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ByMichaelWagaman TheAssociatedPress ALAMEDA The Oakland Raid- ers may be without starting cen- ter Rodney Hudson when they try to snap a two-game losing streak Sunday in Detroit. Hudson, who sat out last week's loss to the Minnesota Vikings with an ankle in- jury, returned to practice this week and seemed to be mak- ing progress but coach Jack Del Rio didn't sound so opti- mistic when asked about Hud- son's availability. "It's questionable," Del Rio said Friday. "He practiced on a limited basis. We'll see how it goes." Tony Bergstrom will start for Oakland if Hudson is unavail- able. Bergstrom made his first career start at center against the Vikings and drew praise from both Hudson and offensive co- ordinator Bill Musgrave. "He did a terrific job," Mus- grave said. "He called a good game. I'm very pleased with To- ny's level of play." Still, Hudson is the anchor of the Raiders offensive line af- ter signing a $44.5 million, five- year contract in March. At the time, it made Hudson the high- est-paid center in the NFL. Mi- ami's Mike Pouncey has since surpassed him. A second-round pick by Kan- sas City in 2011, Hudson's arrival has been paying off for Oakland. A year after finishing with the NFL's least-efficient offense, the Raiders rank eighth over- all and ninth in scoring head- ing into Sunday's game against the Lions. Getting him back in the lineup is key, too, after Oakland was held to 14 points in the loss to Minnesota — its fewest in more than a month. "I'm getting better," Hudson said. "Everything is getting bet- ter every day so I'm going in the right direction." Hudson had played in 40 con- secutive games dating to Week 3 of the 2012 season before be- ing sidelined against Minnesota. He had been hopeful of convinc- ing the coaching staff to let him play against the Vikings but was fine getting a week off. Standing on the sidelines gave Hudson a different per- spective during the game, some- thing he was able to use in his discussions with Bergstrom when Oakland's offense came off the field. "It was definitely tough not being able to play and not be- ing able to be on the field and help," Hudson said. "It does give you an opportunity to see some things that you might not see from the angle of being over the ball but I'm always looking for stuff out there, too. I was just trying to help as much as I could." With the Raiders clinging to playoff hopes, Hudson is anxious to get back. "We'll see how it goes today and tomorrow," he said. "I feel good at practice but we'll take it a day at a time." Notes • TE Lee Smith (right wrist) missed his second consecutive practice and is doubtful. • CB DJ Hayden (ankle) is probable, as are safeties Charles Woodson (shoulder) and Taylor Mays (ankle). NFL Raidersstarcenter Hudsonquestionable Oakland's starter sat out last week's loss to Vikings with ankle injury, still just limited NHATV.MEYER—BAYAREANEWSGROUP Oakland Raiders starting quarterback Derek Carr (4) yells at the line of scrimmage during their game against the Minnesota Vikings in the second quarter Sunday at O.co Coliseum in Oakland. By Dan Gelston The Associated Press HOMESTEAD, FLA. Go ahead, just try and wrestle the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship away from Kevin Harvick. No driver can put up a fight quite like the champ. A former high school wrestler, Harvick has had a season's worth of dustups just in the nine-race Chase alone. He's sparred with Jimmie Johnson and absorbed the slings from critics who ac- cused him of holding up a race to preserve his playoff spot. Yet Harvick is still standing, back at Homestead-Miami and primed to join an elite group of drivers who have won back-to- back championships. Richard Petty. Dale Earn- hardt, Johnson, too. Those are just some of the greats who won consecutive titles. Harvick has tried to diffuse talk that he's the heavy favor- ite Sunday to hold off Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch at the same track where he clinched his 2014 crown. His rivals aren't buying it. "He's the favorite," Gordon said. "We're the sentimentals." Harvick proved his first-sea- son success at Stewart-Haas Racing was no fluke, following up with three wins and a whop- ping 12 runner-up finishes this year. He survived two rough out- ings as the Chase began and fin- ished third and second in his last two races. Harvick has long cited his wrestling experience for shap- ing him into the tenacious com- petitor he's become in NASCAR. NASCAR SPRINT CUP HarvicksettodefendtitleatHomestead TERRY RENNA — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Kevin Harvick interacts with his son Keelan in the garage before NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla. Staff Reports MCARTHUR The Mercy Warriors' season came to a halt Thursday night with a three-set loss to the Fall River Bulldogs, 26-16, 25-11, 25-15. The top-seeded Bulldogs will advance to the Division 6 cham- pionship game against No. 2 seed Redding Christian, scheduled for 1 p.m. today at Red Bluff High School. The loss for Mercy caps an 18- 11 season overall and the Warriors went 5-3 in league play. No stats for Thursday's match were posted as of 2:30 p.m. Friday. DURHAM 3, LOS MOLINOS 0 Liset Castillo was named player of the match in Thursday night's home loss to the Durham Trojans in the Division 5 semifinals match, 25- 12, 25-16 and 27-25. Castillo put up nine kills, an ace, two blocks and 17 digs; Ra- chel Rogers had nine kills, three blocks and a dig; Michell Wool- bert had five kills, five blocks and a dig; Vanesa Cota had two aces, a block, six digs and 20 assists and Henna Acevedo had three kills and two aces. The top-seeded Bulldogs fin- ish the season 27-17 overall, 6-2 in league play. No. 5 seed Durham will face No. 2 seed Hamilton at 3 p.m. to- day at Red Bluff High School. VOLLEYBALL Mercy falls in semis match to Fall River Castillo named player of match for Los Molinos By Janie McCauley The Associated Press OAKLAND In a matter of months, Rich Hill's remarkable path to re- joining a rotation took him from Washington's farm system to in- dependent ball on Long Island and then back to Boston to start down the September stretch. Hill moved to the right side of the rubber and adjusted his arm angle along the way — and he just landed himself a nice new con- tract because of those significant tweaks, which might mean little to someone outside the game. The left-hander agreed to a $6 million, one-year contract with the Oakland Athletics on Friday, giving the low-budget franchise a versatile, experienced pitcher who can handle a variety of roles. Yet they're counting on him as a starter. Hill chose the A's be- cause he gets to start again. "It was really a personal jour- ney for myself getting back to what I always wanted to do, be- ing a starting pitcher," said Hill, who will be reunited with his for- mer Boston pitching coach Curt Young. Hill took his physical in the Bay Area and the team announced the deal Friday before he was ex- pected to fly back out to Boston in the afternoon. Hill became the second free agent to switch teams after infielder Cliff Pennington joined the Los Angeles Angels earlier in the week. The 35-year-old lefty began the 2015 season with Washing- ton's Triple-A club in Syracuse before going 2-1 with a 1.55 ERA in four starts and 29 innings with the Boston Red Sox as a Septem- ber callup. He had 36 strikeouts to five walks. Hill has a 26-23 career record and 4.54 ERA. BASEBALL Athletics add versatile le y Hill on $6M deal as starter Seattle-based, award-winning guitarist Josh Snodgrass and his wife, Sarah, will be leading an evening of worship and mu- sic at First Baptist Church at 6p.m. Sunday. FIRST BAPTIST Acoustic duo to perform popular worship songs FULLSTORYONPAGEB4 European Union nations promised Friday to tighten the bloc's external border to pre- vent more violent extremists from coming in, and French authorities reported that a third body had been found. PARIS ATTACKS EU promises action to stanch extremist inflow FULL STORY ON PAGE B8 The Holiday Classic Basketball Tournament will run Dec. 17-19and sponsors are being sought. Donor levels are $250and $350. For more information or to donate, call Nancy Mackey at 200-0283. BASKETBALL Sponsors sought for Holiday Classic Tourney Foothill High will host a six- week U.S. Baseball Academy baseball camp starting Jan. 3. Classes are available for players in grades 1-12and are limited to six players per coach. Call 866-622-4487. TRAINING Baseball camp set for January in Palo Cedro SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, November 21, 2015 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1