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2B Daily News – Thursday, May 31, 2012 State Warriors finally caught a break again in the NBA draft lottery. The Warriors stayed in the seventh OAKLAND (AP) — The Golden spot Wednesday night, just high enough for the franchise to keep its protected lottery pick. Utah would have taken the pick as part of a previous trade if Golden State landed outside the top seven. in next month's draft: seventh, 30th, 35th and 52nd overall. ''Now we have the ability to put on the whiteboard endless possibilities as to what we can do,'' new Warriors gen- eral manager Bob Myers said by phone from New York, where he represented the team on stage. ''It's a good feel- ing.'' Golden State has secured four picks lowed by Washington. Sacramento owns the fifth pick. Myers, carrying an Indian token as a good-luck charm from a casino that sponsors the team, said he ''was a lot more nervous than I thought I would be'' on stage. Warriors co-owner Peter Guber also was in the audience. Golden State had the seventh-worst record at 23-43 and only needed to not fall back. ''It was one of those things where you can convince yourself that it was out of your control, but they played the intense background music, you look around the room and there's suspense and a palpable tension in there that's hard to overcome,'' said Myers, pro- moted from assistant GM last month. Hornets win lottery, GS keeps pick Harbaugh insists Smith ''My heart was beating pretty fast. Once I saw Toronto's name come up (at eighth), at that point, any outcome was going to be acceptable to us.'' Not so much for Utah. As part of last year's trade that sent Deron Williams to New Jersey, the Jazz would've acquired the first-round pick that originally belonged to Golden State. Utah also lost its own first-round pick to Minnesota as part of the trade that netted Al Jefferson in 2010. If the Jazz had not made the playoffs, where the team was swept by San Antonio, they would have retained that pick. It wasn't all bad news for the Jazz. enth spot and dramatically improving the team's odds of staying there. The Warriors had a 72.6 percent chance of keeping the No. 7 pick, 12.6 percent chance of moving up and 3.6 percent chance of winning the lottery. ''In medieval times, you had to run a gauntlet,'' Myers said. ''It's almost like you had to run a gauntlet to end up where we are.'' The Warriors also own San Anto- The New Orleans Hornets moved up from fourth to win the lottery. Charlotte will pick second, fol- They still have another chance to grab Golden State's first-round pick next year (again top-seven protected) and in 2014 (top-six protected). The Warriors were long overdue for a change of fortune. This time, staying put was cause for celebration. ''Great news that we have the (hash)7 pick!'' Warriors coach Mark Jackson immediately wrote on his Twitter account. The Warriors needed a late-season slide and a bit of luck just to be in this position. The last time Golden State moved up in the draft lottery was in 1995, when it selected Maryland's Joe Smith with the No. 1 overall pick. The team has now stayed where it was slotted or fallen back in the 15 lotteries it has been in since. nio's first-round pick (30th overall) — acquired in a trade this season for Richard Jefferson in exchange for Stephen Jackson — and a pair of sec- ond-round selections. Myers said he does not expect the team to draft four rookies, opening the possibility he will use its stockpile of picks to trade up in the first round. If not, the seventh spot has worked out well for Golden State in the past. Hall of Famer Chris Mullin (1985) and Stephen Curry (2009) and Tom Meschery (1961) were all selected sev- enth by the franchise. North Carolina's Tyler Zeller, Ohio State's Jared Sullinger and Baylor's Perry Jones are among the most likely possibilities available at that spot. Golden State lost 17 of its final 20 games and won a coin flip last month to break a tie with Toronto, which also finished 23-43, moving up to the sev- we're happy about that,'' Myers said. ''But I don't want to be in this position and I don't think our organization wants to be in this position where we're relying on chance and coin flips and lottery balls. We want to be in the play- offs. We were fortunate here to do something with the result we were able to obtain. But, honestly, I don't want to be sitting up there anymore.'' The draft is June 28 in Newark, N.J. ''We did get a couple breaks, and Raiders rookie Juron Criner quick to impress BY MONTE POOLE The Oakland Tribune (MCT) receiver is written not with a 40-yard dash time but with pure production and the eye test. The stopwatch myth consistently has been exposed by the likes of Jerry Rice, Michael Irvin and Larry Fitzgerald. Though some football The truth about a wide folks have been slow to accept this, the new Oak- land Raiders clearly do, which is why they drafted a "slow" wideout named Juron Criner. Among the dozens of rookies with the Raiders for the team's first workout under rookie coach Dennis Allen, Criner is capable of not only making the team but also earning consider- able playing time. And if fully focused, he could generate some impressive highlights. Criner entered his senior season at Arizona as con- ceivably the best wideout in the Pac-12 and one of the 10 best in college football. He was projected to be taken no later than the third round. Yet he was still on the board for Oakland to take with its compensatory pick at the end of the fifth round, No. 168 overall, the 24th wide receiver selected. The late availability could be blamed on several factors. There was the mys- terious ailment that required Criner to miss some prac- tice time. There was the sick mother at home in Las Vegas. And, of course, there was the pedestrian 40-yard sprint time, which at the NFL Combine fell in the dreaded 4.6-second zone. None of these elements dissuaded general manager Reggie McKenzie or Allen. "When you watch the tape, the guy is productive," Allen said. "And he's been productive at a high level. The Pac-12 is a good foot- ball conference. Usually when a guy is productive at a high level in college, they tend to be the same way in pro football." Video of Criner's act, for the curious, can be found on YouTube, which features him in several highlights, a few of which I originally saw while watching Pac-12 games. away from defenders, but more often he outwits them or ignores them. If that's not enough, the former basket- ball star at Canyon Springs High in Las Vegas uses his 6-foot-3, 220-pound body and 39-inch vertical leap to physically assert control. His lack of world-class speed suddenly becomes irrelevant. Criner sometimes runs "I feel 40-time speed is — Neymar converted a penalty kick and assisted on goals by defenders Thiago Silva and Marcelo as Brazil took advantage of a sloppy American backline to beat the United States 4-1 in an exhibition game Wednesday night. Neymar, the 20-year-old Santos sensation, put Brazil ahead in the 12th minute after a hand ball on Oguchi Onyewu, then took a corner kick that Thiago Silva head- ed in for his first internation- al goal in the 26th. ing his first start for the U.S. since the 2010 World Cup, scored in the 45th following a fine run by Michael Bradley and cross by Fabian Johnson. But before an enthusiastic crowd of 67,619 at FedEx Field, Marcelo restored the two- goal lead in the 52nd as Onyewu and American cap- tain Carlos Bocanegra left him unmarked in front of the net. Second-half sub Alexandre Pato added a goal in the 87th. Herculez Gomez, mak- The 29th-ranked Ameri- cans, coming off a 5-1 win over Scotland last weekend, had difficulty coping with the pace of the five-time World Cup champions. Coach Jurgen Klinsmann continued to tinker with his front line because Jozy Alti- dore didn't arrive until Mon- day, and Clint Dempsey is recovering from a groin strain. Dempsey entered in the 57th minute, marking the first time he played with Landon Donovan since Klinsmann replaced Bob Bradley as coach last July. Following a 1-4-1 start under Klinsmann, the Americans had won five in a row, including an impressive 1-0 victory at Italy. But the time for experimenting under the former German national team star and coach is nearing an end. The U.S. plays at Canada on Sunday, then opens qualifying for the 2014 World Cup on June 8 against Antigua and Barbu- da. That opponent, of course, doesn't resemble sixth-ranked Brazil in any way. STANLEY CUP Wednesday:Los Angeles 2, New Jersey 1, OT Saturday: at New Jersey, 5 p.m. Monday: at Los Angeles, 5 p.m. June 6: at Los Angeles, 5 p.m. x-June 9: at New Jersey, 5 p.m. x-June 11: at Los Angeles, 5 p.m. x-June 13: at New Jersey, 5 p.m. x - if needed straight line speed," Criner said. "And it's rare that you're going to run in a straight line on the football field. Football speed is dif- ferent. It's about having a sense of urgency, having the ability to break down and make cuts while keeping your speed. was 49ers' man all along SANTA CLARA (AP) — San Francisco coach Jim Har- baugh insists the 49ers planned to have Alex Smith as their quarterback even while they examined the possibility of signing then-free agent Peyton Manning. Wednesday by addressing what he says is the ''erroneous perception that we were flirting with Peyton Manning.'' Harbaugh called the reports silly and phony, then spoke at length about his and the team's ongoing support for Smith, who last season helped the 49ers reach the playoffs for the first time since 2002. ''I've said it all along, Alex Smith has been our quarter- Harbaugh ended his weekly meeting with reporters on back,'' Harbaugh said. ''There's no scenario other than Alex choosing to sign with another team that we would have con- sidered him not as our quarterback. It's time to set the record straight. ''Alex Smith is our quarterback, was our quarterback and (we) had every intention of always bringing him back.'' San Francisco was among a handful of teams looking at Manning, an 11-time Pro Bowl quarterback. At one point, Harbaugh and other team officials flew to North Carolina to watch Manning work out on the Duke campus. Manning chose the Denver Broncos, telephoning Har- baugh personally to inform him of his decision. Harbaugh, though, said the 49ers were only examining Manning and that their interest in him didn't go much further than that. "I'm pretty agile for a guy my size, with pretty good body control due to my basketball history. Plus, I can block _ and I think I'm pretty good in the red zone." Even as he dealt with those personal issues, Criner managed to catch 75 passes for 956 yards as a senior. He caught 82 passes, for 1,244 yards as a junior. He snagged 11 touchdowns in each season. All of which suggests he has a good chance of crack- ing a Raiders receiving corps without an estab- lished No. 1. When asked if he saw an opportunity to contribute, Criner didn't hesitate. "I would say so," he said. He's right. Oakland's most impressive receiver, Denarius Moore, is entering his second season. Darrius Heyward-Bey, who devel- oped well enough in 2011 to lead the team in catches, must show continued improvement; he may have to battle Jacoby Ford for the role of primary deep threat. Brazil, which receives an automatic berth as the 2014 World Cup host, improved to 16-1 against the U.S. with a 35-11 goal difference. The Selecao used a young roster as they prepare for the Olympics, which is limited to players under 23 plus three older players. Neymar scored against the U.S. in his national team debut two years ago. He took the penalty kick after the hand ball call on Lean- dro Damiao's shot went off Onyewu, the tall defender who was benched after two games at the 2010 World Cup, but regained his form this season with Sporting Lisbon. American goalkeep- er Tim Howard dived to his right but Neymar sent the ball the other way for his ninth international goal. Thiago Silva doubled the lead when he got away from Onyewu on Neymar's cor- ner kick, then surged NBA PLAYOFFS CONFERENCE FINALS (Best-of-7) Thursday's game Wednesday's result Miami 115, Boston 111 Miami leads series 2-0 Today's game San Antonio at Oklahoma City, 6 p.m. San Antonio leads series 2-0 Phoenix at Atlanta, 4 p.m. Today's games Minnesota at Connecticut, 4 p.m. Phoenix at San Antonio, 5 p.m. Washington at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. Tulsa at Seattle, 7 p.m. Louis Murphy and Eddie McGee also are in the mix. It must be noted, too, that Criner is the kind of player that likely would have been bypassed by the Raiders in previous drafts, when the late Al Davis was calling the shots. Davis was noted for his fondness of speed, sometimes at the expense of skill. Different shot-callers bring a different mentality. "What's important to us is this: Can the guy make plays? If the guy makes a lot of plays, that's a guy we want on this team," Allen said. "There's a line — height, weight, speed — where you don't make too many exceptions. But this guy made a lot of football plays in college, and we expect the same thing in the pros. receiver that knew how to run routes. He was a big tar- get and caught the ball well. People talk a lot about his speed, but when you watch him play, he seems to be able to separate from peo- ple." Smith, who met briefly with the Miami Dolphins, wound up signing a three-year, $33 million contract to remain in San Francisco only a few days after Manning agreed to a $96 million, five-year contract with the Broncos. ''Were we out there seeing, evaluating if we could have them both? Heck yeah,'' Harbaugh said. ''You evaluate that, you eliminate the possibility. We would not have given any player out there in free agency a sixth of our salary cap and let six or seven of our own guys go. Hopefully, that sets the record straight. You don't have to keep reporting the silliness or phoniness. ''There was interest (in Manning) and we evaluated it, pursued it, further evaluated it and there was conversations. But there was nothing said to Alex that was not said to Pey- ton Manning or in house here, on the record or off the record. Both those young men knew exactly what our intentions were.'' Wednesday, something he first talked about when he signed his new contract in late March. ''Yeah a little bit, a little surprised,'' said Smith, grinning. Smith, the first overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft, had completed practice and was working out with a few team- mates in the 49ers' on-field weight room when Harbaugh made his comments. The 49ers coach later walked over and knelt beside Smith, who smiled as the two men spoke. ''Coach Harbaugh, from the day I've been here, has been completely honest,'' Smith said. ''I certainly felt like this was my job to compete for, no question. I feel like what we accomplished last year that I deserved that.'' Smith said the team had been upfront with him regarding its intentions with Manning and that the two sides remained in contact throughout the entire process. ''I mean, a month prior to any of the Peyton Manning Smith was caught off-guard when asked about the topic stuff (they) had been negotiating with me to come back and (sign) a new contract,'' Smith said. ''When that arose, they were honest. I knew they were going to see him, check him out, do their due diligence.'' "He's a big, physical Criner is the most intriguing offensive player among the draftees. He's a lot more intriguing to those who place more value on production than on a stop- watch that, as we should know, can't always be trust- ed. Brazil beats sloppy US 4-1 as Neymar stars LANDOVER, Md. (AP) between U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra and Jermaine Jones for an open header. Gomez, making his first start since the Algeria match in the 2010 World Cup, scored after Bradley made a spurt toward the top of the box. He slotted to a streak- ing Johnson, who sent a cross that bounced off the leg of a sliding defender. The ball bounced up to Gomez, who got behind goalkeeper Rafael Cabral and nodded it in. WNBA WESTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB Minnesota Sparks Phoenix 5 0 1.000 — 4 1 .800 1 1 2 .333 3 San Antonio 1 2 .333 3 Seattle Tulsa 0 3 .000 4 0 4 .000 4.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB Connecticut 3 0 1.000 — Indiana Chicago Atlanta Washington 1 2 .333 2 New York Chicago 77, San Antonio 63 Minnesota 79, Washington 77 3 0 1.000 — 2 1 .667 1 1 2 .333 2 0 4 .000 3.5 —————————————————— Wednesday's results Anze Kopitar scored a spec- tacular goal on a breakaway with 11:47 left in overtime Wednesday night and the Los Angeles Kings beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Kopitar faked a backhand shot, put the puck on his forehand and beat a prone Martin Brodeur. Kings win Game 1 in OT NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Anton Volchenkov tied it late in the second period for New Jersey, the East's sixth seed. Kopitar took a pass by Los Angeles has won all nine of its road games in the playoffs, an NHL record. The Kings are now one win shy of the NHL record for postseason road victories. More importantly, they are three wins away from the franchise's first NHL title. They have won 11 consecu- tive road playoff games dat- ing back to last season. Colin Fraser scored in the first period for the Kings, the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference who beat the top three teams to get to their first Stanley Cup Finals since 1993. MLB West Division Texas Angels Seattle A's East Division Baltimore American League WL Pct GB 31 20 .608 — 26 25 .510 5 23 30 .434 9 22 29 .431 9 WL Pct GB 29 22 .569 — Tampa Bay 29 22 .569 — New York Toronto Boston Central Division Chicago 26 23 .531 2 27 24 .529 2 26 24 .520 2.5 WL Pct GB 29 22 .569 — Cleveland 27 23 .540 1.5 Detroit 23 27 .460 5.5 Kansas City 21 28 .429 7 Minnesota 18 32 .360 10.5 —————————————————— Wednesday's results Minnesota 4, Oakland 0 Boston 6, Detroit 4 Chicago 4, Tampa Bay 3 Kansas City 6, Cleveland 3 Seattle 21, Texas 8 Toronto 4, Baltimore 1 New York at Los Angeles, late Today's games Detroit (Scherzer 4-3) at Boston (Beckett 4-4), 4:10 p.m. Friday's games Oakland at Kansas City, 5:10 p.m. Minnesota at Cleveland, 4:05 p.m. New York at Detroit, 4:05 p.m. Boston at Toronto, 4:07 p.m. Baltimore at Tampa Bay, 4:10 p.m. Seattle at Chicago, 5:10 p.m. Texas at Los Angeles, 7:05 p.m. Justin Williams from along the left wing boards and skated in alone on Brodeur. As soon as he rifled the puck into the net, he raised his hands and banged himself into the boards, facing the crowd off to Brodeur's right. The veteran goaltender dejectedly skated off to the locker room as the rest of the Kings piled on Kopitar. Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick finished with 17 saves in what was a relatively easy night. Brodeur had 23 saves as the Devils lost in overtime for just the second time this postseason; they have won four times. LA is 3-0 in overtime this spring. MLB West Division Dodgers GIANTS Arizona Colorado Padres East Division Washington 29 21 .580 — Miami New York Atlanta Philadelphia 27 25 .519 3 Central Division Cincinnati 28 22 .560 — St. Louis Pittsburgh 25 25 .500 3 Houston Milwaukee 21 28 .429 6.5 Chicago Arizona at San Francisco, late Atlanta 10, St. Louis 7 Chicago 8, San Diego 6 Miami 5, Washington 3 Philadelphia 10, New York 6 Pittsburgh 2, Cincinnati 1 Houston at Colorado, late Milwaukee at Los Angeles, late Today's games Houston (Norris 5-1) at Colorado (Guthrie 2-3), 5:40 p.m. Milwaukee (Greinke 5-2) at Los Angeles (Billingsley 2-3), 7:10 p.m. Friday's games Chicago at San Francisco, 7:15 p.m. Atlanta at Washington, 4:05 p.m. Miami at Philadelphia, 4:05 p.m. St. Louis at New York, 4:10 p.m. Cincinnati at Houston, 5:05 p.m. Pittsburgh at Milwaukee, 5:10 p.m. Los Angeles at Colorado, 5:40 p.m. Arizona at San Diego, 7:05 p.m. WL Pct GB 27 24 .529 1.5 22 27 .449 5.5 18 32 .360 10 —————————————————— Wednesday's results WL Pct GB 29 22 .569 .5 28 23 .549 1.5 28 24 .538 2 National League WL Pct GB 32 17 .653 — 27 23 .540 5.5 22 28 .440 10.5 19 29 .396 12.5 17 35 .327 16.5