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2B Daily News – Thursday, May 3, 2012 Raiders' decision to sign Matt Leinart makes sense BY TIM KAWAKAMI San Jose Mercury News (MCT) Short-attention-span reading, and writing . . . Matt Leinart isn't the answer, unless you're asking a very narrow question about the Raiders. We're a few weeks later, and the Raiders just landed Leinart. It's not a franchise-changing move, As in: Who's the most credible backup quarterback candidate, Leinart, Kyle Boller (last season's debacle) or Terrelle Pryor? any number of reasons, and the Raiders sensibly signed him Tuesday, presum- ably to be the No. 2 behind Carson Palmer. The sensible choice is Leinart, for but it was the only sensible thing to do. The news: These days the Raiders are acting sensibly. • Randy Moss started working out in Santa Clara this week, and A.J. Jenk- ins is coming for minicamp soon. Brandon Jacobs is in the spring workout program, and LaMichael James will join him in drills and meet- ings eventually. new Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Knapp, he's 28, and he has won some games in the NFL (8-10 as a starter). Leinart played in Houston under and goal-line specialist, Jacobs (or holdover backup Kendall Hunter) immediately is redundant. But if James starts off slowly, then Jacobs (or Hunter) will be an important Frank Gore alternate. • That's a very secure approach to the top of the draft by the 49ers, which is logical after a 13-3 performance in 2011 and the youth and depth through much of the roster. And that also allowed Baalke to Of course, Leinart has lost a lot of NFL games and been hurt a lot, too _ that's why the 2005 Heisman winner is already on his third team. But remember, Leinart is also com- fortable with Palmer, having backed up Palmer and then replaced him at USC in the early 2000s. • Last year, Boller was just a fig- ment of Hue Jackson's imagination, and it cost the franchise badly when Jason Campbell went down. Pryor, heading into his second sea- son, is either (optimistically) a work in progress or (realistically) someone who might never be an every-down NFL QB. A few weeks ago, general manager Reggie McKenzie said Pryor needed to show coach Dennis Allen what he could do. The Raiders were clear about this. That's your basic shorthand summa- tion of the 49ers' double-layered off- season acquisition process. Basically, two (or three) additions for each potential need spot, which are directly related to the same 49ers offen- sive void. Explosive play-making. •I don't think general manager Trent Baalke and coach Jim Harbaugh necessarily went into this planning to use both free agency and the draft for duplicate pickups at wide receiver and tailback. move down multiple times and gobble up extra picks for 2013. The 49ers added Carolina's third- rounder in 2013, Indianapolis' fifth- rounder, Miami's sixth-rounder and Cincinnati's seventh-rounder. So they have ammunition to move up in 2013, stay where they are and load up, or pretty much do anything they want. • Hearty congratulations to Magic Johnson and Co. for completing their purchase of the Dodgers to end the foul reign of Frank McCourt. Still, that's clearly how it turned out for the 49ers, and not unwisely. The 49ers addressed their needs in free agency, which meant they didn't have to address them again in the draft. But they liked what was there in the early rounds, so they went ahead and took players at the same spots. • If Jenkins is an immediate NFL deep threat, Moss isn't quite necessary, and the other WR free-agent signee, Mario Manningham, becomes quality dept. But if Jenkins is a project, then Moss is there to run deep for Alex Smith. If James is an instant game-breaker (AP) —Hoping to close the book on bounties, the NFL suspended New Orleans Saints defensive captain Jonathan Vilma without pay for all of next season Wednesday and gave shorter bans to three other players for their lead- ing roles in the team's cash- for-hits system that knocked key opponents out of games from 2009-11. Defensive Anthony Hargrove, now with the Green Bay Pack- ers, was suspended for the first half of the 16-game season; Saints defensive end Will Smith was barred for the opening four games; and linebacker Scott Fujita, now with the Cleveland Browns, will miss the first three games of 2012. Like Vilma, they were suspended without pay, costing each hundreds of thousands of dollars. lineman The league said its inves- tigation showed "a signifi- cant number of players par- ticipated" in the bounties — by ponying up cash or col- lecting it — but noted that "the players disciplined par- ticipated at a different and more significant level." Add the losses of Vilma and DERBY (Continued from page 1B) misstep or something, you kind of recover a little bit without getting jammed up.'' Blue Grass winner Dulla- han was the 8-1 fourth choice. He got the No. 5 post, drawing the loudest cheers from his connections. Two California horses, Smith to the previously announced suspension of head coach Sean Payton for all of 2012, along with shorter penalties for general manager Mickey Loomis and assistant coach Joe Vitt, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell came down hard on the Saints ahead of a season that will end with New Orleans hosting the Super Bowl. As attention to concus- sions has increased in recent seasons, Goodell has emphasized the importance of player safety via rules enforcement and threats of fines or suspensions. The NFL is facing dozens of lawsuits brought by more than 1,000 former players who say the league didn't do enough to warn them about — or shield them from — the dangers of head injuries. If Goodell aims to move on from the bounty case, the NFL Players Association might not let him: The sus- pended players have three days to appeal, and NFLPA head DeMaurice Smith said the union would fight the ruling. Fujita is a member of the NFLPA's executive committee who has spoken out in the past about the race. We're not worried about anybody. We've got the best horse. Speed is dan- gerous,'' he said. Cup Juvenile winner, and Daddy Long Legs have the most graded stakes earnings in the field. Hansen leads the list with more than $1.5 mil- lion, while Daddy Long Legs has $1.2 million. Creative Cause and Santa Anita Derby winner I'll Have Another, were listed at 12-1. hole, we'd have to chase Sec- retariat for the track record. We don't have to do that now, so we'll play around with the other horses,'' said Dr. Kendall Hansen, who owns the nearly all white colt named after him and plans to have 200 family and friends on hand. ''We're going to win this The No. 1 and No. 14 posts remained open until there were just two spots left, leaving the connections of speedy Hansen and Daddy Long Legs in suspense. UAE Derby winner Daddy Long Legs got the inside stall, while 10-1 shot Hansen avoided the unpopular spot and landed the No. 14 slot. ''If we were in the one- Hansen, the Breeders' new Dodgers will sign a bushelful of great free agents by overpowering all opponents with a massive checkbook. But is that a guarantee of anything? For current example, let's point to Albert Pujols, who may still be incred- ible for the Angels, but is at the start of his 10-year, $240 million deal and just went through a homer-less April. Or look at the Miami Marlins, who Maybe, as has been suggested, the Yes. But it's always best to have smart management and canny spending, whatever the budget. any sport. need for the league to do a better job of protecting players. Vilma issued a statement saying he is "shocked and extremely disappointed" by the punishment and deny- ing he was a bounty ring- leader. "I never set out to inten- tionally hurt any player and never enticed any teammate to intentionally hurt another player. I also never put any money into a bounty pool or helped to create a bounty pool intended to pay out money for injuring other players," Vilma said. He added: "I intend to fight this injustice, to defend my rep- utation, to stand up for my team and my profession, and to send a clear signal to the Commissioner that the process has failed, to the detriment of me, my team- mates, the New Orleans Saints and the game." Will Smith also denied a role in the bounties. "I have never in my Through his agent, career, nor as a captain asked others, to intentional- ly target and hurt specific opposing players. I was in no way involved in estab- lishing ... a bounty program. Steve Asmussen, who is 0 for 9 in the Derby, will sad- dle two long shots in 15-1 Daddy Nose Best and 30-1 Sabercat. Optimizer is the record 45th Derby starter for trainer D. Wayne Lukas, a four-time Derby winner. The colt will break from the No. 2 post and is one of five 50-1 shots. He got into the field when Mark Valeski was with- drawn from consideration Tuesday. ''There were a few on the NHL PLAYOFFS CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (Best-of-7) Wednesday's results N.Y. Rangers at Washington, late Series tied 1-1 Phoenix at Nashville, late Phoenix leads series 2-0 Today's games Philadelphia at New Jersey, 4:30 p.m. Series tied 1-1 St. Louis at Los Angeles, 7 p.m. Los Angeles leads series 2-0 Other series Atlanta and Boston tied 1-1 Chicago and Philadelphia tied 1-1 L.A. Lakers lead Denver 2-0 Today's games Miami at New York, 4 p.m. Miami leads series 2-0 Oklahoma City at Dallas, 6:30 p.m. Oklahoma City leads series 2-0 board I'd rather have,'' Lukas said. ''It's OK because we're not a speed horse anyway.'' The 21st horse on the earnings list is My Adonis, an also-eligible who would need a defection before 9 a.m. EDT Friday, when Derby wagering opens, to get into the 1 1/4-mile race. If he draws into the race, My Adonis would automatically go into the No. 20 hole and all the other horses would move over one spot. The draw was a tradition- al pill pull in which horses' entries are pulled at the same time as a numbered pill to determine what stall a horse will break from at the start- ing gate. If all 20 horses start, the $2,219,600 purse would be NBA PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND (Best-of-7) Wednesday's results San Antonio 114, Utah 83 San Antonio leads series 2-0 Indiana 97, Orlando 74 Indiana leads series 2-1 L.A. Clippers at Memphis, late L.A. Clippers lead series 1-0 Rabid spending is no salvation, in 4 players suspended by NFL for Saints' bounties The accusations made against me are completely and one-hundred percent false, and I plan to appeal," he said via statement sent by his publicist. "Through this entire process, the NFL never notified me of what I was being accused of, nor presented me with any evi- dence or reasoning for this decision. I am interested in discovering who is making these specific and false accusations, and as well as why a decision was made without speaking with me and giving me the opportu- nity to review the facts." DeMaurice Smith said the union "has still not received any detailed or specific evidence from the league of these specific players' involvement in an alleged pay-to-injure pro- gram. We have made it clear that punishment with- out evidence is not fair. We have spoken with our play- ers and their representatives and we will vigorously pro- tect and pursue all options on their behalf." The league said no play- er agreed to be interviewed in person and the NFLPA did not share information from its own investigation. the richest since 2005, when the Derby first became a guaranteed $2 million event. The winner earns $1,459,600. Post time is 6:24 p.m. EDT. MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA QUAKES 61 1 19 15 6 Salt Lake 6 3 1 19 16 11 Vancouver 4 2 2 14 7 6 Seattle 4 1 1 13 8 3 Colorado 4 5 0 12 13 12 FC Dallas 3 3 3 12 10 12 Galaxy 3 3 1 10 11 11 Chivas USA 3 5 0 9 4 9 Portland 2 5 1 7 9 13 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Kansas City 7 1 0 21 12 3 D.C. 4 2 3 15 15 10 New York 4 3 1 13 18 14 Chicago 2 2 2 8 7 8 Houston 2 2 2 8 7 8 Montreal 2 5 2 8 9 15 Philadelphia 2 4 1 7 5 8 Columbus 2 4 1 7 6 10 N. England 2 5 0 6 5 9 Toronto FC 0 7 0 0 6 16 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. —————————————————— Wednesday's results D.C. United at San Jose, late New England 2, Colorado 1 Los Angeles at Seattle FC, late Friday's game Chicago at Chivas USA, 8 p.m. Saturday's games San Jose at Vancouver, 4 p.m. D.C. United at Toronto FC, 1:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Seattle FC, 1:30 p.m. New England at Real Salt Lake, 5 p.m. New York at Los Angeles, 5 p.m. Montreal at Sporting Kansas City, 5:30 p.m. Columbus at Portland, 7:30 p.m. Sunday's game Colorado at FC Dallas, 4 p.m. A's Seattle Angels East Division Tampa Bay 17 8 .680 — Baltimore Toronto New York Boston Central Division Cleveland 12 10 .545 — Chicago Detroit WL Pct GB 12 12 .500 1 Kansas City 7 16 .304 5.5 Minnesota Oakland 4, Boston 2 Baltimore 5, New York Cleveland 6, Chicago 3 Kansas City 3, Detroit 2 Tampa Bay 5, Seattle 4 Toronto 11, Texas 5 Minnesota at Los Angeles, late Today's games Seattle (Millwood 0-2) at Tampa Bay (Niemann 1-3), 10:10 a.m. Cleveland (Masterson 0-2) at Chicago (Danks 2-3), 5:10 p.m. New York (Phelps 0-0) at Kansas City (Duffy 1-2), 5:10 p.m. Toronto (Morrow 2-1) at Los Angeles (Haren 1-1), 7:05 p.m. Friday's games Oakland at Tampa Bay, 4:10 p.m. Chicago at Detroit, 4:05 p.m. Texas at Cleveland, 4:05 p.m. Baltimore at Boston, 4:10 p.m. New York at Kansas City, 5:10 p.m. Toronto at Los Angeles, 7:05 p.m. Minnesota at Seattle, 7:10 p.m. 12 12 .500 1 6 17 .261 6.5 —————————————————— Wednesday's results WL Pct GB 16 9 .640 1 14 11 .560 3 13 11 .542 3.5 11 13 .458 5.5 Sharks owners disappointed gave general manager Doug Wilson a vote of confidence to make changes after a disappointing early playoff exit. Coach Todd McLellan will have to wait to get a similar with their early playoff exit SAN JOSE (AP) — The owners of the San Jose Sharks show of support from Wilson to determine whether he will be back for a fifth season at the helm. The ownership group of Sharks Sports & Entertainment issued a statement Wednesday calling a seventh-place finish in the Western Conference and a first-round playoff loss to St. Louis unacceptable while also backing Wilson's leader- ship. ''We will not lower our expectation that every San Jose Sharks team we put on the ice is capable of winning the Stanley Cup,'' the statement said. ''Despite the fact that our team has experienced a tremendous amount of success over the past eight seasons, we are not satisfied with those results and neither is Doug. The ownership group has confidence that Doug will make the necessary changes to ensure our club remains among the NHL's elite franchises.'' What those changes will be remains to be seen. Wilson and the coaching staff have been meeting with players separately since the season ended April 21. Once those meetings are finished, Wilson will meet with McLel- lan and a decision on the coaching staff might not come for a few more weeks. ''I have not gotten through the process yet of full review,'' splurged on Jose Reyes and Heath Bell. Is it better to have a massive budget? Wilson said. ''Just as we do every year, there's no decisions made prior to giving people the opportunity to go through the whole review process. I'll need some more time on that.'' Wilson said the meetings with players have been long and emotional sessions, with some running five times longer than scheduled. He said some of what he has learned so far con- firmed his previous beliefs while some spurred him to look at the problems differently. He said it was important to hear from everyone before making any decisions. ''It's not going to be a rush,'' he said. ''It's more impor- tant to go through the process, get all the information, get all the input and let people speak. Sometimes it takes a little longer once you get into it.'' The Sharks have been the second-best regular-season team in the league over the past eight seasons but have not made it to the Stanley Cup final. San Jose has lost three times in the Western Conference finals, including the previous two seasons. But the Sharks took a step back during an inconsistent campaign this sea- son. a playoff berth before they recovered late in the season to get the seventh seed in the closing days. San Jose then won its series opener against St. Louis before losing four straight games with the season-long problem of penalty killing play- ing a major role. A dreadful stretch starting in February almost cost them can make on the roster because of the salary cap, an expiring collective bargaining agreement that is expected to slow player movement and an aging roster that includes a handful of players who have limitations on where they can be traded. There is still a talented core led by captain Joe Thornton, franchise scoring leader Patrick Marleau, Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns and Dan Boyle. But Wilson said there will be changes with the degree of them still to be deter- mined. ''We have a team that was capable of being very good that did not achieve and underperformed,'' Wilson said. ''You almost have to take a break, take a step back, get the infor- mation and make the proper decision to get this team back to where it needs to be. We've gone through this before. We've had some bounce back. It comes down to having people who are all-in, focused, highly motivated.'' The Sharks are somewhat limited in what changes they A's (Continued from page 1B) in the sixth, scored three runs and chased Bard to open a 4-0 edge. Smith lofted a fly near the corner that Ross overran, and the ball bounced on the track behind him. Kila Ka'aihue followed with a double into the right-field corner and, after Bard hit Kurt Suzuki on the left hand, Brandon Inge had an RBI double. Matt Albers got the next two batters, stranding runners on second and third. Boston had the first two runners on in the fifth, but Marlon Byrd failed on two sacrifice attempts before popping out. McCarthy then easily retired the next two hitters — Mike Aviles and MLB West Division Texas American League WL Pct GB 17 8 .680 — 13 13 .500 4.5 11 15 .423 6.5 9 15 .375 7.5 Ryan Sweeney. Byrd's sacrifice fly made it 4-1 in the seventh. Boston's Adrian Gonza- lez struck out with the bases loaded to end the seventh and bounced out to end the game. He went 0 for 4 and is hitless for his last 15 at-bats. NOTES:The teams wore 1936 throwback uniforms. That year, the A's — then in Philadelphia — sold Jimmie Foxx to the Red Sox. His daughter, Nanci Foxx Canaday, was at the game. ... Oakland 2B Jemile Weeks was out with a strained groin and manager Bob Melvin felt it would be best to rest him with an off- day on Thursday. MLB West Division Dodgers GIANTS Arizona Colorado Padres East Division Washington 15 9 .625 — Atlanta New York Central Division St. Louis WL Pct GB 15 10 .600 .5 Philadelphia 12 13 .480 3.5 Miami Cincinnati 11 12 .478 4 Houston Milwaukee 11 14 .440 5 Pittsburgh 10 13 .435 5 Chicago 15 8 .652 — 11 14 .440 5 9 15 .375 6.5 —————————————————— Wednesday's results Miami at San Francisco, late Atlanta 15, Philadelphia 13, 11 innings Chicago 3, Cincinnati 1 Colorado 8, Los Angeles 5 Houston 8, New York 1 San Diego 5, Milwaukee 0 Washington 5, Arizona 4 Pittsburgh at St. Louis, late Today's games Miami (A.Sanchez 1-0) at San Fran. (Vogelsong 0-1), 12:45 p.m. Philadelphia (Blanton 2-3) at Atlanta (Delgado 2-2), 9:10 a.m. Chicago (Dempster 0-1) at Cincinnati (Bailey 1-2), 9:35 a.m. Pittsburgh (Bedard 1-4) at St. Louis (Westbrook 3-1), 10:45 a.m. Arizona (I.Kennedy 3-0) at Washington (Detwiler 2-1), 4:05 p.m. Friday's games Milwaukee at San Francisco, 7:15 p.m. Los Angeles at Chicago, 11:20 a.m. Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, 4:05 p.m. Philadelphia at Washington, 4:05 p.m. Arizona at New York, 4:10 p.m. St. Louis at Houston, 5:05 p.m. Atlanta at Colorado, 5:40 p.m. Miami at San Diego, 7:05 p.m. 13 12 .520 2.5 9 14 .391 5.5 WL Pct GB National League WL Pct GB 17 8 .680 — 12 11 .522 4 13 12 .520 4 12 12 .500 4.5 9 17 .346 8.5