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Friday, August 13, 2010 – Daily News – 3B Oakland pours it on late, beats Dallas Raiders 17 Dallas 9 ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys were within 16 yards of the end zone on four drives against the Oak- land Raiders on Thursday night, yet managed only three field goals. It came back to bite them when the Raiders got two touchdowns and a field goal in the final 4:58 to win 17-9. Dallas (1-1) had snaps from Oakland’s 16, 13, 9 and 10 without getting into the end zone. One of those drives was stopped on downs, and the oth- ers were settled by David Buehler making kicks of 42, 27 and 28 yards. Oakland went ahead 10-9 with 2:24 left when first-string kicker Sebastian Janikowski nailed a 28-yard field goal. Swayze Waters had badly missed a 34-yarder at the start of the fourth quarter. Raiders safety Jerome Boyd stretched the lead when he intercepted a deflected pass and returned it 48 yards for a touchdown with 33 seconds left. MCT photo The Raiders’ Johnnie Lee Higgins is brought down during Thursday night’s game. 49ers counting on Ted Ginn Jr. to help return game San Francisco 49ers SANTA CLARA (AP) — Ted Ginn Jr. might get to do the very job he’s wanted all along in his first season for San Francisco: double duty. The versatile Ginn appears to be in good posi- tion to earn a spot as the No. 3 receiver behind starters Michael Crabtree and Josh Morgan. Ginn also will be called upon in the return game for the 49ers, a special teams area that was among the worst in the NFL last season. He could even be returning both kickoffs and punts. Upgrading the return game has been among coach Mike Singletary’s top priorities heading into 2010. ‘‘I just go out and I do what I do best. I love the game and I’ve been playing the game for a while,’’ Ginn said Thursday. ‘‘I’ve always been that guy who con- tributes, in any way and every way. That’s what I want to do.’’ Ginn is giving the Niners an early glimpse of just why they traded for him before the April draft. During Thursday morning’s prac- tice, he caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Alex Smith in the left side of the end zone. Ginn has long been considered a guy who drops a lot of balls and he had his share in the early days of camp — though he seems to be on track now. ‘‘I just had to get it down,’’ Ginn said. ‘‘Spend- ing that time with Alex in the offseason and the time I spent with the coaches it gave me a better under- standing and a better feel. Now it’s just time to go out and play football.’’ Special teams coordina- tor Kurt Schottenheimer isn’t sure how many reps Ginn and the primary spe- cial teams players will have against the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday. He’s not looking for any game- breaking plays — those would just be a bonus at this stage — but rather solid technique and fundamentals while applying the work that’s been done so far. ‘‘We want to see where we are right now,’’ Schot- tenheimer said. ‘‘We want to see them go out on the field and see where we are as far as execution. I’m excited about the people we have. I think we have a group of core performers. There’s a lot of competition on this team, there’s depth. When you have that, it gives you the opportunity to get a lot of people involved.’’ San Francisco ranked last in the league in punt returns last season at 4.4 yards per return. The Niners were 23rd in kickoff returns with a 21.8-yard average, and their average start posi- tion after kicks at the 24.8 yard line ranked 26th in the NFL. Schottenheimer doesn’t expect a transformation overnight, either. He’s implementing a new system and fresh ideas. All of that stuff takes time. ‘‘You have to be patient,’’ he said. ‘‘They understand the importance of special teams. Coach Sing’s been great saying that that’s the reason he thought they won the cham- pionship in ’85 as much as anything in Chicago. To have that experience and to have him talk about it, it really strikes a nerve with the players.’’ As soon as he was traded from the Dolphins to the Niners on April 16, Ginn was eager to get started. He played catch with Alex Smith in a downpour one day in late April at team headquarters. Ginn’s speed as a receiv- er and return man could be a big help for an offense hurt by inconsistency during an 8-8 season last year — not to mention all the problems on special teams. Ginn said from Day 1 he planned to contribute for San Francisco despite a dis- appointing run in South Florida. That’s all history now. SANTA CLARA (AP) — San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Kentwan Balmer missed his fourth straight day of training camp Thursday and his absence is still considered unexcused. The team said Balmer met Wednesday night with coach Mike Singletary. Singletary allowed Balmer to miss Monday and Tuesday workouts as he dealt with a ‘‘personal issue.’’ But the 49ers had expected him back Wednes- day. Balmer was a first-round MLB West Division National League WL Pct GB Padres 67 46 .593 — GIANTS 66 50 .569 2.5 Colorado 59 55 .518 8.5 Dodgers 59 56 .513 9 Arizona 46 70 .397 22.5 East Division WL Pct GB Atlanta 66 48 .579 — Philadelphia 64 50 .561 2 Florida 57 56 .504 8.5 New York 57 57 .500 9 Washington 49 66 .426 17.5 Central Division WL Pct GB St. Louis 64 49 .566 — Cincinnati 64 51 .557 1 Milwaukee 54 62 .466 11.5 Houston 48 65 .425 16 Chicago 48 67 .417 17 Pittsburgh 39 75 .342 25.5 ————————————————— Thursday’s results San Francisco 8, Chicago 7 Florida 5, Washington 0 Milwaukee 8, Arizona 4 New York 4, Colorado 0 Philadelphia 10, Los Angeles 9 San Diego 3, Pittsburgh 0 Today’s games San Diego (Richard 9-5) at S.F. (J.Sanchez 8-7), 7:15 p.m.,CSNB Arizona (J.Saunders 1-1) at Washington (Lannan 3-5), 4:05 p.m. Florida (Jo.Johnson 10-4) at Cincinnati (Volquez 2-1), 4:10 p.m. Philadelphia (Hamels 7-8) at New York (Dickey 7-5), 4:10 p.m. Los Angeles (Kuroda 8-10) at Atlanta (T.Hudson 13-5), 4:35 p.m. Chicago (Diamond 0-2) at St. Louis (Westbrook 0-0), 5:05 p.m. Pittsburgh (Ohlendorf 1-9) at Houston (Myers 8-7), 5:05 p.m. Milwaukee (Gallardo 11-5) at Colorado (De La Rosa 4-3), 6:10 p.m. Wednesday’s late results San Francisco 5, Chicago 4 San Diego 8, Pittsburgh 5 MLB West Division Texas American League WL Pct GB Angels 59 57 .509 7.5 A’s 65 48 .575 — 57 56 .504 8 Seattle 44 71 .383 22 East Division WL Pct GB New York 71 43 .623 — Tampa Bay 69 45 .605 2 Boston 66 50 .569 6 Toronto 60 54 .526 11 Baltimore 40 75 .348 31.5 Central Division WL Pct GB Minnesota 65 50 .565 — Chicago 64 51 .557 1 Detroit 55 59 .482 9.5 Cleveland 48 67 .417 17 Kansas City 47 68 .409 18 ————————————————— Thursday’s results Cleveland 4, Baltimore 1 Minnesota 6, Chicago 1 New York 4, Kansas City 3 Toronto 6, Boston 5 Today’s games Oakland (G.Gonzalez 10-7) at Minn.(Pavano 14-7), 5:10 p.m.,CSNC Seattle (Pauley 0-4) at Cleveland (Carmona 11-9), 4:05 p.m. Baltimore (Guthrie 6-11) at Tampa Bay (J.Shields 10-10), 4:10 p.m. Boston (Beckett 3-2) at Texas (Tom.Hunter 9-1), 5:05 p.m. Detroit (Bonderman 6-7) at Chicago (Buehrle 10-9), 5:10 p.m. New York (Moseley 2-1) at Kansas City (Davies 5-7), 5:10 p.m. Toronto (Rzepczynski 0-1) at Los Angeles (Kazmir 8-9), 7:05 p.m. WNBA EASTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB Indiana 19 10 .655 — New York 17 11 .607 1.5 Atlanta 18 12 .600 1.5 Washington 17 12 .586 2 Connecticut 14 15 .483 5 Chicago 13 17 .433 6.5 WESTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB z-Seattle 25 4 .862 — Phoenix 14 15 .483 11 Minnesota 11 18 .379 14 San Antonio 11 18 .379 14 Sparks 11 19 .367 14.5 Tulsa 5 24 .172 20 z-clinched conference ————————————————— Thursday’s result Los Angeles 78, Minnesota 77 Today’s games Minnesota at Washington, 4 p.m. New York at Atlanta, 4 p.m. Phoenix at Indiana, 4 p.m. Seattle at Connecticut, 4:30 p.m. Tulsa at San Antonio, 5 p.m. He no longer even thinks of his days with the Dolphins or the heat he took for his lack of production. This is a much-needed fresh start across the country. On Sunday, he’ll suit up for the 49ers for the first time. Everybody is eager to see how that goes. ‘‘I just want to just go out and have fun,’’ Ginn said. ‘‘It will be great to get a dif- ferent feel of some guys, to be able to go out and show and see what I’ve got. Pre- season, we love it. It just shows you what you’ve got and where you’re at at this point. I just want to go out and grow from it. It’s all a learning experience.’’ Rookie returner Kyle Williams could be picking up punt return work, too. Ginn has been helping Williams get acclimated to the NFL. Williams was a sixth-round pick this year out of Arizona State, where he earned All-Pac-10 hon- ors as a punt returner. ‘‘We have a good rela- tionship, and he’s basically Balmer misses camp again draft pick in 2008 out of North Carolina. He has yet to start a game. NFL Preseason Thursday’s results Oakland 17, Dallas 9 Baltimore 17, Carolina 12 New England 27, New Orleans 24 Today’s games Buffalo at Washington, 4:30 p.m., NFLN Jacksonville at Philadelphia, 4:30 p.m. Kansas City at Atlanta, 5 p.m. Saturday’s games Tampa Bay at Miami, 4 p.m. Detroit at Pittsburgh, 4:30 p.m. Cleveland at Green Bay, 5 p.m. Houston at Arizona, 5 p.m. Minnesota at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Chicago at San Diego, 6 p.m. Tennessee at Seattle, 7 p.m. Sunday’s games San Francisco at Indianapolis, 10 a.m. Denver at Cincinnati, 4 p.m. Monday’s game N.Y. Giants at N.Y. Jets, 5 p.m. taken me under his wing and given me kind of the lit- tle tricks and those tips and things about being back there,’’ Williams said. ‘‘He’s been in the league and been very successful, so anything I can pick up from him will help me.’’ Singletary isn’t sure how the special teams unit will take shape for San Francis- co’s season opener Sept. 12 at Seattle, or how much he will be able to rely on Williams right away to han- dle punt return duties while keeping Ginn focused on kickoff returns. ‘‘I think in an ideal situa- tion, you would like to have that, but I think when it comes down to it, you want to win football games,’’ Sin- gletary said of limiting Ginn to kickoff returns. ‘‘If Ginn can do both, he might be doing it.’’ And there’s no question Ginn is game to take on the responsibility. North Division GOLDEN Golden League WL Pct. GB Calgary 17 6 .739 — OUTLAWS 10 9 .526 5 Victoria 12 12 .5005 1/2 Edmonton 9 11 .4506 1/2 St. George 7 10 .412 7 South Division Maui WL Pct. GB 10 3 .769 — Orange Co. 14 5 .737 -1 Yuma 11 10 .524 3 Tucson 10 17 .370 7 Tijuana 2 18 .100 11.5 ————————————————— Thursday’s results Chico at Edmonton, late Calgary 3, Tucson 2, 10 innings Orange County at Tijuana, late St. George at Victoria, late Yuma at Maui, late Today’s games Chico at Edmonton, 6 p.m. Orange County at Tijuana, 3 p.m., 1st game Orange Co.at Tijuana, 5:30 p.m., 2nd game Tucson at Calgary, 6:05 p.m. St. George at Victoria, 7 p.m. Yuma at Maui, 9:35 p.m. Wednesday’s results Chico 11, Edmonton 6 Calgary 2, Tucson 1, 1st game Calgary 4, Tucson 3, 2nd game Orange County 8, Tijuana 0, 1st game Orange County 3, Tijuana 2, 2nd game St. George 4, Victoria 3 Yuma at Maui, late ARENA PLAYOFFS Conference Championships National — Thursday’s result Spokane 60, Milwaukee 57 American — Saturday’s game Orlando at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m.