Shoreline tops YVCC men

SEATTLE — Yakima Valley’s men’s basketball team came off an 11-day layoff with a sharp performance Tuesday night.
For all but the last five minutes, that is.
The second-ranked Yaks broke open a 20-point lead in the second half but Shoreline rallied for an 86-84 victory as Steven McCall hit a 3-point basket with five seconds left for the winners.
McCall finished with 27 points on 9-for-15 shooting, hit three 3-pointers and added six assists.
“I really don’t know how we lost a lead that big,” said YVCC coach Ray Funk. “I was a little concerned about the layoff but when we got up on them in the second half it looked like we were OK. We just made some poor decisions down the stretch.”
Ben Wilson led YVCC with 21 points, hitting five of the Yaks’ 11 3-pointers, and Jody Johnson contributed a big double-double with 18 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Johnson made 7 of 11 shots.
Shoreline’s Theron Laudermill, a 6-8 sophomore, made 8 of 9 shots for 20 points. The Dolphins improved to 6-5.
The Yaks (10-2) play at Seattle Community College today at 2 p.m.

YAKIMA VALLEY — Ben Wilson 7-18 2-2 21, Wilkins 0-7 2-4 2, Jody Johnson 7-11 4-5 18, Wilson 1-4 0-0 3, Holliday 3-4 0-0 7, Nico Sandoval 3-9 2-4 10, Thronton 0-0 0-0 0, Skyler Gillispie 4-6 3-4 12, Sandifer 1-5 0-2 3, Anglin 3-6 2-6 8, Spellman 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-71 15-27 84.
SHORELINE — Steven McCall 9-15 6-7 27, Luckinga 2-5 0-0 4, Brandon Hall 5-6 1-1 11, Evans Ojwang 5-9 2-2 12, Kross 0-0 0-0 0, Perry 2-2 0-1 4, Aikens 0-0 0-0 0, R. Hall 2-8 2-6 6, Okolie 1-3 0-0 2, Theron Laudermill 8-9 4-5 20. Totals 34-57 15-22 86.
Halftime: YVCC 35, Shoreline 34.
3-point goals: YVCC 11-29 (Wilson 5-15, Sandoval 2-4, Holliday 1-1, Gillispie 1-1, Sandifer 1-2, Wilson 1-2), Shoreline 3-9 (McCall 3-8). Rebounds: YVCC 40 (Johnson 13), Shoreline 36 (Laudermill 7, Ojwang 7). Total fouls: YVCC 17, Shoreline 17. Fouled out: None. Assists: YVCC 6, Shoreline 18 (McCall 6). Turnovers: YVCC 6, Shoreline 15. Blocked shots: YVCC 2, Shoreline 2. Steals: YVCC 5, Shoreline 4.

Wakamatsu’s ties to Parker Field unwound

YAKIMA — People associated with Yakima Youth Baseball knew they recognized the name of new Seattle Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu as having played against the Yakima Beetles at Parker Field during the Beetles’ 1980s heyday.

They just weren’t sure when, and for what team.

The general concensus was that Wakamatsu had been the catcher for a Hawaii team that beat the Beetles for the 1980 regional title at Parker Field behind future major league ace Sid Fernandez, a lefthander who won most of his 114 career decisions as a member of the New York Mets.

Turns out that was wrong.

Wakamatsu did play at Parker Field, but it was a year later, in July 1981, and representing a team not from Hawaii but from Oakland, Calif. He caught both ends of a doubleheader in which Oakland swept the Beetles, 7-5 and 6-0, marking the first time in more than four years that the Beetles had lost both ends of a doubleheader.

The guys Wakamatsu caught that day? In the opener it was Doug Henry, who went on to an 11-season major league career. In the shutout nightcap, it was a rather tall fellow named Randy Johnson, who went on to do a little decent fastball-throwing in the bigs himself.

“Well, we had the hard-throwing lefthander right,” says Mel Moore, who for years was the go-to guy when it came to Yakima Youth Baseball. “It just wasn’t Sid Fernandez. It was Randy Johnson.”

Related story: M’s to name Wakamatsu manager

College basketball:  YVCC women handle Linn-Benton

SALEM, Ore. — Alisa Moehrle Druffel and Nicole DeRosier each scored 15 points and Nicole Fenumiai added 13 as the Yakima Valley women’s basketball team rolled to a 93-57 victory Monday against Linn-Benton at the Chemeketa Holiday Tournament.

The Yaks shot at a solid 49-percent clip and had 20 steals, led by the six of Highland graduate Kate Urquhart.

The Roadrunners shot 41 percent for the game but just 32 percent in the first half as YVCC opened up a 49-20 halftime lead.
YAKIMA VALLEY — Swetzof 1-4 0-2 2, Fulton 0-2 0-0 0, Weaver 2-8 0-0 5, Harris 3-4 0-1 6, Alisa Moehrle Druffel 5-7 2-3 15, Gough 3-5 0-0 9, McBride 4-7 0-1 8, Nicole DeRosier 5-8 2-2 15, Urquhart 2-5 0-0 4, Nill 2-5 3-4 7, Belcher 1-4 0-0 2, Nicole Fenumiai 3-5 7-7 13, Shaw 3-5 1-1 7. Totals 34-69 15-21 93.

LINN-BENTON — Cody 0-1 0-0 0, Elizabeth Jablonski 7-14 0-0 14, Ellingson 2-7 3-4 7, Kalah Heacock 5-9 4-4 14, Zehner 1-4 0-0 2, Luci Delong 5-9 3-5 13, Douglass 3-10 1-2 7, Williams 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-56 11-15 57.

Halftime — YVCC 49-20. 3-point FG — YVCC 10-23 (Swetzof 0-2, Fulton 0-2, Weaver 1-3, Harris 0-1, Druffel 3-4, Gough 3-5, DeRosier 3-5, Belcher 0-1), LBCC 0-2 (Delong 0-1, Zehner 0-1). Total fouls — YVCC 16, LBCC 15. Fouled out — None. Rebounds — YVCC 40 (Fenumiai 7, Harris 5, McBride 5), LBCC 36 (Jablonski 9). Assists — YVCC 13 (Fulton 3, Harris 3), LBCC 12. Turnovers — YVCC 13, LBCC 25. Blocked shots — YVCC 5 (Swetzof 2), LBCC 2. Steals — YVCC 20 (Urquhart 6), LBCC 7 (Heacock 3).

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Central rolls at home

ELLENSBURG — Matt Penoncello scored a game-high 29 points to lead four Central Washington players in double figures as the Wildcats cruised past NAIA Cascade on Monday night at Nicholson Pavilion.

Brandon Foote had 14 points, Giovonne Woods 13 and Johnny Spevak 10 for CWU, which improved to 6-2.

The Wildcats opened up a 48-18 halftime lead and shot a robust 60 percent from the field, including a 10-for-18 effort from 3-point range.
CASCADE — Jason McCall 4-7 2-2 11, Adams 4-7 1-3 9, Pawlak 1-6 4-4 7, Allen 3-5 0-0 6, Brown 3-6 0-2 6, Saelee 2-4 2-2 6, Littlejohn 2-7 0-2 5, Mace 0-2 4-8 4, Barker 1-4 1-2 3, Barker 0-4 1-2 1, Pflaum 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-53 15-27 58.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON — Matt Penoncello 10-14 6-6 29, Brandon Foote 6-8 1-3 14, Giovonne Woods 5-9 3-6 13, Johnny Spevak 4-7 0-0 10, Sivak 3-4 2-2 9, Scott 2-2 2-4 7, Sprinker 3-4 0-0 6, Monti 1-6 1-2 4, Clift 1-3 1-2 3, Beitinger 1-3 0-0 3, Nelson 0-0 2-4 2. Totals 36-60 18-29 100.

Halftime — CWU 48, Cascade 18. 3-point goals—Cascade 3-18 (Pawlak 1-6, Littlejohn 1-4, McCall 1-3, Brown 0-1, Barker 0-3, Barker 0-1), CWU 10-18 (Penoncello 3-4, Spevak 2-2, Scott 1-1, Sivak 1-1, Beitinger 1-2, Monti 1-4, Foote 1-1, Clift 0-1, Woods 0-2). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — Cascade 30 (Adams 9), CWU 36 (Penoncello 7). Assists — Cascade 13 (Pawlak 5), CWU 23 (Monti 6). Total fouls—Cascade 25, CWU 27. Technical fouls — Cascade (Mace), CWU (Penoncello). Att—443.

Prep roundup: Crusaders improve to 5-0

LACEY — Jeremy Pynch scored 21 points and Derrick Byrne added 18 as Riverside Christian improved to 5-0 with a 49-41 victory Monday against Orcas Island at the Northwest Christian Tournament on Monday.

The Crusaders will play host Northwest Christian today.

RIVERSIDE CHRISTIAN — Jeremy Pynch 21, Gartrell 1  M. Stein 0, Derrick Byrne 18, S. Stein 3, Van Tuinen 0, Pegins 0, Bjur 0, Neiffer 5, Shiveley 1.
ORCAS ISLAND — Tyler Nigretto 15, Bredouw 2, Shaw 9, Janssen 7, Coe 0, Doherty 2, Wooding 6.

Riverside Christian    14    13    10    12    —    49
Orcas Island    9    16    5    11    —    41

Skyline 68, West Valley 63: At Phoenix, Matt Borton scored 34 points and Alix Hernandez poured in 20, but it was not enough as the Rams fell to the Issaquah school.

The Spartans’ 26-point third quarter proved big.

WEST VALLEY — Goodman 4, Matt Borton 34, Berndt 3, Alix Hernandez 20, Urquhart 2, Croshaw 0, Leman 0, Wagar 0.
SKYLINE — Williams 4, Nick Crossan 16, Austin Weige 15, Cory Hutsen 12, Connor Gacek 11, Michael Ford 10, Coulter 0, Lemke 0.

West Valley    17    15    15    16 —    63
Skyline    14    10    26    18    —    68

Eatonville 55, La Salle 44: At Chelan, the Class 2A Cruisers opened a 27-13 halftime lead and held off the Lightning despite Mike McGree’s game-high 19 points.

McGree also grabbed nine rebounds for La Salle (4-3).

LA SALLE — Sattler 5, Mike McGree 19, Kilseimer 4, Kennedy 0, DeGooyer 7, Tri 1, Duffy 0, Smith 2, Anderton 0, Cacchiotti 6, Glazier 0.
EATONVILLE — Calahan-McBride 8, Patterson 0, Holman 0, Erik Swartout 14, Bass 8, Dizon 0, Brad Norman 13, Fairhart 2, Anthony Kast 10.

La Salle    5    8    18    13    —    44
Eatonville    11    16    14    14    —    55

Highlights:  McGree (L) 9 rebs, Ryan Kilseimer (L) 8 rebs.

Klickitat 54, Helix 39: At Helix, Ore., Jeromie Mason netted 20 points and added four rebounds, four steals and three assists as the Vandals built a 32-15 halftime lead and rolled.

KLICKITAT — Lambert 0, D. Keys 0, Ramos 5, Schlangen 2, Jeromie Mason 20, Prominski 8, Brewer 8, Davis 2, McConville 6, Curtis 0, C. Keys 3.
HELIX — Sherman 6, Rodger Rogers 11, Young 5, Bushman 3, Cedarburg 2, Raymond 2, Allen 2, McMurray 6, Clark 2.

Klickitat    23    9    13    9    —    54
Helix    6    9    9    15    —    39

Highlights: Mason (K) 4 rebs, 4 steals 3 assists.

GIRLS

West Valley 52, Meadowdale 42: At Meadowdale, Kiara Martinez had 14 points and Erin Richardson had 12 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Rams past the Mavericks.

The score was tied 38-38 going into the final quarter, but West Valley (3-4) held Meadowdale to just four points in the period.

WEST VALLEY — Larson 0, Kiara Martinez 14, Curry 8, Bealer 1, Curtis 3, Sillery 8, Erin Richardson 12, Toner 0, Winkfield 6
MEADOWDALE — J. Fjortoft 2, H. Fjortoft 4, Molitor 7, Michaela O’Neill 16, Horne 2, Nuggett 2, Lillquist 4, K. O’Neill 5.

West Valley    13    11    14    14    —    52
Meadowdale    12    8    18    4    —    42

Highlights: Richardson (WV) 15 rebs; Haley Curtis (WV) 5 steals, 3 assists.

LA SALLE 47, LAKESIDE (9 NILE FALLS): At Chelan Christmas Tournament, Katie Vickers had 11 points and seven steals, and Savannah Bonny had 11 points and nine rebounds as the Lightning (5-2), which trailed much of the game, beat the Eagles.
LA SALLE — Katie Vickers 11, Hernandez 6, Savannah Bonny 11, Ashby 4, McCanna 7, Marquis 0, Adkins 0, Sullivan 4, DeGooyer 4.

LAKESIDE — Brittos 0, Blazek 4, Flemmins 3, Zappowe 8, Lewis 0, Larlak 17, Stillar 5, Daggy 2, Shaw 2, Campbell 0.

La Salle    7    10    16    14    —    47
Lakeside    12    9    14    6    —    41

Highlights: Vickers (L) 7 steals, Bonny 9 rebounds.

Riverside Christian 50, Tenino 27: At Lacey, three players scored in double figures — Amy Van Beek had 14 points, Madison Hahn 12 and Molly Calhoun 10 — as the Crusaders improved to 5-1 for the season.

Van Beek also had 12 rebs, four steals and four blocked shots.

TENINO — Elder 2, Nicolay 6, Johnson 2, Mankowski 1, Adelle Love 10, O’Brien 3, Bruhn 0, Wall 2.
RIVERSIDE CHRISTIAN — Conradi 2, Amy Van Beek 14, Van Horn 2, Madison Hahn 12, Griffith 0, Lawson 2, Kinder 0, Imperial 0, Molly Calhoun 10, Staymates 8, Fulton 0.

Tenino    2    5    11    9    —    27
Riverside Christian    15    12    11    12    —    50

Highlights: Van Beek (RSC) 12 rebs, 4 steals, 4 blocks; Calhoun (RSC) 7 rebs; Kendra Staymates (RSC) 7 rebs; Hahn (RSC) 5 steals, 4 assists.

STEVENSON 36, LYLE-WISHRAM 31: At Stevenson, Brittany Proce netted 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds, but the Cougars fell in the non-league game.

Taylor Freemantle added 10 rebounds and five assists for Lyle-Wishram (4-3).

LYLE-WISHRAM — Risley 3, Freemantle 2, Churchwell 2, Brittany Price 14, Benash 2, Cloud 8, Newton 0, Thysell 0.
STEVENSON — Penner 6, M. Stump 6, Rathgeber 3, Picklesimer 7, Chelsey Zibolski 14, C. Stump 0.

Lyle-Wishram    5    12    6    8    —    31
Stevenson    5    8    11    12    —    36

Highlights: Taylor Freemantle (L) 10 rebounds, 5 assists; Price (L) 8 rebounds; Tosha Cloud (L) 7 rebounds.

Helix 50, Klickitat 37: At Helix, Ore., Samantha Brewer scored a game-high 20 points and hauled in 11 rebounds but it was not enough as the Vandals fell to 3-4.

Zoe Linder added 11 points for Klickitat.

KLICKITAT — Samantha Brewer 20, Zoe Lindner 11, McConville 4, Clack 1, Ingedo 1, Spino 0, Curtis 0.
HELIX — McMurray 15, Ely 9, Schroeder 6, Smith 6, Terjerson 6, Menlink 4, Hack 4, Lathrup 0, Rogers 0.

Klickitat    8    7    5    17    —    37
Helix    7    14    15    14    —    50

Highlights: Brewer (K) 11 rebs.

Get the most out of hunting licenses

Even though there are only a few hours left in the year 2008, you still have plenty of time to squeeze a little more out of your 2008 hunting license. Actually, the license is good through the end of March, and even though not many hunting seasons are open that long, most of the small game hunting seasons will be open for three more weeks.

While virtually all of the upland bird hunting seasons on the Yakama Reservation close Dec. 31, the waterfowl hunting seasons, both on and off tribal lands, is open through Jan. 25. The upland bird hunting throughout the rest of the region, off of the reservation, runs through Jan. 19.

The cold snap that grabbed hold of the region the past couple weeks kept many hunters indoors, but those who braved the frigid temperatures found some decent hunting.

Local upland hunters working some of the heavy cover on the Yakama Reservation have found pheasants to be more plentiful now versus earlier in the season, when the birds were holed up in the thousands of acres of standing corn.

A group of friends and I hunted a number of days during the past three weeks and have had pretty good luck finding both pheasants and quail. The pheasants are bunched up in some of the weedy “feel free to hunt” fields near cut corn or wheat fields.

The heavy weeds and grasses in these fields give the birds the cover they need to survive the arctic temperatures and snow of the past days and weeks.

The cold temperatures also turned just about all of the local lakes and ponds into skating rinks, forcing the ducks and geese in the region either to migrate south or find their water in the streams.

No matter how cold it gets, there are still creeks and drains in the region are fed by warm-enough water that they won’t freeze. Those open waters attract ducks like magnets and can provide some good hunting for those willing to do some walking.

Waterfowl hunters who prefer to hunt ducks over decoys won’t find much open water around the Yakima Valley unless we get some warmer temperatures to help thaw things out a little. The best alternative for trying to shoot a few mallards over deeks might be to travel to the Tri-Cities or Paterson and hunt along the Snake or Columbia on the McNary or Umatilla National Wildlife Refuges.

Goose hunters will have better luck down in those areas, too.

Other hunting options for the New Year include hunting chukar partridge in the Yakima River Canyon or on the Yakima Training Center. This year, however, as has been the case in the past few years, there doesn’t seem to be many chukar around.

As with the pheasant and quail hunting seasons, partridge hunting remains open through Monday, Jan. 19, everywhere except on the Yakama Reservation. Partridge season on the reservation closes tomorrow.

Winter is also a good time to get out after coyotes. Coyotes are designated as pests and can be hunted year-round. The best coyote hunting, though, can be had in the winter when the predators are more actively searching for food.

Among of the most popular coyote-hunting areas in Central Washington are the L.T. Murray Wildlife Area and the Yakima Training Center. Coyotes are found throughout the region, so the hunting is not limited to just those areas. Again, because the coyotes are out looking for food, they can many times be called into rifle range, or even shotgun.

Just because the year is quickly coming to an end, don’t think  the hunting opportunities are over, too. Depending on what Mother Nature throws at us with the weather, there should be some better-than-average chances at success during the next few weeks before the upland and waterfowl seasons come to a close. Gear up and get out to enjoy what often can be some of the best hunting of the whole season.
• Rob Phillips is a freelance outdoor writer and partner in the advertising firm of Smith, Phillips & DiPietro. He can be reached at rwphillips@spdadvertising.com.

12/30 What’s Happening

Busy weekend for local trap shooters

This will be another busy weekend for the Yakima Valley Sportsmen trap club at the Pomona shooting range in Selah.

Saturday will be the second multiplex registered Pacific International Trap Association shoot, featuring competition among 25 to 30 clubs around the Pacific Northwest, shooting at numerous sites around the region. The event will be 50 at 16 yards, 50 at handicap, and 25 pairs of doubles. The first multiplex shoot drew almost 200 shooters.

Sunday will feature the opening of this spring’s nine-week Button Shoot, with buttons given out each week for high score in the men’s, women’s, senior and junior divisions. Each shooter’s first 25 targets counts as his or her daily score.  Help is available for new shooters and juniors.

On Jan. 17, the club will hold its first crab feed. Tickets are available by calling Paul at 945-0604, and can also be purchased this weekend between 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the Pomona site.
Sturgeon limits go to ‘fork length’ measure

Starting New Year’s Day, anglers fishing for sturgeon should find the big fish easier to measure for compliance with state size limits.

By mutual agreement, fishery managers in Washington and Oregon have agreed to base official size limits for white sturgeon on “fork length” — the distance between the tip of a fish’s nose and the fork in its tail, rather than their full length.

That change is designed primarily to make it easier to measure thrashing sturgeon, which often run 4 to 5 feet in length.

An online illustration of measuring a sturgeon according to fork length is posted on the WDFW site (wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/sturgeon/index.html ).

Under rules currently in effect for most waters of the state, anglers may retain only those white sturgeon with a total length of 42 to 60 inches. Under the new statewide rule, the new standard for legal-size sturgeon will be 38 to 54 inches, measured from a fish’s snout to the fork in its tail.
Bird Alert: furor over ferruginous hawk

Reports this week that a ferruginous hawk was spotted along Stephenson Road west of Wapato caused a few diehard birders to venture out for a look.

Ferruginous hawks are the largest buteo (hawks with broad rounded wings, relatively short tails) in North America and this is probably the first winter record of one for Yakima County. Speaking of big birds, there was an astounding report of 21 bald eagles, observed either perched or flying along the river in the Yakima Canyon.

A flock of several thousand horned larks, was spotted along Ridge Road six miles west of Alderdale Road in the Horse heaven Hills, it held five Lapland longspurs, a pretty little bird that breeds in the Arctic Tundra.

A cold and snowy trip to the Yakima Training Center turned up a short list of only 13 species, but included some exciting birds including 10 greater sage-grouse (that gave good but distant views as they cruised sideways along a far hillside), two golden eagles and a gray partridge.

Birding is still good along the Poppoff Trail where birders observed 36 species including yellow-rumped warbler, hermit thrush, white-throated sparrow, fox sparrow and brown creeper. An adult Cooper’s hawk was maintaining a vigil from the cottonwoods and a sharp-shinned hawk was observed in three locations.

Buchanan Lake, the best place in the city of Yakima to find the waterfowl that prefer deep water, held wood ducks, two drake Barrow’s goldeneye, five hooded merganser, a pied-billed grebe, a horned grebe and a western grebe.

Please call your bird sightings into the Yakima Valley Audubon phone line at 248-1963.

— Kerry L. Turley, President, Yakima Valley Audubon
ON THE CALENDAR

TODAY AND EVERY TUESDAY: The Cascadians’ Tuesday hikers meet at 8 a.m. at the 40th Avenue Bi-mart parking lot and carpool from there to whatever cross-country ski or snowshoe trip is decided upon that day by the trip leader or a group consensus, usually based on weather and snow conditions.

THURSDAY: The Cascadians plan to hold their annual New Year’s Day cross-country ski trip up Round Mountain (west of Rimrock Lake). For meeting time and place, call Mike or

Sue Gunderson at 972-2615.

A Pokies note: No trip today in observance of New Year’s Day.

SUNDAY: The Cascadians will have a cross-country ski trek on Fife’s Ridge (near the Bumping/Little Naches area), for intermediate-or-better skiers. For meeting time and place, call Miles or Saundie McPhee at 658-2553.

JAN. 8: The Yakima Valley Audubon will hold a Thursday morning bird walk, beginning at 10 a.m. at the parking lot on the east end of Valley Mall Boulevard (at the south end of the Greenway).

DeRosier guides YVCC to victory

SALEM, Ore. — Nicole DeRosier scored 16 points to lead the Yakima Valley women past the host team 73-45 on the second day of the Chemeketa Holiday Classic.

DeRosier was 6 for 19 shooting from the floor including 4 for 8 on 3-point attempts.

Kaitlin McBride was YVCC’s only other double-digit scorer, chipping in with 10.

YAKIMA VALLEY — Swetzof 2-5 0-0 4, Fulton 1-3 0-0 2, Weaver 2-9 0-0 4, Harris 3-5 0-0 6, Moehrle Druffel 1-4 2-2 4, Gough 1-8 0-0 3, Kaitlin McBride 4-7 2-3 10, Nicole DeRosier 6-19 0-0 16, Urquhart 1-2 0-0 2, Nill 3-10 0-0 7, Belcher 3-3 0-1 6, Feomuriai 4-7 0-0 9, Shaw 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 31-85 4-6 73.

CHEMEKETA — Mack 1-8 0-0 3, Flores 0-2 0-0 0, Cox 3-9 0-0 6, Silva-Ramirez 1-5 5-6 7, Braun 0-8 0-0 0, Traci Thompson 5-10 2-2 14, Klein 0-1 0-0 0, Wellsandt 2-5 0-0 5, Andrea Harris 4-4 2-2 10. Totals 16-52 9-10 45,

Halftime — YVCC 40-18. 3-point field goals YVCC 7-29 (Swetzof 0-3, Fulton 0-1, Weaver 0-4, Harris 0-1, Druffel 0-1, Gough 1-6, DeRosier 4-8, Nill 1-3, Feomuriai 1-1, Shaw 0-1), CCC 4-9 (Mack 1-2, Ramirez 0-1, Braun 0-1, Thompson 2-2, Welllsandt 1-3). Rebounds — YVCC 49 (Harris 8, Weaver 6), CCC 43 (Ramirez 7). Fouled out — None. Total fouls — YVCC 15, CCC 8. Assists — YVCC 10, CCC 13. Steals — YVCC 22 (Shaw 5, Weaver 4), CCC 7. Turnovers — YVCC 19, CCC 37.

The Week in Pictures

Atlanta Thrashers’ Colby Armstrong (20) trips over New York Islanders goaltender Joey MacDonald during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2008 in Uniondale, N.Y. The Thrashers won 4-2. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

The week in sports pictures Dec. 28, 2008.

Holiday tidbits

*** We’re still a few weeks away from the first Associated Press state basketball polls of the season, but there are a couple sneak previews posted by the Seattle Times (4A, 3A) and Tacoma News Tribune (4A, 3A, 2A, 1A). Tacoma has Prosser’s girls ranked No. 1 in 2A followed by East Valley (4) and Ellensburg (9). Ellensburg’s boys check in at No. 6 with Wapato No. 10.

*** Zillah’s wrestling team made an impressive show at the Western Invite in Modesto, Calif., where unbeaten sophomore Chris Castillo captured the 154-pound title with a 5-0 record. Kane Koerner was second at 191 and Skylor Davis placed third at 121. … Grandview’s Santos Guillen (103) went 8-0 in the new team/individual format at the two-day Best of the West tournament in the Tri-Cities, and Kittitas’ Daniel O’Shaughnessy (130) placed eighth in the loaded Tri-State Invite.

*** It took 13 hours of airport hopping for West Valley’s boys basketball team to arrive in Phoenix for the Cactus Jam tournament. But after Saturday’s first game the Rams got a day off and attended Sunday’s Seahawks-Cardinals NFL game. A West Valley and WSU grad is a member of the stadium staff and helped arrange the visit.

*** Late next month a Yakima contingent will make a bid to the WIAA to host all the state volleyball tournaments in the SunDome — 1A, 2B, 1B the first week, 4A, 3A, 2A the following week.

 

Liverpool on top by three points

LONDON (AP) — Liverpool took a three-point lead in the Premier League on Sunday, routing Newcastle 5-1 while Chelsea was held to a 2-2 tie at Fulham.

Fulham’s Clint Dempsey, of the U.S. national team, scored on a header for his second goal of the game with a minute remaining to stun Chelsea.

Steven Gerrard scored twice and set up another at Newcastle to give Liverpool 45 points after 20 matches while Chelsea has 42. Manchester United, which has played three games fewer, is next with 35 and hosts Middlesbrough on Monday.

“We need to work hard again and start again,” Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari said. “The championship is not finished today. It will be finished in the last two or three games. It is normal in England. The Premier League is difficult.”

Liverpool provided further evidence that its 19-year wait for the league title may be drawing to a close. The victory came two days after a 3-0 win over Bolton and while star striker Fernando Torres continues to recover from a hamstring injury.

“This is a very strong, very focused, very determined bunch of players, and the joy from my point of view is that they are all willing to work hard and improve on their game,” assistant manager Sammy Lee said. “That as a coach and a manager is all you can ask from players.

Newcastle’s loss came as owner Mike Ashley announced he was taking the club off the market after failing to attract a buyer.

Standings through 12/28/08	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
Liverpool	20	13	6	1	35	13	45
Chelsea	20	12	6	2	40	9	42
Manchester United	17	10	5	2	28	10	35
Arsenal	20	10	5	5	33	23	35
Aston Villa	19	10	5	4	32	22	35
Everton	20	9	5	6	27	25	32
Wigan	19	8	4	7	24	21	28
Hull	19	7	6	6	28	36	27
Fulham	19	6	8	5	18	14	26
West Ham	20	7	4	9	24	28	25
Bolton	20	7	2	11	22	28	23
Portsmouth	20	6	5	9	21	33	23
Manchester City	20	6	4	10	38	30	22
Newcastle	20	5	7	8	26	32	22
Sunderland	20	6	4	10	21	29	22
Tottenham	20	5	5	10	20	25	20
Middlesbrough	19	5	5	9	17	28	20
Stoke	20	5	5	10	18	33	20
Blackburn	20	4	6	10	22	36	18

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