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2B Daily News – Friday, May 4, 2012 day, Dennis Allen slowed down just a little bit, though it probably took some extreme willpower to accomplish. BY TIM KAWAKAMI San Jose Mercury News (MCT) For almost a half-hour Wednes- Raiders' coach has a clear vision BONDS Amid his otherwise mad rush to reconstitute the Raiders, the new coach took some time to sit down, reflect and outline the greater themes of this effort. And as we talked in the Raiders' offices three months after his hir- ing, Allen sounded as direct, detailed, engaging and, yes, con- vincing as I've ever heard him. The big picture: In the post-Al Davis era, there is still a long ways to go before this franchise fits the combined vision of Allen and gen- eral manager Reggie McKenzie. The small picture: Allen is maybe a bit surprised at how well things have gone with his new players during voluntary workouts so far. "Here's what's struck me about this team a little bit — you kind of have had the picture of the outlaw, renegade Raiders," Allen said, "and that's not the case. work; they're family men and they come and they do their job. And that's what you expect. "In that regard, it's been a little smoother process than maybe I anticipated." "These are guys that come to Among the interesting head- lines of our discussion: • Allen said the Raiders signed quarterback Matt Leinart this week to be a veteran sounding board for old USC teammate Car- son Palmer and also to aid the development of Terrelle Pryor. And Allen stressed that the Leinart move isn't a sign that the Raiders are giving up on Pryor as SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A person with knowledge of the situa- tion confirmed Thurs- day that Utah State and San Jose State are jumping from the West- ern Athletic Conference to the Mountain West Conference in 2013 for football. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the move won't be formally announced until Friday. The Salt Lake Tribune first reported the move. The person said Utah State is making the move to the MWC in all sports. A few of San Jose State's sports pro- grams, including women's water polo, "He has all kinds of talent," Allen said of Pryor, who has been working out at the Raiders facility. "He's not there from a mental standpoint, from a fundamental standpoint, which is true of 99 percent of the young quarterbacks that come into this league. "The other thing he's shown me is, this guy's a worker. ". . . He's wants to prove to everybody that he can be a quarterback for us in the National Football League." • Allen still won't say whether he'll start the Raiders in a 4-3 or 3- 4 base defense, repeating that the goal is to be able to switch between both alignments. But Allen said there is a work- able 3-4 nose tackle on the roster right now. a QB. In fact, Allen said Pryor will compete with Leinart for the main backup spot. "If there's one guy that I was around that I think exemplifies what we're looking for in an Oak- land Raider, it would be Drew Brees," said Allen, who was on the defensive staff in New Orleans for several years. "When you look at his height, weight, speed, it might not be the most impressive. But what the guy is, he's a tough, smart, competi- tive, instinctive football player . . . "I think if you look at guys that embody what we want, you can look at guys like Drew Brees." Of course, the Raiders' model of the past was almost entirely about speed, height and weight. And Al Davis gave little thought about team chemistry or off-field behavior. That'd be veteran Tommy Kelly, who hasn't played the position pre- viously. McKenzie want everyone to know it's different. The Raiders are dif- ferent. This is different. Allen and "He can do it," Allen said. • As McKenzie has said and Allen confirmed, the new Raiders regime puts a high value on high character, and personal religious faith is an element of that. "We're not looking for a team full of choir boys," Allen said. "But we are looking for guys that are going to be dependable on the field and that we can also depend on off the field . . . "I think that kind of goes hand in hand. Usually guys of good character, there's a faith-based background to the way they were brought up." • That leads into Allen's most descriptive answer, in my opinion. When I asked him if he could name a player who epitomizes what he wants the Raiders to be and play like, Allen had an imme- diate answer. would replace San Diego State and Boise State, which are joining the Big East for foot- ball. will not be affected. The two schools "As you go throughout life, you're going to go through times where you're going to have signif- icant changes," Allen said. "It's a significant change when you get married. It's a significant change when you have kids. "This is just part of that process within the organization. There's change. There's a new general manager. There's a new owner. New head coach. "And so, obviously, when you get that much new blood into the lifeline of the organization, it's going to filter down through the rest of the organization." Some of it will work smoothly. Some will be difficult. Some of it might not be visible for quite some time. Allen was quite clear about that — as clear and compelling as any Raiders coach in years. But it's happening. Dennis AP source: San Jose State, Utah State head to MWC With the latest Utah State and San Jose State both sent out releases Thursday indi- cating press confer- ences were scheduled Friday to discuss ''con- ference affiliation.'' Neither release con- tained additional infor- mation, although San Jose State's indicated its football coach would be available to answer questions. Athletic directors at Utah State and San Jose State were not available for com- ment Thursday. The recent moves could be a crippling blow to the WAC as a football conference as it would have just two remaining members with football programs after next season — New Mexico State and Idaho. University of Texas System regents approved letting UT- San Antonio move to moves, the Mountain West will have 10 foot- ball teams for 2013-14: Air Force, Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State and Wyoming. Earlier Wednesday, Conference USA in 2013. UTSA will play in the WAC this season. WAC interim Com- missioner Jeff Hurd has acknowledged the changing landscape in Division I athletics. He said in a statement ear- lier this week the con- ference is evaluating membership options. He would not speculate on what those might be, but said he had confi- dence the WAC would maintain its more than 50-year history as a ''preeminent Division I conference.'' (Continued from page 1B) against the slugger, which was that he lied when he denied in 2003 grand jury testimony that he took per- formance-enhancing drugs to boost his career. Federal prosecutors revised their indictment several times and delayed trial for a year while appealing an important evi- dentiary decision to the 9th Circuit. ''This case arose out of the federal government's efforts to combat steroid use in sports,'' Bonds appellate attorney Dennis Riordan wrote. ''That crusade, while admirable in its underlying purpose, has been pursued with an intensity at times bordering on zealotry.'' GIANTS (Continued from page 1B) It's more fun that way,'' Guillen said. ''I'd rather have people on base than nobody on base. We cannot get the big hit to open a game. Every time we have people on base something happens to shut down and we don't have the big hit to rally. It's getting old.'' Sanchez (2-0) allowed one run on seven hits, struck out five and walked one in seven innings. He snapped a three-start stretch in which he didn't earn a decision, including a career-best 14- strikeout performance last Saturday's 3-2 home win against Arizona. Melky Cabrera had two hits and the Giants scored their only run on his double- play grounder in the sixth. The Giants received tough news before the game when slugger and top hitter Pablo Sandoval was lost to a broken bone in his left hand that will require surgery Fri- day. He's expected to miss 4 to 6 weeks. ''It definitely hurts us he's not in the lineup. He's a big part of our offense and plays a pretty good third base,'' Vogelsong said. ''It's hard to say this, but we've been here before and we need to find ways to get some wins while he's out.'' Riordan also argued that Bonds answered the ques- tion earlier in his grand jury appearance when he said that only his doctor injected him with anything. speaker would understand Mr. Bonds's initial statement as answering the question in the negative,'' Riordan wrote. ''Mr. Bonds was no more guilty of obstruction than he would have been if, having answered one prose- cutorial question, he chatted with grand jurors about the weather while the prosecutor was formulating his next one.'' ''Any competent English Riordan further argued that the prosecutors ques- tioning Bonds before the grand jury had a ''legal obligation to clarify unre- sponsive testimony.'' game,'' Brandon Belt said. Conor Gillaspie, promot- ed from Triple-A Fresno to replace Sandoval, went 1 for 3 batting second as Angel Pagan dropped from leadoff to the No. 5 hole as the Giants dealt with the big blow of losing their All-Star slugger. career-best hitting streak to 17 games with a leadoff sin- gle in the seventh. Pagan extended his NOTES: The Giants have 28 errors, second in the majors to San Diego's 29. ... Pagan batted fifth for the first time this season. He also hit sixth once but otherwise had been in the leadoff of No. 2 hole the rest of the time. ... All four of Vogelsong's starts have been afternoon games. ... Bochy was to be honored Thursday night by the American Leadership Forum in nearby Mountain View. On the tube AUTO RACING •9 a.m., ESPN2 — NASCAR, Nation- wide Series, pole qualifying for Aaron's 312, at Talladega, Ala. • 11 a.m., SPEED — NASCAR, Sprint Cup, practice for Aaron's 499, at Tallade- ga, Ala. • 12:30 p.m., SPEED — NASCAR, Sprint Cup, ''Happy Hour Series,'' final practice for Aaron's 499, at Talladega, Ala. •2 p.m., SPEED — ARCA, International Motorsports Hall of Fame 250, at Tal- ladega, Ala. GOLF In 1996, the WAC had a record 16 teams, making it the largest major football confer- ence in the nation. Seau's death ruled a suicide SAN DIEGO (AP) — Junior Seau's death has been ruled a suicide by the San Diego County medical examiner's office. confirmed that the for- mer NFL linebacker died of a gunshot wound to the chest, the medical examiner's office said. The office said further details would be released in a final investigative report, which may take up to 90 days to com- plete. Officials said they An autopsy Thursday were awaiting a deci- sion by the family on whether to turn over Seau's brain to uniden- tified outside researchers for study. Seau died Wednesday in his home in suburban Oceanside. McCoy said Seau's girl- friend reported finding him unconscious with a gunshot wound to the chest and lifesaving efforts were unsuccess- ful. A gun was found near him, McCoy said. Police said no suicide note was found and they didn't immediately know who the gun was registered to. Seau's ex-wife, Gina, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Seau sustained con- cussions during his 20- Police Chief Frank year career. She said she didn't know if the effects of concussions contributed to Seau's death. Seau starred with his hometown San Diego Chargers for 13 years before playing with the Miami Dol- phins and New England Patriots. Seau's death follows the suicide last year of former Chicago Bears player Dave Duerson, who also shot himself in the chest. Duerson's family has 62. His wife has said he suffered from depres- sion and dementia after taking years of hits. Seau is not known to Boston University's Center for the Study of T raumatic Encephalopathy has analyzed the brains of dozens of former ath- letes, including Duer- son's. filed a wrongful death suit against the NFL, claiming the league did- n't do enough to prevent or treat concussions that severely damaged Duer- son's brain before he died in in February 2011. Former Atlanta Fal- cons safety Ray Easter- ling, who had joined in a concussion-related lawsuit against the league — one of dozens filed in the last year — died last month at age NHL PLAYOFFS CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (Best-of-7) Thursday's results New Jersey 4, Philadelphia 3, OT New Jersey leads series 2-1 St. Louis at Los Angeles, late Los Angeles leads series 2-0 Today's games Phoenix at Nashville, 4:30 p.m. Phoenix leads series 2-1 Other series N.Y. Rangers lead Washington 2-1 have been a plaintiff in the concussion litiga- tion. statement released by the center. ''Our prima- ry goal is to learn more about the long-term effects of repetitive brain trauma by con- ducting meaningful sci- entific research. At this time our thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Seau's family, his many friends and former teammates.'' While saying it was saddened by Seau's death, center officials would not say if they have reached out to the Seau family or would be interested in studying his brain. ''It is our policy to not discuss any com- pleted, ongoing or potential research cases unless at the specific request of family mem- bers,'' according to a NBA PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND (Best-of-7) Thursday's results Miami 87, New York 70 Miami leads series 3-0 Oklahoma City at Dallas, late Oklahoma City leads series 2-0 Today's games Atlanta at Boston, 4:30 p.m. Series tied 1-1 Chicago at Philadelphia, 5 p.m. Series tied 1-1 L.A. Lakers at Denver, 7:30 p.m. L.A. Lakers lead series 2-0 Other series Indiana leads Orland 2-1 L.A. Clipers and Memphis tied 1-1 San Antonio leads Utah 2-0 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. San Francisco has scored three or fewer runs in eight of its 12 home games and has not scored more than five runs in any of its games at AT&T Park. Vogelsong (0-2) was tagged for eight hits in seven innings, struck out five and walked four while throwing 116 pitches. The Giants had runners on second and third in the seventh but couldn't convert, and they are 9 for 48 (.188) with runners in scoring posi- tion over the past six games. San Francisco went 0 for 5 Thursday. ''Everybody has to chip in and play harder. It's going to be harder to win every MLB West Division Texas A's Seattle Angels East Division Tampa Bay 18 8 .692 — Baltimore Toronto New York Boston Central Division Cleveland 13 10 .565 — Detroit Chicago WL Pct GB 12 12 .500 1.5 Kansas City 8 16 .333 5.5 Minnesota Cleveland 7, Chicago 5 Kansas City 4, New York 3 Tampa Bay 4, Seattle 3 Toronto at Los Angeles, late Today's games Oakland (T.Ross 1-1) at Tampa Bay (Price 4-1), 4:10 p.m. Chicago (Peavy 3-1) at Detroit (Smyly 1-0), 4:05 p.m. Texas (Lewis 3-0) at Cleveland (J.Gomez 1-1), 4:05 p.m. Baltimore (W.Chen 2-0) at Boston (Lester 1-2), 4:10 p.m. New York (Sabathia 3-0) at Kansas City (B.Chen 0-3), 5:10 p.m. Toronto (H.Alvarez 1-2) at Los Angeles (E.Santana 0-5), 7:05 p.m. Minnesota (Pavano 1-2) at Seattle (Vargas 3-2), 7:10 p.m. Saturday's games Oakland at Tampa Bay, 4:10 p.m. Baltimore at Boston, 10:10 a.m. Chicago at Detroit, 1:05 p.m. Texas at Cleveland, 4:05 p.m. New York at Kansas City, 4:10 p.m. Toronto at Los Angeles, 6:05 p.m. Minnesota at Seattle, 6:10 p.m. Sunday's games Oakland at Tampa Bay, 10:40 a.m. Chicago at Detroit, 10:05 a.m. Texas at Cleveland, 10:05 a.m. Baltimore at Boston, 10:35 a.m. New York at Kansas City, 11:10 a.m. Toronto at Los Angeles, 12:35 p.m. Minnesota at Seattle, 1:10 p.m. 12 13 .480 2 6 18 .250 7.5 —————————————————— Thursday's results WL Pct GB 16 9 .640 1.5 14 11 .560 3.5 13 12 .520 4.5 11 13 .458 6 American League WL Pct GB 17 8 .680 — 13 13 .500 4.5 11 16 .407 7 10 15 .400 7 • 5:30 a.m., TGC — European PGA Tour, Open de Espana, second round, at Sevilla, Spain • Noon, TGC — PGA Tour, Wells Fargo Championship, second round, at Char- lotte, N.C. • 4:30 p.m., TGC — Champions Tour, Insperity Championship, first round, at The Woodlands, Texas (same-day tape) HORSE RACING •2 p.m., NBCSN — NTRA, Kentucky Oaks, at Louisville, Ky. MLB •4 p.m., CSNC—Oakland at Tampa Bay •4 p.m., MLB — Regional coverage, Philadelphia at Washington or Chicago White Sox at Detroit •7 p.m., CSNB—Milwaukee at San Francisco NBA • 4:30 p.m., ESPN — Playoffs, first round, game 3, Atlanta at Boston •5 p.m., ESPN2 — Playoffs, first round, game 3, Chicago at Philadelphia • 7:30 p.m., ESPN — Playoffs, first round, game 3, L.A. Lakers at Denver NHL • 4:30 p.m., NBCSN — Playoffs, confer- ence semifinals, game 4, Phoenix at Nashville MLB West Division Dodgers Colorado Padres Arizona GIANTS East Division Washington 16 9 .640 — Atlanta New York Central Division St. Louis WL Pct GB 15 11 .577 1.5 Philadelphia 13 13 .500 3.5 Miami 13 12 .520 3 11 14 .440 5 WL Pct GB Cincinnati 12 12 .500 3.5 Houston 16 9 .640 — 11 14 .440 5 Milwaukee 11 14 .440 5 Pittsburgh 11 14 .440 5 Chicago 9 16 .360 7 —————————————————— Thursday's results Miami 3, San Francisco 2 Cincinnati 4, Chicago 3, 10 innings Philadelphia 4, Atlanta 0 Pittsburgh 6, St. Louis 3 Washington 2, Arizona 1 . Today's games Milwaukee (Greinke 3-1) at San Fran. (Lincecum 2-2), 7:15 p.m. Los Angeles (Billingsley 2-1) at Chicago (Maholm 2-2), 11:20 a.m. Cincinnati (Leake 0-3) at Pittsburgh (Correia 1-1), 4:05 p.m. Philadelphia (K.Kendrick 0-2) at Washington (Strasburg 2-0), 4:05 p.m. Arizona (Miley 3-0) at New York (Gee 2-2), 4:10 p.m. St. Louis (Lohse 4-0) at Houston (Harrell 1-2), 5:05 p.m. Atlanta (T.Hudson 1-0) at Colorado (Moscoso 0-1), 5:40 p.m. Miami (Jo.Johnson 0-3) at San Diego (Bass 1-3), 7:05 p.m. Saturday's games Milwaukee at San Francisco, 1:05 p.m. Los Angeles at Chicago, 10:05 a.m. Philadelphia at Washington, 10:05 a.m. Arizona at New York, 1:05 p.m. Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, 4:05 p.m. St. Louis at Houston, 4:05 p.m. Atlanta at Colorado, 5:10 p.m. Miami at San Diego, 5:35 p.m. Sunday's games Milwaukee at San Francisco, 1:05 p.m. Arizona at New York, 10:10 a.m. Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, 10:35 a.m. St. Louis at Houston, 11:05 a.m. Los Angeles at Chicago, 11:20 a.m. Atlanta at Colorado, 12:10 p.m. Miami at San Diego, 1:05 p.m. Philadelphia at Washington, 5:05 p.m. National League WL Pct GB 17 8 .680 — 13 13 .500 4.5 12 12 .500 4.5 12 13 .480 5 9 17 .346 8.5