Section B | The Union | Friday, June 15, 2012 | B3

SPORTS

What’s NextSAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

TODAYat Mariners, 7:10 p.m. TV: NBC Bay AreaSATURDAYat Mariners, 7:10 p.m. TV: CSN-BA

OAKLAND ATHLETICSTODAYvs. Padres, 7:10 p.m. TV: CSN-CASATURDAYvs. Padres, 1:05 p.m. TV: CSN-CA

SACRAMENTO RIVER CATSTODAYvs. Tacoma, 7:05 p.m.SATURDAYvs. Tacoma, 7:05 p.m.

Sports on TVSchedule subject to change and/or blackoutsTodayAUTO RACING8:30 a.m. SPEED — NASCAR, NationwideSeries, practice for Alliance Truck Parts 250,at Brooklyn, Mich.9:30 a.m. SPEED — NASCAR, Sprint Cup,practice for Quicken Loans 400, at Brooklyn,Mich.11 a.m. SPEED — NASCAR, NationwideSeries, final practice for Alliance Truck Parts250, at Brooklyn, Mich.12:30 p.m. SPEED — NASCAR, Sprint Cup,“Happy Hour Series,” final practice forQuicken Loans 400, at Brooklyn, Mich.2 p.m. SPEED — ARCA, RainEater WiperBlades 200, at Brooklyn, Mich.COLLEGE BASEBALL2 p.m. ESPN2 — World Series, game 1,Stony Brook vs. UCLA, at Omaha, Neb.6 p.m. ESPN2 — World Series, game 2,Arizona vs. Florida State, at Omaha, Neb.CYCLING2 p.m. NBCSN — Tour de Suisse, stage 7,at Gossau, Switzerland (same-day tape)GOLF9 a.m. ESPN — USGA, U.S. OpenChampionship, second round, part I, at SanFranciscoNoon NBC — USGA, U.S. OpenChampionship, second round, at SanFrancisco2 p.m. ESPN — USGA, U.S. OpenChampionship, second round, part II, at SanFranciscoMAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL11 a.m. MLB — Boston at Chicago Cubs4 p.m. MLB — Regional coverage, N.Y.Yankees at Washington or Colorado atDetroitSOCCER8:45 a.m. ESPN2 — UEFA, Euro 2012,group phase, Ukraine vs. France, at Donetsk,Ukraine11:30 a.m. ESPN2 — UEFA, Euro 2012,group phase, Sweden vs. England, at Kiev,Ukraine

Today’s lineMAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

TODAYNATIONAL LEAGUE

FAVORITE LINE UNDERDOG LINEat New York -115 Cincinnati +105

INTERLEAGUEFAVORITE LINE UNDERDOG LINE

at Chicago (NL) -110 Boston +100at Washington -125 New York (AL) +115at Detroit -155 Colorado +145at Cleveland -130 Pittsburgh +120at Toronto -125 Philadelphia +115at Tampa Bay -130 Miami +120at Atlanta -175 Baltimore +165at Texas -250 Houston +220Milwaukee -115 at Minnesota +105at St. Louis -175 Kansas City +165at L.A. (AL) -150 Arizona +140at Oakland -110 San Diego +100San Francisco -115 at Seattle +105at L.A. (NL) -140 Chicago (AL) +130

BaseballNATIONAL LEAGUE

EAST DIVISIONW L PCT GB

Washington 38 23 .623 —New York 35 29 .547 41⁄2Atlanta 34 29 .540 5Miami 32 31 .508 7Philadelphia 31 34 .477 9

CENTRAL DIVISIONW L Pct GB

Cincinnati 35 27 .565 —Pittsburgh 32 30 .516 3St. Louis 33 31 .516 3Milwaukee 28 35 .444 71⁄2Houston 27 36 .429 81⁄2Chicago 21 42 .333 141⁄2

WEST DIVISIONW L Pct GB

Los Angeles 40 24 .625 —San Francisco 36 28 .563 4Arizona 31 32 .492 81⁄2Colorado 24 38 .387 15San Diego 23 41 .359 17Thursday’s GamesCincinnati 12, Cleveland 5N.Y. Mets 9, Tampa Bay 6Detroit 5, Chicago Cubs 3Oakland 8, Colorado 2Houston 6, San Francisco 3Baltimore 12, Pittsburgh 6Arizona 11, Texas 3Kansas City 4, Milwaukee 3Philadelphia 6, Minnesota 1St. Louis 5, Chicago White Sox 3San Diego 6, Seattle 2Today’s GamesBoston (Matsuzaka 0-1) at Chicago Cubs(Dempster 2-3), 11:20 a.m.Colorado (Francis 0-1) at Detroit (Crosby 1-1), 4:05 p.m.N.Y. Yankees (P.Hughes 6-5) at Washington(G.Gonzalez 8-2), 4:05 p.m.Pittsburgh (Ja.McDonald 5-2) at Cleveland(Masterson 2-6), 4:05 p.m.Philadelphia (Worley 3-2) at Toronto(Hutchison 5-3), 4:07 p.m.Cincinnati (Arroyo 2-4) at N.Y. Mets (Gee 4-4), 4:10 p.m.Miami (Zambrano 4-4) at Tampa Bay(M.Moore 3-5), 4:10 p.m.Baltimore (Matusz 5-6) at Atlanta (Hanson7-4), 4:35 p.m.Houston (Lyles 1-2) at Texas (Darvish 7-4),5:05 p.m.Milwaukee (Gallardo 5-5) at Minnesota(Liriano 1-7), 5:10 p.m.Kansas City (Mazzaro 2-1) at St. Louis(Lohse 6-1), 5:15 p.m.Arizona (Cahill 4-5) at L.A. Angels (Haren 4-6), 7:05 p.m.San Diego (Bass 2-6) at Oakland (Blackley

0-2), 7:05 p.m.Chicago White Sox (Sale 8-2) at L.A.Dodgers (Kershaw 5-3), 7:10 p.m.San Francisco (Vogelsong 5-2) at Seattle(Vargas 7-5), 7:10 p.m.

Astros 6, Giants 3Houston San Francisco

ab r hbi ab r h biAltuve 2b 4 1 2 0 GBlanc rf 3 0 0 0Bixler rf 2 2 1 0 Theriot 2b 4 0 1 0FRdrgz p 0 0 0 0 MeCarr lf 3 0 0 0Myers p 0 0 0 0 Pagan cf 4 1 1 0Lowrie ss 3 1 0 0 Sandovl 3b 4 0 2 0JDMrtn lf 4 1 1 4 HSnchz c 3 1 1 1Maxwll cf 4 0 1 1 Belt 1b 4 1 1 2CJhnsn 3b 4 0 1 0 Arias ss 3 0 1 0MDwns 1b 4 1 1 1 Zito p 1 0 0 0JCastro c 4 0 0 0 Burriss ph 1 0 0 0WRdrg p 2 0 0 0 Loux p 0 0 0 0Schafer ph 1 0 0 0 Schrhlt ph 1 0 0 0Wrght p 0 0 0 0 Hensly p 0 0 0 0Bogsvc rf 1 0 1 0 Affeldt p 0 0 0 0Totals 33 6 8 6 Totals 31 3 7 3Houston 014 000 010 — 6San Francisco 000 201 000 — 3DP—Houston 2, San Francisco 2. LOB—Houston 4,San Francisco 4. 2B—Theriot (5). HR—J.D.Martinez(7), M.Downs (4), Belt (3). SB—G.Blanco (8). SF—H.Sanchez.

IP H R ER BBSOHouston

W.Rodriguez W,6-4 6 6 3 3 2 3W.Wright H,8 1 0 0 0 0 0Fe.Rodriguez H,6 1 0 0 0 0 1Myers S,16-17 1 1 0 0 0 0San Francisco

Zito L,5-4 5 5 5 5 3 3Loux 2 1 0 0 0 0Hensley 1 1 1 1 1 0Affeldt 1 1 0 0 0 1Umpires—Home, Mike Muchlinski; First, AngelCampos; Second, Brian Runge; Third, Ted Barrett.T—2:31. A—41,662 (41,915).

AMERICAN LEAGUEEAST DIVISION

W L PCT GBNew York 37 25 .597 —Baltimore 37 26 .587 1⁄2Tampa Bay 35 28 .556 21⁄2Boston 31 32 .492 61⁄2Toronto 31 32 .492 61⁄2

CENTRAL DIVISIONW L Pct GB

Chicago 34 29 .540 —Cleveland 32 30 .516 11⁄2Detroit 30 33 .476 4Kansas City 27 34 .443 6Minnesota 25 37 .403 81⁄2

WEST DIVISIONW L Pct GB

Texas 37 27 .578 —Los Angeles 34 30 .531 3Oakland 29 35 .453 8Seattle 27 38 .415 101⁄2

Athletics 8, Rockies 2Oakland Colorado

ab r hbi ab r h biCrisp cf 6 0 3 1 Fowler cf 3 0 1 0Pnngtn ss 5 0 1 1 Scutaro ss 4 1 1 1Reddck rf 5 2 3 1 CGnzlz lf 4 1 1 0S.Smith lf 2 1 1 0 Cuddyr rf 4 0 0 0Inge 3b 5 0 0 0 Colvin 1b 4 0 1 1Moss 1b 5 2 3 3 Pachec 3b 2 0 0 0KSuzuk c 5 2 3 0 WRosr c 4 0 0 0Rosales 2b 3 1 0 1 Nelson 2b 3 0 2 0JParkr p 4 0 0 0 White p 0 0 0 0Balfour p 0 0 0 0 Moscos p 0 0 0 0JGoms ph 1 0 0 0 MtRynl p 0 0 0 0Fuents p 0 0 0 0 EYong ph 1 0 0 0

Roenck p 0 0 0 0Totals 41 8147 Totals 29 2 6 2Oakland 022 000 013 — 8Colorado 000 000 002 — 2E—Cuddyer (4), Pacheco (4), W.Rosario (4). DP—Colorado 2. LOB—Oakland 13, Colorado 5.2B—Reddick (11), Moss 2 (2), Colvin (6). HR—

Reddick (15), Moss (5), Scutaro (4). CS—Fowler(1). S—White, Moscoso.

IP H R ER BBSOOakland

J.Parker W,3-3 7 3 0 0 1 6Balfour 1 0 0 0 0 1Fuentes 1 3 2 2 1 1Colorado

White L,2-5 4 7 4 2 4 5Moscoso 3 2 0 0 2 2Mat.Reynolds 1 2 1 1 0 1Roenicke 1 3 3 3 1 1HBP—by J.Parker (Pacheco). WP—Roenicke. PB—W.Rosario 2.Umpires—Home, Mark Wegner; First, Wally Bell;Second, Brian Knight; Third, Mike Winters.T—3:15. A—32,527 (50,398).

NBACONFERENCE FINALS(Best-of-7)(x-if necessary)FINALSOklahoma City 1, Miami 1Tuesday: Oklahoma City 105, Miami 94Thursday: Miami 100 Oklahoma City 96Sunday: Oklahoma City at Miami, 5 p.m.Tuesday, June 19: Oklahoma City at Miami, 6p.m.x-June 21: Oklahoma City at Miami, 6 p.m.

x-June 24: Miami at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m.x-June 26: Miami at Oklahoma City, 6 p.m.

TransactionsBASEBALLAmerican LeagueBALTIMORE ORIOLES—Placed OF EndyChavez on the 15-day DL, retroactive to June13. Recalled INF Steve Tolleson from Norfolk(IL).DETROIT TIGERS—Placed LHP Drew Smylyon the 15-day DL. Recalled INF Ryan Raburnfrom Toledo (IL).KANSAS CITY ROYALS—Selected the con-tract of RHP Roman Colon from Omaha(PCL). Optioned 1B Clint Robinson toOmaha. Moved LHP Danny Duffy to the 60-day DL. Agreed to terms with LHP SamSelman on a minor league contract.MINNESOTA TWINS—Placed RHP P.J.Walters on the 15-day DL. Recalled RHPLester Oliveros from Rochester (IL).NEW YORK YANKEES—Activated RHP DavidRobertson from 15-day DL. Optioned RHPDavid Phelps to Tampa (FSL).TAMPA BAY RAYS—Placed DH Luke Scotton the 15-day DL, retroactive to June 9.National League

CHICAGO CUBS—Selected the contract ofINF Luis Valbuena from Iowa (PCL).Activated C Welington Castillo from the 15-day DL. Placed 3B Ian Stewart on the 15-dayDL. Designated C Koyie Hill for assignment.MILWAUKEE BREWERS—Announced a two-year player development contract extensionwith the rookie-level Helena Brewers of thePioneer League through the 2014 season.PITTSBURGH PIRATES—Agreed to termswith RHP Jon Sandfort on a minor leaguecontract.ST. LOUIS CARDINALS—Agreed to termswith RHP Michael Wacha on a minor leaguecontract.FOOTBALLNational Football LeagueCHICAGO BEARS—Terminated the contractof G Mansfield Wrotto. Waived QB NathanEnderle.HOUSTON TEXANS—Signed general manag-er Rick Smith to a four-year contractextension and coach Gary Kubiak to three-year contract extension. Signed LB WhitneyMercilus to a four-year contract.NEW YORK JETS—Signed WR Jordan Whiteto a four-year contract.PHILADELPHIA EAGLES—Signed LB RyanRau and DE Frank Trotter.

SPD’s 20-point win keeps itsrecord unblemished at 3-0, andIndivisual Graphics drops to 0-3

Bulldogs 45,Beach Hut Deli 23

In this defensive battle, theBulldogs capitalized on 16 stealsto top Beach Hut Deli.

Matt Anderson, KoppaEnos and Sam Madison con-trolled the paint for theBulldogs on their way to a thirdstraight victory.

With the loss, Beach HutDeli is now 1-2 on the season.If you would like to submit a photo orstory, contact The Union Sports depart-ment at sports@theunion.com or byphone at (530) 477-4232.

BASKETBALL: Continued from B1

first base and I yelled, ‘Hey, take it easy.’ But healways plays the game hard.”

Team President and CEO Larry Baer and therest of the brass must have been pinching them-selves in delight that they decided to reward thetwo-time All-Star with a $127.5 million, six-yearcontract days before the season began — the rich-est for a right-hander.

The 27-year-old Cain showed glimpses of hispotential for perfection in consecutive starts in mid-April. There was a one-hitter against Pittsburgh inthe home opener, then nine shutout innings againstCliff Lee and the Phillies in a 1-0, 11-inningGiants victory his next time out — a memorablegame in which the aces combined to throw 19scoreless innings.

Yet even Giants Hall of Famers Carl Hubbell,Christy Mathewson, Juan Marichal and GaylordPerry hadn’t accomplished what Cain didWednesday.

Perry, who lives in the North Carolina moun-tain town of Spruce Pine, caught the replays whenhe woke up early Thursday. He’s thrilled the Giantshave a perfecto at last.

“I’ll take that no-hitter I had, though,” Perrysaid with a laugh, taking a break Thursday frompainting his horse barn. “I saw him in the springand he was throwing well. He was just a strongyoung man and I expect great things out of him,maybe not another perfect game. I think he’ll be thefirst guy in many years to win 20 games for us. Hehas the fight in him, he has the stuff and he has thedetermination to do just that.”

Philip Humber of the Chicago White Soxtossed the majors’ last perfecto at Seattle on April21.This is the second time in three years there havebeen two perfect games in the same season —before that, the only other time it happened was in1880.

And San Francisco pitching coach DaveRighetti was among the first to embrace Cain after-ward. Righetti is the only other member of the teamwith a no-hitter after he stymied the rival Red Soxin a no-no for the New York Yankees on July 4,1983.

Highlights of Cain’s latest brilliant outing wereshown before Thursday afternoon’s series finalewith Houston, and the pitcher received anotherwarm ovation from his supporters at AT&T Park.

Cain’s cap, cleats, dirt from the mound, a balland his uniform are being sent to Cooperstown.The umpires presented the pitcher with a game ballsigned by all four of them.The Giants also replacedthe pitching rubber and home plate and will keepthose as mementos in San Francisco.

CAIN: Continued from B1

two after that, knowing theydon’t have to hear the noisyThunder fans again — not tomention all their critics — ifthey win all three.

Kevin Durant scored 32points for the Thunder, butmissed a shot after appearing tobe bumped with James thatwould have tied a game theThunder trailed the entire way.Russell Westbrook finished with27 points, eight rebounds andseven assists, but shot 10 of 25from the field.

James Harden tried to keepthe Thunder in it early and fin-ished with 21 points, but thistime the Thunder couldn’t comeback from a double-digit deficit

after spotting Miami a 17-pointadvantage during their worst firsthalf of the season.

It was the first home loss in10 postseason games for theThunder, who had overcome a13-point deficit in Game 1.

James had 30 points in theopener, but afterward said heneeded more help from hisfriends, especially Wade.

In Game 1, Wade was 7 of19. He wasn’t sharp in the lastround and continues to hearreports that something is physi-cally wrong with him. He was allbut asked Wednesday if hisexplosiveness was a thing of thepast, what must have been insult-ing to a player who, though 30,still believes he’s not far from thetop of the game.

FINALS:Continued from B1

to feel like a sprint over and overagain. You have to repeat thatintensity over and over again.”

If Alders can keep up withlast year’s winner, KaterinaNash, and last year’s runner up,Emily Kachorek, for most therace, she should be able to finishin the top-five, she said.

Eric Struble Men’s Elite 3/4

Struble is a Nevada Cityresident who first raced theClassic 21 years ago when hewas 15 years old.

Struble moved to NevadaCity in 1999 and has been amember of the SHO-AIR/SERT racing team for thepast eight years.

In last year’s classic, Strublesaid he came into the competi-tion with little to no trainingprior to the event. This yearStruble has put in the trainingnecessary to compete and saidhe expects a better showing.

“The most difficult thing isthe 50 minutes of pain,” Strublesaid. “You don’t get much timeto recover. Going 50 MPHdown Broad Street is the onlybreak you get. I can handle itthough. I love the pain.”

Struble said the best thingabout the Classic is the amountof supporters lining the streets.

“It’s the crowd. It’s theatmosphere,” Struble said ofwhat makes the Nevada CityClassic special. “A lot of peoplelove to watch and every year itgrows.”

Chris ThibodeauMen’s Elite 3/4

Born and raised in NevadaCounty, Thibodeau said he isexcited and honored to be racingin the Nevada City Classic forthe second straight year.

“I’m primarily a mountainbiker,” he said. “But I love torace the classic when I can. Iused to go out and chase waterbottles, and now I compete init.”

Thibodeau, a 2003 NevadaUnion graduate, won the 2010Super D national championship

for mountain biking and tooksecond at the 2011 nationals.

The Classic’s physicaldemands are what make the raceso unique, said Thibodeau.

“The climbs on the backside take a lot,” he said. “Youronly recovery time happenscoming down Broad Street —the faster you come down BroadStreet the less time you have torecover.”

Noah CampbellMen’s Elite 3/4

“Surviving.” That’s themain goal for Campbell whenhe takes on the Nevada CityClassic for the second time.

Last year Campbell waspulled for falling behind afteronly six laps and now hasredemption on his mind forSunday’s race.

“The goal is to finish,” hesaid, “and finish proudly.”

Campbell, 39, said theClassic doesn’t cater to his styleof racing, but he wouldn’t passup a chance to race in his ownbackyard.

“It’s not my type of race,”he said. “I’m good at criteriums— but flat criteriums.”

In his second year as aSHO-AIR/ SERT team mem-ber, Campbell said he enjoys thehistory of the race and looks for-ward to being able to ride thecourse without cars and peoplegetting in the way.

Ryosei KanekoMasters

Taking on the Nevada CityClassic for the first time,Kaneko said this race suits hisstyle of racing.

“I’m a climber,” he said. “Idon’t mind hills. At least it’s nota flat-landers paradise.”

Kaneko, 50, member of thelocal SHO-AIR/SERT racingteam, has been racing mountainbikes for the past four years andjust recently made the switch toroad racing.

Craig LindbergMasters

Racing in his 12th NevadaCity Classic, Lindberg said he’sphysically ready, but with everypassing year, it gets tougher and

tougher. Lindberg has finishedfifth in the Classic Masters cat-egory on three differentoccasions.

In 1999, Lindberg was inthe lead group in the final lapwhen his front tire went flat andhe had to descend down BroadStreet on his rim.

“It was crazy going downBroad at 45 mph on my rimonly,” he said. “I cruised throughthe finish line and couldn’tstop.”

A Nevada City residentsince 2002, Lindberg said theClassic was one of the thingsthat drew him to the area.

A member of SHO-AIR/SERT racing team,Lindberg said over the years thecompetition at the Classic hasgotten drastically better.

“Every year it gets morecompetitive,” he said. “I don’tknow if it’s me or if the field isjust getting stronger.”

Julian Eisen Junior

Racing for the fifth andfinal time in the Junior category,Eisen is going into the Classicwith one goal — to have fun.

Eisen, 18, recently finisheda stellar year as a member of theNevada Union mountain biketeam and is also a member of thelocal SHO-AIR/SERT racingteam.

The avid rider plans tocompete in the 3/4 category innext year’s Classic.

AJ SeivertJunior

Competing for the firsttime in the Classic, Seivert saidhe expects a top-10 finish, but atop-five wouldn’t be out of thequestion.

Seivert, 16, has been racingfor a little more than a year inboth street races and mountainbike races, he said.

The Classic is suited forSeivert’s style of race, but heknows that it will be extremelychallenging.

“It’s going to be hard,” hesaid. “It’s one of the hardest inAmerica.”To contact Sports Writer Walter Ford,email wford@theunion.com or call (530)477-4232.

CLASSIC:Continued from B1

AP photo

Giants pitcher Matt Cain celebrates after the finalout of the ninth inning of a game against theHouston Astros Wednesday in San Francisco. Cainpitched a perfect game.