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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, November 18, 2009

AL's Cy Young is Royals' Greinke


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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Zack Greinke

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When the phone rang, Zack Greinke let it go — he didn't recognize the number. Only after listening to the voice mail did he call back and find out he'd won the American League Cy Young Award.

The Kansas City Royals ace easily beat out Felix Hernandez for the honor yesterday after a spectacular season short on wins but long on domination. Winning left the extremely shy Greinke with mixed emotions.

"Back in Orlando, I haven't really got a whole lot of attention from people, which has been nice," he said. "So I hope it doesn't get that way, where everyone is like, 'Oh, hey, Zack, hi.' "

He'd prefer to remain anonymous when he's not on the mound. He's not looking forward to being introduced at banquets as "Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke" for the rest of his life.

"In that way, it's kind of like a negative for me," he said.

It's been quite a turnaround for Greinke, who led the AL in losses in 2005 and quit baseball for six weeks the following year after being diagnosed with a social anxiety disorder.

Greinke went 16-8 with a major league-low 2.16 ERA this season and received 25 of 28 first-place votes and three seconds for 134 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Hernandez, 19-5 with a 2.49 ERA for the Seattle Mariners, drew two firsts, 23 seconds and one third for 80 points.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

GLANVILLE RESIGNS

Jerry Glanville has resigned as head coach of the Portland State Vikings after three losing seasons.

This past season, Portland State went 2-9 overall and 1-7 in the Big Sky Conference. During Glanville's tenure the Vikings went 9-24.

Portland State athletic director Torre Chisholm said he and the 68-year-old Glanville, a former University of Hawai'i assistant, mutually agreed on his resignation late Monday night.

"He brought an energy level and a sense of character to our program," Chisholm said. "It was infectious."

HOCKEY

SHANAHAN RETIRES

Eight-time all-star foward Brendan Shanahan, who hasn't played this season, is retiring from the NHL after 21 seasons.

The 40-year-old, who played for the New Jersey Devils last season, scored 656 goals, ranking 11th on the career list, and is the only player with at least 600 goals and at least 2,000 penalty minutes. He had 1,354 points and 2,489 penalty minutes in 1,524 games.

AND WHAT'S MORE ...

Jamie Dixon, head coach at Pittsburgh and a former University of Hawai'i assistant, has been chosen as USA Basketball's national coach of the year for guiding the United States to its first FIBA under-19 world championship since 1991. ... Sixth-ranked Andy Roddick withdrew from the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals starting Sunday in London because of a left knee injury and will be replaced by No. 9 Robin Soderling.