven shutout innings and the Tigers banged out a season-high 19 hits in a 13-1 victory over the slumping Kansas City Royals on Monday. Miguel Cabrera had three RBIs and four hits and Gerald Laird, Brandon Inge and Clete Thomas each had two RBIs as the Tigers won for the 23rd time in their last 31 outings at Kauffman Stadium. Verlander (5-2), who improved to 5-0 with a 0.85 ERA in his last six starts, retired the first nine batters and gave up only five singles and did not allow a runner past second. He did not issue a walk and struck out eight, taking over the major league lead with 85. “He’s one of those guys, if he’s on his game, it’s not fun,” said Laird, who had a two-run home run. “He’s throwing 95 to 98 (mph), he’s got a sharp breaking ball and a plus-changeup you’ve got to cover. This guy’s locating his stuff and he’s pitching ahead in the count.” Verlander agreed that his recent stretch is as good as he’s had since breaking into the majors in 2006 as the A.L. rookie of the year. It certainly is a far cry from his 11-17 record of last season. — The Associated Press

Athletics 6, Mariners 1 Seattle AB R H I.Suzuki rf 4 0 4 Y.Betancourt ss 3 0 0 Beltre 3b 3 0 0 Griffey Jr. dh 3 0 0 M.Sweeney 1b 4 0 1 Jo.Lopez 2b 4 0 0 Johjima c 1 1 1 Ro.Johnson c 3 0 0 En.Chavez lf 4 0 0 F.Gutierrez cf 4 0 2 Totals 33 1 8

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

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

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

Avg. .335 .259 .211 .232 .232 .221 .250 .188 .264 .265

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

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

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

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

Avg. .441 .290 .255 .264 .217 .240 .250 .210 .213 .196

Seattle Oakland

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

R 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 1 6

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

010 000 000 — 130 101 00x —

1 8 2 6 8 0

E: M.Sweeney (2), Jo.Lopez (8). LOB: Seattle 8, Oakland 8. 2B: M.Sweeney (5), Kennedy 2 (6), Hannahan (5). HR: Johjima (3), off Bre.Anderson; T.Buck (2), off Jakubauskas. RBIs: Johjima (10), Kennedy 2 (13), T.Buck (7), Hannahan (5). SB: I.Suzuki (7), Kennedy 2 (3). CS: Holliday (1). S: Y.Betancourt. Runners left in scoring position: Seattle 5 (M.Sweeney 2, Griffey Jr., En.Chavez, Beltre); Oakland 5 (Cust 3, K.Suzuki 2). DP: Seattle 2 (Beltre, Jo.Lopez, M.Sweeney), (Jo.Lopez, M.Sweeney); Oakland 1 (Hannahan, Kennedy, Giambi). BEN MARGOT / AP

Oakland’s Travis Buck scores beneath Seattle P Brandon Morrow in the sixth inning. and try to prove where you belong,” Kennedy said. “It’s not fun, and it’s not easy. I didn’t know if I was getting another chance. I just went down there to grind it out.” Anderson pitched six strong innings for the last-place A’s, who beat Seattle for just the second time in seven meetings this season. Anderson (2-4) yielded six hits and two walks, largely staying out of trouble at the Coliseum despite retiring the side in order just once. The 21-year-old left-hander picked up

his first major league win in his previous start last week at Tampa Bay with six innings of four-hit ball. “It’s a weird game where sometimes the ball doesn’t roll for you, and then the next time you get six or seven runs,” Anderson said. “My command was not as good today as my last start, but I had good fastball velocity, for some reason. My last two starts, we’ve come out and scored runs early. That eases things out there for me. It helps everything.” — The Associated Press

Seattle IP Jakubauskas L, 3-5 3 1⁄3 Stark 1 2⁄3 Morrow 2 White 1 Oakland IP Bre.Anderson W, 2-4 6 K.Cameron S, 1-1 3

H 6 0 1 1 H 6 2

R ER BB SO NP ERA 5 4 3 2 79 6.45 0 0 2 0 20 6.30 1 0 2 3 52 6.91 0 0 0 0 17 2.01 R ER BB SO NP ERA 1 1 2 4 105 4.98 0 0 0 2 34 1.93

Inherited runners-scored: Stark 2-0. WP: Morrow. Umpires: Home, Brian Knight; First, Dana DeMuth; Second, Doug Eddings; Third, Hunter Wendelstedt. T: 2:48. A: 15,280 (35,067).

Tigers 13, Royals 1 Detroit AB R Granderson cf 5 2 Polanco 2b 6 2 Ordonez rf 4 1 1-J.Anderson pr-lf 1 0 Mi.Cabrera 1b 6 2 2-Raburn pr-1b 0 0 Larish dh 5 1 Inge 3b 6 2 Thomas lf-rf 5 0 Laird c 3 2 Santiago ss 4 1 Totals 45 13

H BI 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 4 3 0 0 1 0 3 2 2 2 1 2 2 1 19 13

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

SO 2 0 0 0 1 0 4 1 1 0 0 9

Avg. .250 .259 .266 .272 .378 .222 .235 .280 .269 .246 .348

Kansas City Crisp cf Maier cf DeJesus lf Butler 1b J.Guillen rf Jacobs dh Teahen 3b Lu.Hernandez ss Callaspo 2b a-Hulett ph-2b J.Buck c Bloomquist ss-3b Totals

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

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

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

Avg. .236 .314 .242 .285 .291 .261 .261 .125 .309 .000 .235 .298

AB 3 1 4 4 3 4 2 2 2 2 3 3 33

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

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

Detroit 202 030 204 — 13 19 0 Kansas City 000 000 010 — 1 7 1 a-struck out for Callaspo in the 7th. 1-ran for Ordonez in the 8th. 2-ran for Mi.Cabrera in the 9th. E: Teahen (2). LOB: Detroit 11, Kansas City 6. 2B: Granderson (5), Mi.Cabrera 2 (10). 3B: Maier (1). HR: Laird (2), off Mahay. RBIs: Granderson (27), Polanco (18), Ordonez (18), Mi.Cabrera 3 (36), Inge 2 (33), Thomas 2 (8), Laird 2 (13), Santiago (20), DeJesus (18). SB: Granderson (6). SF: Santiago. Runners left in scoring position: Detroit 8 (Thomas, Polanco 3, Santiago 2, Inge 2); Kansas City 1 (Jacobs). DP: Detroit 1 (Mi.Cabrera, Santiago, Mi.Cabrera); Kansas City 1 (Callaspo, Bloomquist, Butler). Detroit IP H R ER BB SO Verlander W, 5-2 7 5 0 0 0 8 Miner 1 2 1 1 0 1 Perry 1 0 0 0 1 1 Kansas City IP H R ER BB SO Meche L, 2-5 2 1⁄3 6 4 2 3 1 Ponson 3 2⁄3 4 3 3 0 2 Mahay 1 4 2 2 0 1 Colon 1 0 0 0 1 3 J.Wright 1 5 4 4 1 2

NP ERA 96 3.55 11 4.76 17 2.33 NP ERA 73 4.55 47 6.49 22 4.32 21 0.00 31 3.86

Inherited runners-scored: Ponson 3-0. Umpires: Home, Paul Emmel; First, Angel Campos; Second, Bill Hohn; Third, Bruce Dreckman. T: 2:52. A: 34,524 (38,177).

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

Baseball

23

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

NATIONAL LEAGUE Florida 5, Philadelphia 3

N.Y. Mets 5, Washington 2

Helms has last laugh against Phillies fans

Homer or not, Sheffield still has hot bat

PHILADELPHIA—All Wes Helms needed to get him going were some boos from an unforgiving crowd. Helms homered and drove in four runs, Chris Volstad pitched 6 2/3 strong innings and the Florida Marlins beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 on Monday night. Ryan Howard hit a pair of homers for the N.L. East-leading Phillies, while Jamie Moyer failed in his fifth try to earn his 250th win. Helms was a bust in his only season in Philadelphia in 2007. Signed to a $5.45 million, two-year contract as a free agent, Helms batted .246 with five homers and 39 RBIs in 280 at-bats. Naturally, Phillies fans let him hear it whenever he plays here. “It doesn’t bother me,” Helms said. “It actually drives me to try even harder to do well.” If that’s what it takes, maybe Marlins fans should give Helms an earful at home. He’s only hitting .246 with one homer and 10 RBIs. Volstad (4-3) allowed three runs and six hits. Dan Meyer retired the only batter he faced, Leo Nunez pitched a perfect eighth and Matt Lindstrom finished for his ninth save in 11 chances. “He was throwing his curveball and pounding the strike zone,” Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said of Volstad. “I was very encouraged the way he pitched.” Moyer (3-5) gave up four runs and seven hits in six innings, falling to 12-2 against the Marlins. The 46-year-old lefthander has improved his last two starts after a dreadful stretch. His ERA dropped slightly to 7.42. “I feel I’m back to where I need to be,” Moyer said.

Marlins 5, Phillies 3 Florida AB R Coghlan lf 5 0 Hermida rf 5 1 Ha.Ramirez ss 4 1 Cantu 1b 3 1 Helms 3b 5 2 Uggla 2b 4 0 C.Ross cf 4 0 R.Paulino c 4 0 Volstad p 3 0 Meyer p 0 0 a-Hayes ph 1 0 Nunez p 0 0 Lindstrom p 0 0 Totals 38 5

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

BI 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5

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

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

Avg. .212 .275 .317 .277 .246 .200 .239 .233 .050 .000 .500 -----

Philadelphia Rollins ss Utley 2b Ibanez lf Howard 1b Werth rf Victorino cf Feliz 3b Park p b-Stairs ph Ruiz c Moyer p Dobbs 3b Totals

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

BI 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

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

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

Avg. .234 .291 .345 .262 .255 .270 .303 .100 .276 .284 .091 .139

Florida Phil

TOM MIHALEK / AP

Florida SS Hanley Ramirez, left, was able to put an easy tag on Philadelphia’s Jimmy Rollins for an out. Back from an 8-2 road trip, the defending World Series champions continued to struggle at home. They’re 8-13 at Citizens Bank Park, and a major league-best 16-6 on the road. Moyer breezed through the first three innings, retiring seven straight before running into trouble in the fourth. Hanley Ramirez and Jorge Cantu walked to start the inning. Moyer thought he struck out Helms on a close 2-2 pitch, but didn’t get the call. Helms drove the next offering out to left for his first homer of the season, giving the Marlins a 3-2 lead. “Walks kill you,” Moyer said. “It’s the

game right there.” Ronny Paulino’s RBI single with two outs in the sixth increased Florida’s lead to 4-2. Howard led off the bottom half with an opposite-field shot to left-center. Helms’ RBI single off Chan Ho Park in the seventh gave Florida a two-run cushion. The Phillies jumped on Volstad in the first. After Raul Ibanez drew a two-out walk, Howard hit the first pitch he saw high off the brick batter’s eye in straightaway center for a 2-0 lead. “That was a real good team win for us,” Volstad said. “Everyone contributed.” — The Associated Press

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

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

000 301 100 — 200 001 000 —

5 11 1 3 6 0

a-struck out for Meyer in the 8th. b-grounded out for Park in the 9th. E: Volstad (1). LOB: Florida 9, Philadelphia 5. 2B: Hermida (5), Rollins (10), Feliz (11). HR: Helms (1), off Moyer; Howard 2 (12), off Volstad 2. RBIs: Helms 4 (10), R.Paulino (6), Howard 3 (33). CS: Victorino (3). Runners left in scoring position: Florida 5 (Helms 2, Volstad 2, Uggla); Philadelphia 3 (Rollins, Moyer, Utley). GIDP: Ibanez. DP: Florida 1 (Ha.Ramirez, Uggla, Cantu). Florida IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Volstad W, 4-3 6 2⁄3 6 3 3 2 6 107 3.69 Meyer H, 8 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 2 2.75 Nunez H, 8 1 0 0 0 0 1 15 3.47 Lindstrom S, 9-11 1 0 0 0 1 1 13 6.16 Philadelphia IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Moyer L, 3-5 6 7 4 4 2 5 113 7.42 Park 3 4 1 1 1 5 50 6.57 Inherited runners-scored: Meyer 1-0. HBP: by Volstad (Utley). Umpires: Home, Marvin Hudson; First, John Hirschbeck; Second, Wally Bell; Third, Marty Foster. T: 2:51. A: 45,186 (43,647).

NEW YORK—Gary Sheffield hit a drive to the top of the left-field wall, just before the fence reaches the 15-foot, 8½-inch mark. A fan reached out and touched the ball. Tiebreaking, three-run homer or RBI double? While the intial call was home run, Washington manager Manny Acta argued and three umpires went inside for a video review. For six minutes, players and fans at Citi Field wondered. Crew chief Larry Vanover finally signaled home run, and the banged-up New York Mets went on to beat the hapless Washington Nationals 5-2 Monday night. Sheffield himself was curious during the wait. “I went down to see it on TV, but they were showing both managers,” he said. “They didn’t show the replay, so, you know, I got kind of scared.” He wound up with his fourth homer of the season and No. 503 in his big league career. Since Carlos Delgado got hurt and Sheffield began playing regularly as the cleanup hitter on May 13, the 40-year-old is hitting .395 (15 for 38) with two doubles, three homers and nine RBIs. He’s raised his average from .178 to .277. “I knew I can DH every day, but playing the outfield is a different story,” said Sheffield. — The Associated Press

Mets 5, Nationals 2 Washington AB R C.Guzman ss 5 0 N.Johnson 1b 3 0 Zimmerman 3b 4 0 Dunn lf 4 0 Kearns rf 5 0 W.Harris cf 3 1 A.Hernandez 2b 2 0 Nieves c 3 1 Lannan p 2 0 Colome p 0 0 b-Maxwell ph 1 0 D.Cabrera p 0 0 Bergmann p 0 0 c-Willingham ph 1 0 K.Wells p 0 0 Totals 33 2

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

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

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

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

Avg. .344 .338 .346 .277 .213 .281 .279 .304 .111 --.167 .000 .000 .213 ---

New York AB Pagan rf 2 Castillo 2b 3 Beltran cf 3 Sheffield lf 3 Fr.Rodriguez p 0 D.Wright 3b 1 Tatis 1b 4 Santos c 4 R.Martinez ss 3 Maine p 2 a-Dan.Murphy ph 1 Parnell p 0 Feliciano p 0 Putz p 0 d-Reed ph-lf 1 Totals 27

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

BI 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5

BB 2 0 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7

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

Avg. .261 .282 .367 .277 --.348 .276 .269 .077 .222 .246 ------.304

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

Washington 010 000 100 — New York 001 004 00x —

2 6 0 5 9 0

a-popped out for Maine in the 6th. b-struck out for Colome in the 7th. c-struck out for Bergmann in the 8th. d-struck out for Putz in the 8th. LOB: Washington 13, New York 7. 2B: W.Harris (5), Castillo (3), Beltran (15). HR: Sheffield (4), off Lannan. RBIs: Zimmerman (35), Nieves (6), Beltran (31), Sheffield 3 (14), R.Martinez (3). SB:W.Harris (3). S: Castillo. SF: R.Martinez. Runners left in scoring position: Washington 5 (Lannan, Kearns 2, C.Guzman, W.Harris); New York 3 (Sheffield, Tatis 2). DP: Washington 3 (A.Hernandez, C.Guzman, N.Johnson), (N.Johnson), (Lannan, C.Guzman, N.Johnson). Washington IP Lannan L, 2-4 5 Colome 1 D.Cabrera 2⁄3 Bergmann 1⁄3 K.Wells 1 New York IP Maine W, 4-3 6 Parnell 1⁄3 Feliciano H, 6 1⁄3 Putz H, 9 1 1⁄3 Fr.Rodriguez S, 13-13 1

H 8 1 0 0 0 H 4 1 0 0 1

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

NP ERA 92 4.11 14 15.00 25 5.85 4 2.45 8 6.00 NP ERA 98 4.18 25 2.29 3 2.45 29 3.55 23 0.83

Lannan pitched to 4 batters in the 6th. Inherited runners-scored: Colome 1-1, Bergmann 3-0, Feliciano 3-0, Putz 3-0. WP: D.Cabrera. Umpires: Home, Larry Vanover; First, Dan Iassogna; Second, Sam Holbrook; Third, Adrian Johnson. T: 3:20. A: 41,103 (41,800).

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

Baseball

24

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

NATIONAL LEAGUE Milwaukee 1, St. Louis 0, 10 innings

Cincinnati 8, Houston 5

Hall’s RBI single ends game, breaks slump MILWAUKEE—Bill Hall sprinted off the field after his two-out, game-winning hit in the 10th inning, barely pausing to slap manager Ken Macha’s hand. Hall wanted to savor the Milwaukee Brewers’ 1-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday privately. No matter. On the field or in the clubhouse, in St. Louis or Miller Park, the Brewers are getting used to celebrating wherever they want against their N.L. Central rivals. Hall snapped a 1-for-28 slump with his RBI single and lifted Milwaukee to its 11th win in the last 12 over the Cardinals, who’ve said they don’t like the young Brewers’ brash attitudes and penchant for public celebrations. “I got the big hit, everybody just came into the clubhouse and we celebrated in here. Just having fun with ourselves,” Hall insisted. “We care about each other in here.” Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter took a perfect game into the seventh inning, and the Brewers’ Yovani Gallardo carried a no-hitter into the sixth before each finished allowing just two hits over eight innings. Milwaukee closer Trevor Hoffman pitched a perfect ninth and Carlos Villanueva (2-3) the 10th for the Brewers, setting up Hall’s dramatics off St. Louis’ Kyle McClellan (2-2). Casey McGehee reached on an error by third baseman Brian Barden to lead off the 10th for the Brewers. “It wasn’t a tough play,” Barden said. “It just didn’t go in my glove. That’s all I can say.” Prince Fielder was intentionally walked one out later and retired at second on Mike Cameron’s fielder’s choice.

Brewers 1, Cardinals 0, 10 innings St. Louis AB R H BI BB SO Schumaker 2b-rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 Rasmus cf 3 0 0 0 1 2 Pujols 1b 2 0 0 0 2 1 Duncan lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 Stavinoha rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 McClellan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 Y.Molina c 4 0 0 0 0 0 Thurston 3b-2b 3 0 0 0 1 1 C.Carpenter p 3 0 0 0 0 0 Barden 3b 1 0 0 0 0 1 Br.Ryan ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 Totals 32 0 2 0 4 8

Avg. .299 .227 .322 .250 .207 .000 .275 .224 .000 .259 .241

Milwaukee AB Counsell ss 4 McGehee 2b 4 Braun lf 4 Fielder 1b 3 M.Cameron cf 4 Gamel 3b 3 Hall 3b 1 Hart rf 2 a-Catalanotto ph-rf 1 Kendall c 3 Gallardo p 2 Hoffman p 0 b-Gerut ph 1 Villanueva p 0 Totals 32

Avg. .311 .265 .325 .265 .285 .211 .230 .242 .000 .217 .190 --.220 .500

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

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

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

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

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

St. Louis 000 000 000 0 —0 2 1 Milwaukee 000 000 000 1 —1 3 0 Two outs when winning run scored. a-grounded out for Hart in the 8th. b-fouled out for Hoffman in the 9th. E: Barden (3). LOB: St. Louis 6, Milwaukee 3. RBIs: Hall (11). CS: Counsell (1). Runners left in scoring position: St. Louis 2 (Stavinoha, Duncan). St. Louis IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA C.Carpenter 8 2 0 0 0 10 93 0.00 McClellan L, 2-2 1 2⁄3 1 1 0 1 0 16 1.96 Milwaukee IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Gallardo 8 2 0 0 4 6 126 3.32 Hoffman 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 0.00 Villanueva W, 2-3 1 0 0 0 0 2 10 3.97

MORRY GASH / AP

Milwaukee’s Bill Hall drove in the game’s only run with a two-out, 10th-inning hit. It appeared that the Cardinals might have been able to turn two on Cameron’s grounder, but McClellan deflected the ball, forcing shortstop Brendan Ryan to pull up and settle for one out. “I asked Brendan if it was hit hard

enough to turn two and he didn’t think so,” McClellan said. Manager Tony La Russa disagreed. “If we don’t tip that ball, it’s an easy double play,” La Russa said. —The Associated Press

IBB: off McClellan (Fielder), off Gallardo (Pujols). WP: Gallardo. Umpires: Home, Chad Fairchild; First, Paul Nauert; Second, Paul Schrieber; Third, Ed Rapuano. T: 2:26. A: 43,032 (41,900).

Rain delay doesn’t deter Reds’ Harang CINCINNATI—Reds righthander Aaron Harang kept working when the game was delayed by rain for more than two hours in the fifth inning. He wasn’t going to let this one get away. Harang came back out after the delay to earn his first win over the Astros in two years and Cincinnati made the most of three Houston errors, scoring eight unearned runs in an 8-5 victory Monday. Harang (5-4) surrendered a single to Hunter Pence when the game resumed in the fifth then struck out Humberto Quintero. He had lost his last four starts against the Astros since he beat them with a complete game on May 30, 2007. “I think I threw a complete game with all the work I did inside,” he said. Harang allowed three runs and 10 hits in five innings. Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said he was willing to work with him after the delay. “We asked him, ‘What would you do if you were us?’ ” Baker said. “He said, ‘I’d let me go back.’ I’m just glad the delay wasn’t longer. He wanted the game, and he deserved the chance to go get it.” Jonny Gomes had three hits and three RBIs for the Reds, who have won three of four. —The Associated Press

Reds 8, Astros 5 Houston AB Bourn cf 4 Tejada ss 5 Berkman 1b 5 Ca.Lee lf 5 Pence rf 4 I.Rodriguez c 1 Quintero c 3 K.Matsui 2b 3 Keppinger 3b 3 W.Rodriguez p 2 Arias p 0 b-Erstad ph 1 Fulchino p 0 d-Michaels ph 1 Byrdak p 0 Totals 37

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

Avg. .288 .341 .231 .319 .358 .260 .208 .219 .313 .045 --.149 --.182 ---

Cincinnati AB R H BI BB SO Taveras cf 5 1 1 0 0 1 Hairston Jr. 2b 4 2 2 1 0 1 Dickerson lf 3 1 0 0 2 2 Gomes rf 4 0 3 3 1 0 Cordero p 0 0 0 0 0 0 R.Hernandez c 5 0 2 0 0 0 Ale.Gonzalez ss 5 1 0 1 0 0 A.Rosales 1b-3b 5 2 2 1 0 2 Janish 3b 2 0 1 1 1 0 Burton p 0 0 0 0 0 0 c-Owings ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 Fisher p 0 0 0 0 0 0 Bruce rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 Harang p 2 0 2 1 0 0 a-Votto ph-1b 1 1 0 0 1 1 Totals 37 8 13 8 5 8

Avg. .274 .260 .228 .429 --.295 .215 .269 .300 --.280 --.228 .143 .368

Houston Cincinnati

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

H 2 1 2 2 3 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 14

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

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

201 002 000 — 500 120 00x —

5 14 3 8 13 0

a-was intentionally walked for Harang in the 5th. b-grounded out for Arias in the 6th. c-struck out for Burton in the 6th. d-popped out for Fulchino in the 8th. E: Tejada 2 (8), Quintero (2). LOB: Houston 9, Cincinnati 11. 2B: Berkman (6), Keppinger 2 (6), Taveras (7), R.Hernandez (7). 3B: Ca.Lee (1). HR: Berkman (10), off Harang. RBIs: Tejada (26), Berkman 2 (27), Quintero (3), Erstad (3), Hairston Jr. (12), Gomes 3 (3), Ale.Gonzalez (16), A.Rosales (9), Janish (3), Harang (3). SB: Bourn (15). CS: Pence (4). SF: Hairston Jr. Runners left in scoring position: Houston 2 (K.Matsui, Tejada); Cincinnati 5 (Taveras, Ale.Gonzalez, R.Hernandez 2, Dickerson). Runners moved up: Erstad, Janish. GIDP: Pence, Quintero. DP: Cincinnati 3 (R.Hernandez, R.Hernandez, Janish), (A.Rosales, Hairston Jr., Votto), (Ale.Gonzalez, Votto). Houston IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA W.Rodriguez L, 5-3 4 10 6 0 2 3 78 1.71 Arias 1 1 2 0 3 0 27 4.82 Fulchino 2 1 0 0 0 5 40 4.08 Byrdak 1 1 0 0 0 0 12 2.81 Cincinnati IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Harang W, 5-4 5 10 3 3 1 4 93 3.36 Burton 1 2 2 2 1 0 22 6.10 Fisher H, 1 2 1 0 0 2 0 29 0.00 Cordero S, 12-12 1 1 0 0 0 0 8 1.80 IBB: off W.Rodriguez (Janish), off Arias (Votto). Umpires: Home, C.B. Bucknor; First, Mike Everitt; Second, Mike Estabrook; Third, Brian Gorman. T: 3:04 (Rain delay: 2:03). A: 17,818 (42,319).

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

Baseball

25

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

NATIONAL LEAGUE San Francisco 8, Atlanta 2

At last minute, Ishikawa comes up big SAN FRANCISCO—Travis Ishikawa had a career day when he was supposed to be on the bench. San Francisco skipper Bruce Bochy decided late to go with Ishikawa at first base instead of rookie and recent callup Jesus Guzman, and for no reason in particular. “I just made the flip,” Bochy said. Ishikawa had a three-run homer among his career-high four hits, Jonathan Sanchez won for the first time in more than a month and the Giants beat the Atlanta Braves 8-2 on Monday. Ishikawa had yet to hit a home run this year, a rare thing for a first baseman. His bosses had brought up Guzman as insurance. Ishikawa very well could have been affected by all that. “It’s good to finally get that off my shoulders,” he said of the homer. “My mindset’s probably different than most people’s because I’m not hitting a lot of home runs. Home runs are an overrated thing. ... I can’t control the playing time. I’m still doing the same thing I’ve been doing all year.” Edgar Renteria hit a two-run double three batters after Emmanuel Burriss broke up a scoreless game with a fifthinning RBI single. The Giants, who had lost five of six and nine of 11, began a sixgame homestand on a positive note following a frustrating 1-5 trip in which all the losses were by one run. This outing certainly was a boost for Sanchez (2-4), who went 0-3 over a sixstart winless stretch since his last victory April 17. But he nearly saw this one get away after running into trouble in the sixth. Ishikawa’s homer in the seventh was his first this season and fourth of his career. He scored on Burriss’ single in the

DINO VOURNAS / AP

San Francisco’s Travis Ishikawa, right, not only had three runs, three RBIs and four hits, he also stole a base. fifth off Javier Vazquez (4-4), whose wild pitch allowed Ishikawa to reach third after he stole second. “Javy was going great. He didn’t get hit very hard, really,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said. Both Ishikawa and Fred Lewis beat throws home from the outfield in the sixth, Lewis making it on a close slide on Juan Uribe’s shallow sacrifice to center. Sanchez allowed only one baserunner past first before Kelly Johnson’s leadoff triple in the sixth, then loaded the bases with back-to-back walks. Brian McCann singled in Atlanta’s first run to chase Sanchez with just the fourth hit by the Braves. Justin Miller relieved and struck out Jeff Francoeur before Casey Kotchman’s bases-loaded walk made it 3-2. Miller then got Diory Hernandez to ground into a fielder’s choice, with the Giants cutting

down the runner at home, and struck out Jordan Schafer to end the inning. “We had them and we didn’t deliver,” Cox said. Sanchez hasn’t gone longer than 6 2-3 innings this season, and he did that in his other win. He got off to a fast start against the Braves, striking out the side in order in the first on 13 pitches. He finished with six Ks and three walks in five-plus innings. Sanchez tired after scoring from first in the fifth. “That run got me a little bit,” he said. “I was pumped up (from the start). I had everything going on.” The Braves completed a home interleague sweep of the Blue Jays before making the cross-country flight for Monday afternoon’s game. Atlanta had its threegame winning streak snapped and lost for only the second time in its last seven. — The Associated Press

Giants 8, Braves 2 Atlanta AB K.Johnson 2b 5 Prado 3b 3 M.Diaz lf 3 McCann c 3 D.Ross c 0 Francoeur rf 4 Kotchman 1b 3 D.Hernandez ss 4 Schafer cf 4 J.Vazquez p 2 Bennett p 0 b-Norton ph 1 Carlyle p 0 d-C.Jones ph 1 Totals 33

L.A. Dodgers 16, Colorado 6 R 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

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

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

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

SO 1 1 2 0 0 2 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 10

Avg. .250 .254 .299 .326 .263 .259 .278 .167 .205 .105 .000 .111 .000 .319

San Francisco AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Rowand cf 5 0 1 0 0 1 .274 Renteria ss 5 0 2 2 0 0 .246 Winn rf 4 1 2 0 1 0 .283 B.Molina c 4 0 0 0 0 0 .261 F.Lewis lf 3 2 1 0 1 2 .279 Ishikawa 1b 4 3 4 3 0 0 .250 Uribe 3b 3 0 1 1 0 1 .286 Burriss 2b 4 1 1 1 0 0 .257 J.Sanchez p 1 1 0 0 0 1 .000 J.Miller p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 a-Schierholtz ph 1 0 1 1 0 0 .241 Affeldt p 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 Medders p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --c-J.Guzman ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .100 B.Wilson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 35 8 13 8 2 5 Atlanta San Francisco

000 002 000 — 2 6 0 000 032 30x — 8 13 0

a-singled for J.Miller in the 6th. b-grounded out for Bennett in the 7th. c-grounded out for Medders in the 8th. d-flied out for Carlyle in the 9th. LOB: Atlanta 8, San Francisco 7. 2B: J.Vazquez (2), Rowand (10), Renteria (7), Winn (11). 3B: K.Johnson (2). HR: Ishikawa (1), off Carlyle. RBIs: McCann (18), Kotchman (22), Renteria 2 (20), Ishikawa 3 (15), Uribe (6), Burriss (9), Schierholtz (3). SB: Winn (8), Ishikawa (1). S: J.Sanchez. SF: Uribe. Runners left in scoring position: Atlanta 4 (Prado, Schafer 2, D.Hernandez); San Francisco 3 (F.Lewis, B.Molina, Winn). GIDP: Winn. DP: Atlanta 1 (K.Johnson, D.Hernandez, Kotchman). Atlanta IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA J.Vazquez L, 4-4 5 2⁄3 8 5 5 1 5 107 3.80 Bennett 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 1 2.25 Carlyle 2 5 3 3 1 0 45 8.84 San Francisco IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA J.Sanchez W, 2-4 5 4 2 2 3 6 90 4.60 J.Miller H, 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 17 2.14 Affeldt H, 8 1 2 0 0 0 0 21 2.11 Medders 1 0 0 0 0 1 16 3.10 B.Wilson 1 0 0 0 0 1 18 4.64 J.Sanchez pitched to 4 batters in the 6th. Affeldt pitched to 2 batters in the 8th. Inherited runners-scored: Bennett 1-0, J.Miller 3-1, Medders 2-0. IBB: off Carlyle (F.Lewis). WP: J.Vazquez 2. Umpires: Home, Jerry Meals; First, Mike DiMuro; Second, Bill Miller; Third, Dale Scott. T: 3:04. A: 40,034 (41,915).

Offense still scoring runs minus Manny DENVER—Even without Manny Ramirez, the Los Angeles Dodgers are having no trouble scoring runs. The Dodgers used two big innings—a seven-run fourth and an eight-run seventh—to rout Colorado 16-6 on Monday. James Loney, Russell Martin, Juan Castro and Matt Kemp had three hits each and Juan Pierre had a bases-loaded triple for the Dodgers, who matched their season high with 19 hits. Will Ohman (1-0), the third pitcher for Los Angeles, picked up the win. “Throughout the lineup we have guys that can hit for power and guys that can run,” Pierre said. “I don’t think pitchers like to see our lineup when we’re swinging the bats like we are.” Ramirez was suspended for 50 games on May 7 for using a banned drug. Since then, the Dodgers are 10-7 and have scored 100 runs. “When you look at our guys the way they’re lined up, we can score runs,” Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. “We’re going to make contact for the most part, we’re not going to swing and miss a whole lot. We have a very deep bench and a very deep lineup. We’re going to make pitchers work to beat us.” — The Associated Press

Dodgers 16, Rockies 6 Los Angeles AB R H BI Pierre lf 6 2 2 3 Martin c 6 2 3 2 Hudson 2b 5 2 2 2 Blake 3b 6 2 2 1 Kemp cf 5 2 3 3 Loney 1b 5 2 3 0 Hoffmann rf 4 1 1 2 J.Castro ss 5 2 3 3 Stults p 2 1 0 0 Jef.Weaver p 0 0 0 0 Ohman p 0 0 0 0 Belisario p 1 0 0 0 Mota p 0 0 0 0 Totals 45 16 19 16

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

SO 1 1 2 1 1 0 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 11

Colorado AB Fowler cf 3 Tulowitzki ss 2 Helton 1b 2 Stewart 3b-rf 1 Spilborghs lf 2 Fogg p 0 b-S.Smith ph 1 Grilli p 0 Embree p 0 Corpas p 0 d-Phillips ph 1 Hawpe rf 2 c-Quintanilla ph-3b 1 Atkins 3b-1b 5 Barmes 2b 3 Torrealba c 4 De La Rosa p 0 Jo.Peralta p 0 a-Murton ph-lf 3 Totals 30

BB 2 2 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 11

SO Avg. 0 .272 1 .236 0 .338 0 .189 0 .266 0 --1 .263 0 .000 0 --0 --0 1.000 0 .336 0 .211 0 .190 1 .238 1 .213 0 .067 0 --0 .276 4

R 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 6

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

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

Avg. .385 .270 .344 .306 .298 .291 .300 .387 .077 .143 .500 .000 .000

Los Angeles 000 700 801 — 16 19 1 Colorado 000 141 000 — 6 8 1 a-flied out for Jo.Peralta in the 5th. b-struck out for Fogg in the 6th. c-walked for Hawpe in the 7th. d-singled for Corpas in the 9th. E: Loney (1), Barmes (3). LOB: Los Angeles 8, Colorado 10. 2B: Blake (10), Hoffmann (2), Fowler (10), Hawpe 2 (13), Barmes (8), Murton (4). 3B: Pierre (2). RBIs: Pierre 3 (16), Martin 2 (20), Hudson 2 (29), Blake (29), Kemp 3 (28), Hoffmann 2 (6), J.Castro 3 (7), Tulowitzki (15), Spilborghs (20), Hawpe 2 (36), Atkins (15), Barmes (17). SB: Martin (6), Loney (3). CS: Barmes (2). S: Ohman, De La Rosa. SF: Hoffmann, Tulowitzki. Runners left in scoring position: Los Angeles 4 (J.Castro, Blake, Stults, Hoffmann); Colorado 6 (Atkins 2, Fowler, S.Smith, Murton, Barmes). DP: Los Angeles 3 (Blake, Hudson, Loney), (Blake, Hudson, Loney), (Blake, Hudson, Loney). Los Angeles IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Stults 4 1⁄3 3 4 4 7 2 95 4.29 Jef.Weaver 1 1⁄3 3 2 2 1 0 31 3.63 Ohman W, 1-0 H, 5 1⁄3 0 0 0 2 1 17 5.11 Belisario 2 0 0 0 1 0 14 2.28 Mota 1 2 0 0 0 1 17 7.50 Colorado IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA De La Rosa L, 0-5 3 1⁄3 7 7 7 2 6 78 5.26 Jo.Peralta 1 2⁄3 3 0 0 0 2 38 4.91 Fogg 1 0 0 0 0 0 10 0.00 Grilli 1⁄3 2 4 4 2 0 24 5.65 Embree 2⁄3 5 4 4 0 1 25 7.50 Corpas 2 2 1 1 0 2 28 5.82 Ohman pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. Inherited runners-scored: Jef.Weaver 3-3, Ohman 1-0, Belisario 1-0, Jo.Peralta 1-1, Embree 1-1. WP: Jef.Weaver 2, Embree. Umpires: Home, Tim McClelland; First, Andy Fletcher; Second, Scott Barry; Third, Ted Barrett. T: 3:59. A: 37,024 (50,449).

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

Baseball

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

26

NATIONAL LEAGUE Pirates 10, Cubs 8 Pittsburgh AB Morgan lf 5 F.Sanchez 2b 6 McLouth cf 4 Ad.LaRoche 1b 5 Moss rf 5 An.LaRoche 3b 5 Jaramillo c 5 Ja.Wilson ss 5 Maholm p 1 b-Monroe ph 1 Gorzelanny p 1 Meek p 0 J.Chavez p 0 d-Delw.Young ph 0 Grabow p 0 Capps p 0 S.Burnett p 0 Totals 43 Chicago AB A.Soriano lf 3 Theriot ss 5 Bradley rf 5 Re.Johnson cf 4 Soto c 3 Hoffpauir 1b 4 Freel 3b 3 Miles 2b 5 Dempster p 1 a-Scales ph 1 Ascanio p 1 Cotts p 0 Heilman p 0 c-Zambrano ph 1 Patton p 0 Totals 36

R 2 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 R 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8

H BI 1 0 6 3 1 2 2 2 1 1 3 1 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 10 H BI 0 0 3 2 2 4 1 0 2 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 8

BB 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 BB 2 0 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7

SO 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 SO 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 6

Avg. .287 .320 .269 .227 .264 .298 .288 .257 .105 .259 .000 ----.319 ----.000 Avg. .253 .273 .198 .238 .214 .267 .143 .204 .091 .257 .000 ----.238 ---

Pittsburgh 102 303 100 — 10 18 0 Chicago 103 300 100 — 8 10 1 a-flied out for Dempster in the 4th. b-flied out for Maholm in the 5th. c-struck out for Heilman in the 7th. d-walked for J.Chavez in the 8th. E: Dempster (2). LOB: Pittsburgh 13, Chicago 9. 2B: F.Sanchez (17), Ad.LaRoche (14), An.LaRoche (11), Jaramillo (8), Theriot 3 (11), Bradley (3). 3B: Morgan (4). HR: F.Sanchez (4), off Dempster; McLouth (8), off Cotts; Bradley (5), off Maholm. RBIs: F.Sanchez 3 (16), McLouth 2 (31), Ad.LaRoche 2 (22), Moss (11), An.LaRoche (21), Ja.Wilson (16), Theriot 2 (20), Bradley 4 (13), Soto (11), Freel (2). SB: F.Sanchez (4). S: Maholm, Freel. Runners left in scoring position: Pittsburgh 8 (An.LaRoche, Monroe2,Jaramillo,Moss3,Morgan);Chicago5(Hoffpauir,Freel, Ascanio,Zambrano,Miles).DP:Pittsburgh1(F.Sanchez,Ja.Wilson, Ad.LaRoche); Chicago 2 (Freel, Miles, Hoffpauir), (Dempster, Soto, Hoffpauir). Pittsburgh IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Maholm 4 7 7 7 3 2 93 4.11 GorzelannyW, 2-1 2 0 1 1 2 2 27 5.40 Meek H, 3 2⁄3 2 0 0 1 0 12 2.87 J.Chavez H, 4 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 6 1.83 Grabow H, 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 4.71 Capps H, 1 1⁄3 1 0 0 0 0 10 6.46 S.Burnett S, 1-2 2⁄3 0 0 0 1 1 15 3.00 Chicago IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Dempster 4 7 6 6 3 3 94 4.99 Ascanio 1 3 0 0 0 0 21 4.05 Cotts L, 0-2 BS, 1-1 1 4 3 3 0 1 25 7.36 Heilman 1 2 1 1 1 0 28 5.49 Patton 2 2 0 0 1 1 35 6.91 Gorzelanny pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. Inherited runners-scored: Meek 1-1, J.Chavez 2-0, S.Burnett 1-0. HBP: by Dempster (McLouth). WP: Maholm, Dempster. Umpires: Home, Bob Davidson; First, Jeff Nelson; Second, Mark Carlson;Third,TimTschida.

Pittsburgh 10, Chicago Cubs 8

Sanchez plays, six-smacks Cubs CHICAGO—Freddy Sanchez almost was given the night off. Unfortunately for the reeling Chicago Cubs, he played. Sanchez had Pittsburgh’s first six-hit game in 19 years, scored four runs and drove in three Monday, leading the Pirates to a 10-8 victory and sending Chicago to its eighth straight loss. “At the last minute when I was making out the lineup, I decided to put him in,” Pirates manager John Russell said. “I guess it was smart of me.” And painful for the Cubs. Despite scoring three more runs than they did on the entire winless six-game road trip that ended Sunday, they fell to 21-22 and were booed repeatedly by their fans. The last time the Cubs dropped eight straight was 2006, when they went on to finish 66-96, costing manager Dusty Baker and team president Andy MacPhail their jobs. “It’s good to see the team swinging the bats and I hope that continues,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. “We’ve just got to start winning a few games, that’s it.” Sanchez hit a two-run homer, doubled and singled four times for the second sixhit game in the majors this season and the first by a Pirate since Wally Backman did it in 1990. Ian Kinsler had a six-hit effort for Texas on April 15 against Baltimore. “Six hits ... that’s good for a series worth,” said Nate McLouth, who hit the go-ahead homer—with Sanchez on base— in the sixth inning. Sanchez has snapped out of a 5-for-36 slump by getting nine hits in his last 15 at-bats. “I was striking out too much before,” he said. “I shortened my swing and put the ball in play. It’s tough to get hits in this game. I just want to keep it going.” — The Associated Press

PAUL BEATY / AP

Pittsburgh SS Jack Wilson (2) cleared Chicago’s Geovany Soto at second base and converted a double play.

San Diego 9, Arizona 7, 10 innings

Padres rally to pick up 10th straight PHOENIX—The San Diego Padres were down by six runs with two innings to play. Their manager had been tossed. So had their starting catcher. Those old road woes seemed to be back. Then came one big hit after another, capped by Chase Headley’s two-run homer in the 10th, and the Padres won their 10th straight game, beating Arizona 9-7 on Monday. “It’s not unlike the first couple of weeks of the season,” manager Bud Black said. “We came back from 7-1 in Philadelphia ... We’ve done it before. It’s something we as coaches always remember, to remind our guys that we can do it. If you do it once, you can do it again.” San Diego, which snapped an 11-game road losing streak, trailed 7-1 before scoring five in the eighth, one in the ninth and two in the 10th. “It’s been a lot of fun to come to the ballpark these last 10 days,” Headley said. “We come here and we expect to win. It’s not that we come in here and hope to win, we expect to win. We just couldn’t give up today.” Black and Padres catcher Nick Hundley weren’t around to watch the impressive finish. They were thrown out by home plate umpire Eric Cooper in the bottom of the sixth. — The Associated Press

Padres 9, Diamondbacks 7, 10 innings San Diego AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Eckstein 2b 5 1 1 0 0 1 .225 Hairston cf 5 1 3 1 0 0 .333 Ad.Gonzalez 1b 4 2 1 1 1 0 .281 Kouzmanoff 3b 4 1 1 1 1 1 .236 Mujica p 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 Jo.Wilson ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 Hundley c 0 0 0 0 2 0 .250 Blanco c 3 2 2 1 0 1 .176 Headley lf 5 1 2 2 0 0 .234 Macias rf 5 0 1 3 0 1 .294 C.Burke ss-3b 5 0 0 0 0 2 .224 Gaudin p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .000 Thatcher p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --Meredith p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --a-Gwynn ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .111 G.Burke p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --b-Giles ph 1 1 1 0 0 0 .175 E.Gonzalez 3b 1 0 1 0 0 0 .190 Bell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --Totals 41 9 13 9 4 7 Arizona AB R H BI BB SO Avg. G.Parra lf-cf 4 1 1 2 0 1 .277 Ojeda 2b 3 1 0 1 1 1 .256 J.Upton rf 4 1 2 1 1 1 .325 S.Drew ss 2 0 0 1 2 0 .190 Reynolds 3b 4 0 1 0 1 2 .264 Tracy 1b 4 1 0 0 1 2 .189 C.Young cf 4 1 1 0 0 0 .177 Rauch p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --Zavada p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --Qualls p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Pena p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 c-Montero ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .227 Snyder c 4 1 1 1 1 2 .233 D.Davis p 3 1 1 0 0 1 .211 Byrnes lf 2 0 0 0 0 0 .208 Totals 35 7 7 6 7 11 San Diego 000 100 051 2 —9 13 1 Arizona 005 002 000 0 —7 7 1 a-popped out for Meredith in the 8th. b-doubled for G.Burke in the 9th. c-struck out for T.Pena in the 10th. E: Macias (1), S.Drew (4). LOB:SanDiego6,Arizona8.2B:Hairston(10),Macias(4),Giles(7), J.Upton(11),C.Young(10).3B:D.Davis(1).HR:Ad.Gonzalez(17),off D.Davis;Headley(4),offT.Pena;Snyder(5),offGaudin.RBIs:Hairston (20),Ad.Gonzalez(31),Kouzmanoff(17),Blanco(5),Headley2(17), Macias 3 (5), G.Parra 2 (10), Ojeda (4), J.Upton (27), S.Drew (13), Snyder (17). CS: Hairston (1), E.Gonzalez (2). SF: S.Drew. Runners left in scoring position: San Diego 2 (Macias, C.Burke); Arizona 4 (C.Young,S.Drew2,Tracy).DP:SanDiego1(Ad.Gonzalez);Arizona1 (Reynolds,Ojeda,Tracy). San Diego IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Gaudin 5 1⁄3 5 7 7 5 6 97 5.40 Thatcher 2⁄3 0 0 0 1 0 16 0.00 Meredith 1 1 0 0 0 0 8 3.60 G.Burke 1 0 0 0 0 1 11 0.00 Mujica W, 2-1 1 1 0 0 1 3 25 2.70 Bell S, 13-13 1 0 0 0 0 1 11 0.47 Arizona IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA D.Davis 7 1⁄3 5 4 2 4 6 115 3.77 Rauch 0 2 2 2 0 0 9 7.23 Zavada H, 2 2⁄3 1 0 0 0 0 12 0.00 Qualls BS, 2-13 1 2 1 1 0 0 13 3.60 T.Pena L, 4-2 1 3 2 2 0 1 24 2.01 Rauch pitched to 2 batters in the 8th. Inherited runnersscored: Thatcher 3-2, Rauch 3-2, Zavada 3-3. IBB: off Gaudin (Snyder), off Mujica (S.Drew), off Thatcher (J.Upton). HBP: by Gaudin (Ojeda), by Thatcher (G.Parra). WP: Gaudin, D.Davis. Balk: Gaudin. Umpires: Home, Eric Cooper; First, Mike Reilly; Second, Chuck Meriwether; Third, Laz Diaz. T: 3:31. A: 30,546 (48,652).

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

27

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

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

ATLANTA BRAVES

R

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

AVG OBA AB

R

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

AVG OBA AB

R

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

AVG OBA AB

R

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

.325 .398 151

30

49 11

3

9 27 18 44

4

1

1

Infante

.349 .389

86

13

30

4

0

1 11

7

1

0

2

Ramirez

.364 .417

66

8

24

3

0

4 16

8

0

0

1

Gomes

.429 .467

14

1

6

12

24

40

9

1

4 18 29 27

4

4

0

Votto

.368 .479 117

21

12

.324 .395

37

4

Lopez

.323 .380 167

21

Parra

.277 .346

47

Reynolds

3

0

0

4 12

2

0

0

McCann

.326 .417

92

13

30

5

0

5 18 13 10

2

1

2

Fukudome

.308 .438 130

54 15

0

4 10 15 28

4

1

5

C. Jones

.319 .444 116

22

37

6

1

4 16 26 17

1

1

6

Hill

.300 .391

40

5

9

13

0

2

1 10

0

2

1

Diaz

.299 .382

77

13

23

4

2

2 15 10 20

1

0

1

Theriot

.273 .335 165

24

.264 .361 159

27

42

6

1 12 25 23 58 10

2

7

Escobar

.293 .367 150

23

44 10

0

4 21 14 17

1

1

4

Hoffpauir

.267 .326

86

Ojeda

.256 .350

86

11

22

4

0

1

8

1

1

3

Kotchman

.278 .341 151

13

42 16

0

2 22 13 16

0

0

0

Scales

.257 .381

35

Snyder

.233 .381

90

13

21

4

0

5 17 21 24

0

0

0

Ross

.263 .382

57

9

15

4

0

3 11 11 22

0

0

0

Soriano

.253 .318 174

Montero

.227 .338

66

5

15

Francoeur

.259 .282 170

23

44

5

2

3 21

1

1

0

Lee

.248 .314 125

Byrnes

.208 .257 125

14

Drew

.190 .280

84

Tracy

.189 .252 111

Jackson

.182 .264

Clark

.179 .258

4

4 11

6

5

0

2

6

9 16

0

0

4

26 10

0

4 16

8 15

6

2

3

8

16

4

1

2 13 12 18

0

1

4

13

21

8

0

3 13 10 13

1

0

0

99

8

18

4

0

1 14 11 16

5

0

2

28

3

5

1

0

2

0

0

1

Young

.177 .219 147

Team Totals

.235 .312 1533 189 360 90

PITCHERS

3

6

BATTERS

CINCINNATI REDS

AVG OBA AB

Roberts

BATTERS

CHICAGO CUBS

16

26 10

3

3 15

9

7 43

4

2

0

9 49 179 166 359 37 12 38

1

2

1

0

0

43 10

0

7 31 23 22

2

1

3

2

0

1

5 11

0

0

0

Hanigan

.309 .381

55

7

17

1

0

1

3

7

2

0

0

1

2

5 20 15 26

7

2

4

Janish

.300 .378

40

5

12

3

0

0

3

3

7

0

0

1

23

5

0

4 14

8 20

0

0

1

Hernandez

.295 .363 139

11

41

7

0

2 16 15 16

0

0

3

8

9

2

1

1

6 10

0

0

1

Nix

.276 .325

76

13

21 10

1

3

6 24

0

0

0

35

44

9

0 12 25 15 45

4

2

3

Phillips

.275 .337 149

20

41

7

2

7 34 16 16

4

3

3

16

31

6

0

5 19 13 27

0

0

0

Taveras

.274 .335 164

32

45

7

1

1

8 14 25 12

2

1

5

86

7

22

5

0

0

9

5

9

0

0

2

Johnson

.238 .319

63

10

15

1

1

1

5 11

0

0

0

Rosales

.269 .356

78

12

21

4

0

2

9

9 15

0

2

2

7

16

8

0

2

7

7

6

0

1

1

Soto

.214 .331 112

8

24

4

0

1 11 18 26

0

0

1

Hairston Jr.

.260 .313 123

27

32

8

1

5 12

8 19

4

0

3

Johnson

.250 .320 136

21

34

6

2

5 15 12 20

2

2

2

Fontenot

.208 .299 125

12

26

5

0

5 17 16 27

2

1

3

Bruce

.228 .307 158

25

36

5

0 12 25 16 36

3

1

1

Schafer

.205 .324 146

15

30

8

0

2

8 26 55

1

1

0

Miles

.204 .250

98

13

20

6

0

0

6 16

3

0

1

Dickerson

.228 .374

79

10

18

2

1

2

Hernandez

.167 .231

12

2

2

0

0

0

0

1

1

0

0

1

Bradley

.198 .314 101

15

20

3

0

5 13 14 23

0

0

0

Gonzalez

.215 .254 107

5

23

5

0

2 16

Norton

.111 .294

27

2

3

1

0

0

3

7

7

0

0

0

Freel

.154 .214

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

1

Encarnacion

.127 .286

2

8

1

0

1

Team Totals

.264 .342 1472 194 389 84

Team Totals

.244 .325 1444 195 352 69

Team Totals

.257 .332 1502 201 386 74

7 33 182 167 266 10

8 25

G

IP

H

R

3

0

0

2.0

1

0

0

0

0

2

Pena

4

2 2.01 23

0

0

22.1

23

7

5

1

6

18

Acosta

Haren

3

4 2.57

9

0

63.0

48

18

18

8

9

63

Soriano

0

0 1.37 20

0

4

19.2

10

3

3

1

7

4

2 2.07 10

10

0

61.0

50

15

14

3

22

2

1 2.25 20

0

0

20.0

25

6

5

0

12

13

8

9

63

L ERA

0

3

.256 .284

0 0.00

2 3.28 21

0

.254 .329

1

1

0

Prado

W

Gutierrez

1

45 11

9

6

BATTERS

Anderson

Zavada

9

GS SV

1

5

5 24

5

4

1

1

3

5 49 184 161 326 21 11 26

63

7 18 26

1

2

3

5 18

0

0

2

6 13 19

1

1

3

8 46 191 159 294 28 12 33

ER HR BB SO

0

24.2

22

9

9

PITCHERS

1

10

28

Jurrjens Bennett

W

L ERA

G

0

0 0.00

1

GS SV 0

0

IP

H

R

1.0

1

0

ER HR BB SO 0

0

0

W

L ERA

G

Wells

0

1 1.50

3

3

26

Guzman

1

0 3.15 17

35

Marmol

0

1 3.60 22

16

Lilly

5

4 3.77

1

PITCHERS

9

GS SV

IP

H

R

ER HR BB SO

0

18.0

14

3

3

0

0

0

20.0

12

7

7

0

3

20.0

12

9

8

9

0

57.1

49

PITCHERS

W

L ERA

G

GS SV

IP

H

R

ER HR BB SO

6

16

Fisher

1

0 0.00

2

0

0

3.0

1

0

0

0

3

1

2

6

20

Rhodes

0

0 0.56 20

0

0

16.0

9

1

1

0

6

12

1

18

23

Masset

1

0 1.23 11

0

0

14.2

5

2

2

0

8

12

25

24 10

14

47

Cordero

0

2 1.80 20

0 12

20.0

16

5

4

0

7

21

Scherzer

1

3 3.50

8

8

0

43.2

39

18

17

5

19

43

Rosales

0

0 3.52

6

0

0

7.2

7

3

3

0

2

5

O'Flaherty

0

0 2.25 21

0

0

16.0

10

5

4

0

1

11

Marshall

2

3 3.96

9

6

0

36.1

36

17

16

6

11

23

Herrera

0

1 2.12 19

0

0

17.0

18

7

4

1

8

15

Qualls

1

0 3.60 18

0 11

20.0

22

8

8

1

4

22

Lowe

6

2 3.45 10

10

0

62.2

52

24

24

2

22

39

Ascanio

0

0 4.05

4

0

0

6.2

7

3

3

1

0

8

Cueto

4

2 2.37

9

9

0

60.2

47

17

16

5

16

47

Davis

2

6 3.77 10

2

0 3.79 22

0

7

19.0

17

9

8

2

8

25

Zambrano

3

2 4.64

7

7

0

42.2

43

23

22

4

18

40

Weathers

0

1 2.87 18

0

0

15.2

12

5

5

1

10

11

Garland

4

3 4.70

Vasquez

10

0

62.0

54

29

26 10

25

45

Gonzalez

9

9

0

53.2

62

30

28

7

21

20

Vazquez

4

4 3.80 10

10

0

64.0

58

29

27

6

15

78

Harden

4

2 4.74

8

8

0

43.2

39

24

23

8

21

53

Harang

5

4 3.36 10

10

0

64.1

69

27

24

7

15

56

1

1 5.65 12

0

0

14.1

16

10

9

1

9

11

Kawakami

3

5 4.73

8

8

0

45.2

45

27

24

5

19

42

Dempster

3

3 4.99 10

10

0

61.1

57

35

34

8

26

52

Volquez

4

2 4.25

8

8

0

48.2

32

24

23

6

31

45

Buckner

1

0 6.35

4

1

0

11.1

12

8

8

3

6

6

Moylan

1

2 5.17 23

0

0

15.2

12

10

9

0

13

14

Gregg

0

1 5.40 20

0

6

18.1

21

11

11

4

10

21

Owings

3

5 4.70

8

7

0

44.0

45

27

23

6

20

27

Slaten

0

0 6.75

9

0

0

5.1

8

4

4

1

1

4

Rauch

0

0 7.23 22

0

2

18.2

26

17

15

3

10

13

Petit

0

3 8.03

6

5

0

24.2

33

24

22

8

10

19

Webb

0

0 13.50

1

1

0

4.0

6

6

6

2

2

2

Gordon

0

1 21.60

3

0

0

1.2

3

4

4

0

3

0

Team Totals

19 26 4.46 45

45 13 408.0 419 218 202 54 150 314

Campillo

1

0 5.40

4

0

0

3.1

6

3

2

0

3

3

Heilman

2

2 5.49 21

0

0

19.2

19

13

12

3

15

17

Arroyo

6

3 5.79

9

9

0

56.0

62

36

36 12

21

29

Reyes

0

2 7.00

6

5

0

27.0

27

25

21

4

13

21

Patton

1

1 6.91 10

0

0

14.1

15

12

11

2

10

12

Burton

0

0 6.10 19

0

0

20.2

25

14

14

1

12

16

Carlyle

0

1 8.84 14

0

0

19.1

31

21

19

4

11

12

Cotts

0

2 7.36 19

0

0

11.0

14

9

9

3

9

9

Lincoln

0

0 9.19 14

0

0

15.2

21

16

16

4

12

6

0

1 15.00

1

0

3.0

3

5

5

0

5

3

Fox

0

0 135.00

0

0.1

2

5

5

0

3

0

Team Totals

Medlen Team Totals

1

23 21 4.13 44

44 11 392.2 367 197 180 28 159 340

Team Totals

2

0

21 22 4.56 43

43

9 376.2 349 199 191 52 169 349

24 20 4.03 44

44 12 404.0 371 194 181 46 176 306

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

28

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

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

R

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

AVG OBA AB

R

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

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Hayes

.500 .500

2

2

1

.338 .387 151

25

51

9

1

6 31 14 21

0

0

1

Ramirez

.317 .400 167

29

Hawpe

.336 .412 131

23

44 13

Murton

.276 .323

29

6

Fowler

.272 .353 136

Spilborghs Smith Barmes

Helton

1.000 1.000

0

0

BATTERS

HOUSTON ASTROS

1

Phillips

AVG OBA AB

FLORIDA MARLINS

AVG OBA AB

R

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

AVG OBA AB

R

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

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

Pence

.358 .429 159

24

57

8

2

5 19 21 24

5

4

0

Mientkiewicz

.400 .400

5

0

2

1

0

0

2

0

2

0

0

0

53 15

0

8 22 20 32

8

4

2

Tejada

.341 .366 176

26

60 15

0

5 26

2

1

8

Castro

.387 .444

31

10

12

2

0

1

7

4

8

0

0

0

21

0

0

BATTERS

LOS ANGELES DODGERS

5 11

BATTERS

2

6 36 18 23

0

1

2

Baker

.284 .371 116

26

33

8

0

6 19 15 27

0

0

3

Lee

.319 .363 166

53 10

1

8 29 12 14

1

1

1

Pierre

.385 .458 104

21

40

9

2

0 16 12

7

9

4

0

4

0

1

1

0

0

Gload

.279 .375

61

12

17

1

1

1

7

0

0

1

Keppinger

.313 .397

64

7

20

6

1

1

0

0

0

Ausmus

.346 .393

26

4

9

1

0

0

6

1

0

0

21

37 10

2

2 10 18 34 11

3

1

Cantu

.277 .343 155

21

43

8

0

8 35 13 25

1

0

4

Bourn

.288 .360 160

27

46

7

3

1 11 17 36 15

3

1

Hudson

.344 .412 189

35

65 16

2

3 29 24 31

4

0

2

.266 .338 143

21

38 12

1

3 20 14 33

6

2

2

Hermida

.275 .383 160

19

44

5

1

4 17 27 42

4

1

1

Blum

.266 .333 124

12

33

5

0

1 15 12 16

0

1

1

Loretta

.333 .462

42

9

.263 .410

80

14

21

3

1

4 10 20 14

2

0

0

Bonifacio

.258 .296 190

25

49

3

2

1 11 11 43

9

4

7

I. Rodriguez

.260 .305 131

15

34

6

2

5 19

8 32

0

2

0

Blake

.306 .376 147

27

.238 .306 122

23

29

8

1

4 17 10 27

3

2

3

Helms

.246 .302

57

5

14

2

0

1 10

0

0

2

Berkman

.231 .363 147

23

34

6

0 10 27 30 33

0

2

3

Hoffmann

.300 .273

10

2

3

21

8

4

2

5

7 10

4 16

3

8

4

14

3

2

2

0

0

6

0

0

0

45 10

1

9 29 15 34

7

9

0

0

4

2

0

1

3

0

0

0

6

0

Tulowitzki

.236 .331 140

20

33

6

2

5 15 21 30

4

3

2

Ross

.239 .291 159

38 11

0

6 26 10 37

1

1

2

Matsui

.219 .288 146

18

32

6

1

1 12 13 28

6

3

2

Kemp

.298 .366 171

28

51

8

4

4 28 18 46

9

2

0

Iannetta

.231 .350 104

15

24

5

0

8 18 18 27

0

1

1

Paulino

.233 .343

60

6

14

2

1

1

6 10 15

1

0

1

Quintero

.208 .208

24

0

5

1

0

0

3

0

7

0

0

2

Loney

.291 .359 175

21

51

9

0

2 32 20 14

3

1

1

Torrealba

.213 .283

47

7

10

1

0

2

5

4 11

0

0

0

Amezaga

.217 .267

69

6

15

3

0

0

5

5 16

1

1

0

Michaels

.182 .308

33

1

6

4

0

0

2

5 11

1

1

0

Martin

.270 .380 152

21

41

8

0

0 20 25 31

6

3

1

Quintanilla

.211 .318

19

4

4

1

0

0

0

3 10

0

0

0

Coghlan

.212 .300

52

4

11

0

0

1

5

7 12

1

0

2

Erstad

.149 .212

47

4

7

1

1

0

3

4 15

0

0

0

Ethier

.256 .368 160

26

41

9

0

6 30 26 31

2

0

2

Atkins

.190 .273 147

16

28

6

0

3 15 16 23

0

0

5

Uggla

.200 .321 155

18

31

7

1

8 30 26 39

1

0

5

Maysonet

.000 .000

3

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Furcal

.238 .299 172

24

41

8

0

1

9 15 29

3

3

7

Stewart

.189 .281 106

16

20

4

0

7 20 12 34

2

1

3

Team Totals

.246 .323 1597 212 393 70

Team Totals

.268 .332 1499 188 401 75 11 38 177 138 263 30 18 22

Paul

.214 .313

3

3

1

0

1

1

0

1

0

0

3

0

1

0

1

0

1

Team Totals

.290 .373 1606 261 466 98

Baker

.130 .167

Team Totals

.251 .332 1461 218 366 84 11 51 211 174 326 30 13 28

23

3

1

7

PITCHERS

GS SV

7 46 203 172 389 28 12 37

W

L ERA

G

IP

H

R

Sanches

1

0 0.00

4

0

0

6.0

2

0

ER HR BB SO 0

0

1

4

0

0

22.1

12

6

6

0

12

G

GS SV

0

PITCHERS

W

L ERA

IP

H

R

ER HR BB SO

W. Rodriguez

5

3 1.71 10

10

0

63.0

53

19

12

1

18

56

28

Sampson

2

0 1.93 21

0

2

28.0

23

8

6

1

9

12

PITCHERS

14

2

4

9 34 248 208 308 37 14 20

W

L ERA

G

GS SV

IP

H

R

ER HR BB SO

Broxton

5

0 1.17 20

0 11

23.0

7

3

3

0

7

W

L ERA

G

IP

H

R

Calero

1

0 2.42 27

Flores

0

0 0.00

4

0

0

3.2

3

0

0

0

0

5

Pinto

2

0 2.53 24

0

0

21.1

22

7

6

2

12

20

Byrdak

0

0 2.81 18

0

0

16.0

12

5

5

3

6

11

Kuroda

1

0 1.59

1

1

0

5.2

4

1

1

0

1

2

Fogg

0

0 0.00

1

0

0

1.0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Johnson

3

1 2.67 10

10

0

67.1

58

22

20

4

16

59

Hawkins

1

2 2.89 20

0

5

18.2

18

6

6

2

7

18

Troncoso

1

0 2.22 18

0

2

28.1

26

7

7

0

6

16

Morales

1

0 3.38

2

2

0

8.0

7

3

3

3

1

9

Meyer

0

0 2.75 22

0

0

19.2

14

7

6

3

6

23

Fulchino

0

1 4.08 12

0

0

17.2

13

8

8

2

4

14

Belisario

1

2 2.28 24

0

0

27.2

20

9

7

2

14

25

Street

0

1 3.44 20

0

7

18.1

16

7

7

3

5

21

Nunez

2

2 3.47 23

0

0

23.1

15

9

9

3

12

19

Oswalt

1

2 4.47 10

10

0

56.1

61

28

28 10

15

42

Billingsley

6

2 2.82 10

10

0

67.0

50

23

21

1

30

69

Hammel

1

3 4.10

9

6

0

37.1

51

24

17

4

12

24

West

0

0 3.60

1

1

0

5.0

4

2

2

0

4

5

Brocail

1

0 4.76

7

0

0

5.2

5

3

3

2

8

4

Wolf

2

1 3.02 10

10

0

62.2

51

24

21

7

19

50

Daley

0

1 4.15

9

0

0

8.2

5

4

4

0

4

7

Volstad

4

3 3.69 10

10

0

61.0

50

29

25 11

19

51

Arias

0

0 4.82 10

0

0

9.1

7

7

5

1

4

9

Weaver

2

1 3.63

3

0

22.1

23

9

9

1

10

14

Jimenez

3

5 4.25

9

9

0

53.0

51

25

25

2

24

48

Miller

1

1 4.94

6

4

0

23.2

22

13

13

1

14

16

Ortiz

2

2 4.88 11

4

0

31.1

34

19

17

2

25

23

Stults

4

1 4.29

8

8

0

42.0

40

20

20

2

23

27

Marquis

6

3 4.45

9

9

0

60.2

59

33

30

6

19

27

Badenhop

2

2 5.75 11

0

0

20.1

25

13

13

2

8

19

Hampton

2

4 5.63

9

9

0

48.0

54

33

30

7

21

33

Kershaw

2

3 4.32

9

9

0

50.0

36

24

24

4

28

51

Cook

3

1 4.68

9

9

0

50.0

51

27

26

7

21

24

Speier

0

0 4.76

5

0

0

5.2

6

3

3

0

3

2

Sanchez

1

4 5.79

6

0

32.2

43

21

21

6

15

25

Valverde

0

1 5.63

8

0

2

8.0

7

5

5

3

3

11

Milton

0

0 4.50

1

1

0

4.0

2

2

2

0

4

3

Peralta

0

0 4.91

2

0

0

3.2

6

2

2

0

0

4

PITCHERS

GS SV

ER HR BB SO

De La Rosa

0

5 5.26

9

9

0

49.2

46

32

29

3

23

52

Grilli

0

1 5.65 19

0

1

14.1

18

9

9

1

9

18

Corpas

0

3 5.82 22

0

1

21.2

30

14

14

1

4

12

Embree Team Totals

1

2 7.50 19

0

18 26 4.86 44

44

0

12.0

16

12

10

2

5

6

9 383.2 425 228 207 39 137 284

6

7

35

Lindstrom

1

1 6.16 21

0

9

19.0

17

14

13

2

15

19

Paulino

1

3 6.90

8

5

0

30.0

43

25

23

4

16

22

Ohman

1

0 5.11 20

0

1

12.1

11

7

7

4

8

7

Penn

1

0 6.97 14

1

0

20.2

27

21

16

2

16

26

Wright

1

1 7.24 19

0

0

13.2

23

11

11

3

6

15

Wade

0

3 6.14 15

0

0

14.2

19

10

10

0

6

8

Cr. Martinez

0

1 9.00

1

0

0

2.0

3

2

2

1

1

4

Geary

1

3 8.10 16

0

0

20.0

30

19

18

4

10

12

Kuo

1

0 6.75

7

0

0

5.1

5

4

4

1

4

4

21 25 4.90 46

46

1

3 8.31

0

26.0

42

24

24

5

7

20

Leach

1

0 7.20

9

0

0

5.0

6

4

4

0

2

6

9 391.2 425 220 201 50 159 302

Mota

2

1 7.50 18

0

0

18.0

24

15

15

2

12

9

Team Totals

9 419.0 429 251 228 51 196 376

Moehler Team Totals

6

6

18 25 4.62 44

44

Team Totals

31 15 3.79 46

46 14 413.0 351 181 174 29 191 341

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

29

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

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

NEW YORK METS

AVG OBA AB

R

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

AVG OBA AB

R

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

AVG OBA AB

R

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

AVG OBA AB

R

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

.333 .320

24

0

8

2

0

0

4

0

0

0

Beltran

.367 .460 169

31

62 15

1

6 31 28 26

7

1

2

Ibanez

.345 .408 168

38

58 11

1 17 43 17 26

4

0

1

Diaz

.321 .357

53

5

17

Braun

.325 .439 157

31

51

9

1

8 31 25 31

3

3

1

Wright

.348 .454 161

29

56 12

3

3 30 31 44 10

7

7

Feliz

.303 .373 142

19

43 11

0

0

0

2

Sanchez

.320 .354 181

30

0

BATTERS

PITTSBURGH PIRATES

Rivera

1

BATTERS

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

2 23 17 18

BATTERS

Counsell

.311 .382

90

15

28

6

0

1

7 10 11

0

1

3

Cora

.333 .435

51

9

17

4

1

0

4 10

5

3

1

1

Utley

.291 .429 141

31

41

6

0 11 31 25 28

3

0

5

Young

.319 .396

47

6

Cameron

.285 .382 151

22

43 12

0

9 22 25 33

2

0

0

Reed

.304 .347

46

3

14

1

1

0

3

3 11

0

1

1

Ruiz

.284 .400

67

3

19

6

0

1

8 13

9

1

1

1

An. LaRoche

.298 .365 141

15

Weeks

.272 .340 147

28

40

2

9 24 12 39

2

2

6

Delgado

.298 .393

94

15

28

7

1

4 23 12 20

0

0

2

Stairs

.276 .462

29

6

8

1

0

2

7

8

0

0

0

Jaramillo

.288 .390

66

Fielder

.265 .412 155

23

41

7

1 10 42 37 48

0

0

1

Castillo

.282 .364 124

23

35

3

2

0 11 17 13

6

1

4

Victorino

.270 .317 185

30

50

9

4

4 24 13 19

6

3

0

Morgan

McGehee

.265 .325

34

5

9

2

0

0

6

0

0

0

Reyes

.279 .355 147

18

41

7

2

2 15 18 19 11

2

5

Howard

.262 .337 172

30

45 11

1 12 33 18 52

2

0

0

McLouth

Hart

.242 .319 165

29

40 11

1

4 18 19 46

3

3

2

Sheffield

.277 .417

83

21

23

4

1

4 14 19 15

1

1

1

Werth

.255 .350 153

32

39

8

1

8 26 20 39

8

1

0

Hardy

.234 .321 141

18

33

6

1

5 23 17 28

0

0

3

Tatis

.276 .329

76

14

21

4

1

2

9

6

2

1

0

Mayberry

.250 .250

8

1

2

Hall

.230 .297 126

14

29

8

0

4 11 12 39

1

0

3

Church

.272 .328 125

9

34

7

0

1

8 10 18

2

1

1

Rollins

.234 .279 184

27

Kendall

.217 .305 129

15

28

5

1

0 15 13 14

0

1

4

Santos

.269 .303

9

18

3

1

2 15

0

0

0

Coste

.230 .319

61

Gamel

.211 .318

19

1

4

2

0

1

5

2

6

0

0

1

Pagan

.261 .370

23

3

6

1

0

0

7

3

0

0

Dobbs

.139 .244

Gerut

.200 .333

5

2

1

0

0

0

0

1

1

0

0

0

Castro

.253 .325

75

5

19

4

0

3 13

8 14

0

0

2

Bruntlett

.118 .179

Catalanotto

.000 .000

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Murphy

.246 .322 126

20

31

4

1

3 12 15 13

1

1

3

Team Totals

.260 .343 1481 242 385 87

Team Totals

.250 .341 1487 215 372 77

PITCHERS

5

3

4

7 53 211 189 360 11 10 26

W

L ERA

G

GS SV

IP

H

R

ER HR BB SO

Hoffman

0

0 0.00 13

0 11

13.0

5

0

0

0

DiFelice

3

0 1.31 20

0

0

20.2

14

3

3

McClung

1

1 2.57 17

0

0

21.0

15

6

6

Coffey

1

0 2.95 19

0

2

21.1

22

7

Gallardo

4

2 3.32

9

9

0

59.2

42

Bush

3

1 3.92 10

9

0

59.2

51

Villanueva

2

3 3.97 22

0

3

22.2

16

67

4

5 14

1

4

Schneider

.143 .250

21

3

3

1

0

0

3

3

1

0

0

0

Martinez

.077 .074

26

0

2

0

0

0

3

0

6

1

0

4

Team Totals

.284 .365 1491 213 423 77 15 30 199 191 250 47 17 35

PITCHERS

8

1

58 17

2

15

5

1

3

0

1

1

4 16

8 34

4

1

1

3

0

0

6 13

1

0

0

42 11

0

2 21 12 26

8

2

0

5

6

19

8

0

0

1

0

1

.287 .366 167

26

48

5

4

0 17 19 31 10

5

0

.269 .371 145

24

39

6

0

8 31 20 21

6

0

0

Moss

.264 .312 129

20

34

8

2

1 11

8 22

0

0

0

5 11

8

1

0

1

1

0

0

0

Monroe

.259 .306

58

6

15

2

0

3 14

4 15

0

0

0

1

3 17 11 25

6

4

2

Wilson

.257 .290 101

10

26

7

1

1 16

5 10

1

1

5

5

14

7

0

1

6

7 14

0

0

0

Hinske

.254 .342

67

10

17

6

0

1

7

6 17

0

0

0

36

3

5

0

0

1

4

5

8

0

0

0

Doumit

.244 .271

45

5

11

9

34

5

4

4

0

0

4

3

9

0

0

1

Ad. LaRoche

.227 .315 163

26

Vazquez

.190 .325

Team Totals

.264 .333 1536 202 406 100 10 31 194 142 322 25

GS SV

0

0

43 10

G

3

3

8 64 232 170 286 30

9 13

W

L ERA

IP

H

R

Condrey

4

0 2.19 23

0

1

24.2

18

6

6

3

9

16

Happ

2

0 2.60 13

1

0

27.2

18

8

8

2

9

21

63

8

4

0

2

2 10

0

0

1

37 14

1

7 22 21 43

0

0

1

12

0

0

0

0

1

1

6 12 17

8 19

ER HR BB SO PITCHERS

W

L ERA

G

GS SV

Chavez

0

1 1.83 22

0

IP

H

R

ER HR BB SO

0

19.2

15

4

4

0

10

2

4

20

W

L ERA

G

GS SV

IP

H

R

Madson

2

1 2.95 21

0

1

21.1

18

7

7

0

6

23

Duke

5

4 2.77

9

9

0

65.0

55

22

20

4

15

39

1

15

16

Rodriguez

1

0 0.83 21

0 13

21.2

12

4

2

1

10

21

Eyre

0

1 3.48 18

0

0

10.1

6

5

4

2

8

7

Meek

0

0 2.87 13

0

0

15.2

12

5

5

0

14

10

7

1

4

14

Santana

6

2 1.50

9

9

0

60.0

49

17

10

4

14

75

Taschner

1

1 3.66 14

0

0

19.2

18

8

8

2

14

10

Burnett

1

1 3.00 22

0

1

21.0

13

8

7

2

12

16

22

22

6

22

56

Parnell

2

0 2.29 22

0

0

19.2

22

7

5

0

9

16

Durbin

1

1 4.32 23

0

0

25.0

18

12

12

3

13

22

Maholm

3

1 4.11 10

10

0

61.1

61

29

28

3

21

34

28

26 11

15

42

Feliciano

1

1 2.45 24

0

0

18.1

15

9

5

3

3

18

Myers

4

2 4.34

9

9

0

58.0

59

28

28 15

19

43

Veal

0

0 4.15

4

0

0

4.1

2

2

2

1

9

4

11

10

1

9

23

Stokes

1

2 2.89 17

0

0

18.2

20

8

6

1

5

8

Hamels

2

2 4.68

8

8

0

42.1

50

23

22

9

43

Ohlendorf

5

4 4.20

9

9

0

55.2

49

27

26

9

14

27

6

PITCHERS

ER HR BB SO

9

1

7

17

Stetter

2

0 4.15 21

0

0

13.0

9

6

2

7

11

Putz

1

3 3.55 24

0

2

25.1

20

10

10

1

15

18

Park

1

1 6.57 10

7

0

38.1

45

28

28

5

20

27

Grabow

3

0 4.71 22

0

0

21.0

26

12

11

1

11

17

Looper

4

3 4.47

9

9

0

50.1

56

29

25 10

17

28

Takahashi

0

1 3.86

8

0

0

9.1

9

4

4

1

3

6

Blanton

2

3 7.11

8

8

0

44.1

57

35

35

9

17

37

Snell

1

5 4.88

9

9

0

48.0

46

28

26

6

26

36

Suppan

3

3 4.71

9

9

0

49.2

53

28

26

23

25

Maine

4

3 4.18

9

9

0

51.2

42

26

24

4

30

36

Moyer

3

5 7.42

9

9

0

47.1

68

39

39 13

16

26

Karstens

1

2 5.19

8

8

0

43.1

44

26

25

8

16

18

0

2 9.15 21

0

8

19.2

29

20

20

12

21

Gorzelanny

2

1 5.40

4

0

0

5.0

4

3

3

0

2

5

Hansen

0

0 5.68

5

0

0

6.1

6

4

4

1

4

5

0

3 6.46 17

0

9

15.1

22

11

11

2

8

12

0

2 7.50 15

0

0

12.0

14

12

10

2

7

9

9

Parra

3

5 5.79

9

9

0

46.2

51

33

30

5

29

40

Pelfrey

4

1 4.31

8

8

0

48.0

52

23

23

4

18

17

Lidge

Julio

1

0 6.06 13

0

0

16.1

12

12

11

2

13

11

Hernandez

3

1 4.93

8

8

0

45.2

54

25

25

6

13

25

Team Totals

Riske

0

0 18.00

0

0

1.0

4

2

2

0

0

0

Redding

0

1 6.75

2

2

0

10.2

10

8

8

1

8

8

Capps

Green

0

2 7.36 20

0

0

18.1

24

15

15

3

11

16

Yates

Perez

1

2 9.97

5

0

21.2

28

24

24

3

21

20

Team Totals

Team Totals

1

27 18 4.01 45

45 16 397.2 355 191 177 51 160 300

Team Totals

5

24 20 3.94 44

44 15 392.2 385 193 172 33 169 302

24 19 5.19 43

6

43 10 385.1 413 224 222 69 155 302

21 24 4.16 45

45 10 393.2 369 193 182 40 166 249

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

30

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

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

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

AVG OBA AB

R

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

Hairston

.333 .393 123

13

41 10

Cabrera

.308 .357

13

Macias

.294 .429

17

3

5

A. Gonzalez

.281 .381 167

33

47

Rodriguez

.256 .396

11

20

Hundley

.250 .357 108

9

Kouzmanoff

.236 .288 165

13

Headley

.234 .306 145

14

Eckstein

.225 .302 151

15

34 10

1

0 13 13 13

1

C. Burke

.224 .297

58

5

13

5

0

0

3

5 12

3

E. Gonzalez

.190 .273

58

9

11

2

2

3

7

5 11

0

Blanco

.176 .263

51

8

9

1

0

3

5

6 13

Giles

.175 .273 154

11

27

7

0

2 19 21 19

Gwynn

.111 .273

9

3

1

1

0

0

0

2

Wilson

.000 .091

10

1

0

0

0

0

0

1

Team Totals

.234 .314 1495 175 350 75

PITCHERS

78

AVG OBA AB

R

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

1

5 20 11 25

5

1

0

Whiteside

.333 .333

3

1

1

0

0

0

1

3

0

0

0

Sandoval

.304 .345 158

16

4

0

1

5

4

3

0

0

1

Uribe

.286 .303

63

3

4

0 17 31 26 40

1

0

2

Winn

.283 .341 166

23

4

0

1

0

0

2

Lewis

.279 .380 140

27

39

27

5

2

3 10 18 29

1

1

2

Rowand

.274 .340 146

17

40 10

0

5 19 13 32

2

39

7

1

4 17

8 38

1

0

0

Molina

.261 .269 165

19

43

7

1

8 30

0

34

7

1

4 17 14 41

6

1

1

Burriss

.257 .325 148

13

38

3

0

0

9 13 24 11

0

0

Ishikawa

.250 .327 100

13

25

3

1

1 15

9 31

1

5

Renteria

.246 .327 138

21

34

7

0

2 20 16 22

2

2

Schierholtz

.241 .263

5

13

3

1

0

3

0

0

0

Torres

.222 .417

9

4

2

0

0

1

1

1

0

0

Aurilia

.177 .209

62

3

11

2

0

0 10

4

0

0

0

Guzman

.100 .100

10

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

1

Frandsen

.000 .167

15

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

Team Totals

.253 .311 1498 172 379 73

4

4

W

L ERA

G

G. Burke

0

0 0.00

6

0

Thatcher

0

0 0.00

3

0

Bell

2

0 0.47 19

Mujica

2

Peavy

4

Meredith

1

GS SV

7 20

9

8 47 171 165 309 21

BATTERS

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

6 19

ER HR BB SO

PITCHERS

W

54

L ERA

G

AVG OBA AB

R

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

BATTERS

AVG OBA AB

R

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

0

0

0

0

Pujols

.322 .451 152

38

49

8

0 14 38 35 13

7

1

5

Zimmerman

.346 .408 188

37

65 14

0 11 35 21 32

0

0

6

3 17

8 24

2

2

1

Schumaker

.299 .342 147

21

44

8

1

1

1

2

Guzman

.344 .353 151

27

52

9

2

2 11

2 19

1

2

6

0

0

2 13

0

1

2

LaRue

.280 .333

25

5

7

1

0

1

7

0

0

0

Johnson

.338 .445 157

28

53

7

1

4 25 28 29

1

0

5

3

2 19 15 33

8

1

0

Molina

.275 .348 138

14

38

4

1

3 17 15 12

2

1

0

Flores

.311 .382

90

13

28

3

2

4 15 11 26

0

0

1

1

3

3

2

3

Ludwick

.274 .339 106

16

29

4

0

8 26

9 20

2

0

1

Nieves

.304 .350

56

6

17

2

0

0

6

3 14

0

0

3

0

1

Barden

.259 .315

81

12

21

3

0

4

5 14

0

0

3

Harris

.281 .427

64

13

18

5

1

1

9 12 14

3

0

0

0

2

Duncan

.250 .344 140

15

35 12

2

3 24 21 32

0

1

3

Hernandez

.279 .367 104

15

29

5

1

0 11 15 17

3

1

4

4

3

Ankiel

.247 .323

85

12

21

7

0

2 11

7 21

0

0

0

Dukes

.277 .347 112

12

31

8

1

4 24 12 29

2

6

1

1

0

2

Ryan

.241 .308

58

9

14

4

1

0

5 10

3

0

1

Dunn

.277 .414 159

25

44

6

0 14 39 38 48

0

1

5

2

2

3

Rasmus

.227 .304 132

20

30

7

0

4 17 12 27

1

0

2

Bernadina

.250 .400

4

1

1

1

0

0

1

1

0

0

0

1

0

Thurston

.224 .336 107

14

24

8

2

1 14 18 21

2

1

4

Kearns

.213 .341 108

15

23

6

2

3 15 18 27

1

0

0

13

21

4

0

2 14 10 15

2

1

6

Willingham

.213 .345

94

12

20

6

0

6

9 16 23

0

1

1

0

6

1

0

0

1

0

0

Belliard

.172 .221

64

4

11

1

1

1

4

4 18

0

0

2

Bard

.171 .194

35

2

6

2

0

0

4

1

7

0

0

0

Maxwell

.167 .286

18

1

3

1

0

0

1

3

6

3

0

0

Team Totals

.271 .356 1577 223 427 80 11 51 216 197 362 17 11 45

0

0

0

48 13

2

18

4

47 11 9

0

6

7 19 45

2 21

2

9

3

3

1

0

0

K. Greene

.208 .284 101

3 13

0

0

0

Stavinoha

.207 .207

1

0

0

0

Team Totals

.253 .329 1479 206 374 79

2

0

0

0

9 25 161 115 322 31 13 23

IP

H

R

ER HR BB SO

PITCHERS

29

W

L ERA

G

Carpenter

2

0 0.00

4

Franklin

1

0 1.53 18

GS SV

3 13 10 16 1

1

8

3

5

0

3

7 47 201 154 260 25

6 29

IP

H

R

0

23.0

10

1

0

0

4

23

0 11

17.2

10

3

3

2

4

15

4

ER HR BB SO

IP

H

R

0

5.1

1

0

0

0

0

4

Affeldt

0

1 2.11 23

0

0

21.1

19

6

5

1

10

18

McClellan

2

2 1.96 21

0

1

23.0

13

7

5

2

12

18

0

1.2

0

0

0

0

1

1

Miller

1

1 2.14 18

0

0

21.0

15

5

5

2

9

15

Perez

1

1 2.77 16

0

1

13.0

8

4

4

1

12

17

0 13

19.1

11

1

1

0

6

24

Cain

5

1 2.40

9

0

60.0

54

16

16

6

25

41

Miller

1

0 3.18 16

0

0

11.1

11

5

4

2

3

1 2.70 20

0

1

23.1

19

9

7

2

6

26

Medders

2

1 3.10 19

0

0

20.1

20

7

7

1

12

17

Wainwright

4

2 3.41

9

9

0

58.0

51

25

22

6

5 3.48 10

10

0

67.1

51

27

26

7

23

79

Valdez

1

0 3.29 13

0

0

13.2

12

5

5

1

6

8

Motte

1

1 3.50 21

0

0

18.0

15

7

7

0

4

0 3.60 17

0

0

15.0

21

8

6

1

5

12

Lincecum

3

1 3.45

9

9

0

57.1

54

23

22

1

17

76

Pineiro

5

4 3.52

9

9

0

61.1

67

28

24

2

Gregerson

0

3 3.76 23

0

0

26.1

23

11

11

1

12

28

Zito

1

5 4.02

9

9

0

56.0

50

25

25

6

24

37

Reyes

0

1 3.55 21

0

1

12.2

10

5

5

Correia

1

2 4.53

8

8

0

43.2

42

22

22

4

21

31

Howry

0

2 4.24 19

0

0

17.0

19

8

8

1

7

13

Lohse

4

3 3.98

9

9

0

54.1

49

26

24

Perdomo

1

0 4.70 11

0

0

15.1

13

10

8

2

7

7

Sanchez

2

4 4.60

9

8

0

43.0

36

24

22

4

31

43

Thompson

0

1 4.30

9

0

0

14.2

16

7

7

9

GS SV

1

BATTERS

WASHINGTON NATIONALS

L ERA

Villone

2

0 0.00 12

0

Bergmann

0

0 2.45

6

0

12

Detwiler

0

0 2.45

2

2

24

47

Lannan

2

4 4.11 10

10

0

57.0

65

30

26

8

22

27

7

15

Martis

5

0 4.86

9

9

0

53.2

52

30

29

5

21

25

7

22

Beimel

0

3 5.00 19

0

0

18.0

23

10

10

2

6

10

2

5

14

Stammen

0

0 5.68

1

1

0

6.1

4

4

4

1

1

3

5

16

38

Zimmermann

2

1 5.71

7

7

0

41.0

46

26

26

6

12

39

1

2

6

Cabrera

0

5 5.85

9

8

0

40.0

48

39

26

4

35

16

4

2 4.76 10

10

0

56.2

53

31

30

6

25

44

Wilson

2

3 4.64 21

0

9

21.1

20

13

11

2

9

22

Wellemeyer

4

4 5.19

9

9

0

52.0

63

31

30

4

24

30

Geer

1

1 4.91

7

6

0

40.1

42

25

22

8

7

21

Johnson

3

4 6.26

9

9

0

46.0

53

32

32 10

19

49

Boyer

0

0 7.04 11

0

0

7.2

7

7

6

1

3

7

Hill

1

1 5.25

3

3

0

12.0

15

7

7

1

3

7

Martinez

1

0 6.75

2

0

0

2.2

4

2

1

2

Gaudin

1

3 5.40

6

6

0

33.1

27

20

20

1

26

27

21 23 3.99 44

44

Silva

0

0 6.52

2

2

0

9.2

10

7

7

2

7

3

Team Totals

23 22 4.31 45

45 14 403.1 374 206 193 42 179 331

Team Totals

2

0

9 394.1 379 182 175 38 179 347

Team Totals

26 19 3.67 45

45 14 402.0 375 181 164 34 144 295

G

GS SV

1

W

Young

PITCHERS

0

IP

H

R

ER HR BB SO

0

11.1

6

0

0

0

4

3

0

7.1

4

3

2

0

5

3

0

11.0

5

4

3

1

4

10

Hanrahan

0

2 5.91 22

0

5

21.1

25

14

14

3

9

26

Tavarez

1

4 6.00 21

0

1

18.0

16

16

12

1

12

17

Wells

0

2 6.00 16

0

2

21.0

19

14

14

1

14

15

Olsen

1

4 7.24

8

8

0

41.0

60

36

33

8

18

29

Colome

0

0 15.00

5

0

0

3.0

7

5

5

0

1

2

13 31 5.60 45

45

Team Totals

8 400.0 446 277 249 47 198 257

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

31

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

AMERICAN LEAGUE TEAM STATS

THROUGH MONDAY’S GAMES BALTIMORE ORIOLES BATTERS

BOSTON RED SOX

AVG OBA AB

R

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

AVG OBA AB

R

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

AVG OBA AB

R

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

.359 .416 156

38

56 13

1 10 32 12 34

4

2

4

Youkilis

.384 .493 112

28

43 13

0

7 28 19 26

1

0

1

Anderson

.307 .381 75

12

23

2

0

1

6

20 2

3

1

Martinez

.364 .439 184

32

67 14

1

7 32 26 19

0

0

2

Markakis

.303 .373 178

36

54 13

1

7 38 19 23

1

1

3

Pedroia

.337 .428 172

37

58 14

0

1 15 26 13

6

3

2

Konerko

.306 .362 157 21

48

12 0

7

29 13 24 0

0

0

Cabrera

.316 .385 174

34

55 12

2

1 25 20 32

7

1

2

Scott

.303 .384

99

14

30

6

0

5 15 12 19

0

0

0

Green

.309 .369

94

11

29

8

0

1 15

4 19

1

2

8

Podsednik

.303 .349 76

23

3

1

0

5

3

3

2

Choo

.302 .419 162

27

49

9

1

5 26 30 37

6

0

3

Roberts

.295 .369 183

41

54 14

1

6 18 22 30 10

4

2

Lowell

.305 .332 177

24

54 15

1

8 33

6 23

0

0

5

Pierzynski

.273 .299 132 14

36

4

1

4

10 5

10 1

0

2

Dellucci

.275 .333

40

3

11

3

0

0

1

2 12

0

0

0

Huff

.267 .335 172

20

46 13

1

7 37 19 24

0

3

2

Ellsbury

.300 .333 190

25

57

1

1 13 10 19 18

6

0

Dye

.270 .327 148 28

40

4

0

12 30 12 37 0

2

1

Carroll

.273 .407

22

3

6

1

1

0

0

4

0

0

1

Reimold

.262 .311

42

3

11

1

0

2

6

0

0

0

Bay

.289 .418 159

36

46 11

1 13 47 34 39

5

0

0

Getz

.250 .309 124 16

31

6

1

0

6

14 3

1

2

Hafner

.270 .370

63

10

17

5

0

4

8

8 18

0

0

0

Mora

.250 .316 104

7

26

2

0

2 15 10 14

1

2

2

Drew

.269 .380 134

27

36 11

1

6 21 23 39

0

2

1

Thome

.250 .387 116 22

29

6

0

8

26 26 40 0

0

0

Peralta

.268 .347 149

16

40

9

0

1 18 17 41

0

0

3

Izturis

.238 .278 126

14

30

5

1

1 13

5

8

8

0

4

Lugo

.258 .319

66

9

17

1

1

1

0

4

Ramirez

.243 .284 144 14

35

5

0

3

20 9

17 8

1

3

DeRosa

.260 .327 177

28

46

9

0

7 30 16 41

0

1

7

Wigginton

.216 .253 139

8

30

6

0

3 15

5 19

1

1

2

Varitek

.238 .315 126

15

30

9

0

8 20 13 28

0

0

1

Wise

.238 .238 21

5

0

0

0

0

6

0

1

0

Garko

.257 .347 101

7

26

4

0

4 20 14 11

0

0

1

Zaun

.215 .328 107

13

23

8

0

1

4 16 15

0

0

3

Baldelli

.233 .267

43

4

10

1

1

1

4

2 15

0

0

1

Quentin

.229 .325 131 20

30

6

0

8

20 11 17 1

0

1

Francisco

.248 .324 133

21

33

8

1

4 15 11 30

7

1

1

Moeller

.208 .240

48

1

10

3

1

1

1

2

6

0

0

0

Kottaras

.200 .286

35

5

7

4

0

0

5

5 12

0

0

0

Fields

.221 .288 149 14

33

3

2

2

16 12 48 0

3

6

Sizemore

.227 .318 185

27

42

9

1

8 29 24 46

7

6

0

Montanez

.204 .273

49

4

10

4

0

1

6

4 10

0

0

0

Bailey

.197 .329

61

9

12

2

1

3

9

8 20

0

0

2

Betemit

.214 .283 42

2

9

5

0

0

3

4

13 0

0

4

Shoppach

.219 .374

73

12

16

2

0

3

9

9 31

0

0

0

Pie

.190 .269

84

9

16

2

1

2

4

9 22

1

2

0

Ortiz

.195 .301 154

15

30 11

1

1 18 22 41

0

1

0

Miller

.200 .263 35

5

7

3

0

0

5

3

9

0

0

0

Valbuena

.211 .286

38

6

8

6

0

0

1

4 10

0

0

1

Andino

.189 .231

37

4

7

1

0

0

1

2 10

1

0

2

Lowrie

.056 .150

0

0

0

0

0

Nix

.194 .302 36

3

7

1

0

2

3

5

5

2

0

0

LaPorta

.190 .286

42

10

8

1

0

1

4

4 11

2

0

1

Team Totals

.263 .331 1547 216 407 91

Team Totals

.278 .361 1559 246 434 110

Team Totals

.272 .358 1605 244 436 94

PITCHERS Sherrill

3

7 48 204 146 248 27 15 28

W

L ERA

G

GS SV

IP

H

R

0

1 2.75 20

0 10

19.2

18

6

ER HR BB SO 6

3

7

21

PITCHERS Ramirez

18

0

W

L ERA

G

4

1 0.74 22

9

2

1

0

GS SV 0

0

4

6

0

2

8

8

BATTERS

8 52 236 182 319 32 14 30

IP

H

R

24.1

11

2

ER HR BB SO 2

1

7

14

AVG OBA AB

CLEVELAND INDIANS

Jones

4

BATTERS

CHICAGO WHITE SOX R

6

0

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

Team Totals .251 .320 1466 184 368 62 5

PITCHERS Dotel

W 1

L ERA

1

G

1.17 18 0

GS SV 0

5

4

8

0

47 179 133 288 25 15 29

IP

15.1

9

9

H

R

2

ER HR BB SO

2

1

10

BATTERS

PITCHERS

W

L ERA

G

GS SV

2

7 45 223 193 356 30 10 25

IP

H

R

ER HR BB SO

17

Aquino

0

0 0.00

3

0

0

5.0

4

0

0

0

3

2

0

0 0.00

1

0

0

1.0

1

0

0

0

1

1

Hill

1

0 3.18

2

2

0

11.1

10

4

4

1

6

12

Delcarmen

1

1 0.86 19

0

0

21.0

18

5

2

0

8

17

Linebrink

1

2

1.69 16 0

0

16.0

16

3

3

0

5

16

Rundles

Baez

3

1 3.28 16

0

0

24.2

14

9

9

2

12

18

Bard

0

0 1.80

0

0

5.0

6

1

1

0

1

1

Thornton

1

1

2.12 18 0

0

17.0

14

4

4

1

8

25

Herges

0

0 1.54

7

0

0

11.2

4

2

2

2

3

11

2

5 3.04 10

10

0

68.0

79

23

23

4

14

49

4

Johnson

2

2 3.80 20

0

0

21.1

21

9

9

2

6

13

Papelbon

0

1 2.57 20

0 12

21.0

18

6

6

3

11

24

Carrasco

1

0

2.56 16 0

0

31.2

34

10

9

1

8

19

Lee

Uehara

2

3 4.09

9

0

50.2

50

26

23

6

11

38

Okajima

2

0 2.70 21

0

20.0

12

6

6

2

9

23

Buehrle

6

1

2.59 9

0

59.0

57

18

17

6

12

36

Laffey

3

1 3.93 10

4

1

34.1

32

15

15

1

19

19

Betancourt

1

1 4.01 22

0

1

24.2

22

14

11

3

12

26

9

Bass

3

1 4.45 14

0

0

30.1

36

17

15

6

9

25

Walker

0

0 4.50 19

0

0

10.0

15

6

5

3

0

9

0

9

Saito

0

0 3.38 16

0

2

16.0

18

6

6

2

4

13

Jenks

0

2

3.38 16 0

10 16.0

15

7

6

3

5

14

Wakefield

6

2 3.99

9

0

58.2

50

26

26

5

27

33

Richard

1

0

3.55 15 3

0

36

14

13

3

14

23

9

33.0

Guthrie

4

4 4.90 10

10

0

60.2

65

36

33 11

20

35

Masterson

2

2 4.47 11

6

0

44.1

48

22

22

3

15

38

Colon

2

4

4.23 8

8

0

38.1

45

27

18

6

16

26

Bergesen

1

2 5.49

7

7

0

39.1

51

26

24

6

12

18

Beckett

4

2 5.01

9

9

0

55.2

61

34

31

5

24

51

Danks

4

3

4.59 9

9

0

49.0

49

27

25

6

20

45

Hendrickson

1

4 5.56 10

7

0

34.0

46

29

21

7

13

26

Lester

3

4 5.91

9

9

0

53.1

68

35

35 10

18

58

Broadway

0

1

5.06 8

0

0

16.0

19

10

9

0

9

9

Albers

0

1 6.17 10

0

0

11.2

16

8

8

0

6

8

Penny

5

1 5.96

9

9

0

48.1

60

36

32

6

17

29

Floyd

3

4

6.54 9

9

0

52.1

62

39

38

6

25

43

Sarfate

0

0 6.39

8

0

0

12.2

13

11

9

3

7

10

Matsuzaka

0

2 10.32

3

3

0

11.1

19

13

13

4

7

9

Gobble

0

0

14.54 4

0

0

4.1

7

7

7

2

0

5

Simon

0

1 9.95

2

2

0

6.1

8

7

7

5

2

3

Ray

0

1 10.13 16

0

0

13.1

23

16

15

2

10

15

Team Totals

19 26 5.47 45

45 10 393.1 456 264 239 67 147 283

Team Totals

27 18 4.52 45

45 14 402.1 420 213 202 44 162 324

Team Totals 20 24 4.49 44 44

10 384.2 418 212 192 40 157 298

Vizcaino

1

2 5.40

4

0

0

3.1

3

2

2

1

3

2

J. Lewis

2

3 5.47 19

0

1

24.2

26

16

15

7

9

22

Pavano

4

4 6.10

9

9

0

48.2

62

33

33

5

11

40

Carmona

2

4 6.42 10

10

0

54.2

56

41

39

5

35

33

Reyes

1

1 6.57

8

8

0

38.1

40

30

28

5

23

22

Smith

0

0 7.11

8

0

0

6.1

7

6

5

0

5

6

Wood

1

2 7.20 17

0

7

15.0

17

12

12

4

10

20

Sowers

1

2 7.71

3

2

0

14.0

17

12

12

3

7

5

S. Lewis

0

0 8.31

1

1

0

4.1

7

4

4

2

1

3

Huff

0

1 17.55

2

2

0

6.2

14

13

13

3

5

5

Team Totals

18 28 5.59 46

46 10 404.0 442 262 251 52 192 294

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

32

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

AMERICAN LEAGUE TEAM STATS

THROUGH MONDAY’S GAMES DETROIT TIGERS BATTERS

KANSAS CITY ROYALS

AVG OBA AB

R

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

Cabrera

.378 .443 164

30

62 10

0

9 36 18 21

1

2

4

Maier

Santiago

.348 .370

12

24

1

3 20

0

1

2

Callaspo

.309 .365 152

21

47 16

1

2 16 14 11

0

.298 .371

84

14

25

2

2

1

6 11 12

8

69

4

3 19

BATTERS

LOS ANGELES ANGELS

AVG OBA AB

R

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

.314 .429

7

11

35

2

1

0

0

7

7

2

AVG OBA AB

R

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

AVG OBA AB

R

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

0

Hunter

.319 .400 160

33

51 11

1 10 39 22 24 10

3

0

Mauer

.444 .530

81

25

36

5

0 11 31 16 11

0

0

0

0

3

Abreu

.303 .410 145

18

44

7

2

0 16 27 17 15

0

2

Morneau

.341 .422 173

37

59 13

1 13 41 24 28

0

0

1

1

2

1

BATTERS

MINNESOTA TWINS BATTERS

Everett

.305 .343

95

15

29

7

0

5 13

3

1

4

Bloomquist

Figgins

.294 .374 170

28

50

7

2

0 12 23 27 19

3

5

Kubel

.340 .377 144

23

49 11

1

5 24

9 27

0

0

0

Inge

.280 .376 150

31

42

5

0 12 33 19 41

1

2

4

Guillen

.291 .409 110

12

32

5

0

3 20 17 14

1

0

1

Napoli

.293 .392 123

16

36

8

0

6 18 19 30

2

3

2

Span

.302 .390 172

26

52

5

2

3 21 22 26

9

3

1

Anderson

.272 .322

11

22

3

2

9

1

1

Butler

.285 .357 151

23

43 14

0

3 20 17 28

0

0

0

Rivera

.286 .331 140

15

40

5

0

4 16 10 12

0

0

0

Cuddyer

.286 .373 168

29

48

9

3

8 31 24 31

4

1

3

Jacobs

.261 .335 142

18

37

7

0

9 25 14 44

0

0

2

Morales

.283 .328 159

20

45 13

1

8 28 12 32

0

2

2

Redmond

.259 .322

54

2

14

3

0

0

3

5

7

0

0

0

Teahen

.261 .335 161

20

42 10

0

5 16 14 35

1

0

2

Aybar

.282 .304 117

11

33

7

2

1 11

5 12

1

1

3

Harris

.255 .294 102

12

26

4

0

2

8

6 16

0

0

0

DeJesus

.242 .293 161

18

39

8

3

3 18 10 30

1

1

0

Matthews Jr.

.270 .324 100

17

27

4

1

1 14

9 23

0

0

1

Young

.253 .296

10

23

1

0

1 14

4 28

2

2

2

Crisp

.236 .347 161

29

38

8

5

3 14 27 18 11

2

3

Buck

.235 .315

81

7

19

4

3

3 19 10 20

0

0

4

Izturis

.269 .307

93

17

25

3

0

0 11

5 12

5

1

2

Crede

.240 .304 125

17

30

7

0

8 21 11 20

0

0

1

Olivo

.234 .265

94

7

22

4

1

3 12

2 34

1

1

1

Kendrick

.243 .287 148

21

36

6

1

4 20

6 29

6

1

2

Gomez

.225 .293

89

16

20

5

2

0

2

8 20

4

3

0

Aviles

.183 .208 120

10

22

3

1

1

8

4 26

1

0

4

Quinlan

.243 .243

3

9

3

0

0

0

1

0

0

Tolbert

.197 .265

61

9

12

2

0

1

8

6 17

2

0

1

Hernandez

.125 .222

0

1

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

81

1 16

0

9

6 12

Thomas

.269 .355

67

11

18

3

1

1

9 12

1

0

1

Ordonez

.266 .356 143

21

38

6

0

2 18 20 24

1

0

1

Polanco

.259 .303 166

20

43 13

1

8

0 18 10 12

0

1

1

Granderson

.250 .332 176

30

44

5

1 11 27 22 37

6

2

0

Laird

.246 .333 114

18

28

5

1

2 13 12 21

1

0

0

Larish

.235 .375

51

13

12

0

1

4

0

1

0

Raburn

.222 .317

36

8

8

1

0

3 10

5

7

1

0

1

Thames

.222 .250

18

2

4

1

1

0

2

1

6

0

0

0

Guillen

.200 .267

90

11

18

4

0

0

6

8 15

1

0

Sardinha

.095 .091

21

1

2

1

0

0

2

0 10

0

Treanor

.000 .071

13

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

Team Totals

.271 .342 1457 235 395 68

6 12 15

4

G

.095 .269

21

2

2

0

0

1

3

3

8

1

0

1

0

Hulett

.000 .000

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

Pena Jr.

.000 .083

11

1

0

0

0

0

1

1

2

0

0

1

0

0

Team Totals

.254 .329 1506 191 383 85 17 37 180 152 295 27

6 28

9 49 225 151 271 25 11 19

ER HR BB SO

W

L ERA

G

0

0 0.00

1

GS SV

IP

H

R

1.1

0

0

ER HR BB SO

W

L ERA

IP

H

R

Perry

0

1 2.33 18

0

0

19.1

11

7

5

0

15

18

Colon

0

0 0.00

1

0

0

1.0

0

0

0

0

Jackson

4

2 2.55

9

9

0

60.0

50

21

17

5

16

48

Greinke

7

1 0.82

9

9

0

66.0

48

7

6

0

Zumaya

1

0 3.38 10

0

1

13.1

13

5

5

2

1

12

Soria

1

0 2.08

8

0

7

8.2

8

3

2

Rodney

0

0 3.50 18

0

8

18.0

14

7

7

1

5

13

Tejeda

0

0 2.65 12

0

0

17.0

13

5

5

Porcello

5

3 3.55

8

0

45.2

42

19

18

6

15

28

Bannister

4

1 2.79

7

7

0

42.0

39

16

13

Cruz

3

0 3.15 18

0

2

20.0

11

7

7

0

1 3.86 18

0

0

23.1

27

17

10

8

GS SV

1

Gordon

PITCHERS PITCHERS

8

Bale

0

0

0

5

0

ER HR BB SO 0

0

2

3

Weaver

3

2 2.52

9

0

60.2

49

18

17

7

16

45

Mijares

0

1 2.57 13

0

0

14.0

12

5

4

1

5

13

Fuentes

0

2 4.32 18

0 12

16.2

18

8

8

1

6

19

Blackburn

3

2 3.83

9

9

0

56.1

59

28

24

4

17

25

0

4

10

Palmer

5

0 4.71

6

6

0

36.1

28

20

19

5

15

21

Guerrier

1

0 4.03 21

0

0

22.1

16

10

10

4

4

15

0

13

23

Arredondo

1

1 5.14 22

0

0

21.0

25

12

12

0

9

25

Slowey

6

1 4.23

9

9

0

55.1

73

27

26

8

4

39

2

15

25

Loux

2

3 5.40

6

0

38.1

52

24

23

2

14

14

Ayala

1

1 4.79 18

0

0

20.2

28

12

11

2

7

13

1

12

13

Bulger

2

1 5.60 16

0

0

17.2

16

11

11

3

9

18

Henn

0

0 4.91

3

0

0

3.2

3

2

2

0

2

1

2

7

17

Speier

0

1 5.89 15

0

0

18.1

18

12

12

2

8

16

Perkins

1

3 5.36

8

8

0

47.0

50

28

28

6

12

26

Lackey

1

0 6.00

3

3

0

12.0

14

9

8

1

1

8

Baker

2

5 6.32

8

8

0

47.0

50

33

33 12

10

35

Shields

1

3 6.75 19

0

1

17.1

16

14

13

1

14

12

Liriano

2

6 6.42 10

10

0

54.2

60

40

39

8

25

47

R. Rodriguez

0

0 7.71

7

0

0

14.0

25

15

12

2

4

6

Crain

2

2 7.62 16

0

0

13.0

12

11

11

3

7

8

Santana

0

2 7.82

3

3

0

12.2

21

11

11

1

6

9

Team Totals

22 24 4.99 46

46

7

2

4

16

2

8

17

Waechter

0

0 4.50

3

0

0

4.0

5

2

2

2

1

3

Meche

2

5 4.55 10

10

0

55.1

63

33

28

1

20

41

Davies

2

3 4.78

9

9

0

52.2

48

28

28

6

23

40

Ponson

1

5 6.49 10

6

0

43.0

54

33

31

4

16

24

0

2 7.36 15

1

0

18.1

24

16

15

3

10

11

22 23 3.99 45

45

Team Totals

7.0

73

8

Ramirez

0

12

7

9

1

16

10

11

GS SV

3

15

4

1

1

24

13

0 0.00

18

16.0

13

1

5

16.2

19

PITCHERS

12

0

19.2

Swarzak

4

0

0

14

2

0

9 381.1 356 187 164 41 152 315

R

5

5

0

0

H

0

10

3 3.94 17

43

IP

5

5

0 4.32 18

3 5.95 17

ER HR BB SO

10

1

1

G

5

30

1

25 18 3.87 43

L ERA

19

13

Mahay

Team Totals

W

20.2

26.1

Farnsworth

Lyon

R

0

16.1

8

35

H

1

9

GS SV

0

3

24

G

6

0

9

IP

0 2.18 12

1

7

30

L ERA

1

0

7

30

PITCHERS

0 3.42 12

11

49

W

Oliver

1 2.76 17

13.1

47.0

.276 .351 1572 243 434 73 11 53 228 176 292 27 10 17

1

0

0

Team Totals

1

0

9

.279 .342 1520 214 424 75 10 35 203 149 258 60 14 25

Dickey

1 4.73 18

9

Team Totals

Nathan

0

4 5.74

3

8

Seay

3

0

1

29

Wright

Galarraga

0

4

3

9

8

0

16

85

22

7 11 15

0 11 18 22

7

8

7

1

0

3

19

15

1

2

7

3

0

2

21

21

1

4

11

8

7

7

5 16

23

25

15

59

.181 .290 116

53

7

7

.186 .319

Punto

20

28

20

Buscher

0

59.2

51

11

2

0

14.2

16

37

0

0

4

0

63.1

12.0

0

3

3

0

17.2

28.1

7 21

1

9

0

0

0 12

0

3

0

0

0

0

9

3

0

1

8

3

10

4

15

3

2 3.17

3

9

8

36

0 4.30

2 3.55 10

0 5.25

67

.222 .282

6

1 3.57

1 4.76 10

.224 .293

Guerrero

1

5

1

Mathis

Moseley

1

3

7

Saunders

0

Willis

Robertson

2

2

0

Verlander

Miner

37

91

9 397.0 396 199 176 27 153 321

Team Totals

8

23 21 4.77 44

44 13 389.0 419 222 206 41 146 261

6 407.1 438 235 226 60 129 276

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

33

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

AMERICAN LEAGUE TEAM STATS

THROUGH MONDAY’S GAMES NEW YORK YANKEES BATTERS

OAKLAND ATHLETICS

AVG OBA AB

R

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

Cabrera

.323 .368 133

20

43

6

0

5 20 10 19

Cano

.315 .349 184

31

58 12

1

8 27 10 13

2

Damon

.312 .382 170

37

53 11

2 10 29 19 28

4

Posada

.312 .402

77

10

24

6

0

5 20 12 19

1

Cervelli

.306 .324

36

4

11

1

0

0

3

1

6

Nady

.286 .310

28

4

8

2

1

Jeter

.284 .358 183

29

Molina

.273 .333

44

5

Teixeira

.273 .387 161

31

44 10

Rodriguez

.259 .411

58

11

15

3

0

Gardner

.253 .324

91

17

23

4

Pena

.246 .290

65

9

16

2

Matsui

.241 .325 133

12

32

8

Swisher

.225 .360 142

26

AVG OBA AB

R

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

Kennedy

.441 .507

59

6

26

1

2

Suzuki

.290 .335 155

20

0

1

Holliday

.264 .350 159

22

42

5

1

6 27 18 28

2

1

0

Gutierrez

.265 .344 136

19

36

3

0

3 17 16 33

2

0

1

Cust

.255 .354 153

25

39

6

0

7 25 23 42

1

0

1

Chavez

.264 .323 121

11

32

2

0

1

6

0

1

0

2

4

0

0

6

0

0

0

52 10

0

7 21 19 26

9

1

2

12

0

1

6

0

0

1

0 13 36 27 34

0

0

0

7 17 13 11

0

0

1

2

2

8

9 14

6

2

0

1

0

4

4 12

2

0

3

1

5 14 15 23

0

0

0

2

32

9

1

6

4

9 27 29 43

0

0

3

AVG OBA AB

R

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

6

0

2 13

7

7

3

1

2

Suzuki

.335 .365 170

16

57

45 13

0

2 16

9 15

1

1

1

Branyan

.305 .393 141

25

43 11

34

58 20

0 11 49 21 44

2

0

4

3

0

.316 .376 190

35

60 11

3

1 22 17 34 29

0

2

1

1

Iwamura

.310 .377 155

19

Hernandez

.297 .333

5

1

2 14

7 12

3

0

8

Sweeney

.250 .306 168

20

42

7

0

2 13 14 25

3

2

1

Johjima

.250 .275

10

22

3

0

3 10

3

2

0

1

88

.240 .282 175

18

42

4

0

2 15 11 14

1

3

8

Balentien

.244 .286

90

12

22

8

0

1

6 20

1

0

0

Giambi

.217 .357 138

25

30

6

0

5 20 27 29

0

0

3

Griffey Jr.

.232 .363 112

13

26

4

0

5 12 23 22

0

0

0

Crosby

.213 .333

94

14

20

3

2

0

1

0

5

Sweeney

.232 .276

82

7

19

5

0

2

3 10

0

0

2

Powell

.211 .295

38

4

8

4

0

1 11

5

9

0

0

2

Lopez

.221 .265 172

18

38

7

0

3 21 10 22

0

2

8

Buck

.210 .281

81

9

17

2

0

2

7

8 17

1

1

0

Beltre

.211 .246 180

19

38 10

0

3 19

8 33

5

2

7

Ellis

.206 .265

63

6

13

2

0

0

9

5 10

2

1

2

Cedeno

.188 .250

48

7

9

1

1

2

5

3 15

1

1

1

Hannahan

.196 .260

46

5

9

5

0

1

5

4 14

0

0

0

Johnson

.188 .219

69

4

13

3

1

0

8

3 20

0

1

1

.167 .242

30

4

5

0

0

0

0

3 11

5

2

0

Team Totals

.251 .306 1565 171 393 66

30

0

3

1

0

0

1

1

0

0

0

1

0

5

0

0

0

6

3 15

1

0

2

Chavez

.100 .129

Berroa

.167 .167

12

4

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

Team Totals

.244 .318 1478 189 360 67

Team Totals

.276 .351 1589 254 438 94

9 16 17

6

5

Cabrera

0

0

.330 .401 176

Crawford

37

0

1 2.75 19

Longoria

10

1

0

3

.259 .291 143

0

Rivera

0

Betancourt

5

0

2

0

1

7

0 10 20 19 45

0

9

0 1.84

2

0

4

3

60 11

2 10

4

Aceves

32

2

0

7

3 32 181 153 263 20 12 30

7 20

ER HR BB SO

.373 .418 161

9 11 17

BATTERS

0

50

GS SV

Bartlett

1

22

G

1

12

.180 .226

L ERA

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

3

7

.182 .174

W

R

7

4 13

48

Ransom

PITCHERS

AVG OBA AB

7 16

1

.250 .275

Cash

9 72 241 176 283 29

4

Garciaparra

Davis

3

8

BATTERS

TAMPA BAY RAYS

1

4

BATTERS

SEATTLE MARINERS

PITCHERS

W

L ERA

G

GS SV

E. Gonzalez

0

0 1.80

1

1

ER HR BB SO

PITCHERS

GS SV

9

4 39 163 120 273 29 13 38

W

L ERA

G

IP

H

R

Rowland-Smith

0

0 0.00

1

1

0

3.1

4

2

0

0

4

1

Aardsma

1

1 1.25 21

0

6

21.2

11

3

3

1

13

24

37

7 30 12 25 14

1

4

48 13

1

0 16 17 30

8

1

5

3

11

2

0

1 10

5

2

1

0

2

Zobrist

.286 .385 105

19

30

9

1

8 24 17 22

3

1

0

Gross

.274 .391

73

15

20

4

0

3 14 14 17

2

1

0

Aybar

.263 .370

76

13

20

5

0

2 10 13 14

0

0

0

Burrell

.250 .349 108

9

27

4

0

1 17 16 25

1

0

0

Riggans

.250 .250

4

1

1

0

0

1

0

0

1

Pena

.244 .383 164

35

40

9

1 15 39 35 59

0

1

5

Brignac

.222 .222

9

3

2

0

0

0

1

0

0

1

Navarro

.221 .252 136

17

30

6

0

2 11

3 21

1

0

1

Upton

.194 .291 165

29

32

8

1

2

9 23 52 14

3

0

6

12

7

0

0

3

0

1

Kapler

.190 .278

Team Totals

.276 .357 1646 273 454 110

63

1

0

2

0

0

8 11

2

9 55 259 200 370 78

9 28

ER HR BB SO

IP

H

R

0

5.0

4

1

1

0

2

4

Vargas

1

0 1.29

5

3

0

21.0

17

4

3

3

7

15

PITCHERS

W

L ERA

G

GS SV

IP

H

R

ER HR BB SO

Cormier

0

1 2.12 17

0

1

34.0

27

8

8

1

9

13

Howell

0

2 2.86 22

0

1

22.0

19

7

7

1

8

24

IP

H

R

0

14.2

11

3

3

2

3

13

Cameron

0

0 1.93

8

0

1

14.0

10

3

3

0

3

11

Kelley

1

1 1.54 10

0

0

11.2

11

2

2

2

1

11

Garza

4

2 3.41

9

9

0

60.2

43

24

23

5

27

53

9

19.2

20

6

6

5

1

24

Wuertz

2

1 1.96 22

0

2

23.0

15

6

5

1

4

20

White

1

0 2.01 16

0

0

22.1

15

6

5

2

12

8

Shields

3

4 3.63 10

10

0

67.0

72

30

27

9

19

47

Bruney

2

0 3.00 10

0

0

9.0

3

3

3

0

2

13

Bailey

3

0 2.20 20

0

1

28.2

15

7

7

3

12

35

Batista

2

0 2.28 17

0

0

23.2

24

10

6

1

14

22

Shouse

1

1 3.77 19

0

0

14.1

17

6

6

2

3

9

Sabathia

4

3 3.42 10

10

0

71.0

60

29

27

3

21

48

Outman

2

0 2.90

9

7

0

40.1

32

16

13

5

18

31

Bedard

2

2 2.64

8

8

0

47.2

41

16

14

5

13

49

Niemann

4

3 4.53

9

9

0

47.2

51

27

24

8

22

26

Chamberlain

2

1 3.70

8

8

0

41.1

42

20

17

5

21

41

Casilla

1

1 3.50 15

0

0

18.0

14

8

7

1

10

13

Olson

0

1 3.66

6

2

0

19.2

21

9

8

4

9

12

Wheeler

1

1 4.86 20

0

0

16.2

15

10

9

4

5

13

Tomko

0

1 4.15

5

0

0

4.1

5

2

2

1

2

0

Braden

3

5 3.67

9

0

54.0

61

24

22

5

17

36

Hernandez

5

3 3.76 10

10

0

64.2

65

31

27

6

19

66

Nelson

1

0 5.21 21

0

2

19.0

21

14

11

5

14

19

0

0 5.40

1

0

3.1

4

2

2

1

5

6

9

Coke

1

2 4.19 20

0

1

19.1

15

12

9

4

7

12

Ziegler

0

1 3.72 17

0

5

19.1

25

9

8

0

8

13

Pettitte

4

1 4.30

9

0

58.2

64

30

28

8

18

33

Breslow

0

1 3.86

0

0

2.1

2

1

1

0

0

2

9

Hughes

3

2 5.16

6

6

0

29.2

32

18

17

6

14

25

Burnett

2

2 5.28

9

9

0

58.0

56

34

34 10

27

50

Veras

3

1 5.59 20

0

0

19.1

15

12

12

2

13

15

Marte

0

1 15.19

0

0

5.1

9

9

9

3

3

6

Wang Team Totals

0

3 25.00

7 4

26 19 5.03 45

3

0

9.0

29

25

25

3

7

4

45 10 408.1 419 243 228 65 176 324

2

Washburn

3

3 3.86

8

8

0

51.1

47

23

22

5

15

37

Price

Lowe

0

2 5.32 21

0

0

22.0

28

17

13

2

9

18

Balfour

2

0 5.75 22

0

1

20.1

20

13

13

1

14

19

Isringhausen

0

1 6.00

4

0

0

3.0

3

2

2

0

4

2

Thayer

0

0 6.23

2

0

1

4.1

8

5

3

0

1

0

Percival

0

1 6.35 14

0

6

11.1

14

8

8

3

5

7

Cahill

2

4 4.62

9

9

0

48.2

52

26

25

7

23

19

Stark

0

1 6.30

8

0

0

10.0

12

8

7

2

10

7

Anderson

2

4 4.98

8

8

0

43.1

49

34

24

8

13

24

Jakubauskas

3

5 6.45 10

8

0

44.2

49

34

32

5

16

18

Springer

0

1 5.19 21

0

0

17.1

23

11

10

4

7

19

Morrow

0

3 6.91 13

0

6

14.1

14

12

11

3

13

18

Giese

0

3 5.32

7

1

0

22.0

22

13

13

5

9

11

Corcoran

1

0 7.27

8

0

0

8.2

13

7

7

0

9

4

17 25 4.27 42

42

Silva

1

3 8.48

6

6

0

28.2

38

27

27

5

9

10

Team Totals

9 388.0 404 209 184 43 159 273

Team Totals

21 25 4.05 46

46 12 415.1 410 211 187 46 173 320

1

Sonnanstine

3

4 6.60

9

9

0

46.1

63

35

34

6

14

26

Kazmir

4

4 7.69

9

9

0

45.2

60

41

39

7

29

35

0

0

1

0

0

0.0

0

1

0

0

0

0

Choate Team Totals

---

23 24 4.68 47

47 12 415.2 437 233 216 53 179 299

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball

www.sportingnews.com

AMERICAN LEAGUE TEAM STATS THROUGH MONDAY’S GAMES TEXAS RANGERS AVG OBA AB

R

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

Vizquel

BATTERS

.372 .413

43

7

16

AVG OBA AB

R

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

4

1

0

5

2

0

0

Hill

.348 .383 207

30

72

Young

.337 .384 172

27

58 16

0

7 18 13 27

3

1

3

Rolen

.303 .371 152

22

6

3

BATTERS

7

American League

National League

TEAM BATTING AND FIELDING

TEAM BATTING AND FIELDING

0 11 35 12 31

2

1

5

46 13

0

3 15 15 18

2

0

4

Cruz

.294 .343 160

23

47

9

0 12 32 13 38

8

1

3

Barajas

.301 .336 133

16

40 12

0

3 23

8 19

0

0

4

Jones

.290 .438

69

14

20

7

0

4 12 18 15

1

0

0

Bautista

.293 .426

82

16

24

5

0

1

7 18 24

3

0

0

Andrus

.285 .326 130

21

37

4

4

3

9

8 16

6

0

7

Lind

.291 .362 179

26

52 15

0

7 35 19 37

0

1

1

2 19

5 19

CLUB

BA

SLG OBP G

AB

R

H

TB

2B 3B HR RBI

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

.284 .279 .278 .276 .276 .276 .272 .271 .271 .263 .254 .251 .251 .244

.443 .411 .459 .438 .482 .454 .423 .431 .487 .424 .407 .396 .373 .358

1703 1520 1559 1572 1589 1646 1605 1457 1548 1547 1506 1466 1565 1478

245 214 246 243 254 273 244 235 233 216 191 184 171 189

483 424 434 434 438 454 436 395 419 407 383 368 393 360

165 137 195 167 164 192 183 101 130 188 174 163 158 120

106 75 110 73 94 110 94 68 95 91 85 62 66 67

DP TP 47 39 30 36 43 48 56 37 46 37 49 34 38 41

15

30

5

0

5 19

9 43

0

1

1

Wells

.266 .323 199

30

53 12

1

5 22 17 18

8

0

0

36

9

1 11 25

5 29

1

0

0

Rios

.260 .317 200

23

52 10

2

5 21 14 34

3

1

1

Murphy

.229 .320

83

15

19

5

0

2

9 12 22

2

2

0

Chavez

.242 .242

0

0

0

0

1

Teagarden

.225 .311

40

3

9

2

0

0

4

4 17

0

0

1

McDonald

.222 .222

18

3

4

0

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

0

Davis

.200 .259 150

21

30

4

0 10 21 10 66

0

0

0

Barrett

.167 .211

18

3

3

0

0

1

2

1

5

0

0

0

Team Totals

.271 .327 1548 233 419 95

6 22

Inglett

.000 .000

3

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

0

TEAM PITCHING

Team Totals

.284 .350 1703 245 483 106

0

2

0

0

Millar

.286 .321

77

11

22

5

0

3 14

4 11

0

0

1

50 11

1 12 33 18 28 10

1

3

Scutaro

.280 .396 186

37

52 11

1

5 22 36 22

4

2

1

Hamilton

.260 .310 104

17

27

2

6 20

0

0

Overbay

.274 .378 113

15

31 10

1

5 22 20 18

0

0

0

PITCHERS

8 24

3

9 74 227 126 352 38

W

L ERA

G

GS SV

IP

H

R

Francisco

1

0 0.00 15

0 10

15.2

8

0

0

0

4

15

O'Day

2

0 1.64 13

0

1

11.0

7

2

2

1

2

11

Millwood

4

4 3.12

9

9

0

66.1

59

25

23

9

17

Wilson

2

2 3.50 20

0

3

18.0

20

12

7

1

9

Feldman

3

0 4.04

6

0

42.1

35

19

19

5

Jennings

1

1 4.12 13

0

0

19.2

18

11

9

McCarthy

4

2 4.67

9

9

0

54.0

57

29

Padilla

3

2 4.71

8

8

0

49.2

50

27

26

Holland

1

1 4.82

8

1

0

18.2

18

10

10

9

33

1

8

0

2

0

2

5 52 232 171 270 23

5 22

171 149 182 176 176 200 193 151 126 146 152 133 120 153

11 11 16 8 9 13 6 6 4 8 11 3 11 3

270 258 319 292 283 370 356 271 352 248 295 288 273 263

23 60 32 27 29 78 30 25 38 27 27 25 29 20

49 25 47 41 36 24 40 44 19 23 38 33 45 29

716 552 657 649 607 686 715 556 591 551 586 590 562 585

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

22 25 30 17 20 28 25 19 22 28 28 29 38 30

W

L

ERA

G

CG

SHO

SV

INN

H

R

ER

25 22 27 21 17 20 27 26 23 23 22 26 19 18

18 23 21 25 25 24 18 18 24 21 24 19 26 28

3.87 3.99 4.04 4.05 4.27 4.49 4.52 4.56 4.68 4.77 4.99 5.03 5.47 5.59

43 45 48 46 42 44 45 44 47 44 46 45 45 46

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

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

9 9 8 12 9 10 14 14 12 13 6 10 10 10

381.1 397.0 429.2 415.1 388.0 384.2 402.1 392.1 415.2 389.0 407.1 408.1 393.1 404.0

356 396 407 410 404 418 420 403 437 419 438 419 456 442

187 199 208 211 209 212 213 211 233 222 235 243 264 262

164 176 193 187 184 192 202 199 216 206 226 228 239 251

6.1

7

1

1

0

1

6

3

0

21.0

19

4

4

1

4

13

0

5

19.1

13

5

4

1

2

22

1 2.52 10

10

0

75.0

68

23

21

5

9

63

4

0 2.70 19

0

1

16.2

12

5

5

1

2

11

1

3 3.38 24

0

0

24.0

19

9

9

2

6

12

Richmond

4

2 3.63

9

9

0

52.0

49

23

21

8

17

43

Tallet

2

3 4.31 12

8

0

54.1

44

27

26

7

25

41

CLUB

HR

HBP

BB

IBB

SO

WP

BK

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

41 27 51 46 43 40 44 51 53 41 60 65 67 52

7 14 17 13 6 8 27 20 14 17 13 26 17 15

152 153 142 173 159 157 162 142 179 146 129 176 147 192

7 9 7 4 12 13 8 5 7 8 6 8 15 12

315 321 327 320 273 298 324 230 299 261 276 324 283 294

13 21 13 23 9 16 10 13 18 16 17 18 9 16

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

G

GS SV

Wolfe

1

0 1.42

5

0

35

Romero

2

0 1.71

3

11

Downs

0

0 1.86 18

14

24

Halladay

8

2

8

12

Frasor

28 10

20

39

Carlson

4

20

26

3

6

10

ER HR BB SO

4 5.43

9

9

0

54.2

68

33

33

7

16

29

League

1

1 4.35 18

0

0

20.2

19

10

10

1

8

16

Guardado

0

1 5.59 15

0

0

9.2

13

6

6

2

4

4

Janssen

0

1 4.50

1

1

0

6.0

8

3

3

0

1

0

Eyre

0

0 6.23

3

0

0

4.1

5

3

3

0

3

1

Camp

0

2 5.40 15

0

0

16.2

19

11

10

2

9

10

Madrigal

0

0 7.71

5

0

0

4.2

3

4

4

0

5

2

Ryan

1

0 8.71 11

0

2

10.1

14

10

10

3

8

10

Benson

1

1 8.50

5

2

0

18.0

28

18

17

4

8

9

Litsch

0

1 9.00

2

2

0

9.0

14

9

9

4

1

8

27 21 4.04 48

48

Team Totals

8 429.2 407 208 193 51 142 327

BA

SLG

OBP G

AB

R

H

TB

2B

3B HR RBI

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

.290 .284 .271 .268 .264 .264 .260 .257 .253 .253 .251 .250 .246 .244 .235 .234

.426 .416 .432 .408 .398 .403 .459 .409 .364 .411 .428 .418 .385 .400 .401 .389

.373 .365 .356 .332 .342 .333 .343 .332 .311 .329 .332 .341 .323 .325 .312 .314

1606 1491 1577 1499 1472 1536 1481 1502 1498 1479 1461 1487 1597 1444 1533 1495

261 213 223 188 194 202 242 201 172 206 218 215 212 195 189 175

466 423 427 401 389 406 385 386 379 374 366 372 393 352 360 350

155 137 189 196 188 176 126 158 132 140 151 144 173 131 153 135

98 77 80 75 84 100 87 74 73 79 84 77 70 69 90 75

9 15 11 11 7 10 8 8 9 7 11 7 7 5 9 8

CLUB

SH

SF HBP BB IBB SO

SB CS GDP LOB SHO E

DP TP

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

16 28 20 21 21 20 14 30 17 27 19 15 26 11 10 25

19 18 9 16 16 10 15 14 14 17 17 16 9 10 13 9

308 250 362 263 266 322 286 294 322 260 326 360 389 326 359 309

37 47 17 30 10 25 30 28 31 25 30 11 28 21 37 21

41 34 36 46 36 50 28 41 45 42 37 37 24 35 45 43

CG 2 1 0 2 1 1 0 2 1 1 0 0 2 1 0 1

SHO 4 3 2 5 3 6 3 4 1 4 1 2 2 0 0 0

16 11 18 14 15 20 24 17 18 21 12 24 14 17 13 14

208 191 197 138 167 142 170 159 115 154 174 189 172 161 166 165

46 44 45 44 44 45 43 44 44 45 44 45 46 43 45 45 27 22 10 8 13 10 4 14 14 17 6 9 13 6 15 12

14 17 11 18 8 8 9 12 13 6 13 10 12 11 12 6

40 40 36 36 36 24 29 30 33 28 35 38 23 28 22 31

681 628 719 577 594 602 558 579 572 557 561 619 631 583 605 567

0 1 1 5 4 6 2 1 2 2 3 1 2 4 3 3

34 30 51 38 33 31 64 46 25 47 51 53 46 49 49 47 20 35 45 22 25 19 13 33 23 29 28 26 37 26 38 19

248 199 216 177 182 194 232 191 161 201 211 211 203 184 179 171 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

(Through Monday’s Games)

CLUB

0

L ERA

CLUB

TEAM PITCHING

R

PITCHERS

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

(Through Monday’s Games)

H

W

44 14 392.1 403 211 199 51 142 230

11 6 26 15 15 15 30 12 10 14 18 19 9 14

IP

ER HR BB SO

4

26 18 4.56 44

15 17 12 19 12 14 11 11 14 8 7 9 11 13

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

Harrison

Team Totals

232 203 236 228 241 259 223 225 227 204 180 179 163 181

CS GDP LOB SHO E

22

40 15

32

52 35 52 53 72 55 45 49 74 48 37 47 39 32

5 14 14 10 7 9 10 11 6 15 6 15 13 12

.245 .280 147

16

.278 .347 180

5 10 8 11 9 9 7 9 9 7 17 5 4 3

12 14 0 12 14 10 14 13 9 4 15 5 21 8

Blalock

.282 .302 142

Kinsler

48 44 45 46 45 47 46 43 44 45 45 44 46 42

SH SF HBP BB IBB SO SB

Saltalamacchia .252 .305 119

Byrd

.350 .342 .361 .351 .351 .357 .358 .342 .327 .331 .329 .320 .306 .318

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

4

(Through Monday’s Games)

(Through Monday’s Games)

TORONTO BLUE JAYS

34

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

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

W 26 31 24 21 27 24 23 21 23 19 21 18 18 21 24 13

L 19 15 20 23 18 20 21 24 22 26 22 25 26 25 19 31

ERA 3.67 3.79 3.94 3.99 4.01 4.03 4.13 4.16 4.31 4.46 4.56 4.62 4.86 4.90 5.19 5.60

G 45 46 44 44 45 44 44 45 45 45 43 44 44 46 43 45

SV 14 14 15 9 16 12 11 10 14 13 9 9 9 9 10 8

INN 402.0 413.0 392.2 394.1 397.2 404.0 392.2 393.2 403.1 408.0 376.2 391.2 383.2 419.0 385.1 400.0

H 375 351 385 379 355 371 367 369 374 419 349 425 425 429 413 446

R 181 181 193 182 191 194 197 193 206 218 199 220 228 251 224 277

CLUB

HR

HBP

BB

IBB

SO

WP

BK

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

34 29 33 38 51 46 28 40 42 54 52 50 39 51 69 47

17 20 12 12 24 20 18 19 14 9 15 17 15 12 23 21

144 191 169 179 160 176 159 166 179 150 169 159 137 196 155 198

3 21 16 16 9 9 16 10 20 8 11 8 11 19 9 13

295 341 302 347 300 306 340 249 331 314 349 302 284 376 302 257

9 23 11 17 17 11 16 11 15 22 18 11 12 19 7 26

4 1 7 3 0 1 1 1 2 1 4 1 1 2 1 2

ER 164 174 172 175 177 181 180 182 193 202 191 201 207 228 222 249

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

NFL

www.sportingnews.com

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

35

Q&A with ... Bengals QB Carson Palmer

‘I think the true team concept was somewhat lacking’ Before this season’s out, Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer will turn 30. And the shine on the Orange County Golden Boy isn’t what it once was. The last time he made it through a full season, two years ago, he threw 20 interceptions. In ‘08, an elbow injury cost Palmer 12 games. And the Bengals haven’t had a winning season since ‘05. Add it all up, and there aren’t exactly scores of fans in Southwestern Ohio holding out hope for a big comeback year in Bengal-land. But those on the inside, perhaps buoyed by Palmer’s own defiant confidence, are ready to deliver on the promise this team has always seemed to have. With that outlook, Palmer joined Sporting News Today’s Albert Breer to explain his health, his relationship with Chad Johnson and his optimism for 2009.

Q: A:

How’s the elbow holding up? Do you feel like you’re near where you were before the injury? I’ve only thrown a few long ones (in spring workouts), but it feels like before I ever hurt my elbow. My arm feels great, and my elbow is not a factor.

Q:

In retrospect, how much did it take from your game— when you were on the field last year—and do you regret trying to fight through it through the season? (Note: The injury occurred Sept. 21; he sat out one week, played Oct. 5 and then missed the rest of the season.) I tried to fight through it for a few weeks. I didn’t want to be

A:

out of the lineup. It was frustrating sitting out, but as the season went on I became more resigned to the fact that I just had to let it rest.

Q:

Where have things slipped since ’05 for the Bengals, aside from just injuries? And what will it take to get back to the playoffs? We had a very talented team, but after 2005 we couldn’t come together like we needed to. I think the true team concept was somewhat lacking. You’ve got to love being a part of this team and sacrifice some individual goals for the team.

A:

excited. I know there will still be a lot of fans who are going to make us prove it first, but that’s fine. That’s what it’s all about. They have every right to feel that way, and I’m excited about bringing all of them on board.

Q: A:

With all the changes in personnel, how has your role within the team changed? My role change is to be more of a leader than ever: To be conscious of always leading by example and to lead vocally when the need is there. I don’t have a problem with any of that. That’s part of your job as a quarterback.

Q: A:

Q:

Q: A:

Q: A:

How does this team feel different than those highflying groups a few years back? This team is going to be good. I’m sure of that, and I want all my teammates to know I’m sure of it. We have a different locker room and a better work ethic. It’s not only about having the best talent. We’ve got plenty of talent, don’t get me wrong, but the key is going to be working hard every day and believing in each other. Why should Bengals fans be excited about the ’09 team? Besides what I just talked about, I think our fans should be excited about the moves we’ve made and the draft we had. I think they are

How are your feelings on Johnson, a.k.a. “Ochocinco,” coming back? And do the plusses still outweigh the minuses? Chad is a great talent, but he hasn’t been here (at offseason workouts), and I’m focusing on the guys who are trying, just like they should be, to take his position. Our coaches will decide which receivers are going to be in the game. Whoever they are, it’s my job to get the ball to them. I’m not obsessing about any one individual.

A:

How are your goals different now than when you were 25

or 26? My goals are no different. Win the Super Bowl.

BILL KOSTROUN / AP

Bengals QB Carson Palmer (9), who will turn 30 in the upcoming season, believes he needs to be more of a leader than ever.

WEEKDAYS 10AM–1PM ET Listen on Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 127, online at SportingNews.com or check your local listings for broadcast times in your area.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

NFL

www.sportingnews.com

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

36

Scouts’ views

Inside linebacker rankings: Urlacher will bounce back in ’09 Tackles are the stat of choice for the guys who play in the middle of the field. But more and more, middle linebackers, particularly in Tampa-2 schemes, are asked to play more in coverage, so their ability to diagnose plays quickly becomes more critical. Inside linebackers generally are the smartest and most instinctive players on the defensive side of the ball. RealScouts, SN Today’s team of former NFL scouts, rank their top 20 inside linebackers for ‘09:

1.

Brian Urlacher, Bears. He recorded 90-plus tackles for the eighth time in his nine-year career but didn’t make as many impact plays in ’08. That has a lot to do with the lack of production from the defensive line. That will change, and Urlacher will play with renewed energy after being left off the Pro Bowl roster.

2.

Patrick Willis, 49ers. Willis has made 315 tackles in his two NFL seasons, the most in the league during that span. He shows great range and a nose for the ball, and he now has experience. He likely will take the top spot from Urlacher a year from now.

3.

Karlos Dansby, Cardinals. Defensive coordinator Bill Davis is talking about using a straight 3-4 scheme this season, but the Cardinals might not have the personnel to do it. Dansby aligns inside sometimes in the 3-4—but that’s only about 30-40 percent of the time. His best asset is versatility, an ability to line up anywhere on the field and make plays in every facet of the game.

4.

Ray Lewis, Ravens. As long as he is protected by big guys like Kelly Gregg, Justin Bannan and Haloti Ngata, Lewis can do what he does best—attack the ballcarrier. Lewis is a good tackler and run defender, and in ’08 he proved he is surprisingly effective in coverage.

5.

13.

Jon Beason, Panthers. Beason has 278 tackles in his first two seasons, showing no struggles in filling Dan Morgan’s role. Beason is a tremendous athlete with great range and an aggressive style of play.

A.J. Hawk, Packers. He moves to a full-time gig inside in ’09. We like his chances with big bodies Cullen Jenkins, Justin Harrell and rookie B.J. Raji in front of him. An intense and competitive player, Hawk loves contact and is a ferocious tackler. He should put up career numbers in the linebacker-friendly 3-4 scheme.

6.

DeMeco Ryans, Texans. Ryans’ tackle numbers have gone down in each of his three seasons, but he still is highly productive. He is great at diagnosing plays and gets to the ball quickly. He is an outstanding athlete with great range and instincts.

14.

London Fletcher, Redskins. The undersized Fletcher has made a career of using his quickness, instincts and athleticism to make plays. He has recorded 100-plus tackles in nine consecutive seasons, and with Albert Haynesworth occupying multiple blockers up front another 100-tackle campaign is a lock.

7.

James Farrior, Steelers. Age doesn’t seem to be catching up to Farrior, 34. He set a career high in sacks in ’07 with 6 1/2 and has 115-plus tackles in three of the last four seasons. He also is durable, having started every game but two since ’02. He is an every-down player, even this late in his career.

15.

D’Qwell Jackson, Browns. Jackson led the NFL in tackles in ’08 with 154. He makes plays all over the field and always is around the ball. New coach Eric Mangini uses a scheme similar to the one used by former coach Romeo Crennel.

8.

E.J. Henderson, Vikings. He had put together back-to-back 100-plus tackle seasons and was playing at a Pro Bowl level in ’08 when a foot injury ended his season in Week 4. He plays with a mean streak and is an excellent run defender who benefits from the doubleteams drawn by Kevin and Pat Williams in front of him.

9.

Barrett Ruud, Buccaneers. He has improved every season and is a tenacious and versatile linebacker who never comes off the field. He is a toughminded player who plays hurt and probably is the best player on a good defense.

10.

Kirk Morrison, Raiders. He has recorded at least 116 tackles in each of his four seasons and is excellent in coverage. He always hustles and shows great range and intelligence, making all the defensive calls. He is a natural leader.

BOB LEVERONE / SN

Brian Urlacher didn’t make the Pro Bowl last year and should be energized by the snub this season.

11.

Antonio Pierce, Giants. Pierce didn’t have his best year in ’08 and likely is looking forward to a fresh start this season. He is a smart, instinctive player who flows quickly to the ball and will be helped a great deal by the improvements along the line.

12.

Bart Scott, Jets. He is strong and versatile, a big hitter and can be an effective blitzer. However, while the Jets have some good players, Scott won’t be surrounded by the same kind of supporting cast he had in Baltimore. The knock on Scott has been his inability to make an impact on his own. We’ll see.

16.

Jerod Mayo, Patriots. The Defensive Rookie of the Year in ‘08, Mayo made an immediate impact on the Patriots. That’s saying something in Bill Belichick’s complex matchup scheme. Now comfortable in the system, he could fly up this list.

17.

Nick Barnett, Packers. Barnett is at his best when playing forward. He wraps up ballcarriers, particularly between the tackles, which makes the move to a 3-4 system a good fit.

18.

Curtis Lofton, Falcons. His tackling ability earned him the starting spot on running downs. He has spent the offseason working on his play in coverage, which means he’ll be on the field on third down in ’09. He will be better in Year 2 and make more impact plays.

NFL calendar June 1—Deadline for old clubs to send tender to unsigned unrestricted free agents to receive exclusive negotiating rights for rest of season if player is not signed by another club by July 22. Deadline for old clubs to send tender to unsigned restricted free agents or to extend qualifying offer to retain exclusive negotiating rights. June 15—Deadline for old clubs to withdraw original qualifying offer to unsigned restricted free agents and still retain exclusive negotiating rights by substituting tender of 110 percent of previous years salary. July 22—Signing period ends at 4 p.m. EDT for unrestricted free agents who received June 1 tender. Aug. 9—Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, Canton, Ohio. Aug. 13-17—First preseason weekend. Sept. 1—Roster cutdown to maximum of 75 players. Sept. 5—Roster cutdown to maximum of 53 players. Sept. 10—Season opener.

19.

Paul Posluszny, Bills. Posluszny, who missed 13 games of his rookie year after tearing his ACL, came on strong in ‘08 and surely benefitted from the presence of DT Marcus Stroud. Posluszny attacks the line and is a good tackler—in tight quarters and in the open field. As he improves in zone coverage, he will climb the list.

20.

Jonathan Vilma, Saints. Coming back from knee surgery, he didn’t miss a snap last season and made a team-high 132 tackles. New coordinator Gregg Williams’ scheme will help Vilma even more, allowing him to use his speed and athleticism to run to the ball and make plays sideline-to-sideline. — RealScouts, a team of former NFL scouts, analyze NFL and college players, coaches and teams exclusively for Sporting News Today.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

NFL

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

37

Goodwill, goodbye: NFL, union return to typical bickering BY DANIEL KAPLAN & LIZ MULLEN SportsBusiness Journal

Any flickering hope that new NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith could quickly help settle the burgeoning labor dustup between the NFL and the players died quickly last week. Smith’s calls for the league to open its financial books as an initial gesture of partnership were rebuffed in near-derisive terms by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. “There is a very clear understanding of our economics. If De being new to the situation needs a better understanding of our economics, we will certainly be willing to go through that with him,” Goodell said last week, a comment seen in some quarters as a not-so-subtle dig at Smith. A source close to the league accused Smith of using the financial transparency issue to gin up a phony campaign against the league. “De is using the owners’ reluctance to disclose every single item in their books as a P.R. weapon,” said the source, who requested anonymity because the person is not authorized to speak publicly. Taken together, the comments mean it has taken about two months since Smith got his job to return to the type of back-and-forth public disagreement, often in cynical terms, that marked the terrain of league and union discourse prior to the August death of former executive director Gene Upshaw. It also means the collective-bargaining talks expected to begin early next month almost certainly will yield little and might not even move to the owners’ core issue of the players’ percentage take of league revenues. Smith, who took his position in midMarch and talked soon after optimistically about reaching a deal, has in recent weeks tempered his remarks. Gone are the comments about his new friend Goodell and predictions of reaching a deal. Instead, Smith has begun saying it would not be the

GARY HE / AP

New NFLPA director DeMaurice Smith called for the league to open its financial books last week and received a brusque response from commissioner Roger Goodell. players’ fault if the owners locked them out in 2011. Asked how he would respond if the owners did refuse to back down on the financial issue, Smith told the Sports Lawyers Association last week, “If we can’t get to a point where we understand the importance of financial disclosure as the bedrock of those negotiations, then I guess that is where we start.

“When we understand the profit-loss per team, we will be partners,” Smith said. “When we understand the average rate of return per game per team, we will truly be partners.” Said Denver’s Pat Bowlen, the lead owner on the league’s labor negotiating committee, “The idea we are all going to open our books and let the NFLPA have a look at them, that is not the way we operate.”

Smith spoke at the lawyers association meeting in Chicago before traveling to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to speak directly with owners gathered there for their spring meeting. The league’s position is the union knows all its revenues and a majority of costs because of player salaries. Goodell also contends the union knows about the league’s stadium costs, though union

representatives previously have said that was only partially true. Notably, Smith’s comments are focused on how NFL teams have performed the last 10 years, a sure sign he will not be impressed with the league’s talk of shrinking profit margins in the last few years. The union’s position is that if the league wants major changes to player compensation, the NFL has to prove why that is necessary. Additionally, Smith sent a letter to Goodell last week asking for an explanation of the league’s decision last year to opt out of the agreement, ending the CBA two years early. “We would like to get a better understanding of why they opted out,” said Scott Fujita, linebacker and player representative for Saints. “Players want to be involved now more than ever, and they recognize the importance of a CBA and getting a deal done.” The CBA expires after the 2010 season, though if a deal is not reached by early next year that final campaign will have no salary cap. The full makeup of the negotiating teams remains uncertain. On the NFL side, the top negotiators are Goodell, general counsel Jeffrey Pash and outside counsel Bob Batterman. Three years ago, the two key owners were Pittsburgh’s Dan Rooney, who is now U.S. ambassador to Ireland, and Carolina’s Jerry Richardson, who is recovering from heart transplant surgery earlier this year. Bowlen said he presumed he would be at the talks, but Goodell apparently has not chosen the owners he wants at the table. Pash said not to count out Richardson, whose health is improving. On the union side, in addition to Smith, general counsel Richard Berthelsen and outside counsel Jeffrey Kessler are expected to be there. NFL players are also expected to be at the table. —Daniel Kaplan and Liz Mullen are staff writers for SportsBusiness Journal. E-mail them at [email protected] and [email protected].

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

Remaining free agents A quick look at the remaining NFL free agents by position (R-restricted free agent, F-franchise tagged player): OFFENSE Quarterbacks—Brooks Bollinger, Dallas; Ken Dorsey, Cleveland; Gus Frerotte, Minnesota; Charlie Frye, Seattle; Drew Henson, Detroit; Quinn Gray, Kansas City; Trent Green, St. Louis; Rex Grossman, Chicago; Brad Johnson, Dallas; J.P. Losman, Buffalo; Jamie Martin, San Francisco; Craig Nall, Houston; Marques Tuiasosopo, Oakland; Anthony Wright, NY Giants. Running backs—Darian Barnes, New Orleans; Tatum Bell, Denver; Brian Calhoun, Detroit; Jesse Chatman, NY Jets; P.J. Daniels, Baltimore; Reuben Droughns, NY Giants; Warrick Dunn, Tampa Bay; DeShaun Foster, San Francisco; Samkon Gado, St. Louis; Nick Goings, Carolina; Ahman Green, Houston; Andre Hall, Denver; Kay-Jay Harris, NY Giants; Maurice Hicks, Minnesota; Edgerrin James, Arizona; Rudi Johnson, Detroit; Deuce McAllister, New Orleans; Travis Minor, St. Louis; 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; Martrez Milner, NY Giants; 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; 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; 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; 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; 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.

NFL

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

38

INSIDE DISH

Crable could solve Patriots’ pass-rush woes; Vikes want Favre answer soon Patriots OLB Shawn Crable, a 2008 third-round pick, hasn’t played a down in the NFL but could be the solution to the team’s need to upgrade its pass rush. Crable (6-5, 243) fought a shin injury much of last season but is healthy now and could play a lot opposite Adalius Thomas, the Patriots’ only proven pass rusher. Crable said his year off allowed him to add bulk and to improve his knowledge of the defensive system. “I had a lot of meetings, a lot of workouts and things like that, so I’m just hoping to be smarter this year,” he told The Providence Journal. Even if he loses the battle with Pierre Woods and Tully Banta-Cain to start, Crable figures to be at least a pass-rush specialist. Vikings officials have told Sports Illustrated that they expect retired QB Brett Favre to make a decision this week on his latest comeback dalliance. The decision reportedly hinges on Favre’s willingness to have arthroscopic surgery to sever the torn biceps tendon, which could relieve the pain in his throwing arm. Vikings coach Brad Childress wants Favre on board sooner than later, even during the 4-6 weeks needed to rehab from such a surgery. The Vikings’ official minicamp runs Friday through Sunday, and the club has other offseason practices scheduled for June 2-5, June 8-11 and June 15-16. New Bengals S Roy Williams says he is as good as ever, such as when he went to five Pro Bowls as a member of the Cowboys. Williams, who turns 29 in August, said via the

but I probably didn’t train with the same kind of passion that I had in the past.” Fowler has regained much of his lost bulk during the surgeries and rehab and says he is in the best shape of his career, moving with more speed and quickness. Lions DE Jared DeVries has been with the team since 1999 but is learning new tricks as part of new coach Jim Schwartz’s scheme. Schwartz wants the ends to align wide, outside the offensive tackles, and funnel ballcarriers into the middle. Previous coach Rod Marinelli wanted the ends to fill gaps and force ballcarriers to the outside. “This is the first time I’ve played out wide like that,” DeVries told the Detroit Free Press. “You get down to it, it’s the total opposite (from last year). Instead of making the corners make the tackles, you make the linebackers make the tackles.”

JAY DROWNS / SN

We may finally get a final decision this week as to whether Brett Favre will be returning. team’s website that “you can still see I haven’t lost anything, I haven’t lost a step.” Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer concurred. “He’s done a great job with low body position, great knee bend, coming out of his breaks and he’s really taking to the system,” safeties coach Louie Cioffi said. “He’s shown the ability to cover receivers and tight ends in this camp.” Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell found a silver lining to Michael Vick missing two seasons while imprisoned for his role in a dogfighting ring.

“It was a good time for him as far as sitting down and his body healing,” Russell told the San Francisco Chronicle. “I know he’s in tip-top shape.” Titans MLB Ryan Fowler, fully healed after two shoulder surgeries last offseason, wants the starting job back that he lost to Stephen Tulloch in the ’08 training camp. “More than anything, I got a little too complacent,” Fowler told The Tennessean. “I thought that I could sort of coast through the offseason. Not to say I didn’t train,

Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, the godfather of the 3-4 scheme that’s sweeping the league, never rests, never stops thinking of new wrinkles—even after winning the Super Bowl. “He gave us a new defense today that he thought about last night when he was in bed,” linebacker James Farrior said last week via the team’s website. “He drew something up for us today. We expect stuff like that from coach LeBeau. “This offseason is no different. We probably have about 10 new calls right now. They are going to keep coming. It’s the same every year, new calls in and tweaking stuff to make us better. He has a great mind.”

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

College Basketball

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

39

Corruption in recruiting poses great challenge for ethics panel We’ve seen upsets in college basketball before. George Mason reaching the Final Four. Davidson knocking off Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin in succession. Has any group ever been more overmatched, though, than the new ethics coalition developed by the NCAA and its Division I coaches? There are some really sharp guys on that panel: Michigan’s John Mike DeCourcy Beilein, Boston COLLEGE BASKETBALL College’s Al Skinner and Vanderbilt’s Kevin Stallings among them. But they are taking on a monumental job in trying to lead college basketball coaches to exercise more principled standards in recruiting future players. “In some ways, it may be an unrealistic mountain to climb,” Stallings said. “We might look back in several years and all have to admit it was a runaway train that never came back to the station. “It’s still very much at an infancy stage. I think there are some guys who feel strongly about where the culture of our game has gotten to and would like to do some things to make it better.” There will be 14 members of the panel, eventually, though 11 were announced. There aren’t any surprises on the list, which also included Butler’s Brad Stevens, Oklahoma’s Jeff Capel and Stanford’s Johnny Dawkins. Stallings said among the goals is to influence younger coaches who are getting started in the business to resist the call of the dark side.

“

There are young guys getting into this business and they’re watching how this coach does things or that guy does things. They quickly become convinced the only means of having any kind of success is to skirt the spirit of the rules.

”

— Vanderbilt’s Kevin Stallings “There are young guys getting into this business and they’re watching how this coach does things or that guy does things,” Stallings said. “They quickly become convinced the only means of having any kind of success is to skirt the spirit of the rules. I think there are a lot of people on this committee and a lot of people in college basketball that are examples of that clearly not being the case.” It can be argued that if you’re paying a coach millions, you want him to bend the rules to his program’s advantage, like a rich guy would want his tax attorney to exploit every available loophole. Author Marc Isenberg’s book Money Players is a guide for young athletes seeking to make wise choices in dealing with amateurism issues and pursuing professional careers, and he frequently lectures teams about such matters. “I’ll be talking to them at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, but these decisions aren’t made by the light of day,” Isenberg said. “It’s good to have coaches talking, but there is a set of incentives that makes it very difficult for everybody to be on the same page.” Perhaps the fundamental problem with ethics commission is it’s a little bit like asking the autoworker bolting the tires on a car why the

engine was constructed so sloppily. Certainly there are coaches who aren’t conflicted about further corrupting the players they recruit. There is another segment of coaches, probably much larger, that has grown willing to accept that many players have long since been adopted by agents or their runners and hope this reality does not eventually damage their programs. In either case, the problem exists long before it reaches the college level. And it’s not certain what a panel of coaches talking about ethics can do about it. It’s been a half-dozen years since the National Association of Basketball Coaches convened its ethics summit in Chicago, and nothing has improved. Scandals in college basketball have not ceased. There have been so many press conferences and press releases at which various constituencies gathered to promise they would better the game. In spring 2007, a group of top AAU coaches and college coaches held a press conference at which they promised a coalition to change how summer basketball operated. It’s still the same. Last year, the NBA and NCAA held a joint press conference and promised to form a joint corporation that would develop youth basketball

CHRIS O’MEARA / AP

Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings, who is on an NCAA committee designed to clean up recruiting, isn’t sure if such a mountain can be climbed. initiatives. The product of their collaboration has not been obvious. Isenberg used the term “reform by press release,” and that’s kind of where all this seems to stand. “It’s pretty evident that the culture of it has gotten away from us,” Stallings said. “It’s still a great game played by great kids at great universities before great fans, but the

culture of it is really in danger. I think some people think, ‘Well that’s just the culture so I’ll figure out how to survive in it.’ And other people might think about what they can do to change it. “I do know that we’re not going to fix all problems. That’s very unrealistic. But I think it’s going to take some committed people to affect

change. Some of our issues, some of our problems, are the result of things we, at this juncture, have no control over.” If there’s an ethics panel that can fix all this, college basketball will have a new standard for the historic upset. Chaminade won’t seem like that big a deal. [email protected]

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

College Basketball / Horse Racing

www.sportingnews.com

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

BELMONT STAKES, Saturday, June 6, 5 p.m. (post time 6:30 p.m.), ET, ABC

Terps’ Vasquez feels working out for NBA teams helps him improve

The Kentucky era under new coach John Calipari will officially begin with a game against … Morehead State. Morehead State is excited about the Friday the 13th (Nov.) matchup. Morehead State coach Donnie Tyndall got the ball rolling. He called the UK offices and spoke to assistant John Robic, according to the Lexington HeraldLeader. Robic told Tyndall that Calipari wanted nonconference opponents to have an RPI of 140 or better. “He asked me point-blank how good we’d be,” Tyndall told the newspaper. Tyndall said he thought the Eagles could win between 17 and 20 games.

40

HORSE RACING

INSIDE DISH

Maryland junior G Greivis Vasquez said he’s in no hurry to make a decision about his basketball future. And he doesn’t have to until June 15. Vasquez is working out for NBA teams and getting a feel for whether he’ll remain in the NBA draft or return to Maryland for his senior season. He worked out for the Washington Wizards late last week and was scheduled to work out with the Minnesota Timberwolves before attending a pre-draft combine later this week in Chicago. His first two workouts were for the Cleveland Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs. “I’m a junior, and I don’t have any pressure. I’m just trying to learn,” Vasquez told The Baltimore Sun. “You can tell if you watch me shooting the ball, I’m getting better. Defensively, I’m getting more comfortable.” Vasquez, who was Maryland’s leading scorer (17.5) and rebounder (5.4) last season, made nine of 14 uncontested shots from behind the three-point line during one drill late in the workout with the Wizards, according to the newspaper. He also used his height (6-6) to take smaller guards inside. Others working out were Kentucky G Jodie Meeks, Mississippi G David Huertas and LSU G Marcus Thornton. Vasquez wouldn’t say what kind of evaluation it might take for him to remain in the draft, according to the Sun. Meeks, also a junior, told the newspaper he would probably return to Kentucky if he didn’t believe he would be drafted.

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

JOHN BAZEMORE / AP

Maryland G Greivis Vasquez is still deciding if he will remain in the draft. Georgia, which voted last week to spend $40 million to improve football facilities, has no plans to replace 45-year-old Stegeman Coliseum, though there is a possibility of renovations in the future. And new coach Mark Fox says he’s fine with that. He says it’s the atmosphere inside the building that’s important. “The building is perfect. It’s intimate; it’s got nice seats; it’s got access to our campus,” Fox told The Atlanta JournalConstitution. “… If we can get the students back and get the fans back and improve our team, then Stegeman is going to be a wonderful place to play college basketball.”

D.J. Magley, a 6-foot-10, 250-pound center who started on Western Kentucky’s Sweet 16 team two years ago, is transferring to the University of Tulsa. TU coach Doug Wojcik announced the transfer on Monday. Magley will have to sit out the upcoming season, and then will have two seasons of eligibility.

Rachel Alexandra trains, no decision made yet LOUISVILLE, KY.—Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra worked a half mile at Churchill Downs, but the filly’s owner says it may be another week before he decides whether to enter her in the Belmont Stakes. Jess Jackson said Monday that Rachel Alexandra is “progressing well” and will work again next week before a decision is made on the third leg of the Triple Crown on June 6. Jackson and Harold McCormick bought Rachel Alexandra after she won the Kentucky Oaks by 20 1⁄4 lengths May 1. She became the first filly in 85 years to win the Preakness on May 16, with jockey Calvin Borel guiding her to victory over Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird. “She’s recovering nicely and I think, for the time that’s elapsed, only nine days, she’s right on—but we can’t make a decision until we know,” said Jackson, who owns Stonestreet Stable. “My concern is her attitude. She thinks she can run through a brick wall, so her attitude has to be monitored. If anything, we have to hold her back a little bit because she’s so eager to run.” Rachel Alexandra worked the half mile in 50.20 seconds under exercise rider Dominic Terry over a sloppy track. Also, Mine That Bird worked the same distance in 51 seconds under Borel. If Rachel Alexandra does not run in the Belmont, which would give her a shot at becoming the first filly to win two-thirds of the Triple Crown, Jackson said the Mother Goose Stakes for fillies at Belmont

REED PALMER PHOTOGRAPHY

Rachel Alexandra, the first filly in 86 years to win the Preakness, is ‘recovering nicely.’ Park on June 27 is an option. “It might not be as soon as you’d want but we’re still considering the Belmont,” Jackson said. “The Mother Goose would give her a little extra time if she needs it. The Belmont would be a full (effort) for her right now.” With the no-decision, Mine That Bird trainer Chip Woolley also gave Borel more time to decide which horse he’ll ride in the Belmont. Woolley had set a Monday deadline for the jockey. “He won me a Derby, he deserves the time it takes for him to make the conscious, right decision,” Woolley said. “And nobody knows really if that filly’s going to be running in the Belmont, so it could work out where that’s not even a decision for him. I think a little bit of time’s not too much to ask.” If Borel chooses Mine That Bird, then Jackson will go with Robby Albarado if the filly runs in the Belmont.

“Calvin is a great jockey and I hope he’d be willing to go with her,” Jackson said. “He has to make his decision for himself and if we’re in there together and he’s not on our horse it’ll probably be Robby Albarado, who was with us with Curlin.” Albarado is one of the top riders used by Steve Asmussen, who took over as the filly’s trainer after the horse was sold. Jackson said Rachel Alexandra will give him a sign whether or not the Belmont is next. “We have to monitor her and make sure that we preserve her because she’s so special; the principal concern is the horse herself keeping her sound and letting the public enjoy her,” he said. “It’s not necessary that she go in the Belmont, she’s got a whole season ahead. She’s been running the whole year so we have to monitor that very carefully.” — The Associated Press

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

www.sportingnews.com

Tennis

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

FRENCH OPEN Glance PARIS—A look at the French Open on Monday: Weather: Sunny. High of 86 degrees. Attendance: 36,016. Men’s seeded winners: No. 1 Rafael Nadal, No. 2 Roger Federer, No. 6 Andy Roddick, No. 10 Nikolay Davydenko, No. 12 Fernando Gonzalez, No. 17 Stanislas Wawrinka, No. 23 Robin Soderling, No. 24 Jurgen Melzer, No. 25 Igor Andreev, No. 28 Feliciano Lopez, No. 30 Victor Hanescu, No. 32 Paul-Henri Mathieu. Men’s Seeded Loser: No. 19 Tomas Berdych. Women’s seeded winners: No. 1 Dinara Safina, No. 3 Venus Williams, No. 12 Agnieszka Radwanska, No. 13 Marion Bartoli, No. 15 Zheng Jie, No. 20 Dominika Cibulkova, No. 22 Carla Suarez Navarro, No. 29 Agnes Szavay. Women’s seeded losers: No. 14 Flavia Pennetta, No. 17 Patty Schnyder, No. 23 Alisa Kleybanova, No. 26 Anna Chakvetadze. Stat of the day: 29—Consecutive wins at the French Open for Nadal, a record for men and tying the overall tournament mark set by Chris Evert. Quote of the day: “I’m definitely a third-set player.”—Venus Williams, who struggled in the middle of her 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Bethanie Mattek-Sands. On court today: No. 4 Novak Djokovic vs. Nicolas Lapentti, No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro vs. Michael Llodra, No. 15 James Blake vs. Leonardo Mayer; No. 2 Serena Williams vs. Klara Zakopalova, No. 4 Elena Dementieva vs. Chanelle Scheepers, No. 5 Jelena Jankovic vs. Petra Cetkovska. Today’s forecast: Windy and rainy in the morning, sunny spells in the afternoon. High of 64 degrees. Today’s TV: Tennis Channel, 5 a.m.-noon EDT; ESPN2, noon to 6:30 p.m. EDT.

Showcase Schedule At Stade Roland Garros Paris Play begins at 5 a.m. EDT Court Philippe Chatrier Jelena Jankovic (5), Serbia, vs. Petra Cetkovska, Czech Republic Nicolas Lapentti, Ecuador, vs. Novak Djokovic (4), Serbia Julien Benneteau, France, vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (9), France Alize Cornet (21), France, vs. Maret Ani, Estonia Court Suzanne Lenglen Svetlana Kuznetsova (7), Russia, vs. Claire Feuerstein, France Bobby Reynolds, United States, vs. Gael Monfils (11), France Klara Zakopalova, Czech Republic, vs. Serena Williams (2), United States Fabrice Santoro, France, vs. Christophe Rochus, Belgium Court 1 Juan Martin del Potro (5), Argentina, vs. Michael Llodra, France Virginie Razzano, France, vs. Daniela Hantuchova, Slovakia Chanelle Scheepers, South Africa, vs. Elena Dementieva (4), Russia James Blake (15), United States, vs. Leonardo Mayer, Argentina

Results

Sharapova uneven in return to major play PARIS—Those unmistakable shrieks punctuating point after point on Court 1 at the French Open on Monday trumpeted Maria Sharapova’s return to the Grand Slam stage. There were other ways Sharapova made her presence felt—the big groundstrokes off both wings; the tough-as-nails turnaround after a slow start; the prematch accessories of buttoned-up blue jacket and oversized white purse; the postmatch victory waves and blown kisses. Sharapova’s tennis is not yet back to her lofty standards, as one might expect after shoulder surgery in October and four singles matches in the past 10 months. The 64thranked Anastasiya Yakimova of Belarus is not the sort of opponent who would normally trouble a topof-her-game Sharapova, yet there was trouble Monday. Still, a win is a win, and Sharapova’s first match at a major tournament in nearly a year ended with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Yakimova and a spot in the French Open’s second round. It will take more than that performance for Sharapova to erase the uncertainty that comes with such a long layoff. “This is the first time in my career where I can really say I don’t have any expectations,” the threetime major champion said. “I don’t know how things are going to work out. I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, how my shoulder is going to feel.” Because of her time away, Sharapova is ranked 102nd and unseeded at Roland Garros, which might help lower others’

MICHEL EULER / AP

Maria Sharapova, unseeded after October shoulder surgery, won her first-round match. expectations, too. A year ago, after all, she was No. 1. “If I was a mentally weak person or individual,” Sharapova said, “I think I wouldn’t be here today.” The pressure to produce has not affected Rafael Nadal in the least, and he extended his French Open winning streak to a record 29

41

matches Monday by beating Marcos Daniel of Brazil 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 in the first round. Nadal is trying to become the first player to win five titles in a row in Paris, and the man he beat in the past three finals, Roger Federer, also won easily Monday. More noteworthy, perhaps, was

Andy Roddick’s 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 victory over French wild-card entry Romain Jouan, the American’s first victory in the tournament since 2005. “I’m just glad I finally won a match out there,” Roddick said. The only seeded man to exit was No. 19 Tomas Berdych, but there were more surprises on the women’s side, including 116th-ranked American Alexa Glatch’s 6-1, 6-1 victory over No. 14 Flavia Pennetta of Italy. No. 17 Patty Schnyder, No. 23 Alisa Kleybanova and No. 26 Anna Chakvetadze all lost. Thirdseeded Venus Williams beat Bethanie Mattek in three sets, while No. 1 Dinara Safina shut out Anne Keothavong of Britain 6-0, 6-0. When they met at the net, according to Safina, Keothavong told her, “At least you could give me one game.” Nadal’s accomplishment wasn’t exactly heralded with much fanfare. There was no announcement over the loudspeakers, no on-court presentation of a plaque, no wild celebration from the Spaniard. He simply yanked off his yellow head wrap — the one that matched his neon wristbands and accompanied his bright pink shirt — and went to the net to shake Daniel’s hand. “It’s better than dress the same color every week, no?” Nadal said. He and Bjorn Borg had shared the men’s mark of 28 consecutive victories at Roland Garros; Nadal now shares the overall tournament mark with Chris Evert. Nadal did have a few wobbles, getting broken while serving for the first set at 5-4 and again to fall behind 3-1 in the second. — The Associated Press

Monday At Stade Roland Garros Paris Purse: $21.8 million (Grand Slam) Surface: Clay-Outdoor Singles Men First Round NikolayDavydenko(10),Russia,def.StefanKoubek,Austria,6-2,6-1,6-4. MikhailYouzhny,Russia,def.GillesMuller,Luxembourg,7-6(2),6-1,6-4. StanislasWawrinka(17),Switzerland,def.NicolasDevilder,France,6-3,5-7, 2-6,6-4,6-4. PotitoStarace,Italy,def.MischaZverev,Germany,6-7(5),7-5,1-0,retired. RobinSoderling(23),Sweden,def.KevinKim,UnitedStates,7-6(4),7-6(4),6-2. NicolasMassu,Chile,def.DanielKoellerer,Austria,6-3,6-4,1-6,2-6,6-3. NicolasKiefer,Germany,def.IliaBozoljac,Serbia,7-6(4),3-6,7-5,6-4. DenisIstomin,Uzbekistan,def.SantiagoGiraldo,Colombia,6-3,6-7(2),6-3, 7-6(4). VictorHanescu(30),Romania,def.SteveDarcis,Belgium,7-6(8),7-6(5),7-6(3). RafaelNadal(1),Spain,def.MarcosDaniel,Brazil,7-5,6-4,6-3. FernandoGonzalez(12),Chile,def.JiriVanek,CzechRepublic,6-3,6-2,6-3. RuiMachado,Portugal,def.KristofVliegen,Belgium,6-2,6-4,4-6,2-6,6-3. RogerFederer(2),Switzerland,def.AlbertoMartin,Spain,6-4,6-3,6-2. Paul-HenriMathieu(32),France,def.LaurentRecouderc,France,6-4,6-4,6-1. GuillaumeRufin,France,def.EduardoSchwank,Argentina,6-1,6-3,6-3. JankoTipsarevic,Serbia,def.AlbertMontanes,Spain,3-6,7-6(3),7-6(5),6-4. FelicianoLopez(28),Spain,def.FrancoFerreiro,Brazil,6-7(3),4-6,7-6(4),7-5, 6-2. TeimurazGabashvili,Russia,def.IgorKunitsyn,Russia,6-7(6),7-6(5),6-3,6-1. PabloAndujar,Spain,def.RobbyGinepri,UnitedStates,6-4,7-6(7),7-6(3). SimoneBolelli,Italy,def.TomasBerdych(19),CzechRepublic,6-4,6-4,5-7, 4-6,6-3. JoseAcasuso,Argentina,def.SantiagoVentura,Spain,3-6,7-6(5),6-0,6-3. JurgenMelzer(24),Austria,def.SergioRoitman,Argentina,6-4,7-6(4),6-0. AndyRoddick(6),UnitedStates,def.RomainJouan,France,6-2,6-4,6-2. JeremyChardy,France,def.ThiagoAlves,Brazil,6-2,7-6(10),6-3. MartinVassalloArguello,Argentina,def.ThomazBellucci,Brazil,6-4,6-7(4), 5-5,retired. DiegoJunqueira,Argentina,def.PaulCapdeville,Chile,3-6,7-5,6-1,6-3. IvoMinar,CzechRepublic,def.OscarHernandez,Spain,6-3,7-6(4),6-3. IgorAndreev(25),Russia,def.FabioFognini,Italy,1-6,6-3,6-1,3-6,7-5. Women First Round AravaneRezai,France,def.AiSugiyama,Japan,6-3,6-2. DinaraSafina(1),Russia,def.AnneKeothavong,Britain,6-0,6-0. AgnesSzavay(29),Hungary,def.CorinnaDentoni,Italy,6-3,6-4. TamarineTanasugarn,Thailand,def.CamillePin,France,6-3,5-7,7-5. PolonaHercog,Slovenia,def.AlisaKleybanova(23),Russia,6-2,4-6,6-1. KirstenFlipkens,Belgium,def.StephanieForetz,France,6-1,4-6,6-4. VenusWilliams(3),UnitedStates,def.BethanieMattek-Sands,UnitedStates, 6-1,4-6,6-2. LucieSafarova,CzechRepublic,def.SabineLisicki,Germany,6-2,1-6,6-1. LucieHradecka,CzechRepublic,def.YvonneMeusburger,Austria,6-1,6-2. MichelleLarcherdeBrito,Portugal,def.MelanieSouth,Britain,0-6,7-6(5),7-5. CarlaSuarezNavarro(22),Spain,def.EdinaGallovits,Romania,6-1,6-4. ZhengJie(15),China,def.StephanieCohen-Aloro,France,6-1,6-3. DominikaCibulkova(20),Slovakia,def.AlonaBondarenko,Ukraine,6-4,2-6,6-4. OlgaGovortsova,Belarus,def.KatieO’Brien,Britain,6-1,6-1. MariaSharapova,Russia,def.AnastasiyaYakimova,Belarus,3-6,6-1,6-2. JillCraybas,UnitedStates,def.TsvetanaPironkova,Bulgaria,7-5,6-2. MariyaKoryttseva,Ukraine,def.PatriciaMayr,Austria,6-1,6-1. AkgulAmanmuradova,Uzbekistan,def.IrenaPavlovic,France,6-3,6-4. LourdesDominguezLino,Spain,def.BarboraZahlavovaStrycova,Czech Republic,6-1,4-6,9-7. MarionBartoli(13),France,def.PaulineParmentier,France,3-6,6-1,6-3. AlexaGlatch,UnitedStates,def.FlaviaPennetta(14),Italy,6-1,6-1. MarianaDuqueMarino,Colombia,def.AnnaChakvetadze(26),Russia,3-6, 6-4,6-4. OliviaRogowska,Australia,def.MariaKirilenko,Russia,6-4,6-4. KaterynaBondarenko,Ukraine,def.PattySchnyder(17),Switzerland,6-4,6-3. AgnieszkaRadwanska(12),Poland,def.RossanadeLosRios,Paraguay,6-3,6-1. JarmilaGroth,Australia,def.KinnieLaisne,France,6-4,6-3. TathianaGarbin,Italy,def.AyumiMorita,Japan,7-5,7-5. VeraDushevina,Russia,vs.CarolineWozniacki(10),Denmark,6-4,5-7,susp., darkness.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Tennis

www.sportingnews.com

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

42

ATP top 10 rankings Here’s an updated look at the Top 10 players in the South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings as of Monday with their French Open history. The top eight players in the Nov. 17 rankings qualify for the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London to be held Nov. 23-29. The ATP World Tour Champion will be named the No. 1 player at the end of the season. — ATPWorldTour.com

Rafael Nadal, Spain French Open history: The four-time defending champion (290) is trying to become the first man to win five straight titles in Paris. … He and Bjorn Borg (1978-81) are the only players to win four in a row. … Has never been extended to a fifth set. Year in review: The ATP World Tour No. 1 has won an ATP World Tour-best five titles in seven finals en route to a 41-4 record (19-1 on clay). … He captured his sixth Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, his first on hard courts, with a five-set victory over Federer. ... Also won titles in Indian Wells, Monte-Carlo, Barcelona and Rome. … His 33-match winning streak on clay ended with his loss to rival Federer in the final of Madrid on May 17. … It was also only his second loss in a clay final in his career (26-2), both coming to Federer. … In the semifinals won the longest three-set singles match on the ATP World Tour in the Open Era, prevailing in four hours and three minutes (d. Djokovic). … Has a 151-5 clay mark since 2005.

1.

Roger Federer, Switzerland French Open history: The Swiss native entered with a 32-10 career mark, reaching the final the past three years, losing to Nadal each

2.

time. … Trying to become the sixth man in history to win all four Grand Slam tournaments in his career. Year in review: The 27-year-old star has compiled a 27-6 record (10-2 on clay). … He broke nearly a sevenmonth title drought by earning his 15th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Madrid over Nadal on May 17. … Broke a five-match losing streak to the Spaniard with his 58th career title in his 80th final. … Has won at least one title for nine straight years. … He reached the final at the Australian Open (l. to Nadal in five sets), his first loss in a Grand Slam hard court final (8-1). … He’s one title short of tying Pete Sampras’ all-time record of 14 Slam titles. … Also reached the semifinals in Doha (l. to Murray), Miami (l. to Djokovic) and Rome (l. to Djokovic).

Andy Murray, Great Britain French Open history: The 22-year-old Scot is 2-2 with his best result the third round last year (l. to Almagro). Year in review: The British star is off to a career-best 31-5 start, including an 8-3 mark vs. Top 10 opponents (losing twice to Nadal and once to No. 5 del Potro). … In his first nine tournaments, he’s won three ATP World Tour titles (Doha, d. Roddick; Rotterdam, d. Nadal;

3.

CHRISTOPHE ENA / AP

Rafael Nadal has a chance to become the first man ever to win five straight French Opens. Miami, d. Djokovic) and reached another final, ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l. to Nadal). ... He opened the season by defending his title in Doha with back-to-back wins over No. 2 Federer (SF) and No. 8 Roddick (F). … In March, reached the final in Indian Wells, falling to World No. 1 Rafael Nadal. … His best clay results are the semifinals in Monte Carlo (l. to Nadal) and the quarterfinals in Madrid (l. to del Potro).

Novak Djokovic, Serbia French Open history: The Belgrade native is 15-4 lifetime,

4.

reaching the semifinals the past two years and quarterfinals in 2006, losing to Nadal each time. Year in review: The 22-year-old Serb has a 37-11 match record on the season (15-5 on clay) and 2-3 in finals. … He has reached the final in four of his past five tournaments (Miami, Monte-Carlo, Rome, Belgrade). … He picked up his first ATP World Tour title of the year on Feb. 28 in Dubai (d. Ferrer). … On clay reached the final at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters (l. to Nadal). … Then advanced to the final in Rome (l. to Nadal) before winning title in his hometown of Belgrade (d. Kubot). …

CHRISTOPHE ENA / AP

Roger Federer, ranked No. 2 in the world, defeated Nadal in their last meeting on May 17.

In his last tournament, reached the semifinals in Madrid where he lost to Nadal after holding three match points in the final set tie-break. … The four hour and three minute match was the longest three-set singles match in the Open Era.

Juan Martin del Potro, Argentina French Open history: Has an 1-3 career mark, reaching the second round last year. Year in review: The 20-year-old Argentine is the youngest player in the Top 10 and he’s off to a careerbest 24-8 start, reaching the quarterfinals or better in eight of nine

5.

tournaments. … He began the season by capturing his fifth career ATP World Tour title in Auckland (d. Querrey) ... He followed by advancing to the quarterfinals at the Australian Open (d. Cilic, l. to Federer). ... In March, reached the quarterfinals in Indian Wells (l. to Nadal) and followed with semifinal in Miami where he beat No. 1 Nadal (l. to Murray). … On clay, reached the quarterfinals at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome (l. to Djokovic) and semifinals in Madrid (d. No. 3 Murray, l. to Federer) Players 6-10, Page 43

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Tennis

www.sportingnews.com

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

ATP top 10 rankings: 6-10 Andy Roddick, United States French Open History: The top American is 4-7 in his career, winning back-to-back matches only once, in his 2001 debut (d. Chang, ret. vs. Hewitt). … His last win came four years ago. Year in Review: The Austin, Texas resident has a 27-6 record on the ATP World Tour. … He opened the season by reaching the final in Doha (l. to Murray) and advancing to his fourth semifinal at the Australian Open (d. No. 3 Djokovic, l. to Federer) … In February, reached semifinal in San Jose (l. to Stepanek) and won title in Memphis (d. Hewitt in SF, Stepanek in F). ... Improved his title streak to nine consecutive years. … In March, he led the U.S. to a 4-1 first round Davis Cup victory over Switzerland with two wins . … Then reached the semifinals (l. to Nadal) in Indian Wells and quarterfinals in Miami (l. to Federer). … Made his clay debut in Madrid and reached quarterfinals (l. to Federer in three sets). … Married Brooklyn Decker on April 17 in Austin, Texas.

6.

Gilles Simon, France French Open History: The 24-yearold is 1-4 lifetime in Paris, reaching the second round in 2007. Year in Review: The top Frenchman has compiled an 18-16 record (4-7 on clay) and advanced to the quarterfinals or better four times this season. … In January reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open (l. to eventual champion Nadal). … Then advanced to back-to-back semifinals in Marseille (l. to Llodra) and Dubai (l. to eventual champion Djokovic). … In March, reached the fourth round (after a bye) in Miami with wins over former ATP World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt and No. 29 seed Rainer Schuettler (l. to Tsonga). … On clay, reached the third round in Rome and followed with quarterfinals showing in Estoril, losing to eventual champion Albert Montanes and third round in Madrid.

7.

ATP World Tour schedule/winners

Fernando Verdasco, Spain French Open History: The Madrid native is 8-5 in his career, reaching the fourth round the past two years, losing to Djokovic and Nadal, respectively. Year in Review: The Spaniard is off to a career-best 23-8 start and ranked a careerhigh No. 7 on Apr. 20. … Has advanced to the quarterfinals or better in all eight tournaments. … He opened January by winning nine of 11 matches, highlighted by his first ATP World Tour hard court final in Brisbane (l. to Stepanek). … Then followed with a career-best SF showing at Australian Open. ... Posted back-to-back wins over No. 4 Murray in five sets in 4th Rd. and No. 6 Tsonga in QF before falling in an epic fiveset marathon to Nadal. ... Played longest singles match in tournament history (5:14) and afterwards broke into Top 10 for first time at No. 9 (from No. 15) on Feb. 2. … Also quarterfinalist in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, Rome and hometown in Madrid.

8.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, France French Open History: The 24-yearold is making his second appearance, his first since 2005 when he lost to Roddick in the 1st Rd. Year in Review The No. 2 Frenchman has advanced to the quarterfinals or better in seven of 10 tournaments this season en route to a 26-7 match record, which is tied for sixth on the ATP World Tour. … Last year he didn’t win his 26th match until late-October in Lyon…Has already captured titles in Johannesburg (d. Chardy) and Marseille (d. Llodra) in the first two months. ... In March, reached the quarterfinals at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami, defeating countryman Gilles Simon in three sets before falling to eventual finalist Novak Djokovic. … In his season clay court debut in Rome, lost in the first round to countryman Richard Gasquet and lost in the second

43

9.

BERNAT ARMAGUE / AP

Andy Roddick, ranked No. 6, is the United States’ best hope, but he has a 4-7 career record at Roland Garros. round in Madrid.

Gael Monfils, France French Open History: The 22-year-old Frenchman has a 10-4 career record, reaching the semifinals last year (l. to Federer) and 4th Rd. in 2006. Year in Review: Monfils has been bothered by a right knee injury the past two months. … Has a 15-8 match record and one of two players (Verdasco) to crack the Top 10 for the first time this year...He opened the season with a SF in Doha (d.

10.

No. 1 Nadal) before losing to Roddick. … Followed with 4th Rd. at the Australian Open where he retired with a right wrist injury (after three sets) against Simon. … He broke into the Top 10 for first time on Feb. 23 and reached final in Acapulco (l. to Almagro), his sixth straight runner-up. … He advanced to the 4th Rd. in Miami, saving two match points in win over Marat Safin before losing to Roddick. … Has withdrawn from last three clay tournaments, Barcelona, Rome, Madrid, due to knee injury.

Jan. 4-11 — Brisbane International, HO (Radek Stepanek) Jan. 5-10 — Qatar ExxonMobil Open, HO (Andy Murray) Jan. 5-11 — Chennai Open, HO (Marin Cilic) Jan. 12-17 — Medibank International, HO (David Nalbandian) Jan. 12-17 — Heineken Open, HO (Juan Martin del Potro) Jan. 19-Feb. 1 — Australian Open, HO (Rafael Nadal) Feb. 2-8 — Movistar Open, CO (Fernando Gonzalez) Feb. 2-8 — PBZ Zagreb Indoors, HI (Marin Cilic) Feb. 2-8 — SA Open, HO (Jo-Wilfried Tsonga) Feb. 9-14 — Brasil Open, CO (Tommy Robredo) Feb. 9-15 — SAP Open, HI (Radek Stepanek) Feb. 9-15 — ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, HI (Andy Murray) Feb. 15-22 — Open 13, HI (Jo-Wilfried Tsonga) Feb. 16-22 — Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, HI (Andy Roddick) Feb. 16-22 — Copa Telmex, CO (Tommy Robredo) Feb. 23-28 — Abierto Mexicano Telcel, CO (Nicolas Almagro) Feb. 23-28 — Barclays Dubai Championships, HO (Novak Djokovic) Feb. 23-March 1 — Delray Beach International Championships, HO (Mardy Fish) March 2-8 — Davis Cup I March 12-22 — BNP Paribas Open, HO (Rafael Nadal) March 25-April 5 — Sony Ericsson Open, HO (Andy Murray) April 6-12 — U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships, CO (Lleyton Hewitt) April 6-12 — Grand Prix Hassan II, CO (Juan Carlos Ferrero) April 12-19 — Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, CO (Rafael Nadal) April 20-26 — Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell, CO (Rafael Nadal) April 27-May 3 — Internazionali BNL d’Italia, CO (Rafael Nadal) May 3-10 — Estoril Open, CO (Albert Montanes) May 3-10 — BMW Open, CO (Tomas Berdych) May 4-10 — Serbia Open, CO (Novak Djokovic) May 10-17 — Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid, CO (Roger Federer) May 17-23 — Interwetten Austrian Open, CO (Guillermo GarciaLopez) May 17-23 — ARAG ATP World Team Championship, CO (Serbia) Through-June 7 — Roland Garros, Paris, CO June 8-14 — Gerry Weber Open, Halle, Germany, GO June 8-14 — AEGON Championships, London, GO June 14-20 — Ordina Open, Den Bosch, Netherlands, GO June 14-20 — AEGON International, Eastbourne, England, GO June 22-July 5 — The Championships, Wimbledon, England, GO July 6-12 — Davis Cup II July 6-12 — Campbell’s Hall of Fame Championships, Newport, Rhode Island, GO July 13-19 — Catella Swedish Open, Bastad, Sweden, CO July 13-19 — Mercedes Cup, Stuttgart, Germany, CO July 19-26 — Indianapolis Championships, Indianapolis, HO July 26-Aug. 2 — Allianz Suisse Open Gstaad, Gstaad, Switzerland, CO July 27-Aug. 2 — LA Tennis Open, Los Angeles, HO July 27-Aug. 2 — Studena Croatia Open Umag, Umag, Croatia, CO Aug. 2-9 — Legg Mason Classic, Washington, HO Aug. 10-16 — Rogers Cup, Montreal, HO Aug. 16-23 — Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, Mason, Ohio, HO Aug. 23-29 — Pilot Pen Tennis, New Haven, Connecticut, HO Aug. 31-Sept. 13 — U.S. Open, New York, HO Sept. 14-20 — Davis Cup III Sept. 21-27 — Open de Moselle, Metz, France, HI Sept. 21-27 — BCR Open Romania, Bucharest, Romania, CO Sept. 29-Oct. 4 — Thailand Open, Bangkok, Thailand, HI Oct. 5-11 — China Open, Beijing, HO Oct. 5-11 — Japan Open, Tokyo, HO Oct. 12-18 — Shanghai ATP Masters, Shanghai, China, HO Oct. 19-25 — If Stockholm Open, Stockholm, Sweden, HI Oct. 19-25 — Kremlin Cup, Moscow, HI Oct. 25-Nov. 1 — St. Petersburg Open, St. Petersburg, Russia, HI Oct. 26-Nov. 1 — Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, Lyon, France, HI Oct. 26-Nov. 1 — Bank Austria Tennis Trophy, Vienna, Austria, HI Nov. 2-8 — Davidoff Swiss Indoors Basel, Basel, Switzerland, HI Nov. 2-8 — Open de Tenis Comunidad Valenciana, Valencia, Spain, HI Nov. 8-15 — BNP Paribas Masters, Paris, HI Nov. 22-29 — Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, London, HI Nov. 30-Dec. 5 — Davis Cup Final

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Soccer

www.sportingnews.com

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

44

Champions League Final: Barcelona vs. Manchester United, 2:30 p.m. ET, Wednesday, ESPN

Ronaldo, Messi dueling for world’s best player ROME—Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi? Forget about which team wins Wednesday’s Champions League final between Manchester United and Barcelona, the debate over who really is the best player in the world could be decided on the field rather than by ballot. Ronaldo has the official title right now, given to him by FIFA after his 42 league and cup goals last season helped Man United win both the domestic Premier League title and the Champions League. Having won the English league again with Ronaldo contributing 18 goals, United could repeat its double when it faces newly crowned Spanish champion Barca at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico in a final that has long been desired by neutral football fans. It’s a final that pits probably the two best strikeforces in club football. Yet the Ronaldo-Messi comparison stands out. For the past five years, both players have been mesmerizing defenders with their footwork, hammering home goals on a regular basis and setting up chances for their teammates. Different in build, they have contrasting ways of beating opponents. Ronaldo, famed for his step-overs and longrange shooting power, uses speed to get past defenders. Messi, much smaller and with a staccato gait, plays as if the ball is glued to his feet and manages to squeeze through gaps that don’t appear to be there. Both stars can also cause so much distraction with their dribbling skills that defenders leave their teammates wide open in front of goal. They are invaluable to their teams and would command huge transfer fees if either team decided to sell them. But which one is better? It’s no surprise that Man United’s French defender, Patrice Evra, favors his teammate. He has faced Messi before and successfully kept him quiet when United knocked Barca out in last season’s semifinals before going on to win the title. “I was confident before the games because I train every day against players like Ronaldo, (Carlos) Tevez and (Wayne) Rooney,” the left back

PAULO DUARTE / AP

MATT DUNHAM / AP

One season after leading Manchester United to a Champions League title, former FIFA player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo, left, has them back in the spotlight. Saturday, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, right, will attempt to lock down those honors himself. said, referring to his United teammates. “You have a lot of quality there.” But he knows how dangerous Messi can be, given just one chance. “Messi is a player who you can block 10 times,” Evra said. “But, if he passes you once and scores a goal, everyone says: ‘Evra played very badly against Messi.’ “I need that challenge and I love to focus on that. He does amazing things. He’s one of the best players in the world. Ronaldo won the (FIFA award), he scored 42 goals last season and won the Champions League. This is important. I can show

Ronaldo is the best player in the world if I play well against Messi.” Perhaps Carlos Tevez, a teammate of Ronaldo’s with United and of Messi’s with Argentina, summed it up best. “Everybody considers them to be the best football players in the world,” Tevez said. “Some people will say Messi is the best and some people will say Ronaldo is the best. “For me, they are both as special as each other. To have them both on the same pitch should be great entertainment for the fans.” — The Associated Press

NOTEBOOK

Rome readies security for Champions League final ROME—About 5,000 ticketless fans are expected for the Champions League final this week between Manchester United and Barcelona. Thousands of law enforcement officers will patrol the area around Olympic Stadium and the city center as well as airports and subway stations, officials said Monday after a security meeting. The patrols will begin Tuesday, a day before the final. Bans on alcohol sales will be imposed from Tuesday until the early hours of Thursday. “Everything that could be done to avoid incidents has been done,” Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno said. An estimated 67,000 fans are to attend the game, including 30,000 from England and 20,000 from Spain. Many are expected to arrive through Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci and Ciampino airports starting Tuesday. About 5,000 ticketless fans are expected from England, including a few dozen hard-core supporters, and a few dozen from Spain, said Rome police chief Giuseppe Caruso. Another official, Prefect Giuseppe Pecoraro, warned against counterfeit tickets. He said police had seized fake tickets, although he declined to give numbers, citing an ongoing investigation. The security plan includes deploying 1,000 stewards inside the stadium. About 500 volunteers of the Civil Protection Department and 1,500 traffic officers will beef up the police and

Carabinieri contingent. Caruso declined to give an overall number of police forces involved. About 30 police officers evenly split from England and Spain will help the Italians. Barcelona’s Thierry Henry and Andres Iniesta took part in the team’s final training session Monday before leaving for the Champions League final against Manchester United. The Spanish champion said on its Web site that neither player trained fully at the Camp Nou due to leg injuries but would likely be available for Wednesday’s final at Stadio Olimpico in Rome. “They’re working hard and the overall impression is good,” Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez said. “I think they will be able to play.” Henry injured his right knee in a 6-2 win at Real Madrid on May 2, while Iniesta hurt his right thigh in a 3-3 draw with Villarreal a week later. Henry has scored 25 goals this season but missed the 1-1 semifinal draw at Chelsea, where Iniesta’s injury-time equalizer sent Barcelona through. Barcelona is looking to become only the fifth team to win three major trophies in one season after having also won the Copa del Rey. “It comes at the best moment— physically and psychologically,” Xavi said of the final. — The Associated Press

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Golf

www.sportingnews.com

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

INSIDE DISH

Hole-in-one puts Swede in field for U.S. Open Talk about a flair for the dramatic. Peter Hanson of Sweden grabbed the last of the 11 places available with a hole-in-one at the second playoff hole Monday in final international qualifying for next month’s U.S. Open at Bethpage Black. Raphael Jacquelin and Simon Khan shot 9-under totals of 135 over 36 holes in Tadworth, England, to head final international qualifying. “This game is just so stupid sometimes,” Hanson said. “Obviously I am delighted to get through, but to do it like that is unbelievable.” Jacquelin went 67-68 and Khan 68-67 over the Old and New Courses at Walton Heath, south of London. They finished a stroke clear of Simon Dyson, who added a 70 to his morning’s-best 66 to finish at 8-under. Thomas Levet of France and Andrew McLardy were at 137 with European Tour rookie David Horsey a stroke back. Seventy-five players were competing for 11 places over two rounds on the two courses. There was further drama as seven players shot 139 and played off for five spots. Jose-Manuel Lara, Jean-Francois Lucquin, Johan Edfors and Francesco Molinari birdied the first playoff hole, leaving Hanson, Richard Bland and Stephen Gallacher to battle for the last spot. Hanson grabbed it with the ace on the second playoff hole, the 206yard 17th on the Old Course. “We were between clubs on the tee, but I thought that I would go

U.S. Open qualifying

for a full 6-iron and play for the middle of the green,” he said. “You need a bit of luck with any hole-inone, and I got my share today.” This will be Jacquelin’s first U.S.Open after he failed to qualify four times. “I played fantastically today,” he said. “I hope I can play the tournament the same way because I hit the ball very straight today, and I am going to have to do that in America. “I am delighted to be going—the Majors are the tournaments we all want to play in.”

David Toms missed the cut at the Byron Nelson Championship in Dallas over the weekend yet made it into the next two majors. The top 50 in the world rankings after this week are exempt from qualifying for the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black and the British Open at Turnberry. Toms slipped only three spots to finish at No. 50, by three-hundredths of a point over Aaron Baddeley, who chose not to play the Nelson and fell two spots to No. 51. Toms will get to skip 36-hole qualifying June 8 for the U.S. Open. Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano of Spain birdied the 18th hole at Wentworth for a 68 to tie for 11th in the BMW PGA Championship on the European tour, earning enough points to move up 11 spots to No. 49. It will be his first U.S. Open. Other players exempt from the world ranking are Irish tenn Rory McIlroy, Ian Poulter, Luke Donald, Alvaro Quiros, Adam Scott and Justin Rose. The U.S. Open also exempts the

TOM HEVEZI / AP

Peter Hanson used a hole-in-one at the second playoff hole to lock up a spot in the U.S. Open. top 10 from the PGA Tour money list through the Byron Nelson Championship. That group includes Sean O’Hair, Nick Watney, Rory Sabbatini, Paul Casey and Dustin Johnson. They also would have been eligible through the top 50 in the world.

John Daly’s suspension on the PGA Tour is over, and the two-time major champion plans to return in three weeks for the St. Jude Championship and U.S. Open qualifying. Daly was suspended for six months in November after a series of off-course incidents that brought negative publicity, the most recent a photo of him in an orange jail suit with his eyes half-closed after being locked up overnight in North Carolina to get sober.

Daly hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since the Buick Invitational five years ago, and he has not kept his card the last two years, having to rely on sponsor exemptions and tournaments where he won, such as the British Open and PGA Championship. He said he has received a sponsor’s exemption to the St. Jude Championship on June 11-14 in Memphis, near his home. Daly said he also has received an exemption from the Buick Open the last week in July, and he is hopeful of others. PGA Tour spokesman Ty Votaw said the tour does not comment on player discipline; it never confirmed that Daly was suspended, and now cannot confirm that a suspension has been lifted. Daly told The Associated Press over the Christmas holidays that

At Old and New Courses at Walton Heath Tadworth, England Par: 72 (q-qualified; x-elimated in playoff) q-Raphael Jacquelin, France 67-68 q-Simon Khan, England 68-67 q-Simon Dyson, England 66-70 q-Thomas Levet, France 70-67 q-Andrew McLardy, South Africa 71-66 q-David Horsey, England 72-66 q-Jose Manuel Lara, Spain 72-67 q-Francesco Molinari, Italy 71-68 q-Jean-Francois Lucquin, France 68-71 q-Johan Edfors, Sweden 73-66 q-Peter Hanson, Sweden 71-68 x-Richard Bland, England 68-71 x-Stephen Gallacher, Scotland 70-69 Other scores Nick Dougherty, England 71-69 Brett Romford, Australia 69-71 Markus Brier, Austria, 70-70 Alastair Forsyth, Scotland 71-70 Wade Ormsby, Australia 74-67 Simon Griffiths, England 72-69 Richie Ramsey, Scotland 71-70 Paul McGinley, Ireland 74-68 OLiver Fisher, England 71-71 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet, France 72-70 Gareth Maybin, Northern Ireland 73-69 Marcus Fraser, Australia 71-72 Chris Wood, England 73-70 Gregory Bourdy, France 72-71 Phillip Archer, England 74-69 Daniel Vancsik, Argentina 70-73 Jamie Donaldson, Wales 73-70 Peter Hedblom, Sweden 72-71 Sam Hutsby, am, England 69-74 Scott Strange, Australia 71-73 Miguel Rodriguez, Argentina 71-73 Richard Finch, England 72-72 Paul Waring, England 72-72 Francois Delamontagne, France 72-72 At Ryugasaki CC, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan Par: 72 (q-qualified) q-David Smail, New Zealand 68-65 q-Angelo Que, Philippines 70-68 q-Sang Moon Bae, Korea 68-71 q-Kaname Yokoo, Japan 71-68 q-Shintaro Kai, Japan 70-69 Other scores Prayad Marksaeng, Thailand 66-74 Ryo Ishikawa, Japan 74-70 Brendan Jones, Australia 73-72

— — — — — — — — — — — — —

135 135 136 137 137 138 139 139 139 139 139 139 139

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

140 140 140 141 141 141 141 142 142 142 142 143 143 143 143 143 143 143 143 144 144 144 144 144

— — — — —

133 138 139 139 139

— 140 — 144 — 145

he had been suspended for the second time in his career, and he said he found out two weeks ago while playing in Ireland that he had been reinstated. — The Associated Press

45

PGA Tour schedule Jan. 8-11 — Mercedes-Benz Championship (Geoff Ogilvy) Jan. 15-18 — Sony Open in Hawaii (Zach Johnson) Jan. 21-25 — Bob Hope Chrysler Classic (Pat Perez) Jan. 29-Feb. 1 — FBR Open (Kenny Perry) Feb. 5-8 — Buick Invitational (Nick Watney) Feb. 12-15 — AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (Dustin Johnson) Feb. 19-22 — Northern Trust Open (Phil Mickelson) Feb. 25-March 1 — WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship (Geoff Ogilvy) Feb. 25-March 1 — Mayakoba Golf Classic (Mark Wilson) March 5-8 — The Honda Classic (Y.E. Yang) March 12-15 — WGC-CA Championship, (Phil Mickelson) March 12-15 — Puerto Rico Open (Michael Bradley) March 19-22 — Transitions Championship (Retief Goosen) March 26-29 — Arnold Palmer Invitational (Tiger Woods) April 2-5 — Shell Houston Open (Paul Casey) April 9-12 — The Masters (Angel Cabrera) April 16-19 — Verizon Heritage (Brian Gay) April 23-26 — Zurich Classic of New Orleans (Jerry Kelly) April 30-May 3 — Quail Hollow Championship (Sean O’Hair) May 7-10 — The Players Championship (Henrik Stenson) May 14-17 — Valero Texas Open (Zach Johnson) May 21-24 — HP Byron Nelson Championship (Rory Sabatini) Thursday-Sunday — Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, Colonial CC, Fort Worth, Texas June 4-7 — The Memorial Tournament, Muirfield Village GC, Dublin, Ohio June 11-14 — Stanford St. Jude Championship, TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tenn. June 18-21 — U.S. Open, Bethpage State Park (Black Course), Farmingdale, N.Y. June 25-28 — Travelers Championship, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn. July 2-5 — AT&T National, Congressional CC (Blue Course), Bethesda, Md. July 9-12 — John Deere Classic, TPC Deere Run, Silvis, Ill. July 16-19 — The Open Championship, Turnberry (Ailsa Course), Turnberry, Scotland July 16-19 — U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, Brown Deer Park GC, Milwaukee July 23-26 — RBC Canadian Open, Glen Abbey GC, Oakville, Ontario July 30-Aug. 2 — Buick Open, Warwick Hills G and CC, Grand Blanc, Mich. Aug. 6-9 — WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Firestone CC, Akron, Ohio Aug. 6-9 — Legends Reno-Tahoe Open, Montreux G and CC, Reno, Nev. Aug. 13-16 — PGA Championship, Hazeltine National GC, Chaska, Minn. Aug. 20-23 — Wyndham Championship, Sedgefield CC, Greensboro, N.C. Aug. 27-30—The Barclays, Liberty National GC, Jersey City, N.J. Sept. 4-7 — Deutsche Bank Championship, TPC Boston, Norton, Mass. Sept. 10-13 — BMW Championship, Cog Hill GC, Lemont, Ill. Sept. 24-27 — The Tour Championship, East Lake GC, Atlanta Oct. 1-4 — Turning Stone Restort Chamnpionship, Atunyote GC at Turning Stone Resort, Verona, N.Y. Oct. 8-11 — The Presidents Cup, Harding Park GC, San Francisco Oct. 15-18 — Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, TPC Summerlin, Las Vegas Oct. 22-25 — Frys.com Open, Grayhawk GC, Scottlsdale, Ariz. Oct. 29-Nov. 1 — Viking Classic, Annandale GC, Madison, Miss. Nov. 12-15 — Children’s Miracle Network Classic, Walt Disney World Resort (Magnolia Course, Palm Course), Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Baseball regionals Glance Note: Game times TBA Double Elimination At Clark-LeClair Stadium Greenville, N.C. Friday Game 1 — South Carolina (38-21) vs. George Mason (42-12) Game 2 — East Carolina (42-17) vs. Binghamton (29-20) Saturday Game 3 — Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser Game 4 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner Sunday Game 5 — Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser Game 6 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner Monday Game 7 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, if necessary At Boshamer Stadium Chapel Hill, N.C. Friday Game 1 — North Carolina (42-16) vs. Dartmouth (27-16) Game 2 — Coastal Carolina (46-14) vs. Kansas (37-22) Saturday Game 3 — Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser Game 4 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner Sunday Game 5 — Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser Game 6 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner Monday Game 7 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, if necessary At Doug Kingsmore Stadium Clemson, S.C. Friday Game 1 — Alabama (37-19) vs. Oklahoma State (32-22) Game 2 — Clemson (40-19) vs. Tennessee Tech (30-22-1) Saturday Game 3 — Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser Game 4 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner Sunday Game 5 — Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser Game 6 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner Monday Game 7 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, if necessary At Russ Chandler Stadium Atlanta Friday Game 1 — Elon (40-16) vs. Southern Mississippi (35-23) Game 2 —Georgia Tech (35-17-1) vs. Georgia State (39-20) Saturday Game 3 — Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser Game 4 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner Sunday Game 5 — Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser Game 6 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner Monday Game 7 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, if necessary At McKethan Stadium Gainesville, Fla. Friday Game 1 — Miami (36-20) vs. Jacksonville (36-20) Game 2 — Florida (39-20) vs. BethuneCookman (32-26) Saturday Game 3 — Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser Game 4 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner Sunday Game 5 — Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser Game 6 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner Monday Game 7 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, if necessary At Dick Howser Stadium

College Baseball

www.sportingnews.com Tallahassee, Fla. Friday Game 1 — Georgia (37-22) vs. Ohio State (40-17) Game 2 — Florida State (42-16) vs. Marist (31-26) Saturday Game 3 — Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser Game 4 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner Sunday Game 5 — Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser Game 6 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner Monday Game 7 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, if necessary At Jim Patterson Stadium Louisville, Ky. Friday Game 1 — Middle Tennessee (43-16) vs. Vanderbilt (34-25) Game 2 — Louisville (44-15) vs. Indiana (3225) Saturday Game 3 — Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser Game 4 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner Sunday Game 5 — Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser Game 6 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner Monday Game 7 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, if necessary At Oxford-University Stadium Oxford, Miss. Friday Game 1 — Missouri (34-25) vs. Western Kentucky (39-18) Game 2 — Mississippi (40-17) vs. Monmouth, N.J. (32-23) Saturday Game 3 — Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser Game 4 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner Sunday Game 5 — Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser Game 6 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner Monday Game 7 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, if necessary At Alex Box Stadium Baton Rouge, La. Friday Game 1 — Minnesota (38-17) vs. Baylor (2924) Game 2 — LSU (46-16) vs. Southern U. (30-15) Saturday Game 3 — Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser Game 4 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner Sunday Game 5 — Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser Game 6 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner Monday Game 7 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, if necessary At L. Dale Mitchell Park Norman, Okla. Friday Game 1 — Arkansas (34-22) vs. Washington State (31-23) Game 2 — Oklahoma (41-18) vs. Wichita State (30-25) Saturday Game 3 — Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser Game 4 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner Sunday Game 5 — Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser Game 6 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner Monday Game 7 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, if necessary At Reckling Park Houston Friday Game 1 — Kansas State (41-16-1) vs. Xavier (38-19) Game 2 — Rice (39-15) vs. Sam Houston State (36-22) Saturday

Game 3 — Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser Game 4 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner Sunday Game 5 — Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser Game 6 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner Monday Game 7 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, if necessary At Lupton Baseball Stadium Fort Worth, Texas Friday Game 1 — Texas A&M (36-22) vs. Oregon State (35-17) Game 2 — TCU (36-16) vs. Wright State (33-28) Saturday Game 3 — Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser Game 4 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner Sunday Game 5 — Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser Game 6 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner Monday Game 7 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, if necessary At UFCU Disch-Falk Field Austin, Texas Friday Game 1 — Texas State (41-15) vs. Boston College (33-24) Game 2 — Texas (41-13-1) vs. Army (34-19) Saturday Game 3 — Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser Game 4 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner Sunday Game 5 — Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser Game 6 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner Monday Game 7 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, if necessary At Packard Stadium Tempe, Ariz. Friday Game 1 — Oral Roberts (31-13) vs. Cal Poly (37-19) Game 2 — Arizona State (44-12) vs. Kent State (42-15) Saturday Game 3 — Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser Game 4 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner Sunday Game 5 — Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser Game 6 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner Monday Game 7 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, if necessary At Anteater Ballpark Irvine, Calif. Friday Game 1 — Virginia (43-12-1) vs. San Diego State (40-21) Game 2 — UC Irvine (43-13) vs. Fresno State (32-28) Saturday Game 3 — Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser Game 4 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner Sunday Game 5 — Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser Game 6 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner Monday Game 7 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, if necessary At Goodwin Field Fullerton, Calif. Friday Game 1 — Georgia Southern (42-15) vs. Gonzaga (35-16) Game 2 — Cal State Fullerton (42-14) vs. Utah (26-29) Saturday Game 3 — Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser Game 4 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner Sunday Game 5 — Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser Game 6 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner Monday Game 7 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, if necessary

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

Tournament No. 1 seeds

Texas selected top seed for NCAA tournament

AP

The University of Texas was selected Monday as the top seed for the 64-team Division I baseball tournament. The Longhorns (41-13-1), who won the Big 12 tournament for the fourth time, will host one of 16 four-team, double-elimination regionals that begin Friday. It’s the second time Texas, coached by Division I career victories leader Augie Garrido, has been the No. 1 overall seed. “It’s an honor to be the No. 1 seed, but we know all too well that being named No. 1 by someone doesn’t get you anything,” Garrido said. “You have to go play the games to earn the No. 1 that means something.” The other national seeds, in order, are: Cal State Fullerton (42-14), LSU (46-16), North Carolina (42-16), Arizona State (4412), UC Irvine (43-13), Oklahoma (41-18) and Florida (39-20).

2009: Texas (TBD) 2008: Miami (Fresno State)

2007: Vanderbilt (Oregon State) 2006: Clemson (Oregon State) 2005: Tulane (Texas) 2004: Texas (Cal State Fullerton) 2003: Florida State (Rice) 2002: Florida State (Texas) 2001: Cal State Fullerton (Miami) 2000: South Carolina (LSU) 1999: Miami (Miami)

Collegiate Baseball poll

Baseball America Top 25

TUCSON, ARIZ.—The Collegiate Baseball poll with records through May 24, points and previous ranking. Voting is done by coaches, sports writers and sports information directors:

DURHAM, N.C.—The top 25 teams in the Baseball America poll with records through May 24 and previous ranking (voting by the staff of Baseball America):

A list of No. 1 overall seeds since the NCAA expanded the tournament field to 64 teams in 1999, with eventual College World Series winners in parentheses:

Texas’ Austin Wood (44), who has a 5-1 record and 2.58 ERA, helps make up a pitching staff that is regarded as the deepest in college baseball this season. Defending national champion Fresno State, the first team to win it all as a No. 4 seed in a bracket, will play UC Irvine in the first round of the Irvine, Calif., regional. UC Irvine is ranked No. 1 in most national polls, but is in arguably the tournament’s toughest bracket. It includes ACC champion Virginia and Tony Gwynn’s San Diego State squad, with ace righthander Stephen Strasburg, the likely No. 1 overall draft pick. Strasburg is 13-0 with a 1.24 ERA. The Big 12—Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas A&M—and Southeastern Conference—Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi, South Carolina and Vanderbilt—each received eight berths. — The Associated Press

46

1. U.C. Irvine 2. Louisiana St. 3. Arizona St. 4. Cal. St. Fullerton 5. Texas 6. Florida St. 7. North Carolina 8. Rice 9. Mississippi 10. Florida 11. Oklahoma 12. Louisville 13. Virginia 14. Alabama 15. Clemson 16. Georgia Tech 17. Missouri 18. Miami, Fla. 19. East Carolina 20. Coastal Carolina 21. Texas Christian 22. South Carolina 23. Kansas St. 24. Washington St. 25. Oregon St. 26. Cal Poly 27. Minnesota 28. Texas St. 29. Texas A&M 30. Elon

Rcrd 43-13 46-16 44-12 42-14 41-13-1 42-16 42-16 39-15 40-17 39-20 41-18 44-15 43-12-1 37-19 40-19 35-17-1 34-25 36-20 42-17 46-14 36-16 38-21 41-16-1 31-23 35-17 37-19 38-17 41-15 36-22 40-16

Pts 490 489 488 482 480 478 477 474 471 469 464 462 459 457 456 453 450 448 447 445 441 440 437 434 432 428 426 423 421 419

Pvs 1 2 3 5 6 7 4 11 8 9 10 17 21 12 13 14 15 16 18 26 19 20 22 27 — 25 24 29 — —

1. UC Irvine 2. Louisiana State 3. Arizona State 4. Cal State Fullerton 5. Texas 6. Rice 7. Virginia 8. North Carolina 9. Oklahoma 10. Florida State 11. Florida 12. Mississippi 13. Texas Christian 14. Kansas State 15. Louisville 16. Clemson 17. Georgia Tech 18. East Carolina 19. Gonzaga 20. Alabama 21. Minnesota 22. Elon 23. Missouri 24. Coastal Carolina 25. Middle Tennessee

Rcrd 43-13 46-16 44-12 42-14 41-13 39-15 43-12 42-16 41-18 42-16 39-20 40-17 36-16 41-16 44-15 40-19 35-17 42-17 35-16 37-19 38-17 40-16 34-24 46-14 43-16

Pvs 1 2 3 4 5 11 16 6 8 12 9 7 10 17 20 13 14 15 NR 18 21 22 24 NR NR

SPORTING NEWS TODAY

Back Page

www.sportingnews.com

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009

IN BRIEF

TRANSACTIONS

University of Louisville runner wins L.A. marathon

JASON REDMOND / AP

Wesley Korir beat the rest of the field at the L.A. marathon with a 2:08:24 time.

LOS ANGELES—Wesley Korir didn’t know what to expect at the Los Angeles Marathon. The University of Louisville runner just wanted to post a good time in his first elite marathon. He did that and more Monday, setting a course record in capturing the title, the 11th straight year a Kenyan man has won. “I felt good all the way,” he said. Russia’s Tatiana Petrova was the top woman, breaking away from the pack after 19 miles. Korir covered the 26.2 miles in a personal best of 2 hours, 8 minutes, 24 seconds. Ethiopia’s Tariku Jafar was second in 2:09:32 and Kenya’s Laban Kipkemboi was third in 2:10:29. Paul Kosgei of Kenya was taken to a hospital for dehydration but was expected to be OK, race officials said. He finished in 2:21:10. Korir averaged a 4:53.9 mile and broke the 2:08:40 course record set by Kenya’s Benson Cherono in 2006. He took the pace after 15 miles. He and Jufar exchanged the lead several times down the stretch, but Korir stepped up the tempo when he passed the women’s field after 24 miles. “I just felt really good and said it was time to go,” he said. He sprinted past the line and didn’t look fatigued, flashing smiles and shaking hands with fans. He earned $100,000 as part of The Challenge, a battle-of-thesexes format that allowed the top women to start nearly 17 minutes ahead of the men. He also picked up an additional $60,000 for time bonuses. In college, Korir ran 5,000-meter

47

races. He turned heads in his 2008 marathon debut when he finished in 2:13:53 and also won three straight half marathons in 2008-09. Kipkemboi held the pace with Korir until about 20 miles, then told his countryman to run ahead. “At the beginning I was feeling OK,” Kipkemboi said. “But after 20 miles, I felt tired so I didn’t keep going with these guys. I ran at my own pace. I told him if he felt really strong to keep pushing.”

second, gaining break points at 2-2, but once Britton escaped that game, he went on to win five straight games, including the first of the decisive set. “I definitely picked up my serve in the second and third sets and was able to attack his second serve,” Britton said. “I started mixing up the slice a little bit and just got better and better as the match went on.”

Tennis

MONTE PETRANO, ITALY—Tour de France champion Carlos Sastre of Spain won the 16th stage of the Giro d’Italia on Monday, a grueling route made even tougher by 100-degree heat. Denis Menchov of Russia kept the leader’s pink jersey. Levi Leipheimer of the United States was the day’s big loser, cracking on the final climb and dropping from third to sixth in the overall standings. Leipheimer finished 11th, 2:51 behind Sastre. The Montana rider is 3:21 behind Menchov and acknowledged he would have lost even more time if not for Lance Armstrong. The seven-time Tour winner was up ahead with the other favorites but dropped back to escort Leipheimer up most of the climb. “I would have lost much, much more time. He saved me minutes and minutes,” Leipheimer said of Armstrong’s help. “You see the difference between a seven-time Tour winner like Lance. He was stronger and had to wait for me today. I just didn’t feel like I had it today.” — The Associated Press

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS—Mississippi’s Devin Britton and Duke’s Mallory Cecil overcame their inexperience on the final day of the NCAA Division I tennis tournament. The unseeded Britton became the youngest men’s singles champion ever, while fellow freshman Cecil claimed the women’s singles title at the Mitchell Tennis Center at Texas A&M on Monday. Britton ended Ohio State senior Steven Moneke’s 22-match win streak with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory. Cecil continued her run against Miami players, outlasting Laura Vallverdu 7-5, 6-4 in a 2-hour, 20-minute match. “It’s and awesome feeling, great for Mississippi tennis,” said Britton, who turned 18 on March 17. “I definitely surprised myself and didn’t see this coming. I just took it one match at a time and didn’t have any mental lapses.” Moneke broke Britton once and won the first set in a swift 26 minutes. Moneke continued to put the pressure on Britton early in the

Cycling

BASEBALL American League LOS ANGELES ANGELS: Activated OF Vladimir Guerrero from the 15-day DL. Optioned OF Reggie Willits to Salt Lake (PCL). NEW YORK YANKEES: Placed RHP Brian Bruney on the 15day DL, retroactive to May 20. TAMPA BAY RAYS: Signed manager Joe Maddon to a threeyear contract extension through 2012. Placed 2B Akinori Iwamura and LHP Brian Shouse on the 15-day DL. Recalled LHP David Price from Durham (IL). Transferred OF Fernando Perez to the 60-day DL. Purchased the contract of LHP Randy Choate from Durham. National League COLORADO ROCKIES: Purchased the contract of RHP Josh Fogg from Colorado Springs (PCL). Designated RHP Matt Belisle for assignment. FLORIDA MARLINS: Placed LHP Renyel Pinto on the 15-day DL. Purchased the contract of RHP Cristhian Martinez from Jacksonville (SL). MILWAUKEE BREWERS: Purchased the contract of OF Frank Catalanotto from Huntsville (SL). Optioned LHP R.J. Swindle to Nashville (PCL). HOCKEY National Hockey League NHL: Fined Chicago coach Joel Quenneville $10,000 for public comments critical of League officiating following the May 24 game against Detroit.

Major League Soccer EASTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts GF GA Chicago 4 0 6 18 17 11 D.C. 3 1 7 16 17 15 Toronto FC 4 3 4 16 16 16 Kansas City 4 4 3 15 15 13 New England 2 3 4 10 8 16 Columbus 1 2 6 9 12 15 New York 2 6 3 9 10 13 WESTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts GF GA Chivas USA 7 1 3 24 15 6 Seattle 4 2 4 16 14 8 Houston 4 2 3 15 11 7 Colorado 3 2 4 13 13 11 Real Salt Lake 3 5 2 11 14 13 Los Angeles 1 1 8 11 12 12 FC Dallas 1 6 3 6 9 17 San Jose 1 6 2 5 9 19 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. May 23 Games Saturday’s Games Toronto FC 3, New England 1 Colorado at New York, 7:30 p.m. D.C. United 0, Real Salt Lake 0, tie D.C. United at New England, 7:30 Kansas City 1, Chivas USA 1, tie p.m. FC Dallas 1, Los Angeles 1, tie Toronto FC at Houston, 8:30 p.m. Houston 3, San Jose 1 Columbus at Seattle FC, 10:30 p.m. Colorado 2, Seattle FC 2, tie Kansas City at Los Angeles, 10:30 May 24 Game p.m. Chicago 1, New York 0 Real Salt Lake at San Jose, 10:30 Wednesday’s Game p.m. San Jose at Columbus, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 31 Thursday’s Game FC Dallas at Chicago, 3 p.m. Chicago at Chivas USA, 10:30 p.m.