Red Bluff Daily News

May 02, 2017

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ByCamInman Bay Area news Group All systems are go for Jim- mie Ward's conversion to free safety this season, and be- yond. The 49ers announced Mon- day they've exercised Ward's option for 2018, a move that became even more predictable when they did not use any of their 10 draft picks on a safety. "I was real excited with what we saw from him in camp," coach Kyle Shanahan said Sunday. "It was the first time I'd seen him at the safety position and thought he did a very good job." Ward, a 2014 first-round draft pick, moved last year from nickel back to starting right corner back, defend- ing a career-high 12 passes with just one interception in 10 starts. He suffered a sea- NFL 49ers make call on converted safety Ward By Chip Thompson editor@redbluffdailynews.com @editorchip on Twitter RED BLUFF After dropping the rubber match Friday night to the Enterprise Hornets 12-7, the Red Bluff Spartans baseball team (15-9 overall, 8-5 league) will look to stay atop the Eastern League when they visit the Foothill Cou- gars (14-13-1 overall, 4-10 league) at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Despite an early lead for the Spartans, the Hornets caught fire late with 6 runs in the sixth and another 4 in the seventh for the win. Evan Tanner started on the mound for the Spartans and gave up 4 runs, 2 earned, over 4.2 in- nings on 6 hits and 4 walks while striking out 3. Trenton Coates gave up 4 runs, none earned, on 2 hits for the loss. Eric Spencer allowed 3 runs, 2 earned while issuing 4 free passes in two-thirds of an in- ning. Payton Edwards gave up an unearned run and a walk and struck out 1 in two-thirds of an inning. At the plate, Edwards drove in 2 and went 1-4 with a double, Tanner Tweedt and Tanner each had doubles and Wesley Clawson and Ian Hoskins each recorded an RBI. The Spartans will travel to Chico Thursday for a 4 p.m. game against the Panthers (18-7 over- all, 8-6 league). The NSCIF quarterfinals are scheduled to get underway May 9. LadySpartans1,Shasta9 REDDING The Lady Spartans fell Friday evening on the road to the Shasta Wolves 9-1. The Spartans got on the board with an Allyson Drury solo home run in the first but would be held in check by the Wolves, who put up a run in the fourth and 4 each in the fifth and sixth innings for the win. Drury went 3-3 and Aubrey Zamora was 1-3, but that was the extent of the Spartans' offensive output. Sarah Reineman took the loss, giving up 5 earned on 8 hits and 2 walks with 2 strikeouts. The Spartans (16-10 overall, 2-3 league) slip to fourth place in the Eastern League as they pre- pare to host the last place Enter- prise Hornets (19-13 overall, 1-5 league) at 4 p.m. Tuesday. On Wednesday, the Spartans are due to visit Palo Cedro to take on the first place Foothill Cou- gars (26-3-1 overall, 5-0 league) at 4 p.m. They will wrap up the week Friday in Chico against the Panthers (20-9-1 overall, 4-2 league) at 4 p.m. PREP BEAT THIS WEEK Spartanslooktogetright RedBluffbaseballtakesonFoothillwhileCardinalslooktotakeonOrovilletwice PREP PAGE 2 By Carl Steward Bay Area News Group OAKLAND Unlike previous in- carnations, the current Utah Jazz team is more like a true jazz ensemble. It doesn't de- pend too heavily on any one soloist to put together a win- ning show. Who's the most dangerous Jazz player to the Warriors when they open the Western Conference semifinals Tuesday night at Oracle Arena? Heck of a question. It'll likely depend on the time of the game, the situation, which team is ahead, and who's on the floor for both clubs. For now, would you believe anybody from Utah could po- tentially be most dangerous? Draymond Green would. "They're dangerous," said Green on Monday. "There's not one specific guy. Obvi- ously, Gordon Hayward is their leading scorer and a huge playmaker for them. But it's a group effort. It'll be about try- ing to shut them down, not him, whoever that 'him' is." Such an egalitarian ap- proach is something of an anomaly in the NBA, particu- larly in the playoffs when the stars usually rise to the top at this stage of the game. But the Jazz don't have a true super- star. They barely have a star. Hayward, in his sixth season, finally made the All-Star team this year as a reserve, but be- fore that, the Jazz hadn't had an All-Star since 2011. But in this series, Utah doesn't necessarily need Hay- ward to play like an All-Star to win. "There are teams in this league where you say, 'If you stop this guy, you win the game,' " Green said. "They're not one of those teams." That message seems to have been heavily preached to the NBA PLAYOFFS Who'sthebiggestJazz threattoWarriors? Utah knows how to share the wealth Warriorsguard Stephen Curry shoots over Utah Jazz guard George Hill during the first half of a game in Oakland, Calif. Golden State and Utah begin their best-of-seven NBA second round playoff series on Tuesday, May 2. MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ โ€” FILE PHOTO WARRIORS PAGE 2 49ERS PAGE 2 By John Hickey Bay Area News Group MINNEAPOLIS ThelasttimeSonny Gray pitched in a game that mat- tered, he was struggling to find himself on the mound. The struggles since have been physical, not about baseball. The ace of the A's rotation, he returns to the mound in a major leaguegameTuesdaynightinMin- neapolisinOakland's26thgameof the season. Gray says he's "excited, really ready to go" in what will be his first real game since Aug. 5. Hedidstarton Sept.28,butthat was a one-inning photo op more than anything else, a chance for him to just stand on a mound once more in the season and remember what it was like. Will those in Target Field and those watching in the Bay Area see adifferentSonnyGraythantheone who faced the Chicago Cubs last August in what was a career worst 5-11, 5.69 season? "I don't know," he said. "I'm al- ways the same guy. I don't think I've changed. I haven't gone out andlikemadeanydrasticchanges." Well,he'llbestandingonapitch- ing mound, throwing 94-mph fast- balls without pain, and that's a change from the way things have been. After the Aug. 5 start was cut short after five innings because of pain in his right forearm. It took an inordinately long time to heal. He threw that one time in Septem- ber,thenworkedoverthewinterto come into spring training healthy. And he was until an early March when his shoulder gave him trou- ble. A week turned into two, and the next thing you know his first month of the season was washed away. AshecomesintoTuesday'sstart, there are a couple of things Gray is dead certain about. One is that his forearm (2016) is fine. The other is thathisshoulder(2017)isA-OK.He adds that they would be forgotten exceptthatthemediawon'torcan't forget about them. "Last year is history, in my mind," he said. "But as long as the media wants to keep bringing it back up, then it won't be history. People can talk about it all they want, but what's the point? What does it really matter? I'm feeling great." In his two injury rehabilitation starts, Gray got rave reviews. He threwfiveone-hitinningsforClass A Stockton a week ago Saturday, then came back Thursday with six two-hit innings in his hometown of Nashville on Thursday. In both cases he was able to hit 94 mph on the radar gun and throw all of his pitcheswithoutfeelinganydiscom- A'S Gray excited to be back and to be healthy again JOSE CARLOS FAJARDO โ€” BAY AREA NEWS GROUP Oakland A's pitcher Sonny Gray will be coming off the DL to make his first start of the season Tuesday in Minnesota. A'S PAGE 2 RICK BOWMER โ€” THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) battle for a rebound in the second half during an NBA basketball game in Salt Lake City. Golden State and Utah begin their best-of-seven NBA second round playoff series on Tuesday. SPORTS ยป redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, May 2, 2017 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1

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