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Tehama Tracker Saturday's games NHL Vancouver Sharks 7 p.m. CSNC Sunday's games NFL Chicago Raiders 1:05 p.m. FOX On the tube SATURDAY AUTO RACING •8 a.m., SPEED — Formula One, qualifying for Brazilian Grand Prix, at Sao Paulo BOXING • 7:30 p.m., HBO — Adrien Broner (21-0-0) vs. Vicente Rodriguez (34-2- 1), for vacant WBO junior lightweight title, at Cincinnati; champion Canelo Alvarez (38-0-0) vs. Kermit Cintron (33-4-1), for WBC super welterweight title, at Mexico City< COLLEGE FOOTBALL •9 a.m., ABC — Ohio St. at Michigan •9 a.m., ESPN — Georgia at Geor- gia Tech •9 a.m., ESPN2 — Rutgers at Con- necticut •9 a.m., CSNB — Rice at SMU •9 a.m., FX — Iowa St. at Oklahoma •9 a.m., CSNC — Tennessee at Kentucky • 11:30 a.m. , NBC — NCAA, FCS, Grambling St. vs. Southern U., at New Orleans< • 12:30 p.m., ABC — Oregon St. at Oregon • 12:30 p.m., CBS — Alabama at Auburn • 12:30 p.m., ESPN — Penn St. at Wisconsin • 12:30 p.m., ESPN2 — Virginia Tech at Virginia • 12:30 p.m., CSNB — Missouri vs. Kansas, at Kansas City, Mo. •4 p.m., ESPN2 — Florida St. at Florida •4 p.m., CSNB — Texas Tech vs. Baylor, at Arlington, Texas • 4:30 p.m., VERSUS — Washington St. at Washington • 4:45 p.m., ESPN — Clemson at South Carolina • 5:07 p.m., ABC — Notre Dame at Stanford •7 p.m., CSNB — UCLA at Southern Cal GOLF •6 a.m. , TGC — European PGA Tour, South African Open, third round, at Johannesburg, (same-day tape)< •9 a.m., TGC — Australian PGA Championship, third round, at Coolum Beach, Australia (same-day tape) • 7:30 p.m., TGC — Mission Hills World Cup, final round, at Hainan Island, China MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL • 11 a.m., VERSUS — Battle 4 Atlantis, third place and championship game, teams TBD, at Nassau, Bahamas< • 7:30 p.m., ESPN2 — Teams TBD, at Las Vegas NHL HOCKEY • 11 a.m., NHL NETWORK — Philadelphia at N.Y. Rangers •4 p.m., NHL NETWORK — Pitts- burgh at Montreal SOCCER •4 a.m., FOX SOCCER — Premier League, Wolverhampton at Chelsea • 6:30 a.m., FOX SOCCER — Pre- mier League, Fulham at Arsenal • 6:55 a.m., ESPN2 — Premier League, Newcastle at Manchester United • 11:30 a.m., FOX SOCCER — Serie A, Juventus at Lazio • 10 p.m., FOX SOCCER — A- League, Gold Coast United at Mel- bourne Victory SUNDAY AUTO RACING • 7:30 a.m., SPEED — Formula One, Brazilian Grand Prix, at Sao Paulo GOLF •6 a.m. , TGC _ European PGA Tour, South African Open, final round, at Johannesburg, (same-day tape) •9 a.m., TGC — Australian PGA Championship, final round, at Coolum Beach, Australia (same-day tape)< MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL • 1:30 p.m. , ESPN2 — Old Spice Classic, third place game, teams TBD, at Orlando, Fla. • 3:30 p.m. , ESPN2 — Old Spice Classic, championship game, teams TBD, at Orlando, Fla. •6 p.m. , ESPN2 — 76 Classic, championship game, teams TBD, at Anaheim, Calif. NFL FOOTBALL • 10 a.m., CBS — Buffalo at N.Y. Jets • 1:15 p.m., CBS — Denver at San Diego •5 p.m. , NBC — Pittsburgh at Kansas City SOCCER •8 a.m., FOX SOCCER — Premier League, Manchester City at Liverpool • 11:30 a.m., FOX SOCCER — Serie A, Chievo at AC Milan TENNIS •2 a.m. , ESPN2 — ATP World Tour, Finals, semifinals, at London (delayed tape) • 9:30 a.m., ESPN2 — ATP World Tour, Finals, championship match, at London WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL • 11 a.m., ESPN — Baylor at Ten- nessee Sports ALAMEDA (AP) — The last time the Oakland Raiders faced Devin Hester and the Chicago Bears, for- mer coach Lane Kiffin memorably promised to challenge the NFL's most dangerous returner and did not pay the price for doing so. There are not the same bold proclamations coming out of Oakland this week as the Bears prepare to play their first game with back- up quarterback Caleb Hanie at the helm in place of injured starter Jay Cut- ler. ''With the situation they're in right now, I am going to try not to let him touch it,'' All-Pro punter Shane Lechler said. ''Because they got a new quarterback this week, los- ing Jay, they're looking for a spark somewhere. And I don't want that spark to be against our punt team. I think the best thing to do is go neutral on this deal, and let's play defense, and get through it like that.'' Coach Hue Jackson said Hester can change a game in the snap of the fingers and he wished he could have 20 players on his cov- erage units to contain him. Jackson said he hasn't decided yet whether he will kick to Hester but acknowl- edged that sometimes there is no choice because of the situation in the game, so the team must prepare for it. ''We're not going to run from a challenge from any- body and that's the way it is,'' he said. ''But we'll be smart about the challenge. We'll be smart about the fights we pick.'' The Raiders gave Hester eight chances to return the ball in their 17-6 loss in 2007. He returned one kickoff from 8 yards deep in the end zone and only managed to make it out to MCT file photo the 11. He also twice lost 4 yards on punt returns. Hes- ter's one big play, a 64-yard punt return, was wiped out by a holding call. He fin- ished the day with 14 yards on six punt returns and 34 yards on two kickoff returns. That was the only time since Hester's rookie year that he had six punt returns in a game, as most teams choose either to kick the ball out of bounds, or high and short, to prevent him from getting a chance at another highlight. In his two six-return games as a rookie in 2006, he averaged 17.9 yards per punt return with an 83-yard touchdown against Arizona. That's why Lechler called Hester a ''scary'' NASCAR fines Kurt Busch $50,000 for poor behavior CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR fined Kurt Busch $50,000 on Friday for his poor behavior during the Sprint Cup finale last weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. NASCAR cited both an obscene gesture Busch made inside his car and him being verbally abusive to a reporter in fining the 2004 Cup champion. ''Kurt Busch showed disrespect toward a media mem- ber, an incident that followed similar inappropriate media confrontations earlier in the season,'' NASCAR said in a statement announcing the penalty. Busch had a transmission problem early in Sunday's race that sent his Penske Racing Dodge to the garage. His in-car camera caught him making an obscene gesture dur- ing that time. While his team made repairs, Busch waited to be inter- viewed by an ESPN reporter, and a fan videotaped Busch being verbally abusive while waiting to go live. That video was posted on YouTube, and both Penske NBA, players meeting in NYC NEW YORK (AP) — NBA owners and players resumed talks Friday aimed at ending the 148-day lockout in time to save the league's Christmas Day schedule. That deadline has created a sense of urgency because the Dec. 25 schedule is traditionally a showcase for the league.This season's three-game slate was to include Miami at Dallas in an NBA finals rematch, plus MVP Derrick Rose leading Chicago into Los Ange- les to face Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. After a secret meeting earlier this week, the sides have returned to the table for more discussions. Commis- sioner David Stern has said the league needs about 30 days from an agree- ment to when games could be played. Participating in the talks for the league were Stern, deputy commis- sioner Adam Silver, Spurs owner Peter Holt, the chairman of the labor rela- tions committee, and attorneys Rick Buchanan and Dan Rube. The players were represented by executive director Billy Hunter, president Derek Fisher, vice president Maurice Evans, attorney Ron Klempner and economist Kevin Murphy. The discussions between represen- tatives of the owners and players are now centered on settling their lawsuits: The players filed an antitrust lawsuit against the league in Minnesota, and the league filed a pre-emptive suit in New York, seeking to prove the lockout was legal. Because the union disbanded, it can- not negotiate a new collective bargain- ing agreement, but the settlement talks could lead to that. The CBA can only be completed once the union has reformed. officials and Busch have apologized in separate state- ments for his behavior. ''Unfortunately, our result in the season-ending race at Homestead on Sunday was not what we had hoped for as a team,'' he said. ''In my frustration with the loss of my transmission early in the race, I let my emotions get the better of me. I regret having done this and apologize to the sponsors of Penske Racing, to NASCAR, its fans, to the media and in particular, Dr. Jerry Punch.'' Penske officials said earlier this week that Busch's ''inappropriate actions'' were being reviewed internally. ''These actions do not represent Penske Racing and are inconsistent with the company's standards for behav- ior, respect for others and professionalism,'' the team said in a statement. The penalty comes just days after Busch crew chief Steve Addington quit the team, and three weeks to the day that Busch's younger brother, Kyle, intentionally wrecked Ron Hornaday Jr. under caution in a Truck Series race. NASCAR suspended Kyle Busch for the remainder of the weekend at Texas — he was entered in both the Nationwide and Cup events — and fined him $50,000 for the Hornaday wreck. He then spent the next week fight- ing to keep his seat with Joe Gibbs Racing because spon- sor M&M's was embarrassed by his actions. He lost all composure during a race at Richmond in May, when he berated his team and Penske management over his in-car radio. Busch's sponsor Shell/Pennzoil said in a statement it was disappointed with the driver. ''Shell and Pennzoil are disappointed with recent actions by driver, Kurt Busch, at the final race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race season,'' the company said in a statement. ''His actions are in no way consistent with the way we want our brands represented and we have expressed our disappointment and concerns directly to Penske Racing.'' guy to punt to and ranked him alongside Dante Hall as the most dangerous returners he has faced in 12 years in the NFL. ''He's got top-notch vision,'' Lechler said. ''He sees cuts way down the field. He sets up blocks very well, probably one of the better guys that sets up blocks across the league. He's just a guy that we want to try to neutralize and not let him hit the home run against us.'' Hester has more home run returns than any player in NFL history, with 17 in less than six full seasons. His 13.1-yard average on punt returns is the highest in NFL history. Raiders safety Mike Mitchell called Hester the second-best return man in football, behind teammate Jacoby Ford, who has four kick returns for touch- downs in less than two sea- sons as a pro. But Mitchell also said Hester should be as wor- ried about Lechler's big leg and the Raiders' coverage unit as they are with him this week. ''We have a guy who can punt a ball 60 yards in the air. We're going to take every advantage of that,'' Mitchell said. ''We have the biggest, fastest guys in the league cover- ing our punts. We just have to get down field and outrun their protection team and make tackles. After he gets machine gunned a couple of times 1B Weekend Nov. 26 & 27, 2011 Raiders prepare to face Bears' Devin Hester he's not going to be too quick to return punts.'' The Raiders have allowed a pair of punt return scores this season, both to Denver. Oakland has allowed 14.5 yards per return, fifth worst in the league. But the players on the coverage units welcome the challenge of facing Hester and see no need for the Raiders to kick the ball out of bounds. ''He's going to be there no matter what,'' line- backer Quentin Groves said. ''You can kick it left, you can kick it right, you can kick it down the mid- dle. He's going to still be there. Everybody's tried it. You see guys have tried to kick it away from him. They've tried to do every- thing, pooch kick, and it still doesn't work. You just have to man up and be a man about it and just play.'' Bears coach Lovie Smith has seen all sorts of strategies when it comes to dealing with Hester and is not surprised teams still give him chances despite his record-setting success. ''I think it's hard to go into meetings and tell your punt team that, 'Hey guys, we don't think you're good enough so we're going to have to kick it out of bounds because we don't think you can tackle one guy down on the other end,''' Smith said. ''I just don't think you can go in and do that very often. So, I assume a lot of teams have kicked it to him and I think they'll continue to do that, because he's just an NFL player, like every- body else.'' And what does Smith think about that strategy: ''Believe me, we love it every time that they do decide to do that.'' 49ers look for answers after loss SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — So much for that popular Harbaugh family catch- phrase, ''Who's got it better than us? Nobody!'' on Friday. It had a different ring for Jim Harbaugh John Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens absolutely had it best Thursday night. No cross-country travel to play on three days' rest. No meetings or film ses- sions on an airplane. No hostile environment against them in prime time. Still, Jim Harbaugh accepts the fact his San Francisco 49ers (9-2) might have lost to his big brother regardless — even had it been a Sunday game in Candlestick Park with a full week to prepare. ''The fact that we were the road team and we had to travel across country, that put us at a competitive disadvantage,'' Har- baugh said Friday of the 16-6 defeat. ''I'm not whining, I'm not making excuses, it's just the truth. We knew it, we had to over- come it and we weren't able to. And that was a good football team. I think it will make us stronger going forward.'' The Harbaugh brothers typically speak on the phone once a week to rehash their respective games. Sometimes it's Sunday night, or perhaps Monday because of the time difference, and occasionally not until Tuesday. Jim is unsure when that conversation might take place after Baltimore snapped San Francisco's eight-game winning streak in the hyped-up game that marked the first time in NFL history siblings opposed each other as head coaches. ''I don't have a plan,'' the first-year NFL coach said. There are more pressing matters at the moment than friendly family chats. Such as figuring out what happened with an overmatched offensive line that allowed nine sacks of Alex Smith. The NFC West- leading 49ers made their share of mistakes to miss key opportunities. Harbaugh insists his team will learn from it. He knows the loss stung for his players, who are closing in on the fran- chise's first playoff berth and winning record since 2002. They hadn't lost since a 27-24 overtime defeat to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2, so that had to feel a little strange. And San Francisco had won its initial four road games, all on the East Coast. ''Not everybody feels the same. Every- body's different,'' Harbaugh said of the reaction. ''I'm not a psychologist and was- n't going around checking the whites of everybody's eyes to see how bad they felt or didn't feel. The men put a lot into it. They were disappointed. That I could see. They'll bounce back. This is a team that's a resilient team and we'll learn from it. ... ''It's easy to second- guess. We felt like we were playing pretty darn good.'' Harbaugh acknowl- edged in this case there were multiple problems that led to the sacks on Smith. The offen- sive line took its lumps — and plenty of criticism — in the early weeks of the sea- son, but made significant strides since to more consistently protect Smith and give him ample time to make plays. ''To put it frankly, we played bad today on the offensive line,'' left tackle Joe Sta- ley said in Baltimore. ''Guys didn't come to play today. Disappointing effort. I feel like we let our team down.'' Harbaugh broke it down this way: three sacks resulted from being beaten on pro- tection calls, three in which the 49ers were outplayed physically, and the others cases where Smith held the ball too long. ''There were probably three or four of them where Alex was slippery as heck and got out of there, avoided the pressure, avoided the sack, picked up yardage with his feet or got the ball thrown away,'' Har- baugh said. ''You go back and you look at what we could have exploited better, what we can learn from it in terms of scheme and play-calling, etc., so they're all good learning experiences.'' The 49ers play four of their final five games within the division, starting with next Sunday's home matchup with St. Louis. There's also a Monday night game at Candlestick on Dec. 19 against the Steelers. The three road games are against each division opponent: the Rams, Sea- hawks and Cardinals.