sportingnews - 20090516

Wayman Tisdale had “the

biggest heart—and an even bigger

smile,” Reggie Miller said Friday,

still shocked that the Oklahoma

legend, 12-year NBA forward and

accomplished jazz musician had

lost his battle with cancer at 44.

How good was Tisdale?

10 Three-time AP All-

Americans, an exclusive

club Tisdale and Georgetown’s

Patrick Ewing both joined in 1985.

“He made you wish he was on your

team,” former Missouri coach Norm

Stewart told SN Today.

23 Tisdale’s retired OU jersey

number, which Blake

Griffin received permission to wear.

He did Tisdale proud, winning SN’s

2008-09 player of the year award.

“I spoke with him pretty frequently

this past season and he helped me

in ways he probably doesn’t even

know,” Griffin said. “He’s touched

so many lives.”

2,661 Points he piled

up in just three

seasons at OU, still a school record.

So are his 1,048 rebounds. Said

former Sooners star Stacey King:

“I wanted to be part of something

special and it made logical sense

to go to OU because I wanted to

pattern my game after him.”

WESTERN CONFERENCERockets at Lakers: (Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)Amazing run for Houston, but the Lakers just have too much talent.

Prediction: Lakers

EASTERN CONFERENCEMagic at Celtics: (Sunday, 8 p.m. ET, TNT) The Celtics have been here before. The Magic haven’t.

Prediction: Celtics— Sean Deveney

Cavs sit and wait, Page 8

PHELAN M. EBENHACK / AP

Magic’s Dwight Howard

NBA PLAYOFFS

Magnificent 7s

Tributes: Norm Stewart, Reggie Miller, Billy Packer, Pages 4-5

SATURDAY

MAY 16, 2009

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME

VOLUME 1 ISSUE 298

ScoreboardBaseball American LeagueN.Y. Yankees 5, Minnesota 4Toronto 8, Chicago White Sox 3Tampa Bay 8, Cleveland 7Texas 10, L.A. Angels 8Detroit 14, Oakland 1Seattle 5, Boston 4Kansas City 8, Baltimore 1

National LeagueColorado 3, Pittsburgh 1Atlanta 4, Arizona 3L.A. Dodgers 6, Florida 4Philadelphia 10, Washington 6, 12 inningsSan Diego 5, Cincinnati 3N.Y. Mets 8, San Francisco 6Houston at Chicago, ppd., rainMilwaukee at St. Louis, ppd., rain

MLB > 14 NFL > 26 NBA > 8 NHL > 11 NASCAR > 24 COLLEGE FOOTBALL > 29 COLLEGE BASKETBALL > 29 RECRUITING > 6QUICK LINKS:

TRIBUTEWAYMAN TISDALE, 1964-2009

‘He touched so many lives’

RENDEVOUS ENTERTAINMENT / AP

BY STAN [email protected]

Angels ace John Lackey makes his first start of the season this after-noon. All-Star righthander Ervin Santana debuted Thursday, and injured slugger Vladimir Guerrero could return in two weeks. Perhaps the most difficult times are behind the Los Angeles Angels. “We can see the light at the end of the tunnel,” general manager Tony Reagins told Sporting News Today.

The Angels certainly have dealt with more than their share of diffi-culties, namely the tragic death of rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart. But behind the steady hand of manager Mike Scioscia, they have forged ahead and are within striking dis-tance of their customary spot atop the A.L. West.

Three reasons why:The other starters. With L.A.’s top

two starters sidelined, Joe Saunders (5-2) and Jered Weaver (3-1) have pitched like aces—at least until Fri-day, when Saunders was shelled by

Texas. Weaver has reached the sev-enth inning in five of his seven starts. “They realized an important

part of our season rested on their shoulders, and they stepped up,” Reagins said.

Torii’s time. After dropping 10 pounds in the offseason, two-time All-Star Torii Hunter has elevated his game. He is on pace for career highs in runs, RBIs and homers, as well as game-changing catches in center field. He has been even bigger in the clubhouse. In his second sea-son on the West Coast, Hunter has become the face of the franchise. “He’s a guy who is serious about his job,” Reagins said. “Our young guys see that and are drawn to it.”

Moving on. Two weeks after Aden-hart was killed in a car wreck, Angels players staged their own memorial service for the organization at Angel Stadium. “There was laughter and reminiscing,” Reagins said. “(Nick’s death) is something that will be with us for a long time. This kind of upbeat service was needed.” The Angels have gone 13-7 since that service.

Other teams are impressed but not surprised. “A very well run organization that we have a lot of respect for,” Rangers general man-ager Jon Daniels said. “They’re the team to beat.”

Earning their wings Despite tragedy and injuries, Angels winning

CHRIS CARLSON / AP

Torii Hunter is on pace for career highs in runs, HRs and RBIs, and has stepped up the leadership.

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

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

Tune In TodayA quick look at the best sports on TV

— all times Eastern

OFF THE FIELD

NASCAR

Sprint All-Star Race7 p.m., Speed

One hundred laps for $1 million. That’s quite a payout for such a short night’s work, and the urgency to get up front often results in multicar wrecks typically seen only at Daytona and Talladega. The driver to watch is Kyle Busch, considering he has led more laps (83) in the last three all-star races than anyone else, yet hasn’t been running at the finish of any of those (two because of wrecks, one because of engine failure). He’ll be the blur at the front.

BASEBALL

White Sox at Blue Jays1 p.m., WGN

The Blue Jays have the American League’s best record despite the fact that casual observers couldn’t name even one other member of the Toronto rotation beyond Roy Halladay. The White Sox have name recognition among their starting five, but the results have been lacking from at least three of their starters, includ-ing Bartolo Colon, who gets the ball today. Colon’s chances at improvement might not be good today, with Toronto’s offense being among baseball’s best.

HORSE RACING

Preakness Stakes4:30 p.m., NBC

Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird is not the favorite to win today’s race, which means a run at the Triple Crown may have to wait another year. Then again, this horse was a 50-1 shot to win the Derby, so maybe he has the field right where he wants it. The odds-on favorite is filly Rachel Alexandra, who has won five straight races entering the Preakness. Rachel Alexandra’s jockey, Calvin Borel, was atop Mine That Bird for the Derby, but couldn’t say no to his regular ride.

— Compiled by Roger Kuznia

AUTO RACINGNoonVERSUS — IRL, pole qualifying for Indianapolis 5006 p.m.ESPN2 — NHRA, qualifying for Thunder Valley Nationals, at Bristol, Tenn. (same-day tape)7 p.m.SPEED — NASCAR, Sprint Cup, All-Star Race, at Concord, N.C.

GOLF10 a.m.TGC — European

PGA Tour, Irish Open, third round, at Baltray, Ireland1 p.m.TGC — Nationwide Tour, BMW Charity Pro-Am, third round, at Spartanburg, S.C.2 p.m.ESPN2 — LPGA, Sybase Classic, third round, at Clifton, N.J.3 p.m.CBS — PGA Tour, Texas Open, third round, at San Antonio6:30 p.m.TGC — Champions

Tour, Regions Charity Classic, second round, at Hoover, Ala. (same-day tape)

HORSE RACING4:30 p.m.NBC — NTRA, Preakness Stakes, at Baltimore

MAJOR LEAGUEBASEBALL1 p.m.WGN — Chicago White Sox at Toronto4 p.m.FOX — Regional coverage, N.Y. Mets

at San Francisco, Cleveland at Tampa Bay, or L.A. Angels at Texas

MEN’S COLLEGE LACROSSENoonESPN2 — NCAA Division I tourna-ment, quarterfinal, teams TBA, at Hempstead, N.Y.

RODEO10 p.m.VERSUS — PBR, Ford F-150 Invitational, at Pueblo, Colo. (same-day tape)

Sacks leader Smith charged with DUI

NFL Hall of Fame DE Bruce Smith has been charged with drunken driving in Virginia Beach. City police spokesman Jimmy Barnes said the 45-year-old Smith was stopped at 1:42 a.m. Friday on Interstate 264. He said Smith was charged with speed-ing, driving under the influence and refusal to take an alcohol breath test.

Smith was released on bond a few hours later. Smith, who played for the Buffalo Bills and the Washington Redskins, is the NFL’s all-time sacks leader.

Quick hits Pimlico Race Course expects

the economy to depress ticket sales for today’s Preakness by more than 10 percent, a Maryland Jockey Club official told the Wash-ington Times, but others are saying the track’s prohibiting fans from bringing their own alcohol to the traditional BYOB infield party is causing part of the decline.

The Washington Redskins won another legal victory Friday in a 17-year fight with a group of American Indians who contend the football team’s trademark is racially offensive. The decision issued Friday by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington doesn’t address the main question of rac-ism at the center of the case. Instead, it upholds the lower court’s decision in favor of the foot-ball team on a legal technicality.

— SportsBusiness Daily, sportsbusinessdaily.com

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SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2009 3My Profile

Kelly GruberTwo-time Blue Jays All-Star third baseman

(What you won’t find on Facebook … even if you are approved as a friend)

Born: Feb. 26, 1962, in Houston Alma mater: Westlake High (Austin, Texas) What’s on TV: Discovery Channel What’s in my iPod: Rush, Aerosmith, Goo Goo Dolls, Stevie Ray

Vaughan What I drive: Black 1992 Jeep Wrangler Favorite flick: The Hunt for Red October Superstition: If I succeed in something, I remember everything I

did and do it again till I don’t succeed. Then I change it up. Worst habit: Chewing tobacco Love to trade places for a day with … My grandfather, who is not alive.

He was the kindest person I’ve ever known. First job: Paving roads in the hot Texas summer sun Favorite meal: Mom’s roast, brown gravy, mashed potatoes, salad

with vinegar and oil, corn and iced tea Talent I’d most like to have: Be a musician Favorite athlete to watch in another sport: Earl Campbell Favorite city to visit: Toronto Favorite team as a kid: Houston Oilers Favorite value in others: Honesty Dream date: Gabrielle Reece My greatest love: My children My hero: Jesus Christ My bucket list: 1. Be a great father, 2. Be a successful businessman,

3. A few other places to travel to My motto: Be the best I can be in all I do

— Jeff D’Alessio

RUSTY KENNEDY / AP






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Wayman Tisdale: 1964-2009

TNT analyst Reggie Miller and Wayman Tisdale were teammates during the early part of Miller’s career with the Pacers. Miller recalls how Tisdale was one

of the people who helped ease his transition from UCLA to the NBA as a rookie.

The first time I saw Wayman was when I had to get up in front of the team and sing my college fight song. This is a rite of passage that every rookie has to endure from the veterans, sort of an initiation. I was so nervous but confident I could belt out the UCLA fight song.

As I was finishing up the song in what I thought was my best Luther Vandross voice, I remember Wayman stopping me and saying, “Rook, you have a sweet jump shot, but your vocal pipes are giving me a headache.” As the room filled with laughter, Wayman came up and gave me a hug and said, “Don’t tell anyone, but I was worse than you were. Keep singing.” That’s the kind of guy Wayman was—that smile made everyone feel good.

Wayman was the nicest man in the world with the biggest heart and an even bigger smile. I thank him for befriending me and showing me there is more to life than just basketball. My condolences go out to Regina and the Tisdale family.

— As told to Sean Deveney

Former college basketball broadcaster Billy Packer spent time with Wayman Tisdale six weeks ago when Tisdale appeared as a guest on Packer’s March Madness show Survive and Advance. Packer remembers that meeting, along with broadcasting Tisdale’s games a quarter-century earlier:

We were working with him on creating an album for Survive and Advance. We couldn’t pull it off quickly enough for the NCAA Tournament this year, but the plan for next year was for him to create an album for the NCAA Tournament, debut it on Survive and Advance, and he’d do a concert. He was in tremendous spirits. I can’t even believe it, with the vibrancy he showed just six weeks ago.

Even as a college player, Wayman had a great attitude.

I remember when Oklahoma got into the NCAA Tournament when Wayman was a freshman. Unfor-tunately they had to play against Bob Knight in Indiana (second round). Billy Tubbs was injured in an accident and Oklahoma had to be coached by an assistant. Indiana beat them handily. When the game ended, Bob—he was going to be coaching the Olympic team—went immediately to Wayman and put his arm around him. He was basically telling him, “You’re gonna be on my Olympic team.” It’s a scene I’ll never forget—Bob walking off the court with his arm around Wayman.

From the first time I ever saw Wayman play, he had great hands and he was very patient. A lot of freshmen don’t have the experience to be patient in the low post. He was understanding of the space and time in the low post, what he could do with the ball and not do with the ball.

Wayman was very knowledgeable, very polite, very well spoken. Everything about him was classy.

He’s one of the greats as a basketball player and a musician, and to think we lost him so quickly….tough, tough loss.

— As told to Derek Samson

Longtime Missouri coach Norm Stewart, a colon cancer survivor whose mission is to raise cancer awareness, became rivals with Oklahoma coach Billy Tubbs and the Sooners of the 1980s. Rival or not, Stewart told SN Today that it was impossible not to be a fan of Wayman Tisdale:

‘That smile made everyone feel good’

Reggie Miller

Billy Packer

‘We lost him so quickly’

As a competitor, you get to know Wayman Tisdale because of his personality. He was a guy that when you compete against him, you admire him—No. 1 because he’s so good. But also, you always are trying to think of a way to get that smile off his face. And that was tough to do with Wayman. Always smiling. He made you wish he was on your team.

If he wasn’t the best, his name would be in the ring. The players who

changed this league, you go back to Wilt Chamberlain (at Kansas) and Bob Boozer at K-State. Then there was (Steve) Stipanovich (at Missouri) and then Wayman came right in behind him and he was Oklahoma’s answer.

After he encountered the cancer, he went about it the same way he did as when he was playing. He was a never-ending spirit. He was still going to do this, he would continue to do that.

Things like that are inspirational to people.

Wayman was a great player, individual and outstanding musician. He brought a lot of joy to a lot of people.

There are so many people that (cancer) affects, but when it affects someone in the public light, it makes people more determined to find the cure. That’s why I try to spend time with Coaches vs. Cancer. I just had a squamous cell that had gone to second stage (skin cancer) taken off my neck (Thursday). You have to be aware and you need to know the questions to ask your doctors when something’s not right.

— As told to Derek Samson

Norm Stewart

Couldn’t stop Tisdale from scoring—or smiling

SUE OGROCKI / AP

Wayman Tisdale is being remembered by teammates and opponents as good-natured, classy and an optimist.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2009 4Tribute


Wayman Tisdale: 1964-2009

Wayman Tisdale, a three-time All-American at Oklahoma who played 12 seasons in the NBA and later became a top jazz musician, died after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 44.

Tisdale died Friday morning at St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, hospital spokes-woman Joy McGill said.

After three years at Oklahoma, Tisdale played in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns. The 6-9 forward, with a soft lefthanded touch on the court and a wide smile off it, averaged 15.3 points for his career. He was on the U.S. team that won the gold medal in the 1984 Olympics.

After basketball, he became an award-win-ning jazz musician, with several albums mak-ing the top 10 on the Billboard charts.

“I don’t know of any athlete at Oklahoma or any place else who was more loved by the fans who knew him than Wayman Tisdale,” said Billy Tubbs, who coached Tisdale with the Sooners. “He was obviously, a great, great player, but Wayman as a person overshadowed that. He just lit up a room and was so positive.”

Jeff Capel, the current Oklahoma coach, noted Tisdale’s “incredible gift of making the people who came in contact with him feel incredibly special.”

Tisdale’s death was announced on the Okla-homa Senate floor Friday by Senate Majority Leader Todd Lamb, who led the chamber in prayer.

“Whether you’re a Cowboy or a Sooner, Oklahoma has lost a great ambassador,” Lamb said. “He was a gifted musician, a gifted athlete and he just wore that well wherever he went.”

Gov. Brad Henry attended Oklahoma at the same time Tisdale did and later appointed him to the state’s Tourism Commission.

“Oklahoma has lost one of its most beloved sons,” Henry said. “Wayman Tisdale was a hero both on and off the basketball court. ... Even in the most challenging of times, he had a smile for people, and he had the rare ability to make every-one around him smile. He was one of the most

inspirational people I have ever known.”The famously upbeat Tisdale learned he had

cancerous cyst below his right knee after breaking his leg in a fall at his home in Los Angeles on Feb. 8, 2007. He said then he was fortunate to have discovered the cancer early.

“Nothing can change me,” Tisdale told The Associated Press last June. “You go through things. You don’t change because things come in your life. You get better because things come in your life.”

His leg was amputated last August and a prosthetic leg that he wore was crimson, one of Oklahoma’s colors. He made a handful of pub-lic appearances in recent weeks, including one April 7 at an Oklahoma City Thunder game.

Also within the past month, Tisdale was honored at the Greenwood Cultural Center in his hometown of Tulsa and presented with the Legacy Award. During the ceremony, he spoke about his cancer, saying “In my mind, I’ve beaten it.”

Last month, Tisdale was chosen for induc-tion into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

He was the first freshman to be a first-team All-American since freshmen were allowed to play again in the 1971-72 season.

He was also one of 10 three-time All-Ameri-cans: The others were Oscar Robertson, Bill Walton, Lew Alcindor, Pete Maravich, Patrick Ewing, Tom Gola, Jerry Lucas, David Thomp-son and Ralph Sampson.

Tisdale played on an Olympic team that sailed to the gold medal in Los Angeles. Sam Perkins and Tisdale shared a love of music and became fast friends during their Olympic expe-rience. Perkins later was the best man at Tis-dale’s wedding.

“That’s a real friend who’s got your back and would do just about anything for you,” Perkins said. “That smile just gets you.”

As a musician, Tisdale recorded eight albums.

A bass guitarist who often wrote his own material, his most recent album, Rebound, was inspired by his fight with cancer and included guest appearances by several artists, including saxophonist Dave Koz and country star and fellow Oklahoma native Toby Keith.

Tisdale said he didn’t think his music career had much to do with his basketball playing days.

“It’s so diverse. It’s so different,” he said. “You can’t make people buy your music if they don’t like it.”

In 1997, Tisdale became the first Oklahoma player in any sport to have his jersey number retired. Two years ago, then-freshman Blake Griffin asked Tisdale for permission to wear No. 23, which Tisdale granted. Griffin went on to become the consensus national player of the year this past season as a sophomore.

“I spoke with him pretty frequently this past season and he helped me in ways he probably doesn’t even know,” Griffin said.

— The Associated Press

Wayman Tisdale career highlights

First player in collegiate

history to be named first-

team All-American by The

Associated Press his fresh-

man, sophomore and junior

seasons

Holds Oklahoma scoring

records for a career (2,661)

and game (61), along with

the career rebounding

record (1,048)

Three-time Big Eight

Conference Player of the

Year

Career averages of 25.6

points, 10.1 rebounds and

57.8 field-goal percentage in

three college seasons (1983-

85)

Was the top rebounder on

the gold-medal winning U.S.

team in the 1984 Olympics,

playing with Michael Jordan,

Sam Perkins, Patrick Ewing,

Chris Mullin and coached by

Bob Knight

Career scoring average of

15.3 points per game in 12

NBA seasons (Pacers, Kings,

Suns)

Averaged 22.3 points

and 7.5 rebounds with

Sacramento in 1989-90

Inducted into the College

Basketball Hall of Fame

Released eight jazz

albums, with Way Up!

spending four weeks at No.

1 in contemporary jazz on

the Billboard charts

All-American personality loses his fight with cancer

Wayman Tisdale was a college All-American, a gold-medal Olympian, NBA All-Star and top jazz musician.

PHIL MCCARTEN / APDAVID BRESLAUER / AP

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Birmingham (Lake Balboa, Calif.) RB Trajuan Briggs has given his word to USC, Rivals.com reported. The 5-11, 200-pounder also reported scholarship offers from California, Pittsburgh, Washington and Wash-ington State, among others. As a junior, he rushed for 1,513 yards and 21 touchdowns.

“At first, I was pretty sure I wanted to get out of state so I could experience something new,” Briggs told Rivals.com. “But as I went through the process, I started see-ing the benefits of staying close to home ... I have my little cousins to look after and set a good example for. I didn’t want to leave the state and miss four years of them grow-ing up. USC is in my own back-yard, so that’s a plus.”

Blue Springs (Mo.) WR Keeston Terry has given his word to Nebraska, Rivals.com reported. The 6-2, 180-pounder also said that Kansas, Illi-nois and Missouri were in his final four. As a junior, he caught 50 passes for 900 yards, and he is rated a four-star prospect by Rivals.com.

“I guess I was kind of sick of the whole process,” Terry told Rivals.com. “It was wearing me down. This past month, I was mainly thinking about it and I felt like I grew a close relationship with Nebraska this past spring. I felt my relationship there was what brought me there.”

Palomar Community College (San Marcos, Calif.) WR Martavious Lee has committed to LSU, ESPN.com reported. The 6-2, 180-pound receiver also reported scholarship

offers from Ole Miss, Missouri, Southern Miss and Arizona, among others. He caught 31 passes for 633 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior college freshman.

Notre Dame commitment Chris Martin—a Sporting News Top 100 player who was reported on in Fri-day’s SN Today—asked to clarify the reason he’s leaving Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) and transferring to The Hun School (Princeton, N.J.). He said the move is purely because of academics—not early enrollment at Notre Dame. “The reason is because it will be great preparation for Notre Dame academically,” Martin told SN Today on Friday. “I’m not planning to enroll early.”

In other news, P/K Jonathan Gins-burgh recently took first place at a camp in Wisconsin, his family told SN Today. He was named the most outstanding punter at the camp, and beat out SN’s top-rated punter, Will Hagerup, for the honor. Ginsburgh hit a 57-yard punt with a 4.81-second hangtime. LSU has shown interest in Ginsburgh, who is from Holy Sav-ior Menard Central in Alexandria, La. He was invited to the Tigers’ spring game … Also, Georgia Tech commitment Denzel McCoy, an SN100 defensive lineman out of Northview (Duluth, Ga.), has accepted an invi-tation to play in the Offense-Defense All-American game in January, he told SN Today.

— Brian McLaughlin

RECRUITING DISH

California RB commits to Trojans

MARK J. TERRILL / AP

USC coach Pete Carroll now has seven verbal commitments from the class of 2010.


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BASEBALL / NATIONAL LEAGUE BASEBALL / AMERICAN LEAGUE

Padres 5, Reds 3

Cincinnati AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Taveras cf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .312Hairston Jr. 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .256Votto 1b 3 1 1 1 1 0 .373Phillips 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .273Bruce rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .244R.Hernandez c 4 1 1 0 0 0 .278L.Nix lf 3 1 1 0 1 1 .305Ale.Gonzalez ss 2 0 1 2 1 0 .184b-Dickerson ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 .214Harang p 3 0 0 0 0 0 .059Rhodes p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Weathers p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---c-A.Rosales ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .288Totals 32 3 6 3 4 4

San Diego AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Giles rf 4 1 1 0 0 0 .172Eckstein 2b 4 1 1 1 0 0 .248Ad.Gonzalez 1b 3 1 1 1 1 1 .311Hairston lf 4 0 1 1 0 2 .333Gerut cf 3 1 1 1 0 1 .238Kouzmanoff 3b 4 0 2 1 0 1 .223Bell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Hundley c 4 0 1 0 0 0 .253C.Burke ss 3 1 1 0 1 0 .235Correia p 1 0 0 0 1 1 .333a-Macias ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .333Gregerson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Jo.Wilson 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 .222Totals 32 5 9 5 3 6

Cincinnati 000 021 000 — 3 6 0San Diego 100 001 30x — 5 9 0

a-grounded out for Correia in the 7th. b-walked for Ale.Gonzalez in the 9th. c-struck out for Weathers in the 9th. LOB: Cincinnati 6, San Diego 7. 2B: Bruce (4), R.Hernandez (5), L.Nix (9), Ale.Gonzalez (3), Kouzmanoff (6), Hundley (5). HR: Votto (5), off Correia; Ad.Gonzalez (15), off Harang. RBIs: Votto (27), Ale.Gonzalez 2 (11), Eckstein (10), Ad.Gonzalez (29), Hairston (17), Gerut (11), Kouzmanoff (9). SF: Gerut. Runners left in scor-ing position: Cincinnati 3 (Harang 2, A.Rosales); San Diego 4 (Giles 2, Hundley, Kouzmanoff).

Cincinnati IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAHarang L, 3-4 6 1⁄3 8 5 5 2 6 109 3.44Rhodes 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0.00Weathers 1 2⁄3 1 0 0 0 0 16 2.13San Diego IP H R ER BB SO NP ERACorreia W, 1-2 7 5 3 3 2 3 100 5.06Gregerson H, 2 2⁄3 0 0 0 1 0 14 5.30Bell S, 9-9 1 1⁄3 1 0 0 1 1 22 0.00

Rhodes pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. Inherited runners-scored: Rhodes 2-0, Weathers 3-2, Bell 1-0. IBB: off Correia (L.Nix, Ale.Gonzalez). Umpires: Home, Derryl Cousins; First, Jim Joyce; Second, Brian Runge; Third, Bill Miller. T: 2:37. A: 27,021 (42,691).

Seattle 5, Boston 4N.Y. Mets 8, San Francisco 6

San Diego 5, Cincinnati 3

Ichiro hits clutch home runTwo-run 9th sparks Mets

Padres stop six-game slideSEATTLE—Many believe Ichiro

Suzuki is so good, he can hit home runs whenever he wants or needs to. Like, say, when his team is down by one, has a run-ner on and has lost nine of its last 10 games.

“No, I’m not Sadaharu Oh. I can’t have the ability to do that,” the eight-time All-Star said with a smile Friday night.

That was after he hit two home runs, the second a go-ahead two-run shot in the sixth inning that capped his Seattle Mariners’ four-run rally in a 5-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

Suzuki hit a solo shot for Seat-tle’s first run in the fifth. Then he sent a 3-1 fastball from Jon Lester into the first row of seats in right field for his fourth two-homer game and first since July 30, 2005.

“Who knows? It kind of proves that in the universe, mysterious things happen,” he said through an interpreter.

Suzuki, an incomparable lead-off hitter and owner of the modern major-league record with eight consecutive 200-hit seasons, had a two-homer game while David Ortiz hasn’t hit even one homer in 158 plate appearances all season. Ortiz was benched for the first time this season on Friday because of his hitting slump.

“It shows that, really, two mys-terious things happened in the universe today,” Suzuki said, looking up with a wry grin while fanning himself at his locker.


SAN FRANCISCO—In any type of game on either coast, not much slows down the New York Mets these days.

Not big injuries, not road trips, not opposing catchers, not early deficits—and definitely not San Francisco closer Brian Wilson, who has twice been trampled by the Mets in con-secutive comeback victories.

Gary Sheffield scored the go-ahead run on Wilson’s throw-ing error in the ninth inning, and New York rallied from four early runs down for an 8-6 vic-tory Friday night.

David Wright had three hits and four RBIs, three on a tying double in the seventh inning of New York’s 10th victory in 12 games. Sheffield went 2-for-4 and scored three runs, while Daniel Murphy added a pinch-hit RBI single for the Mets.

The N.L. East leaders pounded out 14 hits and stole four bases after setting a franchise record with seven steals Thursday, get-ting their 10-game trip off to a remarkable start.

“When you don’t have your leadoff guy and your guy in the middle of the order, everybody’s got to do a little more,” Wright said, referring to Jose Reyes (stiff calf) and Carlos Delgado (hip). “We’ve played extremely well, and we were lucky to get into their bullpen again and make some things happen.”


SAN DIEGO—Mired in a long slump, the San Diego Padres reverted to the winning formula that worked so well for them early in the season.

Behind the bat of major league home run leader Adrian Gonzalez, timely hitting and a solid outing from Kevin Correia, the Padres ended a six-game losing streak with a 5-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night.

Gonzalez homered in his fifth straight game, Scott Hairston drove in the go-ahead run in a three-run seventh and Correia became the first Padres starter to win in 26 games.

“It’s nice to win; you can take a deep breath and sort of regain some confidence and some momentum,”

manager Bud Black said.The win was just the

Padres’ fifth in 24 games. But it was reminiscent of the kind of victories the club recorded when it got off to a 9-3 start.

“We have to get back to doing that,” second base-man David Eckstein said. “It was a good team win, and that’s what we have to get back to doing and not trying to do too much.”

Gonzalez gave San Diego an early lead with a solo homer in the first, but it took a big seventh inning for the Padres to get back in the win column.

Gonzalez’s drive off Aaron Harang (3-4) was his sixth homer during his five-game streak.


DENIS POROY / AP

San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalez, left, homered for the fifth straight game.

More MLB results, Page 17

Mariners 5, Red Sox 4

Boston AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Ellsbury cf 5 1 3 1 0 0 .307Pedroia 2b 5 0 0 0 0 0 .324J.Drew rf 5 1 3 1 0 1 .255Bay lf 2 1 0 0 3 0 .306Lowell 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .298Baldelli dh 4 0 0 0 0 3 .250Lugo ss 3 0 0 1 1 0 .326Varitek c 4 0 0 0 0 1 .225J.Bailey 1b 4 1 1 0 0 1 .167Totals 36 4 8 3 4 6

Seattle AB R H BI BB SO Avg.I.Suzuki rf 4 2 3 3 1 0 .320Jo.Lopez 2b 5 0 0 0 0 1 .241M.Sweeney dh 5 0 0 0 0 1 .246Beltre 3b 3 0 0 0 1 1 .222Balentien lf 4 0 2 0 0 0 .306Branyan 1b 4 1 3 0 0 1 .292Johjima c 4 1 1 0 0 0 .271Y.Betancourt ss 2 0 0 0 2 0 .254F.Gutierrez cf 4 1 2 2 0 2 .262Totals 35 5 11 5 4 6

Boston 112 000 000 — 4 8 0Seattle 000 014 00x — 5 11 2

E: Jo.Lopez (6), Y.Betancourt (5). LOB: Boston 9, Seattle 10. 2B: Ellsbury (6), J.Drew (9), Balentien (7), Branyan (8). 3B: Ellsbury (1). HR: I.Suzuki 2 (4), off Lester 2. RBIs: Ellsbury (13), J.Drew (19), Lugo (4), I.Suzuki 3 (12), F.Gutierrez 2 (15). SB: F.Gutierrez (2). Runners left in scoring position: Boston 3 (Baldelli, Pedroia, J.Drew); Seattle 5 (Balentien, I.Suzuki, F.Gutierrez, Johjima, M.Sweeney).

Boston IP H R ER BB SO NP ERALester L, 2-4 5 2⁄3 8 5 5 3 5 104 6.51D.Bard 1 1⁄3 2 0 0 0 0 25 0.00Saito 1 1 0 0 1 1 20 3.86Seattle IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAJakubauskas W, 2-4 6 7 4 3 2 4 103 7.13White H, 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 20 2.76M.Lowe H, 2 1 0 0 0 1 2 17 4.41Aardsma S, 4-4 1 1 0 0 0 0 19 1.53

IBB: off Saito (I.Suzuki). WP: Lester, Jakubauskas. Umpires: Home, Fieldin Culbreth; First, Gary Ceder-strom; Second, Jim Wolf; Third, Brian O’Nora. T: 3:03. A: 34,952 (47,878).

Mets 8, Giants 6

New York AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Cora ss 4 0 1 0 1 1 .318Castillo 2b 5 2 1 0 0 0 .299Beltran cf 3 1 1 0 2 1 .370Sheffield lf 4 3 2 0 1 1 .237D.Wright 3b 5 1 3 4 0 2 .341Church rf 5 1 2 0 0 1 .269Santos c 3 0 0 2 0 3 .260Reed 1b 3 0 2 0 0 1 .375b-Tatis ph-1b 1 0 1 0 1 0 .339Li.Hernandez p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .091a-Dan.Murphy ph 1 0 1 1 0 0 .279S.Green p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---c-Jos.Reyes ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .284Feliciano p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Stokes p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---d-R.Castro ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .268Fr.Rodriguez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Totals 38 8 14 7 5 12

San Francisco AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Burriss 2b 5 0 0 0 0 2 .260F.Lewis lf 4 2 2 1 0 1 .298Sandoval 3b 4 1 2 1 0 1 .303B.Molina c 4 1 1 0 0 0 .299Winn rf 4 1 2 1 0 0 .262Rowand cf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .227Aurilia 1b 4 1 2 2 0 0 .180Uribe ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 .286Lincecum p 2 0 1 1 0 1 .176Valdez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Affeldt p 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000B.Wilson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000J.Miller p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000e-Velez ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .130Totals 36 6 11 6 0 7

New York 100 002 302 — 8 14 0San Francisco 410 001 000 — 6 11 1

a-singled for Li.Hernandez in the 6th. b-was intention-ally walked for Reed in the 7th. c-struck out for S.Green in the 7th. d-flied out for Stokes in the 9th. e-grounded out for J.Miller in the 9th. E: B.Wilson (1). LOB: New York 10, San Francisco 4. 2B: Sheffield (4), D.Wright (9), Tatis (4), F.Lewis (8), Sandoval (10), Winn (7), Aurilia (1). 3B: Winn (3). HR: F.Lewis (1), off Li.Hernandez. RBIs: D.Wright 4 (24), Santos 2 (12), Dan.Murphy (12), F.Lewis (4), Sandoval (16), Winn (17), Aurilia 2 (9), Lincecum (2). SB: Castillo (5), Beltran (6), D.Wright (10), Church (2). CS: Church (1). S: Lincecum. SF: Santos 2. Runners left in scoring position: New York 6 (D.Wright 2, Li.Hernandez, Cora, Jos.Reyes, R.Castro); San Francisco 3 (B.Molina, F.Lewis, Aurilia).

New York IP H R ER BB SO NP ERALi.Hernandez 5 8 5 5 0 4 74 5.59S.Green 1 2 1 1 0 1 11 8.80Feliciano 1 0 0 0 0 1 11 2.87Stokes W, 1-1 1 1 0 0 0 0 9 0.56Fr.Rodriguez S, 11-11 1 0 0 0 0 1 11 0.96San Francisco IP H R ER BB SO NP ERALincecum 6 10 5 5 3 8 114 3.75Valdez BS, 2-2 0 1 1 1 1 0 6 4.09Affeldt 2 0 0 0 1 4 27 2.65B.Wilson L, 2-2 2⁄3 3 2 0 0 0 28 4.34J.Miller 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 1 2.12

Lincecum pitched to 2 batters in the 7th. Valdez pitched to 2 batters in the 7th. Inherited runners-scored: Val-dez 2-2, Affeldt 1-0, J.Miller 1-0. IBB: off Affeldt (Tatis). WP: Lincecum. Umpires: Home, Doug Eddings; First, Hunter Wendelstedt; Second, Brian Knight; Third, Dana DeMuth. T: 3:00. A: 41,684 (41,915).

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Let’s see. The Cavaliers have, so far, cruised through the playoffs at 8-0. They swept division rival Detroit in the opening round, then pummeled Atlanta in Round 2, winning those eight games by an average of 16.8 points. They’ve shot 47.3 percent from the field, second-best in the playoffs. They’ve held opponents to 39.7 per-cent shooting, best in the playoffs. Things are going

pretty well. Just about the only problem that

could be conjured for these Cavs is one that 29 other teams would like to have at the moment: The postseason has been easy. Too easy, maybe.

The Pistons had checked out of this season a long time ago, and barely showed up at all against the Cavs. The Hawks are a young team that was sat-isfied just to make an appearance in

Round 2. Ask forward Joe Smith how many times he felt the Cavs were actually threatened with a loss, and he can only come up with one game, the clincher over Atlanta.

“The last game we were really challenged,” Smith said. “Atlanta really made us work on both ends of the floor. Whatever happened over the first seven games, happened. It is what it is. But that eighth game, we had some things to overcome, and we were able to overcome those obstacles on the floor.”

The Cavs won that game by 10, but it was a four-point game with 2:21 to play. They had to come up with three big offensive rebounds by Anderson Varejao and Zydrunas Ilgasukas, followed by a Mo Williams 3-pointer, to seal the verdict. But, still, the Cavaliers have not been getting much by way of nitty-gritty, crunch-time playoff experience. It’s hard to develop an edge when everything has come so pillow-soft for this team.

But, perhaps it does not matter. After all, the Cava-liers know all too well what can happen when a team has to slog through a postseason dealing with injuries and a lack of rest. It happened to them last year, when the Celtics topped the Cavs in a hard-fought seven-game series. Compared with that grind, this playoff journey has been nothing but pleasant.

“We were definitely banged up last year, a lot of guys were hurt going into that last part of the semifinals,” said forward LeBron James. “The rest has definitely

helped in the postseason, and I am glad we were able to take care of our job and we’ve been able to take advan-tage of this rest.”

There has been plenty of it. Cleveland had a nine-day break between the first and second rounds. When the third round comes up, the Cavs again will have had more than a week off.

“It’s a lot,” Ilgauskas said. “Sometimes, you can lose a little bit of your timing and everything else. The first game we played in the second round against Atlanta, that was a little weird. … But I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Every game you play wears you down, adds more susceptibility to injury. When we played Atlanta, they had been beating the hell out of each other against Miami, and you could tell that they were tired.”

The Cavaliers certainly won’t be tired. For coach Mike Brown, the challenge is letting his players rest while also finding a way to keep them sharp. “As the week goes on, we will figure out what we will try to do,” he said. “We have a plan, like last time we went through this, we had a plan. But that doesn’t mean we won’t deviate or change a little bit as time goes on. … A lot of it is based on feel, it’s not anything major. I don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure this thing out.”

Indeed, if Brown’s biggest problem is that his team is too good, that they’ve been too thorough and too domi-nant in dismissing their first two postseason oppo-nents, well, that’s a problem a lot of coaches would like to have.

[email protected]

Cavs aren’t getting any crunch-time experience

Sean DeveneyPRO BASKETBALL

JOHN AMIS / AP

LeBron James said the Cavs were ‘banged up’ in the playoffs last season, and believes the rest they are getting is more important than the rust.



http://www.coverleaf.com/sportingnewstoday#library

The Lakers said they’d be ready to match the Rockets’ emotion in Game 6. Instead, Houston jumped out to a big lead Thursday, leaving L.A. to try to figure out why it had another lackluster performance.

“They just hit us in the mouth early. Once we were dazed, they kept throwing,” Lakers PG Jordan Farmar told the Los Angeles Times. “… If you can’t get hyped for this and ready for these types of games, something is wrong with us.”

The Lakers are confident home court will be the difference for Sun-day’s Game 7—though the last time the Lakers played a seventh game at Staples Center was in 2000. “Our effort will be better Sunday. It has to be,” F Lamar Odom told the Times.

For the Magic to pull out a Game 7 win Sunday at Boston—something few teams have done—they know they’ll have to keep their cool. The Magic blew a fourth-quarter lead in Game 5, but Thurs-day night they flipped the script, rallying with clutch shooting.

“We took better shots down the stretch than we did the other night in Boston,” PG Rafer Alston told reporters Friday. “That’s the key: down the stretch you want to get good, key opportunities at the basket. The game is played on instinct. If they give you an alley I think you should drive it hard and attack the rim.”

Mavs PF Dirk Nowitzki inadver-tently raised the question of how long he was willing to stick with the organization while describing his disappointment over falling short again this season. After the Mavs were eliminated by Denver on

Wednesday night, then again dur-ing a wrapup interview Thursday, Nowitzki mentioned several times that this was his 11th season and that he’ll be turning 31 in a few weeks. He talked about the window of opportunity starting to close, calling every title-less season a waste.

Nowitzki later clarified, telling reporters he’d love to finish his career in Dallas and bring the fran-chise a championship. “I still feel like I have a good three, four years left of solid basketball,” he said. “…

I’m going to be ready to play and I’m going to work hard again this sum-mer and do more of the same again next year.”

The 76ers interviewed former NBA coach Eddie Jordan for their head coaching job Friday. It was Philadelphia’s first interview with a candidate since Tony DiLeo stepped down as coach on Monday and returned to his job as a vice presi-dent and assistant general manager.

The Timberwolves still haven’t settled on a new head of basketball operations, but it won’t be former Heat general manager Randy Pfund. According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Pfund informed the team he is withdrawing his name from consid-eration. Pfund’s withdrawal leaves Trail Blazers assistant general man-ager Tom Penn and former Pacers general manager David Kahn as the remaining outside candidates.

Despite being second-guessed

by star C Dwight Howard, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy is apparently safe, according to general manager Otis Smith. “I don’t understand why he wouldn’t be,” Smith told the Orlando Sentinel. “He’s still the coach that he is. He still does a good job doing what he does.” Smith said he also talked to Howard, who questioned why he wasn’t getting the ball more after the Magic’s Game 5 loss, tell-ing him he’d prefer if such com-ments were kept in house.

Pistons C Kwame Brown will take his time to decide whether to exercise his $4.1-million player option or hit the open market when free agency begins July 1, Brown’s agent told the Detroit Free Press. Brown is coming off an up-and-down season in which he averaged 4.2 points and 5.0 rebounds. He has until 24 hours before the June 25 NBA draft to inform the Pistons of his decision.

The surgically repaired left knee of Celtics F Leon Powe wasn’t as damaged as previously thought, The Boston Globe reported. Accord-ing to his agent, Powe, who had sur-gery last week, hopes to return near next season’s All-Star break.

Playoff glanceCONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (Best-of-7), All times ET.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Cleveland vs. Atlanta(Cleveland wins series 4-0)

May 5: Cleveland 99, Atlanta 72




Boston vs. Orlando(Series tied 3-3)

May 4: Orlando 95, Boston 90

May 6: Boston 112, Orlando 94





Sunday: Orlando at Boston, 8 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

L.A. Lakers vs. Houston(Series tied 3-3)

May 4: Houston 100, L.A. Lakers 92

May 6: L.A. Lakers 111,

Houston 98

May 8: L.A. Lakers 108, Houston 94


May 12: L.A. Lakers 118, Houston 78


Sunday: Houston at L.A. Lakers,

3:30 p.m.

Denver vs. Dallas(Denver wins series 4-1)

May 3: Denver 109, Dallas 95



May 11: Dallas 119, Denver 117


Lakers wondering where the fire wentINSIDE DISH

Sunday’s games(Best-of-7), All times ET.

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS Houston at L.A. Lakers, 3:30

p.m., ABC

Orlando at Boston, 8 p.m., TNT

Betting linesFAVORITE .......... LINE O/U ........UNDERDOG

at Boston ..................2½ (186) .............. Orlando

at L.A. Lakers ............. 13 (194½) ..........Houston

The body language spoke volumes on the Lakers bench Thursday, when coach Phil Jackson and star Kobe Bryant (24) failed to motivate their cast.

LM OTERO / AP

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2009 9NBA


Team Averages

Scoring, Record Versus BELOW OVERTIME 3 PTS. 10 PTS. 100 PTS. GAMES OR LESS OR MORE OWN OPP. W L W L W LAtlanta 10 8 0 0 0 0 4 7Boston 5 7 1 3 3 3 3 1Chicago 2 0 3 1 3 2 0 2Cleveland 6 8 0 0 0 0 8 0Dallas 4 4 0 0 1 1 2 4Denver 1 6 0 0 1 2 7 0Detroit 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 4Houston 9 8 0 0 2 0 4 4L.A. Lakers 4 8 0 0 0 1 7 2Miami 5 6 0 0 0 0 3 4New Orleans 5 1 0 0 1 0 0 4Orlando 10 10 0 0 1 3 3 1Philadelphia 5 5 0 0 2 1 0 2Portland 5 4 0 0 0 2 1 2San Antonio 4 3 0 0 0 0 1 2Utah 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 4

POINTS FIELD GOAL TURNOVERS REBOUND PER GAME PERCENTAGE PER GAME PERCENTAGES OWN OPP. OWN OPP. OWN OPP. OFF DEF TOTAtlanta 84.0 91.1 .409 .463 12.1 13.6 .261 .698 .480Boston 103.7 102.2 .449 .441 13.7 14.3 .256 .770 .513Chicago 108.3 112.6 .441 .449 16.1 13.6 .243 .732 .488Cleveland 94.9 78.1 .473 .397 12.5 11.6 .329 .777 .553Dallas 101.6 102.5 .470 .482 13.0 11.1 .247 .774 .510Denver 111.5 95.5 .503 .438 11.9 16.4 .252 .759 .505Detroit 78.0 93.5 .409 .460 11.3 11.0 .197 .732 .465Houston 93.3 93.3 .453 .449 14.1 11.0 .262 .742 .502L.A. Lakers 102.6 95.5 .469 .434 12.9 15.4 .273 .709 .491Miami 88.1 87.3 .450 .422 13.4 12.1 .252 .731 .491New Orleans 84.2 108.4 .396 .499 18.4 12.6 .224 .735 .480Orlando 95.7 90.9 .453 .451 12.5 14.3 .234 .774 .504Philadelphia 88.5 96.2 .453 .465 14.7 12.8 .213 .742 .478Portland 87.2 92.5 .447 .473 11.3 12.2 .237 .761 .499San Antonio 90.4 96.4 .457 .463 11.0 11.6 .213 .766 .489Utah 97.4 106.6 .432 .494 14.6 15.6 .304 .735 .520

G FG FT PTS AVGJames, Clev. 8 84 79 263 32.9Wade, Mia. 7 68 50 204 29.1Bryant, LAL 11 117 65 315 28.6Parker, S.A. 5 59 22 143 28.6Anthony, Den. 10 98 57 270 27.0Nowitzki, Dall. 10 88 86 268 26.8Roy, Port. 6 56 40 160 26.7Gordon, Chi. 7 52 49 170 24.3Billups, Den. 10 61 66 221 22.1Iguodala, Phil. 6 44 30 129 21.5Pierce, Bos. 13 91 78 278 21.4Miller, Phil. 6 48 28 127 21.2Boozer, Utah 5 38 27 103 20.6Howard, Orl. 11 81 61 223 20.3Williams, Utah 5 29 34 101 20.2Lewis, Orl. 12 86 48 239 19.9Duncan, S.A. 5 41 17 99 19.8Rose, Chi. 7 59 20 138 19.7Aldridge, Port. 6 51 14 117 19.5Gasol, LAL 11 76 49 201 18.3

Scoring Average Field Goal PercentageAssists

Free Throw Percentage

Blocks

3-Pt FG Percentage

FG FGA PCTHoward, Orl. 81 133 .609Perkins, Bos. 70 116 .603Odom, LAL 56 97 .577Gasol, LAL 76 137 .555Nene, Den. 47 85 .553O’Neal, Mia. 28 51 .549Parker, S.A. 59 108 .546Ariza, LAL 42 77 .545Yao, Hou. 54 99 .545Duncan, S.A. 41 77 .532James, Clev. 84 158 .532Boozer, Utah 38 72 .528Martin, Den. 41 78 .526McDyess, Det. 23 44 .523Nowitzki, Dall. 88 170 .518Millsap, Utah 25 49 .510Noah, Chi. 26 51 .510Scola, Hou. 73 144 .507Smith, Den. 59 119 .496Billups, Den. 61 124 .492

FG FGA PCTWilliams, Utah 5 54 10.8Paul, N.O. 5 52 10.4Rondo, Bos. 13 127 9.8Billups, Den. 10 73 7.3Parker, S.A. 5 34 6.8James, Clev. 8 54 6.8Iguodala, Phil. 6 40 6.7Rose, Chi. 7 45 6.4Blake, Port. 6 37 6.2Kidd, Dall. 10 59 5.9Miller, Phil. 6 32 5.3Wade, Mia. 7 37 5.3Stuckey, Det. 4 21 5.3Hamilton, Det. 4 20 5.0Alston, Orl. 11 52 4.7M. Williams, Clev. 8 36 4.5Bryant, LAL 11 49 4.5Chalmers, Mia. 7 31 4.4West, Clev. 8 35 4.4Anthony, Den. 10 43 4.3

3FG 3FGA PCTBowen, S.A. 5 9 .556Bibby, Atl. 26 48 .542Billups, Den. 33 61 .541Butler, N.O. 10 19 .526House, Bos. 18 36 .500Jones, Mia. 11 22 .500Wallace, Det. 4 8 .500Ariza, LAL 18 37 .486Roy, Port. 8 17 .471Finley, S.A. 7 15 .467Scalabrine, Bos. 13 28 .464Korver, Utah 12 26 .462Anthony, Den. 17 38 .447Kidd, Dall. 21 47 .447Hinrich, Chi. 13 30 .433Fernandez, Port. 8 19 .421Blake, Port. 10 24 .417Brooks, Hou. 25 61 .410Smith, Den. 24 59 .407Iguodala, Phil. 11 28 .393

FT FTA PCTButler, N.O. 9 9 1.000Bynum, Det. 10 10 1.000Billups, Den. 66 69 .957Battier, Hou. 21 22 .955Bibby, Atl. 21 22 .955R. Allen, Bos. 53 56 .946Nowitzki, Dall. 86 93 .925Stojakovic, N.O. 12 13 .923Jones, Mia. 22 24 .917Wafer, Hou. 19 21 .905Bass, Dall. 28 31 .903Yao, Hou. 46 51 .902Hamilton, Det. 9 10 .900West, N.O. 26 29 .897Gordon, Chi. 49 56 .875Roy, Port. 40 46 .870Bryant, LAL 65 75 .867Murray, Atl. 32 37 .865Fisher, LAL 19 22 .864Wade, Mia. 50 58 .862

FT FTA PCTTy. Thomas, Chi. 7 20 2.86Perkins, Bos. 13 35 2.69Howard, Orl. 11 28 2.55Noah, Chi. 7 15 2.14Przybilla, Port. 6 12 2.00Andersen, Den. 9 17 1.89Gasol, LAL 11 19 1.73Aldridge, Port. 6 10 1.67Wade, Mia. 7 11 1.57Odom, LAL 11 17 1.55Smith, Atl. 11 17 1.55Dalembert, Phil. 6 9 1.50O’Neal, Mia. 6 9 1.50Varejao, Clev. 8 11 1.38Duncan, S.A. 5 6 1.20Anthony, Mia. 6 7 1.17Roy, Port. 6 7 1.17Ilgauskas, Clev. 8 9 1.13Beasley, Mia. 7 7 1.00

Rebounds G OFF DEF TOT AVGHoward, Orl. 11 55 128 183 16.6Boozer, Utah 5 12 54 66 13.2Noah, Chi. 7 28 64 92 13.1Perkins, Bos. 13 49 98 147 11.3Nowitzki, Dall. 10 12 89 101 10.1Gasol, LAL 11 36 75 111 10.1Odom, LAL 11 32 78 110 10.0Rondo, Bos. 13 30 100 130 10.0James, Clev. 8 9 69 78 9.8Haslem, Mia. 7 13 48 61 8.7Scola, Hou. 12 27 76 103 8.6McDyess, Det. 4 6 28 34 8.5Duncan, S.A. 5 12 28 40 8.0Millsap, Utah 5 20 20 40 8.0Miller, Chi. 7 11 44 55 7.9Dalembert, Phil. 6 10 37 47 7.8Aldridge, Port. 6 9 36 45 7.5Smith, Atl. 11 24 58 82 7.5West, N.O. 5 5 32 37 7.4

Steals G STL AVGChalmers, Mia. 7 20 2.86Rondo, Bos. 13 33 2.54Kidd, Dall. 10 22 2.20Kirilenko, Utah 5 11 2.20Bryant, LAL 11 23 2.09Anthony, Den. 10 20 2.00James, Clev. 8 16 2.00Iguodala, Phil. 6 11 1.83Williams, Utah 5 9 1.80Hinrich, Chi. 7 12 1.71Boozer, Utah 5 8 1.60Paul, N.O. 5 8 1.60Alston, Orl. 11 17 1.55Ariza, LAL 11 16 1.45Brewer, Utah 5 7 1.40Fernandez, Port. 6 8 1.33Roy, Port. 6 8 1.33Davis, Bos. 13 17 1.31Nene, Den. 10 13 1.30Salmons, Chi. 7 9 1.29

JOHN RAOUX / AP

ERIC GAY / AP

Celtics F Paul Pierce (34) is averaging 21.4 points per game in the playoffs heading into Sunday’s Game 7 against Orlando.

Rockets F Luis Scola, left, leads his team in rebounding at 8.6 rpg.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2009 10NBA Playoff Stats


His disappointment after being eliminated was easy to see. Anaheim’s Jonas Hiller had an impressive run in his first postseason as the Ducks starting goalie. His .943 save playoff percentage is the league’s best and his 2.23 goals against average was even more impres-sive considering he played against two offen-sive powerhouses in Detroit and San Jose.

Even with the sting of elimination fresh, Hiller was able to appreciate the experience he gained in his first playoff run.

“For me, it was a great experience just to play in the playoffs,” Hiller told Sporting News Today. “Right now, it’s a little tough to see but in days, or some weeks, I’ll probably realize it was a lot I achieved this season. It was a great experience just to play, to be with this

group was awesome.”The goalie position will be just one of many

for Anaheim G.M. Bob Murray to weigh now that Anaheim’s offseason is underway. Former starter Jean-Sebastien Giguere is owed an average of $6 million a season for the next two years.

There is also a large group of unrestricted free agents, including Scott Niedermayer and Francois Beauchemin.

“Good luck to Bob Murray this summer. He’s got his work cut out for him,” said for-ward Ryan Getzlaf. “He’s totally qualified and knows what he wants here. I’m excited to see what we bring next year.”

— Craig Custance

On Friday, the Washington Capitals did

their season-ending meeting with the media. Former starting goalie Jose Theodore said he still sees himself as a No. 1 goalie and thinks it can still happen in Washington, where he lost his job to impressive rookie Simeon Varla-mov during the playoffs.

“I see myself coming here next camp and being ready right off the bat. I know what I can do,” Theodore told The Washington Post. “From there, they are going to decide what they want to do.”

Head coach Bruce Boudreau said he could see as many as four goalies fighting for spots in training camp—Theodore, Michal Neuvirth, Varlamov and Brent Johnson.

Veteran forward Sergei Fedorov told report-ers that he doesn’t plan on retiring.

“I still have got some legs left and I’m still enjoying the game and I’m certainly enjoy-ing this group of young and very talented players,” Fedorov told The Post.

The Washington Times reported that G.M. George McPhee doesn’t plan on buying out Michael Nylander’s contract.

The Russian KHL officially wrapped up its 2008-09 season with a press confer-ence on Friday and according to Russia Today, the mood was upbeat.

“If we continue this way then within five years we will be able to compete with the National Hockey League,” KHL CEO Vyache-slav Fetisov said. “We are ready to catch up with Americans as to the quality of the game, and the level of the games organization. But there is, of course, a lot of work ahead of us.”

The rumors have already started about more Russian players playing in the KHL. According to The Washington Times, Viktor Kozlov is receiving lots of interest from Rus-sian teams, but Kozlov still wants to discuss his future with his family.

In New York, Newsday reported that the KHL is attempting to lure Nikolai Zhderev away from the Rangers.

The frustrations from an early elimina-tion haven’t faded in San Jose. G.M. Doug Wil-son, head coach Todd McLellan and a few players met with fans and took pointed question from angry season-ticket holders, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

At one point you said this was (Patrick Mar-leau’s) team, that this wasn’t your team,” sea-son-ticket holder Elliot Lepler asked Joe Thornton. “When will you own this team and how will I know?”

Answered Thornton: “There’s a lot of key guys on this team, and I am a big part of that. In some ways this is my team. In some ways this is Patty’s team.”

The difference between the Sharks, and the reigning champion Detroit Red Wings, is mental toughness, McLellan told fans.

“The mental part of the game, Detroit is ahead of us right now,” McLellan said.

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

EASTERN CONFERENCECarolina vs. Pittsburgh

Monday: Carolina at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday: Carolina at Pittsburgh, 7:30

p.m.

Saturday: Pittsburgh at Carolina, 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, May 26: Pittsburgh at Carolina,

7:30 p.m.

Friday, May 29: Carolina at Pittsburgh,

7:30 p.m., if necessary

Sunday, May 31: Pittsburgh at Carolina,


Tuesday, June 2: Carolina at Pittsburgh,


WESTERN CONFERENCEChicago vs. DetroitSunday: Chicago at Detroit, 3 p.m.

Tuesday: Chicago at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.

Friday: Detroit at Chicago, 8 p.m.

Sunday, May 24: Detroit at Chicago, 3

p.m.

Wednesday, May 27: Chicago at Detroit,


Saturday, May 30: Detroit at Chicago, 8

p.m., if necessary

Monday, June 1: Chicago at Detroit, 7:30

p.m., if necessary

Betting line Sunday

FAVORITE LINE UNDERDOG LINEat Detroit -180 Chicago +160

Mondayat Pittsburgh -220 Carolina +180

Odds to Win SeriesDetroit -220 Chicago +180Pittsburgh -220 Carolina +180

Odds to win Stanley Cup CURRENT OPENINGTEAM ODDS ODDSDetroit 3-2 4-1Pittsburgh 8-5 7-1Chicago 7-2 25-1Carolina 6-1 35-1

INSIDE DISH

Hiller makes Ducks’ goalie choice tough

The great postseason play of G Jonas Hiller, second from left, likely means Jean-Sebastien Giguere, back left, won’t be back in Anaheim.

PAUL SANCYA / AP

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2009 11NHL


Canes have shown staying power Red Wings, Blackhawks restart Original 6 matchup

RALEIGH, N.C. —One thing about the Carolina Hurricanes, when they get into the playoffs, they stick around for a while.

They’re in the postseason for just the third time since 2002 but have reached the Eastern Conference finals all three times.

This is what the Hurricanes have insisted they were capable of the past two offseasons—that had they made the playoffs, all the pieces were there to be a serious Stanley Cup contender.

Now they’re actually doing it. They’re making the most of their return to the postseason with a series of dramatic goals and clutch performances capped by Scott Walker’s score in overtime of Game 7 against Boston.

“I don’t get the sense with this team, and I haven’t, where I ever felt we’re lucky to be here,” coach Paul Maurice said Friday. “The game, yeah, we won in dramatic fashion. But it wasn’t like they dominated us for 60 minutes and we got a lucky break and scored and won, said, ‘How long can that last?’ ”

One more round, at least. Next up on Monday night: Game 1 of the East finals against the defending confer-ence champion Pittsburgh Penguins, a team that like Carolina has responded to a midseason coaching change by becoming one of the league’s hottest clubs down the stretch.

Before worrying too much about the Penguins, though, Carolina is catching its breath after becoming just the second team in NHL his-tory to win consecutive Game 7s on the road in the same playoff year.

Each of its last four playoff series

has gone the full seven games, and the Hurricanes have won all four. Ten current players were on the team that closed its Stanley Cup run in 2006 by winning back-to-back Game 7s. After two years out of the playoffs, they beat New Jersey and Boston in seven games apiece to return to hock-ey’s final four.

That’s why nobody would blame the Hurricanes if they wanted to skip Games 1-6 against Pittsburgh and head straight for Game 7.

“I think (the Game 7 success) is part of how the team’s built,” Maurice

said. “There’s still a lot of people that remember (the Cup) in that locker room, so they have a high expecta-tion. ... We are in a position with our team that means we’re going to be in a lot of tight games. We’re used to that—being tied, being even.

“We resisted the urge to try and do something extra special to win that (Boston) game,” he added. “That’s the kiss of death, when you try to force a pass through five or six people because you’re trying to create a breakaway.”


DETROIT—The defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings are going from a playoff-tested, big and feisty opponent to a team in the playoffs for the first time since 2002 that relies on speed and skill.

No problem?Not quite.The Red Wings expect the Chi-

cago Blackhawks to test them in the Western Conference finals just as much as Anaheim did in the second round.

That’s saying a lot because the Ducks pushed Detroit to a closely contested Game 7 Thursday night in a series its coach, Mike Babcock, said was the best series he’s been in and some players insisted was one of the toughest of their careers.

“I think this is gonna be a tough one, too,” Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom said on a conference call.

The Original Six franchises will meet Sunday afternoon in Game 1, matching up in the playoffs for the first time since 1995 and the 15th time overall.

“I think it’s good for hockey and it’s fantastic for us that we get to play Chicago,” Babcock said in a telephone interview Friday. “We played them in the Winter Classic, and now we’re among the four teams still playing hockey while 26 teams are sitting at home.”

Second-seeded Detroit became the first team to simply advance in the playoffs after hoisting the Cup since 2002 when it swept Columbus in the opening round, then was on the brink of elimination against the 2007 champion Ducks.

The fourth-seeded Blackhawks eliminated Calgary and Vancouver in Game 6s, and have been idle since beating the Canucks on Monday.

“We’re going to have respect for them because they’ve earned being in the conference finals after beat-ing teams with experience,” Lid-strom said.

Chicago is in the conference finals for the first time since 1995, when it lost to the Red Wings.

“It’s a special matchup,” Black-hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “You look back over the years, where the Blackhawks came from in a short amount of time, where we are at today, it’s a great challenge, a fun opportunity for everybody.

“There is a lot of history, ani-mosity, passion involving both organizations and here we are playing for something very impor-tant. It’s got a lot of meaning, I’m sure the game will reflect that in the crowds and the stands.”

Fans in both cities, and those interested elsewhere, should see exciting hockey that starts Sun-day afternoon and could stretch

into June.Chicago is led by young for-

wards Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, its top draft picks in 2006 and 2007, 28-year-old forward Martin Havlat, defenseman Brian Campbell and 36-year-old goal-tender Nikolai Khabibulin.

The Red Wings lean on for-wards Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen, rely on their depth when stars such as Pavel Datsyuk go cold, Lidstrom and veteran goalie Chris Osgood.

Detroit is hoping to win the Stanley Cup for the fifth time in 12 seasons and to lift the spirits of an economically depressed area.

“I think it’s good for the city and the state really if we keep win-ning,” Babcock said. “Auto dealer-ships are closing and a lot of things are going bad, but we’re doing something good that hopefully makes people feel a little better.”


EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

JERRY S. MENDOZA / AP

Red Wings D Nicklas Lidstrom expects the Blackhawks series to ‘be a tough one, too.’

CHARLES KRUPA / AP

Carolina is the second team to win consecutive Game 7s on the road the same playoff year.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2009 12NHL


CAROLINA HURRICANESPOS NO. PLAYER GP G A PTS +/- PIM PP SH GW OTG S PCTGC 12 Eric Staal 14 9 4 13 4 2 3 0 1 0 56 .161L 36 Jussi Jokinen 14 6 4 10 3 0 2 0 3 1 21 .286L 13 Ray Whitney 14 3 6 9 2- 4 0 0 1 0 46 .065R 59 Chad LaRose 14 2 7 9 2 10 0 0 0 0 38 .053D 25 Joni Pitkanen 14 0 7 7 4 16 0 0 0 0 40 .000L 14 Sergei Samsonov 13 4 2 6 4 6 0 0 0 0 19 .211D 77 Joe Corvo 14 1 5 6 2- 0 0 0 1 0 44 .023R 24 Scott Walker 14 1 4 5 0 17 0 0 1 1 20 .050D 6 Tim Gleason 14 1 4 5 2 27 0 0 1 1 9 .111D 4 Dennis Seidenberg 12 0 5 5 0 8 0 0 0 0 9 .000C 8 Matt Cullen 14 2 2 4 1- 8 0 1 0 0 23 .087R 15 Tuomo Ruutu 14 1 3 4 3- 8 0 0 0 0 16 .063L 18 Ryan Bayda 11 2 1 3 2 6 0 0 0 0 16 .125C 17 Rod Brind’Amour 14 1 1 2 1- 8 0 0 0 0 23 .043R 26 Erik Cole 14 0 2 2 4- 16 0 0 0 0 22 .000D 5 Frantisek Kaberle 4 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 5 .000D 33 Anton Babchuk 12 0 1 1 3- 10 0 0 0 0 21 .000R 44 Patrick Eaves 14 0 1 1 2- 6 0 0 0 0 17 .000C 63 Dwight Helminen 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 —D 38 Tim Conboy 3 0 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 —D 7 Niclas Wallin 14 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 7 .000TEAM TOTALS 14 33 60 93 1 171 5 1 8 3 452 .073OPPONENT TOTALS 14 32 57 89 1- 166 5 0 6 1 441 .073

RK NO GOALTENDER GP MIN AVG W L OT EN SO GA SA SV% G A PIM30 Cam Ward 14 865 2.22 8 6 0 0 2 32 441 .927 0 0 0TEAM TOTALS 14 869 2.21 8 6 0 0 2 32 441 .927 0 0 0OPPONENT TOTALS 14 869 2.28 6 8 0 1 2 33 452 .927 0 0 0

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKSPOS NO. PLAYER GP G A PTS +/- PIM PP SH GW OTG S PCTGR 24 Martin Havlat 12 5 8 13 2 8 0 0 1 1 30 .167R 88 Patrick Kane 11 8 4 12 3- 12 2 0 0 0 28 .286C 19 Jonathan Toews 12 4 6 10 2 24 3 0 2 0 31 .129L 32 Kris Versteeg 12 3 7 10 2- 8 2 0 0 0 15 .200R 10 Patrick Sharp 12 5 4 9 0 2 2 0 1 0 30 .167C 36 Dave Bolland 12 4 5 9 1 18 1 1 1 0 22 .182D 51 Brian Campbell 12 2 7 9 5 0 2 0 0 0 16 .125D 7 Brent Seabrook 12 1 8 9 3 8 1 0 0 0 23 .043D 25 Cam Barker 12 3 4 7 1- 0 0 0 0 0 22 .136R 33 Dustin Byfuglien 12 3 4 7 0 20 1 0 0 0 28 .107D 2 Duncan Keith 12 0 5 5 4 4 0 0 0 0 18 .000R 37 Adam Burish 12 2 2 4 3 22 0 0 1 0 18 .111L 16 Andrew Ladd 12 2 1 3 4 10 0 0 1 1 20 .100C 26 Samuel Pahlsson 12 1 2 3 1- 0 1 0 0 0 8 .125L 55 Ben Eager 12 1 1 2 1- 31 0 0 1 0 11 .091D 8 Matt Walker 12 0 2 2 4- 10 0 0 0 0 7 .000L 22 Troy Brouwer 12 0 2 2 2 8 0 0 0 0 16 .000D 4 Niklas Hjalmarsson 12 0 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 6 .000C 46 Colin Fraser 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000TEAM TOTALS 12 44 73 117 3 191 15 1 8 2 350 .126OPPONENT TOTALS 12 35 60 95 3- 193 9 0 4 0 319 .110

RK NO GOALTENDER GP MIN AVG W L OT EN SO GA SA SV% G A PIM39 Nikolai Khabibuli 12 717 2.76 8 4 0 2 0 33 317 .896 0 0 0TEAM TOTALS 12 723 2.90 8 4 0 2 0 35 319 .890 0 0 0OPPONENT TOTALS 12 723 3.65 4 8 0 3 0 44 350 .874 0 0 0

PITTSBURGH PENGUINSPOS NO. PLAYER GP G A PTS +/- PIM PP SH GW OTG S PCTGC 87 Sidney Crosby 13 12 9 21 6 10 5 0 1 0 55 .218C 71 Evgeni Malkin 13 6 13 19 2- 16 4 0 1 1 60 .100D 55 Sergei Gonchar 11 2 8 10 1 6 1 0 1 0 27 .074R 13 Bill Guerin 13 5 4 9 7 9 1 0 2 1 37 .135D 58 Kris Letang 12 3 6 9 2 11 1 0 1 1 32 .094L 26 Ruslan Fedotenko 13 4 4 8 4 2 0 0 0 0 36 .111L 14 Chris Kunitz 13 0 7 7 1 13 0 0 0 0 20 .000D 7 Mark Eaton 13 4 1 5 6 6 1 0 0 0 10 .400C 11 Jordan Staal 13 2 3 5 4- 6 0 0 0 0 34 .059C 48 Tyler Kennedy 13 2 2 4 2- 4 0 0 2 0 40 .050R 81 Miroslav Satan 7 0 4 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 11 .000D 44 Brooks Orpik 13 0 4 4 2- 14 0 0 0 0 2 .000C 25 Maxime Talbot 13 2 1 3 0 5 0 0 0 0 15 .133L 24 Matt Cooke 13 1 2 3 2- 12 0 0 0 0 18 .056D 4 Rob Scuderi 13 1 2 3 0 6 0 0 0 0 5 .200R 27 Craig Adams 13 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 16 .063D 3 Alex Goligoski 2 0 1 1 1- 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000D 43 Philippe Boucher 4 0 1 1 2- 0 0 0 0 0 6 .000R 17 Petr Sykora 6 0 1 1 3- 0 0 0 0 0 7 .000D 2 Hal Gill 13 0 1 1 1 4 0 0 0 0 10 .000L 9 Pascal Dupuis 10 0 0 0 3- 6 0 0 0 0 14 .000TEAM TOTALS 13 45 75 120 3 136 13 0 8 3 456 .099OPPONENT TOTALS 13 38 65 103 3- 192 9 2 5 1 374 .102

RK NO GOALTENDER GP MIN AVG W L OT EN SO GA SA SV% G A PIM29 Marc-Andre Fleury 13 815 2.72 8 5 0 1 0 37 373 .901 0 0 2TEAM TOTALS 13 820 2.78 8 5 0 1 0 38 374 .898 0 0 2OPPONENT TOTALS 13 820 3.29 5 8 0 2 1 45 456 .901 0 0 0

DETROIT RED WINGSPOS NO. PLAYER GP G A PTS +/- PIM PP SH GW OTG S PCTGL 93 Johan Franzen 11 8 7 15 7 4 3 0 1 0 35 .229C 40 Henrik Zetterberg 11 6 8 14 8 4 1 0 0 0 39 .154D 5 Nicklas Lidstrom 11 3 8 11 6 2 2 0 1 0 36 .083R 11 Daniel Cleary 11 3 6 9 10 4 0 0 2 0 25 .120L 26 Jiri Hudler 11 4 4 8 1 6 2 0 1 0 24 .167R 81 Marian Hossa 11 4 3 7 2 4 2 0 1 0 57 .070C 51 Valtteri Filppula 11 0 7 7 5 4 0 0 0 0 18 .000R 37 Mikael Samuelsson 11 3 3 6 3 2 0 0 0 0 46 .065D 23 Brad Stuart 11 1 5 6 4 8 1 0 0 0 21 .048D 55 Niklas Kronwall 11 1 4 5 2 10 1 0 0 0 18 .056C 13 Pavel Datsyuk 11 1 4 5 3 9 1 0 0 0 36 .028R 96 Tomas Holmstrom 11 2 2 4 0 10 0 0 0 0 13 .154D 28 Brian Rafalski 6 1 2 3 5 11 1 0 1 0 9 .111D 52 Jonathan Ericsson 11 1 2 3 6 15 0 0 1 0 18 .056C 43 Darren Helm 11 2 0 2 0 4 0 0 0 0 16 .125D 22 Brett Lebda 11 0 2 2 4 4 0 0 0 0 9 .000L 8 Justin Abdelkader 3 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 .000L 82 Tomas Kopecky 8 0 1 1 0 7 0 0 0 0 13 .000R 18 Kirk Maltby 10 0 1 1 2- 2 0 0 0 0 3 .000C 33 Kris Draper 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---D 14 Derek Meech 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---D 24 Chris Chelios 4 0 0 0 1- 2 0 0 0 0 2 .000TEAM TOTALS 11 40 71 111 13 114 14 0 8 0 442 .090OPPONENT TOTALS 11 24 42 66 13- 189 11 0 3 1 303 .079

RK NO GOALTENDER GP MIN AVG W L OT EN SO GA SA SV% G A PIM30 Chris Osgood 11 698 2.06 8 3 0 0 1 24 303 .921 0 1 0TEAM TOTALS 11 701 2.05 8 3 0 0 1 24 303 .921 0 1 0OPPONENT TOTALS 11 701 3.42 3 8 0 3 0 40 442 .910 0 0 0

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

Points GP G A PTSSidney Crosby, Pittsburgh 13 12 9 21Alex Ovechkin, Washington 14 11 10 21Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh 13 6 13 19Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim 13 4 14 18Johan Franzen, Detroit 11 8 7 15Nicklas Backstrom, Washington 14 3 12 15Corey Perry, Anaheim 13 8 6 14Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit 11 6 8 14Alexander Semin, Washington 14 5 9 14Eric Staal, Carolina 14 9 4 13Marc Savard, Boston 11 6 7 13Michael Ryder, Boston 11 5 8 13Martin Havlat, Chicago 12 5 8 13

GoalsName Team GP GSidney Crosby, Pittsburgh 13 12Alex Ovechkin, Washington 14 11Eric Staal, Carolina 14 9Johan Franzen, Detroit 11 8Patrick Kane, Chicago 11 8Corey Perry, Anaheim 13 8Phil Kessel, Boston 11 6Marc Savard, Boston 11 6Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit 11 6Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh 13 6Jussi Jokinen, Carolina 14 6Michael Ryder, Boston 11 5Martin Havlat, Chicago 12 5Patrick Sharp, Chicago 12 5Bill Guerin, Pittsburgh 13 5Bobby Ryan, Anaheim 13 5Alexander Semin, Washington 14 5

AssistsName Team GP ARyan Getzlaf, Anaheim 13 14Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh 13 13Nicklas Backstrom, Washington 14 12Alex Ovechkin, Washington 14 10Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh 13 9Alexander Semin, Washington 14 9Sergei Gonchar, Pittsburgh 11 8Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit 11 8Michael Ryder, Boston 11 8Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit 11 8Martin Havlat, Chicago 12 8Brent Seabrook, Chicago 12 8Chris Pronger, Anaheim 13 8Mike Green, Washington 14 8

Power play goalsName Team GP PPSidney Crosby, Pittsburgh 13 5Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh 13 4Marc Savard, Boston 11 3Eric Staal, Carolina 14 3Jonathan Toews, Chicago 12 3Johan Franzen, Detroit 11 3Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim 13 3Alex Ovechkin, Washington 14 3Steve Bernier, Vancouver 10 2Jarome Iginla, Calgary 6 2Jussi Jokinen, Carolina 14 2Brooks Laich, Washington 14 2Bobby Ryan, Anaheim 13 2R.J. Umberger, Columbus 4 2Marian Hossa, Detroit 11 2Teemu Selanne, Anaheim 13 2Patrick Sharp, Chicago 12 2Patrick Kane, Chicago 11 2

Sami Salo, Vancouver 7 2Brian Campbell, Chicago 12 2Jiri Hudler, Detroit 11 2Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit 11 2Corey Perry, Anaheim 13 2Daniel Sedin, Vancouver 10 2Kris Versteeg, Chicago 12 2Nicklas Backstrom, Washington 14 2

Power play pointsName Team GP PPPEvgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh 13 10Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim 13 9Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit 11 8Sergei Gonchar, Pittsburgh 11 8Alex Ovechkin, Washington 14 8Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh 13 7Brian Campbell, Chicago 12 6Chris Pronger, Anaheim 13 6Kris Versteeg, Chicago 12 6Nicklas Backstrom, Washington 14 6Johan Franzen, Detroit 11 6Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim 13 6Alexander Semin, Washington 14 6

Game-winning goalsName Team GP GWJussi Jokinen, Carolina 14 3Patrick Marleau, San Jose 6 2Sami Salo, Vancouver 7 2Steve Bernier, Vancouver 10 2Daniel Cleary, Detroit 11 2Marc Savard, Boston 11 2Jonathan Toews, Chicago 12 2Bill Guerin, Pittsburgh 13 2Tyler Kennedy, Pittsburgh 13 2Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim 13 2

Shooting percentageName Team GP G S PCTGMark Eaton, Pittsburgh 13 4 10 40.0Marc Savard, Boston 11 6 17 35.3Yannick Weber, Montreal 3 1 3 33.3R.J. Umberger, Columbus 4 3 9 33.3Jared Ross, Philadelphia 6 1 3 33.3Patrick Kane, Chicago 11 8 28 28.6Jussi Jokinen, Carolina 14 6 21 28.6Christopher Higgins, Montreal 4 2 8 25.0Fredrik Modin, Columbus 4 1 4 25.0Byron Bitz, Boston 5 1 4 25.0Daniel Carcillo, Philadelphia 5 1 4 25.0Arron Asham, Philadelphia 6 1 4 25.0Eric Nystrom, Calgary 6 2 8 25.0Sami Salo, Vancouver 7 3 12 25.0Marc Staal, NY Rangers 7 1 4 25.0Two tied 10 1 4 25.0

Plus/minusName Team GP +/-Milan Lucic, Boston 10 12Daniel Cleary, Detroit 11 10Alex Ovechkin, Washington 14 10Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit 11 8Tom Poti, Washington 14 8Johan Franzen, Detroit 11 7Phil Kessel, Boston 11 7Bill Guerin, Pittsburgh 13 7Jonathan Ericsson, Detroit 11 6David Krejci, Boston 11 6Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit 11 6Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh 13 6Mark Eaton, Pittsburgh 13 6Milan Jurcina, Washington 14 6

NHL Playoff leaders(Through May 14)

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2009 13NHL Stats


SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2009 14Baseball

Three sources told the Los Angeles Times that no traces of the medicine HCG were found in Dodgers OF Manny Ramirez’s failed drug test. That failed test resulted in a 50-game sus-pension, from which Ramirez will be eligible to return July 3. One of those sources added that Ramirez’s test showed an elevated synthetic testos-terone level, more than four times that of the average male. Anti-doping experts told the newspaper that the absence of HCG and the league’s decision to suspend Ramirez indi-cated he used steroids.

Mets manager Jerry Manuel thinks slugging 1B Carlos Delgado probably is headed to the disabled list. Manuel expects the Mets to make a decision today on Delgado, who was expected to miss his fifth straight game Friday night with a sore right hip after hurt-ing himself sliding last month. Mean-while, an MRI exam on P J.J. Putz revealed elbow inflammation, an injury caused by a bone spur in his elbow. The Mets also kept SS Jose Reyes out of the starting lineup for one more day with a stiff right calf. Also, P Tim Redding (shoulder) will be acti-vated from the 15-day disabled list and will start Monday at Dodger Sta-dium, according to the New York Daily News.

The Mariners have removed struggling Brandon Morrow as their closer. Manager Don Wakamatsu said before Friday’s game against Bos-ton that David Aardsma will lead a rotation of relievers who will finish games based on specific situations. Morrow (0-3) blew saves in each of the last two games of Seattle’s just-

completed road trip, when the team went 1-7.

Although the Marlins don’t believe it is anything serious, The Miami Herald reports there is some concern about P Josh Johnson’s pitching shoulder. Johnson left Thursday’s start after only four innings because there was “something there—nothing serious,” according to manager Fredi Gonzalez. Johnson (3-0, 2.50 ERA) told the newspaper that the shoulder felt weak, not tight. However, he is expected to make his next start.

White Sox OF Jermaine Dye was suspended for two games and fined

an undisclosed amount Friday because of his actions in Wednes-day’s game. After being called out on strikes, Dye argued with home plate umpire Mike DiMuro and was ejected after slamming his helmet on the ground. The helmet bounced up and hit DiMuro. Dye has appealed the suspension.

Cubs OF Milton Bradley sat out Friday’s game, serving a suspension that was reduced from two games to one game Thursday. In other Cubs news, SS Ryan Theriot told the Chicago Tribune that he laughed at a recent Chicago Sun-Times column that labeled him as a steroid “suspect.”

Said Theriot, “I guess everybody is entitled to their own opinion. It’s unfortunate, like I said the other day, that it’s come to this. But I guess you can write whatever you want to write, and it’s up to the readers to formulate their own opinion.”

The Padres claimed IF Josh Wil-son on waivers from Arizona and designated P Duaner Sanchez for assignment. Wilson hit just .231 for the D-backs. Sanchez was 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA in 11 innings.

After leaving Thursday’s game because of a right hamstring injury, Giants SS Edgar Renteria is expected to miss at least several games, accord-ing to the San Francisco Chronicle.

According to The Baltimore Sun, P Rich Hill (elbow) will make his Ori-oles debut tonight at Kansas City. As a result, P Mark Hendrickson (1-4, 6.35 ERA) will move from the rota-tion to the bullpen. Acquired from the Cubs in the offseason, Hill went 1-2 with a 1.65 ERA in four minor league rehab games this season.

Twins OF Delmon Young was placed on the family medical emer-gency list Friday, according to the team’s website. He will be away from the team from 3-7 days to attend to his ill mother in California.

The Nationals put starting C Jesus Flores on the 15-day disabled list with a bruised right shoulder and designated reliever Logan Kensing for assignment. Washington recalled reliever Jesus Colome, and C Josh Bard from Class AAA Syracuse.

THE LAUNCHING PADWhat to expect in the major leagues today

A good race a-brewin’As the Cardinals began to cool off recently, several of their N.L. Central rivals

began to heat up. As a result, the four top teams in the division were separated by a half-game going into this weekend’s action. The Brewers, one of the teams playing well, will continue their three-game set at Busch Stadium this afternoon. Once again, St. Louis will try to solve Milwaukee righthander Jeff Suppan, who pitched for the Cardinals from 2004-06. In five starts against St. Louis since 2007, Suppan is 4-0 with a 1.93 ERA. At the plate during that same span, Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder has been a Cardinals killer (.308 average, .440 on-base percentage, seven homers and 24 RBIs in 30 games).

First-inning jittersIn his past two starts, Yankees righthander Joba Chamberlain has been

sensational—from the second inning on. He allowed a combined seven earned runs in the first innings of those two games, followed by 9 2/3 scoreless innings. Another concern for Chamberlain: pitching at Yankee Stadium. He is 0-1 with a 7.84 ERA in two home starts but 2-0 with a 2.22 ERA in four road starts. Chamberlain will start at Yankee Stadium this afternoon against Minnesota.

Let’s play twoAfter getting a brief taste of first place last week for the first time this

season, the Phillies dropped three of five at home against the Braves and Dodgers—and also dropped out of the N.L. East lead. The defending World Series champions have a chance to make up some ground today with a doubleheader against the last-place Nationals. Working in their favor is that fact that they’ll be facing two starting pitchers—Scott Olsen and Daniel Cabrera—who are a combined 1-7 with a 6.01 ERA this season. That said, Olsen’s lone win came against Philadelphia in late April.

— Chris Bahr

INSIDE DISH

Experts: Manny’s suspension likely due to steroids

JEFF CHIU / AP

Sources told the L.A. Times that no traces of HCG were found in Manny Ramirez’s failed drug test.

GENE J. PUSKAR / AP

Jeff Suppan is unbeaten against St. Louis since the start of the 2007 season.


BY BILL [email protected]

NEW YORK—When Johan Santana pitches, the Mets don’t hit. And no one on the team seems to know why.

“We can’t explain it,” shortstop Jose Reyes said, expressing the common sen-timent in a puzzled Mets clubhouse. “It’s hard to see Johan pitch as well as he has and for us not to score at least three or four runs for him. It’s not like we aren’t trying.”

The lack of run support is startling. The Mets, who averaged 5.8 runs per game in their first 27 games in which Santana didn’t start, have scored 15 runs in Santana’s seven starts.

They also have played shoddy defense behind Santana, committing seven errors in his starts. Twice, that had resulted in Santana losing games in which he did not allow an earned run. The latest such example came during an 8-3 loss to the Braves on Monday.

“It’s crazy that it has happened twice already,” said Santana, who is 4-2 despite an N.L.-best 0.78 ERA going into this afternoon’s start against the Giants and Randy Johnson, who is seeking career victory No. 299.

While he isn’t sure what is behind the lack of run support, manager Jerry Man-uel said he knows what it will take to fix it. “We just need to perform at the level that he is pitching,” Manuel said. “He’s outperforming the level we are playing at, and we have to come and play at the level that he brings.”

Manuel said it’s possible that Santana’s commanding presence in the clubhouse

and ability to motivate his teammates could be backfiring on him. “He’s the type of guy that gets everybody up before his game,” the manager said. “He might be getting ‘em too geeked. That might be it.”

There is a more obvious reason why the Mets have struggled with Santana on the mound: the quality of pitchers oppos-ing him. Of his seven starts, four have been against the opposing team’s best starter. That doesn’t figure to be the case forever.

“I’m sure that as the year goes on, Johan is not going face a Derek Lowe or Tim Lincecum, or another top-notch pitcher every time he goes out,” Braves’ third baseman Chipper Jones said. “He’s going to be pitted against a No. 3 or 4 guy, and he’ll get his run support up.”

A lack of support is nothing new for Santana with the Mets. Last season, he had the lowest ERA in the majors, but a leaky bullpen cost him seven victories and a likely N.L. Cy Young Award—and deprived the Mets of a playoff berth.

The Mets don’t want to have to live through a similar scenario this season. “There will probably come a point,” Manuel said, “where we’ll think, ‘Wow, we missed a lot of opportunities with Johan.’ “

Still, if a team is going to fail to provide run support for any starter, Jones said he can’t think of anyone who can handle it better than Santana. “No matter how many runs they score for him, he is going to keep them in the game.”

That’s the silver lining for the Mets as they wait for their offense to awaken with Santana on the mound.

Startling lack of scoring has Santanalonging for a Mets support group

Game by gameA look at Johan Santana’s seven starts this season.

DATE IP ERRUN

SUPPORTRESULT

April 6 5 2⁄3 1 2 W

April 12 7 0 1 L

April 18 7 0 1 W

April 24 6 1 4 W

April 29 7 2 3 ND

May 6 7 0 1 W

May 11 6 1⁄3 0 3 L

Where’s the justice?

Despite an N.L.-best 0.78 ERA, Johan Santana has only four wins this season. How much of a difference can run support make? Consider that all of these pitchers have at least as many wins as Santana, despite markedly worse ERAs.

PITCHER, TEAM WINS ERA

Kevin Slowey, Twins 5 4.91

Bronson Arroyo, Reds 4 7.02

Scott Kazmir, Rays 4 6.97

Jason Marquis, Rockies 4 5.40

Mike Pelfrey, Mets 4 4.89KATHY WILLENS / AP

The Mets are averaging 5.8 runs a game when Johan Santana doesn’t start, and about 2 runs per when he does.

N.Y. METS (Johan Santana 4-2) AT SAN FRANCISCO (Randy Johnson 3-3): 4:10 p.m. today, FOX

CHARLES KRUPA / AP

Minnesota P Kevin Slowey





American League StandingsEast W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home AwayToronto 24 14 .632 — — 6-4 W-1 13-6 11-8Boston 21 15 .583 2 — 5-5 L-3 13-4 8-11New York 18 17 .514 4½ 2½ 5-5 W-3 7-7 11-10Tampa Bay 17 20 .459 6½ 4½ 6-4 W-1 7-8 10-12Baltimore 15 21 .417 8 6 5-5 L-1 11-11 4-10

Central W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home AwayDetroit 18 16 .529 — — 5-5 W-1 9-5 9-11Kansas City 19 17 .528 — 2 4-6 W-1 12-7 7-10Minnesota 18 18 .500 1 3 5-5 L-1 14-9 4-9Chicago 15 19 .441 3 5 3-7 L-2 8-8 7-11Cleveland 14 23 .378 5½ 7½ 4-6 L-1 7-11 7-12

West W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home AwayTexas 21 14 .600 — — 8-2 W-5 12-6 9-8Los Angeles 18 16 .529 2½ 2 7-3 L-1 12-8 6-8Seattle 17 19 .472 4½ 4 2-8 W-1 8-7 9-12Oakland 13 19 .406 6½ 6 4-6 L-1 8-10 5-9

National League StandingsEast W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home AwayNew York 20 15 .571 — — 8-2 W-2 12-8 8-7Philadelphia 17 16 .515 2 3 4-6 W-1 8-12 9-4Atlanta 18 17 .514 2 3 7-3 W-2 6-9 12-8Florida 17 19 .472 3½ 4½ 2-8 L-5 6-8 11-11Washington 11 22 .333 8 9 5-5 L-1 5-8 6-14

Central W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home AwayMilwaukee 21 14 .600 — — 8-2 W-3 12-7 9-7St. Louis 21 14 .600 — — 4-6 W-1 12-5 9-9Chicago 20 14 .588 ½ ½ 7-3 W-4 11-6 9-8Cincinnati 20 15 .571 1 1 7-3 L-1 7-9 13-6Houston 16 18 .471 4½ 4½ 6-4 W-2 8-10 8-8Pittsburgh 14 21 .400 7 7 2-8 L-2 9-9 5-12

West W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home AwayLos Angeles 25 12 .676 — — 6-4 W-3 14-3 11-9San Francisco 18 17 .514 6 3 5-5 L-3 12-7 6-10Colorado 14 20 .412 9½ 6½ 4-6 W-1 7-10 7-10San Diego 14 22 .389 10½ 7½ 3-7 W-1 9-6 5-16Arizona 13 23 .361 11½ 8½ 2-8 L-4 9-15 4-8

z-first game was a win

Pitching Matchups Today’s Games (All times Eastern)

American League The Line

Minnesota (Blackburn 2-2) at N.Y. Yankees (Chamberlain 2-1), 1:05 p.m. at NYM -190 Min +180

Chicago White Sox (Colon 2-3) at Toronto (R.Ray 0-1), 1:07 p.m. at Tor -130 ChW +120

Cleveland (Pavano 3-3) at Tampa Bay (Garza 3-2), 4:10 p.m. at TB -165 Cle +155

L.A. Angels (Lackey 0-0) at Texas (Padilla 2-2), 4:10 p.m. at Tex -110 LAA +100

Oakland (Braden 3-4) at Detroit (Porcello 3-3), 7:05 p.m. at Det -130 Oak +120

Baltimore (R.Hill 0-0) at Kansas City (Davies 2-1), 7:10 p.m. at KC -125 Bal +115

Boston (Beckett 3-2) at Seattle (Olson 0-0), 10:10 p.m. Bos -160 at Sea +150

National League The Line

Philadelphia (Myers 2-2) at Washington (Olsen 1-3), 1:05 p.m., 1st game Phi -130 at Was +120

Houston (Oswalt 1-2) at Chicago Cubs (R.Wells 0-0), 1:05 p.m. at ChC -105 Hou -105

Milwaukee (Suppan 2-3) at St. Louis (Wainwright 3-1), 1:10 p.m. at StL -145 Mil +135

N.Y. Mets (J.Santana 4-2) at San Francisco (Ra.Johnson 3-3), 4:10 p.m. NYM -160 at SF +150

L.A. Dodgers (Milton 0-0) at Florida (A.Miller 0-1), 6:10 p.m. at Fla -110 LAD +100

Colorado (Cook 2-1) at Pittsburgh (Snell 1-5), 7:05 p.m. Col -110 at Pit +100

Philadelphia (Happ 1-0) at Washington (D.Cabrera 0-4), 7:05 p.m., 2nd Phi -115 at Was +105

Arizona (Scherzer 0-3) at Atlanta (Kawakami 2-4), 7:10 p.m. at Atl -135 Ari +125

Cincinnati (Volquez 4-2) at San Diego (Geer 0-1), 10:05 p.m. Cin -125 at SD +115

MORE COVERAGE Get everything you need to

dominate your fantasy league at sportingnews.com/fantasy/baseball

Fantasy Focus Hitter rankings

A glance at the movers and shak-ers in the latest hitter rankings:

UP▲ 1B/3B Chris Davis, Rangers. Davis is crushing the ball this month, a strong sign that the worst part of his slump has passed. ▲ OF Michael Bourn, Astros. Don’t expect his average to remain above .300, but Bourn has a legitimate shot at stealing 60 bases.▲ 2B/SS Emmanuel Burriss, Giants. Burriss should be a cheap source of runs and steals while hitting atop the Giants’ lineup.

DOWN▼ DH David Ortiz, Red Sox. Ortiz hit rock bottom Thursday, going 0-for-7 and leaving 12 men on base. Take what you can get for Ortiz while he still has value.▼ OF Shane Victorino, Phillies. Victo-rino has chipped in with runs and RBIs despite his season-long slump, but owners need more steals. ▼ 2B/3B/SS Marco Scutaro, Blue Jays. Come on, you didn’t really think Scutaro could replicate his .281-5-15 April, did you?

— Brad Pinkerton

LEAGUE LEADERSBatting Average

Runs

RBIs

Doubles

Triples

Home Runs

Stolen Bases

Pitching (4 decisions)

Strikeouts

Saves

A.L.

Player Team

Longoria Tampa Bay 16

Callaspo Kansas City 14

MYoung Texas 14

Byrd Texas 13

Lind Toronto 13

Markakis Baltimore 13

Polanco Detroit 13

N.L.

Player Team

Hudson Los Angeles 14

HaRamirez Florida 14

FSanchez Pittsburgh 14

Kotchman Atlanta 13

Zimmerman Washington 13

Five tied 11

A.L.

Player Team

Verlander Detroit 69

Greinke Kansas City 65

Lester Boston 54

FHernandez Seattle 53

Halladay Toronto 49

Bedard Seattle 43

Two tied 42

N.L.

Player Team

JVazquez Atlanta 67

Lincecum San Francisco 66

Peavy San Diego 61

JSantana New York 60

Billingsley Los Angeles 56

Haren Arizona 56

WRodriguez Houston 48

A.L.

Player Team

FFrancisco Texas 9

Fuentes Los Angeles 9

Papelbon Boston 9

Jenks Chicago 8

MaRivera New York 7

Soria Kansas City 7

Four tied 6

N.L.

Player Team

FrRodriguez New York 11

Cordero Cincinnati 10

Broxton Los Angeles 9

Bell San Diego 9

Franklin St. Louis 9

Three tied 8

A.L.

Player Team


Bay Boston 38

Huff Baltimore 33


CPena Tampa Bay 33

AHill Toronto 32

Three tied 31

N.L.

Player Team

Pujols St. Louis 37

Cantu Florida 33

Fielder Milwaukee 32

Hawpe Colorado 30

Ethier Los Angeles 29

AdGonzalez San Diego 29

BMolina San Francisco 29

A.L.

Player Team

AdJones Baltimore 35


Scutaro Toronto 34

Bay Boston 31

BRoberts Baltimore 31

VMartinez Cleveland 30

Pedroia Boston 30

N.L.

Player Team

Pujols St. Louis 33

ASoriano Chicago 30

Zimmerman Washington 30

Hudson Los Angeles 29

Ibanez Philadelphia 29

Weeks Milwaukee 28

Werth Philadelphia 28

A.L.

Player Team

VMartinez Cleveland .400

MiCabrera Detroit .378

AdJones Baltimore .370

Bartlett Tampa Bay .359

MYoung Texas .350

AHill Toronto .347

Longoria Tampa Bay .343

N.L.

Player Team

Votto Cincinnati .373

Beltran New York .370

Hawpe Colorado .363

Zimmerman Washington .362

HaRamirez Florida .354

Ibanez Philadelphia .352

MRamirez Los Angeles .348

A.L.

Player Team

CPena Tampa Bay 13

Kinsler Texas 11


Morneau Minnesota 11

Five tied 10

N.L.

Player Team

AdGonzalez San Diego 15

Pujols St. Louis 13

Dunn Washington 11

ASoriano Chicago 11

Bruce Cincinnati 10

Ibanez Philadelphia 10

Utley Philadelphia 10

A.L.

Player Team

Crawford Tampa Bay 24

Ellsbury Boston 16

Figgins Los Angeles 15

Abreu Los Angeles 13

BUpton Tampa Bay 11

Bartlett Tampa Bay 9

Crisp Kansas City 9

N.L.

Player Team

Bourn Houston 13

JosReyes New York 11

Burriss San Francisco 10

Fowler Colorado 10

Morgan Pittsburgh 10

Taveras Cincinnati 10

DWright New York 10

A.L.

Player Team

Palmer Los Angeles 4-0 1.000

RRamirez Boston 4-0 1.000

Frasor Toronto 4-0 1.000

Halladay Toronto 7-1 .875

Greinke Kansas City 7-1 .875

Buehrle Chicago 5-1 .833

N.L.

Player Team

Martis Washington 5-0 1.000

Broxton Los Angeles 4-0 1.000

Meredith San Diego 4-0 1.000

Pelfrey New York 4-0 1.000

DLowe Atlanta 5-1 .833

Billingsley Los Angeles 5-1 .833

A.L.

Player Team

Crisp Kansas City 5

Andrus Texas 3

12 tied 2

N.L.

Player Team

Kemp Los Angeles 4

Bourn Houston 3

Morgan Pittsburgh 3

Victorino Philadelphia 3

Winn San Francisco 3

DWright New York 3

17 tied 2

DANNY MOLOSHOK / AP

San Francisco 2B/SS Emmanuel Burriss


http://sportingnews.com/fantasy/baseball

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Texas 10, L.A. Angels 8

Rangers 10, Angels 8

Los Angeles AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Figgins 3b 5 2 3 0 0 2 .258E.Aybar ss 5 2 3 2 0 1 .321Abreu rf 5 1 1 2 0 0 .302Hunter cf 2 2 0 0 3 2 .315K.Morales 1b 5 1 3 3 0 1 .293Napoli dh 4 0 3 0 1 0 .319J.Rivera lf 4 0 2 1 1 0 .2861-Willits pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333Kendrick 2b 5 0 1 0 0 0 .233Mathis c 2 0 0 0 1 1 .273a-Quinlan ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .167Totals 38 8 16 8 6 7

Texas AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Kinsler 2b 3 3 2 3 2 0 .318M.Young 3b 5 2 2 0 0 0 .350Hamilton cf 5 2 2 3 0 1 .244An.Jones rf 4 1 1 3 0 0 .297Blalock dh 4 0 0 0 0 1 .244Byrd lf 3 1 1 0 1 0 .303C.Davis 1b 4 0 1 1 0 1 .240Saltalamacchia c 4 0 0 0 0 1 .260Andrus ss 3 1 1 0 1 0 .275Totals 35 10 10 10 4 4

Los Angeles 000 011 105 — 8 16 2Texas 204 001 12x — 10 10 0

a-flied out for Mathis in the 9th. 1-ran for J.Rivera in the 9th. E: Figgins (5), K.Morales (2). LOB: Los Angeles 9, Texas 6. 2B: E.Aybar (7), Abreu (6), Napoli (7), M.Young (14), C.Davis (4). 3B: E.Aybar (2), Hamilton (2). HR: E.Aybar (1), off Holland; K.Morales (6), off O’Day; Kinsler 2 (11), off Saunders 2; An.Jones (4), off Saunders; Hamilton (5), off Loux. RBIs: E.Aybar 2 (9), Abreu 2 (14), K.Morales 3 (23), J.Rivera (10), Kinsler 3 (31), Hamilton 3 (17), An.Jones 3 (11), C.Davis (21). SB: Figgins 2 (15), Byrd (2). SF: An.Jones. Runners left in scoring position: Los Angeles 7 (Kendrick 3, Abreu 2, J.Rivera 2); Texas 4 (An.Jones 2, Saltalamacchia 2). DP: Texas 3 (Andrus, Kinsler, C.Davis), (Andrus, Kinsler, C.Davis), (Kinsler, Andrus, C.Davis).

Los Angeles IP H R ER BB SO NP ERASaunders L, 5-2 5 1⁄3 8 7 7 2 4 84 3.59J.Speier 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 6 7.71Loux 2 2 3 2 2 0 30 4.89Texas IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAMillwood W, 4-3 6 9 2 2 2 5 100 2.93Holland 2 2⁄3 5 5 5 3 2 58 4.85O’Day 0 2 1 1 0 0 10 1.69C.Wilson S, 1-1 1⁄3 0 0 0 1 0 8 4.11

O’Day pitched to 2 batters in the 9th. Inherited runners-scored: O’Day 2-2, C.Wilson 1-0. WP: Hol-land. PB: Mathis. Umpires: Home, Tim Tschida; First, Bob Davidson; Second, Rob Drake; Third, Jeff Nelson. T: 3:02. A: 33,429 (49,170).

Hamilton, Kinsler provide early support with homersARLINGTON, TEXAS—Rangers slugger

Josh Hamilton seemed disap-pointed about his towering 460-foot home run.

“I hit toward the label a little bit, because it vibrated my hands,” Hamilton said. “It was one of the easiest swings I’ve had in a while.”

While Hamilton wants to hit a 500-foot homer in a game—like his awe-inspring display at the Home Run Derby last summer—his two-run shot proved to be the difference as A.L. West-leading Texas held on for its fifth straight victory, 10-8 over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.

“We needed it bad,” manager Ron Washington said.

Hamilton, already with an RBI triple and a defensive play that pre-vented a run, homered for the third time in four games since coming off the disabled list. It was the third-longest homer at Rangers Ballpark, making it 10-3 before the Angels scored five times in the ninth.

Ian Kinsler homered twice and Andruw Jones also went deep for the Rangers (21-14), who moved seven games over .500 for the first time since June 2005, two seasons before Washington became their manager. Only twice before have they won more times through 35 games—1996 and 1998, their first two division-winning seasons.

Kinsler and Jones hit two-run homers in a span of four pitches in the third off Joe Saunders (5-2), who has always been great on the road—everywhere except in Texas.

“It kind of fires me up that I haven’t had success (in Texas). I tried to bring everything I had tonight and obviously I didn’t have much to bring to the table stuff-wise,” Saunders said. “I felt I was a little bit off in every aspect.”

Saunders, coming off his first career shutout in a 1-0 victory at home last Saturday over Kansas City and Zach Greinke, dropped to 0-4 with a 10.29 ERA in four starts at Rangers Ballpark.

The lefthander is 20-3 with a 2.72 ERA in 28 starts as a visitor to other ballparks.

Kevin Millwood (4-3) gave up two runs while scattering nine hits and walking two over six innings. It was the first time in his eight starts this season the righthander didn’t go at least seven innings.

His only 1-2-3 inning was the first, when he threw 12 pitches.

“Personally, I thought it was OK. I definitely could have pitched bet-ter, should have gone deeper,” Mill-wood said. “For the team, it’s a nice win. ... I’m just glad we scored 10 runs.”

After two quick outs in the ninth, Los Angeles had seven straight bat-ters reach base, including Kendry Morales’ three-run homer.

C.J. Wilson, the third pitcher in the inning, earned his first save and finally ended the game when Howie Kendrick hit a grounder with two runners on base.

Hamilton, who missed two weeks because of a strained muscle in his rib cage, quickly put the

Rangers ahead with a triple into the right-field corner after Michael Young doubled in the first. Jones followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.

Kinsler’s solo shot with one out in the sixth, his 11th of the season, was on the last pitch Saunders

threw.The last time Saunders had

allowed more than three earned runs away from Anaheim was Sept. 26, 2007, at Texas.

He had been 7-0 his last nine road starts since losing a complete game against the Rangers last July 8.

The Angels didn’t score until Erick Aybar had a two-out RBI tri-ple to make it 6-1 in the fifth, a bat-ter after Kendrick was thrown out at home by Hamilton’s throw to the plate when Chone Figgins singled to center.


TONY GUTIERREZ / AP

Before Josh Hamilton’s homer capped Texas’ scoring, the Rangers also got two homers from Ian Kinsler, right, including a two-run blast in the third.



AMERICAN LEAGUE

N.Y. Yankees 5, Minnesota 4

Yankees 5, Twins 4

Minnesota AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Span lf 2 0 1 0 3 0 .302Tolbert 2b 5 0 0 0 0 2 .171Mauer c 4 1 1 1 1 0 .438Morneau 1b 5 2 2 2 0 1 .317Kubel dh 4 1 2 0 1 1 .339Cuddyer rf 4 0 1 0 1 1 .268Crede 3b 2 0 0 0 0 0 .232B.Harris 3b 2 0 1 0 0 0 .314Gomez cf 2 0 0 0 1 2 .207Punto ss 3 0 1 1 0 0 .198Totals 33 4 9 4 7 7

New York AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Jeter ss 4 1 1 1 1 0 .270Damon lf 2 0 0 0 0 2 .313Gardner cf 3 2 3 1 0 0 .256Teixeira 1b 4 1 2 1 1 1 .213A.Rodriguez 3b 1 0 0 0 4 1 .1361-R.Pena pr 0 1 0 0 0 0 .280H.Matsui dh 4 0 0 0 1 1 .255Swisher rf 4 0 1 0 1 1 .248Cano 2b 3 0 0 0 2 0 .308Me.Cabrera cf-lf 5 0 2 2 0 1 .330Cash c 4 0 1 0 0 0 .143Totals 34 5 10 5 10 7

Minnesota 010 110 100 — 4 9 0New York 000 010 103 — 5 10 0

Two outs when winning run scored. 1-ran for A.Rodriguez in the 9th. LOB: Minnesota 11, New York 13. 2B: Cuddyer (6), Teixeira (6), Cash (1). 3B: Gardner (2). HR: Morneau 2 (11), off Hughes 2; Mauer (5), off Coke; Jeter (5), off Liriano; Gardner (2), off Crain. RBIs: Mauer (15), Morneau 2 (31), Punto (9), Jeter (15), Gard-ner (8), Teixeira (20), Me.Cabrera 2 (12). SB: Punto (4). S: Gomez. SF: Punto. Runners left in scoring posi-tion: Minnesota 4 (Punto, Span, Tolbert 2); New York 6 (Me.Cabrera 2, H.Matsui 2, Swisher 2). DP: Minnesota 1 (Tolbert, Morneau); New York 1 (Cano, Jeter, Teixeira).

Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO NP ERALiriano 6 4 1 1 6 6 101 5.21Crain H, 2 2⁄3 2 1 1 1 0 19 8.44Mijares H, 4 1 1⁄3 1 0 0 1 0 24 2.53Nathan L,1-1 BS,2-8 2⁄3 3 3 3 2 1 27 3.07New York IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAHughes 5 6 3 3 4 2 93 7.56Albaladejo 1 1 0 0 1 2 21 5.00Coke 2⁄3 1 1 1 0 0 13 3.77Tomko 2⁄3 1 0 0 0 0 12 5.40E.Ramirez 1 1⁄3 0 0 0 2 2 27 4.96Veras W, 2-1 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 3 6.89

Inherited runners-scored: Mijares 2-0, E.Ramirez 1-0, Veras 1-0. IBB: off Nathan (Cano). Umpires: Home, Wally Bell; First, Marty Foster; Second, Chad Fairchild; Third, John Hirschbeck. T: 3:37. A: 43,856 (52,325).

Gardner, Cabrera lead rally

NEW YORK—Brett Gardner was visiting with a young girl at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital on Friday, when she gave him a bracelet.

“She told me that if I kept it, I would hit a home run,” he said. “She said I’ll hit a home run tonight. She said as long as I have it, I’ll hit a home run every at-bat, which we all know is not going to happen.”

On a strange night when Alex Rodri-guez played his first game at the new Yankee Stadium, Gardner hit an unusual home run to spark a late-innings Yankees comeback.

Gardner had the first inside-the-park homer in the ballpark’s young history, then tripled to spark a three-run ninth inning that carried the Yan-kees over the Minnesota Twins 5-4 and stopped a five-game home losing streak. Melky Cabrera capped the rally

against Joe Nathan (1-1) with a two-run, bases-loaded single.

“It was probably more likely for me to hit an inside-the-parker than it was to hit one over the fence, so I’m glad I could do that for her,” Gardner said. “Hopefully, she was watching, it made her smile a little bit. If not, hopefully she can see the replay and it makes her happy.”

Gardner, who won the center-field job in spring training and then lost it last month to Cabrera, wasn’t even in the starting lineup. He entered in the fourth after Johnny Damon was called out on strikes for the second time by umpire Wally Bell, then was ejected for drawing a line on the inside part of the plate with his bat.

“Good thing I did get kicked out,” Damon said.


BY BILL [email protected]

NEW YORK—The Yankees , who climbed a game over .500 with a dramatic, 5-4 come-from-behind win over the Twins Friday night, still have plenty of problems. But they all say Alex Rodriguez’s slow start is not one of them.

After hitting a three-run homer against the Orioles last Friday on the first pitch he faced in his first game back after underdoing surgery on his right hip, A-Rod has strug-gled, going 2-for-21 with one RBI, including an 0-for-1 effort with four walks against the Twins.

That is paltry production for the highest-paid player in baseball, a three-time A.L. MVP who will earn more than $270 million—if you include bonuses for milestone homers—over the next nine years. But it is understandable, even if the hometown fans didn’t cut him any slack in his first game at the new Yankee Stadium since his February revelation of steroid use.

After giving him a nice ovation in his first at-bat, the fans show-ered him with boos after he struck out with the bases loaded his sec-ond time up, swinging at a 3-2 slider from Francisco Liriano that he said after the game was out of the strike zone.

“I should have had five walks,’’ A-Rod said. “I was disappointed I kind of expanded the strike zone that one time. But, overall, I felt pretty good. … The more I can swing at strikes, the better I am going to be. So four walks is a good night.’’

Yankee manager Joe Girardi said he was pleased with the patience

A-Rod showed at the plate. “I’m sure there was a little bit of

anxiousness coming home and probably excited to play in front of the home crowd,’’ he said. “And it would have been another good story if he had gotten the huge hit. But I thought he stayed within himself.’’

A-Rod’s teammates aren’t sur-prised that he’s struggled.

“It’s hard to come back and be ready right away,’’ Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano said of A-Rod, whose average fell to .136.

Added first baseman Mark Teix-eira: “This game is really hard to play when you are 100 percent and playing every day. Then you don’t have spring training and miss the first month and a half of the sea-son. We’re talking about Alex

Rodriguez. He’s going to be fine.’’Girardi said keeping A-Rod

healthy and in the lineup is his pri-mary concern. That means keep-ing a close eye on him and using him as a designated hitter or giv-ing him a day off, whether he wants it or not.

However, knowing Rodriguez as he does, Girardi also knows there is the potential for him to get frustrated if his good swings don’t start producing base hits.

“Alex is a guy who really pushes himself, and that is something you to guard against with every player. And we will do that. But you just feel if Alex gets his at-bats, he’s going to be productive. There is nothing in his lifetime that has told him anything different.’’

Middling Yanks know A-Rod not the problem

FRANK FRANKLIN II / AP

Melky Cabrera, right, sliced the first pitch he saw from Joe Nathan into left-center for the winning hit. FRANK FRANKLIN II / AP

Alex Rodriguez is now 2-for-21 since his first-pitch HR, but did walk four times Friday.




AMERICAN LEAGUE

Toronto 8, Chicago White Sox 3 Detroit 14, Oakland 1

Tigers 14, Athletics 1

Oakland AB R H BI BB SO Avg.O.Cabrera ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 .230K.Suzuki c 4 0 2 0 0 0 .331Giambi 1b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .208Powell 1b 1 0 1 0 0 0 .200Holliday lf 3 1 2 0 0 1 .250R.Davis cf 1 0 0 0 0 1 .185Cust dh 4 0 0 0 0 0 .281R.Sweeney cf-rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .241Kennedy 2b 4 0 2 1 0 1 .333Crosby 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 .246Hannahan 3b 2 0 0 0 0 1 .154Cunningham rf-lf 3 0 0 0 0 2 .000Totals 34 1 7 1 0 9

Detroit AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Granderson cf 4 0 1 0 1 1 .257Polanco 2b 5 0 0 0 0 0 .252Thomas rf 5 4 3 0 0 0 .368Mi.Cabrera 1b 4 4 3 1 0 0 .378Larish 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 .242Ordonez dh 3 2 3 2 1 0 .258a-J.Anderson ph-dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 .305Inge 3b 4 3 2 5 0 1 .291Raburn lf 5 1 1 5 0 1 .115Laird c 3 0 0 0 1 0 .195Everett ss 4 0 0 1 0 1 .282Totals 39 14 13 14 3 4

Oakland 000 100 000 — 1 7 4Detroit 502 204 01x — 14 13 0

E: Giambi (3), O.Cabrera (5), Kennedy (1), Crosby (5). LOB: Oakland 6, Detroit 5. 2B: Holliday (5), Thomas (3), Mi.Cabrera (5), Ordonez (3). HR: Raburn (1), off Bre.Anderson; Inge (10), off Giese. RBIs: Kennedy (2), Mi.Cabrera (26), Ordonez 2 (16), Inge 5 (27), Raburn 5 (6), Everett (15). SB: Kennedy (1). Runners left in scoring position: Oakland 3 (Cust, Hannahan, Cun-ningham); Detroit 3 (Thomas, Granderson, Raburn). DP: Oakland 1 (O.Cabrera, Kennedy, Powell).

Oakland IP H R ER BB SO NP ERABre.Anderson L, 0-4 3 1⁄3 6 9 3 2 1 87 6.03Giese 2 2⁄3 4 4 4 1 3 41 5.32S.Casilla 1 1 0 0 0 0 8 1.46Ziegler 1 2 1 1 0 0 23 4.40Detroit IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAE.Jackson W, 3-2 7 6 1 1 0 6 97 2.42Perry 1 1 0 0 0 2 15 2.93French 1 0 0 0 0 1 13 0.00

Inherited runners-scored: Giese 1-1. HBP: by Bre.Anderson (Inge). Umpires: Home, Jerry Crawford; First, Phil Cuzzi; Second, Todd Tichenor; Third, Tom Hallion. T: 2:27 (Rain delay: 1:13). A: 26,770 (41,255).

Blue Jays 8, White Sox 3

Chicago AB R H BI BB SO Avg.J.Nix 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .250Getz 2b 4 0 1 0 0 1 .255Quentin lf 3 1 0 0 1 1 .229Dye rf 4 1 1 2 0 1 .282Thome dh 3 0 1 0 1 0 .2311-Lillibridge pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 .154Konerko 1b 3 1 1 1 1 2 .304Pierzynski c 4 0 1 0 0 1 .287Al.Ramirez ss 4 0 1 0 0 0 .224Podsednik cf 3 0 1 0 0 0 .278Totals 32 3 7 3 3 6

Toronto AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Scutaro ss 4 2 2 1 1 0 .272A.Hill 2b 4 1 3 2 0 0 .347Rios rf 3 0 0 0 0 1 .259V.Wells cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 .263Lind dh 4 1 2 0 0 0 .326Rolen 3b 4 1 2 0 0 2 .331Millar 1b 4 1 1 1 0 0 .286Barajas c 4 1 1 1 0 2 .306Bautista lf 2 1 1 1 2 1 .299Totals 33 8 12 6 3 6

Chicago 000 012 000 — 3 7 1Toronto 002 600 00x — 8 12 0

1-ran for Thome in the 9th. E: Quentin (1). LOB: Chicago 5, Toronto 5. 2B: Scutaro (7), Lind (13), Barajas (11), Bautista (4). HR: Konerko (4), off Cecil; Dye (8), off Cecil; A.Hill (10), off Danks. RBIs: Dye 2 (19), Konerko (22), Scutaro (19), A.Hill 2 (32), Millar (12), Barajas (22), Bautista (5). Run-ners left in scoring position: Chicago 1 (J.Nix); Toronto 3 (V.Wells, Barajas, Lind). DP: Chicago 3 (J.Nix, Getz, Konerko), (Al.Ramirez, Konerko), (Al.Ramirez, Getz, Konerko); Toronto 2 (A.Hill, Scutaro, Millar), (Scutaro, A.Hill, Millar).

Chicago IP H R ER BB SO NP ERADanks L, 2-3 3 9 7 7 1 3 62 4.82Carrasco 2 3 1 1 0 1 36 3.00Broadway 3 0 0 0 2 2 45 2.84Toronto IP H R ER BB SO NP ERACecil W, 2-0 6 6 3 3 2 3 97 1.80Carlson 2 1 0 0 0 1 18 2.79B.J.Ryan 1 0 0 0 1 2 17 9.45

Danks pitched to 5 batters in the 4th. Inherited runners-scored: Carrasco 1-1. HBP: by Carrasco (Rios). Umpires: Home, Adrian Johnson; First, Larry Vanover; Second, Dan Iassogna; Third, Char-lie Reliford. T: 2:23. A: 17,241 (49,539).

DETROIT—The Detroit Tigers didn’t have much trouble with the Oakland Athletics on Friday night. It was the weather that almost cost them a win.

The Tigers had to wait out two lengthy rain delays before they were able to complete a 14-1 rout.

“We were fortunate to get that game in and get a victory,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “I thought a couple times that we were going to get rained out.”

Detroit got grand slams from Ryan Raburn and Brandon Inge—the first time the Tigers hit two in a game since Jim Northrup did it by himself on June 24, 1968.

The start of the game was delayed for 61 minutes, and play was halted again for 73 minutes with Detroit leading 9-1 at the end of the fourth inning—three outs from a rain-shortened victory.

“The umpires did a great job,”

Leyland said. “I’ve been on both sides of this—one team wants it to keep rain-ing and wipe everything out and the other team wants to keep playing.”

Raburn entered the game hitting .095 and already had his grand slam and five RBIs when the game was stopped for the second time.

Edwin Jackson (3-2), who entered the game with the lowest run support in the American League, took full advantage of Detroit’s big night. He allowed one run and six hits in seven innings—three after the long delay—without walking a batter.

“He was still throwing 95 (mph) in his last inning—he would have pitched the eighth if we needed him,” Leyland said. “The impressive thing was that he didn’t go back out there to pitch the fifth inning, get the win and come out. He went out there to finish the game.”


Tigers endure weather, then pound A’sGuillen hopes change will workTORONTO—Stuck in an offensive slump,

the Chicago White Sox plan to shake things up with a new-look lineup and even a new, albeit temporary, manager this weekend.

Aaron Hill hit a two-run homer, rookie Brett Cecil won his second straight start and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the strug-gling White Sox 8-3 on Friday night.

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen will turn things over to bench coach Joey Cora for the next couple of days while he heads home to Chicago to attend his son’s college graduation.

“Getting out of this ballclub for a few days might help me mentally and physi-cally,” Guillen said. “Maybe my heart is going to get a little bit younger in the next couple of days. I hope they win the next two days without me.”

The White Sox lost for the seventh straight time in Toronto. Chicago was limited to 11 runs and a .146 batting aver-age during six consecutive defeats in Canada over the past two seasons, and was shut out twice in four games here in 2008.

After another poor performance Fri-day, Guillen promised changes to the lineup.

“Offensively we’re really, really bad right now,” Guillen said. “We have to be better than that. How? It’s my job to figure out how. We’re going to make maybe a few changes in the lineup to see if that works. But when the manager changes the lineup every day, that’s not a good sign of a win-ning ballclub.”

Guillen said it was time for the play-ers, coaches and himself to “look in the mirror.”

“I don’t think I’m doing my job,” he said. “My job is winning games and that’s the

last thing we’re doing right now.”Cecil (2-0) allowed three runs and six

hits in six innings.“He got an early lead, just made his

pitches and kept guys off base,” White Sox outfielder Jermaine Dye said. “When we finally started getting to him it was kind of too late.”

The lefthander had a 16-inning score-less streak snapped when Paul Konerko hit a solo homer in the fifth.

“I’m having a lot of fun up here,” Cecil said. “I’m enjoying the experience. Hopefully it continues.”

Jesse Carlson got six outs and B.J. Ryan finished in his first appearance since being activated off the 15-day dis-abled list Thursday. Ryan had been out since April 23 with muscle tightness in his back and shoulder but won’t be pitch-ing in save opportunities for now.


FRANK GUNN / AP

Despite giving up three runs, Toronto rookie P Brett Cecil easily picked up his second victory.

DUANE BURLESON / AP

Detroit’s Brandon Inge, right, hit a grand slam in the sixth inning, one of two by the Tigers.



AMERICAN LEAGUE

Kansas City 8, Baltimore 1 Tampa Bay 8, Cleveland 7

Rays 8, Indians 7

Cleveland AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Sizemore cf 5 1 1 1 0 0 .226A.Cabrera ss 4 1 0 0 1 2 .326V.Martinez c 5 1 2 0 0 1 .400Choo rf 3 3 2 2 2 0 .296Peralta 3b 3 1 2 0 1 0 .258DeRosa 1b 4 0 1 2 1 1 .245Garko dh 4 0 1 1 1 1 .271LaPorta lf 4 0 0 1 0 0 .222J.Carroll 2b 4 0 2 0 0 1 .286Totals 36 7 11 7 6 6

Tampa Bay AB R H BI BB SO Avg.B.Upton cf 5 2 3 1 0 1 .190Crawford lf 4 1 2 0 0 1 .333Longoria 3b 3 2 1 1 1 2 .343C.Pena 1b 3 1 1 1 1 0 .256W.Aybar dh 3 0 1 1 1 1 .275Gross rf 2 0 0 0 0 0 .262a-Zobrist ph-rf 2 1 1 1 0 0 .286Iwamura 2b 3 0 0 0 1 0 .274Bartlett ss 4 1 1 0 0 1 .359Navarro c 3 0 0 0 0 0 .183Totals 32 8 10 5 4 6

Cleveland 203 200 000 — 7 11 2Tampa Bay 000 302 111 — 8 10 1

No outs when winning run scored. a-grounded into a fielder’s choice for Gross in the 6th. E: J.Carroll (1), Choo (3), Cormier (1). LOB: Cleveland 10, Tampa Bay 5. 2B: Peralta (7), B.Upton (7), Bartlett (8). HR: Sizemore (7), off Kazmir; Choo (5), off Kazmir; Zobrist (7), off R.Betancourt; B.Upton (1), off Vizcaino. RBIs: Sizemore (25), Choo 2 (23), DeRosa 2 (25), Garko (15), LaPorta (3), B.Upton (5), Longoria (46), C.Pena (33), W.Aybar (5), Zobrist (18). SB: Sizemore (6), B.Upton 2 (11), Crawford 2 (24), Zobrist (3). CS: Iwamura (1). S: Peralta, Navarro. SF: LaPorta. Runners left in scoring position: Cleve-land 5 (Garko 2, Sizemore, A.Cabrera, LaPorta); Tampa Bay 3 (Iwamura, W.Aybar 2).

Cleveland IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAA.Reyes 5 1⁄3 5 5 3 1 4 80 6.88Sipp 0 0 0 0 1 0 6 4.26J.Lewis H, 4 1 3 1 1 0 0 27 4.50Betancourt BS,2-2 1 2⁄3 1 1 1 2 2 26 4.95Vizcaino L, 0-1 0 1 1 1 0 0 6 2.45Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAKazmir 3 1⁄3 10 7 7 4 2 91 6.97Cormier 2 2⁄3 0 0 0 1 3 43 2.17Percival 1 0 0 0 0 1 16 5.40Howell 1 1 0 0 0 0 16 2.81Wheeler W, 1-0 1 0 0 0 1 0 11 5.79

Howell pitched to 1 batter in the 9th. Sipp pitched to 1 batter in the 6th. Vizcaino pitched to 1 batter in the 9th. Inherited runners-scored: Sipp 1-0, J.Lewis 2-1, R.Betancourt 2-0, Cormier 1-0, Wheeler 1-0. IBB: off R.Betancourt (C.Pena). WP: Sipp, J.Lewis, Kazmir. Umpires: Home, Greg Gibson; First, Andy Fletcher; Second, Ted Barrett; Third, Tim McClelland. T: 3:28. A: 25,827 (36,973).

Royals 8, Orioles 1

Baltimore AB R H BI BB SO Avg.B.Roberts 2b 3 1 2 0 1 1 .303C.Izturis ss 4 0 0 0 0 3 .252Markakis rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .336Huff 1b 4 0 2 1 0 0 .283Mora 3b 3 0 1 0 0 0 .273a-Andino ph-3b 1 0 0 0 0 1 .250Montanez dh 4 0 1 0 0 0 .222Reimold lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 .111Zaun c 3 0 1 0 1 0 .204Pie cf 4 0 0 0 0 2 .197Totals 34 1 7 1 2 8

Kansas City AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Crisp cf 5 0 0 0 0 0 .242DeJesus lf 5 1 1 0 0 3 .229Butler 1b 4 1 1 0 0 1 .282Jacobs dh 4 2 2 1 0 1 .270J.Guillen rf 4 1 2 2 0 1 .275Maier rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286Teahen 3b 4 1 3 0 0 0 .295Callaspo 2b 3 1 2 2 1 0 .339Olivo c 4 1 1 3 0 1 .234Bloomquist ss 4 0 1 0 0 0 .344Totals 37 8 13 8 1 7

Baltimore 001 000 000 — 1 7 0Kansas City 200 410 10x — 8 13 0

a-struck out for Mora in the 8th. LOB: Baltimore 8, Kansas City 6. 2B: B.Roberts (11), Butler (10). HR: Jacobs (8), off Eaton; Olivo (3), off Eaton. RBIs: Huff (33), Jacobs (22), J.Guillen 2 (13), Callaspo 2 (14), Olivo 3 (12). SB: B.Roberts (6), Bloomquist (5). Runners left in scoring position: Baltimore 2 (Mora, Montanez); Kansas City 4 (DeJesus, Olivo 3). GIDP: Reimold. DP: Kansas City 1 (Bloomquist, Butler).

Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAEaton L, 2-4 5 10 7 7 1 3 112 7.93Hendrickson 3 3 1 1 0 4 41 6.03Kansas City IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAGreinke W, 7-1 7 6 1 1 2 6 106 0.60J.Cruz 1 0 0 0 0 1 15 1.62Farnsworth 1 1 0 0 0 1 21 4.73

WP: Greinke. Umpires: Home, Dale Scott; First, Jerry Meals; Second, Mike DiMuro; Third, James Hoye. T: 2:46. A: 38,353 (38,177).

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.—Down seven runs, the Tampa Bay Rays never felt they were going to lose.

“You could see it in guys’ eyes,” B.J. Upton said after his ninth-inning homer capped the biggest comeback in franchise history and gave the defend-ing AL champions an 8-7 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Friday night.

“We don’t stop playing. The energy was still up in the dugout,” Upton added. “There was a lot of game left.”

A night after building a 9-0 lead and holding on in the late innings for an 11-7 victory, the last-place Indians jumped out to another big advantage against left-hander Scott Kazmir.

This time it was 7-0 before Cleveland’s pitching and defense helped Tampa Bay, which got a strong performance from its bullpen, get back in it.

The Rays scored two runs on throw-ing errors and a third on a wild pitch before Ben Zobrist led off the bottom of the eighth with a solo homer that made it 7-all.

Upton led off the ninth with his first homer on a 3-2 pitch from Luis Viz-caino (0-1), who signed with Cleveland on Thursday.

“When you don’t make your pitch, somebody hits it,” said Vizcaino, who hadn’t appeared in a game since April 21, when he was with the Cubs.

Grady Sizemore opened the game with the 19th leadoff home run of his career, breaking a tie with Kenny Lofton for the most in Indians history. Shin-Soo Choo homered for the second straight game, hitting a two-run shot that made it 7-0 in the fourth.

Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena and Willy Aybar drove in runs in the

comeback against Indians starter Anthony Reyes and relievers Tony Sipp, Jensen Lewis and Rafael Betan-court, who escaped a bases-loaded jam in the seventh only to give up Zobrist’s tying homer in the eighth.

Cleveland’s bullpen has been a prob-lem all season.

“It was 9-0 last night. It’s 7-0 tonight, and we end up losing the ballgame. At some point, these guys—they’ve got to look in the mirror,” said Indians man-ager Eric Wedge, who was ejected in the third for contesting a play at the plate.

“When you score seven runs, you should be up at home plate tension free,” he added. “Our guys are up there and they’re not tension-free for the fact they feel like they’ve got to score more runs, and that’s ridiculous.”


Upton’s blast caps seven-run rally for RaysZack-mania ends Royals’ slideKANSAS CITY—Zack Greinke felt the pres-

sure of ending his team’s season-worst losing streak. He was eager to bounce back from his first loss of the year. And he even had two extra hours to think about it.

Amped a little too much, even for him, Greinke came out firing, trying to over-power every hitter. Once he realized it wasn’t working, Greinke settled back into his normal routine and went back to shutting down hitters.

Greinke overcame his overzealous start to earn his seventh win, Miguel Olivo hit a three-run homer and the Kan-sas City Royals ended a six-game losing streak with an 8-1 win over the Orioles on Friday night.

“I was trying too hard. I came out try-ing to blow everyone away and you can’t really do that against big league hitters,” Greinke said after his first career win against the Orioles. “I started pitching after that and it went a lot smoother.”

The return of Zack-mania to Kauffman Stadium—well, that and the $1 hot dogs and peanuts on Buck Night—had the Royals expecting a sellout. Thunder-storms moved into the area late in the afternoon, delaying the start by 2 hours, 30 minutes, and keeping several thou-sand fans away.

Those who showed up—about 25,000—waited out the storms by mill-ing around the concourses and filling the new sports bar, creating a frat-party atmosphere before the first pitch.

The Royals sputtering offense got off to a good start, battering Adam Eaton (2-4) to stake Greinke to a 6-1 lead by the fourth inning and kept hitting. Mike Jacobs hit his eighth homer, Jose Guillen and Alberto Callaspo drove in two runs

each and Mark Teahen had three of Kan-sas City’s 13 hits.

“It was good to see us put up hits and put up runs with it,” Royals manager Trey Hillman said.

All the waiting didn’t seem to do any good for Greinke (7-1), who matched Toronto’s Roy Halladay for the A.L. wins lead.

He had his nine-game winning streak snapped against the Angels on Saturday, yet was still sharp, allowing one run and four hits in eight innings. Greinke didn’t have the same kind of stuff early against the Orioles, walking two, including Brian Roberts to lead off the game, and allowing one more hit in the first three innings than his previous start.

But after giving up a run on Aubrey Huff’s single in the third, Greinke got into a groove, retiring 11 of the next 12 batters before leaving after 106 pitches. He allowed six hits in seven innings, struck out six and saw his baseball-best ERA creep up to 0.60.


CHRIS O’MEARA / AP

Tampa’s B.J. Upton, above, his a ninth-inning walkoff homer off Cleveland P Luis Vizcaino.

CHARLIE RIEDEL / AP

Kansas City P Zack Greinke improved to 7-1 after giving up one earned run over seven innings.



NATIONAL LEAGUE

L.A. Dodgers 6, Florida 4Dodgers 6, Marlins 4

Los Angeles AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Pierre lf 4 1 2 2 1 0 .391Furcal ss 5 1 1 0 0 0 .241Hudson 2b 5 0 2 0 0 2 .344Ethier rf 4 0 1 2 0 1 .271Martin c 5 0 0 0 0 1 .277Loney 1b 4 1 2 0 0 0 .283Kemp cf 3 1 1 0 1 1 .294Blake 3b 4 1 2 1 0 1 .283Stults p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .091a-Paul ph 1 1 1 1 0 0 .600Jef.Weaver p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167b-Loretta ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 .344Leach p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Belisario p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000Wade p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000e-J.Castro ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .412Broxton p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Totals 37 6 12 6 3 7

Florida AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Bonifacio 3b-2b 5 1 2 0 0 0 .267Coghlan lf 3 1 0 1 2 1 .222Ha.Ramirez ss 4 0 1 1 1 2 .354Cantu 1b 4 0 0 0 1 0 .271Uggla 2b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .182Lindstrom p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---f-Gload ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .234Hermida rf 3 1 3 0 1 0 .250C.Ross cf 3 1 1 2 0 1 .210Pinto p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Nunez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---c-Helms ph-3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 .238R.Paulino c 2 0 0 0 1 0 .239d-Jo.Baker ph-c 0 0 0 0 1 0 .275Volstad p 2 0 0 0 0 2 .067Calero p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Amezaga cf 2 0 0 0 0 1 .224Totals 34 4 7 4 7 8

Los Angeles 000 003 201 — 6 12 0Florida 000 210 100 — 4 7 0

a-homered for Stults in the 6th. b-walked for Jef.Weaver in the 7th. c-popped out for Nunez in the 8th. d-walked for R.Paulino in the 8th. e-struck out for Wade in the 9th. f-flied out for Lindstrom in the 9th. LOB: Los Angeles 8, Florida 10. 2B: Blake (7), Ha.Ramirez (14), Hermida (4). 3B: Bonifacio (2). HR: Blake (8), off Volstad; Paul (1), off Volstad; C.Ross (5), off Stults. RBIs: Pierre 2 (9), Ethier 2 (29), Blake (23), Paul (1), Coghlan (4), Ha.Ramirez (20), C.Ross 2 (18). CS: Pierre (3). SF: Ethier. Runners left in scoring position: Los Angeles 7 (Pierre, Martin 3, Hudson 2, Blake); Florida 7 (Cantu 2, Volstad, Amezaga 2, Gload 2).

Los Angeles IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAStults 5 5 3 3 2 5 96 3.82Jef.Weaver W, 2-0 1 0 0 0 1 1 22 2.40Leach H, 1 2⁄3 1 1 1 0 1 17 11.57Belisario H, 5 1⁄3 0 0 0 1 0 7 3.00Wade H, 5 1 1 0 0 1 1 22 4.63Broxton S, 9-11 1 0 0 0 2 0 28 1.50Florida IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAVolstad L, 2-3 6 7 4 4 0 3 91 3.35Calero 1⁄3 0 1 1 2 1 15 2.00Pinto 1 1⁄3 2 0 0 0 1 22 1.06Nunez 1⁄3 1 0 0 0 0 7 2.12Lindstrom 1 2 1 1 1 2 23 5.79

Volstad pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. Belisario pitched to 1 batter in the 8th. Inherited runners-scored: Wade 1-0, Calero 1-0, Pinto 3-2, Nunez 1-0. IBB: off Stults (R.Paulino). Umpires: Home, Joe West; First, Ed Rapuano; Second, Paul Schrieber; Third, Paul Nauert. T: 3:46 (Rain delay: 0:17). A: 20,039 (38,560).

Dodgers rally for third straight winMIAMI—The Los Angeles Dodgers’

reunion with Manny Ramirez lasted about 10 minutes. Then they went to the ballpark and won another game without him.

Juan Pierre, Ramirez’s replace-ment in left field, hit a tiebreaking two-run single in the seventh inning, and the Dodgers rallied from a three-run deficit to beat the slumping Florida Marlins 6-4 on Friday night.

Los Angeles’ third consecutive victory came hours after Ramirez apologized to his teammates at the team hotel. It was his first time with the Dodgers since being suspended for 50 games for using a banned substance.

“He’s a happy-go-lucky guy, so we weren’t expecting a big speech,” Pierre said. “But just seeing him felt good. It was good for the team.”

The Dodgers upped the best record in the majors to 25-12, and improved to 4-4 without Ramirez.

“We’re not as powerful without him,” manager Joe Torre said. “But we still have a pretty good lineup.”

The Marlins lost their fifth straight game and are 6-18 since starting the season 11-1.

“It’s just a run of bad luck,” said Dan Uggla, whose average fell to .182 when he went 0 for 4. “You have to keep working.”

With the score 3-all, James Loney led off the Dodgers’ seventh with a single. Kiko Calero came on and walked Matt Kemp and pinch-hitter Mark Loretta to load the bases, and Pierre singled.

Pierre also scored a run and went

2 for 4 to hike his average to .391.“I just do what I know I can do and

keep it in my elements,” Pierre said. “Right now I’m finding some holes. It feels good to contribute and help the team win.”

Casey Blake and pinch-hitter Xavier Paul hit back-to-back homers for Los Angeles in the sixth.

“We know how tough it is going to be without Manny,” Paul said. “And we’re up for the challenge.”

Cody Ross homered for Florida, and Hanley Ramirez extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an RBI double.

Jonathan Broxton walked two in the ninth but retired pinch-hitter Russ Gload on a flyout with runners at second and third for his ninth save

in 11 chances.Jeff Weaver (2-0) pitched a score-

less sixth for the Dodgers, and Mar-lins starter Chris Volstad (2-3) lost his third start in a row.

Volstad took a one-hitter into the sixth but retired only three more batters and gave up four runs, two on homers.

The Dodgers had only one baser-unner in the first five innings, but they reached Volstad for five con-secutive hits in the sixth and scored three times to tie it. Blake hit his eighth home run to lead off, and four pitches later Paul hit his first career homer.

“It felt good,” Paul said. “I don’t even remember touching the bases.”


Manny apologizes to his teammates for suspension

MIAMI—Manny Ramirez apolo-gized to his Los Angeles Dodg-ers teammates Friday after being suspended for 50 games for using a banned drug.

The “five- to 10-minute” meet-ing took place at the team’s waterfront hotel in South Flor-ida before the Dodgers arrived at the Florida Marlins’ stadium to start a three-game weekend series, Los Angeles third base-man Casey Blake said.

The Los Angeles Times first reported that Ramirez had apol-ogized. Ramirez lives near the Marlins’ stadium but is not expected at the ballpark this weekend.

“He knows he made a mistake. I forgive him,” Blake said. “It’s his business.”

Ramirez was suspended on May 7. Dodgers owner Frank McCourt met with him twice last weekend in Los Angeles and encouraged Ramirez to apolo-gize to teammates “eyeball to eyeball.”

That opportunity came Fri-day, when the Dodgers saw their teammate for the first time since the suspension.

“I don’t think anyone was really looking for” an apology, Blake said. “It was something he wanted to do and I think it was heartfelt.”

Ramirez spoke for a few min-utes, and teammates—other than greeting him and shaking his hand—did not ask any questions, said Blake, who declined to say what words Ramirez specifically

used during his address to the Dodgers.

“I think in Manny’s case, it made him feel better just to get in front of the team,” Blake said. “I think it was kind of a big load off his shoulders just to greet the team again.”

ESPN reported last week that Ramirez used the female fertility drug hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin). HCG is popular among steroid users because it can mitigate the side effects of ending a cycle of the drugs.

Ramirez has said he did not take steroids and was given medication by a doctor that con-tained a banned substance.

A 12-time All-Star, Ramirez played in 27 of the Dodgers’ first 29 games, batting .348 with six homers to help them get off to their best since 1983. The Dodg-ers lost four of their first five games after Ramirez was sus-pended, but they still lead the N.L. West.

Ramirez led Los Angeles into last year’s playoffs after joining the team at the trade deadline from the Boston Red Sox. He could be eligible to return July 3, barring any rainouts or postponements.

“He was a guy concerned about his team and his team-mates,” Blake said. “I know he feels bad. Everyone knows how he’s feeling. It was just nice to see him again and I think it was nice for him to see us again.”


J. PAT CARTER / AP

Dodgers P Eric Stults got a no-decision after allowing three runs in the first five innings.



NATIONAL LEAGUE

Philadelphia 10, Washington 6, 12 innings

Phillies 10, Nationals 6, 12 innings

Philadelphia AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Rollins ss 6 1 1 0 1 2 .199Victorino cf 7 1 2 0 0 0 .253Utley 2b 3 2 0 0 2 1 .270Howard 1b 6 2 1 3 1 3 .258Werth rf 5 1 0 0 2 1 .276Ibanez lf 6 3 4 2 0 0 .352Feliz 3b 5 0 4 2 2 0 .306Ruiz c 6 0 3 2 1 1 .293Blanton p 2 0 0 0 0 0 .100a-Dobbs ph 0 0 0 0 0 0 .138b-Bruntlett ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .125Durbin p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500d-Stairs ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .350S.Eyre p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Madson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---f-Cairo ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .118Lidge p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Condrey p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---h-Coste ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 .220Happ p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000Totals 51 10 16 9 9 9

Washington AB R H BI BB SO Avg.C.Guzman ss 6 0 1 0 0 2 .377N.Johnson 1b 3 1 1 0 2 1 .333Zimmerman 3b 6 2 3 1 0 2 .362Dunn lf 3 2 0 0 3 1 .303Dukes cf 3 0 0 0 0 1 .273W.Harris cf 3 0 1 2 0 0 .235Kearns rf 4 1 0 0 1 2 .218A.Hernandez 2b 5 0 0 1 1 0 .265Nieves c 5 0 2 2 1 1 .294Lannan p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .143Mock p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Villone p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---c-Cintron ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .048Colome p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Beimel p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Tavarez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000e-Willingham ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .190Hanrahan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---g-Belliard ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .159K.Wells p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---i-J.Bard ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .188Totals 44 6 8 6 8 11Philadelphia 010 002 300 004 10 16 1Washington 004 000 002 000 6 8 1a-was announced for Blanton in the 6th. b-flied out for Dobbs in the 6th. c-lined out for Villone in the 6th. d-struck out for Durbin in the 7th. e-flied out for Tavarez in the 8th. f-flied out for Madson in the 9th. g-grounded out for Hanrahan in the 10th. h-singled for Condrey in the 11th. i-flied out for K.Wells in the 12th. E: Utley (4), Nieves (3). LOB: Philadelphia 17, Washington 12. 2B: Feliz (7), Zimmerman (13), W.Harris (1). HR: Howard (7), off Beimel. RBIs: Howard 3 (26), Ibanez 2 (28), Feliz 2 (21), Ruiz 2 (4), Zimmerman (27), W.Harris 2 (5), A.Hernandez (9), Nieves 2 (2). SB: Rollins (3), Werth (8), Ibanez (4). Runners left in scoring position: Philadelphia 8 (Ruiz, Bruntlett, Stairs 2, Werth, Rollins 2, Happ); Washington 5 (Dukes 2, Lannan, Kearns, J.Bard).Philadelphia IP H R ER BB SO NP ERABlanton 5 5 4 4 6 5 102 6.86Durbin 1 0 0 0 0 1 13 3.98S.Eyre H, 5 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 8 4.70Madson H, 6 1 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 13 2.16Lidge BS, 2-7 1 2 2 2 1 1 22 9.19Condrey 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 2.70Happ W, 2-0 2 1 0 0 1 3 42 2.49Washington IP H R ER BB SO NP ERALannan 5 2⁄3 6 3 3 1 2 99 4.00Mock 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 4.66Villone H, 2 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 6 0.00Colome 0 1 2 2 1 0 11 -Beimel BS, 2-2 2⁄3 3 1 1 0 1 20 5.25Tavarez 1 1⁄3 1 0 0 2 1 35 5.17Hanrahan 2 1 0 0 1 3 36 5.51K.Wells L, 0-1 2 3 4 4 4 2 51 6.06Mock pitched to 1 batter in the 6th. Colome pitched to 2 batters in the 7th. Inherited runners-scored: Mock 2-1, Villone 2-0, Beimel 2-2, Tavarez 2-0. IBB: off Blanton (Dunn). HBP: by Durbin (N.Johnson), by Happ (Kearns), by Hanrahan (Utley), by Lannan (Utley, Ibanez). WP: Blanton. Balk: Beimel. Umpires: Home, Laz Diaz; First, Chuck Meriwether; Second, Eric Cooper; Third, Mike Reilly. T: 4:31. A: 23,430 (41,888).

Phillies visit White House, then knock off Nats in 12WASHINGTON—Both bullpens blew

late leads, so the Phillies and Nationals kept shuttling pitchers in and out as their game dragged on and on Friday night.

Eventually, Philadelphia man-ager Charlie Manuel decided to give up on his relief corps and turn to a pitcher who was scheduled to start during today’s day-night doubleheader.

“Once we got there in the game, and I looked at their team and our team, and compared what players were left, what pitchers,” Manuel explained, “I said ... ‘We’re going for it.’”

So J.A. Happ came on for the 11th to throw two scoreless innings, and Raul Ibanez delivered a two-run single after Kip Wells, Wash-ington’s eighth pitcher, walked the bases loaded in the 12th. That broke a tie and sent the Phillies to a 10-6 victory.

“No excuses. No explanations,” Nationals manager Manny Acta said. “We just basically walked ourselves into death.”

It was a long day for most of the Phillies, who visited the White House in the morning. Ibanez skipped that trip, and wound up with four hits.

“These guys are probably more tired than I am,” Ibanez said about his teammates. “They had to get up early.”

Philadelphia tacked on insur-ance runs with Pedro Feliz’s RBI double—also his fourth hit—and

catcher Wil Nieves’ throwing error on a double steal.

Wells (0-1), Washington’s last available reliever, allowed four run in two innings.

“Spinning my wheels,” he said. “You know you’re the last guy, and they’re not going to put (cleanup hitter) Adam Dunn in there to try to get out of a jam.”

Happ (2-0), Philadelphia’s sev-enth pitcher, ended the game at 11:37 p.m., 4½ hours after the first pitch, by getting pinch-hitter Josh Bard—Washington’s last bench player, the 21st man used by Acta—to fly out.

After Friday’s 11th inning, a little past 11 p.m., the Nationals told the crowd that the planned postgame fireworks display would not take place because of the late hour. Today’s first pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.

With Happ unavailable, Phila-delphia will bring up Andrew Car-penter from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to start the second game, which is supposed to begin at 7:05 p.m.

Much earlier, before Friday’s first pitch, Manuel bemoaned what he called his players’ lack of focus.

“For about a week now,” he said, “we haven’t played good baseball.”

The Phillies had lost six of their previous eight games to fall to .500 for the season, and they trailed 4-1 Friday. But Feliz and Carlos Ruiz hit RBI singles in the sixth, and Ryan Howard hit his seventh

homer of the season, a three-run shot, in the next inning off Joe Beimel to make it 6-4.

The last-place Nationals have blown 11 of 17 save opportunities, and Beimel acknowledged: “We can’t get any worse.”

But Phillies closer Brad Lidge

gave up Willie Harris’ tying two-run double with two out in the ninth. It was Lidge’s second blown save over the past two seasons.

“It’s been, for me, a rough sequence recently of not throwing my best,” Lidge said.

Today could be rough for both

teams.Asked how tough the turn-

around would be, Dunn said with a smirk: “I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

After pausing for effect, he added: “When I’m in the fetal posi-tion somewhere.”

— The Associated Press The Milwaukee-St. Louis and Houston-Chicago games were postponed due to rain.

NICK WASS / AP

Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard, right, and teammate Chase Utley exchange congratulations after both scored off reliever Kip Wells in the 12th inning.



NATIONAL LEAGUE

Atlanta 4, Arizona 3 Colorado 3, Pittsburgh 1

Rockies 3, Pirates 1

Colorado AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Fowler cf 4 0 2 0 1 0 .260Tulowitzki ss 4 0 2 0 0 1 .250Helton 1b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .347Atkins 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 .193c-Stewart ph-3b 1 1 1 0 0 0 .213Hawpe rf 4 1 2 2 0 1 .363Spilborghs lf 4 1 1 0 0 0 .271Iannetta c 4 0 1 0 0 0 .241Barmes 2b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .222De La Rosa p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .071b-S.Smith ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 .317Embree p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---d-Murton ph 1 0 1 1 0 0 .278Street p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Totals 36 3 12 3 1 4

Pittsburgh AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Morgan lf 3 0 0 0 1 2 .304F.Sanchez 2b 4 0 0 0 0 2 .324McLouth cf 4 1 1 0 0 0 .279Monroe rf 3 0 2 1 1 1 .250Ad.LaRoche 1b 4 0 1 0 0 1 .234R.Diaz c 4 0 2 0 0 1 .361An.LaRoche 3b 3 0 1 0 0 2 .245e-R.Vazquez ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .175Ja.Wilson ss 4 0 0 0 0 2 .238Maholm p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .133a-Delw.Young ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .318Yates p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Grabow p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Capps p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Totals 33 1 7 1 2 13

Colorado 000 000 003 — 3 12 0Pittsburgh 000 001 000 — 1 7 0

a-grounded out for Maholm in the 7th. b-singled for De La Rosa in the 8th. c-doubled for Atkins in the 9th. d-singled for Embree in the 9th. e-struck out for An.LaRoche in the 9th. LOB: Colorado 7, Pittsburgh 7. 2B: Tulowitzki (5), Stewart (4), Iannetta (4), Monroe (2), R.Diaz (3). HR: Hawpe (6), off Capps. RBIs: Hawpe 2 (30), Murton (2), Monroe (11). SB: Tulowitzki (3), Murton (1), Morgan (10), McLouth (4). CS: Fowler (3). Runners left in scoring position: Colorado 3 (Atkins 2, Barmes); Pittsburgh 5 (Ad.LaRoche 3, Maholm, Delw.Young). DP: Pittsburgh 1 (Morgan, F.Sanchez, Ja.Wilson).

Colorado IP H R ER BB SO NP ERADe La Rosa 7 7 1 1 0 10 89 3.16Embree W, 1-1 1 0 0 0 2 0 23 4.09Street S, 5-5 1 0 0 0 0 3 15 4.11Pittsburgh IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAMaholm 7 5 0 0 1 4 103 3.51Yates H, 3 2⁄3 2 0 0 0 0 9 7.50Grabow H, 4 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 2 5.63Capps L, 0-3 BS, 2-8 1 5 3 3 0 0 21 8.18

Inherited runners-scored: Grabow 1-0. IBB: off Embree (Monroe). WP: De La Rosa. Umpires: Home, Scott Barry; First, Angel Hernandez; Second, Bill Welke; Third, Tim Welke. T: 2:41. A: 17,179 (38,362).

Braves 4, Diamondbacks 3

Arizona AB R H BI BB SO Avg.F.Lopez 2b 4 1 1 0 0 0 .317G.Parra lf 3 1 1 1 1 0 .286J.Upton rf 4 0 1 1 0 2 .304Reynolds 3b 4 0 0 0 0 3 .242S.Drew ss 4 1 2 1 0 2 .231C.Young cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 .179Whitesell 1b 4 0 1 0 0 2 .120Snyder c 3 0 0 0 1 1 .206D.Davis p 2 0 1 0 0 1 .214a-R.Roberts ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .320Rauch p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---T.Pena p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000Totals 33 3 7 3 2 12

Atlanta AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Infante 2b 5 0 2 0 0 0 .341Escobar ss 4 0 0 1 0 1 .297C.Jones 3b 3 1 1 1 1 0 .306G.Anderson lf 4 0 1 0 0 1 .233McCann c 4 1 1 0 0 1 .273Francoeur rf 3 1 1 0 1 1 .259Kotchman 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .303Schafer cf 4 1 1 1 0 1 .216J.Vazquez p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .067b-Norton ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 .136O’Flaherty p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Moylan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000M.Gonzalez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---c-K.Johnson ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 .243Totals 32 4 7 3 4 5

Arizona 200 000 001 — 3 7 1Atlanta 021 000 001 — 4 7 0

Two outs when winning run scored. a-struck out for D.Davis in the 7th. b-walked for J.Vazquez in the 7th. c-walked for M.Gonzalez in the 9th. E: D.Davis (1). LOB: Arizona 5, Atlanta 8. 3B: G.Parra (1). HR: S.Drew (2), off M.Gonzalez; C.Jones (4), off D.Davis. RBIs: G.Parra (2), J.Upton (19), S.Drew (7), Escobar (18), C.Jones (14), Schafer (4). CS: G.Parra (1). S: J.Vazquez. SF: Escobar. Runners left in scoring position: Arizona 1 (F.Lopez); Atlanta 4 (G.Anderson, Infante 2, Francoeur).

Arizona IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAD.Davis 6 4 3 2 0 3 80 3.22Rauch 1 0 0 0 2 1 20 6.60T.Pena L, 3-1 1 2⁄3 3 1 1 2 1 27 1.56Atlanta IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAJ.Vazquez 7 5 2 2 2 10 107 3.71O’Flaherty H, 5 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 11 1.88Moylan H, 6 1⁄3 1 0 0 0 0 6 6.23Gonzalez W,2-0 BS,3-9 1 1 1 1 0 2 19 3.78

Umpires: Home, Alfonso Marquez; First, Randy Marsh; Second, Mike Winters; Third, Lance Barksdale. T: 2:50. A: 32,593 (49,743).

PITTSBURGH—The Colorado Rockies felt they were robbed of a tying run in the eighth inning. So they went out and won it in the ninth.

Brad Hawpe’s two-run homer was part of Colorado’s three-run ninth inning as the Rockies rallied for a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.

Hawpe hit a 1-1 pitch from Matt Capps into the shrubbery beyond the wall in center field, scoring Ian Stew-art, who led off the inning with a pinch-hit double. It was Hawpe’s sixth homer and it gave him 11 RBIs in his last five games.

“That’s why you play the game, for fun moments and opportunities like that,” Hawpe said. “You’re not going to come through every time, but when you do, then you realize why you love the game.”

The Rockies thought they tied the game at 1 in the eighth on an appar-ent sacrifice fly by Troy Tulowitzki.

Left fielder Nyjer Morgan made a running catch and pumped a throw toward home then held onto the ball as Seth Smith sprinted down the line and crossed home plate. The Pirates appealed the play and third-base umpire Tim Welke called Smith out for leaving too soon.

Capps (0-3) blew his second save in his last four outings. Making his third appearance since sitting out a week due to elbow fatigue, Capps has allowed nine runs and 15 hits in his last 4 2/3 innings.

Alan Embree (1-1) earned the win with a scoreless eighth, and Huston Street struck out the side in the ninth for his fifth save.


Hawpe’s homer resolves dispute for RockiesJones ‘leads by example’ after meeting

ATLANTA—Chipper Jones used a pre-game meeting to ask his Atlanta Braves teammates for an intense start to a long homestand.

The ninth inning may have provided more tension than Jones had expected.

Yunel Escobar hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the bottom of ninth, giving the Atlanta Braves a 4-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night after blowing a lead in the top of the inning.

The Braves, coming off a 6-2 road trip that included series wins over Florida, Philadelphia and the New York Mets, opened a 10-game home-stand with the worst home record in baseball.

Jones, who hit his fourth homer, said the Braves improved to 6-9 at Turner Field by maintaining some of the pas-sion they showed on the road trip.

“It always helps when the guy who’s calling the meeting goes out and leads by example,” Jones said.

“Hopefully it’s something to build on. We started it on the road and we want to keep it going, he added. “If you can’t keep the home-field advantage and have it be an advantage for you, it’s going to be a long year. We’ve got to win ballgames here.”

Jones’ third-inning homer gave the Braves a 3-2 lead that held until closer Mike Gonzalez (2-0) gave up a tying homer to Stephen Drew to lead off the ninth. It was the third blown save in nine chances for Gonzalez.

With one out in the ninth, Jordan Schafer hit a single to right off Tony Pena (3-1). Pinch-hitter Kelly Johnson walked and Omar Infante singled to center. Schafer, who hesitated between second and third to see if center fielder Chris Young would catch the ball, had to hold at third.

Then Escobar’s fly to center allowed the speedy Schafer to score the win-ning run without a slide.


GENE J. PUSKAR / AP

Colorado’s Brad Hawpe connects on a two-run, ninth-inning homer that decided the outcome.

JOHN BAZEMORE / AP

Atlanta SS Yunel Escobar drove in the winning run with this sacrifice fly in the ninth.



BY REID [email protected]

CONCORD, N.C.—For Jimmie Johnson to excel at Lowe’s Motor Speedway comes as a surprise to exactly no one.

With two solid laps and an error-free pit stop Friday—all part of the qualifying format for tonight’s Sprint All-Star Race—Johnson put his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet on the pole for the 25th running of the event.

A two-time winner of the annual all-star race and the winner of five NASCAR Sprint Cup points events at the 1.5-mile track, Johnson completed his qualifying run in 2 minutes, 1.416 seconds, more than a half-second faster than Kurt Busch (2:02.187), who will start on the outside of the front row.

Matt Kenseth will start third beside Dale Earnhardt Jr. in fourth. Hendrick Motorsports teammates Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon will take the green flag from the fifth and sixth positions, respectively.

The pole was Johnson’s first for the all-star race, which this year features four segments of 50, 20, 20 and 10 laps to decide the winner of the $1,022,975 first prize.

Johnson stressed the importance of track position in a race that features shorter segments, particularly the final 10-lap dash.

“I think with track position as important as it’s going to be in the race, to be where we are is a great situation,” said Johnson, who believes the

eventual race winner will come from the front two rows on the final restart. “We focused on it hard today, and everybody did their job. So I’m real proud of the team. We worked as a unit today and executed on all fronts. I’m very pleased with that, and I look forward to (tonight’s race).”

Busch felt the difference between his qualifying time and Johnson’s may have come on the entry to pit road.

“I may have messed up a little bit coming into pit road by getting on the brakes a lit-tle too early,” he said. “And then once I got to the first tim-ing beacon, I wasn’t even in second gear to check my pit road speed. My pit crew did an awesome job in the pits.”

The qualifying event for the all-star race was rained out, and the starting posi-tions were allocated accord-ing to the draw for qualifying order.

That put Kirk Shelmerdine on the pole and Carl Long on the outside of the front row, but both will drop back to the rear of the field to start the race—Shelmerdine for failing to pres-ent his car for inspection and Long for an engine change.

The top two finishers in the showdown, which consists of two 20-lap segments, advance to the all-star race and are joined by the winner of the fan vote—from the remaining drivers—to round out the 21-car field.

— Reid Spencer writes for the

Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

NASCAR SprintAll-Star Race and Sprint ShowdownWhere: Lowe’s Motor

Speedway; Concord, N.C.

When: Tonight

Track layout: 1.5-mile oval

TV: Speed, 7 p.m. ET

Radio: PRN/Sirius XM Satellite

Ch. 128

Sprint ShowdownWhen: 7:30 p.m. ET

Race distance: 40 laps/60

miles

Format: Two 20-lap segments

Field: 35 cars

What’s at stake: Top two fin-

ishers transfer into the Sprint

All-Star Race

2008 winner/runner-up: AJ

Allmendinger/Sam Hornish Jr.

Sprint All-Star RaceWhen: Approximately 9 p.m.

ET

Race distance: 100 laps/150

miles

Format: Four segments—50

laps, 20 laps, 20 laps, 10 laps

Field: 18 cars

What’s at stake: $1,022,975 to

the winner

2008 winner: Kasey Kahne

Sprint All-Star Lineup1. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 133.426 mph.2. (2) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 132.584.3. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 131.51.4. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 131.42.5. (5) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 131.02.6. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 130.287.7. (96) Bobby Labonte, Ford, 130.271.8. (9) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 129.989.9. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 129.869.10. (09) Brad Keselowski, Chevrolet, 129.613.11. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 128.046.12. (39) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 128.044.13. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 127.805.14. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford, 118.419.15. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 117.572.16. (31) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 112.694.17. (33) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 111.433.18. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota.

Sprint Cup ShowdownFriday’s qualifying, race tonightAt Lowe’s Motor SpeedwayConcord, N.C.Lap length: 1.5 miles(Car number in parentheses)

1. (27) Kirk Shelmerdine, Toyota.2. (46) Carl Long, Dodge.3. (12) David Stremme, Dodge.4. (66) Dave Blaney, Toyota.5. (36) Scott Riggs, Toyota.6. (1) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet.7. (6) David Ragan, Ford.8. (77) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge.9. (13) Max Papis, Toyota.10. (44) AJ Allmendinger, Dodge.11. (42) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet.12. (37) Mike Wallace, Chevrolet.13. (00) David Reutimann, Toyota.14. (47) Marcos Ambrose, Toyota.15. (51) Dexter Bean, Dodge.16. (21) Bill Elliott, Ford.17. (75) Derrike Cope, Dodge.18. (57) Norm Benning, Chevrolet.19. (20) Joey Logano, Toyota.20. (82) Scott Speed, Toyota.21. (87) Joe Nemechek, Toyota.22. (71) David Gilliland, Chevrolet.23. (07) Casey Mears, Chevrolet.24. (98) Paul Menard, Ford.25. (73) Mike Garvey, Dodge.26. (64) Todd Bodine, Toyota.27. (19) Elliott Sadler, Dodge.28. (55) Michael Waltrip, Toyota.29. (06) David Starr, Dodge.30. (26) Jamie McMurray, Ford.31. (83) Brian Vickers, Toyota.32. (7) Robby Gordon, Toyota.33. (41) J.J. Yeley, Toyota.34. (43) Reed Sorenson, Dodge.35. (34) Tony Raines, Chevrolet.

Moss says ‘family’ atmosphere is main reason for success

The 1979 World Series champion Pittsburgh Pirates aren’t the only organization to adopt “We Are Family” as a theme song, to hear Randy Moss tell it.

With Mike Skinner behind the wheel, Randy Moss Motorsports—the team the New England Patriots wide receiver owns with NASCAR veteran David Dollar—celebrated its first victory April 27 in the Camping World Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway. Moss says the cohesiveness of his team is responsible in part for the success of Skinner, 51, and teammate Tayler Malsam, 20.

“We have a young guy like Tayler and a veteran in Mike,” Moss said Friday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. “A lot of people see the chem-istry, but they don’t really see what goes on behind closed doors. We are a family, and we try to run the day-to-day operation like a family.

“The things we’ve accomplished, we hadn’t really expected, but were hoping we would. To get our first win so early in the season will hopefully open up the door for the rest of the season.”

A violent wreck on Lap 34 of Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at LMS knocked Skinner out of the race. Malsam’s Toyota also was damaged in the crash, but he remained on the lead lap.

Qualifying on Friday for tonight’s Sprint All-Star Race involved a four-tire pit stop. Someone should have told Tony Stew-art, who neglected to wait for his crew to change the left-side tires before he left pit road.

After backing up to retrieve the left-side rubber, Stewart com-pleted his lap.

“I just pray that Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. will keep doing what he’s been doing this year and miss the box,” an embarrassed Stewart joked after climbing from his car.

No such luck. Earnhardt made an error-free run to earn the fourth starting spot for tonight’s race.

Stewart will start 15th in the 21-car field, ahead of Richard Childress Racing teammates Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer, who were penalized for speeding on pit road; Denny Hamlin, who spun his tires and broke the driveshaft on his No. 11 Toyota; the two cars that transfer from the Sprint Showdown; and the driver voted into the field by fans.

Tom Reddin, CEO of Richard Petty Motorsports, will resign his position but remain with the organization as a consultant, Reddin told SceneDaily.com on Friday. Reddin cited family rea-sons as the basis for his decision.

Reddin, who was brought on board by majority team owner George Gillett last year, said he wanted to spend more time with his three children, ages 6, 9 and 12.

INSIDE DISHJohnson wins pole for Sprint All-Star Race

CHUCK BURTON / AP

Jimmie Johnson had a near-perfect qualifying run to grab the top spot.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2009 24NASCAR



http://SceneDaily.com


CONCORD, N.C.—Though NASCAR’s drivers would like to see the sport’s drug policy more transparent and more clearly defined, the sanctioning body isn’t likely to make fundamental changes to the way it enforces the rules or releases information about failed drug tests.

The drug policy has been the focal point of discussion within the sport in the wake of Jeremy Mayfield’s suspen-sion May 9 for testing positive to what Dr. David Black, who administers NASCAR’s testing program, charac-terized as a “drug of concern.” Based on the results of a test administered May 1 at Richmond, NASCAR sus-pended Mayfield indefinitely.

Mayfield contended his positive test could have been the result of an inter-action between a prescription drug and an over-the-counter medicine, but NASCAR discounted that contention.

Most NASCAR drivers would like to know what substance caused Mayfield to fail the test, but NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France disagrees.

“There is no benefit to the competi-tors, there’s no benefit to anyone to jeopardize someone else’s privacy,” France said Friday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. “If we thought there was a benefit, we would probably rethink that, but there is no benefit in our eyes to revealing the substance.

“What’s important to know is that when it’s serious … it’s going to be a very, very tough penalty. It’s the tough-est policy in sports.”

Jeff Burton, however, said revealing the substance responsible for a driver’s suspension could have a positive effect.

“If I’m not suspended, then I don’t think anybody deserves to

know anything,” Burton said. “If I were suspended for marijuana, let’s say, I think that should be released. The reason I say that is because what you don’t hear in baseball and what you don’t hear in foot-ball (both of which disclose substances) is ‘I didn’t do that; I didn’t take whatever.’ Once it’s been released, you never hear them say they didn’t do it. So there’s cred-ibility given to the drug testing.”

Many drivers also would like to see a specific list of banned substances, but the opinion there is far from universal. Though NASCAR provides a list of substances that must be tested for, the position of the sanctioning body is that any substance, whether prescription or over-the-counter, has the potential to be abused.

“Of course, we know the obvious, that drugs—real drugs—like marijuana and cocaine and things like that obvi-ously are not OK,” Brian Vickers said. “But when it comes to the statements that have been made to me, from NASCAR and the people enforcing the drug policy, that any drug can be abused, well, if I’ve got a bad headache, or a really bad headache, and I take more than the two (headache tablets), does that mean I lose my job?

“Give us a list of what we can and can’t take, so I know what to do and what I can’t do. … I don’t want to be afraid to take Tylenol when I have a headache because I have no idea what they consider drug abuse. Personally, I’d like to see a little more clarity in the program. I think it’s a great program—I’m all for it. The last thing I wasn’t is someone out there that’s not in the right state of mind. But do I really care if someone takes three Tylenol instead of two? No. Let’s not overdo it here.”

— Reid Spencer writes for the Sporting News

NASCAR Wire Service

Drivers: NASCAR drug policy needs more transparency


CONCORD, N.C.—As strong as Ron Hornaday Jr.’s truck was Friday night, a lost lap was merely a temporary inconvenience.

Trapped a lap down after a green-flag pit stop on Lap 86 of 134, Hornaday recovered to win the Camping World Truck Series race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch survived a succession of adventures to run second, crossing the finish line 1.669 sec-onds behind Hornaday.

The win in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 was Hor-naday’s first of the season and the series-best 40th of his career. Matt Crafton finished third, followed by Ryan Newman and Terry Cook.

“I didn’t even think about that,” Hornaday said of the 40th victory. “I have no idea where to start. Just go to one of your local GM stores and get one of these (Chevrolet) trucks. They’re bad fast.”

Hornaday, who moved into first in the standings by 84 points over 29th-place finisher Mike Skinner, passed Crafton for the lead on Lap 106 and retained it after James Buescher’s spin in Turn 3 brought out the fifth cau-tion of the race. Hornaday’s No. 33 Chevrolet pulled away from Busch, who overtook Crafton for second, in the closing laps.

Busch took the lead momen-tarily on Lap 87, after turning race leader Colin Braun on the backstretch and wrecking both Braun and Brian Scott. The lead was short-lived, however, as NASCAR penalized Busch for aggressive driving and forced

him to restart from the tail end of the longest line—which turned out to be 11th in the running order, thanks to early attrition.

Because of the penalty, Busch was not credited with leading the lap.

By the time Todd Bodine spun near the entry to Turn 3 while leading on Lap 95 to cause the fourth caution of the race, Busch was up to sixth.

At the end of the night, Busch was visibly upset by what he per-ceived to be a horsepower advan-tage for the Chevrolets, which he attributed to smaller holes in the tapered spacers run by Toyota.

“They just out-motored us,” Busch said. “It’s just very frustrat-ing to have to run with those guys.”

A violent, multicar wreck on Lap 34 ended the night of Skin-ner, who was first in the series standings entering the race. As Skinner sped through the tri-oval one lap after a restart, Johnny Sauter forced him to the inside onto the infield grass.

Skinner’s No. 5 Toyota spun out of control, slid up the track at the entrance to Turn 1 and took a vicious hit from the Toyota of T.J. Bell. Skinner’s Tundra slammed into the outside wall, tipped up on its side and slid toward the infield in a shower of sparks before righting itself.

Skinner, who had restarted at the rear of the field after drag-ging his jack out of the pits under caution and incurring a penalty, referred to Sauter as an “idiot” after the incident.

“I blame myself,” Skinner said. “I knew who I was racing with right there. I probably should have waited another lap.”

North Carolina Education Lottery 200 results

FINISH START CAR. DRIVER MAKE POINTS LAPS

1 3 33 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 190 134

2 1 51 Kyle Busch Toyota 170 134

3 5 88 Matt Crafton Chevrolet 170 134

4 20 4 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 160 134

5 9 25 Terry Cook Toyota 155 134

6 19 7 David Gilliland Chevrolet 150 134

7 15 24 David Starr Toyota 146 134

8 12 81 Tayler Malsam Toyota 142 134

9 10 60 Stacy Compton Toyota 138 134

10 28 8 Dennis Setzer Chevrolet 134 134

MORE COVERAGE from sportingnews.com

Results: sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=549402

Standings: sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=549410

Hornaday outruns Busch for 40th truck win

CHUCK BURTON / AP

Ron Hornaday Jr. won his 40th trucks race Friday night, but his first this season.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2009 25NASCAR




http://sportingnews.com

http://sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=549402

http://sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=549410

Q&A with ... Titans RB LenDale White

LenDale White was the thunder in college to the lighting Reggie Bush and again is in the pros with Chris Johnson. White thrives in such scenarios, winning back-to-back national titles at USC and scoring 15 touchdowns in an NFL-best 13-3 season last year with the Titans. Sporting News Radio’s Tim Montemayor caught up with White this week to talk about the allegations that then-team-mate Reggie Bush accepted gifts at USC, his Terrible Towel incident last year and Vince Young.

Q: What do you think of the accusations that Bush

took money and other gifts from agents while at USC?

A: I don’t know what’s been done and what hasn’t. I

know that Reggie’s an incredible person. I consider him one of my brothers, and I’ll go to bat for him anytime. I don’t know what transpires in people’s personal lives.

Q: How do you figure out who’s a good guy and

who’s a bad guy?

A: If your parents are good people, your aunts and

uncles, whoever you’ve been around your whole life ... you’ve got to rely on your upbringing. Hope-fully, you can spy out who’s there for you and who’s not. When you’re 17 years old and you’re going to college away from Denver or New Jersey, it’s a whole other city and some guy’s telling you he can help you or he can do this or listen to him and he’ll get you here. Some-times, kids are naive. I mean, if you throw a dog a red bone he’s going to bite.

Q: Do you think Carroll has control of the USC

program?

A: Yeah, I think Pete Carroll does a tremen-

dous job of keeping his eye on 80 kids like I said, or 100 players. He has a wife and family that he has to go to home to and he has a life that he has to worry about other than the 100 players and 20 people on staff. Pete has a lot on his shoulders.

Q: Is it hard to control who comes at you? I mean, I

guess you can’t control every guy in the locker room

A: Exactly. Pete can’t live with everybody. He can’t tell you

what’s going on in every house-hold, but when he sits us down in our meeting room and he sits in front of the office and brings people in to tell you what’s right from wrong and if there’s any-thing that pops up, he’s got an open-door policy and you go talk to him.

Q: Were you ever tempted? I’m sure you had some

tough choices.

A: Yeah I did, I definitely did. I came from a background

where I didn’t really have anything and I’m coming from Denver, Colo., all the way to L.A. and I’m just there. I don’t really have any spending money, I don’t really have anything. I’m in a situation where I’m just there. And older guys in the pro-gram looked out for us. Along with the Mike Williamses and the Kerry Colberts, there are a lot of people I

played with that when you got to campus they looked out for you. But there are hard times, there are times where you can’t, you know, you’re starving and you can’t get any food.

Q: If Reggie has to give back his Heisman

Trophy and they take away the national championships, a lot of hard work goes out the window, right?

A: I don’t know how accurate the things or if what people

are saying is true. I can’t say what’s going to happen. But the one thing I can say is that we still showed up every day, we worked out, we busted our tails in the summer and we beat those people. I don’t think if you got money, a flat screen TV or however it looks that (those things) will make you go out and play better or beat somebody. I don’t think so. We get paid in the NFL, and the Lions went 0-16.

Q: How do you fix it? Should college athletes

be paid?

A: I think yeah you definitely should be paid. I mean they

sold my jersey, the No. 21 jersey at USC, and God only knows how much they made off that jersey. God knows how much revenue they made off the Reggie Bush No. 5 jersey. Now, if you go back and you look at every USC game from here on out and you look in that crowd, you see what number jerseys those people have on in that crowd. You can’t wear No. 5 anymore because it’s retired.

Q: Titans CB Cortland Finnegan recently called

you and LB Keith Bulluck out for stomping on the Steelers’ Terrible Towel last year, saying “that’s not what this team is all about.” Your reaction?

A: That’s football to me. I have fun with the game

and like I said, if Troy (Polamalu) and Willie Parker and Big Ben (Roethlisberger). ... If me stepping on your towel made them win a Super Bowl, they better hope we step on it again this year, right? We go out there and play; we love this game. You brought your towel into our stadium—that’s our house—and we defend it how we defend it. Cortland defends it how he does. He gets his personal fouls and his fines, and that’s what he does.

Q: Do you have issues with Cortland?

A: Cortland’s all right; that’s just him. He’s an edgy guy,

and he loves it. ... I’m just happy he’s on my team.

Q: Last time we talked, you said you really supported

Vince Young. Have you seen him lately? How’s he doing?

A: I just saw Vince earlier today at workouts, and he

looks good. He’s preparing himself to be the best QB in the NFL. I look forward to it, and I’m excited to see that. ... I look forward to being a Tennessee Titan this year and getting it done, and hopefully we’ll be in the Super Bowl.

‘We busted our tails in the summer, and we beat those people’

MARK HUMPHREY / AP

RB LenDale White scored 15 TDs last season, helping the Titans win 13 games and the AFC South.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2009 26NFL


Minicamp schedule

A listing of upcoming NFL minicamps (all include rookies and veterans unless other-wise noted):

Buffalo—June 9-11Cincinnati—June 18-20Cleveland—Tuesday-Thursday (voluntary); May 26-28 (voluntary); June 11-13Dallas—June 16-18Denver—June 12-14Detroit—June 23-25 (voluntary)Green Bay—June 23-25Houston—June 15-17Indianapolis—June 5-7Kansas City—June 5-7Miami—June 12-14 Minnesota—May 29-31New England—June 10-12New Orleans—June 5-7N.Y. Giants—June 16-18N.Y. Jets—June 9-11St. Louis—June 5-7San Francisco—June 5-7Seattle—June 10-12Tampa Bay—June 16-18Note: Teams are allowed to have rookie minicamps separate from the full-squad minicamp, and teams with first-year head coaches are allowed to add up to two volun-tary minicamps.

INSIDE DISH

Favre seeking non-surgical options; cap now at $128 millionWith the Minnesota Vikings

eagerly waiting, retired QB Brett Favre reportedly has sought advice from a noted surgeon about his beat-up throwing arm.

Citing an anonymous source, ESPN reported that Favre consulted Dr. James Andrews about options for dealing with the partially torn biceps tendon that has caused pain in his right shoulder. Favre’s agent, Bus Cook, did not return phone calls Friday but has insisted in interviews this month that Favre remains retired for now. Vikings officials were unavailable for comment Friday.

Favre reportedly is seeking non-surgical options to his damaged shoulder. ESPN’s source said Andrews gave Favre several exer-cises that could accelerate the pro-cess of the tendon releasing on its own. Favre’s pain could subside once if it completely tears naturally.

All-Pro RB Adrian Peterson said he’d welcome a healthy Favre to the Vikings.

“I’m a big fan of him,” Peterson told ESPN Radio. “I grew up watch-ing him and just loving the passion he played with. That would be something he would definitely bring to the locker room.”

Should Favre not return, Peter-son said he is comfortable with Vikings’ options at quarterback: Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson.

“I’m so confident in Tarvaris,” Peterson said. “Really haven’t seen too much of Sage, but Tarvaris has got all the talent. He’s got everything. He’s got a good arm, is talented. He’s got everything it takes to make it in this league. So, I know he’s been doing a lot this offseason to get his

body right, his mind right.”

Teams will have nearly $12 million more under the salary cap this season, the final year with one in place unless the league and its players’ union can reach a new col-lective bargaining agreement.

The cap was due to increase by $7 million to $123 million this season, but additional adjustments stipu-lated in the current CBA will increase the total amount that teams can spend on player compensation to about $128 million.

The league informed teams on Wednesday that a “cash-adjustment mechanism” from final accounting

figures in May will give clubs $947,000 of additional salary cap room, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Friday. The adjustments do not affect the minimum team salary of $107,748,000.

The Buccaneers are believed to have the most cap space in the league at $37 million, a league source told ProFootballTalk.com.

Cowboys coach Wade Phillips says scouting assistant Rich Behm, who was paralyzed from the waist down earlier this month, is looking forward to returning to work.

“His attitude is great and he’s looking forward to coming back to

work for us. And we’re looking for-ward to that, too,” Phillips said.

Former Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin presented Behm’s wife, Michelle, a $40,000 check at the pre-miere of his reality TV show 4th and Long at a Dallas area nightclub Thursday. Players, coaches and fans attended the event.

As expected, the Colts have hired from within to fill the voids of retired offensive coordinator Tom Moore and offensive line coach How-ard Mudd.

President Bill Polian said wide receiv-ers coach/assistant head coach Clyde Christensen will assume the coordina-tor duties and assistant line coach Pete Metzelaars will be promoted.

“The main cogs in terms of operat-ing the program are in place, have been in place and were prepared to do this,” Polian said. “It’s just a tran-sition that we would rather not have made, but we knew full well that it’s likely we were going to have to.”

As the Bills begin offseason workouts Monday, the priority will be to build cohesiveness in the offensive line. A new player could be manning all five line spots.

Langston Walker is moving from right tackle to left tackle. Kirk Cham-bers, Seth McKinney, Demetrius Bell and rookie Andy Levitre will battle for the left guard job. Fee-agent signee Geoff Hangartner is expected to win the center job, and rookie first-round pick Eric Wood is to start at right guard. At right tackle, ex-guard Brad Butler is the favorite but Bell and Chambers are other options.

Texans OLB Zac Diles reported via the team’s website that he is doing well in his rehab from a bro-ken leg sustained a Nov. 5 practice. As the strongside linebacker, he was the team’s leading tackler when injured.

“It’s coming along really well,” Diles said. “I went to the doctor on Monday and got cleared to partici-pate in all the offseason drills, and it’s going along good. This was my first week out there running with the fellas and everything, so it was good to be back.”

After the team drafted SLB Brian Cushing in the first round, Diles now is expected to compete with Xavier Adibi on the weakside job.

Titans P Craig Hentrich, who turns 38 on Monday, had consid-ered retirement but instead changed his lifestyle and his diet dramati-cally since the end of last season. He says he had lost 29 pounds on a strict diet based on Biblical princi-ples, dropping from 217 to 188. He’s back up to around 197, which is where he plans to stay.

“Here I was at 37 years old looking and feeling like I was 60 or 70,” Hen-trich told The Tennessean. “All the anti-inflammatories and medicines I was on, they weren’t helping me.”

Ex-Jets K Mike Nugent says he is 100 percent after struggling a right quadriceps injury much of last sea-son, and he is set to battle Matt Bry-ant for the Bucs’ kicking job in training camp.

The Ravens promise to have a summer-long kicking competition

between Steve Hauschka and undrafted rookie Graham Gano. Hauschka was the team’s kickoff specialist last year, and Gano won the Lou Groza Award as college football’s top kicker last season at Florida State.

You don’t have to be drafted to make an NFL roster. Central Flor-ida S Sha’reef Rashad could be in the process of proving just that with the Giants. New York shored up its secondary by selecting two corner-backs in the draft but was quick to sign Rashad soon after. Safeties coach David Merritt told the Star-Led-ger of Newark that Rashad already has picked up much of the scheme, making the correct calls and adjust-ments in meetings and on the field.

BILL KOSTROUN / AP

According to a report, Brett Favre is seeking advice from noted surgeon Dr. James Andrews.



http://ProFootballTalk.com

Remaining free agents A quick look at the remaining NFL free agents by position

(R-restricted free agent, F-franchise tagged player):

OFFENSE

Quarterbacks—Brooks Bollinger, Dallas; Ken Dorsey,

Cleveland; Gus Frerotte, Minnesota; Charlie Frye, Seattle; Drew

Henson, Detroit; Quinn Gray, Kansas City; Trent Green, St. Louis;

Rex Grossman, Chicago; Brad Johnson, Dallas; J.P. Losman,

Buffalo; Jamie Martin, San Francisco; Craig Nall, Houston;

Marques Tuiasosopo, Oakland; Anthony Wright, NY Giants.

Running backs—Darian Barnes, New Orleans; Tatum Bell,

Denver; Brian Calhoun, Detroit; Jesse Chatman, NY Jets; P.J.

Daniels, Baltimore; Reuben Droughns, NY Giants; Warrick

Dunn, Tampa Bay; DeShaun Foster, San Francisco; Samkon

Gado, St. Louis; Nick Goings, Carolina; Ahman Green, Houston;

Andre Hall, Denver; Kay-Jay Harris, NY Giants; Maurice Hicks,

Minnesota; Edgerrin James, Arizona; Rudi Johnson, Detroit;

Deuce McAllister, New Orleans; Travis Minor, St. Louis; Chris

Perry, Cincinnati; Andrew Pinnock, Denver; Michael Pittman,

Denver; P.J. Pope, Denver; Cecil Sapp, Houston; Aaron Stecker,

New Orleans; Selvin Young, Denver.

Wide receivers—Drew Bennett, St. Louis; Marty Booker,

Chicago; Drew Carter, Oakland; Jason Carter; Carolina; Keary

Colbert, Detroit; Jayson Foster, Denver; D.J. Hackett, Carolina;

Dante Hall, St. Louis; Marvin Harrison, Indianapolis; Ike

Hilliard, Tampa Bay; Darrell Jackson, Denver; Nate Jackson,

Denver; Matt Jones, Jacksonville; Joe Jurevicius, Cleveland;

Ashley Lelie, Oakland; Brandon Lloyd, Chicago; Dane Looker,

St. Louis; Anthony Mix, Tampa Bay; Ben Obomanu (R), Seattle;

Tab Perry, Miami; Jerry Porter, Jacksonville; Kevin Robinson,

Kansas City; Koren Robinson, Seattle; Edell Shepherd, Denver;

Travis Taylor, Detroit; Amani Toomer, NY Giants; Kelley

Washington, New England; Todd Watkins (R), Oakland; Harry

Williams, Houston; Reggie Williams, Jacksonville; Wallace

Wright (R), NY Jets.

Tight ends—Courtney Anderson, Houston; Adam Bergen,

Denver; Mark Bruener, Houston; Scott Chandler, San Diego;

Owen Daniels (R), Houston; Nate Lawrie, Cincinnati; Michael

Merritt, Kansas City; Chad Mustard, Denver; Jeff Robinson,

Seattle; Derek Schouman (R), Buffalo; Stephen Spach (R),

Arizona; Daniel Wilcox, Baltimore; Kris Wilson, San Diego.

Offensive tackles—Tyson Clabo (R), Atlanta; Anthony

Davis, St. Louis; Jon Dunn, Detroit; Wayne Gandy, Atlanta;

Kwame Harris, Oakland; Jonas Jennings, San Francisco; Levi

Jones, Cincinnati; James Marten (R), Oakland; Fred Miller,

Chicago; Rob Petitti, St. Louis; Jon Runyan, Philadelphia;

Ephraim Salaam, Houston; Charles Spencer, Jacksonville; Barry

Stokes, New England; Mark Tauscher, Green Bay; Mark Wilson

(R), Oakland.

Guards—Lennie Friedman, Cleveland; Adrian Jones, Kansas

City; Pete Kendall, Washington; Matt Lentz, Detroit; Terrence

Metcalf, Chicago; Edwin Mulitalo, Detroit; Chris Naeole,

Jacksonville; Tutan Reyes, Jacksonville; Grey Ruegamer, NY

Giants; Kendall Simmons, Pittsburgh; Rob Sims (R), Seattle;

Jason Whittle, Buffalo.

Centers—Brennen Carvalho, Green Bay; Jean-Philippe

Darche, Kansas City; Melvin Fowler, Buffalo; Matt Lehr, New

Orleans; Andy McCollum, Detroit; Jeremy Newberry, San

Diego; Scott Peters, Arizona; Bryan Pittman, Houston; Cory

Withrow, St. Louis.

DEFENSE

Defensive ends—Kevin Carter, Tampa Bay; Earl Cochran,

Houston; Sean Conover, NY Jets; Nick Eason, Pittsburgh;

Kalimba Edwards, Oakland; Ebenezer Ekuban, Denver; John

Engelberger, Denver; Simon Fraser, Atlanta; Roderick Green,

San Francisco; Travis LaBoy, Arizona; Jayme Mitchell, Minne-

sota; Jerome McDougle, NY Giants; Julius Peppers (F), Carolina;

Anthony Weaver, Houston; James Wyche, Jacksonville.

Defensive tackles—Kenderick Allen, Minnesota; Gary

Gibson, Carolina; La’Roi Glover, St. Louis; Vonnie Holliday,

Miami; Antwan Lake, New Orleans; Langston Moore, Detroit;

Kindal Moorehead, Atlanta; Dewayne Robertson, Denver;

Orpheus Roye, Pittsburgh; Hollis Thomas, New Orleans; Josh

Thomas, Indianapolis; John Thornton, Cincinnati; Darwin

Walker, Carolina; Ellis Wyms, Minnesota; Brian Young, New

Orleans; Jeff Zgonina, Houston.

Linebackers—Rufus Alexander, Indianapolis; Jason Babin,

Kansas City; Rocky Boiman, Kansas City; Derrick Brooks, Tampa

Bay; Khary Campbell, Washington; Anthony Cannon, Detroit;

Dan Cody, Baltimore; Rosevelt Colvin, New England; Donte’

Curry, Carolina; Donnie Edwards, Kansas City; Keith Ellison (R),

Buffalo; Troy Evans, New Orleans; Gilbert Gardner, Chicago;

Curtis Gatewood, Kansas City; Morlon Greenwood, Houston;

Marques Harris, San Diego; Napoleon Harris, Minnesota;

Abdul Hodge (R), Cincinnati; Mike Humpal, Pittsburgh; Brad

Kassell, NY Jets; Jason Kyle, Carolina; Teddy Lehman, Buffalo;

Paris Lenon, Detroit; Wesly Mallard, Seattle; Jim Maxwell,

Cincinnati; Willie McGinest, Cleveland; Marques Murrell (R), NY

Jets; Ryan Nece, Detroit; Shantee Orr, Cleveland; Antwan Peek,

Cleveland; Carlos Polk, Dallas; Junior Seau, New England; Matt

Sinclair, Washington; Gary Stills, St. Louis; Terrell Suggs (F), Bal-

timore; Dontarrious Thomas, Minnesota; Pisa Tinoisamoa, St.

Louis; Marcus Washington, Washington; Nate Webster, Denver.

Cornerbacks—David Barrett, NY Jets; Dre’ Bly, Denver;

Fakhir Brown, St. Louis; Terry Cousin, Cleveland; Jason Craft, St.

Louis; Travis Fisher, Detroit; Reynaldo Hill, Tennessee; Roderick

Hood, Arizona; William James, Jacksonville; Michael Lehan,

New Orleans; Sam Madison, NY Giants; Ricky Manning Jr., St.

Louis; Derrick Martin (R), Baltimore; Chris McAlister, Baltimore;

Mike McKenzie, New Orleans; R.W. McQuarters, NY Giants;

Deltha O’Neal, New England; Dunta Robinson (F), Houston;

Lewis Sanders, New England; Duane Starks, Jacksonville;

Brandon Sumrall, NY Giants; DeJuan Tribble, San Diego; Jason

Webster, New England; Jimmy Williams, Houston; Stanley

Wilson, Detroit.

Safeties—Oshiomogho Atogwe (F), St. Louis; Michael

Boulware, Minnesota; Mike Brown, Chicago; John Busing,

Cincinnati; Oliver Celestin, Kansas City; Corey Chavous, St.

Louis; Keith Davis, Dallas; Will Demps, Houston; Mike Doss,

Cincinnati; Hiram Eugene, Oakland; Mike Green, Washington;

Rodney Harrison, New England; Terrence Holt, New Orleans;

Dexter Jackson, Cincinnati; Sammy Knight, NY Giants;

Marquand Manuel, Denver; Marlon McCree, Denver; Lawyer

Milloy, Atlanta; Chad Nkang, Jacksonville; Jarrad Page (R),

Kansas City; Pierson Prioleau, Jacksonville; Chris Reis (R), New

Orleans; Dwight Smith, Detroit; Cameron Worrell, Chicago.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Kickers—John Carney, NY Giants; Matt Stover, Baltimore.

Punters—Mitch Berger, Pittsburgh; Mike Dragosavich,

Indianapolis; Sam Koch (R), Baltimore; Kyle Larson, Cincinnati;

Ryan Plackemeier, Cincinnati.

Rookie QB has endured adversity, draws motivation from criticsIRVING, TEXAS—When the third

round of the NFL draft came to an end, so did Stephen McGee’s patience.

Already stung by a disappointing career at Texas A&M, the quarter-back stormed out of his house, con-vinced a senior season lost to a shoulder injury had ruined his future.

Then Jerry Jones called.Now a member of the Dallas

Cowboys, McGee still is a longshot as a fourth-round pick who won’t be any higher than third on the depth chart behind Tony Romo and Jon Kitna. But at least the former Texas high school star from Burnet is where he wants to be.

“It’s very special to me,” said McGee, the first pick of the fourth round. “When I put this star on my helmet and strap it up for practice, there’s definitely a lot of pride because I’ve been following this team my whole life.”

Jones makes it sound as if the team is ready to give McGee a look. On draft day, the team owner said he liked McGee’s “nine-ish” quali-ties, a reference to Romo.

“I like the way, when plays broke down, the way he improvised,” Jones said. “I like the way he was able to clearly buy time with his mobility to throw the ball, not to run the ball.”

McGee was known more for his running than his throwing at A&M, where he finished with 4,889 yards passing and 1,800 yards rushing. When the Aggies started throwing less and losing more, he remained a loyal soldier for embattled coach Dennis Franchione.

In 2007, Texas A&M was coming off a pair of decent seasons soured by bad bowl losses when Franchione was caught in a midseason scandal

over a newsletter sold to big-money boosters that included information not available to the public.

McGee probably knew Fran-chione wouldn’t survive that sea-son, particularly after the Aggies reached six losses for the third time in the coach’s five years. McGee didn’t have to wait long for the bright side, though, because the Aggies hired Mike Sherman, one of Brett Favre’s former coaches and a believer in the pass-oriented West Coast offense.

Sherman threw open the quar-terback competition and McGee beat out Jerrod Johnson. McGee injured his shoulder in the second game, and Johnson did the same a week later. The season became something of a weekly soap opera on who would start.

By the end of the year, all McGee had left was a chance to beat Texas a third consecutive time when he replaced Johnson on the third series. The Longhorns won 49-9, finishing off Texas A&M’s 4-8 season.

“I would have liked to have won more games and thrown for a lot more yards,” McGee said. “The tri-als and adversity I faced motivate me as a person and even more so as a quarterback.”

They are also part of why Jones made McGee the Cowboys’ first drafted quarterback since Quincy Carter in 2001.

“What I like is that it hasn’t gone just right for him in any way and he’s been able to work through that and keep his chin up,” Jones said. “That’s a big plus for this game and what these guys are facing as rookies.”

McGee’s senior season surfaced again after the draft when Texas Tech coach Mike Leach, who watched star quarterback Graham

Harrell go undrafted, said the Cow-boys liked McGee “more than his coaches at Texas A&M.”

“I’m not worried about it,” McGee said. “I tell people how important coach Sherman and coach Fran-chione have been in my career. If not for those guys, I wouldn’t be sit-ting here today.”

McGee never was part of the con-versation about star Big 12 quarter-backs in 2008, a group that included the Heisman Trophy win-ner (Sam Bradford of Oklahoma) and runner-up (Colt McCoy of Texas). He was also overshadowed by Harrell, the first two-time 5,000-yard passer in NCAA his-tory, and Missouri’s Chase Daniel.

Even with his “nine-ish” qualities, he’s likely to spend at least a few years waiting behind Romo. That hasn’t affected his confidence.

McGee expects to start in the NFL and win Super Bowls. That’s plural, even though he’s not yet on the Cowboys’ roster and the team hasn’t won a playoff game since after the 1996 season.

“I do know people don’t believe in me and don’t think I’m a good quarterback,” he said. “I want to be the best quarterback in the NFL and that doesn’t change. Those things will always be with me and continue to motivate me for years to come.”


LM OTERO / AP

Cowboys rookie QB Stephen McGee, above, reminds owner Jerry Jones of Tony Romo.



SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2009 29College Football / College Basketball

Former Wisconsin and Saint Louis coach Brad Soderberg has been named head coach at Lin-denwood University, an NAIA school in St. Charles, Mo. Soder-berg was fired from Saint Louis in 2007, after failing to lead the school to the NCAA Tournament in any of his five seasons.

Soderberg served as interim head coach at Wisconsin after Dick Bennett’s retirement early in the 2000-01 season. He became the first Wisconsin coach to lead the Badgers to the NCAA Tourna-ment in his first year. But a 16-10 record and first-round tourney exit prompted the Badgers to look elsewhere for Bennett’s perma-nent replacement.

Southern Miss G Jeremy Wise has hired an agent, ending his college career a season early, the school announced. Wise entered his name in the NBA draft last month, but said he would likely return for his senior year.

Wise started all 96 games over the last three seasons, finishing sixth on the career scoring list at Southern Miss with 1,691 points and 11th in Conference USA.

The 6-2 point guard averaged 16.7 points and 4.7 assists last season.

College coaches have a little clarity now about what they can and cannot do on Twitter.

As reported by ESPN, the NCAA considers Twitter to be a blog, which means similar rules apply to what coaches can and

cannot do on Twitter and a site like Facebook. Any kind of chat-ter that can be viewed by the pub-lic is not allowed. But direct messaging is allowed. If only the two people communicating can see the posts, it’s OK.

So on Facebook, a coach can use the messaging function, but can’t write on people’s walls.

The issue came up a few weeks ago when Indiana coach Tom Crean tweeted, “I appreciate how many people are following me on this. Please remember that I cannot read or respond to replies. NCAA rules.”

Turns out Crean was right.“We view that option on Twitter

the same as we view normal e-mails,” Cameron Schuh, associate director of public and media rela-tions for the NCAA, told ESPN. “It’s just you can’t post those (direct messages) on your main page.

“We view Twitter as a blog. As

long as coaches are on there talking about what they’re doing with their day and how their practice went or things like that … not getting into specific terms, that’s fine. They can’t talk about a person they’re recruiting, or they can’t use it to talk about their whereabouts on a recruiting trip.”

Stacey Palmore has joined new Georgia coach Mark Fox’s staff after five seasons as an assistant at Vir-ginia Tech. Palmore, a native of Greenwood, S.C., joined the Vir-ginia Tech in 2004 when the Hok-ies joined the ACC. He was one of Virginia Tech’s top recruiters.

Washington State has named Jared Barrett as director of men’s basketball operations and Tim Mar-rion as coordinator of basketball operations to complete the staff of new coach Ken Bone.

Michigan RB Kevin Grady has been jailed for seven days after pleading guilty to violating his probation on a 2008 drunken driving conviction, the Grand Rapids Press reported.

Grady was arrested July 2 in the Grand Rapids suburb of Wyoming for driving with what police said was a blood-alcohol level about three-and-a-half times the state’s legal limit. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor drunken driving.

Grady failed to properly report to probation agents and failed to com-plete 24 hours of community ser-vice, among other violations, the newspaper reported.

Alabama coach Nick Saban announced Friday that LB Prince Hall will transfer to Central Washington.

Hall played in 36 games during his Alabama career while making 14 starts at linebacker. He recorded 152 tackles during his three seasons with 13 tackles for loss and three sacks.

Hall was suspended at least three times during the past two seasons for violating team rules. He missed the 2007 season opener and spring practice the past two years.

Oregon WR Aaron Pflugrad has been granted his release from the team. His father, Robin Pflugrad, was the team’s wide receivers coach but was not retained for the upcoming season, the first under new coach Chip Kelly.

In two seasons at Oregon, Pflu-grad had 23 catches for 247 yards. As a true freshman, he had 17 recep-tions for 168 yards and a score. In Oregon’s recent spring game

Pflugrad had six catches for 107 yards and two scores, playing for the first-team offense.

South Carolina coach Steve Spur-rier stoked the fire with his former school during an appearance on the Paul Finebaum Radio Network, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

On Florida coach Urban Meyer, Spurrier said:

“They’ve still got that rumor going down there, Paul, that if he has about one more big year he might be the Notre Dame coach. …. It’d be surpris-ing if he left, but who knows?

“He’s accomplished so much. I

mean, I left after 12 years because I just said, ‘Hey, I’ve done enough. Try something else.’ He may get to the point where he needs to try something else. Who knows?”

John Elway is not upset that his son, Jack, has quit football, the for-mer Broncos QB told The Denver Post. After redshirting last fall at Arizona State, Jack left the team during spring drills—he was bur-ied on the depth chart—and will remain a student at ASU.

“He sounds better,” John Elway told the newspaper. “Just talking to him, it’s like the world has been lifted off his shoulders. So I’m happy for him.”

COLLEGE FOOTBALL COLLEGE BASKETBALL

INSIDE DISH INSIDE DISH

Former Wisconsin coach lands at NAIA schoolMichigan RB violates probation, goes to jail

MARK HUMPHREY / AP

DAVID J. PHILLIP / AP

Southern Miss G Jeremy Wise (3) has hired an agent, and will not be back for his senior year.

Oregon WR Aaron Pflugrad, right, is transferring after his dad was not retained by the new staff.


SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com

SUBSCRIBE TODAY www.insidelacrosse.com

BY QUINT KESSENICHInsideLacrosse.com

Maryland (10-6)vs. No. 2 Syracuse (13-2)

Noon, ESPN2Maryland’s Ryan Young, Will

Yeatman and Travis Reed will be asked to attack SU’s close defense today like Loyola’s attack did suc-cessfully in a 14-13 March 28 loss to the Orange.

A concern for Maryland has to be the recent lack of production from Grant Catalino and Will Yeat-man. Yeatman missed three games with an ankle injury and hasn’t scored since the Navy loss on April 3. Catalino has one goal in his last four games and his shooting per-centage has plummeted to 22%. The new scorers seem to be Dan Groot, Adam Sear and Reed.

Wing play is essential for Mary-land against SU because they bring in Matt Abbott and Joel White from the flanks. The Terps must win face-offs and control the tem-po—to keep SU’s powerful offense on the sideline.

Brian Phipps was sharp in goal against Notre Dame and appears to be the starter Saturday. He’ll need to make 15-20 saves and be clean in the clearing game.

Syracuse needs tempo to win. They have superior team speed and offensive depth. But they must scrap for 50 percent on face-offs (with Jake Moulton, Gavin Jenkin-son and Josh Knight) and play team defense to beat Maryland. The Terps will test their patience. SU is vulnerable against on-ball picks and must communicate through the

two-man pick-and-roll games.Maryland needs to run with SU

quarterback Kenny Nims, the nation’s points per game leader.

Syracuse goalie John Galloway is 29-4 as a starter. His clearing passes are unreal. When he relaxes and sees the ball and reacts on instinct, he’s fine. But when he overthinks, he struggles (Prince-ton, Hopkins and Albany).

No. 4 Princeton (13-2)vs. No. 5 Cornell (11-3)

2:30 p.m., ESPNUThe Big Red have beaten Prince-

ton five of the last six games, domi-nating time of possession in the 10-7 regular-season win over Princeton and holding the Tigers scoreless for 22:37.

Midfielders Max Seibald and

John Glynn set the tone with their attitude and committment to groundballs (CU had an 30-11 edge Princeton on April 18).

Look for Cornell to shortstick Tiger attackman Chris McBride and bump two longsticks to middies Mark Kovler and Rich Sgalardi, who ravaged UMass last Sunday and are two of eight midfielders nationally with at least 40 points.

Princeton has won nine of its last 10 games. The six-time NCAA champs are looking to return to Championship Weekend for the first time since 2004. After a 7-6 record in 2008, coach Bill Tierney shrunk the defensive playbook and gave his offensive players the green light to attack the goal.

Longsticks Charlie Kolkin and freshman John Cunningham will cover Glynn and Seibald. Princeton has the nation’s best duo of short-stick defenders (Josh Lesko and Brendan Reilly) and the best remain-ing goalie (freshman Tyler Fiorito).

Lacrosse

NCAA MEN’S QUARTERFINALS

Orange will try to speed it up against Terps

Games to watchToday at Hofstra

Maryland vs. No. 2 Syracuse, noon, ESPN2

No. 4 Princeton vs. No. 5 Cornell, 2:30 p.m., ESPNU

Sunday at Navy

No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 8 Johns Hopkins, noon, ESPNU

No. 3 Duke vs. No. 6 North Carolina, 2:30 p.m., ESPNU

MORE COVERAGE For live coverage all weekend, go to:

InsideLacrosse.com

MARCUS SNOWDEN / AP

The Terps need production from Will Yeatman, who has been slowed by an ankle injury.


http://InsideLacrosse.com

http://InsideLacrosse.com

http://www.insidelacrosse.com/

134TH PREAKNESS 4:30 p.m. ET today, NBC (Post time, 6 p.m.) NOTEBOOK

Preakness oddsThe field for today’s 134th Preakness Stakes:

HORSE TRAINER JOCKEY ODDS

1. Big Drama David Fawkes John Velazquez 10-1

2. Mine That Bird Chip Woolley, Jr. Mike Smith 6-1

3. Musket Man Derek Ryan Eibar Coa 8-1

4. Luv Gov D. Wayne Lukas Jamie Theriot 50-1

5. Friesan Fire Larry Jones Gabriel Saez 6-1

6. Terrain Albert Stall, Jr. Jeremy Rose 30-1

7. Papa Clem Gary Stute Rafael Bejarano 12-1

8. General Quarters Tom McCarthy Julien Leparoux 20-1

9. Pioneerof the Nile Bob Baffert Garrett Gomez 5-1

10. Flying Private D. Wayne Lukas Alan Garcia 50-1

11. Take the Points Todd Pletcher Edgar Prado 30-1

12. Tone It Down William Komlo Kent Desormeaux 50-1

13. Rachel Alexandra Steve Asmussen Calvin Borel 8-5

Weights: Rachel Alexandra 121 pounds, others 126. Distance: 1 3-16 miles. Purse: $1.1 million. First place: $710,000. Second place: $220,000. Third place: $110,000. Fourth place: $55,000. Post time: 6 p.m. EDT.

BALTIMORE—Calvin Borel has com-plete confidence his horse will win the Preakness, the kind of gravitas expected from the Kentucky Derby-winning jockey.

Except Borel won’t be riding the Derby winner today.

He made the unprecedented deci-sion to get off Mine That Bird and onto Rachel Alexandra, the spec-tacular filly who is the 8-5 early favorite for the second leg of the Triple Crown.

“It’s hard to leave a Kentucky Derby winner,” jockey Robby Albar-ado said. “You’re the only one with the chance of winning the Triple Crown. It’s a hard decision to make.”

Mine That Bird is the co-third choice at 6-1 with Friesan Fire, the Derby wagering favorite who stag-gered home next-to-last on the first

Saturday in May.“The 12 other horses are going to

have to run the race of their life or me fall off or something stupid happen,” Borel said by phone Friday from Louisville, Ky., where he took a break from mowing his lawn to chat.

“I just got to point her in the right direction and she’ll get me there.”

If that happens, Rachel Alexan-dra would become only the fifth filly to win the Preakness.

Ten have tried since Nellie Morse in 1924 was the last to wear the winner’s blanket of black-eyed Susans.

If Mine That Bird should win and set up a Triple Crown try in the Bel-mont next month, well, Borel can take some of that credit, too.

He has permission to help the enemy—virtually verboten in a

major race—by talking to Mine That Bird’s new rider Mike Smith. At trainer Chip Woolley Jr.’s request, Borel agreed to go over a few things with Smith today.

“He ain’t no dummy,” Borel said. “I’ll tell him what I think and it’s up to Mike. He knows his horses. It’s kind of hard for me to tell him how to ride a horse.”

Borel said he’s helping as a thank you to Woolley and his camp for putting him on his second Derby winner in three years.

Smith comes in with his brown eyes wide open. The Hall of Fame jockey has ridden in the Preakness 10 other times, winning it with Prairie Bayou in 1993.

“Calvin will just tell me to go to the lead,” Smith said, joking.

Smith also sought advice from his girlfriend Chantal Sutherland.

She rode Mine That Bird to three consecutive wins in Canada, where the colt was a champion 2-year-old. Sutherland will be watching Satur-day from Woodbine, where she rides.

Smith plans a strategy similar to the one Borel used in the Derby, taking Mine That Bird off the pace and waiting patiently before mak-ing a big closing run.

“Hopefully get him in rhythm and he punches like that again,” Smith said.


Bird not the word for Borel

MORRY GASH / AP

Calvin Borel, who rode Rachel Alexandra to a victory in the Kentucky Oaks, will be back aboard today.

Last hurrah for LarryEvery moment is tinged with

nostalgia for trainer Larry Jones as he sends out Friesan Fire in the Preakness.

Jones will drastically scale back his stable at the end of the year. He and wife Cindy will still train a few horses, but the scope will be greatly reduced.

Jones felt he needed a break fol-lowing the emotional ordeal after the fatal breakdown of his filly Eight Belles moments after finish-ing second in last year’s Kentucky Derby.

From inside the Pimlico stakes barn, Jones reflected on what could be the final time he stood in that spot.

“Every time we do something, we realize it could be the last time,” he said. “We’re trying to enjoy it as we go. Some of it we’re going through thinking, ‘Thank God I don’t have to do this again.’ It’s good and it has been good.”

With a reduced workload, the 52-year-old trainer will be able to do things most folks his age take for granted: sleeping late, taking vacation and enjoying time with his grandchildren.

“I want to be there to see them open birthday presents,” Jones said. “On Christmas, we hope to have them all in one spot. That’s some-thing we haven’t got to do that everybody takes for granted.”

Home can wait Chip Woolley Jr., the cowboy

with the big black hat, will be glad to get home when the Triple Crown is over.

Not that Woolley hasn’t enjoyed the trip so far. The trainer will try

to validate Mine That Bird’s repu-tation today in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.

Having pulled off a stunning 50-1 upset in the Kentucky Derby, Mine That Bird faces 12 rivals in the middle jewel of the series, including the sensational filly Rachel Alexandra.

“It’s been pretty fulfilling,” Woolley said Friday. “It’s been exciting. You couldn’t ask for any-thing better than what’s happened to me so far. We never came here thinking we could win the Derby. We just wanted to get as much as we could. Little did we know, we’d knock a home run.”

Still, this is all a long way from home in Bloomfield, N.M.

“I’ll be glad to go back home,” he said. “It’s more laid-back and comfortable there. I don’t know if all this will change anything. We’re all pretty tight back there.”

Passmore diesBill Passmore, a former jockey

who rode in the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and later became a Maryland racing stew-ard, has died. He was 76.

Passmore died Thursday night at his home in Annapolis, two days before the 134th running of the Preakness. No cause was given, but he had struggled with the effects of emphysema, accord-ing to Mike Gathagan, spokesman for the Maryland Jockey Club.

Passmore won 3,531 career races and earned nearly $23 mil-lion in purses during a riding career that began as a teenager in 1948 and ended in 1986.


SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2009 31Horse Racing


LeaderboardFriday at La Cantera Golf Club, Resort CourseSan AntonioPurse: $6.1 millionYardage: 6,881; Par: 70

Second RoundPaul Goydos 63-65—128 -12Justin Leonard 63-68—131 -9Mathias Gronberg 66-65—131 -9Ted Purdy 64-67—131 -9John Mallinger 67-64—131 -9Scott Sterling 68-63—131 -9Kent Jones 67-65—132 -8Fredrik Jacobson 66-66—132 -8Brian Davis 65-67—132 -8J.P. Hayes 71-62—133 -7Stephen Ames 66-67—133 -7Greg Owen 65-68—133 -7Marc Leishman 64-69—133 -7Briny Baird 68-66—134 -6Lee Janzen 66-68—134 -6Bill Haas 67-67—134 -6Jeff Maggert 64-70—134 -6Zach Johnson 68-67—135 -5Brandt Jobe 70-65—135 -5Kevin Stadler 67-68—135 -5Aron Price 69-66—135 -5Tag Ridings 69-66—135 -5David Duval 66-69—135 -5Kris Blanks 70-65—135 -5Bart Bryant 70-66—136 -4Harrison Frazar 67-69—136 -4Marco Dawson 68-68—136 -4Charles Warren 70-66—136 -4Greg Chalmers 69-67—136 -4Patrick Sheehan 68-68—136 -4J.J. Henry 66-70—136 -4Jimmy Walker 70-66—136 -4Tim Clark 67-69—136 -4Matt Jones 67-69—136 -4James Driscoll 67-69—136 -4Wil Collins 67-69—136 -4Carlos Franco 71-66—137 -3Chad Campbell 68-69—137 -3Todd Fischer 70-67—137 -3Frank Lickliter II 69-68—137 -3Robert Gates 73-64—137 -3Scott Gutschewski 71-66—137 -3Scott McCarron 70-67—137 -3Bob Estes 67-70—137 -3Jay Williamson 69-68—137 -3Scott Verplank 67-70—137 -3James Nitties 68-69—137 -3Matt Weibring 67-70—137 -3Gary Woodland 67-70—137 -3Troy Matteson 72-66—138 -2Vaughn Taylor 70-68—138 -2Chris DiMarco 72-66—138 -2Garrett Willis 68-70—138 -2Bill Lunde 73-65—138 -2Anthony Kim 69-69—138 -2Corey Pavin 66-72—138 -2Eric Axley 72-67—139 -1Charley Hoffman 70-69—139 -1Dustin Johnson 74-65—139 -1Paul Stankowski 70-69—139 -1Billy Andrade 72-67—139 -1Robin Freeman 70-69—139 -1Matt Bettencourt 68-71—139 -1Martin Piller 69-70—139 -1Matthew Loving 72-67—139 -1Tim Herron 68-71—139 -1Jonathan Kaye 71-68—139 -1Charlie Wi 68-71—139 -1Rocco Mediate 69-70—139 -1Mark Wilson 67-72—139 -1Richard S. Johnson 71-68—139 -1Shaun Micheel 67-72—139 -1Nathan Green 70-69—139 -1David Peoples 72-67—139 -1Jason Gore 70-69—139 -1

Mark Brooks 71-68—139 -1Failed to qualifyHeath Slocum 71-69—140 ERyan Palmer 69-71—140 EDaniel Chopra 71-69—140 EBob Burns 70-70—140 ETom Byrum 72-68—140 ETyler Aldridge 72-68—140 ESpencer Levin 73-67—140 EColt Knost 70-70—140 ESteve Allan 70-70—140 ENick O’Hern 70-70—140 ENotah Begay III 68-72—140 ETim Wilkinson 69-71—140 ERich Beem 69-71—140 EBryce Molder 70-70—140 EPeter Tomasulo 70-70—140 ENicholas Thompson 72-69—141 +1Joe Durant 73-68—141 +1Brian Bateman 72-69—141 +1Chris Riley 72-69—141 +1Lance Ten Broeck 71-70—141 +1Brian Vranesh 72-69—141 +1Dean Wilson 67-74—141 +1Greg Kraft 70-71—141 +1D.J. Trahan 74-67—141 +1Chez Reavie 70-71—141 +1Ricky Barnes 71-70—141 +1Tommy Gainey 71-70—141 +1Jim McGovern 75-67—142 +2Guy Boros 70-72—142 +2Dicky Pride 71-71—142 +2D.A. Points 75-67—142 +2Casey Wittenberg 70-72—142 +2Jarrod Lyle 72-70—142 +2David Ogrin 72-70—142 +2Neal Lancaster 73-69—142 +2Grant Waite 68-74—142 +2Troy Kelly 72-70—142 +2Matthew Borchert 74-68—142 +2Rick Price 73-69—142 +2Brad Adamonis 73-70—143 +3Mark Hensby 69-74—143 +3Darron Stiles 74-69—143 +3Bob Heintz 71-72—143 +3John Huston 71-72—143 +3Cameron Beckman 74-69—143 +3Omar Uresti 73-70—143 +3Willie Wood 66-77—143 +3Tadd Fujikawa 72-71—143 +3Derek Fathauer 68-75—143 +3David Mathis 75-68—143 +3J.L. Lewis 72-72—144 +4Jesper Parnevik 70-74—144 +4Glen Day 71-73—144 +4Brendon de Jonge 74-70—144 +4Roland Thatcher 73-71—144 +4Robert Gamez 76-69—145 +5Chris Stroud 72-73—145 +5Stephen Leaney 71-74—145 +5Jim Gallagher, Jr. 72-73—145 +5Jay Delsing 70-75—145 +5Stephen Dartnall 73-72—145 +5Joe Ogilvie 76-70—146 +6Brendon Todd 75-71—146 +6Alex Cejka 73-73—146 +6Jason Day 76-70—146 +6Kirk Triplett 79-68—147 +7Steve Pate 72-75—147 +7Ted Schulz 74-73—147 +7James Oh 72-75—147 +7Mike Heinen 73-75—148 +8Aaron Watkins 78-70—148 +8Tim Thelen 73-75—148 +8Phil Tataurangi 72-76—148 +8Chris Baryla 74-74—148 +8Leif Olson 79-71—150 +10Trevor Dodds 70-80—150 +10Kenny Knox 78-74—152 +12Nolan Henke 79-74—153 +13Jose Coceres 80-77—157 +17Brent Geiberger 75—WD

SAN ANTONIO—Paul Goydos remembered hitting one mediocre shot Friday in the Texas Open, but not any bad ones.

Goydos followed his opening 7-under 63 with a 65 to reach 12 under on the La Can-tera Golf Club course—three strokes ahead of three-time champion Justin Leonard and four others. It’s the biggest lead Goydos has ever had on the PGA Tour.

“It’s just kind of like being the pace car, for lack of a better word,” the 44-year-old Goydos said. “We’re going to go out and play two more rounds of golf, but the tournament’s going to be in front of me tomorrow, which is kind of cool.”

Goydos had six birdies after dropping a stroke on his first hole, the par-4 10th.

“This is why you play. If I wasn’t com-fortable where I am right now, I need to find another profession,” said Goydos, the 1996 Bay Hill and 2007 Sony Open winner. “This is why we play, practice and endure rough weeks, so we learn something, to improve and get better. And tomorrow is going to be another chapter in that learning process of becoming a better player.”

Leonard, tied with Goydos after the first round, shot a 68 to join Scott Sterling (63), John Mallinger (64), Mathias Gron-berg (65) and Ted Purdy (67) at 9 under.

Gronberg opened the tournament with a 66, then went to work quickly chasing Goydos. Using a pitching wedge, he holed out for eagle from 123 yards on the par-4 12th and followed with birdies on the next two holes.

“It’s a good place for me,” said Gron-berg, who finished third in 2007. “Nor-mally certain players play good in certain places, and this golf course has been very good to me over the years.”

Defending champion Zach Johnson was seven strokes back after a 67.

“Maybe a little polishing on the week-end, and hopefully we can make a push,” Johnson said.

David Duval shot a 69 and was seven back, fading down the back nine after birdieing four of his first nine holes and getting within a stroke of the lead. Still, the world’s former No. 1 made his first tournament cut in three months.

Trouble began for Duval, who hasn’t won a tournament since 2001, when his tee shot on the par-4 11th hooked badly

into the rough.Duval and a rules official studied the

ball, tucked around dry brush and rock, and Duval’s options for about a minute. The 2001 British Open champion tried about every angle that might of given him a chance before resigning himself to take a penalty stroke and start over.

He sputtered to another bogey two

holes later, when he missed a 12-footer on No. 13. The 37-year-old rebounded with a birdie on the next hole, but finished the round with by missing a 7-footer that would have saved par.

“I feel like I’ve been playing exponen-tially better than my scores have been,” Duval said. “I’m finally getting closer to scores I think are representative of how I’m playing. ... I’m trying to have a chance to win golf tournaments.”

Among those not making the cut was Jesper Parnevik—or his caddie, Lance Ten Broeck. In a rarity that PGA Tour officials in San Antonio believed hadn’t happened on the tour in years, Ten Broeck caddied and played in the tourna-ment when he filled in as an alternate.

The 53-year-old former tour regular shot an even-par 70 on Friday before tot-ing Parnevik’s bag the rest of the after-noon. He pulled the same double-duty Thursday, and was so unprepared that he was driven to a nearby mall to buy pants. Ten Broeck also had to borrow clubs both days.

He finished at 1-over 141 to miss the cut by two strokes.

But he finished ahead of Parnevik, who was 4 over.

“Physically, I’m fine,” Ten Broeck said. “I’m just disappointed that I didn’t play any better. I know I was close.”


Texas OpenSite: San Antonio

Schedule: Through Sunday

Course: LaCantera Golf Club, Resort

Course (7,153 yards, par 70)

Purse: $6.1 million. Winner’s share:

$1,098,000

TV (all times ET): CBS (Today-Sunday,

3-6 p.m.)

Goydos continues steady play, increases lead

ERIC GAY / AP

Paul Goydos jumped out of a two-way tie for first and built a three-shot lead after the second round.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2009 32Golf


MADRID—Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal reached the Madrid Open semifi-nals on Friday, on pace for a clay-court showdown in the final.

Federer beat Andy Roddick again, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-1 while Nadal stayed perfect against Fernando Verdasco with a 6-4, 7-5 victory.

Defending champion Andy Murray lost to fifth-seeded Juan Martin del Potro 7-6 (4), 6-3 for the first time in four meet-ings. Novak Djokovic will get a fourth shot at beating Nadal this year after dis-patching wild card Ivan Ljubicic 6-4, 6-4.

Top-ranked Dinara Safina advanced to the women’s last four with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Alona Bondarenko, and will play Patty Schnyder, who beat fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic 7-6 (6), 6-3. Ame-lie Mauresmo will face Caroline Wozniacki in the other semi.

Federer improved to 18-2 against sixth-seeded Roddick after their first career meeting on dirt.

“His game translates well to most any-thing,” Roddick said.

Nadal’s 32nd straight clay win made him 9-0 against Verdasco, including three this year.

After taking the first set, Nadal fell behind 4-0 to his Davis Cup teammate before rallying to 4-4 with help from Verdasco’s seven double faults.

“He was playing badly, very badly at that moment and I was just thinking to myself play better to get more confidence for the third (set),” said Nadal, who broke Verdasco for a fourth time to improve to 149-4 on clay since 2005. “I had a good comeback.”

Nadal will play Djokovic again after the third-seeded Serb won a match heavy on groundstrokes.

“The more matches that I play against (Nadal), the more chances I have to prove something more to myself and to

everybody else,” said Djokovic, who lost to Nadal in the finals at Monte Carlo and Rome. “I know that just a couple of points here or there will decide the winner.”

Federer, who won here in 2006 when the tournament was played on an indoor hard court, broke Roddick twice in the first set then conceded a 3-0 lead in the second-set tiebreaker. The Swiss star broke early in the deciding set and fired 15 aces past Roddick.

Murray let his frustration get the bet-ter of him as del Potro overcame a 5-2 first-set deficit. Murray was forced into a tiebreaker, where he made many of his

34 unforced errors and was left kicking out at his racket.

Del Potro, who hit 23 winners, will now try to end a four-match losing streak against Federer.

“I’m expecting a tough match,” Federer said.

Safina overcame a letdown after a blazing start against 46th-ranked Bond-arenko and took the opening set with a break in the 10th game.

“I had a bad call from the umpire and I lost a little bit of concentration,” Safina said after blowing a 3-0 lead. “But I found my game and I’m playing every match better and better.”

Schnyder’s high balls troubled Jank-ovic, who has been battling a cold for nearly a month. The fourth-ranked Serb, who had a set point at 6-5 in the tie-breaker, committed 35 unforced errors while Schnyder hit 29 winners.

“I didn’t close out (my chances). That made a big difference,” Jankovic said. “From there things went downhill.”

Mauresmo rallied for a 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 win over Agnes Szavay, and will meet for the first time Wozniacki, the only other seeded player to advance after the No. 9 beat qualifier Vera Dushevina 6-0, 6-4.


Federer beats Roddick to reach semifinals in Madrid

Madrid OpenFridayAt Caja MagicaPurse: Men, $5.04 million (WT1000); Women, $4.5 million (Pre-mier)Surface: Clay-Outdoor

SinglesMenQuarterfinalsRoger Federer (2), Switzerland, def. Andy Roddick (6), United States, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-1.Novak Djokovic (3), Serbia, def. Ivan Ljubicic, Croatia, 6-4, 6-4.Rafael Nadal (1), Spain, def. Fernando Verdasco (7), Spain, 6-4, 7-5.Juan Martin del Potro (5), Argentina, def. Andy Murray (4), Britain, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

WomenQuarterfinalsCaroline Wozniacki (9), Denmark, def. Vera Dushevina, Russia, 6-0, 6-4.Amelie Mauresmo, France, def. Agnes Szavay, Hungary, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1.Dinara Safina (1), Russia, def. Alona Bondarenko, Ukraine, 6-4, 6-3.Patty Schnyder, Switzerland, def. Jelena Jankovic (4), Serbia, 7-6 (6), 6-3.

DoublesMenQuarterfinalsBruno Soares, Brazil, and Kevin Ullyett (5), Zimbabwe, def. Frantisek Cermak, Czech Republic, and Michal Mertinak, Slovakia, 7-5, 6-2.Daniel Nestor, Canada, and Nenad Zimonjic (2), Serbia, def. Marcel Granollers and Tommy Robredo, Spain, 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 tiebreak.Simon Aspelin, Sweden, and Wesley Moodie, South Africa, def. Novak Djokovic and Dusan Vemic, Serbia, 4-6, 6-3, 11-9 tiebreak.

WomenSemifinalsCara Black, Zimbabwe, and Liezel Huber (1), United States, def. Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs (4), Australia, 7-5, 7-6 (1).Kveta Peschke, Czech Republic, and Lisa Raymond (3), United States, def. Chuang Chia-jung, Taiwan, and Sania Mirza, India, 7-6 (4), 6-4.

ANDRES KUDACKI / AP

Roger Federer, above, improved his career record against Andy Roddick to 18-2.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2009 33Tennis

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After nine months away, Phelps back in familiar spot—top of medal standCHARLOTTE—Sporting a goatee and an old-school swim-

suit, Michael Phelps picked up right where he left off in Beijing.

Two races. Two wins.The world’s greatest swimmer left everyone—and

everything—in his wake Friday night at his first meet since a triumphant Olympics. That nine-month layoff? No problem. That embarrassing photo of him using a marijuana pipe? Time to let that one go, too.

None of it seemed to matter when Phelps dove in for two events less than an hour apart at the Charlotte UltraSwim. He started with a victory in the 200-meter freestyle and came right back to touch first in the 100 butterfly, both with times that easily broke the meet records he set three years ago.

Considering Phelps hadn’t bothered to shave down and he wore a 2004 model leg suit—a real antique in the fast-changing swimsuit world—it was clear the kickoff to this final stage of his career is starting way ahead of schedule.

“I was real excited,” Phelps said. “It didn’t matter how I felt, I was excited just to race. That’s the most important thing. I still have that drive and that passion to race.”

Does he ever.Coach Bob Bowman, usually Phelps’ harshest critic,

was downright giddy when he saw the times. He fig-ured Phelps would be doing well to swim the 200 free in just under 1 minute, 48 seconds. He went nearly 2 seconds faster, even giving a little sample of the straight-arm, wind-milling stroke he plans to use in the shorter races as he surged toward the wall with a time of 1:46.02.

In the fly, Phelps swam the outward lap in 24.6 and made the return in 27.1 for a total time of 51.72. Doing some quick math on his worksheet, Bowman calcu-lated that both laps were exactly 0.6 seconds faster than what Phelps did to win the gold medal in Beijing.

Clearly, he hasn’t lost that remarkable sense of timing.“Mentally, he’s the best ever,” Bowman said. “We

make a big deal about his physical (attributes), and it’s there. But it’s the way he approaches the race, the way his brain works in competition. That’s the way you would like every swimmer to think.”

Phelps won these same two events at Beijing, part of his record-breaking haul of eight gold medals. He became a cultural icon, doing everything from hosting

Saturday Night Live to getting grilled on The Colbert Report, but his career ran into an unplanned hurdle when the infamous photo was published by a British tabloid in early February.

Even though no criminal charges were filed, USA Swimming gave Phelps a three-month suspension from competition. At first, he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to return to the pool. But, after going into vir-tual seclusion for nearly a month, he had an epiphany one Sunday morning: Yes, he did want to keep swim-ming until the 2012 Olympics.

The Charlotte UltraSwim is his first step toward his London farewell.

“I’m definitely ahead of where I thought I would be,” Phelps said. “After taking that much of a break, I didn’t know what to expect or where to really put myself. So I’m very pleased. This is an excellent start to hopefully building off this and getting ready for the summer.”

He has three more events in Charlotte, none of them holdovers from his Olympic program. He’ll swim the 50 free and 100 backstroke today, and close it out with the 100 free on Sunday.

After the turmoil of the past three months—his sus-pension ended just last week—Phelps was back in his comfort zone. During the morning preliminaries, he smiled for the cameras, joked around with the other swimmers and paused to sign a few autographs.

The only thing that caught him off guard was the amount off media attention, including reporters from as far away as Britain, France and Japan.

“It’s kind of weird,” he said. “I feel like there’s more pressure than Beijing. I didn’t even see this many cam-eras in Beijing.”

These cameras, he didn’t mind.He came out in a gray hoodie, tennis shoes and those

ever-present ear plugs, fiddling around with his music as he waited to swim. He wore a white swim cap with “NBAC” written across the sides—North Baltimore Aquatic Club.

Another Olympian, Aaron Peirsol, gave Phelps a wink and a pat on the shoulder as he walked by on the way to his heat.

Phelps continued to yuk it up as he got behind the starting blocks, a striking change from the fierce-look-ing game face he displayed before every race in Beijing. Finally, though, he went into his familiar routine.

He wiped down the starting block with a towel. Then

he stretched out each leg on the block. He adjusted his goggles. He stepped up, bent over and flapped his arms wildly three times.

Then, he was off.“I’m sure his focus wants to remain at the pool,” Peir-

sol said. “That’s certainly where he’s going to be most comfortable right now.”

Phelps hardly said a word on his way to the aquatic center.

“To me, that means he might have been a little bit nervous,” Bowman said. “I think now he seems like his normal self. It’s good to get the first one done.

“You just don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s when you get the most nervous, when you can’t predict what’s going to happen. Now he had a feel for where he is a little bit.”

There was only one minor glitch the whole day.After getting out of the warm-up pool before his first

prelim, Phelps felt a small hole in the back of his jam-mer suit. He couldn’t stop laughing about it on his way to the blocks.

“I was hoping it wasn’t going to rip when I bent down at the start,” Phelps said, smiling. “But it was all good. We got that all straightened out and fixed.”

After that, it was business as usual.“I could tell after that first prelim swim this morning

that the switch was flipped,” Bowman said. “It was at least half-flipped. Then tonight, after the 200 free, it was fully flipped. He swam that 100 fly like always, like normal.”

In other words, better than anyone. Ever. — The Associated Press

GERRY BROOME / AP

A nine-month layoff did not hurt Michael Phelps, as he broke meet records at the Charlotte UltraSwim in the 200M freestyle and 100M butterfly.

SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2009 34SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com Swimming


SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2009 35Back Page

CHIAVENNA, ITALY—Lance Armstrong com-manded the spotlight again, and it had nothing to do with his seven Tour de France titles or fight against cancer.

Armstrong had a new role Friday: labor activist.

On a day when Norway’s Edvald Boas-son Hagen won a cold and rainy seventh stage of the Giro d’Italia and Italy’s Danilo Di Luca kept the overall lead, Armstrong and all but one of his Astana teammates made a protest.

The riders, upset over not being paid salary by their Kazakhstan team, wore special jerseys that faded the sponsor names. The Astana lettering that had been clearly visible was now obscured beyond recognition.

“It’s definitely not a good sign,” Di Luca said. “It’s the richest team in the world and the team that spends the most.”

Armstrong protested on behalf of his teammates. He is riding without salary this season after 3½ years of retirement. Alberto Contador, considered cycling’s top rider, also competes for Astana, although he is not defending his title from last year’s Giro.

The stage passed through three coun-tries, starting in Austria and heading through Switzerland before returning to northern Italy. TV images of the protest were broadcast all over the world, with the leg lasting nearly six hours and cover-ing 152 miles.

“My e-mail has been pretty busy during the stage. I got a response from Kazakh-stan,” team manager Johan Bruyneel said. “I definitely think it had a lot of effect.”

The International Cycling Union has given Astana a May 31 deadline to straighten out its financial situation or risk suspension.

“We are in discussions to get this situa-tion sorted,” UCI president Pat McQuaid told The Associated Press. “The riders

have not been paid for two months and we cannot accept that situation.”

Efforts to reach the Kazakhstan cycling federation, which holds the team’s Pro-Tour license, were unsuccessful.

Boasson Hagen won in 5 hours, 56 min-utes, 53 seconds, beating four riders in a sprint finish on a slippery road. Robert Hunter of South Africa was second and Pavel Brutt of Russia was third, both with the same time as Boasson Hagen. The main pack was 40 seconds behind.

Most of the favorites stuck with the main pack to avoid accidents. Armstrong fin-ished 142nd, 58 seconds behind, and lost another 18 seconds to the overall leaders.

Horse RacingBALTIMORE—Before sending Payton d’Oro

out to run in the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, trainer Larry Jones wondered if his horse had enough talent to win a Grade II race.

The answer became obvious very early.Payton d’Oro led from start to finish

and cruised to a 1 ¼-length victory Friday in the $150,000 race for 3-year-old fillies.

It was the filly’s fourth straight win and the first of her career in a graded race.

“I was lucky enough to be on the rail, and I was able to sit until the top of the stretch,” jockey Terry Thompson said. “At the top of the stretch, I hit the gas and she give me what she had and run on down through the wire pretty handily.”

Payton d’Oro covered the 1 1/8-mile course in 1:49.75. Bon Jovi Girl closed well to finish second, ahead of 8-5 favorite Casanova Move and Stage Trick. Combi-nate, Stone Legacy, Renda and Don’t For-get Gil followed.

GolfCLIFTON, N.J.—Brittany Lincicome shot a

3-under 69 and took a two-shot lead over Suzann Pettersen and Ji Young Oh after two rounds of the LPGA Sybase Classic on Friday. Lincicome’s 11-under total on the Upper Montclair Country Club was the lowest 36-hole total on a par-72 course on the LPGA Tour this year. First-round leader Helen Alfredsson, coming off a career-best 62, ballooned to a 76 in a

round that included a missed tap-in. She was tied for fourth at 6-under with Wendy Doolan, who shot 68. Michelle Wie, look-ing for her first professional win, was among a group at 5-under.

BALTRAY, IRELAND—Northern Ireland amateur Shane Lowry shot a 10-under 62 Friday to lead by two strokes after the second round of the Irish Open.

The 22-year-old Lowry totaled 15-un-der 129 to lead Jamie Donaldson of Eng-land and Robert Rock of Wales, who each shot a 65. Paul Lawrie of Scotland , the 1999 Open champion, hit a hole-in-one at the 17th and was in fourth place after a 66. Padraig Harrington (68) and John Daly (75) missed the cut.


BASEBALL

MLB: Suspended White Sox OF

Jermaine Dye for two games and

fined him an undisclosed amount

for his actions after being called

out on strikes in a game on May

13. Suspended minor league

RHP Ken Maiques (St. Louis) and

minor league INF Agustin Murillo

(Arizona) for 50 games each for

testing positive for performance-

enhancing substances.

American League

BOSTON RED SOX: Assigned

LHP Javier Lopez outright to

Pawtucket (IL).

MINNESOTA TWINS: Placed OF

Delmon Young on the family

medical emergency list. Recalled

C Jose Morales from Rochester

(IL).

OAKLAND ATHLETICS: Activated

RHP Santiago Casilla from the

15-day DL. Recalled OF Aaron

Cunningham from Sacramento

(PCL). Optioned LHP Jerry Blevins

and RHP Jeff Fray to Sacramento.

Returned OF Ben Copeland to San

Francisco.

National League

COLORADO ROCKIES: Purchased

the contract of LHP Randy FLores

from Colorado Springs (PCL).

Designated LHP Glendon Rusch

for assignment.

HOUSTON ASTROS: Named Alyson

Footer senior director, digital

media.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS: An-

nounced OF Brad Nelson declined

his outright assignment and

elected free agency. Agreed

to terms with INF-OF Frank

Catalanotto on a minor league

contract.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: Activated

INF Brendan Ryan from the 15-

day DL. Optioned RHP Mitchell

Boggs to Memphis (PCL).

SAN DIEGO PADRES: Claimed

INF Josh Wilson off waivers

from Arizona. Recalled LHP Joe

Thatcher from Portland (PCL).

Optioned RHP Edwin Moreno to

Portland. Purchased the contract

of RHP Greg Burke from Portland.

Waived RHP Duaner Sanchez.

Placed INF Luis Rodriquez on the

15-day DL, retroactive to May 14.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS:

Purchased the contract of RHP

Jesus Colome from Syracuse

(IL). Recalled C Josh Bard from

Syracuse. Placed C Jesus Flores

on the 15-day DL, retroactive to

May 10. Designated RHP Logan

Kensing for assignment.

Midwest League

QUAD CITIES RIVER BANDITS:

Announced OF Chris Swauger

has been assigned to Palm Beach

(FSL) and OF Travis Mitchell has

been assigned to the team from

extended spring training.

American Association

FORT WORTH CATS: Released C

Adam Miller.

Can-Am League

BROCKTON ROX: Signed LHP Brad

Hertzler and OF Brett Bigler.

WORCESTER TORNADOES: Signed

LHP Zach Zuercher. Released RHP

John Birtwell.

FOOTBALL

Canadian Football League

WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS:

Traded DB Kelly Malveaux to

Edmonton for DL Fred Perry.

Acquired DB Lenny Walls and LB

Neil Ternovatsky from Calgary for

future considerations.

HOCKEY

National Hockey League

ST. LOUIS BLUES: Extended

the contracts of Ray Bennett,

Brad Shaw and Rick Wamsley,

assistant coaches.

MOTOR SPORTS

RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS:

Announced the resignation of

CEO Tom Reddin.

COLLEGE

CABRINI: Announced the resigna-

tion of Bernadette Laukaitis,

women’s basketball coach.

GEORGIA: Named Stacey Palmore

men’s assistant basketball coach.

LINDENWOOD: Named Brad So-

derberg men’s basketball coach.

OREGON: Announced sophomore

F Ellie Manou and freshman

G Darriel Gaynor have left the

women’s basketball team.

WESTERN CAROLINA: Named

Karen Middleton women’s

basketball coach.

IN BRIEF

Armstrong leads team protest over money at GiroTRANSACTIONS

More golf, Page 32

Major League SoccerEASTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts GF GAD.C. 3 1 5 14 15 13Toronto FC 3 2 4 13 13 13Chicago 2 0 6 12 14 11Kansas City 3 4 2 11 12 12New England 2 2 3 9 6 12New York 2 5 2 8 9 11Columbus 1 2 5 8 11 14

WESTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts GF GAChivas USA 7 1 1 22 12 3Seattle 4 2 2 14 11 5Colorado 3 2 2 11 10 8Houston 3 2 2 11 7 5Real Salt Lake 3 4 1 10 14 11Los Angeles 1 1 6 9 10 10San Jose 1 5 2 5 8 16FC Dallas 1 6 1 4 7 15

NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie.Today’s GamesChicago at Toronto FC, 4 p.m.Colorado at New England, 7:30 p.m.Houston at New York, 7:30 p.m.Seattle FC at FC Dallas, 8:30 p.m.Kansas City at Real Salt Lake, 9 p.m.D.C. United at Chivas USA, 11 p.m.Sunday’s GameColumbus at Los Angeles, 3 p.m.

Saturday, May 23New England at Toronto, 4 p.m.Real Salt Lake at D.C. United, 7:30 p.m.Chivas USA at Kansas City, 8:30 p.m.Los Angeles at FC Dallas, 8:30 p.m.San Jose at Houston, 8:30 p.m.Seattle at Colorado, 9:30 p.m.Sunday, May 24Chicago at New York, 3 p.m.

ALESSANDRO TROVATI / AP

Lance Armstrong and other riders of the Astana team protested the Kazakhstan squad’s lack of salary payments by fading out the sponsors on their jerseys in the Giro d’Italia on Friday.


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