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AUTORACING NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series, Auto Club 400, Practice:10:30a.m.,FS1. NASCAR NXS 300Xfinity Series, Practice: noon, FS1. NASCAR NXS 300Xfinity Series, Final Prac- tice: 2p.m., FS1. NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series, Auto Club 400Qualifying: 4p.m., FS1. F1Australian Grand Prix, Qualifying: 11p.m., NBCSN. BASEBALL MLB Spring Training, Boston Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays: 10a.m., MLB. MLB Spring Training, San Francisco Giants vs. Colorado Rockies: 1p.m., MLB. MLB Spring Training, Baltimore Orioles vs. Minnesota Twins: 4p.m., MLB. College, California vs. UCLA: 6p.m., PAC12BA. HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL CIF Championship, Girls, Division V: 10a.m., CSNBA. CIF Championship, Boys, Division V: noon, CSNBA. CIF Championship, Girls, Division III: 2p.m., CSNBA. CIF Championship, Boys, Division III: 4p.m., CSNBA, CSN. CIF Championship, Girls, Division I: 6p.m., CSN. CIF Championship, Boys, Division I: 8p.m., CSN. COLLEGE MEN'S BASKETBALL Division I Tournament, North Carolina vs. Butler Midwest Region, Sweet Sixteen: 4p.m., CBS. Division I Tournament, Baylor vs. South Carolina, East Region, Sweet Sixteen: 4:15 p.m., TBS. Division I Tournament, Kentucky at UCLA Mid- west, Region Sweet, Sixteen: 6:30p.m., CBS. Division I Tournament, Florida vs. Wisconsin, East Region, Sweet Sixteen: 6:45p.m., TBS. COLLEGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Division I Tournament, Oklahoma Region, Sweet Sixteen: 4p.m., ESPN, ESPN2. Division I Tournament, Oklahoma Region, Sweet Sixteen: 6p.m., ESPN, ESPN2. NBA BASKETBALL Sacramento Kings at Golden State Warriors: 7:30p.m., CSNBA. GOLF PGA Tour, Puerto Rico Open Round 2: 7:30 a.m., GOLF. WGC Tour, Match Play Day 3: 11a.m., GOLF. COLLEGE HOCKEY Division I Tournament North Dakota vs. Bos- ton U. West Regional Semifinal: noon, ESPN2. Division I Tournament: 1p.m., ESPNU. Division I Tournament: 3:30p.m., ESPNU. NHL HOCKEY New York Islanders at Pittsburgh Penguins: 4 p.m., NHL. San Jose Sharks at Dallas Stars: 5:30p.m., CSN. RUGBY RFU English Premiership, Gloucester vs. Bris- tol: 11:30a.m., NBCSN. SOCCER FIFA World Cup Qualifier, Costa Rica vs. Mexico: 5:30p.m., FS1. FIFA World Cup Qualifier, Honduras vs. United States: 7:30p.m., FS1. TENNIS Miami Open Men's and Women's Second Round: 8a.m., TENNIS. Ontheair Basically, my under- standing is that the NFL itself is tacitly back- boarding the Bank of America loan with a "will not fail" promise to the bank. If Raiders owner Mark Davis cannot meet the future debt-service payments, the strength and liquidity of the NFL will guarantee the pay- ments, and nobody has ever gone bankrupt bet- ting on the NFL's finan- cial heft. That's a guarantee that the NFL either was not asked, or was not willing to make, in po- tential Oakland deal- ings, by the way. Breer reported an- other key piece of infor- mation: The NFL likely will keep the Las Vegas relocation fee relatively low, under $400 mil- lion (payable over many years), instead of the $650 million fee for the Chargers and Rams to move to Los Angeles. This is the NFL decid- ing that it needs to get the Raiders' situation concluded and that the only way to do that now is to approve Las Vegas. The owners can't walk away from the $750 mil- lion already approved by the Nevada legislature for this project, and they know Davis is not likely to put together a sta- dium deal in any other way. And by now the NFL absolutely knows that Davis can't get this deal done in Oakland. That is the essen- tial point here: Davis plus Oakland is the spe- cific combination that doesn't work. And if you can't sub- tract Davis from this formula, well, there's only one thing the NFL can do: Split off Oak- land from this situation and try somewhere else. Or else this will be stalemated forever and the NFL is signalling that it cannot stomach any further stalemate. Even if the owners don't especially want to leave the Bay Area with the East Bay boom- ing, even if the owners know that Davis prob- ably could've done a lot more to position himself to get a stadium done in Oakland, the relevant truths are that Davis is the owner and he can't get it done in Oakland. And the owners owe one to Davis, who tried to get a stadium deal in Oakland as best he could, gave up about two years ago, then played along with the owners when they rejected his attempt to move to Car- son. Oh, and he's not sell- ing the team. Yes, the NFL has wanted to try to make Oakland work — or to get Davis to agree to spend a few years in Levi's Stadium — but what we're seeing now is some strong percentage of the owners deciding in real time that it's just not going to happen. So this clarifies things, but just not in the way anybody for keeping the Raiders in Oakland would want. If the league believes the financing is work- able for the Las Vegas plan, the Raiders' appli- cation to move will be passed by a relocation committee. If it goes to the com- mittee, approval for Las Vegas will be recom- mended and it will go to a vote before the full ownership body, possi- bly by Monday. If it goes up for a fi- nal ownership vote, it will — by all indications — get the 24 votes nec- essary for approval, and maybe many more than 24. And the post-Oak- land days for the Raid- ers, except for those two or three purgatory years waiting for the new sta- dium, will have offi- cially begun. Kawakami FROM PAGE 1 said committee chairman Rich McKay, president of the Atlanta Falcons. "We felt we should put an end to it. We don't think it will lead to more ties. Could it? It could, but we are not concerned with that." As for changing the for- mat of overtime to ensure both teams always get a possession — a popular topic after how the Super Bowl ended — Blandino said the league's wants to keep the element of sudden death in the extra period. The "leaper rule" has taken some priority among competition commit- tee members, the players' union and coaches. Vin- cent said coaches have be- gun scheming how to de- fense it, which can "create a real safety issue." "It is really in the best interest of the game" to outlaw leaping on kicks," Vincent added. McKay noted that the NCAA is in the process of passing a similar ban on the technique. During the meetings that run from Sunday to Wednesday, the teams will be shown plays the compe- tition committee believes should result in suspen- sions or ejections. Game officials already have had the leeway to eject players, but it rarely has happened; there were three in 2016. "They don't happen very often, let's give the players credit," McKay said. "We have 40,000 plays in a year. We'll show a tape that will have four or five plays that would warrant suspension. This is not a widespread situation." Added Vincent, a for- mer NFL defensive back: "When you see the plays, they are catastrophic. We had two players who did not return for the sea- son. They are high-impact plays that belong out of the game. It will be a real point of emphasis this season." NFL FROM PAGE 1 Unlike the Wildcats' first appearance in the Elite Eight, they were truly in this one. That will be cold comfort, though, to a team that appeared to be peak- ing after an impressive run through the West Regional. Robert Duncan scored 18 points, Isaiah Ellis had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Corey Silverstrom scored all 10 of his points in the second half for Chico State, which set a school record for wins in a single season. "I couldn't be prouder of this group. We accom- plished more than I think we anticipated," Clink said. "We kept getting better throughout the year. I'm just really proud of the guys and what they brought ev- ery day and their willing- ness to be coached." With seven ties and six lead changes, it looked like March Madness might un- fold in Sioux Falls. And then, the Wildcats couldn't buy a shot. They shot 23 of 67 (34 percent) from the field. They shot just 4 of 19 (21 percent) from 3. They committed 14 turnovers. And they missed all seven of their field goals from the 8:03 mark until they got an- other bucket with the game out of reach, and in that time the Railsplitters (30- 5) pulled away. Chico made just 11 of 18 free throws and turned it over six times in the last 9 minutes. The Wildcats trailed 60- 54 with 5:22 remaining af- ter a 6-0 run by Lincoln Me- morial, having battled foul trouble, turnovers and un- kind iron for the duration of regulation up to that point. Chico State held the Rail- splitters, who averaged 92 points per game entering play, mostly in check, but offensively couldn't help it- self despite a flurry of good looks that just didn't fall. The teams traded leads over the first 5 minutes of the second half, with the Splitters getting production (13 points) from Paul Wood- son off the bench and Dun- can and Ellis continuing to fill up the score sheet for the Wildcats. Duncan to- taled six assists and five re- bounds in his final game as a Wildcat. Lincoln Memorial pulled ahead 52-49 inside of 12 minutes, and that's when Luquon Choice — the Rail- splitters' leading scorer and all-time leading 3-point shooter — started to heat up after a cold start. His free throws just outside of 3 minutes gave Lincoln Me- morial its biggest lead of the game at seven points, and moments later, the lead was double digits on Emanuel Terry's tip-in. Choice's driv- inglayupinsideof2minutes capped off a 15-1 run. Wildcats FROM PAGE 1 JON KLEMME — CONTRIBUTED Chico State's Robert Duncan (5) drives to the basket past two Railsplitters in the Wildcats' 74-61loss Wednesday. throw with 15 seconds left, giving Michigan one more chance. Oregon had fouls to give but failed to get a hand on anyone, allowing Walton to put up one more shot. The teams struggled to find their offensive rhythm early, and Michigan had uncharacteristic problems with turnovers against a Ducks' defense that switched between man-to- man and matchup zone. GONZAGA 61, W. VIRGINIA 58 Jordan Mathews hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with under a minute to play and top-seeded Gonzaga survived a rough shoot- ing night for both teams to beat No. 4 seed West Virginia to advance to the West Regional final. On a night that featured 51 fouls and only 34 made baskets, Mathews deliv- ered the big shot that sent the Bulldogs (35-1) to their third Elite Eight in school history. It didn't come easily. West Virginia (29-8) had three shots to tie the game but Tarik Phillip missed a shot from the lane and Jevon Carter missed two 3-pointers after Silas Mel- son made one foul shot. The Mountaineers re- bound both misses but couldn't get another shot off before the buzzer. Despite shooting 26.7 percent for the game, West Virginia stayed close and took a 58-55 lead on a 3-pointer by Carter with 1:47 to play. Nigel Wil- liams-Goss answered with two free throws. After Daxter Miles Jr. missed two fouls shots and Nathan Adrian was blocked by Josh Perkins on the putback, Williams- Goss found Mathews in the corner for the open 3-pointer that proved the game-winner. Mathews, Przemek Kar- nowski and Johnathan Williams all had 13 points to lead the Bulldogs. Carter led the Moun- taineers with 21 points. The game was tied at 30 after a first half that was far from an aesthetic mas- terpiece with 27 fouls and just 16 baskets. The teams combined for 29 percent shooting, including 2 for 16 from 3-point range. The Bulldogs created some space early in the second when Mathews hit 3s on consecutive trips and added a free throw for a four-point play on the second to make it 41- 34. But the Mountaineers fought back and the game stayed tight until the end. NCAA FROM PAGE 1 Scoreboard NBA WESTERNCONFERENCE PACIFIC DIVISION W L Pct GB z-GoldenState 57 14 .803 — Clippers 43 30 .589 15 Sacramento 27 44 .380 30 Phoenix 22 50 .306 351/2 Lakers 20 51 .282 37 SOUTHWEST DIVISION W L Pct GB x-San Antonio 55 16 .775 — x-Houston 49 22 .690 6 Memphis 40 32 .556 151/2 Dallas 31 40 .437 24 New Orleans 30 41 .423 25 NORTHWEST DIVISION W L Pct GB Utah 44 28 .611 — Oklahoma City 41 30 .577 21/2 Denver 34 37 .479 91/2 Portland 32 38 .457 11 Minnesota 28 42 .400 15 EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION W L Pct GB x-Boston 46 26 .639 — Toronto 43 29 .597 3 New York 27 44 .380 181/2 Philadelphia 26 45 .366 191/2 Brooklyn 15 56 .211 301/2 SOUTHEAST DIVISION W L Pct GB Washington 43 28 .606 — Atlanta 37 34 .521 6 Miami 35 37 .486 81/2 Charlotte 32 39 .451 11 Orlando 26 46 .361 171/2 CENTRAL DIVISION W L Pct GB x-Cleveland 46 24 .657 — Milwaukee 36 35 .507 101/2 Indiana 36 35 .507 101/2 Chicago 34 38 .472 13 Detroit 34 38 .472 13 x-clinched playoff spot z-clinched division Wednesday's games Charlotte 109, Orlando 102 Boston 109, Indiana 100 Chicago 117, Detroit 95 Oklahoma City 122, Philadelphia 97 Washington 104, Atlanta 100 Denver 126, Cleveland 113 Milwaukee 116, Sacramento 98 Utah 108, New York 101 Thursday's games Brooklyn 126, Phoenix 98 Toronto 101, Miami 84 Dallas 97, Clippers 95 San Antonio 97, Memphis 90 New York at Portland, n. Friday's games Brooklyn at Washington, 4 p.m. Cleveland at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Denver at Indiana, 4 p.m. Detroit at Orlando, 4 p.m. Phoenix at Boston, 4:30 p.m. Atlanta at Milwaukee, 5 p.m. New Orleans at Houston, 5 p.m. Philadelphia at Chicago, 5 p.m. Minnesota at Lakers, 7:30 p.m. Sacramento at Golden State, 7:30 p.m. College basketball NCAA MEN'S TOURNAMENT EAST REGIONAL Regional Semifinals Friday, March 24 South Carolina (24-10) vs. Baylor (27-7), 4:29 p.m. Wisconsin (27-9) vs. Florida (26-8), 7 p.m. SOUTH REGIONAL Regional Semifinals Friday, March 24 Butler (25-8) vs. North Carolina (29-7), 4:09 p.m. Kentucky (31-5) vs. UCLA (31-4), 6:40 p.m. MIDWEST REGIONAL Regional Semifinals Thursday, March 23 Oregon 69, Michigan 68 Purdue (27-7) vs. Kansas (30-4), n. WEST REGIONAL Regional Semifinals Thursday, March 23 Gonzaga 61, West Virginia 58 Xavier (23-13) vs. Arizona (32-4), n. NCAA WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT BRIDGEPORT REGIONAL Regional Semifinals Saturday, March 25 Maryland (32-2) vs. Oregon (22-13), 8:30 a.m. UConn (34-0) vs. UCLA (25-8), 11 a.m. OKLAHOMA CITY REGIONAL Regional Semifinals Friday, March 24 Mississippi State (31-4) vs. Washington (29-5), 4 p.m. Baylor (32-3) vs. Louisville (29-7), 6:30 p.m. LEXINGTON REGIONAL Regional Semifinals Friday, March 24 Notre Dame (32-3) vs. Ohio State (28-6), 4 p.m. Texas (25-8) vs. Stanford (30-5), 6:30 p.m. STOCKTON REGIONAL Regional Semifinals Saturday, March 25 South Carolina (29-4) vs. Quinnipiac (29-6), 1 p.m. Florida State (27-6) vs. Oregon State (31-4), 3:30 p.m. Baseball WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC At Dodger Stadium Championship Wednesday, March 22 United States 8, Puerto Rico 0 MLB SPRING TRAINING Thursday's games St. Louis 5, Miami 3 Minnesota 4, Philadelphia 2 Washington 1, N.Y. Mets 0 N.Y. Yankees 5, Tampa Bay 5 Boston 10, Pittsburgh 7 Chicago White Sox 4, Cincinnati 2 Cleveland 8, Colorado 3 Oakland 15, Milwaukee 5 Chicago Cubs 5, Arizona 5 San Diego 6, L.A. Angels 2 Atlanta 2, Detroit 1 L.A. Dodgers 10, Texas 2 Seattle vs. San Francisco, n. Friday's games Atlanta vs. Detroit at Lakeland, Fla., 10:05 a.m. Philadelphia vs. N.Y. Yankees at Tampa, Fla., 10:05 a.m. St. Louis vs. Washington (ss) at West Palm Beach, Fla., 10:05 a.m. Tampa Bay vs. Pittsburgh at Bradenton, Fla., 10:05 a.m. Boston vs. Toronto at Dunedin, Fla., 10:07 a.m. Houston vs. N.Y. Mets at Port St. Lucie, Fla., 10:10 a.m. Arizona vs. L.A. Dodgers at Glendale, Ariz., 1:05 p.m. Chicago White Sox vs. Oakland at Mesa, Ariz., 1:05 p.m. Cleveland vs. Chicago Cubs at Mesa, Ariz., 1:05 p.m. Milwaukee vs. Cincinnati at Goodyear, Ariz., 1:05 p.m. San Diego vs. Texas at Surprise, Ariz., 1:05 p.m. Kansas City vs. Seattle (ss) at Peoria, Ariz., 1:10 p.m. San Francisco vs. Colorado at Scotts- dale, Ariz., 1:10 p.m. Baltimore vs. Minnesota at Fort Myers, Fla., 4:05 p.m. Washington (ss) vs. Miami at Jupiter, Fla., 4:05 p.m. Seattle (ss) vs. L.A. Angels at Tempe, Ariz., 5:10 p.m. A's 15, Brewers 5 Milwaukee 000 002 003—5 10 3 Oakland 152 400 30x—15 18 0 Guerra, Jungmann (4), Feliz (6), Barnes (7), Scahill (7), and Pina, Garcia; Alcantara, Coulombe (6), Blackwood (8), Detwiler (9), Healy (9), and Phegley, Maxwell. W — Alcantara 1-1; L — Guerra 2-1. HRs_Alonso (2), Plouffe, Schrock. NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE PACIFIC DIVISION GP W L OT Pts GF GA San Jose 73 42 24 7 91 198 169 Anaheim 73 39 23 11 89 190 181 Edmonton 74 40 25 9 89 219 194 Calgary 74 41 29 4 86 204 200 Los Angeles 72 34 31 7 75 175 181 Vancouver 73 29 35 9 67 167 215 Arizona 74 27 38 9 63 179 236 CENTRAL DIVISION GP W L OT Pts GF GA x-Chicago 74 48 20 6 102 225 185 Minnesota 73 44 23 6 94 236 183 St. Louis 73 40 28 5 85 205 196 Nashville 73 37 25 11 85 215 203 Winnipeg 73 33 33 7 73 220 232 Dallas 73 29 33 11 69 198 236 Colorado 73 20 50 3 43 144 245 EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION GP W L OT Pts GF GA Montreal 74 41 24 9 91 201 186 Ottawa 73 41 24 8 90 193 188 Toronto 73 35 23 15 85 225 214 Boston 74 38 30 6 82 212 201 Tampa Bay 73 35 29 9 79 203 205 Florida 73 32 30 11 75 186 209 Buffalo 74 30 32 12 72 183 214 Detroit 72 29 32 11 69 180 213 METROPOLITAN DIVISION GP W L OT Pts GF GA x-Washington 73 48 17 8 104 234 162 x-Pittsburgh 73 46 17 10 102 253 201 x-Columbus 73 47 19 7 101 231 171 N.Y. Rangers 74 45 25 4 94 235 195 N.Y. Islanders 72 34 26 12 80 213 220 Carolina 72 32 27 13 77 190 207 Philadelphia 73 34 31 8 76 191 217 New Jersey 73 27 34 12 66 169 215 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Top three teams in each division and two wild cards per confer- ence advance to playoffs. x-clinched playoff spot Wednesday's games Toronto 5, Columbus 2 N.Y. Islanders 3, N.Y. Rangers 2 Anaheim 4, Edmonton 3 Thursday's games Washington 2, Columbus 1, SO Tampa Bay 6, Boston 3 Florida 3, Arizona 1 Carolina 4, Montreal 1 Ottawa 2, Pittsburgh 1, SO Toronto 4, New Jersey 2 Nashville 3, Calgary 1 Philadelphia 3, Minnesota 1 St. Louis 4, Vancouver 1 Chicago 3, Dallas 2, SO Edmonton 7, Colorado 4 Winnipeg at Los Angeles, n. Friday's games N.Y. Islanders at Pittsburgh, 4 p.m. Tampa Bay at Detroit, 4:30 p.m. San Jose at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Winnipeg at Anaheim, 7 p.m. Golf DELL MATCH PLAY RESULTS At Austin Country Club Austin, Texas Yardage: 7,108. Par: 71 SECOND ROUND Thursday (Seedings in parentheses) Bubba Watson (13), United States, def. Scott Piercy (39), United States, 4 and 3. Jhonattan Vegas (55), Venezuela, def. Thomas Pieters (30), Belgium, 3 and 1. Ross Fisher (47), England, def. Hideki Ma ts uy am a ( 4), J ap an , 2 a nd 1 . Jim Furyk (51), United States, def. Louis Oosthuizen (23), South Africa, 3 and 2. Kevin Kisner (34), United States, def. Patrick Reed (9), United States, 1 up. Brooks Koepka (20), United States, def. Jason Dufner (59), United States, 6 and 5. Alex Noren (8), Sweden, def. Bernd Wi es ber g e r ( 36 ), A us tr ia , 3 a nd 2 . Thongchai Jaidee (57), Thailand, def. Francesco Molinari (25), Italy, 5 and 3. Zach Johnson (44), United States, def. Matt Kuchar (16), United States, 2 up. Brendan Steele (50), United States, def. Tommy Fleetwood (29), England, 1 up. Dustin Johnson (1), United States, def. Ma rt in K ay mer ( 41 ), G er ma ny , 3 a nd 2 . Jimmy Walker (18), United States, def. Webb Simpson (58), United States, 3 and 2. Bill Haas (42), United States, def. Danny Willett (11), England, 6 and 5. K.T. Kim (64), South Korea, def. Russell Knox (17), Scotland, 3 and 1. Kevin Na (46), United States, def. Justin Thomas (6), United States, 4 and 2. Matt Fitzpatrick (27), England, def. Chris Wood (49), England, 4 and 2. Phil Mickelson (14), United States, def. Daniel Berger (35), United States, 5 and 4. J.B. Holmes (31), United States, halved with Si Woo Kim (63), South Korea. Lee Westwood (43) England def. Jason Day (3) Australia, forfeit. Pat Perez (56), United States, def. Marc Leishman (28), Australia, 2 and 1. Tyrrell Hatton (10), England, def. Jeung- hun Wang (40), South Korea, 2 up. Charles Howell III (61), United States, def. Rafa Cabrera Bello (22), Spain, 1 up. Sergio Garcia (7), Spain, def. Kevin Chappell (38), United States, 4 and 3. Jon Rahm (21), Spain, def. Shane Lowry (53), Ireland, 2 and 1. William McGirt (48), United States, def. Branden Grace (15), South Africa, 2 and 1,. Brandt Snedeker (19), United States, def. Andy Sullivan (52), England, 2 and 1. Rory McIlroy (2), Northern Ireland, def. Gary Woodland (33), United States, forfeit. Soren Kjeldsen (62), Denmark, def. Emil- iano Grillo (26), Argentina, 4 and 3. Paul Casey (12), England, def. Byeong Hun An (45), South Korea, 1 up. Charl Schwartzel (24), South Africa, def. Joost Luiten (60), Netherlands, 4 and 3. Jordan Spieth (5), United States, def. Yuta Ikeda (37), Japan, 4 and 2. Ryan Moore (32), halved with Hideto Tanihara (54), Japan. Odds PREGAME.COM LINE NBA Friday Favorite Line (O/U) Underdog at Washington 121/2 (224) Brooklyn at Indiana 11/2 (220) Denver Cleveland 21/2 (2141/2) at Charlotte Detroit 4 (207) at Orlando at Boston 15 (219) Phoenix at Milwaukee 51/2 (2031/2) Atlanta at Houston 7 (2281/2) New Orleans at Chicago 61/2 (209) Philadelphia Minnesota 61/2 (2181/2) at La Lakers at Golden State 171/2 (214) Sacramento College Basketball Friday Favorite Line Underdog Florida 11/2 Wisconsin Baylor 31/2 So. Carolina UCLA PK Kentucky North Carolina 71/2 Butler NHL Friday Favorite Line Underdog at Pittsburgh off NY Islanders Tampa Bay -110/+100 at Detroit San Jose -135/+125 at Dallas at Anaheim -167/+157 Winnipeg | SPORTS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2017 2 B