Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/23058
2B – Daily News – Thursday, January 13, 2011 Introductions in order at Sony Open PGA Tour By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer HONOLULU (AP) — Maui is a reunion of winners. Oahu is more of a meet-and-greet. The Sony Open is the first full-field event of the PGA Tour, a time filled with as much optimism as curiosity. It is not unusual to see veterans looking at names on the golf bags to figure out who some of these guys are. There are 26 rook- ies at Waialae, 10 of them who have never teed it up in any PGA Tour event. ‘‘You walk on that range and you feel like you’re on a dif- ferent tour,’’ Ernie Els said. Paul Goydos, starting his 19th year on tour, mentioned that he had already met three players in the dining room. Did they know him? ‘‘Yeah, I think so,’’ Goydos said. ‘‘But when they say, ’My dad loves your game,’ that’s when you know you’re in deep trouble.’’ Goydos had hit his tee shot when he made a quick detour to the practice range to adjust his driver. When he got back to the first fairway, another player was right ahead of him. It was 20-year-old Bio Kim, the youngest player on tour this year, and among those who had never competed in a PGA Tour event. Goydos introduced himself, and jokingly said, ‘‘I’m sure his dad has seen me play.’’ Kim, a South Korean who once lived in Irvine, Calif., for five years as a teenager, was asked if he knew anything about Goydos. ‘‘You shot 59,’’ he said to him with a smile. ‘‘At least I’m known for one thing,’’ said Goydos, who hit golf’s magic number at the John Deere Classic last year. Such introductions are part of the charm of the Sony Open, a tournament that brings together veterans and rook- ies, old and new. The field includes 54-year-old Fred Funk, and he’s not even the oldest player at Waialae. That would be 67-year-old Dave Eichelberger, now a PGA club pro who recently won the Aloha Section and earned a spot in the field. The rookies include Joseph Bramlett, a Stanford gradu- ate who made it through Q-school on his first try and became the first player of black heritage since Tiger Woods to join the PGA Tour. There’s Keegan Bradley, the nephew of LPGA Tour star Pat Bradley, a pair of Nationwide Tour grads in Jamie Lovemark and Kevin Chappell. This is the time to dream big. Bramlett, who qualified for the U.S. Open last summer, knows he has never had any success on the PGA Tour. He also has never experienced any prolonged failure, which allows for such high hopes. ‘‘Everyone is pretty optimistic,’’ Jim Furyk said. ‘‘You’ve got goals, New Year’s resolutions, things you want to achieve. If you’re not optimistic this time of the year, I’d sure as hell hate to see what your attitude is like in October. Ryan Palmer is the defending champion, and the field features four players from among the top 15 in the world, most of whom were at Kapalua last week for the season- opening Tournament of Champions. Furyk had played four times before he got his PGA Tour card, and he remembers starting his rookie season in 1994 at the Sony Open. His father was with him and stepped away when Furyk took his spot on the practice range. Facing a hard Kona wind, into this face and blowing to the left, he took out a sand wedge and his first shot fat. ‘‘I blew all this dirt and sand up in the air and it just coat- ed the guy next to me, almost like I could hear it hitting him,’’ Furyk said. ‘‘I looked over to see who was behind me, and it was Lanny Wadkins.’’ Another shot, same result. Furyk tried his best to make light of the situation, no mat- ter how mortified he was. ‘‘I said, ’I guess I’ll aim a little farther right on the next one,’’’ Furyk said. ‘‘He was over his ball, and he looked up and said, ’That would be nice.’ That was the only conversa- tion.’’ Welcome to the tour, kid. Furyk turned out OK. He now has 16 wins, a major, a FedEx Cup title and he’s closing in on $50 million for his career. Who’s next? The player getting most of the attention is Lovemark, who won the money list on the Nationwide Tour last year and was part of the three-way playoff in Arizona in 2009 that also featured Rickie Fowler. Of the American rookies last year, the only guy who won a tournament was Derek Lamely in Puerto Rico, an oppo- site-field event. Then again, no one paid much attention to Ben Curtis in 2003 in his rookie year until he was holding the claret jug. Most rookies at least have the experience of having played on the Nationwide Tour. They know what it’s like to look for a good hotel, leave early after missing the cut, and realize that it doesn’t take long for fortunes to change. Goydos spent a couple of years on the old Hogan Tour, which he said helped — but only so far. ‘‘The first tournament I played, I remember walking through the locker room and Davis Love was walking in the opposite direction,’’ Goydos said. ‘‘The guy looked 9 feet tall.’’ One theory is that rookies are more optimistic because they don’t know what they’re getting into yet. ‘‘The older you get, the less you realize you know,’’ Goy- dos said. ‘‘It’s the same way with golf. You get out here long enough, you realize, ’Wow, it is really hard to win.’ But maybe that’s another reason why I’ve only won twice.’’ LeBron sees ’karma’ in Cavs’ 55-point loss NBA CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James has tweaked Dan Gilbert — and the Cavaliers owner’s miserable NBA team — with a pointed tweet. As James’ former teammates were absorbing a 55-point loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, the player fired off a message on his Twitter account that seemed to be directed at Gilbert. James wrote: ‘‘Crazy. Karma is a b-- --.. Gets you every time. Its not good to wish bad on anybody. God sees every- thing!’’ ‘‘It was just how I was feeling at the time,’’ James said Wednesday night before the Miami Heat played the Los Angeles Clippers. ‘‘It wasn’t even a comment from me, it was someone who sent it to me and I sent it out.’’ In July, after James announced he was leaving for Miami, Gilbert wrote a scathing letter to Cleveland fans ques- tioning the two-time MVP’s character and predicting he would take Cleve- land’s curse with him ‘‘down south. ... James will unfortunately own this dreaded spell and bad karma.’’ The 112-57 loss to the Lakers was QB (Continued from page 1B) "Regardless of the order that it falls — and that's obvi- ously up in the air at this stage — you've got to be pre- pared for all three," Baalke said during his radio inter- view. "You have to have a plan for the evaluation process and the guys that are coming out in the draft. And you have to do the same DRAFT (Continued from page 1B) system and prove he deserves to start — or, in some cases, even make the roster. —Owners are intent on having a rookie wage scale be part of a new CBA. Com- missioner Roger Goodell wrote about ‘‘the outrageous sums paid to many unproven rookies’’ in a recent letter sent to fans about the labor situation, and such a change could apply to the 2011 draft class. —Entering the pros soon- er starts a player’s NFL ‘‘clock’’ sooner, moving him closer to his second contract and free agency, which could be particularly attractive if a rookie wage scale is created. ‘‘The labor situation in the NFL right now is some- thing each one of these guys had to evaluate as a reality of how it could affect their development,’’ Alabama coach Nick Saban said last week, when Heisman Tro- phy winner Mark Ingram and two other juniors opted to enter the draft. ‘‘I think every guy did that.’’ From what players mak- ing their announcements have said, it sounds as though plenty of more tradi- the Cavs’ 11th straight and their most lopsided since joining the league in 1970. ‘‘It wasn’t towards that team,’’ James said, without ever mentioning the Cavs by name. ‘‘It definitely wasn’t a good showing by that team last night, I know they wish they would have played bet- ter, but nothing towards them.’’ After the game, Cavs guard Mo Williams tweeted: ‘‘embarrassing, I feel like I can’t even show my face in Cleve.’’ James and Gilbert have been at odds since the summer, when the superstar decided to join forces in Miami with fel- low superstars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. In an interview with The Associ- ated Press in the hours after James’ announcement during an hour-long TV special, Gilbert accused James of quit- ting in the playoffs the past two seasons. And while both insist they’ve moved on, James’ tweet seems to show he has lingering bitterness toward Gilbert. However, James denied that was the case. ‘‘It wasn’t no hit at that franchise, no hit at that team, especially those players at all,’’ he said. ‘‘I’ve moved on and hopefully that organization is continu- ing to move on, but I’m happy where I thing for free agency and you have to do the same thing via the trade. "We're going to look at our options and make deci- sions based on how we have the guys evaluated." The free agent market could include longtime Seat- tle starter Matt Hasselbeck, as well as notable backups like Marc Bulger (Balti- more) and Seneca Wallace (Cleveland). Davis, who spent all of tional factors are playing roles: how high they expect to be drafted; what the expectations are for their col- lege teams next season; whether an injury in college could set them back; whether they think there is room to rise in the draft with another good college season, etc. Two Oklahoma State players who announced Wednesday that they’ll return to college, All-Ameri- ca receiver Justin Blackmon and quarterback Brandon Weeden, both said the NFL’s labor status didn’t affect their decisions. Luck’s father, West Vir- ginia athletic director and former NFL quarterback Oliver Luck, said he dis- cussed the implications of a potential lockout with Andrew. But Oliver Luck said that didn’t affect his son’s choice to remain at Stanford, which was more about continuing to play with his Cardinal teammates and graduating from school. ‘‘I went through the ’82 strike as a player and retired before the ’87 season, when there was another strike,’’ Oliver Luck said. ‘‘As a lawyer, I shared information with him about the labor sit- uation. In the end, that did not matter as much as those two other factors. That’s how last season on the 49ers' practice squad, is free to sign with the Seattle because the 49ers did not offer him a future contract, which would have locked him up for the 2011 season. (The 49ers offered future contract to five other practice squadders, but Davis was essentially grant- ed free agency.) The only 49ers quarter- back under contract for next season is David Carr. Troy Smith is also a free agent. he made his decision.’’ While NFL spokesman Greg Aiello acknowledged that the labor ‘‘uncertainty is affecting a lot of things,’’ he said he isn’t aware of anyone suggesting or requesting that the league change the dead- line or procedures for under- classmen who want to make themselves eligible for the draft. As of Wednesday after- noon, the two biggest stars for national champion Auburn — Heisman Trophy- winning quarterback Cam Newton and defensive tackle Nick Fairley, both juniors — hadn’t publicly announced their plans. Other top under- classmen who hadn’t made announcements: Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore, Nebraska defensive tackle Jared Crick, and Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin. Then there’s the case of Georgia receiver A.J. Green, a college junior who is wide- ly considered a top-10 pick. He said he didn’t worry about the NFL’s labor unrest and the possibility of a rook- ie salary cap when figuring out whether to opt for the draft. ‘‘If I had really thought about that,’’ Green said, ‘‘I probably would’ve stayed in school.’’ am as a Miami Heat player.’’ James’ social network message was poorly received in Cleveland, where fans still feel betrayed by him spurning them. It’s bad enough the Cavs are struggling, but James decided to kick them when they’re down. ‘‘Everyone looks into everything that I say,’’ he said. ‘‘Everybody looked too far into it.’’ James said he’s used the word karma throughout his life. ‘‘Where I come from and my back- ground I’ve always kind of used that to not take things for granted ever,’’ he said. ‘‘We all know how strong of a word it is.’’ The Akron native was rudely received by Cleveland fans when he returned on Dec. 2. The Heat demol- ished the Cavs 118-90 that night, and both teams haven’t been the same since. Miami has gone 19-1 after their visit to Cleveland, while the Cavs are 1-20. Little has gone right this season for Cleveland, which got off to a 7-9 start. But the losses have been mounting along with several key injuries. Last week, hustling center Anderson Varejao suffered a season-ending injury when he tore an ankle tendon during a non-con- tact running drill in practice. The 49ers have the seventh overall pick in the draft and among the quarterbacks expected to be available are Cam Newton of Auburn, Jake Locker of Washington and Ryan Mallett of Arkansas. Harbaugh, in his intro- ductory press conference last week, spoke only in general parameters about what he wanted from a quarterback. He said he wanted someone who brought "athletic LOCAL Red Bluff Parks & Recreation Basketball Jan. 10 result Brewer’s Arena 51, McGlynn 50 Lance Zazuetta 12 points Davie Bliss 23 points But the Cavs, who had the league’s best regular-season record the past two seasons with James, were playing poor- ly before Varejao went down. Now, they can only hope they’ve reached rock bot- tom. In their epic loss to the Lakers, the Cavs played three rookies for long stretches and established a new team record for fewest points. They also sus- tained their worst loss since getting beat 141-87 in the 11th game of their inau- gural 1970 season. The Lakers nearly doubled Cleve- land’s point total. It was so bad that the Lakers could have gone scoreless in the second half — and still forced overtime! The blowout was especially disturbing to first-year Cleveland coach Byron Scott, a proud member of the Lakers’ ‘‘Showtime’’ teams. ‘‘I thought that was embarrassing,’’ Scott said. ‘‘I told them at halftime, ’You look scared. You look scared to death.’ That was my take on it, as sim- ple as that.’’ Cavs forward Antawn Jamison was at a loss for words. ‘‘In 13 years, I can honestly say I ain’t ever felt that embarrassed to be on the basketball court,’’ he said. ‘‘There’s nothing else you can really say.’’ instincts, accuracy, timing, decision making, leadership, intelligence — you could keep going on and on." He also vowed last week to resurrect the West Coast Offense in San Francisco. That could make Eagles backup Kevin Kolb a tempt- ing trade target, but he would come at a price. One source NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division Dallas WL OT Pts GF GA 26 13 5 57 127 118 Phoenix 21 13 9 51 121 123 Ducks Kings Detroit 23 18 4 50 117 123 23 18 1 47 126 108 SHARKS 21 18 5 47 121 122 Central Division WL OT Pts GF GA 27 11 5 59 149 123 Nashville 23 13 6 52 111 98 Chicago 24 18 3 51 142 124 St. Louis 20 15 6 46 110 116 Columbus 20 20 3 43 110 134 Northwest Division WL OT Pts GF GA NFLPLAYOFFS Divisional Round Saturday’s games Baltimore at Pittsburgh, 1:30 p.m., CBS Green Bay at Atlanta, 5 p.m., FOX Sunday’s games Seattle at Chicago, 10 a.m., FOX N.Y.Jets at New England, 1:30 p.m., CBS Vancouver 28 8 6 62 145 102 Colorado 22 16 6 50 144 142 Minnesota 21 17 5 47 108 123 Calgary 18 20 5 41 117 129 Edmonton 13 21 7 33 103 141 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL OT Pts GF GA Philadelphia 27 10 5 59 142 109 Pittsburgh 27 14 4 58 143 107 N.Y.Rangers 25 16 3 53 127 109 N.Y.Islanders 13 21 7 33 97 134 New Jersey 11 29 2 24 78 133 Northeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA NCAA Wednesday’s Top 25 results Florida State 66, No. 1 Duke 61 No. 2 Ohio State 68, Michigan 64 No. 3 Kansas 84, Iowa State 79 No. 4 Syracuse 76, St. John’s 59 No.5 Pittsburgh 72, No.22 Georgetown 57 No. 6 San Diego State 55, UNLV 49 No. 7 Villanova 88, No. 18 Louisville 74 No.14 Texas A&M 71, Oklahoma State 48 No. 15 Missouri 77, Nebraska 69 No. 19 Temple 83, St. Bonaventure 55 Colorado 74, No. 21 Kansas State 66 Vanderbilt 73, No. 24 Georgia 66 No. 25 Cincinnati 74, South Florida 66 Today’s Top 25 games No.8 Purdue at Minnesota, 4 p.m., ESPN No. 17 Washington at Stanford, 7 p.m. Today’s other televised games Providence at West Virginia, 4 p.m., ESPN2 Mississippi St.at Mississippi, 6 p.m., ESPN Virginia Tech at North Carolina, 6 p.m., ESPN San Francisco at S.t Mary’s, 7:30 p.m., CSNB+ Southern Cal at Oregon, 7:30 p.m., CSNB Loyola Marymount at Portland, 8 p.m., ESPN2 Boston 23 12 7 53 123 93 Montreal 24 17 3 51 109 105 Buffalo 18 19 5 41 115 124 Toronto 18 20 4 40 112 125 Ottawa 16 21 6 38 93 132 Southeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Tampa Bay 26 13 5 57 131 137 Washington 24 13 7 55 126 116 Atlanta 22 16 7 51 140 140 Carolina 21 15 6 48 127 128 Florida 19 20 2 40 113 109 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. ————————————————— Wednesday’s results Chicago 4, Colorado 0 Pittsburgh 5, Montreal 2 Tampa Bay 3, Washington 0 St. Louis at Anaheim, late Today’s games Edmonton at San Jose,7:30 p.m.,CSNC Carolina at Buffalo, 4 p.m. Ottawa at N.Y. Islanders, 4 p.m. Philadelphia at Boston, 4 p.m., CSNC Vancouver at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m. Nashville at Florida, 4:30 p.m. Toronto at Phoenix, 6 p.m. St. Louis at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday’s late result Toronto 4, San Jose 2 Lakers told the NFL Network that Eagles would seek a high draft pick in return. Besides Kolb, other top players who might be made available on the trade market include the Broncos' Kyle Orton and the Bengals' Car- son Palmer. NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL Pct GB 28 11 .718 — Phoenix 16 21 .432 11 WARRIORS 15 22 .405 12 Clippers 12 24 .333 14.5 KINGS 828 .222 18.5 Southwest Division WL Pct GB San Antonio 33 6 .846 — Dallas 26 11 .703 6 New Orleans 23 16 .590 10 Memphis 18 21 .462 15 Houston 17 22 .436 16 Northwest Division WL Pct GB Okla. City 26 13 .667 — Utah 26 13 .667 — Denver 21 16 .568 4 Portland 20 19 .513 6 Minnesota 9 30 .231 17 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL Pct GB Boston 29 9 .763 — New York 22 16 .579 7 Philadelphia 15 23 .395 14 Toronto 13 25 .342 16 New Jersey 10 28 .263 19 Southeast Division WL Pct GB 30 9 .769 — Miami Orlando 25 13 .658 4.5 Atlanta 26 14 .650 4.5 Charlotte 15 21 .417 13.5 Washington 10 26 .278 18.5 Central Division WL Pct GB Chicago 25 13 .658 — Indiana 16 20 .444 8 Milwaukee 14 22 .389 10 Detroit 12 26 .316 13 Cleveland 8 30 .211 17 ————————————————— Wednesday’s results Boston 119, Sacramento 95 L.A. Lakers at Golden State, late Atlanta 104, Toronto 101 Charlotte 96, Chicago 91 Indiana 102, Dallas 89 Memphis 107, Detroit 99 New Orleans 92, Orlando 89, OT Oklahoma City 118, Houston 112 Phoenix 118, New Jersey 109, OT San Antonio 91, Milwaukee 84 Utah 131, New York 125 Miami at L.A. Clippers, late Today’s games Orlando at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m., TNT Washington at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Miami at Denver, 7:30 p.m., TNT Tuesday’s late result L.A. Lakers 112, Cleveland 57