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NBA FINALS

Belichick leads our list of the league’s 32 head men Page 26

L.A. Lakers 101, Orlando 96, OT

MONDAY JUNE 8, 2009

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME VOLUME 1 ISSUE 321

BOB LEVERONE / SN

One-on-one with the ol’ ball coach Steve Spurrier talks about South Carolina’s QB situation and his future in Columbia, Page 14.

Scoreboard NBA NBA Finals L.A. Lakers 101, Orlando 96, OT (Lakers lead series 2-0)

Baseball American League Detroit 9, L.A. Angels 6 N.Y. Yankees 4, Tampa Bay 3 Toronto 4, Kansas CIty 0 Texas 6, Boston 3 Cleveland 8, Chicago White Sox 4 Oakland 3, Baltimore 0 Seattle 4, Minnesota 2 National League Chicago Cubs 6, Cincinnati 3, 14 innings Atlanta 8, Milwaukee 7 N.Y. Mets 7, Washington 0 Houston 6, Pittsburgh 4 Colorado 7, St. Louis 2 Arizona 9, San Diego 6, 18 innings Florida 3, San Diego 2 Philadelphia 7, L.A. Dodgers 2

CHRIS CARLSON / AP

Lakers F Pau Gasol took control in overtime, scoring 7 of his 24 points.

BASEBALL: THE WEEK AHEAD

The A-Rod effect Alex Rodriguez wants to make headlines for what happens on the field, not in the nightclubs. So far, pretty good. Since A-Rod’s return from hip surgery, the Yankees are a big-league best 20-8 and have moved from fourth to first in the A.L. East. While A-Rod’s batting Stan McNeal average is a BASEBALL lukewarm.255, he has supplied eight homers, 23 RBIs and posted a .407 OBP. Beyond the numbers, his presence in the lineup has lifted the entire club. “We’re very pleased with how we are playing,” G.M. Brian Cashman said. “The pitchers are going deep (into games), we’re playing good defense, getting offensive contributions from a lot of guys.” “Now that we’ve got most of our guys back (from injuries), that

Yankees’ recent surge headlines big week of baseball in Big Apple Key for the Yankees: Slowing Jason Bay. He’s hitting .556 with three homers and 10 RBIs in the five meetings.

2. Resumption of interleague

JEFF ZELEVANSKY / AP

Two reasons the Mets will be disadvantaged when they visit new Yankee Stadium as interleague play begins its 17-day run on Friday: They don’t hit homers (their total of 34 ranks 28th), which could be a problem when playing in the majors’ No. 1 homer haven (100 in 28 games). They are banged up. The Mets are without Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado and J.J. Putz, and will be for weeks to come.

Though his average isn’t outstanding, the Yankees are 20-8 with Alex Rodriguez in the lineup.

3. World Series champs visit N.Y. camaraderie we talked about all spring is back as well,’’ Nick Swisher added. The Yankees are reason Nos. 1 and 2 that baseball’s spotlight will focus on New Yorkers this week.

1. Seeking revenge at Fenway After finishing with the Rays

today, the Yankees travel to Boston looking to end an 0-5 skid against the Red Sox. Tuesday’s opener matches former Marlins mates A.J. Burnett and Josh Beckett. In their first such encounter, both were dreadful. Each allowed eight runs in five innings in Boston’s 16-11 victory.

Despite all the injuries, the Mets are in position to catch first-place Philadelphia at Citi Field this week. The Phillies have their own problems, beginning with closer Brad Lidge. He already has six blown saves, which is six more than all of last year. [email protected]

Lakers in control, but it’s not over yet LOS ANGELES—The Lakers took control of the NBA Finals in Game 2, with a 101-96 overtime win Sunday. But they did not control this game like Game 1—in fact, a missed layup by Orlando’s Courtney Lee at the end of regulation could have tied the series. “We did some things better tonight,” said point guard Jameer Nelson. “And we’ll be better at home.” Three numbers stand out that give the Magic hope of getting back into the series: 28. The Lakers’ points in the paint, down from 56 in Game 1. The Magic’s interior defense was much better in Game 2. 2. The Magic’s fast-break points, and Orlando can’t win that way. In front of their fans, they should have a better opportunity to speed the tempo. 7. The number of turnovers the team forced Kobe Bryant into making—the defense on Bryant was very solid for the Magic, who gave up 40 points to Bryant in the opener.

— Sean Deveney Lakers impose their will, Page 8

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Tigers at White Sox 2 p.m., WGN Detroit hits the South Side for five games in four days against the White Sox, and in Game 1 of today’s doubleheader, they start Armando Galarraga (3-6, 5.31 ERA), who has shown signs of life after a putrid stretch in May—he’s given up three runs in six innings in each of his past two starts. That might not sound like much, but we’re talking about a guy who watched his ERA balloon from 1.85 to 5.74 in less than a month. Clayton Richard (2-1, 3.97 ERA) starts for the White Sox.

Rays at Yankees 7 p.m., ESPN Andy Pettite is one of who-knows-how-many pitchers affected by the right-field jet stream at Yankees Stadium—the veteran lefthander has 2.59 ERA on the road, but that figure jumps 3 ½ runs when he returns to the Bronx. That said, the Yankees are coming off a dramatic win over Tampa Bay on Sunday, and the Rays are trotting out Andy Sonnanstine (4-5 7.07 ERA), whose accidental appearance as a DH has been the highlight of an otherwise-rough year. After Sunday’s loss, the Rays are back at .500 and looking to close the gap with the division-leading Yanks.

COLLEGE BASEBALL

TCU at Texas 7 p.m., ESPN2 A deciding Game 3 was not in the cards at the Austin Super Regional—Texas was the top national seed and had the Horned Frogs on the ropes after a Game 1 win, but a pair of home runs by Matt Vern and Matt Carpenter extended TCU’s life in the tournament. Tonight’s winner gets a spot in the College World Series. Tune in for the drama and the opportunity to get a grip on the labyrinthine elimination process of the NCAA baseball tournament.

— Compiled by Sean Gentille

COLLEGE BASEBALL

7 p.m. ESPN2 — Regional coverage, NCAA Division I, Super

Regionals, game 3, TCU at Texas MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

2 p.m. WGN — Detroit at

MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

2

Titans coach almost becomes fish food

A quick look at the best sports on TV

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Chicago White Sox 7 p.m. ESPN — Tampa Bay at N.Y. Yankees

Titans coach Jeff Fisher had a close scare last week while fishing with sons Brandon and Trent about 50 miles off the shore of Guatemala. Brandon, a senior linebacker at Montana, hooked a marlin and wrestled it for about a half hour. The fish, estimated at about 650 pounds, then emerged at the surface and started lunging at the boat. “I was videotaping the whole thing,” Fisher told Yahoo! Sports, “and all of a sudden this sucker is up out of the water, tail-walking and coming right at us. It jumped and hit the side of the boat, and then it made two more jumps toward us before diving straight down. Two more feet, and that thing would’ve jumped into the boat and killed everybody. We all looked at each other like, ‘Wow, did that just happen?’ ” The fight continued for about another 45 minutes, Fisher said, before the group finally landed the huge marlin. Broncos WR Brandon Mar’s shall trial for two misdemeanor battery charges in Atlanta has been postponed until August, according to ESPN. The trial had been scheduled to begin Thursday, stemming from a March 2008 arrest involving his former girlfriend, Rasheeda Watley. Twenty-one people were arrested—19 for public intoxication, one for DWI and one for assault—during the debut of the $1.15 billion Cowboys Stadium

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Jeff Fisher and his sons nearly paid a steep price for reeling in a 650-pound marlin. on Saturday night. An announced crowd of 60,188 fans were on hand for the George Strait and Reba McEntire concert. Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgeris on the cover of the new ald Madden video game, and QB Kurt Warner recently appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Coming off their Super Bowl run, Forbes magazine calls the Arizona Cardinals football’s hottest

brand. Forbes says the Cardinals’ “brand value” has increased a “staggering 143 percent” over the past three years, up to $68 million. They also note the $155 million, 20-year naming rights deal with the University of Phoenix at the stadium is the third-largest in the NFL. The Giants ranked as the second “hottest brand,” followed by the Cowboys, Jets and Colts. — Compiled by staff with wire reports

YOUR TURN Got something you’d like to ask 49ers coach Mike Singletary or Kansas basketball center Cole Aldrich? E-mail your questions, along with your name and hometown, to [email protected]. We’ll pick out five favorites and run their responses in an upcoming Mike Singletary issue of Sporting News Magazine.

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Justin Durant Jaguars linebacker (What you won’t find on Facebook … even if you are approved as a friend) Born: Sept. 21, 1985, in Florence, S.C. Status: In a relationship Alma mater: Hampton What’s on TV: Martin, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Weeds What’s in my iPod: Young Jeezy, Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, Ludacris, Lil Wayne, The Dream, Keyshia Cole, Kid Cudi What I drive: Black Escalade with 26-inch rims Favorite flicks: Goodfellas, Friday, Heat, King of New York, Scarface … basically anything with (Al) Pacino or (Robert) DeNiro What I’m reading: My playbook Bookmarks: allhiphop.com, sohh.com, thisis50. com, facebook.com, myspace.com Worst habit: Procrastinating with very important things Love to trade places for a day with … Jay-Z. He is one of the most successful hip-hop artists and entrepreneurs of my time. Plus, he is married to Beyonce. First job: Cook at Pizza Inn. It was a buffet pizza place in Florence, S.C., and I made $6.25 an hour. I had to make pizza and clean up the kitchen and bathrooms. I only worked there for 3 days. Talent I’d most like to have: Being able to produce music Favorite meal: Chinese chicken wings with chicken fried rice. No onions. Favorite athlete to watch in another sport: Past—Michael Jordan. Present—LeBron James. Favorite city to visit: Atlanta Favorite team as a kid: Bulls Favorite value in others: Honesty Favorite physical attribute about myself:

Eyes

And least … Hair Dream date: Alicia Keys My hero: Mom My greatest love: Life My bucket list: Whatever God has planned My motto: Do whatever it takes to achieve what you desire. — Jeff D’Alessio

SN

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BASEBALL / NATIONAL LEAGUE

Series has Phillies, Dodgers thinking postseason Phillies 7, Dodgers 2 Philadelphia AB R Victorino cf 5 1 Utley 2b 4 0 Werth rf 4 0 Howard 1b 5 1 Ibanez lf 4 1 Rollins ss 4 1 Feliz 3b 2 2 Ruiz c 3 1 Bastardo p 1 0 Park p 1 0 b-Dobbs ph 1 0 Madson p 0 0 Totals 34 7

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

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

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

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

Avg. .295 .296 .256 .259 .329 .222 .306 .309 .000 .091 .188 ---

Los Angeles Pierre lf Hudson 2b Ethier rf Blake 3b Loney 1b Kemp cf Furcal ss Ausmus c Wolf p Leach p a-DeWitt ph Schlichting p Mota p c-Loretta ph Totals

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

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

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

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

Avg. .360 .315 .271 .292 .292 .304 .243 .282 .074 --.167 --.000 .254

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

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

LORI SHEPLER / AP

LOS ANGELES—The Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers appear headed for another postseason showdown. That wouldn’t bother anyone in either clubhouse. Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz and Shane Victorino homered, and Philadelphia beat the Dodgers 7-2 Sunday to split a four-game series between teams with the top two records. “October’s a long way away,” Howard said. “The Dodgers have been playing great, and obviously their record has shown that they’re on their way. They’re a more experienced team now and they’re definitely more mature than they were last year. But you can’t look too far ahead. You just focus on what’s going on now. If we were to meet again in

October, that would be great. But we’ll have to wait.” The defending World Series champions, who beat the Dodgers in the N.L. championship series, maintained their three-game lead over the Mets in the N.L. East going into a three-game series at New York that begins Tuesday night. Los Angeles’ cushion over second-place San Francisco in the West was cut to eight games. “We’ll be fine. We’re going to score runs,” manager Joe Torre said. “With so many questions being asked about it, I think everyone is self-conscious about it and trying too hard. Hopefully, we come back Tuesday after a breather tomorrow and start swinging the bats a little better.” — The Associated Press

4

RECRUITING DISH

Philadelphia 7, L.A. Dodgers 2

Philadelphia’s Jimmy Rollins scores ahead of the throw to Dodgers C Brad Ausmus in the fifth inning.

MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

Philadelphia 010 020 310 — Los Angeles 000 101 000 —

7 9 0 2 9 0

a-fouled out for Leach in the 7th. b-flied out for Park in the 9th. c-struck out for Mota in the 9th. LOB: Philadelphia 6, Los Angeles 8. 2B: Ibanez (15), Pierre (11), Blake (13). HR: Ruiz (3), off Wolf; Victorino (5), off Wolf; Howard (17), off Schlichting. RBIs: Victorino 2 (29), Howard (47), Feliz (29), Ruiz 3 (13), Kemp (31). S: Bastardo. SF: Feliz. Runners left in scoring position: Philadelphia 3 (Werth, Howard 2); Los Angeles 3 (Hudson, Ausmus, Ethier). GIDP: Kemp. DP: Philadelphia 1 (Feliz, Utley, Howard). Philadelphia Bastardo W, 2-0 Park H, 1 Madson Los Angeles Wolf L, 3-2 Leach Schlichting Mota

IP 5 3 1 IP 6 1⁄3 2⁄3 1 2⁄3 1⁄3

H 7 1 1 H 8 0 1 0

R ER BB SO NP ERA 2 2 1 4 107 2.45 0 0 0 1 42 6.80 0 0 0 2 17 2.22 R ER BB SO NP ERA 6 6 1 4 101 3.62 0 0 0 0 6 4.35 1 1 3 2 40 5.40 0 0 0 0 1 5.55

Bastardo pitched to 2 batters in the 6th. Inherited runners-scored: Park 2-1, Mota 3-0. HBP: by Park (Hudson). WP: Schlichting. Umpires: Home, Tony Randazzo; First, Chris Guccione; Second, Todd Tichenor; Third, Mike Winters. T: 3:12. A: 42,288 (56,000).

SN100 players making choices It’s been a busy seven days for players in the Sporting News Top 100. Last week, SN100 QB Jake Heaps picked BYU, and RB Brennan Clay chose Oklahoma. Then during the weekend, SN100 LB Justin Maclin committed to LSU, and DL/LB Zack McCray pledged to Virginia Tech. McCray (6-5, 235) is from Brookville (Lynchburg, Va.) and could play weakside defensive end or linebacker in college. He soon will join good friend and 2008 high school teammate Logan Thomas with the Hokies. Thomas signed in February. “I figured it would be Virginia Tech early on, but other schools kept popping up that I wanted to check out,” McCray told Sporting News Today. “But (Virginia Tech) still kind of stuck out the most. And I think I’ll get a chance for early playing time. “... It’s funny, though. Logan never said one word to me trying to get me to go to Virginia Tech. He said it was my decision and nobody else should try to talk me into anything.” McCray said Virginia Tech, LSU, UCLA and North Carolina were the four leaders for his services before he decided on the Hokies. Virginia was the first team that offered him a scholarship, but the Cavaliers didn’t make his top four. Maclin (6-4, 215), an outside linebacker out of Ridgeway (Memphis), told SN Today that LSU, Alabama, Illinois, North Carolina and Tennessee made up his group of finalists. LSU, Maclin’s childhood favorite, was the first school to offer him

Justin Maclin

Zack McCray

a scholarship. Coach Les Miles called Maclin into his office during a summer camp in 2008, and that’s where it all began. Maclin got a lot of local pressure to go to Tennessee, but in the end he said the decision was a no-brainer. “With LSU, everybody knows that’s where I always wanted to go,” Maclin told SN Today. “I think I have a good work ethic and I’m kind of humble. “... Everybody seems like they like me at the outside linebacker position or strong safety. We’ll see.” Westfield (Spring, Texas) dual-threat QB Jacoby Walker has committed to Kansas, TheShiver. com first reported. He also reported scholarship offers from Kansas State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Syracuse and Iowa State, among others. Walker (6-2, 210) threw for 2,087 yards and 20 touchdowns as a junior, completing 66 percent of his passes. Bellevue (Wash.) DT Julious Moore (6-1, 260) has committed to UCLA, Scout.com reported. He also reported scholarship offers from Washington and Washington State. — Brian McLaughlin

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From Hank Aaron to Ernie Banks, Frank Robinson to Al Kaline, all the stars have something to say about Sporting News’ rankings of the 50 best players in baseball today.

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MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

Q&A with ... Jared Mitchell, OF, LSU

Football’s loss is baseball’s gain for two-sport standout It’s rare to find an athlete playing two sports at top level of college sports, but Jared Mitchell is one of those athletes. He double dipped as a receiver for Les Miles’ football team and an outfielder in baseball. It looks like baseball is going to win out as Mitchell, seen as a player with a ton of potential—he runs (33 steals) and hits (9 homers, .333 average)—and could land in the first round in Tuesday’s draft. Mitchell caught up with Sporting News Today’s Ken Bradley while preparing for this weekend’s Super Regional matchup against Rice.

Mitchell’s WR stats

13

143

2

25

Definitely, my first year when I got here we had two first-rounders in Dwayne Bowe and Buster Davis. Those guys, watching them and Early Doucet my freshman year and being taken under their wing and growing under them, it was a great situation to be in. Those guys are doing well right now where they’re at.

Q:

A top baseball prospect, did you ever consider dropping football because of the injury risk? No, not at all. Like I said, if things are meant to be in the end, they’ll happen. If you sit there and worry about injuries, you’re cheating yourself. I was given the opportunity to come here and play both and if I can stay healthy and do it, then I was always going to keep doing it.

A:

Q:

What’s been the toughest part about

106

A:

A:

Q:

YDS

9

Freshman

Q:

A:

REC

Junior Sophomore

You were a 4-star receiver at Westgate High School in Louisiana and a top-rated baseball player. Did you know you were going to play both at LSU? Definitely. I got recruited here in both and that was part of the reason I came here. You come here, to a school like this in the SEC, you’re playing the best competition every day and a school like this, you couldn’t ask for anything better.

The Twins selected you in the 10th round in the 2006 MLB draft. How close did you come to signing with them? Yeah, I was kind of close, but at the end of the day I really sat down and thought about it for a while and I was just like, if it’s meant to happen, it will happen. I got a great opportunity to come here and play ball and get an education, so I figured I’d come here.

YEAR

ERIC FRANCIS / AP

Jared Mitchell’s well-rounded game (9 HRs, .333 average, 33 steals) could make him a top pick. playing two sports in college? Time management. Playing two sports in college, obviously it’s more demanding than playing one. I guess it’s being more responsible and being able to manage your time and just knowing what it is to put yourself, your body in the best

A:

shape you can be and the best situation you can be in. Eating the right things and getting your sleep, too.

Q:

LSU’s had some pretty good football talent roll through. Who are some of the best you’ve played against there?

Q: A:

What are your expectations entering next week’s draft? To be honest with you, being that I’ve already gone through it, my only expectation for the draft is to have no expectations. It’s a crazy process

and there are no direct signs of anything. You never really know what can or can’t happen. So there’s really no reason to expect this or expect that. Whatever happens, happens.

Q:

What areas have you improved the most as a high school baseball player to now? Everywhere. I think for the most part it’s becoming a mature player and knowing what you’re doing, knowing your own swing, knowing your own game. I think in life and anything as a person, whenever you get to knowing what it is you do best as a person, that’s when you really start to reach your full potential. Coming to college and really being able to find yourself, it really just helps that much more.

A:

Q: A:

Who’s the best college pitcher you’ve faced? David Price. Definitely. First of all, coming in as a freshman—I faced him when I was a freshman—that was my first time ever seeing 96, 98 miles an hour. He’s got ability, he’s polished. He made it real tough on hitters.

Q:

Was there a baseball player you looked up to/ admired while you were growing up? I like watching Carl Crawford play. I liked watching Andruw Jones play in his prime. Ken Griffey, Torii Hunter, too.

A:

Draft order First round 1. Washington Nationals 2. Seattle Mariners 3. San Diego Padres 4. Pittsburgh Pirates 5. Baltimore Orioles 6. San Francisco Giants 7. Atlanta Braves 8. Cincinnati Reds 9. Detroit Tigers 10. Washington Nationals (9B, for unsigned 2008 No. 9 overall pick Aaron Crow) 11. Colorado Rockies 12. Kansas City Royals 13. Oakland A’s 14. Texas Rangers 15. Cleveland Indians 16. Arizona Diamondbacks 17. Arizona Diamondbacks (from Dodgers—Orlando Hudson) 18. Florida Marlins 19. St. Louis Cardinals 20. Toronto Blue Jays 21. Houston Astros 22. Minnesota Twins 23. Chicago White Sox 24. Los Angeles Angels (from Mets— Francisco Rodriguez) 25. Los Angeles Angels (from Yankees— Mark Teixeira) 26. Milwaukee Brewers 27. Seattle Mariners (from Phillies—Raul Ibanez) 28. Boston Red Sox 29. New York Yankees (28B, for unsigned 2008 No. 28 overall pick Gerrit Cole) 30. Tampa Bay Rays 31. Chicago Cubs 32. Colorado Rockies (from Angels— Brian Fuentes)

Compensation round A 33. Seattle Mariners (Raul Ibanez) 34. Colorado Rockies (Brian Fuentes) 35. Arizona Diamondbacks (Orlando Hudson) 36. Los Angeles Dodgers (Derek Lowe) 37. Toronto Blue Jays (A.J Burnett) 38. Chicago White Sox (Orlando Cabrera) 39. Milwaukee Brewers (CC Sabathia) 40. Los Angeles Angels (Mark Teixeira) 41. Arizona Diamondbacks (Juan Cruz) 42. Los Angeles Angels (Francisco Rodriguez)

5

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MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

Q&A with ... Bobby Borchering, 3B, Bishop Verot H.S. (Fla.)

Switch hitter takes Chipper comparisons in stride It doesn’t take long for people to make comparisons when they see Bobby Borchering play. At 6-4, 195 pounds, the switch-hitting third baseman out of Bishop Verot High School in Florida reminds people of another Florida product, Chipper Jones. Borchering, one of the top high school power hitters in the country, won’t last past the first round in Tuesday’s draft. He spoke with Sporting News Today’s Ken Bradley about switch-hitting, signing with Florida and what’s next for him.

Head coach Kevin O’Sullivan you can see his enthusiasm and he’d been at all the showcases the longest and you can tell he’s really working hard with his players and making some good improvements. That’s what really came in with signing with Florida.

Q: A:

What are your expectations entering the draft? I’m trying to not have expectations, like a lot of the guys. It’s hard if you set your sights too high and you’re expecting something and it doesn’t happen, it’s just a big letdown. Right now, I’m just trying to relax and see what happens.

Q: A:

What kind of season did you end up having at Bishop Verot? We lost in the first game of the regionals to St. Pete Catholic. We play some pretty good teams. My season went really well. I hit .494 with 13 home runs, so it was a good season—only 77 at-bats, I got walked a lot.

Q: A:

Q:

What was your home run breakdown hitting right and lefthanded? I hit two right-handed and 11 left-handed. I got more at-bats left-handed.

A:

Q: A: Q: A:

How long have you been switch hitting? My whole life, pretty much.

You play in other sports in high school? Not in high school. Middle school I ran track, did the long jump and

MIKE JANES / FOUR SEAM IMAGES

Bobby Borchering has first-round potential but could wind up in Gainesville. 400 and soccer. But in high school, I just focused on baseball.

Q:

You committed to Florida. Was there

any other school you considered? You could tell it’s a big up-and-coming program and they really got things running well right now.

A:

Are you open to college and MLB? I really like the University of Florida. That’s the one thing I have for sure right now, my scholarship there. I’m really excited about it—they’re playing really good ball right now, they’re going to the Super Regionals. So, I’m more than happy to go there if the draft doesn’t work out.

Q: A:

Who’s the best high school pitcher you’ve

faced? (Florida signee) Brian Johnson out of Cocoa Beach, he’s good. I’ve only seen

him once and I walked against him, but it was like a 10-pitch at-bat. His fastball kind of had some late movement and kind of bit there hard at the end. Big lefty.

Q: A:

What was a typical game like at home— scouts lined up? The first game, we walked out there and my teammates were not used to seeing it. We went over to the B field to take ground balls and our whole B field was surrounded by scouts—like 40 or 50 guys all around. All the kids just had the biggest eyes, like “what’s going on?” and they kept pouring in. It was a crazy season as far as scouts go.

Q:

Is there a Major League player you admire, even model your game after? Oh yeah, Chipper Jones.

A:

Q:

In your opinion, what’s the part of your game most appealing to MLB teams? I’d say being a powerhitter, switch-hitter playing third base. You don’t find too many guys like that out there. I know it’s pretty unique and I know being a switchhitter is something you have to work hard at, but I’m really lucky to do that.

A:

No. 1 overall picks MLB first-year player draft began in 1965. YEAR 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981 1980 1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971 1970 1969 1968 1967 1966 1965

PLAYER Tim Beckham, SS David Price, LHP Luke Hochevar, RHP Justin Upton, SS Matthew Bush, SS Delmon Young, RF Bryan Bullington, RHP Joe Mauer, c Adrian Gonzalez, 1b Josh Hamilton, of Pat Burrell, inf Matt Anderson, p Kris Benson, p Darin Erstad, of-p Paul Wilson, p Alex Rodriguez, ss Phil Nevin, 3b Brien Taylor, p Chipper Jones, ss Ben McDonald, p Andy Benes, p Ken Griffey Jr., of Jeff King, if B.J. Surhoff, c Shawn Abner, of Tim Belcher, p Shawon Dunston, ss Mike Moore, p Darryl Strawberry, of Al Chambers, of Bob Horner, 3b Harold Baines, of Floyd Bannister, p Danny Goodwin, c Bill Almon, if David Clyde, p Dave Roberts, if Danny Goodwin, c Mike Ivie, c Jeff Burroughs, of Tim Foli, if Ron Blomberg, 1b Steve Chilcott, c Rick Monday, c

Source: MLB.com

TEAM Tampa Bay Tampa Bay Kansas City Arizona San Diego Tampa Bay Pittsburgh Minnesota Florida Tampa Bay Philadelphia Detroit Pittsburgh California New York (N) Seattle Houston New York (A) Atlanta Baltimore San Diego Seattle Pittsburgh Milwaukee New York (N) Minnesota Chicago (N) Seattle New York (N) Seattle Atlanta Chicago (A) Houston California San Diego Texas San Diego Chicago (A) San Diego Washington New York (N) New York (A) New York (N) Kansas City A’s

6

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MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

Q&A with … PG Jonny Flynn

2009 draft order

G.M.s ‘already know that I can run an NBA offense’ Jonny Flynn captivated college basketball with his performance in March for Syracuse. He helped lead the Orange to a six-overtime win over Connecticut in the Big East Tournament, and eventually carried the team to that tourney’s finals and the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16. Flynn recently chatted with reporters, including Sporting News Today’s Dave Curtis.

Q: A:

How much did that six-OT game mean to your career? That’s a question I get everywhere I go. I think, definitely, it helped my draft stock. It was a game that it seemed like everybody watched. Even on the West Coast, people were getting home from work and putting it on like, “Wow, it’s still going on?” That game did a lot of for me, and it was really nice to come out with a victory.

Q: A:

What do you remember most from that night? Honestly, it was probably getting Coach (Jim) Boeheim to beat Coach (Jim) Calhoun again. People don’t have any idea how much of a personal rivalry those guys have. Every time we play Connecticut, it was different for him than the other games. Before that game, he was all fired up. In practice, he was all over the place, yelling at us. “Come on, it’s UConn!” When we won, and he threw his hands up like that at the end, that was pretty satisfying.

Q: A:

What’s the biggest misconception about your game? Coming from Syracuse, I played zone all the time in

college. So a lot of people aren’t sure I can play defense in the NBA. I tell the teams that before I got to Syracuse, I was one of those guys who got up into you 94 feet and dictated tempo. When I got to Syracuse, I was more known for that, for playing defense like that, than for my offense. … And at Syracuse, even though we played zone in games, Coach Boeheim had us working on man-to-man principles every day that we practiced.

Q: A:

What about your size? You’re right around 6 feet. How much does that hurt you? I don’t think you can look at that anymore. You look at a guy like Aaron Brooks of the Rockets (listed at 6-0). He might be 5-8, and he dominated the Lakers and really dominated the whole playoffs. You see a lot of guys like that. You’ve got Chris Paul, 6-foot. You’ve got Tony Parker, a lot of little guys out there getting it done.

Q: A:

What helps you about playing for Boeheim? I think the best things about my game show up on the court. At Syracuse, in my two years, we played a pick-and-roll style on offense. That’s an NBA style, and so a lot of the G.M.s that I’m talking to already know that I can run an NBA offense.

Q: A:

When you’re talking to those G.M.s, what’s the weirdest thing that’s come up? Man, that’s a tough one. Probably when one team

asked me how I would stop myself. I had to pause for about three minutes on that one. I didn’t know what to say, and they were looking at me, just waiting to see what I was going to say. I finally said that I didn’t think I could stop myself. But if I had to slow myself down, I would probably take away the drive and let myself shoot the jumper.

Q:

What feel have you gotten for those conversations as to where you might go? I don’t know. I’ve had good conversations with Detroit and Sacramento, a lot of teams. I worked out with the Bulls. The Knicks were my favorite team growing up. But my thing is, I try not to look at the number of the pick. I don’t want to be a guy that got drafted and came in and didn’t play a lot. It’s more about getting into a positive situation.

A:

Second round

Q: A:

So what’s a positive situation for you? There are a lot of them. You look at Sacramento, with Jason Thompson and Donte Green, maybe it’s there. It looks like they might want a point guard who can push the ball and run the offense and score and defend. People say that’s a team that’s been losing, but I’m not afraid of all that. I’m a guy who likes to fix something, and take something that might be a little wrong right now and make it right. That’s appealing to me. So as long as I get into a situation that’s good, it doesn’t really concern me what the team is doing right now.

June 25, New York 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

JEFF ROBERSON / AP

Syracuse PG Jonny Flynn helped his stock when he had 34 points and 11 assists in a six-OT win.

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 N. 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)

7

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NOTEBOOK NBA FINALS

GAME 2:

L.A. LAKERS 101

ORLANDO 96, OT

Lakers have Magic playing their game LOS ANGELES—It was difficult to get a sense, given the fact that things were so lopsided, of what went wrong for the Magic back in Game 1—when you shoot 29.9 percent, as Orlando did in the opener, it can be assumed that everything went wrong. Some nights, shots just don’t fall, and there’s not much that can be done to change that. In Game 2 of the Finals on Sunday night, things went Sean Deveney much better for the PRO BASKETBALL Magic. Hedo Turkoglu shot well, and scored 22 points. Rashard Lewis shot even better, and scored 34. Dwight Howard didn’t dominate, but he was solid, with 17 points, 16 rebounds, four blocks and four steals. But what decided the day in the end—a 101-96 Lakers overtime victory—and what will decide this series, wasn’t the Magic’s offense. It was the Lakers’ defense. “That has got to be how we win games,” small forward Trevor Ariza said. “We have the capability to be a very good defensive team. Sometimes we don’t necessarily play that way. But for us, we need to win games on the defensive end. We have the capability to do that.” Despite the big numbers from Turkoglu, Lewis and Howard, overall, nothing came easy for the Magic’s offense. The shooting wasn’t disastrous, as in Game 1, but the

MARK J. TERRILL / AP

Lamar Odom, left, and the Lakers continue to make life hard for Dwight Howard, who scored 16 Sunday. Magic still struggles Sunday in large part because of the way the Lakers have exploited their size advantage on the defensive end. They have the physical length and the athleticism to harass the Magic’s perimeter

shooters, and Orlando wound up shooting just 10 for 30 on 3-pointers. They have done a terrific job using their size to prevent entry passes to Howard, and when he does catch the ball, the Lakers have swarmed him

with big, long-armed defenders. Howard had seven turnovers in Game 2. “It has been a team effort with him,” point guard Derek Fisher said. “Defensively, it’s not just Andrew (Bynum) or Pau (Gasol) against him. It’s all of us.” But the most important aspect of the Lakers’ defense is the pressure they’ve put on Orlando’s guards, making it impossible for the Magic to get into fast-break situations. Orlando posted a measly two fastbreak points in Game 2 (which is two more than they had in Game 1). For much of the second half, Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy—who seemed to have an overabundance of point guards when Jameer Nelson returned—seemed to utterly lose faith in his entire point-guard crew. Instead of agonizing over whether to use Nelson or Rafer Alston, Van Gundy essentially said the heck with both of them and put in J.J. Redick. If you’re not going to have fast breaks, you might as well have shooters. “We didn’t do a very good job of breaking down their defense,” said Magic guard Courtney Lee (whose missed layup at the close of regulation cost Orlando the game). “We haven’t done much as far as running and pushing the tempo and playing our game.” No, this is not Orlando’s style. They are playing the Lakers’ game at this point. The L.A. defense has made sure of that. [email protected]

Odom: It would take ‘crazy offer’ to leave the Lakers There are a number of reasons that there’s an added sense of urgency around the Lakers this year—the sting of last year’s Finals, for example, and the fact that Kobe Bryant is in his 30s now and won’t be dominant forever. But there’s also this: forward Lamar Odom’s impending free agency. Team owner Jerry Buss has said he’d be willing to go over the luxury tax threshold in order to keep the team together, but with Odom and small Trevor Ariza up for new contracts, it might be just too expensive for the team to keep both. It was in anticipation of the bulging payroll that the Lakers made the trade that sent away small forward Vladimir Radmanovic this season. Odom, who is making $11.4 million this year, said that money won’t be the only factor in his decision, indicating he would take a smaller contract if it meant staying in L.A. “It would take a crazy offer for me to want to leave here,” he said. “It would have to be an offer-I-can’t-refuse kind of thing.”

Buck stops with Van Gundy After just about every loss the Magic have suffered this postseason, Stan Van Gundy has sat before the postgame press mob and taken some form of blame—after Game 1, he pointed out that, “We’ve got to find a way as a coaching staff to help them.” This has resonated with the players. “Yes, you do appreciate that,” said Magic guard Courtney Lee. “You never get the sense that he’s someone who would throw you under the bus. He doesn’t make a lot of excuses, so that means that us, as players, we can’t make excuses, either.” Van Gundy talked about that before Game 2. “The first thing you have to do is take a critical look at yourself and take responsibility,” he said. “If you want the players to do that, which I do—to not make excuses, not point fingers, take responsibility—I think you have to do the same thing yourself.”

Phil talks hardball Phil Jackson, manager? Yup. “I coached baseball as a young man in college,” he revealed. But, make no mistake, Jackson believes coaching hoops is harder. “While we go to sleep watching baseball, of course, I know that it’s a very intense game and there’s a lot of different challenges out there,” Jackson said. “But basketball is such a continuous, active sport.” — Sean Deveney

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NBA FINALS

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GAME 2:

L.A. LAKERS 101

Glance

ORLANDO 96, OT

(Best-of-7) All times, ET (L.A. Lakers lead series 2-0)

L.A. Lakers 101, Orlando 96, OT

June 4: L.A. Lakers 100, Orlando 75 Sunday: L.A. Lakers 101, Orlando 96, OT Tuesday: L.A. Lakers at Orlando, 9 p.m., ABC Thursday: L.A. Lakers at Orlando, 9 p.m., ABC Sunday, June 14: L.A. Lakers at Orlando 8 p.m., if necessary, ABC Tuesday, June 16: Orlando at L.A. Lakers, 9 p.m., if necessary, ABC Thursday, June 18: Orlando at L.A.

Lee’s miss leaves L.A. relieved LOS ANGELES—Stopped cold by a pick near the free-throw line, Kobe Bryant watched as Orlando’s Courtney Lee headed toward the basket and a shot at history. Bryant was frozen. Suddenly, the Los Angeles Lakers’ march to a 15th NBA title—and his dream of a fourth—would be much tougher. Lee’s last-second shot went up, and went out. Lucky. The Lakers remain in control of the NBA Finals—just barely. Lee missed a potential game-winning alleyoop as regulation ended, giving Los Angeles another shot it didn’t waste. Pau Gasol scored seven points in overtime and Bryant finished with 29 as the Lakers, so dominant in the series opener, survived with a 101-96 win over the Magic in Game 2 on Sunday night. “I was obviously relieved when he missed that shot,” Gasol said. “It could have been a heartbreaker and right now we could be in a totally different situation.” If Orlando doesn’t come back and win this series, Lee’s miss may go down as one of the biggest gaffes in Finals history. He had a chance to give the Magic its first Finals win. “We missed it. I don’t know what else to say,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “We executed well, Hedo (Turkoglu) made a great pass. I’m not trying to be a pain ... Hedo made a great pass and he just missed it.” Orlando may not get a better shot to beat L.A. “We blew a lot of assignments tonight—a lot of assignments—and we still managed to get a win,” Bryant said. When it was finally over, Bryant, Derek Fisher and the Lakers jogged to the locker room, smiling and high-fiving fans along the way. Hedo Turkoglu, who threw the perfect lob pass on Lee’s ill-fated shot, trudged through the

tunnel dejected, a towel hanging from his head. Gasol added 24 and 10 rebounds and Lamar Odom 19 points for the Lakers, who won Game 1 by 25 but needed 53 minutes to put away Game 2. Rashard Lewis scored 34—18 in the second quarter alone—and Dwight Howard had 17 points and 16 rebounds for Orlando. Game 3 is Tuesday night in Orlando. With the score tied at 88-88 in regulation, Lee missed the first of two late-game shots when he drove the lane and misfired on a contested layup with 10.5 seconds remaining. The Lakers called time with 9.1 seconds to play, and after Odom caught the inbounds pass, he quickly gave it to Bryant, who drove into a crowd. Bryant attempted an off-balance 12-footer, but his shot was blocked from behind by Turkoglu with 1.8 seconds left. The horn sounded, the clock expired to zeros and the Staples Center crowd braced for overtime. But the officials huddled at the scorer’s table and decided to put 0.6 seconds back on the clock because Turkoglu grabbed the ball and called timeout. Turkoglu couldn’t find anyone open on the inbounds and was forced to call another timeout. On the Magic’s second attempt, Lee got free on a perfectly executed play and caught Turkoglu’s long lob pass as he neared the left side of the basket. But with 7-foot Gasol closing in on him, Lee’s shot caromed off the backboard and front of the rim. Howard dunked in the miss as Lee put his hands behind his head in disbelief and began a long walk back to the bench as his teammates tried to console him. “I caught it and just tried to make a play,” Lee said. “We didn’t lose the game just because I missed the layup. We could have won the game.” — The Associated Presss

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MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

Lakers, 9 p.m., if necessary, ABC

Orlando L.A. Lakers

15 15

20 25

30 23

23 25

ORLANDO Min FG FT Reb Turkoglu 47:17 8-17 3-4 0-6 Lewis 45:19 12-21 4-4 5-11 Howard 47:10 5-10 7-9 3-16 Alston 25:58 1-8 2-2 0-1 Lee 11:51 1-3 0-0 0-2 Pietrus 23:10 1-3 0-0 0-2 Gortat 15:29 1-4 2-4 1-3 Redick 27:06 2-9 0-0 1-2 Nelson 16:40 1-3 2-4 0-0 Battie 5:00 1-1 0-0 0-1 Totals 265:00 33-79 20-27 10-44

8 — 96 13 — 101 A 4 7 4 5 0 0 0 1 1 0 22

PF 5 2 4 1 2 6 1 3 0 0 24

PTS 22 34 17 4 2 2 4 5 4 2 96

Percentages: FG .418, FT .741. 3-Point Goals: 10-30, .333 (Lewis 6-12, Turkoglu 3-6, Redick 1-6, Nelson 0-1, Pietrus 0-1, Alston 0-4). Team Rebounds: 11. Team Turnovers: 20 (28 PTS). Blocked Shots: 6 (Howard 4, Pietrus, Turkoglu). Turnovers: 20 (Howard 7, Turkoglu 5, Gortat 2, Lewis 2, Alston, Nelson, Pietrus, Redick). Steals: 5 (Howard 4, Lewis). Technical Fouls: None. L.A. Min FG FT Ariza 37:41 3-13 0-0 Gasol 43:53 7-14 10-11 Bynum 16:24 2-5 1-1 Fisher 41:04 4-9 2-2 Bryant 48:30 10-22 8-10 Odom 45:43 8-9 3-4 Walton 15:16 0-0 0-0 Farmar 6:09 2-5 0-0 Vujacic 4:33 0-1 0-0 Brown 5:47 0-0 0-0 Totals 265:00 36-78 24-28

Reb 1-7 0-10 0-1 0-1 0-4 2-8 0-2 1-1 0-1 0-0 4-35

A 2 3 2 3 8 2 0 0 0 0 20

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

PTS 8 24 5 12 29 19 0 4 0 0 101

Percentages: FG .462, FT .857. 3-Point Goals: 5-15, .333 (Fisher 2-3, Ariza 2-6, Bryant 1-4, Farmar 0-1, Vujacic 0-1). Team Rebounds: 9. Team Turnovers: 12 (11 PTS). Blocked Shots: 6 (Odom 3, Bynum 2, Gasol). Turnovers: 12 (Bryant 7, Fisher 2, Odom 2, Bynum). Steals: 12 (Ariza 3, Fisher 3, Bryant 2, Gasol 2, Farmar, Odom). Technical Fouls: None. MARK J. TERRILL / AP

Lakers F Trevor Ariza went up hard against Orlando’s Marcin Gortat in the first half.

A: 18,997 (18,997). T: 3:00. Officials: Steve Javie, Monty McCutchen, Tom Washington.

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INSIDE DISH

Los Angeles will host record fifth All-Star Game in 2011 The NBA All-Stars are coming back to a city filled with stars. The league is bringing its All-Star Game and weekend-long festivities to Los Angeles for a record fifth time in 2011, continuing a trend of taking its midwinter break in a warm weather city. Commissioner David Stern made the announcement Sunday before Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Stern said he didn’t hesitate in awarding the event just seven years after it was held in the same city. “We’re likely to shorten the rotation a bit because it’s getting more difficult to find cities with the kinds of amenities, close hotel accommodations, the convention center and the like, and L.A. has been a popular destination,” he said. By 2011, a 54-story, 1,001-room complex that includes two hotels and 224 luxury condos will be completed, giving the NBA additional space across the street from Staples Center. This year’s event was in Phoenix and next year it will be in Dallas.

Coming off his first NBA AllStar Game, Nets PG Devin Harris is lobbying for the team to use its 11th overall pick in the June 25 draft on another point guard. Harris missed 13 games with injuries last season, and backup PG Keyon Dooling missed five. Dooling has also had offseason hip surgery. “It takes a lot of pressure off us, a guy who can spare some minutes here and there,” Harris told the New York Daily News. “So over the course of the season we don’t wear down as much.”

Despite rumors to the contrary, an NBA executive told The Boston Globe there has been “zero” trade discussion regarding SG Ray Allen, who will be a free agent in 2010, and that such talk is “preposterous.” Another NBA executive told The Globe, “I’m not really hearing that. But I would expect that kind of rumor. They didn’t win without KG (Kevin Garnett), he was hot and cold in the (playoffs), and he’s a last-year guy. Upgrade if you can. It would make some type of sense.”

Hawks backup C Zaza Pachulia becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1. He could re-sign with the Hawks, but he plans on testing the market. “I realize after July 1 I’m going to get more busy, working out and whatever,” Pachulia told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “If I stay with the Hawks, that would be great. But if I go to another team, I’d have to move and everything. So on the one hand I wanted this time to go slow and the other I’m really excited. I just want to know where I’m going to be.”

NBA FINALS

GAME 2:

L.A. LAKERS 101

ORLANDO 96, OT

Less-heralded Gasol makes big impact

Hornets PG Chris Paul said he’s spent plenty of time already this offseason talking with coach Byron Scott and teammate James Posey on what direction the Hornets should go, The Times-Picayune reported. Scott said he didn’t foresee the scenario of a C Tyson Chandler trade occurring again. And of the recent trade rumors about PF David West, Paul said, “I don’t see that happening. That’s my man.”

JED JACOBSOHN / AP

Lakers F Pau Gasol scored seven of his 24 points in the overtime of a pivotal Game 2 win.

LOS ANGELES—The big man nobody was talking about came up huge for the Lakers. Pau Gasol dominated overtime with seven of his 24 points, helping Los Angeles defeat the Orlando Magic 101-96 Sunday night to take a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals. Most of the focus had been on the matchup between Gasol’s teammate Andrew Bynum and Orlando star Dwight Howard. But the 7-foot Gasol muscled his way into the picture in his usual calm and cool way. “Incredible,” Lamar Odom said. “His hand-eye coordination is remarkable for someone that size. He never drops the ball. He’s great at catching and delivering really quick, keeping the basketball high. He’s one of the best players I’ve ever played with.” The Spaniard was 10 of 11 from the free throw line, grabbed 10 rebounds—all on the defensive boards—had two steals and a blocked shot in nearly 44 minutes. Gasol had a close-up view of the heart-pounding final play of regulation. Orlando’s Courtney Lee took a crosscourt inbounds pass from Hedo Turkoglu in midair with a second left and tried to lay the ball in for the winner. It sailed across the rim and hit the right side before bouncing away

to set up overtime. “I was happy he missed it,” Gasol said. “I was surprised he was kind of wide open. But I tried to contest it as good as I could, and then we gave ourselves a chance to win the ballgame.” Tied at 88, Gasol stripped the ball from Howard to begin overtime. He then scored the Lakers’ first two points on free throws. The Lakers went 24 of 28 from the line. “They’re mixing it up on me,” Howard said about Gasol and the Lakers’ defense. “He’s forcing me baseline. It’s been frustrating a little bit.” Gasol and Kobe Bryant teamed on a pick-and-roll that ended with Gasol driving to the basket and getting fouled. Bryant pointed his index finger at Gasol and they hugged before Gasol made the free throw to keep L.A. ahead 97-91. Bryant often speaks to Gasol in Spanish, saying, “It’s just whatever rolls off the tongue.” Gasol has heard critics label him as soft, a tag often attached to European players who come to the NBA. “A guy has a set of skills and is more of a finesse player, then he’s labeled as a soft player,” he said. “I’m not bothered by it because I know I’m a competitor, I’m a winner.” — The Associated Press

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STANLEY CUP FINALS S

GAME 6:

DETROIT AT PITTSBURGH

MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

11

Tuesday, 8 p.m., ET, NBC

NOTEBOOK

Penguins expect Fleury to bounce back

Guerin: Don’t take Cup for granted

PITTSBURGH—Marc-Andre Fleury’s feel-good week came crashing down under the weight of a suddenly potent power play and some porous defense in front of him. Not that the Pittsburgh Penguins’ young goalie was on top of his game in a 5-0 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night, but he couldn’t really be faulted for the pucks that got past him. “I know that every guy in that room wants to see him in that net for Game 6,” Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said Sunday. “They believe in him. They’re confident in him, and they know he’s going to respond.” Fleury and the Penguins can’t afford anything close to a similar performance Tuesday night in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals. Detroit leads the series 3-2 and is just one win away from repeating as champion and leaving Pittsburgh on the short end for the second straight season. “He’s going to be just fine,” forward Bill Guerin said Sunday on the first of two straight off days. “This is a guy who comes in literally fresh every day. Every day is a new day. He’s always got a smile on his face. He’s ready to go. I think he’ll be absolutely fine. “He’s got a great-type personality to let things just roll off his shoulders and refocus and have fun with it.” There were no smiles in the visiting dressing room at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena on Saturday after the Penguins were routed by the Red Wings. Fleury didn’t make it out of the second period, when he allowed four goals. Overall, Fleury was touched for five goals on 21 shots—including three tallies by the Red Wings on a suddenly rejuvenated power play that produced just once in 10 tries in the first four games of the series. “He’s going to bounce back. He’s a good goalie,” defenseman Kris Letang said. “He has a lot of competitor in him and that’s good. We know that he’s going to be back and he’s going to be good. He has a lot of time to forget about it. It’s going to

With Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and several other players in their early 20s under contract for the next few seasons, the Pittsburgh Penguins appear to be in a position to be a perennial Stanley Cup contender for a while. Here’s some advice from someone who knows: Don’t count on it. Bill Guerin, the Penguins’ 38-year-old forward, is playing in his first finals since he was with New Jersey at age 24. Back then, he was certain he would reach the NHL’s championship series many more times, but it never happened until now. The Penguins, who lost the finals to Detroit in six games last year, are down 3-2 to the Red Wings again going into Game 6 on Tuesday night in Pittsburgh. Guerin has seen injuries, contract disputes, goaltending issues, major upsets and other assorted problems cause many a favorite to fall out of the playoffs long before the finals, so the Penguins shouldn’t assume they’ll automatically be there every spring. The last two seasons, Pittsburgh has been extended to seven games only once during six conference playoff series. “I think this team’s going to be sniffing around for championships for a long time because of the way they’ve drafted the last some odd years,” Guerin said Sunday. “But, you know, you can’t take opportunities for granted. You can’t think they’re going to come around every

JIM MCISAAC / AP

Mathieu Garon, above, stepped after Marc-Andre Fleury allowed five goals, but the Pens expressed confidence in their starter. be a new game.” Fleury gave up six goals in a pair of 3-1 losses to open the series in Detroit. Some bounces off the end boards and other bad breaks made him look worse, but he was strong in stopping 64 of 68 in beating the Red Wings in Games 3 and 4. He had started to outplay Detroit counterpart Chris Osgood. until the lopsided loss Saturday. Fleury got words of encouragement from captain Sidney Crosby to keep his head up after he was yanked with 4:20 left in the second period. “They won, they did a good job. We got frustrated,” Fleury said. “A loss is a loss. We lost and now we move on.” The Red Wings carried a 1-0 lead into the second period of Game 5, after Dan Cleary shot a puck through the legs of Penguins defenseman

Brooks Orpik and past a screened Fleury. Detroit doubled its lead 1:44 into the second on Valtteri Filppula’s goal and made it 3-0 at 6:11 when Niklas Kronwall went through three Penguins in front and scored the first of the Red Wings’ three power-play goals in the period. Brian Rafalski added a man-advantage tally at 8:26, with a hard drive through traffic, and Henrik Zetterberg ended Fleury’s night at 15:40. Mathieu Garon stopped all eight shots he faced over the final 24-plus minutes “It wasn’t his fault, the situation we were in,” Bylsma said of Fleury. “Marc is the guy who is going in for Game 6. We believe in him. I know he’s the type of guy who is going to be ready to go for Game 6.” — The Associated Press

year because you can ask other older guys, they just don’t.”

Captain intern Steve Yzerman has been in the shadows at the Stanley Cup finals, quietly working as a Detroit Red Wings vice president. “My role is really just watching at this point,” Yzerman said. The former Red Wings captain moved to the franchise’s front office after retiring three years ago. “I participate in the daily running of the organization, but mostly I just listen and observe,” Yzerman said. “To see the results of different decisions over the last three years has been educational.” Yzerman’s job, in essence, is a high-level internship. In a few months, he will be running the show, and it will be one of special importance in his native Canada. He is charge of Team Canada’s quest to win a gold medal in Vancouver after playing for his home country during the previous two Olympics. Yzerman took over as executive director in place of Wayne Gretzky, whose teams won gold in Salt Lake City in 2002 but struggled in Turin four years later. “We’ve got a list of players we’re looking at, and we’ll shorten the list to about 40 for our camp in the last week of August in Calgary,” said Yzerman, who is expected to choose Detroit’s Mike Babcock as his coach. “And, we’ll pick the team from there.” — The Associated Press

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STANLEY CUP FINALS S

GAME 6:

DETROIT AT PITTSBURGH

12

MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET, NBC

Playoff stats (Through June 6) Pittsburgh Penguins

Move to Motown on verge of panning out for Hossa PITTSBURGH—Right about now, what must bother the Pittsburgh Penguins more than their inability to switch off the power of Pavel or the disappearance of their stars during a meltdown in Motown is that Marian Hossa could be right. The Red Wings truly might be the NHL’s best team, and Hossa’s better chance of winning the Stanley Cup was in Detroit, not in Pittsburgh. The Red Wings not only lead the Stanley Cup finals 3-2 heading in a potential Cup-clinching Game 6 on Tuesday night, they’ve got a nothealthy but a productive Pavel Datsyuk back in their lineup. They’ve also exposed Pittsburgh’s supposed edges in speed and star-class players as fraudulent, the evidence being a 5-0 rout in Detroit on Saturday night in which they looked to be anything but weary or finished. During a finals in which momentum means nothing and playing at home means everything, the Penguins have the home-ice advantage in the next game, and not much else. And Hossa certainly isn’t having any second thoughts. Hossa doesn’t have a goal, hasn’t made a signature play and has been less effective for Detroit than he was for Pittsburgh in the finals a year ago. Still, with one more victory, the man who has spent 11 months rationalizing why he left a championship-caliber team in Pittsburgh and the big money it offered to sign a one-year deal with Detroit won’t have to explain any longer. This rarely happens, especially

Glance (Best-of-7), All times ET (Detroit leads series 3-2) May 30: Detroit 3,Pittsburgh 1 May 31: Detroit 3, Pittsburgh 1 June 2: Pittsburgh 4, Detroit 2 June 4: Pittsburgh 4, Detroit 2 June 6: Detroit 5, Pittsburgh 0 Tuesday: Detroit at Pittsburgh, 8 p.m., NBC Friday: Pittsburgh at Detroit, 8 p.m., if necessary, NBC

Betting line

POS NO. PLAYER C 71 Evgeni Malkin C 87 Sidney Crosby R 13 Bill Guerin D 55 Sergei Gonchar L 26 Ruslan Fedotenko L 14 Chris Kunitz D 58 Kris Letang C 25 Max Talbot C 11 Jordan Staal L 24 Matt Cooke D 7 Mark Eaton C 48 Tyler Kennedy R 81 Miroslav Satan 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 32 Mathieu Garon 29 Marc-Andre Fleury TEAM TOTALS OPPONENT TOTALS

GP 22 22 22 20 22 22 21 22 22 22 22 22 16 22 9 22 22 22 2 6 14 22 22

GP MINS AVG 1 24 0.00 22 1327 2.76 22 1360 2.74 22 1360 3.31

FAVORITE .......LINE ..........UNDERDOG ........LINE at Pittsburgh ......-145 ......................Detroit.........+125

FRANK GUNN / AP

Marian Hossa turned down a multi-year deal from Pittsburgh to sign with Detroit. during times of a troubled economy: A player giving a team the pink slip, and not the other way around. Regardless, that’s what Hossa did to the Penguins, who topped

Detroit’s money offer but obviously couldn’t match their prestige or the powerful lure of playing for a defending champion. “I think he’s really pleased with

his decision,” Detroit coach Mike Babcock said Sunday, a day off the ice for both teams during the first two-day break of the finals. Much like Datsyuk must be pleased with his decision to ignore the excruciating pain in his apparently broken right foot to set up two goals and help take away Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby in Game 5. The two leading scorers in the playoffs spent more time getting into scrums and sitting in the penalty box than they did creating any scoring for the Penguins, who missed an opportunity to put themselves one victory away from winning the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1992. — The Associated Press

G A PTS +/14 21 35 2 15 16 31 10 7 8 15 8 3 11 14 3 7 6 13 8 1 12 13 2 4 9 13 3 6 4 10 6 3 5 8 61 6 7 34 3 7 6 4 3 7 41 5 6 2 3 2 5 0 1 3 4 20 4 4 11 2 3 1 0 2 2 4 0 1 1 10 1 1 30 0 0 475 124 199 7 62 106 168 7W 0 14 14 8

PIM 49 14 13 12 4 19 26 19 6 22 8 4 11 16 4 22 6 4 0 0 8 273 291

PP 7 5 2 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 14

L OT EN SO 0 0 0 0 8 0 1 0 8 0 1 0 11 3 6 2

SH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 GA 0 61 62 75

GW 3 2 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 8 SA 8 636 645 732

OTG S PCTG 1 99 .141 0 77 .195 1 62 .113 0 40 .075 0 54 .130 0 43 .023 1 53 .075 0 33 .182 0 53 .057 0 29 .034 0 14 .286 0 60 .067 0 21 .048 0 24 .125 0 10 .100 0 12 --0 8 .125 0 17 --0 1 --0 7 --0 15 --3 732 .102 1 645 .096

SV% 1.000 .904 .904 .898

G 0 0 0 0

A PIM 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0

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

GP 21 21 21 21 21 19 16 21 21 14 21 21 21 20 21 21 10 7 8 18 6 6 2 21 21

G A PTS +/11 13 24 14 12 11 23 9 3 13 16 9 9 6 15 18 6 9 15 6 4 10 14 10 3 9 12 11 4 7 11 2 5 5 10 7 1 8 9 6 2 7 9 6 3 6 9 7 2 5 7 13 3 6 9 0 6 6 9 4 1 5 2 2 1 3 2 0 2 2 2 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 74 126 200 26 44 76 120 26-

GP MINS AVG 1 20 0.00 21 1288 2.00 21 1312 2.01 21 1312 3.38

W 0 15 15 6

PIM 11 12 6 12 10 6 11 6 6 9 33 10 20 25 22 4 0 0 7 2 2 0 0 218 380

PP 4 4 1 0 2 3 3 2 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 23 19

L OT EN SO 0 0 0 0 6 0 1 2 6 0 1 2 13 2 4 0

SH 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 GA 0 43 44 74

GW 0 3 1 3 1 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 6 SA 9 588 598 785

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

SV% 1.000 .927 .926 .906

S 75 67 35 50 96 52 24 36 75 49 31 34 25 28 19 38 11 7 13 11 4 4 1 785 598 G 0 0 0 0

PCTG .147 .179 .086 .180 .063 .077 .125 .111 .067 .020 .065 .088 .080 .107 --.105 .182 ------------.094 .074

A PIM 0 0 2 2 2 2 0 0

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Decision time nears for the Sutter brothers For the record, Brent Sutter told the Calgary Herald over the weekend that he still has not made up his mind on where—or even if—he will coach next season. Which only raises the speculation to a higher level: Will Sutter remain coach of New Jersey, follow his heart and end his Devils association to become a gentleman rancher at his Canadian home in Red Deer or opt for Door No. 3—the vacant coaching job for a Calgary team run by brother Darryl Sutter? So far, there has been no evidence of overtures from Darryl, the Flames’ general manger. But there has been plenty of talk about Brent Sutter’s future, both in New Jersey and Calgary, which is a short drive from Red Deer. “I know I have to make a decision soon, out of respect to Lou (Lamoriello) and the Devils,” Brent Sutter told the Herald. “Teams want to know who their coach is going to be, if not by the draft (June 26), then by July 1 (the start of the freeagent signing period) at the latest. “I can’t sit around and take months to make a call on this. I’m leaning one way right now, but I want to make absolutely sure. Whichever decision I make will be the right one, I know, but I want to take the time I need.” Darryl Sutter told the newspaper that he expects an entire Calgary coaching staff to be in place by the draft in Montreal. He has hinted that he might move back behind the bench himself, but he also said he was considering several coaches already under contract. Brent Sutter insists he hasn’t talked to his brother about the Flames opening.

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BILL KOSTROUN / AP

Brent Sutter still is unsure where—or if—he’ll coach in the 2009-10 season. “Hey, I only know what I read in the papers or hear on the radio,” he told the newspaper. “I’m no different than any other fan in that regard, I guess. I know my name is being mentioned there. But the situation in Calgary has nothing to do with the decision I’m making. Zero. Believe me on that.” New Wild G.M. Chuck Fletcher told The Star Tribune that he recently had a telephone conversation with star F Marian Gaborik, the teamís all-time leading scorer and soon-to-be unrestricted free agent who is in his hometown of Trencin, Slovakia. “I can tell you the conversation was not as much about the future as just introducing myself and

having a general conversation,” Fletcher told the newspaper. “I’ll talk more in depth with (agent) Ron Salcer as I continue discussions with him.” Fletcher has said his team will play a more uptempo style, which would better suit the skilled Gaborik. But Fletcher would not say if Gaborik told him he was willing to discuss foregoing free agency and re-signing in Minnesota. The Flames have re-signed backup G Curtis McElhinney, who was 1-6-1 with a 3.59 goals-against average in his limited play this season. McElhinney, 26, was 0-2-5 in five appearances as a rookie in 2007-08.

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MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

14

Q&A with ... South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier

‘I can’t worry about how people remember me’ After turning the stodgy SEC sideways in the 1990s at Florida, Steve Spurrier is entering his fifth season at South Carolina and still trying to find the magic from those Gainesville glory days. Sporting News Today’s Matt Hayes recently caught up with Spurrier and discussed his time in Columbia, S.C., and the coming season.

Q:

Do you feel now, after four years, that it might be a lot harder to get South Carolina to the top of the SEC than you first thought? We’ve won 28 games the last four seasons here. That’s the best four-year run in our school’s history. We’ve got some players here now; we feel like we can compete for championships. We all have to do a better job— coaches and players.

A:

Q: A:

What drives you right now? The challenge is to have that big year at South Carolina because it hasn’t happened. That’s what intrigues and gets me excited each day—to do it there. To win that first one (championship) would be something special if we can do it. We still have hopes and believe that we can.

Q:

A couple of years ago, you talked about staying four or five more years at South Carolina. Do you have a timetable now? I’m back to four or five more (years). I think I said that same thing at Florida toward the end. I’m in good health, I feel great,

A:

Q: A:

What happens, worstcase scenario, if Garcia doesn’t make it? Well, we’ve got a redshirt freshman, Reid McCollum, who did some nice things in the spring. He’s got a lot to learn though. We’ve also got a freshman, Stephon Gilmore, who will probably start at cornerback for us but was an all-state quarterback in high school. Worst comes to worst, we’ll put him back there and run all over the place.

I’m excited about where we’re headed.

Q:

You won championships at Duke and Florida. Is there a time where, if it doesn’t happen at South Carolina, it could start impacting your legacy? I can’t worry about how people remember me. Whatever I did at Duke is history, at Florida is history. We’re still trying to make history at South Carolina.

A:

Q:

You said you like the makeup of this team. How are things different this time around? Right now, everybody likes each other. Players like players, coaches like players. Hopefully we’ll maintain that attitude. The last two years, our whole team kind of pooped out in the end.

Q:

You’ve always had smart play from the quarterback position: from Dave Brown at Duke to Shane Matthews, Danny Wuerffel and Rex Grossman at Florida. The position drives your offense. Why is it you haven’t found a quarterback that can handle the system at South Carolina? We just haven’t had consistent play from that position. We had a couple of guys who threw it and another who ran it. We had some success and some not so good games. But we feel Stephen Garcia has a chance to go play well.

A:

A:

Q:

Is Garcia ready to handle all that you expect from your quarterbacks, both on and off the field? Hopefully he has learned that he needs to learn a lot about college football and playing quarterback. The first thing he needs to recognize is, ‘I’m not ready to play.’ Hopefully, since the bowl game (a 31-10 loss to Iowa) he

A:

BOB LEVERONE / SN

At 64 years old, Steve Spurrier, a six-time SEC champion at Florida, thinks he has four or five years left helming the Gamecocks. understands that. If he’ll invest his time wisely this summer, he should be much improved and ready to play.

Q:

A couple of experienced quarterbacks transferred after last season, leaving you with Garcia and two freshmen. Considering Garcia’s past off-field problems, are you concerned you’re putting everything into a guy who still has to prove

himself? He has to be smarter, no question. He has been pretty good on his own; you’ve got to leave him alone. He knows one more mistake and he’s history. After the second incident, he was basically booted out of school. He had to do some things—he has done 175 hours of community service. Everything they put on him, he has done. Some of our coaches said he’d never be able to do all that. He’s in good standing. He made a 2.9

A:

(GPA) this semester.

Q: A:

What are Garcia’s biggest obstacles on the

field? He needs a lot of training. His habits from high school were so bad. Every play was a scramble play. In high school, you can get away with that. He has to learn the game, learn how to play. Make himself a thinker. His decision-making has not been the best, that’s for sure.

Q:

Summers were always a big deal for your teams at Florida, where chemistry was built and players worked on their own to get better. Has this team grasped that concept? What’s exciting is how our guys have embraced our new strength and conditioning coach, Craig Fitzgerald. He’s a terrific motivator, and the players love working for him. We can’t wait to see the strides they make over the summer. How players work over the summer is usually a good indicator of how they will work in the fall, and how the team will play.

A:

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL

88 DOUGLAS C. PIZAC / AP

UNLV’s Ryan Wolfe caught 88 passes for 1,040 yards and six TDs as a junior last season.

UNLV 2008 record: 5-7 overall, 2-6 Mountain West Coach: Mike Sanford Outlook: If only the Rebels could play BCS teams all season. Last year, they went 2-0 against the BCS and 3-7 against everyone else. UNLV could break its seven-year bowl drought with quarterback Omar Clayton and wide receiver Ryan Wolfe returning. But the secondary looks suspect, not good for a defense ranked No. 100 nationally with 33 points allowed per game last year. — Derek Samson

15

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

INSIDE DISH

Top 100 countdown 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. Go to SportingNews.com for the previous teams in the countdown.

MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

INSIDE DISH

Former Auburn assistant knew run was over Tony Franklin, let go as Auburn’s offensive coordinator after six games in his first full year on the job, says he told former head coach Tommy Tuberville during their final meeting that the school would fire Turberville at the end of last season. Franklin, now the offensive coordinator at Middle Tennessee, told the Montgomery Advertiser he saw it coming because of unrest within the athletic department and a feeling in the program that Alabama’s hiring of Nick Saban was changing football in the state. “There was a definite thought (at Auburn) that things were changing,” Franklin told the Advertiser. “If anyone tells you that they’re not watching what’s happening across the state and that it doesn’t concern them, they’re liars. “Those guys knew that the run they had been on—beating Alabama for six straight years, which is just a phenomenal thing—that that run was probably over and things wouldn’t ever be the same with (Saban) there.” Franklin, hired by Middle Tennessee in February, said he is enjoying his privacy at his new job. “I can go out and have a beer somewhere and not worry about winding up on the Internet the next day,” he told the newspaper. “I don’t have to worry about all the crap you face in the SEC with its ridiculous, nit-picky rules and regulations on everything you do.” Jim Owens, who played at Oklahoma for Bud Wilkinson and later coached Washington for 18 seasons, died Saturday at his home in Bigfork, Mont. He was 82. Owens coached at Washington from

DAVE MARTIN / AP

Former Auburn OC Tony Franklin, right, told then-head coach Tommy Tuberville his days were numbered. 1957 until his retirement in 1974. He went 99-82-6, including three Rose Bowl trips. He also served as athletic director at UW from 1960-69. His accomplishments at the school were honored in 2003 when the university dedicated a statue of him outside one of the entrances to Husky Stadium. But that honor came with protests about his treatment of black players during his time at Washington. Owens spent six seasons as an assistant to Paul “Bear” Bryant before taking over the Huskies program in 1957 from Darrell Royal at age 29. Former Kentucky DE Jeremy Jarmon

plans to apply for the NFL supplemental draft this summer, he told the Lexington Herald-Leader in a text message. Jarmon lost his eligibility to play his senior season after testing positive for a banned substance. Former UCLA QB Chris Forcier, who played in seven games last season but attempted only 11 passes, is transferring to I-AA Furman, where he’ll be eligible this fall. UCLA’s coaches asked him to move to receiver in spring practice. “My heart is at the quarterback position,” Forcier said in an e-mail, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.

Tulsa picks up UConn transfer Tulsa added its second transfer in three days, with former Connecticut G Scottie Haralson signing scholarship papers on Sunday to join the Golden Hurricane. Haralson, who was a true freshman last season at Connecticut, will have three years of eligibility remaining after sitting out the 2009-2010 season. On Thursday, Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik announced that former Western Kentucky PF D.J. Magley was joining the Golden Hurricane. Magley also must sit out the upcoming season and will have two years of eligibility left beginning in 20102011 Haralson appeared in 17 games off the bench last season and averaged 1.4 points in 4.1 minutes per game for Connecticut. Seven of his eight field goals made were 3-pointers. He had season-bests of six points against Marquette and Delaware State. “Scottie is a great addition to our team,” Wojcik said. “He compliments D.J. Magley extremely well for the future, and then obviously losing Ben Uzoh next year, he can step in there,” “Scottie fills a huge need. He’s a big, strong and powerful kid who can really shoot the basketball.”

New Arizona coach Sean has hired Jamall Walker and Miller Ryan Reynolds to administrative posts. Walker, an assistant to John Groce at Ohio last season, will serve as director of basketball operations. Reynolds, assistant coordinator of basketball operations at Wake Forest last season, will be an administrative assistant. The Big 12 named Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin and Ashley Paris as the conference’s 200809 Sportspersons of the Year. Griffin, a 6-10 sophomore, was the consensus national player of the year as Oklahoma went 30-6 and reached the Elite Eight. Paris averaged 12.6 points and 9.6 rebounds as the OU women’s team went 32-5. For the 33rd straight season, the Big Ten led the nation in average attendance for men’s basketball, the conference announced this week. The Big Ten ranked first among all conferences with an average of 12,519 fans per game in 2008-09, which is nearly 900 more than the runner-up SEC with 11,625. The NCAA’s final attendance numbers and rankings include both regular-season and conference tournament attendance.

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MLB.com reports that rookie LP Derek Holland, coming off his best start for the Rangers, will return to the bullpen if rehabbing LP Matt Harrison

16

THE LAUNCHING PAD

Braves: Glavine release was performance-related Braves general manager Frank Wren said Sunday he will not comment on a report that former ace Tom Glavine might file a grievance against the team because of his release on Wednesday. Glavine has said he believes he was released for financial reasons and to clear a roster spot for Tommy Hanson, who made his major league debut Sunday against the Brewers. But Wren, team chairman Terry McGuirk and president John Schuerholz all say Glavine was released because they did not believe the 43-year-old lefthander would make a successful return from elbow and shoulder surgery. “It was purely and only on the merits of what gave us the best chance to win, no financial interest whatsoever involved,” McGuirk said. FOXSports.com reported Saturday that Glavine’s agent, Gregg Clifton, is exploring filing a grievance. Glavine would have received a $1 million bonus if he had been activated from the disabled list for Sunday’s start, as he expected. “I don’t believe for a minute that it was totally a performance-related issue, which I’m totally fine with, but I would have appreciated the honesty,” Glavine said. The Braves cleared roster space for Hanson Sunday by placing 1B Casey Kotchman on the 15-day disabled list because of the strained right calf and bruised right shin he suffered May 31 when hit by a pitch.

MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

What to expect in the major leagues today

Syracuse. The Chicago Tribune reported Sunday that Cubs RP Rich Harden was scratched from his rehab start for Class AAA Iowa for undisclosed reasons. Harden was scheduled to pitch for Iowa Sunday, and for the Cubs Friday against Minnesota at Wrigley Field. His major league return will be pushed back. Harden went on the disabled list May 18 with a back strain and has missed four starts.

BEN MARGOT / AP

Jason Marquis has been stellar against his former teams this season.

PAUL ABELL / AP

Tom Glavine says he believes the Braves released him last week for financial reasons. (shoulder) is ready to return. Harrison struck out five batters in a 41-pitch start for Class AA Frisco Saturday night and will meet with Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux and manager Ron Washington today to discuss his next move. The only question is whether he will need another tuneup before being activated before Thursday’s home game against Toronto. Rays 3B Evan Longoria decided to hold off his return to the lineup at least one more day, telling the St. Petersburg Times that he felt better after doing drills and taking batting practice but wants to be sure his sore hamstring is absolutely ready. “Obviously at this stage of the season, and the way we’re playing, with or without me, we’re winning games so it’s not worth it for me to go out there and

try and push it and reinjure myself and be out for two to three months as opposed to one more day,’’ Longoria said. “Yesterday I felt good, (Sunday) I felt great. I was actually able to push it almost to 100 percent.” Longoria said he hopes to play tonight but won’t know for sure until the afternoon. The Associated Press reports that veteran RP John Smoltz, rehabbing from shoulder surgery, allowed one hit and one run while pitching six innings Saturday for Class AAA Pawtucket against the Durham Bulls. The rehab start was his fourth overall but his first for Pawtucket and longest to date. Smoltz threw 51 of 74 pitches for strikes, walked two and struck out three. He topped out at 91 mph and retired the last 10 batters he faced. His next rehab start will be Thursday, when Pawtucket plays at

The (Newark, N.J.) Star -Ledger reports that Yankees reliever Brian Bruney took a “huge positive step” Sunday when he threw a 30-pitch bullpen session and pronounced himself pain-free. Bruney, out with an elbow problem, threw 15 pitches, rested for four minutes, then threw 15 more, trying to simulate game conditions. Bruney said he expects to throw a similar session on an upcoming trip to Boston. The Mariners announced LP Ryan Rowland-Smith will make at least one more rehab start for Tacoma before returning to the team. Rowland-Smith had been scheduled to start for the Mariners Thursday at Baltimore. Fresh off his 300th victory, San Francisco’s Randy Johnson will start on three days’ rest at Florida today against the Marlins. He volunteered to pitch today after a successful throwing session Saturday to check his bruised shoulder, sustained while fielding a ball in his final inning against Washington. Johnson last started on three days’ rest in 2005.

White Sox can close the gap The White Sox won’t have a better opportunity all season to make up ground in the A.L. Central. The first-place Tigers visit U.S. Cellular Field for five games over the next four days beginning with a day-night doubleheader today. The night game will feature the return of two veteran starters. The White Sox’s Jose Contreras, sent to Class AAA last month because of his 0-5 record and 8.19 ERA, matches against Jeremy Bonderman, making his first start in more than a year. The White Sox will not have to deal much with the Tigers’ best hitter, Miguel Cabrera. He is slowed by a sore hamstring and figures to be limited to pinch-hitting duties for another day or two.

Marquis has another shot at pay back The Cardinals, already struggling offensively, should be especially leery of Rockies righthander Jason Marquis in the finale of a four-game series this afternoon in St. Louis. Marquis has not gone easy on his former teams his season. He’s already beaten the Cubs and Braves, allowing each team only one run in seven- and eight-inning outings, respectively. One of the N.L.’s leading winners with a 7-4 record and 4.10 ERA, Marquis is working towards a sixth consecutive season of double-digit wins. The Rockies, meanwhile, are going for a four-game sweep against the Cardinals, having outscored St. Louis 28-7 so far.

Blue Jays find their comfort zone Say this about Toronto: It’s the best third-place team in the majors. The Blue Jays have struggled inside the A.L. East (6-9) but they’re 11 games over .500 against the rest of the A.L. The Jays won’t see a division rival for another three weeks as they begin a four-game series at A.L. West-leading Texas today before two-plus weeks of interleague games. The Rangers return home after holding their own against East powerhouses New York and Boston. Texas took two of three at Fenway Park over the weekend after losing two of three against the Yankees. Rangers righthander Scott Feldman will be going for his fourth win in his past four starts tonight.

— Stan McNeal

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Fantasy Focus

LEAGUE LEADERS

American League Standings Batting Average

Waiver-wire pickups A.L.

Player ISuzuki MiCabrera Youkilis AdJones VMartinez MYoung Morneau

Home Runs

N.L.

Team Seattle Detroit Boston Baltimore Cleveland Texas Minnesota

Player Tejada DWright Pence Beltran Hawpe Pujols HaRamirez

.356 .352 .349 .346 .344 .336 .335

A.L.

Team Houston New York Houston New York Colorado St. Louis Florida

.354 .345 .342 .342 .339 .333 .332

Player NCruz CPena Teixeira Bay Kinsler Morneau Dye

N.L.

Team Texas Tampa Bay New York Boston Texas Minnesota Chicago

A.L.

TONY GUTIERREZ / AP

Oakland SP Josh Outman

Mike MacDougal, RP, Nationals. Washington named MacDougal its new closer after growing tired of Joel Hanrahan’s act. MacDougal has a 98-mph heater and previous experience as a closer in Kansas City. Josh Outman, SP, A’s. If you’re looking to gamble a bit on a two-start pitcher this week, Outman is a good choice. He is 3-0 in his past five starts and gets the Twins and Giants. Ian Stewart, 2B/3B, Rockies. He’s earning more playing time with a recent run that included four home runs in four games. Plus, the Rockies might be auditioning him for if they trade Garrett Atkins. Jason Jaramillo, C, Pirates. Jaramillo continues to do well in Ryan Doumit’s absence and is an underthe-radar talent at a dull fantasy position. — George Winkler

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

Player Ibanez Pujols AdGonzalez Zimmerman Four tied

46 45 45 44 44 43 42

A.L.

Team Philadelphia St. Louis San Diego Washington

46 44 41 41 39

Player Crawford Ellsbury Figgins BUpton Abreu Bartlett Span

Player Bay Longoria Morneau Teixeira Kinsler TorHunter Two tied

Player Fielder Ibanez Pujols Howard Dunn AdGonzalez Three tied

55 55 52 50 44 43 42

A.L.

Team Milwaukee Philadelphia St. Louis Philadelphia Washington San Diego

54 54 51 47 44 43 42

Player Halladay Greinke Slowey Beckett Verlander Buehrle Bedard

Player AHill VMartinez ISuzuki Crawford MYoung Morneau Two tied

78 78 77 75 74 73 71

10-1 8-2 8-2 6-2 6-2 6-2 5-2

Player Lind MYoung Longoria Byrd Callaspo Scutaro Four tied

Player Tejada Hudson Ibanez Zimmerman Four tied

A.L.

Team Houston Los Angeles Philadelphia Washington

80 73 72 72 69

21 21 20 19 18 18 17

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

6-0 7-1 5-1 5-1 5-1 5-1 6-2

1.000 .875 .833 .833 .833 .833 .750

Player Verlander Greinke Halladay Lester FHernandez Garza Beckett

N.L.

Team Detroit Kansas City Toronto Boston Seattle Tampa Bay Boston

Player Tejada AdLaRoche HaRamirez FSanchez Beltran Rowand Hudson

Player Lincecum JVazquez JSantana Billingsley Peavy Haren JoJohnson

97 91 88 85 79 68 68

A.L.

Team Houston Pittsburgh Florida Pittsburgh New York San Francisco Los Angeles

21 19 19 19 18 18 17

Player Fuentes Papelbon MaRivera Jenks FFrancisco Nathan Sherrill

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

95 93 89 85 84 83 72

N.L.

Team Los Angeles Boston New York Chicago Texas Minnesota Baltimore

15 14 13 13 12 11 11

Player Bell FrRodriguez BWilson Hoffman Cordero Four tied

East New York Boston Toronto Tampa Bay Baltimore

W 33 33 32 29 24

L 23 24 27 29 33

Pct .589 .579 .542 .500 .421

GB WCGB L10 — — 7-3 ½ — 6-4 2½ 2 5-5 5 4½ 6-4 9½ 9 3-7

Str W-1 L-1 W-1 L-1 L-5

Home 17-11 18-8 21-10 16-11 16-13

Away 16-12 15-16 11-17 13-18 8-20

Central Detroit Minnesota Chicago Kansas City Cleveland

W 30 28 26 24 25

L 25 30 30 32 34

Pct .545 .483 .464 .429 .424

GB WCGB L10 — — 4-6 3½ 5½ 4-6 4½ 6½ 5-5 6½ 8½ 1-9 7 9 4-6

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

Home 17-11 21-12 14-15 15-15 12-14

Away 13-14 7-18 12-15 9-17 13-20

West Texas Los Angeles Seattle Oakland

W 33 28 28 25

L 23 27 29 30

Pct .589 .509 .491 .455

GB WCGB L10 — — 6-4 4½ 4 5-5 5½ 5 7-3 7½ 7 7-3

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

Home 18-9 14-12 16-14 14-13

Away 15-14 14-15 12-15 11-17

National League Standings East Philadelphia New York Atlanta Florida Washington

W 33 30 27 27 15

L 22 25 28 31 40

Pct .600 .545 .491 .466 .273

GB WCGB L10 — — 8-2 3 — 5-5 6 3 4-6 7½ 4½ 5-5 18 15 2-8

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

Home 12-14 17-9 13-15 13-17 9-20

Away 21-8 13-16 14-13 14-14 6-20

Central Milwaukee St. Louis Chicago Cincinnati Pittsburgh Houston

W 33 31 28 29 26 25

L 24 26 26 27 30 30

Pct .579 .544 .519 .518 .464 .455

GB WCGB L10 — — 6-4 2 — 3-7 3½ 1½ 6-4 3½ 1½ 3-7 6½ 4½ 5-5 7 5 7-3

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

Home 16-9 19-14 16-10 14-14 15-11 14-17

Away 17-15 12-12 12-16 15-13 11-19 11-13

West W Los Angeles 39 San Francisco 29 San Diego 26 Arizona 25 Colorado 24 z-first game was a win

L 20 26 30 32 32

Pct GB WCGB L10 .661 — — 5-5 .527 8 1 7-3 .464 11½ 4½ 3-7 .439 13 6 5-5 .429 13½ 6½ 6-4

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

Home 22-8 18-9 18-11 12-19 9-14

Away 17-12 11-17 8-19 13-13 15-18

Pitching Matchups Today’s Games (All times Eastern)

Saves

N.L.

Team Toronto Texas Tampa Bay Texas Kansas City Toronto

Player Broxton Cain LiHernandez Martis JoJohnson Lincecum Gallardo

.909 .800 .800 .750 .750 .750 .714

Doubles A.L.

19 14 13 13 12 12 12

Strikeouts N.L.

Team Toronto Cleveland Seattle Tampa Bay Texas Minnesota

Team Houston New York Los Angeles Los Angeles Pittsburgh Arizona Cincinnati

N.L.

Team Toronto Kansas City Minnesota Boston Detroit Chicago Seattle

HIts A.L.

Player Bourn DWright Kemp Pierre Morgan Reynolds Taveras

34 23 21 17 15 14 12

Pitching (6 decisions) N.L.

Team Boston Tampa Bay Minnesota New York Texas Los Angeles

22 19 18 17 17 15 14

N.L.

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

RBIs A.L.

Team San Diego Philadelphia St. Louis Washington Philadelphia Milwaukee

Stolen Bases N.L.

Team Toronto New York Boston Tampa Bay Minnesota Baltimore

Player AdGonzalez Ibanez Pujols Dunn Howard Fielder Three tied

17 17 17 16 15 15 14

Runs Player Scutaro Damon Pedroia Crawford Morneau BRoberts Three tied

17

MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

Team San Diego New York San Francisco Milwaukee Cincinnati

16 15 15 15 14 13

American League Detroit (Galarraga 3-6) at Chicago White Sox (Richard 2-1), 2:05 p.m., 1st Tampa Bay (Sonnanstine 4-5) at N.Y. Yankees (Pettitte 5-2), 7:05 p.m. Toronto (Janssen 1-2) at Texas (Feldman 5-0), 8:05 p.m. Detroit (Bonderman 0-0) at Chicago White Sox (Contreras 0-5), 8:11 p.m., 2nd Minnesota (Swarzak 1-2) at Oakland (Outman 3-0), 10:05 p.m.

The Line at ChW -145, Det +135 at NYY 160, TB +150 at Tex -140, Tor +130 Det -115, at ChW +105 at Oak -130, Min +120

National League The Line Colorado (Marquis 7-4) at St. Louis (B.Thompson 0-1), 2:15 p.m. at StL -130, Col +120 Pittsburgh (Duke 6-4) at Atlanta (Kawakami 3-6), 7:10 p.m. at Atl -150, Pit +140 San Francisco (Ra.Johnson 5-4) at Florida (West 0-1), 7:10 p.m. at Fla -110, SF +100 Arizona (Garland 4-5) at San Diego (Peavy 5-6), 10:05 p.m. at SD -170 Ari +160 TUESDAY’S GAMES National League American League Cincinnati at Washington, 7:05 p.m. Philadelphia at N.Y. Mets, 7:10 p.m. Kansas City at Cleveland, 7:05 p.m. Pittsburgh at Atlanta, 7:10 p.m. Seattle at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m. St. Louis at Florida, 7:10 p.m. L.A. Angels at Tampa Bay, 7:08 p.m. Chicago Cubs at Houston, 8:05 p.m. N.Y. Yankees at Boston, 7:10 p.m. Colorado at Milwaukee, 8:05 p.m. Toronto at Texas, 8:05 p.m. San Francisco at Arizona, 9:40 p.m. Detroit at Chicago White Sox, 8:11 p.m. San Diego at L.A. Dodgers, 10:10 p.m. Minnesota at Oakland, 10:05 p.m.

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Attendance report

Streaks

Through June 7

AMERICAN LEAGUE HOME GAMES 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

29 650,503 26 982,345 29 735,361 26 584,989 28 795,724 30 672,393 26 1,051,033 33 856,387 28 1,253,408 27 478,962 30 811,354 27 628,746 27 705,366 31 713,301

22,431 37,783 25,357 22,500 28,419 22,413 40,424 25,951 44,765 17,739 27,045 23,287 26,125 23,010

397 10,919,872

27,506

28 31 27 33 27 26 29 25 28 28 27 31 29 28

TOTAL

AVG

711,443 25,409 970,342 31,301 650,339 24,087 929,487 28,166 777,488 28,796 671,237 25,817 862,381 29,737 732,863 29,315 922,362 32,942 714,048 25,502 723,551 26,798 790,885 25,512 819,375 28,254 643,425 22,979

397 10,919,226

27,504

NATIONAL LEAGUE HOME GAMES

ROAD GAMES

DATES

TOTAL

31 28 26 28 23 30 31 30 25 26 26 26 29 27 33 30

833,320 701,568 1,027,754 656,700 634,059 499,401 894,089 1,283,101 934,730 1,014,435 1,130,426 431,288 727,466 922,521 1,324,755 601,640

NL Totals

449

13,617,253

30,328

449 13,617,899

30,329

MLB Totals

846 24,537,125

29,004

846 24,537,125

29,004

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

AVG DATES

26,881 25,056 39,529 23,454 27,568 16,647 28,842 42,770 37,389 39,017 43,478 16,588 25,085 34,167 40,144 20,055

TOTAL

AVG

26 682,993 26,269 27 815,578 30,207 28 1,043,395 37,264 28 807,183 28,828 33 943,944 28,604 28 853,298 30,475 25 596,628 23,865 29 941,998 32,483 32 912,867 28,527 29 916,799 31,614 29 910,396 31,393 30 916,419 30,547 27 931,603 34,504 28 797,246 28,473 24 658,518 27,438 26 889,034 34,194

Disabled list

Through June 7

Through June 5

AMERICAN LEAGUE

NATIONAL LEAGUE

BATTING

BATTING

Longest current batting streak ... 13, Overbay, Tor, May 20 to June 7. Longest batting streak, season ... 27, Suzuki, Sea, May 6 to June 3.

Longest current batting streak ... 17, Rowand, SF, May 20 to June 7. Longest batting streak, season ... 30, Zimmerman, Was, April 8 to May 12.

PITCHING

PITCHING

Longest current winning streak ... 7, Halladay, Tor, April 26 to June 7. Longest winning streak, season ... 7, Halladay, Tor, April 26 to June 7 (current). .

Longest current winning streak ... 5, Billingsley, LAD, April 8 to May 3; Cain, SF, May 7 to June 4. Longest winning streak, season ... 6, Broxton, LAD, April 15 to June 5.

TEAM Longest current winning streak ... 6, OAK, June 2 to June 7. Longest current home-win streak ... 3, OAK, June 5 to June 7; T-B, June 2 to June 4. Longest current road-win streak ... 4, BOS, May 31 to June 4. Longest current losing streak ... 5, BAL, June 2 to June 7. Longest current home-loss streak ... 4, K-C, May 27 to May 31. Longest current road-loss streak ... 9, TOR, May 19 to May 27. Longest winning streak, season ... 11, BOS, April 15 to April 27. Longest home-win streak, season ... 9, BOS, April 17 to April 26. Longest road-win streak, season ... 6, SEA, April 9 to April 25. Longest losing streak, season ... 9, TOR, May 19 to May 27. Longest home-loss streak, season ... 6, DET, May 23 to June 5. Longest road-loss streak, season ... 9, MIN, May 5 to May 20; TOR, May 19 to May 27.

MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

TEAM Longest current winning streak ... 4, COL, June 4 to June 7. Longest current home-win streak ... 3, MIL, May 29 to May 31; PHL, May 29 to May 31; PIT, June 1 to June 4. Longest current road-win streak ... 4, COL, June 4 to June 7. Longest current losing streak ... 3, STL, June 5 to June 7. Longest current home-loss streak ... 3, STL, June 5 to June 7. Longest current road-loss streak ... 6, WAS, May 25 to May 31. Longest winning streak, season ... 10, S-D, May 15 to May 25. Longest home-win streak, season ... 13, LAD, April 13 to May 6. Longest road-win streak, season ... 6, FLA, April 14 to April 19. Longest losing streak, season ... 8, CHC, May 17 to May 25; PIT, May 3 to May 10. Longest home-loss streak, season ... 7, WAS, May 15 to May 20. Longest road-loss streak, season ... 11, S-D, April 29 to May 14.

AMERICAN LEAGUE Baltimore OF Luis Montanez, May 23 RHP Dennis Sarfate, May 2 RHP Alfredo Simon, April 15 RHP Koji Uehara, May 24

Boston RHP Miguel Gonzalez-x, March 27 SS Jed Lowrie, April 12 RHP John Smoltz, March 27 Chicago OF Carlos Quentin, May 26

Cleveland RHP Rafael Betancourt, June 1 INF Asdrubal Cabrera, June 3 LHP Aaron Laffey, May 23 LHP Scott Lewis-x, April 11 RHP Anthony Reyes-x, May 23 OF Grady Sizemore, May 31 RHP Joe Smith, April 29 RHP Jake Westbrook-x, March 26

Detroit RHP Jeremy Bonderman, March 30 SS Carlos Guillen, May 5 OF Marcus Thames, April 19 C Matt Treanor-x, April 24

Kansas City SS Mike Aviles, May 24 C John Buck, May 31 3B Alex Gordon, April 16 RHP Sidney Ponson, May 30 RHP Robinson Tejeda, May 21 RHP Doug Waechter, April 18

Los Angeles RHP Kelvim Escobar-x, April 4 RHP Shane Loux, May 17 RHP Dustin Moseley, April 18 C Robert Shields, May 27

Minnesota RHP Boof Bonser, March 27 RHP Pat Neshek-x, Feb. 21 LHP Glen Perkins, May 19 INF Nick Punto, May 28

New York RHP Brian Bruney, May 20 LHP Damaso Marte, April 26 C Jose Molina, May 8 OF Xavier Nady, April 15 SS Bryan Ransom-x, April 25

Oakland OF Travis Buck, May 30 3B Eric Chavez-x, April 25 RHP Joey Devine-x, April 4 RHP Justin Duchscherer-x, March 27 2B Mark Ellis-x, April 29 SS Nomar Garciaparra, May 24 RHP Dan Giese-x, May 16

18

Seattle

Florida

RHP Roy Corcoran, April 29 LHP Ryan Feierabend-x, March 15 LHP Cesar Jimenez-x, March 29 C Kenji Johjima, May 26 RHP Shawn Kelley, May 6 LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith, April 11 RHP Carlos Silva, May 7

SS Alfredo Amezaga, May 17 LHP Renyel Pinto, May 23 RHP Scott Proctor-x March 27

Tampa Bay SS Jason Bartlett, May 25 RHP Chad Bradford, March 27 OF Pat Burrell, May 11 INF Akinori Iwamura-x, May 25 LHP Scott Kazmir, May 21 RHP Troy Percival, May 22 CF Fernando Perez-x, March 27 C Shawn Riggans, April 10 LHP Brian Shouse, May 25

Texas RHP Joaquin Benoit-x, April 5 RHP William Eyre-x, April 23 OF Josh Hamilton, June 1 LHP Matt Harrison, May 26 RHP Eric Hurley-x, April 5 RHP Dustin Nippert-x, March 27

Toronto C Michael Barrett, April 18 RHP Jesse Litsch, April 14 RHP Shaun Marcum, March 27 RHP Dustin McGowan, March 27 RHP Robert Ray, May 22

NATIONAL LEAGUE Arizona 1B Tony Clark, May 5 RHP Tom Gordon, May 4 1B Conor Jackson, May 12 RHP Yusmeiro Petit, May 9 1B Chad Tracy, May 30 RHP Brandon Webb, April 7

Atlanta RHP Jorge Campillo, June 3 RHP Buddy Carlyle, May 26 RHP Tim Hudson-x, Feb. 24 SS Omar Infante, May 21 LHP Jo-Jo Reyes, May 21

Houston 3B Aaron Boone-x March 27 RHP Doug Brocail, May 4 RHP Geoff Geary, May 14 2B Kazuo Matsui, May 30 RHP Jose Valverde, April 27

Los Angeles LHP Hong-Chih Kuo, April 30 1B Doug Mienkiewicz-x, April 17 LHP Will Ohman, May 28 OF Xanvier Paul, May 21 RHP Jason Schmidt, March 30 LHP Eric Stults, May 31 RHP Claudio Vargas-x, April 6

Milwaukee RHP David Riske, April 10 2B Rickie Weeks, May 18

New York OF Ryan Church, May 23 INF Alex Cora, May 18 1B Carlos Delgado, May 11 INF Ramon Martinez, June 3 OF Angel Pagan, June 1 LHP Oliver Perez, May 3 RHP J.J. Putz-x, June 5 SS Jose Reyes, May 21 LHP Billy Wagner, March 27

Philadelphia RHP Brett Myers, May 28.

Pittsburgh C Ryan Doumit, April 20 LHP Phil Dumatrait-x, March 27 RHP Craig Hansen, April 20 LHP Donnie Veal, May 30 RHP Tyler Yates, May 16

St. Louis LHP Jaime Garcia, March 27 3B Troy Glaus, March 27 SS Khalil Greene, May 28

Chicago

San Diego

RHP Chad Fox, May 10 INF-OF Ryan Freel, May 28 RHP Rich Harden, May 18 2B Aaron Miles, May 26 3B Aramis Ramirez, May 9

RHP Mike Adams-x, April 1 RHP Cha Seung Baek-x, March 30 SS Everth Cabrera-x, April 20 OF Scott Hairston, June 3 RHP Shawn Hill, April 26 2B Luis Rodriguez, May 14 RHP Mark Worrell-x, April 1

Cincinnati 3B Edwin Encarnacion, April 28 RHP Edinson Volquez, June 2 1B Joey Votto, May 29

Colorado INF Jeff Baker-x, April 27 RHP Taylor Buchholz-x, March 27 RHP Matt Daley, May 18 LHP Jeffrey Francis-x, March 27 C Chris Iannetta, May 24 LHP Franklin Morales, April 22 RHP Ryan Speier, April 19

San Francisco LHP Noah Lowry-x, March 26 RHP Joseph Martinez-x, April 10

Washington CF Roger Bernadina-x, April 19 LHP Matt Chico-x, March 27 C Jesus Flores, May 10 LHP Scott Olsen, May 17 RHP Kip Wells, June 2 1B Dmitri Young, April 1 RHP Terrell Young, March 27 (x-60-day; all others are 15-day)

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19

MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

AMERICAN LEAGUE Toronto 4, Kansas City 0

N.Y. Yankees 4, Tampa Bay 3

‘It’s scary what he can do:’ Halladay wins No. 10

This time, Rivera gets his man

TORONTO—Lyle Overbay hears about how great Roy Halladay is every time an opposing batter happens to make it to first against the Toronto ace. “Day in and day out, everybody that gets on first base says he’s the best,” Overbay said. “The Yankees, the Red Sox, they’re like ‘It’s not fair.’ “I’m glad I’m on his side, not the other side.” Halladay pitched a seven-hitter to become the first 10-game winner in the major leagues and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Kansas City Royals 4-0 on Sunday. Aaron Hill and Overbay homered for Toronto, which won the rubber game of the weekend series. Halladay (10-1) needed just 97 pitches to record his 43rd career complete game and 12th career shutout. He was coming off a career-high 133 pitches in a complete-game victory over the Los Angeles Angels in his last start. The righthander allowed just seven singles while winning his seventh straight decision. He struck out six and walked none to win back-to-back complete games for the first time since May 8 and May 13, 2006. “There’s a reason why he’s 10-1,” Kansas City’s Billy Butler said “He does it year in and year out.” Halladay, the 2003 A.L. Cy Young Award winner, has gone at least seven innings in all 13 of his starts and has not lost since April 21, when Texas beat him 5-4. “It’s the best run support I’ve had, that’s for sure, and that makes a huge difference,” Halladay said. “There were games early on where I didn’t necessarily pitch great and we scored enough runs. It makes a huge difference and lets you get into the swing of things.”

NEW YORK—A day after one of his worst outings, Mariano Rivera was right where he wanted to be: back on the mound. Unlike Saturday, when his manager ordered him to walk Evan Longoria, Rivera got his chance to face Tampa Bay’s slugger, this time with two outs in the ninth inning and a one-run lead to protect. And the outcome was more familiar. Rivera got Longoria to ground meekly to second, closing out the New York Yankees’ 4-3, come-from-behind victory over the Rays on Sunday for his 495th career save. “I guess Mo was right,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. Nick Swisher hit the 100th home run at the new Yankee Stadium, helping Girardi earn his 200th win as a manager. Alfredo Aceves (4-1) pitched two scoreless innings in New York’s major league-leading 20th comeback victory this season. “It’s the comeback kids,” Swisher said. “In a sense it just feels like that. When we get in those situations we hunker down and really, really get after the guy.” Rivera was upset after being forced to intentionally walk Longoria to face B.J. Upton in the Rays’ four-run ninth inning of a 9-7 victory Saturday. On Sunday, however, he said he didn’t second-guess his manager. “You can’t come to a game angry or with too much venom. Then you are not in control of what you are doing,” Rivera said. — The Associated Press

Blue Jays 4, Royals 0 Kansas City AB R DeJesus lf 4 0 Bloomquist ss 4 0 Butler 1b 4 0 Jacobs dh 4 0 J.Guillen rf 4 0 Teahen 3b 4 0 Callaspo 2b 3 0 Olivo c 3 0 Maier cf 3 0 Totals 33 0

H 1 0 1 2 1 1 1 0 0 7

BI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

SO 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 6

Avg. .232 .273 .281 .240 .255 .275 .293 .236 .234

Toronto Scutaro ss A.Hill 2b Rios rf V.Wells cf Lind dh Overbay 1b Barajas c Bautista 3b Inglett lf Totals

H 1 1 2 1 1 2 0 1 0 9

BI 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 4

BB 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3

SO 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3

Avg. .297 .311 .267 .254 .309 .302 .281 .264 .125

AB 3 2 4 3 4 3 4 4 3 30

R 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4

Kansas City 000 000 000 — Toronto 112 000 00x —

0 7 0 4 9 0

LOB: Kansas City 6, Toronto 7. HR: Overbay (7), off Davies; A.Hill (13), off Davies. RBIs: A.Hill 2 (40), V.Wells (28), Overbay (31). SB: Teahen (2), Scutaro (6), Rios 2 (7). SF: V.Wells. Runners left in scoring position: Kansas City 4 (Callaspo, Teahen, Maier 2); Toronto 4 (Lind, Barajas, Rios, Bautista). DP: Kansas City 1 (Callaspo, Bloomquist, Butler); Toronto 1 (Bautista, A.Hill, Overbay). Kansas City Davies L, 2-6 Toronto Halladay W, 10-1 DARREN CALABRESE / AP

Roy Halladay threw his second straight complete game win and tallies his MLB-leading 10th victory. Halladay’s only trouble came in the seventh, when the Royals loaded the bases with one out on singles by Mike Jacobs, Mark Teahen and Alberto Callaspo. Halladay got out of it quickly, striking out Miguel Olivo on three pitches and getting Mitch Maier on a first-pitch grounder. “He can dominate,” Overbay said. “You see him with the bases loaded and one out, he just stepped it up a whole other notch. It’s scary what he can do.”

Kansas City didn’t have another baserunner the rest of the way. “After that, it was nasty, nasty,” Royals manager Trey Hillman said. Kansas City, which snapped an eightgame losing streak by beating Toronto on Saturday, lost for the 21st time in 27 games. Overbay extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a towering solo homer in the second that bounced off the center-field restaurant. — The Associated Press

IP 8 IP 9

H 9 H 7

R ER BB SO NP ERA 4 4 3 3 126 5.13 R ER BB SO NP ERA 0 0 0 6 97 2.52

HBP: by Davies (A.Hill). Umpires: Home, Bob Davidson; First, Jeff Nelson; Second, Mark Carlson; Third, Tim Tschida. T: 2:09. A: 21,071 (49,539).

Yankees 4, Rays 3 Tampa Bay AB B.Upton cf 4 Crawford lf 4 W.Aybar 3b 4 C.Pena 1b 3 Zobrist 2b 4 Joyce rf 3 Gross dh 4 Navarro c 3 a-Longoria ph 1 Brignac ss 3 Totals 33

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

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

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

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

SO 0 2 1 1 3 0 1 1 0 0 9

Avg. .221 .323 .250 .223 .296 .207 .255 .206 .320 .222

New York AB R H BI BB SO Jeter ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 Damon lf 4 1 2 0 0 1 Teixeira 1b 4 1 1 0 0 0 A.Rodriguez 3b 3 1 1 0 1 0 Cano 2b 3 0 0 1 1 1 Posada c 4 0 1 1 0 0 H.Matsui dh 4 0 0 1 0 0 1-Berroa pr-dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 Swisher rf 2 1 1 1 2 0 Gardner cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 Me.Cabrera cf-rf 3 0 0 0 1 2 Totals 31 4 6 4 5 4

Avg. .307 .300 .286 .255 .300 .306 .249 .133 .250 .265 .303

Tampa Bay 001 002 000 — New York 001 000 03x —

3 6 1 4 6 1

a-grounded out for Navarro in the 9th. 1-ran for H.Matsui in the 8th. E: W.Aybar (3), Posada (3). LOB: Tampa Bay 5, New York 8. 2B: B.Upton (11), Damon (14). HR: Swisher (11), off Garza. RBIs: B.Upton (15), Gross 2 (16), Cano (34), Posada (27), H.Matsui (23), Swisher (33). SB: Gross (3). CS: Brignac (2). Runners left in scoring position: Tampa Bay 5 (Gross, W.Aybar, B.Upton, Navarro 2); New York 6 (H.Matsui, Teixeira 3, Me.Cabrera 2). Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Garza 5 4 1 1 2 2 96 3.55 J.Nelson H, 5 2 0 0 0 0 1 19 5.55 Balfour L, 2-1 H, 8 1⁄3 2 3 2 1 0 19 6.31 Howell BS, 5-7 2⁄3 0 0 0 2 1 15 2.17 New York IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Chamberlain 6 5 3 3 1 4 100 3.79 Aceves W, 4-1 2 1 0 0 0 4 33 2.70 Ma.Rivera S, 13-14 1 0 0 0 0 1 10 3.33 Inherited runners-scored: Howell 3-3. HBP: by Chamberlain (C.Pena). Umpires: Home, Scott Barry; First, Ted Barrett; Second, Tim McClelland; Third, Adrian Johnson. T: 3:13. A: 46,465 (52,325).

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MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

20

AMERICAN LEAGUE Texas 6, Boston 3

Q&A with ... Texas RF Nelson Cruz

Cruz, Rangers find their bats

‘This is my season to shine’

WINSLOW TOWNSON / AP

Texas’ David Murphy, left, slides past Red Sox C Jason Varitek for a second-inning run. BOSTON—Nelson Cruz and the Texas Rangers found their offense one day after Jon Lester took it away. Cruz led a 12-hit attack with a double, triple and homer, helping the Rangers beat the Boston Red Sox 6-3 on Sunday and bounce back from Lester’s 6 1/3 innings of perfect pitching. “I’m very glad with how the guys recovered,” Texas manager Ron Washington said. “You learn from the day before and you go out there and it’s a different challenge every day.” Michael Young got the Rangers off to a fast start with a solo homer off Daisuke Matsuzaka in the first inning. Young also had Texas’ first hit Saturday night, but that double didn’t come until the seventh inning of Boston’s 8-1 win as Lester tossed a two-hitter. “Michael got us on the board early and from that point we just waited (Matsuzaka)

out,” Washington said. “When he did have to make pitches and he made them over the plate, we put them in play.” The Rangers won a series against the Red Sox at Fenway Park for the first time since a three-game sweep in August 1997. They were 0-12-3 in their last 15 series at Boston and 1-9 in their last 10 road games against the Red Sox before Sunday’s win. Cruz, playing at Fenway for the first time, went 0-for-8 with two strikeouts in the first two games, then had three straight extra-base hits after striking out in his first at-bat in the series finale. “It was tough the first couple of games,” said Cruz, whose 17th homer of the season went far over the Green Monster. “Mikey (Young) and Ian (Kinsler) told me it was the same thing for them.” — The Associated Press

Rangers 6, Red Sox 3 Texas AB R Kinsler 2b 5 0 M.Young 3b 5 2 Blalock dh 4 0 N.Cruz rf 4 3 Dav.Murphy lf 4 1 Byrd cf 4 0 C.Davis 1b 4 0 Teagarden c 4 0 Vizquel ss 4 0 Totals 38 6

H 1 2 0 3 3 1 0 0 2 12

BI 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 5

BB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

SO 1 1 3 1 0 1 1 2 0 10

Avg. .274 .336 .253 .292 .250 .294 .202 .220 .345

Boston Pedroia 2b Ellsbury cf Baldelli rf Youkilis 1b Bay lf Lowell 3b D.Ortiz dh Varitek c Kotsay rf-cf N.Green ss Totals

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

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

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

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

Avg. .318 .302 .259 .349 .277 .296 .197 .247 .286 .271

Texas Boston

AB 3 3 1 3 2 4 4 2 3 3 28

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

112 010 100 — 002 100 000 —

6 12 1 3 4 0

E: Kinsler (5). LOB: Texas 5, Boston 3. 2B: Kinsler (13), N.Cruz (12), Dav.Murphy (6), Youkilis (15). 3B: N.Cruz (1). HR: M.Young (8), off Matsuzaka; N.Cruz (17), off Okajima; Kotsay (1), off Padilla. RBIs: M.Young (22), N.Cruz (42), Dav.Murphy 2 (12), Vizquel (7), Ellsbury (16), Kotsay (1). CS: Bay (1), D.Ortiz (2). Runners left in scoring position: Texas 2 (Kinsler, C.Davis); Boston 2 (Lowell 2). DP: Texas 1 (Kinsler, Vizquel, C.Davis). Texas Padilla W, 4-3 O’Day H, 5 C.Wilson S, 5-6 Boston Matsuzaka L, 1-4 Masterson Okajima R.Ramirez Papelbon

IP 7 1 1 IP 5 2⁄3 2⁄3 2⁄3 1 1

H 4 0 0 H 10 1 1 0 0

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

NP ERA 99 5.22 11 1.00 12 3.33 NP ERA 102 7.33 10 4.14 11 2.55 9 1.30 8 2.16

Inherited runners-scored: Masterson 1-0. WP: Matsuzaka. Umpires: Home, Tim Timmons; First, Rob Drake; Second, Jeff Kellogg; Third, Ron Kulpa. T: 2:49. A: 37,537 (37,373).

These are the best of times for Rangers right fielder Nelson Cruz, who before 2008 had never hit above .235 in the major leagues. He’s well above that now, hitting .292, with a career-high 17 home runs and 42 RBIs. That sort of production from a journeyman player has made him a fantasy favorite. It also has helped to propel the Rangers into first place in the A.L. West and succeed despite the loss of power-hitting outfielder Josh Hamilton. Sporting News Today’s Bill Eichenberger recently talked with Cruz about his sudden transformation before a recent game at Yankee Stadium.

Q: A:

What are the reasons behind your incredible

start? I’ve been working with (hitting coach) Rudy (Jaromillo), paying attention to the basics. I’m just trying to be consistent at the plate and keep the same approach.

Q:

There has to be more to it than that. You seem to have found the secret to succeeding in the major leagues relatively late in your career. What’s turned things around for you? I mean, God has just blessed me. I’ve just been waiting for this moment, the right moment. When I would get sent down to the minors, my family would always say that I was there for a reason. Last year was my time to be called up and this is my season to shine.

A:

Q:

Was there ever a point when you were being traded from one team to another when you got discouraged and wondered if a

day like this would ever come? I knew it was going to come. Like I said, I just knew I had to be patient. I knew I had the ability to be successful in the major leagues. I always had pretty good numbers in the minors. I guess the scouts looked at that. Maybe that’s why I got traded so much. I don’t know. I just know to get there I had to take the right approach.

A:

Q:

What’s it been like hitting in the middle of such a high-powered lineup like this one? There are people who think it is maybe the best in all of baseball. It’s been great. We have great hitters. (Josh) Hamilton, Michael Young, Ian Kinsler, Andruw Jones. I could just keep going and going. It’s amazing really. I’ve learned a lot just watching the way they all hit.

A:

Q:

Is this team going to be able to sustain the level of play that has them in first place in the A.L. West? When this season started, I was asked the same question, and I told those guys to just watch us play in spring training. We won then and it’s been like that ever since. We play smart baseball and have put all the pieces together to win games, whether we need pitching, defense or offense.

A:

Q:

Has this season and the success you and this team have had been as much fun as you anticipated it would be?

WINSLOW TOWNSON / AP

Rangers OF Nelson Cruz, right, has broken out after years in the minor leagues.

A: Q:

It’s always fun when the team wins. Everything’s great.

Have you noticed whether the fans in Texas have gotten on board with this team? Have you guys knocked the Cowboys off the front page of the sports section these days? The fans, they go out to the ballpark and support us every day. And that means a lot to us. Almost every day the stadium is full.

A:

Q:

In your mind, what role has Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan played in the revival of this franchise since he became team president a little more than a year ago? He brings with him a winner’s mindset. He encourages us to be tough and do whatever it takes to win. He does that not just for the pitchers, but for the position players as well.

A:

Q:

Is he pretty visible? Is he in the clubhouse a lot? Does he talk regularly to the players? He’s always around. He shakes your hand. It means a lot. It’s great having someone like him to talk to.

A:

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21

MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

AMERICAN LEAGUE Seattle 4, Minnesota 2

Detroit 9, L.A. Angels 6

Oakland 3, Baltimore 0

Burke bails out Mariners

Thomas’ slam sustains Tigers

A’s rookies continue to shine

SEATTLE—Jamie Burke walked into the Seattle Mariners’ clubhouse Sunday morning and was greeted by smiling teammates happy to see the 37-yearold catcher back in the majors. What he did on the field had them all standing and cheering. Often praised by Mariners pitchers for his ability to call a game, Burke showed his bat can occasionally provide a spark, too. He singled in his first at-bat since being called up from Class AAA Tacoma and added a solo homer off Minnesota Twins starter Kevin Slowey in Seattle’s 4-2 victory. “It was nice to see him this morning,” Mariners pitcher Erik Bedard said. “He came here this morning and he was catching right off the bat.” Jose Lopez and Russell Branyan also homered for the Mariners, who took two of three from Minnesota and have won three consecutive series. Lopez finished with three hits, including an RBI double. Burke was designated for assignment by the Mariners on May 1 and sent outright to the minors on May 5 after clearing waivers. With starting catcher Kenji Johjima on the disabled list with a broken toe and backup Rob Johnson out for a few days with an injured left foot, the Mariners were left with only one available catcher on their active roster, Guillermo Quiroz. — The Associated Press

Mariners 4, Twins 2 Minnesota AB R Span lf-cf 4 1 Mauer c 5 1 Morneau dh 5 0 Crede 3b 3 0 1-Tolbert pr 0 0 Kubel rf-lf 4 0 Cuddyer 1b-rf 4 0 B.Harris ss 3 0 Gomez cf 2 0 a-Buscher ph-1b 1 0 A.Casilla 2b 3 0 Totals 34 2

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

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

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

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

Avg. .300 .410 .335 .237 .177 .304 .275 .284 .224 .205 .185

Seattle I.Suzuki rf Branyan 1b Beltre 3b Griffey Jr. dh Jo.Lopez 2b Cedeno ss En.Chavez lf J.Burke c F.Gutierrez cf Totals

H 2 2 2 0 3 1 0 2 0 12

BI 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 4

BB 1 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 5

SO 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 2 6

Avg. .356 .322 .246 .219 .236 .154 .271 .176 .262

AB 4 4 4 3 5 4 3 4 4 35

R 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 4

Minnesota 000 020 000 — Seattle 101 020 00x —

2 8 0 4 12 0

a-flied out for Gomez in the 8th. 1-ran for Crede in the 9th. LOB: Minnesota 12, Seattle 13. 2B: Mauer (9), B.Harris (9), Jo.Lopez (12). HR: Branyan (13), off Slowey; Jo.Lopez (6), off Slowey; J.Burke (1), off Slowey. RBIs: Morneau (52), Crede (24), Branyan (26), Jo.Lopez 2 (31), J.Burke (1). CS: Cedeno (2). SF: Crede. Runners left in scoring position: Minnesota 5 (Crede, A.Casilla 2, Span, Kubel); Seattle 8 (Cedeno, Branyan, En.Chavez, Griffey Jr. 2, J.Burke, Jo.Lopez 2). Minnesota Slowey L, 8-2 Dickey Crain Mijares Ayala Seattle Bedard W, 5-2 Batista H, 6 Olson H, 1 M.Lowe H, 5 White S, 1-2

IP 4 2⁄3 2 1⁄3 2⁄3 0 1⁄3 IP 5 1 1 1 1

H 10 1 1 0 0 H 4 1 1 1 1

R ER BB SO NP ERA 4 4 2 2 94 4.21 0 0 1 3 39 2.86 0 0 1 1 17 7.27 0 0 1 0 6 2.50 0 0 0 0 4 3.96 R ER BB SO NP ERA 2 2 4 4 101 2.47 0 0 1 0 19 3.62 0 0 0 1 21 4.39 0 0 0 0 16 4.18 0 0 1 1 23 1.53

Mijares pitched to 1 batter in the 8th. Inherited runners-scored: Mijares 2-0, Ayala 3-0. HBP: by Slowey (Beltre). Umpires: Home, C.B. Bucknor; First, Angel Campos; Second, Gerry Davis; Third, Brian Gorman. T: 3:32. A: 37,714 (47,878).

DUANE BURLESON / AP

Clete Thomas’ eighth-inning grand slam was the Tigers’ only hit in the last four innings and broke open a tie game. DETROIT—The Detroit Tigers got one hit in the final four innings Sunday. That was all they needed. Clete Thomas’ eighthinning grand slam—the first of his career—broke open a tie game after the Tigers took advantage of a key error by first baseman Kendry Morales in a 9-6 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. “That’s the situation that every kid dreams about,” Thomas said. “You want to hit a grand slam to win a game. That’s as good as it gets.” The Angels led 5-4 going into the bottom of the eighth, but Jose Arredondo (1-3) walked Ryan Raburn and Adam Everett with one out. Jason Bugler came on and walked Curtis Granderson, loading the

bases. Placido Polanco flied out to shallow center, and Raburn bluffed an attempt to score. Gary Matthews Jr. threw toward the plate but the ball was misplayed by the cutoff man, Morales, allowing Raburn to score the tying run. “Raburn’s a heck of a player and he’s got good legs, so he drew that throw,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “That’s how to make things happen.” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Morales should have just let the throw go through to catcher Mike Napoli. “He should have just missed it, but he tipped it into foul territory, and that let the run score,” Scioscia said. — The Associated Press

Tigers 9, Angels 6 Los Angeles AB Figgins 3b 5 Abreu rf 4 Guerrero dh 5 K.Morales 1b 4 J.Rivera lf 5 Matthews Jr. cf 5 E.Aybar ss 4 J.Mathis c 1 a-M.Izturis ph 0 Napoli c 0 Kendrick 2b 3 Totals 36

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

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

BI 1 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 6

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

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

Avg. .308 .293 .253 .273 .303 .246 .283 .218 .261 .264 .229

Detroit Granderson cf Polanco 2b Ordonez rf J.Anderson lf Mi.Cabrera 1b 1-Thomas pr-lf-rf Thames dh Inge 3b Raburn lf-1b Laird c Everett ss Totals

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

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

BI 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 2 0 0 2 8

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

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

Avg. .264 .252 .280 .269 .352 .248 .261 .277 .250 .234 .264

AB 4 4 4 0 1 2 5 4 3 1 3 31

Los Angeles 300 001 011 — Detroit 202 000 05x —

6 11 1 9 8 1

a-was intentionally walked for J.Mathis in the 8th. 1-ran for Mi.Cabrera in the 4th. E: K.Morales (4), Porcello (1). LOB: Los Angeles 9, Detroit 8. 2B: Abreu (11), K.Morales (14), J.Rivera 2 (10), E.Aybar (10). HR: Figgins (1), off Porcello; J.Rivera (6), off Porcello; Thomas (4), off Bulger. RBIs: Figgins (15), J.Rivera 3 (25), E.Aybar (14), Kendrick (22), Thomas 4 (17), Inge 2 (37), Everett 2 (20). SB: E.Aybar (2). S: Laird. Runners left in scoring position: Los Angeles 6 (Kendrick, J.Mathis, Guerrero, Figgins 2, Matthews Jr.); Detroit 3 (Raburn, Ordonez, Granderson). DP: Detroit 2 (Polanco, Everett, Mi.Cabrera), (Everett, Polanco, Raburn). Los Angeles IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Saunders 6 7 4 4 5 5 112 3.94 Arredondo L, 1-3 1 1⁄3 0 2 2 2 1 24 5.55 Bulger BS, 2-2 2⁄3 1 3 3 2 0 21 5.25 Detroit IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Porcello 5 5 4 4 3 2 84 3.98 Perry BS, 1-1 1 3 0 0 0 2 25 3.13 Seay 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 5 5.06 Zumaya W, 2-0 1 2⁄3 1 1 1 3 1 31 2.89 Rodney 1 2 1 1 0 0 23 3.75 Porcello pitched to 1 batter in the 6th. Perry pitched to 2 batters in the 7th. Inherited runners-scored: Bulger 2-2, Perry 1-1, Seay 2-0, Zumaya 2-0. IBB: off Zumaya (M.Izturis). Umpires: Home, Jerry Crawford; First, Dan Bellino; Second, Phil Cuzzi; Third, Tom Hallion. T: 3:11. A: 32,074 (41,255).

OAKLAND—The last-place Oakland Athletics are on quite a roll. In particular, their rookie pitchers. Vin Mazzaro pitched into the eighth inning, Jason Giambi drew a bases-loaded walk in the first and the A’s beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-0 on Sunday for their season-high sixth straight win. “This is an awesome feeling,” Mazzaro said. After Adam Jones led off the game with a single, Mazzaro (2-0) retired 15 of the next 16 Orioles hitters—an impressive showing for his second career start and first at home. The 22-year-old righthander was called up last Tuesday to make his major league debut and earned the win against the White Sox in Chicago. This time, he left to a standing ovation when he walked off the mound in the eighth following Robert Andino’s one-out single. “I was definitely more relaxed,” Mazzaro said. “That first game really helped.” With only two hits, Oakland matched its longest winning streak against the Orioles at eight games and earned a threegame sweep for the first time this year. This is the A’s longest winning streak since Aug. 11-16, 2006, when they also won six in a row. Oakland’s starters have won six straight games as well. — The Associated Press

Athletics 3, Orioles 0 Baltimore AB R Ad.Jones cf 4 0 Reimold lf 3 0 Markakis rf 4 0 Scott dh 4 0 Mora 3b 3 0 Salazar 1b 4 0 Wieters c 4 0 Wigginton 2b 2 0 a-B.Roberts ph-2b 1 0 Andino ss 3 0 Totals 32 0

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

Avg. .346 .280 .286 .319 .266 .000 .143 .221 .279 .245

Oakland AB R H BI BB SO O.Cabrera ss 4 1 1 0 0 1 Kennedy 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 Cust rf 3 1 0 0 1 0 Cunningham rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 Holliday lf 3 1 0 0 1 0 Giambi dh 2 0 0 1 1 0 K.Suzuki c 2 0 0 1 0 0 Crosby 1b 3 0 0 1 0 0 Hannahan 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 R.Davis cf 2 0 0 0 1 0 G.Petit 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 Totals 26 3 2 3 4 2

Avg. .236 .339 .239 .163 .287 .217 .280 .198 .173 .211 .241

Baltimore Oakland

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

BI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

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

000 000 000 — 300 000 00x —

0 5 0 3 2 1

a-struck out for Wigginton in the 8th. E: Kennedy (6). LOB: Baltimore 7, Oakland 4. RBIs: Giambi (31), K.Suzuki (19), Crosby (12). SB: O.Cabrera (2). Runners left in scoring position: Baltimore 4 (Scott 2, Markakis, Wieters); Oakland 2 (G.Petit 2). Baltimore R.Hill L, 2-1 Bass Albers Ji.Johnson Oakland Mazzaro W, 2-0 Wuertz H, 7 Breslow H, 5 A.Bailey S, 4-7

IP 2⁄3 4 1⁄3 2 1 IP 7 1⁄3 1⁄3 1⁄3 1

H 1 1 0 0 H 5 0 0 0

R ER BB SO NP ERA 3 3 4 0 39 5.24 0 0 0 0 50 3.49 0 0 0 2 21 4.79 0 0 0 0 12 3.10 R ER BB SO NP ERA 0 0 0 4 105 0.00 0 0 1 0 7 2.39 0 0 0 0 2 4.76 0 0 1 2 19 1.98

Inherited runners-scored: Bass 3-0, Wuertz 1-0, Breslow 2-0. HBP: by R.Hill (K.Suzuki). Umpires: Home, Bruce Dreckman; First, Paul Emmel; Second, Gary Darling; Third, Bill Hohn. T: 2:13. A: 17,208 (35,067).

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NATIONAL LEAGUE

AMERICAN LEAGUE

N.Y. Mets 7, Washington 0

Cleveland 8, Chicago White Sox 4

Mets end swing on positive note WASHINGTON—Livan Hernandez gave the New York Mets everything he had before leaving with an upset stomach. It was enough to end a difficult road trip on a positive note. Hernandez allowed four singles over seven innings and the Mets scored five first-inning runs in a 7-0 victory over the Washington Nationals on Sunday. New York went 2-4 on its six-game trip, getting swept in Pittsburgh before taking two of three from the woeful Nationals. The Mets open a three-game series against N.L. East-leading Philadelphia on Tuesday at Citi Field. Hernandez (5-1) walked four and struck out four to win for the fifth time in seven starts, departing after 116 pitches. The righthander has won seven straight against the Nationals and improved to 10-5 lifetime against his former team. “Obviously we need good pitching, and that’s outstanding pitching,” Mets manager Jerry Manuel said, adding he was surprised when Hernandez begged out because he was ill. “That’s not normal for Livo. He can throw 160, 170 pitches and not flinch, but you know he’s battling some different things when he comes in and says that.” Hernandez had enough confidence in the Mets bullpen not to try and gut it out when he felt bad. Pedro Feliciano and Bobby Parnell combined to pitch the eighth and Francisco Rodriguez finished the five-hitter, completing New York’s third shutout. “I want to go seven innings and that’s it,” Hernandez said. “The relievers came in and made two innings and that’s it. I think it’s good for me today.” Washington lost for the 10th time in 12 games and dropped to 2-7 against the

22

MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

Mets 7, Nationals 0 New York AB R Cora 2b 4 2 F.Martinez lf 5 2 Beltran cf 5 0 D.Wright 3b 3 1 Dan.Murphy 1b 4 1 Church rf 5 1 Schneider c 3 0 W.Valdez ss 4 0 Li.Hernandez p 3 0 c-Reed ph 1 0 Feliciano p 0 0 Parnell p 0 0 Fr.Rodriguez p 0 0 Totals 37 7

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

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

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

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

Avg. .297 .200 .342 .345 .247 .277 .219 .200 .130 .311 -------

Washington AB C.Guzman ss 4 N.Johnson 1b 4 Zimmerman 3b 3 Dunn lf 3 Dukes cf 4 Kearns rf 3 J.Bard c 1 A.Hernandez 2b 4 Stammen p 1 a-Alb.Gonzalez ph 1 Colome p 0 b-W.Harris ph 1 Tavarez p 0 MacDougal p 0 d-Belliard ph 1 Totals 30

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

BI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BB 0 0 1 1 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6

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

Avg. .326 .325 .320 .264 .269 .214 .211 .262 .167 .295 --.256 .000 --.173

R 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

New York 500 000 101 — Washington 000 000 000 —

CHARLES DHARAPAK / AP

Mets P Livan Hernandez didn’t allow a run in his seven innings, beating his old team for the seventh straight time. Mets this season. The Mets, limited to four runs in splitting the first two games of the weekend series, took advantage of Craig Stammen’s wildness in the first to build a 5-0 lead. In 55 games, the Mets have scored 49 runs in their first at-bat, the second-highest total in the National League. New York’s first-inning batting average is a lofty .342 (77 for 225). “That’s what we need to do is jump on teams early—which we’ve done all year—but also add one or two here and there when we have the opportunity,” third baseman David Wright said. “We

did that today.” Alex Cora led off the game with a fourpitch walk and scored on Fernando Martinez’s double over the head of center fielder Elijah Dukes. Martinez went to third on Carlos Beltran’s groundout and Wright walked. Martinez scored on a wild pitch as Wright stole second and Daniel Murphy’s RBI single made it 3-0. Murphy advanced on Ryan Church’s double and scored on Brian Schneider’s sacrifice fly. Stammen then uncorked another run-scoring wild pitch to cap New York’s big first. — The Associated Press

7 11 0 0 5 1

a-singled for Stammen in the 5th. b-flied out for Colome in the 7th. c-flied out for Li.Hernandez in the 8th. d-fouled out for MacDougal in the 9th. E: MacDougal (1). LOB: New York 8, Washington 9. 2B: F.Martinez (4), Beltran (18), D.Wright (16), Church (8), Schneider (3). RBIs: F.Martinez (5), Beltran (33), D.Wright (34), Dan. Murphy (19), Schneider (5). SB: Cora (4), D.Wright (14). SF: Schneider. Runners left in scoring position: New York 4 (Dan.Murphy, Li.Hernandez, Church 2); Washington 4 (A.Hernandez 2, Kearns, Dukes). DP: New York 2 (Dan.Murphy, W.Valdez, Dan.Murphy), (W.Valdez, Cora, Dan.Murphy); Washington 1 (N.Johnson, C.Guzman, MacDougal). New York IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Li.HernandezW, 5-1 7 4 0 0 4 4 114 3.88 Feliciano 2⁄3 1 0 0 1 1 21 2.35 Parnell 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 4 1.96 Fr.Rodriguez 1 0 0 0 1 1 16 0.68 Washington IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Stammen L, 0-2 5 6 5 5 2 2 86 6.45 Colome 2 3 1 1 1 1 36 7.71 Tavarez 1 1 0 0 0 0 7 5.06 MacDougal 1 1 1 0 1 0 11 6.75 Inherited runners-scored: Parnell 2-0. WP: Stammen 2, Colome 2. Umpires: Home, Derryl Cousins; First, D.J. Reyburn; Second, Jim Joyce; Third, Brian Runge. T: 2:48. A: 31,841 (41,888).

Banged up Indians beat former ace CHICAGO—While the Cleveland Indians celebrated a rare road triumph delivered by a bunch of rookies, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was furious with his flailing team. Chris Gimenez and Luis Valbuena hit consecutive home runs off former Cleveland ace Bartolo Colon and the Indians beat Chicago 8-4 on Sunday, handing the White Sox their fifth loss in six games. “It’s so disappointing when you play like that,” Guillen said. “It takes the wind out of you. We don’t know what to do. Everything we try doesn’t work. Maybe if I go crazy with the media and (rip) my team ... I might wake them up. But it’s wasting my time.” The White Sox have been outscored 35-17 in going 2-5 on a homestand that concludes with a five-game series against firstplace Detroit. The defending AL Central champions, who are 4½ games behind the Tigers and only 2½ games ahead of lastplace Cleveland, are 2-for-39 with runners in scoring position in their last six games. Rookie David Huff (1-2) allowed three runs—all on Alexei Ramirez’s homer—in five innings to earn his first career victory. Gimenez, Valbuena and Huff are playing because the Indians have been decimated by injuries. They currently have eight players on the disabled list. — The Associated Press

Indians 8, White Sox 4 Cleveland AB R H B.Francisco rf 4 1 1 J.Carroll 2b 5 0 3 V.Martinez dh 5 1 2 Choo lf 3 1 1 DeRosa 3b 4 0 0 Shoppach c 5 1 1 Gimenez 1b 4 2 1 Valbuena ss 2 2 1 Crowe cf 4 0 1 Totals 36 8 11

SO 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 2 8

Avg. .257 .345 .344 .298 .262 .202 .375 .200 .200

Chicago AB R H BI BB SO Podsednik lf 3 1 1 0 2 1 Al.Ramirez ss 5 1 2 3 0 1 Dye rf 3 1 0 0 2 1 Konerko 1b 5 0 2 0 0 0 Fields dh 2 0 0 0 2 0 R.Castro c 3 0 0 1 1 0 Bri.Anderson cf 3 1 0 0 1 1 Getz 2b 3 0 0 0 0 1 a-J.Nix ph-2b 1 0 0 0 0 1 Beckham 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 Totals 32 4 5 4 8 7

Avg. .299 .247 .273 .295 .242 .235 .243 .248 .200 .000

Cleveland Chicago

BI 1 2 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 8

BB 1 0 0 2 1 0 1 2 0 7

120 122 000 — 000 030 010 —

8 11 1 4 5 1

a-struck out for Getz in the 8th. E: DeRosa (8), B.Colon (1). LOB: Cleveland 10, Chicago 9. 2B: J.Carroll 2 (3), Shoppach (6), Konerko (14). HR: Gimenez (2), off B.Colon; Valbuena (1), off B.Colon; V.Martinez (10), off B.Colon; Choo (8), off B.Colon; Al.Ramirez (4), off D.Huff. RBIs: B.Francisco (22), J.Carroll 2 (7), V.Martinez (41), Choo (33), Gimenez (2), Valbuena 2 (3), Al.Ramirez 3 (26), R.Castro (14). SB: Fields (2). S: Crowe. SF: Valbuena. Runners left in scoring position: Cleveland 5 (DeRosa 3, Shoppach 2); Chicago 5 (Konerko, Getz, R.Castro, Beckham 2). DP: Cleveland 1 (Valbuena, J.Carroll, Gimenez). Cleveland D.Huff W, 1-2 Aquino Vizcaino R.Perez H, 5 K.Wood Chicago B.Colon L, 3-6 Whisler Carrasco Gobble Dotel

IP 5 2 0 1 1 IP 5 0 2 1 1

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

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

ER BB 3 3 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 1 ER BB 5 1 2 2 0 2 0 2 0 0

SO NP 3 96 0 27 0 17 2 13 2 20 SO NP 3 88 0 9 3 43 0 29 2 12

ERA 8.71 3.27 2.31 11.74 5.59 ERA 4.23 13.50 2.13 7.00 2.29

Whisler pitched to 2 batters in the 6th. Vizcaino pitched to 3 batters in the 8th. Inherited runners-scored: R.Perez 3-1, Carrasco 2-2. WP: Gobble. Umpires: Home, Hunter Wendelstedt; First, Brian Knight; Second, Dana DeMuth; Third, Doug Eddings. T: 3:11. A: 25,609 (40,615).

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23

MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

NATIONAL LEAGUE Atlanta 8, Milwaukee 7

Jones homers twice, rallies Braves ATLANTA—Tommy Hanson faded after a strong start to his major league debut, but Chipper Jones and the Braves offense snapped out of a scoring drought to bail out the rookie. Jones had four hits, including two homers, and matched his career high with five RBIs to help the Braves rally past Milwaukee 8-7 on Sunday to prevent the Brewers from their first series sweep in Atlanta. The N.L. Central-leading Brewers had a pair of two-run homers from Ryan Braun. Hanson retired the first 10 Milwaukee batters before giving up seven runs, six earned, in six innings. Even so, Hanson was the popular topic in postgame interviews. Catcher David Ross said Hanson showed “phenomenal” poise, and Jones said the right-hander “pitched pretty good” and was as composed as secondyear starter Jair Jurrjens. “That’s part of what makes guys good— they’re unflappable,” Jones said. Hanson, the Braves’ most heralded pitching prospect of this decade, said poor command helped lead to three home runs. “If I keep my command I think it turns out a lot better,” said Hanson, who had a 1.49 ERA at Class AAA Gwinnett before the promotion. “Just chalk it up to, today happened, get it behind me, get ready for the next one.” Braun said the Brewers were trying to get a feel for Hanson early in the game. “The first time through the lineup, we wanted to make sure he was throwing strikes,” Braun said. “The second time we were a little more aggressive.” Hanson struck out the side in the sec-

JOHN AMIS / AP

Braves 3B Chipper Jones went 4-for-4 with two home runs and five RBI. ond with his fastball clocked at 96 mph. “He had a good slider and fastball,” Braun said. “He obviously has good stuff.” Braves manager Bobby Cox said Hanson “has got a ton of weapons.” “He’s going to be a good one,” Cox said. “It won’t be too far off he’ll be on the National League All-Star team. ... It wasn’t a great debut for him. I know he’s not satisfied at all. But he’s got stuff and he knows how to pitch.” The Braves trailed 7-5 before scoring three runs in the eighth off Carlos Villanueva (2-4).

Brian McCann’s pinch-hit double drove in Martin Prado. Nate McLouth added a tying double and scored the goahead run on Yunel Escobar’s single to left. “Escobar put a good swing on it, but the big hit was McLouth’s,” said Brewers center fielder Mike Cameron. Villanueva pitched for the third straight day but said he “felt fine enough to go out there.” “I left a couple of balls up, and they took advantage of it,” said Villanueva, who had a string of 15 straight scoreless appearances snapped. He had not allowed a hit in his last nine innings before giving up four hits and three runs in the inning. Eric O’Flaherty (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth for Atlanta. Mike Gonzalez pitched the ninth for his eighth save. The Braves led 5-3 before Braun and Cameron hit two-run homers off Hanson in a four-run sixth inning. Braun hit another two-run homer in the fourth. Jones left Saturday night’s game with dizziness, but returned with a seasonhigh four hits and an intentional walk. He drove in a run with a first-inning triple. Manny Parra gave up eight hits and five runs in 5 2/3 innings. “I thought I threw really well, but you have to tip your cap to Chipper,” Parra said. The Brewers shut out the Braves in the first two games of the series, the second time this season Atlanta has suffered back-to-back shutout losses. The Braves ended their streak of 22 scoreless innings in the first when Escobar hit a single and scored on Jones’ triple to center. — The Associated Press

Braves 8, Brewers 7 Milwaukee AB R Counsell 2b 5 0 Hardy ss 3 2 Braun lf 4 2 Fielder 1b 4 1 M.Cameron cf 3 1 Gamel 3b 4 0 Hall 3b 0 0 Hart rf 3 0 Stetter p 0 0 Coffey p 0 0 Villanueva p 0 0 d-McGehee ph 0 0 Kendall c 4 1 M.Parra p 2 0 Gerut rf 1 0 e-Mi.Rivera ph 0 0 Totals 33 7

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

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

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

SO 1 0 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 7

Avg. .311 .228 .310 .298 .278 .239 .209 .243 --.000 .333 .265 .216 .111 .208 .303

Atlanta AB R H BI BB SO McLouth cf 4 2 1 1 1 1 Y.Escobar ss 5 2 3 1 0 0 C.Jones 3b 4 2 4 5 1 0 M.Diaz lf 4 0 1 0 0 1 Francoeur rf 4 0 0 0 0 0 Prado 1b 4 1 2 0 0 0 K.Johnson 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 D.Ross c 3 0 1 0 0 0 b-McCann ph-c 1 1 1 1 0 0 Hanson p 2 0 0 0 0 2 a-Norton ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 Bennett p 0 0 0 0 0 0 O’Flaherty p 0 0 0 0 0 0 c-G.Anderson ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 M.Gonzalez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 36 8 13 8 3 4

Avg. .251 .294 .329 .270 .244 .269 .243 .277 .306 .000 .125 .000 --.246 ---

Milwaukee 000 214 000 — Atlanta 101 030 03x —

7 7 0 8 13 1

a-walked for Hanson in the 6th. b-doubled for D.Ross in the 8th. c-lined out for O’Flaherty in the 8th. d-walked for Villanueva in the 9th. e-was hit by a pitch for Gerut in the 9th. E: Y.Escobar (7). LOB: Milwaukee 3, Atlanta 8. 2B: M.Parra (1), McLouth (8), M.Diaz (5), D.Ross (5), McCann (8). 3B: Counsell (1), C.Jones (2). HR: Braun 2 (12), off Hanson 2; M.Cameron (12), off Hanson; C.Jones 2 (7), off M.Parra 2. RBIs: Braun 4 (38), M.Cameron 2 (30), M.Parra (2), McLouth (35), Y.Escobar (28), C.Jones 5 (28), McCann (20). SB: Kendall (1), Mi.Rivera (1). CS: M.Cameron (1). Runners left in scoring position: Milwaukee 3 (Counsell 2, Braun); Atlanta 5 (Francoeur 3, McLouth, M.Diaz). GIDP: Kendall, Francoeur. DP: Milwaukee 1 (Gamel, Counsell, Fielder); Atlanta 1 (Prado, Y.Escobar, Prado). Milwaukee M.Parra Stetter H, 11 Coffey H, 10 VilanuevaL,2-4BS,4-7 Atlanta Hanson Bennett O’Flaherty W, 1-0 M.Gonzalez S, 8-11

IP 5 2⁄3 2⁄3 2⁄3 1 IP 6 1 1 1

H 8 0 1 4 H 6 1 0 0

R ER BB SO 5 5 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 1 0 R ER BB SO 7 6 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1

NP ERA 93 6.86 13 3.38 6 2.28 32 4.18 NP ERA 91 9.00 17 2.81 12 3.00 16 2.88

Inherited runners-scored: Stetter 2-0. IBB: off Villanueva (C.Jones). HBP: by Coffey (M.Diaz), by M.Gonzalez (Mi.Rivera). Umpires: Home, James Hoye; First, Lance Barksdale; Second, Randy Marsh; Third, Marvin Hudson. T: 2:49. A: 33,428 (49,743).

Colorado 7, St. Louis 2

Jimenez clamps Cards after first ST. LOUIS—After the first three hitters, Ubaldo Jimenez trailed by two runs. Things got a lot tougher for the St. Louis Cardinals after that. Jimenez finished with eight innings of four-hit ball and the Colorado Rockies got unexpected offense from Paul Phillips, who drove in three runs in a 7-2 victory on Sunday. “When you trail, your starting pitcher has to step up and subdue the opposition and give us a chance to get back in the game,” manager Jim Tracy said. “Once he got the lead, you saw a face of a guy that said, ‘That’s it.’” Phillips had a career-best four hits, including his first homer since 2006. Troy Tulowitzki, who missed four games with a bruised left hand, had two hits and an RBI. The Rockies have scored 38 runs in their first four-game winning streak of the year and are 6-4 under Tracy after going 18-28 under Clint Hurdle. They’ve beaten the Cardinals five straight times, evening the all-time series at 73-73. Albert Pujols had a rare tworun sacrifice fly in the first inning for the Cardinals, who have totaled three runs and nine hits in the last two games. Joel Pineiro (5-6) allowed three runs and 10 hits, all singles, in five innings after skipping a start due to back spasms. The Cardinals have lost seven of 10. — The Associated Press

Rockies 7, Cardinals 2 Colorado AB R Fowler cf 4 1 Barmes 2b 4 1 Hawpe rf 5 0 Atkins 1b 4 0 Stewart 3b 5 2 C.Gonzalez lf 4 1 Tulowitzki ss 5 0 P.Phillips c 5 1 Jimenez p 4 1 c-Spilborghs ph 1 0 Corpas p 0 0 Totals 41 7

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

Avg. .256 .285 .339 .189 .237 .111 .221 .364 .263 .259 ---

St. Louis AB R H BI BB SO Schumaker 2b 4 1 1 0 0 0 Rasmus cf 4 1 2 0 0 1 Pujols 1b 2 0 0 2 1 1 Ankiel rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 Duncan lf 4 0 1 0 0 1 Y.Molina c 4 0 0 0 0 1 Thurston 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 Br.Ryan ss 3 0 1 0 0 1 Pineiro p 1 0 0 0 0 0 C.Perez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 a-Stavinoha ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 McClellan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 T.Miller p 0 0 0 0 0 0 b-T.Greene ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 Franklin p 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 31 2 5 2 1 9

Avg. .294 .259 .333 .222 .249 .259 .248 .286 .143 --.240 .000 --.273 ---

Colorado St. Louis

H 1 3 1 0 2 1 2 4 1 0 0 15

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

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

000 102 040 — 200 000 000 —

7 15 1 2 5 0

a-struck out for C.Perez in the 6th. b-struck out for T.Miller in the 8th. c-flied out for Jimenez in the 9th. E: Tulowitzki (3). LOB: Colorado 11, St. Louis 4. 2B: Barmes (12), Rasmus 2 (13). HR: P.Phillips (1), off McClellan. RBIs: Barmes 2 (26), Hawpe (42), Tulowitzki (17), P.Phillips 3 (4), Pujols 2 (51). S: C.Gonzalez. SF: Pujols. Runners left in scoring position: Colorado 8 (Stewart, Atkins, Fowler 2, Hawpe 2, C.Gonzalez 2); St. Louis 2 (Ankiel, Rasmus). Colorado Jimenez W, 4-6 Corpas St. Louis Pineiro L, 5-6 C.Perez McClellan T.Miller Franklin

IP 8 1 IP 5 1 1 1⁄3 2⁄3 1

H 4 1 H 10 0 4 1 0

R ER BB SO NP ERA 2 2 1 9 112 3.91 0 0 0 0 12 5.96 R ER BB SO NP ERA 3 3 1 4 94 3.97 0 0 0 0 13 3.38 4 4 0 1 22 2.96 0 0 1 0 13 3.45 0 0 0 0 11 1.23

Pineiro pitched to 4 batters in the 6th. Inherited runners-scored: C.Perez 2-0, T.Miller 1-1. IBB: off Jimenez (Pujols). HBP: by C.Perez (Barmes). Umpires: Home, Angel Hernandez; First, Bill Welke; Second, Tim Welke; Third, Jim Reynolds. T: 2:41. A: 42,288 (43,975).

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MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

NATIONAL LEAGUE Cubs 6, Reds 3, 14 innings Chicago AB R H BI BB SO Avg. A.Soriano lf 6 1 1 1 1 1 .241 Theriot ss 6 2 3 1 1 2 .291 Fukudome rf 5 1 0 0 1 1 .290 D.Lee 1b 7 0 1 2 0 1 .262 Fontenot 3b 6 0 2 1 1 2 .232 Re.Johnson cf 7 0 1 1 0 1 .283 K.Hill c 2 0 0 0 1 0 .259 Bradley ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 .218 Scales pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 .226 Gregg p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --Hoffpauir ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .269 Ascanio p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Fox ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 .364 Patton p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --Zambrano ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .259 A.Guzman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Blanco 2b 4 1 2 0 2 0 .208 R.Wells p 2 1 1 0 0 0 .182 Waddell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --Marmol p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --Heilman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --Soto ph-c 4 0 0 0 0 0 .204 Totals 52 6 12 6 8 8 Cincinnati AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Hairston Jr. 3b 4 0 0 1 0 1 .252 Burton p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --Janish ss 2 0 0 0 0 2 .283 Dickerson cf-rf 5 0 1 0 2 0 .239 B.Phillips 2b 5 1 1 0 2 0 .276 L.Nix rf-lf 6 0 3 0 1 1 .277 R.Hernandez 1b 4 1 1 0 1 0 .271 Gomes lf 3 0 1 1 0 1 .292 Herrera p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Weathers p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --A.Rosales 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .223 Ale.Gonzalez ss 4 0 0 0 1 1 .211 Fisher p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --Owings ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .273 Cordero p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --Lincoln p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Maloney ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .333 Hanigan c 6 1 2 1 0 1 .322 Arroyo p 2 0 1 0 0 1 .174 Bruce ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 .216 Rhodes p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --Taveras ph-cf 2 0 0 0 0 0 .257 Totals 49 3 11 3 7 11 Chicago 102 000 000 000 03—6 12 0 Cincinnati 010 000 110 000 00—3 11 3 E: Ale.Gonzalez (3), Hairston Jr. (6), Arroyo (2). LOB: Chicago 15, Cincinnati 16. 2B: Re.Johnson (6), Dickerson (4), L.Nix (12), Bruce (6). HR: Theriot (6), off Arroyo; A.Soriano (14), off Lincoln. RBIs: A.Soriano (27), Theriot (23), D.Lee 2 (23), Fontenot (25), Re.Johnson (15), Hairston Jr. (18), Gomes (5), Hanigan (5). CS: A.Blanco (1). S: Fukudome, A.Blanco, R.Wells, R.Hernandez 2, Taveras. SF: Hairston Jr., Gomes. DP: Cincinnati 2 (Hanigan, Hanigan, A.Rosales), (Janish, B.Phillips, R.Hernandez). Chicago IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA R.Wells 6 2⁄3 7 2 2 1 4 91 1.86 Waddell H, 1 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 6 0.00 Marmol 0 0 1 1 2 0 11 3.67 Heilman BS, 4-4 1 0 0 0 1 1 17 4.68 Gregg 1 0 0 0 0 0 15 4.62 Ascanio 3 2 0 0 2 3 55 2.53 Patton W, 2-1 1 1 0 0 1 1 20 6.06 A.Guzman S, 1-1 1 1 0 0 0 2 15 2.28 Cincinnati IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Arroyo 7 5 3 1 2 2 101 5.00 Rhodes 1 0 0 0 0 1 11 0.45 Herrera 1⁄3 0 0 0 1 0 9 1.59 Weathers 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 13 2.66 Burton 1 1⁄3 1 0 0 3 0 43 5.47 Fisher 1 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 4 20 2.45 Cordero 1 2 0 0 0 0 19 1.44 Lincoln L, 1-1 1 4 3 3 2 0 27 9.00 Marmol pitched to 2 batters in the 8th. Inherited runners-scored: Waddell 1-0, Heilman 2-1, Weathers 1-0, Fisher 2-0. IBB: off Heilman (Ale.Gonzalez), off Ascanio (R.Hernandez), off Burton (Fontenot, A.Soriano). Umpires: Home, Jerry Meals; First, Damien Beal; Second, Mike DiMuro; Third, Dale Scott. T: 5:13. A: 32,629 (42,319).

Chicago Cubs 6, Cincinnati 3, 14 innings

Houston 6, Pittsburgh 4

Soriano lifts Cubs with homer in 14th

Ortiz sharp again coming out of bullpen

CINCINNATI —The Chicago Cubs went to extra innings again. Alfonso Soriano made it worth the wait. Soriano led off the 14th inning with a home run and the Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-3 on Sunday to win their weekend series. Soriano hit Mike Lincoln’s first pitch into the seats in right-center for his 14th homer. He was 0-for-5 before the clutch drive and 10-for-64 (.156) in his previous 15 games. “I had a tough three weeks, but I haven’t lost confidence,” Soriano said. “I am just trying to stay healthy and play hard. I made a good swing and hit the ball hard.” Mike Fontenot added an RBI single off Lincoln (1-1) and Reed Johnson doubled in a run for the Cubs, who led 3-1 after six innings and had to go to extras for the fourth time in their last five games, including a 4-3 loss in 11 innings on Saturday. Rookie David Patton (2-1) pitched the 13th to get the win and Angel Guzman finished for his first career save. Patton got Brandon Phillips to line out to right with runners on first and second to end a Cincinnati threat. The Reds were 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position, leaving manager Dusty Baker frustrated about the missed opportunities. “It should never have gotten that far,” Baker said. “We had chances. We couldn’t get the big hit. You knew something was going to happen if you let them stick around too long. We should’ve won that three or four times. If you don’t win them when you’re supposed to, most of the time, you don’t.” The Cubs weren’t much better, going 4

AL BEHRMAN / AP

Cubs P Randy Wells, left, helped his cause with a double in the third inning. Wells scored in the inning. for 21 with runners in scoring position. “Both teams squandered a bevy of opportunities,” Chicago manager Lou Piniella said. “We hung in there and made some plays and made some pitches.” Randy Wells was in line for his first career victory before the Reds rallied to tie it. The rookie right-hander allowed two runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. Wells has had some tough luck over the first 10 games of his major league career. He is 0-2 with a 1.86 ERA in six starts since being recalled from Triple-A Iowa on May 8. He has a 1.64 career ERA but is still looking for his first win. Bronson Arroyo went seven innings for the Reds, yielding three runs and five hits. He also committed a costly

throwing error that led to two unearned runs in the third. With no outs and runners on first and second, Arroyo fielded Soriano’s comebacker and threw wildly to second to leave the bases loaded. The right-hander retired the next two batters before Derrek Lee hit a two-run single to center field to give the Cubs a 3-1 lead and end their 0-for-21 skid with runners in scoring position. “It wasn’t miscommunication,” Arroyo said of the error. “Brandon (second baseman Brandon Phillips) didn’t see me catch the ball. He was still looking for it on the ground. That split-second when I saw him looking for the ball threw off the timing.” — The Associated Press

HOUSTON—Russ Ortiz is unhappy with his role. That’s just fine with the Astros, as long as he keeps pitching the way he did Sunday in Houston’s 6-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Felipe Paulino, who took Ortiz’s spot in the rotation earlier this season, strained his right groin in the second inning and left the game. Ortiz came on in relief and tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up four hits and a walk, striking out three. “Ortiz did a really good job,” Houston manager Cecil Cooper said. “Russ has pitched much better than he did as a starter. He’s more consistent in the strike zone. “He wasn’t happy when we put him in the bullpen and he probably still isn’t happy. But we’ve talked with him several times and he knows what role we need him to play.” Not that Ortiz is accepting that role. In nine relief appearances since the demotion, he has a 2.50 ERA. He ran his scoreless streak Sunday to 12 1-3 innings, the longest by an Astros pitcher this season. Steven Jackson (1-1) took the loss, allowing three runs, three hits and two walks in 1 1/3 innings. Pittsburgh rookie Andrew McCutchen had three hits and an RBI. — The Associated Press

Astros 6, Pirates 4 Pittsburgh AB McCutchen cf 5 Morgan lf 4 F.Sanchez 2b 4 Ad.LaRoche 1b 3 An.LaRoche 3b 4 Moss rf 4 Jaramillo c 3 R.Vazquez ss 4 Snell p 2 a-Delw.Young ph 1 S.Jackson p 0 J.Chavez p 0 d-Hinske ph 1 Totals 35

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

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

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

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

SO 0 1 0 1 0 1 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 9

Avg. .333 .268 .311 .246 .301 .263 .277 .266 .182 .317 ----.275

Houston Bourn cf Tejada ss Pence rf Ca.Lee lf 1-Erstad pr-lf Berkman 1b Blum 3b Keppinger 2b Quintero c F.Paulino p R.Ortiz p Byrdak p Fulchino p b-Kata ph Sampson p c-Michaels ph Hawkins p Totals

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

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

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

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

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

Avg. .298 .354 .342 .321 .135 .246 .264 .276 .325 .091 .167 ----.000 .000 .182 ---

AB 4 4 3 3 0 4 4 4 4 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 34

Pittsburgh 010 000 201 — Houston 010 011 12x —

4 12 1 6 13 0

a-singled for Snell in the 7th. b-grounded into a fielder’s choice for Fulchino in the 7th. c-doubled for Sampson in the 8th. d-doubled for J.Chavez in the 9th. 1-ran for Ca.Lee in the 8th. E: R.Vazquez (2). LOB: Pittsburgh 8, Houston 7. 2B: Jaramillo (10), Hinske (7), Berkman (10), Blum (6), Keppinger (8), Quintero (2), Michaels (6). RBIs: McCutchen (4), Morgan 2 (20), Jaramillo (14), Tejada (33), Ca.Lee (38), Keppinger (7), Quintero 2 (8), Michaels (3). SB: Pence (6). CS: Ca.Lee (2). SF: Morgan. Runners left in scoring position: Pittsburgh 4 (Ad. LaRoche 2, Snell, F.Sanchez); Houston 5 (Bourn 3, Blum, Pence). DP: Pittsburgh 3 (An.LaRoche, F.Sanchez, Ad.LaRoche), (Jaramillo, Jaramillo, R.Vazquez), (R.Vazquez, F.Sanchez, Ad.LaRoche); Houston 3 (Tejada, Keppinger, Berkman), (Blum, Keppinger), (Berkman, Quintero, Berkman). Pittsburgh IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Snell 6 8 3 3 1 3 96 5.54 S.Jackson L, 1-1 1 1⁄3 3 3 3 2 1 35 6.23 J.Chavez 2⁄3 2 0 0 0 1 15 2.92 Houston IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA F.Paulino 1 2⁄3 3 1 1 0 4 34 6.18 R.Ortiz 4 1⁄3 4 0 0 1 3 63 3.96 Byrdak 0 2 2 2 1 0 9 3.86 FulchinoW,1-1BS,1-1 1 1 0 0 1 0 16 3.13 Sampson H, 8 1 0 0 0 0 1 9 1.80 Hawkins S, 8-10 1 2 1 1 0 1 16 2.55 Byrdak pitched to 3 batters in the 7th. Inherited runners-scored: J.Chavez 2-2, R.Ortiz 1-0, Fulchino 3-2. WP: F.Paulino. Umpires: Home, Larry Vanover; First, Dan Iassogna; Second, Sam Holbrook; Third, Charlie Reliford. T: 3:17. A: 25,729 (40,976).

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MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

NATIONAL LEAGUE Diamondbacks 9, Padres 6, 18 innings Arizona AB R H BI BB F.Lopez 2b 8 1 2 1 0 G.Parra lf-rf 7 0 2 0 1 J.Upton rf 5 1 2 0 0 R.Roberts lf 3 1 0 0 1 S.Drew ss 8 1 4 0 1 Reynolds 3b 7 2 1 3 2 Montero c 7 1 4 1 1 C.Young cf 7 1 2 1 2 Whitesell 1b 6 1 1 3 2 Haren p 2 0 0 0 0 T.Pena p 0 0 0 0 0 Byrnes ph 1 0 0 0 0 J.Gutierrez p 0 0 0 0 0 Qualls p 0 0 0 0 0 Rauch p 0 0 0 0 0 Ojeda ph 1 0 0 0 0 Vasquez p 0 0 0 0 0 Snyder ph 1 0 0 0 0 Zavada p 0 0 0 0 0 L.Rosales p 1 0 0 0 0 Totals 64 9 18 9 10

SO 3 2 3 0 1 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15

Avg. .301 .292 .320 .329 .248 .266 .245 .182 .150 .259 .000 .212 --.000 --.243 --.232 --.000

San Diego AB Gwynn cf 7 E.Gonzalez 2b 7 Ad.Gonzalez 1b 6 Headley lf 8 Giles rf 6 Kouzmanoff 3b 5 Mujica p 0 Gregerson p 1 Gaudin p 1 H.Blanco 3b 0 Hundley c 6 C.Burke ss-3b-ss 7 Geer p 1 Venable ph 1 Thatcher p 0 G.Burke p 0 Meredith p 0 C.Floyd ph 1 Perdomo p 0 Eckstein ph 1 Bell p 0 Jo.Wilson ss-p 3 Totals 61

SO 0 1 0 5 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 14

Avg. .298 .216 .278 .237 .192 .218 1.000 .000 .067 .197 .237 .207 .188 .143 ------.000 .000 .253 --.164

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

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

BI 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 6

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

Arizona 000 042 000 000 000 003—9 18 0 San Diego 000 000 105 000 000 000—6 9 1 E: C.Burke (6). LOB: Arizona 16, San Diego 7. 2B: G.Parra (5), J.Upton (13), S.Drew 2 (10), Montero 2 (7), C.Young (12), Whitesell (4), Gwynn (3), E.Gonzalez (3), Ad.Gonzalez (5). HR: Reynolds (14), off Jo.Wilson; Kouzmanoff (5), off Haren; Eckstein (1), off Qualls. RBIs: F.Lopez (11), Reynolds 3 (36), Montero (7), C.Young (14),Whitesell 3 (6), Headley (23), Kouzmanoff (21), Hundley (11), Eckstein 3 (20). SB: J.Upton (8), S.Drew (1), C.Young (8). CS: Gwynn (2). S: G.Parra, Haren, Zavada. SF: F.Lopez, Montero. Runners left in scoring position: Arizona 11 (S.Drew 2, Whitesell 2, C.Young 2, Snyder, Reynolds 2, F.Lopez 2); San Diego 2 (Giles, Headley). DP: Arizona 1 (F.Lopez, S.Drew,Whitesell); San Diego 1 (E.Gonzalez, Ad.Gonzalez). Arizona IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Haren 7 4 1 1 1 5 106 2.33 T.Pena 1 1 0 0 1 1 17 3.00 J.Gutierrez 1⁄3 2 3 3 1 0 19 3.73 Qualls BS, 3-15 2⁄3 2 2 2 0 0 12 3.97 Rauch 1 0 0 0 0 1 14 5.26 Vasquez 2 0 0 0 0 1 29 5.23 Zavada 2 2⁄3 0 0 0 3 2 45 0.00 L.Rosales W, 1-0 3 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 4 34 5.40 San Diego IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Geer 5 5 4 4 3 2 78 5.60 Thatcher 1 3 2 2 1 0 28 4.50 G.Burke 1 2 0 0 0 2 21 1.86 Meredith 1 0 0 0 0 1 21 2.78 Perdomo 1 0 0 0 0 1 9 5.06 Bell 2 1 0 0 1 4 32 1.48 Mujica 2 2 0 0 0 0 26 2.45 Gregerson 2 1 0 0 3 2 35 3.15 Gaudin 2 1 0 0 1 3 37 5.01 Jo.Wilson L, 0-1 1 3 3 3 1 0 29 13.50 WP: Gregerson 2. Umpires: Home, Chad Fairchild; First, Joe West; Second, Paul Nauert; Third, Paul Schrieber. T: 5:45. A: 27,804 (42,691).

Arizona 9, San Diego 6, 18 innings

San Francisco 3, Florida 2

Non-classic matchup ends marathon

Lincecum braves weather

SAN DIEGO—It was the kind of matchup that only an extra-inning marathon can produce—an infielder pitching to a batter working on an 0-for-6 afternoon, including four strikeouts. With the Petco Park lights on as dusk fell, Mark Reynolds hit a threerun homer off infielder Josh Wilson with two outs in the 18th inning, sending the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 9-6 win over the San Diego Padres on Sunday in the longest major league game this season. “It’s tough because No. 1, he’s a position player and you don’t want him to get you out, and No. 2, you don’t know what he’s going to throw,” Reynolds said. The Padres were held hitless through nine extra innings by four relievers. Their only baserunners in extras came on three walks. The game took 5 hours, 45 minutes. San Diego used all its relievers and had starter Chad Gaudin—the loser in Friday night’s series opener—pitch the 16th and 17th innings before turning to Wilson in the 18th for his third career relief appearance. Wilson (0-1) was claimed off waivers from Arizona on May 15, four days after he pitched a scoreless inning for the Diamondbacks against Cincinnati. “When he pitched for us he threw all fastballs, so you figure he has some kind of wrinkle,” said Reynolds, who fell behind 0-2. “He threw a curveball up there and I laid off some high fastballs, and he left one out over and I was able to barrel it up.” Wilson allowed a single to Felipe Lopez and walked Ryan Roberts with one out before Reynolds hit a fullcount pitch off an advertising sign

MIAMI—The rain had stopped by the time Tim Lincecum took the mound. He ended up soaking wet anyway, and happy with his fifth consecutive win. Lincecum pitched three-hit ball into the eighth inning and San Francisco beat the Florida Marlins 3-2 on Sunday. The Giants hit six doubles and won for the fourth time in five games. Bengie Molina had two RBIs to back Lincecum (5-1), who went 7 1/3 innings to win his fifth straight decision. He also doubled and scored. “The first seven went pretty well,” Lincecum said. “I had a tough time finding the strike zone but when I needed to I got outs. The hit was nice and it was nice to score. Just a good game.” The Giants sat through a rain delay for the fifth straight day. After the start was delayed 1 hour, 38 minutes, Lincecum acknowledged he felt the effects of the high humidity and damp air. “You just try to hydrate before the game. That’s important for guys like me with high metabolism,” Lincecum said. “Still, I was sweating. ... I’m going to go hydrate and try to get some food down. Then I’ll probably have to take another shower.” The N.L. Cy Young Award winner was lifted after yielding Chris Coghlan’s two-run homer, which made it 3-2. — The Associated Press

DENIS POROY / AP

Mark Reynolds’ three-run homer in the top of the 18th inning ended the longest game of the season. atop the right-field wall. “One pitch away,” Wilson said. “I had Mark 0-2 there. I wish I could have thrown a strike before I got to 3-2. “I was very comfortable,” he added. “I expected it in that type of game. It was probably just a matter of time. I was ready.” Wilson pitched in high school and his two other big league relief appearances had been in blowout losses. “I don’t know how long I could have lasted,” he said. “I started getting tired toward the end of that inning.” Arizona manager A.J. Hinch said he didn’t want his players getting comfortable facing a position player. “Your swings can get a little bit big,” said Hinch, who had Gerardo Parra lay down a sacrifice bunt to advance Lopez. “We had the players

concentrate on getting a good pitch to hit and hit it hard.” Hinch said he had his pitching figured out for at least 22 innings before he would have to go to a position player. Padres manager Bud Black said he didn’t want to overextend Gaudin. San Diego scored five in the ninth and tied it at 6 on David Eckstein’s first career pinch-hit homer, a threerun shot with two outs off Chad Qualls. Leo Rosales (1-0) pitched 3 1/3 innings for the win. It was the longest big league game by time and innings since San Diego beat visiting Cincinnati 12-9 in an 18-inning game that lasted 5 hours, 57 minutes on May 25, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. — The Associated Press

Giants 3, Marlins 2 San Francisco AB Rowand cf 4 Renteria ss 5 Winn rf 4 B.Molina c 4 Sandoval 1b 4 F.Lewis lf 4 Torres lf 0 Uribe 3b 3 Burriss 2b 4 Lincecum p 4 Romo p 0 B.Wilson p 0 Totals 36

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

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

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

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

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

Avg. .309 .239 .282 .257 .305 .269 .250 .306 .257 .154 --.000

Florida Coghlan lf Bonifacio 3b Ha.Ramirez ss Gload 1b 1-B.Carroll pr Uggla 2b Hermida rf C.Ross cf Jo.Baker c Nolasco p Cr.Martinez p a-De Aza ph Calero p Totals

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

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

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

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

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

Avg. .224 .242 .332 .282 .212 .222 .256 .251 .260 .214 --.286 ---

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

San Francisco 000 111 000 — Florida 000 000 020 —

3 11 0 2 5 1

a-flied out for Cr.Martinez in the 8th. 1-ran for Gload in the 9th. E: Bonifacio (11). LOB: San Francisco 10, Florida 6. 2B: Rowand (18), Winn (16), Sandoval (16), F.Lewis (11), Uribe (8), Lincecum (1). HR: Coghlan (2), off Lincecum. RBIs: B.Molina 2 (34), Uribe (11), Coghlan 2 (8). SB: F.Lewis (5). CS: Rowand (1). SF: B.Molina. Runners left in scoring position: San Francisco 5 (B.Molina, Burriss, Sandoval, F.Lewis, Rowand); Florida 3 (Gload, Ha.Ramirez, Jo.Baker). DP: San Francisco 1 (Burriss, Renteria, Sandoval). San Francisco IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Lincecum W, 5-1 7 1⁄3 3 2 2 4 4 110 2.96 Romo H, 2 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 7 5.40 B.Wilson S, 15-18 1 2 0 0 0 1 18 3.58 Florida IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Nolasco L, 2-6 7 10 3 2 3 4 106 8.17 Cr.Martinez 1 1 0 0 0 0 12 3.86 Calero 1 0 0 0 0 2 13 1.86 WP: Lincecum 2, Cr.Martinez. Umpires: Home, Brian O’Nora; First, Fieldin Culbreth; Second, Gary Cederstrom; Third, Jim Wolf. T: 2:49. A: 11,505 (38,560).

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Dolphins want to stay ahead of curve with wildcat As NFL minicamps and spring practices continue, many interesting scenarios are developing around the NFL. Here is a look at five subjects that bear watching:

1.

Proliferation of wildcat formation Rookie wide receiver Percy Harvin already has taken direct snaps during Vikings practices. The Ravens might use more wildcat packages, featuring quarterback Troy Smith in a variety of roles. And we certainly can expect the NFL’s masters of the wildcat, the Dolphins, to expand their packages after Clifton Brown drafting elusive quarterback PRO FOOTBALL Pat White. “We really didn’t scratch the surface last year,” Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said. “Truth be told, going into every game, we probably had a total of three (wildcat) plays on the game plan sheet. That’s why I think it’s important that we keep our information to ourselves.” Sparano expects more teams to implement the wildcat and hopes his defense will benefit from seeing it frequently during practice. “We know that other people are going to try and do it as well,” Sparano said. “The more reps our defense can get vs. the wildcat, the better off we feel like we’ll be prepared when it happens during the course of the game.” Matt Hasselbeck’s back So far, so good for Hasselbeck, who is moving and throwing without pain. Hasselbeck’s health clearly is the key to the Seahawks’ playoff hopes. They had won four consecutive NFC West titles until last season, when back problems limited Hasselbeck to

2.

seven games. In spring practices, Hasselbeck is bonding with new favorite target T.J. Houshmandzadeh and learning the offensive wrinkles added by new coordinator Greg Knapp. “It’s exciting to watch the cutups of stuff Greg Knapp has done and also how the running game works, how his play-action works, the naked bootleg,” Hasselbeck said. “A lot of that stuff we had but we didn’t emphasize. Now, it’s definitely emphasized.” The Seahawks have intangibles working for them—veteran players used to winning, a noisy home stadium and a ’09 schedule that includes just five games against playoff teams from last season. Seattle could be a surprise team in the NFC, but only if Hasselbeck stays healthy.

3.

Vince Young’s angst Young, the Titans’ backup quarterback, told a TV station that he wants to start in Tennessee or be traded. This sounds like a bigger problem for Young than for the Titans. Kerry Collins has a new contract and led the Titans to the NFL’s best regular-season record (13-3) last season. It is unlikely that coach Jeff Fisher would bench Collins, particularly after some of the drama Young put the Titans through last season. However, this is the biggest offseason of Young’s career. He is only 26 years old, 10 years younger than Collins. With two years left on his contract, Young needs a strong training camp and preseason to show the entire league, not just Fisher, that he still can realize his potential. It is perfectly fine that Young wants to start. Now, he needs to convince the Titans,

or another team, they would be better with him in the lineup instead of on the bench.

4.

Brandon Marshall’s troubles One of the league’s best wide receivers, Marshall is in the final year of his contract and wants a new deal. Marshall will not be suspended by the league for a March 1 incident. However, he is scheduled to stand trial in Atlanta this summer for two counts of misdemeanor battery in an incident involving a former girlfriend. That case will be reviewed separately by commissioner Roger Goodell. Can Marshall, arrested three times during a 12-month span, avoid further problems? And will he develop the same chemistry with either Kyle Orton or Chris Simms that he enjoyed with Jay Cutler? Stay tuned. The Bills-T.O. honeymoon Will it last the entire season? And will Terrell Owens’ presence help the Bills make the playoffs? The answers will determine if coach Dick Jauron keeps his job. Jauron says Owens will make the offense more dangerous, especially in the red zone. “His reach is a factor, his size is a factor, his ability to screen with his body is a factor,” Jauron said. “It does open up the field and opportunities for other people.” The Bills begin a mandatory minicamp Tuesday, and so far, Owens has been a happy camper. “He’s a cool dude,” running back Marshawn Lynch said. “I love having him on the team.” Few in Dallas, Philadelphia or San Francisco, however, loved Owens when he left town. We will see if the Bills still love him in January.

5.

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WILFREDO LEE / AP

RB Ronnie Brown helped the Dolphins improve their win total by ten games with his effectiveness in the wildcat.

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Scouts’ views

Head coach rankings: Belichick remains the master The top NFL coaches are the grizzled vets who have proven their worth over time. But there are some young coaches pushing their way to the top and finding new ways to do things. RealScouts, Sporting News Today’s team of former NFL scouts, rank all the NFL head coaches: Bill Belichick, Patriots. The smartest coach in the league. No one does a better job of adapting schemes and personnel to the opponent on a week-to-week basis. He always finds a way to win the matchup game. Tom Coughlin, Giants. Preparation is the key for the detail-oriented Coughlin. His team is ready to play every Sunday. Andy Reid, Eagles. No matter what is going on in and around his team, Reid has the Eagles contending at the end of the season. Jeff Fisher, Titans. In the NFL, no coach gets to stay in one place as long as he has unless he’s really, really good. A yard away from a Super Bowl title, he guided this team through a restructuring phase and back into contention. Mike Tomlin, Steelers. He is smart and tough, but the best thing he does is delegate authority. He lets his assistants coach and his players play. Sean Payton, Saints. He is an offensive genius who has built a juggernaut. With more talent on defense in ’09, the Saints could be an NFC contender. Ken Whisenhunt, Cardinals. The desert has been a burial ground for good coaches, but Whisenhunt

13.

14.

1.

15.

16.

2. 3.

4. 5.

6. 7.

Norv Turner, Chargers. An outstanding offensive playcaller, Turner has enough presence and savvy to steady the ship in troubled times and keep the Chargers in Super Bowl contention. Mike Singletary, 49ers. He is a hard-nosed, tough-minded, old-school guy who eventually will build this team in his image. Wade Phillips, Cowboys. He takes too much blame for the troubles in Dallas. However, he is innovative defensive mind and can deal with some big egos. Mike McCarthy, Packers. He has the necessary belief in his team to make bold changes and make them pay off. Last year, he dumped Brett Favre for Aaron Rodgers. This season, he moves his defense to a 3-4 scheme. He always is looking for ways to make the team better. Jack Del Rio, Jaguars. His team is built in his image—tough, physical and competitive. Last year was a tough one, but Del Rio proved himself as a leader by making tough offseason decisions. Dick Jauron, Bills. Though he came through the ranks as a defensive coordinator, his most prominent trait is that his players love to play for him. Jim Mora, Seahawks. He was groomed for this job the past year, learning the Seattle organization as an assistant to the now retired Mike Holmgren. Mora is smart and will learn from his mistakes made in Atlanta. Lovie Smith, Bears. A Tony Dungy disciple, Smith is the

17. ELISE AMENDOLA / AP

Pats coach Bill Belichick usually out-schemes opposing coaches, finding ways to exploit matchups. has conquered all the negatives and put the Pittsburgh stamp on the former laughingstock of the league. Mike Smith, Falcons. He is a defensive-minded guy who took a rookie quarterback and a no-name defense and turned them into a contender in his first year. John Fox, Panthers. He is a player’s coach and a great motivator. The players love playing for him. John Harbaugh, Ravens. Unlike most coaches, he has no ego but still is effective in front of the

8.

9. 10.

team. He gets the most out of every player and coach. Brad Childress, Vikings. The team has gotten better every year under his watch, and last season he got the Vikings to the playoffs without a viable quarterback. Tony Sparano, Dolphins. Like his boss, Bill Parcells, Sparano brings an attitude and toughness missing for several years in Miami. He is a block-and-tackle guy who boils everything down to fundamentals.

11.

12.

18. 19.

20.

picture of stoicism. He is one of the first generation Tampa-2 guys on defense, and his group will be much better this season now that he is reunited with line coach Rod Marinelli. Smith’s new quarterback, Jay Cutler, will make him and his team better. Marvin Lewis, Bengals. It wasn’t long ago that Lewis was considered the NFL’s preeminent defensive mind. He is a good coach, but it’s hard to be successful in Bengal Land. Gary Kubiak, Texans. The Texans have one of the top two receivers in the game, a solid quarterback, an exciting young running back, an improved offensive line and productive young talent on defense. It’s time for Houston to make the jump to the playoffs. Jim Zorn, Redskins. Following Joe Gibbs is not an easy job, and a meddling owner makes it tougher. Things started well enough for Zorn in ’08. He is a good coach, but we expected him to handle his players better. He must bounce back from a poor finish. Rex Ryan, Jets. We will bet money Ryan will be higher on this list next year. He has all the tools to be a great coach and is finally getting his shot. Eric Mangini, Browns. In the mold of his mentor, Belichick, Mangini is tough. But he is stubborn, which often limits his game plans and hinders his relationships with players. Steve Spagnuolo, Rams. He is creative when it comes to

21.

22.

using personnel groupings and alignments to create mismatches. He also has outstanding leadership characteristics. What he needs now is more talent. Jim Schwartz, Lions. He is an excellent coach who has an excellent rapport with players. Detroit, however, is a tough place to prove your worth. Jim Caldwell, Colts. Peyton Manning is the coach, captain and leader of this team. As long as the quarterback is in Indy, Caldwell will not drive the success of this team. Todd Haley, Chiefs. He is a hardnosed coach who comes into his first head coaching gig with high expectations. He also is an excellent play-caller, but the Chiefs lack talent. If Haley can weather the storm early, his front office should take care that problem. Tom Cable, Raiders. He showed some fight at the end of last season, proving he can motivate his team. Despite all the good feelings now, the owner makes this a tough situation. Raheem Morris, Buccaneers. The players in Tampa like him a lot. But he is a young coach (he turns 33 in September) with no head coaching experience. He might be in over his head. Josh McDaniels, Broncos. No head coach, especially a rookie, makes a positive mark by trading the franchise quarterback. McDaniels already is in trouble. — RealScouts, a team of former NFL scouts, analyze NFL and college players, coaches and teams exclusively for Sporting News Today.

27.

28. 29.

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Q&A with ... Falcons coach Mike Smith

‘We are in an active trade situation’ with Vick Mike Smith was the surprise pick to be the coach of the Falcons last offseason, but it didn’t take him long to prove he belonged. He turned the team from 4-12 mess to 11-5 playoff team in his first year. Sporting News Radio’s Bob Berger and Joe McDonnell caught up with Smith this week to talk about the Falcons’ evolution, the addition of Tony Gonzalez, the possible trade of Michael Vick and more.

have to be hungry to know there’s a lot more out there for us.

Q: A:

Q: A:

Can you talk about what you went through last year? It was a fast year, in terms of the pacing of it. We felt like, as a staff, it was a good situation, not a bad situation. We basically went in and told our guys that 2007, 2006, those seasons were history. We were starting with a clean slate across the board and we were going to select the best 53 players on our roster, and we didn’t really care where they were drafted, how many zeros were on their paycheck. We were going to have an open competition. And then once we picked the 53, we were going to pick the best 11 on offense and defense. By approaching it that way, it gave our guys an area to focus on.

Q: A:

How has the culture of the organization changed in one

year?

Organizations are ever-changing, and the dynamics are changing every day. We knew we had to go in and change the culture because we were aware of what happened; we just didn’t talk about it. I’m a very communicative coach, and with the staff we put together we have over 220 year of NFL experience. Often times people ask me are you a players’ coach or a disciplinarian. I tell them I’m neither; I’m an accountability coach. And I want us to

JOHN BAZEMORE/ AP

Mike Smith’s Falcons went 11-5 in his first season. not only be accountable to ourselves but each other.

Q: A:

How do you not only sustain what you’ve done but build

on it? The players in this league and the coaches in this league, every one of them have abilities—and it’s really not about abilities; it’s about sustainability. And you have to be able to sustain from play to play, from game to game, from year to year. And when you do that, then you create an atmosphere of winning. We have to be humble and hungry, and that’s really our motto for this year. We have to be humble in regards that we really didn’t accomplish anything last year. And we

Did you know QB Matt Ryan was going to be this good? We definitely knew that Matt had the skill set to be a successful quarterback in this league. The traits the great quarterbacks have are that they are accurate throwers and great decision-makers. We felt that Matt was very accurate and that he was a great decision-maker. Did we know he was going to have that type of year right out of the gate? No, we didn’t. Matt won the job. We had an open-competition with three other quarterbacks. He won the job, had a very good season. The offense was very efficient. He got a great award in being named the NFL Rookie of the Year. But really the biggest honor that Matt Ryan received last year was we did not elect captains prior to the season; we elected them at the end of the year. Matt was voted by his teammates as a permanent captain for the Atlanta Falcons.

Q: A:

How much does the addition of Gonzalez help Ryan’s

Q:

Can we overstate the impact Michael Turner had on your

game? We were very excited about Tony because he is going to create matchup problems and he’s going to make our entire football team better, not just our offense. Tony is the consummate pro. He is going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

team?

A:

I think Michael Turner was without a doubt the most valuable player on our football team last year. He rushed for right under 1,700 yards, carried a good workload for us week-in and week-out and really got stronger for us as the season went along. That’s a great trait for a running back. Michael is very compact. He’s not tall but he’s big, and he’s deceivingly fast. He had more runs over 75 yards over the last four years than any running back in the league.

Q: A:

Can you tell us about wide receiver Roddy White’s breakout year? Very similar to Matt, he has the skill set you’re looking for in a wide receiver. He’s physical. He can catch the ball on the vertical routes. He can catch the ball underneath. He can body defenders. And I think Roddy has matured in his time in the league, and I just think he came of age last year.

Q: A:

Vick still is a member of your team. Is the talk of his reinstatement a distraction? No, it’s not. It’s a situation where Michael is on our roster. I’ve never coached Michael; I don’t know Michael. It’s been well-documented that Michael is not going to be an Atlanta Falcon. We are in an active trade situation. There are some contingencies in terms of what the commissioner is going to do, whether he’s going to be reinstated or when he’s going to be reinstated. It won’t be a distraction to our team, and I wish Mike Vick nothing but the best in the next chapter of their life.

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INSIDE DISH

Report: Favre had surgery on throwing shoulder last month Brett Favre underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery last month with the intent to play for quarterback for the Vikings this season, but the shoulder is not yet 100 percent, according to ESPN.com. A meeting with Dr. James Andrews led Favre to consider his options regarding his torn biceps, and he dealt with cortisone injections and exercise designed to release the tendon, but eventually decided on the operation. Favre has thrown on a limited basis since the surgery, which occurred last month, but has not felt close to “100 percent” and would not come back unless he makes significant progress, according to the reports. Favre’s agent, Bus Cook, would not confirm or deny the surgery, saying “That’s a confidential client privilege.” Vikings sources declined to comment. Coach Brad Childress reiterated last week that Favre “is retired” but refused to set a deadline on any potential decision. Niners rookie WR Michael Crabtested his surgically repaired tree foot after a practice this weekend, running about a dozen 40-yard sprints at three-quarters speed, according to The Sacramento Bee. It was the first time he’d run hard since March surgery. He isn’t expected to practice with the team until training camp in late July.

WILFREDO LEE / AP

Brett Favre opted for the operating table as a means of repairing his torn biceps.

Colts owner Jim Irsay says retired offensive line coach Howard Mudd and offensive coordinator Tom Moore will be allowed to join the team as

“consultants” by training camp Aug. 1. Irsay said both would have “very significant roles” despite yielding their job titles. That news obviously will make QB Peyton Manning happy. “This was Jim Caldwell’s call ultimately,” Irsay told The Indianapolis Star. “(Team president) Bill (Polian) and I are there to support the head coach, and we do. I asked Jim what he wanted, and he wanted to see these guys come back and be part of things. Everything is good.” With every passing day, it appears less and less likely that the Panthers will be able to trade disgruntled Pro Bowl DE Julius Peppers. It’s unlikely that any team could a) offer enough to help the playoff-contending Panthers in ’09 to get Peppers or b) have enough cap space to absorb his $16.7 million contract for this season. Team officials say they hope Peppers, 29, will sign his oneyear contract and show up for training camp, which begins Aug. 2. Retired coach Tony Dungy, now a studio analyst for NBC, says he likes what he sees in Browns QB Brady Quinn, who is battling Derek Anderson for the starting job. “I watched Brady Quinn in college,” Dungy told The Repository. “I think he’s a leader. I think he has all the qualities you’re looking for. “Derek Anderson is good. We played these guys (Nov. 30), and we had a lot of respect for Anderson. I think they’ve got two good quarterbacks.” Colts WR Anthony Gonzalez

missed the team’s practice Sunday because of an injured right leg. Gonzalez spent the rest of practice working to stretch his leg muscles. Coach Jim Caldwell said he expects Gonzalez to be able to practice later this week. Rookie CB Malcolm Jenkins took his finals at Ohio State a week early so he could join the Saints for the last three of five minicamp practices. He turned in three papers and took three exams in the last week, arriving at the team’s minicamp Saturday. He return to Columbus next weekend to graduate. “I think he’s a pretty smart player, and he has handled the bulk of what we’re doing now pretty well,” coach Sean Payton said. “When we drafted him, we felt like we were getting a guy who is physical, who is smart, who is disciplined, a guy that plays the run as well as he plays the pass. We’re excited he was able to get out here earlier than we had anticipated having graduated.” The Bucs are giving WR Kelly Campbell a second chance after a series of arrests on gun and drug charges. He failed a drug test at the Scouting Combine and went undrafted in ’02 and then spent three seasons with the Vikings. He played last season in the Canadian Football League, averaging 22.6 yards per catch for the Edmonton Eskimos. “A lot of stuff is going on with guys around the league and they’re losing their opportunity,” Campbell told The Tampa Tribune. “That’s why I’m looking at this like it might be my

last chance and why I’m so thankful that God has opened up another door for me.” Said Bucs coach Raheem Morris: “You see elite speed. You see a guy who can get downfield and make plays. You see a guy not afraid.” A key part of new 49ers offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye’s plan for ’09 is to get the ball much more often to TE Vernon Davis, who was targeted on only 49 pass attempts last season. He made only 31 catches and scored only two touchdowns despite playing all 16 games for the first time in his three-year NFL career. Raye said he wants to utilize Davis’ downfield speed to create problems down the seams. “He’s also an excellent in-line blocker,” Raye told The (Santa Rosa, Calif.) Press-Democrat, “but we would like to use him not as much in blocking in pass situations as we would running routes. So we would like to put him in positions where he is a matchup problem for the defense ... provided the protection that we have will allow us to do that.” Eagles TE Brent Celek is watching a lot of tape of the Cowboys’ Jason Witten and Redskins’ Chris Cooley, studying their moves and technique as blockers and route-runners. “(Witten) moves his feet pretty fast. He’s in the right place at the right time,” Celek told The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal. “He’s not the fastest, he’s not the quickest but he knows where guys are going to be on defense and how to get around them and where the zones are.”

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‘Toughened up’ Cassel ready for K.C. challenge

Remaining free agents

KANSAS CITY—Everywhere Matt Cassel went, a great quarterback got in the way. Not one but two Heisman Trophy winners kept him on the bench throughout his college career at Southern Cal, denying him even one start. Then he was drafted by the Patriots, where a Super Bowl MVP was running the offense. Now he’s in Kansas City, and are things ever different. That’s not Matt Leinart, Carson Palmer and Tom Brady he’s competing against anymore. It’s Tyler Thigpen, Ingle Martin and Brodie Croyle. At 27, Cassel has a team to call his own for the first time since high school. From the first day of spring drills, a team finally is counting on him not to follow, but to lead; not to hold the clipboard, but to execute the plays on it. This weekend’s mandatory minicamp brought all the Chiefs players on the field with their new quarterback for the first time. The realization is sinking in that his time is finally at hand. “Slowly but surely,” Cassel said with a grin. “We’re building chemistry, we’re building rapport and everybody’s working hard.” Although coach Todd Haley refuses to name a starter at any position, there is no question who is the No. 1 quarterback. “He’s running the team,” new wide receiver Bobby Engram said. “And I’m very impressed. He’s a very sharp guy. He’s watching film, he’s drawing up plays, he’s coaching everybody up. He’s shown early on that we’re going to be able to rely on him.” Another tip-off about who’s running the show is the fact Cassel will be paid almost $15 million this year. After he replaced the injured Brady in the season opener last September and proved his worth by throwing for 3,693 yards and 23 touchdowns, the Patriots made him their “franchise” player, limiting his free-agent movement. The trade to Kansas City soon followed. So now Cassel has all the money he could want, the chance to start that he always has craved and is, by all accounts, a happy man. “I can’t even tell you the feelings I have, the emotions,” he said. “I couldn’t be more excited.” Chiefs fans are excited, too. After the team

OFFENSE Quarterbacks—Brooks Bollinger, Dallas; Ken Dorsey, Cleveland; Gus Frerotte, Minnesota; Charlie Frye, Seattle; Quinn Gray, Kansas City; Trent Green, St. Louis; Rex Grossman, Chicago; Drew Henson, Detroit; Brad Johnson, Dallas; J.P. Losman, Buffalo; Jamie Martin, San Francisco; Craig Nall, Houston; Marques Tuiasosopo, Oakland; Anthony Wright, NY Giants.

A quick look at the remaining NFL free agents by position (R-restricted free agent, F-franchise tagged player):

Running backs—Shaun Alexander, Washington; J.J. Arrington, Denver; Darian Barnes, New Orleans; Tatum Bell, Denver; Jon Bradley, Detroit; 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.

DAVID EULITT / AP

For the first time since high school, Chiefs QB Matt Cassel, center, is the unquestioned leader of a football team. won only six games the last two years, the general manager and coach were fired to clear the way for new G.M. Scott Pioli and Haley. “Everything’s new,” Cassel said. “It’s a new environment, it’s new teammates, getting to know my linemen, getting to know my receivers, getting to know my running backs.” Haley, the offensive coordinator the past two years at Arizona, is not known as an easy man to please. But when asked about his new quarterback, he seems almost to gush. “He’s the leader for every workout group. It’s hard to outwork this guy,” he said. “When he’s done working out, he’s upstairs bugging us. He’s making drawings, coming up with ideas, wanting to talk football, all the time on top of working

out real hard. He’s lost some weight, has his body in shape. “We want our quarterback to be one of the hardest workers on the team. I think he’s clearly shown me that.” Even with his naturally upbeat outlook, there were times when Cassel did get discouraged. But he now believes even that will work to his advantage in Kansas City. “You get toughened up,” he said. “There’s going to be a lot of adversity that comes up during the season, whether we lose a game, whether it’s a tough play or an interception or something like that. You have to be able to overcome it and be mentally tough.” — The Associated Press

Wide receivers—Drew Bennett, St. Louis; Marty Booker, Chicago; Drew Carter, Oakland; Jason Carter; Carolina; Keary Colbert, Detroit; Biren Ealy, New Orleans; 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; Tab Perry, Miami; Jerry Porter, Jacksonville; Koren Robinson, Seattle; Edell Shepherd, Denver; Travis Taylor, Detroit; Amani Toomer, NY Giants; Reggie Williams, Jacksonville. Tight ends—Courtney Anderson, Houston; Adam Bergen, Denver; Mark Bruener, Houston; Owen Daniels (R), Houston; Nate Lawrie, Cincinnati; Marcus Pollard, Atlanta; Jerame Tuman, Arizona; Daniel Wilcox, Baltimore. Offensive tackles—Anthony Davis, St. Louis; Jon Dunn, Detroit; Wayne Gandy, Atlanta; Kwame Harris, Oakland; Jonas Jennings, San Francisco; Levi Jones, Cincinnati; Fred Miller, Chicago; Rob Petitti, St. Louis; Jon Runyan, Philadelphia; Charles Spencer, Jacksonville; Barry Stokes, New England; Mark Tauscher, Green Bay. 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; 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

30

Diego; Scott Peters, Arizona; Cory Withrow, St. Louis. DEFENSE Defensive ends—Kevin Carter, Tampa Bay; Earl Cochran, Houston; Sean Conover, NY Jets; Nick Eason, Pittsburgh; Kalimba Edwards, Oakland; Ebenezer Ekuban, Denver; John Engelberger, Denver; Simon Fraser, Atlanta; Roderick Green, San Francisco; Travis LaBoy, Arizona; Jayme Mitchell, Minnesota; Jerome McDougle, NY Giants; Julius Peppers (F), Carolina; Josh Savage, New Orleans; Anthony Weaver, Houston; James Wyche, Jacksonville. Defensive tackles—Kenderick Allen, Minnesota; Gary Gibson, Carolina; La’Roi Glover, St. Louis; Vonnie Holliday, Miami; Antwan Lake, New Orleans; Langston Moore, Detroit; Kindal Moorehead, Atlanta; Dewayne Robertson, Denver; Orpheus Roye, Pittsburgh; Hollis Thomas, New Orleans; Josh Thomas, Indianapolis; John Thornton, Cincinnati; 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; Greg Ellis, Dallas; Gilbert Gardner, Chicago; Curtis Gatewood, Kansas City; Morlon Greenwood, Houston; Napoleon Harris, Minnesota; Brad Kassell, NY Jets; Jason Kyle, Carolina; Teddy Lehman, Buffalo; Wesly Mallard, Seattle; Willie McGinest, Cleveland; 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; 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; Adam Jones, Dallas; Michael Lehan, New Orleans; Sam Madison, NY Giants; Ricky Manning Jr., St. Louis; 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; DeJuan Tribble, San Diego; Jason Webster, New England; Jimmy Williams, Houston; Stanley Wilson, Detroit. Safeties—Michael Boulware, Minnesota; Mike Brown, Chicago; Oliver Celestin, Kansas City; Corey Chavous, St. Louis; Will Demps, Houston; Mike Doss, Cincinnati; Mike Green, Washington; Terrence Holt, New Orleans; Dexter Jackson, Cincinnati; Sammy Knight, NY Giants; Lawyer Milloy, Atlanta; Chad Nkang, Jacksonville; Pierson Prioleau, Jacksonville; Dwight Smith, Detroit; Jimmy Williams, San Francisco; Cameron Worrell, Chicago. SPECIAL TEAMS Kickers—John Carney, NY Giants; Matt Stover, Baltimore. Punters—Mitch Berger, Pittsburgh; Kyle Larson, Cincinnati; Ryan Plackemeier, Cincinnati.

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MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

Stewart notches first win for new team REID SPENCER [email protected]

LONG POND, PA.—Perhaps more amazing than Tony Stewart’s first victory as an owner/driver was his victory celebration Sunday at Pocono Raceway. Actually, what was amazing was that Stewart could even manage a celebration at all, after using every trick in the book—including shutting down his engine entering Turn 1 at the 2.5-mile triangular track— to save enough fuel to win the Pocono 500. The win was Stewart’s 34th in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series and his first since acquiring an ownership interest in Stewart-Haas Racing before the 2009 season. “He’s doing a damn burnout!” Jeff Gordon’s crew chief, Steve Letarte, said in amazement after Stewart began his victory doughnuts on the frontstretch. Holding down his speed to the minimum needed to stay ahead of runner-up Carl Edwards, who also was saving fuel, Stewart crossed the finish line 2.004 seconds ahead of the No. 99 Ford. Stewart, who increased his lead in the Cup standings to 71 points over Gordon, lost more than four seconds of a 6.8-second lead over Edwards in the final 10 laps. “Breathe easy, boys, we’re gonna make it,” Stewart radioed to his crew as he rolled through the final corner. “God, I’m proud of you guys. You make me look like a genius in here.” “We didn’t tell you how to save gas,” crew chief Darian Grubb retorted. Stewart did that on his own, and

he did so masterfully. In fact, the entire race was a testament to Stewart’s driving ability. Lost in the drama of the ending was where Stewart started almost four hours earlier—in last place. Because he wrecked his car during Saturday during practice, he was forced to being Sunday’s race at the back of the field. Stewart competed for a decade and won 33 races and two championships at Joe Gibbs Racing, but Sunday’s victory had special significance as he became the first owner/driver to win a race since Ricky Rudd in 1998. “I’ve always had a great group of people to work with at Gibbs, but it’s just a little different when it’s your own, you know, when you’re the one that’s got to be accountable for (it),” Stewart said. Edwards, who won at Pocono last August by conserving fuel, lost the race off pit road to Stewart on the final stop for both cars, under a caution for debris on Lap 159 that was extended to seven laps when a light rain shower crossed the track. “I didn’t think Tony could save that much fuel, but he did a really good job,” said Edwards, who led a race-high 103 of 200 laps. “Our car was getting great fuel mileage all day, and (I’m) just really proud of my guys. We were great on pit road. “Tony beat us off of pit road on that last stop by about three quarters of a car length or something, and that’s primarily because of his pit stall (Stewart had pit stall No. 1, closest to the exit from pit road).” — Reid Spencer writes for the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

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Pocono 500 results FINISH START 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 11 13 2 5 20 3 15 10 26

CAR DRIVER 14 99 00 24 39 47 48 42 31 77

MAKE

Tony Stewart Chevrolet Carl Edwards Ford David Reutimann Toyota Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Ryan Newman Chevrolet Marcos Ambrose Toyota Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Juan Pablo Montoya Chevrolet Jeff Burton Chevrolet Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge

POINTS

LAPS

190 180 165 165 160 150 151 142 138 134

200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200

NASCAR Sprint Cup standings (through Sunday’s race)

RUSS HAMILTON SR. / AP

Tony Stewart celebrated his 34th Sprint Cup victory and the first points race as a owner/driver.

Bad starts, great finishes Tony Stewart became the fourth driver in 2009 to start from the rear of the field and win a Sprint Cup race. It didn’t happen once last year.

DRIVER

DATE

TRACK

REASON

Tony Stewart Brad Keselowski Kyle Busch Matt Kenseth

June 7 April 26 March 1 Feb. 15

Pocono Talladega Las Vegas Daytona

Backup car Engine change Engine change Backup car

RK. +/- DRIVER POINTS BEHIND STARTS POLES WINS T-5 1 -- Tony Stewart 2,043 -14 0 1 7 2 -- Jeff Gordon 1,972 -71 14 0 1 7 3 -- Jimmie Johnson 1,940 -103 14 0 2 6 4 1 Ryan Newman 1,840 -203 14 1 0 5 5 -1 Kurt Busch 1,819 -224 14 0 1 4 6 5 Carl Edwards 1,762 -281 14 0 0 3 7 2 Greg Biffle 1,753 -290 14 0 0 4 8 -- Matt Kenseth 1,745 -298 14 1 2 4 9 -3 Kyle Busch 1,731 -312 14 1 3 4 10 -- Jeff Burton 1,725 -318 14 0 0 2 11 2 David Reutimann 1,701 -342 14 2 1 3 12 -5 Denny Hamlin 1,679 -364 14 0 0 2 13 -1 Mark Martin 1,678 -365 14 3 2 3 14 -- Kasey Kahne 1,619 -424 14 0 0 1 15 -- Juan Pablo 1,617 -426 14 1 0 0 16 -- Clint Bowyer 1,576 -467 14 0 0 3 17 -- Brian Vickers 1,536 -507 14 2 0 2 18 2 Marcos Ambrose 1,469 -574 14 0 0 1 19 -- Martin Truex Jr. 1,447 -596 14 1 0 0 20 -2 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 1,434 -609 14 0 0 1 21 -- Casey Mears 1,432 -611 14 0 0 0 22 -- Jamie McMurray 1,418 -625 14 0 0 0 23 3 Sam Hornish Jr. 1,371 -672 14 0 0 0 24 1 Reed Sorenson 1,362 -681 14 0 0 0 25 -2 Joey Logano 1,357 -686 14 0 0 0 —Bold line indicates Chase cutoff

MORE COVERAGE from sportingnews.com Results: sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=557743 Standings: sportingnews.com/nascar/standings

T-10 10 9 9 8 7 7 7 6 5 6 4 4 7 4 5 4 5 3 3 3 2 3 3 1 3

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Edwards suggests tweak to double-file restarts

MEL EVANS / AP

Carl Edwards (99) would like a tweak to the restarts so the second-place car doesn’t beat the leader on a restart. BY REID SPENCER [email protected]

LONG POND, PA.—NASCAR’s much-ballyhooed move to double-file “shootout-style” restarts—with the lead-lap cars side-by-side at the front of the field—didn’t play a decisive role in Sunday’s Pocono 500, but race runner-up Carl Edwards got enough experience with the new system to suggest a change. “Let the leader start in his own lane, so he has his own row,” Edwards said. “The leader would have no one beside him—he could start inside, outside, do whatever he wanted—and then the second and third cars start behind him, with the secondplace guy having the option (of lane choice). “I think that would be a better way to do

it. Other than that, I thought it was great. It was fun. I thought it made for exciting racing. So I think that NASCAR is moving in the right direction there.” It’s not likely that NASCAR will make an immediate tweak of that magnitude to the new format, but it would prevent a penalty to the second-place car for beating the leader to the line on a restart. Third-place finisher David Reutimann agreed with Edwards. “I wasn’t close enough to the front to really see what was going on with the leader, but Carl’s right—the leader should at least have the right to be out there,” Reutimann said. “He’s earned the right to be there, and maybe all the rest of us (should) double-up. “I’m sure they will refine it and make it better, but I think it came off pretty good for the first time.”

MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

INSIDE DISH

Johnson calls for better light system A pit-road penalty in Sunday’s Pocono 500 that was all but unavoidable helped spoil a promising run Jimmie Johnson. Johnson was approaching the pit-road commitment line on Lap 103 when caution flew for debris, and the light at the entrance to pit road turned from green to red. Johnson proceeded to his pit but had to restart at the rear of the field on Lap 109 for entering pit road when it was closed. Though he worked his way back to third late in the race, Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet ran out of fuel on the final lap, and he coasted to a seventhplace finish. “We were in great position, and unfortunately, coming to pit road, the caution came out, and I couldn’t see a flagman or lights or anything,” Johnson said. “So hopefully they can look into a little better light system. “I looked for it later and saw it, and there is a very small single light that’s way out from the inside, and I think we need to re-look at those things at all these racetracks that help the guys that are pitting.” — Reid Spencer

Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran 27th in his second race with crew chief Lance McGrew and fell two spots to 20th in the points standings. “We’re building Rome here and … we’re still working on the communication,”

McGrew said. “We’ve just got to do a little better job of figuring out what the track is going to do the next day and make the appropriate changes the night before instead of trying to change it during the race. It’ll come. “We’re going to have some hurdles and there’s going to be some mountains to climb. And we just have to keep our heads up and continue to try to get better. That’s the biggest thing. If you give up, you’re done. “Right now I’m still positive about it. I think there’s a lot of talent on this team, and obviously there’s a lot of talent in the racecar driver. We’ve just got to get him comfortable with what’s under him.” — SceneDaily.com Nationwide Series director Joe Balash said he had “no issues” with Kyle Busch’s guitar-smashing victory celebration after Busch won the Federated Auto Parts 300 on Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway. “There’s absolutely nobody else in this world like Kyle Busch,” Balash said. “He races hard, he celebrates hard. He’s going to jump on his plane tonight, relax a little bit, head to Pocono and race hard again.” Things didn’t go as well at Pocono for Busch: He fought an ill-handling car and finished 22nd. — Lee Montgomery, SceneDaily.com

32

Mechanical problems sink Hamlin, Kurt Busch

CAROLYN KASTER / AP

Kurt Busch (above) had a day just as bad as Denny Hamlin at Pocono. LONG POND, PA.—Denny Hamlin’s day took a turn for the worse before he could complete one lap of Sunday’s Pocono 500. Kurt Busch’s trouble came later—in the form of a broken water pump—but it was equally as crippling. And the end result was a disappointing outcome for two drivers trying to further solidify their position in the top 12 of the standings. Hamlin’s problems were the result of a fuel-pump issue that forced his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to slow moments after taking the green flag. After an extended stay behind the wall for repairs, he returned to the track and finished 38th, 22 laps down. “It was just unacceptable,” crew chief Mike Ford said. “It’s not the first time we’ve had fuel issues—across all three (JGR) cars. It’s just plain unacceptable, and it should never happen. We had a fuel pump lock up and that broke a couple other pieces in the system. It’s one of those things that’s

difficult to troubleshoot in a short amount of time. “What started it was having the fuel pump lock up. It was just a parts failure.” While Hamlin took a hit in the points standings—he fell from seventh to 12th, the last Chase-eligible position—Busch lost one spot as he dropped to fifth. Busch ran among the top 15 for most of the race before his water pump gave way on Lap 129 of 200. Busch finished 37th, 18 laps down, after he too went behind the wall for repairs. “It was just a bad day,” Busch said. “We fought a tight condition for most of the first half of the race. We had a spring rubber pop out of the right rear. We kept working on it, but (the car) just wanted to plow into the wall. Then I heard something just blow off—a loud poof. I hit pit road immediately. It was a broken water pump and we sheered the pulley. … Just a bad day all around.” — SceneDaily.com

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Woods: ‘I knew I could do this’ DUBLIN, OHIO—Two holes, two towering shots, two clutch birdies. Just like that, Tiger Woods broke out of a four-way tie and won the Memorial on Sunday with a 7-under 65 to cap off a high-charged comeback. And just as suddenly, he silenced the skeptics who wondered if he was ready to defend his title in the U.S. Open in two weeks at Bethpage Black. “I knew I could do this,” Woods said after birdies on the final two holes gave him a one-shot victory. “I was close to winning, but the game wasn’t quite there when I really needed it on Sunday. I rectified that.” First came a 9-iron at No. 17 that Woods launched as high as he could, allowing the ball to land softly on the top shelf of a rock-hard green for a 9-foot birdie putt. More brilliance followed on the 18th, when Woods hit a 7-iron from 183 yards that stopped a foot from the hole, wrapping up his fourth title at Muirfield Village. Then came a bold observation by tournament host Jack Nicklaus. He had said earlier in the week that Woods, with 14 career majors, would probably break his record of 18 majors in a couple of years. “I suspect No. 15 will come for Tiger Woods in about two weeks,” Nicklaus said at the trophy presentation. “If he drives the ball this way, and plays this way, I’m sure it will. And if not, it will surprise me greatly.” There were no surprises Sunday for Woods, the best sign of all. He hit the ball where he was aiming and found every fairway in the final round, the first time he had done that on the PGA Tour in more

MIKE MUNDEN / AP

Tiger Woods made a statement Sunday with a final-round 65 that gave him a one-shot win. than five years. He missed only five fairways all week, his best performance off the tee since the 1998 Masters. “It was nice to play this well going into the U.S. Open,” Woods said. “This is how you have to hit it in order to win U.S. Opens.” He managed to work in some of Muirfield Village magic along the way, surging into contention by chipping in for eagle from a nasty lie in thick rough behind the 11th green. “I don’t even know how to describe it,” said Michael Letzig, who played with Woods. “It was the best golf I’d ever seen.” Jim Furyk, part of the four-way tie on the back nine, made a 20-foot birdie putt on the final hole that

gave him a 69 and allowed him to finish alone in second. Furyk is close friends in Woods, and had been hearing the speculation that Woods was not the same. “I just wish you all would just quick (ticking) him off ... so he has to come back and keep proving stuff,” Furyk said. “I think he answered a lot of questions today.” Woods finished at 12-under 276 and won for the 67th time in his career. The timing could not have been better. He was within one shot of the lead going in to the back nine at Quail Hollow and made nothing better than par for a 72. He played in the final group at The Players Championship, couldn’t find a fairway and closed with a 73. — The Associated Press

MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

NOTEBOOK

Leaderboard Sunday

At Muirfield Village Golf Club Dublin, Ohio Purse: $6 million Yardage: 7,366; Par: 72 (FedExCup points in parentheses; a-amateur) Tiger Woods (500), $1,080,000 Jim Furyk (300), $648,000 Jonathan Byrd (163), $348,000 Mark Wilson (163), $348,000 Matt Kuchar (100), $219,000 Davis Love III (100), $219,000 Matt Bettencourt (100), $219,000 Stewart Cink (83), $180,000 Ernie Els (83), $180,000 Will MacKenzie (70), $150,000 Mike Weir (70), $150,000 Geoff Ogilvy (70), $150,000 K.J. Choi (60), $126,000 Jerry Kelly (53), $90,133 Nick Watney (53), $90,133 Daniel Chopra (53), $90,133 Ryuji Imada (53), $90,133 Chris DiMarco (53), $90,133 Dustin Johnson (53), $90,133 Hunter Mahan (53), $90,133 Luke Donald (53), $90,133 Michael Letzig (53), $90,133 Kevin Sutherland (47), $55,200 Alex Cejka (47), $55,200 Steve Marino (47), $55,200 Bubba Watson (47), $55,200 Kenny Perry (41), $40,800 Woody Austin (41), $40,800 Charl Schwartzel (0), $40,800 Steve Stricker (41), $40,800 Mathew Goggin (41), $40,800 Jason Day (41), $40,800 Rod Pampling (41), $40,800 Camilo Villegas (37), $33,150 Kevin Na (37), $33,150 Ted Purdy (33), $28,260 Richard Sterne (0), $28,260 Jeff Overton (33), $28,260 Jose Maria Olazabal (33), $28,260 Troy Matteson (33), $28,260 Steve Flesch (29), $22,800 Y.E. Yang (29), $22,800 Robert Allenby (29), $22,800 Ben Curtis (29), $22,800 Johnson Wagner (25), $18,600 Tom Lehman (25), $18,600 Lucas Glover (25), $18,600 Jeff Quinney (21), $15,264 Lee Janzen (21), $15,264 Charley Hoffman (21), $15,264 Webb Simpson (21), $15,264 D.J. Trahan (21), $15,264 Ian Poulter (16), $13,890 John Senden (16), $13,890 Martin Kaymer (0), $13,890 Tom Pernice, Jr. (16), $13,890 a-Reinier Saxton Nicholas Thompson (11), $13,320 Zach Johnson (11), $13,320 David Duval (11), $13,320 Marc Leishman (11), $13,320 Steve Lowery (11), $13,320 Brett Quigley (6), $12,660 Tim Herron (6), $12,660 Nick O’Hern (6), $12,660 George McNeill (6), $12,660 Paul Casey (6), $12,660 Chez Reavie (6), $12,660 Jeff Klauk (1), $12,120 Mark Brooks (1), $12,120 Bill Haas (1), $12,120 Stuart Appleby (1), $11,820 D.A. Points (1), $11,820 Scott McCarron (1), $11,580 Marc Turnesa (1), $11,580 Rocco Mediate (1), $11,340 Erik Compton (0), $11,340

69-74-68-65—276 67-70-71-69—277 69-68-71-72—280 68-70-69-73—280 73-67-71-71—282 72-68-69-73—282 71-68-68-75—282 68-72-72-71—283 70-70-71-72—283 70-73-73-68—284 69-69-75-71—284 72-74-63-75—284 73-70-72-70—285 72-72-75-67—286 73-71-74-68—286 72-69-73-72—286 70-69-74-73—286 73-67-73-73—286 73-68-72-73—286 74-69-70-73—286 64-76-72-74—286 72-70-69-75—286 69-75-73-70—287 73-68-73-73—287 68-72-73-74—287 71-71-70-75—287 72-73-75-68—288 75-70-73-70—288 72-68-77-71—288 70-74-73-71—288 73-73-70-72—288 67-73-75-73—288 69-71-74-74—288 71-74-73-71—289 71-72-73-73—289 67-79-75-69—290 74-71-74-71—290 76-69-71-74—290 74-74-68-74—290 69-73-71-77—290 73-75-74-69—291 73-72-74-72—291 72-76-68-75—291 71-71-72-77—291 69-74-76-73—292 71-74-74-73—292 75-69-72-76—292 75-72-74-72—293 72-73-75-73—293 71-72-76-74—293 73-71-73-76—293 73-74-69-77—293 75-71-74-74—294 71-74-74-75—294 71-76-72-75—294 71-74-73-76—294 69-75-72-78—294 69-75-78-73—295 71-73-75-76—295 71-74-74-76—295 74-74-70-77—295 76-71-71-77—295 74-73-78-71—296 75-73-76-72—296 73-73-76-74—296 76-69-75-76—296 73-70-75-78—296 71-74-72-79—296 76-71-79-73—299 75-73-76-75—299 74-72-77-76—299 72-74-76-78—300 75-70-75-80—300 74-74-82-71—301 72-73-78-78—301 73-70-81-78—302 72-75-74-81—302

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Ballesteros to be honored in ’10 -12 -11 -8 -8 -6 -6 -6 -5 -5 -4 -4 -4 -3 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -1 -1 -1 -1 E E E E E E E +1 +1 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +3 +3 +3 +3 +4 +4 +4 +5 +5 +5 +5 +5 +6 +6 +6 +6 +6 +7 +7 +7 +7 +7 +8 +8 +8 +8 +8 +8 +11 +11 +11 +12 +12 +13 +13 +14 +14

Each year the Memorial Tournament singles out players or contributors for their achievements in and gifts to the game. In 2010 it will honor one of the most colorful and beloved international stars, Seve Ballesteros. Ballesteros, fighting a cancerous brain tumor, won a record 50 times on the European tour, including three British Open championships. The first European to win the Masters, in 1980, the Spaniard twice won the green jacket and was the youngest winner at Augusta until Tiger Woods’ first victory in 1997. His 1988 British Open victory featured his usual wizardry around the greens, capped by a chip from behind the 18th green that finished inches from the cup. “I knew at the time I won the Open in 1988 that I had reached some sort of peak, that it was a round of golf that I would think fondly about for the rest of my life,” he said. He will be invited to come to Muirfield Village the week of the Memorial. If his health allows him to make the trip, it will be his first time at the course since he won four points for the winning European side in the 1987 Ryder Cup matches.

Déjà vu again One highlight that gets shown more than others at the Memorial is Tiger Woods’ chip-in for par from behind the 14th green in 1999, his first of four wins at Muirfield Village. Maybe some have seen it too much. He was in deep rough behind

the 11th green Sunday, facing a slick green that ran away from him. A Memorial Tournament official walked by a TV screen as Woods stood over the chip and said, “Oh, is this the one he chips in?” Woods took a chop at it, with a one-handed follow-through and the ball dropped for eagle. “Yep,” the gentleman said as he walked away.

Catching a plane Scott McCarron, playing as a single and the first player off the tee, raced around Muirfield Village in 2 hours, 9 minutes—what his caddie Bradley Whittle was told was an unofficial Memorial speed record. Know how the contenders say it takes time to look over putts on the fast greens at Muirfield Village? McCarron, who shot a 71, said he had his best putting day of the week and barely glanced at them. “I took absolutely no time” on the greens, he said. “The only time I actually took some time was on 8 and I four-putted.” He wished he had concentrated a bit more on holes 8, 9 and 12, where he was a combined 15 over for the week; on the other 60 holes he was 2 under. McCarron needed to step on the gas. He had a 12:15 p.m. flight to Memphis where he was scheduled for two quick practice rounds later Sunday on the courses where he’ll play in Monday’s U.S. Open sectional qualifier. — The Associated Press

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College Baseball

MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

NCAA SUPER REGIONALS

34

Super Regionals glance All times ET (Best-of-3)

Spence’s pitching locks up return trip to Series for ASU

At Dick Howser Stadium

TEMPE, ARIZ.—Josh Spence threw a four-hitter and struck out 10, Jason Kipnis’ two-run single keyed a fiverun fifth inning and Arizona State beat Clemson 8-2 on Sunday night to advance to the College World Series for the third time in five seasons. Spence, a junior left-hander hampered by a hand injury late in the season, retired the first 11 batters he faced and walked one in his second complete game of the year. He improved to 9-1 while winning for the first time in 51 days. Kipnis, the Pacific-10 player of the year, singled off Clemson starter Chris Dwyer (5-6) to drive in the first two runs in the Sun Devils’ five-run fifth. Kole Calhoun had a two-run double and Matt Newman had a run-scoring double in the inning. Arizona State (48-12) will make its 21st College World Series appearance, tied with Southern California for third in NCAA history. Arizona State has won five titles, tied with LSU for third. Jeff Schaus hit his 13th homer for Clemson (44-21).

Arkansas advances to College World Series

Arizona State 000 050 003 — 8 12 0 Clemson 000 100 001 — 2 4 2 Spence and Ramirez Dwyer, Vaughn (5) and Nester. W: Spence 9-1. L: Dwyer 5-6. HR: Clemson, Schaus (13).

Southern Miss 7, Florida 6 GAINESVILLE, FLA.—Joey Archer drove in three runs, reliever Scott Copeland pitched three scoreless innings and Southern Mississippi beat Florida to advance to the College World Series for the first time in school history.

The Golden Eagles (40-24), the surprise of the NCAA tournament, overcame a five-run deficit to win for the 12th time in 15 games. The hot streak started shortly after coach Corky Palmer announced his retirement. Now, he’ll get a storybook send-off in Omaha, Neb. Archer had an RBI double in the fourth, then drove in two runs with a single in the three-run eighth off Billy Bullock (3-3). Tyler Koelling followed with a grounder to shortstop that should’ve been an endinginning double play with the game tied at 6. But first baseman Preston Tucker couldn’t field the throw that skipped in the dirt.

instate rival to clinch the super regional title. Warren (9-2) allowed eight hits and three runs in 7 1/3 innings against the Pirates (46-20). Pirates starter Kevin Brandt (9-2)—who held the Tar Heels to five hits in 8 1/3 shutout innings in an April victory—took the loss after allowing six hits and three runs in five innings. With the win, North Carolina also became the first ACC school to reach the College World Series, a bowl game and the men’s basketball Final Four in the same season. North Carolina 002 005 101 — 9 13 0 East Carolina 000 000 030 — 3 10 0 Warren, Moran (8) and Fleury Brandt, Mincey (6), Simmons (6), Somers (7), Daniels (9) and Avchen, Wright (9). W: Warren, 9-2. L: Brandt, 9-2. HRs: North Carolina, Ackley (22), Gore (6).

Florida 114 000 000 — 6 8 0 Southern Miss 100 210 03x — 7 7 0 McInnis, Copeland (6) and Graves and Maxie (5). Maronde, Larson (4), Davis (4), Bullock (8) and Munroe. W: Copeland, 2-5. L: Bullock, 3-3. Sv: Cargill (13). HRs: Florida, Tucker (15), McArthur (3). Southern Miss, Davis (14), Ewing (4).

Virginia 5, Mississippi 1 OXFORD, MISS.—Virginia is headed to its first College World Series after beating Mississippi to win the super regional series. Matt Packer, in his third appearance of the series, and three others combined for 10 strikeouts and allowed just seven hits as the Cavaliers (48-13-1) set the school record for wins in a season. Virginia improved to 5-1 since the NCAA tournament began and has done it with pitching, allowing just nine earned runs. The Rebels (44-20) have lost four straight super regionals over the last five seasons. The Cavaliers took advantage of three errors and stole six bases,

PHIL SANDLIN / AP

Southern Mississippi’s Adam Doleac, left, slides safely into home to tie the game at 6-6 against Florida in the eighth inning. The Eagles eventually won the game, 7-6. while the Rebels stranded eight runners and were 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position. Ole Miss had just one runner advance past second base after falling behind 1-0 in the first. Mississippi 100 000 000 — 1 7 3 Virginia 000 130 01x — 5 9 2 Baker (5), McKean (7) and Morgan Poutier (3), Wilson (6), Packer (8) and Arico. W: Wilson, 9-3. L: Baker, 4-3.

North Carolina 9, East Carolina 3 CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—Dustin Ackley hit a three-run homer and Adam Warren took a shutout into the eighth inning to help North Carolina beat East Carolina and clinch its fourth straight trip to the College World Series. The Tar Heels (47-16) swept the best-of-three series against their

TCU 3, Texas 2 AUSTIN, TEXAS—Matt Vern and Matt Carpenter each hit home runs and TCU edged top national seed Texas to force a deciding third game in the super regional. Vern hit a two-run shot in the fourth inning off Texas starter Cole Green to give the Horned Frogs (4017) a quick lead. Carpenter made it 3-0 with his solo homer off Green (5-3) in the sixth. The teams meet again tonight, with the winner advancing to the College World Series. Texas (45-14-1) got within a run on Preston Clark’s RBI single in the seventh and Brandon Belt’s run-scoring single in the eighth. Texas 000 000 110 — 2 6 0 TCU 000 201 00x — 3 7 1 Green, Dicharry (8), Wood (8) and Rupp Gerrish, Marshall (8) and Holaday. W: Gerrish, 6-2. L: Green, 5-3. Sv: Marshall (9). HRs: TCU, Carpenter (11), Vern (17).

— The Associated Press

Tallahassee, Fla. Friday Arkansas 7, Florida State 2 Saturday Arkansas 9, Florida State 8

At Alex Box Stadium Baton Rouge, La. Friday LSU 12, Rice 9 Saturday LSU 5, Rice 3

LSU advances to College World Series

At UFCU Disch-Falk Field

Austin, Texas Saturday Texas 10, TCU 4 Sunday TCU 3, Texas 2 Today TCU (40-17) vs. Texas (45-14-1), 7 p.m.

At McKethan Stadium

Gainesville, Fla. Saturday Southern Mississippi 9, Florida 7 Sunday Southern Mississippi 7, Florida 6, Southern Mississippi advances

At Boshamer Stadium

Chapel Hill, N.C. Saturday North Carolina 10, East Carolina 1 Sunday North Carolina 9, East Carolina 3, North Carolina advances

At Packard Stadium

Tempe, Ariz. Saturday Arizona State 7, Clemson 4 Sunday Arizona State 8, Clemson 2, Arizona State advances

At Oxford-University Stadium Oxford, Miss. Friday Mississippi 4, Virginia 3, 12 innings Saturday Virginia 4, Mississippi 3 Sunday Virginia 5, Mississippi 1, Virginia advances

At Goodwin Field

Fullerton, Calif. Friday Cal State Fullerton 12, Louisville 0 Saturday Cal State Fullerton 11, Louisville 2 Cal State Fullerton advances to College World Series

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Tennis

MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

35

FRENCH OPEN

Federer savors career-defining victory PARIS—Oh, how Roger Federer savored every moment with his first French Open trophy. He raised it overhead. He cradled it in the crook of his elbow. He closed his eyes and kissed it. He examined the names of other champions etched on its base. Even in a downpour on Court Philippe Chatrier, as heavy, gray clouds blocked any shred of sunlight Sunday, that silver trophy sure seemed to glisten. Finally, the lone major championship that had eluded Federer was his. With his latest masterful performance, Federer tied Pete Sampras’ record of 14 major singles titles and became the sixth man to complete a career Grand Slam. History was at stake, and Federer was at his best, outplaying No. 23-seeded Robin Soderling of Sweden en route to a 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-4 victory in a French Open final that lacked suspense but not significance. “Maybe my greatest victory—or certainly the one that takes the most pressure off my shoulders,” Federer said in French, moments after dropping to his knees, caking them with clay, as his 127 mph service winner ended the match. “I think that now, and until the end of my career, I can really play with my mind at peace and no longer hear that I’ve never won at Roland Garros.” Federer came heartbreakingly close in the past, losing the previous three French Open finals, so there certainly was something poetic about his tying Sampras’ Grand Slam mark at this particular tournament, on this particular court. Rafael Nadal beat Federer at Roland Garros in the 2006-08 finals and the 2005 semifinals, but his 31-match French Open winning streak ended this year with a fourth-round loss to the hard-hitting Soderling. “I knew the day Rafa won’t be in the finals, I will be there, and I will win. I always knew that, and I believed in it. That’s

Q&A with … tennis great Pete Sampras

‘I’m in good company with Roger’ ATPWorldTour.com caught up with Pete Sampras after Roger Federer matched his record of 14 Grand Slam titles:

Q:

How does it feel to share your record and once you retired with 14, did you think it would be less than seven years before your record would be matched? I didn’t think it would only take seven years to tie it. It feels like I’m in good company with Roger. If there was someone I would want to be tied with and maybe one day my record to be broken, I hoped it would be someone like Roger.

Pete Sampras was the first to win 14 Grand Slams.

Q:

A:

A:

BERNAT ARMANGUE / AP

Until Sunday’s win over Robin Soderling, Roger Federer was 0-3 in his career in French Open title matches. exactly what happened,” the second-seeded Federer said. “It’s funny. I didn’t hope for it. But I believed in it.” Sunday, Federer showed off the athleticism and artistry that carried him to five championships at Wimbledon, the last five at the U.S. Open and three at the Australian Open. Federer hit more aces than Soderling, 16-2. He broke Soderling four times. He won 40 of the first 47 points on his serve. He won five points with delicate drop shots. Soderling never really stood a chance, not against Federer, not on this day, not on this stage. “You really gave me a lesson in how to play tennis,” Soderling told Federer. — The Associated Press

All-time Grand Slam leaders Pete Sampras Roger Federer Roy Emerson Bjorn Borg Rod Laver Bill Tilden Andre Agassi Jimmy Connors Ivan Lendl Fred Perry Ken Rosewall

AUS FREN WIM U.S. 2 7 5 3 1 5 5 6 2 2 2 6 5 3 2 4 2 3 7 4 1 1 2 1 2 5 2 3 3 1 1 3 3 4 2 2

TOT 14 14 12 11 11 10 8 8 8 8 8

Now that he’s reached 14, how many do you think Roger will end up with before he retires? It’s hard to put a number on it. But now, I know it’s a different sport, he might have his eyes on (Jack) Nicklaus’ 18 Grand Slams record.

A:

Q: A:

Could you talk about Roger’s amazing stretch of reaching 15 of the past 16 Grand Slam finals? It’s incredible. I never would have thought that some one would be as consistent as Lendl’s eight consecutive US Open finals. But this surpasses it and to do it on all surfaces, it’s a reflection of his game and his career.

Q:

What about Roger’s performance in Paris to complete a career Grand Slam, to pull out two five-setters and win a couple of other tight matches. Did you follow his matches throughout the tournament?

SIMON DAWSON / AP

I followed his results and saw some highlights. People were saying that he was struggling, but as great players normally do, they find a way to win. I believe in destiny and it was Roger’s time to win in Paris.

Q:

You had Andre (Agassi) and Roger has had Nadal as main rivals. What do you think it would have been like if both of you were out there playing in the same era? I think when you have two great players, playing at the same time. I think I would have had my fair share of wins, and he would have had his fair share of wins. We have similar temperaments and contrasting styles of play, which would have made for a great rivalry. Our rivalry potentially would have transcended the sport.

A:

Q: A:

Will you come to Wimbledon if he’s in the final? TBD...

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Tennis

MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009

36

Comparing the great ones

Federer by the numbers

Federer captured his first French Open title to improve to 14-5 lifetime in Grand Slam finals, tying Pete Sampras for the most Grand Slam titles in men’s tennis. He earned his 14th title in his 40th career Slam tournament while Sampras collected his 14th crown in his 52nd career Slam event. Federer also would have accomplished the feat in a span less than seven years (in 24 Slams from 1st to 14th) while Sampras needed 13 years (in 45 Slams from 1st to 14th).

Roger Federer’s win at Roland Garros gives him a record-tying 14 Grand Slams. With that figure in mind, here’s a look at the 27-year-old’s career so far.

1 2 3 4 5

Roland Garros title (2009) and Rafael Nadal (only player he’s lost to in a Grand Slam final) Ranking at time of Roland Garros title (also ’04 Australian Open) Australian Open titles won (2004, ’06-07)

Times reached final (minimum) in each of the Grand Slam tournaments

Age at 14th Grand Slam Title

ROGER FEDERER

PETE SAMPRAS

27

31

Attempts needed 40th to win 14th G.S. Title

52nd

Grand Slam Finals record

14-5

14-4

Span to win 14th Grand Slam title

24 Slam Tourn. in less than 7 years

45 Slam Tourn. in 13 years

Grand Slam breakdown

175-26

203-38

Australian Open

47-7 (3 titles)

45-9 (2 titles)

Roland Garros

39-10 (1 title)

24-13 (SF)

Wimbledon

44-5 (5 titles)

63-7 (7 titles)

U.S. Open

45-4 (5 titles)

71-9 (5 titles)

Career record

650-155 (.807)

762-222 (.774)

Career titles

59

64

Weeks at No. 1

237

286

Year-end ATP World Tour Champions (No. 1)

4 times

6 times

Wimbledon (2003-2007) and US Open (2004-2008) titles won and number of times he’s lost to Nadal in Slam finals

6

Sets lost during his title run at Roland Garros, the most of his Grand Slam titles, and how many different players to complete a career Grand Slam

7 8

Hard court titles between US Open (5) and Australian Open (3); Losses in his streak of 20 consecutive semi-final or better Grand Slam appearances

9

Countries of opponents he’s beaten in Grand Slam finals (Australia, Chile, Cyprus, Great Britain, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, and U.S.)

10 11

Record consecutive Grand Slam finals reached between 2005 Wimbledon and 2007 US Open

Appearances at Roland Garros before winning first title (same as Andre Agassi) and number of different opponents he’s beaten in Grand Slam finals

12 13

Titles won in his streak of 20 consecutive semifinal or better Grand Slam appearances

Last year’s US Open where Federer won his previous Grand Slam title; 2000 Wimbledon where Sampras won his

BERNAT ARMANGUE / AP Source: ATPWorldTour.com

Consecutive years of winning at least one Grand Slam title

Sunday was an emotional day for Roger Federer—he tied Pete Sampras’ record for 14 major titles and completed his own career Grand Slam.

14

Ties Pete Sampras for the most Grand Slam singles titles in the history of men’s tennis

Source: ATPWorldTour.com

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IN BRIEF

NHRA

Merritt shines fresh off Olympics Major League Soccer EASTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts GF GA Chicago 5 2 6 21 20 17 D.C. 4 2 7 19 20 17 Columbus 3 2 7 16 17 17 Kansas City 4 5 4 16 16 16 New England 4 3 4 16 14 17 Toronto FC 4 5 4 16 17 21 New York 2 9 3 9 12 22 WESTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts GF GA Chivas USA 8 2 3 27 18 9 Houston 6 2 3 21 15 7 Seattle 4 3 5 17 15 10 Colorado 4 2 5 17 17 14 Los Angeles 2 1 9 15 15 14 Real Salt Lake 3 6 3 12 16 16 FC Dallas 2 6 4 10 14 19 San Jose 2 7 3 9 14 248 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. June 6 Saturday’s Games Los Angeles 2, Toronto FC 1 Chicago at D.C. United, 7:30 p.m. Columbus 2, Kansas City 0 New York at Toronto FC, 8 p.m. Real Salt Lake 1, Colorado 1, tie Houston at FC Dallas, 8:30 p.m. Chivas USA 1, Seattle FC 0 New England at Kansas City, Sunday’s Games 8:30 p.m. FC Dallas 2, San Jose 2, tie Real Salt Lake at Los Angeles, New England 4, New York 0 10:30 p.m. Wednesday’s Games San Jose at Seattle FC, 10:30 Chivas USA at Houston, 8:30 p.m. p.m. Sunday, June 14 Chivas USA at Columbus, 3 p.m.

WNBA

All Times ET EASTERN CONFERENCE Washington Atlanta Connecticut Chicago Detroit New York Indiana

W 2 1 1 0 0 0 0

L 0 1 1 1 1 1 2

Pct 1.000 .500 .500 .000 .000 .000 .000

GB — 1 1 1½ 1½ 1½ 2

W 2 2 1 1 0 0

L 0 0 0 0 1 2

Pct 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 .000 .000

GB — — ½ ½ 1½ 2

WESTERN CONFERENCE Minnesota Seattle Los Angeles Phoenix San Antonio Sacramento June 6 Los Angeles 78, Detroit 58 Seattle 71, Sacramento 61 Washington 82, Connecticut 70 Atlanta 87, Indiana 86, 2OT Minnesota 102, Chicago 85 Phoenix 90, San Antonio 79 Sunday’s Games Washington 77, Atlanta 71 Connecticut 66, New York 57

Minnesota 96, Indiana 74 Seattle 80, Sacramento 70 Today’s Game Los Angeles at Detroit, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday’s Game Seattle at Indiana, 7 p.m.

Golf

LAKEWAY, TEXAS—Bernhard Langer became the first three-time winner on the Champions Tour this season, closing with a 5-under 67 for a six-stroke victory over Mark O’Meara in the Triton Financial Classic NEWPORT, WALES—Denmark’s Jeppe Huldahl won the Wales Open for his first PGA European Tour title, finishing with a 4-under 67 for a one-stroke victory over Sweden’s Niclas Fasth at Celtic Manor.

Boxing KINDER, LA.—George Foreman III won in his professional debut, stopping

Rookie picks up first victory JOLIET, ILL.—Top Fuel rookie Spencer Massey raced to his first career victory Sunday in the NHRA Route 66 Nationals, beating points leader and No. 1 qualifier Antron Brown in the final. Massey, driving for NHRA great Don “The Snake” Prudhomme, finished in 3.856 seconds at 308.35 mph to edges Brown, whose dragster trailed with a 3.870 at 301.54. “This whole season has been a dream,” Massey said. “I’ve been watching NHRA racing and wanting to drive a Top Fuel dragster in the NHRA since I

EUGENE, ORE.—Olympic gold medalist LaShawn Merritt bested his own Hayward Field record by winning the seldom-run 300 meters in 31.30 seconds Sunday in the Prefontaine Classic. Merritt, who won gold in the 400 last summer in Beijing, surpassed his own mark of 31.31 at the venerated track in 2006. He also topped the Prefontaine-best 32.19 set by Jason Rouser in 1994. Fellow Americans Xavier Carter was second in 31.93, and Wallace Spearmon was third in 32.14.

SPRINGFIELD, ILL.—In-Kyung Kim birdied two of the final three holes to beat Hall of Famer Se Ri Pak by a stroke in the State Farm Classic. Kim shot a 7-under 65 to finish at 17-under 271 on the Panther Creek course, giving the 20-year-old South Korean player her second LPGA Tour victory along with a big boost heading into the LPGA Championship next week at Bulle Rock.

37

DON RYAN /AP

LaShawn Merritt easily won the 300-meter dash at Sunday’s Prefontaine Classic. Clyde Weaver at 1:16 of the first round Saturday night at Coushatta Casino Resort. Foreman, the 26-year-old son of two-time world heavyweight champion George Foreman, floored Weaver with a left hook to the chin. Earlier, the 6-foot-5, 236-pound Foreman knocked Weaver (0-2) down with a left hook to the body.

Auto racing ISTANBUL—Brawn GP’s Jenson Button won the Turkish Grand Prix on Sunday for his sixth victory in seven Formula One races. Button overtook pole sitter Sebastian Vettel on the first lap following a mistake by the Red Bull driver and held on for a 6.7-second win over Red Bull’s Mark Webber. — The Associated Press

was 4 years old and saw my first race. I watched Don Prudhomme win his last Top Fuel race in Dallas in 1994, and now he’s highfiving me in the winner’s circle. That’s unbelievable.” Tony Pedregon, Jeg Coughlin and Matt Guidera also won their categories in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event. Pedregon earned his first Funny Car win of the season and moved to second place in the point standings by cruising past Ashley Force Hood. — The Associated Press

Results

Wells. 14. Joe DeSantis. 15. Mike Berry. 16. David Hope.

Sunday At Route 66 Raceway Joliet, Ill. Final Order Top Fuel 1. Spencer Massey. 2. Antron Brown. 3. Larry Dixon. 4. Clay Millican. 5. Rod Fuller. 6. Brandon Bernstein. 7. Terry Haddock. 8. Morgan Lucas. 9. Cory McClenathan. 10. J.R. Todd. 11. Troy Buff. 12. Joe Hartley. 13. Luigi Novelli. 14. Doug Kalitta. 15. Tony Schumacher. 16. Shawn Langdon. Funny Car 1. Tony Pedregon, Chevy Impala. 2. Ashley Force Hood. 3. Mike Neff. 4. Cruz Pedregon. 5. Robert Hight. 6. Tim Wilkerson. 7. Bob Tasca III. 8. John Force. 9. Matt Hagan. 10. Jack Beckman. 11. Jim Head. 12. Del Worsham. 13. Ron Capps. 14. Bob Bode. 15. Jerry Toliver. 16. Jeff Arend. Pro Stock 1. Jeg Coughlin, Chevy Cobalt. 2. Mike Edwards. 3. Greg Anderson. 4. Kurt Johnson. 5. Allen Johnson. 6. Johnny Gray. 7. Warren Johnson. 8. Greg Stanfield. 9. Ron Krisher. 10. Jason Line. 11. Justin Humphreys. 12. David Beckley. 13. Rickie Jones. 14. Ryan Ondrejko. 15. Rodger Brogdon. 16. Ronnie Humphrey. Pro Stock Motorcycle 1. Matt Guidera. 2. Eddie Krawiec. 3. Andrew Hines. 4. Steve Johnson. 5. Matt Smith. 6. Doug Horne. 7. Michael Phillips. 8. Katie Sullivan. 9. Karen Stoffer. 10. Hector Arana. 11. Craig Treble. 12. Shawn Gann. 13. Wesley

Finals Top Fuel Spencer Massey, 3.856 seconds, 308.35 mph def. Antron Brown, 3.870 seconds, 301.54 mph. Funny Car Tony Pedregon, Chevy Impala, 4.114, 303.78 def. Ashley Force Hood, Ford Mustang, 7.780, 87.91. Pro Stock Jeg Coughlin, Chevy Cobalt, 6.663, 207.30 def. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, foul. Pro Stock Motorcycle Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.096, 181.79 def. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 7.189, 179.66. Top Alcohol Dragster Jim Whiteley, 5.321, 264.03 def. Brandon Lewis, 9.176, 82.86. Top Alcohol Funny Car Frank Manzo, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.570, 258.96 def. Steve Harker, Monte Carlo, 11.394, 70.80. Competition Eliminator Sal Biondo, Chevy Beretta, 8.242, 161.17 def. Todd Patterson, Chevy Cobalt, 7.732, 175.75. Super Stock Chris Chaney, Chevy Cavalier, 9.690, 130.13 def. Jeff Niceswanger, Chevy Camaro, 10.029, 124.41. Stock Eliminator Adam Davis, Chevy Camaro, 11.188, 110.98 def. John Shaul, Plymouth Fury, 10.116, 129.65. Super Comp Kari Larson, Dragster, 8.896, 166.09

def. Brian Forrester, Dragster, foul. Super Gas Mike Sawyer, Chevy Cavalier, 10.002, 162.18 def. Rock Haas, Chevy Corvette, 10.236, 128.57. Super Street Ryan Giacone, Ford Thunderbird, 10.953, 137.05 def. Chuck Lowry, Chevy Camaro, 10.960, 135.76. Standings (After 10 of 24 events) Top Fuel 1. Antron Brown, 770. 2. Tony Schumacher, 752. 3. Brandon Bernstein, 701. 4. Larry Dixon, 650. 5. Cory McClenathan, 595. 6. Morgan Lucas, 576. 7. Spencer Massey, 560. 8. Shawn Langdon, 556. 9. Doug Kalitta, 475. 10. Clay Millican, 397. Funny Car 1. Ron Capps, 760. 2. Tony Pedregon, 702. 3. Ashley Force Hood, 700. 4. Del Worsham, 641. 5. Jack Beckman, 584. 6. Tim Wilkerson, 553. 7. (tie) Matt Hagan, 513. Bob Tasca III, 513. 9. John Force, 507. 10. Cruz Pedregon, 494. Pro Stock 1. Jeg Coughlin, 905. 2. Mike Edwards, 812. 3. Jason Line, 748. 4. Greg Anderson, 727. 5. Allen Johnson, 607. 6. Greg Stanfield, 535. 7. Kurt Johnson, 497. 8. Ron Krisher, 463. 9. Rickie Jones, 420. 10. Warren Johnson, 384. Pro Stock Motorcycle 1. Eddie Krawiec, 433. 2. Andrew Hines, 382. 3. Matt Smith, 380. 4. Douglas Horne, 349. 5. Hector Arana, 319. 6. Craig Treble, 311. 7. Matt Guidera, 280. 8. (tie) Shawn Gann, 241. Steve Johnson, 241. 10. Karen Stoffer, 211.

TRANSACTIONS BASEBALL American League BALTIMORE ORIOLES: Placed SS Cesar Izturis on the 15-day DL, retroactive to June 4. Purchased the contract of INF Oscar Salazar from Norfolk (IL). SEATTLE MARINERS: Recalled C Jamie Burke from Tacoma (PCL). Designated RHP Denny Stark for assignment. National League ATLANTA BRAVES: Placed 1B Casey Kotchman on the 15-day DL, retroactive to June 1. LOS ANGELES DODGERS: Placed LHP Eric Milton on the 15-day DL, retroactive to June 6. Recalled INF Blake DeWitt from Albuquerque (PCL). Eastern League TRENTON THUNDER: Announced C Ryan Baker was assigned from Staten Island (NYP) and OF Seth Fortenberry was assigned to Staten Island. American Association LINCOLN SALTDOGS: Released C Lee Rubin. SIOUX FALLS CANARIES: Signed C Ken Lup. Can-Am League SUSSEX SKYHAWKS: Released RHP TJ Stanton. FOOTBALL Canadian Football League BRITISH COLUMBIA LIONS: Placed OL Sherko Haji-Rasouli, OL Martin Bibla, WR Anthony Russo, WR Jason Jones and DB Trestin George on the suspended list. EDMONTON ESKIMOS: Placed DL Adam Braidwood on the nine-game injured list. SASKETCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS: Placed LS Jocelyn Frenette on the suspended list and DB LeRon Mitchell on the ninegame injured list. TORONTO ARGONAUTS: Signed RB Jarrett Payton and WR Todd Lowber. Placed DB Brad Crawford and DE Clifford Dukes on the suspended list. WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS: Signed S Ian Logan to a contract extension and DB Ronyell Whitaker. COLLEGE TULSA: Announced men’s basketball G Scottie Haralson is transferring from Connecticut.