Greg Paulus’ jump back to foot-

ball has made him the most popular

quarterback transfer this offseason.

But Robert Marve, who started last

year for Miami, might be the most

important.

The likely landing spots for Marve,

who’ll be eligible to play in 2010:

Purdue. Marve loved the place

coming out of high school, but

cold weather and distance from his

Tampa home hurt the Boilermakers.

He could follow the Drew Brees-Kyle

Orton path to the NFL in Purdue’s

spread offense. Odds: 3-2.

Nebraska. A training camp

duel next summer with Cody Green,

an early enrollee this winter, would

mirror Marve’s competition with

Jacory Harris at Miami. Odds: 10-1.

Arizona State. This option

went from probable to doubtful

after former Michigan quarterback

Steven Threet enrolled. Odds: 15-1.

South Florida. By staying

home, Marve could inherit the Bulls’

offense from Matt Grothe. But a

coordinator change leaves some

uncertainty in the program. Odds:

15-1.

— Dave Curtis

PAGES 20-27

AL & NLPAGE

& NNLLLLLTEAM STATSTEAM STATS

Paulus fits with ’Cuse, Page 28

ALAN DIAZ / AP

Purdue has produced NFL QBs, and Robert Marve likes the Boilermakers.

QB Marve plots his next move

TUESDAY

MAY 12, 2009

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME

VOLUME 1 ISSUE 294

Scoreboard

Baseball American League

Cleveland 9, Chicago White Sox 4

National League

Atlanta 8, N.Y. Mets 3

Cincinnati 13, Arizona 5

San Francisco 11, Washington 7

ASK THE QBGot something you’d like

to ask the Falcons’ Matt Ryan or the Jaguars’ David Garrard?

E-mail your questions, along with your name and home-town, to yourturn@sporting-

news.com. We’ll pick our five favorites for each and bounce them off the quarterbacks this week.

MLB > 15 NFL > 31 NBA > 11 NHL > 6 NASCAR > 34 COLLEGE FOOTBALL > 28 COLLEGE BASKETBALL > 30 TENNIS > 37 LACROSSE > 35QUICK LINKS:

NHL Playoffs Eastern Conference

Washington 5, Pittsburgh 4, OT

(Series tied 3-3)

Western Conference

Chicago 7, Vancouver 5

(Chicago wins series 4-2)

NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference

Cleveland 84, Atlanta 74

(Cleveland wins series 4-0)

Western Conference

Dallas 119, Denver 117

(Denver leads series 3-1)

JOHN BAZEMORE / AP

Matt Ryan

Garrard

Vikes like FavreMinnesota president confirms interest as QB works with preps Page 31

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Process of elimination Cavs, Blackhawks advance; Washington forces Game 7

NBA PLAYOFFS NHL PLAYOFFS

BY SEAN DEVENEYsdeveney@sportingnews.com

Already, we’ve got a team with a ticket into the NBA’s conference finals. The Cavaliers were first into the league’s Final Four Monday night, nudging Atlanta, 84-74—which counts as close for a team that has swept two playoff match-ups by an average of 16.8 points. The win kept alive Cleveland’s per-fect playoff record, and also kept alive its record-setting string of postseason games won by double digits (also eight).

LeBron James had his worst game of this postseason, which isn’t say-ing much, because he still finished with 27 points, eight assists and eight rebounds. James is now aver-aging 32.9 points with 9.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists. Impressed? Uh, no. “Why should we celebrate?” James wondered. “We’re a team that’s playing for a championship.”

The Cavaliers will face the win-ner of Boston-Orlando, which is

shaping to be a long series. James shrugged that off, too. “An advance is an advance,” James said. “No matter if you win in four games or you win in game seven.”

Try telling that to the other six teams locked in playoff battles.

BY CRAIG CUSTANCEccustance@sportingnews.com

The youngest team in the playoffs did something the reigning Eastern Conference champions could not. Eliminate a team on home ice.

With their 7-5 win over the Van-couver Canucks Monday night, the Chicago Blackhawks advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 1995.

The Penguins, however, couldn’t finish the Capitals in Pittsburgh. David Steckel’s overtime goal gave Washington a 5-4 win in Game 6.

Alex Ovechkin vs. Sidney Crosby is now on to Game 7 Wednesday. Perfect.

“I just wish it was for the Cup,” said Washington coach Bruce Boudreau. Added Crosby: “It’s been everything it’s made out to be. … We would have loved to finish it off tonight, no doubt.”

Young Chicago star Patrick Kane had a hat trick in leading the Black-hawks to a series upset of the

Canucks.“I think we’re progressing in a real

good way here,” said Chicago coach Joel Quenneville. “This team can achieve a lot.”

JOHN AMIS / AP

NAM Y HUH / AP

LeBron James and the Cavs have their sights set on loftier goals than a sweep of Atlanta.

Chicago is the playoffs’ youngest team, but that didn’t stop them from taking Game 6.

Chicago’s dream continues, Page 7 Mavericks survive Game 4, Page 11

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com See a Different Game

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

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

NBA

Rockets at Lakers10:30 p.m., TNT

Houston played with boundless energy in Game 4, more than mak-ing up for the loss of Yao Ming. But can they sustain that level of play now that they’re headed back to enemy territory at Staples Center? They’ve proven they can win in L.A. by winning Game 1, but that was with Yao in the lineup. Yao replacement Chuck Hayes needs to do a better job of defending Pau Gasol than he did in Game 4, when Gasol scored 30 points in a losing effort.

NHL

Red Wings at Ducks10 p.m., Versus

The momentum of this series has swung to Detroit, with the Red Wings winning the last two games of this series by three-goal margins. Battling flu-like symptoms, Ryan Getzlaf didn’t do much in Game 5, and Anaheim desperately needs him playing well to force this to a Game 7. But here’s what continues to make Detroit difficult to stop. They had four players score their four Game 5 goals, and come from all angles at all times.

GENERAL

Interview with Roger Clemens8:25 a.m., ESPN2

We haven’t heard from seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens since he spoke with 60 Minutes’ Mike Wallace in January of 2008 and also had a press conference then, but we’ll hear from him on the Mike and Mike in the Morning radio show simulcast on the Deuce. Surely if hosts Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic have any backbone, they’ll love to get Clemens’ take on Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez, two players who have either admitted to or tested positive for using banned substances. Who knows what else they’ll get out of him.

— Compiled by Roger Kuznia

Tune In TodayA quick look at the best sports on TV

— all times Eastern

GUIDE

NBA BASKETBALL8 p.m.TNT — Playoffs, conference semifi-nals, game 5, Orlando at Boston10:30 p.m.TNT — Playoffs, conference semifi-nals, game 5, Houston at L.A. Lakers

NHL HOCKEY7 p.m.VERSUS — Playoffs, conference semifinals, game 6, Boston at Carolina10 p.m.VERSUS — Playoffs, conference semifinals, game 6, Detroit at Anaheim

OFF THE FIELD

Roger Clemens was scheduled for an ESPN Radio interview today, the publi-cation date of an unflattering book about the seven-time Cy Young Award winner.

American Icon: The Fall of Roger Cle-mens and the Rise of Steroids in Ameri-ca’s Pastime by four New York Daily News reporters covers the pitcher’s alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs, charges he has repeatedly denied.

“He was asked to do it,” Clemens’ lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said Monday about the interview. “That would be my guess as to what the impetus for it is, but I’m not sure. There’s nothing new about the case that would spark it.”

Quick hits NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s

recent visit to UnderAmour headquar-ters in Maryland could be a precursor to the company’s making a pitch for the NFL’s exclusive licensing deal, cur-rently held by competitor Reebok but set to expire after the 2011 season, the Baltimore Business Journal’s Ryan Shar-row reported.

Businessman and former NBA star Dave Bing is now the mayor of Detroit, and the third person to hold the job in eight months. The former Detroit Pistons great took the oath of office Monday afternoon.

When space shuttle Atlantis lifted off Monday on a repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, it had more than the seven crew members on board. It also had one of the Harlem Globetrot-ters’ vintage red, white and blue basket-ball balls. When the shuttle returns, the ball will be sent to the hall of fame in Springfield, Mass.

— SportsBusinessDaily, sportsbusinessdaily.com

Clemens on radio as damaging book hits

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SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 3My Profile

Frank MalzoneSix-time All-Star, member of the Red Sox Hall of Fame

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

Born: Feb. 28, 1930, in Bronx, N.Y.Status: Married and widow of three years

Alma mater: Samuel Gompers High (Bronx)

These days: I’m a consultant for the Boston Red Sox.

What’s on TV: All Law & Order shows—SVU, Criminal Intent; NCSI; CSI Miami; Criminal Minds; Two and a Half Men; Eleventh Hour

What’s in my iPod: Country Western—Mar-tina McBride, Carrie Underwood, Reba McIntyre, Toby Keith, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson; a lot of old-time singers—Frank Sinatra, Tony Ben-nett, Perry Como

What I drive: 2000 silver Mercury Grand Marquis, fully equipped. Plan on keeping it till it falls apart.

Favorite flicks: Gunga Din; Rocky series—all 5 of them; Executive Decision; The Pride of the Yankees

What I’m reading: Not a reader of novels; mostly sports stories of great men

Bookmarks: Not a computer guy; my sons keep me posted with their computers

Superstition: Only one as a player—never step on the line coming back to the bench

Worst habit: Chewing tobacco or using dip (Copenhagen)

First job: Graduated from Samuel Gomp-ers High School and went straight into pro baseball for the Boston Red Sox team in Milford, Del., in the Eastern League, which was Class D. Was paid $150 a month. This was the start of becoming a big league third baseman for the Red Sox. I was 18 years old. Played 7 years in the minor leagues, spent 2 years in the Army. Was 27 years of age my first year in the big leagues and

managed to be in the majors for 11 years.Talent I’d most like to have: Playing golf the

right way—by keeping the ball in play Favorite meal: Spare ribs and pork chops

Favorite athletes to watch in another sport:Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer

Favorite city to visit: Chicago Favorite teams as a kid: N.Y. Giants and Yan-

kees, Boston Bruins and CelticsFavorite values in others: Being there for you

when needed, honestyMy greatest love: My wife of 54 years, Amy.

She passed away in 2005. She was the backbone of my family, which was 4 boys and 1 girl. Without her, I would not have been a major leaguer.

My heroes: My parents—Frank and Pau-line Malzone—and, of course, my wife Amy

My motto: Live your life to the fullest. And remember: Family comes first. — Jeff D’Alessio

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 4Next Gen

Jaylen Watkins is looking forward to his future by revisiting the past.

Watkins, who committed to the Florida Gators in April, said lately he has been watching replays of some of college football’s greatest games on cable—and already get-ting excited about the 2010 season.

“It’s all so exciting,” Watkins told Sporting News Today. “They might play just one of those rerun games, and I’m going to be in that position in a year or two. I might be on one of those reruns one day.

“I never paid this much attention to it, at least not as much as I have been this year. I watch them all.”

Watkins, a 6-1, 170-pound athlete from Cape Coral, Fla., could play cornerback or receiver for the Gators. He committed just before attending Florida’s spring game.

“It was great; I was with all of the other commits, and we all went into the weight room and sort of bonded with each other,” Watkins told SN Today. “I kind of thought about waiting a lot longer to commit, but then again I was just so happy with Florida. I always wanted to go to Florida—even when I was a fresh-man and sophomore.”

Watkins, a Sporting News Top 100 prospect, also received scholarship offers from Florida State, Miami, Michigan, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Tennessee, Alabama, Ole Miss and many others. Why were all those big-time schools interested in him?

“I’m just one of those players who will play any side of the ball; I’m always upbeat and going to be

giving 100 percent, and I’ll compete at any position,” Watkins said. “I think I’ll probably play cornerback in college, but I’ve heard talk that I might go to offense. I could play receiver and be on special teams—I’ve even played quarterback in high school.”

Ocean Lakes (Virginia Beach, Va.) WR Justin Hunter has committed to LSU, Rivals.com reported. He had numerous scholarship offers, including from Alabama, Florida, Ohio State and Tennessee.

Hunter (6-4, 170) caught 34 passes for 545 yards and 13 touchdowns as a junior. Rivals.com lists him as a four-star prospect.

“I’ve been thinking about it and everything and it’s the right school for me,” Hunter told Rivals.com. “My parents and I talked about the

organization and the academic cen-ter, the school itself and everything like that.

“I liked how they had all of your homework online, and I just liked everything I saw.”

Garland (Texas) dual-threat QB Jared Barnett has committed to Iowa State, Rivals.com reported. He also reported scholarship offers from Kansas State and Houston.

Barnett (6-1, 190) threw for 1,376 yards and 14 touchdowns and rushed for 420 yards and three touchdowns—in just seven games—as a junior.

“I have been wanting to commit for a while. ... I thought about it some more and decided I was sure so I called,” Barnett told Rivals.com.

— Brian McLaughlin

Florida commitment always knew he wanted to be a Gator

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You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers.Write us at: yourturn@sportingnews.com

SINCE YOU ASKED ...

TO: Sporting News TodayFROM: Rob Gardner, North Las Vegas, Nev.

Q: As an Illinois alum, I was disappointed in my team’s showing last fall. Since we have (quarterback) Juice Williams and (wide receiver) Arrelious Benn back this season, will my Illini challenge for the Big Ten crown?

Juice Williams Arrelious Benn

COURTESY OF JAYLEN WATKINS

Jaylen Watkins, out of Cape Coral, Fla., will play receiver or corner at the University of Florida.

RESPONSES

Glen MasonFormer Minnesota coachBig Ten Network analyst

Rob, Illinois has the most talent on offense of any team in the

Big Ten. All should be disappointed in the performance of the Illini last year coming off a Rose Bowl season. To contend for a Big Ten title and trip to the Rose Bowl, Illinois would have to get off to a great start, which is not going to happen, in my opinion. They open in St. Louis vs. Missouri and then, after playing Illinois State, will have to face Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State in consecutive weeks. Tough duty and a crazy schedule—they finish the season with two non-conference games, at Cincinnati and home vs. Fresno State.

Gerry DiNardoFormer Indiana coachBig Ten Network analyst

Rob,The short answer is yes. After visiting all 11 Big Ten

spring practices, I believe Illinois goes into the 2009 season as one of the three most talented teams in the conference and the most talented offensive team in the league. I believe if Illinois gets back to the spread option attack that they used in 2007 and makes significant improvement on defense—preventing those runs and passes over 15 yards—they will challenge for the crown.

WRITE USGot a question you’d like answered? E-mail it to editor-in-chief Jeff D’Alessio at jdalessio@sportingnews.com, along with your name and hometown.

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SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com Overnight Report

SAN FRANCISCO—While Randy Johnson closes in on a major pitching milestone, he’s a bit worried about challenging another San Francisco great’s achieve-ments along the way.

“I’m on pace to catch Barry (Bonds) in home runs—giving them up, that is,” the 45-year-old lefthander said with a weary sigh.

Although Johnson yielded three more homers and couldn’t stop Ryan Zimmer-man’s 29-game hitting streak, the San Francisco Giants ensured his 298th career victory Monday night with their own offensive barrage in an 11-7 win over the Washington Nationals.

Randy Winn had three hits and scored three runs, while Travis Ishikawa also had three hits and drove in two runs as the Giants produced their biggest run total of the season in their 14th victory in 20 games.

The 6-foot-10 Johnson (3-3) gave up eight hits and four runs while outdueling 6-foot-9 Daniel Cabrera in the tallest pitching matchup in baseball history. Johnson threw five strong innings before fading in the sixth after a long, chilly stroll around the basepaths while the Giants drew five consecutive walks and scored five unearned runs in their eighth straight victory over Washington.

“It was an all-or-nothing kind of night,” said Johnson, whose 10 homers allowed lead the majors. “You’re going to make mistakes, but it just seems like they’re magnified now. I don’t get away with as many things as I used to. ... It was a lot of fun to watch our offense, though. I hope it carries over into (Tuesday).”

His 300th victory now is clearly in sight—and if Johnson can beat the Mets

and Johan Santana on Saturday, he would have the chance to hit the mile-stone in Seattle, where he spent parts of 10 seasons.

“I’ve never been a part of anything like it,” said Ishikawa, a Seattle native who was 5 when the Mariners traded for Johnson in 1989. “It’s gratifying because I grew up watching him compete against the best guys. I would watch him every chance I got. If the game wasn’t on TV, I’d listen on the radio.”

Johnson’s three victories in his first season with San Francisco all have been at the Giants’ waterfront ballpark, where a record-low 23,934 fans attended the frigid series opener.

Zimmerman went 4-for-5 with two homers for the Nationals, including a solo shot in the sixth off Johnson and a three-run shot in the ninth.

— The Associated Press

San Francisco 11, Washington 7

Johnson two wins from 300

Washington’s Ryan Zimmerman didn’t take long to extend his hitting streak to 29 games, getting a single in the first inning.

BEN MARGOT / AP

Giants 11, Nationals 7

Washington AB R H BI BB SO Avg.C.Guzman ss 5 0 2 0 0 2 .378N.Johnson 1b 5 0 1 0 0 2 .307Zimmerman 3b 5 2 4 4 0 0 .363Dunn rf 4 1 2 0 1 1 .318Dukes cf 5 0 2 1 0 2 .275Willingham lf 5 1 1 1 0 3 .196Belliard 2b 3 1 1 1 0 0 .158Villone p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---a-Kearns ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .243Hanrahan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Nieves c 4 1 1 0 0 0 .190D.Cabrera p 2 0 0 0 0 2 .000Kensing p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---W.Harris 2b 2 1 1 0 0 0 .250Totals 41 7 15 7 1 13

San Francisco AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Burriss 2b 5 0 0 1 1 0 .274Renteria ss 4 0 0 1 1 1 .250Sandoval 3b 4 2 2 1 1 1 .289B.Molina c 5 0 1 0 0 0 .287Winn rf 4 3 3 1 0 0 .261Rowand cf 3 2 2 1 2 1 .240F.Lewis lf 5 2 1 0 0 0 .286Ishikawa 1b 4 1 3 2 1 1 .219Ra.Johnson p 2 1 1 0 1 0 .083J.Miller p 1 0 0 0 0 1 .000Matos p 1 0 1 1 0 0 1.000Medders p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---B.Wilson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000Totals 38 11 14 8 7 5

Washington 010 102 003 — 7 15 1San Francisco 021 052 01x — 11 14 0

a-struck out for Villone in the 8th. E: Willingham (1). LOB: Washington 8, San Francisco 11. 2B: Dukes (6), Sandoval (8), Rowand 2 (8), Ishikawa (3). HR: Willing-ham (5), off Ra.Johnson; Belliard (1), off Ra.Johnson; Zimmerman (7), off Ra.Johnson; Zimmerman (8), off Matos. RBIs: Zimmerman 4 (26), Dukes (20), Willing-ham (7), Belliard (2), Burriss (6), Renteria (14), Sandoval (11), Winn (13), Rowand (13), Ishikawa 2 (11), Matos (1). SB: Winn (5). Runners left in scoring position: Washington 4 (Dukes, Nieves, Kearns, Willingham); San Francisco 7 (Burriss 2, F.Lewis 2, Renteria, B.Molina 2). DP: Washington 1 (Belliard, C.Guzman, N.Johnson); San Francisco 1 (Burriss, Ishikawa).

Washington IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAD.Cabrera L, 0-4 4 2⁄3 8 8 3 6 3 93 4.98Kensing 1⁄3 2 2 2 1 0 12 13.14Villone 2 1 0 0 0 1 22 0.00Hanrahan 1 3 1 1 0 1 25 6.28San Francisco IP H R ER BB SO NP ERARa.Johnson W, 3-3 5 8 4 4 0 9 83 5.89J.Miller 2 2 0 0 0 1 21 2.35Matos 1 2⁄3 4 3 3 1 2 43 9.00Medders 0 1 0 0 0 0 5 4.61B.Wilson S, 8-10 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 3 3.18

Ra.Johnson pitched to 3 batters in the 6th. J.Miller pitched to 1 batter in the 8th. Medders pitched to 1 batter in the 9th. Kensing pitched to 2 batters in the 6th. Inherited runners-scored: Kensing 3-1, Villone 1-1, J.Miller 1-0, Matos 1-0, Medders 1-0, B.Wilson 2-0. IBB: off D.Cabrera (Ishikawa). HBP: by D.Cabrera (Winn). WP: D.Cabrera, Ra.Johnson. Umpires: Home, Mark Wegner; First, Tim Timmons; Second, Gerry Davis; Third, Jeff Kellogg. T: 3:10. A: 23,934 (41,915).

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 6NHL

Chicago 7, Vancouver 5

After a wild third period, Kane, Blackhawks left standingCHICAGO—The kids made sure the

Blackhawks are moving on.Patrick Kane had his first hat

trick and Jonathan Toews scored the go-ahead goal in a wild third period Monday night as Chicago advanced to the Western Confer-ence finals for the first time since 1995 by beating the Vancouver Canucks 7-5.

“It’s about time I got the first hat trick. I’ve been waiting two years. I guess it can’t come in a better game than this,” the 20-year-old Kane said.

In the thunderous United Center, the Blackhawks rallied from a one-goal deficit twice in the third period and put up four scores against Van-couver goalie Roberto Luongo to win the series 4-2. Next up is either Detroit or Anaheim.

“It’s awesome. We didn’t want to go back to Vancouver,” the 21-year-old Toews said. “Nobody knew what was going to happen. It was unbelievable. ... We’ve found ways to come back, especially late in games.”

Even the usually unemotional Chicago coach Joel Quenneville was shaking his head over the final period, when he said it was so loud he had trouble making line calls.

“I don’t think anybody antici-pated the craziness of the third period. The turns and swings were gigantic,” Quenneville said.

“How it unraveled and unfolded, it was an amazing ending.”

When Chicago’s Troy Brouwer was called for goaltender interfer-ence with just under 8 minutes remaining, Daniel Sedin scored

quickly with a shot from the left cir-cle that put the Canucks ahead 5-4.

Kane responded. He got a puck from behind the net and then maneuvered to the side and put a shot under Luongo to tie the game at 5.

Then, 49 seconds later on a power

play, Toews worked around the side and tried to pass across the crease to Patrick Sharp. But the puck deflected in off Vancouver’s Alex-ander Edler with 6:11 left.

Kane capped his hat trick with a hard back-hander past Luongo with 3:43 remaining, sort of an insurance

score.“I just picked up the puck in the

middle, saw I had a one-on-one, made a move through the defense-man’s stick and shot,” Kane said.

Chicago’s Nikolai Khabibulin made 33 saves and Luongo 23.

“ We had some chances early and

I made some saves, but the rest of the way I didn’t help my teammates out,” said Luongo, who was near tears in the Canucks’ locker room. “When you let in seven goals, I don’t think that’s a very good performance.”

Sedin had a pair of goals for Van-couver, which lost the final three games of the series in a crushing end to what the Canucks hoped would be a run to the Stanley Cup.

“We had a chance to go a long way,” Sedin said. “That’s the most disappointing thing. This was a great opportunity.”

Vancouver’s Mats Sundin scored to put the Canucks up 4-3 early in the third period, but Adam Burish countered on a nice centering pass from Patrick Sharp to tie the game.

The Blackhawks took a 3-1 lead in the second period on power-play goals by Kris Versteeg and Toews. The Canucks came charging back to tie on scores from Sedin and Shane O’Brien to momentarily quiet the frenzied crowd.

Mason Raymond gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead in the first period on a wrist shot from the right circle with Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler standing in the crease. But Kane answered 2 minutes later with his first goal of the game, skating around Mattias Ohlund near the boards and, with Luongo appar-ently screened by a teammate, driv-ing the puck past the goalie’s glove.

Versteeg’s goal broke the tie in the second period and came after Van-couver’s Rick Rypien drove Chica-go’s Ben Eagler into the bench door for a cross-checking penalty. The

play came soon after Chicago’s Andrew Ladd crashed into Kesler, shaking him up and drawing blood from his face.

Toews got his first goal of the series on a rebound of his own shot to give the Blackhawks a 3-1 lead midway in the second period. But Sedin scored on a high wrist shot from the left circle. It was the first goal of the series for Sedin, whose 31 goals led the Canucks in the reg-ular season.

— The Associated Press

Patrick Kane, Chicago’s 20-year-old winger, scored his first career hat trick and helped the Blackhawks close out Vancouver at home.NAM Y. HUH / AP

Series glance(Chicago wins series 4-2)

April 30: Vancouver 5, Chicago 3

May 2: Chicago 6, Vancouver 3

May 5: Vancouver 3, Chicago 1

May 7: Chicago 2, Vancouver 1, OT

May 9: Chicago 4, Vancouver 2

Monday: Chicago 7, Vancouver 5

WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

Vancouver 1 2 2 — 5Chicago 1 2 4 — 7

First Period: 1, Vancouver, Raymond 2 (Sundin, Ohlund), 11:13. 2, Chicago, Kane 6 (Toews), 13:13. Penalties: Kane, Chi (holding), 1:41; Versteeg, Chi (delay of game), 13:35.Second Period: 3, Chicago, Versteeg 3 (Seabrook, Byfuglien), 3:54 (pp). 4, Chicago, Toews 3 (Havlat, Barker), 10:17 (pp). 5, Vancouver, D.Sedin 3 (Wellwood, Bieksa), 11:09. 6, Vancouver, O’Brien 1 (Bieksa, Rypien), 14:49. Penalties: Rypien, Van (interference), 2:15; Mitchell, Van (hooking), 10:03.Third Period: 7, Vancouver, Sundin 3 (Ohlund, Edler), 3:43. 8, Chi-cago, Burish 2 (Sharp), 5:41. 9, Vancouver, D.Sedin 4 (Salo, H.Sedin), 12:15 (pp). 10, Chicago, Kane 7 (Brouwer, Campbell), 13:00. 11, Chicago, Toews 4 (Havlat, Campbell), 13:49 (pp). 12, Chicago, Kane 8, 16:17. Penalties: Chicago bench, served by Kane (too many men), 1:42; Byfuglien, Chi (roughing), 6:30; Kesler, Van (interference), 7:52; Brouwer, Chi (goaltender interference), 12:07; O’Brien, Van (hook-ing), 13:26.Shots on Goal: Vancouver 13-8-17: 38. Chicago 9-12-9: 30.Power-play opportunities: Vancouver 1 of 5; Chicago 3 of 4.Goalies: Vancouver, Luongo 6-4-0 (30 shots-23 saves). Chicago, Khabibulin 8-4-0 (38-33).A: 22,687 (20,500). T: 2:29.Referees: Mike Leggo, Dan O’Halloran. Linesmen: Lonnie Cam-eron, Greg Devorski.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 7NHL

WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

Chapter 2 of Hawks’ fairy tale has happy endingCHICAGO—And so the fairy tale contin-

ues. The NHL’s 30-team opening field was whittled to 16 for the postseason, and by week’s end four will remain with a pulse. After Monday night’s 7-5, series-closing victory over Vancouver, the too-young comeback kids from Chicago will

be one of them.The Blackhawks’

inconceivable, improb-able run has landed the team in the West-ern Conference finals for the first time since 1995. And since this sure feels like a dream sequence, the fitting next plot turn would be a date with the

hated Red Wings.Monday night showed how bad the

fans want that matchup. With 3 minutes still on the United Center clock, pockets of the 22,000-plus here shouted a chant that began with “Detroit” and ended with a word that rhymes with pucks. Another endorsement came from hock-ey’s godfather, a former Wing and cur-rent Hawk who lit up at the thought of Chicago-Detroit in May.

“It’s two original teams,” Blackhawks senior advisor Scotty Bowman said. “There are only six of them, so that’s big.”

Sometimes, the sports deities smile on their fans. This year’s Cup playoffs are proof—the energy of Columbus’ maiden postseason trip, the drama of Ovechkin and Crosby going 15 rounds and Marty Brodeur looking mortal with the season on the line. But seven games of Hawks and Wings might top everything.

It might also make this arena even louder than it grew during a third period that Hawks coach Joel Quenneville

deemed “as wild a period as I’ve ever seen.” Chicago fell behind 4-3 and 5-4 before a three-goals-in-3:17 spurt iced

the series and sent the crowd into a frenzy.

Maybe the noise best showed the

depth of this Blackhawks renaissance. The franchise eclipsed the 1,000,000 fan mark with Monday night’s gate—through most of the third period, it felt like the team had packed that many folks into the arena for one game. The folks coming to see Bruce Springsteen tonight will be challenged to match the din.

“I’ve been to some pretty crazy metal concerts at this place,” Chicago’s Adam Burish said. “I don’t think it’s ever been as loud as it was tonight.”

Then came those Detroit chants, loud and popular enough that some of the truest Chicago fans will be cheering for the Wings to finish off Anaheim and set up another rivalry renewal. Everybody in town wants Blackhawks-Red Wings … except some of the guys in the Hawks’ locker room.

They know that, despite the series wins over Calgary and Vancouver, they remain the sloppiest team in the play-offs. If the defensive mistakes don’t dis-appear, either Detroit or Anaheim might sweep them.

And if the Red Wings do appear across the bracket, they know the Red Wings beat them four of six games in the season series, with Chicago’s only two wins coming in an April home-and-home after both teams were locked into playoff position.

“It might be fun for the fans,” Patrick Sharp said, “but you’ve got to be careful what you wish for.”

Then again, maybe it doesn’t matter who the Blackhawks play. They played for the playoffs in the fall; now, in the spring, they’re halfway to a Stanley Cup.

It’s a fairy tale, and it continues this weekend in hockey’s final four.

dcurtis@sportingnews.com

The Blackhawks are headed to their first Western Conference finals since 1995.

NAM Y. HUH / AP

NOTEBOOK

Kane wakes up, puts Canucks to sleep

Patrick Kane kicked off the biggest day of his hockey life by sleeping through his alarm. Despite setting his alarm clock for 8:30 a.m. Monday, he awoke at 9:47 a.m. and hurried to the United Center well behind his on-time teammates.

“I was late for all the meetings,” Kane said after Chicago’s 7-5, series-clinching victory over Vancou-ver. “I almost missed the skate. The day didn’t start real good.”

Kane said he drew a few sneers from the coaching staff but received no punishment for his tardiness. He redeemed himself plenty after dark, recording his first playoff hat trick and earning first-star hon-ors. Two of his goals came in a 3:17 span when the Blackhawks turned a 5-4 deficit into the 7-5 final score.

“He’s scored a lot of big goals this season,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “But none bigger than the ones at the end.”

Going to timeoutAfter watching his team blow a 3-1 lead, Quennev-

ille elected to burn his lone timeout with 5:11 remain-ing in the second period. He said his message to the team was simple: Forget the Canucks’ rally to tie the game, and focus on what lies ahead.

“It really calmed us down,” winger Kris Versteeg said. “Q really knows when to call them. He’s been doing things like that for us all year. That was a big point in the game.”

Canucks stars come up emptyVancouver coach Alain Vigneault spent much of

the past two days calling out his top players for bet-ter efforts in Game 6. And save for two goals from Daniel Sedin, the Canucks’ stars floundered in the big spotlight.

Goalie Roberto Luongo, whom Vigneault called his team’s “best player”, allowed all seven goals, most in any regular-season or playoff game in 2008-09. Winger Alex Burrows, another of Vigneault’s tar-gets, went without a point in 17:14 of ice time and fin-ished the series with no goals and one assist.

—Dave Curtis

Dave CurtisHOCKEY

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 8NHL

Washington 5, Pittsburgh 4, OT

Steckel’s redemption brings series back to D.C. for Game 7

PITTSBURGH—The Washington Capitals supposedly can’t win with-out Alex Ovechkin scoring. They can’t win an overtime playoff game. They can’t beat the Pittsburgh Pen-guins when a series is on the line.

All that’s ended, and it means a riv-eting, entertaining series matching the NHL’s two biggest names and two of its best teams is anything but over.

David Steckel scored on a deflection of Brooks Laich’s shot and the Capitals finally won an overtime playoff game, beating nemesis Pittsburgh 5-4 on Monday night to force a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

“I think it’s going to be great game,” Ovechkin said. “I think the league wants us to play Game 7 (on Wednesday).”

This one couldn’t have been much better. The Capitals, losers of their previous seven overtime games, failed to hold a 4-3 lead late in regu-lation when Sidney Crosby scored. They made up for it when Steckel went to the net immediately after winning a faceoff. Laich wristed the puck from the right circle and Steckel tipped it past Marc-Andre Fleury 6:22 into the overtime.

The game before, Steckel couldn’t score into an open net early in over-time and the Penguins won 4-3 on Evgeni Malkin’s goal to force the potential closeout game on Monday.

“I told myself if I had a chance again, I wouldn’t miss,” Steckel said. “I was in the right place at the right time. I personally didn’t know

where it went or anything. ... It was the biggest goal of my career so I didn’t know what to do. I just jumped around.”

It was the third overtime game of the series, the most in any round of these NHL playoffs. Pittsburgh won the first two, both on deflections off Capitals defensemen. Also, the Pen-guins had won eight of their previ-ous nine overtime games and had been 7-1 against the Capitals in OT.

Ovechkin, so dominating while scoring seven of Washington’s first 15 goals, didn’t get a goal but had three assists and has 13 points in six games. Crosby has 10, including six goals.

“They’re incredible, both of them, and Malkin is just as incredible,” Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said. “They play at a level other people can’t attain.”

Viktor Kozlov scored twice for the Capitals in the fourth game in six nights, all of them tight and tense. All but one has been decided by one goal.

“There was a lot of talk before the series started, and it’s everything it was made up to be. We would have loved to finish it off here, no doubt, but we did a lot of good things and it could have worked out. We were a couple of inches from finishing it off,” Crosby said. “Let’s just say it’s not surprising it’s going seven.”

Now that they’ve forced a Game 7 that didn’t look all that certain after they ceded home-ice advantage, the Capitals hope to finally close out a series against the Penguins. Four

times since 1992 they’ve led the Pen-guins by two games in a series, includ-ing this one, but have yet to win one.

Maybe they can take something from this: The Capitals won in Pittsburgh for the first time in this round despite trailing 1-0 and 3-2 and being outshot 42-24, and did it without a goal from Ovechkin.

“It’s always fun when Ovie scores, but it’s hard because the other team pays a lot of attention and is very close to Ovie, so it’s a good thing other peo-ple give us goals,” Kozlov said.

Washington came back from Kris Letang’s second career playoff goal, both in this series, to take a 4-3 lead early in the third on goals 29 sec-onds apart by Alexander Semin and Kozlov. Semin hadn’t scored since the first round against the Rangers.

Crosby tied it with 4:18 left in regulation by batting down Brooks Orpik’s shot and pushing it past Simeon Varlamov, who made 38 saves—17 in the first period alone.

The Penguins shook off the Capi-tals’ promised desperation to domi-nate that period, outshooting them 18-5 and limiting them to two shots in the final 16:22. However, Pitts-burgh managed a single goal while constantly controlling the puck, by Bill Guerin, and Crosby said it would have helped considerably to get a second goal.

“They wanted not to make a game of it,” Boudreau said. “I think they just wanted to come in and blow us out.”

— The Associated Press Alexander Ovechkin, back, didn’t bury Washington’s game-winner—that task went to David Steckel (39).

GENE J. PUSKAR / AP

Series glance(Series tied 3-3))

May 2: Washington 3,

Pittsburgh 2

May 4: Washington 4,

Pittsburgh 3

May 6: Pittsburgh 3,

Washington 2, OT

May 8: Pittsburgh 5,

Washington 3

May 9: Pittsburgh 4,

Washington 3, OT

Monday: Washington

5, Pittsburgh 4, OT

Wednesday:

Pittsburgh at

Washington, 7 p.m.

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

Washington 0 2 2 1 — 5Pittsburgh 1 1 2 0 — 4

First Period: 1, Pittsburgh, Guerin 4 (Crosby, Kunitz), 5:55. Penalties: Backstrom, Was (hooking), 10:16; Laich, Was (cross-checking), 11:16; Crosby, Pit (interference), 12:12; Kunitz, Pit (cross-checking), 19:28.Second Period: 2, Washington, Kozlov 3 (Ovechkin, Morrisonn), 6:27. 3, Washington, Fleischmann 3 (Fedorov, Semin), 14:42. 4, Pitts-burgh, Eaton 4 (Malkin, Boucher), 19:26 (pp). Penalties: Pittsburgh bench, served by Malkin (too many men), 7:34; Pothier, Was (interfer-ence), 17:56.Third Period: 5, Pittsburgh, Letang 2 (Goli-goski, Malkin), 4:40 (pp). 6, Washington, Semin 6 (Ovechkin, Laich), 5:38 (pp). 7, Washington, Kozlov 4 (Backstrom, Ovechkin), 6:07. 8, Pittsburgh, Crosby 10 (Orpik, Malkin), 15:42. Penalties: Steckel, Was (slashing), 4:31; Orpik, Pit (hooking), 5:23; Laich, Was (slashing), 17:58.First Overtime: 9, Washington, Steckel 3 (Laich, Bradley), 6:22. Penalties: None.Shots on Goal: Washington 5-6-9-4: 24. Pitts-burgh 18-7-14-3: 42.Power-play opportunities: Washington 1 of 4; Pittsburgh 2 of 5.Goalies: Washington, Varlamov 7-5-0 (42 shots-38 saves). Pittsburgh, Fleury 7-5-0 (24-19).A: 17,132 (16,940). T: 2:47.Referees: Paul Devorski, Dennis LaRue. Lines-men: Brad Lazarowich, Jay Sharrers.

Playoff glance

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS(Best-of-7)

All Times ET

EASTERN CONFERENCEBoston vs. Carolina(Carolina leads series 3-2)

May 1: Boston 4, Carolina 1

May 3: Carolina 3, Boston 0

May 5: Carolina 3, Boston 2, OT

May 8: Carolina 4, Boston 1

May 10: Boston 4, Carolina 0

Today: Boston at Carolina, 7 p.m.

Thursday: Carolina at Boston, TBD, if necessary

Washington vs. Pittsburgh(Series tied 3-3)

May 2: Washington 3, Pittsburgh 2

May 4: Washington 4, Pittsburgh 3

May 6: Pittsburgh 3, Washington 2, OT

May 8: Pittsburgh 5, Washington 3

May 9: Pittsburgh 4, Washington 3, OT

Monday: Washington 5, Pittsburgh 4, OT

Wednesday: Pittsburgh at Washington, 7 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Detroit vs. Anaheim(Detroit leads series 3-2)

May 1: Detroit 3, Anaheim 2

May 3: Anaheim 4, Detroit 3, 3OT

May 5: Anaheim 2, Detroit 1

May 7: Detroit 6, Anaheim 3

May 10: Detroit 4, Anaheim 1

Today: Detroit at Anaheim, 10 p.m.

Thursday: Anaheim at Detroit, TBD, if necessary

Vancouver vs. Chicago(Chicago wins series 4-2)

April 30: Vancouver 5, Chicago 3

May 2: Chicago 6, Vancouver 3

May 5: Vancouver 3, Chicago 1

May 7: Chicago 2, Vancouver 1, OT

May 9: Chicago 4, Vancouver 2

Monday: Chicago 7, Vancouver 5

BY TRIPP MICKLESportsBusiness Journal

The NHL barreled through one of its

most successful first-round playoff series in years, selling out all but four games, generating ratings increases across national and local television and driving significant online revenue increases.

In January, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman had pointed to the playoffs as the first indicator of the effect the global economic downturn would have on the league in the 2009-10 season. But the participation of five of the Original Six NHL franchises, three games in Chica-go’s 22,000-seat United Center and the representation of clubs from six of the top 10 U.S. television markets contrib-uted to an especially strong first round.

The league averaged 18,717 spectators over 44 games in the first round of the playoffs, giving it the highest average attendance for the conference quarterfi-nals since the 2005-06 postseason and more than the 18,597 average attendance in 2008. The league sold out 48 of 48 games last year, but historically has failed to sell out anywhere from two games to 10 in the opening round. Aver-age capacity was 100.6 percent, accord-ing to reported attendance totals.

Only the Carolina Hurricanes and Anaheim Ducks failed to sell out all of their first-round games. The Hurricanes sold out one of three and averaged 96.6 percent of capacity with 18,039 specta-tors, and the Ducks sold out one of three and averaged 97.6 percent of capacity with 16,760 spectators.

Ducks chief marketing officer Bob Wagner attributed the failure to sell out all three games to the team’s late-season push into the playoffs. The team clinched the final Western Conference playoff spot in the last week of the season.

Television viewership increased com-pared with the first-round playoffs in 2008. In the U.S., NBC averaged 17 per-cent more viewers, with 1.45 million average over four broadcasts, and Ver-sus averaged 22 percent more than in

2008, giving it the network’s most-watched first round ever with an aver-age of 442,301. In Canada, TSN averaged 567,000 viewers for its first-round cov-erage, delivering a 42 percent increase over last season.

First-round playoff coverage gener-ated high local ratings for teams across the league, as well. MSG averaged a 2.5 local rating for its broadcasts of the New York Rangers-Washington series, giving the network its best first-round rating in 12 years. Nielsen Media research reported a 69 percent increase in Boston on NESN, which averaged a 9.19 local rating, compared to 5.54 in 2008, and a 6 percent increase in Pittsburgh on Fox Sports, which averaged a 15.59 local rat-ing, compared with a 14.71 in 2008.

Fans also flocked to NHL.com, where the number of unique visitors increased 3 percent and video starts rose 89 per-cent over 2008. Revenue for NHL GameCenter Live increased 92 percent from the same period in 2008, and the number of subscriptions rose 42 percent, according to the league.

Clubs that made the playoffs benefited from increases in season-ticket renewals and new sponsorships. The Philadelphia Flyers reported that season ticket renew-als were 25 percent ahead of the same period in 2007-08. The Ducks added six new partners for the playoffs and next season.

tmickle@sportsbusinessjournal.com.

NHL thrives thanks to strong first round

CHARLES KRUPA / AP

First-round attendance was robust in places like Boston, where fans packed in to see a sweep of Montreal.

Today’s gamesAll Times ETConference semifinals(Best-of-7)

Boston at Carolina, 7 p.m., Versus

Detroit at Anaheim, 10 p.m., Versus

Betting linesToday

FAVORITE LINE UNDERDOG LINE

at Carolina ..............-110 ................Boston ...................-110

Detroit ....................-155 ................at Anaheim .........+135

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 9NHL

Lightning remove Tocchet’s interim tag; Roy interested in HabsThe Tampa Bay Lightning made

Rick Tocchet their full-time coach Monday, lifting the interim tag he has carried since taking the reins in mid-November.

A league source told Sporting News Today that Tocchet was given a two-year contract, not the three-year deal he was widely expected to receive. He took over the team after Barry Melrose was fired and posted a 19-33-14 record after a rough start.

“Now I’m on the clock,” Tocchet told The Associated Press. “I’m ready to go. We have some great pieces on this team. I think we have a lot of players here that can do the job. I’m excited.”

Hurt primarily by injuries, the Lightning missed the playoffs for a second straight season, only five years after winning a Stanley Cup in 2004. Tampa Bay used 50 players last sea-son, including 22 defensemen.

Owner Oren Koules says he whole-heartedly endorses Tocchet.

“It’s something we’re proud to do and wanted to do,” Koules said. “He’s a character guy. He’s abso-lutely our guy.”

General manager Brian Lawton said assistant coach Wes Walz, goaltend-ing coach Cap Raeder and video coach Nigel Kirwan also will return for the 2009-10 season. Associate coach Mike Sullivan has an offer to stay with the team, but was given permission to look for another position if he wants. One potential destination could be the staff of New York Rangers coach John Tortorella.

“He wants to weigh all his options,” Lawton said. “It wouldn’t shock me if we had to move in another direction.”

Lawton, after a postseason review of the organization, decided not to bring in other candidates for Toc-chet’s position.

“Under a difficult situation, he did a great job,” Lawton said.

Patrick Roy, who recently inter-viewed for a job with the Colorado Avalanche, now has told the Que-bec City newspaper Le Soleil that he would be interested in the vacant coaching job for another NHL team of his past—Montreal.

Roy, 43, has coached the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL since 2003, primarily because his two sons played for the team. Both are gone now, and one of the game’s all-time great goaltenders is looking to get back in the NHL.

The Avalanche still have Tony Granato under contract, but the team struggled last season and finished last in the Western Conference. The Canadiens fired former coach Guy Carbonneau late last season and G.M. Bob Gainey stepped in to finish a dis-appointing season.

Wherever Roy might end up, he has the endorsement of Scotty Bow-man, a man he once played for and the generally acknowledged great-est coach in NHL history.

“I think he has enough experi-ence now and deserves an opportu-nity,” Bowman told The Denver Post. “I know he has the passion to coach. He’s done a good job in junior.”

Carolina F Scott Walker was fined $2,500 by the NHL but won’t be suspended for Game 6 of the Hurricanes’ second-round series against Boston for throwing a

punch that might have broken a bone in Bruins D Aaron Ward’s face.

Hurricanes G.M. Jim Rutherford told The Associated Press that the automatic suspension Walker had

received was rescinded after a hear-ing with league disciplinarian Colin Campbell, who decided the hit was not a sucker punch.

“Based on what was said on the ice

as I was dropping my gloves, it was my understanding that I was engaged in an altercation,” Walker said in a statement issued by the team.

Tempers flared in the final

minutes of Boston’s 4-0 Game 5 victory when Ward and Carolina’s Matt Cullen began shoving in front of the Bruins’ net. Walker skated in and hit Ward with a right cross that knocked him to the ice. Walker was given a misconduct, a fighting major and an instigator penalty.

According to the AP, veteran Dallas F Mike Modano is coming back for his 20th NHL season.

Modano had said he would take time to consider retirement after the Stars’ season ended without a play-off berth. But the highest-scoring U.S.-born player in NHL history said Monday he has been inspired by watching play in the postseason.

Modano, who turns 39 next month, holds virtually every franchise offensive record, including 543 career goals. He has played his entire career with the Stars, starting in Minnesota before the team moved to Dallas prior to the 1993-94 season.

The Buffalo Sabres announced Monday that D Tyler Myers, the team’s first-round (12th overall) selection in last year’s draft, has signed a three-year, entry-level contract.

The 6-foot-7 Myers recently was named MVP of the WHL playoffs after helping the Kelowna Rockets win the league title and grab a berth in the Canadian Hockey League’s Memorial Cup championship.

“He is a big, strong player who has excellent hockey skills for a 19-year old player,” Sabres G.M. Darcy Regier said in a statement. “We’re glad to have him signed and look forward to his continued development, both on and off the ice.”

Though Rick Tocchet’s record with Tampa Bay wasn’t outstanding (19-33-14), he helped them battle through a rough start and several injuries.

GENE J. PUSKAR / AP

INSIDE DISH

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 10NHL

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 11NBA

WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALSDallas 119, Denver 117

Nowitzki’s 44 keeps Mavericks’ season aliveDALLAS—So much for the idea that

the Dallas Mavericks would be dev-astated by the way Game 3 ended. Inspired was more like it.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 19 of his 44 points in the fourth quarter, includ-ing a go-ahead, high-arching shot with 1:05 left in a 119-117 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Mon-day night that prevented the Maver-icks from being swept and injected a whole lot more excitement into this second-round series.

“It was an unbelievable game,” Nowitzki said. “We were down the whole game, but were able to come back and win and we’ve been doing that all season long. ... We’ve got to go back to Denver and let it all hang out again.”

Carmelo Anthony scored a career playoff-best 41 points and hit a 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds left from nearly the exact spot as his winning basket in the previous game, only this time it left Denver a point shy of a tie.

Dallas’ Jason Terry made a free throw with 1.1 seconds left, then missed another—intentionally, he said. Anthony got the rebound but couldn’t stop the clock and didn’t have enough time to even get off a 90-foot heave. The buzzer sounded and confetti fell as the teams left the court, knowing they will meet again Wednesday night in Denver.

“We’re still in control of this going back to our home court,” Anthony said. “We’ll be ready.”

The postgame scene was a little calmer than after the end of Game 3, although it may also wind up getting reviewed by the league office because

Denver’s Kenyon Martin clearly exchanged words with Dallas owner Mark Cuban. Martin wouldn’t talk in the locker room, telling reporters to “go someplace else. All you (exple-tive) are trying to do is cause trouble.”

This game had all the intensity of a Game 7, with seven technical fouls and multiple flagrants. There were video reviews and concerns for the safety of Anthony’s girlfriend and Martin’s mom, all of it started by the wacky Game 3 finish, then stoked by a silly elbow from Anthony early in the second quarter.

Once things started going out of control, they hardly stopped. Denver led by 14, then Dallas got close sev-eral times only to fall back by several baskets. The Mavs tied it several times before finally breaking through on Nowitzki’s rainbow over Martin.

“They’re allowed to be fans, but when it gets personal, it goes over the top,” Denver’s Chauncey Billups said. “They’re drinking before the game started, drinking all game, and it probably got a little out of hand. They’re allowed to be fans but some-times it can get over the top.”

Added Nuggets coach George Karl: “I would probably use an uglier word than hostile, but I’m not going to do that right now. I don’t think it was very classy. I’ve been in hostile build-ings, but you can do it in a classy way.”

Denver was headed to another blowout early when Anthony tangled arms with Dallas’ Antoine Wright. It was like an alarm clock for the drowsy crowd of 20,523 — and for the Mavericks, who all season have

been at their best immediately after hitting rock bottom. It was a quality coach Rick Carlisle expected to see Monday night, even if it showed up

more than a quarter late.In the final minute, Dallas was up

by two after Mavs forward Josh Howard and Anthony each hit a pair

of free throws. Dallas got the ball to Nowitzki and he drew another foul on Martin. K-Mart knew it was his sixth and went straight to the bench and took a seat, watching Nowitzki sink two more free throws with 8.3 seconds left.

Anthony’s 3 gave the Nuggets hopes of another miracle finish, but they were out of tricks. Unable to steal the ball from Terry, they fouled him instead.

It was too late. Denver wasn’t going to pull off the first four-game sweep in franchise history and Dallas avoided getting swept for the first time in a seven-game series.

The Mavs also lost the season series 0-4, but they knew they were getting closer. The margin went 14 to 12 to one, and, now, to two points in their favor.

“We’ve been fighting and fighting this whole series,” said Howard, who had 21 points and 11 rebounds. “The win finally went our way. ... The end of Game 3 gave us a lot of willpower for this game.”

Nowitzki, who also is dealing with off-court troubles involving a girl-friend, was 14-of-25. He made 16 of 17 free throws and grabbed 13 rebounds.

“There are very few guys I have been around in this league that are as strong-willed as him,” Carlisle said.

Jason Kidd added 13 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

Billups had 24 points and seven assists, and J.R. Smith had 19 points, including two terrific baskets with the shot clock about to expire in the fourth quarter.

—The Associated Press

Denver had no answer for Mavs F Dirk Nowitzki (41), who scored 19 of his 44 points in the fourth.MATT SLOCUM / AP

Series glance(Denver leads series 3-1)

May 3: Denver 109, Dallas 95May 5: Denver 117, Dallas 105May 9: Denver 106, Dallas 105Monday: Dallas 119, Denver 117Wednesday: Dallas at Denver, 9 p.m.Friday: Denver at Dallas, TBA, if necessarySunday: Dallas at Denver, TBA, if necessary

Denver 34 29 27 27 — 117Dallas 23 30 32 34 — 119

DENVER Min FG FT Reb A PF PTSAnthony 43:27 15-29 9-11 3-11 3 5 41Martin 32:58 1-4 0-0 0-2 1 6 2Nene 42:28 2-5 5-10 0-8 3 5 9Billups 39:47 6-12 10-10 0-2 7 3 24Jones 17:28 3-8 3-4 2-5 1 2 10Smith 28:21 7-10 3-5 0-1 0 2 19Kleiza 20:24 2-7 2-4 0-3 1 4 7Carter 15:07 2-4 0-0 1-2 0 2 5Totals 240:00 38-79 32-44 6-34 16 29 117

Percentages: FG .481, FT .727. 3-Point Goals: 9-21, .429 (Smith 2-3, Anthony 2-5, Billups 2-6, Jones 1-1, Carter 1-2, Kleiza 1-4). Team Rebounds: 9. Team Turnovers: 11 (13 PTS). Blocked Shots: 5 (Nene 3, Billups, Martin). Turnovers: 11 (Anthony 2, Billups 2, Carter 2, Nene 2, Jones, Martin, Smith). Steals: 9 (Anthony 5, Billups, Nene, Jones, Smith). Technical Fouls: Billups, 2:54 second; Anthony, 11:15 second; Kleiza, 3:47 third.

DALLAS Min FG FT Reb A PF PTSHoward 34:29 7-18 7-8 3-11 2 3 21Nowitzki 43:45 14-25 16-17 1-13 3 1 44Dampier 22:54 0-1 0-0 2-4 1 6 0Kidd 40:38 4-8 3-4 0-10 6 4 13Wright 20:41 3-6 2-2 1-1 1 5 8Terry 31:15 3-7 5-7 1-3 3 5 12Bass 27:56 4-6 3-3 1-6 0 4 11Singleton 1:23 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0Barea 16:59 5-8 0-2 0-2 1 1 10Totals 240:00 40-79 36-43 9-50 17 29 119

Percentages: FG .506, FT .837. 3-Point Goals: 3-14, .214 (Kidd 2-5, Terry 1-4, Wright 0-1, Howard 0-4). Team Rebounds: 6. Team Turnovers: 15 (26 PTS). Blocked Shots: 3 (Bass, Dampier, Nowitzki). Turnovers: 14 (Dampier 5, Nowitzki 4, Howard 3, Kidd, Wright). Steals: 9 (Kidd 3, Nowitzki 2, Wright 2, Bass, Howard). Technical Fouls: Terry, 0:03.8 second; Bass, 7:59 fourth; Wright, 6:07 fourth; Dampier, 11:32 fourth. Flagrant Fouls: Howard, 2:00 second; Terry, 0:03.8 second.

A: 20,523 (19,200). T: 2:54. Officials: Steve Javie, Joe DeRosa, Marc Davis.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 12NBA

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

Cleveland 84, Atlanta 74

Cavaliers continue clicking, sweep second straight series

ATLANTA—Like Michael Jordan, he knows there are times that call for dominating. Like Magic Johnson, he knows there are times that call for sharing the ball.

LeBron James went with his Magic impression in the deciding game of another playoff sweep.

While failing to match his offen-sive explosion in Game 3, the league’s MVP scored 27 points and got his teammates involved as the Cleve-land Cavaliers finished off the Atlanta Hawks 84-74 Monday night to win the second-round series in four straight.

Delonte West and Mo Williams showed Cleveland isn’t just a one-man squad, hitting huge shots down the stretch as the Cavaliers extended their NBA-record streak of double-digit playoff wins to eight in a row. Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao pounded the boards, lead-ing the Cavaliers to another big rebounding edge.

“I’ve got trust in every last one of our guys,” James said.

Cleveland, which also swept Detroit in the opening round, will face either Boston or Orlando in the Eastern Conference finals.

The Hawks, who were hobbled by injuries to Joe Johnson, Al Horford and Marvin Williams, got a round deeper than they did last year.

“It’s hard to judge this team because we really weren’t healthy in this series,” said Atlanta coach Mike Woodson. “We have to get better personnel-wise, but I couldn’t be

more proud of the guys than I am. We made some major strides this season.”

James wasn’t in the mood to cele-brate. For the Cavaliers, the only thing that will make this season complete is hoisting a trophy after the final game.

“Why should we celebrate?” James said. “We’re playing for a championship. An advance is an advance. It doesn’t matter if you win in four games or you win Game 7. We’re happy that we’re playing great basketball ... but we’re not taking for granted what we’re doing right now.”

The Cavaliers became the second team to sweep the first two rounds of the playoffs since the NBA expanded the first round to best-of-seven in 2003. The Miami Heat started with sweeps of New Jersey and Washington in the 2005 play-offs before losing to Detroit in the Eastern finals.

After scoring 47 points in Game 3, James struggled with his jumper in this one. Still, he came through with the Cavaliers facing their first serious challenge of the playoffs.

Midway through the fourth, James hit a towering 3-pointer with 6½ minutes to go, lingering at the arc to pose with his right hand extended toward the arena roof. He also con-verted a three-point play with 2:03 remaining, making the basket desp-pite getting hacked by Zaza Pachulia.

When the Hawks came at him

with double- and triple-teams, James passed it off to West for an open 3 from the corner and, finally, found Mo Williams for a trey that finished off the Hawks with 52 sec-ond left. The Hawks called timeout, their only way to extend the season, but James hovered near the middle of the court, just staring at a fan in a garish green shirt and orange pants who’d been riding him all game.

As usual, James had the last word. He made only 9 of 22 from the field, but had eight rebounds and eight assists. Plus, he had some help from his teammates.

West scored 21 points, while Wil-liams made four 3-pointers to account for his 12 points.

The Cavaliers had another domi-nating night on the boards, finishing with a 48-33 edge after doubling up the Hawks (46-23) two nights earlier.

“You know LeBron is going to be there, but you don’t know who else is going to be there,” Woodson moaned. “They’ve got weapons around LeBron.”

West donned a pair of James’ sig-nature sneakers. “You saw I had LeBrons on? It was the shoes,” West joked. Added James, “Delonte was awesome. He’s our glue. When he gets into attack mode, when he gets into the lane, he’s one of those guys who’s sort of unguardable.”

Josh Smith led Atlanta with 26 points, but the Hawks were doomed by a miserable shooting night — 23 of 73 from the field to finish at 31.5

percent. Joe Johnson added 18 points but made just 7 of 18 shots. Mike Bibby scored his only points on a 3-pointer in the final quarter. Flip Murray kept putting it up, but made only 4 of 15 for 14 points.

The Hawks actually led 22-15 after the opening period—the first

time they had been ahead of the Cavaliers after any quarter in any off the four games. The seven-point edge also matched Atlanta’s biggest of the series.

But Atlanta squandered any momentum with a dismal offensive stretch to start the second quarter.

The Hawks missed their first nine shots, finally hitting their first bas-ket on Murray’s drive more than 5 minutes into the period.

Still, the Cavaliers couldn’t pull away, settling for just a 40-38 lead at the break.

— The Associated Press

Cleveland ‘s LeBron James, right, never caught fire, but he did have eight assists and eight boards.

JOHN BAZEMORE / AP

Series glance(Cleveland wins series 4-0)

May 5: Cleveland 99, Atlanta 72

May 7: Cleveland 105, Atlanta 85

May 9: Cleveland 97, Atlanta 82

Monday: Cleveland 84, Atlanta 74

Cleveland 15 25 22 22 — 84Atlanta 22 16 19 17 — 74

CLEVELAND Min FG FT Reb A PF PTSJames 43:25 9-22 6-9 0-8 8 3 27Varejao 31:45 0-3 2-2 7-11 1 4 2Ilgauskas 31:29 6-13 1-4 5-10 0 3 14M Williams 33:40 4-11 0-0 0-4 5 5 12DWest 44:37 7-13 5-8 1-4 6 3 21Pavlovic 3:56 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 0 0J Smith 19:34 1-3 0-0 0-6 1 3 2Wallace 13:12 0-0 0-2 1-1 0 2 0Gibson 3:23 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 1 0Szczerbiak 14:59 3-4 0-1 1-2 0 1 6Totals 240:00 30-70 14-26 15-48 22 25 84

Percentages: FG .429, FT .538. 3-Point Goals: 10-18, .556 (M. Wil-liams 4-7, James 3-6, D.West 2-4, Ilgauskas 1-1). Team Rebounds: 16. Team Turnovers: 18 (22 PTS). Blocked Shots: 5 (Ilgauskas 2, Varejao 2, J. Smith). Turnovers: 15 (M. Williams 4, James 3, D.West 3, Gibson, Ilgauskas, Pavlovic, Szczerbiak, Varejao). Steals: 6 (Ilgaus-kas, James, J. Smith, Szczerbiak, Varejao, D.West). Technical Fouls: Szczerbiak, 5:00 second; Varejao, 2:54 third.

ATLANTA Min FG FT Reb A PF PTSMaWilliams 29:53 1-7 2-2 0-4 2 1 4JosSmith 45:06 8-16 10-12 2-8 1 1 26Horford 19:01 0-3 0-0 0-3 0 3 0Bibby 30:48 1-6 0-0 2-4 1 3 3Johnson 43:42 7-18 4-5 1-6 7 1 18Evans 12:18 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 2 0Murray 32:12 4-15 5-5 1-2 2 3 14Pachulia 26:25 2-6 5-6 3-6 0 5 9MWest 0:35 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0Totals 240:00 23-73 26-30 9-33 13 19 74

Percentages: FG .315, FT .867. 3-Point Goals: 2-13, .154 (Bibby 1-3, Murray 1-5, Evans 0-1, Ma.Williams 0-1, Johnson 0-3). Team Rebounds: 9. Team Turnovers: 8 (11 PTS). Blocked Shots: 2 (Pachulia, Ma.Williams). Turnovers: 8 (Murray 2, Jos.Smith 2, Bibby, Horford, Pachulia, Ma.Williams). Steals: 7 (Murray 3, Horford, Johnson, M.West, Ma.Williams). Technical Fouls: Jos.Smith, 0:00.9 second.

A: 19,241 (18,729). T: 2:36. Officials: Scott Foster, Ron Garretson, James Capers.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 13NBA

BOSTON—Glen “Big Baby” Davis wasn’t the Celtics’ first choice to take the last shot in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Orlando.

He turned out to be a good choice.Davis hit a buzzer-beater to give

the Celtics a 95-94 victory over the Magic on Sunday night and tie the best-of-seven series at two games apiece. The series resumes in Boston with Game 5, and a victory tonight would preserve the home-court advantage for coach Doc Rivers and the defending NBA champs.

“Since I have been with the Celt-ics, I have been trying to find my niche in our system,” Davis said. “Doc told me that if you work on that shot and show me you can make it, I am going to let you shoot it. This year has been proof of hard work. You just have to be focused.”

Celtics center Kendrick Perkins reported no ill effects of the left shoulder strain he complained about during Sunday night’s game. Celtics spokesman Jeff Twiss said Perkins was on the team plane and there was no further testing planned.

Perkins had a similar injury dur-ing the NBA finals last year, miss-ing Game 5 of the series against the Lakers and playing less than 14 minutes in three other games.

Even though Rivers now trusts Davis to take the big shots, the play wasn’t drawn up for the 6-foot-9, 289-pound, second-year center from Louisiana State.

The ball was first supposed to go to Ray Allen, the All-Star who scored 51 points in a game against Chicago

and has the most 3-pointers in the playoffs this season. If Allen wasn’t open, NBA finals MVP Paul Pierce was supposed to be the consolation prize. Eddie House, who burned the Magic with 31 points off the bench in Game 2, was also on the floor.

Allen was covered tightly by Hedo Turkoglu, so point guard Rajon Rondo swung the ball over to Pierce, who was well-covered by Rashard Lewis. Pierce dribbled toward the center of the court look-ing for a shot, and Davis came over and set a pick on Lewis, who briefly left Davis to double-team Pierce.

While Lewis was caught in the middle, Pierce jumped and—instead of trying to shoot over Lewis and Dwight Howard — passed the ball over to Davis near the Magic logo on the left side. He calmly sank the 21-footer as time expired.

“We have a saying: ‘Trust the pass,’” Rivers said. “Our best player trusted the pass. He may have had a shot but (Lewis) was in his face. Baby was open. He trusted the offense. He trusted the pass. That was great.”

Davis’ basket at the far end of the court set off a frenzy on the Celtics bench, with Rivers spiking an imag-inary basketball in celebration.

The Celtics took Monday off to return to Boston, and Orlando did not practice either on the travel day.

“They’re the champions. They protect home court well,” Howard said. “We have to go in there with a great mind-set, start to finish it has to be the same. We know they’re going to come out and try to knock us out in the first couple of minutes. We have to withstand all their blows.”

— The Associated Press

Davis earned right to take game-winner

Second-year C Glen Davis made the biggest shot of his NBA career in Sunday’s Game 4 win.

PHELAN M. EBENHACK / AP

LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles Lakers are grumpy for letting a big chance get away from them in Texas.

The Houston Rockets are loose and having a good time, even if they don’t have Yao Ming.

After tonight, one of them is going to have a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series.

The top-seeded Lakers no doubt figured that they would have a chance to close out the Rockets in Game 5 at Staples Center. But that was before the Rockets embar-rassed Los Angeles 99-87 on Sun-day, tying the series and picking up their pace a day after finding out that the 7-foot-6 Yao had a stress fracture in his left foot.

“Yeah, we had a great opportu-nity,” Los Angeles’ Kobe Bryant said. “I’ve been on teams who have made this dumb mistake before. It’s important for my guys to stay up and get ready to play and under-stand that come (tonight) we’re going to face a really hungry Rock-ets team that believes they can win this series.”

The Lakers could be without for-ward Lamar Odom. He was listed as questionable for tonight’s game after an MRI and CT scan showed he has a bruised lower back. He was hurt Sunday when he drove into the lane and collided with Shane Battier, landing hard on the court.

The Rockets were in a good mood after watching film following their arrival in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon.

“We have a free mentality,” said Battier. “Every shot that everyone takes is a free shot. If it goes in,

great. If not, we tried. We have nothing to lose. No one expected much out of us. We expect an effort out of us, but we’re going to take our shots, play hard and take our chances.”

The Rockets are in the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 1997. The Lakers are trying to get back to the NBA finals a year after losing to Boston in six games.

Bryant said the Lakers’ mood Monday was “grumpy, a little quiet,” but that they will just have to deal with the disappointment of the wire-to-wire rout, when the smaller Rockets’ lineup took advantage of Los Angeles’ defen-sive lapses.

“You can’t get it back. You’ve just

got to move forward and get ready for the next one,” he said.

The Rockets stunned the Lak-ers—and most everyone else—by racing to a 29-16 lead in the first quarter. They never trailed and led by as many as 29 points before the Lakers at least made it look respect-able toward the end.

“We didn’t understand the type of energy Houston was going to come with,” Bryant said. “We didn’t have that type of energy.”

It wasn’t a case of the Lakers tak-ing the Rockets lightly without Yao, Bryant said.

“Naw, man they just kicked our (rear),” he said.

The Lakers say they need to have the kind of energy the Rockets had Sunday.

“If we want to be a championship team we have to go after it every single game,” Gasol said. “We can’t take for granted that because we’re better individually or maybe col-lectively that we can play 70, 80 percent. We have to play 100 per-cent from the get go.”

Gasol said the Lakers were “out-hustled and outplayed and we could have won if we really wanted to.”

Guard Aaron Brooks scored a career-high 34 points in Game 4, and the Rockets were still talking about their point guard on Monday.

“Maybe it’s a bowlegged thing, a knock-kneed, pigeon-toed thing, but boy, they can’t keep up with him,” said bulky 6-6 forward Chuck Hayes, who started for Yao on Sunday. “He uses his speed to his advantage to get to the paint. For such a little guy, he finishes pretty well.”

— The Associated Press

Rockets loose after Lakers miss opportunity

Rockets PG Aaron Brooks contributed a career-high 34 points in Sunday’s win.

ERIC GAY / AP

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 14NBA

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

EASTERN CONFERENCECleveland vs. Atlanta(Cleveland wins series 4-0)May 5: Cleveland 99, Atlanta 72May 7: Cleveland 105, Atlanta 85May 9: Cleveland 97, Atlanta 82Monday: Cleveland 84, Atlanta, 74

Boston vs. Orlando(Series tied 2-2)May 4: Orlando 95, Boston 90May 6: Boston 112, Orlando 94May 8: Orlando 117, Boston 96May 10: Boston 95, Orlando 94Today: Orlando at Boston, 8 p.m.Thursday: Boston at Orlando, 7 p.m.Sunday: Orlando at Boston, TBA, if necessary

WESTERN CONFERENCEL.A. Lakers vs. Houston(Series tied 2-2)May 4: Houston 100, L.A. Lakers 92May 6: L.A. Lakers 111,Houston 98May 8: L.A. Lakers 108, Houston 94May 10: Houston 99, L.A. Lakers 87Today: Houston at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.Thursday: L.A. Lakers at Houston, 9:30 p.m.Sunday: Houston at L.A. Lakers, TBA, if necessary

Denver vs. Dallas(Denver leads series 3-1)May 3: Denver 109, Dallas 95May 5: Denver 117, Dallas 105May 9: Denver 106, Dallas 105Monday: Dallas 119, Denver 117Wednesday: Dallas at Denver, 9 p.m.Friday: Denver at Dallas, TBA, if necessarySunday: Dallas at Denver, TBA, if necessary

INSIDE DISH

Raptors coach wants team to toughen up

The Raptors did not have to look far to find their new coach, because he’s their old coach—Jay Triano, who took over as the interim coach after Sam Mitchell was fired in December. The Raptors were just 25-40 after Triano took the reins, but the team improved as the year went on and closed the season with a 9-4 record down the stretch. “He was given not the most ideal circumstances to fight through,” said Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo. “Yet, each day, he showed up with a positive attitude, encouraging this team, teaching this team, leading this team. And the players responded.”

Colangelo said that the organiza-tion considered other candidates, but agreed that Triano, who was given a three-year contract, best fit the team’s needs. Triano said he has made no decisions on his staff yet, but that he has targeted at least one of his team’s deficiencies: tough-ness, which must have been pleas-ing to the ears of star PF Chris Bosh, who complained about his team’s lack of toughness this year. “Tough-ness is something we need to address,” Triano said. “I don’t think we’re a real tough team.”

In Philadelphia, shortly after Triano’s press conference, it was announced that coach Tony DiLeo was withdrawing his name from consid-eration for the Sixers’ job and will return to the front office. That was somewhat of a surprise, because DiLeo seemed receptive to taking the job and had the best track record of any of the year’s interim

coaches—after starting 9-14 under Maurice Cheeks, Philadelphia went 32-27 under DiLeo and earned a playoff berth. But, after the postsea-son, some Sixers players criticized DiLeo publicly, while PG Andre Miller and C Theo Ratliff did not show up for the team’s postseason meeting. That might have fed into his decision.

Word that general manager Chris Mullin was on the outs with the Warriors had been circulating for nearly a year, with Mullin suppos-edly losing out in a power struggle with team president Robert Rowell. The team finally made it official yesterday, cutting Mullin loose and promoting assistant Larry Riley in his place. “It’s never an easy decision to make a change,” said Rowell in a statement released by the team. “This case is compounded by the fact it involves Chris Mullin— someone who has provided Bay

Area fans with many great memo-ries over the years, as both a player and executive. He’s a class individ-ual who will always be remembered for his accomplishments with the Warriors organization.”

There’s a lengthy he-said, she-said, he-might-have-said here, but heading into last night’s game against the Mavericks, it was clear that Nuggets PF Kenyon Martin was not happy with Dallas owner Mark Cuban. That’s because, according to The Denver Post, Cuban—after hear-ing another fan calling the Nuggets, “thugs”—admits to telling Martin’s mother, “That includes your son.”

Martin was asked if he was offended. According to The Dallas Morning News, he said, “That’s just like saying some-thing to my kids. If you got something to say, say it to me. But I’m going to take care of it. I’m not going to do the whole media thing, back and forth. That’s his

thing. I’m more of a personal, face-to-face type of dude.”

The Magic got some good news on the economic front, with the team poised to receive a loan of $100 million to help complete the financing of their new stadium. According to Sports Business Jour-nal, that loan is believed to be the first to go to a mid-tier organization since the world credit markets froze in September. “There is a thaw, but that’s not to say the borrowing costs are at the rates prior to the current economic environment,” Alex Mar-tins, the Magic’s chief operating officer, told SBJ. “Having said that, we are pleased with the fact that there is a market out there to finance our contribution to the arena.”

One guy who is not surprised to see how well the backcourt combo of PG Kyle Lowry (listed at 6-0) and PG

Aaron Brooks (generously listed at 6-0) has played for the Rockets when they’ve been on the floor together in their series against the Lakers is Brooks himself. When he was at Oregon, he teamed up with PG Tajuan Porter, who is 5-6, to form a small but imposing backcourt. “It reminds me a lot of college,” Brooks told SN Today. “We had the same kind of thing going. Obviously, you are going to be giving up size. But you can make up for it in quickness.”

— Sean Deveney

The father of the 12-year-old boy bumped by Celtics big man Glen “Big Baby” Davis after Sunday’s game-winning shot is demanding an apol-ogy. Ernest Provetti told the Orlando Sentinel that he wrote the NBA office demanding an apology from Davis for acting like a “raging ani-mal with no regard for fans’ per-sonal safety.” NBA spokesman Tim Frank confirmed the league received the e-mail but declined to comment on it. Video of the play shows Davis ducking behind a referee and step-ping out of bounds as he ran back to the Celtics bench. Provetti told the paper it was his son, Nicholas, whose hat fell off as Davis bumped him. Celtics spokesman Jeff Twiss said Davis was not available for comment. The Magic also declined to comment.

Jay Triano, the first Canadian-born head coach in the NBA, signed a three-year contract Monday.

CHRIS YOUNG / AP

Today’s gamesAll Times ET

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (Best-of-7)

Orlando at Boston, 8 p.m., TNT

Houston at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m., TNT

Betting lineToday

FAVORITE ......... LINE .........O/U ......... UNDERDOG

at Boston .....................2 ...........(192) ................. Orlando

at L.A. Lakers .........12½ ...........(197½) ..............Houston

Dropping the ‘interim’Generally, interim coaches don’t stick around very long in the NBA. But this year, of the seven interims, three have been upgraded to full contracts, while three other jobs remain open and is still undecided. (Note: On replacing Marc Iavaroni in Memphis, Lionel Hollins was given a contract for next year, and thus, was never an interim.)

Team Interim Status

Minnesota Kevin McHale Undecided

Oklahoma City Scott Brooks Hired

Philadelphia Tony DiLeo Withdrew from consideration

Phoenix Alvin Gentry Hired

Sacramento Tony Natt Fired; job remains open

Toronto Jay Triano Hired

Washington Ed Tapscott Returned to front office; replaced by Flip Saunders

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 15Baseball

Manny Ramirez’s personal medical records disclosed his prescription of human chorionic gonadotrophin, the banned substance that landed the Dodgers outfielder a 50-game sus-pension, according to ESPN.com.

Ramirez turned over the records—as required by the collective bargain-ing agreement—as part of his appeals process after testing positive for ele-vated testosterone levels in spring training.

HCG is used to stimulate natural testosterone production among ste-roid users, though the report states it wouldn’t have caused the elevated marks in Ramirez’s test; doping experts said the spike was caused by synthetic testosterone.

Every individual naturally pro-duces testosterone and a substance called epitestosterone, typically at a ratio of 1:1. In MLB, if the ratio comes in at 4:1 during testing, a player is flagged. In Ramirez’s case, his ratio was between 4:1 and 10:1, according to the report.

Ramirez dropped plans to appeal the suspension after MLB informed him of their findings, according to the report.

Josh Hamilton says he’s close to rejoining the Rangers, who were on top of the A.L. West on Monday by a half game.

Hamilton made his first rehabilita-tion start Sunday for Triple-A Okla-homa City. Hamilton, sidelined with a strained muscle in his rib cage, went 1-for-2 with a single and walk, while playing center field for six innings, according to The Dallas Morning News.

“It felt good today,” he said

afterward in Round Rock, Texas. “I slipped in the outfield and landed on my ribs and didn’t feel a thing. I’ll see how it feels (today), but I’m planning on playing nine innings here Monday and then be ready for the Rangers (tonight).”

Prior to the injury, in 18 games Hamilton was batting .242 (16-66) with two home runs and 10 RBIs.

Cubs 1B Derrek Lee left the team Sunday and had an MRI on the bulging disc in his neck, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Lee didn’t play over the weekend and could land on the disabled list, pending results of the MRI.

A sore right elbow kept Atlanta’s Chipper Jones out of the starting lineup Monday in the series opener against the Mets in New York, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Jones hyperextended the elbow twice on back-to-back swings in the fifth inning Sunday against Philadel-phia, the paper revealed. Martin Prado replaced him in the lineup Monday.

Jones said he didn’t expect the injury to keep him out of the lineup more than a game. In games Jones hasn’t started, the Braves are 1-5.

The Marlins optioned Cameron Maybin to Triple-A New Orleans after the center fielder struggled to a .202 average and 31 strikeouts in 84 at-bats, The Miami Herald reported.

“We just want to send him down, get some AB’s, and regain some confidence,” Marlins G.M. Mike Hill told the Herald of the 22-year-old Maybin. “He’s tremendously

talented, has a bright future ahead of him. He’s still a baby.”

Lefthander John Koronka was recalled from New Orleans, where he was 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA, and will start today’s game in Milwaukee.

The Chicago White Sox pro-moted lefthander Jimmy Gobble from Triple-A on Monday to take the roster spot of struggling starter Jose Contreras.

The White Sox purchased the contract of Gobble from Charlotte. Contreras was optioned to the minor league team Sunday.

Gobble went 0-1 with a 5.25 ERA in relief appearances at Charlotte after signing with the White Sox on April 6. The 27-year-old Gobble is 22-23 life-time with a 5.23 ERA and four saves, all with the Kansas City Royals. Con-treras was 0-5 with an 8.19 ERA in six starts.

The Phillies will visit the White House on Friday to meet President Obama, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Jimmy Rollins, shortstop on

the World Series champion Phillies has been thinking about what he might say if he meets the President.

“Whatever pops up, I guess, which is usually how it works,” Rollins told the Inquirer. “Maybe he’ll be wearing a funky tie or some-thing, and I can crack a joke or something. I don’t know.”

Boston Red Sox fans, family and friends paid their final respects to former team great Dom DiMaggio.

Teammate Johnny Pesky and for-mer Red Sox CEO John Harrington were among those attending a funeral Mass at St. Paul Church in Wellesley on Monday.

Harrington said DiMaggio was dearly loved by former team own-ers Tom and Jean Yawkey.

DiMaggio’s family says he died Friday with the Red Sox game play-ing in the background. He was 92.

The center fielder and seven-time All-Star was the younger brother of Yankees Hall of Famer Joe, and played in the same outfield as Ted Williams.

THE LAUNCHING PADWhat to expect in the major leagues today

Rogers Centre reunionFrom 2006-08, righthander A.J. Burnett went 38-26 in 81 games (80

starts) for the Blue Jays. He opted out of his contract following the 2008 sea-son and signed a five-year, $82.5 million deal with the Yankees. Tonight, he will be back on the Rogers Centre mound, but he will be wearing pinstripes (and likely hearing more jeers than cheers). Meanwhile, Toronto will give the ball to ace Roy Halladay—the only Blue Jays pitcher with more wins (55) than Burnett from 2006-08. Halladay has won his past three starts and has pitched at least seven innings in all seven of his starts this season. And with the Yankees back in Toronto and Alex Rodriguez back in the lineup, Blue Jays infielders must be prepared for a Howie Kendrick-like moment on any popup.

A Manny-less rematchBecause of Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez’s suspension, some of

the luster is gone from tonight’s Dodgers-Phillies matchup. But you can bet Citizens Bank Park still will be rocking. In last October’s NLCS, Philadelphia disposed of Los Angeles in five games, despite two doubles, two homers and seven RBIs from Ramirez. Though they have been dominant at Dodger Stadium—beginning the season with an MLB-record 13 consecutive home wins—the Dodgers are just 8-8 on the road this season.

The Cubs’ conundrumDuring the offseason, the Cubs flirted with the idea of trading for Padres

ace Jake Peavy, before eventually breaking off talks. Tonight, they’ll face the 2007 N.L. Cy Young Award winner under the lights at Wrigley Field. While Peavy still would make a fine addition to Chicago’s rotation—and talks could restart once both franchises officially get their new ownership in place—the Cubs’ biggest problems this season have been an inconsistent offense and injuries. Both righthander Carlos Zambrano and third baseman Aramis Ramirez are on the disabled list.

— Chris Bahr

INSIDE DISH

Report: Medical records led to Manny’s suspension

A strained muscle in his rib cage sidelined Texas’ Josh Hamilton, but he’s on a rehab assignment.

TONY GUTIERREZ / AP

A.J. Burnett will make his return to Toronto after signing with the Yankees.

JULIE JACOBSON / AP

KATHY WILLENS / AP

Jonathan Papelbon’s ninth inning on Sunday helped Boston take second in our ranking.

BY RYAN FAGANrfagan@sportingnews.com

Odd week in the MLB neighborhood.

Manny’s on the sidelines with the 50-game suspension that will end in early July (in time for the All-Star Game, actually—he likely would have been a lock to be voted in as a starter; what happens now? Will the fans vote him in?). A-Rod’s back in pinstripes, and that homer on the first pitch was pretty impressive (though, getting only one hit in his next 10 at-bats shows even the best have to work their way back into the rhythm of the game).

The Mets have reeled off a seven-game winning streak to grab first place in the N.L. East and the Angels are suddenly just a half-game out of first in the A.L. West.

And the Blue Jays just keep win-ning. Though, at this point, it doesn’t seem nearly as odd to see them atop the A.L. East. Fun team to watch.

Power Poll

1. Blue Jays (2) Finally, the top spot. The Blue Jays have been lurking for a few weeks now and didn’t even have to put anyone on the D.L. this week. Double-bonus, eh?

2. Red Sox (4) Watching Jonathan Papelbon pump 97-mph fastballs past the heart of the Rays’ order with two on, no outs in the ninth inning Sunday was awe-inspiring.

3. Cardinals (3) Ryan Franklin blew his first save opportunity of the season, but rookie Colby Rasmus came through with a 10th-inning double to keep the Cards from being swept in Cincy.

4. Dodgers (1) You know why they dropped in the poll. Still a good team without Manny, but not the best in baseball. Where will they be in early July, when he returns?

5. Mets (21) And just like that, the Mets are atop the N.L. East with a seven-game winning streak that seemed to come from nowhere. Amazing.

6. Brewers (13) Speaking of coming from nowhere, the Brewers have won 14 of their past 19 games. Why? Because they have a team ERA of 3.21 in that stretch.

7. Tigers (10) Back-to-back-to-back outstanding starts by Justin Verlander, Edwin Jackson and Rick Porcello helped the Tigers sweep the Indians.

8. Royals (7) Rough weekend in L.A., where the boys from K.C. lost all three games to the Angels. That’s the bad news. The good news? The pitching still looked solid.

9. Reds (14) Who would have guessed that the Reds would have the best road record at 10-5 entering the week. (OK, technically, the Phillies, at 8-4, have the same winning percentage at .667.)

10. Cubs (6) For all the grief the N.L. Central gets, the division has four teams at least three games over .500 entering the week. No other division even comes close to that.

11. Marlins (8) A sweep in Colorado would have been a good answer for a brief 1-3 homestand, but, still, two out of three ain’t bad.

12. Rangers (15) First place in the A.L. West has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

13. Angels (24) Torii Hunter deserves the credit for getting the Angels over .500. He leads the team in homers, RBIs, and his home-run-robbing catch saved Sunday’s game.

14. Giants (12) The Giants haven’t lost a series since the middle of April. Their window of opportunity in the West is officially open with Manny on the sidelines.

15. Phillies (9) Two impressive road victories in St. Louis were followed by one win in five games against East rivals, the Mets and Braves.

16. Mariners (5) Horrible week for the M’s was salvaged by five runs in the last two innings in Minnesota that averted a sweep by the Twins.

17. Yankees (11) A-Rod and CC couldn’t have produced at a better time. Their tag-team win Friday against the Orioles came after losing four straight to the Red Sox and Rays at home.

18. Rays (19) Going 3-2 on a trip through New York and Boston is nothing to be ashamed of, but the Rays were in position to win all five, so the pair of losses stings.

19. Twins (18) Joe Mauer is hitting .485 since his return. The team is 4-4 in those games.

20. Braves (20) Talk about being bunched up … the Braves enter the week with six players tied for the team lead with three home runs—and three others have two.

21. White Sox (17) He doesn’t have the stuff on staff, but at 5-0 record and a 2.61 ERA, veteran lefty Mark Buehrle is showing why he’ll be Chicago’s ace until he leaves the city.

22. Astros (25) Wandy Rodriguez has only allowed more than one earned run in two of his seven starts this season, but he’s just 3-2 because of poor run support.

23. Diamondbacks (22) Something had to give, and Bob Melvin paid the price. New manager A.J. Hinch knows the youngsters he’ll write on the lineup card, but is that enough?

24. Padres (23) Closer Heath Bell still hasn’t allowed a run this year in 11 games.

25. Orioles (27) Future update: At Class AAA Norfolk, Matt Wieters has his average up to .301 and Chris Tillman is 3-0 with a 2.52 ERA.

26. Pirates (16) Two weeks ago, they were at No. 6 in this poll. They’ve won once since then.

27. Rockies (28) The Padres were expected to be horrible this year and the Diamondbacks just fired their manager. Both enter the week ahead of the Rockies in the N.L. West.

28. Athletics (26) They can see rock-bottom, right? That has to be a good thing.

29. Nationals (30) Out of last place, and sooner than expected. Ryan Zimmerman has a 29-game hitting streak that would be the talk of baseball if he played somewhere else.

30. Indians (29) Ugh. At least they scored a run Sunday against the Tigers.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 16Baseball

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 17Baseball

American League StandingsEast W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home AwayToronto 22 12 .647 — — 7-3 W-2 11-4 11-8Boston 20 12 .625 1 — 6-4 W-1 13-4 7-8New York 15 16 .484 5½ 4½ 4-6 W-1 6-7 9-9Tampa Bay 15 18 .455 6½ 5½ 6-4 L-1 6-7 9-11Baltimore 13 19 .406 8 7 4-6 L-1 10-10 3-9

Central W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home AwayDetroit 17 13 .567 — — 6-4 W-3 8-5 9-8Kansas City 18 14 .563 — 2 6-4 L-3 11-6 7-8Minnesota 15 17 .469 3 5 4-6 L-1 11-9 4-8Chicago 14 17 .452 3½ 5½ 3-7 L-2 8-8 6-9Cleveland 12 21 .364 6½ 8½ 3-7 W-1 6-10 6-11

West W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home AwayTexas 17 14 .548 — — 7-3 W-1 8-6 9-8Los Angeles 16 14 .533 ½ 3 7-3 W-4 10-7 6-7Seattle 16 16 .500 1½ 4 3-7 W-1 7-7 9-9Oakland 11 18 .379 5 7½ 3-7 L-2 6-10 5-8

National League StandingsEast W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home AwayNew York 17 14 .548 — — 8-2 L-1 11-7 6-7Florida 17 15 .531 ½ 1 3-7 L-1 6-7 11-8Philadelphia 15 14 .517 1 1½ 4-6 L-2 7-10 8-4Atlanta 16 16 .500 1½ 2 5-5 W-3 5-9 11-7Washington 10 20 .333 6½ 7 5-5 L-2 5-7 5-13

Central W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home AwaySt. Louis 20 12 .625 — — 5-5 W-1 12-5 8-7Cincinnati 18 14 .563 2 — 6-4 W-1 7-9 11-5Milwaukee 18 14 .563 2 — 6-4 L-1 9-7 9-7Chicago 17 14 .548 2½ ½ 7-3 W-1 8-6 9-8Houston 14 17 .452 5½ 3½ 5-5 W-3 8-10 6-7Pittsburgh 12 19 .387 7½ 5½ 1-9 L-8 7-7 5-12

West W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home AwayLos Angeles 22 11 .667 — — 7-3 L-1 14-3 8-8San Francisco 17 14 .548 4 ½ 6-4 W-2 11-4 6-10San Diego 13 19 .406 8½ 5 2-8 L-3 8-6 5-13Colorado 12 18 .400 8½ 5 4-6 W-1 6-8 6-10Arizona 13 20 .394 9 5½ 3-7 L-1 9-13 4-7

z-first game was a win

Pitching Matchups Today’s Games (All times Eastern)

American League The Line

Tampa Bay (Sonnanstine 1-3) at Baltimore (Hendrickson 1-4), 7:05 p.m. TB -125 at Bal +115

Chicago White Sox (Richard 0-0) at Cleveland (Sowers 0-1), 7:05 p.m. at Cle -165 Chi +155

N.Y. Yankees (A.Burnett 2-0) at Toronto (Halladay 6-1), 7:07 p.m. at Tor -140 NY +130

Seattle (Vargas 1-0) at Texas (Feldman 2-0), 8:05 p.m. at Tex -145 Sea +135

Detroit (Galarraga 3-2) at Minnesota (Slowey 4-1), 8:10 p.m. Det -115 at Min +105

Kansas City (Hochevar 0-0) at Oakland (Cahill 1-2), 10:05 p.m. at Oak -120 KC +110

Boston (Masterson 2-2) at L.A. Angels (Jer.Weaver 3-1), 10:05 p.m. at LA -130 Bos +120

National League The Line

St. Louis (Wellemeyer 3-2) at Pittsburgh (Duke 3-3), 7:05 p.m. STL-135 at Pit +125

L.A. Dodgers (Kershaw 1-2) at Philadelphia (Park 0-1), 7:05 p.m. at Phi -115 LA+105

Atlanta (Jurrjens 3-2) at N.Y. Mets (Pelfrey 4-0), 7:10 p.m. at NY -120 Atl +110

Florida (Koronka 0-0) at Milwaukee (Parra 1-4), 8:05 p.m. at Mil -145 Flo +135

San Diego (Peavy 2-4) at Chicago Cubs (Harden 3-1), 8:05 p.m. at Chi -155 SD +145

Houston (F.Paulino 1-2) at Colorado (Jimenez 2-4), 8:40 p.m. at Col -160 Hou +150

Cincinnati (Owings 2-3) at Arizona (Haren 3-3), 9:40 p.m. at Ari -185 Cin +175

Washington (Zimmermann 2-1) at San Francisco (Cain 3-1), 10:15 p.m. at SF -135 Was +125

MORE COVERAGE Get everything you need to

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

Fantasy Focus Start ’em, Sit ’em

Start ’em David Ortiz, DH, Red Sox. Ortiz is

not off to a good start, but he eats up the Angels’ Jered Weaver (7-for-17, 2 HRs, 9 RBIs).

Todd Wellemeyer, SP, Cardinals. Wellemeyer is 4-1 with a 3.54 ERA in his past 11 games against Pittsburgh, including a win last week.

Ryan Garko, 1B, Indians. Garko is 10-for-19 (.526) lifetime versus the White Sox’s Mark Buehrle. Hopefully, Eric Wedge notices.

Sit ’em Nick Swisher, 1B/OF, Yankees. Roy

Halladay usually holds Swisher (2-for-12, five strikeouts) in check.

Nick Johnson, 1B, Nationals. Johnson is 0-for-8 with five strikeouts against the Giants’ Matt Cain.

Andy Sonnanstine, SP, Rays. In six starts versus Baltimore, Sonnan-stine is 2-3 with a 7.11 ERA and 1.80 WHIP.

—George Winkler

LEAGUE LEADERSBatting Average

Runs

RBIs

Doubles

Triples

Home Runs

Stolen Bases

Pitching (3 decisions)

Strikeouts

Saves

A.L.

Player Team

Longoria Tampa Bay 15

Callaspo Kansas City 13

Polanco Detroit 13

Five tied 12

N.L.

Player Team

Kotchman Atlanta 13

FSanchez Pittsburgh 13

Hudson Los Angeles 12

Zimmerman Washington 12

MCameron Milwaukee 11

Six tied 10

A.L.

Player Team

Greinke Kansas City 59

Verlander Detroit 56

Lester Boston 49

FHernandez Seattle 47

Halladay Toronto 44

Bedard Seattle 43

Garza Tampa Bay 42

N.L.

Player Team

Santana New York 60

Lincecum San Francisco 58

JVazquez Atlanta 57

Peavy San Diego 52

Haren Arizona 51

Gallardo Milwaukee 47

Billingsley Los Angeles 47

A.L.

Player Team

FFrancisco Texas 9

Fuentes Los Angeles 9

Papelbon Boston 8

Soria Kansas City 7

Jenks Chicago 7

Three tied 6

N.L.

Player Team

Cordero Cincinnati 9

Franklin St. Louis 9

FrRodriguez New York 9

Qualls Arizona 8

Broxton Los Angeles 8

BWilson San Francisco 8

Bell San Diego 8

A.L.

Player Team

Longoria Tampa Bay 44

Bay Boston 34

CPena Tampa Bay 32

Huff Baltimore 31

Lind Toronto 31

Markakis Baltimore 30

AHill Toronto 29

N.L.

Player Team

Pujols St. Louis 33

Cantu Florida 32

Braun Milwaukee 28

Dunn Washington 28

Ethier Los Angeles 27

BMolina San Francisco 27

Four tied 26

A.L.

Player Team

AdJones Baltimore 33

Markakis Baltimore 33

Scutaro Toronto 32

Bay Boston 29

Pedroia Boston 29

Longoria Tampa Bay 27

Four tied 25

N.L.

Player Team

Pujols St. Louis 32

ASoriano Chicago 29

Hudson Los Angeles 26

Zimmerman Washington 26

Hart Milwaukee 25

Werth Philadelphia 25

Four tied 24

A.L.

Player Team

Youkilis Boston .393

MiCabrera Detroit .378

VMartinez Cleveland .372

Longoria Tampa Bay .358

AdJones Baltimore .358

AHill Toronto .353

Markakis Baltimore .352

N.L.

Player Team

Votto Cincinnati .381

Beltran New York .370

Zimmerman Washington .363

HaRamirez Florida .348

MRamirez Los Angeles .348

Braun Milwaukee .345

Helton Colorado .343

A.L.

Player Team

CPena Tampa Bay 13

Longoria Tampa Bay 11

Bay Boston 9

Blalock Texas 9

Damon New York 9

Granderson Detroit 9

Kinsler Texas 9

N.L.

Player Team

Pujols St. Louis 12

Dunn Washington 11

Bruce Cincinnati 10

AdGonzalez San Diego 10

ASoriano Chicago 10

Utley Philadelphia 10

Ibanez Philadelphia 9

A.L.

Player Team

Crawford Tampa Bay 22

Ellsbury Boston 15

Abreu Los Angeles 12

Figgins Los Angeles 12

Crisp Kansas City 8

Kinsler Texas 8

Five tied 7

N.L.

Player Team

Bourn Houston 10

JosReyes New York 10

Burriss San Francisco 9

Fowler Colorado 9

Morgan Pittsburgh 9

Kemp Los Angeles 8

Taveras Cincinnati 8

A.L.

Player Team

Buehrle Chicago 5-0 1.000

Frasor Toronto 4-0 1.000

RRamirez Boston 3-0 1.000

ABailey Oakland 3-0 1.000

Palmer Los Angeles 3-0 1.000

Bannister Kansas City 3-0 1.000

N.L.

Player Team

Meredith San Diego 4-0 1.000

Pelfrey New York 4-0 1.000

Martis Washington 4-0 1.000

Broxton Los Angeles 3-0 1.000

Condrey Philadelphia 3-0 1.000

JoJohnson Florida 3-0 1.000

A.L.

Player Team

Crisp Kansas City 4

Seven tied 2

N.L.

Player Team

Bourn Houston 3

Kemp Los Angeles 3

Victorino Philadelphia 3

17 tied 2

Boston DH David Ortiz

CHARLES KRUPA / AP

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 18Baseball

Atlanta 8, N.Y. Mets 3

Mets’ lack of offense allows Braves, Lowe to top SantanaNEW YORK—Johan Santana is still

waiting for some help from his team-mates this year.

Derek Lowe outlasted Santana in a matchup of aces, pitching the Atlanta Braves to an 8-3 victory Monday night that ended New York’s seven-game winning streak.

“I love facing guys like that, espe-cially Santana. He’s going to beat you more than you’re going to beat him, but it’s fun to be in those games,” Lowe said. “It’s fun to challenge your-self to see if you can step up when you have to.”

In a season-long trend that has become maddening for the Mets, they provided Santana with little support on offense or defense. Jose Reyes’ two-out error in the seventh inning led to four runs, saddling Santana (4-2) with his second loss this season when he did not allow an earned run.

“It’s crazy that it happened twice already,” Santana said. “There’s not many things I can do.”

The two-time Cy Young Award winner was pulled after 108 pitches with the score tied at 1. He lowered his NL-best ERA to 0.78 through seven starts—but somehow New York has lost three of them.

“Hopefully, there will come a point where we will pick him up,” manager Jerry Manuel said. “I think it’s just coincidence, I really do. He’s the type of guy that gets everybody up before his game. He might be getting ‘em too geeked—that might be it. I think it’ll turn around.”

Matt Diaz’s two-run single off Pedro Feliciano snapped a 1-all tie in the seventh, and Casey Kotchman fol-lowed with another two-run single

that made it 5-1.That was more than enough for

Lowe (5-1), who took a three-hitter into the seventh and won his fourth straight start. The Braves have won five of six on an eight-game road trip against the three teams ahead of them in the NL East standings. This was their first visit to Citi Field, the Mets’ new ballpark.

“It was a matchup as advertised,” Atlanta manager Bobby Cox said.

Both teams played without a big slugger. Carlos Delgado sat out for the Mets because of a recurring hip injury, while Chipper Jones was side-lined for Atlanta due to a sore right elbow.

Lowe gave up two runs and five hits in 6 2-3 innings. The Mets pur-sued the sinkerballer in the offseason but were outbid by the Braves, who signed him to a $60 million, four-year contract.

New York then turned its attention to re-signing Oliver Perez, a major bust this year who is currently on the disabled list.

Two infield singles and a two-out throwing error by third baseman David Wright gave Atlanta a run in the first inning. New York tied it on Omir Santos’ sacrifice fly in the fifth.

Kelly Johnson’s one-out single in the seventh chased Santana. With two on and two outs, Feliciano came in to face cleanup batter Brian McCann, who hit a slow grounder up the middle. Reyes slid over from shortstop but booted the ball behind second, loading the bases.

“Nothing went wrong there. I just missed the ball. E-6,” Reyes said.

Manuel stayed with Feliciano

against the right-handed hitting Diaz, and his single to left put Atlanta ahead.

Yunel Escobar added an RBI grounder in the eighth, and the Braves scored twice in the ninth after McCann’s leadoff double. Jeff Fran-coeur had a sacrifice fly, and pinch-

hitter Omar Infante delivered an RBI single.

Santana was charged with two unearned runs and seven hits in 6 1-3 innings. He dropped to 0-4 with a 2.31 ERA in six career starts against Atlanta.

The Mets have scored 15 runs in

Santana’s seven starts this year, 11 while he was on the mound. They have 139 runs in their other 24 games, an average of 5.79.

“We try to figure that out. It’s hard to believe,” Reyes said. “We feel bad right now.”

— The Associated Press

Atlanta SP Derek Lowe benefitted the most from his team’s four-run seventh inning to earn his fifth victory of the season.

KATHY WILLENS / AP

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Braves 8, Mets 3

Atlanta AB R H BI BB SO Avg.K.Johnson 2b 6 1 2 0 0 1 .242Escobar ss 4 2 3 1 1 0 .302Prado 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .297McCann c 5 2 1 0 0 1 .246M.Diaz lf 5 1 3 2 0 0 .258Kotchman 1b 4 1 2 2 0 1 .319Francoeur rf 4 0 1 1 0 1 .271Schafer cf 4 0 0 0 1 1 .217D.Lowe p 3 0 1 0 0 1 .083Moylan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---a-Norton ph 1 1 1 0 0 0 .143R.Soriano p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---c-Infante ph 1 0 1 1 0 0 .338Carlyle p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000Totals 41 8 16 7 2 6

New York AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Jos.Reyes ss 3 0 0 0 1 1 .269Castillo 2b 3 0 0 0 1 1 .321Beltran cf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .370D.Wright 3b 4 1 2 0 0 1 .311Dan.Murphy lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 .286Tatis 1b 4 2 2 1 0 0 .356Reed rf 3 0 2 0 1 0 .353Santos c 3 0 1 2 0 0 .302Santana p 2 0 0 0 0 0 .000Parnell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Feliciano p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Stokes p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---b-Cora ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 .333Takahashi p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000d-Sheffield ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .182Totals 32 3 9 3 3 3

Atlanta 100 000 412 — 8 16 0New York 000 010 101 — 3 9 2

a-singled for Moylan in the 8th. b-singled for Stokes in the 8th. c-singled for R.Soriano in the 9th. d-grounded out for Takahashi in the 9th. E: Jos.Reyes (5), D.Wright (4). LOB: Atlanta 11, New York 6. 2B: McCann (4), D.Wright (8), Tatis (3), Reed (1). RBIs: Escobar (17), M.Diaz 2 (13), Kotchman 2 (14), Francoeur (19), Infante (10), Tatis (4), Santos 2 (10). S: Prado. SF: Francoeur, Santos. Runners left in scoring position: Atlanta 5 (Kotchman, M.Diaz, Schafer 2, K.Johnson); New York 2 (Santos, Sheffield). DP: Atlanta 3 (K.Johnson, Escobar, Kotchman), (Prado, K.Johnson, Kotchman), (Escobar, K.Johnson, Kotchman); New York 1 (D.Wright, Castillo, Tatis).

Atlanta IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAD.Lowe W, 5-1 6 2⁄3 5 2 2 2 1 95 3.80Moylan H, 5 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 2 6.94R.Soriano 1 1 0 0 0 2 24 1.13Carlyle 1 3 1 1 1 0 29 5.40New York IP H R ER BB SO NP ERASantana L, 4-2 6 1⁄3 7 2 0 1 6 108 0.78Parnell 1⁄3 1 1 0 0 0 6 1.26Feliciano 0 2 2 0 0 0 8 3.46Stokes 1 1⁄3 3 1 1 0 0 15 0.68Takahashi 1 3 2 2 1 0 23 3.00

Feliciano pitched to 3 batters in the 7th. Inherited runners-scored: Moylan 1-0, Parnell 1-0, Feliciano 2-2, Stokes 1-0. HBP: by Santana (Kotchman). WP: Takahashi. Umpires: Home, Greg Gibson; First, Andy Fletcher; Second, Ted Barrett; Third, Tim McClelland. T: 3:04. A: 40,497 (41,800).

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 19Baseball

AMERICAN LEAGUE / NATIONAL LEAGUEReds 13, Diamondbacks 5

Cincinnati AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Taveras cf 5 4 5 2 0 0 .315D.McDonald cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 .226Hairston Jr. ss 4 2 2 2 1 1 .257Lincoln p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Votto 1b 4 1 2 2 1 0 .381Phillips 2b 5 0 2 2 0 0 .257Bruce rf 5 0 0 0 0 0 .250R.Hernandez c 4 0 0 0 0 0 .289b-Hanigan ph-c 1 0 1 0 0 0 .314L.Nix lf 4 2 2 1 0 1 .327Dickerson lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 .197A.Rosales 3b 5 3 3 1 0 0 .295Arroyo p 3 1 1 0 0 1 .091Herrera p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000d-Janish ph-ss 0 0 0 0 1 0 .345Totals 42 13 18 10 3 3

Arizona AB R H BI BB SO Avg.F.Lopez 2b 4 2 3 1 0 0 .323Jo.Wilson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231C.Young cf 5 1 1 0 0 0 .193J.Upton rf 4 1 1 2 0 1 .307e-Montero ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .273Reynolds 3b 4 1 1 1 0 1 .254Byrnes lf 4 0 3 1 0 0 .216Tracy 1b 2 0 0 0 0 0 .207L.Rosales p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---a-C.Jackson ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .182Korecky p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---J.Gutierrez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---c-R.Roberts ph-2b 1 0 1 0 0 0 .348Snyder c 4 0 0 0 0 2 .219Ojeda ss 3 0 1 0 0 0 .302Garland p 1 0 0 0 0 1 .000Whitesell 1b 3 0 0 0 0 0 .059Totals 37 5 11 5 0 5

Cincinnati 103 304 200 — 13 18 1Arizona 002 020 100 — 5 11 1

a-popped out for L.Rosales in the 5th. b-singled for R.Hernandez in the 8th. c-singled for J.Gutierrez in the 8th. d-walked for Herrera in the 9th. e-flied out for J.Upton in the 9th. E: A.Rosales (1), Reynolds (7). LOB: Cincinnati 6, Arizona 7. 2B: Taveras (6), Hairston Jr. 2 (5), Phillips (5), A.Rosales 2 (2), F.Lopez (10), Byrnes (7). HR: L.Nix (2), off Garland; A.Rosales (2), off Garland; J.Upton (7), off Arroyo; F.Lopez (4), off Arroyo; Reynolds (8), off Arroyo. RBIs: Taveras 2 (7), Hairston Jr. 2 (8), Votto 2 (26), Phillips 2 (20), L.Nix (7), A.Rosales (5), F.Lopez (8), J.Upton 2 (18), Reynolds (15), Byrnes (12). SB: Taveras (8). S: Arroyo. Runners left in scoring position: Cincinnati 4 (Bruce, R.Hernandez 2, Votto); Arizona 3 (Reynolds, Garland, C.Jackson). DP: Cincinnati 1 (Hair-ston Jr., Phillips, Votto); Arizona 2 (Ojeda, F.Lopez, Tracy), (Ojeda, R.Roberts, Whitesell).

Cincinnati IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAArroyo W, 5-2 7 10 5 5 0 5 124 7.02Herrera 1 1 0 0 0 0 12 2.13Lincoln 1 0 0 0 0 0 11 9.45Arizona IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAGarland L, 3-2 3 2⁄3 10 7 7 1 0 77 5.18L.Rosales 1 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 10 4.15Korecky 2 7 6 6 1 2 49 13.50J.Gutierrez 1 1 0 0 0 0 17 2.84Jo.Wilson 1 0 0 0 1 0 12 0.00Inherited runners-scored: L.Rosales 1-0. HBP: by Lincoln (Jo.Wilson), by Arroyo (Ojeda). WP: Korecky 2. Umpires: Home, Doug Eddings; First, Hunter Wendel-stedt; Second, Rob Drake; Third, Dana DeMuth. T: 2:58. A: 17,640 (48,652).

Indians 9, White Sox 4

Chicago AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Getz 2b 5 0 0 0 0 1 .274Lillibridge cf 4 0 1 0 0 1 .169b-Betemit ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .281Quentin lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .237Dye rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .292Thome dh 4 1 2 0 0 1 .212Konerko 1b 4 2 3 0 0 0 .307Pierzynski c 4 1 2 1 0 0 .301Fields 3b 3 0 2 1 1 1 .255Al.Ramirez ss 4 0 1 2 0 0 .200Totals 37 4 12 4 1 5

Cleveland AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Sizemore cf 5 1 1 0 0 1 .226A.Cabrera 2b 4 2 2 0 1 0 .325V.Martinez 1b 4 3 1 1 1 1 .372Choo rf 4 1 2 3 1 1 .273DeRosa 3b 4 1 2 1 0 0 .246Peralta ss 5 0 3 3 0 2 .246Dellucci dh 3 0 0 0 0 0 .242a-Garko ph-dh 0 0 0 1 0 0 .274B.Francisco lf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .247Shoppach c 3 1 1 0 1 1 .224Totals 36 9 13 9 4 6

Chicago 000 020 200 — 4 12 0Cleveland 200 403 00x — 9 13 0

b-lined out for Lillibridge in the 9th. LOB: Chicago 7, Cleveland 9. 2B: Pierzynski (3), DeRosa (8), B.Francisco (5). RBIs: Pierzynski (10), Fields (12), Al.Ramirez 2 (13), V.Martinez (20), Choo 3 (17), DeRosa (22), Peralta 3 (13), Garko (12). SB: A.Cabrera (6). CS: Getz (1). SF: Garko. Runners left in scoring position: Chicago 4 (Pierzynski, Getz, Quentin 2); Cleveland 4 (Dellucci 3, V.Martinez). DP: Cleveland 1 (A.Cabrera, Peralta, V.Martinez).

Chicago IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAFloyd L, 2-3 5 11 8 8 3 3 107 7.32Gobble 1⁄3 2 1 1 0 1 9 27.00Broadway 2 2⁄3 0 0 0 1 2 27 3.72Cleveland IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAPavano W, 3-3 6 1⁄3 10 4 4 0 3 87 6.45Laffey 1 2⁄3 2 0 0 0 2 27 3.38R.Betancourt 1 0 0 0 1 0 24 5.19

Floyd pitched to 2 batters in the 6th. Inherited runners-scored: Gobble 1-1, Broadway 2-1, Laffey 2-0. HBP: by Floyd (DeRosa). Umpires: Home, Dale Scott; First, Jerry Meals; Second, Mike DiMuro; Third, James Hoye. T: 2:53. A: 14,567 (45,199).

Cincinnati 13, Arizona 5Cleveland 9, Chicago White Sox 4

No jet lagworriesfor Reds

Pavano, Indians start strong, end recent slide

PHOENIX—Cincinnati Reds man-ager Dusty Baker wondered if his team would be sluggish after playing 10 innings Sunday and then flying across three time zones.

He needn’t have worried.With Willy Taveras matching

a career high with five hits, the Reds opened a six-game Western swing with a 13-5 rout of the Ari-zona Diamondbacks on Monday night.

“Great way to start a road trip,” Baker said. “Most of the guys, this is the first time we’ve come West. Everybody woke up 5:30, 6 o’clock in the morning, includ-ing myself. That’s what you’re a little concerned about, but the guys responded big-time to it.”

Adam Rosales added a homer and two doubles as the Reds set season highs in runs and hits (18).

“Hopefully, our hitting’s here to stay,” Baker said.

Taveras, the leadoff man, set the table nicely. He wrapped four singles around a fourth-inning double.

Taveras, who scored four runs and drove in two, had five hits on April 25, 2007, at the New York Mets. He raised his average 32 points, to .315, and stretched his hitting streak to 12 games.

— The Associated Press

CLEVELAND—Carl Pavano threw strikes and his Cleveland Indians teammates struck quickly at the plate.

Pavano won his third straight start and the Indians scored in the first inning for the first time this month as they defeated the Chicago White Sox 9-4 on Monday night to snap a four-game losing streak.

“It finally felt like a real baseball game,” said Cleveland third baseman Mark DeRosa. “Any win right now is big.”

Pavano (3-3) allowed four runs and 10 hits over 6 1/3 innings in his first appearance against the White Sox in nearly five years. The right-hander didn’t issue a walk and struck out three.

“He controlled the game and it was good to see,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said of Pavano, who threw 67 of 87 pitches for strikes.

Shin-Soo Choo and Jhonny Peralta drove in three runs apiece for Cleveland, which totaled 13 hits and scored three more runs than it did during its four-game slide.

Chicago lost for the seventh time in nine games as Gavin Floyd (2-3) gave up eight runs and 11 hits over five innings. The right-hander is 0-2 with a 9.73 ERA in four starts since April 19.

Floyd did not throw a first-pitch strike to the first 11 batters he faced. Pavano was 10-for-10 until Brent Lillibridge let an outside pitch go past for ball one.

“In the big leagues, if you don’t throw a strike, I don’t care how good you are, you’re going to get killed,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “He couldn’t throw his curve for strikes because he couldn’t throw his fastball for strikes. You have to command your fastball to make the other pitches work.”

The last time Pavano faced Chicago, he pitched a three-hit shutout on June 16, 2004, for Florida on the way to an 18-8 record.

— The Associated Press

MARK DUNCAN / AP

Cleveland P Carl Pavano won his third straight by limiting the White Sox to four runs.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 20Baseball

BALTIMOREORIOLES

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Jones .358 .418 120 33 43 12 1 6 21 10 25 3 2 1

Markakis .352 .434 122 33 43 10 0 6 30 17 15 1 1 3

Scott .303 .384 99 14 30 6 0 5 15 12 19 0 0 0

Roberts .290 .356 131 24 38 8 0 4 12 14 18 4 3 2

Huff .268 .343 123 16 33 8 0 6 31 15 19 0 1 2

Andino .261 .292 23 4 6 0 0 0 1 1 4 1 0 0

Izturis .244 .292 90 8 22 4 0 1 10 4 4 6 0 4

Mora .242 .288 62 4 15 0 0 2 11 4 10 1 2 2

Moeller .233 .281 30 1 7 2 1 1 1 2 5 0 0 0

Montanez .212 .289 33 4 7 3 0 1 5 3 7 0 0 0

Zaun .210 .304 81 10 17 6 0 1 3 10 12 0 0 3

Wigginton .198 .236 101 5 20 2 0 1 10 4 12 1 1 2

Pie .183 .269 60 4 11 1 0 1 2 7 17 1 2 0

Team Totals .270 .340 1090 162 294 62 2 35 153 108 171 18 12 22

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Baez 2 1 2.50 10 0 0 18.0 9 5 5 2 5 15

McCrory 0 0 2.70 2 0 0 3.1 3 1 1 0 1 2

Walker 0 0 2.84 14 0 0 6.1 8 2 2 1 0 8

Johnson 2 1 3.77 14 0 0 14.1 14 6 6 2 4 10

Sherrill 0 1 3.95 14 0 5 13.2 17 6 6 3 6 12

Uehara 2 3 4.01 7 7 0 42.2 41 22 19 6 7 32

Guthrie 2 3 4.97 7 7 0 41.2 47 26 23 8 14 27

Bergesen 1 0 4.98 4 4 0 21.2 31 14 12 3 7 11

Hendrickson 1 4 5.13 6 6 0 26.1 36 23 15 7 12 18

Bass 1 1 6.20 10 0 0 20.1 28 16 14 5 7 20

Sarfate 0 0 6.39 8 0 0 12.2 13 11 9 3 7 10

Eaton 2 3 7.18 6 6 0 31.1 38 25 25 5 15 24

Ray 0 0 7.20 12 0 0 10.0 16 8 8 1 4 11

Simon 0 1 9.95 2 2 0 6.1 8 7 7 5 2 3

Team Totals 13 19 5.38 32 32 5 279.1 333 190 167 52 99 210

BOSTONRED SOX

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Youkilis .393 .505 89 23 35 11 0 6 20 16 18 1 0 1

Lugo .333 .375 30 6 10 0 1 1 2 2 4 0 0 1

Bay .324 .468 108 29 35 8 1 9 34 28 28 4 0 0

Pedroia .320 .409 128 29 41 9 0 1 12 18 11 4 3 1

Lowell .312 .344 125 18 39 11 1 6 28 5 15 0 0 4

Ellsbury .292 .326 130 18 38 5 0 1 10 7 12 15 3 0

Green .289 .349 76 9 22 7 0 1 12 2 16 1 2 6

Baldelli .273 .304 22 4 6 0 0 1 4 1 6 0 0 0

Drew .242 .368 95 16 23 8 1 4 17 18 29 0 1 1

Varitek .227 .324 88 11 20 7 0 4 12 11 18 0 0 1

Ortiz .224 .338 116 13 26 10 1 0 14 20 26 0 1 0

Bailey .206 .341 34 5 7 2 1 1 6 5 12 0 0 2

Kottaras .154 .258 26 3 4 2 0 0 3 4 9 0 0 0

Lowrie .056 .150 18 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 8 0 0 0

Team Totals .282 .371 1103 185 311 80 6 36 178 141 221 25 10 21

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Delcarmen 1 0 0.55 14 0 0 16.1 13 3 1 0 8 14

Ramirez 3 0 0.55 16 0 0 16.1 7 1 1 1 5 8

Papelbon 0 0 1.29 13 0 8 14.0 12 2 2 1 8 18

Wakefield 4 1 2.93 6 6 0 40.0 27 13 13 1 18 25

Okajima 2 0 3.31 16 0 0 16.1 10 6 6 2 9 20

Saito 0 0 4.50 12 0 2 12.0 14 6 6 2 3 11

Masterson 2 2 5.28 8 4 0 29.0 31 17 17 2 10 26

Lester 2 3 6.31 7 7 0 41.1 52 29 29 8 13 49

Beckett 3 2 6.42 7 7 0 40.2 52 30 29 4 20 41

Penny 3 1 6.90 6 6 0 30.0 38 27 23 5 15 16

Jones 0 0 7.27 7 0 0 8.2 9 7 7 2 3 7

Matsuzaka 0 1 12.79 2 2 0 6.1 14 9 9 3 5 5

Team Totals 20 12 4.89 32 32 10 285.1 300 163 155 32 127 247

CHICAGO WHITE SOX

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Nix .333 .400 12 1 4 1 0 1 2 2 2 0 0 0

Konerko .307 .352 114 17 35 9 0 3 21 7 14 0 0 0

Pierzynski .301 .337 93 11 28 3 1 4 10 5 5 1 0 2

Dye .292 .345 106 16 31 3 0 7 17 8 29 0 1 1

Anderson .288 .383 52 6 15 2 0 0 4 8 14 2 3 1

Betemit .281 .324 32 2 9 5 0 0 3 2 11 0 0 2

Getz .274 .340 84 11 23 5 1 0 6 6 8 3 1 2

Fields .255 .342 106 13 27 2 2 2 12 12 34 0 2 5

Wise .238 .238 21 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 1 0

Quentin .237 .338 114 18 27 4 0 8 18 10 14 1 0 0

Podsednik .231 .222 26 1 6 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 1

Thome .212 .330 85 15 18 4 0 4 14 15 32 0 0 0

Ramirez .200 .241 100 7 20 3 0 1 13 6 14 6 1 2

Miller .182 .280 22 4 4 2 0 0 3 3 3 0 0 0

Lillibridge .169 .269 59 7 10 2 0 0 0 8 17 3 0 2

Team Totals .253 .323 1038 129 263 46 4 30 125 95 207 17 10 23

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Dotel 1 0 0.00 12 0 0 10.1 6 0 0 0 8 13

Linebrink 1 1 0.82 11 0 0 11.0 10 1 1 0 5 9

Jenks 0 1 1.64 11 0 7 11.0 8 3 2 1 4 12

Buehrle 5 0 2.61 6 6 0 38.0 30 11 11 3 11 24

Carrasco 0 0 3.13 12 0 0 23.0 28 9 8 1 6 12

Thornton 1 1 3.27 13 0 0 11.0 12 4 4 1 6 19

Danks 2 2 3.41 6 6 0 34.1 31 13 13 4 10 31

Broadway 0 1 3.72 6 0 0 9.2 12 4 4 0 5 5

Richard 0 0 4.32 12 0 0 16.2 23 8 8 2 5 10

Colon 2 3 4.88 6 6 0 31.1 33 19 17 4 12 23

Floyd 2 3 7.32 7 7 0 39.1 53 33 32 4 21 31

Gobble 0 0 27.00 1 0 0 0.1 2 1 1 0 0 1

Team Totals 14 17 4.69 31 31 7 272.2 303 150 142 25 118 210

CLEVELANDINDIANS

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Barfield 1.000 1.000 3 3 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0

Martinez .372 .454 129 25 48 10 1 6 20 21 13 0 0 1

Cabrera .325 .397 120 23 39 6 1 1 16 15 25 6 0 1

Garko .274 .375 73 4 20 4 0 1 12 12 7 0 0 1

Choo .273 .410 110 14 30 7 1 3 17 23 25 6 0 2

Hafner .270 .370 63 10 17 5 0 4 8 8 18 0 0 0

Francisco .247 .324 97 16 24 5 0 2 8 7 21 6 1 1

DeRosa .246 .311 134 22 33 8 0 6 22 12 30 0 1 5

Peralta .246 .306 114 13 28 6 0 1 13 9 36 0 0 3

Dellucci .242 .286 33 2 8 2 0 0 0 1 9 0 0 0

Sizemore .226 .310 137 19 31 8 0 6 23 17 37 5 5 0

Shoppach .224 .366 58 9 13 2 0 2 7 5 24 0 0 0

Valbuena .200 .429 10 2 2 2 0 0 0 4 3 0 0 0

LaPorta .154 .267 13 3 2 0 0 1 2 1 3 0 0 0

Team Totals .267 .355 1150 170 307 67 3 33 153 138 265 24 8 17

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Herges 0 0 3.00 2 0 0 3.0 2 1 1 1 0 4

Sipp 0 0 3.00 7 0 0 6.0 3 2 2 2 4 8

Laffey 2 0 3.38 6 4 1 26.2 25 10 10 1 15 13

Lee 1 5 3.45 7 7 0 47.0 57 18 18 3 12 33

J. Lewis 2 3 4.86 15 0 1 16.2 19 9 9 6 6 13

Betancourt 1 1 5.19 16 0 0 17.1 19 13 10 2 8 19

Carmona 1 4 5.57 7 7 0 42.0 43 27 26 5 23 25

Pavano 3 3 6.45 7 7 0 37.2 50 27 27 4 8 26

Wood 1 1 6.55 12 0 5 11.0 13 8 8 2 5 16

Smith 0 0 7.11 8 0 0 6.1 7 6 5 0 5 6

Reyes 1 1 7.20 6 6 0 30.0 34 24 24 5 16 17

S. Lewis 0 0 8.31 1 1 0 4.1 7 4 4 2 1 3

Kobayashi 0 0 8.38 10 0 0 9.2 12 9 9 2 4 4

Sowers 0 1 12.60 1 1 0 5.0 7 7 7 0 3 1

Team Totals 12 21 5.77 33 33 7 290.0 333 192 186 38 129 203

AMERICAN LEAGUE TEAM STATSAMERICAN LEAGUE TEAM STATSTHROUGH MONDAY’S GAMES

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 21Baseball

DETROITTIGERS

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Cabrera .378 .448 111 18 42 3 0 7 22 13 15 1 2 3

Thomas .333 .429 18 2 6 1 1 0 3 3 3 1 0 0

Anderson .327 .373 55 11 18 3 1 0 7 4 8 6 1 1

Everett .281 .319 64 10 18 5 0 1 12 3 11 1 1 4

Inge .280 .395 100 21 28 4 0 8 20 16 26 1 2 4

Polanco .270 .313 122 13 33 13 1 0 15 7 10 0 1 0

Santiago .262 .311 42 4 11 2 0 1 13 3 15 0 1 2

Granderson .254 .328 122 22 31 2 0 9 21 14 26 4 1 0

Ordonez .241 .333 108 12 26 1 0 2 12 15 19 0 0 1

Thames .222 .250 18 2 4 1 1 0 2 1 6 0 0 0

Laird .215 .323 79 14 17 2 1 1 7 9 16 1 0 0

Larish .208 .296 24 7 5 0 1 2 3 3 6 0 0 0

Guillen .200 .267 90 11 18 4 0 0 6 8 15 1 0 0

Sardinha .111 .100 9 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 5 0 0 0

Raburn .050 .208 20 2 1 0 0 0 1 4 5 0 0 1

Treanor .000 .071 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 0

Team Totals .260 .335 995 150 259 42 6 31 145 104 190 16 9 16

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Zumaya 1 0 0.00 5 0 0 6.0 5 0 0 0 0 2

Seay 0 0 1.80 13 0 0 10.0 6 2 2 0 2 7

Jackson 2 2 2.60 7 7 0 45.0 37 17 13 4 11 35

Perry 0 1 2.92 13 0 0 12.1 7 6 4 0 11 10

Galarraga 3 2 4.08 6 6 0 35.1 33 16 16 4 16 29

Porcello 3 3 4.28 6 6 0 33.2 33 17 16 6 11 20

Miner 2 1 4.29 6 4 0 21.0 26 15 10 3 11 14

Verlander 3 2 4.50 7 7 0 44.0 38 25 22 3 14 56

Lyon 1 2 4.97 11 0 0 12.2 12 7 7 2 7 4

Rincon 1 0 5.23 7 0 0 10.1 12 6 6 2 6 10

Rodney 0 0 5.25 12 0 6 12.0 13 7 7 1 4 9

Robertson 1 0 6.30 8 0 0 10.0 10 7 7 0 6 7

Team Totals 17 13 3.84 30 30 6 262.2 252 135 112 29 103 210

KANSAS CITYROYALS

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Bloomquist .368 .448 57 12 21 1 2 1 5 9 7 4 1 1

Callaspo .340 .395 103 17 35 13 1 2 12 10 7 0 0 1

Teahen .302 .386 116 18 35 8 0 4 13 12 22 1 0 0

Butler .284 .371 102 16 29 9 0 2 13 14 16 0 0 0

Guillen .273 .385 66 10 18 2 0 3 11 9 10 1 0 0

Jacobs .257 .336 101 10 26 7 0 5 19 11 31 0 0 2

Crisp .241 .369 116 23 28 8 4 2 11 23 15 8 2 2

Buck .233 .299 60 5 14 3 2 3 17 6 16 0 0 3

Maier .231 .394 26 4 6 1 0 0 0 7 5 2 0 0

Olivo .229 .260 70 5 16 1 1 2 8 1 26 1 1 0

DeJesus .224 .278 116 13 26 5 1 3 14 7 21 0 1 0

Aviles .202 .223 99 8 20 3 1 1 8 3 21 1 0 4

Gordon .095 .269 21 2 2 0 0 1 3 3 8 1 0 1

Hernandez .000 .000 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Pena Jr. .000 .083 11 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 1

Team Totals .259 .337 1075 146 278 63 12 29 136 116 209 19 5 18

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Greinke 6 1 0.51 7 7 0 53.0 34 4 3 0 8 59

Bannister 3 0 1.48 4 4 0 24.1 18 7 4 1 11 14

Tejeda 0 0 1.69 8 0 0 10.2 7 2 2 0 10 16

Wright 0 1 1.83 13 0 0 19.2 15 7 4 2 4 14

Cruz 2 0 1.88 13 0 1 14.1 7 3 3 1 9 11

Soria 1 0 2.08 8 0 7 8.2 8 3 2 0 4 10

Meche 2 3 4.43 7 7 0 42.2 46 22 21 1 14 37

Mahay 1 0 4.50 12 0 0 10.0 14 6 5 1 2 13

Waechter 0 0 4.50 3 0 0 4.0 5 2 2 2 1 3

Davies 2 1 5.22 7 7 0 39.2 39 23 23 6 19 29

Ponson 1 4 5.91 6 6 0 35.0 43 23 23 4 12 19

Farnsworth 0 3 6.10 11 0 0 10.1 12 7 7 2 4 10

Ramirez 0 1 7.71 8 1 0 11.2 17 10 10 2 4 9

Team Totals 18 14 3.45 32 32 8 284.0 265 119 109 22 102 244

LOS ANGELESANGELS

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Napoli .316 .435 76 14 24 6 0 5 14 15 19 2 3 1

Abreu .309 .389 110 10 34 5 0 0 12 15 17 12 0 2

Aybar .309 .329 68 5 21 6 0 0 7 3 7 0 1 3

Hunter .294 .358 109 24 32 7 0 8 21 11 16 3 1 0

Rivera .281 .319 89 8 25 5 0 1 8 5 7 0 0 0

Morales .280 .322 107 15 30 9 1 5 18 7 22 0 2 1

Izturis .278 .303 72 13 20 3 0 0 10 3 8 3 0 2

Matthews Jr. .271 .312 70 11 19 4 1 0 12 5 15 0 0 1

Figgins .255 .354 110 19 28 4 1 0 7 18 20 12 2 4

Guerrero .250 .314 32 3 8 0 0 1 3 3 3 0 0 0

Kendrick .245 .272 110 16 27 5 1 4 19 2 24 5 0 2

Mathis .244 .306 45 7 11 1 0 0 10 4 11 0 0 1

Quinlan .176 .176 17 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0

Willits .000 .000 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Team Totals .278 .337 1025 148 285 56 4 24 141 92 173 37 9 20

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Oliver 0 0 1.42 6 1 0 12.2 12 2 2 0 2 8

Saunders 5 1 2.66 7 7 0 47.1 41 16 14 4 11 22

Weaver 3 1 2.66 6 6 0 40.2 31 13 12 6 9 31

Palmer 3 0 3.06 3 3 0 17.2 11 7 6 1 8 8

Moseley 1 0 4.30 3 3 0 14.2 20 8 7 3 3 8

Loux 2 2 4.64 6 6 0 33.0 43 17 17 1 10 13

R. Rodriguez 0 0 4.91 6 0 0 11.0 18 9 6 1 3 3

Arredondo 1 0 5.27 15 0 0 13.2 15 8 8 0 3 19

Fuentes 0 2 5.40 13 0 9 11.2 14 7 7 1 5 15

Shields 1 2 7.71 14 0 1 11.2 8 11 10 1 12 8

Speier 0 1 8.18 9 0 0 11.0 12 10 10 2 6 11

Bulger 0 1 9.00 10 0 0 10.0 12 10 10 2 6 9

Ortega 0 2 9.24 3 3 0 12.2 19 15 13 4 6 7

Team Totals 16 14 4.64 30 30 10 264.0 282 150 136 28 98 172

MINNESOTATWINS

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Mauer .485 .553 33 7 16 3 0 3 10 5 4 0 0 0

Morneau .322 .388 121 23 39 9 0 8 26 13 19 0 0 0

Kubel .308 .342 104 16 32 9 1 4 17 6 17 0 0 0

Span .295 .371 122 17 36 4 1 1 15 13 14 7 1 1

Young .288 .333 80 10 23 1 0 1 13 4 21 2 2 2

Harris .286 .333 63 9 18 2 0 2 7 5 11 0 0 0

Cuddyer .270 .354 111 15 30 5 2 3 18 15 22 3 1 2

Redmond .237 .326 38 1 9 1 0 0 3 5 6 0 0 0

Crede .232 .308 82 12 19 6 0 3 7 9 14 0 0 1

Gomez .218 .259 55 8 12 4 1 0 1 3 14 2 3 0

Punto .207 .313 82 9 17 2 0 0 8 12 15 3 0 2

Buscher .200 .349 35 4 7 1 1 1 5 7 9 0 0 0

Tolbert .167 .286 18 3 3 1 0 0 0 3 5 0 0 0

Team Totals .271 .341 1075 147 291 52 7 26 136 109 195 19 7 13

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Nathan 1 0 1.64 11 0 5 11.0 8 2 2 2 2 10

Guerrier 1 0 3.63 15 0 0 17.1 12 7 7 2 3 11

Perkins 1 2 3.73 6 6 0 41.0 38 17 17 3 8 22

Blackburn 2 2 4.32 7 7 0 41.2 49 24 20 3 11 19

Mijares 0 1 4.50 7 0 0 6.0 6 3 3 1 2 8

Ayala 1 1 4.70 14 0 0 15.1 21 9 8 1 4 10

Dickey 1 0 4.96 9 1 0 16.1 22 9 9 3 10 13

Slowey 4 1 5.50 6 6 0 34.1 50 21 21 6 2 25

Liriano 2 4 5.75 7 7 0 40.2 38 27 26 5 16 33

Breslow 0 1 6.75 13 0 0 10.2 8 9 8 2 10 8

Baker 1 4 6.83 5 5 0 27.2 31 21 21 8 5 21

Crain 1 1 7.88 10 0 0 8.0 6 7 7 0 5 7

Team Totals 15 17 5.22 32 32 5 279.1 305 169 162 39 84 193

AMERICAN LEAGUE TEAM STATSAMERICAN LEAGUE TEAM STATSTHROUGH MONDAY’S GAMES

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 22Baseball

NEW YORKYANKEES

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Cabrera .333 .407 81 15 27 4 0 4 10 10 12 3 1 1

Cano .321 .353 131 21 42 8 0 6 18 7 12 1 0 1

Damon .314 .388 118 23 37 6 1 9 25 14 18 3 0 1

Posada .312 .402 77 10 24 6 0 5 20 12 19 1 0 1

Nady .286 .310 28 4 8 4 0 0 2 1 6 0 0 0

Pena .279 .340 43 4 12 1 0 0 4 4 6 1 0 2

Cervelli .273 .333 11 2 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0

Jeter .273 .347 132 19 36 6 0 4 13 13 20 7 0 2

Molina .273 .333 44 5 12 2 0 1 6 4 6 0 0 1

Swisher .270 .398 100 22 27 9 1 8 21 20 31 0 0 3

Matsui .265 .360 98 9 26 6 1 3 12 13 15 0 0 0

Gardner .227 .288 66 11 15 3 0 0 4 6 14 6 1 0

Teixeira .198 .338 106 18 21 4 0 7 17 21 23 0 0 0

Rodriguez .182 .250 11 1 2 0 0 1 3 1 2 0 0 0

Ransom .180 .226 50 4 9 5 1 0 6 3 15 1 0 2

Berroa .167 .167 12 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 2

Team Totals .273 .353 1108 172 303 64 4 48 161 130 204 23 2 17

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Coke 1 2 3.29 15 0 0 13.2 10 8 5 2 4 10

Bruney 2 0 3.38 9 0 0 8.0 3 3 3 0 2 12

Rivera 0 1 3.65 13 0 6 12.1 15 5 5 4 1 18

Chamberlain 2 1 3.89 6 6 0 34.2 37 18 15 4 17 34

Sabathia 2 3 3.94 7 7 0 48.0 43 23 21 2 16 32

Aceves 0 0 4.15 1 0 0 4.1 4 2 2 1 2 7

Pettitte 2 1 4.38 6 6 0 39.0 42 20 19 5 11 23

Burnett 2 0 5.26 6 6 0 37.2 35 22 22 6 15 33

Ramirez 0 0 5.40 12 0 0 15.0 17 10 9 5 11 14

Albaladejo 2 1 5.63 14 0 0 16.0 16 12 10 3 5 7

Veras 1 1 7.20 13 0 0 15.0 11 12 12 2 10 12

Hughes 1 2 8.49 3 3 0 11.2 17 12 11 2 8 8

Tomko 0 0 9.00 1 0 0 1.0 3 1 1 1 0 0

Marte 0 1 15.19 7 0 0 5.1 9 9 9 3 3 6

Wang 0 3 34.50 3 3 0 6.0 23 23 23 2 6 2

Team Totals 15 16 5.79 31 31 6 278.1 301 193 179 44 123 230

OAKLANDATHLETICS

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Suzuki .318 .356 110 13 35 11 0 2 14 6 8 0 1 1

Kennedy .286 .286 7 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0

Cust .284 .402 102 19 29 4 0 4 14 19 28 1 0 1

Crosby .262 .387 61 7 16 3 2 0 8 11 11 1 0 4

Sweeney .254 .313 122 17 31 6 0 2 8 10 22 2 2 1

Garciaparra .231 .262 39 5 9 1 0 1 7 2 7 0 0 0

Holliday .226 .282 115 13 26 4 1 4 20 7 23 0 0 0

Cabrera .223 .278 121 12 27 3 0 0 6 10 10 1 3 4

Buck .211 .286 57 3 12 1 0 1 5 6 13 1 1 0

Giambi .208 .345 96 17 20 4 0 3 13 16 22 0 0 2

Ellis .206 .265 63 6 13 2 0 0 9 5 10 2 1 2

Davis .200 .286 25 2 5 0 0 0 0 3 8 3 2 0

Powell .172 .242 29 2 5 3 0 0 6 3 7 0 0 2

Hannahan .158 .238 19 2 3 2 0 1 3 2 5 0 0 0

Chavez .100 .129 30 0 3 1 0 0 1 1 7 0 0 0

Team Totals .236 .310 1024 121 242 46 3 18 116 101 185 11 10 21

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Gray 0 0 0.00 1 0 0 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0

Bailey 3 0 1.27 15 0 1 21.1 6 3 3 1 7 24

Cameron 0 0 1.29 4 0 0 7.0 6 1 1 0 1 4

Wuertz 2 1 1.53 16 0 2 17.2 10 4 3 1 2 15

Casilla 0 1 1.59 9 0 0 11.1 3 3 2 0 6 7

Springer 0 1 2.57 15 0 0 14.0 16 5 4 2 6 16

Braden 3 4 2.79 7 7 0 42.0 46 15 13 3 13 27

Cahill 1 2 3.82 6 6 0 33.0 32 15 14 4 18 12

Giese 0 3 3.93 5 1 0 18.1 16 8 8 4 8 7

Ziegler 0 0 4.05 11 0 4 13.1 18 7 6 0 4 11

Gallagher 1 1 4.50 5 1 0 12.0 18 7 6 1 2 9

Outman 0 0 4.79 6 4 0 20.2 22 13 11 5 10 21

Anderson 0 3 5.79 5 5 0 28.0 33 20 18 4 9 14

Blevins 0 0 16.20 4 0 0 3.1 6 6 6 1 3 2

Team Totals 11 18 3.88 29 29 7 271.2 278 131 117 28 109 185

SEATTLEMARINERS

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Suzuki .315 .351 108 11 34 2 1 2 9 5 10 5 2 1

Balentien .313 .370 48 8 15 4 0 1 3 5 8 1 0 0

Branyan .289 .358 97 19 28 7 0 7 15 9 29 1 0 0

Chavez .279 .345 104 11 29 2 0 1 8 11 14 6 1 1

Sweeney .279 .323 61 7 17 4 0 2 9 3 7 0 0 1

Gutierrez .272 .362 92 14 25 3 0 3 13 12 21 0 2 0

Betancourt .265 .276 113 7 30 4 1 1 12 2 10 2 0 4

Lopez .256 .298 121 16 31 5 0 3 19 8 17 0 1 4

Johjima .250 .265 48 4 12 1 0 1 6 1 1 0 0 1

Beltre .234 .265 128 14 30 9 0 1 14 5 20 5 2 7

Griffey Jr. .218 .344 78 11 17 4 0 3 7 15 16 0 0 0

Johnson .207 .230 58 4 12 3 1 0 8 2 18 0 1 1

Cedeno .138 .219 29 5 4 1 0 1 1 3 9 0 1 1

Team Totals .260 .312 1098 131 285 49 3 26 124 82 183 20 10 24

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Rowland-Smith 0 0 0.00 1 1 0 3.1 4 2 0 0 4 1

Vargas 1 0 0.00 2 0 0 3.2 3 0 0 0 1 4

Kelley 1 1 1.54 10 0 0 11.2 11 2 2 2 1 11

Aardsma 0 1 1.88 14 0 3 14.1 7 3 3 1 9 15

Bedard 2 1 2.53 7 7 0 42.2 39 14 12 3 11 43

Washburn 3 2 2.68 6 6 0 40.1 33 13 12 3 9 28

Lowe 0 0 3.07 14 0 0 14.2 16 6 5 0 6 11

Batista 2 0 3.24 12 0 0 16.2 18 10 6 1 9 14

White 0 0 3.38 9 0 0 13.1 10 6 5 2 8 3

Olson 0 0 3.60 1 0 0 5.0 9 3 2 0 3 2

Hernandez 4 2 4.09 7 7 0 44.0 43 21 20 5 13 47

Morrow 0 1 4.70 8 0 6 7.2 4 4 4 0 9 9

Corcoran 1 0 7.27 8 0 0 8.2 13 7 7 0 9 4

Jakubauskas 1 4 7.67 7 5 0 29.1 34 25 25 4 9 11

Silva 1 3 8.48 6 6 0 28.2 38 27 27 5 9 10

Stark 0 1 14.73 4 0 0 3.2 6 6 6 1 4 3

Team Totals 16 16 4.25 32 32 9 287.2 288 149 136 27 114 216

TAMPA BAYRAYS

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Longoria .358 .410 123 27 44 15 0 11 44 12 29 2 0 3

Bartlett .351 .390 114 18 40 6 0 4 13 6 18 7 1 2

Crawford .333 .397 135 25 45 8 2 1 15 13 27 22 0 1

Hernandez .333 .333 21 1 7 1 0 1 4 0 2 1 1 0

Iwamura .277 .341 112 14 31 12 0 0 12 11 25 7 0 4

Zobrist .269 .347 67 10 18 5 0 5 13 8 17 2 1 0

Gross .265 .390 49 9 13 2 0 1 5 10 12 1 1 0

Pena .252 .355 119 20 30 6 1 13 32 18 42 0 1 5

Aybar .250 .282 36 2 9 4 0 0 2 2 7 0 0 0

Burrell .250 .349 108 9 27 4 0 1 17 16 25 1 0 0

Riggans .250 .250 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1

Kapler .222 .286 45 3 10 6 0 0 0 4 10 2 0 1

Navarro .182 .206 99 11 18 4 0 1 4 1 18 1 0 1

Upton .167 .277 102 18 17 5 0 0 3 16 34 7 2 0

Team Totals .272 .343 1144 169 311 78 3 40 166 118 268 53 7 21

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Percival 0 1 2.08 10 0 5 8.2 9 2 2 1 3 4

Cormier 0 0 2.49 12 0 1 25.1 25 7 7 1 6 8

Garza 3 2 3.56 7 7 0 48.0 31 20 19 5 19 42

Howell 0 2 3.65 14 0 0 12.1 14 5 5 1 6 15

Shields 3 3 4.02 7 7 0 47.0 46 21 21 8 14 30

Shouse 1 1 4.22 14 0 0 10.2 12 5 5 2 2 6

Nelson 0 0 4.61 14 0 1 13.2 10 7 7 3 10 14

Niemann 2 3 5.65 6 6 0 28.2 31 20 18 4 18 16

Sonnanstine 1 3 5.79 6 6 0 32.2 42 22 21 1 12 20

Kazmir 4 3 5.92 7 7 0 38.0 42 27 25 5 21 30

Balfour 1 0 7.15 14 0 1 11.1 13 9 9 0 10 11

Wheeler 0 0 7.15 13 0 0 11.1 12 9 9 4 3 11

Team Totals 15 18 4.63 33 33 8 287.2 287 154 148 35 124 207

AMERICAN LEAGUE TEAM STATSAMERICAN LEAGUE TEAM STATSTHROUGH MONDAY’S GAMES

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com Baseball

TEXASRANGERS

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Vizquel .371 .405 35 5 13 4 0 0 6 2 4 2 0 0

Young .328 .369 122 21 40 12 0 7 16 8 23 2 1 2

Kinsler .316 .363 133 25 42 9 1 9 28 10 24 8 1 3

Jones .314 .470 51 12 16 6 0 3 8 14 12 1 0 0

Byrd .308 .318 107 11 33 12 0 2 16 2 13 1 0 0

Cruz .274 .328 117 17 32 6 0 7 21 10 30 4 0 3

Andrus .273 .312 88 16 24 2 2 2 6 5 15 3 0 7

Saltalamacchia .262 .295 84 11 22 4 0 3 13 4 29 0 0 1

Blalock .257 .297 109 18 28 5 1 9 21 5 17 0 0 0

Hamilton .242 .282 66 8 16 1 1 2 10 3 15 3 0 0

Davis .221 .289 104 18 23 3 0 8 16 8 49 0 0 0

Teagarden .219 .306 32 3 7 1 0 0 3 3 14 0 0 0

Murphy .207 .309 58 10 12 3 0 1 7 9 13 1 2 0

Team Totals .278 .331 1107 175 308 68 5 53 171 83 259 25 4 18

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Francisco 1 0 0.00 14 0 9 14.2 7 0 0 0 4 13

O'Day 1 0 1.42 8 0 0 6.1 5 1 1 0 0 6

Holland 0 1 2.08 5 0 0 8.2 8 2 2 1 3 4

Millwood 3 3 2.92 7 7 0 52.1 44 19 17 7 11 27

Jennings 0 1 4.02 10 0 0 15.2 14 9 7 2 7 10

Harrison 3 2 4.79 6 6 0 35.2 43 19 19 4 13 17

Wilson 1 2 4.85 15 0 0 13.0 14 11 7 1 7 10

Padilla 2 2 4.97 7 7 0 41.2 40 24 23 4 17 24

Feldman 2 0 5.79 6 3 0 23.1 22 15 15 3 8 14

McCarthy 3 1 6.10 6 6 0 31.0 34 21 21 7 15 22

Eyre 0 0 6.23 3 0 0 4.1 5 3 3 0 3 1

Benson 1 1 8.36 3 2 0 14.0 21 14 13 4 6 8

Guardado 0 1 8.53 11 0 0 6.1 12 6 6 2 3 2

Team Totals 17 14 4.90 31 31 9 275.1 284 160 150 38 108 161

TORONTOBLUE JAYS

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Hill .353 .394 153 25 54 6 0 8 29 10 24 2 1 5

Lind .333 .405 132 20 44 12 0 6 31 16 27 0 0 0

Bautista .328 .443 58 13 19 3 0 1 4 11 14 1 0 0

Millar .327 .364 52 8 17 5 0 1 11 3 7 0 0 1

Barajas .319 .350 94 12 30 9 0 3 18 5 12 0 0 4

Rolen .304 .363 112 19 34 7 0 3 12 9 14 2 0 4

Wells .283 .335 145 24 41 9 1 5 21 12 14 4 0 0

Scutaro .278 .406 133 32 37 5 1 5 18 29 19 2 1 0

Overbay .256 .370 82 13 21 8 0 5 18 16 13 0 0 0

Rios .255 .311 145 19 37 8 1 3 17 11 29 3 0 1

Snider .250 .305 88 12 22 6 0 3 12 7 18 1 0 1

Chavez .217 .217 23 1 5 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0

McDonald .200 .200 10 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

Barrett .167 .211 18 3 3 0 0 1 2 1 5 0 0 0

Team Totals .294 .361 1245 204 366 78 3 44 195 130 198 15 2 18

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Wolfe 1 0 0.00 1 0 0 0.2 2 0 0 0 0 1

Cecil 1 0 0.64 2 2 0 14.0 11 2 1 0 2 12

Frasor 4 0 0.77 13 0 1 11.2 7 1 1 0 1 6

Romero 2 0 1.71 3 3 0 21.0 19 4 4 1 4 13

Murphy 0 0 1.93 7 0 0 9.1 1 2 2 1 7 4

Downs 0 0 2.20 15 0 3 16.1 13 5 4 1 1 20

Carlson 0 1 2.70 17 0 0 16.2 12 5 5 0 6 10

Halladay 6 1 3.29 7 7 0 52.0 51 20 19 5 7 44

Richmond 4 1 3.29 6 6 0 38.1 32 16 14 5 14 29

Camp 0 1 4.50 12 0 0 14.0 16 8 7 2 7 7

Tallet 2 1 4.95 9 5 0 36.1 29 21 20 7 16 29

League 1 1 5.17 13 0 0 15.2 16 9 9 1 5 12

Ray 0 1 6.00 2 2 0 12.0 14 9 8 3 4 6

Litsch 0 1 9.00 2 2 0 9.0 14 9 9 4 1 8

Ryan 1 0 11.12 6 0 2 5.2 8 7 7 2 5 4

Team Totals 22 12 4.11 34 34 6 310.2 292 154 142 36 109 240

AMERICAN LEAGUE TEAM STATSTHROUGH MONDAY’S GAMES

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 23

TEAM BATTING AND FIELDING(Through May 11)

CLUB BA SLG OBP G AB R H TB 2B 3B HR RBIToronto .294 .467 .361 34 1245 204 366 113 78 3 44 195

Boston .282 .463 .371 32 1103 185 311 146 80 6 36 178

L.A. Angels .278 .411 .337 30 1025 148 285 95 56 4 24 141

Texas .278 .492 .331 31 1107 175 308 99 68 5 53 171

N.Y. Yankees .273 .468 .353 31 1108 172 303 119 64 4 48 161

Tampa Bay .272 .450 .343 33 1144 169 311 120 78 3 40 166

Minnesota .271 .405 .341 32 1075 147 291 116 52 7 26 136

Baltimore .270 .427 .340 32 1090 162 294 145 62 2 35 153

Cleveland .267 .417 .355 33 1150 170 307 133 67 3 33 153

Detroit .260 .408 .335 30 995 150 259 73 42 6 31 145

Seattle .260 .381 .312 32 1098 131 285 129 49 3 26 124

Kansas City .259 .420 .337 32 1075 146 278 111 63 12 29 136

Chicago White Sox .253 .392 .323 31 1038 129 263 129 46 4 30 125

Oakland .236 .340 .310 29 1024 121 242 75 46 3 18 116

CLUB SH SF HBP BB IBB SO SB CS GDP LOB SHO E DP TPToronto 9 13 8 130 10 198 15 2 34 514 0 18 34 0

Boston 0 10 21 141 15 221 25 10 35 461 1 21 22 0

L.A. Angels 11 11 4 92 6 173 37 9 15 356 0 20 31 0

Texas 6 8 8 83 4 259 25 4 15 414 1 18 33 0

N.Y. Yankees 7 8 10 130 7 204 23 2 26 451 0 17 32 0

Tampa Bay 5 10 11 118 4 268 53 7 16 449 2 21 36 0

Minnesota 5 10 10 109 5 195 19 7 31 442 3 13 20 0

Baltimore 3 7 11 108 4 171 18 12 16 391 1 22 22 0

Cleveland 5 9 24 138 4 265 24 8 25 528 3 17 46 0

Detroit 11 8 11 104 4 190 16 9 32 375 2 16 29 0

Seattle 11 9 6 82 7 183 20 10 35 387 3 24 26 0

Kansas City 9 6 15 116 9 209 19 5 27 434 1 18 40 0

Chicago White Sox 2 9 16 95 1 207 17 10 24 421 5 23 18 0

Oakland 6 7 11 101 2 185 11 10 20 408 4 21 28 0

TEAM PITCHING(THROUGH MAY 11)

CLUB W L ERA G CG SHO SV INN H R ERKansas City 18 14 3.45 32 4 4 8 284.0 265 119 109

Detroit 17 13 3.84 30 1 5 6 262.2 252 135 112

Oakland 11 18 3.88 29 0 0 7 271.2 278 131 117

Toronto 22 12 4.11 34 1 3 6 310.2 292 154 142

Seattle 16 16 4.25 32 1 3 9 287.2 288 149 136

Tampa Bay 15 18 4.63 33 0 1 8 287.2 287 154 148

L.A. Angels 16 14 4.64 30 2 3 10 264.0 282 150 136

Chicago White Sox 14 17 4.69 31 0 2 7 272.2 303 150 142

Boston 20 12 4.89 32 2 0 10 285.1 300 163 155

Texas 17 14 4.90 31 2 1 9 275.1 284 160 150

Minnesota 15 17 5.22 32 0 1 5 279.1 305 169 162

Baltimore 13 19 5.38 32 1 1 5 279.1 333 190 167

Cleveland 12 21 5.77 33 0 0 7 290.0 333 192 186

N.Y. Yankees 15 16 5.79 31 2 2 6 278.1 301 193 179

CLUB HR HBP BB IBB SO WP BKKansas City 22 9 102 3 244 15 2

Detroit 29 5 103 5 210 12 0

Oakland 28 3 109 8 185 6 0

Toronto 36 14 109 4 240 11 0

Seattle 27 12 114 4 216 17 1

Tampa Bay 35 10 124 6 207 17 1

L.A. Angels 28 9 98 5 172 10 1

Chicago White Sox 25 6 118 11 210 13 1

Boston 32 24 127 5 247 9 1

Texas 38 18 108 5 161 9 3

Minnesota 39 9 84 3 193 9 0

Baltimore 52 12 99 9 210 6 1

Cleveland 38 12 129 7 203 7 1

N.Y. Yankees 44 23 123 7 230 13 1

American League National LeagueTEAM BATTING AND FIELDING(Through May 11)

CLUB BA SLG OBP G AB R H TB 2B 3B HR RBIN.Y. Mets .288 .430 .368 31 1043 154 300 89 51 13 24 144L.A. Dodgers .285 .425 .374 33 1132 184 323 103 68 6 26 175Washington .277 .447 .360 31 1104 157 306 149 51 7 41 152St. Louis .272 .447 .349 32 1074 172 292 103 65 6 37 167Atlanta .262 .404 .346 32 1068 141 280 139 63 5 26 132Cincinnati .262 .414 .337 32 1072 145 281 131 54 5 33 136Houston .259 .401 .327 32 1066 133 276 141 55 9 26 125Philadelphia .259 .455 .339 29 996 164 258 82 57 6 42 158Milwaukee .258 .435 .348 32 1064 158 274 98 61 4 40 155Colorado .255 .437 .337 30 1000 146 255 96 53 6 39 141Pittsburgh .252 .387 .325 31 1040 130 262 127 68 6 20 124San Francisco .251 .358 .313 31 1047 120 263 94 50 7 16 109Chicago Cubs .250 .410 .333 31 1054 149 264 99 47 5 37 139Florida .240 .381 .320 32 1103 147 265 109 50 6 31 141San Diego .240 .391 .316 32 1068 122 256 97 56 8 30 118Arizona .236 .397 .310 33 1102 125 260 116 69 3 34 119

CLUB SH SF HBP BB IBB SO SB CS GDP LOB SHO E DP TPN.Y. Mets 19 13 9 131 18 171 27 10 27 455 0 22 22 0L.A. Dodgers 8 10 11 156 20 212 24 8 36 485 0 13 28 0Washington 12 4 10 136 7 260 13 6 22 524 1 33 28 0St. Louis 20 15 18 118 8 190 16 6 19 423 0 26 31 0Atlanta 17 8 11 131 7 199 6 5 26 441 2 20 19 0Cincinnati 26 10 12 114 5 216 18 9 24 422 1 27 29 0Houston 19 15 8 107 8 188 21 15 25 401 4 12 41 0Philadelphia 7 12 15 111 2 180 12 5 20 361 2 8 17 0Milwaukee 11 12 17 138 7 261 10 9 25 450 1 20 25 0Colorado 12 10 8 120 6 226 23 9 24 396 3 18 27 0Pittsburgh 14 9 13 104 8 223 18 6 17 416 4 14 32 1San Francisco 13 11 15 84 11 227 21 8 25 401 2 14 36 0Chicago Cubs 6 9 13 122 6 233 19 11 23 445 2 19 23 0Florida 16 6 10 123 8 273 18 11 17 446 2 21 19 0San Diego 18 5 7 115 7 213 15 4 24 404 3 15 35 0Arizona 9 8 8 113 7 256 25 9 14 436 3 25 33 1

TEAM PITCHING(THROUGH MAY 11)

CLUB W L ERA G CG SHO SV INN H R ERL.A. Dodgers 22 11 3.77 33 1 3 10 294.0 247 127 123N.Y. Mets 17 14 3.94 31 0 2 9 274.1 263 135 120San Francisco 17 14 3.97 31 0 4 8 278.2 260 128 123Atlanta 16 16 3.99 32 0 2 8 282.0 269 139 125St. Louis 20 12 4.05 32 1 1 12 286.1 289 145 129Cincinnati 18 14 4.07 32 1 6 9 289.1 275 143 131Milwaukee 18 14 4.16 32 1 1 10 283.2 258 139 131Florida 17 15 4.28 32 1 0 6 290.0 292 153 138Pittsburgh 12 19 4.31 31 1 4 5 269.2 260 139 129Houston 14 17 4.42 32 0 2 6 285.1 302 147 140Arizona 13 20 4.48 33 1 3 8 295.1 299 155 147Colorado 12 18 4.56 30 1 1 6 262.2 275 143 133Chicago Cubs 17 14 4.60 31 0 1 8 275.2 257 148 141San Diego 13 19 4.69 32 0 0 8 282.1 282 160 147Philadelphia 15 14 5.39 29 0 0 5 259.0 273 156 155Washington 10 20 5.42 31 1 0 5 272.1 314 190 164

CLUB HR HBP BB IBB SO WP BKL.A. Dodgers 22 17 120 14 247 17 0N.Y. Mets 26 10 121 7 216 8 3San Francisco 32 9 127 12 253 13 1Atlanta 22 13 112 12 250 9 0St. Louis 29 9 107 2 209 9 3Cincinnati 30 14 122 5 221 10 1Milwaukee 35 18 120 8 226 12 0Florida 26 7 122 14 247 14 1Pittsburgh 27 15 123 8 166 7 1Houston 31 14 124 5 213 8 1Arizona 38 5 109 3 233 16 0Colorado 33 9 101 10 190 6 1Chicago Cubs 37 9 134 6 263 14 3San Diego 28 9 131 13 221 11 1Philadelphia 53 16 112 6 196 4 0Washington 33 11 138 10 177 18 1

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 24Baseball

ARIZONADIAMONDBACKS

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Roberts .348 .429 23 3 8 1 0 0 3 4 7 1 0 0

Lopez .323 .383 127 16 41 10 0 4 8 12 24 3 1 4

Upton .307 .391 101 20 31 6 0 7 18 13 27 3 1 1

Ojeda .302 .384 63 8 19 4 0 0 2 8 6 0 1 2

Montero .273 .333 44 4 12 4 0 2 5 4 13 0 0 3

Reynolds .254 .333 118 18 30 4 1 8 15 13 41 4 1 7

Wilson .231 .333 26 0 6 1 0 0 2 3 3 0 0 2

Snyder .219 .367 64 6 14 4 0 1 8 14 19 0 0 0

Byrnes .216 .268 88 10 19 7 0 4 12 6 9 5 2 0

Tracy .207 .239 82 9 17 7 0 2 9 4 9 0 0 0

Drew .205 .280 44 3 9 3 1 1 5 5 7 0 1 0

Young .193 .246 114 13 22 9 1 2 8 7 33 4 2 0

Jackson .182 .264 99 8 18 4 0 1 14 11 16 5 0 2

Clark .179 .258 28 3 5 1 0 2 5 3 15 0 0 1

Whitesell .059 .273 17 0 1 1 0 0 0 5 2 0 0 1

Team Totals .236 .310 1102 125 260 69 3 34 119 113 256 25 9 25

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Pena 3 0 1.15 17 0 0 15.2 12 4 2 0 3 11

Haren 3 3 1.84 7 7 0 49.0 33 10 10 3 9 51

Schoeneweis 0 0 2.00 16 0 0 9.0 9 2 2 2 3 4

Qualls 0 0 2.77 12 0 8 13.0 13 4 4 1 2 16

Gutierrez 1 2 2.84 16 0 0 19.0 15 6 6 1 6 24

Davis 2 5 3.25 7 7 0 44.1 39 16 16 8 16 32

Scherzer 0 3 3.98 6 6 0 31.2 29 15 14 4 14 29

Rosales 0 0 4.15 3 0 0 4.1 4 2 2 0 1 3

Vasquez 1 1 4.82 7 0 0 9.1 10 5 5 1 7 8

Garland 3 2 5.18 7 7 0 41.2 48 25 24 5 16 16

Rauch 0 0 7.62 16 0 0 13.0 21 13 11 1 7 9

Petit 0 3 8.03 6 5 0 24.2 33 24 22 8 10 19

Korecky 0 0 13.50 5 0 0 6.0 11 9 9 0 4 3

Webb 0 0 13.50 1 1 0 4.0 6 6 6 2 2 2

Gordon 0 1 21.60 3 0 0 1.2 3 4 4 0 3 0

Team Totals 13 20 4.48 33 33 8 295.1 299 155 147 38 109 233

ATLANTABRAVES

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Infante .338 .372 71 10 24 3 0 1 10 5 5 1 0 2

Kotchman .319 .379 113 11 36 13 0 2 14 9 14 0 0 0

Escobar .302 .367 116 17 35 6 0 3 17 9 13 1 1 2

Ross .298 .411 47 8 14 4 0 3 9 9 18 0 0 0

Prado .297 .381 37 2 11 5 0 1 6 5 3 0 1 1

C. Jones .284 .417 88 15 25 4 1 3 11 19 15 0 0 4

Francoeur .271 .287 129 17 35 4 2 3 19 4 14 0 1 0

Diaz .258 .342 66 8 17 3 1 2 13 8 17 1 0 1

McCann .246 .362 57 10 14 4 0 3 11 9 7 1 0 2

Johnson .242 .327 95 14 23 4 1 3 10 10 14 1 1 2

Schafer .217 .357 106 12 23 7 0 2 3 23 43 1 1 0

Anderson .191 .250 47 6 9 4 0 0 4 4 4 0 0 2

Norton .143 .333 21 2 3 1 0 0 2 6 6 0 0 0

Team Totals .262 .346 1068 141 280 63 5 26 132 131 199 6 5 20

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Soriano 0 0 1.13 16 0 3 16.0 8 2 2 0 6 22

Bennett 0 0 1.98 14 0 0 13.2 23 4 3 0 5 12

Jurrjens 3 2 2.01 7 7 0 40.1 32 10 9 3 16 20

O'Flaherty 0 0 2.19 15 0 0 12.1 8 3 3 0 1 6

Gonzalez 1 0 3.29 16 0 5 13.2 11 6 5 1 5 19

Lowe 5 1 3.80 8 8 0 47.1 44 20 20 2 19 34

Parr 0 0 3.86 5 0 0 7.0 8 3 3 0 2 3

Vazquez 3 3 3.88 7 7 0 46.1 42 21 20 6 11 57

Campillo 1 0 5.40 4 0 0 3.1 6 3 2 0 3 3

Carlyle 0 1 5.40 10 0 0 13.1 19 10 8 1 5 8

Reyes 0 2 5.48 4 4 0 23.0 21 18 14 4 9 20

Kawakami 2 4 5.79 6 6 0 32.2 37 24 21 5 18 31

Moylan 1 2 6.94 16 0 0 11.2 7 9 9 0 9 13

Team Totals 16 16 3.99 32 32 8 282.0 269 139 125 22 112 250

CHICAGO CUBS

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Freel 1.000 1.000 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Scales .385 .385 13 3 5 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 0 0

Ramirez .364 .417 66 8 24 3 0 4 16 5 8 0 0 1

Fukudome .319 .449 94 20 30 7 1 4 17 22 18 3 4 0

Hill .306 .390 36 5 11 2 0 1 6 4 9 0 0 0

Theriot .299 .366 117 17 35 4 2 3 15 12 20 7 2 4

Hoffpauir .295 .343 61 5 18 5 0 3 11 5 11 0 0 1

Soriano .266 .331 128 29 34 7 0 10 20 12 34 4 2 2

Fontenot .229 .321 96 12 22 4 0 5 17 13 20 1 1 2

Johnson .224 .316 49 6 11 0 1 0 4 4 7 0 0 0

Lee .209 .282 91 13 19 5 0 3 15 10 20 0 0 0

Miles .205 .266 73 10 15 5 0 0 3 6 11 3 0 1

Bradley .179 .321 67 8 12 1 0 3 6 11 17 0 0 0

Soto .169 .297 77 5 13 2 0 0 4 13 19 0 0 1

Team Totals .250 .333 1054 149 264 47 5 37 139 122 233 19 11 19

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Wells 0 0 0.00 1 1 0 5.0 5 0 0 0 2 5

Lilly 4 2 3.11 6 6 0 37.2 29 14 13 7 9 31

Guzman 1 0 3.63 14 0 0 17.1 11 7 7 2 6 18

Marshall 1 2 4.06 7 5 0 31.0 32 14 14 4 10 20

Gregg 0 1 4.11 16 0 6 15.1 15 7 7 2 10 18

Marmol 0 1 4.20 17 0 2 15.0 10 8 7 1 14 18

Zambrano 3 1 4.50 6 6 0 38.0 40 20 19 4 14 33

Harden 3 1 4.83 6 6 0 31.2 29 18 17 6 17 41

Dempster 2 2 4.98 7 7 0 43.1 41 25 24 6 19 41

Heilman 2 2 5.40 16 0 0 15.0 12 10 9 2 11 14

Cotts 0 1 6.75 14 0 0 6.2 9 5 5 1 8 5

Patton 1 1 8.03 9 0 0 12.1 13 12 11 2 9 11

Fox 0 0 135.00 2 0 0 0.1 2 5 5 0 3 0

Team Totals 17 14 4.60 31 31 8 275.2 257 148 141 37 134 263

CINCINNATIREDS

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Votto .381 .484 105 17 40 10 0 4 26 19 21 2 1 3

Janish .345 .424 29 3 10 3 0 0 2 2 6 0 0 1

Nix .327 .357 52 11 17 8 1 2 7 3 16 0 0 0

Taveras .315 .381 111 24 35 6 1 1 7 11 12 8 1 1

Hanigan .314 .375 35 5 11 1 0 0 1 4 2 0 0 0

Rosales .295 .373 44 7 13 2 0 2 5 5 4 0 2 1

Hernandez .289 .349 97 6 28 4 0 1 11 8 12 0 0 1

Hairston Jr. .257 .313 74 16 19 5 0 3 8 6 13 1 0 2

Phillips .257 .333 109 15 28 5 0 5 20 14 13 4 2 3

Bruce .250 .328 112 19 28 3 0 10 21 12 22 2 0 1

McDonald .226 .273 31 4 7 0 1 0 1 2 8 0 0 2

Dickerson .197 .316 66 6 13 1 1 1 5 11 23 0 2 3

Gonzalez .176 .215 74 4 13 2 0 2 9 3 16 0 0 2

Encarnacion .127 .286 63 2 8 1 0 1 6 13 19 1 1 3

Team Totals .262 .337 1072 145 281 54 5 33 136 114 216 18 9 27

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Rhodes 0 0 0.00 13 0 0 11.0 7 0 0 0 3 9

Masset 1 0 1.23 11 0 0 14.2 5 2 2 0 8 12

Cueto 3 1 1.59 6 6 0 39.2 30 7 7 2 11 32

Herrera 0 1 2.13 14 0 0 12.2 14 6 3 0 7 11

Cordero 0 2 2.57 14 0 9 14.0 13 5 4 0 6 15

Weathers 0 0 2.61 12 0 0 10.1 7 3 3 1 4 8

Harang 3 3 2.93 7 7 0 46.0 47 18 15 4 10 37

Volquez 4 2 4.40 7 7 0 43.0 28 22 21 5 28 43

Owings 2 3 5.08 5 5 0 28.1 32 20 16 4 12 15

Burton 0 0 5.65 14 0 0 14.1 17 9 9 1 7 10

Arroyo 5 2 7.02 7 7 0 41.0 51 32 32 10 15 23

Lincoln 0 0 9.45 11 0 0 13.1 19 14 14 2 11 4

Team Totals 18 14 4.07 32 32 9 289.1 275 143 131 30 122 221

NATIONAL LEAGUE TEAM STATSTHROUGH MONDAY’S GAMES

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 25Baseball

COLORADOROCKIES

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Helton .343 .390 105 14 36 6 1 3 18 10 15 0 0 1

Hawpe .330 .417 88 14 29 9 1 4 20 13 16 0 1 2

Smith .310 .459 58 10 18 2 1 3 7 16 11 2 0 0

Murton .273 .273 11 2 3 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0

Spilborghs .267 .333 105 16 28 8 0 3 14 9 25 5 1 0

Fowler .258 .333 89 14 23 5 0 2 9 11 22 9 2 1

Torrealba .241 .353 29 7 7 1 0 2 4 4 6 0 0 0

Tulowitzki .237 .342 97 14 23 4 2 5 12 16 22 2 3 2

Barmes .228 .265 79 15 18 5 0 3 11 3 16 2 0 0

Iannetta .211 .349 71 11 15 2 0 6 11 14 21 0 1 0

Atkins .210 .276 105 12 22 5 0 3 13 10 15 0 0 3

Stewart .194 .304 67 10 13 3 0 4 13 9 22 2 1 1

Quintanilla .154 .214 13 1 2 1 0 0 0 1 7 0 0 0

Baker .130 .167 23 0 3 0 1 0 3 1 7 1 0 1

Team Totals .255 .337 1000 146 255 53 6 39 141 120 226 23 9 18

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Daley 0 1 1.29 7 0 0 7.0 2 1 1 0 3 6

Grilli 0 1 1.69 14 0 1 10.2 9 2 2 1 6 14

Morales 1 0 3.38 2 2 0 8.0 7 3 3 3 1 9

De La Rosa 0 3 3.53 6 6 0 35.2 27 17 14 2 16 35

Marquis 4 2 3.92 6 6 0 41.1 38 20 18 5 12 19

Embree 0 1 4.00 14 0 0 9.0 7 5 4 1 3 4

Rusch 2 0 4.50 10 0 0 16.0 23 9 8 3 3 11

Street 0 1 4.73 15 0 4 13.1 16 7 7 3 2 14

Speier 0 0 4.76 5 0 0 5.2 6 3 3 0 3 2

Cook 2 1 5.03 7 7 0 39.1 43 23 22 7 19 21

Hammel 0 1 5.40 6 3 0 20.0 28 13 12 4 8 12

Jimenez 2 4 5.45 6 6 0 33.0 33 20 20 0 20 30

Corpas 0 3 5.68 14 0 1 12.2 20 8 8 1 2 6

Belisle 1 0 9.82 11 0 0 11.0 16 12 12 3 3 7

Team Totals 12 18 4.56 30 30 6 262.2 275 143 133 33 101 190

FLORIDAMARLINS

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Ramirez .348 .421 112 20 39 10 0 6 19 13 20 6 4 1

Cantu .294 .360 102 17 30 8 0 8 32 9 18 1 0 3

Baker .289 .379 83 21 24 8 0 3 14 11 19 0 0 2

Coghlan .286 .375 7 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0

Paulino .275 .383 40 5 11 2 1 1 5 7 8 1 0 1

Bonifacio .250 .298 132 20 33 3 1 1 6 9 31 6 3 4

Gload .244 .385 41 9 10 0 1 0 3 10 3 0 0 1

Hermida .240 .388 104 12 25 3 1 3 13 24 28 2 1 1

Helms .225 .273 40 3 9 2 0 0 4 3 12 0 0 2

Ross .214 .250 117 11 25 4 0 4 16 4 30 1 1 1

Amezaga .207 .266 58 4 12 2 0 0 4 5 13 0 1 0

Maybin .202 .280 84 11 17 4 1 1 3 8 31 1 1 0

Uggla .189 .304 106 10 20 4 1 4 19 16 26 0 0 4

Carroll .158 .200 19 1 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0

Team Totals .240 .320 1103 147 265 50 6 31 141 123 273 18 11 21

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Pinto 2 0 1.23 18 0 0 14.2 12 2 2 0 10 13

Calero 1 0 1.62 19 0 0 16.2 9 3 3 0 6 23

Meyer 0 0 2.03 14 0 0 13.1 7 3 3 1 3 14

Nunez 2 0 2.30 14 0 0 15.2 8 4 4 1 8 12

Johnson 3 0 2.34 7 7 0 50.0 45 13 13 2 6 43

Volstad 2 2 2.98 7 7 0 42.1 32 18 14 6 16 33

Badenhop 2 1 3.86 6 0 0 9.1 10 4 4 1 4 9

Lindstrom 1 1 5.54 14 0 6 13.0 12 9 8 2 9 13

Sanchez 1 4 5.79 6 6 0 32.2 43 21 21 6 15 25

Nolasco 2 3 6.63 7 7 0 38.0 51 30 28 5 10 32

Miller 0 1 6.94 4 2 0 11.2 14 9 9 0 8 3

Penn 1 0 7.43 9 0 0 13.1 18 15 11 1 10 15

Team Totals 17 15 4.28 32 32 6 290.0 292 153 138 26 122 247

HOUSTON ASTROS

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Lee .333 .377 117 14 39 10 0 6 26 10 10 0 1 0

Keppinger .319 .407 47 5 15 4 1 1 3 6 2 0 0 0

Tejada .313 .341 131 16 41 10 0 2 16 5 10 1 1 4

Pence .310 .389 113 17 35 6 1 4 13 16 17 4 2 0

Bourn .287 .364 108 20 31 5 3 1 9 13 21 10 3 1

I. Rodriguez .273 .318 99 14 27 6 2 4 14 6 22 0 2 0

Matsui .255 .324 98 12 25 3 1 1 12 10 19 5 3 1

Blum .253 .333 87 9 22 3 0 0 6 11 13 0 1 1

Michaels .240 .387 25 1 6 4 0 0 2 5 7 1 1 0

Berkman .184 .325 103 14 19 3 0 7 16 21 27 0 1 2

Towles .182 .250 11 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 0 0

Erstad .175 .209 40 4 7 1 1 0 2 2 12 0 0 0

Quintero .000 .000 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0

Smith .000 .000 21 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 8 0 0 0

Team Totals .259 .327 1066 133 276 55 9 26 125 107 188 21 15 12

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Sampson 2 0 1.71 15 0 0 21.0 16 6 4 0 8 8

W. Rodriguez 3 2 1.80 7 7 0 45.0 32 9 9 0 15 37

Hawkins 1 0 2.40 15 0 4 15.0 15 4 4 1 4 13

Arias 0 0 2.70 4 0 0 3.1 1 1 1 1 0 4

Byrdak 0 0 3.00 13 0 0 12.0 9 4 4 2 6 9

Oswalt 1 2 4.50 8 8 0 44.0 45 22 22 9 14 28

Brocail 1 0 4.76 7 0 0 5.2 5 3 3 2 8 4

Hampton 1 3 4.91 6 6 0 33.0 36 21 18 3 15 26

Paulino 1 2 5.23 6 3 0 20.2 29 13 12 1 10 17

Valverde 0 1 5.63 8 0 2 8.0 7 5 5 3 3 11

Ortiz 2 1 5.91 7 4 0 21.1 23 14 14 1 20 15

Geary 1 3 6.05 15 0 0 19.1 27 14 13 3 8 12

Wright 1 1 7.84 14 0 0 10.1 19 9 9 2 4 10

Moehler 0 2 8.44 4 4 0 16.0 28 15 15 1 5 12

Team Totals 14 17 4.42 32 32 6 285.1 302 147 140 31 124 213

LOS ANGELESDODGERS

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Paul .500 .500 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

Castro .438 .412 16 4 7 2 0 0 3 0 2 0 0 0

Pierre .426 .481 47 9 20 4 0 0 7 4 1 3 2 0

Mientkiewicz .400 .400 5 0 2 1 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 0

Ausmus .381 .435 21 3 8 1 0 0 3 2 4 1 0 0

Loretta .333 .444 30 6 10 1 0 0 3 5 3 0 0 0

Hudson .331 .416 133 26 44 12 2 3 19 20 16 4 0 2

Ethier .285 .399 123 23 35 7 0 6 27 21 22 1 0 2

Kemp .275 .343 120 19 33 7 3 4 23 12 33 8 1 0

Martin .272 .390 103 15 28 5 0 0 14 19 22 3 2 0

Loney .264 .348 121 12 32 7 0 0 21 16 10 1 1 0

Blake .260 .347 104 18 27 5 1 6 18 12 27 0 0 2

Furcal .246 .312 126 21 31 5 0 1 8 12 24 3 1 5

Team Totals .285 .374 1132 184 323 68 6 26 175 156 212 24 8 13

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Broxton 3 0 0.56 14 0 8 16.0 2 1 1 0 4 27

Kuroda 1 0 1.59 1 1 0 5.2 4 1 1 0 1 2

Troncoso 0 0 2.21 12 0 1 20.1 16 5 5 0 2 10

Billingsley 5 1 2.45 7 7 0 47.2 34 14 13 1 20 47

Weaver 1 0 2.57 3 2 0 14.0 12 4 4 0 6 12

Wolf 1 1 2.95 7 7 0 42.2 32 17 14 4 14 36

Belisario 1 2 3.26 16 0 0 19.1 16 7 7 2 7 22

Stults 4 1 3.58 6 6 0 32.2 32 13 13 1 14 20

Ohman 0 0 4.66 14 0 1 9.2 9 5 5 3 4 5

Kershaw 1 2 4.91 6 6 0 33.0 27 18 18 4 16 34

Wade 0 2 5.59 9 0 0 9.2 10 6 6 0 1 6

Kuo 1 0 6.75 7 0 0 5.1 5 4 4 1 4 4

McDonald 1 1 7.27 8 4 0 17.1 17 14 14 2 14 9

Mota 2 1 7.43 14 0 0 13.1 19 11 11 1 10 6

Leach 0 0 18.00 2 0 0 1.0 2 2 2 0 2 1

Team Totals 22 11 3.77 33 33 10 294.0 247 127 123 22 120 247

NATIONAL LEAGUE TEAM STATSTHROUGH MONDAY’S GAMES

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 26Baseball

MILWAUKEEBREWERS

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Corporan 1.000 1.000 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Braun .345 .463 110 21 38 7 0 8 28 19 26 3 3 0

Counsell .333 .429 54 11 18 5 0 1 4 8 6 0 0 2

Rivera .308 .286 13 0 4 2 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0

Cameron .295 .395 105 16 31 11 0 6 18 18 21 2 0 0

Hall .292 .364 89 12 26 8 0 3 8 10 23 1 0 3

Weeks .277 .343 130 24 36 5 1 7 21 10 32 1 2 5

Hart .262 .345 122 25 32 9 1 3 14 16 35 3 3 2

Fielder .255 .410 110 15 28 6 1 5 25 27 35 0 0 0

Kendall .234 .315 94 12 22 3 1 0 11 9 12 0 1 4

Hardy .208 .289 106 12 22 3 0 5 17 13 24 0 0 3

McGehee .200 .200 15 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0

Duffy .107 .194 28 2 3 1 0 0 3 3 11 0 0 0

Nelson .000 .091 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 8 0 0 0

Team Totals .258 .348 1064 158 274 61 4 40 155 138 261 10 9 20

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Hoffman 0 0 0.00 6 0 5 6.0 3 0 0 0 0 7

DiFelice 3 0 1.15 14 0 0 15.2 11 2 2 1 3 15

Gallardo 4 1 3.09 7 7 0 46.2 33 16 16 5 16 47

McClung 0 1 3.18 13 0 0 17.0 14 6 6 1 14 13

Coffey 1 0 3.24 15 0 2 16.2 19 6 6 1 3 12

Stetter 2 0 3.27 16 0 0 11.0 7 4 4 1 7 9

Bush 1 0 4.05 7 6 0 40.0 33 19 18 7 9 29

Looper 2 2 4.18 6 6 0 32.1 36 16 15 5 13 21

Parra 1 4 4.88 6 6 0 31.1 32 19 17 4 20 28

Suppan 2 3 5.50 7 7 0 37.2 39 25 23 7 17 21

Villanueva 1 3 5.87 15 0 3 15.1 14 11 10 1 8 11

Julio 1 0 8.49 10 0 0 11.2 11 12 11 2 9 11

Riske 0 0 18.00 1 0 0 1.0 4 2 2 0 0 0

Team Totals 18 14 4.16 32 32 10 283.2 258 139 131 35 120 226

NEW YORKMETS

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Beltran .370 .460 119 19 44 6 1 6 24 19 19 3 1 1

Tatis .356 .412 45 13 16 3 1 1 4 3 3 2 0 0

Reed .353 .421 17 0 6 1 1 0 2 2 4 0 0 0

Cora .333 .425 33 6 11 2 1 0 4 6 4 1 1 0

Castillo .321 .396 84 15 27 2 1 0 9 11 9 4 0 3

Wright .311 .394 119 22 37 8 2 3 18 17 36 5 5 4

Santos .302 .304 43 8 13 3 1 1 10 1 9 0 0 0

Delgado .298 .393 94 15 28 7 1 4 23 12 20 0 0 2

Castro .292 .358 48 3 14 3 0 2 8 5 10 0 0 2

Murphy .286 .351 98 19 28 4 1 3 11 11 8 1 0 2

Reyes .269 .351 130 16 35 3 2 2 13 17 15 10 2 5

Church .264 .340 91 7 24 6 0 1 8 10 12 1 0 1

Sheffield .182 .357 44 7 8 2 1 1 5 11 8 0 1 1

Schneider .143 .250 21 3 3 1 0 0 3 3 1 0 0 0

Team Totals .288 .368 1043 154 300 51 13 24 144 131 171 27 10 22

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Stokes 0 1 0.68 12 0 0 13.1 13 2 1 0 2 6

Santana 4 2 0.78 7 7 0 46.0 31 8 4 2 13 60

Parnell 1 0 1.26 16 0 0 14.1 15 3 2 0 4 10

Rodriguez 0 0 1.32 14 0 9 13.2 7 4 2 1 7 16

Niese 0 0 3.00 1 1 0 6.0 7 2 2 0 0 5

Takahashi 0 0 3.00 4 0 0 6.0 5 2 2 0 2 3

Feliciano 0 1 3.46 18 0 0 13.0 14 9 5 3 2 15

Putz 1 2 3.50 17 0 0 18.0 13 7 7 1 8 11

Maine 3 2 4.54 6 6 0 33.2 23 18 17 3 20 25

Hernandez 3 1 5.08 6 6 0 33.2 39 19 19 5 12 19

Pelfrey 4 0 5.46 5 5 0 28.0 34 17 17 4 14 6

Green 0 2 9.00 14 0 0 14.0 20 14 14 3 9 12

Perez 1 2 9.97 5 5 0 21.2 28 24 24 3 21 20

Team Totals 17 14 3.94 31 31 9 274.1 263 135 120 26 121 216

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Stairs .353 .522 17 4 6 1 0 2 7 5 5 0 0 0

Ibanez .327 .386 113 24 37 8 1 9 23 11 18 3 0 0

Utley .309 .437 97 23 30 2 0 10 23 17 17 2 0 3

Feliz .303 .355 99 12 30 6 0 2 19 9 12 0 0 2

Howard .287 .364 115 19 33 9 1 6 22 13 32 0 0 0

Werth .287 .392 101 25 29 8 1 6 21 15 23 3 1 0

Victorino .272 .319 125 24 34 6 3 4 19 9 10 3 2 0

Coste .204 .316 49 4 10 5 0 1 6 7 12 0 0 0

Rollins .195 .231 123 14 24 6 0 1 9 5 16 1 2 1

Ruiz .172 .273 29 0 5 1 0 0 0 4 2 0 0 1

Dobbs .148 .207 27 0 4 0 0 0 3 2 6 0 0 0

Bruntlett .143 .231 21 5 3 3 0 0 3 3 4 0 0 0

Cairo .133 .133 15 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0

Team Totals .259 .339 996 164 258 57 6 42 158 111 180 12 5 8

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Condrey 3 0 2.12 17 0 0 17.0 11 4 4 2 6 12

Madson 2 1 2.70 13 0 1 13.1 9 4 4 0 6 16

Happ 1 0 2.84 10 0 0 19.0 12 6 6 1 7 14

Durbin 1 0 3.57 16 0 0 17.2 11 7 7 3 10 14

Myers 2 2 4.81 7 7 0 43.0 48 23 23 10 17 30

Taschner 1 1 5.14 11 0 0 14.0 14 8 8 2 10 7

Eyre 0 1 5.40 13 0 0 6.2 5 5 4 2 6 4

Hamels 1 2 6.17 5 5 0 23.1 30 16 16 5 6 22

Park 0 1 6.67 6 5 0 27.0 29 20 20 5 13 16

Blanton 1 3 6.82 6 6 0 34.1 45 26 26 8 10 28

Moyer 3 2 7.26 6 6 0 31.0 44 25 25 10 12 18

Lidge 0 1 8.53 13 0 4 12.2 15 12 12 5 9 15

Team Totals 15 14 5.39 29 29 5 259.0 273 156 155 53 112 196

PITTSBURGHPIRATES

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Diaz .381 .381 21 1 8 2 0 1 4 0 1 0 0 0

Young .350 .435 20 3 7 3 0 0 2 3 3 0 0 0

Sanchez .317 .352 120 19 38 13 2 3 11 5 20 3 0 1

Morgan .301 .376 123 21 37 2 2 0 13 13 22 9 5 0

McLouth .292 .378 96 16 28 4 0 5 22 14 15 3 0 0

Jaramillo .277 .382 47 4 13 7 0 0 5 8 6 1 0 1

Wilson .255 .314 47 3 12 3 0 0 7 4 5 1 1 3

An. LaRoche .253 .336 95 8 24 9 0 1 11 10 14 1 0 4

Doumit .244 .271 45 5 11 4 0 2 9 2 10 0 0 1

Hinske .231 .333 52 8 12 5 0 0 4 5 14 0 0 0

Monroe .229 .270 35 5 8 1 0 2 10 2 11 0 0 0

Ad. LaRoche .223 .310 112 15 25 8 0 5 14 14 28 0 0 0

Bixler .200 .231 25 2 5 3 0 0 2 1 18 0 0 2

Vazquez .182 .333 55 7 10 0 0 0 4 12 14 0 0 1

Moss .174 .228 86 11 15 2 2 0 3 5 16 0 0 0

Team Totals .252 .325 1040 130 262 68 6 20 124 104 223 18 6 14

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Chavez 0 1 2.19 14 0 0 12.1 9 3 3 1 6 10

Duke 3 3 2.79 6 6 0 42.0 39 15 13 2 10 23

Meek 0 0 2.79 7 0 0 9.2 5 3 3 0 9 6

Burnett 0 1 3.14 16 0 0 14.1 9 6 5 2 6 11

Maholm 3 1 4.06 7 7 0 44.1 45 21 20 2 14 21

Ohlendorf 3 3 4.14 6 6 0 37.0 35 17 17 4 9 17

Veal 0 0 4.15 4 0 0 4.1 2 2 2 1 9 4

Snell 1 5 4.50 7 7 0 40.0 39 22 20 5 24 27

Karstens 1 1 5.19 5 5 0 26.0 25 16 15 5 13 12

Hansen 0 0 5.68 5 0 0 6.1 6 4 4 1 4 5

Grabow 1 0 6.14 15 0 0 14.2 23 11 10 1 8 14

Capps 0 2 7.56 9 0 5 8.1 12 7 7 1 4 7

Yates 0 2 8.71 13 0 0 10.1 11 12 10 2 7 9

Team Totals 12 19 4.31 31 31 5 269.2 260 139 129 27 123 166

NATIONAL LEAGUE TEAM STATSTHROUGH MONDAY’S GAMES

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 27Baseball

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

LaRue .412 .474 17 5 7 1 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 0

Pujols .330 .443 112 32 37 5 0 12 33 22 11 5 1 5

Molina .317 .386 101 11 32 4 1 3 15 12 11 1 1 0

Schumaker .307 .366 101 15 31 8 1 0 9 10 11 1 1 2

Barden .296 .350 54 8 16 2 0 3 7 3 9 0 0 1

Duncan .288 .372 104 13 30 10 2 3 23 15 22 0 1 3

Ludwick .267 .333 105 16 28 4 0 8 26 9 20 2 0 1

Thurston .259 .351 85 14 22 8 1 1 14 12 16 1 1 3

Rasmus .256 .337 86 17 22 5 0 1 8 9 19 1 0 2

Ryan .250 .317 36 5 9 3 1 0 3 3 8 1 0 1

Ankiel .247 .326 81 11 20 6 0 2 11 7 19 0 0 0

K. Greene .235 .323 85 13 20 4 0 2 11 10 11 2 1 6

T. Greene .222 .263 18 3 4 1 0 1 2 0 7 1 0 0

Robinson .200 .200 5 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

Team Totals .272 .349 1074 172 292 65 6 37 167 118 190 16 6 26

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Carpenter 1 0 0.00 2 2 0 10.0 5 1 0 0 2 9

Franklin 1 0 1.23 14 0 9 14.2 7 2 2 2 3 13

Boyer 0 0 2.70 8 0 0 6.2 4 3 2 0 2 6

Perez 1 1 2.89 11 0 1 9.1 6 3 3 1 8 11

McClellan 2 1 3.29 13 0 1 13.2 11 6 5 2 9 13

Motte 1 1 3.38 16 0 0 13.1 13 5 5 0 4 10

Boggs 1 0 3.50 4 3 0 18.0 19 8 7 1 9 19

Pineiro 4 2 3.66 6 6 0 39.1 45 20 16 2 7 13

Miller 0 0 4.15 12 0 0 8.2 9 5 4 2 3 10

Lohse 3 2 4.25 7 7 0 42.1 41 22 20 4 13 27

Reyes 0 1 4.35 17 0 1 10.1 8 5 5 2 3 10

Wainwright 3 1 4.35 7 7 0 41.1 44 23 20 5 21 33

Wellemeyer 3 2 4.75 6 6 0 36.0 47 20 19 2 11 20

Thompson 0 1 5.59 7 0 0 9.2 13 6 6 1 2 4

Team Totals 20 12 4.05 32 32 12 286.1 289 145 129 29 107 209

SAN DIEGOPADRES

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Hairston .333 .388 78 8 26 8 1 4 16 6 16 3 0 0

Cabrera .308 .357 13 4 4 1 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0

A. Gonzalez .294 .387 119 22 35 3 0 10 22 17 32 1 0 2

Hundley .263 .352 80 4 21 4 2 1 8 11 19 1 1 2

Eckstein .261 .336 111 12 29 9 1 0 9 11 8 1 0 0

Burke .259 .375 27 3 7 4 0 0 0 4 5 2 1 4

Headley .255 .317 110 12 28 6 1 3 15 10 27 4 1 1

Rodriguez .247 .389 73 11 18 4 0 1 7 19 9 0 0 2

Gerut .228 .265 92 16 21 6 0 4 9 5 19 1 0 0

Kouzmanoff .222 .266 117 8 26 5 1 1 8 5 29 1 0 0

Blanco .176 .282 34 6 6 0 0 3 4 5 7 0 0 0

E. Gonzalez .171 .244 41 5 7 1 2 2 5 4 7 0 1 1

Giles .158 .241 120 6 19 3 0 1 14 13 15 1 0 0

Team Totals .240 .316 1068 122 256 56 8 30 118 115 213 15 4 15

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Bell 1 0 0.00 11 0 8 11.2 5 0 0 0 2 14

Meredith 4 0 3.27 13 0 0 11.0 15 6 4 1 4 7

Perdomo 0 0 3.65 9 0 0 12.1 11 7 5 2 5 6

Gaudin 0 2 4.08 3 3 0 17.2 16 8 8 0 10 15

Mujica 1 1 4.11 13 0 0 15.1 13 9 7 2 5 14

Peavy 2 4 4.27 7 7 0 46.1 39 23 22 5 17 52

Moreno 1 3 4.41 15 0 0 16.1 17 9 8 1 11 13

Young 2 1 4.76 7 7 0 39.2 38 22 21 1 19 31

Geer 0 1 5.14 5 4 0 28.0 32 19 16 5 5 12

Hill 1 1 5.25 3 3 0 12.0 15 7 7 1 3 7

Correia 0 2 5.34 6 6 0 30.1 31 18 18 2 19 25

Gregerson 0 3 5.82 16 0 0 17.0 19 11 11 1 8 18

Silva 0 0 6.52 2 2 0 9.2 10 7 7 2 7 3

Sanchez 1 1 6.75 11 0 0 9.1 12 7 7 3 7 2

Lopez 0 0 19.29 4 0 0 2.1 7 5 5 2 3 0

Team Totals 13 19 4.69 32 32 8 282.1 282 160 147 28 131 221

SAN FRANCISCOGIANTS

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Holm .400 .500 5 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

Sandoval .289 .336 114 12 33 8 2 2 11 6 17 2 0 0

Molina .287 .286 115 14 33 6 1 7 27 0 14 0 0 1

Lewis .286 .390 105 16 30 6 1 0 2 14 36 2 2 2

Burriss .274 .342 106 9 29 2 0 0 6 9 17 9 3 2

Uribe .262 .295 42 2 11 3 0 0 1 2 7 0 0 2

Winn .261 .336 115 17 30 5 2 2 13 13 24 5 0 0

Renteria .250 .328 108 18 27 5 0 2 14 13 17 1 2 3

Schierholtz .250 .263 36 4 9 3 0 0 2 1 7 0 1 0

Rowand .240 .321 96 10 23 8 0 2 13 10 22 1 0 1

Torres .222 .417 9 4 2 0 0 1 1 3 3 1 0 0

Ishikawa .219 .284 73 7 16 3 1 0 11 5 24 0 0 1

Aurilia .163 .213 43 2 7 0 0 0 6 3 5 0 0 0

Velez .136 .174 22 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 1

Team Totals .251 .313 1047 120 263 50 7 16 109 84 227 21 8 14

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Miller 1 0 2.35 12 0 0 15.1 13 4 4 2 5 10

Cain 3 1 2.61 6 6 0 38.0 32 11 11 5 19 28

Affeldt 0 1 3.14 17 0 0 14.1 14 6 5 1 7 12

Wilson 2 0 3.18 16 0 8 17.0 12 6 6 2 6 19

Lincecum 3 1 3.25 7 7 0 44.1 40 17 16 1 13 58

Howry 0 2 3.38 14 0 0 13.1 13 5 5 1 4 10

Valdez 1 0 3.48 9 0 0 10.1 10 4 4 1 5 7

Zito 1 2 3.57 6 6 0 35.1 32 14 14 2 12 24

Medders 1 1 4.61 13 0 0 13.2 16 7 7 1 11 11

Sanchez 1 3 4.78 6 5 0 26.1 21 16 14 3 22 27

Johnson 3 3 5.89 7 7 0 36.2 36 24 24 10 16 39

Martinez 1 0 6.75 2 0 0 2.2 4 2 2 0 1 2

Matos 0 0 9.00 5 0 0 6.0 11 7 6 2 1 5

Team Totals 17 14 3.97 31 31 8 278.2 260 128 123 32 127 253

WASHINGTONNATIONALS

BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E

Guzman .378 .378 90 15 34 5 1 1 9 0 13 1 1 3

Zimmerman .363 .408 135 26 49 12 0 8 26 11 26 0 0 4

Dunn .318 .457 110 19 35 4 0 11 28 28 33 0 1 4

Flores .311 .382 90 13 28 3 2 4 15 11 26 0 0 1

Johnson .307 .389 114 18 35 4 0 2 12 14 21 0 0 3

Hernandez .293 .391 75 12 22 5 0 0 8 12 15 2 0 3

Dukes .275 .351 102 12 28 6 1 4 20 12 26 2 4 1

Bernadina .250 .400 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0

Harris .250 .382 28 5 7 0 1 1 2 5 5 1 0 0

Kearns .243 .391 74 13 18 5 2 3 15 16 18 1 0 0

Willingham .196 .338 56 8 11 2 0 5 7 10 15 0 0 1

Nieves .190 .227 21 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 2

Belliard .158 .200 38 1 6 0 0 1 2 2 10 0 0 2

Cintron .000 .095 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 0 0 1

Team Totals .277 .360 1104 157 306 51 7 41 152 136 260 13 6 33

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO

Villone 1 0 0.00 4 0 0 3.2 2 0 0 0 0 1

Beimel 0 1 1.74 11 0 0 10.1 12 2 2 0 2 5

Wells 0 0 3.86 10 0 1 11.2 8 5 5 0 9 8

Lannan 2 3 3.89 7 7 0 39.1 44 21 17 7 15 20

Mock 0 1 4.66 10 0 0 9.2 10 5 5 0 6 5

Martis 4 0 4.67 6 6 0 34.2 38 19 18 3 13 19

Cabrera 0 4 4.98 7 7 0 34.1 40 32 19 2 28 13

Zimmermann 2 1 5.48 4 4 0 23.0 26 14 14 5 6 18

Tavarez 0 2 6.08 16 0 1 13.1 12 13 9 1 8 16

Hanrahan 0 1 6.28 16 0 3 14.1 18 10 10 3 5 17

Olsen 1 3 7.00 7 7 0 36.0 51 30 28 5 16 26

Kensing 0 1 18.00 6 0 0 5.0 12 10 10 1 4 2

Team Totals 10 20 5.42 31 31 5 272.1 314 190 164 33 138 177

NATIONAL LEAGUE TEAM STATSTHROUGH MONDAY’S GAMES

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 28College Football

Paulus, Marve look for the right places to prove themselvesTwo free agents remain in this college

football offseason. One plays quarterback, and the other thinks he can, with reels of film from Central New York high school games as evidence. They are gifted athletes, and their former coaches say they will change a program’s perception and perfor-

mance as soon as they arrive. Yet the two free agents look at their foot-ball futures with opposite motivations.

The smart money says that Greg Paulus suits up for Syracuse in the fall and Robert Marve enrolls at Purdue as soon as next week. Both players have

histories with those destination schools, and both have visited them in the last few weeks. Paulus grew up in Syracuse’s shadow, starring at quarterback and point guard for Christian Brothers Academy before heading to Duke. Marve, a Tampa product, looked hard at Purdue before the Indiana winters and the distance from home sent him to Miami.

“When Purdue recruited him the first time around, geography became the big issue,” said Robert Weiner, Marve’s for-mer coach at Plant High. “When you talk about a transfer, and know you really can’t make a mistake this time, geography becomes less of an issue.”

The bigger issue for Marve is a chance to redeem what seemed a promising career just three years ago. As highly touted as any quarterback in the country, he signed with the Hurricanes and saw his career spiral. There was the 2007 car crash that

broke his wrist and prompted his red-shirting that season. There were the two suspensions last season for violations of team rules. There were the struggles on the field—he averaged just 117.5 passing yards per game, threw more touchdowns than interceptions and ceded the starting job to problem-free backup Jacory Harris.

Those demons didn’t matter much to the desperate schools that have shown inter-est in the transferring Marve. They see a

big-armed guy with a year of college ball in his pocket. But others wonder whether he has the skills to win and the mettle to lead at college football’s highest level. And there lies Marve’s mission at Purdue, or wherever he lands. After a year off per NCAA transfer rules, he needs to show everyone else the high school hype was legitimate. He wants to make everyone else as confident in him as he is in himself.

“At Miami, it wasn’t like he had a mil-lion people around him who were veter-ans,” Weiner said. “And he didn’t have a lot of college experience himself. Now, he has film, and he knows what he can or can’t do. He obviously is a lot more ready to be a good college quarterback.”

And then there’s Paulus. No one knows whether he’s ready to be a quarterback, mostly because he hasn’t taken a competi-tive snap since Thanksgiving weekend in

2004. He’s spent the interim as a Duke point guard, starting much of his first three years before fading to the bench as a senior. He has a future in basketball, as a player overseas or in the Mike Krzyze-wski-coaching tree stateside.

But an urge to play football remained. The Green Bay Packers rekindled it, thinking the former high school All-American might be worth a late-round draft pick or a free agent contract. He looked not-ready-for-the-NFL in a work-out, but the ensuing buzz got some college coaches involved. Michigan, Syracuse and Nebraska came calling, and the Orange, given their talent and their location, seem the most likely fit.

But unlike Marve, who needs to revive his career and rebuild his image, Paulus can view this transfer as the start of a one-year football fantasy camp. He’s a long shot to start, even for Syracuse. But he’ll see the field, as a quarterback, and his pedigree indicates he’ll have at least some success in the Big East. Let’s remember a Pitt team led by Bill Stull and Pat Bostick contended for a conference title last year.

If Paulus thrives at the Carrier Dome, then he’ll face another basketball-football decision in the winter. If he tanks, he can head back to hoops with his football itch scratched.

This week, today, maybe this moment, the free agents are making their final calls. Marve plans to gather with visiting family early this week to plot his future. Paulus will follow suit. And then they’ll head to their new schools, Marve with something to prove to the world, and Paulus with something to prove to himself.

dcurtis@sportingnews.com

As a prep recruit, Robert Marve turned down Purdue for Miami, but he could end up a Boilermaker in the end.DAVE EINSEL / APGERRY BROOME / AP

Listen on Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 127, online at SportingNews.com or check your local listings for broadcast times in your area.WEEKDAYS 1–4PM ET

Dave CurtisCOLLEGE FOOTBALL

Is Syracuse the spot for Greg Paulus to scratch his itch?

Florida State’s Bobby Bowden says he won’t lose sleep over his battle with Penn State’s Joe Paterno for the most coaching wins in major college football. Bowden just doesn’t want to lose victories he already has because of an NCAA ruling.

Last month the school appealed sanctions that called for forfeits in football and nine other sports because of an academic cheating scandal. Bowden could lose as many as 14 victories from the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

“I think they’re really stepping out of bounds by doing that,” Bowden told The Palm Beach Post at a weekend booster meeting in West Palm Beach. “Maybe they’ll change their minds once they think it over real good.”

Bowden, who turns 80 in November, has 382 victo-ries, just one fewer than the 82-year-old Paterno. Bowden hasn’t said if he’ll coach beyond the 2009 season.

“It seems unfair, what they are doing, because we spotted the problem, we reported it, we took care of it and the kids were punished,” Bowden told the Post.

Of his contest with Paterno, Bowden said, “… The thing about the race between Joe and I, it’s not like there are seven more of us, it’s just us two, and you hate to give up in a good battle like that.”

Pitt sophomore WR Jonathan Baldwin was charged with misdemeanor indecent assault, harassment and disorderly conduct after an alleged incident on a cam-pus shuttle bus involving a female student on April 18, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

Baldwin will have a preliminary hearing May 27.“The matter is currently under investigation, and

until that investigation reaches a conclusion, we will decline comment,” athletic department spokesman E.J. Borghetti said in a statement.

Baldwin caught 18 passes for 404 yards and three touchdowns last season.

Marshall RB Darius Marshall and DB DeQuan Bembry entered conditional guilty pleas Monday to the misde-meanor charge of marijuana possession. The charge will be removed from their records if the players com-plete a six-month probation.

Marshall and Bembry were arrested May 2. Coach

Mark Snyder has suspended both players from the teamMarshall ran for 1,177 yards and scored five touch-

downs last season as a sophomore. Bembry had 80 tackles, including 7.5 for loss, and intercepted a pass as a redshirt freshman.

Missouri is going bigger picture this fall.The school is putting up a new $3.8 million video

board that will measure 30 feet tall and 80 feet wide at the north end of Memorial Stadium.

“It’s not going to be Texas, but if you’re a fan of the Tigers and been to games, there’s going to be a notice-able difference,” associate athletic director Mark Alnutt told the Columbia Daily Tribune. “It’s literally 3½ times bigger. There will be that wow factor.”

Developed by Daktronics Inc., the industry leader in scoreboard design, the video board has the capability to display a single giant image or multiple zones to feature stats, graphics and animation. Alnutt said the new board will help pay for itself with more space for advertising.

Bowden says NCAA ‘really stepping out of bounds’

FSU coach Bobby Bowden feels it’s unfair to take away any of his wins.

DON EDGAR / AP

Kentucky sophomore F Patrick Patterson said Monday he didn’t work out for any NBA teams before deciding to pull out of the draft evaluation process.

Patterson, who submitted his name for the draft on April 15 but did not hire an agent, and his par-ents held a news conference at the school Monday to discuss his rea-sons for staying with the Wildcats.

“I felt that if I did do workouts, it wouldn’t do anything because I felt in my heart I wanted to come back for next year,” Patterson said.

Patterson said he was told he likely would have been a first-round pick, probably somewhere from 14 to 20, but that he was excited about the direction of the program with coach John Calipari and the new recruits.

“All the weapons we have com-ing in, that helped (me make a decision) as well,” Patterson said.

UCLA is giving Pauley Pavil-ion a $185 million facelift in hopes of putting one of college basket-ball’s most recognized arenas on the national map again.

The renovation plans, announced Monday, will include a new entrance, locker rooms for both the men’s and women’s bas-ketball teams and more than 1,000 additional seats to bring its capac-ity to nearly 14,000.

The construction, expected to start in February 2010 and finish in the fall of 2012, will displace the men’s and women’s teams for the 2011-12 season.

Mississippi State F Jarvis

Varnado announced Monday he is coming back for his senior year rather than entering the NBA draft.

“I feel like I wasn’t ready for the NBA,” said Varnado, the two-time reigning SEC defensive player of the year. “Another year in college can only help my game, and I’m really excited about this team.”

Varnado submitted his name for the draft on April 27 but did not hire an agent.

Since playing pickup basket-ball with North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., last spring, Barack Obama won the presidency, carrying that state in November, and the Tar Heels won the national champion-ship, defeating Michigan State last month.

Obama welcomed the Tar Heels

to the White House on Monday.“I’m not sure whose luck rubbed

off on who,” Obama said as he greeted the team on the South Lawn. “I think there was just a good vibe going on there.”

Obama picked the Tar Heels to win the national title on live TV leading up to the NCAA Tourna-ment. He thanked them “for sal-vaging my bracket and vindicating me before the entire nation.” The President’s other picks for the Final Four didn’t make it.

Oregon sophomore G Kamyron Brown is transferring and will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Brown split time at point guard last season with freshman Garrett Sim. Brown averaged 4.5 points and 2.2 assists and was second on the team with 34 steals.

Patterson knew he wanted to return to Kentucky

President Barack Obama and UNC coach Roy Williams led their teams to the top in recent months.CHARLES DHARAPAK

INSIDE DISH INSIDE DISH

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 29College Football / College Basketball

Why wait on Wall? He can make dreams come trueSome of us work best under pres-

sure. John Wall might be one of those. The final buzzer always is on its way in a basketball game, and Wall performs decisively in this arena.

In the matter of choosing a college, Wall faces no deadline. Though the close of the NCAA spring signing period will arrive May 20, Wall need not worry about a ticking clock. If he signs by then, great. But no rule

dictates he has to sign anything, ever.

Wall, a 6-4 point guard from Raleigh, N.C., Word of God Chris-tian Academy, must make up his mind in time to be admitted to whichever college he chooses. Those involved almost certainly would find a way to accommodate him.

So they wait: Duke, Florida, Ken-tucky, Miami.

Alphabetically, those schools are believed to be Wall’s final choices. Wall will change the course of the 2009-10 college basketball season–wearing some uniform or other.

“Athletically, I’m not sure John has a real peer. He’s just got so much bounce and so much speed,” Scout.com recruiting analyst Dave Telep said. “John is just freaky with what he can do.”

Telep is certain Wall would fit into the system at each of the contending schools, the way Derrick Rose fit in immediately at Memphis in 2008 and Chris Paul took over at Wake Forest four seasons before.

“When you have talents like this, it’s not the kids’ job to fit into the system,” Telep said. “It’s the coaches’ job to accentuate the guy’s talent.”

So which program is best equipped to make that happen? Take a look:

Miami. Last season’s finish: 19-13, NIT. Top players returning: SG James Dews (8.2 ppg), PF Adrian Thomas (5.1), SF DeQuan Jones (2.7). Possible NBA draft return: C Dwayne Collins (10.6).

The Hurricanes missed last year’s NCAAs primarily because they lacked the point guard play Wall could deliver almost immediately.

A fine recruiting class led by New York wing Durand Scott will help replace star guard Jack McClinton. But the key to Miami’s improvement is the progress of Jones, an extremely athletic wing whose opportunities to make a positive impact as a fresh-man were limited because the play-makers couldn’t put him in position to excel. He’s not a shooter. He needs to be set up.

Collins also suffered last year from a lack of post scoring opportu-nities. Coach Frank Haith promised an emphasis on the inside game, but his players could not deliver. Wall could make Collins a star.

Kentucky. Last season’s finish: 22-14, NIT. Top players returning: PF Patrick Patterson (17.9), PF Perry Stevenson (7.8), SF Darius Miller (5.3). Possible NBA draft return: SG Jodie Meeks (23.7).

UK will be a completely renovated team even if Patterson and Meeks are both in place to lead the attack. The arrival of coach John Calipari assures this. He’ll have the Wildcats

running the Dribble Drive Motion offense, and they’d run it better with Wall at the controls.

Calipari already enriched Ken-tucky by signing big center DeMar-cus Cousins and retaining top big man Daniel Orton, who signed in the fall. Those two will give Patter-son the flexibility to perform more often as a forward, which he is skilled enough to manage.

Wall would not need to score as much with the Wildcats, but he could be the final piece in an instant turnaround for Calipari.

Florida. Last season’s finish: 25-11, NIT. Top players returning: PF Alex Tyus (12.5), PG Erving Walker (10.1), SF Chandler Parsons (9.2). Possible NBA draft return: PG Nick Calathes (17.2).

The Gators missed the past two NCAA Tournaments not because they lacked point guard play but because they were young and not athletic. Coach Billy Donovan will have plenty of veterans. Adding shooting guard Kenny Boynton, who has signed with the Gators, and Wall would solve most of those speed and quickness issues.

Boynton plays a lot with the ball in his hands, but elite 2010 point guard recruit Brandon Knight was able to excel alongside him in AAU competition.

Tyus’ return is important. Wall needs to have some frontcourt tar-gets, and Tyus is a high-percentage finisher. It’s hard to say what adjust-ments would be necessary if Cal-athes were to return and Wall chose the Gators.

Duke. Last season’s finish: 30-7, NCAA Sweet 16. Top players return-ing: PF Kyle Singler (16.5), PG Jon

Scheyer (14.9), SG Nolan Smith (8.4). Possible NBA draft return: SF Ger-ald Henderson (16.5).

There’d be no worry about Wall clashing with incumbent Scheyer. Although Scheyer played well run-ning the offense, the Devils would eagerly move him off the ball. He is not equipped to penetrate the lane. And though Scheyer excels defen-sively at chasing wings around

screens, he is not overwhelming against the ball.

Adding Wall to a perimeter attack featuring not only Singler, Scheyer and Smith but also starter Elliot Williams would put the Devils back into the days when they were regu-larly generating 90 points a game. They also have more bodies to throw at the inside game than in several years.

Duke is the one school on the list that reached the NCAAs, but the Devils are accustomed to exiting more gracefully. Or not exiting at all.

Wall is the kind of player who can make that last dream happen–just about anywhere he chooses to play, whenever that day finally comes.

decourcy@sportingnews.com

PG John Wall, above, can change the course of a program with his electrifying talent, drawing comparisons to the likes of Chris Paul and Derrick Rose.SHAWN ROCCO / AP

Mike DeCourcyCOLLEGE BASKETBALL

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 30College Basketball

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 31NFL

Bucs officials do not expect to see QB Brian Griese when the team begins voluntary workouts today. Griese, 34, is considered the fifth QB on a team that will carry only four to training camp.

Luke McCown, Byron Leftwich, Josh Freeman and Josh Johnson are expected to go to Bucs training camp. According to the St. Petersburg Times, team officials say Griese could have trade value and the team might hold his rights well into the offseason.

Griese, who missed two months last year with tendonitis in his throwing elbow, started five games last season, passing for 1,073 yards with five touchdowns and seven interceptions.

The Bears agreed to a one-year contract with TE Michael Gaines on Monday. Gaines, 29, has 41 starts in five seasons with the Panthers, Bills and Lions. He is more of a blocker than a pass catcher with only 79 career receptions and five TDs.

“The Bears had a plan for me,” Gaines said via the team’s website. “You can’t beat that when people have a goal and a plan mapped out for you at your position.”

Jets RB Thomas Jones was a no-show at Monday’s voluntary work-outs, continuing his boycott of team activities in a contract dis-pute. The first mandatory event is the full-squad minicamp June 9-11. If Jones skips that, he can be fined by the club. Jones is scheduled to earn $900,000 in ’09 but did make $13 million over the last two seasons with the Jets, according to The (New York) Daily News.

OT Todd Wade is retiring after nine NFL seasons, according to the FoxSports.com. Wade started 96 games with the Miami, Houston and Washington. He spent last season with Jacksonville but did not play.

Contract talks between the Vikings and Pro Bowl CB Antoine Winfield have stalled. Winfield, who turns 32 next month, will make $6 million in the final season of his current deal. Fellow CB Cedric Grif-fin, 26, recently had his contract extended through 2014.

Patriots NT Vince Wilfork is going into the final year of his contract, and Patriots officials say getting an

extension worked out is a priority. According to The Boston Globe, Wil-fork is one of only three first-round picks from the Class of 2004 work-ing under his rookie contract. The others: Chargers QB Philip Rivers and Patriots TE Benjamin Watson.

Cowboys special teams coach Joe DeCamillis, 43, was released Sun-day from a Dallas hospital eight days after his neck was broken when the roof of the team’s indoor practice facility collapsed during a storm. Cowboys scouting assistant Rich Behm was paralyzed from the waist down when the roof was torn apart by strong winds during a rookie minicamp workout.

Griese’s odd man out among Bucs’ QBs

Jets RB Thomas Jones (20) is skipping voluntary workouts in protest of his contract.

JULIE JACOBSON / AP

Brett Favre seems to be closer than ever to wearing a Minnesota Vikings uniform.

While Vikings president Mark Wilf finally con-firmed the team’s interest in Favre, the supposedly retired quarterback was working out Monday with a Hattiesburg high school team.

“He’s a Hall of Fame quarterback. He’s a great com-petitor,” Wilf said. “Ultimately, you’ll have to ask Brett what his plans are, but sure there’s interest in Brett Favre. But again, it’s part of a process we have in gen-eral with any of our players. We’re always looking to make our team better.”

Favre, 39, has not spoken on the record about return-ing for a 19th NFL season, but he is obviously consid-ering it and is working out with the Oak Grove High School team, just as he did last year.

“His arm is there,” J.D. Simpson, Oak Grove assis-tant and friend of Favre, told The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune. “He’s had the same problem with his left arm that he’s having with his right. He told me John Elway had the same problem in his last year. It’s a certain throwing angle or motion that hurts. It doesn’t hurt all the time, though, and just looking at him throwing you can’t tell there’s anything wrong with it.

“I help out with the receivers, and he threw a few that bounced off some facemasks out there.”

Favre was released by the New York Jets on April 28 and issued a statement that said, “At this time, I am retired and have no intention of returning to football.”

He hasn’t been heard from since. His agent, Bus Cook, has said Favre remains retired. Cook did not return phone messages Monday.

Wilf, who along with brother Zygi purchased the team in 2005, spoke about Favre during a previously scheduled community visit. It was the first question asked by a fan during a panel discussion between Wilf and linebackers Chad Greenway and Ben Leber.

After Greenway gave a politically correct answer, Wilf jumped in to defend the current stable of quarter-backs—incumbent Tarvaris Jackson, newcomer Sage Rosenfels and third-stringer John David Booty.

“With Sage and Tarvaris and John David, we’re pleased with the quarterbacks we have,” Wilf said. “Let’s not let that get forgotten here. And we just feel as a whole as a roster, we’re trying to improve every day. We feel we’ve made a lot of steps to improve off an NFC North division win and we’re ready to take the next step and to go all the way.”

It’s a little bit of deja vu for the Vikings. Last year, Favre renounced his retirement from the Packers and, after being told Green Bay was going with Aaron Rod-gers at quarterback, Favre wanted to play for the NFC North rival Vikings.

After a messy divorce with Green Bay, Favre was shipped to the Jets, where he threw 22 touchdown passes and 22 interceptions for a team that finished 1-4 down the stretch to miss the playoffs.

The Vikings won the division without Favre but have been unsettled at the most important position for three-plus years. Quarterback is viewed as one of the team’s few weak spots.

With Favre, retirement has become an annual ordeal. He was released by the Jets on April 28 and now is free to sign with the Vikings if he is healthy enough and still has the desire to play.

“He’s retired a couple of times, so you wonder where his loyalties lie,” Greenway said.

— Associated Press

Favre practicing with preps again; Vikings confirm interest

QB Brett Favre threw 22 touchdown passes and 22 picks last season.

INSIDE DISH

JAY DROWNS / SN

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 32NFL

Scouts’ views

Center rankings: Brawn meets brains in middle of line

Since the Jets drafted him in 2004, Nick Mangold has started every game and helped lead their ninth-ranked rushing game last season.

As RealScouts, a group of for-mer NFL scouts, take a look at the top centers, it’s important to note that these guys are among the smartest players on the field. Not only must the centers make their own adjustments, they must read the defensive front and make the line calls to teammates, hear the quarterback’s audible, readjust the line calls, snap the ball and then get their man blocked—all in a matter of a few seconds.

NFL centers come in all shapes and sizes, and RealScouts’ top-10 ranking for ’09 is representative of that.

1. Nick Mangold, Jets. The Jets’ offensive line had

its best season in a long while, and it starts with Mangold. He doesn’t overwhelm with physical tools and there isn’t one aspect of his game that stands out, but he does everything well. He has started every game of his NFL career, showing excellent football intelli-gence, competitiveness and instincts. As his strength and technique continue to improve, he will get even better.

2. Nick Hardwick, Chargers. Hardwick often is

overlooked in the Chargers’ offense, but the production drops off dramatically when he is sidelined. At 6-4, he’s tall for a center but still plays with good leverage and pad level and his long reach is a big asset. He shows good footwork

and uses hands well, and he is athletic enough to reach linebackers on the second level.

3. Olin Kreutz, Bears. He has everything: He is

tough, smart and athletic, plays with a mean streak and is fundamentally sound. He is a fine run blocker and has the agility to protect a mobile quarter-back like Jay Cutler.

4. Shaun O’Hara, Giants. He is one of the most

consistent and durable players in the league, missing just one game the last four years. He isn’t powerful or explosive but is smart and technically sound. He takes great angles to defenders and communicates well with line mates to create the holes for the Giants’ dangerous running game.

5. Jamaal Jackson, Eagles. As Eagles’ coach

Andy Reid shuffled the line in the offseason, he certainly didn’t think of moving away from Jack-son. He is an immovable object in the middle of the line at 330 pounds, but he also has impressive athleticism. He gets off the snap and reaches the defensive tackle quickly, and he can pull and seal the corner for perimeter

runs. He’ll be even better in ’09, leading an improved line that added Jason Peters and Stacy Andrews.

6. Jason Brown, Rams. He is a big, powerful,

wide-bodied center who can move the pile in the interior running game, which will be a bigger part of the Rams’ offense in ’09. He was the best center available on the free-agent market and is a big addi-tion for the Rams, who already have begun building around him with the selection of OT Jason Smith in the draft.

7. Jeff Saturday, Colts. The Colts toyed with the

idea of letting Saturday leave via free agency, but that couldn’t have made QB Peyton Manning happy. Ultimately, the Colts re-signed Saturday. That’s good because he’s a perfect fit for their pass-oriented attack. He is agile, still has some initial quickness and is smart and instinctive. However, he turns 34 in June and probably has only a couple years left.

8. Dominic Raiola, Lions. Raiola lacks ideal size

or strength, but he is a high-effort and competi-tive guy. He plays smart,

shows good instincts and fights to the whistle on every snap. His technique and experience will be invaluable to a young offense this year. On what has been a terrible team, Raiola has been a rare bright spot.

9. Andre Gurode, Cowboys. He made the Pro Bowl

last year, but it was based more on reputation than production, à la the Titans’ Kevin Mawae. Gurode is a physical run blocker, not a finesse player. He’ll need to be more productive in ’09 than he was in ’08 to get the Cowboys back to the playoffs. The measure of that will be the success of their running game between the tackles.

10. Ryan Kalil, Panthers. Kalil’s strength is

his ability to reach the second level and deliver key blocks on linebackers to spring RBs Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams on the long runs. It’s what makes the Panthers an elite rushing team. Kalil is equally adept at working inside or outside, showing the athletic ability to pull and lead perimeter runs.

— RealScouts, a team of former NFL

scouts, analyze NFL and college players,

coaches and teams exclusively for

Sporting News Today.

BOB LEVERONE / SN

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 33NFL

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, Buf-

falo; 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 McAl-

lister, New Orleans; Travis Minor, St. Louis; Montell Owens (R),

Jacksonville; 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; Malcom Floyd (R),

San Diego; 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; Ruvell Martin (R), Green Bay;

Anthony Mix, Tampa Bay; Ben Obomanu (R), Seattle; Tab Perry,

Miami; Jerry Porter, Jacksonville; Kevin Robinson, Kansas City;

Koren Robinson, Seattle; Edell Shepherd, Denver; Travis Taylor,

Detroit; Amani Toomer, NY Giants; Kelley Washington, New

England; Todd Watkins (R), Oakland; Harry Williams, Houston;

Reggie Williams, Jacksonville; Wallace Wright (R), NY Jets.

Tight ends—Courtney Anderson, Houston; Adam Bergen,

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

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

Merritt, Kansas City; Chad Mustard, Denver; Leonard Pope (R),

Arizona; Jeff Robinson, Seattle; Derek Schouman (R), Buffalo;

Stephen Spach (R), Arizona; Daniel Wilcox, Baltimore; Kris

Wilson, San Diego.

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

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

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

Cincinnati; James Marten (R), Oakland; Fred Miller, Chicago; Rob

Petitti, St. Louis; Jon Runyan, Philadelphia; Ephraim Salaam,

Houston; Charles Spencer, Jacksonville; Barry Stokes, New

England; Mark Tauscher, Green Bay; Mark Wilson (R), Oakland;

Eric Young, Cleveland.

Guards—Lennie Friedman, Cleveland; Adrian Jones, Kansas

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

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

Jacksonville; Tutan Reyes, Jacksonville; Grey Ruegamer, NY

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

Jason Whittle, Buffalo.

Centers—Brennen Carvalho, Green Bay; Jean-Philippe Darche,

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

Andy McCollum, Detroit; Jeremy Newberry, San Diego; Scott

Peters, Arizona; Bryan Pittman, Houston; Cory Withrow, St.

Louis.

DEFENSE

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

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

Edwards, Oakland; Ebenezer Ekuban, Denver; John Engelberger,

Denver; Simon Fraser, Atlanta; Roderick Green, San Francisco;

Jason Hunter, Green Bay; Travis LaBoy, Arizona; Jayme Mitchell,

Minnesota; Jerome McDougle, NY Giants; Julius Peppers (F),

Carolina; Jason Taylor, Washington; Anthony Weaver, Houston;

James Wyche, Jacksonville.

Defensive tackles—Kenderick Allen, Minnesota; Gary

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

Miami; Antwan Lake, New Orleans; Anthony Montgomery

(R), Washington; Langston Moore, Detroit; Kindal Moorehead,

Atlanta; Dewayne Robertson, Denver; Orpheus Roye, Pittsburgh;

Montavious Stanley (R), New Orleans; Hollis Thomas, New

Orleans; Josh Thomas, Indianapolis; John Thornton, Cincinnati;

Darwin Walker, Carolina; Gabe Watson (R), Arizona; Ellis Wyms,

Minnesota; Brian Young, New Orleans; Jeff Zgonina, Houston.

Linebackers—Rufus Alexander, Indianapolis; Jason Babin,

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

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

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

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

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

Curtis Gatewood, Kansas City; Morlon Greenwood, Houston;

Marques Harris, San Diego; Napoleon Harris, Minnesota; Abdul

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

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

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

Willie McGinest, Cleveland; Marques Murrell (R), NY Jets; Ryan

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

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

Washington; Gary Stills, St. Louis; Terrell Suggs (F), Baltimore;

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

Marcus Washington, Washington; Nate Webster, Denver.

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

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

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

Arizona; William James, Jacksonville; Michael Lehan, New

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

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

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

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

Sanders, New England; Duane Starks, Jacksonville; Brandon

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

New England; Jimmy Williams, Houston; Stanley Wilson, Detroit.

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

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

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

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

Hiram Eugene, Oakland; Mike Green, Washington; Rodney

Harrison, New England; Terrence Holt, New Orleans; Dexter

Jackson, Cincinnati; Sammy Knight, NY Giants; Dawan Landry

(R), Baltimore; Marquand Manuel, Denver; Marlon McCree,

Denver; Lawyer Milloy, Atlanta; Jarrad Page (R), Kansas City;

Pierson Prioleau, Jacksonville; Chris Reis (R), New Orleans;

Dwight Smith, Detroit; George Wilson (R), Buffalo; Cameron

Worrell, Chicago.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Kickers—John Carney, NY Giants; Matt Stover, Baltimore.

Punters—Mitch Berger, Pittsburgh; Mike Dragosavich,

Indianapolis; Sam Koch (R), Baltimore; Kyle Larson, Cincinnati;

Ryan Plackemeier, Cincinnati.

NFL vote on a 17- or 18-game schedule uncertainBY DANIEL KAPLAN

AND LIZ MULLENSportsBusiness Journal

NFL owners meeting next week in Florida are unlikely to vote on expanding the regular-season schedule despite reports earlier this year that the league might act on the topic during its May gathering.

Several league sources said the owners would not vote on adding games to the regular season, and New York Jets owner Woody Johnson also said there would be no vote.

Early last week, a league spokes-man said there would be no vote, but after commissioner Roger Goodell told SportsBusiness Journal last week that the issue of a vote still was up in the air, the spokes-man deferred to Goodell’s com-ment. As commissioner, Goodell is in charge of the meeting agenda.

Many of the complexities of expanding from 16 games to either 17 or 18 games have become highly visible, with labor implications being among the key consider-ations. New NFL Players Associa-tion executive director DeMaurice Smith has talked about the need to understand the physical harm players face in extending the regu-lar season.

Top agents agreed.“The issue goes beyond if you

play two more games you get two more paychecks,” said player agent Tom Condon, head of the football practice at CAA Sports. “There would certainly have to be a consideration for the health risk, the additional wear and tear and

the potential of shortening of play-ers’ careers.”

Condon also noted the impact additional regular-season games could have on benefits and free agency.

“If you are playing two more games a year, over a period of time, you could have an extra year of credit towards benefits,” Con-don said. “For a rookie player who normally would reach free agency

after year No. 4, potentially, he would have played in 64 games. Now, (in an 18-game schedule) it would be 64 plus eight. There would be eight more games for potential injury. ”

Drew Rosenhaus, who repre-sents about 100 players, said he is curious about how players under long-term contracts negotiated during a 16-game regular season would be paid if two more regu-

lar-season games were added.“The fairest way to do it, in my

opinion, is to take the player’s sal-ary and add two game checks with prorated amounts,” he said.

The league can unilaterally expand the season but must nego-tiate with the union over compen-sation, according to the collective-bargaining agreement. The CBA expires in 2011, and it is not clear if an expanded season would happen before then.

Goodell remarked last week at a Wall Street Journal forum that the expansion of the season is unre-lated to the league possibly push-ing its schedule into February.

“We’re not talking about adding two more weeks,” Goodell said at the forum. “We’re talking about taking two preseason weeks and making those into regular-season weeks. So the length of our season wouldn’t really change. We have talked about the idea where we should move the season later, out of August—when it’s not football season—and move into a Septem-ber-October-November-Decem-ber-January period. And in that case, if you did that, you would go into early February.”

In other business slated for next week’s meetings in Fort Lauder-dale, Fla., the owners are expected to choose the host of the 2013 Super Bowl. New Orleans is con-sidered the favorite, ahead of Miami and Glendale, Ariz.

Owners also are expected to get an update on looming labor talks with the union.

—Daniel Kaplan and Liz Mullen are staff writers for

SportsBusiness Journal. E-mail them

at dkaplan@sportsbusinessjournal.com and

lmullen@sportsbusinessjournal.com.

AMY SANCETTA / AP

Don’t expect NFL owners to vote on adding games to future regular-season schedules.

It’s not Las Vegas—far from it.But if NASCAR is serious about

returning to its roots, those roots aren’t hard to find. They grow deep at Darlington.

For 51 weeks a year, Darlington and nearby Florence, S.C., are little

more than places to change high-ways on the way to Myrtle Beach.

Even during race week, which currently ends with the South-ern 500 on the eve of Mothers Day, there’s not a

lot to do in Darlington. Fans who make the annual pilgrimage to the asymmetrical, egg-shaped track, however, are there for a singular purpose—to watch some of the best racing NASCAR has to offer.

Darlington is a place that gets under a driver’s skin. A frustrated Kyle Petty once suggested filling the track with water and stocking it with bass.

“Well, it’s not one of my top five (favorites)—I can promise you that,” Clint Bowyer said diplomatically the day before the race.

Today’s Darlington, mind you, isn’t the same track that bullied and befuddled drivers 30 or 40 years ago. Repaved in time for last year’s race, the surface is far kinder to tires than it used to be, as was evidenced by the frequency of two-tire and fuel-only calls in the pits on Satur-day night.

Ultimately, Mark Martin won the race by staying out on old tires—an impossibility in the old days, when the abrasive asphalt would chew the “good” off the tires in fewer than 10 laps.

The frontstretch is now the back-stretch, and pit road is now on the side of the racetrack farthest from Highway 151. Much has changed over the years at the Lady in Black, but the soul of the place is still there.

There’s a saying in professional golf that the difficulty of a U.S. Open setup identifies the best players in the world. Similarly, the crucible of

Darlington identifies the best driv-ers. Scan the list of winners at “The Track Too Tough To Tame,” and you’ll find the absolute cream of the sport.

And if you don’t think racing at Darlington is as intense as ever, just ask Cup champion Jimmie Johnson.

“This is so tough,” Johnson said Saturday after trailing Martin to the finish line. “The speeds are so high. Track position’s everything. … Every position that you go for out there, you’ve just got to gouge and bang and run people over and fight with each other and run into each other under caution. It was abso-lutely out of control out there.”

For those who measure the qual-ity of racing by green-flag passes for the lead or by drag races to the fin-ish line, Darlington was a disap-pointment this year, but to look at the Southern 500 only in those terms is short-sighted.

There was plenty of hard racing and plenty of passing for position. Martin had to work his way back

toward the front after a mistake on pit road. Tony Stewart and Jeff Gor-don, who finished third and fifth, respectively, fought hard for those final positions after late two-tire pit stops.

Greg Biffle, who dominated the middle stages of the race and at one point opened a lead of more than eight seconds, needed a banzai run in the closing laps—after a spin off Turn 4 on Lap 296—to rescue an eighth-place result.

Sure, Darlington is different now. So is the Southern 500, which used to be run on a hot, sticky Sunday before Labor Day, instead of on a warm Saturday night in May. But one glance at the red-and-white throwback walls in Turns 3 and 4—with the solid black stripe from contact with the right sidewalls of the Cup cars’ tires running from the entry to the exit—provided a clear reminder that the essence of the place is flourishing—and that there’s still much to treasure there.

— Reid Spencer writes for

the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

NASCAR reviews all positive drug tests to determine whether there was a legitimate need for a person to have a certain amount of any drug in his system, and owner/driver Jeremy Mayfield tested positive for a “drug of great concern to NASCAR,” NASCAR’s consultant, Dr. David Black, said Monday.

Black is an internationally recog-nized forensic toxicologist and president of Aegis Sciences Corp., which conducts the testing for NASCAR and is one of the largest independent sports doping test lab-oratories in the world. He has worked with NASCAR officials in creation of its drug-testing program.

Neither NASCAR officials nor Black would name the drug May-field tested positive for earlier this month that resulted in the indefi-nite suspension NASCAR handed out Saturday.

Mayfield, in a statement issued by his team, said he believed a mix of prescription and over-the-coun-ter drugs resulted in the positive test.

“We had a drug of great concern to NASCAR,” Black said in a phone interview Monday. “In all my expe-rience, a combination of over-the-counter drug plus a prescription drug would not have necessarily caused this positive test result.

“I’m very confident and comfort-able with the action taken.”

— Bob Pockrass, SceneDaily.com

Roush Fenway Racing gas man Ben Williams, who was suspended by NASCAR last week for violating its substance-abuse policy, has

resigned and is no longer with the team.

Williams served on the crew of the team’s No. 16 Nationwide Series Ford, but a team spokesperson said he has resigned. The team had no other comment.

— Lee Montgomery, SceneDaily.com

Exide Batteries will sponsor Camping World Truck Series points leader Mike Skinner for an addi-tional seven races this season, Randy Moss Motorsports announced.

In addition, Exide will serve as an associate sponsor for the remain-der of the season on both RMM Toyotas, the No. 5 driven by Skin-ner and the No. 81 driven by Tayler Malsam, who leads the points for Raybestos Rookie of the Year.

The company has already been the primary sponsor in three races with Skinner.

— SceneDaily.com

INSIDE DISH

What’s not to like about Darlington?

NASCAR consultant: Mayfield tested positive for ‘drug of great concern’

HAROLD HINSON FOR SN

While there are some changes to Darlington Raceway, including the number of times the Sprint Cup Series races there, ‘The Track Too Tough To Tame’ is still a test for the drivers.

CJ DRIGGERS / AP

Jeremy Mayfield

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 34NASCAR

Reid SpencerTHE COOL DOWN LAP

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com Lacrosse

BY SEAN BURNSInsideLacrosse.com

After watching all eight men’s Division I lacrosse games Saturday and Sunday with Terry Foy for his running blog on InsideLacrosse.com, here’s a list of superlatives from the NCAA Tournament’s first round.

Player of the WeekendBilly Bitter, North CarolinaThe sophomore’s eight goals

came in a game that his team won by two, so this had the dual qualifi-cation of being an obscene perfor-mance and being pretty key to his team’s advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals.

Bitter tied UNC’s school record for single-game goals and helped cement coach Joe Breschi’s first season at his alma mater as an unequivocal success.

‘Welcome to the Big Show’ Award

Cody Jamieson, SyracuseAfter much ballyhoo, the former

Onondaga Community College superstar finally got some serious minutes in his third game for the Orange after receiving his eligibil-ity clearance from the NCAA in late April. He had three goals and an assist in the win over Siena.

It wasn’t a polished performance, but if you’re a ’Cuse fan, you have to like seeing what he can do going down the stretch. Reminds me a bit of a stud rookie pitcher called up in September for a pennant drive.

‘So THAT’S What You Can Do’ Award

Maryland TerrapinsSpeaking of ballyhoo, the Terps

finally came up big, smothering unbeaten Notre Dame on the road for a 7-3 win. All season, the lament

about Maryland has been how its talented roster hasn’t put it all together. Between Grant Catalino’s shift to midfield and Bryn Holmes completely taking Ryan Hoff out of the picture, the Terps gave Syra-cuse coach John Desko something to stress over heading to Hofstra next week.

Phil Esposito AwardKyle Hollingsworth, BrownJust when all hope seemed lost

for Brown against Johns Hopkins, Hollingsworth dove after a loose ball in front of the net and slapped it by Jays goalie Mike Gvozden to knot the score at 10 with eight sec-onds remaining.

Of course, Brian Christopher did his Brian Christopher thing in OT (third overtime game-winner in Hopkins’s last four games) and sent the Jays to the quarterfinals. But Hollingsworth’s diving, tem-porarily season-saving slap shot was the highlight of the first round.

Poise Under Fire AwardBrent Herbst, SienaSure, maybe he nearly doubled

his regular-season goals against average (6.01) in the 11-4 loss, but the Saints goalie kept them in the game far deeper than a lot of folks thought they would manage, mak-ing 11 saves (several of the jaw-dropping variety).

As Foy pointed out in his IL blog, the difference in this game was team speed and athleticism, but Herbst really gave Siena a legiti-mate shot with his performance.

Bitter’s barrage of goals highlight first round

UNC’s Billy Bitter scored eight goals Saturday.

PEYTON WILLIAMS/ACCPHOTOS.COM

SUBSCRIBE TODAY www.insidelacrosse.com

Games to watchQuarterfinal matchupsSaturday @ Hofstra

No. 4 Princeton vs. No. 5 Cornell, noon

Maryland vs. No. 2 Syracuse, 2:30 p.m.Sunday @ Navy

No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 8 Hopkins, noon

No. 3 Duke vs. No. 6 UNC,2:30 p.m.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 36 Horse Racing / Soccer

134TH PREAKNESS

LOUISVILLE, KY.—Rachel Alexandra is in the Preakness. Finally. Probably.

The superstar filly will get her chance to run with the boys during Saturday’s second jewel of the Triple Crown after a series of potential road-blocks were lifted over the weekend.

Pimlico vice president Mike Gath-agan said Monday there are 13 horses, including Rachel Alexan-dra, expected to enter the 1 3-16-mile race. The field will be set by noon Wednesday, with the draw at 5 p.m.

The almost certain entry of the Kentucky Oaks winner saves the industry from a public relations nightmare after several owners—including Mine That Bird’s Mark Allen and Pioneerof the Nile’s Ahmed Zayat—considered taking steps to keep the 3-year-old filly from joining the field, which is capped at 14.

Allen said Monday he toyed with the idea of putting unheralded Indy Express into the Preakness to take up one of the starting spots from Rachel Alexandra. Zayat briefly weighed doing the same with one of the more than 20 horses he nomi-nated to the Triple Crown.

Triple Crown rules give starting preference to horses pre-nominated to the series. Rachel Alexandra was not nominated by previous owner Dolphus Morrison, meaning new owner Jess Jackson will have to pay a $100,000 supplement fee to put her up for consideration.

Normally that isn’t a problem. It briefly became one Sunday when it appeared 14 horses already pre-nominated to the race would make the field, leaving Rachel Alexandra

on the outside looking in.The potential replacements weren’t

exactly world beaters, either.Indy Express is winless in nine

career starts, with career earnings of $12,618. While Allen thinks the horse has talent, he chose to keep Indy Express out of the race because he simply didn’t have the same cre-dentials as Rachel Alexandra.

“To do it with a maiden ain’t

right,” Allen said.Allen’s concerns were profes-

sional, not personal.If Rachel Alexandra missed the

Preakness, it would mean Mine That Bird could retain jockey Cal-vin Borel. The 42-year-old Borel made a riveting trip along the rail, riding the 50-1 long shot on a frantic last-to-first dash to win the Ken-tucky Derby on May 2.

Borel has already agreed to ride Rachel Alexandra for the rest of the year. The duo are unbeaten in five starts since he took over as her jockey last fall, including a 20¼-length win in the Oaks on May 1.

Allen said Mike Smith, who won the 2005 Kentucky Derby with Gia-como, will ride Mine That Bird if Borel is on Rachel Alexandra.

“That’s a pretty good backup plan,” he said with a laugh. “We’re not crying in our beer right now.”

Borel spent a little time on Mine That Bird on Monday morning, put-ting the gelding through a half-mile workout in a leisurely 49.20 sec-onds. The horse is expected to travel to Pimlico on Tuesday.

Rachel Alexandra will likely ship on Wednesday, and she’ll almost certainly have a starting gate after Zayat decided against entering another of his Triple Crown nomi-nated horses.

— The Associated Press

Roadblocks cleared for Rachel Alexandra

Calvin Borel should have the opportunity to ride Kentucky Oaks winner Rachel Alexandra after all.

MORRY GASH / AP

NYON, SWITZERLAND—European soccer’s governing body upheld the decisions ruling out Man-chester United’s Darren Fletcher and Barcelona’s Eric Abidal and Dani Alves from the Champions League final.

UEFA’s disciplinary committee rejected both clubs’ appeals Mon-day to let the suspended players compete in the May 27 final in Rome.

UEFA said both teams missed deadlines to appeal within 24 hours of the games last week. But, UEFA added, even if the appeals were made on time they would have been rejected because there were no grounds for contesting the referees’ decisions.

Fletcher was sent off after tack-ling Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas in last Tuesday’s semifinal second leg. Fletcher connected with the ball first but his momentum brought down the Spaniard.

Abidal was ejected when Chel-sea’s Nicolas Anelka went down after a challenge last Wednesday, though TV replays suggested there was no contact.

Alves received a yellow card that triggered a ban because of past infractions.

BARCELONA, SPAIN—Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta believes he will overcome his right thigh muscle injury and play in the Champions League final against Manchester United.

Iniesta reportedly said after undergoing tests on Monday—his 25th birthday—that his injury

during Barcelona’s 3-3 draw the previous day with Villarreal was only “a small tear.”

Measuring the tear at 2 centi-meters (0.8 inches) in length, Barcelona would only say that “doctors will be working to get Iniesta fit for the final.”

The club had already said Ini-esta will miss Wednesday’s Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao.

Iniesta scored Barcelona’s late equalizer last Wednesday to earn Barcelona a 1-1 draw at Chelsea and passage into the Champions League final

Barcelona is expected to face defending champion United without suspended defenders Eric Abidal and Daniel Alves together with injured Rafael Mar-quez, while striker Thierry Henry is doubtful with a right knee injury.

— The Associated Press

UEFA rejects Barcelona, Manchester United appeals

Barcelona’s Andres Iniesta, right, is hopeful that a thigh injury won’t sideline him.

ANDRES KUDACKI / AP

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

NTRA 3YO Thoroughbred pollNEW YORK—The NTRA 3-Year-Old

Thoroughred Poll, ranking leading 3-year-old contenders. The Top 10, ranked on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 point scale, is based on the votes of thoroughbred racing media representatives with first place votes in parentheses, records through May 10, points and previous rank (Sex: C-colt, G-gelding, F-filly, M-mare):

S St 1-2-3 Pts Pvs1. Rachel Alexandra (17) F 4 4-0-0 188 12. Pioneerof the Nile C 3 3-0-0 143 23. Mine That Bird (2) G 3 1-1-0 142 34. Quality Road C 3 2-1-0 110 55. I Want Revenge C 3 2-0-1 108 46. Musket Man C 5 3-0-2 106 67. Papa Clem C 4 1-2-0 84 78. Friesan Fire C 4 3-0-0 48 99. Charitable Man C 2 1-0-0 29 —10. Chocolate Candy C 4 2-1-0 27 8

Other Horses Receiving Votes: General Quarters 12; Hull 11; Mr. Fantasy 9; Big Drama 8; Summer Bird 6; The Pamplemousse 5; Dunkirk 4; Join In The Dance 1; Justwhistledixie 1; Mythical Power 1; Square Eddie 1; Stardom Bound 1.

Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET, NBC (Post time: 6 p.m.)

PGA Tour scheduleJan. 8-11 — Mercedes-Benz Championship (Geoff Ogilvy)Jan. 15-18 — Sony Open in Hawaii (Zach Johnson)Jan. 21-25 — Bob Hope Chrysler Classic (Pat Perez)Jan. 29-Feb. 1 — FBR Open (Kenny Perry)Feb. 5-8 — Buick Invitational (Nick Watney)Feb. 12-15 — AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (Dustin Johnson)Feb. 19-22 — Northern Trust Open (Phil Mickelson)Feb. 25-March 1 — WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship (Geoff Ogilvy)Feb. 25-March 1 — Mayakoba Golf Classic (Mark Wilson)March 5-8 — The Honda Classic (Y.E. Yang)March 12-15 — WGC-CA Championship, (Phil Mickelson)March 12-15 — Puerto Rico Open (Michael Bradley)March 19-22 — Transitions Championship (Retief Goosen)March 26-29 — Arnold Palmer Invitational (Tiger Woods)April 2-5 — Shell Houston Open (Paul Casey)April 9-12 — The Masters (Angel Cabrera)April 16-19 — Verizon Heritage (Brian Gay)April 23-26 — Zurich Classic of New Orleans (Jerry Kelly)April 30-May 3 — Quail Hollow Championship (Sean O’Hair)May 7-10 — The Players Championship (Henrik Stenson)Thursday-Sunday — Valero Texas Open, La Cantera Golf Club (Resort Course), San AntonioMay 21-24 — HP Byron Nelson Championship, TPC Four Seasons Resort, Irving, TexasMay 28-31 — Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, Colonial CC, Fort Texas, TexasJune 4-7 — The Memorial Tournament, Muirfield Village GC, Dublin, OhioJune 11-14 — Stanford St. Jude Championship, TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tenn.June 18-21 U.S. Open, Bethpage State Park (Black Course), Farmingdale, N.Y.June 25-28 — Travelers Championship, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn.July 2-5 — AT&T National, Congressional CC (Blue Course), Bethesda, Md.July 9-12 — John Deere Classic, TPC Deere Run, Silvis, Ill.July 16-19 — The Open Championship, Turnberry (Ailsa Course), Turnberry, ScotlandJuly 16-19 — U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, Brown Deer Park GC, MilwaukeeJuly 23-26 — RBC Canadian Open, Glen Abbey GC, Oakville, OntarioJuly 30-Aug. 2 — Buick Open, Warwick Hills G and CC, Grand Blanc, Mich.Aug. 6-9 — WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Firestone CC, Akron, OhioAug. 6-9 — Legends Reno-Tahoe Open, Montreux G and CC, Reno, Nev.Aug. 13-16 — PGA Championship, Hazeltine National GC, Chaska, Minn.Aug. 20-23 — Wyndham Championship, Sedgefield CC, Greensboro, N.C.Aug. 27-30 — The Barclays, Liberty National GC, Jersey City, N.J.Sept. 4-7 — Deutsche Bank Championship, TPC Boston, Norton, Mass.Sept. 10-13 — BMW Championship, Cog Hill GC, Lemont, Ill.Sept. 24-27 — The Tour Championship, East Lake GC, AtlantaOct. 1-4 — Turning Stone Restort Chamnpionship, Atunyote GC at Turning Stone Resort, Verona, N.Y.Oct. 8-11 — The Presidents Cup, Harding Park GC, San FranciscoOct. 15-18 — Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, TPC Summerlin, Las VegasOct. 22-25 — Frys.com Open, Grayhawk GC, Scottlsdale, Ariz.Oct. 29-Nov. 1 — Viking Classic, Annandale GC, Madison, Miss.Nov. 12-15 — Children’s Miracle Network Classic, Walt Disney World Resort (Magnolia Course, Palm Course), Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Williams exits with knee injury

MADRID—Serena Williams pulled out of the Madrid Open on Monday after aggravating an injury to her right knee during a first-round match against Francesca Schiavone.

The second-seeded Williams retired after los-ing the first set 6-4. She declined to detail the extent of the problem, but said it would not keep her out of the upcoming French Open.

“It’s not going to stop me playing in Paris,” Williams said. “I didn’t want to risk my chances to play Roland Garros. I don’t know how seri-ous it is, but I don’t want it to get worse.”

Williams, who had difficulty bending her right knee, said she had made too many com-mitments with her schedule this year and was paying the price.

“I was just really hindered. My movement was hindered as a result of an injury I’ve been struggling with for some time,” Williams said.

Third-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia took a little over an hour to defeat Lourdes Dominguez Lino —the last Spanish woman left in the Open—6-3, 6-2.

In the men’s draw, No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France defeated former Wimbledon cham-pion Marat Safin of Russia 6-4, 7-5. Spain’s David Ferrer, seeded 12th, beat Guillermo Canas of Argentina 6-2, 6-2.

Tsonga said he was pleased with his attack-ing game but acknowledged he needed to improve to climb the rankings.

“I played good offensive tennis with some aggressive shots,” he said, adding that as a boy he rooted for Safin.

“He played some great matches at Roland Garros and was like an idol of mine. It was spe-cial to play against him.”

After struggling through two injury-plagued seasons, two-time Grand Slam champion Amelie Mauresmo of France continued her recent solid play, beating Ai Sugiyama of Japan in straight sets. The 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon champion beat the Japanese player 6-2, 6-4.

— The Associated Press

A right knee injury forced Serena Williams out of the Madrid Open.

DANIEL OCHOA DE OLZA / AP

ATP World Tour rankings1. Rafael Nadal, Spain, 153602. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 101703. Andy Murray, Scotland, 89904. Novak Djokovic, Serbia, 89205. Juan Martin del Potro, Argentina, 47206. Andy Roddick, United States, 40407. Gilles Simon, France, 40308. Fernando Verdasco, Spain, 39009. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, France, 345510. Gael Monfils, France, 331011. Nikolay Davydenko, Russia, 326512. Fernando Gonzalez, Chile, 294513. David Ferrer, Spain, 264514. Marin Cilic, Croatia, 263515. David Nalbandian, Argentina, 245516. James Blake, United States, 237017. Tommy Robredo, Spain, 235018. Stanislas Wawrinka, Switzerland, 213519. Radek Stepanek, Czech Republic, 209020. Marat Safin, Russia, 201521. Richard Gasquet, France, 193521. Tomas Berdych, Czech Republic, 193523. Robin Soderling, Sweden, 188024. Dmitry Tursunov, Russia, 184025. Ivo Karlovic, Croatia, 177026. Mardy Fish, United States, 176027. Jurgen Melzer, Austria, 173528. Albert Montanes, Spain, 172429. Nicolas Kiefer, Germany, 169029. Igor Andreev, Russia, 169031. Rainer Schuettler, Germany, 163532. Feliciano Lopez, Spain, 162033. Victor Hanescu, Romania, 155634. Nicolas Almagro, Spain, 151535. Philipp Kohlschreiber, Germany, 151036. Andreas Seppi, Italy, 149036. Paul-Henri Mathieu, France, 149038. Mario Ancic, Croatia, 147539. Igor Kunitsyn, Russia, 146840. Jeremy Chardy, France, 146141. Viktor Troicki, Serbia, 145742. Ernests Gulbis, Latvia, 137043. Fabrice Santoro, France, 128744. Jose Acasuso, Argentina, 127045. Julien Benneteau, France, 126546. Jarkko Nieminen, Finland, 125047. Juan Monaco, Argentina, 124048. Carlos Moya, Spain, 122549. Martin Vassallo Arguello, Argentina, 120950. Marc Gicquel, France, 1203

WTA World Tour rankings1. Dinara Safina, Russia, 9,011 points2. Serena Williams, United States, 8,0533. Venus Williams, United States, 7,4524. Jelena Jankovic, Serbia, 7,3305. Elena Dementieva, Russia, 6,9916. Vera Zvonareva, Russia, 5,8907. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia, 5,2068. Ana Ivanovic, Serbia, 4,8949. Victoria Azarenka, Belarus, 4,50610. Nadia Petrova, Russia, 3,84011. Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark, 3,79012. Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland, 3,68613. Marion Bartoli, France, 3,30414. Flavia Pennetta, Italy, 3,21015. Alize Cornet, France, 2,66516. Zheng Jie, China, 2,60917. Anabel Medina Garrigues, Spain, 2,50518. Dominika Cibulkova, Slovakia, 2,41519. Kaia Kanepi, Estonia, 2,41020. Patty Schnyder, Switzerland, 2,37721. Amelie Mauresmo, France, 221622. Anna Chakvetadze, Russia, 205623. Carla Suarez Navarro, Spain, 197124. Katarina Srebotnik, Slovenia, 187425. Aleksandra Wozniak, Canada, 181426. Alisa Kleybanova, Russia, 181027. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russia, 175728. Li Na, China, 175629. Sybille Bammer, Austria, 171430. Iveta Benesova, Czech Republic, 168731. Samantha Stosur, Australia, 163832. Shuai Peng, China, 157633. Ai Sugiyama, Japan, 155634. Virginie Razzano, France, 155335. Ekaterina Makarova, Russia, 154636. Sara Errani, Italy, 148837. Sabine Lisicki, Germany, 147538. Agnes Szavay, Hungary, 146939. Daniela Hantuchova, Slovakia, 146440. Sorana Cirstea, Romania, 145141. Maria Kirilenko, Russia, 143842. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, Spain, 143243. Gisela Dulko, Argentina, 141444. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, United States, 135145. Francesca Schiavone, Italy, 134646. Alona Bondarenko, Ukraine, 129047. Tszvetana Pironkova, Bulgaria, 124948. Tamarine Tanasugarn, Thailand, 123649. Petra Kvitova, Czech Republic, 122650. Lucie Safarova, Czech Republic, 1224

Mutua MadrilenaMasters/Open resultsAt Recinto Ferial Casa de Campo, MadridPurse: Men, $5.04 million (WT1000); Women, $4.5 million (Premier)Surface: Clay-OutdoorSinglesMen, First RoundMardy Fish, United States, def. Janko Tipsarevic, Serbia, 7-6 (3), 6-4.Florent Serra, France, def. Rainer Schuettler, Germany, 6-2, 6-4.Oscar Hernandez, Spain, def. Martin Vassallo Arguello, Argentina, 6-3, 6-3.David Ferrer (12), Spain, def. Guillermo Canas, Argentina, 6-2, 6-2.Ivan Ljubicic, Croatia, def. Teimuraz Gabashvili, Russia, 6-3, 6-2.Robin Soderling, Sweden, def. Ivan Navarro, Spain, 6-4, 6-2.Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (9), France, def. Marat Safin, Russia, 6-4, 7-5.Simone Bolelli, Italy, def. Juan Ignacio Chela, Argentina, 7-5, 7-6 (3).Tommy Haas, Germany, def. Ernests Gulbis, Latvia, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5.Stanislas Wawrinka (11), Switzerland, def. Marco Crugnola, Italy, 6-2, 6-0.Philipp Kohlschreiber, Germany, def. Nicolas Almagro, Spain, 6-3, 6-4.Juan Monaco, Argentina, def. Feliciano Lopez, Spain, 6-4, 7-5.

Women, First RoundRoberta Vinci, Italy, def. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, Spain, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.Varvara Lepchenko, United States, def. Magdalena Rybarikova, Slovakia, 7-6 (12), 5-7, 6-1.Peng Shuai, China, def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russia, 6-1, 7-6 (2).Daniela Hantuchova, Slovakia, def. Gisela Dulko, Argentina, 7-6 (7), 6-1.Amelie Mauresmo, France, def. Ai Sugiyama, Japan, 6-2, 6-4.Francesca Schiavone, Italy, def. Serena Williams (2), United States, 6-4 retired.Caroline Wozniacki (9), Denmark, def. Shahar Peer, Israel, 5-4 retired.Second RoundElena Vesnina, Russia, def. Virginie Razzano, France, 7-5, 6-3.Nadia Petrova (8), Russia, def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Germany, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5).Patty Schnyder, Switzerland, def. Aleksandra Wozniak, Canada, 6-2, 6-4.Anna Chakvetadze, Russia, def. Samantha Stosur, Australia, 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4).Elena Dementieva (3), Russia, def. Lourdes Dominguez Lino, Spain, 6-3, 6-2.

DoublesMen, First RoundFrantisek Cermak, Czech Republic, and Michal Mertinak, Slovakia, def. Julian Knowle and Jurgen Melzer, Austria, 6-2, 7-5.Stephen Huss, Australia, and Ross Hutchins, Britain, def. Pablo Andujar and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Spain, 4-6, 7-5, 10-7 tiebreak.Women, First RoundAlla Kudryavtseva and Ekaterina Makarova, Russia, def. Sorana Cirstea, Romania, and Vladimira Uhlirova, Czech Republic, 2-6, 7-6 (2), 10-3 tiebreak.Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko, Ukraine, def. Akgul Amanmuradova, Uzbekistan, and Tamarine Tanasugarn, Thailand, 3-6, 6-1, 10-6 tiebreak.Hsieh Su-wei, Taiwan, and Janette Husarova, Slovakia, def. Maria Kirilenko, Russia, and Flavia Pennetta (6), Italy, 4-3 retired.Vania King, United States, and Monica Niculescu, Romania, def. Vera Dushevina, Russia, and Galina Voskoboeva, Kazakhstan, 6-3, 7-5.Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (5), Spain, def. Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears, United States, 7-6 (5), 6-2.Daniela Hantuchova, Slovakia, and Ai Sugiyama (7), Japan, def. Nathalie Dechy, France, and Mara Santangelo, Italy, 6-4, 6-3.Bethanie Mattek-Sands, United States, and Nadia Petrova, Russia, def. Alisa Kleybanova, Russia, and Peng Shuai, China, 6-4, 6-1.Victoria Azarenka, Belarus, and Elena Vesnina, Russia, def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Germany, and Patty Schnyder (8), Switzerland, 6-2, 7-6 (3).

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 37Golf / Tennis

Reinbold team deals with nightmare at Indy

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 38Back Page

INDIANAPOLIS—IndyCar team co-owner Dennis Reinbold walked from pit row to the garage, rubbing his aching head after the first week-end of Indianapolis 500 qualifying.

No wonder, after this washout.Reinbold came to Indy with four

drivers, but just one has qualified—in the last of 22 spots claimed so far—another wound up in the hospital and a third had a dangerously close call.

So instead of spending this week tuning up for race day, the Dreyer & Reinbold team will go back to work repairing cars, revising schedules and figuring out solutions.

“It’s not a scramble, but we had some other things we’d rather be working on,” Reinbold said Sunday night.

Reinbold forged a partnership with seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty to put John Andretti in the cockpit, found enough sponsor-ship to add the popular Milka Duno and sentimental favorite Davey Hamilton to his lineup and still man-aged to keep his full-time driver, 25-year-old rookie Mike Conway.

But with only one of his four cars claiming a spot among the top 22, Reinbold’s team has real problems.

It has to rebuild the damaged No. 24 car of England’s Conway, who crashed hard into the wall just minutes into Sunday morning’s practice. Conway was taken to a local hospital with bruised lungs and a mild concussion. He was released from the hospital Monday but won’t be cleared to drive before Friday. That could force the team to consider finding a replacement.

The team must also repair Andretti’s No. 43 car after he spun in the first turn, crashed hard into the SAFER barrier and then slid

down the track and almost into the path of the oncoming Graham Rahal during the afternoon. Rahal avoided contact by diving hard inside, spinning his own No. 02 car before rolling safely to a stop with 75 minutes left in the session.

LPGALYTHAM ST. ANNES, ENGLAND—Hawaii

golfer Michelle Wie will play at the Women’s British Open this summer.

The LPGA Tour rookie confirmed Monday she will be in the field at Royal Lytham on July 30-Aug. 2.

The 19-year-old Wie finished third at the Women’s British Open in 2005.

CyclingVALDOBBIADENE, ITALY—Lance Arm-

strong moved up to fifth place in the Giro d’Italia. His first real test comes with Tuesday’s uphill fin-ish, and the seven-time Tour de France winner isn’t quite sure what to expect.

Riding the Giro for the first time, Armstrong has never seen the nearly 8.5-mile climb to San Mar-tino di Castrozza, but he asked top favorite Ivan Basso about it.

“(Basso) expects 10 to 20 guys to

be together, then the next day is steeper,” Armstrong said. “Tomor-row’s not that steep. If, like Ivan said, there are close to 20 guys, I would think I might be there. Down to five or six guys, I wouldn’t be there right now.”

— The Associated Press

IN BRIEF

Major League SoccerEASTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts GF GAD.C. 3 1 5 14 15 13Toronto FC 3 2 4 13 13 13Chicago 2 0 6 12 14 11Kansas City 3 4 2 11 12 12New England 2 2 3 9 6 12New York 2 5 2 8 9 11Columbus 1 2 5 8 11 14

WESTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts GF GAChivas USA 7 1 1 22 12 3Seattle 4 2 2 14 11 5Colorado 3 2 2 11 10 8Houston 3 2 2 11 7 5Real Salt Lake 3 4 1 10 14 11Los Angeles 1 1 6 9 10 10San Jose 1 5 2 5 8 16FC Dallas 1 6 1 4 7 15NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie.

All Times ET

Sunday’s GamesSeattle 1, Los Angeles 1, tieSaturday’s GamesChicago at Toronto FC, 4 p.m.Colorado at New England, 7:30 p.m.Houston at New York, 7:30 p.m.

Seattle FC at Seattle FC, 8:30 p.m.Kansas City at Real Salt Lake, 9 p.m.D.C. United at Chivas USA, 9 p.m.May 17Columbus at Los Angeles, 3 p.m.

Baseball America Top 25 pollDURHAM, N.C.—The top 25 teams in the Baseball

America poll with records through May 10 and

previous ranking (voting by the staff of Baseball

America):

Record Pvs

1. UC Irvine 37-11 1

2. Louisiana State 38-13 3

3. Arizona State 38-11 5

4. Rice 33-13 2

5. Cal State Fullerton 36-13 6

6. Texas 36-12 8

7. Georgia Tech 33-12 9

8. North Carolina 38-13 4

9. Mississippi 37-15 7

10. Virginia 37-10 13

11. Kansas State 38-13 10

12. Alabama 35-15 21

13. Florida 35-17 11

14. Texas Christian 31-14 15

15. Oklahoma 37-16 18

16. Texas A&M 33-18 14

17. Florida State 36-14 16

18. Cal Poly 33-15 12

19. Clemson 34-17 20

20. East Carolina 37-15 24

21. Minnesota 33-14 NR

22. Elon 36-14 NR

23. Louisville 36-14 NR

24. Miami 32-18 19

25. Missouri 30-23 NR

Collegiate Baseball pollTUCSON, ARIZ.—The Collegiate Baseball poll with

records through May 10, points and previous

ranking. Voting is done by coaches, sports writers

and sports information directors:

Record Pts Pvs

1. U.C. Irvine 37-11 492 1

2. Louisiana St. 38-14 485 3

3. Arizona St. 38-11 483 4

4. North Carolina 38-13 482 2

5. Cal. St. Fullerton 36-13 480 5

6. Texas 36-12-1 477 8

7. Florida St. 36-14 475 6

8. Georgia Tech. 33-12-1 474 10

9. Rice 33-13 472 7

10. Alabama 35-15 469 23

11. Florida 35-17 467 9

12. Virginia 37-10-1 466 11

13. Mississippi 37-15 463 12

14. Missouri 30-23 459 —

15. Georgia 34-17 457 14

16. Arkansas 31-17 453 13

17. Clemson 34-17 450 19

18. Kansas St. 38-13-1 448 17

19. Texas A&M 33-18 447 15

20. Oklahoma 37-16 446 21

21. Miami, Fla. 32-18 444 20

22. Cal Poly 33-15 441 16

23. Texas Christian 31-14 440 22

24. Minnesota 33-14 438 —

25. Texas St. 37-12 436 —

26. Indiana St. 33-14 433 —

27. South Florida 31-19 431 28

28. Louisville 36-14 430 —

29. George Mason 38-9 429 29

30. East Carolina 37-15 427 30

BASEBALLAmerican LeagueCHICAGO WHITE SOX: Purchased the contract of LHP Jimmy Gobble from Charlotte (IL). Optioned RHP Jose Contreras to Charlotte.CLEVELAND INDIANS: Agreed to terms with RHP Blaine Neal on a minor league contract and assigned him to Columbus (IL).National LeagueHOUSTON ASTROS: Optioned C J.R. Towles to Round Rock (PCL).SAN DIEGO PADRES: Recalled OF Drew Macias from Portland (PCL). Optioned LHP Arturo Lopez to Portland.American AssociationGRAND PRAIRIE AIRHOGS: Signed C Cody Merrell. Traded RHP Jeff Jamnik to Sioux City for a player to be named. Traded OF Drew Holder to the Laredo (UL) for a player to be named. Released LHP Justin Garcia and OF Chris Petrie.FORT WORTH CATS: Released INF Jason Diaz and C Kent Wright.LINCOLN SALTDOGS: Released RHP Ryan Trytten.PENSACOLA PELICANS: Signed INF Dallas Christison and OF Adam Deleo.ST. PAUL SAINTS: Signed C Chris Herbert. Released C Tommy Bryant.SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER CAPTAINS: Signed RHP BJ Litchfield. Traded RHP Matt Clayman to Edinburg (UL) for future considerations.SIOUX CITY EXPLORERS: Signed INF Derek Schermerhorn. Released LHP Tim Huber.WICHITA WINGNUTS: Signed INF Pat Brooks.Can-Am LeagueAMERICAN DEFENDERS: Signed LHP Mark Romanczuk.BROCKTON ROX: Released RHP Greg Bunn.BASKETBALLNational Basketball AssociationGOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: Announced executive vice presi-dent of basketball operations Chris Mullin’s contract won’t be renewed. Named Larry Riley general manager.PHILADELPHIA 76ERS: Announced interim coach Tony DiLeo withdrew his name from consideration as coach for the 2009-10 season and will return to his previous position as senior vice president and assistant general manager.TORONTO RAPTORS: Signed coach Jay Triano to a three-year contract.Women’s National Basketball AssociationMINNESOTA LYNX: Signed F Kamesha Hairston and C Aisha Mohammed.WASHINGTON MYSTICS: Released G Coco Miller.FOOTBALLNational Football LeagueCHICAGO BEARS: Agreed to terms with TE Michael Gaines on a one-year contract.NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: Signed WR Terrence Nunn.NEW ORLEANS SAINTS: Signed OL Michael Brown, OL Shawn Flanagan, DT Earl Heyman and WR Matthew Simon.GYMNASTICSUSA GYMNASTICS: Named Samantha Kilgore manager of media relations.HOCKEYNational Hockey LeagueNHL: Fined Carolina F Scott Walker $2,500 for throwing a punch that knocked Boston D Aaron Ward to the ice during a May 10 game at Boston.

BUFFALO SABRES: Signed D Tyler Myers to a three-year contract.COLORADO AVALANCHE: Signed D Cameron Gaunce and G Trevor Cann.TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING: Promoted Rich Tocchet from interim coach to head coach and signed him to a multiyear contract.American Hockey LeagueSYRACUSE CRUNCH: Announced Columbus (NHL) re-signed coach Ross Yates and assistant coach Trent Cull.International Hockey LeagueMUSKEGON LUMBERJACKS: Announced the resignation of coach Bruce Ramsay.LACROSSEMajor League LacrosseBOSTON CANNONS: Placed M JJ Morrissey on waivers.CHICAGO MACHINE: Placed G Christopher Bluse, M Brian Clayton, M Matt Dasinger, M Patrick Hogan, A Towbey Kassa, M Christopher Keating, A Nicholas Marks, M Nicholas Schimdt and M Doug Shanahan on waivers.DENVER OUTLAWS: Traded M Geoff Snider to Toronto for a 2010 third-round collegiate draft pick. Placed A Nick Carlson, M Brett Hamilton-Koll, D Brett Moyer, A Jonathan Paulson, D Alexander Pritzlaff, M Jason Rostan, D Matthew Scanlon, M Peter Striebel and M Michael Unterstein on waivers.LONG ISLAND LIZARDS: Placed A Derek Cherney, M Josh Cit-tadino, M James Ireland, M Brian Jacovina, G Kevin Keenan, D Ricky Smith and M Robert Trasolini on waivers.TORONTO NATIONALS: Placed A John Grant, D Dan Cocoziello, M Dan Brennan, D Ryan Cousins, M Will Dalton, M Shawn Evans, D Kyle Point, M Jeff Shattler, D Joe Smith, A Daryl Veltman, A Andrew Watt and D Taylor Wray on waivers.WASHINGTON BAYHAWKS: Placed M Devon Britts, M Ryan Cranston, D Sean Dougherty, M Joshua Funk, D Kyle Hartzell, G Joey Kemp, M Brekan Kohlitz, A Michael Phipps and D Thomas Zichelli on waivers.TENNISINTERNATIONAL TENNIS FEDERATION: Suspended Richard Gasquet until his hearing for testing positive for cocaine at the Sony Ericsson Open.COLLEGEDELAWARE: Named Bernard Muir director of athletics and recreation services.JAMES MADISON: Named Rachel Chupein women’s assistant soccer coach.LYON: Announced the resignation of athletic director and baseball coach Kirk Kelley, to become baseball coach at Oklahoma Wesleyan. Named Kevin Jenkins interim athletic director and Tony Roepcke baseball coach.MINNESOTA STATE-MANKATO: Named Eric Meams women’s ice hockey coach.MISSISSIPPI STATE: Announced junior men’s basketball C Jarvis Varnado withdrew his name for the NBA draft.PHILADELPHIA: Announced the resignation of baseball coach Mark Heineman.TEXAS: Announced F-C Alexis Wangmene was granted a medical hardship waiver from the Big 12 Conference for the 2008-09 season and will be a redshirt sophomore for the 2009-10 season.VIRGINIA: Named Mike Curtis strength and conditioning coach for the men’s basketball program.VIRGINIA TECH: Announced sophomore men’s basketball G Hank Thorns will transfer.

TRANSACTIONS

STEVE METZ / AP

Dreyer & Reinbold team member Mike Conwayspent Sunday in the hospital after this crash.