Times wires
Saturday, May 26, 2012

FORT WORTH, Texas — Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson have set up what will basically be a match-play final round for the title in the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

The final pairing is Dufner, whose only two PGA Tour victories have come in the past four weeks, against the 2007 Masters champion who got the last of his seven wins two years ago.

"It seems like one of us is either going to win or finish second," Dufner said after his 4-under 66 in the third round gave him a one-stroke lead over Johnson (65) at 15-under 195.

Tom Gillis (69) was a distant third at 7 under.

Dufner, the winner last week in the Byron Nelson Championship, is trying to win for the third time in five weeks. The last player to win in consecutive weeks on the PGA Tour was Tiger Woods in 2009. Nobody won more than two tournaments last season.

"The leaderboards here most of the year have been pretty packed," Dufner said, "and you got a lot of guys having a chance to win the title the last nine holes."

After two bogeys the previous three holes, Dufner matched playing partner Johnson's birdie putt on the 17th hole and overcame a wayward final tee shot to save par and keep the lead.

Champions: Roger Chapman shot 7-under 64 to take a five-stroke lead into the final round of the Senior PGA Championship at Benton Harbor, Mich. Chapman was at 14-under 199, his 54-hole score tying the tournament record set by Sam Snead in 1973, though Snead was 17 under. John Cook, who began the round tied with Chapman for the lead, shot 69 to drop into second. Hale Irwin (69) was tied for third at 7 under.

European: Luke Donald moved to the brink of a second successive BMW PGA Championship title and reclaiming the top world ranking by shooting 3-under 69 to take a two-stroke lead after the third round at Virginia Water, England, and Ernie Els launched an expletive-laced attack on tour officials and greenskeepers for failing to water the putting surfaces enough.

Donald overcame tough, windy conditions at Wentworth to be one of only three players to break 70 on a day of high scoring that led to Els' tirade. Donald was at 11-under 205. Justin Rose (69) was second.

Els, who shot 70 and was six behind Donald in a tie for fourth, helped redesign the course in 2010 and was criticized for tough changes he made. He said some of the greens were "dead," making it nearly impossible to hold approach shots.

"I'm fed up with it. … It's not my … job doing it. It's their job," he said. Talking to some tour officials was "like talking to this wall behind me," he said.

Times wires
Saturday, May 26, 2012

CONCORD, N.C. — On auto racing's biggest weekend, Brad Keselowski got off to a good start Saturday, winning the NASCAR Nationwide race at Charlotte Motor Speedway by leading the final 67 laps.

He'll try to double up tonight in Sprint Cup's longest race of the season, the Coca-Cola 600. In between comes the Indy 500, a race that owner Roger Penske has won 15 times. His driver Ryan Briscoe will start on the pole there.

Penske Racing has "three shots at winning races this weekend," Keselow­ski said. "We're 1 for 1."

"I'm happy for" Penske, Keselow­ski said. "One way or another, the checkered flag at Penske Racing is going to fly this week."

Keselowski led the way as Sprint Cup drivers took the top four spots Saturday in the History 300. Denny Hamlin was second, followed by Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick. Series points leader Ricky Stenhouse had driveshaft problems and finished 26th.

Danica Patrick started third and finished 13th. She'll also race tonight at Charlotte in the Sprint Cup race after spending her past seven Memorial Day weekends in the Indy 500.

Keselowski took gas during a pit stop with 73 laps left, then stayed out during a caution a few laps later instead of pitting like most of the field. That began his fuel mileage countdown.

Was Keselowski worried those final laps? No, he said, because he was confident in the call made by crew chief Jeremy Bullins. "If Jeremy says we're going to make (it), then I believe it," the driver said, smiling.

FORMULA ONE: Veteran Michael Schumacher posted the fastest time in qualifying for today's Monaco Grand Prix but a preexisting penalty means Mark Webber's Red Bull will start on the pole. Schumacher, 43, starts sixth because of a five-spot grid penalty stemming from the last race, the Spanish Grand Prix, in which officials ruled that the seven-time world champion caused avoidable contact.

Times wires
Saturday, May 26, 2012

CONCORD, N.C. — At first Dale Earnhardt Jr. was relieved he didn't fall further back than seventh at last year's Coca-Cola 600. Then he realized what he had lost for just about a gallon of gas.

"After a while, you start thinking about, 'Oh, yeah, we really came close to winning a race,' " Earnhardt said as he prepared for tonight's 600. "It was really unfortunate there wasn't just a little bit more gas in the car."

If there were, Earnhardt wouldn't have faced an additional year's worth of questions about why he hasn't won a Sprint Cup race since 2008 at Michigan. The drought has grown to 140 races and is a focal point at every appearance by Earnhardt.

"I've said it all year long," he says, "that I think we're a little bit better than we were last year."

It looked like Earnhardt was the best at Charlotte Motor Speedway a year ago when he broke free on a late restart to take the lead. He got the white flag, then ran out of gas on the front straight and coasted through the final turn before Kevin Harvick passed him for the win.

Harvick said afterwards he "felt so stinking bad" for Earnhardt because he knew how much the Hendrick Motorsports driver wanted to win. The fans roared when Earnhardt, voted the sport's most popular driver the past nine years, moved in front and were equally stunned when his tank ran dry.

Earnhardt was grateful to hang on to seventh as he thought about points. Then the disappointment swept over him.

"I was really unfortunate there wasn't just a little bit more gas in the car or whatever to get us to Victory Lane because that would've been a great way to cap off a pretty good weekend," Earnhardt said. "So it was a bit frustrating over time."

Martin Truex, who hasn't won a Sprint Cup race since 2007, finished 26th in last year's race and understood what his fellow driver was going through. It takes so much, Truex said, to get into position that to have it snatched away so close to the finish is maddening.

"Coming off Turn 4 and running out of gas is about the absolute worst way to lose a race," Truex said. "I definitely felt for him there."

Earnhardt, who starts 12th in Sprint Cup's longest race, feels he's in a strong position to contend again. Teammate Jeff Gordon has seen good things building with the No. 88 team.

A year ago, Earnhardt came close to winning because of fuel mileage strategy, Gordon said. This time, Earnhardt's got one of the fastest, most consistent cars in the garage and is capable of outrunning anyone.

"All that builds confidence," Gordon said. "And it just makes your team that much stronger and allows you to go to the next race with a shot at winning."

Meanwhile, Earnhardt tries not to think too much about his late-race flameout at Charlotte last year.

Earnhardt expects his team to make the right calls and get himself up front when it matters most and "we hopefully have enough fuel to get to the finish line," he said.

Times wires
Saturday, May 26, 2012

Soccer

Donovan sets u.s. starts record

JACKSONVILLE — Landon Donovan set a record with his 125th start for the United States, returning to the lineup for the first time since September as coach Jurgen Klinsmann made five changes for Saturday night's exhibition against Scotland.

(The game was not over at press time. For the result, go to sports.tamapbay.com.)

Donovan's 125 starts are one more than defender Jeff Agoos from 1988-03.

MLS: Host Toronto ended its league-record nine-game losing streak to open a season with a 1-0 win over Philadelphia.

PK shootouts supported: Franz Beckenbauer says tied matches should continue to be decided with penalty-kick shootouts, contrary to the view of the governing body's president. Beckenbauer, the former playing great and head of the task force to improve the game for the 2014 World Cup, says shootouts "bring emotions into play and are a lot more attractive than the toss of a coin, for example." His comments in the German newspaper Bild came a day after president Sepp Blatter said Beckenbauer's panel should find an alternative to shootouts, which cause soccer to lose "its essence."

Et cetera

X games: The youngest athlete in the event's history has been invited to compete in June at Los Angeles, 11-year-old skateboarder Jagger Eaton. "I feel ready to go," he told ESPN. He is about four months younger than defending Skateboard Street gold medalist Nyjah Huston was when he competed in 2006 as the youngest in X Games history.

NFL: Panthers Pro Bowl linebacker Jon Beason fired back at 49ers quarterback Alex Smith via Twitter after comments he perceived were a slam on Carolina QB Cam Newton. Smith used Newton as an example last week that big statistics don't always equate to wins. Newton set two league offensive records last season as the Panthers went 6-10. Beason wrote on Twitter that Smith shouldn't "hate on Cam" because Smith's stats would have gotten him cut if Peyton Manning had signed with San Francisco instead of Denver this offseason.

Olympics: Britain qualified a full men's gymnastics team for the first time since 1992 by winning the European championship at Montpellier, France. This summer's host country qualified its men's and women's teams for the first time since the 1984 Soviet-led boycott of Los Angeles.

Gymnastics: Defending Olympic all-around champion Nastia Liukin tied for third on the balance beam in her first competition since 2009, at the U.S. Classic in Chicago. It was the only event in which she competed. The routine earned Liukin a spot at the U.S. championships next month in St. Louis. Aly Raisman, a member of the U.S. squad that won the world team title last year, won the all-around title. The U.S. Classic was the first of three competitions that play major roles in determining the Olympic team members. The other competitions are the national championships and the Olympic trials next month.

Times wires

Times wires
Saturday, May 26, 2012

INDIANAPOLIS — When Bobby Rahal was racing, he hung a picture of Michael Andretti in his workout room.

That was who Rahal wanted to beat more than anyone. And rest assured, Andretti felt the same way about Rahal.

Looks like they've passed on that vitriol to their sons.

Graham Rahal and Marco Andretti have developed quite an IndyCar rivalry, heightened when Graham took the blame for an April crash at Long Beach that catapulted Marco's car into the air before it slid into a tire barrier.

"He's still all worked up about it," Graham snipped last week. "To me, I don't even care about it anymore. Forget it. It took me out, too." Then, with a healthy bit of sarcasm, he added, "Like I was meaning to do that."

IndyCar officials love the bitter feelings, especially because they involve two of the sport's most prominent families.

Mario Andretti won the Indianapolis 500 in 1969 and spent the rest of his long career futilely chasing another win. His son Michael owns the distinction of leading the most career laps at Indy (431) without winning. Marco nearly won as a rookie in 2006 but was edged at the end by Sam Hornish.

"I still live for all this," Mario, 72, said. "I ride with Marco every inch of the way."

The Rahals are just as passionate about the Brickyard. Bobby won the 500 in 1986 and earned three series titles. Graham won his series debut at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in 2008 to become the youngest winner in IndyCar history at 19 years, 3 months — breaking Marco Andretti's record (19 years, 5 months).

Graham especially seems to thrive on the idea of butting heads with the Andrettis.

"My dad beat the living you-know-what out of Michael," he said. "Look at the history. Yeah, Michael won a lot of races, but he didn't win an Indy 500 or three championships."

Eddie Cheever, the 1998 Indy winner who is an analyst for ABC's coverage today, said he believes the animosity is genuine.

"It's a deep-seeded, well-nourished animosity," Cheever said. "It's good. … I'm sure it irritates them when one goes faster than the other, as it should. If it didn't, they're probably in the wrong business."

Marco, 25, seems more confident than ever, with good reason. His has been one of the fastest cars at Indianapolis this month, and he qualified fourth.

Graham, 23, who races for Chip Ganassi, also figures to contend from the 12th starting spot.

Though it pains him to say it, Graham acknowledges that a win by either him or — gulp — an Andretti would be a major boost to America's most famous race:

"It would be a great thing for an American to win, but it would be an even better thing if it's a recognizable name. It's probably no secret that I really don't want Marco to win, but at the end of the day it would be good to get one of our names back up there in the sport."

By Ian Lanphier, Times Correspondent
Saturday, May 26, 2012

CLEARWATER — It hasn't always been pretty, but USF has continued to find ways to stay alive in the Big East Tournament.

The fourth-seeded Bulls (38-21) rallied with two runs — both scored off wild pitches — in the bottom of the seventh and defeated UConn (31-27) 2-1 Saturday night for their second victory of the day over the No. 5 seed Huskies at Bright House Field.

USF advanced for the first time to the tournament final and faces St. John's (36-21) at noon today (ESPNU, 1010-AM).

"I'm just so damn proud of our kids, man," Bulls coach Lelo Prado said. "They've worked so hard. It started in the fall. It started last year, when we didn't make this tournament, so for us to be playing in the championship, it says a lot about these young men."

Huskies second baseman LJ Mazzilli singled home a run in the sixth on a grounder that took a tough hop on USF shortstop Kyle Teaf, but the Bulls responded with the tying and go-ahead runs off UConn pitcher Dan Feehan. He allowed a walk and a hit, balked those runners into scoring position and threw two wild pitches in the seventh.

Senior designated hitter Daniel Rockhold scored the first run when Feehan's pitch went to the backstop and his tag at the plate was late. Moments later, rightfielder Jimmy Falla scored after UConn catcher Joe Pavone appeared to hesitate in chasing down the pitch, and Feehan's tag was again just late.

Earlier Saturday, USF Derrick Stultz threw a shutout in a 1-0 win against the Huskies that forced the second game.

Stultz, a redshirt senior out of Wharton High, allowed three hits and two walks and had four strikeouts on 104 pitches for his second career complete game. Falla provided the lone run on a homer to deep left in the fourth.

"I just went out there one pitch at a time, my team had my back and we got through it," Stultz said.

No. 2 seed St. John's advanced to its third consecutive conference final, defeating Notre Dame 2-1 in the day's first game. Starter Kyle Hansen struck out seven and allowed just one run in 7⅓ innings.

Greg Auman, Times staff writer
Saturday, May 26, 2012

TAMPA — His USF softball team had played three grueling, intense, one-run games in barely 25 hours, and in that final inning Saturday, recognizing the significance, coach Ken Eriksen approached the pitcher's circle to talk to his pitcher and infielders.

"All the girls are looking at me like "What are you doing here?' " he said, smiling after his team's 50th win of the season. "I was like, 'It's great time to get TV time. What better way than right now?' "

Eriksen will have his share of national airtime next week, as USF — loose and calm in the most pressure-packed of conditions — made history Saturday, outdueling Hofstra and ace pitcher Olivia Galati with a pair of 2-1 wins to earn one of eight spots in the College World Series in Oklahoma City.

"It's ridiculous," said first baseman Stephanie Medina, a Chamberlain High grad whose fifth-inning sacrifice fly provided the winning margin. "I don't even know how to explain it. … It's the greatest feeling to know you've played with these girls your whole life. It's so exciting that we're from here, and we get to represent Tampa in our sport."

After losing in 11 innings Friday night to open the best-of-three series, the Bulls needed two wins in one day against a pitcher who had won 32 decisions in a row and had the nation's lowest ERA. The Bulls did that, grinding out a nine-inning win, then closing out the series in seven innings before another capacity crowd of 1,544 at USF Softball Stadium.

"We got her in the humidor today. That stadium, 2:30 on a Saturday afternoon, in late May," Eriksen said. "We practiced in the middle of the day to get ready for these things."

The Bulls open the double-elimination CWS on Thursday against fourth-seeded Oklahoma, which is playing in its seventh World Series.

USF pitchers Sara Nevins (Pinellas Park) and Lindsey Richardson, changing out like tag-team partners, kept Hofstra's hitters in check all day, saving their best work for final outs with runners in scoring position. In the fifth in Game 3, with runners at first and third and one out, Nevins struck out Hofstra's cleanup hitter, then with the bases loaded, got a popout to end the inning. She retired the final seven batters in order, the last out coming from defensive whiz Jessica Mouse at third base to Medina.

"We kept playing. We didn't give up. We didn't let down. Our focus was there 100 percent of the time," Medina said. "They're a great team, and our focus and our ability to stay relaxed and know we had our fans behind us helped us take this win."

Hofstra's Galati finished with 27 innings and throwing 328 pitches over three games, ESPN Stats & Info reported.

The first win took three hours and nine innings, with USF getting runs on a Kenshyra Jackson single and a Laura Fountain sacrifice fly in the ninth. Hofstra had the bases loaded and scored a run, but the game ended on a grounder to shortstop, setting up the deciding Game 3.

The Bulls took the lead in that game on a bases-loaded walk in the first, only to see Hofstra tie it on a bases-loaded passed ball in the second. The only other run came on Medina's sacrifice fly, and that was enough for Eriksen.

"To get the right people involved, if you win in the locker room, you have a chance to win on the field," said Eriksen, who 30 years ago was a player on USF baseball's first NCAA tournament team. "We did that this year."

All this from a softball team that until now had only made the Super Region once, in 2006, and hadn't made regions — the round of 64 — since 2008. The Bulls won three times, twice by 1-0, to take the Gainesville region last weekend, then overcame an 11-inning loss Friday night to get the two wins and win the Super Region on Saturday.

Greg Auman can be reached at auman@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3346. View his blog at blogs.tampabay.com/usf. Follow him on Twitter at @GregAuman.

Greg Auman, Times staff writer
Saturday, May 26, 2012

TAMPA — His USF softball team had played three grueling, intense, one-run games in barely 25 hours, and in that final inning Saturday, recognizing the significance, coach Ken Eriksen approached the pitcher's circle to talk to his pitcher and infielders.

"All the girls are looking at me like, 'What are you doing here?' " he said, smiling after his team's 50th win of the season. "I was like, 'It's great time to get TV time. What better way than right now?' "

Eriksen will have his share of national airtime next week, as USF — loose and calm in the most pressure-packed of conditions — made history Saturday, outdueling Hofstra and ace pitcher Olivia Galati with a pair of 2-1 wins to earn one of eight spots in softball's College World Series in Oklahoma City.

"It's ridiculous," said first baseman Stephanie Medina, a Chamberlain High grad whose fifth-inning sacrifice fly provided the winning margin. "I don't even know how to explain it. … It's the greatest feeling to know you've played with these girls your whole life. It's so exciting that we're from here, and we get to represent Tampa in our sport."

After losing in 11 innings Friday night to open the best-of-three series, the Bulls needed two wins in one day against a pitcher who had won 32 decisions in a row and had the nation's lowest ERA. The Bulls did that, grinding out a nine-inning win, then closing out the series in seven innings before another capacity crowd of 1,544 at USF Softball Stadium.

"We got her in the humidor today. That stadium, 2:30 on a Saturday afternoon, in late May," Eriksen said. "We practiced in the middle of the day to get ready for these things."

The Bulls open the double-elimination CWS on Thursday against fourth-seeded Oklahoma, which is playing in its seventh World Series.

USF pitchers Sara Nevins (Pinellas Park) and Lindsey Richardson, changing out like tag-team partners, kept Hofstra's hitters in check all day, saving their best work for final outs with runners in scoring position. In the fifth in Game 3, with runners at first and third and one out, Nevins struck out Hofstra's cleanup hitter, then with the bases loaded, got a popout to end the inning. She retired the final seven batters in order, the last out coming from defensive whiz Jessica Mouse at third base to Medina.

"We kept playing. We didn't give up. We didn't let down. Our focus was there 100 percent of the time," Medina said. "They're a great team, and our focus and our ability to stay relaxed and know we had our fans behind us helped us take this win."

Hofstra's Galati finished with 27 innings, throwing 328 pitches over three games, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

The first win took three hours and nine innings, with USF getting runs on a Kenshyra Jackson single and a Laura Fountain sacrifice fly in the ninth. Hofstra had the bases loaded and scored a run, but the game ended on a grounder to shortstop, setting up the deciding Game 3.

The Bulls took the lead in that game on a bases-loaded walk in the first, only to see Hofstra tie it on a bases-loaded passed ball in the second. The only other run came on Medina's sacrifice fly, and that was enough for Eriksen.

"To get the right people involved, if you win in the locker room, you have a chance to win on the field," said Eriksen, who 30 years ago was a player on USF baseball's first NCAA tournament team. "We did that this year."

All this from a softball team that until now had only made the Super Region once, in 2006, and hadn't made regions — the round of 64 — since 2008. The Bulls won three times, twice by 1-0, to take the Gainesville region last weekend, then overcame an 11-inning loss Friday night to get the two wins and win the Super Region on Saturday.

Greg Auman can be reached at auman@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3346. View his blog at blogs.tampabay.com/usf. Follow him on Twitter at @GregAuman.

Times wires
Saturday, May 26, 2012

NEW YORK — Johan Santana recorded his first shutout since Aug. 12, 2010, as the Mets beat the Padres 9-0 on Saturday.

Less than a month later, the lefty had shoulder surgery that cost him the rest of the season and all 2011.

"I've been working, and I'm still working," Santana said. "You never know. You always have to go out there and perform."

Santana threw 96 pitches and probably had 10 to 15 more before manager Terry Collins said he would have pulled him. It didn't come down to that. Santana even batted in the eighth despite feeling discomfort in his right side that kept him from swinging. (He struck out on four pitches.)

"He wanted it bad," Collins said. "He's so special. It's incredible."

Santana retired 16 in a row at one point. Among the four hits he allowed were a blooper by Yonder Alonso in the first and an infield single by Blake Tekotte in the ninth.

Fans stood and cheered after a double play erased Tekotte. Alonso then hit a dribbler down the first-base line on which Santana applied the tag for his 14th complete game and ninth shutout.

"Any time you pitch a complete game, it's a good feeling," Santana said at his locker, his left shoulder covered in ice. "It's not easy to do."

Times wires
Saturday, May 26, 2012

Nationals 8, Braves 4

ATLANTA — Bryce Harper homered to back the Nationals and Stephen Strasburg, who walked a season-high four. Atlanta has lost a season-high six in a row. And Jason Heyward was booed in the fifth when he bobbled Har­per's single in right, then lackadaisically went for the ball as Harper raced to second.

Times wires
Saturday, May 26, 2012

Tigers 6, Twins 3

MINNEAPOLIS — One start after striking out 15, Max Scherzer struck out nine before leaving because of a rain delay for the Tigers. He struck out five of six at one point and retired 13 in a row after giving up a solo homer to Justin Morneau during the second. Detroit put together six straight hits during a four-run fifth, including Andy Dirks' two-run double and run-scoring singles by Quintin Berry and Miguel Cabrera.

Times wires
Saturday, May 26, 2012

Rangers 8, Blue Jays 7

13 innings

ARLINGTON, Texas — Josh Hamilton hit his third walkoff homer of the year, a two-run shot, for the Rangers. Texas stranded a runner at third in the seventh, ninth, 10th and 11th, and went 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position.

Times wires
Saturday, May 26, 2012

Royals 4, Orioles 3

BALTIMORE — Eric Hosmer singled in the winner in the eighth for the Royals. Hosmer also scored the tying run. He led off the seventh with a roller down the third-base line. While the Orioles watched and hoped the ball would stray foul, he made it to second before the ball stopped on the line, about 55 feet from home. Humberto Quintero followed with a double.

Times wires
Saturday, May 26, 2012

Yankees 9, Athletics 2

OAKLAND, Calif. — Mark Teixeira had a two-run homer and a solo homer while tying his career high of four hits for the Yankees. He and Robinson Cano each homered for the second straight day. New York has won eight in a row at Oakland. Its last loss there was April 22, 2010, in a game remembered for a dustup between Alex Rodriguez and Dallas Braden over Rodriguez jogging across the mound after a foul ball.

Times wires
Saturday, May 26, 2012

White Sox 14, Indians 7

CHICAGO — Dayan Viciedo homered in his third straight game, and the White Sox matched a season high with their fourth straight win. Their 17 hits were a season high. And they have scored 81 runs over their past 12 games, an average of 6.8. Cleveland's Derek Lowe, who entered with an AL-best 2.15 ERA, had his shortest outing of the season.

Times wires
Saturday, May 26, 2012

Marlins 5, Giants 3

MIAMI — Mark Buehrle threw 69 of 100 pitches for strikes for the Marlins. Miami is a majors-best 18-7 in May and one win shy of the franchise record for wins in a month. It went 19-10 in August 1997, a few months before winning the World Series. Randy Choate earned his first save since Sept. 23, 2009, when he replaced struggling closer Heath Bell with one out in the ninth.

Times wires
Saturday, May 26, 2012

Phillies 4, Cardinals 0

ST. LOUIS — Kyle Kendrick threw a seven-hitter for his first shutout. Shane Victorino's RBI double in the fourth was the only support Kendrick needed, and John Mayberry added a two-run double in a three-run sixth. Kendrick entered with a 5.23 ERA, and the Phillies were 1-9 in the games he had pitched, five of them starts. But Kendrick is 5-1 against the Cardinals in eight games, all but two of them starts. The Phillies today go for their first four-game sweep in St. Louis in 26 years.

Times wires
Saturday, May 26, 2012

LOS ANGELES — The Kings have been around for 45 years, but though making their second trip to the Stanley Cup final, they remain something of a mystery in Southern California.

The Kings have a core of loyal, knowledgeable fans, some of whom have followed the team since its founding in 1967. And even though the Lakers and Dodgers traditionally dwarf them in fan support and media attention, interest in them has ballooned in the past month as a result of their playoff success.

Still, some in the Los Angeles media have been a bit slow to catch on as to who the Kings are and what they do. In the past two weeks, three TV stations demonstrated their lack of familiarity.

When KNBC did a report about the Lakers, Clippers and Kings being in the playoffs, a graphic included the logo of the NBA's Sacramento Kings.

A few days later, a newscaster on Fox affiliate KTTV, narrating highlights of the Kings' Game 3 victory over the Coyotes in the Western Conference final, said at one point the Kings "have the ball" and misidentified a couple of players. The segment also included the black and orange NHL logo that has been out of circulation since 2006.

Not to be left out, KCBS a few days later prefaced a report on Game 4 with a shot of the Sacramento Kings' lion mascot instead of Los Angeles' lion mascot, Bailey, who responded on his Twitter account that he looked nothing like the other lion and attached a photograph to prove it. "I am very hurt," Bailey said.

The Kings' other trip to the final was in 1993, when Wayne Gretzky and popular owner Bruce McNall ruled the Southern California hockey scene. A Kings win over Montreal might catapult hockey into national prominence, some believed.

But after winning Game 1 and leading late in Game 2, the Kings fell victim to an illegal-stick penalty called on Marty McSorley. They gave up a goal on the ensuing power play, leading to three consecutive overtime defeats and a five-game series loss.

Their future began unraveling before the year ended when McNall defaulted on a bank loan. He was eventually found to have defrauded his investors, resigned and served nearly five years in prison. The team soon went into bankruptcy, and Gretzky was traded to St. Louis in 1996.

Times wires
Saturday, May 26, 2012

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Maybe they'll finally get a challenge.

The Spurs and Thunder have simply rolled through the postseason. There's the 18-game winning streak that has the Spurs flirting with history. Just one loss in 17 combined playoff games. The Thunder sent home the past two NBA champions. No other teams besides these two can boast a series sweep.

What took the Western Conference final so long to get here, anyway?

"I think we both deserve it," Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said.

Few would dispute that.

Top seed San Antonio clobbered Utah and the Los Angeles Clippers by an average of 14 points a game. They're one victory from tying the 2001 Lakers for the longest winning streak kept alive in a postseason and two from becoming just the fourth NBA team to win 20 in row.

"It's been a while since we've been in the Western Conference final. And it's been a week kind of sitting here stewing and waiting on it," said Spurs forward Tim Duncan, whose last playoff trip this far in 2008 ended with a loss to the Lakers. "All of that together makes it an exciting series to start."

Oklahoma City didn't have as many blowouts the first two rounds but drew tougher matchups. The Thunder avenged last season's West final loss with a sweep of defending champion Dallas, then beat the Lakers in five.

Even before the playoffs, it was easy to see this coming: From the second week of the regular season until April 6, Oklahoma City led the West. Then the Spurs leapfrogged past, and they never gave it back.

"I know they're the No. 1 seed — they're a tough group, they haven't lost in a couple months," Thunder forward Kevin Durant said. "But I think we bring another dimension to the table as well, and we come out and compete."

Then the NBA's scoring champion the past three seasons added, "We're a group that's been together for four or five years. They've been together for 15 years. Those guys, they know each other inside and out."

By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, May 26, 2012

BOSTON — The noise started coming early Saturday from the home side of Fenway Park, Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine firing insults at the Rays coaching staff in response to Friday's festivities.

But that was nothing like the roar at the end of the night, the Sox celebrating a 3-2 victory on Jarrod Saltalamacchia's pinch-hit, two-run walkoff homer off Fernando Rodney that left the Rays stunned.

"This was definitely a game we wanted to win," Rays starter David Price said. "We want to win every game, so we put the same emphasis on every game. But this was definitely a big game after what happened (Friday), and we weren't able to do it."

The defeat was hard enough to take given how well the Rays (28-19) had played.

Price worked seven solid innings, birthday boy Ben Zobrist and Friday victim Luke Scott each drove in runs as they rallied in the seventh against Josh Beckett, and centerfielder B.J. Upton made a spectacular throw to nab a runner at the plate.

"A really, really good baseball game," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "They beat us in the ninth inning. That can happen in this ballpark."

But the surprise was how it happened as Rodney had been so dominating this season, converting his first 15 save opportunities — seeking Saturday to tie the team record for the start of a season — and allowing only one earned run.

But he allowed a leadoff walk to Daniel Nava then, after a bunt, left an 0-and-1 fastball — albeit 97 mph — over the plate, and Saltalamacchia launched it over the rightfield fence.

"The pitch stayed right in the middle. I was trying to go away like I did on the first pitch. That happens," Rodney said. "You know when you make a mistake here, you have to pay, and that's what happened."

Rodney took it well, pausing in the clubhouse for a quick man-hug from Maddon and addressing it with reports.

"Fernando's been fabulous, and he's going to continue to be fabulous for us," Maddon said.

Realistically, Rodney said, he probably wasn't going to stay perfect all season.

"I know someday that was going to happen to me, and it happened tonight," he said. "Tomorrow is the next day."

After Valentine's volleys and a somewhat subtle jab back by Maddon before the first pitch, the game was played without incident, which was a major question going in after the flared tempers and emptied benches in the ninth inning Friday. The umpires did not even issue a pregame warning as Maddon had expected.

Price, who won the poll among Fox TV viewers for the best nerd outfit, was in position for his seventh win. He was not economical, throwing 115 pitches, but effective, taking a shutout into the sixth. He was helped most dramatically by Upton, who fired a one-bounce bullet to the plate for his AL-leading fifth assist to nail Dustin Pedroia, who looked to be scoring easily on Adrian Gonzalez's single, with Jose Molina applying a tricky tag.

"The play of the game," Price said.

The Sox broke through with a run right after that. But the Rays came back with two against Beckett, who has been tormenting them for years, not having lost at home to them since September 2006, and 4-0, 1.08 in his past seven overall against them.

But all that changed, when Rodney misfired on a fastball,

And on this night, the Sox had the last word.