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NBA PLAYOFFS NHL PLAYOFFS
SN’s top young guns
Lakers, Magic advance Rose, Mason are our
A look ahead to the Conference finals: picks for NBA, NHL
WESTERN CONFERENCE rookies of the year, Page 2
Denver vs. L.A. Lakers: It looks like
Game 7 finally woke up the Lakers.
Prediction: Lakers in 6.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Orlando vs. Cleveland: Orlando won by
29 in April, but the Cavs are rolling now.
MONDAY
ELISE AMENDOLA / AP Prediction: Cavaliers in 6.
— Sean Deveney MAY 18, 2009 CARLOS OSORIO / AP
Dwight Howard and Orlando SEE A DIFFERENT GAME
bounced Boston. Page 6 NBA coverage, Pages 6-8 Johan Franzen and Detroit fell behind
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 300
1-0, then surged to a 5-2 win. Page 9

Scoreboard Focus, effort fuel

NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference semifinals
Orlando 101, Boston 82
(Orlando wins series 4-3)
Western Conference semifinals
L.A. Lakers 89, Houston 70
(Lakers win series 4-3)
NHL Playoffs
Western Conference finals
Detroit 5, Chicago 2
(Detroit leads series 1-0)
Baseball
American League
N.Y. Yankees 3, Minnesota 2, 10 innings
Detroit 11, Oakland 7
Toronto 8, Chicago White Sox 2
Tampa Bay 7, Cleveland 5
Texas 3, L.A. Angels 0
Kansas City 7, Baltimore 4
Seattle 3, Boston 2
National League
L.A. Dodgers 12, Florida 5
Pittsburgh 11, Colorado 4
Philadelphia 8, Washington 6
Milwaukee 8, St. Louis 2
Houston 6, Chicago Cubs 5
San Diego 3, Cincinnati 1
San Francisco 2, N.Y. Mets 0
Arizona at Atlanta, ppd., rain
BASEBALL: THE WEEK AHEAD
Interleague interruption
Attention: The baseball season
you’ve grown used to is about to be
interrupted. Interleague play begins
Friday.
After this week,
teams return to
playing inside their
leagues until June
12-28 when inter-
league runs its
course for 2009.
Stan McNeal Excuse the players
BASEBALL for not counting the
days to step outside
the norm.
“It’s good for the fans,” Brewers
shortstop J.J. Hardy said. “For the
players, I don’t think it matters
much.”
Except, perhaps, for those in L.A.,
Chicago, New York and the Bay
Area.
“The city-city thing is crazy,” said
Milwaukee’s Mike Cameron, who has
experienced it in Chicago and New
York. “But it’s a little overboard hav-
ing to play home-and-home against
some of these so-called rivals.”
This week’s only city-city series is
Johan Santana won’t be the only ace taking the hill during the Mets’ Friday matchup with Boston.
Angels at Dodgers, but intrastate
series will be played in Florida, Mis-
souri, Ohio and Texas.
Three other things to watch:
A.L. superiority
American League clubs should
welcome this week as a chance to fat-
ten their records. Since 2004, 12 A.L.
Potential World Series
previews highlight week
GEORGE NIKITIN / AP
teams (all except Orioles, Blue Jays)
have winning marks against the N.L.
Only the Cardinals, Rockies and Brew-
ers are over .500 among N.L. clubs.
The Red Sox, Tigers and Twins
(60-30) have the best interleague
records since ’04. The worst: Pirates
(21-48), Padres (31-53) and Dodgers
(30-51).
World Series previews?
Three series with the best chance
of an October encore:
Mets at Red Sox. Johan Santana and
Josh Beckett are in line to start Friday
night. The teams haven’t met since
Boston swept three at Fenway in ’06.
Angels at Dodgers. The Dodgers
won’t have Manny Ramirez, of
course, but the Angels could welcome
back their slugger, Vlad Guerrero, by
Sunday.
Phillies at Yankees. The champions
will see new Yankee Stadium before
many A.L. clubs. The Phillies also
will see New York’s top three start-
ers—CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and
Andy Pettitte.
Pre-weekend highlights
Before the interleague disruption,
two divisional showdowns begin
Tuesday. The suddenly-struggling
Cardinals play host to the Cubs with
Chris Carpenter likely to return
Wednesday. Boston will miss Roy
Halladay when first-place Toronto
visits Fenway.
smcneal@sportingnews.com
conference finals
It’ll be tough to top a second
round that produced three Game
7s, but the magnitude of hockey’s
conference finals, which kicked off
Sunday with Detroit’s 5-2 win over
Chicago, certainly helps.
Here’s what to expect:
WESTERN CONFERENCE
After a slow start, the Red Wings
dominated the Blackhawks to
take an early 1-0 series lead. If
the Red Wings continue to shut
down Chicago stars Patrick Kane
and Jonathan Toews, it will be a
quick exit for Chicago. “It’s only
one game,” Kane said. “Obviously
we didn’t put in a good 60-minute
effort.”
Wings school ’Hawks, Page 9
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Carolina at Pittsburgh
7:30 ET tonight, Versus
Game 1 between the Penguins
and Hurricanes is tonight, and both
teams are coming off emotional
Game 7 wins. The first team to
refocus will have the early edge.
“It’s a chance to go to the Stanley
Cup finals,” Sidney Crosby said. “If
you can’t be motivated because of
that, you’ve got problems.”
— Craig Custance
Pens-’Canes preview, Page 11
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Tune In Today
A quick look at the best sports on TV
— all times Eastern
BASEBALL
Twins at Yankees
7 p.m., ESPN
If the Yankees are to sweep this four-game
series with a victory tonight, don’t be surprised
if it comes in walk-off fashion. The Yankees
got a game-ending two-run single by Melky
Cabrera on Friday, and then home runs by Alex
Rodriguez and Johnny Damon the next two
games to put away the Twins. A-Rod hasn’t had
a multihit game since his return from the DL, but
he does have three homers, including two in the
last two days.
HOCKEY
Hurricanes at Penguins
7:30 p.m., Versus
Seems like an overwhelming number of
prognosticators are picking the Penguins to
get back to the Stanley Cup finals, but it’s sur-
prising there’s not more dissension in the vote.
After all, the Hurricanes won the Cup in 2006
and knocked off the Devils and Bruins to get
here. We all were treated to a magnificent show
between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin in
the previous round, but we’ll get just as much
enjoyment with Carolina’s Eric Staal going up
against Crosby.
GENERAL
The Haney Project
10 p.m., Golf Channel
Throughout this series, we’ve seen Charles
Barkley be ridiculed by friends as he tries to
improve what just might be the world’s worst
golf swing. And now as the completion of this
show nears, it’s time to see just how far Barkley
has come in eliminating the unsightly hitch
that makes Ben Hogan turn in his grave. Will
renowned instructor Hank Haney be successful
in keeping Barkley’s head still? Or is Barkley’s
case just too far gone?
— Compiled by Roger Kuznia
See a Different Game
OFF THE FIELD
Gallery to organize
benefit for police
Raiders left guard Robert Gallery is putting
together a car cruise to benefit the families of
four Oakland police officers shot and killed
in the line of duty March 21.
“When that happened, that was kind of a
no-brainer for me, the tragedy of those cops
getting killed,” said Gallery, who met fallen
officer Mark Dunakin when he worked Raiders
games. “I think we can easily raise a few
thousand bucks and anything more than that
would be awesome.”
The event is scheduled for June 6.
Quick hits
When the Super Bowl 43-champion
Pittsburgh Steelers visit the White House
and president Barack Obama Thursday, LB
James Harrison will be at home. ”This is how I
feel—if you want to see the Pittsburgh Steel-
ers, invite us when we don’t win the Super
Bowl. As far as I’m concerned, he (Obama)
would’ve invited Arizona if they had won,”
said Harrison. Harrison, the 2008 NFL
Defensive Player of the Year, also skipped the
Steelers’ visit to the White House in 2006 fol-
lowing their victory in Super Bowl 40.
Nike plans to cut 1,750 jobs in the com-
ing weeks in its worldwide operations,
about 5 percent of its work force, The Wall
Street Journal reported. About 500 jobs will
be lost at the company’s headquarters in
Beaverton, Ore.
Federal authorities have taken the first
step toward a possible full-blown investiga-
tion into why the Cowboys’ practice facility
collapsed, The Dallas Morning News reported.
The National Institute of Standards & Tech-
nology sent “a reconnaissance team of struc-
tural engineers” to Irving last week to gather
information about and examine the site of the
collapse.
— Compiled by Bill Marx, with wire reports
SN’s 2008-09 AWARDS
Throughout the week, we’ll unveil our NBA and NHL award
winners. The full package can be found in the new issue of Sporting
News Magazine.
Derrick Rose won our rookie of the year award by a 142-vote margin, as well as props from Chris Paul.
NBA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Derrick Rose
PG, Bulls
Bulls point guard Derrick Rose, the
No. 1 overall pick from last year’s
draft, has been selected by his peers
as Sporting News’ 2009 NBA rookie of
the year.
The voting was done by 231 NBA
players. Rose won the award by a wide
margin—he received 166 votes, while
Memphis’ O.J. Mayo was second with
24.
NAM Y. HUH / AP
Rose averaged 16.8 points, 6.3 assists
and 3.9 rebounds in helping lead the
Bulls to the playoffs. His assists were
the most of this year’s rookies, and he
was second among rookies in scoring.
“I have heard people compare him to
me, and honestly, I am flattered,”
Hornets point guard Chris Paul said.
“His speed is just incredible. I wish I
was that fast. But he’s got the whole
package. He knows how to score, he
knows how to get his teammates
involved, he knows how to run a game.”
MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 2
JAY LAPRETE / AP
Steve Mason posted an NHL-leading 10 shutouts.
NHL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Steve Mason
G, Blue Jackets
Columbus goaltender Steve Mason,
who posted an NHL-high 10 shutouts,
has been named rookie of the year by
Sporting News.
The voting was conducted by 292
NHL players. Mason outdistanced
high-scoring forwards Bobby Ryan
(Anaheim) and Kris Versteeg (Chicago).
Mason, considered by many the
reason the Blue Jackets qualified for the
first postseason appearance in fran-
chise history, ranked second in the
league with a 2.29 goals-against
average.
“He’s been unbelievable. He definitely
deserves the rookie of the year,” team-
mate Rick Nash said. “He’s been our
most valuable player. It’s honestly the
truth: Every single game we’ve won he’s
made two or three spectacular saves.”
Awards schedule
Coming this week in Sporting News
Today:
Today: NBA, NHL rookies of the year
Tuesday: NBA, NHL coaches of the
year
Wednesday: NBA, NHL executives
of the year
Thursday: NBA, NHL players of the
year
Friday: NBA, NHL all-star teams
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com My Profile

Terry Bradshaw
Hall of Fame quarterback (What you won’t find on Facebook … even if you are approved as a friend)

Born: Sept. 2, 1948, in Shreveport, La.

Alma mater: Louisiana Tech
What’s in my iPod: Gospel—Gaither Vocal Band
What I drive: Black Chevy Tahoe
Favorite flicks: I Love You Again with William Powell, The
Philadelphia Story with Cary Grant, Sergeant York with
Gary Cooper
Magazine subscriptions: American Quarter Horse Journal,
The Chronicle of the Horse
Bookmarks: Foxsports.com, Sportspages.com, Sport-
ingNews.com
Superstition: I hate odd years and numbers.
Worst habit: Smoking cigars. Is hating to fold clothes a
habit? I hate it.
On my office walls: Pictures of family, picture of Joe
Namath, Mr. (Art) Rooney autographed pic
Love to trade places for a day with … Billy Graham. Would love
to be a preacher.
First job: I mowed yards for 75 cents and sold Christmas
cards.
Talent I’d most like to have: Sing or preach
Favorite meal: Pork chops and rice
Favorite athlete to watch in another sport: Tiger Woods
Favorite city to visit: Kona, Hawaii
Favorite team as a kid: Milwaukee Braves
Favorite value in others: Honesty
Favorite physical attribute about myself: Kick-(butt) abs … joking.
Dimple in chin.
And least … Gut
Dream date: Robin Meade, CNN
My greatest love: Raising horses to show
My hero: I adore my father.
My bucket list: 1. Raise a world champion horse, 2. Visit Rome,
3. Visit Paris, 4. Be a better person
My motto: Be nice to people.
— Jeff D’Alessio

FOX PHOTO
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
RECRUITING DISH
No favorites yet for
THE WORLD’S FIRST DIGITAL
DAILY SPORTS NEWSPAPER
coveted OT Benedict
Brent Benedict could wallpaper
CHAIRMAN & CEO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ray Shaw his room with scholarship offers
PRESIDENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Whitney Shaw from some of the greatest college
PUBLISHER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ed Baker football programs of all time. You
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jeff D’Alessio name it, they’ve offered: Alabama,
MANAGING EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Paul Kasko Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Mich-
CREATIVE DIRECTOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Keith Wood igan, Notre Dame, USC, Virginia
VP, GENERAL MANAGER, ONLINE . . . . . Jeff Gerttula Tech ... and the list doesn’t come
VP, INTEGRATED MARKETING & SALES .Stuart Marvin close to stopping there.
DIRECTOR, DIGITAL MEDIA. . . . . . . . . . . . Geoff Shaw Not too shabby for a big ol’
VP, MARKETING & SALES DEVELOPMENT . .Eric Karp offensive tackle who was living
quietly in the upstate of South
EDITORIAL OFFICES Carolina only a few years ago.
120 West Morehead Street, Suite 200 He told Sporting News Today
Charlotte, NC 28202 that he’d like to trim his list to
704-973-1550 roughly five schools or less this
1-800-443-1886 summer after he finishes spring
practice. All teams are equal at
Letters to the editor: this point, he said.
yourturn@sportingnews.com A couple of things happened
since those years in South Caro-
General feedback:
editors@sportingnews.com lina. Benedict and his family
moved Jacksonville, Fla., where
National Digital Sales Managers he began attending The Bolles
Joey Glowacki, 704-973-1856 School. He has developed into a
jglowacki@sportingnews.com 6-5, 285-pounder and received
Gary Strauss, 212-500-0672 some of the finest high school
gstrauss@sportingnews.com coaching in Florida.
“I think I have worked hard and
ON NEWSSTANDS NOW I’ve had the coaching in this pro-
gram to develop myself,” Benedict
told SN Today. “I’m pretty well-
rounded as a player and as a per-
son in general. A lot of coaches
have told me that, that I’m the com-
plete package, that I’m not going to
be in trouble off the field. That’s
one of my selling points.
“I’m a straightforward guy who
is looking forward to going to
school somewhere, and then I’ll
get out there and play a little foot-
ball on the weekends.”
What’s your state’s best sports rivalry? Benedict is ranked No. 73 in
Find out if your opinion matches ours in the Sporting News 100, a pre-
the new issue of SN Magazine. season list of the nation’s top high
Next Gen
What if the last 75,000 miles never happened
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school recruits for 2010.
“I feel it’s a great honor,” he
said. “It’s something I’m very for-
tunate to have, and I appreciate
the people who have ranked me
in the top 100. It’s a responsibil-
ity, I think, something I need to
live up to. It’s a responsibility as
much as an honor.”
Benedict’s older brother, Heath
Benedict, died from an enlarged
heart in March 2008, just weeks
before the NFL draft, where he
was projected to be a mid-round
draft pick. Heath Benedict signed
with Tennessee out of high school
and eventually transferred to
Division II Newberry. He played
in the Senior Bowl in 2008.
Basketball: Dripping Springs
(Texas) PF Daniel Alexander (6-8)
has committed to Texas A&M,
Rivals.com reported. A member
of the class of 2010, Alexander
also reported a scholarship offer
from Oklahoma.
“It just felt right,” he told Rivals.
com. “The coaching staff has
been recruiting me really hard.
Some of the players, I’m already
close with. The distance from
home is close enough to where
my family can come and see me
and far enough where my mother
can’t come and check my room.”
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registered trademark of The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing Inc. Trademarks granted by license from Penske Racing South, Inc.
South Side (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
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accepted a verbal scholarship offer with Mobil 1 High Mileage, the oil that outperforms all conventional oils. It not only reduces sludge and other
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his freshman season, won’t be
able to sign a letter of intent until
the fall of 2011.
— Brian McLaughlin
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com Overnight Report MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 5

San Francisco 2, N.Y. Mets 0

BASEBALL / NATIONAL LEAGUE
If you deliver
Cain, defense help Giants finally beat Mets Giants 2, Mets 0
New York
Cora ss
AB
2
R
0
H
1
BI
0
BB
0
SO
0
Avg.
.333
it daily, they
SAN FRANCISCO—Matt Cain
didn’t have to be perfect to
slow down the mighty Mets.
2006. The right-hander also
pitched six shutout innings in
his last win, May 7 at
Tatis ss
Castillo 2b
Beltran cf
Sheffield rf
D.Wright 3b
2
2
3
4
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
2
0
0
0
2
1
.308
.291
.378
.254
.352
will come.
His defense sure did. Colorado. Dan.Murphy lf 2 0 0 0 1 0 .271
b-Pagan ph-lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Cain stymied the Mets and “He did everything today,” Santos c 3 0 1 0 1 0 .264
singled in a run to help his first baseman Travis Ishikawa Reed 1b 4 0 1 0 0 1 .357
Pelfrey p 1 0 0 0 1 0 .077
cause, and the San Francisco said. “No. 1 was his pitching a-Church ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .263
Giants ended an eight-game and keeping us in the game.” Takahashi p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
S.Green p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
losing streak to New York with Pelfrey walked Cain to start c-R.Castro ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .274
a 2-0 victory Sunday night. the third for the Mets’ first free Totals 28 0 5 0 7 5
“That group swings it,” Cain pass in three games, then San Francisco AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
said of New York’s powerful allowed a single to the pitcher Velez 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .111
Burriss 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 .258
batting order. “And they’re in the fifth that put the Giants Frandsen ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 .000
definitely hot right now.” ahead 2-0. New York had come Sandoval 3b 4 1 2 0 0 1 .314
B.Molina c 4 0 2 1 0 1 .304
Bengie Molina also had an from behind to win both Winn lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 .255
RBI single as San Francisco Thursday and Friday nights, Schierholtz rf 2 0 0 0 1 0 .217
Rowand cf 3 1 1 0 0 0 .248
snapped a four-game skid and then broke open a tie game Ishikawa 1b 3 0 1 0 0 0 .236
avoided a four-game home Saturday to win 9-6. Cain p 1 0 1 1 1 0 .214
Howry p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000
sweep in a game that featured
a rare three balks by Mets
Cain escaped a bases-loaded
jam in the second after three
Affeldt p
B.Wilson p
Totals
0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
29 2 7 2 2 3
FREEup!
starter Mike Pelfrey. The Mets straight walks when the Giants Sign
Today!
didn’t dispute those calls turned a 3-2-3 double play on New York 000 000 000 — 0 5 0
San Francisco 100 010 00x — 2 7 0
afterward. Jeremy Reed’s hard grounder
New York’s potent offense JEFF CHIU / AP to Ishikawa, who pumped his a-struck out for Pelfrey in the 7th. b-grounded into a
double play for Dan.Murphy in the 8th. c-grounded out
couldn’t get to Cain after pro- San Francisco’s Eugenio Velez, top, tags out Mets 3B David Wright trying to steal second. fist to celebrate. for S.Green in the 9th. LOB: New York 9, San Francisco 5.

The country’s first and only

ducing 24 runs, 42 hits and 13 “They had a lot of fight in 2B: Cora (4), Beltran (11). RBIs: B.Molina (30), Cain (1).
CS: D.Wright (7). S: Castillo. Runners left in scoring
stolen bases in the first three watched replays and I Affeldt put runners on second them today,” Mets manager position: New York 6 (Sheffield 2, Pelfrey 2, Pagan 2);

daily digital sports newspaper.

games of the series. The Mets,
in the midst of a 10-game road
trip, lost for only the fourth
time in 16 May games.
Pelfrey (4-1) kicked the
mound in frustration follow-
ing his third balk, in the sixth,
that drew pitching coach Dan
Warthen out for a visit.
“I think maybe when I get on
national TV I like making a
fool of myself,” Pelfrey said. “It
seemed like I almost had the
yips. It was like I was fighting
myself to come set because my
mind kept telling me to pick
the guy off. I went back and
balked.”
The last pitcher to have three
balks in a game was Al Leiter
for Toronto against Minnesota
on April 23, 1994. It was only
the second time in Mets fran-
chise history that a pitcher had
three balks. Don Rowe did it
on April 27, 1963, at
Philadelphia.
Bob Shaw holds the N.L.
record with five balks for the
Milwaukee Braves against the
Cubs on May 4, 1963—and he
had three in one inning.
Carlos Beltran’s double in
the eighth against Jeremy
and third with no outs and Jerry Manuel said. “Even their San Francisco 2 (Rowand 2). DP: New York 2 (D.Wright,
Castillo, Reed), (Takahashi, Tatis, Reed); San Francisco
gave him an 11-game hitting fans seemed to be in a playoff- 2 (Ishikawa, B.Molina, Ishikawa), (Frandsen, Burriss,
streak, but pinch-hitter Angel type atmosphere. They didn’t Ishikawa).
Pagan grounded into an want the Mets to do the sweep New York IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
inning-ending double play here.” Pelfrey L, 4-1
Takahashi
6
1
6
1
2 2 2 2 78 4.61
0 0 0 0 10 3.38
Delivered via email every morning, 7 days a
with the bases loaded.
Cain (4-1) pitched six shutout
Mets shortstop Alex Cora
left the game with a sprained
S.Green
San Francisco
1
IP
0
H
0 0 0 1 8 8.27
R ER BB SO NP ERA week, Sporting News Today is your one-stop
Cain W, 4-1 6 3 0 0 5 2 119 2.65
innings, and Bob Howry, right thumb after sliding into Howry H, 5
Affeldt H, 7
1
1
1
1
0 0 1 1 17 4.80
0 0 1 1 12 2.50
destination for breaking sports stories plus
Affeldt and Brian Wilson fin- second base on his first-inning
ished the five-hit shutout. Wil- double. He was to be re-evalu-
B.Wilson S, 9-11 1 0 0 0 0 1 17 4.12
news about every team, every game and
Howry pitched to 1 batter in the 8th. Inherited
son earned his ninth save in 11
opportunities after losing the
ated Monday. Fernando Tatis
replaced him for his fourth
runners-scored: Affeldt 1-0. IBB: off Pelfrey (Schier-
holtz), off Affeldt (D.Wright). WP: Cain. Balk: Pelfrey
every score from coast-to-coast.
first two games of the series to career game at shortstop and 3. Umpires: Home, Brian Knight; First, Dana DeMuth;
Second, Doug Eddings; Third, Hunter Wendelstedt. T:
New York. first since Sept. 13, 1998, at 2:44. A: 43,012 (41,915).
Cain had lost last three out- Houston while with the Experience America’s hottest new product.
ings to the Mets dating to a win
during his rookie season of
Cardinals.
— The Associated Press
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SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com NBA MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 6
EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

Orlando 101, Boston 82

Magic drop defending champs, keep Howard’s hopes alive

BOSTON—Dwight Howard remem- it will happen.” game exactly the way we wanted. We
bers the reaction when he first talked The Magic nearly blew a 28-point actually played it better,” Van Gundy
about bringing an NBA champion- lead in Game 1, then did waste a said. “When you look at a team that’s
ship to Orlando. 14-point lead in Game 5 to give the 32-0 when leading a series 3-2 and
“Everybody laughed,” the Magic Celtics a 3-2 advantage in the best-of- then you win by 19 points, that’s a big
center said after helping Orlando seven series. Boston, which won its win. I can’t say that I’ve ever had one
beat the defending NBA champion unprecedented 17th NBA title last that I’ve ever been happier with.”
Boston Celtics 101-82 on Sunday year, had never lost a series after Make that 32-1, as Van Gundy
night and advance to the Eastern being ahead 3-2. wrote on the visiting locker room
Conference finals. But Orlando came back from a white board.
“I believe we can win a champion- 10-point deficit on Thursday night to — The Associated Press
ship. We’re not going to stop going force Game 7.
Orlando 27 18 21 35 — 101
after one until we get it. We have the And there was no panic on Boston 17 21 23 21 — 82
right team. We have the talent. We Sunday.
ORLANDO Min FG FT Reb A PF PTS
have the coaches. It’s just on us to go Just a lot of Magic. Turkoglu 36:04 9-12 3-3 0-5 12 3 25
out there and play hard. I have a long “I would like to say we played the Lewis 40:59 5-14 7-10 0-5 4 1 19
Howard 38:07 5-9 2-2 2-16 1 5 12
way to go, but I’m still hungry.” Alston 36:06 6-16 0-1 0-2 4 3 15
Howard scored 12 points with 16 Redick 24:23 2-3 0-0 0-1 4 1 5
Lee 17:11 1-5 1-1 0-0 0 1 3
rebounds and five blocked shots, and Pietrus 23:56 6-7 2-2 0-3 1 3 17
Hedo Turkoglu had 25 points with 12 Series glance Johnson 10:16 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 1 0
Battie 3:05 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
assists for Orlando, which trailed for (Orlando wins series 4-3) Gortat 9:53 2-2 1-1 1-2 0 2 5
just 36 seconds after the opening bas- Totals 240:00 36-70 16-20 3-35 26 20 101
Monday, May 4: Orlando 95, Boston 90
ket and held on to earn the right to Percentages: FG .514, FT .800. 3-Point Goals: 13-21, .619
Wednesday, May 6: Boston 112,
play LeBron James and the Cavaliers Orlando 94 (Turkoglu 4-5, Pietrus 3-3, Alston 3-7, Lewis 2-4, Redick 1-2). Team
Rebounds: 9. Team Turnovers: 16 (20 PTS). Blocked Shots: 8
for a spot in the NBA finals. Friday, May 8: Orlando 117, Boston 96 (Howard 5, Lee, Lewis, Turkoglu). Turnovers: 16 (Alston 4, Howard
Game 1 is Wednesday in Sunday, May 10: Boston 95, Orlando 94 3, Lewis 3, Turkoglu 3, Gortat, Johnson, Lee). Steals: 4 (Alston 2,
Tuesday, May 12: Boston 92, Orlando 88 Howard, Pietrus). Technical Fouls: None.
Cleveland.
Thursday, May 14: Orlando 83, Boston 75
Orlando won the season series 2-1, Sunday: Orlando 101, Boston 82 BOSTON Min FG FT Reb A PF PTS
Pierce 38:35 4-13 7-10 0-2 3 2 16
but the Cavaliers swept both of their Davis 30:48 4-7 5-7 1-4 0 4 13
postseason series and have been Perkins 39:06 3-11 2-2 2-15 1 3 8
waiting for their next opponent since
Conference finals Rondo 37:05 4-10 2-2 2-6 10 5 10
Cleveland vs. Orlando RAllen 41:27 9-18 2-2 1-4 3 2 23
last Monday. WINSLOW TOWNSON / AP House 16:47 1-3 0-0 0-2 0 2 2
Wednesday: Orlando at Cleveland, Scalabrine 13:10 1-5 0-0 0-1 2 4 2
“Cleveland is playing at a much Despite getting just 12 points, Dwight Howard and the Magic still put away the defending champion Celtics with a solid first quarter. 8:30 p.m. Marbury 13:46 1-4 2-2 0-1 1 0 4
higher level than anybody else in the Friday: Orlando at Cleveland, 8:30 p.m. TAllen 2:30 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 2
Pruitt 2:30 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
playoffs. We’re going to have to take they were taken out of the game for a forcing them to fight through a seven- ran out of gas.” Sunday: Cleveland at Orlando, 8:30
Moore 2:08 1-1 0-0 1-2 0 0 2
it up another notch,” Magic coach courtesy cheer with 2:30 left and the overtime, seven-game series against Celtics coach Doc Rivers said Gar- p.m. Walker 2:08 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Tuesday, May 26: Cleveland at Totals 240:00 29-74 20-25 7-37 21 22 82
Stan Van Gundy said. “But that’s for Magic up 99-78. The other member Chicago in the first round and leav- nett had been holding off on having Orlando, 8:30 p.m.
us to worry about tomorrow. I am of the new Big Three, Kevin Garnett, ing them perpetually playing from surgery on the chance he could come Thursday, May 28: Orlando at Percentages: FG .392, FT .800. 3-Point Goals: 4-16, .250 (R.Allen
3-6, Pierce 1-5, House 0-1, Marbury 0-1, Pruitt 0-1, Rondo 0-1,
going to enjoy this one until I get on awaited them on the bench, where he behind in the second. back if the team prolonged its Cleveland, 8:30 p.m., if necessary
Scalabrine 0-1). Team Rebounds: 7. Team Turnovers: 13 (12 PTS).
the plane tonight and start watching watched the whole series in street “We still felt like this was a team season. Saturday, May 30: Cleveland at Blocked Shots: 3 (Perkins 2, Scalabrine). Turnovers: 10 (Marbury
Orlando, 8:30 p.m., if necessary 3, Davis 2, Perkins 2, R.Allen, Pierce, Rondo). Steals: 6 (T.Allen 2,
film.” clothes with a right knee strain. that could have gone to the champi- “There’s no way he was going to Monday, June 1: Orlando at Cleveland, Rondo 2, R.Allen, Davis). Technical Fouls: None.
Ray Allen scored 23 points for Bos- Garnett’s absence derailed the onship and won it, regardless of the play the next series,” Rivers said. 8:30 p.m., if necessary
A: 18,624 (18,624). T: 2:30. Officials: Steve Javie, Derrick Stafford,
ton, and Paul Pierce had 16 before Celtics’ title defense before it started, injuries,” Pierce said. “It felt like we “We were hoping. But I didn’t think Scott Foster.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com NBA MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 7
WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

L.A. Lakers 89, Houston 70

‘Bipolar’ Lakers guided by Gasol’s Game 7 greatness

LOS ANGELES—All is well again in defense were all it took to jump- compete, starting on the defensive turnovers and a blocked shot to race
La-La Land. The real Los Angeles start the Lakers, who made sure end, we’re going to give ourselves a out to an 8-0 lead.
Lakers showed up, and in a Game 7, they didn’t choke this one away chance,” Gasol said. “Hopefully Houston missed seven shots dur-
no less. against the No. 5 seed. we’re going to carry that into the ing the next 2 1/2 minutes, and
With Pau Gasol dominating on The Lakers dominated the paint next round and to a championship. didn’t get on the scoreboard until
both ends of the court, the Lakers on both ends, forcing the Rockets That’s something we need to do Brooks made two free throws just
emphatically silenced the doubters into turnovers and bad shots. The consistently, no matter what, no more than five minutes in.
and the Houston Rockets, winning owned the backboards, taking a matter where we play.” — The Associated Press
the decisive final game of the West- 55-33 advantage, and blocked 10 This one was practically over
ern Conference semifinals 89-70 shots. They had an 8-0 lead a few before the fans settled into their Houston 12 19 19 20 — 70
L.A. Lakers 22 29 18 20 — 89
on Sunday. minutes in and widened it to 25 seats.
Gasol scored 21 points and grabbed points on Gasol’s jump hook shortly Houston missed its first 12 shots, HOUSTON Min FG FT Reb A PF PTS
Battier 31:49 1-6 1-1 3-4 1 4 3
18 rebounds, as the Lakers looked before halftime. and Los Angeles used two Houston Scola 38:51 4-12 3-6 1-6 1 4 11
like the conference’s top-seeded After the game, Bryant patted Hayes 24:58 4-8 0-0 1-5 1 2 8
Brooks 38:58 4-13 3-3 0-3 3 3 13
team, not the inconsistent one that Gasol on the shoulder and offered Artest 38:49 3-10 0-1 0-8 5 2 7
was pushed to the limit by the under- words of congratulations. Landry 21:53 2-10 0-0 0-2 1 3 4
manned, smaller Rockets. “I was just proud of the way he
Series glance Wafer
Lowry
15:46 5-11
17:35 2-2
0-1
2-2
0-2
0-2
0
3
0
1
10
8
(L.A. wins series 4-3) Barry 6:01 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 1 0
Trying to reach the NBA finals played,” Bryant said. “He answered Cook 2:40 1-1 0-0 0-1 1 0 2
for the second straight year, the the challenge and he played like one Monday, May 4: Houston 100, L.A. White 2:40 2-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 4
Lakers host the opener of the con- of the best players in the world. I Totals 240:00 28-76 9-14 5-33 17 20 70
Lakers 92
ference finals against the Denver was just excited for him.” Wednesday, May 6: L.A. Lakers 111, Percentages: FG .368, FT .643. 3-Point Goals: 5-20, .250 (Lowry
Houston 98 2-2, Brooks 2-3, Artest 1-6, Barry 0-1, Hayes 0-1, Wafer 0-1, Landry
Nuggets on Tuesday night. Gasol kept Rockets point guard 0-2, Battier 0-4). Team Rebounds: 7. Team Turnovers: 16 (20 PTS).
Friday, May 8: L.A. Lakers 108,
The Lakers have been so up and Aaron Brooks from penetrating, as Houston 94 Blocked Shots: 3 (Battier, Hayes, Landry). Turnovers: 15 (Brooks 5,
down in this series that coach Phil he did often in this series. The Scola 3, Hayes 2, Lowry 2, Artest, Battier, Wafer). Steals: 13 (Hayes 5,
Sunday, May 10: Houston 99, L.A. Landry 2, Lowry 2, Artest, Battier, Brooks, Scola). Technical Fouls:
Jackson said before Game 5 that Spaniard had 12 defensive rebounds Lakers 87 None.
they had a little bit of Jekyll and and swatted away three shots. Tuesday, May 12: L.A. Lakers 118,
Houston 78 LAL Min FG FT Reb A PF PTS
Hyde in them. That was the night “We all know what he can do Thursday, May 14: Houston 95, L.A. Ariza 28:50 5-9 3-4 1-5 1 2 15
the Lakers raced to a 40-point win offensively. I just felt like defen- Gasol 40:41 10-19 1-1 6-18 1 2 21
Lakers 80 Bynum 22:28 6-7 2-2 2-6 0 2 14
at home, only to follow it up two sively, he had a superb game,” Bry- Sunday: L.A. Lakers 89, Houston 70 Fisher 24:19 2-5 2-2 0-1 1 2 6
nights later with a 15-point loss, the ant said. Bryant 33:21 4-12 5-6 1-7 5 4 14
Odom 24:00 2-5 1-2 1-7 3 1 6
second straight game they were Gasol made 10 of 19 shots. He left Conference finals Farmar
Vujacic
19:34
19:30
1-5 0-1
4-7 0-0
0-2
0-3
3
2
1
1
2
9
blind-sided in Houston. to a nice ovation with 3:34 remain- L.A. Lakers vs. Denver Walton 9:25 0-1 0-0 0-2 0 2 0
There are any number of theories ing in the game. Brown 11:39 1-3 0-0 1-3 0 0 2
as to why the Lakers have had a Trevor Ariza scored 15 points Tuesday: Denver at L.A. Lakers, 9 p.m. Powell 3:34 0-1 0-0 1-1 0 0 0
Mbenga 2:40 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
split personality. while Bryant and Andrew Bynum Thursday: Denver at L.A. Lakers, 9 p.m. Totals 240:01 35-75 14-18 13-55 16 17 89
Saturday: L.A. Lakers at Denver, 8:30
Asked what the Lakers learned had 14 apiece. Bryant added five p.m. Percentages: FG .467, FT .778. 3-Point Goals: 5-15, .333 (Ariza
from this series, Kobe Bryant assists and seven rebounds. May 25: L.A. Lakers at Denver, 9 p.m. 2-3, Odom 1-3, Vujacic 1-3, Bryant 1-4, Farmar 0-1, Fisher 0-1).
cracked: “That we’re bipolar.” Brooks was held to 13 points and May 27: Denver at L.A. Lakers, 9 p.m., Team Rebounds: 2. Team Turnovers: 19 (19 PTS). Blocked Shots:
10 (Gasol 3, Ariza 2, Bryant 2, Bynum 2, Odom). Turnovers: 19
Added Lamar Odom: “To make Luis Scola to 11 for Houston. Ron if necessary (Gasol 5, Farmar 3, Ariza 2, Odom 2, Vujacic 2, Brown, Bryant, Bynum,
May 29: L.A. Lakers at Denver, 9 p.m., if Fisher, Walton). Steals: 8 (Bryant 3, Bynum, Farmar, Fisher, Gasol,
it interesting. It’s Hollywood, you Artest (seven points) and Shane necessary Vujacic). Technical Fouls: Bynum, 5:36 second; Defensive three
know.” Battier (three) were non-factors. May 31: Denver at L.A. Lakers, 8:30 second, 11:41 second.
MARK J. TERRILL / AP It turns out that home-court “I think we learned that if we play p.m., if necessary
A: 18,997 (18,997). T: 2:22. Officials: Joe Crawford, Mike Callahan,
Lakers F Pau Gasol, left, owned the paint, contributing game highs of 21 points and 18 rebounds. advantage and a smothering hard every night and we’re ready to Dan Crawford.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com NBA
INSIDE DISH
Desire on defense sparking Nuggets’ postseason run
With plenty of time to get ready
for the conference finals, the
Nuggets have been working on
defensive drills—precisely what
got them this far in the first
place.
The switch to a defensive-first
philosophy occurred during a
tumultuous offseason that
started with their fifth consecu-
tive first-round playoff exit and
included the losses of C Marcus
Camby and F Eduardo Najera. Coach
George Karl’s righthand man, Tim
Grgurich, convinced him that he
had to return to his roots and
preach defense.
So, in their summer league,
“the whole game was defense,”
Karl said. “Everything went back
to the old-school drills, the shell
drills, all the rotation drills, all
the old-school stuff we had done
in Seattle.”
That, along with the acquisi-
tions of Chris “Birdman” Andersen
and Dahntay Jones, plus the trade
for Chauncey Billups, helped convert
the Nuggets from perennial first-
round fodder into championship
contenders.
The Nets are shopping F Yi
Jianlian, according to the New
York Daily News. Jianlian was
acquired last summer for F Rich-
ard Jefferson but lacked the
defense, rebounding or passing
skills to operate in coach Lawrence
Frank’s rotation. Jianlian averaged
8.6 points and 5.3 rebounds in 23
minutes per game with the Nets.
JACK DEMPSEY / AP NBA commissioner David
Kenyon Martin (4), Carmelo Anthony, right, and the Nuggets made a commitment to defense last offseason. Stern says he favors the increased
use of instant replay, including a
system in which the calls of ref-
erees could be challenged by
coaches. During a conference call
with reporters, Stern talked
about his affinity for tennis and
how action stops after each point
to make sure it’s correct. He
knows that wouldn’t work in the
NBA but is disappointed that the
NBA competition committee
hasn’t been “bolder” on replay.
“I think that as we have con-
tinued to take baby steps in this
direction, we may be getting
closer to a time when at end
game, some kind of a challenge
may be considered,” he said. “I
expect to be voted down 30 to
nothing.”
Backup PG Acie Law, the 11th-
overall pick in 2007, might not
return to the Hawks next season,
according to reports in The
Atlanta Journal-Constitution and
Boston Globe. He is signed for two
more seasons ($2.7 million next
season) but averaged only 2.9
points and 1.1 rebounds in 2008-
09.
During the news conference
to introduce Larry Riley as the War-
riors’ new general manager last
week, Riley wanted to send a
message that he wasn’t a puppet.
As noted by the Contra Costa
Times, Riley said he’ll decide
what trades the Warriors make
as well as what happens with G
Jamal Crawford, whom coach Don
Nelson wants off the roster. Riley
also will have final say about
whom the Warriors draft in
June, including whether the first-
round selection is a point guard
or a big man or is used at all.
As for Chris Mullin, the man
whom Riley replaced, there’s
speculation he could wind up
with the Knicks later this sum-
mer. According to the New York
Daily News, Mullin is the favorite
to land the director of basketball
operations job. Knicks president
Donnie Walsh said he likely will
wait until July or even August
before making a significant front
office hire.
Former President Bill Clinton
tells Rockets C Dikembe Mutombo
he looks forward to working
with him on humanitarian proj-
ects. Clinton sent the retiring
Rockets big man a letter Friday
congratulating him on his career.
Mutombo is known for commu-
nity outreach and has donated
$19 million to a hospital in his
homeland, the Democratic
Republic of the Congo. Mutom-
bo’s career ended when he
injured his left knee during a
first-round series against
Portland.
G Gabe Pruitt, who has played
spot minutes for the Celtics this
season, knows his performance
for Boston’s summer league team
will play a role in determining
whether the Celtics exercise a
team option on him.
“If I get the opportunity to per-
form and show what I can do, I
will be confident of the outcome,”
Pruitt told The Boston Globe.
MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 8
Playoff glance
CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
(Best-of-7), all times ET
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Cleveland vs. Atlanta
(Cleveland wins series 4-0)
May 5: Cleveland 99, Atlanta 72
May 7: Cleveland 105, Atlanta 85
May 9: Cleveland 97, Atlanta 82
May 11: Cleveland 84, Atlanta 74
Boston vs. Orlando
(Orlando wins series 4-3)
May 4: Orlando 95, Boston 90
May 6: Boston 112, Orlando 94
May 8: Orlando 117, Boston 96
May 10: Boston 95, Orlando 94
May 12: Boston 92, Orlando 88
May 14: Orlando 83, Boston 75
Sunday: Orlando 101, Boston 82
WESTERN CONFERENCE
L.A. Lakers vs. Houston
(L.A. wins series 4-3)
May 4: Houston 100, L.A. Lakers 92
May 6: L.A. Lakers 111,
Houston 98
May 8: L.A. Lakers 108, Houston 94
May 10: Houston 99, L.A. Lakers 87
May 12: L.A. Lakers 118, Houston 78
May 14: Houston 95, L.A. Lakers 80
Sunday: L.A. Lakers 89, Houston 70
Denver vs. Dallas
(Denver wins series 4-1)
May 3: Denver 109, Dallas 95
May 5: Denver 117, Dallas 105
May 9: Denver 106, Dallas 105
May 11: Dallas 119, Denver 117
May 13: Denver 124, Dallas 110
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Detroit 5, Chicago 2
Red Wings adjust, teach young ’Hawks a lesson
DETROIT—Midway through the first period
of the opening game of the Western Confer-
ence finals, Detroit goalie Chris Osgood said
his team came to a realization.
This wasn’t the same Blackhawks team the
Red Wings had handled easily when they
needed to in the regular season.
“After 10 minutes, we
said, ‘This is a real good
team. We have to buckle
down,’ ” Osgood said.
Buckling down meant
scoring five of the next six
goals after the Blackhawks
took an early one-goal lead.
Craig Custance It also meant shutting down
HOCKEY Chicago’s star forward Pat-
rick Kane, who finished
without a shot and at minus-3 after register-
ing a hat trick in the semifinal clincher
against Vancouver.
Maybe it was also a realization that this was
a much different opponent than the Anaheim
Ducks. This wouldn’t be a physical, heavy-
weight fight against an experienced team.
No, this was quite different.
“They came out flying,” said Detroit defen-
seman Brian Rafalski of the Blackhawks.
The Blackhawks were faster and younger
and had fresher legs than the Ducks.
But Detroit’s convincing 5-2 win shows
precisely why the Red Wings are the league’s
best team at this time of year. They can make
adjustments on the fly and then dominate,
just like they did against Chicago on Sunday.
“We don’t panic, we don’t go into a shell
and take it,” Osgood said. “We make
adjustments.”
Chicago coach Joel Quenneville summed it
up this way: “We got a lesson today.”
In the semifinals, the Red Wings had trou-
ble containing Anaheim’s top line led by Ryan
Getzlaf, but that wasn’t the case against Kane
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
and captain Jonathan Toews.
Credit goes to Detroit’s top pair of Nicklas
Lidstrom and Rafalski for shutting down
Chicago’s top line, but the defensive play of
Detroit forwards Johan Franzen, Dan Cleary
and Henrik Zetterberg was just as
important.
Kane noted that it’s Detroit forward Pavel
Datsyuk who is up for the Selke Trophy,
given to the league’s best defensive forward.
But he rarely saw the Russian.
“Datsyuk isn’t even on their top checking
line. It’s pretty scary to think what they have
defensively at forward,” Kane said, sporting
the blank expression of a player who senses
he’s in for a challenging series. “It’s some-
thing you can learn from.”
Kane also learned that the best defense is a
good offense. Franzen, Cleary and Zetterberg
each had goals, with Cleary netting a pair.
The Newfoundland native would have had a
hat trick if not for a couple of outstanding
plays by Chicago goalie Nikolai Khabibulin,
who kept this game from being a blowout.
“I think offensively we’ve got to at least
spend some time in their zone,” Quenneville
said while trying to explain the absence of
offense from Kane and company. “You know
you’re going to be in your end a little bit. I
think we’ve got to handle that matchup going
forward.”
It’ll be a quick series if that matchup con-
tinues to be so lopsided. But Ben Eager
pointed out that the Blackhawks lost Game 1
against Vancouver and still went on to win
the series.
The difference now, he said, is that each
player needs to show up and be at his best to
beat Detroit. That didn’t happen Sunday.
“I don’t think we had everyone,” he said.
“But that’s the way it goes sometimes. We’ll
bounce back.”
ccustance@sportingnews.com
NHL MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 9
NOTEBOOK
Blackhawks know
they have to play
better in Game 2
Nobody in the Chicago dressing
room was happy with the way the
Blackhawks played in their 5-2 loss to
the Red Wings, but defenseman Brian
Campbell wondered if the problems
didn’t start before Sunday.
The Blackhawks clinched their trip
to the Western Conference finals with
a win over Vancouver last Monday, and
Campbell sounded like he didn’t think
they used their time off wisely.
“You have to work hard in practice
all week,” Campbell said. “It’s up to us.
Some of our practice habits weren’t
great and I don t think we skated as
well as we could tonight.”
Chicago coach Joel Quenneville was
asked if some of Chicago’s issues could
be attributed to the nerves that come
with playing in the conference finals
for the first time.
“I’d like to figure out exactly what
was (the reason),” Quenneville said.
“We’ve been off for a little bit. I think
the pace of this game and the series is
going to be ratcheted up from our first
two.”
No revenge for Cleary
Detroit forward Dan Cleary, origi-
nally drafted by the Blackhawks with
the 13th overall pick of the 1997 draft,
was later traded to the Edmonton Oil-
ers after only 41 games with Chicago.
Scoring two goals against the Black-
hawks in his first playoff game against
his former team was nice, but he holds
no ill will toward the organization he
started with.
“I wasn’t in Chicago very long, so no
hard feelings,” Cleary said. “But it’s
always nice to score against a team that
CARLOS OSORIO / AP drafted you.”
Johan Franzen, left, Dan Cleary and the Red Wings came back with a vengeance after Chicago went up 1-0. —Craig Custance
SPORTING NEWS TODAY
Detroit 5, Chicago 2
Cleary continues to reward Wings with clutch performances
Chicago’s Ben Eager (55) got the worst of a first-period run-in with Detroit D Brett Lebda.
www.sportingnews.com NHL
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
DETROIT—Dan Cleary was close to being
an ex-NHL player when the league
emerged from the lockout four years
ago.
The Detroit Red Wings gave him
another shot. The gritty forward took
advantage, and the defending Stanley
Cup champions are glad he did.
Cleary matched a playoff career high
with two goals against the team that
drafted him, leading the Red Wings to a
5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in
Game 1 of the Western Conference finals
on Sunday.
“I came here as a tryout,” he said.
“They gave me a chance to be a player.”
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Detroit.
Cleary was drafted 13th overall by the
Blackhawks in 1997, but had just nine
points in 41 games before being traded to
Edmonton.
“I wasn’t in Chicago very long, so no
hard feelings,” he joked.
Cleary signed with the Red Wings in
2005, and after a 15-point season he
recorded 40 points each of the past three
seasons to surpass his previous high of
35.
“He was a dynamic player as a 16-year-
old,” Detroit coach Mike Babcock said.
“It just happened too quick for him and
he wasn’t able to handle it emotionally.
He bounced around.
“We happened to get him at the right
time. He came in with the right attitude
and started working.”
In the previous round against Ana-
heim, Cleary scored the series-winning
goal with 3 minutes left in Game 7 and has
netted a career-high five goals this post-
season. Cleary scored twice in a playoff
CARLOS OSORIO / AP game last year against the Ducks.
“He’s a dangerous guy,” Chicago coach
Joel Quenneville said.
Cleary’s second goal came midway
through the third period, 1:27 after
Mikael Samuelsson’s go-ahead score for
the Red Wings.
Detroit’s Chris Osgood made 30 saves,
and Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 38 shots
for the Blackhawks, who allowed an
empty-net goal to Henrik Zetterberg.
Adam Burish gave the Blackhawks a
1-0 lead 5:25 in, but Cleary tied it a few
minutes later. Johan Franzen put Detroit
in front 2-1 late in the second period.
“We got a lesson,” Quenneville said.
“We’ve got to be better.”
If the Blackhawks are going to have a
chance, they’ll likely need young stars
Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews to
produce. They were held without a point
in the opener.
Kane was shotless Sunday. Toews had
three shots, and both players were on the
ice for three of Detroit’s goals.
“They kind of collapsed on me,” Kane
said. “So, I was trying to find the open
guys a little more. I definitely have to try
to find a way to get some shots.”
The Blackhawks, playing in their first
conference final since 1995 against a
team in its third straight, were very com-
petitive with the Red Wings until Detroit
broke it open midway through the third
period.
Kris Versteeg made it 2-all early in the
third on the power play. The Red Wings
have given up a man-advantage goal in a
franchise-record 10 straight playoff
games.
“We had to keep the streak alive,” Bab-
cock joked.
Samuelsson’s goal at 7:31 of the third
put Detroit ahead and Cleary’s second
goal provided a two-goal cushion.
MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 10
The fourth-seeded Blackhawks fell
behind in each of their six games the pre-
vious round against Vancouver, but
found out it is not as easy to rally against
the second-seeded and playoff-tested
Red Wings.
Detroit improved to 7-0 when leading
after two periods.
“It’s a race to four wins, but it’s good to
get the first one,” Red Wings captain
Nicklas Lidstrom said.
—The Associated Press
Series glance
(Detroit leads 1-0)
Sunday: Detroit 5, Chicago 2
Tuesday: Chicago at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.,
Versus
Friday: Detroit at Chicago, 8 p.m., Versus
Sunday, May 24: Detroit at Chicago, 3
p.m., NBC
Wednesday, May 27: Chicago at Detroit,
7:30 p.m., if necessary, Versus
Saturday, May 30: Detroit at Chicago, 8
p.m., if necessary, Versus
Monday, June 1: Chicago at Detroit, 7:30
p.m., if necessary, Versus
Chicago 1 0 1 — 2
Detroit 1 1 3 — 5
First Period: 1, Chicago, Burish 3, 5:25. 2, Detroit, Cleary 4, 8:23. Penalties:
Seabrook, Chi (hooking), 13:12; Keith, Chi (roughing), 14:00; Holmstrom, Det
(roughing), 14:00.
Second Period: 3, Detroit, Franzen 9, 16:38. Penalties: Ladd, Chi (tripping),
3:15.
Third Period: 4, Chicago,Versteeg 4 (Byfuglien, Seabrook), 3:12 (pp). 5, Detroit,
Samuelsson 4 (Lebda, Filppula), 7:31. 6, Detroit, Cleary 5 (Franzen, Zetterberg),
8:58. 7, Detroit, Zetterberg 7 (Franzen, Stuart), 19:17 (en). Penalties: Ericsson,
Det (interference), 1:28; Brouwer, Chi (roughing), 10:21; Franzen, Det (rough-
ing), 10:21; Burish, Chi, double minor (cross-checking), 19:38.
Shots on Goal: Chicago 9-10-13: 32. Detroit 15-14-14: 43.
Power-play opportunities: Chicago 1 of 1; Detroit 0 of 3.
Goalies: Chicago, Khabibulin 8-5-0 (42 shots-38 saves). Detroit, Osgood 9-3-0
(32-30).
A: 20,066 (20,066). T: 2:28.
Referees: Eric Furlatt, Bill McCreary. Linesmen: Greg Devorski, Shane Heyer.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
NHL PLAYOFFS: EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
NO. 4 PENGUINS Series glance
VS. NO. 6 HURRICANES (Best-of-7), all times ET
Today: Carolina at Pittsburgh,
7:30 p.m., Versus
BY CRAIG CUSTANCE | ccustance@sportingnews.com
Thursday: Carolina
at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m., Versus
This is the Eastern Conference matchup nobody saw coming.
Saturday: Pittsburgh
These teams eliminated the three best regular-season finishers at Carolina, 7:30 p.m. Versus
from the East and, in the process, sent home such stars as Alex
Tuesday, May 26: Pittsburgh
Ovechkin, Martin Brodeur and Zdeno Chara. at Carolina, 7:30 p.m., Versus
The Penguins became the first team since the 1996 Red Wings Friday, May 29: Carolina
to return to the conference finals after finishing as Stanley Cup at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m., if
runner-up the year before. necessary, Versus
Carolina has tapped into some of the magic that lifted the Sunday, May 31: Pittsburgh
Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup title three years ago. at Carolina, 7:30 p.m.,
“I really, really like the way our team has been playing the last if necessary, Versus
two, three months of the year,” Carolina forward Eric Staal said Tuesday, June 2: Carolina
on a conference call that also included his brother—Penguins at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.,
if necessary, Versus
forward Jordan Staal. “Once we got into the playoffs, once you get
there, you can beat anybody.” And they have.
THE STAR SO FAR NEEDS TO RAISE
HIS GAME
F Erik Cole, Carolina: Cole
has been shuffled on and
off Eric Staal’s line in an
attempt to generate more
offense from him. He was
so important in getting
the Hurricanes into the
postseason, but he has
yet to score a goal in the
playoffs.
NHL MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 11
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH
Staal vs. Staal: For the first
1. time, brothers Jordan Staal
and Eric Staal go head-to-head in
the playoffs, and they potentially
could see a lot of ice time against
each other. Eric Staal has been
outstanding, with nine goals in 14
games. But Jordan Staal is one of
Pittsburgh’s best defensive for-
wards. “It’s obviously an exciting
challenge if it does happen,” Jordan
said. “It’s just another big challenge
for myself and for my line and for
my team.” Says Eric: “For me, it’s
about focusing on what I’ve got to
do and playing my game, no matter
who I’m against on the other side.”
Cam Ward: Carolina’s
2. outstanding goalie has
never lost a playoff series (six wins
in a row) and isn’t showing any
signs that he’s planning to. So far
this postseason, he has helped the
Hurricanes win two Game 7s on
the road and has a 2.22 goals-
against average to go with a CHARLES KRUPA / AP
sterling .927 save percentage. In 2006, Cam Ward built his reputation as a big-game performer—he won the Conn Smythe
Marc-Andre Fleury has been solid award during Carolina’s Cup run—and his pair of Game 7 wins in ’09 have padded his resume.
for the Penguins during their
playoff run, but the goaltending fly, which will make this an Washington, but Pittsburgh still
edge goes to the Hurricanes. “We entertaining brand of hockey to dressed seven defensemen, with
are just at a point where we watch and when there is physical Gonchar only playing 15:06.
Can the Hurricanes recover
completely take him for granted
and that’s fantastic,” Carolina
coach Paul Maurice said of Ward.
play, it’ll really stand out. “Because
of the speed of this series, there’s
going to be big, big collisions,”
5. emotionally? Both the
Penguins and Hurricanes needed
“Go out and stop all the pucks, and Maurice said. seven games to advance last round,
Sergei Gonchar’s health:
he’s been doing it for us.”

3. Speed and more speed: Mau-

OUR PICK
Carolina in 7: We’re
done doubting this
group. There’s some-
thing special going on
MARK HUMPHREY / AP
in Raleigh, and Cam
Ward and company will
F Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh: In the battle between Crosby and Ovechkin, Crosby keep it going.
came out on top. He elevated his game when he needed to and made his
teammates better. In 13 playoff games, Crosby has 21 points.
rice said there are two
regular-season games that he still
remembers because of the speed up
and down the ice: When Carolina
played Pittsburgh and when
Carolina played the Blackhawks.
“From the bench, it was breathtak-
ing,” Maurice said. “This is going
to be a very, very quick series.”
Carolina and Pittsburgh can both
4. Gonchar missed two
games against the Capitals after the
knee-to-knee collision with Alex
Ovechkin in the conference
semifinals. Outside of Sidney
Crosby, you could make the case
that Gonchar is Pittsburgh’s most
important player. He anchors the
power play and is crucial to the
Penguins’ transition game. He
played in Game 7 against
but Pittsburgh’s Game 7 win over
the Capitals was so dominant, it
might as well have been a six-game
series. The Hurricanes needed
overtime to beat the Bruins in
Game 7 and were mentally and
physically exhausted on Thursday
night. “If you just sat on the bus,
you would have felt we lost the
game,” Maurice said. “There
wasn’t anybody talking. Every-
body was spent.”
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Cole will battle Penguins, memories of fractured vertebra
For one member of the Carolina Hurricanes,
today’s Eastern Conference finals opener at
Pittsburgh will trigger a different kind of
emotion.
Erik Cole almost assuredly will flash back to an
awful night in 2006 when, while playing a game
at Mellon Arena, he was run head-first into the
boards on a hit by Penguins D Brooks Orpik. The
Hurricanes’ forward suffered a fractured verte-
bra and feared at first that he might be para-
lyzed. The broken neck did sideline him for the
rest of the regular season and the first three
rounds of the playoffs.
“I’m always going to have thoughts about it,
for sure,” Cole told The (Raleigh) News & Observer.
“But I don’t think that it’s something consciously
during the game I think about. There are other
things to worry about; you don’t need to focus on
the past.”
Orpik, of course, still plays for the Penguins.
And odds are Cole and Orpik will be seeing each
other a lot over the course of the series. Orpik
received a three-game suspension for his dan-
gerous hit back in 2006, and it won’t be the first
time the players have faced off since them.
“It’s like any other series. You want to play
well and do whatever you can to help your team
win,” Cole told the newspaper. “And so I’ll be out
there trying to work hard every shift and make
sure I’m contributing to our team’s success.”
Cole did enjoy the satisfaction of returning
from his serious injury to play the last two games
of Carolina’s victory over Edmonton in the Stan-
ley Cup finals. He got his name etched on the
Cup.
“That meant a lot to us,” teammate Matt Cullen
told The News & Observer. “He was one of our
best players all year, and obviously it really hurt
us to see him go down and see him go through
all the rehab and everything he went through.
Most players would have shut it down for the
season if you had a broken neck, but he battled
and stayed with it.”
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that
NHL MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 12
INSIDE DISH Playoff glance
CONFERENCE FINALS
(Best-of-7), all times ET
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Carolina vs. Pittsburgh
Penguins D Sergei Gonchar is optimistic he will Today: Carolina at Pittsburgh,
play in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final 7:30 p.m., Versus
against Carolina tonight. Thursday: Carolina at Pittsburgh,
Gonchar, who had not skated for three days, 7:30 p.m., Versus
participated in a practice Sunday, then expressed Saturday: Pittsburgh at Carolina,
confidence he’ll be ready. 7:30 p.m. Versus
Tuesday, May 26: Pittsburgh at Carolina,
“It looks promising,” he told the newspaper. “I
7:30 p.m., Versus
don’t want to say anything (conclusive) right
Friday, May 29: Carolina at Pittsburgh,
now, but there’s a good chance.” 7:30 p.m., if necessary, Versus
Gonchar missed Games 5 and 6 of the Pen- Sunday, May 31: Pittsburgh at Carolina,
guins’ second-round series against Washington 7:30 p.m., if necessary, Versus
after a knee-on-knee hit from Capitals left Tuesday, June 2: Carolina at Pittsburgh,
winger Alex Ovechkin. 7:30 p.m., if necessary, Versus
The Penguins also recalled forwards Dustin Jef-
frey, Chris Minard and Jeff Taffe, defenseman Ben WESTERN CONFERENCE
Lovejoy, and goalie John Curry from Wilkes-Barre/ Chicago vs. Detroit
Scranton of the AHL. (Detroit leads series 1-0)
Sunday: Detroit 5, Chicago 2
With the postseason entering its conference Tuesday: Chicago at Detroit, 7:30 p.m., Versus
Friday: Detroit at Chicago, 8 p.m., Versus
finals phase, can trade rumors and free agency
Sunday, May 24: Detroit at Chicago,
talk be far behind? Chuck Gormley, who covers
3 p.m., NBC
the Flyers for the Camden Courier-Post, offered a Wednesday, May 27: Chicago at Detroit,
few juicy tidbits in a weekend report. 7:30 p.m., if necessary, Versus
According to Gormley, the Flyers are rumored Saturday, May 30: Detroit at Chicago, 8
to be considering a trade of either F Dan Briere or F p.m., if necessary, Versus
Joffrey Lupul and a top prospect to Montreal for G Monday, June 1: Chicago at Detroit, 7:30
Carey Price and the rights to D Mike Komisarek, who p.m., if necessary, Versus
will become an unrestricted free agent July 1.
Briere would have to consent to a deal because of
his no-trade contract. Betting line
Another possibility is the Flyers dealing for Today
Vancouver G Roberto Luongo and possibly D Mat-
FAVORITE LINE UNDERDOG LINE
tias Ohlund. Such a trade might cost them leading at Pittsburgh -200 Carolina +170
scorer Jeff Carter.
Odds to Win Series
If the Ducks don’t want to sign Chris Pronger to Pittsburgh -190 Carolina +165
a contract extension, the Blues should wait a year
and take their chances on Pronger in free agency,
says Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Odds to win Stanley Cup
Such a decision, Gordon posits, would allow CURRENT OPENING
St. Louis to free up cap room from the possible TEAM ODDS ODDS
departure of veterans like Jay McKee and Paul Kar- Detroit 3-2 4-1
iya, and allow them more time to gauge the poten- Pittsburgh 8-5 7-1
tial of young blue-liners like Alex Pietrangelo and KEITH SRAKOCIC / AP
Chicago 7-2 25-1
Carolina 6-1 35-1
Carlo Colaiacovo. In 2006, Penguins D Brooks Orpik fractured Hurricanes F Erik Cole’s neck with a hit into the boards.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY
Zambrano is shaky, but healthy in rehab start
Despite a rough rehab start, Carlos Zambrano returns this week.
www.sportingnews.com
ROSS D. FRANKLIN / AP
INSIDE DISH
Cubs ace P Carlos Zambrano struggled in a rehab
start for Class A Daytona Sunday, but did not
appear to be bothered by his strained left
hamstring.
Zambrano, who has been on the 15-day dis-
abled list, allowed four runs and five hits in 3 2/3
innings according to The Associated Press. He
also walked three with one strikeout.
“No problems, it’s a 100 percent,” said Zam-
brano, who hurt his hamstring legging out a
bunt on May 3. “I just had a little problem with
my release point. ... It’s been two weeks since my
last outing, so between now and Friday I have a
lot of time to correct my release point.”
Zambrano, who is 3-1 this season, is scheduled
to face San Diego Friday.
World Series games will start approxi-
mately 40 minutes earlier this October, accord-
ing to MLB.com. The decision was a mutual
effort by MLB and FOX Sports to combat criti-
cism over late broadcast times; In last fall’s World
Series the start of games ranged from 8:30 p.m.
to 8:38 p.m. ET. With an average duration of
three hours and 16 minutes, final outs consis-
tently pushed midnight on the East Coast. “I
really feel good about where we are,” said com-
missioner Bud Selig. “Our goal is to schedule
games so the largest number of people can watch,
and FOX has gone to an enormous amount of
effort to make this happen. It’s been a great joint
effort between the two us.” One suggestion by
Selig deemed impractical by the networl: after-
noon weekend games. “It’s not going to happen
in 2009, but we’ll certainly continue to talk
about it,” Selig said.
Tigers manager Jim Leyland announced that
OF Magglio Ordonez is leaving the team today for
“personal reasons” and could be gone for four
days, according to The Detroit News. “I’m hoping
he’s back by Thursday, but I doubt he’ll make the
day game. I’m hoping. That will be a personal
issue. (Today) through Wednesday, for sure, he’ll
be gone and he’ll probably come back Thursday.
Baseball MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 13
THE LAUNCHING PAD
What to expect in the major leagues today
Bring out the bats
The Mets’ West Coast swing continues with a possible postseason pre-
view against the N.L. West-leading Dodgers. In terms of batting average,
…” A team spokesman declined to make an offi- New York and Los Angeles have the best two offenses in the N.L., though
cial announcement, and Ordonez declined to each is missing a key contributor. The Dodgers, of course, are without the
comment on the matter. suspended Manny Ramirez for about 40 more games, and the Mets are
without Carlos Delgado (hip). In their ongoing search for a fifth starter, the
Mets tonight will turn to Tim Redding, just activated from the disabled list.
Braves veteran Tom Glavine, who has been
Redding battled some shoulder fatigue this spring and posted a 2.77 ERA in
disabled by a sore shoulder, is scheduled to two minor league starts.
throw three simulated innings against hitters
today at Turner Field, according to The Atlanta Let’s try this again
Most likely, Angels righthander John Lackey was on a pretty strict pitch
Journal-Constitution. If he passes that test, count in his 2009 debut Saturday. However, that pitch count surely wasn’t
Glavine said he would like to pitch in a minor two. After throwing behind Rangers leadoff man Ian Kinsler, Lackey hit
league game in the next week. The 43-year-old Kinsler with his second pitch. As a result, he was ejected by the home plate
lefthander has been on the D.L. all season after umpire. Lackey will start tonight on short rest (kind of) at Seattle, where he
is 7-5 with a 2.79 ERA in 13 career starts. Assuming he isn’t ejected while fac-
having elbow and shoulder surgeries in August.
ing Mariners leadoff man Ichiro Suzuki, it should be an interesting matchup.
Ichiro is hitting .311 in 74 career at-bats against Lackey, but he has struck out
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the 12 times.
Pirates have placed P Tyler Yates on the 15-day dis-
abled list with an inflammation of his right
What off day?
You’ll have to excuse the Cardinals and Brewers if they have a case of the
elbow and recalled P Tom Gorzelanny from Class Mondays tonight. This originally was scheduled to be an off day for both
AAA Indianapolis. Gorzelanny was 1-1 with a teams, but they instead will make up Friday night’s rainout. St. Louis has
3.98 ERA in seven starts in the minors. to hope it isn’t another off night for righthander Kyle Lohse, who actually
started Friday before the rains came. Lohse is 0-2 with an 11.32 ERA in his
past two starts, after going 3-0 with a 1.97 ERA in his first five.
Spotted at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington
this weekend: free agent P Ben Sheets, who was — Chris Bahr
set to sign a two-year deal with the team this past
offseason before an MRI exam revealed the need
for elbow surgery. Rangers general manager Jon
Daniels told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the
team continues to “watch from a distance.”
Sheets will visit with Dr. James Andrews next week
to determine when he can begin throwing.
Phillies P J.C. Romero, suspended for the first
50 games this season after a positive test for a
banned substance, will begin a minor league
rehabilitation assignment today, according to
The Philadelphia Inquirer. Romero could be back
in the Phillies’ bullpen June 3. In other Phillies
news, the team designated IF/OF Miguel Cairo for
assignment Saturday.
The Washington Post reported attendance at
Nationals Park during the team’s first 13 home
games this season was down a whopping 35.2 RICHARD DREW / AP
percent over the same period last season. That is Tim Redding, fresh off the D.L., will try to solidify the back of the Mets’ rotation.
the largest decline in the majors.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Gimme 5 with Phillies RP Chad Durbin
Righthander Chad Durbin went
5-4 with a 2.87 ERA in 71 games
last season and again is a key
member of Philadelphia’s bullpen.
In addition a world champion-
ship, Durbin’s resume also
includes his own recruiting web-
site (showcaseu.com). Throughout
this season, he’ll discuss some on-
the-field and off-the-field topics
with Sporting News Today.
1. Where do you keep your World
Series ring?
In the box it was presented to us
in, safe and sound somewhere in
New Jersey (super top secret,
right?). It’s the best design I’ve
seen for any championship ring
since I’ve played baseball. There
are 103 diamonds, for the total
wins (regular season and postsea-
son). I plan to wear it on most road
trips, when we’re dressed in our
suits or dressed nice. And any
time we’re in New York playing
the Mets.
2. What mementos did you keep from
the World Series?
I kept the glove I used all year, a
champagne bottle from each event
(pennant clincher, Division Series,
NLCS and World Series) and sev-
eral sweatshirts that almost seem
too special to ever wear around
the house. The pictures my wife
and family took will serve my
memory well for years, because it
was so much to take in.
3. Why do most relief pitchers believe
that knowing their role is so
important?
When I was a starter, and
young, I didn’t see the importance
of a relief role as I do now.
Chard Durbin says he’ll have no problems breaking out his World Series ring for the Mets.
Bridging the gap between the
starters’ innings and the back end
of the bullpen is all about know-
ing your role. It might be a lefty
getting a Carlos Delgado out so
the righties can pound away at a
Baseball
TOM MIHALEK / AP
David Wright (and several other
righthanded bats), and that can
change a game in the sixth inning.
Or it might be a long reliever pick-
ing up four innings when a starter
has a bad day. Each role depends
on the other guys getting their
jobs done. If we, as middle reliev-
ers, just hold the score where it is,
the momentum changes and our
powerful lineup can score some
late runs.
4. Who is a player this season who
seems to have taken a big step up
since 2008?
Zack Greinke. His stuff always
has been electric, but to get off to a
similar start as Cliff Lee did last
year has been amazing to watch.
Teams used to roll into Kansas
City licking their chops. Now, the
Royals have the kind of starting
pitching that makes opposing hit-
ters think more about how they’re
going to manage a 1-for-4 day,
rather than think about how
they’re going to pad their stats.
Greinke and Gil Meche are the
type of top-end starters who can
carry a team.
5. How long does it take to get
warmed up before appearing in a
game? Besides throwing, what else does
your routine include?
It’s different in every situation,
but in the middle of the inning
when you need to get ready quick,
you make maybe 8-10 throws
before you’re ready to get in the
game (you get an additional eight
pitches after the jog in). Other
than throwing, my daily routine
includes cardio and some core
work before batting practice,
stretching after the bottom of the
fourth inning of each game and a
workout after each game in which
I appear. If I’ve thrown three or
four days in a row, I usually just
do cardio to flush out the lactic
acid after an outing.
Team-by-team
disabled list
(Through May 14)
(x-60-day; all others are 15-day)
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Baltimore
LHP Richard Hill, March 29
RHP Dennis Sarfate, May 2
RHP Alfredo Simon, April 15
Boston
RHP Miguel Gonzalez-x, March
27
OF Mark Kotsay, March 27
SS Jed Lowrie, April 12
RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka, April
15
RHP John Smoltz, March 27
1B Kevin Youkilis, May 5
Chicago
CF Brian Anderson, April 30
OF DeWayne Wise, April 14
Cleveland
1B Travis Hafner, April 29
LHP Scott Lewis, April 11
RHP Joe Smith, April 29
RHP Jake Westbrook-x, March
26
Detroit
RHP Jeremy Bonderman, March
30
SS Carlos Guillen, May 5
LHP Nathan Robertson, May 6
OF Marcus Thames, April 19
C Matt Treanor-x, April 24
Kansas City
LHP John Bale, March 27
3B Alex Gordon, April 16
SS Tony Pena, May 3
RHP Joakim Soria, May 8
RHP Doug Waechter, April 18
Los Angeles
RHP Kelvim Escobar-x, April 4
OF Vladimir Guerrero, April 16
RHP John Lackey, March 27
RHP Dustin Moseley, April 18
Minnesota
RHP Boof Bonser, March 27
RHP Pat Neshek-x, Feb. 21
New York
RHP Brian Bruney, April 22
LHP Damaso Marte, April 26
C Jose Molina, May 8
OF Xavier Nady, April 15
C Jorge Posada, May 5
SS Bryan Ransom-x, April 25
RHP Chien-Ming Wang, April 19
MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009
Oakland
RHP Santiago Casilla, April 29
3B Eric Chavez, April 25
RHP Joey Devine-x, April 4
RHP Justin Duchscherer-x,
March 27
2B Mark Ellis, April 29
SS Nomar Garciaparra, April 29
Seattle
RHP Roy Corcoran, April 29
LHP Ryan Feierabend-x, March
15
LHP Cesar Jimenez, March 29
RHP Shawn Kelly, May 6
LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith, April
11
RHP Carlos Silva, May 7
Tampa Bay
RHP Chad Bradford, March 27
RHP Jason Isringhausen, March
31
CF Fernando Perez, March 27
C Shawn Riggans, April 10
Texas
RHP Joaquin Benoit-x, April 5
RHP William Eyre, April 23
RHP Eric Hurley-x, April 5
RHP Dustin Nippert-x, March 27
Toronto
C Michael Barrett, April 18
RHP Jesse Litsch, April 14
RHP Shaun Marcum, March 27
RHP Dustin McGowan, March
27
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Arizona
1B Tony Clark, May 5
RHP Tom Gordon, May 4
1B Conor Jackson, May 12
RHP Yusmeiro Petit, May 9
RHP Brandon Webb, April 7
Atlanta
RHP Jorge Campillo, April 17
LHP Tom Glavine, April 2
RHP Tim Hudson-x, Feb. 24
Chicago
RHP Chad Fox, May 10
3B Aramis Ramirez, May 9
RHP Carlos Zambrano, May 4
Cincinnati
3B Edwin Encarnacion, April 28
Colorado
INF Jeff Baker, April 27
RHP Taylor Buchholz-x, March
27
LHP Jeffrey Francis-x, March 27
LHP Franklin Morales, April 22
RHP Ryan Speier, April 19
14
Florida
LHP Andrew Miller, April 21
RHP Scott Proctor-x March 27
RHP Anibal Sanchez, May 8
RHP Henricus Vandenhurk,
March 29
Houston
RHP Brandon Backe, March 27
3B Aaron Boone-x March 27
RHP Doug Brocail, May 4
RHP Jose Valverde, April 27
Los Angeles
LHP Hong-Chih Kuo, April 30
RHP Hiroki Kuroda, April 7
1B Doug Mienkiewicz-x, April
17
RHP Jason Schmidt, March 30
RHP Claudio Vargas-x, April 6
Milwaukee
RHP David Riske, April 10
New York
CF Angel Pagan, March 27
LHP Oliver Perez, May 3
RHP Tim Redding, March 27
C Brian Schneider, April 16
LHP Billy Wagner, March 27
Philadelphia
None
Pittsburgh
C Ryan Doumit, April 20
LHP Phil Dumatrait, March 27
RHP Craig Hansen, April 20
St. Louis
OF Rick Ankiel, May 5
RHP Chris Carpenter, April 15
LHP Jaime Garcia, March 27
3B Troy Glaus, March 27
OF Ryan Ludwick, May 13
SS Brendan Ryan, April 30
San Diego
RHP Mike Adams-x, April 1
RHP Cha Seung Baek-x, March
30
SS Everth Cabrera-x, April 20
OF Cliff Floyd, April 5
RHP Shawn Hill, April 26
RHP Walter Silva, April 14
RHP Mark Worrell-x, April 1
San Francisco
LHP Noah Lowry, March 26
RHP Joseph Martinez, April 10
RHPSergio Romo, March 26
OF Andres Torres, April 28
Washington
CF Roger Bernadina-x, April 19
LHP Matt Chico-x, March 27
1B Dmitri Young, April 1
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com Baseball MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 15
Fantasy Focus LEAGUE LEADERS
American League Standings
Batting Average Home Runs East W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home Away
Waiver-wire pickups Toronto 26 14 .650 — — 6-4 W-3 15-6 11-8
A.L. N.L. A.L. N.L. Boston 22 16 .579 3 — 5-5 L-1 13-4 9-12
Player Team Player Team Player Team Player Team New York 20 17 .541 4½ 1½ 7-3 W-5 9-7 11-10
VMartinez Cleveland .401 Beltran New York .378 CPena Tampa Bay 13 AdGonzalez San Diego 15 Tampa Bay 19 20 .487 6½ 3½ 6-4 W-3 9-8 10-12
Baltimore 16 22 .421 9 6 5-5 L-1 11-11 5-11
MiCabrera Detroit .375 Votto Cincinnati .366 Morneau Minnesota 12 Ibanez Philadelphia 13
Bartlett Tampa Bay .370 Hawpe Colorado .358 Bay Boston 11 Pujols St. Louis 13 Central W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home Away
AdJones Baltimore .370 Zimmerman Washington .357 AHill Toronto 11 ASoriano Chicago 12 Detroit 20 16 .556 — — 6-4 W-3 11-5 9-11
Kansas City 20 18 .526 1 2 3-7 W-1 13-8 7-10
MYoung Texas .351 Ibanez Philadelphia .357 Kinsler Texas 11 Bruce Cincinnati 11 Minnesota 18 20 .474 3 4 5-5 L-3 14-9 4-11
AHill Toronto .345 DWright New York .352 Longoria Tampa Bay 11 Dunn Washington 11 Chicago 15 21 .417 5 6 3-7 L-4 8-8 7-13
Longoria Tampa Bay .343 Helton Colorado .347 Five tied 10 Utley Philadelphia 10 Cleveland 14 25 .359 7½ 8½ 3-7 L-3 7-11 7-14
West W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home Away
Runs Stolen Bases Texas 23 14 .622 — — 8-2 W-7 14-6 9-8
Los Angeles 18 18 .500 4½ 3 6-4 L-3 12-8 6-10
JEFF CHIU / AP A.L. N.L. A.L. N.L. Seattle 18 20 .474 5½ 4 3-7 W-1 9-8 9-12
Oakland 13 21 .382 8½ 7 4-6 L-3 8-10 5-11
N.Y. Mets OF Gary Sheffield Player Team Player Team Player Team Player Team
AdJones
Markakis
Baltimore
Baltimore
35
35
Pujols
Ibanez
St. Louis
Philadelphia
34
33
Crawford
Figgins
Tampa Bay
Los Angeles
24
17
Bourn
JosReyes
Houston
New York
13
11
National League Standings
Gary Sheffield, OF, Mets. Hitting East W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home Away
between Carlos Beltran and Scutaro Toronto 35 ASoriano Chicago 33 Ellsbury Boston 16 Burriss San Francisco 10 New York 21 16 .568 — — 7-3 L-1 12-8 9-8
BRoberts Baltimore 33 Zimmerman Washington 32 Abreu Los Angeles 13 Fowler Colorado 10 Philadelphia 20 16 .556 ½ 1 6-4 W-4 8-12 12-4
David Wright works. Sheffield Bay Boston 32 Werth Philadelphia 31 BUpton Tampa Bay 12 Morgan Pittsburgh 10 Atlanta 18 18 .500 2½ 3 7-3 L-1 6-10 12-8
went 9-of-18 (.500) with nine Kinsler Texas 31 Hudson Los Angeles 29 Bartlett Tampa Bay 11 Taveras Cincinnati 10
Florida 18 20 .474 3½ 4 3-7 L-1 7-9 11-11
Washington 11 25 .306 9½ 10 3-7 L-4 5-11 6-14
runs over four games before VMartinez Cleveland 31 Four tied 28 Crisp Kansas City 11 DWright New York 10
Sunday night’s game at San Central W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home Away
Milwaukee 23 14 .622 — — 8-2 W-5 12-7 11-7
Francisco. He’ll be motivated RBIs Pitching (4 decisions) Chicago 21 15 .583 1½ — 7-3 L-1 12-7 9-8
against nemesis Joe Torre in Los St. Louis 21 16 .568 2 ½ 4-6 L-2 12-7 9-9
A.L. N.L. A.L. N.L. Cincinnati 20 17 .541 3 1½ 6-4 L-3 7-9 13-8
Angeles before taking on DH Player Team Player Team Player Team Player Team Houston 17 19 .472 5½ 4 6-4 W-1 8-10 9-9
duties at Fenway Park over the Longoria Tampa Bay 46 Pujols St. Louis 37 Frasor Toronto 4-0 1.000 Martis Washington 5-0 1.000 Pittsburgh 16 21 .432 7 5½ 4-6 W-2 11-9 5-12
weekend. Bay Boston 40 Fielder Milwaukee 35 Palmer Los Angeles 4-0 1.000 Broxton Los Angeles 4-0 1.000 West W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home Away
Lind Toronto 35 Ibanez Philadelphia 35 Halladay Toronto 8-1 .889 Meredith San Diego 4-0 1.000 Los Angeles 26 13 .667 — — 5-5 W-1 14-3 12-10
Markakis Baltimore 34 Cantu Florida 33 Greinke Kansas City 7-1 .875 DLowe Atlanta 5-1 .833 San Francisco 19 18 .514 6 2½ 5-5 W-1 13-8 6-10
Shairon Martis, SP, Nationals. A 5-0 San Diego 16 22 .421 9½ 6 4-6 W-3 11-6 5-16
AHill Toronto 33 Hawpe Colorado 32 Buehrle Chicago 5-1 .833 Billingsley Los Angeles 5-1 .833 Colorado 14 22 .389 10½ 7 3-7 L-2 7-10 7-12
Nationals pitcher? Martis is a Huff Baltimore 33 Three tied 30 Slowey Minnesota 5-1 .833 Cueto Cincinnati 4-1 .800 Arizona 14 23 .378 11 7½ 3-7 W-1 9-15 5-8
two-start pitcher (vs. Pittsburgh, CPena Tampa Bay 33 z-first game was a win
vs. Baltimore). Both starts are at
Pitching Matchups Today’s Games (All times Eastern)
home, where Martis is 3-0 with a Doubles Strikeouts
American League The Line
2.11 ERA. It’s risky, but Martis A.L. N.L. A.L. N.L. Chicago White Sox (Richard 0-0) at Toronto (Richmond 4-2), 1:07 p.m. at Tor -160 Chi +150
easily could be 7-0 at week’s end. Player Team Player Team Player Team Player Team Minnesota (Perkins 1-2) at N.Y. Yankees (Pettitte 3-1), 7:05 p.m. at NY -170 Min +160
Longoria Tampa Bay 16 FSanchez Pittsburgh 15 Verlander Detroit 69 Peavy San Diego 69
Oakland (Gallagher 1-1) at Tampa Bay (Niemann 3-3), 7:08 p.m. at TB -145 Oak +135
Nolan Reimold, OF, Orioles. Injuries Callaspo Kansas City 15 Hudson Los Angeles 14 Greinke Kansas City 65 JSantana New York 67
L.A. Angels (Lackey 0-0) at Seattle (Washburn 3-2), 10:10 p.m. LA -120 at Sea +110
have opened the door for Reimold, Byrd Texas 14 HaRamirez Florida 14 Halladay Toronto 57 JVazquez Atlanta 67
who was hitting .396 in Triple-A Lind Toronto 14 Kotchman Atlanta 13 Lester Boston 54 Lincecum San Francisco 66 National League The Line
MYoung Texas 14 Zimmerman Washington 13 FHernandez Seattle 53 Billingsley Los Angeles 56 Pittsburgh (Ohlendorf 4-3) at Washington (Detwiler 0-0), 7:05 p.m. at Was -115 Pit +105
before being called up. Reimold is Markakis Baltimore 13 Three tied 12 Beckett Boston 46 Haren Arizona 56 Colorado (Marquis 4-3) at Atlanta (D.Lowe 5-1), 7:10 p.m. at Atl -180 Col +170
getting every opportunity to play, Polanco Detroit 13 Garza Tampa Bay 45 Harden Chicago 53 Arizona (Garland 3-2) at Florida (Nolasco 2-4), 7:10 p.m. Ari -125 at Flo +115
and this week’s schedules features
Triples Saves Milwaukee (Looper 3-2) at St. Louis (Lohse 3-2), 8:15 p.m. at STL -125 Mil +115
a hitters ballpark (Yankee Sta-
N.Y. Mets (Redding 0-0) at L.A. Dodgers (Wolf 2-1), 10:10 p.m. at LA -135 NY +125
dium) and the team with the A.L. N.L. A.L. N.L.
Tuesday’s Games National League
worst team ERA in baseball Player Team Player Team Player Team Player Team American League Pittsburgh at Washington, 7:05 p.m.
(Washington) Crisp Kansas City 5 Kemp Los Angeles 4 Papelbon Boston 10 FrRodriguez New York 11 Texas at Detroit, 7:05 p.m. Arizona at Florida, 7:10 p.m.
— Bill Bender Andrus Texas 3 Bourn Houston 3 FFrancisco Texas 9 Cordero Cincinnati 10 Baltimore at N.Y. Yankees, 7:05 p.m. Philadelphia at Cincinnati, 7:10 p.m.
JBuck Kansas City 3 Morgan Pittsburgh 3 Fuentes Los Angeles 9 BWilson San Francisco 9 Oakland at Tampa Bay, 7:08 p.m. Colorado at Atlanta, 7:10 p.m.
Toronto at Boston, 7:10 p.m. Milwaukee at Houston, 8:05 p.m.
MORE COVERAGE Crawford Tampa Bay 3 Victorino Philadelphia 3 Jenks Chicago 8 Bell San Diego 9
Cleveland at Kansas City, 8:10 p.m. Chicago Cubs at St. Louis, 8:15 p.m.
12 tied 2 Winn San Francisco 3 MaRivera New York 7 Hoffman Milwaukee 9
For more fantasy advice, visit: Minnesota at Chicago White Sox, 8:11 p.m. San Francisco at San Diego, 10:05 p.m.
DWright New York 3 Soria Kansas City 7 Broxton Los Angeles 9 L.A. Angels at Seattle, 10:10 p.m. N.Y. Mets at L.A. Dodgers, 10:10 p.m.
sportingnews.com/fantasy/baseball 19 tied 2 Sherrill Baltimore 7 Franklin St. Louis 9
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com Baseball MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 16
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Kansas City 7, Baltimore 4
Cold stretch aside, the Royals are for real
K.C. overcomes deficit, errors Everybody is talking about the
Royals.
KANSAS CITY—Next time the Kansas Royals 7, Orioles 4 Well, when I visited Sporting
City Royals lose a game they should Baltimore AB R H BI BB SO Avg. News headquarters in Charlotte
have won, they’d better not complain B.Roberts 2b 4 1 1 1 1 1 .294 during spring training, the staff
C.Izturis ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 .243
to anybody in Baltimore. Andino ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 was planning and brainstorming
The Royals had every reason to lose Markakis rf 2 1 0 0 2 0 .336 for the baseball preview issue of
Huff dh 4 0 1 0 0 0 .281
to the Orioles on Sunday. They fell into Mora 3b 4 0 0 0 0 2 .262 Sporting News
an early 3-0 deficit against a pitcher Reimold lf 4 0 1 1 0 0 .235 Magazine. One
Wigginton 1b 2 1 0 0 1 1 .210
who seemed to have complete com- Zaun c 3 0 0 0 0 1 .198 of the ideas that
mand. They committed four errors. a-Montanez ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .217 we discussed
Pie cf 4 1 1 1 0 0 .203
They even pulled a wild strategic gam- Totals 32 4 4 3 4 5 was Kansas City
ble by calling for a suicide squeeze on as a surprise
Kansas City AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
back-to-back pitches. Crisp cf 3 1 0 1 1 1 .245 team. A few folks
Yet, John Buck had a tiebreaking Callaspo 2b 4 1 1 0 1 1 .341 had taken notice
Butler 1b 5 1 2 2 0 1 .278
RBI triple in the eighth and the Royals Jacobs dh 3 1 1 0 1 0 .262 Todd Jones of the Royals and
gratefully deposited a 7-4 victory in the J.Guillen rf 4 0 1 2 1 0 .279 BASEBALL were trying to
Maier rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267
win column that squared the four- Teahen 3b 3 0 0 0 1 0 .289 come up with a
game series. DeJesus lf 4 2 2 0 0 1 .237 way of shining some light on a
J.Buck c 3 1 1 2 1 1 .236
“If you’d told me we were going to Bloomquist ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 .333 once-proud franchise that had
commit four errors and still have a Totals 33 7 9 7 6 6 been dormant for so long.
chance to win the ballgame, and win it Baltimore 003 000 010 — 4 4 1 However, the Royals hadn’t
by the margin we did, I’d have told you Kansas City 001 003 03x — 7 9 4 done much recently to warrant a
you were crazy,” said Royals manager a-flied out for Zaun in the 9th. E: C.Ray (2), Bloomquist big fuss being made about them.
Trey Hillman. “It took us a while to CHARLIE RIEDEL / AP (2), J.Buck (4), Callaspo 2 (3). LOB: Baltimore 6, Kansas And the previous spring, Sporting
City 10. 2B: Butler (11), J.Guillen (3), DeJesus (8). 3B:
wake up.” Royals OF David DeJesus scored the winning run. Pie (1), DeJesus (2), J.Buck (3). RBIs: B.Roberts (16), News took a flyer on my Tigers, CHARLIE RIEDEL / AP
It was the first time the Royals had Reimold (2), Pie (4), Crisp (14), Butler 2 (18), J.Guillen 2 picking the Motor City Kitties to Zack Greinke and his 0.60 ERA lead a rotation that has Todd Jones believing in the Royals.
(15), J.Buck 2 (19). SB: B.Roberts (9), C.Izturis (8), Crisp
committed four errors in a game and try to make contract. (11). CS: Huff (3). S: Crisp. Runners left in scoring win the whole thing. So trying to
still won since April 10, 2003 at Detroit. On the very next pitch, Buck bolted position: Baltimore 4 (Huff, Pie, Mora 2); Kansas City make the case to devote 3-5 maga- Kansas City’s surprising start is And don’t sleep on the Royals’
5 (Crisp, Bloomquist, Teahen 2, J.Guillen).
“A total missed opportunity,” said toward home as Crisp pushed a dead- zine pages to the Royals ... well, it the toast of the baseball world ... bullpen. Setup men Juan Cruz and
Baltimore catcher Gregg Zaun. “We ened bunt back toward the mound. Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA was a tough sell. Especially con- for now. Kyle Farnsworth make the game
Uehara 5 6 4 4 2 3 94 4.34
should have been able to close that one Buck was safe and so was Crisp, who Walker 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 12 3.12 sidering that both New York teams How did Kansas City do it? shorter. Although he is on the dis-
out and win that ballgame.” eventually scored the seventh run on C.Ray 1 1⁄3 0 0 0 4 2 33 5.68 made all of the sexy offseason Starting pitching, starting pitch- abled list now, Joakim Soria is one
Ji.Johnson L, 2-2 1⁄3 2 3 3 0 0 12 4.42
Juan Cruz (3-0), the fourth Royals Billy Butler’s RBI single. Bass 2⁄3 1 0 0 0 1 16 5.04 headlines. Picking the Yankees to ing and more starting pitching. of the nastiest closers who doesn’t
pitcher, retired all six batters he faced “I saw who it was at the plate and Kansas City IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA win it all and the Mets to reach the Zack Greinke, Gil Meche, Brian pitch in the A.L. East.
Hochevar 3 1⁄3 3 3 2 3 1 70 16.88
for his 11th straight winning decision. first I was thinking Coco might do it on Tejeda 2 2⁄3 0 0 0 1 3 43 2.87 postseason were logical choices Bannister and even Sidney Ponson Plenty of folks expect the Royals
He has not lost since June 9, 2007, his own and knowing Trey is an Mahay H, 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 15 3.38 (and stories). gave the lineup a chance to relax to collapse and fall out of the race,
J.Cruz W, 3-0 BS, 2-3 2 0 0 0 0 1 18 1.45
when he was with Arizona. aggressive manager as far as that kind And so the Royals would have to and perform. The left-handed hit- especially considering their cur-
Buck connected off Jim Johnson (2-2) of stuff, I figured he might do it,” Buck Mahay pitched to 2 batters in the 8th. Uehara pitched wait. ters (Mark Teahen, David DeJesus, rent struggles. But believe in them.
to 4 batters in the 6th. Inherited runners-scored:
for his third triple of the season after said. Walker 1-0, C.Ray 1-0, Bass 1-1, Tejeda 2-0, J.Cruz Even after a recent cold stretch, Mike Jacobs and the switch-hitting Sporting News did, even if we didn’t
David DeJesus doubled leading off the Buck wasn’t surprised to see the sui- 2-1. IBB: off C.Ray (Jacobs). HBP: by Bass (Jacobs), the Royals still in the A.L. Central Coco Crisp) have mixed well with decide to make a big story out of it
by Hochevar (Wigginton). WP: Hochevar. Umpires:
eighth. The Royals called a suicide cide squeeze put on a second time. Home, Mike DiMuro; First, James Hoye; Second, Dale race. And we’d like to give an ol’ the righthanded bats (Jose Guil- before the season.
squeeze with Coco Crisp at the plate, “No, I wasn’t. I was actually looking Scott; Third, Jerry Meals. T: 3:13. A: 22,791 (38,177). tip of the cap to the team, the orga- len, Mike Aviles and Billy Butler). —Todd Jones, a former major league closer, is a
but Buck stopped his dash home and for it again,” he said. nization, the general manager and You might not know these names, regular contributor to Sporting News Today, Sporting
retreated to the bag when Crisp did not — The Associated Press the skipper. but you will. News Magazine and SportingNews.com.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com Baseball MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 17
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Toronto 8, Chicago White Sox 2 Detroit 11, Oakland 7

Halladay’s 2nd-tier stuff enough for win No. 8 Miner saves Tigers’ bullpen
DETROIT—Zach Miner knew he Tigers 11, Athletics 7
TORONTO—Even without his Blue Jays 8, White Sox 2 would eventually get a chance Oakland AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Chicago AB R H BI BB SO Avg. O.Cabrera ss 4 1 2 1 1 1 .231
best stuff, Roy Halladay still Podsednik lf 5 1 1 0 0 1 .250
to make up for two bad perfor- Kennedy 2b 4 2 3 1 1 0 .346
had more than enough to beat Getz 2b 4 1 0 0 0 0 .238 mances last week. Cust rf 4 1 0 0 1 1 .262
Dye rf 4 0 1 1 0 0 .274 Holliday lf 4 1 4 0 1 0 .267
the Chicago White Sox. Konerko 1b 4 0 3 1 0 0 .318
He didn’t expect it would Giambi dh 4 1 1 0 1 1 .204
Halladay won his fifth Thome dh 3 0 1 0 1 1 .237 happen so soon. R.Sweeney cf 4 0 1 2 0 1 .248
Al.Ramirez ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 .211 Crosby 1b 4 1 0 0 1 1 .236
straight start, Adam Lind hit Fields 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .231
Miner, who struggled as the Powell c 5 0 1 3 0 2 .200
one of three Toronto homers a-Betemit ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 .250 Tigers gave up big leads against Hannahan 3b 3 0 0 0 1 1 .138
C.Miller c 3 0 0 0 0 3 .207 a-T.Buck ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .206
and the Blue Jays beat the White b-Pierzynski ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .276
Minnesota on Wednesday and Totals 37 7 12 7 7 8
Sox 8-2 on Sunday. Lillibridge cf 3 0 1 0 0 2 .162 Thursday, pitched 4 1/3 innings
c-J.Nix ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 .240 Detroit AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
“A few of the pitches today, Totals 34 2 7 2 3 8
of solid relief Sunday as Detroit Granderson cf 2 2 1 3 3 0 .259
especially early in the count, rallied from a six-run deficit to J.Anderson lf 5 0 1 2 0 0 .297
Toronto AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Thomas rf 4 0 0 0 1 0 .311
weren’t where I wanted them Scutaro ss 3 1 1 1 0 0 .286
beat Oakland 11-7 Sunday. Mi.Cabrera 1b 5 0 0 0 0 0 .375
and caused some trouble,” Hal- Jo.McDonald ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 .235 “This is the complete oppo- Ordonez dh 4 1 1 0 1 1 .256
A.Hill 2b 3 2 2 1 1 0 .345 Larish 3b 3 2 2 0 1 1 .278
laday said. “I just have to con- Rios rf 4 1 2 2 0 0 .265
site end of the spectrum from Inge 3b 1 0 0 0 0 1 .279
tinue to make pitches, regardless V.Wells cf 4 1 0 0 0 2 .263 Minnesota,” Miner said. “We Laird c 5 1 1 1 0 2 .219
Lind dh 4 2 2 3 0 2 .329 Santiago 2b 4 3 4 4 0 0 .352
of the count, and getting ahead Rolen 3b 2 0 0 0 2 1 .326
blew those two games in Min- Everett ss 3 2 3 1 0 0 .306
is always key.” Overbay 1b 4 0 1 1 0 1 .247 nesota, and I had a big hand in Totals 36 11 13 11 6 5
Halladay (8-1) surpassed Barajas c 4 1 2 0 0 0 .310 both of them, so it was huge to
Snider lf 3 0 0 0 0 3 .240 Oakland 510 010 000 — 7 12 1
Kansas City righthander Zack Totals 32 8 10 8 3 9 help us come from behind this Detroit 044 030 00x — 11 13 0
Greinke for the major league Chicago 200 000 000 — 2 7 0
time.” a-lined out for Hannahan in the 9th. E: O.Cabrera (6).
lead in wins by allowing two Toronto 100 320 02x — 8 10 2 Miner got into the game in LOB: Oakland 11, Detroit 8. 2B: Powell (4), Ordonez
runs, one earned, and six hits the first inning, as Jim Leyland (5), Everett 2 (7). 3B: J.Anderson (2), Santiago (1). HR:
a-walked for Fields in the 9th. b-flied out for C.Miller in Kennedy (1), off Galarraga; O.Cabrera (1), off Miner;
over seven innings. He also low- the 9th. c-walked for Lillibridge in the 9th. E: Halladay pulled starter Armando Galar- Santiago (3), off S.Casilla; Granderson (10), off Springer.
ered his ERA to 2.78 while (1), Jo.McDonald (1). LOB: Chicago 8, Toronto 3. 2B: raga after he had allowed five RBIs: O.Cabrera (11), Kennedy (3), R.Sweeney 2 (10),
Podsednik (2), Konerko 2 (12), Thome (5), Scutaro (10). Powell 3 (9), Granderson 3 (24), J.Anderson 2 (9), Laird
becoming the second Blue Jays HR: Rios (5), off Floyd; Lind (7), off Floyd; A.Hill (11), runs and only gotten two outs. (9), Santiago 4 (19), Everett (16). SB: Holliday (1).
pitcher to win eight of his first off Jenks. RBIs: Dye (20), Konerko (23), Scutaro (20), By the time Luke French S: Everett. SF: R.Sweeney. Runners left in scoring
A.Hill (33), Rios 2 (20), Lind 3 (35), Overbay (19). SB: position: Oakland 5 (O.Cabrera, Crosby 2, Cust, Powell);
nine starts. Lillibridge (4), Scutaro (3). CS: Dye (2). Runners left replaced Miner for the sixth, Detroit 4 (Thomas, J.Anderson, Laird 2). DP: Oakland 1
“He was working both sides of in scoring position: Chicago 6 (Fields 2, C.Miller, Dye, Detroit had taken command of (Kennedy, O.Cabrera, O.Cabrera, Hannahan); Detroit 1
Al.Ramirez, Podsednik); Toronto 1 (Barajas). DP: Chicago (Everett, Inge, Mi.Cabrera).
the plate and his curveball had 2 (Getz, Al.Ramirez, Konerko), (Lillibridge, Lillibridge, the game.
FRANK GUNN / AP Getz); Toronto 1 (A.Hill, Jo.McDonald, Overbay). Oakland IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
some snap to it today,” White Sox “Armando had a rough day Cahill L, 2-3 2 1⁄3 7 7 7 2 0 60 5.01
outfielder Scott Podsednik said. White Sox 3B Josh Fields leaps out of the way as the throw from home hits Toronto’s Marco Scutaro in the fifth inning. Chicago IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA and I just knew I needed to keep S.Casilla 2 1⁄3 4 3 3 0 2 35 3.07
Floyd L, 2-4 5 7 6 6 2 4 76 7.71 Springer 1⁄3 1 1 1 0 0 5 2.76
Halladay has worked seven Gobble 2 0 0 0 0 4 32 3.86
us in the game,” Miner said. Ziegler 2 1 0 0 2 1 29 3.86
innings or more in all nine chance, you have to take those Jenks 1 3 2 2 1 1 17 2.77 “That’s all I was focused on.” A.Bailey 1 0 0 0 2 2 20 1.54
starts this season and leads the chances,” White Sox interim BASEBALL’S BEST Toronto
Halladay W, 8-1
IP
7
H
6
R ER BB SO NP ERA
2 1 1 8 103 2.78
Miner’s performance was Detroit
Galarraga
IP
2⁄3
H
4
R ER BB SO
5 5 3 0
NP ERA
41 5.62
major leagues with 68 innings manager Joey Cora said. “It just Where does Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay rank Frasor 1⁄3 1 0 0 0 0 3 0.64 magnified by the fact that Detroit Miner W, 3-1 4 1⁄3 7 2 2 1 6 82 4.61
Carlson 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 7 2.70 French 2 0 0 0 3 2 37 0.00
pitched. got out of hand after that.” among baseball’s best players? Find out Wednesday League 1 0 0 0 2 0 17 4.50
was missing two relievers. Perry 1 1 0 0 0 0 15 2.76
Chicago got two in the first off Jason Frasor got one out in in Sporting News Today, when we unveil our list of “Bobby Seay had some tight- Rodney 1 0 0 0 0 0 10 4.20
Halladay but couldn’t score the eighth, Jesse Carlson got the the top 50, as selected by a guest panel of 100 Hall of Inherited runners-scored: Carlson 1-0. Umpires: ness in his back and Joel
Home, Dan Iassogna; First, Charlie Reliford; Second, Inherited runners-scored: S.Casilla 2-2, Springer
again despite putting the leadoff other two and Brandon League Famers, major award winners and insiders. The Adrian Johnson; Third, Larry Vanover. T: 2:28. A: 37,147 Zumaya wasn’t available, so we 2-2, Miner 2-0. IBB: off Ziegler (Granderson). Umpires:
(49,539). Home, Todd Tichenor; First, Tom Hallion; Second, Jerry
runner in scoring position in the finished it in the ninth for the full, 10-page package will be part of the new Sport- were trying to milk everything Crawford; Third, Phil Cuzzi. T: 2:57. A: 27,535 (41,255).
fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Blue Jays, who won their A.L.- ing News Magazine, which hits all Barnes & Noble, we could out of the guys we had
“With a guy like Halladay leading 26th game. Borders and Hudson Retail outlets later this week. left,” Leyland said.
pitching, if he gives you a — The Associated Press — The Associated Press
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com Baseball MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 18
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Texas 3, L.A. Angels 0 Seattle 3, Boston 2

Mariners edge struggling Sox

First-place Rangers win seventh straight SEATTLE—The Mariners started Mariners 3, Red Sox 2
ARLINGTON, TEXAS—Scott Feldman and Rangers 3, Angels 0 three pitchers expected to be in Boston AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Ellsbury cf 5 0 1 0 0 0 .300
three Texas Rangers relievers pulled off a Los Angeles AB R H BI BB SO Avg. the minors right now, and got lit- Pedroia 2b 3 0 1 0 2 0 .317
Figgins 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .272 Bay lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .295
rare feat at their hitter-friendly ballpark. E.Aybar ss 4 0 1 0 0 0 .303 tle production out of Ken Griffey Lowell 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .289
The foursome scattered five hits and Abreu rf 3 0 0 0 1 0 .293 Jr. and Adrian Beltre this J.Drew rf 3 2 2 1 1 1 .261
Hunter cf 3 0 0 0 1 1 .310 Baldelli dh 4 0 0 0 0 2 .200
David Murphy hit a sacrifice fly in the K.Morales 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .275 weekend. J.Bailey 1b 3 0 1 0 1 1 .182
seventh inning to help the AL West- Napoli dh 4 0 2 0 0 0 .324 Yet with a 3-2 victory Sun- Varitek c 3 0 1 1 0 0 .231
Matthews Jr. lf 4 0 1 0 0 2 .282 2-Kottaras pr-c 0 0 0 0 0 0 .143
leading Rangers win their seventh Kendrick 2b 2 0 0 0 1 0 .230 day, Seattle took two of three N.Green ss 3 0 2 0 1 0 .302
straight, 3-0 over the Los Angeles Mathis c 3 0 0 0 0 2 .259 from Boston, which finished its Totals 32 2 8 2 5 6
Totals 31 0 5 0 3 6
Angels on Sunday. final West Coast trip of the sea- Seattle AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
The Rangers shut out the Angels in Texas AB R H BI BB SO Avg. son 2-4. I.Suzuki rf 4 0 2 0 1 0 .321
Kinsler 2b 3 1 1 1 1 0 .314 F.Gutierrez cf 4 0 2 1 0 1 .270
Texas for the first time since 2003 and M.Young 3b 4 0 1 0 0 1 .351 “Today was a tough day,” Griffey Jr. dh 4 0 1 0 0 0 .207
had their first home shutout since last Hamilton cf 3 0 0 0 0 0 .241 Boston manager Terry Fran- 1-En.Chavez pr-dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 .273
Byrd cf 1 0 1 1 0 0 .309 Beltre 3b 4 0 0 0 0 2 .211
September. Blalock dh 4 1 1 0 0 1 .237 cona said. “(But) what hap- Branyan 1b 4 1 1 1 0 2 .300
“We got great pitching, great defense N.Cruz rf 4 0 1 0 0 2 .271 pened last week doesn’t affect Balentien lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .286
Dav.Murphy lf 2 0 0 1 0 2 .203 Ro.Johnson c 2 0 1 0 0 1 .206
and timely hitting,” said Rangers man- C.Davis 1b 3 0 0 0 0 0 .227 us.” Johjima c 1 0 0 0 0 1 .250
ager Ron Washington after his team Saltalamacchia c 2 0 0 0 1 1 .267 Franklin Gutierrez singled Y.Betancourt ss 4 1 2 0 0 1 .264
Vizquel ss 2 1 1 0 1 0 .378 Cedeno 2b 4 1 3 1 0 0 .200
completed a six-game homestand with a Totals 28 3 6 3 3 7 under the glove of third base-
Totals 35 3 12 3 1 9
sweep of their division rival. “I don’t man Mike Lowell to score
Los Angeles 000 000 000 — 0 5 0 Boston 010 100 000 — 2 8 2
think it can get any better than that, the Texas 000 000 12x — 3 6 0 Ronny Cedeno with two outs in
Seattle 020 000 001 — 3 12 1
three games we played at that level. It the ninth inning, moments
LOB: Los Angeles 7, Texas 5. 2B: Kinsler (11), Byrd (14), Two outs when winning run scored. 1-ran for Griffey Jr.
was a great series. We played good base- Blalock (7). 3B: Vizquel (1). RBIs: Kinsler (32), Byrd (17), after a key error by Boston, for
in the 8th. 2-ran for Varitek in the 9th. E: N.Green 2 (8),
ball for six days at home.” Dav.Murphy (8). SB: Figgins 2 (17). SF: Dav.Murphy. the win. Y.Betancourt (6). LOB: Boston 9, Seattle 9. 2B: Varitek
Runners left in scoring position: Los Angeles 2 (9), Y.Betancourt (5). 3B: Cedeno (1). HR: J.Drew (6), off
Ian Kinsler and Marlon Byrd had RBI (Mathis, K.Morales); Texas 2 (Hamilton, N.Cruz). DP: Rocco Baldelli was 0-for-11
Vargas; Branyan (9), off Masterson. RBIs: J.Drew (20),
doubles, and the Rangers have their lon- Texas 1 (Kinsler, Vizquel). with seven strikeouts in three Varitek (16), F.Gutierrez (16), Branyan (19), Cedeno (2).
gest streak since winning nine straight games as the designated hitter S: F.Gutierrez, Ro.Johnson. SF: Varitek. Runners left
Los Angeles IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA in scoring position: Boston 6 (Ellsbury 2, Lowell 2,
from May 20-31, 2005. Texas, which MATT SLOCUM / AP Jer.Weaver L, 3-2 8 6 3 3 3 7 112 2.59 for Ortiz. J.D. Drew and Jason Varitek, Pedroia); Seattle 5 (Beltre 2, I.Suzuki, Cedeno,
Texas IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA F.Gutierrez). DP: Boston 2 (N.Green, J.Bailey), (Varitek,
has won 13 of 15 and leads the Angels by Rangers LF David Murphy knocked in the go-ahead run with this sacrifice fly in the seventh inning. Feldman 6 4 0 0 2 3 108 4.04 Bay were 3-for-11 (.272) with
J.Bailey, J.Bailey, N.Green); Seattle 3 (Beltre, Cedeno,
4½ in the division, also moved nine Jennings W, 1-1 1 1 0 0 0 1 17 3.24 one strikeout and one extra- Branyan), (Y.Betancourt, Cedeno, Branyan), (Cedeno,
Guardado H, 2 2⁄3 0 0 0 1 0 12 6.23 Y.Betancourt, Branyan).
games over .500 (23-14) for the first time Darren O’Day got four outs in his first probably saved a run in the seventh O’Day S, 1-1 1 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 2 17 1.50 base hit in the No. 3 spot in the
since June 1, 2005. major league save opportunity. Closer with a leaping catch of a drive by Howie batting order usually held by Boston IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Inherited runners-scored: O’Day 1-0. Balk: Feld- Masterson 6 1⁄3 9 2 2 0 6 92 4.57
“(The Angels) put us to the test,” Feld- Frank Francisco is on the disabled list Kendrick before crashing into the pad- man. Umpires: Home, Rob Drake; First, Jeff Nelson; David Ortiz, who is benched Delcarmen 1 1 0 0 0 1 19 0.96
man said. “They’ve won the division the due to right biceps tendinitis. ded wall in right-center. Hamilton fell Second, Tim Tschida; Third, Bob Davidson. T: 2:37. A: with a .208 average and no Okajima 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 8 2.89
37,146 (49,170). R.Ramirez L, 4-1 2⁄3 2 1 1 1 1 16 0.86
last few years, so it’s nice to beat a team Fans chanted “sweep! sweep!” after on the warning track, scrambled to his home runs. Seattle IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
like that.” O’Day recorded the final out on a strike- feet and threw back to the infield to keep Justin Masterson, filling in Vargas 5 1⁄3 7 2 1 3 1 97 1.29
Feldman and Jered Weaver (3-2) were out of Gary Matthews. Matthews at first. again for the injured Daisuke White 1 2⁄3 0 0 0 1 1 19 2.50
M.Lowe 1 0 0 0 0 3 18 4.15
in command until Texas broke through “It was awesome. I can’t say enough “It saved the game,” Washington said Matsuzaka, allowed two Aardsma W, 1-1 1 1 0 0 1 1 18 1.45
in the seventh when Hank Blalock led about the fans and hearing that ‘sweep’ of Hamilton’s grab. “It was going to be earned runs and struck out six Inherited runners-scored: Delcarmen 1-0, Okajima
off with a double, went to third on Nel- chant going through the crowd,” said the first team that gave something up in 6 2/3 innings. 1-0, White 2-0. IBB: off R.Ramirez (I.Suzuki). Umpires:
son Cruz’s single and scored on Mur- O’Day, who pitched for the Angels last was going to lose. Weaver was doing a Seattle’s series win erased the Home, Jim Wolf; First, Brian O’Nora; Second, Fieldin
Culbreth; Third, Gary Cederstrom. T: 3:03. A: 40,833
phy’s fly to right. season. “Coming here last year with the great job. If (Hamilton) doesn’t get that gloom of a 1-7 road trip that ended (47,878).
Jason Jennings (1-1) pitched the sev- opposing team, I didn’t hear anything ball and they score a run, you don’t with two straight losses in the
enth for the win. Eddie Guardado like that.” know what’s going to happen.” last at-bat at first-place Texas.
allowed a walk in 2/3 inning, and Rangers center fielder Josh Hamilton — The Associated Press — The Associated Press
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com Baseball MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 19
AMERICAN LEAGUE
N.Y. Yankees 3, Minnesota 2, 10 innings Tampa Bay 7, Cleveland 5

Damon goes deep, gives Yanks another walk-off win Rays overcome lineup error
NEW YORK—Whipped cream pies and Yankees 3, Twins 2, 10 innings ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.—Andy Rays 7, Indians 5
championship belts. Johnny Damon and Minnesota AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Sonnanstine thought the last Cleveland AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Span lf 4 0 0 0 1 3 .284 A.Cabrera ss 5 0 1 0 0 1 .311
the New York Yankees are enjoying this Tolbert 2b 4 0 1 1 1 1 .179
time he batted third was in Lit- J.Carroll 2b 5 1 3 0 0 0 .417
string of walk-off wins with the Mauer c 4 0 2 0 1 1 .429 tle League, maybe. V.Martinez c 3 0 0 1 1 0 .401
Morneau 1b 3 0 1 0 2 1 .324 Choo rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .286
unabashed glee of Little Leaguers. Kubel dh 5 0 1 0 0 1 .336
Sonnanstine delivered after a Peralta 3b 4 0 0 0 0 2 .257
Damon homered in the 10th inning Cuddyer rf 4 0 0 0 1 2 .252 pregame mistake forced the Garko lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .258
Buscher 3b 5 0 1 0 0 1 .217 Dellucci dh 4 1 2 0 0 2 .263
Sunday, giving the surging Yankees a Gomez cf 5 1 2 0 0 0 .222
pitcher to bat Sunday, hitting DeRosa 1b 2 1 0 0 1 0 .242
3-2 victory and their third straight Punto ss 3 1 0 0 2 0 .194 an RBI double in the Tampa B.Francisco cf 3 2 2 4 1 1 .248
Totals 37 2 8 1 8 10 Totals 34 5 8 5 3 8
comeback win over the Minnesota Bay Rays’ 7-5 victory over the
Twins that was capped by a game-end- New York AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Cleveland Indians. Tampa Bay AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Jeter ss 5 0 2 0 0 0 .270 B.Upton cf 3 1 0 0 2 0 .188
ing hit. Damon lf 4 1 3 1 0 1 .324
The game was delayed 13 Crawford lf 5 0 1 1 0 1 .333
“I’ve never been a part of something Teixeira 1b 4 0 0 0 0 2 .231 minutes before the bottom of Sonnanstine p 3 0 1 1 0 1 .333
A.Rodriguez 3b 3 1 1 1 0 0 .172 Longoria 3b 0 0 0 0 1 0 .343
like this,” manager Joe Girardi said. H.Matsui dh 4 1 1 0 0 2 .261
the first due to a lineup card C.Pena 1b 3 0 0 0 1 1 .245
“There’s probably a few more gray hairs Swisher rf 2 0 1 0 1 1 .244 error by the Rays that listed Zobrist 3b-rf 4 1 1 0 0 1 .289
1-Gardner pr-cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .244 Bartlett ss 4 2 3 1 0 1 .370
on my head after these last three, but Me.Cabrera cf-rf 2 0 0 1 0 1 .310
both Ben Zobrist and Evan Kapler rf 2 1 0 1 1 0 .220
they have things that take care of that.” R.Pena 2b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .264 Longoria as the third baseman. Balfour p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Cervelli c 1 0 1 0 0 0 .318 Howell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Alex Rodriguez homered in the sev- Cash c 2 0 0 0 0 1 .100
Longoria was supposed to be a-W.Aybar ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .255
enth to start New York’s rally from a a-Cano ph-2b 2 0 0 0 0 0 .296 the designated hitter, but Percival p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Totals 32 3 9 3 1 9 Iwamura 2b 2 1 1 0 2 1 .285
two-run deficit. Mark Teixeira kept it Tampa Bay lost the DH posi- M.Hernandez c 3 1 1 3 1 1 .296
tied in the eighth with a diving play at Minnesota 000 000 200 0 —2 8 0 tion because of the snafu and Totals 30 7 8 7 8 8
first base and the Yankees extended New York 000 000 200 1 —3 9 0 was forced to put Sonnanstine Cleveland 030 020 000 — 5 8 0
their winning streak to a season-best One out when winning run scored. a-lined out for Cash in the third spot of the lineup. Tampa Bay 110 500 00x — 7 8 0
five games. in the 8th. 1-ran for Swisher in the 9th. LOB: Minnesota “I knew something was up,
13, New York 7. 2B: H.Matsui (8). HR: A.Rodriguez (3), a-struck out for Howell in the 8th. LOB: Cleveland 6,
The past three wins have come in off Slowey; Damon (10), off Crain. RBIs: Tolbert (4), but I didn’t know exactly what Tampa Bay 7. 2B: A.Cabrera (9), J.Carroll (1), Dellucci
Damon (27), A.Rodriguez (7), Me.Cabrera (13). SB: (3), Sonnanstine (1), Bartlett (9), M.Hernandez (2). 3B:
thrilling fashion against the tough-luck Cuddyer (4), Jeter (8). S: Damon, Swisher, Me.Cabrera.
was going to happen,” Sonnan- J.Carroll (1), Zobrist (1), Bartlett (1). HR: B.Francisco
Twins, who dropped to 3-22 in the Bronx SF: Me.Cabrera. Runners left in scoring position: stine said. “They told me that I 2 (4), off Sonnanstine 2. RBIs: V.Martinez (26),
Minnesota 7 (Kubel 3, Cuddyer, Tolbert 3); New York 3 B.Francisco 4 (13), Crawford (18), Sonnanstine (1), Bar-
since the start of the 2002 season. KATHY WILLENS / AP
(A.Rodriguez, H.Matsui 2). DP: New York 1 (A.Rodriguez,
was going to have to hit, and I tlett (17), Kapler (2), M.Hernandez 3 (7). SB: B.Upton
Melky Cabrera’s two-run single off Yankees LF Johnny Damon watches his 10th-inning, walk-off home run clear the fence. R.Pena, Teixeira). corrected them and told them ‘I (12), Bartlett (11). Runners left in scoring position:
Cleveland 2 (J.Carroll, Choo); Tampa Bay 3 (Zobrist,
All-Star closer Joe Nathan finished a Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
get to hit.’ I took it as an opportu- M.Hernandez, Crawford). DP: Cleveland 1 (A.Cabrera,
three-run rally in the ninth that gave With one out, Damon drove a full- “We’re glad that we’re finding a way to Slowey 7 2⁄3 7 2 2 0 8 97 4.50 nity. That was one of the craziest J.Carroll, DeRosa); Tampa Bay 1 (Bartlett, C.Pena).
New York a 5-4 victory Friday night. count pitch from Jesse Crain (2-2) into win these close games. Earlier in the Mijares 1 1⁄3 1 0 0 1 1 20 2.25 games I’ve ever been a part of.”
Crain L, 2-2 1⁄3 1 1 1 0 0 10 9.00 Cleveland IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Rodriguez’s 11th-inning homer won it the second deck of the right-field stands season we weren’t doing that. That’s New York IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Sonnanstine (2-4) went 1-for- Huff L, 0-1 3 2⁄3 7 7 7 4 2 97 17.18
A.Burnett 6 2⁄3 6 2 2 6 7 123 5.02 Aquino 2 1⁄3 1 0 0 2 1 39 0.00
Saturday, 6-4. for his team-high 10th home run. going to be the difference when the sea- Albaladejo 2⁄3 1 0 0 2 1 24 4.82
3, including a run-scoring dou- Herges 1 2⁄3 0 0 0 1 4 30 2.08
“Three walk-offs in a row. I know I’ve Damon tossed his helmet high as he son’s over.” Tomko 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 9 3.86 ble in the fourth. He also K.Wood 1⁄3 0 0 0 1 1 8 5.84
Ma.Rivera 1 1 0 0 0 1 15 2.76 Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
never seen it,” Minnesota catcher Joe trotted toward the plate, where he was It was Damon’s third career game- Aceves W, 2-0 1 0 0 0 0 1 11 2.16
reached on a failed sacrifice in Sonnanstine W, 2-4 5 2⁄3 7 5 5 1 3 104 7.36
Mauer said. mobbed by giddy teammates. Waiting ending homer, and his first with the the first and struck out looking Balfour H, 4 1 1 0 0 2 0 25 5.60
Inherited runners-scored: Mijares 3-0, Albaladejo Howell H, 3 1 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 3 17 2.60
The last time New York had three to do a postgame television interview, he Yankees. 3-0, Tomko 3-0. HBP: by Slowey (A.Rodriguez). WP:
in the third. Percival S, 6-6 1 0 0 0 0 2 15 4.91
consecutive walk-off wins was August became the third Yankees player in Alfredo Aceves (2-0) pitched a perfect A.Burnett 3. Umpires: Home, Chad Fairchild; First, John Rays manager Joe Maddon
Hirschbeck; Second, Wally Bell; Third, Marty Foster. T: Inherited runners-scored: Aquino 2-0, K.Wood
27-29, 1972. The Twins had three three days to get a cream pie in the face inning for the win. New York will go for 3:30. A: 44,804 (52,325).
took the blame for the lineup 1-0, Balfour 1-0, Howell 2-0. IBB: off Huff (C.Pena).
straight walk-off losses in 1973. from pitcher A.J. Burnett, delighting the a four-game sweep Monday night with card miscue. He didn’t notice HBP: by Percival (DeRosa). WP: K.Wood. Umpires:
Home, Ted Barrett; First, Tim McClelland; Second, Greg
“The guys are busting their tails,” crowd of 44,804. Andy Pettitte on the mound. the problem before signing it. Gibson; Third, Andy Fletcher. T: 3:34 (Rain delay: 0:13).
manager Ron Gardenhire said. “We are “It doesn’t seem like we’ve had an Minnesota lost its sixth straight on the “I messed up, and the players A: 28,841 (36,973).
doing a lot of good things out there— easy game yet this year, but we’ll take road, falling to 4-11 away from home. picked me up,” he said.
except winning baseball games.” any victory we can,” Damon said. — The Associated Press — The Associated Press
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com Baseball MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 20
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Houston 6, Chicago Cubs 5
Astros 6, Cubs 5

Rodriguez hits 300th HR, ends Cubs’ streak at 5

Houston AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
K.Matsui 2b 4 1 1 0 0 1 .238
Bourn cf 4 1 0 0 0 2 .298
Berkman 1b 3 1 2 1 2 0 .230
Ca.Lee lf 4 0 0 0 1 0 .331
Erstad lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167
CHICAGO—The tradition of throw- “It was a great homestand. I think Tejada ss 4 1 2 1 0 0 .318
Pence rf 4 0 0 0 0 4 .323
ing back an opposing hitter’s home we were getting a little greedy when Blum 3b 4 1 1 1 0 0 .269
run ball at Wrigley Field worked we wanted the one today,” Lee said. Sampson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
I.Rodriguez c 3 1 1 2 1 2 .286
out well for Ivan Rodriguez. After not allowing a hit for the Moehler p 2 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Rodriguez hit his 300th home first three innings and holding a a-Ja.Smith ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .000
Byrdak p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
run, Lance Berkman had two hits 2-0 lead, Cubs starter Rich Harden Arias p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
and an RBI and the Houston Astros gave up a leadoff double to Berk- Keppinger 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 .321
Totals 34 6 7 5 4 10
snapped the Chicago Cubs’ five- man. One out later, Miguel Tejada
game winning streak with a 6-5 hit an RBI double and scored on Chicago AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
A.Soriano lf 5 2 2 1 0 0 .280
victory Sunday. Geoff Blum’s single. Theriot ss 5 1 1 1 0 1 .294
“I was telling my father last Then on a 1-2 pitch, Rodriguez Fukudome cf 5 1 2 0 0 0 .333
D.Lee 1b 5 1 4 2 0 1 .226
night I would love to hit it here launched a two-run homer into the Bradley rf 5 0 1 1 0 1 .195
because I know the fans are going center-field basket to put the Astros Soto c 4 0 1 0 0 0 .204
Fontenot 3b 3 0 0 0 1 0 .204
to throw it,” said Rodriguez, who ahead 4-2. It was his 293rd homer Scales 2b 3 0 0 0 1 0 .333
got his wish when a fan tossed his as a catcher, good for seventh all- Harden p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .200
b-Freel ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .136
keepsake back into the field. time. Ascanio p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Houston starter Brian Moehler “Three hundred home runs on Cotts p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
c-Miles ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .217
(1-0) pitched five innings to get his the major league level is an accom- Totals 39 5 11 5 2 4
first victory since Sept. 10, 2008, plishment, especially for a catcher,” Houston 000 400 200 — 6 7 0
against Pittsburgh. Rodriguez said. “For a guy like me, Chicago 002 010 002 — 5 11 1
Moehler was backed by a strong I’m not too tall at 5-10, and to be able a-struck out for Moehler in the 6th. b-lined out for
performance from the Houston to hit 300 home runs on the major Harden in the 6th. c-grounded out for Cotts in the 9th.
bullpen. Tim Byrdak pitched a league level. But it’s good. It’s just E: Scales (1). LOB: Houston 7, Chicago 10. 2B: Berkman
(4), Tejada (12), Theriot (7), D.Lee (6). HR: I.Rodriguez
perfect sixth, Alberto Arias hard work. I’m a very hard worker (5), off Harden; D.Lee (4), off Moehler; A.Soriano (12),
pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings. every day. Things like this pay off.” off Sampson. RBIs: Berkman (21), Tejada (21), Blum
(12), I.Rodriguez 2 (19), A.Soriano (25), Theriot (18),
Chris Sampson pitched 1 2/3 Harden (4-2) was tagged for the D.Lee 2 (18), Bradley (9). CS: Berkman (2). Runners
innings for his first career save most runs in an innings since he left in scoring position: Houston 4 (Tejada, Ca.Lee
2, Ja.Smith); Chicago 6 (Harden 2, Fontenot 2, Scales,
despite giving up a solo shot to gave up five in the second inning Soto).
Alfonso Soriano and an RBI single against the Angels on Aug. 9, 2005, Houston IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
to Milton Bradley. He ended the when he was pitching for Oakland. Moehler W, 1-2 5 5 3 3 2 4 106 7.71
game by getting Geovany Soto to “I am not pitching anywhere I’m NAM Y. HUH / AP Byrdak H, 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 3.21
Arias H, 3 1 1⁄3 2 0 0 0 0 17 2.70
line out to third with runners on capable of. (I) expect more out of When Astros C Ivan Rodriguez connected with his 300th career HR in the fourth inning, he knew the crowd at Wrigley would return his souvenir. Sampson S, 1-2 1 2⁄3 4 2 2 0 0 36 2.22
first and second. myself,” said Harden, who has a Chicago IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Harden L, 4-2 6 6 4 4 3 7 112 4.74
“We seem to make most ninth 4.74 ERA. with a single and scored from first something I can build on,” said previous decisions, gave up four Ascanio 2 1 2 2 0 2 24 6.75
innings exciting, but a win’s a The Astros added two runs in the on Ryan Theriot’s double. After Lee, who came in the game hitting runs and six hits. He had seven Cotts 1 0 0 0 1 1 24 5.87
win,” Astros manager Cecil Coo- seventh. Cubs reliever Jose Ascanio Kosuke Fukudome singled, Lee .198. strikeouts and walked three. Inherited runners-scored: Sampson 2-0. HBP: by
per said. hit the first two batters in the inning drove Moehler’s pitch to the left- Moehler gave up a solo shot to “The big thing for me is just Moehler (Soto), by Ascanio (K.Matsui, Bourn). WP:
Moehler, Ascanio. Umpires: Home, Angel Campos;
Derrek Lee was 4-for-5 with a and Berkman followed with an RBI center wall for a double to score Lee in the fifth inning. He allowed being consistent and throwing my First, Gary Darling; Second, Bruce Dreckman; Third, Bill
home run for the Cubs who had single. Michael Bourn scored on Theriot. three runs on five hits. He struck off-speed for strikes. Those are Hohn. T: 3:00. A: 40,478 (41,210).
their season-high winning streak Ascanio’s wild pitch to give the “I felt good to get some hits. My out four and walked two and hit a the kind of pitches that have been
snapped. The Cubs finished the Astros a 6-3 lead. swing felt a little better today. I had batter. hurting me,” Harden said.
homestand with a 4-1 record. Soriano led off the third inning a little better timing so it is Harden, who had won his four — The Associated Press
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com Baseball MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 21
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Philadelphia 8, Washington 6 Phillies 8, Nationals 6 Arizona at Atlanta, postponed, rain
Philadelphia AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Rollins ss 5 1 2 1 0 1 .222

Botched grounder ends ugly series Utley 2b

Ibanez lf
Howard 1b
Werth rf
3 1 1 1 2 0 .291
4 0 0 0 1 0 .357
4 1 1 0 0 1 .266
5 2 2 1 0 1 .294
Victorino cf 3 1 1 2 1 1 .256
Feliz 3b 4 2 2 0 0 1 .308
Ruiz c 4 0 0 0 0 0 .255
Park p 1 0 0 0 0 1 .111
Taschner p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Durbin p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .333
Escalona p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
c-Stairs ph 0 0 0 0 0 0 .318
d-Bruntlett ph 1 0 1 1 0 0 .138
S.Eyre p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Lidge p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Totals 35 8 10 6 4 6
Washington AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
C.Guzman ss 5 3 3 0 0 1 .381
N.Johnson 1b 3 2 2 0 2 0 .333
Zimmerman 3b 3 0 0 1 1 1 .357
Dunn rf 4 1 1 2 1 3 .292
Dukes cf 1 0 1 1 0 0 .277
W.Harris cf 2 0 0 1 1 1 .250
Willingham lf 3 0 0 0 1 0 .208
A.Hernandez 2b 4 0 2 0 0 0 .275
Nieves c 3 0 0 0 1 3 .275 JOHN AMIS / AP
Zimmermann p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-Cintron ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .083 Rain washed out Sunday’s final game of the series between Atlanta and Arizona.
Villone p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
b-Belliard ph
Tavarez p
Colome p
1 0 0 0 0 0 .204
0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Braves’ recovery must wait
Beimel p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Totals 31 6 9 5 7 9 ATLANTA—The Arizona Diamondbacks will have to wait to see
Philadelphia 300 200 030 — 8 10 0 if their lopsided win over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night
Washington 320 001 000 — 6 9 1
a-grounded into a fielder’s choice for Zimmermann was a momentum builder.
in the 5th. b-popped out for Villone in the 7th. c-was The Braves will have to wait to move past their most lopsided
announced for Escalona in the 8th. d-doubled for
Stairs in the 8th. E: Colome (1). LOB: Philadelphia 6, loss in almost three years.
Washington 9. 2B: Utley (5), Victorino (7), Bruntlett The Diamondbacks’ game against the Braves on Sunday was
(4), Dunn (6), Dukes (8). RBIs: Rollins (13), Utley (25),
Werth (24), Victorino 2 (23), Bruntlett (4), Zimmerman postponed due to persistent rain. No makeup date has been set,
(30), Dunn 2 (30), Dukes (24), W.Harris (8). SB: Rollins and although Arizona is not scheduled to return to Atlanta this
(4). CS: Rollins (4), A.Hernandez (1). S: Taschner, Zim-
EVAN VUCCI / AP mermann. SF: Zimmerman. Runners left in scoring season, each team has an off day on Aug. 17.
Philadelphia OF Shane Victorino couldn’t come up with a sliding catch in the third inning against Washington. position: Philadelphia 4 (Feliz, Victorino, Ibanez, “We have compatible off days, so there’s a way to do it,” Braves
Utley); Washington 3 (Nieves, Willingham, C.Guzman).
GIDP: Willingham. DP: Philadelphia 2 (Feliz, Utley), manager Bobby Cox said.
WASHINGTON—It was an unsightly series second and let the ball go into right field. his typical shrug. “That’s pretty good.” (Rollins, Utley, Howard). The postponement ended the Braves’ hopes of winning their
Philadelphia IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
that could end no other way. The final “I didn’t see the ball. What I can do? I Sergio Escalona (1-0), called up over- Park 1 1⁄3 5 5 5 4 2 63 7.08 fourth straight series for the first time since April-May 2007,
decisive runs in the Philadelphia Phil- don’t see it,” said Hernandez. “I cannot night from Class AA Reading, got the Taschner 2 2⁄3 1 0 0 2 2 40 3.86 but Atlanta’s recent upswing was interrupted by Arizona’s 12-0
Durbin 2 2 1 1 0 2 33 4.03
lies’ four-game sweep of the pitching- even catch it if I can’t see it.” win in his major league debut by throw- Escalona W, 1-0 1 1 0 0 0 1 18 0.00 win on Saturday night. The loss was the Braves’ worst in a shut-
poor, error-prone Washington Nationals Two runs scored, and Colome was ing one scoreless inning of relief. S.Eyre H, 6 1 1⁄3 0 0 0 1 2 30 4.00 out since a 13-0 loss at Arizona on May 20, 2006.
Lidge S, 7-9 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 2 8.31
scored on a bunt play that went mysteri- given a hard-luck, two-base error. The The 24-year-old lefthander from Vene- Washington IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA “It happens,” said Braves outfielder Jeff Francoeur. “Those
ously awry. Phillies added another run in the inning zuela pumpedhis fists repeatedly as he Zimmermann 5 7 5 5 3 6 108 6.35 are games you’re going to have every year and you just kind of
Villone 2 0 0 0 0 0 27 0.00
With the Phillies trailing by one in the and won 8-6, capping a series that recalled his feelings when he saw the Tavarez L, 0-3 0 1 2 2 1 0 9 6.32 do it and move on. I don’t think there’s any reason to panic about
eighth inning and nobody out, Pedro Feliz included 55 runs, 42 walks and enough Nationals mess up the bunt. Colome BS, 1-1 1⁄3 1 1 1 0 0 5 20.25 that or get all bent out of shape.”
Beimel 1 2⁄3 1 0 0 0 0 15 4.61
attempted a routine sacrifice. Pitcher Jesus long innings to make any fan restless. “Yes! Yes! And thank God! I was just Tavarez pitched to 2 batters in the 8th. Inherited Francoeur said the Braves were hoping to play Sunday to
Colome fielded the ball and threw accurately “We played a lot of baseball and we come waiting for the score to hold, and I got the runners-scored: Taschner 3-1, Lidge 1-0, Colome 2-2, move past the ugly loss.
Beimel 1-1. HBP: by Durbin (Willingham), by Taschner
to first, but second baseman Anderson Her- out 4-0,” Phillies manager Charlie Man- ball right there,” said Escalona, pointing (W.Harris), by Zimmermann (Howard). WP: Park 2. “We did want to play, but there are so many games,” Fran-
nandez—who was covering the bag—inex- uel, whose team had lost three straight to the souvenir in his locker. Umpires: Home, Mike Reilly; First, Laz Diaz; Second, coeur said. “We’ll be back at it and ready to go.”
Chuck Meriwether; Third, Eric Cooper. T: 3:30. A: 29,577
plicably moved out of the way at the last series coming into Washington, said with — The Associated Press (41,888). — The Associated Press
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com Baseball MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 22
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Brewers 8, Cardinals 2
L.A. Dodgers 12, Florida 5 Dodgers 12, Marlins 5 Milwaukee 8, St. Louis 2 Milwaukee AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Los Angeles AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Weeks 2b 1 0 0 0 0 1 .272
Pierre lf 5 2 3 3 1 1 .419 Hall 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .262

Young lefty masters Marlins Brewers star

Loretta 3b 5 2 3 3 1 1 .368 Counsell 3b-2b 3 2 2 1 2 0 .339
Hudson 2b 6 0 1 2 0 2 .340 Braun lf 3 2 1 0 1 0 .320
Kemp cf 4 0 0 0 1 2 .287 Fielder 1b 4 1 1 3 1 1 .266
Loney 1b 5 0 1 1 0 0 .272

MIAMI—At first, Clayton Kershaw’s

Ausmus c
Paul rf
J.Castro ss
5 1 1 0
3 2 0 0
3 4 2 1
0
2
2
2
2
1
.346
.333
.450
belts another M.Cameron cf
Hardy ss
Hart rf
3 1
4 1
4 0
0
1
0
0
2
0
2
0
1
0
0
1
.289
.220
.255
Kendall c 4 1 2 2 0 0 .226
Kershaw p 1 1 0 0 1 1 .143
pitching had teammates sprinting and Mota p 1 0 0 0 0 1 .000 ST. LOUIS—The Milwaukee M.Parra p 1 0 0 0 1 1 .071
Coffey p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
diving for balls. Then he found a groove Ohman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 Brewers’ four-run cushion had McClung p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 38 12 11 10 8 13
and flirted with a no-hitter. been sliced in half before Prince Totals 31 8 7 8 8 5
The bid ended with Cody Ross’ double Florida AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Fielder’s fourth home run in St. Louis AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Bonifacio lf 2 0 0 1 1 0 .261
leading off the eighth inning, and the Los Helms 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .217 five games gave them plenty of Br.Ryan 2b 3 0 1 0 0 1 .256
b-Schumaker ph-2b 2 0 0 0 0 0 .305
Angeles Dodgers settled for a four-hitter Ha.Ramirez ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 .343 breathing room. Robinson rf 4 0 0 0 0 0 .250
Cantu 1b 4 0 0 0 0 2 .264
to beat the Florida Marlins 12-5 Sunday. Hermida rf 4 1 1 0 0 1 .258 Fielder’s three-run homer in Pujols 1b 3 1 2 0 1 1 .328
Y.Molina c 2 1 0 0 2 0 .296
The double came on the 112th and final Uggla 2b 3 1 1 0 1 1 .190 the seventh inning proved deci- LaRue c 0 0 0 0 0 0 .368
R.Paulino c 3 1 0 0 1 2 .224
pitch by Kershaw, a career high. C.Ross cf 2 2 2 4 2 0 .225 sive in the Brewers’ 8-2 victory Stavinoha lf 4 0 1 1 0 0 .167
Rasmus cf 4 0 0 1 0 1 .245
“I had fun today,” the 21-year-old left- Koronka p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 over the St. Louis Cardinals on K.Greene ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 .204
Penn p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
hander said. “I felt good the whole game.” a-Coghlan ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .167 Sunday. He has four homers Barden 3b 3 0 1 0 1 0 .283
Wellemeyer p 2 0 1 0 0 0 .188
Kershaw (2-3) benefited from three fine Badenhop p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 and 10 RBIs the last five games Motte p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Pinto p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
defensive plays in the first two innings, b-De Aza ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 after connecting off right- a-Thurston ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .242
Boyer p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
then settled down. Given a 6-0 lead by Calero p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --- hander Blaine Boyer. B.Thompson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
c-Gload ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .224
the third, he struck out nine and pitched Totals 29 5 4 5 5 9 “It put them back on the c-Duncan ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .265
around four walks. Kershaw even sty- Totals 33 2 6 2 4 4
ropes,” starter Manny Parra
mied Hanley Ramirez, who went 0-for-4, Los Angeles 222 000 042 — 12 11 0 said. The momentum could Milwaukee 400 000 310 — 8 7 0
Florida 000 000 014 — 5 4 2
ending his 13-game hitting streak. have swung, but that put them St. Louis 000 002 000 — 2 6 1
It was a performance reminiscent of a-struck out for Penn in the 5th. b-grounded out for right back in a hole.” a-fouled out for Motte in the 6th. b-grounded out for
Pinto in the 8th. c-popped out for Calero in the 9th. E:
another Dodgers left-hander, Sandy Kou- Parra (3-4) won his third Br.Ryan in the 7th. c-grounded out for B.Thompson in
Koronka 2 (2). LOB: Los Angeles 9, Florida 4. 2B: Pierre the 9th. E: Barden (2). LOB: Milwaukee 8, St. Louis 8.
fax, who threw four no-hitters in the 2 (8), Loretta (2), Uggla (6), C.Ross (6). HR: J.Castro straight start and the Brewers 2B: Counsell (6), Braun (8), Pujols (6). HR: Fielder (9),
(1), off Koronka; C.Ross (6), off Mota. RBIs: Pierre 3
1960s. Manager Joe Torre predicted Ker- got two-run singles from J.J. off Boyer. RBIs: Counsell (7), Fielder 3 (35), Hardy 2
(12), Loretta 3 (7), Hudson 2 (25), Loney (27), J.Castro (21), Kendall 2 (13), Stavinoha (1), Rasmus (11). S:
shaw will come close again. “He’s got the (4), Bonifacio (9), C.Ross 4 (23). S: Kershaw 2, Penn. Hardy and Jason Kendall with Coffey. Runners left in scoring position: Milwaukee
SF: Bonifacio. Runners left in scoring position: Los
Koufax dominance, stuff-wise—the same two outs in the first to win their 4 (M.Parra, M.Cameron, Hall, Fielder); St. Louis 3 (Stavi-
Angeles 5 (Paul, Loney 2, Loretta, Hudson); Florida 3 noha, Br.Ryan, Thurston). GIDP: Hall, Fielder, Hardy.
type of curveball,” Torre said. (Bonifacio, Coghlan, Cantu). fifth in a row. They’re 19-5 DP: St. Louis 3 (K.Greene, Br.Ryan, Pujols), (Br.Ryan,
Kershaw caught the Marlins looking since a 4-9 start. K.Greene, Pujols), (K.Greene, Br.Ryan, Pujols).
WILFREDO LEE / AP Los Angeles IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
at third strikes with his curve, and he Kershaw W, 2-3 7 1 1 1 4 9 112 4.60 “Everything seems to be
Dodgers P Clayton Kershaw carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning and struck out nine. Mota 1 2⁄3 3 4 4 1 0 37 9.00 Milwaukee IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
had success throwing about a dozen going together right now,” M.Parra W, 3-4 6 5 2 2 4 3 109 4.57
Ohman 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 3 5.40 Coffey 2 1 0 0 0 1 22 3.26
Florida IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
changeups, a season high. Those pitches difficult, Torre and pitching coach Rick make it 10-0. Koronka L, 0-2 2 2⁄3 4 6 4 4 2 62 11.05
Parra said. “It’s just been a lot McClung 1 0 0 0 0 0 12 3.00
St. Louis IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
complemented a 94 mph fastball. Honeycutt said. “Every time there has been a long Penn 2 1⁄3 1 0 0 0 5 29 5.71 of fun, and it makes it a lot of Wellemeyer L, 3-4 5 2⁄3 3 4 4 7 3 106 5.87
Badenhop 2 1⁄3 4 4 4 2 2 49 6.00
Kershaw struck out Jeremy Hermida “No-hitters are sacred,” Honeycutt inning this season, it’s hard for me to get Pinto 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 11 1.02 fun to come to the ballpark Motte 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 5 3.29
Boyer 0 2 3 3 1 0 16 11.42
with his 100th pitch to start the seventh said. “They don’t come along too often.” loose,” Kershaw said. “But I don’t think Calero 1 2 2 2 2 3 34 2.84 when we’re playing this way.” B.Thompson 3 2 1 1 0 2 41 4.30
and went on to strike out the side for the No decision was necessary. Ross that’s the reason I gave up a hit.” Kershaw pitched to 1 batter in the 8th. Inherited St. Louis, minus injured slug-
Boyer pitched to 4 batters in the 7th. Inherited
only time. started the eighth by pulling a high fast- Torre sat four regulars for the day runners-scored: Mota 1-1, Penn 2-2, Pinto 1-0. IBB: gers Ryan Ludwick and Rick runners-scored: Motte 2-0, B.Thompson 1-0. HBP:
off Badenhop (Pierre). WP: Pinto. Umpires: Home,
He had never pitched more than ball into the gap on a 1-2 count to start game following a night game, but the Paul Schrieber; First, Paul Nauert; Second, Joe West; Ankiel, snapped a 14-inning by Wellemeyer (Hardy, M.Parra), by Boyer (Braun).
Umpires: Home, Mark Wegner; First, Tim Timmons;
seven innings in his previous 28 major the eighth. Dodgers’ defense was first-team caliber. Third, Ed Rapuano. T: 3:12. A: 16,332 (38,560). scoreless slump against Mil- Second, Gerry Davis; Third, Jeff Kellogg. T: 2:56. A:
league starts, but Torre thought the “You don’t want to be on the lineup Three of Florida’s first five batters had a waukee pitching in the sixth on 43,042 (43,975).
youngster had enough left to complete a card on the wall inside a pitcher’s shot at a hit but were robbed on catches Nick Stavinoha’s RBI single
no-hitter. house,” Ross said. by second baseman Orlando Hudson, and a run-scoring groundout
Although Kershaw’s pitch count was Kershaw’s undoing might have been left fielder Juan Pierre and right fielder by Colby Rasmus. The Cardi-
in triple figures, taking him out before in the top of the inning, when he sat Xavier Paul. nals have lost six of eight.
he allowed a hit would have been while the Dodgers scored four runs to — The Associated Press — The Associated Press
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com Baseball MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 23
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Pittsburgh 11, Colorado 4 San Diego 3, Cincinnati 1

Seventh inning just what the Pirates needed Peavy’s efforts lead to sweep
SAN DIEGO—Jake Peavy had one Padres 3, Reds 1
Pirates 11, Rockies 4 Cincinnati AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
PITTSBURGH—The Colorado Rockies had a goal in mind after Saturday
Colorado AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Dickerson cf 4 1 2 1 0 0 .230
bottom of the seventh inning they’d like to Spilborghs cf 3 1 0 0 1 0 .264 night’s 16-inning game: Pitch a Hairston Jr. 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .247
forget. The Pittsburgh Pirates enjoyed it Barmes 2b 3 1 1 0 1 1 .237 complete game. Bruce rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .231
Tulowitzki ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 .250 Phillips 2b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .262
so much, they probably wish it was still Hawpe rf 4 1 1 1 0 0 .358 Peavy not only accomplished L.Nix lf 3 0 0 0 0 3 .294
going. Murton lf 4 1 1 1 0 0 .273 it, he was dominant in pitching a A.Rosales 1b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .271
Atkins 1b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .195 Hanigan c 3 0 1 0 0 0 .311
Nate McLouth had three of his four RBIs Torrealba c 3 0 2 1 0 0 .257 four-hitter to lead San Diego to a Janish ss 3 0 0 0 0 1 .313
during a 10-run seventh inning, and the Stewart 3b 4 0 1 0 0 2 .205 three-game sweep of Cincinnati Arroyo p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .077
Jimenez p 3 0 0 0 0 2 .250 Herrera p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Pirates came from behind to take their Daley p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --- with a 3-1 win Sunday. a-Taveras ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .293
second straight from the Rockies, 11-4 on Embree p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --- Peavy (3-5) gave the Padres’ Totals 30 1 4 1 0 8
Corpas p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Sunday. Grilli p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 bullpen a much needed rest after San Diego AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
The first 11 batters reached in the sev- b-S.Smith ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .308 the club used eight pitchers in Macias cf 2 1 1 0 2 0 .375
Totals 33 4 8 3 2 6 E.Gonzalez 2b 2 1 0 0 1 0 .163
enth for Pittsburgh, which trailed 4-1 Saturday night’s 6-5 win. That Eckstein 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 .242
entering the inning but scored at least 10 Pittsburgh AB R H BI BB SO Avg. one took 5 hours, 14 minutes, Ad.Gonzalez 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .294
Delw.Young rf 4 2 2 1 1 1 .355 Headley lf 4 0 1 0 0 2 .246
runs in an inning for the first time since F.Sanchez 2b 5 1 1 1 0 1 .310 exactly three hours longer than Kouzmanoff 3b 4 1 3 2 0 0 .237
Aug. 20, 2003. McLouth cf 5 2 3 4 0 1 .294 Sunday afternoon. Gerut rf 4 0 1 1 0 0 .223
Ad.LaRoche 1b 4 1 0 0 1 3 .235 Jo.Wilson ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 .182
“You don’t see 10s on the board too R.Diaz c 5 1 1 0 0 0 .341 “Jake never let up, never gave Blanco c 3 0 0 0 1 1 .136
often,” Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. Moss lf 3 1 2 0 2 0 .248 them the opportunity to gain any Peavy p 3 0 0 0 0 0 .000
An.LaRoche 3b 5 1 2 2 0 2 .261 Totals 30 3 6 3 4 4
“Everything just kind of broke loose.” Ja.Wilson ss 5 1 2 1 0 1 .254 momentum,” manager Bud Black
The inning featured nine hits, two Rock- Duke p 1 0 1 0 0 0 .235 said. “He was in the zone with all Cincinnati 000 001 000 — 1 4 0
a-Hinske ph 1 1 1 1 1 0 .259 San Diego 200 000 01x — 3 6 0
ies errors—three balls bounced off Colo- Meek p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --- his pitches.”
rado outfielders’ gloves—and a reliever Totals 38 11 15 10 5 9 Peavy was efficient, throwing a-popped out for Herrera in the 9th. LOB: Cincinnati
2, San Diego 8. 2B: Dickerson (2), Macias (2). HR:
who earned a trip to the disabled list when Colorado 000 400 0 00 — 4 8 2 92 of 122 pitches for strikes. Dickerson (2), off Peavy; Kouzmanoff (2), off Arroyo.
he happened to step on a bat while run- Pittsburgh 001 000 (10)0x — 11 15 1 “They needed it,” Peavy said of RBIs: Dickerson (7), Kouzmanoff 2 (11), Gerut (14).
Runners left in scoring position: San Diego 4 (Jo.
ning to back up home plate. a-walked for Duke in the 7th. b-grounded into a his bullpen. “You always want to Wilson, E.Gonzalez, Ad.Gonzalez 2). GIDP: Janish. DP:
“Things were going our way that fielder’s choice for Grilli in the 9th. E: Spilborghs 2 (2), finish what you start. I appreci- San Diego 1 (Kouzmanoff, Eckstein, Ad.Gonzalez).
R.Diaz (1). LOB: Colorado 5, Pittsburgh 9. 2B: Murton
inning,” McLouth said, “and sometimes (2), F.Sanchez (15), McLouth (5), An.LaRoche (10). HR: ate Buddy giving me the oppor- Cincinnati IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
you need that to have an inning like that.” McLouth (7), off Jimenez. RBIs: Hawpe (32), Murton tunity. The boys are beat up.” Arroyo L, 5-3 7 6 3 3 4 4 119 6.56
(3), Torrealba (5), Delw.Young (5), F.Sanchez (12), Herrera 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 1.80
McLouth also homered for the second McLouth 4 (28), An.LaRoche 2 (15), Ja.Wilson (11), Hin- Kevin Kouzmanoff provided San Diego IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
consecutive game, and Andy LaRoche had ske (5). S: Duke. SF: Torrealba. Runners left in scoring most of the San Diego offense Peavy W, 3-5 9 4 1 1 0 8 122 3.82
position: Colorado 2 (Spilborghs, Murton); Pittsburgh
two hits and two RBIs for the Pirates, who 6 (R.Diaz, Delw.Young 4, Ad.LaRoche). DP: Pittsburgh 1 with two RBIs, including a lead- Arroyo pitched to 1 batter in the 8th. HBP: by Arroyo
have won four of their past six since snap- (Duke, Ad.LaRoche). off homer in the eighth off Bron- (E.Gonzalez). Umpires: Home, Brian Runge; First, Bill
Miller; Second, Derryl Cousins; Third, Jim Joyce. T: 2:14.
ping an eight-game skid. Colorado IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA son Arroyo (5-3). A: 21,123 (42,691).
The Rockies’ Ubaldo Jimenez allowed Jimenez 6 5 1 1 3 7 115 4.30 Peavy won for the first time in
Daley 0 2 3 3 1 0 11 4.15
only one run for the third straight start, Embree L, 1-2 BS, 3-3 0 1 2 1 0 0 9 4.91 six starts and ran his career mark
but he could not extend his personal win- Corpas 2⁄3 6 5 5 1 0 21 7.02 against Cincinnati to 6-0 with a
Grilli 1 1⁄3 1 0 0 0 2 16 2.57
ning streak to three when the bullpen— Pittsburgh IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA 2.28 ERA. It was his first com-
and the Colorado defense—didn’t hold a Duke W, 5-3 7 6 4 4 2 4 103 2.84 plete game of the season and sev-
Meek 2 2 0 0 0 2 37 3.29
three-run lead for him. enth of his career.
“It is hard, not for me not getting the Daley pitched to 3 batters in the 7th. Embree pitched “We went through a bad
to 2 batters in the 7th. Inherited runners-scored:
win—it was hard for the team,” said Jime- Embree 2-2, Corpas 1-1, Grilli 1-0. WP: Meek. PB: Tor- stretch,” Black said. “This was a
nez. “We were looking for the win to win realba. Umpires: Home, Bill Welke; First, Tim Welke; good step in correcting how
Second, Scott Barry; Third, Angel Hernandez. T: 2:56. A:
the series, but it didn’t work out.” KEITH SRAKOCIC / AP 14,545 (38,362). we’ve played.”
— The Associated Press Pittsburgh’s Nate McLouth, right, scored in the first inning and led the 10-run seventh with three RBIs. — The Associated Press
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Starting over: Cutler has to learn offense, become a leader
BY ALBERT BREER
abreer@sportingnews.com
Former Cowboys defensive coordinator
Brian Stewart doesn’t need the tutorial on
Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. Stewart saw
it up close, coaching in joint training camp
practices and preseason games against the
Broncos the last two years.
“I saw that he’s a very competitive per-
son who had a deep understanding of
what they do,” Stewart said. “He could go
to receivers and say, ‘Do this, do that,’ and
he was gonna get after them. The receiv-
ers understood that. And in that system,
he came across as a smart, athletic, big-
armed guy.”
This offseason, Cutler—at odds with new
Denver coach Josh McDaniels—broke from
that cocoon.
He now has a new system. New team-
mates. A new start.
The rarity of a 25-year-old quarterback
coming off a 4,000-yard season and a Pro
Bowl makes Cutler’s fate unpredictable.
“What he has to accomplish now, in mini-
camp and the OTAs, is getting a knowledge
of the physical capabilities of the guys he’ll
play with,” said former Denver GM Ted
Sunquist, who drafted Cutler in 2005.
“When will this guy come out of his break?
Where does he like the ball?
“He got to a point with Brandon Marshall
where it became an intuitive feel; he could
put the ball out there and knew Brandon
would go get it. Same with Tony Scheffler.
There’s the scheme, too. He’s a smart guy,
but now he has to go backward a little bit
from where he developed over three years
in Denver.”
Cutler will take part in his first full-team
workout Wednesday, and that’s where
work will intensify as Cutler assimilates
himself—trying to become adept within his
system and surroundings and growing into
a leader.
Bears QB Jay Cutler, flanked by GM Jerry Angelo (left) and head coach Lovie Smith, will have an adjustment period that includes learning the talents of his targets.
The system
Mike Shanahan’s offense evolved into an
attack that employed Cutler in the shotgun
frequently with more open formations. It
produced huge numbers but also led to the
erosion of a once ultra-productive running
game.
“At our peak, we passed off the run, ran a
lot of bootlegs and rollouts, and we were
good enough that teams were putting eight
guys in the box, which opened things up for
John (Elway) and then Jake Plummer,”
Sunquist said. “We made the transition and
maybe that’s why we became mediocre. But
we were trying to take advantage of Jay’s
skills.”
NFL
In Chicago, Ron Turner’s system is built
around a power running game that sets up
the vertical passing game. Presuming the
Bears don’t overhaul the system like Denver
did around Cutler, it’ll mean more play-
action throws downfield than Cutler is
accustomed.
The Bears’ run-pass ratio (44-56) dwarfed
Denver’s (37-63) last year. But that doesn’t
mean Chicago is a bad fit for Cutler—his big
arm is ideal, in fact, in the same way Troy
Aikman’s was in that style of system, put in
by Turner’s brother, Norv. So learning is
the challenge for now.
“When you have a rookie, you’re starting
from ground zero, so it’s easy,” Stewart
NAM Y. HUH / AP
said. “Because he’s a vet, the coach may feel
he knows about the player, or the player
may feel he can carry things over from his
old offense. ... He has to unlearn the system
(from Denver), so he can make the new sys-
tem work. You can’t mix the two.
“That said, he’s got a big arm and he’s
intelligent so he should fit what they want
and be able to learn it.”
The surroundings
In Denver, Cutler had a kinship with
quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates, whose
firing played a role in Cutler’s unrest.
But the divorce might help Cutler. The two
shared a damn-the-torpedoes philosophy
MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 24
and had an open line of communication,
which helped Cutler turn into a confident
playmaker. Different coaching could prompt
Cutler, Sundquist suggests, to “quit playing
on emotion, play through his reads, and
make the right decisions, instead of saying,
‘Screw it, Brandon will go get it.’ ”
Then, there’s the matter of his teammates.
Denver had good tackles in Ryan Harris
and Ryan Clady but was susceptible to
inside push, forcing Cutler to move outside
the pocket. He shouldn’t need to do as much
of that in Chicago.
But as Stewart notes, “there’s a dropoff
with the skill talent, although the running
game will help him stick in the pocket and
get the ball deep.” Running back Matt Forte
and tight end Greg Olsen are weapons
underneath, but wide receiver is different.
In Denver, Cutler had Marshall and Eddie
Royal. In Chicago, can Devin Hester or
youngsters like Earl Bennett, Juaquin Igle-
sias or Johnny Knox legitimize the down-
field passing game? Of course, as a
Vanderbilt alum, this isn’t foreign to
Cutler.
“We really liked how week-in and week-
out, in the SEC, he was facing the best
defensive players in college football, and he
stood up to them,” Sundquist said. “At
times, he won games by himself, given the
talent around him. And he never allowed
the surroundings or circumstances get him
down.”
The leader
Can Cutler be that in Chicago?
In Denver, Cutler didn’t need to be at the
front of the room right away. By the nature
of the trade to Chicago, Cutler already has
been thrust there.
“He’s immediately in a leadership posi-
tion,” Stewart said. “You’re a quarterback,
that’s the leader, and even more so in his
situation. His teammates will look to him.”
Truth is, everyone else will too.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Scouts’ views
Running back rankings: Expect big season from Rams’ Jackson
Elite NFL running backs come in all shapes and
offer a wide array of skills, but there is one thing they
all have in common: They all should be the focal
point of their offenses.
RealScouts, Sporting News Today’s team of former
NFL scouts, rank their top 20 running backs for ’09:
1. Adrian Peterson, Vikings. He is the best
pure runner in the game, leading the
league in rushing average as a rookie and
rushing yards in ’08. He’ll get more
chances to show his blocking and receiving
skills this season.
2. Steven Jackson, Rams. New coach Steve
Spagnuolo has made no secret of the
fact he plans to build the team around
Jackson. He probably is the best all-pur-
pose back in the league, a candidate to lead
the league in carries and yardage in ’09.
3. Brandon Jacobs, Giants. His size and
physical style sets up everything the
Giants do on offense, and his absence late
in the season exposed some of the team’s
weaknesses.
4. Brian Westbrook, Eagles. He was
hampered by injuries last season, but
he has 37 touchdowns rushing/receiving
the last three seasons. He is a matchup
nightmare for opponents. He should
benefit greatly from upgrades along the
offensive line and at wide receiver.
5. Frank Gore, 49ers. The hiring of new
offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye
and running backs coach Tom Rathman is
good news for Gore. He has posted three
consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, and the
Niners now are more committed to a power
running game.
6. Clinton Portis, Redskins. He runs with
power and vision, showing the ability
to locate cutback lanes and burst to daylight.
NFL MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 25
When healthy, he has been one of the most
productive backs the last five years. 16. Ronnie Brown, Dolphins. The Dol-
phins brought along Brown slowly
last year as he recovered from ACL
7. Michael Turner, Falcons. Turner led the
NFL’s second-ranked rushing attack
with an NFL-high 376 carries last year, and
surgery. This season, with an improved
offensive line, another year in the system
and well on his way to full health, Brown
he finished second in rushing yards (1,699) should improve over last year’s so-so
and rushing touchdowns (17). New TE
Tony Gonzalez might steal some of Turn-
performance.
er’s red-zone touches, but Turner remains
the focal point of a run-first offense. 17. Thomas Jones, Jets. Jones is coming
off his best NFL season (1,312 yards
rushing, 13 touchdowns) but is holding out
8. LaDainian Tomlinson, Chargers. His
3.8-yard average and two 100-yard
for a new contract. He turns 31 in August,
though, and Jets coaches figure to give
efforts in 2008 were among the worst
numbers of his career, but he played
through injuries that would have kept
backup Leon Washington a larger role and
find work for rookie Shonn Greene.
most of us in bed for weeks. When healthy,
Tomlinson is one of the NFL’s most
versatile and explosive backs. And indica-
18. Ryan Grant, Packers. Grant struggled
early in ’08 with the Packers’ zone-
blocking concepts but performed better in
tions are L.T. will be able to carry the load the second half of the season. Still, 2008
again in ’09. was a disappointment for Grant and the
coaches don’t appear to have full confi-
9. Matt Forte, Bears. As a rookie last year,
he accounted for an incredible 37
percent of the Bears’ offense. He runs with
dence in him. Maybe Grant’s just not an
every-down back.
power and vision, and he makes plays as a
receiver. He will be even more effective
behind an upgraded line and with QB Jay
CHARLES REX ARBOGAST / AP
Entering his third season, Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson has established himself as the NFL’s best pure runner.
19. Kevin Smith, Lions. Smith started as a
rookie in ’08, a bright spot on a
winless team. He is a productive zone-
Cutler’s powerful arm keeping the safeties scheme runner with a nose for the end
honest. No more eight-man fronts for Forte.
12. Darren McFadden, Raiders. Turf toe
troubles behind him, he should 14. DeAngelo Williams, Panthers. He is a
tough, instinctive runner with
zone and proved to be a capable receiver.
He’ll improve with the arrival of Jim
10. Chris Johnson, Titans. He is an
outstanding open-field runner and
a dangerous receiver. Titans coaches say the
have a breakout season in ’09. He is a
phenomenal athlete who can line up
anywhere. He’ll beat out Justin Fargas for
great vision and burst to make big plays.
He rushed for 1,515 yards and 18 touch-
downs last year. Teammate Jonathan
Schwartz and new offensive coordinator
Scott Linehan.
best is yet to come from Johnson. The plan is
to use Johnson in more varied ways in ’09,
shifting him around the field to create
the starting job, and it wouldn’t surprise
us if he led the Raiders in rushing and
receiving.
Stewart added 836 yards rushing and 10
touchdowns, and Carolina’s run-first game
plan doesn’t figure to change in ’09.
20. Chris “Beanie” Wells, Cardinals. Wells
is big and powerful, in the Jacobs
mold. Wells is only a rookie but should
mismatches and get him the ball in the open overtake Tim Hightower as the first- and
field. He could become a star this year.
13. Marshawn Lynch, Bills. Despite his
impending suspension, Lynch still 15. Willie Parker, Steelers. He missed five
games last year because of knee
second-down back and get the call in
short-yardage and goal-line situations.
11. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jaguars. The
departure of Fred Taylor leaves the
projects as a 1,000-yard back who will
excel in Buffalo’s zone-blocking scheme
and shoulder injuries but still shows great
burst to the edge. With second-year man
Wells must improve as a pass blocker and
receiver, but that will come in time.
bulk of the mail-carrying to MJD. He has the
speed to attack the edge, is a tough inside
runner and can make plays after the catch.
because of his one-cut running style. He
also showed improved receiving skills in
’08.
Rashard Mendenhall (broken shoulder)
now healthy, too, Parker could be asked to
split time in ’09.
—RealScouts analyze NFL and college players, coaches and teams
exclusively for Sporting News Today.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Bush says knee is ‘75 percent’; Rice misses 49ers’ Hall cut
Saints RB Reggie Bush reports that his recovery
from December microfracture surgery on his
oft-injured left knee is going well.
“I’m feeling really good; I’m about 75 percent,”
Bush told The Times-Picayune. “The coaches are
pleased with my rehab and the way it’s going. I’m
pleased. I feel like I’m ahead of schedule. I’m
pretty much doing everything right now (in off-
season workouts).”
He does not expect to go full-out Tuesday at
the first day of the Saints’ full-squad offseason
practices begin.
“I’m pretty sure it’ll be tapered down,” Bush
told the Times-Picayune. “I won’t do as much.
That’s just being careful. I’m sure I’ll be full-go
in training camp.”
Once healthy, Bush and Pierre Thomas expect to get
the bulk of the work. Coach Sean Payton seeks a big
back to complement them and plans to bring Mike
Bell, Lynell Hamilton, FB Heath Evans and two undrafted
free agents, Herb Donaldson and P.J. Hill, to camp.
The NFL is negotiating to extend its televi-
sion contracts with CBS and Fox by two years,
sources told SportsBusiness Journal, taking the
deals through the 2013 season. The develop-
ments emerged as the league late last week was
said to be on the verge of settling its long-running
dispute with Comcast over the cable distribution
of NFL Network.
As an incentive to get cable operators to agree
to carry its poorly distributed cable channel, the
NFL has been dangling the idea of bundling in
Sunday Ticket’s Red Zone Channel, which shows
live-game look-ins during the league’s Sunday
afternoon games. The league, however, needs to
get permission from its Sunday afternoon broad-
casters, CBS and Fox, before making such a
channel widely available on cable.
Several sources described the extensions as
being close, with the networks most likely agree-
ing to a 3 percent to 5 percent increase over their
current rights deals.
Jerry Rice, widely regarded as the NFL’s best-
ever wide receiver and perhaps best player at any
INSIDE DISH
GERALD HERBERT / AP
Saints RB Reggie Bush had microfracture surgery in December.
position, will not be part of the first class inducted
into the San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame.
The first class was to be limited to only those
previously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of
Fame or whose jerseys were retired by the fran-
chise, but the club made an exception for former
owner Eddie DeBartolo. The team chose not to
make an exception for Rice, whose jersey has
not been retired nor who has been out of the
NFL for five years and thus eligible for the Pro
Football Hall of Fame.
The Class of 2009 will be QB John Brodie, WR
Dwight Clark, DE Fred Dean, CB Jimmy Johnson, FB
John Henry Johnson, Charlie Krueger, S Ronnie Lott, RB
Hugh McElhenny, QB Joe Montana, DT Leo Nomellini,
FB Joe Perry, OT Bob St. Clair, QB Y.A. Tittle, coach Bill
Walsh, LB Dave Wilcox and QB Steve Young. The cer-
emony will be held at halftime of the Sept. 20
home opener vs. Seattle.
Dolphins coach Tony Sparano plans to use vet-
eran Jason Taylor almost exclusively as a pass-rush
specialist who plays 20-25 snaps per game,
NFL
according to The Miami Herald. Taylor, who turns
35 in September, re-joined the team last week and
plans to be at today’s first full-squad practice.
Even though the salary cap jumped sur-
prisingly to $128 million, the Steelers remains
strapped. The team, according to the Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette, is only $5.6 million under the
threshold and thus might not be able to offer
extensions to any of their nine starters entering
the final year of their contracts.
FS Ryan Clark, OT Willie Colon, NT Casey Hampton,
C Justin Hartwig, DE Brett Keisel, TE Heath Miller, RB
Willie Parker, K Jeff Reed and OT Max Starks all have
contracts that expire after this season.
When the Texans begin offseason workouts
today, don’t expect to see franchise-tagged CB
Dunta Robinson. He has not signed the franchise
tender, which would guarantee him $9.957 mil-
lion, because he wants a long-term contract.
“Well, you know, Dunta’s chosen not to be
there, and as I’ve told you all along, I understand
the business,” coach Gary Kubiak said via the
team’s website. “I believe in Dunta, and Dunta
told me that I can count on him. He told his
teammates that.”
The Giants do not plan to honor MLB Anto-
nio Pierce’s request for a contract extension,
sources told Newsday. He has two years remain-
ing—$4.35 million and $4.75 million—on a $26
million deal he signed in 2005.
Representatives of the NFL Players Asso-
ciation and the league will begin talks on a new
labor agreement sometime in the next month,
according to Dennis Curran, the NFL’s senior vice
president in charge of labor litigation and
policy.
The league has an annual revenue stream of
more than $7 billion, according to Reuters. The
existing collective bargaining agreement ends
after the 2010 season. If a new contract is not
reached, there could be a work stoppage in 2011,
the league’s first since 1987.
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; Brett Favre, NY Jets; Gus Frerotte, Minnesota;
Charlie Frye, Seattle; Drew Henson, Detroit; Quinn Gray,
Kansas City; Trent Green, St. Louis; Rex Grossman, Chicago;
Brad Johnson, Dallas; J.P. Losman, Buffalo; Jamie Martin, San
Francisco; Craig Nall, Houston; Marques Tuiasosopo, Oakland;
Anthony Wright, NY Giants.
Running backs—Darian Barnes, New Orleans; Tatum Bell,
Denver; Brian Calhoun, Detroit; Jesse Chatman, NY Jets; P.J.
Daniels, Baltimore; Reuben Droughns, NY Giants; Warrick
Dunn, Tampa Bay; DeShaun Foster, San Francisco; Samkon
Gado, St. Louis; Nick Goings, Carolina; Ahman Green, Houston;
Andre Hall, Denver; Kay-Jay Harris, NY Giants; Maurice Hicks,
Minnesota; Edgerrin James, Arizona; Rudi Johnson, Detroit;
Deuce McAllister, New Orleans; Travis Minor, St. Louis; Chris
Perry, Cincinnati; Andrew Pinnock, Denver; Michael Pittman,
Denver; P.J. Pope, Denver; Cecil Sapp, Houston; Aaron Stecker,
New Orleans; Selvin Young, Denver.
Wide receivers—Drew Bennett, St. Louis; Marty Booker,
Chicago; Drew Carter, Oakland; Jason Carter; Carolina; Keary
Colbert, Detroit; Jayson Foster, Denver; D.J. Hackett, Carolina;
Dante Hall, St. Louis; Marvin Harrison, Indianapolis; Ike Hilliard,
Tampa Bay; Darrell Jackson, Denver; Nate Jackson, Denver;
Matt Jones, Jacksonville; Joe Jurevicius, Cleveland; Ashley
Lelie, Oakland; Brandon Lloyd, Chicago; Dane Looker, St. Louis;
Anthony Mix, Tampa Bay; Ben Obomanu (R), Seattle; Tab Perry,
Miami; Jerry Porter, Jacksonville; Kevin Robinson, Kansas City;
Koren Robinson, Seattle; Edell Shepherd, Denver; Travis Taylor,
Detroit; Amani Toomer, NY Giants; Kelley Washington, New
England; Todd Watkins (R), Oakland; Harry Williams, Houston;
Reggie Williams, Jacksonville; Wallace Wright (R), NY Jets.
Tight ends—Courtney Anderson, Houston; Adam Bergen,
Denver; Mark Bruener, Houston; Scott Chandler, San Diego;
Owen Daniels (R), Houston; Nate Lawrie, Cincinnati; Michael
Merritt, Kansas City; Chad Mustard, Denver; Jeff Robinson,
Seattle; Derek Schouman (R), Buffalo; Stephen Spach (R),
Arizona; Daniel Wilcox, Baltimore; Kris Wilson, San Diego.
Offensive tackles—Tyson Clabo (R), Atlanta; Anthony
Davis, St. Louis; Jon Dunn, Detroit; Wayne Gandy, Atlanta;
Kwame Harris, Oakland; Jonas Jennings, San Francisco; Levi
Jones, Cincinnati; James Marten (R), Oakland; Fred Miller,
Chicago; Rob Petitti, St. Louis; Jon Runyan, Philadelphia;
Ephraim Salaam, Houston; Charles Spencer, Jacksonville; Barry
Stokes, New England; Mark Tauscher, Green Bay; Mark Wilson
(R), Oakland.
Guards—Lennie Friedman, Cleveland; Adrian Jones, Kansas
City; Pete Kendall, Washington; Matt Lentz, Detroit; Terrence
Metcalf, Chicago; Edwin Mulitalo, Detroit; Chris Naeole,
Jacksonville; Tutan Reyes, Jacksonville; Grey Ruegamer, NY
Giants; Kendall Simmons, Pittsburgh; Rob Sims (R), Seattle;
Jason Whittle, Buffalo.
Centers—Brennen Carvalho, Green Bay; Jean-Philippe
Darche, Kansas City; Melvin Fowler, Buffalo; Matt Lehr, New
Orleans; Andy McCollum, Detroit; Jeremy Newberry, San
Diego; Scott Peters, Arizona; Bryan Pittman, Houston; Cory
Withrow, St. Louis.
MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 26
DEFENSE
Defensive ends—Kevin Carter, Tampa Bay; Earl Cochran,
Houston; Sean Conover, NY Jets; Nick Eason, Pittsburgh;
Kalimba Edwards, Oakland; Ebenezer Ekuban, Denver; John
Engelberger, Denver; Simon Fraser, Atlanta; Roderick Green,
San Francisco; Travis LaBoy, Arizona; Jayme Mitchell, Minne-
sota; Jerome McDougle, NY Giants; Julius Peppers (F), Carolina;
Anthony Weaver, Houston; James Wyche, Jacksonville.
Defensive tackles—Kenderick Allen, Minnesota; Gary
Gibson, Carolina; La’Roi Glover, St. Louis; Vonnie Holliday,
Miami; Antwan Lake, New Orleans; Langston Moore, Detroit;
Kindal Moorehead, Atlanta; Dewayne Robertson, Denver;
Orpheus Roye, Pittsburgh; Hollis Thomas, New Orleans; Josh
Thomas, Indianapolis; John Thornton, Cincinnati; Darwin
Walker, Carolina; Ellis Wyms, Minnesota; Brian Young, New
Orleans; Jeff Zgonina, Houston.
Linebackers—Rufus Alexander, Indianapolis; Jason Babin,
Kansas City; Rocky Boiman, Kansas City; Derrick Brooks, Tampa
Bay; Khary Campbell, Washington; Anthony Cannon, Detroit;
Dan Cody, Baltimore; Rosevelt Colvin, New England; Donte’
Curry, Carolina; Donnie Edwards, Kansas City; Keith Ellison (R),
Buffalo; Troy Evans, New Orleans; Gilbert Gardner, Chicago;
Curtis Gatewood, Kansas City; Morlon Greenwood, Houston;
Marques Harris, San Diego; Napoleon Harris, Minnesota; Abdul
Hodge (R), Cincinnati; Mike Humpal, Pittsburgh; Brad Kassell,
NY Jets; Jason Kyle, Carolina; Teddy Lehman, Buffalo; Paris
Lenon, Detroit; Wesly Mallard, Seattle; Jim Maxwell, Cincinnati;
Willie McGinest, Cleveland; Marques Murrell (R), NY Jets; Ryan
Nece, Detroit; Shantee Orr, Cleveland; Antwan Peek, Cleveland;
Carlos Polk, Dallas; Junior Seau, New England; Matt Sinclair,
Washington; Gary Stills, St. Louis; Terrell Suggs (F), 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; Marquand
Manuel, Denver; Marlon McCree, Denver; Lawyer Milloy,
Atlanta; Chad Nkang, Jacksonville; Jarrad Page (R), Kansas
City; Pierson Prioleau, Jacksonville; Chris Reis (R), New Orleans;
Dwight Smith, Detroit; Cameron Worrell, Chicago.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kickers—John Carney, NY Giants; Matt Stover, Baltimore.
Punters—Mitch Berger, Pittsburgh; Mike Dragosavich,
Indianapolis; Sam Koch (R), Baltimore; Kyle Larson, Cincinnati;
Ryan Plackemeier, Cincinnati.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Q&A with … Tennessee defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin
‘Every coach in this league—every one—is just terrific’
He has been in Knoxville for five months, and it’s
clear what’s important for new Tennessee defensive
coordinator Monte Kiffin: everyone else in the SEC.
From the breakdown of personnel for defend-
ing national champion Florida on his grease board
to the hours of game tape on the flat screen in his
small office, the best assistant coach in the NFL has
found a home in the college game. Kiffin spoke
with Sporting News’ Matt Hayes recently about his
brief time at Tennessee:
Q: Your son, Lane, has taken a lot
of heat for his personality and
the way he has run the program in
such a short time. Is too much being
made of him speaking his mind?
A: I know that some people may think
that he’s arrogant. But he has a lot
of respect for this league—and this
profession. He grew up in it. You do have
to be comfortable in what you’re doing,
and he is. Lane has a lot of energy, and he
expects that out of the staff. The players
couldn’t help but see it when we arrived.
I’ve coached in a lot of places, but I’ve
never seen anything like the energy we
had at our spring practices. At first, it was
a wait-and-see deal with the players. In
fairness to them, they didn’t know any of
us and they had a lot of respect for (former
UT) Coach (Phillip) Fulmer and should
have. But it didn’t take long and they were
buying into the program.
Q: Were you a fan of college
football while coaching in the
NFL, or was it more evaluating
players?
A: Most pro coaches have been in
college, so it doesn’t leave you. All
the players are fired up every Friday and
Saturday morning. You fly to a game and
they can’t wait to land to check the scores.
Guys are jabbering at each other. Espe-
cially SEC guys. The college game is so
Monte Kiffin, left, has spent nearly his entire coaching career in the NFL. But he’s ready to help his son, Lane, do big things at Tennessee.
much bigger nowadays. The NFL always
had a lot of exposure, but now because of
new television contracts, the pre- and
postgame shows and the Internet, college
football has become such a big deal.
Q: You hadn’t recruited in 35
years, since you were a
member of the Nebraska staff. What
was that like?
A: I told our coaches, in the old days,
they used to go to May 15 for
national signing day. The kids would get a
letter of intent in February, but you had to
keep recruiting them until the middle of
May when they signed. I used to fly from
College Football
Nebraska to Chicago, change planes in
O’Hare and fly to Newark. Then I’d get in
a car or a plane and go up and down the
coast until May 15 to make sure we were
keeping our guys.
Q: Compare that to current
recruiting trips.
A: I got here on a Thursday, and
Sunday night was first day we
could go out. I went with Ed Orgeron to
Memphis on my first trip. I’m thinking,
“I’d like to visit with kids in the morning,
get a run in during the late afternoon and
then do home visits later that night.” My
son said, “Dad, you’re not even going to
WADE PAYNE / AP
be in Memphis in the afternoon, you’ll be
in Atlanta.” I had no idea. We were in
four states in one day. I felt like I had been
recruiting for a week. That was Day 1. I
said to myself, “Welcome to the new age
of recruiting.” I just got into it and had a
blast.
Q: Rumor has it you’ve watched a
ton of tape on Florida already.
Is that true?
A: And they seem to get better every
time I watch them. Look at that
(grease) board. Do you see holes there?
They must have their fastest guys with the
smallest numbers. I can’t tell. To me,
MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 27
they’re all fast—even the offensive line-
men. And that quarterback isn’t bad,
either.
Q: Speaking of Tim Tebow, as a
guy who did as much to define
defense in the NFL as anyone the last
decade, can Tebow play quarterback
in the NFL?
A: Sure he can. He can do anything he
wants; he’s too good. The thing I’ve
noticed is he has really gotten better as a
passer. I was hoping he wasn’t a good
passer, to tell you the truth. He’s a lot
better than people think.
Q: Five months into this job, what
stands out?
A: I told Lane, the good news is,
you’re the coach at Tennessee. The
bad news is, check your schedule. There
are some really good coaches in this
league, and they’re here to stay. It’s not
like Nick Saban or Steve Spurrier or
Urban Meyer or Mark Richt is going to the
NFL. What better job could you have? I
like to analyze coaches, and every coach in
this league—every one—is just terrific. I
mean, look what Rich Brooks has done at
Kentucky. Look at Auburn, they hired
Gus Malzahn (as offensive coordinator)
from Tulsa, and that team led the nation
in offense the last two years. So now I’m
watching tape from Tulsa, too. I can’t
believe all the talented coaches in this
league.
Q: Is there enough time this
summer to break it all down?
A: I don’t have many hobbies. I don’t
golf, I don’t fish, I don’t bowl. I love
my family and I love to coach. I can’t wait
for it to start. I’ll be in here all summer
watching tape.
mhayes@sportingnews.com
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com College Football MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 28

Turnstile tracker: Ohio State tops NCAA spring football attendance

By SportsBusiness Daily 16 Arkansas 30,000 40,200 -25.4 42 Virginia 8,000 4,000 100.0
17 Oklahoma 28,592 23,306 22.7 44 Minnesota 7,700 7,200 6.9
Ohio State topped all BCS conference schools for spring football game attendance this year, as the
18 Ole Miss 28,357 28,311 0.2 45 Connecticut 7,000 9,700 -27.8
95,722 at Ohio Stadium set an NCAA spring game record. That figure was up 25.4 percent from Ohio 19 Michigan State 26,000 27,000 -3.7 45 Iowa State 7,000 8,000 -12.5
State’s attendance from last season. In Knoxville, Tenn., in its first spring under new coach Lane 20 South Carolina 25,157 31,125 -19.2 47 Arizona 6,850 4,000 71.3
Kiffin, attendance jumped 78.2 percent from a year ago. In the SEC, four schools set spring game 21 Clemson 24,000 25,000 -4.0 48 Pittsburgh 6,160 7,549 -18.4
records—Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss and Mississippi State—and the conference drew an average of 22 Wisconsin 23,500 22,000 6.8 49 South Florida 6,000 4,607 30.2
37,936 for its 12 schools, up 22 percent from a year ago. 23 USC 22,565 22,000 2.6 50 Arizona State 5,700 5,000 14.0
24 N.C. State 21,075 15,273 38.0 51 Syracuse 5,184 3,428 51.2
25 Kentucky 20,200 8,500 137.6 52 Oregon State 5,000 6,852 -27.0
26 Kansas 17,000 10,000 70.0 52 Purdue 5,000 9,500 -47.4
27 Rutgers 15,899 14,501 9.6 54 Duke 4,162 3,250 28.1
28 Louisville 15,300 17,200 -11.0 55 Wake Forest 3,800 4,100 -7.3
29 Missouri 13,122 26,332 -50.2 56 Indiana 3,500 1,500 133.3
30 West Virginia 13,000 18,000 -27.8 57 Northwestern 3,250 4,225 -23.1
31 Kansas State 12,804 15,523 -17.5 58 North Carolina** 3,000 n/a n/a
32 Texas Tech 12,500 11,200 11.6 59 California 2,000 2,000 0.0
33 Cincinnati 12,491 10,142 23.2 59 Boston College 2,000 3,500 -42.9
34 Oregon 12,400 14,107 -12.1 61 Stanford 1,500 2,000 -25.0
35 Oklahoma State 12,000 20,000 -40.0 62 Vanderbilt 1,000 1,000 0.0
35 UCLA 12,000 15,052 -20.3 62 Baylor 1,000 3,500 -71.4
37 Colorado 11,700 17,800 -34.3 64 Washington State 400 900 -55.6
38 Maryland 10,323 10,221 1.0 n/a Iowa*** n/a 15,352 n/a
39 Illinois 10,000 12,531 -20.2 n/a Miami^ n/a 11,000 n/a
39 Washington 10,000 9,000 11.1 *Game was closed in ‘08.
**No game in ‘08.
41 Georgia Tech 8,500 8,500 0.0 ***No game in ‘09.
42 Texas A&M 8,000 32,000 -75.0 ^Data not available.

TERRY GILLIAM / AP
Ohio State fans know how to pack ‘em in during the regular season. But they also filled the house during the spring football game. Construction to
the press box
Rank School 2009 2008 %+/- 8 Auburn 45,381 35,000 29.7 and other suites
1 Ohio State 95,722 76,346 25.4 9 Texas 44,000 43,000 2.3 probably led to
a lower number
2 Alabama 84,050 78,200 7.5 10 Georgia 42,458 19,874 113.6 of Maryland
3 Nebraska 77,670 80,149 -3.1 11 Virginia Tech 41,000 30,000 36.7 fans attending
the Red-White
4 Penn State 76,500 73,000 4.8 12 Florida State 36,000 30,000 20.0 game on April
5 Florida 65,000 61,000 6.6 13 Mississippi State 31,606 10,000 216.1 25 in College
6 Tennessee 51,488 28,898 78.2 14 Notre Dame 31,104 30,286 2.7 Park, Md.
7 Michigan* 50,000 N/A N/A 15 LSU 30,532 33,624 -9.2 NICK WASS / AP
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
INSIDE DISH
Georgia wants more speed on defensive edge
Georgia’s attempt to generate more pressure in pass-
rush situations might lead to outside linebackers lin-
ing up at defensive end this fall.
Last season, the Bulldogs got only 9.5 sacks from
their defensive ends. Georgia finished with just 23 as a
team, which ranked 10th in the SEC and 72nd in the
nation.
“We’re really going to do a better job of taking our
(strongside) linebackers especially, or any linebacker
who may not be in our nickel package, to see what they
can do rushing the passer,” coach Mark Richt said in a
report by the Athens Banner-Herald. “Let’s get a guy a
little bit more agile, maybe a little bit more speed.”
Georgia did just that at times during the spring,
using OLB Darryl Gamble and MLB Marcus Washington at
defensive end, a position that has been hit hard by
injuries. Washington had three sacks in the spring
game.
“I felt pretty good out there, rushing off the edge,”
Washington told the newspaper. “It kind of did feel
natural. We’ll see how it goes.”
Darius Dewberry, who missed the spring with a shoul-
der injury, is a strongside linebacker who also could
line up at end if he is able to play this fall.
Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said Sunday he has
not determined the status of jailed senior RB Kevin
Grady.
Grady is serving a seven-day sentence after failing
to meet the terms of his probation. He was convicted
for drunk driving last summer in Wyoming, Mich.
“Until I get all the facts and then I sit down with him
and find out what’s going on, then at that point we’ll
make a decision,” Rodriguez told the Detroit Free Press
at a charity golf tournament.
Grady, who rushed for 33 yards and scored one
touchdown last season, pleaded guilty Thursday to
violating his probation.
Kentucky coach Rich Brooks announced that senior
RB Moncell Allen would be eligible for the 2009 season,
the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.
Allen rushed for 202 yards in 12 games last season
but was not allowed to play in the Liberty Bowl because
College Football / College Basketball
Calipari’s idea of opening practice in stadium isn’t new
Turns out new Kentucky coach
John Calipari isn’t the first to suggest
that Big Blue Madness be moved
to the school’s football stadium.
Rewind 20 years to 1989, when
Rick Pitino began his tenure as the
Wildcats’ coach and pitched the
idea.
It didn’t happen then because of
potential concerns also echoed by
Calipari last week when he
brought up the possibility of hold-
ing the mid-October event out-
doors. What if it’s 30 degrees?
What if there’s rain? What if an
injury occurs because of
conditions?
“The overriding factor was
weather,” Chris Cameron, the school’s
sports information director at the
time, told the Lexington Herald-
BOB LEVERONE / SN Leader. “We had to be pragmatic.
Georgia OLB Darryl Gamble played some end in the spring game. It was just too big a risk.”
Cameron, now an athletic media
of academics. administrator at Boston College,
His return adds depth in the backfield. Senior Alfonso remembered the excitement gen-
Smith is back, and the Wildcats hope junior Derrick Locke erated when Pitino came to
will be 100 percent after a serious knee injury last sea- Lexington.
son against South Carolina. “… Rick fostered that mentality
of thinking big,” Cameron told the
Former Miami QB Robert Marve has taken his time newspaper. “Nothing was off the
picking a new destination because he doesn’t want to table.”
make a mistake, his high school coach said. Calipari’s hiring appears to be
Robert Weiner, who coached Marve at Plant High having a similar effect on Ken-
School in Tampa, confirmed that Marve would choose tucky fans and administrators.
early this week between a scholarship at Purdue and Athletics director Mitch Barnhart
walking on at Tennessee. called holding Big Blue Madness
“He really did his homework,” Weiner told The in the stadium a wonderful idea
Associated Press. “With a transfer, you can’t be wrong. but said there would be many
You have to make the right choice.” “logistical issues.” School presi-
Weiner didn’t say which way Marve was leaning, dent Lee Todd likes Calipari’s “big
though he said there was “nothing he doesn’t like picture” focus.
about Purdue.” Weiner said Marve has not had con- “I’m worried about how we’re
tact with coaches at Tennessee. going to satisfy the appetite for Big
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
INSIDE DISH
STANLEY LEARY / AP
G Gerald Robinson Jr., who led Tennessee State
in scoring last year, is transferring to Georgia.
Blue Madness if we don’t have a
football stadium full of people,”
Todd told the newspaper.
“Because everybody is going to
want to go.”
Oklahoma F Juan Pattillo,
expected to contend for a starting
spot next season, has been dis-
missed because of an undisclosed
violation of team policy, coach Jeff
Capel announced Sunday.
Pattillo came out of a redshirt
halfway through last season and
helped Oklahoma reach the
MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 29
regional finals in the NCAA Tour-
nament. He averaged 6.2 points
and 3.6 rebounds and also pro-
vided a shot-blocking presence in
18 games off the bench.
Capel said he would not com-
ment on Pattillo’s dismissal.
Gerald Robinson Jr., who led Ten-
nessee State in scoring as a sopho-
more last season, said he is
transferring to Georgia.
Robinson, a 6-1 guard, said he
also considered Alabama, Mem-
phis and Marquette before decid-
ing on the Bulldogs. He must sit
out the upcoming season because
of NCAA transfer rules.
“There was just something
about Georgia,” Robinson told The
Tennessean. “During the short
time they recruited me, they made
me feel like part of the family.”
Robinson averaged 17.8 points
and led Tennessee State in 3-point
percentage (40.7) and free-throw
percentage (80.6).
Freshman F Eladio Espinosa is
leaving South Florida’s program.
He told The Tampa Tribune he
would prefer to transfer closer to
his home in North Carolina.
Espinosa played in 31 games
last season, starting 12. He aver-
aged 1.8 points and 2.9 rebounds.
“Me and coach (Stan Heath) at the
end, we had two different views
on what type of player I’m going to
develop into,” Espinosa told the
newspaper. “… He was real cool
with my situation. He told me if I
was trying to leave, he wasn’t try-
ing to hold me back.”
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
All-star race provides window into 600
BY MATT CROSSMAN
mcrossman@sportingnews.com
CONCORD, N.C.—The non-points
Sprint All-Star Race is often con-
sidered a giant test session for the
Coca-Cola 600, which will be held
Sunday and is one of the most pres-
tigious events in the Sprint Cup
Series. Drivers hoped to learn how
to make their cars go faster. Here
are five things fans learned.
Stewart-Haas Racing is easily the
story of the season so far. Getting to
victory lane already is a remark-
able achievement. In addition to
being obviously a great driver and
so far a great owner, Stewart is
also a comedian. During qualify-
ing on Friday, he inexplicably
pulled away after his team changed
two tires instead of waiting for
them to change four. He stopped a
few pit boxes down, keyed his
microphone and said, “I’ll be right
back.” For NASCAR, Stewart’s
win was a welcome sight, because
it put the focus back on the track
instead of on Jeremy Mayfield’s
suspension.
The Mayfield mess is not going away.
On Friday, multiple drivers and
NASCAR chairman Brian France
were grilled about NASCAR’s drug
policy following owner/driver
Mayfield’s indefinite suspension
for failing a drug test. On Saturday,
a writer saw Mayfield in the infield.
He posted as much on Facebook.
In short order, a handful of other
writers found Mayfield, and he
held an impromptu news confer-
ence. NASCAR then told him to
leave the track because his pres-
ence violated the terms of his sus-
pension, and after that, a NASCAR
spokesman issued a statement,
NASCAR
JASON E. MICZEK / AP
Tony Stewart made up for his qualifying mistake Friday by winning the All-Star race.
again posted on Facebook, refuting Dodge better,” Busch said.
Mayfield’s version of events related Jimmie Johnson has to be the favor-
to his suspension. ite in the 600. He already is the best
Penske Racing is for real. After 11 driver at the track. And in the
points races and Saturday night’s opening segment, the only portion
festivities, it’s clear the Penske of Saturday’s race that will be any-
Dodges are the class of the Dodges. thing like Sunday’s race, he domi-
Charlotte typically is not a strong nated, leading all 50 laps.
track for Kurt Busch, but he ran up Passes for the lead will be few and
front all night and finished third. far between Sunday. Saturday’s race
Teammate Sam Hornish Jr. domi- was allegedly a free for all, but
nated the Sprint Showdown and there was not a single on-track pass
transferred into the all-star race. for the lead in the first 80 laps.
“We learned some things for next “Track position was so much more
weekend’s 600 that hopefully we important than I ever thought it
can apply and make our Miller Lite would be,” Johnson said.
John Andretti celebrates after getting back into the field for Sunday’s Indianapolis 500.
Andretti qualifies for Indy 500
John Andretti made the field for the
Indianapolis 500 with his qualify-
ing attempt Sunday at Indianapolis
Motor Speedway.
Andretti, who is taking a break
from driving the Front Row Motor-
sports entry in the Sprint Cup Series
to compete at Indy, had a rather tense
day. He began the day in the field,
was bumped from it, then spent his
final qualifying attempts trying to
get back in.
With 15 minutes remaining, he was
not in the field. With eight minutes to
go, on his final attempt, he locked in for
his 10th Indianapolis 500. He will
start 28th next Sunday.
Andretti, driving the Richard Petty-
owned car fielded by Dreyer & Rein-
bold Racing, said his team grew as a
group and that helped him make the
field.
Indianapolis 500 field, Page 35
INSIDE DISH
DARRON CUMMINGS / AP
“We were fighting hard, each one
of us,” said Andretti, who is 46. “I’m
the old man, and I had to fight the
hardest, and it’s not supposed to be
that way. I’ve always looked at these
guys on the bubble on Bump Day and
absolutely felt for them. … I can’t
imagine how embarrassed I would
have been to call Richard Petty and
have him ask, ‘Where do you start?’
And I don’t (start). It’s been a very,
very tough day.”
—SceneDaily.com
Kyle Busch won the Camping
World Series East-West combination
race Sunday at Iowa Speedway in
Newton, easily holding off 2008
winner Brian Ickler. Busch, who raced
in Saturday night’s Sprint All-Star
Race at Lowe’s, took the pole and led
168 of the 200 laps in his Joe Gibbs
Racing Toyota. With the victory, he
earned a spot in the NASCAR Toyota
MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 30
All-Star Showdown. David Mayhew,
Jeffrey Earnhardt and Paulie Harraka com-
pleted the top five.
Sprint Cup regular Paul Menard
enjoyed some extracurricular racing
Sunday, competing in the ARCA
Menards 200 at Toledo (Ohio)
Speedway.
A day after driving his Yates Rac-
ing No. 98 in the Sprint Showdown
at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Menard
ran among the leaders for most of the
day and finished fourth, though in
unusual fashion. Menard was tagged
nearing the finish line and slid across
the line backward after getting a tap
from Patrick Sheltra coming off Turn 4.
“That was interesting,” Menard
said. “I guess (Sheltra) was mad at
me for what happened earlier, so that
kind of soured the end of the day.
Still, it was a pretty good day consid-
ering I had never raced a lap at
Toledo. I’d definitely jump at the
chance to race here again.”
Race winner Parker Kligerman also
has ties to NASCAR. He is a Penske
Racing development driver.
—SceneDaily.com
Shana Mayfield vowed that May-
field Motorsports will continue
despite husband Jeremy’s indefinite
suspension as the owner and driver
of the team following a recent failed
drug test.
She is now the listed owner of the
team because Jeremy is banned from
that role. NASCAR suspended May-
field a week ago following a failed drug
test.
“We’re going on,” she said. “We got
J.J. (Yeley) in the car. We’re really excited.
He’s a perfect fit for our organization
right now.”
Yeley finished 22nd in the 35-car
field.
— Bob Pockrass, SceneDaily.com
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Blue Devils, Cavs round out final four
BY CHRISTIAN SWEZEY
InsideLacrosse.com
Virginia and Duke joined Cor-
nell and Syracuse in the men’s
lacrosse final four next weekend in
Foxborough, Mass. Virginia
advanced with a 19-8 victory over
Johns Hopkins in the first quarter-
final, played on Sunday before
12,142 at Navy-Marine Corps
Memorial Stadium in Annapolis,
Md. In the second quarterfinal,
Duke held off a late charge from
North Carolina for a 12-11 victory.
In the semifinals, Duke (15-3)
will play Syracuse (14-2) on Satur-
day at noon. Virginia (15-2) will
play Cornell (12-3) in the day’s sec-
ond game.
On Sunday, the Blue Devils led
12-8 following a goal by sophomore
Tom Montelli with 11 minutes, 31
seconds to play. The Tar Heels
closed to 12-11 following a goal by
senior Bart Wagner with 6:10 left.
Duke had two long possessions
after the goal but did not score; the
second possession ended with a
turnover with 22 seconds
remaining.
The Tar Heels (12-6) eventually
worked the ball to junior Sean Del-
aney, who had scored three goals.
With two seconds left, Delaney
took a 20-yard shot that went wide
and out of play as time expired.
Senior Ned Crotty had two goals
and six assists for Duke.
“I thought our guys played hard,”
Duke coach John Danowski said.
“It didn’t always go smoothly or
easily but we figured out how to
hang in there and win. That might
help us a whole lot in the long
LARRY FRENCH
Virginia earned a semifinal matchup with
Cornell after beating Johns Hopkins 19-8.
run.”
Said Wagner: “All of us felt we
could get there....Unfortunately, it
just did not happen for us.”
In the first quarterfinal, sopho-
more Shamel Bratton scored five
goals and freshman Steele Stan-
wick added two goals and five
assists for the Cavaliers.
It was the worst loss in NCAA
tournament history for Johns Hop-
kins (10-5).
The game started well enough
for the Blue Jays. Senior Brian
Christopher, who scored three
winning goals in overtime this sea-
son, scored on his team’s first shot
67 seconds seconds into the game.
Johns Hopkins had five shots
almost immediately after that, but
sophomore goalie Adam Ghitel-
man made saves on four of them.
By the time the Blue Jays took
another shot, less than
Lacrosse
three minutes were left in the first
quarter and Virginia led 6-1. Soph-
omore Rhamel Bratton and senior
Garrett Billings each scored two
goals during the 6-0 spurt.
In the regular season meeting,
Johns Hopkins trailed by six in the
second quarter but mounted a furi-
ous comeback in a 16-15 loss.
On Sunday, the Cavaliers kept
up the pressure after the early
spurt. They held leads of 12-3, 16-4
and 19-6.
“I think we really have moved
the ball well and have shown a lot
more patience on offense,” Bratton
said.
Said Johns Hopkins coach Dave
Pietramala: “They outplayed us. If
I had the answer for exactly why, I
would have fixed it. There was no
one easy answer. They played
great.”
Games to watch
At Gillette Stadium
Foxborough, Mass.
Semifinals
Saturday, May 23
Syracuse (14-2) vs. Duke (15-3),
Noon
Virginia (15-2) vs. Cornell (12-3),
2 p.m.
Championship
Monday, May 25
Semifinal winners, 1 p.m.
MORE COVERAGE
For more Tournament coverage, go to:
InsideLacrosse.com
SUBSCRIBE TODAY
www.insidelacrosse.com
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com Golf MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 32

Driscoll has dramatic rally but can’t top Johnson Leaderboard

Sunday
At La Cantera Golf Club, San Antonio
Purse: $6.1 million
SAN ANTONIO—James Driscoll (68), Sweden’s Fredrik Jacob- Yardage: 6,881; Par: 70
didn’t see where Zach John- son (67) and three-time cham- Final
(x-won on first playoff hole; FedExCup points in parentheses)
son’s approach landed on the pion Justin Leonard (69) x-Zach Johnson (500), $1,098,000 68-67-60-70—265 -15
James Driscoll (300), $658,800 67-69-67-62—265 -15
first hole of a sudden-death finished at 13 under. Bill Haas (163), $353,800 67-67-67-65—266 -14
playoff Sunday. Driscoll was an afterthought Paul Goydos (163), $353,800 63-65-69-69—266 -14
Brian Davis (96), $214,263 65-67-69-66—267 -13
He didn’t have to. Thanks to at 7 under when the final round Marc Leishman (96), $214,263 64-69-66-68—267 -13
Fredrik Jacobson (96), $214,263 66-66-68-67—267 -13
the gallery, he heard it. began, eight strokes behind Justin Leonard (96), $214,263 63-68-67-69—267 -13
Charley Hoffman (78), $170,800 70-69-63-66—268 -12
“I figured it was about 10 Johnson and his group that Stephen Ames (78), $170,800 66-67-68-67—268 -12
feet,” Driscoll said. included Goydos and Leonard. Mark Wilson (61), $125,050 67-72-67-64—270 -10
Garrett Willis (61), $125,050 68-70-65-67—270 -10
The crowd got even louder After wrapping up his 62, Jonathan Kaye (61), $125,050 71-68-63-68—270 -10
Mathias Gronberg (61), $125,050 66-65-69-70—270 -10
when Johnson sank the birdie Driscoll had to wait more than Todd Fischer (0), $125,050 70-67-64-69—270 -10
putt to successfully defend his an hour for Johnson to finish Scott Sterling (61), $125,050 68-63-69-70—270 -10
Patrick Sheehan (51), $79,823 68-68-68-67—271 -9
Texas Open title and end his round. Scott McCarron (51), $79,823 70-67-67-67—271 -9
Kris Blanks (51), $79,823 70-65-70-66—271 -9
Driscoll’s unlikely final-round It was worth the wait, but it Brandt Jobe (51), $79,823 70-65-70-66—271 -9
James Nitties (51), $79,823 68-69-66-68—271 -9
surge from eight strokes back didn’t last long. Bob Estes (51), $79,823 67-70-66-68—271 -9
at La Cantera Golf Club. “You want to put the pres- Frank Lickliter II (51), $79,823 69-68-65-69—271 -9
Jimmy Walker (44), $47,199 70-66-68-68—272 -8
Johnson’s win capped a sure on your opponent. There’s Scott Verplank (44), $47,199 67-70-67-68—272 -8
Bill Lunde (44), $47,199 73-65-67-67—272 -8
wild shootout in which seven no doubt about it,” Johnson Paul Stankowski (44), $47,199 70-69-67-66—272 -8
players stood within a stroke said. “It’s not like he hit a bad Matt Weibring (44), $47,199 67-70-65-70—272 -8
Tim Herron (44), $47,199 68-71-68-65—272 -8
with four holes left. The 2007 shot. He hit 20-plus feet. He hit Shaun Micheel (44), $47,199 67-72-63-70—272 -8
Dustin Johnson (44), $47,199 74-65-62-71—272 -8
Masters champion followed a good putt. So it just kind of Corey Pavin (36), $32,330 66-72-66-69—273 -7
Tim Clark (36), $32,330 67-69-67-70—273 -7
his third-round 60 with a 70 went my way.” Kevin Stadler (36), $32,330 67-68-68-70—273 -7
to match Driscoll at 15-under Driscoll was in position for J.J. Henry (36), $32,330 66-70-66-71—273 -7
Kent Jones (36), $32,330 67-65-70-71—273 -7
265, then hit the 6-iron the biggest comeback in the Greg Owen (36), $32,330 65-68-68-72—273 -7
Jeff Maggert (36), $32,330 64-70-73-66—273 -7
approach in the playoff set up history of the Texas Open, Matt Jones (36), $32,330 67-69-72-65—273 -7
his sixth career PGA Tour which dates to 1922 and is the Wil Collins (28), $22,570 67-69-68-70—274 -6
Marco Dawson (28), $22,570 68-68-69-69—274 -6
victory. third-oldest event on the PGA Mark Brooks (28), $22,570 71-68-65-70—274 -6
Lee Janzen (28), $22,570 66-68-69-71—274 -6
“I feel very lucky,” said John- Tour. Instead, Driscoll settled Charlie Wi (28), $22,570 68-71-64-71—274 -6
Martin Piller (0), $22,570 69-70-64-71—274 -6
son, who earned $1,098,000. for only his third top-10 finish David Peoples (28), $22,570 72-67-68-67—274 -6
Johnson vaulted to the top of and finish since a runner-up Robert Gates (0), $15,177 73-64-67-71—275 -5
Harrison Frazar (20), $15,177 67-69-68-71—275 -5
the FedEx Cup standings, effort in the 2005 Zurich Clas- Chris DiMarco (20), $15,177 72-66-67-70—275 -5
Briny Baird (20), $15,177 68-66-69-72—275 -5
passing Geoff Ogilvy and Phil sic of New Orleans. John Mallinger (20), $15,177 67-64-72-72—275 -5
Mickelson—the only other “When you get that close to Aron Price (20), $15,177 69-66-70-70—275 -5
Troy Matteson (20), $15,177 72-66-68-69—275 -5
two-time winners on the PGA a win and that close to going Ted Purdy (20), $15,177 64-67-71-73—275 -5
Eric Axley (20), $15,177 72-67-68-68—275 -5
Tour this season. Johnson also to Augusta and going to ERIC GAY / AP Vaughn Taylor (20), $15,177 70-68-69-68—275 -5
Bart Bryant (13), $13,664 70-66-69-71—276 -4
won the Sony Open in Hawaii for the first tourna- Zach Johnson, above, won a playoff with James Driscoll to successfully defend his Texas Open title. Greg Chalmers (13), $13,664 69-67-70-70—276 -4
January. ment of the year, it’s a little J.P. Hayes (13), $13,664 71-62-74-69—276 -4
Gary Woodland (10), $13,298 67-70-69-71—277 -3
Paul Goydos had a one- disappointing,” said Driscoll, 44-year-old and sympathetic after 36 and was eyeing his Leonard was a stroke back at Jay Williamson (10), $13,298 69-68-70-70—277 -3
Chad Campbell (10), $13,298 68-69-72-68—277 -3
stroke lead with two holes to who has conditional status favorite out of the running. first tour victory since 2007. 14 under through 16, but his Carlos Franco (8), $12,993 71-66-70-71—278 -2
play, but closed with two on the tour after finishing Goydos was playing four “For 70 holes I did really chances at a record fourth David Duval (8), $12,993 66-69-72-71—278 -2
Jason Gore (6), $12,749 70-69-67-73—279 -1
bogeys for a 69, leaving him a 141st on the money list last months to the day his former good,” Goydos said. “Didn’t hit Texas Open title ended when Rocco Mediate (6), $12,749 69-70-68-72—279 -1
Scott Gutschewski (3), $12,383 71-66-69-74—280 E
stroke back along with Bill year. wife died. His final flaw, muff- a good putt on 17 and didn’t hit his 7-foot putt on 17 didn’t Charles Warren (3), $12,383 70-66-70-74—280 E
Richard S. Johnson (3), $12,383 71-68-68-73—280 E
Haas (65), who birdied five of Goydos briefly topped a ing his chip shot to a measly 7 a good shot on 18. And guys reach the hole for par. Matt Bettencourt (3), $12,383 68-71-69-72—280 E
six holes on Nos. 11 through 16 crowded leaderboard with a feet on 18, denied him a spot in who play like that will do it.” Next year, the tournament Nathan Green (1), $12,017 70-69-66-76—281 +1
Anthony Kim (1), $12,017 69-69-70-73—281 +1
but missed a 6-foot putt on the 13-foot birdie putt on the par-4 the playoff. Johnson is the first repeat will move to a Greg Norman- Tag Ridings (1), $11,834 69-66-74-73—282 +2
Matthew Loving (0), $11,712 72-67-72-72—283 +3
par-3 17th. 16th before falling back on the Goydos, who started the winner at La Cantera since designed TPC course. Billy Andrade (1), $11,590 72-67-71-76—286 +6
Australia’s Marc Leishman last two holes, putting the round two strokes back, led Leonard in 2000 and 2001. — The Associated Press
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Federer gets rare victory over Nadal
MADRID—Roger Federer got a badly
needed confidence boost ahead of the
French Open, beating top-ranked
Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday to win
his first title of the season at the Madrid
Open.
The second-ranked Federer broke a
sluggish Nadal once in both sets before
firing his sixth ace to win his 15th Mas-
ters Series title on the second match
point. Federer also won here in 2006
when the event was played indoors on a
hard court.
“There are no positives, there is little
to analyze,” said Nadal, the 2005 cham-
pion. “He broke and broke and I went
home.”
It was only the second victory Federer
has on clay against his top rival, with
the other coming at the Hamburg final
two years ago. The win also ended
Federer’s five-match losing streak to
Nadal, a stretch that included losses in
the finals at Roland Garros, Wimble-
don and Australia.
Federer called his first win over
Nadal since the 2007 Masters Cup
“very satisfying.” Especially after being
left in tears in February following his
defeat to Nadal at Melbourne.
“I thought I took all the right deci-
sions today. In the end it was a perfect
game for me,” the Swiss player said
after drawing even with Nadal in Mas-
ters titles. “(You) stay positive and I did.
I got the win I needed badly.”
Earlier, top-ranked Dinara Safina of
Russia won her second straight title on
clay by beating Danish teenager Caro-
line Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4 in the women’s
final.
Federer also ended Nadal’s 33-match
clay winning streak. The Spaniard will
be going for a fifth straight title at the
Dinara Safina, above, held off Caroline Wozniacki to win the women’s title in two sets.
French Open beginning on May 25.
“I don’t think he’s going to take any
damage away from this,” Federer said.
“I’m sure he’s going to be rock solid in
Paris again.”
Nadal sounded so after only a fifth
loss in his last 155 matches on clay.
“To me, this tournament has nothing
to do with Paris. This tournament is
practically another surface compared
to Paris,” said Nadal, who was troubled
with the odd bounces and faster pace
brought on by higher altitude. “The
conditions favored him more than me.”
Only Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe
have met in more finals—20—as the
pair played for a 16th time with Nadal
having earned 11 titles. He leads the
Tennis
MADRID OPEN FINALS
DANIEL OCHOA DE OLZA / AP
overall series 13-7.
Federer and Nadal joked after receiv-
ing their trophies in a scene that con-
trasted with the one in February when
Federer was in tears after losing to
Nadal in the Australian Open final.
“Sorry to spoil the party,” Federer
told the crowd from the Manolo San-
tana center court, where the rivals
played in front of Nadal’s biggest sup-
porters for the first time.
Federer, who is also the only top-10
player to have ever beaten Nadal on
clay, saved two Nadal break chances
before converting his first try in the
ninth game.
Federer slapped a forehand winner
down the near line to set up the point
JUAN MANUEL SERRANO / AP
Roger Federer, above, beat Rafael Nadal for just
the second time and the first since 2007.
and converted when Nadal weakly
backhanded into net. Federer served
out to love to take the opening set.
“He was simply better than me,”
Nadal said.
Safina overpowered her 18-year-old
opponent with 24 winners and three
break points for her 11th career title.
“Since I became No. 1 I’m playing bet-
ter and better,” the 23-year-old said.
Wozniacki, facing a top-ranked
player for the first time, will become
the first Dane to crack the top-10 in
next week’s rankings after reaching her
third final of the season.
Safina is 14-1 on clay this season and
will go into Roland Garros buoyed by
her recent success on the surface after
finishing runner-up at the Australian
Open and Stuttgart.
— The Associated Press
MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 33
Madrid Open results
Sunday
At Caja Magica, Madrid
Purse: Men, $5.04 million (WT1000); Women, $4.5 million (Premier)
Surface: Clay-Outdoor
Singles
Men, Championship
Roger Federer (2), Switzerland, def. Rafael Nadal (1), Spain, 6-4, 6-4.
Women, Championship
Dinara Safina (1), Russia, def. Caroline Wozniacki (9), Denmark, 6-2, 6-4.
Doubles
Men, Championship
Daniel Nestor, Canada, and Nenad Zimonjic (2), Serbia, def. Simon
Aspelin, Sweden, and Wesley Moodie, South Africa, 6-4, 6-4.
Rafael Nadal-Roger Federer head-to-head
Nadal leads 13-7
2004—Miami, R32, hard-outdoor, Nadal, 6-3, 6-3.
2005—Miami, F, hard-outdoor, Federer, 2-6, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-1.
2005—French Open, SF, clay-outdoor, Nadal, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
2006—Dubai, F, hard-outdoor, Nadal, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
2006—Monte Carlo Masters, F, clay-outdoor, Nadal, 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-3,
7-6 (5).
2006—Rome Masters, F, clay-outdoor, Nadal, 6-7 (0), 7-6 (5), 6-4, 2-6,
7-6 (5).
2006—French Open, F, clay-outdoor, Nadal, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
2006—Wimbledon, F, grass-outdoor, Federer, 6-0, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (2), 6-3.
2006—Masters Cup-Shanghai, SF, hard-indoor, Federer, 6-4, 7-5.
2007—Monte Carlo Masters, F, clay-outdoor, Nadal, 6-4, 6-4.
2007—Hamburg Masters, F, clay-outdoor, Federer, 2-6, 6-2, 6-0.
2007—French Open, F, clay-outdoor, Nadal, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
2007—Wimbledon, F, grass-outdoor, Federer, 7-6 (7), 4-6, 7-6 (3), 2-6,
6-2.
2007—Masters Cup-Shanghai, SF, hard-indoor, Federer, 6-4, 6-1.
2008—Monte Carlo Masters, F, clay-outdoor, Nadal, 7-5, 7-5.
2008—Hamburg Masters, F, clay-outdoor, Nadal, 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-3.
2008—French Open, F, clay-outdoor, Nadal, 6-1, 6-3, 6-0.
2008—Wimbledon, F, grass-outdoor, Nadal, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7.
2009—Australian Open, F, hard-outdoor, Nadal, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 3-6,
6-2.
2009—Madrid Masters, F, clay-outdoor, Federer, 6-4, 6-4.
Hard: Tied 3-3
Clay: Nadal leads 9-2
Grass: Federer leads 2-1
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
Phelps struggles again, loses 100-meter free
CHARLOTTE—Two days, two losses for
Michael Phelps.
Phelps was beaten again at the
Charlotte UltraSwim, losing to
French star Frederick Bousquet in
the 100-meter freestyle Sunday.
Phelps touched nearly a full second
behind Bousquet, world-record
holder in the 50 free, after losing his
first final in nearly a year the previ-
ous night. Aaron Peirsol beat Phelps
in the 200 backstroke.
Bousquet went out strong, ensur-
ing he had a big enough lead to hold
off Phelps at the end—even as the
winningest Olympian ever experi-
mented with a new straight-arm
stroke that is supposed to provide
more speed.
The Frenchman touched in 48.22
seconds, while Phelps never really
had a chance and finished second in
49.04.
“The biggest thing that killed me
were my turns and my finishes,” said
Phelps, who holds the American
record in the 100 free at 47.51. “I’m
not disappointed with that time, but
the finish was awful. There’s small
things I need to work on. But overall,
it was a good meet.”
The North Carolina meet was his
first since capturing a record eight
gold medals at the Beijing Olympics.
The nine-month layoff was the lon-
gest of Phelps’ career, though he had
intended to come back earlier—after
being photographed using a mari-
juana pipe, a picture that wound up
SWIMMING
Michael Phelps, front, and Fred Bousquet, were scoreboard-watching following their race.
on the front page of a British tabloid,
he was given a three-month suspen-
sion by USA Swimming.
The sanction ended May 5, and
Phelps was eager to start competing
again. He entered five events at Char-
lotte and won the first two, the 200
free and 100 back, both of which
were part of his gold-medal haul.
But Phelps still has some work to
do in the 200 back and 100 free, two
events he hopes to add to his reper-
toire while dropping several races he
won at Athens and Beijing. It’s all
part of his plan to take on new chal-
lenges—and stay motivated—heading
into his final Olympics at London.
“This is something that will
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Swimming / NHRA
GERRY BROOME / AP
motivate me to fix those things over
the next few weeks,” he said. “I’m kind
of mad at myself. I wanted to break 49.
I was five-hundredths off it with the
two stupid mistakes I made.”
All things considered, Phelps said
he was pleased with his performance.
In addition to the two wins and two
runner-up finishes, he entered the 50
free to get in some extra work with
his new stroke. He actually qualified
for the final of that event—barely—
but scratched.
“For my first meet back, I have no
complaints,” he said. “We’re on the
right track. This is exactly where I
want to be.”
— The Associated Press
You’re a “die-hard” fan. And only Sporting News Magazine
NHRA
Del Worsham picked up his second consecutive Funny Car victory.
Schumacher wins 59th of career
BRISTOL, TENN.—Tony Schu-
macher raced to his third win of
the season Sunday at the NHRA
Thunder Valley Nationals at
Bristol Dragway.
Schumacher crossed the fin-
ish line in 3.857 seconds at 310.91
mph to edge Doug Kalitta, whose
dragster trailed at 3.879 at
303.43. It was Schumacher’s
third victory at the legendary
Tennessee drag strip and the
59th of his career.
“To be back in the points lead
is outstanding,” said Schu-
macher, who now leads Antron
Brown by 45 points. “We started
this year with everyone telling
us we’d probably never win
another race. To be sitting here
now with three wins in the first
eight races is very satisfying, I’m
not gonna lie.
“Our team is working so well
right now. I don’t think there’s a
guy on this team that would
rather be somewhere else. It’s a
MARC GEWERTZ / AP
group that wants to get up in the
morning and go racing.”
Del Worsham and Mike
Edwards also were winners at
the NHRA Full Throttle Drag
Racing Series event.
In Funny Car, Worsham
claimed his second consecutive
victory and 24th of his career,
powering his Toyota Solara past
Tony Pedregon’s Chevy Impala
in the final. Worsham posted
the quickest run of the weekend
in the category to get the win, a
4.075 second run at 304.67 mph,
while Pedregon finished in 4.152
at 293.22.
Edwards claimed his second
win of the season and 17th of his
career in Pro Stock, beating final
round opponent Greg Anderson
with a track record time of 6.633
at 207.72 in a Pontiac GXP.
Anderson’s GXP trailed
Edwards with a performance of
6.658 at 207.94.
— Anthony Vestal, NHRA.com
MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 34
Thunder Valley
Nationals results
Sunday at Bristol Dragway, Bristol, Tenn.
Final Order
Top Fuel
1. Tony Schumacher. 2. Doug Kalitta. 3. Brandon Bernstein. 4.
Shawn Langdon. 5. Larry Dixon. 6. Antron Brown. 7. Morgan
Lucas. 8. Cory McClenathan. 9. Doug Herbert. 10. Troy Buff. 11.
Michael Gunderson. 12. Terry Haddock. 13. Joe Hartley. 14.
Clay Millican. 15. Pat Dakin. 16. Dom Lagana.
Funny Car
1. Del Worsham, Toyota Solara. 2. Tony Pedregon. 3. Tim
Wilkerson. 4. Ashley Force Hood. 5. Cruz Pedregon. 6. Jack
Beckman. 7. Ron Capps. 8. Jim Head. 9. Bob Tasca III. 10. Bob
Tasca III. 11. Jeff Arend. 12. Jeff Arend. 13. Mike Neff. 14. Mike
Neff. 15. Bob Bode. 16. Bob Bode.
Pro Stock
1. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP. 2. Greg Anderson. 3. Jason Line.
4. Jeg Coughlin. 5. Johnny Gray. 6. Kurt Johnson. 7. Ron Krisher.
8. Allen Johnson. 9. Greg Stanfield. 10. Rodger Brogdon. 11.
Larry Morgan. 12. Warren Johnson. 13. Justin Humphreys. 14.
David Beckley. 15. Rickie Jones. 16. Ronnie Humphrey.
Finals
Top Fuel
Tony Schumacher, 3.857 seconds, 310.91 mph def. Doug
Kalitta, 3.879 seconds, 303.43 mph.
Funny Car
Del Worsham, Toyota Solara, 4.075, 304.67 def. Tony Pedregon,
Chevy Impala, 4.152, 293.22.
Pro Stock
Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 6.633, 207.72 def. Greg Anderson,
GXP, 6.658, 207.94.
Super Stock
Norm Hall, Chevy Cavalier, 9.938, 112.81 def. Jeff Taylor, Chevy
Cobalt, foul.
Super Comp
Mike Robilotto, Dragster, 8.924, 162.29 def. Scott Albrecht,
Dragster, 8.926, 168.62.
Stock Eliminator
Edmond Richardson, Chevy Camaro, 10.897, 119.32 def. Rob-
bie Shaw, Pontiac Firebird, 10.375, 121.62.
Super Gas
Tom Stalba, Chevy Corvette, 9.881, 157.67 def. Billy Upton,
Corvette, 9.865, 153.13.
Standings
(After 8 of 24 events)
Top Fuel
1. Tony Schumacher, 659. 2. Antron Brown, 614. 3. Brandon
Bernstein, 594. 4. Cory McClenathan, 511. 5. Morgan Lucas,
489. 6. Larry Dixon, 457. 7. Shawn Langdon, 449. 8. Doug
Kalitta, 412. 9. Spencer Massey, 373. 10. Joe Hartley, 333.
Funny Car
1. Ron Capps, 616. 2. Del Worsham, 559. 3. Tony Pedregon,
528. 4. Ashley Force Hood, 505. 5. Jack Beckman, 479. 6. Matt
Hagan, 448. 7. Tim Wilkerson, 426. 8. Bob Tasca III, 408. 9. John
Force, 396. 10. Cruz Pedregon, 386.
Pro Stock
1. Jeg Coughlin, 714. 2. Jason Line, 662. 3. Mike Edwards, 616.
4. Greg Anderson, 574. 5. Allen Johnson, 435. 6. Greg Stanfield,
429. 7. Ron Krisher, 398. 8. Kurt Johnson, 390. 9. Rickie Jones,
336. 10. Johnny Gray, 295. 10. Larry Morgan, 295.
SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com
New Wimbledon roof met
with what it’s there for—rain
WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND—Wimbledon
picked the perfect day for showcas-
ing its new retractable roof on Cen-
tre Court.
The sliding, canvassed roof barely
had time to shut Sunday for the All
England Club’s grand opening—or
closing—of the new structure before
the rain starting pouring down over
south London. In the same kind of
weather that has forced so many
rain delays in the past, the Centre
Court then hosted a televised tennis
spectacle in perfect conditions.
It seems no fan with a Centre
Court ticket will ever return home
again without seeing a single shot of
tennis played.
As the two-parted roof closed
without a hitch, it was greeted by a
thunderous applause.
Then shortly after the tennis
began, as if on cue, it started to rain.
Not that anyone inside the stadium
noticed.
DUESSELDORF, GERMANY—Sam
Querrey fought back from a set
down to beat Rainer Schuettler 2-6,
6-4, 6-2 and give the United States a
1-0 lead over Germany at the World
Team Championship. The remain-
ing two matches of the first round, a
singles and a doubles, will be played
today.
IRL
INDIANAPOLIS—John Andretti and
Ryan Hunter-Reay provided the
drama Sunday, saving their best
efforts for the final 10 minutes at the
end of four days of qualifying for the
More on Andretti, Page 30
Indianapolis 500.
Both wound up in the 33-car field
for next Sunday’s race, thanks to
their gutsy qualifying runs with
time running out on another emo-
tional “Bump Day” on the famed
2.5-mile Brickyard oval.
Andretti and Hunter-Reay, whose
successful qualifying effort was
underway as the gun went off end-
ing the six-hour final session of time
trials, both had to find more speed
after being bumped out of the lineup
earlier in the day.
The field, from pole-winner Helio
Castroneves to Hunter-Reay, was
separated in time by a record 3.0967
seconds. The previous record was
3.2422 seconds in 2001.
Boxing
OAKLAND—The California State
Athletic Commission confiscated a
suspicious substance from the cor-
ner of Colombian boxer Edison
Miranda during his loss to Andre
Ward on Saturday, Ward’s trainer
and the fight’s promoter told The
Associated Press.
Trainer Virgil Hunter said the
substance was in a brown bottle
resembling a Vaseline tub appar-
ently hidden in a bag in Miranda’s
corner. When Miranda’s cornermen
were spotted taking the substance
out of the bag around the fourth or
fifth rounds of the fight at Oakland’s
Oracle Arena, it was seized before
officials actually saw it given to
Miranda, according to promoter
Dan Goossen.
Goossen said the athletic commis-
sion will test the substance and
could have results by today.
Back Page MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009 35
IN BRIEF TRANSACTIONS
BASEBALL
Indianapolis 500 lineup
At Indianapolis Motor Speedway
American League
CLEVELAND INDIANS: Purchased the contracts of LHP
David Huff and RHP Greg Aquino from Columbus (IL).
Indianapolis
Lap length: 2.5 miles
(Car number in parentheses)
Optioned LHP Tony Sipp to Columbus. Transferred LHP
Scott Lewis to the 60-day DL.
TAMPA BAY RAYS: Placed DH Pat Burrell on the 15-day
1. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 224.864. DL, retroactive to May 11. Activated RHP Jason
2. (6) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 224.083. Isringhausen from the 15-day DL.
3. (10) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 224.01. National League
4. (02) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 223.954.
FLORIDA MARLINS: Optioned RHP Carlos Martinez
5. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 223.867.
6. (11) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 223.612. to New Orleans (PCL). Purchased the contract of OF
7. (5) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 223.331. Alejandro De Aza from New Orleans. Transferred RHP
8. (26) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 223.114. Rick VandenHurk to the 60-day DL.
9. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 223.028. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: Recalled LHP Sergio Escalona
10. (7) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 222.882.
from Reading (EL).
11. (99) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 222.622.
12. (2) Raphael Matos, Dallara-Honda, 223.429. PITTSBURGH PIRATES: Placed RHP Tyler Yates on
13. (15) Paul Tracy, Dallara-Honda, 223.111. the 15-day DL. Recalled LHP Tom Gorzelanny from
14. (14) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 223.054. Indianapolis (IL).
15. (18) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 222.903.
16. (27) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 222.805. Eastern League
17. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 222.78. TRENTON THUNDER: Announced RHP Eric Worde-
18. (4) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 222.777. kemper was assigned to the team from Scranton/
19. (41) A.J. Foyt IV, Dallara-Honda, 222.586. Wilkes-Barre (IL).
20. (16) Scott Sharp, Dallara-Honda, 222.162.
Can-Am League
21. (67) Sarah Fisher, Dallara-Honda, 222.082.
22. (44) Davey Hamilton, Dallara-Honda, 221.956. SUSSEX SKYHAWKS: Released RHP Gary Galvez.
23. (06) Robert Doornbos, Dallara-Honda, 221.692. HOCKEY
24. (8) Townsend Bell, Dallara-Honda, 221.195.
25. (17) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 220.984. National Hockey League
DARRON CUMMINGS / AP 26. (19) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Honda, 221.496. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS: Called up F Dustin Jeffrey, F
27. (24) Mike Conway, Dallara-Honda, 221.417. Chris Minard, F Jeff Taffe, D Ben Lovejoy and G John
Ryan Hunter-Reay grabbed the final qualifying spot for this Sunday’s Indianapolis 500. 28. (43) John Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 221.316. Curry from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
29. (13) E.J. Viso, Dallara-Honda, 221.164.
30. (36) Bruno Junqueira, Dallara-Honda, 221.115.
Golf de France organizers. Now his rap- 31. (23) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, 221.106.
CLIFTON, N.J.—South Korea’s Ji port with the Giro d’Italia appears at 32. (00) Nelson Philippe, Dallara-Honda, 220.754.
Young Oh won the Sybase Classic risk, too.
33. (21) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 220.597. Major League Soccer
EASTERN CONFERENCE
for her second career LPGA Tour Armstrong played an integral role W L T Pts GF GA
title, finishing with a 2-under 70 for in a protest by riders over concerns down Manchester’s main thorough- Chicago 3 0 6 15 16 11
D.C. 3 1 6 15 17 15
a four-stroke victory over Norway’s about the safety of the ninth stage of fare in windy conditions, finishing Kansas City 4 4 2 14 14 12
Suzann Pettersen. the Giro on Sunday. As a result, all 190 in 14.35 seconds to break Donovan Toronto FC 3 3 4 13 13 15
New England 2 2 4 10 7 13
riders were given the same time as Bailey’s 12-year-old world best of New York 2 5 3 9 10 12
BALTRAY, IRELAND—Irish amateur winner Mark Cavendish. 14.99 in the rarely run 150. Pietro Columbus 1 2 5 8 11 14
Shane Lowry won the Irish Open in Cavendish clocked 4 hours, 16 min- Mennea of Italy ran in a hand-timed WESTERN CONFERENCE
W L T Pts GF GA
his first PGA European Tour start, utes, 13 seconds over the 102.5-mile 14.8 in 1983. Chivas USA 7 1 2 23 14 5
beating England’s Robert Rock with leg. Danilo Di Luca holds a 13-second Seattle 4 2 3 15 12 6
Colorado 3 2 3 12 11 9
a par on the third hole of a playoff at lead over Thomas Lovkvist in the Skiing Houston 3 2 3 12 8 6
County Louth. overall standings. Armstrong is 25th VIENNA—Prosecutors in Austria Real Salt Lake 3 5 1 10 14 13
Los Angeles 1 1 6 9 10 10
overall, 4:39 behind Di Luca. are investigating possible blood dop- San Jose 1 5 2 5 8 16
HOOVER, ALA.—Keith Fergus won ing by 2002 Olympic cross country FC Dallas 1 6 2 5 8 16
the rain-shortened Regions Charity Track & Field ski champion Christian Hoffmann. NOTE: Three points for victory,
one point for tie.
Saturday, May 23
New England at Toronto FC, 4 p.m.
Classic, shooting his second straight MANCHESTER, ENGLAND—Usain Bolt Austrian Criminal Intelligence All times ET. Real Salt Lake at D.C. United,
6-under 66 for a three-stroke victory ran the world’s fastest 150 meters to Service spokesman Gerald Tatzgern Saturday’s Games 7:30 p.m.
Chicago 2, Toronto FC 0 CD Chivas USA at Kansas City,
over Gene Jones. win a soggy street sprint on Sunday told the Austria Press Agency that New England 1, Colorado 1, tie 8:30 p.m.
that marked his return to competi- prosecutors have “reasonable suspi- New York 1, Houston 1, tie Los Angeles at FC Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
FC Dallas 1, Seattle FC 1, tie San Jose at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Cycling tion after a car crash left him requir- cion” that Hoffmann was involved in Kansas City 2, Real Salt Lake 0 Seattle FC at Colorado, 9:30 p.m.
MILAN—Lance Armstrong already ing minor foot surgery. illegal blood enrichment. Chivas USA 2, D.C. United 2, tie Sunday, May 24
Sunday’s Game Chicago at New York, 3 p.m.
has a tenuous relationship with Tour The triple Olympic champion ran — The Associated Press Los Angeles 1, Columbus 1, tie