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Sports 1B Thursday September 5, 2013 49ERS Coach wanted clarity to keep Kaep safe SANTA CLARA (AP) — Jim Harbaugh wants to ensure mobile San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick isn't blatantly targeted. So the 49ers coach has gone to the NFL for clarity about when Kaepernick is supposed to be safe before declaring himself a runner. Kaepernick ran the read option to near perfection on the big stage against Green Bay back in January. In this scheme, quarterbacks aren't as protected when they leave the pocket if it is clear they are runners. ''You're hearing a lot of tough talk right now, you're hearing some intimidating type of talk, the same thing we were hearing a couple years ago,'' Harbaugh said Wednesday. ''It sounds a lot like targeting a specific player. You definitely start to wonder. A man will usually tell you his bad intentions if you just listen. You know what's being said publicly, not what's being said privately. You hope that their intent isn't going to be anything that's not within the rules.'' Kaepernick ran right past the Packers in the playoffs, and through them, too. Kaepernick's breakout game in a breakthrough season came in his first career playoff start only two months after winning San Francisco's starting job, carrying the 49ers to a 45-31 divisional-round victory in which he ran for a pair of touchdowns and threw for two more. He set a quarterback playoff record in the process with 181 yards rushing in the win that sent San Francisco to a second straight NFC title game. Kaepernick said he can't concern himself with the defense's motivations ''I'm not worried about that,'' he said. ''It's football, you're going to get hit.'' Green Bay had no answer for the Niners' spot-on read option. Coach Mike McCarthy said the biggest problem for the Packers was getting Kaepernick when he scrambled out of the pocket. When asked whether he was surprised at just how well everything went, Kaepernick responded: ''You're supposed to go out and perform as players. That's what you get paid to do. You can only line 11 people up so many ways, so we've seen a lot of different looks.'' Linebacker Clay Matthews insists the Packers will be better prepared come Sunday's season opener at Candlestick Park when they try again to slow down — and stop — Kaepernick. ''For the most part we had the entire offseason to focus on this,'' Matthews said Wednesday. ''You look at the progression of the league and specifically quarterbacks, Kaepernick, you look at Washington, Seattle, there are quarterbacks around the league that present problems not only with their arms but with their legs, too. Whether that's in the pistol or the readoption offense, they're becoming more and more difficult to contest. We had an entire offseason to focus AP photo San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh, left, tosses a football to quarterback Colin Kaepernick during warm ups before an NFL preseason football game against the San Diego Chargers on Aug. 29. on last year's loss, having time to kind of figure out a way to defend that. We obviously like to think we're better prepared to defend that type of offense and what he brings to the table.'' Harbaugh plans to speak to the officials before the game about what the coach calls a ''gray area'' in the rules. He doesn't expect to hear back from the league before the game. ''Those are the conversations right now,'' Harbaugh said. ''I haven't gotten the final clarification on what it's going to be.'' San Francisco had 579 total yards with 323 on the ground in the playoff win, scoring its third-most points in the franchise's storied playoff history. ''I can assure you they're trying everything they possibly can to try and stop Kaepernick and the rest of this offense,'' said 49ers tight end Vernon Davis, who has a touchdown catch in each of his four regular-season games against Green Bay. ''The read option, it's not a joke, it's nothing to play with. You have to really be prepared, you have to do your due diligence on the read option before you can defend it. Especially when you have a guy like Kaepernick who can run really well, he's fast and makes the correct decisions. He's really disciplined when it comes to that phase, and they're definitely going to have to be ATHLETICS 11, RANGERS 4 prepared, and I know they will.'' When reminded of how thoroughly his Packers were dominated by Kaepernick in the quarterback's record-setting day, Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy made a point that this is a new season. ''That's well stated, I think anybody would be motivated when it's directed at you like that. But the reality is, it is a new year, this is a different game, and we're prepared for a totally different outcome,'' McCarthy said upon hearing Kaepernick's stats once more. ''He had a heck of a night last year.'' Notes: LB Patrick Willis, nursing a broken right hand, is expected to play Sunday. He hopes to be brace-free. ''I'm going through some different contraptions, not sure what I'm going to end up with on game day,'' he said. ''Hopefully, it will be nothing.'' ... Matthews said he might try to talk to former 49ers QB Scott Tolzien, now in Green Bay. ''Maybe I should set aside an hour or so to pick his brain,'' Matthews said. ... When Harbaugh was asked whether he had spoken with LB Aldon Smith regarding a lawsuit naming him by a man who said he was shot during a party at Smith's house in June 2012, the coach said, ''The team is handling it.'' Smith said the lawsuit was no surprise but he declined to discuss it specifically. U.S. OPEN A's rout Rangers to even up AL West Azarenka moves OAKLAND (AP) — Jarrod Parker got plenty of home-run help and pitched his way into Oakland's record book, and the surging Athletics pulled into a tie atop the AL West with Texas by overpowering the Rangers 11-4 on Wednesday. Parker (11-6) allowed two runs in six innings to extend his unbeaten streak to 18 straight starts, eclipsing Catfish Hunter's Oakland mark set from June 2Sept. 3, 1973. Parker also has won his last nine decisions, the most by an A's pitcher since Dan Haren won 10 in a row in 2007. Brandon Moss, Daric Barton and Coco Crisp each hit two-run homers and Josh Donaldson added a threerun drive for Oakland. The A's handed Yu Darvish (127) a loss in consecutive starts for the first time all season. Darvish gave up five runs — matching a season-high — and walked six — tying a career-high — in five-plus innings. He is 1-5 with 4.82 ERA against Oakland. Darvish also made a pointed gesture that AP photo Oakland's Daric Barton watches a two-run home run off o Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish on Wednesday. appeared to signal catcher A.J. Pierzynski to go back behind the plate during a mound visit by pitching coach Mike Maddux. Both players appeared to exchange words in the dugout between innings. A's opening day starter Brett Anderson allowed two runs in three innings for his second save. A year after the A's completed a three-game sweep over the Rangers to win the division on the final day, the AL West race is again shaping up as a tight race. Tehama Tracker Today's schedule SWIMMING Red Bluff at West Valley Relays (at West Valley), 10 a.m. TENNIS Central Valley at Corning, 3:30 p.m. VOLLEYBALL Paradise Adventist Academy at Los Molinos, 7 p.m.; Corning, Mercy at Hamilton City Tournament MLB Houston at Oakland, 7:05 p.m., CSNC Arizona at San Francisco, 7:15 p.m., CSNB Sports on TV COLLEGE FOOTBALL 4:30 p.m. FS1 — FAU at East Carolina GOLF 7 a.m. TGC — European PGA Tour, European Masters, first round, at Crans sur Sierre, Switzerland (same-day tape) Noon TGC — Web.com Tour, Chiquita Classic, first round, at Davidson, N.C. MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 4 p.m. MLB — Regional coverage, Boston at N.Y. Yankees or Chicago White Sox at Baltimore NFL FOOTBALL 5:30 p.m. NBC — Baltimore at Denver TENNIS 9 a.m. ESPN2 — U.S. Open, men's quarterfinal, at New York 5 p.m. ESPN — U.S. Open, men's quarterfinal, at New York Oakland has won nine of its last 10 to set up what should be a scintillating September. The teams play three more times in Texas from Sept. 13-16. The Rangers, just as they did a year ago, wilted in their final game at the Oakland Coliseum of the regular season. Moss sent his 26th home run of the season over the wall in right in the first. Darvish struggled with his command from the start, bouncing balls in front of the plate and piling up his pitch count. By the second, he had already matched a seasonhigh with four walks and had thrown 42 pitches. Leonys Martin hit an RBI double and Craig Gentry singled him home in the third to slice Oakland's lead to 3-2, but the Rangers blew their best chance to rally in the fifth. Shortstop Jed Lowrie bobbled Jim Adduci's grounder and Martin's sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position. Jurickson Profar broke to the plate on Gentry's comebacker and was tagged out trying to get back to third. Barton's second home run of the season — and first in Oakland since July 10, 2010 — ended Darvish's day. Donaldson's 20th homer and Crisp's 18th put Parker in position to make history. The only A's starting pitcher with a longer unbeaten streak is Lefty Grove, who went 21 in a row from April 22-Aug. 19, 1931. The Hall of Famer also had 10 relief appearances during the streak, including one loss. into semifinals NEW YORK (AP) — Second-seeded Victoria Azarenka moved a win away from a possible showdown in the U.S. Open finals with Serena Williams, topping Daniela Hantuchova 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday in the quarterfinals. Azarenka has beaten top-seeded Williams twice this year, including last month in the final of a tuneup tournament in Cincinnati. Last year, Williams topped Azarenka in three sets for her fourth title at Flushing Meadows. The quarterfinal against 48th-ranked Hantuchova wasn't much of a roadblock. Hantuchova, returning to the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the first time since 2002, broke Azarenka's first service game in both sets but gave back both breaks right away. Standing in the way of a Williams-Azarenka final are fifth-seeded Li Na, who plays Williams in Friday's semifinals, and 83rd-ranked Flavia Pennetta, who goes against Azarenka. Venus and Serena Williams overcame two service breaks in the second set Wednesday to advance to the U.S. Open quarterfinals with a 6-1, 7-6 (3) victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Lucie Safarova. The Williams sisters, who have combined for 13 Grand Slam doubles titles, will play the defending champion and top-seeded Italian team of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci. The Italians beat the sisters in three sets in the Australian Open quarterfinals. The sisters lost only three points on their serve in the first set, but both sisters got broken once in the second. The second break came against Serena when she was trying to serve out the match at 5-4. The Williams' won the first five points of the tiebreaker, then closed it out on Serena's service winner. PREP ROUNDUP By DN Staff Report The Corning Lady Cardinals volleyball team hit, passed and covered well in its straight set, 25-18, 2519, 25-20 win at University Prep on Tuesday. Corning High's Kaylee Shoemaker led the way with nine kills and was followed by Gates Fears (2), and Auree Mulliner (2). Mulliner added 12 points on service with five aces, and Maddy Caputo had 12 points on serve with three aces. Emerie Eller notched 11 assists, and Mariah Schromm had four digs. Corning improved to 1-1 on the season and move on to the Hamilton City Tournament today. The Mercy Lady Warriors fell on the road Tuesday to Paradise Adventist, 25-21, 16-25, 20-25, 25-10, 915. Mercy falls to 1-1 on the season and travel to the Hamilton City Tournament today. NFL Week 1 Schedule Today's game Baltimore at Denver, 5:30 p.m. Sunday's Games Atlanta at New Orleans, 10 a.m. Cincinnati at Chicago, 10 a.m. New England at Buffalo, 10 a.m. Tennessee at Pittsburgh, 10 a.m. Tampa Bay at N.Y. Jets, 10 a.m. Kansas City at Jacksonville, 10 a.m. Seattle at Carolina, 10 a.m. Miami at Cleveland, 10 a.m. Minnesota at Detroit, 10 a.m. Oakland at Indianapolis, 10 a.m. Green Bay at San Francisco, 1:25 p.m. Arizona at St. Louis, 1:25 p.m. N.Y. Giants at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Monday's Games Philadelphia at Washington, 3:55 p.m. Houston at San Diego, 7:20 p.m.