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Tuesday Boys Hoops— Corning at Central Valley, 7:30 p.m. Hoops — Chester at Mercy, 6 p.m., DH Hoops — East Nicolaus at Los Molinos, 6 p.m., DH Girls Hoops — Central Valley at Corning, 7:30 p.m. Girls Hoops — Red Bluff at Paradise, 7:30 p.m. Wrestling — Meet at Red Bluff, 6 p.m. Sports 1B Tuesday February 8, 2011 Few surprises in first playoff rankings BASKETBALL Academy (19-3) BY RICH GREENE DN Sports Editor The Northern Section’s first look at the 2011 basket- ball playoff points left few surprises for Tehama County teams. On one hand the Mercy Warriors (12-10) may not be happy with the fifth seed they’re currently slotted into in the Division VI playoffs, but then again that’s the spot they came out of last year to win the section champi- onship. The current top seeds in D- VI are Westwood (16-6), Maxwell (13-9), Happy Camp (9-4) and Paradise Adventist A year ago the Los Moli- nos Bulldogs was saddled with the 14-seed in the Divi- sion VI playoffs. But in the first rankings of the new season, Los Molinos is holding onto the No. 7 spot as first-year coach Christian Cumpston has his Bulldogs 11-6 on the season. At 20-2, Trinity leads the D-V rankings followed by Liberty Christian (19-3), Por- tola (19-3) and Chester (18-4) A three-game losing streak to open up Northern Athletic League play all but eliminat- ed any chance the Corning Cardinals had of securing a first round bye in the Divi- sion-III playoffs. The Cardinals (16-7) have since snapped out of their funk, but are in the No. 4 spot in the first released standings. Still, that seed would give them at least one home play- off game, something their 21- 5 record in 2010 didn’t do. Foothill (16-5) and Par- adise (15-6) top D-III fol- lowed by Enterprise (10-11), Corning, Las Plumas (5-15) and Oroville (2-19). The Red Bluff Spartans (7- 14) are staring straight at a first round matchup with No. 1 ranked and two-time defending section champion Chico in the Division II play- offs. Shasta (16-5) sits in sec- ond and Pleasant Valley (14- 8) is third. The Northern Section’s basketball playoff points for- mula ranks teams within a division based on their over- all record, division record and strength of schedule. Divisional classification is set on the state’s standards. Over in the girls brackets, the Lady Spartans find them- selves as the current No. 4 seed. Chico (12-6) and Pleasant Valley (17-1) are tied on points for the No. 1 seed in D-II. Shasta (10-11) is third. In D-III the Lady Cardi- nals (12-11) are ranked last out of the six teams. Paradise (19-2), Enterprise (14-7) and Las Plumas (11- 10) are tied for first, followed by Foothill (10-12) and Oroville (9-13). Redfield honored ALUMNI Red Bluff Spartans Ben Redfield, a 2009 Red Bluff Union High School graduate, is excelling both on and off the court at Embry-Riddle University in Day- tona Beach, Fla. Redfield was selected as a 2010- 2011 ESPN the Magazine Academ- ic All-District second team hon- oree. The team was voted on by the College Sports Information Direc- tors of America. In a university press release announcing the honor, Redfield’s college coach described him as a “major asset to our program.” Redfield walked onto the Eagles program his freshman year. As a sophomore, Redfield has come off the bench in 16 games and is averaging 4.4 minutes per con- test. He has made four 3-pointers on the season and grabbed 10 rebounds. Redfield, who is seeking a degree in Aerospace Engineering, is holding a 3.94 grade point aver- age. Redfield averaged 11.9 points per game during his senior season with the Spartans. He is the son of Andy and Con- nie Redfield. Have an update on a local alumnus or alumna? E-mail it and a photo if possible to sports@redbluffdailynews.com. Courtesy photo from Embry-Riddle University Red Bluff Union High School graduate Ben Redfield is excelling on and off the court for Embry-Riddle University. He was recently selected as a 2010-2011 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District second team honoree The Lady Bulldogs (5-12) will need to hold onto their playoff spot down the stretch. They sit at 15th with the Top 16 making the playoffs in D-V. Colusa (19-2), Liberty Christian (18-5), Hamilton (17-4) and Portola (21-2) lead D-V. The Lady Warriors (7-15) missed the playoffs in 2010 and will need to win down the stretch to avoid that fate again. They sit at 13th, one spot out of the Top 12, who make the playoffs in D-VI. Hayfork (18-5), Westwood (17-4), Redding Christian (15-6) and Butte Valley (12- 3) currently have the top seeds. Chavez, Yanks strike minor league deal New York Yankees NEW YORK (AP) — A person familiar with the negotiations says third baseman Eric Chavez and the New York Yankees have agreed to a minor league contract. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because the deal had not yet been announced. Chavez won AL Gold Gloves with Oakland from 2001-06 and has spent all 13 of his major league seasons with the Athletics. Injuries limited him to 33 games last year after he played in just 23 in 2008 and eight in 2009. Chavez has had five operations since September 2007, including three on his shoulder and two on his back. He felt spasms on both sides of his neck last year after a spring training drill in which a minor leaguer collided with his right shoulder. AP men’s poll: Ohio State still a unanimous No. 1 COLLEGE BASKETBALL Ohio State is a unanimous choice as the No. 1 team in The Associated Press Top 25 for a second straight week. The Buckeyes are 24-0 and the only unbeaten team. They are No. 1 for the fourth consecutive week and received all 65 first-places votes Monday from the national media panel. They are followed by Kansas, Texas, Pittsburgh and Duke. San Diego State and BYU moved up one spot to sixth and seventh. The next five teams are from the Big East: Notre Dame, Villanova, Connecticut, Georgetown and Syracuse. With Pittsburgh, the Big East has six of the top 12 teams and eight overall. Florida moved in at No. 17 after falling from the rankings last week. Temple is back in at 24. Min- nesota and Washington dropped out. Mark Wilson wins playoff at Phoenix Open ‘‘I’m just enjoying the ride here and that’s just kind of the way I’m Phoenix Open SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Packers fan Mark Wilson celebrated a big victory of his own on a playing field about as close to frozen tundra as it gets on the PGA Tour. A self-described cheesehead from Menomonee Falls, Wis., Wilson won the frost- delayed Phoenix Open on Monday for his sec- ond victory in three starts this year, holing a 9-foot birdie putt on the second hole of a playoff with Jason Dufner. ‘‘I’m just enjoying the ride here and that’s just kind of the way I’m going to look at the year here, just ride this train as long as I can,’’ Wil- son said. After playing until dark Sunday and fulfill- ing some parental duties, he was able to watch only a few min- utes of the Super Bowl. ‘‘I had to wash Lane’s face and put his jammies on, and I had to eat, too,’’ Wilson said. ‘‘The chaos, with two little kids running around — I like the chaos; it’s a good dis- traction. But at that time, I want to at least get to watch the last 15 minutes of this game. This doesn’t happen every year, the Packers in the Super Bowl. ‘‘Luckily, my son, after we played Candy Land in the middle of the fourth quarter, he said, ‘OK, the last two minutes we can watch it together.’ So we watched that last stand, and I was happy that they somehow pulled it off.’’ Delays for frost and frozen turf the first four days forced the Monday finish. Two strokes ahead when play resumed Monday, Wilson closed with a 2-under 69 to match Dufner at 18 under. Dufner shot a 66, with birdies on Nos. 16 and 17. ‘‘I was a little more nervous today than I was expecting,’’ Wilson said. ‘‘I didn’t sleep great last night. It was probably the excitement with the Super Bowl and going to look at the year here, just ride this train as long as I can.’’ Mark Wilson the uncertainty of today.’’ The Sony Open win- ner last month in a 36- hole Sunday finish, Wil- son made a 4 1/2-foot par putt on the par-4 18th to extend the play- off. He won on the par-4 10th, setting up the deciding putt with a 7- iron approach from the middle of the fairway. ‘‘That was an easy putt,’’ Wilson said. ‘‘Just thankfully, I start- ed it on line and knocked it in.’’ Dufner was facing a 7 1/2-foot par putt when Wilson ended the play- off. ‘‘Came out and made a couple birdies to put maybe a little heat on Mark, and he played great,’’ Dufner said. ‘‘Great two-putt on the first playoff hole from 70-plus feet and makes birdie on the next hole.’’ Wilson earned $1,098,000 for his fourth PGA Tour title. The 36-year-old former University of North Carolina player also won the 2007 Honda Classic and 2009 Mayakoba Golf Classic. He jumped from 91st to 51st in the world rank- ing — locking up a spot in the 64-man Match Play field — after fin- ishing last season at No. 230. After resuming play Monday on the 13th green, Wilson made seven straight pars before holing the win- ning birdie putt. He nearly drove into the water on the left side of the 18th hole in regu- lation, but the ball cleared the hazard and ended up in a bunker. He hit a 9-iron approach to about 14 feet and two-putted to force the playoff. ‘‘I got away with a bad tee shot on 18, but luckily got a good bounce and was hoping I’d finish it off there,’’ Wilson said. ‘‘But the playoff was fun.’’ Dufner is winless on the PGA Tour. He also settled for par on the final hole of regulation after nearly holing out from a greenside bunker. ‘‘It’s a good start to the year,’’ Dufner said. ‘‘To be honest, this is a course that I never real- ly thought I could com- pete on. History on this golf course is a lot of long-ball hitters. Mark and myself probably aren’t the longest, but we’re probably not the shortest. But to be able to compete and be at the top of the field for the week is good, so it’s definitely good momen- tum for the rest of the West Coast swing.’’ Martin Laird (65) and Vijay Singh (66) tied for third at 16 under, and Gary Woodland (66), J.B. Holmes (67) and Nick Watney (68) fol- lowed at 15 under. Third-round leader Tommy Gainey, a stroke back with two holes left, closed with a 74 to tie for eighth at 14 under. He made a triple bogey on the par-4 17th after hitting into the water twice on the driveable hole. ‘‘I guess I’ve just got to deal with it,’’ Gainey said. ‘‘You’ve got to win with class and you’ve got to lose with class, so I’m trying to deal with that right now.’’ Phil Mickelson tied for 29th at 10 under. He finished with consecu- tive 71s after getting into contention with opening rounds of 67 and 65. Mickelson, second a week ago in San Diego, needed at least a solo third-place finish to pass Tiger Woods for No. 3 in the world. Lefty hasn’t been ranked ahead of Woods since the week before the 1997 Masters.