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Tehama Tracker Today's games MLB Athletics Colorado OAK—Colon, 5-6 COL — Guthrie, 3-4 Houston Giants HOU—Norris, 5-3 SF—Bumgarner, 7-4 NBA FINALS Series tied 0-0 Miami Oklahoma City 6 p.m. ABC On the tube CYCLING •2 p.m., NBCSN — Tour de Suisse, stage 4, Aarberg to Trimbach/Olten, Switzerland (same-day tape) MLB •4 p.m., MLB — Regional coverage, N.Y. Yankees at Atlanta or Boston at Miami • 5:30 p.m., CSNC—Oakland at Col- orado •7 p.m., CSNB—Houston at San Francisco •7 p.m., MLB — Regional coverage MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL •9 a.m., MLB — Triple-A, Toledo at Durham NBA BASKETBALL •6 p.m., ABC — Playoffs, finals, game 1, Miami at Oklahoma City SOCCER • 8:45 a.m., ESPN — UEFA, Euro 2012, group phase, Greece vs. Czech Republic, at Wroclaw, Poland • 11:30 a.m., ESPN — UEFA, Euro 2012, group phase, Poland vs. Russia, at Warsaw, Poland Nadal beats Djokovic to Courtesy photo by Christina Meads Bulls shortstop Cole MacLachlan attempts a tag on Orland Tigers base runner Dakota Meed. BASEBALL Nadal was worried. A guy so unflinching, so nearly unbeatable, while sliding and grinding and pounding his way past opponent after opponent at the French Open, got a real case of nerves during the 18 hours he and Novak Djokovic waited for the restart of their rain-inter- rupted final at Roland Gar- ros. win French PARIS (AP) — Rafael how close he was to win- ning a record seventh French Open champi- onship, Nadal grew increasingly wary of the other possible outcome: a loss in a fourth consecu- tive Grand Slam final against Djokovic, who was trying to become the first man since 1969 to collect four straight major titles. Instead of focusing on by showers on Sunday, Nadal was clinging to an ever-shrinking lead. It wasn't until a few minutes before setting foot back on Court Philippe Chatrier, his favorite arena at his favorite tournament on his favorite surface, that Nadal set aside his anxiety. Oh, did he. The King of Clay overwhelmed the No.1-ranked Djokovic for the 50 minutes and nine games they played Mon- day, wrapping up a 6-4, 6- 3, 2-6, 7-5 victory that allowed Nadal to earn French Open trophy No. 7, breaking a tie with Bjorn Borg. ''You never know if When play was halted DNStaff Report Jordan Fox smacked a 2-run homer as the Red Bluff Bulls took a double- header sweep of Orland over the week- end. OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — LeBron James is quickly racking up MVP awards while Kevin Durant is collecting scoring titles at the same pace. Either could make a case as the best player in the NBA. beyond team accomplishments. One of them is about to get the only Neither is interested in anything crown he craves, their head-to-head duel the leading story line of the NBA finals that begin Tuesday night when Durant and the Oklahoma City Thun- der host James and the Miami Heat. ''I think it's going to be a great Red Bluff took Game 1 13-10 behind big games from Gerald Baker and Austin Brownfield. Baker went 4-for-5 at the plate, scoring twice and driving in two runs. Brownfield drove in four runs as part of a 3-for-4 game that included a double and a walk. Kyle Rodriguez drove in a pair and Robby Lasby reached base three times. Stephen Jensen picked up the win Game 2 saw Joel Duggins getting the win in a 6-5 Bulls victory. Zane Medeiros notched the save. Fox's homer sealed the game. He also tripled as part of a 4-RBI perfor- mance and was hit by a pitch twice. Lasby tripled and drove in a run and Chuy Ramirez doubled. as the Bulls got strong relief pitching from Storm Lewis and Jamie Gonza- lez. LeBron vs Durant, Heat vs Thunder, in NBA finals 7:15 p.m. CSNB 5:40 p.m. CSNC Sports Bulls sweep Orland 1B Tuesday June 12, 2012 return to US Open SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Casey Martin has never allowed himself to look too far into the future. Even looking back, it is no less amazing to see him and his cart back at The Olympic Club, riding between shots during a prac- tice round Monday at the U.S. Open, then walking painfully back to the cart with a limp that has become as much a signature for him as a fist pump for Tiger Woods. Martin could not have predicted 14 years ago when he left the U.S. Open after his historic ride that he would still be competing against the best in the world. He gave up tournament golf six years ago and took over as golf coach for the Oregon Ducks. He could not have predicted he would still even have a right leg. ''I'm 40 now, and so this is at that point where I didn't know if I would ever really be able to keep my leg,'' said Martin, who suffers from a rare circulatory disorder that led him to sue the PGA Tour for a right to use a cart. ''So it's not great. When I wake up, I feel it. When I get out of the golf cart, I feel it. When I travel with the team and travel down here, I defi- nitely feel it. That's always going to be the case. And so I'm not complaining. It's hanging in there. ''But I'm not going to be running a marathon, either.'' Running a marathon seemed more plausible than Martin playing another U.S. Open — at Olympic Club, no less. Casey and his cart The only competition Martin has had over the past six years was an occasional game with his players, or a charity event that often fea- tured a scramble format on short golf courses designed for amateurs. But with Olympic hosting another U.S. Open, he figured it was worth a shot. matchup,'' Miami's Dwyane Wade said Monday. ''I think it's going to be two players that's going to be tough to guard each other, that's going to have to guard each other.'' you're going to win anoth- er one,'' said the second- ranked Nadal, who now owns 11 Grand Slam titles. ''I don't know if I am the best or not,'' he added. ''I am not the right one to say that.'' Djokovic, for his part, had zero doubts. He worked his way back into the match with an eight- game run when it was pouring Sunday, but other- wise was outplayed, at the start and the finish. ''He's definitely (the) best player in history ... on this surface,'' Djokovic, whose 27- match Grand Slam win- ning streak ended, ''and results are showing that he's one of the best ever.'' Can't argue with that. Since his French Open debut at age 18 in May 2005, Nadal is 52-1 for his career at the tournament, the only loss coming to Robin Soderling in 2009. said individual matchup and the All-Star talent around them supports the claim. But the focus will be on James, the three-time MVP in his third shot at a championship, and Durant, the three- time scoring champion who is playing for his first at age 23. It's the first time the MVP and scor- ing champ have met in the finals since 1997, when Michael Jordan's Bulls knocked off MVP Karl Malone and Utah. ''Everybody is going to make the most out of the matchup of me versus LeBron, but it's the Thunder versus the Heat,'' Durant said. ''One guy versus another guy, it's not going to be a 1-on- 1 matchup to win the series, it's going to be all about the team.'' They are friends and workout part- ners, play the same small forward posi- tion and are blessed with unlimited basketball talent. After years of waiting on a James-Kobe Bryant finals matchup that never materialized, the league gets one that's perhaps even bet- ter, if not quite as sexy, to wrap up a successful season after the lockout. ''It's great for the NBA,'' Miami's Shane Battier said. ''I anticipate record ratings, which is great, so maybe we can get some of the escrow check back from the owners. First and foremost, that's why I'm excited to see Kevin Durant versus LeBron James. But self- ish reasons aside, it's just a great matchup. ''There's so many young, great players in this league and established players and All-Stars. If you're a bas- ketball fan, you're missing out if you're not watching this series.'' Both have sworn off Twitter, at least for the time being, James posted his last message on April 27 and Durant on May 1. For now, KingJames and KDTrey5 will stick to making their statements on the court. ''Kevin is locked in on what he needs to do to help the team win,'' Thunder All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook said. ''It's going to be a Both insist the series is more than an King Martin recalls his son telling him he thought he would enter the U.S. Open. ''As a USGA member, I got a USGA hat in the mail,'' the father said. ''I put it up in my office at home, let it sit there, clinging to that dream. It has a little more meaning to me right now. This is a godsend, I can tell you that.'' It's a script even Holly- MCT file photo LeBron James will try to earn his first NBA championship. great series for both teams and hope- fully we can come out with the win.'' James is back for a third crack at his first championship, his Cleveland Cav- aliers swept aside by San Antonio in 2007 just a couple of weeks before Durant was drafted by the then-Seattle SuperSonics with the No. 2 pick in the draft. changing plays out on the floor on a bigger stage. So we'll see what hap- pens.'' wood would have a hard time believing. first season with Miami, then carried the Heat to another chance with victo- ries in the final two games of the East- ern Conference finals against the Celtics, starting with a sensational, 45- point, 15-rebound Game 6 perfor- mance in Boston. ''You know, third time in the finals in nine years, there's a lot of guys who don't get there once,'' Wade said. ''Of course, that right there in itself is an honor. But you want to win one. You want to get there and win one. Obvi- ously, LeBron wants to win a champi- onship. I can't say that he wants to win more than the next man, than anybody on OKC. I can't say that. But obvious- ly he wants to win and get another opportunity. I'm sure he will try to seize it a little bit better than he did the first two times.'' James fell short again last year in his Heat's six-game loss to Dallas, James has said he's been in a better frame of mind this season and is looking for- ward making up for his previous fail- ure. ''I didn't play well. I didn't make enough game-changing plays that I know I'm capable of making and I felt like I let my teammates down,'' he said. ''I'm happy and I'm humbled that I can actually be back in this position less than 12 months later to do a better job of making more plays, more game- A disappointment last year in the Though their core of Durant, West- brook, sixth man of the year James Harden and Serge Ibaka are all 23 or younger, the Thunder enter as the favorites in their first finals appearance since moving to Oklahoma City from Seattle in 2008. With signs backing the Thunder hanging from buildings throughout the city, Oklahoma City has watched Durant grow up from the player who arrived here as the rookie of the year. He received some guidance along the way from James, who reached out to him as a high school and then invited him to his home in Akron, Ohio, to work out last summer. ''For me, I understood what the sit- uation he was getting himself into being drafted as high he was, and the things that came with being drafted to a team that needed a marquee player or superstar,'' James said. ''You know, from Day One I always lent my hand out to guide him if he needed it through anything, and that's on and off the floor, because to that point I seen everything, and I'm still learning but I've seen everyone on and off the floor. ''Our relationship is really good. Our relationship is going to continue to grow and I'm happy to be in this posi- tion where I can compete against him.'' Only one can be considered the best player in the game, and it's probably the guy who walks out of this series as a champion. ''I think it's going to bring the best out of both of them, and it's going to be the best for the game,'' Wade said, ''and it's going to be a great show.'' allowed Martin to go through local qualifying in Washington, and in his first serious competition since he became a golf coach, Martin made it through. The sec- tional qualifying last week was two days after Oregon reached the NCAA semifi- nals at Riviera. On little sleep, Martin was on his way to claiming one of two spots for the U.S. Open when he couldn't find his tee shot on the fifth hole of the second round. His caddie found it at the last minute — it was hid- den by a clump of mud, and Martin believes a cart was parked over the ball at one point — so instead of going back to the tee and probably taking double bogey, Martin hacked it short of the green and chipped in from 30 yards for birdie. With a 5-foot par putt on the last hole, he was on his way back to Olympic. ''That's kind of when I thought, 'OK, maybe some- thing greater than just myself ... something's going on here,''' he said. Despite the controversy surrounding him and his lawsuit for the right to ride, Martin has nothing but the best memories of Olympic in 1998. He had sued the PGA Tour for a right to ride a cart. He qualified for the U.S. Open, and because a court had issued a temporary injunction against the tour, the USGA went along with it and let him ride. His coaching schedule