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Weekend American Legion Memorial Day Tournamnet at RBHS SAT —UEFA—Barcelona v. Manchester United, 11 a.m., FOX French Open —Third and Fourth Rounds, 9 a.m., NBC MLB— Giants at Brewers, SAT, 1 p.m.; SUN 11 a.m.; CSNB SUN— IRL, IndyCar — Indianapolis 500, 9 a.m., ABC SUN —NASCAR—Coca-Cola 600, 2:30 p.m., FOX Sports 1B Weekend May 28-29, 2001 RB Bulls kick off weekend tourney Meaggan Rector had the winning shot put. Daily News photo by Chip Thompson A Bulls player slides safely into second for a steal during the first inning of play Friday evening. Red Bluff’s Memorial Day Tournament continues through the weekend. No score was reported in Friday’s game. Saturday’s play features four games, beginning at noon. Red Bluff plays Shasta County at 7:45 p.m. The game is the Bulls’ appreciation night and sponsors and alumni will Best Champions League final? WEMBLEY, England (AP) — Alex Ferguson believes the Champions League showdown between Manchester United and Barcelona could be the best final in the last 10 years. With Barcelona lauded as one of the greatest clubs in soccer history and Ferguson insisting his players are better prepared than when the teams met two years ago, the Unit- ed manager said Friday the ingredients are in place for a classic. Barcelona has already clinched a third straight Spanish title, and such is the fashion in which Lionel Messi and his teammates routinely dismantle opponents that United is a clear underdog Saturday despite having reached a third final in four seasons. ‘‘The success both teams have had in the past decade has been enormous,’’ Ferguson said. ‘‘It really could be the best final of the decade. The attraction of two teams with such history is obvious. Anything could happen in this game.’’ The coaches are agreed on one thing: Each team will give a better account of itself than it did in the 2009 final, See FINAL, page 2B Bruins reach cup finals BOSTON (AP) — Nathan Horton scored with 7:33 left in Game 7, sending the Boston Bruins to the Stan- ley Cup finals for the first time in more than two decades with a 1-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference finals on Friday night. The right wing on Boston’s top line cleanly beat goalie Dwayne Roloson by deflecting a pass across the slot from David Krejci. That set off a loud celebration among Bruins fans, who have waited a long time for a trip to the finals. Tim Thomas made 24 saves in his third career play- off shutout and second this season. Boston will open the Stanley Cup finals in Vancou- ver against the Western Conference champion Canucks on Wednesday. The Bruins won their most recent championship in 1972 and hadn’t reached the finals since 1990, when they lost to the Edmonton Oilers. Both goalies were outstanding behind teammates playing energetic, impressive defense in a hard-hitting game without a single penalty. With 3 seconds left and the puck in the Lightning zone, Bruins center Patrice Bergeron raised his stick while standing in the ‘‘B’’ symbolizing the Bruins at center ice. And when the game ended, Thomas raised both arms and arched his back against the net that the Lightning never reached in the decisive game as yellow and black towels given to fans fluttered to the ice. See BRUINS, page 2B MCT photo Giants' Brandon Crawford, right, is congratulated by teammates after hitting a grand slam in the sev- enth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers in Milwaukee Friday. MILWAUKEE (AP) — It’s all still kind of a blur to Brandon Crawford. As he wiped the remnants of a shaving-cream pie from his face and uniform, he wasn’t even sure which of his prankster teammates got him. Welcome to the big leagues, kid — and how! Crawford hit a go-ahead grand slam in his first major league game, helping Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants beat the Milwau- kee Brewers 5-4 on Friday night. ‘‘It was all unreal,’’ Crawford said, recalling how he felt as he rounded the bases. ‘‘Awesome. I mean, I still kind of have the jitters about it.’’ Lincecum (5-4) gave up three runs in seven innings. The Giants won despite the ejection of manag- er Bruce Bochy, who argued a close play at home plate in the fifth inning. Bochy admitted he might have lost his temper in part because it has been such a frustrating week for the Giants. ‘‘I’ll be honest, I couldn’t really tell if he had the call right,’’ Bochy said. ‘‘But there’s frustration build- ing up, with everybody.’’ With the Brewers trying to rally in the eighth, Giants catcher Eli Whiteside absorbed a big hit from Prince Fielder. It was reminiscent of the play that caused a serious injury to Giants catcher Buster Posey ear- lier this week, but Whiteside held on to end the inning and preserve the lead. ‘‘You don’t have any choice but to try to knock the ball loose,’’ Fielder said. ‘‘But they made a great play.’’ Posey, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, likely is out for the sea- son. His jersey hung by itself in a locker in the visitors’ clubhouse Friday. Bochy stood by his assertion that baseball needs to make a rule to protect vulnerable catchers, but said Whiteside at least had time to catch the ball and brace for Fielder to run into him. ‘‘It’s a little different,’’ Bochy said. ‘‘He had the ball, so he could set up a little bit. A catcher’s got a better chance than when he’s in the process of trying to catch a ball. That’s when he’s really vulnerable. Still, it’s a big guy bearing down on you. ’Whitey’ did a great job.’’ Brian Wilson pitched the ninth See GRAND, page 2B Indy celebrates 100 years, hopes for better future INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — When Alex Tagliani leads the 33-car field into the first turn of the Indianapolis 500, he’ll be tugging along a century’s worth of triumphs, thrills and tragedy. But in this, the 100th anniversary of America’s most famous race, the focus is clear- ly on the future. The IndyCar series is show- ing signs of emerging from 15 years of irrelevance, a period of darkness that began with an open-wheel war between two feuding series and ended with a peace agreement hardly anyone noticed. The sport that pro- duced such giants as A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti and Rick Mears found itself relegated to niche status. Heck, there were even empty seats at the Brickyard, a sight no one could have envi- sioned a couple of decades ago. ‘‘There was almost a lost generation,’’ Andretti moaned. ‘‘There were those 15 years where things were precarious, at best.’’ Now, there’s a semblance of hope. Two new manufacturers will enter the series in 2012, powering a futuristic new machine. The field for this year’s 500 is undoubtedly deep- er and more talented than it has been since the glory days. Sponsorships are up, attendance is improving and an energetic new leader seems willing to try anything that might bring more attention to the sport. In a sense, Sunday’s race can be seen as a jumping-off point to a new era (and, no, we’re not talking about the giant orange ramp set up on the infield for a Hot Wheels promotional stunt before the green flag waves). ‘‘I’m proud of the series for what we’ve done, for all the hard work we’ve put in,’’ said Danica Patrick, who has just one win in her career but remains the only driver widely known outside of IndyCar cir- cles. Of course, the fact that everyone is wondering whether Patrick will bolt to a more prof- itable gig in NASCAR next year shows the checkered flag remains in the distance. No matter what happens, there’s still plenty of work to be done. A third of the field is com- posed of part-time drivers, most of whom are doing Indy-only deals and hope it leads to some- thing bigger Look at Dan Wheldon, a for- mer race winner who should be in the prime of his career. He was squeezed out of his last job, and this is the only sure thing on his schedule in 2011. Look at Townsend Bell, who has fin- ished as high as fifth at Indy and will start from the inside of the second row. Asked what’s on his schedule for the rest of the year, he replied, ‘‘Well, there’s Christmas. And New Year’s, I guess.’’ Good line, but not good for IndyCar. ‘‘I stopped many years ago See INDY, page 2B get in free. There will be a raffle for a barbecue. Five games are scheduled for Sunday, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Red Bluff plays a doubleheader against Oroville at 5 p.m. and then Chico at 7:30 p.m. The Memorial Day doubleheader begins at 10 a.m., Monday. Adrienne Hinkston won the 400 meter race. The school’ s 4x400 boys’ relay team of Zach Iverson, Jonah McInnis, Jeff Foster and Colin Dahlberg won the event in dominating fashion. All athletes are now qualified for the State Championships in Clovis next week. More details and photos from Friday’s meet will be published in Monday’s Daily News. Crawford’s grand entrance lifts Giants RBHS athletes move on to state champs The following Red Bluff Union High School stu- dents won section titles Friday at the NSCIF Cham- pionships at West Valley High School. Colin Dahlberg took the long jump title.