Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/7413
Sports 1B Tuesday March 2, 2010 Tuesday D-VI Boys BBall Semis — Mercy at Hayfork, 7 p.m. Baseball — Red Bluff at Sutter, 3:30 p.m. NBA — Warriors at Heat, 4:30 p.m., CSNBA NBA — Kings at Thunder, 5 p.m., CSNCA NCAA — Villanova at Cincinnati, 4 p.m., ESPN2 NCAA — Illinois at Ohio State, 6 p.m., ESPN No, thank you I'm used to coming into work and having e-mails and phone messages from readers waiting for me at my desk and occasion- ally there's even a handwritten note. Such was the case Friday when an envelope was waiting for me with a thank you card in it. From the return address, I assumed it was from a parent, but it turned out to be a bit more spe- cial. It was from a player. Journalists don't do their jobs for thank you cards — we usual- ly have more self-serving rea- sons. This card however came at the perfect time. My in-laws had flown across country last week to visit, but since I actually get along with mine it came at an inconvenient time with dozens of playoff games to cover. I practically didn't get see them for more than five minutes for two straight days. However, Friday night it was nice to come home and show them the thank you card. All they had to do was read the card and they under- stood why I was too busy to hang out for the past few days and more importantly had moved their daughter 3,000 miles away from home for a job that pays less than I made when going to school. So to the player who sent it, I say, no, thank you. I also have to thank the Red Bluff Spartans wrestling family, who treated me like family, Saturday at the Mas- ters. But the thank you I want to give today is to all the ath- letes who laid their hearts on the line this past week dur- ing basketball, soccer and wrestling playoffs. I may have watched more defeats than victories, but I saw far more winners than I did losers. The thing about playoffs is every team except one is going to end their season with a loss. Sure, everyone wishes they could end their season the way the Corning Cardinals soccer team did on Saturday by capturing a section title, but it can't happen for every- one. What every team can do is end their season with a prideful effort, laying everything they have on the court or mats one last time. That's what made this past week so special for any fan attending one of these events. It's why we love sports. Years from now when it's time to do some reminisc- ing about these teams, no one's going to remember the scoreboard. When Cody Gappa tells his grandkids about when he played high school basketball, he's going to bring up the fantastic block he made during the semifinals that brought everyone out of their seats. An 80-year-old Dillon Reid is going to sit around and tell his buddies at the senior home about the time he had the whole Redding Convention Center booing his oppo- nent in the 154-pound wrestling final for stalling. The players may not realize it yet, but when they tell these stories, they sure aren't going to sound like they were the loser of anything. The Lady Spartans were down 29 points in their play- off game, but there they were in the final minute still pressing to get one more score. That's an attitude to take with you everyday when you roll out of bed. I thank the athletes as I'm sure the readers do too, for giving us all they had until that last second ticked off and the final whistle blew and letting us be there with them for the wins and the defeats. Along with my gratitude, I owe one apology this week. To the Mercy Warriors boys basketball team — I'm sorry. Last Tuesday I covered the Warriors opening playoff game and I ran into Paul Vietti. He said he was surprised I was at the Mercy game and not at the Red Bluff game. I told him, this was a playoff game so I wanted to be here and had worked out to way to get Spartan coverage as well. We had a nice story on their seniors, Friday. Vietti pointed out there's a lot more people who care about the Spartans than the Warriors. I told him he would be surprised that if I miss cover- ing a Mercy event I receive as many complaints as if I would a Spartan game. Sure enough a few days later, my words came true when a reader rightfully took me to task for the anything but stellar coverage Mercy's quarterfinal upset in Loyal- ton had received. Mercy followers may not have the numbers, but they don't lack the passion of any fan base around here. I should explain what happened to be fair. The Loyalton game was a good four-hour drive away into the mountains on Thursday night. Mercy's coach Steve Shellabarger, who is one of the best at making sure his players get the press they deserve, called me well past deadline — and I'm sure exhausted from the drive — and left a message with the score and said he'd get me more information on Friday. On Friday however, I spent the night in Chico, doing the sports pages from the Enterprise-Record office to make sure the Red Bluff-Pleasant Valley games were included and I never got Shellabarger's fax until Satur- day. Instead a small blurb, with nothing more than the score ran in Saturday's paper. I tried to include some more details in a preview of their semifinal game, but the Warriors did deserve better and I'll try to improve on how these situations are handled in the future. Daily News Sports Editor Rich Greene isn't asking for more thank you cards or hamburgers as a smile, a handshake or even a nod of the head goes a long way too. You can reach him at 527-2151, ext. 109 or by e- mail at sports@redbluffdailynews.com. Rich Greene Top Fuelers qualify for section Courtesy photo The Top Fuelers placed fourth at their league championships, Feb. 20 in Willows. A number of wrestlers qualified for the section championships at Sutter High School including , from top left:Tyler Cox, second at 122 pounds, Allison Sylva, third place at 153 pounds, Joey Skaggs, second place at 142 pounds, Denver Gulliford, second place at 205 pounds, Cody Clinger, third place at 128 pounds, Manuel Torres, second place at 185 pounds, Kollen Maxwell, fourth place at 70 pounds, Zack Howard, fourth place at 76 pounds and Thunder Shaffer, second place at 116 pounds. Posey waiting for his chance SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy knows a good catcher when he sees one. He spent parts of nine seasons as a catcher in the major leagues. And he has no doubts about the future of Buster Posey. ''He's a complete guy,'' Bochy said Monday. ''He can handle the bat, and has a strong arm behind the plate. He's an intelligent kid who knows what he's doing back there. He gets better and better. It's a mat- ter of time before he's a front-line catcher in the major leagues.'' The time probably will go much slower than the 23-year-old Posey would like. Gerald Demp Posey III was the fifth overall pick by the Giants in the 2008 draft and won just about every award imaginable in college baseball at Florida State, including the Golden Spikes Award (top over- all player) and the Johnny Bench Award (top catcher). Posey played in 10 minor-league games in 2008 and 115 in 2009, hit- ting a combined .327 with 19 home runs and 86 RBIs. He got called up to the big club on Sept. 2 when veteran starter Bengie Molina suffered an injury. Posey played in seven games and started four after the team dropped from contention in the NL West. After the season, he got more work with the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League. That probably wasn't quite enough experience to land him a spot on the 25-man roster when the Giants break camp at the end of March. He knows he likely will begin the season back at Triple-A Fresno, where he can play every day instead of riding the big-league bench. Posey's timetable of reaching the majors might have been accelerated had Molina, 35, gone to another club as a free agent over the winter. But Molina decided to return to the Giants, signing a one-year deal. ''The competitor in me wants to help the big club win, but if I do start at Fresno, I'm going to do everything I can to improve and get back up here,'' Posey said. He also was in the big-league camp in the spring of 2009, soaking up everything he could from Moli- na and reserve Eli Whiteside. ''You learn how to manage your time, how to handle a lot of situa- tions on and off the field,'' Posey said. ''Bengie has always been a guy I could go to, and I can talk to ''Boch'' (Bochy) as well. Him being a former catcher is a benefit. If he sees something I need to do, he can relay that to me directly. It simplifies things.'' NOTES: Bochy gave the team Tuesday off before opening the spring season on Wednesday against Seattle in Peoria. Tim Lincecum, winner of the last two National League Cy Young awards, will start for the Giants. MNG photo Buster Posey sweeps home plate, Monday, during a San Francisco Giants spring training workout in Scottsdale, Ariz. MNG photo Members of the San Francisco Giants run, Monday, following an intrasquad game.