P TENNIS:





30-somethings storm quarters


 Li, Pannetta
 roll through
 fourth round
 ByJOHN PYE
 ASSOCIATED PRESS
 MELBOURNE,
Australia Two-time
finalist Li Na wrapped up
a fourth-round victory
against No. 22 Ekaterina
Makarova in less than
an hour today to set up
a quarterfinal against
Flavia Pennetta at the
Australian Open.
 The 2011 French
Open champion broke
Makarova's serve five
times and fended off
four break points on her
own serve in a 59-minute
performance to reach the
quarterfinals here for the
fourth time in five years.
 Pennetta's late-career
revival continued as
she reached her first
Australian Open quarter-
final with a 6-1, 4-6, 7-5
win against ninth-seeded
Angelique Kerber of
Germany.
 The 28th-seeded
Pennetta has played
some of her best tennis
since returning last
February from a wrist
injury that caused her


AUSTRALIAN OPEN
WHEN: Play begins 7 p.m.
(Melbourne is 16 hours ahead of
Port Charlotte)
WHERE: At Melbourne Park,
Melbourne, Australia
TV: ESPN2, 9p.m. and 3 a.m.
ONLINE: www.ausopen.com


ranking to drop as low as
No. 166.
 Li and Pennetta both
turn 32 next month, one
day apart.
 "You know what, at
least she is one day older
than me. So I will play an
older player," Li, who had
back-to-back wins over
the two youngest players
in the tournament tin the
first two rounds, joked
in an on-court interview.
"Not like couple rounds
(before), always younger
than me. Nobody talked
about the age."
 Pennetta reached her
first Grand Slam semifi-
nal at the U.S. Open last
year and has followed
that by reaching her first
quarterfinal at Melbourne
Park in 11 appearances.
 "I'm a little old, so I'm
starting to enjoy (tennis)
more," she said. "When
you are young you want
to win so much."


 Pennetta broke Kerber
to take a 5-3 lead in the
third set but tightened up
as she was serving for the
match, giving the break
right back. She recovered
to take a 6-5 lead and
then broke Kerber to
close the match.
 Five-time champion
Serena Williams was
scheduled to face for-
mer No. 1-ranked Ana
Ivanovic in fourth-round
match on Rod Laver
Arena later today.
 After setting a record
for most match wins
at the Australian Open
with her 61st this week,
Williams will better
another mark today by
playing her 70th match at
Melbourne Park, topping
Lindsay Davenport's
former record of 69.
 On the men's side,
three-time defending
champion Novak
Djokovic was set to
take on Italian Fabio
Fognini for a place in the
quarterfinals.
 Djokovic is attempting
to make his 19th consec-
utive appearance in the
quarterfinals of a Grand
Slam the third-longest
streak in the Open era
after Roger Federer's 36
and Jimmy Connors' 27.


Italy's Flavia Pennetta bites the net in frustration during her fourth-round match against
Germany's Angelique Kerber at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, today.


I AUSTRALIAN OPEN SCOREBOARD


 TODAY
 At Melbourne Park, Melbourne
 Purse: $29.72 million (Grand Slam)
 Surface: Hard-Outdoor
 Women's Singles
 Fourth Round
 Flavia Pennetta (28), Italy, def Angelique
Kerber (9), Germany, 6-1,4-6,7-5.
Li Na (4), China, def. Ekaterina Makarova
(22), Russia, 6-2,6-0.
 SATURDAY
 Men's Singles


 Third Round
 Stephane Robert, France, def. Martin Kli-
zan, Slovakia, 6-0,7-6 (2), 6-4A
 Roger Federer (6), Switzerland, def. Tey-
murazGabashvili, Russia, 6-2,6-2,6-3.
 Roberto Bautista Agut, Spain, def. Benoit
Paire (27), France, 6-2,6-1,6-4.
 Grigor Dimitrov (22), Bulgaria, def. Milos
Raonic (11), Canada, 6-3,3-6,6-4,7-6 (10)
 Andy Murray (4), Britain, def. Feliciano
Lopez (26), Spain, 7-6 (2), 6-4,6-2.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (10), France, def. Gilles
Simon (18), France, 7-6 (5), 6A 6-2.


 Kei Nishikori (16), Japan, def. Donald
Young, United States, 7-5,6-1,6-0.
 Rafael Nadal (1), Spain, def. Gael Monfils
(25), France, 6-1,6-2,6-3.
 Women's Singles
 Third Round
 Agnieszka Radwanska (5), Poland, def.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (29), Russia, 5-7,
6-2,6-2.
 Garbine Muguruza, Spain, def. Caroline
Wozniacki (10), Denmark, 4-6,7-5,6-3.
Victoria Azarenka (2), Belarus, def.
Yvonne Meusburger, Austria, 6-1,6-0.


* MLB: I


Winter spending raises stakes


 Can the team
no longer afford
 to either keep
 or deal its ace?

 By MARC TOPKIN
 TAMPA BAY TIMES
 Given their financial
profile and the ongoing
industry-wide escalation
in player salaries, Tampa
Bay can't afford to not
consider trading ace
David Price if an unex-
pectedly overwhelming
offer came along.
 But given the invest-
ment in this season's
team, with the 25-man
payroll extended to a
franchise high in the mid
$70 millions, and increas-
ing excitement internally
and throughout the mar-
ket about their potential,
could they really afford to
deal their staff leader?
 Price hopes the poten-
tial for success is part of


SPRING TRAINING RAYS CALENDAR
/II I lIftn/AIik


LUU I UUVVIN



 26
 Days until Tampa Bay Rays
 pitchers and catchers report
 for spring training on Feb. 14
 at Charlotte Sports Park

the equation, and last
week, after agreeing to
an arbitration-avoiding
team-record one-year $14
million salary, he made
another pitch to stay.
 "I feel like we have
a very good team, so,
hopefully, we can make
some kind of run," he
said. "If we can have
this team that we have
right now on paper and
everybody stays healthy
and produces the type of
seasons that we all can
produce, I think we can
do something special.... I
want to be part of it."


FEB. 19: Position players report
FEB. 20: First full squad workout
FEB. 22: FanFestatTropicana Field
FEB. 28: Exhibition opener vs.
Baltimore at Port Charlotte
MARCH 1: Exhibition road opener
vs. Pittsburgh at Bradenton
MARCH 31: Regular-season
opener vs. Jays at Tropicana Field

 Price has spent much
of the offseason at his
family's Nashville-area
home, hoping nothing
happened. He came back
to the Tampa Bay area last
week to intensify work-
outs, thinking aloud that
he could soon exhale and
assume he is staying.
 His premise is that once
free agent RHP Masahiro
Tanaka signs this week,
teams that miss out could
make a last albeit late
- run at the Rays, and if
that doesn't quickly lead
to anything, Price could
safely plan on reporting


to Port Charlotte a few
weeks later. He also
feels that he wouldn't be
traded once he gets to
camp suggesting such
a deal would upset other
Rays players though
team officials will not
make that assurance.
 Muscled Matt: After a disap-
pointing and inconsistent 2013 perfor-
mance, Matt Joyce has put on nearly
20 pounds in hopes the additional
weight will lead to increased power
and keep him stronger throughout the
season. 'I think that in itself is going
to help;said Joyce, who hit 14 homers
through mid June and only four after.
"Everything looked great last year but I
felt a little weaker'."
 Rays Rumblings: Though
new national TV deals are reported
to provide an additional $25 million
in revenue to each team, MLB may
withhold up to $10 million so the net
increase is significantly less. ... Radio
guys Andy Freed and Dave Wills are
signed to be back this season, as are
TV guys Dewayne Staats and Brian
Anderson, plus hosts/reporters Todd
Kalas and Kelly Nash.


* MLB:' '


New system dictates new strategies


BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

 Come Sunday, NFL
fans might see coaches
Bill Belichick or Jim
Harbaugh hollering at
the referee and throwing
a red flag on the field to
challenge a call.
 And this week at the
Australian Open, players
will contest rulings and
then watch the results
be revealed on the
scoreboard.
 Major League Baseball
made sweeping changes
this week to expand its
instant replay system,
but the review process
won't appear nearly so
dramatic.
 A look at how increased
replay will affect baseball
for players, managers,
umpires and fans:

 THE CHALLENGE OF
 THE CHALLENGE
 Two outs, none on,
scoreless game in the
bottom of the second.
Batter hits a chopper in
the hole, seems to beat
the throw but is called


out. Should his manager
ask for a review? If he's
wrong, he will not have
any options later when
his center fielder makes a
diving catch with the bas-
es loaded and the umps
say the ball bounced. Or
does the manager go on a
fishing expedition, talking
to the ump to gauge if
he has a case and
giving someone in the
clubhouse more time to
examine replays.
 MINUTE MEN
 NFL fans holler when
a ref goes under the
hood to review a play.
Tennis crowds gaze at the
scoreboard, clapping as
an animated ball plops
on the line to settle an
in-or-out dispute. MLB
figures it'll take up to 90
seconds to get the word
from its New York studio.
So what will fans do? Boo
slow-motion replays on
the Jumbotron? Hear the
"Jeopardy!" theme on
the PA? In other sports,
the whole thing becomes
an event. In baseball,


we'll find out. Tigers star
pitcher Justin Verlander
tweeted he's eager to see
how the expanded goes:
"Can't say yet if I'm for or
against. I like the replays
on big screen tho."

 BYE-BYE BEEFS
 Face it, the spectacle of
a manager charging from
the dugout, flapping his
arms and shouting nose-
to-nose at an umpire
is part of baseball lore.
Will replay make wild
rhubarbs a thing of the
past? Well, rulings that get
reviewed can't be argued.
But Mike Scioscia isn't
going to be happy when
Mike Trout is called out
at second on a neighbor-
hood play those can't
be protested, either. Plus,
a manager who's out of
challenges might still
want to give the umps
an earful. Overall, we'll
discover how this affects
the rhythm and flow of
the game.

 HEARANDTHERE
 To contest a call, a


manager simply tells the
crew chief in "timely"
fashion he wants a review.
At least one other ump
joins the chief and they
go to a designated area
near home plate, picking
up a headset linked to
the replay command
center. They can't see a
video monitor, and the
replay official makes the
call the NHL does it
in the same manner. But
as one umpire told The
Associated Press: "The
microphone works both
ways, so on field can give
input and explanation."

 C'MON UMP, THAT PITCH
 WAS LOW!
 MLB has been adamant
that no matter what, re-
play would never be used
to call balls and strikes.
Never. Too hard to tell on
tape whether an 88 mph
slider clipped the corner,
many say. But with tech-
nology improving by the
instant, is it impossible to
imagine someday? Stay
tuned.


I QUICK HITS


SAN DIEGO HOLDS
MEMORIAL SERVICE
FOR COLEMAN
 SAN DIEGO (AP)
- There was an F-18
flyover, a 21-gun salute
and moving eulogies
by former New York
Yankees manager Joe
Torre and Padres broad-
caster Ted Leitner. Jerry
Coleman probably would
have thought it was
more attention than he
deserved. But the people
who knew him well felt
Saturday's memorial
service at Petco Park was
a fitting celebration of the
Hall of fame broadcaster.
 Coleman, 89, died Jan.
5. He won four World
Series titles with the
Yankees and was the only
major leaguer who saw
combat in both World
War II and Korea, flying a
combined 120 missions
as a Marine Corps pilot.
He was a Padres broad-
caster for four decades....
 Texas agreed to a minor league
deal with 31-year-old left-hander
Rafael Perez that includes an invita-
tion to major league spring training.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
 Clemson coach gets new
deal: Dabo Swinney received a
new, eight-year contract and a raise
that increased his total pay for next
season to $3.15 million. The school
announced the reworked contract that
ties Swinney to the Tigers through
2021. Swinney's previous deal paid
him a total of $2.55 million and was
good through 2017. Clemson had its
second straight 11-2 season. ...
 Vanderbilt introduced its new
coach, Derek Mason, who made clear
he has plenty of experience recruiting
in the South, hopes to finish his
career at Vanderbilt and has very
high goals for the Commodores: the
Southeastern Conference East title ...
 In St. Petersburg, Jimmy Garoppolo
threw a second-quarter touchdown
pass and Nevin Lawson returned a
fourth-quarter fumble 5 yards for
another touchdown to lead the East to
a 23-13 victory in the 89th East-West
Shrine game.

WINTER SPORTS
 Skeleton team holds
no surprises: Katie Uhlaender
is heading to her third Olympics,
and Noelle Pikus-Pace and John Daly
were repeat selections when the U.S.
skeleton team for the Sochi Games
was unveiled. Matt Antoine and
Kyle Tress will join Daly on the men's
roster. Those five sliders have been the
American competitors on the World
Cup circuit throughout this season ...


 In IgIs, Austria, Steven Holcomb
won his fifth two-man bobsled race
of the season, pairing with Steven
Langton for a World Cup victory. It was
Holcomb's first two-man victory on a
European track since February 2007,
when he tied for a win at Cesana
Pariol. .
 Olympic organizers said Saturday
that Jamaica has qualified for the
two-man competition, though it
remains unclear if the fledgling squad
will get a chance to race because it
has raised none of the money needed
to defray the cost of competing ...
 In Altenberg, Germany, Felix Loch
clinched his third consecutive World
Cup season points championship
in luge. Loch has won five of this
season's eight races. ...
 In Budapest, Hungary, Javier
Fernandez of Spain successfully
defended his European figure skating
title ahead of two Russians: Sergei
Voronov and Konstantin Menshov.
Fernandez is the first champion to
successfully defend since Russia's
Evgeny Plushenko in 2005 and 2006.

SKIING
 American wins sprint
event: In Szklarska Poreba, Poland,
Kikkan Randall won her second
consecutive freestyle sprint event
on the cross-country World Cup to
underline her status as a medal
favorite at the Sochi Olympics. In the
men's event, Alex Harvey of Canada
won ahead of JosefWenzl of Germany
and France's Baptiste Gros ...
 In Wengen, Switzerland, Patrick
Kueng gave his home Swiss fans
reason to cheer by winning the
Lauberhorn downhill. The course was
shortened by more than a minute due
to strong winds. Bode Miller finished
fifth. ...
 Herman Keri Herman completed
her quest for the Sochi Olympics by
finishing second in the ski slopestyle
qualifier at the U.S. Grand Prix in Park
City, Utah. Gus Kenworthy winner
of the 2011 and 2012 AFP overall
titles took second in the men's
slopestyle with a score of 95.00,
punching his ticket to Sochi for the
third and final guaranteed men's
spot. ...
 In Mammoth Lakes, Calif., Sage
Kotsenburg earned the final Olympic
snowboard slopestyle qualifier and
earned a spot on the U.S. team
heading to Sochi. Jamie Anderson
won the women's contest, making it
3-for-3 this week in Mammoth. She
had already secured her Olympic spot.
CELEBRITY
 Rodman checks into
rehab: Darren Prince, Dennis
Rodman's agent, said the former NBA
player checked into an undisclosed
alcohol rehabilitation center to
treat his long-time struggle with
alcoholism. Rodman recently returned
to the United States from his latest
trip to North Korea.


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The Sun/Sunday, January 19, 2014