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ByDaveCampbell TheAssociatedPress MINNEAPOLIS Oakland'sYoe- nis Cespedes became the first repeat winner of the All-Star home run derby in 15 years, powering his way past Cincin- nati's Todd Frazier by a whop- ping 9-1 in the final round Monday night. Ken Griffey Jr. took the title in 1998 and 1999. With a serious, determined look on his face the whole time, Cespedes finished with 28 homers. That was four fewer than last year, when he beat Washington's Bryce Harper 9-8 in the final round. Cespedes saved his best for last, a 452-foot blast to the third deck above left field that officially measured as the lon- gest of the night. A's third base coach Mike Gallego again pitched to Ces- pedes, who went deep 32 times in last year's derby at Citi Field in New York. Gallego's arm looked nearly out of gas by the final round, which started af- ter 10:30 p.m. local time. Cespedes topped Toron- to's Jose Bautista, and Fra- zier surprisingly beat Miami's Giancarlo Stanton in the semi- finals. Bautista and Stanton each earned a bye to the semifinals under the new bracketed for- mat, which gave each player seven outs and pitted the sur- vivors from each side in the fi- nal round. Bautista went deep HOME RUN DERBY CESPEDESREPEATS ASTHEHRCHAMPION A'soutfielderisfirstback-to-back winner since Griffey Jr. in '99 PAULSANCYA—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS American League's Yoenis Cespedes, of the Oakland Athletics, hits during the final round of the MLB All-Star baseball Home Run Derby on Monday in Minneapolis. JEFF ROBERSON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS American League's Yoenis Cespedes, of the Oakland Athletics, reacts during the final round of the MLB All-Star baseball Home Run Derby on Monday in Minneapolis. Cespedes defeated National League's Todd Frazier, of the Cincinnati Reds, in the finals. By Ronald Blum The Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS Mike Matheny had quite the choice for the National League's All-Star starter. There was his own Adam Wainwright, the St. Louis Car- dinals ace with a 12-4 record and a 1.83 ERA. And there was the Los Ange- les Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw, 11-2 with a 1.78 ERA and fresh off a 41-inning scoreless streak that ended last week. He chose Wainwright, who will start Tuesday night at Tar- get Field against the Seattle Mariners' Felix Hernandez. "It's going to be great catching them," said Milwau- kee's Jonathan Lucroy, the NL starter behind the plate. "A lot more fun than facing them." When baseball's elite met at Citi Field last year, NL batters managed just three hits in a 3-0 loss. A year earlier in Kan- sas City, the AL had just six hits in an 8-0 defeat. Never before had consecu- tive All-Star games ended in shutouts. "Guys are throwing harder. Guys have more pitches," said Philadelphia second baseman Chase Utley, making his sixth All-Star appearance and first since 2010. The big league batting aver- age is at a 42-year low. Strike- outs are at an all-time high. Wainwright and Kershaw are on track to become the first pair of qualifying pitchers in one league with a sub-2.00 ERA since the Mets' Dwight Gooden and the Cardinals' PREVIEW Baseball All-Stars congregate as pitchers dominate JEFF ROBERSON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, of the Oakland Athletics, hits during batting practice for the MLB All-Star baseball game on Monday in Minneapolis. By Joseph Shufelberger jshufelberger@chicoer.com @JShufelberger on Twitter REDDING The games are more than a week away, but the antic- ipation for those participating in the Lions' club all-star football contests is already building — whether they're players, coaches or club members. The 37th annual Lions NorCal All-Star Football Game and the third edition of the 8-man game that highlights the north state's best from Division VI are set for a July 19 doubleheader at Shasta College. Select players and coaches from both the North and the South sides for both games met at C.R. Gibbs American Grille on Wednesday for the annual media day luncheon that serves as an of- ficial kickoff to the annual Lions District 4-C1 all-star festivities. But the players are already looking to make their mark in the games by putting on a show, and the South players, including Paradise High grads Mat Mach- ado and Caleb Anderson, want to end the North's current five-year reign in the series that matches the longest winning streak by ei- ther side. "It'd be great, just finally be- ing able to quiet up the North," said South lineman Malik Hop- kins in a jovial mood after he attended the lunch and is one of three Chico High players this year, along with Kody Sonday, who was recently added to the South roster, and wideout Paolo DiSano. "That would be a great opportunity." Players report to their respec- tive camps on Sunday and prac- tice throughout the week, leading up to the twin bill of games set for Saturday, July 19 at Shasta Col- lege. The 8-man contest kicks off at 5 p.m., while the traditional 11- man edition is set for 7:30 p.m. Gates open at 4 p.m. LIONS MEDIA DAY Excitement escalating for annual contests By By Janie Mccauley The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO Felipe Alou and Orlando Cepeda knew little Eng- lish when they arrived in the mi- nor leagues in the mid-1950s, put- ting them among the first wave of Spanish-speaking players thrown into a different culture to play professional baseball, build new lives and send money back home. It was their chance to make it in the sport they loved, provided they could overcome challenges that of- ten extended beyond the field. Early on, well before blossom- ing into a Hall of Famer, Cepeda was told by a manager to go home to Puerto Rico and learn English before coming back to his career in the U.S. Alou had similar ex- periences and forced himself to speak some English when he ar- rived from the Dominican Repub- lic, yet he still lacked confidence in the language. "Coming here my first year, everything was a novelty to me, a surprise," Cepeda recalled. "When I came to Virginia, I was there for one month and my fa- ther died. My dad said, 'I want to see my son play pro ball,' and he died the day before I played my first game in Virginia." MLB Alou, Cepeda happy with progress of young Latinos Military investigation into circumstances of Bergdahl's capture and release by Taliban can now begin in earnest with end of soldier's formal transi- tion. FULLSTORYONPAGEB3 CAPTIVE SOLDIER Bergdahlreturned to regular Army duty The Sacramento Kings' Der- rick Williams is hosting a skills academy July 28-31at Shasta High School. The camps are open to boys and girls ages 5-18. For more information email sschuster@sushd.net. YOUTH BASKETBALL Kings' Williams hosting camp in Redding Get your puzzles fix with the NEA Crossword, 7Little Words and Celebrity Cipher, start your day off right with your horoscope, and read the latest advice dolled out by Carolyn Hax. YOUR DAILY BREAK Fun and games inside today SEE PAGE B4 Simpson University Athletic Director Joe Griffin is stepping down from his post to take a job in Indiana, the school announced through a press release Friday a ernoon. SIMPSON UNIVERSITY Red Hawks Athletic Director moving on LIONS PAGE 2 PROGRESS PAGE 2 MLB All-Star week PREVIEW PAGE 2 HR DERBY PAGE 2 » redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, July 15, 2014 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1