Times wires
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Nationals 8, Brewers 4
game 1
WASHINGTON — Jason Marquis kept cool in a bases-loaded jam in the fourth and got rewarded. Danny Espinosa and Ivan Rodriguez hit three-run homers for the Nationals, who had season bests in runs and hits (11). "I was just trying to keep the team in the game as best as possible, and the offense exploded there in the middle innings," Marquis said.
Times wires
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Mets 3, Braves 2
ATLANTA — New No. 2 hitter Josh Thole had two RBI singles, Dillon Gee came up from the minors to earn the win and the Mets ended their seven-game losing streak. Manager Terry Collins shook up the lineup, moving Thole, New York's catcher, up from the No. 8 spot to hit behind leadoff hitter Jose Reyes.
Times wires
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Phillies 3, Marlins 2
PHILADELPHIA — Carlos Ruiz hit the go-ahead sacrifice fly in the eighth after a Marlins error, lifting the Phillies. Ryan Howard reached on an error by leftfielder Logan Morrison, who was sliding in as the ball ricocheted off his glove. Ruiz drove him in three batters later. "Anytime you win the game, it's good," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "Whether you win ugly or win beautiful, it's positive."
Times wires
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 1
BOSTON — Jacoby Ellsbury hit a three-run homer, Jarrod Saltalamacchia drove in three runs and Jon Lester pitched six solid innings for the Red Sox, who won consecutive games for the first time this season. Boston, which still has the worst record in baseball, can win the series today. "That's great. (Today) will be a winning streak," first baseman Adrian Gonzalez said, breaking into a slight smile.
Times wires
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Angels 4, White Sox 2
CHICAGO — Dan Haren pitched into the seventh and the Angels capped a three-game sweep. Haren joined teammate Jered Weaver as the majors' only four-game winners. "He's started the series three times and he's set the tone every time," Haren said. "What we hope is that when we take the mound our team expects to win. That's how I feel and I feel like when I'm on the mound that the eight other guys with me feel like we're going to win that game."
Times wires
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Mariners 3, Royals 2
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Michael Pineda, a 22-year-old with a 99 mph fastball, pitched six strong innings, and Brendan Ryan had a tiebreaking two-run single as the Mariners snapped a four-game skid. Pineda has a 2.33 ERA in three starts. "I can't say enough about this guy," Ryan said. "You see his stuff. You make guys look the way they do on all three pitches, he's outstanding and he's only going to get better. … He's got a great chance to be something special."
Times wires
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Dodgers 2, Cardinals 1
LOS ANGELES — Matt Kemp hit a two-run walkoff homer in the ninth inning, and the Dodgers ended a five-game skid and avoided a four-game sweep. Kemp homered to centerfield on the first pitch he saw from Ryan Franklin. Andre Ethier led off with a double off former Ray Trever Miller, extending his major league-leading hitting streak to 14 games. Jonathan Broxton got the win despite giving up a two-out RBI single in the top half to David Freese.
Times wires
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Athletics 5, Tigers 1
OAKLAND, Calif. — Trevor Cahill pitched eight solid innings, and Josh Willingham broke out of a slump with a two-run single in the fifth for the Athletics. Mark Ellis doubled twice and Daric Barton walked twice and scored both times to help Oakland split the four-game series. The A's also won their second straight at home after losing four of their first five at the Coliseum. Cahill had a season-high nine strikeouts to bounce back from a poor outing Tuesday against the White Sox.
Times wires
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Rockies 9, Cubs 5
DENVER — Dexter Fowler hit a two-out, two-run double to ignite a four-run eighth, and the Rockies won their eighth in nine games. With the score 5-5, Colorado sent 10 batters to the plate in the eighth. After Fowler's liner to right-center, Jonathan Herrera and Carlos Gonzalez hit RBI singles.
Times wires
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Padres 8, Astros 6
HOUSTON — Will Venable hit a two-run single in a four-run eighth as the Padres rallied. Venable made closer Heath Bell's job tougher in the ninth when he misplayed a flyball for an error, helping the Astros load the bases before Bell wriggled out of it with a strikeout and groundout. "All is well that ends well," Venable said.
By Damian Cristodero, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Game time
There was some talk recently about slightly shrinking the 82-game regular season to lessen the wear and tear on players. While that seems a long shot given the loss of revenue, which the players share, Lightning GM Steve Yzerman had a compromise:
Be more careful scheduling back-to-back games.
"Sometimes, you play Saturday at 7 o'clock and then Sunday at 5, and in some cases, you're going from the Central to Eastern time zone and losing another hour," Yzerman said.
"That … type of situation is a real advantage for the home team. For a good product and a level playing field, we have to watch how we schedule those games. There are just some nights it's a struggle for some teams."
Quote to note
"I still love the Rays. I'm not a bandwagon fan. I was just there to be there."
C Nate Thompson, one of six Lightning players who were guests of Twins 1B Justin Morneau at Tropicana Field on Saturday
Number of the day
18 Saves by Lightning G Dwayne Roloson during the second period of Game 1, one more than the team postseason record set by Jeff Reese on April 21, 1996, against the Flyers and Johan Holmqvist on April 14, 2007, against the Devils.
Tickets
$30-$350. Available at the St. Pete Times Forum box office and via Ticketmaster: ticketmaster.com, outlets, toll-free 1-800-745-3000.
The series Lightning 1, Penguins 1
Game 1: Pens 3, Lightning 0
Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury wows.
Game 2: Lightning 5, Pens 1
Lightning jumps on sluggish Pens early and holds on.
Tonight: at Tampa Bay, 7:30, Sun Sports
Wednesday: at Tampa Bay, 7, Sun Sports
Saturday: at Pittsburgh, TBA #
April 25: at Tampa Bay, TBA * #
April 27: at Pittsburgh, TBA * #
* If necessary # Sun Sports or FSN
Cap and frown: Picture with Twins caps brings criticism
From the Get a Life Department: There actually was some negative reaction to a picture of Lightning G Dwayne Roloson, G Mike Smith, C Steven Stamkos and RW Steve Downie at Tropicana Field wearing Twins caps before Saturday's game against the Rays. C Nate Thompson and RW Teddy Purcell also were there but without caps. All were guests of Minnesota 1B Justin Morneau, a friend of Roloson, who played four seasons for the Wild. "To me, friendship goes beyond team boundaries," Roloson said. "I've known Justin for a lot longer than I've been here, and my ties to Minnesota are a lot." Smith said no slight to the Tampa Bay area was intended. "It was pretty innocent," he said. "We call Tampa Bay home, and we're going to support the teams here. But when a fellow Canadian (Morneau) invites us out, we're not going to turn down an experience like that too often. And probably no one else would either."
By Tom Jones, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, April 17, 2011
The ratings game
So far, so good for the NHL television ratings. Wednesday's opening-night coverage of the Stanley Cup playoffs averaged 534,328 viewers on Versus for its tripleheader. That's a 12 percent increase over last season's opening night and the best opening night for Versus in its six years of playoff coverage.
Birthday wishes of the day
Happy birthday to former Bucs great Derrick Brooks, born 38 years ago today (April 18, 1973) in Pensacola. While we're at it, great move by the Tampa Bay Storm to hire Brooks, right, as its team president. Like him or not, former coach Tim Marcum was the face of the Arena League franchise until he was recently fired for inappropriate material on his work computer. The hiring of Brooks gives the Storm a front man that locals love.
He wrote it
Somebody better remind the Penguins that Game 3 Monday starts at precisely 7:38 p.m., not 8:38, and that they should probably bring a legitimate NHL power play.
Joe Starkey, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
By Tom Jones, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, April 17, 2011
NASCAR Now: 5 p.m. on ESPN2. Looking back at Sunday's race at Talladega.
Lightning Live: 7 p.m. on Sun Sports. Half-hour pregame show getting you ready for Game 3 of the Lightning-Penguins series.
Sports Connection: 11 p.m. on BHSN. Live from the St. Pete Times Forum, with postgame analysis from Game 3 of the series between the Lightning and Penguins.
By Neil Taylor, Times Correspondent
Sunday, April 17, 2011
What's hot: Pompano, stout, hard-fighting fish that can be cooked any way you want, are being caught in the locations where knowledgeable anglers expect them to be. Limits for Florida pompano are frequently being caught before 8 a.m.
Tackle and techniques: Deep sandy-bottom areas around bridges and passes are regular intercept points, though pompano can also be caught in the swash channels along the beaches.
Live or natural baits are not necessary. Pompano jigs are usually yellow, chartreuse or gold, and they can be a "jig" type, a short bucktail or an "ice fishing jig" like the Silly Willy. Pompano aficionados will tell you to loop knot a pink teaser to your Silly Willy jig with 25-pound fluorocarbon leader line. These lures, bounced up and down on the sandy bottom, will create puffs of sand that gets the fish's attention. The act of lifting the lure off the bottom is also the way the hook gets set on these fish.
Regulations: Six per person, minimum length of 11 inches (to the fork) and not longer than 20 inches (to the fork), and you may possess one pompano that is more than 20 inches.
Neil Taylor charters kayak fishing trips in the Tampa Bay area and can be reached at strikethreekayakfishing.com or (727) 692-6345.
By Rodney Page, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Number of the day
73 John Cook's final-round score, the highest by a Champions Tour winner since Eduardo Romero's 73 in the 2008 U.S. Senior Open.
Shot of the day
Jay Don Blake, right congratulating John Cook, said he wasn't aiming for the flag on the 18th hole, but his 6-iron approach shot took one bounce, hit the stick and settled 8 feet away. He made the birdie putt to go to 9 under. "I didn't even know until after the playoff that it hit the pin," Blake said.
By Rodney Page, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, April 17, 2011
LUTZ — Russ Cochran is sure to have nightmares about TPC Tampa Bay's par-5 14th hole.
Holding a two-shot lead over John Cook at 12 under, Cochran decided this was his chance to nail down a win. If he could hit his second shot close to the pin and make eagle on 14, certainly that would deflate Cook and, essentially, end the tournament.
Instead, Cochran blocked his 3-wood left and hit it into a retention pond. His next shot nestled next to the greenside bunker. The lie was so bad, he could hit only a hybrid club, and it scooted over the green.
When he finally found the hole, Cochran had triple-bogey 8. To make things worse for him, Cook birdied the hole.
It was a four-shot swing that put Cook up two shots.
"I was thinking that I needed to play some aggressive golf," Cochran said. "I had a little uphill lie and had a chance to get it deep into the green. I tried to put the heat on (Cook). I hit a poor shot and sprayed it off left. Then my pitch shot was a horrible lie; no way I could get a wedge on it.
"After that, I was just sleepwalking on the way in. I tried to get it back, but the disappointment was there."
Cochran had an outside chance of catching Cook on the 18th hole, but his second shot on the par 4 caught the edge of the water hazard. He double bogeyed to shoot 3-over 74 for the round, missing the playoff by two strokes and finishing tied for third at 7-under 206
Cochran said he won't lament his decision.
"My rule of thumb out here is that if you make a mistake being aggressive, you can live with that," Cochran said. "You can never make a mistake being passive or weak-minded."
Thinking about home: Joe Ozaki spent the past four weeks trying to get his house outside of Tokyo back in shape. The house, which is in sight of Disneyland, was damaged in the Japanese earthquake. Ozaki said his family is okay, but living conditions are still not ideal.
"We had no water access for a week," he said. "We had to stay in a hotel near Tokyo. It was bad."
While Ozaki is still thinking about home, he didn't seem to let it bother him this week. He was 7 under for the tournament and finished tied for third. He shot 3-under 68 Sunday, tied for the day's low round with Corey Pavin and Craig Stadler.
"I played here the past two years and played poorly," said Ozaki, who will return to Japan for two weeks after playing in three more Champions Tour events. "This year, I played differently. I played safely and went for the greens instead of the pins. You can hit it in the water easily if you go for some of the pins."
Odds and ends: Jim Thorpe tied for 59th in his first start since serving a one-year sentence for tax evasion. … Scott Hoch, out for more than a year due to injuries, finished tied for 25th. … Olin Browne posted his fifth top-10 finish in as many starts, finishing tied for seventh. He has 15 consecutive subpar rounds.
By Rodney Page, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, April 17, 2011
LUTZ — When his birdie putt dropped into the cup on the 18th green, John Cook gave a little fist pump. And a huge sigh of relief.
Having blown a two-shot lead on the final hole of regulation with a double bogey, Cook redeemed himself in a playoff against Jay Don Blake to win the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am at TPC Tampa Bay on Sunday.
Both players shot 9-under 204 for the 54-hole tournament. Cook shot a final-round 2-over 73 while Blake shot 1-under 70. Cook pocketed $255,000 for his second win on the Champions Tour this year and seventh of his career.
It is also the first time in 107 tries that Cook won in Florida.
There have been less stressful wins in his career.
"Didn't want that playoff," Cook said. "That shouldn't have happened. I'm just thankful I got the opportunity to redeem myself."
Thanks to a meltdown on the 14th hole by Russ Cochran, Cook had a two-shot lead entering the final hole. He had 174 yards to the pin. He figured he'd hit his 6-iron to the middle of the green.
That didn't happen.
Instead, the ball squirted right and sailed into the middle of the greenside water hazard. Cook said he wasn't trying to hit it anywhere near the water.
"That was just a bad shot," Cook said. "I half-chunked it. We're not supposed to hit shots like that. There was no rhyme or reason for me to hit that shot. I wasn't looking there or thinking about going there."
That opened the door for Blake, who had birdied the 18th to get to 9 under.
Just as Blake got help to get into the playoff, Cook got help from Cochran to get into the lead.
Cook started his day a shot ahead of Cochran, who was his playing partner on Sunday. Cook, 53, could get nothing going on the front nine and was 2 over at the turn, three shots behind Cochran.
Cook pulled within two of Cochran after the 12th hole, but he missed a 2-foot birdie putt on the 13th.
"I don't know how that happened," Cook said. "I guess that's just being 53 years old."
Then came the par-5 14th hole.
Cochran decided to make a statement by going for the green in two. But he hit his 3-wood left into the water. By the time Cochran was done hacking away, he had a triple-bogey 8. Cook played conservatively and knocked in a short birdie putt.
He went from two shots down to two shots ahead.
"I was a little surprised he hit 3-wood," Cook said. "With a two-shot lead, there's really nowhere to go. You can never criticize another player for what they're thinking. I'm sure he's second-guessing himself as well."
Cochran said he's not.
"I don't second-guess my decision," he said.
With Cochran in the rearview, all Cook had to do was stay steady on the final four holes. And except for one shot, he did.
Playing in the group ahead, Blake hit the flag stick with his approach shot on 18 and birdied to go to 9 under. As he was signing his scorecard, he figured he was third, maybe second. Then he was told Cook went in the water and realized a playoff was possible.
"I was pretty surprised," Blake said. "The way (Cook and Cochran) were playing, I thought I was going to be good at second or third."
In the playoff, Cook hit his drive to almost the same area he did 20 minutes earlier. Blake pulled his drive into a fairway bunker.
"All day long, every tee shot I played was a bit of a fade," Blake said. "The playoff hole, I aimed at those bunkers and hit it really solid and went dead straight into those bunkers."
Given a second chance at the 18th hole fairway shot, Cook knocked it to within 8 feet.
"I walked straight past my other divot and went, 'Yuck,' " Cook said. "No wonder it went into the water. This time, I just made a good swing. It got up in the air, and it was perfect."
Blake was not perfect. His second shot found the greenside bunker. His third shot settled about 5 feet from the hole. When Cook drained his birdie, the tournament was over.
"He kind of put me out of my misery, I guess you could say," Blake said.
The second-place finish is Blake's best in 31 career Champions Tour events. He earned $149,600, the largest check he has cashed on the senior circuit.
This is the first time the tournament needed a playoff since 1992. Cook admitted to being shaken after regulation, but he said he was able to calm down thanks to his caddie, Tommy Anderson.
"He really settled me down," Cook said. "We walked back to the 18th hole, and he told me, 'J.C., it's hole No. 1. Let's just hit some quality shots.'
"That's why we've been together for four years and won seven times. He really stepped up."
Rodney Page can be reached at rpage@sptimes.com.
By Rick Stroud, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, April 17, 2011
ST. PETERSBURG — There were several things missing Sunday from the Rays' magic mojo that had helped them carve out a five-game winning streak.
The Rays battled the Twins in the same cool, relentless manner and made another furious push in the late innings.
But this time, the hits didn't drop in, and Rays walkoff wonder Johnny Damon wasn't there to bail his team out. The result was a 4-2 loss in front of 22,426 at Tropicana Field.
Damon, who had driven in the go-ahead run in five consecutive games, left after the fourth inning with a bruised left index finger. X-rays were negative, and the Rays listed him as day to day.
Damon was injured bunting a pitch foul in the third inning and toughed it out long enough to finish the at-bat, lining an RBI single to give the Rays (6-9) a 1-0 lead and returning to his position in leftfield. But Damon said he couldn't grip the bat and was replaced by Matt Joyce, who went 0-for-2.
"I wanted to try to tough out the game, but they thought it was best if I came in and started icing and tried to get ready for (today)," Damon said. "At this point, I can't guarantee anything. Time will tell. It's unfortunate our streak came to an end but hopefully we can start another one."
The Rays had their chances to make a winner of starter Jeremy Hellickson (1-2), who allowed four runs in seven innings, three runs coming in a mistake-filled fifth.
Tampa Bay rapped eight hits but stranded 13, thanks mostly to some flashy plays by the Twins outfielders.
Rightfielder Jason Kubel, who hit his second home run of the series to tie the score in the fourth inning, made a leaping catch and crashed into the wall to rob Rays catcher Kelly Shoppach of a potential run-scoring hit in the fifth.
Kubel's effort was sandwiched between a sliding catch on the warning track by centerfielder Jason Repko to take an extra-base hit away from Sean Rodriguez in the second and leftfielder Delmon Young's diving catch of a liner by Felipe Lopez with a runner on and nobody out in the eighth.
"They did a lot of good things in the outfield," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "Kubel going back on that ball by Shoppach was really big. … Had that gotten over his head, that could've really turned the game around right there."
The Rays had Twins starter Brian Duensing (1-0) on the ropes and failed to score three times with runners on the corners.
It looked as though another cardiac comeback was in store in the eighth after the Rays put runners on first and third with one out. B.J. Upton walked and went to third on Shoppach's hit-and-run single through the right side of the infield.
But Ben Zobrist scorched a one-hopper that shortstop Alexi Casilla turned into a double play.
Considering the winless homestand to start the season, taking three of four from the Twins sat well with Maddon.
"Some days, you hit line drives," Maddon said. "We're producers, not directors, and it's at somebody. I really don't worry about that stuff. I worry about the effort level and I loved the way our guys went after it today.
"Listen man, I'm going to sleep well tonight."
New York Times
Sunday, April 17, 2011
ASPEN, Colo. — Neal Beidleman has tried to outrun his association with Everest. But the mountain, he said, was "stapled and tattooed on my forehead." It was perhaps inevitable, then, that one day he would return.
Beidleman was serving as a guide under Scott Fischer in May 1996 when a raging storm overtook two climbing teams high on the mountain. Five climbers on the teams died, including Fischer, who led one team, and Rob Hall, who led the other. In all, eight climbers died during the storm, a story chronicled by Jon Krakauer in his best-selling book Into Thin Air.
"It's not like I dread talking about it; it's not taboo," Beidleman, 51, said last month before leaving for Katmandu, Nepal, to begin what he hopes will be a successful climb of Everest. "But when I reflect back, it doesn't give me a warm feeling. It's not something I'm necessarily proud of."
Beidleman and the three other members of his team will make their way from Everest's South Side base camp. The intended route will have Beidleman retracing his steps from 1996.
"Hopefully, there's a closing chapter for me to what happened in '96, because in returning, the story doesn't have to be about the past," he said. "The story can be about the future."
Everest, of course, promises certain unknowns for everyone on the mountain, including Beidleman. And the thought of visiting Fischer's body on the climbing route halts him.
"Scott's not coming back, and it'll be very — I don't know how I'm going to feel when I walk by his memorial," Beidleman said, his voice trailing off. "His body is still up there high on the mountain. He's been pulled to the side a little bit, but I will go and try to seek out where he rests now and pay him my respects. I don't know how that's going to be. But hopefully, there will be a bit of closure."
Times wires
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Tennis
Americans Flop from Top Fed Cup tier
STUTTGART, Germany — The United States failed to win a match against Germany and was knocked from the top tier of the Fed Cup for the first time Sunday.
The Americans were blanked 5-0 in the playoff and will no longer be among the top eight nations in the World Group, a big letdown for a country that has won the Fed Cup a record 17 times.
Germany delivered the decisive blow when Andrea Petkovic beat Melanie Oudin 6-2, 6-3 in the first reverse singles, giving the Germans a 3-0 lead in the best-of-five series.
"It's tough to be out of the World Group for the first time, but we just came up against a better team," U.S. captain Mary Joe Fernandez said. "We did the best we could, we fought for every point. … There were moments, small chances, but there weren't that many opportunities for us."
"I never won a clinching match before," said Petkovic, ranked 19th. "I am very relieved. It may have looked easy, but it wasn't a given."
More Tennis
Nadal ends finals skid
Rafael Nadal won his seventh straight Monte Carlo Masters title by beating David Ferrer 6-4, 7-5 in an all-Spanish final. This was his first tournament victory since October, ending a run of three consecutive defeats in title matches.
Nadal won for the 37th straight time at this claycourt event, where he has not lost since 2003.
"To start the clay season like this is fantastic, but it's more fantastic to win Monte Carlo another time," he said. "This is the Masters tournament where I feel more emotion when I'm playing, because here in 2003 everything starts."
Running
Speedsters in Boston
Kenyan Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot returns for today's Boston Marathon a year after breaking the course record by 82 seconds with his run of 2 hours, 5 minutes, 52 seconds.
The forecast calls for temperatures in the low 50s with a tailwind of 16 mph that could help put his mark in jeopardy.
Cheruiyot said he injured a tendon in his right side in a recent car accident. So countryman Geoffrey Mutai will be a threat.
In the women's race, Ethiopia's Teyba Erkesso is back to defend her title.
London record: Kenya's Emmanuel Mutai ran a course-record 2:04:40 — the fourth-fastest marathon time ever — to capture the title in London. Compatriot Mary Keitany won the women's race in her first attempt at the 26.2-mile distance.
Et cetera
BOWLING: Dick Allen of Columbia, S.C., swept Chris Barnes in the two-game title match to win the inaugural Dick Weber PBA Playoffs in Indianapolis.
College golf: Andres Echavarria won a playoff to take medalist honors, leading the Florida men's team to its 15th SEC championship, by five strokes over Alabama in St. Simons Island, Ga.
College Gymnastics: Florida sophomore Marissa King won the vault as SEC athletes claimed three of four individual events at the NCAA women's gymnastics championships in Cleveland. Alabama won the team title late Saturday as Florida failed to advance to the Super Six.
Fishing: Sandman, skippered by Neil Orange of Miami, won $255,785 with 17 sailfish releases over three days at the $1 million Key West World Sailfish Championship. Organizers said anglers on 71 boats released 335 sailfish.
Soccer: Stoke routed Bolton 5-0 to reach the FA Cup final in England for the first time in the team's 148-year history. Stoke will play Manchester City for the title at Wembley on May 14.
Times wires
