Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/50165
2B Daily News – Thursday, December 15, 2011 Movie to tell story of Torres' ADHD struggles NEW YORK (AP) — New Mets center fielder Andres Torres knows about struggles. An injury-plagued 2011 season was diffi- cult. But he's dealt with greater adversity. A new documentary is coming out on how he managed his Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder to become a World Series winner with the San Francisco Giants in 2010. ''It's about helping others and how we get better, and I think it's a great project,'' Torres said Wednesday, a week after the Mets acquired him from the Giants along with pitcher Ramon Ramirez for out- fielder Angel Pagan. There were 105 ther- apeutic use exemptions for ADHD medication in the major leagues this year, but the names are not made public by the commissioner's office. Torres, nicknamed ''Yungo,'' said he's known about his ADHD since 2002 and has been on medication since 2007. The feature- length film, titled ''Gigante,'' is directed by Chusy Haney-Jar- dine, a Sundance Film Festival award winner. A release date has not yet been set, according to the project's Web site. ''People look at me, all the struggles, (and) becoming world cham- pion. I've seen a lot of ups and downs,'' Torres said. ''I really have to take it, medication, because it helps you (with) your focus and how (to) concentrate better. I think people that have this have to understand that this is a condition that you real- ly have to pay attention (to), and the medication NFL AFC West WL T Pct PF PA Denver 8 5 0 .615 269 302 RAIDERS 76 0 .538 290 354 Chargers 6 7 0 .462 324 299 Kansas City 5 8 0 .385 173 305 East WL T Pct PF PA N. England 10 3 0 .769 396 274 N.Y. Jets 8 5 0 .615 327 270 Buffalo 5 8 0 .385 288 341 Miami South y-Houston 10 3 0 .769 330 208 Tennessee 7 6 0 .538 266 251 Jacksonville 4 9 0 .308 193 252 Indianapolis 0 13 0 .000 184 382 North WL T Pct PF PA Baltimore 10 3 0 .769 320 202 Pittsburgh 10 3 0 .769 282 198 Cincinnati 7 6 0 .538 285 270 Cleveland 4 9 0 .308 178 254 NFC West WL T Pct PF PA y-49ERS 10 3 0 .769 307 182 Seattle 6 7 0 .462 246 259 Arizona 6 7 0 .462 253 288 St. Louis 2 11 0 .154 153 326 East N.Y. Giants 7 6 0 .538 324 349 Dallas WL T Pct PF PA 7 6 0 .538 317 281 Philadelphia 5 8 0 .385 297 292 Washington 4 9 0 .308 229 290 South WL T Pct PF PA x-N. Orleans10 3 0 .769 415 286 Atlanta 8 5 0 .615 300 267 Carolina 4 9 0 .308 313 355 Tampa Bay 4 9 0 .308 232 370 North y-Green Bay 13 0 0 1.000 466 278 Detroit x-clinched division —————————————————— Today's game Jacksonville at Atlanta, 5:20 p.m. Saturday's game Dallas at Tampa Bay, 5:20 p.m. Sunday's games Detroit at Oakland, 1:05 p.m. Carolina at Houston, 10 a.m. Cincinnati at St. Louis, 10 a.m. Green Bay at Kansas City, 10 a.m. Miami at Buffalo, 10 a.m. New Orleans at Minnesota, 10 a.m. Seattle at Chicago, 10 a.m. Tennessee at Indianapolis, 10 a.m. Washington at N.Y. Giants, 10 a.m. Cleveland at Arizona, 1:15 p.m. New England at Denver, 1:15 p.m. N.Y. Jets at Philadelphia, 1:15 p.m. Baltimore at San Diego, 5:20 p.m. Monday's game Pittsburgh at San Francisco, 5:30 p.m. WL T Pct PF PA 8 5 0 .615 367 305 Chicago 7 6 0 .538 301 255 Minnesota 2 11 0 .154 274 364 4 9 0 .308 256 246 WL T Pct PF PA helps, definitely helps.'' Torres, who turns 34 next month, has played 415 major league games over seven seasons along with 1,035 games in the minors, where he has spent time with 14 farm teams since 1998. Coming off the World Series title, he strained his left Achilles tendon early this year and slumped to a .221 average with four homers and 19 RBIs. A year earlier, he came back quickly from an emergency appen- dectomy in September and wound up at .268 with 16 homers and 63 RBIs. He was voted winner of the Giants' ''Willie Mac'' Award, named after Hall of Famer Willie McCovey and given to the club's most inspirational play- er by teammates, coach- es and training staff. Following the depar- ture of Jose Reyes to Miami, Torres is likely to hit leadoff for the cash-strapped Mets. ''I admire Reyes. He's one of the best, (most) exciting players in the game,'' Torres said. ''I'm working hard to be an exciting player, too. I just want to go there, to New York, bring energy and get the team pumped and do my best.'' Not eligible for free agency until after the 2013 season, Torres could bring an upbeat attitude to a team expected to face a tough year. The Mets have endured three straight losing seasons and could be headed for a fourth. ''I keep the club- house loose,'' he said. ''We just have to feel comfortable about everything in the club- house, just go up there and have fun.'' NHL AFC WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL OT Pts GF GA Dallas 17 11 1 35 74 78 SHARKS 15 10 3 33 78 68 Phoenix 15 12 3 33 78 80 Kings Ducks 13 13 4 30 65 70 9 16 5 23 71 96 Central Division WL OT Pts GF GA Chicago 19 8 4 42 103 95 Detroit 19 9 1 39 93 63 St. Louis 17 9 3 37 71 62 Nashville 15 11 4 34 79 80 Columbus 9 17 4 22 73 100 Northwest Division WL OT Pts GF GA Minnesota 20 8 4 44 83 70 Vancouver 18 10 2 38 98 73 Edmonton 14 13 3 31 83 80 Calgary 14 14 2 30 74 82 Colorado 14 16 1 29 82 94 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL OT Pts GF GA Philadelphia19 7 3 41 106 82 N.Y. Rangers17 7 4 38 83 61 Pittsburgh 17 10 4 38 95 79 New Jersey 16 13 1 33 79 86 N.Y. Islanders 9 13 6 24 65 93 Northeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Boston 20 9 1 41 102 61 Toronto 16 11 3 35 93 95 Buffalo 15 12 3 33 81 82 Montreal 13 11 7 33 79 80 Ottawa 14 14 4 32 96 112 Southeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Florida 16 9 6 38 84 80 Winnipeg 14 12 4 32 84 93 Washington 15 13 1 31 89 94 Tampa Bay 12 16 2 26 79 101 Carolina 9 18 5 23 80 110 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. —————————————————— Wednesday's results Anaheim 4, Phoenix 1 Boston 5, Ottawa 2 Chicago 4, Minnesota 3, SO Today's games Colorado at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. Dallas at N.Y. Islanders, 4 p.m. Los Angeles at Columbus, 4 p.m. Vancouver at Carolina, 4 p.m. Calgary at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Montreal, 4:30 p.m. Detroit at Nashville, 5 p.m. N.Y. Rangers at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Washington at Winnipeg, 5:30 p.m. Edmonton at Phoenix, 6:30 p.m. Friday's games Calgary at Florida, 4:30 p.m. Pittsburgh at Ottawa, 4:30 p.m. Toronto at Buffalo, 4:30 p.m. Dallas at New Jersey, 5 p.m. Anaheim at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. ALAMEDA (AP) — Deep-threat receiver Denar- ius Moore returned to prac- tice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday after missing the previous three games with an injured right foot, providing a needed boost to a struggling offense. The Raiders are still waiting for two of their other most dangerous play- makers to return from injuries. Receiver Jacoby Ford (left foot), who has been out for more than a month, ran on the side but still is unable to practice, and running back Darren McFadden has been out since injuring his right foot Oct. 23 against Kansas City. But the return of Moore to practice was an encourag- ing sign for an offense that has sputtered without three of its fastest players. ''Obviously, he's one of our better players,'' coach Hue Jackson said. ''I think any time you get one of your playmakers back, it gives you a tremendous boost. Again, this is going to be a football team game. It won't be just one guy. One guy can't change where we need to be. It's got to be our team.'' Bonds'sentencing brings BALCO saga near a close SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The largest federal criminal investigation into sports doping began more than nine years ago with a tax agent digging through the trash of the now notorious Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative. Barring an appeal, the government's work comes to an anti-climactic end Friday when Barry Bonds — the probe's highest-profile catch — is sen- tenced for obstruction of justice. In between, the federal government spent millions of dollars and untold staff hours obtaining the convictions of 11 people. Six of them, including track star Marion Jones, were ensnared for lying to grand jurors, federal investiga- tors or the court. Five men, including Bonds' personal trainer Greg Ander- son, pleaded guilty to steroid distribu- tion charges stemming from their BALCO connections. The investigation in general — and the pursuit of Bonds in particular — ignited a debate over whether the gov- ernment's long involvement was the best use of public resources. More than seven years after he tes- tified before a grand jury investigating BALCO, Major League Baseball's all- time home runs leader was convicted on just one of four remaining counts against him. And the jury deadlocked on whether Bonds lied about taking performance enhancing drugs. Now, federal sentencing guidelines suggest a prison term of between 15 months and 21 months. But federal probation officers are recommending that Bonds receive no time, citing his charitable work, the nature of the crime and his otherwise spotless crim- inal record. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston has sentenced two other BALCO figures convicted of similar crimes to probation and house arrest. Was it all worth it? ''It absolutely was,'' said MacGre- gor Scott, the former U.S. attorney for Sacramento, now in private practice at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. ''It brought a focus and awareness to the steroids issue that wasn't there before.'' Scott said prosecutors had to go after Bonds once they concluded he lied to the grand jury when he denied knowingly using performance-enhanc- ing drugs and said he allowed only doctors to inject him. Dozens of other athletes testified truthfully, Scott said. ''There aren't two sets of laws, one for Bonds and one for everybody else,'' Scott said. ''The grand jury is the bedrock of the criminal justice system in the United States.'' The probe did lead directly to for- ''Obviously, the BALCO case brought about a greater public awareness regarding the rampant use of drugs at the elite level of sport, which is a good thing.'' —Victor Conte, BALCO founder mer U.S. Sen. George Mitchell's in- depth investigation of drug use in Major League Baseball and his semi- nal Mitchell Report, which in turn prompted MLB and its players' union to strengthen their steroids policy. Yet the relatively short list of con- victions leaves some, perhaps most notably the BALCO founder himself, unimpressed. ''Obviously, the BALCO case brought about a greater public aware- ness regarding the rampant use of drugs at the elite level of sport, which is a good thing,'' said Victor Conte, the BALCO founder and president — who spent four months in prison after pleading guilty to steroids distribution. ''As the BALCO case comes to a close, I don't think it was the highest and best use of the tens of millions of taxpayer dollars that were spent on the case.'' Bonds will have 14 days after his sentencing to file a notice of appeal. The trial itself ended ambiguously in April about three weeks after it began. The jury concluded Bonds purpose- ly evaded responding during testimony to a grand jury investigating steroids distribution in sports with a rambling non sequitur to a question about drug injections, and the jurors convicted him of obstruction of justice. But they couldn't reach a unanimous agreement on the heart of the case, deadlocking on three charges alleging Bonds lied to the grand jury when he denied know- ingly using performance-enhancing drugs and testifying that no one other than his doctors ever injected him. Prosecutors in September dropped those charges, foregoing another trial and declaring the one conviction showed the value of the Bonds prose- cution. The government's lead investigator, Jeff Novitzky, said Bonds first came to his attention during his weekly Mon- day night raids of BALCO's trash dur- ing the summer and fall of 2002. Novitzky, who was with the Internal Revenue Service then and is now a Food and Drug Administration investi- gator, said he found a magazine article quoting Bonds as crediting BALCO with helping him pump up and increase his power. Novitzky gathered more evidence connecting Bonds to BALCO during September 2003 raids of the lab and the home of Greg Anderson, Bonds' personal trainer at the time. Three months later, Bonds was called before the grand jury and granted immunity from prosecution so long as he testified truthfully. Despite the jury's mixed verdict, prosecutors still insist Bonds lied. ''The evidence at trial demonstrated that Bonds went into the grand jury with the intention of providing false statements and obstructing the grand jury's efforts to get to the truth in the BALCO matter,'' prosecutors wrote the judge last week seeking a prison sentence of 15 months for the former San Francisco Giants slugger. ''With- out truthful testimony, the judicial sys- tem simply cannot function properly in its mission-to get to justice.'' In recommending that Bonds serve a term of house arrest, probation and community service — but no prison time — the federal probation depart- ment called Bonds' conviction an ''aberration'' and cited his ''significant history of charitable, civic and prior good works'' as reasons for the judge to ''downward depart'' from federal guidelines. The department's report is confi- dential, but was cited in part by Bonds' lawyers last week in arguing for pro- bation and volunteer work. Earlier this year, Bonds announced he would pay for the college education of the two children of Bryan Stow, the Giants fan who remains hospitalized after the highly publicized opening day beating in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium. Bonds' lawyers quote an unidenti- fied nurse writing in a letter to Illston that Bonds often visits sick children at the University of California, San Fran- cisco's Benioff Children's Hospital. He paid for the 2009 renovation of what is now the Barry Bonds Family Foundation Playroom, which he visit- ed in June. ''Barry Bonds is a hero to us at the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital,'' the nurse wrote. ''I consider being a character witness for Barry Bonds a privilege.'' Raiders get WR Moore back to practice The Raiders (7-6) have been blown out the past two weeks, losing 34-14 at Miami and 46-16 at Green Bay to fall out of first place in the AFC West. Oakland trails Denver by one game in the division and the New York Jets by one game in the wild-card race, leaving little margin for error with three games left in the sea- son. The Raiders have fallen behind 34-0 the past two weeks before scoring as turnovers, penalties and the lack of big-play threats have derailed an offense that was quite potent when its best playmakers were healthy. ''We need to score points. We need to be better on third down. We need to not turn the ball over. We need to play much better than we did the last two weeks,'' quarterback Carson Palmer said. ''Our backs are against the wall. We have to win these next three weeks. Our team understands where we are and what's at stake. We need to play much better than we have been.'' Palmer is coming off just the second four-interception game of his career last week against the Packers, where he tried to force passes into coverage in search of big plays. Palmer has yet to play With NFL games enjoying seemingly invincible ratings while most everything else on TV goes down, down, down, the league's tradition- al broadcast partners embraced a deal that sends their rights fees up, up, up. CBS, Fox and NBC renewed their contracts for nine years through the 2022 season, the NFL announced Wednesday. The average fees from the three networks will increase by an average of 7 percent annually, a per- son familiar with the details said. That will take the total revenue from them from the current $1.93 billion per year to $3.1 billion by 2022. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the figures weren't made public. The current agreements expire after the 2013 season. ''(The deals) will ensure the NFL will stay on free television for another 11 years, which I think is great for fans,'' Commissioner Roger Goodell said at the with McFadden this season and has struggled since Ford and Moore got hurt. Ford got hurt on a 41- yard catch in the first quarter of a 24-17 win at San Diego on Nov. 10. Palmer then combined on five catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns with Moore in that game as the two devel- oped a good rhythm. Moore then got hurt the following week and Palmer has struggled since then. The Raiders have scored just one touchdown the past three weeks while the game was still in doubt. ''You can't use that as an excuse or you can't really think about, 'What if we had this guy or what if we had that guy?''' Palmer said. ''You play with who you have and you need to make the best of every situation and make the best of every play. Sometimes if the play isn't there, the best thing is to get to second-and-10, and that's something that I'm going to do a better job of.'' Jackson wasn't sure yet whether Moore would play this week, saying it was important to see how his foot responds Thursday. But if he is able to return, that should help the running game as well as the passing game as defenses won't be owners' meetings outside Dallas. ''It will continue to allow us to grow our audi- ence. It's a tribute to the players and (union chief DeMaurice) Smith for extending our labor agree- ment for 10 years. I think that kind of stability gave us the ability to get these con- tract extensions.'' Earlier this season, the NFL and ESPN reached an eight-year extension to keep ''Monday Night Football'' on the cable channel through the 2021 season, able to focus so heavily on stopping running back Michael Bush. The Raiders have not had a run for 20 yards or more since Moore got hurt as opposing safeties have been able to play closer to the line of scrimmage without the worry of the deep ball. Moore has 24 catches for 410 yards and four touch- downs this season, with five of those catches going for at least 25 yards. That's why Palmer was so happy to see him back out there practic- ing. ''He didn't get a ton of work, but he looked good, and for a Wednesday it looked good,'' he said. ''He's still got a handful of days to get ready and kind of get back in the swing of things, catching balls and be on the field with defense coming at him, so it was good for him.'' Notes:CB Chris Johnson left the team to attend the funeral of his sister in Texas. He is expected back Thursday night. ... RB Taiwan Jones (hamstring), safety Michael Huff (hamstring) and DT John Henderson (knee) all missed practice with injuries. NFL renews television deals with CBS, Fox and NBC NEW YORK (AP) — increasing the rights fee from $1.1 to 1.9 billion annually. The new contracts also will allow NFL Network to expand the number of Thursday night games it airs beginning next year. The current schedule includes eight games during the sec- ond half of the season. Goodell said the broad- cast committee hadn't yet decided on whether to create a separate Thursday pack- age to sell to an outside net- work.