Times wires
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Mets 6, Rockies 5
11 innings
DENVER — Ike Davis singled in the go-ahead run in the 11th as the Mets overcame Tim Byrdak giving up Todd Helton's grand slam in the eighth, and Frank Francisco giving up an RBI double in the 10th.
Times wires
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Reds 6, Astros 5
CINCINNATI — Jay Bruce's fourth homer in four games, a 381-foot shot off Fernando Rodriguez, rallied the Reds after starter Mat Latos gave up 10 hits. "This is what you play for," said Bruce, whose seventh of the season leads the Reds. "This is a hard game. There are a lot of times when it's not too much fun."
Times wires
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Cubs 5, Phillies 1
PHILADELPHIA — The Cubs' Matt Garza pitched one-hit ball for seven shutout innings and struck out 10. The former Ray gave up a pop-fly single to Jimmy Rollins leading off and retired 20 of the next 21 batters. Juan Pierre (seventh-inning walk) was the only other baserunner. "I just stuck to the game plan: keep them off balance and try to get popups or ground balls," Garza said. "I was very comfortable out there. I wanted to go after them."
Sunday, April 29, 2012
BALTIMORE — The unlikely comeback began with a pair of hits that didn't make it out of the infield.
Then came two drives off the outfield wall, providing the first-place Orioles with a wave of momentum heading to Yankee Stadium.
Wilson Betemit hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth after Matt Wieters doubled in two runs, and Baltimore rallied to a 5-2 victory over the Athletics on Sunday.
"We got a team where everybody pulls together," Betemit said after a 5-1 homestand. "Everybody knows how to play, knows how to win, and that's what we do."
A's starter Bartolo Colon took a four-hit shutout into the ninth. Then J.J. Hardy led off with an infield hit, and one out later Adam Jones hit a chopper toward third that Colon collected and threw wildly to first. That ended his afternoon.
Grant Balfour then gave up a double to Wieters.
After an intentional walk, Betemit hit a 3-and-1 pitch to right-center that bounced off the top of the wall, a home run, according to the ground rules at Camden Yards.
Times wires
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Diamondbacks 8, Marlins 4
MIAMI — Unbeaten Wade Miley held the Marlins hitless until the sixth and lowered his ERA to 1.29, and Jason Kubel drove in three runs. "Everything was working out for me," said Miley, who also singled and scored the first run. "There's nothing like working fast and being able to throw strikes."
Times wires
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Indians 4, Angels 0
CLEVELAND — Derek Lowe pitched three-hit ball into the eighth and the Indians scored three runs on errors. Lowe retired 12 batters on ground balls, including Albert Pujols three times. Los Angeles has totaled only 11 runs while losing six of seven en route to a 7-15 start. "I don't think you get frustrated in baseball because failure is the game," Angels outfielder Torii Hunter said. "If you get frustrated in baseball, you can go home. You've got to have amnesia because you play tomorrow."
Times wires
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Giants 4, Padres 1
SAN FRANCISCO — Pablo Sandoval homered to back Madison Bumgarner's fourth straight victory, denying the Padres their first series win of the year. Bumgarner struck out a season-best six in 7⅔ innings, and he has won four straight starts since losing his season debut at Arizona. He owns a 1.61 ERA during his winning streak. "The more quality pitches I can throw limits the damage," he said. "I don't pay any attention to the previous (start)."
Times wires
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Dodgers 2, Nationals 0
LOS ANGELES — Chris Capuano struck out nine while combining with two relievers on a four-hitter and James Loney drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single as the Dodgers completed a three-game sweep. At 16-6, the Dodgers matched their best start since 1981. "We've got a great mix of guys, and we're going to need that through the long season to win games," Loney said. "A big hit, a big defensive play, and big base-running play — all that stuff is going to matter."
Houston AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Schafer cf 6 1 1 0 0 3 .264
Altuve 2b 5 3 4 1 0 0 .377
J.D.Martinez lf 4 1 3 3 1 0 .313
Ca.Lee 1b 3 0 1 1 2 0 .273
Lowrie ss 5 0 0 0 0 3 .245
Bogusevic rf 4 1 2 0 1 1 .207
C.Johnson 3b 5 0 0 0 0 0 .274
C.Snyder c 4 1 2 1 0 2 .138
Happ p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .143
Maxwell ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .263
T.Buck ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 .292
Totals 40 7 14 6 4 10
Milwaukee AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
R.Weeks 2b 5 0 1 0 0 2 .189
C.Gomez cf 5 1 2 0 0 2 .371
Braun lf 5 2 2 2 0 1 .275
Ar.Ramirez 3b 3 0 1 0 1 0 .191
Hart rf 3 1 2 1 1 1 .305
Ale.Gonzalez ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 .263
Lucroy c 4 0 0 0 0 1 .261
Ishikawa 1b 3 1 1 1 0 1 .211
C.Izturis ph-1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 .200
Marcum p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .000
Morgan ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .167
Aoki ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .250
Totals 37 5 10 4 2 11
Houston 130 000 120— 7 14 0
Milwaukee 211 000 010— 5 10 1
E—Braun (2). LOB—Hou. 12, Mil. 7. 2B—Altuve (5), J.D.Martinez (4), Bogusevic (2), Ar.Ramirez (5), Hart (6). 3B—C.Gomez (2). HR—Braun (4), off Happ; Ishikawa (2), off Happ; Hart (6), off Davi.Carpenter. RBIs—Altuve (8), J.D.Martinez 3 (18), Ca.Lee (13), C.Snyder (3), Braun 2 (11), Hart (13), Ishikawa (5). SB—Bogusevic (2). S—Happ. RISP—Hou. 5 for 15; Mil. 0 for 7.
Houston IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Happ 5 7 4 4 2 8 103 4.70
W.Lopez W, 2-0 1 0 0 0 0 1 11 1.54
D.Carpentr H, 1 1M2 1 1 0 2 29 3.12
W.Wright H, 2L0 0 0 0 0 3 6.75
Myers S, 3-3 1 1 0 0 0 0 15 1.80
Milwaukee IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Marcum 5 8 4 3 4 7 99 4.13
Dillard 1 0 0 0 0 0 8 5.40
Veras L, 2-1 1 2 1 1 0 1 27 5.40
McClendon 2 4 2 2 0 2 45 7.71
HBP—by Marcum (C.Snyder). WP—Happ, Marcum. T—3:27. A—26,778 (41,900).
Times wires
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Brewers 3, Cardinals 2
ST. LOUIS — Zack Greinke worked six strong innings and Jonathan Lucroy's two-run double capped a three-run sixth for the Brewers. John Axford got his 48th save in a row in an eventful manner. The Cardinals had runners on first and third with none out. Axford struck out David Freese. The runners then got hung up on Yadier Molina's strikeout, with Tyler Greene an easy out at the plate.
Times wires
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Braves 4, Pirates 3
ATLANTA — The Braves' Tim Hudson survived five tough innings to win in his return from back surgery. "I was able to keep them off-balance good enough and locate just good enough," said Hudson, who gave up two runs on six hits. He allowed at least one baserunner in every inning as the Pirates left 10 overall.
Times wires
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Blue Jays 7, Mariners 2
TORONTO — Henderson Alvarez allowed one run in six-plus innings to win for the second time in 15 major-league starts. "We had some good hacks at him, but he started changing speeds, started taking something off his fastball," the Mariners' Chone Figgins said. Edwin Encarnacion hit his third homer in three games for Toronto, which also got a two-run shot from Jeff Mathis.
By Brandon Wright, Times Correspondent
Sunday, April 29, 2012
TAMPA — Are you ready for some football?
The NFL's Monday Night Football doesn't get rolling until Sept. 10, but the Storm hosts a rare Arena League version tonight when it faces Kansas City at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.
When the NFL Network picked up the league television contract three years ago, one game per season was designated for a Monday night due to the NFL draft weekend and the network's coverage of it. The Storm last played a Monday game May 5, 2008.
"We're all creatures of habit, so we like to keep the same schedule as much as possible," said Storm coach Dave Ewart, whose team primarily plays on Friday and Saturday. "This just makes it a longer week for us."
Ewart gave his players an extra day off last week but also worked in an extra day of practice. The Storm (3-3) hasn't played since April 20, when it lost 83-48 to Philadelphia, the league's top team at 6-1.
"I think the extra day of practice was good because we have so many young guys. The more they play (the indoor game), the better they get," Ewart said. "We worked five days on and two off on the weekend, just like a regular job."
The 83 points given up to Philadelphia were the most in team history.
"That game was over that night, and we started game planning for Kansas City the next day," Ewart said. "We left that all (in Philadelphia). That's a very good football team."
Kansas City, conversely, has not been good. At 0-5, the Command is the lone winless team in the league and has scored a league-low 170 points, 97 fewer than the next-closest team.
"They're a young team, like us, and have made some mistakes, like us," Ewart said. "But they should have beaten San Jose (a 49-35 loss on April 21). If we don't play our best, we're going to be in trouble."
Though the game is being played on an atypical day, Storm media relations director Jim Robinson said ticket sales have not been affected. The Storm drew a league-high 16,054 for its home opener and more than 8,000 for the next two games at the Times Forum.
"Sales (for tonight) have been on par, except for the first game," he said.
Notes: The Storm will honor former players Sylvester Bembery, Stevie Thomas and George LaFrance for their recent inductions into the Arena Football Hall of Fame. … The Storm will retire Lawrence Samuels' number, and the first 5,000 fans will receive a poster of him. … Julianna Zobrist, wife of the Rays' Ben Zobrist, will sing the national anthem.
Times wires
Sunday, April 29, 2012
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Hansen was there, edging out hard charging Union Rags. Dullahan ran, too, as did Daddy Long Legs, Creative Cause, Take Charge Indy, Alpha, Optimizer and Prospective.
The same horses are expected to line up again in Saturday's Kentucky Derby, six months after the Breeders' Cup Juvenile on the same Churchill Downs track.
Though no horse is a clear favorite heading into Wednesday's post position draw, as many as nine horses that will start Saturday also ran in the premier race for 2-year-olds.
"When you look back at the race, it was a key," Union Rags trainer Michael Matz said. "And a lot of those horses have done well. I think this is a pretty competitive crop."
The top five graded stakes earners are from the 13-horse field that started at the Juvenile.
Hansen held off Union Rags, winning the 11/16-mile race in 1 minute, 44.44 seconds. Creative Cause was third, followed by Dullahan and Take Charge Indy. Optimizer, who needs one horse to pull out to get in the Derby, was eighth.
The Juvenile also helped solidify decisions on what horses would continue on the Kentucky Derby trail, something Prospective trainer Mark Casse saw even though his horse finished last that day.
"I think he's developed well," Casse said. "When this horse ran in the Juvenile, he only trained on dirt for about 10 days. So, when we thought … maybe we have a Derby horse, we took him right down and started training him on dirt."
Prospective won the Tampa Bay Derby in March at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar to vault into the Derby conversation.
Conditions Sunday were muddy after a violent storm swept through Louisville on Saturday night.
Trainer Bob Baffert sent his favored colt, Bodemeister, out for his last work and was scheduled to send his other, Liaison, for final preparation today. Bodemeister is one of several contenders that either didn't run as a 2-year-old or skipped the Juvenile.
"Part of what we want to do is try to have Derby horses and have horses ready for the spring of the year," said Elliott Walden of WinStar Farms, which owns Gemologist. 'Part of that is that we don't over-race them at 2, so typically, you know, you don't see any of our juveniles come to hand in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. We typically stay away from that race."
Wood Memorial Stakes winner Gemologist, one of trainer Todd Pletcher's two horses, is unbeaten in five starts.
"He's been perfect his whole life, so we're hoping to see more of what we've seen," Pletcher said. "He's had a really good time since the Wood. Everything's gone smoothly with the exception of catching a little rain here the last few days. We're very happy with him."
BARBARO'S SIRE DIES: Dynaformer, the sire of Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, died at Three Chimneys Farm in Lexington, Ky., two weeks after having a heart attack. The 27-year-old was one of the most successful sires in the thoroughbred industry, with 21 crops that have earned more than $105 million, including 130 stakes winners and 18 millionaires. Barbaro won the Derby but broke down in the 2006 Preakness Stakes and was euthanized.
Times wires
Sunday, April 29, 2012
AVONDALE, La. — Jason Dufner's recent late-tournament struggles made it easy to understand why a putt under 2 feet on a playoff hole at the Zurich Classic made him more nervous than the thought of getting married next weekend.
"There's a been a good bit of pressure," Dufner said. "People talking about, 'Why aren't you winning? Why can't you close the deal?' … Friends, family, media, even people in my inner circle. And not in a negative way, but when you're leading tournaments going into weekends and you're finishing 24th, there's going to be some questions."
Dufner maintained his composure Sunday through two playoff holes against Ernie Els, birdieing the second for his first win in 164 PGA Tour starts.
At the Masters this month, Dufner, 35, shared the lead after two rounds but faded to 24th. He also held five previous leads through two rounds — twice this year — only to fade.
Entering the fourth round Sunday with a two-shot lead, Dufner shot 2-under 70 at TPC Louisiana. Els had 67 to match Dufner for a course-record 19-under 269.
Both missed birdie putts within 8 feet on the par-5 18th at the first playoff hole, so they went back to the 18th tee for the second. Dufner won by hitting the green in two strokes and tapping home a short birdie putt after Els' birdie attempt from the fringe narrowly missed.
Els hasn't won on tour since the 2010 Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando. "It was a nice little charge I made and, you know, nice to catch the leader," said the three-time major winner. "Hit the ball pretty well (Sunday) — no bogeys on the final round — so there's a lot of positives."
Luke Donald shot 67 to finish third at 17 under and move past Rory McIlroy for the No. 1 ranking in the world. Defending champion Bubba Watson, playing for the first time since winning the Masters, shot 70 and tied for 18th at 11 under.
Dufner on Saturday marries Amanda Boyd in Auburn, Ala. They are delaying the honeymoon so he can play the next three weeks.
LPGA: Stacy Lewis won the Mobile (Ala.) Bay LPGA Classic for her second tour title, holding off hard-charging 17-year-old Lexi Thompson of Coral Springs by a stroke at 17-under 271. Thompson shot 7-under 65 to erase Lewis' five-stroke lead from early in the day and move into a tie at one point. Lewis, who shot 69, reclaimed the lead with birdie on No. 16. Thompson parred the final hole and had to wait for Lewis to finish. Karine Icher of France closed with 68 to finish third, two back. Seminole's Brittany Lincicome, who began the day tied with Lewis for the lead, shot par 72 and finished five back.
Legends: Rosie Jones won the season-opening Walgreens Charity Classic, shooting 4-under 68 for a 5-under 139 total and a two-stroke victory over Elaine Crosby (68) in the 36-hole event at Sun City West, Ariz. Liselotte Neumann (69) and Jan Stephenson (70) were at 2 under.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
NEW YORK — Struggling Yankees starter Freddy Garcia is being shifted to a relief role after giving up six runs to the Tigers in 1 2/3 innings Saturday.
"I'm not surprised," said Garcia, whose ERA went to 12.51 after the outing. "You play here in New York, they expect (you) to pitch good. … It's not like they wait for you to be good."
Rewarded with a $4 million, one-year contract after going 12-8 with a 3.62 ERA last season, Garcia has been the worst of a shaky rotation that was thought to be a strength heading into the season.
But offseason acquisition Michael Pineda started the season on the disabled list and needs season-ending shoulder surgery. Phil Hughes and Garcia have been terrible. Hughes is 1-3 with a 7.88 ERA. Yankees starters through Saturday had a 6.37 ERA, 29th in the majors, Stats LLC said. Minnesota was the only team that was worse (7.01 ERA).
Garcia (0-2) has made two relief appearances in 333 career games, including one for New York last season. He didn't know what his role in the bullpen would be. It could be as a long reliever.
"Another part of my life I have to deal with," he said. "Whenever I have to pitch, I'll pitch."
Manager Joe Girardi said rookie David Phelps would take Garcia's place in the rotation.
Pettitte in Dunedin: Yankees LHP Andy Pettitte, pitching with Class A Tampa as he works his way back toward the majors, will pitch against Dunedin at 6:30 tonight. General admission tickets are $6. The Yankees believe Pettitte may need one or two more starts before he is ready to join the rotation.
More Yankees: OF Nick Swisher, the AL leader in extra-base hits, left Sunday's game against Detroit in the third inning because of a tight left hamstring and was expected to have an MRI exam.
Inge to A's? 3B Brandon Inge, let go by the Tigers on Thursday, agreed to a deal with the A's, the Associated Press reported. The deal was pending a physical and final paperwork. Inge, who turns 35 on May 19, was batting .100 (2-for-20) with one homer and two RBIs this season. He would fill a void at third, where the A's lost projected starter Scott Sizemore to a season-ending knee injury the first day of spring training. Manager Bob Melvin has tried Josh Donaldson, Eric Sogard and Luke Hughes in the spot.
Pujols Drought watch: New Angels 1B Albert Pujols is homerless in 22 games since signing his $240 million contract. In 2006 he set an April record with 14 homers for St. Louis. The three-time NL MVP hit five homers during the 2011 postseason for the Cardinals but has not connected in the regular season since Sept. 22.
Indians: OF Shin-Soo Choo missed his fifth game with a strained left hamstring. He ran in the outfield during warmups and hoped to play Tuesday.
Mariners: LHP George Sherrill, who has appeared in two games this season, will have season-ending elbow surgery Friday, the team announced.
Mets: OF Andres Torres (strained left calf) completed a two-game minor-league rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Buffalo and was to join the Mets today in Houston. He was expected to be activated from the 15-day disabled list.
Red Sox: Slugger Kevin Youkilis was a late scratch with tightness in his lower left back.
Royals: RHP Luke Hochevar will pitch the series opener at Detroit today because scheduled starter Jonathan Sanchez came down with flu symptoms in Minneapolis. He will start Tuesday.
White Sox: 1B Paul Konerko was out with a stiff neck. He is day to day.
Times wires
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Olympics
world court reportedly to scrap Britain's Tough antidoping rule
LONDON — Britain's attempt to keep doping offenders off its Olympic teams has failed with sports' top court on the verge of declaring the nation's lifetime ban unlawful, the Associated Press and Britain's Daily Telegraph reported Sunday. The ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport is set to be released today.
The ruling would make two athletes, track sprinter Dwain Chambers and cyclist David Millar, eligible to qualify for this summer's Games.
In 1992, the British Olympic Association banned any doping offenders from all future Olympics. It remains the only country with the rule. Said Britain's four-time Olympic cycling champion, Chris Hoy: "It will be sad if we have to fall in line with the rest of the world." The British Olympic Association declined to comment.
The sanction has been under threat since last year, when the CAS threw out an International Olympic Committee rule barring athletes with doping suspensions of more than six months from the next Olympics.
Chambers, fourth in the 100 meters at the 2000 Games, served a two-year ban after testing positive for the steroid THG in 2003. Millar, 16th in the 2000 time trial, served two years after testing positive for the blood-boosting agent EPO in 2004. Both have since worked with authorities to help crack down on doping.
British track star Andy Turner welcomed the ruling.
"Either make lifetime ban for drug cheats worldwide or scrap it completely," he tweeted. "The world won't follow Britain's rules."
Colleges
WAC exodus continues
The WAC continues to collapse as a football conference. San Jose State will be invited to join the Mountain West this week, the San Jose Mercury News reported. Utah State is on the verge of the same move, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. And Louisiana Tech will go to Conference USA, CBSSports.com reported. The reports come a day after Texas-San Antonio, set to start its first football season in the WAC in September, set a vote for Wednesday to leave for C-USA. All moves would take place starting in 2013-14. The only football schools not linked to another conference are Idaho, New Mexico State and Texas State. The WAC is getting Boise State for everything but football as well as three nonfootball schools: Texas-Arlington, Seattle and Denver.
College baseball: Derrick Stultz, a graduate of Tampa's Wharton High, allowed one run and three hits over 71/3 innings to help host USF beat Villanova 3-1. The Bulls (29-16, 12-6 Big East) are tied for second in the league with Louisville and UConn, two games behind St. John's, with nine games left. The Bulls have finished better than fifth only once in their previous six seasons in the Big East.
College softball: Senior Alexis Nowell's walkoff double gave host USF a 3-2 win over Villanova on Senior Day. The Bulls (44-8, 16-3 Big East) are second in the conference, a game behind Louisville, with three games left.
Tennis
Nadal makes history
Rafael Nadal became the first player in the Open Era (since 1968) to win two events seven times, beating fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 7-6 (7-1), 7-5 in the Barcelona Open in Spain. Nadal won his 21st straight match on clay a week after winning his eighth straight Monte Carlo Masters.
Porsche Grand Prix: No. 2 Maria Sharapova cruised past No. 1 Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 6-4 in the final in Stuttgart, Germany.
Et Cetera
Boxing: Chad Dawson, 29, beat Bernard Hopkins, 47, by a 12-round majority decision to win the WBC light heavyweight title late Saturday in Atlantic City. Dawson (31-1) won despite a cut near his left eye sustained when Hopkins (52-6-2) head-butted him in the fourth. Two judges scored it 117-111, a third 114-114.
Times wires
By Joe Smith, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, April 29, 2012
. Up next
vs. Mariners
Tonight-Thursday
What's new: The Mariners are on a road trip in which they already have taken four of six from the Tigers and Blue Jays. They made one big move in the offseason, acquiring touted prospect C Jesus Montero from the Yankees for RHP Michael Pineda. Seattle still has RF Ichiro Suzuki, though he's no longer the leadoff hitter, and 2010 Cy Young Award-winning RHP Felix Hernandez, who pitches tonight. They're missing LHP George Sherrill and CF Franklin Gutierrez, who are on the disabled list.
Key stat: The Mariners' eight road wins are tied for the American League lead.
Connections: C John Jaso is a former Ray, and OF Chone Figgins is a former Brandon High standout.
Series history: The Mariners lead the all-time series 69-56, including 32-25 at Tropicana Field. The Rays took last year's series 6-4, including all three at the Trop.
Joe Smith, Times staff writer
Times wires
Sunday, April 29, 2012
EL PASO, Texas — A high-profile match on the University of Texas El Paso campus will be held if law enforcement can ensure a safe environment, the University of Texas System chancellor said, reversing his 3-day-old ban.
Francisco Cigarroa had canceled the June 16 fight between Julio Cesar Chavez and Andy Lee at the Sun Bowl, citing a "higher than normal" security risk. A federal risk assessment had warned that leaders of warring Mexican drug cartels would attend, the Associated Press reported Friday.
UTEP president Diana Natalicio said Cigarroa told her one reason he canceled the fight was a tie between Chavez and Sinaloa drug cartel boss Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman mentioned in a federal security report.
Local media have reported Chavez is in a relationship with the widow of Guzman's son.
Cigarroa set several conditions for the fight to go forward: State, local and federal law enforcement must promise they can handle any security measures. The contract with the promoter and the security plan must be approved by system officials. And no alcohol can be served.
Promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank said he was surprised by the restrictions. Arum said he would have to get assurances from UTEP and local police by early this week that they can be met. If not, Arum said, he would move the fight to Houston.
"This is preposterous. We've never had one bit of problems in Los Angeles, Houston or San Antonio, which are all big Hispanic communities, on a Chavez fight," Arum said.
The risk report, done by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, also said leaders of the Sinaloa and Juarez cartels would be present at the fight. The cartels have waged a bloody war in Ciudad Juarez across the Rio Grande from El Paso for control of drug smuggling routes and other criminal enterprises in the city.
Cigarroa's decision to cancel the fight angered El Paso officials and state lawmakers, who accused him of fostering a culture of fear that the city has been overrun by cartel-related violence. Despite the drug war raging in Mexico, El Paso ranks among the safest cities in the nation in terms of violent crime.
State Sen. Jose Rodriguez, D-El Paso, dismissed the cartel report as "incredulous" and said cartel leaders weren't likely to attend a high-security, highly publicized event with a strong police presence.
Arum laughed at the cartel warning: "Of course members of the cartels will come. When I first started promoting, there were Mafia families at Madison Square Garden. It would seem like a good place to arrest them."
By Tom Jones, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, April 29, 2012
tom jones' two cents
Tampa Bay Times staff writer Tom Jones looks back at the best and worst from a weekend of televised sports.
tom jones' two cents
Best point
News of the season-ending and playoff-altering injury to Bulls guard Derrick Rose was barely an hour old when ESPN analyst Jalen Rose made a point that other analysts echoed for the rest of the weekend.
"I call this the lockout fallout," said Rose, referring to a compacted NBA schedule because of the lockout before the season. Many teams played 66 games in 123 days, and Rose pointed out how several players, including Derrick Rose, Orlando's Dwight Howard, Atlanta's Al Horford and Minnesota's Ricky Rubio, all suffered major injuries.
"These players," Rose continued, "had a compressed season and now their bodies are breaking down."
Best line
See, here's why I like ABC NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy so much. Here's what he said during Sunday's Lakers-Nuggets game: "I think ESPN should create a documentary on Kobe Bryant's footwork. It wouldn't be well-received by the masses, but I sure would enjoy it.''
It was a great way to grab the attention of the viewer and then he went on to explain what was so good about Bryant's footwork. That's outstanding, people.
Speaking of outstanding in the Lakers-Nuggets game, there was an interesting moment late in the third quarter with the Nuggets down by 14. Wired for sound, Denver coach George Karl was heard scolding his team to try harder, not for Sunday's game, but to see if his game plan even had a chance of working later in the series. What a moment of insight.
Three thing that popped into my head
1. How cool is it that the Rays are so consistently good these days that it's no longer a big deal when they're on national television, as they were Sunday night when they visited the Rangers for ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball?
2. If I'm the Lightning, I'm definitely interested in trying to get Bruins goalie Tim Thomas. But if I'm the Bruins, I'm not sure I'm interested in helping another Eastern Conference team such as the Lightning improve itself.
3. Now that the Bulls will be without Derrick Rose for the rest of the season, the Heat should win the NBA title. But, oddly enough, the one team that seems to give the Heat fits is Boston, which also won't have deal with Rose this postseason, provided it can get past the Hawks.
Best coverage
People love to criticize ESPN. Viewers like to do it. Other networks like to do it. Media critics love to do it. And, yeah sure, the network occasionally blurs the lines of integrity, and they do love to promote themselves.
But, doggone it, how can you watch the NFL draft and not appreciate simply how much work the network puts into such an event? It's quite staggering even to imagine how many people must put in endless time to produce hour upon hour of first-rate TV.
Within seconds of hundreds of picks, ESPN dials up highlight packages and a bevy of graphics. Meantime, the countless analysts add expert breakdowns of the strengths and weaknesses of each player, as well as why the teams selected that player. The coverage is seamless and complete. And astonishingly so.
You know, if ESPN wants to promote itself, I'd rather see a behind-the-scenes look at exactly how the draft shows are put together rather than some silly promotion of one of its personalities. It would be way more interesting. And impressive, for that matter.
Best conversation
At first, I didn't care for ABC's NBA studio setup this season with a roundtable of analysts, including Michael Wilbon (top right), Magic Johnson (bottom), Jon Barry and Chris Broussard. There was no real host, and the conversation seemed to ramble and meander with no point guard, so to speak.
But the show has found its stride. Wilbon seems to have taken over as the host, although he isn't a traditional host. He gives more opinions than most hosts, but that's fine because his opinions are interesting. Now the show has a steady rhythm and each segment appears to have a purpose, and that has turned the show into solid TV.
Predictions of the day
The Sports Emmys, recognizing the best in television sports broadcasting, will be held tonight in New York. Here are my personal picks:
NBC's Bob Costas, above left, should win best sports host. NBC hockey announcer Mike Emrick, center, should win for best play-by-play announcer. (What a joy listening to him call Sunday's OT thriller between the Devils and Flyers.)
ESPN College GameDay's Kirk Herbstreit, right, should be named best studio analyst, although I wouldn't mind seeing ESPN's Trent Dilfer win it. And top game analyst? Well, personally I think this category is a farce because ABC NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy is not even nominated, even though there's no better game analyst out there. Of those who are nominated, NBC NFL analyst Cris Collinsworth would be my choice.
In all, 33 Emmy awards will be handed out. In addition, the legendary Jack Whitaker, 87, will be honored with a lifetime achievement award.
Check it out
This sounds good: NBC will air a documentary in June featuring Jack Nicklaus' first major championship 50 years ago at the 1962 U.S. Open. Jack's First Major is expected to air June 17 on NBC before the network's final-round coverage of the U.S. Open. Ross Greenburg, the former head of HBO Sports who is now at NBC, is in charge of the one-hour film.
Nicklaus was only 22 when he beat Arnold Palmer on Palmer's "home'' course at Oakmont outside of Pittsburgh. Next month, Greenburg, Nicklaus and Palmer will return to Oakmont and walk the course for interviews that will run during the documentary.
Check it out
This sounds good: NBC will air a documentary in June featuring Jack Nicklaus' first major championship 50 years ago at the 1962 U.S. Open. Jack's First Major is expected to air June 17 before the network's final-round coverage of the U.S. Open. Ross Greenburg, the former head of HBO Sports who is now at NBC, is in charge of the one-hour film.
Nicklaus was only 22 when he beat Arnold Palmer on Palmer's "home'' course at Oakmont outside of Pittsburgh. Next month, Greenburg, Nicklaus and Palmer will return to Oakmont and walk the course for interviews that will run during the documentary.
Best criticism
Every time I write something nice about Fox baseball analyst Tim McCarver, I get a bunch of emails and phone calls telling me I'm full of beans. I don't get it. I think McCarver is really good. His worst flaw is when he says something and turns out to be right, he likes to remind us he was right. But, heck, we all have a little bit of that in us.
But let's go back to Saturday's Fox coverage of the Brewers and Cardinals. The Cardinals had just walked in a run in the top of the sixth to tie the score at 3 and Milwaukee starting pitcher Marco Estrada came to bat with the bases loaded and two outs.
Immediately, McCarver and partner Joe Buck questioned Brewers manager Ron Roenicke for not pinch-hitting, and both men turned out to be exactly right. Estrada struck out and then gave up two runs in the bottom of the inning. The Cardinals went on to win 7-3.
Hey, anyone can second-guess a manager after the fact. Give McCarver and Buck credit for doing it before they knew how things would turn out.
Oh, one other thing about McCarver. During Saturday's game, a couple of Cardinals baserunners were wearing a protective pad that looked like an oversized oven mitt. Nice job by McCarver to point out that the gloves were much bigger than the normal hand and might give the runner an advantage of a couple of inches when diving hand-first on a bang-bang play on the bases.
New York Times
Sunday, April 29, 2012
NEW YORK — League disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan rebuffs the suggestion by many that his decisions in a playoff first round notable for reckless hits, injuries and nine suspensions were influenced by commissioner Gary Bettman, owners, general managers and the players association.
"No one got to us," Shanahan said last week. "No one has affected the way we operate."
The biggest criticism of Shanahan, who played 1,524 NHL games in a 21-year career before retiring in 2009, and his staff of judges is they have bowed to pressure for shorter suspensions — mostly one to three games — than ones dispensed early in the season. (Phoenix's Raffi Torres got 25 games for an open-ice head shot on Chicago's Marian Hossa.)
The most notable early suspension was to Columbus defenseman James Wisniewski, who in late September was banned for the remainder of the preseason and eight regular-season games for elbowing Minnesota forward Cal Clutterbuck in the head.
"Who knew what kind of plays we were going to see first?" said Shanahan, 43, in his first year in the job. "We were well aware if a lesser hit came first, the impression was going to be, 'This is going to be a soft crew.' But if a different play came early, it would be, 'Oh, 10-game suspensions are going to be the norm.' "
Shanahan's policy of reviewing the health of victims when considering judgments is also controversial.
"Very seldom have we weighed the injury as heavily as we have weighed the hitter's history," he said. "But it's not unlike the American justice system. For attempted murder, you go to jail for a certain amount of time. You might get a different amount of time for manslaughter or murder."
Shanahan is criticized as often for not suspending players. He declines to offer explanations for every unpunished hit, but he explained his general rationale.
"What we defined as an illegal check entering this season was one with two components: The head is the principal point of contact, and the head is targeted intentionally and recklessly," Shanahan said. "My job is not to make up the rules. It's to enforce the rules we have."
