Red Bluff Daily News

June 03, 2015

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ByHowardFendrich TheAssociatedPress PARIS Stumbling on his way to the net, Roger Federer dropped his racket and fell to his knees on the red clay. Hardly the sort of grace and precision the world has come to expect from the 17- time Grand Slam champion. There were other unusual sights in Federer's 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (4) loss in the French Open quar- terfinals Tuesday against his pal and Swiss Davis Cup teammate Stan Wawrinka. "I made 30-something errors today. He, maybe, made one," said Federer, exaggerating a bit. Rarely injured and appearing in a 62nd consecutive major, Fe- derer received treatment on his right hand from a trainer. For years and years a dominant and confident force in tennis, Federer slumped in his changeover chair, head bowed, after falling behind two sets to none. And, according to the ATP, this was the first time since a fourth-round loss at the 2002 U.S. Open — back before he'd won a major trophy — that Federer failed to break an oppo- nent's serve once in a Grand Slam match. "I know that when I play good tennis, when I play my best ten- nis, I can play so heavy from both sides that it's really tough for the opponent to play," said the eighth- seeded Wawrinka, who will play 14th-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France in the semifinals Friday. "That's why Roger was struggling today. It's because I was playing so well." So long superior to the younger Wawrinka, Federer was defeated for only the third time in their 19 head-to-head matches, and for the first time in five meetings at FRENCH OPEN WawrinkatopsFederer; Tsongaintosemifinals FRANCOISMORI—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Switzerland's Roger Federer returns in the quarterfinal match of the French Open tournament against Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka at the Roland Garros stadium Tuesday. Federer lost in three sets. DAVID VINCENT — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka shakes hands with compatriot Roger Federer, right, a er winning the quarterfinal match of the French Open tournament in three sets 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(7-4), at the Roland Garros stadium Tuesday. By Daniella Matar and Graham Dunbar The Associated Press ZURICH The end for Sepp Blatter came suddenly, just days after he had seemingly solidified his hold on FIFA. The 79-year-old leader of the world's most popular sport de- fied global animosity last week to win four more years in office. But his re-election only increased the pressure from colleagues, spon- sors, athletes and fans for Blatter to step down as FIFA's president. At a hastily arranged news conference Tuesday, Blatter an- nounced he would leave office within months and called for a fresh election to appoint a suc- cessor. "I cherish FIFA more than any- thing and I want to do only what is best for FIFA and for football," said Blatter, who could still be a target of U.S. investigators delv- ing into decades of corruption and bribery accusations against FIFA officials. After generations under Blatter and his mentor, Joao Havelange, the announcement left FIFA with- out a leader and without a clear course forward. It sets off a global power struggle for control of the organization as a criminal inves- tigation intensifies. A strained and serious Blatter SOCCER Bl at te r sa ys h e wi ll r es ig n as F IF A pr es id en t Leaderoftheworld'smostpopularsport announced he will leave office within months WALTER BIERI — KEYSTONE FIFA president Joseph S. Blatter, le , will resign as FIFA president, a decision that brings down one of the most powerful figures in sports and comes amid a widening corruption scandal. By Antonio Gonzalez The Associated Press OAKLAND LeBron James believes there's nobody in the world that can stop him. He's too strong, too fast, too skilled. A bully with a basketball and beast above the rim. If the Golden Warriors want to win the title, they'll need to get past James and the Cleveland Cav- aliers in the NBA Finals starting Thursday night. And not just once — but four times in seven games. "Some have been successful. Many have failed," said Warriors forward Draymond Green, the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year and among at least four players who will get their shot at James in the series. Defending the four-time MVP is a challenge the Warriors think they're as well equipped as any- body to face. They had the top-rated de- fense during the regular season and held opponents to a league- low 42.8 percent shooting. They're loaded with length and versatility on the perimeter, and they lean on 7-footer Andrew Bogut to back them up around the basket. Call it the Irresistible Force Par- adox: an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. Someone, or NBA FINALS Defending LeBron will be team effort BEN MARGOT — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE The Golden Stare Warriors know there is no stopping LeBron James. But they also know if they're going to win their first NBA championship they're going to have to try to contain him. By John Hickey Bay Area News Group DETROIT The A's offense, with- ering on the vine for six innings, ripened into a five-run seventh in- ning behind a Ben Zobrist grand slam as Oakland began its six- game trip Tuesday with a 5-3 win over the Tigers. The seventh A's win in the last 10 games came with a large gift ribbon thanks to the Detroit in- field, which made two major gaffes to set up Zobrist for his sixth career slam. The recipient of that largesse was A's starter Kendall Grave- man, who weathered a three-run fourth inning to keep Oakland within striking distance. The 21-33 A's had just one hit, five walks and no runs through six innings against Tigers' starter Alfredo Simon, before the sixth started with a Brett Lawrie single. A wild pitch got him to second, and then the circus came to town for Detroit. Marcus Semien hit a grounder to deep short, a play on which two things that shouldn't have happened did. Tigers' shortstop Jose Iglesias had no chance to AMERICAN LEAGUE Athletics top Tigers in 7th A'S5,TIGERS3 Up Next: A's at Detroit When: Wednesday, 4 p.m. THESCORE With a new offensive system to learn and a new line coach to work with — not to men- tion a third head coach in two years — Oakland Raiders le tackle Donald Penn has plenty to deal with. NFL Raiders'Pennreadyfor 2015 season FULL STORY ON PAGE B2 The Chico Breakfast Lions Club high school all-stars so ball and baseball games are set to be played at 11a.m. and 3p.m., respectively, at Hooker Oak Recreation Area in Chico on Saturday. HIGH SCHOOL Lions Club all-stars games set for Saturday The Spartan Soccer Camp for boys and girls in eighth through 12th grades is sched- uled to be held July 13-23. The deadline to sign up is June 25. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/1FBCVIk. SOCCER Spartan Soccer Camp set for July 13-23 OPEN PAGE 2 WARRIORS PAGE 2 FIFA PAGE 2 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 doled out by Amy Dickinson. YOUR DAILY BREAK Fun and games inside today PAGE B3 A'S PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, June 3, 2015 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1

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