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5B
NBA
Rookie Jennings vows to come back stronger
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
ATLANTA — Brandon Jennings left his rookie year Sunday with a vow.
"This summer I'll work out, get stronger and come back a totally different player," he said after the Milwaukee Bucks were eliminated. 95-74, by the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
That has to be an encouraging thought for the Bucks and a sobering concept for the rest of the league about the electrifying point guard who finished third in rookie
of the year voting.
"I think it was big to play in the playoffs my rookie year," Jennings said. "It was tough. We took them to seven games. Everybody probably had us going four or five. So I think we did the best we could without (Andrew) Bogut, We fought to the end. We were the only first series still going on. I think we gave Atlanta all we could."
Jennings also averaged 18.7 points in his first postseason experience after leading the Bucks with 15 points in Game 7. Throughout the series, he mostly performed with veteran poise. Though he
struggled with his shot late in the series, he opened it by scoring 34 points on the Hawks.
carry the team to that next round. We came up short. It happens. But I feel good about it.
As for him, "I think I did pretty good," jennings said. "I think I probably surprised a lot of people. I think I did a lot as a point guard to
"I had to walk out with my head up. We were down a couple of players and we did the best we could this series. I think we showed a lot of people that the Milwaukee Bucks can attain in this league. You've got to be positive."
Never hitting the rookie wall, Jennings started all 82 games in the regular season and seven in the playoffs.
"Right now I'm going to take awhile off," he said. "I've played almost 90 games straight. Then
I have to work on my jump shot somewhat."
Generally speaking, he should be much better for the postseason experience, which only fueled his desire to lead a team that controls his rights for the next four seasons.
"The day I got drafted, I said I wanted to make the playoffs," Jennings said. "You probably looked at me like I was crazy, but I back up a lot of stuff I talk. Just the fact that we got here makes me want to work harder. Winning is everything to me."
MLB
Los Angeles' homers rout Pittsburgh 9-3
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES — Andre Ethier homered twice and drove in four runs, Blake DeWitt had his first four-hit game in the majors and James Loney added a pair of run-scoring hits to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers past the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-3 on Sunday.
Hiroki Kuroda (3-1) allowed a run and five hits over eight innings, struck out three and walked one.
The two-time defending NL West champs have won three straight for the first time this season, following a five-game skid that included a 2-0 loss to the Pirates on Thursday.
Ethier, who led the club in home runs last year and set a Dodger Stadium record for left-handed batters with 22, was 8 for 16 with nine RBIs during the four-game series.
The Dodgers took a 2-0 lead in the second on RBI doubles by Loney and DeWitt after a leadoff walk to Matt Kemp. They added a run in the third when Xavier Paul led off with a triple and
Jeff Karstens (0-1) gave up six runs and 11 hits over five innings in his second start of the season after being recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis. The right-hander was the third Pirates starter in this four-game series who had never faced the Dodgers before, along with Brian Burres and Charlie Morton. The three of them combined to give up 12 runs (nine earned), 21 hits and seven walks with 14 strikeouts.
scored on Ethier's single.
Paul led off the Dodgers' three-run fifth with a bloop single and scored on Ethier's eighth homer. Kemp followed with a fly-ball double that right fielder Ryan Church lost in the sun, and Loney drove him in with a single.
This was the third straight season in which something bizarre happened to Church at Dodger Stadium in May. Two years ago with the Mets, he tried to make a leaping catch of DeWitt's drive to right field — but the ball struck the top of the fence and Church ended up on his back while DeWitt circled the bases with a go-ahead, inside-the-park homer.
Last year, Church came all the way home from first base with an apparent go-ahead run for the Mets on Angel Pagan's two-out drive to the right-center fence — but was called out on appeal for missing third base.
Pittsburgh got on the board in the fourth when Garrett Jones doubled and scored on Adam LaRoche's groundout. Jones was back in the lineup at first base, one day after checking himself into a hospital because of a blockage of food in his esophagus. He had two doubles, one of which drove in a run in the ninth.
NEW YORK — Mark Teixeira tied a career high with four hits and Robinson Cano had a three-run homer, backing another dominant performance by Phil Hughes in the New York Yankees' 12-3 rout of the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.
Hughes (3-0) stymied the White Sox, limiting them to four hits over seven innings. Hughes, who won the No. 5 starter job this spring, had not allowed more than three hits in any of his first three starts. He struck out six while walking one.
MLB
Teixeira continued his emergence from an April slump with a two-run double and three singles that raised his average to.189. Nick Swisher added a two-run shot and Brett Gardner hit a rare homer to help the Yankees take two of three from Chicago.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hughes throws seven strong innings, Yankees beat Sox
Gardner started in center field because Curtis Granderson went on the 15-day disabled list before the game with a strained left groin. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Granderson could be out for a month.
Gardner walked after the ejection and the Yankees loaded the bases when shortstop Alexei Ramirez failed to handle Beckham's showel toss on Ramiro Pena's grounder for an error.
Relief pitcher Mark Melancon
Derek Jeter walked to force in a run, and Nick Johnson and Teixeira had two-run doubles to make it 12-0.
Guillen told reporters he was up until nearly 3 a.m. watching news of the failed bomb attack that took place just two blocks from the teams hotel in Times Square on Saturday night.
White Soxmanager Ozzie Guillen was ejected during Gardner's at bat in the seventh after a prolonged argument over balls and strikes with plate umpire Dan lassgossa. It was the second time Guillen has been tossed this season and the 21st time in his career.
(2-4) in the fifth. After Teixeira and Swisher singled, Cano reached low to pull his ninth homer of the year and make it 5-0.
was called up from Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He pitched two innings and gave up a long three-run homer to Paul Konerko, his 12th of the season.
The Yankees added three runs against struggling Mark Buehrle
The speedy Gardner gave the Yankees their first run when his two-out grounder in the second deflected off the glove of a lunging Konerko at first base and spun away from second baseman Gordon Beckham. The infield single scored Cano, who led off with a double.
In the fourth, Gardner hit first homer since June 26, 2009, at the Mets, a span of 167 at bats. It came a batter after Mark Kotsay caught Marc Thames' drive near the top of the right-field wall.
Swisher followed with a two-run drive off Tony Pena in the sixth, and the Yankees added five runs in the seventh.
Alex Rodriguez was given the day off, but Girardi said it was just a rest and there was nothing wrong with the slugger, who came out for a pinch runner Saturday in the ninth inning.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rockies beat Giants, avoid sweep
MLB
SAN FRANCISCO — Jhoulys Chacin allowed one hit in seven scoreless innings for his first major league win, Melvin Mora hit a two-run single and the Colorado Rockies avoided a three-game sweep by beating the San Francisco Giants 4-1 on Sunday.
Chacin (1-0) struck out seven and didn't allow a hit until Matt Downs' two-out double in the fifth, one of only a couple of well-struck balls he gave up as he kept attacking hitters deep into the game.
GIANTS
Paul Phillips drew a bases-loaded walk from lonathan Sanchez (2-2) in the fourth to put Colorado ahead 1-0 and Ryan Spillorburs also singled home a run in the
San Francisco's Aubrey Huff homered for the second straight day, leading off the ninth with a drive against Manny Corpas.
The Rockies snapped their seasonworst three-game losing streak.
25 at Coors Field.
for the second straight series, the Giants lost the finale with a chance to sweep. San Francisco still finished an impressive 6-3 homestand against three 2009 playoff teams: St. Louis, Philadelphia and Colorado.
The Rockies earned a rare victory in the Giants' waterfront ballpark, where Colorado won for only the third time in the last 12 games.
San Francisco leadoff man and center fielder Aaron Rowand went 1 for 4 with two strikeouts in his return from the disabled list. He missed time with small fractures of his left cheekbone and a mild concussion after he was hit by a pitch from Vicente Padilla on April 16.
The 22-year-old Chacin walked three in his second career start and 11th big league appearance, shutting down a San Francisco lineup that scored 11 runs in the first two games. The right-hander, in the rotation because of all the injuries to the Rockies' pitching staff, made his major league debut against the Giants in the ninth inning last July
Jason Giambi, in the lineup as Todd Helton got the day off, had his 19th career stolen base and first since June 22, 2008, against Cincinnati while with the Yankees.
The Rockies still must go to San Diego and Los Angeles on this nine-game road trip during a stretch of 12 straight games against NL West teams.
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
DETROIT — It was his first football practice in almost two years. Wearing a helmet again actually made his neck hurt. And here was linebacker Caleb Campbell, in his first 1-on-1 drill, facing running back Jahvid Best, a first-round pick.
Military cadet gets chance in football
"Welcome back," Campbell said with a laugh Friday, after the first practice of Lions rookie orientation. "It's a blessing that I'm even here."
Two years ago, Campbell was an inspiring story. He was a West Point cadet hoping to play in the NFL while on active duty thanks to an alternative service policy. He
in uniform, drawing chants of "USA!" The Lions took him in the seventh round.
attended the draft in Radio C it y Mus i c Hall in New York,
Now, Campbell's story might be even more inspiring. Although the Army ended up ordering Campbell elsewhere two years ago, after a battle over that policy, he never gave up. Finally, 1st Lt. Campbell is getting his chance.
"Every morning I woke up and there was just this little nagging voice in my heart, in my head, saying, 'Hey, it's not over yet,' Campbell said. "And I listened to it."
Campbell went through rookie camp and organized team activities with the Lions two years ago. He was to sign a contract. But the day before training camp, he woke from a nap with his agent telling him to report to team headquarters.
"I'm like, 'Am I getting cut already?" Campbell said.
Campbell never saw that contract, let alone signed it. He learned the Army policy had been changed. It had been controversial from the start, and there had been interservice squabbling with the Navy and Air Force about how athletes in different branches of the military didn't have equal opportunity.
"It was definitely a time of confusion for me and kind of like, 'Whoa. Wait. Am I ever going to play football again?'" Campbell said. "When I first came back, I sat down with the superintendent of West Point, and he kind of explained to me what went on, and it was way over my head. I just kind of looked at him like, 'Really? OK.' And he was just like, 'Yeah, really.'"
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