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Sports 1B Weekend October 19-20, 2013 49ers ready to start long road trip NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers finally are starting to click like they did running to the Super Bowl last season. They're not about to let their longest road trip of the year distract them now. The 49ers start a two-game road trip Sunday when they visit Tennessee before heading on to London to play Jacksonville on Oct. 27. Colin Kaepernick says the Titans have all of the 49ers' attention right now. ''They have a good defense, and that's where our focus needs to be,'' Kaepernick said. San Francisco (4-2) has won three straight, including a 32-20 victory last week over Arizona when Frank Gore had just his second 100-yard rushing game this season and tight end Vernon Davis had 180 yards receiving. The defense also forced four turnovers, all leading to points. Now, coach Jim Harbaugh wants his 49ers focused during this 11-day road trip and playing like they did handling back-to-back games in the East in 2011 and 2012. ''And that's concentrating on taking care of our business today and handling that,'' Harbaugh said. The Titans (3-3) are desperate to snap a twogame skid before going into their bye, wanting some momentum as they wait for quarterback Jake Locker to return from a sprained right hip and knee. Locker returned to practice Wednesday, limited by both a limp and a brace on his knee. Tennessee coach Mike Munchak hadn't ruled out Locker, but wouldn't declare Ryan Fitzpatrick as his starter either heading toward the game. Munchak said they must balance needing to win Sunday against giving Locker more time to recover with the bye looming. ''We have to be smart about it,'' Munchak said. ''If guys aren't ready to play, there's no way we're going to put them out there. If they are ready, we're going to put them out there.'' The Titans are second in the AFC South despite the skid, including losing 20-13 last week in Seattle. With Indianapolis hosting unbeaten Denver, a win could put Tennessee into a tie atop the division at Tehama Tracker Saturday's schedule 8-MAN FOOTBALL Mercy at Herlong, 1 p.m. VOLLEYBALL Los Molinos at Nike Invitational in Phoenix MLB PLAYOFFS American League Championship Detroit at Boston, 1:37 p.m. National League Championship Los Angeles at St. Louis, 5:37 p.m. (If needed, scheduled to change) NHL Calgary at San Jose, 7 p.m. Sunday's schedule VOLLEYBALL Los Molinos at Nike Invitational in Phoenix MLB PLAYOFFS American League Championship Detroit at Boston, 5:07 p.m. (If needed) NFL San Francisco at Tennessee, 1:05 p.m. NBA PRESEASON Sacramento at Portland, 6 p.m. Monday's schedule FIELD HOCKEY Corning at Yuba City, 3:30 p.m. GOLF Eastern Athletic League at Bidwell Park NHL San Jose at Detroit, 4:30 p.m. Sports on TV Saturday AUTO RACING • 1 p.m., FS1 — NASCAR, Truck Series, Fred's 250, at Talladega, Ala. • 3:30 p.m., FS1 — American Le Mans Series, Petit Le Mans, at Braselton, Ga. • 4 p.m., NBCSN — IRL, Indy Lights, Lefty's Kids Club 100, at Fontana(sameday tape) • 5 p.m., NBCSN — IRL, IndyCar, MAVTV 500, at Fontana BOXING • 6:45 p.m., HBO — Champion Mike Alvarado (34-1-0) vs. Ruslan Provodnikov (22-2-0), for WBO junior welterweight title, at Broomfield, Colo. COLLEGE FOOTBALL • 9 a.m., Big Ten Network — Purdue at Michigan State • 9 a.m., CBS — Georgia at Vanderbilt • 9 a.m., CBSSN — Colgate at Holy Cross • 9 a.m., CSNB — Villanova at New Hampshire • 9 a.m., ESPN — South Carolina at Tennessee • 9 a.m., ESPN2 — Minnesota at Northwestern • 9 a.m., ESPNEWS — Navy at Toledo • 9 a.m., ESPNU — Connecticut at Cincinnati • 9 a.m., FOX — TCU at Oklahoma St. • 9 a.m., FSN — Southern Miss. at East Carolina • 9 a.m., FS1 — Texas Tech at West Virginia • 11 a.m., PAC-12 Network — Charleston Southern at Colorado • 12:30 p.m., ABC — UCLA at Stanford • 12:30 p.m., Big Ten Network — Indiana at Michigan • 12:30 p.m., CBS — Auburn at Texas A&M • 12:30 p.m., CBSSN — North Texas at Louisiana Tech • 12:30 p.m., ESPN — Oklahoma at Kansas • 12:30 p.m., ESPN2 — Iowa at Ohio St. • 12:30 p.m., ESPNEWS — BYU at Houston • 12:30 p.m., ESPNU — Maryland at Wake Forest • 3 p.m., PAC-12 Network — Washington at Arizona State • 4 p.m., CSNB — Central Arkansas at Lamar • 4 p.m., ESPN — Arkansas at Alabama • 4 p.m., ESPN2 — LSU at Mississippi • 4 p.m., ESPNU — Iowa State at Baylor • 4:30 p.m., NBC — Southern Cal at Notre Dame • 5 p.m., Big Ten Network — Wisconsin at Illinois • 5 p.m., CBSSN — Nevada at Boise State • 5:07 p.m., ABC — Florida St. at Clemson • 7 p.m., FS1 — Washington at Oregon • 7 p.m., PAC-12 Network — Utah at Arizona • 7:30 p.m., ESPN2 — Oregon St. at California GOLF • 8 a.m., TGC — LPGA, KEB HanaBank Championship, second round, at Incheon, South Korea (same-day tape) • 11 a.m., TGC — Champions Tour, Greater Hickory Classic, second round, at Conover, N.C. • 2 p.m., TGC — PGA Tour, Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, third round, at Las Vegas • 9:30 p.m., TGC — European PGA Tour, Perth International, third round, at Perth, Australia (delayed tape) MLB • 1 p.m., FOX — Playoffs, American League Championship Series, game 6, Detroit at Boston Game moves to 4:30 p.m. if no NLCS game 7 • 5 p.m., TBS — Playoffs, National League Championship Series, game 7, Los Angeles at St. Louis (if necessary) NBA PRESEASON • 4:30 p.m., NBATV — San Antonio at Miami • 7:30 p.m., NBATV — L.A. Clippers at Denver NHL • 10 a.m., NHL NETWORK — Vancouver at Pittsburgh • 4 p.m., NHL NETWORK — Toronto at Chicago • 7 p.m., CSNC — Calgary at San Jose SOCCER • 4:40 a.m., NBCSN — Premier League, Liverpool at Newcastle • 6:55 a.m., NBCSN — Premier League, Southampton at Manchester United • 9:30 a.m., NBC — Premier League, Manchester City at West Ham • 11:30 a.m., NBC — MLS, Seattle at Dallas WOMEN'S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL • 4:30 p.m., FSN — Iowa St. at Texas Sunday AUTO RACING • 11 a.m., ESPN — NASCAR, Sprint Cup, Camping World RV Sales 500, at Talladega, Ala. FIGURE SKATING • 1 p.m., NBC — ISU, Grand Prix, at Detroit GOLF • 8 a.m., TGC — LPGA, KEB HanaBank Championship, final round, at Incheon, South Korea (same-day tape) • 11 a.m., TGC — Champions Tour, Greater Hickory Classic, final round, at Conover, N.C. • 2 p.m., TGC — PGA Tour, Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, final round, at Las Vegas • 9 p.m., TGC — European PGA Tour, Perth International, final round, at Perth, Australia (same-day tape) MLB • 4 p.m., FOX — Playoffs, American League Championship Series, game 7, Detroit at Boston (if necessary) NBA PRESEASON • 3 p.m., NBATV — Boston at Minnesota NFL • 10 a.m., CBS — New England at N.Y. Jets • 1 p.m., FOX — San Francisco at Tennessee • 1:25 p.m., CBS — Cleveland at Green Bay • 5 p.m., NBC — Denver at Indianapolis SOCCER • 7:55 a.m., NBCSN — Premier League, Tottenham at Aston Villa • 10:30 a.m., NBC — Women's national teams, exhibition, United States vs. Australia, at San Antonio • 6 p.m., ESPN — MLS, San Jose at Los Angeles Monday NBA PRESEASON • 5 p.m., NBATV — Dallas at Houston NFL • 5:25 p.m., ESPN — Minnesota at N.Y. Giants NHL • 4:30 p.m., CSNC — San Jose at Detroit • 4:30 p.m., NBCSN — Colorado at Pittsburgh SOCCER • 11:55 a.m., NBCSN — Premier League, Crystal Palace vs. Fulham, at London AP file photo San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis (85) scores on a 35-yard touchdown reception in front of Arizona Cardinals strong safety Yeremiah Bell on Oct. 13. the bye should the Colts fall. ''We need a win,'' Titans tight end Delanie Walker said. Here are five things to watch as the 49ers look to keep streaking against the Titans: PROTECT THAT BALL: The 49ers are third in the NFL, scoring 61 points off 13 turnovers, and have forced eight in the past two games. The Titans are pretty good themselves with 13 takeaways turned into 59 points, and Tennessee also is second in the league with a plus-8 turnover margin. The Titans forced five fumbles last week, recovering two. ''They're the best we've seen at clubbing, punching, stripping, lawn mowering, just lodging it out from opponents,'' Harbaugh said. ''It's always a critical thing to our well-being to have ball security and not turn the ball over.'' DRAFT NIGHT MEMORIES: Kaepernick visited the Titans leading up to the 2011 draft and had a good feeling about the session. But Tennessee selected Locker out of Washington with the No. 8 overall pick, and Nevada star Kaepernick fell to San Francisco in the second round — as the sixth quarterback drafted overall. ''It's something I definitely haven't forgotten,'' Kaepernick said. ''I thought I was someone they were interested in. Whether it was then or later, I didn't know, but it's in the past now.'' Titans coach Mike Munchak enjoyed evaluating Kaepernick. ''We knew he'd be a special player because he has such a passion for the game,'' Munchak said. ''He's so big and so athletic, so he's been fun to watch. I've enjoyed watching him play.'' PRECIOUS POINTS: The Titans rank eighth in scoring defense, giving up 19.2 points a game, while the 49ers are ninth (19.7). Tennessee likely will be without middle linebacker Moise Fokou (left knee), who will be replaced by Colin McCarthy, a defensive captain a year ago. San Francisco is waiting to see how defensive tackles Glenn Dorsey (hamstring), Ray McDonald (biceps) and Justin Smith (shoulder) feel after not practicing. NOT AGAIN: San Francisco is the sixth defense ranked in the Top 10 the Titans are facing this season. The 49ers rank ninth overall and are sixth against the pass. Tennessee has slumped to 29th averaging only 193.8 yards through the air. MILESTONE: The Titans are celebrating the 150th game at LP Field with what they call a ''Code Blue.'' Instead of going with the light blue uniform used during the Code Blue promotion the past five years, the Titans will be wearing their dark blue jersey for the first time since 2008 — the last time they went to the playoffs. Pryor shows signs of fulfilling Al Davis' belief ALAMEDA (AP) — The Oakland Raiders spent the first two years after late owner Al Davis' death looking for a quarterback to return the franchise to glory. They traded for Carson Palmer and Matt Flynn, drafted Tyler Wilson and pursued Josh Freeman, all while being deeply skeptical of Davis' final draft pick in Oakland. Now the Raiders finally appear to be firmly behind Terrelle Pryor as their starting quarterback, believing his steadily improving mechanics, paired with his breathtaking athleticism, could give the organization the quarterback it's been lacking during a decade of disappointment. "I think they have an intriguing prospect that they can continue to develop," said Rich Gannon, the last quarterback to lead the Raiders to the playoffs in 2002. "This is a tremendous opportunity for him and he's earned that opportunity. He clearly beat out the other guy in training camp. It's not like this job was given to him. But now you need to see continued improvement from the guy." Pryor's performance so far this season may be enough to take the Raiders off the list of teams that will be desperate to draft a quarterback in April. That optimism remains even after Pryor had his worst career start last Sunday in a 24-7 loss at Kansas City. He threw three interceptions and was sacked nine times as he struggled behind a makeshift offensive line and with record-setting crowd noise. "He's probably leaps and bounds ahead of where we thought he would be at this point in time," coach Dennis Allen said. "The key for him is he continues to work and continues to strive to get better on the little things. Because he's always going to have the elite athleticism and the ability to create." Pryor has surprised his own organization, the other 31 teams that passed on him multiple times in the 2011 supplemental draft, and outsiders who doubted he could transform from an athlete playing quarterback to a quarterback with great athleticism. Pryor heads into the bye week completing 64.5 percent of his passes with an 84.8 passer rating, while leading the team with 285 yards rushing. "Anybody who says it hasn't surprised them is lying," said former NFL quarterback and ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer. "I'm blown away. His good has gotten really good. His bad is still really bad and he has to fix that, but his good is much better than anybody could have imagined." Pryor joined the Raiders in August 2011 after he opted to go in the supplemental draft rather than serve a five-game suspension at Ohio State for his role in a memorabilia-for-cash scandal. While most teams were skeptical of Pryor as a quarterback, Davis saw enough to pick him in the third round. Pryor was forced to serve that five-game suspension in the NFL, and it wasn't lifted until two days after Davis' death. Pryor said he talked to Davis frequently in his short time in the organization and says Davis' belief in him helps fuel his confidence today. Pryor played sparingly his first two years behind Palmer, throwing just two passes before starting the 2012 season finale when Palmer was injured. He threw two touchdown passes that game and ran for another, but looked so unpolished as a passer and uncomfortable in the pocket that the team did not believe he could replace Palmer as the starter this season. That led the organization to trade for Flynn and give him $6.5 million, and draft Wilson in April. But Pryor was clearly the best of those three and Flynn is now in Buffalo as a backup after being released. Wilson is on the practice squad. Pryor gives credit for his improvement to offensive coordinator Greg Olson, quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo and mechanics guru Tom House, who schooled Pryor for more than two months this offseason. House, a former pitcher and pitching coach in the majors, has been tutoring quarterbacks for nearly a decade. He believes the mechanics of throwing a football are basically the same as pitching or serving in tennis. He has tutored Drew Brees and Tom Brady as he aims to teach passers the proper biomechanics. House says it takes 1,000 repetitions to overcome bad habits and 10,000 so they never come back. He worked briefly with Tim Tebow two summers ago, but Tebow did not stay long enough to master the changes and fell back into his old bad habits when he joined the New York Jets in training camp. That served as a cautionary lesson for Pryor. "They said he went to camp, and he went back, he reverted back to his self," Pryor said. "That's the main thing. How hard are you working at your craft to make sure that it just stays there? And that was my key, and that was the only thing I was worried about. I hope when I get the rush, people are rushing me, I hope I don't go back to the old thing. So I'm very proud of that." House has been pleased that the lessons to Pryor have taken hold even in the heat of battle, and that when he does make bad throws he now understands why it happened. The two talk by phone or text message throughout the season to iron out any problems. "He has a burning desire to get better and he's not afraid of work," House said. "Those two things in combination mean that all he has to do is continue on same path and he'll have a really solid career." Just as Davis believed two years ago.