Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/11051
Wednesday NBAPlayoffs — Celtics at Magic, 5:30 p.m., ESPN Tennis — French Open, 9 a.m., ESPN2 MLB— Athletics at Orioles, 4 p.m., CSNCA MLB— Yankees at Twins, 4 p.m., ESPN2 MLB — Dodgers at Cubs, 5 p.m., WGN MLB — Nationals at Giants, 7 p.m., CSNBA Sports 1B By RICHGREENE DN Sports Editor After a strong team effort all season long, four Red Bluff Spartans were recognized for their individual achieve- ments on the 2010 East- ern Athletic League Baseball All-League team. Infielders Derek Jones and Cody Gappa joined pitcher Scott Avery on the All-League team and infielder EJ Stanton earned an hon- orable mention. Jones, who led off for the Spar- tans and played second base, put together a .593 on base percentage thanks to 43 hits, 18 walks and being hit by a pitch six more times. He batted .483 to lead the Spartans, pick- ing up five dou- bles and driving in seven RBIs. He also stole 12 bases and scored 47 runs. “Derek had a monumental sea- son it was huge,” Red Bluff coach Joe Gallaty said. “He was the toughest out in the league.” Gappa batted third and played third base and tied with Jones for the team lead with 43 hits to go with a .723 slugging percentage. He batted .426, hitting 12 dou- bles, three triples, four homers and driving in 31 RBIs. “That is a big strong lad right there,” Gallaty said. “Six-four, 200-pounder — he got a lot of attention no matter where we went.” “He’s an outstanding defensive player, a very strong arm. He’s the real McCoy.” In a league with plenty of tough pitchers, Avery earned a nod with the best of them. “He was dominant when we needed him to be,” Gallaty said. Avery went 7-4 and pitched 65 innings, carrying a 2.05 ERA. He struck out 43 and walked just 19. “We didn’t match him up against any patsies either,” Gallaty said. Stanton played shortstop and batted in between Jones and Gappa in the two-hole. He led the team with 13 stolen bases. Stanton batted .433 and had a .549 on base percentage as he walked 11 times and was hit by 12 pitches. He drove in 15 RBIs, had five doubles and a triple. Being left off the first team, did- n’t sit well with his coach either. “I was a little bummed about that,” Gallaty said. “He’s a very good athlete he could play everywhere on the field.” Joining the Spartans on the first-team were infielders: Steven Koehnen (Chico), PHOENIX (AP) — The Phoenix bench finally deliv- ered as advertised, and it could hardly have come at a better time. Channing Frye broke out of a horrendous shooting slump by making four 3- pointers for 14 points, and the Suns pulled away in the fourth quarter for the second game in a row to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 115- 106 on Tuesday night and tie the Western Conference finals at two games apiece. A series that looked like a Lakers’ breeze a week ago is all even heading to Game 5 on Thursday night in Los Angeles. The Suns reserves, con- sidered an advantage enter- ing the series but largely ineffective through three games, outscored their Laker counterparts 54-20. Leandro Barbosa scored 14 on 6-of-8 shooting and Jared Dudley added 11 points. Goran Dragic ran the show at point and had eight points and eight assists in 18 min- utes. Amare Stoudemire led Phoenix with 21 points. Steve Nash, playing with a broken nose, had 15 points and eight assists. Kobe Bryant had 38 points and 10 assists as the reigning NBA champions fought back to lead briefly early in the fourth before the Suns backups stole the show. Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry kept all five reserves in the game for almost the first nine minutes of the final quarter, and they produced an 18-3 run, and the Lakers never recovered. When Nash re-entered with 3:05 to play, those subs — usually playing against the Los Angeles starters — had turned an 87-85 deficit into a 103-94 lead. ‘‘We believe in our bench,’’ Gentry said. ‘‘Tonight they played as well as they could play.’’ Frye had made 1-of-21 shots in the series and missed 18 in a row when his second shot of the night, a 3- pointer, finally fell to the roar of the home crowd. Los Angeles did a much better job against the zone defense than in Game 3, but it wasn’t enough. Wednesday May 26, 2010 Jones, Gappa, Avery named All-EAL Andrew Millner (Foothill), Kyle Santuccio (Paradise), Colby McNabb (Shasta); out- fielders Brandon Coborn (Pleasant Valley), Zeke Colby (Pleasant Valley) and Nolan Barhart (Shasta); catcher Sean Ryan (Pleasant Valley); and pitchers Dallas Chadwick (Shasta) and Luke Barker (Pleasant Valley). Along with Stanton, honor- able mentions were given to infielders: Quinn Sullivan (Chico), Kodiak O’Ravez (Enterprise), Cody Ellenwood (Foothill), Cody Yon (Par- adise), Brad Lohse (Pleasant Valley); pitcher Chris Campbell (Oroville) and catcher Cameron Cole (Shasta). Suns hold court, even series DeRosa to get second opinion on injured wrist SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Giants left fielder Mark DeRosa is headed East this week to get a second opinion on his injured left wrist from Baltimore hand specialist Dr. Thomas Graham. DeRosa, sidelined since May 9 with nerve inflammation in his surgically repaired wrist, will be examined Thursday before the Giants decide when he might be ready to return. ‘‘It’s something I’ve been dealing with since July of last year. I’m tired of it,’’ DeRosa said. ‘‘I want to do what they brought me in here to do: be productive.’’ He had been eligible to come off the disabled list Tues- day, but that likely won’t happen until at least this weekend if he receives a good report from Graham. Manager Bruce Bochy said if all goes well DeRosa likely would work out back in San Francisco on Friday then begin a short rehab assignment. ‘‘He’s getting a second opinion, which will be good for him to see exactly where he’s at,’’ Bochy said. ‘‘For his peace of mind it will be good.’’ The 35-year-old DeRosa was in a 6-for-50 (.120) funk over his last 12 games, lowering his average from .267 to .194. He has one home run and 10 RBIs in his first season with San Francisco. DeRosa said any fans who want to question whether he’s truly hurting only have to look at his statistics now compared to the past to know ‘‘I’m not right.’’ Earlier this month, DeRosa said he could need another procedure on the wrist either during this season or afterward — but both he and the Giants would rather avoid it. DeRosa received a cortisone injection in the wrist May 12. The cur- rent problem is in a different area than where he had surgery after the 2009 season with St. Louis. When the Giants signed DeRosa to a $12 million, two- year contract in late December, they were counting on him being a versatile veteran who could hit for power and give the offense some much-needed punch in the middle of the order. Yet DeRosa insists his wrist pops with every little move- ment — during each at-bat to when he’s home and picking up the remote control or a can of soda. Sometimes it hurts more than others at the plate, but he wants to hear from Gra- ham if he can play through this without causing further dam- age or discomfort. ‘‘Sometimes I feel like I’ve got loose change at the bot- tom of my batting glove,’’ DeRosa said. MCT photo Amare Stoudemire and Kobe Bryant clash during Tuesday’s game. Jordan Farmar opened the fourth quarter with a 3- pointer, his only basket in five shots all night, to give the Lakers an 87-85 lead, but Barbosa responded with a 22-footer to tie it. Lou Amundson scored inside on a pass from Dudley, then Frye sank a 3-pointer and Phoenix led 92-87. That was the first of three consecutive 3s for Phoenix, the second by Barbosa and third by Dudley to make it 98-89. The biggest lead was 103-90 on Dragic’s driving layup with 4:02 to play. After slugging out a 23- 23 first quarter, the Suns erupted for a series-high 41- point second quarter, shoot- ing 74 percent (17 for 23), 7 of 10 on 3-pointers to go up 64-55 at the half — and the backups led the way. The reserves outscored the Lakers starters 21-11 to start the second period. One of Bryant’s trade- mark scoring tears kept the Lakers in the game. After not taking a shot until the 2:09 mark of the first quar- ter, Bryant scored 15 in the second, making seven of his last nine shots, all outside jumpers. He was just getting started. Bryant had 16 more in the third quarter, his 3- pointer with 2:20 to play finally catching the Suns at 81-all with 2:20 left. Pau Gasol made one of two free throws to put the Lakers ahead for the first time since the opening period, but Dragic made two free throws with 31 seconds left to put Phoenix ahead 85-84 entering the fourth. New York-New Jersey bid earns 2014 Super Bowl IRVING, Texas (AP) — February. Gray skies. Snowflakes. Brrrrrrrr. Well, grab your boots and plow the snow. The Super Bowl is coming to the Meadowlands. In New Jersey? In the dead of winter? ‘‘We’ll all pray that it doesn’t snow that day,’’ Arizona Cardinals president Michael Bidwill said. NFL owners voted Tuesday to put the 2014 Super Bowl in the new $1.6 billion Meadowlands Stadium that this season will become home to the New York Jets and Giants. It’s the first time the league has gone to a cold weather site that doesn’t have a dome; until now, those places couldn’t even bid on the big game. So, why the risk? ‘‘Let’s face it,’’ Giants co-owner John Mara said, ‘‘there’s only one New York City.’’ See SUPER, page 2B Sacrifice flies lead Baltimore past Athletics 5-1 BALTIMORE (AP) — For once, it didn’t matter that the Balti- more Orioles went hit- less with runners in scoring position. Ty Wigginton and Adam Jones delivered successive sacrifice flies in the sixth inning, and the Orioles scored three runs without benefit of a hit Tues- day night in a 5-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics. Jeremy Guthrie (3-4) gave up one run and six hits in six innings for the Ori- oles, who made the most of seven hits in a rare win over the A’s. Balti- more’s first run came on a throwing error, and the run- scoring fly balls in the sixth followed two straight walks and a wild pitch by Tyson Ross (1- 3). ‘‘There were four at-bats in the game that were key for me — the two guys that walked, and after the wild pitch, the two productive outs,’’ Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. Nick Markakis hit a solo homer off Michael Wuertz in the eighth, and Matt Wieters added an RBI dou- ble. Baltimore went 0 for 4 with runners in scoring posi- tion, but the team with the worst record in the majors (15-31) turned two fly balls into the game’s pivotal runs. Oakland starter Dallas Braden left with a sore left ankle after allowing an unearned run and three hits in four innings. He issued two walks in his final inning and was pulled after only 62 pitches. ‘‘I sprained my ankle a couple of weeks ago in Texas. It’s just been some- thing we’ve been taking care of for the past couple of weeks,’’ Braden said. ‘‘They asked me how it felt, and I was honest, and I told them it didn’t feel too hot. We just figured it was probably the right thing.’’ Braden was confident he would make his next start. ‘‘I’m just (mad) I wasn’t there to continue to give my team a chance,’’ he said. ‘‘We had to dip into a bullpen. That wasn’t what we were looking forward to doing on the first day of a 10-day road trip.’’ Braden departed with the score tied at 1. He is winless in three starts since throwing a perfect game against Tampa Bay on May 9. The defeat ended Oak- land’s three-game winning streak, fashioned with an interleague sweep of San Francisco in which the A’s outscored the Giants 10-1. Oakland had won 13 of its last 15 games against the Orioles and were 15-4 in their previous 19 games at Camden Yards. After Guthrie threw 113 pitches, the injury-depleted Baltimore bullpen made the lead stand up. Mark Hen- drickson pitched two innings and Will Ohman worked the ninth. Oakland took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Jack Cust walked, took third on a double by Gabe Gross and scored on a groundout by Mark Ellis. Baltimore ended Oak- land’s string of consecutive shutout innings at 23 with an unearned run in the fourth after Braden walked the first two batters.