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2B Daily News – Friday, February 22, 2013 DAYTONA 500 Harvick and Kyle Busch win duels DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — There are two certainties heading into the Daytona 500: Kevin Harvick is the favorite, and no one is sure what the action will look like in the ''Great American Race.'' Harvick remained perfect through Speedweeks on Thursday by winning the first of two 150-mile Budweiser Duel qualifying races, and the victory has positioned him as the top pick to win NASCAR's version of the Super Bowl. Being labeled the favorite is the last thing the 2007 Daytona 500 winner wanted headed into Sunday's season-opener. ''We like to be the lame-duck underdog. That's what we're shooting for,'' Harvick said. Harvick is a perfect 2 for 2 at Daytona International Speedway. He also won an exhibition race last weekend. This strong start comes at a time when Harvick has found a balance in his life with the addition of son, Keelan, who was born last July, and as he heads into his final season with Richard Childress Racing. Harvick has already decided to move to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014. ''We've been fortunate to win the first two races of Speedweeks. We've just got to keep a level head on our shoulders, not get too high over what we've done, just do the same things that we've done,'' he said. ''If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. I think we definitely have the car and team to be in contention to do that.'' But nobody is quite sure what the 500 will look like with NASCAR's new Gen-6 race car. Sunday's race will go off with a full 43-car field, double the amount of cars that ran in Thursday's qualifying races. There were 19 cars in last Saturday's exhibition. Kyle Busch, winner of the second duel, believes more cars on the track will create a much different race than what fans have seen so far. All three races at Speedweeks to date have lacked much action as drivers continue to learn the new cars and how it reacts in TRADES (Continued from page 1B) "Thomas Robinson has a lot of upside for the bigger goal of getting back to being a contender," Houston general manager Daryl Morey said. The only trade involving Dwight Howard came last summer. The potent scorers that moved did so long ago. There was no eyecatching activity left for deadline day, resulting in minor deals Thursday to the disappointment of those hoping for a frenzy. Josh Smith stayed put and the Boston Celtics' core stayed together, leaving J.J. Redick, dealt to Milwaukee, as the biggest name to be traded. There were nine moves, nothing approaching a blockbuster and none to jump-start the Lakers. Players such as James Harden and Rudy Gay were traded far before the deadline, but with teams perhaps fearful of new penalties for the biggest spenders, Thursday was mostly quiet. ''I don't think I've seen fewer trade deadline deals, ever,'' said Houston general manager Daryl Morey, who completed two trades Wednesday. ''But I think it's a oneyear blip.'' The Atlanta Hawks held onto Smith, and Utah kept both Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson on a day when much attention was focused on both situations, since those players have value and could leave their teams this summer as free agents. The long-shot deals never materialized. YNOA (Continued from page 1B) best and just keep going,'' Ynoa said. ''I'm OK with everything.'' There are no restrictions on him and Melvin expected Ynoa to be ready to appear in a game in two weeks. ''It's just like any other pitcher in spring training,'' Melvin said. ''He's just a little behind.'' Ynoa said he played catch a few days ago and traffic and different aerodynamic situations. ''With more cars out there, we might see it be a little bit different come Sunday,'' Busch said. ''There were half the field in each race, obviously. There's going to be twice as many good cars, twice as many middle of the pack cars, twice as many back of the pack cars. If you can get your car handling, driving, feeling good, you'll be able to be one of the guys that's up front.'' Is Busch, who was wrecked out of last week's exhibition just 15 laps into the race, one of those guys? ''I feel that's where we're at,'' Busch said. ''That's an added bonus for us right now.'' Busch gave Toyota its first victory of Speedweeks and snapped Chevrolet's dominance. Harvick took the new Chevrolet SS to Victory Lane twice, and Danica Patrick put it on the Daytona 500 pole in time trials. Busch held off Kasey Kahne, in a Chevrolet, and learned the driver out front is in the strongest position. ''It's hard to pass the leader,'' said Busch. ''Stay out front. When you get out front, you can hold everyone off.'' But Kahne, who settled for second, said timing will be critical and nobody is sure just yet what move will be needed to win the Daytona 500. ''I think it's tough because you don't know when you get that push. You don't know when it plays into your time,'' said Kahne, who never got close enough to Busch to take a solid shot at the win. ''I think you need to be ready at any time to get to the front, to second, to third, try to move up. I don't think waiting till the last lap is a ticket the way things are right now.'' And Kahne wasn't ready to give Harvick the win in the big race, either. ''I think Kevin looks really good,'' he said. ''He's got this place figured out. I think he can be beat, yeah. There's a few of us in the second race who had really good cars, and I could move around really well, similar to what Harvick did in the first race.'' Howard remained in Los Angeles, just what Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak repeatedly said would happen. Howard's unhappiness and struggles since he was acquired from Orlando last summer fueled speculation that the Lakers might move him before possibly losing him for nothing as a free agent. ''It took a while for league to understand our position was exactly what we stated,'' Kupchak told reporters. ''I think they finally got it.'' Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce will continue wearing Celtic green, as will Rajon Rondo when he's healthy enough to put on a uniform again. The Celtics did make one deal, acquiring guard Jordan Crawford from the Washington Wizards for center Jason Collins and injured guard Leandro Barbosa. Those were the types of trades that were left after the big names that were available had already been moved. Oklahoma City sent AllStar Harden to Houston the preseason, fearing it couldn't pay what last season's top sixth man would want after already giving lucrative long-term deals to Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. The Memphis Grizzlies broke up their frontcourt when they sent Gay to Toronto in a three-team deal with Detroit ''I think normally a point was made, normally you would see big deals being made. We cannot forget, Andre Iguodala, that deal was made in the summer. That could have potentially been a trade deadline move,'' said Denver Nuggets president Masai Ujiri, referring to the player he acquired in the four-time Howard trade in August. feels normal. ''I lost a week,'' he said. ''I just need to work hard on things I need to work on.'' Notes: A's strength and conditioning coach Michael Henriques introduced yoga into warmups with players who arrived early in camp and it has caught on, with pitchers using it regularly. Melvin went through his first yoga stretch Thursday. ''Everybody enjoys it,'' he said. ... RHP Jesse Chavez is to start Saturday's exhibition opener against Milwaukee. LHP Travis Blackley is to start Sunday and LHP Andrew Werner on Monday. ... RHP Jarrod Parker, LHP Sean Doolittle, LHP Jerry Blevins and RHP Ryan Cook each threw batting practice for the first time. ... The Arizona Diamondbacks used the A's minor league facility at Papago Park for a scrimmage. The fields at Salt River were soaked after being covered in snow Wednesday. ''Harden was traded right before the season started. That could have been a potential trade deadline move. Rudy Gay was started a couple weeks ago. There was some cleanup before this date. Apart from a couple guys who were out there all the time in terms of big names, it just went by. I can't explain it.'' Finances certainly played into it. The collective bargaining agreement that went into effect in 2011 came with much more punitive penalties for teams that repeatedly exceed the luxury tax and limits the options of those over the salary cap, and decisions Thursday were made with that in mind. Rebuilding after trading Howard, the Magic decided Redick wasn't in their plans while averaging career highs in points (15.1) and field goal percentage (45.0). He was traded along with center Gustavo Ayon and reserve point guard Ish Smith to the Bucks in exchange for guards Doron Lamb and Beno Udrih, and forward Tobias Harris. The New York Knicks traded Ronnie Brewer to Oklahoma City to open a roster spot that will be used to give Kenyon Martin a 10-day contract. The Hawks couldn't find a good enough deal for Smith, who had largely been considered the biggest name that would move, and settled for sending Anthony Morrow to Dallas for Dahntay Jones. Juan Pablo Montoya, who infamously crashed into a jet dryer during last year's Daytona 500 to trigger a massive fuel fire, stopped for minor repairs during the caution. Montoya restarted the race in 13th with four laps remaining, but rocketed through the field to finish third. ''It was time to go,'' he said. ''It's hard, you don't want to tear up the car, and at the same time you want to go. The bumpers are a little fragile. You have to be careful with that. You want to have a good car at the end.'' The bulk of both races seemed to be one long parade of the Gen-6 race car. Unsure of how the cars handle in packs, and when the drivers choose to side-draft, most of the field in the first race played it conservatively. ''The choice was obviously made by a bunch of us to run around in circles and just make laps,'' said two-time Daytona 500 champion Michael Waltrip, who needed a clean race to guarantee a spot in Sunday's field. ''There were a lot of people that just wanted to get through some laps and understand what was going on. There were some of us that would have run like that until they threw the checkered just to make the race. And then there were some that decided it was time to go, and they made it work.'' Waltrip is racing in a special Sandy Hook Special Support Fund paint scheme, and his car number has been changed to No. 26 as a tribute to the 26 students and teachers killed in the Newtown, Conn., school shooting. ''There's a lot of people up in Connecticut with a smile on their face right now. I'm real proud to get in the race for them,'' Waltrip said. Austin Dillon, grandson of team owner Richard Childress, finished third in the second qualifying race to put his Richard Childress Racing car in the Daytona 500. It will be the 22-year-old Dillon's first Daytona 500. In the first race, Harvick held off Greg Biffle over a four-lap sprint to win. Harvick and Biffle also went 1-2 in last Saturday night's exhibition race. The starting field for the Daytona 500 is set by the results from the pair of 60-lap qualifiers, but Patrick held onto the pole by running a safe race in the first qualifier. The first woman to win a pole at NASCAR's top level, Patrick earned the top starting spot in time trials last weekend. She started first in the first qualifier, raced a bit early, then faded back to run a conservative race and ensure she'll start first in the 500. ''I hate coming to the end like that and just lagging back,'' she said. ''That's not fun. But it's also really ignorant to go drive up into the pack and be part of an accident for absolutely no reason. You're really not going to learn much there.'' Patrick wound up 17th out of 23 cars. ''What I really feel like I need to do is go down to the Harvick bus and see what he's doing,'' she said. ''He's got it going on down here.'' The first race was dull until Denny Hamlin brought out the only caution with seven laps remaining. Hamlin lost control of his car, spun into Carl Edwards and triggered a four-car accident that also collected Regan Smith and Trevor Bayne, who had a dominant car early in the qualifier. ''I know what the wrecks look like now, I am really familiar with them,'' said Edwards, who was wrecked at testing in January and in practice for the exhibition race last week. He was also black-flagged in the exhibition race when his window net fell off. Hamlin said the accident was a product of drivers trying to learn the nuances of NASCAR's new Gen-6 car. ''It just shows you that any kind of bad aero position you put yourself in, your car can be vulnerable,'' said Hamlin, who was running in the high line when he inched into Edwards' space down low. UPSET: End of line (Continued from page 1B) points, but didn't score in the second. Red Bluff was out scored 10-2 in the third and went into the fourth trailing Shasta 34-26. The Spartans closed its deficit to 3 points at 35-32 with about 5:37 left to play in the game, but the Wolves kept pace to the end, outscoring Red Bluff 12-11 in the period. Red Bluff was playing without junior Brittany Clatty, who led the Spartans in scoring with about 11 points per game before going down with a neck injury late Sports Editor Andre Byik can be reached at 5272151, ext. 111 or at spor ts@redbluffdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter: @TehamaSports NHL NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific GP W Anaheim 15 12 San Jose 15 8 Phoenix 16 8 Dallas 17 8 Los Angeles15 7 Central GP W Chicago 16 13 Nashville 17 8 St. Louis 17 9 Detroit 17 7 Columbus 17 5 Northwest GP W Vancouver 16 9 Minnesota 16 8 Colorado 15 7 Edmonton 16 6 Calgary 15 5 in the season. Spartan point guard Daisy Brose led all scorers Thursday with 15 points. Emily Gallagher had 3, Calisha Cruise had 2 and Hansen and Chelsey Bushnell both had 1 apiece. The Wolves head to the D-III semifinals with a game against No. 1 Enterprise (22-3) on Wednesday. ——— WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific L OT Pts 2 1 25 4 3 19 6 2 18 8 1 17 6 2 16 GF 53 39 44 44 36 GA 39 34 41 47 38 L OT Pts 0 3 29 4 5 21 6 2 20 7 3 17 10 2 12 GF 55 39 53 45 39 GA 34 38 51 51 53 L OT Pts 3 4 22 6 2 18 7 1 15 7 3 15 7 3 13 GF 48 36 38 37 40 GA 40 39 43 44 54 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic GP W L OT Pts GF GA New Jersey 17 10 3 4 24 45 40 Pittsburgh 17 11 6 0 22 57 44 Rangers 16 8 6 2 18 41 41 Philadelphia19 8 10 1 17 53 59 Islanders 17 7 9 1 15 50 60 Northeast GP W L OT Pts GF GA Montreal 17 11 4 2 24 49 39 Boston 14 10 2 2 22 41 33 Ottawa 18 10 6 2 22 43 34 Toronto 18 11 7 0 22 51 41 Buffalo 18 6 11 1 13 48 59 Southeast GP W L OT Pts GF GA Carolina 15 8 6 1 17 44 44 Tampa Bay 16 8 7 1 17 61 51 Winnipeg 16 7 8 1 15 41 50 Florida 16 5 7 4 14 40 58 Washington 16 5 10 1 11 43 54 —————————————————— Thursday's Results Ottawa 3, N.Y. Rangers 2, SO Toronto 3, Buffalo 1 Florida 5, Philadelphia 2 New Jersey 3, Washington 2 Winnipeg 4, Carolina 3 N.Y. Islanders 4, Montreal 3, OT Boston 4, Tampa Bay 2 Columbus 3, Detroit 2 Vancouver 4, Dallas 3 Minnesota 3, Edmonton 1 Today's Games Florida at Pittsburgh, 4 p.m. Vancouver at Nashville, 5 p.m. San Jose at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. Saturday's Games New Jersey at Washington, 9 a.m. Winnipeg at Philadelphia, 10 a.m. Phoenix at Edmonton, 12:30 p.m. Colorado at Los Angeles, 1 p.m. Nashville at Detroit, 4 p.m. Tampa Bay at Carolina, 4 p.m. Toronto at Ottawa, 4 p.m. N.Y. Rangers at Montreal, 4 p.m. N.Y. Islanders at Buffalo, 4 p.m. San Jose at Dallas, 5 p.m. Columbus at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Minnesota at Calgary, 7 p.m. L.A. Clippers Golden State L.A. Lakers Sacramento Phoenix Southwest San Antonio Memphis Houston Dallas New Orleans Northwest Oklahoma City Denver Utah Portland Minnesota W 39 31 26 19 18 L 17 23 29 36 37 Pct GB .696 — .574 7 .473 12.5 .345 19.5 .327 20.5 W 43 35 30 24 19 L 12 18 26 29 36 Pct GB .782 — .660 7 .536 13.5 .453 18 .345 24 W 39 34 31 25 20 L 15 21 24 29 31 Pct GB .722 — .618 5.5 .564 8.5 .463 14 .392 17.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic New York Brooklyn Boston Philadelphia Toronto Central Indiana Chicago Milwaukee Detroit Cleveland Southeast W 32 33 28 22 22 L 19 22 26 30 33 Pct GB .627 — .600 1 .519 5.5 .423 10.5 .400 12 W 33 31 26 22 17 L 21 23 27 34 37 Pct .611 .574 .491 .393 .315 GB — 2 6.5 12 16 W L Pct GB Miami 38 14 .731 — Atlanta 29 23 .558 9 Washington 15 37 .288 23 Orlando 15 39 .278 24 Charlotte 13 41 .241 26 —————————————————— Thursday's Results Miami 86, Chicago 67 San Antonio at L.A. Clippers, late Today's Games Chicago at Charlotte, 4 p.m. New York at Toronto, 4 p.m. Detroit at Indiana, 4 p.m. Denver at Washington, 4 p.m. Sacramento at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. Houston at Brooklyn, 4:30 p.m. Orlando at Memphis, 5 p.m. Dallas at New Orleans, 5 p.m. Minnesota at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m. Boston at Phoenix, 6 p.m. San Antonio at Golden State, 7:30 p.m. Portland at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m. Saturday's Games Denver at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Cleveland at Orlando, 4 p.m. Houston at Washington, 4 p.m. Miami at Philadelphia, 4:30 p.m. Indiana at Detroit, 4:30 p.m. Atlanta at Milwaukee, 5:30 p.m. Utah at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m. MLB SPRING TRAINING AMERICAN LEAGUE Baltimore Boston Chicago Cleveland Detroit Houston Kansas City Los Angeles Minnesota New York Oakland Seattle Tampa Bay Texas Toronto W 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 L 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Pct .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 NATIONAL LEAGUE W L Pct Arizona 0 0 .000 Atlanta 0 0 .000 Chicago 0 0 .000 Cincinnati 0 0 .000 Colorado 0 0 .000 Los Angeles 0 0 .000 Miami 0 0 .000 Milwaukee 0 0 .000 New York 0 0 .000 Philadelphia 0 0 .000 Pittsburgh 0 0 .000 San Diego 0 0 .000 San Francisco 0 0 .000 St. Louis 0 0 .000 Washington 0 0 .000 —————————————————— Today's Games Detroit vs. Atlanta at Kissimmee, Fla., 10:05 a.m. Cincinnati vs. Cleveland at Goodyear, Ariz., 12:05 p.m. Kansas City vs. Texas at Surprise, Ariz., 12:05 p.m. San Diego vs. Seattle at Peoria, Ariz., 12:05 p.m. Saturday's Games Washington vs. N.Y. Mets at Port St. Lucie, Fla., 9:10 a.m. St. Louis vs. Miami at Jupiter, Fla., 10:05 a.m. N.Y. Yankees vs. Atlanta at Kissimmee, Fla., 10:05 a.m. Toronto vs. Detroit at Lakeland, Fla., 10:05 a.m. Houston vs. Philadelphia at Clearwater, Fla., 10:05 a.m. Minnesota vs. Baltimore at Sarasota, Fla., 10:05 a.m. Pittsburgh vs. Tampa Bay (ss) at Port Charlotte, Fla., 10:05 a.m. Tampa Bay (ss) vs. Boston at Fort Myers, Fla., 10:35 a.m. Chicago Cubs vs. L.A. Angels (ss) at Tempe, Ariz., 12:05 p.m. L.A. Angels (ss) vs. San Francisco at Scottsdale, Ariz., 12:05 p.m. Oakland vs. Milwaukee at Phoenix, 12:05 p.m. Cleveland vs. Cincinnati at Goodyear, Ariz., 12:05 p.m. Chicago White Sox vs. L.A. Dodgers at Glendale, Ariz., 12:05 p.m. Seattle vs. San Diego at Peoria, Ariz., 12:05 p.m. Texas vs. Kansas City at Surprise, Ariz., 12:05 p.m. Colorado vs. Arizona at Scottsdale, Ariz., 12:10 p.m. Sunday's Games University of Michigan vs. N.Y. Mets (ss) at Port St. Lucie, Fla., 9:10 a.m. Boston vs. St. Louis at Jupiter, Fla., 10:05 a.m. Miami vs. Washington at Viera, Fla., 10:05 a.m. N.Y. Mets (ss) vs. Houston at Kissimmee, Fla., 10:05 a.m. Philadelphia vs. Detroit at Lakeland, Fla., 10:05 a.m. Toronto (ss) vs. N.Y. Yankees at Tampa, Fla., 10:05 a.m. Baltimore vs. Toronto (ss) at Dunedin, Fla., 10:05 a.m. Atlanta vs. Pittsburgh at Bradenton, Fla., 10:05 a.m. Tampa Bay vs. Minnesota at Fort Myers, Fla., 10:05 a.m. Oakland vs. L.A. Angels at Tempe, Ariz., 12:05 p.m. San Francisco vs. Chicago Cubs at Mesa, Ariz., 12:05 p.m. Cleveland (ss) vs. Milwaukee at Phoenix, 12:05 p.m. Cincinnati vs. Cleveland (ss) at Goodyear, Ariz., 12:05 p.m. L.A. Dodgers vs. Chicago White Sox at Glendale, Ariz., 12:05 p.m. San Diego vs. Seattle at Peoria, Ariz., 12:05 p.m. Kansas City vs. Texas at Surprise, Ariz., 12:05 p.m. Arizona vs. Colorado at Scottsdale, Ariz., 12:10 p.m.