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1B Sports Goodell talks Redskins name in news conference WASHINGTON (AP) — Asked directly whether the Washington Redskins should change their name, Roger Goodell said the NFL needs to ''make sure we're doing what's right.'' Speaking at the conclusion of the league's fall meetings Tuesday, the commissioner noted that he grew up in the Washington area rooting for the city's football team and ''by no means ... have I ever considered it derogatory as a fan, and I think that's how Redskins fans would look at it.'' The topic was not part of the formal agenda for the meetings — Goodell said ''there may have been discussions between some of the owners, but not on the floor'' — and yet it was the subject of four of the first five questions posed at his news conference at a Washington hotel. ''Whenever you have a situation like this, you have to listen and recognize that some other people may have different perspectives, and clearly there are cases where that's true here,'' Goodell said. ''And that's what I've suggested and I've been open about — that we need to listen, carefully listen, and make sure we're doing what's right.'' Asked whether Redskins owner Dan Snyder, who has vowed that he'll never change the club's name, has been listening, Goodell said: ''I am confident that the Redskins are listening and I'm confident that they're sensitive to their fans — to the views of people that are not only their fans but are not their fans.'' Snyder did not speak to reporters on his way out of the daylong meetings. General manager Bruce Allen deflected a question about the team's name before walking away, saying, ''We're focused on the Cowboy game this week. Big rivalry.'' President Barack Obama said in an interview with The Associated Press last week that he would ''think about changing'' the name if he were the team's owner. ''When the President speaks, it's going to raise attention to any issue,'' Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said Tuesday, ''but really I, at this point, don't really have anything, any comment, on it right now.'' Asked his opinion on the Redskins name, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said: ''I don't have any thoughts on it.'' The NFL has said it will meet with an Indian tribe pushing for the Redskins to drop the nickname, although Goodell said he did not know if he or Snyder would attend. That group, the Oneida Indian Nation, held a symposium on the topic in Washington on Monday, timed to coincide with the league meetings. At Monday's session, a member of Congress, Minnesota Democrat Betty McCollum, said the league and team are ''promoting a racial slur'' and ''this issue is not going away.'' After Goodell's news conference Tuesday, a spokesman for the Oneida Indian Nation, Joel Barkin, issued a statement that read, in part: ''The fact is that the league will not truly be listening to critics of this racial slur unless its commissioner gets personally involved.'' Wednesday October 9, 2013 ALDS | TIGERS 8, ATHLETICS 6 AP photo Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Dan Straily (67) adjusts his cap after giving up a three-run home run to Detroit Tigers' Jhonny Peralta, background, during the fifth inning of Game 4 of baseball's American League division series in Detroit on Tuesday. Detroit rallies, forces decisive Game 5 DETROIT (AP) — Max Scherzer escaped a major jam in relief and the Detroit Tigers — helped by two fans who reached out to try to reel in Victor Martinez's disputed home run — rallied past the Oakland Athletics 8-6 on Tuesday to force a decisive fifth game in their AL division series. Playing catch-up most of the way, the Tigers tied it first with Jhonny Peralta's three-run homer in the fifth inning and then on Martinez's solo shot in the seventh. A couple of fans attempted to catch Martinez's drive, and at least one of them bobbled the ball as he reached over the railing above the wall — preventing right fielder Josh Reddick from having any chance at a leaping grab. Reddick and center fielder Coco Crisp immediately protested, pointing up at the stands in the hope of a faninterference call. But umpires upheld the home run after a replay review. Scherzer, making his first relief appearance since the 2011 postseason, had already given up a run in the seventh. With the Tigers ahead 5-4, he allowed a walk and a double to start the eighth, but after an intentional walk to load the bases, manager Jim Leyland left his 21-game winner on the mound. Scherzer struck out Reddick and Stephen Vogt before getting pinch-hitter Alberto Callaspo to line out to center. Detroit, which had no hits through the first four innings, added three runs in the eighth on a wild pitch and a tworun double by Omar Infante that made it 8-4. Yoenis Cespedes hit a two-run single in the ninth, bringing the potential tying run to the plate, but Joaquin Benoit struck out Seth Smith to end it. The Tigers can now send Justin Verlander to the mound for Game 5 on Thursday night in Oakland. Verlander shut out the A's in Oakland in the decisive fifth game of the division series last year. Oakland hasn't announced a starter for Game 5. It is Bartolo Colon's turn in the rotation, but rookie Sonny Gray could also come back on normal rest after a brilliant performance in Game 2. Crisp had four hits and three runs for the A's, who led 3-0 and 4-3 but couldn't close out the defending American League champions. The Oakland bullpen hadn't allowed a run all series until Tuesday. After Crisp put the A's ahead 4-3 with an RBI single off Scherzer in the seventh, Martinez lifted a fly to right against reliever Sean Doolittle. It would have been an extremely difficult catch for Reddick, and it looked as though the ball might have cleared the wall even without the fans' involvement. But it was a close call — one that brought back memories of Derek Jeter's fan-aided homer against Baltimore in the 1996 AL championship series at Yankee Stadium. Umpires left the field for the review, and when they returned the call was upheld. Peralta followed with a double, and Jackson — who was 1 for 14 with 10 strikeouts in the series to that point — managed a broken-bat single to put the Tigers ahead 5-4. It appeared Detroit was in big trouble in the eighth, but Scherzer was able to protect the one-run lead, and the Tigers eventually added to it. Dodgers get 3-day break after ousting Braves LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers earned themselves a three-day break after ousting Atlanta to win the National League division series, and they can use the time off to sort out some issues. The team took Tuesday off to rest after closing out the Braves in four games with a dramatic 4-3 victory on Monday night. As the first club to advance from the division series, the Dodgers get the most time to reset their rotation, make bullpen decisions and heal nagging injuries to Hanley Ramirez and Andre Ethier. They'll be awaiting their opponent in the NL championship series, the winner of tonight's decisive Game 5 between Pittsburgh and St. Louis. Los Angeles would open at home against Pittsburgh or start at St. Louis. The Dodgers were 4-2 against the Pirates this season and 4-3 against the Cardinals. ''All of my teammates are ready for whatever comes our way,'' rookie Yasiel Puig said through a translator. ''We're very prepared for this.'' Los Angeles is four wins from its first World Series appearance since 1988, when the Dodgers won their sixth title and fifth since leaving Brooklyn after the 1957 season. ''In spring training, our goal wasn't to get to the next round,'' center fielder Skip Schumaker said. ''It was to win the World Series, so it's a nice first step in the right direction.'' Los Angeles will open with Zack Greinke, who will be pitching on six days' rest following a 4-3 loss to Atlanta in Game 2. Clayton Kershaw, who started on three days' rest Monday for the first time in his major league career, will get regular rest before starting Game 2 against the Pirates or Cardinals. Kershaw is savoring his first playoffs appearances since 2009. ''The last three years of not getting to go really taught me to embrace this opportunity. You never know when this is going to happen again,'' he said. ''It's a one-month sprint, and I'm looking forward to the next couple games.'' Rookie Hyun-Jin Ryu would be the likely starter in Game 3, although his poor performance against the Braves raised questions about his ability to handle playoff pressure. He allowed four runs in three innings, but the Dodgers were lucky Julio Teheran was even worse. The three-day break gives the Dodgers ample time to sort out their bullpen, where Paco Rodriguez struggled in Game 3 against the Braves. ''It doesn't kick Paco out of any plans,'' manager Don Mattingly said. ''Paco's been through a little stretch. Doesn't mean we lose confidence in him.'' PREP ROUNDUP TENNIS The Red Bluff Lady Spartans tennis team clinched a Sacramento River League title against West Valley on Oct. 1, 9-0. The Spartans were led by No. 1 singles player Ginger Shaffer, who hasn't dropped a match this season. Shaffer beat Tatiana Pellow, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3), and she'll go into the league tournament on Oct. 25-28 as the No. 1 seed. Among Red Bluff's winners were: Aislynn Lair (63, 6-2); Erika Ellis (6-2, 6-3); Josie Clements (6-2, 63); Tina Ortega (6-0, 6-0); Emmaline Iverson (6-2, 6-1). In doubles play, Shaffer and Lair teamed up to win, 10-4. Ellis and Clements won, 10-7. And Victoria Yates and Ortega prevailed, 10-6. Tehama Tracker Today's schedule CROSS COUNTRY Red Bluff at Foothill, 4 p.m. FIELD HOCKEY Corning at Pleasant Valley, 3:30 p.m. SWIMMING Enterprise and Shasta at Red Bluff; Corning, Mercy, Gridley, Orland, Willows and Winters at Sutter Sports on TV GOLF • 9:30 a.m.., TGC — LPGA Malaysia, first round, at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS • 2 p.m., TBS — NLDS, Game 5, Pittsburgh at St. Louis MEN'S COLLEGE SOCCER • 4 p.m., FSN — Old Dominion at Charlotte NHL HOCKEY • 5 p.m., NBCSN — Chicago at St. Louis Los Angeles also could learn whether Ethier's left ankle has healed sufficiently to allow him to play the field. He was limited to pinch hitting against the Braves. Much of the Dodgers' success during a 42-8 spurt from mid-June through August came without outfielders Matt Kemp and Ethier. Kemp, missing the postseason because of a left ankle injury, has become the team's official cheerleader. He was scheduled for left shoulder surgery Tuesday. Even without their bats, the Dodgers figure to have plenty of offense. Leadoff hitter Carl Crawford batted .353 in the division series. Ramirez hit .500 despite a bad back that has slowed him in the field, while Puig (.471) and Adrian Gonzalez (.333) have provided punch in the middle of the lineup. ''We've got some monsters on this team, and it took us a little while to get the chemistry going,'' Schumaker said. ''After the first couple of months, everybody started trusting each other, and we took off from there. There's a reason why we took off.'' FIELD HOCKEY Courtesy photo The Red Bluff Lady Spartans' No. 1 tennis player Ginger Shaffer strikes a forehand in a Sacramento Valley League-clinching win against West Valley on Oct. 1. The Corning Lady Cardinals fell to Davis, 3-0 on Monday. Corning High's Kaitlyn Huntley had 10 saves in 52 minutes. Bailey Jennings and Grace Mora led the team in shots.