Carriker's homer in bottom of eighth gives Georgia Little League title, 3-2 over Japan

By GENARO C. ARMAS, AP Sports Writer
August 26, 2007

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) -- Make it three straight Little League World Series championships for the United States.

Dalton Carriker homered to right in the bottom of the eighth inning as Warner Robins, Ga., beat Tokyo 3-2 in a thrilling title game on Sunday.

The 12-year-old Carriker raised his arms in celebration after hitting a 2-1 pitch from Japan's Junsho Kiuchi over the right-field stands. "USA! USA!" cried the Georgia-partisan crowd.

Columbus, Ga., won the crown last year, and Ewa Beach, Hawaii, in 2005.

The jubilant kids from Warner Robins hugged Carriker as he reached the plate. A relieved manager Mickey Lay lost his hat after joining his team in celebration following a tense game marked by excellent pitching.

Georgia reliever Kendall Scott struck out 10 and allowed one hit over five-plus innings to quiet Japan's bats after Georgia fell behind 2-0 early. Zane Conlon got the last out in the top of the eighth after Scott left the game.

That set up Carriker's game-winning homer. The slugger, hitting .769 entering Sunday's game, was 0-for-2 with a walk when he came up in the eighth.

There was no doubt about his opposite-field shot, which easily cleared the hedges beyond the right-field fence.

After exchanging handshakes with players from Japan, Georgia players took hold of the championship banner, their proud parents snapping pictures from the stands.

Warner Robins kept the trophy in the state.

The previous two Georgia teams to advance to South Williamsport also won the title, including Columbus last year and East Marietta in 1983.

Also, the United States' three-year title streak is the longest since 1959-1966, an eight-year stretch of American victories.

Scott struck out the side in the top of the sixth, fooling Japan hitters with his curveball. He pumped his fist as he headed to the dugout after getting Kazutaka Kato swinging, and fans waved U.S. flags in the stands.

But Georgia couldn't come through in the bottom of the sixth inning with a runner on first and one out.

Kiuchi struck out Taylor Lay and Nick Martens to send the title game into extra innings for the first time since Hawaii beat Curacao 7-6 in seven innings in 2005.

Japan starter Ryo Kanekubo pitched three-hit ball through five innings before being pulled after reaching Little League's 85-pitch limit.

He was buoyed by a small, but vocal fan club whose rhythmic cheers and bright red hats made them stand out in a crowd heavily favoring the Americans.

Leading 1-0, Japan added a run in the second inning after Masaya Ogino laced a bouncer up the middle that went off starter Keaton Allen with the bases loaded. The ball settled between first and second base, allowing Ryo Ogawa to trot home from third.

A sliding catch by David Umphreyville, Jr. in center ended the inning and seemed to pump up Warner Robins players as they ran excitedly off the field.

In the bottom of the second, Georgia put runners on the corners when Allen hit a high fly ball on a check swing that kept carrying over the head of center fielder Hiroki Takewaki.

The ball finally landed on the warning track, clearing the bases to tie the score at 2.

Scott then came on to settle Georgia down on the mound.

Broncos Request Shorts and Pads For Third Preseason Game

August 20, 2007 8:00 AM

I figured most Broncos fans would be embarrassed by the fact their players accused the Cowboys of playing too hard in their 31-20 preseason victory Saturday. Turns out I was wrong.

Some of you guys joined the whine festival that began in the Broncos post-game locker room and spilled into a Denver Post game story that led with the words "Those Dallas Cowboys must be proud."

In response to all the criticism, Phillips has promised to hold up a homemade sign that reads, "We're Coming!" before each blitz the next time the Broncos come to town.

Phillips seemed hurt by the suggestion that he took advantage of his former team as he ripped open a bag of Gummi Bears. In a moment of rare candor, Phillips blurted, "They blitzed us, too. We picked it up."

I'm sure the league enjoyed hearing Broncos safety John Lynch talk about the unwritten rule of not going all out during preseason since this isn't reflected in ticket prices.

I'll be interested to see if Phillips issues a formal apology today for his team's overzealous behavior Saturday night. And a special thanks to my Broncos audience for driving up our traffic.

John Lynch, Wade Phillips

RIP Currents you need to know

• Clayton: Shanahan goes to extremes to better Broncos (today)

Broncos have new look on both sides of ball

A 9-7 record in 2006 simply wasn't good enough for Broncos coach Mike Shanahan. So, after his team's struggles down the stretch caused it to miss the playoffs, Shanahan turned the Broncos into the NFL's version of "Extreme Makeover."

A defense that dropped to 12th in the league in 2006 -- after finishing in the top four in both 2004 and 2005 -- will look much different this season. Shanahan changed defensive coordinators and remade the unit along the line, at linebacker and in the secondary.

On the offensive side of the ball, the coach changed running backs, spent $6 million a year for tight end Daniel Graham and opened up the right-guard position.

If this were New York, Shanahan would be called Steinbrenner and the roster intrigue would be bannered across the back page of tabloids.

"When you end up 9-7, you try to improve," Shanahan said. "Hopefully, we can."

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ENGLEWOOD, Colo -- Five observations from Denver Broncos training camp, gleaned from the team's practices:

Queens man in San Francisco for one day catches famous ball

Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images

Police escort the fan who caught Barry Bonds' ball out of the stadium.

NEW YORK -- Matt Murphy's stopover in San Francisco included a pretty wild ride, and it wasn't on a cable car.

The 21-year-old college student who grew up near Shea Stadium emerged from a mad scramble at AT&T Park on Tuesday night with a bloodied face and the city's most-prized souvenir: the ball from Barry Bonds' record 756th home run.

"I won the lottery," Murphy told The Daily News in a story posted on its Web site Wednesday. "I'm scraped up but nothing serious."

Murphy said the ball was "under lock and key."

"I'm going to be smart about what I do with it," he said. "Funny enough, I'm only keeping 51 percent of what the ball brings."

Murphy said the rest would go to a friend who went with him to the game, wearing an Alex Rodriguez jersey.

Hank Aaron statement on Bonds' achievement

"I would like to offer my congratulations to Barry Bonds on becoming baseball's career home run leader. It is a great accomplishment which required skill, longevity and determination.

Throughout the past century, the home run has held a special place in baseball, and I have been privileged to hold this record for 33 of those years. I move over now and offer my best wishes to Barry and his family on this historic achievement.

My hope today, as it was on that April evening in 1974, is that the achievement of this record will inspire others to chase their own dreams."

Record-tying 755 Barry'd

Barry Bonds celebrates with his batboy son, Nikolai, after hitting home run No. 755, driving a 2-1 pitch from Clay Hensley over the left-center field fence. Padres fans responded with a mix of boos and cheers.

Barry Bonds firmly placed Padres pitcher Clay Hensley and Petco Park in baseball's record books last night. Others will decide if an asterisk should be affixed.

Bonds, hitting an outside fastball off the second deck in left field, tied Hank Aaron as the majors' career home run leader.

No. 755, a leadoff drive off a 2-1 fastball in the second inning, went an estimated 382 feet, then caromed off an advertising board and down to a 33-year-old La Jolla man near the first row.

“The hard part is over,” said Bonds, who forwarded an autographed bat to Hensley. “This is the hardest thing I've done in my entire career.”

Said Hensley: “I felt like I played the game the right way. First and foremost, we're trying to win the game. I went after him and he got the pitch. I wasn't trying to pitch around him, and he hit the ball that was up.”

Bonds, 43, clapped as he headed to first base, then circled the bases to a standing ovation from the sellout crowd, although cheers were muted and boos were heard. Commissioner Bud Selig, a guest of Padres Chairman John Moores in the owner's suite, stood with his hands at his side, a subdued response that may have owed to allegations of steroid use that have followed Bonds. Several fans displayed asterisk signs. Aaron wasn't in the house.

PADRES 3, GIANTS 2 (12) Yesterday: Barry Bonds hits 755, but the Padres hang on to win in the 12th. Today: 1:05 p.m. at Petco; Giants' Noah Lowry (12-7, 3.32 ERA) vs. Justin Germano (6-6, 4.38 ERA) On the air: 4 San Diego,1090-AM, 105.7-FM

“Congratulations to Barry Bonds as he ties Major League Baseball's home run record,” Selig said in an issued statement. “No matter what anybody thinks of the controversy surrounding this event, Mr. Bonds' achievement is noteworthy and remarkable.”

The Padres went on to win 3-2 when Khalil Greene singled home Marcus Giles with one out and the bases loaded in the 12th inning.

Hensley, who slumped as Bonds trotted the basepaths, said he was upset mostly because the home run had tied the game 1-1. Two innings later, Hensley threw to Bonds a fat change-up, a 2-0 pitch that Bonds fouled off. Hensley missed well low with his next two pitches, and he again walked Bonds in the fifth.

BARRY BONDS: BY PITCH BY PITCH AT-BAT NO. 1 Inning: Second Pitcher: Clay Hensley Situation: Leading off Pitch 1: Called strike Pitch 2: Ball high Pitch 3: Ball high Pitch 4: Homers off an outside fastball, driving the ball 382 feet the opposite way off the face of the second deck in left to tie Hank Aaron for the all-time homer lead. AT-BAT NO. 2 Inning: Fourth Pitcher: Hensley Situation: Leading off Pitch 1: Ball outside Pitch 2: Ball outside Pitch 3: Strike, fouled back Pitch 4: Ball outside Pitch 5: Walks on outside fastball AT-BAT NO. 3 Inning: Fifth Pitcher: Hensley Situation: Runner on first, two out Pitch 1: Ball low and in the dirt Pitch 2: Ball low Pitch 3: Called strike Pitch 4: Ball inside Pitch 5: Walks on ball low and in the dirt AT-BAT NO. 4 Inning: Eighth Pitcher: Heath Bell Situation: None on, one out Pitch 1: Ball high Pitch 2: Ball high Pitch 3: Ball outside Pitch 4: Strike, called Pitch 5: Strike, fouled off third Pitch 6: Walks on outside fastball

When Bonds next batted in the eighth, Padres reliever Heath Bell was loudly booed for falling behind 3-0.

“I was upset that people booed me in my home,” Bell said. Bonds would walk a third time, on a 3-2 pitch from Bell, then was replaced by a pinch runner. Giants manager Bruce Bochy said Bonds will sit out today's game, which would increase chances that Bonds will surpass Aaron in San Francisco, where the Giants return tomorrow to host Washington and then Pittsburgh.

San Diego often has suited Bonds, who has hit more home runs here than any visiting player.

“I don't like that it was against one of my pitchers,” Bell said, “but it was good to see him tie the record. It was cool to be part of the game.”

Padres center fielder Mike Cameron, who was a little boy in Georgia when Aaron broke Babe Ruth's home run record in Atlanta, said it was “special” to see Bonds tie Aaron. “The guy has done a lot of good things,” he said.

Padres closer Trevor Hoffman said last summer that he was disappointed for Aaron and other hitters of previous generations whose records are under siege from players who dominated this, the so-called Steroid Era. But Hoffman also has said pitchers of his time also may have benefited from performance-enhancing drugs, and that he himself may have benefited from teammates who took them.

As a Padres minor leaguer in 2005, Hensley tested positive for a banned substance that he reportedly said was in a dietary supplement he ingested.

Skater Jake Brown suffers liver and lung contusions

Skateboarder's 45-foot fall in big air competition also causes small fractures in his vertebrae and a fracture in one hand.

Skateboarder Jake Brown, whose 45-foot free-fall Thursday night brought a hush to the Staples Center crowd, remains hospitalized after suffering contusions of the liver and lung, stress fractures in his vertebrae and a small fracture on the top of one hand.

Brown, 32, who was injured during the big air competition on the mega-ramp during a silver medalist performance, is expected to be released from California Hospital Medical Center Saturday or Sunday and make a full recovery.

"Doctors said there was no paralysis or anything like that," said Bryce Kanights, team manager for Adidas, which is among Brown's corporate sponsors.

Kanights was critical of X Games medical personnel for not immobilizing Brown immediately and placing him in a stretcher.

A hospital spokesman refused to discuss Brown's condition.

The Carlsbad skateboarder, who missed the transition after soaring nearly 20 feet above the 27-foot quarterpipe and landed backside-and-feet first on flat wood, lay motionless for about two minutes.

He was rolled over a minute or so later and helped to his feet eight minutes after the fall. He was then escorted to a hallway and placed in a wheelchair.

He also suffered a mild concussion and could not immediately remember performing a 720-degree spin across the 70-foot gap leading to the quarterpipe -- the first time that maneuver has been accomplished in competition.

But he was still in good spirits. "One of the first things he did was ask for Bubblicious gum," Kanights said.

Added mega-ramp pioneer Danny Way, who talked to Brown early Friday afternoon:

"Most people would have every bone in their body broke and be in ICU right now. Jake is hurt, but it's nothing he can't come back from and be fine in a couple of weeks."

pete.thomas@latimes.com

Associated Press

Already leading last night's X Games 13 Skateboard Big Air event going into his fifth and final jump, Encinitas' Jake Brown went for broke.

• Photo gallery
• Brown's towering drop draws gasps but leaves just a concussion

Video

• A terrifyingly big ramp greeted Big Air skateboarder Jake Brown at the Summer X-Games in Los Angeles. Brown lost control and crashed to the floor. He didn't move for nearly five minutes, but was able to walk off under his own power.
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Would you put Rod Smith in the Hall? AA YAHEA

Would you put him in the Hall?

August 1, 2007 8:10 AM

Posted by Mike Sando

In Denver they're wondering if Rod Smith has played his final down for the Broncos, and in the NFL. It's a fair question. Smith is 37 years old and he has not yet returned from offseason hip surgery. He's coming off a 512-yard season. His 9.8-yard average was the lowest of his career - by far.

Jerry Rice also hit a career low at age 37 when he averaged 10.7 yards per catch in his final season with the 49ers (2000). Conventional wisdom said Rice was finished. All he did was catch 175 balls for Oakland over the next two seasons, and 63 in the season after that.

Smith is no Rice, but he does have eight 1,000-yard seasons. And it's not as though the Broncos' roster is packed with proven starting receivers beyond Javon Walker. Smith has a chance to take back his job if that hip doesn't stop him.

Check out Smith's career stats (849 catches, 13.4-yard average), consider his production during the Broncos' championship seasons and tell me if you'd put him in the Hall of Fame, or why you would keep him out.

Rod Smith, Jerry Rice, Broncos

Pro Football Hall of Fame Top 20 - Leading Lifetime Receivers
(At the Start of the 2005 Season)
Rank		Player	League	Yrs.	No.	Yards	Avg.	TD
1	(1)	JERRY RICE	NFL	20	1,549	22,895	14.8	197
2	(2)	Cris Carter	NFL	16	1,101	13,899	12.6	130
3	(3)	TIM BROWN	NFL	17	1,094	14,934	13.7	100
4	(4)	Andre Reed	NFL	16	951	13,198	13.9	87
5	(5)	Art Monk	NFL	16	940	12,721	13.5	68
6	(6)	Irving Fryar	NFL	17	851	12,785	15.0	84
7	(12)	MARVIN HARRISON	NFL	9	845	11,185	13.2	98
8	(7)	Larry Centers	NFL	14	827	6,797	8.2	28
9	(8)	Steve Largent *	NFL	14	819	13,089	16.0	100
10	(9)	Shannon Sharpe	NFL	14	815	10,060	12.3	62
11	(10)	Henry Ellard	NFL	16	814	13,777	16.9	65
12	(17)	JIMMY SMITH	NFL	12	792	11,264	14.2	61
13	(20)	ISAAC BRUCE	NFL	11	777	11,753	15.1	74
14	(11)	James Lofton *	NFL	16	764	14,004	18.3	75
15	(16)	KEENAN McCARDELL	NFL	13	755	9,763	12.9	53
16T	(13T)	Charlie Joiner *	AFL-NFL	18	750	12,146	16.2	65
16T	(13T)	Michael Irvin	NFL	12	750	11,904	15.9	65
18	(15)	Andre Rison	NFL	12	743	10,205	13.7	84
19	(--)	MARSHALL FAULK	NFL	11	723	6,584	9.1	35
20	(--)	ROD SMITH	NFL	10	712	9,772	13.7	59

West Coast Offense

Bill Walsh: Influence of famed coach far-reaching

Memories of a legend

BILL WALSH: 1931-2007

Because of Bill Walsh, I learned that a Hall of Fame head coach put on his pants one leg at a time. Or, 15 years later, that a Hall of Fame coach put on my blazer one arm at a time.

Let me explain: I met Walsh when I was an 18-year-old sportswriter.

As a writer for The Stanford Daily, I went to interview Walsh. You have to understand, I grew up in Alabama, where my concept of the Head Coach As Deity took root. Coaches, or at least a certain one in my state, walked on water. That was the genesis of a popular Crimson Tide bumper sticker of my youth: "I Believe."

I went into Walsh's office with some trepidation. I didn't have any business in there. Why would he answer my questions? What was I doing asking them? And would my flop sweat ruin the chair in front of his desk?

Walsh couldn't have been more accommodating. In fact, he was too accommodating. We take it for granted now, three Super Bowl victories later, but in 1978, the notion that a head coach scripted his first 15 plays seemed novel.

Bill Walsh, left, eventually got to wear his own blazer. Ivan Maisel got his story.

As my colleague and I interviewed Walsh, he offered to share his play script with us. I don't remember the plays. I don't even remember the opponent. What I remember is the terror that overcame me.

This is supposed to be secret.

I can't know this.

Why is he telling me this?

The secrets survived, despite my coming unglued, and somewhere in a dusty volume of the Daily lies what is surely an unreadable story. Walsh went 8-4 in that, his second season at Stanford. Then he left to go 25 minutes up Highway 101 and coach the San Francisco 49ers.

Our paths did not cross again until the early 1990s, after he returned to Stanford to replace Dennis Green.

Walsh came to Dallas to speak at a luncheon. As the college football writer for The Dallas Morning News, I arrived at his hotel for a scheduled interview over breakfast. I showed up in a blazer and tie. He came down to the lobby wearing a sweat suit and a sheepish look.

"My luggage didn't arrive," he said. "I'm supposed to speak at this luncheon and I don't know what I'm going to do."

He was distracted and distraught. I needed him to be on his game. I had a story to write.

"What size sport coat do you wear?" I asked.

"Forty-two long," he said.

"That's what I'm wearing," I said. "Why don't you wear mine?"

He protested, but not very long. He wore my blazer during a pre-luncheon news conference. As we headed toward the hotel ballroom for the luncheon, a bellman raced up with Walsh's luggage. Walsh took off my blazer, and I put it on. I wish I had had a camera to record for posterity the strange looks from the people milling around him.

Afterward, someone took a picture of the two of us that I still have in my desk. I pulled it out the other day and looked at it.

I think he looked better in my blazer than his.

Ivan Maisel is a senior writer at ESPN.com.

----------------------------------------------------------------
NAME: William Ernest Walsh.

BORN: Nov. 30, 1931; DIED: July 30, 2007
BIRTHPLACE: Los Angeles.
COACH: Three Super Bowl titles with San Francisco (1982, 1985, 1989); 6 NFC West division titles; 102-63-1 overall in 10 NFL seasons; 17-7 at Stanford from 1977-78, then 17-17-1 there from 1992-94. Also assistant coach with Oakland (1966), Cincinnati (1968-75) and San Diego (1976). Mentored many NFL coaches and assistants.
FAMILY: Wife, Geri; two children, Craig and Elizabeth. Son Steve, died of leukemia at age 46 in 2002.
HONORS: NFL coach of the year 1981; NFC coach of the year 1984; NFL 1980's All-Decade team. Named 49ers general manager in 1982 and president in 1985, then took both positions again from 1999-2001. Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, as well as the Bay Area Hall of Fame and Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame.