Red Bluff Daily News

March 15, 2016

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ByTimReynolds TheAssociatedPress FORTMYERS,FLA. Forteamsthat got a coveted spot in the NCAA Tournament, finding out where and who they're playing was not the end of selection-night drama. It was only the beginning. And that's especially true for eight teams that are opening-round bound. Scenes like one at Florida Gulf Coast were playing out at plenty of schools Sunday night. It was nearly 10 p.m. Sunday and peo- ple in three different offices at FGCU are calling the school's top donors, asking if they want to be part of the team's travel party for Tuesday's game against Fair- leigh Dickinson in Dayton, Ohio. If those fans were willing, they could have a seat on the charter and stay in the team hotel for as long as the trip lasts. Meanwhile, in another office, Billy Blood — the Chief Finan- cial Officer for FGCU athletics — is simultaneously working his office phone, his cellphone and emails, trying to actually secure that plane and those hotel rooms. He's exhausted; his tie is loos- ened, he's rubbing his eyes and he has no idea how long any of this will take. "Details," he groans, to no one in particular. He wasn't complaining, and no one else at the other schools NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT TEAMS PUT ON HECTIC SCHEDULE Lots of details to take care of for first-round games FloridaGulfCoast'sDemetriusMorantdunksagainstStetson during the first half of the NCAA college Atlantic Sun Basketball championship game Sunday in Fort Myers, Fla. PHOTOS BY SCOTT MCINTYRE — NAPLES DAILY NEWS Florida Gulf Coast head coach Joe Dooley calls out to his players during the final minutes of their game against Stetson during the NCAA college Atlantic Sun Basketball championship game in Fort Myers, Fla. By Cam Inman Bay Area News Group SANTACLARA Fresh off re-sign- ing with the 49ers, Phil Dawson spoke by phone Monday from Disney World, a fitting location considering how well he can blend in with a young crowd. At age 41, Dawson is the NFL's second-oldest player, be- hind only fellow kicker Adam Vinatieri (43). At age 30, Derius Swinton will be coaching Daw- son this season as the 49ers' new special teams coordinator. "I'm looking forward to get- ting to know him, playing for him and learning," Dawson said after the team confirmed his one-year contract, report- edly worth $3.134 million. Dawson told general man- ager Trent Baalke a day after last season that he wanted to re- turn, and when Baalke checked back last week, Dawson said: "I told him nothing had happened over the course of the offseason to change that." As antsy 49ers fans clamor, not much has changed to the roster during free agency un- der new coach Chip Kelly. Nose tackle Ian Williams, tight end Garrett Celek and running back Shaun Draughn re-signed, while quarterback Thad Lewis is the only new player. Dawson was so respected by last year's coaching staff he won the Bill Walsh Award as team MVP. Baalke, in a statement, called Dawson a "consummate professional" and heralded his production and leadership. This will be his fourth season on the 49ers after 14 with the Cleveland Browns. "He has an impressive ap- proach to his craft," Baalke stated, "that has allowed him to consistently rank among the best in the business throughout his career." 49ERS Elder statesman Dawson says team will 'come together' By Jerry McDonald Bay Area News Group ALAMEDA The start of Week 2 of free agency was decidedly low- key for the Raiders, who added a core special teams player in Daren Bates Monday but saw a potential target in safety Eric Weddle sign with the Baltimore Ravens. Bates, 25, was the special teams captain for the St. Louis Rams. At 5-foot-11, 225 pounds, Bates played only 39 snaps on defense as a line- backer but had 982 special teams snaps over three seasons, accord- ing to Profootballfocus.com. He also had a team-high 11 penalties. The Rams originally signed Bates as an undrafted free agent out of Auburn, where his play caught the eye of coach Jeff Fisher and special teams coordinator and former Raiders assistant John Fas- sel. Weddle, 32, received a four- year contract widely reported to be worth as much as $29 with $13 million guaranteed. That is likely higher than general manager Reg- gie McKenzie wanted to go for a player with Weddle's age time served. Charles Woodson, who retired after the season, made $4.3 mil- lion last season. The only safeties currentlyontherosterareNateAl- len, SaQuan Edwards and Dewey McDonald, making the last line of defense an area of need through- outtheremainderoffreeagencyas well as the draft. • Unrestricted free agent safety Taylor Mays, who played in 14 games with five starts as a strong safety last season, is facing a four- game suspension for violating the NFLpolicyonsubstanceabuse,ac- cordingtoanNFLNetworkreport. Mays, 27, was a starter during the second half of the season when the Raiders were playing well de- fensively, and it was possible he could return at a position of need. •J'MarcusWebb,whostarted16 games for the Raiders last season, cashed in with $266,778 in perfor- mance-based pay according to the NFL management council. Each team has a fund of approximately $3.8 million which is distributed to players whose pay is dispropor- tionate to their income. Webb, 27, earned $745,000 last season, bringing his 2016 compen- sation to $1,011,778. He is presently an unrestricted free agent. Webb said on his Twitter feed he visited Seattle recently, but also includes a Raider Nation hash tag, an in- dication he could possibly return. Among the other Raiders who cashedinwithperformance-based bonuses were defensive back TJ Carrie ($253,336), left guard Gabe Jackson ($232,268), defensive end Denico Autry ($196,872), slot re- ceiverSethRoberts($184,345),cor- nerback David Amerson ($167,728) and quarterback Derek Carr ($116,318). RAIDERS Special teamer Bates signs on Weddle gets 4-year deal from Baltimore JESSICA HILL — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Connecticut players pose with the championship trophy at the end of a NCAA college basketball game in the American Athletic Conference tournament finals. By Doug Feinberg The Associated Press NEW YORK Breanna Stewart made it her goal to win four ti- tles in her career at UConn. Now she and her Huskies are six wins away from accomplishing that un- precedented feat. "Honestly, I don't feel that much pressure," Stewart said. "The pressure was more last year or my sophomore season, just be- cause I needed those to finish this one. Now, it's just this is it. This is my last try." The Huskies haven't really talked about the history they could make over the next three weeks. "They know obviously that this is an opportunity for them to win the fourth national champi- onship. They know that," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "And they've known it since the first time we met at half court there for the first day of practice. The only other time it has been mentioned is in passing when they do some- thing stupid and I say, 'Teams that are trying to do something great, they don't do that stuff, not in March." UConn's road to a fourth straight national championship will begin at home. The Huskies were the top over- all seed in the women's NCAA Tournament that was revealed Monday night. UConn (32-0) won't have to leave the state un- til the Final Four in Indianapolis. The Huskies are in the Bridgeport Regional. Joining the Huskies as the other No. 1 seeds are South Car- olina, Notre Dame and Baylor. UConn has already beaten the Gamecocks and Irish this season. The Huskies would face Baylor on April 3 in the national semifinals if both teams advance that far. Both UConn and Tennessee won three straight women's ti- tles, but no women's team has four consecutive championships. The UCLA men's team won seven in a row. A title this year would give Auriemma 11 in his career, breaking a tie with vaunted UCLA men's basketball coach John Wooden. First up for the Huskies, who have been a No. 1 seed for 10 NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT UConntopoverallseedintourney UCONN PAGE 2 NCAA PAGE 2 49ERS PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, March 15, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1

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