Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/35779
Sports 1B Wednesday July 6, 2011 Contador shows strength in Tour MUR-DE-BRE- TAGNE, France (AP) — Make no mistake, Alberto Contador is back on the prowl. After a dismal start to the Tour de France, the three-time champion showed some of his old dominance Tuesday at cycling’s premier event. He gained seconds on his likely rivals by placing second to Stage 4 winner Cadel Evans in a two-man photo finish. Norway’s Thor Hushovd, a sprint special- ist, barely kept the yellow jersey in the 107-mile leg from Lorient to Mur-de- Bretagne. He even sur- prised himself by keeping up with Evans and Conta- dor on a steep, if short, climb to the finish. The stage in mostly flat Brittany underscored two aspects of the three-week race so far: Evans has been nearly flawless; Contador can never be ruled out. The finish was so close that Contador raised a fist to celebrate what he believed was his victory. Then a black-and-white photo showed the Spaniard’s tire was a frac- tion of an inch behind. ‘‘Contador again prov- ing himself. He was up there and riding well,’’ Evans said. ‘‘He’s never a guy you can underesti- mate.’’ ‘‘I still can’t quite believe it. ... It was a very close final. I didn’t even know if I had it on the line myself,’’ Evans added. ‘‘To win in front of Alber- to Contador is really a nice present.’’ Contador showed that even on a short climb — long before the punishing Alps and Pyrenees ascents arrive — he can gain on key riders: Bradley Wiggins of Britain was six seconds back; Andy Schleck of Luxembourg, runner-up in 2009 and 2010, was eight seconds behind. ‘‘I never thought that he was out of the race,’’ Andy Schleck. ‘‘He just had bad luck the first day American League At A Glance By The Associated Press East Division WL Pct GB New York 51 33 .607 — Boston 50 35 .588 1 1/2 Tampa Bay 47 39 .547 5 Toronto 42 45 .48310 1/2 Baltimore 36 47 .43414 1/2 Central Division Cleveland 45 39 .536 — Detroit WL Pct GB 45 41 .523 1 Chicago 43 44 .494 3 1/2 Minnesota 38 46 .452 7 Kansas City 35 51 .407 11 West Division Texas WL Pct GB 46 41 .529 — Los Angeles 45 41 .523 1/2 Seattle 42 43 .494 3 A’s 38 48 .442 7 1/2 ——— Monday’s Games Toronto 9, Boston 7 Minnesota 7, Tampa Bay 0 Seattle 2, Oakland 1 Cleveland 6, N.Y.Yankees 3 Chicago White Sox 5, Kansas City 4 Texas 13, Baltimore 4 L.A. Angels 5, Detroit 1 Tuesday’s Games N.Y.Yankees 9, Cleveland 2 Boston 3, Toronto 2 Texas 4, Baltimore 2 Kansas City 5, Chicago White Sox 3 Minnesota 3, Tampa Bay 2 Detroit at L.A. Angels, late Seattle at Oakland, late Wednesday’s Games Tampa Bay (W.Davis 7-6) at Minnesota (Liri- ano 5-7), 10:10 a.m. Kansas City (Chen 4-2) at Chicago White Sox (E.Jackson 5-6), 11:10 a.m. Detroit (Penny 5-6) at L.A.Angels (Chatwood 5-5), 12:35 p.m. Seattle (Vargas 6-5) at Oakland (Moscoso 2- 4), 12:35 p.m. N.Y. Yankees (P.Hughes 0-1) at Cleveland (Masterson 6-6), 4:05 p.m. Toronto (R.Romero 7-7) at Boston (Wake- field 4-3), 4:10 p.m. Baltimore (Guthrie 3-10) at Texas (Ogando 8- 3), 5:05 p.m. Thursday’s Games Tampa Bay at N.Y.Yankees, 4:05 p.m. Toronto at Cleveland, 4:05 p.m. Baltimore at Boston, 4:10 p.m. Oakland at Texas, 5:05 p.m. Detroit at Kansas City, 5:10 p.m. Minnesota at Chicago White Sox, 5:10 p.m. Seattle at L.A. Angels, 7:05 p.m. National League At A Glance By The Associated Press East Division WL Pct GB Philadelphia 55 32 .632 — Atlanta 51 36 .586 4 New York 43 42 .506 11 Washington 44 43 .506 11 Florida 38 48 .44216 1/2 yet. Some fans have booed Contador, and he’s been on the defensive. He insists his psychological state is solid and he’s not distracted by speculation that yet another cycling great might be involved in doping. Riders set off under rain in the coastal city of Lorient, whose name is derived from the 17th century shipyards and port for trading ships that hauled spices, teas, silk, porcelain and other goods from Asia, or ‘‘The Ori- ent.’’ Tour for Evans. He was runner-up to stage winner Philippe Gilbert on open- ing day, and his BMC team was second in the team time trial a day later. Unlike Contador and Schleck, Evans also has avoided crashes. Contador, frustrated and his team wasn’t suited for the time trial.’’ Hushovd, who is ahead of Evans by a second, isn’t expected to fare well in the mountain stages that could determine the winner. ‘‘My only goal today was to keep the yellow jersey,’’ said Hushovd, of Garmin-Cervelo. ‘‘I had a great day. ... I will do all I can to defend this jersey as long as possible.’’ Wiggins is sixth over- all, 10 seconds back, while Schleck is ninth, 12 seconds back. Americans Chris Horner and Levi Leipheimer are 18 sec- onds behind — 14th and 15th. Contador remains 1:42 behind Hushovd in 41st place after two difficult opening days — stalled by a crash Saturday, then losing time with his Saxo Bank squad in the team time trial Sunday. By contrast, this has been a nearly impeccable Scoreboard Central Division WL Pct GB St. Louis 47 40 .540 — Pittsburgh 45 41 .523 1 1/2 Milwaukee 45 42 .517 2 Cincinnati 43 44 .494 4 Chicago 35 52 .402 12 Houston 29 58 .333 18 West Division WL Pct GB Giants 48 38 .558 — Arizona 47 40 .540 1 1/2 Colorado 41 45 .477 7 San Diego 39 47 .453 9 Los Angeles 37 49 .430 11 ——— Monday’s Games Washington 5, Chicago Cubs 4, 10 innings Pittsburgh 5, Houston 3 Arizona 8, Milwaukee 6 San Diego 5, San Francisco 3 Philadelphia 1, Florida 0 St. Louis 1, Cincinnati 0 Atlanta 4, Colorado 1 N.Y. Mets 5, L.A. Dodgers 2 Tuesday’s Games Washington 3, Chicago Cubs 2 Pittsburgh 5, Houston 1 St. Louis 8, Cincinnati 1 Atlanta 5, Colorado 3 Philadelphia 14, Florida 2 Arizona 7, Milwaukee 3 N.Y. Mets at L.A. Dodgers, late San Diego at San Francisco, late Wednesday’s Games Arizona (Collmenter 4-5) at Milwaukee (Gal- lardo 9-5), 11:10 a.m. Chicago Cubs (R.Wells 1-3) at Washington (Gorzelanny 2-6), 4:05 p.m. Houston (Norris 4-6) at Pittsburgh (Morton 7- 4), 4:05 p.m. Colorado (Cook 0-3) at Atlanta (Jurrjens 11- 3), 4:10 p.m. Philadelphia (K.Kendrick 4-4) at Florida (Ani.Sanchez 6-2), 4:10 p.m. Cincinnati (Arroyo 7-7) at St. Louis (West- brook 7-4), 5:15 p.m. N.Y. Mets (Niese 7-7) at L.A. Dodgers (Kuro- da 6-9), 7:10 p.m. San Diego (Moseley 2-8) at San Francisco (Bumgarner 4-9), 7:15 p.m. Thursday’s Games Colorado at Atlanta, 10:05 a.m. Chicago Cubs at Washington, 4:05 p.m. Houston at Florida, 4:10 p.m. Cincinnati at Milwaukee, 5:10 p.m. Arizona at St. Louis, 5:15 p.m. N.Y. Mets at L.A. Dodgers, 7:10 p.m. San Diego at San Francisco, 7:15 p.m. Moves Tuesday’s Sports Transactions BASEBALL American League BOSTON RED SOX—Traded OF Mike Cameron and cash to Florida Marlins for a player to be named or cash considerations. NEW YORK YANKEES—Optioned OF Chris Dickerson to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (IL). National League ST. LOUIS CARDINALS—Activated 1B Albert Pujols from the 15-day DL. over a lack of ‘‘luck’’ in recent days, said he was out to test his competition even if this stage wasn’t crucial. ‘‘I wanted to see how my rivals were, to see if I could take some time off them,’’ Contador said. ‘‘Getting the stage win, when I was so close, would have been a great joy.’’ ‘‘The stage shows that Alberto is ready for the Tour, which we have known from the start of the race,’’ said Bjarne Riis, Contador’s Saxo Bank team manager. ‘‘There’s a huge differ- ence from climbing a slope like this and climb- ing Galibier or Alpe d’Huez. You can’t count on seeing the same riders finish like this on the big mountains.’’ The Spaniard is racing under a cloud of suspicion after testing positive dur- ing last year’s Tour for the banned muscle builder clenbuterol. He’s been allowed to ride because sport’s arbitration body hasn’t ruled on his case It seemed as if the whole pack began in rain jackets, gradually peeling them off as skies dried up along the weaving course. Jurgen Van de Walle of Belgium became the first rider to pull out of the race — reducing the field to 197 racers. The Omega Pharma-Lotto rider quit because of lingering groin pain from a crash Satur- day, the team said. Five riders who were low in the standings sped ahead of the pack by the 5.5-mile mark, and built a lead of nearly five min- utes on the main bunch over the next 10 miles. But as is common in flat rides, when the pack accelerates behind con- stantly changing front men who cut into the wind, the peloton tracked down and overtook the increasingly tired escapees with about 2 1/2 miles left. That set the stage for the leaders to break out alone to scale the Mur-de- Bretagne, which features a super-steep patch known by some as the ‘‘Alpe d’Huez of Brit- tany’’ after the famous peak in the French Alps. ‘‘This was a short, steep climb — not a mountain pass,’’ Contador said. ‘‘Cadel Evans is showing a lot of strength, but even if Andy or others lost a few seconds, it doesn’t mean they’re not in shape.’’ Local student qualifies to compete at world’s largest rodeo Pierce McClelland, a junior at Red Bluff High School, has earned a position on the state high school rodeo team. McClelland will be traveling with teammates to Gillette, Wyo. to compete in the 63rd Annual National High School Finals Rodeo from July 17-23 in the sad- dlebronc competition. Featuring more than 1,500 contestants from 41 states, five Canadian Provinces and Australia, the National High School Finals is the world’s largest rodeo. In addition to competing for over $200,000 in prizes, NHSFR contestants will compete for more than $350,000 in college scholarships and the chance to be named the National High School Rodeo National Champion. To earn the title, contestants must finish in the top twenty after two go-rounds of intense competition before advancing to Saturday night’s final champi- onship performance. To check the schedule for telecast visit www.nhsra.org or catch the live action via Horsecity.com’s audio webcast. Visit the NHSRA Website daily for complete results. For ticket information call 307 682-8802 or for gen- eral information about the NHSRA rodeo call 307 682- 0552. Lawyers handling paperwork in labor dispute NEW YORK (AP) — Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith have taken a back seat to lawyers and paperwork for two days. Attorneys for the NFL and the players’ association are sorting out contract language and details that could speed the process in reaching a new labor deal. ‘‘The owners will not open the doors without a signed document in place,’’ a person with knowledge of the talks told The Associated Press on Tuesday. ‘‘So this paper- work is important to get done’’ on Tuesday and Wednes- day. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because a judge has directed that details of the court-ordered mediated negotiations not be disclosed. The 1993 collective bargaining agreement was slowed by the volume of paperwork. Commissioner Goodell and NFLPA chief Smith were not at Tuesday’s meeting at a Manhattan law firm’s head- quarters. On Thursday, Goodell and Smith will resume their discussion, with owners and players present. Those talks could last into the weekend if a new CBA appears imminent, the person with knowledge of the talks said. The sides did not get together on weekends during nego- tiations over the last month. Time is gradually becoming a factor in the discussions. Training camps for the Rams and Bears are scheduled to open in less than three weeks, and those teams are sched- uled to play in the Hall of Fame game on Aug. 7. Woods to skip British Open as leg recovers JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — ‘‘In hindsight, I probably Those ‘‘minor’’ injuries to his left leg now have kept Tiger Woods from playing in two majors. In an announcement on his website Tuesday that came as no surprise, Woods said he would skip the British Open next week because his injuries have not fully healed. ‘‘Unfortunately, I’ve been advised that I should not play in the British Open,’’ Woods said. ‘‘As I stated at the AT&T Nation- al, I am only going to come back when I’m 100 percent ready. I do not want to risk further injury. That’s different for me, but I’m being smarter this time. ‘‘I’m very disappointed and want to express my regrets to the British Open fans.’’ It will be the second time in the last four years that Woods has missed two majors in one season. He did not play the British Open and PGA Championship in 2008 while recovering from reconstruc- tive surgery on his left knee. These injuries are not as easy to describe. Woods said in May that he suf- fered ‘‘minor injuries’’ to knee ligaments and his Achilles while hitting from an awkward stance in the pine straw on the 17th hole in the third round at the Masters. Afterward, he skipped the Wells Fargo Championship and with- drew after nine holes from The Players Championship a week later. Woods said last week it was a mistake to go to The Players, and that had he waited, he would be playing golf right now. shouldn’t have competed at The Players, but it’s a big event, and I wanted to be there to support the tour,’’ he said. ‘‘I’ve got to learn from what I did there and do it right this time and not come back until I’m ready.’’ Woods didn’t say whether he expected to play in the final major, the PGA Championship, which starts Aug. 11 at the Atlanta Athletic Club. As he men- tioned last week at Aronimink, he doesn’t have any idea when he will compete next. He said he has not hit golf balls since May 12 at the TPC Sawgrass. Woods also indicated at Aron- imink that his chances of playing the British Open were remote — taking some of the surprise out of Tuesday’s announcement. ‘‘I wouldn’t go over there just to show up,’’ he said. ‘‘I’d go over there to win the golf tournament, so I need to obviously get my body ready so I can practice and eventually play.’’ Woods was replaced at Royal St. George’s by Jason Dufner, who said on Twit- ter, ‘‘Looks like I am getting in the open championship, I am excited!’’ Brendan Jones was the next alternate, but the Australian told the Royal & Ancient he would not be able to play because his wife is expecting their first child. ‘‘It’s unfortunate for the game of golf and it’s more unfortunate for him,’’ three-time major cham- pion Padraig Harrington said. ‘‘He still is the name we would look out for the most. It’s not that we want him to turn up and win, but it would be nice to have him there and bring the buzz he does. Let’s just hope it’s not that bad — it’s a long time for that injury — and that he fully recovers.’’ Woods called R&A chief exec- utive Peter Dawson to personally tell him he would not be playing. ‘‘I know how disappointed Tiger is not to be able to play in the Open this year,’’ Dawson said. ‘‘Naturally, we are sorry that a player of his caliber isn’t able to join us at Royal St. George’s, but we wish him well in his recovery and hope to see him back soon, competing in front of the fans that love to see him play the game.’’ Woods tied for fourth in the 2003 British Open at Royal St. George’s, where he started with a two-shot penalty when he could- n’t find his opening tee shot in the rough. He wound up two shots behind Ben Curtis. Woods has slipped to No. 17 in the world, and is likely to be out of the top 20 after the British Open. He also is No. 116 in the FedEx Cup standings on the PGA Tour, and only the top 125 qualify for the playoffs. If he doesn’t return for the PGA Championship, he wouldn’t be eligible for any PGA Tour events until October. Asked last week if he would be surprised he didn’t play another tournament the rest of the year, Woods said, ‘‘I’d be very sur- prised, because I’m progressing.’’ But he’s not making enough progress to play in the tourna- ments that mean the most to him. Woods remains on 14 career majors, four short of matching the record set by Jack Nicklaus.