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2B – Daily News – Wednesday, March 17, 2010 Westbrook leads Indians past Giants TRACK GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — As Jake Westbrook ran sprints in the out- field grass, a Cleveland fan leaned over the railing in right field and offered his critique. ‘‘Hey, Jake,’’ the man hollered. ‘‘Great outing.’’ Westbrook smiled. ‘‘Thanks,’’ he said. One more step in the comeback complete. Westbrook, whose career was nearly ended by an elbow injury, out- pitched two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum, Shin Soo-Choo homered off San Francisco’s ace and Travis Hafner drove in three runs on Tuesday, leading the Cleveland Indi- ans to a 7-1 exhibition win over the Giants. Penciled in by new manager Manny Acta to be the Indians’ open- ing-day starter, Westbrook allowed one run and two hits in four innings. It was his best outing this spring and a huge confidence builder for the right- hander, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2008. ‘‘I was just throwing strikes with all my pitches, getting ahead and pounding the zone,’’ the 32-year-old said. ‘‘I was able to do that. I was being very aggressive and when I’m aggressive and throwing strikes it makes all of my pitches that much better. For me right now, it’s just fine tuning my command.’’ Westbrook hasn’t pitched in a major league game since May 28, 2008, but that didn’t stop Acta from picking him to open the season on WOODS (Continued from page 1B) worldwide victories and 14 majors — four of them at the Masters — Woods returns as a disgraced star who will be under the great- est scrutiny of his career. ‘‘We’re all looking for- ward to having him back. We want him playing,’’ Jim Furyk said. ‘‘I’m sure we’re also looking forward to everything being business as usual. And it’s going to take awhile. We know that.’’ Woods last competed Nov. 15 when he won the Australian Masters in Mel- bourne. Twelve days later, he rammed his SUV over a fire hydrant and into a tree outside his Florida home, an accident that set off sordid tales of extramarital affairs. Woods announced Dec. 11 that he would take an indefi- nite break to try to save his marriage. ‘‘The major champi- onships have always been a special focus in my career and, as a professional, I think Augusta is where I need to be, even though it’s been a while since I last played,’’ Woods said. ‘‘I have undergone almost two months of inpa- tient therapy and I am con- April 5 in Chicago. ‘‘I can’t take it back anyways,’’ Acta said with a laugh. ‘‘I made my decision based on his track record and how good he was in the past when he was healthy. If he was healthy, there was no hesitation in doing that. He’s gotten better each outing. The ball is coming out of his hand really good. He’s feeling great. He’s going to have his ups and downs, but right now he’s throwing well.’’ Lincecum, who followed up his Cy Young season in 2008 by winning another award last season, allowed four runs and four hits in four innings. He walked four and struck out four. His line was consistent. His pitch- es were not. ‘‘A couple of balls just got away from me,’’ Lincecum said. ‘‘Other than that, I’ll try to take something away from this. My body still feels good. The velocity on my fastball is getting a little bit better. It’s coming out of my hand better. I know I had three or four walks, but it’s spring training.’’ Lincecum allowed a home run by Choo in the first and gave up a two- run double to Trevor Crowe in the fourth. Although he has a 9.39 ERA tinuing my treatment,’’ he said. ‘‘Although I’m return- ing to competition, I still have a lot of work to do in my personal life.’’ Augusta National chair- man Billy Payne said the club supported Woods’ deci- sion to make his return at the Masters, adding that ‘‘we support and encourage his stated commitment to con- tinue the significant work required to rebuild his per- sonal and professional life.’’ PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem also said he was pleased to learn of Woods’ return. The Associated Press first reported last Thursday that Woods would not play until the Masters, despite other published stories that he would return this week at the Arnold Palmer Invita- tional in Orlando, Fla. There has been so much buzz that when Finchem held a tele- conference Monday on an undisclosed topic, the call was loaded with media sus- pecting an announcement on Woods’ return. Instead, it was to announce a new title sponsor. Small wonder that CBS Sports president Sean McManus said last week of Woods’ return to golf: ‘‘My only prediction is when he comes back, it will be, other during the exhibition season, the care- free 25-year-old isn’t worried and came away pleased with his perfor- mance. ‘‘I felt fine,’’ he said. ‘‘I had a cou- ple rough innings. You want to get those out of the way before the season starts.’’ It was Choo’s first homer of the spring and just the seventh in 11 games for the power challenged Indi- ans, who hit 161 last season — 83 less than the league-leading New York Yankees. Hafner hit a three-run double in the seventh to make it 7-1. It was Hafner’s first extra-base hit, and the fact that he pulled it to right-center was an encouraging sign for the Indians, who are hoping he can find his power stroke after hitting just 16 homers last season. ‘‘It’s good to see, but we like that he’s taking pitches,’’ Acta said. ‘‘He’s seeing the ball well and he’s very con- fident with his hands and shoulders. If he’s 100 percent healthy, he’ll pro- duce for us.’’ NOTES: Giants CF Aaron Rowand remains sidelined with a strained left quadriceps. Manager Bruce Bochy said Rowand could miss a few more games. Rowand is batting .500 (12 of 24) this spring. ... Indians 2B Mark Grudzielanek made a diving catch to rob Giants DH John Bowker of a potential base hit in the second, and Giants RF Eugenio Velez went into foul territory to make a diving catch of a fly ball by Cleveland’s Lou Marson in the bottom half. than the Obama inaugura- tion, one of if not the biggest media spectacle in recent memory.’’ ESPN will televise the first two rounds of the Mas- ters, and CBS Sports has the weekend. The highest TV rating for the Masters in the cable era was a 14.1 on the Sunday in 1997 when Woods, then 21, became the tournament’s youngest champion with a record 12- shot victory. ‘‘Wow I’ve had a lot of calls today from friends who have decided to come to the Masters this year,’’ British Open champion Stewart Cink said on Twitter. ‘‘Obviously, the ratings will be off the chart,’’ said PGA Tour player Heath Slocum. ‘‘It will be interest- ing to watch — not only the reaction from him, but from the fans, the media, the play- ers. I would venture to say he might be nervous.’’ The Masters — ‘‘A tradi- tion like no other’’ is a long- time CBS promo — has restrictions like no other major. Media credentials are limited even in normal cir- cumstances, and the club has tight control over who gets in. Some fans with sea- son badges risk losing them forever for violating rules, such as being caught with a cell phone or a camera. Among the rules: No run- ning. Most players expect Woods to be heckled, although not as much — if any — at the Masters. ‘‘That’s why Augusta makes such good sense,’’ Furyk said. ‘‘There’s less of that than anywhere else. Everyone is afraid to lose their ticket. The etiquette and behavior is far better than anywhere else because of the fear factor.’’ Still to be determined is the state of his game. Woods left for a Missis- sippi clinic for therapy on Dec. 31 — the day after his 34th birthday — and returned Feb. 11 to prepare for his first public appear- ance at the TPC Sawgrass when he apologized for his behavior and confessed to extramarital affairs. He took no questions. He spent another week in Arizona for family therapy, returning Feb. 27 and head- ing to the practice range to get back into a routine. His coach, Hank Haney, was with him at Isleworth last week. There had been reports he would play the Tavistock Cup exhibition next week in Orlando, followed by the Arnold Palmer Invitational Scoreboard MLB Spring Training Glance AMERICAN LEAGUE WL Pct Tampa Bay 10 3 .769 Cleveland 6 3 .667 Boston 8 6 .571 Kansas City 6 5 .545 Toronto 6 5 .545 Detroit A’s 7 7 .500 66 .500 New York 6 7 .462 Chicago 5 7 .417 Minnesota 5 7 .417 Seattle Baltimore 5 8 .385 Texas Angels 3 8 .273 NATIONALLEAGUE WL Pct Atlanta 9 5 .643 Chicago 9 5 .643 Philadelphia 7 4 .636 GIANTS 10 6 .625 Cincinnati 6 4 .600 Milwaukee 9 6 .600 Arizona 8 6 .571 Florida 8 6 .571 New York 8 6 .571 Colorado 8 8 .500 Houston 6 6 .500 Dodgers 4 5 .444 St. Louis 5 7 .417 Pittsburgh 4 8 .333 Padres 4 9 .308 Washington 2 11 .154 NOTE:Split-squad games count in the stand- ings;games against non-major league teams do not. ——— Tuesday’s results Atlanta 6, Florida (ss) 3 Baltimore 3, Minnesota 1 Chicago Cubs 4, Texas 1 Chicago White Sox 6, Colorado 1 Cincinnati 13, Arizona 7 Cleveland 7, San Francisco 1 Houston (ss) 3, Boston (ss) 0 L.A. Angels 4, San Diego 3 Milwaukee 2, Kansas City 0 N.Y.Yankees 4, Houston (ss) 1 Philadelphia 6, Detroit 1 Tampa Bay 7, Boston (ss) 0 Washington (ss) 12, Florida (ss) 3 Washington (ss) 4, St. Louis 2 Wednesday’s Grapefruit League games Atlanta vs Florida, 10:05 a.m. Detroit vs Pittsburgh, 10:05 a.m. Minnesota vs Tampa Bay, 10:05 a.m. N.Y. Mets vs Boston, 10:05 a.m. N.Y.Yankees vs Philadelphia, 10:05 a.m. 5 7 .417 4 8 .333 Toronto vs Baltimore, 10:05 a.m. Washington vs Houston, 10:05 a.m. Wednesday’s Cactus League games San Francisco vs Oakland, 1:05 p.m. Arizona vs L.A. Angels, 1:05 p.m.. Chicago White Sox vs L.A.Dodgers, 1:05 p.m. Milwaukee vs Cincinnati, 1:05 p.m. San Diego vs Kansas City, 1:05 p.m. Cleveland vs Colorado, 1:10 p.m. Texas vs Seattle, 7:05 p.m. Cleveland vs Cincinnati, 7:05 p.m. Monday’s late results San Diego 7, San Francisco (ss) 1 San Francisco (ss) 8,Texas 5 Kansas City 9, Chicago White Sox 1 NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division Lakers WL Pct GB 49 18 .731 — Phoenix 41 26 .612 8 Clippers 25 43 .368 24.5 KINGS 23 44 .343 26 Dallas WARRIORS 18 48 .273 30.5 Southwest Division WL Pct GB 45 22 .672 — San Antonio 40 25 .615 4 Memphis 36 32 .529 9.5 Houston 34 31 .523 10 New Orleans33 35 .485 12.5 Northwest Division WL Pct GB Denver 46 22 .676 — Utah 43 24 .642 2.5 Okla. City 41 24 .631 3.5 Portland 41 28 .594 5.5 Minnesota 14 53 .209 31.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL Pct GB Boston 42 24 .636 — Toronto 32 33 .492 9.5 New York 24 43 .358 18.5 Philadelphia 23 44 .343 19.5 New Jersey 7 60 .104 35.5 Southeast Division WL Pct GB Orlando 47 21 .691 — Atlanta 43 23 .652 3 Charlotte 34 32 .515 12 Miami 35 33 .515 12 Washington 21 45 .318 25 Central Division WL Pct GB x-Cleveland 53 15 .779 — Milwaukee 36 29 .554 15.5 Chicago 31 35 .470 21 Detroit 23 45 .338 30 Indiana 22 45 .328 30.5 First Round Tuesday’s results UAB 65, Coastal Carolina 49 Connecticut 59, Northeastern 57 North Carolina 80, William & Mary 72 N.C. State 58, South Florida 57 Texas Tech 87, Seton Hall 69 Mississippi State 81, Jackson State 67 Jacksonville at Arizona State, late Today’s games Tulsa at Kent State, 4 p.m. Illinois State at Dayton, 4 p.m. Weber State at Cincinnati 4 p.m. Quinnipiac at Virginia Tech, 4 p.m. Northwestern at Rhode Island, 4 p.m. Troy at Mississippi, 5 p.m. Nevada at Wichita State, 5:05 p.m. Illinois at Stony Brook, 6 p.m. St. John’s at Memphis, 6 p.m. CBI First Round Tuesday’s results x-clinched playoff spot ——— Tuesday’s results L.A. Lakers at Sacramento, late Atlanta 108, New Jersey 84 Cleveland 113, Detroit 101 Denver 97, Washington 87 Indiana 99, Charlotte 94 Memphis 104, Chicago 97 San Antonio 88, Miami 76 Minnesota at Phoenix, late Today’s games New Orleans at Golden State, 7:30 p.m. Atlanta at Toronto, 4 p.m. Indiana at Cleveland, 4 p.m. Oklahoma City at Charlotte, 4 p.m. New Jersey at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. New York at Boston, 4:30 p.m. San Antonio at Orlando, 5 p.m. Chicago at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Memphis at Houston, 5:30 p.m. Minnesota at Utah, 6 p.m. Milwaukee at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m. Monday’s late results L.A. Lakers 124, Golden State 121 New Orleans 108, L.A. Clippers 100 NCAA Opening Round Tuesday’s result Arkansas-Pine Bluff 61, Winthrop 44 NIT Virginia Commonwealth 79, G.Washington 73 Saint Louis 63, Indiana State 54 Today’s games Duquesne at Princeton, 4 p.m. IUPUI at Hofstra, 4 p.m. Wisconsin-Green Bay at Akron, 4 p.m. College of Charleston at Eastern Kentucky, 4 p.m. Colorado State at Morehead State, 6 p.m. Boston U. at Oregon State, 7 p.m. CIT First Round Tuesday’s results Creighton 89, South Dakota 78 Fairfield 101, George Mason 96, OT Marshall 90, Western Carolina 88 Today’s games Harvard at Appalachian State, 4 p.m. Middle Tennessee State at Missouri St., 5:05 p.m. Portland at Northern Colorado, 6:05 p.m. Pacific at Loyola Marymount, 7:35 p.m. Thursday’s game Southern Mississippi at Louisiana Tech, 5 p.m. NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL OT Pts GF GA SHARKS 43 16 10 96 226 180 Phoenix 43 22 5 91 189 170 Kings Dallas Ducks 40 23 5 85 206 182 30 26 13 73 199 220 31 29 8 70 189 209 Central Division WL OT Pts GF GA Chicago 44 18 6 94 225 170 Nashville 39 26 5 83 197 201 Detroit 34 23 12 80 187 186 St. Louis 32 28 9 73 189 193 Columbus 28 31 11 67 183 226 Northwest Division WL OT Pts GF GA Vancouver 43 23 3 89 228 176 Colorado 40 23 6 86 209 182 Calgary 34 26 9 77 174 172 Minnesota 34 29 6 74 192 199 Edmonton 21 42 7 49 176 245 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL OT Pts GF GA Pittsburgh 41 23 5 87 217 197 New Jersey 41 24 3 85 183 164 Philadelphia 36 28 5 77 206 189 N.Y.Rangers 31 30 9 71 182 191 N.Y.Islanders 28 32 9 65 180 214 Northeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Buffalo 36 22 10 82 186 174 Ottawa 37 28 5 79 187 201 Montreal 36 29 6 78 194 195 Boston 31 26 12 74 174 177 Toronto 24 34 12 60 187 235 Southeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA y-Washington 47 14 9 103 277 198 Atlanta Tampa Bay 28 29 12 68 183 211 Florida Carolina 28 33 8 64 191 216 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. y-clinched division Tuesday’s results Dallas 8, San Jose 2 Atlanta 4, Buffalo 3 Boston 5, Carolina 2 Colorado 5, St. Louis 3 Minnesota 4, Edmonton 2 Montreal 3, N.Y. Rangers 1 Nashville 4, Philadelphia 3, SO Phoenix 2, Tampa Bay 1 Toronto 4, Ottawa 1 Washington 7, Florida 3 N.Y. Islanders at Vancouver, late Today’s games Pittsburgh at New Jersey, 4 p.m. Calgary at Colorado, 6 p.m. Chicago at Anaheim, 7 p.m. Monday’s late results Detroit 2, Calgary 1 DEALS National Basketball Association MIAMI—Signed G Kenny Hasbrouck to a 10- day contract. OKLAHOMA CITY—Signed G Mustafa Shakur to a 10-day contract. National Hockey League CHICAGO—Assigned D Shawn Lalonde to Rockford (AHL).Recalled D Nick Botnton and G Corey Crawford from Rockford. COLUMBUS—Assigned F Maksim Mayorov to Syracuse (AHL). MINNESOTA—Signed C Casey Wellman to a two-year contract and G Matt Hackett to a three-year contract. Recalled D Justin Falk from Houston (AHL). OTTAWA—Reassigned D Brian Lee to Bing- hamton (AHL). Major League Baseball American League BALTIMORE—Announced RHP Steve Johnson, a Rule 5 draft pick, has been returned to San Francisco, who assigned him to Bowie (EL). BOSTON—Sent LHP Armando Zerpa out- right to Pawtucket (IL). CHICAGO—Optioned RHP Freddy Dolsi, RHP Lucas Harrell, RHP Jhonny Nunez, RHP Brian Omogrosso and RHP Clevelan Santeliz to Charlotte (IL).Sent RHP Brandon Hynick outright to Charlotte. Optioned RHP 29 29 11 69 204 224 28 30 10 66 177 200 Santo Luis to Birmingham (SL). Reassigned C Cole Armstrong to their minor league camp. CLEVELAND—Acquired RHP Omar Aguilar from Milwaukee for LHP Chuck Lofgren. KANSAS CITY—Optioned RHP Carlos Rosa, RHP Victor Marte and OF Jordan Par- raz to Omaha (PCL).Optioned C Manny Pina to Northwest Arkansas (Texas). Reassigned LHP Nelson Payano, LHP Adam Bostick and OF Buck Coats to their minor league camp. NEW YORK—Named Kevin Towers special assignment scout. SEATTLE—Optioned OF Ezequiel Carrera to Tacoma (PCL) and 1B Dustin Ackley to West Tennessee (SL). National League CHICAGO—Optioned RHP Rafael Dolis to Tennessee (SL). COLORADO—Optioned RHP Alberto Albur- querque, RHP Juan Nicasio, RHP Edgmer Escalona, RHP Chaz Roe, RHP Shane Lind- say, C Michael McKenry and INF Hector Gomez to their minor league camp. Reas- signed RHP Craig Baker, RHP Andrew John- ston, RHP Andrew Graham, LHP Christian Friedrich, C Jordan Pacheco, C Wilin Rosario, OF Chris Frey, INF Darin Holcomb and INF Jeff Kindel to their minor league camp. MILWAUKEE—Sent LHP Chuck Lofgren outright to Nashville (PCL). Released LHP John Halama. Golden Baseball League CALGARY—Agreed to terms with RHP Andrew DeMott, RHP Erik Dessau, 1B Matt Edgecombe, OF Colin Moro, C Dillon O’Krane, RHP Brian Oliver and RHP Matt Morris. National Football League BUFFALO—Signed LB Andra Davis. CHICAGO—Signed CB Tim Jennings to a two-year contract.Released FB Jason McKie. CLEVELAND—Re-signed TE Greg Estandia and DB Ray Ventrone. GREEN BAY—Signed P Chris Bryan. KANSAS CITY—Signed G Ryan Lilja. N.Y. JETS—Signed DE Rodrique Wright. Agreed to terms with FB Tony Richardson on a one-year contract. SEATTLE—Traded DE Darryl Tapp to Philadelphia for DE Chris Clemons and a 2010 fourth-round draft pick. College DUQUESNE—Suspended junior F Bill Clark indefinitely from the men’s basketball team for conduct unacceptable to the team. GEORGE MASON—Announced freshman basketball F Kevin Foster will transfer. OHIO STATE—Signed football coach Jim Tressel to a two-year contract extension through the 2014 season. Fired men’s hock- ey coach John Markell. OREGON—Fired men’s basketball coach Ernie Kent. MACKEY (Continued from page 1B) obsessed with the Iditarod half her life and finally talked her dad, Richard Ardoin, into flying to Nome to catch the winner coming in. Seconds after Mackey stopped to greet her, the girl said she was more than excited. ‘‘It’s more better than I’d ever dreamed,’’ she said. In the final stretch of the race, Hans Gatt of White- horse, Yukon Territory, chased Mackey hard, push- ing ahead of King in Elim on Monday. The 51-year-old musher is a four-time winner of the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, earning a record finish in February. at Bay Hill, where he is the defending champion and a six-time winner. ‘‘When I finally got into a position to think about com- petitive golf again, it became apparent to me that the Mas- ters would be the earliest I could play,’’ Woods said. Woods twice has gone to a major without having competed after a long layoff — nine weeks — and had mixed results. He missed the cut at Winged Foot for the 2006 U.S. Open after his father died, and he won the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines while playing on a shattered left knee that kept him out the rest of the year. ‘‘It’s obviously great for golf that he’s back,’’ three- time major champion Padraig Harrington said. ‘‘It shows the commitment he has to his family. If he came back earlier, that would give him a better chance at Augusta. He would have been putting golf first. Putting his family first by not warming up for Augus- ta, it’s a good statement.’’ Woods has been the biggest draw at the Masters since that watershed victory in 1997. That likely won’t compare to this year. His world came crashing down Nov. 27 when he fled his house in the middle of (Continued from page 1B) a 7-3 tiebreaker to rally back win his No. 3 singles match 3-6, 6-2, 7-6. C.J. Varner and Wyatt Dodero also won for Red Bluff. Spartans golf Daniel Frantz finished second overall and the Spar- tans third out of 20 teams at Monday’s Pleasant Valley Invitational. As a team Red Bluff shot a 430, nine back of Chico’s winning 421. Foothill finished second. Bulldogs golf Los Molinos is in first place in the Mid-Valley League following Tuesday’s second round of play at Table Mountain. They split the Front and Back 9s with Esparto. Zach Mathues led Los Molinos with an 88. On Tuesday, Gatt arrived with 11 dogs a little more than an hour after Mackey to place second, finishing in nine days, one hour and four minutes. That’s the Iditarod’s fourth-fastest finish ever. King, 54, was third, com- pleting the race in nine days, two hours and 22 minutes. His last Iditarod win was in 2006, before he relinquished the crown to Mackey. Mackey greeted both of his rivals at the finish line. This year’s Iditarod was marked by bitter cold that plunged to 30 below, further chilled by powerful winds in sections of the trail. Mackey, whose cancer treatments left him with circulation prob- lems, complained the cold was affecting his hands and feet. the night, an incident still filled with questions that Woods might never answer: Where was he going? What caused him to hit the tree? What injuries sent him to the hospital? And how could the world’s most famous athlete keep secret so many affairs? Woods lost three corpo- rate sponsors — Accenture, AT&T and Gatorade — and became the butt of jokes nationally, from TV talk shows to Disney stage pro- ductions. This will be the first time Woods has missed Bay Hill as a professional, the only regular PGA Tour event he has played every year. Palmer told The Golf Chan- nel that Woods called to apologize for not being there. ‘‘He sounded good. He had some zip in his voice,’’ Palmer said. ‘‘He knows what he wants to do with his life and the way he’s going to handle it, and I guess we’re going to give him that respect. I would think for Tiger it’s going to be tough. It’s going to be something that’s going to take him a lit- tle time to get used to.’’ Palmer said Woods told him he didn’t feel his game ‘‘was up to speed to start playing this early.’’ Frantz’s 78 was one shot off of Foothill’s Wes Brooks winning score.