Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/18261
2B – Daily News – Saturday, October 23, 2010 Rangers headed to World Series New York 1 Texas 6 Game 6 TEX4-2 ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Nelson Cruz rocketed a drive deep into the Texas night, and soon it was time for the Rangers to really go wild — and straight to their first World Series. The celebration was a half-century in the making. ‘‘The World Series is coming to Texas,’’ said Michael Young, the longest-tenured Ranger in his 10th season. ‘‘These fans have waited longer than we have. I know how bad we wanted it and they must have wanted it more.’’ Texas clinched its first pennant with a 6-1 victory over the defending World Series champion New York Yankees in Game 6 of the AL championship series Friday night for the biggest victory in the franchise’s 50 seasons. Vladimir Guerrero, going to baseball’s biggest stage for the first time in his 15 major league seasons, drove in three runs before scoring on Cruz’s homer in the fifth that sent a rollicking crowd of 51,404 into a red frenzy. When Alex Rodriguez took a called third strike to end the game, fire- works exploded in the sky high above, confetti filled the air and the Rangers embraced each other near the mound. ‘‘Totally worth the wait, totally,’’ Young said. Having A-Rod standing at the plate for the game-ending out and beating the Yankees made it even more satisfying for fans deep in the heart of Texas. The Yankees, with their 27 World Series titles and 40 pennants, had knocked Texas out of the playoffs in each of the club’s three previous appearances. And Rodriguez was one the largest unsecured creditors owed money by the Rangers in a messy bankruptcy case this summer before a group led by Nolan Ryan and Chuck Greenberg bought the team from Tom Hicks in an auction. A-Rod was owned about $25 million in deferred compensa- tion for his three seasons (2001-03) when Texas finished last in the AL West each time. The Rangers, who had never won a postseason series or a home playoff game before this year, dispatched the $200 million-plus Bronx Bombers with little drama — especially after that four-run outburst in the fifth snapped a 1-all tie. ‘‘We didn’t accomplish what we set out to. And as I told my guys, this hurts,’’ Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. ‘‘I’ve been through it as a player. I’ve been through it as a coach and now I’ve been through it as a manager. It’s not a lot of fun watching other teams celebrate. They beat us. They outhit us, they outpitched us, outplayed us and they beat us.’’ Colby Lewis dominated over eight innings for his second win of the series and Josh Hamilton earned the ALCS MVP award. And in a state where most sports fans gear up for fall weekends by watching high school football, the Rangers gave a new meaning to Friday Night Lights. Rangers icon Ryan, the Hall of Fame pitcher who is the team president, embraced his wife in the front row before going on the field to join the club. ‘‘Our fans have waited a long time, this organization has waited a long time,’’ Ryan said. ‘‘This team coming out of spring training was on a mission.’’ Hamilton, who homered four times in the series, admit- ted he shed a tear in center field right before the final out. ‘‘We are here as a group. This group is here because they don’t know how to fail,’’ Hamilton said. Moments after closer Neftali Feliz fanned Rodriguez for the final out, a flag proclaiming the Texas as the AL cham- pion flapped above the ballpark. The Rangers celebrated on the field with ginger ale in deference to Hamilton’s well- documented substance abuse problems. Players dumped the contents of a water cooler on fourth- year manager Ron Washington, who in the summer of the 2009 wasn’t even sure he’d keep his job after admitting to using cocaine once. But Ryan and general manager Jon Daniels stuck by Washington then and again last spring when the story became public. Cliff Lee was waiting if need- ed by the Rangers for a deciding Game 7 against the Yan- kees. Now the ace left-hander can rest up for Game 1 of the World Series, on Wednesday night in either San Francisco or Philadelphia. The Giants lead the NLCS 3-2. The Rangers outplayed the Yankees in every facet. Along with their slugging, they showed off something Ryan has brought them — a culture where pitching rules, and starters expect to go deep into games. A championship is quite a feat for the franchise that began in 1961 as the expansion Wash- ington Senators and moved to Texas in 1972 with Ted Williams as their manager. By reaching the World Series in the franchise’s 50th sea- son, the last 39 in Texas, it marks the longest it has taken a club to get there for the first time. Montreal/Washington (42 seasons) and Seattle (34) haven’t yet made it. Ryan, whose only World Series as a player came for the 1969 New York Mets, was presented with the AL championship trophy after spending much of the game standing, clapping and hollering along with the rest of the raucous crowd. Fans rarely sat in the final innings, cheering wildly with each strike and screaming for every out that got their beloved team — the one that had the fewest wins in the regular season among the eight playoff teams — closer to the World Series. Chants of ‘‘Colby!, Colby!, Colby!’’ filled the air for the pitcher back with his original team after pitching the last two seasons in Japan, where he fully expected to finish his career before returning to Texas last winter. ‘‘I got a little too overamped when they were saying my name. It was really, really cool,’’ Lewis said. ‘‘I’m speech- less. I never thought I’d be in this position.’’ Before going the full five games in the AL division series this season to beat Tampa Bay for their first-ever postseason series victory, the Rangers had been knocked out of the play- offs by New York in 1996, 1998 and 1999. Young Kings seek more improvement in 10-11 Sacramento Kings SACRAMENTO (AP) — The Sacra- mento Kings hope to have something sub- stantial to play for at the end of this season rather than the individual milestone that cre- ated that misplaced pomp and circumstance last April. As the Kings wrapped up the home schedule in a fourth straight season without a playoff bid, the team tried to create some late-season drama around Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans’ quest to join an exclu- sive club. With a year of experience behind him, an improved jump shot and the addition of rookie center DeMarcus Cousins, Evans feels much bigger team goals could be attainable this season. ‘‘Yeah, I think it’s possible,’’ Evans said. ‘‘We were pretty close last year in the first quarter of the season and then fell apart. We just have to learn to close out games.’’ The play of Evans was the biggest devel- opment in Sacramento since the days Chris Webber, Vlade Divac, Mike Bibby and Peja Stojakovic made the franchise a title con- tender last decade. Evans beat out Stephen Curry as the top rookie last season after joining Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan and LeBron James as the only first-year players to aver- age at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists a game. He joined that elite club in the second-to- last game of the season. When he got within two points of clinching a 20 point per game average, music played and the fans stood and cheered every time he touched the ball, hoping he would do it at home. He missed eight straight shots that would have given him the milestone before finally making two free throws to get there. It was a bizarre scene for a franchise that only a handful of years ago had much more important things to worry about leading into the playoffs. Even with the potentially talented inside- outside duo of Evans and Cousins, the Kings still have work to do to become a contender in the power-packed Western Conference. They need to find more consistent out- side shooting, cut down on turnovers and play better interior defense. One thing not lacking is confidence. ‘‘We have a lot of expectations,’’ forward Jason Thompson said. ‘‘We are obviously still kind of like the underdog, but we kind of like that. Usually, when teams have high expectations things don’t go as well and they can have trouble. But for us, the high expec- tations are obvious that we are trying to make the playoffs and get back to how Sacramento used to be.’’ The Kings showed signs of ending that drought with a 13-14 start. They then lost 20 of 23 games and went on to a 25-57 record in coach Paul Westphal’s first season with the team. That rough stretch began with a pair of overtime losses to Cleveland and the Lakers, and also included a buzzer-beater by Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles as the young Kings struggled to close out games. ‘‘We definitely need to get better and get a couple of more wins especially in the games where we lost by one or two points,’’ guard Beno Udrih said. ‘‘I mean I think there were 20 games like that. We have to learn from last year. At times we came into the games and it was like we have this one, but we basically lost. Those are little things but we have to get better if we want to win a couple more games.’’ The Kings hope a full season from for- ward Carl Landry, the addition of veteran defensive center Samuel Dalembert and more experience from the young players will allow that to happen. ‘‘By what I can see now, we got the shooters, we got the guys who can slash, we can run the floor, and we got the tenacity,’’ Dalembert said. ‘‘All I think we need more is the leadership and discipline and we will be all right.’’ Golden State gears up for all kinds of change Golden State Warriors OAKLAND (AP) — So much is new right now for the Golden State Warriors. Aggressive new owners. A new retro logo. A young, energetic new coach who has waited nearly a decade for this chance. A handful of new faces on the roster expected to make an imme- diate impact. Most notably: David Lee. Along with some of the familiar, old go-to guys in Monta Ellis, Rookie of the Year runner-up Stephen Curry and Andris Biedrins. There is refreshed opti- mism around this franchise to say the least. Keith Smart finally gets his chance as an NBA head coach after seven seasons as a Warriors assistant, taking over for the departed Don Nelson. Those are big shoes to fill considering Nellie is the NBA’s winningest coach ever. Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, who bought the club for a record $450 million in July from longtime owner Chris Cohan, certainly will want to see strides soon from a team that has reached the playoffs just once since 1994 — in an NCAA Saturday’s Top 25 games No.3 Okla.at No.18 Missouri, 5 p.m., ABC No. 4 TCU vs. Air Force, 5 p.m. No.5 Auburn vs.No.6 LSU, 12:30 p.m., CBS No.7 Alabama at Tennessee, 4 p.m., ESPN No.8 Mich.St at Northwestern, 9 a.m., ESPN No.9 Utah vs. Colorado State, 3 p.m. No.10 Wis.at No.13 Iowa, 12:30 p.m., ABC No. 11 Ohio State vs. Purdue, 9 a.m. No. 12 Stanford vs.Washington St., 2 p.m. No.14 Nebraska at No.17 Okla.St., 12:30 p.m. No.15 Arizona vs.Wash., 7:15 p.m., ESPN No.19 South Carolina at Vanderbilt, 4 p.m. No.20 West Vir.vs.Syracuse, 9 a.m., ESPN2 No.21 Arkansas vs.Ole Miss 9:21 a.m., CSNC No.22 Texas vs.Iowa State, 9 a.m.., CSNB No. 23 Virginia Tech vs.Duke, 9 a.m. No. 24 Mississippi State vs.UAB, 4 p.m. No.25 Miami vs.N.Car., 4:30 p.m., ESPN2 Saturday’s other televised games Notre Dame vs.Navy at East Rutherford, N.J., 9 a.m., CBS Arizona State at California, 12:30 p.m., CSNB Georgia Tech at Clemson, 12:30 p.m., ESPN Texas A&M at Kansas, 4 p.m., CSNB improbable run to the sec- ond round in 2007. Their boldest move yet was letting Nelson go last month, which meant paying his $6 million salary for this season. Now, it’s Smart’s turn to try to turn around this long- time losing franchise for good. Golden State has struggled to compete in the loaded Western Confer- ence, though it regularly plays tight games with a chance to win until the final buzzer. Smart replaces a man in Nelson who earned a record 1,335 victories in 31 sea- sons. ‘‘Don Nelson told me, ’I got you in position where I think you should be — the head coach of the Golden State Warriors,’’’ Smart said. The Warriors were sec- ond in the NBA at 108.8 points per game, but allowed opponents an aver- age of 112.4. Ellis averaged a career-best 25.5 points and 5.3 assists to lead the way. Smart will move from Nelson’s guard-oriented ‘‘small ball’’ style in favor of more balance and better MLB NLCS Best-of-7 San Francisco leads series 3-2 Game 1:San Francisco 4, Philadelphia 3 Game 2:Philadelphia 6, San Francisco 1 Game 3:San Francisco 3, Philadelphia 0 Game 4:San Francisco 6, Philadelphia 5 Game 5:Philadelphia 4, San Francisco 2 Game 6 Saturday San Francisco (Sanchez 13-9) at Phila.(Oswalt 13-13), 4:57 p.m., FOX Game 7 Sunday — if needed San Francisco (Cain 13-11) at Phila.(Hamels 12-11), 4:57 p.m., FOX ALCS Best-of-7 Texas wins series 4-2 Game 1:New York 6, Texas 5 Game 2:Texas 7, New York 2 Game 3:Texas 8, New York 0 Game 4:Texas 10, New York 3 Game 5:New York 7, Texas 2 Game 6 Friday’s result Texas 6, New York 1 MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA x-Galaxy 17 7 5 56 42 25 x-Salt Lake 15 4 10 55 43 18 x-FC Dallas 12 3 14 50 41 26 x-Seattle 14 9 6 48 38 33 x-QUAKES 13 9 7 46 33 29 x-Colorado 12 8 9 45 42 30 Houston 8 15 6 30 38 48 Chivas USA 8 17 4 28 30 41 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA x-New York 15 9 6 51 38 29 x-Columbus 13 8 8 47 37 33 Kansas City 10 13 6 36 32 34 Chicago 8 12 9 33 33 37 New England 9 16 5 32 32 50 Toronto FC 8 13 8 32 30 39 Philadelphia 8 14 7 31 34 46 D.C. ————————————————— Saturday’s games San Jose at K.C.,5:30 p.m.,CSNC+ Seattle FC at Houston, 1 p.m. Toronto FC at D.C. United, 4:30 p.m. Real Salt Lake at Colorado, 6 p.m. Chicago at Chivas USA, 8 p.m. Sunday’s games Philadelphia at Columbus, 1 p.m. FC Dallas at Los Angeles, 5 p.m. Pittsburgh at Atlanta rebounding and defense. Biedrins and Lee will be a big part of that effort. After seven years as an assistant — the longest tenured assistant in fran- chise history — the 46- year-old Smart gets to take that first seat on the bench. ‘‘I’ve had the chance to work with a tremendous offensive coach the last four years,’’ Smart said. ‘‘We will play a more traditional style, with bigger players in different spots. We have two talented guards who can play at a faster pace and we don’t want to take away their creativity. It starts with how we can rebound the basketball. We’re not going to win if we don’t rebound. David Lee is a rebounder. A healthy Biedrins is back and he’s a proven NBA rebounder.’’ Biedrins, the 7-foot cen- ter from Latvia, insists he is back and 100 percent healthy after a tough year of physical challenges. He was sidelined for the final 23 games last season following March 10 surgery to repair a small tear of an abdominal muscle and played only 33 contests in all because of groin problems. Biedrins averaged just 5.0 points and 7.8 rebounds, his lowest totals since becoming a regular player during the 2006-07 season. He never had a chance to get in rhythm. ‘‘It’s a whole new chap- ter and we have good direc- tions to where we are going. It’s a great beginning,’’ Biedrins said, referring to both himself and the team. ‘‘All the coaches, every- body, is excited about the new direction. We’re ready to go.’’ While the Warriors are counting on Biedrins returning to his former top form — posting regular double-doubles — he will have Lee to complement him in what should be a much-improved frontcourt. General manager Larry Riley acquired Lee in a July ODDS Glantz-Culver Line For Oct. 23 MLB Playoffs Today at Philadelphia-160 SanFrancisco +150 NFL Sunday 3 (40.5) 3.5(42.5) at New Orleans 13 (43) at Baltimore 13.5 (40) San Francisco 3 (35.5) at Tampa Bay 3 (38) at Seattle at San Diego 3 (47.5) NewEngland at Denver 6 (40.5) 8.5(41.5) at Dallas Off Key Jacksonville QB questionable 6 19 4 22 19 44 NOTE:Three points for victory, one point for tie. x- clinched playoff berth NHL at Florida -125 N.Y.Islanders+105 at Boston -155 N.Y.Rangers+135 at Ottawa -130 at Washington -280 Anaheim +180 at St. Louis+100 Nashville+115 Columbus +170 Carolina +130 Montreal+110 Atlanta+230 at New Jersey -165 Buffalo +145 at Philadelphia-160 Toronto+140 at Detroit -220 Pittsburgh -120 at Dallas -135 at Chicago -200 at Phoenix -150 at Colorado-130 LosAngeles+110 San Jose -150 atEdmonton+130 at Green Bay 3 (44) Minnesota Monday 3 (44) N.Y.Giants atMiami Cincinnati at Kansas City 9 (37.5) Jacksonville at Tennessee 3 (42.5) Philadelphia at Chicago atCarolina St.Louis Arizona Oakland 3 (40) Washington Cleveland Buffalo trade with the New York Knicks, giving Golden State a proven scorer who was a fan favorite at Madison Square Garden. Lee averaged 20.2 points and 11.7 rebounds last sea- son and has developed a reliable outside shot in recent years. Lee spent five years in New York, where he was respected for play- ing hard on losing teams. NFL AFC West WL T Pct PF PA Kansas City 3 2 0 .600 108 92 RAIDERS 24 0 .333 120 151 Denver Chargers 2 4 0 .333 157 126 East WL T Pct PF PA N.Y. Jets 5 1 0 .833 159 101 New England 4 1 0 .800 154 116 Miami Buffalo South WL T Pct PF PA Houston 4 2 0 .667 153 167 Indianapolis 4 2 0 .667 163 125 Tennessee 4 2 0 .667 162 98 Jacksonville 3 3 0 .500 110 167 North WL T Pct PF PA Pittsburgh 4 1 0 .800 114 60 Baltimore 4 2 0 .667 112 95 Cincinnati 2 3 0 .400 100 102 Cleveland 1 5 0 .167 88 125 NFC West Arizona 3 2 0 .600 88 138 Seattle WL T Pct PF PA 3 2 0 .600 98 97 St. Louis 3 3 0 .500 103 113 49ERS 15 0 .167 93 139 East WL T Pct PF PA N.Y. Giants 4 2 0 .667 134 118 Philadelphia 4 2 0 .667 153 120 Washington 3 3 0 .500 113 119 Dallas South Atlanta 1 4 0 .200 102 111 WL T Pct PF PA 4 2 0 .667 130 101 New Orleans 4 2 0 .667 130 108 Tampa Bay 3 2 0 .600 80 111 Carolina 0 5 0 .000 52 110 North WL T Pct PF PA Chicago 4 2 0 .667 112 97 Green Bay 3 3 0 .500 139 112 Minnesota 2 3 0 .400 87 88 Detroit ————————————————— Sunday’s games San Francisco at Carolina, 10 a.m.,FOX Oakland at Denver, 1:15 p.m.,CBS Arizona at Seattle, 1:05 p.m. Buffalo at Baltimore, 10 a.m. Cincinnati at Atlanta, 10 a.m. Cleveland at New Orleans, 10 a.m. Jacksonville at Kansas City, 10 a.m. Philadelphia at Tennessee, 10 a.m. Pittsburgh at Miami, 10 a.m., CBS St. Louis at Tampa Bay, 10 a.m. Washington at Chicago, 10 a.m. New England at San Diego, 1:15 p.m. Minnesota at Green Bay, 5:20 p.m., NBC Monday, Oct.25 game N.Y. Giants at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. 1 5 0 .167 146 140 3 2 0 .600 89 112 0 5 0 .000 87 161 2 4 0 .333 124 140 ‘‘My focus since Day 1 has been to get a good rap- port with the guys and to be a leader and to lead by example and to help that translate into more victo- ries,’’ Lee said. ‘‘We have a chance to do that.’’ NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division Dallas Kings Ducks WL OT Pts GF GA 5 1 0 10 24 16 4 2 0 8 16 13 3 4 1 7 17 28 Phoenix 2 2 1 5 12 12 SHARKS 22 1 5 13 16 Central Division Chicago 5 3 1 11 27 25 Detroit WL OT Pts GF GA 4 1 1 9 18 14 Nashville 3 0 3 9 16 14 St. Louis 3 1 2 8 18 14 Columbus 3 3 0 6 15 19 Northwest Division WL OT Pts GF GA Calgary 4 3 0 8 17 17 Colorado 4 3 0 8 21 23 Vancouver 3 3 2 8 20 21 Minnesota 3 3 1 7 21 20 Edmonton 2 3 0 4 14 15 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL OT Pts GF GA N.Y. Islanders4 1 2 10 23 19 Pittsburgh 5 3 0 10 27 19 N.Y. Rangers 2 2 1 5 16 17 Philadelphia 2 3 1 5 13 17 New Jersey 2 4 1 5 13 21 Northeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Toronto 4 1 1 9 18 13 Boston Montreal 3 2 1 7 14 16 Ottawa Buffalo 4 1 0 8 16 8 2 4 1 5 16 23 2 5 1 5 18 23 Southeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Tampa Bay 5 1 1 11 24 23 Washington 4 3 0 8 19 18 Carolina 3 3 0 6 17 18 Atlanta Florida ————————————————— Friday’s results Calgary 6, Columbus 2 Ottawa 4, Buffalo 2 St. Louis 4, Chicago 2 Tampa Bay 5, Atlanta 2 Vancouver 5, Minnesota 1 Saturday’s games San Jose at Edmonton, 7 p.m.,CSNC Anaheim at Detroit, 4 p.m. Atlanta at Washington, 4 p.m. Buffalo at New Jersey, 4 p.m. Montreal at Ottawa, 4 p.m. N.Y. Islanders at Florida, 4 p.m. N.Y. Rangers at Boston, 4 p.m. Toronto at Philadelphia, 4 p.m., NHLN Nashville at Dallas, 5 p.m. Pittsburgh at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Columbus at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. Carolina at Phoenix, 6 p.m. Los Angeles at Colorado, 6 p.m. Sunday’s games San Jose at Calgary, 5 p.m.,CSNC Nashville at Tampa Bay, 3 p.m. New Jersey at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m. 3 4 0 6 20 25 2 3 0 4 13 9 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss.