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Wednesday MLB —Rangers at Yankees, 4 p.m., ESPN MLB—Giants at Diamondbacks, 6:30 p.m., CSNB MLB— Royals at Athletics, 7 p.m., CSNC Stanley Cup —Game 7, Bruins at Canucks, 5 p.m., NBC Sports 1B Tennis Pro, Vern Leslie has started a sum- mer of offering a variety of tennis programs at Valley Oak Racquet Club. The entire Red Bluff community is wel- come to join Leslie for: • Summer Youth Camp Sessions, different daily schedules for grade school age children through high school • Tennis Lessons for groups and individuals of all ages and levels • Cardio Tennis for all levels • High Performance Training for strength and conditioning Leslie Vern's vision is to develop youth and community fitness and tennis for all of Tehama County at Valley Oak Racquet Club. Non- members and members can call Vern Leslie to sign up for a tennis program at (530) 933-3668. Waltrip, Yarborough lead NASCAR Hall of Fame class Daily News photo by Rich Greene One of the rarest feats in golf occurred Tuesday at Oak Creek Golf Course. PJ Lopez (second from left) hit a hole-in-one on the Par 4 No. 4. Lopez used his driver on the 297-yard hole and wound up with an albatross. Lopez said it was his first hole-in-one. Oak Creek teaching professional Paul Bul- lock (far left) said a hole-in-one on a Par 4 occurs only a handful of times across the country in a given year.The feat has only been accomplished once in PGA Tour history.The shot was witnessed by Jerry Darling and Mike Greer, who are also pictured. Americans try to avoid record drought BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — What began as an anomaly has turned into a troubling trend for American golf. Graeme McDowell became the first European in 40 years to win the U.S. Open last summer at Pebble Beach. Perhaps more telling was that this was the first time in more than 100 years that no Americans finished among the top three in their national championship. And that was just the start. There were no Americans in the top three in the British Open a month later at St. Andrews. And for the first time in Masters history, international play- ers occupied the first three places at Augusta National. Is American golf on the ropes? "Are you asking that because I'm the highest-ranked American?" Steve Stricker said Tuesday. Stricker, a 44-year-old who didn't even have a full PGA Tour card five years ago, won the Memorial two weeks ago and climbed to No. 4 in the world, making him the top-ranked American. He still lags well behind a pair of Englishmen, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, and Martin Kaymer of Germany. But the world ranking tells only part of the story. Americans have never gone more than four majors without winning one of them, and the U.S. Open at Con- gressional might be their best chance to avoid a record drought since this configuration of Grand Slam events began in 1934. "I think this tournament will tell a lot," Stricker said. "If an American can win here, maybe we can gain back some of that momentum. It seems to be pro-Europe every week, every major. It will be interesting this week to see what happens. I think we are on the ropes a little bit. Everybody sees it. Everybody talks about it." Based on recent times, history might not be on the side of the Stars & Stripes outside the nation's capital. Over the last 10 years, the U.S. Open is the one major where Ameri- cans have had the least amount of suc- cess. They have won only four times since 2001, with Tiger Woods captur- ing two of them. And he's not even at MLB American League Tuesday’s results Kansas City at Oakland, late Detroit 4, Cleveland 0 New York 12, Texas 4 Tampa Bay 4, Boston 0 Toronto 6, Baltimore 5, 11 innings Chicago at Minnesota, ppd., rain Los Angeles at Seattle, late Today’s games Kansas City (Hochevar 4-6) at Oakland (Outman 1-1), 7:05 p.m. Cleveland (Carmona 3-8) at Detroit (Penny 5-5), 4:05 p.m. Texas (D.Holland 5-1) at New York (Nova 5-4), 4:05 p.m. Baltimore (Arrieta 8-3) at Toronto (R.Romero 5-6), 4:07 p.m. Congressional this week, out with a bum left leg. It was only four years ago when it seemed that Europeans couldn't win a big one. Padraig Harrington preached patience, saying golf runs in cycles and Europe would get its due. Ernie Els couldn't agree more. "Everything happens in cycles, and I can see it happening again now," he said. "I remember back in the early '90s, Europe was dominating like they are dominating now in the world rank- ings. They've definitely got the upper hand at the moment, and it will proba- bly change again in the future." The trick is figuring who the future is for American golf. Right behind Stricker in the world ranking is Phil Mickelson, the last American to win a major when he beat Westwood at the Masters last year. Mickelson turns 41 on Thursday, although he still thinks he has several years and more majors ahead of him. Even so, Mickelson has been spending a lot of time lately trying to groom younger players, mostly for Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup match- es, but also to get them sharp for majors. He played Tuesday with Dustin Johnson, regarded by many as the most talented of the Americans under 30. Joining them were Jeff Overton and Hunter Mahan, whose three wins include a World Golf Championship at Firestone last year. "I'm actually very encouraged with where our American golfers are, espe- cially the young players," Mickelson said. "We have a plethora of great players coming up. And I think at the forefront is a guy like Dustin John- son." Johnson very easily could have won two majors last year, and this wouldn't even be a discussion. He took a three-shot lead into the final round at Pebble Beach until a shot in the bush- es and a shot onto the beach left him with an 82. Then came the PGA Championship, where he was not aware he was in a bunker and ground- ed his club, a two-shot penalty that knocked him out of a playoff. Kaymer wound up beating Bubba Watson in the playoff. Johnson is aware of the American drought, but only because he keeps getting asked about it. Boston (Beckett 5-2) at Tampa Bay (Hellickson 7-4), 4:10 p.m. Chicago (Buehrle 6-4) at Minnesota (Blackburn 5-4), 5:10 p.m. Los Angeles (E.Santana 3-6) at Seattle (Bedard 3-4), 7:10 p.m. National League Tuesday’s results San Francisco at Arizona, late New York 4, Atlanta 3 Philadelphia 9, Florida 1 Pittsburgh 1, Houston 0 Washington 8, St. Louis 6 Cincinnati at Los Angeles, late Milwaukee at Chicago, late San Diego at Colorado, late Today’s games San Francisco (Bumgarner 2-8) at Arizona (J.Saunders 3-6), 6:40 p.m. Florida (Villanueva 0-0) at Philadelphia (K.Kendrick 3-4), 10:05 a.m. "It's not like we're not trying or not playing well," he said. "I think the American guys are playing really good. A lot of things have to go right to win a major. Obviously, the guys that have won the last four majors have played really good golf." Mahan knew the Americans had not won a major since Mickelson at the Masters. He was surprised to hear that only two Americans, Watson and Zach Johnson, have been in the top three at the last four majors. "It's the fashionable thing now to be European. Everyone is pumping that up," Mahan said. "I don't know about that. I think guys like Stricker, Matt Kuchar ... I don't see who's playing better than those guys." Donald would be one of them, for sure. He brings 10 consecutive top 10s into the U.S. Open, which includes wins in the European Tour flagship event at Wentworth and his first WGC title at the Match Play Championship in Arizona. Westwood won consecu- tive tournaments overseas. Kaymer started his year with an eight-shot win against a strong field in Abu Dhabi that included Mickelson. Along with the four majors, Europe also owns the Ryder Cup. "I think the Ryder Cup has created a line there now that wasn't there before," Mahan said. "There's a little bit more friction — maybe not fric- tion, but there's a little more to it now — and that's good. The thing we need in golf are rivalries, but good rivalries." Perhaps the Americans getting shut out in the majors was inevitable. Not until the world ranking became more accepted did international play- ers get much access to the three Amer- ican-based majors. When the ranking made its debut in 1986, only three Europeans played in the Masters that year. With few exceptions, the PGA Tour attracts the best that each continent has to offer. "It's obvious that world golf as a whole has become so much stronger, and that international and European golf has become world class," Mickel- son said. "So although international golf has really taken off, American golf is still in very good shape." That might be easier to believe if one of them were holding the trophy on Sunday at Congressional. Cincinnati (Tr.Wood 4-4) at Los Angeles (Billingsley 5-5), 12:10 p.m. San Diego (Latos 4-7) at Colorado (Chacin 7-4), 12:10 p.m. Florida (Ani.Sanchez 6-1) at Philadelphia (Halladay 9-3), 4:05 p.m. St. Louis (McClellan 6-2) at Washington (L.Hernandez 3-8), 4:05 p.m. New York (Gee 7-0) at Atlanta (T.Hudson 5-5), 4:10 p.m. Milwaukee (Narveson 3-4) at Chicago (Zambrano 5-3), 5:05 p.m. Pittsburgh (Morton 6-3) at Houston (Happ 3-8), 5:05 p.m. NCAA BASEBALL College World Series At TD Ameritrade Park Omaha Omaha, Neb. Double Elimination Saturday’s games Game 1 — Vanderbilt (52-10) vs. North Carolina (50-14), 11 a.m. Game 2 — Texas (49-17) vs. Florida (50-17), 4 p.m. Sunday’s games Game 3 — California (37-21) vs. Virginia (54-10), 11 a.m. Game 4— Texas A&M (47-20) vs. South Carolina (50-14), 4 p.m. WNBA Tuesday’s results Atlanta 79, New York 58 Indiana 82, Tulsa 74 MLS Today’s game Toronto FC at New England, 5 p.m. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The wait is over for Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip. The championship-win- ning drivers with a bumpy personal connection are headed to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Yarborough and Waltrip got in on their third try, headlin- ing the third five-member class announced Tuesday. They’re joined by eight-time series champion crew chief Dale Inman, nine-time Modified champion Richie Evans and pio- neering driver and owner Glen Wood. ‘‘It’s probably the best class of the three,’’ said NASCAR chairman Brian France, who was on the receiving end of a playful kiss on his cheek from a tearful Waltrip. ‘‘You’ve got two of the greatest drivers. You’ve got the greatest crew chief. You have a legendary car owner, and then you have Richie Evans, who dominated in Modified racing. It demon- strates the Hall of Fame is more than just the Sprint Cup series. ‘‘It’s hard to argue this class in any way, in my view.’’ Yarborough, who led with 85 percent of the vote by the 55-person panel, won 83 races and three consecutive titles (1976-78). Only Jimmie Johnson’s current streak of five titles is longer. Yarborough’s 83 victories rank sixth. He won four Daytona 500s and later served as car owner until he left the sport in 1999. Yarborough, who didn’t attend the announcement, said by phone he watched the telecast with his wife in the shop of his farm in Sardis, S.C. ‘‘I’m glad. I’m glad that’s over with,’’ Yarborough said. ‘‘Everybody has been asking me, ’Do you think it’s this time? Do you think you’ll go in this time?’ ‘‘I feel honored. I’m in a lot of different motorsports halls of fame, but to be in the NASCAR Hall of Fame with the guys who are already in and the ones who will come later means a lot to me. It’s a great group to be a part of.’’ Waltrip, who received 82 percent of the vote, won 84 races, tied for third all time, and collected series champi- onships in 1981, ’82 and ’85. While Yarborough was absent, you couldn’t miss Waltrip in the front row. Saying he was so nervous he was ‘‘sick to his stomach,’’ Waltrip’s eyes welled up with tears as his name was announced. He then ran to the stage and kissed France, something he promised to do in radio interview earlier in the day. ‘‘Let’s just say I embraced him,’’ Waltrip said, ‘‘because it felt good to get embraced by the committee today.’’ It was a stark contrast to a year ago, when a stunned Wal- trip was left out of the hall as he participated in Speed’s tele- cast of the event. Waltrip has spent the past 11 years as a TV analyst for Fox Sports and Speed, but still hasn’t lost that competitive streak. Yarborough once called Waltrip ‘‘Jaws’’ for how much he ran his mouth. ‘‘We knocked each other out of a lot of races,’’ Waltrip said. But Waltrip said Yarborough was the one who told him to talk to Hall of Famer Junior Johnson about joining his team. It was there Waltrip won his three titles. ‘‘So for all the bad things about Cale, I forgive him,’’ Wal- trip said, smiling. Inman received 78 percent of the vote, becoming the first crew chief to be elected. He spent nearly three decades at Petty Enterprises, where was in charge of inaugural Hall of Famer Richard Petty’s team for his seven titles. He won another championship with Terry Labonte. ‘‘Somebody asked me if I was nervous,’’ Inman said, ‘‘and I said not as much as I was in some of those races.’’ The late Evans, who captured 50 percent of the vote, won nine Modified titles in 13 years, including a record eight straight from 1978-85. He received strong support from many voters, including small track owners, who wanted someone honored outside of the top three NASCAR racing series. Wood, who received 44 percent of the vote, was credited with helping revolutionize pit stops with Wood Brothers Racing. His team has amassed 98 victories, including this year’s Daytona 500. ‘‘I didn’t come here alone. I had a lot of help,’’ Wood said. ‘‘There’s five of us brothers. All of those helped at one time or another. And Leonard has been there all along for the whole 60-something years.’’ But Leonard Wood missed the cut. There was a debate among voters on whether the brothers should be enshrined at the same time. ‘‘We’re in several hall of fames and we always went in as one,’’ Leonard Wood said. ‘‘So that’s kind of the way we pre- ferred it, but it’s OK. If I ever get in, it would be just double fun.’’ Wednesday June 15, 2011 Par 4 hole-in-one New tennis pro NASCAR U.S. Open