Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/143531
2B Daily News – Friday, July 12, 2013 NHL Devils star Ilya Kovalchuk retires from NHL NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Star forward Ilya Kovalchuk stunned the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, retiring from the NHL to return to his native Russia. The 30-year-old Kovalchuk walked away from the $77 million that was left on the 15-year contract he signed with New Jersey in 2010, including guaranteed annual salaries of at least $11 million over the next four seasons. The Devils announced the news Thursday afternoon, saying that Kovalchuk alerted Lou Lamoriello, the team's president and general manager, earlier this year that he wanted to return home to Russia with his family after 11 seasons in the NHL. ''This wasn't a decision made by the New Jersey Devils,'' a testy Lamoriello said at the end of a conference call with reporters less than an hour after the retirement was announced. Lamoriello refused to disclose anything about his conversations with Kovalchuk relating to the surprising retirement. He also didn't clarify whether Kovalchuk planned to play in Russia's KHL next season — as is expected — or whether the Devils would retain his rights if he reconsidered his retirement, deferring to the NHL. ''All I know is that he will not be playing here at his desire,'' said Lamoriello, who built the Devils' three Stanley Cup championship teams and had hoped Kovalchuk would be the centerpiece of a fourth. Lamoriello said Kovalchuk's retirement wasn't related to anything physical. The forward had back problems during the 2011-12 season and missed 11 games this year because of a shoulder injury. ''This decision was something I have thought about for a long time going back to the lockout and spending the year in Russia,'' Kovalchuk, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 draft, said in a statement. ''Though I decided to return this past season, Lou was aware of my desire to go back home and have my family there with me. The most difficult thing for me is to leave the New Jersey Devils.'' Kovalchuk was to earn $11.3 million in each of the next two seasons and $56 million over the next five years. Lamoriello said Kovalchuk didn't receive a signing bonus, so the team isn't seeking to recover any money from him. ''I am never surprised about anything that happens in this game today,'' Lamoriello said. The defection means the Devils have lost a top player after each of the past two seasons. Zach Parise signed as a free agent with Minnesota after New Jersey's run to the 2012 Stanley Cup finals. Kovalchuk's exit now deprives the Devils of a star outside of aging goalie Martin Brodeur, who is far from his prime the list included righties David Robertson of the Yankees, Joaquin Benoit (Continued from page 1B) of the Tigers, Koji Uehara of the Red Sox, Tigers manager Jim Leyand Tanner Scheppers of land nominating five the Rangers. middle relievers for the spot. There was some Freeman and Puig fintalk about whether the list should have included ished ahead of San Franmore high-profile play- cisco outfielder Hunter ers, since the All-Star Pence, Washington shortgame is essentially stop Ian Desmond, and Los Angeles first basegeared toward the fans. Delabar won with 9.6 man Adrian Gonzalez. million votes. The righthander is 5-1 with a 1.74 MLB said a record ERA in 37 appearances 79.2 million votes were for the Blue Jays. cast between the two The Braves and Blue leagues, easily cruising Jays had partnered up in past the previous record the process, asking fans of 68.6 million from to vote for each other's 2009. Votes were cast player. through text message, The other players on Twitter and MLB.com. LIGHT CHAMPS MLB (Continued from page 1B) striking out two and getting the final out with a pop up to center. Corning then came to plate in the bottom half of the inning with their heart of the lineup, as the cleanup hitter T. Grines led off with a walk then moved to second on a base hit by O. Garcia. Corning then juiced the bases when J. Caputo reached with his first hit of the night. Then N. Peterson came to bat. On the very first pitch he laced a line drive to left center, sending Grines across for the 8-7 Corning win. Corning moved to the winner's bracket and faced East Redding. Red Bluff moved to the loser's bracket. Corning eventually lost to East Redding and set up the rematch with Red Bluff on Wednesday. However, Red Bluff had to get by Foothill and West Redding. On July 1, Red Bluff's bats exploded with eight runs in the first three innings as the team got some help from Foothill's defense. But the big blow of the game came in the bottom of the fourth when Red Bluff sent twelve men to the plate and scored eight in the inning. Key hits in the inning came from Antolin, D-Bo Kent, Evan Tanner and Michael Chapman. Red Bluff was able to shorten the game based on the 10-run rule after five innings, tallying the 16-2 win and knocking Foothill out of the tournament. Phelps received the complete-game win, pitching five innings and giving up single runs in the first and fifth. In the third game of the week Red Bluff faced West Redding. Behind some great pitching by Koleby Potter and Austin Youngblood, the Red Bluff team was able to hand their Northern foes a 16-8 loss. Although the final score indicates a lopsided win by Red Bluff, the game was very close until the top of the fourth. With the game tied 3-3, Travis Fite came to plate with one out. Fite singled up the middle, Stacy then singled to left. Michael Chapman, with his speed, caused a throwing error on his ground ball to short, scoring Fite. Then with two outs, Phelps plated Stacy and Michael Chapman. Antolin followed with a walk and a single by Tanner gave way to Skjegstad, who singled to right center, scoring Antolin and Youngblood. The final score in the frame came as Taylor Chapman singled passed the second baseman and scored Skjegstad. Red Bluff scored four more in the fifth and added two in the seventh. Foothill was able to score three in the fifth and two of their own in the seventh, but was never able to put together anything bigger. Although Red Bluff was excited about the win and the 32 runs they had put up in the last two games, the team knew it was now going to face a tough Corning team for the second time. With temperatures surpassing 110 degrees during the day, the July 3 night game against Corning was moved to later in the evening. With players, coaches and fans looking forward to the cooler evening start, it was hard to predict that the bats for both teams were going to be cold. The pitching; however, was hot. As Phelps from Red Bluff and Miller from Corning faced off taking their turns on the bump, the defensive game ended up 2-1 in Red Bluff's favor. Red Bluff started off the game just as they did in the first meeting. Michael Chapman reached first on an error, stole second on the very next pitch and the second batter, Youngblood, sacrificed bunts scoring Chapman from second. As baseball great Yogi Berra said, it was deja vu all over again. now that he is 41. Lamoriello wouldn't say whether the team would've done anything different had the Devils known of Kovalchuk's decision before the NHL free-agent signing period began last week. New Jersey lost forward David Clarkson, who signed with Toronto after posting 30 goals during the 2011-12 season and 15 while playing in all 48 games during this lockout-shortened campaign. The Devils did re-sign forward Patrik Elias and added some punch to the lineup by reaching deals last week with free agents Ryane Clowe and Michael Ryder. ''We're going to put the best possible team we can on the ice,'' said Lamoriello, who insisted his main focus is on moving forward. Lamoriello wouldn't say whether the retirement soured him on Kovalchuk's four seasons with the club, but he gave the clear impression that he was miffed. The Devils gave up a lot to get Kovalchuk from Atlanta in 2010 and maybe even more to keep him after he became a free agent following that season. New Jersey sent defenseman Johnny Oduya, then rookie forward Niclas Bergfors and junior prospect Patrice Cormier, and a first-round selection in the 2010 draft to the Thrashers for Kovalchuk and defenseman Anssi Salmela. an organization.'' After days of back-andfourth phone calls, text messages and meetings, doubt started to creep in for both sides. Iguodala also had other offers to consider, and some started to evaporate. The Sacramento Kings pulled a four-year, $52 million deal off the table. Denver made him a frontloaded five-year, $60 million offer, and the Dallas Mavericks also got into the mix. Some of the delay was, in part, because a few teams were waiting on the most coveted free agent — Dwight Howard — to make a decision. Even Iguodala felt the frustration. ''I actually texted Dwight, 'Yo, you're messing me up,''' he said. Myers, who said the team always wanted Iguodala and not Howard, spent more than 16 hours working the phones on July 4 only to come up empty on a trade partner needed to clear salary cap space. Finally on the morning of July 5, Myers found a solution about an hour before Iguodala had to make a decision to go elsewhere for fear of losing another guaranteed offer. Myers struck a deal to clear $24 million in salaries by sending Richard Jefferson, Andris Biedrins and Brandon Rush to the Utah Jazz along with four draft picks, which eventually became part of a three-team, sign-and-trade deal with Denver. ''This was a lesson in perseverance,'' said Myers, sporting a new beard because he had no time to shave. How Iguodala's addition impacts the Warriors won't be known until real games are played. Iguodala, who helped the U.S. capture the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics, spent his first eight years in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers before spending last season with Denver. He has averaged 15.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists in his career and is almost certain to start at small forward. All five starters — Curry, Thompson, Barnes, Lee and Bogut — will be back, meaning Barnes or Thompson will likely be coming off the bench. Myers referred to the roster as having ''six starters'' and said he's eager to see how Jackson blends them all together. For his part, Iguodala said playing time will not be a problem. He already calls many of the Warriors friends and said the team's strong chemistry is what made it so attractive. ''I think we have high-IQ basketball players who all can have a huge impact on any team in the league,'' Iguodala said. ''Any five of those guys can be the man on the team or any team in the league.'' The score would remain 1-0 in favor of Red Bluff until the bottom of the fifth, when Red Bluff scored its final run when Youngblood drew a walk and stole second. Youngblood then moved to second when Potter grounded to the shortstop. Phelps was then hit by a pitch. With runners on the corners and two outs, Red Bluff capitalized on its speed once again. After sending Phelps on the second pitch, Youngblood was able to score on errant throw, giving Red Bluff a 2-0 lead. Corning did not fold and give the game away. In the top of the seventh, Phelps struck out the first two batters; however, as the Red Bluff side of the field eased up a bit, Corning's J. Caputo lined a shot into left, and then moved to second and that brought B. Coleman to the plate. Coleman got a base hit up the middle scoring Caputo and bringing Corning to within the one run to tie. Red Bluff's manager called time and settled his young pitcher down and Phelps came back and struck the final batter on a 3-2 fastball. The win gave Red Bluff the opportunity to move on against the loser of the East Redding and Shasta Dam winner's bracket game. The loss by Corning eliminated last year's District 1 champs. Three wins in a row by Red Bluff was only the beginning. The team knew that if it was to continue and win the tournament, it was only half way done. Red Bluff would have to win three more and the road was not going to get any easier. With the heat in the valley, the winner's bracket game scheduled between undefeated East Redding and Shasta Dam on Tuesday was moved to Friday night. Red Bluff would have to wait until Friday to find out who they were going to face Saturday afternoon. When Red Bluff drove in just before noon on Saturday, it saw the familiar Black and Gold of East Redding. East Redding always produces competitive teams. The 11-12 year-old East Redding Little League squad had just captured Big League titles at Volonte Park. East Redding was looking for the sweep but Red Bluff had other plans. East Redding struck first, scoring immediately off Red Bluff's starting pitcher Antolin when leadoff hitter C. Reynolds hit the first pitch of the game into left field for a leadoff single and eventually scored on an error. Then in the second, East Redding was able to get their second run when the leadoff batter walked and scored on a wild pitch after stealing second and getting to third on the first wild pitch. Down 2-0 until the bottom of the fourth, the Red Bluff line up was gaining momentum as East Redding began to platoon their pitchers. Red Bluff was finally able to get comfortable at the plate and scored three in the bottom of the fourth. After walks to Tanner, Youngblood and Fite to start the bottom half of the inning, Michael Chapman came to plate and lined a double to the right center gap, scoring all three Red Bluff base runners to take the lead. Each team traded a run in the fifth inning, and in the top of the sixth East Redding got hot. The team scored three runs and took a two run lead with only six outs remaining for Red Bluff. But the boys from Red Bluff, in their royal blue uniforms, were not down. They came out in the bottom half of the inning and sent eleven batters to plate, scoring eight and taking a commanding six run lead. With one out, the next eight batters Red Bluff sent to the plate reached base and scored. With a six run lead, Tanner, who relieved Antolin, came in and closed out the game by getting the first two batters to ground out and getting the final batter to fly out to center. Red Bluff prevailed, 12-6, and put itself into the championship game against undefeated Shasta Dam. Sunday morning greeted Red Bluff to some cooler weather and the opportunity to win the District 1 title. However, a very tough and confident Shasta Dam team was ready for their challenger. Red Bluff; however, jumped out of the gates once again and scored the first run of the game just as they did in the games before. The speed of Michael Chapman allowed him to steal second and third after he singled in his very first at bat. Chapman then scored when Youngblood grounded to third. Shasta Dam tied the game in the top of the third as both pitchers, Phelps from Red Bluff and Hughes of Shasta Dam, settled into their power games. Red Bluff scored the final and decisive run in bottom of the fourth when Phelps helped his cause by singling to right center. He then stole second and was moved to third on a fielder's choice by Branden Mason. Mason's contact turned out to be huge at bat as Phelps then scored on a passed ball, giving Red Bluff a 2-1 lead. In the top half of the fifth, Shasta Dam got a runner to third base, but Phelps was able to shut Shasta Dam down as great defensive plays from Youngblood, Potter and Stacy eliminated the threat. Phelps then cruised through the sixth and seventh, securing the win and giving Red Bluff a shot for the title. After the game the Red Bluff coaching staff gathered the team and reminded it that the goal was to win six in a row. After Red Bluff lost the first game to Corning ten days earlier, it had to win the next six to be champs. The final game of the tournament was scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at Volonte Park. With stands filling up with more than 100 Red Bluff supporters, the boys took the field knowing a win would give them a birth into the Sec- tion 2 tournament to be held in Quincy. (Continued from page 1B) With Tanner on the mound for Red Bluff, the leadoff hitter from Shasta Dam, C. Hughes, reached on an error and then advanced to third on two wild pitches. He then scored when cleanup hitter J. Orozco lined a double to right field; however, Orozco was thrown out at third when Phelps sent a one hop throw to Skjegstad, who was waiting to put the tag down. Although Shasta Dam drew blood first, the out at third sparked Red Bluff. In the bottom of the second, Antolin lead off with a single, but was picked off as the coaches were a little too aggressive. However, Youngblood and Tanner came back with consecutive singles and each stole a base to set up second and third with two outs. That was when Michael Chapman doubled to left center, scoring both Youngblood and Tanner and giving the Red Bluff juniors a 2-1 lead. With the lead in hand and the championship within reach, Red Bluff put the final touches to a great week of baseball by scoring nine runs in the bottom of the third while sending a total of 16 batters to the plate. Eight of the nine batters in the lineup scored with Potter being plated twice in the inning. With the 111 lead in hand, Tanner completed the five-inning mercy rule shortened game on the mound by shutting down a very powerful Shasta Dam line up and blanking them in the fourth and fifth. With their sixth win in a row, the Red Bluff junior All-Stars team were named the 2013 District 1 champions. Red Bluff will now travel to Quincy to compete in the Section 2 Championships to be held at "The Nest" at Feather River College. Red Bluff will face the District 2 champs, Peach Bowl, on Saturday at 3 p.m.