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Lean on me Page 2B MLB Sports MCT file photos Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey, left, and Rays pitcher David Price, right, won Cy Young awards Wednesday. Mets' Dickey, Rays' Price win Cy Young awards of the Tampa Bay Rays and knuckle- baller R.A. Dickey of the New York Mets won baseball's Cy Young awards on Wednesday. Justin Verlander for the American League prize in one of the closest votes ever. Dickey was an easy choice for the NL honor in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Price barely beat out 2011 winner the first knuckleball pitcher to win the Cy Young Award, an achievement mentors such as Hall of Famer Phil Niekro are quite proud of. ''I am not a self-made man by any stretch of the imagination,'' Dickey said on MLB Network. ''This is a vic- tory for all of us.'' Runner-up two years ago, Price NEW YORK (AP) — David Price The 38-year-old Dickey became Price went 20-5 to tie Jered Weaver for the American League lead in victo- ries and winning percentage. The 27- year-old lefty had the lowest ERA at 2.56 and finished sixth in strikeouts with 205. Verlander, also the league MVP a year ago, followed that up by going 17-8 with a 2.64 ERA and pitching the Detroit Tigers to the World Series. He led the majors in strikeouts (239), innings (238 1-3) and complete games (six). something that they can't take away from me.'' Despite going 19-6 with a 2.72 ERA in 2010, he finished a distant sec- ond in Cy Young voting to Felix Her- nandez, who won only 13 games for last-place Seattle but dominated most other statistical categories that year. Verlander was trying to become the first AL pitcher to win back-to-back Cy Youngs since Boston's Pedro Mar- tinez in 1999 and 2000. San Francisco right-hander Tim Lincecum did it in the National League in 2008-09. Dickey garnered 27 of 32 first- was the pick this time by the slimmest of margins. He received 14 of 28 first- place votes and finished with 153 points to 149 for Verlander, chosen first on 13 ballots. Rays closer Fernando Rodney got the other first-place vote and came in fifth. ''It means a lot,'' Price said. ''It's something that I'll always have. It's Other than a 1969 tie between Mike Cuellar and Denny McLain, it was the tightest race in the history of the AL award. Tracker Today's games NSCIF SEMIFINALS No. 5 Redding Christian No. 1 Mercy 7 p.m. No. 6 Modoc No. 2 Los Molinos 6 p.m. Follow @TehamaSports on Twit- ter for live game coverage from both semifinal games tonight On the tube COLLEGE FOOTBALL 4:30 p.m. ESPN — North Carolina at Virginia GOLF 10:30 a.m. TGC — LPGA, Titleholders, first round, at Naples, Fla. 5:30 p.m.TGC — PGA Tour Australa- sia, Australian Masters, second round, at Melbourne, Australia MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 2 p.m. ESPN2 — Puerto Rico Tip- Off, first round, NC State vs. Penn St., at Bayamon, Puerto Rico 4 p.m. ESPN2 — 2K Sports Classic, first round, Alabama vs. Oregon St., at New York NBCSN — Illinois St. at Drexel 6 p.m. ESPN2 — 2K Sports Classic, first round, Villanova vs. Purdue, at New York 7 p.m. FSN — UTEP at Arizona NBA 5 p.m. TNT — Boston at Brooklyn 7:30 p.m.TNT — Miami at Denver NFL 8 p.m. NFL — Miami at Buffalo Price tossed 211 innings in 31 starts, while Verlander made 33. One factor that might have swung some votes, however: Price faced stiffer competition in the rugged AL East than Verlander did in the AL Central. ''I guess it's a blessing and a curse at the same time,'' Price said. ''There's not an easy out in the lineups every game. It feels like a postseason game.'' Weaver came in third with 70 points, but was listed second on a pair of ballots. The right-hander threw a no-hitter and had a 2.81 ERA in his first 20-win season but missed time with injuries and totaled only 188 2-3 innings for the Los Angeles Angels. The top pick in the 2007 amateur draft out of Vanderbilt, Price reached the majors the following year and has made three straight All-Star teams. Tehama 49ERS Alex Smith practices in non-contact jersey VOLLEYBALL SANTA CLARA (AP) — Alex Smith insists it's too early to guess whether he will return from a concussion in time to start at quarterback in San Francisco's key Monday night NFC showdown against the Chicago Bears. West-leading 49ers (6-2-1) in a non-contact black jer- sey Wednesday, his status still unclear after he sus- tained a concussion in the second quarter Sunday against the St. Louis Rams. ''I feel good, better,'' Smith said Wednesday in his The decision is not up to him, anyway. Smith went through position work with the NFC first comments since the injury. ''I'm just going along with the process right now. Nothing's been decided. It's a whole long process that's up to the doctors. I just kind of do what they tell me. Contact obviously is the final straw.'' from several yards away as he worked with backup Colin Kaepernick and No. 3 QB Scott Tolzien to get his reps. Coach Jim Harbaugh kept a watchful eye on Smith Smith had to pass concussion tests given by a neu- rologist — he went to Stanford on Monday — to get this far and return to the practice field, but there are still further steps in the process for him to be medically cleared for game action. ''Right now it looks like Alex will be our quarter- back for sure,'' optimistic tight end Vernon Davis said. ''I would think so. With all those concussions, you can't really tell, but he was out there and threw the ball around a little bit.'' Smith said he experienced blurred vision on a 1-yard quarterback sneak early in the second quarter of Sun- day's 24-24 tie. place votes and easily outdistanced 2011 winner Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Gio Gonzalez of Washington finished third. Dickey joined Dwight Gooden (1985) and three-time winner Tom Seaver as the only Mets pitchers to win the award. The right-hander was the club's first 20-game winner since Frank Viola in 1990. And perhaps most impressive, Dickey did it during a season when the fourth-place Mets finished 74-88. ''It just feels good all over,'' he said. Price and Dickey are both from Tennessee, making them the fourth pair of Cy Young winners to be born in the same state, according to STATS. The two MVP awards will be announced Thursday. Verlander's teammate, Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera, is a leading contender in the American League. Lions won an away game against No. 4 seed West- wood on Tuesday 25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 19-25, 15- 13. No. 5 Redding Christian Overall record: 23-8-2 Five Star League: 6-6 Last game: The Lady 1B Thursday November 15, 2012 PREP VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS Mercy, LosMo host semifinal opponents tonight DIVISION VI Redding Christian visits Mercy at 7 p.m. today Warriors defeated Dun- smuir in the quarterfinal round 25-10, 25-17, 19- 25, 25-20 off strong play from senior Ella Fleet, who led the team with 12 kills. Kayce Kemp added 37 assists and Jessica Curl put up nine kills. No. 1 Mercy Overall record: 27-10 Five Star League: 11-1 Last game: The Lady The Lady Warriors escaped with a 3-2 win the last time these two league rivals met on Nov. 1. Mercy's 25- 23, 14-25, 25-15, 24-26, 15-23 win capped its dominant season with an 11-1 league record. On Oct. 9, the Lady Warriors swept the lions 25-12, 25-11, 25-22. Previous two meetings: DIVISION V Modoc visits Los Molinos at 6 p.m. today No. 6 Modoc Overall record: 17-12 Shasta Cascade: 9-3 Last game: Modoc defeated No. 3 seed Pierce 3-2 on Thursday to advance to the semifinal round. No. 2 Los Molinos Overall record: 34-7-1 Five Star League: 9-3 Last game: The Lady Bulldogs cruised to a 3-0 sweep against Weed on Tuesday in the quarterfi- nal round. Los Molinos' Clarivel Castillo led the team with 17 kills. Emily Bailey added nine kills and nine digs and Kaitlyn Seaman tallied 23 assists. MCT photo San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith (11) leaves the game against the St. Louis Rams in the second quarter of their game at Candlestick Park on Sunday.