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2B Daily News – Tuesday, September 27, 2011 Is 2 races too soon to count JJ out of hunt? CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — There was something dif- ferent about Jimmie Johnson this year as he readied for yet another challenge to his reign of NASCAR. The five-time defending champion had a clear under- standing that his record-setting run couldn't last forever. Eventually, somebody would figure out how to beat him, and if Johnson were a gambler, well, he probably wouldn't like the odds of him holding off 11 other drivers for a sixth con- secutive year. That's not to say he had any intention of rolling over for the competition. If Johnson is to be dethroned this year, he's going to go down swinging. Now, just two races into the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, many believe 5-time is already on the ropes. His 18th-place finish at New Hampshire on Sunday dropped Johnson to 10th in the 12-driver Chase field. It's the lowest Johnson has ever been ranked in the 12-driver format, and he trails leader Tony Stewart by 29 points. He knows he needs to be pretty close to perfect from here on out to hold onto his title. ''We need eight great ones from here,'' Johnson said. ''We can't run 10th anymore. We need a bunch of Ws.''' Only Johnson doesn't seem to have a bunch of victories in him. He's got only one this season, at Talladega in April, and that's actually his only victory over the last year. Then there's the tense radio chatter between Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus midway through Sunday's race. With the No. 48 Chevrolet not handling to Johnson's lik- ing, Knaus tried to keep the driver motivated and focused. Johnson didn't want to hear it, told Knaus his cheerleading was ''annoying'' and essentially demanded the crew chief shut up and let him drive. So, yeah, there's some compelling evidence to the argu- ment that Johnson is in deep trouble after only two weeks. Do so, though, at your own risk because counting out Johnson is about the dumbest thing his rivals could possibly do right now. Maybe it seems too long ago, but Johnson prepared for this Chase with seven top-10 finishes in nine races. During a five-race span over the last month, he finished second twice and fourth twice. And maybe everybody forgets Round 1 of the Chase, when Johnson led 39 laps and had to back off racing for the win to conserve fuel. He was running third when he ran out of gas as he took the flag on the final lap, and he faded to a 10th-place finish. As the celebration on Stewart's first win of the season faded, the talk shifted to Johnson and the strong statement his Hendrick Motorsports team made at Chicago. ''He ran out of gas and still finished 10th! If that's his bad day, everybody else is in trouble.'' Now here we are, one poor run later, and suddenly the guy is finished? His little spat with Knaus, in the grand scheme of things, was nothing to be alarmed about and not all that out of the ordinary. Little has been said about Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch or Kevin Harvick, who all got testy on the radio at times Sunday. Then there's Stewart, the sudden points leader after wins in the first two Chase races, who cryptically credited the removal of some ''dead weight'' as reason for his surge. His refusal to elaborate left most everyone wondering about his current state of mind. Sure, Johnson is in a hole right now. But nobody is immune from a bad race or two, Stewart isn't going to win all 10 Chase races, and Johnson has some very good tracks looming. Johnson has a combined 26 career victories at the eight remaining Chase tracks. In 129 starts, he's got 94 top-10 fin- ishes and an average finish of 9.8. First up is Round 3 of the Chase, at Dover, where John- son has six career victories. Toss out crashes in 2003 and 2004, and Johnson's lowest finish is 16th. He's got three wins in his last five visits to Dover, including a victory in last year's Chase. He's been down in the Chase before, maybe not this low, and not under the 43-to-1 points system that went into effect this season. Only Johnson and Knaus know if their Hendrick Motorsports team is off a tick this year, and they just can't run at the same level they did the past five years. But even if they did, they'd still give it everything they have down to the final checkered flag. ''My optimism is still high,'' Johnson said. ''These first two races did not start as we had hoped that they would, but eight to go, there's still a lot that can happen. Past experience really helps with the mental side of it going into the next event and for my guys. ''Not the day that we wanted, but we'll come back strong next week.'' Only a fool would doubt that. LEARN (Continued from page 1B) day.'' Now the task will be to back that up with another win this week against Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and a New England Patriots team still smarting from blowing their own big lead in Buffalo. ''It was a statement but you can't get too full of yourself because Tom Brady is coming in next week and they lost to the Bills,'' defensive tackle Tommy Kelly said. ''You know Belichick will have them ready to go.'' The statement from the Raiders began in the trenches, where the offen- sive line has turned from a weakness to a major strength. Oakland has allowed just two sacks all season — tied for the fewest in the NFL — with one coming when quarter- back Jason Campbell tripped over McFadden's foot. The Raiders have been even better in the running game, where they lead the NFL with 185 yards per game, led by McFadden, who ran for two touch- downs against the Jets and leads the league in rush- ing. ''The strength of the team is their defense,'' tight end Kevin Boss said. ''To be able to rush for that many yards against a strong defensive front like that is definitely reward- ing for us.'' Notes: Jackson said McFadden should be ready to go this week despite leaving the game against the Jets late in the fourth quarter when his hamstring tightened up. ... Jackson said he would know more on the status of CB Chris Johnson (hamstring) and S Michael Huff (concussion) on Wednesday. ... WR Jacoby Ford ran on Monday and is hoping to be able to play this week after missing the past two games with a hamstring injury. ... The Raiders released CB Sterling Moore and signed S Ron Parker to take his place. Harbaugh expects Gore to play While Harbaugh isn't ready to SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh expects running back Frank Gore to play this week at Philadelphia despite a sprained right ankle that limited him in Sunday's win at Cincinnati. Harbaugh, whose 2-1 Niners lead the NFC West, is game-planning this week as if Gore will start against the Eagles. San Francisco is practicing in Youngstown, Ohio, to avoid a return trip to the West Coast before facing Philadelphia. ''Frank's status, in my mind right now, Frank is good to go,'' Harbaugh said in a conference call. ''We'll plan, we'll scheme and prepare for this game with Frank, along with the rest of the players on this team.'' Harbaugh said Gore was walking without a boot Monday and also referred to rookie Kendall Hunter as ''the backup tailback'' — leaving little question that Gore remains the guy, for now at least. Hunter ran 7 yards for the game's only touchdown with 3:59 left Sunday. Gore received a new $21 million, three-year contract late last month. shake up a running game that ranks 29th in the NFL through the season's first three weeks, he might be headed for a change on the struggling offen- sive line. Quarterback Alex Smith has been sacked 11 times over the past two games and sustained a concussion in a 27-24 Week 2 overtime loss to the Cowboys. Harbaugh said he is consid- ering a change at right guard in place of Chilo Rachal before Sunday's game with the Eagles. Adam Snyder finished the game at right guard. ''To be determined,'' he said when asked about Rachal's role. ''There's a competition there.'' Harbaugh said he will keep his assessment of his struggling offensive line in-house. ''That's something we talk about as a unit, as a team. They hear from us coaches,'' Harbaugh said. ''I don't feel inclined to have them read about it as well. We're working at it. The ball- game yesterday was a tough, hard fought, at times painful. Kind of like going to the dentist.'' Harbaugh noted that he reviewed film and still believes Michael Crabtree stayed in bounds on a 10-yard catch in the end zone that was taken away in the sonal and professional lives,'' he said. The 58-year-old former NBA front OAKLAND (AP) — Rick Welts has found the ideal fit: a new gig in the Bay Area with the Golden State War- riors. Welts was hired as Golden State's president and chief operating officer Monday and will report to owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber while handling the franchise's business operations. The team planned to introduce Welts on Tuesday at the team's practice facility. He replaces Robert Rowell, who resigned in June as the club's top executive for business operations. Welts left a position as president and chief executive of the Phoenix Suns earlier this month for personal reasons, four months after he became the first senior sports executive to openly acknowledge he was gay. Welts said at the time he would relocate to Northern California to be with his partner. ''It's an opportunity probably for the first time for me to align my per- office executive — he was third in command when he left in 1999 — said he hoped to return to work for a pro- fessional sports franchise in the Bay Area. He didn't have to wait long for that opportunity. ''His track record in all facets of the business — sponsorship, marketing, public relations, event management, team services, merchandising — and his ability to be strategically creative and cutting-edge make him the ideal candidate to lead our organization,'' Lacob said. ''Quite honestly, I'm con- vinced that we could not have found a better candidate for the job.'' Welts joined the Suns in 2002 as president and had the additional title of CEO the past two seasons. He announced in May that he was gay. He said his life since then has been ''fascinating'' and that he intended to do more work to promote the cause of ''treating everyone equally.'' third quarter of his team's 13-8 win over the Bengals. At the time, Har- baugh didn't have a chance to see a replay, otherwise he would have chal- lenged the call. He said the 49ers will make note of that play in their weekly report to the league office. ''I have not seen a definitive angle other than the coach's video that we've watched,'' Harbaugh said. ''From the look of it, it looked like he was in bounds and never stepped out of bounds. It was a heck of a play — it was a fantastic play by Michael, fan- tastic play by Alex — at a part of the game when that touchdown was important. I would have loved to see it stick. They both deserved it.'' Harbaugh is treating practice at Youngstown State like a destination training camp. He reminded his play- ers that this should be considered a typ- ical work week — just away from home. ''We've talked. It's not a vacation for us, in terms of where to go sight- seeing,'' Harbaugh said. Injured wide receiver Braylon Edwards, working his way back from right knee surgery, and fullback Moran Norris (left fibula injury) stayed in the Bay Area to rehabilitate their injuries. Warriors hire former Suns executive Welts has 36 years of NBA experi- ence. ''It's hard to express how excited I am to embrace this opportunity and be part of a collective group in building the Warriors into a championship cal- iber organization,'' Welts said. ''I've been most impressed with Joe Lacob and Peter Guber's vision and desire to do something great. Not good, but great. Many of the ingredients are here — the Warriors' rich history, the team's amazing fan support, and the strength of the Bay Area as a sports market. ''We have a lot of work to do and I can't wait to get started.'' Lacob and Guber, who bought the Warriors for a record $450 million in July 2010 from longtime owner Chris Cohan, have wasted no time putting their stamp on the organization. There have made major changes in a matter of months. In April, they gave general manager Larry Riley a new contract and hired former sports agent Bob Myers as the team's assistant GM. Giants bringing back entire coaching staff SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Manager Bruce Bochy is bringing back his entire coaching staff for 2012. Bochy met with each of his coaches in recent days to give them the news they would return. Coaches are typically on one-year con- tracts. ''I've talked to the staff and we plan on having everybody back,'' Bochy told The Associated Press on Monday. Details were still to be worked out, but Bochy said a verbal agreement had been reached with each coach. There has been criticism of hitting coach Hensley ''Bam Bam'' Meulens because of San Francisco's struggling offense, though the Giants ultimately decid- ed it wasn't Meulens' fault. He has worked tirelessly with hitters and regularly travels during the winter to WNBA Conference Finals Eastern Conference Indiana 1, Atlanta 1 Game 1: Indiana 82, Atlanta 74 Game 2: Atlanta 94, Indiana 77 Tonight: Atlanta at Indiana, 5 p.m. Western Conference Minnesota 2, Phoenix 0 Game 1: Minnesota 95, Phoenix 67 Game 2: Minnesota 103, Phoenix 86 NASCAR Sprint Cup Points Leaders 1. Tony Stewart 2. Kevin Harvick 3. Brad Keselowski 4. Carl Edwards 5. Jeff Gordon 6. Kyle Busch 7. Matt Kenseth 8. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 9. Kurt Busch 10. Jimmie Johnson 11. Ryan Newman 12. Denny Hamlin 2,094 2,087 2,083 2,080 2,071 2,068 2,068 2,068 2,066 2,065 2,060 2,028 Schedule Oct. 2 — AAA 400, Dover, Del. Oct.9 — Hollywood Casino 400, Kansas City, Kan. Oct. 15 — Bank of America 500, Concord, N.C. Oct. 23 — Good Sam Club 500, Talladega, Ala. Oct. 30— TUMS Fast Relief 500, Ridgeway, Va. Nov. 6— AAA Texas 500, Fort Worth, Texas Nov. 13 — Kobalt Tools 500, Avondale, Ariz. Nov. 20— Ford 400, Homestead, Fla. visit different players. The reigning World Series champion Giants entered Monday night's game with Colorado ranked last in the National League in runs scored with 557, last in RBIs (522) and on-base percentage (.303). They also dealt with season-end- ing injuries to 2010 NL Rookie of the Year Buster Posey and second baseman Freddy Sanchez. Bochy said he has addressed many issues he would like to see improve gearing up for 2012, includ- ing situational hitting, defense and baserunning. The Giants captured their first World Series title since moving West in 1958 in Meulens' first season as hitting coach last year. San Francisco had a .257 bat- ting average, ranked sev- MLB West Division American League WL Pct GB x-Texas 93 66 .585 — Angels 86 73 .541 7 A's 72 87 .453 21 Seattle 66 93 .415 27 East Division WL Pct GB x-New York 97 63 .606 — Boston 89 71 .556 8 Tampa Bay 89 71 .556 8 Toronto 80 80 .500 17 Baltimore 68 92 .425 29 Central Division WL Pct GB x-Detroit 93 67 .581 — Cleveland 80 80 .500 13 Chicago 78 82 .488 15 Kansas City71 89 .444 22 Minnesota 61 99 .381 32 x-clinched division —————————————————— Monday's results Oakland at Seattle, late Baltimore 6, Boston 3 Chicago White Sox 4, Toronto 3 Detroit 14, Cleveland 0 Kansas City 7, Minnesota 3 Tampa Bay 5, N.Y.Yankees 2 Texas at L.A. Angels, late Today's games Oakland (Cahill 11-14) at Seattle (Beavan 5-5), 7:10 p.m. Boston (Bedard 5-9) at Baltimore (Britton 11-10), 4:05 p.m. Cleveland (J.Gomez 5-2) at Detroit (Scherzer 14-9), 4:05 p.m. N.Y.Yankees (Colon 8-10) at Tampa Bay (Hellickson 13-10), 4:10 p.m. Kansas City (O'Sullivan 2-5) at Minnesota (Swarzak 3-7), 5:10 p.m. Toronto (H.Alvarez 1-2) at Chicago (Buehrle 12-9), 5:10 p.m. Texas (C.Lewis 13-10) at Los Angeles (E.Santana 11-12), 7:05 p.m. Wednesday's games Oakland at Seattle, 7:10 p.m. Toronto at Chicago White Sox, 11:10 a.m. Boston at Baltimore, 4:05 p.m. Cleveland at Detroit, 4:05 p.m. N.Y.Yankees at Tampa Bay, 4:10 p.m. Texas at L.A. Angels, 5:05 p.m. Kansas City at Minnesota, 5:10 p.m. enth in the NL, and scored the ninth-most runs in the NL with 697 — an increase of 40 from 2009. The Giants' 4.30 runs per game in 2010 were ninth best in the NL. Also returning are bench coach Ron Wotus, pitching coach Dave Righetti, bullpen coach Mark Gard- ner, third base coach Tim Flannery, first base coach Roberto Kelly and bullpen catcher Bill Hayes. Wotus is the longest- tenured member of the coaching staff, finishing up his 14th season on the major league staff, 22nd as a coach in the franchise and 24th overall with the club. Righetti has been the pitch- MLB West Division National League WL Pct GB x-Arizona 93 66 .585 — GIANTS 84 75 .528 9 Dodgers 80 78 .506 12.5 Colorado 72 87 .453 21 Padres 69 90 .434 24 East Division WL Pct GB x-Philadelphia100 60 .625 — Atlanta 89 71 .556 11 Washington 79 80 .497 20.5 New York 76 84 .475 24 Florida 71 89 .444 29 Central Division WL Pct GB x-Milwaukee 94 65 .591 — St. Louis 88 72 .550 6.5 Cincinnati 78 82 .488 16.5 Pittsburgh 71 88 .447 23 Chicago 70 89 .440 24 Houston 56 104.350 38.5 x-clinched division —————————————————— Monday's results Colorado at San Francisco, late Cincinnati 6, N.Y. Mets 5 Houston 5, St. Louis 4, 10 innings Philadelphia 4, Atlanta 2 Washington 6, Florida 4 Chicago Cubs at San Diego, late L.A. Dodgers at Arizona, late Pittsburgh at Milwaukee, late Today's games Colorado (White 2-3) at S.F. (Bumgarner 12-13), 7:15 p.m. Cincinnati (Arroyo 9-12) at N.Y. Mets (Capuano 11-12), 4:10 p.m. Philadelphia (Oswalt 8-10) at Atlanta (D.Lowe 9-16), 4:10 p.m. Washington (Lannan 10-13) at Florida (Vazquez 12-11), 4:10 p.m. St. Louis (Westbrook 12-9) at Houston (Sosa 3-5), 5:05 p.m. Pittsburgh (Ohlendorf 1-3) at Milwaukee (Wolf 13-10), 5:10 p.m. L.A. Dodgers (Kuroda 13-16) at Arizona (Parker 0-0), 6:40 p.m. Chicago Cubs (Garza 9-10) at San Diego (Bass 2-0), 7:05 p.m. Wednesday's games Colorado at San Francisco, 12:45 p.m. Cincinnati at N.Y. Mets, 10:10 a.m. Washington at Florida, 1:10 p.m. Philadelphia at Atlanta, 4:10 p.m. St. Louis at Houston, 5:05 p.m. Pittsburgh at Milwaukee, 5:10 p.m. Chicago Cubs at San Diego, 5:35 p.m. L.A. Dodgers at Arizona, 6:40 p.m. ing coach for the past 12 seasons. NFL AFC West WL T Pct PF PA RAIDERS 21 0 .667 92 82 Chargers 2 1 0 .667 65 69 Denver 1 2 0 .333 58 62 Kansas City 0 3 0 .000 27 109 East WL T Pct PF PA Buffalo 3 0 0 1.000113 73 N. England 2 1 0 .667 104 79 N.Y. Jets 2 1 0 .667 83 61 Miami South 0 3 0 .000 53 78 WL T Pct PF PA Houston 2 1 0 .667 90 60 Tennessee 2 1 0 .667 57 43 Jacksonville 1 2 0 .333 29 62 Indianapolis 0 3 0 .000 46 84 North WL T Pct PF PA Baltimore 2 1 0 .667 85 40 Cleveland 2 1 0 .667 61 62 Pittsburgh 2 1 0 .667 54 55 Cincinnati 1 2 0 .333 57 54 NFC West WL T Pct PF PA 49ERS 21 0 .667 70 52 Seattle 1 2 0 .333 30 67 Arizona 1 2 0 .333 59 56 St. Louis 0 3 0 .000 36 96 East Dallas WL T Pct PF PA 2 1 0 .667 69 67 Washington 2 1 0 .667 66 53 N.Y. Giants 2 1 0 .667 71 60 Philadelphia 1 2 0 .333 78 77 South WL T Pct PF PA Tampa Bay 2 1 0 .667 60 60 N. Orleans 2 1 0 .667 104 88 Carolina 1 2 0 .333 60 68 Atlanta 1 2 0 .333 60 77 North Green Bay 3 0 0 1.000 99 74 Detroit WL T Pct PF PA 3 0 0 1.000101 46 Chicago 1 2 0 .333 60 69 Minnesota 0 3 0 .000 60 74 —————————————————— Week 3 results Sunday's results Oakland 34, N.Y. Jets 24 San Francisco 13, Cincinnati 8 Baltimore 37, St. Louis 7 Buffalo 34, New England 31 Carolina 16, Jacksonville 10 Cleveland 17, Miami 16 Detroit 26, Minnesota 23, OT Green Bay 27, Chicago 17 New Orleans 40, Houston 33 N.Y. Giants 29, Philadelphia 16 Pittsburgh 23, Indianapolis 20 San Diego 20, Kansas City 17 Seattle 13, Arizona 10 Tampa Bay 16, Atlanta 13 Tennessee 17, Denver 14 Monday's result Dallas 18, Washington 16 Week 4 schedule Sunday's games San Francisco at Philadelphia, 10 a.m. New England at Oakland, 1:15 p.m. Buffalo at Cincinnati, 10 a.m. Carolina at Chicago, 10 a.m. Detroit at Dallas, 10 a.m. Minnesota at Kansas City, 10 a.m. New Orleans at Jacksonville, 10 a.m. Pittsburgh at Houston, 10 a.m. Tennessee at Cleveland, 10 a.m. Washington at St. Louis, 10 a.m. Atlanta at Seattle, 1:05 p.m. N.Y. Giants at Arizona, 1:05 p.m. Denver at Green Bay, 1:15 p.m. Miami at San Diego, 1:15 p.m. N.Y. Jets at Baltimore, 5:20 p.m. Monday's game Indianapolis at Tampa Bay, 5:30 p.m.