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ByCarlSteward BayAreaNewsGroup SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. As first impressions go, Johnny Cue- to's didn't exactly set Arizona on fire Wednesday. The San Francisco Giants' most expen- sive free agent ever gave up five runs on four hits, includ- ing a home run and a triple in a 1 1/3-inning spring training debut against the Colorado Rockies. But amid all that carnage, catcher Buster Posey main- tained he still saw a lot of positives, and he had a better view than anybody of Cueto's first outing, which definitely offered plenty of theatrics if not so wonderful results. "Ithinkoverall,hegotsome good work in and was able to mix in all of his pitches," Posey said. "He made some mistakes with the heater, but all in all, I thought the ball was coming out well." It was coming out crazy, too. Plenty of quick pitches. A few hesitation pitches, includ- ing one ridiculous Luis Tiant- style spin where he held his leg kick for a solid three sec- onds before making the deliv- ery. For added spice, he threw a few pitches from a normal GiantsfinewithCueto'sshaky debut, as Posey sees positives SPRING TRAINING SanFrancisco Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto delivers a pitch in the first inning Wednesday against the Colorado Rockies during spring training at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Ariz. JENNIFER STEWART — GETTY IMAGES Staff Reports MOUNT SHASTA The California Nevada Interscholastic Ski and Snowboard Federation state- wide Alpine Championships ski competition wrapped up Tues- day with the giant slalom com- petition at the Mount Shasta Ski Park. The top finisher for Red Bluff High School was Connor Sousa in seventh place in a time of 1 minute, 1.49 seconds, just 5 sec- onds out of first place. Devon Treat placed 16th in a time of 1:06.53, while Joe Mills was in 39th in 1:13.77. Ryan Mueller placed 41st in a time of 1:14.19 and Noah Fleharty finished in 58th position with a time of 1:28.91. In the women's giant sla- lom, Red Bluff's top finisher was Mariah Damante, who placed 28th with a time of 1:15.39. Trin- ity Tumidanski came in at 52nd in a time of 1:15.97. For the first time in nearly 20 years, the Red Bluff High School boys team finished in the top 10 with a sixth-place finish. This is a combination of both the sla- lom and giant slalom points and is an indication of the consis- tency this team has shown all season. When the girls scores were added to the boys, Red Bluff fin- ished as the 12th-fastest team in the state. Competition resumed on Wednesday with the snowboard giant slalom and is scheduled to conclude today with the dual, su- per slalom. ALPINE CHAMPIONSHIPS RedBluffboysfinish 6th,team12thoverall SousaleadsRedBluffwith7thplace in giant slalom held at Mount Shasta CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS Connor Sousa competes in a giant slalom event on Feb. 21. Devon Treat starting in a giant slalom on Feb. 21. By Cam Inman Bay Area News Group SANTA CLARA Free agency opened Wednesday and the NFL's reigning champs, the Den- ver Broncos, suddenly discovered a void at quarterback, one that conceivably could be filled by the San Francisco 49ers' Colin Kae- pernick. That makes for one potential trade partner. Do the 49ers hear others? Going once … twice … Well, the New York Jets didn't re-sign incumbent starter Ryan Fitzpatrick before he hit free agency. The Cleveland Browns haven't resolved their perennial quarterback quandary, though the draft might fix that. And NFC rivals such as the Los An- geles Rams and Dallas Cowboys might be tempted to bid. But, so far, the 49ers have done nothing to indicate they're in a rush to unload the disgruntled Kaepernick. Instead, the 49ers quietly waded into the free agent mar- ket Wednesday. League sources said the team re-signed nose tackle Ian Williams to a five-year deal, while the 49ers' only new arrival was journeyman quarter- back Thad Lewis, who agreed on a one-year deal to reunite with Chip Kelly, his former coach on the Philadelphia Eagles. The 49ers, who have some $60 million in salary-cap space, would not confirm those deals. The one free agent that got away from them Wednesday: guard Alex Boone, who joined the Minnesota Vikings upon striking the payday he sought during past offseason NFL FREE AGENCY 49ers re-sign nose tackle Williams, add Lewis at QB By John Hickey Bay Area News Group GGLENDALE, ARIZ. The Oakland A's made the obvious official on Wednesday when manager Bob Melvin said right-hander Sonny Gray would start the season- opener April 4 against the Chi- cago White Sox at the Coliseum. It's assumed left-hander Chris Sale will start for the visitors, though the White Sox have not made that call official yet. "I still haven't told Sonny," Mel- vin said. "I just assume he knows." Gray pitched three innings of one-run ball in his first spring start on Wednesday, and the A's routed the White Sox 12-3. Gray has started the opener each of the last two years, so he knew he would be back on the mound on opening day. On Wednesday, he even discussed facing the White Sox again in three and a half weeks, when the game counts. "Maybe if it was a little deeper in spring training, it would be something that you don't do," SPRING TRAINING Opening day starter Gray works fastball in A's victory CONTRIBUTED PHOTO The West Coast Outlaw Kart Nationals are scheduled Friday through Sunday at the Tehama District Fairground. Staff Reports The National Racing Associa- tion announces the return of the West Coast Outlaw Kart Nation- als to the Tehama District Fair- grounds. This weekend marks the 12th annual Outlaw Kart Nationals as race teams and drivers from across the nation converge upon the 16th-mile dirt oval track in the Pauline Davis Pavilion. The program will start on Fri- day with qualifying at 3:30 p.m. and trophy dashes at 6 p.m. Saturday morning, a second round of qualifying will begin at 1 p.m. with qualifying heats to fol- low throughout the day. All main events will run at 11 a.m. Sunday. This year organizers are ex- cited to announce the event will have national coverage by Speed Sport and will be aired on MA- VTV. If you enjoy racing, and if you have never been to the Red Bluff Outlaws, or haven't been in a while, come this weekend and ex- perience this sport firsthand. Spectator tickets are $15, kids ages 6-12 are $10 and kids younger than 6 are free. Pit passes are available to see what goes on behind the scenes and in the pits. OUTLAW KARTS Western Nationals run this weekend 12th annual event goes Friday through Sunday 49ERS PAGE 2 GIANTS PAGE 2 A'S PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, March 10, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1