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KEITHBEDFORD—THEBOSTONGLOBE New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady speaks to the media in the locker rook at Gillette Stadium prior to the team's practice Sunday in Foxborough, Mass. ByJimmyGolen TheAssociatedPress FOXBOROUGH, MASS. TheNewEng- land Patriots' fourth Super Bowl ban- ner will be unveiled at Gillette Sta- dium on Thursday night. The fans will have their first chance to shower quarterback Tom Brady with adulation since a federal judge vacated the four-game sus- pension he was handed in the NFL's botched "Deflategate" investigation. Oh, yeah, they'll play an actual football game, too. Seven months after claiming the franchise's fourth NFL title, the Pa- triots return to the field for the sea- son opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the league's annual kick- off game. Even for a team that's made its reputation on avoiding distrac- tions, the competition will provide a welcome relief from a summer of talk about deflated footballs and the ideal gas law. "It's time for me to do my job," Brady said this week when he spoke to reporters for the first time since the news conference for his third Su- per Bowl MVP award. "Anything that's happened over the last seven months really wasn't my job. This is what my job is, is to go out there and try to be a great leader for our team, to try to go out and ex- ecute the plays that are called and execute them at a high level. That's where my focus is." The victory for Brady and the play- ers' union left Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger with mixed emo- tions. "I still have a ton of respect for Tom. I think he is the best in the business. If you want to be the best you have to beat the best," he said. "Yeah, of course one part of NFL Leagueopenergoestonight Patriots will unveil 4th Super Bowl banner before hosting Steelers in 1st game of NFL regular season NFLSEASONOPENER Tonight: Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots, 5:30p.m., TV NBC. TUNEIN OAKLAND SEASON OPENER Sunday: Cincinnati Bengals at Oakland Raiders, 1:25p.m., TV on CBS. TUNEIN By Josh Dubow The Associated Press ALAMEDA Derek Carr's mindset for his second NFL season opener is quite a bit different than what it was a year ago as a rookie. After being picked as the starter just days before last year's opener, Carr is now firmly en- trenched in the starting role and as one of the faces of the franchise heading into 2015. The confidence and knowledge gained from that year of experi- ence have Carr hopeful that he and the Raiders can take a big step forward this season after winning just three games a year ago. Oakland opens the season Sunday at home against Cincin- nati in a game Carr has worked toward since April. "You have a whole offseason to RAIDERS Carrtakes confidence into year 2 as starter By Howard Fendrich The Associated Press NEWYORK Even Roger Federer is wowed by how well he's playing at 34 — and the ease with which he's winning at this U.S. Open. Federer is into his 10th semi- final at Flushing Meadows, and record 38th at all major tourna- ments. To get back to his first fi- nal in New York since 2009, he'll have to beat someone he knows quite well: Swiss Olympic and Davis Cup teammate Stan Waw- rinka. The No. 2-seeded Federer and No. 5 Wawrinka won quarterfi- nals about as handily as can be Wednesday night. Federer never faced a break point, compiled a remarkable 50-8 advantage in winners, and needed less than 1 hours to dis- miss 12th-seeded Richard Gas- quet of France 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 in Ar- thur Ashe Stadium. "It's nice to play this way," Fe- derer said. "And, maybe at my age, to run through five opponents the U.S. OPEN Federer sets up Swiss semi vs. Wawrinka At first glance, the text mes- sages appear to show a dis- turbing case of cyberbullying: one teen urging another to kill himself. But the texts weren't sent by a school bully. They were from a 17-year-old girl. TEXT MESSAGES Teengirlcharged in boyfriend's suicide FULL STORY ON PAGE B4 Staff Reports LOS MOLINOS The Bulldogs volleyball team took care of Williams in three sets Tues- day night in the nonconference home match. Los Molinos won 25-12, 25- 11 and 25-14 and Bianca Vargas was named player of the game for the Bulldogs. Liset Castillo and Rachel Rog- ers led the team with 11 and 10 kills, respectively, and each had two digs. Vanesa "Kenya" Cota served eight aces, followed by Henna Acevedo with six and Vargas with four. Cota also racked up 21 assists. The Bulldogs are scheduled to face Redding Christian, Trin- ity and Quincy on Friday at the Fall River Emblem "F" Tourna- ment. MERCY FALLS TO MOUNT SHASTA The Mercy Warriors volley- ball team lost in five sets Tues- day night to the Mount Shasta Bears in a nonconference home match. Mount Shasta took the first set 25-23, but Mercy came back to win the next two 25-20 and 25-12 before dropping the fourth set 25-18. The tiebreaker went to Mount Shasta 15-12. Team leaders were Madeline Flynn with 15 kills, three blocks and 11 digs; Laura Keane had eight kills; C.J. Johnson put up four kills, two aces and 11 digs and Tasha Pimentel recorded 26 assists. The Warriors are scheduled to face Hamilton at the Lady Brave Invite in Hamilton City at 7:30 tonight. PREP ROUNDUP LOS MOLINOS WINS IN 3 SETS AT HOME Mercy falls in 5 sets to Mount Shasta in home nonconference match despite Flynn's 15 kills PHOTO COURTESY OF LARRY LONG Bianca Vargas takes a shot at the net during Tuesday's Los Molinos Bulldogs victory. Kim Davis's deputy clerks have been busy since their boss was hauled to jail, issuing 10 marriage licenses, including seven to same-sex couples, her employee Brian Mason said Wednesday. SAME-SEX MARRIAGE Deputy clerk says he'll obey federal judge FULL STORY ON PAGE B5 A's manager Bob Melvin has received a two-year contract extension that takes him through the 2018season. The news came Wednesday with the A's as the worst team in the American League. MLB Athletics reward Melvin with two-year extension The Spartans will take on Anderson at 7:30p.m. at home; the Bulldogs will host Redding Christian at 7p.m. The Cardinals will face Pleasant Valley at 7:30p.m. in Chico. FOOTBALL Spartans, Bulldogs at home Friday night OPENER PAGE 2 RAIDERS PAGE 2 TENNIS PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, September 10, 2015 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1