The Desert Sun ❚ SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019
MARCH MANIA
DS-GCI0150355-07
Sports
BABY AZTECS
Palm Desert’s Chris Wardrup tees off on 12 during the CIF-SCGA championship at Brookside County Club in Pasadena.
RICHARD LUI/THE DESERT SUN
Sophomores, freshmen lead Palm Desert boys’ golf team
Larry Bohannan
Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY NETWORK
Call them the Baby Aztecs.
The Palm Desert High School boys’
golf team, a powerhouse the last two
years while reaching the CIF state tour-
nament, features a radically different
look for 2019.
Gone are five regular players from
2018, including current Division I col-
lege golfers Charlie Reiter and Ray Na-
vis. The seniors have been replaced by
sophomores and freshmen, but that
doesn’t mean the Aztecs have aban-
doned expectations for the postsea-
son.
“We have potential,” said Derrick
Liu, the only senior for the Palm Desert
team who will start most of the team’s
matches this year. “We obviously are
not as good as we were last year, but
you never know. I’m just going to go out
and play my best. That’s all I can do.
That’s the only thing I can control.”
Liu is just one of the reasons there is
Woods’ injury ‘a serious issue’
Steve DiMeglio
Golfweek
ORLANDO - Paul Azinger was riding
his motorcycle on a beach Monday
when his pleasant drive came to a sud-
den halt.
He had gotten word Tiger Woods
had withdrawn from this week’s Ar-
nold Palmer Invitational, citing a neck
strain. Azinger’s journey back home
wasn’t pleasing.
“His neck issue, that’s a serious is-
sue I feel,” Azinger said Friday at Bay
Hill. “Because if your neck doesn’t flow
the way you want, that’s trouble.”
Woods is on the commitment list for
next week’s Players Championship, the
PGA Tour’s flagship event in northeast
Florida. Woods has not declared if he’ll
play and reserves the right to withdraw
up to his tee time in the first round.
Earlier this week, Rory McIlroy said
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Liu Wardrup
still hope for a deep playoff run for Palm
Desert this year. The other is left-han-
der Chris Wardrup, who returns to the
Aztecs after winning the CIF-Southern
Section individual title as a freshman
last year.
Head coach Kurt Ney’s team is also
benefiting from other sophomores who
saw action as freshmen last year and
freshmen who are already working
their way into the starting lineup for
the team early in the season.
“Having lost five solid players from
last year, four starters, it does present a
different set of options,” Ney said.
“However, I’m excited with our incom-
he saw Woods receiving treatment be-
fore and after each round at the WGC-
Mexico Championship three weeks ago
and added that Woods was wearing KT
Tape on his upper back.
Azinger, the lead analyst for NBC
and Golf Channel, said he thought
Woods was protecting some discom-
fort during the Mexico Championship
where he tied for 10th.
“It looked like the whole (swing mo-
tion) wasn’t all going together. You
could see he was trying to save his
swing, and it could have been that his
neck wasn’t right,” Azinger said. “You
get in there and your head’s in a spot
and you rotate up and he looked like he
was (protecting himself ). You can’t
play with that.
“I’m hoping he just didn’t want to
take a chance, and that it’s not some-
thing serious. We’ll know pretty quick-
ly if he shows up (at The Players). We’ll
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WINDOWS
Golf Roundup
❚ PGA: Fleetwood, Bradley tied for
lead at Bay Hill 10B
Computer
to call balls
and strikes
in minor
league
Ronald Blum
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK – Get ready for strikes by
robots.
No, overworked machines aren’t
walking out in a labor protest.
Computers will be used for ball/strike
calls starting April 28 in the indepen-
dent Atlantic League, where the dis-
tance between home and first will be
shortened by 3 inches. The ground be-
tween the mound and home plate will
lengthen by 2 feet for the second half of
the season beginning July 12.
The 60-foot-6-inch distance be-
tween the front of the pitching rubber
and the back point of home plate has
been standard since 1893, but Major
League Baseball reached a three-year
deal to experiment in the Atlantic
League, an eight-team circuit that occa-
sionally produces big leaguers. Infield
defensive shifts will be limited. Pitchers
there will have to get used to 62 feet, 2
inches this summer.
Plate umpires will wear earpieces
and be informed of ball/strike calls by a
TrackMan computer system that uses
Doppler radar. Umps will have the abil-
ity to override the computer, which con-
ing freshmen that we have. Two of siders a pitch a strike when the ball
them have jumped in right away and bounces and then crosses the zone.
look like they have some good potential TrackMan also does not evaluate check
and a third one is right on the edge swings.
there. “The beauty of baseball is that it’s not
“I’m very hopeful that we can ad- foolproof. You’ve got to hit a round ball
vance in CIF,” Ney added. “Whether we with a cylindrical bat square, and then
can make it to the state, that will be up you’ve got to get it past people,” said Joe
to them.” West, who umpired his first big league
The early season results for Palm game in 1976. “The game is typically
Desert have been more than promising. American. It’s always somebody else’s
In the 13-team Ayala tournament in fault when they lose – and usually it’s
Riverside on Monday, Palm Desert fin- us.”
ished first with a team score of 23-over MLB has evaluated its umpires since
383 with freshmen Braden Bernaldo first starting to install a QuesTec system
and Cabot Ellis leading the team with in 2001 that umpires initially criticized
75s. as being inaccurate. QuesTec was used
Tuesday in the first Desert Empire at a maximum of 11 ballparks in 2008, its
League match of the year against Palm final year.
Springs, Palm Desert posted a nine- A PitchF/x system, a partnership of
hole score of 4-over 184 on the front MLB Advanced Media and Sportvision,
nine of the FireCliffCourse at Desert was the basis of evaluations from 2009-
Willow Golf Resort. Wardrup posted 16, and the TrackMan system was tested
the team’s best score, a strong 4-under during the final year of that span. Track-
32. Man has been used to evaluate umpires
See AZTECS, Page 4B See BASEBALL, Page 4B
know pretty quickly how serious it is.
We’ll just hold our breath and hope he
gets out there and plays.”
Azinger said there is no question
Woods wants to play. The only ques-
tion is if he can play given his history of
injuries.
“I just feel like in his head, if he can’t
get after it full gear, he’ll stop,” Azinger
said. “He doesn’t have to play. He
wants to play and there’s a big differ-
ence. As long as he wants to play, he’s
going to do everything he can to get
back.
“Sadly, you’ve got the most fit player
who ever played and he’s kind of rely-
ing on an unfit body. How did that hap-
pen? It happened. Nobody looked bet-
ter than him, nobody was as fit as him
Tiger Woods plays his shot on the
and holy cow the next thing you know
fourth hole during the third round of
he’s getting hurt.
the WGC-Mexico Championship on
Feb. 23.
See TIGER, Page 4B ORLANDO RAMIREZ/USA TODAY SPORTS
2B ❚ SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019 ❚ T H E D E S E R T S U N

The Deuce
IN BRIEF
Shiffrin closes in on season title

SPINDLERUV MLYN, Czech Republic – Mikaela

Shiffrin closed in on her first women’s World Cup gi-
ant slalom trophy Friday after placing third in the
Ranked #10 in 2015 & #9 in 2016 by golfadvisor.com for CA penultimate race of the season, which was won by
Ranked #20 in the nation for course conditions by golfadvisor.com world champion Petra Vlhova.
Sunday Golf and Shiffrin leads her Slovakian rival by 97 points in the
discipline standings with only one event remaining at
Breakfast Buffet!! next week’s World Cup Finals in Soldeu, Andorra. A
$
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Includes Golf, Cart, Range and “I think there is still something possible at the fi-
Breakfast Buffet nals so I won’t celebrate yet. But I am really happy to
Buffet Includes: have this kind of advantage,” said Shiffrin, who has
Omelet Bar, Bacon & Sausage, Eggs, Breakfast Potatoes, already successfully defended her overall and slalom
Pancakes, Yogurt, Granola, Fresh Fruit Display
and Oatmeal Bar.
titles.
After three overall and six slalom championships,
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“Slalom, overall and GS are my biggest goals this
year so it’s an incredible place to be right now,” the
American said.
Vlhova built on her commanding first-run lead of
nearly a half-second to beat Viktoria Rebensburg of
Germany by 0.11 seconds.
Shiffrin, who was 1.33 behind in fourth after the

$75 before
noon $55 after noon
Twilight opening run, posted the fastest time in the final run
and improved to third, 0.60 behind Vlhova. Tessa
Worley of France, who was runner-up in the GS
All grass driving range standings before the race, finished seventh to drop
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It was Shiffrin’s first race in 17 days after sitting out
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28555 Landau Blvd, Cathedral City, CA 92234 • (760)322-1655 UConn’s Napheesa Collier is AAC player of the
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year
Fun People, Fun Prices, Fun Golf UNCASVILLE, Conn. – UConn’s Napheesa Collier,
averaging a double-double this season, was honored
Friday as the player of the year and top defensive play-
er in the American Athletic Conference.
The senior forward became the first player to earn
Ivey Ranch Country Club both awards in the same AAC season.
Her coach, Geno Auriemma, whose team has never
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since the league was formed in 2013 and has won all
74580 Varner Road. Thousand Palms California, 92276 five conference tournaments.
Located between Cook Street and Monterey Avenue on Varner Road She shared the player of the year award in 2017
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named player of the year last season.
Collier and Samuelson are joined on the conference
first team by teammate Crystal Dangerfield, Temple’s
Mia Davis, Cincinnati’s Iimar’I Thomas and Kay Kay
Wright from UCF
Cincinnati’s Florence Sifa was selected the AAC’s
newcomer of the year, UCF’s Kayla Thigpen was hon-
ored as sixth player of the year and Tulane’s Krystal
MARCH RATES Freeman was the league’s most improved player.
Auriemma has been the conference’s coach of the
year five times in the league’s six seasons and has
$99 open - 1:30 pm won 15 conference coaching awards dating back to the
team’s days in the old Big East. He beat out UCF coach
Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, who guided the
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Knights to a 24-5 season, the best Division I season in
program history.
Leading Iditarod musher from France feted
Mikaela Shiffrin competes in Friday’s women’s World
Cup giant slalom in Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech
Republic. AP
pagne.
Anvik is 512 miles (824 kilometers) into the 1,000
mile (1,600 kilometer) race.
Norwegian Joar Ulsom is in second place. He and
several mushers were about 25 miles (40 kilometers)
behind Petit.
Judge plans to reject new trial in death of
Jordan’s father
RALEIGH, N.C. – A North Carolina judge says he
won’t allow a man convicted of murdering Michael
Jordan’s father in 1993 to proceed with an effort to
prove his innocence.
Court documents show that Judge Winston Gil-
christ informed lawyers Wednesday that he would
deny Daniel Green’s request for an evidentiary hear-
ing that could lead to a new trial. Gilchrist told the
lawyers his written order was forthcoming.
An attorney for Green, Chris Mumma, says she has
filed a motion asking the judge to reconsider so new
testimony from Green’s co-defendant can be heard.
She says if that’s not allowed, she’ll file an appeal.
Green is serving a life sentence as one of two men
convicted of killing James Jordan. Green was convict-
ed of first-degree murder, and two state courts upheld
the conviction.
TODAY’S TV LISTINGS
AAF FOOTBALL
TNT – Orlando at Birmingham.........................................11 a.m.
NFL – Salt Lake at San Diego.............................................5 p.m.
AUTO RACING
FS1 – NASCAR: Practice ................................................8:30 a.m.

Twilight Sunday Special- with gourmet meal FS1 – Xfinity: Qualifying................................................9:30 a.m.
FS1 – NASCAR: Final practice ..........................................11 a.m.
NBCSN – IndyCar: Qualifying.....................................11:30 a.m.
$75 all day long!! ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Nicolas Petit of France was
the first musher to reach the frozen Yukon River in the FS1 – XFINITY Series Race ..................................................1 p.m.
Juniors 16 & under play free on Sundays* NBCSN – FIM Supercross action ................................4:30 p.m.
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, and won a gourmet meal
FS1 – NASCAR: Qualifying..................................................3 p.m.
*Must be accompanied by a paying adult served in the Alaska wilderness.
BASEBALL, SPRING TRAINING
A chef was flown in from Anchorage to prepare a MLB – Astros at Cardinals ................................................10 a.m.
five-course meal in the community of Anvik, with a SNLA – Mariners at Dodgers ..............................................Noon
population of 82, after Petit’s arrival Friday.
Happy Hour Golf - $35 The menu includes bison chili, jumbo shrimp,
seared scallops, beef tenderloin and a pan-fried, cin-
FSN – Brewers at Angels......................................................Noon
FSNSD – Reds at Padres ...............................................5:30 p.m.
BOXING
Every day after 2 pm. namon banana served with vanilla ice cream and a FS1 – PBC Fight Night: prelims ...................................3:30 p.m.
9 holes of golf and a drink. warm brandy caramel sauce for dessert. FOX – Porter-Ugas...............................................................5 p.m.
Petit also pockets $3,500 and a bottle of Cham- COLLEGE BASKETBALL
77-200 California Dr RESERVATIONS Today’s schedule on Page 5B
Palm Desert, CA 92211 www.palmdesertgolf.com 760-345-0222 COLLEGE GYMNASTICS
DS-GCI0085008-13
BTN – Oklahoma at Michigan ............................................9 a.m.
must presentcoupon
coupon at GOLF
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check-in GOLF – PGA: Arnold Palmer Invitational ..................9:30 a.m.
NEXT 5
If you enjoy both Seasons Lakers’ Next 5
NBC – PGA: Arnold Palmer Invitational...................11:30 a.m.
GOLF – Champions: Hoag Classic ..............................2:30 p.m.
GOLF – Europe: Qatar Masters (Sun) ..............................2 a.m.
of Desert Golf... Saturday, March 9: Celtics, 5:35 p.m. (ABC)
NBA BASKETBALL
ABC – Boston at LA Lakers ..........................................5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 12: at Bulls, 5:05 p.m. (SPECSN)
park golf cart in the sun, Thursday, March 14: at Raptors, 5:05 p.m. (SPECSN,
TNT)
NHL HOCKEY
NHL – St. Louis at San Jose ...............................................1 p.m.
NHL – Toronto at Edmonton .............................................4 p.m.
park golf cart in the shade Friday, March 15: at Pistons, 4:05 p.m. (SPECSN)
Sunday, March 17: at Knicks, 9:05 a.m. (SPECSN)
FSN – LA Kings at Phoenix.................................................5 p.m.
SKIING

...make an Clippers’ Next 5

NBCSN – FIS Alpine: women’s slalom .............................3 p.m.
NBCSN – FIS Freestyle: halfpipe competition ........9:30 p.m.

Executive Decision. Monday, March 11: Celtics, 7:35 p.m. (FSNPT)

Tuesday, March 12: Trail Blazers, 7:35 p.m. (FSNPT)
(and earn FREE Golf ) Friday, March 15: Bulls, 7:35 p.m. (FSNPT)
Sunday, March 17: Nets, 6:05 p.m. (FSNPT)
Try Us! Golf Cart Included. Walkers Welcome! Tuesday, March 19: Pacers, 7:35 p.m. (FSNPT)
SOCCER
FS1 – Bayern Munich vs. VfL Wolfsburg ...................6:30 a.m.
FS2 – VfB Stuttgart vs. Borussia Dortmund............6:30 a.m.
NBCSN – Southhampton vs. Tottenham ..................6:55 a.m.
CNBC – Newcastle United vs. Everton ...........................7 a.m.
FS2 – Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. FSV Mainz ..9:20 a.m.

$60 $50 $ 40
Kings’ Next 5
Saturday, March 9: at Coyotes, 5:05 p.m. (FSN)
Prime Time 11:30-2 After 2 Sunday, March 10: at Ducks, 7:05 p.m. (NBCSN)
Thursday, March 14: Predators, 7:35 p.m. (FSN)
Steve Toth - PGA Professional Saturday, March 16: Panthers, 1:05 p.m. (FSN)
Monday, March 18: Jets, 7:35 p.m. (FSN)
Ducks’ Next 5
Sunday, March 10: Kings, 7:05 p.m. (NBCSN)
"The Deserts Premier Par 60 Executive Golf Course." Tuesday, March 12: Predators, 7:05 p.m. (FSN)
Casbah Way off Hovley Lane, Palm Desert, California Thursday, March 14: at Coyotes, 7:05 p.m. (FSNPT)
(760) 345-2715 t h e o a s i s c o u n t r y c l u b . c o m Friday, March 15: at Avalanche, 6:05 p.m. (FSN)
Sunday, March 17: Panthers, 6:05 p.m. (FSN)
NBC – Manchester City vs. Watford ..........................9:30 a.m.
FS2 – Tigres UANL vs. Monterrey ..............................4:55 p.m.
TENNIS
TENNIS – BNP Paribas Open (until 11 p.m.) .................11 a.m.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
CBSSN – VCU vs. Dayton....................................................8 a.m.
ESPNU – Notre Dame vs. Syracuse..................................9 a.m.
CBSSN – Fordham vs. Duquesne..............................10:30 a.m.
ESPNU – Louisville vs. N.C. State..............................11:30 a.m.
BTN – Maryland vs. Michigan............................................2 p.m.
ESPNU – Mississippi St. vs. Missouri...............................2 p.m.
BTN – Iowa vs. Rutgers.................................................4:30 p.m.
ESPNU – Arkansas vs. Texas A&M .............................4:30 p.m.
Pac-12 – Oregon vs. UCLA.................................................6 p.m.
Pac-12 – Stanford vs. Oregon State-Washington 8:30 p.m.
 DESERTSUN.COM ❚ SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019 ❚ 3B

Santa Anita fatalities felt in Kentucky

Tim Sullivan
USA TODAY Network
If racehorses are at risk at Santa
Anita, so much so that a famous track
suspends operations over safety con-
cerns, the ripples are felt most keenly in
Kentucky.
Emotionally and economically, no
other state has a larger stake in the wel-
fare of thoroughbreds. And with racing
fatalities at record rates within the com-
monwealth, few places can better feel
California’s pain.
“What they’re dealing with in Califor-
nia, I feel that in my heart and my stom-
ach as well,” said Dr. Mary Scollay,
equine medical director for the Ken-
tucky Horse Racing Commission. “It’s
not their problem. It’s our problem.”
Kentucky Horse Racing Commission
statistics show 36 thoroughbreds sus-
tained fatal race-related injuries in Ken-
tucky in 2018. This was the state’s high-
est total since 2007 and, at 2.39 per
1,000 starts, an average Scollay de-
scribed as “unprecedented.”
The mortality rate was higher still at
Churchill Downs, where veterinarians'
reports showed 16 race-related fatalities
in 5,856 starts (2.73 per 1,000 starts),
with eight more fatalities in training.
(Scollay cautioned that training fa-
talities are likely understated because
the data is drawn only from live race
meets with veterinary staffing on site.)
According to The Jockey Club, the
national average was 1.61 fatalities per
1,000 starts in 2017.
Data for 2018 has not been released.
Though the recent spike in fatalities
has not resulted in any Kentucky tracks
being shut down — as was Santa Anita
following its 21st equine fatality since
Dec. 26 — the trend has raised concerns
within one of the state’s signature in-
dustries.
“We’re in a really different situation
here in Kentucky,” said Mick Peterson,
director of the University of Kentucky’s
agricultural equine programs. “We’re
selling a billion dollars’ worth of thor-
oughbreds every year. And we’re not
selling them to go race at Ellis Park or
Keeneland. Yeah, they’re going there,
but only 20 percent of them race in the
state. We have to worry about Santa
Anita, Saratoga, Del Mar, Gulfstream
A statue of Zenyatta stands in the paddock gardens area at Santa Anita Park in
California. JAE C. HONG/AP
just as much as we do about Ellis Park.
“That doesn’t apply to any other
state. There’s no other state where it
hits them economically like it does us. ...
We have to care. It’s a big industry for
us.”
Kentucky accounted for 41.4 percent
of the U.S. foal crop in 2017, the most re-
cent year for which statistics are avail-
able.
Last year, auctions of weanlings,
yearlings and 2-year-olds generated
$644.7 million in sales within the state,
roughly 77 percent of the North Amer-
ican market. When a horse pulls up
lame in Louisiana, there’s a good chance
the injury will be felt in Lexington.
“We’ve just got to be better,” Peterson
said. “There’s an expectation here. We
need to keep the horses sound and run-
ning and keep Santa Anita healthy so
that we can sell more horses.”
Peterson, who teaches biosystems
and agricultural engineering at UK, has
used ground-penetrating radar in
studying Santa Anita’s soil samples and
pronounced the track “100 percent
ready” during a site visit last week. But
when a 4-year-old filly named Eskenfo-
radrink broke down Saturday and was
euthanized, it marked Santa Anita’s
20th fatality of its winter meet.
After the death toll reached 21 follow-
ing a Tuesday morning breakdown in-
volving another filly, Let’s Light the
Way, Santa Anita management declared
an “indefinite” shutdown and post-
poned Saturday’s San Felipe Stakes.
Trainer Bob Baffert’s latest Kentucky
Derby favorite, Game Winner, had been
scheduled to run in that Grade 2 race
along with his stablemate, Improbable.
Though Baffert told the Daily Racing
Form he would not make a decision on
his next move until the weekend, a sur-
plus of 3-year-olds and a shortage of
Derby prep races have prompted Oak-
lawn to float the idea of splitting its
March 16 Rebel Stakes into two divi-
sions to accommodate additional en-
tries.
“As it pertains to the Kentucky Derby,
there will be no changes to the Road to
the Kentucky Derby schedule,” Chur-
chill Downs spokesman Darren Rogers
said in a prepared statement. “Santa
Anita officials stated late Tuesday that
they intend to reschedule the San Fe-
lipe. If that does occur within a reason-
able time frame, Top 4 (place) points
will be awarded as scheduled. If the race
is unexpectedly cancelled, this year’s
San Felipe would be voided on the Road
to the Kentucky Derby schedule, similar
to what occurred when an equine virus
issue forced the cancellation of the 2016
Sunland Derby.”
Core problems are not solved by con-
tingency plans, however. Though heavy
rains may account for some of Santa
Anita’s safety issues, Peterson and Scol-
lay both believe there are several con-
tributing factors to the spike in equine
fatalities.
“What I tell people is the hard part on
weather is when you have unusual
weather for what you’re used to, for
what the trainers are used to,” Peterson
said. “You give trainers in New Orleans a
dry spell, they have no idea, just like the
California trainers are struggling with
the rain.”
“If it were just one thing, we would
have fixed it a long time ago,” Scollay
said. “It’s an interaction of multiple
things that have a small impact. I think
we have to look at management of the
horses, medication policies. But to hang
your hat on one thing or say, ‘It’s the sur-
face,’ you’re being overly reductive.
“I don’t know if this is a systemic
problem ... or more local.”
Scollay said none of Kentucky’s 36
race-related fatalities last year could be
traced to impermissible concentrations
of prohibited substances. Contrary to a
common opinion, she has found that a
4-year-old horse racing for the first time
is at greater risk than a 2-year-old.
Scollay’s research has also left her
dubious of the perception that as horses
have been bred for speed, they have
grown more fragile. Evolution may work
that way, but not that fast.
“Fifty years,” she said, “represents a
blink of the eye in terms of geneticists.”
Scollay said she has developed some
speculations on the source of the prob-
lem, but that those theories were not far
enough advanced to be shared publicly.
The search for answers is ongoing, but it
isn’t easy.

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4B ❚ SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019 ❚ T H E D E S E R T S U N
All-DEL girls’
soccer team
revealed
Shad Powers
Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY NETWORK
You know when you go to a buffet and there are too
many good choices and you just don’t know what to do,
so you end up eating three entrees?
That same sort of thing happened to the girls’ soc-
cer coaches in the Desert Empire League.
Six coaches voted for offensive player of the year
and three different girls received two votes each. There
was some discussion, some debate, and the tie could
not be broken.
That’s how junior Dalton Kramer of Xavier Prep,
senior Kaitlin Clapinski of Palm Desert and senior
Monica Calderon of La Quinta shared the honor of the
league’s best offensive player.
The defensive player of the year did not come down
to tie-breakers, it was Palm Desert senior Kaci Holli-
day.
The rest of the first team included junior Isabella
Fakehany of La Quinta, junior Jenna Day of Palm
Springs, senior Denise Hernandez of Palm Springs,
senior Valeria Ceballos of Palm Desert, freshman Shay
Holiness of Rancho Mirage, senior Anaya Guerrero of
La Quinta, junior Helen Benitez Lopez of Shadow Hills,
junior Malia Falk of Palm Desert and senior Andrea So-
Umpire Doug Eddings, left, discusses a call at first base with Joe West during a 2018 game between the
Diamondbacks and Braves at Chase Field. ORLANDO RAMIREZ/USA TODAY SPORTS
Baseball
Continued from Page 1B
since 2017.
West, who has umpired more than 5,000 big league
games and is on track to break Bill Klem’s record in
2020, said the 2016 test was far from perfect.
“It missed 500 pitches in April, and when I say it
missed 500 pitches, that didn’t mean they called them
wrong. They didn’t call them at all,” he said.
In addition, bases will become 18-inch squares in
the Atlantic League, up from the 15-inch squares that
have been standard since 1877. That will in effect cut
the distance from the front of home plate to the front of
first base from 87 feet, 9 inches to 87 feet 6 inches. The
90-foot measurement between bases is from the back
Aztecs
Continued from Page 1B
For Wardrup, a freshman playing on a veteran team
last year, the 2019 season feels a bit more comfortable.
“Last year, I didn’t really know any of the players
coming into the season,” Wardrup said. “This year, I
pretty much know all of the players. We have a lot of
sophomores on the team, two seniors and I played
with one of the seniors last year. It’s a lot more com-
fortable.”
Winning the CIF-SS individual title last year in a
three-way playoff that included teammate Reiter has
Wardrup wanting more this year.
“I’m trying to have a better season than last year,”
Wardrup said. “I just want to build on what I did last
year.”
Ney says he has confidence that Liu and Wardrup
will play well on the course this year, but he says he has
challenged both of the returning players from the 2018
state tournament team to become leaders for the
younger players.
“Chris, who is a sophomore this year, is well ad-
Tiger
Continued from Page 1B
“I’m all about being fit but it’s no guarantee for lon-
gevity.”
Like the majority of fans, Azinger doesn’t want to
see a golf world without Woods. He doesn’t want to
Kaci Holliday stops the ball from going the opposite
direction. The Palm Desert varsity soccer team won
Wednesday’s home playoff game against Miller by a
score of 5-1.
BRANDON MAGPANTAY/SPECIAL TO THE DESERT SUN
to of Palm Desert.
La Quinta and Palm Desert shared the league title
and coaches Adrian Glover of La Quinta and Chris
Keuilian of Palm Desert.
of the plate to the back corner of first and third along
the foul line.
Other changes for the season:
❚ Infield shifts will be restricted by requiring two
infielders to be on each side of second base when a
pitcher releases his pitch. Infielders also will be pro-
hibited from setting up on the outfield grass.
❚ Each pitcher must face at least three batters or
complete the half-inning, unless injured.
❚ Between inning breaks will be cut from 2 minutes,
5 seconds to 1:45.
❚ Mound visits are banned, except for pitching
changes or medical issues.
Atlantic League teams are in Bridgewater, New Jer-
sey; Central Islip, New York; High Point, North Caroli-
na; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; New Britain, Connecti-
cut; Sugar Land, Texas; Waldorf, Maryland; and York,
Pennsylvania.
vanced,” Ney said. “He doesn’t behave like a sopho-
more. So I’ve asked the two of them to help the other
teammates out.”
Even dominated by sophomores and freshmen, the
Aztecs seem to be the clear favorites to win the first-
ever DEL title this year. But Ney points out there does
seem to be more competition for Palm Desert than in
recent years.
The La Quinta Blackhawks have already posted
some team scores better than their early season scores
from last year. Rancho Mirage has built a solid pro-
gram the last few years in reaching CIF-SS postseason
play, though the Rattlers move from the Desert Valley
League to the tougher and reconfigured DEL this year.
Even Palm Springs, which has struggled to field a
minimum team of five players the last few years, has
more than a dozen golfers out for the golf team this
year, though many are playing golf for the first time.
For Ney, the regular season will again be about get-
ting his team to improve by the time the postseason
events are played.
“What we want to do it set a goal for ourselves with
each match and go out and do what we need to do to
make us better so that we can be competitive in CIF,”
Ney said. “So that’s our goal.”
see The Players without Woods. The game will go on,
Azinger said, but it won’t be the same without the
winner of 80 PGA Tour titles including 14 majors.
“He’s the most interesting guy by far who plays the
game,” Azinger said. “The Tour is a two-pony show.
Tiger is one pony and the rest are the other pony. Not
to take anything away from those guys; they’d prob-
ably admit it, too.
“I think he’s a living, breathing, walking miracle.
VALLEY ROUNDUP
Rajahs stay
undefeated in
DVL baseball
Larry Bohannan
Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY NETWORK
The Indio Rajahs remained undefeated in the
Desert Valley League with a 4-0 victory over Cathe-
dral City on Thursday.
The Rajahs are now 3-0 in the DVL and 7-2 over-
all.
Ricardo Amavizca was 2 for 3 with two RBIs,
while Jaime Sicairos added a hit and a run scored.
Marco Calderon picked up the win, throwing six
innings, allowing just three hits and striking out
seven. Freddy Lopez pitched the seventh inning,
with one strikeout.
Desert Christian Academy 6, Linfield Chris-
tian 3: Seth Talley had two home runs and four RBIs
to lead the Conquerors to the victory.
Troy Collins earned the win on the mound, going
five innings with five strikeouts, while Austin Klop-
fenstein pitched the final two innings, striking out
four of the six batters.
Softball
Palm Desert 10, Shadow Hills 3: Carlie Williams
earned the complete-game victory for the Aztecs in
the DEL game.
Kalyn Lopez was 3 for 3 with three RBIs for Palm
Desert. Jasmine Perezchica and Aesia Garban each
had two hits. Garban also had two RBIs. Karli Man-
ney scored four runs for Palm Desert, while Brook-
lyn Dowdle had two RBIs.
Palm Desert also defeated West Valley 5-0 on
Wednesday. Freshman Madysyn Lopez got the win,
pitching five shutout innings, while Carlie Williams
got the save with two shutout innings in relief. Pe-
rezchica and Manney each had two hits, with Perez-
chica hitting a triple and a home run while driving in
two runs. Bailey Fagan had an RBI, while Manney
had five stolen bases and scored two runs.
Girls' swimming
Twentynine Palms 111, Coachella Valley 54:
Sophomore Olivia Garcia placed first and received
CIF consideration times in both the 200 IM and the
100 free for the Arabs in the Desert Valley League
loss. The Arabs also posted five personal-best times
in the meet.
Boys' swimming
Twentynine Palms 103, Coachella Valley 55:
The Arabs won the 400 Free Relay and posted three
other individual personal bests in the Desert Valley
League loss.
Boys' tennis
Coachella Valley 14, Desert Mirage 4: The Arabs
earned their fourth consecutive DVL win with the
victory over the Rams.
Coachella Valley was led by all doubles teams,
Rene Jara/Jonathan Leyva, Gilbert German/Jose
Garcia and David Bacilio/Victor Zaragosa, who each
swept their three doubles.
The Arabs added five singles wins, including a
win by No. 3 single Moreno over Desert Mirage’s No.
1 singles player.
Boys' golf
Palm Desert 187, Xavier Prep 212: In a Desert
Empire League match at Classic Club in Palm Des-
ert, the Aztecs improved to 2-0 on the young season
with the victory.
Sophomore Chris Wardrup, the 2018 CIF-SS indi-
vidual champion, led Palm Desert with a 1-under 35
on the front nine of the course. Wardrup was fol-
lowed by 37s from Braden Bernaldo and Ryln Had-
ley and 39s by Derrick Liu and Cam Wilson. Willis
Panzarello’s 44 was not used.
Xavier was led by a 41 from Delong Tan, and a 42
by Lloyd DeKlotz. Jackson Castillo shot 44, Davin
Shaner shot 45 and Mathew Marino added a 50.
Mike Aarzano’s 54 was not used.
La Quinta 243, Shadow Hills 269: On a blustery
day, La Quinta improved to 3-0 in the DEL with a
road victory.
Arri Arbaugh shot 46 and Jovanny Alvarez shot
47 to lead La Quinta, followed by David Charos’ 49,
Nick Brunner’s 50 and Aaron Lopez’ 54.
Brandon Lamond’s 47 led Shadow Hills.
College baseball
COD 12, San Diego City 8: The Roadrunners
snapped a 10-game losing streak behind a six-RBI
game by Izayah Alvarez.
COD improved to 1-4 in conference and 3-17 over-
all. San Diego City dropped to 1-4, 1-13 overall.
Alvarez’ big game including a home run, two
doubles and a single in five at-bats. Designated hit-
ter Nathan Sanchez added three hits, while four
other Roadrunners contributed two hits each to the
17-hit attack.
Freshman pitcher Jacob Curiel went 7 2/3 in-
nings for COD, the longest outing of the season by a
Roadrunners starter.
And whoever did his surgery, I don’t know, that sur-
gery should have a name like Tommy John surgery.
Because if you play with a fused back, that’s off the
charts.
“It’s impossible to be the next Tiger. There is never
going to be anything like that. I don’t think there is a
next anybody coming. I think we should really appre-
ciate what we’ve got to see and what’s sticking
around because that window now is getting really
small.”

LSU suspends head
basketball coach Wade No. 19 Buffalo beats
ASSOCIATED PRESS Bowling Green in
regular-season finale
BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU has sus-
pended coach Will Wade indefinitely
amid reports about his conversations
with a person convicted last year of fun-
neling money to the families of basket-
ball recruits.
LSU Chancellor F. King Alexander
and athletic director Joe Alleva said in a
joint statement Friday that assistant
Tony Benford will assume interim head
coaching duties until LSU can ensure
that Wade’s recruiting tactics have been
in full compliance with NCAA and uni-
versity policies.
Tenth-ranked LSU is in the midst of
one of the more successful seasons in
program history and can guarantee at
least a share of the SEC regular season
title with a victory Saturday over Van-
derbilt.
A Yahoo report on Thursday included
excerpts of a wire-tapped phone con-
versation with Christian Dawkins, who
is one of several people convicted in Oc-
tober of conspiracy to commit wire
fraud for funneling illegal payments to
families of recruits to Louisville, Kansas
and North Carolina State. Dawkins also
is a defendant in a federal bribery case
scheduled for trial scheduled for April
22.
In the report, Wade is described ex-
pressing his frustration with an uniden-
tified third party handling the recruit-
ment of player referred to only as
“Smart.” LSU has a freshman guard
named Javonte Smart who is a former
Louisiana high school player of the year.
Wade is quoted on a transcript of the
call saying that he made a strong offer
that was “tilted toward taking care of ”
Bey, Gatling lead Van Dyke Hits 6 3s
surging Colorado to and scores 20 to lift
93-68 pasting of UCLA Utah over USC
Dennis Georgatos
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOULDER, Colo. – UCLA’s zone de-
fense was no match for Colorado’s pow-
erful inside game.
Tyler Bey scored a career-high tying
27 points, Shane Gatling had 26 and Col-
orado led throughout to beat UCLA 93-
68 on Thursday night.
Both Bey and Gatling were dominat-
ing in the paint, scoring on an array of
dunks, layups and short jumpers in the
lane. Bey added 13 rebounds for his 13th
double-double of the season.
“In the second half, I thought we pen-
etrated (UCLA’s) zone,” said Colorado
coach Tad Boyle, who picked up his 184th
career win with the Buffaloes, tying Ri-
cardo Patton for second on the school’s
all-time list. “We got to the free throw
line. We attacked the basket and we got
some plays at the rim. Tyler had 27
points and a lot of those were on dunks
and plays at the rim and that’s what you
have to do. You have play inside-out
against the zone. You can’t just settle for
3s.”
Gatling also hit all 10 of his free throws
for Colorado (18-11, 9-8 Pac-12), which has
won eight of 12 since beginning confer-
ence play 1-4. It was the Buffaloes’ fourth
straight win against UCLA (16-14, 9-8).
“Early in the year, we struggled
against a zone defense, but coach has
been working with us in practice,” Colo-
rado guard McKinley Wright said. “Now
that we look at it, there’s a lot of teams
playing zone. We’ve been doing a very
good job of carving them up, and that’s
credit to all my teammates being in the
right spot and sharing the ball.”
TODAY’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL ON TV
Villanova at Seton Hall: 9 a.m. (FOX)
Syracuse at Clemson: 9 a.m. (CBS)
Tennessee at Auburn: 9 a.m. (ESPN)
TCU at Texas: 9 a.m. (ESPN2)
Butler at Providence: 9 a.m. (FSN)
Georgia at South Carolina: 10 a.m. (SEC)
Florida at Kentucky: 11 a.m. (CBS)
Baylor at Kansas: 11 a.m. (ESPN)
Texas A&M at Mississippi St.: 11 a.m.
(ESPN2)
Texas Tech at Iowa St.: 11 a.m. (ESP-
News)
Georgetown at Marquette: 11:30 a.m.
(FOX)
Purdue at Northwestern: 11:30 a.m.
(BTN)
Oregon St. at Washington St.: Noon
(Pac-12)
Ole Miss at Missouri: 12:30 p.m. (SEC)
Loyola of Chicago vs. Bradley: 12:30
p.m. (CBSSN)
Arizona St. at Arizona: 1 p.m. (CBS)
Louisville at Virginia: 1 p.m. (ESPN)
Central Florida at Temple: 1 p.m.
(ESPN2)
LSU head coach Will Wade is seen in
Wednesday’s game against Florida in
Gainesville, Fla. AP
the player and his mother, but that the
third party who received the offer was
unsatisfied with his “piece of the pie.”
The report also states that it was not
clear if the offer Wade discusses would
violate NCAA rules, or if the player and
his family knew of, or accepted, the of-
fer, of which there were no specific de-
tails.
In their statement, Alexander and
Wade say “recent media reports regard-
ing Coach Will Wade are without ques-
tion concerning” to top university offi-
cials who are taking “deliberate and
purposeful steps to fairly assess and ad-
equately address” the concerns those
reports have raised.
The statement also said LSU is
“closely coordinating” and fully cooper-
ating with the NCAA on the matter.
Kris Wilkes scored 19 points to lead
the Bruins, who saw their three-game
winning streak snapped. Jaylen Hands
added 18 points.
The Bruins, who entered as the high-
est scoring team in the conference, were
outshot by the Buffaloes 49.3 percent to
35.9 percent and trailed from the outset.
“I don’t know if they did any one
thing,” interim UCLA coach Murry Bar-
tow said. “We just at critical times did
not get stops and at critical times offen-
sively we just weren’t able to make plays.
That sounds pretty simplistic, but I
thought we got the ball into the paint a
lot, we were kind of begging and hoping
for call when we didn’t finish strong
enough around the rim. Then at the other
end, we just weren’t able to stop them.
Just couldn’t get a stop.”
Up by 10 at the break, Colorado
stretched its lead to 67-50 with 7:25 left
to play, getting successive layups from
D’Shawn Schwartz and dunks from Gat-
ling and Bey to help offset a 3-pointer
from Wilkes and a 3-point play by Moses
Brown.
The Bruins managed to get back to
within 12 points after Hands converted a
3-point play, but Gatling answered with
a 3-pointer from the left wing and then
got a steal on the other end to start a fast
break that he finished with a feed under
the basket to Bey for a dunk.
The Buffaloes scored seven of the last
nine points in the final 1:47 of the open-
ing period to go in front 37-27 at halftime
for their largest lead to that point.
Wright, who finished with nine points,
nine rebounds and five assists, punctu-
ated the burst with a driving layup just
ahead of the halftime buzzer.
West Virginia at Oklahoma St.: 1 p.m.
(ESPNews)
St. John's at Xavier: 2 p.m. (FOX)
USC at Colorado: 2 p.m. (Pac-12)
Duke at North Carolina: 3 p.m. (ESPN)
Oklahoma at Kansas St.: 3 p.m. (ESPN2)
Alabama at Arkansas: 3 p.m. (SEC)
Drake vs. Southern Illinois/Northern
Iowa: 3 p.m. (CBSSN)
UCLA at Utah: 4 p.m. (Pac-12)
Michigan at Michigan St.: 5 p.m. (ESPN)
Belmont vs. Murray St.-Jacksonville
St.: 5 p.m. (ESPN2)
DePaul at Creighton: 5 p.m. (FS1)
Vanderbilt at LSU: 5:30 p.m. (SEC)
Wichita St. at Tulane: 5:30 p.m. (CBSSN)
Tulsa at Memphis: 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Oregon at Washington: 7 p.m. (ESPN)
San Francisco vs. Pepperdine: 7 p.m.
(ESPN2)
San Diego St. at Nevada: 7:30 p.m.
(CBSSN)
BYU vs. Santa Clara/San Diego: 9 p.m.
(ESPN2)
DS-TDS0009105-04
DESERTSUN.COM ❚ SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019 ❚ 5B
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: TOP 25 ROUNDUP
ASSOCIATED PRESS
No. 19 Buffalo 84, Bowling Green
73: Nick Perkins scored 22 points and
Buffalo (28-3, 16-2 Mid-American Con-
ference) beat Bowling Green (20-11,
12-6) on Friday night in its regular-sea-
son finale for its 26th consecutive
home victory.
CJ Massinburg scored 15 points,
and Jeremy Harris had 10 of his 14
points in the second half to help the
Bulls win their ninth straight overall
following a loss at Bowling Green on
Feb. 1.
Buffalo matched No. 5 Tennessee
for the nation’s longest active home
streak. Buffalo’s run dates to a 72-63
loss to St. Bonaventure on Dec. 2, 2017.
On a day Buffalo celebrated its five
seniors, the Bulls broke the school rec-
ords set last season for victories and
conference victories.
Justin Turner scored 17 for Bowling
Green, which lost its eighth straight
game at Buffalo in a drought dating to
Jan. 8, 2011. Assured of finishing sec-
ond in the East Division and advancing
to the quarterfinals of the MAC Tour-
nament next week, the Falcons have
lost four of five.
No. 15 Virginia Tech 84, Miami 70:
Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 21
points, 10 rebounds and eight assists
and No. 15 Virginia Tech (23-7, 12-6 At-
lantic Coast Conference) beat Miami
84-70 (13-16, 5-13) to tie the school rec-
ord for regular-season victories with
Matthew Coles
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SALT LAKE CITY – Parker Van
Dyke knows a short memory can be a
shooter’s best friend.
Just one game after going score-
less on five shots, the senior guard
made six 3-pointers and scored 20
points to lead Utah to an 83-74 win
over Southern California on Thursday
night.
“As a shooter, you can’t dwell on a
miss. You just know the next one has
got to go in. I just make up my mind
and let it fly,” Van Dyke said.
Timmy Allen scored 19 and Sedrick
Barefield had 17 to help the Utes (16-
13, 10-7 Pac-12) sweep USC (15-15, 8-9)
this season.
“I’m trying to be aggressive and
take it to them. We’re better when
we’re aggressive as a team. When I
come out and set that tone, they feed
off me,” Allen said.
With Allen inside, Van Dyke out-
side and Barefield slashing, the Utes
kept the Trojans on their heels.
Freshman Elijah Weaver scored a
career-high 17 points and Bennie Boa-
tright and Nick Rakocevic also had 17
apiece for the Trojans, who have lost
their last three and six of eight.
Boatright has made 29 of 53 3-
point attempts in his last five games
but the Utes usually had a defender
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Playing mostly at the point guard,
Alexander-Walker was 6 of 14 from the
floor, including three 3-pointers for the
Hokies. He tied his career high with
the eight assists.
Ahmed Hill and Ty Outlaw had
strong performances in their last home
game for the Hokies. Outlaw scored 19
points, hitting five 3-pointers, and Hill
added 17 points and connected on five
3s as well.
Ebuka Izundu and Chris Lykes led
Miami with 16 points each.
No. 24 Maryland 69, Minnesota
60: Anthony Cowan scored 21 points,
Jalen Smith had 19 points and 11 re-
bounds and Maryland (22-9, 13-7 Big
Ten) beat Minnesota (19-12, 9-11) to end
the regular season in feel-good fashion
following a two-game skid.
The Terrapins led by 12 at halftime,
stretched the margin to 19 in the open-
ing three minutes of the second half
and went up 54-32 with 13 minutes
left.
Bruno Fernando had 11 points and 11
rebounds to help Maryland avoid its
first three-game losing streak of the
season. The Terps were coming off a
lopsided defeat at Penn State and their
lone conference loss at home, versus
Michigan.
Amir Coffey scored 23 points for
Minnesota.
Maryland led 34-22 at halftime de-
spite missing 11 of its final 12 shots.
draped on him and limited his at-
tempts. The USC game plan was to do
the same to Utah’s shooters.
“A couple times on ball screens we
gave up those 3s and when we would
fight through, they would shot fake
and Van Dyke stepped through in the
first half and hit some really tough
shots,” USC coach Andy Enfield said.
Van Dyke’s 3-pointer gave Utah a
76-61 lead with 3:42 remaining – “I
think it’s going in every time he
shoots it,” Barefield said – but the
Utes, who have struggled with the
press at times this season, had a cou-
ple turnovers that allowed the Tro-
jans to draw within single digits. It
might have been even tighter but the
officials withdrew an offensive foul
on Novak Topalovic after video re-
view with 2:09 left.
Utah led 55-48 before going on an
11-2 run that was capped with an al-
ley-oop and dunk from Tillman to Al-
len. The Utes led 66-50 with 10:06 to
play as the crowd roared.
“We’re pretty tough to defend
when we play free and get out in tran-
sition,” said Van Dyke of the 22-6
edge in fast-break points.
Jayce Johnson, Utah’s usual start-
ing center, was out with an ankle is-
sue but the Utes dominated in the
paint and outrebounded the Trojans
32-23. The Utes tallied 17 second-
chance points to just one for USC.
6B ❚ SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019 ❚ T H E D E S E R T S U N
Texas, Indiana lean on big wins in NCAA chase
Aaron Beard
ASSOCIATED PRESS
RALEIGH, N.C. – Texas and Indiana
own records that don’t look much like
those of NCAA Tournament teams at
first glance.
Yet the Longhorns and Hoosiers are
still chasing at-large bids thanks to a pe-
culiar mix of multiple resume-boosting
wins amid all those losses that have left
both hovering near .500 overall.
It’s a year in which the bubble is filled
with teams holding fragile resumes,
helping keep Texas (16-14, 8-9 Big 12)
and Indiana (16-14, 7-12 Big Ten) alive
even amid some ugly stretches of the
schedule.
Look no further than their Quadrant 1
wins for the reason. Those victories ac-
count for the top tier of wins on any re-
sume designed to give greater weight to
tougher opponents or winning away
from home.
Shaka Smart’s Longhorns sit at No.
34 as of Friday in the new NET rankings,
which is the more analytical formula re-
placing the RPI in the selection commit-
tee’s work to build this year’s field of 68
teams. Texas is 5-9 in Quadrant 1 games
with four wins against current AP Top
25 teams: No. 3 North Carolina on a neu-
tral court, No. 11 Purdue at home, No. 13
Kansas at home and No. 18 Kansas State
on the road.
Then there is the Hoosiers’ wild ride
since the start of 2019.
Indiana lost seven straight games in
January, only to end that streak by beat-
ing current No. 9 Michigan State. Then
came five straight losses, only to see the
Hoosiers respond with a double-over-
time win against No. 21 Wisconsin, an-
other win against the Spartans to sweep
the season series and Thursday’s win at
Illinois.
Indiana also has wins against No. 16
Marquette and Louisville, giving the
Hoosiers to six Quadrant 1 victories –
two more than top-ranked Gonzaga –
and a No. 50 NET ranking.
“We’re definitely playing better than
we were,” Indiana coach Archie Miller
said after the Illinois win. “Even in some
of our losses here in the last couple of
weeks, we’ve been playing better. Hard-
fought games, we’ve been in a lot of
them. But I feel like our team right now
Texas head coach Shaka Smart gestures in a Jan. 29 game against Kansas in Austin, Texas. Smart’s Longhorns are just 16-14
entering the weekend but have five Quadrant 1 wins to help their NCAA Tournament chances. AP
is in a position that we’ve earned some
confidence back.”
Texas looks to be on the right side of
the bubble according to BracketMatrix-
.com’s average of numerous tourna-
ment projections. The Longhorns ap-
peared on 87 of 92 mock brackets as of
Friday morning, checking in at a No. 10
seed.
The Hoosiers are listed among Brack-
etMatrix.com’s first four teams out and
appear on 22 mock brackets.
They’re both down to their final
chances to improve their resumes. Tex-
as hosts TCU on Saturday before play-
ing in the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas
City, Missouri. Indiana hosts Rutgers on
Sunday before the Big Ten Tournament
in Chicago.
ON THE RISE
Clemson: The Tigers (18-12, 8-9 At-
lantic Coast Conference, No. 40 NET)
are doing just enough to hang around by
winning three of four entering Satur-
day’s finale against Syracuse – though
they are just 1-9 against Quadrant 1
teams.
Oklahoma: The Sooners (19-11, 7-10
Big 12, No. 39 NET) have won four of five
– including against Kansas – and can
help themselves by winning Saturday at
Kansas State.
UCF: The Knights (23-6, 13-4 Amer-
ican Athletic Conference, No. 26 NET)
likely locked up a bid by going on the
road to beat No. 12 Houston followed by
Thursday’s home win against No. 20
Cincinnati.
Utah State: The Aggies (25-6, 15-3
Mountain West Conference, No. 30
NET) claimed at least a share of the
league regular-season title with seven
straight wins, including against No. 17
Nevada.
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Alabama: The Crimson Tide (17-13,
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have lost five of seven.
Florida: After entering March with
five straight wins, the Gators (17-13, 9-8
SEC, No. 33 NET) suffered a Quadrant 3
loss at home to Georgia last weekend
then couldn’t get a resume-helping win
against No. 10 LSU on Wednesday.
N.C. State: The Wolfpack (20-10, 8-9
ACC, No. 35 NET) had a bad stumble
with Wednesday’s home loss to Georgia
Tech. That gave N.C. State as many
Quadrant 3 losses (two) as Quadrant 1
wins after playing one of the nation’s
softest nonconference schedules.
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 DESERTSUN.COM ❚ SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019 ❚ 7B

NBA
STANDINGS GAME DETAILS SCOREBOARD
EASTERN CONFERENCE HOME team in caps. MAGIC 111, MAVERICKS 106 Brown 2-4 0-0 4, Griffin 10-19 4-5 27,
Drummond 9-15 2-5 20, Jackson 10-18 0-0
(16,867).

W L Pct GB DALLAS (106)

21, Ellington 1-4 0-0 2, Maker 1-3 0-2 2,
GRIZZLIES 114, JAZZ 104
Hardaway Jr. 7-17 0-0 15, Finney-Smith 2-5 UTAH (104)
x-Milwaukee 49 16 .754 — Smith 3-7 1-2 7, Galloway 4-5 4-5 15,
0-0 5, Powell 4-7 5-6 13, Doncic 9-20 3-5 Ingles 5-11 1-1 14, Favors 1-5 0-0 3, Gobert
Robinson III 0-0 0-0 0, Kennard 5-8 2-2 14.
Toronto 47 19 .712 2 ⁄2 24, Brunson 8-11 1-1 18, Jackson 1-4 0-0 3, 3-6 3-7 9, Mitchell 12-24 9-13 38, O'Neale
1
Totals 45-83 13-21 112.
Nowitzki 6-11 2-3 15, Mejri 3-6 1-1 8, Burke 4-7 1-2 10, Crowder 4-11 0-0 11, Sefolosha
Indiana 42 24 .636 71⁄2 1-2 0-0 2, Lee 1-6 0-0 3. Totals 42-89 12-16 CHICAGO (104)
Porter Jr. 9-13 4-4 23, Markkanen 7-16 2-2 1-4 0-0 3, Niang 0-0 0-0 0, Korver 4-12 2-2
Philadelphia 41 25 .621 81⁄2 106. 13, Allen 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 35-82 16-25 104.
18, Lopez 6-13 1-1 13, Dunn 3-6 0-0 7, LaVine
ORLANDO (111) MEMPHIS (114)
Boston 40 26 .606 91⁄2 9-18 5-10 24, Felicio 0-1 0-0 0, Arcidiacono
Isaac 5-8 2-2 14, Gordon 7-15 3-5 18, Holiday 3-4 0-0 8, Noah 3-6 1-1 7,
4-5 1-2 9, Harrison 2-5 0-0 4, Selden 2-3
Detroit 33 31 .516 151⁄2 Vucevic 8-17 3-4 20, Augustin 5-9 0-0 12, Valanciunas 12-17 3-4 27, Conley 11-18 3-3
1-2 5, Luwawu-Cabarrot 0-2 1-2 1. Totals
Fournier 4-10 1-1 10, Iwundu 2-5 0-0 4, 28, A.Bradley 2-7 2-2 7, Caboclo 1-2 0-0 3,
Brooklyn 34 33 .507 16 42-82 15-23 104.
Birch 1-2 3-4 5, Ross 8-16 0-0 22, Grant 2-5 Detroit 24 25 20 43 — 112 Miles 0-4 0-0 0, Parsons 1-5 0-0 3, Rabb
Miami 31 34 .477 18 1-2 6. Totals 42-87 13-18 111. 7-11 1-1 15, Wright 4-13 3-4 11, Dorsey 2-3
Dallas 19 28 26 33 — 106 Chicago 30 36 14 24 — 104
Orlando 31 36 .463 19 0-0 5. Totals 46-90 13-15 114.
Orlando 29 33 30 19 — 111 3-Point Goals—Detroit 9-27 (Galloway 3-3, Utah 23 30 26 25 — 104
Charlotte 30 35 .462 19 Griffin 3-9, Kennard 2-4, Jackson 1-5,
3-Point Goals—Dallas 10-34 (Doncic 3-8, Memphis 29 31 24 30 — 114
Maker 0-1, Brown 0-1, Drummond 0-1,
Washington 27 38 .415 22 Mejri 1-1, Jackson 1-2, Finney-Smith 1-3, 3-Point Goals—Utah 18-48 (Mitchell 5-9,
Smith 0-1, Ellington 0-2), Chicago 5-17
Brunson 1-3, Nowitzki 1-3, Lee 1-5, Ingles 3-7, Crowder 3-10, Korver 3-11,
Atlanta 22 44 .333 271⁄2 (Markkanen 2-6, Dunn 1-2, LaVine 1-3,
Hardaway Jr. 1-7, Powell 0-1, Burke 0-1), Favors 1-2, Allen 1-2, Sefolosha 1-3,
Porter Jr. 1-4, Selden 0-1,
Chicago 19 48 .284 31 Orlando 14-29 (Ross 6-11, Isaac 2-3, O'Neale 1-4), Memphis 9-22 (Conley 3-7,
Luwawu-Cabarrot 0-1). Fouled Out—None.
Augustin 2-4, Vucevic 1-2, Gordon 1-2, Holiday 2-2, A.Bradley 1-1, Dorsey 1-1,
Cleveland 16 50 .242 331⁄2 Rebounds—Detroit 41 (Drummond 24),
Fournier 1-3, Grant 1-3, Iwundu 0-1). Fouled Caboclo 1-2, Parsons 1-3, Rabb 0-1, Wright
Chicago 35 (Dunn 7). Assists—Detroit 23
New York 13 52 .200 36 Out—None. Rebounds—Dallas 42 (Doncic 0-1, Miles 0-4). Fouled Out—None.
(Smith 7), Chicago 20 (Porter Jr. 8). Total
8), Orlando 48 (Vucevic 13). Rebounds—Utah 41 (Crowder 11), Memphis
Fouls—Detroit 19, Chicago 18.
Assists—Dallas 22 (Brunson 9), Orlando 26 43 (Noah 8). Assists—Utah 21 (Ingles 7),
WESTERN CONFERENCE Hornets forward Marvin Williams, left, drives into (Vucevic 6). Total Fouls—Dallas 15, Orlando
Technicals—Detroit coach Pistons
Memphis 31 (Conley 11). Total Fouls—Utah
(Defensive three second). A—21,048
W L Pct GB
Wizards guard Tomas Satoransky in the second half 18. Technicals—Mejri, Orlando coach Magic
(20,917). 20, Memphis 18. A—15,407 (18,119).
(Defensive three second). A—19,196
Friday in Charlotte, N.C. NELL REDMOND/AP (18,846). ROCKETS 107, 76ERS 91
Golden State 44 20 .688 —
HORNETS 112, WIZARDS 111 PHILADELPHIA (91)
LATE THURSDAY
Denver 43 21 .672 1 Butler 8-18 3-4 19, Harris 10-15 0-0 22,
MAGIC 111, Mavericks 106: Terrence Ross scored 22 WASHINGTON (111) THUNDER 129, TRAIL BLAZERS 121
Houston 40 25 .615 41⁄2 Johnson 1-6 0-0 2, B.Simmons 6-15 3-3 15,
points and Nikola Vucevic had 20 points and 13 re- Ariza 1-8 6-7 8, Green 4-6 2-2 11, Portis OKLAHOMA CITY (129)
Redick 1-11 0-0 3, Ennis III 1-5 4-4 6, Bolden
Oklahoma City 40 25 .615 41⁄2 10-16 0-0 23, Satoransky 4-7 2-2 11, Beal George 7-23 17-20 32, Grant 6-9 1-1 14,
bounds to lead Orlando. Aaron Gordon added 18 points 0-2 1-2 1, Scott 1-7 3-4 5, Patton 2-3 0-0 4,
4-21 6-6 15, J.Parker 6-12 2-2 15, Dekker 3-5 Adams 6-11 0-0 12, Westbrook 14-28 4-6
Portland 39 26 .600 5 ⁄2
1 McConnell 5-11 3-4 13, J.Simmons 0-2 1-2 1.
for the Magic, who won for the 11th time in 16 games. 1-3 7, Brown Jr. 4-6 0-0 9, Bryant 4-5 3-4 37, Ferguson 2-3 1-2 6, Nader 2-4 0-0 4,
Totals 35-95 18-23 91.
Utah 37 28 .569 71⁄2 12. Totals 40-86 22-26 111. Noel 2-5 2-3 6, Morris 2-6 0-0 4, Schroder
HOUSTON (107) 7-16 0-0 14, Felton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 48-105
San Antonio 37 29 .561 8 CHARLOTTE (112)
HORNETS 112, Wizards 111: Marvin Williams scored a Gordon 6-10 0-0 17, Tucker 1-3 0-0 3, 25-32 129.
Bridges 1-8 0-0 3, Williams 10-16 3-3 30,
L.A. Clippers 37 29 .561 8 Capela 8-12 2-5 18, Paul 2-8 0-0 4, Harden
season-high 30 points on seven 3-pointers, and Char- Zeller 4-7 0-1 8, Walker 6-19 5-6 18, Batum PORTLAND (121)
11-22 6-7 31, Jones 1-3 0-1 2, Clark 1-1 0-0 3,
Sacramento 32 32 .500 12 4-11 1-1 10, Kidd-Gilchrist 1-1 0-0 2, Harkless 0-3 2-2 2, Aminu 2-8 5-6 9,
lotte snapped a five-game home losing streak. Williams Nene 2-3 0-0 4, Rivers 4-9 0-0 8,
Kaminsky 2-8 0-0 4, Hernangomez 3-3 Nurkic 4-8 5-8 13, Lillard 15-28 18-20 51,
L.A. Lakers 30 35 .462 141⁄2 Shumpert 1-4 0-0 3, Green 5-10 2-2 14.
was 7 of 10 from beyond the arc and had seven rebounds. 0-0 6, T.Parker 1-6 0-0 2, Bacon 4-7 1-1 10,
Totals 42-85 10-15 107. McCollum 9-24 4-4 25, Layman 0-3 0-0 0,
Minnesota 30 35 .462 141⁄2 Lamb 4-10 8-8 19. Totals 40-96 18-20 112. Philadelphia 21 23 21 26 — 91 Labissiere 0-0 0-2 0, Leonard 0-0 0-0 0,
Washington 22 30 31 28 — 111 Kanter 1-6 1-1 3, Curry 3-6 1-2 8, Hood 3-8
Houston 37 22 28 20 — 107
New Orleans 30 38 .441 16 HEAT 126, Cavaliers 110: Josh Richardson scored 20 Charlotte 32 19 31 30 — 112 2-2 10. Totals 37-94 38-47 121.
3-Point Goals—Philadelphia 3-26 (Harris Oklahoma City 31 27 27 28 16 — 129
Dallas 27 38 .415 171⁄2 points, Rodney McGruder had a seven-point possession 3-Point Goals—Washington 9-27 (Portis
2-4, Redick 1-9, Bolden 0-2, Johnson 0-2,
3-4, Satoransky 1-2, Brown Jr. 1-2, Bryant Portland 30 31 22 30 8 — 121
Memphis 27 40 .403 181⁄2 in the fourth quarter to help put the game away, and 1-2, Green 1-3, J.Parker 1-4, Beal 1-6, Ariza
Ennis III 0-2, Butler 0-2, Scott 0-5),
3-Point Goals—Oklahoma City 8-27
Houston 13-41 (Gordon 5-9, Harden 3-11,
Phoenix 15 51 .227 30 Miami beat Cleveland. 0-4), Charlotte 14-41 (Williams 7-10, Lamb
Green 2-7, Clark 1-1, Tucker 1-3, Shumpert (Westbrook 5-8, Ferguson 1-2, Grant 1-2,
x-clinched playoff spot 3-8, Bacon 1-2, Bridges 1-3, Batum 1-5, George 1-9, Morris 0-1, Nader 0-2,
1-3, Rivers 0-2, Jones 0-2, Paul 0-3).
Walker 1-9, Kaminsky 0-4). Fouled Schroder 0-3), Portland 9-41 (Lillard 3-10,
Pistons 112, BULLS 104: Blake Griffin scored 16 of his 27 Fouled Out— None.
Out—None. Rebounds—Washington 45 McCollum 3-11, Hood 2-6, Curry 1-4, Nurkic
Rebounds—Philadelphia 59 (B.Simmons,
points in the fourth quarter after going to the locker (Satoransky, Portis 9), Charlotte 52 (Lamb 0-1, Harkless 0-2, Layman 0-3, Aminu
Harris, Butler 9), Houston 43 (Harden 10).
10). Assists—Washington 28 (Beal 7), 0-4). Fouled Out— None.
All Times Pacific room with an apparent right leg injury, and Detroit rallied Charlotte 24 (Walker 6). Total
Assists—Philadelphia 20 (B.Simmons 10),
Rebounds—Oklahoma City 58 (George 14),
Houston 22 (Paul 8). Total
Thursday’s Games to beat Chicago. Fouls—Washington 19, Charlotte 18.
Fouls—Philadelphia 17, Houston 18. Portland 51 (Nurkic 17). Assists—Oklahoma
Milwaukee 117, Indiana 98 A—18,144 (19,077). City 14 (George 6), Portland 14 (Lillard 9).
Technicals—Philadelphia coach 76ers
Oklahoma City 129, Portland 121, OT HEAT 126, CAVALIERS 110 (Defensive three second). A—18,055 Total Fouls—Oklahoma City 31, Portland 27.
Saturday’s Games ROCKETS 107, 76ers 91: James Harden had 31 points (18,500). Technicals—George, Nurkic 2.
CLEVELAND (110) Ejected—Nurkic. A—20,037 (19,393).
Sacramento at New York, 9 p.m. and 10 rebounds and Houston extended its winning Osman 1-9 2-2 5, Love 7-17 1-1 19, Nance Jr. RAPTORS 127, PELICANS 104
Brooklyn at Atlanta, 4 p.m.
Washington at Minnesota, 5 p.m. streak to a season-high seven games. Tobias Harris had 0-0 0-0 0, Sexton 11-17 2-2 27, Knight 6-11
TORONTO (127) BUCKS 117, PACERS 98
0-0 15, Chriss 4-7 0-0 8, Zizic 2-3 2-4 6,
Boston at L.A. Lakers, 5:30 p.m. 22 points for the 76ers. Stauskas 2-6 2-2 8, Clarkson 6-10 3-3 21,
Leonard 14-20 2-3 31, Siakam 7-15 4-4 19,
INDIANA (98)
Charlotte at Milwaukee, 6 p.m. Gasol 2-6 0-0 4, Lowry 4-12 2-2 13, Green
Phoenix at Portland, 7 p.m. Nwaba 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 39-81 13-16 110. Bogdanovic 6-15 2-4 17, Young 3-9 2-2 10,
5-8 0-0 13, Powell 4-8 0-0 8, Anunoby 3-4
RAPTORS 127, Pelicans 104: Kawhi Leonard scored 31 MIAMI (126) 0-0 7, Boucher 0-2 0-0 0, M.Miller 2-4 0-0 Turner 8-19 2-2 22, Collison 2-7 5-6 9,
Sunday’s Games Matthews 3-9 2-4 10, McDermott 3-6 0-0
Richardson 6-12 4-4 20, Olynyk 4-7 5-6 15, 6, Ibaka 6-10 0-0 12, Lin 6-9 0-0 14, McCaw
Chicago at Detroit, 9 p.m. points and Toronto snapped a two-game skid by beating Adebayo 7-8 3-4 17, Winslow 6-12 3-5 16, 7, Leaf 1-1 0-0 2, O'Quinn 5-7 1-2 11, Joseph
Indiana at Philadelphia, 12:30 p.m. 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 53-99 8-9 127.
Toronto at Miami, 12:30 p.m.
undermanned New Orleans. Pascal Siakam had 19 and Waiters 1-3 0-0 3, Jones Jr. 3-6 1-2 8,
NEW ORLEANS (104)
2-9 0-0 5, Holiday 1-2 0-0 2, Sumner 0-0
Whiteside 5-9 1-2 11, Dragic 5-9 0-1 11, 0-0 0, Evans 1-6 0-0 3. Totals 35-90 14-20
New Orleans at Atlanta, 3 p.m. Jeremy Lin added 14 for the Raptors. Williams 3-9 0-0 9, Randle 6-15 6-7 18, 98.
Orlando at Memphis, 3 p.m. McGruder 3-6 5-5 13, Wade 5-7 2-4 12.
Okafor 1-3 0-0 2, Payton 5-9 0-0 13,
Houston at Dallas, 4 p.m. Totals 45-79 24-33 126. MILWAUKEE (117)
Cleveland 29 28 26 27 — 110 Jackson 9-20 1-3 20, Johnson 1-6 0-0 2,
Milwaukee at San Antonio, 5 p.m. GRIZZLIES 114, Jazz 104: Mike Conley had 28 points and D.Miller 4-9 1-3 10, Hill 1-4 0-0 3, Diallo 8-15 Middleton 8-15 7-9 27, Antetokounmpo
Miami 28 29 37 32 — 126 10-17 8-8 29, Lopez 5-8 0-0 13, Bledsoe
New York at Minnesota, 5 p.m. 11 assists, Jonas Valanciunas added 27 points and Mem- 0-0 16, Clark 5-15 0-0 11. Totals 43-105 8-13
6-10 0-0 12, Brogdon 3-9 0-0 7, Ilyasova
Phoenix at Golden State, 5:30 p.m. 3-Point Goals—Cleveland 19-43 (Clarkson 104.
phis beat Utah. The last-place Grizzlies won their second 6-10, Love 4-11, Sexton 3-5, Knight 3-6, Toronto 29 35 29 34 — 127 3-6 1-2 9, Wilson 0-0 0-0 0, Mirotic 1-6 0-0
Monday’s Games 2, Gasol 0-1 1-2 1, Snell 4-7 0-0 9,
Sacramento at Washington, 4 p.m. in a row. Stauskas 2-4, Osman 1-6, Chriss 0-1), New Orleans 31 30 19 24 — 104
Connaughton 1-3 0-0 3, DiVincenzo 2-4
Toronto at Cleveland, 4 p.m. Miami 12-25 (Richardson 4-6, Olynyk 2-4,
3-Point Goals—Toronto 13-37 (Green 3-4, 0-0 5. Totals 42-85 17-21 117.
Detroit at Brooklyn, 4:30 p.m. McGruder 2-4, Jones Jr. 1-2, Waiters 1-2,
Lowry 3-9, Lin 2-3, M.Miller 2-3, Anunoby Indiana 24 26 22 26 — 98
Charlotte at Houston, 5 p.m. Nuggets at WARRIORS, late: Will Barton scored 23 Dragic 1-3, Winslow 1-4). Fouled
1-2, Siakam 1-4, Leonard 1-5, Boucher 0-1,
Out—None. Rebounds—Cleveland 28 (Zizic Milwaukee 32 22 30 33 — 117
Oklahoma City at Utah, 6 p.m. points, Gary Harris added 19 and the Denver Nuggets 6), Miami 45 (Whiteside 11).
McCaw 0-1, Ibaka 0-1, Powell 0-2, Gasol
3-Point Goals—IND 14-37 (Turner 4-11,
Boston at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m. 0-2), New Orleans 10-39 (Payton 3-5,
snapped their three-game losing streak with a 115-99 Assists—Cleveland 28 (Sexton, Osman,
Williams 3-6, Hill 1-3, D.Miller 1-5, Clark 1-5, Bogdanovic 3-5, Matthews 2-4, Young
victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. Knight 6), Miami 31 (Winslow 9). Total 2-6, Joseph 1-1, Evans 1-3, McDermott 1-3,
Jackson 1-8, Johnson 0-3, Randle 0-4).
Fouls—Cleveland 25, Miami 15. Holiday 0-1, Collison 0-3), MIL 13-34
Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Toronto 51
Technicals—Dragic, Miami coach Heat (Middleton 4-7, Lopez 3-4, Ilyasova 2-3,
(Lowry, Ibaka 11), New Orleans 51 (Diallo
Thunder at CLIPPERS, late : Russell Westbrook had 37 (Defensive three second). A—19,600
12). Assists—Toronto 31 (Lowry 12), New Snell 1-2, Connaughton 1-3, DiVincenzo 1-3,
(19,600). Antetokounmpo 1-4, Brogdon 1-4,
points and Paul George added 32 points and 14 rebounds Orleans 28 (Randle 7). Total
Bledsoe 0-1, Gasol 0-1, Mirotic 0-3).
PISTONS 112, BULLS 104 Fouls—Toronto 14, New Orleans 12.
for the Oklahoma City Thunder in a chippy 129-121 over- Technicals—Toronto coach Raptors Rebounds—IND 39 (Turner 17), MIL 52
DETROIT (112) (Antetokounmpo 12). Assists—IND 26
time win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday. (Defensive three second). A—17,325
(Collison 9), MIL 20 (Antetokounmpo 5).

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8B ❚ SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019 ❚ T H E D E S E R T S U N

BNP PARIBAS OPEN RESULTS

NHL FRIDAY Joao Sousa, Portugal, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. and Stefanos Tsitsipas, Greece, 7-6 (1), 6-7 (1),
10-5.
At The Indian Wells Tennis Garden WOMEN Novak Djokovic, Serbia, and Fabio Fognini,
Indian Wells, Calif. Second Round Italy, def. Jeremy Chardy, France, and Milos
Purse: ATP: $8.36 million (Masters Garbine Muguruza (20), Spain, def. Lauren Raonic, Canada, 7-6 (5), 6-1.
Davis, United States, 6-1, 6-3.
STANDINGS GAME DETAILS 1000);WTA: $9.04 million (Premier)
Surface: Hard-Outdoor Jennifer Brady, United States, def. Caroline
Pierre-Hugues Herbert, and Nicolas Mahut
(1), France, def. John Isner and Sam Querrey,
Garcia (19), France, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0. United States, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 12-10.
EASTERN CONFERENCE HOME team in caps. SINGLES Marketa Vondrousova, Czech Republic, def.
Daria Kasatkina (14), Russia, 6-2, 6-1
Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah (5),
Colombia, def. Alexander and Mischa Zverev,
Johanna Konta, Britain, def. Su-Wei Hsieh Germany, 5-7, 6-3, 10-5.
Atlantic Division MEN (27), Taiwan, 6-0, 6-2. Raven Klaasen, South Africa, and Michael
GP W L OT Pts GF GA PANTHERS 6, Wild 2: Aleksander Barkov set a franchise Radu Albot, Moldova, def. Marius Copil, Jelena Ostapenko (22), Lavia, def. Zhang Venus (7), New Zealand, def. Maximo
record with five assists, and MacKenzie Weegar and Romania, 6-2, 6-2. Shuai, China, 6-2, 6-1. Gonzalez, Argentina, and Kei Nishikori,
Tampa Bay 68 51 13 4 106 263 179 Feliciano Lopez, Spain, def. Tomas Berdych, Stefanie Voegele, Switzerland, def. Sloane Japan, 6-3, 7-5.
Boston 67 41 17 9 91 202 167
Mike Matheson each scored twice as Florida snapped a Czech Republic, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2). Stephens (4), United States, 6-3, 6-0. Taylor Fritz, United States, and Nick Kyrgios,
Hubert Hurkacz, Poland, def. Donald Young, Ashleigh Barty (12), Australia, def. Tatjana
six-game losing streak. Jonathan Huberdeau had a goal United States, 6-3, 6-3. Maria, Germany, 6-4, 6-4.
Australia, def. Steve Johnson, United States,
Toronto 67 41 21 5 87 241 191 and Dominic Thiem, Austria, 7-5, 6-0.
and three assists, Mike Hoffman also scored and Evgenii Peter Gojowczyk, Germany, def. Andreas Daria Gavrilova, Australia, def. Mihaela Ben McLachlan, Japan, and Jan-Lennard
Montreal 68 36 25 7 79 206 199 Seppi, Italy, 7-5, 6-4. Buzarnescu (29), Romania, 6-2, 6-2. Struff, Germany, def. Rajeev Ram, United
Dadonov added three assists. Stan Wawrinka, Switzerland, def. Daniel Wand Qiang (18), China, def. Bernarda Pera, States, and Joe Salisbury, Britain, 7-5, 6-3.
Florida 68 29 27 12 70 218 233
Evans, Britain, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3. United States, 7-6 (2), 6-2. Henri Kontinen, Finland, and John Peers (8),
Buffalo 67 30 28 9 69 194 216 Dusan Lajovic, Serbia, def. Taro Daniel, Simona Halep (2), Romania, def. Barbora Australia, def. Nikoloz Basilashvili, Georgia,
CAPITALS 3, Devils 0: Andre Burakovsky and Nicklas Japan, 7-6 (6), 6-4. Strycova, Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-4. and Artem Sitak, New Zealand, 6-1, 6-4.
Detroit 67 24 33 10 58 185 229 Backstrom scored, Braden Holtby stopped 25 shots and Alexei Popyrin, Australia, def. Jaume Munar, Elise Mertens (16), Belgium, def. Amanda
Ottawa 68 23 39 6 52 201255 Spain, 7-6 (7), 6-3. Anisimova, United States, 6-4, 6-2. WOMEN
Washington extended its winning streak to six games Alex Bolt, Australia, def. Ernests Gulbis, Bianca Andreescu, Canada, def. Dominika First Round
Metropolitan Division with an ugly victory. Burakovsky extended his goal streak Latvia, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2. Cibulkova (32), Slovakia, 6-2, 6-2. Raquel Atawo, United States, vs. Katarina
Robin Haase, Netherlands, def. Denis Kateryna Kozlova, Ukraine, def. Aliaksandra Srebotnik, Slovenia, def. Miyu Kato and
GP W L OT Pts GF GA to three games after he wasn’t traded at the deadline. Istomin, Uzbekistan, 7-6 (2), 6-1. Sasnovich (31), Belarus, 6-4, 2-6, 6-0. Makoto Ninomiya, Japan, 6-3, 6-1.
Washington 68 40 21 7 87 234 211 Steve Johnson, United States, def. Taylor Kiki Bertens (7), Netherlands, def. Magda Dalila Jakupovic, Slovenia, and Irina
Fritz, United States, 6-3, 6-3. Linette, Poland, 6-4, 6-1. Khromacheva, Russia, def. Anna-Lena
NY Islanders 67 39 21 7 85 196 163 Jets 8, HURRICANES 1: Andrew Copp scored twice, Adrian Mannarino, Italy, def. Tennys Serena Williams (10), United States, def. Groenefeld, Germany, and Lucie Hradecka,
Pittsburgh 67 36 22 9 81 232204 Nikolaj Ahlers had a goal and two assists, and Winnipeg Sandgren, United States, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-1. Victoria Azarenka, Belarus, 7-5, 6-3. Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-4.
Jennifer Brady and Alison Riske, United
Filip Krajinovic, Serbia, def. Mikhail
rode a four-goal first period. Kevin Hayes, Blake Wheel-
Carolina 66 36 23 7 79 199180
er, Kyle Connor and Ben Chiarot each had a goal and an
Kukushkin, Kazakhstan, 6-3, 6-4.
Jared Donaldson, United States, def. DOUBLES States, def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova,
Russia, and Anastasija Sevastova, Latvia, 6-3,
Columbus 67 37 27 3 77 205 201 Tatsuma Ito, Japan, 6-3, 7-5. 6-4.
assist. Adam Lowry also scored. Roberto Carballes Baena, Spain, def. Ryan MEN Chan Hao-Ching and Latisha Chan (8),
Philadelphia 67 32 27 8 72 204224
Harrison, United States, 6-3, 7-5. First Round Taiwan, def. Shuko Aoyama, Japan, and
NY Rangers 67 27 28 12 66 192 222 Mackenzie McDonald, United States, def. Lukasz Kubot, Poland, and Marcelo Melo Lidziya Marozava, Belarus, 6-2, 6-3.
(6), Brazil, def. Wesley Koolhof, Netherlands,
New Jersey 68 25 34 9 59 189228 Canadiens at DUCKS, late: Robert Thomas and Alex
Pietrangelo scored 12 seconds apart late in the third
period as the St. Louis Blues rallied for a 5-4 victory over
WESTERN CONFERENCE the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night.
Central Division SCOREBOARD
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Winnipeg 67 40 23 4 84 232 199 All times PST Next: Big Ten Tournament. Dominic Bozzelli 72-79 - 151 +7
25. UCF (23-6) did not play. Next: at Temple, Anders Albertson 77-75 - 152 +8
Nashville 69 39 25 5 83 207 184
SCOREBOARD MLB Saturday. Scott Brown
Scott Langley
78-76 -
74-80 -
154
154
+10
+10
St. Louis 67 36 25 6 78 196 185 Spring Training Women’s AP Top 25 Fared Rod Perry 75-80 - 155 +11
AMERICAN LEAGUE Friday Bill Haas 77-79 - 156 +12
Dallas 67 35 27 5 75 171 170 1. Baylor (27-1) did not play. Next: vs. Texas Matt Every 83-73 - 156 +12
Minnesota 69 33 28 8 74 191 202
PANTHERS 6, WILD 2 JETS 8, HURRICANES 1 W L Pct. Tech, Saturday. Chris Stroud 79-78 - 157 +13
Minnesota 0 2 0 — 2 Winnipeg 4 1 3 — 8 Kansas City 10 5 .667 2. UConn (28-2) did not play. Next: vs. East Robert Gamez 82-82 - 164 +20
Colorado 68 29 27 12 70 220 215 Florida 3 2 1 — 6 Carolina 0 0 1 — 1 Baltimore 8 5 .615 Carolina, Saturday.
Los Angeles 9 6 .600 3. Louisville (28-2) beat Clemson 75-67.
Chicago 67 28 30 9 65 225 254 First Period—1, Florida, Huberdeau 21 First Period—1, Winnipeg, Hayes 16 (Myers, Seattle 7 5 .583 Next: vs. No.9 N.C. State ACC semifinals,
Pacific Division (Barkov, Dadonov), 1:01. 2, Florida, Ehlers), 2:58. 2, Winnipeg, Wheeler 19 Oakland
Toronto
8
7
6
6
.571
.538
Saturday.
4. Notre Dame (28-3) beat North Carolina
BETTING LINE
Weegar 2 (Barkov, Dadonov), 16:51. 3, (Laine), 5:48. 3, Winnipeg, Chiarot 5 Minnesota 7 6 .538 95-77. Next: vs. No. 18 Syracsue, Saturday. Pregame.com Line
GP W L OT Pts GF GA Florida, Weegar 3 (Dadonov), 18:31. (Little, Connor), 9:16. 4, Winnipeg, Ehlers Houston 7 6 .538 5. Mississippi State (28-2) beat Tennessee Saturday
Second Period—4, Florida, Hoffman 31 17 (Hayes, Kulikov), 18:44. Cleveland 7 7 .500 83-68. Next: vs. Missouri, Saturday. NBA
Calgary 68 41 20 7 89 235 196 Favorite Line O/U Underdog
(Huberdeau, Barkov), 3:34 (pp). 5, Second Period—5, Winnipeg, Copp 8 New York 6 6 .500 6. Oregon (28-3) beat Arizona 77-63. Next:
Sacramento 41⁄2 (228) NEW YORK
San Jose 67 40 19 8 88 243208 Minnesota, J..Brown 2 (Brodin, Fehr), (Roslovic, Perreault), 19:29. Detroit 7 8 .467 vs. No. 25 UCLA, Saturday.
7. Stanford (26-4) beat California 72-54. Brooklyn 31⁄2 (235) ATLANTA
9:02. 6, Florida, Matheson 6 (Huberdeau, Third Period—6, Carolina, McKegg 6 Boston 6 8 .429 MINNESOTA 7 243 Washington
Vegas 68 37 26 5 79 203 188 Tampa Bay 6 8 .429 Next: No. 11 Oregon St.-Washington Pac-12
Barkov), 17:40. 7, Minnesota, Foligno 6 (Hamilton, de Haan), 9:37. 7, Winnipeg, semifinals, Saturday. LA LAKERS OFF OFF Boston
Arizona 67 33 29 5 71 179 186 (J..Brown, Seeler), 17:55. Connor 26 (Wheeler, Trouba), 13:45 (pp). Chicago 5 8 .385 MILWAUKEE 12 228 Charlotte
Texas 4 8 .333 8. Maryland (27-3) beat Michigan State
Third Period—8, Florida, Matheson 7 8, Winnipeg, Copp 9 (Beaulieu, Roslovic), 71-55. Next: vs. Michigan, Saturday. PORTLAND 12 229 Phoenix
Edmonton 67 30 30 7 67 190 218 NATIONAL LEAGUE
(Barkov, Huberdeau), 10:23. 19:00. 9, Winnipeg, Lowry 9 (Chiarot, 9. N.C. State (26-4) beat No. 22 Florida State COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Vancouver 68 28 31 9 65 185 211 Shots on Goal—Minnesota 7-9-12—28. Ehlers), 19:41. 69-62. Next: No. 3 Louisville ACC Semifinals, Favorite Line Underdog
W L Pct. Saturday. PROVIDENCE 2 Butler
Anaheim 68 26 33 9 61 151 209 Florida 7-9-13—29. Shots on Goal—Winnipeg 11-10-8—29. Philadelphia 8 5 .615 10. Iowa (24-6) beat Indiana 70-61. Next: vs. Florida St 12 WAKE FOREST
Power-play opportunities—Minnesota 0 Carolina 12-10-7—29. San Diego 8 5 .615 Rutgers Big Ten semifinals, Saturday. PITTSBURGH 11⁄2 Notre Dame
Los Angeles 67 24 35 8 56 159 214 of 3; Florida 1 of 3. Power-play opportunities—Winnipeg 1 of Chicago 9 6 .600 11. Oregon State (24-6) vs. Washington. XAVIER 21⁄2 St. John’s
Goalies—Minnesota, Dubnyk 27-22-6 (7 2; Carolina 0 of 3. Atlanta 8 6 .571 Next: Pac-12 semifinals, Saturday. MARQUETTE 11 Georgetown
NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for shots-4 saves), Stalock 6-6-2 (22-19). Goalies—Winnipeg, Brossoit 11-5-2 (29 Washington 7 6 .538 12. South Carolina (21-9) lost to Arkansas Villanova 21⁄2 SETON HALL
overtime loss. Top three teams in each Florida, Montembeault 1-0-1 (28-26). shots-28 saves). Carolina, McElhinney Los Angeles 7 6 .538 95-89. Next: TBA CREIGHTON 7 Depaul
division and two wild cards per A—12,388 (19,250). T—2:24. 17-7-2 (29-21). Pittsburgh 7 7 .500 13. Kentucky (24-7) lost to Missouri 70-68, CLEMSON 5 Syracuse
conference advance to playoffs. St. Louis 6 6 .500 OT. Next: TBA. Tennessee 1 AUBURN
Referees—Francis Charron, Tim Peel. T—2:29. New York 6 8 .429 14. Gonzaga (27-3) did not play. Next: WCC TEXAS 7 TCU
Linesmen—David Brisebois, Tim Nowak. Referees—Jake Brenk, Jean Hebert. Milwaukee 6 8 .429 semifinals, Monday. S CAROLINA 6 Georgia
All times Pacific Linesmen—Devin Berg, Tony Sericolo. 15. Texas A&M (24-6) beat Auburn 64-62.
Thursday’s Games CAPITALS 3, DEVILS 0 San Francisco 5 7 .417
Next: Arkansas SEC semifinals, Saturday.
ST. BONVNTRE 31⁄2 Saint Louis
Colorado 5 7 .417 George Mason 41⁄2 GEORGE WASH
Boston 4, Florida 3 New Jersey 0 0 0 — 0 16. Miami (24-8) lost to No. 18 Syracuse
Pittsburgh 3, Columbus 0 Washington 1 0 2 — 3 LATE THURSDAY Arizona
Cincinnati
5 7
4 8 .333
.417
92-85. Next: TBA.
IOWA ST
MISSISSIPPI ST
11⁄2
11
Texas Tech
Texas A&M
Detroit 3, N.Y. Rangers 2, SO Miami 5 10 .333 17. Marquette (24-6) vs. St. John’s or Seton KENTUCKY 12 Florida
N.Y. Islanders 4, Ottawa 2
First Period—1, Washington, Burakovsky 11 BLUES 4, KINGS 0 Hall, Sunday. APP ST 4 South Alabama
(Boyd, Kempny), 2:40. Friday’s Games 18. Syracuse (24-7) beat No. 16 Miami 92-85. KANSAS 9 Baylor
Minnesota 3, Tampa Bay 0 St. Louis 0 3 1 — 4 Toronto (ss) 11, Pittsburgh (ss) 0 Next: vs. No. 4 Notre Dame, Saturday.
Second Period—None. Los Angeles 0 0 0 — 0 CSTL CARO 10 Troy
Dallas 4, Colorado 0 Third Period—2, Washington, Backstrom 17 Tampa Bay 5, Minnesota 5 19. Iowa State (23-7) vs. Oklahoma State or NC State 2 BOSTON COLL
Chicago 5, Buffalo 4, SO Baltimore 4, Boston 2 Kansas, Saturday. Next: vs. No. 21 Texas or Purdue 7 NORTHWESTERN
(Kuznetsov, Carlson), 4:35 (pp). 3, First Period—None. St. Louis (ss) 3, Washington 2 TCU, Sunday.
Edmonton 3, Vancouver 2 Washington, Eller 9, 19:01 (sh). Second Period—1, St. Louis, Tarasenko 28 Oregon St 6 WASHINGTON ST
Toronto (ss) 5, Pittsburgh (ss) 2 20. Arizona State (20-10) lost to No. 25 Texas State 1 TEXAS-ARLNGTN
Arizona 2, Calgary 0 Shots on Goal—New Jersey 10-10-5—25. (Schenn), 0:25. 2, St. Louis, Bozak 11 Miami 10, N.Y. Mets 3 UCLA 73-69. Next: TBA.
San Jose 5, Montreal 2 Mississippi 1 ⁄2
1
MISSOURI
Washington 11-13-12—36. (Edmundson, Thomas), 18:42. 3, St. Louis, Milwaukee 6, Arizona 3 21. Texas (22-8) did not play. Next: vs. TCU, MICHIGAN ST 4 Michigan
St. Louis 4, Los Angeles 0 Power-play opportunities—New Jersey 0 O'Reilly 26 (Tarasenko, Schenn), 19:58. Kansas City (ss) 8, Cincinnati 3 Saturday. VIRGINIA 12 Louisville
Saturday’s Games Oakland 6, San Diego 5 22. Drake (24-5) did not play. Next: vs.
of 6; Washington 1 of 5. Third Period—4, St. Louis, Barbashev 9 Chicago White Sox 15, L.A. Angels 8
ARIZONA 2 Arizona St
Buffalo at Colorado, noon Bradley, Saturday. COLORADO ST 2 UNLV
Goalies—New Jersey, Blackwood 6-7-0 (35 (MacEachern, Blais), 8:13. Colorado 11, Texas 10 22. Florida State (23-8) lost to No. 9 N.C.
St. Louis at San Jose, 1 p.m. shots-33 saves). Washington, Holtby Shots on Goal—St. Louis 12-13-7—32. Los Atlanta 5, Philadelphia 4 La-Monroe 2 UALR
State 69-62. Next: TBA. RHODE ISLAND 8 UMass
New Jersey at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m. 26-16-4 (25-25). Angeles 9-7-12—28. St. Louis (ss) 6, Houston 3 24. Rice (25-3) did not play. Next: C-USA
Philadelphia vs. N.Y. Islanders, 4 p.m. Detroit 6, N.Y. Yankees 5 LA SALLE 5 Fordham
A—18,506 (18,277). T—2:23. Power-play opportunities—St. Louis 0 of quarterfinals, Thursday. OKLAHOMA ST 5 West Virginia
Toronto at Edmonton, 4 p.m. Referees—Garrett Rank, Chris Schlenker. 3; Los Angeles 0 of 2. San Francisco 2, Cleveland 0 25. UCLA (20-11) beat No. 20 Arizona State
Chicago Cubs 9, Seattle 3 TEMPLE PK UCF
Ottawa at Boston, 4 p.m. Linesmen—Brandon Gawryletz, Derek Goalies—St. Louis, Allen 18-16-5 (28 73-69. Next: vs. No. 6 Oregon, Saturday. GA SOUTHERN 41⁄2 Georgia St
Kansas City (ss) 7, L.A. Dodgers 5
Detroit at Tampa Bay, 4 p.m. Nansen. shots-28 saves). Los Angeles, Quick Saturday’s Games La-Lafayette 3 ARKANSAS ST
Pittsburgh at Columbus, 4 p.m. 12-19-6 (32-28). N.Y. Mets vs. Boston at Fort Myers, Fla., 10:05 COLORADO 61⁄2 STHRN CAL
Chicago at Dallas, 5 p.m.
Carolina at Nashville, 5 p.m.
a.m.
Minnesota vs. Pittsburgh at Bradenton, Fla.,
GOLF PRINCETON
New Mexico
OFF
41⁄2 WYOMING
Yale
Bay Hill-Arnold Palmer Invitational Par Davidson 31⁄2 RICHMOND
Los Angeles at Arizona, 5 p.m. 10:05 a.m. Scores
Baltimore (ss) vs. Tampa Bay at Port ARKANSAS 3 Alabama
Vegas at Vancouver, 7 p.m. Friday PENNSYLVANIA OFF Brown
Charlotte, Fla., 10:05 a.m. Bay Hill Club & Lodge
Atlanta vs. Detroit at Lakeland, Fla., 10:05 KANSAS ST 6 Oklahoma
Orlando, Fla. Dayton 3 DUQUESNE
a.m. Purse: $9.1 million
Houston vs. St. Louis at Jupiter, Fla., 10:05 CORNELL OFF Dartmouth
Yardage: 7,454; Par 72 COLUMBIA OFF Harvard
a.m. Second Round
Toronto vs. Philadelphia at Clearwater, Fla., FRESNO ST 241⁄2 San Jose St
a-denotes amateur BOISE ST 9 Air Force
10:05 a.m.
NFL NOTEBOOK L.A. Angels (ss) vs. Chicago Cubs (ss) at
Mesa, Ariz., 12:05 p.m.
Tommy Fleetwood
Keegan Bradley
69-66 - 135 -9
67-68 - 135 -9
UTAH
N CAROLINA
4
3
UCLA
Duke
Colorado (ss) vs. Cleveland at Goodyear, Billy Horschel 68-71 - 139 -5 UC DAVIS 9 UC Riverside
Jhonattan Vegas 69-70 - 139 -5 LSU 15 Vanderbilt
Source: Browns trading G Zeitler to $2.5 million in guaranteed money. Ariz., 12:05 p.m.
Chicago White Sox vs. Texas at Surprise, Francesco Molinari 69-70 - 139 -5 Wichita St 91⁄2 TULANE
Giants for DE Vernon: A person familiar Harris started his professional career Ariz., 12:05 p.m.
Seattle vs. L.A. Dodgers at Glendale, Ariz.,
Keith Mitchell
Kevin Kisner
71-68 - 139 -5
70-69 - 139 -5
CAL ST.-FLLRTN
MEMPHIS
2
8
Hawaii
Tulsa
with the deal says the Cleveland Browns in the CFL. He was mostly a special 12:05 p.m. Roger Sloan
Sungjae Im
70-69 - 139 -5
71-69 - 140 -4
UC IRVINE
UC Santa Barbara
121⁄2
8
CS Northridge
CAL POLY
Milwaukee (ss) vs. Oakland at Mesa, Ariz.,
have traded guard Kevin Zeitler to the teams player in 2016 with New Orleans 12:05 p.m. Eddie Pepperell 72-68 - 140 -4 WASHINGTON 6 Oregon
Chicago Cubs (ss) vs. San Francisco at Bubba Watson 68-72 - 140 -4 NEVADA 13 San Diego St
New York Giants in exchange for defen- and 2017 in Oakland with just five defen- Scottsdale, Ariz., 12:05 p.m. Patrick Reed 70-70 - 140 -4 James Madison 1 Towson
Matt Wallace 71-69 - 140 -4 UNC-Wilmngtn 3 Elon
sive end Olivier Vernon. sive snaps those years. Milwaukee (ss) vs. L.A. Angels (ss) at Tempe,
Ariz., 12:10 p.m. Matthew Fitzpatrick 70-70 - 140 -4 MARSHALL 5 FAU
The teams are also swapping draft Green Bay Packers release LB Anto- Kansas City vs. Arizona (ss) at Scottsdale,
Ariz., 12:10 p.m.
Rafa Cabrera Bello
Aaron Baddeley
65-75 - 140 -4
70-70 - 140 -4
Old Dominion
STHRN MISS
11⁄2
4
UAB
UTSA
picks, with the Browns getting No. 132 nio Morrison: The Green Bay Packers N.Y. Yankees vs. Baltimore (ss) at Sarasota,
Fla., 3:05 p.m.
Patrick Rodgers
Sung Kang
68-73 - 141 -3
69-72 - 141 -3
FIU
RICE
2
5
North Texas
Charlotte
for pick No. 155, said the person who released linebacker Antonio Morrison Miami vs. Washington at West Palm Beach, Charles Howell III 74-67 - 141 -3 MIDDLE TENN 7 UTEP
Fla., 3:35 p.m. Zach Johnson 70-71 - 141 -3
spoke Friday to the Associated Press on on Friday after one season. Arizona (ss) vs. Colorado (ss) at Monterrey, J.J. Spaun 71-70 - 141 -3 Favorite
NHL
Line Underdog Line
MX, 4:10 p.m. Sam Saunders 73-68 - 141 -3
condition of anonymity because the Morrison, who was acquired in a Cincinnati vs. San Diego at Peoria, Ariz., 5:40 Kiradech Aphibarnrat 71-70 - 141 -3
COLORADO
SAN JOSE
-167
-140 St. Louis
Buffalo +157
+130
teams have not announced the trade. trade with the Indianapolis Colts in Au- p.m.
Sunday’s Games
Martin Kaymer
Jimmy Walker
72-69 - 141 -3
70-71 - 141 -3
TAMPA BAY
BOSTON
-450
-420
Detroit
Ottawa
+420
+390
Zeitler just completed his second sea- gust, played in all 16 games with eight L.A. Dodgers vs. Colorado (ss) at Scottsdale,
Ariz., TBD
Justin Rose
Ian Poulter
71-70 - 141 -3
73-68 - 141 -3
NY RANGERS -156 New Jersey +146
Toronto -145 EDMONTON +135
son with the Browns, who signed him as starts last season and had 42 tackles (28 Pittsburgh vs. N.Y. Yankees (ss) at Tampa,
Fla., 10:05 a.m.
Brendan Steele 70-71 - 141 -3 NY ISLANDERS OFF Philadelphia OFF
Martin Trainer 70-71 - 141 -3 COLUMBUS -141 Pittsburgh +131
a free agent in 2017. He was one of Cleve- solo), four tackles for a loss, a sack and Atlanta vs. Miami at Jupiter, Fla., 10:05 a.m. Lucas Glover 70-71 - 141 -3 NASHVILLE -149 Carolina +139
Boston vs. Tampa Bay at Port Charlotte, Fla., Beau Hossler 76-66 - 142 -2
land’s best linemen last season, helping four tackles on special teams. 10:05 a.m. Joaquin Niemann 71-71 - 142 -2
DALLAS
ARIZONA
-165 Chicago
-172 Los Angeles +160
+155
N.Y. Yankees (ss) vs. Detroit at Lakeland, Fla.,
anchor the group following Pro Bowl Cardinals release Bethea, sign Fos- 10:05 a.m.
Pat Perez
Aaron Wise
69-73 - 142 -2
72-70 - 142 -2
VANCOUVER OFF Las Vegas OFF

tackle Joe Thomas’ retirement. ter to 1-year deal: The Arizona Cardinals Toronto vs. Minnesota at Fort Myers, Fla.,
10:05 a.m.
Marc Leishman
Rory McIlroy
72-70 - 142 -2
72-70 - 142 -2
Jags clear $30M in space by cutting have released safety Antoine Bethea and Philadelphia vs. Baltimore at Sarasota, Fla.,
10:05 a.m.
Luke List
Tim Herron
70-72 - 142 -2
72-70 - 142 -2 TRANSACTIONS
Jackson, Gipson, 3 more: The Jackson- quarterback Mike Glennon, and re- Washington vs. Houston at West Palm
Beach, Fla., 10:05 a.m.
Kevin Streelman 70-72 - 142 -2 Friday’s Sports Transactions
Chesson Hadley 71-71 - 142 -2 BASEBALL
ville Jaguars have released defensive signed running back D.J. Foster to a one- St. Louis vs. N.Y. Mets at Port St. Lucie, Fla., Hideki Matsuyama 72-70 - 142 -2 American League
10:10 a.m. D.A. Points 72-71 - 143 -1 BALTIMORE ORIOLES — Designated LHP
tackle Malik Jackson, safety Tashaun year deal. San Francisco (ss) vs. Oakland (ss) at Mesa, Scott Stallings 69-74 - 143 -1 Josh Osich for assignment.
Ariz., 1:05 p.m.
Gipson, offensive lineman Jermey Par- The Cardinals also extended tender Arizona (ss) vs. Cincinnati at Goodyear, Ariz.,
Jason Kokrak
Adam Schenk
70-73 - 143 -1
70-73 - 143 -1
CHICAGO WHITE SOX — Optioned OF Luis
Alexander Basabe and LHP Kodi Meideros to
nell, running back Carlos Hyde and long- offers to exclusive rights free agents 1:05 p.m.
San Diego vs. Kansas City at Surprise, Ariz.,
Sam Horsfield
Ryan Moore
74-69 - 143 -1
71-72 - 143 -1
Birmingham (SL). Reassigned INF D.J.
Peterson to their minor league camp.
snapper Carson Tinker, creating $30 tight end Darrell Daniels, tight end Ricky 1:05 p.m.
Texas vs. San Francisco (ss) at Scottsdale,
Anirban Lahiri 74-69 - 143 -1 CLEVELAND INDIANS — Optioned INF Bobby
Bradley to Columbus (IL); LHP Sam Hentges
Sam Ryder 74-69 - 143 -1
million in salary cap space for 2019. Seals-Jones and offensive lineman Jere- Ariz., 1:05 p.m.
Oakland (ss) vs. Chicago White Sox at
Johnson Wagner 71-72 - 143 -1 and RHP Jean Carlos Mejia to Akron (EL).
Henrik Stenson 77-66 - 143 -1 Reassigned RHP Shao-Ching Chiang, C Li-Jen
The team made the cuts five days be- my Vujnovich. Glendale, Ariz., 1:05 p.m. J.T. Poston 71-72 - 143 -1 Chu, LHP Rob Kaminsky and LHP R.C. Orlan to
Chicago Cubs vs. Milwaukee at Phoenix, 1:05 their minor league camp.
fore the start of free agency. Bethea started all 16 games with the p.m.
Graeme McDowell
Carlos Ortiz
68-75 - 143 -1
72-71 - 143 -1 LOS ANGELES RAMS — Released LB Mark
Seattle (ss) vs. L.A. Angels at Tempe, Ariz.,
The Jaguars are expected to use the Cardinals in 2018, finishing with 121 tack- 1:10 p.m.
Hudson Swafford
Byeong Hun An
70-74 - 144 E
72-72 - 144 E
Barron.
MINNESOTA TWINS — Optioned LHPs
much-needed cap room to sign a quar- les. Cleveland vs. Seattle (ss) at Peoria, Ariz., 1:10
p.m. Chris Kirk 71-73 - 144 E Andrew Vazquez and Lewis Thorpe and RHP
Kohl Stewart to Rochester (IL). Reassigned C
a-Viktor Hovland 74-70 - 144 E
terback in free agency, presumably Nick Lions release veteran, banged-up Colorado (ss) vs. Arizona (ss) at Monterrey,
MX, 2:10 p.m. Brandt Snedeker 73-71 - 144 E Ben Rortvedt and OFs Alex Kirilloff, Brent
Rooker and Luke Raley to minor league
Steve Stricker 75-69 - 144 E
Foles. offensive guard T.J. Lang: The Detroit Scott Piercy 74-70 - 144 E camp.
TEXAS RANGERS — Optioned RHP Jonathan
WR Danny Amendola released by Lions have cut offensive guard T.J. Lang. Hunter Mahan 76-69 - 145 +1

Miami Dolphins: Receiver Danny Detroit made the move Friday, releas-
COLLEGE Adam Hadwin
Adam Long
70-75 - 145 +1
74-71 - 145 +1
Hernandez and LHP Joe Palumbo to Frisco
(Texas). Assigned RHP Richelson Pena, LHP

Amendola has been released by the Mi- ing the banged-up veteran with one sea-
BASKETBALL Bryson DeChambeau
Tyrrell Hatton
75-70 - 145 +1
70-75 - 145 +1
Zac Curtis, and INF Andy Ibanez to their
minor league camp.
Men’s AP Top 25 Fared Sam Burns 76-69 - 145 +1 TORONTO BLUE JAYS — Acquired
ami Dolphins, creating $6 million salary son left on his three-year contract. The Friday
1. Gonzaga (29-2) did not play. Next: WCC
Ryan Blaum 73-72 - 145 +1 international signing bonus pool space from
Baltimore for OF Dwight Smith Jr.
Rickie Fowler 74-71 - 145 +1
cap space for the team. 31-year-old Lang played a career-low six semifinals, Monday. Harris English 76-69 - 145 +1
National League
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS — Optioned RHPs
2. Virginia (27-2) did not play. Next: vs.
Amendola, 33, had 59 receptions for games last season and went on injured Louisville, Saturday. Failed to make the cut Merandy Gonzalez and Logan Webb.
3. North Carolina (25-5) did not play. Next: Reassigned OF John Andreoli, RHP Jandel
575 yards last year, both team highs, reserve in November with a neck injury. vs. No. 4 Duke, Saturday.
Thorbjorn Olesen
Charley Hoffman
73-73 -
75-71 -
146
146
+2
+2
Gustave, INF Ryan Howard and C Hamlet
Marte to their minor league camp. Traded C
while making 15 starts in his first season His career has also been stunted by 4. Duke (26-4) did not play. Next: at No. 3
North Carolina, Saturday.
C.T. Pan
Michael Thompson
73-73 -
76-70 -
146
146
+2
+2
Cameron Rupp to the Detroit Tigers for cash
with Miami. He has 485 career recep- neck, hip injuries and a concussion. 5. Tennessee (27-3) did not play. Next: at
Auburn, Saturday.
Vijay Singh 73-73 - 146 +2
considerations.
BASKETBALL
Austin Cook 75-71 - 146 +2
tions. 49ers sign K Jonathan Brown to 2- 6. Kentucky (25-5) did not play. Next: vs.
Florida, Saturday.
Kyle Stanley 75-71 - 146 +2
National Basketball Association
ATLANTA HAWKS — Signed C Tyler Zeller to
Phil Mickelson 68-78 - 146 +2
LA Rams sign veteran safety Eric year deal: The San Francisco 49ers have 7. Michigan (26-4) did not play. Next: at No. Ernie Els 71-75 - 146 +2
a 10-day contract.
FOOTBALL
9 Michigan State, Saturday.
Weddle to 2-year deal: Veteran safety signed free-agent kicker Jonathan 8. Texas Tech (25-5) did not play. Next: at
Bud Cauley
Bronson Burgoon
71-75 -
72-74 -
146
146
+2
+2
National Football League
Iowa State, Saturday. ARIZONA CARDINALS — Released S Antoine
Eric Weddle has agreed to a two-year Brown to a two-year contract. 9. Michigan State (24-6) did not play. Next: Brice Garnett
Kevin Na
75-71 -
73-73 -
146
146
+2
+2
Bethea and QB Mike Glennon. Re-signed RB
D.J. Foster.
deal with the Los Angeles Rams. The deal to add Brown on Friday gives vs. No. 7 Michigan, Saturday.
10. LSU (25-5) did not play. Next: vs. Vaughn Taylor 75-71 - 146 +2 DETROIT LIONS — Cut G T.J. Lang.
Brian Gay 74-73 - 147 +3
The Rams announced the deal Friday. the 49ers a second kicker for the offsea- Vanderbilt, Saturday.
11. Purdue (22-8) did not play. Next: at Brooks Koepka 74-73 - 147 +3
GREEN BAY PACKERS — Released LB Antonio
Morrison.
Braden Thornberry 76-71 - 147 +3
They also released starting linebacker son behind Robbie Gould. San Francisco Northwestern, Saturday.
12. Houston (28-2) did not play. Next: at No. Michael Kim 73-74 - 147 +3
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS — Released DT
Malik Jackson, S Tashaun Gipson, OL Jermey
Mark Barron. placed the franchise tag on the 36-year- 20 Cincinnati, Sunday. Danny Lee
a-Justin Suh
70-77 -
72-75 -
147
147
+3
+3
Parnell, RB Carlos Hyde and LS Carson Tinker.
MIAMI DOLPHINS — Released WR Danny
13. Kansas (22-8) did not play. Next: vs.
Weddle joins the NFC champions af- old Gould, guaranteeing him nearly $5 Baylor, Saturday. Ollie Schniederjans
Ryan Armour
76-72 -
75-73 -
148
148
+4
+4
Amendola.
14. Florida State (24-6) did not play. Next: at NEW YORK GIANTS — Re-signed C Jon
ter a 12-year pro career with San Diego million this season. Wake Forest, Saturday. Louis Oosthuizen 76-72 - 148 +4 Halapio.
Martin Laird 77-71 - 148 +4 OAKLAND RAIDERS — Signed S Erik Harris to
and Baltimore, where he spent the past Dorial Green-Beckham gets jail 15. Virginia Tech (23-7) beat Miami 84-70.
Next: ACC Tournament. J.B. Holmes 78-70 - 148 +4 a two-year contract.
Nate Lashley 71-77 - 148 +4
three season. The six-time Pro Bowl se- time in marijuana case: Former NFL 16. Marquette (23-7) did not play. Next: vs.
Georgetown, Saturday. Brian Harman 75-74 - 149 +5
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS — Signed K
Jonathan Brown to a two-year contract.
lection was released Tuesday after start- wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham 17. Nevada (27-3) did not play. Next: vs. San
Diego State, Saturday.
Corey Conners
Andrew Landry
71-78 -
80-69 -
149
149
+5
+5
HOCKEY
National Hockey League
ing all 16 games for the Ravens last year. has been sentenced to 90 days in jail af- 18. Kansas State (23-7) did not play. Next: Daniel Berger
Robert Streb
77-72 -
74-75 -
149
149
+5
+5
ARIZONA COYOTES — Assigned F Hudson
Fasching to Tucson (AHL).
vs. Oklahoma, Saturday.
Raiders sign S Erik Harris to 2-year ter a Missouri judge ruled that a marijua- 19. Buffalo (28-3) beat Bowling Green 84-73. Shane Lowry 70-79 - 149 +5 LOS ANGELES KINGS — Assigned F Matt Luff
Next: MAC Tournament. Joel Dahmen 74-76 - 150 +6 to Ontario (AHL).
deal: The Oakland Raiders have signed na arrest amounted to probation viola- 20. Cincinnati (25-5) did not play. Next: vs. Danny Willett 78-72 - 150 +6 SOCCER
Jason Dufner 76-74 - 150 +6 Major League Soccer
safety Erik Harris to a two-year contract. tion. No. 12 Houston, Sunday.
21. Wisconsin (21-9) did not play. Next: at Si Woo Kim 78-72 - 150 +6 FC CINCINNATI — Loaned F Emery
Harris was eligible to become a re- The Springfield News-Leader reports Ohio State, Sunday.
22. Wofford (26-4) did not play. Next: vs.
Harold Varner III
Cameron Champ
79-72 -
81-70 -
151
151
+7
+7
Welshman to Forge FC (Canadian Premier
League).
stricted free agent next week before that Green-Beckham was sentenced Fri- VMI, Saturday.
23. Villanova (22-8) did not play. Next: at
HaoTong Li
Abraham Ancer
77-74 -
77-74 -
151
151
+7
+7
LA GALAXY — Signed F Ethan Zubak from LA
Galaxy II (USL).
agreeing to the new deal Friday that re- day. Seton Hall, Saturday. Richy Werenski
Ted Potter, Jr.
77-74 -
81-70 -
151
151
+7
+7
24. Maryland (22-9) beat Minnesota 69-60.
portedly is worth up to $6.5 million with — Wire services Stewart Cink 72-79 - 151 +7
 DESERTSUN.COM ❚ SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019 ❚ 9B

WOMEN’S PAC-12 TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP

UCLA holds off Arizona St. rally

The Associated Press

LAS VEGAS – With her team nearly blowing a 14-

point lead in the third quarter, UCLA guard Japreece
Dean challenged teammate Kennedy Burke to step up
and she responded.
Dean scored 24 points and Burke added 15 and the
two combined for the first eight points of the fourth
quarter to help No. 25 UCLA beat 20th-ranked Arizona
State 73-69 in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tourna-
ment on Friday.
“They were checking something and (Burke) had
missed a layup,” Dean said. “I looked at her and said
are you going to buck up or what? We started arguing
and she came out and responded. I like how she re-
sponded from the challenge.”
Burke smiled in the postgame press conference as
Dean was recalling the conversation.
“It shows how much of an impact she has on all of
us,” Burke said. “She’s a great leader.”
Coach Cori Close also challenged Dean early in the
fourth quarter during one stoppage of play.
“I literally looked her in the eye and said we have
Japreece Dean and they don’t,” Close said. “You have to
lead us right now. She knew.”
The Bruins will get another season of Dean’s leader-
ship as she was granted an extra year of eligibility by
the NCAA on Thursday. She played only two games at
Texas Tech as a sophomore before transferring to
UCLA.
“It means a lot,” Dean said of getting the extra year.
“Thankful and blessed for that.”
The fourth-seeded Bruins (20-11) were up 14 points
in the third quarter before the Sun Devils (20-10) ral- From left, UCLA’s Kennedy Burke, Arizona State’s Taya Hanson and Reili Richardson scramble for the ball
lied to within 57-56 at the end of the period. during the second half of Friday’s Pac-12 women's tournament quarterfinal game in Las Vegas. AP
Dean and Burke combined for the team’s first eight
points of the fourth quarter to extend the advantage to
65-58 with 4:15 left. The lead ballooned to nine before Ionescu, a junior guard who is the NCAA career quarterfinals.
Arizona State got within 69-66 with a minute left after leader with 17 triple-doubles, put on a show for the The Bay Area battle was a back-and-forth affair
Robbi Ryan hit a 3-pointer from the wing. After a UCLA many Ducks faithful who made the trip to Las Vegas. with Stanford clinging to a small lead in the fourth
timeout, Michaela Onyenwere, who finished with 20 Also in the crowd, sitting in the front row across quarter. Up 55-52 with 4:11 left, Shannon Coffee – who
points, drove to the basket to make it a five-point game from the Oregon bench, was Las Vegas Aces president has been sporting a black mask most of the season af-
with 45 seconds left. UCLA missed four straight free and coach Bill Laimbeer, whose team has the No. 1 pick ter her injuring her face – hit a 3-pointer from the top of
throws in the final 30 seconds, but the Sun Devils in the WNBA draft in April. Ionescu is eligible to turn the key. It was her only basket, and it ignited a 17-2 run
couldn’t capitalize. pro this year, but said last month she has no idea what to close the game.
UCLA, which has won 11 of its past 13 games now she will decide. Dijonai Carrington added 16 points for Stanford
since a two-point win over Arizona State on Jan. 25, Ionescu, who tied the tournament record with her 13 (26-4).
will face top-seed Oregon in the semifinals on Satur- assists and moved within one of the Pac-12 Tourna- Seventh-seeded Cal (19-12) beat Washington State
day night. ment career mark, said she didn’t notice that the Aces’ in the opening round of the tournament. Star center
No. 6 Oregon 77, Arizona 63: At Las Vegas, Sabrina boss was at the game. Kristine Anigwe, who was dominant in the win on
Ionescu filled up the stat sheet again as sixth-ranked “That didn’t cross my mind. I wasn’t looking around Thursday, had a much tougher time against Stanford.
Oregon played through an off-game to advance in the and see who was watching our game,” she said. “I She missed seven of her first eight shots and finished
Pac-12 Tournament. knew we had to come out and get this win. I don’t think with 14 points to go along with 14 rebounds. She came
Ionescu had 18 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds it was pretty. We stuck together and fought. All that into the game averaging 23.2 points.
to lead sixth-ranked Oregon to a win over Aari McDon- other outside stuff, whoever’s watching, I’m not pay- Recee Caldwell led Cal with 17 points, including the
ald and Arizona in the quarterfinals of the conference ing attention to that. I would have played the same way 1,000th of her career.
tournament Friday. if (Barack) Obama was here.” Both teams struggled on offense early. Cal built an
“It might have been those first-game jitters,” Iones- Ruthy Hebard led Oregon (28-3) with 21 points and early 14-7 lead as Stanford went without a field goal for
cu said of the Ducks’ uneven performance on offense. 10 rebounds. nearly 7½ minutes. The Cardinal trailed by three after
“We were super nervous. We’re excited to get out there No. 7 Stanford 72, California 54: At Las Vegas, Kia- the first quarter. The teams traded the lead in the sec-
and play.” na Williams scored 23 points, Alanna Smith added 15 ond quarter and Cal was up 29-28 with 1:56 left in the
Oregon coach Kelly Graves felt his team was a step points and 11 rebounds, and seventh-ranked Stanford half. Stanford scored the final four points to go into the
slow on both ends of the court. beat rival Cal on Friday night in the Pac-12 Tournament break ahead 32-29.

Top-player races enter final weekend

Aaron Beard
ASSOCIATED PRESS

RALEIGH, N.C. – The top conferences

in college basketball are wrapping up
regular-season play, along with the
races to determine each league’s player
of the year.
The five power conferences – the At-
lantic Coast Conference, Big 12, Big Ten,
Pac-12 and Southeastern Conference –
conclude regular-season play this
weekend. Here’s a look at the players in
the running for top honors in those
leagues:

ACC

Duke freshmen RJ Barrett and Zion

Williamson are 1-2 in the league in scor-
ing. They could end up that way for top
ACC player, too.
The 6-foot-7, 285-pound Williamson
(21.6 points, 8.8 rebounds) looks likely
to be the No. 1 overall NBA draft pick if he
leaves school, but he hasn’t played since
suffering a knee sprain early in last
month’s loss to North Carolina.
“You can’t put together a well-oiled
machine in a couple practices to play in
this conference … when you lose a kid
like that,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski
said. “And there is no other kid like that.
He’s probably the national player of the
year.”
That’s where Barrett comes in for the
fourth-ranked Blue Devils.
The ACC’s leading scorer (23.3
points) is averaging 24.5 points, 6.0 re-
bounds and 5.8 assists in the Last four
games with Williamson out while set-
ting Duke’s freshman single-season
scoring record.
De’Andre Hunter (15.4 points) for
second-ranked Virginia and Cameron
Johnson (16.9 points) for third-ranked
UNC are also candidates from the
league’s co-leaders.
BIG 12
The Big 12 offers the most uncertain-
ty. The candidates include Kansas’ De-
dric Lawson, Texas Tech’s Jarrett Cul-
ver, Kansas State’s Barry Brown and
Iowa State’s Marial Shayok.
Lawson and Culver have the best sta-
tistical claim. Lawson, a 6-9 junior
Duke freshmen RJ Barrett, left, and Zion Williamson are 1-2 in the league in scoring. AP COMPOSITE
transfer from Memphis, leads the Big 12
in scoring (19.0) and rebounding (10.5).
Culver, a 6-6 sophomore, is third in
scoring (17.9) and second in rebounding
(9.7).
Yet No. 13 Kansas has reached the end
of its remarkable 14-year run of claiming
at least a share of the Big 12 regular-sea-
son title. Now it’s Culver’s eighth-
ranked Red Raiders and Brown’s 18th-
ranked Wildcats tied atop the league
standings, which could give one of them
a bump in the individual race.
BIG TEN
Ninth-ranked Michigan State is
missing guard Joshua Langford and
center Nick Ward to injuries. It’s a good
thing the Spartans still have Cassius
Winston.
The junior guard is third nationally in
assists (7.6) while averaging 18.8 points
and shooting 42 percent from 3-point
range. He’s also been Big Ten player of
the week five times, joining Purdue’s
Glenn Robinson and Caleb Swanigan,
along with Ohio State’s Evan Turner, as
the only players in league history to do
so at least five times in a season.
“He gets into nooks and crannies,”
Michigan coach John Beilein said after
Winston had 27 points and eight assists
against the Wolverines last month. “His
midrange game is one of the very tops in
the country.”
PAC-12
Washington has long since wrapped
up the regular-season title in a down
year for the Pac-12 behind sophomore
Jaylen Nowell.
The 6-4 guard is averaging a team-
best 16.3 points with 5.5 rebounds. He’s
also been an efficient scorer from any-
where, shooting nearly 51 percent from
the field, 44 percent on 3-pointers and
76 percent on free throws.
Nowell has been the Pac-12’s player
of the week a league-best three times
this season for a team that enters the
weekend at least four games ahead of
every other Pac-12 team in the stand-
ings.
SEC
Tennessee’s Grant Williams is the
front-runner amid one of the program’s
most successful seasons.
The 6-7 junior is first in the SEC in
scoring (19.1) while leading the fifth-
ranked Volunteers in rebounding (7.6)
and ranking second in assists (3.3).
He’s also shooting nearly 57 percent
from the field and 83 percent from the
foul line – including a 23-for-23 effort in
a 43-point game against Vanderbilt – in
a season that included the Volunteers
spending four weeks at No. 1 in the AP
Top 25.
“I don’t think there are many guys in
the country who possess the combina-
tion of physical and mental toughness,
skill level, determination and swagger
that he possesses,” Florida coach Mike
White said in January.
10B ❚ SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019 ❚ T H E D E S E R T S U N
Tommy Fleetwood hits a tee shot on the 15th hole during Friday’s second round
of the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament in Orlando, Fla.
REINHOLD MATAY/USA TODAY SPORTS
Fleetwood, Bradley tied
for lead at Bay Hill
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ORLANDO, Fla. – Bay Hill provided a
few dramatic turnarounds, good news
for Henrik Stenson, not so much for
Phil Mickelson.
Through it all, Tommy Fleetwood
and Keegan Bradley kept a steady
march of solid golf Friday and wound
up tied for the lead at the Arnold Palmer
Invitational, four shots clear of anyone
else going into the weekend on a course
that has been tough all week.
Fleetwood used two new clubs to
produce two eagles, which carried him
to a 6-under 66. Bradley, with the re-
newed confidence of a player who last
year ended six years without a PGA
Tour victory, made all but one of his six
birdies on the par 4s and had a 68.
They were at 9-under 135, the high-
est score to lead Bay Hill through 36
holes since 2013.
Tiger Woods wound up winning that
year, which won’t be the case. Woods is
home nursing a sore neck.
That also was the last time Mickel-
son was at Bay Hill, and this trip lasted
only two days.
Busch going all in at Phoenix
Dave Skretta
ASSOCIATED PRESS
AVONDALE, Ariz. – Kurt Busch ar-
rived at Phoenix this weekend feeling
like he was holding a full house.
The Las Vegas native is coming off a
second consecutive top-five run, this
time at his home track, and felt as if his
Chip Ganassi Racing team – and its
Chevrolet power – was finally catching
up to the Ford and Toyota teams that
have dominated the early part of the
NASCAR season.
To top it off, his No. 1 team announced
Friday a new sponsorship deal with
Global Poker, one of the world’s leading
online gambling sites – no small news
when backing is hard to find.
“There are so many different unique
opportunities that our sport provides to
sponsorship,” Busch said. “With a new
brand such as them coming into our
sport, it shows the power NASCAR can
produce.”
Shows the power that Busch still
holds in the sport, too.
He hasn’t finished better than sev-
enth in the series in a decade, and his
2004 championship with Roush Racing
sometimes feels as if it was a lifetime
ago.
He’s bounced through Penske Rac-
ing, had a successful stint with Front
Row Motorsports and spent the past
five seasons with Stewart-Haas Racing,
winning the odd race and often finishing
up front but never racing for a title at
Homestead.
Then, late last season, rumors sur-
faced that he would replace Jamie
McMurray in the No. 1 car, and the gos-
sip was confirmed when Ganassi Racing
announced the move in early December.
So far, the pairing with teammate
Kyle Larson has been paying off.
Busch struggled at the season-open-
ing Daytona 500, where Larson finished
seventh, but bounced back to run third
at Atlanta.
Last week at Las Vegas, a gutsy late-
race strategy by crew chief Matt McCall
helped Busch lead 23 laps and finish
fifth.
“It’s been fun to watch him get accli-
mated with the team,” said Doug Du-
chardt, the chief operating officer of
PGA Tour Champions
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Scott
McCarron closed with a birdie for a 7-
under 64 and a share of the first-round
lead with Fran Quinn in the PGA Tour
Champions’ Hoag Classic.
McCarron rebounded from a bogey
on the par-4 16th with the birdie on the
par-5 18th at Newport Beach Country
Club. The former UCLA player has eight
Champions victories after winning
three PGA Tour titles. He tied for sec-
ond last year, a stroke behind Vijay
Singh.
Quinn finished with a bogey on the
par-4 ninth.
European Tour
DOHA, Qatar – South Africans Jus-
tin Harding and George Coetzee share a
one-shot lead at the Qatar Masters
with French golfer Mike Lorenzo-Vega
after all three shot 4-under 68 for the
second straight round.
The trio top a tight leaderboard at 8
under, with 12 players within two shots
heading into the weekend.
Kurt Busch celebrates after winning a 2018 NASCAR Cup Series auto race in
Bristol, Tenn. AP FILE
Chip Ganassi Racing. “I very much ap-
preciate how he’s worked to make sure
he and the 42 work close together. And I
think that the team in particular, after a
rough Daytona, bounced back and has
shown a lot of good synergy.”
Especially given the vast changes the
team has experienced.
Like everyone else in the garage, Ga-
nassi Racing has been trying to adjust to
NASCAR’s new rules package.
Ryan Blaney drives during Friday’s qualifying for the NASCAR Monster Energy
Cup Series TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona.
GETTY IMAGES
Blaney qualifies on pole
for race outside Phoenix
Dave Skretta
ASSOCIATED PRESS
AVONDALE, Ariz. – Ryan Blaney
turned the fastest lap in practice and
never slowed down in qualifying, put-
ting his No. 12 Ford on the pole Friday
for this weekend’s race at ISM Raceway.
Blaney turned a lap of 141.287 mph to
keep Penske Racing’s early season suc-
cess going. It was his sixth career pole
but first of the season, and came on the
heels of teammate Brad Keselowski’s
victory at Atlanta and Joey Logano’s
win last weekend at Las Vegas.
“It’s nice to have Penske winning,”
Blaney said, “but I’m selfish and I want
to win. It’s nice to have our cars really
fast. Our finishes haven’t reflected how
we’ve been running.”
Blaney led 13 laps in the Daytona 500
before crashing out. He led 41 laps at At-
lanta before a problem on pit road
ruined the day. He had a tire problem on
his first pit stop last week at Las Vegas,
forcing his No. 12 team to play catch-up
the rest of the way.
“We keep bringing fast cars to the
racetrack, hopefully it will work out for
you one of those times,” Blaney said. “I
want to be part of the win-group here at
Penske.”
Chase Elliott will start on the outside
of the first row, while Denny Hamlin
and Kyle Busch will start from Row 2.
Keselowski rounded out the top five in
another strong start to a weekend.
“You can never settle, I feel like, even
The rules effectively slowed cars at
intermediate tracks such as Atlanta and
Las Vegas, but more downforce and a
return to 750 horsepower for road
courses and short tracks has produced
even greater speeds at Phoenix.
That could also mean a chance for
Ganassi, Hendrick Motorsports and the
other Chevrolet teams that have been
chasing Ford and Toyota this season to
make up some ground.
though Penske is the best group right
now,” Blaney said. “We’re still working
every day to get better and better. The
speed is there, we just need to stop run-
ning into issues and we’ll be pretty
good.”
HENDRICK SUCCESS
Elliott finally gave team owner Rick
Hendrick a reason to believe his Chev-
rolet-powered teams are turning a cor-
ner after two tough years.
Jimmie Johnson and the rest of
them have struggled again so far this
season, but Elliott’s fast lap of 140.17
mph in qualifying put him on the first
row.
“I hate qualifying second. We’ve
qualified second out here last fall and
this one,” said Elliott, the only Hendrick
driver in the top 10 last week at Las Ve-
gas. “Pit selection is important, a long
race ahead, but I’d really love to get a
pole outside of a speedway track.”
DROPPING GLOVES
The biggest action in qualifying
came after the opening round, when
Daniel Suarez and Michael McDowell
got into a fight. Suarez was upset that
McDowell had gotten in his way, ruin-
ing both of their qualifying attempts,
and it took several crew members to
pull them apart.
At one point, Suarez spun McDowell
around and tossed him to the ground.
“I feel like we’re just off the lead cars
but we can compete. That was shown by
Kurt in Las Vegas and Kyle in Atlanta,”
Duchardt said. “But we’ve only run two
races. This is a marathon. We just have
to stay on it as a team, but I feel really
good about how we’re working togeth-
er.”
Sentiments echoed by Mats John-
son, the executive director of Global Po-
ker’s parent company.
Johnson said the company tested
partnerships with the NHL and Major
League Baseball, and did all kinds of re-
search with its client base, only to real-
ize many of its customers were fans of
NASCAR – and country music, inciden-
tally. So, the company used an interme-
diary to reach out to various teams in
the garage, and Ganassi Racing – and
Busch in particular – came to the fore-
front.
Busch’s Vegas background helped,
and his driving style, well, sometimes it
resembles a gamble. And the notion of
joining an established team and a for-
mer series champion is hardly a crap-
shoot.
It didn’t take long for the company to
go all in.
“Every sport is slightly different,”
Johnson said. “We have found a sport
that really resonates with our players,
first and foremost, but also getting a
good working relationship.”
The sponsorship makes even more
since the way NASCAR has embraced
gambling.
Dover International Speedway has
an alliance with Dover Downs Hotel &
Casino, while Hollywood Casino over-
looks the second turn at Kansas Speed-
way. More and more states are legalizing
sports betting after the Supreme Court
lifted Nevada’s effective monopoly on it
last year, and NASCAR already has been
a popular sport with FanDuel and
DraftKings providing plenty of offer-
ings.
“After dealing with Major League
Baseball and a few larger organiza-
tions,” Johnson said, “coming to Ganas-
si Racing has been an eye-opener. NAS-
CAR is a sport that is for the fans, the
relationship with the fans, as far as I can
see, is very tight, and I think that’s what
we’re after.”
 DESERTSUN.COM ❚ SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019 ❚ 11B

Rich Hill’s accelerated spring

training plan on schedule
Theresa Smith
ASSOCIATED PRESS
GLENDALE, Ariz. – Rich Hill’s accel-
erated spring training plan is on sched-
ule, which might be even more signifi-
cant than anticipated given the uncer-
tainty of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ start-
ing rotation.
To avoid repeating his slow 2018
start, Hill took an aggressive offseason
approach, including throwing three
bullpens, before reporting to camp on
Feb. 12. Consequently, he’s already ap-
peared in three Cactus League games,
striking out seven, walking none, and
posting a 1.42 ERA.
His performance Wednesday night
against the Indians was typical: no runs,
three hits, four strikeouts and no walks.
“I didn’t have my best stuff, but I was
able to manipulate my pitches the way I
wanted to and change my delivery the
way I wanted to and just pitch,” Hill said.
The fourth-year Dodger, who turns
39 on Monday, has a 3.91 ERA over a 14-
year career. In three of his five starts last
April and May, he was hit hard and his
ERA soared to 6.32, prompting a new
approach.
“You want to get as deep as you can
before games actually start counting,”
he said. “A lot of time you want to say,
‘We have time in spring training.’ But
really, we don’t. Spring training is al-
most over, if you look at the calendar.
We’ve gotta get really ramped up and fo-
cused for the 2019 season.”
With the possibility that ace Clayton
Kershaw will not be ready for the March
28 season opener because of shoulder
soreness that stalled his progression
and the “slow play” of Walker Buehler in
deference to protecting his young arm,
Hill might initially end up at the top of
the rotation.
“The decision isn’t up to me, so hope-
fully, all those guys get back and are
healthy because like I said, the season’s
right around the corner and we need to
get off to a good start,” he said.
Hill played catch with Kershaw on
Tuesday and saw Buehler’s bullpen on
Wednesday.
“Walker looked great . and I know
Clayton is making really good strides, so
there’s a lot of positive stuff going on,”
he said.
When asked about the situation
Thursday, Dodgers manager Dave Rob-
erts said, “For both of those guys, we’re
not worried about opening day. We are
worried about getting those guys
ramped up. When the time comes, we’ll
see where we’re at. So, to speculate right Dodgers starting pitcher Rich Hill
now, it just doesn’t make a whole lot of leaves the game against the Indians
sense.” during the fourth inning Wednesday at
Catcher Austin Barnes believes Hill is Camelback Ranch in Phoenix.
already in peak form. JOE CAMPOREALE/USA TODAY SPORTS

MLB NOTEBOOK SPRING TRAINING ROUNDUP

Marlins shut down catcher Alfaro AROUND THE GRAPEFRUIT

AND CACTUS LEAGUES
WHITE SOX 15, ANGELS 8: AL Rookie of the Year

after knee swelling returns
JUPITER, Fla. – The return of inflammation to Jorge
Alfaro’s right knee is once again prompting the Miami
Marlins to shut down their expected opening-day catch-
er for a few more days.
Alfaro re-aggravated the injury during Tuesday’s
game while sliding into second base.
“The biggest thing is just get rid of this inflammation
so we can move forward,” Miami manager Don Matting-
ly said.
Obtained from Philadelphia as part of the trade that
sent J.T. Realmuto to the Phillies, Alfaro originally in-
jured the knee while chasing a foul popup in the Marlins’
Grapefruit League opener, banging it against a metal
pole that supports the dugout railing.
Mattingly doesn’t expect the issue to last more than a
couple of days.
“Not concerned about opening day,” Mattingly said.
“Feel pretty confident about that and him getting at-bats
and getting ready for that.”
Alfaro hit .262 with 10 homers and 37 RBIs in 377
plate appearances for the Phillies last season. In five at-
bats this spring, Alfaro has two singles.
The Marlins are expecting reserve catcher Chad Wal-
lach back from a quad injury in the coming days. A can-
didate to back up Alfaro, Wallach played in a simulated
game on Friday and should be in the lineup on Sunday
against Atlanta.
Wallach, son of former major leaguer and current Mi-
ami bench coach Tim Wallach, hit .161 in 56 major league
at-bats for the Reds and Marlins over the past two sea-
sons.
Judge gets $62,000 raise from Yankees, Sanchez
$49,400 hike: Aaron Judge got a $62,000 raise from the
New York Yankees up to $684,300 in the right fielder’s
last season before becoming eligible for salary arbitra-
tion.
Catcher Gary Sanchez was given a $49,400 hike to
$669,800 as the team reached agreements with its
young players whose salaries are under club control. He
also will be eligible for arbitration next winter.
Second baseman Gleyber Torres agreed to $605,200,
up from last year’s $545,000 minimum, and third base-
man Miguel Andujar struck a deal for $617,600, an in-
crease from $545,800.
Outfielder Clint Frazier, sidelined for most of last sea-
son following a concussion, gets $563,300, a slight rise
from $559,200. First baseman Luke Voit agreed to
$573,200, up from the $546,500 in the majors last year
as part of the contract he agreed to with St. Louis, which
traded him to New York.
All players have split contracts with lower salaries
should they be sent to the minor leagues: Judge would
get $311,150, Sanchez $310,200, Torres $240,210, Andu-
jar $269,216, Frazier $222,711 and Voit $145,673.
Also agreeing to deals were right-handers Albert
Abreu ($555,000/$90,400), Domingo Acevedo
($555,000/$90,400), Chance Adams ($556,725/
$90,400), Luis Cessa ($578,975/$210,768), Domingo
German ($577,500/$190,150), Chad Green ($598,650/
$285,400), Joe Harvey ($555,000/$45,300), Ben Heller
($555,000/$273,738), Jonathan Holder ($580,300/
$262,947) and Jonathan Loaisiga ($560,550/$92,766);
left-handers Jordan Montgomery ($596,600/$290,225)
and Stephen Tarpley ($557,250/$90,400); catcher Kyle
Higashioka ($562,900/$160,207); and infielders Thairo
Estrada ($555,000/$90,400) and Tyler Wade
($572,000/$155,691).
Cardinals’ Yadier Molina singles in return from
knee surgery: Yadier Molina went 1 for 2 as a designated
hitter Friday, the 36-year-old’s first game for the St. Lou-
is Cardinals since left knee surgery in mid-December.
Molina is likely to be behind the plate on Saturday,
catching Adam Wainwright against Houston – about a
week ahead of the original projection for him to catch.
A nine-time All-Star and nine-time Gold Glove, Moli-
na singled through the left side off Patrick Corbin and
scored in a three-run Cardinals’ first. Molina then lined
out to first.
Baltimore Orioles acquire OF Dwight Smith from
Toronto: Outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. has been acquired
by the Baltimore Orioles from the Toronto Blue Jays for
international signing bonus pool allocation.
Smith hit .293 with two home runs and nine RBIs in
47 games with Toronto over the past two seasons.
The 26-year-old is the son of former major leaguer
Dwight Smith Sr., who played for the Orioles in 1994.
To make room for Smith on the 40-man roster, Balti-
more designated 30-year-old left-hander Josh Osich for
assignment on Friday.
Baltimore acquired Osich off waivers from the San
Francisco Giants on Feb. 19. Osich is 6-5 with a 5.01 ERA
in 160 games with the Giants over the last four seasons.
Marlins catcher Jorge Alfaro works out during spring
training Feb. 17 in Jupiter, Fla. Alfaro re-aggrivated a
right knee injury Tuesday while sliding into second
base. JEFF ROBERSON/AP
Rangers adding a housing complex at spring train-
ing site: The Texas Rangers are building a new facility at
their spring training complex in Arizona that will in-
clude housing for as many as 180 players and staff.
Jon Daniels, president of baseball operations and
general manager, said Friday that the dormitory com-
plex in Arizona and a new academy in the Dominican
Republic will provide the Rangers with some of the top
player development facilities in baseball.
The two buildings in Arizona will encompass about
68,000 square feet and be used year-round for spring
training, extended spring, Arizona rookie league, in-
structional league and other baseball programs. It is ex-
pected to be completed by the end of this year.
The residential building will include 36 units that can
house up to 180 people at a time. The common area
building will include an auditorium, classrooms and a
fitness area.
Source: Yankees buy back YES control with Ama-
zon help: The New York Yankees are buying back the
YES Network, partnering with Amazon in a deal that
will give the company the right to stream games in the
team’s broadcast territory.
The deal for the team’s parent company to purchase
80 percent of the network from The Walt Disney Co. val-
ues YES at $3.47 billion, nearly $500 million less than
when 21st Century Fox acquired a majority stake in 2014.
Yankee Global Enterprises is the lead investor and
partnered with Amazon.com Inc. and Sinclair Broadcast
Group as its strategic investors, a person familiar with
the negotiations told The Associated Press on Friday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because
the purchase was not announced and has up to 120 days
to close.
C Cameron Rupp acquired by the Tigers from Gi-
ants for cash: Catcher Cameron Rupp has been ac-
quired by the Detroit Tigers from the San Francisco Gi-
ants for cash.
The 30-year-old, a veteran of five major league sea-
sons, spent last year at Triple-A and hit .223 with 11 dou-
bles, 15 homers and 44 RBIs for Round Rock (Rangers),
Rochester (Twins) and Tacoma (Mariners).
Rupp agreed to a minor league contract with the Gi-
ants in December and if added to a 40-man roster would
get a $750,000 salary while in the major leagues. He was
3 for 10 with two doubles and two RBIs in six spring
training games with San Francisco.
He batted .234 with 39 homers and 124 RBIs in 296
games with Philadelphia from 2013-17.
Ex-baseball star sentenced to 3 years on drug
charges: Former All-Star pitcher Esteban Loaiza was
sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty
to federal drug charges involving 20 kilograms (44
pounds) of cocaine that he admitted he planned to dis-
tribute.
Loaiza, 46, was sentenced Friday more than a year
after he was arrested near a house in Imperial Beach, a
town south of San Diego that borders Tijuana, Mexico.
Authorities obtained a search warrant for the house
and found the cocaine in 20 packages under baseball
bags bearing the star’s name inside the compartment of
a Nissan minivan parked in the garage.
The Tijuana-born hurler played for several U.S. teams
between 1995 and 2008, including the New York Yan-
kees, Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox. He
earned more than $43 million over 14 seasons.
— Wire services
Shohei Ohtani played soft toss for the first time since
undergoing Tommy John surgery in October. The An-
gels expect Ohtani to rejoin the team in May as a des-
ignated hitter. He won’t take the mound again for Los
Angeles until 2020.
Mike Trout doubled and drove in a run with a
groundout and Albert Pujols had an RBI single and is
batting .500 for Los Angeles. Andrew Heaney made
his second start, allowing a hit and walk while retir-
ing two batters. Heaney, who is battling elbow in-
flammation, was on a 25-pitch limit.
Yonder Alonso hit his third spring home run for
Chicago, singled twice and drove in three runs. We-
lington Castillo hit his first home run and his third
double, driving in two and scoring twice.
MARLINS 10, METS 3: Neil Walker hit his first two
home runs for Miami, a three-run shot off Noah Syn-
dergaard and a solo drive off Seth Lugo.
Robinson Cano homered for the first time with
New York and Jeff McNeil homered for his first hit of
spring training. Both came off Dan Straily, who
pitched 3 1⁄3 innings in his third start.
Syndergaard allowed six hits and four runs, strik-
ing out eight. He didn’t walk anyone after issuing five
in his last start. New closer Edwin Diaz gave up a hit
in a scoreless inning.
BLUE JAYS (SS) 11, PIRATES (SS) 0: Toronto
prospect Bo Bichette homered and had two singles,
scoring twice and raising his average to .368. Antho-
ny Alford hit two solo home runs and singled. Billy
McKinney add Jonathan Davis added two-run hom-
ers for the Blue Jays’ split squad.
Pittsburgh starter Trevor Williams gave up five
hits and two walks in three innings.
BLUE JAYS (SS) 5, PIRATES (SS) 2: Brandon Dru-
ry hit his second spring home run and Justin Smoak
had two singles for Toronto’s split squad. Marcus
Stroman made his third start, allowing one hit in four
shutout innings, striking out three.
Pittsburgh starter Rookie Davis gave up four hits
and four walks in two innings.
CARDINALS (SS) 3, NATIONALS 2: Matt Wieters
singled twice and drove in a run for St. Louis. Michael
Wacha made his third start, pitching four innings and
yielding two runs and six hits.
Matt Adams hit his second home run for Washing-
ton. Closer Sean Doolittle pitched a scoreless inning,
striking out one in his second appearance.
ORIOLES 4, RED SOX 2: Andrew Cashner made
his second start for Baltimore, going 1 2⁄3 innings and
allowing one run on a hit and two walks. Boston man-
aged just Tzu-Wei Lin’s RBI double and a single by
Eduardo Nunez.
TWINS 5, RAYS 5: Minnesota prospect Alex Kiril-
loff hit a pair of singles. Jose Berrios made his third
start, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk in 3 1⁄3
innings.
Willy Adames hit a two-run homer and Ji-Man
Choi and Jake Smolinski both hit solo shots for Tam-
pa Bay. Brandon Lowe had his fifth double, scoring a
run and raising his average to .435.
BREWERS 6, DIAMONDBACKS 3: Travis Shaw
hit two home runs for Milwaukee, Lorenzo Cain had
two singles and an RBI and Christian Yelich doubled
and scored.
Zack Godley’s ERA rose to 7.36 in his third start,
pitching four innings and allowing three runs and five
hits. Closer Archie Bradley followed Godley, allowing
a run on three hits while striking out three.
ROYALS (SS) 8, REDS 3: Billy Hamilton hit his
third double this spring and singled, scoring two runs
and driving in another for Kansas City’s split squad.
Alex Gordon had an RBI double. Ian Kennedy made
his second start, pitching four innings and giving up
three runs and five hits while striking out five.
Eugenio Suarez had a double and single for Cin-
cinnati. Jose Peraza hit his first home run.
ATHLETICS 6, PADRES 5: Marco Estrada strug-
gled in his second start for Oakland, pitching three
innings and allowing three runs on three hits, two
walks. Chad Pinder had two doubles and an RBI for
the A’s.
Hunter Renfroe had a double and single, driving in
three runs for San Diego.
ROCKIES 11, RANGERS 10: Pat Valaika hit his
fourth home run and Ryan McMahon connected for
Colorado. Daniel Murphy had an RBI double and No-
lan Arenado added a run-scoring single for just his
third hit this spring. Arenado is batting .143.
Rockies prospect Colton Welker won the game
with a two-out, bases-loaded single in the bottom of
the ninth.
Elvis Andrus hit a grand slam for his first home run
and singled for Texas. Joey Gallo doubled and sin-
gled. Lance Lynn allowed just one hit, striking out
four in four innings in his second start.
12B ❚ SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019 ❚ T H E D E S E R T S U N

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 DESERTSUN.COM ❚ SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019 ❚ 13B

PRESENTS
PRESENTS
presents
FOUNDING PARTNER
FOUNDING PARTNER

74199
74199El
El Paseo,
Paseo,Suite
Suite200 200||Palm PalmDesert, Desert,California California92260
92260
Direct760.861.1176
Direct 760.861.1176 | |VoiceMail
VoiceMail760.776.2311 760.776.2311
7 41 9 9 El P ase o , S uit e 2 0 0 | Pa l m S p ri n gs , Ca l i f orni a 9 22 6 0

valery@valeryneuman.com
valery@valeryneuman.com
Dire ct 7 6 0. 8 6 1.11 7 6 | Voic eMail 7 60 . 7 76. 2 311
val er y @ val er y neuman.c o m

OPEN HOUSE SAT 1 – 4 l CALL FOR ACCESS

THE TRADITION | LA QUINTA
FURNISHED | $4,625,000
Custom estate with one of the best locations at
the Tradition! Four bedroom suites, four baths,two
powder rooms plus office. Approx 6,566 sq. ft. on
.56 acre lot. Perfect south facing orientation with
incredible mountain views on the Par 3 and 6th
fairway.
LA QUINTA POLO ESTATES l LA QUINTA
FURNISHED l $4,200,000
Amazing estate on nearly two acres of impeccable
grounds! Six bedrooms, seven and a half baths
including guest house. Approx. 9,200 sq. ft.
Incredible outdoor entertainment area including
private lake, tennis court and so much more!
VISTA DUNES ESTATES | RANCHO MIRAGE
FURNISHED | $3,999,000
One of the Desert’s finest estates! Five bedrooms,
six and a half baths, including a one bedroom
guest house. Approx. 7,179 sq. ft. on 1.43 acres of
beautiful grounds. Top quality and custom finishes
throughout!

LA QUINTA POLO ESTATES | LA QUINTA
FURNISHING NEGOTIABLE | $3,975,000
One of a kind custom estate! Five bedrooms, five baths
plus two powder rooms including a one bedroom guest
house. Approx. 6,683 sq. ft. on 2.5 acres. Your own
private lake with park like grounds, a four car and a 3 car
garage with tandem parking for up to eleven cars.
MONTE SERENO ESTATES l INDIAN WELLS
FURNISHED l $3,975,000
Custom estate compound behind the gates of prestigious Monte
Sereno Estates! Four bedrooms, four and a half baths including
separate one bedroom casita. Approx. 6,000 sq. ft. of pure luxury
on 1 acre lot! Gorgeous Tuscan style home built up against your
own private mountain. This is a one of a kind private retreat with
lush tropical landscaping, waterfalls, palm trees & more!
MISSION HILLS CC l WESTGATE l RANCHO MIRAGE
FURNISHINGS AVAIL. l $3,588,000
The ultimate Desert estate! Six bedrooms, six baths and
two powder rooms including two guest houses. Approx.
9,180 sq. ft. on .62 area lot. Pocket doors open to two
outdoor living areas and loggia with dining and BBQ center.
Custom pool and spa in tropical setting with the best south
facing location with lake, golf course and mountain views.

THE RENAISSANCE | RANCHO MIRAGE
FURNISHINGS AVAIL. l $2,699,000
Incredible private gated two acre estate off Clancy
Lane in the Renaissance! Six bedrooms, six baths
including two bedroom guest house. Approx.
6,426 sq. ft. on 1.97 acres. Resort like pool park
like grounds, awesome south and west mountain
views.
THE QUARRY | LA QUINTA
FURNISHED | $2,695,000
Private custom estate with incredible panoramic
views! Four bedrooms, four baths and two powder
rooms, including casita, plus office. Approx. 5,412
sq. ft. on over a half acre. Built by Chuck Strother
with top of the line architectural finishes throughout
and interior design by Donna Dunn.
MIRADA ESTATES | RANCHO MIRAGE
FURNISHED | $2,225,000
Three bedrooms plus office or optional fourth
bedroom, five baths. Approximately 4,030 square
feet on .51 acre lot. Outdoor entertainment pavilion
& incredible views!

STONE EAGLE GOLF CLUB | PALM DESERT
FURNISHED | $1,895,000
Beautiful lakefront home at Stone Eagle Golf Club!
Three bedroom, three and a half baths plus den
or office. Approx. 3,971 sq. ft. on . 43 acre lot.
Exceptional outdoor living area with incredible lake
and mountain views!
LA QUINTA POLO ESTATES | LA QUINTA DOMINION l RANCHO MIRAGE
UNFURNISHED | $1,795,000 FURNISHINGS AVAIL. l $1,595,000
Gorgeous estate remodeled to perfection! Five Gorgeous Contemporary estate in the heart of Rancho
bedrooms including guest house plus bonus room, Mirage. Four bedrooms, four and a half baths, approx.
four full baths and two powder rooms. Multiple 3,811 sq. ft. on half acre lot. Backyard hosts a loggia,
outdoor entertainment areas, full outdoor kitchen, pebble tech pool with tanning shelf and raised waterfall
with bar and pizza oven! spa and spectacular mountain views!

MORNINGSIDE COUNTRY CLUB l RANCHO MIRAGE MISSION HILLS CC l RANCHO MIRAGE PALMILLA l LA QUINTA
FURNISHED l $1,275,000 FURNISHED l $1,375,000 FURNISHED l 1,295,000
Beautiful lakefront estate! Three bedrooms, six Gorgeous estate at Mission Hills Fairway Estates! Incredible lake front home at Palmilla! Three
baths plus office. Approx. 4,929 sq. ft. on .29 Three bedroom, three and a half baths, plus bedroom, two and a half baths, approx. 3,278
acre lot. Extended patio with BBQ area, custom office. Approx. 4,323 sq. ft. on .37 acre lot. sq. ft. on .24 acre lot. The best location in the
pool with rock waterfall and inlaid spa. The views Beautiful finishes and most incredible outdoor development with mountain and waterfront
are amazing, overlooking lake, golf course and entertainment area. views!
mountains.
DS-0000460000
14B ❚ SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019 ❚ T H E D E S E R T S U N

PRESENTS
PRESENTS
presents
FOUNDING PARTNER
FOUNDING PARTNER

74199
74199El
El Paseo,
Paseo,Suite
Suite200 200||Palm PalmDesert, Desert,California California92260
92260
Direct760.861.1176
Direct 760.861.1176 | |VoiceMail
VoiceMail760.776.2311 760.776.2311
7 41 9 9 El P ase o , S uit e 2 0 0 | Pa l m S p ri n gs , Ca l i f orni a 9 22 6 0

valery@valeryneuman.com
valery@valeryneuman.com
Dire ct 7 6 0. 8 6 1.11 7 6 | Voic eMail 7 60 . 7 76. 2 311
val er y @ val er y neuman.c o m

THE HIDEAWAY l LA QUINTA FURNISHED l $4,495,000 THE HIDEAWAY l LA QUINTA FURNISHED l $3,995,000
Incredible estate with best south facing views! Five bedroom, five and a half baths including one bedroom casita. Approx. 6,349 Spectacular west facing estate at the Hideaway. Four bedroom, four and a half baths
sq. ft. on .42 acre lot. For outdoor entertaining enjoy a towing loggia with fireplace, BBQ Center with bar, fire pit and custom pool including two bedroom casita with living room. Approx. 6,319 sq. ft. on .49 acre lot.
with rock waterfalls and separate spa. Stunning views overlooking lake, mountains and the 18th fairway of the Clive Clark course. Best views with lake, mountains and the 17th fairway of the Clive Clark course.

THE HIDEAWAY l LA QUINTA FURNISHED l $3,895,000 THE HIDEAWAY | LA QUINTA FURNISHED | $2,995,000
Stunning estate with best south facing lake location! Three bedrooms, three and a Timeless architecture and sophisticated style by Frank Stoltz! Five bedroom, six and
half baths including casita plus office. Approx. 5,192 sq. ft. on .59 acre lot. Infinity a half baths including two casitas. Approx. 5,910 sq. ft. on .40 acre lot. Every amenity
pool, putting green on the 11th hole of the Pete Dye course! and fantastic views located on the 2nd fairway of the Pete Dye course.

THE HIDEAWAY l LA QUINTA FURNISHED l $3,050,000 THE HIDEAWAY l LA QUINTA FURNISHINGS AVAIL. l $2,899,000
Custom Contemporary first time on the market! Four bedrooms, four and a half Gorgeous modern custom home at the Hideaway with sought after west views! Four bedrooms,
baths including casita. Approx. 4,800 sq. ft. on .43 acre lot. An entertainers dream four and a half baths. Approx. 5,000 sq. ft. on half acre lot. Stewart Woodard architecture featuring
with every amenity and double fairway views! panoramic views of the 4th & 5th fairways of the Pete Dye course, as well as mountain and lake vistas.

THE HIDEAWAY | LA QUINTA FURNISHINGS AVAIL. l $2,895,000 THE HIDEAWAY l LA QUINTA FURNISHED l $2,895,000
Beautiful custom Spanish Colonial on the 1st fairway of the Clive Clark course! Three Exquisite custom estate with sought after west views! Three bedrooms, three baths plus three powder
bedrooms three and a half baths plus two powder rooms and office. The finest rooms, including a two room casita plus game/media room. Approx. 5,080 sq. ft. on .48 acre lot.
finishes, every amenity, and perfect southwest views! Located on the fifth fairway of the Pete Dye course with fabulous lake and mountain views!

OPEN HOUSE SAT 1 – 4 l CALL FOR ACCESS

THE HIDEAWAY l LA QUINTA FURNISHED l $2,595,000 THE HIDEAWAY | LA QUINTA FURNISHED | $2,695,000
One of a kind custom estate! Four bedrooms, four full baths, 3 powder rooms plus Incredible custom estate with panoramic views. Four bedroom, four and a half baths including attached
office. Approx. 5,000 sq. ft. on .33 acre lot. Offers amazing southwest lake, mountain casita with separate entrance. Approx. 5,233 sq. ft. on .37 acre lot. Finest wood and stone finishes inside
and golf course views on the 16th of the Clive Clark course. and out! Located on the 8th fairway of the Clive Clark course with the most amazing forever views.

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The Desert Sun ❚ SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019 ❚ 1G

BNP Paribas Open

American Jennifer Brady latest to MUST-SEE MATCH
PETRA KVITOVA (Czech Republic) vs.

ride Oracle train to success at BNP VENUS WILLIAMS (U.S.)

When: Third match on Stadium 1 (approx. 3 p.m.)

Game, Set, Shad
Shad Powers
Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY NETWORK
In 2018, Danielle Collins and Amanda Anisimova
were awarded spots in the BNP Paribas Open be-
cause of their performance in the Oracle Challenger
Series. Both reeled off multiple wins here and went
on to great 2018 seasons. In the Australian Open in
January, Collins reached the semifinals and Anisi-
mova made the Round of 16.
If you’re looking for someone to follow that path
this year, direct your attention to UCLA product Jen-
nifer Brady. A 23-year-old from Pennsylvania, Brady
won her opening-round match Wednesday against
Niao Hibino, and on Friday she took out the No. 19
seed Caroline Garcia 6-3, 3-6, 6-0. Like Collins and
Anisimova, Brady rode a great Oracle effort to a spot
in the main draw.
Brady won’t be nervous on the big stage. She
played in all four Grand Slams last year and made it to
the fourth round at the Australian Open and the U.S.
Open. She’s tall, fearless and fun to watch. She’ll face
another fun-to-watch player Sunday in No. 12 seed
Ashleigh Barty. Don’t miss the Brady-Barty party.
Why: Kvitova appears to be back at full strength as
her run to the Australian Open final would indicate,
though you never want your first match at a tourna-
ment to be against one of the all-time greats. Venus
Williams pulled out a tough first-round match, win-
ning 6-4, 0-6, 6-3. She required medical attention in
the first set, but showed a champion’s grit to get the
win. The two have played six times with Kvitova hold-
ing a 4-2 edge, but they’ve only played once in the last
five years. If Williams is healthy, this could be a classic.
Top seeds at night: The night matches starting at 6
p.m. feature Novak Djokovic-Bjorn Fratangelo fol-
lowed by Naomi Osaka-Kristina Mladenovic.

WHAT A SHOW!

Serena Williams reacts after winning the first set of her match against Victoria Azarenka at the BNP Paribas Open. ZOË MEYERS/THE DESERT SUN

Serena Williams tops Victoria Azarenka in
classic match; shame it came in second round
Shad Powers
Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY NETWORK
Friends. Moms. Rivals. Champions.
You don’t get tennis matchups much more spe-
cial than Friday night’s Serena Williams vs. Victo-
ria Azarenka tilt at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian
Wells. And you definitely never get them in the
second round.
When the final serve found its home, it was Se-
rena Williams with a breath-taking 7-5, 6-3 win
over Azarenka in a match fit for a final but rele-
gated to the second round due to Azarenka being
outside the top 32 and an unlucky draw.
There was no feeling-out process in this one.
No body blows. Both players exchanged hay-mak-
ers from the start. High-level tennis with equal
parts skill and flair. The remarkable first set lasted
one hour and 12 minutes and was some of the best
tennis played on tour this year. Long rallies. Long
games. Neither player giving an inch. Six of the
first seven games went to deuce and the set in-
cluded seven breaks of serve.
At one point in that first set, Williams just
stopped and stared at Azarenka with a blank look
that simply said: “C’mon now.”
Williams said it’s kind of tricky when you’re in
the middle of a match like that, because you want
to enjoy and recognize the high level, but there’s
really no opportunity to.
“I think that it’s -- you can’t really enjoy it, be-
cause then you’ll lose focus,” Williams said. “So it’s
like you’ve got to kind of stay in the moment, you
know. And it’s important to -- like, sometimes you
realize, Oh, my God, this is going to be a classic.
But you can’t let your mind go there, because you
wouldn’t want to watch it in the future.”
Williams, who hadn’t played since the Aus-
tralian Open in January, showed very little rust
with the exception of perhaps her serving accu-
racy. Though the windy conditions may have
See WILLIAMS, Page 7G

Novak Djokovic returns PHOTO OF THE DAY

to Indian Wells surging

Andrew L. John
Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY NETWORK
Novak Djokovic appeared to be at
rock bottom last year at Indian
Wells. He hadn’t won a Grand Slam
title in nearly two years, underwent
the first surgery of his career and
had reached the age of 30, which of-
ten signals the beginning of the end
for even the world’s best tennis
players.
His loss to Taro Daniel, who
ranked 109th in the world, marked
the first time since he debuted here
as an 18-year-old in 2006 that Djo-
kovic had lost his first match at the
BNP Paribas Open. He then lost his
first match two weeks later in Mi-
ami.
Some wondered aloud if perhaps
his championship window had
closed.
“When we saw him at Indian
Wells and Miami last year was prob-
ably like the lowest we had ever
seen him playing at his level,” said
Brad Gilbert, an ESPN analyst who
previously coached Andre Agassi.
Fast forward 12 months and it’s
obvious that any notions of Djokov-
ic being finished were clearly pre-
mature. He’s not only returned to
form but is surging like perhaps
never before and enters his first
match at Indian Wells as the top-
ranked player in the world.
He’s won the last three Grand
Slams and can match a feat that
only he and the legendary Rod Laver
have accomplished by winning four
consecutive majors. Djokovic did it
from 2015-16 and dubbed it the
Djoker Slam.
“He’s got a good chance to do it,”
Doubles partners Novak Djokovic and Fabio Fognini react to a missed shot during their
See DJOKOVIC, Page 2G match Friday at the BNP Paribas Open. JAY CALDERON/THE DESERT SUN
2G ❚ SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019 ❚ T H E D E S E R T S U N

Simona Halep thinks of mom after early win

Shad Powers
Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY NETWORK
Simona Halep, the No. 2-ranked player in the world
and 2015 BNP Paribas Open champion, celebrated Inter-
national Women’s Day with a second-round win and
some flowers for her mother. She said it’s a day that real-
ly means something to her.
“I don’t know. Everyone is celebrating and -- every-
one, the women (smiling),” Halep said. “Actually, I or-
dered some flowers for my mom. I send her. So it’s a big
thing in Romania. And every year I’m here, so I’m a little
bit sad that I cannot celebrate, but I will have time after.”
Halep hopes her time here continues at least until
next Sunday. She took the right first step on Friday, dis-
patching Barbora Strycova 6-2, 6-4. She will face Kat-
eryna Kozlova on Sunday.
Wawrinka returns with a win
The last time Stan Wawrinka played at Indian Wells
he was in the championship match on Stadium Court
against Roger Federer. That was the 2017 final. Wawrin-
ka was back Friday in a bit of a different setting as an
unseeded player, playing on Stadium 2. He didn’t care
about the circumstances. He was happy to be back.
“I like the tournament, like every player,” he said. “I
think in general the conditions are good for my game --
hard court, quite slow. You can really play your game. I
think for me this year it’s for sure special because I’m
Simona Halep reacts
after defeating
Barbora Strycova at
the BNP Paribas Open.
ZOË MEYERS/
THE DESERT SUN
happy to be back. I’m happy to feel well. I’m practicing
and moving and playing and everything, doing really
well. So happy to get through a match like today.”
Wawrinka pulled out a difficult 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 win over
Daniel Evans and will now play the No. 29 seed Marton
Fucsovics. If he wins that one, his likely opponent in the
Round of 32? That other player from Switzerland named
Federer.
Fritz-Johnson times two
Taylor Fritz could never get anything going Friday
against fellow American Steve Johnson on Stadium 1.
Johnson ousted Fritz 6-3, 6-3 and put an abrupt end to
Fritz’s singles run, but it doesn’t mean his 2019 BNP Pari-
bas Open is over. Fritz teamed with Nick Kyrgios in a
fun-to-watch doubles tandem, and they defeated Do-
monic Thiem and ... wait for it ... Steve Johnson later in
the night. So the Fritz-Johnson on-court battle was a
split Friday. I wonder if they could do it over again,
they’d reverse it and have Fritz keep going in singles and
Johnson keep going in doubles.
Don’t sleep on doubles
One of the best atmospheres Friday was on a jam-
packed Stadium 4 as Americans John Isner and Sam
Querrey took on the top-seeded team of Nicolas Mahut
and Pierre-Hugues Herbert. The high-drama match
went back and forth before Herbert and Mahut pulled
out a tense 6-7, 6-4, 12-10 win. Had you used your ticket
to check out doubles on the outer courts Friday you
could have also seen Novak Djokovic, Milos Raonic, Al-
exander Zverev, Nick Kyrgios and Taylor Fritz. On Sat-
urday playing doubles you can find Stan Wawrinka, the
Bryan brothers and Garbine Muguruza.
Missing men
Three seeded men have pulled out with injuries be-
fore playing their first game.
The highest-ranked of which is Kevin Anderson, the
No. 5 seed here. The tournament announced late Friday
night that he had to withdraw with an elbow injury.
He joins No. 19 Pablo Carreno Busta and No. 26 Grigor
Dimitrov, who both pulled out with injured shoulders.
Shad Powers is sports columnist for The Desert Sun.
E-mail him at shad.powers@desertsun.com or follow
him on Twitter at @shad_powers.

Djokovic He then won the U.S. Open in Sep-

Continued from Page 1G
Laver told The Desert Sun. “He played so
unbelievably well against Nadal in the
Australian Open. I’m thinking, ‘How can
anybody do that?”
But first, Djokovic has some unfin-
ished business in the California desert.
He won three consecutive singles titles
here from 2014-16 and compiled a 20-
match win streak here that was finally
snapped by Nick Kyrgios in 2017. He has
a chance to win a sixth title here at Indi-
an Wells, which would be more than any
player in the history of the tournament.
To be in that position, Djokovic had to
get healthy after elbow surgery in 2017
and regain his confidence during a tu-
multuous first half of 2018. His break-
through came in Rome, where he
reached the semifinals before losing to
Rafael Nadal. He then reached the final
at Queen’s Club in London and won
Wimbledon for the fourth time.
tember and the Australian Open in Jan-
uary, which added to the Serbian’s tally
of 15 Grand Slam titles. He came here
last year, at the very least, to get matches
in preparation for this latest run.
“I definitely wasn’t ready to compete
at this level last year,” Djokovic said
Thursday. “I was trying to convince my-
self that I was, and I truly wasn’t, and I
know that most of my team members at
the time were against me playing in In-
dian Wells and Miami because it was too
early after surgery.”
Djokovic, 31, rose from 22 to first in
the ATP rankings and some believe he’s
now playing as well and with as much
confidence as ever before. He’s brought
back key members of his team that have
helped him again be the player he once
was.
“Now he’s back at that level where
we’ve seen him dominate for many,
many years and now it’s almost like,
‘Who’s going to beat him in a best-of-five
match on any court?’ ” said Mark Wood-
forde, a 12-time Grand Slam doubles
champion.
Added Gilbert: “He’s playing as well
as he was when he did the last Djoker
Slam, if not better.”
Woodforde and Gilbert are just a sam-
pling of those who are stunned by what
Djokovic is doing. BNP Paribas Open
tournament director Tommy Haas isn’t
coy when he talks about his pal Roger
Federer is the best player of this or any
generation. But he also won’t say that
Djokovic doesn’t have a chance to be in
the conversation at some point.
“You say, ‘Well, hold on now,’” Haas
said. “He’s 31. If he stays healthy another
four, five, six years and wants to con-
tinue to play and dedicate his life to it, he
can play another 20-24 slams. Let’s say
he wins five or six of them. I mean, he’s
right there with Roger. It’s kind of crazy.”
Aside from improved health and no
lag after time away, one difference in
Djokovic, Haas and Gilbert say, is that
players aren’t entering matches with as
much of a belief that they can beat him
this time around. This time last year, Gil-
bert said, players likely had a greater be-
lief that they could beat a vulnerable
Djokovic. Now, they walk down the tun-
nel and into the stadium already down a
few games in their head.
For Djokovic to rise through it all and
regain the top spot in the rankings, it
also shows the great sense of belief that
Djokovic has in himself.
To battle back from that and try ev-
erything from yoga to drinking celery
juice every morning at the crack of
dawn, Haas says Djokovic is “the ulti-
mate warrior.”
Laver, Gilbert, Haas and Woodforde
are all in Indian Wells this week to watch
for themselves, up close and personal,
whether this latest run will continue
with a BNP Paribas Open title.
“It was quite a journey in the last 12
months,” Djokovic said. “I tried to re-
mind myself where I was last year at this
time -- coming back after a long absence
from the tour and bouncing back from
the surgery.
“It was quite unlikely to happen con-
sidering how I was playing and feeling.
I’m very grateful for that journey.”

DS-TDS0008306-20
 DESERTSUN.COM ❚ SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019 ❚ 3G

AWSHEE T
daily DR FEATURED MATCHES / SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019

RANKING RANKING

A D I U M 1
ST 1 VS 65
Starting at: 11:00 am
ATP [9] S. Tsitsipas (GRE)
vs [WC] F. Auger-Aliassime (CAN)
ATP [18] G. Monfils (FRA) vs L. Mayer (ARG)

WTA [3] P. Kvitova (CZE)

NAOMI OSAKA KRISTINA MLADENOVIC
@Naomi_Osaka_ @KikiMladenovic
vs V. Williams (USA)
Birthdate: October 16, 1997 Birthdate: May 14, 1993
Not Before 6:00 pm Birthplace: Osaka, Japan Birthplace: Saint Pol Sur Mer, France
ATP [1] N. Djokovic (SRB) Residence: Boca Raton, Florida Residence: Dubai, UAE
vs [Q] B. Fratangelo (USA)
Best Results at Indian Wells: Best Results at Indian Wells:
Not Before 8:00 pm Champion (2018) Semifinals (2017)
WTA [1] N. Osaka (JPN)
vs K. Mladenovic (FRA)

RANKING RANKING

A D I U M 2
ST 39 VS 33
Starting at: 11:00 am
WTA Y. Putintseva (KAZ)
vs [8] A. Kerber (GER)
WTA [17] M. Keys (USA) vs M. Barthel (GER)
PHILIPP KOHLSCHREIBER NICK KYRGIOS
ATP P. Kohlschreiber (GER) @@Kohlscribbler @NickKyrgios
vs [31] N. Kyrgios (AUS)
Birthdate: October 16, 1983 Birthdate: April 27, 1995
Not Before 6:00 pm Birthplace: Augsburg, Germany Birthplace: Canberra, Australia
WTA E. Alexandrova (RUS) Residence: Kitzbuhel, Austria Residence: Nassau, Bahamas
vs [13] C. Wozniacki (DEN)
Best Results at Indian Wells: Best Results at Indian Wells:
Not Before 8:00 pm Quarterfinals (2018) Quarterfinals (2017)
ATP J. Thompson (AUS)
vs [7] D. Thiem (AUT)

RANKING RANKING

A D I U M 3
ST 3 VS 50
Starting at: 11:00 am
WTA [9] A. Sabalenka (BLR)
vs A. Tomljanovic (AUS)

ATP S. Querrey (USA)

vs [13] M. Raonic (CAN)
ALEXANDER ZVEREV MARTIN KLIZAN
WTA [Q] M. Doi (JPN)
vs [5] Ka. Pliskova (CZE) Birthdate: April 20, 1997 Birthdate: July 11, 1989
Birthplace: Hamburg, Germany Birthplace: Bratislava, Slovakia
ATP [3] A. Zverev (GER) vs M. Klizan (SVK) Residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco Residence: Bratislava, Slovakia

ATP Y. Nishioka (JPN)

Best Results at Indian Wells: Best Results at Indian Wells:
vs [21] R. Bautista Agut (ESP)
4R (2015, 2017, 2018) 2R (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017)

STADIUM 4 STADIUM 5 STADIUM 6

Starting at: 11:00 am Starting at: 11:00 am Starting at: 11:00 am
ATP [23] A. de Minaur (AUS) vs [Q] M. Giron (USA) ATP M. Marterer (GER) vs [LL] M. Kecmanovic (SRB) WTA [28] D. Vekic (CRO) vs [Q] Y. Bonaventure (BEL)

Not Before 12:30 pm Not Before 12:30 pm ATP A. Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) vs [15] M. Cecchinato (ITA)

WTA [11] A. Sevastova (LAT) vs [WC] M. Brengle (USA) WTA M. Puig (PUR) vs [21] A. Kontaveit (EST) WTA [Q] C. Mchale (USA) vs [30] A. Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)

ATP K. Khachanov (RUS) / D. Medvedev (RUS) ATP J. Struff (GER) vs [LL] R. Berankis (LTU) ATP [WC] L. Pouille (FRA) / S. Wawrinka (SUI)
vs [4] B. Bryan (USA) / M. Bryan (USA) vs I. Dodig (CRO) / E. Roger-Vasselin (FRA)
WTA [23] B. Bencic (SUI) vs A. Van Uytvanck (BEL)
WTA K. Flipkens (BEL) vs [25] D. Collins (USA)

WTA K. Kanepi (EST) vs [15] J. Goerges (GER)

STADIUM 7 STADIUM 8 STADIUM 9

Starting at: 11:00 am Starting at: 11:00 am Starting at: 11:00 am
ATP [30] [WC] L. Djere (SRB) vs G. Andreozzi (ARG) WTA [26] C. Suárez Navarro (ESP) ATP N. Mektic (CRO) / H. Zeballos (ARG)
vs [Q] N. Vikhlyantseva (RUS) vs K. Edmund (GBR) / N. Skupski (GBR)
ATP [11] B. Coric (CRO) vs I. Karlovic (CRO)
WTA [WC] J. Pegula (USA) vs [24] L. Tsurenko (UKR) ATP [27] G. Simon (FRA) vs M. Jaziri (TUN)
ATP F. Lopez (ESP) / D. Schwartzman (ARG)
ATP [Q] P. Gunneswaran (IND) vs [17] N. Basilashvili (GEO)
vs D. Inglot (GBR) / F. Skugor (CRO)
WTA After Suitable Rest - K. Christian (USA) / A. Muhammad
(USA) vs [Alt] G. Muguruza (ESP) / C. Suárez Navarro
(ESP) ATP J. Rojer (NED) / H. Tecau (ROU)
ATP R. Bopanna (IND) / D. Shapovalov (CAN) vs M. Fucsovics (HUN) / G. Pella (ARG)
vs [2] J. Murray (GBR) / B. Soares (BRA)
WTA [5] G. Dabrowski (CAN) / Y. Xu (CHN)
vs M. Niculescu (ROU) / A. Spears (USA)

T IC K E TS AVA ILA B LE bnpparibasopen.com

Schedule subject to change. The featured information is the most up-to-date coverage at press time. Final matches on any court may be moved. For up-to-date match schedule,
For additional tournament information, pick up a special section at The Desert Sun kiosk on the tournament visit our web site at www.bnpparibasopen.com. A paid special supplement
grounds. Get complete coverage plus photos of players and fans at desertsun.com/sports/bnp brought to you by BNP Paribas Open.
4G ❚ SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019 ❚ T H E D E S E R T S U N
MEN’S SINGLES
to d a y
SEEDED PLAYERS
FOR MEN’S
SINGLES
1. DJOKOVIC, Novak
2. NADAL, Rafael
3. ZVEREV, Alexander
4. FEDERER, Roger
5. ANDERSON, Kevin
6. NISHIKORI, Kei
7. THIEM, Dominic
8. ISNER, John
9. TSITSIPAS, Stefanos
10. CILIC, Marin
11. CORIC, Borna
12. KHACHANOV, Karen
13. RAONIC, Milos
14. MEDVEDEV, Dan
15. CECCHINATO, Marco
16. FOGNINI, Fabio
17. BASILASHVILI, Nikoloz
18. MONFILS, Gael
19. CARRENO BUSTA, Pablo
20. GOFFIN, David
21. BAUTISTA AGUT, Roberto
22. EDMUND, Kyle
23. DE MINAUR, Alex
24. SHAPOVALOV, Denis
25. SCHWARTZMAN, Diego
26. DIMITROV, Grigor
27. SIMON, Gilles
28. POUILLE, Lucas
29. FUCSOVICS, Marton
30. DJERE, Laslo
31. KYRGIOS, Nick
32. PELLA, Guido
MEN’S DOUBLES
DESERTSUN.COM ❚ SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019 ❚ 5G
WOMEN’S SINGLES
IN TENNIS PA R A DISE
SEEDED PLAYERS
FOR WOMEN’S
SINGLES
1. OSAKA, Naomi
2. HALEP, Simona
3. KVITOVA, Petra
4. STEPHENS, Sloane
5. PLISKOVA, Karolina
JOHN STANLEY KING BAND
6. SVITOLINA, Elina
7. BERTENS, Kiki
8. KERBER, Angelique
5:00-7:00 pm, Village Stage 9. SABALENKA, Aryna
Join us tonight on the Village Stage for the unique musical stylings of Coachella Valley 10. WILLIAMS, Serena
award winning jazz, rock and blues artist John Stanley King! 11. SEVASTOVA, Anastasija
12. BARTY, Ashleigh
13. WOZNIACKI, Caroline
EMIRATES DAY
14. KASATKINA, Daria
15. GOERGES, Julia
It’s Emirates Day at the BNP Paribas Open! Keep your eyes open at the entry gates, as the 16 MERTENS, Elise
first 10,000 fans will receive a complimentary Emirates cap. And make sure to look out for 17. KEYS, Madison
the Emirates Ball Flight in to Stadium 1 for the chance to win round-trip airfare to Dubai. 18. WANG, Qiang
19. GARCIA, Caroline
20. MUGURUZA, Garbiñe
21. KONTAVEIT, Anett
ORACLE US TENNIS AWARDS 22. OSTAPENKO, Jelena
23. BENCIC, Belinda
PRESENTATION 24. TSURENKO, Lesia
25. COLLINS, Danielle
Village Stage 26. SUÁREZ NAVARRO, Carla
27. HSIEH, Su-Wei
The third annual Oracle US Tennis Awards, two $100,000 grants awarded annually to assist
28. VEKIC, Donna
young American players as they transition from college to the professional ranks, will be
presented by Oracle CEO Mark Hurd and WTA legend Chris Evert at the Village Stage after 29. BUZARNESCU, Mihaela
the second match of the day on Stadium 1. 30. PAVLYUCHENKOVA,
Anastasia
31. SASNOVICH, Aliaksandra
32. CIBULKOVA, Dominika
TENNIS TALK
12:30 pm, Village Stage
CHAMPIONS VOLUNTEER
FOUNDATION
Stop by the Champions Volunteer Foundation booth to bid on once-in-a-lifetime
opportunities such as the chance to do a coin toss on court before select Stadium 1
matches. All proceeds benefit local Coachella Valley non-profits.
AUTOGRAPHS ABOUND
There is no shortage of opportunities to snag an autograph from your favorite WTA Tour
star on Saturday, with two autograph sessions on tap:
WOMEN’S DOUBLES
1:00 pm 3:00 pm 4:00 pm
Bethanie Mattek-Sands Amanda Anisimova Sofia Kenin
Tennis Warehouse Tennis Warehouse Tennis Warehouse
ON TAP FOR TOMORROW
Information subject to change.
 aro u n d
6G ❚ SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019 ❚ T H E D E S E R T S U N

OUNDS
THE GR

WALLY'S Looking for delicious contemporary California

cuisine? Head on over to Wally's Desert Turtle
TENNIS Want to wear what the players wear? Need
a new racket? Tennis accessories? Tennis
DESERT located within Stadium 2; the newest award-
winning restaurant to take up residence at Indian
WAREHOUSE Warehouse has you covered for all this – and
more! Stop by the Tennis Warehouse retail
TURTLE Wells Tennis Garden. store on-site at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden
for all of your tennis apparel, footwear and
equipment needs. You might even find one of
your favorite players signing autographs!

2019 OFFICIAL BNP PARIBAS
OPEN MOBILE APP
The 2019 BNP Paribas Open mobile app is your
one-stop shop for exclusive content, live scores,
practice court schedules, customized player
updates – and so much more! Whether you’re on-
site at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden or tuning in
from across the globe, download the mobile app
today to keep you updated all tournament long!
BANK OF THE WEST RADIO LIVE
AT THE BNP PARIBAS OPEN
Returning this year, Bank of the West Radio will
offer fans at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden live
audio broadcast coverage of the tournament from
both Tennis Channel and ESPN. Radios will be
allocated on a first-come, first served basis from
the Bank of the West activation booth on the north
side of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
TICKETS
AVAILABLE
Don’t miss out on experiencing Tennis Paradise
in Full Bloom during the 2019 BNP Paribas Open!
Plenty of tickets remain for world-class action on
both the women’s and men’s side. Call the Box
Office today to book your spot in Tennis Paradise!
Phone: 800.999.1585, Option 2.

It’s up to you, curl up or

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EMIRATES BUSINESS

Sloane Stephens gets rocked at Indian Wells
Andrew L. John
Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY NETWORK
Earlier this week at the Indian Wells
Tennis Garden, Sloane Stephens spoke
with reporters about her split with long-
time coach Kamau Murray prior to the
start of this year. She spoke of searching
for a new voice on her team, how every
player has their own preference on what
they look for in a coach and that she pre-
fers someone who doesn’t talk to her dur-
ing matches.
Two days later, in her first match at the
BNP Paribas Open, the fourth-ranked
player in the world could’ve used some-
one to talk her through what became a di-
sastrous 6-3, 6-0 loss to unseeded Stefa-
nie Voegele, who is ranked 109.
Stephens, who won the 2017 U.S.
Open and reached last year’s French
Open final, came here without a coach
and was perhaps the best hope for an
American woman to win this event for
the first time since 2001. But her results
Williams
Continued from Page 1G
played a role.
Azarenka said she felt like, despite the
loss, it was some of the best tennis she’s
played in recent years, certainly better
than her first-round exit in Australia. She
said Serena has a tendency to bring out
the best in her.
“I thought that today was a good
match. Definitely a lot of high quality,”
Azarenka said. “I don’t feel there was
really a loser in this match. You know, she
really won. She deserved to win. She
played better on those important mo-
ments. I felt that every game was ad,
deuce, ad, deuce. It was all about who
was going to take that chance, and she
took them a little better today.”
Serena appeared to have the first set
finally in command up 5-3 and 30-0 on
her serve, but Azarenka went into beast
mode. She won the next eight points,
breaking Serena and holding her serve at
love to make it 5-5. That set up the 11th
game, which decided the set and proba-
bly the match.
Serena held off a remarkable four
break-point chances by Azarenka, and
IL DIVO
MAR 16
800.827.2946
Sloane Stephens
hits a shot
during her loss
to Stephanie
Voegele at the
BNP Paribas
Open.
JAY CALDERON/
DTHE DESERT SUN
here in the California desert have been
mixed in recent years, and she’s won just
four of eight matches since reaching the
quarterfinals here in 2014.
She alluded to why that may be, say-
ing that her focus here is sometimes diffi-
cult to maintain because being an Amer-
ican player at a big tournament in the
United States pulls her in a variety of dif-
ferent directions.
“This week is just a busy week, a lot of
stuff happening,” she said. “Obviously,
being in the U.S. again, there is a lot more
required and asked of you. So, I think it’s
despite not having served well all set,
hovering at 50 percent of her first serves
in, Serena eventually belted three con-
secutive unreturnable serves to go up
6-5. She then broke Azarenka to take the
set 7-5, and when her backhand winner
landed, she unleashed a loud scream and
a multiple-thrusting fist pump to signify
how much the win meant. Serena was
broken three times in the set, but broke
Azarenka four.
In the second set, Williams started to
find the going a little easier, connecting
on more of her first serves and getting
some easier points. But again Azarenka
wouldn’t fold, playing the best tennis
she’s played since returning to the tour
after having her baby.
Williams’ relentless pressure from the
baseline finally caused Azarenka to crack
as an unforced error finished off a break
of serve to put Williams up 5-3. She then
served out the match shouting “Come
on!” with every winner and the crowd --
which included Dallas Cowboys quarter-
back Dak Prescott -- urging her on.
When she finally ended the classic
match with an ace on her third match
point. Williams could finally let out a vic-
torious roar. She met Azarenka at the net
for a long hug as the full crowd gave both
players a standing ovation.
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a little bit tough.
“I think just sometimes you get a little
bit overwhelmed.”
On the court, she was overwhelmed
from the start of her match on Stadium
Court. Despite a strong home crowd, Ste-
phens, 26, fell behind two breaks in a set
that wasn’t close.
Instead of rallying in the second set,
she kept her head down, didn’t celebrate
when she did score big points and her
body language looked as though she had
been defeated long before the final point
was won. The crowd, which was at one
point urging her to rally, fell silent for the
final four games of the match, which
went by in a flash.
It’s worth noting that Voegele has won
four of five matches between the two.
Stephens said she was aware of that, and
when asked what it is about Voegele that
causes her trouble, she said she didn’t
know.
“I’m not sure,” she said. “I’m still trying
to figure it out, obviously. If I knew, I
would probably do a little bit better.”
“She’s a very good friend. I would say
we’re pretty close,” Williams said. “We’re
both moms, and we know how hard it is
and how hard it’s been for us to come
back, you know, and starting literally
from scratch and fighting our way back.
It’s been an arduous road, and I think we
both really appreciate both of our efforts
to do the best that we can do.”
Azarenka expanded on the concept.
“Well, it’s not a surprise that we have
mutual respect and love off the court. You
know, on the court it’s a fight. It’s a war,”
Azarenka said. “But after the match, it’s
over. After the match, that’s it. Whoever
won, you know, congratulations. It was
quite an amazing match. I hope people
enjoyed watching it. I hope we can do
some more of that, because that’s what
tennis is about today. And having such a
match on International Women’s Day, I
felt that was really incredible.”
It was an unusually cold and windy
night in the desert. The temperature was
58 degrees at the start of the match with
winds around 17 mph. Serena played the
first game with a white dress on, but im-
mediately put a black sweatshirt on to
start the second game.
Serena now holds an 18-4 edge over
Azarenka in their 22 meetings, none of
which has ever come this early in an
SEE WEBSITE FOR FULL LIST
THE
Stephens acknowledged the transi-
tion in her game after moving on from
Murray and said that she believes that it
will only be momentarily. She isn’t pan-
icking and won’t allow a result like this to
rush to hire a coach for the sake of having
just anyone in her corner.
Stephens added that the transition
between coaches could produce more
tough losses, but insisted that it will ulti-
mately be good for her and for her career.
“Things will get better,” she said.
“Might not be in the next week. Might not
be next week. But for sure in the next
couple of months maybe things will, you
know, figure themselves out.
“Like I said, I’m going through a transi-
tion. It’s tough. Playing a sport is not
easy. But I definitely think that things will
get better. And then we will be in a press
conference and I’ll be, like, See, guys? It’s
better (smiling).
“So I’m waiting for that day and look-
ing forward to that day. For now I’m just
trying to work through with what I’ve
got.”
event. The only player Serena has played
more in her career is sister Venus (30
times).
The most recent meeting between Se-
rena and Azarenka came in the 2016 BNP
Paribas Open championship match and
Azarenka won that one 6-4, 6-4.
Neither played here in 2017 due to
pregnancies. Azarenka had just given
birth to son Leo in December of 2016, and
Williams was pregnant, eventually giv-
ing birth to daughter Alexis Olympia in
September of 2017.
Both showed the type of form that
they’ve been searching for since return-
ing to the tour on Friday night. It’s a
shame a match like this had to happen so
early in the tournament. That’s a senti-
ment that Azarenka shares.
“You know, as much as she’s the
toughest opponent I have ever played in
my life, she’s my favorite person to play
against,” Azarenka said. “I feel that, for
me, why I still play is because I enjoy the
challenges. If it’s easy, if it’s boring, I
don’t want to play. But those type of chal-
lenges always motivate me. Serena is one
of those players that I always look for-
ward to playing. Again, maybe not in the
second round, but my draws have been
amazing my whole career (smiling).
There is no surprise about that.”
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Sports
Golden age of tennis
Stars at BNP Paribas Open are defying age in their 30s
Andrew L. John
Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY NETWORK
Roger Federer claimed his first singles title at Indian
Wells in 2004, at the age of 22. Fifteen years later, he’s
still among the favorites to win this year’s BNP Paribas
Open.
If Federer were to do so, he’d break his own record
by again becoming the oldest to win here, as he did at
35 in 2017.
Serena Williams, who like Federer is 37, could also
become the oldest to win in Indian Wells two decades
after becoming one of the youngest.
Tennis has never seen quite the longevity that is on
the courts in 2019, which is a defining characteristic of
$330-million man Harper
has a wild Phillies debut
Bob Nightengale
Columnist
USA TODAY
CLEARWATER, Fla. – The fans were lined up out-
side the ticket gates Saturday morning five hours be-
fore game-time to see Bryce Harper. They packed ev-
ery nook and crevice of Spectrum Field, sitting shoul-
der-to-shoulder in the grass berm, with a sellout
crowd of 10,276 screaming his name every time they
got a glimpse of him.
The Philadelphia Phillies, from the veterans to the
rookies, kept talking all morning about a buzz they’ve
never felt before in spring training. Philadelphia May-
or Jim Kenney flew into town for the event. Phillies
owner John Middleton was picking up baseballs after
rounds of batting practice. Philadelphia Eagles Hall of
Fame safety Brian Dawkins came in to speak to the
team, grabbed the microphone before the game, and
screamed: “Yeaaaaah, baby!"
Oh, it was a Harper’s Bazaar spectacle, missing
only boxing promoter Don King and Rocky, with Har-
per walking up to the plate in the first inning to the
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Roger Federer is the oldest man
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JAY CALDERON/THE DESERT SUN
perhaps the greatest era in the sport’s history.
Look at the men’s game, for example. In the three
decades from 1980 to 2010, a man 30 years of age or
older won a Grand Slam singles title seven times. In
the eight years since 2010, it’s happened 12 times,
with each of the last 10 major winners over the age of
30.
Novak Djokovic, 31, has won the last three, and Fe-
derer, 32-year-old Rafael Nadal and 33-year-old Stan
Wawrinka have won the other seven.
On the women’s side, Williams has reached two of
the last three Grand Slam finals. And Venus Williams
won her second match here Saturday afternoon and
still has a chance to win her first BNP Paribas Open
See AGE, Page 2B
“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” theme song.
“I thought it’d be fun for spring training,” Harper
said, who plans to introduce a new one for the regular
season. “I don’t know if I’m going to do it during the
regular season.”
The crowd went bonkers, standing and cheering all
game, which stopped only after he walked for the sec-
ond time.
“Weren’t these the same fans just booing you a cou-
ple of years ago?” Harper laughed, recalling a conver-
sation with one of the Phillies’ staffers. “It was awe-
some. …The ovation they gave me, I was very hum-
bled, very blessed. It just shows you how great a fan-
base Philly really is. When you put Phillies across your
chest it really means something to these people.”
They certainly had Harper’s back, vehemently
booing the Toronto Blue Jays’ pitching staff for walk-
ing Harper in both plate appearances, and even em-
ployed a four-outfielder shift when the count reached
two strikes.
It was a first, said Harper.
And hopefully, he said, a last.
“I’ve never seen that,” Harper said. “Intense.”
Does he envision more teams going to such an ex-
See HARPER, Page 9B
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Lakers say
Ingram out
for season
Greg Beacham
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Lakers forward
Brandon Ingram will miss the rest of the season after
being diagnosed with a deep venous thrombosis in
his right arm.
The Lakers announced their decision on the for-
mer No. 2 overall draft pick Saturday.
Ingram has missed the Lakers’ past two games af-
ter he reported shoulder pain following a morning
shootaround last Monday. Lakers coach Luke Walton
said earlier this week that Ingram had pain whenever
he attempted to lift his arm.
A deep venous thrombosis is a condition caused
by a blood clot, frequently accompanied by swelling
and pain in a limb. The condition usually occurs in
legs, but can occur in the upper body.
Walton did nothing to quell Lakers fans’ concerns
about the seriousness of the 21-year-old Ingram’s
health problem when he pointedly refused to provide
any details while speaking to reporters before Los
Angeles’ home game against Boston.
“We’ve released what he’s got going on, but I’m not
going to get into all the details,” Walton said. “I’m just
finding out a lot of it myself. All I’m going to say on
him right now is that he’s out for the rest of the sea-
son.”
Walton said he spoke to the Lakers about Ingram’s
condition, but he wouldn’t characterize the team
meeting, or even describe how Ingram was reacting
to his diagnosis.
“The details aren’t mine to give,” Walton said.
Blood clots have affected several prominent ath-
letes including Chris Bosh and Serena Williams in re-
cent years. Bosh eventually retired due to blood clot-
ting issues, but many other athletes have continued
to compete.
Ingram is averaging a career-best 18.3 points and
5.1 rebounds along with 3.0 assists.
Lakers forward Brandon Ingram will miss the rest of
the season.
BRANDON DILL/AP
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Age It’s not that the guys now are playing fewer match-
es. Federer, for instance, has played 1,449 singles
Shadow Mountain matches during his career, which trails only Jimmy
Continued from Page 1B Connors (1,535) in the history of the ATP. Nadal (1,116)
Golf Club ranks second on that list, and Djokovic (1,022) is
BEST RATES IN THE DESERT title — at 38. fourth.
“Our sport used to be about the teenage phenoms David Ferrer, who is 12th on the list, is still playing
$10 Off Challenging, that arrived,” said 12-time Grand Slam doubles cham- 19 years after turning pro. He’ll be 37 in April and won
pion Mark Woodforde, who lives in the Coachella Val- a title in Mexico as recently as last October.
Listed Fun & Fast ley now. “If you weren’t, say by mid-20s, winning The difference, though, is that none of those guys
Green Fees SEASONAL GOLF CLUB tournaments (with) a slam under your belt, you were play 25 events a year like guys did in the ‘80s and ‘90s.
Must bring in ad. Up to MEMBERSHIPS AVAILABLE kind of a part of the past, not the future.” There’s less travel, leaving more time for rest and de-
Four Golfers. Not valid
for super twilight and
Individual $460 Families $610 That trend has, of course, changed in recent years. creasing the possibility of a burnout.
9 hole rates. 30 to 120 Days Some will argue that it’s merely a reflection of all-time Federer played 13 ATP events last year. Despite a
great players remaining dominant into their 30s, but it career largely free of injury, he hasn’t played more
doesn’t explain how many of the past all-time greats than 20 events in a single season since 2003, when as
have typically failed to maintain superiority after 30. a 21-year-old he won Wimbledon to claim his first
Boris Becker won his last Grand Slam title at 28, Grand Slam title. Nadal, Djokovic and others followed
and Björn Borg and John McEnroe at 25. Ken Rosewall the trend.
and Jimmy Connors combined for eight majors after With success came more financial security and
SAT/SUN SPECIAL RATES reaching 30, but they played in different eras and were
outliers among their peers.
lessened the need to play so many events at a time
when prize money began to surge. The U.S. Open paid
2 Players- $120 Mornings
Contrary to that, Federer became the oldest man to singles champions $350,000 in 1990. In 2018, the win-
Before 1:00pm $70 hold the No. 1 spot when he did so last year, two ners earned $3.8 million, for example.
4 Players- $200
EXPIRES 3/31/19
Afternoon months shy of his 37th birthday. Federer, Nadal and Djokovic typically play around
1:00pm – 2:00pm $55 The ATP Grand Slam winners since the end of 2016 16 or 17 events a year.
Annual Golf
and Golf/Tennis Twilight have an average age of 32.8 and the average age of fi- Tennis icon Rod Laver, who has been retired for
Memberships After 2:00pm $45 nalists is 31.1. Compare that to the average age of win- four decades, said that could be the secret, aside from
Also Available ners in the 1980s (24.0) and the average age of win- the medical advancements. And, he said, the players
Super Twilight 9 hole
ners in the ‘90s (23.1) and you can see how the sport that have benefited are winning the matches that
After 3:00pm $25 has changed and how a player’s longevity is much count, which will play a crucial role in establishing
760.346.8242 longer than it was in the past. their legacy long after they eventually stop playing.
SHADOWMTGC.COM 73-800 IRONWOOD | PALM DESERT, CA 92260 “There’s just been advancements in training and “Maybe they don’t play as much,” Laver said. “But
DS-TDS0008024-25
at the intersection of San Luis Rey & Ironwood diet,” said 33-year-old John Isner, the top-ranked they sure are able to play their best when it counts.
American man. “And everyone’s just very, very pro- “It’s amazing that they all are able to play the tennis

POWERSTRIDE
fessional in taking care of themselves, and that’s why that they have, and last as long as they have as well.”
you’re seeing guys play very well into their 30s.”
BNP Paribas Open tournament director Tommy

GOLF CARS Haas, a recently retired player, believes that it goes

beyond just good health and wellness. He said the
World Tour has never been more luxurious and lucra- TODAY’S TV LISTINGS
GOLF CART tive so players are more willing to extend their careers
to continue playing on it, as opposed to players from AAF FOOTBALL

BATTERY SPECIAL
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WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
ESPN2 – ACC: Notre Dame vs. Louisville..............................9 a.m.
ESPNU: A10: VCU vs. Fordham ...............................................9 a.m.
FS2 – St. John’s vs. Marquette .............................................10 a.m.
ESPN2 – SEC: Miss. St. vs. Arkansas....................................11 a.m.
FS1 – Kansas State vs. Baylor ...................................................Noon
FS2 – Georgetown vs. Villanova.....................................12:30 p.m.
ESPN2 – UConn vs. South Florida ..........................................1 p.m.
FS1 – Iowa State vs. Texas/TCU .......................................2:30 p.m.
ESPN2 – Big 10: Maryland vs. Iowa........................................3 p.m.
ESPNU – Cincinnati vs. Central Florida ...........................3:30 p.m.
FS2 – Providence vs. DePaul ...................................................4 p.m.
ESPN2 – Pac-12: Oregon vs. Stanford/Washington..........5 p.m.
FS2 – Butler vs. Creighton .................................................6:30 p.m.
 DESERTSUN.COM ❚ SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2019 ❚ 3B

ALL-DESERT EMPIRE LEAGUE BOYS SOCCER

Rattlers, Knights stars share top honor

Shad Powers
Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY NETWORK

The Rancho Mirage boys’ soccer

team earned the school’s first Desert
Empire League title of any sort and then
advanced farther than ever in boys’ soc-
cer, making it all the way to the semifi-
nals.
So it’s no surprise that
one of their stars earned
an MVP honor as the All-
League boys’ soccer team
was released Thursday.
Jorddy Baez of Rancho
Mirage earned co-MVP
Edwards honors along with Shad-
ow Hills star Zach Ed-
wards, whose talent and
skill impressed the coaches despite the
Knights’ 4-6 record.
The Rattlers and Palm Springs, which
tied for second place with La Quinta a
half game behind Rancho Mirage, both
had four players on the first team.
Joining Baez for the Rattlers was Da-
nie Sanchez, Juan Alvarez and German
Ramirez.
The Indians featured Darias Ayala,
Christian Corrales, Cristian Calixto and
Sebastian Duran on the first team.
The Blackhawks had four first-team-
ers in Manny Munoz, Cesar Rodriguez
and Jose Munox.
Edwards was joined on the first team
by teammate Adrian Vallejo and Palm
Desert’s Jonathan Lopez rounded out
the first team.
Hugo Rojas of Rancho Mirage was
named the league’s coach of the year. Jordy Baez of Rancho Mirage High, left, is the co-MVP of the Desert Empire League. OMAR ORNELAS

All-DEL boys’ soccer
Co-MVPs: Zach Edwards, Shadow Hills
and Jorddy Baez, Rancho Mirage
Coach of the year: Hugo Rojas, Rancho
Mirage
REST OF FIRST TEAM
Adrian Vallejo, Shadow Hills
Daniel Sanchez, Rancho Mirage
Juan Alvarez, Rancho Mirage
German Ramirez, Rancho Mirage
Jonathan Lopez, Palm Desert
Manny Munoz, La Quinta
Cesar Rodriguez, La Quinta
Jose Munoz, La Quinta
Darias Ayala, Palm Springs
Christian Corrales, Palm Springs
Cristian Calixto, Palm Springs
Sebastian Duran, Palm Springs
SECOND TEAM
Enrique Castillo, Shadow Hills
Peru Arregui, Shadow Hills
Ivan Roman, Rancho Mirage
Leo Jimenez, Rancho Mirage
Luis Gomez, Rancho Mirage HONORABLE MENTION
Erik Barcenas, Palm Desert Palm Desert: Jeremy Dominguez, Se-
bastian Flores
Jon Delgado, La Quinta
Palm Springs: Albert Rodriguez, Jose
Rafael Salazar, La Quinta
Jimenez
Keith Hamilton, La Quinta
La Quinta: Ryan Brothers, Daniel Marti-
Santiago Karam, Palm Springs nez
Richie Cortes, Palm Springs Rancho Mirage: Angel Serrano, Jorge
Ochoa
Isaiah Roldan, Palm Springs
Shadow Hills: Abel Corona, Marko Gon-
Stark Vuksic, Xavier Prep
zalez
Evan Scott, Xavier Prep
Xavier Prep: Alejandro Lupercio, Isaiah
Lopez

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4B ❚ SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2019 ❚ T H E D E S E R T S U N
Johnson still looking for answers
Dave Skretta
ASSOCIATED PRESS
AVONDALE, Ariz. – Jimmie Johnson
is fighting a cold.
It’s the kind of debilitating, in-your-
throat cold that makes it painful to
swallow, much less go for a run. The sev-
en-time NASCAR Cup Series champion
tried on a cool morning in the desert but
quickly bailed, putting off the resump-
tion of his Boston Marathon training for
another day.
As if Johnson doesn’t have enough to
deal with right now.
The cold hit him hard last weekend at
Las Vegas, when he was in the midst of
another ho-hum run in another shaky
start to the season for Hendrick Motor-
sports.
But it really whipped Johnson early
this week, when the team was turning
its attention to Sunday’s race at ISM
Raceway near Phoenix.
He has four wins at the track, second
only to Kevin Harvick, and that’s a good
omen as he tries to end a winless
drought stretching 62 points races to his
victory at Dover in June 2017.
“The last couple of years we’ve just
been off a bit,” Johnson said, “and you
can point fingers in a lot of different di-
rections, and believe me we have. And
we’ve tried to address everything we
think is necessary to get back on top and
we’re trending the right way, but not at
the pace we want.”
Johnson’s winless season a year ago
was his first in 17 full-time seasons with
Hendrick, and he later acknowledged it
“put a strain” on his relationship with
crew chief Chad Knaus. So after work-
ing together since his rookie season in
2002, the two split heading into this
season.
Johnson’s new crew chief, Kevin
Meendering, had worked his way up
through the organization, and earned
the opportunity to take charge of the No.
48 team.
It was no small change: The quirky,
sometimes volatile but nevertheless
brilliant Knaus had formed a sort of ESP
with Johnson where they could often
communicate without words, while the
more reserved Meendering is tempera-
mentally opposite.
Kyle Busch signs autographs for fans before a NASCAR Cup Series race March 3
at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. JOHN LOCHER/AP
Busch dominates to
win 11th Xfinity race
Dave Skretta
ASSOCIATED PRESS
AVONDALE, Ariz. – Kyle Busch cer-
tainly knows the way to victory lane at
ISM Raceway.
Even after the track was reconfig-
ured.
Busch took the lead shortly after the
start of the final stage Saturday and
cruised to his second consecutive Xfin-
ity Series victory – and his 11th at the
mile-long track just outside Phoenix.
“If I’m allowed to race, I’m going to
enter a race and try to go out there and
win,” said Busch, whose victories at Las
Vegas and now this weekend give him
198 in NASCAR’s top three series.
Busch was pushed the first half of
the race by Christopher Bell, who won
the pole and had been consistently
fastest in practice. But everything
changed when Stephen Leicht, a car in
lapped traffic, blew his engine near the
start-finish line and sent a cloud of
smoke billowing across the track.
Busch was already ahead of him, but
Bell and second-place Justin Allgaier
were blinded. Throw in some oil that
covered the surface and both of them
Jimmie Johnson walks down pit road during qualifying for the Daytona 500 on
Feb. 10 at Daytona International Speedway. TERRY RENNA/AP
Kevin Meendering, crew chief for
Jimmie Johnson, looks on during
qualifying for the Daytona 500 on Feb.
10. JASEN VINLOVE/USA TODAY SPORTS
It was an adjustment – a big one – but
one that Johnson found rather refresh-
ing.
“They’re definitely different guys,”
Johnson said. “Kevin is a quiet guy. He
really likes to absorb everything. He
wound up backing into the wall.
Allgaier managed to finish 14th, one
lap down, but Bell’s day was done.
“Christopher was certainly going to
give me a run for our money,” Busch
said. “I hate that he got caught up in
that mess. It was going to be a really fun
run to the end there.”
Bell also was dueling Busch in over-
time at Las Vegas when he wound up
wrecking, making it two straight weeks
that he had one of the quickest cars and
ended up disappointed.
“I saw him blow up so I knew I was in
trouble,” Bell said. “I saw (Allgaier) get
sideways, and by the time I had entered
the smoke wall and I knew I was slid-
ing, I just couldn’t see anything. I didn’t
know where I was. Backed her into the
wall.”
Ryan Truex finished second in his
first start of the season. Reigning series
champion Tyler Reddick was third, fol-
lowed by Cole Custer and Austin Cin-
dric.
“We got the car pretty good. We
weren’t bad there at the end,” Custer
said. “ It’s just every single restart I
gave up too many stops and couldn’t
get it going very good.”
doesn’t say a lot but when he does, he’s
ready to talk. So there’s maybe less con-
versation, less being told, but I can see
the wheels turning in his brain.”
The new partnership certainly start-
ed out with splash.
Well, a crash. Then a splash.
With rain on the horizon and Paul
Menard ahead of him in the season-
opening Clash exhibition at Daytona,
Johnson tried to pass and the two made
contact.
Menard went spinning to cause a
massive wreck, and Johnson led at the
finish line to win the weather-shortened
race.
The No. 48 team backed up the per-
formance with a top-10 run in the Dayto-
na 500, but that has so far turned out to
be their high point of the season. John-
son was 24th at Atlanta, when none of
the four Hendrick drivers finished in the
top 15, and he was 19th a week ago at Las
Vegas.
That’s when the cold bug piled onto
the misery.
After the race, teammate Chase El-
liott – the best of the Hendrick boys at
Santa Anita imposing
new safety measures
Beth Harris
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita will
impose new rules to scrutinize horses
training on its racetrack and add a direc-
tor of equine welfare following the
deaths of 21 horses since Dec. 26.
The main dirt track and turf courses
were in a third day of examination Sat-
urday in an effort to uncover what may
have led to the series of catastrophic
breakdowns. The racetrack remains
closed indefinitely for racing.
The inner training track, which has
not had any breakdowns, was open for
horses to jog and gallop only for the sec-
ond straight day.
It was supposed to be a huge day of
racing Saturday at the historic track. But
the San Felipe Stakes for 3-year-old Ken-
tucky Derby hopefuls and the Santa
Anita Handicap for older horses were
scuttled when the track was closed on
Tuesday.
Tim Ritvo, chief operating officer of
The Stronach Group, said the new safety
and welfare measures will take effect
when racing resumes in the coming
weeks.
“What they’re trying to do is the right
thing,” said Jim Cassidy, president of the
California Thoroughbred Trainers. “Just
make sure everybody is accountable for
their actions.”
The new rules announced by Santa
Anita’s owner TSG include requiring
trainers to apply to hold timed workouts
for their horses at least 24 hours in ad-
vance. Officials believe that will give
track veterinarians time to identify po-
tential at-risk horses through their past
performances, workout date and phys-
ical inspection.
Cassidy lost a filly from his 40-horse
stable after she was fatally injured on
the turf course during the meet that be-
gan on Dec. 26. He said she broke her
hind leg around a turn.
“I’m sure she took a bad step,” he said.
“She never really had injuries at all.”
TSG says it has hired extra vets to ob-
serve all horses entering and exiting the
dirt and turf course during morning
training hours.
Vegas – reminded all the critics and nay-
sayers that “this is a war, not a battle.”
“So we have to think about getting
better for 38 weeks,” Elliott said, “and
we’ve got 35 left, so better keep pushing
and hopefully take another chunk like
we did this week next week.”
“I agree with what he’s saying,” John-
son said, sitting in a Cup Series hauler in
the infield of ISM Raceway on Friday. “I
feel like we’ve all made that mental de-
cision this year that we’re going to war,
and small little battles, finding little
chunks of speed, is only going to move
you up from 10th to fifth. I mean, we
need to really find what we’ve been
missing.”
Johnson considers himself patient.
It’s a byproduct of experience, of nearly
two decades spent at the pinnacle of his
sport.
But it’s also a natural, easygoing atti-
tude that he developed while growing
up in Southern California, where the se-
ries heads next for its race at Fontana.
The problem is not everybody has the
same reserve.
“I find that probably our fans aren’t as
patient as we’d like them to be,” John-
son said, “and the haters, they’re not go-
ing to show any patience. They’re going
to try to kick us while we’re down. So
there’s that element that exists, but you
know, this deal isn’t easy. And because
Hendrick Motorsports has all these
championships does not mean that
we’re going to get another one.”
There have been some positive signs
this weekend, though.
Elliott qualified on the outside of the
front row for Sunday’s race. Alex Bow-
man qualified sixth and William Byron
seventh, with Knaus now on the pit box
for his No. 24 team.
Johnson just missed the cutoff for the
final round of qualifying and will start
15th.
And while it still represents a long
way to go, it left Johnson feeling as he’s
already come a long way.
“We’re all heavily involved in trying
to offer up what we can,” he said. “What
helps me to be patient is I look around
and see my teammates digging so deep
to get our cars back to where they need
to be. I wish we had an ‘easy’ button to
push, but we don’t.”
The home stretch at Santa Anita Park
is seen Thursday in Arcadia, Calif.
DAMIAN DOVARGANES/AP
The morning training schedule will
change, too.
The first 15 minutes of training after
the dirt track opens, and each time its
surface is renovated, will be reserved for
horses completing official timed work-
outs. Officials say it will reduce the num-
ber of horses on the track at the same
time and create a safer environment.
TSG plans to hire an accredited vet as
the new director of equine welfare. That
person will lead a rapid response team
for injuries and conduct transparent in-
vestigations into the injury while com-
municating the findings to the racing
and general public.
Santa Anita will require veterinary
records of a horse to follow that animal
through any ownership or trainer
change. A similar rule is in effect at Flori-
da’s Gulfstream Park, which is also
owned by TSG.
“This has worked very well at Gulf-
stream Park,” Ritvo said. “There was
some pushback from the trainers at first,
but this is the best thing for the horse.”
Cassidy sees no problem with keep-
ing a horse and its vet records together.
“Most of these horses stay in the
same hands,” he said.
Ritvo said TSG will invest in any new
technology or equipment that will help
discover pre-existing injuries in horses.

College Basketball
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: TOP 25 ROUNDUP
Auburn knocks off No. 5 Tennessee
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Auburn 84, No. 5 Tennessee 80: Ja-
red Harper made four straight free
throws over the final 31 seconds to help
host Auburn (22-9, 11-7 SEC) clinch a vic-
tory over Tennessee (27-4, 15-3) in the
regular-season finale.
The Tigers collected their fourth
straight win and biggest of the season in
a packed Auburn Arena.
The Volunteers could have clinched at
least a share of the SEC regular-season
title with a win but now need No. 10 LSU
to lose to Vanderbilt. They have never
won back-to-back league crowns.
Samir Doughty collected a long re-
bound and made a 3-pointer to beat the
shot clock. Harper hit two free throws
with 31 seconds left for an 80-74 cushion,
and Jordan Bone’s 3-point attempt at the
other end didn’t fall.
Tennessee’s Grant Williams got the
rebound and drew a Flagrant 1 foul from
Anfernee McLemore. Williams made two
free throws with 23 seconds left and the
Vols got another possession. Williams
launched a quick basket off the inbounds
play. But Harper hit two more free throws
with 20 seconds left for an 82-78 lead.
Bone then missed a 3-point try and
teammate Jordan Bowden couldn’t con-
trol the rebound, which went out of
bounds.
Doughty hit two more foul shots for
the Tigers. They celebrated moments lat-
er, with Bryce Brown climbing on the
press row table in front of the student
section after his final home game.
Chuma Okeke led Auburn with 22
points, one shy of his career high. Harper
had 16 points and eight assists, with his
only two 3-pointers coming back to back
in the final minutes. Brown also had 16
points and made four 3s.
No. 2 Virginia 73, Louisville 68: Ty
Jerome scored 24 points, including the
go-ahead free throw with 5:34 remain-
ing, and host Virginia (28-2, 16-2) held off
Louisville (19-12, 10-8) to clinch the top
seed in next week’s ACC tournament.
Kyle Guy added 13 points and Jay Huff
also made huge contributions at both
ends as Virginia won its eighth in a row.
The Cavaliers will head to Charlotte,
North Carolina, as the top seed and with a
Tar Heels beat Duke No. 9 Michigan State
for share of ACC title beats No. 7 Michigan
Aaron Beard
ASSOCIATED PRESS
to clinch Big Ten title
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Third-ranked
North Carolina took down its biggest ri-
val again, this time to earn a share of the
Atlantic Coast Conference regular-sea-
son championship.
Freshman Coby White scored 21
points and UNC hung on late to beat
fourth-ranked Duke 79-70 on Saturday,
securing their first regular-season
sweep of the Blue Devils in a decade.
Senior Kenny Williams scored a sea-
son-high 18 points for the Tar Heels
(26-5, 16-2), who led by 15 with about 6½
minutes left but had to hold off a rally by
the Blue Devils, who played yet again
without injured freshman star Zion Wil-
liamson. Duke lost starting big man
Marques Bolden early in this one, too.
The Tar Heels bumbled their way to
the finish after building their big lead,
letting the Blue Devils (26-5, 14-4) get as
close as 75-70 on RJ Barrett’s 3-pointer
with 2:19 left. Ultimately UNC held on to
finish tied alongside second-ranked Vir-
ginia atop the final league standings.
Virginia secured the No. 1 seed for the
league tournament by beating Louisville
earlier Saturday. The Cavaliers owned
the head-to-head tiebreaker with the
Tar Heels by winning in Chapel Hill last
month – which is UNC’s only loss since
mid-January.
UNC had last swept the two-game set
with Duke on Tyler Hansbrough’s Senior
Day in 2009 for a team that went on to
win the NCAA title.
Barrett scored 26 points to lead the
Blue Devils, who shot just 23 percent af-
ter halftime.
Duke came in shorthanded with Wil-
liamson out for the fifth straight game
since suffering a sprained right knee
early in last month’s first meeting with
the Tar Heels. On Friday, Hall of Fame
coach Mike Krzyzewski had said Wil-
liamson had gotten in his “first really
good workout” on Thursday as he con-
tinued his recovery. The next step, he
said, was working on Williamson’s con-
ditioning and getting him used to con-
tact again.
Then things got tougher when the
Auburn forward Chuma Okeke shoots over Tennessee guard Admiral Schofield
on Saturday in Auburn, Ala. JULIE BENNETT/AP
double-bye for the fourth time in the last
six years. No. 3 North Carolina had a
chance to tie for the top spot when it
faced No. 4 Duke later Saturday, but the
Cavaliers hold the tiebreaker by virtue of
their 69-61 victory at UNC on Feb. 11.
No. 6 Kentucky 66, Florida 57: Tyler
Herro scored 16 points and led a big sec-
ond-half run that helped host Kentucky
(26-5, 15-3 SEC) overcome Florida (17-14,
9-9). The Wildcats went back and forth
with the Gators early in the second half
and trailed 40-39 with 13:46 remaining.
No. 8 Texas Tech 80, Iowa State 73:
Jarrett Culver scored a career-high 31
points, Davide Moretti added 20 and Tex-
North Carolina’s Kenny Williams drives
to the basket against Duke’s RJ
Barrett on Saturday in Chapel Hill,
N.C. GERRY BROOME/AP
Blue Devils lost Bolden roughly 2½ min-
utes when he fell into the basket support
and injured his left knee while picking
up a foul on a block attempt at the rim.
He had to be helped off the court and
straight to the tunnel, and didn’t return.
Cam Reddish was terrific in the first
half with 17 points to help Barrett, the
ACC’s leading scorer who has been left
as the no-doubt lead weapon for Duke’s
offense with Williamson out.
Barrett got into foul trouble by picking
up his third foul late in the first half and
finished with four fouls, three coming on
charges drawn by Williams in the sen-
ior’s final home game.
There’s no doubt the Blue Devils are a
different team without Williamson, a
national player of the year candidate
and possible No. 1 overall NBA draft pick
if he goes pro. The question is how soon
he might be back, with Krzyzewski ex-
pressing optimism that he could be back
for next week’s ACC Tournament in
Charlotte.
The Tar Heels shot just 41 percent and
7 of 13 from the foul line, so things were
hardly perfect. Yet that 11-0 burst that fi-
nally jarred the Tar Heels loose in a tight
game was a display of why they have lost
just twice in league play.
DESERTSUN.COM ❚ SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2019 ❚ 5B
as Tech (26-5, 14-4 Big 12) clinched its
first Big 12 regular-season title Saturday
by beating host Iowa State (20-11, 9-9).
Matt Mooney added 13 points for the
Red Raiders, winners of nine straight
heading into the postseason. Their last
league crown came in the defunct South-
western Conference in 1996.
No. 10 LSU 80, Vanderbilt 59: Tre-
mont Waters had 14 points and eight as-
sists and LSU won the Southeastern
Conference regular-season title in the Ti-
gers’ first game without suspended head
coach Will Wade. Darius Days scored a
season-high 15 points and Marshall
Graves had a season-high 12 – all on 3-
Larry Lage
ASSOCIATED PRESS
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Cassius
Winston started slow and finished
strong, scoring 23 points to help No. 9
Michigan State beat No. 7 Michigan 75-
63 Saturday night.
The Spartans (25-6, 16-4 Big Ten)
earned a share of the Big Ten title and
top seeding in next week’s conference
tournament.
The Wolverines (26-5, 15-5) will be
seeded third in Chicago after falling to
third place behind their rivals and No. 11
Purdue.
Winston was 1 of 8 before making
five straight shots in the second half,
including a 3-pointer to give Michigan
State its first lead midway through the
second half.
The Spartans then pulled away, win-
ning easily in a game Michigan con-
trolled for more than 20 minutes.
Winston made a layup with 5:58 left
to cap a 25-4 run.
The Spartans trailed by six at half-
time and by eight points early in the
second half after Michigan’s Ignas
Brazdeikis made a 3-pointer. The Big
Ten freshman of the year candidate
fouled out with 20 points and Jordan
Poole scored just five of his 15 points in
the second half.
Michigan State’s Xavier Tillman
scored 17 points and blocked five shots.
Kenny Goins had nine points and 16 re-
bounds while fellow senior Matt
McQuaid scored nine points and played
well defensively in their final home
game at the Breslin Center, where they
kissed the school’s logo at midcourt to
follow a tradition Shawn Respert start-
ed in 1995.
BIG PICTURE
Michigan: Charles Matthews, who
nearly 12 points a game, missed his
third straight game. If the shooting
guard can use the rest to be ready for
pointers – for LSU (26-5, 16-2).
No. 11 Purdue 70, Northwestern 57:
Carsen Edwards scored 21 points and
Purdue (23-8, 16-4) clinched a share of
the Big Ten regular-season champion-
ship with a victory at Northwestern (13-
18, 4-16). The Boilermakers secured the
No. 2 seed in the conference tournament
in Chicago and a share of their second
regular-season title in three years.
No. 13 Kansas 78, Baylor 70: Dedric
Lawson scored 23 points, including 11 of
12 from the free-throw line, to help host
Kansas (23-8, 12-6 Big 12) beat Baylor (19-
12, 10-8 Big 12) and stay undefeated at
home.
No. 14 Florida State, 65, Wake Forest
57: Florida State (25-6, 13-5) reeled off 18
straight points in the second half to rally
past host Wake Forest (11-19, 4-14) in an
ACC regular-season finale.
Georgetown 86, No. 16 Marquette 84:
James Akinjo scored 25 points, Mac
McClung added 23 and Georgetown (18-
13, 9-9 Big East) beat host Marquette
(23-8, 12-6), the Golden Eagles’ fourth
straight loss to close the regular season.
Markus Howard led Marquette with
28 points, and Joey Hauser added 16.
No. 18 Kansas State 68, Oklahoma
53: Kamau Stokes scored 19 points and
host Kansas State (24-7, 14-4) clinched a
share of the Big 12 regular-season title
with a win over Oklahoma (26-5, 14-4).
No. 22 Wofford 99, VMI 72: Nathan
Hoover led a balanced scoring attack
with 17 points, and Wofford (27-4) ex-
tended its school-record winning streak
to 18 games with a victory over VMI (11-21)
in the quarterfinals of the Southern Con-
ference tournament.
Seton Hall 79, No. 23 Villanova 75:
Myles Powell scored 20 points, Myles
Cale added 19 and host Seton Hall (18-12,
9-9) might have punched its ticket to the
NCAA Tournament by stunning Villano-
va (22-9, 13-4) in a Big East regular-sea-
son finale.
Temple 67, No. 25 Central Florida 62:
Shizz Alston Jr. scored 21 points, Justyn
Hamilton tied a career high with 13 and
Temple (23-8, 13-5 American Athletic
Conference) got a critical victory over
Central Florida (23-7, 13-5) in Owls coach
Fran Dunphy’s final home game before
he steps down at the end of the season.
Michigan State guard Cassius Winston
(5) is defended by Michigan forward
Ignas Brazdeikis (13) during the first
half Saturday in East Lansing, Mich.
CARLOS OSORIO/AP
the Big Ten and NCAA tournament, he
can give the Wolverines a boost offen-
sively.
Michigan State: Hall of Fame coach
Tom Izzo won his ninth Big Ten regular
season title despite missing two of his
best players, Nick Ward and Joshua
Langford, due to injuries. Ward might
be able to play in the conference tour-
nament and likely can contribute a lit-
tle at least in the NCAA tournament.
UP NEXT
Michigan: The third-seeded team in
the Big Ten tournament will play the fi-
nal game of the conference quarterfi-
nals Friday night.
Michigan State: The first-seeded
team will open the conference tourna-
ment quarterfinals on Friday after-
noon.
6B ❚ SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2019 ❚ T H E D E S E R T S U N

Hot Colorado proves UCLA stumbles

too much for USC to 9-9 in Pac-12 play
Arnie Stapleton
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOULDER, Colo. – The
Colorado Buffaloes will
take both momentum
and the mantle as the
Pac-12’s hottest team into
the league’s tournament
next week in Las Vegas.
Freshman Evan Battey
and sophomore Tyler Bey
saw to that.
Battey scored a sea-
son-best 21 points and
Bey posted his fifth
straight double-double
with 17 points and 11 re-
bounds and he stifled
USC’s leading scorer Ben-
nie Boatwright in a 78-67
win over the USC Trojans
on Saturday.
McKinley Wright IV
PeteCarlson’s
Golf & Tennis
chipped in 17 points for
Colorado (19-11, 10-8),
which has won eight of its
last 10.
That’s the best in the
Pac-12 and the best for a
Buffaloes team since 1961-
62, when they won nine
of their last 10 regular
season games.
That kind of late-sea-
son run used to mean
something to the NCAA
tournament selection
committee; now it means
more in terms of the mo-
mentum a team can take
into its conference tour-
nament.
“Now, people used to
look at, ‘Hey, how’s the
team playing now? How
good are they today?’”
Colorado coach Tad Boyle
Colorado’s Evan Battey
turns to go to the rim.
DAVID ZALUBOWSKI/AP
said. “Nobody talks
about that anymore. It
used to be, your last 10,
how’d you do? That’s
not even in the conver-
sation. Who’d you beat?
Who’d you beat in No-
vember? That’s the
world we live in. I’m not
going to change it.
“All I know is we’re
playing good basketball
as we head to Vegas,”
Boyle added. “We have a
conference tournament,
which 12 teams have an
opportunity to go and
John Coon outside in the first half
ASSOCIATED PRESS alone. On the other end,
the Bruins missed all sev-
SALT LAKE CITY – en attempts from 3-point
Sedrick Barefield scored range before halftime.
29 points to help Utah Barefield made three
cruise past UCLA 92-81 3-pointers and Van Dyke
on Saturday. added another to help the
Timmy Allen added Utes carve out a 19-6 lead
17 points and Donnie five minutes into the
Tillman chipped in 14 for game.
the Utes. Parker Van UCLA cut the deficit to
Dyke scored 12 points single digits three times,
and dished out five as- the final time when Ber-
sists. nard’s layup trimmed
Utah (17-13, 11-7 Utah’s lead to 28-20.
Pac-12) won for the third That’s as close as the Bru-
time in four games to ins would get in the first
finish third in the Pac-12 half. Utah guard Sedrick
Conference. Utah ripped off a 23-4 Barefield scored 29
Kris Wilkes scored 20 run to take a 51-24 lead points against UCLA on
points to lead UCLA. with 2:54 left before half- Saturday. TYLER TATE/AP
David Singleton and time. Tillman capped the
Jules Bernard each decisive spurt with back-
scored 13 and Jalen Hill to-back 3-pointers. The pair of baskets to finally
added 12 points and 13 Utes scored six straight halt the run and boost
rebounds. baskets to finish off the Utah’s lead to 69-49.
UCLA (16-15, 9-9) run, with Tillman ac- UCLA strung together
dropped both games on counting for four of the one more rally. The Bru-
its final regular-season six. ins hit three straight bas-
road trip, assuring its The Bruins outscored kets, the last a 3-pointer

DEMODAYS
Tennis manufacturer representatives in store
win. Somebody’s going
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worst

The
regular-season
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Utes over-
Utah 22-6 over a six-min-
ute stretch spanning both
halves and cut the deficit
from Singleton, to cut the
deficit to 75-67. UCLA
would not get any closer
and it could be anybody whelmed UCLA by to 57-46 on a 3-pointer and the Utes put it away
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8B ❚ SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2019 ❚ T H E D E S E R T S U N

NBA
STANDINGS GAME DETAILS SCOREBOARD
EASTERN CONFERENCE HOME team in caps. KINGS 102, KNICKS 94
W L Pct GB SACRAMENTO (102)
Barnes 3-9 4-4 11, Bogdanovic 2-9 3-4 9,
x-Milwaukee 50 16 .758 — Cauley-Stein 3-7 1-2 7, Hield 7-22 1-1 19, Fox
Toronto 47 19 .712 3 11-17 6-8 30, Brewer 1-2 0-0 2, Bjelica 5-13
1-1 13, Giles III 2-11 2-2 6, Ferrell 2-5 0-0 5.
Indiana 42 24 .636 8 Totals 36-95 18-22 102.
Philadelphia 41 25 .621 9 NEW YORK (94)
Knox 3-12 0-0 7, Thomas 4-9 0-0 10,
Boston 41 26 .612 91⁄2 Jordan 6-9 2-2 14, Smith Jr. 7-19 2-3 18,
Detroit 33 31 .516 16 Dotson 2-12 1-2 5, Ellenson 0-2 0-0 0,
Kornet 1-4 1-2 4, Robinson 2-4 4-4 8,
Brooklyn 35 33 .515 16 Mudiay 4-8 0-0 9, Jenkins 3-5 0-0 9, Trier
Miami 31 34 .477 181⁄2 3-10 4-8 10. Totals 35-94 14-21 94.
Sacramento 23 25 32 22 — 102
Orlando 31 36 .463 191⁄2 New York 30 16 22 26 — 94
Charlotte 30 36 .455 20 3-Point Goals—Sacramento 12-36 (Hield
Washington 27 39 .409 23 4-13, Fox 2-4, Bjelica 2-5, Bogdanovic 2-7,
Ferrell 1-2, Barnes 1-4, Brewer 0-1), New
Atlanta 22 45 .328 281⁄2 York 10-35 (Jenkins 3-3, Thomas 2-5,
Chicago 19 48 .284 311⁄2 Smith Jr. 2-7, Mudiay 1-2, Knox 1-4, Kornet
1-4, Ellenson 0-1, Dotson 0-4, Trier 0-5).
Cleveland 16 50 .242 34 Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Sacramento
New York 13 53 .197 37 53 (Cauley-Stein 12), New York 58 (Jordan
Hawks forward John Collins dunks on the Nets in 15). Assists—Sacramento 16 (Fox 8), New
York 16 (Smith Jr. 5). Total
WESTERN CONFERENCE first quarter action Saturday in Atlanta. AP Fouls—Sacramento 14, New York 20.
Technicals—Smith Jr.. A—19,812 (19,812).
W L Pct GB
Golden State 45 20 .692 — Kings 102, KNICKS 94: De’Aaron Fox had 30 points and
NETS 114, HAWKS 112
Denver 43 22 .662 2
eight assists, carrying Sacramento down the stretch to a
BROOKLYN (114)
Houston 40 25 .615 5
victory in the opener of a four-game trip. Fox scored 12 Harris 3-10 4-6 11, Kurucs 5-7 2-2 16, Allen
points in the final six minutes after the Knicks had erased 5-6 10-16 20, Russell 6-23 3-5 18, Crabbe
Oklahoma City 40 26 .606 51⁄2 2-11 5-7 10, Carroll 4-8 3-4 13, Davis 0-1 1-6 1,
a 12-point lead to take a two-point lead. Buddy Hield Dinwiddie 7-14 5-8 23, LeVert 1-6 0-0 2.
Portland 39 26 .600 6 Kings forward Nemanja Bjelica blocks a shot by
added 19 points for the Kings. Totals 33-86 33-54 114.
Utah 37 28 .569 8 ATLANTA (112) Knicks center Mitchell Robinson on Saturday in New
L.A. Clippers 38 29 .567 8
Nets 114, HAWKS 112: Spencer Dinwiddie scored 23
Prince 5-11 0-0 13, Collins 13-20 7-9 33, Len York. AP
7-14 0-0 15, Young 4-14 13-16 23, Huerter
San Antonio 37 29 .561 81⁄2 points, Jarrett Allen added 20 points and 12 rebounds 1-8 2-2 4, Johnson 0-2 0-0 0, Bembry 3-8
Sacramento 33 32 .508 12 0-0 6, Zeller 0-2 0-0 0, Carter 4-13 2-3 10,
and Brooklyn held off Atlanta for its third straight win. Anderson 0-1 0-0 0, Bazemore 1-6 2-2 5, 4-5, Walker 3-8, Batum 2-7, Zeller 1-1,
Minnesota 31 35 .470 141⁄2 After Joe Harris hit one of two foul shots with 16.3 sec- Adams 1-6 0-0 3. Totals 39-105 26-32 112.
CELTICS 120, LAKERS 107 Monk 1-2, Bridges 1-2, Graham 1-3, Bacon
Brooklyn 26 30 27 31 — 114 BOSTON (120) 1-3, Williams 1-4, Lamb 0-4), Milwaukee
L.A. Lakers 30 36 .455 151⁄2 onds remaining, Trae Young dribbled down the clock and Tatum 2-7 2-2 6, Morris 7-16 1-2 16, Horford
Atlanta 23 24 30 35 — 112 17-44 (Mirotic 5-7, Bledsoe 3-5,
New Orleans 30 38 .441 161⁄2 passed to 42-year-old Vince Carter, who missed a 3- 3-Point Goals—Brooklyn 15-44 (Kurucs 4-5, 4-6 2-2 10, Irving 12-18 1-1 30, Smart 6-8 DiVincenzo 3-6, Brogdon 2-4,
Dallas 27 38 .415 18 point attempt at the buzzer. Dinwiddie 4-7, Russell 3-12, Carroll 2-5, 0-0 16, Brown 3-12 1-1 8, Hayward 6-8 2-4 Antetokounmpo 2-4, Lopez 1-5,
Harris 1-6, Crabbe 1-7, LeVert 0-2), Atlanta 15, Ojeleye 0-0 0-0 0, Yabusele 1-2 0-0 2, Middleton 1-7, Connaughton 0-1, Snell 0-2,
Memphis 27 40 .403 19 Theis 0-2 0-0 0, Baynes 3-5 1-2 7, Ilyasova 0-3). Fouled Out—None.
8-41 (Prince 3-6, Young 2-4, Bazemore 1-3,
Phoenix 15 51 .227 301⁄2 TIMBERWOLVES 135, Wizards 130, OT: Karl-Anthony Adams 1-6, Len 1-7, Anderson 0-1, Zeller Wanamaker 0-1 0-0 0, Rozier 4-8 0-0 10. Rebounds—Charlotte 35 (Batum, Williams
Totals 48-93 10-14 120. 8), Milwaukee 55 (Antetokounmpo 13).
x-clinched playoff spot Towns had 40 points and 16 rebounds before leaving in 0-1, Collins 0-1, Huerter 0-2, Johnson 0-2,
L.A. LAKERS (107) Assists—Charlotte 25 (Kaminsky, Batum,
Bembry 0-2, Carter 0-6). Fouled
the final seconds of regulation with a knee injury. The Out—None. Rebounds—Brooklyn 53 (Allen James 13-23 3-7 30, Wagner 7-13 7-7 22, Walker 4), Milwaukee 27 (Antetokounmpo
Timberwolves outscored the Wizards 14-9 in the extra 12), Atlanta 57 (Collins 20). McGee 3-5 2-2 8, Rondo 2-7 0-0 4, 6). Total Fouls—Charlotte 24, Milwaukee 17.
Assists—Brooklyn 21 (Dinwiddie 7), Atlanta Caldwell-Pope 1-5 0-0 2, Bullock 3-9 0-0 7, A—17,996 (17,500).
RESULTS & SCHEDULE period to earn their fifth straight home win. Derrick Rose 22 (Young 11). Total Fouls—Brooklyn 23, Williams 9-16 0-0 18, Caruso 3-3 2-2 8,
All times Pacific scored 29 points, including a wild 19-footer that put the Atlanta 37. Technicals—Allen, Carroll. Bonga 0-0 0-0 0, Hart 3-10 0-0 8. Totals
Friday’s Games Wolves up 131-127 with 58.2 seconds to play. A—16,527 (18,118). 44-91 14-18 107.
Boston 25 32 36 27 — 120
LATE FRIDAY
Charlotte 112, Washington 111 L.A. Lakers 24 23 29 31 — 107 CLIPPERS 118, THUNDER 110
Orlando 111, Dallas 106 TIMBERWOLVES 135,
Detroit 112, Chicago 104 Celtics 120, LAKERS 107: Kyrie Irving scored 30 points 3-Point Goals—Boston 14-38 (Irving 5-8, OKLAHOMA CITY (110)
WIZARDS 130, OT Smart 4-6, Rozier 2-5, Hayward 1-3, Brown
Houston 107, Philadelphia 91 and Marcus Smart had 16 in Boston’s victory over short- 1-6, Morris 1-6, Horford 0-1, Baynes 0-1,
George 5-16 2-4 15, Grant 5-9 2-3 12,
Memphis 114, Utah 104 WASHINGTON (130) Adams 3-5 0-2 6, Westbrook 12-23 6-8 32,
Miami 126, Cleveland 110 handed Los Angeles in the latest edition of this storied Ariza 8-13 4-4 27, Green 3-12 3-4 10, Portis Tatum 0-2), L.A. Lakers 5-27 (Hart 2-6, Ferguson 2-9 0-0 6, Nader 2-4 1-1 6,
Toronto 127, New Orleans 104 NBA rivalry. Marcus Morris had 16 points and seven re- 9-18 0-0 21, Satoransky 4-9 1-1 9, Beal 13-25 Wagner 1-5, James 1-5, Bullock 1-6, Rondo Grantham 0-1 0-0 0, Morris 5-10 1-2 12,
Golden State 122, Denver 105 8-11 36, Brown Jr. 1-4 0-0 2, Dekker 1-3 0-2 0-2, Caldwell-Pope 0-3). Fouled Noel 2-5 2-2 6, Schroder 5-20 3-4 15.
L.A. Clippers 118, Oklahoma City 110
bounds, and Gordon Hayward added 15 points as the 2, Parker 6-9 0-0 15, Bryant 3-7 2-2 8. Out—None. Rebounds—Boston 43 Totals 41-102 17-26 110.
Sunday’s Games Celtics continued to gather momentum for the postsea- Totals 48-100 18-24 130. (Horford 8), L.A. Lakers 43 (Williams,
L.A. CLIPPERS (118)
MINNESOTA (135) James 10). Assists—Boston 32 (Irving,
Chicago at Detroit, 9 a.m. son with their third consecutive win on a four-game Cali- Tatum, Smart 5), L.A. Lakers 28 (James
Shamet 3-9 3-4 11, Gallinari 10-19 12-15 34,
Indiana at Philadelphia, 12:30 p.m. Bates-Diop 5-12 1-2 12, Saric 5-10 0-0 13, Zubac 6-8 2-6 14, Gilgeous-Alexander 3-7
Toronto at Miami, 12:30 p.m. fornia trip that concludes Monday against the Clippers. Towns 15-25 6-6 40, Teague 2-14 2-2 7, 12). Total Fouls—Boston 17, L.A. Lakers 16.
2-2 9, Beverley 0-3 0-0 0, Green 1-4 0-0 2,
Okogie 1-5 0-0 3, Tolliver 1-4 4-4 7, Gibson A—18,997 (18,997).
New Orleans at Atlanta, 3 p.m. Harrell 3-7 2-4 8, Wallace 0-1 0-0 0,
Orlando at Memphis, 3 p.m. 6-11 3-4 15, Rose 13-23 3-4 29, Jones 1-5 2-2 Williams 13-24 10-15 40, Temple 0-3 0-0 0,
BUCKS 131, Hornets 114: Giannis Antetokounmpo had 4, Reynolds 2-6 0-0 5. Totals 51-115 21-24
Houston at Dallas, 4 p.m. BUCKS 131, HORNETS 114 Thornwell 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 39-86 31-46
Milwaukee at San Antonio, 5 p.m. 26 points, 13 rebounds and six assists as Milwaukee beat 135.
CHARLOTTE (114) 118.
New York at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Washington 39 32 28 22 9 — 130 Oklahoma City 32 24 28 26 — 110
Charlotte for its NBA-best 50th victory. Brook Lopez Bridges 7-9 0-0 15, Williams 2-9 0-0 5,
Phoenix at Golden State, 5:30 p.m. Minnesota 28 32 35 26 14 — 135 L.A. Clippers 36 32 20 30 — 118
added 25 points and eight rebounds as the Bucks used a Zeller 3-8 3-4 10, Walker 11-22 0-2 25,
Monday’s Games 3-Point Goals—Washington 16-44 (Ariza Batum 6-11 0-0 14, Kaminsky 4-8 4-4 16, 3-Point Goals—Oklahoma City 11-44
Sacramento at Washington, 4 p.m. second-half surge to knock out the Hornets. It’s just the 7-11, Parker 3-5, Portis 3-6, Beal 2-10, Hernangomez 1-1 1-1 3, Graham 2-6 1-1 6, (George 3-9, Ferguson 2-8, Westbrook
Toronto at Cleveland, 4 p.m. second 50-win season in the past 30 years for Milwaukee Green 1-6, Brown Jr. 0-2, Satoransky 0-2, Monk 1-2 0-0 3, Bacon 1-5 0-0 3, Lamb 6-12 2-9, Schroder 2-11, Nader 1-1, Morris 1-2,
Detroit at Brooklyn, 4:30 p.m. Bryant 0-2), Minnesota 12-36 (Towns 4-7, 2-2 14. Totals 44-93 11-14 114. Grantham 0-1, Grant 0-3), L.A. Clippers
Charlotte at Houston, 5 p.m. (50-16), which went 52-30 during the 2000-01 season Saric 3-5, Okogie 1-3, Reynolds 1-4, Tolliver 9-25 (Williams 4-6, Gallinari 2-5, Shamet
MILWAUKEE (131)
Oklahoma City at Utah, 6 p.m. and reached the Eastern Conference finals. 1-4, Bates-Diop 1-4, Teague 1-6, Jones 0-1,
Middleton 4-12 0-0 9, Antetokounmpo 7-11 2-5, Gilgeous-Alexander 1-2, Temple 0-1,
Boston at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m. Rose 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Thornwell 0-1, Green 0-2, Beverley 0-3).
10-10 26, Lopez 7-11 10-10 25, Bledsoe 3-10
Tuesday’s Games Rebounds—Washington 50 (Portis 12), Fouled Out—George, Adams, Westbrook.
2-4 11, Brogdon 7-13 2-2 18, Wilson 0-0 0-0
Cleveland at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Suns at TRAIL BLAZERS (late): Damian Lillard leads Minnesota 56 (Towns 16).
0, Ilyasova 3-7 1-1 7, Mirotic 6-10 1-2 18, Rebounds—Oklahoma City 52 (Adams 10),
Assists—Washington 31 (Satoransky 11), L.A. Clippers 53 (Green 8).
New York at Indiana, 4 p.m. Portland into a matchup with Phoenix. He currently ranks Minnesota 25 (Teague 8). Total
Snell 2-7 0-0 4, Connaughton 1-2 0-0 2,
L.A. Lakers at Chicago, 5 p.m. DiVincenzo 4-7 0-1 11. Totals 44-90 26-30 Assists—Oklahoma City 20 (Westbrook 7),
Milwaukee at New Orleans, 5 p.m. 10th in the league, averaging 26.3 points per game. In Fouls—Washington 23, Minnesota 17.
131. L.A. Clippers 20 (Beverley 6). Total
San Antonio at Dallas, 5 p.m. their last meeting on Jan. 24, the Trail Blazers won 120- Technicals—Ariza, Teague, Okogie. Charlotte 32 27 28 27 — 114 Fouls—Oklahoma City 34, L.A. Clippers 26.
Minnesota at Denver, 7:30 p.m. A—14,381 (19,356). Technicals—George, Westbrook, Harrell.
Portland at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m.
106. Lillard led Portland with 24 points. Milwaukee 24 31 39 37 — 131
A—17,915 (18,997).
3-Point Goals—Charlotte 15-39 (Kaminsky

NHL
STANDINGS GAME DETAILS SCOREBOARD
EASTERN CONFERENCE HOME team in caps. AVALANCHE 3, SABRES 0 MAPLE LEAFS 3, OILERS 2 BLACKHAWKS 2, STARS 1
Atlantic Division Buffalo 0 0 0 — 0 Toronto 1 1 1 — 3 Chicago 2 0 0 — 2
Colorado 0 1 2 — 3 Edmonton 0 0 2 — 2 Dallas 1 0 0 — 1
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
AVALANCHE 3, Sabres 0: Nathan MacKinnon had a goal First Period—None. First Period—1, Toronto, Rielly 18 (Tavares, First Period—1, Chicago, Kampf 4 (Kunitz),
x-Tampa Bay 69 52 13 4 108 266 181 Second Period—1, Colorado, MacKinnon 35, Kadri), 19:46 (pp). 5:10. 2, Dallas, Radulov 21 (Seguin), 6:23. 3,
Boston 68 42 17 9 93 205 169 and two assists, and Philipp Grubauer stopped 18 shots 3:14. Second Period—2, Toronto, Tavares 38 Chicago, DeBrincat 37 (Murphy, Kane),
Toronto 68 42 21 5 89 244 193
for his second shutout of the season. Mikko Rantanen Third Period—2, Colorado, Rantanen 30 (Hyman, Zaitsev), 12:28. 19:24.
(Barrie, MacKinnon), 10:13 (pp). 3, Third Period—3, Toronto, Muzzin 6 Second Period—None.
Montreal 69 36 26 7 79 208 207
scored on the power play. Colorado, Bourque 1 (MacKinnon, (Nylander, Tavares), 3:00. 4, Edmonton, Third Period—None.
Johnson), 18:50. Nugent-Hopkins 22 (McDavid, Draisaitl), Shots on Goal—Chicago 14-15-10—39. Dallas
Florida 68 29 27 12 70 218 233 Shots on Goal—Buffalo 4-3-11—18. Colorado 18:21. 5, Edmonton, Klefbom 5 (Draisaitl, 11-11-5—27.
SHARKS 3, Blues 2 (OT): Kevin Labanc scored at 3:21 of 12-14-17—43. McDavid), 19:07. Power-play opportunities—Chicago 0 of
Buffalo 68 30 29 9 69 194 219
overtime, Timo Meier had two goals and San Jose beat Power-play opportunities—Buffalo 0 of 1; Shots on Goal—Toronto 16-12-12—40. 3; Dallas 0 of 0.
Detroit 68 24 34 10 58 187 232 Colorado 1 of 3. Edmonton 10-9-14—33. Goalies—Chicago, Crawford 9-15-2 (27
St. Louis to take the Western Conference lead. Labanc Goalies—Buffalo, Hutton 16-19-5 (42 Power-play opportunities—Toronto 1 of 2; shots-26 saves). Dallas, Khudobin 13-14-3
Ottawa 69 23 40 6 52 203 258
scored his 12th goal off assists from Logan Couture and shots-40 saves). Colorado, Grubauer Edmonton 0 of 4. (39-37).
Metropolitan Division Tomas Hertl. Meier extended his goals streak to four. 11-8-3 (18-18). A—18,052 (18,007). T—2:33. Goalies—Toronto, Andersen 33-13-4 (33 A—18,532 (18,532). T—2:25.
shots-31 saves). Edmonton, Stolarz 4-4-3
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
(40-37).
Washington 68 40 21 7 87 234 211 RANGERS 4, Devils 2: Vladislav Namestnikov snapped a SHARKS 3, BLUES 2 (OT) A—18,347 (18,641). T—2:22. HURRICANES 5, PREDATORS 3
St. Louis 1 1 0 0 — 2 Carolina 2 0 3 — 5
NY Islanders 68 39 22 7 85 198 168 tie in the third period, and New York beat New Jersey to San Jose 2 0 0 1 — 3 Nashville 0 1 2 — 3
Carolina 68 37 24 7 81 205 191 stop a six-game slide. Ryan Strome had two goals and an BRUINS 3, SENATORS 2
First Period—1, St. Louis, Maroon 5 Ottawa 0 1 1 — 2 First Period—1, Carolina, Niederreiter 19,
Pittsburgh 68 36 23 9 81 233 208 assist, and Libor Hajek scored his first NHL goal for the (Parayko, Dunn), 10:35 (pp). 2, San Jose, Boston 0 1 2 — 3 14:29. 2, Carolina, Niederreiter 20 (Aho,
Rangers, who hadn’t won since beating the Devils in their Meier 25 (Thornton, Heed), 16:23 (pp). 3, Teravainen), 19:29 (pp).
Columbus 68 38 27 3 79 209 202 Second Period—3, Nashville, Smith 18 (Ellis,
San Jose, Meier 26 (Couture, Hertl), 19:33. First Period—None.
Philadelphia 68 33 27 8 74 209 226 previous meeting on Feb. 23. Second Period—4, St. Louis, Schenn 13, Second Period—1, Boston, Marchand 28 Josi), 2:52.
19:57 (pp). (Bergeron, Krug), 10:11 (pp). 2, Ottawa, Third Period—4, Carolina, Williams 20
NY Rangers 68 28 28 12 68 196 224 (Teravainen, Faulk), 0:55 (pp). 5,
Third Period—None. Pageau 3 (Tkachuk), 11:08.
New Jersey 69 25 35 9 59 191 232 Flyers 5, ISLANDERS 2: James van Riemsdyk had a goal Overtime—5, San Jose, Labanc 12 (Hertl, Third Period—3, Ottawa, Tkachuk 16 Nashville, Boyle 17 (Turris), 2:35. 6,
and an assist, helping Philadelphia to a win over New Couture), 3:21. (Tierney), 2:46. 4, Boston, Wagner 11 Carolina, Martinook 15 (Pesce, Wallmark),
Shots on Goal—St. Louis 8-6-4-1—19. San (McAvoy, Krug), 8:47. 5, Boston, Krejci 18 6:38. 7, Nashville, Granlund 16 (Johansen,
York. Ryan Hartman, Sean Couturier, Nolan Patrick and Jose 10-6-15-2—33. (Heinen, Grzelcyk), 19:15. Arvidsson), 17:32. 8, Carolina, Aho 30
WESTERN CONFERENCE Travis Konecny also scored for Philadelphia. Power-play opportunities—St. Louis 2 of Shots on Goal—Ottawa 6-8-5—19. Boston (Pesce), 19:40.
3; San Jose 1 of 2. 12-14-5—31. Shots on Goal—Carolina 16-8-8—32.
Central Division Goalies—St. Louis, Allen 18-16-6 (33 Power-play opportunities—Ottawa 0 of 3; Nashville 8-13-13—34.
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Maple Leafs 3, OILERS 2: John Tavares had a goal and shots-30 saves). San Jose, Jones 33-13-5 Boston 1 of 3. Power-play opportunities—Carolina 2 of
two assists as Toronto held off Edmonton. Morgan Rielly (19-17). A—17,562 (17,562). T—2:19. Goalies—Ottawa, Anderson 14-23-4 (31 5; Nashville 0 of 3.
Winnipeg 67 40 23 4 84 232 199 shots-28 saves). Boston, Rask 24-8-5 Goalies—Carolina, Mrazek 17-12-3 (34
and Jake Muzzin also scored. (19-17). shots-31 saves). Nashville, Saros 15-9-2
Nashville 70 39 26 5 83 210 189 RANGERS 4, DEVILS 2 A—17,565 (17,565). T—2:22. (31-27).
St. Louis 68 36 25 7 79 198 188 New Jersey 2 0 0 — 2 A—17,724 (17,113). T—2:28.
BRUINS 3, Senators 2: David Krejci tipped in the winning N.Y. Rangers 0 1 3 — 4
Dallas 68 35 28 5 75 172 172 LIGHTNING 3, RED WINGS 2
goal with 44.7 seconds left to extend Boston’s league- COYOTES 4, KINGS 2
Minnesota 69 33 28 8 74 191 202 First Period—1, New Jersey, Severson 10 Detroit 0 1 1 — 2
best points streak to 19 games. Danton Henine skated (Agostino, McLeod), 16:26. 2, New Jersey, Tampa Bay 2 0 1 — 3 Los Angeles 1 0 1 — 2
Colorado 69 30 27 12 72 223 215 into the slot and took a wrist shot that Krejci re-directed Coleman 19 (Butcher, Zajac), 19:49 (pp). Arizona 2 0 2 — 4
Chicago 68 29 30 9 67 227 255 Second Period—3, N.Y. Rangers, Strome 12 First Period—1, Tampa Bay, McDonagh 8
past Senators goalie Craig Anderson. (Shattenkirk, Namestnikov), 18:22. (Cirelli, Cernak), 3:06. 2, Tampa Bay, First Period—1, Arizona, Dvorak 1
Pacific Division Third Period—4, N.Y. Rangers, Hajek 1 Kucherov 32 (Hedman, Point), 11:56. (Chychrun, Keller), 7:23 (pp). 2, Arizona,
(Strome, Kreider), 1:29. 5, N.Y. Rangers, Second Period—3, Detroit, Vanek 13 Grabner 7 (Ekman-Larsson), 9:30 (sh). 3,
GP W L OT Pts GF GA LIGHTNING 3, Red Wings 2: Nikita Kucherov scored Namestnikov 10 (Zibanejad, Skjei), 13:25. (Kronwall, Zadina), 19:56 (pp). Los Angeles, A.Kempe 11 (Doughty), 14:49.
San Jose 68 41 19 8 90 246 210 twice while breaking Tampa Bay’s single-season record 6, N.Y. Rangers, Strome 13 (Zibanejad, Third Period—4, Tampa Bay, Kucherov 33 Second Period—None.
Namestnikov), 19:50. (Sergachev, Johnson), 13:53. 5, Detroit, Third Period—4, Los Angeles, Grundstrom
Calgary 68 41 20 7 89 235 196 for points. Ryan McDonagh also scored for NHL-leading 1 (Doughty, Forbort), 3:44. 5, Arizona,
Shots on Goal—New Jersey 12-2-10—24. Mantha 17 (Hronek, Kronwall), 19:04.
Vegas 68 37 26 5 79 203 188 Tampa Bay, which has won 14 consecutive regular-season N.Y. Rangers 10-14-17—41. Shots on Goal—Detroit 7-9-8—24. Tampa Dvorak 2 (Goligoski, Keller), 10:28. 6,
games against Detroit. Power-play opportunities—New Jersey 1 Bay 7-14-12—33. Arizona, Grabner 8, 15:34.
Arizona 68 34 29 5 73 183 188 Shots on Goal—Los Angeles 9-9-18—36.
of 2; N.Y. Rangers 0 of 5. Power-play opportunities—Detroit 1 of 5;
Edmonton 68 30 31 7 67 192 221 Goalies—New Jersey, Schneider 4-10-3 Tampa Bay 0 of 3. Arizona 10-14-8—32.
Vancouver 68 28 31 9 65 185 211 BLUE JACKETS 4, Penguins 1: Cam Atkinson had two (40 shots-37 saves). N.Y. Rangers, Goalies—Detroit, Bernier 6-16-5 (33 Power-play opportunities—Los Angeles 0
Lundqvist 18-17-10 (24-22). shots-30 saves). Tampa Bay, Domingue of 1; Arizona 1 of 4.
Anaheim 69 27 33 9 63 159 211
goals, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 shots and Colum- A—17,386 (18,006). T—2:32. 20-5-0 (24-22). Goalies—Los Angeles, Campbell 7-12-1 (32
bus broke an eight-game losing streak. Boone Jenner A—19,092 (19,092). T—2:40. shots-28 saves). Arizona, Kuemper
Los Angeles 68 24 36 8 56 161 218 22-15-5 (36-34).
and Oliver Bjorkstrand also scored for the Blue Jackets. FLYERS 5, ISLANDERS 2 A—14,976 (17,125). T—2:29.
NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for BLUE JACKETS 4, PENGUINS 1
Philadelphia 2 3 0 — 5
overtime loss. Top three teams in each N.Y. Islanders 1 0 1 — 2
Blackhawks 2, STARS 1: Alex DeBrincat and David Pittsburgh 0 1 0 — 1
division and two wild cards per Columbus 1 1 2 — 4 LATE FRIDAY
conference advance to playoffs. Kampf scored on odd-man rushes in the first period. First Period—1, N.Y. Islanders, Mayfield 4
x-clinched playoff spot (Barzal, Leddy), 6:30. 2, Philadelphia, First Period—1, Columbus, Jenner 12 DUCKS 8, CANADIENS 2
Corey Crawford and the Blackhawks shut out the Stars Hartman 11 (Gostisbehere, Provorov), (Foligno, Anderson), 2:31. Montreal 1 1 0 — 2
for the last 53:37 in the team’s second straight win. 15:20. 3, Philadelphia, van Riemsdyk 20 Second Period—2, Columbus, Atkinson 37,
RESULTS & SCHEDULE (Sanheim, Voracek), 19:56. 2:17 (sh). 3, Pittsburgh, Aston-Reese 8
Anaheim 2 3 3 — 8
Second Period—4, Philadelphia, Couturier (Malkin, Kessel), 6:39. First Period—1, Anaheim, Sprong 10
All times Pacific Hurricanes 5, PREDATORS 3: Nino Niederreiter scored 28 (Sanheim, Voracek), 1:34. 5, Third Period—4, Columbus, Bjorkstrand 14 (Larsson), 6:39. 2, Anaheim, Henrique 15
Friday’s Games
Florida 6, Minnesota 2 twice in the first period as Carolina held off Nashville to Philadelphia, Patrick 13 (van Riemsdyk, (Dzingel, Duchene), 16:59. 5, Columbus, (Ritchie, Terry), 17:17. 3, Montreal, Byron 13
Giroux), 5:35. 6, Philadelphia, Konecny 22 Atkinson 38 (Jones, Werenski), 18:11. (Shaw, Weber), 17:47.
Washington 3, New Jersey 0 sweep the season series. Sebastian Aho had a goal and (Laughton, Gostisbehere), 17:26. Shots on Goal—Pittsburgh 9-9-11—29. Second Period—4, Anaheim, Shore 8
Winnipeg 8, Carolina 1
Anaheim 8, Montreal 2
an assist. Third Period—7, N.Y. Islanders, Leddy 3 Columbus 11-9-13—33. (Perry, Ritchie), 3:01 (pp). 5, Montreal,
(Barzal, Pulock), 16:28. Power-play opportunities—Pittsburgh 0 Weber 11 (Gallagher, Danault), 10:51 (pp).
Sunday’s Games Shots on Goal—Philadelphia 10-5-10—25. of 3; Columbus 0 of 3. 6, Anaheim, Terry 4 (Larsson, Fowler),
Detroit at Florida, 2 p.m. COYOTES 4, Kings 2: Christian Dvorak and Michael N.Y. Islanders 6-13-8—27. Goalies—Pittsburgh, Murray 22-11-3 (32 11:53. 7, Anaheim, Perry 3 (Grant, Rowney),
Winnipeg at Washington, 4 p.m. Power-play opportunities—Philadelphia 0 shots-29 saves). Columbus, Bobrovsky 17:50.
Boston at Pittsburgh, 4:30 p.m. Grabner each scored two goals, and Darcy Kuemper Third Period—8, Anaheim, Rakell 11 (Shore,
of 2; N.Y. Islanders 0 of 3. 29-21-1 (29-28).
Vegas at Calgary, 6:30 p.m. made 33 saves to win for the ninth time in 10 starts. The Goalies—Philadelphia, Elliott 10-8-1 (27 A—19,146 (18,500). T—2:27. Silfverberg), 14:06. 9, Anaheim, Henrique
Los Angeles at Anaheim, 7 p.m. Coyotes won for the eighth time in nine games while shots-25 saves). N.Y. Islanders, Greiss 16 (Terry), 15:45. 10, Anaheim, Jones 1
Monday’s Games 19-11-2 (15-10), Gibson 0-0-0 (10-10). (Manson), 19:49.
Ottawa at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. setting a franchise record with their first 6-1 homestand. A—13,917 (13,917). T—2:39. Shots on Goal—Montreal 12-13-12—37.
Tampa Bay at Toronto, 4 p.m. Anaheim 9-12-8—29.
Columbus vs. N.Y. Islanders at Nassau Power-play opportunities—Montreal 1 of
Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 4 p.m.
Golden Knights at CANUCKS (late): Vegas comes into a 6; Anaheim 1 of 4.
San Jose at Minnesota, 5 p.m. matchup against Vancouver as winners of five consec- Goalies—Montreal, Price 28-20-5 (29
Arizona at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. utive games. The Canucks are 15-12-4 at home. In their shots-21 saves). Anaheim, Gibson 19-21-8
N.Y. Rangers at Edmonton, 6 p.m. (37-35). A—16,580 (17,174). T—2:38.
Carolina at Colorado, 6 p.m. last meeting on March 3, Vegas won 3-0.

Posey catching more than expected
Giants star is back
after hip surgery
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – On Saturday,
San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Po-
sey played in his fifth spring training
game and made his fourth start behind
the plate.
Told that it seems as if he’s catching
more than expected coming off hip sur-
gery, Posey agreed.
“Which is a good thing,” Posey said. “I
didn’t really have expectations coming
in. I would say so, too. That’s a positive.”
Posey will be in the Giants’ lineup on
Sunday as well, but as the designated
hitter. It will be the second time he’s
played in back to back games this
spring. Last August, he had surgery to
address a hip impingement and repair a
torn labrum.
Is there anything he can’t do because
of his hip?
“I’d say the best way to describe how I
feel is just more free,” Posey said. “I
don’t feel stuck. Like any rehab, it’s a lit-
tle bit like this and for the most part,
mine has been a gradual incline. At the
same time, I’m aware there might be
some soreness and inflammation along
the way. I’m hoping to leave here in a
couple weeks and be ready to go.”
Giants manager Bruce Bochy has
been inserting Posey in the No. 2 spot in
the lineup simply to give him more at-
bats. The six-time All-Star’s playing
time has been determined by how he
feels and constant communication with
the Giants’ medical staff.
“They just kind of check in and see
how I’m feeling,” Posey said. “If I’m
bouncing back, then great.”
The Giants pitchers are counting on a
bounceback season for Posey, 31, who
was limited to 105 games last season.
“Buster’s a smart guy,” Giants pitcher
Dereck Rodriguez said. “He has a differ-
ent game plan with every single pitcher.
He came up to me in the bullpen before
we started warming up and said, ‘Today,
we’ll start mixing it up.’ He’ll tell me
some of their key players and the ones
we want to focus on more than others.
“Buster, he’s a leader, and he helps
me out a ton back there,” Rodriguez said.
“I can’t say enough how grateful I am.”
Around the Grapefruit
and Cactus leagues
BLUE JAYS 8, PHILLIES 7
Philadelphia starter Jake Arrieta
gave up three hits and a walk in 1 2/3 in-
nings. Rhys Hoskins homered for the
Phillies.
Anthony Alford hit his fourth home
run for Toronto and Teoscar Hernandez
got two hits, raising his spring average
to .522.
METS 10, RED SOX 2
Zack Wheeler pitched four shutout
innings in his third start for New York,
allowing one hit and striking out three.
Rookie Pete Alonso hit his third home
run and singled, raising his average to
.423.
Eduardo Rodriguez made his third
Harper
Continued from Page 1B
treme?
“Man, I hope not,” he said. “I don’t
know. If they’re going to play ball like
that ….definitely different for sure.”
Otherwise, it was a glorious 83-de-
gree debut for Harper, who was used as
a DH, and is scheduled to play right field
on Monday. Only a week ago was offi-
cially signing his record 13-year, $330
million contract, with a press confer-
ence atop of the first-base Phillies dug-
out, and now was the reincarnation of
Mike Schmidt.
The Phillies have already sold
340,000 seats since Harper joined the
team, including 2,000 season-tickets,
and began showing commercial high-
lights of Harper during their TV telecast
back home. Harper’s jerseys are being
sold at a record rate, selling more in the
first 24 hours than any jersey ever sold
in sports history. They can’t even keep
the jersey in their team store at Citizens
Bank Park, with their initial merchan-
dise inventory already gone. The Phil-
lies’ social media account on Twitter
was the most popular team in all of
baseball last week, soaring 600% more
than the next-closest team, the Chicago
Cubs, according to The Athletic.
“I don’t think anybody could have
predicted,” Middleton told USA TODAY
Sports, “that it would be as extraordi-
nary as it is. I’ve got to tell you, when you
think of major moments in Phillies’ his-
tory bringing in someone from the out-
side – getting Pete Rose in ’79, trading
for Cliff Lee in ’09, Doc (Halladay) in
2010, re-signing Cliff in 11 – this is even
bigger than that.
Giants catcher Buster Posey warms up before the game against the Cubs on
Saturday in Scottsdale, Ariz. ORLANDO RAMIREZ/USA TODAY SPORTS
start for Boston, pitching four innings
and giving up one run. Matt Barnes, in
line to be the closer, was tagged in his
first appearance for three runs and hits
in one inning.
ORIOLES (SS) 17, RAYS 15
Austin Hays hit his third home run
and a double for Baltimore. Starter Dy-
lan Bundy gave up six runs in 1 2/3 in-
nings. The teams combined for nine er-
rors, six by the Orioles, and seven hom-
ers.
Tampa Bay’s Andrew Kittredge also
surrendered six runs, but five were un-
earned. He allowed three hits and one
walk, retiring five batters.
BRAVES 6, TIGERS 4
Adam Duvall and Brian McCann had
RBI singles for Atlanta. Sean Newcomb
struggled in his third start, pitching 2
2/3 innings and surrendering three runs
on three hits and three walks.
Michael Fulmer pitched three in-
nings in his third start for Detroit, allow-
ing two runs on four hits and a walk.
ASTROS 9, CARDINALS 3
Adam Wainwright started for a sec-
ond time for St. Louis, pitching four
scoreless innings and allowing two hits
and a walk. Marcell Ozuna singled and
scored, snapping a 0-for-14 start.
Houston starter Collin McHugh gave
up three runs in two innings.
Phillies designated hitter Bryce Harper bats against the Blue Jays in a spring
training game Saturday in Clearwater, Fla. CHRIS O’MEARA/AP
“All of those other moves were made
when the Phillies were really good. But
this has created a buzz about a team that
hasn’t had a winning season since 2011.
Fans are looking at this like, 'You’re
credible now.’ We have that credibility
we didn’t have a year ago. They believe
in us now.
“And with Bryce not having an out-
clause, and a full no-trade clause, the
fans sense a major commitment. This
guy really wants to be here. He intends
to be here. It’s not a thing where he says,
'If it’s not working, I’m leaving.' He’s go-
ing to be here until he retires. It’s like a
marriage, 'To death do us part.’
“That really resonates with the fan-
DESERTSUN.COM ❚ SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2019 ❚ 9B
TWINS 10, PIRATES 1
Martin Perez made his second start
for Minnesota, pitching four shutout in-
nings. Adam Rosales homered for the
Twins.
Corey Dickerson had two singles for
Pittsburgh, raising his average to .636.
DODGERS 2, MARINERS 0
Seattle third baseman Kyle Seager
will see a hand specialist after rolling his
left wrist during a spring training game
Friday night. It’s unclear if the injury
will risk Seager’s status for the Mari-
ners’ season-opening series in Tokyo on
March 20-21.
Enrique Hernandez hit two home
runs and Kenta Maeda worked three no-
hit innings for Los Angeles. Closer Ken-
ley Jansen pitched the ninth.
Dodgers newcomer Joe Kelly threw a
30-minute bullpen session after recov-
ering from the stiff back that kept him
sidelined for three days of workouts.
Kelly’s back stiffened after five hours on
his feet preparing a crawfish boil for a
team dinner.
CUBS (SS) 8, GIANTS 0
Chicago starter Cole Hamels pitched
3 1/3 innings. San Francisco’s Dereck
Rodriguez allowed three runs on four
hits, striking out five over 3 2/3 innings.
CUBS (SS) 11, ANGELS (SS) 4
Nick Hoerner, the Cubs’ 2018 first-
base.”
And, oh, does Philly ever love their
stars, particularly those who play with
emotion, whether it’s Bobby Clarke in
hockey, Julius Erving or Allen Iverson in
basketball, or Dawkins in football.
“It’s one of the things that draws peo-
ple to him,” said Dawkins. “He plays
with emotion. Some people don’t like it.
It’s one of those things in baseball
you’re not supposed to do. But Bryce
challenges that.”
Really, he’s the Reggie Jackson of
four decades ago. You can love him. You
can hate him. But, man, you sure aren’t
going to ignore him.
“He draws attention,” Reggie Jackson
round draft pick, started at shortstop
and went 2 for 2 with two RBIs and three
runs scored. Alec Mills, considered the
team’s insurance policy should any of
its five starters get injured, was
scratched from the start due to back
stiffness.
Jo Adell, the Angels’ top prospect,
suffered a left hamstring strain and a
right ankle sprain when he slipped run-
ning around second base.
BREWERS (SS) 5, ANGELS (SS) 1
Eric Thames and Christian Yelich ho-
mered for Milwaukee while Josh Tomlin
worked five one-hit innings in the start.
Trevor Cahill went 3 1/3 innings for
the Angels. Jerry Blevins was tagged for
six earned runs on three hits and two
walks while recording just one out.
BREWERS (SS) 11, ATHLETICS 2
Brandon Woodruff struck out five
over three innings in the start for Mil-
waukee and Zack Brown worked three
hitless innings of relief. Keston Hiura,
the Brewers’ 2017 first-round draft pick,
homered for the second straight day.
INDIANS 7, ROCKIES (SS) 1
Cleveland starter Shane Bieber threw
four one-hit innings, striking out four.
Reliever Tyler Clippard was pulled be-
cause of pectoral tightness and will be
evaluated Sunday.
Despite complaining that he was
coming down with a stomach bug, Colo-
rado starter German Marquez struck out
nine without allowing an earned run
over three innings. Marquez, who
shares the major league record with
eight strikeouts to start a game, scat-
tered a run on four hits and a walk.
WHITE SOX 12, RANGERS 2
James McCann hit a two-run homer
and Reynaldo Lopez struck out seven
over four innings for Chicago.
Edinson Volquez allowed just two
hits over his three scoreless innings for
Texas.
DIAMONDBACKS 13, ROYALS 5
Arizona’s Luke Weaver gave up six
hits but allowed just one earned run
over 3 1/3 innings.
Kansas City’s Jakob Junis allowed
one run on three hits while fanning four
in his three-inning start. Drew Storen
got one out in the eighth but allowed
three earned runs on four walks.
MARLINS 2, NATIONALS 1
Curtis Granderson ended a 0-for-10
start with a solo home run for Miami.
Pablo Lopez pitched four perfect in-
nings in his first start, striking out four.
The Marlins had a perfect game going
until Pedro Serverino singled with one
out in the eighth off Wei-Yin Chen.
Pedro Martinez and five Boston re-
lievers combined for the only previous
perfect game in spring training when
the Red Sox beat Toronto 5-0 on March
15, 2000.
YANKEES 6, ORIOLES (SS) 1
Gary Sanchez, who came into the
game batting .059, had an RBI single
and a sacrifice fly for New York. Gleyber
Torres doubled and scored and Greg
Bird added a run-scoring single.
Anthony Santander had a double and
is batting .458 for Baltimore. Mychal
Givens, in the mix for the closer’s job,
pitched a scoreless inning after allowing
six runs over 1 1/3 innings in his first two
outings.
told USA TODAY Sports. “It’s part of his
arrogance, his self-assuredness, his
cockiness. He’s got that big swing, all of
the moves, the hair, everything. All of
that stuff that draw attention.”
Harper certainly tried to put on a
show, taking a massive cut but missing
on the first pitch he saw from Blue Jays
starter Matt Shoemaker, but, hey, he’ll
have plenty of opportunities for homers
when they count in the regular season.
“I got excited a little bit,” Harper said,
laughing.
Middleton is hardly guaranteeing a
World Series title, or even the NL East
title, but says, “we didn’t do all of these
moves to have a respectable showing.
We made these moves with the intent of
making the playoffs and to be serious
contenders.”
Phillies pitcher Jake Arrieta, who
started Saturday, said he could hardly
believe this was a spring-training game.
“Everybody was rowdy at the pre-
game,” Arrieta said. “And screaming at
me. It’s going to be a good summer.”
Well, except for those teammates
who were hoping to beat the crowd
home each game. Those days, Phillies
veteran reliever Pat Neshek said, are
over.
“I was driving out of here around the
second inning a couple of games ago,
and I couldn’t even get out. I actually
had to go a different way because there
were lines of cars going both directions."
Now, all the Phillies have to do is play
the kind of baseball they envision, led
by the man they’re paying all of that
money in hopes of the ultimate prize.
“I’m just looking forward to being
part of something bigger than myself,”
Harper said, “and anybody in this club-
house. I’m just going to go out there, and
be Bryce, and play the game that I love.”
10B ❚ SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2019 ❚ T H E D E S E R T S U N

Fitzpatrick takes lead at Bay Hill

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ORLANDO, Fla. – Matthew Fitzpatrick

managed to avoid bogeys on a Bay Hill
course so firm he could barely find any
pitch marks on the greens Saturday. It led
to a 5-under 67 and a one-shot lead over
Rory McIlroy going into the final round of
the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
McIlroy, who has never successfully
defended any of his 22 victories world-
wide, birdied three of his last four holes
for a 66. This will be the third time in five
events this year that he plays in the last
group.
Fitzpatrick was at 9-under 207, which
spoke to the difficulty of a fast, fiery
course that would have made Arnie
proud. It was the highest 54-hole score to
lead at Bay Hill since Ben Crenshaw was
at 210 in 1993.
That would have surprised no one
who had to play it, especially late in the
warm afternoon.
Fitzpatrick wasn’t aware that Keegan
Bradley and Tommy Fleetwood, the co-
leaders after 36 holes, had quickly gone
in reverse. But it didn’t take him long to
figure it out. He hit a sand wedge from 115
yards to just inside 10 feet, and he
couldn’t even find where the ball landed. Matthew Fitzpatrick tees off on the 15th hole during the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Saturday at Bay
“So when you see that, you know it’s Hill Club & Lodge. Fitzpatrick shot a 5-under 67 to take a one-shot lead over Rory McIlroy. REINHOLD MATAY/USA TODAY SPORTS
going to be in for tough, fiery greens,”
Fitzpatrick said. “But the condition of the
greens is fantastic and they have been all also was in the final group at Kapalua to five back. Beach Country Club. The 53-year-old
week, so I think that that’s what make it’s start the year, three shots behind Gary “There’s water around here, the Massachusetts player had an 11-under 131
so great. You can still hit to 30 feet, 40 Woodland. He was in the final group in greens are firm, the rough’s thick,” Fitz- total. He’s winless on the 50-and-over
feet and just have a perfectly great putt, Mexico City two weeks ago, four shots patrick said. “Today someone was saying tour after winning four times on the Web-
just because they’re so good.” behind Dustin Johnson. it’s a bit like a U.S. Open, which I could .com Tour and twice on the Asian Tour.
McIlroy started quickly and was just This presents a better opportunity totally see. It only takes a couple of water
hanging around until his big finish. He hit against Fitzpatrick, a five-time winner on balls from the top five guys, a few European Tour
pitching wedge that settled a foot away the European Tour over the last four dropped shots early and all of a sudden
for a tap-in on the 15th, hit a pitch over the years. It will be the ninth time since the you sort of are not looking like you’re in a DOHA, Qatar – Oliver Wilson of Eng-
bunker from right of the green on the start of 2018 that McIlroy has been in the great position.” land grabbed the sole lead of the Qatar
par-5 16th for a 4-foot birdie, and then final group, some chances better than Masters by shooting a 3-under 69 in the
finished with another pitching wedge to ever. He has yet to win during that PGA Tour Champions third round despite making his first bo-
10 feet for one last birdie. stretch. At Bay Hill a year ago, he rallied gey of the tournament.
Those birdies were big. The pars from two behind. But there are plenty of NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Fran Wilson finished with a birdie on the
weren’t bad, either. others still in the mix. Quinn birdied three of the final holes in 18th for a 10-under total of 206, putting
“I felt for part of the round today that I Fitzpatrick looked at the electronic breezy conditions for a 4-under 67 and a him one shot clear of a quartet of players
was hanging on,” McIlroy said. “You hit it leaderboard next to him and figured ev- three-stroke lead in the PGA Tour Cham- that included second-round leader Mike
up to 25, 30 feet, you take your two-putts, ery name had a chance. There were 15 pions’ Hoag Classic. Lorenzo-Vera of France, who shot a 71.
you move on and know you’re not going names, all within five shots of the lead. Tied for the first-round lead with Scott In windy conditions throughout the
to lose any ground on the field.” And if the board were one line bigger, it McCarron after a 64 in strong wind Fri- week, Wilson had managed two flawless
That finished put him where he want- would have shown Fleetwood, who made day, Quinn rebounded from a bogey on rounds before making a bogey on the
ed – the final group. a 6-foot putt on the 18th hole for his first the par-4 14th with birdies on the par-5 par-4 fifth hole on Saturday in a round
It’s a position he knows well. McIlroy birdie of the day and a 76. He also was 15th, par-3 17th and par-5 18th at Newport that also included four birdies.

NFL teams propose

major rule changes
Barry Wilner
ASSOCIATED PRESS

NFL teams proposed major changes

to replay and overtime on Saturday af-
ter a season of consistent criticism of
officiating and which plays can be chal-
lenged or automatically reviewed.
Among the proposals teams have
made to the league’s competition com-
mittee are an increase in the number of
plays subject to video replay review
and a change to the overtime format.
The idea of more or even unlimited Rams cornerback Nickell Robey- Eric Weddle has a two-year deal, the Rams announced Friday. NICK WASS/AP
coaches’ challenges is not new, but Coleman hits Saints receiver Tommylee

LA Rams sign safety

could have stronger support now. Also, Lewis during the NFC championship
the league is reluctant to expand re- game Jan. 20. GERALD HERBERT/AP
plays for officiating because it would

Weddle to 2-year deal

slow games even further.
The competition committee will pre-
sent teams’ proposals and some of its
own to the 32 owners at the league
meetings March 24-27.
Several teams are proposing major
moves.
Washington wants any play to be
subject to coaches’ challenges or to
automatic review by the officiating de-
partment in New York.
The Redskins also suggested that all
personal fouls be subject to review,
while Kansas City added potential per-
sonal fouls that were not called on the
field be looked at.
Philadelphia seeks scoring plays and
turnovers negated by a penalty be im-
mediately reviewed, and Denver sug-
gests adding all fourth-down plays that
are spotted short of a first down or the
goal line, and all extra-point tries.
The Rams, Panthers, Seahawks and
Eagles want to include reviews of des-
ignated player safety-related fouls
whether called or not on the field.
Kansas City proposes that both
teams possess the ball at least one time
in overtime even if the first team with
the ball scores a touchdown.
The Chiefs also want to eliminate
overtime for the preseason, and get rid
of the overtime coin toss so that the
winner of the coin toss to begin the
game may choose whether to kick or re-
ceive, or which goal to defend in OT.
Fans and many media members
have vociferously expressed displea-
sure with the current system regarding
coaches’ challenges since a blown call
late in the NFC championship game –
officials missed a blatant pass interfer-
ence penalty and a helmet-first hit by
the Rams’ Nickell Robey-Coleman deep
in Los Angeles territory. The non-calls
helped Los Angeles force overtime and
eventually win the game to reach the
Super Bowl.
But New York Giants owner John
Mara said last month at the NFL com-
bine that the powerful competition
committee might not feel the same way.
“I just don’t sense a lot of support to
use replay to call penalties. I don’t
sense a lot of support for the expansion
of it, either,” Mara said. “We’re early on,
so that might change, but that’s my
sense of where we are right now. I’m
not saying it won’t change.”
While the league is wary of expand-
ed replays, the Eagles’ suggestion on
scoring plays and turnovers negated by
penalty being reviewed could garner
support.
Kansas City’s overtime proposals
also stem from recent developments,
including the Chiefs losing the AFC
championship after rallying to tie New
England. The Patriots won the coin
toss, drove downfield and scored a
touchdown without KC ever touching
the ball.
Greg Beacham
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES – Veteran safety Eric
Weddle agreed to a two-year deal with
the Los Angeles Rams on Friday, re-
turning to his native Southern Califor-
nia to join the defending NFC champi-
ons’ secondary.
The Rams also released starting
linebacker Mark Barron, continuing a
shuffle of veteran personnel after go-
ing 13-3 in the regular season and
reaching the Super Bowl last month.
Weddle joins the Rams after a 12-
year pro career with San Diego and
Baltimore, where he spent the past
three seasons. The six-time Pro Bowl
selection was released Tuesday after
starting all 16 games last year for the
Ravens, who elected to get younger.
The 34-year-old Weddle is a year
older than Rams coach Sean McVay,
but he could be exactly what Los Ange-
les’ secondary needs. He is nearly cer-
tain to take the starting job held by La-
marcus Joyner, who is expected to
leave as a free agent.
Joyner was a starter for the past two
years, but Weddle is widely regarded
as one of the NFL’s best free safeties.
The heavily bearded veteran didn’t
have an interception last season for just
the second time in his career, but he
made 68 tackles on the Ravens’ stellar
defense and played an important lead-
ership role in Baltimore, just as he did in
San Diego.
Weddle is also durable, starting all 16
games in nine of the last 11 seasons for
the Chargers and Ravens.
He adds even more experience to the
Rams’ secondary alongside 33-year-old
cornerback Aqib Talib and two-time Pro
Bowl selection Marcus Peters. Talib is
second among active players in career
interceptions with 35, while Weddle is
ninth with 29.
Promising two-year pro John John-
son is the Rams’ other starting safety.
Weddle grew up in Rancho Cuca-
monga, one of Los Angeles’ outer sub-
urbs, before starring at Utah and joining
the Chargers as a second-round pick.
Barron started 12 regular-season
games and all three playoff games for
the Rams last season, making 74 com-
bined tackles. The seven-year pro was
the seventh overall pick by Tampa Bay
in 2012, and he joined the Rams in a
trade during the 2014 season. Barron
has been a starter for the past four sea-
sons for the Rams. He was about to enter
the fourth season of a five-year deal.
 DESERTSUN.COM ❚ SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2019 ❚ 11B

IN BRIEF
Duke’s Williamson, Barrett Drivers Suarez, McDowell called to and it was McDowell’s slower car that The U.S. defends its title at the Wom-
contend for Wooden Award NASCAR hauler after fight Suarez claimed impeded his best lap. en’s World Cup, which starts June 7 in
McDowell acknowledged getting in France.
LOS ANGELES – Duke teammates AVONDALE, Ariz. – Drivers Daniel the way, but he also took umbrage with
Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett, along Suarez and Michael McDowell were Suarez retaliating on the track by get- Texas fires former QB Young from
with Gonzaga’s Brandon Clarke and Rui summoned to the NASCAR hauler after ting in his way. McDowell’s qualifying part-time job
Hachimura, are among 15 players on the they were involved in a post-qualifying effort was similarly scuttled, both driv-
ballot for the John R. Wooden Award fight before practice Saturday for the ers missed the cutoff for the second AUSTIN, Texas – Former Texas quar-
that goes to the nation’s outstanding Cup Series race at ISM Raceway. round of qualifying and they will start terback Vince Young, whose last-min-
college basketball player. Suarez was upset that McDowell im- deep in the field. ute touchdown against Southern Cali-
The other contenders are Jarrett Cul- peded his fastest qualifying lap, stalk- fornia in the 2006 Rose Bowl delivered
ver of Texas Tech, Mike Daum of South ing him after both were eliminated in Adidas says women to get same the Longhorns’ only undisputed nation-
Dakota State, Carsen Edwards of Pur- the first qualifying session Friday. Sua- WCup bonus as men al championship in the last 50 years,
due, Ethan Happ of Wisconsin, Markus rez then hopped a concrete barrier and has been fired by the school from his
Howard of Marquette, De’Andre Hunter scuffled with McDowell, spinning and HERZOGENAURACH, Germany – part-time job as a development officer
of Virginia, Dedric Lawson of Kansas, Ja throwing him to the ground. Sportswear maker Adidas says it will for poor performance and often being
Morant of Murray State, PJ Washington It took several crew members to sep- give the same bonus to any of its spon- absent from work or not in touch with
of Kentucky, Grant Williams of Tennes- arate them. sored players on the Women’s World his supervisors.
see and Cassius Winston of Michigan Suarez and McDowell downplayed Cup-winning soccer team as their male The move comes after job warnings
State. the morning meeting, saying NASCAR counterparts. dating to 2017 and a second drunken
The ballot was announced Saturday officials just wanted to ensure the ani- Adidas says on Twitter that it be- driving arrest within three years on Feb.
by the Los Angeles Athletic Club. mosity would not spill over to the track lieves “in inspiring and enabling the 4. After initially accepting responsibil-
Voting by a national media panel practice or during the race. next generation of female athletes, cre- ity for the drunken driving incident,
takes place March 18-25, which includes “Which, honestly, it’s my style,” Sua- ators and leaders through breaking bar- Young has said he will fight the charge.
the opening rounds of the NCAA Tour- rez said. “If I wanted to wreck him I riers.” On Friday – International Wom- Young was notified March 1 he’d been
nament. Fans can vote online. would have done that yesterday. That’s en’s Day – American players filed a fed- fired from the $50,000 job “for not dem-
The top 10 vote-getters will be named not my style. I wouldn’t use my race car eral discrimination lawsuit against the onstrating significant and sustained
to the Wooden Award All American as a weapon.” U.S. Soccer Federation over equal treat- improvement in the performance of
team after the Elite Eight round of the The trouble began when drivers wait- ment and pay. The players alleged ongo- your job responsibilities and failing to
NCAA Tournament. Five finalists will ed until the final minutes of the 10-min- ing “institutionalized gender discrimi- maintain standards of conduct suitable
vie for the Wooden Award to be present- ute qualifying session to take the track. nation” that includes unequal pay with and acceptable to the university,” the
ed on April 12 in Los Angeles. That led to chaos at the end of pit road their counterparts on the men’s national letter said.
and plenty of traffic on the race surface, team. — Wire services

BNP PARIBAS OPEN RESULTS

SATURDAY
At The Indian Wells Tennis Garden
Indian Wells, Calif.
Purse: ATP: $8.36 million (Masters
1000);WTA: $9.04 million (Premier)
Surface: Hard-Outdoor
SINGLES
Men
Second Round
Felix Auger-Aliassime, Canada, def.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (9), Greece, 6-4, 6-2.
Marcos Giron, United States, def. Alex de
Minaur (23), Australia, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Miomir Kecmanovic, Serbia, def. Maxi
Marterer, Germany, 6-3, 6-2.
Laslo Djere, Serbia, def. Guido
Andreozzi, Argentina, 6-3, 6-4.
Gael Monfils (18), France, def. Leonardo
Mayer, Argentina, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
Milos Raonic (13), Canada, def. Sam
Querrey, United States, 7-6 (1), 6-4.
Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Spain, def. Marco
Cecchinato (15), Italy, 6-4, 6-2.
Ivo Karlovic, Croatia, def. Borna Coric (11),
Croatia, 6-4, 7-6 (2).
Gilles Simon (27), France, def. Malek
Jaziri, Tunisia, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-4.
Philipp Kohlschreiber, Germany, def.
Nick Kyrgios (31), Australia, 6-4, 6-4.
Jan-Lennard Struff, Germany, def.
Ricardas Berankis, Lithuania, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Prajnesh Gunneswaran, India, def.
Nikoloz Basilashvili (17), Georgia, 6-4, 6-7
(6), 7-6 (4).
Alexander Zverev (3), Germany, def.
Martin Klizan, Slovakia, 6-3, 2-0 retired.
Novak Djokovic (1), Serbia, def. Bjorn
Fratangelo, United States, 7-6 (5), 6-2.
Yoshihito Nishioka, Japan, def. Roberto
Bautista Agut (21), Spain, 7-6 (3), 6-4.
Women
Second Round
Angelique Kerber (8), Germany, def.
Yulia Putintseva, Kazakhstan, 6-0, 6-2.
Aryna Sabalenka (9), Belarus, def. Ajla
Tomljanovic, Australia, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0.
Ysaline Bonaventure, Belgium, def.
Donna Vekic (28), Croatia, 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4.
Natalia Vikhlyantseva, Russia, def. Carla
Suarez Navarro (26), Spain, 6-2, 6-0.
Mona Barthel, Germany, def. Madison
Keys (17), United States, 3-6, 6-1, 7-5.
Anastasija Sevastova (11), Latvia, def.
Madison Brengle, United States, 6-3, 6-4.
Anett Kontaveit (21), Estonia, def.
Monica Puig, Puerto Rico, 6-3, 7-6 (4).
Lesia Tsurenko (24), Ukraine, def.
Jessica Pegula, United States, 3-6, 7-5,
6-4.
Venus Williams, United States, def. Petra
Kvitova (3), Czech Republic, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.
Karolina Pliskova (5), Czech Republic,
def. Misaki Doi, Japan, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-1.
Christina McHale, United States, def.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (30), Russia,
6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
Danielle Collins (25), United States, def.
Kirsten Flipkens, Belgium, 6-4, 6-1.
Belinda Bencic (23), Switzerland, def.
Alison Van Uytvanck, Belgium, 6-4, 6-1.
Ekaterina Alexandrova, Russia, def.
Caroline Wozniacki (13), Denmark, 7-5,
2-6, 7-5.
Julia Goerges (15), Germany, def. Kaia
Kanepi, Estonia, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.
Naomi Osaka (1), Japan, def. Kristina
Mladenocic, 6-3, 6-4
DOUBLES
Men
First Round
Nikola Mektic, Croatia, and Horacio
Zeballos, Argentina, def. Kyle Edmund
and Neal Skupski, Britain, 7-6 (1), 6-3.
Bob and Mike Bryan (4), United States,
def. Karen Khachanov and Daniil
Mevedev, Russia, 6-3, 6-2.
Dominic Inglot, Britain, and Franko
Skugor, Croati, def. aFeliciano Lopez,
Spain, and Diego Schwartzman,
Argentina, 5-7, 6-4, 10-7.
Lucas Pouille, France, and Stan
Wawrinka, Switzerland, def. Ivan Dodig,
Croatia, and Edouard Roger-Vasselin,
France, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1).
Rohan Bopanna, India, and Denis
Shapovalov, Canada, def. Jamie Murray,
Britain, and Bruno Soares (2), Brazil, 6-4,
6-4.
Jean-Julien Rojer, Netherlands, and
Horia Tecau, Romania, def. Marton
Fucsovics, Hungary, and Guido Pella,
Argentina, 6-1, 6-2.
Women
Second Round
Gabriela Dabrowski, Canada, and Xu
Yifan (5), China, def. Monica Niculescu,
Romania, and Abigail Spears, United
States, 6-3, 6-4.

SCOREBOARD
All times PDT/MST MLS Arkansas 82, Alabama 70
Lamar 83, McNeese St. 58
Valparaiso 81, Loyola of Chicago 74 Lucas Glover
Sung Kang
70-71-71-
69-72-71-
212 -4
212 -4
13. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 138.867
14. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford, 138.803
MLB EASTERN CONFERENCE Louisiana-Lafayette 90, Arkansas St. 87,
SOUTHWEST
Abilene Christian 102, Incarnate Word 53 F. Molinari 69-70-73- 212 -4 15. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet,
W L T Pts GF GA OT Houston Baptist 74, Texas A&M-CC 56 Billy Horschel 68-71-73- 212 -4 138.803
Spring Training Adam Hadwin 70-75-68- 213 -3
Columbus 1 0 1 4 3 1 Louisiana-Monroe 79, UALR 62 Lamar 81, McNeese St. 68 16. (1) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 138.766
AMERICAN LEAGUE Toronto FC 1 0 0 3 3 1 Oklahoma St. 85, West Virginia 77 Byeong Hun An 72-72-69- 213 -3 17. (21) Paul Menard, Ford, 138.739
Prairie View 90, Alcorn St. 61 Carlos Ortiz 72-71-70- 213 -3
W L Pct. D.C. United 1 0 0 3 2 0 Prairie View 98, Alcorn St. 64 Southern U. 60, Texas Southern 49 18. (6) Ryan Newman, Ford, 138.696
Montreal 1 1 0 3 3 3 Sam Houston St. 68, Stephen F. Austin 57 H. Matsuyama 72-70-71- 213 -3 19. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 138.520
Kansas City 10 6 .625 Stephen F. Austin 83, Sam Houston St. 75 Kevin Streelman 70-72-71- 213 -3
Baltimore 9 6 .600 Orlando City 0 0 2 2 3 3 TCU 69, Texas 56 Texas-Arlington 44, Texas St. 41 20. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 138.435
New York City 0 0 1 1 2 2 Chesson Hadley 71-71-71- 213 -3
Minnesota 8 6 .571 Texas A&M-CC 76, Houston Baptist 69 Brendan Steele 70-71-72- 213 -3 21. (47) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet, 138.329
FC FAR WEST
Toronto 8 6 .571 Texas-Arlington 81, Texas St. 73 K. Aphibarnrat 71-70-72- 213 -3 22. (37) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet,
New York 0 0 1 1 1 1 CS Bakersfield 92, Utah Valley 73
Houston 8 6 .571 FAR WEST Roger Sloan 70-69-74- 213 -3 137.452
Chicago 0 1 1 1 2 3 Hawaii 69, CS Northridge 68
New York 7 6 .538 Arizona St. 72, Arizona 64 Adam Long 74-71-69- 214 -2 23. (43) Bubba Wallace, Chevrolet,
New England 0 1 1 1 1 3 Idaho St. 71, Idaho 67
Seattle 7 6 .538 Boise St. 80, Air Force 52 Scott Piercy 74-70-70- 214 -2 136.939
Philadelphia 0 1 0 0 1 3 Montana 75, Sacramento St. 67
Cleveland 8 7 .533 Colorado 78, Southern Cal 67 Adam Schenk 70-73-71- 214 -2 24. (32) Corey LaJoie, Ford, 136.830
Atlanta 0 1 0 0 0 2 N. Arizona 79, N. Colorado 68
Oakland 8 7 .533 E. Washington 80, Weber St. 77 M. Leishman 72-70-72- 214 -2 25. (95) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota,
Cincinnati 0 1 0 0 1 4 New Mexico St. 92, Cal Baptist 64 Pat Perez 69-73-72- 214 -2
Los Angeles 9 8 .529 Fresno St. 121, San Jose St. 81 136.804
Portland St. 68, Montana St. 55 Ian Poulter 73-68-73- 214 -2
Detroit 7 9 .438 WESTERN CONFERENCE Idaho St. 70, Idaho 68 26. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 136.560
Chicago 6 8 .429 Seattle 70, Grand Canyon 55 P. Rodgers 68-73-73- 214 -2
N. Arizona 89, N. Colorado 78, OT 27. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford, 136.514
Tampa Bay 6 9 .400 W L T Pts GF GA UC Davis 80, UC Santa Barbara 44 Keith Mitchell 71-68-75- 214 -2
New Mexico St. 75, Cal Baptist 63 28. (41) Daniel Suarez, Ford, 136.472
Boston 6 9 .400 Seattle 2 0 0 6 6 1 UC Irvine 63, Long Beach St. 60 Jhonattan Vegas 69-70-75- 214 -2
Oregon St. 85, Washington St. 77 29. (38) David Ragan, Ford, 136.457
Texas 4 9 .308 Minnesota 2 0 0 6 6 2 UC Riverside 75, Cal St.-Fullerton 67 Ryan Blaum 73-72-70- 215 -1
Seattle 83, Grand Canyon 76, OT 30. (36) Matt Tifft, Ford, 136.307
United Weber St. 70, E. Washington 66 Johnson Wagner 71-72-72- 215 -1
FC Dallas 1 0 1 4 3 1 UC Riverside 71, UC Davis 70 Beau Hossler 76-66-73- 215 -1 31. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 134.786
NATIONAL LEAGUE TOURNAMENT
Houston 1 0 1 4 3 2 UNLV 65, Colorado St. 60 Sam Saunders 73-68-74- 215 -1 32. (00) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet,
W L Pct. Real Salt Lake 1 0 1 4 2 1 Utah 92, UCLA 81 American Athletic Conference Rickie Fowler 74-71-71- 216 E 134.444
Chicago 11 6 .647 Los Angeles FC 1 0 0 3 2 1 Utah Valley 76, CS Bakersfield 61 Quarterfinals J.T. Poston 71-72-73- 216 E 33. (15) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet,
San Diego 9 5 .643 LA Galaxy 1 1 0 3 2 3 Wyoming 88, New Mexico 81 Cincinnati 68, Memphis 48 Ryan Moore 71-72-73- 216 E 133.388
Atlanta 9 6 .600 Portland 0 0 1 1 3 3 South Florida 72, Houston 55 Scott Stallings 69-74-73- 216 E 34. (51) Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 129.636
TOURNAMENT
Los Angeles 8 6 .571 Colorado 0 1 1 1 3 5 UCF 66, Tulsa 54 Aaron Wise 72-70-74- 216 E 35. (77) Quin Houff, Chevrolet, 125.672
Philadelphia 8 6 .571 Sporting 0 1 0 0 1 2 America East Conference J.J. Spaun 71-70-75- 216 E 36. (52) Bayley Currey, Ford, 0.000
UConn 92, East Carolina 65
Milwaukee 8 8 .500 Kansas City First Round Patrick Reed 70-70-76- 216 E
Washington 7 7 .500 Vancouver 0 2 0 0 2 4 Atlantic 10 Conference Harris English 76-69-72- 217 +1
Binghamton 78, Stony Brook 72
New York 7 8 .467 San Jose 0 2 0 0 1 5 UMBC 62, Albany (NY) 54 Semifinals Viktor Hovland 74-70-73- 217 +1
Pittsburgh
St. Louis
7 8
6 7
.467
.462 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point Vermont 73, Maine 57 VCU 61, Dayton 52
Atlantic Coast Conference
H. Swafford
Sam Ryder
70-74-73-
74-69-74-
217 +1
217 +1 BETTING LINE
for tie. CACC Tournament Sam Horsfield 74-69-74- 217 +1
Arizona 6 8 .429 Semifinals Pregame.com Line
Colorado 6 8 .429 Saturday, March 9 Semifinals D.A. Points 72-71-74- 217 +1
San Francisco 5 8 .385 Bloomfield 90, Goldey Beacom 86 Louisville 78, NC State 68 Zach Johnson 70-71-76- 217 +1 NBA
Orlando City 1, Chicago 1, tie
Miami 6 10 .375 Dominican (NY) 65, Jefferson 57 Notre Dame 91, Syracuse 66 Sam Burns 76-69-73- 218 +2 Sunday
Columbus 2, New England 0
Cincinnati 4 9 .308 FC Dallas 2, LA Galaxy 0 Colonial Athletic Association Big 12 Conference B. Snedeker 73-71-74- 218 +2 Favorite Line O/U Underdog
Houston 2, Montreal 1 Quarterfinals Tim Herron 72-70-76- 218 +2 DETROIT 8 217 Chicago
Saturday’s Games First Round J. Niemann 71-71-76- 218 +2 MIAMI OFF OFF Toronto
Real Salt Lake 1, Vancouver 0 James Madison 74, Towson 73 Baylor 100, Texas Tech 61 PHILADELPHIA OFF OFF Indiana
N.Y. Mets 10, Boston 2 Minnesota United 3, San Jose 0 Iowa St. 75, Kansas 58 Justin Rose 71-70-77- 218 +2
Minnesota 10, Pittsburgh 1 UNC Wilmington 93, Elon 86 B. DeChambeau 75-70-74- 219 +3 ATLANTA OFF (OFF) New Orleans
Seattle 2, Colorado 0 Kansas St. 72, West Virginia 59 Hunter Mahan 76-69-74- 219 +3 Orlando 11⁄2 (2071⁄2) MEMPHIS
Baltimore (ss) 17, Tampa Bay 15 GLIAC Conference Tournament
Atlanta 6, Detroit 4 Sunday, March 10 Big East Conference Eddie Pepperell 72-68-79- 219 +3 Houston 8 (2231⁄2) DALLAS
Semifinals SAN ANTONIO OFF OFF Milwaukee
Houston 9, St. Louis 3 D.C. United at NY City FC, noon First Round Steve Stricker 75-69-76- 220 +4
Davenport 88, N. Michigan 77 Martin Trainer 70-71-79- 220 +4 MINNESOTA 111⁄2 (227) New York
Toronto 8, Philadelphia 7 Philadelphia at Sporting KC, noon Providence 70, Xavier 62
Grand Valley St. 55, Wis.-Parkside 53 Jimmy Walker 70-71-81- 222 +6 GOLDEN STATE 17 235 Phoenix
Chicago Cubs (ss) 11, L.A. Angels (ss) 4 Cincinnati at Atlanta, 2 p.m. St. John's 76, Seton Hall 51
Portland at Los Angeles FC, 4:30 p.m. Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Anirban Lahiri 74-69-80- 223 +7
Cleveland 7, Colorado (ss) 1 Big Ten Conference COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Chicago White Sox 12, Texas 2 Saturday, March 16 Quarterfinals
Monmouth (NJ) 98, Quinnipiac 92 Semifinals Sunday
L.A. Dodgers 2, Seattle 0 Seattle at Chicago, 10 a.m. PGA Tour Champions - Hoag Classic Par Favorite Line Underdog
Siena 87, Rider 81 Iowa 72, Rutgers 67
Milwaukee (ss) 11, Oakland 2 FC Dallas at Columbus, 11 a.m. Maryland 73, Michigan 72 Scores PENN ST 7 Illinois
Chicago Cubs (ss) 8, San Francisco 0 Vancouver at Houston, noon Missouri Valley Conference Saturday INDIANA 6 Rutgers
Milwaukee (ss) 5, L.A. Angels (ss) 1 San Jose at New York, 12:30 p.m. GLIAC Conference Tournament CINCINNATI 1 Houston
Semifinals At Newport Beach CC
Arizona (ss) 13, Kansas City 5 Montreal at Orlando City, 1 p.m. Bradley 53, Loyola of Chicago 51 Semifinals NEBRASKA 2 Iowa
N.Y. Yankees 6, Baltimore (ss) 1 Real Salt Lake at D.C. United, 5 p.m. N. Iowa 61, Drake 58 Ashland 77, Michigan Tech 61 Newport Beach, Calif. UCONN 6 EAST CAROLINA
Miami 2, Washington 1 Minnesota United at LA Galaxy, 7:30 p.m. N. Michigan 47, Grand Valley St. 38 Purse: $1.8 million SOUTH FLORIDA 3 SMU
NCAA Division III Wisconsin 3 OHIO STATE
Colorado (ss) 5, Arizona (ss) 1 Sunday, March 17 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Yardage: 6,584; Par 71
San Diego 6, Cincinnati 2 Quarterfinals William & Mary 3 Delaware
Los Angeles FC at NY City FC, noon Christopher Newport 79, Williams 70 Quarterfinals Second Round Coll. Of Charleston 8 Drexel
Sunday’s Games Portland at Cincinnati, 2 p.m. Swarthmore 69, Nichols 65 Marist 65, Manhattan 51 Fran Quinn 64-67 - 131 -11 National Hockey League
Pittsburgh vs. N.Y. Yankees (ss) at Tampa, Philadelphia at Atlanta, 4 p.m. Wheaton (Ill.) 91, Marietta 87 Monmouth (NJ) 64, Canisius 53 David McKenzie 68-66 - 134 -8
Fla., 10:05 a.m. New England at Toronto FC, 4:30 p.m. Wis.-Oshkosh 82, Guilford 79 NCAA Division III David Toms 67-67 - 134 -8 Sunday
Atlanta vs. Miami at Jupiter, Fla., 10:05 Sporting KC at Colorado, 6 p.m. Kirk Triplett 70-65 - 135 -7 Favorite Line Underdog Line
a.m. Northeast Conference Quarterfinals FLORIDA OFF Detroit OFF
Bowdoin 87, Ithaca 61 Esteban Toledo 70-65 - 135 -7
Boston vs. Tampa Bay at Port Charlotte, Semifinals Woody Austin 68-67 - 135 -7 WASHINGTON -125 Winnipeg +115
Fla., 10:05 a.m. Fairleigh Dickinson 66, Robert Morris 62 Scranton 44, Tufts 40 Steve Flesch 69-67 - 136 -6 PITTSBURGH -116 Boston +106
N.Y. Yankees (ss) vs. Detroit at Lakeland, COLLEGE BASKETBALL St. Francis (Pa.) 72, LIU Brooklyn 64 St. Thomas (Minn.) 85, Wartburg 56 Scott McCarron 64-72 - 136 -6 CALGARY OFF Las Vegas OFF
Fla., 10:05 a.m. Thomas More 87, Washington (Mo.) 72 Gene Sauers 71-66 - 137 -5 ANAHEIM OFF Los Angeles OFF
Saturday’s Men’s Scores Ohio Valley Conference
Toronto vs. Minnesota at Fort Myers, Fla., Ohio Valley Conference Scott Verplank 73-64 - 137 -5
EAST Championship Tom Lehman 69-68 - 137 -5
10:05 a.m. Murray St. 75, Belmont 65 Championship
Cornell 66, Dartmouth 51 Paul Goydos 69-68 - 137 -5
Philadelphia vs. Baltimore at Sarasota,
Fla., 10:05 a.m. Dayton 78, Duquesne 67 Southern Conference
Belmont 59, UT Martin 53
M. A. Jimenez 69-68 - 137 -5 TRANSACTIONS
George Mason 81, George Washington Patriot League Doug Garwood 66-71 - 137 -5
Washington vs. Houston at West Palm Quarterfinals BASEBALL
Beach, Fla., 10:05 a.m. 65 ETSU 68, Chattanooga 64 First Round
Harvard 83, Columbia 81, OT Furman 85, Mercer 74 Lafayette 63, Army 61 American League
St. Louis vs. N.Y. Mets at Port St. Lucie, Qatar Masters Leading Scores DETROIT TIGERS — Optioned LHP Matt
Fla., 10:10 a.m. La Salle 72, Fordham 57 Wofford 99, VMI 72 Loyola (Md.) 58, Navy 45
NC State 73, Boston College 47 Saturday Hall and RHP Sandy Baez to Toledo (IL)
San Francisco (ss) vs. Oakland (ss) at Summit League Southeastern Conference
Penn 58, Brown 51 At Doha GC and RHP Franklin Perez to Lakeland (FSL).
Mesa, Ariz., 1:05 p.m. First Round Semifinals HOUSTON ASTROS — Optioned RHP
Arizona (ss) vs. Cincinnati at Goodyear, Pittsburgh 56, Notre Dame 53 Arkansas 58, Texas A&M 51 Doha, Qatar
Providence 83, Butler 70 Omaha 81, North Dakota 76 Bryan Abreu and C Garrett Stubbs to
Ariz., 1:05 p.m. W. Illinois 79, S. Dakota St. 76 Mississippi St. 71, Missouri 56 Purse: $1.75 million minor league camp. Reassigned RHP
San Diego vs. Kansas City at Surprise, Rhode Island 94, UMass 75
Summit League Yardage: 7,400; Par: 72 Akeem Bostick, OF Ronnie Dawson, C
Ariz., 1:05 p.m. Seton Hall 79, Villanova 75
St. Bonaventure 66, Saint Louis 57 Saturday’s Women’s Scores First Round Third Round Chuckie Robinson and INFs Taylor Jones
Texas vs. San Francisco (ss) at Scottsdale, and IF Joshua Rojas to minor league
Ariz., 1:05 p.m. Temple 67, UCF 62 EAST S. Dakota St. 88, Purdue Fort Wayne 50 Oliver Wilson, England 69-68-69-206
Yale 81, Princeton 59 Cornell 57, Dartmouth 47 South Dakota 74, N. Dakota St. 51 M. Lorenzo-Vera, France 68-68-71-207 camp.
Oakland (ss) vs. Chicago White Sox at TEXAS RANGERS — Assigned RHPs Taylor
Glendale, Ariz., 1:05 p.m. SOUTH Drexel 77, Towson 44 West Coast Conference E. Van Rooyen, S. Africa 69-68-70-207
Harvard 69, Columbia 56 Nick Cullen, Australia 69-70-68-207 Guerrieri and Michael Tonkin and LHPs
Chicago Cubs vs. Milwaukee at Phoenix, Ark.-Pine Bluff 91, MVSU 57 Third Round Miguel Del Pozo and Brady Feigl to minor
Penn 75, Brown 53 Nacho Elvira, Spain 71-67-69-207
1:05 p.m. Auburn 84, Tennessee 80 Pepperdine 87, Pacific 84 Min Woo Lee, Australia 75-66-67-208 league camp.
Seattle (ss) vs. L.A. Angels at Tempe, Cent. Arkansas 70, Northwestern St. 63 Princeton 80, Yale 68 Saint Mary's (Cal) 70, Loyola Marymount Anton Karlsson, Sweden 72-66-70-208
Ariz., 1:10 p.m. Clemson 67, Syracuse 55 SOUTH 38 National League
Thomas Detry, Belgium 70-68-70-208 ATLANTA BRAVES — Optioned LHP Luiz
L.A. Dodgers vs. Colorado (ss) at Davidson 73, Richmond 69 Appalachian St. 59, South Alabama 50 Jake McLeod, Australia 72-70-66-208
Scottsdale, Ariz., 1:10 p.m. FIU 73, North Texas 58 Arkansas St. 75, Louisiana-Lafayette 73 Justin Harding, S. Africa 68-68-73-209 Gohara and RHPs Huascar Ynoa and
Patrick Weigel to Gwinnett (IL).
Cleveland vs. Seattle (ss) at Peoria, Ariz.,
1:10 p.m.
Florida St. 65, Wake Forest 57
Georgia St. 90, Georgia Southern 85
Belmont Abbey 77, Barton 76
Charleston Southern 79, Longwood 67
GOLF G. Coetzee, S. Africa
Bradley Dredge, Wales
68-68-73-209
68-71-70-209 CHICAGO CUBS — Released RHP Rob
Colorado (ss) vs. Arizona (ss) at Grambling St. 66, Alabama A&M 58 Gardner-Webb 75, SC-Upstate 67 Adri Arnaus, Spain 67-70-72-209 Scahill. Optioned RHPs Adbert Alzolay
Bay Hill-Arnold Palmer Invitational Par
Monterrey, MX, 2:10 p.m. Jackson St. 82, Alabama St. 70 Georgia St. 73, Georgia Southern 66 Kurt Kitayama, USA 69-70-70-209 and Jen-Ho Tseng to Iowa (PCL) and RHP
Scores Oscar De La Cruz and LHP Justin Steele to
Kentucky 66, Florida 57 Grambling St. 71, Alabama A&M 61 Jorge Campillo, Spain 72-69-68-209
LSU 80, Vanderbilt 59 Saturday C. Bezuidenhout, S. Africa 72-71-66-209 Tennessee (SL). Assigned RHPs Craig
Hampton 88, Winthrop 63
Marshall 76, FAU 61 High Point 70, Campbell 69 Bay Hill Club & Lodge Brooks, Carlos Ramirez, Colin Rea and
FOOTBALL Mississippi St. 92, Texas A&M 81 Jackson St. 78, Alabama St. 58 Orlando, Fla. Duncan Robinson; LHPs Alberto
Baldonado and Ian Clarkin; OFs Charcer
Alliance of American Football
Nicholls 69, SE Louisiana 63
North Carolina 79, Duke 70
James Madison 56, Delaware 51
MVSU 82, Ark.-Pine Bluff 63
Purse: $9.1 million AUTO RACING Burks, Jacob Hannemann and Evan
EASTERN CONFERENCE South Alabama 78, Appalachian St. 71 Yardage: 7,454; Par 72 Marzilli; and C Ian Rice to their minor
W L T Pct Nicholls 72, SE Louisiana 55 NASCAR - 15th Annual TicketGuardian
South Carolina 66, Georgia 46 Northeastern 83, Elon 57 Third Round 500 Lineup league camp.
Orlando 5 0 0 1.000 COLORADO ROCKIES — Optioned RHP
Birmingham 3 2 0 .600 Southern Miss. 81, UTSA 48 Northwestern St. 78, Cent. Arkansas 74 M. Fitzpatrick 70-70-67- 207 -9 Friday’s qualifying; race Sunday
Troy 74, Coastal Carolina 67 Radford 48, Presbyterian 43 Rory McIlroy 72-70-66- 208 -8 Rayan Gonzalez to Albuquerque (PCL).
Memphis 1 3 0 .250 At ISM Raceway MIAMI MARLINS — Optioned OF
Atlanta 1 3 0 .250 UAB 64, Old Dominion 50 Troy 89, Coastal Carolina 76 A. Baddeley 70-70-69- 209 -7
Virginia 73, Louisville 68 UALR 57, Louisiana-Monroe 38 Matt Wallace 71-69-69- 209 -7 Avondale, Ariz. Magneuris Sierra and RHPs Jordan
WESTERN CONFERENCE William & Mary 83, Hofstra 72 Kevin Kisner 70-69-70- 209 -7 Car number in parentheses Yamamoto, Kyle Keller and Elieser
W L T Pct MIDWEST Chris Kirk 71-73-66- 210 -6 Hernandez to New Orleans (PCL); RHP
San Diego 3 2 0 .600 Creighton 91, DePaul 78 MIDWEST Luke List 70-72-68- 210 -6 1. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 141.287 mph
2. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 140.171 Jorge Guzman to Jacksonville (SL); and
San Antonio 2 2 0 .500 Georgetown 86, Marquette 84 Cent. Michigan 78, Toledo 45 C. Howell III 74-67-69- 210 -6 RHP Jordan Holloway to Jupiter (FSL).
Arizona 2 2 0 .500 Kansas 78, Baylor 70 Drake 95, Bradley 63 R. C. Bello 65-75-70- 210 -6 3. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 140.007
4. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 139.855 NEW YORK METS — Released 3B T.J.
Salt Lake 1 4 0 .200 Kansas St. 68, Oklahoma 53 E. Michigan 67, Ball St. 57 Keegan Bradley 67-68-75- 210 -6
5. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 139.849 Rivera.
Saturday's Games Michigan St. 75, Michigan 63 Illinois St. 54, N. Iowa 53 Tyrrell Hatton 70-75-66- 211 -5 PITTSBURGH PIRATES — Optioned RHPs
Orlando 31, Birmingham 14 Mississippi 73, Missouri 68 Kent St. 62, Buffalo 53 Jason Kokrak 70-73-68- 211 -5 6. (88) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 139.768
7. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet, 139.567 JT Brubaker, Luis Escobar and Mitch
San Diego 27, Salt Lake 25 Purdue 70, Northwestern 57 Miami (Ohio) 66, Akron 49 Martin Kaymer 72-69-70- 211 -5 Keller to Indianapolis (IL). Reassigned C
Texas Tech 80, Iowa St. 73 Missouri St. 76, Indiana St. 66 Bubba Watson 68-72-71- 211 -5 8. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 139.411
Sunday’s Games Sungjae Im 71-69-71- 211 -5 9. (19) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 139.206 Jason Delay, RHPs Dario Agrazal and
UMKC 76, Chicago St. 61 N. Illinois 74, W. Michigan 71 Eduardo Vera and LHPs Elvis Escobar and
Memphis at Atlanta, 1 p.m. Xavier 81, St. John's 68 T. Fleetwood 69-66-76- 211 -5 10. (20) Erik Jones, Toyota, 138.991
Ohio 76, Bowling Green 68 Blake Weiman to minor league camp.
San Antonio at Arizona, 5 p.m. G. McDowell 68-75-69- 212 -4 11. (8) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 138.846
SOUTHWEST S. Illinois 80, Evansville 60
UMKC 100, Chicago St. 50 Henrik Stenson 77-66-69- 212 -4 12. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 138.664
Abilene Christian 81, Incarnate Word 51
12B ❚ SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2019 ❚ T H E D E S E R T S U N

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The Desert Sun ❚ SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2019 ❚ 1F
BNP Paribas Open
Thoughtful Victoria Azarenka is
voice we need in sports right now
Game, Set, Shad
Shad Powers
Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY NETWORK
One last thing I wanted to mention from that great
Friday night match between Serena Williams and Vic-
toria Azarenka is how much I like Azarenka.
After her loss, she was asked about the famous
Nike ad that aired during the Super Bowl, touting
female athletes. One of the images in the commercial
is Azarenka crying. This was her take: “I felt that it
was an amazing moment for women in sport. I feel
SISTER
ACT
Venus Williams celebrates
her win over Petra Kvitova
on Stadium One at the 2019
BNP Paribas Open.
OMAR ORNELAS/THE DESERT SUN
Andrew L. John
Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY NETWORK
For more than just a fleeting moment on Saturday at Indian Wells, it
appeared as though this could be the end of the line for Venus Williams.
She was down a set and a double break to the third-ranked player in the
world, having lost the first three games of the second set on Stadium
Ex-UCLA star Giron is surprised
he’s advanced to Round of 32
Shad Powers
Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY NETWORK
There wasn’t a lot to indicate that 25-year-old qual-
ifier Marcos Giron, a former national champion at
UCLA, would be one of 32 men remaining at the BNP
Paribas Open.
In fact, he’s as surprised as anyone.
“I did not expect to be in the third round,” Giron
said. “I have had a good year so far in challengers and
won a lot of matches, and I think that’s helped a lot
with confidence and trusting my ability in important
points in matches. But I wasn’t expecting to be here in
the third round, but I’m here and I’m very excited.”
After winning two qualifying matches and an
opening-round match against veteran Jeremy Char-
dy, Giron stepped it up a notch, defeating the No. 23
seed Alex De Minaur 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.
You can’t blame him for not expecting to be in the
Round of 32. He had never won a match at a Masters
1000 Tournament much less two. He’s never beaten a
player ranked No. 30 in the world. His pro record com-
MUST-SEE MATCH
ROGER FEDERER (Switzerland) vs.
PETER GOJOWCZYK (Germany)
When: Second match on Stadium 1 (approx. 12:30
p.m.)
that we showed great vulnerability that does exist
and what people don’t really talk about. We talk about Why: Finally, desert fans get to see Roger Federer,
being tough, being strong, being focused. And we are he of the 100 wins, in action at the BNP Paribas
all that, but we are also human with vulnerable feel- Open. Federer begins his campaign against the No.
ings and emotions. We get hurt, and people see that. I 85-ranked player in the world, German Peter Go-
felt there was a little bit of some – too many comments jowczyk. I like Federer in this one. Federer – along
about, you know, men don’t praise themselves. And I with Djokovic – is vying to be the first person to win
was, like, ‘Well, go ahead.’ But why can’t we do that this event six times in a career.
and celebrate each other and support each other and
Also: In the match following Federer’s you’ll see
show what we are about? We just want to support
Serena Williams take on Garbine Muguruza. Then,
equality. That’s everybody’s right. There is no dis-
the first match of the night session features Rafael
crimination about men or women. We are just women
Nadal vs. American Jared Donaldson.
who want to be better for women.”
Venus Williams may
have upstaged sister
Serena’s thriller with
upset of third-ranked
Petra Kvitova
Court at the BNP Paribas Open.
Somehow, with the crowd behind her, she dug herself out of the hole
and came back to claim an improbable 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 win over Petra Kvito-
va that may have even upstaged sister Serena Williams’s Friday night
thriller over Victoria Azarenka.
See VENUS, Page 2F
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Marcos Giron of the beat Alex de Minaur of Australia
Saturday. YONG TECK LIM/GETTY IMAGES
ing into this match? 1-3. And then throw in the fact
that he lost the first set to De Minaur 1-6.
“Just qualifying and just playing in a Masters 1000 No. 18 seed Gael Monfils smiles while leaning on the
was amazing,” Giron said. “Obviously, I was the major net at Stadium 1 on Saturday during his 6-4, 3-6,
6-3 victory over Leonardo Mayer.
See GIRON, Page 7F OMAR ORNELAS/THE DESERT SUN
2F ❚ SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2019 ❚ T H E D E S E R T S U N
Djokovic staves off tough test in win
Shad Powers
Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY NETWORK
There’s no doubt Novak Djokovic had
to be flashing back to 2016 when he
stood across from American Bjorn Fra-
tangelo on Saturday.
That was the year Fratangelo and
Djokovic met in the second round, just
like Saturday, and Fratangelo took the
first set from Djokovic. It turned out to
be the only set Djokovic lost that year as
he won 12 sets in a row on his way to his
fifth BNP Paribas Open championship.
Again, the 128th-ranked American
put up a very tough fight in the first set.
This time, though, Djokovic pulled the
victory out and won the match 7-6 (5),
6-2.
“Yeah, I remember that match,” Djo-
kovic said following his first match since
winning the Australian Open. “I don’t
know. It’s kind of hard to say whether
that has affected him or me. But maybe
it gave him more, I guess, strength and
confidence knowing that he took a set
out of me in this very court, and he came
out firing. You know, credit to him. You
know, he played well and had nothing to
lose.”
It was Fratangelo that struck first in
the match, breaking Djokovic to take a
4-2 lead. The break point was a beauty,
that ended with a Fratangelo winner af-
ter a 30-shot rally.
He kept the lead until he was serving
Venus
Continued from Page 1F
The second round win moved Wil-
liams into the Round of 32, where she’ll
face Christina McHale on Monday.
“A double break is not ideal against a
great server, especially a left-handed
server,” Williams said. “But the good
part is being in matches, a lot of it is just
being in the moment. And I think I cre-
ated some opportunities. I had some
good points. I think she had a few tight
points, and here we are.”
Kvitova told reporters afterward, “I
want to swear, but I will not.”
Williams and Kvitova had played six
times, and all six matches went to a
IL DIVO
MAR 16
CREEDENCE
CLEARWATER
REVISITED
MAR 22
800.827.2946
Novak Djokovic reaches for a shot from Bjorn Fratangelo at the BNP Paribas
Open on Saturday. ZOË MEYERS/THE DESERT SUN
for the set at 5-3, but this time Djokovic
authored a break. Again the break point
was a long rally that ended with Djokov-
ic rushing to the net for a difficult cross-
court winner. The No. 1 player in the
world put his hand to his ear as if to say
to the crowd, “show me some of that
love you’re showing him.” The crowd
obliged.
The set went to a tiebreaker and
third set. When Williams rallied to send
it to a third, it only felt appropriate.
Williams got her serve going, her re-
turn game improved under pressure and
she showed as much emotion on the
court than at any match in recent mem-
ory. She pumped her fist after every big
point, took a page out of Serena’s book
by vocalizing her intensity, and even
cracked a smile at the end of it all.
“Honestly, it seemed like I played
even better when I was down,” Williams
said. “I really didn’t have any other
choice because she was playing so well
and serving so well. So, it’s nice to know
that in that sort of situation I can still
play and just lift my level.”
Kvitova said she is unsure what ex-
actly happened that allowed Williams
back into the match, though she did cite
■ www.FantasySpringsResort.com
Management reserves all rights.
again Fratangelo was in position. He
held a 5-4 lead, but double-faulted the
next point and hit an errant forehand on
the next to give Djokovic a 6-5 lead. Djo-
kovic served it out when another Fra-
tangelo shot sailed just wide.
As is almost always the case, when
an underdog almost pulls an upset in
the first set, the second set was not
close. The dejected upset-seeker fell to
a double fault in the second set that
seemed to keep the door open for the
former top-ranked player.
“I was leading in the second,” she
said, “but somehow I just gave her a
chance again to be back in the match,
and she took it.”
Kvitova had been playing some of the
best tennis of her career entering the
match. She had reached the final at the
Australian Open and in Dubai, and has
beaten six consecutive Americans.
But Williams, who is ranked 36th, en-
tered the field as an unseeded player,
and the last thing Kvitova would’ve
wanted to see in her first match is a sev-
en-time Grand Slam champion.
“It’s always tough to play Venus, for
sure,” she said. “We always play three-
setters matches, and suddenly we have
SEE WEBSITE FOR FULL LIST
GEORGE
LOPEZ
HOLLYWOOD
VAMPIRES
JOE PERRY, ALICE COOPER
& JOHNNY DEPP
MAY 18
the now-confident champion 6-2.
Djokovic will play Monday against
Phillip Kohlschreiber
“You know, he was the one that was
really aggressive and dictating, you
know, the points from back of the court
for entire first set probably,” Djokovic
said. “I was fortunate to get through that
one. Obviously, I was more relaxed in
the second and played better.”
Remember this marks the first win
for Djokovic here since 2017. The current
World No. 1 was struggling 365 days ago.
He was the 10 seed here and he lost his
opening-round match to Taro Daniel.
There was no sign in Indian Wells last
year that Djokovic would return this
year having won three major champion-
ships in a row. But that is the case as he
has rattled off wins in Wimbledon, the
U.S. Open and the Australian Open.
Speaking of guys that know some-
thing about winning majors, Pete Sam-
pras was in the crowd, sitting in the
champions box right behind the court.
You wouldn’t think that Djokovic is at
the state of his tennis career where that
would make him nervous, but it did.
“I have to admit I was a bit nervous. I
don’t get to see Pete that often. I was
pleasantly surprised to see him watch-
ing my match,” Djokovic said. “It’s a
thrill, obviously, to see someone that I
looked up to when I was a kid. I think I
tried too hard in the first set to impress
him. But it was really nice, and I went up
to him and I thanked him for coming.”
been there again and playing until the
end. And in the end of the match, she
definitely played better than me.”
Williams has played here just seven
times and didn’t play this event from
2002-16. But since her return, she’s
reached the quarterfinals and the semi-
finals despite being much older than her
competition. This is the first tourna-
ment she came to as a kid and she has a
ton of support here.
She said she could hear that support
from the crowd Saturday and said she
hopes to have more of it as she advances.
“I’m definitely playing with the home
crowd here,” she said, “and I hopefully
can take advantage of that energy and
momentum. It is exciting to have every-
one behind you and to feel that energy. I
enjoy it.”
OF BIG NAME
ENTERTAINMENT
MAY 31
 DESERTSUN.COM ❚ SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2019 ❚ 3F

AWSHEE T
dai D
l y R FEATURED MATCHES / SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2019

RANKING RANKING

A D I U M 1
S T 85 VS 4
Starting at: 11:00 am
WTA [Q] K. Kozlova (UKR)
vs [2] S. Halep (ROU)
ATP P. Gojowczyk (GER)
vs [4] R. Federer (SUI) PETER GOJOWCZYK ROGER FEDERER
WTA [20] G. Muguruza (ESP) @rogerfederer
vs [10] S. Williams (USA)
Birthdate: July 15, 1989 Birthdate: August 8, 1981
Not Before 6:00 pm Birthplace: Munich, Germany Birthplace: Basel, Switzerland
Residence: Munich, Germany Residence: Switzerland
ATP [WC] J. Donaldson (USA)
vs [2] R. Nadal (ESP)
Best Results at Indian Wells: Best Results at Indian Wells: Champion
Not Before 8:00 pm 2R (2017) (2017, 2012, 2006, 2005, 2004)

WTA [WC] J. Brady (USA)

vs [12] A. Barty (AUS)

RANKING RANKING

A D I U M 2
S T 7 VS 45
Starting at: 11:00 am
ATP [6] K. Nishikori (JPN)
vs A. Mannarino (FRA)
WTA [7] K. Bertens (NED) vs J. Konta (GBR)
KIKI BERTENS JOHANNA KONTA
ATP [8] J. Isner (USA) @kikibertens @JohannaKonta
vs [Q] A. Popyrin (AUS)
Birthdate: December 10, 1991 Birthdate: May 17, 1991
Not Before 6:00 pm Birthplace: Wateringen, Netherlands Birthplace: Sydney, Australia
WTA [6] E. Svitolina (UKR) Residence: Wateringen, Netherlands Residence: Eastbourne, England
vs D. Gavrilova (AUS)
Best Results at Indian Wells: Best Results at Indian Wells:
Not Before 8:00 pm 3R (2017) 4R (2016)
ATP N. Djokovic (SRB) / F. Fognini (ITA)
vs R. Bopanna (IND) / D. Shapovalov
(CAN)

RANKING RANKING

A D I U M 3
ST 25 VS 38
Starting at: 11:00 am
WTA [16] E. Mertens (BEL)
vs [18] Q. Wang (CHN)

ATP D. Lajovic (SRB) vs [10] M. Cilic (CRO) DENIS SHAPOVALOV STEVE JOHNSON
ATP [24] D. Shapovalov (CAN) @SJohnson_89
vs S. Johnson (USA)
Birthdate: April 15, 1999 Birthdate: December 24, 1989
ATP [29] M. Fucsovics (HUN) Birthplace: Tel Aviv, Israel Birthplace: Orange County, California
vs S. Wawrinka (SUI) Residence: Nassau, Bahamas Residence: Redondo Beach, California

ATP [6] L. Kubot (POL) / M. Melo (BRA) vs

Best Results at Indian Wells: Best Results at Indian Wells:
[WC] T. Fritz (USA) / N. Kyrgios (AUS)
2R (2018) 3R (2015, 2017)

STADIUM 4 STADIUM 5 STADIUM 6

Starting at: 11:00 am Starting at: 11:00 am Starting at: 11:00 am
ATP N. Jarry (CHI) vs [22] K. Edmund (GBR) ATP [LL] A. Rublev (RUS) vs R. Haase (NED) ATP [Q] F. Krajinovic (SRB) vs [20] D. Goffin (BEL)

ATP [14] D. Medvedev (RUS) vs M. McDonald (USA) WTA L. Kichenok (UKR) / N. Kichenok (UKR) ATP [25] D. Schwartzman (ARG) vs R. Carballes Baena (ESP)
vs [8] H. Chan (TPE) / L. Chan (TPE)
M. Vondrousova (CZE) vs [22] J. Ostapenko (LAT) ATP [16] F. Fognini (ITA) vs [Q] R. Albot (MDA)
WTA WTA K. Flipkens (BEL) / J. Larsson (SWE)
vs D. Jurak (CRO) / R. Olaru (ROU) ATP After Suitable Rest - [Alt] A. Mannarino (FRA) / G. Monfils
WTA [WC] B. Andreescu (CAN) vs [Q] S. Voegele (SUI) (FRA) vs [WC] M. McDonald (USA) / R. Opelka (USA)
ATP F. Lopez (ESP) vs [12] K. Khachanov (RUS) ATP B. McLachlan (JPN) / J. Struff (GER)
vs [7] R. Klaasen (RSA) / M. Venus (NZL)

STADIUM 9
Starting at: 11:00 am
WTA [3] S. Hsieh (TPE) / B. Strycova (CZE)
vs D. Jakupovic (SLO) / I. Khromacheva (RUS)

ATP [3] O. Marach (AUT) / M. Pavic (CRO)

vs M. Cecchinato (ITA) / A. Seppi (ITA)

WTA After Suitable Rest - R. Atawo (USA) / K. Srebotnik (SLO)

vs E. Mertens (BEL) / A. Sabalenka (BLR)

ATP [Q] A. Bolt (AUS) vs [32] G. Pella (ARG)

ATP - H. Hurkacz (POL) vs [28] L. Pouille (FRA)

TICKETS AVAILABLE bnpparibasopen.com

Schedule subject to change. The featured information is the most up-to-date coverage at press time. Final matches on any court may be moved. For up-to-date match schedule,
For additional tournament information, pick up a special section at The Desert Sun kiosk on the tournament visit our web site at www.bnpparibasopen.com. A paid special supplement
grounds. Get complete coverage plus photos of players and fans at desertsun.com/sports/bnp brought to you by BNP Paribas Open.
4F ❚ SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2019 ❚ T H E D E S E R T S U N
MEN’S SINGLES
to d ay
SEEDED PLAYERS
FOR MEN’S
SINGLES
1. DJOKOVIC, Novak
2. NADAL, Rafael
3. ZVEREV, Alexander
4. FEDERER, Roger
5. ANDERSON, Kevin
6. NISHIKORI, Kei
7. THIEM, Dominic
8. ISNER, John
9. TSITSIPAS, Stefanos
10. CILIC, Marin
11. CORIC, Borna
12. KHACHANOV, Karen
13. RAONIC, Milos
14. MEDVEDEV, Dan
15. CECCHINATO, Marco
16. FOGNINI, Fabio
17. BASILASHVILI, Nikoloz
18. MONFILS, Gael
19. CARRENO BUSTA, Pablo
20. GOFFIN, David
21. BAUTISTA AGUT, Roberto
22. EDMUND, Kyle
23. DE MINAUR, Alex
24. SHAPOVALOV, Denis
25. SCHWARTZMAN, Diego
26. DIMITROV, Grigor
27. SIMON, Gilles
28. POUILLE, Lucas
29. FUCSOVICS, Marton
30. DJERE, Laslo
31. KYRGIOS, Nick
32. PELLA, Guido
Come on out to the Village Stage at 2:30 pm and get to know ATP Tour rising star Felix
Auger-Aliassime! Fresh off of his impressive second round victory over World No. 10 Stefanos
Tsitsipas, the young Canadian will discuss his experience in Tennis Paradise so far!
BELINDA BENCIC
MEN’S DOUBLES
ON TAP FOR TOMORROW
DESERTSUN.COM ❚ SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2019 ❚ 5F
WOMEN’S SINGLES
IN TENNIS PA R A DISE
AZ DUELING PIANOS
5:00-7:00 pm, Village Stage
SEEDED PLAYERS
Swing on by the Village Stage for this fully interactive, all-request performance by one of
the best piano duos you've ever seen!
FOR WOMEN’S
SINGLES
THE CHAMPIONS VOLUNTEER
1. OSAKA, Naomi
2. HALEP, Simona
FOUNDATION
3. KVITOVA, Petra
4. STEPHENS, Sloane
Stop by the The Champions Volunteer Foundation booth to bid on once-in-a-lifetime 5. PLISKOVA, Karolina
opportunities such as the chance to do a coin toss on court before select Stadium 1 6. SVITOLINA, Elina
matches, including Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. All proceeds benefit local Coachella 7. BERTENS, Kiki
Valley non-profits. 8. KERBER, Angelique
9. SABALENKA, Aryna
10. WILLIAMS, Serena
11. SEVASTOVA, Anastasija
12. BARTY, Ashleigh
13. WOZNIACKI, Caroline
14. KASATKINA, Daria
15. GOERGES, Julia
16 MERTENS, Elise
17. KEYS, Madison
18. WANG, Qiang
19. GARCIA, Caroline
20. MUGURUZA, Garbiñe
21. KONTAVEIT, Anett
22. OSTAPENKO, Jelena
23. BENCIC, Belinda
24. TSURENKO, Lesia
25. COLLINS, Danielle
26. SUÁREZ NAVARRO, Carla
27. HSIEH, Su-Wei
28. VEKIC, Donna
29. BUZARNESCU, Mihaela
30. PAVLYUCHENKOVA,
Anastasia
31. SASNOVICH, Aliaksandra
32. CIBULKOVA, Dominika
TENNIS TALK WITH
FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME
2:30 pm Village Stage
WTA TOURNAMENT OF THE YEAR
PRESENTATION
Stadium 1 | Between Matches 1 & 2 of Day Session
AUTOGRAPHS ABOUND
at Tennis Warehouse
11:00 am 1:00 pm 2:00 pm
THE BRYAN MARCOS GIRON
BROTHERS
WOMEN’S DOUBLES
Information subject to change.
6F ❚ SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2019 ❚ T H E D E S E R T S U N

aro u n d T HE GROUNDS

BS TAQUERIA KIM CRAWFORD TERRACE

Award-winning chef Ray Garcia is serving up gourmet street food on the loge
level of Stadium 1 with his inspired take on traditional tacos, tostada, nachos
and more. In addition to carnitas, carne asada, chicken and mushroom tacos,
Esquire’s 2015 Chef of the Year offers fresh-made guacamole, homemade
heirloom corn tortilla chips and churros.
Kim Crawford – the new Official Wine Partner of the BNP Paribas Open – will
#ServeUpKim to fans at the vibrant, open-air Kim Crawford Terrace, located on
the upper level outside Stadium 2. Order up a glass or bottle of Kim Crawford’s
iconic Sauvignon Blanc, Rosé or Pinot Noir from the custom bar within the
Terrace and lounge between matches or cool down with the signature frozen
Kim Crawford Ace Frosé cocktail!

2019 OFFICIAL BNP PARIBAS
OPEN MOBILE APP
The 2019 BNP Paribas Open mobile app is your
one-stop shop for exclusive content, live scores,
practice court schedules, customized player
updates – and so much more! Whether you’re on-
site at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden or tuning in
from across the globe, download the mobile app
today to keep you updated all tournament long!
BANK OF THE WEST RADIO LIVE
AT THE BNP PARIBAS OPEN
Returning this year, Bank of the West Radio will
offer fans at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden live
audio broadcast coverage of the tournament from
both Tennis Channel and ESPN. Radios will be
allocated on a first-come, first served basis from
the Bank of the West activation booth on the north
side of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
SNAP A SELFIE
IN TENNIS PARADISE
This year, a host of tournament partners have
brought exciting new photo opportunities so you
can remember the thrill of the 2019 BNP Paribas
Open! From massive flower walls to oversized
props, there's no shortage of Instagram-worthy
selfie opportunities on-site in Tennis Paradise!

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 DESERTSUN.COM ❚ SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2019 ❚ 7F

Canadian teen makes the game look easy

Shad Powers
Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY NETWORK
He has a hard-to-pronounce name
but an easy-to-watch game.
Every tennis fan needs to get to know
the name Felix Auger-Aliassime. He’s an
18-year-old French-Canadian, and he’s
quickly taking the sport by storm.
He showcased his combination of
strength, speed and skill in the first
match of the day on the Stadium 1 Court
on Saturday and wowed the crowd with
quick dispatching of the No. 9 seed Ste-
fanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-2.
Like a job interview, he was asked to
name his biggest strength in the post-
game news conference.
“I’m pretty instinctive,” he said. “I al-
ways have a big belief in myself. I go for
my shots. I’m aggressive. And if I can
keep on doing that and be even more
solid and be more consistent, I think it
will bring me to high levels.”
It was the first top-10 win for Auger-
Aliassime and his first-ever match
against a top 10 player. His side of the
draw has really opened up with the
withdrawal of No. 5 seed Kevin Ander-
son. Auger-Aliassime will play unseed-
ed Yoshihito Nishioka next, and with a
win there, he will play the winner of a
wild-card and a lucky loser.
And here’s the all-important tutorial
on pronouncing his name. Felix you can
handle. The Auger part rhymes with Ro-
get of thesaurus fame. And the Alias-
sime part is simply Ollie a seem. You’ll
be hearing it a lot.
Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime
celebrates on Stadium One.
OMAR ORNELAS/THE DESERT SUN
Quick-exiting Kyrgios
When the draw came out, tennis fans
were salivating about a potential Round
of 32 matchup between Nick Kyrgios
and Novak Djokovic. Well, veteran Phil-
lipp Kohlschreiber doesn’t care about
your salivary glands. Kohlschreiber dis-
patched Kyrgios 6-4, 6-4 on Stadium 2,
and he will have a date with Djokovic on
Monday.
Kyrgios, who just won last week in
Acapulco, gave credit to Kohlschreiber
and wasn’t sure what happened to his
game.
Actor Jon Lovitz watches the Venus
Williams match from the food village.
ZOË MEYERS/THE DESERT SUN
“I was feeling good. I had, like, five
days to kind of find my feet in practice
and stuff. Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t
really know,” Kyrgios said. “I didn’t real-
ly have a problem getting up. I just didn’t
play well today.”
Indian Wells super fan No. 1
I don’t think any player loves the
courts at the Indian Wells Tennis Gar-
den more than American Danielle Col-
lins, who has risen all the way to the No.
25 player in the world, kickstarted by a
great run here last year.
Listen to her beam about the desert
after her 6-4, 6-1 win over Kirsten Flip-
kins on Saturday: “Yeah, excited to be
back here. I play really well here and I
love playing in front of all the awesome
fans. Just being in my home country
and feeling like I’m at home here in the
desert, it’s an incredible venue to play
in. All of the courts are really special.
Yeah, I have really great memories from
last year. I just love competing out here.
The weather is beautiful. It’s a great en-
vironment, and, yeah, excited.”
We’re happy to have you here too,
Danielle.
Celeb sightings
The weekend and the big names
brought out some celebrities Saturday
and I expect more Sunday for a slate
that includes Roger Federer, Serena Wil-
liams and Rafael Nadal. Caught in the
stands watching the action Saturday
was actress Elisabeth Shue of Karate
Kid fame (at least that’s how I think of
her), Jon Lovitz of Saturday Night Live
fame, Pete Sampras of tennis fame and
Gladys Knight of being an awesome
singer fame. Caitlin Jenner was watch-
ing the action from the Tennis Channel
box. On Friday night, Dallas Cowboys
quarterback Dak Prescott took in the
Serena Williams match, then on Satur-
day he did the coin flip before the Naomi
Osaka match.
Some seeds have been planted
As of Saturday night there are 32
women left in the BNP Paribas Open: 19
seeded players and 13 from outside the
top 32.
Twelve of the top 16 players are still
alive with only No. 3 Petra Kvitova, No. 4
Sloane Stephens, No. 13 Caroline Woz-
niacki and No. 14 Daria Kasatkina hav-
ing been ousted.

Giron growing up in Thousand Oaks and then

Continued from Page 1F
underdog here. I took it seriously, of
course, but went out there to have fun
and enjoy it, but also compete hard and
hopefully leave with a win.
“I kind of can’t believe I won the
match to be honest, especially with the
first set going the way it did,” he said. “I
just thought, ‘Well, this kind of sucks. I
would’ve loved the run to keep going.’
but it’s awesome to still be in here and
be one of the last 32.”
Giron is a Southern California native,
playing tennis at UCLA. He was the 2014
singles national champion with the Bru-
ins. He had a lot of support in the stands
Saturday, with former teammates and
coaches and friends in attendance.
A few fans even did the familiar-to-
him Bruin eight-clap to help him feel
comfortable entering the court.
Giron is not the only Bruin perform-
ing well here. Mackenzie McDonald won
his first match and plays Daniil Medve-
dev on Sunday. Jennifer Brady, who
played for a couple years at UCLA before
turning pro, is already in the Round of 32
and will play Ashleigh Barty on the main
Stadium on Sunday night.
Giron said he attended the BNP Pari-
bas Open a couple times growing up. He
remembers coming here in 2011 and
watching a particularly famous player
on the practice courts.
“I was blown away by how nice it was
and how good the top players were and
how good everybody was, not just the
top players,” he said. “I remember see-
ing Rafa practice for the first time and
just never seeing a forehand like that.
And I remember thinking ‘So that’s how
you win all those French Opens.’ He was
next level, an absolute beast.”
Well, good news Marcos, you won’t
have to face Nadal until the champion-
ship match.
Next up for Giron is a Monday match-
up with hard-serving Canadian Milos
Raonic, who beat Sam Querrey 7-6, 6-4
on Saturday.
Asked about what it would be like to
face Raonic or Querrey in the next
round, Giron laughed at the concept of
him going against either star. He’s just
loving every second of this roll he’s on.
“I mean I’m just excited to be here,”
he said with a big smile.
“Whoever gets through, it will be a
tough match and I’ll probably be aced a
few times (laughs) by either of them. So
I’m just going to go out there and have
fun and try to come up with a game plan
and stick with it.”

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8F ❚ SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2019 ❚ T H E D E S E R T S U N