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ByRichGreene rgreene@redbluffdailynews.com @richgreenenews on Twitter SACRAMENTO The Corning Lit- tle League Senior All-Star base- ball team will have two cracks at the Northern California State championship. Corning's 15-and 16-year-old boys beat Rocklin 5-4 Wednes- day night in the winner's bracket semifinal. Corning will now wait to see whether Rocklin or Granada sur- vives the loser's bracket. Whoever does will have to beat Corning in consecutive games. Corning, having reached the ti- tle game undefeated, will need to win just once. The first championship game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at American River College. The if needed second game would be played 7 p.m. Saturday. The team that wins the tour- nament will head to the West Re- gional in Ontario. The winner of that tourna- ment earns a berth in the Senior League World Series in Bangor, Maine. LITTLE LEAGUE Corning 15-16s reach state title series 2 cracks at state championship The Associated Press SANTA CLARA San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith ex- pects to sit down with NFL Com- missioner Roger Goodell "in the near future" to discuss any poten- tial suspension for his off-field is- sues. Smith was sentenced last Fri- day to serve three years of pro- bation and to spend 11 days with a work crew after he pleaded no contest to drunken driving and weapons charges. Smith said he hasn't had time to begin the work yet, and will do so as his time per- mits. Of the ruling, Smith said he's "glad how it worked out." He didn't want to guess whether he would face a suspension from the league, and said he's unsure whether Ravens running back Ray Rice's two-game penalty Thursday for his offseason arrest for domestic violence provides any indication. "I'm glad it's behind me. I'm ready to move on. ... I've never been in this situation so I'm not going to speculate," Smith said of possible punishment. "I know I'm meeting with him in the near future — as soon as possible. We don't have a solid date, so I'm not sure." Smith said he has been sober since entering rehab last year fol- lowing his Sept. 20 DUI arrest. He then underwent rehab at an in-pa- tient facility for substance abuse and missed five games. Coach Jim Harbaugh was asked Thurs- day whether he thought the NFL might take the rehab stint into ac- count as time served. "Going through a process, which is, there's accountability for some mistakes made. And also he's been given the opportunity to do what he says he's going to do. So far he's doing that," Harbaugh said. "That's in their hands. They will discipline if they warrant it." Tight end Vernon Davis said before the team's first practice that his desire for a new contract 49ERS Smith plans to meet soon with Commissioner AnAirAlgerieflightcarrying 116people from Burkina Faso to Algeria's capital disap- peared from radar early Thurs- day over northern Mali during a rainstorm, officials said. STORY REFER France:AirAlgerieflight probably crashed in Mali FULLSTORYONPAGEB5 Prep coaches who would like to announce the meeting place and times for their up- coming season practices feel free to email the information to sports@redbluffdailynews. com and we'll get it out. ANNOUNCEMENTS Prep coaches need to announce practice? 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 B8 Mercy High School will host its annual volleyball camps for sixth-through ninth-graders July 28-31. The cost is $40 and includes a shirt. For more information email ckeller@ mercy-high.org. YOUTH VOLLEYBALL Mercy Lady Warriors hosting camp 49ERS PAGE 2 By Alex Pavlovic Bay Area News Group PHILADELPHIA The "Beat LA" tweets came from the fin- gers of Giants fans seconds af- ter the final pitch Thursday at Citizens Bank Park. A couple thousand miles away from the game, ESPN's crew started pre- paring for "Sunday Night Base- ball" at AT&T Park. But after a 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, the Gi- ants weren't thinking much about the upcoming three- game set with the rival Dodg- ers. They talked about chees- esteaks, movies, Powerade fla- vors and road attire. Asked about the matchup between the only two teams left vying for the National League West title, manager Bruce Bochy downplayed the significance. "A win is a win," he said, pointing out that every game is important. A loss is a loss, then, and on Thursday the Giants had a rather lackluster one. They managed only six hits against Cole Hamels and Jonathan Papelbon and gave up a pair of unearned ones. Still, they went 5-2 on a sweaty trip through Miami and Philadel- phia, and they'll return home with 1½ game lead over the Dodgers. "This is a great trip for us," left fielder Michael Morse said. "None of us are hanging our heads about losing this one." The final run of that road trip came on an error by Morse. When they signed Morse at the winter meetings in December, the Giants knew there was a chance his sus- pect glove would cost them a game at some point. It was a risk worth taking because of Morse's ability at the plate, and it's worked out for the Giants thanks to Morse's 14 homers and 47 RBIs. NATIONAL LEAGUE GIANTSEDGED BYPHILLIES CHRIS SZAGOLA — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Tim Hudson pitches during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies, Thursday, in Philadelphia. CHRIS SZAGOLA — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Tim Hudson, right, talks things over with catcher Buster Posey, le , during the fourth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday in Philadelphia. By Carl Steward Bay Area News Group OAKLAND It took Jeff Sa- mardzija six starts to get 13 runs of support from the Chi- cago Cubs at the outset of the season, and he only got 41 to- tal runs in 17 starts before he finally was freed from Windy City bat-less bondage. So to see that many runs on the board in one day — and 24 in just four starts with Oak- land — it's little wonder that Samardzija has made a quick, happy adjustment to his new surroundings. "I'll tell you what, it's a lot of fun playing here," Samardzija said after the A's, led by Bran- don Moss' third grand slam of the season, hammered the Houston Astros 13-1 before 22,759 at the Coliseum Thurs- day. "I just really look forward to coming to the yard every day." "It crossed my mind that when was the last time he had a lead like this," said man- ager Bob Melvin after the A's pounded out 14 hits and had a 4-1 lead even before the five- run sixth that included the Moss grand slam. The tall right-hander re- sponded in kind on the mound, pitching eight innings of four- hit ball. He didn't walk a bat- ter, struck out six and the only real blemish on his line was a AMERICAN LEAGUE Oakland A's score big over the Astros Samardzija allows just four hits in eight-inning win THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Oakland A's Brandon Moss, right, swings for a grand slam off Houston Astros' Anthony Bass in the sixth inning on Thursday in Oakland. SFheadshomefor three-gameseries againstDodgers A'S PAGE 2 GIANTS PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, July 25, 2014 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1