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Thursday Baseball — Esparto at Los Molinos, 4:30 p.m. Baseball — Mercy at Liberty Christian, 1 p.m. Softball — Esparto at Los Molinos, 4:30 p.m. Softball — Mercy at Liberty Christian, 1 p.m. Soccer — Red Bluff at Foothill, 6 p.m. Tennis — Foothill at Red Bluff, 3:30 p.m. Tennis — Mercy at Willows, 3:30 p.m. Golf — Corning at Anderson Golf — Mercy at Liberty Christian Golf — Red Bluff at Foothill, Noon Sports 1B NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL cracked down on one of its stars Wednesday, suspend- ing Pittsburgh Steelers quar- terback Ben Roethlisberger for not just a few games but the first six of the season, even though he avoided sexual assault charges in Georgia. The two-time Super Bowl winner was banned without pay for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy and was ordered to undergo a ‘‘comprehensive behavioral evaluation by professionals.’’ NFL commissioner Roger Goodell handed down the punishment a week after pros- ecutors decided not to charge Roethlisberger in a case involving a 20-year-old col- lege student who accused him of sexually assaulting her in a Milledgeville, Ga., nightclub last month. ‘‘I recognize that the allegations in Georgia were disput- ed and that they did not result in criminal charges being filed against you,’’ Goodell said in his letter to the six-year veter- an. Roethlisberger Courtesy photo Red Bluff’s Under-15 lacrosse team split a doubleheader Saturday, beating host Elk Grove 15-3 and falling to Pleasant Grove 8-5. Red Bluff’s Under-13 team beat So. Marin 8-5.The Under-15 team hosts No. ranked Yuba City, 10 a.m. Saturday, in Red Bluff. Hotshots and Kool nights ‘‘My decision today is not based on a finding that you violated Georgia law, or on a conclusion that differs from that of the local prosecutor. That said, you are held to a high- er standard as an NFL player, and there is nothing about your conduct in Milledgeville that can remotely be described as admirable, responsible, or consistent with either the values of the league or the expectations of our fans.’’ Goodell said team offseason activities were off limits to the quarterback until he completes the evaluation and is cleared by the league to rejoin the Steelers. ‘‘Your conduct raises sufficient concerns that I believe effective intervention now is the best step for your personal and professional welfare,’’ Goodell wrote. Trade rumors immediately swirled, and while the Steel- ers declined to address the speculation, they were privately weighing whether they should consider dealing their fran- chise quarterback for a Top 10 draft pick if one were offered. Sitting out all six games would cost Roethlisberger an estimated $2.8 million of his $102 million total deal, though the penalty could be shortened to four games for good behavior. Roethlisberger is the first player suspended by Goodell under the conduct policy who hasn’t been arrested or charged with a crime. Roethlisberger also is being sued by a woman who accused him of raping her at a Lake Tahoe hotel-casino in 2008. He denied the allegation and wasn’t charged. ‘‘In your six years in the NFL, you have first thrilled and now disappointed a great many people,’’ Goodell wrote. ‘‘I urge you to take full advantage of this opportunity to get your life and career back on track.’’ Goodell said the league’s conduct policy gave him the right to impose discipline regardless of whether Roethlis- berger broke the law. Before acting, Goodell said he interviewed Roethlisberg- er on April 13 and talked to current and former players and the players’ union. He also reviewed information from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Milledgeville police and talked privately with Georgia district attorney Fred Bright. In addition, Goodell said he listened to recommen- dations from the quarterback’s representatives, and took into account information learned by the NFL office regarding the alleged assault. The Steelers said Roethlisberger was unavailable for comment. His agent, Ryan Tollner, said he planned to respond later. In a statement to police, the college student said Roeth- Courtesy photo The Red Bluff Hotshots AAU basketball team won the freshman championship at the Kool April Spectacular Tournament in Redding over the weekend.The Hotshots will compete in the Battle for the North State tournament also in Redding this weekend.The Red Bluff Hotshots are (from top left): Coach Kevin Curl, Coach John Wheeler, Emily Gallagher, Alex Dahnke, Jessica Curl, Sarah Brown, Mason Trujillo, Brittany Clatty,Taylor Wood, Jessica Macdonald, Maggie Hensen and (not pictured) Haley Harris and Chelsey Bushnell. Garland has strong outing to down Giants SAN DIEGO (AP) — Jon Garland finally gave the San Diego Padres what they were expecting. Garland, the Padres’ top offseason acquisition, won his first game by pitching seven strong innings to lead San Diego to a 5-2 win over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday. ‘‘It’s nice to get that first win out of the way,’’ he said. Garland (1-2), who signed a one-year, $4.7 mil- lion contract, flashed the form that made the Padres name him as their opening- day starter. ‘‘His secondary pitches were all very solid,’’ Padres manager Bud Black said. ‘‘His change-up has improved over his last two starts. His velocity has picked up. When he needed something extra, he threw a sinker to get outs.’’ Nick Hundley hit a two- run homer and Adrian Gon- zalez added a solo home run as San Diego won its sixth straight game. San Francisco lost its fourth consecutive game and finished 1-5 on its road trip. Garland (1-2) held the slumping Giants to one run and six hits as he pitched into the eighth before leaving after giving up consecutive singles leading off the inning. Garland was solid as he allowed his only run when Juan Uribe led off the fifth inning with a double, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Nate Schierholtz’s ground out. ‘‘He was getting outs early in the count,’’ Black said. ‘‘I think he set a better pace.’’ The right-hander turned in his best outing in four starts with his longest stint of the season. Garland, who received only two runs in his first three starts, credited his change-up with his improved showing. ‘‘It’s just a matter of keeping it down, keeping everything down,’’ he said. ‘‘In this park, it’s what you want. It’s a sign of executing pitches.’’ San Diego, which has beaten the Giants in 10 of 12 games at Petco Park, turned in three double plays, includ- ing two behind Garland. Hundley hit a two-run home run, his second, off Dan Runzler to put the Padres ahead 4-1 in the fifth. Todd Wellemeyer (0-3) had another rough start as he allowed two runs on three hits over four innings, including Gonzalez’s solo homer in the first. Welle- meyer lost his career-high sixth straight decision. ‘‘I just got a good swing on the ball and it carried,’’ said Gonzalez. ‘‘If you get a good swing, you can get homers to right here.’’ Wellemeyer had a lack of control when he walked four consecutive batters in the second inning to give San Diego a 2-0 lead. He issued one-out walks to Oscar Salazar, Tony Gwynn, Gar- land and Everth Cabrera dur- ing which he threw just three strikes. ‘‘I was just yanking it across my body,’’ said Wellemeyer. ‘‘I got out of (the inning) and limited the damage. Unfortunately, I only got to go four innings.’’ Wellemeyer went just four innings for the second straight start. He has allowed five homers in his three starts and has an ERA of 8.16. Pablo Sandoval hit a solo homer, his third, for the Giants in the ninth off Edward Mujica. See GIANTS, page 2B lisberger encouraged her, and her friends, to take numerous shots of alcohol. Then one of his bodyguards escorted her into a hallway at the Capital City nightclub in Milledgeville, Ga., sat her on a stool and left. She said Roethlisberger walked down the hallway and exposed himself. ‘‘I told him it wasn’t OK, no, we don’t need to do this and I proceeded to get up and try to leave,’’ she said. ‘‘I went to the first door I saw, which happened to be a bathroom.’’ According to her statement, Roethlisberger then fol- lowed her into the bathroom and shut the door. ‘‘I still said no, this is not OK, and he then had sex with me,’’ she wrote. Two of her friends said they saw a bodyguard lead her into the hallway and then saw Roethlisberger follow. They said they couldn’t see their friend but knew she was drunk and were worried about her. The statements were among hundreds of pages of the case file made public last week by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania state trooper Ed Joyner can no longer work as a personal assistant to Roethlisberger because he was present when the alleged assault took place. Pennsylvania State Police said Wednesday that Joyner’s outside work exceeded the scope of what was permitted. They also said ‘‘he is alleged to have demeaned the image’’ of the state police. Steelers president Art Rooney II was on the phone call with Goodell to inform Roethlisberger of the suspension. Previously, Rooney said the team was prepared to discipline Roethlisberger had Goodell not acted. ‘‘When the commissioner acts under the league conduct policy, it is the commissioner’s decision,’’ Rooney said. ‘‘Clearly in this case we had an opportunity to have input in a number of conversations about what was going to happen. We certainly were able to coordinate on what was the final outcome.’’ Goodell has aggressively dealt with players who violated the personal conduct policy throughout his 3 1/2 years as commissioner. He banned the Titans’ Adam ‘‘Pacman’’ Jones for one year, and suspended Chicago’s Tank Johnson and Cincinnati’s Chris Henry eight games each in 2007. Henry died last year of a head injury after falling off the back of a truck. Last year, Michael Vick was suspended for six games, later shortened to two games, after serving 18 months in jail for his role in a dogfighting ring. In all, 16 players have been suspended under the conduct policy by Goodell. Thursday April 22, 2010 Red Bluff lacrosse splits pair Big Ben banned