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2B – Daily News – Friday, August 20, 2010 Raiders counting heavily on Henderson Oakland Raiders NAPA (AP) — When Mario Henderson gets beat in a pass-blocking drill at practice for the Oakland Raiders, he immediately hits the ground for his punishment. With coach Tom Cable watching closely, Henderson starts doing push-up after push-up in hopes of building the consistency needed to succeed in the NFL. ‘‘He’s got a thing where if there is something I need to correct in my sets, I have to do 50 push-ups,’’ Henderson said. ‘‘It’s tough, man. After I do that, my sets are straight. It’s no longer just a regular pass — now I am thinking if I don’t do this right, it’s 50 more push-ups. They are tough to do in the middle of a practice. We just started doing it this year and it’s going to help me to become better.’’ Getting Henderson to play better is a big part of improv- ing an offense that struggled mightily last season. Hender- son allowed an NFL-worst 10.5 sacks last season, accord- ing to STATS LLC, and was part of a unit that slipped from sixth to 21st in the league running the ball from 2007 to ’09. With Oakland bringing back four of the five starters from that disappointing line — midseason pickup Langston Walker replaces Cornell Green at right tackle — the Raiders are counting on Henderson to return to his late 2008 form this season. Cable is Oakland’s former offensive line coach and still spends much of his time at practice with his former pupils. He is pleased with what he has seen from Henderson so far this summer in terms of run blocking but wants him to get more consistent with his footwork in passing situations. ‘‘I just want to clean that up, if we can clean that up I think we can get him back where he was playing there for awhile,’’ Cable said. When it comes to the passing game in the modern NFL, a solid left tackle may be only second in importance to good quarterback play. The Raiders thought Henderson could provide that last season after he ended the 2008 campaign by keeping Richard Seymour, Mario Williams and Gaines Adams without a sack and did not commit a penalty as Oakland won two of its final three games that year. That performance was a far cry from the ones turned in by the raw player who entered the league as a third-round pick out of Florida State in 2007 and the one who was mocked by former coach Lane Kiffin during training camp in 2008. Henderson believes the push-ups will help make him more consistent and get him off the rollercoaster ride he has been on during his three-year career. ‘‘It gets you into good habits and when you are playing tackle, playing well has to become a habit,’’ he said. ‘‘I have to not even think about it, to get to a certain spot with my hands in the right place.’’ Dallas got solid play from the offensive line in the exhi- bition opener against Dallas, allowing only one sack — which came from up the middle, not outside against Hen- derson — and averaging 4.6 yards per carry. Henderson figures to get another good test on Saturday when he likely will match up against Chicago star end Julius Peppers. ‘‘He’s made some improvements here this week,’’ Cable said of Henderson. ‘‘I’m kind of excited, and I think he will be too to match up with Peppers a little bit in the game.’’ Henderson was hurt last year by injuries to left guard Robert Gallery. With Gallery missing 10 games because of various injuries, Henderson did not have his usual security SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, (AP) — Gripping a shiny new aluminum bat, 12-year- old Patrick Marinaccio took some hacks at the batting cage and loved what he heard. Ping! Ping! Ping! The sweet sounds of contact are reverberating again through the sprawling Little League baseball com- plex in this blue-collar cen- tral Pennsylvania town. The World Series begins Friday. String together a few of those hits over the next 10 days on the pristine field at Lamade Stadium and Mari- naccio and his teammates from Toms River, N.J., can take home one of the biggest prizes in youth sports and extend a U.S. string of five straight World Series titles. For now, Marinaccio will gladly settle for a few swings with his new base- ball bling. ‘‘It’s amazing,’’ Mari- 49ers (Continued from page 1B) frame, gives the 49ers a tall target that can play all three wide receiver positions. As he beat defenders for several catches Thursday, Zeigler continued to look like a nat- ural. ‘‘We’ve moved him around a bunch in there and every time he goes in he knows what he’s doing,’’ Smith said. ‘‘All the quarter- backs feel good about throw- ing him the ball in traffic because he is so strong- handed. He’s a guy that everyone in the huddle feels good about when he steps in. He just continues to do it.’’ EXTRA POINTS: LB Travis LaBoy returned to full practice for the first time naccio said. ‘‘The batting gloves have a nice grip. The helmets. And the bats are really nice!’’ A championship for the Toms River team would make them the second squad from the Jersey shore town to take a Little League crown. A different Toms River local league sent a team that won the 1998 World Series and earned the nickname the ‘‘Beasts from the East.’’ Of the 16 teams in South Williamsport, three others have a chance to bring their hometowns a second cham- pionship banner, though the same local league advanced in each case — Kaoshiung, Taiwan (1996), Columbus, Ga., (2006) and Waipahu, Hawaii (2008). Four years removed from his World Series run and Georgia manager Randy Morris remains so familiar to a few workers at the Little League complex that they said ‘‘hel- los’’ as he supervised infield since sustaining a concus- sion during the first week of training camp. ... Newcomer RB Brian Westbrook was given the morning practice off, his second consecutive veteran courtesy. ... OL Tony Wragge continues to get more time at both guard positions with veteran Adam Snyder out due to a concus- sion. ... S Reggie Smith came down with a leaping interception during team drills and continues to impress this summer. The third-year veteran returned an interception 91 yards for a touchdown last week against the Colts. ... Sunday’s game will be the first time the Vikings have ever played a preseason game in San Fran- cisco. Singletary will wear a wireless microphone for the ‘‘Sunday Night Football’’ broadcast on NBC. MCT file photo Mario Henderson blocks the Dallas Cowboys’DeMarcus Ware during a preseason game Aug. 11. blanket on the inside. The rotating guards led to some communication prob- lems on the line, which have been less of a problem now that Gallery is healthy. ‘‘With Robert I can just look at him or he can look at me. You can nod. It works a lot better like that sometimes than when you have a different guy,’’ Henderson said. ‘‘So that’s kind of good. I know how much you can trust me and I know how much I can trust him on some plays.’’ Henderson also believes his blocking will improve because of a change at quarterback from JaMarcus Russell to Jason Campbell. Russell was sacked on 11.8 percent of his pass plays last season, the most in the NFL. The rate dropped to 6.2 percent with Oakland’s other quarterbacks. ‘‘Not to bad talk JaMarcus or anything like that, but there is more definition with Jason,’’ Henderson said. ‘‘If he says he is dropping back three steps, it’s going to be three. If he says seven, it’s going to be seven. It’s not three and then he drops back seven. (Campbell) is good at what he does as far as footwork.’’ Notes: WR Darrius Heyward-Bey missed his fourth Batter up! 4 Little League teams vie for 2nd title Pa. practice for his boys. Outfielder Matthew Lang was here in 2006, too, when he watched his older brother Ryan, also an out- fielder, celebrate as a mem- ber of that year’s Columbus team. ‘‘Every time they’d play, I was wishing I was on the field,’’ 13-year-old Matthew said. ‘‘That was crazy.’’ The changes this year include the World Series tournament moving from pool play to a double-elimi- nation format in the first round, a change that Little League president Stephen Keener said eliminates the need for tiebreakers to determine which squads advance to the U.S. and international semifinals. Pitch count rules intend- ed to save wear on the arms MLB West Division Texas American League WL Pct GB Angels 61 61 .500 7 A’s 67 53 .558 — 59 60 .496 7.5 Seattle 48 73 .397 19.5 East Division WL Pct GB New York 75 46 .620 — Tampa Bay 74 46 .617 .5 Boston 69 53 .566 6.5 Toronto 63 57 .525 11.5 Baltimore 43 79 .352 32.5 Central Division WL Pct GB Minnesota 70 51 .579 — Chicago 66 55 .545 4 Detroit 58 63 .479 12 Kansas City 51 70 .421 19 Cleveland 50 71 .413 20 ————————————————— Thursday’s results Tampa Bay at Oakland, late Baltimore 4, Texas 0 Chicago 11, Minnesota 0 Cleveland 7, Kansas City 3 Los Angeles 7, Boston 2 New York 11, Detroit 5 Today’s Games Tampa Bay (Hellickson 3-0) at Oakland (Mazzaro 6-5),7:05 p.m.,CSNC Cleveland (Masterson 4-11) at Detroit (Galarraga 3-5), 4:05 p.m. Seattle (F.Hernandez 8-10) at New York (A.J.Burnett 9-10), 4:05 p.m. Texas (C.Wilson 11-5) at Baltimore (Arrieta 4-4), 4:05 p.m. Toronto (Cecil 9-6) at Boston (Lester 13-7), 4:10 p.m., MLBN Chicago (E.Jackson 1-0) at Kansas City (O’Sullivan 1-4), 5:10 p.m. Los Angeles (Haren 1-3) at Minnesota (Duensing 6-1), 5:10 p.m. of young hurlers have been modified so they match reg- ular-season guidelines. Pre- viously, a 12-year-old who threw at least 66 pitches was required to rest two days and one game off before pitching a tournament game again. Now, that pitcher must rest four days before taking the mound again. Also, Little League has expanded the instant replay system used only in the World Series to include force outs, missed bases and hit batters, and allow man- agers to challenge certain calls. MLB West Division National League WL Pct GB Padres 73 47 .608 — GIANTS 68 54 .557 6 Colorado 62 57 .521 10.5 Dodgers 61 60 .504 12.5 Arizona 47 74 .388 26.5 East Division WL Pct GB Atlanta 71 50 .587 — Philadelphia 68 52 .567 2.5 Florida 60 60 .500 10.5 New York 60 61 .496 11 Washington 52 69 .430 19 Central Division WL Pct GB Cincinnati 69 51 .575 — St. Louis 65 53 .551 3 Milwaukee 57 64 .471 12.5 Houston 53 67 .442 16 Chicago 50 72 .410 20 Pittsburgh 40 81 .331 29.5 ————————————————— Thursday’s results San Francisco 5, Philadelphia 2 Florida 4, Pittsburgh 2 Houston 3, New York 2 San Diego 5, Chicago 3 Washington 6, Atlanta 2 Cincinnati at Arizona, late Colorado at Los Angeles, late Today’s Games San Francisco (Bumgarner 4-4) at St.L.(Westbrook 1-0),5:15 p.m.,MNT-21 Atlanta (Jurrjens 5-4) at Chicago (Dempster 11-8), 11:20 a.m. New York (Pelfrey 11-7) at Pittsburgh (Karstens 2-9), 4:05 p.m. Washington (Marquis 0-5) at Philadelphia (Halladay 15-8), 4:05 p.m. Houston (Happ 3-1) at Florida (Ani.Sanchez 9-8), 4:10 p.m. San Diego (LeBlanc 7-10) at Milwaukee (Gallardo 11-5), 5:10 p.m. Colorado (Rogers 2-2) at Arizona (I.Kennedy 7-9), 6:40 p.m. Cincinnati (H.Bailey 2-2) at Los Angeles (Padilla 6-4), 7:10 p.m. Wednesday’s late results Cincinnati 11, Arizona 7 Colorado 3, Los Angeles 2, 10 innings New York 3, Houston 2, 14 innings WPS Women’s Professional Soccer WL T Pts GF GA x-Gold Pride 12 3 4 40 30 14 Philadelphia 10 6 4 34 35 27 Boston 8 6 5 29 29 21 Washington 6 8 7 25 29 30 Sky Blue FC 6 9 4 22 17 28 Chicago 5 10 6 21 15 23 Atlanta ————————————————— Thursday’s result Washington 2, Chicago 0 4 10 5 17 15 28 NOTE:Three points for victory, one point for tie. x- clinched playoff berth North Division GOLDEN Golden League WL Pct. GB Calgary 21 7 .750 — Victoria 16 14 .533 6 OUTLAWS 13 12 .520 6.5 Edmonton 12 14 .462 8 St. George 7 16 .304 11.5 South Division Maui WL Pct. GB 15 3 .833 — Orange Co. 19 5 .792 -1 Yuma 11 15 .423 8 Tucson 13 19 .406 9 Tijuana 2 23 .080 16.5 ————————————————— Thursday’s results Maui at Chico, late Victoria at St. George, ccd., cancelled Calgary at Edmonton, late Tijuana at Tucson, late Yuma at Orange County, late Today’s games Maui at Chico, 7:08 p.m. Calgary at Edmonton, 6 p.m. Yuma at Orange County, 6:05 p.m. Tijuana at Tucson, 7 p.m. Victoria at St. George, ccd., cancelled WNBA EASTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB x-Indiana 21 11 .656 — x-New York 21 11 .656 — x-Washington 20 12 .625 1 x-Atlanta 19 14 .576 2.5 Connecticut 16 16 .500 5 Chicago 14 18 .438 7 WESTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB z-Seattle 26 6 .813 — x-Phoenix 15 17 .469 11 Sparks 12 20 .375 14 Minnesota 12 20 .375 14 San Antonio 12 20 .375 14 Tulsa x-clinched playoff spot z-clinched conference ————————————————— Thursday’s result New York 95, Tulsa 85 Today’s games New York at Washington, 4 p.m. Indiana at San Antonio, 5 p.m. Connecticut at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. Seattle at Phoenix, 7 p.m. Minnesota at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. straight practice with what is being called ‘‘fatigue.’’ ... Among the players unlikely to play Saturday against the Bears are Heyward-Bey, WR Chaz Schilens (foot), RB Darren McFadden (hamstring), QB Bruce Gradkowski (groin), LB Sam Williams (concussion), CB Chris John- son (hamstring). QB Frye out for season NAPA (AP) — The Oakland Raiders have placed back- up quarterback Charlie Frye on injured reserve with an injured right wrist. Coach Tom Cable said Thursday that it will take four to five months for Frye to rehabilitate the hurt ligament. Frye underwent surgery earlier this week and will miss the entire season. Frye started three games for the Raiders last season. He completed 61 percent of his passes for 581 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions. The Raiders signed tight end Eric Butler to take Frye’s place on the roster. NFL Preseason Week 2 Thursday’s results Buffalo 34, Indianapolis 21 New England 28, Atlanta 10 Today’s game Philadelphia at Cincinnati, 5 p.m. Saturday’s games Oakland at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. Baltimore at Washington, 4 p.m. Pittsburgh at N.Y. Giants, 4 p.m. Miami at Jacksonville, 4:30 p.m. St. Louis at Cleveland, 4:30 p.m. Kansas City at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m. Houston at New Orleans, 5 p.m. N.Y. Jets at Carolina, 5 p.m. Dallas at San Diego, 6 p.m. Detroit at Denver, 6 p.m. Green Bay at Seattle, 7 p.m. Sunday’s game Minnesota at San Francisco, 5 p.m. Monday’s game Arizona at Tennessee, 5 p.m. WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Galaxy 13 3 4 43 32 13 Salt Lake 11 4 6 39 36 16 FC Dallas 8 2 9 33 27 17 Seattle 8 8 5 29 23 25 Colorado 7 5 7 28 21 18 QUAKES 76 5 26 21 20 Houston 5 10 5 20 23 30 Chivas USA 5 10 4 19 22 25 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Columbus 11 5 4 37 28 19 New York 9 7 4 31 21 22 Toronto FC 7 7 5 26 21 21 Chicago 6 5 6 24 23 22 New England 6 10 3 21 19 29 Kansas City 5 9 5 20 15 22 Philadelphia 4 10 5 17 23 34 D.C. MLS PGA Wyndham Championship At Sedgefield Country Club Course Greensboro, N.C. Purse: $5.1 million Yardage: 7,117;Par: 70 (35-35) First Round Leaders Arjun Atwal Brandt Snedeker 33-30 — 63 -7 John Rollins Kevin Streelman 30-34 — 64 -6 Lucas Glover Boo Weekley David Toms 30-31 — 61 -9 34-30 — 64 -6 33-31 — 64 -6 30-34 — 64 -6 32-32 — 64 -6 Jeev Milkha Singh 31-33 — 64 -6 Jay Williamson 31-34 — 65 -5 Jason Gore 34-31 — 65 -5 John Mallinger 33-32 — 65 -5 Blake Adams 33-32 — 65 -5 Scott McCarron 33-32 — 65 -5 Spencer Levin 31-34 — 65 -5 3 14 3 12 13 35 NOTE:Three points for victory, one point for tie. ————————————————— 5 28 .152 21.5