Sunday, April 25, 2010

A Better Way To Coach Kids

Taking in my first youth baseball game involving my own boys the other day, I realized times have truly changed. Granted, this is the Shetland level, featuring almost 5 through 6-year-olds. Expectations are not terribly high and neither are the performances, but you’d never know it to listen to the coaches, who are constantly encouraging and endlessly supportive.

The result seems to be happy players who look forward to practices and games.

So sitting at Koko Head District Park and watching the next generation of aspiring baseball players, I was grateful that the Hawaii Kai League has adopted the strategies of the Stanford University-based Positive Coaching Alliance, where positive reinforcement is emphasized and negative juju is discouraged.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Sam Bradford, Ndamukong Suh top 2010 NFL draft

Starting with quarterback Sam Bradford going to the St. Louis Rams, the first NFL draft in prime time was a showcase for the Big 12.

The Oklahoma junior became the eighth quarterback since 2001 taken atop the draft. He was immediately followed Thursday night by defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska, the AP player of the year; and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and offensive tackle Trent Williams, Bradford's teammates with the Sooners.

Tennessee safety Eric Berry, also an All-American, went fifth to Kansas City, breaking the Big 12 stranglehold. Berry, noted for his versatility, also has the potential to play cornerback.

Then it was back to the Big 12 for Oklahoma State offensive tackle Russell Okung, who went to Seattle, where perennial Pro Bowl blocker Walter Jones is expected to announce his retirement on Thursday.

Florida cornerback Joe Haden was chosen by Cleveland, followed by Alabama inside linebacker Rolando McClain to Oakland. Both were All-Americans last season.

That also gave the Southeastern Conference three picks in the first eight, showing how highly the NFL regarded those two conferences.

Clemson's C.J. Spiller went to the Buffalo Bills with the ninth pick, becoming the first running back taken in the draft and prompting plenty of "Oh, no" responses from Giants fans in the packed theater. McClain and Spiller were considered main targets for the Giants.

Jacksonville took California defensive tackle Tyson Alualu, projected as a second-rounder by many, Jaguars with the 10th pick, a surprising move for a franchise that desperately needed a big-name player to boost sagging ticket sales. The Jaguars blacked out nine of 10 home games last season because they could not sell out the games.

The Chargers moved up from 28th overall to 12th in a trade with Miami to select Fresno State running back Ryan Mathews. Mathews, the nation's leading rusher at 150.7 yards a game, is expected to replace LaDainian Tomlinson, who was released in February after nine brilliant seasons in which he became one of the greatest running backs in NFL history.

After trading down twice, the Denver Broncos traded up in the draft to take Tim Tebow with the Ravens' 25th pick.

The selection of the Florida quarterback drew the loudest reaction -- a mix of cheers and boos -- from the audience. Denver gave up picks in the second, third and fourth rounds.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Lorena Ochoa is retiring

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Lorena Ochoa is retiring, just as Annika Sorenstam did two years ago, leaving the struggling LPGA Tour without its No. 1 player again and depriving the sport of one of its great ambassadors.

Ochoa, probably the best-known athlete in Mexico who is not a soccer player, announced her surprise decision Tuesday and will discuss her plans Friday.

The 28-year-old Mexican got married last year, setting off speculation she might be putting golf aside to raise a family. She has been No. 1 in the world the last three years and won 27 times over the last six.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Majam hits it in the parking lot

After her previous 21 home runs, Kelly Majam made a point to maintain her game face as she crossed the plate.

When No. 22 flew out of the park yesterday, the Hawaii freshman allowed herself to enjoy it a little bit more.

"I definitely was smiling and pretty happy about it," Majam said after breaking the Rainbow Wahine softball program's single-season home run record.

Majam, the nation's home run leader, helped ignite No. 25 Hawaii's 15-1 five-inning rout of Boise State at Mountain Cove Field in Idaho by passing the mark set by Kate Robinson in 2008.

Majam said she turned on a pitch high and inside and pulled it down the right-field line for three-run shot to move within one homer of the Western Athletic Conference record set by Fresno State's Christina Clark in 2004.

"It hit a car in the parking lot," UH head coach Bob Coolen said. "The first fence is 220 feet, the second is 230. It hit a car in the second row of parking, so it was a good 240, 250 feet easy."

***

[5/15/10] Hawaii's season of outrageous offense turned surreal yesterday.

The 21st-ranked Rainbow Wahine broke the NCAA record for home runs in a season during a 14-run third inning in their 16-1 win over rival Fresno State and moved within a win of the program's first Western Athletic Conference softball tournament title.

Hawaii sent 20 batters to the plate in the third and scored seven runs before the first out was recorded in Las Cruces, N.M. By the time Fresno State finally got out of the interminable half inning, the Wahine produced 13 hits in a series of line drives and bloopers and two blasts.

"In the dugout, it was just really loud," UH shortstop Jessica Iwata said. "Everyone was upbeat and excited. Some of us came around (to hit) three times, it was crazy."

Hawaii tied the previous single-season home run record of 134, set by Arizona last year, in Thursday's 16-8 win over San Jose State. Iwata gave Hawaii sole possession of the mark with No. 135, a three-run homer to left field in the third. Fellow freshman Kelly Majam added a grand slam later in the inning.

"It felt great. We were looking forward to breaking that record for a while," Iwata said.

BJ Penn beaten by Edgar

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates >> In the UFC’s first show in the Middle East and its first outdoors, heavy underdog Frankie Edgar won a unanimous decision over BJ Penn on Saturday night to claim the lightweight title at UFC 112.

Anderson Silva also successfully defended his middleweight title with a unanimous decision over fellow Brazilian Demian Maia, and Matt Hughes stopped veteran Renzo Gracie with 20 seconds left in the third round.

The bouts were held in a temporary arena next to a theme park outside the city center of the United Arab Emirates’ capital, with the humidity and heat making takedowns particularly difficult.

Penn (15-6-1) had been the UFC’s lightweight champion since January 2008, but Edgar (12-1) picked him apart with energy and movement. Although Penn and Edgar spent nearly the entire fight on their feet trading strikes, the 8-1 underdog from Toms River, N.J., even took down Penn twice, the first time Penn had been taken down in six years at lightweight.

Edgar won all five rounds on one judge’s scorecard and four rounds on another. He collapsed to his knees when the decision was announced.

“I just hope I can be half the champion he was,” said Edgar, who has been an assistant coach for the Rutgers wrestling team.

Silva (26-4) has been the middleweight champion since October 2006. He put on a strange performance in the main event, teasing and taunting his overmatched opponent early on. Silva even stood with his hands on his hips during the second round before bloodying Maia’s face in the third.

But the champion slowed in the late rounds, twice forcing the referee to order him to fight. Maia finished with his nose badly injured and his left eye swollen shut, but kept attacking while the crowd chanted his name.

“I apologize to everybody,” Silva said through a translator. “I don’t know what got into me tonight. I wasn’t as humble as I should have been. I can guarantee you next time it won’t happen.”

After cleaning out the middleweight division, Silva’s next fight could be against welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, who attended the show. The Abu Dhabi crowd chanted “G-S-P!” during a dull part of Silva’s fight.

Hughes (45-7), the UFC’s former welterweight champion, appeared to be toying with the 43-year-old Gracie until the final minute of the third round, repeatedly backing off after staggering the veteran with relentless right leg kicks and punches. Hughes finally finished with a flurry of punches, leaving Gracie (13-7-1) defenseless.

“Renzo came out throwing wide, looping, strong punches, so I tried to stay in tight, move away and just do things real simple,” Hughes said. “I’m fighting a Gracie, somebody like Renzo, I’ve got to put the odds on my side.”

Gracie is a familiar face in Abu Dhabi, where he travels about 10 times every year as an MMA coach. Although he has won championships in several MMA promotions, the fight was Gracie’s UFC debut.

“It was very hard,” Gracie said. “It was two years and a half without training at all, and then I got six months to train for a guy like that. It wasn’t an easy task. I’ll be back for sure.”

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Don Nelson sets career wins record

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)—Don Nelson, one of the NBA’s true mavericks, is now the league’s winningest coach.

Nelson set the career record for victories in the Golden State Warriors’ 116-107 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night, notching win No. 1,333 to surpass Lenny Wilkens.

Stephen Curry had 27 points, 14 assists, eight rebounds and a career-high seven steals and Anthony Tolliver(notes) scored a career-high 34 points to get Nelson over the hump.

He is 1,333-1,061 in 31 seasons on the bench.

Kevin Love had 17 points and 18 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who cut a 27-point deficit 108-104 with 43.6 seconds left.

But the Warriors closed the game out at the free throw line and Ronny Turiaf(notes) poured a cup of Gatorade onto Nelson’s gray head of hair as the team engulfed their 69-year-old coach to celebrate.

It was extra special for Nelson to do it in Minnesota. He has a daughter who lives in the Minneapolis suburb of Minnetonka and had 20 family and friends at the game, including his wife.

He wasn’t in the reflecting mood before the game, but said he has been in contact with Wilkens as he has approached the record.

“Lenny’s been an idol of mine for a long time,” he said.

***

Nelson still has a little ways to go to catch Wilkens in career losses. Wilkens coaching career record was 1,332 wins and 1,155 losses. But, if he sticks to his plan of retiring after next season, he won't get there.

Friday, April 02, 2010

The $184 Million Mauer

March 22 (Bloomberg) -- Joe Mauer received a $184 million contract from the Minnesota Twins that’s the fourth largest in Major League Baseball history and may keep the All-Star catcher with his hometown team through 2018.

Mauer, 26, was voted the American League Most Valuable Player last season after hitting .365 in 138 games for the Twins with 28 home runs and 96 runs batted in. He made the All-Star team for a third time and won a second Gold Glove Award as the best defensive catcher in the league.

Mauer’s contract will pay him an average of $23 million over eight seasons from 2011-18 and includes a full no-trade clause, the Twins said yesterday in a news release.

“I was like, ‘Wow, that’s a lot of money,’” Twins center fielder Denard Span said in comments on the team’s Web site. “That was my first initial reaction, and my second reaction was, if anybody is worth it, it’s him.”

The total value trails only two contracts signed by Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter’s $189 million deal with the New York Yankees. Rodriguez signed a 10-year, $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers in 2001 and a 10-year, $275 million accord with the Yankees in 2008.

Mauer’s contract almost equals the $185 million the Twins contributed to construction of their new stadium, Target Field, which opens this season.