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2B Daily News – Thursday, January 12, 2012 Raiders owner Mark Davis seeks new stadium ALAMEDA (AP) — Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis said it's imperative his team get a new stadium and he has had discussions with groups in Los Angeles about returning the franchise to Southern California. "The timetable is yesterday. So that's where it is. We've got to get a stadium. We've got to get that done," Davis said Tuesday in his first public comments since taking over the organization in October following the death of his father, Al. "It's such a competitive business. It really is compet- itive. We can't compete for a lot of the players that other teams can, at times." Davis made his comments at a news conference announcing the hiring of Reggie McKenzie as the team's new general manager and the firing of coach Hue Jackson. Davis said that with a general manager now in place to run the football side of the organization, he can focus even more on getting the Raiders out of the outdated Oakland Coliseum. The Raiders lack many of the mod- ern amenities that are in some of the league's newer sta- diums that generate more revenues for other teams. Davis said CEO Amy Trask has talked with officials in Oakland about a new stadium there and with the San Francisco 49ers about possibly sharing a stadium in Santa Clara. Davis said he has talked to groups in Los Angeles but hasn't received an offer he likes. The Raiders played in Los Angeles from 1982-94. "We're trying to get something done up here but if we can't, we've got to get something done somewhere because we need to be able to compete," he said. "And that's where it's at." Davis also said he has no intention of selling the team he took over after his father died Oct. 8 of heart failure. Davis took over as managing general partner when his father died and owns the majority of the team with his mother, Carole. "This is my life," he said. "I've been with the Raiders for 48 years. And my whole thing is to continue the legacy that my father built here and I've got one of the largest extended families in the world. And that's what all these former players and everybody else that's been in this organization and they mean a lot to me and this organization represents them as well as they represent us and that's where it's going to stay." KINGS (Continued from page 1B) bench started letting him know. ''In the moment you don't even realize it,'' Cousins said. ''Towards the end of the game they were like 'Get one more, you'll have 20.' I'm just out there grabbing boards. That's my job, to get everything that comes off the glass.'' Smart played Cousins for just over 39 minutes to build his conditioning, and his stats: The double- double was his fourth straight. ''He had it in him to rebound tonight,'' Smart said. ''Because he had that, it put him in an active mode and I'm happy with that.'' Rookie guard Isaiah Thomas scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and Jimmer Fre- dette had 10 for the Kings, who had not won in Toronto since Feb. 22, 2004. Sacramento had lost two straight and four of five coming in, but held on to record its first road victory in five tries this season. ''It's definitely excit- ing to get that first (road) win, get that monkey off our backs,'' Fredette said. Leandro Barbosa came off the bench to score a season-high 24 points while DeMar DeRozan and Jose Calderon each had 13 for the Raptors, who have lost four of five. With the score 63-all heading into the fourth, Toronto scored the first four points to lead 67-63. Thomas answered with a 3-pointer and, after a hook shoot by Linas Kleiza, Evans hit another 3, giving the Kings a lead they would not relin- quish. Amir Johnson's alley- oop dunk cut it to 82-77 with 2:34 left, but Cousins answered with a pair of free throws and then a dunk of his own as the Kings pushed their lead to nine points, 86-77, with 1:12 left. DeRozan had a three- point play, but Evans kept the Raptors at bay by making four consecutive free throws on the next two possessions. The 2010 Rookie of the Year finished a perfect 14 of 14 from the line. Toronto lost leading scorer Andrea Bargnani to a strained left calf with 3:13 left in the third quar- ter. Bargnani, who did not return, finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds in 28 minutes. ''He's our best player for sure,'' Calderon said. ''After they let us know he wasn't coming out again, it was tough.'' Kleiza, out since undergoing microfracture surgery on his right knee last Feb. 1, made his return to the lineup, com- ing on late in the first quarter. Kleiza scored 10 points in 14 minutes. ''I feel good, it's fun to be back,'' Kleiza said. ''The game didn't end the way anybody wanted but for me personally, after a year off, it feels good to be back.'' Barbosa scored 12 points in the second, but Thomas had eight for the Kings, who led 41-40 at the half. NOTES: Fredette made his second straight start in place of Marcus Thornton (left thigh contusion). ... Toronto played its third game in as many nights, their only such stretch of the season. ... Raptors F Amir Johnson hit a rare 3-pointer in the third quarter, just the third of his career. ... Sacramento's 31 made free throws were a season high. ... Toronto has turned the ball over 18 or more times in three of the past four games. McKenzie brings Packers experience to Raiders ALAMEDA (AP) — Reggie McKenzie began his playing career as a linebacker with the Los Angeles Raiders in the 1980s. He returns to the franchise as gener- al manager after having been schooled for nearly two decades in the ways of the Green Bay Packers. It's that model that he will try to replicate in Oakland as he aims to restore the Raiders to a level they haven't reached during a nine-year playoff drought. McKenzie signed his contract with the Raiders on Tuesday and immedi- ately fired coach Hue Jackson. His next task will be to bring in a new coach that he hopes he can work with in a fashion similar to the relationships between Ron Wolf and Mike Holmgren and Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy that led to Super Bowl titles in Green Bay. ''I only know one way,'' McKenzie said at his introductory news confer- ence. ''I've been working at it for the last 18 years and it started with Ron Wolf, what he implemented in Green Bay. I saw how it works. That's the only way I saw and that's the only way I know.'' McKenzie said he already has a short list of potential coaching candi- dates and would like to fill the position as soon as possible. But with some current Packers assistants such as linebackers coach Winston Moss, secondary coach Dar- ren Perry and quarterbacks coach Tom Clements, possibly on that list, McKenzie may need to wait until Green Bay's season ends to make a move. McKenzie has made plans to inter- view Todd Bowles, who had been Miami's secondary coach before tak- ing over as interim coach for the final three games of the season, a person with knowledge of the plans said on condition of anonymity because the team was not making interviews pub- lic. ESPN first reported Bowles' candi- dacy. Under late owner Al Davis, the Raiders had hired exclusively offensive coaches to run the team, starting with Tom Flores in 1979. Davis himself was always deeply involved with the defense, with some considering him the de facto defensive coordinator. Those past criteria are no longer an issue with McKenzie put solely in charge of this hire by Davis' son, Mark, SMITH (Continued from page 1B) sessions to teach Har- baugh's playbook and even played the part of security guard and public relations coordinator with fans and reporters. Smith sought out advice on how to organize practices from his father and uncle, John, the for- mer Michigan State coach. By the time training camp began, the 49ers had about as much of the offense installed as players could without Harbaugh's guid- ance. Even still, he debuted with a preseason debacle at New Orleans — with six sacks in all by the Saints, including two on Smith — in San Francis- co's 24-3 loss. There haven't been many hic- cups since. ''I just see a guy that doesn't really care too much what people think,'' said kicker David Akers, who made an NFL-record 44 field goals this season. ''He's broken records where people think, 'OK, well it's just passing.' Well, how about not turn- ing the ball over? How about moving the ball down the field and having some long, sustaining dri- ves where it wears down the defense, gets you in scoring opportunities? If we're able to have all the field goal opportunities, that means we're still moving the ball.'' Smith also credits his approach this season to his expanded family. His son, Hudson, turned 8 months old Wednesday. Smith split time with his wife tending to Hudson late at night NFL Wild-card Playoffs Denver 29, Pittsburgh 23, OT Houston 31, Cincinnati 10 New Orleans 45, Detroit 28 New York Giants 24, Atlanta 2 Divisional Playoffs Saturday's games New Orleans at San Francisco, 1:30 p.m. Denver at New England, 5 p.m. Sunday's games Houston at Baltimore, 10 a.m. N.Y. Giants at Green Bay, 1:30 p.m. we're going to have to build. That's where our mindset is.'' Along with finding the head coach, McKenzie needs to bulk up a thin per- sonnel department and scout his own roster to determine which players to keep and what holes need to be filled. He praised quarterback Carson Palmer, who figures to remain the starter after Oakland gave up a 2012 first-round draft pick and conditional 2013 second-rounder to acquire him from Cincinnati in October. Palmer is owed $12.5 million in 2012 with $5 million guaranteed. McKenzie the team's new managing general part- ner. ''We just want a winner, a guy we feel can lead this team and move it for- ward as we embark here on this new era,'' McKenzie said. ''The next coach will be a coach that we all feel will lead us to our ultimate goal, and that is win- ning championships. Offense or defen- sive coordinator types really will play no influence. The No. 1 thing is he can lead, motivate and move our players and our team to victories.'' The new coach will be the seventh in 10 seasons in Oakland as Davis had been unable to find the right man for the job ever since Jon Gruden left for Tampa Bay following the 2001 season. Bill Callahan took the team Gruden built to the Super Bowl the following season but was fired after going 4-12 in 2004. Norv Turner had two years at the job, followed by a year for Art Shell, one-plus season for Lane Kiffin, two- plus seasons for Tom Cable and this past year under Jackson. Jackson's 8-8 record made him the only coach in that span to leave the job without a losing mark, but he also was unable to get the Raiders to the playoffs. The Packers had only four coaches during McKenzie's entire tenure in Green Bay, a level of stability he hopes to bring to Oakland. ''Consistency played a big part, but Mark Davis has told me that he wants long-term success, and we're going to start it right now,'' he said ''To begin, during the lockout, inspir- ing him to reach out to the rest of his family with the uncertainty surrounding his football future. ''I think family helps keeps things in perspective for Alex, and that's the important thing,'' Doug Smith said. ''Life deals you a whole bunch of cards, and some of those cards you can do some- thing with, and some of them you can't. Family shows him there are bigger things in life.'' During a family vaca- tion in Santa Barbara for his father's 60th birthday July 13, Alex and his older brother, Josh, convinced their dad that they should all get matching tattoos. The Smith men had an artist ink a Serbian-style cross with a symbol around each corner in a tribute to Alex's great grandfather, an Austrian immigrant of Serbian descent who immigrated through Ellis Island at age 12. The cross means ''father'' in Serbian. Alex has one on his back. Doug has a smaller one on his right thigh with ski crosses on each corner, one of his favorite hobbies — besides watching 49ers NCAA Top 25 Schedule Wednesday's results No. 1 Syracuse 79, Villanova 66 No. 2 Kentucky 68, Auburn 53 No. 9 Missouri 76, Iowa State 69 No. 10 Kansas 81, Texas Tech 46 No. 13 Michigan 66, N'western 64, OT No. 25 Marquette 83, St. John's 64 Today's games No. 7 Indiana vs. Minnesota, 5 p.m. No. 8 Duke vs. No. 16 Virginia, 6 p.m. No. 15 Murray St. vs. Jacksonville St., 5 p.m. No. 20 Miss. St. vs. Tennessee, 6 p.m. No. 21 Gonzaga at Saint Mary's, 8 p.m. Friday's games No. 24 Seton Hall at South Florida, 4 p.m. Saturday's games No. 1 Syracuse vs. Providence, 3 p.m. No. 2 Kentucky at Tennessee, 9 a.m. No. 3 N. Carolina at Florida St., 11 a.m. No. 4 Baylor vs. Oklahoma State, Noon No. 6 Michigan St. at Northwestern, Noon No. 9 Missouri vs. Texas, 10 a.m. No. 10 Kansas vs. Iowa State, 1 p.m. No. 12 UNLV at No. 22 S. Diego St., 1 p.m. No. 13 Michigan at Iowa, 10 a.m. No. 14 Louisville vs. DePaul, 1 p.m. No. 15 Murray St. vs. Tenn. Tech, 3 p.m. No. 17 Connecticut at Notre Dame, 8 a.m. No. 18 Kansas St. at Oklahoma, 10:30 a.m. No. 19 Florida at South Carolina, 4 p.m. No. 20 Mississippi St. vs. Alabama, 1 p.m. No.21 Gonzaga at Loyola Marymount, 5 p.m. No. 25 Marquette vs. Pittsburgh, 11 a.m. Sunday's games No. 5 Ohio St. vs. No. 7 Indiana, 1:30 p.m. No. 8 Duke at Clemson, 3 p.m. No. 11 Georgetown vs. St. John's at Madison Square Garden, 9 a.m. No. 23 Creighton vs. S. Illinois, 4:05 p.m. That trade left the Raiders with picks only in the fifth and sixth rounds in next year's draft, although they are expected to get compensatory picks for losing free agents like Nnamdi Aso- mugha, Zach Miller, Robert Gallery and Thomas Howard. McKenzie said he would like to have more picks but understood why the trade was made. He said there are many other ways to acquire talent, specifically pointing to undrafted free agents, the waiver wire, and lower- level free agents, as opposed to big ticket signings. There could also be trade possibili- ties as some key players may not fit in as well if the team changes schemes under a new coach. ''There will be no quick decisions at all because the last thing I would want is to let go of someone and he turns out to be a Pro Bowl type player,'' McKen- zie said. ''Mistakes will happen. They happen because of haste and I don't want to act in haste. So we'll evaluate all our personnel and when the time comes, when it's time to make a move, if we have to, we will.'' While McKenzie was raised as an executive in the Packers organization, his mentor was a former Raiders exec- utive who helped Al Davis build Super Bowl champions in Oakland. Wolf rec- ommended McKenzie for the job and Mark Davis interviewed no other can- didates. McKenzie still considers himself a Raider from his four years playing with the team after being a 10th-round draft pick out of Tennessee in 1985. Several of his former teammates came to his news conference and cheered him on, glad to have one of their own back running the show in Oakland. games. Sisters Abbey and MacKenzie are expected to follow. ''It's painful. I'm not doing that again,'' Doug Smith said. Same might've been said for another go-around at Candlestick for the Smith family. After being the punch- ing bag for the franchise's failures, the 49ers have trumpeted Smith's season — Harbaugh believed the quarterback should've made the Pro Bowl — and are already talking about bringing him back for the long haul. Games for the Smith family, which nor- mally tries to ''stay incog- nito,'' are understandably NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL OT Pts GF GA SHARKS 23 11 5 51 116 94 Kings 21 15 7 49 93 95 Dallas 23 17 1 47 114 119 Phoenix 20 17 6 46 109 111 Ducks 13 22 6 32 104 135 Central Division WL OT Pts GF GA St. Louis 25 12 5 55 110 89 Chicago 25 13 5 55 139 125 Detroit 26 15 1 53 135 99 Nashville 23 15 4 50 115 115 Columbus 11 26 5 27 101 142 Northwest Division WL OT Pts GF GA Vancouver 27 14 3 57 144 108 Minnesota 22 15 6 50 101 105 Colorado 23 20 1 47 115 124 Calgary 20 19 5 45 109 127 Edmonton 16 22 4 36 112 121 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL OT Pts GF GA N.Y.Rangers 27 9 4 58 118 83 Philadelphia25 12 4 54 139 122 New Jersey 24 17 2 50 119 124 Pittsburgh 21 17 4 46 124 112 N.Y. Islanders15 19 6 36 96 126 Northeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Boston 27 11 1 55 146 76 Ottawa 23 15 6 52 140 144 Toronto 22 15 5 49 135 131 Buffalo 18 19 5 41 107 123 Montreal 16 19 7 39 109 117 Southeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Florida 21 13 8 50 109 116 Washington 22 17 2 46 119 120 Winnipeg 20 17 5 45 112 124 Tampa Bay 17 20 4 38 113 141 Carolina 14 23 7 35 113 148 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. —————————————————— Wednesday's results New Jersey 2, Edmonton 1, OT Washington 1, Pittsburgh 0 Today's games San Jose at Winnipeg, 5:30 p.m. Montreal at Boston, 4 p.m. Ottawa at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m. Philadelphia at N.Y. Islanders, 4 p.m. Carolina at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m. Phoenix at Detroit, 4:30 p.m. Colorado at Nashville, 5 p.m. Vancouver at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Minnesota at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. Anaheim at Calgary, 6:30 p.m. Dallas at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. Friday's games Phoenix at Columbus, 4 p.m. Tampa Bay at Washington, 4 p.m. Pittsburgh at Florida, 4:30 p.m. Toronto at Buffalo, 4:30 p.m. Anaheim at Edmonton, 6:30 p.m. more enjoyable these days. Even for the quarter- back, too. ''We never would have thought he'd been there this year, to be honest with you, after what he had gone through last year,'' Doug Smith said. ''It was kind of a surprise to us that he's even at the 49ers this year. But Alex is the kind of guy, he's a pretty loyal guy. A high level of deter- mination is one of his best assets. He wanted to see this through.'' NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division Lakers Clippers Phoenix KINGS WL Pct GB 8 4 .667 — 4 3 .571 1.5 4 5 .444 2.5 47 .364 3.5 WARRIORS 36 .333 3.5 Southwest Division WL Pct GB San Antonio 7 4 .636 — Dallas Memphis Houston 6 5 .545 1 3 6 .333 3 3 7 .300 3.5 New Orleans 3 7 .300 3.5 Northwest Division WL Pct GB Oklahoma City 10 2 .833 — Portland Denver Utah Minnesota 7 2 .778 1.5 7 4 .636 2.5 6 4 .600 3 3 7 .300 6 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division Philadelphia 7 3 .700 — New York Boston Toronto Miami WL Pct GB 6 4 .600 1 4 5 .444 2.5 4 7 .364 3.5 New Jersey 2 9 .182 5.5 Southeast Division WL Pct GB 8 2 .800 — 6 3 .667 1.5 7 4 .636 1.5 2 8 .200 6 Orlando Atlanta Charlotte Washington 1 9 .100 7 Central Division Chicago Indiana Cleveland WL Pct GB 10 2 .833 — 7 3 .700 2 4 5 .444 4.5 Milwaukee 3 6 .333 5.5 Detroit 2 8 .200 7 —————————————————— Wednesday's results Sacramento 98,Toronto 91 Chicago 78, Washington 64 Dallas 90, Boston 85 Denver 123, New Jersey 115 Indiana 96, Atlanta 84 L.A. Lakers 90, Utah 87, OT New York 85, Philadelphia 79 Oklahoma City 95, New Orleans 85 San Antonio 101, Houston 95, OT Miami at L.A. Clippers, late Orlando at Portland, late Today's games Orlando at Golden State, 7:30 p.m. Charlotte at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. Detroit at Milwaukee, 5 p.m. New York at Memphis, 5 p.m. Cleveland at Phoenix, 6 p.m. Friday's games Sacramento at Houston, 5 p.m. Detroit at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Indiana at Toronto, 4 p.m. Washington at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Chicago at Boston, 5 p.m. Minnesota at New Orleans, 5 p.m. Milwaukee at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Portland at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. New Jersey at Phoenix, 6 p.m. Cleveland at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m. Miami at Denver, 7:30 p.m.