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2B Daily News – Saturday, July 30, 2011 Alex Smith is back at QB Giants lose in 13 SANTA CLARA (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers have their new quarter- back: old familiar face Alex Smith. Smith signed his one-year free agent contract Friday as expected, giv- ing new coach and former NFL quar- terback Jim Harbaugh an experienced starter for 2011. ‘‘Did I have any of you guys fooled?’’ Smith joked. Smith walked away after the final game last year unsure where he would land for 2011. It certainly seemed like a long shot he would return to the 49ers, but the lockout — and Har- baugh’s high-profile hiring in January — changed everything for both sides. ‘‘That’s kind of why it’s not good to make decisions right then. It’s emo- tional, you just went through a long season,’’ Smith said. ‘‘It’s healthy to get away from it and make a sound deci- sion. A lot changed. It started with Coach Harbaugh coming in, sitting down with him, talking with him. It really went from there. For me just making a good decision. There was a lot left here for me. Everything came together and I knew this was the right decision.’’ Within minutes of completing his deal, Smith was on the sidelines for the team’s first training camp practice — even though he can’t formally take part in physical activity until Aug. 4 under the new labor requirements. Smith, not in uniform, shagged balls for Harbaugh during a quarterback drill. Defensive tackle Ray McDonald signed a five-year contract and guard- center Tony Wragge received a one- year contract. Smith took it upon himself to orga- nize workouts and meetings for his teammates during the lockout, sessions that became known as ‘‘Camp Alex.’’ Harbaugh noticed and appreciated the QB’s initiative. Yet Harbaugh had already anointed Smith as his likely starter months ago, even though he was a free agent with no guarantee of re- signing. The former Stanford coach was STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — A youth baseball team from Uganda has lost its bid to become the first team from Africa to play in the Little League World Series because of discrepan- cies over players’ ages and birth dates. League and team offi- cials did everything possible to ensure players on the Rev. John Foundation team from Kampala were qualified and had documentation, a league representative, Richard Stanley, of New York City, told The Associated Press on Friday. Children who are 11 or 12 as of April 30 can play in the World Series, which is held each August in South Williamsport, Pa. Stanley is credited by Lit- tle League with introducing and establishing the organi- zation in Uganda after build- ing a baseball academy sev- eral years ago. He said Fri- day issues arose when ages and birth dates listed on doc- umentation didn’t match those offered by parents, guardians or the players themselves during inter- views with U.S. consular officials at the U.S. embassy in Kampala. Several players provided false birth documents to make their ages appear younger, said a State Department official in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity because visa records are confidential. Until now, the Ugandan team’s success was consid- ered a home run for Little League and baseball’s inter- national growth. The team would have been the first squad from Africa to play in the 65-year history of the World Series. Stanley said birth records in Uganda are not strictly tracked, as in the United States. ‘‘Now when the parent comes in, they get asked, ‘What’s the birth date of your child? Are you the birth parent?’ They don’t even know what that means in some cases, so they can’t answer the question,’’ said Stanley, a retired chemical engineer who owns a 2.5 percent stake in the Trenton Thunder Double-A minor league baseball team. Listed as an officer on a Uganda confident enough that an agreement would be reached that he handed over his playbook to Smith, whose deal is for a reported $5 million. Smith, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2005, has faced constant change during his up-and-down tenure with San Fran- cisco and has been regularly booed during his struggles. He has worked for different offensive coordinators every year, too. ‘‘Alex, I think he’s gotten a lot of undue negative publicity about him,’’ cornerback Shawntae Spencer said. ‘‘He’s been through so much in his NFL career, different offensive coordi- nators, different systems, things like that. It has to be tough. I went through three or four defensive schemes. It’s tough on me and he’s been pretty much double that. I can only imagine. It seems he and coach Harbaugh have a really good relationship and respect each other. Coach Harbaugh played the game, he understands the position and understands what Alex is going through.’’ Smith passed for 2,370 yards and 14 touchdowns in 11 games and 10 starts last season, but he also threw 10 inter- ceptions and was sacked 25 times. The 49ers finished 6-10 after a surprising 0- 5 start and haven’t had a winning sea- son or reached the playoffs since 2002. Smith took over the starting job midway through 2009 and was entrenched as the starter heading into 2010. After separating his non-throw- ing left shoulder Oct. 24 at Carolina, former coach Mike Singletary turned to 2006 Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith for the next five games — even after Alex Smith was healthy again. Troy Smith went 3-2 as a starter, then it was Alex Smith’s turn again for two games, including a commanding win over eventual West champion Seattle. After a flop at San Diego, Single- tary turned back to Troy Smith for a must-win game with the Rams on Dec. 26. That 25-17 loss cost the coach his job with one week to go. Jim Tomsula, serving a single-game stint as interim head coach, went with Alex Smith for a win against Arizona in the season finale. Little League Baseball directory, Stanley said he has donated about $1.5 mil- lion to the organization there. ‘‘So now it’s a question of credibility. All you need is one person to not be cred- ible and the visa officer is not obligated to issue a visa,’’ Stanley added, ‘‘and if they don’t issue one visa, they’re not going to issue any visa.’’ Stanley and State Depart- ment spokesman Mark Toner both said it was unclear how many visas were denied. ‘‘In this case, I can assure you that consular officers examined each of these indi- viduals and accorded them every consideration under the law. This is a very diffi- cult situation, but our con- sular officials are committed to upholding U.S. law,’’ Toner said at a briefing in Washington. ‘‘At the same time, they accord these indi- viduals coming in for visa interviews every considera- tion.’’ Toner declined to discuss specifics about the discrep- ancies, but said that officials considered ‘‘all appropriate data, place of birth date of birth, family name ... and take all that into considera- tion before making their judgment.’’ There is no age require- ment for a U.S. visa. How- ever, lying or providing incorrect or misleading information on a visa appli- cation is grounds for denial. In Little League, players discovered to be over or underage can be disquali- fied, or their teams can be disqualified. That was amplified a decade ago when Danny Almonte of the Rolando Paulino All-Stars from New York City was stripped of the first perfect game in Little League World Series history when he was found to be 14. His team was disqualified and their participation stricken from the World Series record books. At Little League Interna- tional headquarters in South Williamsport, vice president Patrick Wilson said the State Department cited privacy concerns in declining to release more details to the organization. From what Harbaugh saw from afar with Smith leading the way this sum- mer, he has high hopes for his man behind center. ‘‘It’s obvious that they were a great benefit,’’ Harbaugh said of the Smith- run minicamps. Rookie Colin Kaepernick, the team’s second-round draft pick out of Nevada, plans to do his best to win the starting QB job out of camp. The 26-year-old McDonald has started only nine games in his first four NFL seasons, all in 2008. But he is likely to slide into the starting left defensive end spot as a starter — and McDonald is eager for the new chal- lenge and responsibility. ‘‘It really shows that they wanted me back here. I really wanted to be back here,’’ McDonald said. ‘‘These past couple years have been tough because I’ve been kind of a role player. Now I get to go in there, get out on the field every snap and have a chance to make a bunch of plays for my team- mates to win ballgames.’’ Also Friday, the Niners parted ways with veteran center Eric Heitmann and kicker Joe Nedney after they failed physicals. The 31-year-old Heitmann was placed on season-ending injured reserve last November in his ninth NFL season because of a neck injury that wasn’t healing as quickly as the Niners had hoped. He later underwent offsea- son surgery. hadn’t played at all in 2010 after break- ing the fibula in his left leg early in training camp on Aug. 9. He was expected to miss up to two months and returned to practice Sept. 29. David Baas took his place on the starting offensive line. Baas is now gone, departed to the CINCINNATI (AP) — Edgar Renteria singled in the bot- tom of the 13th inning to give the Cincinnati Reds a 4-3 win over the San Francisco Giants on Friday night. Jay Bruce walked on a 3-2 pitch from Brian Wilson (6-3) to lead off the ninth. Miguel Cairo flied out, but pitcher Jose Arredondo — in his first career plate appearance — chopped a single over third baseman Pablo Sandoval and down the left field line. Renteria, the World Series MVP for the Giants last season, lined a soft single down the right field line to snap the Reds’ four-game losing streak. Arredondo (2-3) pitched a perfect 13th. Both teams escaped bases-loaded jams in the 10th. San Francisco Left fielder Nate Schierholtz threw out Joey Votto at the plate to complete an inning-ending double play. Carlos Beltran got his first hit with the Giants, driving in a run in the top of the first. The Giants fell behind, then tied the game in the eighth when Aubrey Huff scored from first base on Eli Whiteside’s double up the left-center field gap off of Bill Bray. They loaded the bases in the sixth, but only got Huff’s sacrifice fly. Cincinnati went ahead 3-1 in the second inning. Ryan Vogelsong hit Paul Janish with a pitch, and Janish went from first to third on pitcher Dontrelle Willis’ single to right. Jan- ish scored on Drew Stubbs’ grounder to second. The Reds scored twice in the bottom of the first after the Giants took a 1-0 lead on Beltran’s double. The former Mets slugger went 0 for 4 in his Giants debut on Thursday, snapping at 32 his streak of consecutive games in which he reached base at least once. In the bottom half, Brandon Phillips hit a sacrifice fly and Bruce singled to right to put Cincinnati ahead. Willis and Vogelsong both lasted six innings. Willis When he went on IR, Heitmann walks and one strikeout. He also hit a batter. New York Giants, so Harbaugh has some decisions to make on an O-line that features leader Joe Staley and returning 2010 first-round draft picks Anthony Davis and Mike Iupati, who started every game as rookies. Adam Snyder is slated to move into the center position to fill the void left by Heitmann. Ugandan Little League team strikes out on visas ‘‘It is unfortunate, as we were very much looking for- ward to welcoming the first African team to the Little League Baseball World Series,’’ league president Stephen Keener said in a statement. ‘‘However, we have worked very closely with our State Department in recent years, and we very much appreciate their dili- gence in this matter.’’ The 11-day tournament begins Aug. 18, featuring 16 teams — eight in the U.S. bracket and eight in the international bracket. Keener has said Little League has been vigilant in trying to ensure that players are qualified for tournament play, especially since Almonte’s disqualification in 2001. According to Wilson, there were no questions about the age or birth dates of the Ugandan players fol- lowing Little League checks prior to the Middle East and Africa regional tournament earlier this month in Poland. The Ugandan team defeated a squad from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 6-4, on July 16 to advance. Copies of documents were also checked by Little League officials at the Penn- sylvania headquarters, and the players received visas from Poland for the regional tournament. Stanley said complaints have arisen in previous years by other teams in its region about players’ ages. The Ugandan team this season WNBA EASTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB Indiana 13 6 .684 — Connecticut 10 6 .625 1.5 New York 10 7 .588 2 Chicago 9 10 .474 4 Atlanta 8 9 .471 4 Washington 3 14 .176 9 WESTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB Minnesota 11 4 .733 — San Antonio11 5 .688 1/2 Phoenix 10 7 .588 2 Seattle 9 7 .5632 1/2 Los Angeles 6 10 .3755 1/2 Tulsa 1 16 .059 11 ————————————————— Friday’s results Indiana 61, Washington 59 Seattle at Minnesota, late Saturday’s games Phoenix at New York, 4 p.m. Los Angeles at Chicago, 5 p.m. Seattle at Tulsa, 5 p.m. Sunday’s games Minnesota at San Antonio, Noon Atlanta at Connecticut, 2 p.m. Los Angeles at Indiana, 3 p.m. was asked to supplement birth or age records with supporting documentation from school records ‘‘to be proactive,’’ Wilson said. The practice has also been requested of teams in other countries in the past, Wilson said. No one party was at fault, Stanley said. He held out hope that the State Depart- ment might reverse course due to the Ugandan team’s historic success. ‘‘We’re not trying to cheat anybody,’’ Stanley said, ‘‘but then the question is, ‘How do you prove a kid’s age?’’’ Little League officials plan to meet in the next few days to determine how to proceed with the series, with a preference to maintain a 16-team field. According to Little League, the last time a team that qualified could not make the trip was 1959. A squad from then-West Ger- many composed of depen- dents of U.S. Army person- nel couldn’t make it because the team’s manager and coaches could not get away from their military duties. At the time, just eight teams qualified for the tour- nament, and the 1959 series was played with just seven squads. MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Galaxy 11 2 9 42 28 16 FC Dallas 11 5 6 39 29 21 Seattle 10 4 8 38 32 23 Colorado 8 6 10 34 33 31 Salt Lake 9 3 6 33 27 12 Chivas USA 6 7 8 26 27 23 QUAKES 57 9 24 24 27 Portland 6 10 3 21 22 32 Vancouver 2 10 9 15 21 30 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Philadelphia 8 5 7 31 25 18 Columbus 8 6 7 31 22 20 New York 6 5 12 30 37 30 Kansas City 6 6 8 26 28 27 Houston 5 7 9 24 24 26 D.C. 5 6 8 23 24 30 New England4 9 8 20 19 29 Chicago 2 6 12 18 20 25 Toronto FC 3 11 9 18 19 41 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. ————————————————— Friday’s result Colorado 2, Philadelphia 1 Saturday’s games D.C. United at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. Los Angeles at Vancouver, 4:30 p.m. New England at Kansas City, 5:30 p.m. Seattle FC at Houston, 5:30 p.m. Columbus at Real Salt Lake, 6 p.m. Toronto FC at Portland, 8 p.m. Sunday’s games Chivas USA at FC Dallas, 4 p.m. (AP) —Now that the U.S. Soccer federation’s perennial coach-in-waiting finally has the job, Juergen Klinsmann will be expected to kick-start a stagnant men’s national team. The USSF moved quick- ly Friday in hiring Klins- mann a day after the firing of Bob Bradley. The former standout player and coach for the German national team will be a familiar name to Amer- ican fans. The U.S. almost hired Klinsmann twice — first after the 2006 World Cup and again last year before giving Bradley what turned out to be a short-lived contract extension. ‘‘I am proud and honored to be named the head coach of the U.S. men’s national team,’’ Klinsmann said. ‘‘I would like to thank the U.S. Soccer Federation for the opportunity, and I’m excited about the challenge ahead. I am looking forward to bringing the team together for our upcoming match against Mexico and starting on the road toward qualify- ing for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.’’ Klinsmann will be intro- duced Monday at a news conference in New York. His first game as U.S. coach is Aug. 10 against archrival Mexico in an exhibition in Philadelphia Qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in MLB West Division Texas American League WL Pct GB Angels 58 49 .542 2 A’s 60 47.561 — 47 58 .448 12 Seattle 44 60 .423 14.5 East Division WL Pct GB Boston 64 40 .615 — New York 61 42 .592 2.5 Tampa Bay 54 50 .519 10 Toronto 54 52 .509 11 Baltimore 42 60 .412 21 Central Division WL Pct GB Detroit 56 50 .528 — Cleveland 52 51 .505 2.5 Chicago 52 52 .500 3 Minnesota 49 56 .467 6.5 Kansas City45 61 .425 11 ————————————————— Friday’s results Minnesota at Oakland, late Baltimore 4, New York 2 Chicago 3, Boston 1 Detroit 12, Los Angeles 2 Kansas City 12, Cleveland 0 Toronto 3, Texas 2 Tampa Bay at Seattle, late Saturday’s games Minnesota (Blackburn 7-7) at Oakland (Moscoso 3-5), 6:05 p.m. Baltimore (Undecided) at New York (Colon 7-6), 10:05 a.m. Texas (D.Holland 9-4) at Toronto (Mills 0-0), 10:07 a.m. Los Angeles (Haren 10-6) at Detroit (Below 0-1), 1:10 p.m. Tampa Bay (Cobb 3-0) at Seattle (Pineda 8-7), 1:10 p.m. Baltimore (Britton 6-7) at New York (Nova 8-4), 4:05 p.m. Kansas City (F.Paulino 1-4) at Cleveland (Masterson 8-7), 4:05 p.m. Boston (Lester 10-4) at Chicago (Humber 8-6), 4:10 p.m. Sunday’s games Minnesota (Pavano 6-7) at Oakland (McCarthy 3-5), 1:05 p.m. Baltimore (Arrieta 10-7) at New York (F.Garcia 9-7), 10:05 a.m. Kansas City (Davies 1-9) at Cleveland (Carmona 5-10), 10:05 a.m. Los Angeles (Weaver 14-4) at Detroit (Verlander 14-5), 10:05 a.m. Texas (C.Wilson 10-4) at Toronto (Morrow 7-5), 10:07 a.m. Boston (A.Miller 4-1) at Chicago (Buehrle 8-5), 11:10 a.m. Tampa Bay (Hellickson 9-7) at Seattle (Vargas 6-9), 1:10 p.m. allowed six hits and two runs with two walks and three strikeout, and hit a batter. Vogelsong gave up seven hits and three runs with two US soccer hires Klinsmann Brazil begins next June. ‘‘He is a highly accom- plished player and coach with the experience and knowledge to advance the program,’’ USSF President Sunil Gulati said. ‘‘Juergen has had success in many dif- ferent areas of the game, and we look forward to the lead- ership he will provide on and off the field.’’ Former U.S. defender Alexi Lalas, who worked alongside Klinsmann for ESPN at last year’s World Cup, expects him to inject energy, but notes he’s not a miracle worker. ‘‘It’s not as if all of sud- den because Juergen Klins- mann is coach that we’re going to have an American Lionel Messi drop into our laps,’’ Lalas said. ‘‘The play- ers are what they are. It’s up to him to make sure he has the correct mix of players and to motivate them, to coach them up. For the experienced veterans that are part of the national team setup, this will be a source of motivation — and maybe a kick in the pants.’’ Although the federation has discussed the job with Klinsmann in the past, the coach’s desire for wide- ranging authority over the entire U.S. program became a point of contention. MLB West Division National League WL Pct GB GIANTS 61 45 .575 — Arizona 57 48 .543 3.5 Colorado 49 56 .467 11.5 Dodgers 47 57 .452 13 Padres 46 60 .434 15 East Division WL Pct GB Philadelphia 66 39 .629 — Atlanta 62 45 .579 5 New York 55 51 .519 11.5 Florida 52 54 .491 14.5 Washington 49 56 .467 17 Central Division WL Pct GB Milwaukee 58 49 .542 — St. Louis 56 50 .528 1.5 Pittsburgh 54 50 .519 2.5 Cincinnati 51 55 .481 6.5 Chicago 42 64 .396 15.5 Houston 35 71 .330 22.5 ————————————————— Friday’s results Cincinnati 4,San Francisco 3,13 innings Atlanta 5, Florida 0 Milwaukee 4, Houston 0 New York 8, Washington 5 Philadelphia 10, Pittsburgh 3 St. Louis 9, Chicago 2 Arizona at Los Angeles, late Colorado at San Diego, late Saturday’s games San Francisco (Bumgarner 6-9) at Cincinnati (Leake 8-6), 4:10 p.m. Chicago (R.Lopez 2-2) at St. Louis (Lohse 8-7), 1:10 p.m. New York (Dickey 5-8) at Washington (Marquis 8-5), 4:05 p.m. Pittsburgh (Ja.McDonald 7-4) at Philadelphia (Cl.Lee 9-7), 4:05 p.m. Florida (Ani.Sanchez 6-3) at Atlanta (T.Hudson 9-7), 4:10 p.m. Houston (Happ 4-12) at Milwaukee (Gallardo 11-7), 4:10 p.m. Colorado (Jimenez 6-9) at San Diego (Harang 9-2), 5:35 p.m. Arizona (Owings 4-0) at Los Angeles (Billingsley 9-8), 7:10 p.m. Sunday’s games San Francisco (Zito 3-3) at Cincinnati (Cueto 6-4), 10:10 a.m. Florida (Nolasco 7-7) at Atlanta (Hanson 11-5), 10:35 a.m. New York (Niese 10-8) at Washington (Zimmermann 6-9), 10:35 a.m. Pittsburgh (Karstens 8-5) at Philadelphia (Worley 7-1), 10:35 a.m. Houston (Myers 3-11) at Milwaukee (Narveson 7-6), 11:10 a.m. Colorado (Nicasio 4-3) at San Diego (Moseley 3-10), 1:05 p.m. Arizona (J.Saunders 7-8) at Los Angeles (R.De La Rosa 4-4), 1:10 p.m. Chicago (Dempster 7-8) at St. Louis (Westbrook 9-4), 5:05 p.m. Cincinnati 4, 13 inn. Giants 3 San Francisco 49ers