sportingnews - 20090530

8/14/2019 sportingnews - 20090530

1/36

As division opponents

Chicago Blackhawks alrea

knew the Red Wings well

after playing them in the

Conference finals, that fam

even more intense.

It wont be easy for Pit

to eliminate the champs,

Chicago players share wh

1.Experience: Theyin these situationthey obviously have playe

a disciplined game. Thats

helps them more than an

They play disciplined and Chicago defenseman

2.Chris Osgood: Hegood for a lot of I dont think he gets the re

he deserves. Detroit know

valuable he is to this teamof the league might not.

Chicago forward

3.Versatile defenseall mobile, they amove the puck and they a

When you have six mobil

men, you cant chip the p

expect to get it back. Chicago forward

GAME 1: TONIGHT, 8STANLEY CUP FINALS

GENEJ.PUSKAR/AP

Sidney Crosby has 28 playoff points.

Wings willif... Nicklas

Lidstrom stays healthycan contain the Sidney

Crosby line.

Pens will wEvgeni Ma

is dominant and foot keeps Pavel Datsyuk olong.

Prediction:Wings in

Craig

Complete preview,P

NBA PLAYOFFS

Dont forget KobeBryant. As impressiveas LeBron Jamesnumbers have been inthe East finals,Bryants have beencomparable in theWest (34.0 points, 5.8assists and 5.8rebounds). Andtheres one bigdifferenceBryanthas a spot in the NBA

Finals, as the Lakerserased doubts anderased the Nuggetswith a 119-92 Game 6win. Care to guesswho led the way?

Yup, Bryant, with35 points and 10assists.

For Cavs, its all LeBron, all the time

BY SEAN [email protected]

The immediate reaction in Cleve-land after Game 5 of the Eastern

Conference finalshad to be some-thing like this:Whew!

But that dose ofrelief, after theCavaliers diffi-cult home victoryto keep their

long-shot comeback hopes alive, was

quickly tempered by anotherreaction altogether: Now what?

The Cavs travel to Orlando tonightfor Game 6, and though theyre stillin the fight, it appears that the Magichave them figured out. Its doubtfulthat Cleveland can expect starforward LeBron James to continuecarrying them the way he did inGame 5, when he finished with 37points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists,

dominating the fourth quarter. He isaveraging 41.2 points in the series.

Thats both good and badbutmostly bad. It shows how capableJames is when it comes to taking overa game. But it also shows how muchClevelands supporting cast isstruggling to help him. Although MoWilliams posted his first solid gameof the series, the lineup around Jamescould be further weakened by a hippointer injury to Delonte West.

Its worth remembering, too, thatJames appeared to be fatigued incrunch time in the two previous

games, and both were Clevelandlosses.

(Orlando is) wearing James down,said TNT analyst Reggie Miller. Im alittle discouraged. I like the win, theydid what they had to. But what I wantto see is, (Daniel) Gibson, Mo Wil-liams and Wally Szczerbiak, is theirgame going to travel?

LeBron James

Cavs have to win Game 6 first, Page 8 Lakers too much, Page 7

L.A. LAKERS 119, DENVER 92TONIGHT: CLEVELAND AT ORLANDO8:30 ET, TNT Magic lead series 3-2

Kobe carries Lakers back to Finals

CHRISCARLSON/AP

Kobe Bryant had 35 points and 10 assists as the Lakersrouted Denver to return to the NBA Finals.

NASCAR EXCLUSIVE

BASEBALL

Meet Dale Jr.snew crew chief

Lance

McGrew is

ready for

challenge

of working

with Dale

Earnhardt Jr.

Page 23

The wait is overMatt Wieters, the crown jewel

catcher of the Orioles rebuild-

ing process, went 0-for-4 with a

strikeout in his major league debut

against Detroit on Friday night.

Page 19

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

SATURDAY

MAY 30, 2009

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME

VOLUME 1 ISSUE 312

Scoreboard

NBA PlayoffsWestern Conference finals

L.A. Lakers 119, Denver 92

(L.A. Lakers win series 4-2)

BaseballAmerican League

Texas 6, Oakland 3, 1st game

Texas 5, Oakland 2, 2nd game

Baltimore 7, Detroit 2

Toronto 6, Boston 3

Tampa Bay 5, Minnesota 3

Chicago White Sox 11, Kansas City 2

N.Y. Yankees 3, Cleveland 1

Seattle 5, L.A. Angels 2

National League

Chicago Cubs 2, L.A. Dodgers 1

Houston 6, Pittsburgh 1

Philadelphia 5, Washington 4

N.Y. Mets 2, Florida 1, 11 innings

Milwaukee 3, Cincinnati 2

Colorado 3, San Diego 0

Atlanta 10, Arizona 6

San Francisco 4, St. Louis 2

MLB > 13 NFL > 26 NBA > 7 NHL > 10 NASCAR > 23 COLLEGE FOOTBALL > 30 COLLEGE BASKETBALL > 30 NBA DRAFT > 5QUICK LINKS:

It wont be efor the Peng
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

8/14/2019 sportingnews - 20090530

2/36

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2009See a Different Game

Tune In TodayA quick look at the best sports on TV

all times Eastern

OFF THE FIELD

Several YankeesAlex Rodriguez, Mari-ano Rivera and CC Sabathia among themarrived in Cleveland early for thisweekends series against the Indians sothey could attend Game 5 of the Cavs-

Magic NBA Eastern ConferenceFinals.Sabathia even jokingly texted Cavs

star LeBron James that the former Indianspitcher was going to wear a Magic capas payback for when James wore a Yan-kees cap to an Indians-Yankees playoffgame in 2007 in Cleveland, TNT broad-caster Marv Albert reported.

Also spotted in the crowd for Game 5,according to people.com: hip-hopmogul Jay-Z and a pair of NFL quarter-backs, Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelersand Brady Quinn of the Browns.

If James and the Cavs win tonight in

Orlando, to bring the series back toCleveland for Game 7 Monday, the Yan-kees wont be in the house because of ascheduling conflict. Theyll still be inCleveland but wrap up a four-gameseries with a 7:05 p.m. ET game; Game7 of Cavs-Magic is set for an 8:30 p.m.ET tip.

In the pink at ColonialThe PGA Tour Wives Association is

asking all players in the Crowne PlazaInvitational at Colonial and their wivesto take part today in a Pink Out,golf.com reported, as a show of support

for Phil Mickelsons wife, Amy, who wasdiagnosed with breast cancer earlierthis month.

Companies including TaylorMade-adidas Golf, Ashworth, Cutter & Buck,Nike and Polo Ralph Lauren have sentpink shirts to the tournament in FortWorth, Texas.

A head-shaking delayA thousand bobbleheads of President

Barack Obama in his high school basketball uniform, scheduled to be a give-away today at a minor league baseballgame in Charleston, W. Va., apparentlydidnt get the nod from customs offi-

cials in Los Angeles. The Class A WestVirginia Power of the South AtlanticLeague said Thursday that the bobble-heads have been at a U.S. Customs andBorder Protection warehouse sinceMay 20. Fans will be given vouchers topick up the bobbleheads once theyarrive, a team spokeswoman said.

Quick hitsESPN college football analyst Lee

Corso, who recently suffered stroke, said in a statement thano permanent damage. He sexpected to make a full recovplans on being back for the k

the 2009 season.

Baseball Hall of Fame anHarry Kalas, who broadcast 6,037games over 39 years before hisdeath last month, will be induthe teams Wall of Fame on ACitizens Bank Park, the Phi Business Journals John reported.

Compiled by Bob Hille, with

NHL

Penguins at Red Wings

8 p.m., NBCOnce wasnt enough. So the Stanley Cupfinals provide a repeat performance withthe Red Wings facing the Penguins for thesecond year in a row. The Wings won the Cupin six games last year, playing against a teamwhose future was bright with Sidney Crosbyand Evgeni Malkin as rising stars. The rematchbrings the same scenario, with the Penguinscounting on 2008s disappointment to fueltheir championship drive. A story line to watch?Marian Hossa left the Penguins last summer tosign with the Red Wings.

Ray Slover

NBA

Cavaliers at Magic8:30 p.m., TNTA Cleveland win in Game 5 was to be

expected, considering the Cavs were playing athome. But now is real gut-check time headingback to Orlando, where the Magic are 6-2 thispostseason and 2-0 against Cleveland. LeBronJames got the much-needed assistance heneeds from teammates in that game, and thesame needs to happen in Game 6 to send thisto a Game 7. Getting Dwight Howard in foultrouble again would help the cause, too.

Roger Kuznia

BASEBALL

White Sox at Royals

7 p.m., WGNIf your spouse is only giving you a two-hourwindow to watch baseball tonight, take him/her up on it because Mark Buehrle is pitchingtonight for the White Sox. Buehrle worksquickly and has pitched in a number of gamesthat have taken just under two hours to play.Youll also be seeing a pitcher on a remarkablerollBuehrle is 6-1 with a 2.59 ERA, and hisworst start was in Chicagos season against thisK.C. team.

Roger Kuznia

(All times Eastern)Schedule subject tochange and/or blackouts.

ATHLETICS

4:30 p.m.NBCReebok Grand Prix,at New York

AUTO RACING

10 a.m.SPEEDNASCAR,Nationwide Series, polequalifying for Heluva Good!200, at Dover, Del.11:30 a.m.SPEEDNASCAR, SprintCup, practice for AutismSpeaks 400, at Dover, Del.12:30 p.m.SPEEDNASCAR, SprintCup, Happy Hour Series,final practice for AutismSpeaks 400, at Dover, Del.2:30 p.m.ABCNASCAR,

Nationwide Series, HeluvaGood! 200, at Dover, Del.8 p.m.ESPN2NHRA, qualifyingfor Summer Nationals, at

Topeka, Kan. (same-daytape)

BOXING

9:45 p.m.HBOJunior middle-weights, Alfredo Angulo(15-0-0) vs. Kermit Cintron(30-2-1); champion AndreBerto (24-0-0) vs. JuanUrango (21-1-1), for WBCwelterweight title, at FortLauderdale, Fla.

COLLEGE SOFTBALL

NoonESPNNCAA Division I,World Series, Games 7 & 8at Oklahoma City7 p.m.ESPNNCAA Division I,World Series, Games 9 & 10at Oklahoma City

GOLF

10 a.m.TGCEuropean PGA Tour,European Open, thirdround, at Kent, England3 p.m.CBSPGA Tour, CrownePlaza Invitational, third

round, at Fort Worth, Texas6:30 p.m.TGCChampions Tour,Principal Charity Classic,second round, at West DesMoines, Iowa (same-daytape)

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

4 p.m.FOXRegional coverage,L.A. Dodgers at ChicagoCubs, Atlanta at Arizona, orMinnesota at Tampa Bay7 p.m.

WGNChicago White Soxat Kansas City

MOTORSPORTS9 p.m.

SPEEDAMA ProMotocross 450, at RanchoCordova, Calif.

NBA

8:30 p.m.TNTPlayoffs, EasternConference finals, Game 6,Cleveland at Orlando

NHL

8 p.m.NBCPlayoffs, StanleyCup finals, Game 1,Pittsburgh at Detroit

RUGBY

9 p.m.ESPN CLASSICPlayoffs,Super League, champion-ship match, teams TBA, atGlendale, Colo.

TENNIS

1:30 p.m.NBCFrench Open, earlyround, at Paris (same-daytape)

CC, Yanks arrived early to watch LeBro

Mariano Rivera, left, and Alex Rodriguez were part of the Yankees contingent at Quicken Loa

GUIDE
http://www.sportingnews.com/http://people.com/http://golf.com/http://golf.com/http://people.com/http://www.sportingnews.com/

8/14/2019 sportingnews - 20090530

3/36

THEWORLDSFIRSTDIGDAILYSPORTSNEWSPA

CHAIRMAN & CEO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PRESIDENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W

PUBLISHER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Je

MANAGING EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CREATIVE DIRECTOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

VP, GENERAL MANAGER, ONLINE . . . . .

VP, INTEGRATED MARKETING & SALES .

DIRECTOR, DIGITAL MEDIA. . . . . . . . . . .

VP, MARKETING & SALES DEVELOPMEN

EDITORIALOFFICE

120 West Morehead Street, Suit

Charlotte, NC 28202

704-973-1550

1-800-443-1886

Letters to the editor:

[email protected]

General feedback:[email protected]

National Digital Sales ManJoey Glowacki, 704-973-185

[email protected] Strauss, 212-500-0672

[email protected]

ON NEWSSTANDS

A Division I head basketball coaanyone can do it, its Memphis JoSporting News college hoops eDeCourcy explains in the new m

MIKEROEMER/AP

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2009My Profile

Mark Murphy Packers president(What you wont find on Facebook even if you are approved as a friend)Born: July 13, 1955, in Fulton, N.Y.

Status: MarriedAlma mater: ColgateWhats on TV:24, The Office,30

Rock,House,American IdolWhats in my iPod: Bruce Spring-

steen, Billy Joel, Elton John, Cher,Journey, Steely Dan, Chicago, CCR,John Mellencamp

What I drive: White 2008 ChevyTahoe

Favorite flick:RockyWhat Im reading: What Would

Google Do?by Jeff JarvisMagazine subscriptions: Time, The

Week, Sports Illustrated, Sporting

News, SportsBusiness JournalBookmarks:Packers.com, North-western.edu, Colgate.edu

Superstition: Dont step on cracks

Worst habit: Clearing my throatOn my office walls: Pictures, plaquesand game balls from the Packers,Colgate, Northwestern and thePackers

Love to trade places for a day with

Tiger Woods. I would love to seewhat it would be like to be thatdominant in your profession.

First job: Soda vendor at RiceStadium, Houston, at Rice Univer-sity football games. I was 14 yearsold. Think I made a nickel for everysoda sold.

Talent Id most like to have: Singing

Favorite meal: Anything MexicanFavorite athlete to watch in anothersport: Tiger Woods

Favorite city to visit: New York CityFavorite team as a kid: Buffalo BillsFavorite value in others: Positive

attitudeFavorite physical attribute about myself:

Long legsAnd least Big feetsize 15Dream date: My wife LaurieMy greatest love: Laurie. We will

have been married 30 years in June.My hero: My father HughMy bucket list: 1. Travel to Alaska, 2.

Hit a hole in one, 3. A Super Bowlchampionship for the PackersMy motto: Dont sweat the small

stuff. Keep your eye on the bigpicture.

Jeff DAlessio
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.neodata.com/pub/snew/new_print.shtml?key=SNTYhttps://www.neodata.com/pub/snew/new_print.shtml?key=SNTYhttps://www.neodata.com/pub/snew/new_print.shtml?key=SNTYhttps://www.neodata.com/pub/snew/new_print.shtml?key=SNTYhttps://www.neodata.com/pub/snew/new_print.shtml?key=SNTYhttps://www.neodata.com/pub/snew/new_print.shtml?key=SNTYhttp://www.sportingnews.com/http://packers.com/http://northwestern.edu/http://northwestern.edu/http://colgate.edu/http://colgate.edu/http://northwestern.edu/http://northwestern.edu/http://packers.com/https://www.neodata.com/pub/snew/new_print.shtml?key=SNTYmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.sportingnews.com/

8/14/2019 sportingnews - 20090530

4/36

8/14/2019 sportingnews - 20090530

5/36

Tennessees Tyler Smith leads a crop ofcollege players still debating between thedraft and another year of college. He spokewith Sporting News Todays Dave Curtis atthis weeks NBA draft combine about hisdecision, his versatility, and a couple ofVolunteer coaches:

Q:What do you need tohear this week to help

you make a decision?

A:Its not really like that. Iknow where things stand. Ijust want to get back and talk withfamily. Thats the most importantpart. I think I can play, regardlessof what anybody says. If Im in, Illwork hard to contribute to which-ever team I go to.

Q:What would be the

benefit of going back?

A:Itd be another great collegeyear being able to play in agreat system. Weve got all ourplayers coming back, and maybe wecan make a run for a championship.But thats not a given, so I cant puttoo much weight on that part.

Q:What makes that systemso great?A:Youre able to do a lot ofthings. Like, I brought theball up sometimes. Im like a pointforward. The disadvantage is that I

play a lot with my back to thebasket.

Q:So how is that helping orhurting you here?A:I think people see me as aguard, or maybe a 3,because of my size. So I think justbeing able to showcase my skills asa guard here will help me out a lot. I want to be a ballhandler who

can bring it up if I need to get myteammates open shots. Thats whyI like watching LeBron ( James)play. Hes big, and he can handle itwell enough to set up histeammates.

Q:Whats your best BrucePearl story?A:

One game, my first yearwith him, it took me awhileto get into the flow of things. It wasagainst Ole Miss. Once I got goingand starting trusting my team-mates, getting assists and scoring alittle, he came back to me and said,Hey, Bruce Pearl, nice to meet you.He said he wanted to introducehimself again because he finallysaw Tyler Smith play like he knew

I could play. It gave me morrespect for him. He knew Iplayer better, but he didnt anything. He just let me comit myself.

Q:So nothing from tboat? Or nothing body paint?

A:All that stuffs funnhes really a great ba

coach, too.

Q:How about Lane KMet him yet?A:No. But hes on TV aSportsCenter. Hes gogoing on down there. But itto be good for the football tTheyre going to be a lot bet

Q&A with F Tyler Smith

I can play, regardless of what anybody say

SK

Tyler Smith, top, sounds like a player whose mind is made up, but hes not tipping hi

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2009Next Gen

Junipero Serra (Gardena, Calif.) WR Paul Richardsonhas decided to look around, he told Sporting NewsToday on Friday afternoon. The 6-1, 175-pounder had

been committed to UCLA since late last fall, but hasre-opened the process. Richardson is rated a four-starprospect by two recruiting services.

I have no problem with UCLA, Richardson toldSN Today. They are still high on my list, but I thoughtthis would be better for me. I probably committed tooearly.

UCLA, California, Oregon, Arizona State, USC,Colorado and Oregon State are all schools hell nowcheck out, but he admitted he didnt have scholarshipoffers from Oregon and USC yet.

Its just better not to be tied down just yet, Rich-ardson told SN Today. I definitely want to check outeverybody. Ill still be in contact with Coach (Rick)Neuheisel and Coach (Reggie) Moore at UCLA. Im just

going to take my visits and Ill make a decision afterfootball and basketball are over.As a junior, Richardson caught 48 passes for 809

yards and 13 touchdowns. His father, Paul Richardson,Sr., played receiver for the Bruins.

Jordan Rainey is on board with Arkansas, Rivals.com reported. The 6-5, 310-pound offensive guardfrom Joplin, Mo., is only the Razorbacks second com-mitment for the class of 2010, while other nearby BCSprograms have brought in as many as 20 commit-ments already.

Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Missouri, Okla-homa and Oklahoma State all had shown seriousinterest in Rainey, but only the Razorbacks had

extended a scholarship offer at this point.Arkansas is only an hour-and-a-half away fromhere, Rainey told Rivals.com. My brother used tolive down there. My family always followed Arkan-sas, but we were surprised when they offered. Whenthey did offer though I started checking them outeven more and it was the school for me.

Brandon Worle, an LSU commitment out of Troup(LaGrange, Ga.), informed Sporting News Today thatthe Tigers coaching staff made his day Friday. Worle,

who generally is regarded as a fullback prospect at6-1, 240 pounds, wanted fans to know that LSUscoaching staff said itd give him a chance as a primaryrunning back in the backfield, instead of just playingfullback.

Is that not good news, or what? an excited Worletold SN Today. LSU called and they said they wantedto play me at back, and not just fullback.

Worle committed to the Tigers in early March, andalso had a scholarship offer from Oklahoma State.

Denzel McCoy, a Georgia Tech commitment and aSporting News Top 100 prospect for the class of 2010,told SN Today that he has accepted an offer to play inthe Offense-Defense All-American game in January.McCoy is a 6-4, 275-pound defensive tackle out ofNorthview (Duluth, Ga.). He committed to play forthe Yellow Jackets in early April.

Brian McLaughlin

Four-star WR drops UCLA, for now

RECRUITING DISH

PAULCONNORS/AP

UCLAs Rick Neuheisel, above, still has a shot at WR Paul Richardson.
http://www.sportingnews.com/http://rivals.com/http://rivals.com/http://rivals.com/http://rivals.com/http://rivals.com/http://rivals.com/http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/TheRecruitnikhttp://www.sportingnews.com/

8/14/2019 sportingnews - 20090530

6/36

Sporting News Todays Sean Deveney provides newsand notes from the final day of the NBAs predraftcombine in Chicago:

No one will question the toughness of

Pittsburgh F Sam Young. Nearly three weeksago, during a workout in Torontohis firstof the workout seasonYoung suffered apretty nasty injury while going throughphysical measurements. His arm got caughton one of the vertical-leap poles.

Heres how he tells it: I was doing the ver-tical testing, and when I jumped, the knobfrom the pole got caught in my arm, uparound my biceps. It fish-hooked me in myarm. It went through my arm, right through.It was stuck in my arm for an hour. Eventu-ally, the paramedics got there, and theydecided they were going to cut the pole offwith a chainsaw. They did that, to both sides

of the pole. I went walking out to the ambu-lance with the knob sticking out of both sidesof my arm.

Young said the injury turned out to beminor and has pretty much healed up. Physi-cally, at least. But on Friday, when Younghad to again have his vertical leap measured,he admitted that he wasnt exactly thrilled.

When I saw the vertical pole out there, Ihad a little phobia, he said. I was afraid Iwasnt going to make it. But I did it. And itdid not go through my arm this time.

Two guys who are uncertain aboutwhether theyre going to stick around in this

draft are SF Damion James and PF Austin Daye.Neither has hired an agent and can return toschool by the June 15 withdrawal date. Dayesaid he would stay in the draft only if he weresure hed be taken somewhere in the teens.

I am probably going to go back to school ifit looks like I am in the 20s, he said. I amdefinitely trying to stay out of that range,because once youre there, theres no tellingwhat is going to happen. The draft can getcrazy once you slide to the 20s.

James does not have a set range in whichhed like to be picked. But he would want

some guarantee, or else he will return toTexas. Id like to know where I am going togo before I decide, James said. If a teamtells me theyre going to take me, then Id stayin.

One thing that could hurt Daye: Hecouldnt lift 185 pounds in the weight testing,while big men like PFJordan Hill (11 times) andC B.J. Mullens (10) lifted 185 multiple times.

I kind of got it up, but jerked it, Daye said.I know in a couple of weeks, I wil l be able to.

As allegations swirl around Chicagoabout the academic scandal brewing around

PG Derrick Rose, his time at Memphis andcoach John Calipari, at least one former Tigersays he was surprised by the news. It didsurprise me, said G Tyreke Evans, who did notplay with Rose but says he has gotten toknow him. Derrick Rose is a good guy. Italked to him when I came out here and inthe summer in Memphis. I talked to himabout the season and things like that. Hope-fully, nothing bad happens that is going toaffect Memphis or Coach Cal.

North Carolina F Wayne Ellington was appre-ciative of the opportunity to interview with avariety of teams over the two-day combine, buthe is not sure whether the eventwhich fea-

tured only light drills and physical measure-mentshad any real impact on the draft.Youre coming in, youre showing your

skills, shooting jump shots, doing some ball-handling, Ellington said. I would hope noteams are looking at this and making theirdecisions based on it.

PG Jonny Flynn, for his part, would muchrather see fullcourt games being played. Ofcourse, so would every general manager. Butno agents would let their players participatein that setting.

I am a competitor, so to me, you get 50 guystogether, 50 of the best players in the country,I want to get out there and play 5-on-5, Flynn

said. I want that. I think I thrive that way.But, you know, not everyone feels that way.

There werent many surprises to comeout of the measurements that were releasedby the league on Friday. PF Tyler Hansbrough,so often knocked for being undersized andfrequently listed at 6-8, actually came in at6-9 1/2 with shoes. His standing reach was8-10, a half-inch more than that of probableNo. 1 pick PF Blake Griffin. The biggest wing-span was that of C Hasheem Thabeet, at 7-6 1/4.The next-biggest was PF Taj Gibson, at 7-4.

Rumors of a rift between SF Terrence Wil-

liams and Louisville coach Rick Pitino are,according to Williams, severely overblown.In fact, Williams said, Pitino has been help-ing him navigate the draft process.

I dont know nothing about the programright now, because I havent been there in awhile, Williams said. But, man, me and CoachP went out to dinner last week. Tell everybodydown in Louisville that Coach P is great. I talkedto him last night and he told me something aboutone of the teams. Me and Coach P are great.

Young OK after impaling; Daye, James weigh options2009 draft order

1. L.A. Clippers2. Memphis3. Oklahoma City4. Sacramento5. Washington6. Minnesota7. Golden State8. New York9. Toronto10. Milwaukee11. New Je rsey12. Charlotte

13. Indiana14. Phoenix15. Detroit16. Chicago17. Philadelphia18. Minnesota (from Miami)19. Atlanta20. Utah21. New Orleans22. Dallas23. Sacramento (from Houston)24. Portland25. Oklahoma City (from San Ant26. Chicago(from Denver through Oklahom27. Memphis (from Orlando)28. Minnesota (from Boston)29. L.A. Lakers30. Cleveland

Second Round

31. Sacramento32. Washington33. Portland (from L.A. Clippers)34. Denver (from Oklahoma City)35. Detroit (from Minnesota)36. Memphis37. San Antonio(from Golden State through Pho38. Portland(from New York through Chicago39. Detroit (from Toronto)40. Charlotte(from N. Jersey through Oklahom41. Milwaukee42. L.A. Lakers (from Charlotte)43. Miami (from Indiana)44. Detroit45. Minnesota(from Philadelphia through Miam46. Cleveland (from Chicago)47. Minnesota (from Miami)48. Phoenix

49. Atlanta50. Utah51. San Antonio(from New Orleans through Toro52. Indiana (from Dallas)53. San Antonio (from Houston)54. Charlotte (from San Antonio)55. Portland (from Denver)56. Portland57. Phoeni x(from Orlando through Oklahom58. Boston59. L.A. Lakers60. Miami (from Cleveland)

DRAFT DISH

STEVECANNON/AP

Not even a vertical-leap pole that impaled his arm can stop Sam Young, center, from chasing his NBA dreams.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2009Next Gen: NBA Draft
http://www.sportingnews.com/http://www.sportingnews.com/

8/14/2019 sportingnews - 20090530

7/36

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

L.A. Lakers 119, Denver 92

L.A. Lakers 25 28 30Denver 20 20 27

LAL Min FG FT Reb AAriza 22:06 7-9 0-0 1-4 0Gasol 42:28 8-12 4-4 2-12 6Bynum 21:54 1-6 0-0 1-1 1Fisher 31:42 2-3 0-0 0-4 4Bryant 41:34 12-20 9-9 0-6 10Odom 31:38 7-12 4-4 3-8 1Farmar 8:02 0-2 0-0 0-1 2Vujacic 6:55 1-2 4-4 1-1 0Walton 25:25 5-7 0-0 1-1 3Brown 8:16 0-2 3-3 0-0 1Totals 240:00 43-75 24-24 9-38 28

Percentages:FG.573,FT 1.000. 3-PointGoals:3-4, Odom 2-2, Bryant 2-4, Fisher1-1,Vujacic 1Farmar 0-2). TeamRebounds: 4.TeamTurnoveBlockedShots: 4(Bryant,Bynum,Gasol,Walton(Gasol3,Walton3,Ariza2,Farmar2,Bryant,Bynum6(Gasol3,Ariza,Bynum,Walton).TechnicalFoulssecond,10:04 second.

DENVER Min FG FT Reb AAnthony 37:17 6-17 12-15 0-2 2Martin 28:43 6-13 1-2 2-5 0Nene 33:29 3-7 2-2 1-6 1Billups 38:47 2-7 5-6 0-4 9Jones 13:26 1-3 0-0 1-1 0Smith 32:22 10-17 0-0 1-2 0Andersen 20:51 1-1 0-0 1-2 0Carter 8:38 0-2 0-0 1-2 0Kleiza 19:18 2-5 0-0 0-3 1Hart 2:47 0-0 0-0 0-0 1

Petro 2:47 1-1 0-0 0-0 0Balkman 1:36 0-0 0-0 0-0 0Totals 240:01 32-73 20-25 7-27 14

Percentages:FG.438, FT.800. 3-Point Goals: 84-9,Kleiza2-4,Anthony1-3,Billups1-3). TeamRebTurnovers:13(19 PTS).BlockedShots: 3(Anderse13(Billups5,Carter 2,Nene2, Smith2,Andersen,7 (Nene 2, Andersen, Anthony, Billups, Carter,cal Fouls: Defensivethree second, 0:21first; JoFlagrant Fouls: Billups,5:38 fourth.A: 20,053 (1Officials: JoeCrawford, MarkWunderlich,MikeCall

Series glance(L.A. Lakers win series 4-2)

May 19: L.A. Lakers 105,Denver 103May 21: Denver 106,L.A. Lakers 103May 23: L.A. Lakers 103, DenMay 25: Denver 120,L.A. Lakers 101May 27: L.A. Lakers 103, DenFriday: L.A. Lakers 119, Denv

Kobe takes care of his half of dream FinalsDENVEROne-half of the Kobe-

LeBron dream matchup is set.

Kobe Bryant and the Los AngelesLakers are in the NBA finals for thesecond straight year and record30th time overall.

LeBron James and the ClevelandCavaliers will need to win twomore wins to join them. Otherwise,it will be Dwight Howard and theOrlando Magic on the leagues big-gest stage.

Not as sexy for Madison Ave., butcertainly intriguing.

Bryant and the Lakers dis-patched Carmelo Anthony and thepesky Denver Nuggets with a 119-

92 victory in Game 6 of the West-ern Conference finals on Friday.We saved our best game for last

here, or maybe we caught our oppo-nent a little bit off stride, said Lak-ers coach Phil Jackson, who gets ashot at his record 10th title.

Bryant had 35 points and 10assists and got plenty of scoringhelp from Trevor Ariza, Pau Gasoland Lamar Odom as the Lakersshot 57.3 percent from the field toavoid having to play a Game 7 backat the Staples Center.

They will fi nally get some much-

needed rest after playing everyother day for a grueling two weeks.These Lakers, who are seeking

their 15th title, are a more grizzledgroupbut also more bruised and

batteredthan the one that fell toBoston in the finals last year.

Now were in a place where wedidnt get the job accomplished lastyear, Bryant said. Hopefully wewill this time.

Instead of cruising through theWest this time, the Lakers survivedan arduous seven-game semifinalseries against Houston and anothertest against Denver.

Its been a physical march all t heway back to the finals, every series

has been tough, Bryant said.The Magic lead 3-2 and can clinch

the Eastern Conference finalstonight at home in Game 6 and pre-vent that Kobe-LeBron matchupthat has basketball fans and corpo-rate sponsors atwitter.

The finals begin Thursday, atLos Angeles if Orlando wins, and

at Cleveland if the Cavaliersprevail.Anthony led the Nuggets with 25

points and J.R. Smith added 24, butDenver trailed for all but a few sec-onds and never mounted a seriouscharge after halftime, althoughthey kept hitting 3-pointers, finish-ing 8 of 19 from beyond the arc.

This was the Nuggets eighthconsecutive loss in a playoff elimi-nation game.

Odom and Gasol both scored 20points and Ariza had 17, and theLakers made all 24 of their free

throws and were 9 of 16 on 3s.We are really tough to beat because were using all our weap-ons, not focusing on Kobe ormyself, said Gasol, who had 12rebounds and six assists. We havea really good team and need to useeverybody. That is how we aregoing to win it.

The Lakers might very well have been swept by the energetic Nug-gets if veterans Anthony Carter andKenyon Martin hadnt botchedinbounds passes in the final sec-onds of Games 1 and 3, respectively.

Bryant didnt wait for the fourthquarter Friday night to give theNuggets, who had posted eightpostseason blowouts, a taste oftheir own medicine.

He scored 11 points in a decisive21-7 run that gave the Lakers a53-40 halftime lead, took the buzzout of the Pepsi Center and the airout of the Nuggets.

We had the effort and the

execution to match, Bryant said.It took us a while to really get a feel

for the team, just how to takeadvantage of the defense. We sawsomething how they were playingus and we executed extremelywell.

Bryant started his run with twofree throws, then hit a jumper overSmith. After Arizas 3-pointer, Bry-ant made baskets over Anthonyfrom the left and right corners onthe next two possessions, thencapped the run with a daggera3-pointer with 4.1 seconds left fol-lowing Gasols offensive rebound.

The Nuggets trimmed their defi-

cit to 79-67 but the Lakers repliedwith a 9-0 run to restore theirstranglehold. Bryant scored sevenstraight points, including a3-pointer that made it 101-82.

He had a great five minutes at theend of the game that no one in basketball could have covered him, Nug-gets coach George Karl lamented.

Karl likes the Lakers in the fi nalsno matter if its Kobe-LeBron orKobe-Superman.

I saw little cracks in the Lakersand somehow weve cementedthose cracks back up, and I think

theyre the best team right now inthe NBA, he said.The Nuggets thought they had

the Lakers right where they wantedthem after stealing Game 2 in LosAngeles, but they quickly gave thehomecourt edge back on Martins

botched inbounds in Game 3 thatcost them their first loss at thePepsi Center since March 9.

The Associated Press

CHRISCARLSON/AP

Kobe Bryant had 35 points and the Lakers shot 57 percent to rout the Nuggets and advance.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2009NBA

8/14/2019 sportingnews - 20090530

8/36

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

ORLANDOThe Cleveland Cavalierswalked around their plush hotelroom Friday, cracking jokes andmaking dinner plans. They mulled

around in flip-flops and T-shirts,their casual attire matched only bytheir swagger.

There were no signs of a loomingplayoff elimination game.

The Cavs were so confident theywould be back in Orlando to con-tinue the Eastern Conference finals,they packed their bags before Game5 and had a plane waiting on the tar-mac. Cleveland coach Mike Browneven said Friday he already had

booked his wifes and kids t ickets toOrlando before his teams win madeit official.

We just thought there would be aGame 6, Brown said.LeBron James made sure there

was, now a bigger question remains:Will there be a Game 7?

If theres no Game 7, our seasonsover, Brown said. So were here towin Game 6.

Doing so wont be easy.The Cavaliers, with an NBA-best

66-win regular season, certainly are0-4 this season in amped-up AmwayArenaa place the Magic start fastand finish. The Cavs have been ableto build big leads in Cleveland and

hold on late, a luxury they likelywont get for Game 6 tonight.It is not only the biggest game in

the Magics most memorable seasonsince the Shaquille ONeal-PennyHardway days, its their best chanceleft to return to the NBA Finals forthe first time in 14 years.

The Magic dont want to go backto Cleveland for a Game 7, althoughcoach Stan Van Gundy brushed off

any notion that Orlandos last homegame in the series feels like theyrefacing elimination.

No, Van Gundy said. I cancount. Im good at math. Its Game6.

The odds dont favor the Cavs.Cleveland is trying to become just

the ninth team since 1947 to rally

and win a series after being down3-1. But the Cavs have reason to feelthey have a chance.

They have James.

The league MVP scored 21 pointsin the second half17 in the fourthquarterin Game 5 and had a handin 31 straight Cleveland points.

James finished with 37 points, 14rebounds and 12 assists to becomethe first player since Oscar Robert-son in 1963 to have such numbers ina playoff game.

The performance already is beingcompared to James scintillatingGame 5 effort in the conferencefinals against Detroit in 2007, whenhe scored 48 points, including histeams last 25.

Cavaliers guard Delonte West,who says his hip pointer injury inGame 5 left nothing more than a big

bruise on his right side (hell be fineto play Friday) pointed out the Cavshave a game plan no one match.

We give LeBron the ball and getout of the way, West said.

Added Cavs reserve Daniel Gib-son, weve got 23, referring to

James jersey number.Whether Cleveland can beat the

Magic in a seven-game series withthat strategy remains to be seen.

The often one-versus-five

approach has been enough to keepthe Cavs in this series. If not for James buzzer-beating 3-pointer inGame 2, the Cavs already might beon summer vacation.

James struggling teammates havegiven him little support. Even withMo Williams and Zydrunas Ilgaus-kas having one of their best games ofthe series Thursday, it was Jameswho rescued the Cavs from a fourth-

quarter deficit.They just spread the floo

James go to work.For anybody, that cou

load, Brown said. But thamakes him great. He has tbility of coming through wAnd the more we can stay frthe better. If we only havethat a couple of possessiogreat.

The Magic are still plendent themselves.

They have given Clevesorts of matchup problemsdepth, speed, size and range. In almost every facet,has the advantage.

The Magic also have twi

series on the road this poswinning a Game 6 in Philand a Game 7 in Boston. Nohome, they have a chancsomething the franchise hasince 1995.

We believe we can win aonship, center Dwight said. People used to laugwhen Id say that. But its rifor us. We have a chance tonext step (tonight).

The Ass

LeBron, Cavs know they have to win Game 6 to get to

Todays game(Best-of-7)

Cleveland at Orlando,8:30 p.m., ET, TNT(Orlando leads series 3-2)

Betting lineToday

FAVORITE..........LINE........O/U........UNDE

atOrlando ................2............ (193).........Cleve

KIICHIROSATO/ AP

The numbers LeBron James put up in Game 5 (37 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists) havent been seen since Oscar Robertson in 1963.


8/14/2019 sportingnews - 20090530

9/36

INSIDE DISH Playoff glance

CONFERENCE FINALS

(Best-of-7), all times ET

EASTERN CONFEREN

Cleveland vs. Orlando(Orlando leads series 3-2)

May 20:Orlando 107, Clevela

May 22: Cleveland 96, Orland

May 24: Orlando 99, Clevela

May 26: Orlando 116,

Cleveland 114, OT

May 28: Cleveland 112, Orlan

Today: Cleveland at Orlando

8:30 p.m.

Monday: Orlando at Clevela

p.m., if necessary

WESTERN CONFEREN

L.A. Lakers vs. Denver(L.A. Lakers win series 4-2)

May 19: L.A. Lakers 105, Den

May 21: Denver 106, L.A. Lak

May 23: L.A. Lakers 103, Den

May 25: Denver 120, L.A. Lak

May 27: L.A. Lakers 103,

Denver 94

Friday: L.A. L akers 119, Denv

Finals

Cleveland-Orlando winner vL.A. LakersThursday: Cleveland-Orland

vs. L.A. Lakers, 9 p.m., ABC

June 7:Cleveland-Orlando w

L.A. Lakers, 8 p.m., ABC

June 9: Cleveland-Orlando w

L.A. Lakers, 9 p.m., ABCJune 11: Cleveland-Orlando

L.A. Lakers, 9 p.m., ABC

June 14: Cleveland-Orlando

L.A. Lakers, 8 p.m., if necessa

June 16:Cleveland-Orlando


June 18:Cleveland-Orlando


The Philadelphia 76ers have found theirnext head coach, reaching an agreement inprinciple with Eddie Jordan to end a search thatlasted nearly three weeks.

Jordan was offered the job on Friday andmade the decision later that night to coach theEastern Conference playoff team. He becomesthe 22nd coach in fra nchise history and thirdsince the start of last season.

Jordan, fired by the Washington Wizardsin November, was one of two candidates thatinterviewed twice with Sixers president EdStefanski. The Wizards owe Jordan nearly $4million next season and would have to paythe difference on the contract from Jordansnew team. The length of the contract and Jor-dans salary were not immediately known.

Jordan is 230-288 in coaching stints withthe Wizards and the Sacramento Kings.

Jordan played at Rutgers and has ties withStefanski from their four seasons togetherwith the New Jersey Nets. Jordan was anassistant when the Nets played in two straightNBA finals and Stefanski served in variouspositions in the organization including gen-eral manager.

I saw firsthand the immense impact Eddie Jordan had in helping the Nets reach twoNBA finals and as the head coach in Wash-ington, he consistently put his teams in aposition to win on a nightly basis, Stefanskisaid in a statement. He embodies all thequalities I was looking for in the next headcoach of the Sixers and we are very excited to

have him in Philadelphia. Jordan emerged as the winner among agroup of candidates that included BostonCeltics assistant Tom Thibodeau, former DallasMavericks assistant Dwane Casey and Sixersscout Chris Ford. The Sixers also interviewedLakers assistant Kurt Rambis and spoke withVillanova coachJay Wright.

While the Knicks cant be certain whichfree agents theyll be able to sign in the

summer of 2010, Suns PF Amare Stoudemire isone big name whos already stating hell giveserious thought to playing in the Big Apple.

According to theNew York Post, Stoudemirewas asked during an ESPN Radio interviewFriday about how seriously hed consider the

Knicks in 2010. I will be totally seriousabout that, I spent a lot of my childhood there,I have a connection with the state, and I alsolove the entire coaching staff, Stoudemire

said. I think Coach (Mike) DAntonis doing aphenomenal job with the Knicks, N.Y.s agreat city, I follow them closely.

Stoudemire played under DAntoni whenDAntoni was with the Suns.

He also was asked if hes better than PFChris Bosh, another who can become a freeagent in 2010. No doubt about it, Im betterthan Chris Bosh, Stoudemire said.

PG Rafer Alston, subbing for injured starter Jameer Nelson since a February trade, wouldlike to sign an extension with the Magic, theOrlando Sentinel reported. Alstons contractexpires next season. Because of his $5.5 mil-

lion salary, Alston said he realizes he couldbe traded, though. PG Anthony Johnson also hasanother season left at $2 million, meaningOrlando would have more than $13 milliontied up in three point guards, counting Nel-sons $6.1 million.

Warriors GJamal Crawford can become a freeagent this summer if he decides to opt of his con-tract, but he said he still hasnt made up his mindabout his future. I know theres a lot of talk outthere but Ill just be patient and see what hap-pens, Crawford told AOL FanHouse.

Heres one sign that the economy will

remain a key factor on how teams handletheir offseasons this summer: Bucks generalmanager John Hammond told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the team will be makingdecisions based as much on financial consid-erations as on basketball considerations.Right now, having (financial) discipline isthe best thing for us, said Hammond.

That will affect everything from decisions onfree agents Charlie Villanueva and Ramon Sessions towhom the Bucks select in the June 25 draft.

Eddie Jordan takes Sixers job; Stoudemire likes N.Y.

HECTORMATA/AP

Amare Stoudemire, who played for five seasons under coach Mike DAntoni, would like to play for DAntoni again.


8/14/2019 sportingnews - 20090530

10/36

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2009NHL

GAME 1: PITTSBURGH VS. DETROIT Tonight, 8 ET, NBCSTANLEY CUP FINALS

THE STAR SO FAR

F Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh: I42-career playoff games, Caveraging 1.43 points per gOnly Wayne Gretzky and MLemieux have higher avera

This year, hes five goals shNHL single-playoff record the Penguins win, hes youSmythe winner.

NEEDS TO RAISE HIS G

F Tomas Holmstrom, Detroit: strom assisted on the gameagainst Chicago on Wednewhich was great. But it wasfirst point since April 23 agthe Blue Jackets, way back first round of the playoffs. Ayes, Columbus made the pl

OUR PICK

Detroit in seven: The injurdefinitely scare us, but if Lids

can play at full speed, the Re

Wings will survive the test.

Detroits depth and experien

and dont forget Hossawill

enough to edge the Pens.

GER

Sidney Crosby has averaged almostand a half a game in the playoffs in

Depth, addition of Hossa make Wings SNs pick

THREE MAJOR QUESTIONS

1. How healthy is Detroit? The RedWings managed to elimi-nate the Blackhawks despiteplaying the final two games of theconference finals without NorrisTrophy nominee Nicklas Lidstrom,Hart Trophy nominee PavelDatsyuk and playoff veteran KrisDraper. The team also was blind-

sided when impressive rookiedefenseman Jonathan Ericssonmissed Wednesdays game afterundergoing emergency surgery toremove his appendix.

The Red Wings certainly werenthelped by the rush to start theStanley Cup finals this weekend.

Normally, when you win in fivegames, you get this l ittle break,coach Mike Babcock said. But I

think were trying to jam.Babcock said Friday Lidstrom

and Ericsson will play in Game 1and Datsyuk will be a game-timedecision.

2. How will Marian Hossa handle thepressure? One bonus of beinga star forward for the Red Wings isyoure one of many. Hossa was able

to have a quiet 40-goal season whilesharing the spotlight with other starforwards like Henrik Zetterberg,Datsyuk and Johan Franzen.

But now, the focus is squarely onhim. Hes only the second forward inNHL history to switch sides in a finalsrematch and the first since 1964,joining John MacMillan. Adding fuelto the rivalry, Hossa didnt hide hisreasoning when declining a more

lucrative offer from Pittsburgh to sign

a one-year deal with Detroit. Hethought the Red Wings had a betterchance to win the Cupand said so.

Crosby said there are no hardfeelings.

There wasnt an issue here,Crosby said on Thursday. It wasmade to be a big deal. There wasnever an issue here, he made hischoice and that was it.

On Wednesday, Hossa said heoccasionally texted Crosby duringthe season. Theyre cool.

We talked with Sid during theyear a few timesgood talk,

Hossa said.If Crosby and the Penguins haveforgiven Hossa, they might be theonly people in Pittsburgh to do so.

3.Will Evgeni Malkin show up thisyear? The RedWings wereable to jump to a 2-0 lead last year,largely because Malkin was anon-factor. He was held without apoint in those two games, regis-tered only one shot on goal and wasa minus-3. He got better as theseries progressed and will benefitgreatly from that experience.

He had six goals in the four-gamesweep of Carolina in the EasternConference finals and appears poisedto break through in his secondappearance in the Cup finals.

You dont quite understand ituntil youre in it, Pittsburgh coachDan Bylsma said.

Now, Malkin understands. Thatmakes the Penguins much moredangerous this time around.

BY CRAIG CUSTANCE | [email protected]

On paper this should be an easy series to predict. The Detroit RedWings needed only six games to handle Pittsburgh in last yearsStanley Cup finalsafter which, one of the Penguins best forwardsjoined the Red Wings.

Subtract Marian Hossa from the Penguins, add him to t he RedWings and you get a Detroit sweep, right?

Not even close.The roster may be similar, but this is a different Pittsburgh team

than Detroit saw last spring. For one, Dan Bylsma is the new coachand has the offensively gifted Penguins playing a more aggressiveup-tempo style.

Its also a Pittsburgh team more experienced this time around.Weve been through it, Sidney Crosby said. I think were

prepared for whats ahead. There shouldnt be any surprises. Ittook us a couple games last year to get our feet under us. By that

time, we were down 2-0. I think well be ready from the start.

PAULSANCYA/AP

Despite defecting to Detroit, Marian Hossa says he and ex-teammate Sidney Crosby are cool.
http://www.sportingnews.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.sportingnews.com/

8/14/2019 sportingnews - 20090530

11/36


Stanley Cup finalsDetroit vs. Pittsburgh(Best-of-7), All times ET

Today: Pittsburgh at Detroit,

p.m., NBC

Sunday: Pittsburgh at Detro

p.m., NBC

Tuesday: Detroit at Pittsburg

p.m., Versus

Thursday: Detroit at Pittsbup.m., Versus

Saturday, June 6: Pittsburgh

Detroit, 8 p.m., if necessary, N

Tuesday, June 9: Detroit at

Pittsburgh, 8 p.m., if necessa

NBC

Friday, June 12: Pittsburgh a

Detroit, 8 p.m., if necessary, N

Betting lineFAVORITE..........LINE UNDERDOG........atDetroit................-160 Pittsburgh..............

Odds to win series

Detroit....................-150 Pittsburgh.....

NHL calendar

Through todayNHL

Combine, Toronto.

June 18 NHL awards sh

Las Vegas.

June 26-27NHL draft,

Montreal.

July 1 Free agency sign

period begins.

July 5Deadline for play

elected salary arbitration.

July 6Deadline for club

elected salary arbitration.

July 10 Deadline for

eligible players to elect Grou

free agency.

July 20-Aug. 4Salary a

tion hearings held.

Aug. 6Deadline for sal-

ary arbitration decisions to b

rendered.

GAME 1: PITTSBURGH VS. DETROIT Tonight, 8 ET, NBCSTANLEY CUP FINALS

DETROITThe Pittsburgh Penguinsare set to put the experience of lastyears Stanley Cup finals appear-ance to good use in the rematchagainst the Detroit Red Wings.

No one more than Marc-AndreFleury.

The young Penguins goalie took aflop as he raced to the ice beforeGame 1 at Joe Louis Arena. He randown the tunnel before the finalwarmup and tumbled off the stepand onto the ice. He has a chance tomake up for that entrance whenthis years final series kicks off

again in Detroit tonight.Fleury has taken note of wherethe red carpet will be and otherquirky spots in the aging arena.

I also know the size of the door,you know, he said Friday with alaugh. Theyre a little smaller hereso Ive got to watch for that.

Fleury shared the podium duringFridays media day with Penguinscaptain Sidney Crosby, whocouldnt resist a wide smile and a bit of a laugh as Fleury recalledwhat is likely his most embarrass-ing hockey moment.

I heard a lot about it, Fleurysaid. I got made fun of for that.Even Penguins general manager

Ray Shero couldnt resist getting ina shot at Fleury.

Marc-Andre needs to make agood appearance as he jumps ontothe ice and not step on the carpet,Shero said. That would be reallygood. For us to have success in theStanley Cup finals, we have to

continue playing the way wereplaying. You can talk about theexperience we drew upon lastyear, but those are words. Weregoing to see at the end of the series

whether or not its going to be afactor or not. So I really dont havean answer as to what this experi-ence from last year is going tomean.

Wait, didnt we win?Detroit Red Wings coach MikeBabcock admits that PittsburghPenguins captain Sidney Crosby isthe face of the NHL, but that cam-paign might have gone a bit too far.

On the eve of the Stanley Cupfinals rematch between the defend-ing champion Red Wings and Pen-guins, Babcock joked that maybethere has been some revisionist his-tory created by the NHLs market-ing department.

We know them, they know us.Should be a good battle. I think its

real good for the National HockeyLeague, Babcock said. Were anOriginal Six team with real goodplayers. Sidney Crosby, I mean, youcant turn on any TV that covershockey without seeing him.

Actually, when I watch the com-mercials from last year I think theywon, not us. So I have to checkevery once in a while to get that fig-ured out.

Houdini HelmThe Red Wings like prospects to

become over ripeas general

manager Ken Holland saysin theminors before getting a chance toplay a lot for them in the regularseason.

If the young players are goodenough to dominate for Grand Rap-ids in the AHL, they get an oppor-tunity in the playoffs.

Darren Helm is a the latest exam-ple of the patient strategy workingwell.

The 22-year-old forward wasready to play an increased role inthe last game of the Western Con-ference finals when Detroits injury-depleted team needed him.

In perhaps one of the most spec-tacular efforts on a penalty kill,Helm kept the puck away from theChicago Blackhawks by himself.

That was impressive, teammateKris Draper said Friday. As a pen-alty killer, you love to be able to holdonto the puck and drag it for a littlebit. But for 26, 27 seconds or what-ever it was, there were two guys on

him and he was going in betweenthem, under some guys and endedup getting a great scoring chance.

Tuning inVersus has something to look for-

ward to as it gears up to televiseGames 3 and 4 of the Stanley Cupfinals between the defending cham-pion Detroit Red Wings and thePittsburgh Penguins. The just-completed conference finals onVersus were the highest-rated thirdround on cable since 1998. The sec-ond round was the best on cable

since 1997. Versus has posted a 27percent increase in viewership overlast year. In the conference finals,the rating rose to 1.5 over last years1.2a 25 percent increase. Totalviewership in the round that fea-tured Detroits five-game win overChicago in the Western Conferenceand Pittsburghs sweep of Carolinain the East went up 30 percent.

The Associated Press

NOTEBOOK

Flop by Pens Fleury not likely to be repeated in finals

KARLB.DEBLAKER/AP

Marc-Andre Fleury had a rough introduction to the finals last season.

8/14/2019 sportingnews - 20090530

12/36


GoalsName Team GP GSidney Crosby, Pittsburgh 17 14Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh 17 12AlexanderOvechkin,Washington 14 11Johan Franzen, Detroit 16 10Eric Staal, Carolina 18 10PatrickKane, Chicago 16 9Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit 16 9DanielCleary, Detroit 16 8CoreyPerry, Anaheim 13 8BillGuerin,Pittsburgh 17 7Jussi Jokinen,Carolina 18 7PatrickSharp, Chicago 17 7Jonathan Toews, Chicago 17 7Rus lanFedot en ko, P it tsbu rgh 17 6MarianHossa,Detroit 16 6PhilKessel,Boston 11 6MarcSavard, Boston 11 6MartinHavlat,Chicago 16 5BobbyRyan, Anaheim 13 5Michael Ryder, Boston 11 5Sergei Samsonov, Carolina 17 5Mikael Samuelsson, Detroit 16 5A lexan de rS emin,Wa shi ng to n 14 5

AssistsName Team GP AEvgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh 17 16Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh 17 14Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim 13 14Valtteri Filppula, Detroit 16 13NicklasBackstrom,Wash ington 14 12

Chris Kunitz, Pittsburgh 17 11Brent Seabrook, Chicago 17 11Sergei Gonchar, Pittsb urgh 15 10Martin Havlat, Chicago 16 10AlexanderOvechkin,Washington 14 10JohanFranzen,Detroit 16 9Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit 14 9A lexan de rS emin,Washi ng to n 14 9Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit 16 9DaveBolland,Chicago 17 8Brian Campbell, Chicago 17 8Mike Green,Washington 14 8Joni Pitkanen, Carolina 18 8Chris Pronger, Anaheim 13 8Michael Ryder, Boston 11 8KrisVersteeg,Chicago 17 8RayWhitney,Carolina 18 8

Power play goalsName Team GP PPSidney Crosby, Pittsburgh 17 5Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh 17 5

Jonathan Toews, Chicago 17 5JohanFranzen,Detroit 16 3Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit 14 3Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim 13 3A lexanderOvechkin,Wash ington 14 3MarcSavard, Boston 11 3PatrickSharp, Chicago 17 3Eric Staal, Carolina 18 3KrisVersteeg,Chicago 17 3Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit 16 3

Power play pointsName Team GP PPPEvgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh 17 12Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit 14 10

Sidney Crosby, PittsburghRyanGetzlaf,AnaheimSergei Gonchar, PittsburghA lexanderOvechkin,Wash ingtonKrisVersteeg, ChicagoNicklasBackstrom,Wash ingtonBrian Campbell, ChicagoJohanFranzen, DetroitMartinHavlat, ChicagoPatrickKane,ChicagoScott Niedermayer, AnaheimChris Pronger, Anaheim

BrianRafalski, DetroitBrent Seabrook, ChicagoAl exander S emin ,Wa sh in gt onJonathan Toews, Chicago

Game-winning goalName TeamJussi Jokinen, CarolinaEvgeni Malkin, PittsburghSteve Bernier, VancouverDanielCleary,DetroitJohanFranzen, DetroitBill Guerin, PittsburghTyler Kennedy, PittsburghPatrick Marleau, San JoseScott Niedermayer, AnaheimSamiSalo,VancouverMikael Samuelsson, DetroitMarc Savard,BostonPatrickSharp, ChicagoJonathan Toews, Chicago

Shooting percentagName Team GPMarc Savard, Boston 11R.J. Umb erger, Columbus 4Patrick Kane, Chicago 16Chr istopherH iggin,Montreal 4Ju ssi Jokinen, Carolina 18Fredrik Modin, Columbus 4Eric Nystrom, Calgary 6Sami Salo, Vancouver 7S idneyCrosby,Pi ttsburgh 17ClaudeGi roux,Ph iladelph ia 6Daniel Clear y, Detroit 16Henr ik Sedin ,Vanco uve r 1 0Kris Russell, Columbus 4Michael Ryder, Boston 11Mats Sundin, Vancouver 8

Plus/minusName TeamDanielCleary,Detroit

Sidney Crosby, PittsburghMilanLucic, BostonBill Guerin, PittsburghMark Eaton, PittsburghAlexanderOvechkin,WashingtonHenrik Zetterberg, DetroitValtteri Filppula, DetroitJohanFranzen, DetroitJonathan Ericsson, DetroitTomPoti,WashingtonBrianRafalski, DetroitBradStuart,DetroitPhil Kessel, BostonBrett Lebda,DetroitNicklas Lidstrom, Detroit

NHL playoff leaders(Through May 29)

Jim Balsillie, the BlackBerry CEO whohas made an offer to buy the PhoenixCoyotes and move them to southernOntario, has unveiled his vision for a

revamped Copps Coliseum, the Hamil-ton arena he hopes will become theteams new home.

Balsillies plan for the 24-year-old building includes an atrium-styleentrance lobby, luxury boxes, loungesand restaurants, new seats and a state-of-the art video scoreboard. It wouldseat about 18,000.

But whats unclear is who will footthe bill for the $150-million renovation.A Balsillie spokesman said Friday thathe would cover the cost of short-termrenovations but added that the rink isowned by the City of Hamilton, which

could request infrastructure fundsfrom the federal and provincialgovernments.

A new team for the best new hockeymarket deserves spectacular new homeice, and thats exactly what the upgradedCopps Coliseum would offer, Balsilliesaid in a release. This facility willdeliver unparalleled excitement and bring fans closer than ever to theaction.

Balsillie has made a $212.5-millionbid for the financially ailing teamonthe condition he can move it to Hamil-ton. The NHL is against the move and

wants to find a buyer who will keep theteam in Glendale, Ariz.Earlier this month, Ontario Premier

Dalton McGuinty left the door open tousing public funds for the project butsaid he would have to wait and see ifwe get a sensible proposal.

Hundreds of mourners packed aToronto-area church Friday for thefuneral of former NHL player Peter Zezel,

according to The Associated Press.Zezel, who played three-plus seasons

with the Toronto Maple Leafs, diedTuesday at age 44 after suffering from arare blood disorder for the last 10years.

Among those in attendance were for-mer Leafs teammates Doug Gilmour andWendel Clark, and former Toronto general

manager Cliff Fletcher.After the service, Clark called Zezelan ambassador for the game, anambassador for how to love life andhave fun.

The Toronto native played 15 NHLseasons and scored 219 goals in 873games.

The Denver Postreported that Colo-rado coach Tony Granato, who remained

quiet while the Avalanche offered for-mer goaltending great Patrick Roy his job,spoke briefly with Sportsnet.ca, a Cana-dian broadcast outlet.

I still love being part of (the team),and I understand that some of thethings that happen within any positionarent always fun, but you deal withthem and hope better days are ahead,

Granato told Sportsnet after hearingthat Roy had turned down the offer. Iwouldnt look at it any other way thanto be excited to get back and try to getour team back on track.

Thats the only way to look at it. Istill think there are some good thingsthis organization can do. With the t hirdpick in the draft and some healthy bod-ies back to go with a few adjustments toour lineup, I think we can get back to

being a good team.

According to TSN, Montreal policehave cleared Andrei Kostitsyn and Sergei

Kostitsyn of any illegal activity after theCanadiens players were linked to a manwho was arrested in a sting operationin February.

TSN cited a report by Le Journal deMontreal that the police checked out5,000 phone calls made by Pasquale Man-giola in search for any incriminatingevidence against the brothers. A policespokesman told the newspaper thatabout 2,000 of the calls involved theKostitsyns, but there was no evidenceof criminal activity.

Mangiola faces several charges,including drug trafficking, conspiracy

and possession of a firearm in connec-tion with cocaine transactions.

The St. Petersburg Times reportedthat Dominick Tortorella, the 19-year-oldson of New York Rangers coach John Tor-torella, was arrested early Friday morn-ing for obstructing or opposing anofficer without violence. According tothe report, Dominick Tortorella wasarrested at 1:14 a.m. by Tampa policewhen he disregarded an officers orderto leave the area. The police reportedlywere assisting the Bureau of Alcoholand Tobacco in an operation when the

incident occurred.

A lawyer for Hall of Famer Guy Laf-leur says his client will appeal his convic-tion on a charge of giving contradictorytestimony, according to TSN.

Gilles Ouimet says a motion to appealwas filed this week after the formerMontreal great was found guilty of giv-ing contradictory testimony during hissons bail hearing in 2007.

INSIDE DISH

Balsillie unveils plans for Hamilton arena renovation

DAVECHIDLEY/AP

Jim Balsillies plan for the Copps Coliseum includes an atrium-style entrance lobby, luxury boxes and new seats.
http://www.sportingnews.com/http://sportsnet.ca/http://sportsnet.ca/http://www.sportingnews.com/

8/14/2019 sportingnews - 20090530

13/36

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2009Baseball

The Rockies fired manager ClintHurdle less than two years aftertheir incredible Roctober run tothe World Series. He was replaced

by bench coachJim Tracy.

Without reliable hitting, pitch-ing or defense, the Rockies stum- bled to an 18-28 start enteringFriday.

Hurdle, who had been Colora-dos manager since replacing BuddyBell three weeks into the 2002 sea-son, was 534-625 for a .460 win-ning percentage in his seven-plusseasons. Since the Rockies oneand only trip to the World Seriesin 2007, where they were swept

by the Boston Red Sox, Coloradowas 24 games under .500 withHurdle at the helm.

Tracy has a 562-572 managerialrecord with the Los Angeles Dodg-ers (2001-05) and PittsburghPirates (2006-07), with a divisiontitle in 2004. He joined the Rock-ies staff this winter at the behestof general manager Dan ODowd.

Phillies P Brett Myers will havehip surgery, and he could miss therest of the season. Phillies generalmanager Ruben Amaro Jr. said Myershas a torn labrum and no date has

been set for surgery. Myers wasexamined by Dr. Bryan Kelly in New

York on Friday and Kelly recom-mended the surgery.Phillies team doctor Michael Cic-

cotti said Myers could return tomound to begin throwing 10 to 12weeks after the operation and itwould be another three to six weeks

before the pitcher would be ready.Amaro said the team will look for

Myers replacement in the organiza-tion, despite rumors the Phillies

were interested in trading for a pitch.er.

Before Fridays game at Wrig-ley Field, Dodgers manager JoeTorre told reporters that OF MannyRamirez should skip the All-StarGame. Despite being suspendedfor 50 games for testing positive

for violating baseballs drug policy,Ramirez is fourth among N.L. out-fielders in the All-Star voting.

According to the Chicago Tri-bune, the White Sox placed OF Car-los Quentin (foot) on the 15-daydisabled list Friday. The move isretroactive to May 26. Quentin,who broke through with a .288-36-100 season in 2008, is hitting

.229 with eight homers and 20RBIs this season. In a correspond-ing move, the White Sox activatedOF Dewayne Wise (shoulder) fromthe disabled list.

Although it might be a case oftoo little, too late, Diamondbacks PBrandon Webb (shoulder) told The Ari-

zona Republic that he hopes to return before the All-Star break. The22-game winner from last seasonhasnt pitched since opening day andhas just started playing catch. Webbhopes to being throwing off flatground next week, and if that goeswell, the next step will be throwingoff a mound in a bullpen session.

Still not ready to start after

crashing into the outfield wall ear-lier this week, Yankees OF MelkyCabrera (shoulder) will be availableoff the bench t his weekend, accord-ing to The Star Ledger in New Jer-sey. Its the latest bit of good newsfor the Yankees, who learned ear-lier this week that P Brian Bruney(elbow) wouldnt need surgery.

A day after Astros generalmanager Ed Wade told the HoustonChronicle that he doesnt give votesof confidence, Astros owner DraytonMcLane did just that. Amid specula-tion that manager Cecil Coopers job isin jeopardy because of the last-placeAstros poor start, McLane came toCoopers defense. McLane told the Houston Chronicle, Hes only been

the manager for a year and a half. Ithink thats somewhat premature(to discuss fir ing Cooper).

The Mets traded backup CRamon Castro and cash to the WhiteSox for P Lance Broadway. Castro hit.253 with three homers and 13RBIs in 26 games this season withNew York. Castro was madeexpendable by the play of rookieOmir Santos, who drove in both runsin the Mets 2-1 victory over theFlorida Marlins in 11 innings onFriday night.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals are in fact-gathering mode with SS KhalilGreene. Greene suffers from anxi-ety problems that have affectedhim on the field and off, and hewas held out of the l ineup Wednes-day after what manager Tony LaRussa called a tough game onTuesday.

THE LAUNCHING PAD

What to expect in the major leagues today

Good to CC yaFormer Indians ace and current Yankees multimillionaire CC Sabatstart at Progressive Field tonight for the first time since his trade to Milwlast July. Of Sabatahias 121 career wins, 106 came in a Cleveland u

These two teams split a four-game series at Yankee Stadium in AprSabathia getting a no-decision in his start. In 5 2/3 innings, he allowearned run but tied a season high with five walks allowed. After handi14 free passes in his first four starts, Sabathia has walked only seven in his past six outings.

A little supportFew will claim Barry Zito still has the stuff he did in his prime, but

record this season is deceiving. The Giants have scored a total of 23 his nine starts, and twice Zito has settled for a no-decision despite tseven scoreless innings. Tonight, he will make only his second start agnon-A.L./N.L. West foe this season when the Cardinals visit AT&T Park. the hill for St. Louis will be Chris Carpenter, who has yet to allow an erun in 23 innings pitched this season and has a 23:4 strikeout-to-walk

Palm ballWho is Matt Palmer, and what is he doing in the Angels rotation? Bec

the injuries (and tragedy) that decimated Los Angeles starting five, thhad to dig deep into its system to find a capable arm. At the time of hup, the 30-year-old Palmer had an 11.74 ERA in two start s at Class AAAinto tonights start against Seattle, Palmer is 5-0 with a 4.82 ERA, thouMariners roughed him up (five earned runs in five innings) earlier this mUnlike Zito, Palmer gets plenty of run support (46 runs in his six starts).

C

INSIDE DISH

RO

CC Sabathia will make his first start in Cleveland since last Julys trade.

Rockies fire Hurdle, call on Tracy for rest of season

EVANVUCCI/AP

Brett Myers will miss the rest of the season after deciding to have surgery on his right hip.

8/14/2019 sportingnews - 20090530

14/36

Q&A with ... Orioles RF Nick Markakis

As the new face of the Baltimore Orioles, courtesy

of the six-year, $66.1 million contract extension he

signed in the offseason, Markakis is following in the

footsteps of Hall of Famer Cal Ripkenperhaps the

most beloved figure in Baltimores tradition-rich base-

ball history. Markakis recently spoke with Sporting

News Bill Eichenberger about where he and the

Orioles stand as they attempt to reclaim past glory.

Q:Youve been red hot and are onpace to establish new career

highs in just about every key offensivecategory. Is this your best start?

A:If youve looked at my track record,yes, absolutely 100 percent. Its mybest start evercollege, minors, highschool, here in pro ball. I cant complain.

Q:

What about the teams start?

A:Its early. We have greatpotential, great guys here.

Its going to be a grind. But were going toplay hard every day.

Q:Is it hard to not get frustratedthat the team is not improvingmore quickly?

A:No. Baseball is a game of beingpatient. Its a long season. A lot canhappen. If you get frustrated, it just makesit worse, makes it a lot harder. Thats onething that Ive learned. You just have tocompete every day. Thats all you can do.

Q:With the long-term contractthat you agreed to in the

offseason, you obviously see a brightfuture for this franchise. Is there alight at the end of the tunnel for thisteam?

A:Absolutely. Ive said it a thousandtimes. (President of baseballoperations) Andy (MacPhail) has come inand has done nothing but make this teambetter. And hes going to continue to do

that. We have great young guys in the

minor leagues, great pitchers. Everybodyhas heard about (catcher Matt) Wieters.Were excited about getting those guys upand contributing any way they can.

Q:Have you talked to Cal RipkenJr. about being the face of thefranchise, about what that entails andhow to handle it?

A:I talk to Cal every so often. He popshis head in every now and then. Its

weird. Every time he comes in, we dont

talk about baseball. Its just small talk. Hecomes in and chats with us. But its reallyjust normal conversation.

Q:Do you still have that 96-mphfastball you threw as a pitcherfor Greece in the 2004 Olympics?

A:Right now, no. Whenever I waspitching, I was in a pitching routine,

running every day, long tossing, throwingbullpens, just keeping my arm like a

pitcher should. Its different once you get tothe outfield. You work on being accurate.You dont necessarily have to have thestrongest arm, but I like to be accurate, getrid of the ball quickly and make a goodthrow every time.

Q:Youve obviously accomplishedthat, leading the majors with 17outfield assists last season. But do youever have to fight the urge to get backon the mound?

A:Its always in the back of my mind.Ive done it for so long its kind ofhard to let it go. I mess around with it. I goin the bullpen sometimes and messaround. But as far as that goes, I know itsbehind me. Ill always have a love for it. ButIve moved on.

Q:How long will it be before theOrioles are back in contentionin the A.L. East?

A:Its hard to say. Baseball is a game ofhaving everybody clicking at theright time. Once we get some of these guysup here and establish a lineup, a rotationand a bullpen, I wouldnt say its out of thequestion next year. Its all a matter ofgetting everybody up here, so we can knowwhat everybody can and cant do.

Q:How does it make you feel whenyour teammates and others in

baseball mention you and your all-around game as belonging among theelite players in the game?

A:It makes you feel good. It makes youappreciate all the hard work youvedone to get here. You grow up watchingthese guys play, and you never think youare going to be out there playing with themone day. And when it does come, you makethe best of it. You go out there and havefun, and whatever happens, happens.

Markakis excited about his start, organizations futurOften overlooked

Why should Nick Markakis get

attention as a superstar in the gamfew of his teammates weigh in:

You look at his credentials, nooffensively, but I think people donas much attention defensively. I thhad 17 outfield assists last year. Anot just throwing. He plays a greafield when it comes to fly balls, siline drives that he catches. Plus, hlefties as good as he hits righties. Hfor power. He hits for average. He gbase. He drives in runs. All those are hard to come by in one player. a guy can hit .300, hit 20-plus

runs, drive in 100 runs, be on bapercent of the time and play defense, how can you not mentioas one of the games greats?

Orioles 2B Bria

He puts up consistent numbehasnt hit 30 homers yet, but I he is on his way. Hes just one ofguys whos not just a bat. Itsomething you see. Hes just othose guys who will dive for youfor you, go into a wall for you. Thhas the bat to back it up.

Orioles RP Georg

Nick is one of my favorite plHe is a g reat teammate. He worksHe plays hard. Hes ready to playday and gives us 100 percent on athe field. Hes a great player, believe he is truly one of the supein the game. He deserves everyhes getting with his new big cont

Orioles RP Da

ROBCARR/AP

The Orioles Nick Markakis is on pace to tie his career high in homers (23) and set a career-best with 129 RBIs.


8/14/2019 sportingnews - 20090530

15/36


American League StandingsEast W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str HomeNew York 28 20 . 583 7-3 W-2 14-9Boston 28 21 .571 5-5 L-1 17-6Toronto 28 2 3 .549 1 1 1-9 W-1 17-6Tampa Bay 24 27 . 471 5 5 4-6 W-1 12-10Bal timore 23 2 6 . 469 5 5 7-3 W-5 16-11

Central W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str HomeDetroit 26 2 1 .553 5-5 L-2 15-7Minnesota 24 26 . 480 3 4 6-4 L-2 19-11Kansas City 23 25 . 479 3 4 3-7 L-2 15-13Chicago 22 2 5 .468 4 5 7-3 W-1 12-10Cleveland 21 29 . 420 6 7 7-3 L-1 11-12

West W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str HomeTexas 29 1 9 .604 6-4 W-2 17-8Los Angel es 24 23 . 511 4 3 5-5 L-1 13-11Seattle 23 2 6 .469 6 5 5-5 W-2 12-12Oakland 18 2 8 .391 10 8 4-6 L-3 11-13

National League StandingsEast W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str HomeNew York 27 20 . 574 6-4 W-4 16-8Phil adelphia 26 20 . 565 1 6-4 W-1 10-14Atlanta 24 24 . 500 3 4 5-5 W-1 11-12Florida 22 27 .449 6 6 4-6 L-1 9-14W as hi ng to n 13 34 . 27 7 14 14 2 -8 L -4 7- 16

Central W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str HomeMilwaukee 28 20 . 583 4-6 W-1 14-9St. Louis 28 2 0 .583 7-3 L-1 17-9Cincinnati 26 21 . 553 1 1 6-4 L-1 13-12Chicago 24 2 3 .511 3 3 3-7 W-1 15-9Pittsburgh 21 2 7 .438 7 7 4-6 L-3 11-10Houston 19 27 .413 8 8 2-8 W-1 9-15

West W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str HomeLos Angeles 34 16 . 680 7-3 L-1 18-5S an Fra nci sc o 24 23 . 51 1 8 3 5 -5 W- 4 17 -8San Diego 24 24 .500 9 4 8-2 L-1 17-6Arizona 21 28 . 429 12 7 6-4 L-1 11-18Colorado 19 28 . 404 1 3 8 4-6 W-1 8-13

z-firstgamewasa win

Pitching Matchups TodaysGames (Alltimes Eastern)

American League The Line

Boston (Penny5-1)atToronto(Tallet2-3),1 :07p.m. atTor-115B

Minnesota(Liriano2-6)atTampaBay(Price0-0),4:10p.m. atTB-115M

Detroit(Verlander5-2)atBaltimore(Guthrie4-4),7:05p.m. Det-135atB

N.Y.Yankees(Sabathia4-3)atCleveland(Carmona2-4),7:05p.m. NYY-160atC

ChicagoWhiteSox(Buehrle6-1)at KansasCity(Meche2-5),7:10p.m. atKC -105Ch

Oakland(Bre.Anderson2-4)atTexas(McCarthy4-2),8:05p.m. atTex-145O

Seattle(F.Hernandez5-3)atL.A.Angels(Palmer5-0),9:05p.m. Sea-115atLA

National League The Line

Florida(Jo.Johnson3-1)atN.Y.Mets(Redding0-1),1:10p.m. atNYM-110

Atlanta(J.Vazquez4-4)atArizona(D.Davis2-6),4:10p.m. Atl-125atAr

L.A.Dodgers(Stults4-1)atChicagoCubs(Dempster3-3),4:10p.m. atChC-135L

Cincinnati(Harang5-4)atMilwaukee(Bush3-1),7:05p.m. atMil-120Ci

Houston(W.Rodriguez5-3)atPittsburgh(Karstens1-2),7:05p.m. Hou-130atP

Washington(Martis5-0)atPhiladelphia(Hamels2-2),7:05p.m. atPhi-220W

SanDiego(Geer1-1)atColorado(Hammel1-3),8:10p.m. atCol-135SD

St.Louis(C.Carpenter2-0)atSanFrancisco(Zito1-5),9:05p.m. St.L-140atS

MORE COVERAGEGet everything you need to

dominate your fantasy league atsportingnews.com/fantasy/baseball

Fantasy FocusHitter rankings

A glance at the movers and shak-ers in the latest hitter rankings:

UP 2B/SS Alexei Ramirez, White Sox.

Ramirez has moved up to No. 2 inthe order just in time to capitalizeon his hot hitting. C Joe Mauer, Twins. Mauer has

been an absolute beast sincereturning from the D.L. and leadsall true catchers in home runsdespite missing all of April. 3B Mark Reynolds, Diamondbacks.

Reynolds is flashing speed to gowith his power, and should soongain 1B eligibility.

DOWN SS Khalil Greene, Cardinals.

Greene has seen decreased play-ing time in the past two weeks because of his anxiety disorderand was put on the D.L. Friday. OF Adam Lind, Blue Jays. Linds

bat has cooled off this month, buthe has been given a chance to workthrough this slump.1B/OF Nick Swisher, Yankees. Alex

Rodriguezs return sparked MarkTeixeira, but it sent Swishersaverage and power plummeting.

Brad Pinkerton

LEAGUE LEADERS

Batting Average

Runs

RBIs

HIts

Doubles

Home Runs

Stolen Bases

Pitching (5 decisions)

Strikeouts

Saves

A.L.

Player Team

AHill Toronto 76

VM arti nez C le vel an d 6 9

Crawford Tampa Bay 66

MiCabrera Detroit 65

Mor ne au Mi nnes ota 6 5

Longoria Tampa Bay 64

Four tied 63

N.L.

Player Team

Hudson Los Angeles 69

Zimmerman Washington 66

Tejada Houston 65

Beltran New York 62

F Sanc he z P it tsb ur gh 62

I bane z P hi lad el ph ia 61

Two tied 59

A.L.

Player Team

Verlander Detroit 85

Greinke Kansas City 81

Halladay Toronto 68

F He rna nd ez S ea ttl e 6 6

Lester Boston 62

Garza Tampa Bay 60

Beckett Boston 59

N.L.

Player Team

JSantana New York 86

Peavy San Diego 84

Lin ce cum S an Fra nc isco 8 4

JVazquez Atlanta 78

B il lingsley LosA ngeles 7 6

Haren Arizona 71

JoJohnson Florida 59

A.L.

Player Team

Fuentes Los Angeles 13

Papelbon Boston 13

FFrancisco Texas 11

MaRivera New York 10

Jenks Chicago 10

Sherrill Bal timore 10

Three tied 8

N.L.

Player Team

Bell San Diego 14

F rRod ri gu ez Ne wY or k 13

Cordero Cincinnati 13

Qualls Arizona 12

H of fm an Mi lw au kee 12

Franklin St. Louis 12

Two tied 11

A.L.

Player Team


Bay Boston 48

Mo rne au M inne sot a 45

Hunter Los Angeles 40

Ma rk ak is B al ti more 40

CPena Tampa Bay 40

Teixeira New York 40

N.L.

Player Team

I ba ne z P hi la de lp hi a 4 6

Fielder Milwaukee 45

Dunn Washington 42

Pujols St. Louis 40

Hawpe Colorado 36

Loney Los Angeles 36

Two tied 35

A.L.

Player Team

BR ob ert s Ba lt imo re 4 3

Scutaro Toronto 41

AdJones Baltimore 40

Mor ne au Mi nnes ota 4 0


Ma rka ki s Ba lt imo re 3 8

Four tied 37

N.L.

Player Team

I bane z P hi lad el ph ia 39

Pujols St. Louis 39

Zimmerman Washington 39


ASoriano Chicago 36

Ad Gonz al ez S an Die go 35

Werth Philadelphia 34

A.L.

Player Team

B ar tl et t T am pa Ba y . 37 3

MiCabrera Detroit .363

Ad Jo ne s B al ti more . 36 0

VMa rt in ez Cle ve la nd .35 2

Mo rne au M inne sot a . 34 6

ISuzuki Seattle .344

AHill Toronto .341

N.L.

Player Team

Beltran New York .358

Pence Houston .351

Tejada Houston .344

I ba ne z P hi la de lp hi a . 343

H ud son L os An gel es . 338

JUpton Arizona .337

Two tied .335

A.L.

Player Team

CPena Tampa Bay 16

Teixeira New York 15

Bay Boston 14

M or ne au Mi nn es ota 1 4

Four tied 13

N.L.

Player Team

Ad Gonz al ez S an Di eg o 18

Ib ane z P hi lad el phi a 17

Dunn Washington 16

Bruce Cincinnati 14

Pujols St. Louis 14

Reynolds Arizona 13

Two tied 12

A.L.

Player Team


Ellsbury Boston 21

Figgins Los Angeles 19

Abreu Los Angeles 15

BUpton Tampa Bay 15

Bartlett Tampa Bay 14

Two tied 11

N.L.

Player Team

Bourn Houston 16

Taveras Cincinnati 12

B urr iss Sa nF ra nc is co 11

Fowler Colorado 11

Kemp Los Angeles 11

JosReyes New York 11

DWright New York 11

A.L.

Pla ye r T ea m

Palme r LosA ngeles 5 - 0 1 .0 00

G re in ke Kan sa sCi ty 8 -1 .88 9

Ha ll ad ay Tor ont o 8 -1 . 88 9

S lo we y M in ne so ta 7 -1 .87 5

Bu ehr le C hi ca go 6 -1 . 85 7

P et ti tt e Ne wY ork 5 -1 . 83 3

Penny Boston 5-1 .833

N.L.

Pla ye r T ea m

M ar tis Washingto n 5- 0 1 .0 00

Broxton LosAngeles 5-0 1.000

Cain S an Fra nc isco 6 -1 .85 7

P el fre y Ne wY ork 4- 1 . 800

LiHernandez NewYork 4-1 .800

S tult s LosA ngeles 4- 1 .80 0

Lincecum SanFrancisco 4-1 .800

A.L.

Player Team


C al las po K ans as Ci ty 1 7

MYoung Texas 17

Byrd Texas 16

Lind Toronto 16

BR ob ert s Ba lt imo re 1 6

Seven tied 15

N.L.

Player Team

F Sanc he z P it tsb ur gh 18

Tejada Houston 17


Kotchman Atl anta 16

Beltran New York 15

FLopez Arizona 15

HaRamirez Fl orida 15

Alexei Ramirez has been swinging a hot bat.NAMY.HUH/AP
http://www.sportingnews.com/http://sportingnews.com/fantasy/baseballhttp://sportingnews.com/fantasy/baseballhttp://www.sportingnews.com/http://sportingnews.com/mlb/draft/sweeps

8/14/2019 sportingnews - 20090530

16/36

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com Baseball

This opportunity is brought to you by Gillette Clinical Strength Anti-Perspirant Deodorant. NOPURCHASE NECESSARY. For complete rules and regulations, visit sportingnews.com/mlb/draft/sweeps. Starts 12:01 AM ET 05/01/2009 and ends 11:59 PM ET 06/30/2009 whenall entries must be received. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States/DC, 18

years of age or older as of the date of entr y except employees of Sponsors, their immediatefamilies, and those living in the same household. Void outside the 50 United States/DC andwhere prohibited. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries received. ARV of 20prizes: $150 each. Sponsor: Sporting News, 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10016 andProcter and Gamble Distributing, LLC, Cincinnati, OH 45202.

ENTER TODAY!sportingnews.com/mlb/draft/sweeps

HIGHESTPERFORMERSSWEEPSTAKESOwn a piece of baseball history! Enter for a chance to win one of

twenty 22x28 prints of the games legendary heroes taken by the greatest

baseball photographer of all time, Charles M. Conlon.

From 1904 to 1942,Sporting News photographer, Charles M. Conlon,immortalized the sports greatest players and created some of baseballs

most famous photographs. Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio,

Ted Williamsthese visually stunning, black and white photographs of

baseballs golden age are instantly recognized around the world.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Toronto 6, Boston 3

Blue Jays 6, Red Sox 3

Boston AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Ellsbury cf 5 0 0 0 .04

Pedroiab 5 0 0 0 0 .0J.Drew rf 4 0 0 .5Youkilis b 0 0 .74Bay lf 4 0 0 0 .87D.Ortizdh 4 0 0 0 0 0 .89Lowell b 4 0 0 .0Kottarasc 4 0 0 0 .05Lugoss 0 0 0 .76Totals 36 3 11 3 2 3

Toronto AB R H BI B B SO Avg.Scutaross 5 0 0 .94A.Hill b 5 0 0 0 .4Rios rf 4 0 0 0 0 .6V.Wells cf 0 .70Lind lf 4 0 0 0 .8Rolenb 4 0 .0Millardh 0 0 .79Overbayb .75Barajas c 4 0 .95Totals 34 6 10 6 5 11

Boston 010 100 100 3 11 1Toronto 001 050 00x 6 1 0 0

E:Pedroia(). LOB:Boston8,Toronto0. 2B:Ellsbury(0), Bay(), Kottaras (5), Scutaro (5), Rios(),Rolen(5),Overbay().HR:J.Drew(7),offJanssen.RBIs: Ellsbury (5), J.Drew (),Scutaro (5),Rolen(8),Overbay(),Barajas (6). SB:V.Wells(9).Runnersleft inscoringposition: Boston6 (D.Ortiz,J.Drew,Pedroia);Toronto8(Lind,Scutaro,Millar,A.Hill,V.Wells). DP:Boston(Pedroia,Lugo,Youkilis);Toronto (Scutaro, A.Hill, Overbay), (Scutaro, A.Hill,Overbay).

Boston IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAWakefield L, 6- 4 23 9 6 6 4 5 0 4 .55D.Bard 13 0 0 0 5 .08Saito 0 0 0 .00Toronto IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAJanssen W, - 7 08 4.5LeagueH, 0 0 0 0 0 4.5Downs S,6-7 0 0 0 0 0 0 .45

Inherited runners-scored: D.Bard -0. HBP: byWakefield( Rios). PB: Kottaras. Umpires: Home,TedBarrett; First,Tim McClelland;Second,Andy Fletcher;Third,Scott Barry.T::4.A:,06(49,59).

Jays glad to be back home againTORONTOWith some good pitching

and timely hitting, the Toronto Blue Jays finally got back in the wincolumn.

Scott Rolen and Rod Barajas eachhad two RBIs, r ighthander Casey Jans-sen won for the first time in more thantwo years and Toronto snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 6-3 victoryover the Boston Red Sox on Friday.

The Blue Jays returned home afterlosing all nine games on a three-citytrip to Boston, Atlanta and Baltimorethat dropped them from first to third inthe AL East. Toronto won its fifthstraight at Rogers Centre, where it is17-6 overall, and ended a four-gameskid against Boston.

Its a relief to finally get (a win), Janssen said. Against Boston, its bigfor us.

Things might have gone differentlyhad slumping Red Sox slugger DavidOrtiz got any more of the ball on a first-inning, bases-loaded drive to center.Vernon Wells turned Boston awayempty-handed with a warning-trackcatch.

I cant swing the bat better thanthat, Ortiz said. Things just arenthappening. Where you hit the ball, youhave no control over that. You have towait for the ball to go somewherenobodys at. They get paid to catch it. Iget paid to hit it.

Wells, a two-time Gold Glove win-ner, guessed Ortizs drive didnt haveenough to clear the fence.

I knew he got under it but I figuredit was going to stay in the park, Wellssaid. It was just a matter of gettingback there and catching it.

It still made for a nervous moment

for Janssen.I thought it was staying in and then

Vernon started drifting back and Ididnt know, Janssen said. Then Iwas just hoping.

Batting sixth for the fourth straightgame, Ortiz finished 0-for-4, droppinghis average to .189. After his near-missin the first, Ortiz line

Documents

sportingnews - 20090530