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2B – Daily News – Wednesday, August 25, 2010 49ers set on getting back to the playoffs at last San Francisco 49ers SANTA CLARA (AP) — Mike Singletary has felt a sense of urgency like never before since the interim tag came off his coaching title with the San Francisco 49ers to begin last season. Now everybody around the organization knows exactly what has to happen this year: get back to the playoffs. Feel- ing like they should have been there after 2009, Singletary and his players won’t stand for anything less than a trip to the postseason. San Francisco has reason to be optimistic. Every key member of a talented defense is back, led by star linebacker Patrick Willis. Quarterback Alex Smith is again in charge of an offense featuring second-year pro Michael Crabtree at receiver and tight end Vernon Davis, ready to build on his 2009 Pro Bowl season. Smith, the 2005 No. 1 pick out of Utah, is in a contract year and has been proclaimed the man — and his NFL future is largely riding on this make-or- break year. Frank Gore will handle the load at running back and the 49ers signed Brian Westbrook to give him a capable relief man. Singletary’s top two offseason priorities were upgrading the offensive line and return game. The 49ers have rookies Anthony Davis and Mike Iupati in starting roles on the line and Ted Ginn Jr. eager to resurrect his career with a strong showing on special teams returning kicks and as the team’s third receiver. ‘‘It’s a very good feeling to know that there can be some continuity. I think that would be the word that connects everything that we did last year and take in the positives and beginning to build on those things and let this be a continu- ation of building and learning, rather than something new where you are trying to learn plays. So that’s a very good feeling,’’ Singletary said. ‘‘It was more difficult last year because there were so many unknowns.’’ Offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye returns for a second season — the first time in eight years there hasn’t been a new person in the job. With injured center Eric Heitmann on the sideline for up to eight weeks with a broken left fibula, the Niners are counting on David Baas being a quick learner in the position he hasn’t played regularly since his senior year in college. The 49ers endured an interesting offseason, during which former general manager Scot McCloughan abruptly left the franchise in March in what team president Jed York called a ‘‘mutual parting.’’ In June, McCloughan landed as a top executive with the NFC West rival Seattle Seahawks as right-hand man to general manager John Schneider. Trent Baalke ran the 49ers draft for the first time and is a regular presence on the practice field as the new head of the team’s football operations. One of his big moves: locking up Willis for the long term. In May, the inside linebacker signed a $50 million, five- year contract extension with the Niners that takes him through the 2016 season and includes $29 million in guar- anteed money. Willis has made his impact felt already, flattening Brett Favre on a sack for a 10-yard loss in the 49ers’ 15-10 exhi- bition win over the Vikings on Sunday night. San Francisco wasted no time blitzing. ‘‘That’s how our defense is judged. We go out, we are not just approaching it that it’s just preseason,’’ Willis said. ‘‘We’re going out to get better.’’ Willis, the 11th overall pick in the 2007 draft out of Mis- sissippi, has led the Niners in tackles in each of his first three seasons and has made 48 straight starts. Singletary is count- ing on him even more. MCT photo Anthony Dixon and the San Francisco 49ers hope to celebrate a postseason trip in 2011. Smith, too. He has plenty of options around him for what should be a productive offense. ‘‘I think it’s easy to say, just because it looks good on paper,’’ Smith said. ‘‘We have to go get this right. ... But yes, I mean the possibility is there. It’s fun being a quarterback and having all those weapons outside.’’ Smith threw for 2,350 yards and 18 touchdowns last sea- son but also had 12 interceptions and was sacked 22 times. He took over for Hill at halftime Oct. 25 at Houston and started the rest of the way for San Francisco, which finished 8-8 and ended a franchise-worst stretch of six straight losing seasons. The Niners started talking playoffs after a 3-1 start last season only to lose their next four and five of six. They also dropped six straight road games, five in a row by a combined 19 points, before winning their season finale at St. Louis. This season, Smith is showing he’s more comfortable and confident. It doesn’t hurt having such a good supporting cast. Davis’ 13 touchdown receptions last season tied Antonio Gates’ NFL record for a tight end. Not only did the 26-year- old Davis have a breakout year that earned him his first Pro Bowl roster spot, he was named a captain by Singletary — a sign of how far Davis had come in a year’s time since hav- ing his share of run-ins with teammates, his coach and oppo- nents. ‘‘I definitely expect it to be different than last year because we have a lot of guys who are willing to step up to the table this year,’’ Davis said. ‘‘There will definitely be a lot more playmaking.’’ Having Crabtree in camp this year has been important, too. The 49ers’ 10th overall draft pick last year didn’t show up and sign until Oct. 7 after missing 71 days. He went on to catch 48 passes for 625 yards and two TDs in his shortened rookie campaign. With him, fellow wideout Josh Morgan, Gore, Davis and Smith, the 49ers have talent on the offensive side — if the line hold up its end of the bar- gain. ‘‘Our offense is striving to be a balanced attack. We want to be physical when we pass the ball, when we run the ball,’’ Singletary said. ‘‘I want our team to get the message that we want to be physical, regardless whether we are running or passing.’’ 49ers Schedule Sept. 12 at Seattle, 1:15 p.m. Sept. 20 New Orleans, 5:30 p.m. Sept. 26 at Kansas City, 10 a.m. Oct. 3 at Atlanta, 10 a.m. Oct. 10 Philadelphia, 5:20 p.m. Oct. 17 Oakland, 1:05 p.m. Oct. 24 at Carolina, 10 a.m. Oct. 31 vs. Denver at London, 10 a.m. Nov. 7 BYE Nov. 14 St. Louis, 1:15 p.m. Nov. 21 Tampa Bay, 1:05 p.m. Nov. 29 at Arizona, 5:30 p.m. Dec. 5 at Green Bay, 10 a.m. Dec. 12 Seattle, 1:05 p.m. Dec. 16 at San Diego, 5:20 p.m. Dec. 26 at St. Louis, 10 a.m. Jan. 2 Arizona, 1:15 p.m. Ga. stays unbeaten at LLWS; Japan moves on SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, (AP) — His team idled Monday night because of rain, Matthew Lang didn’t waste a pitch when he got to the plate Tuesday. Called on to pinch hit, the cheerful 13-year-old sent the first pitch he saw the opposite way for a homer to left-center to help keep Columbus, Ga., unbeaten at the Little League World Series with a 6-0 shutout of Hamilton, Ohio. He’s got something to boast about to his big broth- er, Ryan, who played on the Georgia team that won the 2006 title. ‘‘Um, I just wanted to get my pitch, first pitch,’’ said Lang, who smiled from cheek to cheek. ‘‘I was sit- ting fastball. It was fastball. ... I turned on it and hit it over.’’ His homer gave Georgia a 5-0 lead in the fourth, more than enough cushion for the stellar pitching of Troy Gilliland. He struck out six and tossed a five-hit shutout against a potent offense that had scored 16 runs in its previous game. ‘‘Wow, you can’t pitch any better than that,’’ said Georgia manager Randy Morris, who also coached the 2006 team. ‘‘He proba- bly didn’t miss his spots three times all game.’’ In other games Tuesday, Toms River, N.J., shut out Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 10- 0 in a consolation game; Chitre, Panama, eliminated Vancouver, British Colum- bia, after a 4-2 win; Auburn, Wash., eliminated Fairfield, Conn., after a 9-5 victory; and Tokyo clinched a berth in Saturday’s international final with a 3-2 win Tuesday night over Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Kaname Shinozaki’s Pa. solo homer in the fourth inning broke the tie and eliminate Mexico in one of the best games of the tour- nament. Japan turned aside two late threats, with the potential go-ahead run at the plate in the fifth and sixth. With a runner on first in the sixth, Eduardo Mata just missed a game-winning homer after flying out to the right field warning track. Closer Ichiro Ogasawara ended the game with con- secutive strikeouts. ‘‘Because of Mexico’s power, I wasn’t trying to throw any easy balls,’’ the 13-year-old lefty said. ‘‘I was really scared because I thought that ball was going out.’’ Enrique Penaloza and Puga each homered for Mexico, which was elimi- nated. Gilliland escaped a potential jam in the fifth after when a runner was thrown out at third with nobody out, and he got a popup and flyout to end the inning. Georgia’s bats came up big instead all game, with Kobie Buglioli and Blake Hicks also hitting homers. There was a little intrigue later when Ohio manager Ken Coomer said his team had some trouble in Geor- gia’s three-run first inning because Georgia was steal- ing signs. Hicks, who doubled to lead off the game, admitted to giving his team an advan- tage — though he wasn’t doing a good job of being discreet. ‘‘It was pretty obvious,’’ the 12-year-old catcher joked. ‘‘Might as well say, ’Hey, I’m giving the signs.’’’ Panama’s reward for avoiding elimination Tues- day is a game against the tournament’s most dominat- A’s ing team so far — the slug- gers from Kaoshiung, Tai- wan, are next for the Latin America region champions following the win over Canada. It’s a daunting task to beat Taiwan, which has outscored opponents 41-0 over its first two games. Panama will have to beat them twice to get to the international finals Satur- day. Manager Cristobal Saler- no displayed some Little League bravado. ‘‘I think if we win the first game, they will crum- ble a little bit,’’ Salerno said through interpreter Luis Sanchez. Luis Bazan struck out nine for Panama. MLB West Division Texas American League WL Pct GB 71 54 .568 — 62 62 .500 8.5 Angels 62 64 .492 9.5 Seattle 49 76 .392 22 East Division WL Pct GB New York 78 48 .619 — Tampa Bay 77 48 .616 .5 Boston 72 54 .571 6 Toronto 65 60 .520 12.5 Baltimore 44 82 .349 34 Central Division WL Pct GB Minnesota 72 54 .571 — Chicago 68 57 .544 3.5 Detroit 63 63 .500 9 Kansas City 53 73 .421 19 Cleveland 50 75 .400 21.5 ————————————————— Tuesday’s results Oakland 5, Cleveland 0 Chicago 7, Baltimore 5 Detroit 9, Kansas City 1 New York 11, Toronto 5 Texas 4, Minnesota 3 Tampa Bay at Los Angeles, late Seattle at Boston, ppd., rain Today’s games Oakland (Cahill 13-5) at Cleveland (Talbot 8-10),4:05 p.m.,CSNC Kansas City (O’Sullivan 2-4) at Detroit (Galarraga 4-5), 10:05 a.m. Seattle (F.Hernandez 9-10) at Boston (Lester 13-8), 10:35 a.m. Tampa Bay (Niemann 10-3) at Los Angeles (Haren 1-4), 12:35 p.m. New York (P.Hughes 15-5) at Toronto (Cecil 10-6), 4:07 p.m. Minnesota (Duensing 7-1) at Texas (C.Wilson 12-5), 5:05 p.m., ESPN2 Baltimore (Matusz 5-12) at Chicago (Buehrle 12-9), 5:10 p.m. Monday’s late result Tampa Bay 4, Los Angeles 3 New Jersey 10, Saudi Arabia 0 Although it was a conso- lation game, Toms River had something to play for anyway, and shut out Saudi Arabia. ‘‘We knew the bus ride home would be a lot (more fun) with a win,’’ 12-year- old shortstop Patrick Mari- naccio said. Kevin Blum homered, tripled twice and struck out eight, while Marinaccio also homered. Both boys went 3 for 4 and scored three runs. Washington 9, Connecticut 5 MLB West Division National League WL Pct GB Padres 74 49 .602 — GIANTS 70 56 .556 5.5 Colorado 65 60 .520 10 Dodgers 64 62 .508 11.5 Arizona 49 76 .392 26 East Division WL Pct GB Atlanta 73 53 .579 — Philadelphia 70 54 .565 2 New York 63 62 .504 9.5 Florida 62 62 .500 10 Washington 53 73 .421 20 Central Division WL Pct GB Cincinnati 72 53 .576 — St. Louis 68 55 .553 3 Milwaukee 59 66 .472 13 Houston 55 69 .444 16.5 Chicago 53 74 .417 20 Pittsburgh 42 84 .333 30.5 ————————————————— Monday’s results Cincinnati at San Francisco, late Chicago 5, Washington 4 Colorado 5, Atlanta 2 Los Angeles 5, Milwaukee 3 New York 6, Florida 5 Pittsburgh 4, St. Louis 3 Arizona at San Diego, late Houston at Philadelphia, late Today’s games Cincinnati (H.Bailey 3-2) at S.F.(Bumgarner 5-4),12:45 p.m.,CSNB Atlanta (Jurrjens 5-4) at Colorado (Rogers 2-2), 12:10 p.m. Chicago (Dempster 11-8) at Washington (Marquis 0-6), 4:05 p.m. Houston (Happ 3-2) at Philadelphia (Halladay 16-8), 4:05 p.m. St. Louis (Westbrook 1-1) at Pittsburgh (Karstens 2-10), 4:05 p.m. Florida (Sanabia 2-1) at New York (Pelfrey 12-7), 4:10 p.m. Los Angeles (Kuroda 8-11) at Milwaukee (Ra.Wolf 10-9), 5:10 p.m. Arizona (J.Saunders 1-3) at San Diego (LeBlanc 7-11), 7:05 p.m. Monday’s late results San Francisco 11, Cincinnati 2 Colorado 5, Atlanta 4 His team up one, reliever Isaiah Hatch entered the game with one out in the fifth and runners on second and third and got a strikeout and groundout to end the threat after Connecticut had scored twice in the inning. Hatch padded the lead with a two-run homer to left in the sixth. U.S. OPEN Men’s Seeds 1. Rafael Nadal, Spain 2.Roger Federer, Switzerland 3.Novak Djokovic, Serbia 4. Andy Murray, Great Britain 5. Robin Soderling, Sweden 6. Nikolay Davydenko, Russia 7.Tomas Berdych, Czech Republic 8.Fernando Verdasco, Spain 9. Andy Roddick, United States 10.David Ferrer, Spain 11. Marin Cilic, Croatia 12. Mikhail Youzhny, Russia 13. Jurgen Melzer, Austria 14. Nicolas Almagro, Spain 15. Ivan Ljubicic, Croatia 16. Marcos Baghdatis, Cyprus 17. Gael Monfils, France 18. John Isner, United States 19. Mardy Fish, United States 20.Sam Querrey, United States 21. Albert Montanes, Spain 22. Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spain 23.Feliciano Lopez, Spain 24. Ernests Gulbis, Latvia 25. Stanislas Wawrinka, Switzerland 26.Thomaz Bellucci, Brazil 27.Fernando Gonzalez, Chile 28. Radek Stepanek, Czech Republic 29. Philipp Kohlschreiber, Germany 30. Juan Monaco, Argentina 31.David Nalbandian, Argentina 32. Lleyton Hewitt, Australia Women’s Seeds 1. Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark 2. Kim Clijsters, Belgium 3.Venus Williams, United States 4. Jelena Jankovic, Serbia 5. Sam Stosur, Australia 6.Francesca Schiavone, Italy 7.Vera Zvonareva, Russia 8. Li Na, China 9. Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland 10.Victoria Azarenka, Belarus 11.Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia 12. Elena Dementieva, Russia 13. Marion Bartoli, France 14. Maria Sharapova, Russia 15.Yanina Wickmayer, Belgium 16.Shahar Peer, Israel 17. Nadia Petrova, Russia 18. Aravane Rezai, France 19. Flavia Pennetta, Italy 20. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russia 21. Zheng Jie, China 22. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, Spain 23. Maria Kirilenko, Russia 24. Daniela Hantuchova, Slovak Republic 25. Alexandra Dulgheru, Romania 26. Lucie Safarova, Czech Republic 27.Petra Kvitova, Czech Republic 28. Alisa Kleybanova, Russia 29. Alona Bondarenko, Ukraine 30.Yaroslava Shvedova, Kazakhstan 31. Kaia Kanepi, Estonia 32.Tsvetana Pironkova, Bulgaria WNBA Conference Semifinals (Best-of-3) EASTERN CONFERENCE Washington vs. Atlanta Today: at Washington, 4 p.m., NBATV Friday: at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. Sunday:at Washington, 1:00 p.m. New York vs. Indiana Thursday: Indiana at New York, 4 p.m. Sunday: at Indiana, 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept.1:at New York, 4:30 p.m. WESTERN CONFERENCE Seattle vs.Los Angeles Today: at Seattle, 8 p.m., ESPN2 Saturday: at Los Angeles, 3 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 31: at Seattle, 7 p.m. Phoenix vs. San Antonio Thursday: at Phoenix, 6 p.m. Saturday: at San Antonio, 10 a.m. Monday: at Phoenix, 7 p.m. Maui North Division GOLDEN Golden League WL Pct. GB Calgary 22 11 .667 — Victoria 18 14 .563 3.5 Edmonton 16 15 .516 5 OUTLAWS 14 14 .500 5.5 St. George 7 18 .280 11 South Division WL Pct. GB 19 4 .826 — Orange Co. 22 7 .759 — Tucson 18 19 .486 8 Yuma 11 21 .344 12.5 Tijuana 2 25 .074 19 ————————————————— Tuesday’s results Maui 2, Orange County 1, 1st game Maui at Orange County, late, 2nd game Today’s games St. George at Chico, 7:08 p.m. Maui at Yuma, 6:30 p.m. Monday’s results Tucson 14, Yuma 9 Edmonton 7, Calgary 3 LITTLELEAGUE World Series At South Williamsport, Pa. Double Elimination Tuesday’s results Consolation — Toms River, N.J. 10, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia 0 Chitre, Panama 4, Vancouver, British Columbia 2, Vancouver eliminated Columbus, Ga. 6, Hamilton, Ohio 0 Tokyo 3, Nuevo Laredo, Mexico 2, Nuevo Laredo eliminated Auburn, Wash. 9, Fairfield, Conn. 5, Fair- field eliminated Today’s games Game 20 — Hamilton, Ohio vs.Waipahu, Hawaii, 1 p.m., ESPN Game 25 — Kaohsiung, Taiwan vs. Chitre, Panama, 3 p.m., ESPN Game 22 — Pearland, Texas vs. Auburn, Wash., 5 p.m., ESPN