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ByJoshDubow The Associated Press ALAMEDA WhiletheOak- land Raiders stretched be- fore the start of practice, a voice could be heard over the usual musical soundtrack on the loud- speaker. It was Al Pacino in the role of coach Tony D'Amato in the 1990s film "Any Given Sunday" giving his famous "inch by inch" speech be- fore a playoff game. In it, Pacino talks of the team sticking together and fighting for every inch be- cause the margin of error in any game is so small. It was an apt message for a team that has opened the season with nine straight losses and has dropped 15 in a row dating back al- most a year. The architect of the mes- sage was receiver Brice Butler, who also picks the team's music through his self-created alter ego "DJ Duffle Bag." "Duffle Bag last night was thinking about some- thing that could get the guys minds off things," But- ler said Thursday. "I just thought about 'Any Given Sunday' and Al Pacino. Duffle Bag liked that. Duffle Bag put it to- gether and went to see Brice Butler." On Wednesday, Butler used music as his inspira- tion, playing songs such as Journey's "Don't Stop Be- lievin'" and Michael Jack- son's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough." The speech wasn't univer- sally praised as some players found it more of a downer than an inspiration. "That did the reverse ef- fect for me," defensive line- man Antonio Smith said. "It was depressing. I re- member that movie. They had to bring that up." While interim coach Tony Sparano doesn't al- ways agree with the mu- sical selections his young players make, he does like the fact they are seeking deeper meaning. "I wish I did have some control of the music to be quite honest with you," Sparano said. "That is one of our players who picks those things. It's kind of nice he picked something with a message. I don't have anything to do with that. If I did, we'd be listen- ing to Frank Sinatra." Butler said Sinatra could join the rotation later this year if he can find a hipper version of one of the songs. Sparano has used his own motivational ploys since taking over from the fired Dennis Allen af- ter Oakland's 0-4 start. Before his first practice as interim coach, Sparano had the team bury a foot- ball as a symbol of putting those first four games in the past. He also tinkered with the practice schedule and moved players around in the locker room to cre- ate a different vibe. The Raiders played their best game of the season in Sparano's first game before losing 31-28 at home to San Diego. Four more losses have followed, including a lackluster 41-17 defeat at home to Denver last week, extending Oakland's losing streak to 15 games. "Every season doesn't go the way you planned it," re- ceiver James Jones said. "You have obstacles that you have to overcome ev- ery season. Some seasons are better than others; this season we're in a dogfight. "We understand that and the only people that are go- ing to change that is us. We have to climb our way out of it. We have to scratch, we have to claw, we have to do whatever we have to do to go out there and get a win." NOTES CB D.J. Hayden (groin), RT Menelik Watson (concussion) and FB Jamize Olawale (shoulder, ham- string) returned to prac- tice. ... CB T.J. Carrie (an- kle) did not practice after being on the field on a lim- ited basis Wednesday. ... DE Justin Tuck (neck), CB Car- los Rogers (knee) G Gabe Jackson (knee) and TE Da- vid Ausberry (foot) also did not practice. NFL Winless Raiders try to search for inspiration Butlerattemptstolightenmoodatpracticewithmusic,cannedfilmspeech MARCIOJOSESANCHEZ—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Oakland Raiders receiver Brice Butler (12) catches a 5-yard touchdown pass in front of Denver Broncos cornerback Bradley Roby (29) in the second quarter Sunday in Oakland. This time, the 26-year- old lefty's numbers again dominated hitters — Ker- shaw led the majors in wins and ERA while going 21-3 with a 1.77 ERA and throw- ing a no-hitter for the NL West champions. Kershaw got 18 of 30 first- place votes and 355 points in balloting by members of the Baseball Writers' Asso- ciation of America. Stanton got eight first- place ballots and 298 points. He led the NL with 37 homers and was second with 105 RBIs, and missed the last 17 games for the fourth-place Marlins after being hit in the face by a fastball. McCutchen got four firsts and 271 points in his bid to win the award for the sec- ond straight year. He hit .314 with 25 home runs and 83 RBIs for the wild- card Pirates. Six AL pitchers have won the MVP since Gibson took it for the St. Louis Cardinals. Before Gibson, seven pitchers had won the NL MVP, a list that includes Hall of Famers Sandy Kou- fax, Carl Hubbell and Dizzy Dean. The AL MVP has been won 12 times by pitchers, starting when it was first presented in 1931 to Lefty Grove. Trout received all 30 first-place votes and 420 points. Detroit designated hitter Victor Martinez was scond with 229 points and Cleveland outfielder Mi- chael Brantley third with 185. Trout hit .287 and set ca- reer highs in home runs (36) and RBIs (111) while leading the major leagues in runs with 115 and ex- tra-base hits with 84. In his third full season, the Los Angeles Angels center fielder matched his bests in doubles (39) and triple (nine). He also was MVP of the All-Star game in July. "It's something special, for sure," Trout said. "If you would have told me this be- fore the season started, I would have just laughed at you. It's just an unbelievable feeling." Trout was a unanimous pick as the 2012 AL Rookie of the Year and was second in MVP voting to Detroit's Miguel Cabrera in both of his first two full seasons, 81 points back in 2012 and 103 points behind last year. He joined Mickey Mantle as the only players to win af- ter finishing second twice in a row. At 23 years, 52 days on the final day of the regular season, Trout is younger than all MVPs except Vida Blue (1971), Johnny Bench (1970), Stan Musial (1943) and Cal Ripken Jr. (1983). MVP FROM PAGE 1 Stamkos cut the Light- ning's deficit to 2-1 on a redirection of Andrej Sustr's shot 9:35 into the third. Niemi had three saves on Callahan during a 5-on-3 power play that lasted just over a minute earlier in the third. San Jose outshot the Lightning 17-9 during a scoreless first period. San Jose had six shots during a power play on Bishop, who also stopped an in-close chance by Joe Pavelski. NOTES Stamkos, who broke his right leg one year ago, didn't take part in the morning skate. ... Thorn- ton played in his 1,225th NHL game, which is one away from tying Ed West- fall for 90th place all-time. ... Thornton has 16 goals and 39 points in 35 games against the Lightning. ... Tampa Bay C Tyler John- son, who left Tuesday's game at Chicago after be- ing cross-checked in the ribs, played. ... Lightning C Alex Killorn returned af- ter missing four games due to an upper body injury. ... Tampa Bay RW Brett Con- nolly missed his ninth game because of a lower body in- jury but could return in the next week. Sharks FROM PAGE 1 All prices plus government fees and taxes,any finance charge,any dealer document,preparation charge and any emission charge.Subject to Prior sales & credit approval.Rebates subject to change.Some vehicle images in this ad are for illustration purposes only and may vary from actual vehicle. *On Select Units, see dealer for details. See dealer for complete warranty deals. **Must own 1999 or newer GM truck. ***Must trade 1999 or newer vehicle. Ad expires 11/16/2014. 2087 Solano Street • CORNING 1-800-649-7253 or 530-824-5171 FarmBureauAgriculturalMember $ 500 00 Additional Rebate CORNING DEAL IN CORNING AND SAVE! 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