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| AP Photo | Carolyn Kaster Chandler's Jake McCann slides safely into home in the fifth inning off a hit by teammate Seth Fretheim as Coon Rapids, Minn. catcher Anthony Morsla, left, looks on during pool play baseball at the 2007 Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pa., on Wednesday. |
After strong LLWS run, Chandler eliminated
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa.—Chandler's run for a Little League World Series title ended last night.
The Arizona squad played some solid baseball during its time in the tournament, but couldn't match the offensive firepower of Warner Robins, Ga. in the 16-6 loss.
Warner Robins slugger Payton Purvis hit two, two-run blasts, including one in a seven-run fifth inning that ended the game early because of Little League's 10-run rule.
In the day's most exciting contest, Curaco took on Venezeula in the international semifinal contest.
Down to his last strike with his team on the brink of elimination, Deion Rosalia stayed calm and settled himself at the plate.
The next pitch, a fastball, looked inviting, and the 13-year-old swung.
When the ball sailed over the right-field fence, Rosalia had a three-run homer and Willemstad, Curacao, had a stunning 4-2 extra-inning win Thursday over Maracaibo, Venezuela.
Curacao advances to Saturday's international championship game against Tokyo, Japan which beat Taichung, Taiwan, 4-3 in another extra-inning thriller. Junsho Kiuchi's homer to left ended it in the bottom of the 10th.
Venezuela and Taiwan are eliminated.
Also Thursday, Lubbock, Texas, beat Lake Oswego, Ore., 8-2 to advance to the U.S. championship game against Warner Robins.
Vick’s fate to be determined by ‘tough but fair’ judge
RICHMOND, Va.—The judge who will determine how much time Michael Vick spends in prison has shown little mercy over the years for high-profile defendants.
Nobody knows this better than defense lawyer Robert H. Smallenberg.
In 2004, he represented a city official who stole more than $1 million from Richmond taxpayers. He was well aware U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson had earned a reputation for handing down stiff sentences.
“Tough but fair” is the description most often heard from lawyers who appear before Hudson, who owns a bichon frise dog and declined to be interviewed.
“He’s a good trial judge, but on sentencing he tends to be in the middle or upper range of the sentencing guidelines,” said attorney Murray Janus. “A lot of judges start at the low end. Not Judge Hudson.”
Still, Smallenberg was caught off-guard by how hard Hudson came down on his client. The judge sentenced Robert Evans to 10 years in prison—double what was called for under federal sentencing guidelines—declaring “the abuse of trust here is absolutely immeasurable.”
“I wasn’t surprised he went above the guidelines, but I was surprised he went that far,” Smallenberg said Thursday.
Based on his personal experience, Smallenberg said he won’t be surprised if Hudson takes a similarly tough position in the case of NFL star Vick, who is scheduled to plead guilty to a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge Monday.
Tigers trade slumping Monroe to Cubs
SAN FRANCISCO—Craig Monroe quickly found himself back in a pennant race Thursday when the Detroit Tigers traded the slumping outfielder and cash to the Chicago Cubs for a player to be named.
Despite hitting only .222 before Detroit designated him for assignment last Friday, Monroe was productive against left-handed pitching. That’s how Cubs manager Lou Piniella plans to use him.
“I think it gives us a good balance,” Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said. “It was just one of those situations where you couldn’t pass up a guy who has already been there and helped lead a club to the postseason. We’ve had our ups and downs against lefties. It gives Lou some options here that we didn’t have before by just adding one good batter against left-handed pitching.”
Monroe is hitting. 302 with five homers and 22 RBIs in 102 at-bats against lefties. The NL Central-leading Cubs are just 12-19 against lefties and are batting 20 points lower as a team than against right-handers.
Monroe is versatile, too, having played all three outfield positions.
“The teams that we’re playing here all have left-handed starters in their rotation,” Piniella said. “He’s a valuable addition. He gives us more experience. This guy has been in postseason, hit five home runs last year in the postseason, played in the World Series. It’s a good move by Jim to get us that bat.”
After helping the Tigers reach the World Series last year for the first time since 1984, Monroe struggled in 2007 and lost his job to Marcus Thames. Monroe had 11 homers and 55 RBIs in 99 games before being replaced by highly-touted prospect Cameron Maybin.
NBA fines Sonics co-owner $250,000
SEATTLE—The NBA fined SuperSonics co-owner Aubrey McClendon $250,000 two weeks after he said his group didn’t buy the team to keep it in Seattle.
League spokesman Mark Broussard confirmed the penalty on Thursday, but said he did not immediately know the reason the fine was imposed. The comments of McClendon, an Oklahoma City energy tycoon, were at odds with commissioner David Stern’s stated hope of keeping the Sonics in the city they’ve called home for all 40 years of their existence.
McClendon is one of four original partners with Clay Bennett in Professional Basketball Club LLC, the Oklahoma group that purchased the Sonics and WNBA’s Storm for $350 million (?258 million) in July 2006. McClendon told an Oklahoma City newspaper this month that the group has always hoped to move the NBA franchise to Oklahoma, but acknowledged the team could make more money in the Pacific Northwest.
“But we didn’t buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here,” McClendon, chief executive of Chesapeake Energy, told The Journal Record in Oklahoma. “We know it’s a little more difficult financially here in Oklahoma City, but we think it’s great for the community and if we could break even, we’d be thrilled.”
Bennett and McClendon tried to calm the furor in Seattle the day after McClendon’s comments were published. They issued a joint statement that called McClendon’s comments his “personal thoughts.” Bennett said McClendon was “not speaking on behalf of the ownership group.”
The ownership group has set a deadline of Oct. 31 to secure an agreement for a new arena in the Seattle area. If a deal is not in place by then, Bennett has said he will begin the process of relocating the Sonics to Oklahoma City.
Henman plans to retire after Davis Cup
NEW YORK—Tim Henman will play one last time at Wimbledon, but it won’t be next summer.
The British tennis star will play his final Grand Slam at the U.S. Open and then retire in September after the Davis Cup playoff at the All England Club.
The 32-year-old Henman, who reached four Wimbledon semifinals and never won a Grand Slam title in his 14-year career, cited a sore back and bad knee Thursday for his decision to call it quits.
“The way that its affected my performance has obviously made my life a little bit harder and probably a little bit less enjoyable,” Henman said at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Henman is unseeded going into the U.S. Open, which begins Monday. He is scheduled to play for Britain against Croatia for a spot in the Davis Cup World Group.
“To play at Wimbledon at Davis Cup will be very special for me,” he said. “It’s always been an honor and a pleasure to play any event at the All England (club).”
Injuries have caught up with the 92nd-ranked Henman, who won 11 singles titles in his career and was ranked as high as No. 4 in 2002. He was sidelined three months at the start of the season with a knee injury and is 5-11 in singles matches.
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa.—Chandler's run for a Little League World Series title ended last night.
The Arizona squad played some solid baseball during its time in the tournament, but couldn't match the offensive firepower of Warner Robins, Ga. in the 16-6 loss.
Warner Robins slugger Payton Purvis hit two, two-run blasts, including one in a seven-run fifth inning that ended the game early because of Little League's 10-run rule.
In the day's most exciting contest, Curaco took on Venezeula in the international semifinal contest.
Down to his last strike with his team on the brink of elimination, Deion Rosalia stayed calm and settled himself at the plate.
The next pitch, a fastball, looked inviting, and the 13-year-old swung.
When the ball sailed over the right-field fence, Rosalia had a three-run homer and Willemstad, Curacao, had a stunning 4-2 extra-inning win Thursday over Maracaibo, Venezuela.
Curacao advances to Saturday's international championship game against Tokyo, Japan which beat Taichung, Taiwan, 4-3 in another extra-inning thriller. Junsho Kiuchi's homer to left ended it in the bottom of the 10th.
Venezuela and Taiwan are eliminated.
Also Thursday, Lubbock, Texas, beat Lake Oswego, Ore., 8-2 to advance to the U.S. championship game against Warner Robins.
Vick’s fate to be determined by ‘tough but fair’ judge
RICHMOND, Va.—The judge who will determine how much time Michael Vick spends in prison has shown little mercy over the years for high-profile defendants.
Nobody knows this better than defense lawyer Robert H. Smallenberg.
In 2004, he represented a city official who stole more than $1 million from Richmond taxpayers. He was well aware U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson had earned a reputation for handing down stiff sentences.
“Tough but fair” is the description most often heard from lawyers who appear before Hudson, who owns a bichon frise dog and declined to be interviewed.
“He’s a good trial judge, but on sentencing he tends to be in the middle or upper range of the sentencing guidelines,” said attorney Murray Janus. “A lot of judges start at the low end. Not Judge Hudson.”
Still, Smallenberg was caught off-guard by how hard Hudson came down on his client. The judge sentenced Robert Evans to 10 years in prison—double what was called for under federal sentencing guidelines—declaring “the abuse of trust here is absolutely immeasurable.”
“I wasn’t surprised he went above the guidelines, but I was surprised he went that far,” Smallenberg said Thursday.
Based on his personal experience, Smallenberg said he won’t be surprised if Hudson takes a similarly tough position in the case of NFL star Vick, who is scheduled to plead guilty to a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge Monday.
Tigers trade slumping Monroe to Cubs
SAN FRANCISCO—Craig Monroe quickly found himself back in a pennant race Thursday when the Detroit Tigers traded the slumping outfielder and cash to the Chicago Cubs for a player to be named.
Despite hitting only .222 before Detroit designated him for assignment last Friday, Monroe was productive against left-handed pitching. That’s how Cubs manager Lou Piniella plans to use him.
“I think it gives us a good balance,” Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said. “It was just one of those situations where you couldn’t pass up a guy who has already been there and helped lead a club to the postseason. We’ve had our ups and downs against lefties. It gives Lou some options here that we didn’t have before by just adding one good batter against left-handed pitching.”
Monroe is hitting. 302 with five homers and 22 RBIs in 102 at-bats against lefties. The NL Central-leading Cubs are just 12-19 against lefties and are batting 20 points lower as a team than against right-handers.
Monroe is versatile, too, having played all three outfield positions.
“The teams that we’re playing here all have left-handed starters in their rotation,” Piniella said. “He’s a valuable addition. He gives us more experience. This guy has been in postseason, hit five home runs last year in the postseason, played in the World Series. It’s a good move by Jim to get us that bat.”
After helping the Tigers reach the World Series last year for the first time since 1984, Monroe struggled in 2007 and lost his job to Marcus Thames. Monroe had 11 homers and 55 RBIs in 99 games before being replaced by highly-touted prospect Cameron Maybin.
NBA fines Sonics co-owner $250,000
SEATTLE—The NBA fined SuperSonics co-owner Aubrey McClendon $250,000 two weeks after he said his group didn’t buy the team to keep it in Seattle.
League spokesman Mark Broussard confirmed the penalty on Thursday, but said he did not immediately know the reason the fine was imposed. The comments of McClendon, an Oklahoma City energy tycoon, were at odds with commissioner David Stern’s stated hope of keeping the Sonics in the city they’ve called home for all 40 years of their existence.
McClendon is one of four original partners with Clay Bennett in Professional Basketball Club LLC, the Oklahoma group that purchased the Sonics and WNBA’s Storm for $350 million (?258 million) in July 2006. McClendon told an Oklahoma City newspaper this month that the group has always hoped to move the NBA franchise to Oklahoma, but acknowledged the team could make more money in the Pacific Northwest.
“But we didn’t buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here,” McClendon, chief executive of Chesapeake Energy, told The Journal Record in Oklahoma. “We know it’s a little more difficult financially here in Oklahoma City, but we think it’s great for the community and if we could break even, we’d be thrilled.”
Bennett and McClendon tried to calm the furor in Seattle the day after McClendon’s comments were published. They issued a joint statement that called McClendon’s comments his “personal thoughts.” Bennett said McClendon was “not speaking on behalf of the ownership group.”
The ownership group has set a deadline of Oct. 31 to secure an agreement for a new arena in the Seattle area. If a deal is not in place by then, Bennett has said he will begin the process of relocating the Sonics to Oklahoma City.
Henman plans to retire after Davis Cup
NEW YORK—Tim Henman will play one last time at Wimbledon, but it won’t be next summer.
The British tennis star will play his final Grand Slam at the U.S. Open and then retire in September after the Davis Cup playoff at the All England Club.
The 32-year-old Henman, who reached four Wimbledon semifinals and never won a Grand Slam title in his 14-year career, cited a sore back and bad knee Thursday for his decision to call it quits.
“The way that its affected my performance has obviously made my life a little bit harder and probably a little bit less enjoyable,” Henman said at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Henman is unseeded going into the U.S. Open, which begins Monday. He is scheduled to play for Britain against Croatia for a spot in the Davis Cup World Group.
“To play at Wimbledon at Davis Cup will be very special for me,” he said. “It’s always been an honor and a pleasure to play any event at the All England (club).”
Injuries have caught up with the 92nd-ranked Henman, who won 11 singles titles in his career and was ranked as high as No. 4 in 2002. He was sidelined three months at the start of the season with a knee injury and is 5-11 in singles matches.
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