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2B Daily News – Tuesday, August 13, 2013 Rookie Vance McDonald continues to make strides SANTA CLARA (AP) — Vance McDonald has been fortunate to spend his rookie summer as the understudy to veteran San Francisco tight end Vernon Davis, who has been eager to take McDonald on as a little brother and teammate, to guide him through the rigors of training camp and the regular season. McDonald is doing plenty of prep on his own, too. He regularly falls asleep with the 49ers' offensive playbook right within reach — a book he knew would be thick yet has surprised him with just how expansive it is. ''Let's just say I heard them say how big it was and I said, 'Ah, it can't be that bad,''' McDonald said, smiling. ''And I just stared at it the first time and I was just like, 'Wow.' It's extremely extensive but that's kind of what it takes to be successful, so that's what I've got to do to get it done.'' The 49ers traded up with Green Bay to draft McDonald out of Rice with the 55th overall selection in the second round of April's draft, and he showed promise in his preseason debut. McDonald made four receptions for 66 yards, including a 21-yard gain, and was targeted eight times in San Francisco's 10-6 exhibition loss to the Denver Broncos on Thursday night. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman thought McDonald took a nice step in his first game, while also wishing he had converted a couple of the balls he missed — one an obvious drop. ''Liked the look in his eye before the game,'' Roman said. Yet McDonald will sit out Friday's game at Kansas City nursing an undisclosed injury. Coach Jim Harbaugh said he likely would be sidelined between seven and 10 days without providing further details. ''He's working through a little something this week, better to be cautious,'' Harbaugh said Monday. ''Everybody has high hopes and expectations for Vance. He's done a very good job.'' It hasn't been easy getting used to the pace or workload, yet McDonald points to a moment during organized team activities when he received positive feedback from the coaches about the strides he had made being more aware of what was happening from snap to snap. ''They could see a point when it went from that, 'Oh, man,' first glance, hesitant, to just instinctive,'' McDonald said. ''They could kind of see that switch flip on. I don't know exactly when that was but I certainly feel now that it's a lot more natural going with the offense in terms of what your job is each play.'' Davis has enjoyed doing a little bit of teaching and mentoring with McDonald, a physical specimen at 6foot-4 and 267 pounds. And, going with Harbaugh's regular refrain of not making comparisons, Davis wants McDonald to develop his own style — defensive lineman Justin Smith is already impressed with McDonald's hands and how he ''catches the ball away from his body, really good possession tight end.'' Davis told McDonald he could become one of the talented tight ends in the NFL, topping even Davis' accomplishments one day. ''He's just one of those guys when he walks in the room, he brightens the room up. That's what I love about him. He's a big dude, he's humble, he works. He wants to be the best tight end,'' Davis said. ''You look at it, a guy like Vance might come in here and be like, 'Vernon Davis this, Vernon Davis that, he's fast, he's strong.' Everybody's different. Jason Witten is not as fast as me, but he's still one of the best tight ends out there. Tony Gonzalez is not as fast as me and he's still one of the best. Every one of us, we all have different tricks, and that's what I'm trying to get Vance to get, 'Vance, don't be discouraged by what I'm doing, do your own thing and be better, be great, because you could be better than me in different ways. Use your own craft and your own God-given ability and put it to work.''' McDonald — from the tiny town of Winnie, Texas — realizes just how tough a job he has following not only Davis but departed second tight end Delanie Walker, who had 21 catches for 344 yards and three touchdowns last season and is now with the Tennessee Titans. ''Watching film with Delanie, that's a lot to fill,'' McDonald said. ''He was a deep threat, he could get it done interior inside, too. That's a big void that the second tight end guy has got to come in and fill. It's still just a day-byday thing, you're taking techniques and doing everything the coaches tell you. I might not be as fast as Delanie was but I certainly hope to say that I can use technique to get open.'' That has been an adjustment in itself from college football to the pros. Most notably the finesse and how players use their hands more and not just positioning with their bodies. The transition has been daunting at times. ''You've got to be smooth and quick,'' McDonald said. ''It's just a different game. It's all about adapting.'' Dufner makes the most of his 2nd chance in a major PITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) — Jason Dufner doesn't have the same set of skills as Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott, though his career has shared the same path — from a memorable collapse at a major championship to redemption in pretty short order. And in this sport, redemption doesn't always come easily. Just ask Dustin Johnson or Thomas Bjorn. There's an even longer list of players who gave away majors in the final hour and never so much as earned another shot, such as Ed Sneed or Mike Reid. There was reason to believe Dufner might be part of the latter group. Go back just two years to Atlanta Athletic Club to find Dufner standing on the 15th tee with the PGA Championship in his hands. He was four shots clear of Anders Hansen and five ahead of Keegan Bradley, who had just made a triple bogey on the par-3 DRUG (Continued from page 1B) excited about this,'' he said. ''As much work as we've done over the past 10 years, this offers the largest single audience to our message, to reach out at one time.'' Citing various studies, Hooton has estimated 1 million to 1.5 million adolescents in the United States have used steroids. A separate study released in May jointly commissioned by the foundation, the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society said that American adults ranked steroid use among adolescents as less of a problem than alcohol, bullying, marijuana and sexually transmitted diseases. The survey of 1,002 adults conducted by The Gallup Organization last fall found that 97 percent of the respondents believed GOLF World Golf Ranking 1. Tiger Woods 2. Phil Mickelson 3. Rory McIlroy 4. Adam Scott 5. Justin Rose 6. Matt Kuchar 7. Brandt Snedeker 8. Jason Dufner 9. Graeme McDowel l 10. Henrik Stenson 11. Luke Donald 12. Keegan Bradley 13. Steve Stricker 14. Lee Westwood 15. Charl Schwartzel 16. Ernie Els 17. Ian Poulter 18. Louis Oosthuizen 19. Sergio Garcia 20. Jason Day 21. Jim Furyk 22. Dustin Johnson 23. Bubba Watson 24. Bill Haas 25. Zach Johnson USA USA NIR AUS ENG USA USA USA NIR SWE ENG USA USA ENG SAF SAF ENG SAF ESP AUS USA USA USA USA USA 14.07 8.51 8.44 7.85 7.56 6.67 6.52 6.09 6.03 5.82 5.27 5.16 5.08 5.05 4.64 4.59 4.57 4.56 4.53 4.52 4.47 4.30 4.23 4.11 4.06 15th. What followed was painful to watch. Dufner hit into the water and made bogey on the 15th. He hit into a bunker right of the 16th and made bogey. He hit the middle of the 17th green and still made bogey with a three-putt. Bradley answered with back-to-back birdies to catch Dufner, and then beat him in a playoff. ''Maybe looking back 10, 15 years from now, I'll feel disappointment that I let this one get away if I never get another chance,'' Dufner said that day. He was certain there would be more opportunities. But then, everyone feels that way. McIlroy had a four-shot lead at the Masters in 2010 and shot 80 to tie the record for the worst score by a 54-hole leader. He vowed to learn from his mistakes, and it was the shortest lesson in major championship history. steroids caused negative health effects, while just 19 percent thought steroid use was a big problem among high school students. The study developed by University of Massachusetts researchers had a margin of error of 4.3 percent. Little League President Stephen Keener said the recent surveys helped stir interest. ''What was discovered ... was a huge amount of ignorance on the subject among parents and even coaches at the high school level and below,'' Keener said. ''As an organization that is interested in the development of children beyond the game ... perhaps we have some obligation to educate parents and Little League coaches.'' The key, Keener said, is telling the truth to children if LITTLE LEAGUE At South Williamsport, Pa. Double Elimination UNITED STATES GREAT LAKES, Grosse Pointe, Mich.; MID-ATLANTIC, Newark, Del.; MIDWEST, Urbandale, Iowa; NEW ENGLAND, Westport, Conn.; NORTHWEST, Sammamish, Wash.; SOUTHEAST, Nashville, Tenn.; SOUTHWEST, Corpus Christi, Texas; WEST, Chula Vista, Calif. INTERNATIONAL ASIA-PACIFIC, Taoyuan, Taiwan; AUSTRALIA, Perth; CANADA, Ottawa, Ontario; CARIBBEAN, San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico; EUROPE & AFRICA, Brno, Czech Republic; JAPAN, Tokyo; LATIN AMERICA, Aguadulce, Panama; MEXICO, Tijuana. Thursday's games Game 1 — Aguadulce, Panama vs. San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico, 10 a.m. Game 2 — Corpus Christi, Texas vs. Sammamish, Wash., Noon Game 3 — Perth, Australia vs. Tijuana, Mexico, 2 p.m. Game 4 — Nashville, Tenn. vs. Westport, Conn., 4 p.m. Friday's games Game 5 — Taoyuan, Taiwan vs. Ottawa, Ontario, 10 a.m. Game 6 — Chula Vista, Calif. vs. Grosse Pointe, Mich., Noon Game 7 — Tokyo vs. Brno, Czech Republic, 2 p.m. Game 8 — Newark, Del. vs. Urbandale, Iowa, 5 p.m. He won the very next major by setting the U.S. Open record of 268 at Congressional for an eight-shot win. That wasn't a huge surprise. McIlroy is a special player. More agonizing was watching Scott make bogey on the last four holes at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, turning a four-shot lead with four holes to play into another British Open title for Ernie Els. Scott promised he would do better the next time. He truly believed there would be a next time, and he waited only two more majors to win the Masters. Dufner didn't have that pedigree. When he threw away his shot at the PGA Championship, he had never won on the PGA Tour and never cracked the top 30 on the money list. At age 34, it was only his second year playing all four majors. Would he ever get another chance like that? Yes. And when he least expected it. they have questions about the discipline announced for players including Milwaukee Brewers star slugger Ryan Braun. Young players should be told that what was done ''is wrong and here are the consequences of it. You are seeing highly visible, high-profile baseball players jeopar- dize their own health and paying a huge price from their livelihoods and how they are perceived publicly.'' NASCAR Rookie WR Brice Butler impresses Raiders NAPA (AP) — Two long catches and a touchdown in his NFL exhibition debut earned Oakland Raiders receiver Brice Butler plenty of congratulatory messages from friends and family. His response: Ignore it. Because as a seventhround pick with little college pedigree, Butler knows that he is just one bad practice or game from transforming from summertime revelation to struggling to make the 53man roster. ''I don't try to let it get to me,'' Butler said. ''It's just one game. I just have to keep working. If I play terrible nobody will remember last week. I just have to keep working.'' That's just the reaction coach Dennis Allen wants Butler to have, saying that he hoped Butler wouldn't read all the glowing reviews from a game where he had an impressive 40yard catch and run followed by a diving 30-yard touchdown catch on one attention-getting drive. That kind of performance has vaulted Butler into the mix for a roster spot on a team still searching for dependable receiving options. ''Make no mistake about it; he's been a nice surprise,'' Allen said. ''When you get a seventhround draft pick like that who's really developed, that's a good thing to have. But at the same time, I don't want him reading too much of his press clippings and start feeling too good about himself. He's still a rookie. He still has a long way to go, but he's off to a nice start.'' Butler knows firsthand how quickly a player's position can change. A Super Prep All-American in high school in Georgia, Butler went to Southern California and had 20 catches his first year and was named to the Pac-10 all-freshman team. But his playing time dwindled the next two years when he combined for just 21 catches and he ended up transferring to San Diego State for his senior year. He caught 24 passes for the Aztecs on a team that ranked 111th in the nation in pass attempts. That journey is one reason why Butler is more focused on his mistakes from Friday night than his successes. ''I honestly don't think I played that good,'' he said. ''Until those couple of MLB Sprint Cup Points Leaders 1. Jimmie Johnson 2. Clint Bowyer 3. Carl Edwards 4. Kevin Harvick 5. Kyle Busch 6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 7. Matt Kenseth 8. Brad Keselowski 9. Greg Biffle 10. Martin Truex Jr. 11. Kurt Busch 12. Kasey Kahne 13. Jeff Gordon 14. Ryan Newman 15. Jamie McMurray 16. Joey Logano 17. Tony Stewart 18. Aric Almirola 19. Paul Menard 20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 21. Jeff Burton 22. Juan Pablo Montoya 23. Marcos Ambrose 24. Casey Mears 25. Denny Hamlin 26. David Ragan 27. Danica Patrick 28. David Gilliland 29. Mark Martin 30. Dave Blaney 31. Bobby Labonte 32. David Reutimann 33. J.J. Yeley 34. David Stremme 35. A J Allmendinger 36. Travis Kvapil 37. Michael McDowell 38. Michael Waltrip 39. Timmy Hill 40. Scott Speed 41. Terry Labonte 42. Ken Schrader 43. Boris Said 44. Ron Fellows 45. Alex Kennedy 46. Justin Marks 47. Victor Gonzalez Jr. 48. Scott Riggs 49. Brian Keselowski 50. Tomy Drissi 808 733 728 707 693 670 659 634 627 625 623 622 610 605 600 598 594 561 559 531 525 516 515 472 414 399 397 387 361 329 328 308 296 296 278 275 115 102 99 91 77 68 48 31 21 14 10 10 9 8 Upcoming Schedule Aug. 18 — Pure Michigan 400, Brooklyn, Mich. Aug. 24 — Irwin Tools Night Race, Bristol, Tenn. Sept. 1 — AdvoCare 500, Hampton, Ga. Sept. 7 — Federated Auto Parts 400, Richmond, Va. The Little League World Series begins with an opening ceremony Thursday before Panama and Puerto Rico play the first game of the 2013 tournament. MLB National League Dodgers Arizona Colorado Padres GIANTS East Division W 67 59 55 53 52 L 50 57 64 64 65 Pct .573 .509 .462 .453 .444 GB — 7.5 13 14 15 West Division Texas A's Seattle Angels Houston East Division W 69 67 54 53 37 L 50 50 63 64 80 Pct .580 .573 .462 .453 .316 NOTES: Rookie CB D.J. Hayden returned to practice after being out with a tweaked hamstring but has not been cleared for contact following offseason abdominal surgery. Hayden will not play Friday but is on schedule to be cleared for contact after that and could play Aug. 23 against Chicago. ... LB Sio Moore also returned to practice, while CB Tracy Porter left early with an injury and S Charles Woodson got a day off. WNBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Minnesota Sparks Phoenix Seattle San Antonio Tulsa W 17 16 12 10 8 7 L 5 7 11 12 15 17 Pct .773 .696 .522 .455 .348 .292 GB — 1.5 5.5 7 9.5 11 EASTERN CONFERENCE American League West Division plays on that one drive I didn't feel good about my play at all. I definitely have to work on it. Watching tape there was a lot of stuff I can work on. ... I definitely just have to build on it.'' Butler has the advantage of getting some outside help from his father, Bobby, who played 12 years in the NFL as a cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons. Bobby Butler can help his son on the intricacies of the NFL game from the perspective of someone who made a career stopping wide receivers. ''Defensively, he tells me what he sees when he watches me run routes or he watches me in the run game,'' Brice Butler said. ''Offensively, he tells me what I should do to trigger different things from the corner and stuff like that. He's always been like that with me. When he realized I didn't want to play corner he has always been there on the side helping.'' Butler is on a similar path to the one teammate Rod Streater followed last summer. Streater arrived as an undrafted free agent from Temple who had just 19 catches as a senior. But he quickly caught the eyes of his coaches with his good hands and routerunning and had 39 catches for 584 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie. Streater now has a starting role a year after making the team out of nowhere and is dispensing advice to younger players like Butler. ''We talk about it all the time,'' Streater said. ''He was a blocking guy and had almost similar stats. We instantly connected. I told him, 'You just got to work and when you're on the field, college is done now. This is the NFL. You get a new chance.''' GB — 1 14 15 31 W L Pct GB Atlanta 72 46 .610 — Washington 57 60 .487 14.5 New York 54 61 .470 16.5 Philadelphia 52 65 .444 19.5 Miami 44 72 .379 27 Central Division W L Pct GB Pittsburgh 70 47 .598 — St. Louis 67 50 .573 3 Cincinnati 65 52 .556 5 Chicago 52 65 .444 18 Milwaukee 51 67 .432 19.5 —————————————————— Monday's results Baltimore at Arizona, late Cincinnati at Chicago Cubs, late Miami at Kansas City, late N.Y. Mets at L.A. Dodgers, late Philadelphia at Atlanta, late San Diego at Colorado, late W L Pct GB Boston 71 49 .592 — Tampa Bay 66 50 .569 3 Baltimore 65 52 .556 4.5 New York 60 57 .513 9.5 Toronto 54 64 .458 16 Central Division W L Pct GB Detroit 69 47 .595 — Cleveland 63 55 .534 7 Kansas City 61 54 .530 7.5 Minnesota 52 63 .452 16.5 Chicago 44 72 .379 25 —————————————————— Monday's results Oakland 5, Toronto 1 N.Y. Yankees 2, L.A. Angels 1 Texas 2, Houston 1 Baltimore at Arizona, late Cleveland at Minnesota, late Detroit at Chicago White Sox, late Miami at Kansas City, late Today's games San Francisco (Bumgarner 11-7) at Washington (G.Gonzalez 7-5), 4:05 p.m. Philadelphia (E.Martin 1-1) at Atlanta (Medlen 9-10), 4:10 p.m. Cincinnati (H.Bailey 7-10) at Chi. Cubs (Samardzija 6-11), 5:05 p.m. Milwaukee (Estrada 4-4) at Texas (Ogando 5-3), 5:05 p.m. Miami (Fernandez 8-5) at Kansas City (B.Chen 5-0), 5:10 p.m. Pittsburgh (Morton 4-3) at St. Louis (Wainwright 13-7), 5:15 p.m. San Diego (Stults 8-10) at Colorado (Manship 0-1), 5:40 p.m. Baltimore (Mig.Gonzalez 8-5) at Arizona (Delgado 4-3), 6:40 p.m. N.Y. Mets (Harvey 9-3) at L.A. Dodgers (Ryu 11-3), 7:10 p.m. Today's games Houston (Lyles 4-6) at Oakland (Colon 14-4), 7:05 p.m. L.A. Angels (Hanson 4-3) at N.Y.Yankees (Sabathia 9-10), 4:05 p.m. Boston (Dempster 6-8) at Toronto (Redmond 1-1), 4:07 p.m. Seattle (E.Ramirez 3-0) at Tampa Bay (Archer 6-4), 4:10 p.m. Milwaukee (Estrada 4-4) at Texas (Ogando 5-3), 5:05 p.m. Cleveland (McAllister 4-7) at Minnesota (Deduno 7-5), 5:10 p.m. Detroit (Scherzer 17-1) at Chi.White Sox (H.Santiago 3-7), 5:10 p.m. Miami (Fernandez 8-5) at Kansas City (B.Chen 5-0), 5:10 p.m. Baltimore (Mig.Gonzalez 8-5) at Arizona (Delgado 4-3), 6:40 p.m. Wednesday's games San Francisco at Washington, 4:05 p.m. Miami at Kansas City, 11:10 a.m. Cincinnati at Chicago Cubs, 11:20 a.m. San Diego at Colorado, 12:10 p.m. Baltimore at Arizona, 12:40 p.m. Philadelphia at Atlanta, 4:10 p.m. Milwaukee at Texas, 5:05 p.m. Pittsburgh at St. Louis, 5:15 p.m. N.Y. Mets at L.A. Dodgers, 7:10 p.m. Wednesday's games Houston at Oakland, 7:05 p.m. Cleveland at Minnesota, 10:10 a.m. Detroit at Chicago White Sox, 11:10 a.m. Miami at Kansas City, 11:10 a.m. Baltimore at Arizona, 12:40 p.m. L.A. Angels at N.Y. Yankees, 4:05 p.m. Boston at Toronto, 4:07 p.m. Seattle at Tampa Bay, 4:10 p.m. Milwaukee at Texas, 5:05 p.m. W L Pct GB Chicago 15 7 .682 — Atlanta 11 8 .579 2.5 Indiana 11 11 .500 4 Washington 11 13 .458 5 New York 10 13 .435 5.5 Connecticut 6 15 .286 8.5 —————————————————— Monday's results No games scheduled Today's games Chicago at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday's games Atlanta at Connecticut, 4 p.m. Indiana at Phoenix, 7 p.m. MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE W Salt Lake 12 Vancouver 10 Colorado 9 Portland 8 Galaxy 10 Seattle 10 FC Dallas 8 QUAKES 8 Chivas USA 4 L 7 7 7 3 9 7 6 10 13 T 5 6 9 11 4 4 9 6 6 Pts 41 36 36 35 34 34 33 30 18 GF 39 36 31 32 35 29 30 25 20 GA 26 30 27 21 30 23 33 35 40 EASTERN CONFERENCE W Kansas City 11 New York 11 Philadelphia10 Montreal 10 Houston 9 Chicago 9 N. England 8 Columbus 7 Toronto FC 4 D.C. 3 L 7 8 7 7 7 9 9 11 11 16 T 6 5 7 5 6 4 6 5 8 4 Pts 39 38 37 35 33 31 30 26 20 13 GF 36 36 36 34 26 29 27 27 21 13 GA 24 31 32 34 22 32 23 30 31 38 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. —————————————————— Saturday's games D.C. United at Montreal, 4 p.m. Chicago at New England, 4:30 p.m. Toronto FC at Columbus, 4:30 p.m. Philadelphia at New York, 5 p.m. Seattle FC at Houston, 6 p.m. Vancouver at Colorado, 6:30 p.m. Real Salt Lake at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. FC Dallas at Portland, 8 p.m. Sunday's game Kansas City at San Jose, 7 p.m.