Red Bluff Daily News

February 26, 2010

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2B – Daily News – Friday, February 26, 2010 OLYMPICS Medals Table 70 of 90 total medal events Nation G S B Tot USA 8 12 12 32 Germany 8 11 7 26 Canada 8 6 3 17 Norway 7 6 6 19 South Korea 6 4 1 11 Switzerland 6 0 2 8 Austria 4 3 5 12 China 4 2 3 9 Sweden 4 2 2 8 Russia 3 4 6 13 Netherlands 3 1 2 6 France 2 3 5 10 Australia 2 1 0 3 Czech Republic 2 0 3 5 Belarus 1 1 1 3 Slovakia 1 1 1 3 Britain 1 0 0 1 Poland 0 3 1 4 Slovenia 0 2 1 3 Latvia 0 2 0 2 Italy 0 1 3 4 Finland 0 1 2 3 Croatia 0 1 1 2 Estonia 0 1 0 1 Kazakhstan 0 1 0 1 NFL 2010 Franchise Player List Players with three or more accrued seasons have been designated as non-exclusive fran- chise players. The old club has a right of first refusal to the players listed below and com- pensation of two No. 1 draft choices (x-exclu- sive, not free to sign with another club). Green Bay — Ryan Pickett DT New England — Vince Wilfork DT Oakland — Richard Seymour-x DE Pittsburgh — Jeff Reed K San Francisco — Aubrayo Franklin DT Seattle — Olindo Mare K NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division W L Pct GB Lakers 43 15 .741 — Phoenix 36 23 .610 7.5 Clippers 24 33 .421 18.5 KINGS 18 39 .316 24.5 WARRIORS 16 40 .286 26 Southwest Division W L Pct GB Dallas 37 21 .638 — San Antonio 32 23 .582 3.5 New Orleans 30 28 .517 7 Memphis 29 28 .509 7.5 Houston 28 28 .500 8 Northwest Division W L Pct GB Denver 37 19 .661 — Utah 37 20 .649 .5 Okla. City 33 23 .589 4 Portland 34 26 .567 5 Minnesota 14 45 .237 24.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L Pct GB Boston 36 20 .643 — Toronto 31 25 .554 5 Philadelphia 22 35 .386 14.5 New York 19 37 .339 17 New Jersey 5 52 .088 31.5 Southeast Division W L Pct GB Orlando 39 19 .672 — Atlanta 36 20 .643 2 Miami 29 29 .500 10 Charlotte 27 29 .482 11 Washington 20 35 .364 17.5 Central Division W L Pct GB Cleveland 45 14 .763 — Chicago 30 27 .526 14 Milwaukee 29 28 .509 15 Detroit 21 36 .368 23 Indiana 19 39 .328 25.5 ——— Thursday's results Denver at Golden State, late Cleveland 108, Boston 88 Milwaukee 112, Indiana 110 Today's games Utah at Sacramento, 7 p.m., CSNCA Cleveland at Toronto, 4 p.m. Dallas at Atlanta, 4 p.m., ESPN New York at Washington, 4 p.m. Charlotte at Memphis, 5 p.m. Minnesota at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m. Portland at Chicago, 5 p.m. San Antonio at Houston, 5:30 p.m. Detroit at Denver, 6 p.m. L.A. Clippers at Phoenix, 6 p.m. Orlando at New Orleans, 6:30 p.m., ESPN Philadelphia at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday's late result L.A. Clippers 97, Detroit 91 NCAA Thursday's Top 25 results No. 2 Kentucky 82, South Carolina 61 No. 5 Duke 70, Tulsa 52 No. 16 Vanderbilt 96, Georgia 94, OT No. 17 Wisconsin 78, Indiana 46 No. 18 Gonzaga vs. Santa Clara, late Today's Top 25 games No. 15 Butler at Valparaiso, 6 p.m. GOLF Phoenix Open, The Golf Channel At TPC Scottsdale, Scottsdale, Ariz. Purse: $6 million Yardage: 7,216; Par 71 (35-36) First Round Leaders Camilo Villegas 32-30 — 62 -9 Matt Every 31-32 — 63 -8 Justin Rose 33-32 — 65 -6 Mark Wilson 31-34 — 65 -6 Ryuji Imada 34-31 — 65 -6 Rickie Fowler 33-32 — 65 -6 Pat Perez 32-33 — 65 -6 Mathew Goggin 33-33 — 66 -5 Tom Lehman 32-34 — 66 -5 Geoff Ogilvy 31-35 — 66 -5 Ryan Moore 35-31 — 66 -5 Zach Johnson 35-31 — 66 -5 Brandt Snedeker 33-33 — 66 -5 Joe Durant 34-32 — 66 -5 Kevin Stadler 34-32 — 66 -5 Y.E.Yang 34-32 — 66 -5 Carl Pettersson 33-33 — 66 -5 Sam Saunders 33-33 — 66 -5 Jimmy Walker 34-33 — 67 -4 Jeff Overton 32-35 — 67 -4 Parker McLachlin 33-34 — 67 -4 Anthony Kim 34-33 — 67 -4 Chris Couch 34-33 — 67 -4 Ben Fox 34-33 — 67 -4 Chad Collins 33-34 — 67 -4 Skip Kendall 35-32 — 67 -4 Fred Couples 36-31 — 67 -4 Alvaro Quiros 33-34 — 67 -4 DEALS National Basketball Association MEMPHIS—Assigned C Hasheem Thabeet to Dakota (NBADL). WASHINGTON—Bought out the contract of C Zydrunas Ilgauskas and waived him. National Hockey League NHL—Suspended St. Louis F Cam Janssen five games for a late hit to the head delivered to an unsuspecting opponent during a Feb. 13 game against Washington. ANAHEIM —Recalled RW Dan Sexton from Manitoba (AHL). BOSTON—Reassigned F Matt Marquardt from Providence (AHL) to Reading (ECHL). CALGARY—Signed F Rene Bourque to a six-year contract extension. MINNESOTA—Signed F Cal Clutterbuck to a three-year contract extension. OTTAWA—Recalled SD Brian Lee from Binghamton (AHL). PHOENIX—Re-assigned G Joel Gistedt to Las Vegas (ECHL). Major League Baseball American League KANSAS CITY—Agreed to terms with INF Josh Fields and INF Kila Ka'aihue on one- year contracts. TEXAS—Voided the contract of INF Khalil Greene. Golden Baseball League MAUI NA KOA IKAIKA—Agreed to terms with INF Rodney Choy-Foo, RHP Wayne Hedden, OF Fehlandt Lentini and OF Mark Okano. National Football League OAKLAND—Designated DL Richard Sey- mour as the franchise player. ARIZONA—Agreed to terms on contract extensions for coach Ken Whisenhunt and general manager Rod Graves through the 2013 season. PITTSBURGH—Agreed to terms with NT Casey Hampton. Designated PK Jeff Reed their franchise player. College LSU—Named Steve Ensminger tight ends coach. Scoreboard Scoreboard "In the 20 years I've coached, I don't know if I've had anyone who is as much a warrior on the floor as he is," Twitchell said. Rotating with Blaser and Miller in the back court the past few seasons has been John John Velasco. Twitchell said Velasco had a knack for providing the Spartans with a spark and was one of the team's favorite players as he was always among their most vocal positive supporters even when he was on the bench. "The kids really like him," Twitchell said. The Spartans also had quality players in its front court. Devin Shoop carried over his intelligence from off the court to provide a player Twitchell described as really fun to coach because of his high basketball IQ. "He's so effective at changing at blocking shots," Twitchell said. Shoop was joined by Cody Gappa, who despite drawing the assignment of guarding the toughest and strongest players in the league, Twitchell described as one of the nicest kids he's ever coached. "He plays so hard and really gives us that physi- cal presence inside," Twitchell said. Then there's Trevor Capik, who could play both inside and out and Twitchell described as the most talent- ed basketball player in the group. "He has so much length in his arms and he has the ability to handle the ball like a guard in traffic, but he can also go play inside, so he's real versatile," Twitchell said. "And he's a darn good 3-point shooter — he's just an all-around basketball player." The seventh senior, Marco Rodriguez, only start- ed playing basketball this season with the Spartans, which in itself was a rarity. Twitchell said rarely does a senior make the team who hasn't been previously with the program, but Rodriguez brought with him a quick- ness and athleticism the Spartans needed in 2010. A natural athlete Rodriguez has steadily improved his play through- out the season. "I wish I had him one more year," Twitchell said. The Spartan faithful would echo the same words about the rest of the Class of 2010. (Continued from page 1B) SPARTANS DeRosa finding his way S C O T T S D A L E , Ariz. (AP) — Mark DeRosa adds another chapter to his life on Fri- day by placing a 35th candle on his birthday cake. He's also adding another chapter to his major-league career by becoming acclimated to his new team, the San Francisco Giants. It is how he becomes acclimated that remains to be seen this spring. After signing a two-year, $12 mil- lion deal as a free agent, DeRosa is penciled in as the starting left fielder, but he could see time at virtually any other spot on the field. In 12 seasons with four other teams, he has played 59 games in left field, 160 in right field, 311 at third base, 139 at shortstop, 304 at second base and 23 at first base. ''He gives you flexibility, coming in to play infield and having somebody else play outfield. It's a nice luxury when you have a guy that's comfort- able doing it and he is,'' said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. ''But he will be in the outfield for the most part.'' Playing anywhere in the outfield at AT&T Park has its share of challenges, with sun and wind, but the conditions are not such that DeRosa will shy away from them. ''I played right field at Wrigley Field (with the Chicago Cubs in 2007 and 2008), so if you can play there, you can play just about anywhere,'' DeRosa said before Thursday's workout in Scottsdale. The center fielder can play a big part in the adjustment, offering advice on positioning and angles. DeRosa said he has received help along the way from a couple of good ones, Andruw Jones (Atlanta) and Jim Edmonds (Cubs). He will work with Aaron Rowand this season as well as receive instruction from Giants outfield coach Roberto Kelly, still another memorable glove. It is on offense, however, where the Giants hope DeRosa makes the biggest impact. He has a career average of .275 and is capable of providing power. He hit 23 home runs last season (with 78 RBIs) with two teams, Cleveland and St. Louis. There is a strong chance that Bochy will put him at the No. 5 spot in the batting order, behind No. 3 Pablo Sandoval and cleanup man Aubrey Huff. ''We'll see how it shakes out, but the No. 5 spot is a great RBI spot,'' DeRosa said. ''I think we are going to be a dangerous team.'' The number of swings that DeRosa will get likely will be limited, at least early in the spring. He is coming back from surgery on his left wrist and has not hit against live pitching. Bochy said Thursday that DeRosa might not start the spring opener against Seattle on March 3. DeRosa is looking forward to the season, even though many of his fami- ly members back home in his native New Jersey might not. This is the first time he will play for a West Coast team. ''There will be a lot of sleepy peo- ple, waiting until 10 (Eastern time) to see me get an at-bat,'' he said. NOTES: The pavilion in right field was an inviting target during batting practice. Sandoval and outfielders Fred Lewis and Nate Schierholtz sent shots there, and one of Schierholtz's landed on the roof. ... Bochy said the pitchers will rest their arms on Sunday, the day before an intrasquad game. ... The Giants will go retro for Friday night home games this season, wearing the orange tops that were popular in the 1970s and early 1980s. Kouzmanoff not taking anything for granted PHOENIX (AP) — The Oakland Athletics acquired Kevin Kouz- manoff to be their full- time third baseman. The oft-injured Eric Chavez, a six-time Gold Glove win- ner at third, still figures in the team's plans — as a utility player. Kouzmanoff came into A's camp Thursday brimming with confidence and excited about the change of scenery. He's also not going to take anything for granted, especially with an apparently healthy Chavez in camp. He's going to continue to work like he has something to prove. ''My thinking is there is a job I'm trying to win,'' Kouzmanoff said. ''Eric is a great player. You want to talk to him about defense. I'll play where I can help this team, whether it's third, first or in the outfield.'' After setting an NL fielding per- centage record (.990) for third base- men with the San Diego Padres last year, it's unlike- ly Kouzmanoff will see much time anywhere else. That's why Chavez, who still has a tender throwing shoulder, also has a first baseman's mitt and out- fielder's glove in tow. There's nothing fancy about the way Kouzmanoff made himself into one of the top defensive third basemen in the major leagues. He worked at it. ''Just give me a fungo hitter who will hit me groundball after ground- ball,'' Kouzmanoff said. ''It's impor- tant to always get better. I'm never sat- isfied with my game.'' No fancy video replays or computer simulations for this former Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year; give him a glove and some dirt and he'll play until it becomes counterpro- ductive. Kouzmanoff has a Buffalo sports- writer to credit for his defensive improvement — his fielding percent- age shot up in each of his three years with the Padres. ''I honestly don't remember his name, but it was in AAA,'' Kouz- manoff said. ''I read his article about how poor a defensive player I was and I took it to heart. If that was a weak- ness, I needed to work on it. The biggest thing has been with my foot- work. I had heavy feet. I'm still work- ing on that.'' Notes: RHP Justin Duchscherer was in camp and scheduled to play catch as he recovers from a medical procedure. ... LHP Lenny DiNardo is slated for a side session on Saturday as he comes back from a strained left Achilles'. ... RHP Clayton Mortensen was the only scheduled pitcher to throw Thursday as position players officially reported. ... RHP Ben Sheets threw a simulated game, with C Kurt Suzuki behind the plate, on Wednes- day and will throw batting practice on Sunday. NFL Combine Notebook: Lions could trade No. 2 pick By CLIFF BRUNT AP Sports Writer INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — With 30 losses in the pre- vious two seasons, the Detroit Lions are willing to consider any option avail- able to get things turned around. Those options include trading the No. 2 pick in the draft and making a run at LaDainian Tomlin- son. ''We're open to just about everything,'' Detroit coach Jim Schwartz said Thursday at the NFL scout- ing combine. ''Whether you keep the second pick or whether you trade down, it doesn't change what you have to do — that's make good decisions in the draft. There are blue chip players available a lot of different spots in the draft.'' The Lions, who were just 2-14 last year after going 0- 16 in 2008, need to upgrade their running game. Detroit ranked 24th in the league with 101 yards per game. So Schwartz didn't rule out picking up Tomlinson, the longtime San Diego Charg- ers back who was released Monday after a nine-year run in which he became one of the greatest running backs in NFL history. ''We'll look at every way we can to improve the team,'' Schwartz said. ''I don't think we make any decisions and just blanket say, 'No, we're not interest- ed.' Every player has some- thing they can bring and if they can help us win, we'll look at just about every- thing. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him.'' —— JUST WORK OUT: San Francisco general manager Scot McCloughan said he'd like all the top prospects to attend the combine and work out. ''My personal, selfish opinion is you get a chance to compete, you come and compete,'' he said. ''It does- n't matter, whether its domi- noes, coming to the Senior Bowl or coming out here. Also, you can't put it all on the kids' shoulders. They've got agents, they've got peo- ple in their ears telling them what's best for their future and what's best for their draft status.'' McCloughan said he hasn't downgraded a prospect for choosing not to show up. ''The guys that have gone to the Senior Bowl, they're top-notch guys, and they come here and they work — are usually guys who end up in the NFL and have good careers,'' McCloughan said. —— SMITH IS THE MAN: A year ago, San Francisco was rumored to be among the teams in the hunt for Michael Vick. A year later, they feel much better about quarter- back Alex Smith. ''I feel very good about saying that Alex Smith is our starter going into the next football season,'' coach Mike Singletary said. Smith lost a competition for the starting job to Shaun Hill in training camp. But he was inserted into the lineup on Oct. 25 against Houston and played well the rest of the season. Smith threw for 2,350 yards and 18 touch- downs with 12 interceptions and was sacked 22 times. He completed 225 of his 372 passes. It wasn't just talent that won the job for Smith. ''It was his attitude that really stuck out throughout the whole thing,'' Singletary said. ''Whether he was hurt, whether he was learning, whether he was the backup, whatever the situation was, he was always very steady.'' —— BULAGA HEALTHY: Iowa offensive lineman Bryan Bulaga doesn't believe an illness earlier this season will hinder his draft stock. The 6-5, 314-pound left tackle missed three games last season with a condition called thyroiditis, which Bulaga described as a viral infection that causes loss of stamina, fatigue, increased heart rate and loss of weight. ''I don't think there's any concern,'' Bulaga said. ''It was a three week thing that ran its course and now it's gone. I've been checked by doctors at the Mayo Clinic and my doctor at the Uni- versity of Iowa and have been cleared by both of them.'' Bulaga, the reigning Big Ten offensive lineman of the year, decided to forgo his senior season at Iowa and is projected by some to be a first-round draft pick. —— SIDESTEPPING THE RUSH: Rarely is a coach so honest when deflecting questions as new Buffalo coach Chan Gailey was on Thursday when asked about his quarterback situation. The Bills' passing game struggled while alternating between quarterbacks Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitz- patrick last season. Gailey revealed nothing about the team's plans at the position. ''Every team in the league that doesn't have an All-Pro quarterback or somebody that got votes for All-Pro is looking to improve their position,'' he said. A follow-up question did little to shed any more light. ''I'm going to sidestep that again by saying you're always trying to improve your football team,'' he said, drawing chuckles from reporters. —— ALMOST PERFECT: Indiana lineman Rodger Saffold claims he only gave up one sack last season. He even remembers who got it — Wisconsin's O'Brien Schofield. ''He's a real big speed guy — lighter, but his inside moves were really crisp,'' Saffold said. ''Just being able to have that speed, then that counter speed is really beneficial to him.'' Saffold said he gave up just 14 sacks in his career. Now, he has to prove he can duplicate that level of suc- cess in the NFL. He felt he played well at the East-West Shrine Game, and believes the combine offers him another great opportunity. ''I'm going to go out there and take it,'' he said. ''I'm not going to sit back and watch anybody. I have to make my focus on myself and show everybody what an Indiana football player is.'' GIANT SLALOM Julia Mancuso was third fastest in Thursday's second run of the giant slalom, which wasn't enough to overcome a frustrating per- formance in the first run a day earlier. Her Vancouver Olympics ends with a pair of silver medals. Viktoria Rebensburg won the race, giving Germany a winner in it for the first time since 1956. She was highly unlikely to be the drought- buster as she'd never won a major event. ''Unbelievable, unbeliev- able, unbelievable,'' she said. Also, Lindsey Vonn plans to ski the slalom Friday with a hard, plas- tic brace protecting her right pinkie. She broke it during a tumble in the giant slalom Wednesday that left her ''a ball of hurt right now,'' accord- ing to her husband, Thomas. CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING Bjoergen joined the growing trend of skiers pausing on the way to the finish to grab a flag. Like the others who did it, she was well ahead. Norway won its first women's relay gold since 1984, having set- tled for silver five times. (Continued from page 1B) GOLD

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