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Tehama Tracker Wednesday's results Military Bowl Air Force Toledo Holiday Bowl Texas California Today's games BOYS HOOPS at South Medford Tourney at Liberty Christian Invite at Liberty Christian Invite GIRLS HOOPS at West Coast Jamboree at West Coast Jamboree at Liberty Christian Invite WRESTLING at Nike Showcase, Chico Champs Sports Bowl Florida State Notre Dame 2:30 p.m. ESPN Alamo Bowl Baylor Washington NBA Chicago Kings 7 p.m. CSNC+ On the tube MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL •4 p.m., ESPN2 — Florida at Rut- gers •6 p.m., ESPN2 — Vanderbilt at Mar- quette •6 p.m., CSNC — California at USC •8 p.m., ESPN2 — BYU at Saint Mary's (Cal) •8 p.m., CSNB — UCLA at Stanford NBA BASKETBALL •5 p.m., TNT — Dallas at Oklahoma City • 7:30 p.m. TNT — New York at L.A. Lakers NBA At A Glance By The Associated Press EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL Pct GB New York 1 0 1.000 — New Jersey 1 1 .500 1/2 Toronto 1 1 .500 1/2 Philadelphia 1 1 .500 1/2 Boston 0 3 .000 2 Southeast Division WL Pct GB 3 0 1.000 — Miami Atlanta 2 0 1.000 1/2 Orlando 1 1 .500 1 1/2 Charlotte 1 1 .500 1 1/2 Washington 0 2 .000 2 1/2 Central Division WL Pct GB Indiana 2 0 1.000 — Cleveland 1 1 .500 1 Chicago 1 1 .500 1 Milwaukee 1 1 .500 1 Detroit 0 2 .000 2 WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division WL Pct GB San Antonio 2 0 1.000 — New Orleans2 0 1.000 — Houston 0 1 .000 1 1/2 Dallas 0 2 .000 2 Memphis 0 2 .000 2 Northwest Division WL Pct GB Okla. City 3 0 1.000 — Denver 2 0 1.000 1/2 Portland 2 0 1.000 1/2 Minnesota 0 2 .000 2 1/2 Utah 0 2 .000 2 1/2 Pacific Division WL Pct GB L.A. Clippers1 1 .500 — Kings 1 1 .500 — Warriors 1 1 .500 — L.A. Lakers 1 2 .333 1/2 Phoenix 0 2 .000 1 ——— Tuesday's Games Atlanta 106, New Jersey 70 Miami 115, Boston 107 Milwaukee 98, Minnesota 95 Portland 101, Sacramento 79 L.A. Lakers 96, Utah 71 Wednesday's Games Indiana 90, Toronto 85 Miami 96, Charlotte 95 Atlanta 101, Washington 83 Cleveland 105, Detroit 89 New Orleans 97, Boston 78 Oklahoma City 98, Memphis 95 San Antonio 115, L.A. Clippers 90 Denver 117, Utah 100 Philadelphia 103, Phoenix 83 New York at Golden State, late Thursday's Games New Jersey at Orlando, 4 p.m. San Antonio at Houston, 5 p.m. Dallas at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m. Chicago at Sacramento, 7 p.m. Denver at Portland, 7 p.m. New York at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m. Moves Wednesday's Sports Transactions By The Associated Press BASEBALL American League NEW YORK YANKEES—Agreed to terms with LHP Hideki Okajima on a minor league contract. National League WASHINGTON NATIONALS— Agreed to terms with UT Mark DeRosa on a one-year contract. FOOTBALL National Football League MIAMI DOLPHINS—Announced the retirement of LB Jason Taylor, effec- tive at the end of the season. Placed OT Jake Long on injured reserve. Signed RB Richard Medlin from the practice squad. ALAMEDA (AP) — The Oakland Raiders got a big boost for their offense heading into their must-win season finale when big-play receiver Jacoby Ford practiced for the first time in more than a month Wednes- day. Ford participated on a limited basis for the first time since spraining his left foot on Nov. 10 at San Diego, a positive sign heading into this crucial week for the Raiders. Oakland (8-7) needs to beat the Chargers (7-8) to make it to the postseason for the first time since 2002. ''It was a good start for him,'' coach Hue Jackson said. ''He had a chance to do some things today, move around, I think that's a start, we'll just keep going through the week and see where he is tomorrow and keep going forward.'' After a strong rookie season, Ford has played only sparingly this season because of injuries. He has played just seven games, leaving the opener with a ham- string injury and the first game against the Chargers with a foot injury in the first quarter. Ford has caught 17 passes for 260 yards and a touchdown this WASHINGTON (AP) — Back and forth they went. A kickoff return for 87 yards. A pitch around the left end for 60. Touchdown passes for 49 and 37 yards. Two touchdowns scored on fourth downs. A pair of botched onside kicks. And that was just the first half. Toledo and Air Force ran up the score early and often Wednesday at the Military Bowl and played to a wild finish, decided only when Air Force's 2-point conver- sion attempt went awry with 52 seconds to play to give Toledo a 42-41 victory. Air Force lined up to kick the extra point after Zach Kauth's 33-yard touchdown catch on fourth- and-3 pulled the Falcons within a point. But holder David Baska ran the option instead and fumbled the ball toward kicker Parker Her- rington, who chased it until it went out of bounds in the end zone. Bernard Reedy's third touchdown of the game — a 37-yard catch, spin and run season and has also returned a kick for another score — his fourth in two seasons. His latest injury came on a 41-yard catch in the first game against the Chargers. ''He wants to play,'' Jackson said. ''But again, I got to do what's best for this football team. We've got a huge game. I think we all understand that. The most important thing is to put him in the best situation and put our team in the best situation to win a game.'' Ford wasn't the only key player to return to practice Wednesday. Safety Michael Huff also was back after missing the past two games with a ham- string injury. Running back Dar- ren McFadden remains sidelined by an injured right foot that he hurt Oct. 23. But the Raiders are healthier than they've been in weeks. Denarius Moore has provided a spark the past two weeks after returning from a foot injury, catching a 61-yard pass for Oak- land's only touchdown in last week's 16-13 overtime win at Kansas City that kept Oakland's season alive. Oakland's offense struggled MCT file photo when the speedy Moore and Ford were missing on the out- side. Quarterback Carson Palmer is looking forward to the chance to work with all of his big-play threats. ''We're getting to the point where we can be really healthy and a lot healthier,'' he said. ''We're going to take it one day at a time. It's not a situation where you want to save any- body and it's not a situation where you just want to rush somebody back to the field. There's such kind of weird injuries. They all have that foot injury that at any time could go. The trainers are going to do a good job making sure they're ready to be on the field when they are on the field.'' Huff has missed the past two games with a hamstring injury, but said there was no way he'd miss this week's game after spending his first five NFL sea- sons watching the playoffs. The Raiders can win the AFC West by beating the Chargers and having Denver lose at home to Kansas City or win the wild card with a win, a Cincinnati loss and either a Tennessee loss or a New York Jets win. Toledo holds off Air Force Military Bowl 6 p.m. ESPN 10 21 42 41 Sports SAN DIEGO (AP) — David Ash threw for one touchdown and caught a TD pass to lead Texas to a 21-10 victory against California in the Holiday Bowl on Wednesday night. The Longhorns (8-5) had five takeaways and sacked Cal's Zach Maynard six times. The Golden Bears (7-6) are winless in five games against the Longhorns dating to 1959. Ash caught a 4-yard pass from wide receiver Jaxon Ship- ley in the second quarter to join BYU's Steve Young, Texas A&M's Bucky Richardson and Oregon's Joey Harrington as quarterbacks who've caught scoring passes in the Holiday Bowl. Texas coach Mack Brown joked on Tuesday how much it still bugged him that Harrington Raiders get boost with Ford's return 1B Thursday December 29, 2011 Cal comes up short in Holiday Bowl caught a TD pass in the Ducks' 35-30 win against Texas in the 2000 Holiday Bowl. The Oregon offensive coordinator then was Jeff Tedford, who has been Cal's coach since 2002. Harrington now works for the Longhorn Network. Andy Lee punts 49ers to great field position SANTA CLARA (AP) — Linebacker Patrick Willis makes a point of thanking Andy Lee and the 49ers punt team for the fabulous field position the defense gets game after game. ''I'm there when they come off giving them a high-five and telling them how much I appreciate them,'' Willis said. ''Field position means everything in this game.'' San Francisco's opponents know plenty about that. Lee is a big part of why teams facing the 49ers are starting drives, on average, at the 24.3 yard line — which ranks San Francis- co best in the NFL. He has been so reliable in recent memory that in the rare case when something goes wrong it's a big deal. Fresh off his first career NFC special- teams player-of-the-week honor days earli- er, Lee had a punt blocked in the fourth quarter at Seattle on Saturday that very well could have cost San Francisco the game and a chance for the NFC's No. 2 seed. The Niners (12-3) wound up rallying for a 19-17 win and can earn a first-round play- off bye with a win at St. Louis in Sunday's regular-season finale. That blocked punt marked the first for Lee since 2008 and just the third in his eight-year NFL career. Coach Jim Harbaugh credited his team's poise afterward to stay in the game. ''It just shows what kind of guys we have. If something bad happens, you just have to go out and overcome it,'' Lee said. ''That's what we did this year in those sit- uations and it's worked out for us.'' Lee always expresses appreciation for long snapper Brian Jennings and his fellow special-teamers for the success. Coach Brad Seely has been a big part of it, too. He has a close-knit group that takes pride in its role helping turn around the franchise, with Jennings noting, ''it's not a casual thing that we do.'' The blocked punt by Seattle linebacker Heath Farwell was alarming to say the least. ''It's been awhile,'' Lee said Wednesday of his last blocked punt. ''We know what happened, but we won't get into that. It's not unbelievable but it's a good thing. Me and Brian have a good operation, so a lot of times when something does go wrong, we get the ball off quick enough that some mistakes go without being blocked.'' That play is now all but forgotten after Lee received his third Pro Bowl selection Tuesday. Lee is having his best season yet for the NFC West champions. ''I think I've had good years, but we can categorize this as the best because it's the best numbers and with the 49ers going to the playoffs,'' Lee said. ''I'm hitting the ball well and a handful of punts have been a little longer than normal.'' the bullpen at Fenway Park is a special feeling. He'll experience that a lot more next season. New manager Bobby Valentine found his new man for the back end of the Boston bullpen on Wednesday when the Red Sox obtained the All-Star closer and outfielder Ryan Sweeney from the Oakland Athletics for outfielder Josh Reddick, infield prospect Miles Head and minor league pitcher Raul Alcantara. In the deal, first reported by ESPN, Bailey gives the Red Sox a reliable ninth-inning guy to replace the departed Jonathan Papelbon, who signed a $50 million, four-year contract as a free agent with the Philadelphia Phillies in November. A's trade Bailey, Sweeney to Sox BOSTON (AP) — For Andrew Bailey, coming in from MCT photo Toledo wide receiver Bernard Reedy runs past Air Force defenders Josh Hall, left, and Jon Davis to score his third touchdown of the night against Toledo in the fourth quarter of the Military Bowl at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. Toledo won 42-41. on a pass from Terrance Owens — gave Toledo a 42-35 lead with 5:01 to play and put the Rockets (9-4) over the 40-point mark for a sixth straight game. The win also marked a successful debut for Matt Campbell, the youngest coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The 32-year- old Campbell, who has been the Rockets' offensive coordinator for three years, was promoted to the head job after Tim Beckman left earlier this month for Illi- nois. The 27-year-old Bailey has three saves in four appear- ances at Fenway Park in his three major-league seasons. ''The one that sticks out the most was my first save opportunity this year was against the Red Sox,'' Bailey said in a conference call. ''I actually blew that save. From what I remember, there's nothing like the atmosphere of running into the game from the bullpen at Fenway Park.'' A New Jersey native and offseason resident of Connecti- cut, Bailey is excited about coming back east. He already knows Valentine, who lives in Stamford, Conn., and hosted several events for the pediatric cancer foundation of Bailey and former teammate Craig Breslow. ''Bobby and I are good friends,'' Bailey said. ''It just kind of helps knowing someone going in.'' Bailey — the 2009 AL Rookie of the Year, who made the All-Star team that season and again in 2010 — had been the subject of trade talk this offseason. The right-hander went 0-4 with a 3.24 ERA and 24 saves in 41 2-3 innings and 42 appearances this year. He spent time on the disabled list for the second straight season, pitching for the first time in 2011 on May 29 after being sidelined with a strained right forearm.