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Game of the Day 1B Sports Football: Williams at Los Molinos, 7:30 p.m. The Los Molinos Bulldogs are scheduled to take the field again after their 2012 season was cut short after two games. Friday August 30, 2013 A's lose 3-run lead in 9th, fall 7-6 to Tigers DETROIT (AP) — Grant Balfour sensed something was wrong while warming up in the bullpen, failing to throw fastballs or breaking pitches the way he'd like before entering a game. It didn't get any better for the A's closer when he was on the mound. Torii Hunter hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning, lifting the Detroit Tigers over the Oakland Athletics 7-6 Thursday to avoid a sweep. The Tigers scored four times in the ninth off Balfour (03). A two-out walk set up Victor Martinez's RBI single before Hunter cleared the left-center fence for their biggest comeback victory of the year. Balfour said he felt ''terrible'' on the mound. ''It's not a good lineup to go out there when you've got nothing, I must admit,'' he said. The A's roughed up 19-game winner Max Scherzer and didn't have to finish the game against slugger Miguel Cabrera, who limped off the field in the fifth inning with an abdominal injury. Coco Crisp led off the game with a double and Jed Lowrie hit a one-out, two-run homer on a thigh-high, 92 mph fastball. Scherzer held the A's to only one hit over the next two innings, but they built a four-run cushion in the fourth on sacrifice flies by Daric Barton and Eric Sogard. Josh Donaldson hit a leadoff triple in the fifth and Brandon Moss homered deep into the right-field seats to make it 6-1. A's starter Bartolo Colon was in a position to win his 15th game. He allowed only one run and five hits without a walk over five innings in his first start since Aug. 13, when a groin injury landed him on the disabled list. ''I thought he was fine,'' A's manager Bob Melvin said, adding Colon's 73-pitch outing wouldn't have lasted longer than 80 pitches in his first game off the DL. ''He comes out of the game, we're in good position, so he did his job. Prince Fielder hit a solo homer in the sixth off Jerry Blevins, who gave up another run and retired only one batter to let the Tigers pull within three runs. Oakland's Dan Otero and Sean Doolittle each followed with a 1 1-3 innings of scoreless relief, setting Balfour up to potentially pitch for his 34th save in 35 chances. He gave up a leadoff walk to Austin Jackson and walked Fielder with two outs. ''When you walk that leadoff guy like they walked Jackson, a lot of times that spells trouble,'' Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. It did. Balfour later got ahead 0-2 against Martinez, but couldn't get a third strike against him and that proved to be costly. ''I was one strike away, you know?'' Balfour asked. ''I came in and I thought I made a pretty good pitch, I thought I got it in, but he fought it and dumps it into center field. He's a good hitter. It's frustrating, no doubt.'' Balfour gave up two hits, two walks and four runs and got just two outs in the pivotal inning that prevented the A's from finishing off a four-game sweep. ''It's nice to win three games here when you're looking at it coming in,'' Melvin said, ''but certainly when you're in position to win the fourth one, you want to win four.'' AP photo Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin stands in the dugout Thursday during the ninth inning. Join the RB Derby Girls By DN Staff Report The Red Bluff Derby Girls are always looking for more athletes to join the team. No experience in roller derby is needed. Those interested should stop by the Tyler Jelly building at the Tehama District Fairgrounds from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. For more information email the team at redbluffderbygirls@gmail. com or visit their website at rbdg.org. Tehama Tracker Today's schedule Football Williams at Los Molinos, 7:30 p.m. MLB San Francisco at Arizona, 6:40 p.m. Tampa Bay at Oakland, 7:05 p.m., CSNC Sports on TV AUTO RACING Noon FS1 — NASCAR, Sprint Cup, practice for AdvoCare 500, at Hampton, Ga. 4 p.m. FS1 — NASCAR, Sprint Cup, pole qualifying for AdvoCare 500, at Hampton, Ga. (same-day tape) COLLEGE FOOTBALL 5 p.m. ESPN — Texas Tech at SMU 5:30 p.m. FS1 — North Dakota St. at Kansas St. GOLF 9:30 a.m. TGC — Web.com Tour, Hotel Fitness Championship, second round, at Fort Wayne, Ind. Noon TGC — PGA Tour, Deutsche Bank Championship, first round, at Norton, Mass. 3:30 p.m. TGC — LPGA, Safeway Classic, second round, at Portland, Ore. 5:30 p.m. TGC — Champions Tour, Shaw Charity Classic, first round, at Calgary, Alberta (same-day tape) MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 11:10 a.m. WGN — Philadelphia at Chicago Cubs 4 p.m. MLB — Regional coverage, St. Louis at Pittsburgh or Baltimore at N.Y. Yankees SAILING 2 p.m. NBCSN — Louis Vuitton Cup, finals, race 13, at San Francisco (if necessary, same-day tape) SOCCER 7 p.m. NBCSN — MLS, Portland at Real Salt Lake TENNIS 10 a.m. ESPN2 — U.S. Open, men's second and women's third round, at New York 4 p.m. ESPN2 — U.S. Open, men's second and women's third round, at New York Daily News file photo by Andre Byik Daily News file photo by Andre Byik The Los Molinos Bulldogs football team also opened its season against Williams last season. The Mercy Warriors football team heads to Redding Christian at 7 p.m. Saturday. Week 0 Football Preview Williams at Los Molinos Today: 7:30 p.m. Last meeting: Williams 48, Los Molinos 0 The Los Molinos High School football team is scheduled to start its 2013 campaign at home against a somewhat familiar opponent. Last year, the Bulldogs fell to the Williams Yellowjackets on the road, 48-0. It was a tough year for Los Molinos, which com- peted in just two games before forfeiting the rest of its season because it couldn't field a team. The Bulldogs haven't completed a season since 2010, but they are welcoming new head coach Jamie Henderson, and are listed as sporting seven returners from last season's squad. Eric Haley and newcomer Brandin Dodd are listed as possibilities at the quarterback spot, and could see action in the backfield as well. Mercy at Redding Christian Saturday: 7 p.m. Last meeting: Redding Christian 50, Mercy 18 The Mercy Warriors are going into Saturday's matchup against defending section champion Redding Christian a bit underhanded. With just nine of Mercy's 15 players eligible to play in the the team's season opener, the Warriors face a tough game on the road against the team that bounced them from the playoffs last year. But Mercy is bringing back a core group that turned the school's program around last season, in which the team went 5-5 overall. Tommy Garcia returns as Mercy's starting quarterback, and Alejandro Guerrero looks to have a big year pounding the ball on the ground. Follow @TehamaSports on Twitter for live game coverage of the Bulldogs and Warriors' season openers. NFL League to pay $765M to settle concussion lawsuits PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The NFL agreed Thursday to spend close to $800 million to diagnose and compensate potentially thousands of retired players who develop dementia or other brain injuries they blame on the violent, bonecrunching collisions that pro football has long celebrated in its highlight reels. The settlement, which is subject to approval by a federal judge, was announced after months of court-ordered mediation. It came just days before the first game of the 2013 season, removing a major legal and financial threat hanging over the NFL. More than 4,500 former athletes — some suffering from dementia, depression or Alzheimer's that they blamed on blows to the head — have sued the NFL since the first case was filed in Philadelphia in 2011. They accused the league of concealing the long-term dangers of concussions and rushing injured players back onto the field, while glorifying and profiting from the game's violence. The settlement would cover all 18,000 former NFL players and totals $765 million, the vast majority of which would go to compensate athletes with certain neurological ailments. It would also set aside $75 million for medical exams and $10 million for medical research. Individual payouts would be capped at $5 million for men with Alzheimer's disease; $4 million for those diagnosed after their deaths with a brain condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy; and $3 million for players with dementia, said lead plaintiffs' lawyer Christopher Seeger. The NFL, which has annual revenue of about $9 billion, has insisted that safety has always been a AP file photo The family of Junior Seau is among the plaintiffs that filed concussion related lawsuits against the NFL. top priority, and in settling the thousands of cases it admitted no wrongdoing. ''This agreement lets us help those who need it most and continue our work to make the game safer for current and future players,'' NFL executive vice president Jeffrey Pash said in a statement. He added: ''We thought it was critical to get more help to players and families who deserve it rather than spend many years and millions of dollars on litigation.'' He said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the team owners told pro football's lawyers to ''do the right thing for the game and for the men who played it.'' The plaintiffs include Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett, Super Bowl-winning quarterback Jim McMahon and the family of Pro Bowl selection Junior Seau, who committed suicide last year. Kevin Turner, a former running back with the Patriots and Eagles who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, thanked the two sides for reaching an agreement that he thought most ex- players would support. ''Chances are ... I won't make it to 50 or 60,'' said Turner, now 44. ''I have money now to put back for my children to go to college and for a little something to be there financially.'' All former NFL players are eligible to seek care, screening or compensation. The amounts they receive will be based on their age, condition and years of play. Players' lawyers said they expect the fund to cover the ex-athletes' expenses for 65 years. Current players are not covered. Senior U.S. District Judge Anita Brody in Philadelphia announced the proposed agreement and will consider approving it at a later date. The settlement most likely means the NFL won't have to disclose internal files about what it knew, and when, about concussion-linked brain problems. Some observers had warned that the lawsuits could cost the league $1 billion or more if they were allowed to move forward in court. ''I think it's more important that the players have finality, that they're vindicated, and that as soon as the court approves the settlement they can begin to get screening, and those that are injured can get their compensation. I think that's more important than looking at some documents,'' said lawyer Sol Weiss of Philadelphia, who filed the first lawsuit on behalf of former Atlanta Falcon Ray Easterling and a few others. Easterling later committed suicide. In court arguments before Brody in April, the NFL asked the judge to dismiss the lawsuits and send them to arbitration under terms of the players' contract. The league argued that individual teams bear the chief responsibility for health and safety under the collective bargaining agreement, along with the players' union and the players themselves. But the players' lawyers accused the NFL of concealing for decades studies linking concussions to neurological problems. Dorsett said each day is getting harder for him, as he struggles with memory problems.