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Wichita State right fielder Ryan Jones knew exactly which of his three hits made him happiest, even if it traveled the shortest distance and ended up a small part of a 10-0 run-rule victory over Bradley.

He liked his bunt, and so did center fielder Andy Dirks, who clapped hard when Jones beat it out for a hit in the third inning.

"When you do the small things right in this game, it will reward you," Dirks said.

The 22nd-ranked Shockers know that, but sometimes the execution slips away. Thursday, they opened a crucial three-game series against Bradley with a near flawless eighth-inning effort at Eck Stadium. WSU (39-15, 17-5 Missouri Valley Conference) rapped out 18 hits, tying a season high, turned three double plays and didn't commit an error. A five-hitter by starter Rob Musgrave kept WSU tied for first in the Valley with Missouri State, 12-2 winners at Northern Iowa.

"We were focused tonight," said WSU third baseman Conor Gillaspie, who drove in four runs. "Everybody was relaxed. Everybody played as a team."

School Day at the K. That always means lots of noise. But the Royals provided lots to scream about Thursday by completing a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers with an 8-4 victory.

Royals manager Trey Hillman, with 17 games to go in a 20-games-in-20-days stretch, shook up his lineup by resting four regulars. The patchwork unit responded by collecting 13 hits, including at least one from every starter.

"We had some luck," Hillman admitted. "But we created some momentum by putting people on base so we were in position to do that. That was good to see. We got some key hits. Whether they were hard hits or lucky really doesn't matter to me."

Billy Butler opened the scoring with a two-run double in the first inning. Jose Guillen capped a 13-for-30 home stand by getting his fourth homer and driving in three runs. Miguel Olivo had two doubles, while Tony Peña and Alberto Callaspo each had a pair of singles.

The Royals jumped to leads of 3-0 after one inning and 7-1 after four as the generation-next crowd of 34,734 roared its approval.

The San Antonio Spurs' Big Three came through. Now they have to win one on the road to keep their title defense alive.

Manu Ginobili scored 25 points, Tim Duncan had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and Tony Parker added 15 points in the Spurs' 99-80 victory over the New Orleans Hornets in Game 6 on Thursday night.

The win forced a seventh game in the Western Conference semifinals on Monday in New Orleans. Home teams are 20-1 in the second round.

Chris Paul led the Hornets with 21 points and Tyson Chandler scored 14. David West had 10 points before leaving the game early in the fourth quarter after apparently aggravating a back injury.

The aging defending champions and the injured Hornets now get three days of rest before playing Game 7.

Through a series of shutouts, blown leads and other misfortune, Wichita State is just about out of baseball lives. The losses get even more painful from here. The 22nd-ranked Shockers may need to win three straight against Bradley beginning tonight to secure the Missouri Valley Conference title. After that, it's tournament time.

Unfortunately for the Shockers, they appeared to peak in March, which is good for a basketball team and not so good for baseball. WSU is 16-12 since its 19-game win streak ended on April 4.

"I don't get why we can't come out here and play like the way we know we can," WSU right fielder Ryan Jones said after Tuesday's 12-0 loss to Oral Roberts. "We need to get the swagger back, the WSU swagger that we had at the beginning of the year and that we've had for 20, 30 years."

Tuesday's loss to ORU put an exclamation point on the many plagues of Shocker baseball over the past six weeks. Their offensive problems started when a pulled muscle in his side benched second baseman Josh Workman for almost three weeks. Back pain cost third baseman Conor Gillaspie four games and continues to hamper him. Left fielder Kenny Williams is out with mononucleosis.

With little experience on the bench, WSU slumped and has yet to rebound. The Shockers are hitting .286 in the past 28 games, dropping their season average to .303, and averaging seven runs a game. The team ERA is 4.16 in those 28 games, 3.66 for the season.

Ryan Spears wanted to play in the NCAA Men's Golf Championships before he ever signed his letter of intent with Wichita State.

Despite all the senior's success, which includes a Missouri Valley Conference individual title two years ago, the national tournament has been elusive.

And now this. If the Shockers are going to cash in on Spears' last run at the NCAAs, they'll have to do it not only against a tough 27-team field at the Central Regional in Columbus, Ohio, but by successfully navigating Ohio State's famed Scarlet Course for the next three days.

"It's going to be the toughest golf I've played in my life," Spears said after a practice round Wednesday. "This place is really, really difficult."

The Shockers, who received an automatic bid by winning the MVC tournament last month, are seeded 11th in a field that features 10 conference champions. The top 10 teams after Saturday's final round will advance to nationals on May 28-31 in West Lafayette, Ind.

Dustan Mohr hit a grand slam and drove in five runs Thursday as the Wingnuts built a 12-run lead before holding off host El Paso 12-7 to salvage the final game of a three-game series.

Kevin Hooper added three hits for Wichita (5-3), which scored six times in the fifth and took a 12-0 lead to the bottom of the seventh.

Umpires--Home, Vic Maldonado; First, Sheldon Wheeler; Third, Bob McClain.

The Wingnuts turned the first triple play in their brief history Wednesday, but Wichita's bullpen couldn't protect a four-run lead as host El Paso rallied for an 8-6 victory.

Trailing 2-1 in the fourth, the Wingnuts converted El Paso second baseman Alex Derhak's grounder into a 5-4-3 triple play, the second in American Association history. Wichita carried the momentum into the top of the fifth, scoring five runs off three El Paso errors. The Wingnuts sent 10 batters to the plate in the inning.

Wichita replaced starter Justin Young with Dan Caldwell in the sixth, and the Diablos countered with five runs on six hits off Caldwell and Aaron Jenkins to take a 7-6 lead. El Paso's Stantrel Smith added an RBI single in the eighth for the final run.

Heath Keel drove in two runs, and Blake Gailen and Brenan Herrera each had two hits for Wichita, which fell to 4-3.

The teams complete the three-game series at 8:05 p.m. today.

Wichita State posted a four-man score of 18-over-par 302 and was tied for 15th Thursday after the first round of the NCAA Men's Central Regional in Columbus, Ohio.

Aiming for a top-10 finish to earn a berth at the NCAA national tournament in two weeks, the Shockers were even with Eastern Kentucky, TCU and Kent State after the opening round of the 54-hole tournament. Wake Forest's 6-over 290 led second-place Alabama by two shots on Ohio State's Scarlet Course.

Sophomore Dustin Garza shot a 1-over 72 and was tied for 11th individually for the Shockers. Senior Ryan Spears (75) and juniors Connor McHenry (76) and Zac Potter (79) contributed to WSU's team score, while junior Ty Sanders shot an 84.

Kansas State tied for 21st -- At Bremerton, Wash., Kansas State shot 305 and was tied for 21st after the first day of the NCAA West Regional.

Mitch Gregson led the Wildcats with a 2-over 74.

The 110-meter high hurdles is one of the events that may decide the men's Missouri Valley Conference track meet.

That puts Wichita State hurdler Chris Allen in the middle of a fierce individual competition, with implications for the team title. Allen, a sophomore from Northwest High, welcomes the added intrigue.

"I love it," he said. "Coming out of high school, it never really had a team aspect to it, because we never had enough guys to compete at a City League or state level. Now there's a team aspect, and it adds a level of competition to it."

The WSU men enter the meet picked third in a vote by Valley coaches. The Shockers believe they have a strong chance to win their first title since 2004. Northern Iowa, the defending champion, is picked first with Indiana State second.

UNI, which finished ninth in the NCAA indoor meet in March, brings the most star power to meet in Carbondale, Ill., starting with NCAA indoor 800 champion Tyler Mulder.

Thursday's box score

Another day

Count Wichita State coach Gene Stephenson among those who wants to see more of the same effort. His up-and-down Shockers are in win-one, lose-one mode for the past five games.

"No reason to celebrate," he said. "It's going to be a battle (today). We definitely know that. I'm hoping we'll be up for it."

Bradley will throw right-hander Rob Scahill, a sophomore who was a Friday night starter earlier this season. Twice, against Southern Illinois and Evansville, WSU followed convincing opening series wins with losses.

When: Today-Sunday

Where: McAndrew Stadium, Carbondale, Ill.

The series: 7 tonight, 7 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday

Probable rotations: BU, RH Rob Scahill (4-4, 5.02 ERA); RH Chris Wright (3-5, 4.63); RH Lendsey Thomson (4-2, 4.14). WSU, LH Rob Musgrave (8-1, 2.31); RH Aaron Shafer (8-3, 2.61); LH Anthony Capra (8-0, 2.62)

Notes

• Bradley has locked up a spot in the MVC Tournament and cannot finish higher than fifth in the MVC standings.

• WSU has won 21 straight home games against the Braves, a streak that dates to 1997. The Shockers are 47-8 against Bradley at home.

NCAA Central Regional

At Columbus, Ohio

Team scores--1. Wake Forest 290; 2. Alabama 292; 3. Oklahoma State 293; 4. Florida 294; 5. Eastern Michigan 297; 6. (tie) Texas A&M, Illinois and Michigan 298; 9. (tie) Lamar and Ohio State 299; 11. Indiana 300; 12. (tie) Louisville, Tennessee and Colorado 301; 15. (tie) Eastern Kentucky, TCU, Kent State and Wichita State 302; 19. (tie) Arkansas and Penn State 304; 21. (tie) Baylor and Georgia Tech 307; 23. Texas-Arlington 308; 24. Cleveland State 313; 25. Marquette 314; 26. Sacred Heart 316; 27. Loyola 318.

Top individuals--1. Brendan Gielow, Wake Forest, 69; 2. (tie) Charles Ford, Tennessee; Mark Harrell, Alabama; Graham Hill, Eastern Michigan; Alexander Sitompul, Michigan and Kevin Tway, Oklahoma State, 70; 7. (tie) Tyson Alexander, Florida; Jorge Campillo, Indiana; Trent Leon, Oklahoma State and Matthew Swan, Alabama 71.

Wichita State scores--T11. Dustin Garza 72; T38. Ryan Spears 75; T55. Connor McHenry 76; T106. Zac Potter 79; T136. Ty Sanders 84.

Former Wichita State golfers Cameron Bishop and Jesse Schulte claimed the top two spots Wednesday in a U.S. Open local qualifier at Wichita Country Club.

Bishop, who finished his WSU career last spring, shot a 3-under-par 68 to lead the field. Schulte, who played for the Shockers from 2002-05, carded a 73, then birdied the second hole of a four-man playoff to join Bishop in advancing to the sectional qualifying stage. That's the final step before the U.S. Open on June 12-15 at San Diego's Torrey Pines.

Bishop will play in the 36-hole sectional June 2 in Augusta, Mo. Schulte's sectional will be the same day in Richmond, Texas.

WSU senior Ryan Spears has also advanced to the sectional stage. He shot a 70 Monday at Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club to claim one of six spots awarded there.

At Wichita C.C., par 71

The Maize baseball team is back where it belongs.

After having a streak of seven straight Class 6A tournament appearances snapped a year ago, the Eagles are back for the eighth time in nine years after a 3-1 win over Northwest in Thursday's regional final.

Junior pitcher Garret Gould went the distance, striking out nine and yielding one run on four hits.

Maize coach Rocky Helm was impressed with the pitching matchup between Gould and Northwest's Ben Pearson.

"When two pitchers are throwing the way they were tonight, you've got to do the little things to win," he said.

Wichita Trinity girls swimming coach Jon Grissom understands those who don't get the Knights' success the past nine years.

Here's a Class 3A school that has won the girls swim title -- which includes all classes -- four times, finishing second three times heading into the state meet today and Saturday in Topeka.

"We've gotten kind of a bad image around the state because people don't understand the school being a (small) private school and then we suddenly come on the scene with this swimming phenomenon," Grissom said. "But we haven't recruited anybody. We don't give scholarships. They're either the children of board members or friends of the board members."

One such board member is George Bruce, whose children are a major reason for the success.

The trio is Elizabeth, Caroline and Trinity senior Jamie. Michael Bruce was a standout on the boys side, too.

For almost 75 minutes Thursday, Trinity's second regional soccer title in school history appeared imminent.

The last five minutes made things a little more interesting.

Andover Central's Brooke Hansen scored with 4:11 remaining and not even a minute later almost tied the score with a shot that tipped off the top of the crossbar. Central kept pushing until the last minute, but Trinity held on for a 2-1 victory at Trinity field and the South Central Region 2 title.

The Knights will host Kapaun Mount Carmel in the Class 5A-1A state quarterfinals on Tuesday.

"We were playing a little more conservatively the second half because we knew we had the lead," Trinity coach Tom Nykamp said. "Our fitness is an issue. I think they exploited that. They got us on our heels."

Baseball

Note: Class 6A and 3A pairings were not available due to Thursday regional games.

Class 5A

May 23-24 at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium

Friday--Newton (11-11) vs. Topeka Seaman (21-1), 11 a.m.; Valley Center (15-7) vs. St. Thomas Aquinas (16-6), 1:30 p.m.; Kapaun Mount Carmel (14-8) vs. Pittsburg (17-1), 4; Shawnee Heights (14-7) vs. McPherson (17-5), 6:30.

Heights got off to a good start in its Class 6A regional baseball final against Goddard on Thursday. However, the Lions got off to an even better one, winning a 15-5 run-rule game.

After the No. 6-seeded Falcons jumped out to an early two-run lead in the first inning with a two-run double from junior Eric Hansen, the No. 1-seeded Lions responded with six runs in the bottom half of the inning.

"Them getting the early lead really sparked us," Goddard's Taylor Douglass said. "We don't get frustrated when we get down, we know we just have to battle back."

Douglass and Nathan Hyson each knocked in four runs each for Goddard (19-3). Seven of the Lions' hitters had at least one RBI in the game.

"We really stress that we manufacture the lead run," Goddard coach Tom Campa said. "That usually breeds more runs."

After four overtimes and seven rounds of shootout between Goddard and Heights, the game-winning goal had to come from someone unexpected.

Goalkeeper Shelby Austin stepped up against opposing goalkeeper Ashley Simon.

Without hesitation, Austin kicked it past Simon and gave Goddard a victory in the Class 6A South Regional 2.

Four overtimes failed to break a 2-2 tie. In the first five-round shootout, each team missed once. Each team scored in the sixth round and again in the seventh. Heights' Rebekah Ramstack missed her kick in the eighth round, setting up Austin's game-winning shot.

"I was really nervous and I haven't taken penalty kicks in three or four years so my heart was really pounding," Austin said. "I was looking (Simon) right in the eye and shot it exactly where I wanted it."

Northwest senior Lindsey Read is the Grizzlies' leadoff batter because she consistently finds ways to get on base and, once she's there, she's a threat on the basepaths because of her speed.

But twice in Thursday's Class 6A regional softball championship at Maize, Read led off the inning by getting on and was then thrown out at home.

"It's very frustrating," Read said. "Those runs could have been the game for us. It was very close and I know I'm quick enough to get there. Then they throw me out twice, it's very aggravating. I knew I had to keep trying."

Read didn't score herself, but in the top of the seventh, it was her RBI single that tied the score. Northwest's next batter, Cortney Harp, singled home Alex Millspaugh as the Grizzlies defeated Maize 2-1.

Northwest (18-4) advances to the 6A tournament May 23-24 in Topeka. The Grizzlies beat Maize (18-4) for the second straight season in the regional championship at Maize.

Today's Regionals

Note: Check Kansas.com tonight for regional results from across the state. The Eagle will publish state entrants in qualifying order in Sunday's paper and on Kansas.com.

Class 6A

Maize--Campus, Dodge City, Garden City, Goddard, Maize, Wichita North, Wichita Northwest, Wichita South

Olathe North--Lawrence, Lawrence Free State, Leavenworth, Olathe East, Olathe North, Olathe Northwest, Olathe South, SM Northwest

The Rose Hill baseball team was inconsistent for most of the season. The Rockets picked a fine time to work out those inconsistencies.

Despite coming into the Class 4A regional as the No. 7 seed, the Rockets were crowned champions after a stunning 6-5 victory over No. 1 seed Andover Central Wednesday at McDonald Stadium.

With the game tied 4-4 in the top of the seventh, Rose Hill senior Case Ozbun knocked a two-run double past a diving Jess Lee in left field for the go-ahead runs.

"They thought I was going to bunt," Ozbun said. "When I saw it go past him I could hardly round first base I was so excited."

Lee made the catch on a ball hit exactly the same way in the second inning for the Jaguars (21-2).

Canton-Galva 3, Ell-Saline 2

Canton-Galva 11, Inman 4

Ell-Saline 8, Moundridge 6

Basketball

Benedictine--Signed Teresa Zienkewicz, Carroll.

Hutchinson--Signed Brittney Bell, Maize; Heather Robben, Maize.

Friends--Signed John Bridges, Northwest.

Fort Hays St.-- Signed Lindsey Larson, Maize.

McPherson 1, Emporia 0

Baseball

Class 6A

At Goddard

Derby vs. Wichita Heights, 2 p.m.; Wichita Southeast vs. Goddard, 4:30. Derby-Heights winner vs. Southeast-Goddard winner, 7.

At Maize

AV-CTL Division IV

Boys

Team scores--Andale 225, Clearwater 109, Andover Central 96, Kingman 44, Wellington 43, Circle 32.

Event results

100--1. Ungles, And, 10.84; 2. Moeder, And, 11.13; 3. Burton, Clear, 11.22. 200--1. Ungles, And, 22.31; 2. Burton, Clear, 22.87; 3. Woodbridge, W, 23.01. 400--1. Beverly, AC, 51.47; 2. Conrad, AC, 52.12; 3. J. Henning, K, 53.19. 800--1. D. Henning, K, 2:00.38; 2. Jones, AC, 2:04.22; 3. Schiff, And, 2:05.60. 1600--1. Martin, And, 4:45.43; 2. Maneth, AC, 4:50.43; 3. Anders, W, 4:51.43. 3200--1. Nilles, And, 10:50.36; 2. Gird, Cir, 10:58.41; 3. Martin, And, 11:00.21. 400 Relay--1. Andale (Moeder, Jones, Ungles, Harp) 43.42; 2. Clearwater 44.87; 3. Wellington 45.09. 1600 Relay--1. Andale (Lies, Cain, Hein, Grady) 3:35.43; 2. Andover Central 3:35.99; 3. Kingman 3:36.99. 3200 Relay--1. Andover Central (Trembly, Conrad, Jones, Beverly) 8:25.51; 2. Andale 8:53.95; 3. Circle 9:05.57. 110 Hurdles--1. Hemmen, And, 15.68; 2. Nantkes, AC, 16.29; 3. Tjaden, Clear, 16.38. 300 Hurdles--1. Hemmen, And, 41.29; 2. Lies, And, 41.46; 3. Willard, AC, 42.03. Long jump--1. Woodbridge, W, 19-11; 2. Dold, And, 19-5 ½; 3. Egbert, And, 19-2 ½. Shot put--1. Fulghum, AC, 49-7; 2. Hilley, Clear, 48-2; 3. Archer, And, 47-2. Discus--1. Hilley, Clear, 145-4; 2. Ast, And, 132-6; 3. Knoblauch, K, 128-5. Triple jump--1. Dold, And, 38-7; 2. Rinke, Clear, 38-3 ½; 3. Eck, And, 38-1 ¾. Javelin--1. Yost, Clear, 162-4; 2. Loughmiller, Well, 151-3; 3. Scheer, And, 148-3. High jump--1. Rausch, Clear, 6-5; 2. Moeder, And, 6-0; 3. Rayl, W, 5-6. Pole vault--1. Horsch, And, 13-6; 2. Lies, And, 13-6; 3. Baalmann, And, 12-6.

Nebraska's Mitch Abeita and Illinois State's Kevin Dubler are among the 12 semifinalists for the Johnny Bench Award.

The award, given to the top college catcher, is awarded by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission. Stanford's Jason Castro, Coastal Carolina's Dock Doyle, North Carolina's Tim Federowicz, Jake Jefferies of Cal-Davis, East Carolina's Corey Kemp, Arizona State's Petey Paramore, Indiana's Josh Phegley, Florida State's Buster Posey, Vanderbilt's Shea Robin and Adam Zornes of Rice complete the list. Posey is the lone returning finalist from 2007. The three 2008 finalists will be announced June 3.

BASKETBALL

Former USC star O.J. Mayo has denied allegations that he received cash and gifts from events promoter Rodney Guillory and said he was confident an investigation will determine he did not violate NCAA rules.

Louis Johnson, a former associate of Mayo's, claimed in a segment of ESPN's "Outside the Lines" that Guillory received money from Bill Duffy Associates and funneled cash and gifts to Mayo.

Businesslike and composed as they gathered their belongings for the return trip to Pittsburgh, the Penguins treated Thursday night's 4-2 loss to the Flyers as if they'd just run up against a blinking yellow light on their highway to the Stanley Cup final.

After all, they'd been down this road before, winning the first three games against the Rangers in the second round before going back to Pittsburgh to wrap up the series in Game 5.

Now they have the opportunity to do it again when the Eastern Conference final returns to Pittsburgh on Sunday for Game 5.

Asked if the Flyers did anything to allow a little doubt to seep into the Penguins, winger Jarkko Ruutu shrugged.

"It's just one game," he said after his team lost only its second game of the postseason. "We have to learn from it. We've been in this situation before. This is no different."

Calendar

Space precludes us from running all listings. To see all listings, go to Kansas.com/sports and click on "Other Sports."

Baseball

• DeadlineTuesday: El Dorado Merchants Tournament May 24-25. Call Larry LaRue, 316-889-5016.

• May 22-25: Midseason tournament at Southwest Boys Club for ages 7-8 (machine pitch), 10U, 12U, 14U. Entry $165. Call Kelly Decker, 316-260-4316.

Before anointing Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown the next coming of Secretariat, consider this: The colt enters Saturday's Preakness off a two-week turnaround, the shortest of his career; he's got problem front feet; and there are 12 horses with connections eager to show Big Brown can be beaten.

None of those factors has dimmed trainer Rick Dutrow Jr.'s massive confidence one bit.

"I just can't wait to get over there," he said, nodding toward Pimlico's track. "We're ready to move on, man."

Big Brown delivered on Dutrow's pre-Derby boasting with a 4 ¾-length victory nearly two weeks ago. The colt will try to take another step toward history by winning the Preakness in just his fifth career start.

Twenty-one of the last 23 Preakness winners did so off a two-week rest. Big Brown is the early 1-2 favorite, the lowest odds Pimlico officials can recall. Undefeated Preakness winners Majestic Prince (3-5 in 1969), Seattle Slew (2-5 in 1977) and Smarty Jones (2-5 in 2004) went off at low odds, too.

Wichitan Marci Williams has been voted to the U.S. Bowling Congress board of directors. Her three-year term begins Aug. 1. Williams, who recently retired from Learjet after 34 years, has been Great Plains USBC president since 2005.

HALLS OF FAME

The Wichita Sports Hall of Fame announced its 2008 class this week. The induction ceremony is scheduled for June 28 at the Museum of World Treasures, 835 E. First.

The inductees are: former Wichita State basketball player Angela Buckner, five-time Kansas women's golf amateur champ Natasha Fife, former WSU broadcaster Gus Grebe, former Morehouse College basketball coach Arthur McAfee Jr., former University of Wichita basketball star Ross McBurney, former WSU quarterback Prince McJunkins, former Wichita Wings defender Kim Roentved, former WSU basketball coach Gene Smithson, former WSU second baseman Mark Standiford, PBA touring pro Rick Steelsmith, and the 1976-77 Heights basketball team.

MOTORSPORTS

Detroit's goal with a guy barely in the crease, if at all, didn't count. Dallas' goal with a guy clearly in the crease did count.

Apparently, that's what it takes to slow the mighty Red Wings.

Loui Ericksson's goal about 12 minutes after Detroit's was waved off, then third-period goals from Mike Modano and Brenden Morrow sent the Stars past the Red Wings 3-1 on Wednesday night, preventing the Western Conference finals from ending in a sweep.

"It was a pretty intense, desperate game from everyone on our side," said Dallas' Marty Turco, who made 34 saves and played his best game of the series. "We needed that to be successful. We'll have to continue like that just to have a chance."

Game 5 is Saturday in Detroit, a two-day break the Stars are glad to have to rest their bodies and, they hope, for the Red Wings to dwell on their missed opportunity.

The determination that helped Justine Henin beat bigger, stronger opponents time and again was fading.

"I decided," the 25-year-old Belgian said, "to stop fooling myself and accept it."

Henin retired from tennis Wednesday, an abrupt ending to a career in which she won seven Grand Slam singles titles and spent more than 100 weeks ranked No. 1.

She announced her decision at a news conference 1 ½ weeks before the start of the French Open, where she has won the past three titles and four overall.

Put simply, she realized she was burned out, and became the first woman to quit the sport while atop the WTA rankings.

Strange things always seem to happen at the Preakness. A drunken fan runs onto the track and punches at speeding horses. Barbaro breaks down in 2006. A race day power outage costs Pimlico millions of dollars.

It's enough to make everyone hold their collective breath when the gates open Saturday for Big Brown's attempt at winning the second leg of the Triple Crown.

"I hope everything goes good. I hope everybody comes back good," trainer Nick Zito said Wednesday. "That's what everybody wants, for the horses to come back safe. Unfortunately, these big races have been under the microscope."

Two weeks ago, Big Brown cruised to an easy victory in the Kentucky Derby, finishing 4 ¾ lengths ahead of the filly Eight Belles.

She crossed the finish line and was galloping out toward the backstretch when she suddenly collapsed, breaking both front ankles. Eight Belles was euthanized by injection on the track, stunning more than 157,000 fans in the stands and millions watching on television.

When it comes to the Wichita River Festival, it could be argued that the best is yet to come. The nine-day party along the river ends Saturday, with some of the biggest events jammed into the final two days.

And Mother Nature is cooperating. The forecast is for highs in the 70s both days, with partly cloudy skies -- and no rain.

So grab your festival button -- by now, everyone should know that the $5 buttons are required -- and make a plan to get the most fun out of the festival finale.

Five big deals

1. Tonight's Block Party features '60s pop/rock artists Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, known for hits like "Come See About Me" and "Devil With the Blue Dress On." The band will start playing at about 8:30 p.m. in Kennedy Plaza at Century II.

If you've missed out on the Wichita River Festival so far, don't despair. The three biggest days of the party along the river are coming up. Today's big events include the Cajun Food Fest from 4:30 to 8 p.m., featuring a dinner of red beans and sausage for $7 with a festival button. It's at Century II Exhibition Hall. At 7:30, dance to the sounds of Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers at Kennedy Plaza Stage. It's free with a festival button.

Friday night's Block Party starts at 5 and features four stages of music, with headliner Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels playing on the Kennedy Plaza Stage. Everything is free with festival button.

Riverfest ends Saturday with a day full of fun. This is the final year for the antique bathtub races, which begin at noon. And the festival closes on a traditional note with the Koch Twilight Pops Concert at 8:30 and the big fireworks finale along the river at 9:45.

Red Dirt blues

Guitarist and vocalist Stoney Larue will bring his sound cultivated in the Red Dirt country of Oklahoma to the Cotillion on Saturday. Larue has performed with such artists as Lee Ann Womack, Gary Allan, Dierks Bentley and Willie Nelson. He blends elements of country, blues and soulful rock into his performances. His concert begins at 9 p.m. Saturday at the Cotillion, 11120 W. Kellogg. Tickets are $15, available at Select-A-Seat outlets or by phone at 316-722-4201.

More swordplay. More epic battles. More furry talking creatures. Heck, there's even a brief return visit from The White Witch.

The only thing that's missing from "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," based on the second novel in C.S. Lewis' famed "Narnia" series and the sequel to 2005's blockbuster film "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," is a sense of magic and discovery -- that feeling that we've embarked on a journey into another world.

This plodding spectacle, which runs only one minute longer than the original film but somehow feels twice as long, turns out to be a strangely generic war movie pitting uninteresting good guys against one-dimensional bad guys. It's a chore to sit through and a bore to contemplate.

One year has passed in the lives of the Pevensie children, the former kings and queens of Narnia, who are now trudging through everyday life in wartime London. Until, that is, they are unexpectedly summoned back to Narnia, where 1,300 years have passed and the entire place has gone to seed.

Ruled by a group of humans who have driven the Narnians -- including Aslan the Lion -- into exile, this once peaceable kingdom now faces a veritable constitutional crisis: Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes), the rightful heir to the throne, has narrowly escaped an assassination attempt on his life by his evil Uncle Miraz (Sergio Castellitto), who has ruthlessly taken power.

Actor Dennis Quaid, whose newborn twins received a nearly fatal overdose of a powerful blood thinner at a Los Angeles hospital in November, told a congressional committee Wednesday that the Food and Drug Administration should not be able to shield pharmaceutical companies from lawsuits.

Quaid and his wife, Kimberly, are suing Baxter Healthcare Corp., which makes heparin. Baxter is seeking dismissal of the lawsuit on the grounds that the FDA approved the labeling, thereby pre-empting a lawsuit.

Quaid said that if FDA approval is used to pre-empt lawsuits, "it will basically make us uninformed and uncompensated lab rats."

The Quaids' children recovered from the overdose, though "we don't know what the longer-term effects will be," said their dad.

McCartney attacked over hybrid car

As the Army intelligence officer in the movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark" describes him: "Professor of archaeology, expert on the occult, and, uh, how does one say it? Obtainer of rare antiquities."

That's about right, but there's more. Filmmaker George Lucas created a complicated flawed fictional hero in Indiana Jones, and the three movies that he dominates are studded with clues to his identity.

More biographical details are embedded in "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles," Lucas' TV series now available on DVD, and in a bottomless trove of Jonesiana.

The fourth movie, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," which opens next week, will doubtless bring more clues, but here's the Jones boy's dossier thus far:

Henry "Indiana" Jones Jr. was born on the cusp of the new century -- July 1, 1899, in Princeton, N.J., according to his enterprising biographer, James Luceno. Luceno ought to know: He ransacked the world of Indiana Jones novelizations, comics, game books and other materials for his book, "Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide."

The first River City Biennale was organized to pay tribute to working artists in Wichita, but also to try to raise the profile of Wichita's arts community.

Three events are planned this weekend. Here's what you need to know to participate:

1) The Biennale, the first of what organizers hope will be every-other-year shows, pays tribute to seven Wichita artists: Ted Adler, Marcelyn McNeil, Kevin Mullins, Annie Strader, Levente Sulyok, Ann Resnick and Elizabeth Stevenson.

2) Works by all seven artists will be on display at four locations from 6 to 10 p.m. today: Fisch Haus, 524 S. Commerce; Heterotopia, 1714 E. Douglas; Project Gallery, 1712 E. Douglas; and Shift Space, 800 E. Third St. Admission is free.

3) A panel discussion of the artists' work will take place from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Fisch Haus. The event is open to the public.

When Mark Bartel arrived in Wichita from Rochester, N.Y., to take the job of vocal music director at Friends University, he encountered the Wichita Community Children's Choir and was, as he puts it, "blown away."

"It's a very moving sound to hear that level of commitment in young people," Bartel says of the select 80-voice choir of kids from fourth grade through high school senior chosen by audition from about 40 schools in the Wichita area every year.

"I've been conducting choral music most of my life. It is a way of life for me. With young people, there is a greater sense of discovery and accomplishment. Most of my work is with college-age students who have already been there, done that. For a teacher, working with these kids is more of a challenge but also more exciting," says Bartel, who is helping the kids prepare for a pair of spring concerts on Sunday and Monday.

Tickets are $5 at the door and there is seating for about 400 at each concert.

The "programme," as the group prefers to call it, will feature an eclectic mix of musical styles and languages.