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2B Daily News – Wednesday, July 27, 2011 Raiders return to work ALAMEDA (AP) — The Oakland Raiders began trickling back to work Tues- day as the team headquar- ters reopened to players for the first time since the end of the 18-week lockout. Offensive linemen Jared Veldheer, Daniel Loper and Alex Parsons, tight end Brandon Myers and safety Jerome Boyd were among the players seen driving into the facility. ‘‘I’m super excited,’’ Veldheer said a few hours later. ‘‘It feels really good to get back. Can’t wait to get back in the swing of things.’’ Players were allowed to work out, meet with coach- es, take physicals and get playbooks. But with many of the Raiders players living out of the area and training camp set to start Wednesday in Napa, the bulk of the team was expected to report to the team hotel in wine country for the first training camp under new head coach Hue Jackson.. The coaching staff underwent a few changes in the offseason after Jackson replaced Tom Cable. Now the new staff gets the first chance to work with the GIANTS (Continued from page 1B) was retrieved by right fielder Nate Schier- holtz. The relay came to shortstop Mike Fontenot, whose throw home was slightly to the left of catcher Eli Whiteside. Utley, slid- ing headfirst, just beat the lunging tag of Whiteside to put Philadelphia up 6-1. ‘‘It hit the wall, took that corner and kept going the other way,’’ Torres said. The game was a rematch of last season’s NLCS when the Giants beat the Phillies in six games on their way to winning the World Series. The Phillies scored four runs in the first after Zito had retired the first two batters, highlighted by Ibanez’s three-run homer to ‘‘I’m super excited. It feels really good to get back. Can’t wait to get back in the swing of things.’’ — Oakland raiders lineman Jared Veldheer players. Veldheer had only talked briefly with new offensive line coach Bob Wylie before the lockout was lifted. ‘‘This is the first time I’ve been able to meet per- son to person. Talked a little bit about the philosophy that he has, the Xs and Os and where we’re going to go tomorrow basically,’’ Veld- heer said. ‘‘I’m just very optimistic from where we finished last year, as far as No. 2 in the run, and I want to keep building off that, just be the No. 1 rushing team in football and then firm up our pass protection and real- ly build a line that can stick together for a while.’’ Veldheer, who became the starting left tackle as a rookie, put on 15 pounds during the offseason and now weighs 325 pounds. He hopes that will help him match up with bigger pass rushers. ‘‘I just felt I was pretty skinny last year, playing out there compared to a lot of guys,’’ he said. ‘‘I really put a focus on being able to put some good weight on and get myself to the physical standpoint where I need to be to hold up better versus the bull rush, to be firmer on run blocks. I think I’ve got this chance with this time to accomplish that.’’ The Raiders also got the chance to begin negotiating with free agents. Oakland did a lot of work on poten- tial free agents before the lockout started in March, signing deals with defensive linemen Richard Seymour and John Henderson, line- backer Kamerion Wimbley, cornerback Stanford Routt, safety Hiram Eugene, back- up running back Rock Cartwright, backup quarter- back Kyle Boller and Loper. The most prominent free agent remaining is Pro Bowl cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, who is unlikely to return after Oakland gave Routt a $31.5 million, three- year deal in February and drafted a pair of corner- backs in Chimdi Chekwa and DeMarcus Van Dyke. The biggest question will be whether the Raiders can deep right-center. Ibanez had been 9 for 49 (.184) lifetime against Zito entering the game. Howard had put Philadelphia on the board with an RBI double to right that scored Utley. Zito said the pitch to Ibanez was a cutter that didn’t move enough inside. ‘‘I felt pretty good after the first,’’ Zito said. ‘‘That Ibanez pitch I want back.’’ The left-hander rebounded after the slow start, allowing two runs and three hits over his final six innings. ‘‘It’s a shame he couldn’t get out of that (first) inning because he regrouped and ended up throwing the ball fairly well,’’ Bochy said. ‘‘That’s impressive on his part, not caving in and finding a way to give us innings.’’ St. Elizabeth Community Hospital Sports Medicine Program A member of CHW redbluff.mercy.org/sports 2nd Annual Tehama County Coaches Clinic Friday, August 12, 2011 • 8am-4pm Red Bluff High School Library Conference Room No Cost to Attend! Ed Stroman PT, ATC, CSCS • Dr. Riico Dotson, M.D. Lonnie Scott, MA, ATC. •Stephanie Hartman, MS, ATC Lunch will be provided for all participants! Presenters: Our mission is to present coaches with an opportunity to learn about injury prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and life- threatening injuries and illnesses. All levels and ages are welcome. Tehama County Department of Education Working in Partnership with St. Elizabeth Community Hospital’s Sports Medicine Program To renew your certificate for CPR/First Aid you must pre-register no later than Wednesday August 3, 2011 to: ATTN: Carline Roach Tehama County Department of Education PO Box 689 1135 Lincoln Street , Red Bluff, 96080 E-mail: croach@tehamaschools.org Please include your coaching title, school, e-mail address, phone number and address. www.rollinghillscasino.com retain free agent tight end Zach Miller, who has led the team in receiving each of the past three seasons. He had 60 catches for 685 yards and five touchdowns last season and was selected to the Pro Bowl as an alternate. Starting free safety Michael Huff is also a free agent but might not be back after Oakland signed Eugene before the lockout. MLB West Division Texas American League WL Pct GB Angels 56 48 .538 3 A’s 59 45 .567 — 45 57 .441 13 Seattle 43 60 .417 15.5 East Division WL Pct GB Boston 63 38 .624 — New York 61 40 .604 2 Tampa Bay 53 48 .525 10 Toronto 51 52 .495 13 Baltimore 41 58 .414 21 Central Division WL Pct GB Detroit 55 48 .534 — Cleveland 52 49 .515 2 Chicago 50 52 .490 4.5 Minnesota 48 55 .466 7 Kansas City43 60 .417 12 ————————————————— Tuesday’s results Tampa Bay at Oakland, late Baltimore 12, Toronto 4 Boston 13, Kansas City 9 Detroit 5, Chicago 4 Los Angeles 2, Cleveland 1 Minnesota 9, Texas 8 New York 4, Seattle 1 Today’s games Tampa Bay (Shields 9-8) at Oakland (Cahill 8-9), 7:05 p.m. Los Angeles (E.Santana 5-8) at Cleveland (D.Huff 1-0), 9:05 a.m. Seattle (F.Hernandez 8-9) at New York (P.Hughes 1-2), 10:05 a.m. Detroit (Scherzer 11-5) at Chicago (Danks 3-8), 11:10 a.m. Baltimore (Simon 2-3) at Toronto (R.Romero 7-9), 4:07 p.m. Kansas City (Chen 5-3) at Boston (Lackey 8-8), 4:10 p.m. Minnesota (Duensing 7-8) at Texas (C.Lewis 10-7), 5:05 p.m. 49ers ready to play catch-up SANTA CLARA (AP) — Patrick Willis set three alarm clocks just so he could be at the San Francisco 49ers head- quarters exactly when the NFL lockout lifted. He even set the ringer on his cell phone to full blast. ‘‘It’s loud,’’ the linebacker said. ‘‘It won’t allow you to sleep in.’’ The 49ers certainly didn’t want to waste a moment. With a new coaching staff waiting for them inside, a steady stream of players entered the team’s facility Tuesday for the first time in months. New coach Jim Harbaugh had quick meet-and-greet ses- sions with players and quickly sent them into meetings with coaches some had never met before. Others were scheduled to have a physical, and still more began giddily filling up their locker ahead of the start of training camp Thursday. ‘‘It’s like the first day of school,’’ left tackle Anthony Davis said. Free agent and former starting quarterback Alex Smith, first-round pick Aldon Smith and second-round pick Colin Kaepernick were among the first to arrive. There also was a constant flux of undrafted rookies and others hoping for a spot on the training camp roster. One notable absence was running back Frank Gore, a two-time Pro Bowler who went down with a season-ending fractured hip at Arizona on Nov. 29. He has been training in Miami and is expected to arrive when camp opens. The team is allowed to negotiate with rookies and its own free agents already, although Smith can’t re-sign with the team — as expected — until Friday. President and CEO Jed York, general manager Trent Baalke and Harbaugh have all indicated the team will not be big spenders in the free agent market. Instead, they hope to maintain some continuity on the depth chart. ‘‘It doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to spend money on people that are not on your roster currently,’’ York said. ‘‘I think that’s where we are always focused, making sure that we signed our own guys.’’ San Francisco’s training camp figures to be a major test of the new regime. MLB West Division National League WL Pct GB GIANTS 59 44 .573 — Arizona 55 47 .539 3.5 Colorado 48 55 .466 11 Dodgers 46 56 .451 12.5 Padres 45 58 .437 14 East Division WL Pct GB Philadelphia 65 37 .637 — Atlanta 59 44 .573 6.5 New York 52 51 .505 13.5 Florida 50 53 .485 15.5 Washington 49 53 .480 16 Central Division WL Pct GB St. Louis 55 48 .534 — Pittsburgh 53 47 .530 .5 Milwaukee 55 49 .529 .5 Cincinnati 50 53 .485 5 Chicago 42 61 .408 13 Houston 33 70 .320 22 ————————————————— Tuesday’s results Philadelphia 7, San Francisco 2 Florida 11, Washington 2 Milwaukee 3, Chicago 2 New York 8, Cincinnati 6 St. Louis 3, Houston 1 Arizona at San Diego, late Pittsburgh at Atlanta, late Colorado at Los Angeles, late Today’s games San Francisco (Cain 8-6) at Philadelphia (Hamels 12-5),4:05 p.m. Florida (Vazquez 6-9) at Washington (L.Hernandez 5-9), 4:05 p.m. New York (Pelfrey 5-9) at Cincinnati (Arroyo 7-8), 4:10 p.m. Pittsburgh (Maholm 6-10) at Atlanta (Jurrjens 12-3), 4:10 p.m. Chicago (Zambrano 7-5) at Milwaukee (Greinke 7-4), 5:10 p.m. Houston (Norris 5-7) at St. Louis (C.Carpenter 6-7), 5:15 p.m. Arizona (I.Kennedy 11-3) at San Diego (Luebke 3-4), 7:05 p.m. Colorado (A.Cook 1-5) at Los Angeles (Kuroda 6-12), 7:10 p.m. The 49ers are among a handful of teams with a new coaching staff, and the summer-long lockout has a potential to do even greater damage with so many unknowns. Only about two dozen offensive players who attended informal workouts led by Smith have any knowledge of the playbook, and that brief study time doesn’t compare to the rigors of training camp. Something the 49ers have been eager to begin under the new coach. Harbaugh arrived to great fanfare when the franchise lured him away from Stanford, where Heisman Trophy favorite Andrew Luck is returning from a team that won the Orange Bowl. Harbaugh signed a $25 million, five-year deal to replace the ousted Mike Singletary. San Francisco hasn’t had a winning record or made the playoffs since 2002. ‘‘We have to make it happen because I’m tired of losing,’’ Willis said. ‘‘I want to experience what it’s like to win.” OPEN (Continued from Page 1B) Raiders owner Al Davis wants a new stadium on the Coliseum site, and the 49ers — who couldn’t get a plan they wanted to stay in San Francisco — have focused efforts on financing a facili- ty near team headquarters in Santa Clara. In June 2010, voters in the Silicon Valley city signed off on a plan by the 49ers to build the 68,500- seat stadium. Under the agreement with the team, the city and area hotels would contribute $114 mil- lion to the $937 million pro- ject next to Great America theme park. York said the team is still focused ‘‘100 percent’’ on the Santa Clara project. He is hopeful to start construc- tion in 2013 and open the stadium for the 2015 sea- son, although there’s still a major shortfall in cash to get the financing needed. York said the soon-to- be-ratified, 10-year labor deal has removed the uncer- tainty and made it easier to secure the sponsors and financial backing for a facil- ity. And under the new agreement, he doesn’t believe the rival teams would be competing for league dollars on a stadium. ‘‘It’s not going to put anybody in competition with each other,’’ York said. ‘‘The way the credits work and how much credit would be available over the next several years, there’s more than enough to accommo- date several new stadiums being built, so that’s not going to be an issue.’’ San Francisco 49ers Oakland Raiders