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Tuesday Boys Hoops Playoffs —Mercy at Westwood, 7 p.m. Baseball — Corning at Gridley, 4 p.m. Baseball — West Valley at Red Bluff, 3 p.m. NBA —Warriors at Pacers, 4 p.m., CSNB NCAA—Illinois at Purdue, 4 p.m., ESPN NCAA—Vanderbilt at Kentucky, 6 p.m., ESPN Sports 1B Tuesday March 1, 2011 Spring Sports Preview Red Bluff Spartans baseball Head coach: Joe Gallaty, second season Division: I League: Eastern Athletic - South 2010 record: Division I runner-up; 21- 10, 10-4, second in Eastern Athletic League QUICK FACTS Graduated batters: Derek Jones (.483, 7 RBI, 47 runs, 5 doubles, 12 stolen bases), E.J. Stanton (.433, 15 RBI, 34 runs, 5 doubles, 13 stolen bases), Cody Gappa (.426, 4 HRs, 31 RBIs, 28 runs, 12 doubles, 3 triples), Dante Garaventa (.381, 11RBIs), Scott Avery (.355, 21 RBI, 9 stolen bases), Cliff Dais (.321, 6 RBIs), Trevor Gipson (.312, 2 HRs, 8 RBI), Maison Etzler (.308, 8 RBIs), Trevor Miller (.293, 7 RBI). Graduated pitchers: Avery (7-4, 2.05, 65 IP, 43 Ks), Stanton (2-3, 3.76, 22.1 IP, 27 Ks), Gipson (0-1, 0.00, 12.1 IP, 15 Ks), Etzler (1-0, 1.45, 9.2 IP, 5 Ks), Dais (0.00, 6.2 IP, 11 Ks). Returning batters: Jordan Fox (.319, 15 RBIs, 5 doubles), Casey Hilsee (.333, 1 RBI), Storm Lewis (.278, 1 RBI), Gerald Baker (.258, 11 RBIs), Austin Brownfield (.250, 2 HRs, 14 RBIs), Richard Penne (.200, 1 RBI), Joel Duggins (.143, 1 RBI) Returning pitchers: Lewis (3-1, 1 save, 2.37, 23.2 IP, 20 Ks), Baker (2-1, 1.19, 17.2 IP, 19 Ks), Zane Medeiros (3- 0, 1 save, 1.65, 17 IP, 17 Ks), Stephen Jensen (1-0, 1.11, 12.2 IP, 10 Ks), Kyle Rodriguez (2-0, 1.75, 4 IP, 6 Ks), Dug- gins (0.00, 1.2 IP, 1 K) Newcomers: Jorge Caldera, Cody Case, Taylor Figgs, Robby Lasby, Modesto Ramirez, Tyler Reed, Cole Robinson, Mitch Robison OUTLOOK Joe Gallaty’s first year as Spartans’ head coach couldn’t have gone much better. Well, maybe just a game better. Gallaty and the Spartans were the Northern Section’s runner-up a season ago, beating some of the best arms in the North State and posting an undefeat- ed record at home. “I thought we had an exciting year,” Gallaty said. “It was an enjoyable year for all involved. It was great kids, great chemistry and a lot of great relation- ships were built and made stronger.” One look around the Red Bluff cam- pus, even during the dreary months of winter, show last season had an impact on the school. Red Bluff baseball shirts and caps are still worn with pride and the school is a buzz about the program. “There’s a lot of pride on our campus from our student body and especially from our players,” Gallaty said. “We have a lot of support from our commu- nity, teaching staff and our administra- tion. Our students they talk about base- ball — they talk a lot about it and our players are a big reason why.” However, a lot of the players who made 2010 a success, graduated in June. Just two everyday players — catcher Austin Brownfield and infielder Jordan Austin Brownfield and the Spartans hope to continue last season’s success. Fox — return for the new campaign. “We lost a lot of good players, but we’re coming up with some pretty good talent,” senior pitcher and first baseman Storm Lewis said. Lewis, along with Gerald Baker and Zane Medeiros, are the trio of pitchers who return after seeing regular work in 2010. Lewis and Medeiros, the team’s clos- er, are still working their arms into shape after basketball season. Baker has spent a lot of time in the past year improving his mechanics and delivery, said Gallaty. Joel Duggins, who saw limited mound time a season ago, is another strong arm the Spartans will rely on this time around. They’ll be joined by one of those bright up-and comers — Robby Lasby, who was part of a 23-4 junior varsity team in 2010. Gallaty said he sees a lot of talent in his eight juniors, but he also knows it may take them time to adjust. “There’s a jump between a 15year- old boy and a 17-18 year-old,” he said. Lasby will be given an opportunity to work into the rotation and his bat will likely land him somewhere in the heart of the order. Modesto Ramirez and Jorge Caldera are two more juniors who’s bats have been impressing the coaching staff. Junior Mitch Robison will show off his defensive skills at shortstop and Tyler Reed and Cole Robison add speed to the Spartans. Taylor Figgs has strong potential in Red Bluff’s outfield and may also work some from the mound. With all the newcomers the batting order will take a few weeks to work itself out, but Gallaty expects Baker, Lasby, Brownfield, Lewis and Ramirez to be in the heart of the order. Fox, who batted .319 as a junior and often hit fifth a season ago, will be counted on to provide senior leadership. That’ll be the case with Brownfield as well, who served as the Spartans everyday catcher and showed pop in his bat with two thunderous homers. A few more changes for the Spartans this season, have nothing to do with per- sonnel. As with all sports, Red Bluff finds itself in a new league — the Eastern Athletic - South, alongside Las Plumas, Lassen, Oroville and Paradise, That also means only one game ROSTER 1 Casey Hilsee U, RHP SR 5-5, 140 2 Richard Penne OF SR 5-7, 170 3Zane Medeiros RHP SR 5-10, 160 4 Cody Case OF, RHP JR 5-11, 170 5 Cole Robinson OF JR 5-10, 185 6 Taylor Figgs OF, RHP JR 5-8, 155 8 Tyler Reed U, RHP JR 6-0, 180 10 Mitch Robison INF, RHP JR 6-0, 170 11 Joel Duggins INF, RHP SR 6-2, 175 12 Jordan Fox instead of two against rivals Foothill, Shasta and Pleasant Valley. This year’s schedule also features a March 26 trip to Raley Field, where the Spartans will play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats, the Oakland Athletics Triple A affiliate. Starting in April, home games have been pushed back to 6 p.m., in another change from last season. While there’s a lot different with the Spartans in 2011, Gallaty hopes to keep his main goals in tact — an enjoyable experience for all, getting the most out of his players and having them mature with the season. “If our best effort everyday means we’re on top, that’s what it means. But the most important thing isn’t the ‘W’ it’s getting the most out of the kids,” he said. SCHEDULE INF SR 5-11, 180 13 Austin Brownfield C, 1B SR 6-0, 210 14 Robby Lasby RHP, OF JR 5-11, 180 15 Modesto Ramirez C, INF JR 5-10, 225 16 Gerald Baker RHP, INF SR 6-0, 195 18 Jorge Caldera 1B, DH JR 5-11, 240 21 Kyle Rodriguez RHP, U SR 6-4, 175 22 Stephen Jensen RHP, OF SR 6-3, 175 25 Storm Lewis RHP, 1B SR 6-5, 195 Tu March 1 — vs West Valley, 3 p.m. Th-F March 3-4 — at Central Valley Pre Season Classic Tu March 8 — vs Foothill, 3 p.m. W March 9 — at Corning, 6 p.m. F March 11 — vs Enterprise, 3 p.m. S March 12 — vs Rio Linda, 3 p.m. Th-S March 17-19 — at Las Plumas Tournament Tu March 22 — at Oroville, 3 p.m. F March 25 — at Las Plumas, 4 p.m. S March 26 — vs Consumnes Oaks at Sacramento,6:30 p.m. F April 1 — vs Lassen, 6 p.m. Tu April 5 — at Paradise, 4 p.m. W April 6 — vs Anderson, 6 p.m. F April 8 — at Shasta, 4 p.m. Tu April 12 — vs Oroville, 6 p.m. F April 15 — vs Las Plumas, 6 p.m. W-F April 20-22 — at Central Valley Easter Classic at BLD Tu April 26 — at Pleasant Valley, 4 p.m. F April 29 — at Lassen, 4 p.m. Tu May 3 — vs Paradise, 6 p.m. F May 6 — at Chico, 4 p.m. Critical week on NFL labor scene NFL NEW YORK (AP) — This is the week hardly any- one expected to actually arrive: deadline time for the NFL and its players’ union. The collective bargaining agreement expires Thursday night, and the owners could lock out the players. Even before that, though, the Players Association is likely to decertify to prevent a lockout and take its chances in court. Both sides will resume meeting with a federal mediator Tuesday and prob- ably Wednesday in Wash- ington; seven recent ses- sions brought little progress. The 32 team owners have meetings Wednesday and Thursday in nearby Chantil- ly, Va., where they will be briefed on the status of negotiations before deciding on the next step. Just ahead stands the unthinkable: a labor shut- down in America’s most prosperous and popular sport. ‘‘Everything is hypothet- ical right now,’’ new 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said Monday. ‘‘I’m just opti- mistic we can get something done.’’ If the league locks out the players, everything stops except the NFL draft on April 28-30 — and any interviews or workouts teams conduct with college players leading up to the draft. After that, teams can’t contact their picks, nor can they sign undrafted rookies. Veterans also will be in limbo, with no offseason workouts (OTAs) or mini- camps held. The longer the impasse lasts, the more in jeopardy training camps, the preseason and — gasp! — the regular season become. Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne already has plans for practicing with teammates. ‘‘We picked out a spot to work out at, and we’re trying to get guys back in town,’’ Henne said. ‘‘Normally our offseason program starts March 28, so we’re going to try to have everybody back March 28 ... and hopefully a lot of guys will come back and we can work out and we can build some bonding and camaraderie.’’ The financial losses are almost incalculable, but would grow by tens of mil- lions of dollars the longer the work stoppage lasts. The NFL is a $9 billion industry, but not when it comes to a halt. Should the union decerti- fy, something it did in 1989, only to reform, individual players would seek a court injunction preventing a lockout. Players on every team approved decertifica- tion in votes during the sea- son. But going through the courts can be a long, wind- ing journey. The league filed an unfair labor practice charge against the union with the National Labor Relations Board in mid-February, saying the NFLPA ‘‘consistently has failed to confer in good faith’’ during negotiations for a new contract. The NFL claimed the union’s plans to decertify overrode its inter- est in reaching a new CBA, a charge union spokesman George Atallah said had ‘‘absolutely no merit.’’ If the union decertifies, which it must do before the CBA expires at 11:59 p.m. Thursday night, Commis- sioner Roger Goodell and the NFL in essence would have nobody to negotiate with. Then again, the play- ers wouldn’t have executive director DeMaurice Smith representing them anymore. Already, some teams have withheld 2011 play- See NFL, page 2B Wednesday’s basketball playoff at a glance #4 Corning at #1 Foothill Boys — Division III Semifinal Wednesday, 7 p.m. Corning Cardinals: 20-7, 5-3, tied for second in Northern Athletic (beat Las Plumas 59-37 in first round) Foothill Cougars: 19-6, 9-3, second in Eastern Ath- letic (first round bye) Players to watch Corning — #20 Cameron Nye, #23 Tyler McIntyre, #32 Anthony Monroe Foothill — #12 Devin Crisosto, #20 Ryan Schmitz, #21 Gabe Porter Notes: The teams have played just one common opponent this season, Las Plumas...both teams beat the Thunderbirds handily...Foothill dropped down to Division III last season...Corning went up to Division III...the Cougars lost in last year’s D-III champi- onship to Enterprise.