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2B Daily News – Friday, April 20, 2012 By RONALD BLUM AP Sports Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Soccer would implement goal-line technology quickly if it's approved in July by the sport's rules-making body. ''We're interested in being a test league and we hope that we could achieve that,'' MLS Com- missioner Don Garber said Thurs- day while speaking to the Associ- ated Press Sports Editors. ''I would be open to whatever it is that could be done to ensure that we have goal-line technology.'' The International Football Association Board meets July 2 and could approve Sony Corp.'s Hawk-Eye or GoalRef, owned by a German-Danish company. Fol- lowing a series of erroneous calls in high-profile games ranging from the 2010 World Cup to this year's FA Cup, there could be more support for goal-line tech- nology among tradition-bound soccer officials. Hawk-Eye is a camera-based ball-tracking system used in ten- nis and cricket. GoalRef employs a magnetic field with a special ball. Both could be approved. Each system sends a signal within a second of the ball cross- ing the line to the referee, who makes the final decision. If approval is granted in July, Garber said, MLS could imple- ment the technology at some point during this season, which began in March. The Premier League hopes to use it for its 2012-13 season, which starts in August. ''There's a lot more that we need to learn about it, understand- ing the process,'' Garber said. ''The bottom line here is that I would be open to using goal-line technology as soon as it is made available.'' 49ERS (Continued from page 1B) comfortable in his role. Or he may just be trying to throw the other teams off the scent. And, of course, he didn't reveal the mystery player's name. "You've got to be pre- pared to make the pick at 30, which we're prepared to do," he said. "You just see how the board falls. We certainly have more than one person (in mind). But there is one in particular that we feel will be there. And if he is, we'll be LUCK (Continued from page 1B) whether the Colts would take Luck or Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III of Baylor. The secret lasted less than 24 hours. ESPN.com first reported that the Colts' had informed Luck they will take him. That would likely send Griffin to the Redskins, who traded a first- and second- round pick this year and first- rounders each of the next two years to St. Louis to move into the No. 2 slot. Luck faces a challenging situation in Indy, which went 2-14 last season after Peyton Manning was lost with a sea- son-ending injury that required neck surgery. Manning was released March 7 and eventually signed with Denver, and Luck will now serve as Man- ning's successor. He may get off to a rough start through no fault of his own. ''I believe Andrew may struggle early simply because of the surrounding cast playing with him,'' said Colts former vice chairman Bill Polian, acknowledging both rookies will have their share of problems in 2012. ''It was nowhere near where Peyton's was, and he went 3- 13. I think Andrew will struggle more because of the receivers around him. Only Reggie (Wayne) and Austin (Collie) are back.'' Still, Luck was the obvi- ous choice as Manning's successor all along. A pro-style pocket quar- terback, Luck threw for 35 touchdowns last season — breaking his school record of 32 a year ago — and eclipsed John Elway's career record (77) at Stanford with 80 touchdown passes in only three years. MLS would use goal-line technology He said the league's policy of using video review to punish play- ers for simulation was working. ''Americans generally ... view that aspect of the game as not fit- ting with our culture or our view of fairness,'' he said. ''We have almost eliminated that unpleasant or unsavory aspect of the game from our sport.'' Garber also said MLS was interested in Spanish forward Raul Gonzalez, who said Thurs- day he would leave European soc- cer when his two-year contract with Schalke expires at the end of the season. Raul, who turns 35 in June, has not said whether he prefers MLS to clubs in Asia. Garber said the league remained focused on placing its 20th team in the New York area, with talks for a stadium taking precedent over the ownership group. He said there are several groups interested and there would be a ''near auction'' for ownership rights. Beyond that, other markets that interest the league in expansion beyond 20 teams include Miami, Orlando, the Southwest and Atlanta. The league also is work- ing with Chivas USA, which would like to leave the Home Depot Center and relocate within the Los Angeles area. ''We're got to work hard to fig- ure out a repositioning and a re- energized approach,'' he said. With the addition of Montreal this year, average attendance in the league is 19,493 through 53 games, up 12 percent from 17,370 at this point last year. ''It's about trying to improve the quality of play,'' Garber said. ''The NFL doesn't have to think about that. The NBA doesn't have to think about that. We're compet- ing against global soccer here. We've got to raise the quality of prepared to make the pick." Baalke has seven picks - — one in each round — but he's unlikely to finish the draft with the same selec- tions with which he begins it. That's because he's both trad- ed up and down in the previ- ous two drafts, including to get offensive tackle Anthony Davis in the first round in 2010 and quarterback Colin Kaepernick in the second round last year. received phone calls from other teams willing to swap picks. But Baalke said most trades are made on the fly, The 49ers already have He finished with 3,170 yards passing, a 70 percent completion percentage and only nine interceptions with- out the benefit of an elite wide receiver. In a 41-38 Fiesta Bowl loss to Okla- homa State, Luck was bril- liant again, going 27 of 31 passing for 347 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. a larger contingent of scouts to Griffin's pro day, it was Luck who had a private workout for the Colts and traveled to Indianapolis for a personal interview. Griffin did not, Grigson explained, partly because the Colts had already made their decision. And while the Colts sent What the Colts will get with Luck is a skilled player who's had an extra year to mature from 2011, when even then he might have been drafted ahead of Auburn star Cam Newton. ''I tend to think because of my position as an AD at a Division I school that spend- ing a full four years is going to benefit almost every play- er, not just from a football standpoint but walking away with a degree is important in today's world, too,'' West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck, Andrew's father, said Wednesday. ''The emotional develop- ment that comes with com- NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND (Best-of-7) Thursday's results St. Louis at San Jose, late St. Louis leads series 2-1 New Jersey 4, Florida 0 Series tied 2-2 Phoenix 3, Chicago 2, OT Phoenix leads series 3-1 Washington 2, Boston 1 Series tied 2-2 Today's games Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, 4:30 p.m. Philadelphia leads series 3-1 Detroit at Nashville, 5 p.m. Nashville leads series 3-1 Other series Los Angeles leads Vancouver 3-1 N.Y. Rangers and Ottawa tied 2-2 Sunday's game San Antonio at Arizona, 3 p.m. play within a very focused and strategic economic system yet be able to offer fans something that they will think is of similar quali- ty as the Premier League or Serie A or La Liga. We don't think we're going to be better than the Premier League.'' Garber praised the Seattle Sounders for marketing beyond their youth soccer community. ''It's about young, urban, hip, 20-somethings who care about the game and really want something to cheer and celebrate for because they're connected to it through EA, connected to it through watching Fox and the Premier League, and now we're going to give them the chance to do it in their hometown,'' he said. Television ratings are down 18 percent on ESPN and ESPN2 through three telecasts but the new package on NBC Sports Net- work has averaged 118,000 view- ers for six telecasts, up 84 percent from last year on Fox Soccer Channel, which has a smaller dis- tribution. ''We've got to grow our televi- sion ratings in order to achieve our goals,'' he said. ''We could turn that switch on if we wanted to invest in more David Beckhams, because we've seen ratings growth with (Thierry) Henry and Beckham when those two players are on national television.'' He said uniform sponsorship deals had generated nearly $100 million for MLS and its teams and that the Los Angeles Galaxy's agreement with Herbalife alone was worth $40 million over its term. In addition, Garber said a media private equity fund has invested in Soccer United Market- ing. The league has no plans any- time soon to switch to an interna- tional calendar or start relegation. including the one for Kaepernick and the one for guard Daniel Kilgore in the fifth round. "There were several ones that we did last year that we were on the clock when we made the decision," he said. "It's tight, because time is limited. I feel if you're prepared, those decisions are very easy to make on draft day." very quickly that the player the 49ers chose with the sev- enth overall pick last year, Aldon Smith, had first-round talent. Baalke said he also knew pleting the cycle with the class that you came in with, I think that last aspect is very special. ''Plus, I think the vast majority of cases, it's benefi- cial to come back and play that third and fourth year in many cases,'' he added. only new face in Indy. Grigson replaced the Luck will be far from the father-son front office tan- dem of Bill and Chris Polian in January, then brought in new coach Chuck Pagano to replace the fired Jim Cald- well. Pagano has almost an entirely new staff, and some players have even found new spots for their lockers. The biggest change, of course, is not seeing No. 18 around town. ning's release, the Colts cut other veterans including defensive captains Gary Brackett and Melvin Bullitt, Two days after Man- ARENA NATIONALCONFERENCE West Division Utah WL T Pct PF PA 3 2 0 .600 309 301 CATS 32 0 .600 330 279 Arizona 3 2 0 .600 308 273 Spokane 2 3 0 .400 271 281 Central Division WL T Pct PF PA Chicago 4 1 0 .800 301 268 Iowa 3 2 0 .600 290 290 San Antonio 3 2 0 .600 276 269 Kansas City 0 4 0 .000 135 226 AMERICAN CONFERENCE South Division WL T Pct PF PA Tampa Bay 3 2 0 .600 285 300 Georgia 3 2 0 .600 269 271 N. Orleans 2 3 0 .400 290 294 Jacksonville 1 3 0 .250 229 243 Orlando 0 5 0 .000 187 236 Eastern Division WL T Pct PF PA Philadelphia 4 1 0 .800 362 286 Cleveland 3 2 0 .600 245 235 Milwaukee 2 2 0 .500 219 210 Pittsburgh 2 3 0 .400 238 282 —————————————————— Today's games Georgia at Orlando, 4:30 p.m. Pittsburgh at New Orleans, 5 p.m. Tampa Bay at Philadelphia, 5 p.m. Iowa at Utah, 6 p.m. Saturday's games Kansas City at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. Jacksonville at Cleveland, 4:30 p.m. Milwaukee at Chicago, 5 p.m. Sure, the 49ers spent countless hours examining Smith and interviewing for- mer coaches and teammates about him. They even flew him to Santa Clara for a pre- draft visit. But Baalke said he and director of player personnel Tom Gamble knew Smith was special mere minutes into their initial film study. film last year, my gut was pretty sold that this guy was going to be a good player," Baalke said. "And it's turned out, at least in the short term, as being that." "Five minutes into the Pro Bowl tight end Dallas Clark and running back Joseph Addai. Longtime center Jeff Saturday, receiver Pierre Garcon and backup tight end Jacob Tamme all left in free agency. Now, the Colts are look- ing to start fresh. ''Barring any unforeseen problem we're pretty sure what direction we want to go. Barring any unforeseen event, we know what we're doing,'' Grigson said. MLB West Division Texas Seattle A's Angels East Division Baltimore New York American League WL Pct GB 11 2 .846 — 7 6 .538 4 67 .462 5 4 8 .333 6.5 WL Pct GB 8 5 .615 — 7 6 .538 1 Tampa Bay 7 6 .538 1 Toronto Boston Central Division Detroit Chicago Cleveland Minnesota 6 6 .500 1.5 4 8 .333 3.5 WL Pct GB 9 4 .692 — 6 6 .500 2.5 5 5 .500 2.5 4 9 .308 5 Kansas City 3 9 .250 5.5 —————————————————— Thursday's results Oakland at L.A. Angels, late Baltimore 5, Chicago 3 New York 7, Minnesota 6 Tampa Bay 9, Toronto 4 Texas 10, Detroit 3 Cleveland at Seattle, late Today's games Cleveland (Jimenez 1-0) at Oakland (Godfrey 0-2), 7:05 p.m. New York (Nova 2-0) at Boston (Buchholz 1-0), 12:15 p.m. Texas (M.Harrison 2-0) at Detroit (Porcello 1-0), 4:05 p.m. Minnesota (Hendriks 0-0) at Tampa Bay (Moore 0-1), 4:10 p.m. Toronto (Drabek 2-0) at Kansas City (Hochevar 1-1), 5:10 p.m. Baltimore (Matusz 0-2) at Los Angeles (Williams 0-1), 7:05 p.m. Chicago (Sale 1-1) at Seattle (Noesi 1-1), 7:10 p.m. Saturday's games Cleveland at Oakland, 6:05 p.m. Texas at Detroit, 10:05 a.m. Chicago at Seattle, 1:05 p.m. New York at Boston, 1:05 p.m. Minnesota at Tampa Bay, 4:10 p.m. Toronto at Kansas City, 4:10 p.m. Baltimore at Los Angeles, 6:05 p.m. Sunday's games Cleveland at Oakland, 1:05 p.m. Texas at Detroit, 10:05 a.m. Minnesota at Tampa Bay, 10:40 a.m. Toronto at Kansas City, 11:10 a.m. Baltimore at Los Angeles, 12:35 p.m. Chicago at Seattle, 1:10 p.m. New York at Boston, 4:05 p.m. Matt Every shoots course- record 63 in Texas Open SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Matt Every arrived at the Texas Open having sworn off instructors, proudly cut- ting practices short and cringing at the sight of other players endlessly tweaking their swings. His reward was a course record at a PGA Tour stop. Outshining the few big bogey on the par-4 ninth for a 70. Johnson Wagner had a 74 after speaking optimisti- cally about taking advantage of the absence of star players in the field. Defending champion Brendan Steele had a 73. He made a double bogey on the par-4 fourth. PGA Tour names in a weak- ened field, Every made nine birdies in a bogey-free 9- under 63 for a three-stroke lead over Hunter Haas after the first round Thursday. It was a career best on a notoriously unforgiving TPC San Antonio course that opened in 2010, but is partly blamed for why the tournament doesn't attract more star power. ''I see the same guys tin- kering with their swings, and they spend all day Tues- day and Wednesday practic- ing, and I think, 'God, I'm glad I'm not one of these guys,''' Every said. ''And I'm sticking to that. When I get on the course, I'm more interested in playing golf than my golf swing.'' Every, whose best finish in six years on the tour is third, coasted to his first lead since sharing the top spot entering the final round of the Sony Open in January. His wife, who is seven months pregnant, followed him for the entirety of a the record that broke the course mark of 64 set by Ryan Palmer and Scott Piercy in 2010. ''Told her, only wanted her to go to nine today,'' Every said. ''Said she had to keep going after the front nine. It's cool.'' Haas finished with one of the round's three eagles on the par-5 18th. Former British Open champion Ben Curtis, playing in his fourth PGA Tour event of the sea- son after his status on the entry list plummeted near the bottom, was fourth strokes back at 67. year's Texas Open didn't even make it past the first round. Kevin Na, who returned to San Antonio poking fun at his memorable 16 on No. 9, tapped in a 6- footer for par this time, but withdrew after signing his card at 7 over. Every was more at ease with his front-runner status than the last time in Honolu- lu. There he looked uncom- fortable while being asked about his arrest on a misde- meanor marijuana posses- sion charge in 2010 that resulted in a PGA Tour sus- pension his rookie season. He also attributed a tough night of sleep there to what he described as his first real time in contention. The other star of last On the tube AUTO RACING •4 a.m., SPEED — Formula One, prac- tice for Bahrain Grand Prix, at Manama, Bahrain • 10:30 a.m., SPEED — NASCAR, Sprint Cup, practice for STP 400, at Kansas City, Kan. • Noon, SPEED — NASCAR, Truck Series, final practice for SFP 250, at Kansas City, Kan. • 1:30 p.m., SPEED — NASCAR, Sprint Cup, ''Happy Hour Series,'' final practice for STP 400, at Kansas City, Kan. • 4:30 p.m., SPEED — TORC, Off Road Jam, at Concord, N.C. BOXING •6 p.m., ESPN2 — Super mid- dleweights, Adonis Stevenson (17-1-0) vs. Noe Gonzalez (28-1-0), at Montreal •8 p.m., SHO — Middleweights, Jer- main Taylor (29-4-1) vs. Caleb Truax (18- 0-1); junior middleweights, Erislandy Lara (15-1-1) vs. Ronald Hearns (26-2-0); mid- dleweights, Fernando Guerrero (21-1-0) vs. Chris Fitzpatrick (15-1-0), at Biloxi, Miss. FOOTBALL •5 p.m., NFL NETWORK — Arena League, Tampa Bay at Philadelphia GOLF Fredrik Jacobson, Cameron Beckman, Jason Gore, Troy Matteson and Derek Lamely shot 68. Haas shot a bogey-free round capped by a brilliant approach on No. 18, driving a 3-wood from the fairway to 5 feet. He has struggled this season, missing the cut six times and finishing no better than a tie for 37th in Mexico at the Mayakoba Golf Classic. ''It's nice to finish a round like that. It's been a while,'' Haas said. Matt Kuchar, the tourna- ment's top-ranked player at No. 15 and two weeks removed form his near miss at the Masters, closed with a MLB West Division Dodgers Colorado Padres Arizona GIANTS East Division Washington 10 4 .714 — Atlanta New York Miami St. Louis Philadelphia 5 7 .417 4 Central Division WL Pct GB 9 4 .692 — Milwaukee 6 7 .462 3 Pittsburgh Cincinnati Houston Chicago Cincinnati 6, St. Louis 3 Houston 11, Washington 4 Los Angeles 4, Milwaukee 3 Miami 5, Chicago 3 Atlanta at Arizona, late Philadelphia at San Diego, late Today's games San Francisco (Zito 1-0) at New York (Niese 2-0), 4:10 p.m. Cincinnati (Bailey 0-2) at Chicago (Volstad 0-1), 11:20 a.m. Miami (Zambrano 0-0) at Washington (Detwiler 1-0), 4:05 p.m. St. Louis (Lynn 2-0) at Pittsburgh (Morton 0-0), 4:05 p.m. Los Angeles (Lilly 1-0) at Houston (Happ 1-0), 5:05 p.m. Colorado (Chacin 0-1) at Milwaukee (Marcum 1-1), 5:10 p.m. Atlanta (Beachy 1-1) at Arizona (Cahill 1-0), 6:40 p.m. Philadelphia (Hamels 1-1) at San Diego (Volquez 0-1), 7:05 p.m. Saturday's games San Francisco at New York, 10:10 a.m. Cincinnati at Chicago, 10:05 a.m. Miami at Washington, 10:05 a.m. Los Angeles at Houston, 4:05 p.m. St. Louis at Pittsburgh, 4:05 p.m. Colorado at Milwaukee, 4:10 p.m. Atlanta at Arizona, 5:10 p.m. Philadelphia at San Diego, 5:35 p.m. Sunday's games San Francisco at New York, 10:10 a.m. Miami at Washington, 10:35 a.m. St. Louis at Pittsburgh, 10:35 a.m. Los Angeles at Houston, 1:05 a.m. Colorado at Milwaukee, 11:10 a.m. Cincinnati at Chicago, 11:20 a.m. Philadelphia at San Diego, 1:05 p.m. Atlanta at Arizona, 1:10 p.m. 5 7 .417 3.5 5 8 .385 4 5 8 .385 4 3 10 .231 6 —————————————————— Thursday's results WL Pct GB 7 5 .583 2 7 5 .583 2 7 6 .538 2.5 National League WL Pct GB 10 3 .769 — 7 5 .583 2.5 6 6 .500 3.5 66 .500 3.5 3 10 .231 7 •6 a.m., TGC — European PGA Tour, China Open, second round, at Tianjin, China (same-day tape) •9:30 a.m., TGC — Champions Tour, Legends of Golf, first round, at Savan- nah, Ga. • Noon, TGC — PGA Tour, Texas Open, second round, at San Antonio •3:30 p.m., TGC — LPGA, LOTTE Championship, third round, at Kapolei, Hawaii MLB • Noon, MLB — Regional coverage, N.Y. Yankees at Boston or Cincinnati at Chicago Cubs (11:15 a.m. start) •4 p.m., CSNB—San Francisco at N.Y. Mets •5 p.m., MLB — Regional coverage, L.A. Dodgers at Houston or Colorado at Milwaukee •7 p.m., WGN — Chicago White Sox at Seattle NBA BASKETBALL •4 p.m., ESPN — Boston at Atlanta • 5:30 p.m., CSNB—Golden State at Dallas • 6:30 p.m., ESPN — L.A. Lakers at San Antonio •7 p.m., CSNC — Oklahoma City at Sacramento NHL HOCKEY • 4:30 p.m., NBCSN — Playoffs, confer- ence quarterfinals, game 5, Philadelphia at Pittsburgh •5 p.m., CNBC — Playoffs, conference quarterfinals, game 5, Detroit at Nashville NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division x-Lakers WL Pct GB 40 23 .635 — x-Clippers 39 23 .629 .5 Phoenix WARRIORS 22 39 .361 17 KINGS Southwest Division WL Pct GB y-San Antonio 45 16 .738 — x-Memphis 37 25 .597 8.5 x-Dallas Houston 35 28 .556 11 32 31 .508 14 New Orleans 20 43 .317 26 Northwest Division WL Pct GB y-Okla. City 45 17 .726 — Denver Utah Portland 34 28 .548 11 33 30 .524 12.5 28 35 .444 17.5 Minnesota 26 38 .406 20 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division y-Boston WL Pct GB 37 26 .587 — x-New York 33 29 .532 3.5 Philadelphia 32 30 .516 4.5 New Jersey 22 41 .349 15 Toronto 22 41 .349 15 Southeast Division WL Pct GB 45 17 .726 — 37 25 .597 8 y-Miami x-Atlanta x-Orlando 36 26 .581 9 Washington 16 46 .258 29 Charlotte Central Division y-Chicago 47 16 .746 — x-Indiana Milwaukee 29 33 .468 17.5 Detroit Cleveland 20 41 .328 26 x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division —————————————————— Thursday's results Indiana 118, Milwaukee 109 Miami 83, Chicago 72 Minnesota 91, Detroit 80 New Orleans 105, Houston 99, OT L.A. Clippers at Phoenix, late Today's games Golden State at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Oklahoma City at Sacramento, 7 p.m. Boston at Atlanta, 4 p.m. Memphis at Charlotte, 4 p.m. New York at Cleveland, 4:30 p.m. L.A. Lakers at San Antonio, 6:30 p.m. Saturday's games Golden State at Houston, 5 p.m. Denver at Phoenix, 2:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Indiana, 4 p.m. Washington at Miami, 4:30 p.m. Dallas at Chicago, 5 p.m. Portland at Memphis, 5 p.m. New Jersey at Milwaukee, 5:30 p.m. Orlando at Utah, 7:30 p.m. 7 54 .115 37.5 WL Pct GB 41 22 .651 6 23 40 .365 24 32 30 .516 7.5 20 42 .323 19.5