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2B – Daily News – Tuesday, April 26, 2011 Judge lifts NFL lockout, league vows appeal MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — After seven weeks of bitter back and forth, failed talks and growing uncertainty about the 2011 season, a federal judge has ordered an immediate end to the NFL lockout. But there are many hurdles to clear and questions to answer before pro football is actually back on track. U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson gave the players an early victo- ry Monday in their fight with the own- ers over how to divide the $9 billion business, granting their injunction request to lift the lockout. The fate of next season, however, remained in limbo: The NFL respond- ed by filing a notice of appeal ques- tioning whether Nelson exceeded her jurisdiction, seeking relief from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis. Hours later, the league filed a motion for an expedited stay, meaning it wants Nelson to put her ruling on hold to let the appeals process play out. What happens in the next few days is murky, too. Will players burst through the weight room doors at team facilities and start studying their playbooks? Or will they keep to the mostly individual routines they’ve developed since the start of the NFL’s first work stoppage since 1987? ‘‘We’re in a ’Wild West’ right now. Football is back to business, but guess what? There’s no rules. There’s a lot of positive to that, but there’s also a lot of negatives,’’ said linebacker Ben Leber, one of the 10 plaintiffs in the still-pend- ing antitrust lawsuit filed against the league when the union broke up last month. DeMaurice Smith said on ESPN that the players’ organization — now a trade association and not a union — planned to give players ‘‘guidance’’ about what to do. ‘‘I told my guys if they are under contract, they are allowed to go into the facility tomorrow to work out, get treatment and watch film,’’ Oakland Raiders tight end Zach Miller said. Smith said players were eager to resume court-ordered mediation to resolve the fight. ‘‘My hope is really is that there’s somebody on the other side who loves football as much as our players and fans do,’’ he said. Nelson’s ruling was a stern rebuke of the NFL’s case, hardly a surprise given the court’s history with the league and her pattern of questioning during a hearing here three weeks ago in St. Paul, Minn. In a room packed with lawyers, DRAFT (Continued from page 1B) ren McFadden and line- backer Rolando McClain. That’s despite having six top 10 picks in the past seven years. ‘‘That’s a lot of pressure, in my opinion, when you’re in the top half of the draft,’’ Jackson said. ‘‘Because you got to be right. You take an opportunity, you make a decision on a player and the expectation on that player goes through the roof.’’ While the first round has not always been good to the Raiders, they have done bet- ter in later rounds. They came out with a big haul last year in the those rounds to go with McClain. Second-round pick Lamarr Houston stepped in as a starter right away at defensive end. Third-rounder Jared Veldheer showed signs of being the effective left tackle Oakland has been lacking for years. Fourth- rounder Jacoby Ford was a game-breaker on kick returns and as a receiver. Seventh-rounder Stevie Brown played well in nickel packages as a safety and on special teams. Among the other good later-round picks in recent years are starting defensive PGA FedExCup Leaders Rank Points YTD Money 1. Mark Wilson 1,207 $2,482,885 2. Luke Donald 1,144 $2,754,067 3. Phil Mickelson 1,089 $2,161,531 4. Martin Laird 1,064 $2,158,563 5. Gary Woodland 1,048 $2,034,530 6. Nick Watney 985 $2,304,400 7. Brandt Snedeker 975 $2,031,100 8. Aaron Baddeley 954 $1,978,316 9. Matt Kuchar 843 $1,888,233 10. Bubba Watson 839 $1,752,817 11. Rory Sabbatini 820 $1,573,194 12.Jhonattan Vegas 816 13.Charl Schwartzel 808 $1,499,350 $1,766,104 14. D.A. Points 759 $1,564,392 15. Hunter Mahan 743 $1,486,094 16. Steve Marino 734 $1,492,166 17. Jonathan Byrd 705 $1,404,148 18. Brendan Steele 669 19. Spencer Levin 660 $1,312,364 20. Dustin Johnson 659 $1,318,564 $1,481,572 players and league officials, Nelson politely but persistently questioned NFL lawyer David Boies about his repeated argument that she shouldn’t have jurisdiction over a labor dispute with an unfair negotiation charge against the players pending with the National Labor Relations Board. In her ruling, Nelson rejected that contention. She recognized the NFL Players Association’s decision to ‘‘de- unionize’’ as legitimate because it has ‘‘serious consequences’’ for the play- ers. Nelson even referenced her col- league, U.S. District Judge David Doty, who has frequently ruled for the players in the past. Not only did she declare that players are likely to suffer harm by the lockout, a legal require- ment for granting the injunction, Nel- son wrote that they’re already feeling the hurt now. She cited their short careers, argu- ing that monetary damages wouldn’t be enough relief. What Nelson didn’t do, however, was tackle the issue of the antitrust lawsuit filed last month when the union broke up. That, she wrote, ‘‘must wait another day.’’ If the injunction is upheld, the NFL must resume business in some fashion. It could invoke the 2010 rules for free agency, meaning players would need six seasons of service before becoming unrestricted free agents when their contracts expire; previously, it was four years. The requirement for restricted free agents would be four years rather than the three years before 2010. There also was no salary cap in 2010, meaning teams could spend as much — or as little — as they wanted. And the NFL would need to deter- mine whether offseason workouts can be held while the appeal is pending. Owners imposed the lockout after talks broke down March 11 and the players disbanded their union. A group of players filed the injunction request along with a class-action antitrust law- suit against the league. Jim Quinn, an attorney for the play- ers, said the pressure is on the league. ‘‘They better act quickly, because as of right now there’s no stay and, pre- sumably, players could sign with teams,’’ Quinn said. ‘‘There are no guidelines as of right now, so they have to put something in place quickly.’’ In a statement, the NFL again argued its belief that ‘‘federal law bars injunctions in labor disputes’’ and expressed confidence the appeals court would agree. ‘‘But we also believe that this dis- pute will inevitably end with a collec- tive bargaining agreement, which would be in the best interests of play- tackle Matt Shaughnessy (third round) and top wide receiver Louis Murphy (fourth) in 2009; leading tackler Tyvon Branch (fourth) and key pass rusher Trevor Scott (sixth) in 2008; and Pro Bowl tight end Zach Miller (second) and running back Michael Bush (fourth) in 2007. While there can be many gems found in the later rounds, those players often come with more questions than some of the polished first-round picks. That puts an even bigger premium on scouting. ‘‘Is the guy fast enough, big enough, strong enough to play a certain position? Do you take a chance on a play- er that maybe don’t have as much skill, but has a little bit more of this, and then you make that decision,’’ Jackson said. ‘‘The key to it all still goes back to preparation from the beginning so that when you get to that pick, whether it’s the sixth, sev- enth round, that you’re mak- ing the best pick that you can based on the information that you have.’’ Oakland’s biggest draft need is on the offensive line, where Jackson is looking for more power blocking than the zone blocking former coach Tom Cable preferred. TENNIS ATP Money Leaders 1. Novak Djokovic 2. Rafael Nadal 3. David Ferrer 4. Andy Murray 5. Roger Federer 6. Robin Soderling 7. Nicolas Almagro 8. Tomas Berdych $3,826,395 $1,952,460 $1,362,382 $1,310,389 $1,202,265 $731,702 $617,893 $548,858 9. Alexandr Dolgopolov $541,773 10. Jurgen Melzer WTAMoney Leaders 1. Kim Clijsters 2. Caroline Wozniacki $1,741,950 3. Li Na 4. Victoria Azarenka $1,086,313 5.Vera Zvonareva 6. Maria Sharapova 7. Agnieszka Radwanska $547,574 8. Marion Bartoli 9. Flavia Pennetta 10. Andrea Petkovic $595,915 $500,621 $484,791 $461,343 $2,277,758 $1,191,154 $768,066 $497,033 HR ers, clubs and fans. We can reach a fair agreement only if we continue negoti- ations toward that goal,’’ the NFL said. The NFL has argued that stopping the lockout would open all 32 teams up to additional antitrust claims simply for working together to solve the labor dis- pute. Antitrust claims carry triple dam- ages for any harm proven, meaning hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake. In the request for the expedited stay, the NFL argued a ‘‘reasonable prospect of success’’ on appeal. League attorneys wrote that without a stay, teams would be forced to choose ‘‘between the irreparable harm of unre- stricted free agency or the irreparable harm of more treble-damages law- suits,’’ pain that would be felt immedi- ately. They also contended a hold on the injunction is in the public interest, letting the appeals process play out before ‘‘there are fundamental and irre- versible changes in the relationships between and among’’ the two sides. The relationship between the two sides has been in rough shape for months. Nelson heard arguments on the injunction at a hearing on April 6 and ordered the two sides to resume medi- ation while she was considering her decision. The owners and players, who failed to reach consensus after 16 days of mediated talks earlier this year, met over four days with a federal magis- trate but did not announce any progress on solving the impasse. They are not scheduled to meet again until May 16, four days after Doty holds a hearing on whether play- ers should get damages in their related fight with owners over some $4 billion in broadcast revenue. Osi Umenyiora, the New York Giants defensive end and one of the plaintiffs, called the ruling a ‘‘win for the players and for the fans’’ in a state- ment. ‘‘The lockout is bad for everyone, and players will continue to fight it,’’ Umenyiora said. ‘‘We hope that this will bring us one step closer to playing the game we love.’’ With appeals expected, the fight seems likely to drag on through the spring and, possibly, into the summer. The closer it gets to August, when training camps and the preseason get into full swing, the more likely it becomes that regular season games could be lost. That’s when fans will really start to sweat this, and the public interest in this case did not go overlooked in Nel- son’s ruling. ‘‘This particular employment dis- pute is far from a purely private argu- ment over compensation,’’ she wrote. The Raiders also could use some help in the sec- ondary, especially if Aso- mugha and Huff leave as free agents, and possibly a young quarterback to groom for the future. ‘‘There’s some things to fix, but there’s not a ton,’’ Jackson said. ‘‘I feel very comfortable. We have a vet- eran quarterback, we have a veteran defensive football team, we have a very young but talented offensive team. We need to be much stronger in the offensive line.’’ Jackson has spent one draft with the Raiders as offensive coordinator under Cable a year ago after being a part of drafts in Baltimore, Cincinnati and Washington earlier in his career. He said every team approaches the draft differ- ently. In Oakland, the room is run by owner Al Davis rather than a general manag- er or coach. ‘‘He makes the pick and he should. He’s the owner of the team,’’ Jackson said. ‘‘But the bottom line, he takes a lot of information from us all. And he does take that information in, and he MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Galaxy 4 1 3 15 10 7 Salt Lake 4 0 0 12 8 1 Seattle 2 2 3 9 7 7 Colorado 3 3 0 9 8 7 Portland 2 3 1 7 9 13 FC Dallas 2 3 1 7 8 9 Chivas USA 1 2 3 6 5 6 Vancouver 1 3 3 6 10 12 QUAKES 13 2 5 6 9 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA New York 3 1 2 11 9 2 Philadelphia 3 1 1 10 4 2 Houston 2 1 3 9 7 5 Columbus 2 1 3 9 5 4 N. England 2 2 3 9 8 9 D.C. 2 3 1 7 9 12 Toronto FC 1 2 4 7 7 10 Chicago 1 3 2 5 9 12 Kansas City 1 3 1 4 10 12 ————————————————— Saturday’s results Chivas USA 2, San Jose 1 FC Dallas 2, Vancouver 1 Los Angeles 3, Portland 0 New England 3, Sporting Kansas City 2 Chicago 1, Houston 1, tie Toronto FC 1, Columbus 1, tie makes a very calculated decision based on what we say and what we think. So it’s not like it’s just him. He really and truly listens to what we have to say, and I truly appreciate that. But at the end of the day, he’s going to make that decision, and we all support that.’’ One thing Davis always covets is speed. He has draft- ed the players who posted the fastest combine times in the 40-yard dash the past two years (Ford and Heyward- Bey) and the second fastest in 2008 (Branch). ‘‘We love fast guys. I don’t run from that,’’ Jackson said. ‘‘I want them as fast as I can get them, but we also want them to be the best players when they get ready to play.’’ NBA PLAYOFFS First Round Best-of-7 Monday’s results Dallas 93, Portland 82 Dallas leads series 3-2 Memphis 104, San Antonio 86 Memphis leads series 3-1 Oklahoma City at Denver, late Oklahoma City leads series 3-0 Today’s games Atlanta at Orlando, 4:30 p.m., NBATV Atlanta leads series 3-1 Indiana at Chicago, 5 p.m., TNT Chicago leads series 3-1 New Orleans at L.A.Lakers, 7:30 p.m., TNT Series tied 2-2 Other series Boston beat New York 4-0 Miami leads Philadelphia 3-1 (Continued from page 1B) the freshman was ready for the varsity level. “I remember the first time I saw her swing the bat, I was like holy cow this girl can play,” Howell recalled. McEnaney made the var- sity team as a freshman and instantly became one of the Lady Spartans’ best players. The first two home runs of her career would come on back-to-back days during Red Bluff’s annual trip to Lassen. She would add two more in her first year. One coming in the Divi- sion-II semifinals and the other in the championship game. While the Lady Spartans ended up losing the champi- onship to Foothill in 2008, McEnaney had foreshad- owed what was to come. In her sophomore year, she blasted 11 home runs and once again Red Bluff found themselves in the Division-II championship game against Foothill. McEnaney would homer again with the stakes at their highest, this time her two- run shot would be enough to lift Red Bluff to a 2-1 win and a section title. “The bigger the game, the bigger she comes through,” Howell said. “I can’t remember a time she hasn’t.” McEnaney’s home run totals dipped her junior year as teams became reluctant to pitch to her. Howell said over the past two years there have been times where she never saw a decent pitch in an entire game. Still, she belted out six more homers as a junior as the Lady Spartans captured a second consecutive section title and McEnaney found herself just as satisfied with taking a walk to help her team. “It’s very frustrating. I always have that hunger up at bat, but at the same time (if I’m walked) I’m on base and it’s up to someone behind me,” McEnaney said. Howell said McEnaney’s power numbers often over- shadow the other aspects of her game. She hits for average, draws walks, is a rock defensively and in her senior year has even become a bet- ter base runner. Her softball talent came to no surprise to her parents Mike and Teresa, who said Emily grew up around the game of softball. While Mike coached her skills, Teresa offered the psychological support. It turned out to be a winning combination. “She makes things look natural,” Mike said. McEnaney came into her senior season trailing Foothill great Samantha Camuso for the career Northern Section record by four home runs. She would waste little MLB West Division Texas American League WL Pct GB Angels 12 10 .545 2 A’s 14 8 .636 — 11 11 .500 3 Seattle 8 15 .348 6.5 East Division WL Pct GB New York 12 7 .632 — Tampa Bay 11 11 .500 2.5 Boston 10 11 .476 3 Toronto 10 12 .455 3.5 Baltimore 8 12 .400 4.5 Central Division WL Pct GB Cleveland 13 8 .619 — Detroit 12 10 .545 1.5 Kansas City12 10 .545 1.5 Minnesota 9 12 .429 4 Chicago 9 14 .391 5 ————————————————— Monday’s results Oakland at Los Angeles, late Chicago 2, New York 0 Toronto 6, Texas 4 NHL PLAYOFFS First Round Best-of-7 Monday’s results San Jose at Los Angeles, late San Jose leads series 3-2 Tampa Bay 4, Pittsburgh 2 Series tied 3-3 Today’s games Boston at Montreal, 4 p.m. Boston leads series 3-2 Buffalo at Philadelphia, 4:30 p.m., VS Series tied 3-3 Chicago at Vancouver, 7 p.m., VS Series tied 3-3 Other series Detroit beat Phoenix 4-0 Nashville beat Anaheim 4-2 Washington beat N.Y. Rangers 4-1 Today’s games Oakland (McCarthy 1-1) at L.A.(Chatwood 1-1),7:05 p.m.,CSNC Boston (C.Buchholz 1-2) at Baltimore (Britton 3-1), 4:05 p.m. Chicago (Floyd 2-1) at New York (Nova 1-2), 4:05 p.m., MLBN Kansas City (Hochevar 2-2) at Cleveland (Masterson 4-0), 4:05 p.m. Seattle (F.Hernandez 2-2) at Detroit (Coke 1-3), 4:05 p.m. Toronto (Litsch 1-1) at Texas (Harrison 3-1), 5:05 p.m. Tampa Bay (W.Davis 2-2) at Minnesota (Liriano 1-3), 5:10 p.m. Wednesday’s games Oakland at Los Angeles, 4:05 p.m. Boston at Baltimore, 4:05 p.m. Chicago at New York, 4:05 p.m. Kansas City at Cleveland, 4:05 p.m. Seattle at Detroit, 4:05 p.m. Toronto at Texas, 5:05 p.m. Tampa Bay at Minnesota, 5:10 p.m. time catching up. In the opening weekend of the season, McEnaney hit four homers at the Pleasant Valley tournament. Around three weeks later at the Lassen Tournament, in a much anticipated rematch against Paradise, McEnaney broke the record with her 26th career home run. By Howell’s account the ball traveled a good 250 feet — 50 feet more than what would be a homer at the Spartans’ field. “It makes me proud obvi- ously — I’m her dad. I’m a proud dad,” Mike McE- naney said of the record. “It’s quite an accomplish- ment considering who has played ball in this area.” Hours after breaking the record the Lady Spartans faced Anderson and their stud pitcher Cheridan Hawkins, known for her ability to strike out batters the way McEnaney is known to take pitchers deep. While Hawkins struck out 18, McEnaney took her over the fence for a three-run homer to lift the Lady Spar- tans to the win. McEnaney already lists it as one of her favorite home runs, right up there along- side the championship swing in her sophomore sea- son. Despite the home run slugger’s high school career coming to a close in the coming month, a choice made over Spring Break will keep McEnaney in the North State’s sporting eye for years to come. On Thursday she signed her Letter of Intent to play softball at California State University, Chico — turn- ing down offers from across the country. “I thought about Chico State always being a choice and I got to the opportunity to (visit) there and I just fell in love with it,” she said. “I just loved the vibe I got not just from the school, but from the team.” Still, there is one accom- plishment left before she heads down Highway 99 — a third consecutive section championship. Individual records simply don’t compete to that type of team honor with McEnaney. “She’s more about win- ning the section than what everyone is talking about (with the record),” Mike McEnaney said. Even if the Lady Spar- tans fall short of a champi- onship, they’re favored to win, McEnaney has already cemented her spot in the his- tory of the Red Bluff softball program. A program rich in cham- pionships and star players who have excelled beyond Red Bluff. “With all those great players that have went through here — it’s really hard to say this — but she’s far away the best I’ve ever had,” Coach Howell said. MLB West Division National League WL Pct GB Colorado 15 7 .682 — Dodgers 12 12 .500 4 GIANTS 10 11 .476 4.5 Arizona 8 12 .400 6 San Diego 8 14 .364 7 East Division WL Pct GB Philadelphia15 6 .714 — Florida 14 7 .667 1 Atlanta 11 12 .478 5 Washington 10 11 .476 5 New York 9 13 .409 6.5 Central Division WL Pct GB St. Louis 12 10 .545 — Cincinnati 12 11 .522 .5 Milwaukee 11 11 .500 1 Chicago 10 12 .455 2 Pittsburgh 10 12 .455 2 Houston 8 14 .364 4 ————————————————— Monday’s results Cincinnati 9, Milwaukee 5 Colorado 5, Chicago 3 Florida 5, Los Angeles 4 Pittsburgh 4, Washington 2 Atlanta at San Diego, late Philadelphia at Arizona, late Today’s games San Francisco (Cain 2-1) at Pitt (Morton 2-1), 4:05 p.m., CSNB New York (C.Young 1-0) at Washington (Zimmermann 1-3), 4:05 p.m. Los Angeles (Kershaw 2-2) at Florida (Volstad 1-1), 4:10 p.m. Colorado (De La Rosa 3-0) at Chicago(J.Russell 1-2), 5:05 p.m., WGN St. Louis (J.Garcia 3-0) at Houston (Norris 1-1), 5:05 p.m. Cincinnati (Leake 3-0) at Milwaukee (Estrada 1-0), 5:10 p.m. Philadelphia (Oswalt 3-0) at Arizona (D.Hudson 0-4), 6:40 p.m. Atlanta (Jurrjens 1-0) at San Diego (Harang 4-0), 7:05 p.m., MLBN Wednesday’s games San Francisco at Pittsburgh, 4:05 p.m. Los Angeles at Florida, 9:10 a.m. Cincinnati at Milwaukee, 10:10 a.m. Colorado at Chicago, 11:20 a.m. Atlanta at San Diego, 12:35 p.m. Philadelphia at Arizona, 12:40 p.m. New York at Washington, 4:05 p.m. St. Louis at Houston, 5:05 p.m. NFL