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Sports 1B Wednesday January 20, 2010 Wednesday Boys Basketball — Pleasant Valley at Red Bluff, 7:30 p.m. Soccer — Mercy at Maxwell, 3:30 p.m. Wrestling — Los Molinos at Colusa Wrestling — Red Bluff at Paradise, 6 p.m. NBA — Kings at Hawks, 4 p.m., CSNCA NBA — Nuggets at Warriors, 7:30 p.m., CSNBA Surprise: Bengie's back SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — In an unexpected twist, Bengie Molina is coming back to the San Francisco Giants. The free-agent catcher reached a preliminary agreement with the Giants on a $4.5 million, one-year contract, two people with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The people spoke on con- dition of anonymity because the agree- ment was pending a physical and had not been completed. The 35-year-old Molina can earn an additional $1.5 million in performance bonuses based on games started. KPIX TV in San Francisco first reported Molina's deal. It's a surprising move for both sides, because Molina had been negotiating a deal only days ago with the New York Mets, who offered $5.5 million in guaranteed money as part of a propos- al that included a vesting option for 2011. But if Molina stays healthy, he would earn $500,000 more from the Giants this year than under the Mets' proposal. Molina had originally hoped to land a three-year contract this offseason, and Giants general manager Brian Sabean had said the veteran backstop wouldn't return. ''That ship has sailed,'' Sabean said at the winter meetings last month. The Giants also agreed Tuesday to a $2.1 million contract with left-hander Jonathan Sanchez, avoiding arbitra- tion. Sanchez threw a no-hitter on July 10. San Francisco has two players in salary arbitration. Ace pitcher Tim Lincecum asked for a record $13 mil- lion after winning the past two NL Cy Young Awards, while the Giants coun- tered at $8 million. San Francisco clos- er Brian Wilson asked for $4,875,000, and the team submitted a $4 million offer. While Molina appeared set to join the Mets, the Giants came back into the picture only recently. Molina said late last season that he preferred to stay in San Francisco if shown he was wanted. Right away, Sabean ruled out giving Molina more than a one-year deal with Buster Posey set to be the club's catcher of the future. Molina batted .265 with a career- high 20 home runs to go with 80 RBIs last season as the cleanup hitter in his third year with the Giants and 12th in the big leagues. Molina's previous $16 million, three-year contract ended after last sea- son and he became a free agent. He also said he would like to retire as a Giant. San Francisco was never prepared to make such a commitment consider- ing Molina's age and health concerns. The Giants were ready to move for- ward with Posey, the fifth overall pick in the 2008 draft, if no other opportuni- ty emerged. Yet Sabean had said this winter he didn't think Posey was ready to be a full-time major league catcher and would prefer he start the season with Triple-A Fresno to gain more experience. Posey hit .325 with 18 homers and 80 RBIs in the minors last season and played seven games with San Francis- co in September. MNG file photo Bengie Molina has reached an agreement for a one-year deal to return to to the Giants. Scoreboard Scoreboard NBA Tuesday's results Cleveland 108, Toronto 100 Miami 113, Indiana 83 Today's games Sacramento at Atlanta, 4 p.m., CSNCA Denver at Golden State, 7:30 p.m., CSNBA Dallas at Washington, 4 p.m. Indiana at Orlando, 4 p.m. Miami at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Portland at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Boston at Detroit, 4:30 p.m. Memphis at New Orleans, 5 p.m. Oklahoma City at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Toronto at Milwaukee, 5 p.m. New Jersey at Phoenix, 6 p.m. Utah at San Antonio, 6 p.m., ESPN Chicago at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m. Monday's late result L.A. Lakers 98, Orlando 92 NCAA Tuesday's Top 25 results No. 8 Tennessee 63, Alabama 56 No. 13 Purdue 84, Illinois 78 No. 19 Georgia Tech 66, No. 17 Clemson 64 Wichita State 60, No. 20 Northern Iowa 51 No. 21 Ohio State 76, Northwestern 56 Today's Top 25 games No. 3 Kansas vs. No. 25 Baylor, 6 p.m., ESPN2 No. 4 Villanova at Rutgers, 5 p.m. No. 6 Michigan State vs. Iowa, 3:30 p.m. No. 7 Duke at N.C. State, 6 p.m. No. 9 Pittsburgh vs. No. 12 Georgetown, 4 p.m. No. 11 West Virginia vs. Marshall, 6 p.m. No. 14 BYU vs. Wyoming, 5 p.m. No. 16 Temple vs. Xavier, 4 p.m. No. 18 Wisconsin vs. Michigan, 5:30 p.m. No. 22 Mississippi vs. South Carolina, 6 p.m. No.24 N.Carolina vs.Wake Forest, 4 p.m., ESPN Today's other televised games South Florida at Cincinnati, 4 p.m., ESPN2 Monday's late Top 25 result No. 10 Kansas State 71, No. 1 Texas 62 NHL Tuesday's results San Jose at Los Angeles, late Atlanta 4, Toronto 3 N.Y. Rangers 8, Tampa Bay 2 Ottawa 4, Chicago 1 Philadelphia 5, Columbus 3 Pittsburgh 6, N.Y. Islanders 4 Washington 3, Detroit 2 Buffalo at Anaheim, late Today's games Florida at New Jersey, 4 p.m. St. Louis at Montreal, 4:30 p.m. Vancouver at Edmonton, 7 p.m. Monday's late result San Jose 9, Calgary 1 Colorado 6, Edmonton 0 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum asked for a record $13 million in salary arbitration on Tues- day, while the San Fran- cisco Giants offered their ace $8 million. Lincecum is seeking the richest contract ever awarded in arbitration, surpassing the $10 mil- lion that Alfonso Soriano (2006) and Francisco Rodriguez (2008) got after losing cases and Ryan Howard got after winning his in 2008. If Lincecum and the Giants don't settle, an arbitration panel will hold a hearing next month and pick one of the salaries. Lincecum's case is an interesting test because few players have entered salary arbitration with credentials similar to his. Called up early in the 2007 season, the right- hander has a 40-17 record with a 2.90 ERA. He won the Cy Young in his first two full sea- sons, becoming the first repeat winner since Randy Johnson from 1999-2002. Lincecum was a bargain for the Giants last year, when he made $650,000. He had no negotiating leverage then, but is guar- anteed to increase his salary by more than twelvefold even if he loses his case because he is eligible for arbitration as a so-called ''Super 2'' — a player in the top 17 percent of service time between two and three seasons. Lincecum's case could be most similar to Howard, whose $10 mil- lion request in 2008 had been the highest ever for a player in his first year eli- gible for arbitration. Howard won the NL MVP in 2006 when he led the league with 58 home runs and followed that with 47 homers in 2007. The Phillies offered $7 million. Lincecum, nicknamed ''The Freak'' for his giant stride and slender body, has been the NL's most dominant pitcher almost from his arrival. He has a 33-12 record with a 2.55 ERA the past two sea- sons, leading the league in strikeouts both years. He has 526 strikeouts during that span, averaging 10.5 per nine innings. Lincecum also leads the majors in ERA, bat- ting average against (.214), winning percent- age (.733) and strikeouts over the past two seasons. Earlier on Tuesday, Lincecum agreed to pay $513 to resolve marijuana charges against him in Washington state. He originally faced two misdemeanor charges of marijuana and drug paraphernalia possession stemming from a traffic stop on Oct. 30. The charges were reduced to a civil infraction. Lincecum appeared in Clark County District Court before Judge Darvin Zimmerman on Tuesday morning. Giants managing partner Bill Neukom was in court in a sign of support for Lince- cum. He paid a speeding ticket separately. Lincecum seeks record $13 million in arbitration Lincecum ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Chan Gailey's sec- ond chance to prove himself as an NFL head coach comes with plenty of challenges. The Buffalo Bills team he's taking over hasn't made the playoffs in a decade and its fans have been clamoring for Bill Cowher during a coaching search that seemed to take forever. Instead of landing one of the big-name coaches with loaded resumes such as Cowher or Mike Shanahan, Gailey — who coached the Dallas Cowboys for two less- than-inspiring seasons — was introduced Tuesday as the 15th head coach in Bills history — and fifth in 10 years. ''I can't say anything to change anybody's mind. All I can do is go try to help us win football games,'' Gailey said. ''We win football games, everybody's minds will be changed, right?'' Gailey was hired by first-time general manager Buddy Nix, ending a two-month search to replace Dick Jauron, who was fired in November. He takes over a Bills team coming off its fifth straight losing season following a 6-10 finish, and in the midst of a 10-year playoff drought that is tied with Detroit as the longest active streak in the NFL. ''I've been around enough winning programs ... that when I walk on the field I expect to win. I don't just hope to win,'' Gailey said. ''But the bottom line is we've got to do it on the field'' Gailey has spent 15 of his 35 years of coaching in the NFL. In his two years coaching the Dallas Cowboys, he went 18-14 and led the team to consecutive playoff appear- ances — both losses. He was dismissed after the 1999 sea- son, and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has acknowledged his mistake in firing Gailey. For Nix, it was Gailey's extensive experience that impressed him and met most of the criteria the GM set out when he took over the search two weeks ago. Nix was eager to find someone with previous head- coaching experience and who had an offensive background. ''Without any doubt in my mind, we got the best quali- fied guy, a guy that was on the list early,'' Nix said. ''We got the right guy for us. I've got full confidence in him to answer your question.'' Gailey also got a big vote of support from Jones in Dal- las. The Cowboys owner on Tuesday not only congratulated Gailey upon his return to the NFL head coaching ranks, but Jones also reiterated that he still regrets firing Gailey. ''I'm proud for Chan Gailey,'' Jones said. ''I'm glad to see him have the opportunity to get back as head coach in the NFL. He did an outstanding job at Georgia Tech. He's real- ly a top coach and will do a great job.'' Gailey has been out of football since he was removed as the Chiefs' offensive coordinator in August, two weeks before the season opener. He was entering his second season with Kansas City after a six-year stretch as Georgia Tech's coach, during which he went 44-33 before being fired in 2007. Nix is already being second-guessed for how he con- ducted the coaching search, during which Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer turned down the Bills request for an interview last week. And it was a search that featured several prominent candidates who had raised fan expectations. The Bills spoke to Cowher in a bid to lure the former Steelers coach out of his career in broadcasting. Fans raised $1,125 to rent a billboard in Buffalo last week urging team owner Ralph Wilson to hire Cowher. The team also inter- viewed former Broncos coach Shanahan, who instead chose to coach the Washington Redskins. Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier was consid- ered the top candidate after interviewing two weeks ago. Frazier's stock appeared to climb even further after his defense shut down the Cowboys in Minnesota's 34-3 win in the playoffs Sunday. Nix said he conducted a thorough search and refused to be influenced by the fans or media. ''I can stand up here on the soap box and tell you what we're going to do, you've heard that before,'' Nix said. ''So I'm not going to waste my time or yours. But I will tell you this, in November or December, I think you'll know more about what we're about.'' Gailey intends to handle the offensive play-calling duties next season. Bills hire Chan Gailey to be their next head coach Chan Gailey O A K L A N D (AP) — Third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and outfielder Rajai Davis agreed to one-year deals with the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday and avoided salary arbitra- tion. Kouzmanoff will make $3.1 million this season and Davis will get $1.35 million. R i g h t - h a n d e r M i c h a e l Wuertz is the only A's player remaining eligible for arbitration. K o u z - manoff was acquired in a trade over the weekend from San Diego. He hit .255 with 18 homers and a career-high 88 RBIs last season with the Padres. Davis became the starting center fielder in Oakland last season, hit- ting .305 and stealing 41 bases. He is expected to play left field this season following the signing of Coco Crisp. Davis can earn an additional $150,000 in performance bonuses: $25,000 each for 435, 450, 500 and 550 plate appearances, and an addi- tional $50,000 for 600 plate appearances. Lady Cards top CV 4-1 Karen Torres scored twice, Tuesday, and the Corning Lady Cardinals soccer team defeated Cen- tral Valley 4-1. Cynthia Ramirez and Maggie Ramirez also scored for Corning. The Lady Cardinals improved to 6-3 on the sea- son and 3-1 in the Northern Athletic League with the victory. Kouzmanoff, Davis agree to deals