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2C Daily News – Thursday, September 22, 2011 Edwards has knee procedure Melvin gets 3-year deal SANTA CLARA (AP) — 49ers wide receiver Braylon Edwards underwent a surgical procedure on his injured right knee and will be out for a while, though coach Jim Har- baugh refused to predict a timetable for Edwards' return or provide fur- ther details. The coach had to be pushed to reveal the surgery at all. ''Braylon had a little procedure done, yeah,'' Harbaugh said Wednesday. ''He's going to be out for a little bit. I hate to speculate (how long).'' Edwards limped off with the knee injury after making a 21-yard catch on the 49ers' third play from scrimmage in a 27-24 overtime loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. It's a tough blow for San Francisco (1-1) as the team hits the road for two weeks, with a stay in Youngstown, Ohio, between Sun- day's game at Cincinnati and a Week 4 visit to Philadelphia. ''We just hope he gets a fast recovery so he can get back out here,'' fellow starting wideout Joshua Morgan said. ''We know he loves playing this game just as much as we do. With somebody who loves to play the game, you always hate to see him go down with an injury.'' The 28-year-old Edwards received a $3.5 million, one-year contract last month, giving San Francisco the strong, athletic wide- out it sought to fit into Harbaugh's West Coast offense — and giving Edwards a much-needed fresh start out West after a tumultuous stint with the New York Jets. Edwards is 6-foot-3 and 214 pounds and demonstrated his ath- leticism with a pretty one-handed catch along the sideline in a 17-3 exhibition win over the Oakland Raiders on Aug. 20. The 49ers will get some rein- forcements this week. Michael Crabtree is expected back on the field against the Bengals after he was inactive last Sunday while nursing a troublesome, surgi- cally repaired left foot that he aggra- vated again in a Week 1 win over the Seahawks. ''Most likely, yeah,'' Harbaugh said of Crabtree being active. ''I think we have to keep a close eye and monitor, as our doctors and training staff and coaches have.'' Crabtree, who said he thought he could have played last week, appeared to be full speed in the open portion Wednesday afternoon's practice. He was listed as limited in the Niners' participation report. The 10th overall pick in 2009 out of Texas Tech was limited in prac- tice last week after he missed his third straight training camp. He played into the third quarter in San Francisco's 33-17 victory over Seat- tle in Week 1. Crabtree has been a combination of defensive, silent and evasive when asked about his injury. He said his foot feels good when he runs routes before the game. ''You're asking me about my foot and back-to-back games,'' Crabtree said. ''It's day by day. It's improving every day. ... I can't go into the future right now. ... You guys ask me the same questions every time. Within three days, not too much will change. I'm really just trying to get it right right now. Of course I want to go out there and play. It's coach's decision. I felt like I could have (played).'' Meanwhile, Vernon Davis and Harbaugh met to discuss the Pro Bowl tight end's postgame com- ments from Sunday that ''we've still got to keep everybody involved.'' Davis was used more as a blocker than the deep-route threat he has been in recent years. Davis has seven catches for 65 yards through the first two games. He was targeted only three times against Dallas and made two recep- tions for 18 yards. The other pass intended for him was intercepted. ''It's a two-way conversation and it was just about football. It wasn't about frustration or anything else that you'd categorize,'' Harbaugh said. ''We talked. Talk to a lot of players every day. ... Conversations are two-way, me and him.'' The 27-year-old Davis has been a regular playmaker the past two sea- sons, making 56 catches for 914 yards and seven touchdowns in 2010. That came after Davis became the highest-paid tight end in NFL history last September when he signed a five-year contract extension that pays him $37 million overall, with $34 million guaranteed. Davis wants to return to being the dominant player he was in 2009, when he tied Antonio Gates' NFL record for touchdowns by a tight end with 13 and made his first Pro Bowl. Davis said he faces constant dou- ble-teams and agreed with Har- baugh's game plan after watching film from Sunday. With Edwards sidelined for sig- nificant time, Davis said he would handle any receiver's role. ''Whatever I have to do. I strong- ly believe that Coach Harbaugh and the rest of the staff will do every- thing that they can to put us in a great situation to make plays — everybody,'' Davis said. ''Whether it's blocking or catching passes or whatever. I put it in their hands. They've got it. They know what they're doing. I trust and believe in that and just continue to play ball.'' Without Edwards, Ted Ginn Jr., Morgan and Kyle Williams will handle the bulk of the workload in the receiving corps. ''Guys are going to have to step up and be ready to go,'' quarterback Alex Smith said. ''You don't expect this to happen, but it's the game of football and you have to deal with injuries.'' Smith on Wednesday practiced despite word he had been examined for a concussion. The QB was sacked six times by Dallas. In addition, fullback Moran Nor- ris was ruled out for Sunday's game with a fibula injury. He was on crutches and in a walking boot in the locker room. Navy, Air Force top Big East targets NEW YORK (AP) — Navy and Air Force are the top choices for Big East expansion, but as football-only members, a person with knowl- edge of the discussions tells The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity on Wednesday because the conference does not want to publicly dis- close its plans. Navy is an indepen- dent and has played in a bowl eight straight sea- sons. Air Force plays in the Mountain West Conference and has been to a bowl each of the last four years. East Carolina of Conference USA announced on Wednesday it has applied for membership in the Big East. The Big East is MOORE (Continued from page 1C) ing cornerback Stanford Routt a few times. That type of performance became an almost daily rou- tine in Napa that hasn't slowed down much since then. ''He's done it in training camp, he's done it in prac- tice, he's done it in preseason games and he's done it in regular season games,'' coach Hue Jackson said. ''He is as advertised. He made some plays. I mean, it's going to be hard to keep that young man off the field, and he hasn't been. He's been one of the active guys, and we'll continue to fire that.'' Jackson said one of Moore's biggest strengths is his lack of fear. Jackson, who has coached star receivers like Chad Ochocinco in the past, said now Moore needs to show consistency to reach that next level. His teammates expect that to happen because of the work Moore puts in every day and his drive to succeed. ''That's what it comes down to. You've got to work hard in practice,'' teammate regrouping after Syra- cuse and Pittsburgh joined the Atlantic Coast Conference. Leaders from the Big East football schools and TCU, which is to enter the league in 2012, met with Com- missioner John Mari- natto in Manhattan on Tuesday night. All the league's members, including the eight non- football-playing schools, committed to recruit new members. But the league's sta- tus is still less than sta- ble, especially with another piece of the realignment puzzle missing. Once Texas A&M makes a clean break from the Big 12, the SEC will be at 13 teams, and likely look- ing for No. 14. Missouri Derek Hagan said. ''He's definitely steadily trying to improve each and every day. Even if he's out there making a mistake, we're out there trying to help him. But he knows what he's doing, and he's getting the job done so far and hopefully we can keep it going for the next 14 games.'' Moore has gotten an opportunity for significant playing time early because of injuries that have forced Louis Murphy to miss the first two games and Darrius Heyward-Bey and Jacoby Ford to sit out last week in Buffalo. With Murphy out again this week against the New York Jets, Ford's status in doubt and Moore's perfor- mance last week, it figures that he will see plenty of time against Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie. ''I'm putting myself on the map where I'm part of WNBA Conference Finals Eastern Conference Indiana vs. Atlanta Today: at Indiana, 4 p.m. Sunday: at Atlanta, Noon Tuesday: at Indiana, TBD Western Conference Minnesota vs. Phoenix Today: at Minnesota, 6 p.m. Sunday: at Phoenix, 2 p.m. Tuesday: at Minnesota, TBD seemed a candidate, but Big 12 officials are working to save that league. There has been spec- ulation the SEC could have West Virginia of the Big East as a target to be the 14th school. ''As I stated before, WVU is an excellent flagship, land-grant University, with nation- al-caliber athletic and academic programs,'' West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck said in a statement Wednesday. ''We are, and will remain, a national player in col- lege athletics.'' There also has to be concern in the Big East that the ACC could come back for more of its members. UConn and Rutgers would allow the ACC to the team and can actually make plays to help the team,'' Moore said. That's quite different from his draft-day experi- ence when he slipped all the way to the fifth round despite a strong career at Tennessee. Moore said he has a ''chip on my shoulder'' that the Raiders are now benefiting from and has led other teams to regret passing on him in April. ''We really liked him and I'm sure the young man can tell you that,'' Jets coach Rex Ryan said. ''We had him in NASCAR Sprint Cup Points Leaders 1. Kevin Harvick 2. Tony Stewart 3. Carl Edwards 4. Kurt Busch 5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 6. Brad Keselowski 6. Ryan Newman 8. Jimmie Johnson 9 Kyle Busch 10. Matt Kenseth 11. Jeff Gordon 12. Denny Hamlin 2,054 2,047 2,044 2,043 2,041 2,040 2,040 2,038 2,035 2,030 2,029 2,013 Remaining Schedule Sept. 25 — Sylvania 300, Loudon, N.H. Oct. 2 — AAA 400, Dover, Del. Oct. 9 — Hollywood Casino 400, Kansas City, Kan. Oct. 15 — Bank of America 500, Con- cord, N.C. Oct. 23 — Talladega 500, Talladega, Ala. Oct. 30 — TUMS Fast Relief 500, Ridge- way, Va. Nov. 6 — AAA Texas 500, Fort Worth, Texas Nov. 13 — Kobalt Tools 500, Avondale, Ariz. Nov. 20 — Ford 400, Homestead, Fla. expand even farther north and give Pitt, Syracuse and Boston College, which the league plucked from the Big East in 2003, two more local rivals. Multiple officials at Connecticut said the school has not commit- ted to staying in the Big East Conference and continues to look at other conference options. The officials asked that their names not be used because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations. Connecticut Presi- dent Susan Herbst issued a statement Tues- day thanking fans for their patience and reit- erated that the school ''will always do what is in the best interests for the University of Con- necticut.'' for a visit. We really did like him. It never worked out for us. He had a huge game this past week. ... He really did a nice job. That catch he made in double coverage against Buffalo was big time.'' MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA x-Galaxy 16 3 10 58 43 22 Salt Lake 15 7 6 51 41 23 Seattle 14 6 9 51 46 31 FC Dallas 13 9 7 46 36 32 Colorado 10 9 11 41 40 39 Portland 10 12 6 36 36 41 Chivas USA 7 12 11 32 36 38 QUAKES 611 11 29 30 37 Vancouver 4 14 10 22 28 46 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Columbus 11 10 8 41 35 37 Kansas City 10 9 10 40 43 37 Philadelphia 9 7 12 39 36 30 Houston 9 9 12 39 38 39 New York 7 7 15 36 44 41 D.C. 8 8 11 35 39 40 Chicago 5 8 15 30 33 37 Toronto FC 6 12 12 30 32 52 N. England 5 12 12 27 32 46 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. x- clinched playoff berth —————————————————— Wednesday's results San Jose at Portland, late D.C. United 2, Chivas USA 2, tie Real Salt Lake 3, New York 1 Friday's game Philadelphia at Kansas City, 5:30 p.m. Saturday's games San Jose at Colorado, 6 p.m. Houston at FC Dallas, 1 p.m. Los Angeles at Columbus, 4:30 p.m. Portland at New York, 4:30 p.m. Real Salt Lake at D.C. United, 4:30 p.m. Seattle FC at Vancouver, 7:30 p.m. Toronto FC at Chivas USA, 7:30 p.m. Sunday's game New England at Chicago, 1 p.m. OAKLAND (AP) — Bob Melvin is Billy Beane's new man to lead the Athletics for the long haul, or so Oakland's general manager hopes. Melvin is staying put to manage in his native Bay Area and considers it the perfect fit. The feel- ing is mutual for Beane and the A's, who announced Wednesday they had reached agreement on a three-year con- tract to keep Melvin as their permanent manager. ''It was six years, right?'' Melvin joked of his new deal, turning to Beane seated to the skipper's left. Perhaps it will be — as Beane noted this could be just the first of multiple contracts for Melvin if all goes well. ''He's an incredible asset to the entire organization,'' Beane said. The GM can check off his first order of business heading into what should be another busy offseason for the small- budget franchise. The 49-year-old Melvin took over in an interim capacity for the fired Bob Geren in June and had a 42-49 record heading into Wednesday night's game with the AL West-leading Texas Rangers at the Coliseum. Geren's dismissal marked the first time Oakland fired a manager dur- ing the season in a quarter century. Beane was thrilled to find Melvin available during that tough time. Melvin, who played college baseball at California, previously managed the Seat- tle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks and gained Beane's respect. Melvin was a finalist for other recent man- agerial openings, in Milwaukee and with the Mets. While Melvin has long believed he would manage again, ''I've tried to stay in the moment.'' ''It just felt right. A lot of it has to do with how at ease Billy's made me feel,'' he said of getting his chance with this storied franchise. His players respect him and sure were rooting for his return. ''Definitely a player's manager,'' outfielder Ryan Sweeney said. ''A positive guy, he wants you to go out there and win every day like everybody does. The communication is there. He tells you the day before whether you're playing or in the lineup, so that's always good. As far as how he han- dles the team, all that he does has been good. ... I've seen nothing but positive things since he's been here.'' While Oakland (69-85) is headed for a fifth straight sea- son without a winning record or playoff berth since being swept in the 2006 AL championship series by Detroit, the A's have appreciated Melvin's leadership with a constantly changing roster of young players and his vast experience. While Beane didn't say whether a minority candidate was given consideration per MLB rules, he noted the A's front office over the past month was ''in constant communication with the commissioner's office to make sure we honored the process.'' Otherwise, Beane said, Melvin might have already been named the manager. Melvin, joined at his news conference by his 22-year-old daughter, Alexi, owns a 535-557 career managerial record in eight seasons. The A's were 27-36 and mired in a nine-game losing streak when he took over. ''That was sort of a very chaotic time for us,'' Beane said. ''I felt really fortunate a guy of his caliber was available at that time. I had some reservations for him whether he would want to take on this situation. ... From the minute I started talking to Bob it was very positive.'' Melvin led the Diamondbacks to the NL West title in 2007 and also won 93 games in his rookie season with the Mariners in 2003. He also served on Bob Brenly's staff as bench coach in 2001 when the Diamondbacks won the World Series and the following year when they won the NL West. Melvin also coached for Milwaukee under Phil Garner, now an A's advis- er. They worked together with the Tigers, too. Garner could return in some capacity in 2012. ''The communication between me and Bob, I talk to him more times in a day than I talk to my wife,'' Beane said, smil- ing. ''It's really a stimulating relationship. Bob has so much to offer. He's got great ideas. We agree on a lot of things and I think we have an idea what it takes to put together a good club going forward. ... If Bob made any mistake, we get along so well he's probably going to have me lounging around on his couch more than he wants.'' Melvin played 10 seasons in the majors as a catcher with Detroit, San Francisco, Baltimore, Kansas City, Boston, the Yankees and White Sox. He batted .233 with 35 homers and 212 RBIs in 1,955 career at-bats. Closer Andrew Bailey has noticed Melvin's tireless work ethic and commitment to this club. ''He's the first one here,'' Bailey said. ''I thought I got here early and he beats me here.'' Melvin was born in Palo Alto, went to high school in Menlo Park, played at Cal and spent time with the Giants in the majors. When he became interim manager, Melvin called it ''a dream come true.'' Beane approached him with the idea and Melvin asked to be signed up on the spot. MLB West Division Texas American League WL Pct GB Angels 85 70 .548 4.5 A's 89 65 .578 — 69 85 .448 20 Seattle 65 89 .422 24 East Division WL Pct GB z-New York 94 60 .610 — Boston 88 68 .564 7 Tampa Bay 85 69 .552 9 Toronto 78 77 .503 16.5 Baltimore 65 90 .419 29.5 Central Division WL Pct GB x-Detroit 89 65 .578 — Cleveland 76 78 .494 13 Chicago 76 79 .490 13.5 Kansas City68 87 .439 21.5 Minnesota 59 94 .386 29.5 z-clinched playoff berth x-clinched division —————————————————— Wednesday's results Texas at Oakland, late Baltimore 6, Boston 4 Chicago White Sox 8, Cleveland 4 L.A. Angels 7, Toronto 2 N.Y.Yankees 4, Tampa Bay 2, 1st game Tampa Bay at N.Y.Yankees, late Detroit at Kansas City, late Seattle at Minnesota, late Today's games Texas (C.Lewis 13-10) at Oakland (Cahill 11-14), 12:35 p.m. Seattle (Beavan 5-5) at Minnesota (Swarzak 3-7), 10:10 a.m. Baltimore (Britton 10-10) at Detroit (Ja.Turner 0-1), 4:05 p.m. Chicago White Sox (Humber 9-8) at Cleveland (J.Gomez 4-2), 4:05 p.m. Tampa Bay (Niemann 11-7) at N.Y.Yankees (Colon 8-9), 4:05 p.m. L.A. Angels (E.Santana 11-12) at Toronto (H.Alvarez 1-2), 4:07 p.m. Friday's games Oakland at L.A. Angels, 7:05 p.m. Baltimore at Detroit, 4:05 p.m. Boston at N.Y.Yankees, 4:05 p.m. Minnesota at Cleveland, 4:05 p.m. Toronto at Tampa Bay, 4:10 p.m. Seattle at Texas, 5:05 p.m. Kansas City at Chicago, 5:10 p.m. Today's games San Francisco (Bumgarner 12-12) at L.A. (Kuroda 12-16), 7:10 p.m. N.Y. Mets (Capuano 11-12) at St. Louis (Westbrook 12-9), 10:45 a.m. Washington (Peacock 1-0) at Philadelphia (Oswalt 8-9), 4:05 p.m. Colorado (White 2-2) at Houston (Sosa 2-5), 5:05 p.m. Friday's games San Francisco at Arizona, 6:40 p.m. Atlanta at Washington, 4:05 p.m. Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, 4:05 p.m. Philadelphia at N.Y. Mets, 4:10 p.m. Colorado at Houston, 5:05 p.m. Florida at Milwaukee, 5:10 p.m. Chicago Cubs at St. Louis, 5:15 p.m. L.A. Dodgers at San Diego, 7:05 p.m. West Division MLB National League WL Pct GB Arizona 90 66 .577 — GIANTS 83 71 .539 6 Dodgers 77 76 .503 11.5 Colorado 70 85 .452 19.5 Padres 68 88 .436 22 East Division WL Pct GB x-Philadelphia 98 57 .632 — Atlanta 88 68 .564 10.5 Washington 75 79 .487 22.5 New York 73 82 .471 25 Florida 71 85 .455 27.5 Central Division WL Pct GB Milwaukee 91 65 .583 — St. Louis 86 69 .555 4.5 Cincinnati 76 80 .487 15 Chicago 69 87 .442 22 Pittsburgh 69 87 .442 22 Houston 53 102.342 37.5 x-clinched division —————————————————— Wednesday's results San Francisco at L.A. Dodgers, late Arizona 8, Pittsburgh 5 Chicago Cubs 7, Milwaukee 1 Cincinnati 2, Houston 0 Florida 4, Atlanta 0 San Diego 4, Colorado 0 St. Louis 6, N.Y.Mets 5 Washington 7, Philadelphia 5