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2C Daily News – Tuesday, January 24, 2012 49ERS (Continued from page 1C) After a win at previously unbeaten Detroit on Oct. 16, Harbaugh made headlines for his second-long hand- shake and backslap with Jim Schwartz that infuriated the Lions coach. Harbaugh's response in the aftermath when asked about reaching out to Schwartz: ''Apologies seem like excuses.'' And Harbaugh offered no excuses Monday after his Niners missed many oppor- tunities to win. Kyle Williams lost his second fumble in overtime, setting up Lawrence Tynes' win- ning field goal. ''It's tough,'' said running back Frank Gore, who became the franchise rush- ing leader last month. ''It's over. We've got to move on. I know we've got a great group of guys in here, guys who work hard, a coaching staff that works hard. We'll get back.'' San Francisco fell short 30 years after the Niners' two-decade run began under the late Bill Walsh with the first of five Super Bowl championships. Harbaugh used some of the same meth- ods as the Hall of Fame coach and his unique version of Walsh's West Coast offense. ''The main symmetry between the teams is sort of coincidental but not really — getting the coach from Stan- ford that we did back in '79 and the Niners did here this year has made just a huge difference in the culture and the winning attitude and the approach of this football team,'' former 49ers offen- sive lineman Randy Cross said . ''I guess it's simplistic to credit just one person — because it's never just one person. They were really looking for the individual who was going to kind of take that place by the scruff of the neck and drag it into this decade and form it in sort of his vision. They thought various people along the way were that guy but they found it in Jim.'' San Francisco's defense ranked No. 1 against the run and allowed only three touchdowns rushing and all in the final two games — and the Niners had 38 take- aways to only 10 turnovers for a plus-28 turnover differ- ential. That matched the sec- ond-best mark in NFL histo- ry since 1941. ''We let an opportunity get away from us, one of those chances that don't come around often,'' All-Pro linebacker Patrick Willis said. ''It hadn't been around here for a while and we let it slip away from us. Only time will heal that. ... I don't believe in moral victories. There's a lot we can look back on and be thankful about, considering where we have been in the past; there's a lot of positives we can build on.'' The 49ers plan to bring back quarterback Alex Smith, the 2005 No. 1 over- all draft pick who orchestrat- ed five comeback wins dur- ing the regular season — four of those on the road — and another in a thrilling 36- 32 victory against the Saints. Smith threw just five inter- ceptions and thrived under Harbaugh. Neither Harbaugh nor Smith offered any kind of timeline for when something might get done in regards to a new contract, though Smith will be rewarded with a raise and multiyear deal. He made $4.9 million in base salary this season plus earned a $1 million bonus for reaching the playoffs. Both sides are committed to getting something done — in time, after everybody decompresses a bit. ''Not in a crazy rush at this point. Take our time a lit- tle bit. I think I have until March 13, that's when the contract is up,'' Smith said. ''I love it here. I love what's going on, I love this team the coaching staff, I love every- thing about it. No question I want to stay.'' General manager Trent Baalke also faces key deci- sions with free agents such as cornerback Carlos Rogers, wideout and return man Ted Ginn Jr., linebacker Ahmad Brooks and safety Dashon Goldson. The team has expressed a commitment to re-signing injured wide receiver Joshua Morgan, who was lost for the season in early October to a broken right leg that required surgery. ''My preference is to be back,'' said Rogers, who had six interceptions in the regu- lar season. BLAME (Continued from page 1C) pointing group.'' Williams has spoken to his father, Chicago White Sox general manager Ken Williams, and also heard from players around the league who offered their support. Ken Williams told ESPN on Monday that his son might have separated his shoulder in the third quarter before making a pair of critical blunders. Williams, filling in for injured return man Ted Ginn Jr., also fumbled with 11:06 left in regulation. The Giants won a chal- lenge that the ball touched Williams' right knee and Devin Thomas recovered. That gave the Giants the ball back at the 29 and Eli Manning then threw a 17- yard touchdown pass to Mario Manningham with 8:34 remaining. The 23-year-old Williams, born in nearby San Jose, said Monday he still doesn't think the ball hit his knee. ''I told him to keep his head up. Things happen like that when you're try- ing to make a play,'' run- ning back Frank Gore said. ''Kyle did a great job for us all year. We can't just point the finger at that. It's a football game. Things happen, and he'll be fine. He's going to work hard. He's a great player and he made great plays for us BOYS HOOPS Eastern Athletic — South Las Plumas 2 2 1 4 Paradise Oroville LEAGUE OVERALL WL W L 7 10 SPARTANS 22 6 11 Lassen 1 4 0 4 Northern Athletic Anderson LEAGUE OVERALL WL W L 1 0 CARDINALS 11 17 2 Central Valley 1 1 West Valley 0 1 Yreka 8 11 11 7 0 0 7 9 5 13 Mid-Valley — North Hamilton Quincy LEAGUE OVERALL WL W L 2 0 1 1 BULLDOGS 11 7 7 Biggs 0 2 Tri-Cities Liberty Christian5 0 Chester 4 1 WARRIORS 14 3 15 Hayfork 1 4 0 4 2 13 Redding Christian3 2 University Prep 3 2 Maxwell LEAGUE OVERALL WL W L 13 1 12 4 13 6 9 8 5 14 6 12 8 9 9 7 7 10 3 14 4 14 this year. I'm happy he's a teammate of mine. I'll back him up any time.'' A year ago with the Eagles, Akers missed a pair of field goals in the NFC divisional playoffs as Philadelphia lost 21-16 to the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers. ''I was that guy last year,'' Akers said. ''It's tough because we're all competitors and we all give it everything we have. Kyle's made a lot of big plays for us. He's just try- ing to make plays out there. The weather condi- tions were horrible. I know he'd never give any excus- es for any of that. I say this and I say it in the truest way: We win as a team, we lose as a team.'' NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL OT Pts GF GA SHARKS 26 14 6 58 130 110 Kings Dallas 24 21 2 50 125 136 Phoenix 21 20 8 50 127 132 Ducks 18 22 7 43 124 143 Central Division WL OT Pts GF GA Detroit 33 15 1 67 158 110 St. Louis 29 13 6 64 122 99 Chicago 29 14 6 64 161 141 Nashville 29 16 4 62 137 126 Columbus 13 29 6 32 113 159 Northwest Division WL OT Pts GF GA Vancouver 29 15 4 62 155 120 Colorado 26 22 2 54 129 141 Minnesota 23 18 7 53 112 124 Calgary 23 20 6 52 120 136 Edmonton 18 26 4 40 120 139 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL OT Pts GF GA N.Y.Rangers 30 12 4 64 129 96 Philadelphia28 14 5 61 159 140 Pittsburgh 27 17 4 58 149 125 New Jersey 26 19 2 54 128 134 N.Y. Islanders19 22 6 44 112 139 Northeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Boston 31 13 2 64 168 97 Ottawa 27 17 6 60 154 153 Toronto 24 19 5 53 147 144 Montreal 18 21 9 45 123 132 Buffalo 19 24 5 43 117 148 Southeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Florida 22 15 10 54 120 133 Washington 25 19 3 53 131 134 Winnipeg 22 21 6 50 124 140 Carolina 18 24 9 45 130 159 Tampa Bay 20 23 4 44 132 163 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. —————————————————— Monday's results Edmonton 2, San Jose 1, SO Carolina 2, Winnipeg 1 Detroit 3, St. Louis 1 Nashville 4, Columbus 1 Toronto 3, N.Y. Islanders 0 Ottawa at Los Angeles, late Today's games San Jose at Calgary, 6 p.m. Boston at Washington, 4 p.m. Buffalo at New Jersey, 4 p.m. Toronto at N.Y. Islanders, 4 p.m. Winnipeg at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m. Columbus at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Florida, 4:30 p.m. Pittsburgh at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Anaheim at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Nashville at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. Minnesota at Colorado, 6 p.m. Ottawa at Phoenix, 6 p.m. Edmonton at Vancouver, 7 p.m. Wednesday's games Detroit at Montreal, 4:30 p.m. 23 16 10 56 107 110 Williams, a second-year pro out of Arizona State, stood at his locker a day later and expressed his regret while also noting how eager he is to get back to work soon. Harbaugh said tests Monday on Williams' shoulder didn't reveal a separation but that he was extremely sore. ''Nobody feels worse than he does,'' linebacker Patrick Willis said. ''Some of the stuff out there that I've seen, man, I was just like, 'They're saying that because they're hurting.' But we live this game, we breathe this game, we sleep this game. If they feel that way, you can only imagine how bad he feels. You never want anyone to NCAA The Top Twenty Five The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' college basketball poll, with first- place votes in parentheses, records through Jan. 22, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and previous ranking: Record Pts Prv 1. Kentucky (61) 19-1 1,620 2 2. Missouri (2) 18-1 1,532 5 3. Syracuse (2) 20-1 1,506 1 4. Ohio St. 5. Kansas 6. Baylor 17-3 1,411 6 16-3 1,383 7 17-2 1,234 3 7. North Carolina 16-3 1,232 8 8. Duke 16-3 1,176 4 9. Georgetown 16-3 1,045 10 10. Michigan St. 16-4 1,009 9 11. Murray St. 20-0 925 12 12. UNLV 13. San Diego St. 17-2 832 16 14. Florida 15. Creighton 18-2 682 19 16. Indiana 18-3 886 14 15-4 709 17 16-4 609 11 17. Marquette 16-4 517 21 18. Mississippi St. 16-4 422 18 19. Virginia 20. Michigan 14-5 203 13 15-3 414 15 15-5 396 20 21. Saint Mary's 19-2 345 24 22. Kansas St. 14-4 252 25 23. Florida St. 13-6 244 — 24. UConn 25. Wisconsin 16-5 182 — Others receiving votes: West Virginia 96, Gonzaga 82, Vanderbilt 40, Louisville 35, Harvard 32, Wichita St. 28, Cincinnati 20, Illinois 11, Middle Tennessee 9, Dayton 3, Iona 2, Long Beach St. 1. Top 25 Schedule Monday's results No. 3 Syracuse 60, Cincinnati 53 No. 5 Kansas 64, Texas A&M 54 Today's games No. 1 Kentucky at Georgia, 6 p.m. No. 6 Baylor at Oklahoma, 5 p.m. No.13 S. Diego St. at Wyoming, 5:30 p.m. No. 17 Marquette vs. S. Florida, 5 p.m. No. 20 Michigan at Purdue, 4 p.m. Wednesday's games No. 2 Missouri at Oklahoma St., 4:30 p.m. No. 4 Ohio State vs. Penn St., 3:30 p.m. No. 8 Duke at Maryland, 6 p.m. No. 10 Mich. St. vs. Minnesota, 5:30 p.m. No. 12 UNLV at Boise State, 7 p.m. No. 15 Creighton at Drake, 5:05 p.m. No. 18 Mississippi State vs. LSU, 5 p.m. No. 22 Kansas St. at Texas Tech, 6 p.m. No. 23 Florida St. at Wake Forest, 4 p.m. Thursday's games No. 7 North Carolina vs. NC State, 4 p.m. No. 14 Florida at Mississippi, 4 p.m. No. 16 Indiana at No. 25 Wisconsin, 6 p.m. No. 19 Virginia vs. Boston College, 6 p.m. No.21 Saint Mary's at Loyola Marymount, 7 p.m. Friday's games No games scheduled Saturday's games No. 1 Kentucky at LSU, 1 p.m. No. 2 Missouri vs. Texas Tech, 10:30 a.m. No. 3 Syracuse vs.West Virginia, 10 a.m. No. 5 Kansas at Iowa State, 11 a.m. No. 6 Baylor vs. Texas, 10 a.m. No. 8 Duke vs. St. John's, 9 a.m. No. 9 Georgetown at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. No. 11 Murray St. vs. E. Illinois, 5 p.m. No. 12 UNLV at Air Force, 6 p.m. No.13 S. Diego St. at Colorado St., 1 p.m. No. 14 Florida vs.No.18 Miss. St., 10:30 a.m. No. 15 Creighton vs. Bradley, 5:05 p.m. No. 17 Marquette at Villanova, 9 a.m. No. 19 Virginia at NC State, 5 p.m. No. 21 Saint Mary's at BYU, 6 p.m. No. 22 Kansas St. vs. Oklahoma, 4 p.m. Sunday's games No. 4 Ohio St. vs.No. 20 Michigan, 10 a.m. No. 7 N. Carolina vs. Georgia Tech, 3 p.m. No. 16 Indiana vs. Iowa, 3 p.m. No. 24 UConn vs. Notre Dame at the XL Center, Hartford, Conn., 9 a.m. go through anything like that. It's just unfortunate that it happened to a player like him. To me, he's one of the best skill players in this game. ... I'm sticking behind him. He's still my teammate.'' GIRLS HOOPS Eastern Athletic — South Paradise Oroville LEAGUE OVERALL WL W L 3 2 1 4 SPARTANS 14 8 9 Lassen 1 4 Las Plumas 0 5 5 11 2 9 Northern Athletic West Valley 2 0 Anderson Central Valley 1 1 Yreka 1 0 0 1 LEAGUE OVERALL WL W L 11 5 13 6 9 9 9 10 CARDINALS 02 5 11 Mid-Valley — North LEAGUE OVERALL WL W L Hamilton Biggs 2 0 2 0 0 2 Tri-Cities University Prep 5 0 Liberty Christian4 1 Redding Christian4 1 Hayfork Maxwell Chester 1 2 1 4 1 4 LEAGUE OVERALL WL W L 10 6 12 5 11 7 4 10 8 9 7 9 WARRIORS 14 3 15 NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division Clippers Lakers Phoenix KINGS WL Pct GB 9 5 .643 — 10 8 .556 1 6 10 .375 4 611 .353 4.5 WARRIORS 510 .333 4.5 Southwest Division WL Pct GB San Antonio 11 7 .611 — Dallas Memphis Houston 11 7 .611 — 9 6 .600 .5 10 7 .588 .5 New Orleans 3 14 .176 7.5 Northwest Division WL Pct GB Oklahoma City 14 3 .824 — Denver Utah Portland Minnesota 12 5 .706 2 10 5 .667 3 9 7 .563 4.5 7 10 .412 7 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division Philadelphia 12 5 .706 — Boston New York WL Pct GB 7 9 .438 4.5 New Jersey 5 13 .278 7.5 Toronto 6 10 .375 5.5 4 13 .235 8 Southeast Division WL Pct GB 13 5 .722 — 11 5 .688 1 11 5 .688 1 3 14 .176 9.5 Atlanta Orlando Miami Charlotte Washington 2 15 .118 10.5 Central Division Chicago Indiana Cleveland WL Pct GB 16 3 .842 — 11 4 .733 3 6 9 .400 8 Milwaukee 6 10 .375 8.5 Detroit 4 14 .222 11.5 —————————————————— Monday's results Memphis at Golden State, late Sacramento at Portland, late Atlanta 97, Milwaukee 92 Boston 87, Orlando 56 Chicago 110, New Jersey 95 Dallas 93, Phoenix 87 Houston 107, Minnesota 92 Oklahoma City 99, Detroit 79 Philadelphia 103, Washington 83 San Antonio 104, New Orleans 102 Today's games New York at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Orlando at Indiana, 4 p.m. Cleveland at Miami, 4:30 p.m. Toronto at Phoenix, 6 p.m. Memphis at Portland, 7 p.m. Wednesday's games Denver at Sacramento, 7 p.m. Portland at Golden State, 7:30 p.m. Charlotte at Washington, 4 p.m. New Jersey at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. New York at Cleveland, 4 p.m. Miami at Detroit, 4:30 p.m. Indiana at Chicago, 5 p.m. Milwaukee at Houston, 5 p.m. New Orleans at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m. Atlanta at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. Minnesota at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Toronto at Utah, 6 p.m. L.A. Clippers at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m. 17 0 11 6 BULLDOGS 02 5 11 Quincy 1 16 10 7 9 8 Support our classrooms, keep kids reading. DONATE YOUR VACATION newspaper dollars to the Newspaper In Education Program HELP OUR CHILDREN For more details call Circulation Department (530) 527-2151 D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 PHONE: (530) 527-2151 FAX: (530) 527-5774 545 Diamond Avenue • P.O. Box 220 • Red Bluff, CA 96080