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Weekend SAT— NASCAR— Coke Zero 400, 4:30 p.m., TNT Tennis — Wimbledon, 6 a.m., NBC Cycling — Tour de France, 5 a.m., VERSUS MLB— Giants at Tigers, Sat, 4 p.m., Sun, 10 a.m., CSNB MLB — Diamondbacks at A’s, Sat, 6 p.m., Sun, 1 p.m., CSNC PGA — AT&T National, Noon, CBS Sports 1B Giants blow lead, rally back BASEBALL The South County Sun Devils beat the East Side Sting 6- 5, Friday, at the Shasta Lake Bass Firecracker Baseball Clas- sic. Red Bluff’s Mitch Fox picked up the win, going five innings with four strikeouts. Fox also went 3-for-3 at the plate with a pair of RBIs and two runs scored. Red Bluff’s Colin Igarta pitched two innings for the save. Charles Edwards had a 2-run homer. Choi ties course record and takes AT&T lead MCT photo San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner pitches, Friday night, in Detroit. DETROIT (AP) — Pablo Sandoval hit a tiebreaking double in the top of the ninth inning, then the San Francisco Giants held on for a 4-3 win over the Detroit Tigers on Friday night when Brennan Boesch lined into a double play with the bases loaded. The Giants were coming off back- to-back losses to the Cubs — both in Chicago’s last at-bat. They nearly fell again in wild fashion. After scoring three runs in the top of the ninth, San Francisco allowed two in the bottom half before shortstop Brandon Craw- ford caught Boesch’s soft line drive and quickly stepped on second to double off Brandon Inge, ending the game. Brian Wilson (6-1) got the win, but only after blowing a save for the sec- ond straight day. Wilson allowed Mag- glio Ordonez’s RBI single in the eighth that tied it at 1. After the Giants took the lead, Wil- son started the ninth but had to be pulled with one out, the bases loaded and a run already in. Wilson slugged a cooler in the dugout with a bat after leaving the game. Jeremy Affeldt came on, and Detroit pulled within one when second baseman Emmanuel Burriss muffed a slow grounder for an error. Boesch was up next and made solid contact, but hit the ball to the worst possible place. It was Affeldt’s third save of the sea- son. The Tigers dropped a half-game behind first-place Cleveland in the AL Central. Madison Bumgarner allowed a run and five hits over 7 1-3 outstanding innings for San Francisco. He struck out nine and walked one. Detroit scratched out a run after Bumgarner departed following a walk by Inge. Sergio Romo came on and got the second out of the inning, but Javier Lopez then took the mound and allowed a single to pinch-hitter Boesch. Wilson was next out of the bullpen, and Ordonez greeted him with a single to right. It didn’t stay tied for long. Chris Stewart led off the ninth with a double, and Aaron Rowand followed with a single, reaching base as part of his bro- ken bat went flying over the third-base dugout. One out later, Sandoval hit a ground-rule double to left-center to make it 2-1. The Giants added two more runs when Jose Valverde (2-3) and Brayan Villarreal issued bases- since then, the host country's men are a combined 0-11 in semifinals. WIMBLEDON, Eng- land (AP) — Having ensured his first trip to a Wimbledon final and first turn at No. 1 in the rankings with a thrill-a-minute victo- ry, Novak Djokovic dropped to his back at the baseline, limbs spread wide, chest heaving. Moments later, he knelt and kissed the Centre Court grass, while his entourage bounced giddily in unison, huddling in a tight circle up in Djokovic's guest box. Clearly, it meant so much to all of them that Djokovic beat 12th-seeded Jo-Wil- fried Tsonga of France 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-7 (9), 6-3 Friday in an entertaining and engaging semifinal filled with diving volleys and showmanship. What would mean even more: If Djokovic, who is 47-1 in 2011, can beat defending champion Rafael Nadal for the title Sunday at the All England Club. As a kid in war-torn Ser- bia, Djokovic recalled, "I was always trying to visual- ize myself on Sunday, the last Sunday of Wimbledon. Being in the Wimbledon final — it's 'the thing' for me." Top-seeded Nadal extended his winning streak at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament to 20 matches by ending the latest so-close-yet-so-far bid by a British man at Wimbledon, eliminating No. 4 Andy Murray 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4. It's the third consecutive year Murray has lost in the semifinals. The last British man to win Wimbledon was Fred Perry in 1936, and the last to even reach the final was Bunny Austin in 1938; "I feel sad for Andy," said Nadal, who showed no signs of being hampered by the aching left heel that he's numbing with painkilling injections as he seeks a third Wimbledon championship and 11th Grand Slam trophy overall. No matter Sunday's result, the Spaniard will be overtaken in the ATP rank- ings Monday by two-time Australian Open champion Djokovic, who'll rise from No. 2. It will be the first time since February 2004 that a man other than Roger Fed- erer or Nadal has been No. 1. "Both of them are incred- ibly consistent with their success and so dominant the last couple years. They don't give you a lot of chances to become No. 1," said the 24- year-old Djokovic, beaten in last year's U.S. Open final by Nadal. "So I guess you need to lose only one match in seven months to get there. If you can do that, then well done." Yes, Djokovic deserves to hear a "Well done!" or two for his surge, which he says stems in part from the confidence and pride he gained while leading Serbia to its first Davis Cup title in December. His two wins against France during the final series at Belgrade start- ed a 43-match streak that ended with a semifinal loss to Federer at the French Open a month ago. Otherwise, Djokovic has been perfect. He won the first seven tournaments he entered this year — includ- ing the Australian Open in January — and beat Nadal in four finals. loaded walks. Rowand had three hits. Detroit’s Brad Penny allowed a run and seven hits in seven innings. He struck out two and walked two. The Giants threatened early, putting runners at first and third with nobody out in the first. Penny got out of the jam thanks to a fantastic play by left fielder Casper Wells. Sandoval lifted a foul ball toward the seats, and Wells not only caught it amid reaching fans — but he also threw home to catch Rowand, who had tagged up at third. Sandoval made the most of his next big opportunity. With Rowand on sec- ond and two outs in the fifth, he sliced an 0-2 pitch to the gap in left-center to put the Giants ahead. Bumgarner has been excellent since being knocked out in the first inning of a June 21 start against Minnesota. In his two outings since then, he’s allowed two runs in 14 1-3 innings, with 20 strikeouts and two walks. Detroit’s Lester Oliveros made his major league debut in the eighth, strik- ing out two and allowing a hit and a walk in an inning. Oliveros was called up from the minors to replace Al Alburquerque, who went on the dis- abled list with inflammation in his right arm. New No. 1 Djokovic, old No. 1 Nadal reach final "His total game is really complete," said Nadal, who is 16-11 against Djokovic, including 5-0 at Grand Slam tournaments. "Good serve, very good movements. ... His eyes are very fast, and he can go inside the court very easy playing very diffi- cult shots." That sounds like a pretty accurate scouting report for Nadal, too. He, though, was merely very good at the out- set against Murray, who was downright excellent while winning the first set with high-risk, high-reward shot- making and nearly perfect serving. Yet their semifinal changed complexion com- pletely early in the second set, with Murray ahead 2-1, and Nadal serving at 15-30. On his heels, Nadal sent back a floater that should have set up an easy winner, but Murray flubbed a fore- hand, pushing it long. Instead of a break point for Murray, it was 30-all, and the Scot missed forehands on the next two points, too, starting a seven-game run for Nadal. "Probably," Nadal said, "the turning point of the match." Murray's take? "I was going for it," he explained. "Against Rafa, you have to go for big shots. I slightly over-hit that one." As Nadal seized control — making a hard-to-believe total of three unforced errors in the last three sets, 28 fewer than his opponent — all those cries of "Come on, Andy!" from some of the 15,000 or so of Murray's flag-waving countrymen in the stands began to morph from words of support to words of supplication. "It's tough. But I'm giv- ing it my best shot each time. I'm trying my hardest. That's all you can do," said Murray, a three-time runner- up at other major tourna- ments. "I can't explain exact- ly how I feel." Djokovic had trouble explaining his joy after join- ing Tsonga in putting on quite a display in Friday's first semifinal. The highlight-reel points were numerous, starting in the sixth game, when Tsonga dove to his right for a forehand volley that Djokovic stretched to volley back. Somehow, Tsonga sprang up in time to knock home a volley winner, draw- ing a smile and applause from Djokovic. Tsonga walked toward the Royal Box — where past Wimble- don champions Bjorn Borg and Goran Ivanisevic were among the guests — and raised his arms overhead, basking in the raucous applause. At 1-1 in the third set, both players wound up on the turf, with Tsonga div- ing to his left for a backhand volley, Djokovic sprawling as he stretched for a shot, and Tsonga then launching himself back to his right for another tumble, only to see his last shot land long. Four games later, they were at it again, with both men ending up face-down on the grass. "This is the only surface you can really dive," Tsonga observed, "because on the others, if you dive, you go directly to the hospital." In the end, the outcome hinged on Djokovic's steadi- ness — he made only 13 unforced errors, 16 fewer than Tsonga — and a remarkable ability to extend points, often sliding as if there were clay underfoot, his legs nearly doing the splits. NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. (AP) — If seeing the putts drop for birdie were not enough, K.J. Choi noticed his gallery growing and getting more excited for him Friday at Aronimink in the AT&T National. "I started feeling that ... I'm working toward a special round," Choi said. With five birdies over his last six holes, Choi had a 6- under 64 to match the lowest score in the two years the AT&T National has been played at Aronimink. It gave him a two-shot lead over Chris Riley, Charlie Wi, Justin Leonard and Bo Van Pelt. Another day of brilliant weather did little to ease the scoring conditions on this classic course in the Philadelphia suburbs. Choi simply made it look easy at the end of the round by keeping it in the fairway and giving him- self good looks at birdie. Three of his birdie putts were from about 10 feet or longer, and he closed out his round with a wedge into 16 inches for one last birdie. Choi, already having a big year with his win at The Play- ers Championship, was at 7-under 133 going into the week- end. He won the inaugural AT&T National in 2007 when it was played at Congressional, so the calendar might be more relevant than the course when it comes to his good play at this event. Despite the lead, there were plenty of contenders. Twenty players were separated by five shots going into the weekend on a course that can be as tough as it needs to be. The greens received plenty of water to keep them from going over the edge with two days remaining. "This is a golf course where you can run up a bunch of bogeys," Wi said after his 66. "You're not going to lose too many spots if you make par. If you stay patient out here, that's probably the most important thing." Riley also relied on his putter, as he often does, running off three straight birdies late in his round for a 66. Riley is one of the best putters on tour, yet he benched his regular put- ter for a few years until going back to his old one. And it's really an old one. "It's a 1970 Ping Anser," Riley said, making it a club older than he is. Turns out it belonged to his grandmother, and Riley found it in their garage when he was in college. His grandmother wasn't playing much golf at the time, so he borrowed it from her. Riley is 38 and he is trying to go back to his early days on the PGA Tour. He played recently with 22-year-old Rick- ie Fowler, and watched him step over short putts and ram them back into the cup without thinking about anything else. Riley has been around long enough to realize that some of the putts miss, although he's trying to care more about the stroke than the results. So did he play like he was 21 or 38 on Friday? "Probably 31," Riley said, which could be classified as a progress. Van Pelt three-putted his opening hole for the second straight day, then bounced right back with a birdie that he called his most important of the day. He made five more birdies for a 66. More than any one shot, he has kept the golf course in front of him without going sideways — either in the rough off the tee, or on the wrong side of the hole. Like so many others, he thought the course and the way it was set up was close to perfect, even with greens slightly softer than he expected under the warm sunshine of the after- noon. "I thought it might bake out more," he said. "If you're in the rough, they roll out on the greens. If you're in the fairway, they're holding. And that's ideal." As for Aronimink? "The course has been around for this long and they don't screw it up," he said. "They know it's a good course. They don't have to show it off. I'm sure it's this good the rest of the year." If there was a surprise in the group at 5-under 135, it might be Leonard. He has struggled mightily this year, and decided after last week to part with his longtime caddie. The bigger change was his putting, which made the game feel a lot easier than it used to. "I'm glad I played a couple of rounds I can build on," Leonard said. "I'm playing late on a Saturday, which is nice. It's been awhile." Choi had some separation with his big finish, although so many others were very much in the mix. Charles Howell III birdied his last hole (after back-to-back bogeys) for another 68 and was in the group of four players at 4-under 136. Adam Scott, who shared the lead after the opening round with Hunter Haas, looked as though he might come undone when he took double bogey on the par-3 14th. His tee shot went into an ugly lie in the rough, and his plan was to get it onto the green and let it roll to the cup. He didn't quite get it on the green, and three-putted from 45 feet — the putt he made for double bogey was just over 4 feet. He played with Choi and was falling further behind until making two birdies over his final hour to salvage a round of 71, leaving him in the group at 137 that included Fowler (69) and Joe Ogilvie (70). "Those birdies were really big," Scott said. "It's easy to get it stuck in reverse on a course like this. And playing with K.J., the way he was going at the end, it was nice to keep in touch." Erik Compton, coming off a Nationwide Tour win last week that all but assured him a spot on the PGA Tour next year, had another 76 and missed the cut by a mile. This was his fifth straight week, a tough stretch for anyone, much less a 31-year-old who already has had two heart transplants. Before leaving, he agreed to spend time visiting with the cor- porate sponsors. More surprising was Jim Furyk, who missed the cut for the fourth straight tournament. This comes one year after Furyk captured the FedEx Cup. Not since 1995 has Furyk gone four successive PGA Tour events without making the cut. Weekend July 2-3, 2011 AT&T National Giants 4 Detroit 3 The Championships, Wimbledon

