Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page C2

C2 SPORTS STAR TRIBUNE WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2011 2DAY WRITTEN AND COMPILED BY MICHAEL RAND MRANDSTARTRIBUNE.COM THE GAME PLAN Just when you thought the Twins season couldn't get any worse, the briefly Police: Crittenton wanted revenge A former NBA player who is accused of shooting an Atlanta woman to death appeared to be retaliating for being robbed of $55,000 worth of jewelry, police said. Javaris Crittenton, who was suspended from the NBA along with his ex-teammate Gilbert news of Justin Morneau's concussion symptoms came out. Really: What's next? REMOTE PATROL You might get sick of Yankees vs. Red Sox, but go ahead and check out Phil Hughes vs. Josh Beckett (6 p.m., ESPN).

What else are you going to watch? CLICK PICK The site gotemcoach.com has a great visual element showing how Ray Allen's shooting form has not changed at all during his NBA career. STAR GAZING Why yes, that was St. Paul native and 2009 AL MVP Joe Mauer you saw on your TV screen Tuesday, wielding a bat and playing a baseball game. Arenas for having guns in a locker room, was arrested late Monday at a Southern California airport. He has been charged with murder in the Aug.

19 shooting death of Jullian Jones outside her house in Atlanta Crittenton's attorneys have said he will exonerated. FAST FACT Ohio State coach Luke Fickell said Joe Bauserman likelv will be the 0 Buckeyes' starting QB a different ring than Jim Tressel talking about Terrelle Prvor. Crittenton 2DAY'S 2CENTS Hot Seat Rankings 2-DO LIST WHAT THEY MIGHT BE DOING TODAY LOCAL FIGURES FEELING HEAT? Don Lucia, Joel Maturi and Bill Smith have not pleased their teams' fans lately. We don't tread lightly on the subject of people's livelihoods. As such, please construe this exercise as an interpretation of how fans feel about certain local coaches and officials not how close we think they actually might be to losing their jobs.

The Hot Seat Ratings a scale of 1-10, with one being a nice cool and comfortable chair and 10 being a flaming bun scorcher are merely a device to take the pulse of Minnesota Fan Nation as things stand at this moment: Wes Welkei might be hoping he doesn't have to make any more tackles this season. The Twins might be at the point where not finishing in last place is their best hope for a moral victory. Biuce Pearl might be the first ex-D-I coach to work for a wholesale grocery jerry Kill: 1 rating Bill Smith: 9.5 rating Crittenton told police he and a friend were leaving a barbershop around 10: 50 p.m. April 21 when two teenagers surprised them as they returned to their car, according to police report released to The Associated Press. One teenager held Crittenton at gunpoint and ordered him to "give me what you got," he told police.

He said he handed over a $25,000 black diamond necklace, a $30,000 black diamond watch, an iPhone and $25 cash. Jones, a 23-year-old mother of four, was outside her house with 18-year-old Trontavious Stephens when a black Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid pulled up and opened fire. Authorities have said they don't believe Jones was the intended target, but they haven't said who they think the gunman was after. TRACK AND FIELD Isinbayeva misses again at Worlds Yelena Isinbayeva extended her string of disappointments at major events, going under the pole vault bar on her final attempt while trailing five of her rivals for gold at the world championships in South Korea on Tuesday. When the Russian was packing up her bag, Fa-bianaMurer of Brazil added the outdoor world title to the indoor championship one year before the London Olympics.

Murer set a South American record of 15 feet, 11 inches to beat Martina Strutz, who set a German record of 15-9. Svetla-na Feofanova of Russia earned bronze at 15-7. In the men's 400 final, Kirani James of Grenada rallied past favorite LaShawn Merritt of the United States in a lunge at the line to finish in a personal-best 44.60 seconds. Merritt finished in 44.63 for silver. Tatyana Chernova ended the reign of Jessica Ennis in the heptathlon, rallying to take gold from the defending champion.

At the halfway mark in the competition, the United States leads the medal standings with four gold and eight overall, ahead of Kenya and Russia with three gold among their eight medals. BOXING De La Hoya admits addictions Former boxing champion Oscar De La Hoya said he thought about suicide and has been going to rehab because he has become dependent on drugs and alcohol in an interview with Spanish-language network Univision. "Rock bottom was recently," De La Hoya said, according to an English-language transcript provided by the network. "Within couple of years, just thinking if my life was even worth it. I don't have the strength, I don't have the courage to take my own life but I was thinking about it." De La Hoya says he has been sober for three months after undergoing treatment and joining Alcoholics Anonymous.

He said he was unfaithful to his wife and that they were separated for a while. "We are obviously not talking a Tiger Woods here, but I was unfaithful," De La Hoya said. AROUND THE HORN NHL: The Flyers signed James van Riemsdyk to a six-year contract extension. The Kings are changing their jerseys and dropping purple from their team colors for the upcoming season. College basketball: Former Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl accepted a job as vice president of marketing with a Knoxville-based wholesale grocery company.

WNBA: Sancho Lyttle hit a short jumper with 0.9 seconds left to give Atlanta a 92-90 victory over Indiana DeWanna Bonner scored 25 points, leading Phoenix to a 96-74 victory over Tulsa. Cappie Pondexter scored 19 points as New York rallied to beat Chicago Sky 71-67. Auto racing: Brad Keselowski will return to the Nationwide Series this week at Atlanta Motor Speedway after missing the past five races with a broken ankle. ASSOCIATED PRESS eter middle that's content for the most part with the 2010 AL Manager of the Year. Rating: 5.

Pant Borton: The Gophers have fallen on hard times the past two seasons, meaning 2011-12 is a big one. Overall, though, Borton can boast of six NCAA tournament berths in her nine seasons. Rating: 5.5 David Kahn: He's all over the map right now, but the arrival of Ricky Rubio and the drafting of Derrick Williams have Kahn narrowly in the safe zone. When the NBA picks back up, on-court performance could dictate whether his number shoots to a nine or plummets to a three. For now Rating: 6.

HOT, HOT, HOT Don Lucia: Gophers hockey is held to a gold standard, and when you miss the NCAA tourney three years in a row the heat is definitely on. The two NCAA titles Lucia won early in his tenure seem like distant memories to a lot of fans. Rating: 8. Joel Maturi: You'd be hard-pressed to find another figure so mild-mannered and yet so polarizing. Rating: 8.5.

Bill Smith: Is he the sole reason everything fell apart for the Twins in 2011? Hardly. Did he play a role? Yes. Is he a symbol of the carnage as far as many Twins fans are concerned? Absolutely. Rating: 9.5. MICHAEL RAND SITTING COMFORTABLY Jerry Kill: If he asked you to block a 300-pound lineman right now, would you try it? That's what we thought.

Rating: 1. Anyone involved with the Lynx: They have the best record in the WNBA and have been a significant bright spot during an otherwise dismal sports run. Rating: 1. Leslie Fiaziei: Most fans seem to be genuinely encouraged by his approach, and he has the benefit of following a guy whose hot seat rating was off the charts. Rating: 2.

Mike Yeo: Another newbie making a good first impression. Rating: 2 Rick Spielman: You don't hear much fan griping about Spielman, whose moves have generally helped give the Vikings the talent they need to compete. Rating: 2.5. GETTING WARMER Chuck Fletcher: Injected some life into the Wild with shrewd offseason trades, helping sway a fan base that was teetering. Rating: 3.5 Tubby Smith: His rating would be a point or two higher based on performance vs.

expectation, but there are still a lot of people who feel lucky he is in Minnesota This year, though, will be important. Rating: 4.5 Ron Gardenhire: There are some card-carrying extremist members of the FIRE GARDY club, but we say they are greatly outnumbered by a qui- FIVE THINGS The Vikings have five games this year that aren't scheduled to start at noon: 1. Weekl: 3:15 p.m. at Chargers 2. p.m.

at Bears 3. p.m. vs. Packers 4. Week 10: 7:30 p.m.

at Packers (Monday) 5. Week 13: 3:05 p.m. vs. Broncos Got a good sports list? Send it to mrandg) startribune.com TALKERS Join the chatter on our blogs at startribune.comsports La Velle E. Neal III: Twins prospects Sano, Rosario dominating rookie league Got a phone call last week from someone who has been hanging around the Twins' rookie league team at Elizabethton, Tenn.

"I think Rosario has tied Manny Ramirez's home run record," the person said. "Can you check on that?" I found a number to the league office and called. It ended up being the personal phone of the league's president, Lee Landers. "Well, I'm coming up to an exit here," he said. "I'll pull over and check." I forget how the minor leagues operate on a slightly different budget than the majors.

Landers pulled over at a gas station somewhere in Tennessee to look up the info. The league record for home runs is 24, hit by Mitch Einertson of Greenville in 2004, and Joy Gritts, for Wytheville in 1960. Paul Russo hit 22 for E-Town in 1990. That brings us to Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano. Rosario hit his league-leading 21st homer of the season on Monday in a 6-5 victory over Princeton.

Sano hit two, one an inside-the-park homer, to give him 20. The two have become good friends, and Sano can't stand that Rosario caught him and passed him in homers in recent weeks. "I am focused on each pitch and seeing the ball well right now," Sano said to a reporter after the game. Twins Insider: www.startribune.comtwins QUOTE OF THE DAY "I know what comes along with it, and I know how to handle it." Michael Vick on his new contract. NFL NOTES Taylor says 'misunderstanding' with Bears was his fault Yet there he was Tuesday.

"I just took the words the wrong way," Taylor said, referring to his conversation with Smith. "It was just Taylor Carlson out for season John Carlson caught more passes in his first two years as a Seahawk than any other tight end in franchise history. Now he can't catch a break. Carlson, a former Notre Dame and Litchfield, standout, is out for the year because of a shoulder injury, coach Pete Carroll said. Carlson must undergo surgery to repair a torn labrum and is likely headed to injured reserve.

"We're certainly going to miss John," Carroll said. "We were really counting on him having a fantastic year for us, and that's a big loss for us." Etc Negotiations toward establishing a testing program for human growth hormone are at a standstill the NFL players union told the New York Times, and expectations are dimming that a program can be put in place to start testing by the start of the regular season next week. A union spokesman blamed the World Anti-Doping Agency, whose program the NFL wants to follow, for not providing information the union has requested about the reliability and protocol for its tests. The league defended the blood testing program that it hoped to put in place. The 49ers and running back Frank Gore agreed on a three-year contract extension through 2014, agent Jason Rosenhaus said.

Gore is set to make $21 million, with $13.5 million in guaranteed money. Injured wideout Michael Crabtreepracticedwiththe49ers for the first time this preseason. Rams middle linebacker James Iaurinaitis, recovering from a chest injury, wants to play in Thursday's preseason finale against Jacksonville, but coach Steve Spagnuolo might not let him. Still the former Wayzata and Ohio State star said there's no doubt he'll be ready for the open er Sept 11 against Philadelphia. Eric Steinbach, who hasn't missed a snap in two years at left guard for the Browns, will miss the season after undergoing surgery to repair a bulging disk.

Defensive end Derrick Morgan, the Titans' first-round pick of 2010, will miss the season opener after having arthroscopic knee surgery. The Saints released former starting defensive end Alex Brown and signed veteran kicker John Kasay. The signing of Kasay, 41, comes after Garrett Hartley hurt a hip while kicking an extra point Sunday against Oakland. NEWS SERVICES Chester Taylor was back practicing with the Chicago Bears on Tuesday, and he took the blame for a misunderstanding that left him thinking he had been cut. The veteran running back's mea culpa is the latest twist in an odd saga that is widely expected to end with the team parting with him.

It hasn't happened yet, though. Taylor left Halas Hall on Monday after meeting with coach Lovie Smith under the impression that he was no longer in the team's plans. a mistake." Either way, the former Viking still appears to be on the outside looking in at running back Taylor did not play in last week's preseason game at Tennessee. Instead, the Bears went with Kahlil Bell as the third running back behind Matt Forte and Marion Barber and Taylor just watched..