By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
Monday, May 23, 2011

DETROIT — The Rays came close Monday, rallying to get the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning of their 6-3 loss to the Tigers.

Maybe as close as the inches Johnny Damon's game-ending liner needed to be higher, or wider, so it wasn't snagged by Miguel Cabrera instead of going through for a two-run double.

Or as close as the foot or so catcher Kelly Shoppach was in front of the plate as Brennan Boesch dived around him to put the Tigers ahead 2-1 in the sixth.

The Tigers added on from there in a rough eighth by Rays reliever Juan Cruz, who showed, on this night anyway, he was far from the next Joaquin Benoit. And the Rays responded with two in the ninth on a clutch single by Sam Fuld, then had a shot to get closer when Damon made the last out with two on.

The Rays (26-22) also lost shortstop Elliot Johnson, who left in the sixth inning with left knee soreness after being caught stealing in the fifth, the second time in two games he ran into a bad out.

The game started 27 minutes late due to significant bands of showers that moved through downtown Detroit in the late afternoon.

The Rays took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when B.J. Upton walked, stole second, went to third on the first of Damon's two hits and scored on Evan Longoria's sac fly.

But the Rays' failure to add on later that inning proved to be costly, especially when Tigers starter Phil Coke left with an ankle injury trying to field Ben Zobrist's bunt single and was replaced by Charlie Furbush, a 25-year-old making his big-league debut.

Sean Rodriguez drew a walk to load the bases as Furbush showed some nerves, but the lanky lefty apparently settled into a groove. Felipe Lopez, in the lineup specifically to face Detroit's lefties, went down swinging, and so did Shoppach, neither even fouling a ball off.

Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson didn't have a bad night — though he did throw 100 pitches in 61/3 innings — but didn't have the benefit of anything close to the MLB-best run support he had been enjoying, an average of 8.65 per nine innings.

He gave up the tying run in the fifth, on a leadoff homer by outfielder Andy Dirks, a 25-year-old who made his major-league debut last week.

The Tigers took the lead the next inning, but it was more of a team effort by the Rays. Hellickson got two quick outs, then gave up a double, on an 0-and-1 pitch, to Boesch.

Manager Joe Maddon made the next interesting move, deciding to pitch to the ultra-dangerous Miguel Cabrera, which might have had as much to do with Victor Martinez, and his MLB best .384 career average against the Rays, being next in the order.

But Cabrera delivered a crisp single to right, and third-base coach Gene Lamont decided to force the action by sending Boesch.

The throw from Matt Joyce, the former Tiger who had just come into the game as a result of Johnson's departure, looked to be strong enough though just slightly off the mark. But because Shoppach was positioned in front of the plate and up the line a bit, Boesch took the alternate route, dived by Shoppach and swiped the plate with his hand.

Marc Topkin can be reached at topkin@sptimes.com.

Times wires
Monday, May 23, 2011

Brewers 11, Nationals 3

MILWAUKEE — Corey Hart hit his first three home runs this season and drove in seven to tie both club records for the Brewers. Hitless in his previous 11 at-bats, Hart smacked two-run shots in the first and fifth innings off Tom Gorzelanny and a three-run homer off Doug Slaten with two outs in the eighth.

Times wires
Monday, May 23, 2011

Indians 3, Red Sox 2

CLEVELAND — Asdrubal Cabrera's two-out RBI double in the eighth inning rallied the Indians over the Red Sox, who also lost second baseman Dustin Pedroia with a leg injury. Cabrera drove his double off reliever Daniel Bard to the wall in leftfield, scoring Michael Brantley and helping Cleveland win its fourth straight and improve to 19-4 at home. Cabrera also homered in the fourth, his third homer in two days.

By Damian Cristodero, Times Staff Writer
Monday, May 23, 2011

Three stars

Tim Thomas: The Bruins goalie backed up his series guarantee with a huge game, making 33 saves.

Zdeno Chara: The Bruins defenseman was a presence on both ends of the ice, including picking up an assist.

Simon Gagne: The Lightning left wing kept being a Bruins killer, scoring the game's first goal on a 2-on-1 rush.

Instigator

When Bruins C Rich Peverley was asked Monday if being on the fourth line, which demands a grittier game, contributed to his Game 4 fight with Lightning D Marc-Andre Bergeron, Peverley said it had more to do with Tampa Bay RW Steve Downie. "I was just a little agitated at the time," Peverley said. "I think Downie cross-checked me four times in a row. Tempers were going a little bit."

Number of the day

13:22 Average ice time entering Monday for Lightning RW Teddy Purcell, least (by almost four minutes) among the top 15 playoff scorers. He was ninth with 15 points.

Tickets

Game 6 at the St. Pete Times Forum is sold out. Any unused team tickets will be released Wednesday. Check with the box office and Ticketmaster.

The series Bruins lead 3-2

Game 1, Lightning 5, Bruins 2: Three goals in 1:25 of the first spark Lightning.

Game 2, Bruins 6, Lightning 5: Bruins score five in the second.

Game 3, Bruins 2, Lightning 0: Bruins prevail in tight defensive game.

Game 4, Lightning 5, Bruins 3: Lightning scores five unanswered goals.

Game 5, Bruins 3, Lightning 1: Tim Thomas huge with 33 saves.

Wednesday: at Tampa, 8, Versus, 620-AM

Friday: at Boston, 8, Versus, 970-AM *

* If necessary

Miscommunication

Were comments attributed to Bruins G Tim Thomas after Game 3 misinterpreted or misrepresented? Matt Kalman of TheBruinsBlog.net seems to think so.

While Tampa Bay players made into an insult (and a motivational tool) Thomas saying he was "comfortable" in net during Boston's 2-0 victory, Kalman points out the word seemed taken out of context. Thomas, Kalman wrote, was talking about how his teammates made him feel by the way they kept to their team structure.

"At no point," Kalman wrote, "did (Thomas) say anything mildly insulting about the Lightning or the way they play."

So, was it the Lightning or reporters that skewed the original message?

Kalman called the whole thing a "media fallacy," so we know where he stands.

Quote to note

"I think if you know the game well enough, you would understand that there is some experience back there. And you've also got to think, is the guy coming in better than Kaberle?"

Bruins coach Claude Julien in defense of struggling D Tomas Kaberle

Welcome home

Fans are invited to welcome the Lightning home from Boston. The team's charter flight is scheduled to arrive at 2 p.m. at the Tampa Jet Center, 4751 Jim Walter Blvd.

By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
Monday, May 23, 2011

Rays at Tigers

When/where: 7:05 tonight; Comerica Park, Detroit

TV/radio: Sun Sports; 620-AM, 680-AM (Spanish)

Starting pitchers

RAYS: RH Wade Davis (4-4, 3.47)

TIGERS: RH Justin Verlander (4-3, 2.96)

Watch for …

Wadin' in: Davis looked better in his last start (a 3-2 loss at Toronto) but still seeks better command of his fastball. His only start vs. the Tigers was his big-league debut Sept. 6, 2009.

V is for Verlander: The Tigers ace has been dazzling all season, including a no-hitter at Toronto on May 7, but the Tigers are 4-6 in his games. Verlander is 5-1, 3.29 in eight starts vs. the Rays.

Key matchups

Rays vs. Verlander

Johnny Damon 5-for-16, HR

Casey Kotchman 6-for-18, HR

B.J. Upton 6-for-12, HR

Tigers vs. Davis

Miguel Cabrera 0-for-3

Victor Martinez 1-for-3

Jhonny Peralta 0-for-3

On deck

Wednesday: at Tigers, 1:05, Sun Sports. Rays — Andy Sonnanstine (0-2, 4.21); Tigers — Brad Penny (4-4, 4.45)

Thursday: Off

Friday: vs. Indians, 7:10, Sun Sports. Rays — David Price (5-4, 3.89); Indians — Josh Tomlin (6-1, 2.41)

Saturday: vs. Indians, 4:10, Sun Sports. Rays — James Shields (5-2, 2.00); Indians — Carlos Carrasco (3-2, 5.16)

Father knows, um, best?

Given that he was leading the majors in hitting, Matt Joyce joked that he was worried about his father, Matt, who is his biggest fan. "I'm pretty sure he's stuck in his room, just looking up any and every stat he can find and going crazy over all of it," Joyce said. "The fact that he's not texting me as much as he usually does is worrying me. I'm pretty sure he hasn't slept in a couple weeks. … I should probably call the doctor."

Happy anniversary

It was four years ago today that the Rays last used a starting pitcher who was 30 or older, as RHP Jae Seo took the mound May 24, 2007, vs. Seattle on his 30th birthday. Since then the Rays have gone 650 games, the third longest such streak in modern play — and used a major league-low 14 starters along the way.

By John Romano, Times Sports Columnist
Monday, May 23, 2011

BOSTON

The decision was only made the day before.

It was the explanation that had been evolving for months and months.

When he stripped away the emotion, and eliminated the ramifications and risk, Lightning coach Guy Boucher was left with one simple thought:

Mike Smith had earned a shot to be Tampa Bay's goaltender in Game 5.

He earned it by keeping his cool and throwing himself into his work when he was sent to the minors. And he earned it by playing brilliantly as a spot starter down the stretch.

He earned it by doing everything he was asked, right up until the moment that Boucher called him into his office after the morning skate on Monday and gave him the news.

"As a leader I have to give to people who are deserving," Boucher said. "If (Nate) Thompson has a great season and (Adam) Hall has a great season and (Sean) Bergenheim and (Dominic) Moore, it's because they don't feel like they're third- and fourth-liners. They feel like they've contributed. They're allowed to be better than just being pegged. And it's the same for goaltenders.

"Smith's contributions have been tremendous for us, and he's one of the reasons we had that many points, and 46 wins. I just felt he deserved to play in that game."

By night's end, Boucher was vindicated even if he wasn't rewarded.

The Lightning lost 3-1 to the Bruins in Game 5 Monday night, and it was because Boston goaltender Tim Thomas was significantly better than Smith.

Which is not the same thing as saying Smith was the reason the Lightning lost. Smith was more than solid in his first start of the playoffs, it's just that Thomas was incredible.

So where does that leave the Lightning today?

Boucher wouldn't say, but my guess is back in Dwayne Roloson's hands.

Part of the appeal of starting Smith in Game 5 was that Boucher was able to wait until the last minute to say anything. He spent two days hinting that Roloson would get the call, even though Boucher had made up his mind by the time he got to Boston on Sunday.

He allowed the team to go through its usual morning skate routine Monday and then summoned Smith to his office just before the bus left to return to the hotel for lunch.

Most of the players were not even aware of the change in net until they came back to the TD Garden a couple of hours before Game 5.

"I wanted him to sleep (Sunday) night," Boucher explained. "I know guys in that situation if you tell them too early, they'll play the game in their head the night before."

Smith was caught completely by surprise by the move, which is exactly what Boucher wanted. Since the element of surprise has been eliminated, it probably makes sense for the Lightning to return to Roloson's steady hand.

"I felt Roli needed just a little breather," Boucher said. "I still have all the confidence in the world in him."

Here's another reason for going back to Roloson:

He has never lost an elimination game.

Roloson was faced with elimination in three consecutive games when he was with Minnesota and won all three. He was in the same situation with the Lightning in the first round against Pittsburgh this year, and again won three in a row.

In those six elimination games, Roloson has given up an average of 1.50 goals. And if the Lightning is to live beyond this week, it will need to survive two more games in the face of elimination.

As for Smith, he may have earned another contract with the Lightning even if he doesn't get another start this season.

For the entire package is still enticing. Smith, 29, is big and athletic. He has skills out the wazoo. He works hard and is popular among his teammates.

The fatal flaw — and there is no other way to describe it — has been his ability to keep his focus in the long haul.

Smith can look like a franchise goaltender one night, and give up a half-dozen goals on the next. His potential is the reason the Lightning has given him so many chances to earn a starting role, and his inconsistency is the reason he keeps handing the job back.

One game in the playoffs may not have changed that reputation, but the overall picture looks brighter for the pending free agent.

Smith knew the importance of this game, both for his team and for his future. He was so startled by Boucher's decision, he didn't even call his parents or wife when he got back to the hotel Monday afternoon.

"He was very encouraging when he told me. He was serious, but he did it with a smile," Smith said. "It gave me confidence that he had the faith in me to put me in there."

And did Smith live up to the coach's confidence?

"I think I did."

By Damian Cristodero, Times Staff Writer
Monday, May 23, 2011

BOSTON — In the end, the decision by Lightning coach Guy Boucher to sit goaltender Dwayne Roloson and give Mike Smith his first career playoff start was not the focal point of Monday night's game.

"Smitty was fine," center Steven Stamkos said. "He made the saves he had to. That's not the reason we lost."

No, Tampa Bay fell 3-1 at TD Garden in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final because it did not capitalize when it had the Bruins on the ropes. It failed on four power plays, continuing a trend that has dogged it throughout this series.

And it did not make life nearly difficult enough for Boston goaltender Tim Thomas, who was on top of his game with 33 saves as Tampa Bay outshot Boston 34-20.

"We definitely had a chance to win this game," Smith said.

Instead, the Bruins had three unanswered goals — Nathan Horton and Brad Marchand in the second period and Rich Peverley an empty-netter in the third — to put Tampa Bay down three games to two in the best-of-seven series and on the brink of elimination.

The Lightning has been in this position before. It was down three games to one against the Penguins before coming back to win the East quarterfinal in seven games.

"So, we're in a one-game better position than in the Pittsburgh series," Stamkos said. "We have a great opportunity to win the game."

It might have to do it without Sean Bergenheim, who leads the playoffs with nine goals but was lost after the first period to what is believed a lower-body injury after he was checked by Boston defenseman Dennis Seidenberg.

That is a huge loss, especially in the context of how the Lightning struggled to add a second goal after Simon Gagne scored 1:09 into the game at the end of a two-on-one with Stamkos.

But despite a 14-4 advantage in shots in the first period, Tampa Bay could not beat Thomas again. The power play was especially disappointing with just four shots in the game to fall to 2-for-18 in the series.

The first power-play unit, especially, with Vinny Lecavalier, Marty St. Louis and Stamkos, had a rough time.

"We were very poised with the puck," Boucher said of the first period. "We played really good and should have had probably one or two other goals. But I think what happened with our power play was we got a little too cute.

"We were trying to make too many passes, and we didn't have too much setup time," Stamkos said. "We didn't get enough shots. Thomas made some nice saves, but we didn't challenge him the way we did in (Game 4, a 5-2 Tampa Bay win). We didn't do a good enough job of getting screens, either."

When Thomas was called upon, he was outstanding, especially on a lights-out save on Steve Downie 9:20 into the third period when he dived to his right and got his stick blade on a shot from the left post to preserve Boston's 2-1 advantage.

"It was a momentum changer," Bruins center Patrice Bergeron said. "Having that save made a huge difference."

So did Horton's big blast 4:24 into the second that cleanly beat Smith to make the score 1-1.

"Horton got a pretty good shot on me," Smith said. "I think I could have gotten a better push across, but it was a tough play."

Smith had no chance on Marchand's goal with 4:04 left in the second that came from in-close off a perfect feed from Bergeron and with St. Louis on top of him.

"I think that really gave us some confidence," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "I felt our team tightened up in the first period. When we scored that goal, it kind of loosened our guys up a little bit."

And put them one win from the Stanley Cup final.

Times wires
Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Astros 4, Dodgers 3

HOUSTON — Hunter Pence's two-out RBI single in the ninth lifted the Astros. Houston trailed 3-1 entering the ninth before Michael Bourn tied it with his two-out, full-count double down the rightfield line that scored two against Kenley Jansen, the hard-throwing rookie who is the latest pitcher the Dodgers have given a shot to close games.

Times wires
Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Mariners 8, Twins 7

10 innings

MINNEAPOLIS — Luis Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th, and the Mariners rallied to win their sixth straight game and overcome Jim Thome's two-homer return to the Twins.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Local triathlete John-Gerard Farese bested a field of more than 600 competitors to claim first place at Sunday's 26th annual Madeira Beach Triathlon.

Covering a course that consisted of a half-mile swim, 15-mile bike and 3-1 mile run, Farese, 16 of St. Petersburg, crossed the finish line in one hour, nine minutes and six seconds to win by more than a minute.

Kailand Cosgrove made it a sweep for county residents at the top of the podium stand. Cosgrove, 21 of Tarpon Springs, completed the triathlon in 1:12:20 to finish three minutes faster than the field.

Laure Blume, 46 of Pinellas Park, came in third in the women's race in 1:17:17.

Age group winners from Pinellas County were: (M14 and under) Kobee Alsop, Clearwater, 1:24:28; (M15-19) Zach Heller, Seminole, 1:19:09; (M25-29) Jordan Raynovich, St. Petersburg, 1:09:53; (M30-34) Matt Shanklin, St. Petersburg, 1:16:04; (M masters) Chris Pyhel, St. Petersburg, 1:09:08; (M40-44) Lance Chambers, St. Petersburg, 1:12:57; (M55-59) Ron Murawsky, Clearwater, 1:19:49; (M60-64) Arthur Halttunen, St. Petersburg, 1:16:18; (M65-69) Edward Schroeder, Redington Beach, 1:35:40; (M75-79) Marcos Alegre, Seminole, 1:30:09; (M80 and over) Larry Yost, Treasure Island, 1:55:51; (Clydesdale 40 and over) Brian Butler, St. Petersburg, 1:21:54; (F14 and under) Angelica Ros Ambrose, Seminole, 1:42:33; (F15-19) Sarah Sykes, Largo, 1:23:06; (F30-34) Leslie Beauchamp, St. Petersburg, 1:22:25; (F masters) Cassie McWilliam, Clearwater Beach, 1:16:01; (F45-49) Claudia Junqueira, St. Petersburg, 1:18:05; (F50-54) Reva Moeller, Treasure Island, 1:24:00; (F60-64) Lindsay Bell, St. Petersburg, 1:43:07; (F65-69) Carol Jean Vosburgh, Treasure Island, 1:40:39; (F70-74) Annette Frisch, St. Petersburg, 2:03:05; (F80 and over) Jackie Yost, Treasure Island, 3:03:06; (Athena 1-39) Lisa Charest, St. Pete Beach, 1:26:29; (Athena 40 and over) Dawn Clark, St. Petersburg, 1:32:24.

In the mini-triathlon competition, Lori Stone, 38, of Largo captured the women's championship in a time of 31:41. Stone traversed the 200-yard swim, 5.4-mile bike and 1.2-mile swim 21 seconds faster than the rest of the field.

Alexandra Steele, 16 of Largo, earned a third-place finish after crossing in 32:10.

Kyle Deschenes, 15 of Largo, took second in the men's race in a time of 27:08, 1:08 behind race champion Paul O'Connor of Kissimmee.

James Sheets, 51 of Largo, was third in 27:30.

Age group winners were: (M15-19) Peter Powers, St. Petersburg, 30:11; (M25-29) Brent Long, Seminole, 31:00; (M35-39) Steve Sykes, Largo, 28:17; (M40-44) Ray Ward, Tarpon Springs, 31:02; (M45-49) Terry Wright, Tierra Verde, 29:58; (M50-54) John McKenna, Palm Harbor, 33:01; (M55-59) Roger O'Connor, Seminole, 35:30; (M60-64) Glen Gullickson, Seminole, 43:25; (M70-74) Richard Nelson, St. Petersburg, 43:48; (M80 and over) Ronald Milne, St. Petersburg, 52:24; (F15-19) Katharine Haddad, St. Petersburg, 34:25; (F25-29) Brooke Morse, Seminole, 36:54; (F30-34) Holly Tardif, Clearwater, 33:46; (F35-39) Lisa Taylor, Clearwater, 32:14; (F50-54) Christine Allard, Seminole, 38:53; (F55-59) Bobbie Gullickson, Seminole, 34:05.

Summer Kanstoroom, 13 of St. Petersburg, won the women's 11- to 14-year-old competition in a time of 26:46.

Age group winners in the 11-14 competition were: (M11) Matthew Wohlwend, St. Petersburg, 28:36; (M12) Jared McFadden, Seminole, 28:24; (M14) Kyle Snodgrass, Largo, 29:37; (F11) Reagan Quilty, St. Petersburg, 30:16; (F12) Leah Kunins, Gulfport, 31:38.

In the 7-10 competition, Paige Vanmiddlesworth of Seminole was the top triathlete in the 10-year-old women's age group after crossing in 21:12.

HARVEY'S 5K RUN: Cameron Wheeler of St. Petersburg won in his hometown to take the Harvey's 5K Run race championship Saturday.

Wheeler, 17, ran 16:46 to cross the finish line 14 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Wheeler edged Sam Chandler, 16 of St. Petersburg, who finished in 17 minutes even to grab second place and was the top runner in the men's 15-19 group.

Hunter McCann, 14 of Treasure Island, was third in 17:29 and first in the men's 10-14 group.

Ali Crabb, 21 of St. Petersburg, took the women's title in a blistering 17:09 to win by nearly four minutes.

Melissa Tomlin, 19 of St. Petersburg, claimed second in 21:02. She was also the top runner in the women's 15-19 group.

Age group champions from Pinellas County include: (M9 and under) Takuma Walter, St. Petersburg, 20:00; (F9 and under) Piper Williams, St. Petersburg, 39:00; (F10-14) Samantha Shafer, St. Petersburg, 33:30; (F20-24) Kelly McClenathan, St. Petersburg, 21:52; (F25-29) Stephanie Franzen, St. Petersburg, 22:09; (F30-34) Shannon Simon, Largo, 22:30; (F40-44) Terese Elbring, St. Petersburg, 22:09; (M45-49) Marty Slade, St. Pete Beach, 19:09; (M50-54) Chris Pedersen, St. Petersburg, 18:58; (F50-54) Deb Robinson, St. Petersburg, 24:05; (M55-59) Steven Byrne, St. Petersburg, 20:10; (F60-64) Victoria Ryan, South Pasadena, 30:28; (M65-69) James Ladig, Clearwater, 22:55; (F65-69) Suzi Turner, St. Petersburg, 41:01; (M70 and over) Joe Burgasser, St. Petersburg, 19:54; (F70 and over) Dede Buckley, St. Pete Beach, 32:09.

ZIVOLICH GETS RACE WIN: Clearwater resident Nick Zivolich was the champion at Saturday's Women's Orthopaedist Global Outreach Benefit 5K in New Port Richey.

Zivolich, 32, broke the tape in 21:13 to win by 39 seconds.

MILES FOR MOFFITT: A number of local residents captured age group honors at Florida Bank Miles for Moffitt 5K in Tampa on May 14.

Winning their division were: (F cancer survivor) Kim Mottert, St. Petersburg, 26:22; (F10-14) Caroline Wilder, St. Petersburg, 21:35; (F15-19) Sarah Folks, Pinellas Park, 21:42; (M30-34) Aleks Preston, St. Petersburg, 19:00; (M35-39) Charles Schauer, St. Petersburg, 19:46.

In the 5-mile competition, age group medals were awarded to: (M masters) Michael Coyne, St. Petersburg, 31:48; (M9 and under) Caleb Fruland, St. Pete Beach, 1:00:31; (M45-49) Chuck Segal, Belleair, 34:14; (M65-69) Steve Berg, Palm Harbor, 43:12; (M wheelchair) Doyle Mann, St. Petersburg, 19:34; (F cancer survivor; F40-44) Heather Boggini, St. Petersburg, 38:52; (F20-24) Hillary Adams, St. Petersburg, 35:14; (F70-74) Annette Frisch, St. Petersburg, 1:04:25.

Times wires
Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Angels 4, Athletics 1

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Torii Hunter threw out the potential go-ahead run at the plate in the seventh and doubled home the tiebreaking run in the eighth for the Angels. Bobby Abreu grounded into a fielder's choice after Brian Fuentes opened the inning by walking Erick Aybar. Hunter greeted Michael Wuertz with a double, scoring Abreu. Jeff Mathis added a two-run single off Wuertz. Fuentes has been charged with the loss in each of his last four appearances, an Oakland record.

Times wires
Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Cardinals 3, Padres 1

SAN DIEGO — Albert Pujols hit his first homer in 106 at-bats to end the longest drought of his career and the Cardinals scored two runs off Heath Bell in the ninth, winning for the seventh time in eight games. The Padres have lost six of seven, and their 8-19 home record is the worst in the NL. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa was ejected by plate umpire Jim Joyce after Pujols took a called third strike in the eighth. Pujols jumped in frustration after the 3-and-2 strike.

By Greg Auman, Times Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 24, 2011

The Big East is in a unique position as a conference when it comes to officiating because the conference's Coordinator of Football Officials, Terry McAuley, has worked as an NFL official since 1998 and served as referee for Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa in 2009.

McAuley has been in attendance at the league's annual spring meetings, talking with the conference's head football coaches to help them understand key changes in officiating rules for the 2011 season. He was kind enough to explain a few in detail Tuesday afternoon.

— Major changes to the block-below-the-waist language. In the past, blocking below the waist has been addressed as something legal except in certain circumstances (against an opponent already engaged with another blocker, etc.) with more restrictions added over the years. As a safety precaution, that language is being rewritten as not being allowed except in a few situations, meaning players must be more careful when they block below the waist.

"Anything in the initial line play (is legal), a player leading the sweep going toward someone that sees it coming and can protect themselves," McAuley said as examples of allowable blocks below the waist. "The real problems we eliminated over the years were open-field ones on change of possessions and kicks, which are illegal, or the blind side, which is really the most crucial one, where you get the wide receiver and it's the low crack-back (block). The guy doesn't know he's coming, can't defend himself and loses a knee or an ACL or something like that. We have some more restrictions we'd like to get in."

McAuley said officials will continue to tweak the language of the rule to make it more easily understood by coaches and officials this season.

— Teams are now subject to a 10-second runoff when a foul is committed in the final minute of a half. The situation is best known from last year's Music City Bowl, when North Carolina was called for illegal substitution on what had looked to be the last play of the game, putting a second back on the clock that allowed for a tying field goal; UNC went on to beat Tennessee in overtime.

"Certain situations come up where a team gains an advantage by committing a foul. We can't let them do that," he said.

If a team commits a foul that stops the clock in the final minute, they're subject to a 10-second runoff -- the opposing team can decline it if they choose, and the offending team can exercise a time out to avoid the runoff. McAuley said he went over every Big East game last year (including Notre Dame games with Big East crews) and found five instances where the new rule would have applied.

In particular, he found that last year's Notre Dame-Michigan State -- which ended with a wild fake field goal for a Spartans win -- had two such instances in the final minute of the first half, where Michigan State was twice flagged for false starts in Notre Dame territory in the final minute, ultimately not scoring on the drive.

"It would have had a major impact, I think, on the game," he said. "When the second was done, there were 37 seconds on the clock. With two 10-second runoffs, that would have been 17. (Michigan State had time for three plays, all incomplete passes.) They might have had a little more trouble getting that done. They weren't doing it on purpose, but they did gain an advantage."

– More leniency will be given in intentional grounding situations -- passers are no longer required to throw a pass that an eligible receiver has a reasonable opportunity to catch. Now for their safety, a quarterback can throw in the area of an eligible receiver, whether that opportunity is there or not.

"Offensive coaches and head coaches are generally happy. Defenses aren't," McAuley said. "Now, we get to tell our coaches to tell the quarterback, if you're under pressure in the pocket and you need to legally get rid of the football, put it at a teammate, an eligible receiver's feet. Don't worry about what he's doing. What it fixes is the broken screen where the running back gets knocked down. The quarterback's got nothing to do with that. He can die back there or get the intentional grounding. We don't want either of those to happen. Give up the down -- the defense still gets the down, and the quarterback lives to tell about it."

McAulay said the challenge is identifying what qualifies as in the area of the receiver -- he said it's not intended as a specific halo, say, within 5 yards, but rather the intent. "If I'm throwing it toward a player and it lands 7 yards in front of him, that's probably OK," he said. "But if I'm throwing it away from a player and he's going that way, he's not throwing to anybody. He's dumping the football. We really want to stretch it as much as possible so the quarterbacks can legally dump the football, end the play, take the down and move on."

By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Former Tampa Bay Rays 1B Dan Johnson, who was designated for assignment on Friday, cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Durham.

That's good for the Rays, who could benefit from having him in their system and available to be called up again later in the season. And it makes sense for Johnson to accept the assignment since he has a $1-million guaranteed contract and would have to give that up if he instead declared free agency.

Johnson was hitting .115 at the time, with 1 homer and 3 RBIs in 25 games.

By Greg Auman, Times Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 24, 2011

USF's athletic department continues to make major gains in the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate scores, which measure teams' success in maintaining their athletes' eligibility and retention in the program.

USF football made the largest improvement of any BCS school, improving its overall four-year score to a 952, up from 930 a year ago, and the two-year improvement of 43 points is 14 points better than the next-closest by any BCS school. Men's basketball also showed improvement, raising its four-year score from 915 to 937, well above the score of 925 below which a team is susceptible to sanctions from the NCAA.

"I'm excited about it -- I think you can't talk about this without (mentioning) the job that Jason Linders does academically, the addition he's made to our academic team," coach Skip Holtz said. "And the job this staff has done in getting involved in these players' lives."

Holtz said USF is now working to get in touch with any athlete that left the school in the last five years without a degree -- NFL draft picks Terrell McClain and Mistral Raymond are both taking classes this summer, with McClain due to graduate this summer and Raymond on course to do so next spring after his first NFL season.

Eight USF teams posted a perfect score of 1000 for the 2009-10 academic year, highlighted by women's tennis, which was honored by the NCAA last week with special recognition for maintaining a four-year perfect score of 1000.

The only team that faced any penalties from the NCAA was women's basketball, whose score dropped down to 917 from 952 due to heavy turnover in the 2009-10 season. Coach Jose Fernandez lost one player (Jessica Monroe) to academic issues and suspended three others (Janae Stokes, Dominique English, Sequoyah Griffin) indefinitely for a violation of team rules. USF went without two scholarships in women's basketball for the past year as a penalty for the low score, but is now back to full strength for the upcoming season.

"At the end of the day, I hold our kids academically and athletically responsible and for them to make the right decisions," Fernandez said. "I don't mess around. Any time somebody gets in trouble, the penalties I come down with are (appropriate). Just so I have a good APR? There's more to it than that. There are situations that come up that you can't control."

The athletic department as a whole had what it says is the most successful semesters in its history, with an average grade-point average of 3.01 for the spring semester.

"We continue to see strong improvement across the department as it relates to APR, and we couldn't be more excited about the direction we're headed," athletic director Doug Woolard said in a statement. "Helping our student-athletes graduate is one of the core goals of this athletic department, and the progress we've made over the last couple of years is promising."

John Romano, Times Columnist
Tuesday, May 24, 2011

TAMPA — The sin, if indeed it was one, was committed more than two years ago.

A brief flash of a hockey stick striking the shin of a minor league linesman, and the perpetuation of the image of a young prospect out of control.

Steve Downie paid for the transgression that very night in 2009 when he was ejected from the game. He paid for it again when the American Hockey League notified the Norfolk Admirals that Downie was to be suspended for 20 games.

The question today is whether he is still paying for that mistake, and whether every officiating crew sees only the caricature of a stick-wielding goon.

If you have watched closely, you might suspect this to be true. Downie gets checked, shoved, slashed and tripped nightly, and the referee's arm never leaves his side.

When he was smashed into the boards in Game 4 with a penalty that could not be ignored, the officials evened it out by calling Downie for a dive. If it was a dive, then Downie is a terrific method actor for the hit knocked him out of the game.

So is it true that Downie is still paying for a mistake made long ago?

"Yes," Lightning coach Guy Boucher said, "I think so."

And is that fair?

"I'm not going to comment whether it's fair or not. I'm not on the ice," Boucher said. "But there is still something there. There are fumes from the past.

"Sometimes I find it tough to get on him because I know he's working hard to change things. But for him, this is the reality. It's going to take time. But there are some refs out there who have been terrific, and they know he's putting in the effort to change things."

As much as any other, hockey is a sport that takes care of its own.

Deliver a perceived cheap shot in a game, and eventually there will be payback. It may not be the same evening. It may not even be the original victim bringing the retribution, but somewhere down the line all debts will be paid.

In this matter, the referees appear to be settling all family business. By jumping on every perceived infraction Downie commits, and by allowing opponents to use him as a punching bag, they are sending a clear message that you touch officials at your peril.

The official party line from the Lightning's affiliate club in Norfolk in 2009 was that the slashing incident was an accident. That Downie inadvertently hit the linesman with his follow-through on a face-off.

You can watch a fuzzy video of the incident on YouTube and decide for yourself. But, given Downie's checkered past, you can probably understand why the AHL denied Norfolk's appeal.

Because the reality is that reputations do matter, and Downie, 24, is carrying around a doozy. It's not just the slashing of the linesman. It is also the hair trigger temper. The on-ice fights. The complaining to officials, and the perception that he is not adverse to taking a dive.

Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman does not agree that officials are specifically targeting Downie, but he admits his player rarely gets the benefit of the doubt.

"When he sticks to playing hockey and playing hard and stays focused, he's very, very effective," Yzerman said. "It's when he gets distracted and gets frustrated and gets away from playing hockey that he runs into problems.

"You scream and yell at an official over and over and over, you can't expect to have the calls go your way."

For the most part, Downie is loathe to talk about his past. And his reticence is understandable. This is a guy, after all, who was held up as the epitome of all that is wrong with hockey when he seriously injured a teammate after a fight in juniors.

His career is littered with suspensions and accusations, and nothing he can say today will undo the damage his fists have inflicted.

Downie's only hope is to change that perception by the way he plays. Aggressive, but not reckless. Intense, but under control.

"I think he's done a better job of controlling his emotions and his discipline and he doesn't seem to be getting rewarded for that," said Sun Sports analyst and former Lightning wing Chris Dingman. "How do you call a diving penalty on a guy who gets his head knocked off the boards, and then goes to the dressing room and doesn't return?"

It happened again Monday night in Boston in Game 5. Downie was called for boarding on a third-period hit that wasn't flagrant. Later in the period, he was knocked off his feet behind the Boston net, and no call was made.

Maybe Downie has brought this on himself. And maybe further reparations will be required. But eventually the question should be asked:

How long must a man pay for his sin?

John Romano can be reached at romano@sptimes.com.

By Joe Smith, Times Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 24, 2011

TAMPA — It appears possible the Lightning will have to stave off elimination tonight in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final without the playoffs' leading scorer, LW Sean Bergenheim.

Bergenheim didn't play the final two periods Monday night after suffering an undisclosed injury, which is believed to be lower-body. Coach Guy Boucher isn't sure whether Bergenheim will be ready tonight, but knew if the game were Tuesday, he definitely would not have been on the ice.

"We'll see (today)," Boucher said. "I'll go to church I think."

It would be a big loss to the Lightning, as Bergenheim — whose nine playoff goals lead the NHL — has been one of its better players, and a key part of a third line with Dominic Moore and Steve Downie. Boucher said he tried to find some chemistry on that line without Bergenheim Tuesday night, when the wing logged only 4 minutes and 19 seconds, and hasn't decided who would replace him.

"Bergie has been great," Moore said. "And again, though, it's the kind of thing where our team is all the pieces fit together and the way we've played all season long it's been everyone on the same page, and whether the lines change, we all play the same way."

But Boston knows it could be a break if Bergenheim's out.

"He's had a lot of goals in this postseason, and he's playing well for them," Bruins D Johnny Boychuk said. "It's one of those guys, if he's out, it'd be good for us, because he's been producing really well and playing really well. But if he's in, we've got to make sure to take care of him."

POWER OUTAGE: The Lighting power play, which had been strong in the first two rounds, has struggled in the Bruins series, going 2-for-18, including 0-for-4 (on just four shots) in Monday's loss.

RW Marty St. Louis said the power play was "disappointing" Monday, pointing out they could have pulled away by taking a two-goal lead, but didn't.

What needs to change?

"I just think a little more poise," St. Louis said. "Poise and shots to the net. But I think they come hand in hand. If we get a little poise, we're going to open some more shots. And we have to take those shots. Once we have the shots, we have to take them. We can't look for that other play."

Of course, the Bruins penalty kill has something to do with that, along with G Tim Thomas.

"That's something we've managed to do that was important to us," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "Because had we not done that, the series might be in a different place right now."

JOHNNY BE GOOD: Boychuk said he's fine and will play tonight after hitting his head into the boards Monday on a hit by Lightning RW Steve Downie, who was called for boarding.

Boychuk said he didn't see Downie coming, and was a little "foggy" afterward, but didn't say whether the hit deserved discipline.

"I saw the hit, if it's suspendable the league will do it," Boychuk said. "But I'm feeling fine and that's the main thing."

IN FRONT: The Bruins used their big D Zdeno Chara, a 6-foot-9, 255-pound captain, in front of the net on the power play Monday, and could do so again. "He's 260 pounds, try to move a guy that's as strong as him and as big as him — not too many guys can do that," Boychuk said.

FLASHBACK: Julien was asked how much of a lift great goaltending performances like G Tim Thomas on Monday could give, and he brought up the example of former Lightning G Nikolai Khabibulin in the 2004 Stanley Cup run.

"We're in Tampa right now, the year Tampa Bay won it had it not been for Khabibulin, I'm not sure they would have had a Stanley Cup, because he stood on his head in a lot of those games," Julien said. "They were a good team, but Khabibulin was a great goaltender for them. ... When you've got a hot goaltender, it makes you that much better."

Joe Smith can be reached at joesmith@sptimes.com.

By Joe Smith, Times Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 24, 2011

TAMPA — It appears possible the Lightning will have to stave off elimination tonight in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final without the playoffs' leading goal scorer entering Tuesday, LW Sean Bergenheim.

Bergenheim didn't play the final two periods of Monday's 3-1 Game 5 loss to the Bruins after sustaining an undisclosed injury, which is believed to be lower body. Coach Guy Boucher said Tuesday that he wasn't sure whether Bergenheim would be ready tonight but that if the game had been Tuesday, Bergenheim definitely would not have been on the ice.

"We'll see (today)," Boucher said. "I'll go to church, I think."

No Bergenheim would be a big loss to the Lightning. Bergenheim, who has nine goals, has been one of its better players and a key part of a third line with C Dominic Moore and RW Steve Downie. Boucher said he tried to find chemistry on that line without Bergenheim in Game 5, in which the wing logged 4 minutes, 19 seconds, and hadn't decided who would replace him.

"Bergie has been great," Moore said. "And again, though … all the pieces fit together (on our team), and the way we've played all season long, it's been everyone on the same page, and whether the lines change, we all play the same way."

Boston knows it could get a break if Bergenheim is out.

"He's had a lot of goals in this postseason, and he's playing well for them," Bruins D Johnny Boychuk said. "If he's out, it'd be good for us, because he's been producing really well and playing really well. But if he's in, we've got to make sure to take care of him."

POWER OUTAGE: The Lightning's power play, which had been strong in the first two playoff rounds, has struggled against the Bruins, going 2-for-18, including 0-for-4 (with four shots) in Game 5.

RW Marty St. Louis said the power play was disappointing Monday. What needs to change?

"I just think a little more poise," St. Louis said. "Poise and shots to the net. But I think they come hand in hand. If we get a little poise, we're going to open some more shots. And we have to take those shots. Once we have the shots, we have to take them. We can't look for that other play."

The Bruins' penalty kill has something to do with the Lightning's problems, as does G Tim Thomas.

"That's something we've managed to do that was important to us," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "Because had we not done that, the series might be in a different place right now."

JOHNNY BE GOOD: Boychuk said he was fine and would play tonight after hitting his head into the boards Monday on a hit by Downie, who was called for boarding.

Boychuk said he didn't see Downie coming and was a little foggy afterward. He didn't say whether he thought the hit deserved league discipline. The league was not looking into supplementary discipline, Canada's TSN TV network reported Tuesday.

"I saw the hit. If it's suspendable, the league will do it," Boychuk said. "But I'm feeling fine, and that's the main thing."

IN FRONT: The Bruins used 6-foot-9, 255-pound D Zdeno Chara in front of the net on the power play Monday and could do so again. "Try to move a guy that's as strong as him and as big as him," Boychuk said. "Not too many guys can do that."

FLASHBACK: Julien was asked how much of a lift great goaltending performances such as Thomas' on Monday could give a team, and he brought up former Lightning G Nikolai Khabibulin in the 2004 Stanley Cup run.

"The year Tampa Bay won it, had it not been for Khabibulin, I'm not sure they would have had a Stanley Cup, because he stood on his head in a lot of those games," Julien said. "They were a good team, but Khabibulin was a great goaltender for them. … When you've got a hot goaltender, it makes you that much better."

By Dave Zalewski, Times Correspondent
Tuesday, May 24, 2011

What's hot: With water temperatures climbing daily we had almost given up on kingfish, resigning ourselves to catching them intermittently while targeting red grouper and other benthic species. But that was erroneous; this past week, limit catches (two per person per day, 24-inch fork limit) were the norm almost every day. The usual high profile structures that hold bait — artificial reefs, wrecks and shipping channel buoys — were devoid of kingfish and had very few Spanish mackerel. Kingfish were on many of the bait piles that we fished in the 60-foot depths.

Techniques: Using sabikis to catch fresh live bait on site was critical to success. A sure indicator that larger predators were present was that we'd bring up half of a baitfish or had the rig cut off. Slow trolling stinger-rigged fresh baits on the surface produced many strikes. When we were sure the fish were there because of the cut-off the addition of a one- to four-ounce trolling lead six to eight feet of leader produced strikes. Bottom fishing at this depth remained consistent with red grouper, catch-and-release gags, trigger fish and white grunts striking live and frozen baits.

Dave Zalewski charters the Lucky Too out of Madeira Beach and can be reached at Luckytoo2@aol.com or (727) 397-8815.

By Damian Cristodero, Times Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Dwayne Roloson, who is 6-0 in elimination games in his career, will get the start in net for the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final with the Bruins. Roloson, who is 0-2 with a 5.64 goals-against average and .820 save percentage in his past three games, was benched in game 5 for Mike Smith.

Smith played well, stopping 17 of 19 shots in a 3-1 loss that gave the Bruins a three games to two lead in the best-of-seven series and pushed Tampa Bay one game from elimination.

Lightning coach Guy Boucher said he never lost confidence in Roloson.

"Well, I mean, he was the guy that took us here, and that's how I felt before last game; but like I said, I felt like it was time to give him a little breather," Boucher said Tuesday. "And at the same time I felt that Smitty played really well. So it's a perfect situation to put Smitty in. If something were to go wrong in the previous game, put a new goaltender in for a do-or-die, I don't think it would have been a good moment for anybody. So this is a perfect situation. He's going to be the only rested guy in the two teams."

Of course, the word "breather" raised some eyebrows, especially when talking about a 41-year-old goalie.

"He needed a little break like everybody else," Boucher said. "Whether you're a goaltender, defenseman or forward, I know players on both sides are getting more tired as the series are evolving. And it's normal. Everybody's expecting that. And your most important player is your goaltender. So he'll be rested."

In other news, Boucher said wing Sean Bergenheim, who has a playoffs-best nine goals, will be a game-time decision, though he added that if Game 6 was held Tuesday, Bergenheim would not play. Bergenheim was hurt in the first period Monday. It was believed he was hurt when checked by Boston's Dennis Seidenberg. But Boucher said the injury was not acute, but something that had been lingering and was aggravated.