Sportingnews - 20090529

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On Miles’ mind

Cleveland 112, Orlando 102

LSU coach Les Miles talked with Sporting News Today at SEC meetings:

On facing Florida this year: “I can’t imagine that won’t be an exciting day in Baton Rouge.”

On freshman QB Russell Les Miles Shepard: “He’ll be a WildHog, WildTiger, whatever you want to call him.” On Big 12 vs. SEC: “I never felt like the Big 12 season was as long.”

FRIDAY MAY 29, 2009 SEE A DIFFERENT GAME VOLUME 1 ISSUE 311

LeBron James had a hand in 29 of Cleveland’s 34 points in the final 12 minutes.

LeBron, Cavs force a Game 6 LeBron James had his fourth career playoff triple-double as Cleveland rallied after blowing a 22-point lead to beat Orlando. Page 13

L.A. LAKERS AT DENVER 9 tonight, ET Lakers lead series 3-2

Scoreboard NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference finals Cleveland 112, Orlando 102 (Orlando leads series 3-2)

Baseball American League Cleveland 2, Tampa Bay 1 Boston 3, Minnesota 1 Baltimore 5, Detroit 1 National League L.A. Dodgers 2, Chicago Cubs 1 Arizona 5, Atlanta 2

Rockies’ Hurdle on the hot seat

Big test in Big D

The common trait among the MLB managers most likely to be fired: Their teams are in last place. The pink-slip candidates (ranked by weakest job security):

Why ‘changed’ Romo could fizzle or sizzle in ’09 BY ALBERT BREER [email protected]

Miles Austin can’t pinpoint it, but the Cowboys’ receiver can feel it. Maybe it’s the way Tony Romo is commanding the huddle. Or the determined look in his eye. Whatever. It’s most certainly there. “He’s taking more of a leadership role,” Austin told Sporting News Today. “You can tell. It goes without words. It’s a feeling you get.” Romo has been unquestionably productive as the Cowboys’ QB—more than 10,000 passing yards and 78 touchdowns in 39 career starts—but three years running, Cowboys’ collapses have been tied to Romo’s late-season swoons. So if Romo has changed, maybe that’s not so bad. “It’s always, ‘You gotta win the Super Bowl this year,’ ” Romo said. “Our approach is a little different in that we are going to be better today. All we can do is control today.” But how about tomorrow? Three reasons Romo will succeed and three reasons he will fall short again in 2009:

Romo rising

Romo falling

▲ No T.O. An Owens-less offense will allow Romo to go through his reads and could make coordinator Jason Garrett better with renewed play-calling freedom.

▼ No T.O. For all his warts, Owens got a defense’s attention. And Williams only has one 1,000yard season on his resume, meaning that he’s no T.O. As Romo says, “It’s always difficult to replace someone who’s been the dominant player.”

▲ Renewed Roy. Roy Williams now has seven months with Romo in Garrett’s offense, with three more to go before the season starts. That a big plus. Mike Martz, Williams’ coordinator for two years in Detroit, blames Williams’ struggles in Dallas on his midseason entrance. “The timing is so different, the anticipation is so different, you really need an offseason of work,” Martz said. “This is a perfect match; he’ll have a big year.” ▲ Adjusted approach. Both Marion Barber and Felix Jones are healthy now, and with Tashard Choice also in the mix, the Cowboys should a versatile, explosive running game to take pressure off Romo.

Clint Hurdle, Rockies. To discover why his tenure might be nearing its end, Hurdle can ask Bob Melvin what happens when the progress of a club’s highly touted youngsters stalls. Arizona made Melvin the season’s first managerial casualty earlier this month. Manny Acta, Nationals. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa says his spring workouts focus far more on defense than hitting. Acta should learn that lesson. The main reason Washington is No. 1 in losses is because it is No. 1 in sloppy play.

▼ Lining up. The offensive line, a strength in 2007, really missed Tony Sparano’s firm hand in 2008. All five starters are over 30. ▼ Depth depletion. Last year, losing starting left guard Kyle Kosier to injury was devastating. Similar problems could surface this year at receiver. Staying healthy is imperative for an offense that was outstanding at full strength two years ago.

ROBERT SEALE FOR SN

TONY DEJAK / AP

The entire Miles interview , Page 11

Cecil Cooper, Astros. A disconnect between the manager’s office and the clubhouse has been growing since spring training. And it might have reached the point of no repair earlier this week when Cooper questioned ace Roy Oswalt’s effort. — Stan McNeal Rockies hear rumors, Page 19

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

Lakers at Nuggets 9 p.m., ESPN Kobe Bryant willingly played more of a decoy role as his Lakers won Game 5 to go up 3-2 in this series, but his persona figures to change with the Lakers having a chance to wrap up a return trip to the NBA Finals. Coaches Phil Jackson and George Karl have taken turns criticizing the officiating the past two games, and with Karl firing the latest shell, we’ll see if his words help his Nuggets any. Should be another hard-fought game.

GOLF

Crowne Plaza Invitational 3 p.m., Golf Channel Kenny Perry, Sean O’Hair and Paul Casey all have wins on this year’s PGA Tour, and all three are among those lurking near the top of the leaderboard after the first day of competition. But that threesome is chasing a trio of first-round co-leaders in Woody Austin, Tim Clark and Steve Stricker. Also in the mix is Vijay Singh, who is just one shot off the lead and is coming off a 66 in the final round of the Byron Nelson a week ago.

NASCAR

Autism Speaks 400 qualifying 3 p.m., Speed How fitting: After last week’s rain-delayed, rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600, rain is a possibility for today’s qualifying. But if the rockets line up to take their turn around this speedy 1-mile oval, Mark Martin will be one to watch. Driving a DEI car in last year’s fall race, Martin qualified second and finished fourth. As long as he doesn’t make any mistakes, there’s no reason Martin couldn’t do one spot better in a Hendrick car.

— Compiled by Roger Kuznia

GUIDE AUTO RACING

FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

2

If you deliver it daily, they will come.

OFF THE FIELD

10 a.m. SPEED—NASCAR, Truck Series, pole qualifying for AAA Insurance 200, at Dover, Del. 11:30 a.m. SPEED—NASCAR, Sprint Cup, practice for Autism Speaks 400, at Dover, Del. 1 p.m. SPEED—NASCAR, Nationwide Series, practice for Heluva Good! 200, at Dover, Del. 3 p.m. SPEED—NASCAR, Sprint Cup, pole qualifying for Autism Speaks 400, at Dover, Del. 8:30 p.m. SPEED—NASCAR, Truck Series, AAA Insurance 200, at Dover, Del. (same-day tape) COLLEGE SOFTBALL

7 p.m. ESPN2—NCAA Division I, World Series, Games 5 & 6 at Oklahoma City GOLF

10 a.m. TGC—European PGA Tour, European Open, second round, at Kent, England 3 p.m. TGC—PGA Tour, Crowne Plaza Invitational, second round, at Fort Worth, Texas 6:30 p.m. TGC—Champions Tour, Principal Charity Classic, first round, at West Des Moines, Iowa (same-day tape) NBA BASKETBALL

9 p.m. ESPN—Playoffs, Western Conference finals, game 6, L.A. Lakers at Denver TENNIS

Noon ESPN2—French Open, early round, at Paris

PETER KRAMER / AP

Patriots QB Tom Brady and wife Gisele Bundchen are not expecting, he said.

Andrews angles for DWTS spot As her fame has boomed, ESPN’s Erin Andrews has declined certain requests because they would detract from her standing as a working journalist. Dancing With the Stars, though, would not be one of those requests, she told The Sporting Blog’s Dan Steinberg on SportingNews.com. “I want to do it, because I think I’d be good at it,” Andrews said. She has the background to compete. “I love the show, and I’ve grown up around dancing,” said Andrews, who, of course, was on the Dazzlers dance team when at Florida. “People say, ‘Oh, you’re a dancer, how could you do it?’ But I’ve never taken ballroom, I’ve never partnered dance with anyone. I think I’d be in the top, unless I fall. I’m a big faller. If you fall, that’s a hard fall, which I’m sure would make the Internet very happy.”

Brady: Wife not pregnant New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady says there’s no baby on the way for

him and his wife, supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen. RadarOnline.com reported last week that Bundchen is pregnant. After practice on Thursday, the quarterback talked about the importance of a wife and “children.” But when reporters asked Brady, who has a son with actress Bridget Moynahan, whether another child was on the way, Brady shook his head and said, “No.”

Quick hit Mark Cuban sued the Securities and Exchange Commission for access to documents detailing the insider trading case against the Dallas Mavericks owner. The SEC is accused Cuban of selling shares of Internet search engine company Mamma.com after receiving confidential information about a private offering. Cuban’s lawsuit claims the SEC improperly rejected some requests, didn’t respond quickly enough to appeals of rejections and failed to conduct adequate searches for some records. — Compiled by Ken Bradley, with wire reports

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FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

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SPORTS BUSINESS AWARDS Sports Business Awards ’09 The winners and other nominees from the second annual Sports Business Awards, presented Thursday night at the Marriott Marquis in New York by SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily, honoring excellence and outstanding achievements in the business of sports in 2008.

Sports Event of the Year Amp Energy NHL Winter Classic

Property Consulting, Sales and Client Services

Other nominees:

IMG

Daytona 500 MLB All-Star Game NBA All-Star Game U.S. Open

Other nominees: ISP Sports Premier Partnerships

Sports Technology Sports Facility of the Year

MLB Advanced Media

Lifetime Achievement Award

Lucas Oil Stadium

Other nominees:

Peter Ueberroth

Other nominees:

Cisco Systems EA Sports/ESPN NeuLion

Sports Executive of the Year Dick Ebersol, Chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics

Fenway Park Nationals Park TD Banknorth Garden Wachovia Center

Other nominees: George Bodenheimer, President, ESPN/ABC Sports David Stern, Commissioner, NBA Rocky Wirtz, Chairman, Chicago Blackhawks

Sports Event Marketing Firm of the Year

Sports Sponsor of the Year

GMR Marketing

Coca-Cola

Other nominees:

Other nominees:

Momentum Worldwide SportsMark Vivid Marketing

Athletic Director of the Year

AT&T Bridgestone Sharp Electronics State Farm

Joe Castiglione, University of Oklahoma

Sports Television

CAA Sports

Other nominees:

NBC Sports

Other nominees:

Sandy Barbour, University of California Jeremy Foley, University of Florida Joel Maturi, University of Minnesota

Other nominees:

BEST IMG Octagon Wasserman Media Group

League of the Year

Sports Media

Corporate Consulting, Marketing and Client Services

NBA

ESPN

IMG

Other nominees:

Other nominees:

Other nominees:

Indy Racing League NFL NHL

CBS Sports NBC Sports Turner Sports

Genesco Sports Enterprises Octagon Velocity Sports & Entertainment Wasserman Media Group

Professional Sports Team of the Year

Digital Sports Media

Boston Celtics

Other nominees:

Other nominees:

Fantasy Sports Ventures Sporting News Today Turner Sports Yahoo! Sports

Cleveland Cavaliers Chicago Blackhawks Milwaukee Brewers Tampa Bay Rays

Big Ten Network CBS Sports ESPN Fox Sports

ESPN Digital Media

Talent Representation and Management

Note: SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily are owned by American City Business Journals, the parent company of Sporting News Today.

NBC’s Olympic effort nets praise, prizes BY ROSS NETHERY AND TRIPP MICKLE SportsBusiness Journal

The Beijing Olympics ended nine months ago, but its impact on the industry punctuated the 2009 Sports Business Awards, held in New York Thursday by SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily. Many of the 15 winners had strong ties to last summer’s Games, including Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports & Olympics, whose network carried the Games and who received the award for Sports Executive of the Year. In addition, Peter Ueberroth, who received the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award, has been heavily involved in the Olympic movement through his career. Ueberroth, who was the organizer of the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles, received a standing ovation and was lauded by almost every subsequent award recipient for his influence on the business and on their careers. Ueberroth’s concept of selling exclusive sponsorships for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics revolutionized sports business and has been credited with saving the Olympic movement. He went on to become commissioner of Major League Baseball and later became chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee, reviving it after a period of congressional scrutiny. “People always ask me what is the most important thing I’ve done,” he said. “The answer is: I don’t think I’ve done it yet.” As for Ebersol, it was his foresight and influence within the Olympic movement that led the International Olympic Committee to move the swimming finals to the morning in Beijing so that they could be seen during prime time in the United States. The move played a major role in the ratings success of the Games, a success that Ebersol never doubted.

JACK DEMPSEY / AP

Dick Ebersol and NBC were big winners at the Sports Business Awards. “I so deeply believed in Michael (Phelps),” he said. “Everyone overlooked the fact that the American people were wildly curious about China.” NBC Sports also capitalized on the Games by taking the award for Best in Sports Television. The recognition capped off a historic year for NBC in which it won 10 Sports Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award for its broadcast of the Beijing opening ceremonies. “This would be a very good night and a very good year for me to get out of this business,” Ebersol said, speaking of NBC’s accomplishments.

Coca-Cola, which was named Sports Sponsor of the Year, marketed itself heavily during the Games. It set up off-site activation areas in Beijing parks that allowed it to reach Chinese consumers who couldn’t access the Olympic sponsor pavilion. The move helped it leap from third to second place in market share in China, behind Pepsi. “People still love sports and have not abandoned the passion they hold as fans,” said Bea Perez, Coca-Cola’s senior vice president of integrated marketing. “We’re privileged to be part of it, and our continuing goal is to provide additional opportunities for fans to tap into that passion and giving them extra value.” IMG, which took awards in two categories—Best in Property Consulting, Sales and Client Services and Best in Corporate Consulting, Marketing and Client Services—worked with eight clients on the ground during the Beijing Games. “If you look at what the Beijing Olympics meant, with the focus and build-up and the business and cultural impact, it was a tremendous opportunity to work with the clients we had,” said David Abrutyn, IMG’s senior vice president, head of global consulting. GMR Marketing, named Sports Event Marketing Firm of the Year, managed a mobile marketing program for Bank of America called “America’s Cheer” that visited 19 U.S. cities and offered Team USA fans the chance to film a cheer to support American Olympians. Even the NBA, which was named Professional Sports League of the Year, has a strong tie to China, including a recent deal with AEG to develop new sports facilities there. [email protected] [email protected]

— SportsBusiness Journal writers John Ourand, Eric Fisher and Daniel Kaplan contributed to this story.

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My Profile

FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

Nick Buoniconti Pro Football Hall of Famer and Dolphins legend (What you won’t find on Facebook … even if you are approved as a friend)

COURTESY OF AP PHOTO

Born: Dec. 15, 1940, in Springfield, Mass. Status: Married Alma mater: Notre Dame What’s on TV: Not much—no reality shows, no crime shows, golf if a major, football if U of Miami or Notre Dame plays, Dolphins. What’s in my iPod: My favorite—The Doors’ Light My Fire—and Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons What I drive: 1992 Porsche Cab—bought it new—and a 2002 Jeep. Just sold my 1971 Mercedes 280 SE 4-seat convertible. Favorite flicks: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Citizen Kane, On the Waterfront, Slumdog Millionaire What I’m reading: Just finished Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End Superstition: Like most athletes, if you wear something and you do well, then you wear it until you don’t. Worst habits: Not looking at my e-mail until a response is meaningless; keeping an up-todate calendar On my office walls: 2001 Hall of Fame photo. Very little football memorabilia; most of it’s on walls in our staff quarters. Love to trade places for a day with … The President. I’m a type A

personality so I would like to be president for a day and implement some executive orders. First job: Working on a tobacco farm in Southwick, Mass., when I was 11. I suckered, strung and picked leaves. Woke up at 5:30 every morning, the bus picked us up at 6:15 and we worked in the fields till 3 p.m. When I came home, I was so dirty my mom had to hose it off. Made about 40 bucks a week. Talent I’d most like to have: Play the piano. My wife Lynn excels at it. Favorite meal: Eggplant Parmigiana Favorite athlete to watch in another sport: Tiger Woods Favorite city to visit: Saint-Jean-CapFerrat in the south of France Favorite team as a kid: Yankees Favorite value in others: Being unselfish Favorite physical attribute about myself: My Italian profile And least … My hands—too many operations My greatest love: My mom—92 years old and never complains or asks for anything for herself My hero: My son Marc, who was injured playing football at The Citadel and is now a quadriplegic. He never said, “Why me?” My bucket list: 1. Fly into space and orbit the Earth, 2. Find a cure for paralysis, 3. Break 70 in golf My motto: “Perseverance wins success.” — G.K. Chesterton — Jeff D’Alessio

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FHECEJ?ED

NATIONAL LEAGUE Arizona 5, Atlanta 2

No slip-ups on mound for Haren PHOENIX—Dan Haren slipped and fell after delivering a pitch in the eighth inning. It was one of very few stumbles for the righthander all night. Haren outpitched Derek Lowe and the Arizona Diamondbacks took advantage of second baseman Kelly Johnson’s error to score four times in the fourth inning on their way to a 5-2 victory over Atlanta on Thursday. “He can control a game,” Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch said of Haren. “It’s a sight to see when he competes. He executes pitches, he’s got a game plan. He doesn’t back down. He thinks along with the hitters.” Haren (4-4) retired 15 in a row before a two-out double by Johnson and RBI single by Casey Kotchman in the eighth inning. The last batter Haren faced was Chipper Jones, who had doubled in a run earlier in the game. Jones struck out looking. “That was one of the best balls I threw all night,” Haren said. “He’s a tough guy to strike out. He’s given me some trouble over the years. I knew I had to make a perfect pitch and I knew it was probably my last batter, too, so I dug in deep and made the pitch.” He allowed two runs and seven hits in eight innings, striking out eight to earn his first victory in four starts. “We hit the ball really good early in the game,” Atlanta manager Bobby Cox said, “and later on Haren got really tough. ... You can say ‘Well, we didn’t hit the ball tonight,’ but he was hard to hit at. A lot of teams wouldn’t have hit him tonight at all.” Haren has not walked a batter in his last three outings. He’s walked nine all season, with 71 strikeouts. Lowe (6-3) gave up five runs, three

Diamondbacks 5, Braves 2 Atlanta AB R H BI K.Johnson 2b 4 2 2 0 Kotchman 1b 4 0 2 1 C.Jones 3b 4 0 1 1 McCann c 4 0 1 0 G.Anderson lf 4 0 1 0 Francoeur rf 4 0 0 0 D.Hernandez ss 3 0 0 0 Schafer cf 3 0 0 0 D.Lowe p 2 0 0 0 a-Norton ph 1 0 0 0 Campillo p 0 0 0 0 Totals 33 2 7 2

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

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

Avg. .250 .278 .305 .317 .266 .247 .174 .205 .211 .103 ---

HIGHEST PERFORMERS SWEEPSTAKES

Arizona R.Roberts 3b Ojeda 2b J.Upton rf S.Drew ss Reynolds 1b Byrnes lf C.Young cf Snyder c Haren p Qualls p Totals

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

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

Avg. .367 .260 .346 .211 .263 .211 .169 .234 .182 .000

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.

Atlanta Arizona ROSS D. FRANKLIN / AP

Arizona P Dan Haren struck out eight and gave up two earned runs for his fourth victory. earned, and a season-high 10 hits for the Braves, who were swept in three games in San Francisco before opening a four-game set in Arizona. “I pitched poorly pretty much the whole game,” Lowe said. “That was pretty much a grind from the first pitch all the way through. I was just fortunate to not give up any more runs.” Chad Qualls pitched a perfect ninth, with some defensive help from second baseman Augie Ojeda and shortstop Stephen Drew, for his 12th save in 14 opportunities. Justin Upton singled three times for the Diamondbacks to raise his average to .346. The 21-year-old outfielder has hit safely in seven straight games and 30 of the last 33. — The Associated Press

AB 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 0 33

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

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

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

001 000 010 — 010 400 00x —

2 7 1 5 11 0

a-grounded out for D.Lowe in the 8th. E: K.Johnson (3). LOB: Atlanta 4, Arizona 5. 2B: K.Johnson 2 (8), C.Jones (8), Reynolds 2 (8). 3B: Byrnes (1). RBIs: Kotchman (24), C.Jones (17), R.Roberts (4), Reynolds 2 (29), Byrnes (17), C.Young (10). SB: J.Upton (6). CS: Reynolds (3). SF: C.Young. Runners left in scoring position: Atlanta 2 (Schafer, McCann); Arizona 4 (S.Drew 2, Ojeda, Byrnes). DP: Atlanta 1 (D.Hernandez, K.Johnson, Kotchman); Arizona 1 (Ojeda, S.Drew, Reynolds). Atlanta D.Lowe L, 6-3 Campillo Arizona Haren W, 4-4 Qualls S, 12-14

IP 7 1 IP 8 1

H 10 1 H 7 0

R ER BB SO NP ERA 5 3 0 2 100 3.49 0 0 0 0 5 4.15 R ER BB SO NP ERA 2 2 0 8 113 2.54 0 0 0 1 16 3.43

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.

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Orlando wide receiver fond of Florida State

Silsbee (Texas) athlete Jeremy Johnson is planning to head to West Virginia in 2010, Rivals.com reported. The 6-2, 175-pound player is a dual-threat quarterback at the high school level, but is talented enough to play several positions. He also reported scholarship offers from Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Purdue, Vanderbilt and nearby TCU. “I’m proud to be a Mountaineer and I cannot wait to play for them,” Johnson told Rivals.com. “I gave Coach (Bill) Stewart my word. I’m not going to any camps.” As a junior he threw for 1,675 yards and 17 touchdowns, while rushing for 621 yards and nine touchdowns. Hampton (Allison Park, Pa.) DE Jordan Paskorz has

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Q&A with ... G Gerald Henderson

RECRUITING DISH

Florida State is clearly in the lead for one of the most talented skill-position players in central Florida—Kenny Shaw, a receiver out of Dr. Phillips (Orlando, Fla.). “FSU, they’re No. 1 right now,” the 6-foot, 160-pound Shaw told Sporting News Today. “I’m up to 22 (scholarship) offers right now, and I’ll be deciding after my senior season. I’ll be waiting until then.” Florida and Miami (Fla.) have offered Shaw scholarships, as have Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State and Tennessee. Shaw put on a show during his team’s lightningshortened spring game this week, catching a 35-yard touchdown pass, while having another long scoring reception called back by penalty. “I would describe myself as electric,” Shaw told SN. “I’m just a playmaker. (Colleges coaches) say they like my ability to run after I catch the ball, my elusiveness and my route-running ability. Those are some of the things they look at; and I have pretty good hands too.” Shaw caught 64 passes for 914 yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior last fall. He shared the ball with Michigan commitment, WR Ricardo Miller—who is one of SN’s Top 100 players for the class of 2010. Miller has since told SN that he’ll be transferring to Huron (Ann Arbor, Mich.) for his senior year. Shaw may see even more passes come his way this fall without Miller (34 receptions, 615 yards, 8 TDs).

FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

Henderson ready to follow father’s footsteps Former Duke swingman Gerald Henderson came to Chicago this week as part of the NBA draft combine. He chatted with reporters, including the Sporting News Today’s Dave Curtis, and touched on three key men in his life: a high school teammate, an NBA coach and his father.

Q: A:

What are you feeling as the draft nears? There is pressure put on you to do well in these workouts. It’s fun, though. I love the game. I love competing.

Q: A:

How would you describe your relationship with Wayne Ellington? Wayne is my best friend. I played with him in high school (in Philadelphia). He had a great career at North Carolina. We came out of high school in the same year, and now we’re going to the next level at the same time. It’s cool to have him in this process by my side.

Q: A:

Did you going to Duke and him to Carolina, did that test your friendship

at all?

BRIAN MCLAUGHLIN / SN

WR prospect Kenny Shaw says he has 22 scholarship offers. committed to Michigan, Rivals.com reported. The 6-3, 225-pound weakside defensive end also reported scholarship offers from Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Virginia, among others. “The overall atmosphere of Ann Arbor is great and it’s the tradition at Michigan,” Paskorz told Rivals.com. “It’s kind of like a rebirth there—there are new coaches, new facilities and I feel like I want to be a part of that.” Apollo (Owensboro, Ky.) DT Harris Bivin has committed to Louisville, Rivals.com reported. The 6-3, 290pound defensive tackle also reported interest from Missouri, Syracuse, Indiana and Kentucky, but the Cardinals were the only team to offer a scholarship so far. — Brian McLaughlin

No. If anything, it just made it better because it was the best situation in terms of distance for keeping a friendship. We’d play each other in the Duke-Carolina game a couple times every year. That’s a pretty important game, more than just in terms of winning championships. That’s bragging rights. But we’re still really good friends.

Q: A:

Do you see yourself as a shooting guard in the NBA? Definitely. A lot of that depends on what position you can guard. And I think I can guard the two position really well. Offensively, I can do a lot of things that they’re looking for in the NBA.

Q: A:

Have you met with the Bobcats yet?

I have. Coach (Larry) Brown is a great guy. I’ve known him since I was in middle school. One of my best friends, Ryan Ayers, his dad, Randy Ayers, was one of the assistants with him in Philadelphia. So I’ve been going to their practices since I was in school.

GERRY BROOME / AP

Gerald Henderson says he has met with representatives of the Bobcats, Clippers and Bulls. His kids actually go to my high school. That would be a great place for me.

Q: A: Q: A:

Who else have you met with? (Charlotte), Chicago and the Clippers.

What would it mean to you to follow in the footsteps of your father (former NBA player Gerald Sr.)? It’s a great thing to know what kind of career he had and how much time he had to take out to get me to this point. To finally be here, where I can start my career and hopefully have a good one, is really rewarding.

Q: A:

How much has he prepared you for the NBA? He’s given me some great advice. But it’s really just about the work I have to put in to be a good pro and to make it a career instead of just a couple-year thing.

Q: A:

What’s he doing now? Golfing. A lot of golfing. Just sitting back and enjoying himself.

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Next Gen: NBA Draft

FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

DRAFT DISH

2009 draft order

Plenty of talk—but little sweat—at NBA draft combine Sporting News Today’s Sean Deveney provides news and notes from the NBA’s predraft combine in Chicago:

Look out for PF DeJuan Blair. If anyone made an impact on the first day of the NBA’s combine, it was Blair. That’s because, when he stepped on the scale Thursday morning for his official weigh-in, he registered at 275, an astounding 40 pounds less than the 315 he says he was at just four weeks ago, when he began working out at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. In fact, Blair said that when he worked out for Phoenix just three earlier, he was 289. Forty pounds in a month? Fourteen pounds in three days? “I called my mom after the weigh-in,” Blair said. “She said, ‘Did you cut your leg off?’ ” Said Bucks general manager John “He did look Hammond: impressive.” This draft is thin on power forwards once you get past surefire No. 1 pick Blake Griffin and Jordan Hill, who is likely to go in the top seven. Blair is one of the draft’s wild cards, a player who could go in the Top 10 or slip all the way to the 20s. The two knocks on Blair—who averaged 15.7 points and 12.3 rebounds this year at Pittsburgh— have been his height and his weight. But, thanks to some intense badgering from his nutritionist and a high-protein, low-carb diet, weight no longer seems to be a problem. “I haven’t been this slim since the 10th grade,” Blair said. “I blew

up, but now I am back down. I like where I am. Trust me, I am not going to blow up again.” The issue that remains for Blair, though, is height. He was measured, he said, at 6-6 1/2. But his wingspan was measured at 7-2, and he compares himself to, among others, Utah’s Paul Millsap. When asked which player was the best rebounder in the draft, Blair did not hesitate: “Me,” he said. “I really believe I am.” This is the first year that the NBA has taken a combine-style approach to the predraft period, and it’s unclear whether the setup will be a success. Players are not competing in a 5-on-5 situation and, really, aren’t in competitive situations at all. They’re simply being measured, running drills and meeting teams for interviews. “It’s funny,” said G Jeff Teague, “because you barely work up a sweat.” Phoenix general manager Steve Kerr said that, at least, the interviews are worthwhile. “You don’t always get the opportunity to sit down and talk with that many guys in person,” Kerr said. “But the drills, I don’t think there’s much there of value. I can watch these guys do pregame warmups any time.” Teague is one of the many names that can be found scattered all over the draft board, and because of that, he doesn’t want to do anything to damage his chances. But he admits that, in the NBA’s Eastern Conference finals, he’s been pulling for the Magic. “I went

to high school with (Magic guard) Courtney Lee, we were teammates, he was a year older than me,” Teague said. “So, I’ve been for Orlando. But don’t tell the Cavaliers that. I am not a Magic fan, I am a Courtney Lee fan.” Perhaps the key to the draft lies with Memphis, picking No. 2, and the Grizzlies have a couple of options. PG Ricky Rubio is first among them, but the word in Chicago is that C Hasheem Thabeet is more likely to go to Memphis. That’s because one thing that coach Lionel Hollins did after taking the reins of the team was to give the ball to PG Mike Conley and let him run the team. Conley responded well, averaging 14.5 points and 5.6 assists after the All-Star break. Hollins wants to keep Conley on as his point guard and address the team’s defense—which is where a 7-3 shot-blocker like Thabeet can make a difference. “I know, coming in, that my offense is something that I need to work on, my shooting and my post game,” Thabeet said. “But, my defense, I think because of that I am ready to play right now.” Barring a trade, PF Jordan Hill won’t be around when Milwaukee drafts at No. 10. But the Bucks were one of the teams he met with in the first round of interviews. The others were the Clippers, the Grizzlies and the Warriors. It’s believed that if Hill is still on the board when Golden State picks at No. 7, the Warriors will take him. “Honestly, I have no idea where I’m going to

7

SKIP PETERSON / AP

DeJuan Blair, left, has impressed NBA teams by dropping 40 pounds in four weeks. wind up,” Hill said. “So, it can’t hurt to go and meet with as many people as I can.” One guy who did pretty well in the measurements category was

18-year-old PG Jrue Holiday, who is listed at 6-3 but is growing. In fact, when he was measured on Thursday, he came in at 6-4 with shoes. “I feel that my size is an advantage,” he said.

1. L.A. Clippers 2. Memphis 3. Oklahoma City 4. Sacramento 5. Washington 6. Minnesota 7. Golden State 8. New York 9. Toronto 10. Milwaukee 11. New Jersey 12. Charlotte 13. Indiana 14. Phoenix 15. Detroit 16. Chicago 17. Philadelphia 18. Minnesota (from Miami) 19. Atlanta 20. Utah 21. New Orleans 22. Dallas 23. Sacramento (from Houston) 24. Portland 25. Oklahoma City (from San Antonio) 26. Chicago (from Denver through Oklahoma City) 27. Memphis (from Orlando) 28. Minnesota (from Boston) 29. L.A. Lakers 30. Cleveland Second Round 31. Sacramento 32. Washington 33. Portland (from L.A. Clippers) 34. Denver (from Oklahoma City) 35. Detroit (from Minnesota) 36. Memphis 37. San Antonio (from Golden State through Phoenix) 38. Portland (from New York through Chicago) 39. Detroit (from Toronto) 40. Charlotte (from New Jersey through Oklahoma City) 41. Milwaukee 42. L.A. Lakers (from Charlotte) 43. Miami (from Indiana) 44. Detroit 45. Minnesota (from Philadelphia through Miami) 46. Cleveland (from Chicago) 47. Minnesota (from Miami) 48. Phoenix 49. Atlanta 50. Utah 51. San Antonio (from New Orleans through Toronto) 52. Indiana (from Dallas) 53. San Antonio (from Houston) 54. Charlotte (from San Antonio) 55. Portland (from Denver) 56. Portland 57. Phoenix (from Orlando through Oklahoma City) 58. Boston 59. L.A. Lakers 60. Miami (from Cleveland)

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College Basketball

8

FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

Of all things, women’s golf team ignites Calipari firestorm The letter that arrived back in January to University of Memphis president Shirley Raines’ office stated up front she had some serious issues in her athletic department. The words “major violations” are right there, like a Category 5 hurricane warning to a person leaving in a beachfront home. And then, for six and a half pages, the “notice of allegations” goes on about women’s golf. Mike DeCourcy COLLEGE BASKETBALL A show of hands: How many knew Memphis even had a women’s golf team? Who figured there could be anything major about it? There are some substantial charges against the women’s golf program, which is how new Kentucky coach John Calipari came to find himself in the headlines. His name appears nowhere in the report, but two allegations regarding the Tigers basketball program he once coached have been extrapolated to “major” because they were stuffed under the same umbrella as the golf case. Under ordinary circumstances, the issues involving the basketball team would be disposed of fairly simply. The accusation that a player, reportedly star point guard Derrick Rose, did not take his own SAT is a huge deal. There’s not much worse than academic fraud. But this customarily would not constitute a major violation against the program because no Memphis staff member is alleged to have facilitated it or known about it. A charge that a family member of a player received free travel, reportedly

Rose’s brother Reggie, would be disposed of with a check to reimburse the university for its expense. It’s not so neat and quiet now. The charges are a big deal in Memphis, Kentucky and in places where people have some interest in Kentucky basketball, which is more or less everywhere. The semantics and technicalities of why the basketball charges are considered to be major won’t really matter. No one will want to hear Memphis is not in the habit of letting people fly free on its team charters. Some of its most generous boosters—people who have given upward of a half-million dollars to the athletic department— have hopped on board when convenient. They always were charged at the end. The person who allegedly received free trips paid for some, also. The gentleman who handles the team’s travel is one of the most thorough, meticulous people you will encounter. If Memphis wasn’t fully reimbursed, it’s not because the traveler did not receive a bill. The university apparently feels good about its response to the charges. There has been speculation that if a player cheated on his SAT and rendered himself ineligible that the Tigers’ NCAA-record 38 victories and 2008 Final Four appearance could be vacated. However, if it’s not proven Memphis had reason to know the player was ineligible— indeed, the NCAA clearinghouse had certified the eligibility of that season’s freshmen—it would be hard to justify that action. The coaches were told the kid could play, so they played him. This is not to say that in trying to make this all go away, the University of Memphis might not offer the

JAMES CRISP / AP

It’s possible that the Tigers’ 2008 Final Four appearance could be vacated because of alleged academic fraud, and that would hurt coach John Calipari’s name in the record book. surrender of the Final Four as a solution. That would hurt the players who competed and the fans who followed the team, but they know what they accomplished. It’s Calipari who has the most to lose if 2008 were to be stricken from the record because the accomplishments of his 1996 Massa-

chusetts team already have an asterisk attached. That came as the result of star center Marcus Camby’s admission he received payment from a prospective agent. If Calipari were to have two Final Fours wiped away, his reputation would absorb the most punishing blow to date.

The only good news for Calipari in all this is the NCAA pretty much turned over the tables in the Tigers basketball program once it entered the door to check on women’s golf. If this is all there was to find, the basketball program was being run reasonably well. It won’t play like that publicly,

though. Memphis has some serious allegations to defend in women’s golf, but no one really noticed those issues existed. The NCAA justice system is a complicated apparatus that sometimes defies easy explanation. It’s not so tough to figure out who is a star and who is not. [email protected]

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9

Memphis athletic director defends program against allegations Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson defended the men’s basketball program Thursday, saying the school checks out all potential players. He would not confirm that Derrick Rose, who led Memphis to the 2008 national title game, is at the center of an NCAA investigation of major violations during that season. In a letter to the school, the NCAA says an unknown person took the SAT for a player, with his knowledge, and then the player used that test to get into Memphis. The NCAA said the athlete in question played for the Tigers in the 2007-08 season and the 2008 NCAA Tournament. The only person who played just that season was Rose, who now plays for the NBA’s Chicago Bulls. “We wouldn’t play anybody if we hadn’t checked it out pretty thoroughly,” Johnson told The Associated Press. Johnson would not identify the player involved for privacy reasons. But he said the player is cooperating with Memphis’ investigation into the allegations. “Nobody has thrown up any road blocks,” Johnson said. “We’re trying to get it resolved and do it the right way.” The NCAA has asked Memphis to provide copies of the SAT and a Sept. 2, 2008, report by a forensic document examiner who studied the handwriting in the SAT. Rose’s attorney, Daneil E. Reidy, said in a statement Thursday that the No. 1 pick in the 2008 NBA draft and this season’s rookie of the year was aware of the allegations. “Mr. Rose cooperated fully with the University of Memphis’ athletic and legal departments’ investigation of this issue when he was a student, and that investigation uncovered no wrongdoing on his part,” Reidy said.

“At this time, Mr. Rose sees no reason to engage in further discussion regarding this matter and will instead focus on his career as a professional basketball player. “Neither Mr. Rose nor I will have further comment.” The Chicago Sun-Times reported Thursday that someone with access to Rose’s academic records at Simeon High School changed a D to a C on his transcript. The newspaper reported that Rose was one of four athletes at the school whose grades were boosted for a one-month period after their June 2007 graduation and then changed back after the bogus transcripts were sent to colleges. Memphis was notified Jan. 16 of the potentially major violations in the men’s basketball program and will appear June 6 in Indianapolis before the NCAA committee on infractions for a hearing. Johnson declined to provide any details on what Memphis has found in its investigation prior to the hearing. “We’ve been working on this for some time and continue to get our final presentation finalized and make sure we dotted all the Is and crossed all the Ts,” Johnson said. The alleged violations occurred under John Calipari, who left March 31 to take over at Kentucky. Calipari, who is cooperating with the investigation, was told by the NCAA in a letter that he was not at risk of being charged with any violations in the case. Kentucky president Lee Todd reiterated in a statement Thursday that his university was aware of the inquiry while interviewing Calipari. “We are confident that Coach Calipari was not involved in any way,” Todd said. — The Associated Press

WEEKDAYS 1–4PM ET

SUE OGROCKI / AP

Former Tiger Derrick Rose is thought to be the player who had another person take his SAT and then used that score to get into the university.

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

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INSIDE DISH

Blame game continues as Kentucky sues Gillispie Kentucky has sued Billy Gillispie the day after the Wildcats’ former basketball coach filed suit against the school claiming breach of contract. The university’s suit was filed Thursday in Franklin Circuit Court in Kentucky, which the school contends is the proper venue for any litigation involving the coach’s former employment. Gillispie filed his claim on Wednesday in Dallas, asking for at least $6 million in pay, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and court costs. Gillispie never signed a formal contract but was working under a memorandum of understanding when he was fired after last season. The two sides are clashing over whether a buyout clause in that memorandum is binding. It would require the school to pay him $1.5 million for four of five years left on his contract. USC coach Tim Floyd continues his silence regarding the NCAA investigation into allegations that thousands of dollars in cash and gifts were given to former player O.J. Mayo, including claims that Floyd delivered cash to one of Mayo’s handlers. Floyd and USC football coach Pete Carroll were asked at a booster function this week whether USC will ever get out of “this cloud of the NCAA,” according to the Los Angeles Times. Carroll said it was the price “for being on top.” Floyd did not answer. He later refused to answer questions from the Los Angeles Times on the topic. He did, however, talk about how the NBA draft again robbed his roster of its stars. “One morning in March, one of our graduate assistants pulled up three articles that had us ranked fourth, fifth and sixth in early polls for next season,” Floyd said. “By 1 p.m., DeMar DeRozan, Taj Gibson and Daniel Hackett all declared for the NBA.” Louisiana-Monroe has named Jimmy Voight as associate head coach. Coach Orlando Early says Voight’s hiring still needs approval from the school’s Board of Supervisors. If approved, Voight would replace Gus Hauser, who joined the staff at Coastal Carolina. Early says Voight brings with him 28 years of head coaching experience and more than 400 career victories, including a 260-139 record at the junior college level.

RICK BOWMER / AP

USC coach Tim Floyd is mum about an NCAA probe of the university.

Creighton coach Dana Altman said Cavel Witter might return to the Bluejays’ next season, the Omaha WorldHerald reported. Witter planned to leave Creighton after two seasons, missing offseason conditioning workouts in April and early May, according to the newspaper. “Nothing is etched in stone,” Altman told the WorldHerald. “Situations do change for individuals, and I’ve had some conversations with Cavel about his possible return. We’ll just have to see where it goes from here.” Witter played in 68 games the past two seasons, averaging 9.1 points as a sophomore and 7.7 points as a junior. Wake Forest officially added Tulsa assistant Dave Wojcik to its coaching staff, the school announced Thursday. Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik, Dave’s brother, previously said his brother intended to leave for the ACC school. The Demon Deacons’ staff also added former player Rusty LaRue earlier this offseason. Louisiana Tech coach Kerry Rupp has added former UAB assistant coach Dusty May to his staff. May, 32, served the past two years at UAB.

FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

10

One-handed player gets chance, scholarship from Manhattan NEW YORK— Kevin Laue knows what would happen if a college basketball team took a chance on him and he didn’t pan out. Fans would wonder what the coach was thinking in using a scholarship on a center missing his left hand. “It’s a business,” the 6-10 Laue said. “Their jobs are all on the line. It’s much safer to take a twohanded guy my size that got beat by me.” But Manhattan College’s Barry Rohrssen figures coaches take chances all the time. He’d rather take one on Laue, whose left arm ends just past the elbow. So last week, the Division I school signed the center, and Rohrssen is confident his work ethic will rub off on other players. “We take chances on kids who have poor academic histories, who have disciplinary problems both on the court and off the court,” Rohrssen said. “We give opportunities to players who don’t appreciate them, who take them for granted. For all the right reasons, Kevin deserves this chance, and he should make the most of this opportunity.” A native of Northern California, Laue played a postgraduate season for Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia this year, hoping to impress college recruiters. Coach Fletcher Arritt said Laue averaged about 10 points and five rebounds, competing against many Division I prospects. When Laue was born, the circulation in his left arm was cut off by the umbilical cord. He uses his upper arm to help receive passes, and his large right hand allows him to easily palm the ball. “He can run as well as anybody,” Arritt said. “He can jump as well as anybody. You don’t need two hands to block shots around the basket.” As the weeks went by, Laue was starting to wonder whether he would ever realize his dream of playing Division I basketball. He said Wofford and Colgate expressed interest but neither had an available scholarship. Rohrssen had been aware of Laue before he enrolled at Fork Union. The coach needed to recruit size with the graduation of the Jaspers’ starting center, but what really worried him after wrapping up offseason workouts this month was his returning players. “Some coaches may say, ‘We need a shooter,’ ” he said. “My feeling was our team needed a stronger

COURTESY OF FORK UNION MILITARY ACADEMY

Kevin Laue averaged about 10 points for Fork Union Military Academy. work ethic.” Manhattan contacted Laue just over a week ago. He signed with the team Wednesday. “He possess certain skills as a basketball player that are very good,” Rohrssen said, “and he demonstrates qualities that will make him successful off the court in terms of in the locker room, on campus and in the classroom.” Baseball’s Jim Abbott, born without a right hand, forged a successful major league pitching career. Basketball, though, demands far more actions requiring both hands than pitching. “I’m a risk. Coach Rohrssen was willing to take it,” Laue said. “He has no reason to worry.” — The Associated Press

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FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

11

Q&A with ... LSU coach Les Miles

‘I can’t imagine that won’t be an exciting day in Baton Rouge’ interesting transition.

Les Miles has won 42 games, an SEC title and national championship in four seasons at LSU. He quickly has become one of the league’s high-profile coaches with his daring game acumen and strong opinions. Sporting News Today’s Matt Hayes caught up with Miles at the SEC spring meetings:

Q:

Does it seem like everyone is almost giving in to Florida this fall, that it’s the Gators and 11 others in the SEC? I don’t think anyone in this league is giving in. I guarantee we look forward to playing them. But it’s recognition—they all return except for Percy (Harvin), and anytime you have a quarterback (Tim Tebow) that has the experience he has, you’re in every game. I don’t think there’s any question they’re talented and capable, but I can’t imagine that won’t be an exciting day in Baton Rouge.

A:

Q:

The American Football Coaches Association has announced the coaches’ poll ballots will be secret again starting in 2010. Good or bad for the game? I don’t think it’s going to affect how people vote. There was enough protest by guys not accepting the responsibility, based on the fear that it might make it bulletin board material. I understand it. It’s important that the membership take responsibility to do that job, and to the best of their ability. I understand the reasons we’re doing it, and they’re valid. But it does kind of seem a little sneaky peek; like, ‘We’ll get this done sideways.’ One year I saw (Ohio State coach) Jim Tressel not vote. It’s a responsibility to do that job at whatever risk or cost there might be to their view and their school’s view. You have to do it. The idea that it has become a secret ballot yet again, I don’t think it changes much. You will eventually be on the other end of the vote one day, so you best do the right thing.

A:

Q:

You have a new defensive coordinator in former Tennessee assistant John Chavis. How was the transition this spring? I like our defense. Occasionally, a coaching change can be good. At times, there’s a new straw that stirs the drink and it’s a good thing.

A:

Q:

How different could last year have been if you hadn’t kicked starter Ryan Perrilloux off the team before the season?

Q:

What was your transition like four years ago, coming from the Big 12 to the SEC? Were you surprised by anything in the SEC? You line up against great teams every week. There’s no portion of the conference that’s so far away from being good enough that they couldn’t beat you if you don’t play well enough. It’s so competitive. I did instinctively feel that coming from Oklahoma State because we played Ole Miss when I was there. So I kind of knew what I was getting into. I guess I never felt like the Big 12 season was as long. But maybe when I was in the Big 12, I wouldn’t have said that! I’m sure there are probably guys in the Big Ten right now also saying, ‘Are you kidding me?’

A: DAVID QUINN / AP

LSU coach Les Miles, center, and the Tigers host the defending national champion Gators in Baton Rouge on Oct. 10, and Miles knows Tiger Stadium should be rocking.

A:

I can’t afford to think about that. I just can’t. So I have to answer that two ways. No. 1, (dismissing Perrilloux) was the only way we could’ve gone; there was no other way. No. 2, if we had a veteran quarterback that was ready to perform at a higher level, do we win, what, three more games? I don’t know. It’s really interesting to say. I still think we were this close to winning at least two more—at least two more. We were (trailing) 21-27 at one point with Florida in the second half, and we had a couple of bad plays and it got out of hand. The third play of the game, it’s third-and-12, they get a tipped

ball for a long touchdown. You’re thinking, ‘Hmm, this may not be your day.’ If he picks that off and goes the other way, we’re setting fire to their hair, you know?

Q:

Jordan Jefferson is your starting quarterback, but could freshman Russell Shepard earn some playing time this fall? Jordan played very well this spring, and preparing away from the field will be very big for him this summer. As for Russell, the first thing this spring, I wanted to see if he was capable of playing

A:

quarterback. He can. He has a lot of talent, and I want to see him play quarterback— however we use him.

Q: A:

Could he be used in a Wild Hog formation? He’ll be a Wild Hog, Wild Tiger, whatever you want to call him. I have to play him somewhere. He’s awfully good. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. I wouldn’t want to commit to a certain number of series every game. At least not yet. He’ll have to buy into it, the team will have to buy into it. It will be an

Q: A:

Back to Oklahoma State, are you proud of what has happened there since you left? It’s terrific. T. Boone Pickens came alongside a great school and has donated a lifetime of opportunity. Georgia’s going to have a helluva time there (in Week 1), you know what I mean? Man, have a nice day. Whew!

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Top 100 countdown

College Football INSIDE DISH

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Sporting News Today is counting down its Top 100 college football teams for 2009, featuring one team each day leading into the season opener Thursday, Sept. 3.

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98 JOHN RAOUX / AP

Taking Tim Tebow, above, out of his comfort zone is one way to stop Florida, Houston Nutt says.

Nutt knows pressure’s key to beating Gators COURTESY OF ULM ATHLETICS

Aaron Morgan made the Sun Belt all-conference second team last season.

LOUISIANAMONROE 2008 record: 4-8 overall, 3-4 Sun Belt Coach: Charlie Weatherbie Outlook: Junior Trey Revell likely will fill in for the departed Kinsmon Lancaster at QB, and he better be stockpiling ice packs and heating pads now. The Warhawks’ O-line allowed 31 sacks last year. Defensively, Louisiana-Monroe should be solid with seven starters returning, including defensive end Aaron Morgan (six sacks, 13 tackles for loss in 2008). — Derek Samson

It’s not like Houston Nutt was giving away secrets. He was asked the question and he answered. How do you beat Florida? Nutt’s Ole Miss team was the only one to beat the Gators last season—by a point in Gainesville. “It starts on the defensive line,” Nutt said. “You’ve got to get pressure on not only the quarterback, but their run game. You have to take them out of their comfort zone.” Nutt said Ole Miss had some tangible goals against the Gators, such as limiting them to eight or nine big plays instead of their usual 15-plus. And he wanted to run the ball to slow the tempo, among other things. All that came down to one play in the waning seconds, when the Rebels stopped QB Tim Tebow on a fourthand-short run to win the game. “I was scared to death of the jump pass,” Nutt said. “We were talking on the sidelines before the fourthdown play, and I told (defensive

tackle) Peria (Jerry) that he had to stop the run. Then I said, ‘Don’t forget about the jump pass, too.’ “He looked at me and said, ‘Coach, I can’t stop both.’ So we went after the run, and we chose right.” — Matt Hayes Normally, coaches try to downplay their talent by pointing out a lack of seniors on the roster. Houston coach Kevin Sumlin, who has both ample talent and a lack of seniors at key positions, doesn’t fall into that category. “Everybody worries about experience,” Sumlin told the Houston Chronicle. “You play the best players you have. Experience is one thing. But a 4.7 (in the 40-yard dash) experienced guy is not necessarily better than a 4.4 inexperienced guy.”

Norman McNabb, a decorated Marine who helped establish Oklahoma as a football power, died at age 85, The Oklahoman reported.

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FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS Cleveland 112, Orlando 102

James, Cavs not ready to pack it in

AMY SANCETTA / AP

LeBron James made sure the Cavaliers would make a return trip to Orlando after his fourth career playoff triple-double.

CLEVELAND—The message was quickly scribbled on the dry-erase board in Cleveland’s locker room. It said little and said it all: 1:00 AM FLY. The Cavaliers are heading back to Florida, their wondrous season still alive. LeBron James wouldn’t let it end. James, showing off every dimension of his unstoppable game, had 37 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists, and Mo Williams, who boldly predicted the Cavs would come back and win this tight-as-can-be series, added 24 points in a 112-102 victory over the Orlando Magic in Game 5 on Thursday night. “It was win or go home,” James said. Instead, it’s back to amped-up Amway Arena for Game 6 on Saturday night. You expected anything else? The Magic overcame a 22-point deficit but missed their first opportunity to close out the Cavaliers, who are trying to become just the ninth team since 1947 to rally and win a series after being down 3-1. Orlando will have two more tries to reach the NBA finals for the first time since 1995. “They deserved to get this one,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said of the Cavs. “As poorly as I thought we played, we still were there with chances to win and didn’t get it done. We have to get ready to go on Saturday.” For Cleveland, a city banking on James to deliver a championship after a 45-year drought, the MVP was again in a league of his own. “His intensity and his passion are out of this world,” Cavs guard Daniel Gibson said. “We will follow him. When he gets it going, there is nothing you can do.” James scored 21 points in the second half— 17 in the fourth quarter—and had a hand in Cleveland’s first 29 points in the final 12 minutes. The last player to post at least 37-14-12 in a playoff game was Oscar Robertson in 1963.

Hedo Turkoglu scored 29 for Orlando, and Dwight Howard had 24 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out with 2:22 remaining while trying to stop James on a drive. Not even Superman was denying James. “I was attacking anyone in the way, no matter who it was,” James said. “There’s always a sense of urgency when you are on the brink of elimination.” And this time James got plenty of help. Williams, his trusty sidekick all season but a near no-show in this series, made six 3-pointers. Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 16 points, Delonte West 13 and Gibson made two huge 3-pointers in the fourth quarter—both on assists from James. “He got his teammates involved and then took over,” Orlando’s Mickael Pietrus said. “That’s what great players do.” The Magic have twice ended series on the road this postseason, winning a Game 6 in Philadelphia and a Game 7 in Boston. For a while it looked like Orlando might do it again, taking a 79-78 lead into the fourth quarter. James, though, had other plans. He picked up his first assist of the period on 3-pointer by Williams and his second on a 3 by Gibson. Cleveland then turned to its superstar every time on offense, spreading the floor and forcing the Magic to defend him. If he wasn’t backing down the lane, he was getting to the line or setting his teammates up from the perimeter. James also had four rebounds and four assists in the final quarter. “The game is basically all LeBron, all the time,” Van Gundy said. “If he gets in the paint, it’s automatically a foul. One of the things we have to do, we can’t keep putting him on the line 20 times a game. We have to find a way to stop that.” — The Associated Press

Series glance (Orlando leads series 3-2) May 20: Orlando 107, Cleveland 106 May 22: Cleveland 96, Orlando 95 May 24: Orlando 99, Cleveland 89 May 26: Orlando 116, Cleveland 114, OT Thursday: Cleveland 112, Orlando 102 Saturday: Cleveland at Orlando, 8:30 p.m. Monday: Orlando at Cleveland, 8:30 p.m., if necessary

Orlando Cleveland

18 35

ORLANDO Min Turkoglu 42:41 Lewis 40:44 Howard 37:02 Alston 28:17 Lee 35:03 Pietrus 23:06 Johnson 18:30 Gortat 10:58 Battie 3:39 Totals 240:00

FG 10-18 4-13 8-10 1-10 3-5 4-6 2-6 0-1 1-3 33-72

37 21 FT 7-9 6-9 8-13 0-0 2-3 2-3 2-2 1-2 0-0 28-41

24 22 Reb 1-6 0-8 3-10 1-2 0-1 0-2 0-2 1-4 2-3 8-38

23 34 A 2 1 2 4 1 0 2 0 0 12

— —

102 112

PF 4 3 6 4 2 4 1 3 0 27

PTS 29 15 24 3 9 13 6 1 2 102

Percentages: FG .458, FT .683. 3-Point Goals: 8-25, .320 (Pietrus 3-5, Turkoglu 2-5, Lee 1-2, Lewis 1-5, Alston 1-7, Johnson 0-1). Team Rebounds: 11. Team Turnovers: 12 (18 PTS). Blocked Shots: 4 (Gortat 2, Howard, Lewis). Turnovers: 11 (Alston 3, Howard 3, Lee 2, Turkoglu 2, Lewis). Steals: 11 (Lewis 4, Lee 3, Turkoglu 2, Alston, Howard). Technical Fouls: Coach Van Gundy, 6:04 second. CLEVELAND James Varejao Ilgauskas MWilliams West Gibson Wallace Szczerbiak Pavlovic Smith Kinsey Totals

Min 45:30 28:47 26:41 41:38 41:28 21:38 16:18 13:34 0:58 3:25 0:02 239:59

FG 11-24 3-6 6-8 7-14 6-13 3-5 0-2 1-3 0-0 1-1 0-0 38-76

FT 15-19 1-2 4-5 4-5 1-1 2-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 27-34

Reb 3-14 3-8 0-6 0-1 0-2 0-1 2-5 0-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 8-39

A 12 2 1 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 21

PF 3 6 6 3 2 2 1 2 0 0 0 25

PTS 37 7 16 24 13 11 0 2 0 2 0 112

Percentages: FG .500, FT .794. 3-Point Goals: 9-18, .500 (M.Williams 6-9, Gibson 3-4, Szczerbiak 0-1, James 0-2, West 0-2). Team Rebounds: 9. Team Turnovers: 12 (21 PTS). Blocked Shots: 6 (Varejao 2, Gibson, Ilgauskas, James, West). Turnovers: 12 (James 4, West 4, Varejao 2, Gibson, M.Williams). Steals: 4 (M.Williams 2, James, West). Technical Fouls: Szczerbiak, 11:37 second. A: 20,562 (20,562). T: 2:55. Officials: Dan Crawford, Bill Spooner, Marc Davis.

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FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

With so much on line, Karl won’t rein in his Nuggets now DENVER—To make the NBA Finals for the first time—and bring their tattoos, athleticism and exuberance to the biggest stage of all—the upstart Denver Nuggets must win two games in a 48-hour span against a savvy Los Angeles Lakers team that is shooting for its 30th Finals appearance. Oh, and L.A. hasn’t lost back-toback games since March. The Nuggets might very well be the better team in the Western Conference finals, with a deeper bench, more muscle and better health than the tired, injured and often disjointed Lakers. But they also tend to implode at the worst times. There’s the taunting after big shots, the complaining after calls and the botched inbounds passes that cost them Games 1 and 3 and a chance at brooming the Lakers right out of the playoffs. Now, they’re one loss away from summer vacation. “For most of the series, we outplayed them for most stretches of the game,” Chauncey Billups said. “We just couldn’t get over the hump in the fourth quarter in a few different situations.” Nor can they get out of their own way at times. Denver has committed 11 technical fouls in this series and defensive stud Dahntay Jones is one more flagrant-1 foul away from a suspension. Coach George Karl said he won’t rein in his players for Game 6 tonight in Denver, however. “You guys are almost saying you’ve got to have savvy and poise to be a championship team,” Karl

CHRIS CARLSON / AP

Nene and the Nuggets have done plenty of complaining and taunting while drawing 11 technical fouls in the series with the Lakers. told reporters Thursday. “I mean, you think the Detroit Pistons have the poise that the San Antonio Spurs have? No, I mean there’s a different way of handling emotional, passionate, intense players. We have some guys who are emotional. Maybe a little too emotional. But for me, I’m not going to tell them to stop that because I think that stops them from becoming a competitor. “Right now, we’re competing on the best stage on a pretty good level. I think the Lakers know we’re

there.” The Lakers have plenty of their own problems, inconsistency among them, but in Game 5, they showed they’re not always so soft in the middle and they don’t have to be a one-man band, either. The Lakers finally discovered ways to get more balanced play, especially from their bigs. “That’s what the conversation has been about this entire postseason, our team, our potential and our capabilities,” Derek Fisher said. “But how do we, as a group, open

that space to be what we can be? ... It’s possible something clicked for us as a group last night against this team. “We may have found some things we can do that allows us to attack them from everywhere. We feel we can’t be beat when everybody’s getting a chance to play.” Kobe Bryant lured double coverage then passed to his teammates with Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol doing the damage inside in the fourth quarter as the Lakers capped a 23-5 run and cruised to a 103-94

win Wednesday night. “We’ve had stretches where we’ve played excellent defense,” Bryant said, “but the competition we’re facing with this Denver Nuggets team is unlike anything we’ve ever seen. They have so many scorers, they have an inside presence. So ... I’m very proud of how we performed in that stretch.” Odom’s 19 points and 14 rebounds were certainly the biggest reasons the Lakers reversed their disparity in points in the paint and grabs off the glass from Game 4. Karl thinks Lakers coach Phil Jackson’s rant helped, too. Although it drew $50,000 in fines, Jackson’s complaints about the officiating in Denver paid off in the Lakers’ 16-7 advantage at the line in the fourth quarter, Karl suggested. So, Karl took his own crack at the crew, suggesting Nene fouled out thanks to three or four phantom fouls and questioning how Gasol (one foul) could have played such a clean but active game. On Thursday Karl insisted he wasn’t blaming the officials for Denver’s demise, but he took another shot at them when saying some of his younger players were letting the officiating get under their collective skin. “We’re hoping and we believe that the officiating won’t be a problem,” Karl said. “When you’re getting hit in the back of the head, knocked on your (backside), you’re human beings; you react to people of authority. The referees are the ones that have the authority and control the game the way they want

Career playoff points Player

Pts.

1. Michael Jordan

5,987

2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

5,762

3. x-Shaquille O’Neal

5,121

4. Karl Malone

4,761

5. Jerry West

4,457

6. x-Kobe Bryant

4,184

7. Larry Bird

3,897

8. John Havlicek

3,776

9. Hakeem Olajuwon

3,755

10. x-Tim Duncan

3,724

11. Magic Johnson

3,701

12. Scottie Pippen

3,642

13. Elgin Baylor

3,623

14. Wilt Chamberlain

3,607

x-active

Today’s game (Best-of-7) L.A. Lakers at Denver, 9 p.m., ET, ESPN (Lakers lead series 3-2)

Betting line Today FAVORITE ..........LINE ........O/U........UNDERDOG at Denver..................... 5........(209)..........L.A. Lakers

to control it.” Bryant has been blunt about the Lakers’ fatigue factor in this series, and he and Gasol each played 45 minutes in Game 5. But Bryant said he’s fine, suggesting he’ll “get plenty of rest when I’m on a beach in Cabo.” — The Associated Press

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Playoff glance

INSIDE DISH

Jackson’s mind games bothering Nuggets, who respond Lakers coach Phil Jackson was fined $25,000 for criticizing the referees after Game 4 on Monday—but was it worth the price? When asked by reporters whether his tirade was done to plant a seed in the minds of referees for Wednesday’s Game 5—a game in which the Lakers won, and had a small advantage in free throws attempted (35-30)—Jackson replied, “I’m a gardener.” The Nuggets, as you’d expect, weren’t pleased. “The Lakers paid $50,000 to win that game. They got their money’s worth,” a Denver player, not wanting to be identified, told The Denver Post. The $50,000 was in reference to the fine Jackson and the Lakers organization received. Heading into today’s game, Nuggets coach George Karl planted his own seed. After Wednesday’s loss he told reporters he thought the Lakers “got the benefit of the whistle” and that SF Carmelo Anthony “got beat up.” In addition to meeting with players heading into the NBA draft, league general managers have plenty of other items on their agendas at this week’s combine in Chicago. For example, Raptors president and general manager Bryan Colangelo is scheduled to meet with a half-dozen agents, including Henry Thomas, who represents PF Chris Bosh and SG Anthony Parker. Although Bosh is eligible for a contract extension this summer and Parker is a free agent, Colangelo told The Globe and Mail that the talks were preliminary. “It’s very routine,” Colangelo said. “It’s not like I’m going to be coming out of the weekend with plans to trade (Bosh) or start drawing up an agreement for a contract extension. It’s early in the process.” The agent for former Hornets G Jannero Pargo, a free agent, continues to speak with the team about a possible return, The TimesPicayune of New Orleans reported. “I think you could say there’s mutual interest. That’s

Trail Blazers PG Steve Blake will have arthroscopic shoulder surgery today. Blake separated his shoulder during a Blazers’ game at Philadelphia on Jan. 14. At first he missed the next five games, but then he reaggravated the injury against the Clippers on Jan. 26 and missed eight additional games.

Violet Palmer will become coordinator of women’s basketball officials for the West Coast Conference and continue to officiate in the NBA, where she has worked for 12 seasons. The NBA’s TV success continues during the playoffs. TNT drew 10.1 million viewers for Tuesday’s Cavaliers-Magic Game 4, marking the most-viewed NBA postseason game in cable TV history, as well as the most-viewed telecast on all of cable in 2009 to date, SportsBusiness Daily reported.

JACK DEMPSEY / AP

The Nuggets feel Lakers coach Phil Jackson got his money’s worth in Wednesday’s Game 5 victory. fair to say,” agent Mark Bartelstein said. Pargo signed a one-year deal worth $3.8 million with Dynamo Moscow in the Russian Super League last summer.

Dwane Casey isn’t the only person the 76ers had a second interview with in regards to their head coaching position. The Philadelphia Daily News reported that the team also has already interviewed former Wizards coach

15

Eddie Jordan a second time. Both the Daily News and Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the 76ers hope to talk to former coaches and current TV commentators Jeff Van Gundy and Doug Collins. Mavericks G J.J. Barea had successful surgery to repair cartilage damage in his left shoulder. The team said a timetable for his return has not been set.

A judge has found former NBA player Kirk Snyder not competent to stand trial and ordered that he be force-fed. Warren County (Ohio) Common Pleas Judge Neal Bronson says Snyder has rejected all medications and food and has been hospitalized twice. The 25-year-old Snyder, who played for the Jazz, Hornets, Rockets and Timberwolves, was charged with aggravated burglary and felonious assault following a March break-in at a neighbor’s home. Snyder’s attorney filed documents saying Snyder isn’t competent to stand trial and is not guilty by reason of insanity. A lawsuit accusing Knicks center Eddy Curry of sexual harassment was effectively dismissed Thursday, leaving the dispute to be settled by an arbitrator, rather than a jury. Curry was sued in January by his former driver David Kuchinsky, who accused Curry of making lewd and suggestive remarks, brandishing a gun and failing to pay $91,000 in wages and expenses.

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

EASTERN CONFERENCE Cleveland vs. Orlando (Orlando leads series 3-2) May 20: Orlando 107, Cleveland 106 May 22: Cleveland 96, Orlando 95 May 24: Orlando 99, Cleveland 89 May 26: Orlando 116, Cleveland 114, OT Thursday: Cleveland 112, Orlando 102 Saturday: Cleveland at Orlando, 8:30 p.m. Monday: Orlando at Cleveland, 8:30 p.m., if necessary

WESTERN CONFERENCE L.A. Lakers vs. Denver (L.A. Lakers lead series 3-2) May 19: L.A. Lakers 105, Denver 103 May 21: Denver 106, L.A. Lakers 103 May 23: L.A. Lakers 103, Denver 97 May 25: Denver 120, L.A. Lakers 101 May 27: L.A. Lakers 103, Denver 94 Today: 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.

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STANLEY CUP FINALS S

GAME 1:

PITTSBURGH VS. DETROIT

GENE J. PUSKAR / AP

Evgeni Malkin, left, and Sidney Crosby think they’re better prepared to face Detroit this year. games in three playoff rounds before being dominated during 4-0 and 3-0 losses that opened the finals in Detroit, and they never recovered before losing in six games. “It was kind of a shell shock,” defenseman Rob Scuderi said Thursday. “We were watching too much. We were waiting to see what it was going to be like and, by that time, it

16

Saturday, 8 p.m., NBC

Pens say they’re ready for Red Wings PITTSBURGH—The Pittsburgh Penguins will travel today to the city called Hockeytown for their second Stanley Cup finals in as many seasons against Detroit, yet forgive them if they’re convinced they already live there. Their games are drawing NFL playoff-like ratings in the Pittsburgh market—a 27.1 on littlewatched cable channel Versus for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against Carolina, or 5½ times the ratings in Raleigh. While there were empty seats in recession-ravaged Detroit for Red Wings home games, the last 115 Penguins home games in the NHL’s oldest arena were sellouts. Giant banners bearing the pictures of stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin hang from the girders of the new arena being built across the street from Mellon Arena. Yes, the Penguins appear to have everything going for them—momentum from a conference finals sweep, two of the league’s best players in high gear and the kind of fervent support that franchises in some higherprofile sports wish they had. There’s only one thing missing: a Stanley Cup, at least one of more recent vintage than those won by the Mario Lemieux-led Penguins of 1991 and 1992. The Red Wings have raised the Cup four times since then, and the NHL’s most polished and reliable group of winners gave the Penguins an instructional lesson in what it takes to be a champion last spring. The Penguins had lost only two

FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

was too late,” Crosby said. The Penguins remember how frustrating it felt to realize they weren’t quite good enough, and they’re convinced the experience of losing in the finals was the best possible preparation for winning it this time. “We have that confidence in the dressing room that we’ve been through it, and it’s a great feeling,” forward Max Talbot said. “I think

we’ll be ready for them.” Pittsburgh appears to own several important advantages over the beaten-up Red Wings. The Penguins are relatively healthy, Malkin and Crosby are rolling with a leagueleading 28 points apiece and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said “the emotion and the stress, all the stuff we didn’t know” last year are missing. The Red Wings were missing stars Nicklas Lidstrom (2 games) and Pavel Datsyuk (3 games) for part of the Western Conference finals against Chicago, though they’re hoping both will return for Game 1 on Saturday. Even if they don’t, the Red Wings are the Red Wings, and the Penguins knew from the moment they lost to them a year ago they’d probably have to beat Detroit to prove they indeed are the best. “Watching their Game 4 against Chicago where they won 6-1, I don’t know if we want to say we were laughing at the situation, but it was something we went through last year,” defenseman Brooks Orpik said. “You can try to run them out of the building, be physical on them, but they’re skilled guys ... and tough. They just play the game.” The question is whether the Red Wings are playing it at the same level they were last year. They’ve added Marian Hossa, who defected from Pittsburgh after last season, but injuries are cutting into their skill and depth (Kris Draper, Andreas Lilja). And in Detroit, the Red Wings are wondering if controlling Rick Nash

Playoff stats (Through May 26) Pittsburgh Penguins POS.NO. PLAYER C 87 Sidney Crosby C 71 Evgeni Malkin R 13 Bill Guerin D 55 Sergei Gonchar L 14 Chris Kunitz L 26 Ruslan Fedotenko D 58 Kris Letang L 24 Matt Cooke C 25 Max Talbot D 7 Mark Eaton C 48 Tyler Kennedy R 81 Miroslav Satan C 11 Jordan Staal R 27 Craig Adams D 43 Philippe Boucher D 44 Brooks Orpik D 4 Rob Scuderi D 2 Hal Gill D 3 Alex Goligoski R 17 Petr Sykora L 9 Pascal Dupuis TEAM TOTALS OPPONENT TOTALS NO. GOALTENDER 29 Marc-Andre Fleury TEAM TOTALS OPPONENT TOTALS

GP 17 17 17 15 17 17 16 17 17 17 17 11 17 17 8 17 17 17 2 6 10 17 17

G A PTS +/14 14 28 12 12 16 28 3 7 7 14 11 2 10 12 3 1 11 12 6 6 5 11 6 3 6 9 3 1 6 7 -2 4 3 7 4 4 2 6 10 3 3 6 -3 1 5 6 5 2 4 6 -5 3 2 5 2 1 3 4 -1 0 4 4 -1 1 2 3 4 0 2 2 6 0 1 1 -1 0 1 1 -3 0 0 0 -3 65 107 172 12 47 81 128 -12

GP MINS AVG 17 1055 2.62 17 1060 2.66 17 1060 3.68

W 12 12 5

L 5 5 9

of Columbus and Chicago’s Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews was adequate preparation for trying to slow Malkin and Crosby. Malkin had six goals and three assists in four games against Carolina; Crosby has a league-high 14 playoff goals. “Crosby and Malkin are running away with the scoring lead in the playoffs, and if we let them continue to run wild, it will be hard for us to win the series,” Detroit general manager Ken Holland said. “You can’t stop players that good, but we can’t let them do what they did against Carolina.” The Penguins believe they’ve already benefited from losing to Detroit last year, saying it helped them rally from a 2-0 deficit against

PIM 12 22 11 10 15 4 26 12 5 6 4 9 6 4 4 16 6 4 0 0 6 188 252

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

OT EN SO 0 1 0 0 1 0 3 5 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 46 47 65

GW 1 3 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 5

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

SA SV% G 491 .906 0 492 .904 0 594 .891 0

S 63 80 50 32 34 43 43 24 23 12 51 16 41 22 9 7 7 15 1 7 14 594 492

PCTG .222 .150 .140 .063 .029 .140 .070 .042 .174 .333 .059 .063 .049 .136 .111 --.143 --------.109 .096

A PIM 0 2 0 2 0 0

Alex Ovechkin-led Washington during the conference semifinals. “I thought no one panicked, in part because of the experience we had last year,” Scuderi said. Now, after a full offseason and regular season, six weeks of playoffs, the NHL is right back where it was last year: Pittsburgh vs. Detroit for the Stanley Cup, with Sid the Kid again going for his first championship and the oh-so-successful Red Wings trying for yet another one. “Certainly two of the marquee franchises going toe to toe again in the finals, it’s something we all can appreciate even when we’re in the midst of it,” Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. — The Associated Press

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STANLEY CUP FINALS S

GAME 1:

PITTSBURGH VS. DETROIT

17

FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

Saturday, 8 p.m., NBC

Red Wings’ Hossa hopes his decision pays off

Playoff stats (Through May 27) Detroit Red Wings

DETROIT—Marian Hossa’s combination of size, speed and skill helped the banged-up Detroit Red Wings finish off Chicago to set up a Stanley Cup finals rematch with the team he spurned. “I thought he was the best player on the ice last night,” Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said Thursday, a day after Detroit’s series-clinching win against the Blackhawks. “I also thought he was also the best player on the ice in the previous game at Chicago. “We were missing Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom in both games, so it was great to have him step up like he did.” If Hossa can help Detroit hoist the Cup, his eyebrow-raising decision last summer will be validated. The marquee free agent signed with Detroit at a relative discount for about $7.5 million, declining an offer estimated to be worth $49 million to remain with the runner-up Pittsburgh Penguins and reportedly many more millions to play in Edmonton. “It should be interesting,” Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury said. “We all know the reason why he left us to go there. “It will be cool to face him, but we can’t overthink it.” If Pittsburgh beats Hossa and the defending champions, he will have lost a championship, a lot of money and long-term stability. “I have to make this not too big a distraction,” he said Wednesday night following Detroit’s 2-1 overtime victory. “I just have to use it as an advantage.”

PAUL SANCYA / AP

Marian Hossa was a Penguin in last year’s Stanley Cup finals; this year, he’s a Red Wing. Hossa is hailed for his dazzling talents in Detroit, and is vilified in Pittsburgh for leaving. The cheers Hossa hears in Game 1 on Saturday and Game 2 on Sunday likely won’t be as loud as the jeers that will cascade on him when the series shifts venues. When Hossa played Feb. 8 at Pittsburgh, he was booed early and often. A former teammate isn’t sure that provides a home-ice advantage for the Penguins.

“I know myself as a player, when players get booed in other buildings, it just motivates you and makes you want to want to do better,” Brooks Orpik said. “If our fans want to boo him, I don’t know how much good it’s going to do us. “He’s a great player, it was weird what happened, but everyone respects him as a guy and as a player. It was a tough decision for him, but we’ve got a chance to beat him here.” Win or lose, the Red Wings would

like to keep Hossa around. Holland, Hossa and his agent did some negotiating during the season, but both sides chose to put talks on hold until after the season. “I like it here a lot, but we both decided to stop talking to focus on the playoffs,” Hossa said earlier this postseason. “We’ll see what happens.” Anaheim Ducks star Teemu Selanne recalled saying, “the rich got richer,” when he and other NHL players and fans were stunned by the news of Hossa signing a one-year deal with the Wings last summer. Selanne, though, understood why Hossa made the rare decision to leave money on the table. “Winning the Cup is priceless,” Selanne said during the second round of the playoffs. Hossa had a team-high 40 goals during the regular season and has scored at least 29 goals in nine straight seasons with Detroit, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and Ottawa. He has scored in just three games this postseason—coincidentally all in Game 4s, netting two goals in each of the three he’s played—but the 6-1, 210pound forward often has been dominant with and without the puck. Playing the team he left behind is interesting, but it is relatively irrelevant to Hossa because he would desperately want to hoist the Cup regardless of whom he was facing. “Being in the finals, that’s motivation,” he said. “Last year I lost it, so this is another chance. “It’s going to be hard, but it’s a good chance.” — The Associated Press

POS.NO. PLAYER GP R 93 Johan Franzen 16 C 40 Henrik Zetterberg 16 R 11 Daniel Cleary 16 C 51 Valtteri Filppula 16 D 5 Nicklas Lidstrom 14 R 81 Marian Hossa 16 R 26 Jiri Hudler 16 R 37 Mikael Samuelsson 16 D 28 Brian Rafalski 11 C 13 Pavel Datsyuk 13 D 55 Niklas Kronwall 16 D 23 Brad Stuart 16 D 22 Brett Lebda 16 D 52 Jonathan Ericsson 15 R 96 Tomas Holmstrom 16 C 43 Darren Helm 16 L 8 Justin Abdelkader 7 R 82 Tomas Kopecky 8 L 18 Kirk Maltby 13 D 24 Chris Chelios 6 C 33 Kris Draper 4 L 21 Ville Leino 3 D 14 Derek Meech 2 TEAM TOTALS 16 OPPONENT TOTALS 16 NO. GOALTENDER 29 Ty Conklin 30 Chris Osgood TEAM TOTALS OPPONENT TOTALS

G A PTS +/10 9 19 9 9 9 18 10 8 6 14 16 1 13 14 9 4 9 13 7 6 6 12 5 4 5 9 2 5 4 9 6 2 6 8 8 1 6 7 4 1 6 7 4 1 6 7 8 0 6 6 7 2 3 5 8 2 3 5 1 3 0 3 2 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 -2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 59 101 160 21 34 59 93 -21

GP MINS AVG 1 20 0.00 16 989 2.06 16 1012 2.02 16 1012 3.50

W 0 12 12 4

PIM 10 6 8 6 6 8 6 4 11 9 25 10 10 21 20 4 0 7 2 2 0 0 0 179 295

PP 3 3 0 1 3 2 2 0 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 2 2 0 1 2 2 0 1 10 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 34 34 59

GW 2 0 2 0 1 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 4 SA 9 451 460 632

OTG 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1

SV% 1.000 .925 .926 .907

S 52 59 38 26 45 77 30 66 19 47 24 28 17 25 16 27 7 13 6 4 4 1 1 632 460 G 0 0 0 0

PCTG .192 .153 .211 .038 .089 .078 .133 .076 .105 .021 .042 .036 --.080 .125 .111 --------------.093 .074

A PIM 0 0 1 2 1 2 0 0

Red Wings expect Lidstrom back for Game 1 vs. Pens DETROIT—The Detroit Red Wings expect star defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom to play in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Red Wings general manager Ken Nicklas Holland said on Lidstrom Thursday he’s encouraged by how Lidstrom’s lower-body injury has

recovered after he was forced to miss two games. Holland said the team won’t know until Saturday, when the series starts, if MVP finalist Pavel Datsyuk (foot) and Jonathan Ericsson (acute appendicitis) will be available. Kris Draper (lower-body injury) is doubtful for Game 1, but Holland expects him to play later in the series. — The Associated Press

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INSIDE DISH

Stanley Cup finals

Hitchcock: Quinn-Renney pairing will prove strong Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock, who has worked extensively with both Pat Quinn and Tom Renney, says the Edmonton Oilers will thrive under their new tag-team coaches— Quinn as head coach and Renney as trusted assistant. “The thing that I learned most from working with Pat (as an assistant for two Canadian Olympic teams and a World Cup team) is he creates this culture with his staff and his players that you don’t want to let him down,” Hitchcock told the Toronto Star. “He treats you so well, his coaches and his players. He treats the players with so much respect. … “It’s like coaching with your father. You don’t want to let your dad down and that’s the feeling you get when you spend some time with Pat.” Hitchcock also has a long history with Renney and says the former New York Rangers coach will complement Quinn, who has been out of the NHL coaching loop for three years. Hitchcock calls Quinn an up-tempo guy who likes to delegate authority. Renney is considered a superior tactician and excellent teacher. “When you’re out even one year, you get behind in the Xs and Os, let alone two or three years,” Hitchcock told the newspaper. “But Tom is great at that and I think he’ll augment Pat and get Pat up to speed very quickly. Tom is one of the best strategy guys in the league. “I think they’ll be a great pair. …” Pittsburgh’s Dan Bylsma, the first coach to begin a season leading an AHL team and finish it at the helm

18

Detroit vs. Pittsburgh (Best-of-7), All times ET Saturday: Pittsburgh at Detroit, 8 p.m., NBC Sunday: Pittsburgh at Detroit, 8 p.m., NBC Tuesday: Detroit at Pittsburgh, 8 p.m., Versus Thursday: Detroit at Pittsburgh, 8 p.m., Versus Saturday, June 6: Pittsburgh at Detroit, 8 p.m., if necessary, NBC Tuesday, June 9: Detroit at Pittsburgh, 8 p.m., if necessary, NBC Friday, June 12: Pittsburgh at Detroit, 8 p.m., if necessary, NBC

Betting line FAVORITE ..........LINE UNDERDOG............... LINE at Detroit ................-160 Pittsburgh .....................+140

Odds to win series Detroit ....................-150

Pittsburgh..........+130

NHL calendar

BEN LEMPHERS / AP

Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock calls Pat Quinn, left, an up-tempo guy who likes to delegate authority, while Tom Renney is considered a superior tactician and excellent teacher. of an NHL team that reaches the Stanley Cup finals, still pinches himself every so often to make sure he isn’t dreaming. “I’d be remiss if I didn’t feel fortunate and blessed with how things have progressed for me,” he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “This time last year, or in July, when (former Wilkes-Barre coach) Todd Richards went to San Jose to be an assistant coach, I was just hoping to get the head coaching job in Wilkes-Barre for my first chance to be a head

coach, let alone thinking that within nine months I’d be coaching the Pittsuburgh Penguins. …” Since getting the call to replace Michel Therrien on Feb. 15, Bylsma has guided the Penguins to an 18-3-4 regular-season finish and series wins over Philadelphia, Washington and Carolina in the playoffs. “I do often, in the moments when my mind’s not on hockey and focused on the task at hand, think, ‘Man, I get to coach some of the best players in the world today, in a great situation,’ ”

Bylsma told the newspaper. Flyers F Simon Gagne had surgery Thursday to remove a bone spur and adhesions that built up in his right hip. Gagne’s recovery is expected to take 4-6 weeks. He had 34 goals and 74 points this season.

Dean Blais, the coach and general manager of the USHL’s Fargo Force, has been named coach the U.S. team at the 2010 world junior hockey championships in Regina

and Saskatoon. Blais, an associate coach with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets from 2004 to 2007, coached the U.S. junior team in 1994 when it finished sixth. He was going to coach the team again in 2005, but opted to take the Columbus job instead. The U.S. will open the world junior championship Dec. 26 against Slovakia in Saskatoon. Canada, Switzerland and Latvia also are in Pool A and the U.S. will play the Canadians Dec. 31.

Through Saturday—NHL Combine, Toronto. 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 playerelected salary arbitration. July 6—Deadline for clubelected 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.

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INSIDE DISH

day and will pitch in relief for now.

According to The Denver Post, the slumping Rockies could be on the verge of a managerial change. Already facing a double-digit deficit in the N.L. West, the Rockies were swept (by a combined score of 23-7) this week by the first-place Dodgers. Those three losses dropped the Rockies to 7-13 at Coors Field. The newspaper noted the Rockies are 3-3 since general manager Dan O’Dowd gave manager Clint Hurdle a vote of confidence, but speculation remains that Hurdle is on a short leash. There was a players-only meeting before Wednesday’s loss, and afterward, 1B Todd Helton acknowledged the team was aware of the speculation about Hurdle. Hurdle took over as Rockies manager in 2002 and has a 534-625 record since then.

Cubs P Carlos Zambrano was suspended for six games by Major League Baseball on Thursday, a day after his tirade during a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Zambrano said he won’t appeal the penalty, which included a fine. Barring rainouts, he is eligible to return next Thursday and start that night at Atlanta. Things are dicey in Houston, where general manager Ed Wade told the Houston Chronicle that he doesn’t “get into votes of confidence. I don’t

According to The Kansas City Star, Royals OF Coco Crisp (shoulder) is expected back in the lineup tonight. Crisp left Tuesday’s game early and didn’t play Wednesday. The team was off Thursday. Manager Trey Hillman told the newspaper that Crisp’s shoulder has been giving him problems for several weeks.

DAVID ZALUBOWSKI / AP

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Cardinals OF Rick Ankiel (shoulder) is expected to return to the lineup tonight after missing the past three games. However, P Kyle Lohse won’t make his scheduled start tonight, after being hit in the forearm by a pitch is his most recent outing. Lohse could start Sunday.

Clint Hurdle, right, has a .460 winning percentage in eight seasons as Rockies manager. think there’s any value to it.” The last-place Astros have lost seven consecutive games, putting manager Cecil Cooper on the hot seat. Yankees C Jorge Posada, out since May 4 with a strained hamstring, will come off the disabled list before tonight’s game at Cleveland. RF Xavier Nady, out since April 14 with a right elbow injury, was 2-for-5 in a rehab game with a home run. Padres P Jake Peavy wasn’t in dominant form Wednesday (four earned runs in 6 1/3 innings), and the team’s website reported ankle tendinitis was to blame. He turned his ankle while running the bases in his previous start against the Cubs (six shutout innings, 10

19

THE LAUNCHING PAD

Speculation continues to swirl around Rockies’ Hurdle

Following an MRI exam, Phillies P Brett Myers was told that there was fraying to the labrum in his right hip, an injury that could require surgery and jeopardize the remainder of his season, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

strikeouts). However, Peavy expects to make his next start. Sidelined by a sore groin, Marlins SS Hanley Ramirez told the SunSentinel that he hopes to return to the lineup tonight. In other Marlins news, the newspaper reported the team has interest in P Daniel Cabrera, who was released by the Nationals on Wednesday. The plan still calls for Astros P Roy Oswalt to start Monday (on an extra day of rest), despite a bruise under the index and middle fingers on his right hand. Oswalt suffered the injury in Tuesday’s start. If that plan changes, P Brandon Backe could fill in for Oswalt. Backe was activated from the disabled list Thurs-

On the comeback trail from Tommy John surgery last August, Braves P Tim Hudson threw a 15-pitch bullpen session Tuesday and a 20-pitch bullpen session Wednesday, according to the team’s website. Hudson is on track to throw 75 pitches off the mound next week and hopes to join Atlanta’s rotation in August. Meanwhile, the website also reported the Braves are expected to promote pitching prospect Tommy Hanson in the next couple of weeks. Rangers owner Tom Hicks told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he is “open” to the idea of selling a majority share of the team. The newspaper noted that two months ago, Hicks planned to sell only a minority share of the Rangers.

What to expect in the major leagues today

The future is now The Orioles’ youth movement will take another important step forward tonight with the major league debut of prized catching prospect Matt Wieters. The fifth overall pick in the 2007 draft, Wieters hit .305 with five homers, 30 RBIs and a .387 on-base percentage for Class AAA Norfolk this season. In two levels of the minor leagues last season, he hit .355 with 27 homers, 91 RBIs and a .454 on-base percentage. Wieters, 23, is expected to become the team’s primary catcher for the rest of the season. Tonight, the Orioles will host the Dontrelle Willis-led Tigers.

Happ-y to see ya Phillies rookie lefthander J.A. Happ has two wins (both as a reliever) this season. Both came against the Nationals, against whom he will start tonight. And Happ isn’t the only one Philly excited about this weekend series. Outfielder Raul Ibanez has six homers and 16 RBIs against Washington this season, and first baseman Ryan Howard has four homers and 12 RBIs. Not surprisingly, Philadelphia has won seven of the nine games between the teams in 2009. After this weekend, the Phillies and Nationals won’t play again until September.

Prelude to a sell-off? Although it’s still early, this is a vital weekend for the A’s. They play four games against A.L. West-leading Texas this weekend at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, beginning with a doubleheader today. This is a chance for last-place Oakland to make up some ground on the first-place Texas—or possibly hasten the exits of some of the veterans (outfielder Matt Holliday, first baseman Jason Giambi, shortstop Orlando Cabrera, etc.). The two teams have split their four games this season. In fact, the Rangers’ two losses to the A’s are their only two losses within the division this season (compared to 10 wins).

— Chris Bahr

RICHARD DREW / AP

Ballyhooed prospect Matt Wieters makes his much-awaited debut tonight.

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FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

As June approaches, the struggling Rays shouldn’t ... McNeal’s pick

Bahr’s pick

Expect to contend

Panic just yet

BY STAN MCNEAL [email protected]

BY CHRIS BAHR [email protected]

Mediocrity doesn’t cut it in the A.L. East, and that is too bad for the Rays. Mediocre is as good as it has gotten for Tampa Bay this season. A season after their historic run to the World Series, the Rays have spent two days over .500 (none since they were 4-3 on April 13) this season. They have had stretches when they’ve played like contenders. They won five of their first Stan McNeal seven against the BASEBALL Red Sox and took two thrillers at Yankee Stadium earlier this month. Just last weekend, they mauled the Marlins with outbursts of 15 and 10 runs. Mostly, though, Tampa Bay has spent the season just trying to be average. Until this week. The Rays’ season has unraveled during a cold stretch in which they suffered more bad fortune than the Gatorade cooler in the Cubs’ dugout. First, the Rays lost second baseman Akinori Iwamura for the season when he blew out his knee and ankle trying to turn a double play against the Marlins. Two days later, shortstop Jason Bartlett (sprained ankle) joined Iwamura on the disabled list. In addition to forming the foundation of the Rays’ defense, both Iwamura and Bartlett were hitting over .300. And manager

First things first: A championship-caliber team shouldn’t blow a 10-0 lead against anyone, let alone a last-place squad. But that’s exactly what the Rays did Monday at Cleveland. And then there was the 5-0 first-inning lead that evaporated We d n e s d a y. Those are the kinds of comebacks that fueled Tampa Bay last season but could doom it this season. Chris Bahr Sure, the Rays BASEBALL are dealing with more than their fair share of injuries. This week, they lost second baseman Akinori Iwamura (knee) for the season, then placed .373-hitting shortstop Jason Bartlett (ankle) on the 15-day disabled list. Prized offseason acquisition Pat Burrell (neck) has one homer and hasn’t played since May 10. In the bullpen, closer Troy Percival (shoulder) is out and might not be back, and Plan B (Jason Isringhausen) is shaky and a health concern. Middle reliever Brian Shouse (elbow) is out indefinitely. And the rotation is without Scott Kazmir (quad) indefinitely. So, how in the world are the Rays going to persevere and hang in the race with the Red Sox, Yankees and (perhaps) the fading Blue Jays?

LYNNE SLADKY / AP

The Rays lost solid defense and a .300 hitter when Akinori Iwamura went down. Joe Maddon called Bartlett the team MVP. On Monday, the Rays blew a 10-0 lead at Cleveland in a debacle that low-lighted their season-long pitching problems. Top prospect David Price followed the lead of other Rays starters who have been unable to pitch deep into games. Given a double-digit lead, Price couldn’t make it through the fourth inning. The bullpen—again—did not hold up well to the stress. Even if the bullpen can right itself—a challenge made tougher with no set closer—the Rays have other woes:

Starters: Only two starters, Matt Garza and James Shields, have pitched to expectations. Lineup: The lineup has sizable

holes because of slow starts by outfielders B.J. Upton and the injured Pat Burrell, the club’s big freeacquisition.

Acquisition: The club’s big offseason trade—starting pitcher Edwin Jackson for outfielder Matt Joyce— has worked out decidedly in Detroit’s favor so far. Joyce has spent most of the season in the minors while Jackson ranks among the A.L. leaders with a 2.58 ERA. Last and far from least: The Yankees have surged to the top of the A.L. East, and the Red Sox long ago overcame their slow start. Catching either team will take a great effort, a task that seems out of reach for the average (at best) Rays. [email protected]

NICK WASS / AP

Emerging superstar Evan Longoria gives the Rays hope for a rebound.

Talent. Second-year third baseman Evan Longoria continues to terrorize opposing pitchers and already is among the elite hitters in the majors. Outfielder Carl Crawford finally is having a huge season (sans the power most expected to develop by now), and first baseman Carlos Pena continues to mash. Eventually, outfielder B.J. Upton, who flashed so much talent last postseason but who still might not be 100 percent after offseason shoulder surgery, should come around. And although his first start wasn’t great, David Price should inject some life into an underachieving rotation. Resilience. This is the same team everyone doubted last season. Remember the slide right before the 2008 All-Star break that was supposed to signal the team’s official downfall? The numerous lateseason prognostications of the clock finally striking midnight? The claims that a lack of postseason experience would doom

Tampa Bay in the ALCS? Well, the Rays undoubtedly remember, and just as they did last season, they will use it as motivation. Manager Joe Maddon knows how to push all the right buttons.

Front office. The last thing the front office wants to do is lose the momentum it finally began to build last season. The team is putting people in the seats and building a solid fan base. Expect executive vice president of baseball operations Sporting News’ 2008 MLB executive of the year Andrew Friedman to plug any glaring holes via trades. Remember, Friedman acquired Bartlett and Matt Garza, signed Pena and rebuilt the bullpen. So, he has an eye for talent and knows how to get results. Are there problems in Tampa Bay? Undoubtedly. But we’re approaching June 1, not Sept. 1. There are four-plus months remaining in a long season. The Rays are far from dead. [email protected]

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Baseball

New numbers have some MLB owners upbeat

Attendance report Through May 27

AMERICAN LEAGUE

BY ERIC FISHER SportsBusiness Journal

HOME GAMES

Amid declining attendance totals and continuing waves of bleak economic news, an increasing number of Major League Baseball owners and executives believe the worst of the fiscal meltdown is now behind the sport. While not a celebration by any means, last week’s owners meetings nonetheless showcased noticeable levels of optimism, fueled in part by attendance being on par with preseason expectations, albeit down; a strong start for the MLB Network; and buoyant sales for MLB.com subscription products, among other elements. The league’s roughly six percent drop in attendance thus far this season, while tracking to be the sharpest fall in seven years, is an improvement from April numbers, which showed decreases of about 10 percent. In addition, industry sources said online ticket sales at MLB.com and the team sites since opening day are up seven percent compared with the same period in 2008. “I think we have bottomed out in a number of areas and that there are some semi-positive signs as many of the ... initiatives begin to get some badly needed traction,” said Oakland A’s owner Lew Wolff. Baseball typically gets a lift in many fan-related economic and affinity metrics as warmer weather approaches and schools let out for the summer. But beyond that normal seasonality, MLB commissioner Bud Selig issued his most hopeful economic remarks to both owners and press since before last fall’s credit market collapse. “It’s still awfully early, but as we sit here on May 21, I’m encouraged by our

21

FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

DATES

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

TOTAL

ROAD GAMES AVG DATES

25 529,062 23 869,461 22 561,637 21 437,379 22 613,589 27 588,149 23 934,580 29 755,666 23 1,026,625 24 428,879 24 653,625 21 501,794 23 606,593 22 487,138

21,162 37,803 25,529 20,828 27,890 21,783 40,634 26,057 44,636 17,870 27,234 23,895 26,374 22,143

329 8,994,177

27,338

22 24 24 27 23 20 23 19 24 20 24 28 23 28

TOTAL

AVG

607,753 27,625 761,871 31,745 566,095 23,587 766,983 28,407 656,047 28,524 573,216 28,661 691,654 30,072 546,752 28,776 802,108 33,421 527,292 26,365 607,098 25,296 670,859 23,959 572,378 24,886 643,425 22,979

329 8,993,531

27,336

NATIONAL LEAGUE HOME GAMES DATES

TONY GUTIERREZ / AP

Although attendance is off from 2008, it is in line with owners’ preseason expectations, giving clubs some hope that parks will be filled again. start,” Selig said at the meetings’ conclusion. “Clubs have, of course, been very aggressive on pricing and promotions, and I told the clubs today I’m proud of how they’ve reacted on that front, and I meant it.” MLB’s sales progress has been keenly followed because of several key factors: the league sells more tickets than any other major professional sport, it relies on attendance as its largest single revenue source, and baseball was the first sport to go through its

entire offseason sales cycle in the depths of global recession. “It’s definitely a challenging backdrop in terms of the broad economics, but we’re still seeing strong shows of support, and with regard to sponsors, companies are still coming forward and taking a long view, that we’re going to come out of this,” said Minnesota Twins owner Jim Pohlad. Beyond the sport’s core ballparkrelated sales, meaningful gains are being registered within the league-

controlled media arms. The fivemonths-active MLB Network continues to garner strong reviews with regard to programming and production, and ad sales have begun to pick up. Within MLB Advanced Media, sales for subscription-based products such as MLB At Bat and MLB.TV, as well as online All-Star Game balloting, are up by doubledigit percentages. — Eric Fisher is a staff writer for SportsBusiness Journal. E-mail him at [email protected].

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

TOTAL

ROAD GAMES AVG DATES

20 23 23 21 26 25 22 25 25 23 22 27 24 22 21 23

TOTAL

AVG

27 722,663 23 551,184 22 866,783 25 550,783 20 548,533 23 412,786 24 719,279 23 1,014,063 22 803,778 23 892,549 23 994,864 20 313,365 23 597,758 24 810,223 26 1,050,968 24 483,872

26,765 23,965 39,399 22,031 27,427 17,947 29,970 44,090 36,535 38,806 43,255 15,668 25,989 33,759 40,422 20,161

510,210 25,511 704,921 30,649 876,570 38,112 529,849 25,231 719,779 27,684 731,412 29,256 521,659 23,712 781,027 31,241 777,416 31,097 790,195 34,356 684,433 31,111 838,369 31,051 846,077 35,253 722,488 32,840 546,220 26,010 753,472 32,760

NL Totals

372 11,333,451

30,466

372 11,334,097

30,468

MLB Totals

701 20,327,628

28,998

701 20,327,628

28,998

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Fantasy Focus

FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

LEAGUE LEADERS Batting Average

Start ’Em, Sit ’Em A.L.

Player Bartlett MiCabrera VMartinez AdJones AHill ISuzuki Morneau

Player Beltran Pence Tejada JUpton DWright Hudson CGuzman

.373 .366 .359 .357 .344 .343 .342

American League Standings

Home Runs

N.L.

Team Tampa Bay Detroit Cleveland Baltimore Toronto Seattle Minnesota

A.L.

Team New York Houston Houston Arizona New York Los Angeles Washington

.367 .352 .346 .346 .345 .340 .340

Player CPena Teixeira Bay Morneau Kinsler Six tied

N.L.

Team Tampa Bay New York Boston Minnesota Texas

Player AdGonzalez Ibanez Dunn Bruce Pujols Reynolds Two tied

16 15 14 14 13 12

Team San Diego Philadelphia Washington Cincinnati St. Louis Arizona

18 17 16 14 14 13 12

MARK DUNCAN / AP

Runs

Jim Thome has hit Brian Bannister well.

Start ‘em Jim Thome, DH, White Sox. Thome’s solid May could get better tonight. He is 7-for-18 (.389) with three homers in his career against Kansas City’s Brian Bannister. Miguel Tejada, SS, Astros. Tejada is on a tear in May and is 8-for-11 lifetime against Pittsburgh’s Ross Ohlendorf, including a 3-for-3 performance last month. Adam LaRoche, 1B, Pirates. The streaky LaRoche is slumping, but is 9-for-23 (.391) with two homers and eight RBIs in his career against Houston’s Brian Moehler.

Sit ‘em Brandon Phillips, 2B, Reds. Maybe Phillips should take an extra day to rest his injured thumb. He is 1-for-14 in his career against Milwaukee’s Braden Looper. Johnny Damon, OF, Yankees. Damon has just one hit in 18 career at-bats against Indians southpaw Cliff Lee. Adrian Beltre, 3B, Mariners. Beltre has shown some signs of life recently, but is just 7-for-43 (.163) lifetime against Angels righthander John Lackey. — Brad Pinkerton

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

A.L.

Player BRoberts Scutaro AdJones Morneau Four tied

Stolen Bases N.L.

Team Baltimore Toronto Baltimore Minnesota

Player Ibanez Pujols Zimmerman Hudson ASoriano AdGonzalez Three tied

42 41 40 39 37

A.L.

Team Philadelphia St. Louis Washington Los Angeles Chicago San Diego

38 38 38 37 36 35 33

Player Crawford Ellsbury Figgins Abreu BUpton Bartlett Two tied

N.L.

Team Tampa Bay Boston Los Angeles Los Angeles Tampa Bay Tampa Bay

RBIs A.L.

Player Longoria Bay Morneau Hunter CPena Markakis Teixeira

Player Ibanez Fielder Dunn Pujols Hawpe Loney Cantu

51 48 44 40 40 39 39

A.L.

Team Philadelphia Milwaukee Washington St. Louis Colorado Los Angeles Florida

44 43 42 40 36 36 35

Player Palmer Halladay Greinke Slowey Buehrle Penny RRamirez

Player AHill VMartinez MiCabrera Crawford Morneau Cano Five tied

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

75 69 64 64 63 62 61

Player Hudson Zimmerman Tejada Beltran FSanchez Ibanez DWright

A.L.

Player Longoria MYoung Byrd Callaspo Lind BRoberts Three tied

Team Los Angeles Washington Houston New York Pittsburgh Philadelphia New York

68 65 64 62 60 59 59

20 17 16 16 16 16 15

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

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

Player Verlander Greinke Halladay FHernandez Lester Garza Beckett

Team Detroit Kansas City Toronto Seattle Boston Tampa Bay Boston

Player FSanchez Tejada Hudson Kotchman Beltran FLopez HaRamirez

Player JSantana Peavy Lincecum JVazquez Haren Billingsley JoJohnson

85 81 68 66 62 60 59

A.L.

Team Pittsburgh Houston Los Angeles Atlanta New York Arizona Florida

17 17 16 16 15 15 15

Player Papelbon Fuentes FFrancisco Jenks Sherrill MaRivera Three tied

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

86 84 84 78 71 69 59

N.L.

Team Boston Los Angeles Texas Chicago Baltimore New York

13 13 10 10 10 9 8

Player Bell FrRodriguez Cordero Franklin Qualls Broxton Hoffman

East Boston New York Toronto Tampa Bay Baltimore

W 28 27 27 23 22

L 20 20 23 27 26

Pct .583 .574 .540 .460 .458

GB WCGB L10 — — 6-4 ½ — 7-3 2 1½ 1-9 6 5½ 3-7 6 5½ 6-4

Str W-1 W-1 L-9 L-5 W-4

Home 17-6 14-9 16-6 11-10 15-11

Away 11-14 13-11 11-17 12-17 7-15

Central Detroit Minnesota Kansas City Chicago Cleveland

W 26 24 23 21 21

L 20 25 24 25 28

Pct .565 .490 .489 .457 .429

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

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

Home 15-7 19-11 15-12 12-10 11-11

Away 11-13 5-14 8-12 9-15 10-17

West Texas Los Angeles Seattle Oakland

W 27 24 22 18

L 19 22 26 26

Pct .587 .522 .458 .409

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

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

Home 15-8 13-10 12-12 11-13

Away 12-11 11-12 10-14 7-13

National League Standings East New York Philadelphia Atlanta Florida Washington

W 26 25 23 22 13

L 20 20 24 26 33

Pct .565 .556 .489 .458 .283

GB WCGB L10 — — 5-5 ½ 1 6-4 3½ 4 5-5 5 5½ 4-6 13 13½ 2-8

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

Home 15-8 9-14 11-12 9-14 7-16

Away 11-12 16-6 12-12 13-12 6-17

Central St. Louis Milwaukee Cincinnati Chicago Pittsburgh Houston

W 28 27 26 23 21 18

L 19 20 20 23 26 27

Pct .596 .574 .565 .500 .447 .400

GB WCGB L10 — — 7-3 1 — 4-6 1½ ½ 6-4 4½ 3½ 2-8 7 6 5-5 9 8 2-8

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

Home 17-9 13-9 13-12 14-9 11-9 9-15

Away 11-10 14-11 13-8 9-14 10-17 9-12

West W Los Angeles 34 San Diego 24 San Francisco 23 Arizona 21 Colorado 18 z-first game was a win

L 15 23 23 27 28

Pct GB WCGB L10 .694 — — 8-2 .511 9 3 9-1 .500 9½ 3½ 5-5 .438 12½ 6½ 6-4 .391 14½ 8½ 4-6

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

Home 18-5 17-6 16-8 11-17 7-13

Away 16-10 7-17 7-15 10-10 11-15

Pitching matchups Today’s games (All times Eastern)

Saves

N.L.

Team Tampa Bay Texas Texas Kansas City Toronto Baltimore

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

N.L.

Doubles A.L.

Player Martis Broxton Cain LiHernandez Pelfrey Lincecum Stults

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

Strikeouts N.L.

Team Toronto Cleveland Detroit Tampa Bay Minnesota New York

16 12 11 11 11 11 11

N.L.

Team Los Angeles Toronto Kansas City Minnesota Chicago Boston Boston

HIts A.L.

Team Houston Cincinnati San Francisco Colorado Los Angeles New York New York

Pitching (5 decisions) N.L.

Team Tampa Bay Boston Minnesota Los Angeles Tampa Bay Baltimore New York

Player Bourn Taveras Burriss Fowler Kemp JosReyes DWright

30 21 19 15 15 14 11

22

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

14 13 13 12 12 11 11.

American League The Line Oakland (Outman 2-0) at Texas (Hunter 0-0), 5:05 p.m., 1st game at Tex -110 Oak +100 Detroit (Willis 1-1) at Baltimore (Bergesen 1-2), 7:05 p.m. at Bal -115 Det +105 N.Y. Yankees (Pettitte 4-1) at Cleveland (Cl.Lee 2-5), 7:05 p.m. at Cle -135 NY +125 Boston (Wakefield 6-2) at Toronto (Janssen 0-1), 7:07 p.m. Bos -115 at Tor +105 Minnesota (S.Baker 2-5) at Tampa Bay (J.Shields 3-4), 7:38 p.m. at TB -150 Min +140 Chicago White Sox (Richard 1-0) at Kansas City (Bannister 4-1), 8:10 p.m. at KC -130 Chi +120 Oakland (E.Gonzalez 0-0) at Texas (Feldman 3-0), 8:35 p.m., 2nd game at Tex -150 Oak +140 Seattle (Vargas 1-0) at L.A. Angels (Lackey 1-0), 10:05 p.m. at LA -175 Sea +165 National League L.A. Dodgers (Billingsley 6-2) at Chicago Cubs (Lilly 5-4), 2:20 p.m. Houston (Moehler 1-3) at Pittsburgh (Ohlendorf 5-4), 7:05 p.m. Washington (Detwiler 0-0) at Philadelphia (Happ 2-0), 7:05 p.m. Florida (West 0-0) at N.Y. Mets (Pelfrey 4-1), 7:10 p.m. Cincinnati (Cueto 4-2) at Milwaukee (Looper 4-3), 8:05 p.m. San Diego (C.Young 4-2) at Colorado (Marquis 6-3), 9:10 p.m. Atlanta (Jurrjens 4-2) at Arizona (Garland 4-3), 9:40 p.m. St. Louis (Pineiro 5-4) at San Francisco (Cain 5-1), 10:15 p.m.

The Line LA -110 at Chi +100 at Pit -115 Hou +105 at Phi -160 Was +150 at NY -180 Flo +170 at Mil -105 Cin -105 at Col -130 SD +120 Atl -130 at Ari +120 at SF -120 SL +110

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23

FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

AMERICAN LEAGUE Cleveland 2, Tampa Bay 1

Boston 3, Minnesota 1

Rookie helps add to Rays’ woes in Cleveland

Young ump rings ’em up

CLEVELAND—The Tampa Bay Rays limped out of town, hoping a homestand will help the them get back on track. Rookie David Huff and four relievers combined to stifle the Rays and Victor Martinez drove in both runs for the Cleveland Indians in a 2-1 victory Thursday, completing a four-game sweep of the defending American League champions. The Rays have lost five in a row overall and 17 straight in Cleveland, the longest road losing streak against one team in club history. It was the first four-game sweep for the Indians since they did it to the Rays July 10-13 at Progressive Field. “Maybe next time we come in, we’ll have some candles and holy water,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “I have no good explanation for this.” The Rays’ run came on Willy Aybar’s homer in the sixth, which was upheld after using video replay. Aybar’s 1-0 pitch to right field was just out of the reach of a leaping Shin-Soo Choo. Replays showed the ball hit the yellow line atop the wall before caroming back into the field of play. First base umpire Angel Hernandez immediately ruled it a home run, prompting Indians manager Eric Wedge to argue. After a 90-second video review, crew chief Tim Welke confirmed the call. “You ask four people what they saw on the replay, two of them are going to be adamant that it was not a home run and two will be adamant that it was a home run,” Wedge said. “I’m not talking about umpires, I’m talking players, fans, coaches, whoever it may be. But I appreciate the fact they went in and took a look at it. It has to be their choice. When they do that, you have to respect what they come up with.” It was a difficult road trip for the Rays,

Indians 2, Rays 1 Tampa Bay AB B.Upton cf 4 Crawford lf 4 Longoria 3b 4 C.Pena 1b 3 W.Aybar 2b 4 Zobrist ss-rf 4 Dillon dh 2 a-Gross ph-dh 2 Kapler rf 3 Brignac ss 1 Navarro c 4 Totals 35

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

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

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

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

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

Avg. .192 .317 .324 .239 .284 .304 .000 .250 .188 .200 .215

Cleveland AB R H BI BB SO A.Cabrera ss 4 1 2 0 0 0 Sizemore dh 3 0 1 0 1 1 V.Martinez 1b 4 0 1 2 0 2 Choo rf 3 0 0 0 1 2 Jh.Peralta 3b 4 0 1 0 0 1 Garko lf 3 0 0 0 0 3 Crowe cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 B.Francisco cf-lf 2 0 1 0 0 0 Valbuena 2b 3 0 0 0 0 2 Shoppach c 3 1 1 0 0 0 Totals 29 2 7 2 2 11

Avg. .321 .223 .359 .289 .267 .261 .182 .259 .182 .228

Tampa Bay 000 001 000 — Cleveland 001 010 00x — DAVID RICHARD / AP

Cleveland P David Huff gave up just four hits but didn’t get the victory Thursday against Tampa Bay. who went 2-5 against the Florida Marlins and Cleveland, placing their shortstop, second baseman, closer and staff ace on the disabled list in the span of a week. Now they return home to open a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins, having dropped six games back of Boston in the A.L. East. “It was a strange series, all in all,” Maddon said. “We need to play some games at home. We need to get our mojo back.” The Indians’ bullpen, which has struggled much of this season, excelled Thursday. Jensen Lewis, Matt Herges, Rafael Betancourt and Kerry Wood combined to hold Tampa Bay to one run on four hits over five innings after a 2 hour, 40-minute rain delay in the fourth inning knocked out Huff.

Herges (1-0) struck out Evan Longoria to end the seventh inning with B.J. Upton on second to preserve the slim lead. “He’s a lot better than I am,” Herges said of Longoria. “Anytime I get him out, I’ll take it. He’s going to get me a lot more than I’ll get him.” Asdrubal Cabrera reached on a bunt single in the third off starter Jeff Niemann (4-4). He scored on a groundout by Martinez, who singled to drive home Kelly Shoppach in the fifth for the game’s only other run. The Indians’ bullpen did the rest. Over their last 18 innings—all against Tampa Bay—Tribe relievers have allowed one run on 13 hits. It has allowed the Indians to rally for victories from 10-0 and 5-0 deficits in the series. — The Associated Press

1 8 0 2 7 0

LOB: Tampa Bay 9, Cleveland 6. 2B: Zobrist (12), Sizemore (11), B.Francisco (10), Shoppach (3). HR: W.Aybar (3), off J.Lewis. RBIs: W.Aybar (12), V.Martinez 2 (36). SB: B.Upton (15). S: B.Francisco. Runners left in scoring position: Tampa Bay 4 (W.Aybar, Navarro, Longoria 2); Cleveland 5 (Choo 2, Valbuena 2, Jh.Peralta). DP: Tampa Bay 1 (Zobrist, C.Pena). Tampa Bay Niemann L, 4-4 Cormier Howell Cleveland D.Huff J.Lewis Herges W, 1-0 H, 1 R.Betancourt H, 7 K.Wood S, 8-10

IP 3 3 2 IP 4 1 1⁄3 1 2⁄3 1 1

H 5 2 0 H 4 3 1 0 0

R ER BB SO NP ERA 1 1 1 4 53 4.44 1 1 1 4 44 2.19 0 0 0 3 22 2.63 R ER BB SO NP ERA 0 0 1 2 71 10.97 1 1 0 1 28 5.54 0 0 0 3 30 1.35 0 0 1 2 17 3.71 0 0 0 1 7 6.35

Niemann pitched to 1 batter in the 4th. Inherited runners-scored: Cormier 1-0, Herges 1-0. WP: Cormier. Balk: J.Lewis. Umpires: Home, Jim Reynolds; First, Angel Hernandez; Second, Bill Welke; Third, Tim Welke. T: 2:48 (Rain delay: 2:40). A: 27,356 (45,199).

MINNEAPOLIS—Getaway day started a little bit early for the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins. Jason Varitek hit two home runs, then was one of four people ejected by young umpire Todd Tichenor during separate arguments in the seventh inning of Boston’s 3-1 victory over Minnesota on Thursday. The 32-year-old Tichenor, up from the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, gave the boot to both catchers and both managers during a wild seventh inning that ended with Red Sox starter Josh Beckett giving a dismissive wave toward home plate in disgust. “Everybody handles things differently,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said of Tichenor. “It looked like he had his hands full today. Their guys were getting ejected, we’re getting (ejected). That’s probably not your goal of the game.” Joe Crede hit a home run in his return from a three-game absence because of a bruised hand, but Beckett (5-2) was too much for the Twins. He allowed one run on three hits with four walks and eight strikeouts in seven innings. Jacoby Ellsbury went 0-for-3 to snap a 22-game hitting streak. But Varitek hit solo homers off Anthony Swarzak (1-1) to lead off the fifth and seventh innings, the first first time the switch-hitter has hit two home runs in a game off righthanded pitchers since 2004. — The Associated Press

Red Sox 3, Twins 1 Boston AB Ellsbury cf 3 Pedroia 2b 3 J.Drew rf 3 Youkilis 1b 2 Lowell 3b 4 D.Ortiz dh 4 Varitek c 3 Kottaras c 1 J.Bailey lf 4 Lugo ss 3 Totals 30

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

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

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

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

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

Avg. .302 .333 .252 .375 .303 .194 .248 .200 .188 .260

Minnesota Span cf Mauer dh-c Morneau 1b Kubel rf Crede 3b B.Harris ss Delm.Young lf Redmond c Henn p a-Cuddyer ph Ayala p b-Buscher ph Tolbert 2b Totals

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

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

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

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

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

Avg. .311 .407 .342 .331 .240 .274 .245 .250 --.284 --.183 .200

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

Boston 000 010 200 — Minnesota 010 000 000 —

3 6 0 1 5 0

a-walked for Henn in the 7th. b-struck out for Ayala in the 9th. LOB: Boston 6, Minnesota 7. 2B: J.Bailey (3), B.Harris (5). HR: Varitek 2 (10), off Swarzak 2; Crede (9), off Beckett. RBIs: Pedroia (17), Varitek 2 (22), Crede (22). S: Span. SF: Pedroia. Runners left in scoring position: Boston 1 (Lowell); Minnesota 4 (Redmond, Morneau, Tolbert, Buscher). DP: Boston 1 (Pedroia, Lugo, Youkilis); Minnesota 2 (B.Harris, Tolbert, Morneau), (Crede, Tolbert, Morneau). Boston IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Beckett W, 5-2 7 3 1 1 4 8 111 4.60 Okajima H, 8 1 1 0 0 0 1 15 2.57 Papelbon S, 13-14 1 1 0 0 0 1 19 2.45 Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Swarzak L, 1-1 6 5 3 3 4 3 103 2.08 Crain 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 6 7.43 Henn 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 11 4.15 Ayala 2 1 0 0 0 0 14 4.37 Swarzak pitched to 2 batters in the 7th. Inherited runners-scored: Crain 1-0, Henn 1-1. HBP: by Henn (Ellsbury). Umpires: Home, Todd Tichenor; First, Jerry Layne; Second, Tony Randazzo; Third, Chris Guccione. T: 2:56. A: 23,958 (46,632).

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

24

FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Baltimore 5, Detroit 1

L.A. Dodgers 2, Chicago Cubs 1

Kids are all right: O’s win again Dodgers add to Cubs’ losing ways BALTIMORE—Add David Hernandez to the expanding list of Baltimore Orioles rookie pitchers who have collected a win and a game ball following their first major league start. Hernandez took a four-hitter into the sixth inning, Luke Scott homered twice and had four RBIs, and the Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers 5-1 Thursday night for their season-high fourth straight victory. Nolan Reimold also homered for the Orioles. The rookie has connected in three straight games and has five in 14 games since being recalled from Triple-A Norfolk on May 14. Hernandez (1-0) allowed one run, five hits and four walks in 5 2/3 innings. Recalled from Norfolk before the game, the righthander became the fourth Oriole this season to win his first start—joining Koji Uehara, Brad Bergesen and Jason Berken. These are truly good times for the Orioles, who will add catching prospect Matt Wieters to the mix tonight. “Everybody is jumping around. Everybody is happy. Everybody has smiles on everybody’s faces,” center fielder Adam Jones said. “The team is getting a little younger, but it is getting more interesting. Everybody is enjoying it.” Jones finished the proceedings by stuffing a shaving-cream pie into Hernandez’s face during the rookie’s postgame interview. One day earlier, Reimold got the pie treatment after hitting a game-ending homer in the 11th against Toronto. How long can this continue? “As long as we keep winning,” Jones said. “I guess Wieters will be here

Orioles 5, Tigers 1 Detroit AB Thomas lf 2 a-Raburn ph 1 Polanco 2b 4 Ordonez rf 4 Mi.Cabrera 1b 4 Granderson cf 3 Inge 3b 3 Larish dh 3 1-J.Anderson pr-dh 0 Laird c 2 Santiago ss 4 Totals 30

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

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

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

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

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

Avg. .264 .244 .263 .263 .366 .254 .269 .228 .302 .238 .329

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

R 0 1 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 5

H 2 1 0 1 2 2 1 0 2 11

BI 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 5

BB 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2

SO 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 5

Avg. .306 .357 .297 .273 .276 .318 .264 .209 .256

Detroit Baltimore ROB CARR / AP

Baltimore’s Luke Scott hit a solo homer in the second inning and a three-run shot in the eighth. (today), so hopefully we can pie him.” Scott hit a solo shot in the second inning and a three-run drive in the eighth off Ryan Perry. It was Scott’s sixth career two-homer game, and gave him three longballs in two starts since returning from the disabled list on Wednesday. “He’s hit some big, big shots for us,” manager Dave Trembley said. Armando Galarraga (3-5) gave up three runs and 10 hits over seven-plus innings in losing his fifth straight decision. “He pitched very well,” Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. “He gave us a chance to win.” — The Associated Press

AB 4 4 4 1 4 4 4 3 3 31

000 010 000 — 010 010 03x —

1 5 0 5 11 2

a-flied out for Thomas in the 9th. 1-ran for Larish in the 8th. E: Zaun (4), Mora (3). LOB: Detroit 10, Baltimore 5. 2B: Larish (1), A.Huff (14). HR: Scott (7), off Galarraga; Reimold (5), off Galarraga; Scott (8), off Perry. RBIs: Thomas (9), Scott 4 (22), Reimold (10). SB: Granderson (8). CS: A.Huff (4). S: Polanco. Runners left in scoring position: Detroit 7 (Inge 2, Ordonez, Santiago 2, Mi.Cabrera, Laird); Baltimore 2 (Markakis, Reimold). DP: Detroit 3 (Inge, Polanco, Mi.Cabrera), (Inge, Polanco, Mi.Cabrera), (Inge, Polanco, Mi.Cabrera); Baltimore 2 (Mora, B.Roberts, A.Huff), (Mora, B.Roberts, A.Huff). Detroit Galarraga L, 3-5 Seay Perry Baltimore Hernandez W, 1-0 Albers H, 3 Ji.Johnson H, 8 Sherrill

IP 7 1⁄3 2⁄3 IP 5 2⁄3 1 1 1⁄3 1

H 10 0 1 H 5 0 0 0

R ER BB SO NP ERA 3 3 1 4 100 5.50 1 1 1 0 8 5.65 1 1 0 1 11 2.70 R ER BB SO NP ERA 1 1 4 3 108 1.59 0 0 2 1 17 4.91 0 0 1 1 14 3.28 0 0 0 0 14 2.61

Galarraga pitched to 1 batter in the 8th. Inherited runners-scored: Seay 1-0, Perry 2-2, Albers 2-0, Ji.Johnson 1-0. HBP: by Galarraga (A.Huff). Umpires: Home, Adrian Johnson; First, Larry Vanover; Second, Dan Iassogna; Third, Sam Holbrook. T: 2:46. A: 11,937 (48,290).

CHICAGO—Joe Torre stuck with Ramon Troncoso and the Dodgers reliever rewarded his manager for the vote of confidence. Troncoso wriggled out of a basesloaded jam in the ninth after Randy Wolf pitched impressively into the eighth inning, helping Los Angeles beat the Chicago Cubs 2-1 on Thursday night for its fourth straight victory. Juan Pierre had two hits and scored a run for the Dodgers, who have the best record in baseball at 34-15. The Cubs have lost nine of 11. Wolf (3-1) allowed one run and six hits. He struck out seven and walked one. Troncoso pitched the ninth after Torre let him bat in the top of the inning. Torre wanted to give Jonathan Broxton the night off after he walked three in Wednesday’s win at Colorado. Chicago had the bases loaded with one out but Troncoso struck out Bobby Scales, whose leadoff homer in the eighth ended Wolf’s night, and Jake Fox for his third save. “Troncoso was amazing, got on that high wire and then just wiggled himself off. It was terrific,” Torre said. “He’s either scared or in control. I’m not worried about him anymore in those situations.” After watching his team blow scoring opportunities in the eighth and ninth, Cubs manager Lou Piniella declined to talk to the media after the game. “You feel like we had some good chances late in the game,” Reed Johnson said. “Runners on first and second

NAM Y HUH / AP

Dodgers 2B Orlando Hudson, right, forced Chicago’s Reed Johnson’s at second base. twice with nobody out in the eighth and ninth inning and we feel like you got to feel confident coming out of those two situations with at least one run and we were not able to do it.” Reminiscent of last year’s threegame sweep of the Cubs in the division series, the Dodgers got a strong outing from their starter. Wolf kept Chicago in check with his breaking pitches. After giving up a leadoff single in the fifth, he struck out the side. “I finally had my fastball velocity back, couple of starts I was down a little bit, but I felt a lot stronger today,” Wolf said. Wolf’s lone mistake came in the eighth, when Scales went deep on a 3-2 pitch. He was replaced by Troncoso. — The Associated Press

Dodgers 2, Cubs 1 Los Angeles AB Pierre lf 4 Furcal ss 3 Hudson 2b 4 Loney 1b 4 Blake 3b 3 Ethier rf 4 Martin c 3 Kemp cf 4 Wolf p 3 Troncoso p 1 Totals 33 Chicago AB A.Soriano lf 4 Theriot ss 4 Bradley rf 3 D.Lee 1b 4 Re.Johnson cf 4 Soto c 3 Fontenot 3b 2 a-Scales ph-2b 2 A.Blanco 2b 2 b-J.Fox ph-3b 2 R.Wells p 2 Heilman p 0 c-K.Hill ph 0 d-Fukudome ph 0 Ascanio p 0 A.Guzman p 0 Totals 32

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

H 2 1 0 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 8 H 1 1 1 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 9

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

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

SO 0 0 2 1 2 0 0 1 2 1 9 SO 1 0 1 0 0 1 2 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 10

Avg. .407 .240 .340 .298 .301 .257 .263 .295 .083 .000 Avg. .253 .286 .204 .250 .239 .218 .220 .270 .167 .667 .000 --.286 .311 .000 .000

Los Angeles 101 000 000 — 2 8 0 Chicago 000 000 010 — 1 9 0 a-homered for Fontenot in the 8th. b-singled for A.Blanco in the 8th. c-was announced for Heilman in the 8th. d-walked for K.Hill in the 8th. LOB: Los Angeles 7, Chicago 7. 2B: Ethier (10), D.Lee (7). HR: Scales (2), off Wolf. RBIs: Furcal (10), Blake (33), Scales (6). SB: Pierre (10), Kemp 2 (11). Runners left in scoring position: Los Angeles 6 (Ethier 2, Pierre, Martin, Troncoso 2); Chicago 4 (Fontenot, Theriot, J.Fox 2). DP: Los Angeles 4 (Furcal, Hudson, Loney), (Furcal, Loney), (Blake, Hudson, Loney), (Hudson, Furcal, Loney); Chicago 2 (Theriot, A.Blanco, D.Lee), (Re.Johnson, A.Blanco, D.Lee). Los Angeles IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Wolf W, 3-1 7 6 1 1 1 7 109 2.84 Troncoso S, 3-3 2 3 0 0 2 3 31 1.95 Chicago IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA R.Wells L, 0-2 7 8 2 2 1 7 111 1.80 Heilman 1 0 0 0 0 1 11 5.23 Ascanio 1⁄3 0 0 0 2 0 16 3.86 A.Guzman 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 6 2.95 Wolf pitched to 1 batter in the 8th. Inherited runnersscored: A.Guzman 2-0. IBB: off Troncoso (Soto). Umpires: Home, Mark Wegner; First, Tim Timmons; Second, Jeff Kellogg; Third, Rob Drake. T: 2:51. A: 39,579 (41,210).

Cubs’ Zambrano suspended, Page 19

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FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

25

Rehabbed but rusty Brady knows repeat of 589 points unlikely FOXBOROUGH, MASS.—It might be time to dump a big bucket of water on New England. Should Patriots fans be excited about Tom Brady’s return? Absolutely. The return of perhaps the league’s best quarterback—maybe, best ever—will be a major boon for an offense that hit record-breaking heights the last time Brady made it through a season and remained in the top five without him. But expecting the Patriots to reach their offensive Albert Breer heights of 2007 is a bit PRO FOOTBALL ridiculous. Maybe more than a bit. That’s not to say anything appeared to be wrong with Brady on Thursday, taking the field in view of the media for the first time since tearing his left ACL and MCL last September. The quarterback admitted to being rusty, and in cold, damp conditions he didn’t hit every receiver in stride. Yet, even looking closely, outside of seeing a brace poking through his sweatpants, it was hard to tell Brady ever had been injured. Or that he looked any different from the other 70-some players in a late May practice. Still, even if he does regain ’07 form, and his teammates do, too, plenty would have to go right to match that record output. “I know the kind of effort we put in in ’07,” Brady said. “We need to match that. And ’08, we worked hard that offseason; it didn’t work out for us in the end. This year is another bit of excitement. It’s a new challenge, and that’s why we’re here.” That’s Brady himself tapping the brakes in the wake of comments from Wes Welker and Randy Moss earlier this week. Both indicated that the ’09 offense could eclipse the production of its forerunner. So as Brady takes his final steps back, it’s important to remember a few things:

ELISE AMENDOLA / AP

In 2007, when a then 30-year-old Tom Brady threw 50 TD passes, he was the oldest QB to throw more than 40 TDs in one season. Brady threw 50 touchdown passes in 2007. His previous high was 28 (’02 and ’04). His weaponry in ’07, of course, was the best he’d ever had. Even then, only three others have thrown as many as 40 touchdown passes in a season, and only one (Dan Marino) has done so twice. When Brady crossed that threshold at age 30, he became the oldest to do so. The Patriots scored an NFL-record

589 points in ’07. Previously, Brady led only one offense to more than 400 and that one notched 437. Moss has been a part of five offenses to score 400, but just two—the ’98 Vikings and ’07 Patriots—blew past 437. Only 10 offenses in the Super Bowl era have hit 500. It’s fair to assume chemistry between Moss, Welker, Brady and the line will improve. That unit quickly jelled as new

partners in ’07, and time adds to that. But the rest of the league now has plenty of tape on those guys as a group. Is it a coincidence that the Patriots were held under 400 yards four times during the 16-0 run and each occasion came in the second half of the season? And that three of those came in the final five weeks? Or that the club’s offensive production declined sharply weekly in the playoffs? Or maybe it

was actually tougher to prepare against that array of talent—remember, Moss’ Vikings were most productive, by far, his rookie year—when there wasn’t a whole lot of tape to study? The ’07 Patriots were remarkably healthy. There was one big injury, to Sammy Morris, a pretty good running back in a high-flying offense. Also, complementary receivers Donte’ Stallworth and Jabar Gaffney are gone, replaced by Joey Galloway and Greg Lewis (32 combined catches last season). Now, that doesn’t mean the ’09 Patriots can’t counter any negative that could be conjured. It’s just to say that sometimes, it’s worth tempering optimism. Randy Moss told ESPN.com that, “I think that we could be a little bit better than two years ago.” Wes Welker, talking to Sports Illustrated, said, “I feel we’ve gotten better.” Maybe. But the opposing defenses also should show improvement at handling these Patriots. Brady, even a year removed from NFL realities, seems wise to that. “We’re trying to do something special, and we haven’t had the kind of season we’d like in going on our fifth year,” Brady said. “There’ve been some ups and downs, and I think we need to realize you need to be extremely consistent in everything you do to accomplish your goals. It is challenging.” Because of this special quarterback and a special coach and a rooted-in system that’s been humming along for nearly a decade, the ’09 Patriots again have a real chance to, as Brady says, “do something special.” It’s why they’re prohibitive favorites, even if the Steelers have won two Super Bowls since the Patriots won their last. But as for matching the ’07 production, just know that it’s unprecedented—in fact, no one’s come close—for a group of players to repeat such a run. And if the ’09 Patriots don’t, well, that’ll hardly be reason to sound the alarms. [email protected]

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Remaining free agents A quick look at the remaining NFL free agents by position (R-restricted free agent, F-franchise tagged player): OFFENSE Quarterbacks—Brooks Bollinger, Dallas; Ken Dorsey, Cleveland; Gus Frerotte, Minnesota; Charlie Frye, Seattle; Drew Henson, Detroit; Quinn Gray, Kansas City; Trent Green, St. Louis; Rex Grossman, Chicago; Brad Johnson, Dallas; J.P. Losman, Buffalo; Jamie Martin, San Francisco; Craig Nall, Houston; Marques Tuiasosopo, Oakland; Anthony Wright, NY Giants. Running backs—J.J. Arrington, Denver; 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; Owen Daniels (R), Houston; Nate Lawrie, Cincinnati; Michael Merritt, Kansas City; Chad Mustard, Denver; Rob Myers, NY Jets; 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; Kyle Link, NY Jets; 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; Brian Johnston, Kansas City; 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; Casey Tyler, Dallas; 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; 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; 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.

FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

26

Scouts’ views

Kicker rankings: Pats’ Gostkowski rises to the top Evaluating kickers is more than just checking their stats. Still, you can’t be an elite kicker unless you make the clutch kicks. RealScouts, SN Today’s team of former NFL scouts, rank their Top 10 kickers for ‘09:

and most accurate legs, as close to a sure thing as any kicker. He has connected on 6-of-8 field-goal attempts from 50-plus yards the last three years.

1.

5.

Stephen Gostkowski, Patriots. In just his third NFL season, Gostkowski set team records for points and field goals in a season, and he did it with a backup quarterback getting him into field-goal position. New England didn’t boast much of a running game, either. With Tom Brady healthy, Gostkowski should improve on his 90 percent completion rate and once again contend for the NFL points title.

2.

John Kasay, Panthers. He turns 40 in October and doesn’t kickoff anymore, but he started the ’08 season by connecting on 16 consecutive field-goal attempts. He’s deadly accurate, and with a punishing rushing attack and a passing game led by the steady hand of Jake Delhomme, he’ll have plenty of chances to score.

3.

Jason Elam, Falcons. He moved from the rarified air of Denver to the friendly indoor confines of the Georgia Dome last year, and he responded with a career high 93.5 percent completion rate in fieldgoal attempts, including 11-of-12 from beyond 40 yards. Elam, 39, is playing indoors behind what should be an explosive offense, so look for more of the same in ’09.

4.

Rob Bironas, Titans. Bironas boasts one of the strongest

Kris Brown, Texans. RB Steve Slaton has given the Texans the needed complement to QB Matt Schaub and WR Andre Johnson. The result is one of the NFL’s most productive offenses, translating into more scoring chances for Brown.

6.

Robbie Gould, Bears. He doesn’t have a big leg but has been accurate in tough weather conditions. New QB Jay Cutler should get Gould in striking range much more often this year. Look for a significant increase in Gould’s point production.

7.

Neil Rackers, Cardinals. Rackers bounced back from a couple of down years to connect on 89.3 percent of field-goal attempts last season. He hasn’t put together two good consecutive seasons over his career and doesn’t have a strong leg, which limits his scoring chances. Sure, he plays with a high-powered offense, but the Cardinals are about scoring touchdowns—37 percent of his points last season were extrapoint kicks.

8.

Ryan Longwell, Vikings. Longwell doesn’t handle kickoff duties but has a strong and accurate leg. He missed on some mid-range kicks last season but was deadly from outside 50 yards, hitting all six attempts. If Brett Favre actually does come out of

JULIE JACOBSON / AP

Stephen Gostkowski, right, converted 36 of 40 field-goal attempts last season. retirement, Longwell will compete for the league scoring title.

9.

Lawrence Tynes, Giants. Though John Carney was awesome last year, earning Pro Bowl honors for the Giants, Tynes is the one who got the contract extension. Tynes is younger and has a stronger leg, and he proved in the ’07 Super Bowl run that he can make pressure kicks.

10.

Jason Hanson, Lions. It’s hard to be a standout on a 0-16 team, but Hanson was every bit of that last season. Though the Lions offense only provided him 22 field-goal chances, he connected on 21 of them, including 8-of-8 from 50-plus yards and 14-of-14 from 40-plus yards. — RealScouts analyzes NFL and college players, coaches and teams exclusively for Sporting News Today.

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NFL

FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

27

INSIDE DISH

Chargers reject proposal for $1 billion stadium as too big The San Diego Chargers rejected a developer’s proposal to build a $1 billion stadium as part of a redevelopment of the land surrounding Qualcomm Stadium. Hours before the project was to be announced Thursday, attorney Mark Fabiani sent the developer a letter saying the Chargers wanted him to stop referring to the team in promoting the project. The team says the project would be too enormous for the Mission Valley site. Southern California’s only NFL team has said since 2002 it needs a new stadium to remain financially competitive. The proposal would have included a 70,000-seat stadium, a hotel and other amenities. The NFL Players Association is asking a federal judge to keep the suspensions of five players on hold while the case over use of a banned substance is appealed. Last week, U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson threw out most claims by Vikings defensive tackles Kevin Williams and Pat Williams, and all claims involving three New Orleans Saints players. Magnuson says players are responsible for what they ingest. On Thursday, the NFL players union asked for an injunction so the five players won’t have to serve their four-game suspensions while the issue is being weighed by an appeals court. Earlier in the case, the judge granted a similar request that put the suspensions on hold while the case was in federal court. Will Smith, Deuce McAllister and Charles Grant are the three Saints.

Titans CB Nick Harper has undergone LASIK surgery to improve his eyesight and says it could greatly improve his ability to make interceptions. “I can tell a big, big difference,” Harper told The Tennessean. “It’s like night and day. I couldn’t believe I was that blind. Now, I should be able to catch some of those balls I dropped. That might’ve cost me going to the Pro Bowl. I think I dropped seven interceptions last year. “I thought the contacts would help, but they would always pop out during the games and I got tired of that. So I quit wearing contacts in games. “My vision was bad, that much I do know—especially on deep balls. Far away, it was fine. But as the ball got closer, I would lose it.” Colts CB Marlin Jackson was back on the field, practicing Thursday and surprising some because it normally takes players a full year to recover from ACL surgery. Jackson had his surgery Dec. 1. He says he isn’t 100 percent yet. RB Mike Hart might not be far behind Jackson. Hart also tore his ACL in October and said he could pretty much do everything if asked. The Broncos released RB J.J. Arrington after he failed a physical because of a balky right knee. The Denver Post reported he will need microfracture surgery on the knee. Arrington figured to be a thirddown specialist, a role similar to the one he played last season for the Cardinals. He was one of three veterans signed in free agency, along with Correll Buckhalter and LaMont

Jordan, after the team placed seven backs on I.R. last season. The Broncos also selected Knowshon Moreno with the 12th overall pick.

looking forward to fewer doubleteams this season. “I was double-covered a lot last year. I think that will drop,” Evans said via the team’s website. “It’s hard to say by how much. I think teams will just try to schematically do different things that take people away at certain times. It will be on the quarterback to make the right read on what the defense is trying to do, see who’s open and make the play.”

Browns RB Jamal Lewis, who had offseason arthroscopic ankle surgery, looked good in practice this week. “I’ve always been impressed with how physical and tough Jamal is,” new Browns coach Eric Mangini told The Orange & Brown Report. “This system fits him and what I’ve seen of him on tape has shown up on the field.” Lewis, who turns 30 in August, has two 1,000-yard seasons in his two years in Cleveland. He currently ranks 24th on the NFL’s alltime rushing list at 10,107 yards.

The Louisiana House has approved a central piece of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s deal to keep the Saints in the Superdome. The measure, now sent to the Senate, would allow team owner Tom Benson to act as the state’s landlord by letting the state lease office space from Benson for up to two decades. Benson plans to buy and redevelop a vacant office complex and a vacant former mall next to the Superdome.

Vikings QB Tarvaris Jackson says he was taken aback by Pro Bowl DT Pat Williams’ claim that he wasn’t working hard enough. “It was kind of surprising, but it is what it is,” Jackson told the St. Paul Pioneer-Press. “I feel like I’m doing what I’ve got to do. I put the time in. Maybe I do have to put extra time in. I guess when you’re not doing as well, you’ve got to put the extra time in. I feel like I’m working hard. I’ve always been a hard worker. I’m going to continue to do that.” Nick Harper hopes sharper eyesight will help him increase his INTs from two last season.

The Lions, after initially penciling in rookie DeAndre Levy at middle linebacker, are now working him outside after signing exSteeler Larry Foote to play in the middle. The coaches told Booth Newspapers that they aren’t sure whether Levy, a third-round pick from Wisconsin, fits better on the weak side or strong side.

Harbaugh did report good news on starting TE Todd Heap, who is recovering from a lower back injury. Harbaugh said Heap is “improving very quickly.” Heap

Former Lions DB/WR Terry Barr, a rookie on Detroit’s last championship team in 1957, died Thursday at his Bloomfield Hills home after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 73.

JOHN RUSSELL / AP

Ravens backup TE Quinn Sypniewski, who missed all of last season after hurting his knee in training camp, had a piece of a bone in his knee reattached last week. Coach John Harbaugh told The Baltimore Sun that Sypniewski is “questionable” for the start of training camp in late July.

practiced this week but did not take part in any contact drills. With WR Terrell Owens on the opposite side, Bills WR Lee Evans is

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NASCAR

Earnhardt Jr. disappointed pairing with Eury has ended BY REID SPENCER [email protected]

DETROIT—What went wrong? Dale Earnhardt Jr. isn’t sure why his pairing with crew chief Tony Eury Jr. stopped working. But Earnhardt’s level of commitment to making things better is unquestioned—he went as far as to tell team owner Rick Hendrick that he would leave the seat of the No. 88 Chevrolet if that’s what it took. Hendrick instead opted to remove Eury, Earnhardt’s cousin, from the crew chief’s position, breaking up a combination that hasn’t enjoyed the success that Earnhardt, Hendrick and Eury had expected when Earnhardt and Eury came to Hendrick at the start of the 2008 season from family-founded Dale Earnhardt Inc. Lance McGrew, who has worked with Earnhardt in the Nationwide Series, will serve as interim crew chief for the No. 88 team. McGrew will take over next weekend at Pocono. Team manager Brian Whitesell will serve as crew chief for Earnhardt this weekend at Dover International Speedway. “We’re cousins, but we’re a lot like brothers,” Earnhardt said Thursday during an appearance for Michigan International Speedway at Motor City Casino. “We’ve been sort of at odds with each other over the last couple of weeks. “As a whole, our relationship is really, really strong, and we’ve always really had a great enthusiasm to work together. We came to Hendrick with a little bit of a risk. We felt a lot of pressure when we

ERIK PEREL FOR SN

Starting this weekend, Dale Earnhardt Jr., left, no longer will have Tony Eury Jr. as crew chief. went to Rick to work, but we jumped in with both feet and really felt like we were going to make it happen. It’s really, really disappointing that it didn’t work out like we wanted.” Earnhardt hasn’t won a race since June 2008 at Michigan. His only other victory for Hendrick came in his first competitive event with the organization, the non-points February 2008 Budweiser Shootout. The tipping point came at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Monday, where Earnhardt fought an ill-handling car all afternoon and finished 40th, two laps down, in the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600. Even so, Earnhardt struggled to identify the reasons why his relationship with Eury simply stopped working. “The only thing I can say was a little bit of an issue was, most of last year, we ran on right-front bump stops, and we were running good with that. And we had studied and learned that. During the middle of

the season, (teammate) Jimmie (Johnson) was trying some different stuff, and he started having some success with it. “We started trying it and trying to make it work and trying to learn it, so we could be ready to go to the Chase and not get our butts kicked, and we really kind of got lost trying to develop this other idea of how to set the car up. And we got a way from what was working and never really regained that momentum back.” Ultimately, Earnhardt told Hendrick to do whatever he felt was necessary to improve the team’s performance. Eury said in a team press release that he has mixed feelings about the switch, but called it “natural.” “But I enjoy working at Hendrick Motorsports, and this is where I want to be,” Eury said. — Reid Spencer writes for the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

28

Hendrick: Chase still attainable for 88 team BY BOB POCKRASS SceneDaily.com

Rick Hendrick has a simple mission for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s new crew chief, Lance McGrew: Make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup or show enough improvement that he thinks McGrew can lead Earnhardt Jr. back into championship contention. If that doesn’t happen, expect more changes. Hendrick announced Thursday that McGrew would replace crew chief Tony Eury Jr., who will assume McGrew’s research-and-development duties. McGrew’s first race with Earnhardt Jr. will be next week at Pocono. Earnhardt Jr. is 19th in the standings, 203 points out of 12th, with 14 races to go before the 12-driver Chase field is set. “The change we made is an effort to run better, and if we run better, we should have a shot at making the Chase,” Hendrick said Thursday during a teleconference with reporters. “If we miss the Chase, I’ve got to see some real momentum in this team before the end of the year. I can’t go into the offseason thinking, ‘It’s OK, and we’ll be good next year.’ You’ve got to see some improvement, or you’ve got to change something. “NASCAR needs Dale to run well because he’s got a tremendous following. We need him to run good because he’s in one of our cars. The pressure on me is he could have gone anywhere he wanted to go (when he left Dale Earnhardt Inc.). He picked our place to come. There is a tremendous pressure on me to get the job done. I do not ever want to let anyone in our company down, and so I feel that (pressure), and I absolutely will do whatever I’ve got to to get him where he needs to be.” Right now, that means McGrew will be joined by team manager Brian Whitesell and Hendrick’s head chassis engineer, Rex Stump, in the running of the team. McGrew currently has “interim” in his title and will be given the opportunity to prove he should have that tag lifted. “There’s not going to be any magic wand that’s going to turn it upside down overnight,” Hendrick said. “Our goal is to make the Chase, and we think we can do it. Some guys are going to have to have some bad luck, and we have to run a ton better. We’ve got to be up there running in the top 10, top five and going for wins.”

TERRY RENNA / AP

Rick Hendrick, above, said if this new crew chief arrangement for Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn’t work, he’ll keep looking for the right fit. McGrew, who won the 2003 title in what is now the Nationwide Series title with Brian Vickers and also guided Kyle Busch in his first full season in NASCAR’s No. 2 series, has most recently worked with Brad Keselowski in the No. 25 Sprint Cup car. He will work with Keselowski this weekend and begin work with Earnhardt Jr. next week because he has not worked on the car Earnhardt Jr. will race at Dover. [email protected]

Something had to give This is Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s 10th season in the Sprint Cup Series, and he has never endured a start like this in his career. Check out his stats from the first 12 races of each season. Year 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000

Pts position 19th 3rd 13th 5th 15th 1st 2nd 12th 10th 16th

Poles 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 2

Wins 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 1 0 2

Top 5 1 5 1 4 3 7 6 5 2 3

Top 10 3 9 5 5 5 9 8 5 5 4

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Kentucky-NASCAR hearing set for July 30 A three-judge U.S. Court of Appeals panel will hear oral arguments in the Kentucky Speedway founders’ antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR and International Speedway Corp. at 9 a.m. July 30 in Cincinnati. Decisions on appeals typically come anywhere from three weeks to six months after the oral arguments in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Speedway Motorsports Inc. bought Kentucky Speedway last December, and chairman Bruton Smith wants to realign one of his Sprint Cup races to the 1.5-mile oval. But NASCAR has said it would not consider a realignment request until the case is resolved. Without a settlement, no resolution can come until August, and NASCAR already has said it is getting late in the process for a formal realignment request to be made. When SMI bought the track, the founders retained their rights to pursue their lawsuit, which alleges that the France-owned sanctioning body of NASCAR illegally conspires with the publicly traded, France-controlled track operating company ISC to keep tracks such as Kentucky from obtaining Cup dates. SMI is considered a co-conspirator in the case. — Bob Pockrass, SceneDaily.com Count Penske Racing’s Kurt Busch as a fan of Dover International Speedway’s new pit road. During a national teleconference this week, Busch was asked his

opinion on the improvements Dover has made, lengthening pit road and installing a SAFER barrier from Turn 4 down the frontstretch to near Turn 1. The new pit wall is 432 feet longer than the previous boilerplate wall. The Kurt Busch changes allowed track officials to widen the passing lane on pit road by four feet and lengthen the 43 pit stalls. “I remember sharing a pit box at Dover my rookie year because I qualified so poorly,” Busch said. “They only had 42 boxes, and the last-place guy had to share with the other last-place guy. It makes it difficult when you know you’re behind the 8-ball to start with, and so now that they’ve made improvements, it’s going to be a better atmosphere for everybody.” — Rea White, SceneDaily.com JTG Daugherty Racing says RaceSavers.com will sponsor the team’s No. 47 Toyota driven by Marcos Ambrose in this weekend’s Sprint Cup Series Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway. RaceSavers.com offers fans coupons and discounts on consumer packaged goods and services and has a sweepstakes page where fans can enter to win behind-the-scenes access to races throughout the season. — SceneDaily.com

FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

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Truck series starts busy stretch at Dover After six races in three months to open the season, the Camping World Truck Series enters a demanding stretch of five races in 30 days today with the AAA Insurance 200 at Dover International Speedway. It is a pivotal period in the 25-race season, challenging the resources and strength of drivers and teams with constant turnarounds and will have a major impact on the championship. “The summer stretch pretty much determines your season,” ThorSport Racing Chevrolet driver Matt Crafton said. “Last year, we put ourselves in contention during that string of races, but fell off at the end of the season and it cost us. I expect us to be strong again this year and put ourselves in position for good things to happen.” Crafton is third in the points, 89 behind leader Ron Hornaday Jr., heading into the Monster Mile. He was third in the previous race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, his best finish of the season and fifth top 10.

3

AAA Insurance 200 at Dover International Speedway When: 5 p.m. ET today TV: Speed, 8 p.m. (tape delay) Radio: MRN/Sirius XM Satellite Ch. 128 Track layout: 1-mile oval Race distance: 200 laps/200 miles 2008 winner: Scott Speed 2008 polesitter: Mike Skinner

Points leaders

1. Ron Hornaday Jr., 966; 2. Mike Skinner, 882; 3. Matt Crafton, 877; 4. Kyle Busch, 852; 5. Todd Bodine, 837; 6. Terry Cook, 786; 7. Johnny Benson, 779; 8. Chad McCumbee, 770; 9. Stacy Compton, 762; 10. Brian Scott, 759.

Crafton was fifth at Dover last year and emerged from the next five races second in points. He ranked third with four remaining in 2008, but faded to fifth. It still equaled Crafton’s best season in eight full truck series seasons and his best in seven with ThorSport. — Tim Tuttle

for the road

Because Dover is such a unique and difficult track, most Sprint Cup drivers like racing on it. Three of them weigh in with their thoughts on the Monster Mile.

1.

Clint Bowyer: “Dover is one of those tracks where you want to win at. At some of these mile-and-ahalf tracks, you’re only as good as the equipment and you really don’t have much of a say so. At places like Bristol, Dover, Daytona and Talladega, you have to make things happen. If the car isn’t handing, you can pick up your end of the deal and make something happen.

DENNY MEDLEY / AP

Ron Hornaday Jr. takes an 84-point lead into today’s race at Dover.

I won the Nationwide race at Dover a couple of years ago, and I want to get a Sprint Cup win as well.” Kurt Busch: “With the old car, it was pretty common for the teams to have one particular car—call it their ‘concrete car’—that they would race exclusively at Dover and Bristol. With the COT model, it is irrelevant; at least it is with our team so far. … Concrete is certainly more demanding on the driver and equipment. You and your car really take a pounding. A great example was during the last race at Dover when the car was under such strain that we actually broke the fuel-filler. I’ve never seen that happen before.” Tony Stewart: “There are seams in Dover’s surface and places where they’ve cut the concrete for expansion. Those sections shift and change, and every year when you go there the bumps are a little bit different than they were the year before. Dover is a track that’s constantly changing. But it’s one of those places where you really can’t change your driving style. You

2.

3.

CHUCK BURTON / AP

Clint Bowyer’s best Sprint Cup finish at Dover is eighth place, a feat he has accomplished three times. still have to do the same things you always do. It’s just a matter of finding the package that’s right for that racetrack.”

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Tennis

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FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

30

FRENCH OPEN Glance PARIS—A look at the French Open on Thursday: Weather: Cloudy. High of 68 degrees. Attendance: 34,875. Men’s seeded winners: No. 2 Roger Federer, No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro, No. 6 Andy Roddick, No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, No. 10 Nikolay Davydenko, No. 11 Gael Monfils, No. 16 Tommy Robredo, No. 24 Jurgen Melzer, No. 25 Igor Andreev, No. 32 Paul-Henri Mathieu. Men’s seeded losers: None. Women’s seeded winners: No. 2 Serena Williams, No. 3 Venus Williams, No. 4 Elena Dementieva, No. 5 Jelena Jankovic, No. 7 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 10 Caroline Wozniacki, No. 12 Agnieszka Radwanska, No. 24 Aleksandra Wozniak, No. 30 Samantha Stosur. Women’s seeded losers: No. 13 Marion Bartoli, No. 18 A. Medina Garrigues, No. 21 Alize Cornet, No. 28 Sybille Bammer. Stat of the day: 1—Match point saved by Venus Williams in her 6-7 (5), 6-2, 7-5 victory over Lucie Safarova. Quote of the day: “I’m angry, because even though it was Federer, it was a near-miss. I was so close to winning this match.”— Jose Acasuso, after his 7-6 (8), 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-2 loss to Federer. On court today: No. 1 Rafael Nadal vs. Lleyton Hewitt, No. 3 Andy Murray vs. Janko Tipsarevic, No. 8 Fernando Verdasco vs. No. 31 Nicolas Almagro; No. 1 Dinara Safina vs. No. 27 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, No. 3 Venus Williams vs. No. 29 Agnes Szavay, No. 8 Ana Ivanovic vs. No. 32 Iveta Benesova, Maria Sharapova vs. Yaroslava Shvedova. Today’s forecast: Sunny. High of 73 degrees. Today’s TV: Tennis Channel, 5 a.m.-noon EDT; ESPN2, noon to 6:30 p.m. EDT. — The Associated Press

Federer struggles but still advances PARIS—Close doesn’t count. Roger Federer knows that as well as anyone. Still, even Federer had to acknowledge he found himself in a much tighter and tougher match than he would have expected—or is used to—in the French Open’s second round Thursday before producing a 7-6 (8), 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-2 victory over Jose Acasuso. How near did the 45th-ranked Acasuso come to a startling upset—in straight sets, no less? On four occasions, the Argentine was a point from taking the first set. After winning the second, he held a set point in the third. Federer, whose season hasn’t been up to his high standards, was up to the task each time, though. “Mentally, I’ve always been very strong, but I’m not being put in a position like this very often, you know,” Federer said. Then, moments later, as if to make sure everyone understood him, Federer added: “Coming through such a match is always a great feeling. Like I said, I’m not part of such close matches that often.” Particularly at this stage of a Grand Slam tournament. And particularly against anyone other than Rafael Nadal, who supplanted Federer at No. 1 in the rankings last year and edged him in five-set Wimbledon and Australian Open finals. “I thought,” Acasuso said, “I could have won this match.” But this has not been a French Open for underdogs or upsets,

CHRISTOPHE ENA / AP

Roger Federer, above, beat Jose Acasuso in four sets in their second-round match. and no seeded men lost Thursday, when the winners included No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro, No. 6 Andy Roddick, No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, No. 10 Nikolay Davydenko, No. 11 Gael Monfils and No. 16 Tommy Robredo. Four seeded women went home, though none higher than No. 13 Marion Bartoli. Those moving into the third round included both Williams sisters— Venus needed three sets, Serena two—No. 5 Jelena Jankovic, No. 7 Svetlana Kuznetsova and No. 4 Elena Dementieva, who advanced when Jelena Dokic stopped playing because of a bad back while leading 6-2, 3-4. “I really don’t deserve to win today because of the way I was playing,” Dementieva said. The biggest surprise Thursday might have been how well Roddick played, given that he

hadn’t made the third round at Roland Garros since his 2001 tournament debut. “There’s a lot of work to go,” said Roddick, the only U.S. man remaining of the nine who entered the tournament. “By no means have I accomplished anything yet.” In his 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (2) victory over 85th-ranked Ivo Minar of the Czech Republic, Roddick hit 15 aces, saved all four break points he faced and won the point on 23 of 26 trips to the net. “I’m not going to sit here and jump up on a soap box like I’m really good on this stuff now because I won two matches. I think that’s what you need to guard against,” Roddick said. “Today I felt pretty good, and I felt pretty in control of what I was doing.” — The Associated Press

Results Thursday At Stade Roland Garros, Paris Purse: $21.8 million (Grand Slam) Surface: Clay-Outdoor Singles Men, Second Round Jeremy Chardy, France, def. Simone Bolelli, Italy, 6-2, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-1. Tommy Robredo (16), Spain, def. Daniel Gimeno-Traver, Spain, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3. Maximo Gonzalez, Argentina, def. Andreas Seppi, Italy, 7-6 (8), 6-3, 6-3. Nikolay Davydenko (10), Russia, def. Diego Junqueira, Argentina, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0, 6-2. Juan Martin del Potro (5), Argentina, def. Viktor Troicki, Serbia, 6-3, 7-5, 6-0. Igor Andreev (25), Russia, def. Martin Vassallo Arguello, Argentina, 1-6, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. Roger Federer (2), Switzerland, def. Jose Acasuso, Argentina, 7-6 (8), 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-2. Christophe Rochus, Belgium, def. Arnaud Clement, France, 6-1, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. Tommy Haas, Germany, def. Leonardo Mayer, Argentina, 6-3, 7-6 (2), 3-6, 4-6, 6-3. Jurgen Melzer (24), Austria, def. Guillaume Rufin, France, 6-2, 7-5, 6-4. Paul-Henri Mathieu (32), France, def. Pablo Andujar, Spain, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4. Gael Monfils (11), France, def. Victor Crivoi, Romania, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. Marc Gicquel, France, def. Andreas Beck, Germany, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (3), 7-5. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (9), France, def. Juan Monaco, Argentina, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (8). Andy Roddick (6), United States, def. Ivo Minar, Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (2). Philipp Kohlschreiber (29), Germany, vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spain, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-7 (3), susp., darkness. Novak Djokovic (4), Serbia, leads Sergiy Stakhovsky, Ukraine, 6-3, 6-4, susp., darkness. Women, Second Round Tathiana Garbin, Italy, def. Marion Bartoli (13), France, 6-3, 7-5. Jelena Jankovic (5), Serbia, def. Magdalena Rybarikova, Slovakia, 6-1, 6-2. Svetlana Kuznetsova (7), Russia, def. Galina Voskoboeva, Kazakhstan, 6-0, 6-2. Jarmila Groth, Australia, def. Mariana Duque Marino, Colombia, 6-2, 7-6 (9). Lourdes Dominguez Lino, Spain, def. Alexa Glatch, United States, 7-6 (0), 7-5. Aleksandra Wozniak (24), Canada, def. Petra Martic, Croatia, 6-3, 6-3. Venus Williams (3), United States, def. Lucie Safarova, Czech Republic, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 7-5. Caroline Wozniacki (10), Denmark, def. Jill Craybas, United States, 6-1, 6-4. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, Spain, def. Viktoriya Kutuzova, Ukraine, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Melinda Czink, Hungary, def. Sybille Bammer (28), Austria, 4-6, 6-3, 10-8. Sorana Cirstea, Romania, def. Alize Cornet (21), France, 6-3, 6-2. Serena Williams (2), United States, def. Virginia Ruano Pascual, Spain, 6-2, 6-0. Virginie Razzano, France, def. Anabel Medina Garrigues (18), Spain, 6-2, 6-2. Kateryna Bondarenko, Ukraine, def. Olivia Rogowska, Australia, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5. Samantha Stosur (30), Australia, def. Yanina Wickmayer, Belgium, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Elena Dementieva (4), Russia, def. Jelena Dokic, Australia, 2-6, 4-3, retired. Agnieszka Radwanska (12), Poland, def. Mariya Koryttseva, Ukraine, 6-1, 6-4.

Doubles Men, First Round Leos Friedl and David Skoch, Czech Republic, def. Jamie Murray, Britain, and Pavel Vizner, Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-2. Rik de Voest, South Africa, and Ashley Fisher (14), Australia, def. YenHsun Lu, Taiwan, and Frank Moser, Germany, 6-2, 6-2. Simon Aspelin, Sweden, and Paul Hanley, Australia, def. Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco, Spain, 6-4, 6-4. Jaroslav Levinsky, Czech Republic, and Igor Zelenay, Slovakia, def. Jeff Coetzee, South Africa, and Jordan Kerr (11), Australia, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1. Marcel Granollers and Santiago Ventura, Spain, def. Philipp Petzschner, Germany, and Alexander Peya, Austria, 6-1, 7-6 (2). Michael Kohlmann and Alexander Waske, Germany, def. Eric Butorac and Scott Lipsky, United States, 6-4, 6-2. Daniel Nestor, Canada, and Nenad Zimonjic (1), Serbia, def. Lucas Arnold Ker and Horacio Zeballos, Argentina, 6-3, 6-4. Fabio Fognini, Italy, and Teimuraz Gabashvili, Russia, def. Yves Allegro and Marco Chiudinelli, Switzerland, 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-4. Lukasz Kubot, Poland, and Oliver Marach (9), Austria, def. Mathieu Montcourt and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, France, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. David Ferrer and Daniel Gimeno-Traver, Spain, def. Ivo Karlovic and Lovro Zovko, Croatia, 6-2, 7-5. Johan Brunstrom, Sweden, and Jean-Julien Rojer, Netherlands Antilles, def. Igor Andreev and Evgeny Korolev, Russia, 6-1, 6-1. Simone Bolelli and Andreas Seppi, Italy, def. Sebastien Grosjean, France, and Nicolas Lapentti, Ecuador, 6-4, 7-6 (8). Bob and Mike Bryan (2), United States, def. Robby Ginepri and Robert Kendrick, United States, 7-5, 6-4. Women, First Round Serena and Venus Williams (5), United States, def. Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, Czech Republic, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Second Round Hsieh Su-wei, Taiwan, and Peng Shuai (9), China, def. Olga Savchuk, Ukraine, and Sun Tiantian, China, 6-3, 6-0. Yan Zi and Zheng Jie (16), China, def. Klaudia Jans and Alicja Rosolska, Poland, 6-2, 6-4. Kveta Peschke, Czech Republic, and Lisa Raymond (2), United States, def. Julie Ditty, United States, and Maria Emilia Salerni, Argentina, 6-1, 6-1. Victoria Azarenka, Belarus, and Elena Vesnina (12), Russia, def. Severine Bremond Beltrame and Julie Coin, France, 6-2, 6-0. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Germany, and Patty Schnyder (11), Switzerland, def. Mathilde Johansson and Pauline Parmentier, France, 6-3, 6-0. Daniela Hantuchova, Slovakia, and Ai Sugiyama (7), Japan, def. Ekaterina Makarova, Russia, and Arantxa Parra Santonja, Spain, 6-2, 6-2. Vania King, United States, and Monica Niculescu (13), Romania, def. Maret Ani and Kaia Kanepi, Estonia, 6-0, 6-2. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russia, and Francesca Schiavone, Italy, def. Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-3. Vera Dushevina, Russia, and Anastasia Rodionova, Australia, def. Lucie Safarova and Vladimira Uhlirova, Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-1. Maria Kirilenko, Russia, and Flavia Pennetta (8), Italy, def. Jill Craybas and Carly Gullickson, United States, 6-1, 6-1. Mixed First Round Hsieh Su-wei, Taiwan, and Ashley Fisher, Australia, def. Chuang Chiajung, Taiwan, and Christopher Kas, Germany, 6-4, 3-6, 12-10 tiebreak. Severine Bremond Beltrame, France, and Robert Lindstedt, Sweden, def. Julie Coin and Nicolas Mahut, France, 6-3, 6-3. Lisa Raymond, United States, and Marcin Matkowski (3), Poland, def. Rennae Stubbs, Australia, and Ross Hutchins, Britain, 6-2, 6-2. Nadia Petrova, Russia, and Max Mirnyi (4), Belarus, def. Raquel KopsJones and Eric Butorac, United States, 6-1, 6-4. Alisa Kleybanova, Russia, and Bruno Soares, Brazil, def. Yan Zi, China, and Nenad Zimonjic (7), Serbia, 7-5, 4-6, 12-10 tiebreak. Elena Vesnina, Russia, and Daniel Nestor (6), Canada, def. Stephanie Cohen-Aloro and Thierry Ascione, France, 6-2, 6-1. Cara Black, Zimbabwe, and Leander Paes (2), India, def. Virginie Razzano, France, and Jeff Coetzee, South Africa, 6-3, 6-3. Sybille Bammer, Austria, and Lukasz Kubot, Poland, def. Dominika Cibulkova and Filip Polasek, Slovakia, 7-6 (2), 2-6, 10-7 tiebreak.

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Singh back, and among leaders, after first round at Colonial FORT WORTH, TEXAS—Vijay Singh stopped playing at the Colonial Country Club when Annika Sorenstam showed up in 2003. He’s finally back—and among the leaders. Singh shot a 6-under 64 on Thursday, leaving him a stroke behind Woody Austin, Tim Clark and Steve Stricker after the first round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational. “This is a good way to start a tournament,” Singh said. Singh played the event all but once from 1996-2002. He was scheduled to return in ’03, then withdrew after making comments critical of the decision to allow a woman into the field. The gallery mocked his absence that week (his name on the side of chicken hats, T-shirts that read, “Singh a different tune, Vijay”), but folks seemed to have forgiven and forgotten on Thursday. He heard cheers when he birdied five straight holes in the middle of his round and people groaned along with him when he hit the flagstick on his 15th hole. The good vibe likely was aided by his pairing with Kenny Perry, a two-time champion, and Brian Gay, who was born in Fort Worth and considers this his favorite course. Singh described the support from the gallery as “no more than I had last week.” “I haven’t been playing well so they’ve been very quiet,” he said, laughing. “Maybe they’re going to start making noise here soon.” Singh and Perry walked off their final green leading the field. It didn’t last, though, because

Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Site: Fort Worth, Texas Schedule: Through-Sunday Course: Colonial Country Club (7,054 yards, par 70) Purse: $6.2 million. Winner’s share: $1,116,000 TV: Golf Channel (Today, 12:30-3:30 a.m., 3-6 p.m., 8:3011:30 p.m.; Saturday, 2-5 a.m.) and CBS (Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m.)

Leaderboard Thursday At Colonial Country Club Fort Worth, Texas Purse: $6.2 million Yardage: 7,204; Par 70 (35-35)

DONNA MCWILLIAM / AP

Vijay Singh made five straight birdies and didn’t hear the kinds of responses he might have heard had he shown up for the tournament in 2003. Austin came in at 63 soon after, then Clark followed. All left for lunch expecting more low scores to come in because of the light winds and soft greens, but Stricker was the only player from the afternoon groups to join them. “If the wind blows, that is what is going to dictate the scoring here,” Stricker said. “But if it continues to be soft, I think the scoring is going to continue to be good.” Rory Sabbatini shot a 71 to open his bid to sweep the Dallas and Forth Worth events,

something only done by Ben Hogan in 1946. Sabbatini is the 2007 champion of this event and the most recent winner because ’08 champ Phil Mickelson is on indefinite leave to help his wife, Amy, who recently was diagnosed with breast cancer. Paul Casey, playing his first tournament since moving up to No. 3 in the world rankings, opened with a 66. He won the BMW PGA Championship on Sunday at Wentworth in England for his third victory of the season. Ian Baker-Finch, celebrating the 20-year anniversary of his

Colonial victory, shot a 68 in his second competitive start in 12 years. The 48-year-old Australian, a television commentator for the last decade, hadn’t played tournament golf in eight years since shooting 74-77 at Colonial to miss the cut. Singh opened slowly, mixing one birdie with five pars. Then came a run of five straight birdies. Singh narrowly missed several more birdie putts, often settling for tap-in pars. That includes the 15th, which might’ve been a tap-in birdie the way it was coming in.

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FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

Perry tied him at 6 under with a birdie on their 17th hole, but Singh followed with a birdie putt from the fringe to reach 7 under. Then came his lone poor hole, the finale. Singh put his drive in a bunker, then his approach into a pond. After making his bogey putt, he flipped his replacement ball into the pond, too. It was still his lowest round on the PGA Tour this year, and the fifth time in six tries that he’s been in the 60s after doing so only twice in his first 28 rounds. — The Associated Press

First Round Woody Austin Tim Clark Steve Stricker Kenny Perry Vijay Singh Sean O’Hair Jason Day Ian Poulter Kevin Na Steve Marino Justin Leonard Paul Casey Kevin Sutherland Harrison Frazar Chad Campbell Mark Wilson Joe Ogilvie Rocco Mediate Tommy Armour III James Nitties Aron Price Charlie Wi David Toms Greg Owen Kevin Streelman Brian Gay Adam Scott Stephen Ames Tom Lehman Mark Calcavecchia George McNeill Dean Wilson Ian Baker-Finch Luke Donald Fredrik Jacobson Mathew Goggin Jim Furyk John Senden Ryan Moore Nicholas Thompson Derek Fathauer Ted Purdy Tom Pernice, Jr. Mike Weir Zach Johnson Hunter Mahan Ryuji Imada Chris DiMarco Marc Turnesa Heath Slocum Justin Rose Jeff Overton Matt Bettencourt Jason Bohn Anthony Kim Ryan Palmer Brian Davis Nick O’Hern

31-32 31-32 31-32 32-32 33-31 33-32 31-34 34-32 32-34 32-34 30-36 33-33 34-32 33-34 32-35 33-34 31-36 34-33 32-35 32-35 34-33 34-33 32-35 33-35 37-31 35-33 34-34 35-33 37-31 30-38 32-36 33-35 34-34 33-35 34-34 35-33 34-34 34-34 34-34 33-35 33-35 34-35 35-34 34-35 36-33 35-34 33-36 36-33 34-35 31-38 34-35 34-35 37-32 33-36 32-37 33-36 34-35 34-35

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

63 63 63 64 64 65 65 66 66 66 66 66 66 67 67 67 67 67 67 67 67 67 67 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 69 69 69 69 69 69 69 69 69 69 69 69 69 69 69 69 69

-7 -7 -7 -6 -6 -5 -5 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1

James Driscoll Jason Dufner Danny Lee Alex Cejka Briny Baird Matt Kuchar Jeff Quinney Davis Love III Scott Verplank Greg Kraft Michael Bradley Jeff Maggert John Rollins Lucas Glover Keith Clearwater Geoff Ogilvy Jerry Kelly Paul Goydos Johnson Wagner Bart Bryant Bo Van Pelt Corey Pavin J.J. Henry Rory Sabbatini Todd Hamilton Carl Pettersson Tim Herron Brett Quigley John Merrick Vaughn Taylor Rich Beem Bob Estes Webb Simpson Ken Duke Lee Janzen J.B. Holmes Stewart Cink Richard S. Johnson Steve Flesch Ben Crane Brandt Jobe Mark Brooks Matt Weibring Jeff Klauk Parker McLachlin Will MacKenzie Tim Petrovic Billy Mayfair Chez Reavie Jonathan Byrd J.P. Hayes Trevor Immelman Charley Hoffman Cameron Beckman Scott Piercy Rod Pampling D.A. Points Fulton Allem Peter Lonard Y.E. Yang Dudley Hart Steve Lowery D.J. Trahan Troy Matteson Bill Lunde Daniel Chopra

33-36 35-34 34-35 36-34 33-37 36-34 34-36 35-35 33-37 36-34 37-33 39-31 35-35 36-34 35-35 36-34 36-34 34-36 35-35 36-34 35-36 37-34 36-35 35-36 36-35 35-36 35-36 34-37 35-36 34-37 34-37 34-37 33-38 36-35 36-35 34-37 34-37 34-37 35-36 34-37 35-36 34-37 38-33 36-36 37-35 36-36 36-36 36-36 36-36 36-36 37-35 33-40 34-39 36-37 36-37 35-38 37-36 37-37 35-39 37-37 39-35 38-37 37-38 37-39 41-38

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

69 -1 69 -1 69 -1 70 E 70 E 70 E 70 E 70 E 70 E 70 E 70 E 70 E 70 E 70 E 70 E 70 E 70 E 70 E 70 E 70 E 71 +1 71 +1 71 +1 71 +1 71 +1 71 +1 71 +1 71 +1 71 +1 71 +1 71 +1 71 +1 71 +1 71 +1 71 +1 71 +1 71 +1 71 +1 71 +1 71 +1 71 +1 71 +1 71 +1 72 +2 72 +2 72 +2 72 +2 72 +2 72 +2 72 +2 72 +2 73 +3 73 +3 73 +3 73 +3 73 +3 73 +3 74 +4 74 +4 74 +4 74 +4 75 +5 75 +5 76 +6 79 +9 WD

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College Baseball

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NCAA Division I regionals glance

All times ET, double elimination

At Clark-LeClair Stadium

At McKethan Stadium

At Alex Box Stadium

At Boshamer Stadium

At Dick Howser Stadium

At L. Dale Mitchell Park

Greenville, N.C. Today Game 1 : South Carolina (38-21) vs. George Mason (42-12), 3 p.m. Game 2 : East Carolina (42-17) vs. Binghamton (29-20), 7 p.m. Saturday Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 2 p.m. Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 6 p.m. Sunday Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 2 p.m. Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 6 p.m. Monday Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 6 p.m., if necessary Chapel Hill, N.C. Today Game 1 : Coastal Carolina (46-14) vs. Kansas (37-22), 2 p.m. Game 2 : North Carolina (42-16) vs. Dartmouth (27-16), 6 p.m. Saturday Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 1 p.m. Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 5 p.m. Sunday Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 1 p.m. Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 5 p.m. Monday Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 6 p.m., if necessary

Gainesville, Fla. Today Game 1 : Miami (36-20) vs. Jacksonville (36-20), 1 p.m. Game 2 : Florida (39-20) vs. Bethune-Cookman (32-26), 6:30 p.m. Saturday Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 1 p.m. Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 6:30 p.m. Sunday Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 1 p.m. Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 6:30 p.m. Monday Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 6:30 p.m., if necessary Tallahassee, Fla. Today Game 1 : Georgia (37-22) vs. Ohio State (40-17), Noon Game 2 : Florida State (42-16) vs. Marist (31-26), 4 p.m. Saturday Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, Noon Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 4 p.m. Sunday Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, Noon Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 4 p.m. Monday Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m., if necessary

Baton Rouge, La. Today Game 1 : LSU (46-16) vs. Southern U. (30-15), 2 p.m. Game 2 : Minnesota (38-17) vs. Baylor (29-24), 7 p.m. Saturday Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 2 p.m. Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m. Sunday Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 2 p.m. Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m. Monday Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m., if necessary Norman, Okla. Today Game 1 : Arkansas (34-22) vs. Washington State (31-23), 2 p.m. Game 2 : Oklahoma (41-18) vs. Wichita State (30-25), 8 p.m. Saturday Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 2 p.m. Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 8 p.m. Sunday Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 2 p.m. Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 8 p.m. Monday Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 8 p.m., if necessary

At Doug Kingsmore Stadium

At Jim Patterson Stadium

At Reckling Park

At Russ Chandler Stadium

At Oxford-University Stadium

At Lupton Baseball Stadium

Clemson, S.C. Today Game 1 : Alabama (37-19) vs. Oklahoma State (32-22), 3 p.m. Game 2 : Clemson (40-19) vs. Tennessee Tech (30-22-1), 7 p.m. Saturday Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 3 p.m. Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m. Sunday Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 3 p.m. Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m. Monday Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m., if necessary Atlanta Today Game 1 : Elon (40-16) vs. Southern Mississippi (35-23), 3 p.m. Game 2 : Georgia Tech (35-17-1) vs. Georgia State (39-20), 7 p.m. Saturday Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 3 p.m. Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m. Sunday Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 3 p.m. Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m. Monday Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m., if necessary

Louisville, Ky. Today Game 1 : Middle Tennessee (43-16) vs. Vanderbilt (34-25), 3 p.m. Game 2 : Louisville (44-15) vs. Indiana (32-25), 7 p.m. Saturday Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 3 p.m. Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m. Sunday Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 3 p.m. Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m. Monday Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m., if necessary Oxford, Miss. Today Game 1 : Missouri (34-25) vs. Western Kentucky (39-18), 4 p.m. Game 2 : Mississippi (40-17) vs. Monmouth, N.J. (32-23), 8 p.m. Saturday Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 2 p.m. Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 6 p.m. Sunday Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 2 p.m. Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 6 p.m. Monday Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 8 p.m., if necessary

Houston Today Game 1 : Kansas State (41-16-1) vs. Xavier (38-19), 3 p.m. Game 2 : Rice (39-15) vs. Sam Houston State (36-22), 7 p.m. Saturday Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 3 p.m. Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m. Sunday Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 3 p.m. Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m. Monday Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m., if necessary Fort Worth, Texas Today Game 1 : Texas A&M (36-22) vs. Oregon State (35-17), 3 p.m. Game 2 : TCU (36-16) vs. Wright State (33-28), 7 p.m. Saturday Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 3 p.m. Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m. Sunday Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 3 p.m. Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m. Monday Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m., if necessary

FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

32

Zags to face Georgia Southern in NCAAs At UFCU Disch-Falk Field

Austin, Texas Today Game 1 : Texas State (41-15) vs. Boston College (33-24), 2 p.m. Game 2 : Texas (41-13-1) vs. Army (34-19), 7 p.m. Saturday Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 2 p.m. Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m. Sunday Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 2 p.m. Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m. Monday Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m., if necessary

At Packard Stadium

Tempe, Ariz. Today Game 1 : Oral Roberts (31-13) vs. Cal Poly (37-19), 5 p.m. Game 2 : Arizona State (44-12) vs. Kent State (42-15), 10 p.m. Saturday Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 5 p.m. Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 10 p.m. Sunday Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 4 p.m. Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 9 p.m. Monday Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 9 p.m., if necessary

At Anteater Ballpark

Irvine, Calif. Today Game 1 : Virginia (43-12-1) vs. San Diego State (40-21), 7 p.m. Game 2 : UC Irvine (43-13) vs. Fresno State (32-28), 11 p.m. Saturday Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 7 p.m. Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 11 p.m. Sunday Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 7 p.m. Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 11 p.m. Monday Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 11 p.m., if necessary

At Goodwin Field

Fullerton, Calif. Today Game 1 : Georgia Southern (42-15) vs. Gonzaga (35-16), 6 p.m. Game 2 : Cal State Fullerton (42-14) vs. Utah (26-29), 10 p.m. Saturday Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 5 p.m. Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 9 p.m. Sunday Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 5 p.m. Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 9 p.m. Monday Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 9 p.m., if necessary

Gonzaga coach Mark Machtolf was a regular at the NCAA baseball tournament when he played at Stanford, highlighted by a national title in 1987. Now, nearly 30 years after their last appearance, the Zags are in the NCAAs again—and it has nothing to do with basketball. “I’ve always thought the Northwest has been underrated for years,” Machtolf said. “Oregon State has woke everybody up a little bit and now this year with Washington State and us getting in, it just shows there is great baseball players in the Northwest.” The West Coast Conference champion Bulldogs will take the field today as the No. 3 seed in the Fullerton regional and play Georgia Southern, the Zags’ first tourney game since 1981. “We place the emphasis on every day and whether it’s a midweek game we’re going to come and give them our best shot,” Machtolf said. “We preach that if we do that enough times it becomes second nature and then you don’t have to worry about ‘Now we’re going to do something different’ because it’s a big game.” The celebratory mood around the campus in Spokane, Wash., has nothing to do with the Zags’ powerhouse basketball program that has made domination of the WCC and visits to the NCAA tourney every March a regular habit. Instead, it’s their baseball program that is more well known in recent memory for producing AllStar Jason Bay than any accomplishments on the field. And this trip is arguably two years delayed. In 2007, it appeared the Bulldogs

TORREY VAIL

Coach Mark Machtolf, left, led Gonzaga to a 35-16 record this season. were set to break their long drought away from the tournament when they took Game 1 of the WCC championship tournament. But San Diego rallied back with 13-5 and 13-1 wins to take the conference tourney crown and leave the Bulldogs disappointed when they weren’t selected as an at-large selection despite a 33-25 record that year. Gonzaga didn’t leave it to chance this time. They wrapped up the WCC regular season title by beating Loyola Marymount in the next-to-last conference game of the regular season, then swept the Lions a week later in the conference tournament. “Going into the season, we have eight seniors this year and we thought had a pretty solid team,” WCC pitcher of the year Matt Fields said. “We’ve had pretty good leadership this year, and a couple of the young guys stepped up.”

Fields has made things easy for the Bulldogs offense this season. In 13 starts, Fields went 8-1 with a 2.86 ERA and tossed a pair of complete games. In WCC play, Fields was even more dominant, going 5-0 with a 2.81 ERA. Unlike two years ago, when the Bulldogs mostly rode the arm of Clayton Mortensen to make a push for a postseason bid, Fields got plenty of help from Steven Ames, who was almost Fields’ match. Ames finished the regular season also 8-1 and an ERA just slightly higher than Fields. “I think it was consistent pitching. We always had a few guys that could throw the ball but we were not as deep,” Fields said. “This year, the pitching stepped up. ... The offense has always been there, the pitching has been the problem.” — The Associated Press

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FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

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Armstrong could have last shot at winning stage Major League Soccer

BENEVENTO, ITALY—The slopes of the Mount Vesuvius volcano will likely decide the Giro d’Italia winner. Today’s final uphill finish also could be Lance Armstrong’s last chance to meet his pre-race goal of winning a stage. The seven-time Tour de France champion began the race riding in support of teammate Levi Leipheimer. But now that Leipheimer is sixth and out of contention, Armstrong can try to move up from 12th place. Denis Menchov of Russia enters the 19th leg with a 26-second lead over Danilo Di Luca in the overall standings. “I expect a hard day (today),” Menchov said after he and the other leaders, including Armstrong, finished in the main pack in Thursday’s 18th leg, 3 minutes, 57 seconds behind stage winner Michele Scarponi of Italy. Armstrong is 12:17 behind Menchov, but Bruyneel estimates he would be in better position if he hadn’t slowed to help Leipheimer in the race’s toughest stage to Monte Petrano on Monday.

EASTERN CONFERENCE Chicago D.C. Toronto FC Kansas City Columbus New England New York WESTERN CONFERENCE Chivas USA Seattle Houston Colorado Real Salt Lake Los Angeles FC Dallas San Jose

Golf TOLEDO, OHIO—North Carolina State’s Matt Hill made three birdies on the homeward nine holes and held off his closest pursuers to win the individual title Thursday in the NCAA Division I golf championship at Inverness Club.

W 5 3 4 4 2 2 2

L 0 1 3 4 2 3 6

T 6 7 4 3 6 4 3

Pts 21 16 16 15 12 10 9

GF 20 17 16 15 14 8 10

GA 13 15 16 13 16 16 13

W 7 4 4 3 3 1 1 1

L 2 2 2 2 5 1 6 7

T 3 4 3 4 2 8 3 2

Pts 24 16 15 13 11 11 6 5

GF 17 14 11 13 14 12 9 10

GA 9 8 7 11 13 12 17 21

NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. Wednesday’s game Columbus 2, San Jose 1 Thursday’s game Chicago 3, Chivas USA 2 Saturday’s games Colorado at New York, 7:30 p.m. D.C. United at New England, 7:30 p.m.

Toronto FC at Houston, 8:30 p.m. Columbus at Seattle FC, 10:30 p.m. Kansas City at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m. Real Salt Lake at San Jose, 10:30 p.m. Sunday’s game FC Dallas at Chicago, 3 p.m.

round of the European Open. The Dane holed a difficult chip at the 563yard par-5 No. 8 at The London Club to move ahead of early leaders Peter Hanson of Sweden and Thomas Aiken of South Africa. Sam Little of England and Jyoti Randhawa of India also shot 66. Ben Curtis had a 68 and John Daly had a 71.

Horse Racing NEW YORK—The trainer of Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird says Calvin Borel will ride his horse in the Belmont Stakes if Rachel Alexandra isn’t entered. Trainer Chip Woolley said Thursday that he will wait to pick a jockey until Rachel Alexandra’s co-owner Jess Jackson decides whether to enter his Preakness-winning filly in the Belmont. The draw for post positions is Wednesday and the 1½-mile race is June 6.

JACQUELYN MARTIN / AP

Kavya Shivashankar, 13, of Olathe, Kansas, rattled off the letters to ‘Laodicean’ to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The winning word means lukewarm or indifferent in religion or politics. Hill, a sophomore from Bright’s Grove, Ontario, shot his third consecutive 2-under 69 to finish at 6-under 207. Clemson junior Kyle Stanley matched the day’s low round with a 66 to finish second, two strokes back. Tom Glissmeyer of Southern California (66), Rickie Fowler (68) of the low team through 54 holes of medal play, Oklahoma State, and TCU’s Tom Hoge (70) tied for

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third at 3-under 210. Oklahoma State led the eight teams qualifying for the new match-play format that begins with the quarterfinals today. The team championship match is set for Saturday. ASH, ENGLAND—Anders Hansen eagled his 17th hole in a 7-under 65 on Thursday that gave him one-stroke lead after the first

Soccer NEW YORK—Landon Donovan and Mia Hamm have joined the board of directors for the United States’ bid committee trying to win rights to host the World Cup in 2018 or 2022. Donovan, a star for the Los Angeles Galaxy, is the career scoring leader for the U.S. national team. Hamm retired from the U.S. in 2004 after winning the Women’s World Cup twice. England and Spain are considered the leading contenders in the 2018 vote, with the U.S. a favorite for 2022. — The Associated Press

BASEBALL MLB: Suspended Cubs RHP Carlos Zambrano for six games and fined him an undisclosed amount for his inappropriate and violent actions on the field and in the dugout during the top of the seventh inning in a May 27 game. American League BALTIMORE ORIOLES: Recalled RHP David Hernandez from Norfolk (IL). Optioned RHP Chris Ray to Norfolk. Claimed LHP David Davidson off waivers from Florida. CLEVELAND INDIANS: Purchased the contract of RHP Tomo Ohka from Columbus (IL). Optioned LHP Zach Jackson to Columbus. Transferred RHP Anthony Reyes to the 60-day DL. National League CHICAGO CUBS: Placed INF-OF Ryan Freel on the 15-day DL. Recalled INF Bobby Scales from Iowa (PCL). WASHINGTON NATIONALS: Optioned C Luke Montz to Harrisburg (EL). Atlantic League LONG ISLAND DUCKS: Announced INF Gabe Suarez has been signed by the Houston Astros. Golden Baseball League CALGARY VIPERS: Released 3B Carlos Duncan. Signed 1B Clint Johnston. Northern League SCHAUMBURG FLYERS: Released RHP Lonnie Patterson. FOOTBALL Canadian Football League MONTREAL ALOUETTES: Signed OL Dylan Steenbergen and CB Kwasi Nkansah to three-year contracts. TORONTO ARGONAUTS: Released PK Mike Vanderjagt. WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS: Signed QB Darrell Hackney and DB Jonathan Hefney. HOCKEY National Hockey League MONTREAL CANADIENS: Signed F Mikael Johansson to a one-year contract. SOCCER U.S. SOCCER: Announced the resignation of U.S. men’s national team assistant coach Peter Nowak. Major League Soccer MLS: Fined Chivas USA G Leo Percovich $500 for inappropriate actions and comments directed at the officiating crew following a game on May 23. COLLEGE WEST COAST CONFERENCE: Named Violet Palmer coordinator of women’s basketball officials. JUNIATA: Named Lauren O’Donnell women’s swimming coach. MISSOURI STATE: Named Kyle Moats athletic director. ST. LAWRENCE: Named Willi Steinrotter alpine ski coach. TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI: Announced the resignation of men’s associate head basketball coach Billy Garrett to become men’s assistant basketball coach at DePaul. WAKE FOREST: Named Dave Wojcik men’s assistant basketball coach.