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Contributedreport REDBLUFF This past weekend the Red Bluff American Legion Bulls 16U, sponsored by Post 167, continued their winning ways by taking three of four games. The Bulls swept the visiting Humboldt 76ers with scores of 9-2 and 10-9, and split with the Corning Braves losing the front end of the twin bill 4-1 then tak- ing the night cap 10-9. The Bulls were lead by Ian Skjegstad in the first game, in which he dominated with a com- plete game 93-pitch gem. Skjegs- tad went the distance while giv- ing up two runs, one earned, striking out six and walking three. The Bulls started slow at the plate with a one-two-three first inning. In the second the hit pa- rade began with a lead off single by Skejgstad, followed by con- secutive singles by Kurt Gipson and Matteo Zepeda. A walk to Nolan Stacy loaded the bases for AJ Poni, who delivered an RBI ground ball to the right side. A double by Sevee John- son brought home Zepeda and Stacy. The timely double was fol- lowed up by three consecutive singles by Andrew Allen, Drew Stacy and Trenton Coates. When the dust finally settled, the had Bulls racked up five runs on seven hits. The bats remained hot dur- ing the bottom half of the third with four singles, one each from Zepeda, N. Stacy, Johnson and D. Stacy. Timely hits and a cou- ple of misplayed balls by the 76ers allowed the home team to plate another four runs, giving Skejgstad all he needed to toss the complete game. Defensively, the Bulls were solid with only one error in the third scoring the one unearned run. In the fourth inning the visiting team lead off with a double to deep left-center and a sharp single to left scored a quick run. With a walk and in- field hit loading the bases it ap- peared the 76ers bats were com- ing alive. But with an 0-2 count Skejgstad was able to get the batter to hit a line drive up the middle where D. Stacy made a rally ending triple play when he caught the sharp hit ball for one out, stepped on second catching the runner off base for the sec- ond, then throwing to DJ Rob- inson at first to complete the tri- ple play. This appeared to take the air out of the visiting team as they only sent 10 batters to the plate over the next three in- nings — Skejstad facing one over the minimum for the complete game win. In the second game of the weekend the Bulls rallied in the bottom of the seventh for five runs for a come-from-behind win to sweep the 76ers on Sat- urday. Fabian Chavez took the mound in the second game and although he did not get a deci- sion he threw well and was able to pitch out of a couple jams. After Chavez started the game setting the visitors' first three batters down with consecutive ground outs he struggled a bit, giving up four runs on five hits in the second. The Bulls tied the game in the fourth by scoring three runs on three hits. Skejgstad lead off with a double followed by walks to Poni and Trevor Kinsworthy, setting the table for Chavez to help his own cause. He came through with a single to cen- ter field scoring the first two of the inning. Tas McClellan's hard hit single to right field scored Kinsworthy for the final run of the inning. After the fireworks in the BASEBALL BULLS TAKE 3 OF 4 IN WEEKEND ACTION CONTRIBUTEDPHOTO DJ Robinson on the mound delivering a pitch in Sunday's game two against the Corning Braves. Kurtis Gipson is in center field. By Doug Ferguson The Associated Press TROON, SCOTLAND Golf waited 112 years to get back into the Olympics. The top four players in the world are waiting a bit longer. Jordan Spieth delivered the final blow Monday when he told the International Golf Federation he would not be going to Rio next month, leav- ing the sport without its four highest-ranked players who have captured six of the last eight majors. IGF President Peter Dawson said Spieth cited his concern over "health issues" for with- drawing. All have indicated support for 2020 in Tokyo. Jason Day, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy previously withdrew, all citing the Zika virus. Day and Johnson have said they plan on having more children, while McIlroy is en- gaged and said he would soon be starting a family. Eighteen eligible men, based on Monday's world ranking, withdrew from the Olympics. The women only had one player withdraw, Lee Anne Pace of South Africa, due to Zika concerns. The men will have eight of the top 15 in the world in Rio. The women will have the top nine in the world; Ha-Na Jang at No. 10 is not eligible because South Korea already reached its maximum of four players. "There is no doubt that the number of withdrawals hasn't shed golf in the best light, and we have to accept that," Daw- son said. "But we do under- stand why these individual de- cisions have been taken. Per- sonally, I think there's been something of an overreaction to the Zika situation, but that's for individuals to determine, and there's certainly a great deal of concern about this is- sue inside the game of golf, no doubt about that." OLYMPICS Spieth skipping Olympics, latest star golfer to withdraw National League's Kris Bryant, of the Chicago Cubs, laughs with teammates prior to the MLB baseball All-Star Home Run Derby, Monday in San Diego. LENNY IGNELZI — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS By Ronald Blum The Associated Press SAN DIEGO Goose Gos- sage keeps a bottle of Weibel Vineyards cham- pagne with "Cubs" on the label perched on a shelf in his pantry, a reminder of when Chicago arrived in San Diego needing one win to reach the 1984 World Series and wound up crushed yet again. This year's All-Star Game is a mini-Cubs cel- ebration, with seven play- ers on the NL roster, in- cluding the entire starting infield, after a remarkable half-season. But a sum- mer slump serves as a re- minder: A good start is a long way from Chicago winning its first champi- onship since 1908 or even bringing the World Series to Sheffield and Waveland Avenues for the first time since 1945. "Everyone crowned us the World Series cham- pion in December, which is unfair to the whole or- ganization," first baseman Anthony Rizzo said Mon- day. "Everyone put this high expectation on us, and we lived up to it." When Chris Sale of the South Side's White Sox throws the first pitch to the Cubs' Ben Zobrist on Tuesday night, the All- Star Game will be back in San Diego for the first time since 1992 at Jack Murphy Stadium, where Ken Griffey Jr. batted sev- enth for the AL between another pair of juniors — Cal Ripken and Sandy Alo- mar. Griffey was the MVP, going 3 for 3 and falling a triple short of the cycle. Tony Gwynn — the Padres' Hall of Famer who would die of salivary gland can- cer in 2014 — had a pair of MLB Cubscelebratestellarfirsthalf San Diego also conjures up painful memories of 1984 ALL-STAR PAGE 2 BULLS PAGE 2 JOHN GASTALDO — THE SAN DIEGO UNION- TRIBUNE VIA AP American League All-Star starting pitcher Chris Sale, of the Chicago White Sox, answers questions at a news conference in San Diego on Monday. By Ronald Blum The Associated Press SAN DIEGO Chris Sale can admit it now: He was a little too in love with the strikeout. He led the American League last year with 274. But all those long counts cost him. "I wanted to pitch more in- nings, get deeper into the games," the Chicago White Sox ace said Monday after he was announced to open the All-Star Game for the American League. "As a starting pitcher, that's re- ally the name of the game, is get- ting as deep into the game while giving your team a chance to win at the same time," he said. San Francisco's Johnny Cueto will start for the National League on Tuesday as the All-Stars return to San Diego for the first time since 1992. A 27-year-old left-hander, Sale is 14-3 with a 3.38 ERA and leads the major leagues in wins. He has 123 strikeouts — third in the AL — and just 26 walks in 125 innings. Batters are hitting .225 against him. "In the past, he was a little bit more of a power pitcher," the Chi- cago Cubs' Ben Zobrist said. "If he's hitting spots a little bit more, that might change our ability to drive the ball." Cueto, a 30-year-old right- hander who left Kansas City to sign with the Giants last offsea- son, tops NL pitchers in victories. He is 13-1 with a 2.47 ERA, strik- ing out 115 in 131 1/3 innings. He has won 10 consecutive decisions since an April 21 loss to Arizona. His path to the starting nod be- came clearer when Clayton Ker- shaw and Noah Syndergaard got hurt, Stephen Strasburg pulled out of the game because of a re- cent disabled list stint and Madi- son Bumgarner was ruled out be- cause he started Sunday. "I was just happy to be partic- ipating in the game," Cueto said through a translator. "But I'm very happy." Cueto impressed New York Mets manager Terry Collins with a two-hitter for Kansas City in Game 2 of last year's World Se- ries, the first complete game by an AL pitcher in the Series since Jack Morris in 1991. "That was the best outing I've ever seen him have," Collins said. Jake Arrieta of the Cubs was on track to get the honor, go- ing 11-1 with a 1.74 ERA through mid-June. But he lost three of his last four starts heading into the break. "The last three outings, I haven't pitched very well," he said. "If I had took care of busi- ness, I probably would have been MLB Sale, Cueto re ad y to s ta rt Al l- St ar G am e STARTERS PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, July 12, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1