Newsday (N.Y.): Jets should keep in mind: Niners QB Alex Smith is a survivor

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

The man has taken a beating, physically and mentally. Since the beginning of last season, 49ers quarterback Alex Smith has been sacked 54 times, the most in the NFL. Since the beginning of his career -- he was the first player picked in the 2005 draft -- he's been booed, criticized and briefly set free.

"But he's got a lot of fight in him," said Alex Boone, who as right guard has the responsibility of protecting Smith. "I love that about him."

Read the full story here.

Copyright © 2012 Newsday. All rights reserved.

Newsday (N.Y.): Despite low budget, A's battling for wild card

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Athletics' tough and important 10-game trip took a positive turn Thursday after a much-needed 12-4 win over the Tigers in Detroit that averted a three-game sweep.

The next stop for the surprising A's is the Bronx Friday night for the start of a three-game series against the Yankees. Then it's on  to Texas to play the American League West-leading Rangers.

Seth Smith homered, doubled and drove in four runs yesterday. The trip did not get off to a good start for Oakland. Lefthander Brett Anderson went down Wednesday with a right oblique strain in the third inning of a 6-2 defeat. Manager Bob Melvin said Anderson will miss the rest of the regular season and that he doesn't know if he would be available for the playoffs -- if the A's get there.

That added to the recent woes of the starting rotation. Brandon McCarthy suffered a fractured skull when he was hit by a line drive Sept. 5. Now Anderson.

But the A's and Orioles, another unforeseen success, are still the leaders in the wild- card race with records of 85-64. Both have small payrolls and great hopes.

The odds in March on the A's reaching the World Series were as high as 200-1. They had traded their only three All-Stars, all pitchers -- Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill and Andrew  Bailey -- over the winter. "Hard to let guys like that go," Melvin said.

But the guys they got in return, supposedly players who would not help Oakland until 2013 or 2014 -- if they weren't traded -- and the young players  already on the roster developed quickly.

Tommy Milone came from Washington with several  others in exchange for Gonzalez. He's 13-10, the winningest rookie pitcher for  the A's in the 45 seasons they have been in Oakland.

A 26-year-old Cuban, Yoenis Cespedes, signed in February for $36 million for four years, seemingly an outrageous sum for a team with the second-lowest payroll in the majors. It appears to have been money well spent, because Cespedes is batting .293 and is second to Angels phenom Mike Trout among AL rookies  in runs (59), hits (122), doubles (22), homers (19) and RBIs (73).

"I think everybody's outdone what the baseball world's expectations would be," said Melvin, who took control of the A's in June 2011 and is having a ball. Melvin, 50, grew up across the Bay in Menlo Park and played at Cal in Berkeley, a few miles north of the O.Co Coliseum. He went to games and rock concerts at the stadium. He played for the Giants, among other teams, and  managed for Seattle and Arizona.

He says this is special.

"The pride factor of being at home, managing a team you grew up watching," Melvin said, "I don't think you can put a price on that. On top of that, the younger players have made it exciting."

Among them is lefthanded reliever Sean Doolittle, almost 26, who although a pitching star at the University of Virginia was a first-round pick in 2007 by Oakland as a first baseman. After he suffered a knee injury, the A's switched him back to pitcher, where his professional debut came only last fall in the Instructional League.

On July 21 Doolittle (1-0, 3.35 ERA) came in to pitch the ninth against the Yankees. He gave up a hit to Alex Rodriguez, then struck out Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira and Andruw Jones to save a 2-1 win in Oakland.

"How would you expect a guy like Doolittle to come up and do what he's done?" Melvin asked rhetorically.

Pitching has been the key for Oakland, even with the loss of Bartolo Colon, suspended for 50 games in late August for testing positive for testosterone. The A's ERA is 3.50, second to Tampa in the AL. That's a good thing because the A's batting average is .236. Only Seattle is worse.

The A's were 26-35 after games of June 10. Then they had the best July in the majors, 19-5.

"We do have good pitching," Melvin said, "whether starters or the bullpen, and that's been the most consistent part of our team over the course of the season."

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http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/despite-low-budget-a-s-battling-for-wild-card-1.4023425

Copyright © 2012 Newsday. All rights reserved.

Giants are heads, and hats, above the rest of the West

By Art Spander

SAN FRANCISCO – Hats off. No, hats on. Alex Smith of the 49ers wearing one from the Giants, a dastardly, fineable act according to the uniform police of the NFL. And, in response, Bruce Bochy sitting pre-game in the Giants’ dugout topped by a 49er hat.

Tit for tat. Or, literally, hat for hat.

"Our way of saying thanks,’’ Bochy would point out. “And we’re 1-0 with that hat.’’

The Giants were sending a message. Specifically, two messages: One, we’ve got your back, 49ers. (Or should that be we’ve got your hat?) And two, we’ve almost got the division, Dodgers.

It’s over, the National League West race, even though technically it’s not, and so even if the Giants absolutely couldn’t blow it, they’re saying all the right things about not easing up.

More significantly, they’re doing all the right things to prove they’re not easing up. Instead, they’re revving up.   

They clubbed the Colorado Rockies, 9-2, Thursday afternoon at AT&T Park, a sweep of the four-game series, an eighth win in the last nine games.

These are party days at the ballpark, from the pre-game organ solos – just like in the 1950s – to Pablo Sandoval rediscovering the home run to the seventh-inning Beatles’ recording of “Twist and Shout,’’ one of the great rock songs anywhere, anytime.

"Every single day, 41,000 people excited for us,’’ said Sandoval a short while after the one single day in his career in which he hit home runs both righthanded (in the first with no one on) and lefthanded (in the fourth with two on).

"We play hard for them.”

They’re playing hard and well and entertainingly. The unassailable idea that sport is intended to be tumultuous merriment is carried to the max every game at AT&T, where there’s laughter in the dugout and rejoicing in the stands.

At the so-called old man’s game, the crowds are young and joyful, singing, dancing, cheering.

"We are happy, not satisfied,’’ said Sandoval, the Panda. Until Wednesday, he hadn’t hit a home run in weeks, 161 at bats going back to July. Now he’s hit three in two games.

"We are loose and having fun.’’  He stopped momentarily. “But it’s not over yet.’’

Yes it is. Before the Dodgers played the Nationals, Thursday night, the Giants’ magic number was four, meaning any combo of four Giants wins and Dodgers losses would make San Francisco champions of the West. You think that’s not going to happen?

Bochy, managing his hat off – or on – was asked if he would watch the Dodgers-Nats game.

"No,’’ he answered. “I’m probably going to have dinner, to be honest with you.’’

There’s a man with perspective. A man with intelligence, not that we weren’t previously aware. A night off in the City by the Bay — why waste it watching a ball game?

He’d already been involved in a rewarding one.

Already had seen Barry Zito pitch well enough often enough to get the victory and, when he was removed in the sixth – “He hates it when I come out there,’’ said Bochy -- to get a standing ovation.

Had seen Marco Scutaro, the pickup of the year, at age 36 set a career season mark with his 175th hit (he added another) and raise his batting average to .301.

Had seen the Giants bat around and score six runs in the fourth, when Sandoval and Buster Posey hit back-to-back home runs and Zito had a fine sacrifice bunt that drew an appreciative cheer from a turnout as into the nuances of baseball as it was the taste of the garlic fries.

"The mood, tempo and spirit of the club are very good,’’ said Bochy. “That’s the way it’s been for a couple months. We did a great job on the road. Now we’re playing well here. This club has a lot of character. We’re having fun, keeping it loose.’’

Why be uptight when Matt Cain is zooming along, when Tim Lincecum appears to finding his immediate past, when Buster Posey, the presumptive MVP, is batting .335, when the Panda has found his stroke, when Barry Zito, the man the public despised, has a 13-8 record and receives standing o’s?

"The crowd and that enthusiasm,’’ Bochy said. “The adrenaline. We run on it. These guys feed off that. They’re (the fans) as happy for our success as we are.”

You need to win in sports, and the Giants the past few years have been winning. But there’s more. There’s the realization by management that people want to have a good time, and in the majors’ best ballpark, they must. Or there wouldn’t have been 159 consecutive announced sellouts.

You have to tip your hat to them, no matter if it says 49ers or Giants.

Serena's Just Here – And in the Final

By Art Spander

NEW YORK — She's just here. Serena Williams said that about herself. Said it before she destroyed bewildered Sara Errani in their U.S. Open semifinal.

Serena wasn’t considering the other three times she had crushed Errani. Or how well she had played during the Open before the Friday semi.

"I don’t even think about that. I don’t know," was her noncommittal response. "I’m just here."

In truth she’s there, about as far away from the rest of women’s tennis as is possible.

In truth, as John McEnroe and so many others have told us, Serena probably is the best women’s player of all time, and never mind the records. We don’t got to show you no stinking records, we just have to show you Serena on court.

Where she’ll be again Saturday evening, attempting to win a fourth Open when she faces Victoria (Vika) Azarenka in the final. Azarenka, first in the rankings, first in the seeding, defeated Maria Sharapova, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. 

Errani ain’t bad. In fact, she’s quite good. Earlier this year she made it to the finals of the French Open, losing to Maria Sharapova. But Saturday in the late afternoon sunshine at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Errani, the first Italian to get to the semis of the U.S. Open, was swept away, 6-1, 6-2.

In 1 hour and 4 minutes. An entire match between the No. 4 seed, Williams, and the No. 10 seed, Errani, in just over an hour.

Thursday night, in a men’s quarter, Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin took 1 hour 24 minutes just to play the second set. That was tennis. This was an embarrassment.

This was Serena Williams imposing her will.

"I just try everything I could,’’ said Errani. “I think maybe she’s the best. For me, I think she is incredible. When she play like this, I think she is the best player in the world.’’

When someone employed an American phrase and asked the 25-year-old Errani if she were "out of your league," she shook her head and sighed, "I don’t understand nothing. Sorry."

When an explanation was provided, Errani said, "Big difference. She played a good match. She’s a great player."

A player who has won 14 Grand Slam titles, including in July, Wimbledon, where she beat Agnieszka Radwanska. A few weeks later, she took gold in the Olympic women’s singles. Now she’s on the verge of a triple.

"I think it will probably be the best summer I've ever had,’’ said Williams.

"Let me think," said with a hint of a smile. “Maybe not. It will be up there. Yeah, up there, because if you win the Olympics and Wimbledon and this, it would be kinda cool."

If she doesn’t win this, it would be kind of strange. Although Azarenka is No. 1, and is a stronger player than poor Errani, Vika has only defeated Serena once in 10 matches, or should that be 10 mismatches?   

"I don't have anything to lose," said Williams, trying to act the underdog. "I feel like I'm going up against ‑‑ I personally think ‑‑ the most consistent and the best player this year, being Victoria Azarenka. It will be a good challenge for me."

Then someone fired a question at her the way she fired those relentless serves at Errani: How can Serena not think she’s the best player in the world at the moment?

"I said this year," Williams answered. "I always believe that I'm the best obviously. I mean, on paper I think she's been more consistent, going much deeper in the slams than I have and being pretty consistent."

A year ago, Serena made it to the finals, had a meltdown and was a loser to Samantha Stosur. There won’t be a repeat. In 2011, because of the rain, Williams’ semifinal went late into the night and she didn’t get to bed until 4 a.m. on the Saturday she would face Stosur.   

"This year, I know it sounds weird," offered Williams, "but I have more experience than I did last year."

When she was still recovering from a slashed foot, a blood clot in her lung and a hematoma. In 2012, she’s been healthy. And battering opponents, who look like girls against an Amazon of a woman.

"My goal," said Williams, only half joking, "was to not get in any fights, But something happens, then, I try to count to 10. Hopefully I can make it."

Against Stosur, Serena screamed at the chair umpire and was issued a code violation. It was in 2009 when Williams spouted obscenities and threatened smash her racquet over the head of a lineswoman who had the gall to call a foot fault on Williams.

There’s been no reason to go ballistic in this Open, not when she wins, 6-0, 6-0, the infamous double bagel, over Andrea Hlavackova in the fourth round, 6-0, 6-4 over former Wimbledon winner Ana Ivanovic in the quarters and takes the first five games and 12 of 15 overall against Errani.

"She’s such a good hope for Italy," said Williams of Errani. "She’s s such a good fighter."

Unfortunately, she was on the same court as Serena Williams, who is just here.

Tears and cheers for Roddick's last match

By Art Spander

NEW YORK -- The end had arrived, and Andy Roddick, tears in his eyes, love in his heart, was blowing kisses to a cheering, standing crowd whose desperate cries of support couldn't hold off inevitability any more than Roddick on this fateful afternoon could hold off Juan Martin del Potro.

In the seats at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Roddick's wife, the model Brooklyn Decker, was weeping openly on the shoulder of Roddick's longtime trainer, Doug Spreen. To the side of the court, Del Potro was clapping on the strings of his racquet.

Emotion was mixing with history.

A match that had started Tuesday night before the rain swept across the Billie Jean King Tennis Center concluded on a sunny but grim afternoon when Del Potro, younger, quicker, beat Roddick, 6-7 (1), 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-4, in the fourth round of the U.S. Open.

Last Thursday on his 30th birthday, Roddick, who won the Open in 2003, announced when he was out of the tournament this time, he was out of competitive tennis.  

He was retiring, conceding as much to injuries as age. He made it through three previous matches. But not through this one.

And as the forehands flew past and the deficit grew larger, Roddick began to think what the rest of us were thinking about, that this 55^th match in the Open would be his very last anywhere.

That his journey as a tennis pro was moments from the finish line.

"Playing the last five games was pretty hard," agreed Roddick. "Once I got down a break, I could barely look at my box."

At his bride. At Spreen. At Larry Stefanki, his coach, the onetime Cal star. Or at his parents, Jim and Blanche, whose presence called down echoes of when Andy and his brothers were kids and being shuttled from tournament to tournament by their mom.

"This was all new to me," said Roddick later. "You try to keep it as best you can. I had seen most things that this game had to offer, and this was entirely new . . .  It was fun. This week I felt like I was 12 years old and playing in a park. It was extremely innocent."

It was extremely revealing. Roddick said a week ago he could no longer practice as he must and play as he wanted. "I never wanted to coast," was his reminder. And he never did, not even in this grand finale.

The last point was a shot wide by Roddick, who walked bravely to the net where Del Potro, who will be 24 in a few days, embraced him in a brief goodbye.

"It was a tough moment for me," said Del Potro. "And for him also. Last point of his life."

Del Potro, the Argentine, won the title here in 2009 then had to undergo surgery on his right wrist, knocking him out of the sport for a while. In his next match, the quarterfinals, Del Potro faces the defending Open champion, Novak Djokovic.

"The crowd was amazing for both players," emphasized Del Potro. "I really enjoyed it that way, but it wasn't easy for me. I was nervous, but he made some misses. But anyway, it was an unbelievable match."

For Roddick, once No. 1 in the rankings, in 2003, before Roger Federer, before the injuries, before the tough defeats, it was a satisfying match, a match that he understood would be played over the years in his head.

Since the departures of first Pete Sampras and then Andre Agassi, Roddick was ordained to carry the torch for American men's tennis. It was the most difficult assignment imaginable. And ironically, he was the last American man in this Open.

"I would rather not have it that way," he said about his status this year, if not over the years. "I would have loved for a lot more of us to have still been in.

"But I never shied from the burden. It just is what it is. I understand we come from a place, which probably had more success than any other tennis country, where there are certain expectations. I feel right back at the end of the generation, so that was the way the cards were dealt. But as tough a situation as it is, in the grand scheme of things it's a dream. It’s something you want. That’s not hard.’’

Perspective. That's a word hurled around a bit in the world of sport. Roddick always had it. Why grumble about a life millions of others would relish? There's nothing worse than to hear an athlete griping about late hours and cross-country trips and signing autographs.

"I hear people who have some success," Roddick pointed out, "and complain about it sometimes. I don't get it. For every one negative, there are 10 positives. I don't think that's ever not been the case."

Roddick will go home to Austin, Texas, will help run his foundation and will pick up a racquet if only to recall the good times and great player he once was.

"There were a lot of tough moments but unbelievable moments. I mean, who gets to play in the Wimbledon finals, and who gets to play in an Open, and who gets to be part of a winning (Davis Cup) team? I said it a million times, but I realize the opportunities I had."

The opportunity we had, for more than a decade, and particularly Thursday, was to watch Andy Roddick play the sort of tennis that makes a nation proud.