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ByMarkLong TheAssociatedPress Confederate flags are as easy to find at NASCAR races as cut- off jeans, cowboy hats and beer. They fly over motorhomes. They adorn clothing. They are regular fixtures, just like Ford and Chevrolet, and that is un- likely to change any time soon. NASCAR probably would like to see them go away. The sanctioning body for the motor sports series backed South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's call to remove the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds in the wake of the Charleston church massacre. NASCAR is- sued its statement Tuesday, the same day South Carolina law- makers agreed to discuss re- moving the flag and one day after Haley said "the time has come" to take it down. And that is as far as NASCAR appears willing to go for now. "As our industry works collec- tively to ensure that all fans are welcome at our races, NASCAR will continue our long-standing policy to disallow the use of the Confederate flag symbol in any official NASCAR capacity," NAS- CAR said. "While NASCAR rec- ognizes that freedom of expres- sion is an inherent right of all cit- izens, we will continue to strive for an inclusive environment at our events." International Speedway Corp., NASCAR'S sister company that owns a majority of the tracks, echoed the sanctioning body's response. "We join NASCAR in support of South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley's position on the Confed- erate flag," ISC President John Saunders said in a statement. "ISC strives to ensure all fans are welcome to enjoy our events and maintains an inclusive environ- MOTOR SPORTS NASCARsetspositioninflagdebate Organization distances self for Confederate symbol a er Charleston massacre ROBCARR—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE NASCAR is backing South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's call to remove the Confederate flag from the South Carolina Statehouse grounds it said in a statement Tuesday. By Rachel Cohen The Associated Press NEWYORK Tom Brady's appeal of his four-game suspension lasted more than 10 hours Tuesday, end- ing in the early evening. The sight of Commissioner Roger Goodell leaving the league offices after he heard Brady and representatives from the players' union during the lengthy meet- ing, confirmed its conclusion. League security said Brady also had left. No details of the hearing were immediately available. Brady was suspended by the league for his role in the use of de- flated footballs in the AFC cham- pionship game win over Indianap- olis. He arrived at the NFL's Park Avenue offices Tuesday morning, as did attorney Jeffrey Kessler, who is leading Brady's defense. The hearing was expected to adjourn in late afternoon, but car- ried well beyond that. "I think we put in a very com- pelling case," Kessler said, adding that no timetable on a decision by Goodell had been given. Kessler said he would have no further comments Tuesday night. NFL Bradyappeal hearing ends a er more than 10 hours By David Pollak Bay Area News Group SAN JOSE Sharks general man- ager Doug Wilson refers to this offseason as a "transition time" — avoiding the "rebuild" or "refresh and reset" terminology of the past two summers. Whatever the label, when it comes to determining the future of a team that missed the playoffs for the first time since 2003, Wil- son doesn't downplay the impor- tance of holding the No. 9 pick in the draft Friday. "We're putting this team in a position to bounce back and be very competitive come Septem- ber," he said last week. "Will we explore everything? Yeah, we will." That "everything" could in- clude a potential blockbuster deal. The 2015 NHL draft is consid- ered deep in talent and for the first time since 2007 and — for only the fourth time in 17 years — San Jose has a top 10 pick. Choos- ing ninth, the Sharks seem well NHL DRAFT Sharks in prime position to deal Midfielders Lauren Holiday and Megan Rapinoe won't be able to play because of accumulat- ed yellow cards. It's a blow to the United States, which has struggled to find its offense during the tournament. WOMEN'S WORLD CUP USdown2playersin World Cup quarterfinals FULLSTORYONPAGEB2 By Stephen Hawkins The Associated Press ARLINGTON, TEXAS Josh Pheg- ley homered and had a two-run double, Ben Zobrist also went deep and the Oakland Athletics beat Texas 8-6 in a series opener Tuesday night. Phegley's double chased rookie Chi Chi Gonzalez (2-2) and tied the game at 5 in the sixth. Phegley scored on Mar- cus Semien's RBI single to put the A's ahead to stay. Oakland is 18-11 since being 16 games under .500 on May 22. Rougned Odor had a two-run homer among his three hits for the Rangers, who have their first three-game losing streak since May 14-16. Elvis Andrus drove in two runs and scored early on a passed ball against Phegley. Athletics starter Jesse Chavez (4-6) allowed five runs and eight hits over five innings. The right- hander struck out three and walked two. Drew Pomeranz, the fifth Oakland pitcher, got the final five outs for his first career save. Gonzalez had allowed only three runs in his first four ma- jor league starts, but gave up six runs in 5 2-3 innings against Oakland. The 23-year-old right- hander's ERA basically tripled, from 0.90 to 2.27. There was a moment of si- lence before the game for MLB Network analyst and former player Darryl Hamilton, who was killed Sunday. Hamilton played 13 major league seasons, and his only one in Texas was in 1996 when the Rangers won the AL West and went to the playoffs for the first time. After Phegley's fourth homer of the season in the fifth made it a 2-1 lead, the Rangers scored four times in the bottom of the inning. They had scored only six runs combined the previous four games. Odor's homer made it 3-2 be- fore a sacrifice fly from Adrian Beltre, who in somewhat of a surprise was activated from the disabled list before the game. He had missed 19 games with a sprained left thumb and it still hurts to swing the bat. But the A's immediately re- sponded with four in the sixth, including Ike Davis' RBI double before Phegley's tying double. Zobrist's fifth homer of the season was a two-run shot in the seventh. He has hit .419 (13 for 31) with 15 runs, three hom- ers and 10 RBIs over his last nine games. Oakland rookie center fielder Billy Burns has a career high 13- game hitting streak, and hits in 25 of his last 26 games, after a single in the third inning. Trainer's room ATHLETICS C Stephen Vogt was out of the lineup after getting a cortisone shot in his left el- bow following Sunday's game. Manager Bob Melvin says Vogt is expected to be back in the lineup Wednesday. ... Switch- pitcher Pat Venditte (strained right shoulder) could be cleared to play catch by the end of the week. RANGERS OF Josh Hamil- ton (strained left hamstring) is set to start a rehab assign- ment Wednesday as the DH for Double-A Frisco. He then will go to Triple-A Round Rock and could rejoin the Rangers by Monday. MLB PHEGLEY HITS BIG FOR A'S IN 8-6 WIN PHOTOS BY LM OTERO — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Jesse Chavez throws during the first inning against the Texas Rangers on Tuesday. Texas Rangers Joey Gallo, right, slides safely into Oakland Athletics shortstop Marcus Semien (10) for a double during the fi h inning Tuesday. Eric Spencer drove in the go-ahead run to give the Red Bluff American Legion Post 167Bulls 17U the lead in the seventh inning, as the Bulls hung on to beat Reno Knights 3-2on Saturday. AMERICAN LEGION Spencer gives Bulls 17U push to beat Reno 3-2 The Bulls 17U's offense didn't make it easy on Ian Skjegstad, providing two runs on Friday, but the Bulls' starter was still able to get the job done. Skjegstad threw seven innings on the way to a win in seven. AMERICAN LEGION Skjegstad makes 2 runs hold up for Bulls 17U NASCAR PAGE 2 NFL PAGE 2 NHL 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 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, June 24, 2015 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1