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2B Daily News – Saturday, June 11, 2011 Donovan says U.S. won’t overlook Panama TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Landon Donovan expects the United States men’s national soccer team to be on its game when it resumes Gold Cup play against Panama. Noting there’s a history of close games between the teams in the tour- nament that determines the champion of North and Central America and the Caribbean, Donovan stressed the favored Americans can not afford to overlook their next opponent on Sat- urday night. The U.S. has beaten Panama in each of the past three Gold Cups, including 2005 when they played to a scoreless tie in the final. The Ameri- cans took the title that year after win- ning a penalty shootout, then eliminat- ed the Panamanians in the quarterfi- nals in 2007 and 2009. Winning the Gold Cup not only would ensure the U.S. a berth in the 2013 Confederations Cup, but also send a message to regional competi- tors the Americans potentially could face in qualifiers leading to the next World Cup in Brazil. ‘‘They always give us a tough matchup. Athletically, they are chal- lenging and they do a pretty good job tactically of making the game hard against us,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘They have a lot of experience. People forget how much experience this group of players have now. It’s VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Shane Carwin was supposed to ease back into the UFC. The heavyweight contender had been out for nearly a year recovering from back surgery for nerve damage in his neck, and he scheduled a comeback fight against Jon Olav Einemo, a Norwegian newcomer. Brock Lesnar’s latest bout with intestinal ill- ness changed everything for Carwin, the 36-year-old mechanical engineer from rural Colorado with two of mixed martial arts’ most devastating fists. Instead of easing into the UFC shallows, he’s jump- ing right back into the deep end against Brazil’s Junior Dos Santos (12-1), widely considered the world’s No. 2 heavyweight behind UFC champion Cain Velasquez. When Lesnar dropped out of his fight with Dos Santos, Carwin (12-1) stepped in for the main event of UFC 131 Saturday in Vancouver’s Rogers Arena, with a fall title shot going to the winner. ‘‘You get very few opportunities like this in STAKES (Continued from page 1B) Smarty Jones’ bid for immortality at odds of 36-1 and Sarava ended War Emblem’s Triple try in 2002 as a 70-1 shot. How this Belmont unfolds is anybody’s guess. One thing for certain is Shackleford will shoot for the lead from the outside No. 12 post under Jesus Cas- tanon. The long, lanky colt led into the stretch at the Derby but couldn’t hold off the closers and finished fourth. Then in the Preak- ness, he quickened the pace and held off Animal King- dom to win by a half length. ‘‘He’s going to break and go to the lead,’’ Romans said, ‘‘and we’ll see how far he can go.’’ An intriguing outsider is Master of Hounds, a Euro- pean invader who ran a com- mendable fifth in the Derby, and is back for another go on the deep, sandy Belmont track. ‘‘He’ll definitely put up a good show here,’’ trainer Aidan O’Brien’s assistant PGA St. Jude Classic At TPC Southwind Memphis, Tenn. Purse: $5.6 million Yardage: 7,239; Par: 70 (35-35) TV: Noon, CBS First Round Leaders Robert Karlsson 66-65— 131 -9 Colt Knost 66-68— 134 -6 Keegan Bradley 67-67— 134 -6 John Merrick 66-69— 135 -5 Fredrik Jacobson 71-65— 136 -4 Harrison Frazar 71-65— 136 -4 George McNeill 70-67— 137 -3 Brandt Snedeker 71-66— 137 -3 Stephen Ames 69-68— 137 -3 Scott Stallings 69-68— 137 -3 David Mathis 65-72— 137 -3 Fabian Gomez 67-70— 137 -3 Nick O’Hern 71-66— 137 -3 Troy Matteson 70-67— 137 -3 Kris Blanks 66-71— 137 -3 been basically the same team for five, six, seven, eight years,’’ the American star added. ‘‘It’s going to be a difficult game. We expect a tough test.’’ But one the U.S. fully expects to win, provided there’s no dropoff from a solid performance in a 2-0 tourna- ment-opening victory over Canada on Tuesday night. The Americans can clinch a top- two finish in Group C, thus guarantee- ing a quarterfinal berth if they beat Panama and Canada also gets at least one point against Guadeloupe in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader at Raymond James Stadium. Securing a berth in the next round after two games could afford U.S. coach Bob Bradley an opportunity to rest some regulars while also giving some of the team’s younger players a chance to get some valuable Gold Cup experience against Guadeloupe in Kansas City on June 14. ‘‘Obviously if we win we’ll be sit- ting pretty and in a good spot to defi- nitely win the group,’’ defender Tim Ream said. ‘‘This tournament is always impor- tant for us. We also qualify against these teams,’’ Donovan stressed. ‘‘So there’s the games, but there’s also the mental aspect that’s important as well. If we play Panama in a qualifier in the future we want to know that we have the advantage of beating them here, life,’’ Carwin said. ‘‘I get to go in there and make the most of it and do something that I love to do. When I got that call, it was an absolute yes. Not only do I get to fight one of the best guys in the world, but it’s with the title shot on the line.’’ Carwin was one punch away from winning that title last summer when he bat- tered Lesnar for nearly every minute of the first round of their bout. Lesnar spent the round curled in a corner of the cage, blocking punches and hoping Carwin would tire himself out. Carwin did just that, and Lesnar finished him in the second round. While Carwin dealt with neck pain that eventually led to surgery in the ensuing months, he also realized he had to change his condition- ing to compete with Velasquez or Dos Santos, two prodigious natural ath- letes. His shape improved immediately, and he didn’t expect to need to cut weight before Friday’s weigh-in. ‘‘My diet is mostly organic now, a lot of fruits and vegetables,’’ Carwin T.J. Comerford said. ‘‘The 1 1/2 miles will hit him on the head.’’ Mucho Macho Man joins Animal Kingdom and Shackleford as the only hors- es to run in all three Triple Crown races this year. The colt trained by heart-trans- plant recipient Kathy Ritvo was third in the Derby and sixth in the Preakness after losing a front shoe at the start. Fitted with new glue-on shoes, Mucho Macho Man is listed at 10-1 with Ramon Dominguez — New York’s leading rider — aboard for the first time. ‘‘These are tough hors- es,’’ Ritvo said of this year’s 3-year-old crop, considered by some to be a mediocre group due to the slow win- ning times in the Derby and Preakness. ‘‘All three that have run in all these races are competitive. It’s not like any- body’s running bad races.’’ NAL Northern Division WL Pct. GB Lake County 10 3 .769 — Edmonton 7 5 .583 2.5 Maui 7 6 .538 3 Calgary 7 7 .500 3.5 OUTLAWS 58 .385 5 Southern Division WL Pct. GB R. G.Valley 12 5 .706 — McAllen 9 8 .529 3 San Angelo 8 9 .471 4 Edinburg 5 12 .294 7 Yuma 3 10 .231 7 ————————————————— Friday’s results Chico at Calgary, late McAllen 9, Edinburg 5 San Angelo 12, Rio Grande Valley 3 Lake County at Edmonton, late Maui at Yuma, late Saturday’s games Chico at Calgary, 4:05 p.m. Lake County at Edmonton, 1 p.m. Rio Grande Valley at San Angelo, 5:05 p.m. Maui at Yuma, 7:35 p.m. Sunday’s games Chico at Calgary, 12:35 p.m. Lake County at Edmonton, 1 p.m. Rio Grande Valley at San Angelo, 4:05 p.m. Edinburg vs.McAllen at Edinburg, 4:05 p.m. Edinburg vs.McAllen at Edinburg, 6:35 p.m. Maui at Yuma, 7:35 p.m. COACH and hopefully that stays in their minds.’’ Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey scored in the victory over Canada in Detroit, helping the Americans rebound from a 4-0 exhibition loss to world Cup champion Spain last week- end. Altidore, making his Gold Cup debut, scored in the 15th minute. Dempsey added his goal in the 62nd as the U.S. remained unbeaten (24-0- 2) in group stage matches of Gold Cup tournaments. ‘‘Getting the first goal is always important in these games,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘When you get a first goal and make some of these teams open them- selves up, they become vulnerable and you can get the second, third and fourth.’’ Panama began group play in Detroit with a 3-2 victory over Guade- loupe, hanging on after nearly blow- ing a 3-0 lead. The Panamanians are 0-6-2 all- time against the U.S., 0-3-1 in Gold Cup matches. The 2007 and 2009 quarterfinals both were decided by one goal. ‘‘We’re not under any illusions that it’s going to be an easy game,’’ U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard said. ‘‘It’s going to be a tough game, but we also realize what a good result does for us.’’ Carwin, Dos Santos seek title shot at UFC 131 said, praising his nutrition consultant, Josh Ford. ‘‘We get some chicken and fish in for protein, but he com- pletely changed my thoughts on nutrition and everything we do is for recovery. ... Every time you come out of a fight, you always try to make yourself a better fighter. There were a lot of things that I learned in that space.’’ MMA-mad Canada is hosting its latest UFC show just one day after the Van- couver Canucks play a piv- otal Game 5 against the Boston Bruins in the Stan- ley Cup finals in the same downtown arena. Veteran featherweight Kenny Flori- an meets Brazil’s Diego Nunes earlier on the card, while lightweight contender Donald ‘‘Cowboy’’ Cerrone takes on Vagner Rocha before a bout between mid- dleweights Demian Maia and Mark Munoz. Dos San- tos was looking forward to a bout with Lesnar after appearing together on the most recent season of ‘‘The Ultimate Fighter,’’ the UFC’s reality show. The UFC also was disappointed Ritvo hopes it’s her colt’s turn to wind up in the win- ner’s circle. ‘‘With his long stride he’s not going to be getting tired in the stretch,’’ Ritvo said. While the issue will be settled on the track, that has- n’t prevented a little trash talking during the week. Outspoken Barry Irwin, whose Team Valor Interna- tional owns Animal King- dom, kicked off a friendly feud with Romans when he said he wasn’t worried about Shackleford and proclaimed that Mucho Macho Man was the horse to beat. Romans was quick with his reply: ‘‘That may not be the stupidest thing Barry’s ever said, but it’s close.’’ Dean Reeves, the majori- ty owner of Mucho Macho Man, got in on the fun, too, saying he agreed with Irwin’s assessment. WNBA WESTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB San Antonio 2 0 1.000 — Minnesota 3 1 .750 — Sparks Seattle 1 1 .500 1 1 1 .500 1 Phoenix 0 1 .000 1.5 Tulsa 0 3 .000 2.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB New York 2 0 1.000 — Chicago 1 1 .500 1 Connecticut 1 1 .500 1 Indiana 1 1 .500 1 Washington 1 1 .500 1 Atlanta 0 2 .000 2 ————————————————— Thursday’s late results Minnesota 81, Seattle 74 Washington 98, Atlanta 90, OT Friday’s results Chicago 78, Connecticut 75 New York 81, Indiana 80 San Antonio 93, Tulsa 62 Phoenix at Los Angeles, late Saturday’s games Chicago at Washington, 4 p.m. Indiana at New York, 4 p.m. Atlanta at San Antonio, 5 p.m. Sunday’s game Tulsa at Connecticut, Noon when its biggest pay-per- view star had another set- back with diverticulitis last month, eventually undergo- ing surgery to remove a por- tion of his colon. Dos San- tos also hasn’t fought in 10 months since winning the first decision of his career over Roy Nelson in Oak- land, Calif., last August. He’s an outstanding striker whose sheer size would be a problem for most heavy- weights — although Car- win matches up well. ‘‘I believe so much in my boxing,’’ Dos Santos said. ‘‘My boxing brought me here until now. I feel very comfortable fighting on my feet, so I will try to keep this fight standing, but I’m ready to fight whatever the fight needs, on the ground or on my feet. It doesn’t matter where. I’m ready to fight.’’ Just how good are these two heavyweights on their feet? Dos Santos’ last win was his first career fight that didn’t end in a knockout or submission, while Carwin had never even gone beyond the first round of a fight until Lesnar beat him last year. ‘‘We think we have the best horse in the country,’’ Reeves said. ‘‘We just need to prove it, and hope Satur- day we’ll do that.’’ The field, from the rail out is Master of Hounds (Garrett Gomez, 10-1), Stay Thirsty (20-1, Javier Castellano), Ruler On Ice (Jose Valdivia Jr., 20-1), Santiva (Shaun Bridgmohan, 15-1), Brilliant Speed (Joel Rosario, 15-1), Nehro (Corey Nakatani, 4- 1), Monzon (Jose Lezcano, 30-1), Prime Cut (Edgar Prado, 15-1), Animal King- dom (John Velazquez, 2-1), Mucho Macho Man (Ramon Dominguez, 10-1), Isn’t He Perfect (Rajiv Maragh, 30-1) and Shackleford (9-2, Jesus Castanon). MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Galaxy FC Dallas 7 3 4 25 17 12 Seattle 8 2 6 30 20 12 5 4 6 21 16 13 Salt Lake 6 3 2 20 13 6 Colorado 4 3 7 19 16 14 Chivas USA 4 4 5 17 16 14 Portland 5 5 2 17 15 18 QUAKES 44 4 16 16 14 Vancouver 1 6 7 10 14 20 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA New York 5 2 7 22 21 13 Philadelphia 6 3 3 21 15 10 Columbus 4 3 6 18 14 15 D.C. 4 4 4 16 16 20 Houston 3 5 6 15 17 17 N. England 3 7 4 13 11 18 Toronto FC 2 5 7 13 13 23 Chicago 1 4 8 11 15 19 Kansas City 1 6 4 7 12 19 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. ————————————————— Thursday’s result Sporting Kansas City 0, Chicago 0, tie Friday’s result New York 2, New England 1 Saturday’s games San Jose at D.C.United,4:30 p.m.,CSNB Real Salt Lake at Philadelphia, 1 p.m. Chivas USA at Houston, 5:30 p.m. Colorado at Portland, 7:30 p.m. Toronto FC at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. Vancouver at Seattle FC, 7:30 p.m. Sunday’s games Chicago at Columbus, 1 p.m. Sporting Kansas City at FC Dallas, 4 p.m. (Continued from page 1B) admits there are day-to-day things about being a coach that he’ll have to learn on the job, and that’s why his first order of business was to lure top assistant and friend Mike Malone to his staff. The closest experience Jackson has to coaching is being a point guard for 17 seasons in the NBA and the on-court leader for five Hall of Famers — Lou Carnesec- ca, Lenny Wilkens, Jerry Sloan, Pat Riley and Larry Brown — among others. That still makes him a risky hire and a complete unknown. Yet that’s just what new Warriors owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber relish about Jackson and the kind of chances they predicted when they bought the franchise last fall for a record $450 mil- lion. They have also hired Jerry West as a consultant and sports agent Bob Myers as assistant general manager and future GM. All of them were part of Jackson’s interviews. ‘‘He’s the most experi- enced guy, frankly, we met in the entire process,’’ Lacob said. ‘‘I know that’s a funny line to say given some of the comments out there. He has- n’t been in the seat and been a head coach in the NBA. But if you look at experi- ence, it’s the whole thing that counts. Can he be a leader? Will the players respect him? CUP (Continued from page 1B) mistake, but it was enough. ‘‘Those are usually the kind of goals that go in when no one is scoring,’’ Thomas said. ‘‘A lot of times it’s going to be that fluke one off the boards, and Lapierre did- n’t even get the shot off clean. If he got the shot off clean, I would have been able to read it better and would have had a better chance at it.’’ The Canucks hung on for their sixth straight home playoff victory since May 7. The home team has won every game in the series. ‘‘I don’t know how to explain it,’’ Boston forward Milan Lucic said. ‘‘Especial- ly in a series where you don’t have home-ice advantage, you’ve got to find a way to win at least one game on the road if you want to come out on top, and for some reason we haven’t been able to.’’ Yet if Vancouver can’t improve on its last trip to Boston, the finals will go to Game 7 in Vancouver on Wednesday night. ‘‘We’ve been through this, I don’t know how many times,’’ Boston coach Claude Julien said. ‘‘We’re not a team that’s done any- MLB West Division Texas East Division American League WL Pct GB 36 29.554 — Seattle 33 31 .516 2.5 Angels 30 34 .469 5.5 A’s 28 37 .431 8 WL Pct GB Boston 37 26 .587 — New York 34 27 .557 2 Tampa Bay 33 30 .524 4 Toronto 32 32 .500 5.5 Baltimore 30 31 .492 6 Central Division WL Pct GB Cleveland 34 27 .557 — Detroit 34 29 .540 1 Chicago 31 35 .470 5.5 Kansas City27 36 .429 8 Minnesota 24 39 .381 11 ————————————————— Friday’s results Oakland 7, Chicago 5 Baltimore 7, Tampa Bay 0 Boston 5, Toronto 1 New York 11, Cleveland 7 Seattle 3, Detroit 2 Texas 9, Minnesota 3 Kansas City at Los Angeles, late Saturday’s games Oakland (G.Gonzalez 5-4) at Chicago Danks 1-8),4:10 p.m.,CSNC Cleveland (Talbot 2-2) at New York (Colon 4-3), 10:05 a.m. Boston (Lackey 3-5) at Toronto (Morrow 2-3), 10:07 a.m. Texas (C.Lewis 5-6) at Minnesota (S.Baker 3-4), 1:10 p.m. Seattle (Pineda 6-3) at Detroit (Scherzer 7-2), 4:05 p.m. Tampa Bay (Price 7-5) at Baltimore (Guthrie 2-8), 4:05 p.m. Kansas City (F.Paulino 0-0) at Los Angeles (Pineiro 2-3), 6:05 p.m. Sunday’s games Oakland (Moscoso 2-2) at Chicago (Humber 5-3),11:10 a.m.,CSNC Cleveland (Tomlin 7-3) at New York (F.Garcia 4-5), 10:05 a.m., TBS Seattle (F.Hernandez 6-5) at Detroit (Porcello 6-3), 10:05 a.m. Boston (Lester 8-2) at Toronto (Drabek 4-4), 10:07 a.m. Tampa Bay (W.Davis 4-5) at Baltimore (Matusz 1-0), 10:35 a.m. Texas (M.Harrison 5-5) at Minnesota (Liriano 3-6), 11:10 a.m. Kansas City (Mazzaro 0-1) at Los Angeles (Chatwood 3-3), 12:35 p.m. Can he handle the media in a big market like the Bay Area? I can go through any number of things. ‘‘And Mark, to me, was the most experienced guy on that list of people we met. And it wasn’t even close.’’ Becoming an NBA head coach was years in the mak- ing. Jackson spent the past few seasons as the lead ana- lyst for ESPN and ABC, and he will cross the country back to Miami to finish his duties at the NBA finals. He spent that time picking the brains of coaches around the league during exclusive meetings the network has before games. Jackson interviewed for so many coaching vacancies he can’t even recall the exact number but said he was a finalist in Atlanta, New York and Minnesota. He emerged from a field of about a dozen candidates, Lacob said, and the years of frustration of being turned down were vis- ible. Jackson, who is also an ordained pastor in the Los Angeles area, started to tear up when speaking about the opportunity to be a first-time coach and completing his lifelong basketball dream. He used to listen to Knicks games on the radio as a kid, envisioning himself as the star player, broadcaster and coach. ‘‘I became that player. I became that broadcaster,’’ he said. ‘‘And the last thing in line for me was coach.’’ thing the easy way, so in a way, it’s not a surprise we’re here.’’ In the last 21 times the finals were even going to Game 5, the winner went on to claim the Cup 15 times — yet Colorado (2001), Tampa Bay (2004) and Pittsburgh (2009) all overcame Game 5 losses to win it in the past decade. Luongo receives more criticism than almost any goalie with his level of accomplishment at hockey’s most elite levels, yet he has shown resilience throughout the postseason. He came back from a one-game benching in the first round against Chicago with a 2-1 victory in Game 7, and Vigneault unhesitatingly stuck by Luongo in the finals, ignoring widespread trashing of his $10 million goalie after Boston’s 8-1 and 4-0 home wins. Luongo did- n’t hesitate to take his sea- wall walk among the Van- couverites who equally love and mistrust him. He did it once before in the postsea- son, clearing his mind before knocking out the defending champion Blackhawks in Game 7 of the first round. MLB West Division National League WL Pct GB GIANTS 35 28 .556 — Arizona 34 30 .531 1.5 Colorado 31 32 .492 4 Padres 29 35 .453 6.5 Dodgers 29 36 .446 7 East Division WL Pct GB Philadelphia 38 26 .594 — Atlanta 36 28 .563 2 Florida 32 30 .516 5 New York 31 32 .492 6.5 Washington 27 36 .429 10.5 Central Division St. Louis 38 27 .585 — Milwaukee 36 28 .563 1.5 Cincinnati 33 31 .516 4.5 Pittsburgh 30 32 .484 6.5 Chicago 25 37 .403 11.5 Houston 24 40 .375 13.5 ————————————————— Friday’s results Cincinnati at San Francisco, late Atlanta 11, Houston 4 Colorado 6, Los Angeles 5 Florida 6, Arizona 4 Milwaukee 8, St. Louis 0 New York 8, Pittsburgh 1 Philadelphia 7, Chicago 5 Washington at San Diego, late Today’s games Cincinnati (Leake 5-2) at San Fran.(Lincecum 5-4),1:10 p.m.,FOX Chicago (Garza 2-5) at Philadelphia (Cl.Lee 5-5), 1:10 p.m. Atlanta (Minor 0-2) at Houston (Lyles 0-1), 4:05 p.m. New York (Dickey 3-6) at Pittsburgh (Ja.McDonald 3-4), 4:05 p.m. Arizona (I.Kennedy 6-2) at Florida (Vazquez 3-5), 4:10 p.m. St. Louis (C.Carpenter 1-5) at Milwaukee (Greinke 5-1), 4:10 p.m. Los Angeles (Lilly 4-5) at Colorado (Hammel 3-5), 5:10 p.m. Washington (Lannan 3-5) at San Diego (Richard 2-7), 5:35 p.m. Sunday’s games Cincinnati (Volquez 4-2) at San Fran.(J.Sanchez 4-4),5:05 p.m.,ESPN Arizona (D.Hudson 6-5) at Florida (Hand 0-1), 10:10 a.m. Chicago (D.Davis 0-5) at Philadelphia (Oswalt 3-4), 10:35 a.m., WGN New York (Capuano 4-6) at Pittsburgh (Correia 8-4), 10:35 a.m. Atlanta (Hanson 7-4) at Houston (Myers 2-5), 11:05 a.m. St. Louis (Westbrook 6-3) at Milwaukee (Marcum 6-2), 11:10 a.m. Los Angeles (R.De La Rosa 2-0) at Colorado (Jimenez 1-6), 12:10 p.m. Washington (Zimmermann 4-6) at San Diego (Stauffer 2-4), 1:05 p.m.