QUICK LINKS: MLB > 17 NFL > 26 NBA > 13 NHL > 8 NASCAR > 30 COLLEGE FOOTBALL >

HL > 8 NASCAR > 30 COLLEGE FOOTBALL > 6 COLLEGE BASKETBALL > 31 RECRUITING > 5

NHL PLAYOFFS Attitude adjustment NBA PLAYOFFS

Mike Singletary is trying Howard pushes
to change the mindset of
the moribund 49ers LeBron to brink
Dwight Howard scored
Page 27 10 of his 27 points in
overtime as Orlando
beat Cleveland in
GERRY BROOME/ AP overtime to take a 3-1
Sidney Crosby, left, with Evgeni Malkin, series lead. Page 14
carries the Prince of Wales trophy. WEDNESDAY
MAY 27, 2009
PHELAN EBENHACK / AP Denver at L.A. Lakers:
Dwight Howard wrested control 9 tonight, ESPN
Swept away SEE A DIFFERENT GAME
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 309 of the series from LeBron James. Series tied 2-2
Pens return to Stanley Cup finals by
completing four-game washout of
Hurricanes. Pages 8-9
Chicago at Detroit: COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Offseason pickups
Money well spent
7:30 tonight, Versus

100
Red Wings lead series 3-1

Scoreboard that fit like a glove

NHL Playoffs
Eastern Conference finals BY STAN MCNEAL
smcneal@sportingnews.com
days and counting
Pittsburgh 4, Carolina 1
(Pittsburgh wins series 4-0) Honestly, there really is a legiti-
The transition to mate reason we’re offering insight
NBA Playoffs a new team goes on the Ohio University football
Eastern Conference finals smoothest when team in May.
The Bobcats are No. 100.
Orlando 116, Cleveland 114, OT the newcomer’s At least they are in Sporting
(Orlando leads series 3-1) new team wins. News’ preseason poll, with the
That has been the opening kickoff of the 2009
Baseball case with base- season only 100 days away. Let the
American League countdown begin—our top 100
Cleveland 5, Tampa Bay 1 ball’s top four teams unveiled one-by-one until
Baltimore 7, Toronto 2 offseason acquisi- the season starts Sept. 3.
Kansas City 6, Detroit 1 tions. Three play Some tidbits about our top 100:
AL BEHRMAN / AP MARK J. TERRILL / AP GENE J. PUSKAR / AP KATHY WILLENS / AP
Minnesota 5, Boston 2 for first-place The SEC and Big 12 each have
Texas 7, N.Y. Yankees 3 teams, and the Raul Ibanez Orlando Hudson Trevor Hoffman Francisco Rodriguez three teams in the top 10 and five
Oakland 4, Seattle 3 LF, Phillies 2B, Dodgers RP, Brewers RP, Mets among the top 25.
fourth is near the
Chicago White Sox 4, L.A. Angels 2 Acquired: Signed a three- Acquired: Signed a one-year, Acquired: Signed a one-year, Acquired: Signed a three- The Big East is absent from the
top of the N.L. top 25 and its highest-ranked team
year, $31.5 million contract. $3.38 million deal. $6 million deal. year, $37 million deal.
National League East. Impact: He leads Phils in Impact: Hudson hit for the Impact: Hoffman has a 0.00 Impact: New York leads the
is behind three schools from the
Philadelphia 5, Florida 3 Mountain West.
homers, RBIs and batting cycle in the season’s second ERA and 11 saves in 11 N.L. in bullpen ERA, and
N.Y. Mets 6, Washington 1 average, and his professional- week and hasn’t slowed, chances. “He makes us feel K-Rod is 13-for-13 in save Three BCS conference
Cincinnati 6, Houston 4 Ibanez’s solid ism has impressed team- starting every game. like if we have a lead after chances. teams—Indiana, Syracuse and
Chi. Cubs 6, Pittsburgh 1, 6 innings, rain numbers and work Washington State—did not make
mates. “The way our Outlook: Staying healthy will eight innings, it’s done. Outlook: Pitching in New
ethic has made an the top 100.
St. Louis 8, Milwaukee 1 chemistry is, he fit right in,” be key. Hudson’s past two Game’s over,” Brewers left York hasn’t fazed him yet, but
instant impact on — Derek Samson
L.A. Dodgers 7, Colorado 1 the World Champ Shane Victorino said. seasons have ended early fielder Ryan Braun said. a faulty ’pen has buried the
Arizona 6, San Diego 5 Phillies, Page 18 Outlook: Ibanez’s numbers because of thumb and wrist Outlook: All-time saves leader Mets the past two
San Francisco 4, Atlanta 0 usually improve in second half. injuries. doesn’t wilt in crunch time. Septembers. No. 100: Ohio, Page 7
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com See a Different Game WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 2

Tune In Today OFF THE FIELD

If you deliver
Tyson’s daughter dies after accident
A quick look at the best sports on TV
— all times Eastern
Police say the 4-year-old daughter of boxer sports decision. She was part of a panel from
it daily, they
Mike Tyson died a day after her neck accidentally the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Man-

Nuggets at Lakers
NBA was caught in a treadmill cord while she was
playing at home.
A Phoenix police spokes-
9 p.m., ESPN man said Exodus Tyson was
The only contest more fun in a playoff series than a Game 7 is a Game 5 pronounced dead in a hos-
with the series tied. We get that in this game, and the more intense this series pital just before noon Tues-
gets, the more the Nuggets’ depth could help them. Seven Nuggets scored in
double figures in Game 4, and reserve J.R. Smith even tied for the team-high day. Police have said an
with 24. Denver already showed it can win in L.A. by winning Game 2, and it investigation showed it was
needs to muster a similar effort to beat a Lakers team that was 36-5 at home
Mike Tyson
a “tragic accident.”
during the regular season. — Roger Kuznia Police say the girl was
playing on the treadmill Monday when her
BASEBALL head apparently slipped inside a cord hanging
under the console. Exodus’ 7-year-old brother
Yankees at Rangers found her and alerted his mother.
8 p.m., ESPN2 Former heavyweight champion Tyson was
Since Alex Rodriguez returned to the starting lineup, the Yankees are 13-5 in Las Vegas at the time of the accident and
and trail the Red Sox by just one game for the A.L. East lead. His five-hit game flew Monday to Phoenix, where he was seen
Monday against his former Texas ‘mates also may signal that he’s starting to hit
for more than just power. A.J. Burnett starts for New York, while Rangers rookie entering the hospital.
Derek Holland gets his shot against the Bombers. — Roger Kuznia “There are no words to describe the tragic
loss of our beloved Exodus,” the family said in
SOCCER a statement. “We ask you now to please respect
Manchester United vs. F.C. Barcelona
our need at this very difficult time for privacy
to grieve and try to help each other heal.”
2:30 p.m., ESPN
In England, speculation regarding Manchester United involves which of SCOTUS sports ties
hattan that kept Ohio State running back Mau-
rice Clarett from entering the NFL Draft in
2004. Clarett was challenging the NFL rule
will come.
that keeps teams from drafting players until
they are three years removed from high school
graduation. USC receiver Mike Williams also was
affected by the ruling.
Crimes and courts
O.J. Simpson appealed to the Nevada Supreme
Court to overturn his convictions for armed
robbery and kidnapping during a a Las Vegas
hotel room confrontation with two sports
memorabilia dealers. The former football star,
actor and advertising pitchman asked the high
court to throw out his conviction on grounds that
include judicial misconduct, insufficient evi-
dence, a lack of racial diversity on the jury and
errors in sentencing and jury instructions.
FREEup!
A woman who said she was carrying Dallas Sign
Mavericks’ star Dirk Nowitzki’s child was pregnant
after she was booked into the Dallas County jail
Today!
on May 6, according to a newspaper report. The
Dallas Morning News reported on Tuesday that

The country’s first and only

the team’s many attacking options will see the field. It’s possible world-class President Obama’s nominee for the Supreme medical records it obtained from the Dallas
talents Carlos Tevez and Dimitar Berbatov won’t play. Barcelona, on the
other hand, will miss three of its top four defenders because of injury or Court, Sonia Sotomayor, played a key role in end- County jail and Parkland Hospital showed
suspension. And yet few expect a mismatch. That’s how much respect exists
for Barca’s Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto’o. This could be a beautiful game.
ing Major League Baseball’s strike in 1995 that
canceled the 1994 World Series.
37-year-old Crista Ann Taylor was administered the
pregnancy test and the result was positive. The daily digital sports newspaper.
— Mike DeCourcy According to the New York Daily News, Soto- tests do not determine paternity.
mayor, then a U.S. District Court Judge, issued
an injunction that ended baseball’s 7-month- Quick hits Delivered via email every morning, 7 days a
GUIDE NBA BASKETBALL SOCCER
long lockout. Sotomayor agreed with the
National Labor Relations Board’s charge that
Julius “Julie” Bescos, who lettered in football,
basketball and baseball at Southern California
week, Sporting News Today is your one-stop
9 p.m.
ESPN—Playoffs,
2:25 p.m.
ESPN—UEFA Champions
team owners were committing unfair labor and later coached at his alma mater, has died at destination for breaking sports stories plus
BASEBALL practices, the Daily News reported. She ordered 97. Bescos died Saturday. No cause was given.
2:10 p.m.
Western Conference
finals, Game 5, Denver at
League, championship
match, Barcelona vs. them to reinstate the previous Collective Bar- The Indianapolis 500 earned a Nielsen news about every team, every game and
WGN—Pittsburgh at
Chicago Cubs
L.A. Lakers Manchester United, at
Rome
gaining Agreement. The strike ended just
weeks before the 1995 season was scheduled
overnight rating of 4.2, down 17.6 percent from
last year’s 5.1.
every score from coast-to-coast.
8 p.m. NHL HOCKEY to begin with replacement players. The NHL’s third annual Winter Classic in
ESPN2—N.Y. Yankees 7:30 p.m. TENNIS Sotomayor said after eight days of thinking Fenway Park is near set with the Bruins meeting
at Texas VERSUS—Playoffs, Noon
ESPN2—French Open,
about it, she made her decision “to protect the the Capitals or Flyers on Jan. 1, 2010. Experience America’s hottest new product.
Western Conference
finals, Game 5, Chicago early round, at Paris integrity of collective bargaining.”
Sotomayor also played a key part in another
— SportsBusiness Daily,
sportsbusinessdaily.com
Sign up at sportingnewstoday.com. It’s free.
at Detroit
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com My Profile
Johnny Majors
College Football Hall of Fame coach
(What you won’t find on Facebook … even if you are approved as a friend)
Born: May 21, 1935, in Lynchburg, Tenn. Elvis Presley, Eagles, Chet Atkins, Ottmar
Status: Married Liebert, Hank Williams, Neil Diamond,
Alma mater: Tennessee Bob Dylan, Beach Boys, Glenn Miller
What’s on TV: TCM, movies, college What I drive: 2008 silver Mercury
football primarily, pro football occasion- Favorite flicks: Mister Roberts, Casablanca,
ally, NCAA basketball, Military Channel, The Caine Mutiny, Singin’ in the Rain, The
The History Channel. No sit-coms. Three Stooges, Gone with the Wind, The
What I listen to: 98% symphony, Beatles, African Queen, My Fair Lady, Yankee Doodle
Dandy, Marx Brothers movies and ALL
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies
Worst habit: Procrastination with paper-
work. But I always get there.
On my office walls: “Seize the day” and
“Character above all else”
Love to trade places for a day with … No one I
can think of!
First job: Setting tobacco on a half-acre plot of
ground outside for Brother Jones, a preacher
at my church, Lynchburg Methodist. On a
hot May or June day in 1945, when I was 10,
my mother fixed me a peanut butter mayon-
naise banana sandwich and a sausage and
biscuit sandwich in a small brown bag. I
placed the sandwich sack in a tree fork I
could reach at lunch break. At lunch break, I
reached up to get my small lunch sack and it
was covered by ants outside and inside. I was
embarrassed and very hungry and started
crying. Fortunately, the older kids shared
their lunch with me. I learned a lesson I never
forgot, even though I was a “town boy.” I got a
metal lunch box and was paid 50 cents for a
day’s work.
First football job: Starting halfback on
offense and starting safety man on defense,
Canadian Football League, 1957. I returned
punts—no fair catch rule and you had to
WADE PAYNE / AP
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 3
catch and return every punt. $10,000
salary plus a $1,000 bonus. I requested an
additional salary advance of $1,000 and
bought a new 1957 Impala Chevrolet
THE WORLD’S FIRST DIGITAL
DAILY SPORTS NEWSPAPER
Coupe. It had a black bottom and white top
with a silver streak on the rear fenders. I CHAIRMAN & CEO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ray Shaw
was single and loved the French nightclubs, PRESIDENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Whitney Shaw
restaurants and music. I stayed up late PUBLISHER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ed Baker
many nights. The French Canadian girls EDITOR-IN-CHIEF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jeff D’Alessio
were very pretty and quite interesting. MANAGING EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Paul Kasko
Favorite meal: I don’t expect to be on death CREATIVE DIRECTOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Keith Wood
row. If so, as much as I love Italian, French, VP, GENERAL MANAGER, ONLINE . . . . . Jeff Gerttula
Polish, etc., the last meal would be Southern VP, INTEGRATED MARKETING & SALES .Stuart Marvin
country cooking. My mother, grandmother DIRECTOR, DIGITAL MEDIA. . . . . . . . . . . . Geoff Shaw
and aunts cooked cornbread, turnips, green VP, MARKETING & SALES DEVELOPMENT . .Eric Karp
beans, turnip greens, squash, Brussels
sprouts, new potatoes (broiled), corn on the EDITORIAL OFFICES
cob, cream corn, coleslaw, salad, chess pie, 120 West Morehead Street, Suite 200
French coconut pie, coconut cake, ambrosia Charlotte, NC 28202
and caramel and butterscotches. 704-973-1550
Talent I’d most like to have: Knowledge of 1-800-443-1886
technology and mathematics
Favorite athlete to watch in another sport: Letters to the editor:
Michael Jordan yourturn@sportingnews.com
Favorite city to visit: U.S.—New York. General feedback:
World—Paris. editors@sportingnews.com
Favorite teams as a kid: Football—Army,
Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Alabama; Base- National Digital Sales Managers
ball—Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Joey Glowacki, 704-973-1856
Cardinals; Basketball—Kentucky jglowacki@sportingnews.com
Favorite values in others: Character above Gary Strauss, 212-500-0672
else, loyalty, honesty, a sense of humor gstrauss@sportingnews.com
Dream date: Tied for first after my wife is
Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe. ON NEWSSTANDS NOW
Tied for second are Jacqueline Bissett,
Halle Berry and Jennifer Aniston.
My greatest love: World War II heroes—
generals, admirals, soldiers, sailors,
airmen and women of World War II
support services
My bucket list: Take tours of Australia,
New Zealand and Turkey
My motto: Say what you mean. Mean what
you say.
— Jeff D’Alessio
From Hank Aaron to Ernie Banks, Frank
Robinson to Al Kaline, all the stars have
something to say about Sporting News’ rank-
ings of the 50 best players in baseball today.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com Overnight Report WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 4
BASEBALL / AMERICAN LEAGUE BASEBALL / NATIONAL LEAGUE
Oakland 4, Seattle 3 Chicago White Sox 4, L.A. Angels 2 San Francisco 4, Atlanta 0

Giambi hit caps 4-run rally Sox ‘Nix’ Angels, Saunders Lincecum dominates Braves
OAKLAND—Although the Oak- Athletics 4, Mariners 3 White Sox 4, Angels 2 SAN FRANCISCO—Tim Lincecum Giants 4, Braves 0
Seattle AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Chicago AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Atlanta AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
land Athletics’ entire scoring I.Suzuki rf 4 0 1 1 0 0 .333 Podsednik lf 5 0 1 0 0 1 .296 has regained his strength and K.Johnson 2b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .243
output was confined to one Y.Betancourt ss 4 1 2 0 0 0 .265 Al.Ramirez ss 2 1 1 0 3 0 .247 dominant form after a bout of Kotchman 1b 3 0 0 0 1 0 .273
Beltre 3b 4 1 2 0 0 0 .217 Dye rf 4 0 2 1 1 0 .276 C.Jones 3b 4 0 1 0 0 2 .317
inning of singles and walks, M.Sweeney dh 1 0 1 1 0 0 .241 Thome dh 3 0 0 0 2 1 .244 bronchitis back in spring train- McCann c 4 0 0 0 0 2 .313
they were enough to get past a-Griffey Jr. ph-dh 3 0 0 0 0 0 .226 Konerko 1b 5 0 2 1 0 2 .309 ing that slowed him down for a G.Anderson lf 3 0 1 0 1 0 .258
Branyan 1b 3 0 1 1 1 0 .306 Bri.Anderson cf 5 0 0 0 0 2 .288 Francoeur rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .259
the Seattle Mariners. Jo.Lopez 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .216 Fields 3b 4 0 2 0 0 0 .229 while. D.Hernandez ss 4 0 1 0 0 0 .188
And though a three-game Balentien lf 4 0 0 0 0 2 .234 J.Nix 2b 4 2 2 2 0 0 .225 Lincecum pitched eight sharp Schafer cf 3 0 1 0 0 1 .208
Ro.Johnson c 4 1 1 0 0 1 .192 Pierzynski c 0 0 0 0 0 0 .273 Medlen p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .000
winning streak isn’t much, it’s F.Gutierrez cf 3 0 1 0 0 0 .266 C.Miller c 4 0 1 0 0 0 .205 innings to win for the first time O’Flaherty p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
the best run of a tough season Totals 34 3 9 3 1 3 1-Getz pr-2b 0 1 0 0 0 0 .250 in four starts, and the San a-Norton ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .107
Totals 36 4 11 4 6 6 Bennett p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
for Jason Giambi and his A’s. Oakland AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Francisco Giants beat the Acosta p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Giambi’s two-run single O.Cabrera ss 4 1 2 1 0 1 .246 Los Angeles AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Atlanta Braves 4-0 on Tuesday Totals 32 0 5 0 2 8
K.Suzuki c 3 1 1 0 1 0 .291 Figgins 3b 4 0 2 0 0 1 .299
capped a four-run seventh Cust rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .255 Abreu rf 4 1 1 1 0 0 .302 night. San Francisco AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
inning, and Oakland shook its R.Sweeney rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 Guerrero dh 4 0 1 0 0 1 .225 “It takes some people longer Rowand cf 4 1 1 2 0 1 .273
Holliday lf 2 0 1 1 2 0 .267 Hunter cf 4 1 2 1 0 1 .323 Renteria ss 4 0 1 2 0 0 .246
offensive woes just long enough Giambi dh 4 0 1 2 0 2 .218 K.Morales 1b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .282 to get ready for a season,” he Winn rf 3 0 0 0 1 0 .278
to rally for a 4-3 victory Tues- Kennedy 2b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .413 J.Rivera lf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .285 said. “I feel like I’m kind of get- B.Molina c 4 0 0 0 0 0 .254
Crosby 1b 4 0 2 0 0 0 .224 Napoli c 4 0 0 0 0 0 .283 F.Lewis lf 3 0 0 0 0 1 .273
day night. R.Davis cf 4 1 1 0 0 0 .176 Kendrick 2b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .238 ting into that zone right now. Torres lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .222
The A’s have the majors’ worst Hannahan 3b 3 1 0 0 1 0 .184 E.Aybar ss 2 0 0 0 1 0 .277 Things are coming easier. Ishikawa 1b 3 1 1 0 0 1 .252
Totals 32 4 9 4 4 4 Totals 33 2 8 2 1 4 Uribe 3b 3 0 1 0 0 0 .288
slugging percentage and fewest MARK AVERY / AP Mechanics are easier. I’m not Burriss 2b 3 1 1 0 0 0 .258
extra-base hits among their vari- Seattle 200 000 100 — 3 9 0 Jayson Nix slammed two homers, doubling his season total. Chicago 000 011 101 — 4 11 0 thinking too much out there.” Lincecum p 1 1 0 0 1 1 .150
Oakland 000 000 40x — 4 9 0 Los Angeles 000 000 101 — 2 8 1 Howry p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
ous statistical lowlights, yet they Aaron Rowand hit a two-run Totals 28 4 5 4 2 4
mounted a winning rally exclu- LOB: Seattle 6, Oakland 8. 2B: Beltre (11), ANAHEIM—Jayson Nix Both of Nix’s homers to 1-ran for C.Miller in the 9th. E: Napoli (3). LOB: double in the second and Edgar
M.Sweeney (6), Ro.Johnson (4). RBIs: I.Suzuki Chicago 11, Los Angeles 5. 2B: Dye (5), Hunter Atlanta 000 000 000 — 0 5 0
sively with small ball. (14), M.Sweeney (10), Branyan (21), O.Cabrera homered twice, Bartolo left field came off starter (12). HR: J.Nix 2 (4), off Saunders 2; Abreu (1), off
Renteria singled in two runs San Francisco 040 000 00x — 4 5 0
Giambi has struggled to get (16), Holliday (28), Giambi 2 (22). S: F.Gutierrez. Colon carried a shutout Joe Saunders (6-3), who B.Colon; Hunter (11), off Linebrink. RBIs: Dye (31), moments later to stake Lince-
Runners left in scoring position: Seattle 3 Konerko (30), J.Nix 2 (5), Abreu (17), Hunter (40). a-struck out for O’Flaherty in the 7th. LOB: Atlanta
his average above .220 during (Jo.Lopez, Griffey Jr., Beltre); Oakland 3 (Ken- into the seventh inning gave up three runs in 6 2-3 SB: Al.Ramirez (9), Fields (1), Getz (4). Runners
cum to an early lead that held 7, San Francisco 3. 2B: C.Jones (7), Rowand (11),
his return to the Bay Area, but nedy 3). GIDP: Jo.Lopez, R.Davis. DP: Seattle 1 against his former team innings. left in scoring position: Chicago 8 (Podsednik, up. The reigning NL Cy Young Burriss (4). RBIs: Rowand 2 (21), Renteria 2 (22).
(Y.Betancourt, Branyan); Oakland 1 (Hannahan, Konerko, Fields 2, Dye, J.Nix, Bri.Anderson 2); Los S: Lincecum. Runners left in scoring position:
he swung aggressively at the Kennedy, Crosby). and the Chicago White Sox Bobby Abreu and Torii Angeles 2 (Hunter, Abreu). GIDP: Al.Ramirez,
Award winner looked just like Atlanta 3 (McCann, Medlen, Norton); San Fran-
first pitch from Seattle reliever beat the Los Angeles Hunter homered for the Thome, Abreu. DP: Chicago 2 (Podsednik, Podsed- the dominant pitcher he was in cisco 2 (Winn, Rowand).
Seattle IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA nik, Fields), (Konerko, Al.Ramirez, Konerko); Los
Mark Lowe—and as he reached Washburn 6 6 0 0 1 4 97 3.45 Angels 4-2 on Tuesday Angels. Angeles 2 (Figgins, Kendrick, K.Morales), (E.Aybar,
2008, striking out eight and Atlanta IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
first base, his first thought Batista L, 2-1 H, 4 1⁄3 2 4 4 2 0 25 3.75 night. Abreu’s seventh-inning K.Morales). walking two. Medlen L, 0-2 5 1⁄3 4 4 4 2 3 85 9.72
M.Lowe BS, 3-3 1 2⁄3 1 0 0 1 0 14 4.94 O’Flaherty 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 6 2.16
wasn’t about his RBIs. Oakland IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Nix, who had been 0 for drive over the 400-foot Chicago IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Lincecum (4-1) threw a sea- Bennett 1 1 0 0 0 1 10 2.14
“It was nice to be able to Braden W, 4-5 7 9 3 3 1 1 96 3.69 7 on Chicago’s road trip, sign in center was his first B.Colon W, 3-4 6 2⁄3 4 1 1 0 3 83 3.80 son-high 122 pitches and won Acosta 1 0 0 0 0 0 12 0.00
Breslow H, 3 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 7 5.71 Thornton H, 9 1 1⁄3 2 0 0 1 0 25 1.96 San Francisco IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
answer for Dallas Braden,” said S.Casilla H, 5 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 4 3.44 hit solo shots in the fifth homer of the season. Linebrink S, 1-2 1 2 1 1 0 1 10 2.12 for the first time since beating Lincecum W, 4-1 8 5 0 0 2 8 122 3.03
Giambi, who struck out with A.Bailey S, 2-4 1 0 0 0 0 2 15 2.12 and seventh for his first Hunter’s shot to left- Los Angeles IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA the Cubs on May 5 at Chicago. Howry 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 4.00
Saunders L, 6-3 6 2⁄3 7 3 3 3 4 114 3.26
the bases loaded in the first Inherited runners-scored: M.Lowe 3-3. career multihomer game. center in the ninth brought S.Shields 1⁄3 0 0 0 1 0 8 6.62 He was coming off three Umpires: Home, Mike DiMuro; First, Bill Miller;
inning. Umpires: Home, Dana DeMuth; First, Doug “This was a big win,” the Angels within two. Oliver 1 2 0 0 0 1 19 2.08 straight no-decisions, but Second, Dale Scott; Third, Jerry Meals. T: 2:08. A:
Eddings; Second, Hunter Wendelstedt; Third, Brian Palmer 1 2 1 1 2 1 31 4.82 29,485 (41,915).
“He’s been pitching great, Knight. T: 2:27. A: 10,371 (35,067). said Nix. “The pitchers Jermaine Dye drove in quickly found his groove. He
and we haven’t been giving him came up big, and we all did pinch-runner Chris Getz WP: B.Colon. Umpires: Home, Jim Wolf; First, struck out eight or more for the
Brian O’Nora; Second, Fieldin Culbreth; Third, Gary
any support. ... I was just grate- it together. (Colon) did a with an RBI single in the Cederstrom. T: 2:48. A: 38,040 (45,257). fourth straight start and the
ful to get another at-bat with great job.” ninth for Chicago. seventh time in his last eight
guys on base. I was ready to hit Scott Linebrink earned Colon (3-4) worked six outings.
the first pitch, and luckily it his first save of the season scoreless innings before “Anytime you can get a lead
was a strike.” for Chicago, which beat the giving up Abreu’s leadoff with him on the mound you feel
— The Associated Press Angels for the second con- homer in the seventh. pretty good,” Rowand said.
secutive night. — The Associated Press — The Associated Press
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Fighting Irish get pledge
from four-star TE Welch
Elder (Cincinnati) TE Alex Welch
has committed to Notre Dame,
Rivals.com reported. He also
reported scholarship offers from
Florida State, Michigan, North
Carolina, Ohio State and Okla-
homa, among others.
Welch (6-5, 225) is listed as a
four-star prospect by Rivals.com.
He caught 32 passes for 470 yards
and four touchdowns.
“(Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis)
was very excited; he said I made
his Memorial Day weekend,”
Welch told Rivals.com. “Just being
up there and talking with my fam-
ily, that’s where I belong. I fit in.
“My parents were up there with
me on the visit and that’s where
they wanted me to go, but they
wanted me to make my own deci-
sion. Talking with them, I decided
that’s where I wanted to go, and I
didn’t want to delay the inevitable.”
John Fulton had no intention of
trimming his list down to five SEC
schools—that’s just the way it hap-
pened, he told Sporting News Today.
The four-star prospect, who plays
cornerback for Manning (S.C.), said
the five are equal at this point and
include Alabama, Florida, Georgia,
South Carolina and Tennessee.
“It was definitely a coincidence
that they’re all in the SEC,” Fulton
told SN Today. “I didn’t even realize
I’d done that until after I did it.
“... It’s tough here, because every
day walking to class, everybody is
talking to me about South Carolina
or Clemson. But I have to go there
for four years, so I have to do what’s
RECRUITING DISH
Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis, above, got Alex Welch to commit to the Irish.
right for me.”
Fulton (6-1, 190) knows that no
matter which school he chooses, he’ll
likely have crowds of 90,000-plus
cheering for him and his team at
home, and when he’s on the road, he’ll
have that many rooting against him.
“That’s just a dream come true
right there,” Fulton said. “I love a
crowd. We’re going to see what it’s
like. I doubt I’ll be able to hear, but
I’ll know what I’m doing so I’ll
work from there.”
Fulton said some people com-
pare his style of play to that of Oak-
land Raiders CB Nnamdi Asomugha.
“They say I’m an all-around
package,” Fulton said of college
coaches. “I can return punts and
kicks and I run the 40 (yard dash)
Next Gen
MARK J. TERRILL / AP
in 4.39 (seconds). I can hit, cover
and do all that kind of stuff.
“... It’s an honor to be wanted by
all of these guys. It’s worth all of
the work I go through to be wanted
by them in the end.”
Two recruiting services label
Fulton a four-star prospect. He had
43 tackles, 16 pass breakups and
eight interceptions as a junior.
— Brian McLaughlin
In Hoops: Latavious Williams, rated
by Rivals.com as one of the Top 20
players in the 2009 recruiting
class, committed to Memphis, The
Commercial Appeal reported Tues-
day. The 6-7 forward is first player
to commit to the Tigers since John
Calipari left for Kentucky.
FHECEJ?ED
HIGHEST
PERFORMERS
SWEEPSTAKES
Own a piece of baseball history! Enter for a chance to win one of
twenty 22x28 prints of the game’s legendary heroes taken by the greatest
baseball photographer of all time, Charles M. Conlon.
From 1904 to 1942, Sporting News photographer, Charles M. Conlon,
immortalized the sport’s greatest players and created some of baseball’s
most famous photographs. Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio,
Ted Williams—these visually stunning, black and white photographs of
baseball’s golden age are instantly recognized around the world.
ENTER TODAY!
sportingnews.com/mlb/draft/sweeps
This opportunity is brought to you by Gillette Clinical Strength Anti-Perspirant Deodorant. NO
PURCHASE NECESSARY. For complete rules and regulations, visit sportingnews.com/mlb/
draft/sweeps. Starts 12:01 AM ET 05/01/2009 and ends 11:59 PM ET 06/30/2009 when
all entries must be received. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States/DC, 18
years of age or older as of the date of entry except employees of Sponsors, their immediate
families, and those living in the same household. Void outside the 50 United States/DC and
where prohibited. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries received. ARV of 20
prizes: $150 each. Sponsor: Sporting News, 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10016 and
Procter and Gamble Distributing, LLC, Cincinnati, OH 45202.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Less talk, more action: It’s time for SEC bickering to stop
MIRAMAR BEACH, FLA.—It used to be
easy back in the day, when one
coach called out another face to face
and everyone was no worse for the
wear. Now it has become a theatre
of the absurd.
The SEC’s spring meetings began
today, and the sorority—I mean, the
f r at e r n it y— o f
coaches finally sat
together in the
same room at the
same time and
hashed it all out.
“I’m gonna get
there early so I can
Matt Hayes get a good seat,”
COLLEGE FOOTBALL Ole Miss coach
Houston Nutt said
an hour before they all sat around the
big oak table for the first time during
an offseason of public bickering and
bantering and name-calling.
Lane Kiffin vs. Urban Meyer.
Lane Kiffin vs. Nick Saban—hell,
Lane Kiffin vs. the world.
“I can’t say it’s real comfortable,”
Meyer said, “Because it’s not.”
It wasn’t long ago when then-Flor-
ida coach Steve Spurrier stood up
during these meetings, pointed at
then-Alabama coach Mike DuBose
and told him he knew he was cheat-
ing. And if it didn’t stop, he would
turn the Tide in to the NCAA.
Now it’s a bunch of sound bites
from booster events; cheesy potshots
designed to make a national splash.
The only problem: The 24/7 media
cycle has eaten it up to the point
that—I swear I’m not making this
up—one television bobblehead here
asked Kiffin whether he was going
to “apologize to Coach Meyer.” Have
we all lost our collective minds?
Why in the world would any
coach, at any point in time,
College Football WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 6
apologize for gigging another?
Rivalries are the backbone of the
game; they make college football so
deliciously dynamic and drastically
different from any other sport.
Think The Bear would’ve apolo-
gized to Shug Jordan for calling
Auburn the “Cow College?” Think
Spurrier would apologize to Phil
Fulmer for saying you can’t spell
Citrus without “UT?” Think it still
sticks in Fulmer’s craw?
You better believe it does.
Maybe that’s why Kiffin, when
asked if he were going to apologize
to Meyer, shot back with, “I’m still
waiting for my apology from Coach
Spurrier.”
Spurrier started this mess, call-
ing out Kiffin before the new Vols WADE PAYNE / AP ALEX BRANDON / AP
coach said Word 1, proclaiming he According to Lane Kiffin, his verbal jabs are Steve Spurrier has a track record of calling
didn’t know if Kiffin had taken the ‘in the best interest’ of Tennessee’s program. out his rivals, and this year was no different.
NCAA-mandated recruiting test
before making phone calls to pro- ranked in the top 25. If that’s not the monstrous moneymaker it is
spective recruits. That mush- enough, the SEC is in the process of today.
roomed into Kiffin saying Meyer possibly adding yet another key But Slive missed a prime oppor-
cheated (he didn’t), and Kiffin tak- non-BCS bowl (the Gator) to its tunity here: He should’ve streamed
ing shots at just about every team yearly lineup. that coaches meeting live on the
in the league because his job is to And here are the 12 coaches, the Internet and charged 20 bucks a
get Tennessee in the national face of the league, bickering like a head to watch it all play out. Ten
spotlight. bunch of 12-year-olds. years ago, that video would’ve
No matter the collateral damage. Do us all a favor, fight already. caught the drama of Spurrier con-
“I don’t like the way I had to do “There is that Ultimate Fighting fronting DuBose.
some things,” Kiffin said. “But I did it going on,” said Arkansas coach Bobby Now you’d probably get a pillow
in the best interest of this program.” Petrino, who has seen his share of fight. Minutes after the meeting
It has never been a better time to public scrutiny over the years. “If you ended, after Meyer said the rift
be part of the SEC. The league has want to quit talking about it, just jump between he and Kiffin was now a
won four of the last six BCS national in that ring. That would be fun; that “non-issue,” Spurrier, Kiffin and
championships and recently signed would sell some tickets.” three other league coaches were
a mega-million television contract SEC commissioner Mike Slive waiting for the elevator when Spur-
with CBS and ESPN that only began the meeting telling the rier was told Kiffin was still wait-
accentuates the riches for the con- coaches their public spats weren’t ing for an apology. He turned
ference everyone else is chasing. good for the league’s image, and in around, pointed at Kiffin and said,
The league annually announces the end, only did more harm than “I didn’t accuse you of cheating.”
record payouts for its 12 teams and good. Slive is a brilliant business- Kiffin stood there, dumbfounded.
just finished a National Signing man, taking a popular league ear- Just like DuBose 10 years ago. ROGELIO V. SOLIS / AP
Day when 10 of its teams were lier this decade and turning it into mhayes@sportingnews.com ‘I can’t say (the SEC spring meeting is) real comfortable, because it’s not,” says Urban Meyer.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com College Football
Top 100 countdown INSIDE DISH
Sporting News Today is counting down its
Top 100 college football teams for 2009,
featuring one team each day leading into Oregon’s Harper to transfer N?8KK@D<@J@K66

>8D<;8P
the season opener Thursday, Sept. 3.
Chris Harper has decided his
freshman season will be his only

100
season at Oregon, according to
The Associated Press.
Ducks head coach Chip Kelly said
Tuesday the quarterback-turned-
wide receiver is transferring to a
school closer to his Kansas home.
Harper played four games at
quarterback before coaches
shifted him to receiver for the
team’s final seven games.

North Carolina junior QB T.J.

BRIAN KERSEY / AP
Ohio head coach Frank Solich has questions
at quarterback.
OHIO
2008 record: 4-8 overall, 3-5 MAC
Coach: Frank Solich
Outlook: The Bobcats face
questions at quarterback with
Theo Scott and Boo Jackson. Scott
earned the starting job in 2007 but
missed most of last season with a
broken collarbone. Jackson
replaced him and threw for 2,355
yards. The eventual starter will
have a big-time target in Taylor
Price, who caught 51 passes for
694 yards last year.
— Derek Samson
Yates is finishing up rehabilitation
on his throwing hand after jam-
ming his right thumb trying to
catch a Frisbee. Coach Butch Davis
told the Raleigh News & Observer
that Yates would be fine and
ready to go in two weeks.
Yates injured the thumb in late
April during a team function at
the end of camp.
“If he was doing something
totally stupid, like riding motor-
cycles, you’d say, ‘You don’t get
the importance of your role,’ “
Davis told the newspaper.
Yates missed six games with an
ankle injury last season.
South Carolina CB C.C. Whit-
lock has been suspended less than
a week after he was reinstated to
the team. Whitlock, 20, was
charged with trespassing early
Saturday at a nightclub in Fair-
field County (S.C.) and was
arrested after he refused to leave.
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas)
plans to investigate testimony
from Alamo Bowl executive
director Derrick Fox regarding the
amount of money bowl games
GERRY BROOME / AP
T.J. Yates missed six games last season
with an ankle injury.
donate to local charities, Yahoo!
Sports reported. Fox, who testi-
fied before Congress’ Bowl
Championship Series subcom-
mittee May 1 on behalf of all 34
bowl games, in arguing against a
college football playoff system,
:FCC<><=FFK98CC =8EK8JP=FFK98CC GIF=FFK98CC
said that “almost all the postsea- ON SALE 6/2/09 ON SALE 6/9/09 ON SALE 6/23/09
son bowl games are put on by
charitable groups” and “local
charities receive tens of millions
of dollars every year.”
According to the website, 10 bowl
games are privately owned; one is
run by a local government; and the
remaining 23 have tax-exempt sta-
tus but contributed only $3.2 mil-
lion combined to local charities ($/''$*/'$.+'+
despite $186.3 million in revenue www.sportingnews.com or www.streetandsmiths.com
reported in federal tax records and SHIPPING: + $3.50 for the first magazine + 50¢ each additional magazine
interviews with bowl executives.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Pittsburgh 4, Carolina 1
Talbot’s winner: A line drive in the box score
RALEIGH, N.C.—Years from now, when Max
Talbot is old and his playoff beard is gray,
and his grandkids ask him about the goal
that he scored to send the Pittsburgh
Penguins to their second straight Stanley
Cup finals, he will say: “It was a great
shot.”
But Tuesday night, with the image of the
puck still in mid-air and the sweat from a
four-game sweep of the
Carolina Hurricanes still
glistening throughout his
brown beard, he admit-
ted: “It was lucky.”
The Eastern Confer-
ence finals were defined
by the stunning grace of
Matt
Crossman Pittsburgh’s Sidney
HOCKEY Crosby and Evgeni Mal-
kin, the Pittsburgh
superstars who, between
them, seemed to score dozens of goals
against which there is no conceivable
defense. They put shots in places goalies
can’t get to.
So playoff hockey being what it is, it fig-
ures that the key goal in the Penguins’ 4-1
win that completed their sweep was a fluky,
what’s-that-guy’s-name-again, your-mother-
could’ve-stopped-it goal.
With the score tied 1-1 in the first period,
Talbot carried the puck into the Hurri-
canes’ zone with only Carolina defense-
man Anton Babchuk between him and the
goal. Talbot wound up, took a mighty
swing and … however hard he hit it, how-
ever hard he tells his grandkids he hit it,
none of that matters. Babchuk got his stick
on the puck, and in doing so turned a fast-
ball into a knuckleball, which thoroughly
confounded goalie Cam Ward. The puck
floated, flipping end over end over Ward’s
left shoulder as he awkwardly waved his
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
glove at it, once … twice. He looked like a
boy trying to catch a butterfly.
As the puck reached its apex, Talbot
knew the hockey gods had smiled on him.
And it was a hockey god’s advice he fol-
lowed in even taking the shot. “I remem-
ber Wayne Gretzky saying, ‘You miss 100
percent of the shots you don’t take,’ ” he
said.
The puck finally fluttered to the back of
the net—as Talbot, of course, knew it would.
And with it went whatever slim chances the
Hurricanes had of getting back into this
series.
All that was left to determine was the
final score. And the man who scored the
next goal for the Penguins has done that
kind of thing before—plenty of times—over
his 18-year career. Bill Guerin, who turned
17 the year team captain Crosby was born,
is more than just a father figure who can
tell stories about when guys played with-
out helmets. “He can still skate,” said Pen-
guins general manager Ray Shero.
Guerin arrived at the trade deadline in a
deal with the Islanders and has since
bonded with Crosby. Crosby’s assist on
Guerin’s goal showed just how well.
Crosby worked the puck up the ice as
Guerin burst out of the penalty box. Crosby
slowed as he reached the faceoff circle, as if
he could sense Guerin’s pending arrival.
He held the puck until the exact second he
should pass it, and then dished it right to
the tape for Guerin, who simply had to
make contact to put the puck in the net.
“That was a huge goal to give us some
breathing room,” Pittsburgh coach Dan
Bylsma said.
And it’s one Guerin won’t have to wait
until he gets old to brag about. He’s already
there.
mcrossman@sportingnews.com
NHL WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 8
NOTEBOOK
Crosby’s pair of assists
puts assets on display
Sidney Crosby’s two assists in Pittsburgh’s
Eastern Conference finals clincher demonstrated
uncommon patience and unselfishness.
On the first, a second-period goal by Bill Guerin,
he patiently waited as Guerin lumbered into the
play and fed him a perfectly timed pass.
The second came on an empty-net goal near the
end of regulation. Crosby carried the puck up ice
with Craig Adams on the wing. It would have been
simple for Crosby to fire the puck into the net, but
he instead dished to Adams, who scored easily.
“You can see how good of a guy Sid is,” said
teammate Max Talbot.
Emotionally drained
If playoff hockey is about emotion and momen-
tum, the Hurricanes were obviously spent by the
time the Eastern Conference finals started. The
team needed a furious charge at the end of the reg-
ular season to even make the playoffs, then won
two draining Game 7s on the road in the first two
rounds.
“I don’t think we had a lot left in the tank,” coach
Paul Maurice said. “We had gone to the well a lot to
get here.”
Reach out and touch something
Hockey is full of superstitions. And one is that
it’s bad luck to touch the trophy the team gets for
winning the conference finals. Crosby has a repu-
tation for being superstitious, and last year he
refused to touch the Prince of Wales trophy after
Pittsburgh beat Philadelphia in the conference
finals.
The result: The Penguins lost in the Stanley Cup
finals to Detroit. So this year, he enthusiastically
grabbed the trophy.
“I’ve won a conference final (with Anaheim in
2003) and not touched it and lost,” Penguins coach
Dan Bylsma said. “The team that we played (the Dev-
ils) touched it and won. So that’s a lot of talk. Teams
that play in the finals will decide the finals, and not
KARL B. DEBLAKER / AP whether someone touched the trophy or not.”
In a series dominated by Pittsburgh’s stars, Max Talbot, left, scored a fluky, Game 4-winning goal. — Matt Crossman
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Pittsburgh 4, Carolina 1
Crosby, Penguins sweep Canes for second shot at Stanley
RALEIGH, N.C.—Sidney Crosby saved
his most daring move for after the
game: He spurned hockey supersti-
tion and hoisted the Prince of Wales
Trophy.
If he keeps playing like this, it might
not be the only prize the Pittsburgh
Penguins’ young captain raises.
The Penguins are headed back to
the Stanley Cup finals, clinching a
return trip with a 4-1 rout of the
Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday
night that finished off a sweep in
the Eastern Conference finals. Pitts-
burgh lost to Detroit last year in a
six-game final series.
“We didn’t touch (the trophy) last
year, and things didn’t go the way
we wanted,” Crosby said. “I thought
we’d change it up this year.”
Max Talbot had a goal and an
assist, Ruslan Fedotenko and Bill
Guerin also scored, and Craig
Adams added an empty-netter.
Crosby had two assists to extend
his point streak to six games, and
Marc-Andre Fleury stopped the final
30 shots he faced in shutting down
Carolina during the last 58 minutes.
The Penguins outscored the Hur-
ricanes 20-9 in the series, netted at
least three goals in each game, and
trailed for a total of 20 minutes, 30
seconds, in advancing to the Cup
finals for the fourth time.
“To be real honest, I don’t think it
felt easy at all,” Pittsburgh coach
Dan Bylsma said.
If the Stanley Cup champion Red
Wings beat Chicago in the West
finals, it will set up the first title
rematch since the Edmonton Oilers
and the New York Islanders met in
1983 and 1984.
Pittsburgh—the first runner-up
to return to the finals since Edmon-
ton in 1984—is the first team since
the 2000-01 New Jersey Devils to
get to the finals in consecutive years.
The Red Wings, who lead Chicago
3-1 in the West finals, could join
them as soon as Wednesday night.
“For you (media) guys, there’s a
lot more story lines” with a Detroit
rematch, Crosby said. “To go
through last year was tough, but
we’ve got a chance here and we
want to make the most of it.”
Eric Staal scored for the first time
in the series for the Hurricanes,
who lost for the first time in these
playoffs when their franchise player
notched a goal.
“It just doesn’t feel very nice
knowing that tomorrow we’re all
done,” Staal said.
Cam Ward made 21 saves but lost a
playoff series for the first time in his
NHL career.
He had been 5-0 in elimination
games for the Hurricanes, who were
on the losing end of the handshake
line for the first time since 2002,
when they lost to the Red Wings in
the Cup finals. In their only other
playoff appearance in that span, they
won the Cup in 2006.
In this series, Carolina led only
three times and entered Game 4
with no players scoring more than
two points—Pittsburgh entered
with five. The Hurricanes were
swept for the first time since 1989,
when the franchise was still the
Hartford Whalers and was beaten
by the Montreal Canadiens.
NHL
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
Sidney Crosby tallied two assists in Pittsburgh’s Eastern Conference-clinching win, then spurned superstition in the postgame trophy ceremony.
“We just talked about staying in
(the game) as long as we possibly
could,” coach Paul Maurice said.
“You’re down one, you’re down two.
We didn’t want to get it to three.”
Fedotenko scored the Penguins’
first goal with 11½ minutes left
when he sneaked behind Ward and
tipped in Philippe Boucher’s blast
from the point, giving him goals in
two straight games.
Pittsburgh took the lead for good
on a fluky goal with 1½ minutes left.
Talbot’s wrist shot from the slot was
deflected by Anton Babchuk, and
the puck fluttered over Ward’s
catching glove to make it 2-1.
“It hit (Babchuk’s) skate, popped up
JIM BOUNDS / AP
and I lost sight of it for a split second,”
Ward said. “Bad break, fluke goal.”
Another miscue by Babchuk—a
healthy scratch for the first three
games of the series—midway through
the second led to the Penguins’ third
goal. He turned the puck over near
the blue line to Guerin, and that
started a 2-on-1 rush that ended with
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 9
Crosby’s pretty feed that set up the
16-year veteran’s tap-in.
By that point, the Hurricanes
seemed spent after their comeback-
fueled run through the first two
rounds, an impressive stretch that
included consecutive Game 7 road
victories over New Jersey and Boston.
In an effort to keep that run going,
they pulled out all the stops—even
luring former Pittsburgh Steelers
coach Bill Cowher, a Raleigh resi-
dent and former N.C. State line-
backer, to sound the siren that
precedes their pregame entrance to
the ice. Staal scored on a wrap-
around 1½ minutes in on Carolina’s
first shot.
— The Associated Press
Series glance
(Pittsburgh wins series 4-0)
May 18: Pittsburgh 3, Carolina 2
May 21: Pittsburgh 7, Carolina 4
May 23: Pittsburgh 6, Carolina 2
Tuesday: Pittsburgh 4, Carolina 1
Pittsburgh 2 1 1 — 4
Carolina 1 0 0 — 1
First Period: 1, Carolina, E.Staal 10 (Cole, Samsonov), 1:36. 2, Pitts-
burgh, Fedotenko 6 (Boucher, Talbot), 8:21. 3, Pittsburgh, Talbot 4
(Satan), 18:31. Penalties: Malkin, Pit (holding stick), 9:52; Jokinen,
Car (cross-checking), 15:27; Malkin, Pit (roughing), 19:35.
Second Period: 4, Pittsburgh, Guerin 7 (Crosby), 12:10. Penalties:
Seidenberg, Car (high-sticking), 3:09; Seidenberg, Car (tripping),
9:43; Guerin, Pit (holding), 9:56.
Third Period: 5, Pittsburgh, Adams 3 (Crosby, Talbot), 18:50 (en).
Penalties: Adams, Pit (hooking), 3:40; Corvo, Car (hooking), 10:49;
LaRose, Car (tripping), 12:18.
Shots on Goal: Pittsburgh 9-10-6: 25. Carolina 5-16-10: 31.
Power-play opportunities: Pittsburgh 0 of 5; Carolina 0 of 4.
Goalies: Pittsburgh, Fleury 12-5-0 (31 shots-30 saves). Carolina,
Ward 8-10-0 (24-21).
A: 18,680 (18,680). T: 2:19.
Referees: Paul Devorski, Dennis LaRue. Linesmen: Derek Amell,
Pierre Racicot.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY
Early departure of Russian veterans for homeland hurting NHL
Viktor Kozlov (13 goals, 28 assists in 2008-09 with Washington) is one of several Russian veterans to sign with the KHL.
www.sportingnews.com NHL
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
It was Hall of Fame weekend in
Toronto and soon-to-be inducted Igor
Larionov shared stories from his
playing days with the crowd around
him. Inevitably the
discussion turned
to his time in
Detroit, where he
won three Stanley
Cups under Scotty
Bowman. In 1997,
Larionov and the
famed Russian Five
Craig Custance helped bring the
HOCKEY
first Stanley Cup to
Detroit since 1955.
It also was Bowman and the Rus-
sian Five who implemented the puck-
possession style of hockey the Red
Wings continue to win with today.
“If you want to control the game,
you have to control the puck,” Lari-
onov said last November before his
induction. “Why should you give the
puck away and go and chase? …That
game was accepted in Detroit, even
now the team is playing so well. I was
part of that transition.”
When Larionov retired in 2004 after
one final season in New Jersey, he was
43 years old. But in those last years, he
made a huge impact on an Original Six
franchise. And all of hockey.
Now, with Russian players opting
to spend their final seasons playing
for the KHL, the NHL is being robbed
of impact Russian veterans—the Lar-
ionovs of this generation.
On Tuesday, news broke that Ser-
gei Fedorov was close to signing with
the Russian KHL. His teammate in
Washington, Viktor Kozlov, signed a
GERRY BROOME / AP two-year deal with the Russian
league, according to an RDS report.
Don’t be surprised if Chicago goalie
Nikolai Khabibulin is pursued heav-
ily by the KHL after the playoffs.
In an e-mail to Sporting News Today,
agent Pat Brisson said Fedorov does
not have a done deal.
“Sergei will be exploring his
options on the trip to Russia next
week,” Brisson wrote. “In the mean-
time, I will continue to speak with
the Capitals.”
Fedorov, 39, was a calming influ-
ence on the Washington Capitals this
season where he was a mentor to
young Russians like Alexander
Semin and Alex Ovechkin. Watch-
ing Fedorov beat Henrik Lundqvist
in the third period of a first-round
Game 7 also showed he still has an
elite scorer’s touch. The Capitals
made serious strides this season, and
Fedorov was a big part of that.
Detroit goalie Chris Osgood won
two Stanley Cups with Fedorov and
finds the trend of veteran Russians
leaving the NHL early disturbing.
“To lose those guys is huge. We
have to figure out a way to keep guys
like Sergei and (Jaromir) Jagr and
those great older veteran players,”
Osgood said. “I think it’s important
to have older guys like that, that
younger European players can look
up to when they get over here and
understand how to handle them-
selves on and off the ice. That’s what
guys like Igor Larionov did for him.”
But if this is it for Fedorov in the
NHL, it’s also time for the fans in
Detroit to embrace his role in the Red
Wings’ success—past and present.
The same fans who booed Fedorov
during every return to Joe Louis Arena
after he left for Anaheim in 2003 will
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 10
be the first to cheer tonight if the Red
Wings—and their Russian inspired
puck-possession offense—put away
the Blackhawks and advance to
another Stanley Cup final.
Reacting to news of Fedorov’s pos-
sible departure to the KHL, fans on
Detroit sports talk radio discussed
the worthiness of retiring Fedorov’s
No. 91. It shouldn’t even be a debate.
Outside the Red Wings’ locker
room, the all-time award winners are
painted on a cinder block wall. Fedo-
rov’s name is everywhere—there’s a
Hart Trophy, a Lester B. Pearson
Trophy, a pair of Selkes. There’s also
three Stanley Cups.
He loved his time in Detroit. Kirk
Maltby said Fedorov still spends a lot
of the summer in Michigan. Fedorov
recently said he looks back at his time
in Detroit and playing for Scotty
Bowman fondly. He enjoyed both.
“Yeah, I certainly did,” Fedorov
said.
And playing for Bowman?
“If you played on the top six for-
wards, you play all the time,” Fedo-
rov said. “I personally like that idea
very much.”
He’s not a top six forward anymore.
He may not even be an NHL player
anymore if the Russian reports are
true.
But with the Red Wings on the
verge of another Stanley Cup final,
his influence is still felt in Detroit.
“The Russian Five really changed
the whole game in Detroit and then
through the league,” Chris Chelios
told SN Today. “Everybody loves and
respects what (Fedorov) did for the
organization.”
ccustance@sportingnews.com
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
’Hawks, Wings banged up for Game 5
DETROIT—The Red Wings did just fine
without Nicklas Lidstrom. Now they
don’t want to push their luck.
Detroit routed the Chicago Blackhawks
6-1 Sunday and took a 3-1 lead in the
Western Conference finals. It was the
only playoff game Lidstrom missed in his
career.
Rookie Jonathan Ericsson filled in for
the six-time Norris Trophy-winning
defenseman, and the defending champi-
ons didn’t miss a beat. Still, as well as
Ericsson played, Detroit hopes it won’t
have to replace Lidstrom again in Game 5
tonight with a chance to reach the Stanley
Cup finals.
“It’s way easier to replace quality play-
ers in the short term than it is in the long
term because everyone can lift their level
for a period of time,” Detroit coach Mike
Babcock said Tuesday. “But, how you
gonna play like Nick every night? I
haven’t seen anybody play like Nick every
night, except Nick.”
Babcock said Lidstrom and Pavel Dat-
syuk were feeling better, but the team
planned to wait until both got a chance to
skate before the game to decide whether
they will play. Lidstrom missed Game 4
with an undisclosed injury. Datsyuk, an
MVP finalist, has been out the past two
games with an injured foot.
Babcock cut off a question about rest-
ing the players with a 3-1 series lead.
“If they’re ready, they’re playing,” Bab-
cock insisted.
Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said his
team would wait until game day to deter-
mine if No. 1 goaltender Nikolai Khabibu-
lin and leading scorer Martin Havlat will
be on the ice to help avoid elimination.
Havlat returned to the lineup Sunday,
two days after a jarring hit from Detroit
Niklas Kronwall, but was limited to fewer
than eight minutes because he was
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
Detroit hopes to have Nicklas Lidstrom, left, back tonight after he missed his first playoff game Sunday.
checked hard by Brad Stuart.
Khabibulin has been out since playing
the first two periods of Game 3 because of
a lower body injury. He was replaced by
Cristobal Huet, who allowed five of
Detroit six goals in Game 5.
“We’ve found ways to play great with-
out some of our best players all year,”
Chicago star Jonathan Toews said.
— The Associated Press
Today’s game
Conference finals
(Best-of-7), all times ET
Chicago at Detroit, 7:30 p.m., Versus
Betting line
FAVORITE ..............LINE
at Detroit ....................-240
NHL
CARLOS OSORIO / AP
UNDERDOG............ LINE
Chicago .............+200
Coyotes case: Answers to key issues
BY TRIPP MICKLE
SportsBusiness Journal
The future of the Phoenix Coyotes hangs
in the balance of an Arizona bankruptcy
court, which resumes hearings today. After
a four-hour hearing last week, the only thing
that became clear was the case will last at
least another month and the team might not
be sold until July. The following are answers
to key issues at play.
How did it get to this point?
Jerry Moyes filed to place the Coyotes in
bankruptcy protection May 5. In conjunc-
tion with the filing, the Coyotes owner sub-
mitted a purchase agreement from Research
In Motion CEO Jim Balsillie, who offered to
buy the team for $212.5 million. Balsillie’s
offer was contingent on being able to relocate
the franchise to Hamilton, Ontario. NHL
commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy
commissioner Bill Daly learned of the filing
and offer when they landed in Phoenix May
5. They were there to present Moyes with a
separate offer from Jerry Reinsdorf, report-
edly worth $130 million.
Who are the players?
At its most basic level, this case is a battle
between the NHL and Moyes, but each has
additional support. The NHL is being backed
by the city of Glendale, Ariz., which doesn’t
want the Coyotes to leave the Phoenix area,
and the NBA, NFL and Major League Base-
ball, which filed a collective motion support-
ing the NHL. On the other side, Moyes is
joined by Balsillie’s company, PSE Sports &
Entertainment, which is represented by Bal-
sillie’s adviser Richard Rodier, and another
attorney.
Why does this matter?
This is more than a fight over a struggling
NHL franchise. At its core, it’s a battle over
whether leagues can determine the locations
of their franchises and manage the sale of a
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 11
franchise. If Balsillie wins, it could set a
precedent that damages all sports leagues.
His ability to buy and relocate the Coyotes
out of bankruptcy could inspire other own-
ers to file for bankruptcy protection in order
to circumvent league rules and sell their
team to a buyer who might be willing to pay
more if the franchise can be relocated.
What’s ahead?
There are three issues that will be resolved
in the next month: Control of the Coyotes, a
timeline for the sale of the franchise and
whether the team can be relocated to another
market.
Who controls the franchise?
The NHL and Moyes both contend they
should have day-to-day control of the team.
In the end, Judge Redfield Baum said it prob-
ably doesn’t matter because both agree the
team will be sold. As he said, there’s no point
in arguing over who’s steering the ship if
everybody’s in agreement that it’s going to
the same harbor. He ordered the NHL and
Moyes to enter mediation and report back to
him today. If they can’t mediate the issue,
he’ll rule on it.
What’s the timeline for a sale?
All parties are supposed to propose a time-
line for a sale today. As of last week, the
Moyes and Balsillie team favored a late June
timeline; the NHL favored a late July
timeline.
Can the team be relocated?
That’s the $212.5 million question. As
Baum told Balsillie’s attorney, “If you lose
that (argument), I think the sale motion is
dead.” Sitting in the courtroom, one got the
sense the judge may be inclined to rule in the
NHL’s favor against moving the team. But a
bankruptcy judge’s first responsibility is to
creditors, so how Baum rules is far from cer-
tain. A hearing is set for issue June 22.
tmickle@sportsbusinessjournal.com
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Old story: Quinn returns to NHL as coach of Oilers
In one fell swoop Tuesday, Pat Quinn
became the oldest—and newest—coach in
the NHL.
The Edmonton Oilers introduced
Quinn, 66, as the replacement for recently
fired Craig MacTavish, and also announced
that former New York Rangers coach Tom
Renney will join Quinn as associate coach.
“We think there’s talent (on the roster),”
Quinn told reporters at Edmonton’s Rex-
all Place. “Perhaps (the Oilers) didn’t get to
be a good team in the past couple, three
years, but we’re here to make those next
steps.”
While Quinn said he considers himself
an educator first and a whip-cracker sec-
ond, he fired a quick shot at players who
were criticized last season for taking too
many nights off.
“We will be pushing, cajoling, teaching
as well as we can to reach high standards,”
he said. “If our veterans have been guys
that might put their feet on the desk once
in a while, we’ll have to try to change
that.”
Quinn has been out of the league since
being fired as coach of the Maple Leafs fol-
lowing the 2005-06 season, his seventh in
Toronto. But he recently coached the Cana-
dian national team to gold at the world
junior championships in Ottawa. The Oil-
ers will be Quinn’s fifth NHL team—he
posted 657 wins in 1,318 games guiding
Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Vancouver and
Toronto.
Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini,
when asked about hiring a coach who has
been away from the league for three years,
said he’s not worried.
“He has been in touch with so many of
the young players coming into the game
now, and has immersed himself at that
level of play,” said Tambellini. “I know
when he walks into the Oilers dressing
room for the first day they’ll be all ears.”
INSIDE DISH
Pat Quinn has a record of 657-481 with 154 ties in 19 seasons as an NHL coach.
Renney joins the Oilers after five sea-
sons as coach of the Rangers. He said tak-
ing the associate role isn’t a step down
because he’ll be working with Quinn.
“I don’t know if this would work with
anybody else, quite honestly. I think we’re
all driven to excellence, all driven to run
our own programs (but) I think a ton of
Pat, as you can appreciate,” said Renney.
Calgary G.M. Darryl Sutter, addressing
last Friday’s firing of coach Mike Keenan for
NHL
BEN LEMPHERS / AP
the first time with reporters, said he has a
prime candidate in mind to fill the coach-
ing position—himself.
Sutter said he is strongly considering a
move back to the bench he occupied from
2002-06 in his dual role as coach and
G.M. Sutter led the Flames to the Stanley
Cup finals in 2004, where they lost to
Tampa Bay.
“I have high standards,” Sutter told the
Calgary Herald, referring to his coaching
search. “We have high standards. I can
separate the general manager and head
coach pretty easily if you’re surrounded
by good people. … If I find out at the end of
the search that I’m the best candidate, then
I’m the coach.”
Sutter said he plans to consider three
candidates who are under contract. Pre-
sumably brother Brent Sutter, coach of the
Devils, is one.
The Associated Press reports the St.
Louis Blues have signed C Jay McClement to a
three-year contract for $4.35 million.
Blues president John Davidson calls the
26-year-old McClement “one of the best
defensive forwards” in the NHL.
McClement led the Blues with three short-
handed goals while logging more than 315
minutes on a penalty kill that helped the
franchise earn its first playoff berth since
2004.
McClement had a career-high 12 goals
and posted 26 points.
Peter Zezel, a gritty center known for
his strong two-way game over 15 NHL sea-
sons, died Tuesday at age 44 from a rare
blood disorder.
Zezel reportedly had struggled with the
disease, in which red blood cells are
destroyed faster than the body can replace
them, on and off for the past 10 years. The
Toronto Sun reported that he was admitted
to a hospital last week for surgery, but
complications developed and his condition
worsened.
Zezel retired in 1999 after playing stints
with the Flyers, Blues, Capitals, Maple
Leafs, Stars, Devils and Canucks.
RDS is reporting that Washington F
Viktor Kozlov has signed to play with Salavat
of the KHL. The 16-year NHL veteran
scored 13 goals and 28 assists with a
minus-9 rating over 67 games this season.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 12
Playoff glance
CONFERENCE FINALS
(Best-of-7), all times ET
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Carolina vs. Pittsburgh
(Pittsburgh wins series 4-0)
May 18: Pittsburgh 3, Carolina 2
May 21: Pittsburgh 7, Carolina 4
May 23: Pittsburgh 6, Carolina 2
Tuesday: Pittsburgh 4, Carolina 1
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Chicago vs. Detroit
(Detroit leads series 3-1)
May 17: Detroit 5, Chicago 2
May 19: Detroit 3, Chicago 2, OT
May 22: Chicago 4, Detroit 3, OT
May 24: Detroit 6, Chicago 1
Today: Chicago at Detroit, 7:30 p.m. Versus
Saturday: Detroit at Chicago, 8 p.m., if necessary,
Versus
Monday, June 1: Chicago at Detroit, 7:30 p.m., if
necessary, Versus
NHL calendar
Through May 30—NHL Combine, Toronto.
June 5—Stanley Cup finals begin at Western
Conference champion.
June 18—NHL awards show at Las Vegas.
June 26-27—NHL draft, Montreal.
July 1—Free agency signing period begins.
July 5—Deadline for player-elected salary
arbitration.
July 6—Deadline for club-elected salary
arbitration.
July 10—Deadline for eligible players to elect
Group 5 free agency.
July 20-Aug. 4—Salary arbitration hearings
Aug. 6—Deadline for salary arbitration deci-
sions to be rendered
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Supporting players not stepping up for Lakers, Cavs
A little more than a month ago,
just before the start of the postsea-
son, I asked Lakers coach Phil Jack-
son about what he needs from his
bench. The Lak-
ers were wrap-
ping up a road trip
at the time, and
over the course of
that trip, his
reserves didn’t
show much con-
sistency. “They
Sean Deveney haven’t put a game
PRO BASKETBALL
together where
they play 15-20
minutes aggressively, freely out
there on the court,” Jackson said.
“We’ve got to perform that way in
the playoffs. We have to get some
rest for (the starters).”
It’s not happening with the L.A.
bench at this point. In fact, the Lakers
aren’t getting much at all out of the
supporting cast around Kobe Bryant,
starters included. Jackson is not alone
in this problem. Cleveland’s Mike
Brown is finding that his supporting
actors also are flubbing their lines at
the most crucial time, forcing LeBron
James to carry too heavy a burden.
Now, with the Lakers tied after four
games in the conference finals, and
the Cavaliers down, 3-1, it looks as
though those failures could cost their
teams, the clear favorites to reach the
Finals, a chance at a championship.
We could pick any number of cul-
prits here, and it should be noted
that the defenses of Denver and
Orlando have something to do with
the struggles of the supporting
casts. But let’s have a look at what’s
gone wrong with the five most dis-
appointing supporting players so
far on the Lakers and Cavs:
1. Mo Williams
Give Williams some credit. His
shots are not going down, but he has
remained active defensively and is
averaging 5.3 rebounds and 3.5
assists. But he is in Cleveland to make
shots at this time of year. Because
Williams hasn’t made those shots, the
Cavaliers’ margin of error has been
reduced to nearly nothing—96 per-
cent of NBA teams with a 3-1 lead in a
seven-game series advance. And if
Cleveland fails to make the Finals
with Williams shooting 32.4 percent
from the field and 22.2 percent from
the 3-point line against Orlando, then
Williams’ outstanding 2008-09
campaign will be utterly tainted.
2. Lamar Odom
For a guy who has been playing
30-plus minutes per game against
the Nuggets, Odom has been
remarkably quiet. He’s not shooting
well (34.5 percent) and is averaging
just 7.5 points. Generally, when
Odom is struggling with his shot,
he at least defends, passes and
rebounds. But that’s not happening.
He hasn’t been able to make a dent
against the front line of Nene,
Kenyon Martin and Chris Ander-
sen, which has been a big part of the
reason that the Nuggets are out-
rebounding the Lakers.
3. Derek Fisher
Fisher actually showed signs of
snapping his postseason slump in
Game 1 of the conference finals. He
had 13 points and six assists, shoot-
ing 3-for-6 on 3-pointers. Since
then? He scored 12 points with six
assists in the next three games com-
bined, and shot 2-for-11 from the
3-point line. This is supposed to be
NBA WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 13
the time of year that Fisher’s vet-
eran experience shines through. He
has been in 169 playoff games, and
shoots 40.7 percent on his 3s in the
postseason. But, this postseason,
he is shooting a miserable 22.9 per-
cent on 3s.
4. Daniel Gibson
Two years ago, as a rookie, Gib-
son was a key figure in getting the
Cavs to the Finals, shooting 40.9
percent on 3-pointers and giving
James a needed boost. But over the
course of the postseason, he’s
become persona non grata in the
Cleveland rotation. He played an
average of 15 minutes per game in
the first round, and that dropped to
10.3 minutes in the second round.
Against Orlando, he nearly disap-
peared, playing three minutes, zero
minutes and three minutes in the
first three games. He resurfaced to
play 20 minutes in Game 4, as
Brown chose to keep Sasha Pavlovic
on the bench. Gibson produced only
eight points and had no assists.
5. Sasha Vujacic
This is how bad things are going for
Vujacic: He shot a very modest 2-for-4
from the field in Game 4, and raised
his shooting percentage nearly 10
points in doing so—all the way to .235.
He’s not the only struggling bench
shooter for the Lakers—Luke Walton
and Shannon Brown have been awful
in their own right—but when Vujacic
is not making his shots, he offers little
else, except the occasional dumb foul.
He’s a far cry from the player who
averaged 21.7 minutes and shot 39.2
percent from the 3-point line in last
year’s run to the Finals. ERIC GAY / AP
sdeveney@sportingnews.com Lamar Odom, who made nearly half his field-goal attempts in the regular season, is hitting just 34.5 percent in the playoffs.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com NBA WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 14
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

Orlando 116, Cleveland 114, OT

Superman trumps the King as Magic now up 3-1 Series glance

(Orlando leads series 3-1)
May 20: Orlando 107,
ORLANDO—As LeBron James pulled opportunity in front of us. We can’t winning a few games in the Eastern Cleveland 106
up for the final shot, Orlando’s think that anything’s going to be Conference finals,” Howard said. May 22: Cleveland 96, Orlando 95
crowd gasped, Magic coach Stan easy. As a team, we believe that any- “We want to win the whole thing.” May 24: Orlando 99, Cleveland 89
Van Gundy gulped and time stood time we step on the floor and play Lewis’ catch-and-shoot 3-pointer Tuesday: Orlando 116, Cleveland
still. our brand of basketball we can on an inbounds play with 4.1 seconds 114, OT
Spinning through the air, James’ win.” left in regulation gave the Magic, who Thursday: Orlando at Cleveland,
3-pointer looked good. James added 12 rebounds and attempted 38 3s, a 100-98 lead. 8:30 p.m., TNT
Not this time, MVP. This was a seven assists, but he had eight turn- Cleveland set up a clear-out play Saturday: Cleveland at Orlando,
Magic night. overs for the Cavs, whose season of for James, who drove the right side 8:30 p.m., if necessary
Dwight Howard scored 10 points seasons is slipping away. and was tripped in the lane by Monday: Orlando at Cleveland,
in overtime and Orlando, raining After Lewis made one of two free Pietrus with .5 seconds to play. 8:30 p.m., if necessary
down 3-pointers like a Florida throws with 3.2 seconds left to give James swished his first free throw
thunderstorm, withstood 44 points the Magic the 116-114 lead, the Cavs attempt, and then after a long delay,
and the last-second fling by James had one last chance. he made his second, which danced Cleveland 25 33 21 21 14 — 114
Orlando 21 29 28 22 16 — 116
for a 116-114 victory over the Cleve- Every person inside Amway on the rim before falling through.
land Cavaliers on Tuesday night to Arena and millions watching on TV James said he never considered tak- CLEVELAND Min FG FT Reb A PF PTS
James 49:24 13-29 14-18 1-12 7 5 44
take a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Con- knew who was going to get the ing a 3-pointer. Varejao 26:19 4-8 1-1 1-2 0 6 9
ference finals. ball—James, who saved the Cava- “If I was Rashard Lewis we would Ilgauskas 33:00 5-9 2-2 3-9 0 3 12
MWilliams 46:55 5-15 8-9 0-5 2 2 18
The resilient Magic, who have liers with a 3-pointer at the final have won,” James said, smiling. West 47:02 7-15 3-3 0-5 7 4 17
overcome injuries, double-digit horn in Game 2. Orlando called a timeout and Szczerbiak 20:53 1-4 0-1 0-2 1 3 2
Gibson 21:17 2-5 2-2 0-1 0 1 8
deficits and a spat between their He was double-teamed on the tried a lob play for Howard, who Wallace 16:01 2-2 0-0 2-4 0 1 4
star and coach, are one win from inbounds pass but still managed to was ridden out under the basket by Smith 4:09 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 265:00 39-87 30-36 7-40 17 25 114
their first trip to the NBA Finals get free. Dribbling into the front- Anderson Varejao. Both players
since 1995. court, James rose from 35 feet, and tumbled out of bounds, and Percentages: FG .448, FT .833. 3-Point Goals: 6-22, .273 (James
4-10, Gibson 2-5, Szczerbiak 0-1, West 0-3, M.Williams 0-3). Team
“You can almost taste it,” said with a clean look at the basket, sent although there was enough contact Rebounds: 11. Team Turnovers: 14 (16 PTS). Blocked Shots: 3
Orlando’s Rafer Alston, who scored his shot toward the rim. for the officials to call two or three (James, Wallace, West). Turnovers: 12 (James 8, Szczerbiak 2,
Varejao, M.Williams). Steals: 10 (Varejao 5, M.Williams 2, James,
26 points. “We’ve got to win one When it fell short, Van Gundy fouls, there was no whistle. Wallace, West). Technical Fouls: None.
more game and it’s not going to be finally could exhale. Howard screamed in protest, ORLANDO Min FG FT Reb A PF PTS
easy.” “With LeBron James on the court, pleading his case to anyone who Turkoglu 43:13 5-13 3-4 1-7 8 4 15
The Magic, who won a Game 7 in doesn’t 3.2 seconds seem like two would listen. Lewis 46:16 5-9 5-6 1-5 0 1 17
Howard 49:06 10-16 7-9 2-14 4 5 27
Boston in the last round, can close minutes?” he asked. “We had two “Are you serious?” Howard said, Alston 37:10 10-17 0-0 0-2 4 4 26
out the Cavaliers in Cleveland on guys on him and he made a move turning to the media section. “If Lee 25:38 2-6 0-0 0-3 2 2 5
Johnson 14:51 2-4 2-4 0-0 1 2 7
Thursday night. like a tight end, caught the ball and PHELAN EBENHACK / AP that was LeBron ... “ Pietrus 39:43 5-13 2-4 0-3 2 5 17
Howard finished with 27 points, still got off a reasonable shot. This Orlando C Dwight Howard, right, scored 10 of his team-high 27 points in overtime. Howard took over in overtime. He Battie 5:09 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Gortat 3:54 1-1 0-0 0-4 0 2 2
14 rebounds and again made his guy is unbelievable.” dunked the first two times he Totals 265:00 40-80 19-27 4-38 21 25 116
free throws—7 of 9—and the Magic James said the ball felt good leav- more than 40 in three games in the Following the game, Magic fans touched it, shaking the backboard Percentages: FG .500, FT .704. 3-Point Goals: 17-38, .447 (Alston
made a team playoff record 17 ing his hand. series. Cleveland is 0-3 in them. chanted “One more win.” each time and Orlando opened what 6-12, Pietrus 5-11, Lewis 2-4, Turkoglu 2-5, Johnson 1-2, Lee 1-4).
3-pointers. Rashard Lewis and Mic- “I always feel I can make any shot Mo Williams, who guaranteed History is on the Magic’s side looked to be an insurmountable six- Team Rebounds: 13. Team Turnovers: 15 (15 PTS). Blocked Shots:
4 (Howard 3, Lee). Turnovers: 15 (Turkoglu 5, Alston 3, Howard 2,
kael Pietrus had 17 points each for I take,” he said. “I was just hoping I the Cavs would win Game 4 and the heading into Game 5. Teams with a point lead with 1:11 left on his tip-in. Lewis 2, Pietrus 2, Johnson). Steals: 5 (Alston 2, Howard, Johnson,
Orlando. could make one more.” series, scored 18 points, none after 3-1 lead are a staggering 182-8 in But the Cavaliers came back and Pietrus). Technical Fouls: Defensive three second, 7:10 first; Defen-
sive three second, 11:49 first; Howard, 4:11 third; Bench, 4:11 third.
“We just have to keep fighting,” James, who played the entire sec- the third quarter. Delonte West series dating to 1947. fell a LeBron 3 short of winning.
Howard said. “We have an excellent ond half and overtime, has scored added 17 for the Cavaliers. “We’re not happy with just — The Associated Press A: 17,461 (17,461). T: 3:07. Officials: Scott Foster, Mike Callahan,
Joe DeRosa.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Lakers look to clean up inside game against Denver
LOS ANGELES—Pau Gasol wants the
ball inside against the Denver Nug-
gets. Only he’s not about to pull a
Keyshawn Johnson and order his
Los Angeles Lakers teammates to
“just give me the damn ball.”
That’s not the Spaniard’s way.
Gasol is all about finesse on and
off the court, so he’ll leave the angry
big man approach alone.
“I just want to go with what’s effec-
tive and what works out there and
what’s been working for us and
what’s a strength of ours,” he said
after Tuesday’s practice. “I think we
should explore that a little more.”
The mild-mannered Gasol com-
plained about only taking four shots in
the second half of a 120-101 loss at
Denver on Monday night that left the
Western Conference finals tied at two.
Gasol went 8 of 11 for 21 points in
Game 4. He’s shooting 62 percent in
the series, but he had only four free
throws in the fourth quarter Monday.
“I don’t think there’s many people
who would say there’s something
right about it,” he said afterward. “I
wish we would take more advan-
tage of our inside game, because it’s
pretty effective. It’s unfortunate we
don’t recognize it enough.”
Kobe Bryant knows what’s keep-
ing the Lakers from delivering the
ball to Gasol in the post.
“They’re double-teaming him on
the catch. He’s got to go a little
quicker when he catches it,” Bryant
said. “That’s something I’ve always
told him, ‘When you got a shot you
got to take it.’ At this late in the post-
season, teams aren’t going to let you
back out there and spin and do some
of the things he likes to do in the
post. He’s got to go and go quickly.”
Pushed on whether he would
demand the ball in Game 5 tonight,
Gasol didn’t sound too convincing.
“I’ll try, but there’s only so much I
can do as far as demanding,” he said.
“I’d rather talk to our coaches and our
guys and hopefully we see what’s effec-
tive and what works and we go to it.”
The Lakers’ frontcourt of Gasol,
Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum
were no match for Denver’s trio of
Nene, Kenyon Martin and Chris
Andersen, who dominated the
boards 42-25 in Game 4.
“One of our main focuses was try-
ing to get the rebound so that way we
can do our running game,” Andersen
said. “Our best offense is our defense
and rebounding is a big part of that.”
The Nuggets practiced in Denver
on Tuesday before flying to Los
Angeles.
Coach George Karl believes win-
ning Game 5 on the road would be
easier than doing so in a Game 7 on
the Lakers’ home court.
“We right now have made some-
what of a move to challenge them to
try and figure us out a little bit more,”
he said. “Can we win the energy game
down there? It would be a big step
towards getting a win. My big guys
were terrific last night. I don’t know if
I’ve had three big guys be so domi-
nant on the boards.”
The Nuggets rested for a week
after putting Dallas away in five
games in the conference semifinals.
The Lakers, meanwhile, were
pushed to seven games before
escaping against Houston, and the
fatigue appears to be showing.
“They’ve been playing every other
day since May and we’ve had our
breaks and the advantage to heal our
NBA
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
Pau Gasol (16) says he hopes the Lakers take advantage of their edge against Denver in the paint.
bodies is better than the Lakers,”
Andersen said. “Now we’re starting
to get back in our rhythm that we
were at when the playoffs started.”
Odom said the Lakers need a
dose of energy and effort tonight at
Staples Center, where the Nuggets
won Game 2.
“When you get behind, you take
quick shots and you tend to give
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 15
Odom is continuing treatment for
a lower back injury, but he declined
to specify just how hurt he is.
“For this team to be good, I need
to pick it up,” he said.
Bryant wouldn’t concede fatigue
is hurting the Lakers.
“I don’t think it had anything to do
with how we played yesterday, they
just played better,” he said. “We do a
pretty good job of responding to chal-
lenges and we certainly have one here
(tonight). The challenge of the situa-
tion re-energizes me.”
The NBA fined Lakers coach Phil
Jackson and the team $25,000 on
Tuesday for his post-game com-
ments on the officiating in Game 4.
The fines were announced after
the Lakers addressed the media,
but Jackson was asked whether the
Nuggets have shifted their play
from physical to dirty.
“There’s a sense of how much
people want it, how you play when
you have to play hard and how
aggressive you become and that’s a
fine line,” he said. “I want to keep
the topic on a positive note. I don’t
want to talk about that aspect of it.”
— The Associated Press
Today’s game
All Times ET
Conference finals
(Best-of-7)
DAVID ZALUBOWSKI / AP Denver at L.A. Lakers, 9 p.m.,
ESPN
those guys some good numbers Betting line
Today
when it comes to rebounding,” he
FAVORITE ..........LINE ... O/U .........UNDERDOG
said. “We want to clean up the
defensive boards and keep them off at L.A. Lakers............... 6.... (209½) ...............Denver
the offensive boards.”
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com NBA WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 16
INSIDE DISH Playoff glance

Prospective top picks likely to skip draft drills CONFERENCE FINALS

(Best-of-7), all times ET

For years, the NBA has struggled to find a
way to get the league’s talent evaluators
together with potential draftees in a mass
workout setting—players began dropping out
of the five-on-five games at the league’s pre-
draft camp years ago, instead focusing on
individual workouts. This year, the league is
putting together a combine-style predraft
event, with strength and agility testing,
player drills and interviews. But again, play-
ers are putting limits on what they’re willing
to do in a mass setting, preferring the more
controlled workout environment.
Already, teams have been told that pre-
sumptive No. 1 pick PF Blake Griffin will not
participate in the drills portion of this year’s
combine, which will be held this Thursday
and Friday in Chicago.
He will, though, participate in strength and
agility tests.
And, the second-ranked power forward
behind Griffin, PF Jordan Hill, told SN Today on
Tuesday that he, too, would be skipping the
drills on the advice of his agent, Kevin Bradbury
of BDA Sports.
“The reality is, Jordan’s record on the court
speaks for itself,” Bradbury told SN Today. His
ability to play inside, his ability to block shots
and rebound—no one questions those things.
The questions with him are all about his
strength. So he is going to go in and show that
no one needs to question his strength. All of
his skills, he’ll show to the individual teams
that are thinking about drafting him, as they
ask him to work out.”
— Sean Deveney
Celtics PF Kevin Garnett had arthroscopic
surgery Tuesday on his right knee, to remove
bone spurs. “I expect Kevin to return to
active duty in full force and be that consum-
mate two-way professional that he has shown
all of us throughout his fantastic NBA
career,” coach Doc Rivers said.
Garnett was limited to 57 games this
Kobe Bryant might feel vindicated after the league slapped Denver’s Dahntay Jones with a flagrant foul for his trip.
season, the second fewest in his career. With
a strained tendon along with the bone spurs,
Garnett played in just four games in the last
two months of the regular season and missed
all of the playoffs.
A day later, the NBA blew the whistle on
Nuggets SG Dahntay Jones for tripping SG Kobe
CHRIS CARLSON / AP
Bryant. The league assessed Denver’s defen-
sive specialist a flagrant-1 foul for sending
Bryant sprawling through the lane with a
trip late in the third quarter that the officiat-
ing crew missed.
Lakers coach Phil Jackson complained about
Jones’ “unacceptable defense, tripping guys
and playing unsportsmanlike basketball”
during a rant about the officiating. Jackson
was fined $25,000 by the NBA for the
criticism.
Cavaliers C Ben Wallace is upset with
Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy for accusing him of
flopping. Van Gundy said Monday he was
bothered by the number of times Cleveland G
Mo Williams and Wallace dropped to the floor in
Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals. He
said the pair fell down more times than a baby.
When asked about Van Gundy’s comments
during Tuesday’s shootaround before Game
4, Wallace said Van Gundy should “come out
there and do something about it” or shut up,
adding an expletive for emphasis, according
to The Plain Dealer of Cleveland.
Hong Kong-based conglomerate New
World Development denied being part of the
deal involving a group of Chinese investors to
buy a stake in the Cavaliers, the Wall Street Jour-
nal reported. The deal, which is subject to
approval by the NBA’s board of governors, will
allow the group to acquire as much as 15 percent
of Cavaliers Operating Co., which also operates
Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
New Timberwolves president of basket-
ball operations David Kahn was scheduled to
meet with Kevin McHale on Tuesday to discuss
the team’s coaching job, but Kahn said he
does not expect a decision on McHale’s future
to be made this week. “Kevin has a long his-
tory here and a relationship with the owner
that I respect and trust,” Kahn told the Min-
neapolis Star Tribune. “He’s Kevin McHale,
and I will not hurt Kevin McHale.”
The NBA rescinded the flagrant foul
against Magic G Anthony Johnson for elbowing
Cleveland’s Williams in Game 3 of the East
finals. Johnson drove the lane and extended his
elbow, striking Williams around the left eye
and knocking him to the floor.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Cleveland vs. Orlando
(Orlando leads series 3-1)
May 20: Orlando 107, Cleveland 106
May 22: Cleveland 96, Orlando 95
May 24: Orlando 99, Cleveland 89
Tuesday: Orlando 116,
Cleveland 114, OT
Thursday: Orlando at Cleveland,
8:30 p.m.
Saturday: Cleveland at Orlando, 8:30
p.m., if necessary
Monday, June 1: Orlando at
Cleveland, 8:30 p.m., if necessary
WESTERN CONFERENCE
L.A. Lakers vs. Denver
(Series tied 2-2)
May 19: L.A. Lakers 105, Denver 103
May 21: Denver 106, L.A. Lakers 103
May 23: L.A. Lakers 103, Denver 97
May 25: Denver 120, L.A. Lakers 101
Today: Denver at L.A. Lakers,
9 p.m., ESPN
Friday: L.A. Lakers at Denver, 9 p.m.
Sunday: Denver at L.A. Lakers, 8:30
p.m., if necessary
NBA calendar
June 4—NBA finals start date
(possible move-up to June 2).
June 15—NBA draft early entry
entrant withdrawal deadline (5 p.m.
ET).
June 18—NBA finals latest possible
end date.
June 25—NBA draft.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
O’s to recall Wieters; Mets send Reyes, Church to D.L.
Orioles president of baseball
operations Andy MacPhail dropped a
surprise on Orioles fans during the
MASN broadcast Tuesday,
announcing that top prospect Matt
Wieters will be recalled and make
his major league debut on Friday
against Detroit at Camden Yards.
“It’s time,’’ MacPhail said. “He’s
ready.”
Wieters was batting .285 with
five homers and 26 RBIs with Class
AAA Norfolk through Monday.
Although Mets manager Jerry
Manuel told the New York Daily News
that he hoped he wouldn’t have to
make a decision about SS Jose Reyes
(calf) until Friday, the Mets placed
Reyes on the 15-day disabled list
Tuesday. Joining him there was OF
Ryan Church (hamstring). In addition,
the team announced that OF Carlos
Beltran would miss the team’s next
two games after having an MRI
exam on his right knee. As a result
of the injuries, the Mets promoted
touted OF prospect Fernando Martinez
and acquired IF Wilson Valdez from
Cleveland for cash.
Rehabbing pitcher John Smoltz
took another step toward returning
to the Boston Red Sox. The 42-year-
old right-hander tossed 3 1/3 innings
for the Class AA Portland Sea Dogs
on Tuesday night, allowing one run
and three hits while striking out
two and throwing 60 pitches.
Coming off a season in which
he 41-for-41 in saves chances in the
regular season and 7-for-7 in save
chances in the postseason, Phillies
P Brad Lidge had nowhere to go but
down. And he has done just that,
INSIDE DISH
A hamstring injury will sideline Ryan Church for at least two weeks.
with four blown saves and an ERA
just under 9.00 in the season’s first
two months. However, manager
Charlie Manuel told The Philadelphia
Inquirer that Lidge will remain his
closer. When asked about a tempo-
rary demotion, Manuel said, “What
kind of message is that? That’s what
Houston used to do to him.”
Yankees manager Joe Girardi
told the New York Daily News that
he would like to see P Chien-Ming
Wang be more consistent with his
sinkerball before putting him back
in the rotation. Until then, Wang
will remain in the Yankees’ bull-
pen. That’s more than P Brian Bruney
can say. Bruney was placed back on
Baseball
BILL KOSTROUN / AP
the disabled list and will meet with
Dr. James Andrews today, according to
the New York Daily News.
According to mlb.com, Twins
C Joe Mauer was named A.L. Player
of the Week for games through
Sunday. Astros SS Miguel Tejada won
the N.L. honors. Mauer hit .458
with four homers, 13 RBIs and 12
runs scored, while Tejada hit .522
with three homers, three doubles
and four RBIs.
The Red Sox dropped slumping
DH David Ortiz to sixth in their lineup
Tuesday. Ortiz recently was benched
for a three-game stretch.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 17
THE LAUNCHING PAD
What to expect in the major leagues today
On second thought ...
Because his bat finally has Just about the time the Jake Peavy trade talks restarted last week, the
come to life, White Sox SS Alexei Padres suddenly shifted into can’t-lose mode. Because of his desire to pitch
in the N.L. and for a contender, perhaps San Diego is the best fit for Peavy.
Ramirez could stay in the No. 2 hole
Of course, second-place San Diego still has plenty to prove and might have
in the batting order, according to to settle for wild-card contention, but things aren’t nearly as bleak as most
the Chicago Tribune. Things aren’t expected. The Padres conclude their three-game series at Chase Field
going quite so well for OF Carlos tonight, and Peavy will be looking to even his record at 5-5. Over his past five
Quentin, however. The newspaper starts, Peavy has only two wins, but he has a 1.90 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 36
innings. In an early May start against Arizona, Peavy struck out a season-high
reported Quentin felt a pop in his
12 batters.
foot before leaving Monday’s game.
Quentin has been slowed recently
by plantar fasciitis and is expected Cubs in hibernation
It’s late May and the slumping Cubs are fighting for a .500 record and bat-
to be out at least until the weekend. tling the Pirates for sole ownership of fourth place in the N.L. Central. Just
how bad are things going? Cubs lefthander Ted Lilly was ejected from the
After throwing a bullpen ses- bench during Monday’s game—a game in which he wasn’t even pitching.
sion, Reds P Edinson Volquez (back) During much of their losing streak, the Cubs’ bats were silent. Once they
awakened, the pitching fell apart. Chicago will turn to righthander Carlos
told The Cincinnati Enquirer that he
Zambrano this afternoon, hoping to get more than the 4 2/3 innings he pro-
is ready to rejoin the rotation. vided his last time out in his first start since coming off the disabled list.
Volquez is eligible to return from
the disabled list June 1.
Toronto’s slump buster
The Jays, whose extended stay in first place was among the biggest sur-
The Nationals designated for prises of the young season, have been nearly as frigid as the Cubs. Luckily,
assignment P Daniel Cabrera, accord- Toronto has a stopper capable of turning around his team’s fortunes.
ing to The Washington Post. In eight Righthander Roy Halladay, who is 4-0 with a 1.38 ERA this month, will try to
become the majors’ first nine-game winner this afternoon at Baltimore.
starts, Cabrera went 0-5, and aver-
— Chris Bahr
aged more than two hits and/or
walks per inning. I was tired of
watching him,” acting G.M. Mike
Rizzo told the newspaper.
The Tampa Bay Rays placed
shortstop and leading hitter Jason Bar-
tlett on the 15-day disabled list Tues-
day with a sprained left ankle, giving
the team five injured regulars.
The Mariners placed C Kenji
Johjima on the 15-day disabled list
Tuesday. Johjima broke his left big toe
on a play at the plate in Monday’s
game and could miss 6-8 weeks.
Orioles P Koji Uehara will probably
miss his scheduled start Thursday
and could be placed on the 15-day dis- LENNY IGNELZI / AP
abled list if his strained left hamstring Carlos Zambrano makes his second start today since returning from the D.L.
does not respond to treatment.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Instant impact: Ibanez goes from obscurity to MVP candidate
BY BILL EICHENBERGER
beichenberger@sportingnews.com
NEW YORK—The Phillies and Raul
Ibanez are quite pleased with each
other. So much so that they figure
the less attention the better about
what could well be the best free
agent signing of the offseason.
The Phillies knew they were
getting a proven veteran when
they signed Ibanez to replace Pat
Burrell as their everyday left
fielder. They knew about his
numbers—a career .286 batting
average and a proven history as a
run producer, highlighted by his
33-homer, 123-RBI season with
Seattle in 2006.
But it is what they didn’t know
about Ibanez, who turns 37 on June
2, that makes their three-year, $31.5
million investment appear to be
money well spent.
It’s not just that Ibanez ranks
among the major league leaders in
home runs, RBIs, batting average and
slugging percentage, among other
categories. His teammates say the
intangibles he brings are every bit as
impressive, starting with the seam-
less way he has fit into the World
Series champion Phillies’ clubhouse.
“He’s had a very big impact on
this team, not only on the field but
off the field,” center fielder Shane
Victorino said. “He’s a hard worker.
He’s focused. He’s dedicated. Plus,
he’s a fun, caring individual, and
that’s all you can ask of a guy when
he comes to a new place.” Catcher
Chris Coste added, “Sure, he gets
big hits and helps us win ballgames.
But his impact goes so much deeper
than that.”
Victorino said Ibanez got off to a
The Phillies knew they were getting a solid player when they signed Raul Ibanez, but his bat (.345 average, 17 HR, 43 RBIs) as well as his overall game have made him an early MVP candidate.
good start with his teammates
when he told the media that he
knew he was coming to a champi-
onship team. He said he knew this
was not a club that needed a per-
sonality transplant, which was a
good thing because he is not that
kind of guy.
“There was no adjustment period
with Raul,” shortstop Jimmy Roll-
ins said. “He didn’t try to be some-
body he’s not, and that was fine
with us.”
Ibanez said it would have been
Baseball
silly to try to change the Phillies’
winning ways. “What they had here
already was phenomenal,” he said.
“They won the World Series last year
without me. They were already a
tough team, a resilient team, a come-
from-behind team before I got here.”
But Philadelphia also was a
team that put up with subpar
defense and range from Burrell in
left field in exchange for his power
at the plate. With Ibanez, the
Phillies no longer have to make
that trade-off.
“We weren’t aware of his defense,”
Rollins said. During his 10 seasons
with Seattle, sandwiched around
three seasons with Kansas City,
Ibanez occasionally would show up
on the highlights making less than
stellar plays in the outfield.
“You’d see him every once in a
while making a crazy-looking play
and wonder, ‘Why did he try that?’ “
Rollins said. “But what you didn’t see
are all the good plays that he makes,
cutting off runs and running down
fly balls. On this team, we were used
ALEX BRANDON / AP
to those balls being doubles and extra
at-bats instead of outs.”
Said Coste: “It’s amazing the
many articles I read in the offsea-
son about how Raul was not a
defensive upgrade from Burrell. It’s
not that Burrell was terrible by any
means, but Raul has been a Gold
Glover. It’s been incredible.”
Victorino said Ibanez’s all-around
play has been a revelation. “A couple
of times I’ve asked him, ‘Were you
the same player in Seattle?’ He says,
‘Yeah.’ And I’m like, ‘Well, then how
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 18
Best of the rest
A baker’s dozen of other offseason
pickups who also have paid
immediate dividends:
Derek Lowe SP, Braves
Adam Dunn RF, Nationals
Edwin Jackson SP, Tigers
CC Sabathia SP, Yankees
Mark Teixeira 1B, Yankees
Mike Jacobs 1B, Royals
Jason Marquis SP, Rockies
Ramon Ramirez RP, Red Sox
Adam Everett SS, Tigers
Bobby Abreu RF, Angels
Willy Taveras CF, Reds
Ramon Hernandez C, Reds
Matt Palmer SP, Angels
— Stan McNeal
come no one ever gave you credit?’
He goes, ‘I don’t know.’ “
Ibanez doesn’t know and he
doesn’t care. “This probably has
been as good a start as I’ve had in
my career, but I don’t really think
about it a heck of a lot,” he said. “I
don’t really get into that sort of
thing. I didn’t come here for that. I
came here to help this club win.”
That approach has earned him
the respect and admiration of his
teammates. “That’s what is so great
about him,” Victorino said. “He is
the kind of guy who just wants to go
out there and grind every day.”
That he also is wielding one of
baseball’s hottest bats is an added
but not unexpected bonus.
“So far, Raul’s been a cross
between He-Man and Superman,”
Rollins said. “When he’s hot, he can
carry a team.”
Just ask the Phillies, who would
not be in first place without their
new left fielder.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com Baseball WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 19
Fantasy Focus LEAGUE LEADERS
American League Standings
Batting Average Home Runs East W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home Away
Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Boston 27 19 .587 — — 6-4 L-1 17-6 10-13
A.L. N.L. A.L. N.L. New York 26 20 .565 1 — 7-3 L-1 14-9 12-11
Player Team Player Team Player Team Player Team Toronto 27 22 .551 1½ ½ 2-8 L-8 16-6 11-16
MiCabrera Detroit .377 Beltran New York .367 CPena Tampa Bay 16 AdGonzalez San Diego 17 Tampa Bay 23 25 .479 5 4 5-5 L-3 11-10 12-15
Baltimore 20 26 .435 7 6 5-5 W-2 13-11 7-15
Bartlett Tampa Bay .373 Pence Houston .352 Morneau Minnesota 14 Ibanez Philadelphia 17
VMartinez Cleveland .364 Hudson Los Angeles .349 Bay Boston 13 Dunn Washington 15 Central W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home Away
AdJones Baltimore .354 DWright New York .349 Teixeira New York 13 Pujols St. Louis 14 Detroit 25 19 .568 — — 7-3 L-1 15-7 10-12
Kansas City 23 23 .500 3 3 4-6 W-1 15-11 8-12
Morneau Minnesota .347 Tejada Houston .348 4 tied at 12 Reynolds Arizona 13 Minnesota 23 24 .489 3½ 3½ 5-5 W-1 18-10 5-14
AHill Toronto .344 CGuzman Washington .348 3 tied at 12 Chicago 21 24 .467 4½ 4½ 6-4 W-2 12-10 9-14
Pedroia Boston .341 Ibanez Philadelphia .347 Cleveland 19 28 .404 7½ 7½ 5-5 W-2 9-11 10-17
JEFFREY BOAN / AP West W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home Away
Dan Uggla has four HRs against Brett Myers. Runs Stolen Bases Texas 27 18 .600 — — 6-4 W-1 15-7 12-11
Los Angeles 23 22 .511 4 2½ 5-5 L-2 12-10 11-12
A.L. N.L. A.L. N.L. Seattle 21 26 .447 7 5½ 4-6 L-2 12-12 9-14
Oakland 18 25 .419 8 6½ 5-5 W-3 11-12 7-13
Start ‘em Player Team Player Team Player Team Player Team
Ben Francisco, OF, Indians. Francisco BRoberts
AdJones
Baltimore
Baltimore
42
39
Ibanez
Pujols
Philadelphia
St. Louis
38
38
Crawford
Ellsbury
Tampa Bay
Boston
30
20
Bourn
Taveras
Houston
Cincinnati
15
12
National League Standings
has six hits, including four home East W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home Away
runs, in just seven career at-bats Morneau Minnesota 38 Zimmerman Washington 37 Figgins Los Angeles 19 Burriss San Francisco 11 Philadelphia 25 19 .568 — — 7-3 W-1 9-13 16-6
Scutaro Toronto 38 Hudson Los Angeles 36 Abreu Los Angeles 15 Fowler Colorado 11 New York 25 20 .556 ½ 1½ 5-5 W-2 14-8 11-12
against Tampa Bay’s Andy Damon New York 37 ASoriano Chicago 36 Bartlett Tampa Bay 14 JosReyes New York 11 Atlanta 23 22 .511 2½ 3½ 5-5 L-2 11-12 12-10
Sonnanstine. Pedroia Boston 37 AdGonzalez San Diego 33 BUpton Tampa Bay 14 DWright New York 11
Florida 21 26 .447 5½ 6½ 3-7 L-1 9-14 12-12
Washington 13 32 .289 12½ 13½ 2-8 L-2 7-16 6-16
Dan Uggla, 2B, Marlins. Uggla, who 3 tied at 36 Werth Philadelphia 33 Crisp Kansas City 11 2 tied at 10
has given his owners a recent Central W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home Away
Milwaukee 27 19 .587 — — 5-5 L-1 13-8 14-11
power surge, is 12-for-33 with four RBIs Pitching (3 decisions) St. Louis 27 19 .587 — — 6-4 W-1 17-9 10-10
homers lifetime against Philadel- Cincinnati 25 20 .556 1½ 1½ 5-5 W-3 12-12 13-8
A.L. N.L. A.L. N.L. Chicago 22 22 .500 4 4 2-8 W-1 13-8 9-14
phia’s Brett Myers. Player Team Player Team Player Team Player Team Pittsburgh 21 25 .457 6 6 6-4 L-1 11-9 10-16
Miguel Tejada, SS, Astros. Tejada Longoria Tampa Bay 49 Ibanez Philadelphia 44 Palmer Los Angeles 5-0 1.000 Martis Washington 5-0 1.000 Houston 18 26 .409 8 8 2-8 L-6 9-15 9-11
has been on a roll this month and Bay Boston 47 Fielder Milwaukee 43 Greinke Kansas City 8-1 .889 Broxton Los Angeles 5-0 1.000 West W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home Away
is 11-for-30 with a pair of dingers Morneau Minnesota 44 Dunn Washington 40 Halladay Toronto 8-1 .889 Cain San Francisco 5-1 .833 Los Angeles 32 15 .681 — — 7-3 W-2 18-5 14-10
Hunter Los Angeles 40 Pujols St. Louis 40 Slowey Minnesota 6-1 .857 Pelfrey New York 4-1 .800 San Diego 23 23 .500 8½ 4 9-1 L-1 17-6 6-17
in his career against Cincinnati’s San Francisco 22 23 .489 9 4½ 4-6 W-2 15-8 7-15
CPena Tampa Bay 40 Hawpe Colorado 36 Buehrle Chicago 6-1 .857 Lincecum San Francisco 4-1 .800 Arizona 20 26 .435 11½ 7 7-3 W-1 10-16 10-10
Bronson Arroyo. AHuff Baltimore 38 Cantu Florida 35 Penny Boston 5-1 .833 LiHernandez New York 4-1 .800 Colorado 18 27 .400 13 8½ 4-6 L-2 7-12 11-15
Markakis Baltimore 38 Zimmerman Washington 35 Bannister Kansas City 4-1 .800 Stults Los Angeles 4-1 .800 z-first game was a win
Sit ‘em
Jermaine Dye/Carlos Quentin, OFs, Doubles Strikeouts
Pitching Matchups Today’s games (All times Eastern)
White Sox. The outfield duo is a A.L. N.L. A.L. N.L. American League The Line
combined 1-for-18 (.056) with Player Team Player Team Player Team Player Team Toronto (Halladay 8-1) at Baltimore (R.Hill 1-0), 1:35 p.m. Tor -165 at Bal +155
eight Ks against the Angels’ Jered Longoria Tampa Bay 20 FSanchez Pittsburgh 17 Verlander Detroit 85 Lincecum San Francisco 84 Detroit (Porcello 5-3) at Kansas City (Davies 2-3), 2:10 p.m. Det -110 at KC +100
Weaver. Callaspo Kansas City 16 Hudson Los Angeles 16 Greinke Kansas City 81 Peavy San Diego 79
Seattle (Bedard 2-2) at Oakland (Cahill 2-4), 3:35 p.m. Sea -115 at Oak +105
Mike Cameron/Bill Hall/Corey Hart, Lind Toronto 16 Kotchman Atlanta 16 FHernandez Seattle 66 JVazquez Atlanta 78
Tampa Bay (Sonnanstine 3-4) at Cleveland (Jackson 0-0), 7:05 p.m. TB +100 at Cle -110
OF/3B/OF, Brewers. This Milwaukee MYoung Texas 16 Tejada Houston 16 Halladay Toronto 63 JSantana New York 75
4 tied at 15 Beltran New York 15 Lester Boston 62 Billingsley Los Angeles 69 N.Y. Yankees (A.Burnett 2-2) at Texas (Holland 1-1), 8:05 p.m. NY -140 at Tex +130
trio is just 1-for-30 (.033) com- FLopez Arizona 15 Garza Tampa Bay 60 Haren Arizona 63 Boston (Matsuzaka 0-2) at Minnesota (Slowey 6-1), 8:10 p.m. at Min -110 Bos +100
bined against St. Louis starter HaRamirez Florida 15 Beckett Boston 51 JoJohnson Florida 59 Chicago White Sox (Floyd 3-4) at L.A. Angels (Jer.Weaver 3-2), 10:05 p.m. at LA -185 Chi +175
Todd Wellemeyer.
Hank Blalock, 1B/3B, Rangers. Triples Saves National League The Line
Blalock is 1-for-10 with three Ks A.L. N.L. A.L. N.L.
St. Louis (Wellemeyer 4-4) at Milwaukee (M.Parra 3-5), 1:05 p.m. at Mil -130 STL +120
against the Yankees’ A.J. Burnett. Player Team Player Team Player Team Player Team Pittsburgh (Duke 5-4) at Chicago Cubs (Zambrano 3-2), 2:20 p.m. at Chi -170 Pit +160
— Brad Pinkerton Crisp Kansas City 5 Kemp Los Angeles 4 Papelbon Boston 12 Lincecum San Francisco 84 L.A. Dodgers (Kershaw 2-3) at Colorado (Jimenez 3-5), 3:10 p.m. at Col -125 LA +115
Andrus Texas 4 Morgan Pittsburgh 4 Fuentes Los Angeles 12 Peavy San Diego 79 Florida (Badenhop 2-2) at Philadelphia (Myers 4-2), 7:05 p.m. at Phi -180 Flo +170
MORE COVERAGE JBuck Kansas City 3 Victorino Philadelphia 4 Sherrill Baltimore 10 JVazquez Atlanta 78 Houston (F.Paulino 1-3) at Cincinnati (Arroyo 6-3), 7:10 p.m. at Cin -135 Hou +125
Crawford Tampa Bay 3 4 tied at 3 Jenks Chicago 10 JSantana New York 75 Washington (Zimmermann 2-1) at N.Y. Mets (J.Santana 6-2), 7:10 p.m. at NY -250 Was +220
Get everything you need to Cuddyer Minnesota 3 FFrancisco Texas 10 Billingsley Los Angeles 69 San Diego (Peavy 4-5) at Arizona (Buckner 1-0), 9:40 p.m. SD -150 at Ari +140
dominate your fantasy league at DeJesus Kansas City 3 MaRivera New York 9 Haren Arizona 63
sportingnews.com/fantasy/baseball Atlanta (Kawakami 3-5) at San Francisco (Ra.Johnson 3-4), 10:15 p.m. Atl -120 at SF +110
15 tie dat 2 Rodney Detroit 8 JoJohnson Florida 59
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com Baseball WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 20
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Minnesota 5, Boston 2 Texas 7, N.Y. Yankees 3
Rangers keep Yanks in second
Morneau delivers big blow vs. Lester ARLINGTON, TEXAS—Chris Davis Rangers 7, Yankees 3
Twins 5, Red Sox 2 New York AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
MINNEAPOLIS—The Minnesota Twins Boston AB R H BI BB SO Avg. homered twice and Jarrod Sal- Jeter ss 5 0 2 0 0 0 .287
have been celebrating their final season Ellsbury cf 5 2 2 0 0 0 .303 talamacchia made up for a Damon lf 4 0 1 0 1 0 .310
Pedroia 2b 4 0 2 1 0 1 .341 Teixeira 1b 5 1 1 1 0 1 .271
in the Metrodome the easy way. J.Drew rf 3 0 0 0 1 0 .263 rough game behind the plate by A.Rodriguez 3b 4 0 1 0 1 0 .258
Jogging around the bases has become Youkilis 3b 4 0 1 0 0 3 .379 driving in the go-ahead run, Cano 2b 5 0 2 0 0 0 .317
Bay lf 4 0 0 0 0 2 .282 Me.Cabrera cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .323
routine for these suddenly powerful D.Ortiz dh 3 0 1 0 1 1 .197 sending the Texas Rangers to a Gardner cf 5 1 3 0 0 1 .271
Twins, whose home run streak reached Varitek c 4 0 1 0 0 1 .238 7-3 victory over the New York H.Matsui dh 3 1 2 1 0 1 .250
J.Bailey 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .185 Swisher rf 2 0 0 0 2 1 .222
nine straight games—their longest in Lugo ss 4 0 2 0 0 0 .271 Yankees on Tuesday night. Cervelli c 4 0 1 1 0 0 .300
seven years. Totals 35 2 9 1 2 9 The start was held up 2 Totals 37 3 13 3 4 4
Justin Morneau’s three-run shot Minnesota AB R H BI BB SO Avg. hours, 24 minutes because of Texas AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
capped a five-run fifth inning against Span cf-lf 1 0 0 1 1 0 .301 rain. Due to the delay, the Yan- Kinsler 2b 4 1 2 0 1 0 .283
Mauer c 3 1 0 0 1 2 .429 M.Young 3b 4 1 1 0 0 0 .335
Boston starter Jon Lester, and the Twins Morneau 1b 3 1 2 3 1 0 .347 kees knew that Boston had lost, Hamilton dh 4 1 0 1 0 1 .250
beat the Red Sox 5-2 on Tuesday night. Cuddyer rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .285 which meant a win would’ve N.Cruz rf 2 1 1 0 2 1 .296
Kubel dh 3 0 0 0 1 1 .333 Dav.Murphy lf 1 0 0 1 2 0 .226
“That dude’s got a lot of power. It B.Harris 3b 3 1 1 0 0 2 .257 tied them with the Red Sox for Byrd cf 4 1 2 2 0 0 .288
makes it a lot more fun when stuff like Delm.Young lf 4 0 0 0 0 2 .242 first place in the A.L. East. But C.Davis 1b 4 2 2 2 0 2 .208
Gomez cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .225 Saltalamacchia c 4 0 1 1 0 3 .252
that happens,” said Nick Blackburn Tolbert 2b 4 1 1 0 0 1 .200 New York fell behind 3-0 and Vizquel ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 .340
(4-2), who struck out a career-high seven Punto ss 3 1 2 1 0 0 .193 never led—despite stealing a Totals 31 7 9 7 5 8
Totals 28 5 7 5 4 8
in seven innings. season-high five bases off Sal- New York 000 012 000 — 3 13 0
Minnesota began the game with the Boston 000 010 100 — 2 9 0 talamacchia and getting two Texas 200 101 21x — 7 9 0
Minnesota 000 050 00x — 5 7 1
fifth-most home runs in the majors after more free bases on a passed LOB: New York 12, Texas 6. 2B: H.Matsui (9),
finishing next-to-last in each of the last E: Punto (4). LOB: Boston 8, Minnesota 6. 2B: ball and a wild pitch from Texas M.Young (17), N.Cruz (10), Byrd (16). 3B: Kinsler
Pedroia (15), D.Ortiz (12), Cuddyer (10), Punto (3). (2). HR: Teixeira (14), off Millwood; C.Davis (11),
two years, but Morneau’s was set up by HR: Morneau (14), off Lester. RBIs: Pedroia (16), starter Kevin Millwood. off Chamberlain; C.Davis (12), off Coke. RBIs:
the small ball the Twins have been more Span (22), Morneau 3 (44), Punto (12). SB: Ells- The Yankees, who had won Teixeira (37), H.Matsui (15), Cervelli (4), Hamilton
bury 2 (20), Span (10). S: Span. Runners left in (21), Dav.Murphy (10), Byrd 2 (21), C.Davis 2
familiar with. scoring position: Boston 4 (Bay, Lugo, J.Bailey, 11 of 13, tied it at 3 in the sixth (23), Saltalamacchia (20). SB: Jeter (10), Damon
In contrast, struggling slugger David Youkilis); Minnesota 3 (Delm.Young, Mauer, Cud- on back-to-back RBI hits from (5), Gardner 3 (9), N.Cruz (9). SF: Dav.Murphy.
dyer). DP: Boston 1 (Pedroia, J.Bailey). Runners left in scoring position: New York 8
Ortiz was dropped to sixth from the No. Hideki Matsui and Francisco (A.Rodriguez, Cervelli 2, Cano, Teixeira, Swisher 2,
3 spot in the Boston lineup. The last time Boston IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Cervelli. But in the bottom half, Gardner); Texas 2 (C.Davis, Byrd). DP: New York 1
Lester L, 3-5 6 6 5 5 3 4 100 6.07 (A.Rodriguez, Cano, Teixeira); Texas 3 (Vizquel, Kin-
Oritz, who has just one homer this sea- D.Bard 1 1 0 0 1 1 22 1.50 Marlon Byrd doubled off sler, C.Davis), (Vizquel, Kinsler, C.Davis), (Vizquel,
son, batted lower than fourth was May Saito 1 0 0 0 0 3 20 3.18 reliever Alfredo Aceves (3-1) C.Davis).
Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
18, 2004. Blackburn W, 4-2 7 8 2 1 2 7 111 3.55 and scored on Saltalamacchia’s New York IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Good speed plus seeing-eye singles TOM OLMSCHEID / AP Guerrier H, 6 1 0 0 0 0 2 11 3.86 looping single to right. Byrd Chamberlain 4 4 3 3 4 5 84 3.97
Nathan S, 7-9 1 1 0 0 0 0 10 2.60 Aceves L, 3-1 2 4 3 3 0 2 33 3.24
and high chops were actually the recipe Justin Morneau’s three-run homer in the fifth capped a five-run fifth inning off Boston’s Jon Lester. also had a two-run single in the Coke 1 1 1 1 1 0 13 4.43
for this Twins victory. The bottom four IBB: off D.Bard (Morneau). HBP: by Lester first inning. D.Robertson 1 0 0 0 0 1 13 3.18
(Span), by Saito (B.Harris). Umpires: Home, Tony Texas IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
in Minnesota’s batting order—Brendan Randazzo; First, Chris Guccione; Second, Todd Jason Jennings (2-1) got two Millwood 5 2⁄3 9 3 3 4 3 98 3.25
Harris, Delmon Young, Matt Tolbert led to any sustained success yet this what makes him a good hitter,” Lester Tichenor; Third, Jerry Layne. T: 2:52. A: 20,019 outs in the sixth for the win, and Jennings W, 2-1 2⁄3 2 0 0 0 0 15 3.98
(46,632). C.Wilson H, 3 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 7 3.38
and Nick Punto—were a combined 1-for- year: He has given up at least five runs said. “I don’t think it’s a mental lapse or Frank Francisco finished up. O’Day H, 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 10 1.20
30 over the previous three games. But in six of 10 starts. anything like that. It’s just not executing Yankees center fielder Melky F.Francisco 1 1 0 0 0 1 18 0.00
they had four hits and scored three runs After stranding a runner on third pitches.” Cabrera left with a strained Aceves pitched to 2 batters in the 7th. Coke pitched
between them, frustrating Lester (3-5) with one out in the second, striking out Lester tossed six innings, allowing six right shoulder. Cabrera ran to 1 batter in the 8th. Inherited runners-scored:
Coke 2-2, Jennings 2-0, C.Wilson 2-0. IBB: off
in the fifth. Joe Mauer with a runner on second to hits, one walk and struck out four. hard into the wall chasing Ian Coke (N.Cruz). HBP: by C.Wilson (H.Matsui). WP:
“If the bottom of the order can start end the third, and breezing through the “That’s tough to beat those guys when Kinsler’s leadoff triple in the Millwood. PB: Saltalamacchia. Umpires: Home,
Jerry Crawford; First, Mike Muchlinski; Second,
producing,” Punto said, “this can be one fourth, Lester faltered in the fifth. that stuff happens,” Red Sox second first inning. Cabrera will have Phil Cuzzi; Third, Tom Hallion. T: 3:09. A: 33,397
of the best offenses in team history.” “I felt like I threw the ball pretty well. baseman Dustin Pedroia said. an MRI exam today. (49,170).
Lester’s breakout 2008 season hasn’t Made one mistake. He hit it out. That’s — The Associated Press — The Associated Press
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com Baseball WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 21
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Baltimore 7, Toronto 2 Cleveland 5, Tampa Bay 1

Berken’s debut extends Jays’ losing streak Pavano wins 5th of last six
CLEVELAND—Carl Pavano has Indians 5, Rays 1
Orioles 7, Blue Jays 2 Tampa Bay AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Toronto AB R H BI BB SO Avg. done as much on the mound B.Upton cf 4 0 0 0 0 2 .189
Scutaro ss 5 1 3 0 0 0 .288 this May as he did the past Crawford lf 3 0 1 0 1 2 .316
A.Hill 2b 5 0 1 0 0 0 .344 Longoria 3b 3 0 0 0 1 1 .324
Lind lf 4 0 1 1 1 0 .290 three years combined. C.Pena 1b 4 1 1 1 0 2 .244
V.Wells cf 4 0 1 0 0 2 .266 Pavano won for the fifth time W.Aybar 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .263
Millar dh 3 0 1 0 1 0 .288 Zobrist rf 3 0 1 0 1 0 .287
Rolen 3b 2 1 0 0 2 0 .299 in six starts, Ryan Garko hom- Gross dh 4 0 0 0 0 0 .260
Overbay 1b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .274 ered for the third time in two Navarro c 4 0 1 0 0 0 .221
Barajas c 4 0 1 1 0 1 .299 Brignac ss 3 0 1 0 0 0 .250
Inglett rf 3 0 0 0 1 2 .000 games and the Cleveland Indi- Totals 32 1 6 1 3 7
Totals 34 2 9 2 5 5 ans beat the Tampa Bay Rays
Cleveland AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Baltimore AB R H BI BB SO Avg. without needing a big come- A.Cabrera ss 4 1 1 1 0 0 .315
B.Roberts 2b 4 1 3 2 1 1 .305 back, 5-1 on Tuesday night. Sizemore dh 4 0 0 0 0 1 .222
Ad.Jones cf 5 1 1 2 0 1 .354 Jh.Peralta 3b 4 0 1 0 0 1 .268
Markakis rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .302 “It’s good to get a couple of Choo rf 4 0 0 0 0 2 .295
Mora 3b 4 0 2 0 0 0 .259 wins in a row, but the story was Garko 1b 3 2 1 1 0 1 .260
A.Huff 1b 4 1 1 1 0 1 .267 DeRosa lf 3 1 2 2 0 0 .267
Wigginton dh 4 1 2 0 0 0 .224 Carl,” said Indians left fielder B.Francisco cf 3 0 0 0 0 1 .243
Reimold lf 4 1 1 2 0 1 .261 Mark DeRosa, who hit a two- Valbuena 2b 3 0 0 0 0 2 .195
Zaun c 4 1 1 0 0 1 .216 Shoppach c 3 1 1 1 0 1 .224
C.Izturis ss 4 1 2 0 0 0 .246 run homer. “He’s worked his Totals 31 5 6 5 0 9
Totals 37 7 14 7 1 5 butt off to get back.”
The righthander’s comeback Tampa Bay 000 000 100 — 1 6 1
Toronto 110 000 000 — 2 9 0 Cleveland 011 002 10x — 5 6 0
Baltimore 010 022 02x — 7 14 0 is more impressive than the
Indians overcoming a 10-0 E: W.Aybar (1). LOB: Tampa Bay 7, Cleveland 3.
NICK WASS / AP (2) LOB: Toronto 10, Baltimore 7. 2B: Scutaro 2 (13), 2B: Zobrist (10), Brignac (1). HR: C.Pena (16),
Jason Berken, left, gave his supporters plenty to cheer about in his major league debut, as he picked up the victory after pitching five innings of two-run ball.
Lind (16), V.Wells (13), B.Roberts (15), Mora deficit to beat the Rays on Mon- off Pavano; Garko (5), off Garza; A.Cabrera (2),
(3), Wigginton (7). HR: A.Huff (8), off Romero; off Garza; DeRosa (8), off Garza; Shoppach (4), off
Ad.Jones (11), off Romero; Reimold (3), off day night. Choate. RBIs: C.Pena (40), A.Cabrera (26), Garko
Romero. RBIs: Lind (36), Barajas (24), B.Roberts 2 Pavano (5-4) allowed one run (21), DeRosa 2 (32), Shoppach (10). SB: Crawford
(20), Ad.Jones 2 (34), A.Huff (38), Reimold 2 (6). (30), Zobrist (4). Runners left in scoring posi-
BALTIMORE—The smallest crowd in Only 10,130 fans showed up on a said. “You just got to go out there and Runners left in scoring position: Toronto 7 and four hits over seven tion: Tampa Bay 5 (Gross, Zobrist, Navarro 2,
the 18-year history of Camden Yards miserable night in which tempera- keep having good thoughts and even- (Millar, Scutaro, Rolen 3, V.Wells, Lind); Baltimore innings. He walked two and C.Pena); Cleveland 2 (Valbuena 2). GIDP: Brignac.
3 (Reimold, A.Huff, Ad.Jones). DP: Toronto 1 DP: Cleveland 1 (Pavano, A.Cabrera, Garko).
included quite a few fans eager to see tures dipped into the low 50s and a tually it’s going to turn around. It (A.Hill, Scutaro, Overbay); Baltimore 2 (C.Izturis, struck out six to enhance an
Baltimore Orioles righthander Jason steady mist swirled through the sta- definitely hasn’t been fun, but you got B.Roberts, A.Huff), (C.Izturis, B.Roberts, A.Huff). outstanding month. Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Berken in his major league debut. dium from the outset. Those in atten- to dig deep.” He’s 5-1 with a 3.58 ERA and Garza L, 4-3 6 5 4 4 0 7 106 3.65
Toronto IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Choate 2 1 1 1 0 2 30 4.50
Even though the weather was awful, dance included Berken’s parents, Berken retired the side in order only Romero L, 2-1 5 1⁄3 11 5 5 1 3 93 3.08 only seven walks against 30 Cleveland IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Carlson 1 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 19 3.16 Pavano W, 5-4 7 4 1 1 2 6 92 5.50
the Berken backers thoroughly grandparents, his wife, a few uncles once, but stranded five runners in Downs 1 3 2 2 0 1 23 2.66 strikeouts since May 1, when he R.Betancourt 1 1 0 0 1 1 21 3.86
enjoyed the experience. and aunts and several friends. scoring position. Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA got his first win of the season in K.Wood 1 1 0 0 0 0 14 6.75
Berken W, 1-0 5 7 2 2 3 3 89 3.60
Backed by three home runs, Berken “It was a special night to share with “The most important thing was his Albers H, 2 2 1 0 0 0 1 25 5.27 Detroit. HBP: by Garza (Garko). Umpires: Home, Bill
got his big league career off to a mem- everybody,” he said. poise,” Orioles manager Dave Tremb- Ji.Johnson S, 1-2 2 1 0 0 2 1 36 3.47 “I’m feeling better, getting Welke; First, Tim Welke; Second, Jim Reynolds;
Third, Angel Hernandez. T: 2:40 (Rain delay: 0:32).
orable start by helping the Orioles Marco Scutaro had three hits for the ley said. “We’ve had guys before come Inherited runners-scored: Carlson 1-0. deeper in games,” Pavano said. A: 18,754 (45,199).
defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-2 Tues- Blue Jays, who have lost eight up and they’ve had just as good of Umpires: Home, Jeff Kellogg; First, Rob Drake; “I didn’t exactly know what to
Second, Mark Wegner; Third, Tim Timmons. T:
day night. straight—their longest skid since a stuff. But there’s more to it than just 2:46. A: 10,130 (48,290). expect this year, but I worked
Summoned from Triple-A Norfolk nine-game run in May 2007. With having stuff and having tools. It’s the hard and stayed positive.
to replace Adam Eaton in the rotation, three losses in Boston, three more in ability to focus, the ability to not get There’s still a long way to go for
Berken (1-0) gave up two runs, seven Atlanta and two in Baltimore, Toronto out of control, stay in your lane, look- me to be remotely settled in.”
hits and three walks in five innings. is mired in its longest road losing ing like you fit.” Pavano’s 10th start this sea-
“It was great. It’s obviously been a streak since an eight-game slide in After Berken left, Matt Albers son surpassed by one his total
dream of mine since I was a kid,” he 2002. pitched two innings and Jim Johnson for the previous three years.
said. “To come out here and get a win, “We’re just in a rut right now,” Blue got six outs for his first save. — The Associated Press
I couldn’t ask for anything better.” Jays designated hitter Kevin Millar — The Associated Press
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com Baseball WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 22
AMERICAN LEAGUE NATIONAL LEAGUE
Kansas City 6, Detroit 1 Chicago Cubs 6, Pittsburgh 1, 6 innings

Greinke takes notes from Tigers’ Verlander Cubs end skid, breathe easy
CHICAGO—Given the high expec- Cubs 6, Pirates 1, 6 innings
Royals 6, Tigers 1 Pittsburgh AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
KANSAS CITY— Probably the last thing Detroit AB R H BI BB SO Avg. tations and the mounting losses, Morgan lf 3 0 0 0 0 1 .282
Justin Verlander wanted to do was make Granderson cf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .244 it’s no surprise that the Chicago F.Sanchez 2b 3 0 2 0 0 0 .326
Polanco 2b 4 1 2 0 0 0 .265 McLouth cf 2 1 0 0 1 1 .265
Zack Greinke a better pitcher. Ordonez rf 4 0 1 1 0 2 .265 Cubs let out a sigh of relief. Monroe rf 2 0 0 0 0 0 .250
But unwittingly, he did. Mi.Cabrera 1b 3 0 1 0 0 1 .377 They needed this win. Ad.LaRoche 1b 2 0 0 0 0 1 .224
Larish dh 3 0 0 0 0 2 .222 An.LaRoche 3b 1 0 1 0 1 0 .303
Greinke paid close attention to the Inge 3b 3 0 1 0 0 1 .281 Sean Marshall allowed four R.Diaz c 2 0 1 1 0 1 .327
way Verlander shut out Kansas City Thomas lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 .257 hits and singled in a run, Kosuke Ja.Wilson ss 2 0 0 0 0 1 .252
Laird c 3 0 1 0 0 1 .248 Snell p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .158
through seven innings in an easy Detroit Everett ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 .296 Fukudome homered and the Totals 19 1 4 1 2 6
win on Monday. Then the Royals ace Totals 30 1 6 1 0 8 Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates
Chicago AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
took the best stuff he’s had all year to the Kansas City AB R H BI BB SO Avg. 6-1 Tuesday to snap an eight- A.Soriano lf 3 1 1 0 0 1 .254
mound on Tuesday night and tossed a Crisp cf 2 0 0 0 0 1 .233 game losing streak on a rain- Theriot ss 3 1 1 1 0 0 .274
Maier cf 2 1 1 3 0 0 .324 Fukudome cf 2 2 1 1 1 0 .311
six-hitter in a 6-1 victory over the DeJesus lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 .238 shortened night. Bradley rf 1 1 0 0 2 0 .196
Tigers. Butler 1b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .284 Marshall (3-3) tied a season- Hoffpauir 1b 3 0 2 2 0 0 .281
J.Guillen rf 4 1 2 2 0 0 .298 Fontenot 2b 3 1 2 1 0 1 .219
“I’ve been getting worried that teams Bloomquist rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .298 high with six strikeouts before K.Hill c 2 0 0 0 1 1 .286
are going to make adjustments,” said Jacobs dh 3 0 1 0 1 0 .262 the game was called with none Freel 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .129
1-Hulett pr-dh 0 1 0 0 0 0 .000 Marshall p 2 0 1 1 0 0 .250
Greinke, who leads the majors in ERA, Teahen 3b 3 0 1 0 1 0 .262 out in the top of the sixth follow- Totals 22 6 8 6 4 4
complete games and shutouts. “But I Callaspo 2b 4 1 1 0 0 0 .308 ing a delay of 1 hour, 2 minutes,
Olivo c 4 1 1 1 0 1 .235 Pittsburgh 000 10 — 1 4 1
was watching Verlander pitch and even Lu.Hernandez ss 3 1 1 0 0 0 .182 and the two-time defending NL Chicago 111 03x — 6 8 0
if I knew exactly what he was going to Totals 32 6 9 6 2 2 Central champions ended their
do, I was like, ‘I couldn’t hit him.’ So just longest slide in three years. E: R.Diaz (2). LOB: Pittsburgh 5, Chicago 5. 2B:
Detroit 100 000 000 — 1 6 2 Hoffpauir (6), Fontenot (6). HR: Fukudome (5),
stay with what you do and stop thinking Kansas City 000 003 12x — 6 9 1 “It’s been tough,” Marshall off Snell. RBIs: R.Diaz (6), Theriot (21), Fukudome
so much. said. “Nobody likes to lose at (19), Hoffpauir 2 (16), Fontenot (18), Marshall (2).
1-ran for Jacobs in the 8th. E: E.Jackson 2 (2), But- SB: McLouth (7), A.Soriano (5). Runners left
“I think it helped me a lot for today.” ler (1). LOB: Detroit 2, Kansas City 6. 2B: Polanco anything. It’s only one game. But in scoring position: Pittsburgh 1 (Ja.Wilson);
(14), Jacobs (8), Teahen (11). HR: J.Guillen (4), off Chicago 4 (A.Soriano, Fontenot, Freel 2). DP: Pitts-
Greinke (8-1) had such good com- Lyon. RBIs: Ordonez (19), Maier 3 (3), J.Guillen 2 the guys are having a good time burgh 1 (Ja.Wilson, F.Sanchez, Ad.LaRoche).
mand, he could hardly believe the Tigers (22), Olivo (13). S: DeJesus, Lu.Hernandez. Run- in there right now. It’s a little dif-
ners left in scoring position: Detroit 2 (Larish, Pittsburgh IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
scored a run in the first. Everett); Kansas City 4 (Callaspo, Teahen, Butler, ferent atmosphere right now.” Snell L, 1-6 5 8 6 6 4 4 98 5.43
“It was one of those days where almost Lu.Hernandez). DP: Kansas City 3 (Lu.Hernandez, Actually, it was a familiar atmo- Chicago IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Callaspo, Butler), (Greinke, Lu.Hernandez, Butler), Marshall W, 3-3 5 4 1 1 2 6 83 3.70
everything was working and they put (Callaspo, Lu.Hernandez, Butler). sphere after a familiar result.
up a run, so I was like, ‘Just keep it right The Cubs didn’t wait long to WP: Snell. Umpires: Home, Jeff Nelson; First,
Detroit IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Mark Carlson; Second, Tim Tschida; Third, Bob
there. They can’t do too much with you E.Jackson L, 4-3 6 1⁄3 7 4 2 1 2 89 2.58 pounce on Ian Snell (1-6) after Davidson. T: 1:46 (Rain delay: 1:02). A: 38,303
if you keep doing that.’” N.Robertson 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 7 5.11 rain pushed the start back 7 (41,210).
Lyon 1 1⁄3 2 2 2 1 0 27 6.43
He wound up with eight strikeouts CHARLIE RIEDEL / AP Kansas City IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA minutes, and the result was
and no walks while his ERA rose from Zack Greinke, who leads the majors in ERA, complete games and shutouts, threw nine innings for win No. 8. Greinke W, 8-1 9 6 1 1 0 8 116 0.84 their first win since May 16.
0.82 to 0.84. In two starts against the Inherited runners-scored: N.Robertson 2-1, “When you’re in a situation
Tigers this year, he has allowed one Lyon 2-0. IBB: off Lyon (Teahen). WP: Greinke. like that, it’s no fun,” said Micah
Umpires: Home, Angel Campos; First, Bill Hohn;
earned run in two complete-game wins. he wants to throw it. He has a changeup. I’ve seen that can manipulate the ball Second, Bruce Dreckman; Third, Paul Emmel. T: Hoffpauir, who went 2 for 3
Greinke threw his fifth complete game The fun part comes when he has a slow the way he wants to.” 2:27. A: 16,366 (38,177). with two RBIs.
this season and the eighth of his career, curve and he can make it a little faster.” Mitch Maier came off the bench and They scored a run with two
joining Toronto’s Roy Halladay as the With pinpoint control of his varied drove in three runs and Jose Guillen out in each of the first three
only eight-game winners in the majors. pitches, Greinke has allowed only seven homered and drove in two more for the innings—on Fukudome’s solo
“He’s got a fastball that he can throw earned runs in 75 innings this season. Royals, who crept back to within three shot in the first, Marshall’s sin-
from 93 (mph) and he can hump it up to “He’s got a slider that he throws at games of the first-place Tigers in the AL gle in the second and Hoff-
close to 100 if he wants to,” Detroit’s variable speeds and variable angles,” Central. pauir’s double in the third.
Brandon Inge said. “He has a sinker if Inge said. “He’s one of the very few guys — The Associated Press — The Associated Press
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com Baseball WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 23
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Philadelphia 5, Florida 3 N.Y. Mets 6, Washington 1

Hernandez goes distance

Blanton strikes out career-best 11 Phillies 5, Marlins 3 NEW YORK—Livan Hernandez
Mets 6, Nationals 1
Washington AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
PHILADELPHIA—Joe Blanton avoided the actually had a little left at the C.Guzman ss 4 0 2 0 0 1 .348
Florida AB R H BI BB SO Avg. N.Johnson 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .329
bad inning that’s been haunting him, Bonifacio 3b-ss 4 0 0 0 1 2 .253 end, too. Zimmerman 3b 4 0 0 0 0 2 .339
Hermida rf 5 0 0 1 0 2 .267 Dunn rf 3 1 2 1 1 0 .284
and Brad Lidge prevented a complete Ha.Ramirez ss 2 0 1 0 0 0 .320 “Maybe 20 more pitches,” he
Willingham lf 4 0 2 0 0 1 .224
meltdown by the bullpen. Helms 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .233 said. W.Harris cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 .265
Cantu 1b 4 0 1 0 0 1 .277 J.Bard c 4 0 1 0 0 1 .179
Blanton had a career-high 11 strike- Jo.Baker c 4 0 0 0 0 2 .275 Hernandez kept working out
A.Hernandez 2b 3 0 1 0 0 1 .280
outs in seven scoreless innings, Lidge Uggla 2b 3 1 1 0 1 2 .203 of trouble, throwing the New Stammen p 1 0 1 0 0 0 .333
C.Ross cf 4 1 3 0 0 1 .252 Bergmann p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
got the final out with the tying run in Coghlan lf 1 1 0 0 3 0 .208 York Mets’ first complete game
K.Wells p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
scoring position, and the Philadelphia A.Miller p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .000 of the season while shutting a-Maxwell ph 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167
a-Hayes ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .333 Tavarez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Phillies held on to beat the Florida Mar- Leroux p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --- down Ryan Zimmerman and
Totals 31 1 9 1 1 6
lins 5-3 Tuesday night. c-Gload ph 1 0 0 1 0 0 .274 the Washington Nationals 6-1.
Totals 34 3 6 2 5 13 New York AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Blanton (3-3) allowed five hits in his Hernandez (4-1) warmed up
Pagan cf 4 1 2 0 1 1 .296
best outing since last August. He low- Philadelphia AB R H BI BB SO Avg. with 85 pitches in the bullpen, Castillo 2b 3 2 1 0 2 0 .283
Rollins ss 5 2 0 0 0 0 .228 D.Wright 3b 5 1 2 0 0 2 .349
ered his ERA from 7.11 to 6.14. Victorino cf 5 1 4 1 0 1 .284 then tossed another 127 to win.
Sheffield lf 3 1 2 3 1 0 .291
“He was aggressive,” Phillies manager Utley 2b 4 1 1 0 1 0 .290 If he was struggling, it never Reed lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .304
Howard 1b 3 0 0 1 1 1 .257 Tatis 1b 3 0 1 1 0 0 .278
Charlie Manuel said. “He made good Ibanez lf 2 0 1 1 1 0 .347 showed. As usual, he blew
F.Martinez rf 3 0 0 1 0 2 .000
pitches when he had to. He went right Werth rf 4 1 1 0 0 1 .255 bubbles on the mound. Santos c 4 1 1 0 0 0 .268
Feliz 3b 4 0 2 2 0 0 .308 R.Martinez ss 4 0 1 1 0 0 .100
after hitters. He wasn’t trying to trick Ruiz c 4 0 1 0 0 0 .282 “It looked easy, but it’s not,”
Li.Hernandez p 4 0 0 0 0 0 .111
them.” Blanton p 2 0 0 0 1 1 .077 he said. “It’s a lot of pitches.” Totals 33 6 10 6 4 5
Madson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Lidge pitched out of jam in the ninth b-Dobbs ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .135 Hernandez gave up nine hits
Washington 000 000 100—1 9 0
to earn his ninth save in 13 chances. Durbin p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 in going the distance for the New York 012 000 30x—6 10 0
S.Eyre p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Lidge, who was 48-for-48 last year, Lidge p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --- 46th time in his career, most
a-was hit by a pitch for K.Wells in the 8th.
including the postseason, blew consecu- Totals 34 5 10 5 4 4 recently in May 2008 with LOB: Washington 6, New York 9. 2B: C.Guzman
tive save opportunities against the New Minnesota. (10), J.Bard (3), Santos (4), R.Martinez (1). HR:
Florida 000 000 003 — 3 6 1 Dunn (15), off Li.Hernandez; Sheffield (5), off
York Yankees last weekend. Philadelphia 300 001 10x — 5 10 1 Zimmerman’s streak of safely Bergmann. RBIs: Dunn (40), Sheffield 3 (17), Tatis
“That was big,” Manuel said. “He reaching base ended at 43 (10), F.Martinez (1), R.Martinez (4). SB: Pagan (4),
a-struck out for A.Miller in the 7th. b-flied out for D.Wright (11). S: Stammen.
needs some outings where he gets peo- Madson in the 8th. c-reached on error for Leroux games. He went 0-for-4 and Runners left in scoring position: Washington
in the 9th. E: Ha.Ramirez (3), Howard (1). LOB: 5 (J.Bard 2, N.Johnson, Zimmerman 2); New York 6
ple out.” Florida 9, Philadelphia 10. 2B: C.Ross (12), Victo- struck out twice, falling three
(Sheffield, Li.Hernandez, Santos 2, D.Wright 2).
Shane Victorino had four hits and rino 2 (11), Werth (9), Feliz (12), Ruiz (7). RBIs: games short of the franchise Runners moved up: C.Guzman, W.Harris,
Hermida (18), Gload (8), Victorino (25), Howard D.Wright. GIDP: N.Johnson, Willingham, W.Harris,
Pedro Feliz had two hits and two RBIs (34), Ibanez (44), Feliz 2 (25). SF: Ibanez. Run- record set by Rusty Staub for
Santos.
for the N.L. East-leading Phillies, who ners left in scoring position: Florida 5 (A.Miller Montreal from 1969-70. DP: Washington 1 (Zimmerman, A.Hernandez,
3, Helms 2); Philadelphia 4 (Ruiz 2, Feliz, Utley). N.Johnson); New York 3 (Castillo, R.Martinez,
have won nine of 12. No Mets starter had even
Tatis), (R.Martinez, Castillo, Tatis), (R.Martinez,
Marlins starter Andrew Miller (1-2) Florida IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA reached the eighth inning this Castillo, Tatis).
A.Miller L, 1-2 6 7 4 2 4 4 109 4.55
gave up four runs—two earned—and Leroux 2 3 1 1 0 0 25 4.50 year, and Hernandez delivered
Washington IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
seven hits in six innings. Philadelphia IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA on a drizzly night when New Stammen L, 0-1 5 7 3 3 2 2 95 5.56
Blanton W, 3-3 7 5 0 0 2 11 114 6.14 Bergmann 1 3 3 3 0 1 31 5.40
“I kind of put us in a hole,” Miller TOM MIHALEK / AP Madson 1 0 0 0 0 1 9 2.82 York trotted out a depleted
K.Wells 1 0 0 0 0 1 5 5.73
said. By throwing seven shutout innings, Philadelphia’s Joe Blanton lowered his ERA from 7.11 to 6.14. Durbin 1⁄3 1 3 1 2 0 19 4.62 lineup. The Mets put All-Star Tavarez 1 0 0 0 2 1 24 5.68
S.Eyre 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 3.48 New York IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Chad Durbin retired one batter in the Lidge S, 9-13 2⁄3 0 0 0 1 1 16 8.85 shortstop Jose Reyes and out-
Li.Hernandez W, 4-1 9 9 1 1 1 6 127 4.28
ninth and left after loading the bases. fielder Ryan Church on the dis- Bergmann pitched to 4 batters in the 7th.
S.Eyre pitched to 1 batter in the 9th. Inherited
Scott Eyre came in and got Ross Gload Lidge entered with runners at second “We were trying to get their closer up runners-scored: S.Eyre 3-2, Lidge 2-1. IBB: off abled list before the game, and
Inherited runners-scored: K.Wells 1-0. HBP: by
to hit a grounder to first baseman Ryan and third. He walked Emilio Bonifacio and we got him in the game, so good for Blanton (Coghlan). WP: A.Miller 2. Umpires: plan to hold out Carlos Beltran Bergmann (Tatis), by Stammen (F.Martinez), by
Home, John Hirschbeck; First, Wally Bell; Second, Li.Hernandez (Maxwell). WP: Tavarez.
Howard, who made a wild throw to sec- to load the bases again. After Jeremy us,” Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez Marty Foster; Third, Marvin Hudson. T: 2:55. A: until the weekend because of a
Umpires: Home, Dan Iassogna; First, Sam
ond that allowed two runs to score. It Hermida’s RBI groundout made it 5-3, said. 42,249 (43,647). bruise below his knee. Holbrook; Second, Adrian Johnson; Third, Larry
was Howard’s first error this year. Lidge struck out Wes Helms to end it. — The Associated Press — The Associated Press Vanover.
T: 2:40. A: 39,376 (41,800).
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com Baseball WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 24
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Reds 6, Astros 4
St. Louis 8, Milwaukee 1 Cardinals 8, Brewers 1 Cincinnati 6, Houston 4 Houston AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
St. Louis AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Schumaker 2b-rf 5 1 3 1 0 0 .309 Bourn cf 5 0 1 0 0 2 .285

Cards’ Wainwright lets his bat do the work Duncan lf

Pujols 1b
Y.Molina c
4 1 2
3 0 1
4 0 0
2
2
0
1
1
1
0
1
0
.257
.323
.268
Oswalt can’t Tejada ss
Berkman 1b
Ca.Lee lf
5
3
4
1
1
1
3
1
2
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
1
1
.348
.233
.324
Rasmus cf
K.Greene ss
Stavinoha rf
5 1 2
3 0 0
4 1 2
1
0
1
0
2
0
2
2
0
.234
.202
.242
help Astros Pence rf
I.Rodriguez c
Keppinger 3b
3
4
3
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
2
1
1
0
1
0
1
0
.352
.259
.313
Barden 3b 1 0 0 0 0 1 .256 Maysonet 2b 4 0 2 1 0 0 .286
Wainwright p 4 1 1 1 0 2 .179 Oswalt p 2 0 0 0 0 0 .100
D.Reyes p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --- CINCINNATI—How bad are Byrdak p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
C.Perez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --- b-Erstad ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .146
things going for the Houston Hawkins p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
b-Br.Ryan ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .237
Boyer p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --- Astros this season? Roy Oswalt Totals 34 4 11 4 4 5
Thurston 3b-2b 3 3 2 0 1 0 .236 can’t even beat the Reds.
Totals 37 8 13 8 6 8 Cincinnati AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Joey Votto hit a two-run homer Dickerson cf 4 1 1 0 0 0 .229
Milwaukee AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Hairston Jr. 2b 2 1 0 0 1 0 .256
in the seventh—an inning after Votto 1b 4 1 1 2 0 2 .364
Counsell ss 4 1 2 0 0 2 .319
McGehee 2b 3 0 0 0 1 0 .243 Oswalt failed to hold a lead R.Hernandez c 4 0 1 2 0 1 .294
Braun lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 .323 Bruce rf 4 1 1 0 0 1 .228
against the team he’s beaten like L.Nix lf 4 1 2 1 0 1 .288
Catalanotto lf 2 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Fielder 1b 3 0 1 1 1 0 .266 no other—and Cincinnati rallied Ale.Gonzalez ss 3 0 1 0 1 0 .218
M.Cameron cf 4 0 2 0 0 1 .290 A.Rosales 3b 3 0 0 0 0 2 .259
for a 6-4 victory Tuesday night Owings p 2 1 1 0 0 0 .296
Hart rf 4 0 1 0 0 2 .243
Hall 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .223 that sent the Astros to their sea- Lincoln p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Kendall c 4 0 0 0 0 2 .211 Herrera p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
son-high sixth straight loss. a-Gomes ph 0 0 0 1 1 0 .429
Suppan p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .125
McClung p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 This one left them a little Masset p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Julio p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Weathers p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
dazed. c-Taveras ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .273
a-Gerut ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .218
Stetter p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --- “With your ace on the mound, Cordero p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Coffey p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 31 6 8 6 3 7
you figure if you don’t have it,
DiFelice p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
c-Gamel ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .200 you’ve got a pretty good chance Houston 000 301 000—4 11 0
Totals 33 1 6 1 2 9 Cincinnati 002 101 20x—6 8 0
of getting it,” manager Cecil
St. Louis 011 302 010 — 8 13 2 Cooper said. “We let two leads a-walked for Herrera in the 6th. b-grounded out for
Milwaukee 001 000 000 — 1 6 0 Byrdak in the 8th. c-grounded out for Weathers in
slip away there. We just need the 8th.
a-struck out for Julio in the 7th. b-grounded out for him to step up and be who he’s LOB: Houston 8, Cincinnati 6. 2B: Tejada (16),
C.Perez in the 9th. c-grounded out for DiFelice in the I.Rodriguez (7). 3B: Berkman (1). HR: Keppinger (2),
MORRY GASH / AP supposed to be.” off Lincoln; L.Nix (4), off Oswalt; Votto (8), off Byrdak.
9th. E: Y.Molina (1), K.Greene (7). LOB: St. Louis 9,
St. Louis P Adam Wainwright said he couldn’t pull it together on the mound Monday, but he managed to strike out nine over seven innings and hit a home run. Milwaukee 8. 2B: Schumaker (9), Rasmus (8), Thur- Oswalt has dominated Cin- RBIs: I.Rodriguez 2 (21), Keppinger (4), Maysonet (1),
ston (9). HR: Stavinoha (1), off Suppan; Rasmus (5), Votto 2 (33), R.Hernandez 2 (18), L.Nix (10), Gomes
cinnati since his rookie year in (4). S: Oswalt, Hairston Jr..
off Suppan; Wainwright (1), off Suppan; Duncan (4),
MILWAUKEE—Adam Wainwright said he Suppan despite giving up just two hits Seth McClung to make it 7-1 and marked off McClung. RBIs: Schumaker (14), Duncan 2 (26), 2001. He’s 23-1 in his career Runners left in scoring position: Houston 6 (Ca.
Pujols 2 (40), Rasmus (18), Stavinoha (6), Wainwright Lee, Oswalt 2, I.Rodriguez 3); Cincinnati 3 (A.Rosales,
never found his groove on the mound. He over eight innings. This time, the the second time this year the Cardinals against them, but this season, he Dickerson 2).
(2), Fielder (43). SB: Y.Molina (3), Thurston (3). CS:
certainly seemed comfortable at the plate. 27-year-old righthander made sure the have hit four home runs in a game. Pujols (2). SF: Pujols. Runners left in scoring posi- has lost his touch. Runners moved up: Tejada, Pence. GIDP: Berkman,
tion: St. Louis 4 (Duncan, Stavinoha, Wainwright, Oswalt.
Wainwright hit one of four Cardinals Cardinals scored at least one run and “Albert’s not going to hit them every In three starts against the DP: Cincinnati 2 (Ale.Gonzalez, Votto), (A.Rosales, Ale.
Br.Ryan); Milwaukee 5 (Suppan 2, Hart 2, Hall). DP:
homers and struck out a career-high worked out of two bases-loaded jams. single day, though you think he’s going to, St. Louis 1 (Thurston, Schumaker, Pujols); Milwaukee Reds, Oswalt has failed to get Gonzalez, Votto).
nine in seven innings, lifting St. Louis to He scattered five hits and two walks. so for the other guys to come through 1 (Hall, Fielder). even one win. This one slipped Houston IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
an 8-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers “My arm was just not in a position to finally, it’s big for us,” said Skip Schu- St. Louis IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA off the middle and index fin- Oswalt 6 7 4 4 2 5 94 4.62
Wainwright W, 5-2 7 5 1 1 2 9 105 3.18 Byrdak L, 0-1 1 1 2 2 1 2 22 3.71
on Tuesday night. throw a baseball correctly tonight, but I maker, who had three hits. “He’s obviously gers of his right hand. Hawkins 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 2.75
D.Reyes 2⁄3 1 0 0 0 0 13 3.38
“I’m still not even hitting the Mendoza just said I was going to fire it up there and the best player in baseball in my opinion, C.Perez 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 5 2.70 Oswalt knocked down a Cincinnati IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
line,” said Wainwright, who admitted let my defense work,” Wainwright said. but for someone else to come through is a Boyer 1 0 0 0 0 0 1610.80 comebacker in the fifth inning, Owings 5 6 3 3 4 3 99 4.78
Milwaukee IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Lincoln 1⁄3 2 1 1 0 0 5 9.56
he’d choose not to hit if he could. “But, With teams pitching around slugger good thing for our offense. It’s been a few Suppan L, 3-4 3 2⁄3 7 5 5 1 2 57 5.23 the ball deflecting off those two Herrera 2⁄3 1 0 0 0 1 16 2.04
McClung 2 1⁄3 2 2 2 3 2 48 3.09 Masset W, 2-0 1 1 0 0 0 1 14 1.15
I’m seeing the ball better.” Albert Pujols, who drove in two runs weeks since that’s happened.” fingers. When he came back to Weathers H, 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 14 2.70
Julio 1 1 0 0 1 2 26 5.71
So were the rest of the Cardinals. Nick with a sacrifice fly in the third and a sin- St. Louis, which has lost 11 of its last 13 Stetter 1⁄3 1 1 1 1 0 15 4.73 pitch the sixth with a 4-3 lead, Cordero S, 13-13 1 1 0 0 0 0 16 1.71
Stavinoha, Colby Rasmus and Chris Dun- gle in the eighth, St. Louis finally showed against the Brewers, is without Ryan Lud- Coffey 2⁄3 1 0 0 0 0 7 2.86 he had trouble feeling the ball.
DiFelice 1 1 0 0 0 2 15 1.25 Inherited runners-scored: Herrera 1-0. IBB: off
can also homered to snap a four-game skid some pop from the rest of its lineup. wick (hamstring) and Rick Ankiel (shoul- “I came back out there and Owings (Keppinger). HBP: by Oswalt (A.Rosales). PB:
Inherited runners-scored: C.Perez 1-0, McClung I.Rodriguez.
against their NL Central rivals. Stavinoha, Rasmus and Wainwright der), but managed to move back into a tie for couldn’t really squeeze the ball Umpires: Home, Mike Everitt; First, Mike Estabrook;
1-0, Coffey 2-1. HBP: by Wainwright (Braun).
Wainwright (5-2) lost a 1-0 decision each hit a solo homer off Suppan. Duncan’s first in the NL Central with Milwaukee. Umpires: Home, Paul Nauert; First, Paul Schrieber; well,” Oswalt said. Second, Brian Gorman; Third, C.B. Bucknor.
Second, Ed Rapuano; Third, Chad Fairchild. T: 3:00. A: T: 2:57 (Rain delay: 0:39). A: 15,619 (42,319).
on May 16 against Brewers starter Jeff two-run shot came in the sixth off reliever — The Associated Press — The Associated Press
37,404 (41,900).
SPORTING NEWS TODAY
L.A. Dodgers 7, Colorado 1
www.sportingnews.com Baseball WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 25
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Diamondbacks 6, Padres 5
Arizona 6, San Diego 5 San Diego AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Giles rf 5 0 3 0 0 0 .189

Milton throws 5 strong for first win since ’06 Young’s snag Eckstein 2b
Hairston cf-lf
4 1 1 0 0 0 .226
4 1 0 0 1 2 .323
Kouzmanoff 3b 4 0 0 1 0 1 .231
saves D-backs Headley lf-1b 4 0 2 1 0 1 .242
Hundley c 4 0 0 0 0 3 .241
E.Gonzalez 1b 3 0 0 0 0 2 .180
DENVER—Eric Milton was finally
Dodgers 7, Rockies 1
Los Angeles AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
from disaster b-Macias ph
Gregerson p
0 0 0 0 1 0 .294
0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
rewarded after a drawn-out, difficult Pierre lf 5 2 3 2 0 0 .394 C.Burke ss 3 1 1 1 0 1 .230
Hudson 2b 3 1 2 1 2 1 .349 c-Ad.Gonzalez ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .280
rehabilitation. Ethier rf 4 1 0 0 1 2 .250 Jo.Wilson ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167
The lefthander allowed one run in five Hoffmann rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .300 PHOENIX—The Arizona Dia- Correia p 2 0 1 0 0 1 .300
Blake 3b 5 0 2 3 0 1 .309 Meredith p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
innings for his first win in nearly three Loney 1b 4 0 1 0 1 0 .291 mondbacks made a six-run lead a-Gwynn ph-cf 2 2 2 0 0 0 .273
years and Casey Blake hit a three-run Kemp cf 5 0 0 0 0 0 .290 stand up this time—barely. Totals 36 5 10 3 2 11
J.Castro ss 4 1 2 0 1 0 .400
double in the fifth, leading the Los Ausmus c 5 2 2 0 0 0 .355 Max Scherzer struck out 10 and Arizona AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Angeles Dodgers to a 7-1 win over the Milton p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .000 drove in two runs, Chris Young G.Parra lf 4 0 1 1 0 0 .275
Wade p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Ojeda 2b 4 0 1 0 0 1 .256
Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night. Troncoso p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 made a leaping catch at the fence J.Upton rf 3 1 1 0 1 0 .325
“It was a long time coming,” said Mil- Leach p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --- for the final out and Arizona held S.Drew ss 4 1 1 1 0 0 .193
Totals 37 7 12 6 5 5 Reynolds 1b 4 1 1 2 0 3 .264
ton, who fought back from Tommy John off San Diego 6-5 on Tuesday Montero c 3 0 0 0 1 0 .217
surgery. “I always had confidence. I just Colorado AB R H BI BB SO Avg. night to snap the Padres’ 10-game C.Young cf 3 0 0 0 1 1 .173
Fowler cf 4 0 0 0 1 0 .264 R.Roberts 3b 4 2 3 0 0 1 .366
told myself, ‘This is where I belonged, in Tulowitzki ss 5 0 1 0 0 1 .234 winning streak. Scherzer p 3 1 2 2 0 1 .294
the big leagues,’ and I was going to do Helton 1b 4 0 1 0 0 3 .335 The Diamondbacks nearly Slaten p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Spilborghs rf 4 0 1 0 0 1 .265 Vasquez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
everything I could to get back here. Murton lf 3 0 1 0 1 0 .281 blew a six-run lead for the sec- J.Gutierrez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Hopefully, I can stick around.” Atkins 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .192 ond straight day. On Monday, Totals 32 6 10 6 3 7
Barmes 2b 3 1 1 1 0 0 .240
Milton (1-0) gave every indication that Quintanilla 2b 0 0 0 0 1 0 .211 they let the Padres rally from a San Diego 000 000 041 — 5 10 0
he could, striking out three and walking Torrealba c 3 0 0 0 1 0 .200 7-1 deficit in the eighth for a 9-7 Arizona 000 024 00x — 6 10 0
Cook p 2 0 1 0 0 1 .211
none in helping the Dodgers to their Fogg p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --- victory in 10 innings. a-singled for Meredith in the 8th. b-walked for
seventh win in eight meetings with the a-Stewart ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .187 On Tuesday, the Padres E.Gonzalez in the 8th. c-flied out for C.Burke in
Grilli p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 the 8th. LOB: San Diego 8, Arizona 5. 2B: Giles (8),
Rockies. He hadn’t won since beating b-S.Smith ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 .263 scored four in the eighth to pull G.Parra (1), J.Upton (12), R.Roberts (4), Scherzer
St. Louis on Aug. 8, 2006, for the Cin- Totals 33 1 7 1 5 7 to 6-4, then loaded the bases (2). HR: C.Burke (1), off Scherzer; Reynolds (13),
off Correia. RBIs: Kouzmanoff (18), Headley (18),
cinnati Reds. Los Angeles 100 030 120 — 7 12 0 against Juan Gutierrez with no C.Burke (4), G.Parra (11), S.Drew (14), Reynolds
“It’s got to mean a lot to him,” Dodgers Colorado 000 010 000 — 1 7 1 outs in the ninth. 2 (27), Scherzer 2 (3). SB: R.Roberts (3). Run-
ners left in scoring position: San Diego 5
manager Joe Torre said. “This kid a-struck out for Fogg in the 7th. b-walked for “I was like, ‘Here we go again,’” (Kouzmanoff 2, Eckstein, Ad.Gonzalez 2); Arizona
worked very hard to get back here.” Grilli in the 9th. E: Cook (2). LOB: Los Angeles 10, said Arizona’s Mark Reynolds, 2 (Ojeda 2). DP: San Diego 2 (C.Burke, Eckstein,
Colorado 10. 2B: Blake 2 (12). 3B: Pierre (3). HR: E.Gonzalez), (Eckstein, C.Burke, E.Gonzalez);
A former All-Star who pitched a no- Barmes (5), off Milton. RBIs: Pierre 2 (18), Hudson who hit his team-high 13th homer. Arizona 1 (R.Roberts, Ojeda, Reynolds).
hitter a decade ago for Minnesota, Mil- (30), Blake 3 (32), Barmes (18). CS: Spilborghs But with the potential tying run
(3). S: Milton, Troncoso. Runners left in scoring San Diego IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
ton had reconstructive surgery on his DAVID ZALUBOWSKI / AP position: Los Angeles 7 (Loney 2, J.Castro, Milton, at third, Young ended the game Correia L, 1-3 5 2⁄3 9 6 6 1 5 88 5.11
left elbow in June 2007 and missed all P Eric Milton had reconstructive surgery in 2007, then sat out ’08 before signing with the Dodgers. Kemp, Ethier, Ausmus); Colorado 5 (Cook, Barmes, with a terrific grab on a drive to Meredith 1 1⁄3 1 0 0 1 0 19 3.31
Helton, Tulowitzki 2). DP: Colorado 1 (Barmes, Gregerson 1 0 0 0 1 2 18 3.62
of 2008 before joining the Dodgers as a Helton). center by Kevin Kouzmanoff. Arizona IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
free agent in February. Making his sec- ahead of hitters and spotting his Orlando Hudson chipped in by going Young’s play meant the Diamond- Scherzer W, 2-3 7 6 2 2 0 10 103 3.38
Los Angeles IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Slaten 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 1 6.35
ond start for the Dodgers after begin- curveball. 2-for-3 with an RBI and a pair of walks, Milton W, 1-0 5 7 1 1 0 3 82 3.00 backs wouldn’t have to relive their Vasquez 0 1 2 2 1 0 12 6.91
ning the season with Class AAA “That was very effective for him today. extending his career-best hitting streak Wade H, 7 1 0 0 0 1 1 19 5.74 Memorial Day nightmare. J.Gutierrez S, 1-2 1 2⁄3 3 1 1 1 1 32 3.42
Troncoso 2 0 0 0 2 2 36 2.08
Albuquerque, Milton scattered seven He was getting some popups and quick to 16 games for the Dodgers, now a sea- Leach 1 0 0 0 2 1 25 6.00 “They did that to us in the Scherzer pitched to 2 batters in the 8th. Vasquez
hits, including Clint Barmes’ leadoff outs,” Ausmus said. son-high 17 games over .500 with the Colorado IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA eighth inning yesterday,” Scher- pitched to 3 batters in the 8th. Inherited
Cook L, 3-2 6 8 5 4 3 2 88 4.82 runners-scored: Meredith 1-1, Slaten 1-0,
homer in the fifth inning. Juan Pierre had three more hits, major league’s best record (32-15). Fogg 1 0 0 0 1 1 16 0.00 zer said. “It just rips your gut Vasquez 1-1, J.Gutierrez 3-2. HBP: by J.Gutierrez
“He made some good pitches,” Barmes including a triple and a two-run single “Offensively, we’re continuing to live Grilli 2 4 2 2 1 2 43 6.06 apart when that happens, and (Eckstein), by Vasquez (Kouzmanoff). WP:
J.Gutierrez. Umpires: Home, Mike Reilly; First,
said. “He kept us off balance with his to continue a torrid pace since stepping up to our billing,” Ausmus said. “When Cook pitched to 2 batters in the 7th. Milton pitched they were starting to do it again, Chuck Meriwether; Second, Laz Diaz; Third, Eric
slider and changeup and then pounded into the lineup earlier this month in we lost Manny, a lot of the naysayers to 1 batter in the 6th. Inherited runners-scored: in the eighth inning again. For Cooper. T: 2:40. A: 18,631 (48,652).
Wade 1-0, Fogg 1-0. Umpires: Home, Andy
us with his fastball.” place of the suspended Manny Ramirez. thought we would have trouble scoring Fletcher; First, Scott Barry; Second, Ted Barrett; us to show resiliency and get the
Dodgers catcher Brad Ausmus said He has hit .410 (32 for 78) in 18 games runs but apparently, that isn’t true.” Third, Tim McClelland. T: 3:13. A: 25,384 (50,449). win, that’s the important part.”
that Milton helped himself by getting since May 7. — The Associated Press — The Associated Press
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Scouts’ views
Cornerback rankings: Asomugha is best, still getting better
The cornerback position will always feature some
of the NFL’s top athletes, but the position is evolving.
Speed will continue to be the calling card, but teams
are looking for that same speed in bigger corners
who can compete with the size and quickness of
today’s wideouts and support the run.
RealScouts, SN Today’s team of former NFL scouts,
rank their top 20 cornerbacks for ‘09:
1. Nnamdi Asomugha, Raiders. Asomugha is
the best cover corner in the league
and just entering the prime of his career.
He’s a fantastic athlete with outstanding
speed whose skills are featured in the
Raiders’ man cover scheme.
2. Cortland Finnegan, Titans. Finnegan
started out hot in 2008 and then
teams stopped throwing his way. He can
turn and run with receivers, closes quickly
on the ball in zone coverage and is a
scoring threat with the ball in his hands.
3. Champ Bailey, Broncos. Until last year’s
groin tear, Bailey was a model of
durability in his 10-year career. He’s sched-
uled to be back at full health this year, but
he’ll also be 31. Expect him to be tested early
in the season, but his instincts and natural
cover skills will keep him among the elite.
4. Asante Samuel, Eagles. Samuel didn’t
set a career high in interceptions in
his first year in Philly, but he broke up a
personal-best 24 passes and was extremely
active in the Eagles’ aggressive scheme.
Philadelphia had one of the best pass
defenses in the second half of the season
and will be better this year.
5. Nate Clements, 49ers. Clements’
numbers were down in 2008, but
he is still one of the best all-around cor-
ners. In addition to outstanding cover
skills, he’s an excellent tackler who is
strong against the run and can play any
SN scouts say Raiders star CB Nnamdi Asomugha is just entering the prime of his career.
position in the secondary.
6. Darrelle Revis, Jets. Revis flashed a lot of
talent in his first two seasons. He’s a
ballhawk who displays good technique, size,
instincts and toughness and will excel in Rex
Ryan’s zone coverage schemes.
7. Antonio Cromartie, Chargers. He was
criticized heavily for his poor play in
2008, then it was revealed he had played the
entire season with a fractured hip. Coordina-
tor Ron Rivera runs an aggressive scheme,
which will help Cromartie in coverage.
There is some talk he might not start, but if
NFL
PAUL SAKUMA / AP
the Chargers put him on the field and he’s
healthy, he’ll make big plays.
8. DeAngelo Hall, Redskins. Attitude and
off-field persona aside, Hall can
flat-out play. He revived his career with the
Redskins after bombing in Oakland, and
his ball skills and cover ability in man and
zone schemes will help him excel behind
an improved front.
9. Antoine Winfield, Vikings. Winfield is an
aggressive, physical corner who loves
to mix it up at the line of scrimmage and
knock receivers off their routes. He is also an
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 26
excellent tackler and run-support player. Belichick’s system.
10. Rashean Mathis, Jaguars. Injuries
have stolen much of the past two
seasons from Mathis, who needs to stay
16. Kelvin Hayden, Colts. Hayden has
good range and speed, closes
quickly and makes plays on the ball. He’s
healthy and play within the scheme. He an excellent fit in the Colts’ cover 2 system.
has a host of physical tools and natural
talents, but has tried too hard to make
things happen and his overaggressiveness
has led to mistakes in coverage.
17. Bryant McFadden, Cardinals. McFad-
den has some serious big-game
experience to go with excellent ball skills
and tackling ability. Best of all, he’s only 27.
11. Marcus Trufant, Seahawks. He can shut
down the top receivers with his
ability to cover long and close quickly on
A broken arm in 2008 hurt his free-agent
value, but he is a good all-around player
and will be a good fit in a much-improved
shorter routes. Those skills will play well in Arizona secondary.
the Seahawks’ cover 2 looks under new
coach Jim Mora. Trufant has good hands, is a
dangerous runner after the catch and will be
helped by a renewed pass rush.
18. Al Harris, Packers. Harris is an
excellent press corner, even at 34.
However, he won’t be as quick as Woodson
to adjust to the zone schemes the Pack will
12. Terence Newman, Cowboys. Newman
is explosive and athletic and
shows great speed and agility. He can be
play in their new 3-4. Harris will have to
adjust to playing off receivers or the Packers
may have to alter the scheme to fit his skills.
overaggressive in coverage at times but has
been playing with more maturity and
better technique recently. 19. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie,
Cardinals. As a rookie, Rodgers-
Cromartie flashed impressive athletic
13. Dunta Robinson, Texans. He has great
athletic ability but needs to stay
healthy. He has shutdown ability and can
ability and rare ball skills. He has a unique
combination of size and speed and adjusts
well to the ball in the air. With McFadden
make big plays all over the field. in the lineup and a year of experience
under his belt, Rodgers-Cromartie should
14. Charles Woodson, Packers. As age and
injury work against him, Wood-
be better in 2009. He just has to prove
2008 wasn’t a fluke.
son may make a move to safety at some
point. But he’s still an excellent bump-and-
run corner who plays tight man coverage
but is also comfortable in zone schemes. He
20. Eric Wright, Browns. Wright is fast
and athletic, willing in run
support and aggressive getting to the ball.
led all corners in interceptions last season He has also shown the ability to make
and is a willing tackler against the run. plays with the ball in his hands. Opposing
quarterbacks shied away from him last
15. Leigh Bodden, Patriots. Bodden is big
and fast and a strong player near
season when they found an easier target in
Brandon McDonald, but Wright is an
the line, both as a press corner and in run
support. Though he struggled last year in
improving young talent.
Detroit, he’ll be a superior player in Bill — RealScouts, a team of former NFL scouts, analyzes NFL and college
players, coaches and teams exclusively for Sporting News Today.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com NFL WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 27
Q&A with ... 49ers coach Mike Singletary

Coaches busy ‘repairing’ QB Alex Smith’s confidence

Mike Singletary is trying to change the attitude of
a team that hasn’t had a winning record since 2002,
trying to build a tough-minded, hard-working
group in his image. Sporting News Radio’s Tim
Montemayor caught up with Singletary this week
to talk about the loss of cornerback Walt Harris, the
Alex Smith-Shaun Hill quarterback competition
and the progress of rookie wide receiver Michael
Crabtree.
things and how he approaches the game. I’m
sure some of that has rubbed off on our
younger guys. I’m excited about the oppor-
tunity and the challenge that they have to
step up.
Q: A: How does the defense look?
I’m not going to get excited
about it right now. We don’t
have on pads, and we haven’t really
to me, that deserves a tremendous amount
of respect coming to a team that was
probably the worst team in the league. We
had a horrible offensive line, had a
receiving corps that was just very average
and didn’t have a whole lot for him to
work with. He’s been through a lot of
tough situations, and he’s had to mature.
For him to come back to us for less money
than he probably would’ve gotten in a

Q: As your offseason practices

gear up, how do you feel about
moved forward doing the things we need
to do. Everybody is coming together and
couple other places, it says a lot about him.

the club?

A: I think we’re right on track with

understanding what we have to do and the
level of defense we have to play. I think it’s Q: Where would Michael Vick fit
into your situation?
where we need to be. We’re just
continuing to make the strides that we
need to make, coming together as a team
such a great fit because our guys are so
hungry. We’re just going to go forward
and build on that momentum.
A: (G.M.) Scot McCloughan and myself
have not really talked about Mike
Vick a whole lot. His name has been
and trying to figure out the areas that we mentioned maybe once or twice very early
need to fill and get them right.
Q: What can you tell us about
your quarterback competition?
on. But going forward, I think we have
enough on our plate with these two guys

Q: Is it difficult to come up with

that intensity on a daily basis? A: I’m excited about Alex Smith and
Shaun Hill. The fact that Alex is
competing against one another.

A: For me, it’s my personality, it’s who

I am; I’m not trying to manufacture
anything. I’m not being anything different
than if I were doing anything else in life.
I’m going to be who I am every day I show
up. That desire is going to be there.
healthy and competing ... he and Shaun
continue to push each other every day.
They go out there and compete like
Q: Will you update us on your
first two draft picks, wide
receiver Michael Crabtree and
professionals. They’re friends, but when running back Glen Coffee?
they get on the field it’s all about business.
It’s all about who that guy is going to be
who’s going to lead our football team.
A: Crabtree is standing on the
sidelines and learning all the
things he can learn and spending a lot of

Q: How do you replace Harris,

who tore his ACL last week and
will miss the ’09 season?
Before it’s all said and done, I’m sure we’ll
need both of them. Right now, I’m excited
about what I see in Alex and his ability to
time with (wide receivers coach) Jerry
Sullivan. We’ll get him full-go in training
camp and be ready to go. We’re very

A: Trying to replace a guy like Walt

goes beyond what he does on the
field, Xs-and-Os wise. It’s the experience
that he brings, and more than anything else,
the professionalism that Walter brings to
our football club. He’s one of our captains.
He’s the guy on the back end that kind of
smoothes everything out when things get a
little bit out of whack. So we’re going to miss
him. Fortunately, on the other side of it
going forward, we have some younger guys
who have watched Walt and how he does
throw the ball. He looks healthy—he’s
moving well. Shaun is doing the things
he’s always done to keep us excited about
him. It’s going to be a really nice competi-
tion all the way through.
Q: Is Smith more of a rebuilding
project?
A: I can’t say “rebuilding.” If any-
thing, it’s repairing his confidence.
In terms of ability and what he’s able to do,
I wouldn’t say rebuilding at all. He’s a guy,
excited about the possibilities of getting
him on our football team healthy and
making plays. Coffee, on the other side, is
really having a very nice camp. I was
talking to (running backs coach) Tom
Rathman, and Tom is very excited about
him. And I think Frank (Gore) is very
excited about him. It’s just one of those
things where you have an opportunity to
get a guy who’s a class guy, who’s going to
give you everything he has every opportu- GEORGE NIKITIN / AP
nity that he has. Coach Mike Singletary had positive things to say about his two top rookies—Michael Crabtree and Glen Coffee.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Brady back, says he wants to play another 10 years
Tom Brady took another step Tues-
day in his recovery from major knee
surgery, practicing with the Patri-
ots for the first time Tuesday since
suffering a season-ending knee
injury in last year’s opening game.
Brady and nearly the entire team
participated in the first of four days
of this week’s OTAs. A Patriots
spokesman said Brady threw
passes and did other activities dur-
ing his first formal practice with
the club since he suffered a torn
ACL midway through the first
quarter of the opener against Kan-
sas City.
There have been numerous signs
Brady will be ready for the season
opener Sept. 14 against the Bills. In
a recent Sports Illustrated interview,
Brady said he has no pain or restric-
tions in his movement when he
runs and cuts.
He told the magazine he’s “as con-
fident as anyone could be that I’ll be
ready to play, back to playing nor-
mally, when the season starts. I’ve
done everything I could to push
myself, sometimes too hard. Right
now, I’m doing everything. Liter-
ally everything. There’s nothing I
can’t do.”
Brady, 31, also told SI: “I want to
play until I am 41.”
Cowboys veteran pass rusher
Greg Ellis is moving on. Anthony Spencer
is moving in. After meeting with
Ellis on Tuesday morning, Cow-
boys owner Jerry Jones said Ellis
would be traded or released. Ellis,
33, has been with the team since his
rookie season in 1998.
He had eight sacks last year and
Despite eight sacks last season, Dallas is letting LB Greg Ellis go.
has 77 in his career. His best season
was 2007, when he came back from
injury to record 12 1/2 sacks and
win the NFL comeback player of
the year award.
With the departure of Ellis, the
team is opening a starting spot for
NFL
INSIDE DISH
MICHAEL THOMAS / AP
Spencer, a first-round pick in 2007.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
reported the Dolphins are a poten-
tial destination for Ellis.
Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin is
in the process of firing his agent,
Drew Rosenhaus. Boldin, frustrated by
his inability to secure a new con-
tract with the Cardinals or a trade
to another team, informed the NFL
Players Association in a letter that
he wanted to replace the agent.
The players association says it
received the letter on Friday, so
with the required five-day waiting
period, Boldin can sign with a new
agent on Thursday.
Boldin has been unhappy with
his contract since the Cardinals
signed teammate Larry Fitzgerald to a
four-year, $40 million extension in
2008. Rosenhaus issued a state-
ment saying he has great respect for
Boldin and hopes the player returns
to “the Rosenhaus Sports family”
soon.
Rosenhaus announced veteran
CB Will Allen has signed a two-year
contract extension with the Dol-
phins worth $16.2 million, accord-
ing to ESPN.com. Allen had three
interceptions and a touchdown last
season.
Free-agent CB Rod Hood
signed a one-year contract with the
Browns and will compete for a
starting job. Hood, 27, was cut by
the Cardinals after their run to the
Super Bowl. He played two seasons
in Arizona after spending his first
four years in Philadelphia. Hood is
a strong candidate to displace Eric
Wright or Brandon McDonald as a
starter, the Cleveland Plain Dealer
reported. Hood had 40 tackles and
one interception last season after
registering a career-high five inter-
ceptions—two of which he returned
for touchdowns—in 2007. He
reportedly chose the Browns over
the Rams.
WR Matt Jones, who was
released by the Jaguars in March,
has been notified by the league he
will not be suspended as the result
of his violation of a court-man-
dated drug program, his agent told
ESPN.com. Agent Dave Butz said
Jones was informed last week he
will be fined $50,000 but not sus-
pended. Jones is expected to appeal
the fine, his agent said. Jones was
suspended for the final three games
of 2008 but will be able to play a
full schedule in ’09. He caught 65
passes for 761 yards and two touch-
downs last season.
After being absent from previ-
ous practice sessions, new Bucs TE
Kellen Winslow participated in the
OTAs Tuesday. Winslow explained
his absences to PewterReport.com:
“I just had some family issues I
needed to deal with, some personal
issues. The team understood. I had
an excuse, and they excused me. I
thank them for that.
“(OTAs) are very important.
They are voluntary, but they’re
really not voluntary. You do need
to be here and I wish I could have
been here. I just couldn’t.” Win-
slow said he plans to attend all
remaining OTAs as well as a man-
datory minicamp in June.
Supersized pro football players
are prone to high blood pressure
but fare better on some other health
measures than more average-sized
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 28
men, new NFL-sponsored research
shows. The mixed results suggest
that intense physical conditioning
can help reduce but not wipe out ill
effects excess weight has on heart
disease-related risks.
Compared with other men their
age, NFL players studied were more
than twice as likely to have high
blood pressure—14 percent versus
6 percent for non-players.
Among the biggest players—line-
men with a body mass index in the
obese range—about 90 percent had
either high blood pressure or pre-
hypertension, which is less danger-
ous but still risky. The biggest
players also had worse levels of
“good” cholesterol and blood fats
called triglycerides but fewer signs
of pre-diabetes than non-players.
The NFL filed notice Tuesday
that it plans to appeal a federal
judge’s ruling in the case of two
Vikings defensive tackles facing
suspensions over their positive
tests for a banned drug.
Last Friday, U.S. District Judge
Paul Magnuson threw out most of the
claims by Vikings DTs Kevin Williams
and Pat Williams. He also dismissed a
lawsuit brought by the NFL players
union on behalf of the Williamses
and three Saints players also facing
suspension. But Magnuson
remanded the Williamses’ two
remaining claims to state court.
In Tuesday’s filing, attorneys for
the NFL said they will ask the 8th
Circuit Court of Appeals to review
whether Magnuson misapplied
federal law when he didn’t dismiss
those two claims outright.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Remaining free agents
A quick look at the remaining NFL free agents by position
(R-restricted free agent, F-franchise tagged player):
OFFENSE
Quarterbacks—Brooks Bollinger, Dallas; Ken Dorsey,
Cleveland; Gus Frerotte, Minnesota; Charlie Frye, Seattle;
Drew Henson, Detroit; Quinn Gray, Kansas City; Trent Green,
St. Louis; Rex Grossman, Chicago; Brad Johnson, Dallas; J.P.
Losman, Buffalo; Jamie Martin, San Francisco; Craig Nall,
Houston; Marques Tuiasosopo, Oakland; Anthony Wright, NY
Giants.
Running backs—Darian Barnes, New Orleans; Tatum Bell,
Denver; Brian Calhoun, Detroit; Jesse Chatman, NY Jets; P.J.
Daniels, Baltimore; Reuben Droughns, NY Giants; Warrick
Dunn, Tampa Bay; DeShaun Foster, San Francisco; Samkon
Gado, St. Louis; Nick Goings, Carolina; Ahman Green, Houston;
Andre Hall, Denver; Kay-Jay Harris, NY Giants; Maurice Hicks,
Minnesota; Edgerrin James, Arizona; Rudi Johnson, Detroit;
Deuce McAllister, New Orleans; Travis Minor, St. Louis; Chris
Perry, Cincinnati; Andrew Pinnock, Denver; Michael Pittman,
Denver; P.J. Pope, Denver; Cecil Sapp, Houston; Aaron Stecker,
New Orleans; Selvin Young, Denver.
Wide receivers—Drew Bennett, St. Louis; Marty Booker,
Chicago; Drew Carter, Oakland; Jason Carter; Carolina; Keary
Colbert, Detroit; Jayson Foster, Denver; D.J. Hackett, Carolina;
Dante Hall, St. Louis; Marvin Harrison, Indianapolis; Ike
Hilliard, Tampa Bay; Darrell Jackson, Denver; Nate Jackson,
Denver; Matt Jones, Jacksonville; Joe Jurevicius, Cleveland;
Ashley Lelie, Oakland; Brandon Lloyd, Chicago; Dane Looker,
St. Louis; Marcus Maxwell, Baltimore; Anthony Mix, Tampa
Bay; Ben Obomanu (R), Seattle; Tab Perry, Miami; Jerry Porter,
Jacksonville; Kevin Robinson, Kansas City; Koren Robinson,
Seattle; Edell Shepherd, Denver; Travis Taylor, Detroit; Amani
Toomer, NY Giants; Kelley Washington, New England; Todd
Watkins (R), Oakland; Harry Williams, Houston; Reggie
Williams, Jacksonville; Wallace Wright (R), NY Jets.
Tight ends—Courtney Anderson, Houston; Adam Bergen,
Denver; Mark Bruener, Houston; Scott Chandler, San Diego;
Owen Daniels (R), Houston; Nate Lawrie, Cincinnati; Michael
Merritt, Kansas City; Martrez Milner, NY Giants; Chad Mustard,
Denver; Jeff Robinson, Seattle; Derek Schouman (R), Buffalo;
Stephen Spach (R), Arizona; Daniel Wilcox, Baltimore; Kris
Wilson, San Diego.
Offensive tackles—Tyson Clabo (R), Atlanta; Anthony
Davis, St. Louis; Jon Dunn, Detroit; Wayne Gandy, Atlanta;
Kwame Harris, Oakland; Jonas Jennings, San Francisco; Levi
Jones, Cincinnati; James Marten (R), Oakland; Fred Miller,
Chicago; Rob Petitti, St. Louis; Jon Runyan, Philadelphia;
Charles Spencer, Jacksonville; Barry Stokes, New England;
Mark Tauscher, Green Bay; Mark Wilson (R), Oakland.
Guards—Lennie Friedman, Cleveland; Pete Kendall,
Washington; Matt Lentz, Detroit; Terrence Metcalf, Chicago;
Edwin Mulitalo, Detroit; Chris Naeole, Jacksonville; Grey
Ruegamer, NY Giants; Kendall Simmons, Pittsburgh; Rob Sims
(R), Seattle; Jason Whittle, Buffalo.
Centers—Brennen Carvalho, Green Bay; Jean-Philippe
Darche, Kansas City; Melvin Fowler, Buffalo; Matt Lehr, New
Orleans; Andy McCollum, Detroit; Jeremy Newberry, San
Diego; Scott Peters, Arizona; Cory Withrow, St. Louis.
NFL WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 29
DEFENSE
Defensive ends—Kevin Carter, Tampa Bay; Earl Cochran,
Houston; Sean Conover, NY Jets; Nick Eason, Pittsburgh;
Colts’ Manning: ‘I’m not sure everybody’s on the same page’
Kalimba Edwards, Oakland; Ebenezer Ekuban, Denver;
John Engelberger, Denver; Simon Fraser, Atlanta; Roderick INDIANAPOLIS—All Peyton Man- staff) will look like, I don’t know.
Green, San Francisco; Travis LaBoy, Arizona; Jayme Mitchell,
Minnesota; Jerome McDougle, NY Giants; Julius Peppers
ning wants from the Indianapolis But I’m sure Jim will make it very
(F), Carolina; Josh Savage, New Orleans; Anthony Weaver, Colts is a game plan. It might take clear at some point.”
Houston; James Wyche, Jacksonville. the team a little longer to satisfy The Colts are in the midst of
Defensive tackles—Kenderick Allen, Minnesota; Gary
the three-time league MVP. perhaps their biggest transition
Gibson, Carolina; La’Roi Glover, St. Louis; Vonnie Holliday, The front office is trying deter- since taking Manning with the
Miami; Antwan Lake, New Orleans; Langston Moore, Detroit;
Kindal Moorehead, Atlanta; Dewayne Robertson, Denver; mine how retired assistants Tom No. 1 draft pick in 1998.
Orpheus Roye, Pittsburgh; Hollis Thomas, New Orleans; Josh Moore and Howard Mudd will fit Besides losing Moore and Mudd,
Thomas, Indianapolis; John Thornton, Cincinnati; Casey Tyler, into the coaching plans as “consul- Caldwell has replaced the retired
Dallas; Darwin Walker, Carolina; Ellis Wyms, Minnesota; Brian
tants.” Manning, who usually toes Tony Dungy and has hired new
Young, New Orleans; Jeff Zgonina, Houston.
Linebackers—Rufus Alexander, Indianapolis; Jason Babin,
the company line, would like a better defensive and special teams coordi-
Kansas City; Rocky Boiman, Kansas City; Derrick Brooks, Tampa understanding of what to expect. nators. It’s the first time since Man-
Bay; Khary Campbell, Washington; Anthony Cannon, Detroit; “Somebody says one thing, then ning’s rookie season the Colts have
Dan Cody, Baltimore; Rosevelt Colvin, New England; Donte’
somebody else says another thing,” switched head coaches and both
Curry, Carolina; Donnie Edwards, Kansas City; Keith Ellison (R),
he said Tuesday after a minicamp coordinators in the same season.
Buffalo; Troy Evans, New Orleans; Gilbert Gardner, Chicago;
Curtis Gatewood, Kansas City; Morlon Greenwood, Houston; practice. “I’m not sure everybody’s Manning also lost Marvin Har-
Marques Harris, San Diego; Napoleon Harris, Minnesota; on the same page in this building. rison, the franchise’s career
Abdul Hodge (R), Cincinnati; Mike Humpal, Pittsburgh; Brad I’m just trying to focus on playing receiving leader. He was released
Kassell, NY Jets; Jason Kyle, Carolina; Teddy Lehman, Buffalo;
quarterback well.” in a February salary-cap move.
Paris Lenon, Detroit; Wesly Mallard, Seattle; Jim Maxwell,
Cincinnati; Willie McGinest, Cleveland; Marques Murrell (R), NY
The truth is, Colts officials don’t But the most recent moves, losing
Jets; Ryan Nece, Detroit; Shantee Orr, Cleveland; Antwan Peek, know a whole lot, either. Moore and Mudd, and the uncer-
Cleveland; Carlos Polk, Dallas; Junior Seau, New England; Matt Moore and Mudd retired two tainty about what they’ll do this
Sinclair, Washington; Gary Stills, St. Louis; Terrell Suggs (F),
weeks ago to avoid losing money season has one of the league’s high-
Baltimore; Dontarrious Thomas, Minnesota; Pisa Tinoisamoa,
under the NFL’s revised pension est-profile players concerned.
St. Louis; Marcus Washington, Washington; Nate Webster,
Denver. plan. Last week, team owner Jim “I understand he’s somewhat
Cornerbacks—David Barrett, NY Jets; Tra Battle, Dallas; Irsay told The Indianapolis Star confused because so are we,” Colts
Fakhir Brown, St. Louis; Terry Cousin, Cleveland; Jason Craft, St. both would return as consultants. president Bill Polian said. “It’s an
Louis; Travis Fisher, Detroit; Reynaldo Hill, Tennessee; William Apparently, those details are MICHAEL CONROY / AP extremely complex issue that is
James, Jacksonville; Michael Lehan, New Orleans; Sam Madi-
son, NY Giants; Ricky Manning Jr., St. Louis; Derrick Martin
still being worked out. Peyton Manning is looking for clarity on retired coordinator Tom Moore’s new duties. very hard to understand. It’s frus-
(R), Baltimore; Chris McAlister, Baltimore; Mike McKenzie, NFL Coaches Association exec- trating. I’m sure he’s frustrated.
New Orleans; R.W. McQuarters, NY Giants; Deltha O’Neal, utive director Larry Kennan said Manning is working on his job, helped call plays in third-down I’m frustrated.”
New England; Dunta Robinson (F), Houston; Lewis Sanders,
last week the two assistants would but he would also like some and red-zone situations last sea- What Manning really wants,
New England; Duane Starks, Jacksonville; Brandon Sumrall,
have to wait six months before answers. son, two categories in which the though, are answers.
NY Giants; DeJuan Tribble, San Diego; Jason Webster, New
England; Jimmy Williams, Houston; Stanley Wilson, Detroit. returning. Moore is the only coor- “I can’t tell you what’s going on. I Colts had the league’s No. 1 con- And that’s something the Colts
Safeties—Oshiomogho Atogwe (F), St. Louis; Michael dinator Manning has played for in will say I don’t think it’s been the version rate in 2008. just don’t have yet.
Boulware, Minnesota; Mike Brown, Chicago; Oliver Celestin, 11 seasons; Mudd is the Colts’ most properly communicated sce- Center Jeff Saturday, a three-time “I wouldn’t say I totally like the
Kansas City; Corey Chavous, St. Louis; Will Demps, Houston; longtime offensive line coach. nario around here,” he said. “But Pro Bowl player, said his line mates way it is right now. It’s not normal
Mike Doss, Cincinnati; Hiram Eugene, Oakland; Mike Green,
Washington; Rodney Harrison, New England; Terrence Holt,
But the Colts don’t know if they’ll we have learned to deal with change typically spoke with both Metze- not having a full coaching staff,”
New Orleans; Dexter Jackson, Cincinnati; Sammy Knight, NY really have to wait that long or what and have to be prepared to adjust.” laars and Mudd during games and he said. “I know we hired a couple
Giants; Marquand Manuel, Denver; Marlon McCree, Denver; responsibilities Moore and Mudd The Colts already have announced practices last season, and because of guys to come in, but these guys
Lawyer Milloy, Atlanta; Chad Nkang, Jacksonville; Jarrad Page
will assume when they return. assistant head coach Clyde Chris- the focus this week is on strength- are learning.
(R), Kansas City; Pierson Prioleau, Jacksonville; Chris Reis (R),
“It’s still in negotiations, and it’s tensen will assume play-calling ening and conditioning Saturday “I think the communication has
New Orleans; Dwight Smith, Detroit; Jimmy Williams, San
Francisco; Cameron Worrell, Chicago. a situation beyond our control,” duties and assistant line coach Pete hasn’t seen much change yet. been pretty poor in my opinion.
new coach Jim Caldwell said. “At Metzelaars will have the word “We’ve not really done anything But that’s what we’re dealing with.
SPECIAL TEAMS
the same time, it will filter itself “assistant” dropped from his title. anyway,” he said. “We’d normally The hard work is what’s going on
Kickers—John Carney, NY Giants; Matt Stover, Baltimore. out at some point. I think what we Indy veterans are content with be meeting with Pete now, so it’s right now. That’s what will carry
Punters—Mitch Berger, Pittsburgh; Mike Dragosavich,
Indianapolis; Sam Koch (R), Baltimore; Kyle Larson, Cincinnati; have to do is focus in on what we those choices. not really affected us. What will us through.”
Ryan Plackemeier, Cincinnati. can get done now.” Manning said Christensen happen, or what it (the coaching — The Associated Press
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Commission should reconsider Long’s penalty
BY REID SPENCER
rspencer@sportingnews.com
On June 2, the National Stock Car
Racing Commission will have a
chance to do something NASCAR’s
competition division apparently
couldn’t—restore sanity to the pun-
ishment process for those who vio-
late NASCAR’s rules.
On June 2, owner/driver Car Long
will have his day
in court, as he
brings to the com-
mission his appeal
of the stiffest pen-
alty ever levied
against a Sprint
Cup competitor.
Reid Spencer What did Long
THE COOL DOWN LAP
do to warrant the
wrath of the sanc-
tioning body? He brought to the
Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe’s Motor
Speedway an engine that exceeded
NASCAR’s 358-cubic-inch displace-
ment limit—by .17 cubic inches,
according to Long.
That transgression earned
Long’s crew chief, Charles Swing, a
fine of $200,000. If Swing can’t
come up with the money, Long is
on the hook. Long and Swing each
drew a 12-race suspension to go
along with 200-point penalties for
the driver and owner of record
(Long’s wife DeeDee).
Let’s be clear. An oversized
engine—even a fractionally over-
sized engine—is a big issue where
NASCAR is concerned. That’s one
of the sacrosanct areas in the rule
book, and as Long found out, viola-
tors had better beware.
But that doesn’t give NASCAR
leave to impose what amounts to
the death penalty on Long’s racing
career without considering the mit-
TERRY RENNA / AP
The circumstances around Carl Long’s crime
do not fit the punishment given to him.
igating circumstances.
The engine’s excessive bore came
to light only because Long over-
heated it during practice for the
Sprint Showdown, a qualifying
event for the May 16 All-Star Race.
Long replaced the engine and
turned the power plant removed
from the car over to NASCAR for
inspection, as the rules require.
Long insists, and his actions sug-
gest, that he was unaware that his
engine exceeded the 358-cubic-inch
limit. Otherwise, why risk handing
it over to NASCAR when the alter-
native was to pack up and go home
without penalty?
Intent, however, is only a mitigat-
ing factor when NASCAR decides it
is. The sanctioning body took it easy
NASCAR
on Jeff Gordon in 2007 when the ride
height of his Chevy was deemed too
low—because on an improperly
installed shock mount—after Gordon
won one of the Duel 150 qualifying
races for the Daytona 500.
“We are 100 percent sure this is
unintentional,” Robin Pemberton,
NASCAR’s vice president of com-
petition, Robin Pemberton, said at
the time. “I believe that because of
my own experiences (as a crew
chief) through the years. It would
take a different set of parts and
pieces to machine something to do
that intentionally.”
Accordingly, Gordon’s only pun-
ishment was starting from the rear
of the field in the 500.
From the outside looking in,
Long’s offense seems equally unin-
tentional, but in this case, the pun-
ishment far exceeds the crime.
“We work with the teams that
want to participate here, as far as
everything goes,” Pemberton said
recently. “We owe it to the garage to
try to keep a level playing field, and
we also owe it to the participants that
want to make good on their fines.”
Even on a payment plan, how-
ever, Long would need years to
retire a $200,000 debt. And if
NASCAR’s suspension is upheld,
he won’t be able to work his regular
job as a spotter for Tony Raines.
NASCAR also owes it to its com-
petitors to level the playing field when
it comes to doling out punishments.
Rightly or wrongly, conspiracy theo-
rists often have chastised NASCAR
for dispensing unequal justice.
The Carl Long case is gold-plated
ammunition for those assaults.
Let’s hope the commission does
something about it.
— Reid Spencer writes for the
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 30
INSIDE DISH
NASCAR town-hall meeting productive
Gone are the days of a single-file
procession to the NASCAR hauler.
That was the message that
resounded from meetings between
NASCAR and its owner and driver
constituencies held Tuesday
morning and afternoon at the
sanctioning body’s research-and-
development center.
And if the conclaves were as
NASCAR vice president of corpo-
rate communications Jim Hunter
characterized them—as positive,
productive and candid—they were
also symbolic of a new way of
doing business for NASCAR.
In the past, drivers, crew chiefs
and owners were accustomed to
knocking on the door of the
NASCAR hauler, parked at a
racetrack, and voicing their indi-
vidual issues and concerns. Over
time, NASCAR could gauge a
consensus.
On Tuesday, NASCAR heard
opinions en masse, from a multitude
of sources. Subjects ranged from the TERRY RENNA / AP
performance of the new racecar to Tony Eury Jr., left, may not have too much longer to work with cousin Dale Earnhardt Jr.
marketing efforts to a discussion of
the drug-testing policy instituted During last Thursday’s qualifying tional Speedway.
before the 2009 season. session for the Coca-Cola 600 at Questioned as to whether a
“It started out as a discussion of Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Hendrick change might be coming, Hen-
topics, and we kind of turned it into expressed confidence in the combina- drick was non-committal, but his
an open forum about the topics,” tion to a SceneDaily.com reporter. level of confidence in the Earn-
Stewart-Haas driver Ryan Newman However, that was before Earn- hardt-Eury pairing appeared to
said. “I thought it was very benefi- hardt couldn’t get out of his own way have eroded somewhat.
cial for us to listen—and talk—and it Monday in the rain-delayed, rain- “We’re talking about things,
was good communication.” shortened 600. Fighting an ill-han- we’re meeting, we’re going to make
dling car that his crew couldn’t fix, decisions as the days go by,” Hen-
If crew chief Tony Eury Jr. is look- Earnhardt lost two laps on the track drick said after exiting a meeting
ing for continued assurance that his and finished 40th. of drivers and team owners with
pairing with driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. SI.com on Tuesday quoted an NASCAR at the sanctioning
will continue indefinitely, he may anonymous garage source as say- body’s research-and-development
not find the same level of support ing that Eury would be out as center. “But we haven’t made any
from team owner Rick Hendrick that he Earnhardt’s crew chief before decision as of right now.”
did as recently as five days ago. Sunday’s race at Dover Interna- — Compiled by Reid Spencer
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Boeheim beams over new point guard
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim con-
tends recruit Brandon Triche is a better
point guard “by a long shot” than
star Jonny Flynn, who left the Orange
for the NBA draft. But that’s not as
outrageous as it sounds.
Boeheim isn’t saying Triche is a
better player than Flynn, or that he’ll
be better for the Orange as a fresh-
man than Flynn was during his spec-
tacular sophomore season. But he is
convinced Triche, who is 6-4, 195, is
more adept at setting up and involv-
ing teammates in the attack, which
could help the Orange to flourish in
the Big East next season.
“I think he’s going to be a great
player,” Boeheim told Sporting News
Today. “He can shoot it. He’s smart.
He’s physical. He can’t go by people
like Jonny, but nobody can.
“He’ll start right away for us.”
Triche was not ranked in the top
100 by either Scout.com or Rivals.
com, but he scored 33 points in the
prelim game at the Jordan Brand
Classic and led Jamesville-Dewitt
High to consecutive New York pub-
lic-school state titles. Boeheim said
Triche is “under the radar” because
he did not play in many tourna-
ments last summer.
Having a point guard with a great
feel for delivering the ball will be
important given the many weapons
in SU’s rotation. Boeheim expects
the frontcourt of Arinze Onuaku, Rick
Jackson and transfer Wesley Johnson
will be “the best we’ve had here for
many, many years.”
He believes Johnson, who aver-
aged 12.4 points at Iowa State in
2007-08, could be an All-Big East
performer.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
INSIDE DISH
Brandon Triche, right, will start immediately for Syracuse, according to coach Jim Boeheim.
Veterans such as Onuaku, Jackson,
Johnson and shooter Andy Rautins
should help ease the transition to a
freshman point guard.
“I think the experience we have
will be good for us,” Boeheim said.
— Mike DeCourcy
Kentucky announced Tuesday
that sophomore F A.J. Stewart is seek-
ing a transfer. Also seeking a trans-
fer is freshman Donald Williams, who
didn’t play last year. Besides those
two underclassmen, the university
confirmed C Jared Carter will not seek
a fifth year of eligibility.
Georgia Tech G D’Andre Bell has
been cleared to play his senior sea-
son after undergoing spinal sur-
gery. The 6-5 senior had the
operation in December to correct a
College Basketball / Lacrosse
JOE LIPPINCOTT / AP
congenital condition known as spi-
nal stenosis. He took a redshirt in
hopes of getting medical clearance
to resume his career.
G Jeff Peterson, who started 25
games as a sophomore at Iowa, will
join Arkansas as a transfer.
Peterson averaged 10.6 points
and 4.2 assists as a freshman with
the Hawkeyes. He is originally from
Springfield, Mo., but played high
school basketball at DeMatha Cath-
olic in Hyattsville, Md.
Peterson shot 39.7 percent from
3-point range, a handy skill in
Razorbacks coach John Pelphrey’s
wide-open attack. Peterson will sit
out one year and join the Hogs for
the 2010-11 season. He will have
two years of eligibility remaining.
— Mike DeCourcy
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 31
Orange, Blue Devils will be back in ’10
BY CHRISTIAN SWEZEY
InsideLacrosse.com
The 2009 NCAA lacrosse season ended on Memo-
rial Day when Syracuse defeated Cornell in overtime,
10-9, before 41,595 fans for its second consecutive
NCAA title.
The Orange will be tough to beat again in 2010.
As will Duke, which returns virtually its entire team
that won the ACC title and reached the Final Four.
This is the last of the controversial decision by the
NCAA to award an extra year to the players on Duke’s
2006 roster.
Beaten finalist Cornell must replace five starters
who were seniors in 2009. And there’s a spot in the
top 10 for upstart Bucknell. Here’s our …
TOP 10 FOR 2010 MICHAEL DWYER / AP
Records and statistics are for 2009; class years Midfielder Joel White, right, will lead Syracuse’s repeat bid.
are for 2010.
1. Duke (15-4): Has back virtually the entire team,
including senior attackmen Ned Crotty (56
6. Cornell (13-4):Sophomore Roy Lang scored a
goal in the semifinals and final. Also back
are sophomore Rob Pannell (25 goals, 42 assists)
assists) and Max Quinzani (46 goals) and standout and senior Ryan Hurley (45 goals).
defensemen Parker McKee and Mike Manley.
2. Princeton (13-3): Strong on attack with junior
Jack McBride (35 goals) and on defense with
7. Maryland (10-7): Never quite solved the
dilemma of four attackmen for three spots.
Defense will be better with the return of junior
two starters back, plus sophomore goalie Tyler Fiorito Brian Farrell, who redshirted in 2009 with a rib
(.587 save percentage). Need to find some midfielders. injury.
3. Syracuse (16-2): Junior midfielders Josh Ami-
don (14 goals, 9 assists) and Joel White (8
points, 63 groundballs) look like stars in the making as
8. Johns Hopkins (10-5): Starting attack is back
intact. But the defense will not be an elite unit
until 2011 at the earliest after showing very little
the Orange aim for a third consecutive national title. improvement this year. Freshmen will like their
chances of starting on defense and in midfield.
4. North Carolina (12-6 : ) Debut of coach Joe Breschi
included team’s first ACC victory since 2004.
Good balance among junior attackman Billy Bitter (46 9. Bucknell (9-7): Keep an eye on the attack—
seniors Austin Winter (17 goals, 32 assists)
goals, 25 assists), senior midfielder Sean Delaney (35 and Tim Brandau (19 goals) and sophomore Charlie
goals) and starting defensemen Charlie McComas and Streep (25 goals).
Ryan Flanagan.
5. Virginia (15-3): Strong midfielders Shamel Brat-
ton (31 goals) and Brian Carroll (29 goals) are
10. Navy (11-5): Always strong on defense and
the top seven offensive options are back,
including seniors Tim Paul (18 goals, 14 assists) and
back. Lack of depth on defense is a concern. Brendan Connors (21 goals, 10 assists).
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL: BARCELONA VS. MANCHESTER UNITED 2:30 ET today, ESPN
Ronaldo, Messi lead star-studded teams in grand finale
ROME—From Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Lionel
Messi to Wayne Rooney vs. Thierry Henry,
this Champions League final shapes up as a
classic matchup in European club soccer’s
showpiece.
Manchester United against Barcelona
features two of the most entertaining teams
in soccer in a contest to determine which is
the strongest in Europe, if not the world.
A glance at the two talented strikeforces
and imaginative midfields on show at
Rome’s Stadio Olimpico today gives neutral
fans a taste of what could be one of the best
ever finals.
“I think they are two great teams, who in
my mind play the best football, and who-
ever wins the final in Rome will be pro-
claimed the best team in the world,” Messi
said. “It’s been my best year, without doubt.
For the football, the play, for the goals and I
hope to crown it with the Champions
League.”
A strong contender to succeed Man Unit-
ed’s Ronaldo as FIFA player of the year,
Messi missed out on Barcelona’s 2006 tri-
umph because he was injured and didn’t
make it to the final against Arsenal. Now he
faces a Man United side that won the title
last season by beating Chelsea in a penalty
shootout in Moscow and is aiming to become
the first club since AC Milan in 1989-90 to
lift the trophy two seasons in a row.
Having won the Premier League for the
third time in a row, 11th in 17 seasons and
tied Liverpool’s record of 18 league titles,
United is chasing its fourth trophy of the
season. Alex Ferguson’s team has also cap-
tured the FIFA Club World Cup and domes-
tic League Cup to take the veteran manager’s
haul at United to 26 trophies in 23 years.
Ferdinand says he’s fit
Rio Ferdinand says he is fit to face Barce-
lona after recovering from a calf muscle
injury.
Manchester United and Barcelona soccer fans pledge their allegiances before today’s game. Both teams are listed as 10-11 favorites to win the game.
The Manchester United centerback has
missed United’s last four games after only just
returning from a lingering groin problem.
He said: “The injury is fine. I have been
training the last couple of days with the
team and feel good.”
Park set to make history
Park Ji-sung is set to become the first
Asian player to take part in a Champions
League final after Ferguson said the Korean
star would be in the squad.
Park missed last season’s final against
Soccer
Chelsea in Moscow after he was surpris-
ingly left out of the squad despite standout
performances in the previous rounds.
But Ferguson said Tuesday the Korean
national team captain deserved his place in
the squad for today’s final because of his
performances in helping United capture its
third Premier League title in a row and
another appearance in the final of Euro-
pean football’s biggest club competition.
Getting Messi mad
Barcelona technical director
JON SUPER / AP
Begiristain hopes Messi is fed up with the
comparisons to Ronaldo, and takes it out on
Manchester United.
“If Messi is annoyed he becomes very
dangerous,” Begiristain said. “I hope he’s
annoyed. There are a lot of comparisons and
that annoys him and motivates him a lot.”
Police seize fake labels
Italy’s anti-fraud police say they seized
15,000 fake labels with Manchester United
and Barcelona logos on the eve of the Cham-
Txiki pions League final.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 32
Police said that the labels were shipped
from China and were seized at Rome’s
Ciampino airport.
An official said the labels were going to
be used to sell “official-looking” T-shirts
and other merchandise at the game today.
He said three Italians were being
investigated.
Decline of Italian teams
While Italian clubs once dominated in
European competition, the country can
only sit back and watch as the Champions
League final is played in Rome between
teams from England and Spain.
Recent success at the World Cup and
even in the Champions League feels like
an eternity ago as Italian clubs failed to
reach the quarterfinals in the Champions
League this season for the first time in
seven years.
“The decline of the Serie A is pretty much
undeniable,” said Gabriele Marcotti, a book
author and the European football corre-
spondent for the Times of London. “Italian
football has been completely and utterly
mismanaged, to the point that where it has
succeeded it has succeeded in spite of the
people running it.
An even matchup
British bookmakers Williams Hill can’t
split Manchester United and Barcelona
ahead of today’s game, with both teams
listed as 10-11 shots to win the famous
trophy.
Both teams are 11-1 to score a winner in
extra time and 9-1 to win on penalties.
Although Barcelona’s stars have
scored by far the most league and cup
goals this season—151—United’s Ron-
aldo has the shortest odds to score first
at 7-4 ahead of Wayne Rooney and Sam-
uel Eto’o at 2-1.
— The Associated Press
SPORTING NEWS TODAY
World Golf ranking
(Through May 24)
1. Tiger Woods
2. Phil Mickelson
3. Paul Casey
4. Sergio Garcia
5. Henrik Stenson
6. Geoff Ogilvy
7. Kenny Perry
8. Padraig Harrington
9. Vijay Singh
10. Camilo Villegas
11. Robert Karlsson
12. Sean O’Hair
13. Steve Stricker
14. Jim Furyk
15. Anthony Kim
16. Rory McIlroy
17. Lee Westwood
18. Ernie Els
19. Ian Poulter
20. Zach Johnson
21. Angel Cabrera
22. Ross Fisher
23. Mike Weir
24. Martin Kaymer
25. Luke Donald
26. Retief Goosen
27. Rory Sabbatini
28. Stewart Cink
29. Justin Leonard
30. Ben Curtis
31. Nick Watney
32. Alvaro Quiros
33. Tim Clark
34. Shingo Katayama
35. Robert Allenby
36. Soren Kjeldsen
37. Miguel Angel Jimenez
38. Justin Rose
39. Jeev Milkha Singh
40. K.J. Choi
40. Adam Scott
42. Trevor Immelman
43. Dustin Johnson
44. Chad Campbell
45. Oliver Wilson
46. Hunter Mahan
47. Graeme McDowell
48. Stephen Ames
49. Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano
50. David Toms
51. Aaron Baddeley
52. Thongchai Jaidee
53. Ben Crane
54. Davis Love III
55. Prayad Marksaeng
56. Andres Romero
57. Brian Gay
58. J.B. Holmes
59. Mathew Goggin
60. Louis Oosthuizen
61. Charl Schwartzel
62. Pat Perez
63. Kevin Sutherland
64. Boo Weekley
65. Stuart Appleby
66. Anders Hansen
67. Peter Hanson
68. Rod Pampling
69. Soren Hansen
70. Lucas Glover
71. Francesco Molinari
72. Richard Sterne
73. Kevin Na
74. Fred Couples
75. Lin Wen-Tang
www.sportingnews.com Golf WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 33
NOTEBOOK
PGA glance
USA
USA
9.41
8.23
Ishikawa can at least count on major bookends Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial
Site: Fort Worth, Texas.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Eng 6.92
Esp 6.55 Course: Colonial Country Club (7,054 yards, par 70).
Swe 6.26 Ryo Ishikawa didn’t come close to qualifying for Purse: $6.2 million. Winner’s share: $1,116,000.
Aus 6.19 the U.S. Open when he missed by five shots in a qual- TV: Golf Channel (Thursday, 3-6 p.m., 8:30-11:30 p.m.; Friday, 12:30-3:30 a.m., 3-6 p.m., 8:30-
USA 5.79 11:30 p.m.; Saturday, 2-5 a.m.) and CBS (Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m.).
Irl 5.18 ifier in Japan. The 17-year-old sensation still has not
Fji 5.11
Last year: Phil Mickelson made a 9-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a one-stroke victory
Col 4.79
secured a spot in the British Open at Turnberry. over Tim Clark and Rod Pampling. Mickelson also won the 2000 event.
Swe 4.48 But he can count on a start in the PGA Champion- Last week: South Africa’s Rory Sabbatini won the Byron Nelson Championship in Irving for
USA 4.44 his fifth PGA Tour title, closing with a 6-under 64 to hold off Brian Davis by two strokes.
USA 4.40 ship, which offered him an exemption two weeks
Sabbatini had a tournament-record 19-under 261 total.
USA 4.33 ago. Notes: Mickelson withdrew last week after wife Amy was diagnosed with breast cancer.
USA 3.95
NIr 3.80 The Masters also gave Ishikawa a special foreign ... Sabbatini, a Fort Worth resident, won in 2007, beating Jim Furyk and Bernhard Langer
Eng 3.78 exemption, and he missed the cut. Augusta National with a birdie on the first playoff hole. ... Kenny Perry won in 2003 and 2005, finishing with
SAf 3.75 tournament-record 19-under 261 totals. ... Ben Hogan won his hometown event five times.
Eng 3.69 has the most exclusive field among majors, and a long ... England’s Paul Casey is coming of a victory Sunday in the BMW PGA Championship at
USA 3.61
Arg 3.42 history of inviting international players. Wentworth, his third win of season. The Houston Open champion has jumped from 41st
Eng 3.38 The PGA Championship had its own motivesóit to third in the world this year. ... Geoff Ogilvy and Zach Johnson, two-time winners this
Can 3.37 year, also are in the field along with Vijay Singh. ... Ian Baker-Finch, celebrating the 20-year
Ger 3.33 wants the strongest field. anniversary of his Colonial victory, is making his second competitive start in 12 years. The
Eng 3.30 Ishikawa is No. 91 in the world this week, about 10 48-year-old Australian, a television commentator for the last decade, hasn’t played tourna-
SAf 3.30
SAf 3.23 spots lower than when he was awarded the PGA ment golf in eight years, going 74-77 at Colonial to miss the cut. ... The Memorial is next
USA 3.20 week in Dublin, Ohio, followed by the Stanford St. Jude Championship in Memphis, Tenn.,
USA 3.05 exemption. Kerry Haigh, the managing director of CHARLIE RIEDEL / AP and the U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y.
USA 3.02 championships for the PGA of America, said two vic- Ryo Ishikawa secured an exemption for the PGA Championship.
— The Associated Press
USA 2.97
Esp 2.96 tories and his school were two reasons.
SAf 2.87 “For a 17-year-old to have won two tournaments is The association is working with title sponsor
Jpn 2.82
almost unprecedented,” Haigh said Tuesday. “Obvi- Crowne Plaza and the Susan G. Komen Foundation 3, Rory Sabbatini, 1.714. 4, Joe Ogilvie, 1.718.
Aus
Den
2.78
2.77
PGA Tour statistics 5, Steve Stricker, 1.721. 6 (tie), Mike Weir and
Esp 2.74 ously, he has great potential and ability, having moved to raise awareness of breast cancer. (Through May 24) Dean Wilson, 1.722. 8 (tie), Charlie Wi and
Eng 2.71 into the top 65 of the world when he was invited.” Mickelson is the defending champion this week, Scoring Average Kevin Na, 1.723. 10, 2 tied with 1.728.
Ind 2.70 1, Sean O’Hair, 69.73. 2, David Toms, 69.74. 3 Birdie Average
Kor 2.69 Actually, Ishikawa was No. 65 in February when but has taken an indefinite leave from the PGA Tour. (tie), Kenny Perry and Steve Stricker, 69.76. 5, 1, Geoff Ogilvy, 4.61. 2, Dustin Johnson, 4.53.
Aus 2.69 he nearly qualified for the Accenture Match Play He is home in San Diego, awaiting test results this Zach Johnson, 69.82. 6, Nick Watney, 69.85. 7,
SAf 2.60 3, Anthony Kim, 4.50. 4, Sean O’Hair, 4.40. 5,
Brian Gay, 69.93. 8 (tie), Charley Hoffman, Luke Charley Hoffman, 4.29. 6, Paul Casey, 4.25. 7,
USA 2.53 Championship. Still, it is not uncommon for the PGA week to determine the extent of the cancer. Donald and Kevin Na, 69.96.
USA 2.48 Nick Watney, 4.23. 8, Hunter Mahan, 4.21. 9,
Eng 2.45 to offer exemptions early to players inside the top 100 Driving Distance Fred Couples, 4.13. 10, Tim Clark, 4.11.
USA
NIr
2.38
2.32
as it strives for the strongest field in golf. Duke downs Perez 1, Bubba Watson, 313.3. 2, Gary Woodland,
308.7. 3, Robert Garrigus, 308.2. 4, Dustin
Eagles (Holes per)
1, Bubba Watson, 73.8. 2, Nick Watney, 79.2. 3,
Can 2.30 Haigh said the fact Ishikawa is not finished with What Pat Perez described as a “mishap” could keep Johnson, 307.0. 5, Nick Watney, 302.6. 6, Scott Mike Weir, 92.6. 4, Phil Mickelson, 93.0. 5, Ryan
Esp 2.29 high school also was considered. him off the PGA Tour until after the U.S. Open. Perez Piercy, 302.0. 7, Angel Cabrera, 301.9. 8, Charley Palmer, 94.5. 6, Chris Stroud, 96.8. 7, Retief
USA 2.28 Hoffman, 300.9. 9, Bill Haas, 300.2. 10, Harrison
Aus 2.25 “It was our understanding he has schooling issues,” wrote on his Web site that he tore two ligaments in his Goosen, 99.0. 8, Dustin Johnson, 101.3. 9 (tie),
Frazar, 299.9. Tag Ridings and Tommy Gainey, 103.5.
Tha 2.24
USA 2.21 Haigh said. “He needs some time to plan accordingly. We ankle while running with Duke, his German Shepherd. Driving Accuracy Percentage Sand Save Percentage
1, Mark Brooks, 79.81%. 2, David Toms, 74.32%.
USA 2.19 felt an invite earlier would allow him to plan his travel “He went one way, I went another and somehow 3, Brian Gay, 73.38%. 4, Joe Durant, 72.99%. 5,
1, David Mathis, 68.33%. 2, Luke Donald,
Tha 2.19 66.10%. 3, Brad Adamonis, 63.41%. 4, George
Arg 2.19 schedule in the summer and not affect his schooling.” missed the curb and wrecked my ankle,” Perez said. Scott Verplank, 72.45%. 6, Bart Bryant, 72.11%. McNeill, 63.29%. 5, Ken Duke, 62.86%. 6, Brian
USA 2.19 “Definitely not the best time for this to happen as we 7, Tim Clark, 71.35%. 8, Scott McCarron, Gay, 62.71%. 7, Mike Weir , 62.69%. 8, Webb
USA 2.18 70.92%. 9, Tom Lehman, 70.24%. 10, Heath
Aus 2.18 Pink power have the British Open and U.S. Open qualifiers Slocum, 70.19%.
Simpson, 62.50%. 9, Robert Allenby, 61.82%.
10, Kevin Na, 61.43%.
SAf 2.16 Greens in Regulation Pct.
SAf 2.11 John Daly wore his pink pants on Sunday at Went- around the corner.” All-Around Ranking
1, Briny Baird, 71.24%. 2, Camilo Villegas, 1, Sean O’Hair, 239. 2, Kenny Perry, 279. 3, Nick
USA 2.09 worth, while Rory Sabbatini went with a pink shirt Perez pulled out of the Byron Nelson and Colonial, 71.14%. 3, John Senden, 70.98%. 4, D.J.
USA 2.03 Watney, 282. 4, Charlie Wi, 301. 5, Tim Clark,
USA 1.98 when he won the Byron Nelson Championship, both and said he likely wouldn’t play Memorial. He usu- Trahan, 70.25%. 5, Sean O’Hair, 70.16%. 6, 305. 6, Steve Stricker, 316. 7, Dustin Johnson,
Aus 1.95 sartorial choices to honor Phil Mickelson’s wife, Amy, ally doesn’t play the St. Jude Championship, and he is Jay Williamson, 70.14%. 7, K.J. Choi, 69.93%. 322. 8, David Toms, 324. 9, Charley Hoffman,
Den 1.94 8, Mark Brooks, 69.63%. 9, Dustin Johnson,
Swe 1.94 who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. not eligible for the U.S. Open. That means he likely 370. 10, Stephen Ames, 383.
69.26%. 10, Kenny Perry, 69.25%. PGA TOUR Official Money Leaders
Aus 1.91 Total Driving
Den 1.90 Now, the PGA Tour Wives Association is getting won’t return until the Travelers Championship in 1, Phil Mickelson (10), $3,238,635. 2, Geoff
1, Jonathan Byrd, 74. 2, Lucas Glover, 76. 3, Ogilvy (10), $3,155,529. 3, Zach Johnson (13),
USA 1.87 involved. Connecticut at the end of June. Mathew Goggin, 87. 4, Bill Haas, 88. 5, Boo
Ita 1.85 $3,130,921. 4, Sean O’Hair (11), $2,963,842.
SAf 1.85 In a memo being circulated at Colonial, the group is Doctors are recommending he take it easy, which Weekley, 93. 6 (tie), Kenny Perry and Robert 5, Kenny Perry (12), $2,705,259. 6, Nick
USA 1.83 Allenby, 96. 8, John Senden, 98. 9, D.J. Trahan,
USA 1.79
asking all players and wives to take part in a “Pink appears to be a tall order, even though he’s in a cast up 102. 10, David Toms, 103.
Watney (12), $2,497,253. 7, Rory Sabbatini
(13), $2,388,973. 8, Paul Casey (6), $2,299,950.
Twn 1.79 Out” on Saturday by wearing pink to show support to his knee. Putting Average 9, Tiger Woods (6), $2,166,813. 10, Dustin
for Amy Mickelson. — The Associated Press 1, Luke Donald, 1.696. 2, Geoff Ogilvy, 1.703. Johnson (14), $1,987,970.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Glance
PARIS—A look at the French Open
on Tuesday:
Weather: Rainy in the morn-
ing, sunny in the afternoon. High
of 63 degrees.
Attendance: 34,250.
Men’s Seeded Winners: No.
4 Novak Djokovic, No. 5 Juan
Martin del Potro, No. 9 Jo-Wilfried
Tsonga, No. 11 Gael Monfils,
No. 16 Tommy Robredo, No. 29
Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Men’s Seeded Losers: No. 15
James Blake, No. 22 Mardy Fish,
No. 27 Rainer Schuettler.
Women’s Seeded Winners:
No. 2 Serena Williams, No.
4 Elena Dementieva, No. 5
Jelena Jankovic, No. 7 Svetlana
Kuznetsova, No. 10 Caroline
Wozniacki, No. 18 Anna Medina
Garrigues, No. 24 Aleksandra
Wozniak, No. 28 Sybille Bammer,
No. 30 Samantha Stosur.
Women’s Seeded Loser: No.
31 Peng Shuai.
Stat of the Day: 14 — con-
secutive games dropped by
Schuettler to begin his 6-0, 6-0,
6-4 loss to Marc Gicquel.
Quote of the Day: “Couldn’t
you tell how tortured I was out
there? I think my face said it all.”
— Williams after needing three sets to get
past her 100th-ranked opponent.
On court today: No. 1 Rafael
Nadal vs. Teimuraz Gabashvili, No.
3 Andy Murray vs. Potito Starace,
No. 7 Gilles Simon vs. Robert
Kendrick; No. 1 Dinara Safina vs.
Vitalia Diatchenko, No. 3 Venus
Williams vs. Lucie Safarova, No.
8 Ana Ivanovic vs. Tamarine
Tanasugarn.
Today’s forecast: Sunny
in the morning but windy and
cloudy in the afternoon. High
of 63.
Today’s TV: Tennis Channel,
5 a.m.-noon ET; ESPN2, noon to
6:30 p.m. ET.
Williams needs 9 match points to win
PARIS—Serena Williams entered
Tuesday with a 37-0 record in the first
round at Grand Slam tournaments.
She also began the day with a
four-match losing streak, the lon-
gest of her career.
Williams focused on the second of
those statistics, the more discourag-
ing one. And while she never
appeared truly in danger of coming
out on the wrong end against 100th-
ranked Klara Zakopalova, there were
times when it did seem Williams sim-
ply could not wrap things up.
Twice, Williams served for the
match and was broken. Eight times,
Williams was a single point from vic-
tory and couldn’t complete the task.
Finally, on match point No. 9, Zako-
palova pushed a forehand wide to seal
Williams’ 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4 victory,
leaving the 10-time Grand Slam
champion screaming and hopping at
the baseline in a mix of joy and relief.
“I was just desperate for a win,”
the second-seeded Williams said,
“and I think it pretty much showed
in my game.”
Whether it was the result of rust
or a lingering knee injury or the
swirling wind that carried debris
from the stands onto the court, Wil-
liams’ mistakes kept coming. She
finished with the same number of
unforced errors as winners, 35,
wound up wasting 13 of 20 break
points and put only 55 percent of her
first serves in play.
Williams called her performance
“horrendous,” and said: “I just played
junior tennis—or even worse.”
All in all, it was a 2½-hour struggle
for the 2002 French Open champion.
Afterward, she went on court with
older sister Venus to play doubles, a
Tennis
FRENCH OPEN
‘I was just desperate for a win,’ Serena Williams said of her match against Klara Zakopalova.
match suspended in the third set at
about 9:45 p.m. because of darkness.
It was an anticlimactic end to a
Day 3 that brought the first rain of
the tournament, a two-hour-plus
delay that interrupted easy victories
for No. 5 Jelena Jankovic and No. 7
Svetlana Kuznetsova.
The only newsworthy upsets
might not necessarily count as sig-
nificant surprises, actually, given
that they involved U.S. men losing
to Argentines: No. 15 James Blake
lost to qualifier Leonardo Mayer 7-6
(6), 7-5, 6-2, and No. 22 Mardy Fish
was beaten by Maximo Gonzalez
6-3, 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
Bobby Reynolds lost in straight sets
to No. 11 Gael Monfils of France, mak-
ing U.S. men 2-7 in the first round.
Tuesday’s winners included No. 4
Novak Djokovic—whose opponent,
LIONEL CIRONNEAU / AP
Nicolas Lapentti, quit after hurting
his ankle—No. 5 Juan Martin del
Potro, No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and
2003 champion Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Ferrero needed five sets to beat
2006 semifinalist Ivan Ljubicic,
and while that and other matches
might have interested fans, nothing
going on around Roland Garros
came close to the potential shock
value of a loss by Williams.
Set aside, for a moment, that Zako-
palova beat Williams on clay last
month at Marbella, Spain, part of
the American’s recent skid on the
slow surface. Instead, consider this:
The Czech player is 7-24 at Grand
Slam tournaments.
“I feel very disappointed,” Zako-
palova said. “She’s Serena.”
Well, yes, she is, but she didn’t
play like Serena for long stretches
Tuesday, including when she fell
behind 3-0 in the second set.
Right after that, though, Williams
won five consecutive games—
including 10 points in a row—to go
ahead 5-3.
Seemingly back in control, Wil-
liams slipped again into sloppy play.
“It just happens,” she said. “It
shouldn’t happen at my stage in my
career, but it did.”
In the next game, Williams
wasted five match points, including
a marvelous 32-stroke exchange
that ended when she sailed a fore-
hand wide as the pitch of her grunts
rose by an octave at a time.
Still up 5-4, still a game from vic-
tory, Williams double-faulted and
was broken.
“I probably should have closed it
out,” Williams acknowledged, “but
I just didn’t, and I couldn’t.”
An errant forehand by Williams
capped the tiebreaker and sent the
match to a third set, where she held
three more match points with Zako-
palova serving at 5-2.
But with Williams playing tenta-
tively, Zakopalova erased those three
chances, too, then broke to 5-4.
By now, the crowd at Court
Suzanne Lenglen was backing the
underdog, chanting “Kla-ra!” and
giving Williams a hard time when
she’d question calls.
“They don’t really pull for me a lot
here,” Williams said. “That’s fine.”
Eventually, she came through,
gritting her teeth and dealing with
those spectators, her own shaky
play, her balky knee, the 50-degree
weather, the upset-minded
opponent.
— The Associated Press
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 34
Results
Tuesday
At Stade Roland Garros
Paris
Purse: $21.8 million (Grand Slam)
Surface: Clay-Outdoor
Singles
Men
First Round
JuanMartindelPotro(5),Argentina,def.MichaelLlodra,France,6-3,
6-3,6-1.
MarcGicquel,France,def.RainerSchuettler(27),Germany,6-0,6-0,6-4.
AndreasBeck,Germany,def.IvanNavarro,Spain,7-6(9),6-4,6-1.
VictorCrivoi,Romania,def.SimonGreul,Germany,6-1,7-6(1),6-2.
DanielGimeno-Traver,Spain,def.EvgenyKorolev,Russia,6-4,retired.
GaelMonfils(11),France,def.BobbyReynolds,UnitedStates,6-2,
6-3,6-1.
NovakDjokovic(4),Serbia,def.NicolasLapentti,Ecuador,6-3,3-1,retired.
PhilippKohlschreiber(29),Germany,def.BernardTomic,Australia,
6-1,6-2,6-2.
ViktorTroicki,Serbia,def.LukaszKubot,Poland,3-6,6-3,6-4,6-7(4),6-3.
TommyRobredo(16),Spain,def.AdrianMannarino,France,6-2,6-1,
6-2.
MaximoGonzalez,Argentina,def.MardyFish(22),UnitedStates,6-3,
1-6,6-4,7-6(4).
SergiyStakhovsky,Ukraine,def.BrianDabul,Argentina,4-6,7-5,7-6
(2),6-3.
AndreasSeppi,Italy,def.GuillermoGarcia-Lopez,Spain,6-3,6-3,6-1.
JuanMonaco,Argentina,def.MarcosBaghdatis,Cyprus,6-3,6-2,6-4.
Jo-WilfriedTsonga(9),France,def.JulienBenneteau,France,6-4,3-6,
6-3,6-4.
JuanCarlosFerrero,Spain,def.IvanLjubicic,Croatia,2-6,6-4,6-4,3-6,6-3.
TommyHaas,Germany,def.AndreiPavel,Romania,6-1,6-4,6-4.
LeonardoMayer,Argentina,def.JamesBlake(15),UnitedStates,7-6
(6),7-5,6-2.
ChristopheRochus,Belgium,leadsFabriceSantoro,France,6-3,6-1,3-6,
5-3,susp.,darkness.
DmitryTursunov(21),Russia,vs.ArnaudClement,France,3-6,6-3,
susp.,darkness.
Women
First Round
JelenaJankovic(5),Serbia,def.PetraCetkovska,CzechRepublic,6-2,6-3.
SvetlanaKuznetsova(7),Russia,def.ClaireFeuerstein,France,6-1,6-4.
SybilleBammer(28),Austria,def.NathalieDechy,France,6-3,7-6(1).
MelindaCzink,Hungary,def.AnastasijaSevastova,Latvia,3-6,6-4,6-1.
PetraMartic,Croatia,def.MaraSantangelo,Italy,6-4,6-2.
GalinaVoskoboeva,Kazakhstan,def.SaniaMirza,India,6-4,7-6(3).
MagdalenaRybarikova,Slovakia,def.KristinaMladenovic,France,6-1,
2-6,8-6.
AleksandraWozniak(24),Canada,def.MonicaNiculescu,Romania,
6-4,4-6,6-3.
CarolineWozniacki(10),Denmark,def.VeraDushevina,Russia,4-6,
7-5,6-1.
VirginiaRuanoPascual,Spain,def.NicoleVaidisova,CzechRepublic,
6-4,6-3.
VirginieRazzano,France,def.DanielaHantuchova,Slovakia,6-3,6-3.
SerenaWilliams(3),UnitedStates,def.KlaraZakopalova,CzechRepublic,
6-3,6-7(5),6-4.
ElenaDementieva(4),Russia,def.ChanelleScheepers,SouthAfrica,
6-4,6-3.
YaninaWickmayer,Belgium,def.UrszulaRadwanska,Poland,4-6,
6-3,6-0.
JelenaDokic,Australia,def.KarolinaSprem,Croatia,3-6,6-1,6-2.
SoranaCirstea,Romania,def.CarlyGullickson,UnitedStates,6-4,6-2.
SamanthaStosur(30),Australia,def.FrancescaSchiavone,Italy,6-4,6-2.
ViktoriyaKutuzova,Ukraine,def.ZuzanaOndraskova,CzechRepublic,
6-2,6-4.
AnabelMedinaGarrigues(18),Spain,def.EkaterinaMakarova,Russia,
6-2,5-7,6-0.
MariaJoseMartinezSanchez,Spain,def.PengShuai(31),China,1-6,
6-2,6-4.
AlizeCornet(21),France,leadsMaretAni,Estonia,6-4,4-4,susp.,
darkness.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com College Baseball WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 35
NCAA Division I regionals glance
At Clark-LeClair Stadium At McKethan Stadium
All times ET, Double Elimination

At Alex Box Stadium At UFCU Disch-Falk Field

Gwynn, Aztecs focused after drama
Greenville, N.C. Gainesville, Fla. Baton Rouge, La. Austin, Texas
Friday Friday Friday Friday SAN DIEGO—Finally, Tony Gwynn
Game 1 : South Carolina (38-21) vs. George Game 1 : Miami (36-20) vs. Jacksonville (36-20), Game 1 : LSU (46-16) vs. Southern U. (30-15), Game 1 : Texas State (41-15) vs. Boston College
Mason (42-12), 3 p.m. 1 p.m. 2 p.m. (33-24), 2 p.m. could exhale.
Game 2 : East Carolina (42-17) vs. Binghamton Game 2 : Florida (39-20) vs. Bethune-Cookman Game 2 : Minnesota (38-17) vs. Baylor (29-24), Game 2 : Texas (41-13-1) vs. Army (34-19), 7 p.m.
(29-20), 7 p.m. (32-26), 6:30 p.m. 7 p.m. Saturday After enduring two long nights
Saturday Saturday Saturday Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 2 p.m. and spending hour after hour on
Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 2 p.m. Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 1 p.m. Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 2 p.m. Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner,
Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m. his computer keeping track of col-
6 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 7 p.m. Sunday lege baseball tournaments across
Sunday Sunday Sunday Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 2 p.m.
Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 2 p.m. Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 1 p.m. Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 2 p.m. Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, the country, Gwynn and his San
Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m. Diego State Aztecs got the news
6 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 7 p.m. Monday
Monday Monday Monday Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 Monday morning that they were
Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 6 Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 6:30 Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m., if necessary indeed going to the NCAA
p.m., if necessary p.m., if necessary p.m., if necessary
At Packard Stadium regionals.
At Boshamer Stadium At Dick Howser Stadium At L. Dale Mitchell Park Tempe, Ariz. “The fact that we got in—big
Chapel Hill, N.C. Tallahassee, Fla. Norman, Okla. Friday
Friday Friday Friday Game 1 : Oral Roberts (31-13) vs. Cal Poly relief,” the Hall of Famer said after
Game 1 : Coastal Carolina (46-14) vs. Kansas Game 1 : Georgia (37-22) vs. Ohio State (40-17), Game 1 : Arkansas (34-22) vs. Washington State (37-19), 5 p.m. watching the selection show with
(37-22), 2 p.m. Noon (31-23), 2 p.m. Game 2 : Arizona State (44-12) vs. Kent State
Game 2 : North Carolina (42-16) vs. Dartmouth Game 2 : Florida State (42-16) vs. Marist (31-26), Game 2 : Oklahoma (41-18) vs. Wichita State (42-15), 10 p.m. his team. “It was like, ‘All right,
(27-16), 6 p.m. 4 p.m. (30-25), 8 p.m. Saturday
Saturday Saturday Saturday Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 5 p.m. we’re in, so let’s focus in on the
Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 1 p.m. Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, Noon Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 2 p.m. Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, baseball now.’
Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 10 p.m.
5 p.m. 4 p.m. 8 p.m. Sunday “We’re very excited about being
Sunday Sunday Sunday Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 4 p.m. in.”
Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 1 p.m. Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, Noon Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 2 p.m. Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner,
Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 9 p.m. SDSU and its ace righthander,
5 p.m. 4 p.m. 8 p.m. Monday Stephen Strasburg, will play ACC
Monday Monday Monday Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 9
Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 6 Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 8 p.m., if necessary champion Virginia on Friday at
p.m., if necessary p.m., if necessary p.m., if necessary Irvine, followed by defending
At Anteater Ballpark
At Doug Kingsmore Stadium At Jim Patterson Stadium At Reckling Park Irvine, Calif. national champion Fresno State LENNY IGNELZI / AP
Clemson, S.C. Louisville, Ky. Houston Friday against UC Irvine, which is ranked
Friday Friday Friday Game 1 : Virginia (43-12-1) vs. San Diego State Ace and likely top draft pick Stephen Strasburg helped lead San Diego State to the regionals.
Game 1 : Alabama (37-19) vs. Oklahoma State Game 1 : Middle Tennessee (43-16) vs. Vanderbilt Game 1 : Kansas State (41-16-1) vs. Xavier (40-21), 7 p.m. No. 1 in most polls.
(32-22), 3 p.m. (34-25), 3 p.m. (38-19), 3 p.m. Game 2 : UC Irvine (43-13) vs. Fresno State Gwynn figured SDSU (40-21) basketball star during his SDSU now, let’s keep going. Let’s see how
Game 2 : Clemson (40-19) vs. Tennessee Tech Game 2 : Louisville (44-15) vs. Indiana (32-25), Game 2 : Rice (39-15) vs. Sam Houston State (32-28), 11 p.m.
(30-22-1), 7 p.m. 7 p.m. (36-22), 7 p.m. Saturday had a chance of getting a postseason career—would replace retiring Jim far we can go.”
Saturday Saturday Saturday Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 7 p.m.
Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 3 p.m. Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 3 p.m. Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 3 p.m. Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, berth but also knew that the Moun- Dietz starting with the 2003 sea- Gwynn said the Aztecs probably
Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 11 p.m. tain West had never gotten more son. Gwynn showed up on campus will start Strasburg in the opener
7 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. Sunday
Sunday Sunday Sunday Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 7 p.m. than one team in. It ended up get- the morning after his last game in on Friday.
Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 3 p.m. Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 3 p.m. Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 3 p.m. Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, ting three—TCU, which is hosting a the big leagues and spent the 2002 Strasburg, the likely No. 1 overall
Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 11 p.m.
7 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. Monday regional; Utah, which won the con- season as a volunteer assistant. draft pick, is 13-0 with a 1.24 ERA. He
Monday Monday Monday Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 11 ference tournament as the No. 6 Gwynn doesn’t necessarily think no-hit Air Force in his last home start.
Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m., if necessary
p.m., if necessary p.m., if necessary p.m., if necessary seed; and SDSU. this berth validates what he’s done. There was no question Strasburg
At Goodwin Field It’s taken Gwynn seven seasons “I don’t know about validation, it’s was a factor in the Aztecs getting
At Russ Chandler Stadium At Oxford-University Stadium At Lupton Baseball Stadium Fullerton, Calif.
Atlanta Oxford, Miss. Fort Worth, Texas Friday in his dream job to get his alma just about time,” Gwynn said. “I think the berth, Gwynn said.
Friday Friday Friday Game 1 : Georgia Southern (42-15) vs. Gonzaga mater back to the NCAA regionals. people are saying, ‘Yeah, it’s about “Best player in the country, people
Game 1 : Elon (40-16) vs. Southern Mississippi Game 1 : Missouri (34-25) vs. Western Kentucky Game 1 : Texas A&M (36-22) vs. Oregon State (35-16), 6 p.m.
(35-23), 3 p.m. (39-18), 4 p.m. (35-17), 3 p.m. Game 2 : Cal State Fullerton (42-14) vs. Utah Their last postseason appearance time, you’ve been there seven years.’ want to see him,” the coach said.
Game 2 : Georgia Tech (35-17-1) vs. Georgia State Game 2 : Mississippi (40-17) vs. Monmouth, N.J. Game 2 : TCU (36-16) vs. Wright State (33-28), (26-29), 10 p.m. was in 1991, when he was halfway We finally got here. This is where “That’s kind of like our ace in the
(39-20), 7 p.m. (32-23), 8 p.m. 7 p.m. Saturday
Saturday Saturday Saturday Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 5 p.m. through his 20-season career with we’ve wanted to go the whole time. hole. You want it to be on merit. We
Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 3 p.m. Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 2 p.m. Game 3 : Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 3 p.m. Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner,
Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, Game 4 : Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 9 p.m. the Padres. “I said that at the beginning of the won 40 games. There aren’t many
7 p.m. 6 p.m. 7 p.m. Sunday Gwynn got the SDSU job even year we’ve got to climb this moun- teams in this field that won 40
Sunday Sunday Sunday Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 5 p.m.
Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 3 p.m. Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 2 p.m. Game 5 : Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 3 p.m. Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, before he was finished with his tain. We’ve been climbing, climb- games. We felt like we were worthy.
Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, Game 6 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 9 p.m. Padres career. The school ing, climbing; almost get to the top Having the best player in the country
7 p.m. 6 p.m. 7 p.m. Monday
Monday Monday Monday Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 9 announced in September 2001 that and slide back down. This year didn’t hurt. It worked out. We’re in.”
Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 8 Game 7 : Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m., if necessary Gwynn—who was a baseball and we’ve finally gotten to it, and so — The Associated Press
p.m., if necessary p.m., if necessary p.m., if necessary
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com Back Page WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 36
IN BRIEF
TRANSACTIONS
Major League Soccer BASEBALL United League
EASTERN CONFERENCE American League RIO GRANDE VALLEY WHITEW-
W L T Pts GF GA INGS: Signed RHP Todd Lutz and
Chicago 4 0 6 18 17 11 BALTIMORE ORIOLES: Placed OF
D.C. 3 1 7 16 17 15 Lou Montanez on the 15-day C Ryan Kottke.
Toronto FC 4 3 4 16 16 16 DL. Purchased the contract of SAN ANGELO COLTS: Signed C
Kansas City 4 4 3 15 15 13 RHP Jason Berken from Norfolk Matt Acevedo and SS Butch
New England 2 3 4 10 8 16 (IL). Ballez.
Columbus 1 2 6 9 12 15
New York 2 6 3 9 10 13 BOSTON RED SOX: Assigned RHP FOOTBALL
John Smoltz to Portland (EL). National Football League
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W L T Pts GF GA CLEVELAND INDIANS: Optioned CLEVELAND BROWNS: Signed CB
Chivas USA 7 1 3 24 15 6 OF Matt LaPorta to Columbus Rod Hood.
Seattle 4 2 4 16 14 8 (IL). Recalled OF Trevor Crowe Canadian Football League
Houston 4 2 3 15 11 7 from Columbus.
Colorado 3 2 4 13 13 11 EDMONTON ESKIMOS: Signed
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: Assigned DB Brandent Englemon, DB
Real Salt Lake 3 5 2 11 14 13
Los Angeles 1 1 8 11 12 12 RHP Victor Marte to Omaha Tyler Everett and DB Therrian
FC Dallas 1 6 3 6 9 17 (PCL) and RHP Aaron Hartsock Fontenont.
San Jose 1 6 2 5 9 19 to Northwest Arkansas (Texas). SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS:
NEW YORK YANKEES: Recalled Signed DB Tamon George and
NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. RHP David Robertson from OL Nick Hutchins.
Today’s game Toronto FC at Houston, 8:30 p.m. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (IL). WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS:
San Jose at Columbus, 7:30 p.m. Columbus at Seattle FC, 10:30 p.m. TAMPA BAY RAYS: Placed SS
Thursday’s game Kansas City at Los Angeles, 10:30 Extended the contracts of
Jason Bartlett on the 15-day DL. LB Siddeeq Shabass and WR
Chicago at Chivas USA, 10:30 p.m. p.m.
Saturday’s games Real Salt Lake at San Jose, 10:30 p.m. Purchased the contract of INF Adarius Bowman. Signed DL
Colorado at New York, 7:30 p.m. Sunday’s game Joe Dillon from Durham (IL). Chase Orteiz and DB Jasper
D.C. United at New England, 7:30 FC Dallas at Chicago, 3 p.m. National League Johnson.
p.m. CINCINNATI REDS: Activated RHP arenafootball2
Nick Masset from the 15-day MAHONING VALLEY THUNDER_
Appleton, Wisconsin. Dan Leslie’s one-out DL. Optioned C-INF-OF Wilkin Named Chris MacKeown coach.
single in the 12th inning of the second game Castillo to Louisville (IL).
HOCKEY
gave St. Thomas the title for the second time. Assigned OF Darnell McDonald
outright to Louisville. National Hockey League
BILL FRIEL / AP The Tommies also won it all in 2001. HOUSTON ASTROS: Assigned INF EDMONTON OILERS: Named Pat
Vitor Meira could miss up to four months of action after a wreck at the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. Paul Tracy will race in the No. 14 car this weekend. The St. Paul school now has 13 national Jason Smith outright to Round Quinn coach and Tom Renney
associate coach.
championships. Rock (PCL).
NEW YORK RANGERS: Agreed to
NEW YORK METS: Placed OF
Ryan Church, retroactive to May terms with D Michael Del Zotto.

Armstrong riding high again Auto Racing

FRANCAVILLA AL MARE, ITALY—Lance Arm-
strong is back on schedule in his Tour de
France preparations.
Two months ago, the seven-time Tour
winner fell and broke his collarbone at a
race in Spain, jeopardizing his entire
comeback after three and a half years of
retirement.
Now, in the third week of the Giro
d’Italia, Armstrong is starting to keep up
with the race leaders on the tough climbs.
“It’s exactly what I hoped for,” Astana
team manager Johan Bruyneel told The
Associated Press on Tuesday during the
Giro’s second rest day.
Armstrong sits 12th overall—11 minutes,
6 seconds behind race leader Denis Men-
chov of Russia. Bruyneel suggested Arm-
strong would be between fifth and seventh
overall if he were riding for himself instead
of shepherding teammates.
Golf
TOLEDO, OHIO—Northwestern’s Jonathan
Bowers, Illinois’ Scott Langley and North
Carolina State’s Matt Hill shot 2-under-
par 69s to lead the individual race, while
Oklahoma State and Georgia shared the
team lead through Tuesday’s opening
round at the NCAA Division I men’s golf
championship.
TCU’s Tom Hoge was 4 under through
INDIANAPOLIS—It could take Vitor Meira
four months to recover from injuries sus-
tained during Sunday’s Indianapolis 500,
23, and INF Jose Reyes, retroac-
tive to May 21, on the 15-day
DL. Purchased the contract of OF
Fernando Martinez from Buffalo
WASHINGTON CAPITALS: Signed
C Jake Hauswirth to a three-
year contract.
SOCCER
Major League Soccer
(IL). Acquired INF Wilson Valdez
17 holes, but was short-sided in a green- and he may not return to his Florida home from Cleveland for cash consid- SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES:
side bunker and twice had his ball roll until later this week. erations. Named Paul Asencio Signed F Cornell Glen.
back at him after shots. His triple-bogey Series officials said Tuesday that Meira senior vice president, corporate COLLEGE
left him at 70 along with San Diego’s Alex was expected to spend his third consecu- sales and partnerships. ARKANSAS: Announced sopho-
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: more basketball G Jeff Peterson
Ching, UCLA’s Philip Francis, Tennes- tive night at Methodist Hospital after Announced executive Pat Gal- transferred from Iowa.
see’s David Holmes and Washington’s breaking two vertebrae in his back. lagher will leave the organiza- ILLINOIS STATE: Named Mike
Nick Taylor. Only eight players in the 156- Though he could be released from the tion, effective June 30. Williams assistant media rela-
man field broke par. Indy hospital Wednesday, Meira may not Atlantic League tions director.
LONG ISLAND DUCKS: An- SOUTH CAROLINA-AIKEN:
be cleared for travel until Saturday. Announced sophomore F Kyly
nounced Tabasco (Mexican) has
Baseball A.J. Foyt, Meira’s team owner, moved purchased the contract of OF Cannon is transferring from
APPLETON, WIS.—The University of St. quickly to replace him in the No. 14 car Raul Gonzalez. Oklahoma.
Thomas baseball team won the NCAA albeit temporarily. The four-time Indy Northern League SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE:
FARGO-MOORHEAD REDHAWKS: Named Kyle Gerdeman men’s
Division III championship. winner hired former Champ Car points assistant basketball coach.
Released C Kyle Johnson.
The Tommies beat Wooster of Ohio twice champion Paul Tracy to replace Meira JOLIET JACKHAMMERS: Agreed
on Tuesday to take the double-elimination this weekend in Milwaukee. to terms with INF Mike Garcia.
tournament at Fox Cities Stadium in — The Associated Press