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Tuesday Baseball/Softball — Los Molinos at East Nicolaus, 4:30 p.m. Baseball/Softball — Mercy at Herlong, 3:30 p.m. Softball — Corning at Central Valley, 5 p.m. Soccer — Paradise at Red Bluff, 4:30 p.m. Tennis — Corning at Central Valley, 3:30 p.m. Tennis — Red Bluff at Paradise, 4:30 p.m. Golf — Los Molinos at Arbuckle Golf — Red Bluff vs Chico/Oroville at Wilcox Oaks, 1 p.m. Sports 1B Tuesday April 13, 2010 Just a city boy A’s spoil Seattle’s home opener SEATTLE (AP) — Justin Duch- Growing up just outside of Detroit, I never envisioned my 30th birthday would be spent at a rodeo. But on Friday, April 16 that’s exactly where I’ll be and I know it’s where I’m supposed to be. Over the weekend I’ll be cov- ering the Round-Up for the sports section, but with a kind- enough boss, I’ll be attending the Friday show just as a fan with my parents who are flying in from North Carolina to celebrate the fact I am officially old. Last week, I headed down to the Round-Up office to purchase the great deal that is the Family Four-Pack and had a bit of a surreal moment. After giving a general idea of where Iwanted our seats to be, Iwas given a set of tickets including one for Section A, Row 4, Seat 16. It was the perfect seat to have my rear parked in for my April 16th birthday. It was the kind of chance occurrence that leads peo- ple to misuse the word ironic. It was either a sign I had made the right choice in cel- ebrating my birthday at Red Bluff’s premier sporting event or it was time to call in Fringe’s Walter Bishop. Even if it wasn’t my birthday, I couldn’t think of a better place to bring my parents on their first trip to Red Bluff than the Round-Up. Last year, my wife and I did the same with her sister Rich Greene who was in town. She loved it. We were happy she got a pure taste of what it’s like living out West. While the Round-Up is a great collection of cowboys and thus athletic talent, it’s also a great tribute to a way of life many Americans — especially those of us from back East — never got to appreciate. I’ll admit I couldn’t handle one day of actual ranch work, but it’s nice I can at least get a taste of what it’s like while still wearing my low-cut Adidas shoes. It’s even better to be able to show someone what the values of a town like Red Bluff are. The Round-Up is certainly a picture worth far more than a 1,000 words in that regard. In a column filled with cliches, one more won’t hurt and I should note this isn’t my first rodeo — it will be my parent’s. Obviously I’m no rodeo expert, but when my parents ask questions Friday, I have a feeling I’m going to be able to answer some of them. That’s going to make Red Bluff feel like home. Back where Iwas raised, my favorite local event was a firework show my suburb would put on the last week of June. Everyone I knew, had forgotten or would eventually meet someday attended and every year you would run into people from each of those categories. The Round-Up has that same feeling. Although in just two years it’s hard for Daily News Sports Editor Rich Greene to have forgotten anyone yet, he looks forward to seeing people he knows and meeting new faces. You can reach him by e-mail at sports@redbluffdailynews.com or at 527-2151, ext.109 and you even know where’s he’s sitting on Friday. Smith scores win March 28 members of the Red Bluff Bass Anglers gathered at the public launch at Clearlake Oaks for the last fishing tournament of the year. The weather was blus- tery but calmed for the com- petition. Courtesy photo Ted Smith The winner was Ted Smith, who brought a five- fish limit to the scales that weighed 17.28 pounds. His average fish was 3.46 pounds. The Catch and Release program is prac- ticed by all members. All fish were returned to the lake in excellent condition. Red Bluff Blast Ignited Girls Soccer Try-outs The Red Bluff Blast Ignited, an Under-14 Girls Division 3 competitive soccer teams is searching for players in love with the game and those wanting to see how their skill stack-up against the best competition in the North State. The Red Bluff Blast Ignited will be holding tryouts for the Fall 2010 Season for those up to the challenge. There will be two tryouts at the Red Bluff High School Soccer Fields on Park Avenue: April 15 and April 21 at 5:30 p.m. Players from Corning, Los Molinos, and other areas of Tehama County in addition to Red Bluff are encouraged to tryout. Players may mail-in regsitration or may also register at the tryout. See the Red Bluff Youth Soccer League web page for details: www.rbysl.org More information is also available by con- tacting Coach Andy Corry by telephone at 527- 8391. Courtesy photo The Shasta Gold Diggers placed second in a National Qualifer for NAS over the weekend in Vacaville. Due to rain the Championship game was never played and final standings were taken from runs scored during Saturday’s play. The championship game would have been a rematch with a team the Gold Diggers had previously beaten. The Gold Diggers are coached by Lonnie Boles and Jon Winterburn and include (from back left): Kayla Ferris (Cottonwood), Cheyenne Boles (Corning), Kimberly White (Corning), Ruby Baldry (Cottonwood), Alicia Mandt, Sara Cunningham, Nikki Moore, Sophia Oliverez (Corning), Katrina Winterburn, Bethany Bott (Corning), Lauren Bramhall (Red Bluff) and Sage Boles (Corning). Kings pick up option on Westphal SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Sacramento Kings picked up the option on first-year coach Paul Westphal on Monday, keeping him under contract through the 2011-12 season. ‘‘It’s very gratifying,’’ Westphal said before the Kings played their final home game of the season against Houston. ‘‘It shows that the ownership and management and coaching staff and players have taken a step in the direction that everybody wants this franchise to go. It’s rare in this league when you can have all those entities pretty much on the same page. It’s very nice.’’ Westphal signed a two-year deal with the club option after the Kings finished an NBA-worst 17-65 last season. He has helped lead the team to 25 wins heading into Monday’s second-to-last game of the season, a solid improvement over last year’s franchise worst season when the Kings had the worst record in the NBA. ‘‘We’re all excited about the new direction Paul has given our team and his ability to keep our players focused during the course of the season,’’ president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie said. ‘‘I think he’s done a tremendous job of helping us turn the corner.’’ But there is still plenty of work to be done as the Kings entered Monday’s game tied with Golden State for the sec- ond-worst record in the Western Confer- ence. After getting off to a 14-16 start this season, the Kings have struggled in the second half as the schedule got tougher and the young players struggled at times with the rigors of the NBA. This marked the fourth straight season Sacramento failed to make the postseason after an eight-year run of playoff berths. ‘‘We’re not good enough yet. That’s all it is,’’ he said ‘‘We’re trying. I think we’ve played well. When you’re looking at a conference where there’s probably eight 50-win teams and two others that are over .500 and we’re the youngest team in basketball coming off a 17-win season. You don’t judge this team on if you make the playoffs and knock off the Lak- ers in the first round. You judge this team on whether it’s improved or not. I think it clearly has improved.’’ The biggest development this season has been the play of rookie point guard Tyreke Evans, who is closing in on an impressive milestone. With 24 points in the final two games, Evans will join Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan and LeBron James as the only rookies in NBA history to average at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists per game. He has been remarkably consistent all season, scoring in double figures in 63 of the past 66 games. Evans is in a tight race with Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Milwaukee’s Brandon Jennings for the billing as the league’s top rookie. ‘‘There’s no doubt to me,’’ Westphal said. ‘‘That’s not to take anything away from the excellent year other plays have had. I really think his consistent excel- lence on top of that fact that he’s joining this select club of three other players to accomplish what he has accomplished makes his case. It’s pretty hard for any- body to expect him not to win it after that kind of achievement.’’ Scoreboard MLB American Leauge Monday’s results Oakland 4 at Seattle 0 Kansas City 10, Detroit 5 Texas 4, Cleveland 2, 10 innings Minnesota 5, Boston 2 Tampa Bay 5, Baltimore 1 Chicago White Sox 8, Toronto 7, 11 innings Today’s games Oakland (B.Anderson 1-0) at Seattle (Fister 0-1), 7:10 p.m.,CSNCA Kansas City (Bannister 0-0) at Detroit (Willis 0-0), 10:05 a.m. L.A. Angels (E.Santana 0-1) at N.Y.Yankees (Pettitte 0-0), 10:05 a.m. Tampa Bay (Niemann 0-0) at Baltimore (Matusz 1-0), 4:05 p.m. Chicago White Sox (Floyd 0-0) at Toronto (Romero 0-0), 4:07 p.m. National League Monday’s Games Pittsburgh at San Francisco, late Chicago Cubs 9, Milwaukee 5 Philadelphia 7, Washington 4 St. Louis 5, Houston 0 San Diego 17, Atlanta 2 Cincinnati 6, Florida 5, 10 innings Today’s games Pittsburgh (Maholm 0-1) at San Fran. (Cain 0-0), 7:15 p.m.,CSNBA Arizona (I.Kennedy 0-0) at L.A. Dodgers (Kershaw 0-0), 1:10 p.m. Cincinnati (Arroyo 0-0) at Florida (N.Robertson 1-0), 4:10 p.m. N.Y. Mets (Maine 0-0) at Colorado (G.Smith 0-1), 5:40 p.m. NBA Monday’s results Houston at Sacramento, late Oklahoma City at Portland, late Orlando at Indiana, 7 p.m. Miami at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. Toronto at Detroit, 7:30 p.m. Charlotte at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m. Washington at New York, 7:30 p.m. Atlanta at Milwaukee, 8 p.m. Minnesota at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m. Memphis at Denver, 9 p.m. Dallas at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m. Today’s games Utah at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.,CSNBA Sacramento at Lakers, 10:30 p.m.,CSNCA Boston at Chicago, 8 p.m. Denver at Phoenix, 10:30 p.m. scherer was terrific in his second start in 20 months, pitching into the eighth inning to help the Oakland Athletics ruin the Seattle Mariners’ home opener with a 4-0 victory on Monday. Cliff Pennington homered and Gabe Gross had a two-run single for Oakland, off to a surprising 6-2 start. Duchscherer (1-0) allowed two hits and walked two in 7 1-3 innings. The right-hander, a two-time All- Star, missed last season because of an elbow injury and was later treated for clinical depression. Former Mariners star Randy Johnson sent a charge through the Safeco Field crowd with a ceremoni- al first pitch but Seattle still dropped to 2-6 after entering the year with playoff aspirations following a splashy offseason. It’s the Mariners’ worst start since beginning 1-7 in 2004. Ryan Rowland-Smith (0-1) allowed just three hits in seven innings for Seattle, but issued a career-high five walks and allowed four runs. The 32-year-old Duchscherer did- n’t make his spring debut until March 22. Then he allowed five runs and seven hits over 5 2-3 innings in a no- decision last week against Seattle, a game that the A’s won late. His second start since Aug. 18, 2008, was even better. He twice struck out Ken Griffey Jr., the second time with the tying run on third in the fourth inning. Only one other Seattle runner got past first base on Duchscherer after that. Duchscherer was an All-Star in 2005 and ’08 before the problems with his back, hip, elbow and depres- sion. He’s still on an amended train- ing schedule designed to preserve his back. Rowland-Smith didn’t allow a hit until the sixth — and it hurt. Pen- nington, the No. 9 hitter, lined an 0-2 pitch over the roof of Oakland’s bullpen bench for his second homer of the season. Pennington’s drive made it 2-0, a considerable deficit considering the way Seattle has hit so far this season. The Mariners, who were averaging three runs before Monday’s game, had just three baserun- ners and one hit in the first six innings. Oakland added two more in the seventh. With two out and runners on second and third, catcher Rob Johnson could not hold on to a two-strike foul tip by Gross. Given the reprieve, Gross celebrated his first start with the A’s by driving in two with a single. Randy Johnson got a warm wel- come from the sellout crowd of 45,876 before he fired a strike to his former Mariners catcher, Dan Wil- son, minutes before the game. Gold Diggers nab second