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1B Sports Tehama Tracker Monday's results Tuesday July 23, 2013 MLB Athletics 4 Houston 3 OAK — Reddick 1-3, 2 RBI HOU — Carter 1-4, 1 RBI SWIMMING Tritons earn 2nd at Anderson Invite Cincinnati LATE Giants Today's games MLB Athletics Houston CSNC 5:10 p.m. OAK — Parker HOU — Cosart Cincinnati Giants CSNB 4:05 p.m. CIN — Surkamp SF — Reynolds On the tube AUTO RACING 4 p.m. SPEED — NASCAR, Truck Series, practice for Mudsummer Classic, at Rossburg, Ohio MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 5 p.m. MLB — Regional coverage, N.Y. Yankees at Texas or Detroit at Chicago White Sox 6:30 p.m. WGN — Chicago Cubs at Arizona WNBA BASKETBALL 4 p.m. ESPN2 — New York at Indiana NFL, players talking about HGH testing By BARRY WILNER AP Pro Football Writer The NFL and players union are talking again about getting a test in place for human growth hormone as early as the upcoming season. An email obtained by The Associated Press from the NFL Players Association indicates that the league and the NFLPA have jointly hired a doctor to conduct a study on NFL players to determine a good threshold for a positive HGH test. The email was sent by the union to players, in part to explain that the study requires them to have blood drawn during their physical when training camp begins. The email said the blood samples will only be used for the study. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the discussions are focused ''on a full resolution of any remaining issues, including the role of a population study.'' The labor agreement that ended the NFL lockout in 2011 requires the league gain union approval before testing players for HGH. The union says it favors testing, but has reservations about the appeals process. The union also has reservations about the way discipline will be handed out, and wants to collectively bargain that issue. Supplemental HGH is a banned substance that is hard to detect and used by athletes for what are believed to be a variety of benefits, whether real or only perceived — such as increasing speed and improving vision. Among the health problems connected to HGH are diabetes, cardiac dysfunction and arthritis. In the union's email, it told the players that Dr. Alan Rogol has been jointly hired by the NFLPA and NFL to oversee the study and supervise two jointly retained biostatisticians. One of those biostatisticians, Donald Berry, will design the study protocol and conduct the analysis. The second will independently review both the protocol and the analysis. In January, Major League Baseball and the players agreed to HGH blood testing throughout the regular season and to have a World Anti-Doping Agency laboratory in Canada keep records of each player. Special to the DN The Red Bluff Tritons swimming team took 32 swimmers to a meet hosted by the Anderson Aquagators at West Valley High School, where the Tritons took home a second-place trophy over the weekend. Nearly 200 swimmers participated in the meet and the Tritons also earned 11 individual trophies for swimmers earning high points for their age group. The Tritons racked up 136 points on Friday afternoon after 13 out of 18 swimmers finished in the top eight for their age group. Red Bluff continued to increase its score on Saturday by adding an additional 531 points from 22 out of 27 swimmers. The Tritons' 8-under boys medley relay team won first in the race, and medley relay teams from the 13-18 girls, 13-18 boys, 11-12 boys, and 8under girls each took home second-place honors. The Tritons finished strong on Sunday by collecting a grand total of 1,059 points, which was enough for a secondplace team trophy behind Anderson. Weaverville finished third with 502 points. The Tritons' Samara Robinson, Joslyn Shults, and Ethan Williams snagged first-place tro- Courtesy photo Claire Tobin swims at the Anderson Aquagators Invitational over the weekend. She won first place in all three of her events on Sunday, which included the 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and 50 freestyle. phies. Robinson finished at the top in eight of her nine races against 15- to 16-year-old girls and totaled 78 points. Shults had a splashtastic weekend, winning all eight races in the 6-under girls category. Shults also broke pool records for the 25 fly, 25 freestyle, 50 breaststroke and 50 backstroke. Williams finished in the top three in seven out of eight of his races to earn himself a first-place trophy in the 8-under boys category. Julia Bellon, Jasmine Atencio, Micah Jackson, Cathleen Tobin, Kristina Tobin and Joshua Jack- MLB son collected secondplace trophies for their age group. Bellon held top three finishes in six of her seven events during the weekend meet. Atencio had a spectacular weekend, participating in 10 events. She swam a 500-yard freestyle race for the first time, and finished sixth. She improved her 100yard breaststroke by one minute, and earned a "BB" time for her 50 freestyle. Micah Jackson finished in the top five in eight events for his second-place overall position for the 8-under boys. See TRITON, page 2B Athletics 4, Astros 3 Reddick lifts Oakland with 2-run homer ''We commend Ryan Braun for taking responsibility for his past actions,'' said Rob Manfred, MLB's executive vice president for economics and league affairs. ''We all agree that it is in the best interests of the game to resolve this matter. When Ryan returns, we look forward to him making positive contributions to Major League Baseball, both on and off the field.'' Union head Michael Weiner said in a statement: ''I am deeply gratified to see Ryan taking this bold step. It vindicates the rights of all players under the joint drug program. It is good for the game that Ryan will return soon to continue his great work both on and off the field.'' Braun's acceptance of a suspension marks a 180-degree turnaround from his defiant spring training news conference in Phoenix last year, after his 50-game ban was overturned. ''We won,'' he said then, ''because the truth is on my side. The truth is always relevant, and at the end of the day, the truth prevailed.'' Braun became the latest star tripped up by baseball's drug rules. The sport was criticized for allowing bulked up sluggers to set power records in the 1990s and only started testing in 2003. Since then, testing and penalties have become more stringent and last year San Francisco's Melky Cabrera was suspended for 50 games, just weeks after he was voted MVP of the All-Star game. HOUSTON (AP) — Josh Reddick put Oakland on top with a two-run homer in the eighth inning and the Athletics remained perfect this season against the Houston Astros with a 4-3 victory Monday night. Chris Young hit a solo homer for the A's, who are 10-0 against their new AL West foes this season and 15-1 alltime. The Astros have lost six straight overall. Houston took an early 3-0 lead thanks in part to Oakland tying a season high with three errors. Young's shot cut the lead to one in the seventh before Reddick's drive to right field off Wesley Wright (0-4) made it 4-3. Young also tripled for another big game in his hometown. Three of Young's nine homers this season have come at Minute Maid Park, and he's hit eight home runs with 30 RBIs in 22 career games in Houston. Ryan Cook (3-2) pitched a perfect seventh for the win and Grant Balfour did the same in the ninth for his 26th save. Balfour has converted his last 44 chances dating to last season, an Oakland record. Chris Carter drove in a run for Houston and shortstop Jonathan Villar singled, scored and had a stolen base in his major league debut. Oakland starter Tommy Milone allowed five hits and three runs — two earned — in six innings. Dallas Keuchel yielded five hits and a run with five strikeouts in six innings for Houston. Justin Maxwell doubled to start the Houston second and stole second base. Maxwell scored and J.D. Martinez reached on an error by shortstop Jed Lowrie to make it 1-0. Villar got his first major league hit with a bunt single in the third. Villar, who stole 31 bases in Triple-A this season, quickly swiped second. Carter's single to center scored Villar to extend the lead to 2-0. Carter scored on an error by second baseman Grant Green when he couldn't make the catch on a routine fly. Josh Donaldson got to second on a two-base error by Astros third baseman Matt Dominguez in the fourth and advanced to third on a groundout. Keuchel then walked Derek Norris, but retired the next two batters to end the threat. Keuchel struck out the first two batters of the fifth inning before a triple by Chris Young. He left Young stranded when he fanned Lowrie to end the inning. Donaldson singled to start the sixth before a double down the right-field line by Nate Freiman. Reddick drew a walk with one out to load the bases, and a sacrifice fly by Green got Oakland within 3-1. Keuchel escaped the inning when he struck out Seth Smith. NOTES: The series continues Tuesday when Houston's top pitching prospect, Jarred Cosart (1-0), will be recalled See BRAUN, page 2B See A'S, page 2B AP photo Former National League MVP Ryan Braun was suspended by Major League Baseball Monday for the rest of the season and postseason for drug violations. Braun banned for season NEW YORK (AP) — Former National League MVP Ryan Braun was suspended without pay for the rest of the season and the postseason Monday, the first penalty from baseball's investigation of players reportedly tied to a Florida clinic accused of distributing performance-enhancing drugs. The Milwaukee Brewers star accepted the 65-game penalty, 15 games more than the one he avoided last year when an arbitrator overturned his positive test for elevated testosterone because the urine sample had been improperly handled. ''I am not perfect. I realize now that I have made some mistakes. I am willing to accept the consequences of those actions,'' he said in a statement. Braun, injured Yankees star Alex Rodriguez and more than a dozen players were targeted by MLB following a report by Miami New Times in January that they had been connected with Biogenesis of America, a now-closed anti-aging clinic. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig announced the penalty Monday, citing Braun for multiple unspecified ''violations'' of baseball's drug program and labor contract. Braun will miss the Milwaukee Brewers' final 65 games without pay, costing him about $3 million of his $8.5 million salary. Under the agreement reached by MLB and the players' association the specifics of Braun's admission won't be made public. The sides also wouldn't say whether this counted as a single violation or more under baseball's drug agreement.