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ByBobBaum TheAssociatedPress PHOENIX JoeGaragiola'snine- year baseball career was a mod- est one. His 57 years in broad- casting that followed made him one of the most popular figures in the sports world and beyond. The man Arizona Diamond- backs President Derrick Hall called "one of the biggest per- sonalities this game has ever seen" died Wednesday. He was 90. The Diamondbacks an- nounced Garagiola's death be- fore their exhibition game against San Francisco, and there were murmurs of shock and sad- ness at the ballpark. He had been in ill health in recent years. Growing up in the Hill neigh- borhood of St. Louis not far from future Hall of Famer Yogi Berra, Garagiola went on to hit .257 during nine years in the ma- jors. His highlight came early, getting a four-hit game in the 1946 World Series and helping the hometown Cardinals win the championship as a 20-year- old rookie. "Not only was I not the best catcher in the major leagues, I wasn't even the best catcher on my street," Garagiola once re- marked. But it was after he stopped playing that his fortunes took off. He thrived as a glib baseball broadcaster and fixture on the "Today" show, leading to a nearly 30-year association with NBC. Garagiola won baseball's Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in broadcasting in 1991. He kept working well into his 80s, serv- ing as a part-time analyst for Di- OBITUARY Ga ra gi ol a, e x- pl ay er , br oa dc as te r, d ie s Played9MLBseasons,thenspent57years in broadcasting among most popular figures ROSSD.FRANKLIN—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE Arizona Diamondbacks broadcaster Joe Garagiola waves to a cheering crowd during festivities honoring the retiring broadcaster in 2013. Garagiola has died. He was 90. By Andrew Baggarly Bay Area News Group SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. Hunter Pence spent so many hours at his favorite Houston-area coffee- house in the offseason that the baristas made him their unoffi- cial intern. He learned how to pull a shot and pour latte art. He explored flavor nuances of coffees from around the world and various degrees of roast. He settled on cold brew as his go-to, and car- ries around an enormous space age, insulated stainless steel mug with him wherever he goes this spring. This probably won't surprise you: cold brew often contains more caffeine. Pence never lacks for energy. But he will turn 33 on April 13, and the player that San Fran- cisco Giants manager Bruce Bo- chy calls "Full Throttle" is be- ginning to recognize that there will be strategic times when he needs to ease off. "I think I have to be open to that because that could be the best way I can help the team," said Pence, asked about being more receptive to occasional days off. "My stubbornness didn't want to accept that, but it's possible." Pence already made one con- cession this spring, when he ex- perienced soreness in his right Achilles tendon during early baserunning drills and ended up missing the first nine exhi- bition games as a precaution. There was a time when trainers would have to stop just short of handcuffing Pence to the weight stack to keep him off the field. Pence still pushed the issue, but this time, the trainers didn't have to barricade the door. A truncated spring hasn't been a problem. Pence has played just seven games, yet af- ter hitting a pair of screamers over the fence Tuesday night, he was tied with the Oakland A's Danny Valencia for the Cac- tus League lead with five home runs. "We made a very wise deci- sion to play it safe and I feel great," Pence said. "That's the main goal, to have my body ready to go for this season and to have a good rhythm." There was nothing Pence could do to maintain a rhythm last season, when he missed 110 games because of a fractured forearm (from an errant pitch in spring training) and a strained oblique. It marked an abrupt end to baseball's longest consec- utive games streak; Pence had played in all 162 games in each of the previous two seasons. He wonders whether the oblique issue cropped up toward the end of the season because he sat out so long while the forearm healed. But the injuries had a sil- ver lining: while waiting for the oblique to get better, he discov- ered Pilates. "I'd never done it before," Pence said. "There wasn't any- thing I could do other than Pi- lates and when I was doing it, I was like, 'This is perfect for get- ting this back the right way.' As I started doing it, I stared real- izing the benefits of it. I wasn't doing very much, but I liked the way I felt." GIANTS SPRING TRAINING Penceunderstands valueofkeepingcool Realizes easing off in some situations will help team win games PHOTOS BY DARRON CUMMINGS — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Arizona Diamondbacks' Jason Bourgeois crosses home plate for an inside-the-park home run as San Francisco Giants catcher Trevor Brown dives during the fi h inning of a spring training game Wednesday in Scottsdale, Ariz. The San Francisco Giants' Joe Panik dives for but cannot catch a ball hit by the Arizona Diamondbacks' Chris Herrmann during the fi h inning of a spring training game Wednesday in Scottsdale, Ariz. DIAMONDBACKS10,GIANTS6 Up next: Chicago Cubs vs. San Francisco Giants, 4:05p.m. Thursday, TV on MLB.TV. THESCORE By Cam Inman Bay Area News Group Chip Kelly stayed on script at the NFL owners meetings Wednesday, reiterating both his desire to coach Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers' un- willingness to release the dis- gruntled quarterback. "No. Not even in the conversa- tion," Kelly told reporters at the NFC coaches' breakfast regarding Kaepernick's possible release. "I don't think you cut talent." Kelly offered the same line at last month's NFL scouting com- bine, and he again cited injuries as to why Kaepernick struggled last year en route to a midseason benching. Trade talks have stalled to the point that general manager Trent Baalke said Tuesday that a deal is "nowhere near" close to happen- ing. Kelly said he's kept in con- tact with Kaepernick in anticipa- tion of their working together in the offseason program that starts April 4. "He's got a lot of skills, that's why I said if he's there on (April 4), we'd be excited, and I've ex- pressed that to him," Kelly said, referring to the date on which the 49ers off-season activities begin. 49ERS Kelly: QB Kap still has talent, potential Coach says you don't 'cut talent,' won't release him BEN MARGOT — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE San Francisco 49ers coach Chip Kelly, center, reiterated Wednesday his desire to coach quarterback Colin Kaepernick. TIMBERWOLVES 113, KINGS 104 Up next: Phoenix Suns at Sacra- mento Kings, 7p.m. Friday, TV on CSNCA. THESCORE HANNAH FOSLIEN — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Minnesota Timberwolves' Andrew Wiggins guards the Sacramento Kings' Rudy Gay (8) during the first quarter Wednesday in Minneapolis. By Jon Krawczynski The Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks to lead the Min- nesota Timberwolves to a 113- 104 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night. Zach LaVine scored all 23 of his points in the second half, An- drew Wiggins also had 23 and the Timberwolves overcame a slug- gish start to get just their second home victory of the month. They shot 56 percent and had 29 assists to overcome 18-for-32 shooting at the free-throw line. Rajon Rondo had 25 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds, but the Kings sorely missed star center DeMarcus Cousins, who missed the game with a bruised right knee. Kosta Koufos had 15 points and 15 rebounds in Sacra- mento's 13th loss in 16 games. The biggest reason to tune into this game between two franchises NBA Towns helps Timberwolves beat slumping Sacramento GARAGIOLA PAGE 2 49ERS PAGE 2 GIANTS PAGE 2 KINGS PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, March 24, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1