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Weekend Sat —WNBA— All-Star Game, 12:30 p.m., ABC MLB — Brewers at Giants, Sat, 6 p.m., Sun, 1 p.m., CSNB MLB —Athletics at Yankees, Sat and Sun, 10 a.m., CSNC Senior British Open — Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m., ESPN Tour de France — Saturday and Sunday 5 a.m., VERSUS SUN— Soccer —Manchester City vs L.A., 1 p.m., ESPN Sports 1B Weekend July 23, 2011 Rapids rolling Red Bluff set for tough test LITTLE LEAGUE By RICH GREENE DN Sports Editor Red Bluff Little League has a tradition rich history. But at this year’s Northern California Divisional Tour- nament, they won’t be the only ones. Red Bluff (1974) and more recently Aptos (2002) have been to the big dance at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Penn. Five of the six Little Leagues set for competition at this year’s divisional tournament have represented Northern California at the West Regional in the past. Red Bluff is making its first appearance in the Divi- sional Tournament since back-to-back trips in 1995 and 1996. They also qualified in 1979 and of course 1974. Petaluma Valley has appeared at this level three times in the past seven years and five times overall. They won the tournament in 1995. Lakeside (Granite Bay-Loomis) won the Divisional Tournament twice in 2009 and 2003. Tassajara Valley (Danville) won in 1998. The only qualifier this year who hasn’t won the tourna- ment before is Madera National, but they are making their third trip to the Northern California championship tourna- ment. Courtesy photo The North Valley Rapids are (from top left): Steve Curry (coach), Lindsey Davis (Foothill),Tori Weath- erford (Mt. Shasta), Ally Bryant (Shasta), Emily Stokes (Hamilton), Emily Arnold (Hayfork), Tito Cer- vantes (manager), Anna Curry (Mercy), Taylor Gerhardt (Shasta), Molly McWilliams (West Valley), Haley Harris (Red Bluff), Megan McColpin (Red Bluff) and not pictured Brittney Fletcher(Red Bluff). SOFTBALL North Valley Rapids – Gold fin- ished 6-1 at the prestigious Surf City Tourneys Summer Showcase Tourna- ment in Huntington Beach. There were 130 teams throughout the country participating. Also at the tournament, college coaches throughout the country attended the 4-day event, searching for players for the upcoming year and for future classes in 2012 and 2013. The North Valley Rapids made up of local high school players who dream of moving on to play college ball, were the only Gold Team north of Sacramento. The Rapids won their opener 4-1 against Impulse 93 of Souther Califor- nia. Haley Harris and Anna Curry each went 3-for-4. Harris hit a pair of dou- bles and Molly McWilliams added a home run. Lindsay Davis pitched four innings and Emily Stokes closed out the game. Red Bluff then beat California Impact from San Diego 6-1. Harris and Curry again went 3-for- 4. Emily Arnold pitched four innings and Stokes once again closed the door as the Rapids got strong pitching, defense and timely hits. With college scouts looking on, the Rapids blew out Washington’s Impact Fastpitch 10-0. Davis worked five innings on the mound and Stokes closed out the game. Harris, McWilliams and Davis all hit home runs and Ally Bryant, Harris, Taylor Gerhardt, Tori Weatherford and Curry ripped doubles. The Rapids followed up that impressive win with a 12-3 victory over the Calaveras Sliders. Harris led off the game with a homer as the Rapids put up nine runs in the first inning. Gerhardt hit a triple and Megan McColpin went 3-for-3. McWilliams and Curry went 3-for- 4. Arnold and Stokes split the time on the mound. The Rapids won a fifth straight game by defeating the Punishers from Artesia 5-0. Davis and Stokes combined for the shut out. The Rapids beat the California Waves 6-1 behind more strong pitch- ing from Arnold and Stokes. Harris and McWilliams each hit two doubles in the win. The Rapids were finally defeated by 4-0 by Pure Fastpitch, one of the nation’s elite teams featuring Texas A&M and UCLA recruits. “For a small community area, North Valley Rapids truly represented the area,” said coach Tito Cervantes “Playing the best of the best, Rapids held its own and made a big statement this weekend. Colleges were impressed with the pitching and strong bats that the Rapids presented at the tournament. North Sate should be proud how hard the young ladies worked to reach such milestone in the Fastpitch world.” Schleck in yellow heading into crucial time trial ALPE D’HUEZ, France (AP) — If Andy Schleck is to finally win the Tour de France, he’s going to have to overcome one final obstacle on his own. The two-time Tour run- ner-up has acknowledged the advantage he gains from racing alongside his older brother Frank. But the younger Schleck won’t have that support in Satur- day’s crucial next-to-last stage, a time trial in which he’ll try to hold onto his lead over Cadel Evans. The Australian, also a two-time runner-up in cycling’s premier race, is considered better at the solo race against the clock. Andy Schleck captured the yellow jersey Friday on the famed Alpe d’Huez, set- ting up a riveting finish to the 2011 race with the time trial followed Sunday by the dash to the Champs Ely- sees in Paris. The final stage rarely affects the overall standings. Frenchman Pierre Rol- land won the 19th stage, battling up the mountain’s 21 brutally steep bends to finish 14 seconds ahead of Olympic champion Samuel Sanchez and 23 seconds clear of three-time Tour champion Alberto Conta- dor. Schleck, who lost the 2010 Tour by a mere 39 seconds to Contador, leads his brother Frank by 53 sec- onds, while Evans is third, 57 seconds behind. Schleck knocked Conta- dor out of the running in Thursday’s ascent of the Galibier pass, launching a daring solo attack from over 30 miles out that the Spaniard couldn’t match. Schleck, considered one of cycling’s top climbers, protected his lead over Evans on the Alpe d’Huez, the last of a three-day stretch of epic mountain stages in the Alps and one of the most famous climbs in cycling. Though Evans didn’t gain any time Friday on the 26-year-old rider from Lux- embourg, he still has a shot at beating both Schleck brothers in the 26.4-mile time trial around Grenoble. Time trialing, the indi- vidual race against the clock excelled at by special- ists such as Swiss world champion Fabian Cancel- lara and U.S. rider David Zabriskie, has long been a weak point for Andy Schleck. Evans is a strong time trialist, but it will take a superlative performance to make up his 57-second deficit and upset the Schlecks’ long-held dream of becoming the first broth- ers to finish together on the winner’s podium in the Tour’s 108-year history. Andy Schleck said he has not pre-ridden the route for Saturday’s stage, but he dismissed concerns he won’t be able to hold off Evans. ‘‘Everybody tells me it’s a time trial that suits me good, so I believe every- body and hope to show a good performance tomor- row,’’ Schleck said. Evans beat Schleck by nearly 2 minutes in a 2008 Tour time trial that was about 6.2 miles longer. Schleck was only 23 and riding in his first Tour then, and since has worked on improving in the discipline. Evans admitted he wished he was not so far behind Schleck going into Saturday’s stage. ‘‘Of course I’d like to take more time going into the time trial,’’ Evans said. ‘‘I’d much rather be in yel- low, with five minutes’’ going into the stage. Evans said he’d follow a simple strategy Saturday: ‘‘Start as fast as possible, finish as fast as possible, hope you’re fast enough.’’ Schleck took the yellow jersey from Frenchman Thomas Voeckler, who cracked on the day’s first climb and never managed to catch the leaders despite a gritty struggle up the Alpe d’Huez. Schleck made good on his promise Thursday to capture the jersey, after he missed taking the lead on top of the Galibier pass by only 15 seconds after launching a daring solo attack. Now he has Sunday’s finish line firmly in his sights. ‘‘My motivation is super, my legs are good, my con- dition is there, so I’m confi- dent I can keep this till Paris,’’ Schleck said. He rode much of the day in a small group alongside Contador, but chose not to follow when the Spaniard attacked at the bottom of the 8.5-mile ascent up the Alpe d’Huez. ‘‘I had no interest in chasing Contador or Sanchez,’’ Schleck said, as neither rider was in con- tention for the yellow jer- sey. ‘‘Today I had bigger goals than to win the stage.’’ Rolland crossed the line after attacking near the end of the day’s route, packed with thousands of wildly cheering cycling fans. Rolland, a 24-year-old rider for team Europcar, attacked as the demanding 68-mile trek over three dif- ficult climbs drew to a tense finish, finally dropping Contador and Sanchez as he neared the end of the ascent to 6,100 feet. Rolland, who is riding in his third Tour, clenched his fists and grinned widely as he crossed the line 14 sec- onds ahead of Sanchez and 23 seconds in front of Con- tador. ‘‘I grew up watching Lance Armstrong and Marco Pantani, watching how they climb the Alpe d’Huez,’’ Rolland said. ‘‘Now I’ve won the Alpe d’Huez, it’s going to take a minute to sink in.’’ Andy Schleck was 57 seconds behind Rolland in a group of six riders that included his brother and Evans. Voeckler finished 3 min- utes and 21 seconds behind Rolland, losing the yellow jersey he had worn for 10 days. The Frenchman dropped to fourth place overall, 2:10 behind. While Red Bluff went through their area and sectional tournaments undefeated — things are about to get tougher. “You’re talking about all of Northern California,” Red Bluff Little League Manager Donnie Button said. “You’re not going to have an easy time of it. They’re all going to be good that’s for sure.” Luckily for Red Bluff they catch a break or two this year. First, they start off with a first round bye. On Saturday, the double-elimination tournament opens at 3:30 p.m. with Tassajara Valley taking on Aptos, fol- lowed by Lakeside versus Madera National at 6 p.m. On Sunday, Petaluma Valley will face the winner of the first game at 9:30 a.m. and Red Bluff plays the winner of the second game at noon. If Red Bluff grabs a win in their opener it leaves a short path to the championship and their dreams of competing in the West Regional. The second advantage for Red Bluff’s 11-and 12-year- olds is the tournament’s location. The tournament takes place at 328 Southgate Avenue in Chico, right off of Highway 99 (turn right at the first stop- light south of the Park Avenue-Skyway Exit). “That’s always a big plus,” Button said of community support. “Some of these areas have a strong fan base and with kids that’s the part of the game, baseball is mental, and to know that they’ve got people behind them is huge, just in terms of the support, the confidence and the root- ing.” Red Bluff’s other keys, well, it goes back to those ever important fundamentals. “We’re going to have to continue to do what we’ve been doing — good defense, good pitching, the basics,” Button said. “We’re not going to be able to get away from that.” Yanks power by Athletics NEW YORK (AP) — Mark Teixeira hit a grand slam and Nick Swisher had a three-run drive in a nine-run third inning and the New York Yankees ambushed the Oakland Athletics early for a 17-7 victory in the searing heat Friday night. Swisher and Teixeira homered with two bases-loaded walks in between as the Yankees had their highest-scoring inning of the season — it was also the most runs allowed by the A’s in an inning in 2011. The big inning followed a five- run burst against Trevor Cahill (8-9) in the second and sent Oakland to its 11th straight loss against New York. Derek Jeter drove in three runs and Swisher matched a career high with five RBIs for the Yankees. Backup catcher Francisco Cervelli reached base five times with three hits and two walks. Jemile Weeks returned to Oakland’s lineup after missing a game with a sore right foot and had a two-run sin- gle among his three hits. Cliff Pennington hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs against a listless Phil Hughes. But seven Oakland pitchers allowed nine walks in a 3-hour, 41-minute game. Hector Noesi (2-0) pitched 3 2-3 innings of four-hit ball. The Yankees needed only one inning to perk up after arriving home at 3:30 a.m. from a 4-4 trip played entirely on artificial turf. With temperatures in New York topping 100 degrees, the Yankees skipped batting practice — Oakland was out there in the blazing sun and stifling humidity. While manager Joe Girardi said he remembers a team- mate once putting lettuce on his head to cool off, players on both teams didn’t appear to resort to such extreme measures with the thermometer at 100 for a 7:08 p.m. first pitch. The Yankees posted in the clubhouse a list of suggestions for avoiding dehydration and promoting recovery for Saturday’s 1:05 p.m. start. Looking for his first win in the Bronx this season, Hughes struggled from the start. He walked two and gave up an RBI double to Scott Sizemore in the first. Cliff Pennington had a run-scoring single in the second and a two- run homer in the fourth. Hughes, with a 14-5 lead, slammed the rosin bag when Girardi came to remove him with one out and the bases loaded in the fifth. The Yankees exerted considerable energy in scoring five times in the second, using five singles, a walk, a sacrifice fly and some hustle from Brett Gardner to go up 5-2. Cahill allowed the five batters he faced in the third to reach — including Swisher’s 11th homer — before being pulled for Michael Wuertz, who fared no better. Wuertz walked Jeter and Granderson with the bases loaded before Teixeira connected for his sixth grand slam. Cahill has lost his last four decisions going back to June 30. The 2-plus innings and 10 runs were career worsts. Red Bluff Little League Athletics 7 N.Y. Yankees 17