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2B Daily News – Thursday, April 26, 2012 NEW YORK (AP) — Andrew Luck knows exact- ly where he's heading, and so does Robert Griffin III. For the rest of the college stars preparing for the NFL draft Thursday night, the anxiety is building. Nobody is looking forward to the green room at Radio City Music Hall. ''It kind of made me a little nervous when we were talking to the commissioner and he said, 'You'll be back there for an hour and it'll feel like you've been back there for five days,''' Southern California tackle Matt Kalil said. ''I'll be sweatin' up a storm back there, and I want to have my name called and not have to wait too long.'' He shouldn't have to worry much about that. Most mock drafts project Kalil to go third overall to Min- nesota after Luck heads to Indianapolis and Griffin to Washington. But he knows better than to put much stock in the predraft chatter. ''I stopped paying attention to all of that stuff,'' said Kalil, attending an NFL event at a playground in Manhattan. ''No one really has a clue. Unless you're the GM of a team, you don't really know who a team is going to pick, so you just let it all play out.'' That's the approach for the nearly two dozen other players who'll be at Radio City and have no idea when they might walk onto the stage, shake Commis- sioner Roger Goodell's hand and hold up the jersey of the team with which they'll start their profession- al career. ''For Luck and RGIII, they know what's going on After Luck & RGIII, it's anxious time for players is comforted by already knowing he'll be a member of the Redskins. But he thinks he might actually miss the draft-day jitters. Well, at least a little bit. ''It kind of puts yourself at ease,'' he said, ''but it does kind of rob you of that natural draftee experi- ence where you don't know where you're going and you're in limbo.'' offensive coordinator was Tannehill's head coach the last four years. ''If I did happen to go there, it would be good,'' Added South Carolina defensive end Melvin Ingram: ''Yeah, I guess that would be kind of differ- ent. You won't get that adrenaline of, 'Oh, man. I hope they pick me,' when you know where you're going.'' and they know where they're going to live and all that kind of stuff,'' Alabama safety Mark Barron said. ''A lot of us other guys, we're still wondering where we're going to be living for the next however many years.'' Griffin, the Heisman Trophy winner from Baylor, terrific career at Stanford. Like Griffin, he is also expected to step right into a starting job as a rookie. ''I guess it's nice, but there's always competition in football and if I go out there and lay an egg and I'm not the best quarterback out there, I hope they don't start me,'' Luck said. ''I'm excited, though. I'm going to go out there and hopefully play, obviously, and put my best foot forward and enjoy all the guys.'' Luck, the son of former NFL quarterback Oliver Luck, acknowledged that it was a ''relief'' to know he'll be going to the Colts — even if they're starting from scratch after they released Peyton Manning. ''Obviously, the slate has been wiped somewhat clean with some new coaches and some players who have gone or left, but I'll try to come in there and work as hard as I can,'' Luck said. ''If that means it's a rebuilding process, I guess you can label it as that. The guys I'm sure are working very hard and I just want to get out there and join them.'' After Luck and Griffin, Texas A&M's Ryan Tan- nehill is expected to be the next quarterback taken — possibly eighth overall by Miami, where he'd be reunited with Mike Sherman. The new Dolphins Luck will go No. 1 overall to Indianapolis after a said Tannehill, who would compete with starter Matt Moore. ''It would give me some familiarity with the offense, so I think it would help ease the transition a little bit.'' the first wide receiver picked, possibly as high as No. 4 by Cleveland. Notre Dame's Michael Floyd, Geor- gia Tech's Stephen Hill and Baylor's Kendall Wright are other receivers who might go in the opening round. ''It's a great time to come into the league if you are Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon will likely be a receiver,'' said Blackmon, a two-time winner of the Biletnikoff Award as college football's top receiver. ''More teams are throwing the ball a lot more, it's more wide open than ever on offense.'' Other players who could be top-10 picks are Ingram, Alabama running back Trent Richardson, LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne, Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and North Carolina defensive end Quinton Coples. ary, Alabama could be a big winner in the opening round. Crimson Tide teammates Barron, Richardson, linebackers Courtney Upshaw and Dont'a Hightower, and cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick could all hear their names called Thursday night. ''This is a great experience, especially when you After winning the national championship in Janu- have a team where we came from,'' Richardson said. ''All these guys are going to the draft and we're all going to be in the first round. Alabama set the bar high last year when they had four come out and all four went in the first round. Hopefully we can break that record and have five.'' Sharks face hurdles to changes A's BY MARK PURDY San Jose Mercury News (MCT) SAN JOSE — Will there be changes? "There will be changes," said Sharks gen- eral manager Doug Wil- son. acknowledged forward Ryane Clowe. "I expect changes," ple. If only it were that sim- Of course the Sharks cannot stay the same. Not after the first-round playoff adios to St. Louis. The Sharks cannot keep the same roster. They cannot keep playing hockey the way they did in the regular season, where every night was a coin toss about their intensity and ability to exe- cute. Tuesday, players cleaned out their lockers and met with reporters, as did Wilson and coach Todd McLellan. All acknowl- edged that over the next few months, there will be re-examination and restructuring, assuming that Wilson stays on as general manager after his upcoming meetings with ownership (a good assumption). But saying change and making changes are two entirely different issues — and this summer, the whole process will be even more complicated than usual. There are at least three rea- sons: bargaining agreement It is set to expire Sept. 15, unless the players and owners sign a new contract before then. Don't count on it. The last time around, the 1. The NHL collective OAKLAND (AP) — A trio of surgeries for Golden State's top starters is off to a positive start. sides were so far apart, the NHL lost a full season to a lockout. Hard to believe they would be eager for another one. But the situa- tion's uncertainty will lead to more tentative trade talks and player moves this summer. example, will not want to commit money to free agents without knowing what a new salary-cap pol- icy might look like. And what if something really radical happens that allows teams to write off salaries on an "amnesty" clause — or permits teams to partial- ly pay salaries of players they want to jettison. There are no restrictions on trades or signings this summer. But many observers believe that NHL front offices will vol- untarily adopt the policy that the NFL endured last summer, where no team could make any significant signings or deals until after the lockout. Wilson is in the process General managers, for nents that prefer stifling, systemic defensive play. "Is this an aberration or is this a reality going for- ward?" Wilson asked. "It's a very valid question." McLellan appears to be more convinced. "For me, the grind style of the game exists more than it did in the past," McLellan said. We'll get a better notion of the trend as the playoffs progress. But if the league has undergone a transfor- mation to gritty and smoth- ering, it definitely will affect some of Wilson's roster choices. of heavy player evaluation. He hints that despite no- trade clauses in the con- tracts of certain players, there are loopholes. But you get the impression Wilson would like to be in a beneficial position if, say, the salary cap comes down and other teams have to dump good big-money players on the market. Conclusion: Wilson might hold his powder until September. 2. The NHL's new style points In the first round, skilled puck-possession teams such as Detroit, Van- couver and the Sharks were eliminated by oppo- pate that he'll be ready before for the start of train- ing camp.'' Arthroscopic surgery on Stephen Curry's trouble- some right ankle Wednes- day ''revealed a stable ankle with no structural damage.'' The Warriors said the opera- tion performed by Dr. Richard Ferkel in Southern California ''consisted of cleaning out loose debris and scar tissue'' and deemed the operation ''successful.'' Curry is expected to resume basketball activities in three to four months. Golden State hopes its fran- chise point guard can avoid another more serious surgery for the second straight summer and be ready for fall's training camp. ''The surgery went about as well as we could have hoped for entering the pro- cedure,'' Ferkel said in a statement. ''We pleased that the surgery was limited to simply a cleaning out procedure and I antici- were est deficiency in 2011-12 was its penalty kill, which was among the league's worst. McLellan will rethink his strategy, but Wilson will also rethink his potential penalty killers. The Sharks' two best physical grinders might be Clowe and Douglas Mur- ray, although they weren't outstanding in the playoffs, probably because of groin strains that were revealed Tuesday. Some of the other lackluster playoff perform- ers can be explained by injuries that were also made public Tuesday, including Logan Couture's messed-up shoulder, Joe Pavelski's broken foot, and a lumbar disc problem for TJ Galiardi. Also, the Sharks' great- 12, when more potential interference penalties seemed to be waved off? Or when the new CBA happens, will there be more of a dialing back to the post-lockout standards of 2005-06? Officiating is a radioac- tive subject in the NHL. But it's no coincidence that when the lockout standards took effect, the Sharks thrived mightily because their skill players could operate more freely. They also drew more penalties, leading to more power plays, on which the Sharks thrived even more mighti- ly. Ramirez. (Continued from page 1B) Conclusion: No Sharks players may be untouch- able except for Joe Thorn- ton and Couture. You still need top-line skill at cen- ter, no matter how the game is played. 3. Officiating standards Will the way referees call games remain the same as they were in 2011- Curry expected back for Warriors in 3-4 months The operation began a week of Warriors going under the knife. Forward David Lee will have surgery Thursday in Philadelphia to repair a torn abdominal muscle. And center Andrew Bogut is scheduled to have arthro- scopic surgery on his frac- tured left ankle Friday — also performed by Ferkel in Van Nuys, Calif. — that will force him to sit out the Olympics for Australia. Both are expected back NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND (Best-of-7) Wednesday's results Washington 2, Boston 1, OT Washington wins series 4-3 Today's games Ottawa at NY Rangers, 4 p.m. Series tied 3-3 New Jersey at Florida, 5:30 p.m. Series tied 3-3 Other series St. Louis beat San Jose 4-1 Los Angeles beat Vancouver 4-1 Nashville beat Detroit 4-1 Philadelphia beat Pittsburgh 4-2 Phoenix beat Chicago 4-2 early this summer. Curry's ankle has long been a bigger problem. MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA QUAKES 51 1 16 13 5 Salt Lake 5 3 1 16 13 9 Vancouver 3 2 2 11 6 6 FC Dallas 3 3 2 11 9 11 Seattle 3 1 1 10 6 2 Galaxy 3 3 0 9 10 10 Chivas USA 3 4 0 9 4 5 Colorado 3 4 0 9 8 10 Portland 2 4 1 7 9 11 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Kansas City 7 1 0 21 12 3 D.C. 3 2 3 12 12 8 New York 3 3 1 10 17 14 Chicago 2 1 2 8 6 6 Houston 2 1 2 8 5 5 Philadelphia 2 3 1 7 4 6 Columbus 2 3 1 7 6 9 N. England 2 4 0 6 5 8 Montreal 1 5 2 5 7 15 Toronto FC 0 6 0 0 4 13 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. —————————————————— Wednesday's result FC Dallas 1, Real Salt Lake 1 Saturday's games San Jose at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Portland at Montreal, 11 a.m. New England at New York, 12:30 p.m. Houston at D.C. United, 4:30 p.m. Vancouver at Columbus, 4:30 p.m. Seattle FC at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. Chivas USA at Colorado, 6 p.m. Toronto FC at Real Salt Lake, 6 p.m. FC Dallas at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. West Division Texas A's Seattle Angels East Division Baltimore As McLellan met with reporters in his office Tues- day, he pulled a sheet off his bulletin board. It was full of handwritten notes on which he had charted the number of power plays given each team going back to 2005-06. That number decreased each year for the Sharks and nearly every other team. The NHL's explanation is that the players adjusted to the new standards. But anyone with educated eye- balls could watch a game last season and see that more borderline stuff was being permitted. Conclusion: Wilson has a major summer of deep thinking ahead. How will Wilson allow any of the three above elements affect his decision-making? And if they do, which players' futures are likely to be affected most? "I'd rather let my actions speak," Wilson said. might take a while for him to do the talking. MLB American League WL Pct GB 15 4 .789 — 10 10 .500 5.5 9 10 .474 6 6 12 .333 8.5 WL Pct GB 11 7 .611 — Tampa Bay 11 7 .611 — New York Toronto Boston 10 8 .556 1 10 8 .556 1 6 10 .375 4 Central Division Cleveland Chicago Detroit Minnesota WL Pct GB 9 7 .563 — 10 8 .556 — 10 8 .556 — 5 13 .278 5 Kansas City 4 14 .222 6 —————————————————— Wednesday's results Oakland 5, Chicago 4, 14 innings Baltimore 3, Toronto 0 Kansas City 8, Cleveland 2 Seattle 9, Detroit 1 Tampa Bay 3, Los Angeles 2 Boston at Minnesota, late New York at Texas, late Today's games Kansas City (Mendoza 0-2) at Cleveland (Tomlin 1-1), 9:05 a.m. Seattle (Noesi 1-2) at Detroit (Porcello 1-1), 10:05 a.m. Los Angeles (Williams 1-1) at Tampa Bay (Moore 0-1), 10:10 a.m. Toronto (Hutchison 1-0) at Baltimore (Matusz 0-3), 4:05 p.m. Boston (Doubront 0-0) at Chicago (Humber 1-0), 5:10 p.m. Wednesday's games Oakland at Baltimore, 4:05 p.m. Detroit at New York, 4:05 p.m. Los Angeles at Cleveland, 4:05 p.m. Seattle at Toronto, 4:07 p.m. Tampa Bay at Texas, 5:05 p.m. Boston at Chicago, 5:10 p.m. Kansas City at Minnesota, 5:10 p.m. Given the factors, it Chicago starters this trip — Phil Humber's perfect game Saturday at Seattle, then Jake Peavy's three-hit shutout Monday — this day became about the terrific White Sox bullpen until Oakland finally got to the relievers. Konerko sent the first pitch from A's closer Grant Balfour onto the left-field steps to start the ninth. Kon- erko became the fourth play- er in franchise history to reach the milestone 400 or 500 mark while wearing a White Sox uniform, joining Frank Thomas, Jim Thome and Andruw Jones. ''Everybody likes the round numbers,'' Konerko said. ''When it comes to that kind of stuff, I think when I'm done playing and look back, that's when it might hit home more. But when you're in the middle of the grind and you're grinding every day and working, you tend not to think about that stuff, and you probably shouldn't.'' It looked as if the White The A's saved themselves in the 13th with a two pretty defensive plays. Catcher Kurt Suzuki caught pinch- runner Lillibridge well off second base, then shortstop Cliff Pennington chased down Alex Rios' double that skipped into the Oakland bullpen and made a quick throw to Sogard, who then relayed to Suzuki just in time to get a sliding Gordon Beckham. Konerko's fourth homer of the year spoiled an impressive A's debut by Jar- rod Parker, who struck out five in 6 1-3 innings follow- ing his call-up from Triple-A Sacramento. Home plate umpire Jerry Layne took a foul from Escobar off the left shoulder in the fifth and was briefly examined by the A's training staff before staying in the game. Layne returned to the box and playfully grabbed Escobar's bat and jokingly pretending to swing it. Sox would take this one after scoring two unearned runs in the top of the 14th. But Cespedes showed why the A's gave him a $36 million, four-year contract. ''I was lucky enough to hit home runs to decide games. This was not the first time,'' Cespedes said. ''The team is a very young team, but the way we play together we're going to get very far this season.'' Dayan Viciedo reached on third baseman Eric Soga- rd's fielding error and Brent Morel sacrificed him to sec- ond. Eduardo Escobar flied out and Alejandro De Aza walked before Miller relieved Jerry Blevins to face MLB West Division Dodgers Colorado GIANTS Arizona Padres East Division Washington 14 4 .778 — Atlanta New York Central Division St. Louis Cincinnati WL Pct GB 11 7 .611 3 Philadelphia 9 10 .474 5.5 Miami 10 8 .556 4 7 10 .412 6.5 WL Pct GB 12 7 .632 — 9 9 .500 2.5 Milwaukee 9 10 .474 3 Pittsburgh Houston Chicago 8 10 .444 3.5 7 12 .368 5 6 13 .316 6 —————————————————— Wednesday's results Cincinnati 4, San Francisco 2 Colorado 2, Pittsburgh 1, 1st game Pittsburgh 5, Colorado 1, 2nd game Houston 7, Milwaukee 5 New York 5, Miami 1 St. Louis 5, Chicago 1 Philadelphia 7, Arizona 2 Washington 7, San Diego 2 Atlanta at Los Angeles, late Today's games San Francisco (Vogelsong 0-1) at Cincinnati (Bailey 1-2), 9:35 a.m. Miami (Nolasco 2-0) at New York (Niese 2-0), 10:10 a.m. Washington (E.Jackson 1-1) at San Diego (Volquez 0-2), 7:05 p.m. Friday's games San Diego at San Francisco, 7:15 p.m. Chicago at Philadelphia, 4:05 p.m. Arizona at Miami, 4:10 p.m. Houston at Cincinnati, 4:10 p.m. Pittsburgh at Atlanta, 4:35 p.m. Milwaukee at St. Louis, 5:15 p.m. New York at Colorado, 5:40 p.m. Washington at Los Angeles, 7:10 p.m. National League WL Pct GB 13 5 .722 — 9 9 .500 4 99 .500 4 9 10 .474 4.5 5 14 .263 8.5 NOTES: Already without LF Coco Crisp because of a lingering illness, the A's had Luke Hughes set to start at 3B before he arrived at the ballpark with a 102-degree temperature and couldn't play. ...Teri McKeever, head swim coach at Cal and coach of this summer's Olympic women's team in London, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division y-Lakers WL Pct GB 41 24 .631 — x-Clippers 40 26 .606 1.5 Phoenix WARRIORS 23 42 .354 18 KINGS 33 32 .508 8 21 44 .323 20 Southwest Division WL Pct GB z-San Antonio 48 16 .750 — x-Memphis 40 25 .615 8.5 x-Dallas Houston y-Okla. City 47 19 .712 — x-Denver x-Utah Portland 36 29 .554 12.5 33 32 .508 15.5 New Orleans 21 44 .323 27.5 Northwest Division WL Pct GB 37 28 .569 9.5 35 30 .538 11.5 28 37 .431 18.5 Minnesota 26 39 .400 20.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division y-Boston WL Pct GB 38 27 .585 — x-New York 35 30 .538 3 x-Philadelphia 35 30 .538 3 New Jersey 22 43 .338 16 Toronto 22 43 .338 16 Southeast Division WL Pct GB 46 19 .708 — 39 26 .600 7 y-Miami x-Atlanta x-Orlando 37 28 .569 9 Washington 19 46 .292 27 Charlotte Central Division z-Chicago 49 16 .754 — x-Indiana Milwaukee 31 34 .477 18 Detroit 7 58 .108 39 WL Pct GB 42 24 .636 7.5 24 41 .369 25 Cleveland 21 44 .323 28 x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division z-clinched conference —————————————————— Wednesday's results Chicago 92, Indiana 87 Denver 106, Oklahoma City 101 New York 99, L.A. Clippers 93 Orlando 102, Charlotte 95 Philadelphia 90, Milwaukee 85 Washington 96, Cleveland 85 San Antonio at Phoenix, late Today's games L.A. Lakers at Sacramento, 7:30 p.m. San Antonio at Golden State, 7:30 p.m. New Jersey at Toronto, 4 p.m. Cleveland at Chicago, 5 p.m. Dallas at Atlanta, 5 p.m. Denver at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Miami at Washington, 5 p.m. Milwaukee at Boston, 5 p.m. New Orleans at Houston, 5 p.m. New York at Charlotte, 5 p.m. Orlando at Memphis, 5 p.m. Philadelphia at Detroit, 5 p.m. Portland at Utah, 5 p.m.