Balanced Lancers trounce first-year Spartans

LATHROP - East Union High's sophomore girls basketball team kept first-year Lathrop off balanced with its inside-outside attack in its 66-41 victory Monday.

Babe Ruth continues signups this week

Registration will take place at Straw Hat Pizza (1238 N. Main St.) in Manteca. The dates are: Feb. 4 from 6-8 p.m.; and Feb. 7 from noon to 2 p.m.

Sharks sink Quakes, tie Merced

Chloe Benham collected three goals in two games as the under-10 girls Sharks of the Manteca Area Soccer League won one and tied another in Bill Meyer Winter League action Saturday.

GETTING IN THEIR KICKS & PASSES & PUNTS

the 12th Annual Punt, Pass & Kick event took place at Button Estates Park on Super Bowl Sunday.

Delta Rebels awards banquet set for Friday

The Delta Rebels youth football organization will hold its annual awards banquet Jan. 30 at the East Union High cafeteria.

Knights’ comeback falls short

RIPON - Ripon Christian's sophomore girls basketball team managed to make a game of it after trailing by as much as nine points midway through the fourth quarter, but the Knights were unable to complete the comeback in a 44-40 loss to Hughson.

Under-10 Sharks Still unbeaten in Winter League

OAKDALE - The Manteca Sharks under-10 girls soccer team maintained its unbeaten record in Bill Meyer Winter League action after a scoreless tie against Modesto and a 5-2 victory over Oakdale Saturday.

HUSTLIN’ HUSKIES

RIPON - Whether it was the full-court press, half-court trap, man-to-man or 2-3 zone defense, Ripon Christian had no answers for Hughson in a 42-23 Trans Valley League loss Monday.

EAST UNION’S BIG LEAGUE DREAMER

The four-year college route didn't work out. Four years is too long to wait, anyway. East Union High senior Wade Morten is seeking the quickest path possible to Major League Baseball, and for him that may be the renown Arizona Community College Athletic Conference wooden-bats league . On Jan. 19, the Bulletin's 2008 Baseball Player of the year signed to play for Arizona Western College of Yuma, Ariz. The 13-team ACCAC competes with wooden bats ...

MANTECA YOUTH HOOPS

The Storm played the Sparks in the bantam division of the Manteca Parks and Recreation Youth Basketball League on Saturday at the Golden West Community Gym.

Grant Mar goes 5-0, named Outstanding Lightweight at Jackson Duals

JACKSON - The Weston Ranch High wrestling team turned in yet another impressive tournament performance Saturday at the Jackson Duals hosted by Argonaut High, finishing 4-1 overall and wrestling what Pat King called its best match of the season in its only loss to North Coast Section power Upper Lake.

T’WOLVES PLACE THREE

ESCALON - Escalon High's Lloyd Engel Tournament always features a number of wrestling powerhouses and 2009 was no different.

Squires back on track with win over Wildcats

The East Union sophomore boys basketball team evened its Valley Oak League record at 1-1 with a 50-42 win over Sonora Friday night at the Dalben Center.

Cougars knock off sharp-shooting Hawks in overtime

CERES - Central Valley hit 11 second-half 3-pointers and stormed back from a 41-22 halftime deficit to force overtime, but Weston Ranch got it done in the extra frame behind three clutch Charray Poole free throws to claim a thrilling 76-73 win.

Sonora wins big

The rims at their own Dalben Center were unkind to the East Union Lancers. And an angry Sonora team, fresh off its 59-38 Valley Oak League opening loss to Sierra Wednesday, was just as merciless. East Union was held to just three points - a free throw and a fastbreak layup - in the second and third quarters combined, and the Wildcats cruised 54-18 Friday. It was a quick reversal from Wednesday's performance for Sonora (1-1, 8-5 ...

RIPON WAVES

He’s running Down Under

By JAMES BURNS

Thunder claim Western title; Kelly Cup Finals start Saturday

STOCKTON – Olivier Roy put on the best performance of his postseason career as the Stockton Thunder won Game 5 over the Idaho Steelheads 2-1 to become the 2013 Western Conference champions in front of 4,530 fans at Stockton Arena on Saturday.

Giants back up Lincecum with three home runs

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Fredi Gonzalez left the Atlanta Braves for two games following a series-opening victory at San Francisco to attend his daughter's college graduation in Georgia.

A’s fall behind early, keep sliding with loss

SEATTLE (AP) - It's been a stretch of struggles for Oakland, and no one on the Athletics struggled more Sunday than Brandon Moss.

Warriors beat Spurs in OT, even series 2-2

OAKLAND (AP) - His spirits down, his left ankle limp and his team's season hanging in the balance, Stephen Curry wondered whether he could recover for the biggest game of his career until a text message popped up on his phone around 2 a.m. Saturday.

Tiger Woods wins Players Championship

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Tiger Woods had the last word against Sergio Garcia by winning The Players Championship on Sunday.

Westra leads Tour of California

ESCONDIDO (AP) - Lieuwe Westra of the Netherlands easily outsprinted Spanaird Francisco Mancebo to claim the sweltering and hilly stage 1 and assumed the overall race Sunday lead at the Amgen Tour of California.

Hinchcliffe’s profile raised by hot IndyCar start

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - James Hinchcliffe might have the busiest appointment calendar in IndyCar.

LeBron James shrugs off Bulls’ flopping accusations

CHICAGO (AP) - The suggestion that he's a flopper drew a grin as wide as his wingspan from LeBron James.

Detroit Red Wings finish off Ducks 3-2 in Game 7

ANAHEIM (AP) - Henrik Zetterberg and Valtteri Filppula each had a goal and an assist, and the Detroit Red Wings finished off the Anaheim Ducks with a 3-2 victory in Game 7 on Sunday night.

East Union earns No. 1 seed

Jim Todd gave his East Union girls soccer team the day off on Friday. Come Monday, though, it's back to work. The Lancers will open the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs on Thursday as the No. 1 seed, a just reward following a one-loss regular season and two hard-fought games against Valley Oak League champion and Division II contender Kimball. On Monday's practice agenda: "Basics," said Todd, the Lancers' seventh-year head coach. "We're getting back ...

DOWN BUT NOT OUT

The roller-coaster ride that is Ripon High's baseball season has hit another valley. The Indians were swept by Orestimba this week following Friday's staggering 13-2 five-inning loss at home. The Warriors (7-3 Trans-Valley League, 14-6 overall), on the other hand, appear to be peaking at the right time. By sweeping Ripon, they hold a tiebreaking advantage and clinched a berth to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V playoffs, something that coach Matt Candelario says, "hasn't happened ...

Manteca tandem stumbles in section semifinals

Yok Jing Ma and Angel Tejada's Cinderella run in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II Doubles Tournament came to an Friday morning at Johnson Ranch Racquet Club in Roseville. The Manteca High tandem did go down with a fight, however dropping a two-plus-hour long match to No. 2-seeded Alick Liang and Gurman Bains of Ceres, 6-3, 3-6, 3-6. "It was extremely competitive throughout," Manteca coach Frank Fontana said. "The Ceres team won the big points when ...

HIGH-WATER VOL MARKS

Erika Brown and the rest of the Ripon High girls swimmers put the cherry on top of a banner season in the Valley Oak League on Saturday. The Lady Indians more or less confirmed their status as regular-season co-champion with their performance in the VOL Championships, placing first with 129 points. Meet host Oakdale, which shares the girls crown with Ripon, posted 105 points. Oakdale dominated to win the boys competition, and the Mustangs topped ...