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1B Sports Tehama Tracker Today���s games Tuesday January 1, 2013 NBA Kings Detroit CSNC 4:30 p.m. NCAA BOWLS SCHEDULE Today���s bowl games Heart of Dallas Bowl At Dallas Purdue (6-6) vs. Oklahoma State (7-5), 9 a.m. (ESPNU) Gator Bowl At Jacksonville, Fla. Mississippi State (8-4) vs. Northwestern (9-3), 9 a.m. (ESPN2) Capital One Bowl At Orlando, Fla. Georgia (11-2) vs. Nebraska (10-3), 10 a.m. (ABC) Outback Bowl At Tampa, Fla. South Carolina (10-2) vs. Michigan (8-4), 10 a.m. (ESPN) Rose Bowl At Pasadena Stanford (11-2) vs. Wisconsin (8-5), 2 p.m. (ESPN) Orange Bowl At Miami Northern Illinois (12-1) vs. Florida State (11-2), 5:30 p.m. (ESPN) Reid among 7 NFL coaches sacked (AP) ��� Quite a day for NFL sacks. Seven coaches and five general managers were fired Monday in a flurry of pink slips that were delivered the day after the regular-season ended. There could be more, but so far the sent-packing scorecard looks like this: Andy Reid in Philadelphia, Lovie Smith in Chicago, and Ken Whisenhunt in Arizona, all coaches who took teams to the Super Bowl, Norv Turner in San Diego, Pat Shurmur in Cleveland, Romeo Crennel in Kansas City and Chan Gailey in Buffalo. Three teams made it a clean sweep, saying goodbye to the GM along with the coach ��� San Diego, Cleveland, Arizona. General managers also were fired in Jacksonville and in New York, where Rex Ryan held onto his coaching job with the Jets despite a losing record. Reid was the longest tenured of the coaches, removed after 14 seasons and a Super Bowl appearance in 2005 ��� a loss to New England. Smith spent nine seasons with the Bears, leading them to the 2007 Super Bowl ��� a loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Turner has now been fired as head coach by three teams. San Diego won the AFC West from 2006-09, but didn���t make the postseason the last three years. ������Both Norv and A.J. are consummate NFL professionals, and they understand that in this league, the bottom-line is winning,������ Chargers President Dean Spanos said in a statement. Whisenhunt was fired after six seasons, including taking the Cardinals to a Super Bowl loss to Pittsburgh after the 2008 season. He had more wins than any other coach in Cardinals history, going 45-51, and has one year worth about $5.5 million left on his contract. GM Rod Graves had been with Arizona for 16 years, nine in his current position. A 5-11 record after a 4-0 start cost him and Whisenhunt their jobs. Gailey was dumped after three seasons with the Bills; Shurmur after two; and Crennel had one full season with the Chiefs. Reid took over a 3-13 Eagles team in 1999, drafted Donovan McNabb with the No. 2 overall pick and quickly turned the franchise into a title contender. He led them to a run of four straight NFC championship games, a streak that ended with a trip to the NFL title game. TEHAMA COUNTY Looking back at 2012���s highlights By ANDRE BYIK DN Sports Editor Tehama County���s year in sports wasn���t short on drama, surprises and consistent dominance. So, without further delay, here is a recap of some of the year���s headline-making highlights. Rodeo Red Bluff���s star cowboy Casey Meroshnekoff went to the 2012 National Finals Rodeo in Rock Springs, Wyo., and took home his second title in bareback riding in July. Meroshnekoff secured his title with 224 total points. His challengers in second place tied with 210 points each. Meroshnekoff capped off his year by winning his fourth California bareback title in a row and graduated from Red Bluff High School in May. Softball The Red Bluff Lady Spartans softball team again proved its dominance in the Northern Section by claiming its third section championship in four years in May by downing the Shasta Wolves 4-0 in Redding. It was the school���s 11th section championship since 1984. The Spartans jumped on the Wolves 2-0 in the first inning off a double from Haley Harris, who was batted in by a triple from Bryce Etzler. Brittney Fletcher knocked in Etzler to take the early 2-run lead. Brooke Clatty and Samantha Jones both added RBIs in the game. The Spartans finished the season 29-4-2. Track and Field Red Bluff High senior track star Lily Brose���s tenacious comeback from knee injuries her freshman and sophomore years highlighted the Northern Section Track and Field Finals in May. Brose nabbed the Bob Russell Award for most outstanding athlete at the finals after taking first in the 100and 200-meter races and contributing to her team���s 4x400 relay win. The relay team included Brose, Allison Winning, Joanna Smith-Conrad and Adrienne Hinkston. Brose earned the award, which is presented to one female and male athlete at the section finals, despite her injuries. Football When the Red Bluff High football team was gearing up for its 2012 campaign, it had long been an easy win on opposing teams��� schedules. The Spartans hadn���t reached the Daily News file photo by Rich Greene Red Bluff Lady Spartans softball players Tayler Zazueta, 12, and Brooke Clatty embrace after securing the Northern Section title over Shasta. downed Yreka in the first round of the playoffs. Volleyball The Mercy Lady Warriors and Los Molinos Lady Bulldogs both had seasons to remember, but it was the Mercy squad that won the last game of their season to earn a D-VI Northern Section championship over Liberty Christian in four sets. The 25-13, 25-27, 2520, 25-20 victory saw Mercy���s Ella Fleet, Kayce Kemp and Jessica Curl all come up big in the victory. Fleet led the way with 15 kills, Kemp provided 41 assists and Curl added 17 points on serve. Curl also served a championshipwinning ace. The Lady Bulldogs, in D-V, had their best season in the program���s history as they went on to a 35-9-1 record and reached the the D-V Northern Section title game before falling to Hamilton. The Bulldogs also earned a spot in the NorCal championships. The Bulldogs, who are primed to have another solid run this year because of a potentially high number of returners, were led by junior star hitter Clariv- Courtesy photo Casey Meroshnekoff pauses with his national bareback riding title saddle. playoffs since 2004, and they were working under a new system and coach in Corey Hein, who was in his first year coaching the varsity squad. The Spartans were without a doubt in the shadow of Tehama County���s successful Corning program, which reached the D-II Northern Section semifinal round in 2011. But the Spartans had a change in attitude before the first snap of 2012. Their mantra of ���Compete,��� which was written across the backs of their practice shirts, was an important aspect in Hein���s goal of putting Red Bluff football back on the Northern Section radar. At the 48th Tehama County Shootout between county rivals Red Bluff and Corning, the Spartans shut out the Cardinals 35-0 to take the all-time matchup lead at 24-23-1. The Spartans went on to a 6-5 record, which included a surprising thumping of powerhouse Paradise at Red Bluff���s homecoming game. The Spartans would earn a playoff berth for the first time in eight years off consistent play from senior star running back Tucker Gulliford, who amassed 1,359 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns on the year. Eight-man football The Mercy Warriors football team started the year with a clean slate in 2012 after winning just one game in 2011 because of a forfeit. First-year coach Charlie Ford took the reigns and instilled a new focus on conditioning for the fast- paced 8-man game. The Warriors went on to a 5-5 season and earned a playoff appearance to cap their turnaround season. Tennis The Red Bluff Spartans boys tennis team captured a Northern Section title in May in dramatic fashion. The Spartans, with the help of exchange student Igor Minarik, downed Pleasant Valley 5-4 in the section title game. With the teams tied at 4-all in matches, the Spartans��� doubles team of C.J. Varner and Thunder Shaffer came back from being down a set to win the decisive match in the team���s quest for the championship. On the girls side, Red Bluff���s freshman standout Ginger Shaffer led the Lady Spartans to their first playoff appearance in years and Daily News file photo by Andre Byik The Mercy Lady Warriors volleyball team celebrate its section title win. Daily News file photo by Andre Byik The Red Bluff Spartans football team celebrates after beating Corning 35-0 in the 48th Tehama County Shootout game. el Castillo, junior setter Kaitlyn Seaman and junior Emily Bailey. Basketball The Red Bluff Spartans boys basketball team won an outright league title in February off a 3-point play in the final seconds from Taylor Blaser against Las Plumas. The Corning Cards boys basketball team won a league title and went on to the D-IV Northern Section semifinal round. On the girls side, the Lady Spartans topped their league and went on to the D-II Northern Section semifinal round before falling to Pleasant Valley. Soccer The boys and girls Corning Cardinals soccer teams both turned in valiant efforts in 2012. The teams each made D-I Northern Section championship games. The Lady Cards, led by Magdaelana Ramirez, finished their season 15-5 after falling to West Valley in the title game. On the boys side, the championship came down to penalty kicks after Corning and Las Plumas went scoreless through regulation and two overtime periods. Las Plumas denied Corning its third straight section title in three years. Field Hockey The Corning Lady Cardinals field hockey team capped its season with a second-place finish in their postseason tournament. ��������� Sports Editor Andre Byik can be reached at 5272151, ext. 111 or at sports@redbluffdailynews.c om. Follow him on Twitter: @TehamaSports