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2B – Daily News – Tuesday, April 27, 2010 Baffert has Derby favorite Sharks take advantage LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Bob Baffert has suddenly gone from having a solid contender to having the solid favorite for the Kentucky Derby. Last year’s 2-year-old champion, Lookin At Lucky, assumed the role after Eskendereya was forced out of the field by a leg injury. ‘‘There’s no telling how good that horse was. Todd Pletcher has never brought a horse to the Derby like that,’’ Baffert said on a cloudy and cold Mon- day at Churchill Downs. ‘‘The Derby dream just gets totally lost like that. It’s horrible.’’ Baffert knows the feeling, though. In 1998, Event of the Year was to be the Derby favorite, but broke a leg the week before the race. Baffert’s horse, Indian Charlie, went off as the favorite. His other entry, Real Quiet, won, giv- ing the trainer his second straight Derby victory. Mike Pegram owned Real Quiet, who went on to win the Preakness, putting him and longtime friend Baf- fert on the brink of the Triple Crown. But the colt was beaten by a nose in the Belmont. Now, Baffert and Pegram, who co- owns Lookin At Lucky, have a shot at making the head-spinning trip to the winner’s circle together again. ‘‘You appreciate it more as you get older. You understand what the Derby really means,’’ Pegram said. ‘‘You know how fortunate and lucky you are to make the race and to have a chance to win it.’’ Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia calls Lookin At Lucky the ‘‘solid favorite’’ for Saturday’s 1 1/4- mile race. ‘‘I’m thinking he’ll be right around 3-1 — not as solid as Eskendereya would have been, but still pretty solid,’’ said Battaglia, who will set the morn- ing line at Wednesday’s draw. ‘‘Then I’ll probably have Sidney’s Candy at right around 6-1 or 8-1, and then Awe- some Act at right around the same odds.’’ Baffert believes Lookin At Lucky and Sidney’s Candy should reverse their positions since the John Sadler- trained colt beat him by six lengths in the Santa Anita Derby. ‘‘He should have the favorite, it would be good for John,’’ Baffert said, laughing. The expected full field of 20 Derby horses shifted again Monday, with Pletcher eliminating Rule and adding filly Devil May Care. Despite the loss of Eskendereya, the trainer could have up to five starters as he tries to end an 0 for 24 skid in the Derby. Still, he said losing Eskendereya, winner of his last two starts by a com- bined 18 1/4 lengths, was hard. ‘‘No matter what happens on Satur- day, there’s always going to be that what-if,’’ Pletcher said. ‘‘There’s no way around it.’’ Rule’s defection moved Jackson Bend moved onto the list of potential starters for trainer Nick Zito. The colt finished second to Eskendereya in the Fountain of Youth and Florida Derby, won by Ice Box, another starter for Zito. Lookin At Lucky has improved daily since arriving at Churchill Downs last week. The colt with six wins in eight career starts completed his final major workout Monday, going five furlongs over an off-track in 1:00.80, the fastest of 26 workouts at the distance. ‘‘If Garrett (Gomez) can just get him in the right spot, and give him a chance to win, that’s all he needs,’’ Baffert said. ‘‘If he turns for home and he’s right there, he’ll give it his all. He’s a fierce competitor.’’ So is Baffert, although it’s been eight years since he won his third Derby with War Emblem. ‘‘It’s on my resume,’’ he said, ‘‘but I just have forgotten the feeling.’’ He thought he recaptured it last year, before his front-running Pio- neerof the Nile was overtaken in the stretch by rail-hugging 50-1 long shot Mine That Bird. ‘‘I was in shock,’’ he said, standing on a blue plastic feed tub to rise above the media throng outside his barn. ‘‘This race is so hard to win.’’ Now 57, Baffert is competitive as ever, though his attitude has mellowed. ‘‘We act older, we go to bed earli- er,’’ said Pegram, who is a year older and makes his money owning 26 McDonald’s restaurants in Arizona and two casinos in Carson City, Nev. Overhearing Pegram, Baffert’s wife, Jill, cracks, ‘‘They’re on Geritol.’’ Back in ’98, Baffert was divorced from his first wife and Pegram was busy burnishing his good-time reputa- tion, leading to late nights on the town between the buddies whose friendship dates to the mid-1980s. These days, the Bafferts share a 6- year-old son and Pegram is remarried with teenage grandchildren of his own. But the joking hasn’t stopped. ‘‘I’m 20 pounds heavier than I was in ’98. See, look at him. He’s down,’’ Pegram said, gesturing at Baffert, who lifted up his vest to pat a slim stomach. ‘‘See what a young wife does?’’ Pegram says as laughter bounces off the concrete walls of Baffert’s stable office. Racing deals out more losses than victories. Such advice is wasted on Pegram, whose sense of humor extends to naming his horses (Icecold- beeratreds, Preachinatthebar and Loveontherail). ‘‘That’s what racing is all about, being with your friends and having a good time,’’ the owner said. Pegram, along with Lookin At Lucky’s other owners, Arizona car dealers Karl Watson and Paul Weit- man, is hands-off, trusting his friend’s horse sense. ‘‘When that pressure’s off of you, it’s so much easier to train horses,’’ Baffert said. ‘‘If there wasn’t a Ken- tucky Derby, I’d probably go sell cars with my clients. They’re a lot of fun and they enjoy it.’’ If Lookin At Lucky or Baffert’s other entry, Conveyance, win Satur- day, he would tie fellow Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas and H.J. ‘‘Dick’’ Thompson for second-most Derby vic- tories at four. Lukas will again try to stop him, this time with Dublin. Baffert doesn’t care which horse ends up in the winner’s circle, as long as it’s from his barn. His elderly parents will be watching on television in Nogales, Ariz., where his mother, Ellie, is seriously ill. ‘‘This may be her last Derby,’’ he said. ‘‘She’s rooting for me.’’ 49ers sign veteran DE-LB Travis LaBoy SANTA CLARA (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers have signed veteran Travis LaBoy to a one- year contract. LaBoy can play defen- sive end or outside line- backer. He was a second- round selection (42nd overall) by the Tennessee Titans in the 2004 draft. In 67 games, with 32 starts, he has 136 tackles, 23 1/2 sacks, six forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and one inter- ception. LaBoy had his best season in 2005 with 41 tackles and 6 1/2 sacks. The 28-year-old LaBoy played four sea- sons with Tennessee before signing with Ari- zona in 2008. He was released in March 2009 and missed the entire sea- son recovering from a foot injury. Scoreboard MLB West Division A’s East Division American League WL Pct GB Angels 10 10 .500 2 Seattle Texas 12 8 .600 — 9 11 .450 3 8 11 .421 3.5 WL Pct GB Tampa Bay 14 5 .737 — New York 12 6 .667 1.5 Toronto 10 10 .500 4.5 Boston 9 11 .450 5.5 Baltimore 3 16 .158 11 Central Division Minnesota 13 6 .684 — Detroit WL Pct GB 11 9 .550 2.5 Cleveland 8 10 .444 4.5 Chicago 8 11 .421 5 Kansas City 8 11 .421 5 ——— Monday’s results Boston 13, Toronto 12 Detroit 8, Texas 6 Kansas City 3, Seattle 1 Cleveland at Los Angeles, late Today’s games Oakland (Sheets 1-1) at T.B.(W.Davis 1-1),4:10 p.m.,CSNCA Minnesota (Liriano 2-0) at Detroit (Verlander 1-1), 4:05 p.m. New York (P.Hughes 2-0) at Baltimore (Millwood 0-3), 4:05 p.m. Boston (Buchholz 1-2) at Toronto (Marcum 0-1), 4:07 p.m. Chicago (Buehrle 2-2) at Texas (C.Wilson 1-1), 5:05 p.m. Seattle (Snell 0-2) at Kansas City (Greinke 0-2), 5:10 p.m. Cleveland (Talbot 2-1) at West Division Los Angeles (Saunders 1-3), 7:05 p.m. National League WL Pct GB Padres 11 8 .579 — GIANTS 10 8 .556 .5 Colorado 10 10 .500 1.5 Arizona 9 10 .474 2 Dodgers 8 10 .444 2.5 East Division WL Pct GB Philadelphia 11 7 .611 — Florida 11 9 .550 1 New York 10 9 .526 1.5 Washington 10 10 .500 2 Atlanta Central Division 8 11 .421 3.5 WL Pct GB St. Louis 12 7 .632 — Chicago 10 10 .500 2.5 Milwaukee 9 10 .474 3 Houston 8 10 .444 3.5 Cincinnati 8 11 .421 4 Pittsburgh 7 12 .368 5 ——— Monday’s results Philadelphia at San Francisco, late Arizona 5, Colorado 3 Chicago 4, Washington 3, 10 innings Florida 10, San Diego 1 Milwaukee 17, Pittsburgh 3 St. Louis 4, Atlanta 3 Los Angeles at New York, ppd., rain Today’s games Philadelphia (Moyer 2-1) at S.F. (Wellemeyer 0-3), 7:15 p.m.,CSNCA L.os Angeles (Kuroda 2-0) at New York (J.Santana 2-1), 1:05 p.m., 1st game Los Angeles (Haeger 0-2) at New York (O.Perez 0-2), 4:10 p.m., 2nd game San Diego (Garland 1-2) at Florida (A.Sanchez 1-1), 4:10 p.m. Other series San Jose won series 4-2 over Colorado Philadelphia won series 4-1 over New Jersey Pittsburgh won series 4-2 over Ottawa Vancouver won series 4-2 over Los Angeles MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Galaxy Colorado 3 1 1 10 8 5 Seattle 4 0 1 13 7 1 2 2 2 8 7 7 Houston 2 2 1 7 6 6 QUAKES 22 0 6 6 7 Chivas USA 2 3 0 6 5 8 Salt Lake 1 3 1 4 7 7 FC Dallas 0 1 3 3 6 7 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA New York 4 1 0 12 6 4 Kansas City 2 1 1 7 5 1 Chicago 2 2 1 7 7 5 Columbus 2 0 1 7 5 2 New England 2 3 0 6 7 6 Toronto FC 2 3 0 6 6 10 Philadelphia 1 3 0 3 5 8 D.C. 0 4 0 0 2 11 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. ——— Saturday’s results Cincinnati (Harang 0-3) at Houston (Norris 1-1), 5:05 p.m. Washington (L.Hernandez 2-1) at Chicago (Gorzelanny 0-2), 5:05 p.m. Pittsburgh (Burres 0-1) at Milwaukee (Wolf 2-1), 5:10 p.m. Atlanta (D.Lowe 3-1) at St. Louis (Carpenter 2-0), 5:15 p.m. Arizona (E.Jackson 1-1) at Colorado (Jimenez 4-0), 5:40 p.m. NBA First Round Best-of-7 Monday’s results Milwaukee 111, Atlanta 104 Series tied 2-2 Orlando 99, Charlotte 90 Orlando wins series 4-0 Portland at Phoenix, late Series tied 2-2 Today’s games Miami at Boston, 4 p.m. Boston leads series 3-0 Chicago at Cleveland, 5 p.m. Cleveland leads sereis 3-1 San Antonio at Dallas, 6:30 p.m. San Antonio leads series 3-1 Oklahoma City at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m. Series tied 2-2 Other series Utah leads Denver 3-1 NHL First Round Best-of-7 Monday’s results Boston 4, Buffalo 3 Boston wins series 4-2 Chicago 5, Nashville 3 Chicago wins series 4-2 Montreal 4, Washington 1 Series tied 3-3 Today’s games Detroit at Phoenix, 6 p.m. Series tied 3-3 Chivas USA 3, San Jose 2 Chicago 2, Houston 0 Colorado 2, New England 1 Columbus 1, Real Salt Lake 0 Kansas City 0, Los Angeles 0, tie New York 2, Philadelphia 1 Sunday’s result Toronto FC 2, Seattle FC 0 NASCAR Sprint Cup Points Leaders 1. Jimmie Johnson 2.Kevin Harvick 3. Greg Biffle 4. Matt Kenseth 5.Kyle Busch 6. Mark Martin 7.Kurt Busch 8. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 9.Denny Hamlin 10. Jeff Gordon 11. Clint Bowyer 12. Jeff Burton 13. Carl Edwards 14.Tony Stewart 15. Martin Truex Jr. 16. Joey Logano 17. Jamie McMurray 18.Ryan Newman 19.Paul Menard 20. Juan Pablo Montoya 21. Scott Speed 22.David Ragan 23. Kasey Kahne 24. AJ Allmendinger 25. Brian Vickers 26. Brad Keselowski 27.David Reutimann 28.Sam Hornish Jr. 29. Elliott Sadler 30. Marcos Ambrose 31.Bobby Labonte 32.Travis Kvapil 33. Regan Smith 34.Robby Gordon 35.David Gilliland 36.Kevin Conway 37. Mike Bliss 38.Max Papis 39.Joe Nemechek 40.Dave Blaney 41. Michael McDowell 42. Bill Elliott 43. Boris Said 44.David Stremme 45. Michael Waltrip 49. Johnny Sauter 50. Scott Riggs 1,323 1,297 1,237 1,224 1,163 1,154 1,146 1,142 1,138 1,130 1,086 1,082 1,067 1,061 1,045 1,001 998 995 962 959 949 930 926 917 916 853 849 827 822 787 774 763 734 721 601 563 535 423 380 345 293 290 252 225 200 46. Robert Richardson Jr. 155 47. Aric Almirola 48.Terry Cook 154 118 80 79 Upcoming Schedule May 1 — Crown Royal Presents The Heath Cal- houn 400, Richmond, Va. May 8 — Showtime Southern 500, Darlington, S.C. May 16 — Autism Speaks 400, Dover, Del. May 22 — x-Sprint Showdown, Concord, N.C. May 22 — x-NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Concord, N.C. May 30 — Coca-Cola 600, Concord, N.C. x - non-points race Nationwide Points Leaders 1. Brad Keselowski 2.Kevin Harvick 3.Kyle Busch 4. Justin Allgaier 5. Carl Edwards 6.Paul Menard 7. Joey Logano 8. Brian Scott 9. Greg Biffle 10. Scott Lagasse Jr. 11.Tony Raines 1,324 1,264 1,220 1,171 1,111 1,085 1,078 876 864 854 849 12. Brendan Gaughan 13.Trevor Bayne 14. Steve Wallace 15. Jason Leffler 16. Mike Wallace 17. Michael Annett 18.Kenny Wallace 19.Joe Nemechek 20. James Buescher 838 832 784 779 773 762 758 718 706 Upcoming Schedule May 7 — Darlington 200, Darlington, S.C. May 15 — Heluva Good! 200, Dover, Del. May 29 — TECH-NET Auto Service 300, Con- cord, N.C. PGA FedExCup Leaders Rank Name 1.Ernie Els 2.Jim Furyk 3.Anthony Kim 4.Steve Stricker 5.Camilo Villegas 6.Phil Mickelson 7.Dustin Johnson 8.Matt Kuchar 9.Bill Haas 10.Ben Crane 11.Jason Bohn 12.K.J.Choi 13.Luke Donald 14.Hunter Mahan 15.Ian Poulter 16.Robert Allenby 17.J.B.Holmes 18.Geoff Ogilvy 19.Paul Casey 20.Retief Goosen Pts Money 1,396 $3,143,141 1,221 $2,386,987 1,140 $2,342,557 966 $2,033,714 960 $2,104,050 933 $1,842,719 865 $1,827,934 849 $1,731,563 800 $1,387,120 782 $1,355,276 749 $1,547,321 746 $1,310,310 743 $1,531,271 743 $1,516,593 702 $1,700,025 679 $1,277,057 664 $1,264,422 658 $1,372,356 640 $1,518,295 605 $1,302,333 LPGA Money Leaders Trn 1.Yani Tseng 2. Ai Miyazato Money 4 $460,932 4 $398,284 3.Suzann Pettersen 4 $380,203 4. Cristie Kerr 5. Song-Hee Kim 4 $270,997 6. Jiyai Shin 7. Inbee Park 8. Karrie Webb 9.Jee Young Lee 4 $135,497 10. Lorena Ochoa 4 $131,709 TENNIS 1.Roger Federer 2. Rafael Nadal 3. Andy Roddick 4. Andy Murray ATP Money Leaders $2,049,820 5.Fernando Verdasco 6. Robin Soderling 7.Novak Djokovic 8. Ivan Ljubicic 9. Marin Cilic $1,269,099 $1,233,830 $1,104,369 $982,725 $915,197 $847,770 $802,801 $667,023 10. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga $649,428 WTAMoney Leaders 1. Serena Williams 2.Venus Williams 3. Justine Henin 4. Jelena Jankovic 5. Kim Clijsters 6. Caroline Wozniacki 7. Samantha Stosur 8. Zheng Jie 9.Victoria Azarenka $1,984,467 $1,090,046 $1,052,731 $829,072 $807,636 $588,063 $540,513 $498,721 $445,802 10. Agnieszka Radwanska $425,365 DEALS 4 $276,921 4 $234,742 4 $207,525 4 $152,274 Major League Baseball MLB—Named Dr. Charles Steinberg senior advisor for public affairs. Suspended N.Y. Mets LHP Angel Calero (St. Lucie-FSL) and free agent OF Socrates Brito 50 games apiece for testing positive for a performance- enhancing drug under the minor league pro- gram. American League KANSAS CITY—Claimed OF Jai Miller of waivers from Oakland (AL) and assigned him to Omaha (OCL).Transferred INF Josh Fields to the 60-day DL. National League PHILADELPHIA—Agreed to terms with 1B Ryan Howard on a five-year contract exten- sion through 2016. ST.LOUIS—Placed INF Felipe Lopez on the 15-day DL. Recalled OF John Jay and INF Tyler Greene from Memphis (PCL). Optioned OF Allen Craig to Memphis. Golden Baseball League ORANGE COUNTY—Agreed to terms with INF Keith Ginter. YUMA—Agreed to terms with RHP Adam Kramer. National Basketball Association NBA—Fined Dallas C Erick Dampier $35,000 for publicly criticizing game officials after an April 23 game against San Antonio. American Basketball Association ABA—Granted an expansion team to Indi- anapolis to begin play in the 2010-2011 sea- son. INDIANAPOLIS—Announced team nick- name will be Drive.Named Tim Hicks gener- al manager. National Hockey League CAROLINA—Named Jim Ballweg senior director of corporate sponsorships and Brian Tatum senior director of team operations. MONTREAL—Recalled D P.K.Subban from Hamilton (AHL). NEW JERSEY—Announced the retirement of coach Jacques Lemaire. National Football League SAN FRANCISCO—Signed LB Travis LaBoy to a one-year contract. Agreed to terms with LB Mike Balogun LB, CB Tramaine Brock, QB Jarrett Brown, WR Shay Hodge, LB Keaton Kristick, WR Scott Long, S Christopher Mara- gos, WR Jared Perry, CB Patrick Stoudamire and CB-S Leroy Vann. ARIZONA—Signed QB Max Hall, CB Mar- shay Green, CB A.J. Jefferson, WR Max Komar, WR Juamorris Stewart, WR Stephen Williams, OT Devin Tyler, OT Casey Knips, C David Moosman and RB Alfonso Smith. ATLANTA—Signed TE Leroy Banks, WR Tim Buckley, S Rafael Bush, CB Dominique Daniels, S Gabe Derricks, LS Justin Dresch- er, WR Brandyn Harvey, LB Weston Johnson, PK Garrett Lindholm, RB Dimitri Nance, TE Michael Palmer, TE Colin Peek, DE Emmanuel Stephens, WR Ryan Wolfe and LB Bear Woods. CAROLINA—Agreed to terms with RB Daniel Porter, FB Rashawn Jackson, WR Trey Young, TE Andrew George, G Noah Franklin, G Kurtis Gregory, G Ray Hisatake, T Mark Ortmann, DT Andre Neblett, LB Sean Ware, S Matt O’Hanlon, K Aaron Pettrey and P Blake Haudan. CHICAGO—Agreed to terms with WR Vic Hall. DALLAS—Agreed to terms with PK Delbert Alvarado, NT Junior Aumavae, OT Will Bark- er, S Barry Church, G-C Phil Costa, WR Rashaun Greer, FB Chris Gronkowski, WR Terrell Hudgins, CB Bryan McCann, S Danny McCray, RB Lonyae Miller, QB Matt Nichols, G-C Chet Teofilo, OT Mike Tepper, TE Nick Tow-Arnett, WR Verran Tucker and DE Loren- zo Washington. DENVER—Signed LB Akin Ayodele. GREEN BAY—Released LB Jeremy Thomp- son. Agreed to terms with S Charlie Peprah. Released TE Devin Frischknecht. INDIANAPOLIS—Signed OL Andrew Tyshovnytsky. JACKSONVILLE—Released DT John Hen- derson, LB Brian Iwuh, DT Montavious Stan- ley and LB Tank Daniels.Withdrew its qualify- ing offer to LB Clint Ingram. NEW ENGLAND—Released LB Adalius Thomas. NEW ORLEANS—Agreed to terms with LB Jason Beauchamp, LB Harry Coleman, WR Chris Bell, RB Carlos Brown, RB Christian Ducre, RB Chris Ivory, G Brandon Carter, G Joe Tonga, DE Junior Galette, DE Brandon Sharpe, LS Clint Gresham, S Ryan Hamilton, DT Jay Ross and CB Marcell Young. N.Y. GIANTS—Signed QB Dominic Ran- dolph, TE Jake Ballard, WR Tim Brown, WR Duke Calhoun, WR Victor Cruz, OL Dennis Landolt, C Jim Cordle, DE Ayanga Okpokowuruk, DT Nate Collins, LB Lee Campbell, CB Seth Williams, CB Leon Wright and S Michael Greco. PHILADELPHIA—Agreed to terms with DT Charles Alexander, WR Blue Cooper, G Zipp Duncan, QB Joey Elliott, OT Austin Howard, WR Kevin Jurovich, OT Jeraill McCuller, CB Josh Morris, CB David Pender, WR Pat Simonds and FB Chris Zardas. PITTSBURGH—Signed G Dorian Brooks, S Da’Mon Cromartie-Smith, OT Kyle Jolly, FB Demetrius Taylor, DT Cordarrow Thompson, S Justin Thornton and C-G A.J.Trump. ST. LOUIS—Agreed to terms with DT Jer- melle Cudjo, LB Freddie Harris, LB Cardia Jackson, S Jeromy Jones, LB Simoni Lawrence, QB Thaddeus Lewis, FB Jamie McCoy, WR Brandon McRae, WR Roderick Owens, S Darian Stewart, FB Kennedy Tins- ley, RB Keith Toston and RB DeMaundray Woolridge. SAN DIEGO—Agreed to terms with WR Seyi Ajirotutu, OT Brady Bond, TE Richard Brock- el, TE Dajleon Farr, WR Richard Goodman, C-G Jeff Hansen, FB Cory Jackson, WR Jor- dyn Jackson, OT Justin Jeffries, P Cort John- son, LB Brandon Lang, RB Shawnbrey McNeal, OT Ryan Otterson, OT Stephan Richmond, CB Traye Simmons, WR Ernest Smith, WR Marcel Thompson, WR Bryan Walters, WR Jeremy Williams and LB Kion Wilson. SEATTLE—Agreed to terms with DB Marcus Brown. TAMPA BAY—Signed DE Brandon Gilbeaux, OT Derek Hardman, PK Hunter Lawrence, TE Jeron Mastrud, LB Rico McCoy, WR Preston Parker, G Sergio Ren- der, G Vladimir Richard, DB Dennis Rogan, DE James Ruffin, QB Jevan Snead and OT James Williams.Released G Shawn Murphy, P Sam Paulescu, CB Stoney Woodson, DT Chris Hovan, OL Arron Sears and FB B.J. Askew. TENNESSEE—Agreed to terms with RB LeGarrette Blount, RB Stafon Johnson, C Kevin Matthews, C Bruce Matthews, C Ken- neth Alfred, OL Nick Howell, OL John Malec- ki, RB Dominique Lindsay, FB Willie Rose, TE Gerald Harris, TE Steve Pfahler, WR Mico McSwain, WR Bobby Sewall, LB Jacob Lewko, LB Patrick Trahan and DT Joe Joseph. Winter Sports U.S. NATIONAL BOBSLED TEAM— Announced the resignation of Sepp and Fran- cois Plozza, men’s and women’s coaches to take the same roles in Switzerland. College CREIGHTON—Named Greg McDermott men’s basketball coach. OREGON—Named Dana Altman men’s basketball coach and signed him to a seven- year contract. UCLA—Named Philip Mathews men’s assis- tant basketball coach. of break to get some rest SAN JOSE (AP) — The San Jose Sharks are playing a bit of a waiting game. After knocking off Colorado in a grueling six-game series to open the playoffs, the Sharks are getting some much-needed rest before starting the second round. They returned to practice Monday not knowing when they would play next or which team they would face. ‘‘It certainly helps to get a couple of extra days,’’ defense- man Dan Boyle said. ‘‘Guys that are banged up can rest, guys that are playing a little bit more get some time off. It can certainly be a benefit down the road.’’ Forwards Dany Heatley and Jed Ortmeyer and defense- man Niclas Wallin were given the day off Monday as they nurse injuries that sidelined them for part of the opening round. Coach Todd McLellan said he hopes to have all three back in the lineup when the second round begins, which will likely be either Thursday or Sunday. The Shark Tank is unavailable on Friday and Saturday night because of an Eagles concert. The schedule for the second round won’t be determined until the final two Western Conference first- round series are decided. ‘‘Any time you can finish a series off early and get some rest, it works in your favor,’’ McLellan said. ‘‘But the other thing that can come into play is you sit around too long. Right now we don’t know when we’ll play or who we’ll play so we want to balance and juggle that. We don’t want to lose our edge but we also want to rest and recover.’’ The Sharks didn’t have the luxury of extra time off the last time they made it to the second round. After beating Cal- gary in seven games in the first round, the Sharks had two days off before playing Dallas in the next round. They lost the opener at home 3-2, then dropped the next two games before finally showing some life in the series by winning two games. They eventually were eliminated in a 2- 1 quadruple overtime loss in Game 6. But with the injuries this year, the time off is probably a positive for San Jose. Heatley sustained a lower body injury late in Game 2 against Colorado. He missed Game 3 and was severely lim- ited in his return in Game 4. He assisted on two goals in Game 5 and skated even better in the finale when he had four shots and one assist in 17:57 of ice time. ‘‘Dany has improved his ability to skate with every game,’’ McLellan said. ‘‘He was more of a factor in Game 6 than Game 5 and more in Game 5 than Game 4. This time off will certainly help him. He should be ready to go.’’ Wallin, a midseason acquisition, did not play after the first game. Rookie Jason Demers replaced him in the lineup. Ortmeyer, who was slowed late in the season by a lower body injury, played in Games 2 and 3 against the Avalanche before sitting out the final three games. Ortmeyer said he is feeling better each day and hopes the time off allows him to heal to play more regularly in the sec- ond round. ‘‘We have a little time right now so I’m taking advantage of it,’’ he said. ‘‘We don’t want to sit around too long to wait to find out who we’re going to play. But for me selfishly, it helps to heal.’’ Ortmeyer was also named one of three finalists Monday for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of persever- ance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Ortmeyer must inject a blood thinner into his stomach each day to combat a hereditary blood-clotting disorder. While his teammates call him an inspiration, Ortmeyer says it’s just part of his daily routine. ‘‘I don’t think about it much,’’ he said. ‘‘Some days the needles hurt a little bit more than others. It’s become part of my life.’’