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Thursday GirlsBBall — Lassen at Red Bluff, 7:30 p.m. Soccer — Corning vs. Central Valley at Redding, 6 p.m. Soccer — Los Molinos at Live Oak, 3:15 p.m. Soccer — Mercy at Colusa, 3:15 p.m. NBA — Bucks at Warriors, 7:30 p.m., CSNB NBA — Spurs at Lakers, 7:30 p.m., TNT Sports 1B Thursday February 3, 2011 Spartans lose ugly Tehama Tracker BOYS HOOPS Yreka 29 Corning 51 Corning finally picked up a Northern Athletic League victory, Tuesday, with a 51-29 win over Yreka. The Cardinals improved to 1-3 in the NALand 16-7 overall. Los Molinos 56 Portola 63 The Bulldogs’ win streak was snapped Tuesday in Porto- la as Los Molinos fell 63-56. The game was tied 47-47 headed into the fourth quarter. GIRLS HOOPS Red Bluff 32 Foothill 58 Poor shooting and a physical Lady Cougars team was too much for Red Bluff to overcome in a 58-32 loss at Foothill, Tuesday. Roxy Luppino and Alana Hinkston each had eight points for the Spartans, who shot 19-for-33 from the free throw line. Weed 20 Mercy 44 The Lady Warriors returned to the win column with a 44- 20 non-league road win at Weed, Wednesday. Diana Van Ert scored 17 points. Morgan Hampton- Glines added 11 and Maggie Keller had 10 points. Kayce Kemp and Alexandra McFadyen also had solid games. Daily News photo by Rich Greene Red Bluff’s Ian Hill attempts a layup,Wednesday, in front of Foothill’s Brock Whaley. BOYS HOOPS Foothill 68 Red Bluff 19 By RICH GREENE DN Sports Editor Even with a running clock, the last eight minutes, couldn’t tick by fast enough. The Spartans were brutalized on their home floor 68-19 by Foothill, Wednesday night, in a game every bit as ugly as the score would indi- cate. Red Bluff hung with Foothill for the first six minutes of the game, but even then the Spartans didn’t appear to be in the game — flat-footed and emotionless from the opening tip With Foothill holding a 13-9 lead late in the first quarter, the game went south for the Spartans in a hurry. Daniel Putnam hit a 3-pointer and then the Cougars stole the ball twice in a row in the back court and con- verted them both for easy layups. Foothill led 20-9 and the Spartans never recovered. The Cougars pushed their lead to 36-9 with 2:53 remaining in the first half. Ian Hill then hit connected on one of his two 3-pointers in the game. It would be Red Bluff’s only bucket of the quarter. Foothill took a 44-12 lead into halftime and then pushed their lead beyond the 40-point mercy rule with 2:30 to go in the third quarter. The entire fourth quarter was played with a running clock and the Cougars won that period as well 10- 2. Hill’s six points led Red Bluff. Gabe Porter had a game-high 15 points for Foothill and Devin Crisos- to and Ryan Schmitz each added 12 points. The Spartans travel to Lassen, Friday. Mercy 57 Weed 52 The Warriors snapped Weed’s double-digit win streak with a 57- 52 road win, Wednesday night. Mercy led by nine points at halftime, but found themselves trailing with two minutes to go. Steven Rodriguez and Royce Crane each made a pair of free throws down the stretch to push Mercy ahead and seal the game. Rodriguez finished with a team-high 15 points. Mitchell Lopez added 13 points and Crane finished with 11 points. Michael Wang had nine points and Jeremie Jones eight points for the Warriors, who won impor- tant games on back-to-back nights. “We’ve played really well two games in a row,” Mercy coach Steve Shellabarger said. Belichick wins 3rd Coach of Year honor NFL DALLAS (AP) — Bill Belichick is closing in on Don Shula. The New England coach Bill Belichick won The Associated Press 2010 NFL Coach of the Year award on Wednesday, the third time Belichick has earned the honor. Belichick, who also won in 2003 and 2007, now trails only Don Shula, a four-time winner of the award. For leading the Patriots to a 14-2 record, the best in the league, Belichick received 30 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regu- larly cover the NFL. That easily beat Raheem Morris, who led a turnaround in Tampa Bay and got 11 1/2 votes. Belichick has overseen a transition in New England to a younger team, particu- larly on defense. Of course, he still has Offensive Player of the Year Tom Brady at quarterback. ‘‘I will say the founda- tion of the Patriots organiza- tion, which starts with Mr. Kraft and Coach Belichick, has not changed since the day I arrived,’’ Brady said. ‘‘They have and will always do what is in the best interest of the team, and they will continue to find selfless players that love to work hard, compete and strive to be the best they can possibly be.’’ Then Belichick makes them even better. ‘‘He really stays on top ‘‘He really stays on top of us. He makes sure that we’re not getting overconfident or believing in the noise outside the locker room and understand that every game’s tough in the NFL.’’ of us,’’ wide receiver Wes Welker said. ‘‘He makes sure that we’re not getting overconfident or believing in the noise outside the lock- er room and understand that every game’s tough in the NFL.’’ Belichick’s record with the Patriots is 126-50, plus a 14-5 mark in the postseason, with losses in the last three tries with teams that went a collective 40-8. His career winning percentage of .716 ranks eighth, tied with Hall of Famer Paul Brown, and no other coach has four 14- victory regular seasons. This might have been Belichick’s most impressive work as the Patriots retooled much of the roster, yet had a dominant regular season in which they won their final eight games. ‘‘When you have so many things that go into a team, so many things that go into what’s happened over the last decade, which ones do you point to?’’ he said. ‘‘You can make an argu- ment for a lot of different things. In the end, it’s each individual team and that col- lection of players that partic- ular year and that particular time during the season or whatever it is, that was able to go out there and be suc- cessful.’’ New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker Belichick basically rebuilt the defense, particu- larly the secondary, where rookie Devin McCourty made the Pro Bowl. He showed confidence in BenJarvus Green-Ellis as his main running back, and Green-Ellis rushed for 1,008 yards. Belichick claimed Danny Woodhead when the Jets cut him, and Woodhead was a dynamic piece of the offense and special teams. Then there was the Randy Moss case. Eager to remove the recalcitrant receiver, Belichick stole a third-round draft pick from Minnesota in early October for Moss, who lasted a month with the Vikings, then was cut. Meanwhile, Belichick traded with Seattle for Deion Branch, the 2005 Super Bowl MVP with the Patriots. Branch had a rebirth in New England, making the Moss deal look even better. And making the Patriots a better team — typical of what Belichick has done since getting his second chance to be a head coach. The first was a flop with the Browns, where he went 37- 45 in four seasons and alien- ated nearly everyone in Cleveland. ‘‘When I chose him, peo- ple at the league office, peo- ple in this town, sent me tapes of him in Cleveland and said, ‘You don’t want to hire this guy,’ owner Robert Kraft said. ‘‘And, remember, he went 5- 11 (in his first year with Patriots) and we gave up a No. 1 draft choice (to the Jets to get him). People thought we were nuts. ‘‘So I think that probably was one of the best deci- sions I’ve made in football.’’ Belichick is a disciple of Bill Parcells, the only other New England coach to win the award. Morris lifted the Bucca- neers from 3-13 in his first season to 10-6 in 2010 and in playoffs contention until the final week. He did it with the league’s youngest roster. ‘‘We put a lot on his plate,’’ Bucs general manag- er Mark Dominik said, ‘‘and he has absolutely handled it all. We all see where this ship is headed.’’ Also receiving votes were Kansas City’s Todd Haley (4 1/2), whose team went 11-5 and won the AFC West; and four coaches with one selection apiece: Atlanta’s Mike Smith, Philadelphia’s Andy Reid, Chicago’s Lovie Smith, and St. Louis’ Steve Spagnuolo. Piniella joins Giants as special assistant San Francisco Giants SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Lou Piniella is staying right in the baseball mix. The longtime manager told The Associ- ated Press on Wednesday he has agreed to a one-year con- tract with the San Francisco Giants to work as a special assis- tant for the World Series champions. Sweet Lou will report to general manager Brian Sabean. ‘‘I took a little consulting job with the Giants,’’ Piniella said in a telephone interview from his home in Florida. ‘‘It’s a done deal. I look forward to it. Brian and I are good friends. Whatever Brian needs me to do.’’ Sabean confirmed Piniella’s hiring Wednesday afternoon once the contract was completed. The 67-year-old Piniella retired as a manager during the 2010 season with the Chicago Cubs in order to return home to Tampa, Fla., and help his ailing mother, 91-year-old Mar- garet. He was with her Wednesday in the hospital after she underwent a procedure and reported she is hanging in there. ‘‘He’s certainly a great addition because of the baseball acumen he has but also his personality,’’ Sabean said. ‘‘We’ll have a lot of fun working together, plus he knows a lot of guys in the organization.’’ Piniella is 14th with 1,835 regular-season wins while managing the New York Yankees, Cincinnati, Seattle, Tampa Bay and the Cubs. As the Giants have done with for- mer manager Felipe Alou, Piniella will remain in Florida and do most of his work from his home base — and proba- bly no longer throwing bases. He said he will scout Ameri- can League teams in Florida during spring training and attend Rays games at Tropicana Field. Sabean said Piniella might meet the Giants on some of their East Coast road trips if his schedule permits. ‘‘There’s a need to be home but a lot of baseball is played in Florida, and spring training is right in his backyard,’’ Sabean said. ‘‘We’ll use him as much as we can and take whatever time he can give us.’’ The new gig provides Piniella, known for his animated arguments with umpires over the years, the best of both worlds. ‘‘It gives me a chance to stay involved in baseball and not ‘‘ Patriots have to travel,’’ Piniella said. ‘‘I worked with Brian a lot of years in New York. He’s a good man. They have several for- mer Yankees (working for the club). They won a world championship — we won a world championship. I’m join- ing a world-class organization.’’ It may turn into a longer-term agreement. ‘‘I’ll do it for a year, and we’ll see what happens,’’ Piniel- la said. Scoreboard NBA Wednesday’s results Atlanta 100, Toronto 87 Charlotte 97, Detroit 87 Dallas 113, New York 97 Denver 109, Portland 90 Houston 97, Utah 96 Indiana 117, Cleveland 112 Memphis 102, Minnesota 84 Oklahoma City 104, New Orleans 93 Philadelphia 106, New Jersey 92 Phoenix 92, Milwaukee 77 Chicago at L.A. Clippers, late Today’s games Milwaukee at Golden State,7:30 p.m.,CSNB Miami at Orlando, 5 p.m., TNT San Antonio at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m., TNT Tuesday’s late results Boston 95, Sacramento 90 L.A. Lakers 114, Houston 106, OT Portland 99, San Antonio 86 NCAA Wednesday’s Top 25 results No. 5 Duke 80, Maryland 62 No. 17 Syracuse 66, No. 6 Connecticut 58 No.7 San Diego State 54, Colorado State 52 No. 8 BYU 69, Wyoming 62 No. 12 Villanova 75, Marquette 70 Oklahoma State 76, No. 14 Missouri 70 Indiana 60, No. 18 Minnesota 57 No. 22 Utah State vs Nevada, late No. 25 West Virginia 56, Seton Hall 44 Today’s Top 25 games No.1 Ohio State vs.Michigan, 4 p.m., ESPN No.9 Notre Dame at DePaul, 6 p.m., ESPN No. 20 Washington at Oregon State, 6 p.m. No. 21 Arizona at Stanford, 6 p.m. Today’s other televised games Georgia Tech at Miami, 4 p.m., ESPN2 Tennessee at Auburn, 6 p.m., ESPN2 Arizona State at California, 8 p.m., CSNC Gonzaga at Portland, 8 p.m., ESPN2 NHL Wednesday’s results San Jose at Anaheim, late Detroit 7, Ottawa 5 Los Angeles 3, Edmonton 1 Montreal 3, Florida 2 Pittsburgh 3, N.Y. Islanders 0 Vancouver 6, Phoenix 0 Today’s games Calgary at Atlanta, 4 p.m. Carolina at Toronto, 4 p.m. Dallas at Boston, 4 p.m. Nashville at Philadelphia, 4 p.m., CSNC New Jersey at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m. Minnesota at Colorado, 6 p.m. Tuesday’s late result San Jose 5, Phoenix 3