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2B Daily News – Friday, February 24, 2012 Lincecum declares himself healthy DUELS Lincecum said he will only throw SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — San Francisco right-hander Tim Lincecum went all out during his bullpen session Thursday and reported that he felt just fine. The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner said he took a precautionary route after feeling some tightness in his back earlier in the week. Lincecum threw off flat ground on Wednesday and was on target Thurs- day throwing to Chris Stewart. ''A couple of days ago I felt some- thing in my back and figured why press it,'' Lincecum said. ''I don't have to get ready for another month and a half so I just let my body readjust itself. I threw today and felt great.'' Lincecum is coming off his first los- ing season (13-14, 2.74 ERA) but aver- aged just under 14 wins a year through his first five seasons and owns a 2.98 career ERA. He has 1,127 strikeouts in 1,028 innings. ''I want to throw more strike ones,'' Lincecum said. ''I want to get back to using my fastball to control the strike zone.'' fastballs and change-ups during his sessions ''until I get my arm speed up to where it needs to be.'' Right-hander Brian Wilson, who pitched with a tender right elbow last year, and left-hander Dan Runzler, who had problems in his left side, also threw bullpen sessions to test themselves. ''Brian is getting better each time out,'' Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. ''He's on schedule. Dan too.'' Infielder Freddy Sanchez, recover- ing from right shoulder surgery, said he's on track to open the season on the 25-man roster. Sanchez takes grounders and bat- ting practice but avoids other drills as he heals from a dislocated shoulder that ended last season prematurely in June. ''I think it's a lot better than we all expected,'' Sanchez said. Bochy said the Giants will continue with their cautious approach with catcher Buster Posey, who took batting practice Thursday and worked on his catching mechanics. ''We have to find out how he responds,'' Bochy said. ''I've said all along that it won't be until the middle of spring before he ramps it up a little more.'' Bochy also said he likes all the catchers currently in camp. ''There are some great arms,'' Bochy said. ''It's the best young catch- ing talent I've ever had at camp.'' Notes:Wilson flexed his right arm as he passed by Bochy's office before going out to the field. He threw noticeably different from his previous session, throwing harder and with more ease. Among those watching him were Bochy, pitching coach Dave Righetti, VP Dick Tidrow, a former major league pitcher, and head trainer Dave Groeschner. ... IF Joaquin Arias, who signed a minor-league deal with the Giants, arrived early and left before pitchers and catchers took the field. He's with his fifth professional organization and has a .276 average playing in parts of four seasons with the Texas Rangers and New York Mets. ... RHP Heath Hembree continues to receive rave reviews from the Giants. ''He has a power arm that few guys have,''Bochy said.''It's nice to have someone like him in the system. He can pitch in the big leagues a long time if he stays healthy. It's just a matter of his development.'' Tiger Woods eliminated by Nick Watney MARANA, Ariz. (AP) — The roar resonated across Dove Mountain from fans packed around the 18th green as Tiger Woods, needing a birdie on the last hole to stay in his match, hit a shot that dropped out of the Arizona sky and landed 5 feet from the hole. That was followed by silence. Woods missed the putt so badly that it never even touched the hole. No one was more sur- prised than Nick Watney, who removed his cap to shake hands with Woods after a 1-up victory Thurs- day in the Match Play Championship. It was the third straight time in this fickle event that Woods failed to get out of the sec- ond round, and it raised more questions about his ability to make key putts that once seemed so auto- matic. ''I was fighting the blocks all day with my put- ter,'' said Woods, who missed three putts inside 10 feet on the last six holes. ''Left-to-right putt, I took it slightly shut right there, and I knew it — and blocked it open.'' Watney was so sure that Woods would square the match that he already had his yardage book out, checking the hole location on the first green (the 19th hole of their match), trying to decide if 3-wood was the right club off the tee. ''The old adage is to expect your opponent to make it,'' Watney said. ''And when it's Tiger Woods, you really expect him to make it.'' Just not this Tiger Woods. ''I didn't miss a single shot coming in, which is NEW YORK (AP) — National League MVP Ryan Braun's 50-game sus- pension was overturned Thursday by baseball arbi- trator Shyam Das, the first time a baseball player suc- cessfully challenged a drug- related penalty in a griev- ance. The decision was announced Thursday by the Major League Baseball Players Association, one day before the 28-year-old outfielder was due to report to spring training with the Milwaukee Brewers. Braun's urine tested posi- tive in October for elevated testosterone, and ESPN revealed the positive test in December. Braun has insist- ed that he did not violate baseball's drug agreement. "I am very pleased and relieved by today's deci- sion," he said in a statement. "It is the first step in restor- ing my good name and rep- utation. We were able to get through this because I am innocent and the truth is on our side." MLB executive vice president Rob Manfred said good. And that was fun, to hit the ball that well,'' Woods said. ''Unfortunate- ly, I just didn't make a putt when I needed it.'' Two weeks ago, Woods couldn't buy a putt at Peb- ble Beach and closed with a 75, which was 11 shots worse than playing partner and eventual winner Phil Mickelson. He also strug- gled to make putts in Abu Dhabi, when he failed to win despite being tied for the 54-hole lead with Robert Rock. And now the Match Play Championship, where he lost his only lead by missing a 5-foot par putt on the seventh hole, and made only one putt longer than 5 feet all day. ''I'm very happy to move on. I feel a bit fortu- nate, as well,'' Watney said. ''We don't see him miss putts like that very often. And there were a few of them.'' Watney next plays Lee Westwood, the former world No. 1 whom Watney has beaten at Dove Moun- tain each of the last two years. Westwood had no trouble against Robert Karlsson of Sweden, advancing to the third round for the first time in 12 tries at this fickle event. ''Need more clothes. Didn't pack for long enough!'' Westwood jok- ingly tweeted. England has won this World Golf Championship the last two years — Luke Donald and Ian Poulter — and Westwood is its last hope to make it three in a row. The surprise was that Scotland had two players remaining — former British Open champion Paul Lawrie took down Ryo Ishikawa, and Martin management "vehemently disagrees" with Das' deci- sion. Travis Tygart, chief exec- utive officer of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, called the decision "a real gut-kick to clean athletes." During the hearing, Braun's side challenged the chain of custody from the time the urine sample was collected by Comprehensive Drug Testing Inc. to when it was sent, nearly 48 hours later, to a World Anti-Dop- ing Agency-certified labora- tory in Montreal, two people familiar with the case said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because what took place in the hearing is supposed to be confidential. The sample was collect- ed on Oct. 1, a Saturday and the day the Brewers opened the NL playoffs. The collec- tor did not send the sample to the laboratory until Mon- day, thinking it would be more secure at home than at a Federal Express office dur- ing the weekend. Baseball's drug agree- ment states that "absent Laird defeated Matteo Manassero. Lawrie and Laird face each other in the third round. In other matches Thurs- day: — U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy, the No. 2 seed, made only three birdies but won two straight holes with par to put away Anders Hansen and advance to the third round. He plays Miguel Angel Jimenez, the 48- year-old Spaniard who beat PGA champion Keegan Bradley. — Dustin Johnson, headed for defeat in the opening round until out- lasting Jim Furyk in 20 holes, blasted Francesco Molinari early and rolled to a 7-and-5 win. ''I was defi- nitely in a better mood,'' Johnson said of the short day. Johnson has played two medium-length players in Furyk and Molinari. Next up is another pea shooter, Mark Wilson, who breezed to a win over Robert Rock of England. — Steve Stricker cele- brated his 45th birthday in style. Two down on the back nine, he rallied to catch Louis Oosthuizen, then won the match with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole that had so much break even Stricker wasn't sure he could make it. He will play Hunter Mahan, who never trailed in beating Y.E. Yang. — Ernie Els, one day after becoming only the third No. 64 seed to win, had another short day that precedes a long flight home. He lost, 5 and 4, to Peter Hanson of Sweden. Seven Americans, seven Europeans, an Asian and an Australian (John Senden) represent the 16 Ryan Braun's 50-game suspension overturned unusual circumstances, the specimens should be sent by FedEx to the laboratory on the same day they are col- lected." "To have this sort of tech- nicality of all technicalities let a player off ... it's just a sad day for all the clean players and those that abide by the rules within profes- sional baseball," Tygart said. Das, who has been base- ball's independent arbitrator since 2000, informed the sides of his decision, but did not give them a written opin- ion. He has 30 days to do so. "Today the arbitration panel announced its deci- sion, by a 2-1 vote, to sustain Ryan Braun's grievance challenging his 50-game suspension by the commis- sioner's office," a statement from the players' association said. Manfred and union head Michael Weiner are part of the arbitration panel, and management and the union almost always split their votes, leaving Das, the inde- pendent panel member, to make the decision. Clippers Lakers players left. Watney fully expected to be among them. He was among the few players who admitted peeking at the brackets, and he knew he had a chance to play Woods in the second round. Even as Woods was struggling to get through the opening round, Watney said he wanted to play him because of his stature as the dominant player of this era with 14 major champi- onships. ''I really like Gonzo,'' he said of Gonzalo Fernan- dez-Castano, whom Woods beat in 18 holes in the first round. ''But I wanted to play Tiger. This is why we play. I could beat him in the second round at Riviera, but then we have two more rounds. To go head-to-head and wind up on top, this is something I'll remember.'' Woods took his only lead when Watney three- putted for bogey on the fourth hole, and Watney squared the match at No. 7 when Woods missed a 5- foot par putt, a sign of things to come. The back nine again gave Woods fits. He hit into a bunker and into the desert, having to play a left-handed shot for the second straight day, con- ceding the 10th hole with a double bogey. Watney went 2 up with an 18-foot birdie on the 12th. Then, it was a matter of hanging on. ''I just felt like Tiger Woods is not going to lay down,'' Watney said. ''Tiger Woods is not going to give you this match, so you've got to do something to take it. And that was big. Obviously, that ended up being the cushion of the match.'' NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL Pct GB 20 11 .645 — 20 13 .606 1 WARRIORS 13 17 .433 6.5 Phoenix KINGS Southwest Division WL Pct GB San Antonio 24 10 .706 — Dallas Houston Memphis 21 13 .618 3 20 14 .588 4 19 15 .559 5 New Orleans 8 25 .242 15.5 Northwest Division WL Pct GB Oklahoma City 26 7 .788 — Portland Denver 18 16 .529 8.5 18 17 .514 9 Minnesota 17 17 .500 9.5 Utah 15 17 .469 10.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division Philadelphia 20 14 .588 — New York Boston Toronto Miami WL Pct GB 17 18 .486 3.5 15 17 .469 4 10 23 .303 9.5 New Jersey 10 25 .286 10.5 Southeast Division WL Pct GB 27 7 .794 — 22 13 .629 5.5 20 14 .588 7 Orlando Atlanta Washington 7 26 .212 19.5 Charlotte Central Division Chicago Indiana 4 28 .125 22 WL Pct GB 27 8 .771 — 21 12 .636 5 Cleveland 13 18 .419 12 Milwaukee 13 20 .394 13 Detroit 11 24 .314 16 —————————————————— Thursday's results Atlanta 83, Orlando 78 Miami 102, New York 88 San Antonio 114, Denver 99 L.A. Lakers at Oklahoma City, late Today's games No games scheduled 14 20 .412 7.5 11 22 .333 10 (Continued from page 1B) Robby Gordon and Michael McDowell earned the two spots up for grabs in the first race, while Joe Nemechek and Dave Blaney each raced their way into the 500 in the second qualifying race. Two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip failed to qualify for the race after wreck- ing as he tried to return to the track surface after a late pit stop. The acci- dent means it will be the first time since 1972 neither Darrell Waltrip or Michael Waltrip will be in NASCAR's biggest race of the sea- son. ''I just went the wrong way and lost the car,'' said a dejected Waltrip. ''I feel like I let everybody down. I don't know what to say. It's just sad.'' The two qualifying races could not have been more different, and both were far calmer than Saturday night's exhibition Daytona 500. That race was the first display of new rules NASCAR implemented to break up the two-car tandem racing that fans vehemently opposed. But the return of pack racing led to three multi-car accidents and a sling-shot pass at the end of the race that gave Kyle Busch the win over Stewart. The first race on Thursday had one early five-car accident that began when McDowell ran into David Gilliland, who shot directly into Juan Pablo Montoya and Paul Menard. Menard then ques- tioned the style of rac- ing NASCAR has creat- ed. ''It's a mess out there,'' said Menard, who was also wrecked in the Shootout. ''NASCAR is trying to dictate physics. Physics says two cars are going to push and they're try- ing to make rule changes to keep us from doing it, so it's kind of hybrid pack racing and tandem racing. It's caus- ing a pretty unsafe situ- ation.'' On the last lap of the race, with Stewart trying to hold off Dale Earn- hardt Jr. in a race to the checkered flag, Danica Patrick was wrecked as the pack raced down the backstretch. Patrick was hit by Aric Almirola as they raced along the back- stretch. The contact sent her car sliding across the track and into an inside retaining wall. Her Chevrolet lifted off its wheels as it hit the NASCAR Dayton 500 Lineup Sunday At Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Fla. Lap length: 2.5 miles (Car number in parentheses) 1. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford, 194.738. 2. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 194.087. 3. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 193.607. 4. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 193.245. 5.(88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 194.028. 6. (78) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 191.063. 7. (9) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 193.999. 8. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 193.449. 9. (31) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 192.777. 10. (33) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 191.27. 11. (98) Michael McDowell, Ford, 190.99. 12. (20) Joey Logano, Toyota, 192.868. 13. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 192.914. 14. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 191.873. 15. (22) A J Allmendinger, Dodge, 193.121. 16. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 193.803. 17. (7) Robby Gordon, Dodge, 188.229. 18. (39) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 193.224. 19. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 191.84. 20. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 192.583. 21. (6) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 193.665. 22. (55) Mark Martin, Toyota, 193.503. 23. (2) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 192.992. 24. (36) Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, 191.506. 25. (34) David Ragan, Ford, 193.249. 26. (56) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 193.665. 27. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford, 193.382. 28. (51) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 191.363. 29. (10) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 191.738. 30. (15) Clint Bowyer, Toyota. 31. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 191.127. 32. (47) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, 190.022. 33. (38) David Gilliland, Ford, 190.046. 34. (87) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 191.16. 35.(42) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 192.6. 36. (13) Casey Mears, Ford, 193.844. 37. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 193.374. 38. (93) David Reutimann, Toyota, 189.235. 39. (83) Landon Cassill, Toyota, 190.605. 40. (21) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 193.615. 41. (26) Tony Raines, Ford, 192.534. 42. (30) David Stremme, Toyota, 191.963. 43. (32) Terry Labonte, Ford, Past Champion. Failed to Qualify 44. (40) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 191.18. 45.(23) Robert Richardson Jr., Toyota, 188.438. 46. (97) Bill Elliott, Toyota, 189.95. 47. (37) Mike Wallace, Ford, 189.853. 48. (09) Kenny Wallace, Toyota, 191.567. 49. (49) J.J.Yeley, Toyota, 187.954. SAFER barrier, which noticeably softened the blow. She was not injured and will make her Day- tona 500 debut on Sun- day. ''It happened really quick,'' she said. ''We were just looking to fin- ish, to be honest, and unfortunately that was- n't the case. It felt pret- ty big. I don't know what it looked like.'' Stewart, who owns Patrick's car, said he tried to watch her race from his rearview mir- ror. ''I got to see a replay of it, but I didn't see how it started,'' he said. ''The little bit I could see, I thought she did a good job. There wasn't any doubt in my mind she would do that. It's hard for her now because she's trying to gain the confidence of the guys around her that she's solid and is going to make good decisions. ''She's trying to gain the other drivers' confi- dence.'' The second race was caution-free and had very little action until the end, when Kenseth passed Biffle for the win. It made it unclear what the Daytona 500 will look like, but Stew- art, who is 0 for 13 in this race, said he's not been holding back dur- ing SpeedWeeks and will race hard on Sun- day. ''I think we showed the rest of the field that we have a car that has good speed,'' he said. ''I want those guys to see that we've got strength. I think it's an advantage to do that at this point of the game, showing that guys around you are going to hopefully want to be around you, and know that you've got a car that can stay up there, so they want to stay with you.'' Stewart, who hasn't missed a beat since clos- ing out last season's title run, picked up his first victory with new crew chief Steve Addington, who was hired to replace Darian Grubb after Stewart's champi- onship run. ''We took care of business today,'' Stewart said. NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL OT Pts GF GA SHARKS 32 20 7 71 172 149 Phoenix 31 21 9 71 161 154 Dallas 31 26 4 66 158 168 Kings 27 22 12 66 129 135 Ducks 26 25 10 62 157 173 Central Division WL OT Pts GF GA Detroit 41 18 3 85 194 145 St. Louis 37 17 7 81 155 123 Nashville 35 19 7 77 170 158 Chicago 33 22 7 73 192 182 Columbus 18 35 7 43 142 198 Northwest Division WL OT Pts GF GA Vancouver 39 16 6 84 199 150 Calgary 28 23 10 66 146 165 Colorado 30 27 4 64 155 169 Minnesota 27 24 9 63 134 156 Edmonton 24 30 6 54 161 178 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL OT Pts GF GA N.Y.Rangers 38 15 5 81 161 118 New Jersey 35 20 4 74 168 162 Philadelphia33 20 7 73 198 183 Pittsburgh 34 21 5 73 186 160 N.Y. Islanders25 27 8 58 140 176 Northeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Boston 36 20 2 74 194 134 Ottawa 32 22 8 72 190 185 Toronto 29 25 7 65 182 186 Buffalo 26 27 7 59 150 176 Montreal 24 27 10 58 160 167 Southeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Winnipeg 30 26 7 67 161 178 Florida 27 20 12 66 146 165 Washington 29 26 5 63 161 173 Tampa Bay 27 27 6 60 169 201 Carolina 23 26 12 58 160 184 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. —————————————————— Thursday's results San Jose 2,Toronto 1 Anaheim 3, Carolina 2, SO Dallas 3, Chicago 1 Edmonton 2, Philadelphia 0 Minnesota 3, Florida 2, SO Phoenix 4, Calgary 3, SO St. Louis 3, Nashville 2, SO Vancouver 4, Detroit 3, SO Winnipeg 4, Tampa Bay 3 Today's games Colorado at Columbus, 4 p.m. Montreal at Washington, 4 p.m. N.Y. Rangers at N.Y. Islanders, 4 p.m. Vancouver at New Jersey, 4 p.m. Boston at Buffalo, 4:30 p.m. Minnesota at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Saturday's games San Jose at Nashville, 5 p.m. Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh, 10 a.m. St. Louis at Winnipeg, 11 a.m. Phoenix at Edmonton, 1 p.m. Boston at Ottawa, 4 p.m. Buffalo at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m. Colorado at Detroit, 4 p.m. Florida at Carolina, 4 p.m. Washington at Toronto, 4 p.m. Chicago at Los Angeles, 5 p.m. Philadelphia at Calgary, 7 p.m.