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Friday French Open — Men’s semifinals, 8 a.m., NBC Stanley Cup Finals — Blackhawks at Flyers, 5 p.m., VERSUS MLB — Giants at Pirates, 4 p.m., CSNB MLB — Cubs at Astros, 5 p.m., WGN MLB — Twins at Athletics, 7 p.m., CSNC PGA— The Memorial, Noon, TGC Sports 1B Friday June 4, 2010 Suzuki homers twice, A’s win BOSTON (AP) — Kurt Suzuki and the Oakland Athlet- ics put on a rare power show and held off a potent attack by the Boston Red Sox. Suzuki had two of his team’s four homers as the A’s hit more than two for the first time this season in a 9-8 win Thursday that featured 32 hits, two injured Oakland players and two Boston runners thrown out at home. ‘‘Our game is more suited for our ballpark,’’ where it’s much harder to hit homers, A’s manager Bob Geren said. ‘‘We pitch well, we run the bases well, spray our hits around. We do timely, situational hitting. We’re not a real big home run team.’’ They were on Thursday. Suzuki homered in his first two at bats against Tim Wakefield (1-4), a solo shot in the second inning and a two-run homer in the four-run fourth. Then, with Oakland leading 7-5 in the eighth, Jack Cust and Kevin Kouzmanoff hit homers on consecutive pitches by Manny Delcarmen, who began the day as the AL leader with a .128 batting average by opponents. Not bad for a team that entered the game with 33 homers, the third-fewest in the majors, and just eight in their 15 pre- vious games. Oakland had 14 hits, seven of them for extra bases. The loss left Red Sox catcher Victor Martinez frustrated that his team’s 18 hits — 10 for extra bases and three for homers — weren’t enough to win. ‘‘We had a lot of hits, scored a lot of runs and end up losing the game,’’ he said, ‘‘but on the other side they put really good swings on it and they end up taking advantage.’’ It didn’t help that Martinez, in the second, and Darnell McDonald, in the fourth, were tagged out at home by Suzuki when they tried to score on hits to the outfield. ‘‘We had a lot of guys contribut- ing to help us win, but Suzuki had a great day both offensive and defen- sively,’’ Geren said. The homers off Delcarmen made it 9-5 before Boston rallied. It scored a run in the seventh on Bill Hall’s RBI groundout and another in the eighth on Marco Scu- taro’s third homer of the year. Dustin Pedroia followed that with a walk and Martinez singled. Then Andrew Bailey came in and retired the next three batters, finish- ing by striking out David Ortiz, who had eight homers in his previous 17 games. Bailey allowed Hall’s solo homer in the ninth but got his 12th save in 14 opportunities. Bailey’s two innings tied a career high. ‘‘I think he was pumped up — Fenway Park, two-run lead, ninth inning, fans are going crazy,’’ Suzu- ki said. ‘‘It was a good situation for him to be in. He always rises to the occasion, which is what you defi- nitely want in a closer.’’ See A's, page 2B Spartan Summer Basketball Camp The Spartan Summer Basketball Camp will be held June 14-18 at Red Bluff High School. The camp is for players entering fourth through 12th grade and the cost is $50 with proceeds benefiting the Spartans boys and girls basketball programs. The camp schedule is: Fourth through sixth grade boys and girls — 9 to 10:30 a.m. at the Red Bluff High School field house Seventh through ninth grade boys — 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Red Bluff High School field house Seventh through ninth grade girls — 9 to 10:30 a.m. at the Red Bluff High School gymnasium Tenth through 12th grade girls — 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Red Bluff High School gymnasium Tenth through 12th grade boys — 1 to 3 p.m. at the Red Bluff High School field house Registration flyers are available at the Red Bluff High School’s student store and most other schools or by going online at Red Bluff High School's website and clicking on Spartan Athletics. Bryant’s 30 leads Lakers to Game 1 victory LOS ANGELES (AP) — So the Celtics want to play rough again? Kobe Bryant and the Lakers look ready this time around, and they barged into an early lead in the NBA finals. Bryant scored 30 points, Pau Gasol had 23 points and 14 rebounds, and defending champion Los Angeles got tough in a 102-89 victory over Boston in the NBA finals opener Thursday night. Ron Artest scored 15 points after tumbling to the ground in a tangle with Paul Pierce in the opening minute of the 12th finals meeting in the NBA’s most scintillating rivalry. Bryant and Gasol then led a gritty physical effort against the Celtics, who memorably pushed around the Lakers while winning their 2008 finals matchup in six games. Pierce scored 24 points and Kevin Garnett added 16 after a slow start for the Celtics, who might not want to know Lak- ers coach Phil Jackson’s teams in Los Angeles and Chicago have won 47 straight playoff series after winning Game 1. Game 2 is Sunday night at Staples Center. If the first 48 minutes of the rematch are any indication, this series again will be a knockdown, drag-out physical con- frontation — and the supposedly finesse-oriented Lakers held their ground early. Ray Allen scored 12 points in just 27 minutes, saddled with constant foul trouble while trying to guard Bryant. Pierce also picked up early fouls, while Garnett simply struggled, going 7 for 16 from the field and grabbing just four rebounds — even inexplicably missing an open layup with 5 1/2 minutes to play. That’s mostly because of Gasol, the Spanish 7-footer determined to assert himself after admittedly getting pushed around by Garnett two years ago. Gasol capped a strong game by sprinting downcourt and catching a long pass in stride for a dunk with 6:21 to play. This one was rough from the opening tumble. Just 27 seconds in, Artest and Pierce got double technical fouls after crashing to the court back-to-back with elbows locked. The mood didn’t improve much in a game featuring 54 fouls, but Bryant’s playmaking and the Lakers’ inside advantages drove them to a 20-point lead after three quarters before surviving Boston’s final run. Los Angeles outrebounded the Celtics 42-31. MNG photo The Lakers’ Andrew Bynum battles to the hoop against Paul Pierce and Kendrick Perkins. Schiavone, Stosur make for surprising French Open final PARIS (AP) — On a rainy, windy day 53 1/2 weeks ago, at Roland Garros’ cozy, 259-seat Court 8, Samantha Stosur and Francesca Schi- avone played each other in a run- of-the-mill, first-round match at the French Open. Stosur, then ranked 32nd, beat Schiavone, then ranked 50th, in straight sets. They’ll meet again at the clay-court Grand Slam tourna- ment Saturday. Oh, how the setting and circumstances have changed. This time around, Stosur vs. Schiavone will be for the French Open championship, in the 14,845-capacity main stadium, broadcast live on TV around the world. In line with the topsy-turvy way this tournament unfolded, it will be the first Grand Slam final for each woman — only the fifth such double-debut in the 42-year Open era. ‘‘No matter what I’m feeling, she’s probably thinking it, too, so it’s a different, new situation for both of us. Who knows how we’re both going to feel? I’m sure there’s going to be some nerves out there,’’ Stosur said. ‘‘I mean, she hasn’t gone through it before, either, so that’s probably a little bit comforting.’’ The No. 7-seeded Stosur is the first woman from Australia to play for a major tennis title since Wendy Turnbull was the runner-up at the 1980 Australian Open. That’s nothing compared to the wait endured by the No. 17-seeded Schiavone’s nation: She’s the first woman from Italy to reach a Grand Slam final in the sport’s century-plus histo- ry. ‘‘It’s beautiful,’’ Schi- avone said in Italian. ‘‘Very beauti- ful. Moving.’’ Neither finalist spent much time on court in Thursday’s anticli- mactic semifinals. Indeed, Schiavone was sitting on her green changeover bench, toweling off after winning the first set of her match 7-6 (3) in 69 min- utes, when her opponent, No. 5 Elena Dementieva, walked up while fighting tears to say she was quitting. Dementieva explained later that, unbeknownst to everybody else, she tore her left calf muscle during her second-round match. ‘‘It’s very painful to even walk,’’ said Dementieva, who isn’t sure whether she’ll be at Wimble- don. ‘‘Just couldn’t continue to play.’’ In the day’s second semifinal, Stosur produced her third consecu- tive victory over a player who’s been ranked No. 1, completely overpowering a bewildered Jelena Jankovic 6-1, 6-2 to add to upsets of 12-time major title winner Sere- na Williams in the quarterfinals and four-time French Open cham- pion Justine Henin in the fourth round. ‘‘Beating the caliber of players I’ve played the last three rounds definitely helps me for Saturday’s match,’’ said Stosur, a tour-leading 20-2 on clay this season and a 2009 semifinalist at Roland Gar- ros. ‘‘I’ve beaten all those, so why can’t I win one more?’’ Using exactly the same formu- la that worked against Williams and Henin, Stosur served brilliant- ly and pounded forehand winners from all angles. She hit seven aces, reaching 120 mph, and seven fore- hand winners — numbers one assumes would have been more impressive if the match had lasted more than a mere hour. Afterward, the No. 4-seeded Jankovic alternated between self- admonishment and praise for Sto- sur. ‘‘I wasn’t like myself,’’ said Jankovic, the 2008 U.S. Open run- ner-up. ‘‘I don’t even know who that was on the court.’’ Assessing her opponent’s skills, Jankovic mentioned Stosur’s kick serve — a high-bouncing offering rare in the women’s game, the Australian learned it when she was about 13 — and her penchant for hitting ‘‘run-around’’ forehands, where she slides over to take whacks at balls headed for her backhand side. ‘‘To be honest,’’ Jankovic said, summing up, ‘‘she kind of has, like, almost the game of a man. That’s what it feels like.’’ She made note of Stosur’s mus- cular build, saying, ‘‘She’s a strong girl. You can see by looking at her physically. She can hit pretty big, and she has one of the strongest serves in the women’s game.’’ Said Stosur’s coach, Australia Fed Cup captain David Taylor: ‘‘She’s a natural athlete. Everyone thinks she spends 10 hours a day in the gym, and a lot of that’s just good genetics.’’ Both Stosur and Schiavone attribute a newfound sense of self- confidence with allowing them to make it this far for the first time. ‘‘Once you have that belief, that helps everything, doesn’t it? The limitations in women’s tennis are up here,’’ Taylor said, pointing to his right temple. ‘‘So once you believe, everything is great.’’ The 26-year-old Stosur only once had been beyond the third round in singles at a Grand Slam tournament before last year’s French Open run, although she’s won two major titles in women’s doubles and two in mixed doubles. Her singles game has improved dramatically since she returned to the tour in April 2008 after about nine months away while recover- ing from Lyme disease, a tick-born illness that can affect a person’s joints and nervous system. She was ranked 149th two years ago. ‘‘I’d never wish to go through any of that ever again, but in hind- sight, who knows what it actually did for me? Since then, I’ve had the best time of my career, best results, and I’m playing the best,’’ Stosur said. ‘‘So maybe looking back, taking all that time out was a good thing.’’ Schiavone, who turns 30 on June 23, reached the quarterfinals on her very first trip to the French Open, in 2001, and then never again made it that far in Paris until now. But she had only one first- round loss at Roland Garros in that span — yes, that’s right, a 6-4, 6-2 setback against Stosur on May 26, 2009, out on Court 8. Why did it take Schiavone — it’s pronounced skee-ah-VOH-nay — until now to reach a Grand Slam final, in her 39th try? And why did it take her until now to make it into the top 10 in the WTA rankings, something she’ll do Monday? Schiavone is the oldest player since 1998 to make her debut in the top 10. ‘‘Why late? I think everybody (is) different. ... It’s my time now,’’ she said. ‘‘Maybe before I wasn’t ready.’’ Italy’s Fed Cup and Davis Cup captain, Corrado Barazzutti, agreed, saying that Schiavone used to fight with herself too much dur- ing matches. Now, Barazzutti said, ‘‘She plays calmly. ... When she plays well, and she’s consistent, she can beat anyone.’’ After taking a moment to absorb the shock of Dementieva’s concession, Schiavone repeated the victory celebration she used after knocking off No. 3 Caroline Wozniacki in the quarterfinals, get- ting down on her knees to plant a kiss on the court, leaving a smudge of rust-colored clay on her chin. So how did the dirt taste? ‘‘It was good,’’ she said. ‘‘So good.’’