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Sports 1B Tuesday February 2, 2010 Tuesday Boys basketball — Corning at Lassen, 7:30 p.m. Girls basketball — Chico at Red Bluff, 7:30 p.m. Girls basketball — Lassen at Corning, 7:30 p.m. Basketball — Los Molinos boys and girls at Esparto, 5:30 p.m. Basketball — University Prep at Mercy, boys and girls, 5:30 p.m. Boys Soccer — Los Molinos at Mercy, 3:30 p.m. Soccer — Corning boys and girls at Lassen, 3:30 p.m. So much going on Usually the last week of January is a horrible time for sports junkies. There's an extended break from our weekly NFL fix before the big payoff happens with the Super Bowl. The words "pitchers and catchers" report are starting to form on our salivating tongues and it's still to early to even bother graphing out a bracket. I admit, sheepishly, all of this went through my mind three years ago when I agreed with my wife to set our wed- ding date for Jan. 27. But while the national sports landscape languished in purgatory this week, here was Tehama County, with enough stories to tide me over for a month. Conference schedule dulls, be damned. So in case you missed a day, because you were out spending the night with your wife for instance, let's take a look back at the stories this week: She's human after all During a game against Shasta, Tuesday night, the Lady Spartans' Lily Brose fell to the floor while attempt- ing to make a steal. The air was instantly sucked out of the gymnasium. By Thursday Spartan fans' worst fears were con- firmed — their fantastic freshman's season was finished. Just how good was Brose during her first season? According to statistics coach Kathy Brandt grabbed from maxpreps.com, Brose was not just the EAL's lead- ing scorer, she was the highest scoring freshman point guard in California and No. 3 in the nation. Let that sink in for a moment. In half-a-season it became obvious how good Brose is going to be, but Red Bluff's future in the next few sea- sons will largely be determined by the rest of the Lady Spartans. Obviously, there could be better circumstances, but Roxy Luppino, Alana Hinkston and Lottie Jones can show the rest of this season how special they are too. Then when Brose comes back, there's potential for the Spartans to be even stronger. In their first game without Brose, Red Bluff erased an 18-point deficit and came within three points of a road win. There's still plenty of reason to check out the Lady Spartans. Overcoming adversity If the Lady Spartans need some inspiration, I'll shamelessly take the time to tell them to check out the story I wrote about Garrett Jones on Saturday. The 19-year-old Red Bluff graduate overcame testic- ular cancer to return to his career as an amateur-profes- sional motocross racer. Saturday was the one-year anniversary of his diagno- sis and I was fortunate to get to know him over the past week. Jones and his family contacted me, because they wanted to express to the community how thankful they were for everyone's support during the year. They took the time to thank me for the article I wrote, but I bet I'm not the only one who believes the thanks should go to Garrett for being willing to share his story. Red Bluff coaches step down Football coaches John Schwabauer, Rich Hassay and volleyball coach Kim Wheeler officially stepped down. One of the first community history lessons I learned about Red Bluff was what went down with the coaches in 2007. That should tell you how important football is here. I have heard plenty from both supporters and critics of the most-recent coaching regime and I know my opin- ion doesn't mean anything and wouldn't be heard any- ways through the passion that parents have for their chil- dren. What I will say is, the belief your kid is the best at what they do, brings out both the best and worst in par- ents and for everyone involved. Corning teams keep rolling The boys and girls basketball teams improved to 4-0 in the Northern Athletic League this week. The boys blew out West Valley by 34 points, while the girls clawed their way back in a physical affair with the same school to win their 14th straight league game. After that stellar football season and last year's bas- ketball teams both making the state playoffs, it was going to take something special to grow Corning Pride even more, but they're doing it. How will the Cardinals handle moving up a division,? How about how will other teams handle Corning tak- ing over their turf? Give credit where it's due Corning hosted their annual wrestling tournament, Saturday and while the wrestlers deserve praise, they're not alone. The staff did a remarkable job of keeping the 51-team tournament moving and making it a special atmosphere for 10 seemingly short hours. Lady Bulldogs chalking up W's Here's a team that is demanding some respect. While I haven't gotten out to see Los Molinos since early in the season, the scores coming across my desk are making me take notice. Four games into the Mid-Valley season the Lady Bulldogs already have more wins than they did all of last year. Behind the smooth shooting of Samantha Andrews, the speed of Carolyna Salazar and the inside presence of Kiersten Seaman the Lady Bulldogs are sitting in second place at 3-1. Daily News Sports Editor Rich Greene knows he should say he would have married his wife any day, but has decided to hold that line until Valentine's Day. You can reach him with suggestions on getting out of the dog house or with sports-related questions or comments at 527-2151, ext. 109 or by e-mail at sports@redbluffdailynews.com. Rich Greene Big Blue keeps rolling By RICH GREENE DN Sports Editor Mercy had the last spurt, the visiting Westwood Lumber- jacks didn't have, Monday, as the War- riors won a highly entertaining basketball game turned track meet 60-51. A 10-point Mercy lead shrunk to six points by midway through the final period than disappeared completely following back-to-back 3-pointers from Westwood's Dalton Stadelman and Bobby Bettenhausen, but they would be the last points the Lumber- jacks would score. Mitchell Lopez responded with a 3- pointer of his own, from a few feet behind the arc, and the Warriors went 6-for-6 from the free throw line down the stretch to ice the game. Aaron Gash, Cameron Vietti and Ryan Ward each made a pair of free throws to give Mercy their third con- secutive win and seventh in their last 10 games. "Our starters have stepped up and really (started to) put the ball in the hole," senior Ali Syed said. Syed should know, he scored 14 points Monday, continuing his own hot play as of late. The starters accounted for 57 of Mercy's 60 points against Westwood. Lopez finished with 17 point. Jere- mie Jones had 10 points and eight rebounds and Vietti also scored 10. "I hope we're not peaking too soon, we still got three weeks to play," coach Steve Shellabarger said afterward. Mercy had found itself down 11-2 in the opening minutes as as Stadelman made a pair of 3-pointers out of the gate on his way to 18 points. Derick Vega was a force inside and out for the Lumberjacks with 19 points and 14 rebounds. The Warriors closed out the first with a three-ball from Lopez and then opened the second quarter with four consecutive steals, converting three of them for six fast break points to assert control of the game. It was the second entertaining matchup between the schools this sea- son after Mercy beat Westwood 65-63 on Dec. 15. The Lady Warriors did not have as much luck, falling to Westwood 59-22. Diana Van Ert led Mercy with 11 points. A's get CF Willy Taveras from Reds CINCINNATI (AP) — A trade that saved some money made the Cincinnati Reds' next shortstop affordable. The Reds sent cen- ter fielder Willy Taveras to the Oakland Athletics on Monday as part of a four- player deal, then agreed to a $3.02 million, one-year deal with Orlando Cabrera to become their starting short- stop. Both teams made a series of moves that changed the looks of their rosters. Along with Taveras, the Reds sent infielder Adam Rosales to the A's for infielder Aaron Miles and a player to be named. Oak- land was busy as well, agreeing with outfielder Gabe Gross on a $750,000, one-year contract and claim- ing infielder Steve Tolleson off waivers from Minnesota. Once the A's got Taveras, they designated him for assignment, along with left- hander Dana Eveland, to create space on their 40-man roster for the newcomers. ''I think we've been able to do some things to improve our club where we weren't too sure we would be in position to do that,'' Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said. ''A lot of it was being patient and waiting for the market to drop to our level, where we could afford to do some things.'' Cabrera got a deal that pays him a $1.25 million signing bonus and $770,000 salary this year. The agree- ment includes a $4 million mutual option for 2011. If Cabrera declines it, he gets a $500,000 buyout. If he accepts it and the team declines, he receives a $1 million buyout. Cincinnati traded short- stop Alex Gonzalez to Boston last August, leaving the position to Paul Janish, a solid defensive player who batted .211. Several teams were inter- ested in Cabrera as a second baseman, making the Reds a more attractive destination because he could play his natural position. ''A little bit,'' Cabrera said. ''But I think the chal- lenge of the Reds is better for me.'' The 35-year-old short- stop played for Oakland and Minnesota last season, bat- ting a combined .284 with 36 doubles, nine homers and 77 RBIs in 160 games. Cincinnati expects to bat him second, with 25-year- old Drew Stubbs in line to bat leadoff now that Taveras is gone. ''I'm going to do every- thing I can, even if I have to change my name to one Ocho,'' Cabrera said, refer- ring to Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco. The Reds thought they'd filled their long-standing hole at the top of the batting order when they signed Taveras to a two-year deal, but he struggled with injuries last season, batted .240 and had an on-base per- centage of only .275 with 25 stolen bases. A free swinger, Taveras drew only 18 walks in 435 plate appearances. Cincinnati saved $4 mil- lion by getting rid of Taveras, who was due that much in the final year of his deal. That will cover Cabr- era's deal and part of Miles' contract, which pays him $2.7 million this season. The 33-year-old Miles batted .175 in 84 games with the Cubs last season, when he had shoulder and elbow injuries. The Cubs traded him to the A's in December along with Jake Fox as part of a five-player deal. Jocketty came from St. Louis, where Miles was part of the Cardinals' 2006 World Series champions. He batted .318 for St. Louis in 2008, and is pegged as a backup infielder in Cincin- nati. ''He played an important role in that club in 2006 when (David) Eckstein got hurt late in season and we were without a shortstop,'' Jocketty said. ''He played flawlessly at short. He's played all the positions Spartans win 100th in 10 years DN Staff Report The Red B l u f f w r e s t l i n g team won its 100th dual meet in the past 10 years, Saturday, at the Placer Duals in Auburn. Since 2001, the Spartans are 100-10-1 in dual meets under coach Dave Rotten- berg, who will be inducted into the California Wrestling Hall of Fame on May 15. At the Placer tourna- ment, the Spartans suffered just their second loss of the season in finishing third place. Red Bluff cruised through Grass Valley's Bear River 63-12 and Clayton Valley 63-9 to start the tour- nament then won a tough meet with Carson, Nev. 34- 27. The Spartans only loss came to at the hands of high- ly rated Central Catholic of Modesto, who won 40-27. In the third place match, the Spartans bounced back with a 38-30 win over the defending Nevada State Champions, Spanish Springs. Taylor Wilson finished the day with five falls in the tournament, four coming in the first period. Dillon Reid and Dylan Gorbet also finished the tournament undefeated. Red Bluff shoots for win 101 on Thursday when they host Oroville in what will be the final dual for seven seniors. Corning basketball Four Cardinals reached double-digits, Friday, as C o r n i n g c r u s h e d C e n t r a l Valley 72- 38 to remain undefeated in the Northern Athletic League. Luis Piseno and Cameron Nye each had 14 points. Piseno also had 16 points and Nye 13. Kyle Skousen led the way with 17 points and Milo Martinovich had 14 points. Corning shot 17-for-21 from the free throw line Daily News photo by Rich Greene Mitchell Lopez races to the basket, Monday, during Mercy's 60-51 win over Westwood. See A's, page 2B