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ByRonaldBlum TheAssociatedPress BALTIMORE Rob Manfred was elected baseball's 10th commis- sioner Thursday and will succeed Bud Selig in January. A labor lawyer who has worked for Major League Baseball since 1998, Manfred beat out Boston Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner in the first contested vote for a new commissioner in 46 years. The third candidate, MLB Exec- utive Vice President of Business Tim Brosnan, dropped out just be- fore the start of voting. The 55-year-old Manfred, who grew up in Rome, New York — about an hour's drive from the Hall of Fame — must address is- sues that include decreased in- terest in baseball among younger people and longer games. He has served as MLB's chief operating officer for the past year. Selig turned 80 last month and has ruled baseball since Septem- ber 1992, when he was among the owners who forced Commissioner Fay Vincent's resignation. He said he intends to retire in January. Manfred fell one vote shy of the 23 out of 30 owners needed in the first ballot earlier Thurs- day. On the second ballot, he won unanimously, several owners con- firmed. Each candidate spoke to own- ers for about an hour Wednes- day and met in sessions Thurs- day morning with groups of 10 teams. Werner was supported by Chi- cago White Sox owner Jerry Re- insdorf and Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno. Other teams have said Reinsdorf wanted a commissioner who would take a harsher stance in labor negotia- tions. Selig is the second-longest- serving head of baseball be- hind Kenesaw Mountain Landis (1920-44). The trio of candidates was picked by a seven-man suc- cession committee chaired by St. Louis Cardinals chairman Bill De- Witt Jr. BASEBALL Ma nf re d elected ne xt M LB commissioner By Steve Douglas The Associated Press MANCHESTER, ENGLAND The English Premier League is back — and it looks more competitive than ever this season. Manchester City heads into the first match of its title de- fense, against Newcastle on Sun- day, knowing there are four gen- uine pretenders to the trophy af- ter a typically frenetic summer of transfers and coaching changes in English soccer. After slumping to a seventh- place finish last season, Man- chester United looks sure to be a factor again following the hir- ing of Louis van Gaal as coach. And both Chelsea and Arsenal should have the potency to last the course in the championship after signing top-class attackers. Liverpool, the runner-up to City in a thrilling title race that went to the final weekend, should also be challenging again after re- acting to the sale of star striker Luis Suarez with a spending spree of about $165 million. With Tottenham and Everton having the potential to threaten the top-four favorites, anticipa- tion is high in Europe's most lu- crative and watched league. SOCCER 5 things to know: English Premier League RobinWilliamswasinthe early stages of Parkinson's disease at the time of his death, his wife said Thursday. ACTOR'S SUICIDE RobinWilliamshad Parkinson's disease FULLSTORYONPAGEB6 Clear Creek Sports Club at Rolling Hills Casino in Corning is registering for its Thursday evening fall sporting clays league. Teams consist of five members. For more informa- tion call Brad at 520-9464. SPORTING CLAYS Clear Creek to host autumn league The Red Bluff Derby Girls take on the visiting Southern Ore- gon Roller Girls Aug. 23at the Tehama District Fairgrounds. Tickets are $12at the door or $10in advance. Doors open at 5:30p.m. ROLLER DERBY Red Bluff Derby Girls to host Southern Oregon 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 B3 By Carl Steward Bay Area News Group KANSASCITY,MO. Theweather may have unseasonably cool and comfortable for the A's in Kansas City, but the baseball team they played here turned out to be quite hot and nasty. The scorching Royals chased Oakland out of town Thursday with a five-run seventh inning rally and a 7-3 victory at Kauff- man Stadium, beating a third member of the club's Big Four starting staff and hammering perhaps their most dominant reliever of late. The A's have been base- ball's best team all year, but the Royals paid them abso- lutely no respect in winning three of four games in this se- ries. They pinned losses Sonny Gray, Scott Kazmir and Jeff Sa- mardzija and ended setup man Ryan Cook's 20-inning score- less streak. They came up with more clutch hits and stole more bases, and just generally outplayed Oakland in all fac- ets with the exception of one lopsided laugher. In short, the A's learned this is a place they'd probably rather not return to in October, although that's a more distinct possibility as the Royals con- tinue to firm up their standing as a playoff contender. They've won 10 of 11 and are 12 games over .500 for the first time in 11 years. They looked like the real deal. "We knew exactly who we were playing when we came in here," said Stephen Vogt. AMERICAN LEAGUE A'SCOLLAPSEIN SEVENTHINNING Oakland loses to Kansas City, 7-3 ED ZURGA — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The A's Brandon Moss slides into home to score past Royals catcher Erik Kratz in the fourth inning on Thursday in Kansas City, Mo. A's infielder Eric Sogard, back, throws over Royals baserunner Christian Colon to first to complete a double play in the fi h inning on Thursday in Kansas City, Mo. Norichika Aoki was out at first on the play. By Sean Carlin The Associated Press Two girls will be competing in the Little League World Se- ries for just the third time in the tournament's 68-year history. And their playing days don't have to end there. Unlike many of the 16 girls that have preceded them, there's a future for Philadelphia's Mo'ne Davis and Canada's Emma March to pitch beyond the fields of South Williamsport, Pennsyl- vania. They could play in high school and beyond. A 17-year-old female high school pitcher from Florida re- cently threw batting practice to the Tampa Bay Rays and an- other woman is pitching in the NCAA. Davis, a 13-year-old, has been dominant leading up to the se- ries. She threw a complete-game and only gave up three hits in the team's victory in the re- gional final last week to reach South Williamsport. Davis said girls should be given a chance to play baseball beyond Little League if they want to. "You never know what could happen," Davis said. March and Davis will make their LLWS debuts on Friday. Kathryn Johnston was the first female player to appear on a Little League roster in 1950. A rule prohibiting girls from play- ing was passed in the 1950s, but that was overturned in 1974. Little League doesn't keep track of how many girls play baseball, but most tend to grav- itate toward softball as they get older, said Lance Van Auken, executive director of the Pe- ter J. McGovern Little League Museum. He said it's very rare to see girls competing in base- ball beyond Little League, but added that it "doesn't mean it's not happening out there." Chelsea Baker, a 17-year-old high school knuckleball pitcher in Florida, recently threw bat- ting practice to the Tampa Bay Rays. She said she has received interest from colleges, but no of- fers yet. "I tried to play softball, but it wasn't the same for me," Baker said. "My next goal would be to play college baseball." Billy Connors, a former pitch- ing coach for the Yankees, Roy- als, Cubs and Mariners, said girls who work hard and receive proper coaching and develop- ment "absolutely" can have suc- cess on a higher level than Lit- tle League. He cited Baker as an example. "She's doing it," Connors, a member of the Schenectady, New York, team that won the 1954 Little League World Series, said of Baker. "She's a pretty good pitcher." Ghazaleh Sailors, a pitcher at NCAA Division III Univer- sity of Maine at Presque Isle, said that she was harassed in high school for playing baseball. She said she never thought of playing softball and doesn't want to be known as the only female NCAA base- ball player. "They think I'm a gimmick," Sailors said. "I'm not here to be a gimmick, I'm here to play base- ball." LITTLE LEAGUE Fo r gi rl s in b as eb al l, L it tl e Le ag ue n ot t he e nd ED ZURGA — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A'S PAGE 2 SOCCER PAGE 2 BASEBALL PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, August 15, 2014 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1