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2B Daily News – Friday, April 19, 2013 RAIDERS McFadden 1 of few high profile players left ALAMEDA (AP) — The Oakland Raiders spent this offseason getting rid of almost all of the remaining high-profile players brought in by the previous regime. One of the few still around in Oakland is running back Darren McFadden. McFadden is entering the final season of his rookie contract hoping a new offense that better suits his talents will help revive his game after a disappointing 2012 season. General manager Reggie McKenzie cut three former top 10 picks this offseason when he let go of defensive back Michael Huff, receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey and linebacker Rolando McClain. But he remains confident McFadden can regain the game-breaking ability he showed when healthy in 2010 and '11 under former coach Hue Jackson's offense. ''It's a great feeling that they have that confidence in me so I just want to go out there and prove to them on the field that I can do that, and just show them that I'm the type of player they think I'm capable of being,'' McFadden said Thursday. The Raiders officially returned to work this week with plenty of new faces from the team that went 412 in the first season under coach Dennis Allen and a brand new offense under new coordinator Greg Olson. Olson replaced Greg Knapp, who was fired after last season when his offense didn't fit the personnel in Oakland. The biggest mismatch was McFadden, who had struggled in a zone-running scheme early in his career before thriving in a more power-based system. After averaging more than 5 yards per carry in each of his two seasons in Jackson's offense, McFadden averaged just 3.3 yards per carry last season — the lowest ever for a Raiders back with at least 150 carries in a season. ''I came in last year with my hopes super high,'' McFadden said. ''They were just crushed. So I just wanted to put that behind me and move forward.'' While McFadden said his problems were about execution not scheme, his pleasure with the change was evident in his big smile when asked about what he liked about Olson's offense. ''It's a downhill offense,'' he said. ''That's one of the main things I like about it. I'm the type of guy, I like to get going downhill off the PLAYOFFS coached at any level when the Warriors hired him two years ago, deflected the attention to his players when pressed about how his abilities will be tested. ''Every series I've ever been a part of, the best team has won,'' he said. ''Phil Jackson didn't, to me, outcoach Larry Bird. He won. He did an incredible job. (The Lakers) had the two baddest boys on the floor in Shaq and Kobe.'' Meager expectations also are keeping the Warriors loose. Lee posted a photo on Twitter in the afternoon of ESPN magazine's preseason prediction, which gave Golden State a zero percent chance to make the playoffs. Even though the Warriors finished 47-35 and made monumental strides on defense and rebounding this season, they are still treating themselves as the underdogs in this season. Then again, the Nuggets won an NBA franchise-best 57 games and became just the 11th team in league history to lose three or fewer home games in a season. They finished 38-3 at the Pepsi Center, part of the reason Golden State left a day early to adjust to the altitude in the Mile High City. ''I don't think anybody expected us to be in this position,'' Lee said. ''We were talking last night, most of us were deciding (last year) which beach we were going to this weekend, are we going to ship the car out for the summer or leave it here for another week. Last night felt like it was just another game we were finishing with and beginning our new journey. I'm the most excited guy in this gym right now.'' Getting too anxious is also part of the concern, especially in a series where both teams like to push the pace. Denver led the league with 106.1 points per game this season. Golden State was seventh with 101.2, including Stephen Curry's NBA-record 272 3-pointers this season. Veterans such a Bogut, Richard Jefferson, Jarrett Jack, Carl Landry and Andris Biedrins — the only player still on the roster when Golden State upset top-seeded Dallas in 2007 — have tried to offer advice to teammates about what to expect in the playoffs. Mostly, it's just to keep doing what got them to this point. ''It's not like you can tell them, 'It's this or it's that,''' Bogut said. ''At the end of the day, it's 5-on-5 basketball. You still have to get stops to win games. It's just everything is magnified because there's more media attention and the games are all sold out. I don't think the game changes. I think the environment around the game changes.'' whatever he could to pitch well, and he did. ''Yo is really wellliked here. And they know how hard it is on him, and what he's going through. I think this is a tight bunch of guys and I think they really pull for each other.'' Gallardo's two-run homer was his first of the season and 11th of his career, the most by a Milwaukee pitcher. Braun hit his third homer of the year, a tworun shot in the first. He had been in a 1-for-18 slump in which he struck out 11 times. In the second inning, Carlos Gomez was hit with a pitch, stole second and scored on a single by Yuniesky Betancourt. Gallardo's homer to left made it 5-0. Lucroy added his tworun homer in the third for a 7-0 lead. Gallardo had allowed 12 earned runs in his past three starts, but his only blemish came in the fourth. He gave up a leadoff double to Brandon Crawford, who scored on a sacrifice fly by Brandon Belt. Gallardo was aggressive with his fastball and was throwing it for strikes to improve to 4019 at Miller Park. ''I think he threw really well,'' Lucroy said. ''That's the best I've seen him throw this year. I could tell in the bullpen there was something different about him today.'' Once he left, relievers Michael Gonzalez and John Axford each pitched a scoreless inning before Alfredo Figaro gave up a solo homer to Crawford in the ninth. Crawford had three hits. Cain settled down and retired 11 of his final 12 batters. But he has allowed five homers in his past two games after not allowing one in his first two outings. He has also given up 18 earned runs and 21 hits in his past three starts. ''I will say, Cain gave us a gutty effort,'' Bochy said. ''He regrouped and made a nice adjustment. He pitched great the last three innings. But, when you give up three tworun homers, that is hard to overcome.'' NOTES: The last time Milwaukee swept San Francisco at Miller Park was also in 2008. This is the Giants' longest losing streak since dropping five straight from July 25-30 last season. ... This was the fourth time Gallardo and Cain squared off, and all have been at Miller Park. Gallardo improved to 3-1. ... Crawford and Hunter Pence are the only Giants to have started all 16 games. ... Crawford extended his career-high hitting streak to 11 games with a single in the second. ... The Brewers reassigned RHP Mike Fiers to Triple-A Nashville and will announce a corresponding move at a later time. Fiers was 0-1 with an 8.59 ERA in three appearances. NBA (Continued from page 1B) Jackson was adamant after the team's light practice Thursday that playoff experience matters little. He also recalled when the Boston Celtics — led by Larry Bird, Robert Parish, Kevin McHale and Dennis Johnson — knocked his Knicks out in the first round his rookie year in 1987-88 in four games. ''Experience didn't send us home,'' Jackson said. ''The Boston Celtics, with four Hall of Famers, sent us home.'' Denver's George Karl has Jackson well outnumbered on the NBA sidelines. Karl will be coaching his 22nd squad in the playoffs. Jackson, who had never GIANTS (Continued from page 1B) Gallardo (1-1) was arrested early Tuesday morning. The right-hander allowed five hits, one walk and one earned run in six innings to give his team its season-high fourth victory in a row after a 1-8 skid. ''It was tough,'' Gallardo said. ''It's obviously something you don't want to ever run into or happen. ''There's different things we all go through, different situations. We all have stuff off the field. ''Something like that is a big deal. It's serious. I apologize. I'm just going to do everything possible and everything I have to do so something like that doesn't happen again.'' Ryan Braun and Jonathan Lucroy also homered for Milwaukee, which swept San Francisco for the first time since July 18-20, 2008. ''I think Yo had something to prove and obviously wasn't happy with what happened a few days ago,'' Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said. ''And he was determined to go out there and do ROUND-UP (Continued from page 1B) Cousins is eligible for a contract extension. Tyreke Evans, the 2009-10 NBA Rookie of the Year, will be a restricted free agent. Even the man charged with making those decisions, general manager Geoff Petrie, has a contract about to expire. Smart's status also is uncertain. In August, he signed a contract extension through the 2013-14 season. As of now, he's heading into an all-too familiar — and for him, unfortunate — situation as a lame duck coach. Smart took over for the fired Paul Westphal in January 2012 after the Kings started 2-5. Before that, the Golden State Warriors decided not to extend Smart's contract after the 2010-11 season, when the long-time assistant hastily replaced Don Nelson. He also had a stint as the Cleveland Cavaliers' interim coach for the final 40 games in 2003 after taking over for John Lucas. Smart still planned to hold exit interviews with players, assistants and front-office staff this week. He also hopes to stay in touch with players in the offseason and develop a new strategy for training camp, sticking with that live-for-today mentality that kept him balanced through a season that was anything but steady. ''I've always understood the dynamics of life, and that's why I can focus on every day as a new beginning and not focus on where things will be in the future,'' Smart said. ''And I think that's why I was able to come every single day and focus on that day and not so much on what's going to happen, to keep the players' minds from wandering, to keep everybody's minds from wandering.'' What tomorrow could hold is still impossible to ignore. Everywhere players and coaches go they are asked about the team's future. Even on the court, the Kings can't truly start preparing for next season until NBA owners vote on the franchise's fate. Kings point guard Isaiah Thomas, a Tacoma, Wash., native who starred at the University of Washington, has been in an awkward spot all season — torn between the fans he has grown to love in Sacramento and his roots back home as a Sonics fan. He said he planned to stick around Sacramento until a decision had been made, but the vote keeps getting pushed back. ''It's very weird because you just don't know,'' Thomas said. ''I might have shot my last basketball at Sleep Train Pavilion. So you just never know, that's the scary thing about it. You might not see these fans. I might not be in this community anymore, you never know. A lot of things are up in the air and that's what stinks right now.'' While he has never played in the NBA playoffs, Curry has often been at his best in the biggest games of his career. WESTERN CONFERENCE W L y-L.A. Clippers 56 26 .683 — x-WARRIORS 47 35 .573 9 x-L.A. Lakers 45 37 .549 11 KINGS 28 54 .341 28 Phoenix 25 57 .305 31 Southwest W L Pct GB x-Memphis 45 37 .549 13 Dallas 1 Baylor Roche, Tremonton, Utah 4.1 seconds; 2 Clayton Hass, Terrell, Texas 4.5; 3 tie Alex Robertson, Tumalo, Ore. 4.6 and Jason Thomas, Benton, Ark. 4.6; 5 tie Forest Sainsbury, Camp Crook, S.D. 4.7 and Monty Eakin, Pecos,Texas 4.7 27 55 .329 31 TIE DOWN ROPING (12) 1 Kyle Brown, McArthur 25.09 2 Colton Campbell, Klamath Falls, OR 26.08 3 Rial Engelhart, Lakeview, OR 26.34 4 Steel Humphry, McArthur 29.54 5 Quincy Crum, Little Valley 29.62 6 Brushton Minton, Witter Springs 34.36 7 Cameron Jones, Cottonwood 37.18 8 Dalton Cash, Grenada 42.32 9 Wyatt Brown, Red Bluff 42.54 10 Sterling Humphry, McArthur 10.57/1 STEER WRESTLING (5) 1 2 10.13 3 4 1 W L Sterling Humphry, McArthur 7.74 Colton Campbell, Klamath Falls, OR Kyle Brown, McArthur Quincy Crum, Little Valley 15.82 13.24/1 60 22 .732 — x-Denver 57 25 .695 3 Utah 43 39 .524 17 Portland 33 49 .402 27 Minnesota 31 51 .378 29 69/1 POLE BENDING (28) 54 28 .659 — x-Brooklyn Quincy Crum, Little Valley No score Pct GB y-New York Kasy Baker, Redding 72/1 Dalton Avis, Klamath Falls, OR 70/1 BAREBACK RIDING (1) Pct GB z-Thunder 49 33 .598 5 1 Courtney Wood, Chico 43.686 2 Cherie Leonard, Bieber 44.197 3 Emily Clendenen, Cottonwood 44.359 4 Cara Hencratt, Red Bluff 44.608 5 Jesse Stratton, Palo Cedro 44.769 6 Kristen Loverin, Cottonwood 44.946 7 Taylor Herman, Tulelake 45.375 8 Lily Bertelsen, Los Molinos 48.293 9 Cheyenne Grossman, Grenada 48.782 10 Tara Burrone, Fort Jones 49.940 x-Boston 41 40 .506 12.5 Philadelphia 34 48 .415 20 TEAM ROPING (16 teams) Toronto 34 48 .415 20 1 Sterling Humpry, McArthur & Colton Campbell, Klamath Falls, 16.63 2 Quincy Crum, Little Valley & Cameron Jones, Cottonwood 24.29 3 Bailey Bean, Gerber & ghost roper 28.87 4 Addie Engelhart, Lakeview, OR & Kyle Brown, McArthur 52.70 5 Steel Humphry, McArthur & Chase Alvernaz, Williams 8.02/1 6 Brushton Minton, Witter Springs & Wyatt Brown, Red Bluff 8.77/1 7 Brody Gill, Millville & Rial Engelhart, Lakeview, OR 10.10/1 8 Matthew Jesperson, Montague & Chelsey Bushnell, Red Bluff 10.59/1 9 Caitlin Campbell, Klamath Falls & Amy Brown, McArthur 12.41/1 10 Bailey Myers, Eagle Pt, OR & Courtney Wood, Chico 15.31/1 11 Central W L Pct GB y-Indiana 49 32 .605 — x-Chicago 45 37 .549 4.5 x-Milwaukee 38 44 .463 11.5 Detroit 29 53 .354 20.5 Cleveland 24 58 .293 25.5 Southeast W L Pct GB y-San Antonio 58 24 .707 — x-Memphis 56 26 .683 2 x-Houston 45 37 .549 13 Dallas 41 41 .500 17 New Orleans 27 55 .329 31 GOAT TYING (17) x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division z-clinched conference SCORING G FG FT PTS AVG Anthony, NYK 67 669 425 1920 28.7 Durant, OKC 81 731 679 2280 28.1 Bryant, LAL 1 Courtney Wood, Chico 16.73 2 Taylor Herman, Tulelake 18.67 3 Lily Bertelsen, Los Molinos 19.24 4 Bailey Bean, Gerber 19.27 5 Addie Engelhart, Lakeview, OR 20.31 6 Caitlin Campbell, Klamath Falls 23.02 7 Chelsey Bushnell, Red Bluff 26.08 8 Anna Doyle, Cottonwood 26.35 9 Helena DeCasas, Grants Pass, OR 27.53 10 Lauren Eldenburg, Chico 27.59 78 738 525 2133 27.3 James, MIA BOYS CUTTING (4) April 13-14 76 765 403 2036 26.8 78 585 674 2023 25.9 TEAM ROPING FG Percentage FG FGA PCT Jordan, LAC 314 488 Howard, LAL 1 146 2 3 4 .643 470 813 527 .575 Ibaka, OKC 446 778 .573 James, MIA 7 651 354 .565 REBOUNDS 1 2 3 4 137 5/6 5/6 G OFF DEF TOT AVG Howard 76 251 694 77 273 644 917 11.9 Asik, HOU 82 275 681 956 11.7 Randolph 76 310 544 854 11.2 Lee, GOL 79 218 668 886 11.2 1 146 2/3 2/3 4 G AST AVG 38 420 11.1 Paul, LAC 70 678 9.7 Vasquez, NOR 78 704 9.0 Jr. Holiday, PHL 78 625 8.0 Williams, Bro 78 604 7.7 141 139 136 Jesse Stratton, Palo Cedro 144.5 Lily Bertelsen, Los Molinos 142 Caitlin Campbell, Klamath Falls 140 Cara Hencratt, Red Bluff Bailey Bean, Gerber Chelsey Bushnell, Red Bluff 129 129 Colton Campbell, Klamath Falls, OR Wyatt Brown, Red Bluff Brody Gill, Millville Chase Alvernaz, Williams 143 143 138 GIRLS CUTTING (6) May 3 – 4 ASSISTS Rondo, BOS Chase Alvernaz, Williams Brody Gill, Millville Wyatt Brown, Red Bluff BOYS CUTTING (4) May 3 – 4 945 12.4 Vucevic Colton Campbell, Klamath Falls, OR GIRLS CUTTING (6) April 13-14 .578 McGee, DEN 303 TEAM ROPING AVG. 1 Calvin Brevik, Durango, Colo./Travis Woodard, Stockton, Calif. 11.2 seconds on two head; 2 Drew Horner, Plano, Texas/Buddy Hawkins, Columbus, Kan. 11.5; 3 Justin Davis, Madisonville, Texas/Clay O‚Brien Cooper, Gardnerville, Nev. 11.6; 4 Keven Daniel, Franklin, Tenn./Chase Tryan, Helena, Mont. 11.8; 5 Clay Tryan, Billings, Mont./Jade Corkill, Fallon, Nev. 12.2; 6 Blaine Vick, Escalon, Calif./Chad Williams, Stephenville, Texas 12.6 1 Courtney Wood, Chico 36.222 2 Chelsey Bushnell, Red Bluff 36.344 3 Keeley Vaughan, Merrill, OR 36.428 4 Cheyenne Grossman, Grenada 36.868 5 Cherie Leonard, Bieber 36.922 6 Amy Brown, McArthur 36.976 7 Bailey Myers, Eagle Pt, OR 37.039 8 Melissa Morrow 37.096 9 Erin Clendenen, Cottonwood 37.105 10 Lily Bertelsen, Los Molinos 37.205 SADDLE BRONC (2) Harden, HOU 1 Kaleb Driggers, Albany, Ga./Travis Graves, Jay, Texas 4.3; 2 David Key, Stephenville, Texas/Bucky Campbell, Benton City, Wash. 4.6; 3 Lane Ivy, Amarillo, Texas/Lane Siggins, Ruidoso Downs, N.M. 4.7; 4 Brady Tryan, Huntley, Mont./Cody Cowden, Merced, Calif. 4.8; 5 Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas/Patrick Smith, Lipan, Texas 4.9; 6 Arky Rogers, Lipan, Texas/Jhett Johnson, Casper, Wyo. 5.0 BARREL RACING (30) 1 2 Northwest STEER WRESTLING AVG. 1 Sean Santucci, Prineville, Ore. 9.8 seconds on two head; 2 Clayton Hass, Terrell, Texas 10.4; 3 Monty Eakin, Pecos, Texas 10.7; 4 Sterling Lambert, Fallon, Nev. 10.8; 5 Stan Branco, Chowchilla, Calif. 10.9; 6 Dean Gorsuch, Gering, Neb. 11.3 Courtney Wood, Chico 110 pts Reserve AA: Lily Bertelsen, Los Molinos 100 2nd runnerup: Chelsey Bushnell, Red Bluff 83.50 3rd runnerup: Bailey Bean, Gerber 68 4th runnerup: Caitlyn Campbell, Klamath Falls, OR 61 41 41 .500 17 New Orleans W L 1 Tuf Cooper, Decatur, Texas 17.0 seconds on 2 head; 2 Chant DeForest, Wheatland, Calif. 18.6; 3 Tyson Durfey, Colbert, Wash. 19.2; 4 tie Ryan Jarrett, Comanche, Okla. 19.4 and Stetson Vest, Childress, Texas 19.4; 6 Jeremiah Peek, Pueblo, Colo. 19.5 ALL AROUND COWGIRL BULL RIDING (7) 56 26 .683 2 x-Houston EASTERN CONFERENCE TIE-DOWN ROPING AVG. Colton Campbell, Klamath Falls, OR 110 pts Reserve AA: Quincy Crum, Little Valley 77 2nd runnerup: Sterling Humphry, McArthur 70 3rd runnerup: Kyle Brown, McArthur 64 4th runnerup: Wyatt Brown, Red Bluff 42 y-San Antonio 58 24 .707 — Atlantic 1 Adam Gray, Seymour, Texas 8.0 seconds; 2 Riley Pruitt, Gering, Neb. 8.1; 3Tuf Cooper, Decatur, Texas 8.3; 4 Ryan Jarrett, Comanche, Okla. 8.4; 5 Cody McCartney, Ottawa Lake, Mich. 8.5; 6 tie Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 8.6 and C.J. DeForest, Jr., Wheatland, Calif. 8.6. ALL AROUND COWBOY 1 Lily Bertelsen, Los Molinos 7.39 2 Chelsey Bushnell, Red Bluff 13.86 3 Courtney Wood, Chico 14.76 4 Caitlin Campbell, Klamath Falls, OR 26.78 5 Kristen Loverin, Cottonwood 3.14/1 6 Amy Brown, McArthur 3.42/1 7 Shelby Adams, Cottonwood 4.80/1 8 Erin Clendenen, Cottonwood 4.88/1 9 Taylor Herman, Tulelake 4.94/1 10 Helena De Casas, Grants Pass, OR 5.30/1 Pct GB (Unofficial) TIE-DOWN ROPING HS RODEO Cottonwood April 13-14, 2013 BREAKAWAY ROPING (20) Pacific Results from the first go-round Thursday of the 2013 Red Bluff Round-Up STEER WRESTLING KINGS Curry watched his dad, Dell Curry, in the playoffs growing up. The last time he attended a playoff game was in his hometown of Charlotte, N.C., when the Orlando Magic swept the Bobcats in four games in 2010. back so I'm looking forward to it. I think it's going to be a great fit for our team.'' When McFadden ran in a similar offense in 2010 and '11, he was one of the game's best big-play backs, gaining at least 20 yards on one of every 15 runs when he could mostly focus on running straight ahead. 1 2 3 4 133 5 130 6 Lily Bertelsen, Los Molinos 148 Jesse Stratton, Palo Cedro 144 Chelsey Bushnell, Red Bluff 136 Cara Hencratt, Red Bluff Caitlin Campbell, Klamath Falls, OR Bailey Bean, Gerber 127