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2B – Daily News – Wednesday, March 9, 2011 Ohio St. suspends Tressel 2 games Spring Training COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State suspended football coach Jim Tressel for two games and fined him $250,000 on Tuesday for vio- lating NCAA rules by failing to notify the school about information he received involving two players and questionable activities involv- ing the sale of memorabilia. Tressel also will receive a public reprimand and must make a public apology. The NCAA is investigating and could reject the self-imposed penalties and impose additional sanctions. Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said he never seriously con- sidered firing Tressel for violating his contract, which specifies that he must immediately report any — the word is underlined in the contract — information which pertains to violations of NCAA, Big Ten or Ohio State bylaws and rules. ‘‘Wherever we end up, Jim Tres- sel is our football coach,’’ Smith said. ‘‘He is our coach, and we trust him implicitly.’’ Last December, the NCAA sus- pended quarterback Terrelle Pryor and four teammates for the first five games on the 2011 season for sell- ing jerseys, championship rings and trophies to a local tattoo parlor owner. The suspensions came just 16 days after the U.S. attorney told the school of a federal investigation that included players. The school did not learn until January, however, that Tressel had been tipped off to the federal inves- tigation back in April. ‘‘Obviously I’m disappointed that this happened at all,’’ Tressel said. ‘‘I take my responsibility for what we do at Ohio State tremen- dously seriously and for the game of football. I plan to grow from this. I’m sincerely saddened by the fact that I let some people down and did- ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Defend- ing champion Lance Mackey pulled into the checkpoint at Nikolai on Tuesday just two days into the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and said a fifth victory does not look promis- ing. According to the Idi- tarod’s official Website, Mackey pulled into the checkpoint carrying two dogs in his sled, and had just put a third dog back in the team after carrying it for a ways. Mushers will carry dogs when they aren’t pulling well so they don’t slow down the team. ‘‘I’ve had lots of bad luck,’’ Mackey told the website when asked how his race was going. But the Fairbanks musher who has won the world’s longest sled dog race four consecu- tive times was quick to say, just like in previous Iditarods, his race could turn around and he could end up on top. ‘‘I’m not saying I’m out of it by any means but it sure don’t look RB (Continued from page 1B) Mitch Robison reached on back-to-back infield singles with one out. But Figgs was gunned down at third base on a running sacrifice bunt attempt. Erickson then got Red Bluff to ground out to first base to end the inning. The Spartans would get runners on in three more innings, but could never do anything with them. Joel Duggins got all the way to second base in the fifth inning following a Foothill throwing error, but Erickson struck out the next two batters. Robison roped a single down the third base line in the sixth inning — the only hard hit ball off Erickson all game — but again the Foothill pitcher worked out of it. In the seventh inning pinch hitter Jorge Caldera was hit by a pitch by Foothill reliever Taylor Scott. But Scott settled down and got a pair of ground balls to end the game. Foothill had cushioned its lead by that point anyway, n’t do things as well as I possibly could have.’’ Yahoo! Sports first reported Tres- sel’s prior knowledge of the possi- ble improper benefits on Monday. Tressel said he allowed the two players cited in the e-mail to play the entire 2010 season because he did not want to ‘‘interfere with a federal investigation’’ and worried that sitting eligible players would raise a ‘‘whole new set of ques- tions.’’ Tressel received an e-mail on April 2, 2010. A person Tressel identified only as ‘‘a lawyer,’’ men- tioned that Ohio State players had been implicated in activities with Eddie Rife, a local tattoo-parlor owner. The e-mail, according to Tressel, said players were selling signed Buckeyes memorabilia and giving it to Rife in exchange for money and tattoos. The e-mail said Rife had a criminal record and had witnessed one of his friends being murdered in a parking lot. The Buckeyes coach said he kept quiet out fear for the safety of the two players connected to the feder- al, criminal drug-trafficking case. That investigation prompted an Ohio State and NCAA investigation involving players selling memora- bilia and getting discounted tattoos. ‘‘I have had a player murdered. I’ve had a player incarcerated. I’ve had a player get taken into the drug culture and lose his opportunity for a productive life,’’ an emotional Tressel said, tears welling in his eyes, at a news conference on Tues- day night. ‘‘It was obviously tremendously concerning. Quite honestly, I was scared.’’ Tressel met with Ohio State and NCAA officials in December when the U.S. Attorney’s office disclosed that Pryor, top receiver DeVier Posey, leading rusher Dan ‘‘Boom’’ too promising at this point,’’ Mackey said. Mackey left the Nikolai checkpoint about 350 miles from Anchorage with a 12- dog team, considered small for this early in the 1,150-mile race to Nome. Mushers normal- ly begin the race with 16-dog teams and must finish with at least six. Mushers will leave dogs at checkpoints where they will be cared for and flown back to Anchorage if they are sick, injured or not per- forming well. Mackey said he was- n’t driving his team hard or cutting rest and couldn’t explain why some of his veteran dogs — those that have gone to Nome before — were having difficulties, except to say the trail was demanding in cer- tain places. Mackey was in third place Tuesday, behind Sebastian Schnuelle and four-time champion Martin Buser who was leading the race. Mackey wasn’t the only race-hardened vet- taking advantage of some Red Bluff mental miscues in the fifth inning to tack on three more runs. A Spartans’ error on a fly ball that would have been the second out of the inning, gave Foothill runners on first and second instead. After a passed ball, Erick- son was intentionally walked to load the bases. Roi then hit a sacrifice fly to center field to drive home Kevin Garges. Confusion between Red Bluff’s battery led to another Foothill run and finally Ryan King added another run with an RBI double. Red Bluff’s Storm Lewis took over the pitching duties and got the final out of the fifth inning on one pitch. He then worked the sixth inning and struck out three. Foothill tacked on a final run in the seventh inning after leading off with back- to-back singles from Kyncy and Erickson. Roi sacrificed the runners over and two bat- ters later Andrew Zaharris hit an RBI single to score Kyncy for Foothill’s sixth and final run. The Cougars finished with 11 hits. It was the first home loss Herron, offensive lineman Mike Adams and backup defensive line- man Solomon Thomas had provided the memorabilia. Despite their 2011 five-game suspensions, those five were permit- ted to play in the Sugar Bowl. With all playing well — Thomas even had the game-saving interception in the final minutes — the Buckeyes beat Arkansas 31-26 in New Orleans. Shortly after the team returned from the game, the university began reviewing its information on an unrelated legal issue, Smith said Tuesday, and Tressel admitted he had not told everything he knew about his players and their relation- ship with the tattoo parlor and its owner. Smith was forced to return to campus Tuesday, skipping meetings with television network officials in New York about this year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament, to address the NCAA violations. Smith is the chairman of the NCAA’s Division I men’s basketball committee which selects, seeds and brackets the teams. Tressel is 106-22 in his 10 years as coach of the Buckeyes, with a national championship in 2002. The Buckeyes open next season with games against Akron and Tole- do, likely playing those without their coach and their quarterback. Ohio State president Gordon Gee said he and Tressel had discussed the violation at Gee’s house for 3 hours one night. Gee also said he had not consid- ered dismissing the Buckeyes coach. ‘‘No, are you kidding?’’ he said with a laugh. ‘‘Let me be very clear. I’m just hoping the coach doesn’t dismiss me.’’ Mackey says another win doesn’t look likely eran to be having trou- ble. Buser lost valuable time when his dog team became entangled with Jamaican musher New- ton Marshall’s team. Five of Buser’s dogs got loose. Another musher found three of the dogs and two trotted into the next checkpoint on their own, but the mishap cost Buser time as he waited for his dogs in the Rainy Pass check- point. It looked like five- time champion Rick Swenson might scratch after crashing his sled and perhaps breaking his collar bone. Swen- son was in 21st place and resting his team Tuesday afternoon in Nikolai. Race spokesman Chas St. George said if Swenson decides to continue on to McGrath X-rays could be taken and he could see a doc- tor. If he decides he’s had enough, he could be flown to Anchorage to get medical treatment. Veteran musher DeeDee Jonrowe veered for the Spartans, since Joe Gallaty became Red Bluff’s head coach at the start of the 2010 season.The Spartans will be home again, today, as their game against Corning was moved to Red Bluff because of rain caused field conditions. The game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start. NCAA Conference Championships Already qualified: Belmont, Atlantic Sun Conference; Gonzaga, West Coast Conference; Indiana State, Mis- souri Valley Conference; Morehead State, Ohio Valley Conference; Old Dominion, Colonial Athletic Associa- tion; Saint Peter’s, Metro Atlantic Ath- letic Conference; UNC Asheville, Big South Conference;Wofford, Southern Conference Tuesday’s Championships Horizon League Milwaukee Butler 59, Wisconsin-Milwaukee 44 Summit League At Sioux Falls Arena Sioux Falls, S.D. Oakland 90, Oral Roberts 76 Sun Belt Conference Arkansas-Little Rock 64, North Texas 63 Today’s Championships Big Sky Conference At Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion Greeley, Colo. Montana vs. N.Colroado, 6 p.m., ESPN2 Northeast Conference Robert Morris at Long Island, 4 p.m., ESPN2 off the trail and briefly was lost before turning around and returning to the checkpoint at Finger Lake. She was in 18th place. St. George said the trail was hard and fast this year and it promised to be a fast race. Buser holds the race record of eight days, 22 hours and 46 minutes set in 2002. His teams tend to do well on a hard and fast trail. Mackey finished the 2010 race in eight days, 23 hours, 59 minutes — the second-fastest finish in Iditarod history. Race officials also said Tuesday afternoon that veteran musher Paul Gebhardt scratched in Nikolai out of con- cern for his team. Geb- hardt has twice finished the race in second place. NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL OT Pts GF GA SHARKS 38 22 6 82 185 167 Dallas Phoenix 34 23 11 79 194 198 Kings Ducks 35 26 5 75 182 193 Central Division WL OT Pts GF GA 39 19 8 86 219 193 Detroit Chicago 37 24 6 80 220 185 Nashville 33 24 9 75 167 156 Columbus 31 26 8 70 180 196 St. Louis 29 28 9 67 182 198 Northwest Division WL OT Pts GF GA Vancouver 43 16 9 95 220 158 Calgary 35 24 9 79 207 193 Minnesota 35 25 7 77 176 176 Colorado 26 32 8 60 187 229 Edmonton 23 36 8 54 170 219 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL OT Pts GF GA Philadelphia 41 19 6 88 212 175 Pittsburgh 39 21 8 86 196 167 N.Y. Rangers35 29 4 74 193 164 New Jersey 30 32 4 64 140 170 N.Y. Islanders26 32 10 62 188 216 Northeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Boston 38 20 8 84 200 156 Montreal 37 23 7 81 180 168 Buffalo 32 26 8 72 190 190 Toronto 29 28 10 68 176 206 Ottawa 23 34 9 55 149 207 Southeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Washington 37 20 10 84 178 167 Tampa Bay 37 21 8 82 196 200 Carolina 31 26 9 71 191 201 Atlanta 27 28 11 65 184 214 Florida 27 31 9 63 168 186 ————————————————— Tuesday’s results Nashville at San Jose, late Florida 3, Chicago 2 Minnesota 5, Colorado 2 Montreal 4, Boston 1 N.Y. Islanders 4, Toronto 3, OT Ottawa 2, New Jersey 1 Philadelphia 4, Edmonton 1 Pittsburgh 3, Buffalo 1 Vancouver 4, Phoenix 3, OT Today’s games Atlanta at Carolina, 4 p.m. Edmonton at Washington, 4 p.m. St. Louis at Columbus, 4 p.m. Chicago at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m., VS Los Angeles at Detroit, 4:30 p.m. Calgary at Dallas, 6 p.m. N.Y. Rangers at Anaheim, 7:30 p.m. Monday’s late result Dallas 4, Los Angeles 3, OT 36 23 7 79 184 186 36 25 5 77 183 163 San Diego 2 Athletics 6 PHOENIX (AP) — Oakland manager Bob Geren is looking for an opening-day starter, and Trevor Cahill is mak- ing quite the case for the job. Cahill pitched four scoreless innings in the Athletics’ 6-2 win over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday. ‘‘I was able to get some kind of rhythm going,’’ Cahill said. ‘‘I threw sinkers away from both right- and left-handed hitters and threw a few changeups in there. I’m also getting better command of my fastball.’’ The right-hander, who turned 23 on March 1, allowed one hit with no walks or strikeouts. He threw 49 pitches, then went to the bullpen for 15 more. ‘‘He threw outstanding,’’ Geren said. ‘‘He had a low pitch count. He is right where we want for him to be.’’ Cahill also showed his agility when he dodged the barrel of Jesus Guzman’s broken bat in the fourth inning. ‘‘That shrapnel ... I was hoping there weren’t any other pieces that I didn’t see,’’ Cahill said. Left-handers Gio Gonzalez, Dallas Braden and Brett Anderson also are in the mix to start April 1 against Seattle, but Cahill went 18-8 with a 2.97 ERA last season and made the All-Star team. ‘‘Trevor has pitched well, Gio has been lights-out, Braden has pitched an opener before and Anderson has great stuff,’’ Geren said. ‘‘It’s good to have those kinds of options.’’ Cahill even showed his agility Tuesday when he dodged the barrel of Jesus Guzman’s broken bat in the fourth inning. Infielder Andy LaRoche also had a nice day for Oakland. LaRoche, in camp on a minor league contract, hit his second homer in as many games and No. 3 for the spring. He also had an infield hit and made a few nice defensive plays while playing all nine innings at first base. ‘‘We knew that coming in that he had power potential,’’ Geren said. ‘‘We are just trying him everywhere.’’ Tim Stauffer struck out five in four innings for San Diego, yielding two unearned runs and two hits. ‘‘He changed speeds well, he had good sink on his pitch- es,’’ Padres manager Bud Black said. ‘‘We had him go four today, probably a little longer next time out.’’ NOTES: Anthony Recker and Michael Taylor also homered for the A’s. ... Oakland RHP Brad Ziegler contin- ues to pitch well. He struck out three in the seventh to pick up the win. ... Oakland’s Ryan Sweeney is scheduled to make his first start in right field on Wednesday against Texas after having season-ending surgery on his right knee on July 30. Giants 0 Seattle 1 PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Mariners left-hander Jason Vargas found a way to quiet the Giants in his spring debut. Vargas pitched three shutout innings in his first spring training start, and Ryan Langerhans tripled in the game’s only run, lead- ing the Mariners to 1-0 win over the Giants on Tues- day. ‘‘That’s what good pitching will do ... Just one of those days,’’ Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. ‘‘We didn’t hit. Bats didn’t show up.’’ Vargas, who was 9-12 with a 3.78 ERA last sea- son, didn’t appear earlier in spring training because of his heavy workload in 2010. Vargas, who allowed two hits and struck out one, pitched a career-high 192 2/3 innings last season. Vargas said that his goals are to make pitches, NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL Pct GB 46 19 .708 — Lakers Phoenix 33 29 .532 11.5 WARRIORS 28 35 .444 17 Clippers 24 40 .375 21.5 KINGS 15 46 .246 29 Southwest Division WL Pct GB San Antonio 51 12 .810 — Dallas 46 17 .730 5 New Orleans37 29 .561 15.5 Memphis 36 29 .554 16 Houston 33 33 .500 19.5 Northwest Division WL Pct GB Okla. City 39 23 .629 — Denver 37 27 .578 3 Portland 37 27 .578 3 Utah 33 31 .516 7 Minnesota 15 50 .231 25.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL Pct GB x-Boston 46 15 .754 — New York 33 29 .532 13.5 Philadelphia 33 30 .524 14 New Jersey 19 43 .306 27.5 Toronto 17 46 .270 30 Southeast Division WL Pct GB 43 21 .672 — Miami Orlando 40 24 .625 3 Atlanta 37 27 .578 6 Charlotte 26 37 .413 16.5 Washington 16 47 .254 26.5 Central Division WL Pct GB Chicago 44 18 .710 — Indiana 27 36 .429 17.5 Milwaukee 24 38 .387 20 Detroit 23 41 .359 22 Cleveland 12 51 .190 32.5 x-clinched playoff spot ————————————————— Tuesday’s results Golden State 95,Cleveland 85 L.A. Lakers 101, Atlanta 87 Milwaukee 95, Washington 76 Philadelphia 110, Indiana 100 Phoenix 113, Houston 110 Portland 105, Miami 96 Today’s games Golden State at New Jersey,4 p.m.,CSNB Orlando at Sacramento, 7 p.m.,CSNC Chicago at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Oklahoma City at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Utah at Toronto, 4 p.m. L.A. Clippers at Boston, 4:30 p.m. Cleveland at Milwaukee, 5 p.m. Dallas at New Orleans, 5 p.m. Indiana at Minnesota, 5 p.m. New York at Memphis, 5 p.m., NBATV Detroit at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. Monday’s results Houston 123, Sacramento 101 keep his team in the game and stay healthy. ‘‘Went pretty well,’’ Vargas said. ‘‘Found the strike zone and they were swinging. Got some balls put in play early.’’ Giants right-hander Ryan Vogelsong went 3 2/3 innings and struck out five with three walks and two hits. Vogelsong is trying to make San Francisco’s ros- ter as a long reliever and spot starter. Catcher Buster Posey went 0 for 3 to end his streak of hitting safely in all six of his previous Cac- tus League games. The defending World Series champion Giants finished with four hits and were shut out for only the second time in 13 spring games. The Mariners’ bullpen threw six scoreless innings. MLB Spring Training AMERICAN LEAGUE WL Pct Kansas City 7 4 .636 Detroit 8 5 .615 Minnesota 6 4 .600 Seattle 5 4 .556 Boston 6 5 .545 Angels 6 5 .545 Texas 6 5 .545 Baltimore 4 4 .500 New York 5 5 .500 A’s 56 .455 Cleveland 4 6 .400 Toronto 4 6 .400 Chicago 3 6 .333 Tampa Bay 3 7 .300 NATIONAL LEAGUE WL Pct GIANTS 94 .692 Washington 6 3 .667 Atlanta 7 4 .636 Cincinnati 7 4 .636 St. Louis 6 4 .600 Florida 5 4 .556 Colorado 6 5 .545 Milwaukee 6 5 .545 Philadelphia 6 6 .500 Pittsburgh 6 6 .500 San Diego 4 5 .444 Los Angeles 5 7 .417 Chicago 4 7 .364 New York 4 7 .364 Arizona 5 9 .357 Houston 3 9 .250 NOTE: Split-squad games count in the standings; games against non-major league teams do not. ————————————————— Monday’s results Oakland 6, San Diego 2 Seattle 1, San Francisco 0 Arizona 16, Cleveland 4 Boston (ss) 3, Houston (ss) 2 Boston (ss) 8, St. Louis 7 Chicago White Sox 9, Colorado (ss) 8 Cincinnati 5, Kansas City 2 Colorado (ss) 4, Chicago Cubs 0 Florida 9, Detroit 5 Houston (ss) 5, N.Y. Mets (ss) 4 L.A. Angels 2, Texas 1 L.A. Dodgers 7, Milwaukee 1 N.Y.Yankees 5, Atlanta 4 Philadelphia 4, Baltimore 3 Pittsburgh 5, Minnesota 2 Tampa Bay 3, Toronto 2, 10 innings Washington 4, N.Y.Mets (ss) 3, 10 innings Today’s games Chi.White Sox vs.San Fran.,12:05 p.m. Oakland vs.Texas, 12:05 p.m. Minnesota vs. Baltimore (ss), 10:05 a.m. Philadelphia vs. Detroit, 10:05 p.m. St. Louis vs. Atlanta, 10:05 a.m. Toronto vs. Tampa Bay, 10:05 a.m. Washington vs. Florida, 10:05 a.m. Houston vs. N.Y. Mets, 10:10 a.m., MLBN Cincinnati vs.San Diego (ss), 12:05 p.m. Colorado vs. L.A. Angels, 12:05 p.m. Kansas City vs.Chicago Cubs, 12:05 p.m. San Diego (ss) vs. Cleveland, 12:05 p.m. Seattle vs. L.A. Dodgers, 12:05 p.m. Milwaukee vs. Arizona, 12:10 p.m. Baltimore (ss) vs.Boston., 4:05 p.m., MLBN Pittsburgh vs. N.Y.Yankees, 4:05 p.m.