Tigers Muffle A's;SoCal Fire Threat Soars

Strong pitching by the Detroit Tigers muffled the Oakland Athletics' bats as the Tigers took game one of the American League Division Series 3-2 Friday night at Oakland Coliseum.Max Sherzer manhandled the A's with his fastball,striking out 11 in his 7 innings of work,and reliever Joaquin Benoit finished the job,getting the save.*
The only real excitement for the boisterous,towel-waving A's fans came in the seventh inning,when strongman Yoenis Cespedes clubbed a two-run homer,but it was too little too late for the Bay Area squad as they dropped the opener of the best 3 out of 5 ALDS.
One A's fan was so anxious,he bit his yellow towel as he watched the Tigers pitching shut his team down.*
In Southern California,the anxiety this weekend is about a severe wildfire threat as the annual ritual of the Santa Ana winds kicks into gear.These winds form when high pressure builds in the desert,pushing cool,dry air over the mountains and down toward the coast.As the air descends the slopes,it heats up rapidly and,striking the tinder dry vegetation,has a strong potential of igniting wildland fire.
Red flag fire warnings are posted for much of Los Angeles;Orange;San Bernardino;and Riverside Counties;plus other areas as far south as Campo on the Mexico border.Critical fire conditions will persist till Sunday evening,the National Weather Service said.
Los Angeles County is preparing by staffing nearly 500 extra firefighters on equipment across the county.Together with US Forest Service firefighters and a few dozen aircraft,they will handle the danger posed by near record low fuel moisture levels combined with the Santa Anas.Gusts of up to 85 mph are possible this weekend,with humidity in the single digits.Explosive fire growth is a distinct possibility,given the horrendous conditions in the region.
Update:In game 2 of the ALDS,Oakland evened the series to one game apiece by edging Detroit 1-0.The series now moves to Detroit for the third game on Monday.

SoCal Wildfire Singes Ventura;NBA Semis Set

More than a thousand firefighters have been battling a Southern California wildfire since Thursday morning.The Springs Fire began near Camarillo in Ventura County and swept down through the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Coast Highway just Northwest of Los Angeles.As of Friday night,the blaze had consumed 28 square miles and was 20% contained.
Fifteen residences and five commercial properties had been damaged by the fire as of Friday morning,but no injuries were reported.Cal State Channel Islands had been evacuated,and the University said it would probably remain closed till Sunday evening.A portion of Point Mugu Naval Base was also evacuated.The Sycamore Canyon area along the PCH was evacuated as well.
The fire was being swept along by the infamous Santa Ana winds through the hot and dry scrubby terrain,difficult of access for firefighters with its scarce roads and lack of water sources.The weather is predicted to improve Saturday,with cooler and more humid conditions making the firefighting easier.
The conference semifinals of the NBA playoffs are now set,with the New York Knicks to take on the Indiana Pacers on Sunday,while the Oklahoma City Thunder play the Memphis Grizzlies;the Chicago Bulls will meet the Miami Heat;and the Golden State Warriors face the San Antonio Spurs.The Knicks managed to survive a late Boston Celtics rally Friday night at Madison Square Garden,bumping the Celtics out of contention by a score of 88-80.
At the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte,North Carolina,Phil Mickelson's incredible putting sent him to the top of the leader board with his nine under par 67 in second round action Friday.Mickelson sank a 40 foot putt,as well as two 15 footers,and scored back to back birdies.He didn't miss any putts within 10 feet.
Others in contention at the Quail Hollow Golf Club include Australian Scott Gardiner at -7;Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy;and England's Lee Westwood ,both at -6.
Mickelson and Nick Watney finished the third round Saturday tied for first at -8 after play became extremely choppy in abnormally cool weather,with many shots veering into the spectators.

Santa Anas Blast SoCal;McIlroy and Quiros Lead

The San Gabriel Valley was rocked by hurricane force Santa Ana winds this week in a rare event the likes of which are seen only once in 5-10 years.The tremendous gusts decimated the urban forests of Southern California as communities lost hundreds of treasured trees,losing power and even water in the process.Pasadena was particularly hard hit,with some 450 street trees being toppled by the winds.Homes were damaged in these lands along the San Gabriel Mountains,where gusts of up to 80 mph were recorded.
The fire risk was described as explosive by a weather service official.The Santa Anas are known for the catastrophic wildland fires they often contribute to in the region.
Rumors of European progress and positive manufacturing and employment trends protected the market this week.All major averages posted gains north of 7%.For the week,the S&P 500 rose 7.39.On the year,the S&P is still down 1.06,however.
The Race To Dubai,The European Tour,made its next to last stop at the Hong Kong Golf Club.After two rounds of the UBS Hong Kong Open,Alvaro Quiros of Spain and Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy topped the leader board.Luke Donald of England led the series going into this weekend,followed by German Martin Kaymer and McIlroy in second and third place,respectively.
Next week will be back-loaded by an important Friday summit in Brussels on changes to the EU treaty for fiscal discipline.Other influential events will include the Institute for Supply Management's service sector report on Monday and a consumer sentiment reading also on Friday.The S&P futures were basically flat at -0.10 Friday evening,while bond index futures rose.