Red Bluff Daily News

February 12, 2010

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2B – Daily News – Friday, February 12, 2010 NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division W L Pct GB Lakers 41 13 .759 — Phoenix 31 22 .585 9.5 Clippers 21 31 .404 19 KINGS 18 34 .346 22 WARRIORS 14 37 .275 25.5 Southwest Division W L Pct GB Dallas 32 20 .615 — San Antonio 29 21 .580 2 Houston 27 24 .529 4.5 New Orleans 28 25 .528 4.5 Memphis 26 25 .510 5.5 Northwest Division W L Pct GB Denver 35 17 .673 — Utah 32 19 .627 2.5 Okla. City 30 21 .588 4.5 Portland 31 24 .564 5.5 Minnesota 13 40 .245 22.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L Pct GB Boston 32 18 .640 — Toronto 29 23 .558 4 Philadelphia 20 32 .385 13 New York 19 32 .373 13.5 New Jersey 4 48 .077 29 Southeast Division W L Pct GB Orlando 36 18 .667 — Atlanta 33 18 .647 1.5 Charlotte 26 25 .510 8.5 Miami 26 27 .491 9.5 Washington 17 33 .340 17 Central Division W L Pct GB Cleveland 43 11 .796 — Chicago 25 26 .490 16.5 Milwaukee 24 27 .471 17.5 Detroit 18 33 .353 23.5 Indiana 18 34 .346 24 ——— Thursday's result Cleveland 115, Orlando 106 San Antonio at Denver, late Today's games No games scheduled Today's event Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam, 6 p.m., TNT Wednesday's late result Golden State 132, L.A. Clippers 102 NCAA Thursday's Top 25 results No. 16 Gonzaga vs. Saint Mary's, late No. 18 Butler 68, Youngstown State 57 Today's Top 25 game No. 5 West Virginia at No. 25 Pitt, 6 p.m., ESPN Today's other televised game Siena at Niagara, 5 p.m., ESPN2 Wednesday's Top 25 late result No. 15 New Mexico 76, No. 23 UNLV 66 NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division W L OT Pts GF GA SHARKS 40 12 9 89 203 150 Phoenix 37 19 5 79 166 153 Kings 36 20 3 75 180 163 Dallas 27 21 12 66 172 186 Ducks 29 24 7 65 169 183 Central Division W L OT Pts GF GA Chicago 39 15 5 83 189 138 Nashville 32 22 5 69 164 165 Detroit 27 21 12 66 155 163 St. Louis 26 25 9 61 155 169 Columbus 25 27 9 59 159 194 Northwest Division W L OT Pts GF GA Colorado 34 19 6 74 176 154 Vancouver 35 21 2 72 185 143 Calgary 29 23 9 67 153 155 Minnesota 29 26 4 62 163 173 Edmonton 18 35 6 42 147 202 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L OT Pts GF GA New Jersey 36 20 3 75 155 137 Pittsburgh 36 22 2 74 190 172 Philadelphia 30 25 3 63 170 156 N.Y. Rangers 26 27 7 59 153 165 N.Y. Islanders24 28 8 56 151 186 Northeast Division W L OT Pts GF GA Ottawa 35 22 4 74 173 172 Buffalo 32 18 9 73 163 151 Montreal 29 26 6 64 160 167 Boston 26 22 11 63 146 152 Toronto 19 30 11 49 162 204 Southeast Division W L OT Pts GF GA Washington 41 13 7 89 244 173 Tampa Bay 26 22 11 63 154 172 Atlanta 25 24 9 59 175 187 Florida 24 27 9 57 153 174 Carolina 23 30 7 53 163 192 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Thursday's results San Jose 3, Detroit 2, SO Boston 5, Tampa Bay 4 Carolina 4, Buffalo 3, OT Dallas 3, Calgary 1 Ottawa 6, Washington 5 Vancouver 3, Florida 0 Edmonton at Los Angeles, late Today's games Montreal at Philadelphia, 3 p.m. Nashville at New Jersey, 4 p.m. Vancouver at Columbus, 4 p.m. N.Y. Rangers at Pittsburgh, 4:30 p.m. Atlanta at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Toronto at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Phoenix at Colorado, 6 p.m. Wednesday's late result Anaheim 3, Edmonton 2 DEALS National Hockey League ATLANTA—Recalled D Arturs Kulda from Chicago (AHL). DALLAS—Claimed F Brandon Segal off waivers from Los Angeles. Placed C Steve Ott on the injured list. Assigned F Ray Sawa- da to Texas (AHL). FLORIDA—Traded C Dominic Moore to the Montreal Canadiens for a second-round pick in the 2011 draft. MINNESOTA—Recalled LW Cody Almond from Houston (AHL). Reassigned LW Robbie Earl to Houston. MONTREAL—Recalled D P.K. Subban from Hamilton (AHL). N.Y. ISLANDERS—Assigned LW Matt Mar- tin and LW Jesse Joensuu to Bridgeport (AHL). N.Y. RANGERS—Assigned D Corey Potter and G Chad Johnson to Hartford (AHL). Recalled G Matt Zaba from Hartford. OTTAWA—Reassigned G Andy Chiodo from Binghamton (AHL) to Elmira (ECHL). ST. LOUIS—Acquired D Nate Guenin from Pittsburgh for D Steve Wagner and assigned Guenin to Peoria (AHL). WASHINGTON—Recalled D Karl Alzner and F Chris Bourque from Hershey (AHL). Major League Baseball COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE—Suspended Texas minor league RHP Daniel Gutierrez 50 games after testing positive for a perfor- mance-enhancing substance, in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treat- ment Program. American League BALTIMORE—Announced RHP Armando Gabino has cleared waivers and been assis- gned outright to Norfolk (IL). LOS ANGELES—Agreed to terms with INF Robb Quinlan on a minor league contract. OAKLAND—Assigned INF Gregorio Petit outright to Sacramento (PCL). National League ATLANTA—Named Tom Glavine special assistant to the team president. NEW YORK—Agreed to terms with LHP Hisanori Takahashi, 1B Mike Jacobs and C Shawn Riggins on minor league contracts. SAN DIEGO—Named Randy Johnson field coordinator. Golden League Baseball EDMONTON—Traded INF Pedro Lopez to Laredo (United) for a player to be named. Released INF Carlos Duncan and RHP Mike Johnson. National Football League ATLANTA—Agreed to terms with WR Brian Finneran on a contract extension. JACKSONVILLE—Released WR Torry Holt, OT Tra Thomas and DT Rob Meier. N.Y. GIANTS—Released LB Antonio Pierce. Major League Soccer NEW YORK—Named Goran Aral assistant coach. SEATTLE—Named Dick McCormick man- ager/coach of the Sounders FC Youth Acad- emy. College NCAA—Placed UCF on two years probation for ''major'' football recruiting violations. CONNECTICUT—Announced men's bas- ketball coach Jim Calhoun has returned to his position after a medical leave of absence. February 11, 2010 (Storrs, Conn.) University of Connecticut Head Mens Basketball Coach Jim Calhoun has returned to his position fol- lowing a medical leave of absence. MICHIGAN—Named Adam Braithwaite safeties/outside linebackers coach. Scoreboard Scoreboard Johnson, Kahne win qualifiers; Waltrip gets help to make field DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — It was two close finishes and one close call for Michael Waltrip — exactly what NASCAR needed. Two stirring finishes to a pair of Thursday qualifying races, Waltrip's nervous waiting game to see if he'd get a spot in the Daytona 500, and the roller-coaster ride of emotions between those who made the show and those who did not combined to give NASCAR the boost it's been so des- perately craving. Jimmie Johnson nipped Kevin Har- vick by .005 seconds in the first race, then Kasey Kahne edged Tony Stewart by .014 seconds to set the stage for what should be an exciting season- opening Daytona 500. ''I think we put on one heck of a race,'' said Johnson, who had to hold steady in a door-to-door battle with Harvick across the finish line. ''I definitely feel like (the racing) has been pretty exciting and good from my standpoint,'' said Kahne, who passed Stewart and then had his own side-by-side race to the finish. There was more drama off the track, as well. Waltrip, a two-time Daytona 500 winner, had planned to make his final start at Daytona in Sunday's race. Only he wrecked out of the first race, and was at the mercy of the finishing order of the second race to claim a spot in the field. He needed either Bobby Labonte or Scott Speed to grab one of the ''trans- fer'' spots into the race, and Waltrip settled into a television studio to watch the second race on a slew of monitors. Waltrip was riveted as he cheered on as Speed used a late-race pass that helped him make the 500. ''I know I had an interest in what was happening for myself ... but I've never seen anything more exciting in my whole life than that (race),'' Wal- trip said. ''The race for the win, those guys mixing it up, that's hard. If you don't like that, then you need to become a fan of a different sport because that right there is as good as it gets.'' That's exactly what NASCAR needs heading into its version of the Super Bowl. The sport has been battered over the past few years by critics who argue the racing has grown stale and the drivers are too boring. A series of offseason changes to various rules, and an edict to the drivers to loosen up and show more personality, has created hope for some much-needed energy in NASCAR. The tinkering continued all the way up to Thursday's races, too. After a unsatisfying end under caution to last week's exhibition Budweiser Shootout, NASCAR announced in its pre-race driver meeting that it would make three attempts going forward to end a race under green. The new policy wasn't needed in the qualifiers, though, as drivers clean- ly mixed it up and staged a stellar race to the finish. There were several side stories, too. Max Papis, a close friend of John- son's, stayed out on old tires to gain track position, then had to hold on tight to claim his first berth in the Daytona 500. The former sports-car star cried on pit road during his celebration. ''I don't want to be called anymore the 'road course racer,' '' Papis said. ''I want to be called 'Mad Max, the NASCAR racer.'' Michael McDowell, who got one shot at the Sprint Cup Series two sea- sons ago with Waltrip's race team, made his first attempt at the Daytona 500 in an underfunded car that relies on Michael Waltrip Racing for sup- port. He joined Papis as the other dri- ver to race his way in through the first qualifier. ''For me, it's the biggest race of the year for us knowing that we're going to run,'' McDowell said. ''We take it one week at a time.'' Speed and Mike Bliss were the two drivers to race their way in through the second race. Bliss, so concerned with his own status, didn't even know who won his race. ''Nobody said nothing and I didn't ask,'' he said. ''I just figured I would run as hard as I could and just whatev- er happens from there. But I really did- n't want to know anything else. I real- ly didn't want a lot of radio chatter.'' It was a stark contrast to the disap- pointments of the day for Casey Mears and Reed Sorenson, two drivers who had full-time Cup rides with high-pro- file teams the last several seasons, only to lose their jobs because of economic issues. Both have a handful of races lined up for this season, and making the Daytona 500 could have created more opportunities. ''It's frustrating. I mean, I've never missed one,'' said Mears. ''We tried as hard as we could.'' Johnson, meanwhile, got a bit of peace heading into Sunday's race with his victory. Even though he's the four-time defending NASCAR champion, he came to Daytona and admitted a fear he has of forgetting how to drive dur- ing the offseason. A 13th-place finish in last week's exhibition Shootout didn't help. But the win over Shootout winner Harvick certainly did. ''After the Shootout, I ran well at the start, then we started fading. Inside the car, I was just wondering if I lost my touch with restrictor plate racing,'' Johnson said. ''Stuff goes on in my head. Even though we won ... I don't win a lot on plate tracks, so I still feel like I'm learning. Today is a big step in that direction.'' Johnson won his qualifying race in his backup car and needing pit strategy to get to the front. He stayed on the track when almost everyone else pitted for the final time. Although he inherit- ed the lead, he had Harvick and Clint Bowyer — teammates at Richard Childress Racing — and feisty Kyle Busch behind him trying to grab the win away. Crew chief Chad Knaus settled in for the show, confident the most domi- nant driver in NASCAR could finish the job. ''We were going to go for the win. Whether that was him putting himself in a position to go for it, or something we had to do to make it happen,'' Knaus said. ''I think he did a fantastic job of blocking those guys. He had two teammates behind him and a very aggressive Kyle Busch behind him, and he was able to hold them off. ''I think that speaks volumes about how good the car is and what a good restrictor plate racer Jimmie is.'' Kahne, meanwhile, celebrated his first victory in any race at Daytona. Even better? He beat Stewart, a role model from their days racing sprint cars. ''I enjoy racing Tony because you know if you beat that guy, you've done something on that day,'' Kahne said. ''He always seems to be at the front. Whenever I'm having a good day, he's always the guy there I actually have to beat.'' Meulens full speed ahead as Giants hitting coach SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Hensley Meulens bounced from San Francisco to Venezuela to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, then back to Arizona and the Bay Area. He traveled nonstop this winter in an effort to make strides with San Francisco's hitters before spring training begins. Meulens hasn't wasted a moment since the Giants hired him as their new hitting coach in November. He knows he can't afford to rest if he is going to turn around the club's offensive woes and make the Giants a playoff contender again at last. ''Bam Bam'' means business. ''It was very important for me to do that to get familiar- ized with everybody,'' Meulens said during the team's Fan- Fest last weekend. ''It's been a grind of an offseason.'' No kidding. Talk about full speed ahead. Meulens insists he had to get started right away. He flew to where his players were so he could introduce himself, make his pitch and explain his philosophy and approach. Meeting up with them in their homeland or at winter ball showed Meulens' pupils his commitment. ''It means everything,'' right fielder Nate Schierholtz said. ''It shows he cares and he's here for nothing more than to prepare us to go as far as we can go this year. He's defi- nitely going over the top. He flies everywhere and he's just all over the place.'' The Giants are determined to score more runs for a tal- ented pitching staff led by two-time reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum. So, they turned their hitting fortunes over to a guy nicknamed ''Bam Bam'' for his once- fierce swing. So far, his work ethic appears to be just as fierce. Meu- lens' message is one of patience and being selective, not always an easy thing for some of the free-swingers in this lineup: like slugger Pablo Sandoval and Bengie Molina. Meulens realizes he can't change a hitter who knows nothing else but to be aggressive. ''They're going to be what they are. That's why they're so good at what they do,'' Meulens said. ''I can't change Bengie Molina. He walked 13 times last year. I can't ask him to walk 60 times this year because it won't happen. It's hard to change Pablo Sandoval. He's a very, very aggressive guy. ... ''The thing I'm going to try to see if we can do better is be a little bit more selective on your pitch to hit before you have two strikes. That to me is going to get guys in better counts and get guys on base more. When you have more baserunners, it's going to translate into more runs. That's what we're looking for.'' Meulens has regularly been logging 12-hour days, according to his players. His players marvel at his energy and enthusiasm to make them better hitters — and in a hurry. There's plenty of belief that if this club can be more produc- tive offensively it will be in the hunt for the playoffs again this fall. San Francisco has missed the playoffs the past six seasons but was in the NL wild-card chase well into Sep- tember last year. ''He's been great with everything we've thrown at him this winter. With all the miles he's put on, he's had a full plate,'' manager Bruce Bochy said. ''The groundwork and foundation of what he wants to do is done in the winter.'' With a rotation boasting Lincecum, All-Star Matt Cain, 2002 AL Cy Young winner Barry Zito and Jonathan Sanchez — he threw a no-hitter last July 10 — the Giants don't worry much about their pitching staff. Bochy believes that with Meulens in charge, San Fran- cisco will eventually transform into a more consistent offense. The Giants finished 88-74 last season, four games behind wild-card winner Colorado — and with 16 more victories than in 2008. But the team had the second-fewest home runs (122) in the majors and drew the fewest walks (392) in '09. They were 13th in the National League in runs. ''With the couple pieces that we added, it's got to be a playoff-contending team,'' Meulens said. ''I don't have all the answers. I'm going to ask for ideas from all these guys who have been all over the place. We're going to do it togeth- er. Everybody knows what my philosophy is and what I expect from them. I'm ready to go.'' Meulens has drawn inspiration from former New York Yankees teammates Don Mattingly — now hitting coach for the rival Dodgers — and Roberto Kelly, the Giants' first base coach. He said he's learned little things from many different peo- ple along the way that he brings to the job. Meulens, who spent the latter part of the 2009 season with the Giants once Triple-A Fresno's season was done, is credited with helping John Bowker win the Pacific Coast League batting title last year with a .342 average and Jesus Guzman finish fifth at .321. Meulens also provided guidance to Eugenio Velez, who turned around his season after a slow start. Meulens should have no trouble explaining himself, either. He speaks five languages — Papamiento, the lan- guage of his native island country of Curacao in the Caribbean, Dutch, English, Spanish and Japanese. ''There won't be any communication problems,'' Bochy said. The 42-year-old Meulens spent parts of seven season in the big leagues as an infielder and outfielder for the Yankees, Montreal and Arizona, retiring after the 1998 season. MCT photo Kasey Kahne finishes ahead of Tony Stewart, Thursday. Rain, rumors, impatience as Olympic opening nears VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — The XXI Olympic Winter Games begin Friday, and that's about the only thing certain about them. The star is hurting, and there's more snow in Man- hattan than on some of the mountains here. Oh, and there could be two Olympic flames. Back in Canada for the first time since 1988 in Cal- gary, the games open with the Olympics' first-ever indoor opening ceremony. Organizers have kept a tight lid on details, and that's fitting for an Olympics full of questions. Will the potential head- line act, American skier Lindsey Vonn, overcome a shin injury and vie for mul- tiple medals? Will the snowboard/freestyle skiing venue — already needing emergency snow imports — survive the latest bout of inclement weather? Will Canada's home team thrive or wilt under the pressure of its bold ambition to dominate the games? One burning question, at least, will be answered Friday night when the opening ceremonies end with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron. For days, Canadians have been speculating and debating whether the honor should go to hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, the greatest player ever in Canada's most cherished sport, or some lesser-known, inspirational figure. The flame itself finally arrived in Vancouver Thursday evening after a 106-day torch relay that passed through more than 1,000 communities in every corner of Canada over a nearly 28,000-mile route. Vancouverites waved flags, banged tam- bourines and rang cowbells to welcome the flame at City Hall. On Friday, about 55,000 spectators will pack into BC Place Stadium for the opening, under the largest air-supported dome in North America. That roof may be a blessing — the forecast predicts showers during the ceremony and through the weekend, diminishing the coast-and- mountain vistas that can be breathtaking on a clear day.

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