SF Examiner: San Francisco Giants' Cody Ross endeared himself to fans, earned a starting spot

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By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

He’s not quite a national monument. That label belongs to the other entity from Carlsbad, N.M.: the caverns. “It’s a pretty neat experience,” Cody Ross said of visiting his hometown attraction. “Especially as you get older.

“As a kid, I didn’t appreciate it as much.”

This from a ballplayer who in his career was not appreciated at all — until early last autumn.

Copyright 2011 SF Newspaper Company

SF Examiner: San Francisco Giants' Tim Lincecum has what it takes to be 'cool'

in ,
By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

It wasn’t an escape. Not according to Tim Lincecum, although some might view it exactly as that. He simply headed north, back to the state of Washington and away from the state of hysteria in which, metaphorically, he had found himself.

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2011 SF Newspaper Company

SF Examiner: As Barry Bonds trial pushes on, mystery of Anderson grows

in ,
By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

He is back in jail again, for being loyal. Or being a bit crazy. Or because, as some believe, we are a world of skeptics and some day he will be paid for his silence.

Greg Anderson is the man no one can understand.

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2011 SF Newspaper Company

RealClearSports: U.S. v. Bonds Makes Great Theater

in ,
By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

SAN FRANCISCO — You have to like the way the event is listed in official documents and on the media badges: "USA v. Barry Lamar Bonds.'' As if it were an Olympic hockey match or basketball game, not a perjury trial of a baseball player.

What do the officials do, go out on Golden Gate Avenue in front of the federal building and gather a few people to chant, "USA, USA''?

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2011

Newsday (N.Y.): Lawyer calls Bonds' defense 'ridiculous'

in ,
By Art Spander
Special to Newsday
SAN FRANCISCO — Barry Bonds' trainer, Greg Anderson, made it 3-for-3 Tuesday, again refusing to testify against his boyhood pal in Bonds' perjury case, and again being sent to custody for contempt of court.

Anderson, accused by the prosecution of providing illegal performance-enhancing drugs to the all-time home run king, already has spent more than a year in jail or prison. United States District Court Judge Susan Illston told Anderson he would remain in custody for the duration of the trial, which began Monday and could last 2-4 weeks.

Anderson's lawyer, Mark Geragos, repeating earlier comments, said Anderson doesn't trust the prosecution. Illston said she hoped Anderson would change his mind and would keep him confined for contempt "until such time you will testify."

Illston told the jury of eight women and four men that to prove perjury in Bonds' December 2003 statements to a grand jury, prosecutors must show his testimony was "knowingly false.''

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Parrella told the jury that Bonds "deliberately lied'' when he testified he had never knowingly used anabolic steroids. The prosecutor said Bonds' claim he believed the substances he was taking were flaxseed oil and arthritis cream, were "quite frankly, an utterly ridiculous and unbelievable story."

In his opening statement, Bonds' lead attorney, Allen Ruby, said: "... Barry Bonds went to the grand jury and told the truth and did his best.''

Ruby later said government witnesses and leaks "created a caricature of Barry Bonds, terrible guy, mean.'' Ruby also criticized government witnesses for cooperating with the media, saying they created "poisonous things that have been out there about Barry.''

Food and Drug Administration agent Jeff Novitzky, one of the prosecution's prime witnesses, said he found a "treasure trove of drugs'' when he searched through the garbage of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO), the firm accused of creating the substances Bonds allegedly used.

Ruby went after Novitzky about a meeting he had with a former Bonds friend, Steven Hoskins, eliciting a few laughs. Hoskins, a former 49er who was involved in the sports memorabilia business with Bonds, is to be a prosecution witness.

Rudy told the jury the "government will bring in three or four witnesses to discuss the size of Mr. Bonds' organs, his head, his feet . . . '' Bonds' increased head size, skeptics had said, were caused by his use of steroids.

While Parrella spoke, Bonds, dressed in a blue suit, sat with hands clasped between Ruby and his other lead attorney, Chris Arguedas. Bonds didn't appear shaken by the testimony. After the long court session recessed for the day at about 3:30 p.m. PDT, Bonds greeted a journalist he recognized before walking through a light rain to a waiting SUV.

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http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/lawyer-calls-bonds-defense-ridiculous-1.2776038
Copyright © 2011 Newsday. All rights reserved.

Newsday (N.Y.): St. John's women lose to Stanford, 75-49

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By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

STANFORD, Calif. — It looked so good for the St. John's women when they led Stanford by eight points at about the midway point of the first half of their NCAA Tournament second-round game Monday night. Then it looked perfectly awful.

Practically before anyone could blink, and virtually before St. John's could get off any shot — let alone a good one — Stanford had outscored St. John's by 40 points. Not 4 . . . 40.

As in 55-15 — which turned an eight-point deficit into a 32-point lead.

With a huge second half, Stanford beat the Red Storm, 75-49. And No. 9 seed St. John's understood how the No. 2-ranked Cardinal could have stopped UConn's record 90-game winning streak in December.

It was the 63nd straight win for Stanford at Maples Pavilion and its 24th straight overall.

"Obviously, I'm disappointed," St. John's coach Kim Barnes Arico said, "but they're one of the best teams in the country. We were able to hang with them early, but we ran out of gas. They're an outstanding team."

They're also a bigger team. St. John's tried to jam the middle, and it worked for a while, as Storm led 22-14 with 9:45 left in the first half. But Stanford went outside and started hitting, and St. John's, inside or outside, started missing. And kept missing.

In the second half, St. John's was 5-for-24 from the field, and in one stretch, after trailing only 38-30 at intermission, was outscored 21-0. The Red Storm wound up falling behind by 32 points at 69-37.

"We sort of ran out of energy," St. John's Da'Shena Stevens said. "They hurt us inside. We went cold. We rushed things a little bit, which is what happens when you fall behind. We didn't get stops, so it was hard to get good shots."

Stanford's sister act from Cypress, Texas, made a difference, with junior Nnemkadi Ogwumike getting the points (22) and freshman Chiney Ogwumike getting the rebounds (12). Kayla Pedersen had 14 points, eight rebounds and five
assists.

Centhya Hart led the Red Storm with 15 points and Nadirah McKenith added 10. St. John's (22-11) had beaten Texas Tech on Saturday, but Stanford is one of the elite squads, with a history of NCAA titles and a 31-2 record this season.

St. John's goes home after a season that wasn't all that bad -- except for the final 30 minutes.

"We were just worn down trying to match up with them," Barnes Arico said, "but I'm proud of my team. They worked very hard."

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http://www.newsday.com/sports/college/college-basketball/st-john-s-women-lose-to-stanford-75-49-1.2774950
Copyright © 2011 Newsday. All rights reserved.

Newsday (N.Y.): St. John's women beat Texas Tech, advance

in ,
By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

STANFORD, Calif -- Kim Barnes Arico was aware  of what was happening. Yes, the fans were screaming. No, it wasn't for the coach's St. John's women's basketball team.

With a few seconds remaining in what wound up a 55-50 win for the Red Storm over Texas Tech Saturday in an NCAA Tournament first-round game, the growing crowd at Maples Pavilion let loose.

"You mean those cheers weren't for us?'' Barnes Arico joked.

She added, "I started to look around. I'm not naive enough not to know what was happening.''

There on the video board, the Stanford team was emerging from its locker room to face UC Davis in the second game, which it won easily. Stanford will host St. John's in the second round Monday night at Maples, the campus arena.

"You face that situation when you're playing Connecticut,'' Barnes Arico said about the crowd reaction. "That's the women's game, playing on the home court of an opponent in the tournament. Maybe we'll catch them on an off night, and maybe we'll have a phenomenal night.''

The Storm (22-10) wasn't phenomenal, but it was effective. Trailing 30-28 at intermission, St. John's opened the second half with an 8-0 run. Tech didn't get a point for the first 4 minutes, 32 seconds.

Then, after Tech (22-11) tied it at 36 with 10:46 left, St. John's ran off nine straight points in three-plus minutes. At that point, Texas Tech was 4-for-22 from the floor in the second half.

"I thought our defense was really exceptional,'' Barnes Arico said. "And even though we were undersized compared to Texas Tech, we outrebounded them.''

That they did, 47-40, with Da'Shena Stevens grabbing 11.

Sophomore point guard Nadirah McKenith, injured so often earlier in the  season with concussions, an ankle sprain and a bruised thumb, led St. John's  with 14 points and four assists. She also had seven rebounds.

"Only the last month has she been able to practice,'' Barnes Arico said. "She does everything. Down the stretch, she got two key rebounds and made her free throws.''

Said sophomore guard Eugeneia McPherson, who starred at North Babylon,  "Having Nadirah on our team is an honor. She'll throw passes that I or anyone won't see. She's always ready to make a pass.''

Both the St. John's men and women had to cross the country, or most of it.  The men played their NCAA first-rounder in Denver, two time zones west of New York, and lost  to Gonzaga. The women traveled three time zones, which Barnes Arico said she attempted to downplay.

"St. John's looked more comfortable than we did,'' Tech coach Kristy Curry said. "Whether it was the St. John's defense or inability to make shots, we missed a whole bunch.''

Tech missed 40 of 60, shooting 33 percent. St. John's was marginally better.  "I think both of us were extremely sloppy,'' Barnes Arico said.
But one them, St. John's, also was extremely happy.

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http://www.newsday.com/sports/college/college-basketball/st-john-s-women-beat-texas-tech-advance-1.2771159
Copyright © 2011 Newsday. All rights reserved.

SF Examiner: Roddick’s path a lesson for rising star Harrison

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By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

Buster Posey, for one, seemed composed from the first time he picked up a baseball, or no less significantly picked up a team.

Same thing as the good people in San Francisco will verify, for Joe Montana, or in the vernacular of success, “Joe Cool.”

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2011 SF Newspaper Company

RealClearSports: Federer Looks Back, Moves Ahead

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By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — There was clarification along with advancement. Roger Federer had no problems with his opponent in the BNP Paribas Open, Juan Ignacio Chela. "I'm happy it went so well,'' said Federer.

What didn't go well was that Wimbledon quarterfinal last summer.

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2011

RealClearSports: Billion Here, There ... No NFL Anywhere

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By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

To paraphrase H.L. Mencken, you'll never go wrong underestimating the intelligence of those trying to reach a new collective-bargaining agreement.

Looks bad, people. A week ago I promised there would be an NFL season in 2011. Believed both sides, the owners and the players, were too wise to mess up a good thing. Thought they understood the idea of compromise.

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2011

SF Examiner: Affair with Giants is hot, but 49ers still San Francisco's true love

in ,
By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

Brian Sabean, the man who helped build the Giants into champions, said San Francisco has become a baseball city. Unquestionably. Yet, it is no less a football city, as we were reminded the other evening.

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2011 SF Newspaper Company

SF Examiner: Giants still working out the spring kinks

in ,
By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

It was a preview of summer in the heat of spring, baseball that didn’t mean a great deal, such as who won or lost, but to players seeking perfection and capacity crowd of 8,330 seeking a day in the sun it meant a great deal.

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2011 SF Newspaper Company

RealClearSports: Guaranteed: There Will Be an NFL Season

in ,
By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

So that's settled. There will be an NFL season. Guaranteed.

What, you were worried, unhinged by the rhetoric? It's going the way it was supposed to go, to the 11th hour, to the edge. A long-ago Secretary of State named John Foster Dulles described the tactic as brinksmanship.

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2011

SF Examiner: Giants icon Willie Mays is truly one of a kind

in ,
By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

He is the last one, not so much standing but sitting, at his own table, with his autograph in silver ink on the top. It is there Willie Mays holds court in the Giants’ spring training clubhouse, reflecting upon a past inextricably linked to the present.

Part of a trio, connected by greatness and proximity in the days when New York had three teams and baseball was all flannel uniforms and grace.

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2011 SF Newspaper Company

RealClearSports: Lincecum Never Runs From Media

in ,
By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- For the modern athlete there is always another notebook or microphone to confront, always another question to answer.

"Yes, I understand," said Tim Lincecum with a touch of sarcasm. "They have asked about every grain of rice, every grain of salt.''

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2011

Global Golf Post: Neither Wind, Nor Hail, Nor Cold...

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By Art Spander
For GlobalGolfPost.com

MARANA, ARIZONA -- What we learned during a week of hail, high winds and unplanned hikes into cactus and mesquite trees -- not that we didn't know -- was the best players in golf are from Europe and that the worst conditions in golf most likely are at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2011 Global Golf Post

Newsday (N.Y.): Donald tops Kaymer in Match Play final

in
By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

MARANA, Ariz. — He majored in art at Northwestern and has his own name on a California wine. The image of Luke Donald, enhanced by his proper English accent, was that of a man who played golf less for the competition than for the
exercise and enjoyment.

“I’ve been depicted as someone happy contending, picking up checks, but doesn’t really care about winning,’’ said Donald after he picked up $1.4 million, the biggest payday of his career, for winning the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship yesterday. “And that’s about as far away from the truth as it can be.’’

In a final delayed by a hailstorm and played on fairways that had been covered by an overnight snow, Donald, 33, was as far away from finals opponent Martin Kaymer as he needed to be. Donald not only won 3 and 2 against Kaymer, the “Germanator,’’ at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain, in the winter wonderland foothills north of Tucson, he climbed to No. 3 in the world rankings.

Kaymer became No. 1 on Saturday when he won his semifinal. Since Englishman Lee Westwood is at No. 2 and Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell is No. 4, it is the first time since 1992 that no American player is in the top four. Tiger Woods dropped to fifth and Phil Mickelson to sixth. Both were eliminated early in the championship.

Donald’s play this week was unprecedented in Accenture history. He became the first never to trail in any of his six matches. Yesterday he went 3-up on Kaymer, 26, in the first five holes. Donald let the lead get away by the ninth but regained it with a birdie on 11. Not once in those six matches did Donald get to the 18th hole. In the 89 holes he played, he recorded 31 birdies.

“It feels amazing,’’ said Donald, who has homes in Illinois and Florida and mainly plays the PGA Tour. “I had a bit of a monkey on my back. I hadn’t won in the U.S. in five years.” Not since the Honda in March 2006.

Donald said he doesn’t consider himself a modern player, meaning peers outdrive him by 30-40 yards and he must compensate with his short game.

“I think he’s probably the best in the world around the greens,’’ Kaymer said. And the whites, after the hail smashed down. “It was testing,’’ Donald said of the weather. “It was bizarre.’’

With the site contract at an end, the Accenture might not return to a course at 2,700-feet elevation. The tournament moved here from La Costa, north of San Diego, because of rain. Where it might go now is a question. There’s no question, however, where Donald wants to go.

“I feel my work ethic is as good as any player out here,’’ Donald said. “I work  very hard trying to keep getting better. Winning is what it’s all about.’’

It certainly was in the Accenture.

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http://www.newsday.com/sports/golf/donald-tops-kaymer-in-match-play-final-1.2718355
Copyright © 2011 Newsday. All rights reserved.