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PAVELGOLOVKIN—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Roger Federer of Switzerland returns to Milos Raonic of Canada during their semifinal match Friday at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in London. ByHowardFendrich The Associated Press LONDON RogerFedererwasonthe decline — or so the thinking went. He was past 30. Had back prob- lems. Tried experimenting with a larger racket. Was a family man, a father to two sets of twins now. Slid down the rankings. Reached zero Grand Slam finals over the past two years. Started losing before the quarterfinals at majors, includ- ing in 2013's second round at the All England Club, of all places, to a guy ranked 116th. Look at him now. Federer moved one victory away from a record eighth Wimbledon championship and 18th Grand Slam title overall by reaching Sunday's final, where he will face Novak Djokovic. Federer was asked how much it would mean to add to his trophy collection. "A lot," said Federer, who turns 33 next month and would be the oldest Wimbledon winner in at least a half- century. "I know I don't have 10 left, so I'll try to enjoy it as much as I can." Could he have imagined 12 months ago, after his startlingly early exit, being back in this year's final? "I wasn't sure," Federer replied. "I hoped." After so much buzz about the rise of a new generation to challenge the supremacy of tennis' "Big 4," — a quartet, including Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, that will have won 36 of the past 38 Slams — Federer and Djokovic turned aside up-and-com- ers in Friday's semifinals. Djokovic, the 2011 champion, went first on Centre Court, overcoming dips in his play to beat 11th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (7) and reach his third fi- nal at Wimbledon and 12th in the past 16 majors. Federer, tied with Pete Sampras and William Renshaw with seven Wimbledon titles, followed with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory over 11th-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada. Returning serves that topped 130 mph, Federer WIMBLEDON TENNIS Federer,Djokovicreachfinal Two members of 'Big 4' beat up-and-comers in semifinals, play Sunday By Tales Azzoni The Associated Press FORTALEZA, BRAZIL Not long af- ter celebrating another all-impor- tant win at the World Cup, Brazil was jolted by the loss of Neymar. The tournament's poster boy with the dyed-blonde fauxhawk fractured a vertebra in his back during Brazil's 2-1 quarterfinal victory over Colombia on Friday. The injury has ruled the striker out of the rest of the competi- tion, dealing a massive blow to the team's chances of finally win- ning a World Cup at home. Brazil advanced to the semifi- nals for the first time in 12 years, with the goals coming from de- fenders Thiago Silva and Da- vid Luiz. But the jubilation was quickly tempered when Brazil team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said Neymar broke his third vertebrae and is expected to be out for sev- eral weeks, ruling him out of Tuesday's semifinal match against Germany in Belo Horizonte. "It's a situation that leaves us in a difficult position for the WORLD CUP SOCCER Brazil wins, but Neymar ruled out By Steve Douglas The Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO It just wouldn't be the World Cup without Ger- many in the semifinals. Harnessing all their big-game experience, the Germans deliv- ered a performance of maturity and efficiency to hold off France 1-0 on Friday and become the first team to reach four straight semi- finals in the sport's marquee tour- nament. Defender Mats Hummels scored the winning goal in the 13th minute, outmuscling his marker at a free kick to glance a header in off the underside of the crossbar. Criticized for poor defending in earlier matches, Germany se- lected a more robust lineup and restricted a flat France team to only a handful of clear-cut oppor- tunities in muggy conditions. "There was not much in it," France coach Didier Deschamps said, "we don't have the interna- tional experience Germany has." WORLD CUP SOCCER Germany tops France 1-0, reaches semis The United States marks 238years as an independent nation as it celebrates the Fourth of July with fireworks, food and music. Nature, poli- tics and Hurricane Arthur also play a role this year. FOURTH OF JULY Fireworks,hotdogs, hurricane mark holiday FULLSTORYONPAGEB4 The 11- and 12-year-old District 1championship will be held at West Redding, 10a.m. Saturday and 10a.m. Sunday if needed. West Redding, East Redding, Cottonwood and Central Tehama are alive. LITTLE LEAGUE District 1 championship this weekeend The Red Bluff Bulls under-15 American Legion baseball team hosts Fairfield for a doubleheader at noon Satur- day and another doubleheader on Sunday beginning at 11a.m. AMERICAN LEGION Red Bluff Bulls u15s host doubleheaders By Antonio Gonzalez The Associated Press OAKLAND In a game where of- fense was an afterthought, the scoreless stalemate ended in fit- ting fashion: a walk-off error. Melky Cabrera couldn't corral Nick Punto's double with one out in the 12th inning, sending the Oakland A's to a 1-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday in front of a crowd of 22,322 at the Coliseum. "I'm sure they were ready to go home and get the barbecues started," Punto said. Derek Norris led off the rally with a walk by Chad Jenkins (0-1), who tossed two innings of relief. After Jed Lowrie lined out, Punto poked a slicing double down the line in left. Cabrera moved to his right to cut off the ball, which squirted by his glove for an error. Norris, who runs well for a catcher, hus- tled from first for an odd ending to a game highlighted by stellar pitching performances by Oak- land's Tommy Milone, Toronto's Marcus Stroman and both bull- pens. "That's the definition of a pitch- ing duel," Milone said. "It's excit- ing. It's fun to watch. But it was about that time." Dan Otero (7-1), the fifth Oak- land reliever to toss a scoreless inning, earned the win. Cabrera never surfaced in the clubhouse during the time reporters were al- lowed in after the game. "That's not the game," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said of Cabrera's misplay. "It was great pitching on both sides." Stroman gave up seven hits in seven innings. He struck out AMERICAN LEAGUE A'S PASS BY JAYS ON WALK-OFF ERROR Punto's double in the 12th inning leads to Cabrera miscue, gives Oakland 1-0 victory BEN MARGOT — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Oakland's Nick Punto, right, celebrates with Stephen Vogt, le , and Sean Doolittle a er getting the game-winning hit in the 12th inning against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday. BEN MARGOT — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Oakland's Nick Punto swings for the game-winning hit against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday in Oakland. A'S 1, BLUE JAYS 0 (12) Up next: Today, Blue Jays at A's, 7:05p.m., TV on CSN. THESCORE Lyoto Machida's lunch party digs into steaks and cheese- cake, he eats from a small plastic container of vegeta- bles and pasta. The Brazilian veteran believes he'll get the payoff for his sacrifices. UFC 175 Machida drops down to face champ Weidman FULL STORY ON PAGE B2 TENNIS PAGE 2 GERMANY PAGE 2 BRAZIL PAGE 2 A'S PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, July 5, 2014 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1