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2B Daily News – Wednesday, August 7, 2013 NASCAR 49ERS Tony Stewart has surgery following Iowa crash Williams makes strides as nose tackle KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (AP) — Tony Stewart underwent successful surgery Tuesday to repair the broken right tibia and fibula suffered in a sprint car race in Iowa. Stewart will need a second surgery and remains hospitalized. There was no timetable for his return for the three-time Sprint Cup champion, who has wrecked three times in the last month while competing in extracurricular races. ''I told someone to go get my phone or else I was going to get up and get it myself,'' Stewart said Tuesday on a Facebook post. ''Finally got reconnected to the world and just want to say thank you for all the prayers and well wishes. My team will remain strong and I will be back.'' Stewart-Haas racing named Max Papis as the substitute driver in the No. 14 for Sunday's NASCAR race at Watkins Glen. Papis has made 35 career Sprint Cup starts. Stewart is a five-time winner at the road course at Watkins Glen. The 42-year-old Stewart was leading the 30-lap feature in a 360 winged sprint car with five laps remaining when a lapped car spun in Turn 4 and collected Stewart and two others. The sprint car accident Monday night came a day after Stewart finished ninth in the NASCAR race at Pocono Raceway. He's 11th in the Sprint Cup standings with five races to go until the Chase for the Championship field is set. Stewart took responsibility for triggering a roughly 10-car accident at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Motorsports Park on July 16 in which 19-year-old Alysha Ruggles suffered a broken vertebra in her back. Last Monday, in a sprint car race at Ohsweken Speedway in Ontario, Stewart rolled his car five times but walked away. He stayed at the track to compete in the World of Outlaws race the next night and bristled at the NASCAR event at Pocono Raceway last weekend when asked about his harrowing incident in Canada. ''You mortals have got to learn, you guys need to watch more sprint car videos and stuff,'' he said Friday at Pocono. ''It was not a big deal. It's starting to get annoying this week about that. That was just an average sprint car wreck. When they wreck, they get upside down like that.'' Stewart also gave an impassioned defense of sprint car racing in June following the death of WOODS (Continued from page 1B) a smile. Even so, he conceded that the 15th major has been tougher to get than he would have imagined. So much has transpired since that U.S. Open playoff victory at Torrey Pines in 2008 — reconstructive surgery on his left knee that wiped out the rest of the 2008 season; revelations of multiple extramarital affairs at the end of 2009 that led to divorce and cost him millions in corporate endorsements; more injuries that forced him to skip two majors in 2011. The very thing that irritates him about his recent record in the majors is what gives him hope — he keeps giving himself opportunities. ''I've had my opportunities there on the back nine on probably half of those Sundays for the last five years, where I've had a chance and just haven't won it,'' Woods said. ''But the key is to keep giving myself chances, and eventually I'll start getting them.'' The traditional, treelined East Course at Oak Hill can present the appearance of Firestone, where Woods won for the eighth time last week. The difference is CURL (Continued from page 1B) already had a height advantage. "I thought, 'Man, this young lady is going to be tall,'" he said, adding that he'd connected with Curl and her family through the years as they traveled to and near Rocklin, which is about a two-hour drive south of Red Bluff. "I guess you could say I've been recruiting her for four years," he said. Boggs said Curl's height, reach and footwork makes her an attractive athletic package. Jamie Ingram, the head good friend Jason Leffler, who was killed in an accident at Bridgeport Speedway in Swedesboro, N.J. ''I'd be grateful if you guys would understand that what happened this week wasn't because somebody didn't do something right with the race track. It was an accident. Just like if you go out and there's a car crash. It's an accident,'' Stewart said days after Leffler's death. ''Nobody as a track owner wants to go through what happened, but it's not due to a lack of effort on their part to try to make their facilities as safe as possible under the conditions they have.'' Stewart left Joe Gibbs Racing to own his own team, in part so he could continue to race when he wanted. Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J Foyt, Stewart's childhood open-wheel hero, told The Associated Press he respected Stewart for being a true ''racer.'' ''He ain't no prima donna and life is short, and we don't know how we are going to die or what's going to happen,'' Foyt said. ''I just hate to see anybody badmouth Tony for anything he's doing, and if they are, they are just jealous. People saying he's putting his businesses at risk? I had three dealerships, people respected me. ''If they are worrying about their jobs and him getting hurt, what's to say he won't have a heart attack tomorrow and die?'' Foyt said. ''He might die and it might not be from racing. I had business and I still raced. I always said I am going to continue racing until I don't want to race anymore and he's the same way.'' Stewart has refused to give up his weeknight racing, even if it put his Cup season at risk. Race winner Brian Brown told the Des Moines Register he saw Monday's accident in front of him. ''It looked like he got into a lapped car,'' Brown told The Register. ''When I got close, he was flipping cage down. I didn't really have time to watch and see what was going on. '' On Sunday, veteran sprint car driver Kramer Williamson died from injuries suffered during a qualifying race at Lincoln Speedway in central Pennsylvania. Williamson, 63, was pronounced dead at York Hospital from serious injuries suffered in a crash that occurred Saturday night during the United Racing Company 358/360 Sprint Car Challenge. the greens on the Donald Ross design, which tend to slope severely to the front. The rough is thicker than usual, not nearly as severe as Merion, but enough to get players' attention to hit whatever club his necessary off the tee to keep it in the short grass. Woods tied for 39th and never broke par when the PGA Championship was last held at Oak Hill in 2003, though that's a pretty small sample to argue if this course suits him. Remember, he was finishing his first full year without a swing coach. And while he won five times that year, Woods won only one tournament over the last six months. He is back to No. 1 in the world by a mile. He is the favorite at every major, even though he's gone 17 majors without winning. He is the center of attention, and that only ramps up when he arrives fresh off a sevenshot win. ''I think Tiger is a factor no matter what — even coming in not with that kind of form,'' Masters champion Adam Scott said. ''He's been up there in majors recently and just has not finished it off. But, obviously, he put it all together last week at a venue he's extremely comfortable with, so I don't know that Tiger's confidence is ever really down. It's hard to imagine when you've won 80 times or something. He's obviously going to be feeling good about where his game is at. ''But this week is a new challenge, as it is for everyone,'' Scott said. ''And we all start from the same point on Thursday.'' It's not getting any easier at the majors. For the first time in 25 years, the major champions were three players who were among the top 10 in the world — Scott at the Masters, Justin Rose at the U.S. Open and Phil Mickelson at the British Open. ''I think that having Tiger win last week is great because I can't remember the last time somebody won the week before a major and then went on and won,'' Mickelson said, waiting for the room to catch up to his wisecrack. That would be Mickelson, who won the Scottish Open the week before his British Open win. Woods had been the last player to do that — an eight-shot win at the Bridgestone Invitational in 2007, followed by the PGA Championship at Southern Hills. This will be the 20th time that Woods goes into a major having won in his previous tourna- ment. And while he has won four of those majors — the U.S. Open in 2000, Masters in 2001 and PGA Championship in 2006 and 2007 — only Mickelson (five) and Ernie Els (four) from his generation have won that many majors in a career. volleyball coach at the university, agreed. "When you start the class off with such a strong athlete, with such a strong person of moral character, with such a talented and just great young lady it really sets the foundation for the whole class," Ingram said. "So I'm really excited to have her kind of be our franchise player in what we're looking for out of that 2014 class." William Jessup University is a Christian school of about 1,200 students. Its teams, which are also nicknamed the Warriors, are affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and play in the California Pacific Conference. It was announced in June that the university will play in the Golden State Athletic Conference beginning in the 2014-15 season. Curl, also a decorated equestrian athlete, said she plans to major in business and minor in communications. She looks forward to earning a master's in education as well. "I want to be a horse trainer," Curl said. "And with a business degree I can accomplish my dreams." Curl's longtime friend and basketball coach, John Wheeler, who Curl said has been vital to her athlet- ic growth since she was in fifth grade, said the Jessup-bound star will reach new heights after "working her tail off" putting in time and sweat. "To see her realize all this success," Wheeler said, "I'm so happy for her because I think this also helped her realize how good she actually is and how good she can become. She's not done growing. She's going to become better and better." As the ink dried on her letter of intent, Curl can now look forward to being a captain on Mercy High's volleyball team, which has hopes of repeating as section champions. Of greater concern is that Woods is 0-for-7 dating to that PGA title at Southern Hills. ''Having him back, having him play well, having him win like he's won this year is great for the game of golf,'' Mickelson said. ''And the work that he's been doing with Sean Foley has been noticeable and been paying off and he's not having the shots that he's had for a few years. He's playing solid and he played great last week. ''I think it's also great for the game to see guys the like Adam Scott and Justin Rose to come out and win major championships early on — guys that have incredible games and now have won golf 's biggest events,'' he added. ''That just makes it exciting because we have a number of players that can really create a lot of interest in this final major championship.'' SANTA CLARA (AP) — As devastated as Ian Williams felt two years ago when he went undrafted out of Notre Dame, he can now look back on that moment and realize how much the rejection meant to his career. He landed with the San Francisco 49ers, and is the leading candidate to win the starting nose tackle job for the NFC champions as he begins his third NFL season. ''It hurt, but looking back at it, it was probably the best situation that could have ever happened,'' Williams said after a recent practice. ''I was a young kid, expecting this, expecting that. It kind of put me back to my place, and coming here and getting back to work really propelled me to where I am now. ''I lost sight of the goal that I set. Drastic things usually get you back on track.'' The expectations for Williams are high heading into the team's exhibition opener Thursday night at home in Candlestick Park against Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. San Francisco lost both its starter and backup at the position to free agency this spring, leaving Williams and veteran newcomer lineman Glenn Dorsey to push each other in training camp — yet Williams has more experience. Dorsey could spend some time at defensive end, too. Williams prepared himself for this opportunity by losing 25 pounds from his previous playing weight during the offseason, bringing him down to 305 and right where he hopes to stay this season. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has noticed an improvement in Williams' agility and quick step off the snap. ''I can feel a great difference. We haven't been in a game yet, but just being out in practice and working out here just really got me ready and going against our O-line the past two years has really gotten me ready for what I have in front of me,'' Williams said. ''Toward the end of the season it gets cold out here and it's hard to sweat and you're still eating two or three times a day, so it's hard to lose weight. Then the offseason came and I worked hard, I stayed here.'' To this day, Fangio can't point to exactly why Williams wasn't drafted. Perhaps his 6-foot-1 height caused NFL teams to shy away. ''Every year you see that happen. Why wasn't he drafted at least in the seventh round the year he came out? I don't know,'' Fangio said. ''I don't know if there were some questions about his work habits. Obviously, he's on the short side as most D-linemen go. I don't have a good answer for you there. Trust me, he should have been drafted.'' Williams, with shoulder-length braids, has played in four games total. That hasn't kept the 49ers from believing he is ready to take on a starting role. And Williams always stayed upbeat as he paid his dues buried on the depth chart and regularly inactive for game days during his first two seasons. ''It was vital to where I am right now,'' he said. ''Just coming into a good situation and having a veteran crew around me and guys who really took me under their wing and taught me even though I was coming in to compete at the position, I really came into a great situation.'' In March, that situation became even better when Williams received a two-year contract extension carrying him through the 2015 season. That vote of confidence meant a lot to Williams, who has seven career tackles as he approaches his 24th birthday later this month. ''I really wasn't worried about getting paid for the contact. It just showed me that I had to get back to work and work even harder,'' he said. SLUMP (Continued from page 1B) out there, you want to throw zeroes. It could have been worse, could have been a lot better.'' The A's made their first visit to Great American Ball Park — opened in 2003 — hoping to break out of their offensive slump in a hitter-friendly place. The A's are only 89 since the All-Star break. Heading into the interleague series, the A's were batting .218 in their last 20 games, getting blanked four times. They were coming off a 4-0 loss to Texas on Sunday. The A's stranded runners in scoring position in the first, third, fifth and eighth innings, setting themselves up for another bad night. Coco Crisp tripled over first base with one out in the third but failed to score as the next two batters popped out. Their best chance came in the fifth, when they loaded the bases on Vogt's single, second baseman Brandon Phillips' error and a walk. Yoenis Cespedes grounded into a forceout. Cincinnati didn't get much offense, either, but this time it was enough. Bruce led off the sec- ond inning with a drive to left. Phillips singled home another run in the fourth, which was Straily's final inning. He failed to last five innings for the third start in a row and for the seventh time in 18 starts overall this season. Shin-Soo Choo led off the fifth with a double off left-hander Jerry Blevins and came around when the reliever fielded Derrick Robinson's bunt and threw wildly to first for an error. NOTES: Oakland is 13-6 in interleague play, Cincinnati 7-9. The A's swept their two-game series in Oakland. ... Reddick was hitless in four atbats, leaving him in an 0for-16 slump. ... Eric Sogard extended his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games. ... The Reds plan to activate RH reliever Jonathan Broxton off the DL before Wednesday's game. C Ryan Hanigan (wrist) and LF Ryan Ludwick (shoulder) are expected back by the end of the week. ... RHP Bartolo Colon tries for his 15th victory on Wednesday, facing Cincinnati's Homer Bailey (6-10). Colon has gone at least six innings and allowed three runs or fewer in his last 15 starts, the longest streak by an Athletics pitcher since at least 1916.