Sports

SUSSEX COUNTY’S DAILY NEWSPAPER 

Sports 

Sunday, May 6, 2007 NEW JERSEY SUNDAY HERALD B—1 

AP Photo/Morry Gash 

Calvin Borel rides Street Sense to victory in the 133rd Kentucky 

Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., Saturday. 

By BETH HARRIS 

AP Sports Writer 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Street 

Sense roared from next-to-last in a 

20-horse field to win the Kentucky 

Derby, putting trainer Carl 

Nafzger back in the winner’s circle 

17 years after his first visit. 

“I can’t believe it, I can’t believe 

it. This is the toughest race in the 

world to win,” Nafzger said. 

Street Sense broke two Derby 

jinxes to score the win under jockey 

Calvin Borel, who was 0-for-4 in 

the race. 

In beating Hard Spun by 2 1 ⁄2 

HORSE RACING: 

KENTUCKY DERBY 

lengths, Street Sense became the 

first Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner 

to return in the spring and win 

on the first Saturday in May, snapping 

an 0-for-23 skid. He did so on 

the same Churchill Downs track 

where he won the Juvenile six 

months ago. He was also the first 

2-year-old champion to win the 

Derby since Spectacular Bid in 

1979. 

Street Sense was sent off as the 

9-2 favorite on his hometown track. 

Street Sense wins Derby 

The colt ran 1 1 ⁄4 miles in 2:02.17 

and paid $11.80, $6.40 and $4.60 

as the highest-priced winning 

favorite in Derby history. 

Smarty Jones paid $10.20 to win 

in 2004. 

Hard Spun returned $9.80 and 

$7, while Curlin was another 5 3 ⁄4 

lengths back in third and paid $5.60 

to show. 

While it was Nafzger’s second 

win in three tries, trainer Todd 

Pletcher, who had a record-tying 

five horses, was skunked again. He 

is now 0-for-19 in the Derby. 

See DERBY, Page B6 

A win from behind 

Street Sense won 

the Kentucky 

Derby coming 

from a next-to-last 

beginning before 

a royal crowd 

Saturday. 

Time: 2:02 WIN PLACE SHOW 

Street Sense $11.80 6.40 4.60 

Hard Spun 

9.80 7.00 

Curlin 

5.60 

AP 

HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL: 

SCIL NOTEBOOK 

Spartans 

face a very 

busy week 

By ANDREW GOODMAN 

agoodman@njherald.com 

Sparta is one of the eight 

teams left in the Sussex County 

Coaches Baseball Tournament. 

The Spartans earned the spot 

Saturday, with a 8-3 win over 

Newton. They’ll play Jefferson 

next Saturday at noon in the 

quarterfinals. 

Sparta triumphed Saturday 

because of eight runs in the first 

two innings. Colby Thompson 

and Pat Driscoll drove in two 

apiece. 

The Spartans’ ability to take 

pitches and draw walks overcame 

their four hits and inability 

to score after the second inning. 

“(Scoring runs early) was definitely 

the key,” Sparta coach Sam 

Slobodzian said. “The past couple 

of game we’ve been able to do 

that.” 

Sparta took advantage of 

Newton starter Rob Corcoran, 

who is in his first season as a 

full-time varsity player. Newton 

coach John Selitto said Corcoran 

may have been anxious knowing 

what was at stake. 

“Corcoran was a little nervous,” 

Selitto said. “He had a little 

trouble finding the plate.” 

Still, Newton tried to fight 

back. It scored three runs in the 

third inning, and loaded the 

bases three times. 

The problem was they didn’t 

cash in on those opportunities. 

Sparta pitcher Pat O’Leary made 

sure of that. He got out of the 

jams and in six innings he struck 

out 11. 

BASEBALL: SUSSEX COUNTY CHALLENGER LITTLE LEAGUE 

The 

Let’s 

Yankees’ Gerard Torsiello, 9, is encouraged by Challenger 

Play 

Little League coaches as he takes his at bat during 

Ball 

the April 28 game against the Mets. 

See NOTEBOOK, Page B5 

MLB: YANKEES 8, 

MARINERS 1 

Yankees 

bounce 

back from 

loss to M’s 

By JAY COHEN 


NEW YORK — Always unflappable, 

Chien-Ming Wang was nearly 

unhittable. Almost perfect, in 

fact. 

Wang carried his bid for a perfect 

game into the eighth inning 

before Ben Broussard homered 

with one out, leading the New York 

Yankees over the Seattle Mariners 

8-1 Saturday. 

Facing a Mariners team that got 

season highs of 15 runs and 20 hits 

the previous night, Wang (1-2) was 

in control the whole way. 

Wang got Richie Sexson to roll 

back to him for the first out of the 

eighth, but Broussard followed 

with a home run to right-center 

field. 

The Yankee Stadium crowd 

saluted Wang with a long, standing 

ovation. The right-hander stood 

behind the mound for a moment 

with his hat off, briefly clenched his 

jaw and wiped sweat from his 

brow. Catcher Jorge Posada went 

to the mound to talk to Wang. 

Jose Guillen was up next, and he 

singled. Kenji Johjima then 

bounced into a double play to end 

the inning. Wang walked slowly to 

the dugout as some of his teammates 

ran past him, giving him a 

pat on the back on their way to the 

bench. 

Challenger Little League enables every kid to be a star 

J 

EFFERSON — The mothers 

were standing along the 

infield grass and in the 

bleachers, wiping away tears 

behind their sunglasses. 

Fathers and neighborhood kids 

were watching from the dugout or 

helping out on the field — cheering, 

encouraging, turning every event into 

a monumental accomplishment. 

Other parents were bunched along 

the fence, snapping pictures of inspiration 

in motion. 

For two innings in Jefferson last 

month, the kids in uniform were not 

mentally or physically challenged. 

They were just baseball players. 

They were kids like 9-year-old 

Gerard Torsiello, whose cerebral 

palsy left him permanently on crutches 

and unable to emulate his heroes 

on the New York Yankees. 

Before this year, the local little 

league had no room for a kid with CP. 

But there he was on that magical 

Jefferson diamond April 21, scooting 

around the bases like Derek Jeter. 

“When he wants to get somewhere, 

he’ll get there fast,” his mother, Kim 

Torsiello, said. “When he’s going to 

the school bus, he’ll never go this 

fast.” 

They were players like 5-year-old 

Jimmy Barrows, whose epilepsy and 

other undiagnosed afflictions left him 

too small for his uniform and unable 

to lift or swing a bat. 

But Jimmy got a base hit with the 

aid of his mother, Ann, who smiled as 

she carried her son around the bases. 

Torsiello is called safe at home by Scott Luker on April 28 in Challenger 

Little League game between the Yankees and the Mets. Luker founded the 

Jefferson league to give children with disabilities an opportunity to play 

organized baseball. 

Jimmy was grinning too, the crowd 

cheering as if he had just clinched 

Game 7 of the World Series. 

“I’ve been trying to get him outdoors, 

get him around other children,” 

Ann said. “This gives him 

more of an opportunity to do that. 

This is a great thing they’ve done 

here.” 

Jimmy and Gerard were part of the 

first-ever Jefferson Challenger Little 

League game, the kind of event that 

Story by STEFAN BONDY 

has more to do with small victories 

than line drives into the gap. There 

are very few rules to Challenger 

baseball. The games are only two 

innings and each player is accompanied 

by a buddy — a sibling, parent or 

local Little Leaguer. 

There are no outs. No score. Every 

fourth batter knocks a grand slam 

until each kid bats once per inning. 

Nobody loses. 

Everybody wins. 

Because this opening day was the 

first time many of these kids ever 

played organized ball, there were 

moments that strayed from the rulebook. 

The second batter hit the ball the 

wrong way — straight into the 

umpire. 

One kid ran the wrong way around 

the bases. Another wouldn’t part with 

his bat. 

One player hit a grounder, then ran 

out onto the field and picked it up. 

These lighthearted moments were 

greeted with smiles and words of 

encouragement from parents and 

coaches, who made sure nothing 

detracted from the feel-good atmosphere. 

In this way, Challenger baseball is 

the shining example of what youth 

baseball should be. There was no 

screaming at the umpire, no glares 

from parents, no forged birth certificates. 

The kids were having fun, the 

pressure off, emotions running free. 

“When you see these kids having 

so much fun, it’s such a great thing,” 

said Scott Luker, the founder of the 

Jefferson League and the father of 

Jakob, his 6-year-old autistic son. 

Luker deserves much of the credit 

for the opening day. After being 

inspired by a commercial during the 

Super Bowl on Challenger baseball, 

he laid the groundwork for 

Jefferson’s participation and presented 

the idea to the mayor. 

See CHALLENGER, Page B4 

Photos by CLAUDIO PAPAPIETRO 

Of the Herald 

See YANKEES, Page B5

B—2 NEW JERSEY SUNDAY HERALD Sunday, May 6, 2007 

SPORTS 

Skyhawks to host home run contest 

By Herald Staff 

The Sussex Skyhawks will 

host a home run contest for area 

high school and college athletes. 

The field is limited to the first 24 

players that register on a firstcome, 

first-serve basis. The 

tournament will be held every 

Friday in June with the finals 

being held July 4. 

For more information, call 

(973) 300-1000. 

 

Sussex County Community 

College will be hosting two 

camps this summer: a minicamp 

June 25-28 and a extended 

camp July 23-26. 

The mini-camp will be broken 

into two segments: pitching and 

hitting. The pitching camp is 

from 10 a.m. to noon, and the hitting 

camp is from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. 

Cost is $80 for each session. 

The extended camp runs from 

9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The mornings 

are geared toward individuals, 

and the afternoons focus on 

games. Cost is $135. 


(973) 300-2307. 

 

The Sussex Skyhawks are 

looking for host families for the 

upcoming season. A host family 

will provide lodging for a player 

from the beginning of May 

through the middle of 

September. Host families are not 

responsible for meals. 

In exchange for their generosity, 

a host family will receive four 

reserved seat season tickets and 

an invite to the pre-season party. 

The Skyhawks open the season 

on May 24 against the New 

Jersey Jackals. 

For more information, contact 

Seth Bettan at (973) 300-1000 ext. 

12 or email him at seth@sussexskyhawks.com. 

 

US Sports Camps/Nike 

Baseball Camp will be holding 

camps at Skylands Park. The 

three camps will run from 9 a.m. 

until 1 p.m. July 16-20, July 30- 

Aug. 2 and Aug. 20-24. Camp is 

open to boys ages 7 to 18. 

For registration information 

visit www.sussexskyhawks.com. 

Basketball 

 

Th Newton girls basketball 

clinic will be held June 25-28 for 

girls in fourth- through ninthgrade. 

The camp runs from 9 

a.m. to noon and costs $95. 

Applications can be picked up at 

the following schools: Merriam 

Ave., Halsted, Newton High, 

Florence M. Burd and Green. 

For an application, call (973) 

383-3521 ext. 228. 

 

Blair Academy will be hosting 

two camps this summer. The 

Blair Buccaneer Fundamental 

School will be held July 9-12 

from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. at 

Blairstown Elementary. Cost is 

$150 and the school is open to 

boys and girls ages 8 to 15. Space 

is limited. 

The Blair Individual Skills 

School will be held June 26-28 

from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the 

Blair Academy Walker Gym. 

Cost is $140 and the school is 

open to boys and girls ages 11 to 

17. Space is limited. 

For more information, call Joe 

Mantegna at (973) 362-6121 ext. 

5619 or email him at 

mantej@blair.edu. 

 

The second annual Burt 

Brazill Memorial Tournament 

will be held at the Mary, Mother 

of God Parish Center at 

Hillsborough High School for 

girls ages 10 to 17. 


Billy Brazill at (732) 906-3500 ext. 

262 or email him at billy@brazillbrothers.com. 

 


College will hold a boys and girls 

basketball camp this summer. 

The boys camp runs from July 

30-Aug. 2 and the girls camp 

runs from Aug. 6-9. Both camps 

run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Cost is 

$135. 

 

The Lady Cougars Basketball 

camp will be held July 16-20 

from 9-12 at Kittatinny Regional 

High School. The camp is for 

girls entering grades 4-8. All 

skill levels are welcome. The 

cost is 460. Registration is due 

by July 2. 

Contact Karen Ruitenberg at 

(973) 383-1800 ext 805 or email at 

krhscams@yahoo.com. 

 

The 13th Annual High Point 

Hoops Camps will be held this 

summer at High Point Regional 

High School. Cost is $85 for the 

boys camp, June 19-22, and $60 

for the Junior camp. Cost for the 

girls camp June 25-28 is also $85. 

For more information on the 

boys and junior camp please 

contact Seamus Campbell at 

(973) 875-3101 ext 514 or e-mail 

at scampbell@hpregional.org. 

For more information on the 

girls camp contact Chris Dexter 

at cdexter@hpregional.org. 

 

Bill Maranz will be offering a 

basketball camp at the Vernon 

PAL building July 30 through 

August 3. The camp runs from 9 

a.m. to 3 p.m. and is open to boys 

and girls ages 7 to 17. Cost is 

$145 for Vernon residents and 

$160 for out-of-towners. 

Download a registration form 

at www.vernontwp.com or for 

information call (973) 764-6607. 

 

Pope John will be hosting a 

number of sports camps this 

summer starting June 18 and 

running through August. Camps 

include: basketball, track and 

field, baseball, softball, field 

hockey, soccer, cheerleading, 

tennis, football, lacrosse and 

wrestling. Cost is $100 per camp 

per camper. 


(973) 300-6393 or visit www.popejohn.org. 

 

Day and 

Overnight 

Sessions 

For Beginners to 

Advanced Players 

Ramapo H.S. – Franklin Lakes, N.J. 

ALL Girl’s Soccer Camps Blair Academy – Blairstown, N.J. 

For more information call: 800-GOALS-33 

or visit: www.goalscamp.com 

Proudly 

sponsored by: 

Field hockey 

The Kittatinny Field Hockey 

camp will be held June 25-29 

from 9 a.m. to noon at Kittatinny 

Regional High School. The camp 

is for girls entering grades 4-9. 

There will be a goalie camp running 

at the same time. All skill 

levels welcome. The cost is $85. 

Registration due by June 11. 


(973) 383-1800 ext 805 or email at 


 

Kittatinny Field Hockey will 

host a summer camp for ninththrough 

12th-grades on 

Mondays and Wednesdays starting 

June 25 and ending July 25. 

The four-week program will consist 

of instruction and scrimmaging 

and will run from 5:45 

p.m. to 7:30 p.m.. The cost is $90. 

Registration is due by June 1. 


(973) 383-1800 ext 805 or email at 

krscams@yahoo.com. 

 

The Lady Braves Field 

Hockey Camp will be held July 

30 through Aug. 3 at Saint Paul’s 

Abbey on Route 209 in Newton. 

The camp will be for girls in 

fourth- through 12th-grade. All 

skill levels welcome. The cost is 

$120 and includes instructional 

time, insurance, facilities, equipment, 

camp T-shirt and guest 

speakers. 

Contact Lisa Bechtel at 

Newton High School at (973) 383- 

7573 ext. 223 for a camp 

brochure. 

Football 

 

The Wallkill Valley Junior 

Rangers Football and 

Cheerleading Association will 

hold signups for the fall season 

at the Franklin Pond Senior 

Center on May 18 (6 p.m. to 8 

p.m.), May 19 (9 a.m. to noon), 

June 1 (6 p.m. to 8 p.m.) and 

June 2 (9 a.m. to noon). Cost is 

$55 for flag football, $127 for 

Pony-Midget, $50 for flag football 

cheerleading and $180 for Pony- 

Midget cheerleading. 

Football coaches are also 

being sought. 

For more information, visit 

www.WVJFL.org. 

 

Penn State coach Jerry 

Sandusky will be holding a linebacker 

camp May 26 at 

Muhlenberg College for linebackers 

in sixth- through eighthgrade. 

The day will focus on fundamentals 

and drills. 


(814) 237-2638 or visit www.thesanduskyfootballcamp.com. 

 

Sparta little league football 

and cheerleading will be holding 

several events this year: The 

annual golf outing at Skyview 

Golf Course on June 21, the pancake 

breakfast, kids dance in 

September and the Milkbowl in 

November. 

For more information visit 

www.spartafootball.org. 

 

Newton youth football registration 

dates are set for May 18- 

19, June 8-9, 15-16 at Memory 

Park in Newton. Registration is 

opened to all children from the 

age 5 to 15. Birth certificate and 

proof of physical required at registration. 

For info, contact John Selitto 

at (973) 579-5079 or visit 

www.njal.org. 

 

Registrations for High Point 

midget football, flag football, and 

cheerleading will be held at the 

Sussex Firehouse on May 19 

from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., June 2 

from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. and June 8 

COMMUNITY BRIEFS 

from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. There is a 

$25 late fee after June 8. 

For more information call Rita 

Gallo at (973) 219-9625. 

Golf 

 

The Sussex-Warren Aquatic 

Club will hold its first annual golf 

outing May 18 at High Point Golf 

Club in Montague. Registration 

opens at 11:30 a.m. and golfing 

starts at 1 p.m. The tournament 

is a best ball scramble. Cost is 

$125 per individual or $500 for a 

foursome. 


Brad Hisel at (973) 293-3282. 

 

The Sussex County 

Community College golf outing 

will be held July 12 at the 

Skyview Golf Club in Sparta. 

Cost is $125 per golfer. 


(973) 300-2230. 

 

St. Stephen’s is hosting its 

fifth annual golf tournament at 

the Wild Turkey Golf Club in 

Hardyston. Cost is $160 per 

golfer, and includes box lunch, 

golf fees and a cart. Tickets for 

the after-golf dinner and entertainment 

are available for $55 a 

person. 


Terri McGill at (845) 988-1705 

 

The Farmstead women’s 

league is still looking for members 

for the 2007 season. The 18- 

hole league plays on Tuesday’s 

mornings at Farmstead Country 

Club. Annual league fee is $65 

plus weekly green fees. The 

league is looking for women with 

a 40 or lower handicap. 

For more info, call Deb at 

(973) 827-7120 or Janet at (973) 

377-6883. 

 

The fourth annual Sonnie 

Lehman Agency — Survivors’ 

Resources Tournament will be 

held May 7 at the Great Bear 

Golf and Country Club. The cost 

is $125 for the best ball, blind 

flight tournament. Cost includes 

continental breakfast, golf and 

cart, skill contest, prizes and 

awards luncheon buffet. 


Peggy Emmanuel at (570) 296- 

2827 or Sonnie Lehman at (570) 

296-6416. 

 

Saint Claire’s Hospital is holding 

the 30th annual Johnny 

Rizzo golf outing June 13 at High 

Point Country Club. RVSP by 

May 30 to attend. 

For more information visit 

www.saintclairesfoundation.org 

or call (973) 983-5300. 

 

Stillwater Firemen are holding 

their 14th annual golf outing 

June 29 at High Point Golf Club. 

The outing starts at 10 a.m., but 

players should arrive at 9 a.m. 

The price is $110 per person, 

$125 after June 8. 

Call (973) 579-1599 for more 

information. 

 

The annual Sarah Wells Girl 

Scout Council Golf Outing is 

being held May 21 at The Golf 

Club of Mansion Ridge in 

Monroe, N.Y. The event is open 

to all girl scout supporters. The 

individual player registration is 

$150. Registration will begin at 

7:30 a.m. followed by an 18-hole 

shotgun start at 9 a.m. 


Peggy Kral at (845) 361-2898 ext 

36 or e-mail her at 

peggy@sarahwellsgirlscouts.or 

g. You can also check the Sarah 

Wells Girl Scout Council website 

for further details at 

www.swgsc.org. 

Lacrosse 

 

The Jefferson Township 

Recreation Department will 

hold Falcons LAXFest on May 12 

from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the 

Fireman’s Field (Lakeside 

Field) on Route 15. The event 

will feature a full schedule of 

lacrosse games from thirdgrade 

through high school. 

 


Recreation Department, in conjunction 

with the U.S. Sports 

Institute, is offering clinics for 

kids between the ages of 7 and 

14. The clinic is for beginners 

and will be held at Chamberlain 

Field from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. beginning 

July 16 and running 

through July 20. Cost is $110 per 

child, and registration forms are 

being distributed through the 

Jefferson Township School 

District. 

For more information, call the 

recreation department (908) 534- 

8404. 

Running 

 

The Sparta Parks and 

Recreation Department will 

hold the 8-Mile Run Around 

Lake Mohawk on June 9 at 8 .m. 

Pre-registration is $10, day of 

the race is $15. 

To download the registration 

form, visit www.spartanj.org or 

e m a i l 

virginia.mohr@spartanj.org. 

The Healthy Heart Stillwater 

Stampede 5-kilometer race will 

be held June 2 at Swartswood 

Park. 


(973) 459-0448 or visit 

www.eteamz.com/bearsrunningclub. 

 

The X-Treme Youth Running 

Camp will be held Aug. 6-10 from 

9 a.m. to noon at Swartswood 

State Park. The camp is open to 

middle and high school kids. 

Space is limited. 


(973) 271-6624 or visit 

www.eteamz.com/xtremerunningcamp. 

Soccer 

 

The BreakAway Soccer camp 

will be held June 25-29 from 9 

a.m. to noon at the Sparta 

Evangelical Free Church. 

Registration deadline is June 8. 

The camp is open to kids in 

kindergarten through sixthgrade. 


(973) 300-1717. 

 

The High Point soccer club 

will hold fall and summer clinic 

registrations May 19 and June 2 

from 9 a.m. to noon at the Sussex 

Elks Club. Children ages 4 to 14 

in the High Point sending district 

are eligible to play. A copy 

of your child’s birth certificate is 

required. 

 

The High Point U14 girls travel 

team is looking for players for 

the fall 2007 and spring 2008 seasons. 

The team will play in the 

JAGS league and enter premiere 

tournaments each season. 

For more information, call Joe 

Hayes at (973) 702-2150. 

 


College will hold a soccer camp 

every Saturday in August from 9 

a.m. to 11 a.m. The camp will 

stress fundamentals and 

includes over 31 moves. 

Cost is $80. 


(973) 300-2307. 

John Fresella at (973) 209-4833 

or Greg Hoffman at (973) 209- 

2968. 

Softball 

 

An A-level 14U Pony team is 

looking for a freshman or second-year 

14U player to fill its 

final roster spot. 


(973) 713-2173. 

 


College will be hosting two 

camps this summer: a minicamp 

July 9-11 and a extended 

camp July 16-19. 

The mini-camp will be broken 

into two segments: pitching and 

hitting. The pitching camp is 

from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., and the hitting 

camp is from 10 a.m. to 

noon. Cost is $70 for each session. 

The extended camp runs from 

9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The mornings 

are geared toward individuals, 

and the afternoons focus on 

games. Cost is $135. 


(973) 300-2307. 

 

The New Jersey Senior 

Softball Association is looking 

for players. There are up to four 

levels of competition, 50-, 60-, 65- 

and 70-year-old age brackets. 

Leagues offer all-star games, a 

state championship tournament, 

and opportunities for playing in 

tournaments all season. 

Email pwhewett@msn.com or 

call (732) 925-7997. For more info 

visit our website, http://njssa.us. 

 

The North Jersey Angels fastpitch 

team is looking for 10 and 

under players for the upcoming 

tournament season. For tryout 

or general information, call Gary 

Tullo at (973) 980-3503 or email 

him at hr44gt@aol.com 

 

The North Jersey Tuesday 

Morning Senior League is looking 

for players to build another 

team in the Sussex County area. 

The league plays in West 

Orange, East Hanover and 

Randolph. The league is open to 

those 60 to 80 years old, and 

plays through September. 


Gene Staracco at (973) 361-3271, 

Don Slocum at (973) 748-6398 or 

Bob Thourot at (908) 362-8062. 

Tennis 

 


Recreation Department, in conjunction 

with Sy’s Guys and 

Gals, will be sponsoring a U.S. 

Tennis Association sanctioned 

instructional program this 

spring and summer. There will 

be five lessons of two levels of 

instruction. All classes will be 

held at the tennis courts at 

Chamberlain Park. 

Junior level instruction will be 

held from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. 

starting June 6. The sessions 

are open to children between the 

ages of 7 and 14, and the cost is 

$70 per person. 

Adult level instruction will be 

held from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. 

starting June 23. The cost is $70 

per person. 


(973) 663-8404. 

 

The Kittatinny Tennis Camp 

will be held July 9-13 from 9 a.m. 

to noon at Kittatinny Regional 

High School. The camp is for 

boys and girls ages 10 and up. All 

skill levels are welcome. The 

cost is $85. Registration is due 

by June 25. 


(973) 383-1800 ext 805 or email at 


 

OPENING DAY 

FIREWORKS 

MAY 24, 6:35 PM 

9 Fireworks Shows 

$1 Draft Beer/Soda Tuesdays 

10¢ Wings Thursdays 

Ladies’ Night Mondays 

Season Tickets • Mini Plans • Individual Tickets Available 

Augusta, NJ 

973.300.1000 • www.sussexskyhawks.com 

TICKET PRICES: Box Seats: $11.00 Reserved: $9.00 Gen Adm: $7.00 

Automagician will sell your 

car, truck, motorcycle, boat or any 

equipment on EBAY for YOU! 

Call Roger Ricciardelli at Automagician 

for your FREE consultation TODAY! 

973-222-3362 

“With over 20+ years of experience” 

 

The Lenape Valley Soccer 

Club is looking for volunteers to 

fill various positions including 

head and assistant coaches. For 

more information, call (973) 691- 

7070 or visit 

www.lenapesoccer.org. 

 

The Wallkill Valley travel club 

is looking for players from 

Sussex County for the upcoming 

fall season. Girls in seventh- or 

eighth-grade should contact 

The Third Annual High Point 

Tennis Camp will be held this 

summer at High Point Regional 

High School. Camp dates are as 

follows: boys and girls in fifththrough 

ninth-grade are June 

19-22 from 9 a.m. to noon; junior 

camp for third- through fifthgrades 

are June 18-20 from 1 

p.m. to 3 p.m. Rain dates are 

June 20 and 21. 

Cost is $85 and junior camp is 

$60. 

For more information contact 

Chris Dexter at (973) 875-3101 or 

e-mail 

at 

cdexter@hpregional.org. 

Send us your community brief, 

signup or golf outing. They can be 

emailed to sports@njherald.com, 

faxed to (973) 383-8477 or mailed to 

2 Spring St. Newton, NJ 07860.


COLLEGE SOFTBALL: REGION XIX TOURNAMENT 

Skylanders cap 

successful season 


EDISON — The Sussex 

County Community College 

Softball season came to a bittersweet 

end Saturday. 

The Skylanders were eliminated 

from the Region XIX 

Division II Junior College 

Tournament by Camden County 

College 4-3, a day after winning 

what coach Nick DeGennaro 

called the biggest game in the 

history of the program. 

On Friday, the Skylanders 

knocked off the 12-time Region 

XIX champion, No.1Brookdale. 

Down by one in the top of seventh, 

sophomore Kristen Rath’s 

double to the warning track 

sparked a three-run comeback. 

Kelly Apgar tied the score with 

an RBI single. 

“I’ve never been more proud 

of any team I’ve coached in my 

entire life,” DeGennaro said. 

“We didn’t earn a metal but 

every one of those girls are 

champions. I’ve never coached 

a team with more heart or that 

showed more courage.” 

Sussex lost in the semi-final 

to the eventual champion 

Gloucester Community College 

4-3 friday. 

“It would have been so easy 

for them to give up,” 

DeGennaro said. “They could 

have woke up and said there’s 

no way we can win these three 

games in a row.” 

SPORTS 

COMMUNITY BOWLING RESULTS 

Thurs Mix Trio 

May 3 

Lollipop Kids 498.5 317.5 

Jersey Boys 454.5 361.5 

Tm 10 452.5 363 

Tm 8 434 358 

Tm 9 411.5 404.5 

Denville Bears Mini 411.5 404.5 

Dilligaf 407 409 

Tm 4 404.5 411.5 

Tm 3 395.5 420.5 

Corky’s Crew 368.5 447.5 

Tm 12 360 456 

The Impossiballs 262 529 

Men’s high games: Frank Procaccini 

267, Kenny Plotts 259, Lou Vinci 256. 

Men’s high series: Lou Vinci 728, Frank 

Procaccini 717, Bill Fletcher 675. 

Women’s high games: Liz Christensen 

224, Kathy Bucher 204, Monica Bailey 

193. 

Women’s high series: Liz Christensen 

624, Kathy Bucher 554, Monica Bailey 

542. 

Wanderer’s Mixed 

May 2 

Team Motto 164 74 

Four Play 134 104 

Life of Riley 132 106 

Pro Image Bowling 130.5 107.5 

Audio Video Concepts 127 111 

The Crazy Team 126 112 

HUGE 123 115 

APX Engineering 123 115 

STFU 122 16 

Dee’s Gang 119 119 

Raging Hormones 118 120 

Team 6 117 121 

Erratica 115 123 

Stag Team 112 126 

Gutter Sluts 111.5 126.5 

Out of Sync 111 127 

Spare Us 110.5 127 

Spare Change 110 128 

Kings and Queens 110 128 

Gray Hawks 105.5 132.5 

Osmosis 103 135 

Larry’s Girls 94 144 

Women’s high games: Jacqueline 

Wasniewski 279, Liz Christensen 239, 

Krista Cutler 237. 

Men’s high games: Gary Malone 300, 

Frank Wasniewski 269, Artie Weiss 268. 

Women’s high series: Jacqueline 

Wasniewski 738, Liz Christensen 657, 

Krista Cutler 623. 

Men’s high series: Frank Wasniewski 

753, Gary Malone 751, Artie Weiss 747. 

Newcomers 

May 2 

N.J. Excavating 153 85 

George’s Salvage 150 88 

Tech Check 149.5 88.5 

First Hope Bank 139 99 

Northern Mechanic 138 100 

DePue’s Cleaning 108 130 

ELMS 103 135 

Andover Garden 97 141 

Conklin Home Imp. 95 143 

High games: Jan Many 222, Sheila 

Phillips 204, Sue Issler 203, Barbara 

Walker 201. 

High series: Jan Many 565, Sue Issler 

555, Sheila Phillips 516, Nancy Hunt 488. 

Super Sexy Seniors 

May 1 

I Don’t Care 143 74 

JC’s Guy and Dolls 135 82 

2 Jacks and a Jill 128 89 

2 Does and a Buck 121 96 

Leo’s Lions 114 103 

Jersey Jems 113 104 

Triple D’s 109 108 

The Nomads 107 110 

Striking Seniors 107 110 

Supremes 105 112 

KLM 103 114 

Lucky 3 103 114 

We Three 103 114 

The Rocking Pins 99 118 

The Lucky Sisters 97 120 

Wildthings 96 121 

Lucky Ones 86 131 

Two Peas and a Pod 84 133 

Women’s high games: Marilyn Melchior 

169, Lorena Healy 169, Mary Wronka 152. 

Men’s high games: Matt Missbrenner 

191, Tony Zotta 181, Bob Childs 159. 

Women’s high series: Flo Blick 439, 

Wilhelmina Kuzma 436, Marilyn Melchior 

410. 

Men’s high series: Tony Zotta 461, Al 

Sibilla 434, Bob Childs 388. 

Sparta Lanes Classic 

April 30 

Tm 11 227 

Vreeland Insur. 207.5 

Tm 16 206 

StaCool 204 

Hundley CPA’s 203 

Tm 5 198.5 

Partytime Tents 193.5 

KCM Const. 191 

Eastern Propane 182.5 

Building and Remodeling 182.5 

Villa Capri II 181.5 

Grinnell 172.5 

Tm 17 171 

Murderers Row 163.5 

Tm 15 159.5 

DX 151 

Ten in Pit 142 

Air Purifiers 105.5 

High games: Chris Morciglio 267, Liz 

Christensen 266, Jim Benson 266, Roy 

Henderson 260. 

High series: Roy Henderson 741, John 

Neral 739, Pat Ninni 735. 

Hits and Misses 

April 30 

3 C’s and a D 142 82 

Where’s Jackie, Who’s Na 136 88 

Z and His Munchkins 124 100 

Komline-Sanderson 121 103 

Celebration 121 103 

Awesome Foursome 117 107 

Burke’s Liquors 116 108 

J R Carpentry 113 111 

Newton Hospital 112 112 

Two Plus Cordts 107 117 

Ladies Knights 105 119 

Salt ‘n’ Pepper 100 124 

Gatwyns II 100 124 

Four Bees 99 125 

Up and Coming 93 131 

North Church Gravel II 86 138 

Men’s scratch games: Pete Madden 

299, John Cammarata 290, Wayne Carney 

279. 

Men’s scratch series: Pete Madden 

781, John Cammarata 760, Wayne Carney 

752. 

Women’s scratch games: Krista Cutler 

279, Karen Dodd 268, Marie Alcock 258. 

Women’s scratch series: Karen Dodd 

748, Krista Cutler 672, Liz Christensen 

668. 

Monday Morning 

April 30 

Good Time Girls 129 67 

Bad Girls 112.5 83.5 

Full of Surprises 110 86 

Fun Time 108 88 

Chickies 102 94 

Ball Busters 97 99 

Alley Cats 97 99 

Strikes ‘r’ Us 96.5 99.5 

Pin Heads 89 107 

No Split Ends 88 108 

Penn Pals 81 115 

Nobody’s Home 64 132 

High games: Trina Thompson 198, 

Natalie Hartey 193, Karen Slusark 190. 

High series: Natalie Hartey 512, Patti 

Noon 510, Sheila Phillips 504. 

Sunday Night Mixed 

April 29 

Mike and 3 nit wits 157 74 

R D F M B 150 81 

Eric Who 149 82 

One Short 140 91 

Fubar 134 97 

Team 10 134 97 

Killer B’s 124 107 

Harry and His Harem 123.5 107.5 

Where’s Dave ? 123 108 

Round Two 123 108 

We Be Here 122.5 108.5 

Wb’s 119 112 

Team # 18 117 114 

Team # 19 111 120 

F Troop 110.5 120.5 

Fa Fuu 110 121 

Cuddles and Assets (#6) 101 130 

Left Overs 101 130 

Thunder and Lightning 89 142 

Gutternots 84 147 

Team # 17 71.5 159.5 

Casper 0 231 

Female high games: Diane Winfield 

201, Karen Fisher 199, Dee Rielly 198. 

Male high games: Jesse De Groat 254, 

John DeGroat Jr. 253, Bill Force 246. 

Lafayette Mixed 

April 27 

Eastern Propane 167 64 

Fonzarelli’s 160 71 

Medicare Plus I 143 88 

Packard Industries 139 92 

Generaholics 131 100 

Mixed Nuts 129 102 

The Leftovers 127 104 

Team #6 123 108 

Team #9 114 117 

All or Nothing 108 123 

TMB Const. 108 123 

REBELS 97 134 

Bowling Stones 93 138 

Pop’s Team 80 151 

Team #7 75 156 

Nobodys’ Home 45 186 

Men’s high games: Tom Williams 269, 

Frank Steele 247, Kevin Perry 245. 

Men’s high series: Tom Williams 656, 

Sean Ogden 645, Jim Birchenough 633. 

Women’s high games: Sue Farley 223, 

Leighanne Konecke 223, Debbie Kasko 

206. 

Women’s high series: Debbie Kasko 

574, Leighanne Konecke 548, Sue Farley 

522. 

Friday Nite Sportsmen 

April 27 

#8 138 93 

Courtright Painting 135 96 

Havens Trucking 130.5 100.5 

4 Kings and a Queen 117.5 113.5 

Alyholics 109 122 

Tire King 106 125 

XXX Men 97 134 

Koz’s 91 140 

High games: Dave Rome 276, Dave 

Hall 269, Wayne Campbell 259, Jack 

Wright 259. 

High series: Dave Rome 679, Wayne 

Campbell 666, Dave Hall 665, Ralph 

Havens 661. 

Thurs. Mix Trio 

April 26 

Lollipop Kids 483.5 308.5 

Jersey Boys 445.5 346.5 

Tm 10 443.5 348.5 

Tm 8 419 349 

Denville Bear Minis 407.5 384.5 

Tm 9 391.5 400.5 

Dilligaf 391 401 

Tm 3 387.5 404.5 

Tm 4 387.5 404.5 

Corky’s Crew 361.5 430.5 

Tm 12 342 450 

The Impossiballs 256 511 

Women’s high games: Kathy Bucher 

228, Liz Christensen 221, Monica Bailey 

201. 

Women’s high series: Liz Christensen 

610, Monica Bailey 516, Kathy Bucher 

500. 

Men’s high games: Bob Rhodes 279, 

Hank Henderson 275, Frank Procaccini 

265. 

Men’s high series: Hank Henderson 

746, Frank Procaccini 717, Artie Weiss 

698. 

Sparta Mixers 

April 26 

Men’s high games: David Kays Jr. 244, 

Joshuah Kays 236, Paul Kays Jr. 234. 

Men’s high series: Joshua Kays 674, 

Tony Steele 669, Paul Kays Jr. 623. 

Women’s high games: Michelle Walker 

202, Kathy Blanchard 180, Eileen Morse 

179. 

Women’s high games: Michelle Walker 

524, Eileen Morse 456, Stephania Drew 

426. 

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Photos by Randy Mills/allproshots.com 

Vernon’s Brad Mills (11) is congratulated by teammate Michael Deutch after scoring off a Deutch assist Friday afternoon. 

Jefferson, Vernon both win 


JEFFERSON — Dean Combos 

scored six times Saturday to lead 

the Falcons over Dwight 

Englewood 10-3. 

Adam Koontz had five assists 

for Jefferson. 

Ned Marini made nine saves. 

Jefferson 10, Dwight Englewood 3 

DE (3-7) 0 1 0 2 — 3 

J (11-2) 1 6 1 2— 10 

Goals: Dean Combos (J) 6, Mark 

McConnell (J) 2, Tom Wiltshire (J), Max 

Becker (J), Nick Boscamp (DE), Andy 

Throne (DE) 

Assists: Combos (J), Adam Koontz (J) 

5, McConnell (J) 2, Ryan Mullins (J), Alex 

Patterson (DE) 2. 

Saves: Ned Marini (J) 9, Ben Feldberg 

(DE) 19. 

Vernon 10, Dwight Englewood 2 

ENGLEWOOD — Mike Deutch 

scored three times and had two 

assists in Vernon’s victory over 

Dwight Englewood Friday. 

Brian Maggi scored twice and 

added two assists. 

Brad Mills had a goal and two 

assists. 

Vernon 10, Dwight Englewood 2 

V (8-5) 2 4 2 2— 10 

DE (3-6) 1 0 1 0 — 2 

Goals: Kyle Hearn (V), Mike Deutch 

(V) 3, Brad Mills (V) 2, Brian Maggi (V) 2, 

Zack VonderLinden (V), Kyle Werner (V), 

Henry Hammond-Paul (DE), Andy Thorne 

(DE) 

Assists: Deutch (V) 2, Mills (V) 2, 

Maggi (V) 2, Steve Rosal (V), Mike Kuhn 

(V), Will Foster (DE), Alex Paterson (DE). 

Vernon junior defender Joe Simms makes his way past a Dwight- 

Englewood player Friday afternoon. 

Saves: Tim Storbeck (V) 4, Mark 

Glander (V) 7, Ben Feldberg (DE) 18. 

GOLF 

HAMPTON — Wallkill Valley’s 

Craig Ulicini and Kittatinny’s 

Chris Mikulka and Tyler 

Zuccheli all tied for the lowest 

score of 39. 

Wallkill Valley won the event 

with 167. 

Tim Pleskach of Wallkill Valley 

shot a 41. 

Wallkill Valley 167, Mount Olive 173, 

Kittatinny 174 

Hidden Acres (Par 35) 

Wallkill Valley (9-6) Craig Ulicini 39, 

Tim Pleskach 41, Cory Ulicini 43, Travis 

Bloodgood 44. 

Mount Olive (6-15) Andrew Cassidy 

40, John Manos 43, Devin Dellostretto 

45, Brian Criscuolo 45. 

Kittatinny (14-3) Chris Mikulka 39, Tyler 

Zuccheli 39, Kyle Gerardi 45, Jacob 

Johnson 52. 

TENNIS 

HARDYSTON — Sparta took 

all three singles matches in 

straight sets Friday en route to a 

5-0 victory over Wallkill Valley. 

Andrew Wang led the way with 

with matching 6-1 sets in his victory 

at first singles. Sparta’s doubles 

teams also won in straight sets. 

Sparta 5, Wallkill Valley 0 

Singles: Andrew Wang (S) d. Ryan 

Wiggins 6-1, 6-1; Andrew Corzo (S) d. Ian 

Scott 6-1, 6-4; Derek Owen (S) d. Eric 

Vandenberg 6-1, 6-2. 

Doubles: Mike Centrelli/Spencer Lalk 

(S) d. Ben Sasso/Yannick Lobe 6-1, 6-3; 

Statler Willand/Tyler Chiappelli (S) d. 

Garrett Winton/Sunny Inthavong 6-2, 6-0. 

Records: Sparta 8-3, Wallkill Valley 4-6 

Vernon 3, Newton 2 

VERNON — Newton’s Max 

Allegretti held off Eric Wefer’s 

rally for a three-set victory at third 

singles. Allegretti won the first set 

6-2, but Wefer won the second set 

6-2 before dropping the third 7-6. 

Vernon’s first doubles team of 

Eric Vybihal and Tom 

Vanderwarde won in straight sets, 

7-6, 6-2. 


Singles: Spencer Scholz (N) d. Kevin 

Dean 6-3, 6-1; Keith Vella (V) d. Ellison 

Williams 6-1, 6-2; Max Allegretti (N) d. Eric 

Wefer 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (1). 

Doubles: Eric Vybihal/Tom 

Vanderwarde (V) d. Krishna 

Prince/Maxwell Williams 7-6, 6-2; Cesar 

Moldanado/Matt Sperber (V) d. Justin 

Hoffman/Richard Couillard 6-3, 6-4. 

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SPORTS 

··· 

PHOTOS BY 

CLAUDIO PAPAPIETRO 

OF 

THE NEW JERSEY 

HERALD 

··· 

The Yankee’s Anthony Tumminello, 8, center, sits in the dugout with Matthew 

Jacobs, 7, left, and Joey Dyl, 10, before the Challenger Little League game between 

the Yankees and the Mets at Ridgefield Park in Jefferson on April 28. The two-team 

league is in its inaugural season with 37 children, but founder Scott Luker hopes 

to expand the league to three or four teams by next season. 

The Mets’ Erik Flood, 12, is congratulated by his mother, Karen, and father, John, 

after scoring a run. In its first year of existence, the Challenger League gives children 

with disablilites the opportunity to play organized baseball. 

The Mets’ Kayla DeVries, 5, is lifted up in celebration by her mother, Jennifer, after scoring a run during the Mets and Yankees Challenger Little League game at 

Ridgefield Park in Jefferson. 

Challenger 

Continued from Page B1 

Within a couple of hours, the 

league received full sponsorship. 

And when word circulated about 

town, 36 players quickly enrolled. 

“Everybody must have been 

talking about this,” Luker said. 

Jefferson isn’t the only local 

team. Hopatcong, Vernon and 

the Sussex-Wantage area all host 

Challenger baseball, along with 

over 1,000 other sites throughout 

the country. 

They each have their own stories 

of courage and kindness, 

honoring the Challenger 

League’s fundamental philosophy 

of giving everyone a chance 

to play, regardless of limitations. 

Hopatcong coach Tony 

Petrock recalls his first 

Challenger game as an inspirational 

experience, a “day that 

turned into a big moment in my 

life,” he said. 

“If you can keep a dry eye 

you’re a strong person,” Petrock 

said. “It’s an amazing thing to 

watch.” 

Petrock was so moved that he 

sponsored a team. Three years 

ago, he resurrected the 

The Yankees’ Courtney Sanchelli, 10, pushed by her brother Brett, 

12, is called safe by Scott Luker, right. Luker is the founder and 

director of the league which pairs Challenger League players like 

Courtney with “buddies” from Jefferson Little League teams. 

Hopatcong league after it fell 

apart. One of his more powerful 

memories involved a Vernon 

player, a kid so small he had to 

be carried around the bases by 

his mother in a blanket. 

Initially, Petrock thought the 

kid couldn’t be enjoying himself, 

not with his mother doing all the 

work. But when Petrock stood 

behind the plate and caught a 

glimpse of the boy, he saw the 

ear-to-ear smile. 

“It was the best thing you 

could see,” he said. “I said to 

myself, ‘OK, I get it.’” 

Vernon coach Al Mankiw 

became involved with Challenger 

baseball because his own son, 

Colin, is developmentally disabled 

and confined to a wheelchair. 

Mankiw fell in love with 

the atmosphere, the kids, and is 

now coaching in his sixth season. 

He believes it was baseball 

that inspired one of his players 

toward recovery. The young boy, 

now in his fourth season, couldn’t 

stand his first year. The following 

year he was on crutches, now he 

was walking on his own. 

“Baseball is the incentive,” 

Mankiw said. 

The benefits of Challenger 

baseball are evident for Scott 

McKenna, a former player on 

Hopatcong and now an assistant 

coach. McKenna, who is mentally 

disabled, is proud of his 

accomplishments on the diamond, 

boastful about his power 

at the plate. 

Without Challenger, McKenna 

would never have had an opportunity 

to play. Now the 29-yearold 

views himself as Babe Ruth. 

“They used to call me slugger,” 

he said. “I never got out. 

Never once.” 

And that’s part of the beauty of 

Challenger baseball. Everybody 

can brag about their 1.000 batting 

average and, for two innings, 

everybody is Ruth. 

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SPORTS 

Parity reins in the SCIL this season 

By ANDREW GOODMAN 

agoodman@njherald.com 

With the first part of the SCIL softball 

schedule over, there’s a lot to look forward to 

in the second half — as long as the weather 

continues to cooperate. 

Here’s a look at what happened so far and 

what will happen from this point on: 

Five Storylines to Watch 

1. What team is the SCIL’s best? 

A case can be made for Pope John, Sparta 

and Kittatinny. But Kittatinny lost to Sparta 

and had its first game against Pope John 

rained out. It comes down to Sparta and Pope 

John. 

The Lions won the first meeting and Sparta 

triumphed this past week, but Pope John lost 

to High Point last week and the Spartans have 

won five straight 

So the best team is Sparta ... for now. 

2. What team has been the SCIL’s 

biggest surprise? 

There isn’t one. Everyone is essentially 

where they were predicted to be. 

Kittatinny, Pope John and Sparta were 

expected to be at the top, Jefferson has 

remained competitive because it always is and 

High Point and Wallkill Valley had their pitchers 

return so they’re in the mix as well. 

3. How many teams will make the state 

tournament? 

It appears six. High Point and Wallkill Valley 

are hovering around .500, but both had big 

wins in the past week. The Wildcats knocked 

off High Point and handed Sarah Olsen her 

first loss while the Rangers defeated 

Kittatinny. 

Kittatinny, Sparta and Pope John are locks, 

and Jefferson will also get in. 


HARDYSTON — Wallkill Valley 

got enough offense in the second 

game of a doubleheader and 

earned a split on Saturday with 

New Egypt. 

The Rangers defeated New 

Egypt, 14-4, in the second game, 

and dropped the first, 13-6. 

John Mayer was 3-for-4 with two 

runs scored and a run batted in. 

Rick Keslo had two hits and two 

RBI, while Matt Briggs finished 2- 

for-4 with two RBI. 

Ken Caruso got the win as he 

fanned two hitters. 

Steve Simmons was 3-for-3 in 

the first game with two RBI. 

Travis Wenz also recorded 

three hits and scored two runs in 

the loss. 

Game one 

New Egypt 13, Wallkill Valley 6 

NE (8-6) 101 400 7— 13 16 1 

WV (7-10) 103 000 2— 6 12 4 

WP: Dakota Havens (1-2). LP: Kyle 

McDonald (1-3). 

2B: Dylan Rowley (NE), Mike Fassel 

(NE), Pete Cuomo (WV), Steve Simmons 

(WV), John Mayer (WV). 

HR: Dan Knott (NE). 

Game two 

Wallkill Valley 14, New Egypt 4 

NE (8-7) 112 000 0— 4 5 4 

WV (8-10) 280 013— 14 17 1 

WP: Ken Caruso (1-0). LP: T.J. Smith 

(3-3). 

2B: Rick Mackesy (NE), Mike Fassel 

(NE) 2, Adam Bowlby (WV), Ken Caruso 

(WV). 

3B: Pete Cuomo (WV). 

HR: Dakota Havens (NE). 

Friday’s games 

VERNON — David Jacob was 

3-for-4 with two runs scored and 

one RBI in Vernon’s 5-2 win over 

Newton on Friday. 

Drew Berke got the victory, 

pitching a complete game with six 

strikeouts and four walks. 

Paul Williams was 2-for-3 with a 

run batted in for Newton. 


V (9-6) 102 011 0— 5 9 1 

N (2-12) 011 000 0— 2 4 2 

WP: Drew Berke (4-0). LP: Steve 

Zander 

2B: David Jacob (V) 2, Steve Myhren 

(V), Tyler Courter (V) 

Jefferson 10, Hopatcong 1 

HOPATCONG — Tim Rain and 

Kevin Ialeggio homered as 

Jefferson beat Hopatcong on 

Friday. 

Rain finished 2-for-4 with a 

homer and two RBI. 

Ryan Kalish was 3-for-3 and 

scored three times. 

Dom Macaluso went the distance 

and struck out five. 

Steve Serocke had two hits for 

Hopatcong. 


J (13-3) 203 212 0— 10 11 3 

H (8-7) 000 100 0— 1 5 3 

WP: Dom Macaluso (4-0). LP: O’Grady 

2B: Ryan Kalish (J), Steve D’Urso (J). 

HR: Tim Rain (J), Kevin Ialeggio (J). 

HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL: 

SCIL NOTEBOOK 

4. Which teams can win a sectional 

title? 

Kittatinny and Pope John have the best 

chance. 

The Cougars’ section includes a handful of 

contenders but they already played one of 

them, defeating Pequannock, 2-1. Other teams 

that have a chance are Indian Hills, Pascack 

Valley and Ramsey. 

The Lions will be challenged by Mount St. 

Dominic and Immaculate Heart Academy. 

Sparta has the unenviable position of being 

in the same section as Ramapo, arguably the 

top Group III team in the state. 

5. Will the unpredictability and parity 

continue? 

Based on the way last week went, yes. 

High Point has shown the best example of 

parity by losing to Vernon on April 23 and beating 

Pope John last Monday. 

It all depends on how certain teams or players 

feel on a particular day, which is impossible 

to predict. So picking the SCIL winner is 

just as difficult. 

Game of the Year (so far) 

It doesn’t get better than Kittatinny and 

Sparta on April 20. 

Sparta finally won, 1-0, in 11 innings. It took 

a RBI double from Jamie Cresbaugh, the 

league leader in doubles, to finally win it. 

The pitchers couldn’t have done better, with 

Sparta’s Baylea Sperring and Kittatinny’s 

Sara Stocklinski going the distance. 

Despite the result, both teams should benefit 

from playing that kind of game because 

Wallkill Valley 7, Sparta 3 

HARDYSTON — Steve 

Simmons homered as the 

Rangers topped Sparta on Friday. 

Travis Wenz earned the victory. 

Mark Huelsenbeck and Zach 

Passerrelle had two hits apiece for 

Sparta. 

they may play more like that in the state tournament. 

Midseason Awards 

Most Valuable Player: Jamie Cresbaugh 

(senior, Sparta) — She leads the SCIL with 

seven doubles, is second in homers with three 

and and has two triples. Whenever the 

Spartans need a big hit or someone to drive in 

a run, she’s the one for the job. 

Pitcher of the Year: Sarah Olsen (senior, 

Pope John) — She was undefeated before this 

week and shouldn’t be penalized for a bad 

week. In any start she has the potential to 

have double digit strikeouts or pitch a no-hitter. 

Coach of the Year: Ed Levens (Jefferson) 

— He lost the SCIL’s best player from a year 

ago and the Falcons don’t have the experience 

as the SCIL’s top teams. But that hasn’t 

stopped Jefferson from remaining in the top 

half of the league standings. 

Herald Power Rankings 

1. Sparta — It holds the top spot as of now 

based on the last week, which included a fivegame 

win streak. 

2. Pope John — The Lions followed two 

losses this week by two wins and a 15-0 combined 

margin of victory. 

3. Kittatinny — It was defeated by Wallkill 

Valley and High Point last week but it doesn’t 

diminish what the Cougars have done this 

season. 

4. High Point — It had a great week with 

wins against Pope John and Kittatinny. 

5. Jefferson — The Falcons have remained 

competitive and blew out Hopatcong on 

Friday. 

Sparta’s Fletcher deals blow to Rangers 


SPARTA — Sparta’s Sarah 

Fletcher hurt Wallkill Valley’s 

chances of qualifying for the 

state tournament by two-hitting 

them Friday in 5-0 shutout. 

Fletcher struck out nine and 

walked two in seven innings. 

Stacey Kerstner had a triple 

for the Rangers. 

Wallkill Valley must have a 

.500 record by Friday to qualify. 

Sparta 5, Wallkill Valley 0 

WV (8-9) 000 000 0— 0 2 1 

S (15-5) 203 000 X— 5 7 0 

WP: Sarah Fletcher (7-2). LP: 

Stephanie Romano (8-9). 

3B: Stacey Kerstner (WV) 

Yankees 


Wang was trying for the 16th 

perfect game since 1900, including 

Don Larsen’s gem for the 

Yankees in the 1956 World Series. 

The last two perfect games in 

the AL have occurred at Yankee 

Stadium, by New York’s David 

Notebook 


“O’Leary was able to make the quality 

pitches,” Slododzian said. “His best pitch is a 

fastball and he throws that with good command.” 

Brendan Kramer relieved Corcoran for 

Newton and shut down the Spartans. But it 

was too late, the damage had already been 

done. 

But the Braves can still benefit from the 

loss. Many of their players will be back next 

year, and the experience will make it easier 

for them to relax next year. 

“This is another step for us,” Selitto said. 

“In a tournament situation, there isn’t a next 

day. They have to experience it now because 

we feel our future is a year or two down the 

road.” 

The future for Sparta is this week — and 

it’s a busy one. Before the Spartans play 

Jefferson Saturday, they’ll play a game every 

day starting on Monday because they have 


JEFFERSON — Jefferson combined 

for eight runs in the fifth and 

sixth innings to beat Hopatcong. 

Cori Becker was 3-for-4 with 

four RBI. 

Jackie Ubhaus struck out eight 

and walked one to record the win 

in relief. 

Brittany Beckman and Jenna 

Pettoni had homers for the 

Falcons. 


H (4-10) 202 000 0— 4 4 2 

J (9-6) 111 053 X— 11 13 1 

WP: Jackie Ubhaus (5-0) LP: Cassie 

Ridge 

2B: Cassie Ridge (H), Brittany 

HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL 

Beckmann (J) 

3B: Alyssa Rowen (J), Cori Becker (J), 

Amanda Baker (H) 

HR: Beckmann (J), Jenna Pettoni (J) 

Newton 6, Vernon 0 

NEWTON — Chelsea Homa 

struck out 11 Braves to lead the 

Vikings to victory Friday. 

The freshman surrendered one 

hit in seven innings. 

Newton had one hit but scored 

six runs on four Vernon errors. 

Newton 6, Vernon 0 

V (4-13) 000 000 0— 0 1 4 

N (4-10) 300 210 X— 6 1 2 

WP: Chelsea Homa (4-9). LP: Brittany 

Peterson. 

Cone (1999) and David Wells 

(1998). Larsen also pitched his at 

the ballpark. 

Randy Johnson has the last 

perfect game in the majors, for 

Arizona at Atlanta on May 18, 

2004. 

Brian Bruney took over for 

Wang to begin the ninth and finished 

off the two-hitter. 

On Tuesday night, Yankees 

rookie Phil Hughes took a no-hitter 

into the seventh inning at 

Texas, but was forced to leave 

because of a hamstring injury. 

If Wang was at all fazed by the 

growing tension in the Bronx, he 

didn’t show it. After the seventh 

inning, he sat all by himself at the 

far end of the dugout with a white 

towel draped over his right shoulder. 

This was certainly an unlikely 

situation for a perfect game. 

makeup games squeezed in. 

Six games in six days won’t help Sparta, 

but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a 

chance against the Falcons. 

“Jefferson is a top team, so we’re going to 

have to play extremely well,” Slobodzian 

said. “We have to have a well-pitched game.” 

The four Sussex County Coaches Baseball 

Tournament games next Saturday will be 

played at Skylands Park for the first time. 

The first game is set for 10 a.m. with No. 6 

Wallkill Valley playing No. 3 Pope John. The 

next game is at 12 p.m. and features No. 7 

Sparta versus No. 2 Jefferson. At 2 p.m., No. 

5 Vernon will meet No. 4 Hopatcong. The 

final game will pit No. 9 High Point against 

No. 1 Lenape Valley. 

Sparta 8, Newton 3 

N (2-14) 003 000 0 — 3 9 2 

S (8-9) 530 000 X — 8 4 2 

WP: Pat O’Leary (4-3). LP: Kramer (0-1) 

3B: Williams (N). 

Cutoff day coming 

Friday is the final day for teams to qualify 

for the state tournament. All teams must 

Sussex Tech 9, 

West Ampton Tech 3 

SPARTA — The Mustangs won 

their quarterfinal matchup with 

West Ampton Tech to move on in 

the New Jersey Vocational 

Athletic Conference Tournament. 

Brittney Kelly went 3-for-3 with 

three RBI and two runs scored. 

Jess Gilman pitched seven 

innings, striking out six and walking 

two. 

Sofia Bosio was 3-for-4 with two 

runs scored and an RBI. 

Sussex Tech 9, West Ampton Tech 3 

WAT 000 111 0— 3 4 2 

ST (7-6) 040 302 x— 9 9 3 

WP: Jess Gilman (5-3) LP: Selena 

Rivera 

2B: Brittney Kelly (ST) 

3B: Brittney Kelly (ST) 

HR: Amanda Coxen (WAT) 

Wang, who finished second in the 

AL Cy Young voting last year, 

went on the disabled list in spring 

training with a strained right 

hamstring and struggled in his 

first two starts of the season. 

Wang cruised through the first 

two innings, striking out two in 

the second. Third baseman Alex 

Rodriguez backhanded Jose 

Lopez’s hard one-hopper and 

threw him out to end the third. 

have at least a .500 record to make it. 

Jefferson, Lenape Valley, Pope John and 

Vernon will qualify. High Point, Hopatcong, 

Wallkill Valley and Sparta have a chance. For 

the latter four it will come down to what happens 

this week. 

It could be a good thing or bad thing to 

have makeup games this week. It gives 

teams the opportunity to tack on wins but 

could wear out a pitching staff. 

So anything could happen. 

Herald Power Rankings 

1. Lenape Valley — The Patriots avenged a 

loss to Pope John with a 1-0 win on Thursday. 

2. Jefferson — It hasn’t lost since being 

upset in the first round of the Morris County 

Tournament. 

3. Pope John — The Lions defeated 

Vernon but were knocked off by Sparta. 

4. Vernon — Three of its four SCIL losses 

have come at the hands of Jefferson and 

Pope John. 

5. High Point — It has defeated Hopatcong 

twice and owns a win over Vernon. 

Wallkilll Valley splits DH with New Egypt 

Wallkill Valley 7, Sparta 3 

S (7-9) 110 001 0— 3 5 1 

WV (7-9) 400 012 x— 7 9 1 

WP: Travis Wenz (1-0). LP: Ryan Pelle 

(1-3) 

2B: Pete Cuomo (WV), Christian Kasa 

(WV). 

3B: Travis Wenz (WV). 

HR: Steve Simmons (WV) 

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SCIL SOFTBALL STANDINGS 

(through Friday’s games) 

SCIL Overall 

W L W L 

Sparta 11 1 14 4 

Pope John 9 2 11 4 

Kittatinny 9 3 11 3 

Jefferson 7 3 9 6 

High Point 6 5 7 6 

Wallkill Valley 6 6 7 8 

Hopatcong 3 9 4 10 

Lenape Valley 2 8 3 8 

Newton 2 9 4 10 

Vernon 1 10 4 13 

STATS 


Doubles 

Jamie Cresbaugh (Sparta) 7 

Stacey Kerstner (Wallkill V.) 5 

Amanda Baker (Hopatcong) 4 

Amanda Kent (Pope John) 4 

Stephanie Romano (Wallkill V.) 4 

Triples 

Amanda Baker (Hopatcong) 4 

Jill Black (Pope John) 3 

Amanda Kent (Pope John) 3 

15 tied with 2 

Home Runs 

Abby Ralph (Kittatinny) 4 

Jamie Cresbaugh (Sparta) 3 

Nicole Armstrong (High Point) 2 

Katelyn Miele (Pope John) 2 

Mikayla Wingle (High Point) 2 


Pitcher’s winning percentage 

(minimum eight decisions) 

Baylea Sperring (S) .800 (8-2) 

Sarah Fletcher (S) .777 (7-2) 

Sarah Olsen (PJ) .777 (7-2) 

Dana Inez (PJ) .750 (6-2) 

Sara Stocklinski (K) .727 (8-3) 

Morgan Bell (HP) .600 (6-4) 

MAJOR LEAGUE STANDINGS 

AMERICAN LEAGUE 

East Division 

W L Pct GB L10 Str Home Away Intr 

Boston 19 9 .679 — 7-3 W-3 9-4 10-5 0-0 

New York 13 15 .464 6 5-5 W-1 7-7 6-8 0-0 

Baltimore 13 16 .448 6 1 ⁄2 2-8 W-1 8-6 5-10 0-0 

Tampa Bay 13 16 .448 6 1 ⁄2 z-5-5 L-1 7-8 6-8 0-0 

Toronto 13 16 .448 6 1 ⁄2 z-4-6 L-4 7-7 6-9 0-0 

Central Division 


Cleveland 17 9 .654 — z-8-2 L-1 11-3 6-6 0-0 

Detroit 17 11 .607 1 z-7-3 W-5 8-6 9-5 0-0 

Minnesota 15 14 .517 3 1 ⁄2 4-6 L-3 7-8 8-6 0-0 

Chicago 13 14 .481 4 1 ⁄2 z-4-6 W-1 5-7 8-7 0-0 

Kansas City 10 20 .333 9 z-4-6 L-1 6-10 4-10 0-0 

West Division 


Los Angeles 17 14 .548 — z-6-4 L-1 12-4 5-10 0-0 

Seattle 13 12 .520 1 z-7-3 L-1 8-6 5-6 0-0 

Oakland 14 14 .500 1 1 ⁄2 z-5-5 W-1 6-7 8-7 0-0 

Texas 11 18 .379 5 3-7 W-1 7-7 4-11 0-0 

NATIONAL LEAGUE 

East Division 


Atlanta 18 10 .643 — 6-4 W-2 9-5 9-5 0-0 

New York 18 10 .643 — z-6-4 W-3 7-7 11-3 0-0 

Florida 14 14 .500 4 z-6-4 W-1 8-7 6-7 0-0 

Philadelphia 13 17 .433 6 4-6 L-2 6-7 7-10 0-0 

Washington 9 21 .300 10 3-7 L-4 4-10 5-11 0-0 

Central Division 


Milwaukee 19 10 .655 — z-7-3 W-1 11-5 8-5 0-0 

Chicago 14 14 .500 4 1 ⁄2 7-3 W-4 6-9 8-5 0-0 

Pittsburgh 13 15 .464 5 1 ⁄2 z-5-5 L-1 5-8 8-7 0-0 

Cincinnati 13 16 .448 6 z-4-6 L-3 6-8 7-8 0-0 

Houston 13 16 .448 6 4-6 W-1 6-8 7-8 0-0 

St. Louis 11 17 .393 7 1 ⁄2 3-7 L-1 4-10 7-7 0-0 

West Division 


Los Angeles 17 12 .586 — 4-6 L-1 8-7 9-5 0-0 

San Francisco 16 13 .552 1 z-5-5 W-2 10-7 6-6 0-0 

San Diego 15 14 .517 2 z-4-6 L-1 8-6 7-8 0-0 

Arizona 16 15 .516 2 z-6-4 L-4 9-7 7-8 0-0 

Colorado 12 17 .414 5 4-6 W-1 6-7 6-10 0-0 

z-first game was a win 

AMERICAN LEAGUE 

Saturday’s games 

N.Y. Yankees 8, Seattle 1 Chicago White Sox 6, L.A. Angels 3 

Cleveland at Baltimore (late) 

Oakland at Tampa Bay (late) 

Boston at Minnesota (late) 

Detroit at Kansas City (late) 

Toronto at Texas (late) 

Sunday’s games 

Seattle (Washburn 2-2) at N.Y. Yankees (Rasner 0-1), 1:05 p.m. 

Cleveland (Sabathia 4-0) at Baltimore (Burres 0-0), 1:35 p.m. 

Oakland (Blanton 2-1) at Tampa Bay (Jackson 0-4), 1:40 p.m. 

Boston (Schilling 3-1) at Minnesota (Ponson 2-3), 2:10 p.m. 

Detroit (Durbin 1-1) at Kansas City (Greinke 1-3), 2:10 p.m. 

Toronto (Burnett 2-2) at Texas (Loe 1-2), 3:05 p.m. 

Chicago White Sox (Buehrle 2-1) at L.A. Angels (Colon 3-0), 3:35 p.m. 

Monday’s games 

Cleveland at Baltimore, 12:35 p.m. 

Seattle at N.Y. Yankees, 7:05 p.m. 

NATIONAL LEAGUE 

Saturday’s games 

Chicago Cubs 5, Washington 3 Houston 13, St. Louis 0 

San Francisco 9, Philadelphia 4 

San Diego at Florida (late) 

L.A. Dodgers at Atlanta (late) 

Pittsburgh at Milwaukee (late) 

Colorado at Cincinnati (late) 

N.Y. Mets at Arizona (late) 

Today’s games 

San Diego (Peavy 3-1) at Florida (Olsen 3-1), 1:05 p.m. 

L.A. Dodgers (Wolf 3-3) at Atlanta (Davies 0-1), 1:05 p.m. 

Pittsburgh (Armas 0-2) at Milwaukee (Sheets 2-2), 2:05 p.m. 

Houston (Sampson 3-1) at St. Louis (Looper 3-2), 2:15 p.m. 

Washington (Hill 2-3) at Chicago Cubs (Guzman 0-0), 2:20 p.m. 

Colorado (Fogg 1-2) at Cincinnati (Arroyo 1-2), 3:15 p.m. 

N.Y. Mets (Pelfrey 0-3) at Arizona (L.Hernandez 2-1), 4:40 p.m. 

Philadelphia (Hamels 3-1) at San Francisco (Lincecum 0-0), 8:05 p.m. 

Monday’s games 

San Diego at Atlanta, 7:05 p.m. 

L.A. Dodgers at Florida, 7:05 p.m. 

Houston at Cincinnati, 7:10 p.m. 

Washington at Milwaukee, 8:05 p.m. 

Colorado at St. Louis, 8:10 p.m. 

Philadelphia at Arizona, 9:40 p.m. 

N.Y. Mets at San Francisco, 10:15 p.m. 

Visit our store at: 

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Wantage Plaza, Sussex, NJ 

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SCIL BASEBALL STANDINGS 


SCIL Overall 

W L W L 

Jefferson 11 2 13 3 

Pope John 9 3 10 6 

Lenape Valley 8 3 11 3 

Vernon 9 4 9 6 

High Point 5 6 5 8 

Hopatcong 5 7 8 7 

Wallkill Valley 5 7 7 9 

Sparta 3 9 7 9 

Kittatinny 4 9 5 11 

Newton 1 9 2 11 

STATS 


Doubles 

Mark Young (Pope John) 8 

Ryan Kalish (Jefferson) 7 

Rob Klinck (Lenape Valley) 6 

Tim Rain (Jefferson) 6 

Jamie Creamer (Vernon) 5 

Brendan Kramer (Newton) 5 

Mike Scott (High Point) 5 

Ken Meerendonk (Vernon) 5 

Sean Galligan (Lenape Valley) 4 

Shaun Gawel (Vernon) 4 

Rick Keslo (Wallkill Valley) 4 

Steve Myhren (Vernon) 4 

Dan Pregno (Lenape Valley) 4 

Triples 

Mike Scott (High Point) 2 


Home Runs 

Jim Abbott (High Point) 5 

David Jacob (Vernon) 5 

Dom Macaluso (Jefferson) 5 

Mark Young (Pope John) 5 

Bobby Guild (Pope John) 4 

Shane Hosler (Lenape Valley) 4 

Christian Kasa (Wallkill Valley) 4 

Anthony Perretti (Hopatcong) 4 

Eight tied with 3 

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SPORTS 

Baby Bulls are 

all grown up now 

By ANDREW SELIGMAN 


DEERFIELD, Ill. — Chris 

Duhon thought back to his rookie 

season and all those substitution 

buzzers after his mistakes. He 

couldn’t take three steps in practice 

without coach Scott Skiles 

saying something, either. 

And now? 

He can smile. The former 

“Baby Bulls” look like a mature 

group now. A team that had not 

advanced past the first round of 

the playoffs in nearly a decade 

swept defending champion 

Miami after winning 49 games in 

the regular season. Next up: 

Detroit. 

“Now that we’ve all matured 

and we understand how to play 

the game a lot better, he can 

relax a little bit,” said Duhon, a 

second-round pick from Duke in 

2004. “He doesn’t have to be on 

us 24/7.” 

Skiles a softy? 

Not exactly. 

Although Skiles said he hasn’t 

changed much over the past 

three or four years, the dynamic 

between the coach and his core 

of young players is a bit different 

these days. 

“He’s loosened up,” Ben 

Gordon said. 

There’s a trust, the kind born 

over time. Core players such 

Gordon, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, 

Andres Nocioni and Duhon 

understand what Skiles wants, 

and they know each other’s tendencies. 

They came of age together and 

experienced a major breakthrough 

in the first round, after 

losing in six games to 

Washington and Miami the previous 

two years. 

The Bulls made a splash in the 

offseason, when they signed center 

Ben Wallace to a $60 million 

contract, and the younger players 

made waves during the season. 

Points 

1. Detroit vs. 5. Chicago 

Pistons Bulls 

Per game playoff averages 

Rebounds 

40.3 

42.5 

Assists 

20.8 

23.3 

97.0 

99.8 

FG pct. 

.449 

.460 

FT pct. 

.776 

.810 

3-pt. pct. 

.443 

.400 

Team leaders 

Billups • 22.3 PTS Deng • 26.3 

McDyess • 9.3 REB Wallace • 9.8 

Billups • 7.0 AST Gordon • 5.5 

SOURCE: NBA 

AP 

“I think you saw this year that 

Scott trusted Ben Gordon, Luol, 

Kirk much more,” general manager 

John Paxson said. “I think 

that’s just a natural component 

of that.” 

Deng proved he’s an emerging 

star, averaging 18.8 points and 

7.1 rebounds while shooting 51.7 

percent, and Gordon led the 

Bulls with a career-high 21.4 

points per game. Against the 

Heat, the two were even better. 

Deng averaged 26.3 points and 

Gordon 25.5 as the Bulls won a 

series for the first time since 

1998, when Michael Jordan and 

Scottie Pippen led them to their 

sixth title in eight years. It was a 

crucial step for a franchise that 

endured several rebuilding plans 

in the interim, and for a young 

core that seemed to be on the 

verge of a breakthrough. 

Things began to fall into place 

after Paxson replaced Jerry 

Krause as general manager in 

April 2003. 

AP Photo/Paul Sancya 

San Jose goalie Evgeni Nabokov, left, watches the scoreboard as Detroit’s Tomas Holmstrom celebrates his goal with Henrik 

Zetterberg (40), Niklas Lidstrom (5) and Chris Chelios (24) in the third period of Game 5 Saturday. Detroit beat San Jose 4-1 to take a 

3-2 lead in the series. 

Red Wings win away from advancing 

By MIKE HOUSEHOLDER 

Associated Press Writer 

DETROIT — Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik 

Zetterberg each scored a goal and had two 

assists Saturday, leading the Detroit Red Wings 

past the San Jose Sharks 4-1 and within one 

victory of reaching the Western Conference 

finals. 

Detroit is ahead 3-2 and can close this conference 

semifinal Monday night in San Jose. 

The Red Wings outhit and outshot the 

Sharks in Game 5, but they also had some luck. 

Datsyuk turned San Jose goalie Evgeni 

Nabokov’s misplay into the winning goal late in 

the second period, and Nabokov didn’t seem 

the same after that, surrendering a pair of 

third-period power-play goals. 

With the Sharks circling in the Red Wings 

zone, Detroit cleared the puck into San Jose 

territory. Nabokov left the goal to play the puck, 

but sent it straight into a charging Datsyuk. He 

scooped it up and sent it into an open net with 

3:47 to play in the second. 

Less than two minutes earlier, Nabokov 

robbed Datsyuk of a goal by gloving his shot 

from close range. 

Detroit, the top seed in the West, twice has 

come back from two-goal deficits to win games 

in this series, but needed only to erase a onegoal 

San Jose lead Saturday. 

Unfortunately for the Sharks, blowing leads 

is becoming something of a habit. A year ago, 

they lost a 2-0 series lead over Edmonton in the 

conference semifinals. 

Detroit vs. San Jose 

April 26: San Jose 2, Detroit 0 

April 28: Detroit 3, San Jose 2 

April 30: San Jose 2, Detroit 1 

May 2: Detroit 3, San Jose 2, OT 

May 5: Detroit 4, San Jose 1, Detroit 

leads series 3-2 

May 7: Detroit at San Jose, 10 p.m. 

May 9: San Jose at Detroit, TBD, if necessary 

Mikael Samuelsson added an insurance goal 

nearly four minutes into the final period, slapping 

a one-timer past Nabokov. Zetterberg and 

Datsyuk set up Samuelsson’s first goal of the 

playoffs. 

Tomas Holmstrom concluded the scoring, 

converting Zetterberg’s centering pass with 

13:46 left in the third. Datsyuk also picked up an 

assist on the play. 

Detroit had evened the score at 1 three minutes 

into the second period on Zetterberg’s 

fourth goal of the postseason. Nicklas 

Lidstrom’s shot from the point trickled to 

Holmstrom, who slid it through the crease to 

Zetterberg, and he flipped it above a sprawling 

Nabokov. 

Marcel Goc opened the scoring on what 

looked to be a harmless wrist shot. Mike Grier 

rushed the puck up the ice, sent a pass to Goc 

between the left circle and the blue line. Goc 

floated the shot in, beating Dominik Hasek 

inside the far post with 15:07 left in the first 

period. Hasek was not squared up to Goc and 

appeared to misread the angle of the shot. 

Hasek was perfect after yielding Goc’s goal, 

turning aside 23 shots and proving again how 

valuable he is to the Wings. Instead of retiring 

last summer when Ottawa didn’t want him 

back, the two-time MVP and six-time Vezina 

Trophy winner returned to play for Detroit 

after helping it win a Stanley Cup in 2002. 

Hasek and the Wings pulled off their strong 

effort on Saturday despite playing short-handed 

on defense much of the game. 

Defenseman Mathieu Schneider broke his 

wrist during the first period and will miss the 

rest of the playoffs, Red Wings coach Mike 

Babcock said. Schneider, who scored the overtime 

goal in San Jose on Wednesday that 

evened the series at 2, was hurt when checked 

by Sharks captain Patrick Marleau. 

The Wings already were ailing on defense, 

with Brett Lebda out with an ankle injury. 

Rookie Kyle Quincey took Lebda’s spot in the 

lineup. Lebda was scratched despite practicing 

Friday for the first time since injuring his ankle 

April 21 in the opening playoff series against 

Calgary. 

Notes: Sharks forward Bill Guerin did not 

play in Game 5 after a deflected shot seriously 

cut his face in Game 4. Rookie center Joe 

Pavelski took Guerin’s spot in the lineup. ... 

Detroit has outshot its opponent in all 11 playoff 

games. ... Sharks right wing Jonathan 

Cheechoo’s three-game goal-scoring streak 

and center Joe Thornton’s seven-game assist 

streak both ended Saturday. 

AP Photo/Bill Kostroun 

New Jersey’s Jason Kidd throws the ball into the air as the buzzer 

sounds giving the Nets a 98-97 win over Toronto Friday night. The 

Nets won the series, 4-2. 

Jefferson takes his 

turn at playing hero 

By TOM CANAVAN 


EAST RUTHERFORD — After helping the New Jersey Nets beat 

the Toronto Raptors with his scoring and passing, Vince Carter sent his 

former team packing in a most unusual way: by being a decoy for 

Richard Jefferson. 

Jefferson scored the winning basket on a spinning layup over Chris 

Bosh with 8.3 seconds left and 

stole a pass in the waning seconds 

as the Nets beat the 

Raptors 98-97 on Friday night to 

win their first-round series 4-2. 

Next on the agenda for the 

Nets will be LeBron James and 

the Cavaliers, starting Sunday in 

Cleveland. 

However, New Jersey easily 

could have been playing a Game 

7 in Toronto had Jefferson not 

stepped up big time after getting 

a surprising call from Nets coach 

Lawrence Frank with the game 

on the line. 

With New Jersey trailing 97-96, 

Bosh missed a jumper from the 

top of the key with 16 seconds to 

play. Antoine Wright got the 

Cleveland vs. New Jersey 

Today: New Jersey at 

Cleveland, 1 p.m. (ABC) 

May 8: New Jersey at 

Cleveland, 8 p.m. (TNT) 

May 12: Cleveland at New 

Jersey, 5 p.m. (ESPN) 


Jersey, 7 p.m. (TNT) 


Cleveland, TBD, if necessary 


Jersey, TBD, if necessary 


Cleveland, TBD, if necessary 

rebound and the Nets called a timeout with 12.6 seconds remaining. 

Everyone in the Continental Airlines Arena watched the Nets walk to 

the bench and expected Frank to call a play for Carter, the former 

Raptor who was booed every time he touched the ball in Canada in this 

series. 

Frank had another idea. He called Jefferson’s number and had 

Carter run to the left corner, the same side from which Bostjan 

Nachbar was inbounding the ball. The pass went to Jason Kidd on the 

left wing and he found Jefferson coming off a screen by Mikki Moore at 

the right side of the key. 

Jefferson, who needed surgery to fix a bothersome right ankle in 

January, went right at Bosh, spun, elevated to the rim and scored a 

layup to bring the crowd of more than 17,000 roaring to its feet. 

Carter just smiled. 

“That shows the character of our team and the weapons we have on 

our team,” said Carter, who finished with 21 points on 6-of-19 shooting. 

“For the last couple of plays, they were really loading on me and sending 

a lot of guys to the middle.” 

Derby 


Queen Elizabeth II was one of 

the 156,635 racing fans on hand, the 

third-largest crowd in the Derby’s 

133 years. She watched from the 

fourth-floor clubhouse balcony 

overlooking the finish line. With the 

sun finally emerging before post 

time, she had a picturesque view of 

the Twin Spires to her left. 

Borel’s Cajun accent gives away 

his humble Bayou origins. Asked 

what it was like to win in front of 

royalty, he said, “It meant everything 

in the world.” 

The 65-year-old Nafzger, who is 

nearly retired, wasn’t as emotional 

as he was in 1990, when Unbridled 

won for 92-year-old Frances 

Genter. Because of her faltering 

eyesight, Nafzger called the race in 

her ear so she could follow her colt 

to the finish line. 

Then he gave her a big kiss 

when Unbridled crossed the finish 

line. 

This time, Nafzger’s words to 83- 

year-old owner James Tafel were 

few and to the point. 

“Mr. Tafel, we’re clear, we’re 

clear. It’s up to him now,” Nafzger 

said. 

The moment Street Sense 

crossed the finish line Nafzger 

wrapped his arm around Tafel, 

shook his hand and pumped his left 

fist. 

By the time the two made their 

way to the crowded winner’s circle, 

the white-haired Tafel was beaming. 

“This is the aspiration of anybody 

and everybody in the horse 

business. It’s just overwhelming,” 

he said. 

Nafzger and Tafel were taking a 

second shot at the Derby together. 

Nafzger trained Vicar, who finished 

18th in 1999. 

AP Photo/Darron Cummings 

Calvin Borel rides Street Sense, right, past Hard Spun to victory 

in the 133rd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., 

Saturday. 

Nafzger works for just two owners 

now, having turned the day-today 

grind of his Churchill Downs 

stable over to an assistant. Besides 

Tafel, his other client is Genter’s 

son-in-law. 

“Maybe now I can afford to 

retire,” Nafzger said, laughing. 

Street Sense has finished in the 

money in all eight of his career 

races. 

“This horse has never run a bad 

race,” Nafzger said. 

Curlin finished third, losing for 

the first time in his four-race 

career. 

Imawildandcrazyguy was 

another half-length back in fourth 

and Sedgefield was fifth. Circular 

Quay, coming off an eight-week 

layoff, was sixth for Pletcher’s 

best finish. 

Tiago was seventh, followed by 

Any Given Saturday, Sam P. and 

Nobiz Like Shobiz. Dominican was 

11th, then came Zanjero, Great 

Hunter, Liquidity and Bwana Bull. 

Storm in May, who is blind in his 

right eye, was 16th, trailed by 

Teuflesberg, Scat Daddy, 

Stormello and Cowtown Cat in 

last. 

Borel is the master of saving 

ground and he demonstrated that 

skill in the Derby as Street Sense 

dropped back at the start and 

headed for the rail. While Hard 

Spun shot to the lead, Street 

Sense tucked in 19th along the 

fence. 

Borel still had a snug hold on 

the reins as Street Sense turned 

for home. A quarter of a mile from 

the finish, Borel finally moved 

Street Sense to the outside and 

they accelerated away from the 

pack. They quickly reeled in Hard 

Spun, catching him in the final 

eighth of a mile as Borel sneaked 

a peek over his right shoulder 

approaching the finish line. 

Once they crossed it, Borel 

thrust his whip in the air in celebration. 

Jacksons buy Barbaro’s saddle for charity 

By DAN GELSTON 


LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Barbaro’s 

Kentucky Derby winning saddle now 

belongs to the colt’s owners. 

“Well, it’s Edgar (Prado’s) saddle, he 

just used it on Barbaro,” co-owner 

Gretchen Jackson said after a book signing 

Saturday at Churchill Downs. “We just 

love the idea that it’s going to be back 

with us.” 

The saddle was sold for $220,000 on 

Friday night, and the money will go to 

benefit the Permanently Disabled 

Jockeys’ Fund. 

Gretchen Jackson and her husband, 

Roy, claimed the saddle after some backroom 

negotiations with Dwight Manley, 

national manager of the Jockeys’ Guild. 

HORSE RACING: 

KENTUCKY DERBY NOTEBOOK 

Manley thought he was the highest bidder 

and accepted the saddle, only to be 

approached by the Jacksons as he walked 

off the stage. 

After a brief discussion, the Jacksons 

received the saddle, with Manley throwing 

in another $80,000 for the fund. 

“I actually told them I really wanted it,” 

Manley said. “I just thought it was the 

coolest thing. But it is appropriate and fitting 

that they have it.” 

Manley’s only request was the Jacksons 

put the saddle in a museum one day. The 

money raised will support the 58 disabled 

jockeys who rely on the fund. 

The Jacksons made a bittersweet 

return this weekend to Churchill Downs 

for the first time since Barbaro won last 

year’s Derby by 6 1 ⁄2 lengths — the largest 

winning margin in 60 years. 

The Jacksons took part in a special ceremony 

honoring Barbaro between 

Saturday’s sixth and seventh races. They 

will receive a $25,000 donation from 

Churchill Downs Inc. to the Barbaro 

Memorial Fund, which benefits the New 

Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Pa., 

where Barbaro spent his rehabilitation 

after breaking down in the Preakness. 

Several fans were also wearing blue 

rubber bracelets with the phrase “Riding 

with Barbaro” on them. Money from the 

bracelets, available for $2 apiece, will go 

to the Barbaro Fund. The NTRA said 

Friday more than 25,000 had already been 

sold over the Internet.


The Pros 

A seven-day planner for local sports 

Today 7 M 8 Tu 9 W 10 Th 11 F 12 Sa 

SPORTS 

New Jersey Nets 

Game 1 

At Cleveland 

1 p.m. 

ABC 

Game 2 

At Cleveland 

8 p.m. 

TNT 

www.nba.com/nets 

Game 3 

Cleveland 

5 p.m. 

ESPN 

New York Rangers 

Game 6 

Buffalo 

2 p.m. 

NBC 

Game 7 

At Buffalo 

7 p.m. 

If Nec. 

www.newyorkrangers.com 

New Jersey Devils 

Game 6 

At Ottawa 

7 p.m. 

FSNY (If Nec.) 

Game 7 

Ottawa 

7 p.m. 

FSNY (If Nec.) 

www.newjerseydevils.com 

New York Yankees 

Seattle 

1:05 p.m. 

YES 

Seattle 

7:05 p.m. 

YES 

Texas 

7:05 p.m. 

YES 

Texas 

7:05 p.m. 

YES 

Texas 

1:05 p.m. 

YES 

www.yankees.mlb.com 

At Seattle 

10:05 p.m. 

YES 

At Seattle 

10:05 p.m. 

YES 

New York Mets 

At 

Arizona 

4:40 p.m. 

SNY 

At 

San Fran 

10:15 p.m. 

SNY 

At 

San Fran 

10:15 p.m. 

SNY 

At 

San Fran 

10:15 p.m. 

SNY 

Milwaukee 

7:10 p.m. 

SNY 

www.mets.mlb.com 

Milwaukee 

7:10 p.m. 

SNY 

Around the dial 

Today’s TV and radio listings 

Auto racing 

TV 

7 p.m. NHRA: Midwest Nationals, final eliminations (t) ESPN2 

Baseball 

1 p.m. MLB: L.A. Dodgers at Atlanta TBS 

2:10 p.m. MLB: Washington at Chicago Cubs WGN 

8 p.m. MLB: Philadelphia at San Francisco ESPN 

Basketball 

1 p.m. NBA playoffs: Cleveland at New Jersey, game 1 ABC 

3:30 p.m. NBA playoffs: San Antonio at Phoenix, game 1 ABC 

Football 

9 a.m. NFL Europa: Frankfurt at Amsterdam NFL 

1 a.m. (Mon.) NFL Europa: Rhein at Hamburg (t) NFL 

Golf 

8 a.m. EuroPGA: Telecom Italia Open, final round TGC 

3 p.m. LPGA: Semgroup Championship, final round ESPN2 

3 p.m. PGA: Wachovia Championship, final round CBS 

6:30 p.m. Champions: FedEx Kinko’s Classic, final round (t) TGC 

Hockey 

2 p.m. NHL playoffs: N.Y. Rangers at Buffalo, game 6 NBC 

Motorsports 

4 p.m. MotoGP 250 at Shanghai, China (t) SPEED 

5 p.m. MotoGP World Championship, at Shanghai, China (t) SPEED 

Softball 

1 p.m. College: Alabama at Tennessee ESPN 

AP Photo/Chuck Burton 

Tiger Woods watches his tee shot on the second hole during the 

third round of the Wachovia Championship in Charlotte, N.C., 

Saturday. 

Sabbatini takes lead 

heading into last day 

By DOUG FERGUSON 

AP Golf Writer 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rory Sabbatini holed out for eagle from the 

first fairway and picked up even more ground with a birdie on the final 

hole on a thrilling Saturday at the Wachovia Championship, giving him 

a share of the course record with an 8-under 64 and a final pairing he 

wanted with Tiger Woods. 

For those who miss the excitement 

once found at the Augusta 

National, this was the place to 

be. 

Sabbatini, Vijay Singh and 

Arron Oberholser all made eagle 

from the fairway, and players 

jockeyed for position along the 

back nine with an array of birdies 

that brought Quail Hollow to life 

on a gray afternoon of light rain. 

And there was one more comparison 

worthy of the Masters — 

Woods took bogey on his final two 

holes and had to settle for a 68. 

But he wasn’t alone. 

Phil Mickelson challenged for 

the lead until a peculiar decision 

to hit a hybrid from thick grass 

on the slope above a creek, hitting 

into the water to take double 

bogey on the 18th. Oberholser 

was tied for the lead until his fairway 

bunker shot found the creek 

on the 18th, and he finished with 

a double bogey. 

Singh nearly went into the 

creek, then rolled up his pants to 

his knees to stand in the water 

and play out of the hazard. He 

nearly escaped with par, but his 

Wachovia 

Championship 

Saturday 

At Quail Hollow Club 

Charlotte, N.C. 

Purse: $6.3 million 

Yardage: 7,442; Par 72 

Third Round 

Rory Sabbatini 70-71-64 —205 

Tiger Woods 70-68-68 —206 

Arron Oberholser 69-69-69 —207 

Vijay Singh 67-71-69 —207 

Steve Stricker 72-70-66 —208 

Ken Duke 70-70-68 —208 

Phil Mickelson 70-71-68 —209 

Trevor Immelman 68-74-68 —210 

Stewart Cink 70-71-69 —210 

Anthony Kim 72-69-69 —210 

Billy Mayfair 73-71-67 —211 

John Senden 72-70-69 —211 

Joey Sindelar 69-72-70 —211 

Robert Garrigus 72-73-67 —212 

Sergio Garcia 71-71-70 —212 

Jerry Kelly 69-73-70 —212 

Carl Pettersson 68-73-71 —212 

Rod Pampling 71-70-71 —212 

Jason Bohn 67-72-73 —212 

Davis Love III 74-72-67 —213 

Nick O’Hern 75-69-69 —213 

K.J. Choi 70-74-69 —213 

Brett Quigley 70-74-69 —213 

Jose Maria Olazabal 70-72-71 —213 

45-foot putt cruelly caught the left edge of the cup. 

When it ended in darkness brought on by a two-hour delay, it left 

thousands of fans eager to return for the final round. 

Sabbatini was at 11-under 205 and will be in the final group with 

Woods, who saved bogey from the creek and was one shot behind. The 

spunky South African won at Riviera two years ago and heard murmurs 

that it wasn’t that great of a victory because Woods had withdrawn 

on the weekend with the flu. 

“He’s here this week — best opportunity I’ve had to put any of that 

criticism or doubt aside,” Sabbatini said. 

Singh roared to life with a birdie-birdie-eagle start to his back nine, 

and wound up with a 69 and was at 207. He will be paired with 

Oberholser, who had a 69. 

Steve Stricker shot 66 and was at 208 with Ken Duke (68). 

Mickelson, who chipped in for eagle on the par-5 fifth, was still in the 

hunt after a 68 put him four shots behind. 

AP Photo/Jason Babyak 

Jeff Gordon is handed the flag of the late Dale Earnhart after winning the Subway Fresh Fit 500 NASCAR race April 21, in Avondale, 

Ariz. Gordon tied Earnhardt with 76 career victories with that win. 

Friends and Foes 

Gordon more like Earnhardt than fans will admit 

By JENNA FRYER 

AP Auto Racing Writer 

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Accept it, race fans: 

Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon were buddies. 

The old man respected the kid and took 

time to help him adjust to NASCAR’s politics. 

Earnhardt recognized Gordon as a huge talent 

and cherished their on-track battles, 

knowing each victory was a win over a driver 

destined to go down as one of the best. 

It’s fact, yet many Earnhardt fans choose 

to ignore it. 

They pretend the two drivers were bitter 

rivals, two very different men with nothing in 

common. No matter how hard he tries or 

what he accomplishes, Earnhardt fans are 

adamant that Gordon simply does not stack 

up against The Intimidator. 

Turns out, though, that Gordon is a whole 

lot more like Earnhardt than anyone imagined. 

Gordon proved it Sunday with career victory 

No. 77, which pushed him past Earnhardt 

for sixth place on NASCAR’s list. It came at 

Talladega Superspeedway, where the crowd 

is virtually all pro-Earnhardt, and on the day 

Earnhardt would have celebrated his 56th 

birthday. 

The feat was met with a shower of beer 

cans thrown from the stands. 

The record book will show that Gordon 

took the lead with three laps to go and then 

won under caution during overtime. But the 

victory seemed destined hours earlier when 

he made an Earnhardtesque stand in the 

prerace drivers’ meeting. 

NASCAR warned the drivers that there’s a 

fine line between skillfully bump-drafting and 

aggressive driving. Gordon respectfully disagreed. 

In a room packed with his peers, he 

spoke with NASCAR president Mike Helton 

about the dangers the drivers were about to 

face. 

“I absolutely don’t think there is a fine 

line,” he began. “We’re not able to mandate it 

ourselves. You guys have to mandate it 

because we’ve got the adrenaline flowing. 

We’re competitors out there trying to win. 

And we see one guy push another guy, it 

allows us each to continue to do it more and 

more and 

NEXTEL Cup Top 10 

Following race 9 of 36 

RK 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

DRIVER 

Jeff Gordon 

Jeff Burton 

Matt Kenseth 

Jimmie Johnson 

Denny Hamlin 

Tony Stewart 

Jamie McMurray 

Kyle Busch 

Kevin Harvick 

Kurt Busch 

OURCE: NASCAR 

PTS 

1,521 

1,318 

1,292 

1,290 

1,189 

1,078 

1,059 

1,054 

1,052 

1,038 

AP 

more. 

“And, 

yeah, 

obviously, 

you can’t 

do it in 

the corners, 

but 

we still 

do it. 

Even on 

the 

straightaways, 

it’s about 

judging 

the 

speed, 

and 

we’re still wrecking on the straightaways. I 

don’t think that should be happening at all. 

We can make a great, exciting race out there. 

And no offense to your warning, but when 

you drop the green, I guarantee we’re going 

to be doing it.” 

And that, Tony Stewart, is how to make a 

point. 

Days after Stewart exposed the sport to 

ridicule by comparing it to professional 

wrestling on his national radio show, Gordon 

calmly made a point to NASCAR that benefited 

all 43 drivers in the field. 

For a guy who has resisted replacing the 

voice that was lost when Earnhardt died in 

2001, Gordon certainly appeared a perfect fit 

for the role Sunday. 

He insisted after his victory that too much 

was being made of his stand — even though 

the race was much tamer by Talladega standards 

and might have been because of his 

comments. 

“It was kind of a spur of the moment 

thing,” he said. “I wanted to go see 

(NASCAR) before the drivers’ meeting, and I 

didn’t get a chance to, and something 

sparked inside of me and I just had to say 

something. I don’t know if that made a difference 

or not, but (the race) was one of the 

best. 

“But it had nothing to do with trying to set 

an example for others of how you go about it. 

I always try to go about saying things to 

NASCAR as gingerly as I can to try to get my 

point across, but not put anything down or 

take away from anything or anybody.” 

Former series champion Kurt Busch said 

Gordon has “always been the lead guy to be 

politically correct with NASCAR.” 

“Gordon is very selective with his words,” 

he said. 

Teammate Jimmie Johnson said the prerace 

comments were something most drivers 

would not have been comfortable making. 

“If many other drivers would have spoken 

up and said what Jeff did in the drivers’ 

meeting, it would have come off wrong and 

people would have laughed,” Johnson said. 

“It wouldn’t have come off the same way. But 

Jeff is at that spot in his career and he’s so 

well spoken and comes from a fair place 

when he’s speaking about those things, that 

people are listening.” 

The garage has lacked that presence since 

Earnhardt’s fatal accident. Gordon insists he 

doesn’t want to fill that void, and Stewart 

proved last week that while his message may 

be valid, his delivery lacks the finesse 

Earnhardt perfected. 

“I know that Jeff doesn’t want to be Dale,” 

Johnson said. “He wants to be himself and do 

things his own way. I know he doesn’t want to 

be in this position to be the voice of the drivers, 

but he almost has this responsibility 

that’s developing for him whether he wants it 

or not.” 

Kurt Busch returning to old form 

By MIKE HARRIS 

AP Auto Racing Writer 

Kurt Busch made a leap of faith 

when he left Jack Roush’s team, 

where he got his NASCAR start 

and won a championship, to work 

for Roger Penske. 

Busch, who took over the seat 

in the No. 2 Dodge last year, 

replacing the retired Rusty 

Wallace, had a decent, though 

quiet, 2006 in his new ride. He 

won six poles, had one race win 

and finished 16th in the points — 

nowhere near what he and the 

team had hoped for in his Penske 

Racing South debut. 

Busch said that, instead of getting 

down, the entire team took 

the first season together as a 

challenge to improve. 

“We saw what kind of team and 

what kind of talent we really possessed,” 

Busch said. “We knew we 

had a great foundation to build 

on.” 

While Busch hasn’t exactly set 

the Nextel Cup series on fire in 

the first nine races of 2007, he definitely 

is making strides. 

After finishing a season-best 

third last Sunday at Talladega, 

Busch is 10th in the season standings 

and looking for a lot more 

heading into Saturday night’s race 

at Richmond International 

Raceway. 

“We had been having good topfive 

and top-10 performances, but 

poor fuel mileage led to us getting 

caught by the caution flags and 

we just haven’t had some of the 

finishes we deserved,” Busch 

said. “But we’ve still been making 

steady progress up the ladder in 

the points.” 

After finishing a disappointing 

18th at Phoenix, the Talladega 

performance was an important 

one for Busch to regain momentum. 

To get it done, he managed 

to charge from 26th to third in the 

waning laps. 

“We were pretty aggressive 

moving up through there, but with 

the laps running out, we just had 

to go for it and get all the positions 

we could,” he said. “The 

team said we made up 23 spots in 

the final 10 laps and that’s pretty 

incredible.” 

Busch hopes that Talladega finish 

is something to build on. 

“It was a finish that we needed 

and it came at a really good time 

for our team,” he said. “We had a 

great test at Richmond earlier 

this month and we’re really looking 

forward to getting back there 

this weekend.” 

Tough Talk 

Tony Stewart again spoke his 

mind on his Tuesday night satellite 

radio show. Only, this time, he 

didn’t get in trouble for it. 

A week earlier, Stewart’s 

remarks about NASCAR, criticizing 

officials for unnecessary cautions 

and relating the stock car 

sport to pro wrestling, raised a 

firestorm of controversy that kept 

Stewart in the news the rest of the 

week. 

AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt 

Driver Kurt Busch pits during the Aaron’s 499 April 29, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, 

Ala. 

This time, Stewart was asked 

his reaction to fans throwing beer 

cans and other debris onto the 

track after Jeff Gordon won the 

race at Talladega. 

“What I thought was awesome 

is there were a bunch of sheriff’s 

deputies and policemen that were 

in plain clothes, and there were 

also a bunch of uniformed officers 

there that, as soon as people 

started throwing things, they 

were arresting people,” Stewart 

said. “I thought it was great as far 

as the people getting arrested for 

it. I think it’s asinine for people to 

do that.”

B—8 NEW JERSEY SUNDAY HERALD Sunday, May 6, 2007

Sports

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