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2B Daily News – Tuesday, August 30, 2011 Santana homers as Indians beat A's CLEVELAND (AP) — Carlos Santana homered and David Huff and four relievers combined to limit the Oakland Athletics to five hits in the Cleveland Indians' 2-1 win Monday night. Huff (2-2) gave up three hits over six scoreless innings to win for the first time in six starts, since beat- ing Minnesota in his season debut on July 18. Chris Perez worked a perfect ninth for his 30th save in 34 chances for Cleveland, which has won three of four. Santana hit his 20th homer to give Cleveland a 2-0 lead in the seventh inning against Brandon McCarthy (7-7), who lost for the second time in nine starts since July 15. It was only the eighth homer allowed by the right-hander and seventh without a runner on base. Cleveland took a 1-0 lead in the sixth. Ezequiel Car- rera lined a two-out single to center and scored all the way from first on a double into the right-field corner by Kosuke Fukudome. The Athletics broke through in the eighth against relievers Joe Smith and Tony Sipp. Scott Sizemore lined a leadoff double off Smith. Sipp came on and Sizemore stole third. Jemile Weeks followed with an RBI double to get the Athletics with- in 2-1. After Coco Crisp failed to advance Weeks with a bunt, Hideki Matsui backed Fukudome up against the wall in right field with a fly ball that sent Weeks to third. Vinnie Pestano replaced Sipp and got Josh Willing- ham on a called third strike to strand Weeks. Willing- ham slammed his batting helmet to the ground after umpire Rob Drake made the call on a pitch that appeared low and outside of the strike zone. McCarthy struck out 10 over eight innings, allowing two runs, five hits and only one walk. The Athletics have averaged 6.1 runs in McCarthy's seven wins and only 1.6 runs in his seven losses. Gore hopeful of progress toward new contract SANTA CLARA (AP) — Frank Gore is encouraged that progress might be made toward the new contract he wants. His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, was scheduled to meet Mon- day with the team, though Gore wasn't sure when the process would begin. The two-time Pro Bowl running back has repeatedly said he would like a new, long-term commit- ment from the team before the Sept. 11 season opener against the Seattle Seahawks. ''He's here. I'm happy about that,'' Gore said about Rosenhaus during an interview with The Associated Press. ''It may pick up. That's a positive. I hope I'll get a fair deal. I want to be a 49er for my career. I love it here. I love my teammates. I like the new coaching staff. I can see that we're going to get things together here. Having a football coach like Jim Harbaugh and his style of doing what they're doing and knowing what they want from each and every player, and that's being a football player.'' The 28-year-old Gore, who missed the final five games last season with a broken right hip, said it's ''a step'' in the right direction that Rosenhaus and Niners executives are meeting face to face. ''I just want to get it done, man. Hopefully both sides will come to a fair deal and I can be here and get it out of my head and try to get (going on) these 16 weeks and move on and win the West,'' Gore said. ''It's best for me to let the fans know I want to be here. It's not me. It comes down to the organization and the team.'' Both general manager Trent Baalke and team president Jed York have said they would like to make Gore a ''49er for life,'' while Harbaugh has made similar statements. The 28-year-old Gore, who held out for the first four days of training camp, was sidelined for the last five games of 2010 after sustaining the hip injury in a Monday night game at Arizona on Nov. 29. Gore would like a contract compara- ble to the $43 million, five-year deal running back DeAnge- lo Williams — 20 days older than San Francisco's star — recently received from the Carolina Panthers. That includes $21 million guaranteed. Williams missed the final 10 games last year with a sprained right foot. Gore begins the year third on the franchise career rushing list. He needs 931 yards to be No. 1. He wants to have a big year to help turn the 49ers around after eight straight seasons without a playoff berth or winning record. He ran for 853 yards and three touchdowns last year before getting hurt in his sixth NFL season. Gore also caught 46 passes for 452 yards and two TDs. His 24 100-yard rush- ing games are the most in 49ers history. The 49ers rewarded two other key players with long-term contracts last year. Tight end Vernon Davis signed a five-year extension worth $37 million overall, including $34 million guaranteed, a night before the 2010 season opener. That made him the highest-paid tight end in NFL history. In May of last year, All-Pro linebacker Patrick Willis received a $50 million, five-year contract extension that takes him through the 2016 season and includes $29 million in guaranteed money. He earns $10 million per season. 1 month unlimited tanning Tehama Family Fitness Center only $25 We've added a 3rd Stand Up Unit! 2 lay down beds 3 stand up units 1 month unlimited tanning limited to 2 per customer Any Lotion only $15 Offer ends August 31 2498 South Main St., Red Bluff 528-8656 www.tehamafamilyfitness.com Kvitova loses on Day 1 at Open NEW YORK (AP) — Trailing big in the first round of the U.S. Open, Maria Sharapova thought — well, no, she was certain — that she'd pull through if she could push her inexperi- enced opponent to a third set. And Sharapova was right. Shrieking as loudly as ever, Shara- pova came back from a set and a break down against 19-year-old Heather Watson of Britain to win 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 on Monday, improving to 12-0 this year in matches that went the distance. ''It's just a matter of belief within myself, that no matter how well or bad or good I'm playing, or my opponent is playing, I know I can tough it out,'' the No. 3-seeded Sharapova said after her 2 1/2-hour victory. ''No matter what the situation is, I have the belief.'' That self-confidence comes not merely from her success in three-set- ters this season, but also from three Grand Slam titles, including the 2006 U.S. Open. It's the sort of track record the 102nd-ranked Watson hopes to have one day; Monday's match was only her fifth at a major tournament. Sharapova won six Grand Slam matches at Wimbledon alone this sum- mer, reaching the final there before losing to Petra Kvitova. Fresh off that triumph, Kvitova — a 21-year-old from the Czech Republic seeded No. 5 in Flushing Meadows — failed to fol- low it up, flopping at the U.S. Open with a 7-6 (3), 6-3 loss to 48th-ranked Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania. Kvitova is the first reigning Wim- bledon women's champion to lose her first match at the U.S. Open in the same season. Only three times had the Wimbledon winner bowed out as early as the third round in New York: Shara- pova in 2004, Conchita Martinez in 1994, and Billie Jean King in 1973. ''This is something new for me,'' Kvitova said about her new status as Grand Slam champion. ''I've felt a lit- tle pressure.'' She was the only seeded woman to exit on Day 1 of the year's last major tournament, joined on the way out by No. 15 Viktor Troicki of Serbia, a 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 loser against Alejan- dro Falla of Colombia. At night, 2000-01 U.S. Open champion Venus Williams played her first match in two months and beat 91st-ranked Vesna Dolonts of Russia 6-4, 6-3. Williams hit six aces and 28 total winners against the weary Dolonts, who left Moscow at 4 a.m. EDT and arrived at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at 4 p.m., after having flights canceled Saturday and Sunday because of Tropical Storm Irene. ''My game is built on my serve, and of course, I like to follow it up with a lot of aggressive play,'' said Williams, who pulled out of recent tuneup tour- naments because of a virus. ''And it's great to see a lot of those balls land in.'' In the day's last match in Arthur Ashe Stadium, 16-time major winner Roger Federer was to face 54th-ranked Santiago Giraldo of Colombia. Early winners included No. 8 Mardy Fish, who played his first U.S. Open match as the top-seeded Ameri- can and beat Tobias Kamke 6-2, 6-2, 6-1; No. 9 Tomas Berdych, the 2010 Wimbledon runner-up; No. 13 Richard Gasquet; No. 22 Alexandr Dolgopolov; and No. 27 Marin Cilic, who eliminated 19-year-old American Ryan Harrison 6-2, 7-5, 7-6 (6). ''This is extremely different for me,'' Fish said, ''this feeling coming out here and trying to show everything you can, to show you're the No. 1 guy, at least for this tournament. It's been a lot of fun.'' Advancing along with Sharapova to the second round were No. 2 Vera Zvonareva, a finalist last year at Wim- bledon and the U.S. Open; 16-year-old Madison Keys of Boca Raton, Fla. — the youngest and, at 455th, lowest- ranked woman in the draw — who beat 37-year-old Jill Craybas 6-2, 6-4; and No. 12 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, who beat her younger sister Urszula Radwanska 6-2, 6-3. But surprise 2009 U.S. Open quar- SANTA CLARA (AP) — Veteran left tackle Joe Staley accepted a good chunk of the blame for San Francisco's problems on the offensive line in a 30-7 exhibition loss to Houston on Saturday night. ''Very disgusted with what we saw on the offen- sive line,'' Staley said Monday. ''Coach chal- lenged us, he challenged us in the meetings to come out and have a really great week of practice and really great game. We've got to get going. The season is upon us and we've got to play a lot better than that.'' Staley watched game film Monday morning and saw again that he and his linemates were repeatedly beaten by the Texans' tena- cious four-man rush; San Francisco gave up three sacks. Coach Jim Har- baugh on Sunday called for improvement in tech- nique and fundamentals. ''We were violated at times,'' Harbaugh said. Staley, a fifth-year pro who received a $42 mil- lion, six-year contract MLB West Division Texas American League WL Pct GB Angels 72 61 .541 3 A's 76 59 .563 — 60 74 .448 15.5 Seattle 56 76 .424 18.5 East Division WL Pct GB Boston 82 51 .617 — New York 80 52 .606 1.5 Tampa Bay 73 60 .549 9 Toronto 67 67 .500 15.5 Baltimore 53 79 .402 28.5 Central Division WL Pct GB Detroit 73 61 .545 — Chicago 67 65 .508 5 Cleveland 66 65 .504 5.5 Minnesota 56 78 .418 17 Kansas City 56 79 .415 17.5 —————————————————— Monday's results Cleveland 2, Oakland 1 Chicago White Sox 3, Minnesota 0 Kansas City 9, Detroit 5 N.Y.Yankees 3, Baltimore 2 Toronto 7, Tampa Bay 3 L.A. Angels at Seattle, late Today's games Oakland (Cahill 9-12) at Cleveland (J.Gomez 0-2), 4:05 p.m. Kansas City (Francis 5-14) at Detroit (Fister 6-13), 4:05 p.m. Toronto (Cecil 4-7) at Baltimore (Guthrie 6-16), 4:05 p.m. N.Y.Yankees (Sabathia 17-7) at Boston (Lackey 12-9), 4:10 p.m. Tampa Bay (Hellickson 11-9) at Texas (Feldman 0-0), 5:05 p.m. Minnesota (Swarzak 3-4) at Chicago (Z.Stewart 1-3), 5:10 p.m. L.A. Angels (J.Williams 1-0) at Seattle (A.Vasquez 1-0), 7:10 p.m. Wednesday's games Oakland at Cleveland, 4:05 p.m. Kansas City at Detroit, 10:05 a.m. Minnesota at Chicago, 11:10 a.m. Toronto at Baltimore, 4:05 p.m. N.Y.Yankees at Boston, 4:10 p.m. Tampa Bay at Texas, 5:05 p.m. L.A. Angels at Seattle, 7:10 p.m. extension in June 2009 to lead this line for the long term, was eager to get back on the practice field because he had a ''bad feeling'' still lingering from the game. The 49ers finish the preseason Thursday night at San Diego. Staley, for one, is happy to play again right away in a short week after Saturday's embar- rassment in front of the home fans at Candlestick Park. terfinalist Melanie Oudin of Marietta, Ga., lost 6-0, 7-6 (7) to Romina Oprandi of Italy, falling to 9-29 in 2011. Sharapova was one of the seeded players Oudin stunned during her run two years ago, and for a little more than a set Monday, Watson seemed quite capable of registering another significant surprise. Scrambling along the baseline to get to nearly every ball, Watson forced Sharapova to hit extra shots in order to win a point. And Sharapova, who said she wasn't able to practice enough over the weekend because of Tropical Storm Irene, kept missing. ''There's no doubt that I wasn't playing my best tennis,'' said Sharapo- va, who finished with a whopping 58 unforced errors, nearly twice as many as Watson. ''She was smart in making me hit another ball. I was making so many errors out there. She stuck to her game plan; she kept grinding.'' After taking the first set, Watson broke for a 1-0 lead in the second. That's when Sharapova began to turn things around, taking four games in a row. Watson didn't go away, though, getting within 4-3 when Sharapova double-faulted, then holding for 4-all with the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd supporting the underdog. But a double-fault by Watson, and two huge return winners by Sharapo- va, helped the Russian break to end the second set. That sent the match to a third, and Sharapova's as good as it gets there. ''Maria's a fighter. She's never going to give up,'' said Watson, who got high-fives and autograph requests from fans as she left the court. ''That's what makes her a champion. That's why she's won this tournament before.'' Kvitova, in contrast, said that as she began to make mistakes, she started thinking negative thoughts. Asked why she was still struggling with that after winning Wimbledon, she said, ''That's a good question, actually.'' 49ers left tackle Staley 'disgusted' by line play beat,'' Staley said. ''We were terrible.'' Starting quarterback Alex Smith wound up 2 for 6 for 17 yards, just 4 more yards in the air than he lost in two sacks — and rookie second-round draft pick Colin Kaepernick wasn't much better. The Texans had 28 first The 49ers, coming off a 6-10 season in which they missed the playoffs and failed to post a winning record for the eighth straight year, open the reg- ular season Sept. 11 at home against the defend- ing NFC West champion Seattle Seahawks. That's less than two weeks to clean up. Staley wouldn't say his unit is behind because of the lockout and missed mini- camps and organized team activities, either. He let Connor Barwin blow by him on one sack. ''No excuses. I got MLB West Division National League WL Pct GB Arizona 75 59 .560 — GIANTS 71 63 .530 4 Colorado 64 70 .478 11 Dodgers 62 70 .470 12 Padres 60 74 .448 15 East Division WL Pct GB Philadelphia 84 46 .646 — Atlanta 79 54 .594 6.5 New York 64 68 .485 21 Washington 62 70 .470 23 Florida 59 74 .444 26.5 Central Division WL Pct GB Milwaukee 81 54 .600 — St. Louis 70 64 .522 10.5 Cincinnati 67 67 .500 13.5 Pittsburgh 62 71 .466 18 Chicago 57 77 .425 23.5 Houston 44 90 .328 36.5 —————————————————— Monday's results Chicago Cubs at San Francisco, late N.Y.Mets 2, Florida 1, 1st game N.Y.Mets 5, Florida 1, 2nd game Philadelphia 3, Cincinnati 2 Colorado at Arizona, late Pittsburgh at Houston, late San Diego at L.A. Dodgers, late Today's games Chicago Cubs (Garza 6-10) at San Fran. (Vogelsong 10-4), 7:15 p.m. Florida (Vazquez 7-11) at N.Y. Mets (Pelfrey 7-10), 4:10 p.m. Philadelphia (Halladay 15-5) at Cincinnati (Arroyo 8-10), 4:10 p.m. Washington (L.Hernandez 7-12) at Atlanta (Jurrjens 13-5), 4:10 p.m. Pittsburgh (Morton 9-7) at Houston (Sosa 1-2), 5:05 p.m. St. Louis (E.Jackson 3-2) at Milwaukee (Marcum 11-4), 5:10 p.m. Colorado (A.Cook 3-7) at Arizona (Miley 1-1), 6:40 p.m. San Diego (Stauffer 8-10) at L.A. Dodgers (Kuroda 10-14), 7:10 p.m. Wednesday's games Chicago at San Francisco, 12:45 p.m. San Diego at L.A. Dodgers, 12:10 p.m. Florida at N.Y. Mets, 4:10 p.m. Philadelphia at Cincinnati, 4:10 p.m. Washington at Atlanta, 4:10 p.m. Pittsburgh at Houston, 5:05 p.m. St. Louis at Milwaukee, 5:10 p.m. Colorado at Arizona, 6:40 p.m. downs to the 49ers' six, and Houston outgained San Francisco 417-105. Understanding schemes, Staley said, is not the issue. Staley agreed there were problems with blocking technique that led to no protection for the quarterbacks. ''We're there (in under- standing the system). We've just got to play bet- ter,'' Staley said. ''All five guys, we need to play bet- ter.'' Any feedback from the QBs? ''We've got to protect,'' Staley said. Smith was sacked 25 times last season and threw 10 interceptions. Meanwhile Monday, defensive coordinator Vic NFL PRESEASON Monday's result N.Y. Jets 17, N.Y. Giants 3 Thursday's games San Francisco at San Diego, 7 p.m. Detroit at Buffalo, 3:30 p.m. Indianapolis at Cincinnati, 4 p.m. Baltimore at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. Dallas at Miami, 4:30 p.m. N.Y. Giants at New England, 4:30 p.m. Philadelphia at N.Y. Jets, 4:30 p.m. St. Louis at Jacksonville, 4:30 p.m. Tampa Bay at Washington, 4:30 p.m. Cleveland at Chicago, 5 p.m. Houston at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Kansas City at Green Bay, 5 p.m. Tennessee at New Orleans, 5 p.m. Pittsburgh at Carolina, 5 p.m. Denver at Arizona, 7 p.m. Friday's game Oakland at Seattle, 7:30 p.m. Fangio still sees plenty of things his defense must improve before the season begins. Linebacker Ahmad Brooks intercepted a pass by Matt Schaub on the first play of the game Saturday and returned it 13 yards for a touchdown for San Fran- cisco's only points. Schaub made it look easy after that as the 49ers struggled to cover and keep up. WNBA WESTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB z-Minnesota 23 6 .793 — Seattle 17 12 .586 6 Phoenix 16 12 .571 6.5 San Antonio13 15 .464 9.5 Sparks 12 17 .414 11 Tulsa 3 25 .107 19.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB Indiana 19 9 .679 — Connecticut 18 11 .621 1.5 New York 16 13 .552 3.5 Atlanta 15 13 .536 4 Chicago 14 15 .483 5.5 Washington 5 23 .179 14 z-clinched conference —————————————————— Today's games Chicago at New York, 4 p.m. Indiana at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. Connecticut at San Antonio, 5 p.m. Phoenix at Tulsa, 5 p.m. Washington at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Seattle at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. NASCAR Sprint Cup Points Leaders 1. Kyle Busch 2. Jimmie Johnson 3. Matt Kenseth 4. Carl Edwards 5. Kevin Harvick 6. Jeff Gordon 7. Ryan Newman 8. Kurt Busch 9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 10. Tony Stewart 11. Brad Keselowski 12. Clint Bowyer 13. Denny Hamlin 14. A J Allmendinger 15. Kasey Kahne 16. Greg Biffle 17. Martin Truex Jr. 18. Joey Logano 19. Mark Martin 20. Paul Menard 21. David Ragan 22. Marcos Ambrose NCAA FOOTBALL AP Top 25 Schedule Thursday's game No. 20 Mississippi State at Memphis, 5 p.m. Friday's games No. 14 TCU at Baylor, 5 p.m. No. 17 Mich. St. vs.Youngstown St., 4:30 p.m. Saturday's games No. 1 Oklahoma vs. Tulsa, 5 p.m. No. 2 Alabama vs. Kent State, 9:21 a.m. No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 4 LSU at Arlington, Texas, 5 p.m. No. 5 Boise State at No. 19 Georgia, 5 p.m. No.6 Florida State vs.LA-Monroe, 12:30 p.m. No. 7 Stanford vs. San Jose State, 2 p.m. No. 8 Texas A&M vs. SMU. 4:30 p.m. No. 9 Oklahoma St. vs. LA-Lafayette, 4 p.m. No.10 Nebraska vs. Chattanooga, 12:30 p.m. No. 11 Wisconsin vs. UNLV, 5 p.m. No. 12 South Carolina vs.E. Carolina, 5 p.m. No.13 Vir.Tech vs.Appalachian St., 9:30 a.m. No. 15 Arkansas vs. Missouri St., 4 p.m. No.16 Notre Dame vs.S. Florida, 12:30 p.m. No. 18 Ohio State vs. Akron, 9 a.m. No. 21 Missouri vs. Miami (Ohio), 9 a.m. No. 22 Florida vs. FAU, 4 p.m. No. 23 Auburn vs. Utah State, 9 a.m. No. 25 USC vs. Minnesota, 12:30 p.m. Sunday's game No. 24 West Virginia vs.Marshall, 12:30 p.m. 26. Jamie McMurray 27. Brian Vickers 28. David Reutimann 29. Bobby Labonte 30. David Gilliland 31. Casey Mears 32. Dave Blaney 33. Andy Lally 34. Robby Gordon 35. Tony Raines 36. Bill Elliott 37. Terry Labonte 38. Ken Schrader 39. Michael McDowell 40. J.J.Yeley 41. David Stremme 42. Boris Said 43. Michael Waltrip 44. Andy Pilgrim 45. Chris Cook 46. T.J. Bell 47. Brian Simo 48. Geoffrey Bodine 49. Brian Keselowski 50. Erik Darnell 830 830 798 795 782 782 762 749 728 710 689 688 672 664 656 649 645 642 633 631 628 627 23. Juan Pablo Montoya 621 24. Jeff Burton 25. Regan Smith 572 552 551 527 525 509 422 344 323 306 224 129 100 92 87 83 81 49 38 20 18 17 14 11 6 3 2 Upcoming Schedule Sep. 4 — AdvoCare 500, Hampton, Ga. Sep. 10 — Wonderful Pistachios 400, Richmond, Va. Sep. 18 — GEICO 400, Joliet, Ill. Sep. 25 — Sylvania 300, Loudon, N.H.