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AP Photo — WAde PAyne driver denny hamlin (center) signs autographs before practice for the nASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday in Bristol, tenn. By Jenna Fryer The Associated Press BRISTOL, Tenn. » Denny Hamlin ended two weeks of Team Penske dominance by winning the pole at Bristol Motor Speedway. Hamlin set a track record Friday with a lap at 129.991 mph to earn the top starting spot. It broke the mark of 129.535 set by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch a year ago, and ensured that neither Brad Kes - elowski or Joey Logano won the pole for the first time since NASCAR's new knockout qualifying debuted three weeks ago. Hamlin ran only one lap in the first segment and it was good enough to lock him into the top 12 to advance into the second segment. He then ran one lap, took the pole for Sunday's race, and got out of his car to see if anyone could beat him. "As a short track guy, I can feel when , 'O K, t hi s is a ll I 'v e go t. ' Or , 'T hi s is a really good lap,'" Hamlin said. He aborted an attempt at a second lap in the first segment because, "If that wasn't a top-12 lap, we were in big trou - ble. So I knew that was going to be good. Then ultimately strategy comes into play, wanting to conserve your car and keeping everything as cool as you can for the second segment. "I was going to run two laps in the second segment, but I bobbled it pretty bad into Turn 3 and didn't fin - ish the lap. But I knew the first one was good." So good that he wasn't very wor- ried when Keselowski and Logano both pulled back onto the track as the clock ticked down to attempt to bump Hamlin from the pole. The teammates swept the front row at Phoenix and Las Vegas, where the new format was first used this season, and they made one last run at Hamlin. Keselowski came up just short, settling for second at 129.965. Logano was fourth, behind Ham - lin's teammate Matt Kenseth. "I feel like we did what we were supposed to do to be able to go out there and give it a shot for the pole," said Logano. naScaR SpRInT cup Hamlin sets mark, wins pole Ends two weeks of Penske qualifying dominance with record lap at Bristol By The Associated Press SuRpRISe, aRIz. » Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin will probably start the season on the disabled list in- stead of in the Oakland Athletics' rotation. A's manager Bob Melvin said Friday that Parker has right fore - arm tightness and soreness and would be examined Monday by Dr. James Andrews in Birming- ham, Ala. Melvin said Griffin has a sore elbow and would be examined by team physician Dr. Douglas Freed - berg and have an MRI Friday in Scottsdale, Ariz. "They're both in jeopardy of not starting the season with us," Mel - vin said. "Obviously, potentially it is a couple of blows for us." Melvin said even if both are com- pletely cleared after the examina- tions they would not immediately return to game action and spring training time is running short. "We're two weeks away from the start of the season," Melvin said. Parker, who was penciled in for the March 31 opener against Cleve - land, had reconstructive elbow surgery in 2009 performed by An- drews and missed the 2010 season. Parker has struggled in spring training with a 10.61 ERA in three starts, giving up four runs on four hits, including two home runs, in a start Monday against the Los An - geles Dodgers. He had forearm problems at the end of last season. "His bullpens were really good leading up to (games)," Melvin said. "We felt confident he was over the issues he had at the end of last year. But then when he started pitching in games, it would take him a while to get loose. His first outing wasn't great. The other day the first inning was rough and then he got going. "Finally, when he was playing catch (Thursday) we were watch - ing him and it didn't look like he was feeling great about it. I called him in and we talked and he admit- ted to me his forearm is a little bit tight, so we're going to be proac- tive and take care of that soon as we can," Melvin added. Griffin, too, had elbow and fore- arm issues at the end of last sea- son. "It's the same area then," Mel- vin said. "It felt to me at the end of last year he was just running out of gas, so I'm not sure if it is the same thing or not." Parker was 12-9 with a 3.97 ERA in 32 starts in 2013, while Griffin went 14-10 with a 3.83 ERA in 32 starts. "That's why we have the depth we have," Melvin said. "We have Tommy Milone and Jesus Chavez." SpRIng BaSeBaLL Two key A's starters have arm injuries Giants opening-day starter Madison Bumgarner pitched five stellar innings and hunter Pence hit a pair of solo hom- ers, pacing the San Francisco Giants to a 4-0 victory over a Colorado Rockies split-squad. SpRIng BaSeBaLL Bumgarner, Pence li Giants in shutout win FULL STORY ON PAGE b2 Red Bluff high's baseball team advanced to the semifinals of the oroville tournament aer beating Gridley and oroville. Red Bluff will face Pleasant Valley at 11:15 a.m. today. SpRIng SpORTS Red Bluff baseball team advances in Oroville Corning high's baseball and soball teams are scheduled to be on the road today, play- ing in the oroville and Colusa tournaments, respectively. LOcaL ScheduLe Corning baseball, soball teams on road By allan Kreda The Associated Press unIOndaLe, n.Y. » Matt Nieto and Jason Demers scored first-period goals, and the San Jose Sharks made the most of 26 shots against the New York Islanders in a 4-3 vic - tory on Friday night. Joe Thornton and Marty Hav- lat added goals in the second as the Sharks won their fifth straight and improved to 20-6-3 against the Eastern Conference. Antti Niemi made 35 saves for San Jose. Anders Lee, Brock Nelson and Frans Nielsen scored for the Is - landers, who lost for the fifth time in six home games. New York, which began a four-game homes- tand following a 2-1-1 trip, has an NHL-worst 9-17-8 home record. Former Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov stopped 22 shots for the Islanders in his first start against them. Nieto made it 1-0 with 6:33 left in the first off a flurry in front of Nabokov. Th e 38 -y ea r- ol d Na bo ko v pl ay ed 563 games for the Sharks during his decade with the franchise. He left San Jose to play in Russia after the 2009-10 season, then joined the Islanders during the 2011-12 cam - paign. Demers made it 2-0 at 14:46 with a drive from the right wing for his fourth of the season. Lee cut the Islanders' deficit in half 32 seconds into the second pe - riod, the rookie's sixth goal in eight games this season. Thornton restored San Jose's two-goal lead with his 10th of the season at 9:32, firing a rebound past Nabokov after Brent Burns' initial shot came directly to him in nhL hOcKeY SHARKS SCORE 4 TIMES ON 26 SHOTS Niemi makes 35 saves in San Jose's fi\h win in a row as Sharks top former teammate Nabokov AP Photo — KAthy KMoniCeK the San Jose Sharks' Martin havlat (9) celebrates his goal against the new york islanders with James Sheppard (15), tommy Wingels (57), Jason demers (5) and Marc-edouard Vlasic (44) in the second period Friday in Uniondale, n.y. AP Photo — KAthy KMoniCeK the new york islanders' travis hamonic (3) and the San Jose Sharks' Joe thornton (19) battle in the first period Friday in Uniondale, n.y. ShARkS 4, iSLANdERS 3 Up next: Sunday, Sharks at new york Rangers, 1 p.m., televised lo- cally on CSn. THE SCORE "danger! danger! danger!" ironically, there is today a mysterious force envelop- ing our land and neutering the moral fiber of a nation founded upon the Judeo- Christian ethic. ReLIgIOn cOLumn There is a judge and He is not me FULL STORY ON PAGE b4 ShaRKS » page 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, march 15, 2014 » MoRe At FACEbOOk.COM/RbdAiLYNEWS And TWiTTER.COM/REdbLUFFNEWS B1