Santa Maria Times from Santa Maria, California • B2

B2 Times Saturday, June 15, 2013 Photo Finish Contributed The Nipomo All-Stars Division 1 fast-pitch softball team poses for a photo after winning the championship of a tournament in Templeton last weekend.The team includes, in the bottom row from left, Kacey Spencer, Karley Camacho, Ella Chew, Jordan Sowell; middle row from left, Sienna Nieves, MiCayla Mendez, Mimi Wolf, Vanessa De Los Santos, Sydney Davis, Taylor Kaiser; and top row from left, coaches Carrie Sowell, FrankWolf, and Tim Chew. The All-Stars defeated the Morro BayLos Osos team for the title. They are slated to go on the road again this weekend for a tournament in Morro Bay. Names Faces Kennedy, Mattingly, Gibson among 8 suspended Will Graves associated press PITTSBURGH Major League Baseball came down hard on the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday, handing out eight suspensions and a dozen fines as punishment for abench-clearing brawl. Yet even with Arizona pitcher Ian Kennedy getting 10 games and infielder Eric Hinske five for their roles in Tuesday's fight, it might not be enough to quell the lingering hostility between the NL West rivals "No, it's not over yet, not at all," Dodgers reliever Ronald Belisario said.

"I don't think anybody thinks it's over." Belisario was to serve a one -game sus -pension on Friday night for aggressive actions" while Dodgers reliever J.P. Howell and infielder Skip Schumaker appealed the two-game suspensions they receivedfrom MLB1 Senior Vice President Joe Garagiola Jr. Los Angeles manager Don Mattingly and Arizona's Kirk Gibson were given one -game bans, while Dodgers hitting coach Mark McGwire must sit two games. Bench coach Trey Hillman filled in for Mattingly on Friday when Los Angeles played at Pittsburgh. Kennedy's suspensionis the longest handled out by the league for on-field conduct since Chicago Cubs catcher Michael Barrett was handed a 10 -game suspension for an incident with White Sox catcher A.J.

Pierzynski on May 20, 2006. "To me (Kennedy) seemed like he was kind of the instigator and started it and piled on and he got the most Mattingly said. "It just seems fair." Riddick Bowe proves big flop in Thai kickboxing PATTAYA, Thailand Riddick Bowe now understands why people warned him that Muay Thai is a dangerous sport "I would have to say, they have a valid point," said Bowe, after his debut in Thai kickboxing ended with a thud in the second round. "It's much harder thanboxing." The former world heavyweight boxing champion had hoped to prove his critics wrong and show that he could comeback from retirement into an entirely new sport and revive some of his past glory. But Bowe is now 45 and weighs 300 pounds, and he looked it Friday in his first fight since 2008.

Slow and out of shape, the fighter known as "BigDaddy" tookabigbeating from his 3 0 -year old unheralded Russian opponent Levgen Golovin, who attacked withrepeat-ed kicks to the shins that knocked Bowe off his feet five times. The bout ended with a technical knockout after his last fall when Bowe sat on the ground clutching his legs, wincing in pain. Santa Maria High School names new baseball coach Garold Shaffer has been named the varsity baseball coach at Santa Maria High School. Shaffer, a physical education teacher at the school since 2011, was former head coach David Hager 's lead assistant the past two seasons. "I am fortunate that we had a solid coaching staff that has created a foundation for re -building the baseball program here the past two years," said SantaMaria athletic director Joe Graackinapress release.

"I was impressed with Garold's knowledge of pitching and his plan to continue the development of the young team we had from last year. "That is what separated him from the other applicants for the position." Shaffer is a former Allan Hancock ollege baseball player (1997-1999), andfinished his college career at Vanguard University (1999-2002). He has 10 years of coaching experience at the high school level. SMYFL registration today A registration day will be held today for the Santa Maria Youth Football League Registration willbe held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

at the Westgate Community Center, 1300 Marsala Ave. The location is next to Liberty Elementary School. To register, you must bring two copies each of a birth certificate a report card and a photo of your child. The cost is $200. The SMYFL will also be holding a fundraising barbecue during registration.

There will be a final registration day in July on a date yet to be determined. For more information, contact Manuel Ledesma at 363-9642. Teen Wolf star to miss Santa Maria Reds game tonight Tyler Posey, the star of the MTV television show Teen Wolf, has postponed his visit to Santa Maria. Posey's brother Jesse pitched the Santa Maria Reds' Summer Collegiate Baseball season opener Friday night against the Fresno Valley Bears at Elks Field. Tyler Posey had planned to be at today's game tomeetwith fans and sign auto -graphs but because of a late work commit -ment he won't be coming to Santa Maria tonight.

Today' game begins at 6 p.m. Admission is $5. Children 12-and-under are free. First Tee summer camps First Tee willbe running summer camps this month. From June 24-27, at the Zaca Creek Golf Course in Buellton, First Tee coach Terri Benson will run the first summer session.

The registration fee is $125 per session and $75 for siblings. Scholarships are available. For more information or to register, please contact First Tee coach Terri Benson 801-6106. College Baseball World Series, game 1, Mississippi St. vs.

Oregon St. (ESPN2) 12 p.m. World Series, game 2, Indiana vs. Louisville (ESPN) 5 p.m. MLB Baseball Boston at Baltimore or San Francisco at Atlanta On deck Central Coast Sports Saturday Auto Racing Santa Maria Speedway, USACCRA410 Sprints, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Super Stocks, Hobby Stocks, and American Stocks 5 p.m.

Summer Collegiate Baseball Lodi Glory at Santa Maria Valley Packers, at Hancock College 2 p.m. Fresno at Santa Maria Reds, at Elks Field 6 p.m. Babe Ruth Baseball Lompoc Babe Ruth Tournament Game 1, Elks vs. Medics 9:30 a.m. Game 2, Tom's vs.

Raiders 12p.m. Television Auto Racing NASCAR, Nationwide Series, qualifying for Alliance Truck Parts 250 (ESPN2) NASCAR, Sprint Cup, "Happy Hour Series," final prac-tice for Quicken Loans 400 (SPEED) 9:30 a.m. NASCAR, Nationwide Series, Alliance Truck Parts 250 (ABC) IndyLights, Milwaukee IndyFest (NBCSN) 12 p.m. I ndyCar Series, Milwaukee IndyFest (NBCSN) 1p.m. Rolex Sports Car Series, Diamond Cellar Classic (SPEED) 1:30 p.m.

NHRA, Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, qualifying for Thunder Valley Nationals (ESPN2) 4 p.m. TORC Series (SPEED) 5 p.m. (MLB) lp.m. L.A. Dodgers at Pittsburgh (KCAL) lp.m.

NY. Yankees at L.A. Angels (FOX) 4 p.m. Boxing Lightweights, Terence Crawford (20-0-0) vs. Alejandro Sanabria (34-1-1); WB0, featherweight title, champion Mikey Garcia (31-0-0) vs.

Juan Manuel Lopez (33-2-0) (HBO) 7:45 p.m. Football Big 33, Classic, Pennsylvania All-Stars vs. Maryland All-Stars(NFLN) 4 p.m. AFL Football Jacksonville at Utah (CBS) 6 p.m. Golf USGA, U.S.

Open Championship (NBC) 9 a.m. NHL Stanley Cup Finals Game 2, Boston at Chicago (NBCSN) 5 p.m. MLL Lacrosse Denver at Chesapeake (CBSSN) 3:30 p.m. Soccer UEFA, U-21 Championship, semifinal, teams TBA (ESPNCL) Confederations Cup, Group Japan vs. Brazil (ESPN) 11:30 a.m.

MLS, Dallas at Portland (ESPN) 2 p.m. Note: Schedule subject to change andor blackouts. Times may be different for satellite TV users. Consult your program guide. The repercussions of Jason Leffler's death on a dirt track Death puts spotlight on short tracks Associated PressCanadian Press Tom ScottGloucester County Times Police stand near the wreckage of the race car that was driven by Jason Leffler at Bridgeport Speedway in Bridgeport, N.J.

on Wednesday. New Jersey State Police on Thursday were trying to determine what caused the dirt track crash that killed Leffler, who also raced for NASCAR, on Wednesday night. Jones set to make father proud in NHL draft Dan Gelston associated press By chance, Ronald "Popeye" Jones bumped into Joe Sakic in the weight room of the arena in Denver way back when. It shouldn't have been abig deal. After all, Jones' Denver Nuggets and Sakic's Colorado Avalanche shared the Pepsi Center.

Jones a 6 -foot 8 power forward, had more than casual conversation in mind for their first meeting almost 13 years ago, though. He told Sakic, atwo-time Stanley Cup winner, that he had two youngboys who wanted to play hockey and no clue how to help them. "He looked at me all the way up and into my eyes," Jones said. "He saw how big I was. He said, 'He's going to be huge Make sure he knows how to skate So Jones signed up his boys including youngest, Seth, for skating lessons.

Sakic's small piece of advice turned around one boy's direction. Now, it's Seth's turn to return the favor for an organization. The 18 -year- old Jones has grown into one of the top prospects in hockey and is the consensus No. 1 pick in the NHL draft later this month. That pick belongs to the Avalanche now ledby Sakic, the team's former captain who was recently promoted to executive vice president of hockey operations.

"All the goals he's set as a hockey player," Popeye said, "he's been able to accomplish." How's that for a proud pop Popeye, Seth's mother and other friends and relatives will attend the June 30 draft at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Pop-eye worked last season as an assistant coach with the Brooklyn Nets and lives about 20 minutes from the draft site. Dad was a second-round pick, 41st overall. Seth could be the first black player ever takenNo. lin the NHL draft.

"I'm trying to embrace it Seth said. "It's going to be fun in New Jersey, for sure I can't wait to share those experiences with my family." It may be a pretty big family reunion in Denver. Jones' older brother, Justin, also played hockey and they all got along with PatrickRoy's family as they grewup. The Roys and Joneses were close and spent time at each other's houses, in fact. And it just so happens that Roy a former goaltender who also won a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche was just hired to coach Colorado after the re -building franchise missedthe playoffs.

"Jones is a heck of a player," Roy said. "No Noah Trister associated press BROOKLYN, Mich. -Tony Stewart opened his re -marks with a few words about his relationship with Jason Leffler. Moments later, he offered a brief plea amid growing safety questions about Leffler's death at a dirt -track race earlier this week. "I'd be grateful if you guys would understand that what happened this week wasn't because somebody didn't do something right with the race track It was an accident Just like if you go out and there's a car crash.

It's an accident," Stewart saidFriday at Michigan. "Nobody as a track owner wants to go through what happened this week, but it's not due to a lack of effort on their part to try to make their facilities as safe as possible under the conditions they have." Leffler died Wednesday night from injuries suffered in a sprint car crash at Bridgeport Speedway in Swedesboro, N.J. The Delaware County (Pa.) medical examiner determined Leffler died from a blunt force neck injury. He was 37 and is survived by a 5 -year -old son. Stewart knows all about the challenges facing track owners.

He owns Eldora Speedway in Ohio, a dirt track that will host a NASCAR Truck Series race next month. He's one of a handful of big names who will show up to race at small, local tracks from time to time but Leffler 's death brought renewed attention to the safety of those races and not everyone is optimistic. "I don't run those races for areason. I have teams, yes, certainly. There are a handful of drivers that run at the local level.

I don't very often," said BradKeselowski, the defending Sprint Cup champion. "I Portland Winterhawks defenseman Seth Jones, seen here in this photo from May 26, celebrates his goal with teammate Nicolas Petan (19) during the second period of a Memorial Cup final hockey game against the Halifax Mooseheads in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Jones, the son of former NBA basketball player Ronald "Popeye" Jones, is likely to be No. 1 pick in the NHLdraft, which will be held in Newark, N.J., on June 30. matter what the decision for our organization are we going to keep first overall, are we going to move first overall, whatever we're going to do, we know that the team that picks first, second or third are going to get three outstanding players." Jones, Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin are expected to go 1-2-3 in the draft The Florida Panthers hold the second draft pick and the Tampa Bay Lightning are No.

3. Based on talent and need, Jones shouldn't drop past the Avalanche. The 6 -foot-4, 20 6 -pound defenseman met with members of the Avalanche scouting team last month before moving on to the NHL draft combine in Toronto. He would become the first American picked No. 1 since Chicago's Patrick Kane in 20 07 and seventh overall.

In a sport where the majority percentage of players are white, it's that slice of history he would make as the first black selected No. 1 topping Evander Kane, pickedfourth2009 that means so much to both of them. "I don't think about it too much," Seth said. "Hopefully, I can encourage young African -Americans to play hockey and try it when they're at ayoung age. It's definitely a white dominated sport But there are a lot more that are starting to play." Kane, Pittsburgh's Jarome Iginla, Philadelphia's Wayne Simmonds and Washington's Joel Ward are among the more prominent black players in the NHL.

Ward was the victim of a series of racist tweets during last year's playoffs after scoring the winning goal in Game 7 against Boston. don't know what happened to Jason, and maybe it was completely unrelated, and I don't want that tobe confused, but still, the safety standards at local short tracks they're out of control. They're dismal." Sprint car races can be more dangerous for drivers and spectators because many facilities lack the SAFER barriers that are standard in NASCAR and IndyCar, and the cars aren't always adequately protected. Bridgeport Speedway does not have SAFER Barriers, energy-absorbing walls cost about $500 afoot for installation. Most local short tracks cannot afford them.

Stewart said safety is improving, though. "Most of them have safety teams at each facility. That's probably the one thing I've seen the most of is having adequate safety teams there and making sure they can respond to the problem pretty quick," Stewart said. "I think things are the best they've ever been at this point There's facilities that need some work and there's facilities that put a lot of effort into it." Worsham breaks Bristol time record BRISTOL, Worsham broke Bristol Dragway's Funny Car time record witha4.008-second run Friday in qualifying for the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. The run also was the quickest in Worsham 's career and the best Funny Car time this season.

He reached a top speed of 314.83 mph in his Toyota Camry. "It was a great run," Worsham said. "I was kind of wowed myself. The car's been running better at every individual race." In top fuel, Alan Johnson's Al-Anabi's team driver Shawn Langdon qualified seventh. Langdon ran the quarter in 3.826 seconds at 303.71 mph, right in front of Brittany Force (3.828, 319.98).

Spencer Massey led the Top Fuel field breaking the track and time and speed marks. Massey had a 3.775 at 326.79 mph, and season points leader Mike Edwards finished at 6.645 at 207.72 in a Chevy Camaro for ninth No. 1 of the season and 50th overall..