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2B Daily News – Tuesday, May 31, 2011 ’Anxious’ Nadal in French quarters Jim Tressel resigns PARIS (AP) — Decoding Rafael Nadal’s self-evaluations can be a tricky proposition. Listen, for example, to the way the top-seeded Nadal spoke about his game and his mindset after handling 37th-ranked Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 7- 5, 6-3, 6-3 Monday to reach the quar- terfinals at the French Open, improve his record there to 42-1 and get closer to tying Bjorn Borg’s record of six championships in Paris. Nadal chastised himself for being ‘‘too anxious.’’ He said he needs to ‘‘hit the ball with a little bit more convic- tion.’’ Looking at the big picture, Nadal insisted: ‘‘The thing is, you have to be (a) realist, and today, I’m not playing well enough to win this tournament.’’ Maybe he’s playing possum. Maybe he’s being sincere. Or maybe — as explained by Toni Nadal, Rafael’s uncle and coach — this is just the way his nephew is. ‘‘All his life, Rafael never had big, big confidence,’’ Toni said Monday. ‘‘He’s not a guy who thinks, ’Oh, I am so good.’ Never. He tries to improve, he tries to play better, every day.’’ Toni’s nephew has done precisely that at Roland Garros. Since falling behind two-sets-to-one against John Isner in the first round last week, he’s won 11 consecutive sets. He made half as many unforced errors as 2006 French Open semifinalist Ljubicic, 48- 24. He accumulated 20 break points, converting six. After trailing 4-5, 30-all — ‘‘I felt like he felt the pressure,’’ said Ljubicic, who was two points from taking the first set there — Nadal steeled himself and won 30 of the next 32 points on his serve. ‘‘For moments, I am playing well. But for moments, I am still having (a) few mistakes in a row,’’ Nadal said. ‘‘That’s what cannot happen in (the) next round.’’ That’s because he’ll face No. 5 Robin Soderling of Sweden, the only man to defeat Nadal at the French Open — in the fourth round in 2009. It’s also a rematch of last year’s final, which Nadal won in straight sets. While Nadal and Soderling both advanced with relative ease Monday, 34th-ranked Juan Ignacio Chela of NEW YORK (AP) — Argentina put in a lot of work before edging Alejandro Falla of Colombia 4- 6, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 to return to the Roland Garros quarterfinals for the first time since 2004. Chela will play No. 4 Andy Murray or No. 15 Viktor Troicki, whose match was suspended because of darkness tied at two sets each. ‘‘I wouldn’t have believed it,’’ the 31-year-old Chela said, ‘‘if you had told me, seven years later, I would still be here.’’ Maria Sharapova went two years without getting to the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam tournament, but she made it back by erasing deficits in both sets and beating 12th-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 7-6 (4), 7-5. The three-time major champion fell behind 4-1 in the first set, then 5-3 in the sec- ond, where she had to fend off five set points. Sharapova finished with far more winners, 47-13, and unforced errors, 44-12. Her quarterfinal opponent will be No. 15 Andrea Petkovic of Ger- many, who defeated No. 25 Maria Kir- ilenko 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. Another quarterfi- nal will have No. 4 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus against No. 6 Li Na of China. Azarenka reached her fourth career Grand Slam quarterfinal — she’s never won one — by beating Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 6-2, 6-3, while Li came back to beat No. 9 Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 for China’s first French Open quarterfinal- ist. She became her country’s first final- ist at any major tournament at the Aus- tralian Open in January. In an on-court interview after he eliminated No. 18 Gilles Simon of France 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (5), Soderling was told that some people — including, as it happens, Nadal himself — are saying the five-time champion isn’t at his best. That drew a comment of ‘‘I hope not,’’ and an accompanying chortle from Soderling. ‘‘No, seriously, he’s a great player. I think everybody knows what he can do. He won here so many times,’’ con- tinued the Swede, who lost to Roger Federer in the 2009 French Open final. ‘‘Every match is different. It doesn’t matter how you got to the quarters, as long as you’re there.’’ Novak Djokovic might say the same about how he got to the semifi- nals. The No. 2-seeded Serb’s quarter- final opponent, Fabio Fognini of Italy, pulled out of the tournament Monday because he hurt a left leg muscle during his five-set win a day earlier. That won’t count as a victory for Djokovic, so his winning streak stays at 43 matches overall — he’s 41-0 in 2011 — heading into what could be a semifinal against 16-time Grand Slam champion Federer. Djokovic wrote on Twitter: ‘‘Walkover from Fognini. Bad luck for him, hope he recovers fast. Today i get to enjoy Paris in a different way :-)’’ There’s plenty of time for sightsee- ing: Djokovic is off until Friday’s semi- finals. Nadal was asked how he’d feel about a four-day break. ‘‘Fantastic, no? Tell me: What’s the worst part of that?’’ Nadal replied. When it was mentioned time off could disrupt Djokovic’s rhythm, Nadal scoffed: ‘‘With, I don’t know, 40-something straight victories, you think he’s out of rhythm now?’’ Djokovic’s streak includes a 4-0 mark this season against Nadal, all in tournament finals, including at clay- court events at Madrid and Rome this month. Many point to that as a reason for Nadal’s current concerns, and even Uncle Toni acknowledged: ‘‘When you lose four times to one player, it is bad for the confidence.’’ Djokovic also is 3-0 in 2011 against Federer, who plays No. 9 Gael Monfils of France in the quarterfinals Tuesday. ‘‘People don’t talk about Roger a lot, but he’s had very easy wins against all his opponents since the beginning of this tournament,’’ said Monfils, who finished off a 6-4, 2-6, 7-5, 1-6, 8-6 vic- tory over No. 7 David Ferrer. ‘‘He’s in great shape,’’ Monfils said about Federer, ‘‘and he hasn’t got any- thing to prove to anyone.’’ Nadal probably doesn’t, either, but he sounds as if he’s trying to prove things to himself. ‘‘Now he has four matches under the belt,’’ Ljubicic said, ‘‘and if he managed to win the next one, he’s back in business, even confidencewise.’’ Virginia selected as top seed in baseball tourney The other national seeds, Virginia left little doubt as to which team is No. 1 in col- lege baseball right now. The Cavaliers know they’ve still got plenty of work to do to finish there. Virginia was selected Monday as the top overall seed for the 64-team NCAA Division I college baseball tournament. The Cavaliers (49-9) won the Atlantic Coast Conference tourna- ment and will host one of 16 four-team, double-elimina- tion regionals that begin Fri- day. ‘‘When you look at Vir- ginia over the course of the season, it’s hard to argue that anybody has had more suc- cess,’’ selection committee chairman Tim Weiser said. Led by left-hander and potential No. 1 overall draft pick Danny Hultzen, Vir- ginia opens against Patriot League champion Navy (33-23-1) in the Char- lottesville regional. East Carolina (39-19) and St. John’s (35-20) also play in the bracket. ‘‘I think that speaks to the level of play, of consistent baseball our team has brought to the field everyday this entire season,’’ Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said of being the top seed. ‘‘The committee recognizes that and it’s a tremendous accomplishment. That being said, it doesn’t spot us any runs Friday against Navy. It doesn’t do us anything other than tell people that in the NCAA’s eyes we are the top team in college baseball.’’ NBA NBA FINALS (Best-of-7) x-if needed Miami vs. Dallas Today: at Miami, 6 p.m. Thursday: at Miami, 6 p.m. Sunday: at Dallas, 5 p.m. June 7: at Dallas, 6 p.m. x-June 9: at Dallas, 6 p.m. x-June 12: at Miami, 5 p.m. x-June 14: at Miami, 6 p.m. in order, are: Florida (45- 16), North Carolina (45-14), South Carolina (45-14), Florida State (42-17), Van- derbilt (47-10), Texas (43- 15) and Rice (41-19). Those teams will not have to face each other until the College World Series, if they make it there. It’s the first time Vir- ginia has been seeded No. 1, which doesn’t necessarily translate to success in Omaha, Neb. The only top national seed to win it all since the field was expanded in 1999 to 64 teams was Miami in that same year. ‘‘It’s definitely an honor, but it doesn’t mean any- thing,’’ senior right-hander Tyler Wilson said. ‘‘We have three other teams coming in to the regional and they have earned the opportunity to be in the postseason as well. They are just as hungry as we are.’’ The 16 regional winners move on to the best-of-three super regionals. Those eight winners advance to the Col- lege World Series, which begins June 18 at the new TD Ameritrade Park Omaha after 61 years at Rosenblatt Stadium. Defending nation- al champion South Carolina will open against Southern PGA FedExCup Leaders Rank PointsYTD Money 1. Bubba Watson 1,383 $2,948,790 2. Luke Donald 1,354 $3,344,867 3. Mark Wilson 1,243 $2,516,572 4. Nick Watney 1,241 $2,960,733 5. David Toms 1,229 $2,842,215 6. Phil Mickelson 1,190 $2,362,152 7. K.J. Choi 1,190 $2,941,699 8. Martin Laird 1,129 $2,314,996 9. Rory Sabbatini 1,100 $2,150,431 10. Gary Woodland1,070 $2,063,997 11. Aaron Baddeley 1,046 $2,265,691 12. Jonathan Byrd 1,034 $2,142,248 13.Brandt Snedeker 1,023 $2,098,887 14. Matt Kuchar 1,002 $2,203,744 15.Webb Simpson 956 $1,870,758 16. Hunter Mahan 952 $2,008,402 17. Steve Marino 881 $1,739,966 18.Charl Schwartzel 850 19. Bill Haas $1,833,554 20.Keegan Bradley 842 $1,767,548 21.Jhonattan Vegas 816 842 $1,601,728 $1,499,350 22. Jason Dufner 813 $1,678,060 23. Jason Day 811 $1,855,362 NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS (Best-of-7) x-if needed Boston vs.Vancouver Wednesday: at Vancouver, 5 p.m. Saturday: at Vancouver, 5 p.m. June 6: at Boston, 5 p.m. June 8: at Boston, 5 p.m. x-June 10: at Vancouver, 5 p.m. x-June 13: at Boston, 5 p.m. x-June 15: at Vancouver, 5 p.m. 24.D.A.Points 802 $1,605,506 25.Ryan Palmer 766 $1,516,768 26.Vijay Singh 743 $1,485,390 27. Spencer Levin 741 $1,502,068 28. Dustin Johnson 720 $1,573,173 29. Brendan Steele 684 $1,333,319 30. Justin Rose 680 $1,342,182 Upcoming Schedule June 2-5 — Memorial Tournament, Muir- field Village GC, Dublin, Ohio June 9-12— FedEx St.Jude Classic, TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tenn. June 16-19— U.S. Open, Congressional CC, Bethesda, Md. June 23-26 — Travelers Championship, TPC River Highlands, Hartford, Conn. Conference tournament champ Georgia Southern in the Columbia regional. The Gamecocks were among seven Southeastern Confer- ence schools selected for the tournament by the NCAA baseball committee, joining Alabama, Arkansas, Flori- da, Georgia, Mississippi St. and Vanderbilt. Also with seven teams is the ACC with Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State and Virginia. The Big 12 (Bay- lor, Kansas State, Okla- homa, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M) and Pac-10 (Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon State, Stanford and UCLA) each had six teams selected. Miami is in the field for the 39th consecutive year, which extends its own record, while Florida State is making its 34th straight appearance. Alcorn State, Belmont and Arkansas-Little Rock are all in the regionals for the first time. Mountain West PGA Sprint Cup Points Leaders 1. Carl Edwards 2. Kevin Harvick 3. Jimmie Johnson 445 409 408 4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 402 5. Kyle Busch 6. Kurt Busch 7. Matt Kenseth 8. Clint Bowyer 9. Tony Stewart 392 377 374 365 356 10. Ryan Newman 353 11. Greg Biffle 12. Denny Hamlin 13. A J Allmendinger 335 14. Mark Martin 343 339 15. Juan Pablo Montoya 329 16. Jeff Gordon 17. Marcos Ambrose 320 18. David Ragan 19. Kasey Kahne 20. Paul Menard 21. Martin Truex Jr. 300 22. Jeff Burton 23. Joey Logano 24. David Reutimann 279 25. Brad Keselowski 277 26. Jamie McMurray 275 27. Bobby Labonte 28. Brian Vickers 29. Regan Smith 30. David Gilliland 31. Dave Blaney 32. Casey Mears 33. Robby Gordon 34. Andy Lally 35. Tony Raines 36. Bill Elliott 37. Ken Schrader 38. Terry Labonte 39. J.J.Yeley 40. Michael McDowell 37 41. Michael Waltrip 42. David Stremme 43. Brian Keselowski 3 44. Steve Park 2 Upcoming Schedule June 5 — STP 400, Kansas City, Kan. June 12— Pocono 500, Long Pond, Pa. June 19 — Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400, Brooklyn, Mich. June 26— Toyota/Save Mart 350, Sono- ma 334 324 313 309 306 282 279 271 264 262 213 191 190 150 127 109 100 73 40 38 20 19 champion New Mexico (20- 39) joined Alcorn State (27- 28) and Arkansas Little- Rock (24-32) as teams to get in with losing records by winning their conference tournaments. Weiser, also the deputy commissioner of the Big 12, said the committee balances win-loss record, RPI, strength of schedule and regular-season finish in determining national seeds, top seeds in brackets and at- large berths. Another factor is availability of key players, something that hurt Texas A&M’s shot at a national seed. The Aggies (42-18) won the Big 12 tournament despite losing ace right-han- der John Stilson to a season- ending shoulder injury. The committee, which gathered in Indianapolis over the weekend, consid- ered 31 teams for the last seven at-large berths. One of the most surpris- ing teams to get an at-large berth was St. John’s (35-20). MLB West Division Texas East Division American League WL Pct GB 28 25 .528 — Angels 29 27 .518 .5 Seattle 27 26 .509 1 A’s 27 28 .491 2 WL Pct GB Boston 30 23 .566 — New York 29 23 .558 .5 Tampa Bay 28 24 .538 1.5 Toronto 28 26 .519 2.5 Baltimore 24 28 .462 5.5 Central Division WL Pct GB Cleveland 31 20 .608 — Detroit 27 26 .509 5 Chicago 24 31 .436 9 Kansas City23 30 .434 9 Minnesota 17 35 .327 14.5 ————————————————— Monday’s results New York 5, Oakland 0 Detroit 6, Minnesota 5 Los Angeles 10, Kansas City 8 Seattle 4, Baltimore 3 Toronto 11, Cleveland 1 Texas at Tampa Bay, late Chicago at Boston, late Today’s games New York (F.Garcia 3-4) at Oakland (Anderson 3-4),7:05 p.m.,CSNC Texas (C.Wilson 5-3) at Tampa Bay (Cobb 0-0), 3:40 p.m. Minnesota (Duensing 2-5) at Detroit (Scherzer 6-2), 4:05 p.m. Cleveland (Talbot 1-1) at Toronto (Morrow 2-2), 4:07 p.m. Chicago (Floyd 5-5) at Boston (Aceves 2-0), 4:10 p.m. Los Angeles (Pineiro 2-1) at Kansas City (Francis 1-5), 5:10 p.m. Baltimore (Guthrie 2-6) at Seattle (Bedard 3-4), 7:10 p.m. Wednesday’s games New York at Oakland, 12:35 p.m. Texas at Tampa Bay, 10:10 a.m. Chicago at Boston, 10:35 a.m. Baltimore at Seattle, 12:40 p.m. Los Angeles at Kansas City, 1:10 p.m. Minnesota at Detroit, 4:05 p.m. Cleveland at Toronto, 4:07 p.m. COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — At the bottom of the stunning resignation letter that he carefully typed in his office on Monday morning, in the last lines above his characteristically neat and clear signature, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel closed with a personal note. ‘‘We know that God has a plan for us and we will be fine,’’ he wrote, referring to himself and his wife, Ellen. ‘‘We will be Buckeyes forever.’’ But no longer will he be the Buckeyes coach. Tressel, who guided Ohio State to its first nation- al title in 34 years, resigned Monday amid NCAA viola- tions from a tattoo-parlor scandal that sullied the image of one of the coun- try’s top football programs. He said the ongoing investigations and drumbeat of almost daily, sordid reve- lations were a ‘‘distraction’’ to the university and that he was stepping down ‘‘for the greater good of our school.’’ Scheduled to go before the NCAA’s committee on infractions in August for lying to the NCAA and then covering it up — the most egregious of sins for a coach in the eyes of college sports’ ruling body — Tressel might just have accepted the inevitable. Ohio State announced that assistant coach Luke Fickell, already tabbed to take over for Tressel during his self-imposed five-game suspension for his viola- tions, will be the Buckeyes coach for the 2011 season. Ohio State will begin look- ing for a permanent coach who will take over next year. It was a startling fall for the coach who wrote books about faith and integrity while sidestepping several major NCAA violations over the years. They dated to his days as the ultrasuccess- ful coach at Youngstown State, where he won four Division I-AA national titles, through a decade as Ohio State’s coach where he posted a 106-22 record. The abrupt resignation, first reported by The Columbus Dispatch, capped six months of turmoil in the program. In December, five Ohio State players — including star quarterback Terrelle Pryor — were found to have received cash and discount- ed tattoos from the owner of a local tattoo parlor who was the subject of a federal drug- trafficking case. All were permitted by the NCAA to play in the Buckeyes’ 31-26 victory over Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl, with their sus- pensions to begin with the first game of the 2011 sea- son. After the team returned from New Orleans, Ohio State officials began prepar- ing an appeal of the players’ sanctions. It was then that MLB West Division National League WL Pct GB Arizona 29 24 .547 — GIANTS 29 24 .547 — Colorado 25 27 .481 3.5 Dodgers 24 30 .444 5.5 Padres 23 31 .426 6.5 East Division WL Pct GB Philadelphia 34 20 .630 — Florida 30 21 .588 2.5 Atlanta 30 25 .545 4.5 New York 24 28 .462 9 Washington 22 31 .415 11.5 Central Division WL Pct GB St. Louis 32 23 .582 — Milwaukee 29 24 .547 2 Cincinnati 27 27 .500 4.5 Pittsburgh 24 27 .471 6 Chicago 23 29 .442 7.5 Houston 20 34 .370 11.5 ————————————————— Monday’s results San Francisco 7, St. Louis 3 Houston 12, Chicago Cubs 7 Philadelphia 5, Washington 4 San Diego 3, Atlanta 2, 10 innings Colorado at Los Angeles, late Florida at Arizona, late Milwaukee at Cincinnati, late Pittsburgh at New York, late Today’s games San Francisco (Vogelsong 3-1) at St.Louis (Carpenter 1-5),4:09 p.m.,CSNB Philadelphia (Cl.Lee 4-4) at Washington (Marquis 5-2), 4:05 p.m. Milwaukee (Greinke 3-1) at Cincinnati (Reineke 0-0), 4:10 p.m. Pittsburgh (Ja.McDonald 3-3) at New York (Dickey 2-5), 4:10 p.m. San Diego (Latos 2-6) at Atlanta (Minor 0-1), 4:10 p.m. Houston (Lyles 0-0) at Chicago (Zambrano 5-2), 5:05 p.m. Florida (Ani.Sanchez 4-1) at Arizona (I.Kennedy 6-1), 6:40 p.m. Colorado (Mortensen 1-2) at Los Angeles (Lilly 3-4), 7:10 p.m. Wednesday’s games San Francisco at St. Louis, 5:15 p.m. Philadelphia at Washington, 10:05 a.m. Houston at Chicago , 11:20 a.m. Milwaukee at Cincinnati, 4:10 p.m. Pittsburgh at New York, 4:10 p.m. San Diego at Atlanta, 4:10 p.m. Florida at Arizona, 4:40 p.m. Colorado at Los Angeles, 7:10 p.m. College Station, Texas Arizona, Seton Hall, Texas A&M and Wright State Austin, Texas Kent State, Princeton, Texas and Texas State Fort Worth, Texas Dallas Baptist, Oklahoma, Oral Roberts and TCU Tempe, Ariz. Arizona State, Arkansas, Charlotte and New Mexico Corvallis, Ore. Creighton, Georgia, Oregon and UALR Fullerton Cal State Fullerton, Illinois, Kansas State and Stanford Los Angeles Fresno State, San Francisco, UC Irvine and UCLA investigators found that Tressel had learned in April 2010 about the players’ involvement with the parlor owner, Edward Rife. A local attorney and former Ohio State walk-on player, Christopher Cicero, had sent Tressel emails detailing the improper benefits. Tressel and Cicero traded a dozen emails on the subject. Tressel had signed an NCAA compliance form in September saying he had no knowledge of any wrongdo- ing by athletes. His contract, in addition to NCAA rules, specified that he had to tell his superiors or compliance department about any poten- tial NCAA rules violations. Yet he did not tell anyone, except to forward emails to Ted Sarniak, reportedly a ‘‘mentor’’ for Pryor back in his hometown of Jeannette, Pa. Also on Monday, The Columbus Dispatch report- ed that Pryor is the subject of a ‘‘significant’’ inquiry by the NCAA and Ohio State regarding cars and other improper benefits he may have received. Ohio State called a hur- ried news conference on March 8, 2011, in which it handed Tressel a two-game suspension (later raised to five games), fined him $250,000 and required him to issue a public apology and go to an NCAA compliance seminar. Athletic director Gene Smith and Ohio State President Gordon Gee heaped praise on Tressel and said they were behind him 100 percent. Gee even joked when asked if he had con- sidered firing the coach: ‘‘No, are you kidding? Let me just be very clear: I’m just hopeful the coach does- n’t dismiss me.’’ Gee was not joking about the Tressel situation over the weekend. Ohio State released a letter from Gee to the university’s board of trustees which said, ‘‘As you all know, I appointed a spe- cial committee to analyze and provide advice to me regarding issues attendant to our football program. In consultation with the senior leadership of the university and the senior leadership of the board, I have been actively reviewing the mat- ter and have accepted coach Tressel’s resignation.’’ Tressel’s downfall came with public and media pres- sure mounting on Ohio State, its board of trustees, Gee and Smith. Smith said in a video statement Monday, ‘‘As you all know, we are under NCAA investigation. We will not discuss any of the matters around that case or any further accusations that may emerge.” NCAA BASEBALL NCAA Division I Baseball Regionals Double Elimination Charlottesville, Va. East Carolina, Navy, St. John’s and Vir- ginia Chapel Hill, N.C. Florida International, James Madison, Maine and North Carolina Clemson, S.C. Clemson, Coastal Carolina, Connecti- cut and Sacred Heart Columbia, S.C. Georgia Southern, N.C. State, Stetson and South Carolina Atlanta Austin Peay, Mississippi State, Georgia Tech and Southern Mississippi Gainesville, Fla. Florida, Jacksonville, Manhattan and Miami Tallahassee, Fla. Alabama, Bethune-Cookman, Florida State and UCF Nashville, Tenn. Belmont, Oklahoma State, Troy and Vanderbilt Houston Alcorn State, Baylor, California, and Rice