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FONTANA >> As he zoomed down the backstretch at Auto Club Speedway Friday afteoon on the last round of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying, Austin Dillon focused on winning the pole.

“It means everything. That is what I said down the backstretch,” the Richard Childress Racing driver said after the intense three-round session. “A Daytona 500 pole sitter, now I got a pole somewhere else.

“To do it at a drivers race track like this at Fontana it means a lot to me.  Just proud of this American Ethanol team; I knew going into that third session if I didn’t make mistakes, I would have a shot.”

As hard as it may be to believe, the last RCR pole was Dillon’s at the 2014 Daytona.

Dillon, grandson of the team owner and driving the No.3 Chevrolet, covered the two-mile distance in 38.200 seconds, a speed of 188.482 mph. He was able to edge out Kevn Harvick by 0.031 seconds.

Denny Hamlin, RCR teammate Ryan Newman and Carl Edwards made up the top five for Sunday’s Auto Club 400. Kyle Busch, Trevor Bayne, rookie Chase Elliott, Joey Logano and Jamie McMurray comprise the top 10. Hamlin was tops among Ford drivers and Bayne was the top Ford qualifier

Dillon was 14th in the first session at 38.413, which was led by 2015 event winner Brad Keseselowski at 38.200, Dillon moved to the third spot in the second session with a 38.209 runsthat trailed just Hamlin and Elliott among the top 24 from the initial session.

Hamlin’s 38.194 at 188.511 broke the track record of 188.245 set by teammate Kyle Busch in 2005.

“We’ve had fast cars all year long, and I knew going into that third session, if I didn’t make mistakes I would have a shot. I just stayed with it off of (Tu) 4. I kept my locker locked as much as I could with the gas just keeping as much fuel to the car as I could.  It worked out for us.”

Dillon’s efforts were the result of a strategy by team engineers.

“We wanted to be from 13th to 24th in that first (round),” Dillon said. “We were 13th (tied with Busch) on the front side of that.  On the second run I was a little tight. We just kept freeing the car up a little bit there to help ourselves in that third run and it all worked out.”

It was his best qualifying showing under the new NASCAR downforce rules.

“I figure everybody was going to have the same stuff as I’ve got and I’ve got to go out there and get better as a driver.  We went to work,” said Dillon, who will compete in his third Cup event at ACS. “I have always had this drive as a driver to want to get better and to work hard.  I think the right group of people is around me supporting me, showing me the right things to get better, pointing me in the right direction each time I come off the track somebody is talking to me on improving.

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“Also, my engineers are doing a good job of not being satisfied with just good. Good isn’t good enough.  That is making me a better driver.  I enjoy the encouragement and the push from those guys.”

Harvick was third and fourth in the first two sessions before finishing second.

Each round was a little bit different,” he said. “The second round, I had a little traffic getting onto the race track. The first round was pretty clean. I didn’t really change anything.

“I think I caught the inside of that seam with the right-side tires a little more than I wanted to through (tus) 1 and 2 and it just started to step out and I had to pedal it three or four times down there because it was loose.,” he said about the third-round effort.

“All in all, a good day for our team (Stewart-Haas Racing), and hopefully we can cap that off with a win when we get done on Sunday,” he said.

Hamlin was looking forward to the main event.

“We’ve run so well here; this is one of my top three tracks on the list that I haven’t won at that I really want to win at really bad,” said Hamlin, who missed the 2014 race due to an eye injury. “We’ll see how it all tus out, but I’m pretty confident.

“It was a pretty easy day for us. We didn’t have to change a whole lot. I was pretty happy with it, I just messed up a little bit on that final run and cost us a little bit of time. Other than that, not too bad.”

Bayne was the highest qualifier among the 11 Fords in te race, running for the Wood Brothers who have usually skipped this race.

“The cooler temperatures kind of threw our adjustments off a little bit.  It shaded up in three and four and I just got too loose on that last run,” he said. “ I think maybe if we kept it closer to what we did the second round on adjustments, we might have had a shot at the pole, but Austin laid down a really fast lap time for three rounds.

“To run a .20 after three runs on tires is pretty stout, but I can’t complain about a seventh-place starting spot.  It’s good to have track position here and now we’ve got to work on race trim.”

Live updates: Regional Championship Basketball – Saturday, March 19

LONG BEACH >> Patience is a virtue, and it helped the Long Beach State Dirtbags draw a season-high 13 walks in an 8-3 win over Columbia on Friday night at Blair Field.

“There were a lot of free opportunities, obviously,” Long Beach State head coach Troy Buckley said—it was the first time his team has drawn 10+ walks since recording 12 against Utah Valley on Feb. 22 of last year. “But there comes a point where you still have to think hit even though the ball isn’t consistently in the strike zone, and I didn’t think we did that enough.”

The Dirtbags (13-5) got another strong start from Darren McCaughan, the Los Alamitos High grad, who moved to 4-0 on the year. The righty celebrated his birthday by scattering four hits in six-plus innings of work while striking out six, which ties a season high. McCaughan hasn’t allowed more than one run in his four starts.

“I didn’t feel tired,” McCaughan said after five days rest. His mom threw out the first pitch. “It’s a great way to spend a birthday.”

Leadoff hitter Garrett Hampson had two RBIs to give Long Beach State an early lead, and catcher David Banuelos smashed a 3-run home run in the seventh inning for insurance runs.

Freshman Jacob Hughey came out of the bullpen and struck out four batters in the final two innings.

The Dirtbags opened the scoring with four runs in the second inning. Walks and an error loaded the bases, and freshman Brooks Stotler brought home the first run with a walk. After a Columbia pitching change, shortstop Garrett Hampson worked the count full and drove a 2-RBI double into the opposite field gap. Alex Muzzi would also plate Stotler with a sacrifice bunt. Stotler would be replaced by fellow freshman Domenic Coacchio and he would plate Dominguez with his first hit as a Dirtbag in the fifth inning.

Columbia got on the board in the seventh inning when Logan Boyher leadoff with his first home run of the season off of the left field foul pole. After McCaughan gave up a walk and a flair single, his throwing error plated another run and ended his night. Junior Josh Advocate came out of the bullpen and allowed a sacrifice fly RBI that cut the lead to 5-3.

A walk and an error put two runners on for Long Beach State catcher Davis Banuelos to crush the first pitch he saw over the left field fence to erase the 3-run inning for the Lions. Banuelos went 2-for-3 with three runs batted in, giving him his first career multi-hit game and matching his career high in RBIs.

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“The hit by Banuelos was huge,” Buckley said. “It was a big hit. We were aggressive, first pitch, runner in scoring position, it was a nice job.”

These two teams will be back at Blair Field at 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.

The smile on Byron Scott’s face widened as he gushed about Brandon Bass’ hustle. Scott chuckled when he recalled Bass’ refusal to wear a mask to protect his recently poked eye.

So it seemed expected when Scott earlier told Bass four words that conveyed how he hopes his NBA future unfolds.

“‘I love you here,’” Scott recalled telling Bass.

With a player option next season worth $3.1 million, Bass can avoid much attention as he has all season by exercising it. Or Bass can open opt out in hopes for a longer deal either with the Lakers or elsewhere. As Scott predicted, “I’m sure he’ll get a bunch of offers.”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Bass told Los Angeles News Group. “I’m a special type of player and person to be around this type of group. I think I can help develop these young guys. I want them to be successful. I would love to see them grow and would love it to be here. But you never know what happens.”

Bass has averaged a modest 7.0 points and 4.3 rebounds. But after nursing an eye injury that kept him out of Tuesday’s contest against Sacramento, Bass retued on Friday against Phoenix off of a recent tear. In the previous 11 contests, Bass has averaged 10.2 points on 60.7 percent shooting and 5.0 rebounds.

“I just try to go out there and play the right way,” Bass said. “I let things happen instead of trying to force the issue.”

That might have gone unnoticed amid Kobe Bryant’s farewell and the development of D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson. But not to Scott.

“I love Brandon Bass,” said Scott, who coached him in New Orleans during his rookie season (2005-06). “I love his work ethic. I love his professionalism. I love his attitude. I love that you know when you put him in the game, you know what you’re going to get.”

The Lakers are going to get a rebounder. The Lakers are going to get a undersized, 6’8, 250-pound forward who makes up for his height disadvantage with quickness. The Lakers are going to get a 10-year veteran eager to mentor his younger teammates more with actions than with words.

“I feel like doing all the right things defensively and offensively,” Bass said. “With moving the ball, communicating with them and doing little things, they can put in the back of their head, ‘This is how we’re going to play. That’s how we’re going to succeed.’”

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After playing with Chris Paul in New Orleans, Bass has recently told Lakers rookie point guard D’Angelo Russell to emulate how he runs the Clippers’ offense.

“‘Control the game and make everybody better,’” Bass recalled saying. “‘Its’ your responsibility as a point guard to know where everybody is good at and how to get everybody involved.”

Memory lane

While former UCLA standouts Earl Watson and Baron Davis struggled to pay attention in class, Kobe Bryant spent all of that time working.

Watson, the Suns’ coach, frequently saw Bryant report to the Wooden Center before Lakers training camp for a workout beginning at 7:45 a.m. Watson would then see Bryant leave the gym around 1:45 p.m. only to retu for pick-up scrimmages at 3 p.m.

“Kobe set the tone for Baron and I to work hard, stay focused, be extreme and be an addict to our game,” Watson said. “The game of basketball became his addiction.”

The noise level reached fever pitch, and the reasons had everything to do with Kobe Bryant.

This did not involve Bryant leading the Lakers to a win, making a shot or even playing. The fanfare centered on Bryant strolling to the Lakers’ bench before watching a mess unfold in the form of a 95-90 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Friday at Staples Center.

That partly explains the sudden excitement among the 18,997 at Staples Center since the game offered little to cheer until the Lakers cut a 19-point deficit in the final moments. But Lakers forward Ryan Kelly missed two foul shots and was called for basket interference on the next possession.

Before that, most of the attention centered on Bryant, who missed his sixth game in the previous 10 contests because of his sore right shoulder.

Unlike Bryant’s other absences, the Lakers did not expect this.

“I don’t know what changed,” Lakers coach Byron Scott said. “It was good this moing. This afteoon, it didn’t feel good.”

The Lakers (14-55) didn’t look good, either. They nearly set a franchise record for fewest points in a game, something the 2002-03 team still holds with a 70-point effort in Cleveland on Nov. 5, 2002. The Lakers also set a season-low with fewest points scored in the second quarter (10 points on 4-of-24 shooting).

That might bring fanfare during the NBA draft lottery in New York City on May 17. The Lakers have a five-game cushion over the Phoenix Suns (19-50) for the NBA’s second-worst record, which gives the Lakers a 55.8 percent chance of keeping their top-3 protected pick and 19.9 percent odds at finishing No. 1. But Scott scoffed at such talk.

“If you intentionally go out there and try to lose games, that type of karma is going to come back on you,” Scott said. “I’m going to coach to try to win these games and I hope our players come out and try to win.”

They may have tried. But the Lakers still went 31-of-86 from the field, including poor shooting nights from D’Angelo Russell (2-of-10), Jordan Clarkson (2-of-13) and Julius Randle (1-of-9), none of whom played in the fourth quarter.

Lakers reserve guard Lou Williams was the lone player both to score in double digits (30) and shoot above 50 percent (10-of-17).

But does Scott find it off-putting that the NBA awards teams with better chances to land a top pick because of poor records?

“I could be critical about it with certain parts of it,” Scott said. “But obviously last year it worked out pretty good for us.”

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Then, the Lakers landed the No. 2 pick despite finishing with the league’s fourth-worst record. Hence, Scott sounded open toward becoming the team’s draft representative again along with Lakers spokesman John Black.

“Just give me great talent and chemistry, we’ll win,” Scott said. “That’s what John and I did last year.”

The Lakers could not say the same thing about their own roster against Phoenix. So, plenty of fans seemed more interested in Bryant, who has consistently retued only for road games and home contests against marquee players or opponents.

But Scott offered Bryant some sympathy, arguing, “When he tells me he can’t go, I know he’s hurting.”

“He has to think about himself more than anything and his future after basketball,” Scott said. “He doesn’t want to do damage to his shoulder so much that in 5-10 years from now he has to go get surgery again.”

Key plays: Jamie McGinn and Ryan Kesler scored 1:16 apart in the opening minutes of the first period and the Ducks went on to take a 4-0 victory Friday from the Boston Bruins at the Honda Center. The win moved the Ducks within four points of the Pacific Division-leading Kings.

Pivotal performer: Team captain Ryan Getzlaf assisted on goals by McGinn and Hampus Lindholm to help the Ducks take a commanding 3-0 lead by the opening minute of the third period. Getzlaf has seven goals and 21 points in his past 19 games.

Between the pipes: Frederik Andersen retued to the Ducks’ net one game earlier than expected because John Gibson was too ill to play. It would have been Gibson’s tu to start in Boudreau’s two-on, two-off goalie rotation. Andersen made 38 saves for his fifth career shutout.

Familiar faces: Boudreau reunited The Twins, Getzlaf and Corey Perry, for Friday’s game. McGinn joined them on the Ducks’ top line. David Perron, Rickard Rakell and Brandon Pirri formed the second line. Rakell scored the Ducks’ fourth goal.

— Elliott Teaford

After setting a franchise record with 11 consecutive victories, after vaulting temporarily into first place in the Pacific Division standings, after solidifying a Stanley Cup playoff bid, maybe a lull was inevitable for the Ducks.

If the Ducks were worried they had reverted to their head-scratching play of October and November they weren’t going to admit it before facing the Boston Bruins on Friday at the Honda Center. If they were conceed their invincible aura was damaged they weren’t saying so.

The Ducks were 1-3-1 in their last five games before facing the Bruins.

“We’ve played some pretty good hockey,” Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf said, delivering a state of the team address after the moing skate. “We went on a run there that, obviously, we knew wasn’t going to last the whole season. We knew that. That’s the way hockey is.

“It’s a matter of responding and playing the right way most nights. Or every night, for that matter. There’s no reason we can’t play the right way every night. We’re not going to win every night. … We’ve just got to continue playing properly and building toward the end.”

The number of regular-season games has reached a manageable number, with the end of the 82-game slog now within sight. The Ducks had 12 left, including Friday’s matchup against the Bruins, and they were feeling good about themselves and their second-place standing in the Pacific.

The Ducks faced a six-point deficit, however. They also were only a point in front of the third-place San Jose Sharks. They were all but assured of one of the top three spots and a guaranteed playoff berth, with the fourth-place Arizona Coyotes trailing by 16 points.

It remained to be seen if they could catch the division-leading Kings.

Or whether it was worth the time and effort.

“Honestly, I don’t think that’s the most important thing,” Ducks defenseman Kevin Bieksa said of chasing a fourth consecutive division championship at the expense of resting and preparing for what could be a lengthy playoff run in April, May and perhaps June.

If the playoffs started Friday, the first-place Kings would have played the Nashville Predators, the first wild-card team, in the first round. The second-place Ducks would have faced the third-place Sharks and would have held home-ice advantage.

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“We feel pretty comfortable we’re going to be in the top three,” Bieksa said. “San Jose or L.A. pick your poison, right? They’re two great teams. The key is to be playing good hockey, to be playing the right way, roll together some wins and feel good about yourself going into the postseason.”

Bieksa’s retu to the lineup after a two-game absence because of a lower-body injury figured to give the Ducks a boost. They were without defenseman Sami Vatanen for the fourth game because of an upper-body injury and center Nate Thompson for the third game because of a lower-body ailment.

After a so-so start in his first season with the Ducks, after a trade June 30 from the Vancouver Canucks, Bieksa has combined with Cam Fowler to form a steady defense pair for coach Bruce Boudreau. Bieksa, who had four goals and 14 points before Friday, wanted back in the lineup.

“You don’t want to let off the gas,” he said.

FONTANA >> As he zoomed down the backstretch at Auto Club Speedway Friday afteoon on the last round of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying, Austin Dillon focused on winning the pole.

“It means everything. That is what I said down the backstretch,” the Richard Childress Racing driver said after the intense three-round session. “A Daytona 500 pole sitter, now I got a pole somewhere else.

“To do it at a drivers race track like this at Fontana it means a lot to me.  Just proud of this American Ethanol team; I knew going into that third session if I didn’t make mistakes, I would have a shot.”

As hard as it may be to believe, the last RCR pole was Dillon’s at the 2014 Daytona.

Dillon, grandson of the team owner and driving the No.3 Chevrolet, covered the two-mile distance in 38.200 seconds, a speed of 188.482 mph. He was able to edge out Kevn Harvick by 0.031 seconds.

Denny Hamlin, RCR teammate Ryan Newman and Carl Edwards made up the top five for Sunday’s Auto Club 400. Kyle Busch, Trevor Bayne, rookie Chase Elliott, Joey Logano and Jamie McMurray comprise the top 10. Hamlin was tops among Ford drivers and Bayne was the top Ford qualifier

Dillon was 14th in the first session at 38.413, which was led by 2015 event winner Brad Keseselowski at 38.200, Dillon moved to the third spot in the second session with a 38.209 runsthat trailed just Hamlin and Elliott among the top 24 from the initial session.

Hamlin’s 38.194 at 188.511 broke the track record of 188.245 set by teammate Kyle Busch in 2005.

“We’ve had fast cars all year long, and I knew going into that third session, if I didn’t make mistakes I would have a shot. I just stayed with it off of (Tu) 4. I kept my locker locked as much as I could with the gas just keeping as much fuel to the car as I could.  It worked out for us.”

Dillon’s efforts were the result of a strategy by team engineers.

“We wanted to be from 13th to 24th in that first (round),” Dillon said. “We were 13th (tied with Busch) on the front side of that.  On the second run I was a little tight. We just kept freeing the car up a little bit there to help ourselves in that third run and it all worked out.”

It was his best qualifying showing under the new NASCAR downforce rules.

“I figure everybody was going to have the same stuff as I’ve got and I’ve got to go out there and get better as a driver.  We went to work,” said Dillon, who will compete in his third Cup event at ACS. “I have always had this drive as a driver to want to get better and to work hard.  I think the right group of people is around me supporting me, showing me the right things to get better, pointing me in the right direction each time I come off the track somebody is talking to me on improving.

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“Also, my engineers are doing a good job of not being satisfied with just good. Good isn’t good enough.  That is making me a better driver.  I enjoy the encouragement and the push from those guys.”

Harvick was third and fourth in the first two sessions before finishing second.

Each round was a little bit different,” he said. “The second round, I had a little traffic getting onto the race track. The first round was pretty clean. I didn’t really change anything.

“I think I caught the inside of that seam with the right-side tires a little more than I wanted to through (tus) 1 and 2 and it just started to step out and I had to pedal it three or four times down there because it was loose.,” he said about the third-round effort.

“All in all, a good day for our team (Stewart-Haas Racing), and hopefully we can cap that off with a win when we get done on Sunday,” he said.

Hamlin was looking forward to the main event.

“We’ve run so well here; this is one of my top three tracks on the list that I haven’t won at that I really want to win at really bad,” said Hamlin, who missed the 2014 race due to an eye injury. “We’ll see how it all tus out, but I’m pretty confident.

“It was a pretty easy day for us. We didn’t have to change a whole lot. I was pretty happy with it, I just messed up a little bit on that final run and cost us a little bit of time. Other than that, not too bad.”

Bayne was the highest qualifier among the 11 Fords in te race, running for the Wood Brothers who have usually skipped this race.

“The cooler temperatures kind of threw our adjustments off a little bit.  It shaded up in three and four and I just got too loose on that last run,” he said. “ I think maybe if we kept it closer to what we did the second round on adjustments, we might have had a shot at the pole, but Austin laid down a really fast lap time for three rounds.

“To run a .20 after three runs on tires is pretty stout, but I can’t complain about a seventh-place starting spot.  It’s good to have track position here and now we’ve got to work on race trim.”

FONTANA >> If there is any NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver that can relate to the emotions Tony Stewart is going through, it’s Brian Vickers. Ironically, Vickers will drive in Stewart’s place this weekend at Auto Club Speedway.

Stewart, who will retire as a driver at season’s end, is sidelined by injuries (including a broken back) suffered in an off-season sand-dune buggy incident in Glamis. Vickers, has replaced him in two of the four races thus far this season, is familiar with such a situation, having taken time off four times since 2010 to deal with his own medical issues that included a hole in his heart and blood clots.

Vickers will drive the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Chevrolet.

“As much as I want to race this car as long as I can, I really want to see Tony back in it,” Vickers said during a press session Friday at moing. “I have been in his shoes. I know exactly what it’s like.”

That’s because he missed the Fontana stop a year ago due to clots. He missed the first two races of the 2015 season recovering from heart surgery, raced at Las Vegas and Phoenix but was pulled out of the Auto Club 400 two days before the event. He never retued to the track.

It’s a bit different this time around. He’s splitting time with Ty Dillion in the car and his next race is at Martinsville in two weeks. However, there’s nothing official after that from SHR.

“I’m really thinking long term; I just want to get through tomorrow,” said Vickers. “I am loving the weekend-off, weekend-on thing. That has been very relaxing, very fun. I get to race, but I also get some time off. (I’m) really pumped about (Martinsville) to kind of continue that forward. Then we are figuring out everything from there.

“Nothing has really changed. Everyone is really just kind of waiting to see how Tony shakes out. It’s his last season; he deserves to be in this car as much as he can be. I’m happy to tu the keys back over as soon as he’s ready.”

Vickers was in a dual capacity at his press briefing. Today’s Xfinity Series race is the Treatmyclot.com 300. He’s appeared in television commercials with Aold Palmer on behalf of the blood-clot medication and Sunday’s car is sponsored by Aie’s Army Charitable Foundation.

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So, how was it filming with the 86-year-old Aie on the golf course?

“Although he hasn’t been playing 18 holes lately, he can still putt,” Vickers said. “We had some putting and chipping competitions and he just crushed all of us. We tried and tried and tried and then he steps up and made like six out of seven. It just kept going in. Not a single other person could make this 30-foot putt. That is when we realized – he’s still got it.”

Track report

More than 20 years after the pavement on the backstretch at ACS, it’s still talked about

“You could write a book about a lap at this place,” said Carl Edwards Friday moing aftaer the first practice session. “There’s so much happening out there: where you place your tires, how you enter the coer, what the guy in front of you is doing. All of those things add up to a lot different balance. Tus 1 and 2, as many times as I’ve been here, I still don’t feel like I have it figured out.

“There’s spots that I like to run, there’s things I like to do, but there’s some spots out there and it’s like, man, I can’t quite figure out what’s happening. When you hit this point in the race track and the car moves and I can’t repeat it all of the time, so you never really know what you’re going to get. I think that’s good. It’s a little bit unpredictable, it’s definitely tough and, to me, that’s part of the fun.”

A former Cup winner at the track, Edwards qualified fifth for Sunday’s race with a fast lap of 187.222 mph. Austin Dillon won the pole at 188.482.

Haas down under

The Haas F1 Team, owned by Gene Haas who is partnered with Stewart in NASCAR, made its debut Friday in the first practice sessions for Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix in Melboue. Both practice sessions were conducted amid intermittent showers, forcing drivers to primarily navigate the 5.303-kilometer (3.295-mile), 16-tu Albert Park Circuit on either on a full wet tire or intermediates.

The team recorded 32 laps between the two sessions, 14 laps in the first practice and then 18.

Romain Gutiérrez was 11th quickest (1:42.891) in the second session while Esteban Grosjean was 13th (1:43.731). Mercedes; Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes was the quickest at 1:38.841.

Pit stops

John Lynch, a 15-year NFL veteran with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Denver Broncos, will drive the pace car Sunday before the Sprint Cup race. A nine-time Pro Bowl selection, he is currently an analyst. … Roger Penske built the speedway (then Califoia Speedway) that opened in 1997 after several years of construction. This marks Penske’s 50th anniversary in racing and the track will pay tribute to him by painting the Team Penske 50th Anniversary logo on the infield grass. … In October of 1990, Andretti Smith started his career as a Wood Brothers crew member. However, that streak ended last week in Phoenix while he recovered from an injury suffered in Las Vegas handling a gas can. Instead of the track, he spent race day watching his daughter play T-Ball. “Honestly, it was a lot easier than I thought it would be,” Smith told PitTalk.com.

We showed up at the track today with a lot of enthusiasm. Since my move to Joe Gibbs Racing this has been one of our better tracks, especially when it comes to qualifying.  

Although the day didn’t tu out how we hoped it would, it could have been much worse. We have a couple hours of practice tomorrow to get it dialed in and it’s a long race Sunday.

With the tire limit we have for the weekend, and the way the track chews them up, we decided to limit our practice laps and just work on the qualifying setup today. From the first lap on the track we just did not have the feel or drivability in the car that I was looking for. We made a lot of changes and just never really got it where we could make any speed.

This track is incredibly rough and is very tricky to negotiate. With the coers being so long, you have to get out of the throttle a little more than the next guy or the car bottoms out and you just lose so much time. It’s always a hard balance here between aero and mechanical grip. You have to have a combination of both but it’s hard to get it fast and driving good at the same time.

Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) and the team made some great changes for qualifying and the car drove much better than practice. We were still off a good bit on speed compared to the best cars, and we made it through round one but that was all we had today.

So, we’re starting mid-pack (20th). But, we’ve got a great pit crew and a great team. We’ll work hard on our race setup during the two practice sessions tomorrow and hopefully get it right for Sunday.

The good news is this is probably one of the best tracks to pass at on the circuit.

It’s incredibly wide, has really long sweeping coers, and a very unique surface.

If you’re faster than the guy in front of you, you typically have a fighting chance of getting around him and to continue to move forward.

This has always been one of my favorite race tracks and I can’t wait to get to work in the moing. And, like everyone that has a mediocre Friday says, “It’s just a starting position!”

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It might be easier to score 20 points against Harrison Bonner than it would be to get the senior Long Beach Poly basketball player to talk about himself. Asked to do so, he furrowed his brow and considered the request.

“I keep to myself, mostly,” he said simply.

If Long Beach Poly’s fans want a win today when the Jackrabbits face J.W. North in the CIF State Division II SoCal Regional championship in Long Beach State’s Walter Pyramid, they’ll need Bonner to be the player he has been for the past two years.

The game starts at 11 a.m., and the winner will travel to Sacramento for next weekend’s CIF State Division II championship. The Jackrabbits have won 20 CIF Southe Section championships but only two state titles (in 1921 and 1984), and they are looking to make history with another pair of wins.

To get them, they’ll once again need solid offensive and defensive games from Bonner, one of the area’s most complete players. Despite starting every single game for the Jackrabbits his junior and senior years, and despite averaging 13 points per game, Bonner has flown under the radar, likely a result of his steady demeanor.

He’s an anomaly in the hyper-competitive, hyper-emotional world of high school sports — a gifted player who doesn’t draw attention to himself. On the rare occasion that he blows a defensive assignment, he doesn’t come to the sideline and slap his chair during a timeout. On the much more frequent occasions that he hits a big three, he doesn’t celebrate all the way down the court — instead he finds the player he’s defending and gets back to work on defense.

“I’m not shy, I’m just not really outgoing either,” said Bonner. “I don’t like to talk much. I’ve always been that way.”

That kind of mentality can rub some coaches the wrong way. Some coaches want a senior leader who’s yelling all the time, leading with emotion rather than execution. Fortunately for Bonner, Poly head coach Shelton Diggs is just fine with who he is on the floor.

“He reminds me of me in high school, actually,” said Diggs. “It’s easy for me. I can tell him something and I know he gets it.”

Diggs said he and assistant coach John Atkinson haven’t tried to change Bonner this year and have largely stopped bothering to give him pointers mid-game, since they found he was making the same adjustments on his own that they’d ask him to.

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Bonner has been Poly’s best one-on-one defender, and has almost always guarded an opponent’s best player over the past two years, which means he’s often faced off against future Division 1 talent. While he may prefer to stay silent, his record on the defensive end of the court speaks for itself.

Last week in the state playoffs he guarded Los Alamitos’ Eyassu Worku, the best player in the area (and the highest-scoring) and held him to 16 points, the fifth-lowest total of the season for the UC Irvine signee. Earlier this year in a matchup against J.W. North he held UC Riverside signee Dikymbe Martin to 11 points, his sixth lowest tally of the year. And early this season he held Cal commit Jemarl Baker (who scored 30 points against the nation’s top team, Chino Hills) to just six points, his lowest total of the year.

His length (6-foot-4 with an even bigger wingspan) and athleticism allow him to guard just about any type of scorer on the perimeter, and to do so without fouling.

“He’s locked up a lot of kids with offers, while scoring 15 or 20 points himself,” said Diggs. “And he likes playing defense — there’s not a lot of kids like that.”

Bonner has the perfect mentality for a defensive stopper, similar to that of a great pitcher. If something goes well, he might nod a little, but he’s not going to get so excited that he has a lapse. And if something goes wrong, he has an easy time pushing it from his memory and focusing on the next play.

“I just enjoy playing defense, and I take pride in not letting my man score more on me than I do on him,” he said.

This year he’s also leaed to be more aggressive offensively, something he’s had to do with the number of injuries Poly has had to deal with. He’s evolved from a quiet defensive force into a steady scorer as well, forming the third leg of Poly’s scoring trio alongside Zafir Williams and Drew Buggs.

Diggs and Bonner are hoping the senior lands a late mid-major or Division 2 offer, and they know that playing in a state championship would help with that.

“Right now though, all I’m focused on is winning,” said Bonner.

To have a shot at the team’s first state title in more than 30 years, they’ll need a big game from Bonner and the rest of the roster. But don’t be surprised if after they get that win, Bonner lets the rest of the roster do the talking.

Ticket Info

One ticket will get you into both Poly basketball games at the Pyramid today, the boys at 11 a.m. and the girls in the Open Division championship at 5 p.m.

General admission pricing for the day’s games will be $18 for adults and $10 for any seniors, children, and students with a valid ASB card. Tickets are available online at LongBeachState.com/CIF or from the Pyramid box office.

Baltimore Ravens coerback Tray Walker, who played one season in the NFL, died Friday of injuries from a dirt bike crash in Miami.

His godmother confirmed the 23-year-old Walker’s death, according to the Ravens.

Walker was riding a Honda dirt bike with no lights and wearing dark clothing when he collided with a Ford Escape on Thursday night, Miami-Dade Police said. He had been in Jackson Memorial Hospital in critical condition.

A fourth-round 2015 draft pick, Walker played in eight games last season, mostly on special teams.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh wrote a heart-felt letter to his players Friday before Walker died. Later, in a statement, Harbaugh said, “Tray was a young man with a good and kind heart. He was humble and loved everything about being part of the Ravens’ team. He loved his teammates the practice and the preparation and that showed every day. ... I’ll never forget that smile.”

General manager Ozzie Newsome, who drafted Walker, said, “Tray was one of the most humble persons we brought in for a pre-draft visit. That was striking. After we drafted him, he and his family were so excited to receive the call that he was about to become a Raven. It was one of the calls I will always remember. There was such joy for Tray and his family.”

Walker made only one tackle with Baltimore, but he made a lasting impression on those around him.

“Tray was a young man who was full of energy and promise,” quarterback Joe Flacco said. “This is very hard to wrap my head around, and I am devastated.”

Walker played high school football at Miami Northweste High School before enjoying a four-year career with Texas Southe. He was second-team All-Southweste Athletic Conference in 2014.

“Tray had a hard shell,” Ravens coerback Jimmy Smith said, “but once you broke through that, you found a person who was leaing how to become a man and was so eager to be a great person and professional. I am heartbroken for his family.”

Walker’s death was felt throughout the organization, all the way to the top.

“We have two sons not too much older than Tray, and we can’t imagine how much his family is suffering,” team owner Steve Bisciotti said. “This is so sad. The right words are hard to find at a time like this. As much as we can comfort Tray’s mom and the rest of his family, we will.”

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In a league with many budding rivalries, the Califoia Clasico against San Jose is in a class of its own for Galaxy forward Alan Gordon.

“These two teams, especially the fan bases, they hate each other,” he said. “It’s very intense. We take it very seriously as players and as a whole organization.”

The series between the two Califoia rivals features many memorable games. Here are just a few that stick out in the minds of the Galaxy players as they prepare for Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. Clasico kickoff.

Mike Magee: June 25, 2011, Galaxy 0, San Jose 0

Mike Magee eaed the nickname “Mr. November” for his clutch playoff performances with the Galaxy, but perhaps Magee was most magical on a summer afteoon in San Jose between the goal posts.

A comedy of goalkeeping errors unfolded for L.A. in the first half when starter Donovan Ricketts suffered a broken arm in the 24th minute and backup Josh Saunders was ejected in the 43rd. So Saunders peeled off his black goalkeeper shirt and passed it to the 5-foot-10 Magee, who had exactly zero goalkeeping experience before volunteering himself for the job.

“In my eyes, I wanted to play goalie once in my life,” Magee said this week of the game. “I thought I was going to play until halftime and (coach) Bruce (Arena) would have some master plan at halftime.”

He said he received no halftime coaching for his new post. Apparently he didn’t need it. Magee, who honed his hand-eye coordination as a youth baseball player, “blacked out” and got three saves in 48 minutes to preserve the most unlikely of shutouts. The Galaxy won the MLS Cup that season, the first of two for Magee.

L.A. is currently down a goalkeeper as Dan Kennedy is out with a partially to groin that he suffered in the season opener, but Magee assured his career in goal is done.

“That’s one of those things you want to do once and then never again,” he said.

A.J. DeLaGarza and Gordon: June 29, 2013, San Jose 3, Galaxy 2

Gordon’s favorite Califoia Clasico memory is A.J. DeLaGarza’s least favorite.

In an epic game, San Jose came back from a man down and a two-goal deficit to snatch three points from the Galaxy at Stanford Stadium. The Earthquakes scored twice in stoppage time, with Gordon heading in the game-winner in the 94th minute after DeLaGarza got crossed over by Marvin Chavez, fell down and chased the ball to the other side of the field before getting scored on.

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“There was a roach on the ground and I tripped over the roach,” DeLaGarza said.

DeLaGarza hasn’t escaped the snafu. It pops up on Instagram almost daily and he’s always tagged in it. Gordon insists they laugh about it now.

Gordon was an integral part of San Jose’s 2012 Supporters’ Shield-winning season, a fan favorite in San Jose who seemed to always score the necessary stoppage time goal. Now that he’s wearing the Galaxy’s blue and gold, the forward only speaks of his favorite game in hushed tones.

“I know there were a lot of hard feelings for what I did on the other side of this rivalry,” Gordon said. “I want to give back to the (Galaxy) fans.”

Gordon’s least favorite: Nov. 7, 2012, Galaxy 3, San Jose 1

Gordon never won an MLS Cup in San Jose and it was the Galaxy who ended his best chance in 2012.

The Earthquakes won the Supporters’ Shield that season and beat L.A. four times, including a 1-0 victory in the first leg of the Weste Conference semifinals at Home Depot Center. Then the Galaxy overtook San Jose’s then-impenetrable fortress at Buck Shaw Stadium in the second leg. Robbie Keane and Magee combined for three first-half goals to bounce the Earthquakes from the playoffs. It was San Jose’s first loss at Buck Shaw Stadium in more than a year, and less than a month later, the Galaxy hoisted the MLS Cup.

“They hurt us really bad,” Gordon said. “Each side has been hurt by the other side, so it’s just about the next game.”

Saturday’s game

Galaxy vs. San Jose Earthquakes

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m., StubHub Center

TV/Radio: TWCS, TWCD/LAGalaxy.com, ESPN Deportes

Records: Galaxy 1-1, San Jose 2-0

BRUINS AT KINGS

Faceoff: 7:30 p.m.

TV/Radio: FSW / 790-AM

Update: The Kings (43-22-5) strengthened their hold on first place in the Pacific Division thanks to a three-game winning streak and a 7-2-1 record in their last 10 games. Their 4-3 overtime victory Thursday over the New York Rangers pushed their lead over the second-place Ducks to six points. The Bruins were 39-24-8 going into Friday’s game against the Ducks. Kings left wing Milan Lucic has an eight-game point streak (three goals, seven assists), matching his career high set while with the Bruins in December 2008 (four goals, four assists). Center Anze Kopitar set a Kings record with his fourth overtime goal of the season during Thursday’s victory over the Rangers. Kopitar finished the two-game season series against New York with five goals, including two Thursday. The Kings thumped the Bruins 9-2 in the first meeting Feb. 9 in Boston.

–Elliott Teaford

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Familiar faces will be the order of the day when the Clippers visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday for a 5 p.m. game (on Prime Ticket). The Grizzlies now have former Clippers Matt Baes and Lance Stephenson, the Clippers now have Jeff Green, for whom Stephenson was traded in February.

Baes and Stephenson have been playing well for the Grizzlies (39-30), and Clippers coach Doc Rivers has noticed.

“They’re playing great,” Rivers said. “You hope they play well. They were part of your franchise, so you want them to do well.”

But ...

“You just don’t want them to do well against you,” he said.

Rivers knows that’s what Baes and Stephenson must have in mind, though, and Rivers suggested that’s just human nature.

“I was a player, too,” Rivers said. “And whenever you’re traded, you want to do well against your old team and your old team wants to do well against you. That never changes.”

Baes is averaging 16 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists over his past five games. Stephenson has averaged 23.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists over his past four games.

As for Green, he has averaged 10.3 points in 13 games since coming to the Clippers. His high game was 23 points in a 120-108 loss March 9 at Oklahoma City. Green, who played parts of the past two seasons with Memphis, said he’s not entering this game like he has to show something to the team that traded him away.

“I’ve got nothing to prove,” Green said. “At the end of the day I know it’s a business, so I don’t hold anything against anybody. Only thing I come into the game is just trying to win.”

No playoff preview

If the season were to end right now, the Clippers (43-24) and Grizzlies would play one another in the first round of the Weste Conference playoffs as the Clippers are in fourth place and the Grizzlies are in fifth.

But Rivers said this is not a playoff preview because both teams figure to look different than they currently do because of injuries. The Clippers will have power forward Blake Griffin (quad, hand) back for the postseason and the Grizzlies should have back power forward Zach Randolph (sore knee) and point guard Mike Conley (Achilles’ tendinitis).

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“At the end of the day, you just come out and play each individual game right now and the playoffs will be a different beast,” Rivers said. “Memphis is a playoff-type team. They’re rugged, they’re tough, so you have to be ready for that.

“But to be honest, there is no thought (about the playoffs) going into that tomorrow night, I can tell you that.”

Feeling for Griffin, Gasol

Speaking of injuries, Memphis center Marc Gasol (foot) is out for the season. He leads the Grizzlies with a 16.6 scoring average. That means neither team’s leading scorer will play Saturday; Griffin leads the Clippers with a 23.2 average.

Rivers said he understands the emotions Griffin and Gasol must be experiencing. Griffin hasn’t played since Christmas night.

“It’s not fun not playing,” he said. “I’ve been through it and you want to play. That’s what you’ve done your whole life. As good as it is for us – we get to play every day, I get to work every day - and Blake and Marc Gasol and guys like that, they’re out. That’s no fun for players.”

Is your bracket busted?

Don’t worry, you’re not alone.

According to the Associated Press, 27.3 percent of brackets in Yahoo! pools and 22.3 percent in ESPN pools had Michigan State winning it all. Not making it to the Final Four— No. Winning it all. Ouch.

Only Kansas was a more popular choice.

To help you get through these tough times, here are 13 reactions to Michigan State’s loss to Middle Tennessee.

Having trouble seeing story on your mobile device? Click here.

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Live, from Fontana, is Jeff Gordon Live.

The freshly retired four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champ and one of the most popular racers in the sport’s history has four races under his haess has a certified Fox TV analyst. Sunday at the Auto Club 400 makes it five, in the booth with Mike Joy and Darrell Waltrip (Sunday, 12:30 p.m., Channel 11).

Gordon may already have a secret to reveal: This might be a little less stressful than hosting “Saturday Night Live.”

He admitted as much and more when we caught up with him at the track for this Q-and-A to see just how ready he was for L.A.’s not-ready-for-prime-time close-up:

Question: We’ll tap the fuel pedal lightly at first: You’ve had a chance to get into a weekly routine now since January. On a scale of 1- to-10, can you rate how much you’re up to speed with the live sports TV business and all it involves?

Answer: Hmm, I’m about a 7. Certainly, Daytona was a huge leaing curve and first time on air I was extremely nervous, throughout the whole first weekend (of dual races) and maybe all through the Daytona 500, Now that I got the reps in, we’ve gone to several races since then, I’m having a lot of fun, first and foremost. As far my nervousness … that part has subsided quite a bit. But I’m also putting pressure on myself to do the best job I can. So maybe that’s why I’d leave it a 7 right now.

Q: It probably isn’t the same as hosting a “Saturday Night Live” or filing in for Regis Philbin, but …

A: It’s interesting you bring that up, because when you host “Saturday Night Live” (his one and only time was in 2003), you get to really rehearse that show even though it’s ‘live.’ Really, it’s scripted. But for a race broadcast? No rehearsing. We just don’t know what’s coming at us. Now, we know where the breaks might be and things we have to get to from an advertising standpoint, maybe some storylines. But other than that …. While ‘Saturday Night Live’ is so outside your normal comfort level, by Saturday, you really have a pretty good feeling for what’s going to happen. It’s a far different type of nerves.

Q: Maybe you just gave away too many secrets there. You made “SNL” sound pretty simple.

A: (Laughing). It’s not simple. You do a dress rehearsal on Saturday right before you do the actual one, but they cut 30 minutes out of the show before it goes live, so that’s when it becomes interesting. And then there’s something about, ‘OK, now you’re going on live TV,’ where your heart rate goes up.

Q: And for these NASCAR races, what you’re doing now is a very subjective business. Viewers like you or dislike you for whatever crazy reason. There’s this court of public opinion you have to deal with as a sportscaster, with no scoreboard to show if you won or lost. Has that been easy enough to figure out?

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A: I expected from social media that everything would be under a microscope, which is also why I wanted to put as much effort into it as possible. The response is far better than I expected.

Q: Who do you trust most to give you the best feedback? Your wife, Fox TV people … who can be honest with you?

A: When it comes to what I’m wearing on camera, my wife is essential. My step-father (John Bickford) who got me into racing and as a business manager for many years, certainly I can tap into. Jon Edwards (Gordon’s longtime media manager) gives me his honest opinions. And another, Terry Linger (a longtime race producer at ESPN and ABC), I worked with him way back when I did ‘Thursday Night Thunder’ (USAC sprint racing) and we’ve always been good friends. He’s a fantastic source.

Q: When we talked to Fox NASCAR producer Barry Landis, he said you and Troy Aikman are a lot alike – you both decided to get into the TV side not because you wanted the spotlight kept on you, but you had something to offer, really are diligent about prep work, don’t take anything for granted. Is that an appropriate comparison? Have you ever got to compare notes with Troy?

A: Anyone who’d compare me to him in the booth, that’s a huge honor. I love the way he handles himself and the technical side he brings as a successful player. I’d certainly want to emulate that style. I saw Troy in Charlotte when they were there for an NFL playoff game (last January) and I was able to see him in action, and then we’d text back and forth. I like to get more in-depth with him now that I know what I’ve got myself into (laughing). I think people like Barry who knew me from the other side of the camera, I’m not sure they fully realized that when I want to do something, it’ll be to the best of my ability, a lot of effort put into. You never know what you’ll get in this scenario, but they realized I love racing and I want to put everything into this new stage in my life just like when I was a driver.

Q: You know so much about how racing plays out from behind the wheel. Now you’re watching it from what might be an airport control tower. And there are all the nuances involved with the headsets, people talking in your ear, replay monitors, people handing you stats. In some ways is that multi-tasking the same?

A: The similarities are amazing. What a crew does preparing for and then during a race – so much communication from the radio about what’s happening on the track, how it’s changing and evolving, you really have no idea what’s going to happen next. That transfers to the broadcast booth. But there’s also a certain natural instinct that you have. When you grow up racing cars as I have since I was 5 ½ years old – things happen on the track, and I’m very comfortable and ready for them. For this (TV role), it’s completely different. If you’re talking, and someone’s talking in your ear, it is very hard to stay in that thought and finish it and make it smooth. Between that and having to compress all your thoughts and ideas into very short bursts is very challenging. You can’t get better with all until you have more experience with it. Those challenges, I like, but they’re definitely big challenges.

Q: There seem to be some on social media who want to put you and Darrell Waltrip on opposite ends, maybe create tension. Waltrip addressed it in a recent FoxSports.com column, how he sees value in what you each offer. His column was actually posted on your website. You’re 44, he’s 69; you just come off the track, he retired 15 years ago – how do you size up your dynamic versus how others could perceive it?

A: Well, I think just looking at our passion for the sport, how much we enjoy not just racing but the broadcasting side, he’s been fantastic to me and we’ve had a great time working together. But we definitely have differences of opinion at times. My knowledge is in the current state of the sport, he’s been successful who has been out of the driver’s seat for a while but he gets their mindset and what it takes. I have a lot of respect for that. We’ve had a lot of discussion about this – it’s OK to have differences of opinions as long as we respect one another and we can smile and laugh about it, it can be very interesting for the viewer. And sometimes, viewers take it as, ‘Ohhh, there’s tension,’ but it’s really been quite the opposite.

Q: So maybe viewers just tune in simply to hear you debate? Maybe they aren’t up as much on the actual racing but they enjoy hearing broadcasters argue?

A: As far as tuning into what me and Darrell are going to bring, we each bring something different. And they are different. I’d hope that adds to the broadcast where fans at home say, ‘I like we get both sides of what’s going on from everything.’

More Q and A with Gordon at insidesocal.com/tomhoffarth about his Daytona 500 “spine chilling” experience, the trip to Fontana and coming out OK after a Fox-sponsored “police chase.”

MEASURING MEDIA MOMENTUM

WHAT SMOKES

• As a way to honor Michigan native Dick Enberg in his final year of MLB play-by-play before he retires with the San Diego Padres, the Detroit Tigers have arranged to have the 81-year-old as a special guest broadcaster doing a game from in Detroit when they face Tampa Bay on Saturday, May 21. Enberg may have grown up in the San Feando Valley, but he was bo in Mount Clemens, Mich., idolizing Tigers center fielder Al Kaline. He retued to Northridge as a baseball coach at San Feando Valley State (now Cal State Northridge) and launched his broadcast career at KTLA-Channel 5 with the Angels. “One of baseball’s many charms is that it’s a generational game,” Enberg said. “My grandfather rooted for the Tigers at Navin Field. My father took me to Briggs Stadium for my first major league game in 1947 … Fred Hutchinson outpitched Bob Feller. In 1973, I called Nolan Ryan’s second no-hitter from the visiting booth at Tiger Stadium. And now, after almost 70 years, this delicious opportunity to retu to Detroit in my final broadcast season to refresh my historical love of the Tigers. Wouldn’t Grandpa and Dad be proud! Oh, my!” Next up: Having Fox figure out a way for him and Vin Scully to call a few innings during the July 12 MLB All Star Game at Petco Park in San Diego. Why not together?

WHAT CHOKES

• The New York Yankees are bold enough to recruit third baseman/Fox MLB playoff analyst Alex Rodriguez as a spokesman to urge fans of the team to drop Comast during its current dispute with the YES network, so what’s preventing the Dodgers from having someone step into the SportsNet LA distribution fray and boldly tell fans to drop DirecTV and AT&T in place of Time Waer Cable? Who’s on what team anymore? Maybe it’s not as simple, considering how many Dodgers are likely DirecTV subscribers. Now imagine if Tommy Lasorda did such a commercial — bleeps and all, as if he was just asked about a Dave Kingman performance. Cages would be rattled.

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Rafael Nadal defeated Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-3 to reach the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open in pursuit of a fourth title in the Califoia desert.

Nadal next plays either defending champion Novak Djokovic or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who met in a quarterfinal later Friday.

Nadal trailed 3-1 before he won five of the next six games to take the opening set in 45 minutes. Nadal got an early break in the second to build a 4-2 lead. His forehand error allowed Nishikori to break back and trail 4-3. But Nadal quickly recovered in the next game to break the sixth-ranked Japanese player and won the match on his serve with a forehand down the line.

In women’s semifinals later, Serena Williams will play Agnieszka Radwanska and Victoria Azarenka will face Karolina Pliskova.

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ST. LOUIS — No. 15 seed Middle Tennessee State sent the biggest shock yet through the NCAA Touament on Friday, topping second-seeded Michigan State 90-81 in the first round.

Reggie Upshaw scored 21 points to lead the balanced Blue Raiders (25-9), who shut down player of the year candidate Denzel Valentine. Middle Tennessee never trailed the Spartans (29-6) in one of the biggest upsets since the touament began seeding teams in 1985.

It was the eighth time a No. 2 seed beat a No. 15, and first since Florida Gulf Coast beat Georgetown in 2013. The Eagles went on to reach the Sweet 16.

The stunning upset left many people, well, upset.

According to the Associated Press, 27.3 percent of brackets in Yahoo! pools and 22.3 percent in ESPN pools had Michigan State winning it all. Only Kansas was a more popular choice.

The Blue Raiders will try to pull of another upset against No. 10 seed Syracuse on Sunday.

Matt Costello matched a career-best with 22 points for the Spartans, but it wasn’t enough to offset Valentine’s miserable afteoon. The senior had 13 points and 12 assists, but he also had six tuovers — one of them coming with the Spartans trailing 79-76 and less than three minutes to go.

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GLENDALE, Ariz. — The uproar over Adam LaRoche’s abrupt retirement from the Chicago White Sox tued ugly Friday, with ace Chris Sale accusing the general manager of lying to the team about the reasons LaRoche’s son needed to spend less time around the clubhouse.

LaRoche announced this week that he was leaving after GM Kenny Williams asked him to cut the amount of time his 14-year-old son, Drake, was spending with the White Sox. The incident sparked anger from players across the major leagues and prompted questions about the balance between work and parenting.

LaRoche, who joined Chicago after playing for the Washington Nationals, for the first time spoke publicly Friday about what happened and he singled out Williams.

“Prior to signing with the White Sox, my first question to the club conceed my son’s ability to be a part of the team,” he wrote in a statement posted to his Twitter account. “After some due diligence on the club’s part, we reached an agreement. The 2015 season presented no problems as far as Drake was conceed. (My bat and our record are another story!).

“With all of this in mind, we move toward the current situation which arose after White Sox VP Ken Williams recently advised me to significantly scale back the time that my son spent in the clubhouse. Later, I was told not to bring him to the ballpark at all.”

The 36-yerar-old LaRoche said he instead chose to retire and walk away from a $13 million salary.

White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf declined specific comment.

“This is an inteal issue, and we are in the process of holding a number of discussions with players, staff and the front office,” Reinsdorf said in a statement released by the team. “As a result, we do not want to comment until that process is completed. I have instructed members of the organization not to talk about this issue and get our focus back on the field and winning baseball games.”

Outfielder Adam Eaton said he had reached out to the MLB Players Association on the matter. A union spokesman, Gregory Bouris, said the MLBPA was monitoring the situation.

Current players including Bryce Harper and former sluggers like Chipper Jones took to social media to back LaRoche, using (hash)FamilyFirst on Twitter. But their anger was nothing like that of Sale, the team’s All-Star pitcher who hung Drake’s uniform outside his locker at the spring training complex in suburban Phoenix.

White Sox players were told three different stories about what happened, Sale said.

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“This is a bigger issue than being told his son can’t be around. It’s a much deeper issue,” Sale said, then referred directly to Williams: “We got bold-faced lied to by someone we’re supposed to be able to trust.”

“He came to the players and said it was the coaches. He went to the coaches and said it was the players. Then he came in here and said it was the owner,” Sale said. “If we are all here to win a championship, this kind of stuff doesn’t happen.”

In a brief response issued by the club, Williams said: “While I disagree with Chris’ assertions today, I certainly always have appreciated his passion.”

Pitcher David Robertson said “the entire clubhouse” supported LaRoche while Todd Frazier wondered why the issue wasn’t addressed during the offseason.

White Sox manager Robin Ventura had little to say about the controversy.

“The timing of it, no matter where you put it, I don’t think it would have been any better if it had been the first day of spring,” he said. As for his players, he said, “One thing for sure is that they’re together, 100 percent.”

Marlins manager Don Mattingly said every team had to find a balance in having children around their fathers and having to go play. Dusty Baker of the Nationals said he believed both LaRoche and the White Sox did what they had to.

“I see the basketball players have their kids at interviews and stuff. Steph Curry . everybody talks about the family, the importance of family, but how are you supposed to have a family sometimes if you don’t bring your kids to work?” Baker said.

AP Sports Writers Ben Walker and Ron Blum contributed to this report.