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Monday NCAABasketball Virginia at Minnesota, 4 p.m., ESPN2 NFL 49ers at Arizona Cardinals, 5:30 p.m., ESPN Soccer English Premier League, 1 p.m., CSNBA Tennis Outback Champions Series, 7 p.m., CSNBA Sports 1B Monday November 29, 2010 OAKLAND (AP) — Chad Henne had quite the roller-coaster month, going from Miami start- ing quarterback to getting benched then injured and then back as starter. He finished the up-and-down month on quite a high. Henne made a triumphant return to the lineup to throw for 307 yards and two scores and Dan Carpenter kicked four field goals to help the Miami Dolphins beat the Oakland Raiders 33-17 Sun- day. ‘‘I knew my day would come again,’’ Henne said. ‘‘The biggest thing is just staying confident in myself. I know I can get it done out there, I know I can get some wins out there. So, for me, it’s just staying confident, fixing mistakes and just keep on improving as a quarterback.’’ Davone Bess had 111 yards receiving in his first game as a pro in his hometown, and Ricky Williams ran for 95 yards and a score for the Dolphins (6-5), who won for the fifth time in six road games to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Raiders (5-6) returned home following a 35-3 beating in Pittsburgh and put together anoth- er dud. Fan favorite Bruce Grad- kowski got the nod ahead of Jason Campbell at quarterback, but threw two interceptions and led Oakland to just one offensive touchdown. Rookie Jacoby Ford was the Miami also had an offensive turnaround, gaining 471 yards and holding the ball for 41:38 a week after being held to 187. But with Henne at the helm, it was a different story. MCT photo Oakland's Jacoby Ford makes a catch against defensive pressure from Miami's Chris Clemons in the fourth quarter Sunday. The Dolphins defeated the Raiders 33-17. entire Raiders offense, returning the opening kickoff 101 yards for a score and catching a 44-yard TD pass from Gradkowski in the second quarter. But the Dolphins held Oakland to 16 yards rushing, including 2 on eight carries for Darren McFadden. ‘‘We’ve played some great quarters, and we’ve played some great halves, but we haven’t put a game together on defense,’’ line- backer Channing Crowder said. ‘‘We played a complete game.’’ Henne lost his job to Chad Pennington earlier this month, then was sidelined by an injured left knee after Pennington’s return to the lineup was cut short by a shoulder injury. But after Tyler Thigpen struggled in a 16-0 loss to Chicago last week, the Dol- phins went back to Henne against the Raiders. The improvement was evident from the start. Henne led Miami to scores on the first two posses- sions as the Dolphins’ offense clicked all day. ‘‘I want somebody to go out there and make me wrong,’’ coach Tony Sparano said. ‘‘That’s good. I have no problem with that. But Chad was really positive, and he knew all along here, that as we got on in this thing, that we we’re going to be counting on him.’’ Henne had success going against Pro Bowl cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, who still looks hampered by a sprained right ankle, and rookie Walter McFadden, who got his most extensive action with Chris John- son out with a groin injury. McFadden looked especially bad on the first drive of the second half when he went for an inter- ception on an out route to Marlon Henne leads Dolphins past Raiders Moore. Moore caught it and cruised for a 57-yard score that game Miami a 20-14 lead. Henne kept targeting McFadden after that for big plays. ‘‘That’s something we defi- nitely scouted and wanted to exploit early and fast,’’ Bess said. ‘‘They gave up some big plays to us and we took advan- tage of it.’’ Carpenter added a 44-yard field goal, but Miami missed a chance to break the game open after a 47-yard punt return by Bess when Carpenter missed a 47-yard field goal. Gradkowski threw an intercep- tion to Chris Clemons in the end zone on an underthrown pass to Ford. Ford then beat his former Clemson teammate Clemons for a 52-yard catch that set up a 30- yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski. That cut Miami’s lead to 23-17 early in the fourth quarter. Carpenter added a 25-yard field goal and Williams iced it with a 45-yard TD run with 3:12 remaining. The Raiders did nothing between Ford’s two first-half touchdowns. Gradkowski threw an interception to Yeremiah Bell and Marcel Reece lost a fumble. Gradkowski completed 17 of 32 passes for 252 yards and rein- jured his shoulder on his final throw of the game so Oakland will likely go back to Campbell next week at San Diego. 49ers face Cardinals in primetime in the desert GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — A few months ago, pairing Arizona and San Francisco on Mon- day night seemed like a good idea: the two-time NFC West champion Cardinals against the 49ers team that was sup- posed to win it this year. Instead, a nationwide audience can tune in, or tune out, a game between the worst teams in the NFL’s worst division. ‘‘I don’t make the schedule,’’ Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald said. ‘‘I just go play when they tell me to play.’’ The 49ers and Cardi- nals each lug 3-7 records into the contest. Arizona, playing the first of three straight at home, has lost five in a row, its longest skid since dropping eight straight in 2006, Dennis Green’s final season as coach. Last Sunday, San Francisco was shut out at home for the first time since 1977, 21-0 by Tampa Bay. ‘‘In your opinion, if you think it’s going to be a bad Monday night game, I wouldn’t watch,’’ 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis said. ‘‘But for me, I think it is going to be a good Monday night game.’’ It’s bound to be more entertaining, he said, than the last two Monday games, San Diego’s 35- 14 win over Denver last week, preceded a week earlier by Philadelphia’s 59-28 drubbing of Wash- ington. ‘‘They’re supposed to be prima donna teams of the league and look how that looked,’’ Willis said. And, despite their bad records, the 49ers and Cardinals can, with a straight face, say they are still in the division race. That’s because first- place Seattle is just 5-5. ‘‘We certainly haven’t given up. I know that I haven’t,’’ Willis said. ‘‘I know that my teammates haven’t because the opportunity is still there. We still have a lot of division games to play.’’ Arizona quarterback Derek Anderson said the same thing. ‘‘We have four games at home (out of six) to finish the year,’’ he said. ‘‘We are two games out in this division. Any- thing can happen. By no means are we out of it completely.’’ Forget about the divi- sion race, Whisenhunt said, the Cardinals just need to stop the free-fall. ‘‘I’m worried about trying to get our team to play the way it’s capable of playing and winning a football game. Our fans deserve that,’’ he said. This is new territory for Whisenhunt. His longest losing streak since coming to Arizona in 2007 was three games in his first season. The Cardinals’ defense has been bad and their offense worse. Ari- zona ranks in the bottom five in the NFL in all six major categories: 29th in total defense, 28th in run defense, 27th in pass defense, 31st in total offense, 28th in run offense and 28th in pass offense. Whisenhunt has seemed befuddled by the fact his team practices well but falls apart in nearly every area at cru- cial times in games. ‘‘I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but I don’t have a complaint with the way they’re working,’’ he said. ‘‘We make mistakes in practice, which is nor- mal and you correct it and you work on it. But we just have made too many mistakes in the games. It’s frustrating.’’ Arizona’s offense never has found its stride with Anderson, and briefly Max Hall, replac- ing the retired Kurt Warner at quarterback. In last week’s 31-13 loss at Kansas City, the Car- dinals’ lone touchdown — a 3-yard pass from Anderson to Fitzgerald — came on the final play of the game. Whisenhunt worries about the emotional toll the losing streak has taken. ‘‘This game is a lot about confidence,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s about momen- tum. When you’re mak- ing those mistakes and you give up plays like we have given up, it does affect the way you play, unfortunately.’’ A fast start Monday night might be necessary to keep the Arizona fans from turning ugly. ‘‘It would be good to have some good things happen early,’’ Whisen- hunt said. ‘‘We could build off that, but if it doesn’t we have to be SAN FRANCISCO (3-7) at ARIZONA(3-7) strong enough that we can overcome it.’’ Monday, 5:30 p.m., ESPN OPENING LINE — 49ers by 2 1/2 RECORD VS. SPREAD — San Francisco 4-6; Ari- zona 3-7 SERIES RECORD — 49ers lead 21-16 LAST MEETING — 49ers beat Cardinals 24-9, Dec. 14, 2009 LAST WEEK — Buccaneers beat 49ers 21-0; Chiefs beat Cardinals 31-13 PASS (19) 49ERS OFFENSE — OVERALL (25), RUSH (25), 49ERS DEFENSE — OVERALL (13), RUSH (15), PASS (17) CARDINALS OFFENSE — OVERALL (31) RUSH (28), PASS (28) CARDINALS DEFENSE — OVERALL (29), RUSH (28), PASS (27) STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — 49ers RB Frank Gore has 505 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving in six Monday night games. ... San Francisco is 39-24 in Mon- day night games. ... 49ers have not allowed player to rush for 100 yards in 16 games, second-longest active streak in NFL behind the New York Jets’ 17. ... San Francisco has- n’t won on road since final game of last season (0-4). ... 49ers are only NFC West team to have winning record (4- 2) against Arizona since Ken Whisenhunt became Cardi- nals coach in 2007. ... Arizona’s five-game losing streak is longest since Cardinals lost eight straight in 2006, Dennis Green’s last season as coach. ... Cardinals have converted 9 of 39 third-down attempts in last three games and have 29 percent conversion rate for season. They have convert- ed more than half of third downs only once — 7 of 13 in loss to Tampa Bay. ... In four Monday night games, Ari- zona S Adrian Wilson has sack, two interceptions and forced fumble and DT Darnell Dockett has sack, two inter- ceptions and two fumble recoveries. ... QB Derek Ander- son was 18 of 29 for 310 yards and two TDs in his only Monday night game, Oct. 13, 2008 against the Giants. Scoreboard NFL By The Associated Press AMERICAN CONFERENCE East WL T Pct PF PA New England9 2 0 .818 334 266 N.Y. Jets 9 2 0 .818 264 187 Miami WL T Pct PF PA Indianapolis 6 5 0 .545 282 252 Jacksonville 6 5 0 .545 240 294 Houston 5 6 0 .455 264 287 Tennessee 5 6 0 .455 257 218 North WL T Pct PF PA Baltimore 8 3 0 .727 250 188 Pittsburgh 8 3 0 .727 254 181 Cleveland 4 7 0 .364 216 229 Cincinnati 2 9 0 .182 225 288 6 5 0 .545 205 225 Buffalo 2 9 0 .182 229 295 South West WL T Pct PF PA Kansas City 7 4 0 .636 285 231 San Diego 6 5 0 .545 310 225 Raiders 5 6 0 .455 255 256 Denver 3 8 0 .273 250 323 NATIONAL CONFERENCE East WL T Pct PF PA N.Y. Giants 7 4 0 .636 277 240 Philadelphia 7 4 0 .636 310 257 Washington 5 6 0 .455 215 262 Dallas South 3 8 0 .273 256 301 WL T Pct PF PA Atlanta 9 2 0 .818 276 209 New Orleans8 3 0 .727 265 197 Tampa Bay 7 4 0 .636 219 223 Carolina 1 10 0 .091 140 276 North WL T Pct PF PA Chicago 8 3 0 .727 222 172 Green Bay 7 4 0 .636 269 166 Minnesota 4 7 0 .364 189 239 Detroit West 2 9 0 .182 258 282 WL T Pct PF PA Seattle 5 6 0 .455 209 275 St. Louis 5 6 0 .455 213 231 Arizona 3 7 0 .300 188 292 49ers ——— Thursday’s Games New England 45, Detroit 24 New Orleans 30, Dallas 27 N.Y. Jets 26, Cincinnati 10 Sunday’s Games Houston 20, Tennessee 0 Atlanta 20, Green Bay 17 Minnesota 17, Washington 13 N.Y. Giants 24, Jacksonville 20 Pittsburgh 19, Buffalo 16, OT Cleveland 24, Carolina 23 Kansas City 42, Seattle 24 Miami 33, Oakland 17 St. Louis 36, Denver 33 3 7 0 .300 160 219 NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL Pct GB Boston 12 4 .750 — New York 9 9 .500 4 New Jersey 6 11 .3536 1/2 Toronto 6 11 .3536 1/2 Philadelphia 4 13 .2358 1/2 Southeast Division WL Pct GB Orlando 12 4 .750 — Atlanta 11 7 .611 2 Miami 9 8 .5293 1/2 Chicago 31, Philadelphia 26 Baltimore 17, Tampa Bay 10 San Diego at Indianapolis, 5:20 p.m. Monday’s Game San Francisco at Arizona, 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 2 Houston at Philadelphia, 5:20 p.m. Charlotte 6 11 .3536 1/2 Washington 5 10 .3336 1/2 Central Division WL Pct GB Chicago 9 6 .600 — Indiana 7 7 .5001 1/2 Cleveland 7 9 .4382 1/2 Milwaukee 6 10 .3753 1/2 Detroit 6 11 .353 4 WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division WL Pct GB San Antonio14 2 .875 — Dallas 12 4 .750 2 New Orleans12 4 .750 2 Memphis 7 10 .4127 1/2 Houston 5 11 .313 9 Northwest Division WL Pct GB 13 5 .722 — Utah Oklahoma City 11 6 .6471 1/2 Denver 10 6 .625 2 Portland 8 8 .500 4 Minnesota 4 13 .2358 1/2 Pacific Division WL Pct GB L.A. Lakers 13 3 .813 — Warriors 8 9 .4715 1/2 Phoenix 8 9 .4715 1/2 Kings 4 11 .2678 1/2 L.A. Clippers3 15 .167 11 ——— Sunday’s Games Atlanta 96, Toronto 78 New York 125, Detroit 116,2OT San Antonio 109, New Orleans 95 Utah 109, L.A. Clippers 97 Houston 99, Oklahoma City 98 New Jersey 98, Portland 96 Denver 138, Phoenix 133 Indiana at L.A. Lakers, late Monday’s Games Washington at Miami, 4:30 p.m. New Orleans at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m. Houston at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Milwaukee at Utah, 6 p.m. Whisenhunt put his team through a brief workout on Thanksgiv- ing. San Francisco coach Mike Singletary held some morning meetings but didn’t have his play- ers practice. ‘‘Sometimes the mental preparation is just as important as the other,’’ he said, ‘‘but we do have guys that are banged up, we do have guys on the defensive and offensive side of the ball that need to take a step back, and if we can get them a breather here and there, get them off their feet, it’s going to help us.’’ Even though Alex Smith is healthy, Troy Smith will makes his fourth straight start at quarterback for San Francisco. He threw for 552 yards in victories over Denver and St. Louis, but last week against Tampa, he was held to 148 yards with an interception and was sacked six times. He expects better of himself on a national stage. ‘‘It’s a football game, and other than that, I try not to make one situation bigger than the next,’’ Troy Smith said. ‘‘It’s definitely a prime time game, and you’ve got to step up and be able to play in the big games, but we’re going to pre- pare the same way we always do. It’s just the days in the week are kind of pushed back. We’re getting ready.’’