“Aaron passes Ruth!”

“Nixon resigns!”

Those headlines helped me sell a lot of newspapers in 1974, when my journey with the Tucson Citizen began as an 11-year-old hawker. Wearing my “Citizen Charlie” smock, I pitched the paper – which cost 15 cents back then – in front of my father’s East Side liquor store.

In between begging for tips, I pored over the sports section. I studied box scores and Citizen writers such as Regis McAuley, Corky Simpson, Jack Rickard and Bruce Johnston.

The newspaper bug had bitten me.

I took journalism at Catalina High School under J.G. Carlton, and began calling in prep box scores to the Citizen for $3 a game. By the time I landed a correspondent’s job in 1980, I knew what I wanted to do with my life.

Except for a five-year stint at USA TODAY, I worked many different jobs and many crazy hours at the Citizen until Gannett announced our closure.

Some of my favorite memories:

• High school: Sahuaro quarterback Rodney Peete threw for a then-state record 424 yards and five touchdowns in 1983 against Amphi. It ended in a 34-34 tie but was the greatest game I ever reported. Amphi countered with 361 yards on the ground in a contest that saw three TDs and one field goal scored in the final 3 minutes and 42 seconds.

• College: After covering Sean Elliott for three years at Cholla High, I watched him break Lew Alcindor’s Pac-10 career scoring record in 1989. Elliott needed 34 points and scored 35 – with six 3-pointers. It’s the loudest I’ve ever heard McKale Center, and we had a special section printed after UA routed UCLA.

• Pro: Curt Schilling sprayed champagne on me and other reporters in the locker room after the Diamondbacks beat the Yankees to win the 2001 World Series. When Luis Gonzalez singled in the winning run, strangers began hugging in the aisles at Bank One Ballpark.

• Embarrassing: On a hot night, I fainted in the elevator at Arizona Stadium during UA’s 1986 football home opener vs. Houston. When I came to, then-sports information director Butch Henry stood over me, asking in his Arkansas drawl, “Is he dead?”

• Initiation: Two Cleveland Indians players, who shall remain nameless, tried to stuff me in a locker when I was 19. To the locker-room attendant who saved me, thank you.

• Sadness: When I was an assistant city editor, I had to wake up Lute Olson to tell him that former UA basketball assistant Ricky Byrdsong had been gunned down in Evanston, Ill. After Olson’s wife, Bobbi, yelled, “No, God,” Lute gave me an eloquent quote.

• Proudest: Watching our sports staff pull together some of the biggest stories of the decade: UA football coach John Mackovic’s firing; the death of UA women’s basketball star Shawntinice Polk; Olson’s retirement and Sean Miller’s hiring as basketball coach.

I’m biased, but I considered my sports staff to be one of the hardest-working and professional in the nation.

The Associated Press Sports Editors agreed. It named us a top 10 daily sports section in the nation seven of the last nine years for our circulation category.

Credit goes to my second “family”: Steve Rivera, John Moredich, Anthony Gimino, Bryan Lee, Ken Brazzle, Geoff Grammer, Raymond Suarez and Michael Schmelzle. Correspondents Ash Friederich, Rodney Haas and Christopher Veck deserve high-fives, along with past staffers Dave Petruska, Paul Schwalbach, Michael Caccamise, Shelly Lewellen, David Pittman, Stephen Sharpton, Jessie Vanderson, Charles Durrenberger and Christopher Walsh.

More thanks go out to all the page designers I annoyed with my suggestions, Simpson for his inspiration and guidance, and Peter Madrid, who I succeeded as sports editor in 1999.

Finally, I’d like to pay tribute to all the coaches, players, parents and readers who helped suggest stories and make my job easier.

I’ll miss this place.

Since 1957, the Tucson Citizen has profiled more than a 1,000 of the city’s finest high school student-athletes.

Each school nominated a candidate based on academics, athletics, leadership, service to their school and an essay on who influenced them most.

In all, there were 54 winners of the Tucson Citizen Student-Athlete Award, with co-recipients named twice.

Every year, the Citizen also would revisit a past winner from a decade before. Here’s what three are doing now:

Tim Ashcraft, Sahuaro, 2004

How many AH-64D Apache attack helicopter pilots play piano, cello, drums and guitar, sing in chorus, give piano lessons and have and acted and sung with professional aplomb in musical performances?

Tim Ashcraft is one of such an elite.

A 2007 West Point grad, Ashcraft, still very much a champion of the arts, is now stationed in flight school at Fort Rucker, Ala., where he is specializing in helicopters.

Ashcraft always yearned to fly. He likes to recall when he first learned on a Cessna while at West Point and flew around the Statue of Liberty and up the Hudson River. It was both business and fun.

At Sahuaro, music was as much of his growing-up years as academics (22nd in his class) and sports (nine letters in football, baseball and soccer). At the academy, he minored in music and majored in mechanical engineering.

“My granddad was in the Army, so that was the military background,” Ashcraft says, “but I didn’t think about the military growing up. But in choosing West Point, it provided the best opportunity to enjoy what I do and serve my country.”

Granddad was Clarence L. “Stub” Ashcraft, a University of Arizona icon, who died in 2008 at age 89. He was a major in WWII, a former UA lineman and served as UA historian and athletic events coordinator (1962-85). Tim’s father is David Ashcraft, a retired Sahuaro music director. Tim credits his older brother, Chris, as his life’s inspiration.

For Tim Ashcraft, serving in the Army has been an uplifting experience.

“With everything going on in the world today,” he says, “I couldn’t be more amazed at the support the U.S. military is receiving.”

Philo Sanchez, Sunnyside, 2002

The official programs stretched Philo Sanchez’s height from 5 feet 6 to 5-7, but every one of his 195 pounds on the football field was felt by opponents.

Sanchez, the 2002 Student-Athlete winner, has known nothing other than to overachieve since the time parents Richard and Anna Sanchez gently informed him what life was about, around age 2.

As an athlete, Philo was Sunnyside’s all-time leading rusher under his dad, the head coach, and led the Blue Devils to two state playoff championship games, winning the second time.

Sanchez continued playing at Northern Arizona and was the Lumberjacks’ leading rusher his junior and senior years.

But there is a lot more to his life than football. He was a scholar from kindergarten on and graduated fourth in his Sunnyside class of 365 and has been constantly involved in community and church service.

“Winning the Student-Athlete Award was sort of the culmination of everything, all the hard work I did,” Sanchez said.

At NAU he pursued a biology and pre-med major intending to follow in the footsteps of Dr. Mark Donovan, an orthodontist. But over the last two years, in which he helped his father as an assistant coach, Sanchez decided law school was for him. He’s now in the process of applying.

“My mother always said I should be a lawyer,” he said, “because I was so argumentative. Then after I graduated (NAU), she sensed I was not that excited about (being an orthodontist) anymore. She always was the smartest person I ever knew.”

Brains and inspiration are part of any success story. Football stars such as Walter Payton drifted in and out of his imagination, but one was always No. 1.

“Some kids make a superhero out of Superman or Spider-Man but I always had my father,” Philo says. “He’s what every man should be – compassionate, though sometimes he doesn’t show it, and strong.”

Molly Reiling, Salpointe Catholic, 1984

Girls sports took off in the 1970s, when Title IX required schools to offer equal sports opportunities to females.

Molly Reiling watched her older sister play interscholastic softball, and she eagerly followed suit.

“I was the first female Student-Athlete winner from Salpointe,” she said. “It was sort of a new thing but I remember it made me feel very proud. I was one of the first generation after (Title IX). We were some of the first to see the full effects.”

Karen Christensen from Rincon High was the first girl’s Student-Athlete Award winner in 1976, followed by Kristine Bush (Sabino), Lisa Kay Baker (Sahuaro) and Vickie Patton (Marana) before Reiling won in 1984.

Paul Reiling had three daughters and no sons but he never lacked for kids active in sports. He helped coached his girls in softball. Molly’s expertise was softball and volleyball and she went on to play two years of college volleyball at Arizona State before transferring to concentrate on her architecture degree at UC-Santa Barbara.

Now the married Molly Dowd, lives in Verona, N.J., a suburb of New York City, with two preteen daughters. A freelance spatial planning and interior drafting professional, she started a middle school volleyball program for her daughters.

“I thought of going on in sports and it’s amazing the opportunities growing for women now in college and after – professional, overseas pros, coaching . . .

“I’m just grateful for the opportunities.”

TUCSON CITIZEN STUDENT-ATHLETE AWARD WINNERS

Year Student-athlete High school

1957 D.L. Secrist Jr. Tucson High

1958 Donald Parsons Catalina

1959 Edward Brown Flowing Wells

1960 Terry DeJonghe Salpointe

1961 Robert Svob Catalina

1962 Ray Kosanke Tucson High

1963 Michael Aboud Tucson High

1964 Pat McAndrew Flowing Wells

1965 Charles Begley Sunnyside

1966 Eric Evett Catalina

1967 Ron Curry Tucson High

1968 Jeff Lovin Palo Verde

1969 Bruce Pawlowski Salpointe

1970 Dave Henry Sahuaro

1971 Tom Hagen Salpointe

1972 Bill Baechler Palo Verde

1973 Francisco Gomez Pueblo

1974 Richard Rucker Canyon del Oro

1975 Guillermo Robles Sunnyside

1976 Karen Christensen Rincon

1977 Michael Wing Rincon

1978 Craig Barker Amphitheater

1979 Ralph Gay Sunnyside

1980 Kristine Bush Sabino

1981 Lisa Kay Baker Sahuaro

1982 Vickie Patton Marana

1983 Martin Tetreault Sahuaro

1984 Molly Reiling Salpointe

1985 Timothy Roggeman Salpointe

1986 Jon Volpe Amphitheater

1987 Luis A. Padilla Pueblo

1988 Nicole Stern Catalina

1989 Robert Moen Flowing Wells

1990 Grace O’Neill Salpointe

1991 Angel Phillips Rincon

1992 Zenen Salazar Sunnyside

1993 Michelle Vielledent Sahuaro

1994 Julie Reitan Sahuaro

and Brady Bennon Sabino

1995 Kelly Yablonski University High

1996 Joe Aguirre Palo Verde

1997 Andy Viner University High

1998 Scott Beck Canyon del Oro

1999 Glenn Schatz University High

2000 Nicole Voelkel University High

2001 Ai-ris Yonekura Catalina Foothills

2002 Philo Sanchez Sunnyside

2003 Tim Ashcraft Sahuaro

2004 Joe Kay Tucson High

2005 Tiffany Hosten Tucson High

and Echo Fallon Catalina Foothills

2006 Michael Smith Sunnyside

2007 Tara Erdmann Flowing Wells

2008 James Eichberger Catalina

Citizen file photo

New York Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli dives to tag out the Blue Jays' Rod Barajas as he slides into home during Thursday's game in Toronto.

TORONTO – Welcome back, Derek Jeter and Hideki Matsui.

The two Yankees stars returned from nagging injuries and delivered key hits to lead CC Sabathia and New York past the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 on Thursday night.

“You have to give our trainers Trainer of the Day for getting them back in there,” manager Joe Girardi joked.

Jeter tied it with an RBI single in the seventh inning, Matsui put New York ahead with a solo homer in the eighth and Mariano Rivera worked a perfect ninth for his seventh save in eight chances.

“You know I don’t like watching so it was good to get back out there,” Jeter said. “It’s been a couple of days. It’s a big win for us. We needed that one.”

Sabathia (3-3) allowed five hits in eight innings to win consecutive starts for the first time this season. He walked four, one intentional, and struck out five to help the Yankees take two of three from Toronto, the surprise leader in the AL East.

“I’m just trying to pound the strike zone, getting guys to swing early in the count, keeping the pitch count down and just trying to pick the team up,” Sabathia said.

Sabathia, who pitched a four-hit shutout at Baltimore May 8, improved to 8-3 in 11 career games against the Blue Jays.

“He pitched well against one of the best offenses in the league,” teammate Johnny Damon said.

Indians 11, Rays 7: At St. Petersburg, Fla., Victor Martinez had four hits and drove in four runs, raising his batting average to .400 and helping Cleveland get the victory.

Angels 5, Red Sox 4, 12 innings: At Anaheim, Calif., Jeff Mathis hit an RBI single in the 12th, Torii Hunter had a two-run double and an RBI triple, and the Angels won.

Twins 6, Tigers 5: At Minneapolis, Joe Crede capped the second Minnesota comeback in two days with a two-out, two-run single in a six-run seventh inning that ruined Justin Verlander’s strong start as the Twins finish a three-game sweep.

Rangers 3, Mariners 2: At Arlington, Texas, Chris Davis hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting Texas to a three-game sweep.

Orioles 9, Royals 5: At Kansas City, Mo., Cesar Izturis and Nick Markakis each drove in three runs and the Orioles won.

NL: Martin leads Dodgers past Phillies

PHILADELPHIA – Russell Martin hit a tiebreaking double in the 10th inning and Matt Kemp followed with an RBI double to lift the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3.

Chad Durbin (1-1) retired the first two batters, then walked Andre Ethier. Martin doubled for a 4-3 lead and after an intentional walk, Kemp delivered.

Cubs 11, Padres 3: At Chicago, Bobby Scales hit a pair of two-run doubles and Ryan Dempster excelled with both his arm and bat as Chicago took advantage of 10 walks to beat skidding San Diego.

Brewers 5, Marlins 3: At Milwaukee, Prince Fielder hit a go-ahead homer and Dave Bush turned in another strong start for Milwaukee.

Astros 5, Rockies 3: At Denver, Wandy Rodriguez struck out a career-high 11 and Michael Bourn stole home on the back end of a double steal, leading Houston over Colorado.

Cardinals 5, Pirates 1: At Pittsburgh, Colby Rasmus’ two-run homer in the second inning gave St. Louis’ slumping offense a lift and the Cardinals avoided being swept by last-place Pittsburgh.

Mets 7, Giants 4: At San Francisco, David Wright hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the ninth inning and finished with four of New York’s franchise-record seven stolen bases.

CLIFTON, N.J. – Former Arizona Wildcat Lorena Ochoa is going to have to stage one of the biggest comebacks of her career to win a fourth straight Sybase Classic.

Helen Alfredsson jump-started a career-best, 10-under 62 by holing out for eagle from 68 yards on her second hole, and took a two-stroke lead over Brittany Lincicome after the opening round Thursday.

Ochoa, who has won this event at two different courses, was nine shots behind the long-hitting Alfredsson. Besides the eagle, the Swede had nine birdies and a bogey at Upper Montclair Country Club on a cold, damp day punctuated by an intermittent drizzle and chilling breeze.

Alfredsson’s round was the lowest on tour this year, and it left Ochoa with 54 holes to play catch up. Her biggest come-from-behind win was in 2004, when she rallied from five shots down in the final round to win the Wachovia LPGA Classic.

Ochoa overcame a four-shot deficit in this event three years ago, when it was played at Wykagyl in New York.

“I had birdie chances, like on 18, that just didn’t go,” Ochoa said. “But I’m happy. I’m very good with the speed. I had a couple that got away and had to save par, so I feel good. (Friday), maybe, some of them will drop.”

Only two other women have won the same LPGA event four years in a row. Annika Sorenstam won five straight Mizuno Classics in Japan from 2001-05, and Laura Davies won four straight Standard Register PING titles in Arizona from 1994-97.

That doesn’t mean No. 1-ranked Ochoa can be written off yet.

“As far as I know, this is a four-round tournament,” said Suzann Pettersen, who was third after a 7-under 65. “That’s all I can say.”

The 44-year-old Alfredsson made the game look easy, hitting fairways and greens all day. After starting on the back nine, the former European Solheim Cup captain eagled No. 11, birdied the 12th and chipped in from the edge of the green on the 13th for another birdie. Even with a bogey on No. 15, she shot 6-under 30 on the back side.

Alfredsson also birdied the par-4 first, one of eight birdies from 8 feet or less. She played the four par-5s in 4 under.

“Anybody, when we play good, you wonder why you don’t do this all the time, because it’s so easy,” she said. “It’s not strenuous, your head is not going crazy, your body doesn’t hurt. At my age, all that stuff usually comes along with it. So you don’t know why. I just felt that it’s just one of those days.”

Texas Open

SAN ANTONIO – Three-time champion Justin Leonard and Paul Goydos shot 7-under 63s to share the first-round lead in the PGA Texas Open.

The 44-year-old Goydos, who publicly opened up this month about the death of his ex-wife in January and raising his two teenage daughters, had the lead for most of the day until Leonard birdied three of his last four holes in the afternoon.

Irish Open

BALTRAY, Ireland – Italy’s Francesco Molinari shot a 9-under 63 to take a one-stroke leader over Sweden’s Johan Edfors in the Irish Open.

ALPI DI SIUSI, Italy – Lance Armstrong is still a long way from regaining the form that won him a record seven consecutive Tour de France titles.

The Texan finished nearly three minutes behind the leaders in the grueling uphill finish in the fifth stage of his first Giro d’Italia on Wednesday. Armstrong dropped from sixth to 22nd overall, 3 minutes, 34 seconds behind new race leader Danilo Di Luca.

“I didn’t come in with any big illusions. I knew that I would be minutes behind the best guys,” Armstrong said.

Denis Menchov sprinted away from a select group of riders and held off Di Luca in a sprint for the stage victory. In the overall standings, Di Luca holds a five-second overall lead on Sweden’s Thomas Lovkvist. Armstrong teammates Levi Leipheimer is fourth (43 seconds back) and Chris Horner eighth (1:17 behind).

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Pitt senior middle linebacker Adam Gunn has been suspended indefinitely from the team after being charged with public drunkenness and several other offenses resulting from a dispute outside a Pittsburgh nightclub.

NFL: Baltimore Ravens right offensive tackle Willie Anderson, 33, is retiring. He played 11 years with the Bengals, named to the Pro Bowl four times.

SOCCER: Manchester United moved within one point of a record-tying 18th English league title, rallying to win 2-1 at Wigan on Wednesday night behind second-half goals from Carlos Tevez and Michael Carrick.

TENNIS: Rafael Nadal powered into the third round of the Madrid Open with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Jurgen Melzer. Novak Djokovic beat Oscar Hernandez 6-3, 6-3, Andy Roddick beat Tommy Haas 1-6, 7-6 (9), 6-4, and James Blake downed Ivo Karlovic 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6(4) to set up a match with Roger Federer.

John Andretti slides down the track after hitting the first-turn wall during a practice session Sunday for the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis.

INDIANAPOLIS – John Andretti loves the 2.5-mile oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It doesn’t always love him back.

Andretti took a double hit here on Sunday, crashing while trying to find more speed on the famed Brickyard track and then getting bumped from the tentative Indy 500 lineup by a faster car.

So instead of spending the four days on the track this week working on the race setup in his Richard Petty Motorsports entry, the 46-year-old will be forced to requalify on Saturday, when the final 11 spots in the 33-car field are filled, or on Sunday, when the slowest qualifiers can be bumped out of the lineup for the May 24 race.

“I feel fine,” Andretti said after the crash. “The car took a beating, and that’s frustrating. But the team will work on it and we’ll be back next week.”

It’s just the latest setback for a member of his family – another chapter of the so-called “Andretti Curse” at Indianapolis.

Since Mario Andretti, John’s uncle, won the 500 in 1969, at least one family member has raced here in all but two years (2004 and 2005) without another victory. Broken parts and broken hearts have mostly been their lot at Indy.

Mario raced here 24 more times, dominating at times, but never again reaching the checkered flag first.

His oldest son, Michael, raced at Indy 16 times. He also dominated races and still holds the record for leading the most laps (431) without winning.

Michael’s younger brother, Jeff, crashed out of two of his three Indy starts.

Marco Andretti, Michael’s son and Mario’s grandson, seems to have the best shot at ending the family jinx. He has finished second and third in three tries, losing the lead to Sam Hornish Jr. on the last lap of the 2005 race. He will start in the middle of the third row next week.

That leaves John, who has had his own misfortunes here but plans to be racing in the 500 for the 10th time.

“This is the only race in the world that counts,” he said last week, before his latest Indy crash. “You’ve got to understand my family history. . . . When I was a kid, I was here. When I was grown up, I was here.

“This place has been good to our family, a little bit, and rough on it in a lot of ways. But that’s the passion of this place.”

Rahal puts Servia on team

INDIANAPOLIS – Former Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal’s team is back in business.

Rahal announced Wednesday he has reached a deal with a new sponsor to put veteran Spanish driver Oriol Servia in the cockpit of his No. 17 car for this month’s Indianapolis 500.

Servia started 25th in last year’s 500 and finished 11th.

Rahal has not competed in the IndyCar series this year after losing his primary sponsor. The team’s one-race deal is with DAFCA, a company that provides security services against cyber terrorism.

Rahal won the 1986 Indy 500 as a driver, and his team won another Indy title in 2004 with driver Buddy Rice.

(All Tucson times)

NASCAR

SPRINT CUP

NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race

Site: Concord, N.C.

Schedule: Saturday, Sprint Showdown, 4:30 p.m.; NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, 6 p.m. (Speed, 4 p.m.)

Track: Lowe’s Motor Speedway (quad-oval, 1.5 miles)

Distances: Sprint Showdown, 60 miles, 40 laps; NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, 150 miles, 100 laps in segments of 50, 20, 20 and 10, with only green-flag laps counting in the final segment

Last year: Kasey Kahne won the non-points event after getting into the 24-car field in a fan vote.

Last week: Mark Martin, 50, won for the second time in the last four races, outlasting Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson in a wreck-filled race at Darlington Raceway.

Fast facts: The top two finishers in the Sprint Showdown and a driver selected in fan voting will complete the 21-car All-Star field. Kahne, Martin, Johnson, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman earned spots with race victories in 2008 and ’09. Kevin Harvick qualified with his 2007 All-Star victory, and Bobby Labonte got in as the 2000 series champion.

Next race: Coca-Cola 600, May 24, Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.

CAMPING WORLD TRUCKS

North Carolina Education

Lottery 200

Site: Concord, N.C.

Schedule: Friday, 5 p.m. (Speed) Track: Lowe’s Motor Speedway (quad-oval, 1.5 miles)

Distance: 201 miles, 134 laps

Last year: Matt Crafton raced to his first series victory.

Last race: Mike Skinner gave NFL star Randy Moss his first victory as a NASCAR owner, winning the rain-shortened race at Kansas Speedway on Monday, April 27.

Fast facts: Skinner leads the season standings with 801 points, followed by Ron Hornaday Jr. (776), Todd Bodine (744), Crafton (707) and Benson (685).

Next race: AAA Insurance 200, May 29, Dover International Speedway, Dover, Del.

NHRA FULL THROTTLE

NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals

Site: Bristol, Tenn.

Schedule: Friday-Saturday, qualifying (ESPN2, Saturday, 3 p.m.); Sunday, final eliminations (ESPN2, 4 p.m.)

Track: Bristol Dragway

Last year: Melanie Troxel became the first female driver and 14th overall to win in both nitro classes, beating Mike Neff in the Funny Car final.

Last event: Del Worsham raced to his first Funny Car win of the season in the NHRA Midwest Nationals. Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Jeg Coughlin (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won.

Fast facts: Capps, the winner of three of the first seven events, leads the Funny Car standings with 562 points. Brown has an 18-point lead in Top Fuel, Coughlin leads the Pro Stock standings, and Krawiec tops the Pro Stock Motorcycle class.

Next event: O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals, May 29-31, Heartland Park Topeka, Topeka, Kan.

UP NEXT

NATIONWIDE: CARQUEST Auto Parts 300, May 23, Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.

INDY RACING LEAGUE: Indianapolis 500, May 24, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis

FORMULA ONE: Monaco Grand Prix, May 24, Monte Carlo, Monaco

Blue Jays starting pitcher Roy Halladay and catcher Rod Barajas enjoy Tuesday's 5-1 victory over the New York Yankees in Toronto.

TORONTO – Roy Halladay wasn’t about to get too caught up in his showdown with A.J. Burnett. Instead, the Toronto ace did what he always does: He shut down the New York Yankees.

Halladay pitched a complete-game five-hitter to best his former teammate and Scott Rolen had three hits and three RBIs for the Blue Jays in a 5-1 victory Tuesday night.

“That’s a big part of being consistent, having the same approach and not letting those things affect the way you look at games,” Halladay said of facing Burnett, who pitched for Toronto from 2006 to 2008. “As soon as you start changing the way you approach the game you can find yourself in trouble.”

Aaron Hill hit a solo homer for the Blue Jays, who improved to an AL-best 23-12. They lead New York, which was playing without shortstop Derek Jeter, by 6 1/2 games.

Halladay (7-1) walked none and struck out five to win his fourth straight start and improve to 16-5 in 33 career games against New York. He has an ERA of 2.77 against the Yankees, his best against any AL opponent.

Other AL games

Orioles 7, Rays 5: At Baltimore, Adam Jones hit two home runs for the first time in his career and drove in four runs, leading the Baltimore past Tampa Bay.

White Sox 7, Indians 4: At Cleveland, Jim Thome hit a pair of two-run homers to lead Chicago past Cleveland.

Rangers 7, Mariners 1: At Arlington, Texas, Josh Hamilton returned from the disabled list and hit the go-ahead homer in a six-run seventh inning for Texas, which won for the eighth time in 10 games.

Twins 6, Tigers 2: At Minneapolis, Joe Mauer hit a home run, and was robbed of another by Clete Thomas, and Minnesota’s struggling bullpen protected a lead for three innings.

Athletics 12, Royals 3: At Oakland, Calif., Jack Cust hit a three-run homer in a seven-run second inning and Orlando Cabrera had three hits and four RBIs for Oakland.

Red Sox 4, Angels 3: At Anaheim, Calif., Jason Varitek drove in the go-ahead run with a double in the ninth inning and J.D. Drew homered for Boston.

NL: Park, Werth lead Phillies past L.A.

PHILADELPHIA – Chan Ho Park had his second straight effective outing to win his first game with Philadelphia, and Jayson Werth stole home to lead the Phillies to a 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night.

Park (1-1) has rebounded nicely after a dreadful start this season. He walked none and gave up two runs in six innings.

Raul Ibanez continued to look like a smart pickup for the Phillies, hitting a two-RBI double in the fourth for a 4-2 lead.

Other NL games

Pirates 7, Cardinals 1: At Pittsburgh, Zach Duke limited St. Louis to three singles over eight innings after giving up a homer to Albert Pujols in the first and Pittsburgh ended an eight-game losing streak.

Mets 4, Braves 3, 10 innings: At New York, Carlos Beltran drew a bases-loaded walk from Jeff Bennett (0-1) with two outs in the 10th inning and New York rallied to beat Atlanta.

Brewers 6, Marlins 3: At Milwaukee, Prince Fielder hit a pair of two-run homers and Rickie Weeks and Mike Cameron hit solo shots for Milwaukee.

Cubs 6, Padres 2: At Chicago, Milton Bradley hit a towering two-run homer off Jake Peavy and Rich Harden pitched six sharp innings for Chicago.

Rockies 12, Astros 1: At Denver, Ian Stewart hit a grand slam and a solo homer and Ubaldo Jimenez pitched seven sharp innings for Colorado.

Giants 9, Nationals 7: At San Francisco, Pablo Sandoval hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth, ending San Francisco’s wild win.

Anaheim Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller (left) can't stop a shot from Detroit's Johan Franzen (not shown) during the second period of Game 5 of their Western Conference semifinal series on Sunday in Detroit. Franzen's teammate Marian Hossa is at right.

DETROIT – Johan Franzen usually blends in behind the Detroit Red Wings’ other stars.

Unless it’s the playoffs.

Franzen scored his seventh goal of the postseason, helping Detroit beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 Sunday.

The defending Stanley Cup champions’ dominating performance gave them a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series.

Franzen led the way as he did during the playoffs last year and again the past few weeks.

His 20 goals since the start of last year’s title run are the most in a 25-game postseason span since Theo Fleury had a similar outburst a decade ago, according to STATS LLC.

“Maybe I’m a little bit surprised,” he said of his postseason output.

Game 6 will be Tuesday night at Anaheim.

Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said his team didn’t play desperately Sunday, adding that has to change to shift the series back to Detroit for Game 7.

“We just have to get emotionally involved in the game right from the drop of the puck,” Carlyle said.

The Ducks also will have to physically engage the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Franzen, whose nickname is Mule.

“He’s a big guy,” Carlyle said. “He’s probably not even filled out to his full size. The difference in his size in between this year and last year is quite noticeable.

Bruins stay alive

BOSTON – Tim Thomas stopped 19 shots for his first NHL playoff shutout, helping Boston keep its season going by beating Carolina in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Phil Kessel scored twice and Zdeno Chara gave the Bruins a big emotional lift when he returned in the third period after leaving the ice in the second when he was slashed by Jussi Jokinen. Chara and Marc Savard each had a pair of assists for top-seeded Boston, which had lost three straight playoff games.

Cam Ward made 36 saves for the Hurricanes, who lead the best-of-seven series 3-2. Game 6 is at Carolina on Tuesday.

Eric Staal, who had four goals in the previous three games, had three shots in Game 5 and was minus-3.

ALAMEDA, Calif. – First-round draft pick Darrius Heyward-Bey sat out the final day of the Oakland Raiders’ minicamp Sunday because of a sore hamstring and fatigue.

Second-round pick Mike Mitchell and fourth-rounder Louis Murphy also missed the workout for similar reasons.

“Just tightened up,” Heyward-Bey said. “My legs are a little too tight. Running too fast.”

Heyward-Bey, who had the fastest time in the 40-yard dash (4.3 seconds) at the Scouting Combine in February, was injured late in Saturday’s practice and did not work out in the afternoon.

He spent Sunday as a spectator alongside Murphy and fellow wide receiver Javon Walker, who is recovering from offseason knee surgery.

“It’s the toughest transition for the rookies with all the running we do,” head coach Tom Cable said. “You just want to be smart with them. It’s precautionary.”

Along with the three receivers and Mitchell, the Raiders were also without left guard Robert Gallery (calf), defensive tackle Gerard Warren (pectoral muscle), defensive end Derrick Burgess (stomach flu) and reserve offensive lineman Paul McQuistan, who is still recovering from knee surgery last season.

The Raiders will resume their offseason workout program on May 19.

Falcons’ Jerry injured

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – Atlanta Falcons coach Mike Smith says first-round draft pick Peria Jerry has a mild right knee sprain.

A day after leaving practice early with the injury, Jerry stood on the field with other defensive linemen Sunday, but didn’t participate as Atlanta finished its three-day mini-camp. The former Mississippi tackle walked without a limp and wasn’t wearing protection on his right knee.

Falcons are off until May 19, when the team begins voluntary offseason training activities. Jerry, who wasn’t available to talk with reporters, missed the afternoon session Saturday to visit a specialist.

Drafted No. 28 overall, Jerry had arthroscopic surgery on the same knee last August to repair a torn meniscus.

TRIESTE, Italy – Lance Armstrong gained time on his rivals again at the Giro d’Italia on Sunday, yet the seven-time Tour de France winner still maintains he has no designs on winning the three-week race.

“I still don’t think I’m a contender for the overall, but I feel better than I thought I would feel,” Armstrong said.

Alessandro Petacchi edged Mark Cavendish to win the second stage in a mass sprint and Cavendish retained the overall leader’s pink jersey.

Armstrong finished in the main pack with the same time as Petacchi, while overall race favorite Ivan Basso and Armstrong’s Astana teammate Levi Leipheimer each finished 13 seconds behind, dropping back when the group was split by a crash with just over 3 miles remaining.

“That’s the risk of the early stages in a big tour in a finale. I was lucky to be there with (Jose Luis Rubiera), and he kept me out of trouble,” Armstrong said.

Astana finished third in the team time trial that opened the Giro on Saturday, with Basso’s and the other Italian favorites’ teams trailing.

Armstrong returned this season after 3 1/2 years of retirement and broke his collarbone in March. Before the Giro began, Armstrong said he would support Leipheimer in his bid to win the race.

But Leipheimer blew his front tire on a high-speed downhill section before the crash. A better indication of Armstrong and Leipheimer’s aspirations will come during the first serious mountain climbs in the Dolomite range, beginning Tuesday.

Gasquet tests positive

PARIS – French tennis player Richard Gasquet has acknowledged he’s been told he tested positive for cocaine but says he’s innocent.

“I am gathering together proof of my innocence and I will choose an appropriate moment to express myself,” Gasquet said in a statement Sunday.

Gasquet said the “B” sample from the tournament in Key Biscayne, Fla., confirmed the result of the “A” sample taken the same day.

The Web site of sports daily L’Equipe reported Saturday that traces of the banned drug were found in the 22-year-old Gasquet’s urine sample at the Sony Ericsson Open, where he pulled out after the first round.

Djokovic wins title

BELGRADE, Serbia – Top-seeded Novak Djokovic beat unheralded Lukasz Kubot of Poland 6-3, 7-6 (0) in the Serbia Open final Sunday to win the first ATP Tour tournament held in his home country.

Djokovic played in his fourth straight final after being runner-up in Miami, Monte Carlo and Rome. It was his 13th career title.

“Although this is not one of the biggest tournament I had won, it means the most to me,” Djokovic told some 7,000 spectators that packed a makeshift tennis stadium on the banks of the Danube River.

Detroit center fielder Curtis Granderson goes up the wall to take a two-run homer away from Cleveland's Grady Sizemore in the ninth inning Friday. The Tigers won 1-0.

PHILADELPHIA – Cole Hamels left the mound on his terms.

Hamels pitched six impressive innings to earn his first win since the World Series, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 10-6 on Friday night.

Jayson Werth, Chris Coste and Chase Utley homered for the National League East leaders, who snapped a two-game losing streak.

Making his first start since spraining his left ankle on April 28, Hamels (1-2) allowed two runs, three hits and struck out seven. Hamels was MVP of the National League Championship Series and World Series last year, but struggled the first month mostly because of a series of freak injuries.

“I’m glad nothing came down and hit me,” he said. “It was almost abnormal, being out there in the sixth inning.”

Atlanta’s Casey Kotchman hit a three-run homer off Brad Lidge in the ninth, and Omar Infante also homered.

Braves starter Jo-Jo Reyes (0-2) lost his ninth straight, allowing eight runs – four earned – and five hits in five innings.

Other NL games

Mets 7, Pirates 3: At New York, Carlos Delgado hit a three-run homer in a five-run eighth inning and finished with five RBIs, helping the surging Mets to their fifth straight win.

Astros 2, Padres 0: At Houston, Wandy Rodriguez threw eight sharp innings and Hunter Pence’s two-run single in the fifth inning lifted the Astros over the Padres.

Reds 6, Cardinals 4: At Cincinnati, Johnny Cueto extended his scoreless-inning streak to 15 before giving up his only run, and the Reds won their second in a row with a depleted lineup.

Brewers 3, Cubs 2: At Milwaukee, Ryan Braun hit a two-run homer in the eighth and the Brewers rallied.

Marlins 8, Rockies 3: At Denver, Ricky Nolasco settled down after a shaky beginning to earn the first win by a Florida starter in more than three weeks.

Giants 3, Dodgers 1: At Los Angeles, Barry Zito outpitched Chad Billingsley to record his first win of the season on his sixth attempt. The Dodgers have lost both games they’ve played since slugging left fielder Manny Ramirez was suspended for 50 games by Major League Baseball for using a banned drug.

AL: Verlander outduels Lee

CLEVELAND – Justin Verlander struck out 11 and outpitched reigning Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee for the second time in a week, and the Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians 1-0 Friday.

Curtis Granderson made a leaping catch at the wall with a runner on first in the ninth to preserve the win for the Tigers.

Verlander pitched a two-hitter for the third shutout and fourth complete game of his career to improve to 2-7 at Progressive Field and 6-10 overall against the Indians.

Other AL games

Rangers 6, White Sox 0: At Chicago, Matt Harrison threw a four-hitter in his second career shutout for Texas.

Twins 11, Mariners 0: At Minneapolis, Scott Baker pitched seven shutout innings for his long-awaited first victory of the season, and the light-hitting Twins broke the game open with three homers in the fifth inning.

Red Sox 7, Rays 3: At Boston, Jason Bay and J.D. Drew homered in Boston’s second straight big sixth inning and the Red Sox won.

Angels 4, Royals 1: At Anaheim, Calif., Howie Kendrick’s two-run, inside-the-park homer in the sixth inning helped Los Angeles win.

Athletics 5, Blue Jays 3: At Oakland, Calif., Ryan Sweeney hit a two-run homer and four Oakland relievers combined to wrap up the win.

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. – For Brad Childress, it was just another day at the office. And, for now, Brett Favre is not wearing purple.

The Minnesota Vikings’ dalliance with the supposedly retired quarterback didn’t reach the stage of face-to-face, close-the-deal talks Thursday – and maybe they never will.

Yahoo! Sports reported that Favre called Childress sometime Wednesday or early Thursday and told the coach he wants to stay retired. Favre’s longtime agent, Bus Cook, reiterated for the second straight day that his famously fickle client hadn’t changed his plan to stay out of the game.

ESPN and USA TODAY said Cook told reporters in Mississippi, where Favre lives, that the former MVP was still retired – though the agent added that Favre could always change his mind in the future.

One certainty was Childress spent office hours at work in Minnesota.

After reports the coach was to travel south for discussions with Favre, Twin Cities television station KMSP broadcast video of his early-morning arrival at Winter Park.

The coach’s black sports utility vehicle was still parked at the team’s facility in suburban Minneapolis into the evening, and through a team spokesman he declined comment to a handful of media across the street.

Yahoo cited an unidentified source close to the team in reporting that the Vikings won’t sign the 39-year-old quarterback.

If Favre doesn’t come back to fill the only glaring hole on an otherwise Super Bowl-ready roster, the Vikings will have to go with the original plan of trying to win with quarterbacks Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – A week off did nothing to slow down former Arizona Wildcat Lorena Ochoa, and a month away from the game found Lindsey Wright in the same groove she was in before a vacation.

Ochoa picked up where she left off in winning two weeks ago in her native Mexico with eight birdies against one bogey Thursday. Her 7-under-par 64 gave her a one-shot lead over Wright after the first round of the Michelob Ultra Open.

“This is only the start,” said Ochoa, a three-time runner-up in the event. “We have three more days. One at a time.”

Wright, a nonwinner in five seasons, hadn’t played since finishing fourth in the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the season’s first major in the first week in April, but was bogey-free on the soggy 6,315-yard River Course at Kingsmill that has received rain for several days.

Hee-Won Han, Sarah Lee and Minea Blomqvist shot 66s to share third place. Seon Hwa Lee, Na Yeon Choi and Amy Yang shot 67s and 2007 champion Suzann Pettersen was among seven at 68.

In all, 45 of 144 players took advantage of the soft greens and broke par.

Other notables making a run at the leader board included 2005 winner Cristie Kerr, who got to 4-under but then stumbled to finish at 2-under 69; rookie Vicky Hurst, who got to 4- under but gave two shots back on her last four holes to finish at 68; and Michelle Wie, who got to 3-under after her first 12 holes, but had two bogeys coming in to finish six shots back at 1-under 70.

The rainy start and sometimes gusting wind seemed to be of little consequence to Ochoa, the world’s top-ranked player. She made three birdie putts of 17 feet or longer while working on her putting alignment and said she’s starting to feel more comfortable on the greens.

“That was a big change for me because I didn’t feel comfortable aiming to the hole,” Ochoa said of her old putting style, which had her coming across the ball instead of hitting it head on. “It didn’t feel right in the beginning, but now I’m seeing a lot of good results.”

She finished with a flourish, hitting a booming drive on the 382-yard, par-14 18th that left her with about 100 yards to the flagstick, and then an approach to about 12 feet.

PGA Tour

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Ben Crane should have known what was coming when he rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt on the first hole of the day. He kept right on pouring them in until he had a 7-under 65 and a one-shot lead in The Players Championship.

Crane made four birdie putts longer than 20 feet, kept his ball on land throughout another wild opening round Thursday on the TPC Sawgrass and wound up atop a leader board devoid of the biggest stars.

Tiger Woods couldn’t make a putt outside 4 feet.

Phil Mickelson ran off three straight birdies early in his round, then couldn’t keep the ball in play.

Defending champion Sergio Garcia opened with a 71 and already was looking forward to going home to Spain.

Crane couldn’t relate.

He had a one-shot lead over John Mallinger, Alex Cejka and Richard S. Johnson, with a large group at 67 that included Retief Goosen, David Toms, Camilo Villegas and Scott Verplank, who had two eagles – one of them from 150 yards out on the 15th fairway, another with a putt that seemed about that long on the par-5 second.

Woods opened his round with four straight birdie chances inside 12 feet and missed them all. He wound up with a 71, keeping alive his streak of never breaking 70 in the opening round at this elite event. Mickelson hit iron off the 18th tee but it worked out beautifully with an approach to 5 feet for birdie to salvage a 73.

PGA Europe

TURIN, Italy – Northern Ireland’s Gareth Maybin shot a course-record 7-under 64 to take a three-shot lead after the first round of the Italian Open.

Had faced tax-evasion charges

Indy Racing League driver Helio Castroneves (right) signs autographs for fans on the opening day of practice for the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis on Wednesday.

INDIANAPOLIS – Helio Castroneves considers Indianapolis his second home.

He’s come to the speedway twice as a defending champion, twice as the defending pole winner. He’s come as a champion dancer and as the star of the most successful IndyCar team in history. He’s scaled the catch fence and had fun with the fans.

But this year will be like none other for the 33-year-old Brazilian.

From the moment Castroneves pulled through that tunnel entrance and into the track’s infield, he was on a brand new mission: To dazzle all those loyal supporters who helped him survive a six-week court battle and weeklong jury debate that nearly ruined his racing career, not to mention his life.

“I want to give back to the fans what they gave to me,” he said. “I feel like I’m a better person, I realize what I love, and where I want to be is here, racing. It feels normal, but there’s something a little better about it now.”

Who could blame Castroneves for feeling that way?

He spent most of the past several months living life in a surreal world, where it seemed every move and every word was being monitored and picked apart by Internal Revenue Service officials

The bubbly personality that captivated fans vanished in the wake of the tax evasion allegations hanging over his head. His trademark smile was replaced by carefully scripted statements and stern expressions. And he had to watch as Penske Racing, his team, hired Australian Will Power to drive his car in his absence.

Now, less than a month after the acquittal drew tears from the usually joyful Castroneves, life is getting back to normal.

He jumped back into the cockpit two days after his court victory and finished seventh in Long Beach, Calif. A week later, he went from 21st on the starting grid at Kansas to a second-place finish.

Now, he’s back home in Indiana, driving on that familiar 2.5-mile oval that turned him into one of IndyCar’s most popular drivers.

Penske Racing president Tim Cindric, who has been there for every twist and turn of Castroneves’ career over the past nine years, can see the old Castroneves touch is returning. He’s not all the way back yet, Cindric said, but he is close.

“I think after May, it will feel like normal again,” Cindric said. “I think over the last couple of weeks, he’s started to get his life organized again and he’s getting a little sense of normalcy back.”

The first big sign could come Saturday, when pole qualifying begins for the Indianapolis 500.

The 11 fastest cars will qualify for the top 11 spots on the first of four-qualifying days at Indy. The next 11 spots will be filled Sunday, with the final 11 qualifying May 16. Cars not yet in the 33-car field will have a chance to bump the slowest cars out May 17.

Given Castroneves’ history here, he should be one of the favorites. He won the pole in 2003, his third Indy start, and again in 2007. He has qualified among the top eight each of the past six years, and has only started worse than 11th once in eight trips.

The Indy 500 is May 24.

Rain halted rookie practice for the race on Wednesday. Drivers Nelson Philippe completed the mandatory rookie test before the rain hit. That leaves Stanton Barrett to finish his test to be eligible for the start of qualifications on Saturday.

Philippe, a 22-year-old Frenchman, also was the fastest in the abbreviated session at 217.668 mph. Rookies Mike Conway, Robert Doornbos, Alex Tagliani and Raphael Matos completed their tests Tuesday.

Martin to stay full time in 2010

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Mark Martin doesn’t want to drive race cars forever. But as long as he can compete at the highest level, he can’t bring himself to walk away from NASCAR.

Martin said Wednesday he’ll run a full season next year, his 22nd in NASCAR. He’s in the first year of a two-year deal with Hendrick Motorsports, but 2010 was fluid and Martin had initially thought he’d run just a partial schedule next season.

But he’s proven this season to still be at the top of his profession, ending a 97-race winless streak with last month’s victory at Phoenix. At 50, he became the third oldest winner in NASCAR history.

“I’m in the best condition of my life,” Martin said. “I’m recharged, and I’m motivated. Going to the racetrack every weekend is still really fun, and that’s the key. There’s more gas in my tank.”

He will stay in the No. 5 Chevrolet, but sponsorship for next season has not been solidified.