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is also at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., this week, although no final decision has been made on his status. ''We continue to evaluate the staff and make changes to get better achievement,'' senior executive John Her- rera said. ''It's still an ongo- ing process.'' Jackson is expected to take over the play-calling duties from Cable, who did not have an offensive coor- dinator in his first full sea- son as coach. Cable also coached the offensive line and admitted after the sea- son that he might have been overextended. ''I'm hired as the offen- sive coordinator, and I'll be the primary play-caller,'' Jackson told the Ravens team Web site. ''That's my role. It's a chance to go out and assist the head coach and be the best offense we can be.'' Cable endorsed the move to bring Jackson on board. ''I think it's a good deci- sion by the organization,'' Cable told National Football Post from the Senior Bowl. ''It's someone that I'm familiar with. It's someone that I think can help us take the next step, so we're all pretty excited about it.'' The Raiders had one of the worst offenses in the league during a 5-11 cam- paign last season. They were second-to-last in the league in scoring with 197 points and gained the sec- ond-fewest yards on the way to their record seventh straight season with at least 11 losses. The team showed some improvement after Cable benched Russell midway through the season, scoring 5.8 more points and gaining more than 100 additional yards of offense per game in the final seven contests start- ed by Bruce Gradkowski and Charlie Frye. Russell completed 48.8 percent of his passes, with three touchdowns, 11 inter- ceptions and a 50.0 passer rating that was the lowest in the league since 1998. But Davis still believes in Rus- sell, saying during the sea- son that people needed to have patience. Jackson helped Flacco make it to the playoffs in his first two seasons in the NFL with the Ravens and also worked with Carson Palmer as the offensive coordinator at Southern California. Now he wants to develop Russell. ''This guy was the first player drafted. It's going to be fun to see if we can get him up and playing the way we all wish that he can per- form,'' Jackson told ESPN 1000 in Chicago. ''It's not just about JaMarcus. The quarterback takes on a whole life by itself but it's the team, the whole offen- sive unit has to perform well around the quarterback.'' Jackson spent time in California last week, meet- ing mostly with Davis but also with Cable. He was also mentioned as a possible candidate to be offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears but chose the Raiders instead. He told Ravens.com that the opportunity to work with Davis was part of the attraction in Oakland. ''What a man,'' Jackson said. ''He's one of the guys in this profession that you would like to have an opportunity to sit down and talk with, let alone work for. My conversations with him led me there. Hopefully, things will work as planned, and I think we're capable of doing it.'' Along with coaching quarterbacks, Jackson also has experience as a run- ning backs and receivers coach in the NFL. He worked with a talented receiving corps in Cincin- nati with Chad Ochocinco, T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chris Henry. The Raiders got almost no production out of their wideouts last sea- son, getting only 99 catches from the entire unit. Darrius Heyward- Bey had a difficult rookie season marred by drops and a foot injury that sidelined him for the final five games. Hey- ward-Bey had only nine catches before the injury. (Continued from page 1B) 2B – Daily News – Wednesday, January 27, 2010 SUPER BOWL Sunday, Feb. 7 At Miami New Orleans vs. Indianapolis, 3:25 p.m., CBS NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division W L Pct GB Lakers 34 11 .756 — Phoenix 26 21 .553 9 Clippers 20 24 .455 13.5 KINGS 16 28 .364 17.5 WARRIORS 13 30 .302 20 Southwest Division W L Pct GB Dallas 30 15 .667 — San Antonio 25 18 .581 4 Memphis 24 19 .558 5 Houston 24 20 .545 5.5 New Orleans 24 20 .545 5.5 Northwest Division W L Pct GB Denver 30 15 .682 — Utah 26 18 .591 4 Portland 27 19 .587 4 Okla. City 24 20 .545 6 Minnesota 9 37 .196 22 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L Pct GB Boston 29 13 .690 — Toronto 23 22 .511 7.5 New York 18 26 .409 15 Philadelphia 15 29 .341 15 New Jersey 3 40 .070 26.5 Southeast Division W L Pct GB Atlanta 29 14 .674 — Orlando 29 16 .644 1 Miami 23 21 .523 6.5 Charlotte 22 22 .500 7.5 Washington 14 30 .318 15.5 Central Division W L Pct GB Cleveland 35 11 .761 — Chicago 21 22 .488 12.5 Milwaukee 18 25 .419 15.5 Indiana 16 29 .356 18.5 Detroit 15 28 .349 18.5 ——— Tuesday's results Sacramento 99, Golden State 96 Charlotte 114, Phoenix 109, OT Dallas 108, Milwaukee 107 L.A. Lakers 115, Washington 103 New York 132, Minnesota 105 Today's games New Orleans at Golden State,7:30 p.m.,CSNBA L.A. Lakers at Indiana, 4 p.m. Miami at Toronto, 4 p.m. Minnesota at Cleveland, 4 p.m. L.A. Clippers at New Jersey, 4:30 p.m. Memphis at Detroit, 4:30 p.m. Chicago at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m. Philadelphia at Milwaukee, 5 p.m. Atlanta at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. Denver at Houston, 5:30 p.m. Utah at Portland, 7 p.m. Monday's late result New Orleans 98, Portland 97 NCAA Tuesday's Top 25 results South Carolina 68, No. 1 Kentucky 62 No. 5 Michigan State 57, Michigan 56 No. 9 West Virginia 62, DePaul 46 No. 11 Kansas State 76, No. 24 Baylor 74 No. 25 UAB 65, Tulsa 55 Today's Top 25 games No. 3 Villanova vs. Notre Dame, 4 p.m., ESPN No. 6 Texas vs. Texas Tech, 6 p.m. No. 8 Duke vs. Florida State, 6 p.m., ESPN No. 12 BYU at No. 23 New Mexico, 7 p.m. No. 14 Tennessee vs. No. 21 Vanderbilt, 4 p.m. No. 15 Temple at Charlotte, 4 p.m. No. 19 Connecticut at Providence, 4 p.m. No. 20 Ohio State at Iowa, 5:35 p.m. Today's other televised game Texas A&M at Oklahoma St., 4:30 p.m., ESPN2 NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division W L OT Pts GF GA SHARKS 35 10 8 78 179 128 Phoenix 30 18 5 65 144 139 Kings 30 19 3 63 156 146 Ducks 24 22 7 55 149 166 Dallas 22 19 11 55 148 168 Central Division W L OT Pts GF GA Chicago 36 13 4 76 174 122 Nashville 29 20 3 61 145 145 Detroit 25 18 9 59 135 138 St. Louis 23 21 8 54 137 146 Columbus 21 25 9 51 145 182 Northwest Division W L OT Pts GF GA Vancouver 32 18 2 66 170 127 Colorado 30 15 6 66 153 136 Calgary 26 20 6 58 132 134 Minnesota 25 23 4 54 145 156 Edmonton 16 29 6 38 135 176 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L OT Pts GF GA New Jersey 34 16 1 69 138 113 Pittsburgh 33 20 1 67 172 152 Philadelphia 26 22 3 55 155 144 N.Y. Rangers 24 22 7 55 137 145 N.Y. Islanders 23 22 8 54 141 164 Northeast Division W L OT Pts GF GA Buffalo 30 14 7 67 145 125 Ottawa 29 21 4 62 150 154 Montreal 25 24 5 55 141 146 Boston 23 20 8 54 127 131 Toronto 17 27 10 44 142 187 Southeast Division W L OT Pts GF GA Washington 34 12 6 74 202 145 Florida 23 21 9 55 146 154 Atlanta 23 21 8 54 158 167 Tampa Bay 21 20 10 52 132 157 Carolina 16 28 7 39 132 172 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Tuesday's results Atlanta 2, Anaheim 1 Chicago 4, Edmonton 2 Columbus 3, Nashville 2 Florida 2, Montreal 1 Los Angeles 5, Toronto 3 Ottawa 3, New Jersey 0 Phoenix 5, Detroit 4, OT Washington 7, N.Y. Islanders 2 Wednesday's games Anaheim at Washington, 4 p.m. Carolina at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m. Montreal at Tampa Bay, 4 p.m. New Jersey at Buffalo, 4 p.m. Detroit at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Calgary at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. St. Louis at Vancouver, 7 p.m. Monday's late results St. Louis 2, Calgary 0 Vancouver 3, Buffalo 2 DEALS National Football League OAKLAND—Named Hue Jackson offensive coordinator. ATLANTA—Named Tim Lewis secondary coach. National Basketball Association NBA—Fined Denver F Kenyon Martin $35,000 for actions surrounding his ejection from a Jan. 25 game against Charlotte. National Hockey League N.Y. RANGERS—Recalled G Chad Johnson from Hartford (AHL). Assigned G Matt Zaba to Hartford. TAMPA BAY—Assigned D David Hale to Norfolk (AHL) on a conditioning assignment. Major League Baseball American League OAKLAND—Agreed to terms with RHP Ben Sheets on a one-year contract. BALTIMORE—Agreed to terms with INF Miguel Tejada on a one-year contract. BOSTON—Agreed to terms with OF Jeremy Hermida on a one-year contract. KANSAS CITY—Agreed to terms with LHP Dusty Hughes, LHP Edgar Osuna, RHP Blake Wood and C Manny Pina on one-year contracts. MINNESOTA —Agreed to terms with DH Jim Thome on a one-year contract. NEW YORK—Traded INF Mitch Hilligoss and cash to Texas for OF Greg Golson. TEXAS—Agreed to terms with RHP Frank Francisco on a one-year contract. National League LOS ANGELES—Re-signed INF Ronnie Belliard and C Brad Ausmus to one-year con- tracts. MILWAUKEE—Agreed to terms with RHP Carlos Villanueva to a one-year contract. PHILADELPHIA—Agreed to terms with C Carlos Ruiz on a three-year contract. ST. LOUIS—Agreed to terms with LHP Rich Hill on a minor league contract. SAN DIEGO—Agreed to terms with OF Matt Stairs on a minor league contract. College CORNELL—Named Kent Austin football coach. LOUISIANA-MONROE—Named John Grieco strength and conditioning coach. MICHIGAN STATE—Suspended DT Oren Wilson and WR Myles White indefinitely, after being charged with misdemeanor assault and conspiracy in connection with a Nov. 22 fight on campus. SMU—Suspended DL Torlan Pittman indefi- nitely following his arrest on a rape charge. Scoreboard Scoreboard OC MCT file photo Hue Jackson spent 2009 as the Baltimore Ravens quarterback coach. NFL heads toward labor showdown NEW YORK (AP) — Rich, powerful and more popular than ever, the NFL gets closer to a doomsday scenario every day. Without a deal in the next five weeks to preserve the labor peace that has lasted since a bad month in 1987 — anybody remember scab football? — next season will have no salary cap. That means richer teams such as the Redskins and Patri- ots will be able to far outspend clubs such as Jacksonville and Buffalo for free agents, while the Jaguars and Bills might try to pinch pennies to stay in business. And if no deal can be reached next season, that uncapped, maybe less competitive year will be followed by no NFL at all in 2011. Stay tuned as the nation's most lucrative and most watched sport heads into the Great Unknown. ''It looks very bleak to get a (deal) done before March of this year or the beginning of the new NFL season,'' says Titans center Kevin Mawae, president of the players' union. ''We're going to continue to try. ... Until we come to some terms of what's really important and what are the big issues in this deal it's going to be tough to get something done. ''The players are more united than ever before, and we're preparing for a lockout.'' And getting antsy about the future. ''From our standpoint right now, you not only prepare for the worst, that seems like the direction it's headed,'' Titans defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch says. ''If players aren't prepared, if guys are in bad financial situations, it hurts our leverage as players.'' The main issue, of course, is money — despite soaring TV ratings, an average franchise value of $1 billion and even a storybook Super Bowl featuring the hard-luck Saints and MVP Peyton Manning's Colts. The NFL owners in 2008 opted out of their contract — called the collective bargaining agreement, or CBA — and have asked for significant givebacks from the players, includ- ing a reduction in salaries of nearly 20 percent. That works out to about $800 million; overall NFL rev- enues are estimated at $6.5 billion. Those owners say the agreement that will expire next year is far too favorable for the players, who get about 60 percent of the revenues actual- ly used to determine the salary cap. ''What we're trying to accomplish here is to have an eco- nomic system ... that will allow us to look back 15 years from now and say that we, meaning the clubs and the players, were creative and thoughtful and laid the groundwork for the game to continue to grow,'' says NFL executive VP and chief coun- sel Jeff Pash. ''If we have the right type of structure, it will lead to bet- ter salaries and benefits for current and retired players, and a better and healthier game for fans.'' The alternative? A work stoppage similar to 1982 and 1987, when the union went on strike. Under labor law, the union has the right to strike and management has the right to lock out. ''Our focus is on getting a deal and we will have a deal,'' Pash says. ''The only question is when.'' For most of those years since the two sides reached the contract that brought the current free agency and salary cap system, mention of an uncapped season was heresy. Now, it's nearly upon us. It would mean: — Players would need six years in the league before becoming unrestricted free agents rather than four. Some vet- erans with less than six years in the league would become restricted free agents, meaning their current club will have the right to match an offer or be compensated for losing them. — Each club already has one transition player tag and would get a second. A transition player must be offered at least the average of the top 10 salaries for his position during the previous season, or 120 percent of the player's previous year's salary, whichever is greater. — The eight clubs that made the divisional playoff round this year will have limits on signing unrestricted free agents under what's called the Final Eight Plan. — The 32 teams would be relieved of their obligation to fund numerous player benefit programs, including 401Ks, player annuity, severance pay, and tuition assistance. That would be a reduction of more than $7 million per club. — A supplemental revenue-sharing plan will be scrapped by the league, which says about $100 million is involved; the union claims it's closer to $200 million. That's not a huge sum in the scheme of NFL finances, but would still hurt clubs on the financial bottom rung. — There would be no salary floor or salary ceiling. In 2009, the cap was $128 million and the floor was $111 mil- lion. ''I think the fans will see a different system with no limit on the high end or the low end, and on what teams can spend,'' says Falcons president Rich McKay. ''Each team will have to decide how they will operate.'' Does that mean the NFL salary structure will resemble baseball's rich get richer-poor get poorer model — at least for one year? No, says Marc Ganis, president of Chicago-based con- sulting company Sports Corp. Ltd. ''It won't happen, at least now, because of the competitive balance rules that are in effect during the uncapped year,'' Ganis says. ''You will not see a baseball type of hoarding of the all-stars occur in the NFL, certainly not this coming season.'' headed off to throw a bullpen session to Geren on Tuesday afternoon, too. Sheets will now be able to back off his throwing program slightly to make sure he doesn't overdo it during the spring so he's ready for the start of the season in April. He was put through an extensive physical Tuesday morning. ''Is there a risk? Yeah,'' Beane said. ''That's life on the edge a little bit. You've got a guy in the prime of his career who's done what he's done. If he didn't have the injury, you've got a guy who probably would have been signed back in November to a long-term deal.'' Sheets has been plagued by injuries. He didn't pitch in the majors last season while recovering from elbow surgery but last week held a pitching session for several scouts. The A's sent two representatives to watch Sheets, director of player person- nel Billy Owens and minor league rov- ing pitching instructor Gil Patterson. ''They liked what they saw,'' assis- tant GM David Forst said. ''Enough to lead us to think that we should pursue this.'' Said Beane: ''He didn't disappoint. For January, he was probably further ahead of most pitchers.'' The A's figure they had serious com- petition from about a half-dozen other clubs to sign Sheets. He can earn an additional $2 million in performance bonuses based on innings: $500,000 each for 165, 175, 185 and 195 innings pitched. Sheets attended an A's-Rangers game with 7-year-old son Seaver — named after Hall of Famer Tom Seaver — while rehabilitating last summer in Texas. The Rangers also were seriously in the mix for his services. Sheets spent his first eight seasons with Milwaukee, going 86-83 with a 3.72 ERA. He struck out a career-high 264 in 2004. ''Missing this whole year and con- centrating on everything, I feel renewed for the game. I'm really antsy to get back out there,'' Sheets said. ''I miss the competitive part of this game.'' Sheets joins two-time All-Star Justin Duchscherer, Brett Anderson and Dal- las Braden, with the other rotation spot likely going to either Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill or Vin Mazzaro. Duchscherer underwent arthroscopic right elbow surgery on March 31 and later was treated for clinical depression. He got an incentive-laden, one-year contract. Sheets had surgery last February to repair a torn flexor tendon that he hurt in 2008. A year ago, pre-surgery, Sheets had his mind made up that he would pitch closer to where he grew up in the South: for Texas, Houston or Atlanta. Now, he says, ''It doesn't matter where you play.'' Sheets and the Rangers had been in negotiations on a two-year contract last winter but a physical revealed the elbow problem. (Continued from page 1B) SHEETS