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ByAntonioGonzalez TheAssociatedPress STANFORD AnyStanfordfanwho wondered why the Cardinal couldn't get the ball in Christian McCaffrey's hands more as a freshman should be encouraged by what's develop- ing this spring. The soon-to-be sophomore has been creating quite a stir in prac- tices, taking snaps at running back, wide receiver and as a wildcat quar- terback. He's fielding punts and kickoffs, too. After a dazzling debut on The Farm, there will likely be fewer complaints about McCaffrey's min- utes moving forward. By the looks of things this spring, Stanford seems intent on making McCaf- frey — the son of former NFL wide receiver and Stanford star Ed Mc- Caffrey — their do-it-all playmaker come fall. "I'm wherever coach puts me," McCaffrey said. "I think if you can be as versatile as you can be, you'll be the best player you can be." McCaffrey turned more than a few heads as a freshman, bursting onto the scene on his first touch — a 52-yard touchdown catch in the sea- son opener against UC Davis. Quarterback Kevin Hogan called it a "very mature play." He noted how McCaffrey noticed a blitz com- COLLEGE FOOTBALL Stanford'sMcCaffreyshowingversatility Son of former NFL wide receiver and Stanford star looks to be Cardinal's playmaker next season NHATV.MEYER—BAYAREANEWSGROUP Stanford's Christian McCaffrey (27) averaged 9.3yards per touch last season. He had 59touches on offense, as the two-time defending Pac-12champions finished 8-5. COURTESY PHOTO Mercy High School recently held a banquet to honor its winter athletes. Pictured are (from back le ) Carlos Rosales, soccer, Most Valuable Player and All-League; Ricky Ornelas, Most Valuable Player junior varsity boys basketball; Julia O'Neal, Most Valuable Player junior varisty girls basketball; Annie Feser, Most Improved Player junior varsity girls basketball; Alex Espinosa, Most Improved Player, varsity boys basketball; Cheyanne Johnson, All-League, girls varsity basketball; MInje Park, Most Improved Player, cheerleading; Dart Kingwell, Most Improved Player, junior varsity boys basketball; Theodore Ranberg, Most Valuable Player and All-League, boys varsity basketball; Victoria Johnson, Most Valuable Player, cheerleading; Madeline Flynn, All-League, girls varsity basketball; Marissa Starman, Most Valuable Player and All-League, girls varsity basketball and Adil Syed, All-League, boys varsity basketball. WINTER SPORTS AWARDS ALL-LEAGUE, MVPS Mercy High holds banquet to honor school's best athletes in soccer, basketball, cheerleading Just in time for Passover, Jeff and Jodie Morgan, of Berke- ley's Covenant Wines, have re- leased their anticipated eighth cookbook, "The Covenant Kitchen: Food and Wine for the New Jewish Table." MODERN PASSOVER Cookbookshowslook of 'New Jewish Table' FULLSTORYONPAGEB5 Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said Tuesday that he wants legis- lation on his desk by the end of the week to clarify that the state's new religious-freedom law does not allow discrimina- tion against gays and lesbians. INDIANA Governor wants to clarify new law FULL STORY ON PAGE B3 DAVID RICHARD — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The challenge for Wisconsin at this weekend's Final Four in Indianapolis is figuring out which combination they'll face from Kentucky. By Gary B. Graves The Associated Press LEXINGTON, KY. John Calipari's pla- toon system has given way to a nine- man rotation that gives the Kentucky coach plenty of combinations. Who plays and how long hasn't mattered to the top-ranked Wildcats. Platooning has been replaced by the immediate challenge of winning the school's ninth championship and remaining undefeated along the way. The egos that were checked early have remained on the shelf during the NCAA Tournament as Calipari has let the flow of the game dictate his substitution strategy. "That's what makes him such a good coach," reserve 7-footer Dakari Johnson said Tuesday of Calipari. "He knows what's best for us. He's going to do everything for the team to win. He's going to put the guys in there that are going to battle and just compete." The challenge for Wisconsin at this weekend's Final Four in India- napolis is figuring out which com- bination they'll face from Kentucky, which can play small, in half-court sets or up-tempo. The Wildcats and Badgers met in last year's Final Four with Kentucky advancing behind an exciting 74-73 victory. This Kentucky squad is even deeper. Calipari began the season able to go 10-deep with his roster, so pla- tooning gave him a way to give ev- eryone enough minutes to be happy and win games. Rotating players in and out has just given him more op- tions — and helped the Wildcats stay unbeaten at 38-0. "We coach every player on this team like they're a starter," Cali- pari said. "There's no one coached — we don't have subs. I've said that statement before. We have reinforce- ments. We've got them and you look up and there's about 12 tanks com- ing over the hill. ... That's what we've been doing." NCAA TOURNAMENT 12tankscomingoverthehill Kentucky's platoon system gives way to traditional rotation for Calipari's Wildcats going to Final Four MADERA SOUTH 3, RED BLUFF 2 Up next: Red Bluff vs. Crater, 1 p.m. today in Fresno. THESCORE Staff Reports FRESNO Madera South beat Red Bluff 3-2 on the first day of the Fresno Easter Classic. The Spartans got both of their runs in the second inning, but Madera South climbed back with a run in the fourth inning and two more in the sixth. Eric Schreter had two hits for Red Bluff and drove in a run. Wesley Clawson had a triple. Bryce Sinclair pitched the first five innings, striking out six. Kolby Button pitched the final two innings. It was Red Bluff's second con- secutive loss after opening up the season with 12 straight wins. The Spartans continue play at the tournament today. BASEBALL Red Bluff falls short in opener of tourney GIANTS 4, ROCKIES 3 Up next: Cleveland Indians vs. San Francisco Giants, 1:05p.m. today at Scottsdale, Ariz. THESCORE By Andrew Baggarly Bay Area News Group SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. You would expect outfielder Justin Maxwell to have a nice smile. Both of his parents are retired dentists. When he emerged from man- ager Bruce Bochy's office on Tues- day, Maxwell's smile was as wide as the Bay Bridge. Only one thing would be better than hearing that he made the San Francisco Gi- ants' opening day roster: sharing the news with his father, Austin. "It's a childhood dream come true," said Maxwell, who went 3 for 3 with a sacrifice fly on Tues- day, then connected pen to pa- per on his major league contract. "I was a Giants fan growing up. The Giants were my dad's favor- ite team and Willie Mays was his favorite player. I was a big fan of Barry Bonds and J.T. Snow and Rich Aurilia. "Whenever we moved around, SPRING TRAINING Maxwell on opening day Giants roster The Corning Cardinals boys tennis team plays host to Central Valley at 3:30p.m. today. Los Molinos golf visits Bidwell Park Golf Course for a match being hosted by CORE Butte. TODAY'S SCHEDULE Corning tennis hosts NAL rival Central Valley The Red Bluff Spartans continue Day 3of the Fresno Easter Classic today. The Spartans are scheduled to play Crater from Central Point, Oregon at 1p.m. BASEBALL Spartans continue play at Fresno tournament MCCAFFREY PAGE 2 WILDCATS PAGE 2 GIANTS PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, April 1, 2015 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1