Newsday: Prahalis showing everyone her game is huge

BY ART SPANDER
Special to Newsday

BERKELEY,
Calif. -- If she had something to prove, as Sammy Prahalis believed she
did, it has been proven. At 5-7, she looks up to most of the women in
college basketball. Then again, as her first season draws to a close,
nobody symbolically looks down on Sammy.

"It doesn't affect me that much," Prahalis -- the former Commack star who now plays point guard for Ohio State -- said of her size. "I go out to play. But I guess, because I am the
smallest, I had something to prove because everyone else is so big."

Prahalis is the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and she and Big Ten
Player of the Year Jantel Lavender led Ohio State to victory in the
first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
Prahalis had a career-high 23 points to go with seven assists in a
first-round victory over Sacred Heart. Ohio State met second-seeded
Stanford late last night in a regional semifinal.

Prahalis, a two-time Long Island Player of the Year and second-team Parade All-American, averaged 30.1
points, 7.7 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game as a senior for Commack
and finished with 2,373 points, second in Suffolk history. Now she has
become the quintessential point guard, making all the pieces fit for
Ohio State.

"Three times I've been in similar situations where freshmen were given the ball," said Jim Foster, who became the Buckeyes'
coach in 2003 after long stints at Vanderbilt and St. Joseph's. "In all
three situations, it was a byproduct of their intensity and how hard
they played.

"Samantha is an absolutely terrific athlete that
people enjoy watching play. She plays the same way at practice as she
does in games. There is no saving herself ... Size is just one aspect
of basketball. I think Samantha [may be] the smallest player on the
court, but I think people will enjoy watching her."

Foster
enjoys utilizing Prahalis' multiple skills. She led the Big Ten in
assists with 5.79 per game and was first in assist-turnover ratio,
seventh in steals and 23rd in scoring at 10.0 points per game.

"I definitely like fast-paced basketball," Prahalis said, and no one
who has seen her would ever argue with that. Her New York accent has
been quite noticeable in Ohio, too. "Yes," she said with a smile, "they
kid me about it."

Nobody chides Prahalis about her style:
aggressive and determined. College ball has been rewarding, especially
since Ohio State won the Big Ten championship.

"High intensity
and a lot of fun," Prahalis said of conference play, which culminated
in a 67-66 win over Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament final March 8.
"But that's what basketball has always been for me. Coming from
Commack, it has been a bit of a change, but not too much."

Prahalis has an attitude, a requisite for anyone who's in command. "You
have to play with one," she agreed when told that Stanford coach Tara
VanDerveer said she is "cocky, in a good way."

"You have to
play with a winning attitude," Prahalis said. "If we play with passion
and confidence, we will be just as good as any team."

Prahalis went up against Stanford freshman Nnemkadi Ogwumike last night. She was Prahalis' roommate last summer on the U.S. team that went 5-0 at the FIBA Championships in Argentina.

"I haven't talked to my teammates about her," Prahalis said of the 6-2
Ogwumike. "She is a really good player. She is long and can run and
very versatile."

For Prahalis, two out of three ain't bad. She
can run and is incredibly versatile. She ranked in virtually every team
statistical category except rebounds.

"It's always been in my head, 'Work hard,"' Prahalis said. "If you work out every day, it will all come out in the end."

No matter the final score of last night's game, it was only the beginning of Prahalis' college career.

"This is something I've been waiting for my entire life - to play in
the NCAAs," Prahalis had said before her first tournament game.

When you're not even 20, an entire life doesn't consist of all that
much - but in her case, it's a tease on how great she eventually can be. team that went 5-0 at the FIBA Championships in Argentina.

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The city that can't stop hurting

OAKLAND – This is
the city that can't stop hurting. The city that can't stop weeping.

Once, Oakland was
known as the home of the Raiders, the Athletics, the Golden State Warriors. Once
the questions were about Al Davis' disconnect or Billy Beane's “Moneylessball.’’

Now they're about
death, about the killing of four policemen by a parolee who should never have
been let free.

Now the area that proudly labeled itself the "City of Champions" is a chump, an
embarrassment.

This is my city, Oakland, where I live, where I've worked, where I've watched the sporting heroes come and go, where I saw
Reggie Jackson and Jim Plunkett and Rick Barry lead franchises to
titles.

This is where
Catfish Hunter pitched a perfect game, Art Shell, Gene Upshaw and Bob Brown
blocked their way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Sleepy Floyd scored a record
29 points in the fourth quarter, 51 overall, in the NBA playoffs against the
Lakers.

This is the town to
which sports gave an identity, the town that no longer needed a postscript to
note it was across the Bay from San Francisco.

Now it's the town
that has lost its way and its soul, a town infamous for a crime instead of
famous for any team.

So shocking. So
disturbing. So jarring.

Here we were
wondering if the A's would have pitching, or if the San Francisco Giants would
have any hitting. Whether JaMarcus Russell would take his role as Raiders
quarterback seriously enough to stay in shape. Whether Warriors management was
interested in anything except the large crowds, which persistently supported a
perennially losing team.

The city turned out
en masse for the funeral Friday. Law enforcement officers from throughout the
land came to services held at Oracle Arena, where the Warriors play. What a
strange linkage, a reflection of grief in a building designed for
enjoyment.

You may have read. Two of the murdered policemen spent time assisting the
local teams at Oracle or the McAfee Coliseum next door. They were known by the
athletes, appreciated by management. By all counts, they were good guys.

By all counts Oakland is a good city. Or was. Now its already tarnished
reputation is stained even more. Now rather than debate whether Al Davis ought
to sell the Raiders – he won't – or if Lew Wolff's intent in buying the A's was
to move them to San Jose, people will talk about lawlessness and
pain.

Talk of terror rather than elation. Of residents saying they no longer can tolerate living here.

Cities struggle to get on the front pages. But not this way. They want
tourists, new businesses, satisfied citizens. They want teams that bring
spectators to the arenas or stadiums. Not situations that bring
disgrace.

It's going to be a difficult
road back. This isn't like a few toughs throwing flashlight batteries at a
leftfielder at the Coliseum, or members of the Black Hole harassing a spectator
at a Raiders game. This is virtually beyond comprehension, but it is all too
real.

Plaques in the so-called Court of Champions, the concourse between Oracle
and the Coliseum, call attention to winners, the A's World Series titles, the
Raiders Super Bowl victories, the Warriors 1975 NBA crown. In another part of
town, the names of the four slain policemen already have been etched onto a
granite wall.

Who dared imagine we would be compelled to remember this tragedy the way
we do the triumphs?   

Oakland is forever tainted. There is no escape. Journalists do not
forget, even when writing about sports. Oakland, a story about the A's will
remind us, is the city where four policemen were shot and killed. It's
unavoidable. It's understandable.

The A's, Warriors and Raiders sent their condolences, showed their
support. The teams that shared in the elation of better times properly shared in
the sadness of this terrible time.

Oakland, on the landfall the Spanish settlers originally called the
contra costa, or the other shore, the one on the east side of the water, has
suffered in comparison to San Francisco.

In one of the most misunderstood of observations, Gertrude Stein,
returning to her razed childhood home in Oakland, said, "There is no there,
there." The line became a mantra.

Kicked around, razzed, chided, Oakland battled image and derision
to gain its sense of self through sports. To those who never knew where the city
was located, the success of its teams figuratively put Oakland on the
map.

It's still there, under an ocean of teardrops.

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© RealClearSports 2009

Newsday: Ichiro comes through as Japan wins WBC title

By Art Spander

Special to Newsday



LOS ANGELES -- There have been some
memorable games at Dodger Stadium, Sandy Koufax's no-hitters, Kirk
Gibson's stunning pinch-hit homer in the 1988 World Series. And now the
final of the 2009 World Baseball Championship has wedged itself into
the group.



It was a game that had seemed
destined to go on forever, and the boisterous record crowd of 54,846,
with probably more Koreans than Japanese, certainly wouldn't have
minded.



But Japan, after 10 innings and four
hours, finally was the 5-3 winner Monday night, defending the
championship it won in the first WBC three years ago and setting off a
celebration highlighted with the Japanese players circling the field
under a mammoth flag of their home country.



Ichiro Suzuki, who playing for the
Seattle Mariners is as well known on this side of the Pacific as the
other, broke a 3-3 tie with his third straight hit and fourth in six
at-bats.



The Japanese, leaving 14 men on
base, should have won easily, but unlike the semifinal win over the
United States on Sunday night Japan couldn't hit with runners on. Until
Suzuki came through.



Daisuke Matsuzaka, who pitched the
win over the U.S., was named tournament most valuable player, but
Monday night's starting pitcher for Japan, Hisashi Iwakuma, very well
could have earned the award. He retired the first 11 Korean batters and
allowed only two runs and four hits before being relieved with two outs
in the eighth.



The huge turnout of fans, the
Koreans banging their Thundersticks incesstantly and repetitively
chanting "Dae Han Min Guk,'' which is another way of saying Korea,
verified the WBC has a place on the sporting calendar. Even without an
American team in the finals.



In 39 games throughout the world,
Asia, Latin America, Canada, the United States, the WBC drew a total of
801,408. The two semis had attendance of more than 43,000 each, and
Monday night's crowd was a virtual sellout.



Venezuela, with a ton of major
leaguers, and the Dominican Republic, also with numerous stars from the
American and National League, were the pre-tournament favorites, but it
should be apparent Japan and Korea, with their discipline and
mistake-free play, have become the dominant teams in international
competition.



Korea won the gold medal at last year's Beijing Olympics, and now Japan takes its second WBC title.



"I believe we were the two best
teams in the world,'' said Jungkeum Bong, Korea's starting pitcher.
"Asia is the best in the world, and Korea and Japan were able to fight
until the end. It was great glory for all of us.''



Japan had three major leaguers in
the lineup, Ichiro, Kenji Johjima of the Mariners and Akinori Iwamura
of the Tampa Bay Rays. Korea's only big leaguer on the roster, Shin Soo
Choo of the Cleveland Indians, was the one who ended Iwakuma's shutout
when he homered in the fifth to tie the game temporarily, 1-1.



The two teams had played four times
previously in the tournament, splitting the games. "That we were able
to come up to the stage together, I really feel great respect for the
Koreans,'' said Tatsunori Hari, the Japan manager.



"And at the same time I feel like this was the game of the century.''



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Newsday: U.S. dominance appears to be fading

By Art Spander

Special to Newsday



LOS ANGELES -- Each time an American team fails to win in international
competition, as in the Ryder Cup before 2008 and the World Baseball
Classic, which concluded last night, there are periods of bewilderment
and even anger.



It is as if the United States collectively has failed, as if dropping a
ballgame or not being able to drop a putt is a reflection of society
rather than a sporting event.



There's no rule that says America is guaranteed a win, not when in this
ever-changing world, other nations are producing athletes good enough
to play in the United States as well as against the United States.



The NBA has Latvians, Croats, Brazilians and, of course, Chinese, dare
anyone forget Yao Ming. An Australian, Trevor Immelman, won the
Masters. An Irishman, Padraig Harrington, won the British Open and PGA
Championship. And as we learned Sunday night in the WBC semifinals,
Japan -- which defeated the U.S., 9-4 -- has a roster of excellent
athletes, some of whom are in the big leagues.



Anyone familiar with Ichiro Suzuki or Daisuke Matsuzaka shouldn't be surprised by the Japanese.



It's been said pitching and defense wins. Japan -- which fefeated South
Korea Monday night for the WBC title; the two finalists split four
previous 2009 WBC games -- had an ERA of 1.57 after the semifinals. The
U.S. had an ERA above 6.



The Asian teams, which began training in January, admittedly might be
ahead of the United States. And the United States had injuries to Kevin
Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Ryan Braun, Chipper Jones and Matt Lindstrom.



Manager Davey Johnson, who led the Mets to the 1986 world championship
and the United States to a bronze medal in the 2008 Olympics, took flak
Monday for leaving starting pitcher Roy Oswalt in the semifinal game
too long.



"I thought he was throwing the ball all right,'' Johnson said of
Oswalt, who gave up five runs and five hits in the fourth. "I tried to
get [John] Grabow up. I didn't think it would take him so long.''



He added, "It took him longer in the cool weather to get loose. But I
thought Oswalt was throwing good enough to stay in the game.''



Said Brian Roberts, who homered on Matsuzaka's second pitch of the
game: "Baseball may be the national pastime of the United States, but
it is played all around the world. And as you can see, it's played very
well all over the world.''



Said Jimmy Rollins, who was 4-for-4 in the loss: "We had a lot of fun
being an underdog, knowing that we were at somewhat of a disadvantage
as far as having time to prepare. It shows the support and passion
these other countries have for baseball. In America, we have many
sports, so our attention is at whichever sport season is going on."



Mark DeRosa's two-run double in the top of the eighth got the United
States within 6-4, but Japan scored three runs in the bottom of the
inning on Derek Jeter's two-out throwing error, Suzuki's RBI single and
Hiroyuki Nakajima's RBI double that rightfielder Adam Dunn appeared to
lose in the lights.



Former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda took it pretty hard. He said
during Sunday night's game: "Can you believe this? Look at the score. I
feel so bad about this. I'm very, very disappointed. We had high hopes.
This is the second time we were supposed to win. We taught these people
the game."



And now the students are schooling the teachers.



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Newsday: Team USA loses to Japan, 9-4, in WBC semifinals

By Art Spander

Special to Newsday



LOS ANGELES -- It was just one ballgame, and it didn't prove that Asian
baseball is better than American baseball. That was the observation of
United States manager Davey Johnson.



Just one ballgame, but it was one that put Japan into the World
Baseball Classic final against South Korea and left America wondering
about the sport it calls its national pastime.



Defending champion Japan, hitting balls in the gaps and getting its
usual effective pitching, defeated the United States, 9-4, last night
before a chilled but enthusiastic crowd of 43,630 in their WBC
semifinal at Dodger Stadium.



So tonight it will be South Korea, a 10-2 winner over deflated
Venezuela on Saturday night, against Japan in the final. And the
response should be huge, with Los Angeles being home to large Korean
and Japanese communities among its 3.2 million citizens.



"It was just one game,'' said Johnson, who managed the Mets to the 1986
world championship and years ago played in Japan. He was responding to
a question about whether Asian baseball has surpassed baseball in the
United States.



"They played good ball,'' Johnson said of the Japanese. "They got hits
with runners in scoring position. We didn't pitch when we had to.''



The Astros' Roy Oswalt was Team USA's starter, and whether it was the
cold -- it seemed more like a World Series game in Philadelphia than a
spring game in L.A. -- or because he still isn't ready for the
major-league season, he got pounded in the fourth, giving up five runs
and five hits.



Japan's Daisuke Matsuzaka -- "Dice-K'' of the Red Sox -- basically was
in control after giving up a home run to Brian Roberts on the game's
second pitch. As were the other Japan pitchers in this competition.
They entered with a 1.20 ERA, compared to the Americans' 6.18.



"When we walked the first hitter,'' Johnson said, "those guys usually
scored. And we weren't as sharp in the field as we usually are.''



"They are a fundamentally sound team,'' Team USA designated hitter
Jimmy Rollins said. "They don't try to drive every pitch out of the
park. And they play with passion. We play with passion, but they wear
their passion on their sleeves.''



The U.S. beat Japan for the bronze medal in the Beijing Olympics, but
once this game got to the fourth inning, it became obvious that the
Americans were in trouble.



"We did want to come here and play Japan,'' Johnson said before the
first pitch. "That's one of the goals we had. I think every player on
this team expects to win tonight.''



But expectations and results are two different things.



The Americans, wearing gray road uniforms, started quickly enough on Roberts' homer.



With darkness still far off -- the game began at 5:09 p.m. PDT -- and
the San Gabriel Mountains in the distance as a perfect backdrop for a
California setting, a Hollywood-type ending seemed imminent. Especially
after the Mets' David Wright doubled in the third to give the U.S. a
2-1 lead.



But Japan's batters lined a couple of balls into open spaces to begin
the fourth off Oswalt, to be followed by an error from Roberts on a
hard shot by Kosuke Fukudome. The Mariners' Kenji Johjima recorded his
second sacrifice fly, and Japan was in front.



Akinori Iwamura, a star for Tampa Bay in the World Series, tripled.
Finally, after a couple more hits, Johnson replaced Oswalt with John
Grabow. It seemed certain that the U.S. would not replace Japan as
champion.



Matsuzaka allowed two runs and five hits in 42/3 innings and was pulled
when he reached 98 pitches. Matsuzaka is 3-0 in this year's WBC, having
allowed 14 hits and four runs in 142/3 innings. He went 3-0 and was
selected tournament MVP three years ago.



Team USA, of course, was without Boston's Dustin Pedroia and Kevin
Youkilis, both injured along the way. They didn't get to face Red Sox
teammate Matsuzaka. "Before Pedroia left,'' Johnson said of last year's
American League Most Valuable Player, "he said one thing he wanted to
do was play the Japanese and beat them so he didn't have to listen to
Dice-K all year long.''



No such luck. Matsuzaka struck out four, including the final batter he
faced, Wright, who was mesmerized by a sharp breaking ball.



The Yankees' Derek Jeter and the Mets' Wright each went 1-for-5 and
committed an error in the semifinal. Wright finished at 9-for-32 (.281)
and Jeter was 8-for-29 (.276).



Johnson, 66, played in Japan, for the Yomiuri Giants and was asked his
opinion of Asian baseball now as compared to when he was involved.



"In the '70s,'' Johnson said, "I thought quite a few players would come
to the United States. I was kind of surprised they didn't. But now
their stars come over and become stars in the United States in the big
leagues.



"So I think their baseball program has grown. Their catchers are
better. The running game is not as prominent. But they'll try to run
and play little ball.''



Japan has 77 hits in the Classic, 61 of which have been singles, and only four home runs.



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