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Weekend SAT— Division I Wrestling Championships at P.V., Noon SAT —Division III-IVWrestling Championships at Willows, 9 a.m. SAT— NBA— All-Star Festivities, 5 p.m., TNT PGA—Northern Trust Open, 10 a.m., TGC, Noon, CBS SUN —NASCAR—Daytona 500, 9 a.m., FOX SUN— NBA—All-Star Game, 5:30 p.m., TNT Sports 1B Weekend February 19, 2011 Senior Night thriller Tehama Tracker Daily News photo by Rich Greene Red Bluff senior Zane Medeiros drives to the basket, Friday night, against Las Plumas BOYS HOOPS Las Plumas 50 Red Bluff 47 By RICH GREENE DN Sports Editor Isaac Brown and the Thunder- birds put a sour taste on Senior Night, Friday, as Las Plumas knocked off Red Bluff 50-47. The Spartans had rallied back in the third quarter, only to see their lead slip with five minutes to go when Brown connected on his fifth 3-pointer of the night. Red Bluff tried to battle back, but a Carlos Tapia halfcourt heave as time expired fell short and the Spartans dropped their final home game of the season. Brown finished with a game- high 24 points. His final 3-pointer of the night put Las Plumas up 40-37 with 4:51 remaining. On the Spartans ensuing posses- sion, Brown stole the ball then drove the length of the floor for an easy layup. Las Plumas would eventually push their lead to 50-44 with 33 seconds remaining, but the Spar- tans kept fighting. Daytona 500 DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) —The fans will stand in silence, three fin- gers raised toward the sky, on the third lap of the Day- tona 500 as a tribute to the late Dale Earnhardt. The tribute to mark the 10-year anniversary of Earnhardt’s fatal accident is the only certainty going into Sunday’s season-opening race. Everything from the style of racing, the dominant drivers and what it will take to win NASCAR’s biggest race of the season remained a mystery after one of the more eventful Speedweeks in recent history. Then again, the drivers have accepted that nothing ever goes as planned leading into the Great American Race. ‘‘Speedweeks always seems to have a scenario that pops up and you have to adjust to it,’’ said 2007 Day- tona 500 winner Kevin Har- vick. The latest dilemma is a radically new style of tan- dem racing that has domi- nated the three events lead- ing into the 500. Drivers fig- ured out that hooking up in two-car packs is the fastest way around the freshly paved Daytona International Speedway, and boy were they right: Michael Waltrip topped out at 206 mph in the first race of Speedweeks, sending NASCAR scram- bling to slow down the cars. A smaller restrictor plate Senior Ian Hill hit a jumper to cut the lead to 50-46. Red Bluff fouled and Las Plumas missed the front end of a one-and-one. The Spartans couldn’t hit a field goal despite offensive rebounds by senior Zane Medeiros and Jonah McInnis. McInnis was eventually fouled and made a free throw to cut the game to 50-47 with just six sec- onds left. Red Bluff fouled Brown with four seconds remaining and the Las Plumas guard missed the free throw setting up Tapia’s prayer. But it wasn’t to be for the senior. Tapia and McInnis both finished with 18 points and were instrumen- tal in Red Bluff’s third quarter run. The Spartans went into halftime down 24-17, but came out on fire behind a couple of 3-pointers from Tapia and post play from McInnis. Red Bluff would win the third quarter 18-9 to take a 2-point lead. But three minutes into the third, Brown would do to the Spartans what he did all night — drain a jumper, even with a hand in his face. Brown was supported by 11 issued midweek brought the speeds back under control, but NASCAR has yet to break apart the two-car packs that are apparently the new norm. A series of tech- nical changes have limited how long the cars can stay hooked in pairs before their engines begin to overheat, but the drivers have mas- tered a leapfrogging system that allows them to simply swap positions and resume the two-car push. Establishing partners and figuring out whom to trust became the most important goal of every on-track ses- sion. Kurt Busch seemed to master the new style fastest, parlaying it into victories in both the exhibition Bud- weiser Shootout and the first qualifying race, while others learned valuable lessons. ‘‘There weren’t any sin- gle people left; they were all married,’’ Greg Biffle said of becoming separated from teammate Carl Edwards in his qualifying race. ‘‘I was kind of left out on that island. The rose cere- mony ended quickly for me.’’ The drivers seem to like the new racing, but fans aren’t sold, frustrated that the white-knuckle pack rac- ing they love will be absent from Sunday’s race. How big of a concern is it? Clint Bowyer said he fell asleep on his couch while watching the first of Thursday’s twin 150-mile qualifying races. The competitors insist Sunday will be unpre- dictable, in part because points by Nick Crete. Hill finished with five points for Red Bluff. Senior Storm Lewis had four points and seven rebounds and Medeiros collected eight boards. Taylor Blaser added two points. It was the final home game for Hill, Lewis, Medeiros and Tapia, a group that came into the season without much floor experience. “The amount of improvement from junior to senior year — it’s awesome to see that development in one year,” coach Stan Twitchell said. Tapia proved himself to be a viable scoring option, both with his jumper and ability to drive to the hoop. Lewis improved all season to become a force in the blocks. Hill brought his rugged determi- nation and leadership to the court. Medeiros provided intelligent and high-energy plays throughout the season and was a strong one- on-one defender. Red Bluff travels to Oroville, Tuesday, to end their regular sea- son. Then likely the Spartans take on top-ranked Chico in a Division-II playoff game. Uncertainty dominates Daytona 500 season-opener there has yet to be an event with all 43 cars on the track, and because there’s too much at stake with the Day- tona 500 title on the line. ‘‘I still don’t think we know exactly what’s going to happen,’’ Harvick said. ‘‘We know the two-car stuff is going to work, but we haven’t been out there with the whole pack, so there’s still some unknowns.’’ That includes what kind of day it will be for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was scheduled to start from the pole and likely would have been leading the field during the Lap 3 tribute to his father. But NASCAR’s most popular driver wrecked his car during an earlier practice session and switching to a backup means he’ll go to the back of the field when the green flag falls. Starting his fourth season with Hendrick Motorsports, Earnhardt came to Daytona with his third crew chief in three years and hopes that a fresh voice in his ear can snap a 93-car winless streak. It would be fitting if it came at Daytona, where the griev- ing continues 10 years after the elder Earnhardt’s fatal accident on the last lap of the 2001 race. Earnhardt is respectful of the anniversary, but eager to get the attention on racing. ‘‘I’m here to race. I understand the situation, and I’m looking forward to seeing how my father’s remembered and honored,’’ he said. ‘‘I just want to focus on my job, what I need to do every single corner, every single lap, what’s best for me at this moment, what gets me closer to Victory Lane on Sunday. That’s all I’m going to concern myself with.’’ So he’s giving no thought to the conspiracy theorists who believe it’s already set up for Earnhardt to win on Sunday in an anniversary fix. ‘‘I don’t really get into the hypothetical, fairy tale sort of stuff,’’ he sniffed. But there is one fairy tale that had already played out. Brian Keselowski, the journeyman older brother of rising NASCAR star Brad Keselowski, used help from his little brother in his quali- fying race to earn his first berth in the Daytona 500. It will be Brian Keselowski’s first career Sprint Cup race. With an underfunded car and a crew that consists of his father and his uncle, he’s not expected to take home the trophy on Sunday. Just being part of the show is enough. No matter how he finishes, Brian Keselowski will start Sun- day with tons of new fans and perhaps an opportunity to make more of his fledg- ling career. ‘‘It still goes to show you that you’ve got a chance no matter what,’’ he said. ‘‘It gives everybody a shot at it and says that the indepen- dent guy that can go out and find a race car, put it togeth- er, get a good push, every- body’s got a chance at that.’’ Courtesy photo Red Bluff’s Krista Rodriguez shoots a free throw in Thursday’s game at Las Plumas. GIRLS HOOPS Red Bluff 43 Las Plumas 53 The Lady Spartans hung with Las Plumas, Thursday night, but couldn’t pull out the win, taking a 53-43 road loss. The Spartans went cold in the second quarter and saw a one-point deficit grow to 29-21 at halftime. Red Bluff battled back in the second half and trimmed the Thunderbirds’ lead to five point in the fourth quarter. However Las Plumas hit their free throws down the stretch to negate the Spartans’ effort. Roxy Luppino led Red Bluff with 14 points. Cori Schatz added 10. Krista Rodriguez came off the bench to spark the Lady Spartans’ fourth quarter run. Biggs 53 Las Molinos 28 The Lady Bulldogs couldn’t overcome a scoreless first quarter, Thursday and fell 53-28 to Biggs. Scoreboard NBA Thursday’s late result Dallas 112, Phoenix 106 Sunday’s game East vs.West, 5 p.m. NHL Thursday’s late result San Jose 3,Washington 2 Friday’s results Boston 4, Ottawa 2 Carolina 3, Philadelphia 2 Columbus 4, Chicago 3 Detroit 4, Florida 3 Minnesota 5, Anaheim 1 New Jersey 1, N.Y. Rangers 0 St. Louis 3, Buffalo 0 Saturday’s games Colorado at San Jose, 7:30 p.m.,CSNC Atlanta at Edmonton, 12:30 p.m. Los Angeles at N.Y. Islanders, 4 p.m. New Jersey at Carolina, 4 p.m. Ottawa at Toronto, 4 p.m., NHLN Florida at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m. Anaheim at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Phoenix at Nashville, 5 p.m. Dallas at Vancouver, 7 p.m. Sunday’s games Detroit at Minnesota, 9:30 a.m. Philadelphia at N.Y. Rangers, 9:30 a.m. Washington at Buffalo, 9:30 a.m. Pittsburgh at Chicago, 12:30 p.m. Montreal vs. Calgary, 3 p.m., VS NCAA Friday’s Top 25 result No. 16 Louisville 71, No. 13 Connecticut 58 Saturday’s Top 25 games No. 1 Kansas vs.Colorado, 11 a.m., ESPN No. 3 Texas at Nebraska, 10:30 a.m. No.4 Pittsburgh at St.John’s, 9 a.m., ESPN No.6 San Diego State at Air Force, 11 a.m. No. 7 Brigham Young at TCU, 1:30 p.m. No.8 Notre Dame at West Vir., 10 a.m., CBS No. 9 Georgetown at South Florida, 4 p.m. No.12 Arizona vs.Washington, 3 p.m., ESPN No. 15 Villanova at DePaul, 9 a.m. No. 17 Syracuse vs. Rutgers, 1 p.m. No. 18 Vanderbilt at Auburn, 1 p.m. No.19 N.Caro.vs.Boston Co., 1 p.m., ESPN No. 20 Missouri at Iowa State, 10:45 a.m. No.21 Texas A&M at Oklahoma State, 6 p.m. No.22 Kentucky vs. South Carolina, 1 p.m. No. 24 Xavier vs. Fordham, 5 p.m. No.25 Utah State at St.Mary’s, 6 p.m., ESPN2 Saturday’s other televised games Oregon St. at Oregon, 1 p.m., CSNB Missouri St. at Valparaiso, 2 p.m., ESPN2 George Mason at N.Iowa, 4 p.m., ESPN2 Santa Clara at Portland, 5:30 p.m., CSNB Illinois at Michigan St., 6 p.m., ESPN USC at Stanford, 7:30 p.m., CSNB Montana at Long Beach St., 8 p.m., ESPN2 Sunday’s Top 25 games No.2 Ohio St.at No.11 Purdue, 10 a.m., CBS No.5 Duke vs.Georgia Tech, 4:45 p.m., CSNC No. 10 Wisconsin vs.Penn State, 3 p.m. No. 14 Florida at LSU, 10 a.m., ESPN No. 23 Temple vs. Saint Joseph’s, 1 p.m. Sunday’s other televised games Cleveland St.at Old Dominion, 10 a.m., ESPN2 N.C. State at Maryland, 2:30 p.m., CSNC UCLA at California, 7 p.m., CSNC PGA Northern Trust Open At Riviera Country Club Los Angeles Purse: $6.5 million Yardage: 7,325; Par: 71 TV: 10 a.m., TGC; Noon, CBS Partial Second Round Leaders Play was suspended due to darkness Fred Couples 68-66— 134 -8 J.B. Holmes 67-69— 136 -6 John Senden 67-69— 136 -6 Ryan Moore 69-68— 137 -5 Kevin Na 71-66— 137 -5 Stewart Cink 70-67— 137 -5 Trevor Immelman 70-67— 137 -5 Robert Allenby 67-70— 137 -5 Paul Casey Justin Rose Vijay Singh 71-67— 138 -4 69-69— 138 -4 68-70— 138 -4