Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/68264
2B Daily News – Friday, June 1, 2012 Compton considers the Memorial a special week no matter how he plays, knowing his second heart transplant came from a donor in Ohio. The opening round was even sweet- er with three birdies on the back nine late Thursday afternoon at Muirfield Village for a 5-under 67, leaving him one-shot out of the lead after a day that featured a timely rally by Rory McIl- roy and a surprising departure by Phil Mickelson. was atop the leaderboard with a 66 and hardly anyone noticed. When the day ended, Scott Stalling Compton has been an amazing story as long as he has played golf. He had his first heart transplant at 12, played in the Walker Cup after a solid career at Georgia, nearly died from a heart attack on his way home from the golf course in 2007, had a second transplant in May 2008, and earned his PGA Tour card for the first time last year through the Nationwide Tour. ''It's just a great story, obviously, Stallings leads Memorial; McIlroy recovers DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Erik par, I thought was a really good effort.'' Tiger Woods, playing in the group behind him, chopped up the 18th hole for a double bogey and still managed a 2-under 70. ''I didn't do anything great and I and it's a great place — for me, it's a special place,'' Compton said. ''For me, there's not a day that goes by that I don't think about my donor. To be able to play here, regardless of whether I play good or bad, it's just always a nice week.'' It could have been another bad week for McIlroy. Coming off back-to-back missed cuts that cost him his No. 1 ranking and ramped up the scrutiny, McIlroy took a quadruple bogey on his third hole of the tournament when he went from the bunker to the water, back over the pond to the drop area on a forward tee, and then into another bunker. He blasted onto the green and took two putts for a 7, and there were murmurs from the crowd to see him at 4-over par so early. The next 15 holes were much better, and he rallied for a 71. ''It wasn't the start I wanted to get He said playing three straight weeks, followed by a trip to Europe for his wife's 40th birthday, took too much out of him and he needed extra rest with the U.S. Open only two weeks away. Mickelson was among four players who withdrew after a 79 or worse, though none of the others are four-time major champions who were inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. ''I feel like it's the responsibility of a player to see through your commit- ment and finish the tournament and so forth,'' Mickelson said. ''And I'm kind of overruling that just a touch, because I'm trying to think big picture on what's the best way for me to get ready for the Open.'' didn't do anything poorly,'' Wood said. ''I was just very consistent. And I think with the golf course being the way it's set up, you just have to be that way. ... Over the next three days, hopefully I can play as well as I did today.'' Mickelson wasn't anywhere near those scores, and when his round ended, he was nowhere near the golf course. Mickelson walked out of the scoring hut after signing for a 79 — his worst score ever at the Memorial — and said he was withdrawing because of mental fatigue. off to, being 4 over through three holes, especially after the last few weeks,'' McIlroy said. ''I was just like, 'Here we go again.' But I hung in there well, and proud of myself for the way I just fought back. To finish the round under PARIS (AP) — This, then, is who John Isner is for now: The Marathon Man of Tennis, the guy who plays and plays and plays, for hours on end, until the last set seems interminable. At Wimbledon two years ago, he won 70-68 in the fifth, the longest set and match in tennis history. At Roland Garros on Thurs- day, as afternoon gave way to evening, the 10th-seeded American lost 7-6 (2), 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 18-16 to Paul- Henri Mathieu of France in the second round, a 5-hour, 41-minute test of stamina and attention span. This one goes in the books as the second-longest match, by time, in French Open history. ''I just didn't get it done. the fans in the gallery using their cell- phones for photos of Mickelson, Mas- ters champion Bubba Watson and Rickie Fowler. Mickelson has a pecu- liar way of sending a message, though he danced around a question of whether distractions played a role. He said only he struggled to focus from a busy month. Watson and Fowler painted a differ- ent picture. ''It took Phil out of his game,'' Wat- The bigger picture might have been son said. Fowler, a little more diplomatic, said the players had to restart their pre- shot routines because of the phone lack of confidence.'' If the 6-foot-9 Isner, who led Georgia to an NCAA title, is going to become more than a novel- ty act, he needs to win encounters like Thursday's, and not because of the dura- tion but because it was a first-week Grand Slam match against a player ranked 261st who got into the field thanks to a wild- card invitation from the tournament. After finally converting I felt like I got caught in patterns that weren't ideal for me,'' said a somber Isner, whose exit means there are no U.S. men in the third round for the first time since 2007. ''I wasn't going for my shots at certain points in the match, and that comes from a little bit of a MELK (Continued from page 1B) Miami: Cabrera went 9 for 18 with two home runs and seven RBIs, including a 4- for-4 performance Sunday in which he scored three runs. ''It's historic. It's really amazing what he's done this month,'' Bochy said. ''I don't know if there was a better hitter during May. It's been fun to watch him hit, fun to watch his overall play. ... He reminds me of Tony Gwynn. He takes what they give him, he doesn't try to do too much up there. He has a calmness, there's no panic in him even with two strikes. He's just a great hitter.'' day off Thursday, Cabrera heads into a weekend home series against the Chicago Cubs hitting a sizzling .373. He's already projected as a likely San Francisco repre- sentative for the All-Star game at Kansas City in July. ''Increible'' — incredible, said injured slugger Pablo Sandoval, who can't wait to return from surgery on his left hand to join Cabrera in the heart of the order. ''He's a While the Giants had the his seventh match point — Isner never had one — an emotional Mathieu thanked the partisan crowd in the main stadium for willing him to victory. Their sing- song choruses of ''Po-lo! Po-lo!'' — the French equivalent of ''Paulie'' — and roars of approval rang out after pretty much every point he won down the stretch. ''I dug deep,'' said the 30-year-old Mathieu, who hadn't played in a major tournament since the 2010 U.S. Open because of a left knee injury that forced him great player and a great ath- lete. We need that in this moment. He plays so hard.'' abuzz all about when the Giants might give Cabrera a contract extension — though he isn't pushing for it. Now, the Bay Area is all I leave that to my agents,'' he said. ''They're the ones who know. I never think about contracts, just about staying focused on baseball.'' ''I never think about that. Cabrera came to the Giants in a trade with Kansas City last November that sent left-hander Jonathan Sanchez to the Royals. Cabr- era — who signed a $6 mil- lion, one-year deal to avoid salary arbitration — batted .305 with 44 doubles, 18 homers and 87 RBIs last sea- son. And to think this is the same guy who was released by Atlanta following a poor 2010 season in which he hit .255 with four homers and 42 RBIs in 147 games. He STANLEY CUP Game 1:Los Angeles 2, New Jersey 1, OT Saturday: at New Jersey, 5 p.m. Monday: at Los Angeles, 5 p.m. Wednesday: 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 cameras. ''You could see Phil was a little Loose horse nearly slams into I'll Have Another fatigued and was having trouble block- ing it out a bit,'' Fowler said. Muirfield Village was enough to get anyone's attention, even those who had hardly anyone watching them. The first round was played under bright sun- shine most of the day, and the course was as fast as it has been in years. Only four players managed to break 70 from the morning wave. Later in the after- noon, as the breeze subsided and some cloud cover arrived, Stalling, Compton and Spencer Levin made a surge. Stallings had nine one-putt greens and chipped in for eagle on the par-5 seventh. Levin holed a 25-foot eagle on the seventh hole and made birdie on the eighth until dropping a shot on his final hole to join Compton at 67. Defending champion Steve Stricker NEW YORK (AP) — The Triple Crown bid of I'll Have Another almost ended Thursday when a loose horse came within inches of slamming into the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner during training at Belmont Park. A collision was avoided, but not before the speeding horse grazed the boot of I'll Have Another's exercise rider Jonny Garcia. ''I've seen accidents like that happen, and they are ugly,'' trainer Doug O'Neill said. Hours after the near miss at Belmont Park, the New York Racing Association announced there would be a 15-minute training window for Belmont runners only, beginning Friday morning. Trainers have the option of working their Belmont contenders from 8:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m., or during regular training at earlier or later times. O'Neill and his brother, Dennis, were terrified by what bogeyed his last three holes for a 73. Luke Donald, back to No. 1 after win- ning at Wentworth, felt like he shot much higher. Thanks to his superb short game, particularly three putts to save par from bunkers, he managed a 71. McIlroy hit three balls in the water on his front nine, though he saved par on one of them. His putter saved him. The 23-year-old from Northern Ireland twice made 8-foot par putts, avoid a three-putt on the 18th with a 6-foot par putt and sprinkled in enough birdies to stay in the game. fifth, when he hooked his tee shot for the gallery. He cursed through clenched teeth, and holding his driver behind him, whacked himself in the back with the grip a couple of times. From the left rough, he played an aggressive fairway metal, low and hot and dead straight, avoiding the water down the left side of the fairway. The ball came up about 15 yards short of the green, and he pitched in for eagle. ''I see enough good shots out there The turning point came at the par-5 to give me encouragement,'' McIlroy said, one eye toward his title defense in the U.S. Open in two weeks. ''There's still a few that I don't like, but as long as the good ones are in there, then you see the positives.'' off tour all of last year. ''I was away from the courts for quite a while, and I came back to live moments like this.'' He helped provide easily the most intrigue on a day that featured straight-set wins for defending champi- ons Rafael Nadal and Li Na. But it also ended after 9 p.m., forcing organizers to postpone until Friday the match involving Maria Sharapova that was sup- posed to follow on Court Philippe Chatrier. as though barefoot on a hot day at the beach. He tapped in serves at speeds so slow they'd be OK while driving on a highway. He consid- ered quitting. ''Just kind of gritting my was unfolding 10 days before I'll Have Another attempts to become the first Triple Crown winner in 34 years, since Affirmed swept the Derby, Preakness and Belmont in 1978. After I'll Have Another began walking on the track, a horse had dumped its rider and came ''screaming up the out- side rail'' in the same direction along the clubhouse turn, Doug O'Neill said. I'll Have Another was walking a few feet from the rail, with stable pony, Lava Man, on the inside. O'Neill said the horse, later identified as the 3-year-old maiden filly Isleta, ran between the rail and I'll Have Another ''Normally they walk the outside rail, but the racing gods must have been looking out for him because he was about two feet off the rail this morning,'' O'Neill said. ''It could have been terrible,'' said Dennis O'Neill, Doug's brother who bought I'll Have Another for $35,000 for owner Paul Reddam. An hour after the near-miss, Doug O'Neill said his ''stomach is still a little twisted by it. Fortunately, everything worked out fine.'' I'll Have Another was never touched, and then proceed- ed on with his morning mile gallop before returning to his soon to be former stable a few yards from the main track. ''Once we dodged that, everything went well,'' O'Neill Marathon Man Isner loses 18-16 in 5th at French decided that earlier and we could have been settled in.'' KINGS (Continued from page 1B) About 10 hours earlier in that stadium, it appeared a man seeded even higher than Isner would be on his way out of the tournament: No. 4 Andy Murray's back was so painful he could barely move, let alone play tennis at the level required to win a Grand Slam match. Or so it seemed. For the better part of an hour, the three-time major finalist looked downright miserable. He grimaced. He clutched at the small of his back. He contorted his body. He stepped gingerly, then signed a $1.25 million contract with the Royals, earning another $250,000 in bonuses for plate appear- ances. ''Baseball is full of ups teeth,'' Murray said, ''and (trying) to find a way of turning the match around, because I was a few points, probably, from stopping.'' And then, thanks in large part to a couple of massages from a trainer, Murray began to feel better. It helped, too, that his oppo- nent, 48th-ranked Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, was incapable of taking advan- tage of Murray's nearly incapacitated state. So Mur- ray managed to come back to win 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 and reach the third round at Roland Garros for the fifth consecutive year. What's unclear, even to Murray, is how his back will be for his next match. ''I have no idea what will happen in two days,'' said Murray, a semifinalist at each of the last five Grand Slam tournaments. whenever possible. Cabrera's steady bat has and downs. That's in the past,'' Cabrera said. ''Things didn't go well for me, but thank God I'm here now and I'm very happy here. It was a bad year, but that's baseball. You have to be ready mental- ly and physically.'' Royals player with at least 200 hits in a season since 2000, making big strides with his bat thanks to an improved focus on his fit- ness. given Giants fans a new face to cheer after the departure of 2010 NL championship series MVP outfielder Cody Ross to the Red Sox. Cabrera became the first ''I knew he was a pretty good player, a switch-hitter who can play every outfield position,'' Bochy said. ''In all facets of the game he has been better than I thought. That's how good he has played.'' WNBA WESTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB The 27-year-old Cabrera is dazzling with his defense in the outfield, too. He makes the routine catches and he makes the game-saving grabs. He has primarily been in left field, where Bochy has noticed Cabrera likes to add a little flair to his game NBA PLAYOFFS CONFERENCE FINALS (Best-of-7) Thursday's result San Antonio at Oklahoma City, late San Antonio leads series 2-0 Today's game Miami at Boston, 5:30 p.m. Miami leads series 2-0 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 Phoenix at Atlanta, late 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. Saturday's games Chicago at Atlanta, 4 p.m. New York at Indiana, 4 p.m. 3 0 1.000 — 2 1 .667 1 1 2 .333 2 0 4 .000 3.5 —————————————————— Thursday's result Angels Seattle A's East Division Baltimore draft after his freshman sea- son, but Robinson is a junior who might be better pre- pared to help the Kings sooner. If the Kings opt for help on the perimeter, North Car- olina small forward Harrison Barnes might be available. player," Petrie said. "I defi- nitely think we'll get a player who can come in and con- tribute." "I think we'll get a good next week to begin inter- viewing prospects at the NBA scouting combine. The Kings expect to start hosting prospects for predraft work- outs by mid-June. Petrie will be in Chicago picked fifth, in 2010, they selected center DeMarcus Cousins, who attended the team's draft party Wednes- day at the Firestone Public House in downtown Sacra- mento. When the Kings last MLB West Division Texas American League WL Pct GB 31 20 .608 — 26 26 .500 5.5 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 27 23 .540 1.5 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 —————————————————— Thursday's result Detroit at Boston, late Today's games Oakland (Colon 4-5) at Kansas City (F.Paulino 2-1), 5:10 p.m. Minnesota (Pavano 2-4) at Cleveland (D.Lowe 6-3), 4:05 p.m. New York (Sabathia 6-2) at Detroit (Crosby 0-0), 4:05 p.m. Boston (Buchholz 4-2) at Toronto (H.Alvarez 3-4), 4:07 p.m. Baltimore (W.Chen 4-1) at Tampa Bay (Price 6-3), 4:10 p.m. Seattle (F.Hernandez 4-4) at Chicago (Peavy 6-1), 5:10 p.m. Texas (Lewis 4-3) at Los Angeles (Williams 5-2), 7:05 p.m. Saturday's games Oakland at Kansas City, 11:10 a.m. Boston at Toronto, 10:07 a.m. Baltimore at Tampa Bay, 1:10 p.m. Seattle at Chicago, 1:10 p.m. Minnesota at Cleveland, 4:15 p.m. New York at Detroit, 4:15 p.m. Texas at Los Angeles, 7:05 p.m. Sunday's games Oakland at Kansas City, 11:10 a.m. New York at Detroit, 10:05 a.m. Boston at Toronto, 10:07 a.m. Baltimore at Tampa Bay, 10:40 a.m. Seattle at Chicago, 11:10 a.m. Minnesota at Cleveland, 12:05 p.m. Texas at Los Angeles, 12:35 p.m. said. ''He jogged great, galloped super. I noticed every day he's cooling out even quicker. He seems like he loves it here, and he's really getting used to the oval and getting used to the footing, and I couldn't be happier with the way he's going.'' On Wednesday, the New York State Racing and Wager- ing Board imposed strict new rules for horses running in the Belmont. They include a stakes barn for all Belmont runners, out-of-competition blood testing and close scrutiny of the horses and humans attending them in the days leading up to the race. ''I have no problem with a detention barn. I wish we could go over there today,'' O'Neill said, adding he doesn't understand why the barn won't be ready until Wednesday. ''It sounds like it was not a real organized thing, kind of a late decision,'' he added. ''In hindsight, they could have to co-owner Gavin Maloof when the Kings' draft posi- tion was announced. Cousins was sitting next Maloof said Cousins could be the best player from the 2010 draft class, so pick- ing fifth isn't necessarily bad. "We're encouraged," Maloof said. "Look at all the teams that passed on Cousins." Kings coach Keith Smart said he prefers versatile play- ers who understand the game. Regardless of which player the Kings land, Smart's focus is on avoiding another lottery party. "Let's good a good player so that we can get beyond where we are now," Smart said. "Yes, this is all fun and exciting and fantastic, but all of our players ... would love to be playing right now. But it all starts with this process." 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 22 28 .440 6 Chicago Houston at Colorado, late Milwaukee at Los Angeles, late Today's games Chicago (Maholm 4-3) at San Fran. (Bumgarner 5-4), 7:15 p.m. Atlanta (Minor 2-4) at Washington (Strasburg 5-1), 4:05 p.m. Miami (Buehrle 5-4) at Philadelphia (K.Kendrick 1-4), 4:05 p.m. St. Louis (Wainwright 4-5) at New York (J.Santana 2-2), 4:10 p.m. Cincinnati (Leake 1-5) at Houston (Happ 4-4), 5:05 p.m. Pittsburgh (Correia 1-5) at Milwaukee (Wolf 2-4), 5:10 p.m. Los Angeles (Capuano 7-1) at Colorado (Outman 0-1), 5:40 p.m. Arizona (Miley 6-1) at San Diego (Richard 2-6), 7:05 p.m. Saturday's games Chicago at San Francisco, 4:15 p.m. Atlanta at Washington, 1:05 p.m. Miami at Philadelphia, 1:05 p.m. Los Angeles at Colorado, 1:10 p.m. St. Louis at New York, 1:10 p.m. Pittsburgh at Milwaukee, 4:10 p.m. Arizona at San Diego, 4:15 p.m. Cincinnati at Houston, 4:15 p.m. Sunday's games Chicago at San Francisco, 1:05 p.m. Atlanta at Washington, 10:35 a.m. Miami at Philadelphia, 10:35 a.m. Cincinnati at Houston, 11:05 a.m. Pittsburgh at Milwaukee, 11:10 a.m. Los Angeles at Colorado, 12:10 p.m. Arizona at San Diego, 3:35 p.m. St. Louis at New York, 5:10 p.m. WL Pct GB 27 24 .529 1.5 22 28 .440 6 18 32 .360 10 —————————————————— Thursday's results WL Pct GB 29 22 .569 .5 28 23 .549 1.5 28 24 .538 2 National League WL Pct GB 32 18 .640 — 27 24 .529 5.5 23 28 .451 9.5 20 29 .408 11.5 17 35 .327 16