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Sports NFL fines Steelers coach Tomlin $100,000 PITTSBURGH (AP) — Steelers coach Mike Tomlin's ill-timed two-step has cost him $100,000 and could cost his team a pick in next year's draft. The league fined Tomlin $100,000 on Wednesday for interfering with a play against the Baltimore Ravens on Thanksgiving. The NFL also said it would consider docking Pittsburgh a draft pick "because the conduct affected a play on the field." Tomlin was not penalized on the play, though the NFL said Tomlin should have been flagged 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct for nearly colliding with Baltimore's Jacoby Jones during a kickoff return midway through the third quarter of a 22-20 Ravens victory. The seventh-year head coach called the play "embarrassing, inexcusable, illegal and a blunder" but stressed it was not intentional. "I apologize for causing negative attention to the Pittsburgh Steelers organization," Tomlin said in a statement Wednesday. "I accept the penalty that I received. I will no longer address this issue as I am preparing for an important game this Sunday against the Miami Dolphins." Tomlin was standing on the restricted white border between the sideline and field during Jones' kickoff return. Jones had to swerve to avoid running into the coach and was tackled after a 73-yard return that might have gone for a touchdown if not for the obstruction. Tomlin briefly stepped onto the field before he jumped back. Tomlin said Tuesday he was "mesmerized" by watching the return on the video board and would accept any repercussions for his actions. "I don't know what a just punishment is," he said Tuesday. "I have no idea. I'm not acting in a way to preserve my wallet and my money. My wallet and my money is what it is because of the game of football." Tomlin's players have defended him, noting it's not unusual for players or staff members to find themselves on the edge of the field during a play. Safety Ryan Clark admitted to standing near the playing surface while watching the Steelers attempt a late 2-point conversion in the final minutes against Baltimore. "I'm always on the field," Clark said. "I sit on the field, but I try to sit on it away from anything." Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger declined to discuss whether the loss of a draft pick would be too excessive but added he doesn't think the furor over Tomlin's near-trip will serve as a distraction for Pittsburgh (5-7), which is still in the playoff hunt. "If anything, guys joke about it more," Roethlisberger said. "They're the ones pulling up the pictures online and joking with coach about something. If anything maybe it's a light-hearted fun thing." The NFL fined the New York Jets $100,000 in 2010 when cameras caught strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi tripping a Miami player on the sideline. Alosi was suspended by the Jets and eventually resigned after the season. Tomlin's job is not in jeopardy and he said Tuesday he had not spoken to team owners Dan and Art Rooney II about the situation. "I would imagine if the Rooneys thought that I was capable of that or they thought my intentions were that, I wouldn't be sitting at this table talking to you guys," he said. Tomlin makes $5.25 million a season and the fine constitutes less than 2 percent of his annual salary. He is far more concerned about the uncomfortable position he put the league and the Steelers in after failing to get out of the way with any sense of urgency. "I will take this as an opportunity to strenuously defend the game of football and the NFL. I won't defend myself," Tomlin said. "The people that know me, I don't need to do that. The people that don't know me, they are going to make their judgments any way." The penalty is large for on-field conduct but a coach but is not among the heftiest in league history. The NFL slapped New England coach with a maximum $500,000 fine in 2007 for spying on an opponent's defensive signals. New Orleans coach Sean Payton was suspended for the 2012 season for his role in a bounty system that awarded Saints players for injuring an opponent. Tomlin's predecessor, Bill Cowher, raised eyebrows but was not disciplined in 1997 when he feigned tackling Jacksonville's Chris Hudson as Hudson ran back a Pittsburgh field goal attempt for a touchdown on the final play of the game in a 30-21 Jaguars victory. Tehama Tracker Today's schedule BOYS BASKETBALL Red Bluff at Argonaut Tournament in Jackson Corning at Pierce Tournament GIRLS BASKETBALL Red Bluff at Anderson Tournament Corning at Live Oak Tournament BOYS SOCCER Red Bluff at Redding Soccer Park Tournament Oroville at Corning, 3:15 p.m. GIRLS SOCCER Oroville at Corning, 3:15 p.m. Sports on TV COLLEGE FOOTBALL 4:30 p.m. ESPN — Louisville at Cincinnati GOLF Noon TGC — PGA Tour, World Chal- lenge, first round, at Thousand Oaks, Calif. 9 p.m. TGC — European PGA Tour, Hong Kong Open, second round 1 a.m. TGC — Nedbank Challenge, second round, at Sun City, South Africa MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 4 p.m. ESPN2 — West Virginia at Missouri FS1 — LIU at Seton Hall 5 p.m. FSN — Texas A&M-CC at Oklahoma 6 p.m. ESPN2 — Mississippi at Kansas St. FS1 — High Point at Georgetown NBA BASKETBALL 4 p.m. TNT — New York at Brooklyn 96:30 p.m. TNT — Miami at Chicago NFL FOOTBALL 5 p.m. NFL — Houston at Jacksonville 1B Thursday December 5, 2013 River Dawgs finish on top Courtesy photo The Red Bluff River Dawgs 11U travel baseball team finished its fall season by winning the recent Turkey Bash Tournament held in Vacaville. The team went undefeated, beating the San Francisco Baseball Academy 16-1, Molina Marauders 16-0, Alameda Attack 4-3, Marin Baseball Club 8-2, and won the championship game by a score of 1-0 against the San Lorenzo Bases Loaded. Pictured from back left are coaches Vince Rodriguez, Aaron Reginato and Rob Huhn. From middle left are Garrett Freeman, Kurtis Rodriguez, Jacob Fregoso, Christopher Huhn and Luke Lindsey. From front left are Odin Hughes, Codee Hill, Wyatt Reginato, Hayden "Hollywood" Boyes, Jordan Shank and Logan Houchins. Not pictured is coach Randy Fregoso. 49ers' Looney takes on key role SANTA CLARA (AP) — A little-known offensive lineman with less than one full game of NFL experience could find himself starting for San Francisco in its biggest game of the year yet. Every Sunday, Joe Looney goes through his own pregame practice on the Candlestick Park field well before his 49ers teammates on the active roster do it for real. Such is life on the practice squad, or development squad as it is called around here. Forced into his first regular action at right guard early in Sunday's 23-13 victory against St. Louis when left tackle Joe Staley went down and Alex Boone shifted to replace him, Looney impressed his teammates and coaches with how quickly he settled into his position. "It's helping the team out any way I can," Looney said. "I know those guys are relying on me and I'm relying on the guys. It's a team game. You just always have to be ready. It (stinks) to see Joe Staley go down, a Pro Bowler." Looney began this week working at right guard with the first-team offense given that Staley's status for Sunday's game against Seattle (11-1) remains unclear as he nurses a right knee injury. Coach Jim Harbaugh said Wednesday he wouldn't rule out Staley or left guard Mike Iupati, who has missed the past two games with a sprained left knee. Neither practiced Wednesday. So, just who is Joe Looney? Many around the league might be asking that very question this week — and it's an obvious one. Especially considering Looney only made his NFL debut for three plays in the waning moments of the 49ers' Nov. 25 Monday night win at Washington before being called upon in a much more important situation Sunday. Staley went down at the 11:13 mark of the first quarter against the Rams and didn't return. "Joe (Looney) did an amazing job to come in, perform the way he did," quarterback Colin Kaepernick said Wednesday. "He pretty much locked their front down the whole game. So, hats off to him." In fact, several of Looney's teammates have credited him for carrying himself in a way that made it tough to tell he had never done this before at the NFL level. That's what center Jonathan Goodwin shared with offensive line coach Mike Solari. "You never really know what to expect with a guy who hasn't played," Goodwin said. "One thing about him, he works hard and he's a student of the game. The one thing I told Coach Solari that I felt from the moment he came in the game Sunday was you got a confident vibe from AP photo San Francisco 49ers guard Joe Looney (78) lines up next to center Jonathan Goodwin (59) as quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) stands under center Sunday. him. His first real action for him to be in that position and for him to come in and be that way that says a lot about him." The 49ers selected the 23-year-old Looney in the fourth round of the 2012 draft out of Wake Forest. Little did they know he would break into a veteran, close-knit offensive line in December with a playoff berth at stake as an emergency fill-in. Looney and the other young O-linemen who aren't usually on the game-day 53-man roster are among the first on the field to go through their own routine to stay ready. "He's on it. He prepares very diligently," offensive coordinator Greg Roman said. "He's a very professional, intelligent young man. Love his aggressiveness, too. He went after people, which is what we like. Without question he played really well. He was just genuinely excited to be out there and have an opportunity to play, and it showed in his performance. We had confidence in him, but it's his first time out there doing it and he stepped up big. We're very pleased." Enough so that he could get another shot Sunday against the NFC West-leading Seahawks, who already clinched their playoff berth and could capture the division crown with a road win at San Francisco? That is still to be determined. Harbaugh is never one to offer his opponent any kind of lead time, and especially not Pete Carroll and the archrival Seahawks. PREP ROUNDUP BASKETBALL Red Bluff High's boys basketball team opened its season with a win Tuesday, edging the visiting Pleasant Valley Vikings, 50-45. Up 25-22 at the half, the Spartans fell behind by nine early in the fourth. But Red Bluff regained a 46-45 lead with the help of a duo of 3pointers from Matthew Fox, and an alleyoop play from Fox to Curtis Twitchell. Twitchell, Fox and KJ Hinkston sealed the win at the free throw line. Fox led the Spartans with 20 points on the night, Twitchell notched 19, and Greg Dufour and Wyatt Clement combined for 14 defensive rebounds. Red Bluff travels to the Argonaut Tournament today, with a game scheduled against Union Mine at 7 p.m. Corning High's boys basketball team opened its season by blowing out Willows on the road Tuesday, 69-40. The Cards' Michael Shoemaker led all scorers with 31 points and seven rebounds. Nick Hoag recorded a double-double with 15 points and 17 rebounds. Chayce Maday finished with 13 points and five assists. On the girls side, the Lady Cards downed visiting Willows, 5146. The Cards' Cristina Villarruel led Corning with 15 points and five boards. Morgan Hughes notched 13 points and seven rebounds, and Ally Brunner had eight points and 12 rebounds. Los Molinos High's boys basketball team opened its season with a win on the road against Greenville on Tuesday, 62-35. SOCCER Corning High's girls soccer team split its first two games this week, beating Las Plumas, 3-0 on Monday but falling to Orland, 1-0 on Tuesday. Against Las Plumas, Corning's Anissa Munoz, Maribelle Vallejo and Jessica Beckley notched goals for the squad. Kaitlyn Huntley had 10 saves as keeper. The Lady Cards host Oroville at 3:15 p.m. today. On the boys side, Corning downed Las Plumas, 6-1 on Monday, and finished with a 2-2 tie against Orland on Tuesday. Against Las Plumas, Corning senior Mario Campus had four goals, while Arturo Carrera and Cristian Loera each added a goal of their own. The boys squad also hosts Oroville at 3:15 p.m. today.