Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/26558
Monday 1 p.m. VERSUS — Paris-Nice, cycling 6 p.m. ESPN — West Coast Conference, championship game, teams TBD, basketball 11:55 a.m. ESPN2 — Premier League, Chelsea at Blackpool, soccer Sports 1B Monday March 7, 2011 8 not enough Tire gamble helps Edwards win in Las Vegas LAS VEGAS (AP) — Carl Edwards is off to the best start of his career, and credits ‘‘a gift’’ from Tony Stewart for his first win of the season. Stewart had the dominant car Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but had to shuffle his strategy when a penalty on pit road crippled his chances. Edwards crew chief Bob Osborne took note of what Stewart was doing, then used it to get his own driver into Victory Lane. ‘‘That car was spectacular. He did a really good job dri- ving it, too,’’ Edwards said of Stewart. ‘‘That was really a gift for us for him to have that penalty. It may have been the difference in the race there.’’ Stewart was the leader when he was penalized for leav- ing his pit stall with the air hose still attached to his Chevro- let. Crew chief Darian Grubb had to call for a two-tire stop to get Stewart back into the lead, the entire field saw it work, and Stewart was backed into a corner. He had to take four tires on his final stop, most everyone else took two, and the longer time spent on pit road shuffled him too far back to make it back to the front. Edwards, in a Roush Fenway Racing Ford, pulled away for the win, while Stewart, who dropped to 22nd after the four-tire stop, was unable to chase him down and finished second. ‘‘We had the fastest thing on the planet today and we just Daily News photo by Leland Gordon Dillon Reid shakes hands with members of the Red Bluff Spartans coaching staff after beating Luke Hudson of Antioch Friday during the California State Wrestling Championships in Bakersfield. By LELAND GORDON DN correspondent BAKERSFIELD — Friends aren’t supposed to prevent friends from experiencing success and joy. In wrestling, and especially at the California State Wrestling Champi- onships, friendships sometimes have to be put on hold. Corning’s Calvin Meister and Red Bluff’s Dillon Reid are friends and root for the other to experience prosperity, yet there the two were on Saturday, battling each other for a spot in the 160-pound medal rounds at one of the nation’s most prestigious tournaments. The win- ner was guaranteed a medal and the loser was guaranteed to leave Rabobank Arena without any awards. Reid beat his friend 11-2 in the first match of second-day competi- tion, making it seven times he has beaten Meister this season. That victory enabled Reid to win eighth place for the second straight year. “I didn’t like it because I knew one of us was not placing and from our matches before I kind of knew ‘I wanted to place higher than I was ranked and I didn’t. It wasn’t a good weekend for me, it didn’t turn out right’ Dillon Reid he wouldn’t be placing as long as I didn’t do anything stupid,” said Reid, the only Red Bluff wrestler to qualify. “It’s sad because he wres- tles hard and gives his all and for him to put out that much work and me having to put him out, it wasn’t fun. After the tournament I’m going to ask him if he wants to go get some ice cream.” For Reid, it was a disappointing weekend, he said. He came in ranked fourth in the state according Lincecum strikes out 7 in 3 2/3 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Starter Tim Lincecum and closer Brian Wilson were at their best for the San Francisco Giants in Sunday’s 6-1 win over the Seattle Mariners. Lincecum struck out seven in 3 2-3 shutout innings and worked out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam. The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner was one strike away from a rare four-strikeout inning in the fourth after leadoff man Jack Cust reached base on a wild pitch on the third strike. ‘‘Rhythm kind of went in and out between innings, other than that, everything felt fine,’’ Lincecum said. ‘‘It’s good to get my pitch count up, continue to add on to it and get my body in shape for the rest of the season.’’ Lincecum gave up three hits and walked three. He throw around 60 pitches and said his changeup was his best pitch. Wilson, who’d been out with a bad back, made his spring training debut for the World Series champions. He came on in the fifth and struck out the first two Mariners looking with cut fastballs. ‘‘I treated it like a game situation, which is how I treat every game I pitch,’’ Wilson said. ‘‘There’s always room for improvement, whether it be physical or mental.’’ Catcher Buster Posey said Wilson looked good in his lone inning after pitching live batting practice last week. ‘‘I’m sure he was happy to actually have some compe- tition,’’ Posey said. Miguel Tejada hit a two-run triple as the Giants won their eighth spring training game, the most in the majors. Mariners starter Nate Robertson allowed four runs on four hits in his second spring training start. He walked two in three innings. ‘‘He had good stuff, though,’’ Seattle manager Eric Wedge said. ‘‘All of his pitches were working the way they needed to be working.’’ to thecaliforniawrestler.com but went 4-3. “I wanted to place higher than I was ranked and I didn’t. It wasn’t a good weekend for me, it didn’t turn out right,” said Reid, who made it to the state meet every year of his prep career. It started well Friday with Reid pinning Antioch’s Luke Hudson in 3:07, but things turned bad in the next match with a 6-4 loss to Clovis sophomore Adrian Salas. In the seventh-place match, Salas again bested Reid, pinning him in 4:40 in part due to Reid’s desperation to get Salas on his back. “It’s hard to lose and then have to wrestle for another day and a half,” he said. He battled back from the first setback with three straight wins in the consolation bracket, pinning San Fernando’s Robert Gonzalez in 4:34, beating Dylan Morris of Red- wood 18-7 and beating Meister. With a medal guaranteed, Reid lost by pin to Dylin Rodriguez of Sanger in 1:46 before his second loss to Salas. See 8, page 2B gave it away,’’ Stewart said. ‘‘It kills me to throw away a race like that.’’ That’s how Edwards felt the last two weeks. Edwards believed he should have won the first two races of the season, and had a hard time shaking the disappoint- ment of not getting to Victory Lane before he arrived at Las Vegas. He was second in the season-opening Daytona 500 — he called winner Trevor Bayne to ask what he could have done differently on the last lap — then was certain he had the race-winning car last week at Phoenix before he was wrecked by Kyle Busch. The win on Sunday, his second victory at Las Vegas and the 19th of his career, now has many thinking Edwards is a solid championship contender. He closed last season with wins in the final two races, and is now third in the Sprint Cup Series standings, three points out of the lead. ‘‘This is the best start to a season that I’ve ever had,’’ he said. ‘‘You know, Daytona could have gone any way. But Phoenix, that was a very strong performance from every- one. They had a little bit of bad luck there. Today, I felt like we had a solid top three car all day. That’s three different types of racetracks with success on all three, so I’m really excited.’’ Stewart wasn’t thinking about the big picture Sunday after finishing second to Edwards despite leading a race- high 163 laps. Stewart was in second place on the final restart of the Daytona 500, but faded to a 13th-place finish. He then led 59 laps last week in Phoenix, only to finish seventh. Although Sunday’s run moved him into the lead of the Sprint Cup Series standings, he was unable to take much solace in knowing he had cars capable of winning the first three races of the season. ‘‘That’s not in my makeup,’’ said Stewart, who was try- ing to cross Las Vegas off the list of only two active tracks where he’s yet to win a Cup race. ‘‘This was a big deal today, and when you lead that many laps and have a car that’s that fast and you lose it — I’m sure tomorrow when the emotion dies down we’ll look back and say it was a great weekend, but just, man, it does not sit See VEGAS, page 2B Sabbatini wins Honda Classic by 1 shot PALM BEACH GAR- DENS, Fla. (AP) — Walking off the second tee Sunday, Rory Sabbati- ni veered left and stopped, peering toward a patch of 3-foot grass and the lake behind it. Trouble for the Honda Classic leader? Maybe. Something was rustling in the rough. ‘‘Is that a gator?’’ Sab- batini said. The South African was wise to brace himself for any menace on the PGA National course. While no reptile sightings were confirmed, Sabbatini’s five-stroke lead shrank to one in the space of seven holes, and a halt in play because of lightning delayed his march toward victory. He weathered the weather, turned back a late challenge from Y.E. Yang and shot an even-par 70 for a one-stroke win. ‘‘Luckily I had enough of a cushion that I didn’t get too concerned,’’ Sab- batini said. ‘‘I knew going into today that if I shot even par, it was going to be tough to catch.’’ He sealed the title with MCT photo Rory Sabbatini waits on the 17th green as his group partners tee off during the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, on Sunday. a 2-foot par putt on No. 18 for a 72-hole total of 9- under 271. The resident of Fort Worth, Texas, earned his sixth PGA Tour victo- ry and his first since the 2009 Byron Nelson Championship. Yang, Honda’s 2009 winner, birdied the final hole for a closing 66 to finish 8 under. Jerry Kelly, who played with Sabbatini and Yang in the last threesome, shot a 67 and took third at 7 under. ‘‘Rory did what he had See HONDA, page 2B