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Tuesday Hoops — Hayfork at Mercy, 6 p.m., DH Hoops — Los Molinos at Quincy, 6 p.m., DH Boys Hoops — West Valley at Corning, 7:30 p.m. Girls Hoops — Corning at West Valley, 7:30 p.m. Girls Hoops — Paradise at Red Bluff, 7:30 p.m. Soccer — Corning at Lassen, 3 p.m., DH Sports 1B Tuesday January 18, 2011 Aday to celebrate Raiders promote Jackson If the corporate world found some angle they could exploit with Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, perhaps the holiday would receive a bit more of the fan-fare it so richly deserves. As it stands now, MLK Day suffers from poor calen- dar placement, usually bad weather and quite honestly is weighed down by fears of something being done with it that is politically incor- rect. I find it a shame that MLK Day is largely stuck along- side the Columbus Days and Presidents Days of our calendar. Rich Greene There is after all no holiday with a more uni- versal appeal than what we should take away from MLK Day. Overlooking the differences that occasional- ly cause rifts with some of our other holidays is part of the backbone message with this one. It’s a day of acceptance, of inclusion. Unfortunately too many people see it as just another day the banks are closed. The NBA has made a tradition of matinee games to celebrate Martin Luther King Day. People more cynical than me may argue it’s just a ploy to capitalize on people with the day off and nothing else to do. While there might be some truth to that, I can’t think of a holiday the sports world owes more to than MLK Day. Our country’s race relations have been deeply entwined with sports since the days of Jackie Robinson. There might not be a better fabric of our nation to examine the progress we’ve made and the steps we still need to take. This week not only marks the 82nd year since the birth of Martin Luke King, Jr., but is also the two-year anniversary of the inaugura- tion of this country’s first black president. For some perspective on the latter, let’s look back to just 22 years ago this month to what was happening in the sports world. That’s when Doug Williams, became the first black man to start at quarterback in the Super Bowl. Younger readers have no idea what that meant at the time. To me that ignorance is progress. In sports we can see Kings’ dream come to life. Boys and girls of every skin color sit at the table of brotherhood, they join hands as sisters and brothers and they even play basketball together. Take Mercy High School’s Starting 5 — it’s a line from Kings’ speech come to life. At it’s best that’s what sports can offer. Tangible proof we’re on the right track. For now, for one day of the year, maybe we should use this holiday to focus on that success. The debate of what we still can do, can be put off for 24 hours. Every year let’s use this holiday to embrace and celebrate the radiant stars of love and brotherhood that have shined over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty. On the other 364 days of the year that’s when we’ll tackle the dark clouds of racial prejudice and deep fog of misunderstanding. ******************** One reason I love working at a newspaper is one of my worst traits, becomes a benefit. I’m a horrible procrastinator. That made doing school work a lot rougher than it should have been, but it’s also led to some great deadline coping techniques. During basketball season with games ending around 9 p.m. and a 9:30 p.m. deadline loom- ing, these skills get put to great use. However my long term planning still suffers a bit. Luckily, I’ve learned to put my pride aside and ask for help. That’s what I’m doing right now. As you may recall when the Daily News launched our Athletes of the Week feature this year, I wrote there would be a banquet at the end of the school year honoring all of the win- ners. While most of the larger picture stuff has been done, there is need for some details to be hammered out over the next few weeks to turn idea into reality. So, if anyone is interested in volunteering some time to help bring this much-deserved recognition banquet to light, please contact me. Perhaps you’re someone who made a New Year’s resolution to volunteer more and you just realized we’re 20 days into the new year and you haven’t done anything yet. You’d be per- fect. Perhaps you love high school sports and have luckily fallen into a few hours a week of free time. Sign yourself up. Or perhaps you just want to help out. Good enough. E-mail me at sports@redbluffdailynews.com or leave a message at 527-2151, ext. 109. I thank you in advance. Daily News sports editor Rich Greene can be reached even by those who don’t want to volunteer by the previously means. Oakland Raiders ALAMEDA (AP) — The Oakland Raiders promoted offensive coordina- tor Hue Jackson to head coach on Monday after he helped the team more than double its scoring output in his first year with the franchise. Jackson will be formally introduced at a news conference Tuesday — two weeks after the Raiders announced they were not picking up an option to keep coach Tom Cable. ‘‘The fire in Hue will set a flame that will burn for a long time in the hearts and minds of the Raider football team and the Raider Nation,’’ owner Al Davis said in a statement. Jackson was widely considered the leading contender to get the job as soon as the Raiders announced Cable’s departure. This is Jackson’s first head coaching job at any level. Jackson was hired a year ago to take over the play-calling duties from Cable ‘‘The fire in Hue will set a flame that will burn for a long time in the hearts and minds of the Raider football team and the Raider Nation,’’ Raiders owner Al Davis statement and oversaw a transformation on offense. Oakland scored more than twice as many points in 2010 as it did in ’09 — and the Raiders won eight games and avoid an eighth straight los- ing season. ‘‘I’m excited about Hue getting the head coaching job,’’ Raiders tight end Zach Miller said in a phone interview. ‘‘I really like the direction our offense is going and how much we improved. This was the best offensive year we’ve had since I’ve been a Raider. I’m excit- ed to have the continuity.’’ Jackson was popular with players on both sides of the ball in Oakland, with the defenders enjoying the com- petitive nature he brought to practice each day. Linebacker Quentin Groves wrote on his Twitter feed, ‘‘Congrats to Hue Jackson ... This is gonna be a great ride!!!’’ Led by quarterback Jason Camp- bell, a breakout season from running back Darren McFadden and big plays from rookie receiver Jacoby Ford, the Raiders finished sixth in the league in scoring with 410 points. That was the sixth-most points in franchise history and a huge improve- ment from 2009, when former first overall pick JaMarcus Russell spent most of the time at quarterback. ‘‘That’s what I came here for,’’ Jackson said late in the season. ‘‘It would be different if there wasn’t and See COACH, page 2B Warriors beat Nets for 6th straight time New Jersey 100 Warriors 109 OAKLAND (AP) — By pro- tecting the ball the Golden State Warriors made sure they protected the home court once again in this key stretch they hope will turn their season around. Monta Ellis had 26 points and nine assists, and the Warriors com- mitted a season-low six turnovers to beat the New Jersey Nets for the sixth straight time, 109-100 on Monday. ‘‘If you take care of the ball you give yourself a chance to win,’’ coach Keith Smart said. ‘‘It com- pensates for some other things you don’t have, maybe on the offensive glass. But if you are taking care of the basketball, you don’t give them opportunities to run out in transi- tion to where you can’t get back and defend.’’ David Lee added 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors, who have won two of their first three games in a key stretch to the sea- son that features 13 of 14 games at home. The six turnovers were one off the low in the NBA for any team this season and 10 fewer than New Jersey committed. The 14-point advantage in points off turnovers proved to be key against the Nets. ‘‘It was a slowdown tempo game so you’re going to have less possessions and less shots and you want to get a good shot on each possession you have on offense,’’ point guard Stephen Curry said. ‘‘You don’t want to give them the ball and let them have run-outs and easy baskets and get the momen- tum.’’ The Warriors did not trail for the final 46 minutes of the game to knock off the Nets once again. Brook Lopez scored 20 points and Devin Harris added 19 for New Jersey, which has have lost six straight and 11 of 12 games. ‘‘We just have to find some- thing we can hang our hat on real- ly go after it. But we’re still searching,’’ Harris said. ‘‘All these games were winnable for us at some point. We have to find a way to get over the top.’’ The Nets are in a tumultuous stretch, with many of their players linked to a possible three-team trade that would bring All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony from See GS, page 2B MCT photo David Lee takes a shot over Brook Lopez, Monday. Hawks rally to top Kings in Atlanta Kings 98 Atlanta 100 ATLANTA (AP) — Joe Johnson admitted the Atlanta Hawks couldn’t resist looking past the Sacramento Kings ‘‘maybe a little’’ to their next game at Miami. If not for Johnson’s play in the final Tehama Tracker BOYS HOOPS Red Bluff 41 Enterprise 66 A poor start doomed the Spartans on the road again, Friday, as Red Bluff fell 66- 41 to Enterprise. The Spartans were outscored 34-14 in the first half and dropped to 4-10 on the season. It was the second straight game in Redding where Red Bluff couldn’t overcome lackluster scoring in the first half. Red Bluff travels to Par- adise, Wednesday. Corning 56 Marysville 39 Anthony Monroe’s double-double paced the Cardinals past Marysville 56-39, Friday. Monroe and Cameron Nye each led Corning with 15 points. Monroe also pulled down 10 rebounds. Tyler McIntyre made five assists to go along with six points. Ryan Holland added 13 points for Corning, which opens up Northern Athlet- ic League play tonight against West Valley. GIRLS HOOPS Mercy 42 Chester 56 The Lady Warriors couldn’t overcome an early deficit, Friday, and lost 56- 42 at Hayfork. “It was a Tale of Two Cities,” coach Jim Wilson said. “They jumped out to a big league and then we came back.” Mercy closed the gap to four points, but couldn’t get any closer as they fell to 5- 11 on the season. Morgan Hampton-Glines led the way with 16 points. minute, the Hawks’ lack of concentra- tion could have been costly. Johnson scored a season-high 36 points, including two free throws with 0.6 seconds remaining, and the Hawks recovered after trailing most of the game to beat the Kings 100-98 on Monday. See KINGS, page 2B American Legion sign-ups American Legion sign-ups are Saturday Jan. 22 from 10 a.m. to noon at Red Bluff Union High School in front of the gym. Prospective players need to have $50 to sign up. If you cannot be there call coach Bono- mini at 529-3320 and leave your name and phone number if there is no answer.